#what’s funny is that Boyd Does know how to sing and he actually sings

[ahli-stuff]

Ok you know what’s so funny about Boyd’s villain characters is that in his interviews he tries to make them to be the most?? I don’t know the word?? Ugly/cringey kind of people possible

Like him saying klaber’s appearance is supposed to be gross af and him saying clement has atrocious singing 😭

But in reality Boyd is super cute in his role as klaber JDBSKDBD

And clement does NOT have atrocious singing he is rlly not that bad!!

[cdt12345]

I just finished answering one of these and now I wanna know yours. Top 10 straight OTPs?

1.) Ben and Leslie - Parks and Recreation

If this was my OTPs list, they’d be second after Gallavich, but since this is straight couples, they have to be my number one. Amy Poehler and Adam Scott had great chemistry. Adam Scott played a lot of creepy/bad guys before this. So, when he showed up in Pawnee, I didn’t know what to make of him when he came in at the end of season 2. Pretty quickly I realized I was not only going to love the character of Ben Wyatt but we finally found Leslie Knope’s perfect match! I’ll never forget the moment I knew I was going to ship them. It was at the Freddy Spaghetti concert when Ben helped Leslie after he was against doing the concert in the first place. As soon as I saw Ben give Leslie that look as she walked away, I knew I was all in with this ship. That’s all it took! Leslie finally met someone who got her, admired her, was in awe of her, and was so supportive of her and her ambitions. They were both willing to put their jobs at risk by making their relationship known. And if you know Leslie Knope, her job is her life. Leslie’s love for Ben’s butt is also something I loved. Their love for each other is so beautiful and one of my favorite things about this amazing show.

2.) Ava and Boyd - Justified

Joelle Carter and Walton Goggins did amazing work together onscreen. Ava and Boyd Crowder did not have the most conventional start to their romantic relationship, seeing as Ava was married to Boyd’s brother. For me, that is a deal-breaker! I know they’re not blood relatives but it’s still weird to me when in-laws get together. In the pilot, we learn Ava has just killed her husband in self-defense and Boyd was supposed to be killed off in that episode. The powers that be, loved both Joelle and Walton so much they brought them back for more and they were series regulars for the rest of the series run. To keep Ava part of the storyline, they had Boyd staying at Ava’s house in season 2. It all evolved from there. I had no intention of shipping these two during season 1, but by season 2, I was all about Ava and Boyd getting together. They were the true definition of a power couple. They even had matching bullet scares on their chest! They stood side by side as a strong force against anyone who tried to overpower them or intimidate them in their growing criminal enterprise. Boyd really saw Ava, treated her with respect, and saw her as his equal. They had a long history, even went to the same high school together. I always love a couple who has known each other since they were kids. I never thought I would root for current or former in-laws, but it was hard not to fall in love with them.

3.) Jess and Nick - New Girl

I knew I was going to ship them from the very first episode. They are everything I love in a good ship, complete opposites who bring out the best in each other, who are also friends. Over the years, any time Jess would describe her perfect man, she was always describing Nick without realizing it. Once she was asked what her dream guy would be, and she said Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men and Nick fits that perfectly. He really is like a grumpy old man. There was nothing these two wouldn’t do for each other. One example of this was when Jess burns her finger on a cigarette lighter in the car and Nick puts his finger in the cigarette lighter so they would be in the same amount of pain. Who even does that?! I was so happy when they finally had their first kiss and when they officially got together. Those are some of my favorite episodes when they were finally dating. Any time they dated anyone else it became even more clear how much better they are together. They never fit with anyone else as well as they fit together. They really were perfect for each other.

4.) Corey and Topanga - Boy Meets World

Corey and Topanga are the OG’s of childhood sweethearts on TV. They’ve known each other their whole lives and were very believable in their genuine love for each other. It’s not always easy to believe that people who get married that young can make it work, but these two always seemed to defy those odds. They got married during their sophomore year of college. Today I would be like whoa that’s too soon to get married! But they felt so right together, I believe I would still think they made the right choice. I may be biased because I grew up watching this show and I was even younger than them at that time, but it always felt like they were meant to be. I still remember what a big deal their wedding was. My friends and I were so excited about that episode. They clearly did do the right thing because the show came back as Girl Meets World, which was more focused on their daughter than them, so of course, I wasn’t planning on watching all that. The only good thing to come out of that reboot, for me, was to get confirmation that Corey and Topanga were still together and had two kids. 

5.) Arnold and Helga - Hey Arnold!

This was a very one-sided crush on Helga’s part for years! This was another show I grew up on. I shipped them so hard because Helga was obsessively in love with Arnold. It definitely wasn’t a healthy obsession, but she really loved him. It was hard not to root for her. She fell in love with him when he was the first to notice her and be nice to her on their first day of preschool. A part of me could identify with her at that time in my life. I was in 5th grade and was experiencing my first love too. She was always so mean to Arnold because she was terrified for anyone to even suspect she had a major crush on him. The best way to describe Arnold is through Helga’s own words, he’s “a funny little football-headed kid with a good heart but no sense of reality”. Helga was realistic and tough but very poetic and sweet in private. In 2017, when Hey Arnold! The Jungle Movie came out, I was really hoping she would finally come clean with Arnold about her feelings. It FINALLY happened! That was 21 years in the making. Talk about slow burn!

6.) Tiffani and Jake - California Dreams

Jake and Tiffani are one of my very first ships ever. They were high school students who were in a band called California Dreams together. They were like night and day. She was the surfer type, who was positive, sunny, and friendly. Whereas Jake was a biker type who scared everyone. They were even too scared to let him audition for the band. He played guitar and would sometimes sing and write some of their songs. He wasn’t the main singer of the band, but he would sing every once in a while. She played the bass and would sometimes sing too. They did have a breakup that was heartbreaking for me. He dated their friend Lorena for a short time, and it felt so forced and didn’t work at all. Again, I could be biased because I love Jake and Tiffani, but Jake himself and Lorena realized they didn’t work either. That’s when Jake realized he was still very much in love with Tiffani, and they got back together. This show also had the best theme song ever! I sing it every single time I hear it and when I do hear it, it’s stuck in my head all day.

7.) Monica and Chandler - Friends

I always preferred Monica and Chandler over Ross and Rachel. They were never on and off like Ross and Rachel, which would get tiresome. We never had to deal with that with Monica and Chandler. Obviously, they are friends and know each other so well that it was easy for them to get through anything because of it.

8.) Castle and Beckett - Castle

Richard Castle and Kate Beckett had amazing chemistry, even after the actors themselves were no longer getting along behind the scenes. I am amazed at how they were still able to be so believable at being very much in love with each other. Castle, a best-selling mystery novelist, and Beckett, a New York City homicide detective. Castle is inspired by Beckett and she becomes his muse for a new book he is writing. Castle uses his connections with the mayor to force the police to let him shadow Beckett. Their personalities clash in the beginning but they soon find their groove and become friends and great partners at solving crimes. The will they, won’t they was excruciating at times but paid off when they finally got together.

9.) Sabrina and Harvey - Sabrina The Teenage Witch

Sabrina and Harvey were such a cute couple. I already went into this show knowing they were meant to be because of the Sabrina comic books. Harvey was always the boyfriend. So, when Harvey left the show after season 4, I was surprised and saddened. Especially, since Harvey had finally learned about her powers. He did guest star in season 5 but was brought back for the last two seasons. I really loved when he came back because Sabrina and Harvey’s relationship was so much better after he knew about her powers. They didn’t get back together and were only friends but whenever things got complicated, he was there to help her now that he knew she was a witch. She didn’t have to hide who she really was or lie to him anymore and I really loved how that changed their relationship. Sabrina was dating someone else at this time and was going to marry this other guy, but she doesn’t go through with it. For once I can actually say Sabrina and Harvey are soulmates and really mean it! Remember she is a witch and has a soul stone and Harvey was given one too. Harvey is waiting for Sabrina outside the church when she comes out and they kiss. Their soul stones drop to the ground and fit perfectly at 12:36pm, the exact time they first met seven years ago.Then they drive off together in his motorcycle.

10.) Kelly and Zack - Saved by The Bell

Who didn’t grow up in the 90′s and wasn’t shipping Zack and Kelly? I thought they were the most gorgeous couple I had ever seen. Saved by The Bell: The College Years wasn’t a great show, but I was happy to see Zack and Kelly went to the same college, and eventually, we got to see them get married in a TV movie with Saved by The Bell: Wedding in Las Vegas.

[imlostinsantacarla]

(a/n: lmaoo i am deffo teen wolf trash rn! i think i’m especially trash for the hale pack? bc here’s a cuddling with boyd hc! i’m not gonna be stopped, i promise. also boyd deserved better and still to this day i refuse to believe that he died. - admin kat 🌙❣)

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Cuddling with Boyd Headcanons:

° hands down the big spoon 110% of the time. have you seen him? boii is tall and them arms? he’s so the big spoon, fight me on it.

° like his stature? he’s totally swallowing you in his hold.

° boyd loves to idly play with your fingers while you cuddle, it’s calming for him and gives himself something to focus on.

° all the forehead kisses galore!

° he grins into your hair and neck all the time, which makes you grin silly yourself.

° “why’re you smiling so damn much?”

° “because of you.”

° “me?”

° “isn’t that just what i said?”

° you’ve tried to be the big spoon before, but boyd just laughs at you, you can’t even put your arms around his waist properly. but he let’s you try to be the big spoon bc he knows it’ll hurt your feelings if he doesn’t let you.

° he totally get’s a dead arm every time you guys cuddle. you use his bicep as a pillow, he’s dedicated and will usually not move, but there’re rare - not so rare actually - occasions where he’ll flex the muscles in his arms and startle you awake. it makes him laugh. without a single word, he’ll pull his arm out from under your head and let you lay on his chest instead.

° he totally cuddles you without a shirt on. sometimes you cuddle him without a shirt on also. neither of you complain.

° boyd has this natural calm energy about him and whenever you’re with him, especially when you’re cuddling with him, his energy just rubs off on you. he always calms you down when you’re upset, angry, etc.

° he totally tickles you when you cuddle, pretending to bite your neck as you squirm in his grasp.

° after a fight has happened in beacon hills, he’ll come to you and cuddle you into his chest. he holds you extra tight bc he’s so protective of you. he’d be so hurt if anything were to happen to you.

° idk why i think this but on full moons you guys cuddle. you’re his anchor. just having you there, your presence, sight, scent, etc. just keeps him from turning. he’s so grateful for the fact that you have that affect on him. he never stops breathing the words “thank you” across your skin.

° he totally lets his hands wander when you guys kiss when you’re cuddling. you never ever seem to stop him so those times the cuddling leads to friskier activities.

° boyd is always comfortable around you, he’s always been that way from the beginning, even though he’s been a loner for most of his life and never really had many friends or dating experience. he swears you guys are soulmates of some sort.

° you guys will always tell funny stories from when you were younger with one another when you’re cuddling, and you laugh like  a  l o t !

° but you know what? even boyd feels vulnerable. especially when he feels a lot of guilt about his younger sister. he buries his face in your chest and wraps his arms around your waist. you hold him on days like that, so tightly that you tell him it’s you taking away his sadness. he pulls a soft smile when you say that.

° “what’re you doing? you know i can’t breathe, right?”

° “i’m just taking away your sadness.”

° “you know i love you, right?”

° “right.”

° he always tells you how beautiful/handsome you are when you’re cuddling along with how lucky he is to have you. you really take this mans breath away.

° he’s usually late to his training with derek because he’s cuddling with you. isaac rips into him about it, which is usually when boyd loses a bit of his cool, eyes glowing amber bc if lahey utters one more sexual innuendo he swears to god he’ll smash that boys head into the wall. erica and cora join in on teasing boyd too!

° when you both are watching movies at his house, you’re laying in between his legs, your back against his chest. he’s got his hands linked in yours and he swears he loves those moments the most. he get’s embarrassed when his grandpa starts teasing you guys, calling you love birds and all.

° boyd falls asleep 100% of the time, which doesn’t really bother you. it only becomes a problem when you’re the one having to wake him up otherwise he’ll be late for training sessions or pack meetings. he pretends to stay asleep for longer just to mess with you.

° he’ll totally sneak up on you from behind, wrap his arms around your waist, lift you up in the air and throw you over his shoulder before gently flopping onto his bed with you on his chest. there’s a sigh of relief that emits from him then and you can’t help but giggle every time he does it.

° you nuzzle your face into his chest all the time, especially when you’re extremely comfy.

° tangled legs are a must. if not, boyd throws his legs over yours instantly. it’s the only way he ever get’s comfortable.

° serious deep talks ensue when you cuddle with boyd. he’s an open book with you because he trusts you with his life. he hopes you feel the same for him. he never pressures you to talk about anything you don’t want to. he’s game for lighthearted talks too.

° plays with your hair constantly, even when he falls asleep. it’s just natural for him to do it. so there’s never any chance for you to nudge or beg for him to keep playing with your hair.

° “you’re literally my rock, you know that?”

° “you’re a big cheesy doofus.”

° “thanks, i appreciate that.”

° “i mean it with the mushiest of intents!”

° “sure, sure.”

° naked cuddling happens a lot bc why the hell not!

° you always trace the muscles of his arms or the veins and he shivers in delight, it really soothes him.

° he lays his head in your lap all the time, keeps his eyes closed and nuzzles into your belly only for you to start lovingly stroke the skin on his neck and back. he  m e l t s  when you do that!

° you guys totally kiss each others knuckles when you cuddle, it’s a habit now. but the cutest of habits.

° you guys always having music playing in the background when you’re cuddling and his fingers tap along to the beat on your skin softly. it’s usually really chilled out music playing, like slowed down versions of songs.

° also boyd’s an amazing singer? he’ll sing you to sleep when you’re cuddling. this is usually saved for when you’ve had a bad day though. he always puts you out with his voice, it’s velvety but also kinda husky and just so- so damn beautiful!

° sometimes you guys play fight and it just naturally leads to boyd wrapping his arms around you tightly, but not enough to hurt you or constrict your breathing in anyway. he says he won’t let go unless you tap out. you never do tap out, so he eventually loosens his grip and kisses the crown of your head.

° you’re both obsessed with listening to the others heartbeats. you guys always fall asleep with one of your guys’s heads on the others chest. boyd’s grandpa has walked in on you guys and started laughing, which wakes you both up and makes you flustered.

° doesn’t really cuddle with you around other people, like the pack. he will at his house when his gramps is around though. it’ll take him awhile to get comfortable enough to start cuddling you in front of his packmates.

° will rest his stinky feet on your lap and tell you to massage them. you pull a grossed out face before he laughs and pulls you on top of him to cuddle you bc honestly, he was just messing with you anyway.

° if you have a stuffed animal, you’ve totally woken up during cuddle sessions to witness boyd cuddling it. you took a picture and threatened to use it as black mail. but it’s okay bc he’s got tons of embarrassing pictures of you too so two can play at that game.

° boyd randomly presses his forehead against yours. sometimes he’ll say sweet things and other times you’ll open your eyes and he’s pulling a dumb face or says some of the weirdest things ever.

° “remind me again why i love you?”

° “because i’m genuinely the best boyfriend ever?”

° you guys have some of the most spontaneous cuddles ever.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

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[popculturebuffet]

Ducktales S3-3: Double-O-Duck in You Only Crash Twice Review

It may be late, but it’s time for some spyjinks and a classic scrooge and webby mess around after the break. 

So this episode.. I wasn’t all that pumped going into it. I mean it’s still new ducktales, unlike last week where I was too bushed to be up that early, I stayed up to watch it and was over the moon once the app finally updated on my end, but it was about a character who I hadn’t seen an episode of darkwing with (though intend to and realize I should watch more of the FOWL episodes to prepare for the rest of this seasons, and more darkwing in general honestly. I’ts fantastic), and with a cameo by the rescue rangers whose swho I hadn’t watched, though their cameo got me to at least start it. There really wasn’t a lot for me to latch on in hype mode. Compartivley last week had a Huelet episode , lena appearing breifly, focus on my boy huey in general, and after that a sitcom parody with my boys Jaleel White and Goofy, with Jaleel once again taking it on the chin when it came to parodying sitcoms. And the episodes themselves had a animate guide book, who shame on me last week as I forgot to mention huey MAKING HIM INTO A FORCE GHOST, and max, roxanne and my other boy pj.  And after it while next week’s a mermaid episode that will probably be good given the series standards that i’m equally just kind of “yay ducktales” instead of specfically excited, the next three have a heist episode (a favorite of mine, to the point even rick and morty outright tearing the genre to pieces in another “Dan Harmon and Justin Roiland yell at cloud” episode has grown on me) that i’m convinced features daisy, an episode focused on huey, fenton and boyd, all faviorites.. and gyro I guess, and a wrasslin episode following up on the jormungandr joke from “Last Christmas!” in the weirdest and most glorious way possible. What i’m saying is this ep wasn’t bad to me going in but it was both before and after some highly antincipated episodes for me for the season as a whole.  That being said... this ep was fun. Did it reach the premire’s highs? Not really, even if it had  a FAR Better subplot than challenge, but it was still a damn good episode with a great villian and one of the best subplots of hte series.  And the setup is great with both sides: Launchpad and Dewey’s accidental adventure and Scrooge and Webby having a shenanigan, set up and then split off, while Scrooge’s presence sets fowl off and leads to the city saving stakes of the A-Plot.  Starting with the B-Story since i’ts actually really simple, i’ts a really damn funny comedy B-Plot where scrooge gets hooked on a ski ball game that happens to be gold rushed themed, which sparks scrooge’s nostalgia... and also his greed as he naturally refuses to spend his tickets on anything, wants to make a ticket bin (which an annoyed and bored webby suggests to him having clearly grown tired of her idol’s bullshit after two seasons of putting up with it. ), and Scrooge and Webby both thretaning the ticket clerk for diffrent reasons, ending on scrooge getting a beard comb and realizing he has a problem and wasted god knows how much money, acomplishing fowl’s goal of getting rid of him anyway. It was worth it alone for the images of Webby silently thretaning the ticket clerk when he tries to tell scrooge the tickets don’t expire (A ploy by webby to end this lunacy), and  the tiny mustache comb stuck in scrooge’s side burns. Just a fun side story. The main story itself is just a fun spy romp, anchored both by some amazing songs from Ben Schwartz, who seirously has a set of pipes and should now be required to sing in everything he does, and a combination of Beck Bennet and Jason Mazontoks (Sorry if I got that wrong). Jason is amazing as steelbeak and learning he was playing him got my intrest up instnatly, with him toning down his usual manic energy for instead a meathead with a serious chip on his shoulder, which worked well especially up against both forms of launchpad. I think it was clever to give LP a nemisis as wella s fowl their own launchpad: A dummy who still has some smarts and skill within him. And the bit where he turns on black heron was great, as judging by how Bradford chewed them out he IS actually her partner but she refuses to treat him like one, as well as showing for all his bravado and poor planning, FOWL hasn’t dumped his body in the harbor for a reason. It was also a nice touch that Heron found him in jail in St.Canard. I also found smart launchpad a deligdht and the rescue rangers ag ood runner.  I’ll also say smart launchpad’s sacrifice was a genuinely touching moment as he gave up all hec oudl do to save people.  Finally I did love Bradford chewing out BOTH agents at the end. While Heron’s plan was sound, Bradford’s rant actually points out the new FOWL’s Modus Operandi well: They ARNE’T overt supervillians, they need to be subtle, sneaky, and not throw out their best advantage. Which Bradford did simply by returning Dewey and Launchpad with them none the wiser and likely covering up the lighthoue disaster. It’s also why their layer is under a children’s pizza place and not a big flashy lighthouse: Their goal is to STEAL the world, not conquer it, to have the world not know they own it so they can, in turn do anything with no one to openly oppose them. And Heron and Steelbeak were instead doing the old james bond schticks: Herons’ plan to make scrooge dumb was decent.. but wouldv’e instnatly lead his family back to the restraunt and on their trail. It was subtle.. but not subtle ENOUGH. While Steelbeak.. is just a moron and jepordized their cover twice, and I like how bradford lets neither speak, and for some reason has a remote control for steelbeaks’ mouth: smart and dumb.. both fucked up and it was only thorugh sheer luck that their plans. And it’s not in a way that BASHES those kinds of plots, both would’ve worked.. it’s more to set this fowl as diffrent. the original darkwing (and one episode of ducktales) versionw as about classic james bond style over the top plots for world domination. this one will take the world and no one will ever know. It’s a nice way to set that up.  Really there’s not a TON to say overall this time.  it was a funny breezy episode but it idn’t really move things forward, unless smart launchpad comes back at some point. It was a good comedy episode with energetic action, a great new villian and a hell of a cameo and an even better subplot. I enjoyed it, but it is a slight step down after last week.. but it’s also because last week’s ep had two amazing storys and a forgetable subplot with some great jokes. This one was still increidbly high quality fun and good table setting for the season, reintroducing heron and introducing steelbeak. Not as good as last time but not bad at all. 

[batwynn]

Suicide Bones

Sterek drabble about being overwhelemed to the point of breaking, and the ‘Maybe We Can Make It Out.’ 

Trigger warnings: Suicidal thoughts/ actions, depression, anxiety, ADHD/ADD, death, body horror.  His mother sometimes said he was a the wrong size skeleton inside his flesh suit, to which his father warned that ‘this is going to shape his sense of humor in weird ways.’ He was right, obviously, but so was she. 

Stiles never fits in his skin. 

He‘a too long, too weird, too wild. He jumps from too high, digs in the dirt, sings too loudly, and knows entirely too much about everything before he was ten years old. Sometimes, late at night when his brain refuses to shut up, he bends his knees as far as he can just to watch his skin stretch over his bones. Sometimes he wants it to rip open, so he could be free. To be fully himself, and not feel smothered all the time. But it doesn’t, and he goes back to listing the elements of the periodic table until he falls asleep.

It isn’t until his mom is buried deep in the dirt he used to play in that he realizes there is one sure-fire way he can escape the flesh. One absolute in life that could solve all his misfit problems. The only issue is that he has people that need him to stay. They need his bones encased in skin and muscle, tendons and fat. They need his bad singing voice, and his endless curiosity. It keeps his dad going, it keeps Scott safe, it keeps his teachers happy, it makes the barista smile, it keeps his neighbor’s garden watered. 

So grit your teeth and stay, Stiles. Ignore the growing pains and all the wrong, wrong, wrong. 

He throws himself into helping. He pushes his face right into the snarling, rabid face of death and smirks. Stiles fights his instincts every day, to force that stupid fight or flight to land firmly on fight every time. Every time. He can’t back down, he can’t stop. He has to help. That’s his purpose. That’s who he is: Ill-fitted bones and sarcastic remarks. But, god, he will fucking help you. 

He will, and he does. 

He thinks he does? 

“I don’t need your help, Stiles!” 

“I think you do, wolf-boy,” he sneers, flicking the map stretched across the table in front of them. Derek outright snarls, which means he’s either about to give in or throw Stiles out on his ass. 

“I know you have some sort of issue with your self-worth,” Derek begins, voice not at all soft. 

Stiles narrows his eyes, daring him to continue. “It’s funny how this didn’t come up when you needed me to use mountain ash.” 

 “Because that’s when you were useful!” 

Stiles rolls his eyes back as well as his head. The ceiling is dark and stained with old factory grease. He wonders, for a brief second, why Derek resides in these kinds of places. They’re like prisons, where he’s guarding himself. 

“I can help you find Erica and Boyd,” he says at last, drawing his attention back to Derek. “I know this town better than anyone.” 

Derek‘s voice grows quiet, “my family founded this town.” 

“And a lot has changed since then. I know it how it is now.” 

Whatever fight was in him seems to fade to the usual rumbling discontent that’s always present as Derek looks over the map again. See, this is why Stiles volunteered to help him find them. He doesn’t even like Isaac, Erica went mean, Boyd barely acknowledged him, and he and Derek have a very low tolerance for one another. But right now, Derek’s stupidly pretty eyes are looking at buildings he doesn’t know and new streets, and showing how hopeless he’s really feeling. Derek doesn’t think they’ll find them. 

“Okay,” Derek says at last.  In his heart, Stiles believes they will. That’s why he’s here. That’s why he’s helping. His bones, though. They already ache with the loss. 

Stiles scrunches up his nose, and points to a potential area on the map. He’s ignoring his bones, for now. 

“Okay.” 

*

It’s not when Scott hurts him—not the first time, no, but the worst time—that he realizes things have changed. It’s not when Derek-STUPID–Hale has another plan fall through that would have worked if he had just listened to Stiles. It’s not when some other creature is riding his bones and damaging him and everyone around him for fun. No, it’s not even when an awful lot of his friends die. It’s much later, when they save that stupid stump, save Scott, save the town, save everyone they can. It’s not until Derek leaves and comes back all soft-looking, and god his anger issues weren’t as hot as he thought because that fucking sweater—

It’s then that he realizes that everyone has grown up from needing him. Scott’s doing his own thing now, and hasn’t called for Stiles to go over his homework or love letter or help deal with a monster in months. His dad has been dating, actually dating, and isn’t home as often as he used to be. He doesn’t call up to check on Stiles twice a day, or demand Stiles give him an idea of his whereabouts as often as he used to. His teachers—well, they (mostly) know he’ll be fine in college. He went through hell and still got A’s. The neighbor moved during the first wave of wolfy-like problems. That barista, well, she was killed two years ago. One of the ones they couldn’t save. 

And Derek? He’s so much better. Really, he’s better. He went out and healed, and now he’s building something for himself in the town his family founded and died in like it’s just fine and normal and—

Stiles stretches, feels his scars ache. His bones pop and protest inside him. Soon now. Soon, he promises them. 

Because no one needs him anymore, and he’s built up a value based on that need. Now it’s all useless facts at one am and tired—so tired—promises to himself to find a vocation where all that he is will be applicable. Where he can weather the aches and misshapen bones because it will be worth it, again. But there’s nothing. College seems pointless, busy work and knowledge he’s already long since devoured. A job—where? He’s such a mess he doesn’t trust himself to cook at home anymore, never mind providing food or service to other people. Will he break down and cry at the first rude customer? Will he hallucinate his way through a shift at Home Depot? When will they notice? When will they see that he’s a skeleton of what he used to be? 

When will they see he isn’t a person anymore? 

Soon, he mutters to his bones. Soon.

*

“Have you talked to anyone?” Is the first thing he says when he finds Stiles sitting on the stump with a bottle of whiskey stolen from his dad’s dusty liquor cabinet. 

Derek, looking settled and grounded in ways Stiles hasn’t seen since he was nine or ten years old. Those few times he ran into the younger Hales in town before most of them died. Derek, his eyes actually honest on the first try instead of the second, third, or fourth.  

Honestly worried. 

“Talk to who?” Stiles slurs, cracking an easy smile that sends pain all the way through him. 

“Someone,” Derek replies as he sits down next to him. “Anyone.” 

“Why should I? Why?” 

Derek stares at him without answering. Stiles wants to push his face closer, jut his jaw out and fight. 

“Why, Derek?” He challenges, not looking away. 

“Because... it helped me,” he says, sounding sure and steady. “Because I was just pushing myself through whatever shitty thing happened next and never looking back unless I needed the anger to fuel me.” 

Stiles lets out a shaky breath and looks away. He can’t say anything now, not like that. 

“It’s not easy, either,” Derek continues, calmer than Stiles has ever heard him. “I clammed up a lot; lashed out even more. I hated everything and everyone more and more until I wanted to kill random strangers I saw on the street with no provocation.” 

Stiles raises a brow to himself, because yeah, that’s a bit different than the Derek who kind of died to save everyone more than a few times. But maybe not so different than how he’s feeling right now. Derek lets out a huff of a laugh, and Stiles feels something hard and bitter inside him start to melt. Just a little. 

“More than that, though, I just wanted to die. I wanted god or whoever to kill me already, and stop pushing me to do it myself. Put the blood on their hands for once, not mine.” 

Stiles pulls his lower lip between his teeth and bites down. He’s not going to talk. He won’t. 

“But it never happened. And stupid shit keeps happening, but...” Derek trails off for a moment, “But I can handle it a little better now. I can drop my mom’s favorite cup and it sucks—it still sucks—but it’s not the last straw anymore. It doesn’t make me want to claw my throat out, or scream until I lose my voice.” 

Stiles hiccups quietly and tries to cover it up by taking a swig from the bottle. He refuses to look at the asshole opening up next to him. He can’t do this, he’s too tired. He can’t open up again and spend the time, and effort, and love it takes to matter to someone and be dropped like he’s nothing. Not again. Please, not again. 

“I’m not telling you this because I think we’re exactly the same,” Derek continues, sounding less solid and more sad now. “I know we’ve lived different lives and lost in different ways. It’s going to be different no matter what, I’ve found out.” 

“Why?” Stiles croaks out. 

“You know why.” 

Stiles glares into the surrounding trees and hates himself a little bit more for rising to the bait. Of course he fucking knows why, but it doesn’t matter. 

“It doesn’t matter,” he mutters out loud. “None of it does.” 

“Why not?” Derek asks quietly. 

Stiles gestures broadly to their surroundings, to the giant stump they’re sitting on, to himself. He can’t find the words, really, to sum up everything that’s led him here. There’s too much bad, and not enough good. Too much bad, too fast and too often. Too much everything. 

“That’s not an answer,” Derek says, and Stiles finally turns to glare at him. 

“Not everything is so fucking literal,” he snaps. 

Derek shrugs it off. “Sometimes it is.” 

“Then tell me what makes it worth it, okay? Tell me why dropping my mom’s favorite cup after most of her stuff got destroyed is shitty, but it’s fine,” he spits, his insides burning. “I should just be fine about all this shit and smile through it.” 

Derek shakes his head, and says, “That’s not what I’m saying at all.” 

“Then what?” 

“You don’t have to smile, Stiles. You don’t have to be fine. You can be upset and hurting, or angry... I’m still angry, you know?” Derek smiles ruefully and looks away again. “but I needed to talk about it all to realize what was external and what was internal. I didn’t even think about what I could fix versus what I couldn’t. I didn’t know there even was stuff I could fix.” 

Stiles keeps glaring, but that hard part of him is melting out his eyes and nose now. He hates that. He hates crying because it doesn’t do anything for him. It never did any good. 

Derek doesn’t seem to mind that he’s dribbling all over himself now, or that he’s still not opening up. Stiles doesn’t know what that means, or what he’s supposed to do now. 

“Find a therapist,” Derek says, turning back to him with a soft smile. “And remember not to feel guilty for unloading on them. They’re being paid for that.”

  “I d-don’t know if I can afford that,” Stiles chokes out, half laughing, half crying. What a fucking mess. 

“I could cover it?” Derek offers tentatively, almost as if he knows Stiles will refuse. 

But. 

But maybe he won’t. Not this time. Not when he’s this close to cutting his awkward, aching bones out to be free. 

“O-okay,” he sniffles, wiping his nose on the end of his sleeve. “I’m t-tired, though.” 

“Yeah,” Derek says, and reaches a hand out. Stiles takes it. He doesn’t know what else to do. “Yeah, I know. Put some of that weight on someone else for a little while. See if it helps.” 

Stiles looks at their hands, linked there between them like that’s normal and fine. “What if it doesn’t?” 

“Then we come back here and brainstorm some more.” 

Stiles watches at Derek’s thumb brushes over his hand. It should probably be huge, but for now it’s just fine. “Y-yeah?” 

“It’s what we’re good at,” Derek replies. He smiles at him. “Okay?” 

Stiles hesitates. His bones say he won’t make it. They’ll end up here again, messier and more misshaped. But he’s tired and someone is finally noticing. Someone is looking and seeing that he’s being crushed under  the weight of everything. His heart, though. His heart says maybe. Maybe. Maybe. 

“Okay,” he says. “Okay.” *

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Call: 1-800-273-8255

Or  Text HELLO to 741741 for the crisis text line. 

[marsdave]

Amnesty Musical Idea (Part 1/4)

So since I decided ultimately to do a Balance musical, I wanted to share my idea for what an Amnesty Musical could be on here! 

So ideally, and Amnesty musical would kind of be an indie, low-budget affair. Since Amnesty isnt as Game-Centric as Balance (in which you never quite forget that they're playing dungeons and dragons), none of the McElroys are making any appearances as characters.

We open on Mama saying goodbye to Thacker before he leaves for Sylvain to research the Quell. This is our first song, Old Friend, something quiet and understated with only a piano and an acoustic guitar and some airtight harmonies.

Mama: I wish you good luck, until we meet again.

Thacker: it's not a matter of if, Madeline, simply a matter of when

Mama: promise me you'll miss me, if only now and then

Together: goodbye, old friend.

At this point, the audience has no clue what just happened, only that Thacker is gone for a while and Mama knows who he is

I know that seeing Thacker for the first time was something of a big reveal in the podcast, but in a play, having him mentioned in a conversation isn't going to have the same impact as actually seeing him onstage

The stage goes dark and a single spotlight opens on Sherriff Owens. He gives the audience a grin and starts introducing the audience to Kepler, West Virginia. The soft, major-key version of the Amnesty theme plays in the background

He goes over Amnesty Lodge, the Monongahela National Park, and he ends his tour with an exasperated "And here's the cryptonomica. Bye." He quickly walks off stage.

Here's where we get our introduction to Ned Too Many Middle Names Chicane and our second song, "Come On Down To The Cryptonomica"

It should be pretty short, a minute at the most, but it's got the same vibe as Independence from Trail To Oregon as Ned tries to convince you (with some interjections from Kirby) to buy some of his wares and tune into his tv show, Saturday Night Dead. (Which he already has at this point because I do need to expedite some things)

Ned never sings alone

We then take a trip over to a childs bedroom. A teen Duck Newton sits up in bed, playing on a handheld video game console.

I know in the podcast Minerva is an ethereal, ageless entity, but I know that a lot of people's problem with Ducknerva was the age difference. So in the musical, she's gonna grow up with Duck

Also, it makes more sense that the mistakes she made on her home planet were the mistakes of a reckless teenager.

So with a bit of blueish lighting, Minerva appears at the foot of Duck's bed, appropriate confusion and humorous antics ensue

Then we get our third song, Destiny

It starts off somewhat orchestral, as Minerva slowly delivers her epic call to action, but she's so slow that she disappears in the middle of the speech.

"Pick up the sword and fulfill your desti-" and then she's gone.

Then we get a Do You Wanna Build A Snowman type age-up as both Duck and Minerva grow. Duck is shopping in Leo Tarkesian's store because I need to introduce Leo and having him appear right before/after Minerva draws an unconscious parallel between the two.

Also Leo's actor also plays Sheriff Owen's because I need to minimize just how many people are in the cast 

The next time, it's still orchestral, but faster, as Minerva needs to get the speech out fully this time. Duck answers with an anticlimactic "Nah."

The next time, it's still orchestral, but faster, as Minerva needs to get the speech out fully this time. Duck answers with an anticlimactic "Nah."

Another age-up. This time, we get the sense that this has happened a few times and Duck's overall answer has been a wholehearted "No thanks"

This time when Minerva delivers her speech Duck interjects and speaks over her, Farmer Refuted style, and as he grows more argumentative, Minerva's orchestra is drowned out by Duck's electric guitar. 

One more age-up. Maybe just a costume change. Minerva appears and Duck is turned around and can't see her. The piano motif plays. Time for Minerva to start her song. Duck still hasn't seen her. She opens her mouth-

And then closes it. No use in trying. She disappears.

We then go to what looks like a kid's birthday party. Aubrey is doing a series of (very bad) magic tricks. We see Mama watching her.

My least valid decision here is removing Dr. Harris Bonkers. I know, it sucks, I'm terrible, but there is no practical way to do it and it doesn't narratively work onstage like it does in the podcast

The tricks go badly until she does one successfully, her fire trick. 

When Aubrey is done with her show, Mama stands and we hear a few notes of "Old Friend" before launching into "Come On Down to Amnesty Lodge…ica" a clear reprise of "Come On Down to the Cryptonomica" but, you know, Amnesty Lodge based.

Aubrey: this song sounds really familiar 

Mama: no I don't think it does.

Aubrey decides to go, and, during the song we quickly transition to the Amnesty lodge, and alongside Aubrey, we meet Barclay (Boyd Moshe's actor, wink wink nudge nudge), Dani, and Jake Coolice (Kirby's actor).

They tune in at the end of the song, and the harmonies should be real pleasant over here.

Dani and Aubrey do in fact, měét cüte at this point. That part doesn't need to be changed at all from the podcast, it was perfect.

To the Cryptonomica, where Kirby and Ned are discussing dressing up in the bigfoot costume to make some more money, Ned agrees to head up to the Monongahela.

Mama, Barclay and Aubrey are taking a walk and Mama explains more about Sylvain and the Abominations before we come to the archway, which to symbolize being invisible is covered with a big tarp that read: "Nothin' to see here!"

There, they run into Ned, doing a very bad bigfoot impression 

Barclay is visibly distressed but we don't know why yet.

Cut to Duck in the middle of a conversation with Juno Divine (played by Dani's actor) 

Juno's not gonna be super big in the musical but I thought it would be a cute cameo for people who have listened to the podcast 

Duck then goes out on patrol. He hears some commotion and runs onto the scene 

Duck starts on a talk about how no one should be here and Why Are You Wearing A Bigfoot Suit?

Ned begins to explain, when two goat creatures come onto the scene. One of which is Billy (same actor as Kirby and Jake).

This launches into my second favorite song idea/narrative device from this musical: Wait, What The Fuck Is Going On?

Essentially, this song is an info-dump to get all of the characters up to speed, and is going to take several bullet points to explain.

So first, everyone freezes on stage (bonus points if it's on funny poses/faces) and we hear a familiar piano motif and the lights go blue.

That's right it's Minerva Babeeeeey. She gives her speech, throwing in some details about the danger of the situation. 

Minerva: Take up the sword and fulfill your destiny!

Duck: I don't have a sword?

Minerva:*pulls out sword*

Duck: How did you-?

Minerva, interrupting him: Take up the sword and fulfill your destiny!

Minerva disappears and Duck picks up Beacon while everyone unfreeze, they express confusion as to how Duck got the sword and why it's talking. There's a bit of fighting.

Then Aubrey gets attacked and kind of lights on fire a little bit while singing a solo interspersed with Ned and Duck not understanding What The Hell Is Happening 

Barclay turns into bigfoot and everyone except Mama is Alarmed.

At this point Mama is trying to calm everyone down.

Then, as they fight the two goat creatures, everyone sings in counterpoint, like at the end of Non-Stop from Hamilton or One Day More from Les Miserables or Tower of Babel from Godspell

Billy is taken but the other goat creature gets away with one large chorus of "What the fuck is going on!"

-End Pt. 1-

(Also, I cant emphasize this enough, my askbox is open! Please don't hesitate to ask me shit!)

[asianjeremyheere]

part two to this post! aka i overanalyse act 2 from both recordings in the most concise way as i can manage, which is Not Very.

HALLOWEEN

Oh I like the very beginning better in the obcr… the way it fades in with the staticky noise? Love that. The ocr version is nice but the obcr version took it to another level man this song was already a banger and now its even more so. Orchestration? Fuck yeah! New verse? Yes!! The transition to the 'break a vase' bit was kind of jarring at first but I've gotten used to it? And I love the new verse and Rich being the most audible on "gasoline" and the harmonies on the "Halloween! Wooah! Yeaah!"

DO YOU WANNA HANG

Oh okay this goes to obcr too just because it's less uncomfy. Like obvs I can understand why people still don't like it and that's totally valid but I'm not going to get into anything potentially discourse-y wrt Chloe. I do prefer the Broadway version tho because it's (kind of) more focused on Chloe's insecurities and she sounds waaaay more wasted which. Props to Katlyn. AND MIKE ROSENGARTEN! HES STRINGS, RIGHT? GO. OFF. I LOVE THE STRINGS IN THIS. HES BASS I THINK? HIM? YEAH!!!!!!!

MICHAEL IN THE BATHROOM

They are. The same. They sound basically the same to me. Obcr is slower though I think? I do like how it picks up speed at the end, because that feels more representative of how my panic attacks generally feel? Like the whole ramping up speed thing? Other than that I genuinely can't really tell the difference.

A GUY THAT I'D KINDA BE INTO REPRISE

This isn't technically in the ocr but it IS still in the 2015 show so I'm gonna go find an audio of Two River and listen to it after the obcr version which, by the way, I'm in love with. I hear the opening notes and burst into tears immediately! The harmony on "agree"?? Is that a third? I think it might be? Are they singing in thirds? Their voices just compliment each other's so well and it's so cute and I know Christine rejects him at the end (which…. ouch) but like its such a cute, fun song and I love Will R's "Christiiiiiine"s in this. Okay, the Two River version is SO much faster and the slower tempo WORKS because it's like. A respite from the crazy fast-paced-ness of the rest of the part? And they don't have the harmony/Will C's "Christiiiine"s are all the same and kinda boring now that we've got Will R's :(

THE SMARTPHONE HOUR

TIFFANY!!!! KILLING IT!! I get why they changed it to "Jake's house" and like. It isn't actually that bad but it still takes me by surprise ngl. But Tiffany Mann….. damn…… love her. Lauren's "ignore" sounds so much more pissed off in the obcr skdjsks. Also, I am not a fan of whatever they did to Chloe's "Everybody was screaming" but the new melody during her "Rich set a fire and he…. etc" is good! I like it! It's just weird and came out of left field lmao. But god Tiffany's riffs and the new harmonies are GOLD and I am in LOVE. AND LAUREN'S SCREAM! But I do miss the ad-libbed part right before her scream where you can pretty clearly hear Jake Boyd yell "I hope Jake's okay!!!!" :(

THE PANTS SONG

Yes I'm doing this in Broadway order and yes I prefer the obcr because Jason Sweettooth Williams has such a distinct ~well-meaning white dad doing his best~ energy that it like. Reminds me of my own dad lmao. Plus the "NOOOOOOO sergeant? i don't know-" is so fucking funny to me skdjsjs. Also that last "put your pants on"?? Jason Sweettooth does that little run (does that count as a run? Is that a run?) and I love it. I do like it faster (ocr tempo > obcr tempo) though.

THE PITIFUL CHILDREN

I'll say this as many times as I need to but obcr Pitiful Children serves the plot SO much better by keeping the Squip as the villain and allowing us to see that no, it wasn't all Jeremy's fault and no, you cannot demonize him for what he did because he's being manipulated SO much more obviously in the obcr version! Also Jason Tam's riffs are god tier I'd give my life for this man and his voice! And Tiffany??? God they really just said Tiffany Mann rights, huh? They were like "oh we're a show with a pretty pop-rock focused score but ur an opera singer? cool, we can use that!" and damn did it pay off!!!! Also, the lyrics may have changed a bunch but it's still got the same energy and the same driving beat and stuff (I think? Imo, at least.) I miss EWM rolling his r's after the instrumental break though. And like, I don't know what's up with the 'ahhhh' at the end of the bway version? Is it supposed to parallel the end of BMC pt 2? I'm kind of neutral on that.

THE PLAY

I'm gonna be honest, this song is too long for me to actively pay attention to the whole thing. BUT I think obcr has more content in it? The MDR fight and stuff with Will R's glitchy vocals which are. God tier. I miss Jake's longer solo :( I prefer the obcr for most of it though? Brooke and Chloe's lines have improved and I like that they aren't as focused on who slept with who (although Michael's "ugh" was legendary…..) and instead setting themselves up for a possible reconciliation arc. And CHRISTINE!!!! Love her. The 'Jeremyyyy's sounding almost more dissonant with the Squip speaking in between each one??? God!!! I'm in love!!!!! The Squip is generally just more malicious in this. I think the ocr starts the track at a better time though? Like. The start of The Play in the obcr is kind of weird if you don’t have the context of Jeremy offering Christine a Squip and getting rejected. 

VOICES IN MY HEAD

Oh I love both versions of this song but Michael’s line being taken higher and Rich’s lisp being included in the recording and that harmony at the “listen and ohhhh” is SO pretty so THANK YOU obcr for my LIFE. Also, I don’t really know why they changed the popular kids’ lines to Jeremy but I’m digging the new ones (but also I am Very Glad that they didn’t change Jake’s) and the squad line is so good….. and him and Christine’s conversation!!! Bowling alley performance art instead of just lunch to show that Jeremy listened to her and is willing to step out of his comfort zone but in a positive way to help her fulfill her wish! With the LGW tune playing in the bg!!! Will R and Stephanie are so so cute and they have SUCH good onstage chemistry and I just. Adore them so much. Jeremy’s little “woohoo!!” when she agrees to go out with him?? God!!!! They’re both good but ocr has a calmer energy? Which is good but I personally just prefer the more upbeat, over-the-top-ness of the obcr in general!Anyway tl;dr I love both albums but ultimately prefer the obcr even though they’re like. Pretty close. Very close. Love them both. 

[love-little-lotte]

My Ranking of Outlander Season 4 Episodes

Season 4 is over, and now I’m experiencing my first Droughtlander. I found out about the show last November, when the fourth season just started. It seemed like it was only yesterday, and now I can’t believe that thirteen episodes had passed since then. 

As most shows with more than three seasons, Outlander had its ups and downs. The show has been running for more than four years now, so I understand that the producers and writers are going to have a hard time making sure the viewers stay. Plus, it’s difficult to fit a really long book in just thirteen episodes. 

There were times I wasn’t impressed by it, as many fans have ranted in social media. I can’t count how many times some moments felt forced. But, of course, there are also swoon-worthy scenes that took my breath away. This is Outlander we’re talking about.

So, here is my personal ranking of Outlander Season 4 episodes. This is my opinion, and my list. If you don’t agree with my choices, then you can leave a polite message about it. Just don’t be mean. We’re all entitled with our opinions, aren’t we?

And on a side note, let me just say that I haven’t read the books so I may make comments that will go against it. I’ve only read the first two, Outlander and Dragonfly in Amber. But I’m writing about the show, not the book, and yes I should take the source material in consideration but I guess I’m still free to talk about the show without reading it. 

#13: Episode 8 - Wilmington

First off, I just want to say I really try to like Bree and Roger. There are times I’m so infuriated by them, and sometimes I feel their pairing is super forced. However, they’re kind of starting to grow on me. Especially at the last part of the season. This episode didn’t really help, though.

This was the show’s 50th episode, and I had such high hopes for it. Also, this was Bree and Roger’s first reunion episode! I thought there was going to be more of it. More spark and chemistry, I guess? The handfast scene felt off and rushed, and in my opinion, their first sex scene really tried hard to sample Claire and Jamie’s wedding night scenes. Actually, a lot of scenes were super rushed in this episode, and it really pissed me off. I get that they want to fit in more scenes as possible, but it just came out super wrong. And I’m really trying to like Bree and Roger, believe me, but their scenes in this episode didn’t do much for me. 

Claire and Jamie were the only highlights of the episode, and I may be really biased because I really love the both of them. Claire fangirling over George Washington is funny (and quite creepy, too, if you think about it). Plus, Claire being the iconic feminist boss that she is was a delight to watch. Jamie rushing off to save Murtagh and friends was also fun. Sadly, not even Claire and Jamie could save this episode. 

On the other hand, Bree and Bonnet’s scenes were difficult to get through. I’m not really good with scenes like that (as I have mentioned a lot of times), so I was kind of relieved that they didn’t actually show the whole attack. Still, I felt really sorry for Bree in this episode. 

#12: Episode 11 - If Not For Hope

Lord John Grey appearing is my favorite thing in this episode. I just really love that guy! As Bree quoted once in this series, “It’s impossible not to like you.” (Or along those lines.) And I couldn’t agree more. He saved Bree from a forced marriage, even though she blatantly blackmailed him about his secret (which she apologized for later on). 

Anyway, this episode is all about Bree coping with her pregnancy. We finally get to see her and her pregnant belly!  It was delightful to see the men Jocasta invited fighting passive-aggressively for Bree’s attention. I’m also surprised to see a familiar face: Billy Boyd from The Lord of the Rings franchise. I was half-expecting him to ask about the second breakfast. 

Fergus and Murtagh was also very good to watch in this episode, as well as Fergus’ devotion for Marsali and their bairn. It’s very Jamie-like, and I love that about him. Milord will be very proud of wee Fergus.  

And of course, we get to see Claire and Jamie forgiving each other. Their apology to each other was sweet and tender, and it was good to see that their communication is still present, even though they’re an old married couple. I love how that they can still open up about their insecurities to each other. 

However, this episode was just a bit draggy for my taste. The pace was very slow, and there were times I was bored out of my mind. I know the show doesn’t have to have action every time (this is a drama, of course), and I understand they need some “filler chapters” to build up the plot. 

#11: Episode 12 - Providence

A lot of people had negative feelings about this episode, but I actually thought it was okay? Probably because I lowered my expectations after the previous episode. Yes, we only had glimpses of Jamie and Claire in this episode, but I’ve finally accepted the fact that this time, it’s not just about them. There are other characters now, and I just have to live with that.

First, let’s discuss Roger. I understand his anger and frustration in this episode. I mean, who wouldn’t? I get that he regrets most of his decisions because he suffered a lot from it. Thankfully, Fr. Alexandre was there to make Roger reflect more about his decisions. Fr. Alexandre’s story was actually really, really sad, but also really annoying. I mean, I get that he’s a religious guy and that he wants to do the moral thing. But he’s going to die if he won’t baptize the child. ANYWAY, Fr. Alexandre’s death scene was brilliant, though. Because of it, I discovered the musical score “Adagio for Strings” and it’s super beautiful and haunting. I love listening to it now.

Moving on! Bree and Lord John’s scenes are really cute, to my surprise. Their friendship may seem really unlikely to a lot of people, but I don’t know, Lord John’s just really drawn towards Jamie’s kids for some reason. *shrugs* Hats off to Bree in this episode as well. It takes a lot of gut to talk to Stephen Bonnet after what he did to her.

My favorite scenes in this episode was actually Fergus and Marsali. Especially Fergus. I wish there were more scenes with Fergus and Marsali. Their relationship is kind of like Jamie and Claire, but less problems thrown in their way, I guess. And that little scene where Fergus was leading the Regulators to rescue Murtagh? ICONIC.

Maybe the only fault that I can see in this episode is that it’s the penultimate episode of the season, and it’s just treated like it’s a normal episode. There was no build-up for the rescue. I guess I expected more.

#10: Episode 3 - The False Bride

We have two parts of the story in this episode. This is probably the first episode Bree and Roger showed up in this season. Let’s talk about that first.

Though I’m not a big Bree/Roger fan, this episode actually did justice for them. At the beginning of this episode, at least. I get to see more of their bonding, and I love how playful they are with each other. Their festival scenes were cute, and Roger singing while looking at Bree was actually really sweet! But then, he had to ruin it by proposing to her and Bree turned him down because obviously, she’s not ready. Ah, if Roger just didn’t open his stupid mouth. But he’s a guy from the 70s, and yes, times were different so I half-forgive him.

Claire and Jamie had a more uneventful night, as they leave River Run. There was a storm, and friggin’ Clarence the Mule got frightened and ran away. Claire chased after him and got lost, but found some weird things - like a skull that might belong to a time-traveller, just like her, and will probably be more important in the later episodes.

But it was actually destiny that they got separated because when Claire and Jamie finally meet each other again, they discovered their future home: Fraser’s Ridge! It reminded them of the Scottish highlands, and it felt immediately like home. It was a beautiful moment, and no one can do forehead-touching better than Claire and Jamie. 

Nothing really bad in this episode, I guess. There are just better episodes.

#09: Episode 5 - Savages

I feel like I should put this episode more high up. Probably because one of my favorite characters returned: Murtagh! He’s one of the best supporting characters in the first two seasons, and I was really sad when I thought he’s not coming back. But due to popular demand, he did! And thank you Outlander producers for that. 

However, it was not an easy reunion. Murtagh’s part of a group of Regulators, something like an organization against the redcoats. It’s what he does best, I guess: fighting off redcoats like they did back in Scotland. 

Claire and Jamie talking about Bree in this episode is really sad and sweet at the same time. Love how Jamie talks about Bree to Murtagh, though! Like “my daughter’s in college and she’s super clever and all!” Ah, Jamie as a proud dad is indeed very appealing! 

This was also a very devastating episode for Claire and her friend, Adawehi. When I saw how they interacted in the previous episode, I thought that they were going to be really good friends all throughout the season but nope! This German dude had to kill Adawehi for revenge. Which, of course, wrecked Claire. 

This was a good nostalgic episode. Love Murtagh whistling the Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy when he met Claire in the last scene. 

#08: Episode 2 - Do No Harm

Finally, we get to meet Jamie’s Aunt Jocasta in River Run. One episode in and you’ll definitely see the MacKenzie trait in her. She’s manipulative and cunning, just as Colum and Dougal was. They’re undoubtedly related. Needless to say, she was an interesting character. It’s always nice to meet Jamie’s relatives. They’re full of surprises and Jocasta didn’t fail. 

Jocasta planned to leave her estate to Jamie. Though Jamie deserves it, since he proved to be a great landowner, he and Claire is not too happy with the fact that they’re going to own slaves. They tried to talk to Jocasta about freeing them and paying them for their work, but, of course, this was frowned upon by Jocasta. They also tried to save Rufus from an unlawful execution, but that didn’t really go well for them. 

This episode is probably the most controversial (not sure if that’s the right word, but it sounds fitting?) episode in this season. It tackled slavery, which is a very sensitive topic even now. Some people said the show could’ve done better. However, I think the show handled it as best as they could. They handled it very well and very carefully.

Also, you can’t blame Jocasta for her actions in this episode. Remember, this was the eighteenth century and she was only acting like a regular woman in her time. She was just doing what she thinks is the best for her estate.

Jamie and Claire had agonizing choices to make, and I can’t blame them, too. Jamie inheriting the estate is good, but I also understand Claire’s hesitation in keeping slaves. I also get that they want to help Rufus but it wouldn’t be easy, given the circumstances. Everything’s just very complicated. But in my opinion, I think the show handled showing both sides (Jocasta’s views vs Jamie and Claire’s views) fairly. 

#07: Episode 7 - Down The Rabbit Hole 

Without a doubt, this is Sophie Skelton’s best episode yet. I have to admit that I was not a big fan of Sophie’s acting in the previous seasons, but this episode (and most of this season), she got better and she’s starting to feel like Bree.

A lot of fans don’t like Frank, and I get that. I, too, am not a big fan of him. But I understand Frank and Bree’s relationship and why he was included in this episode. He was a bad husband to Claire (she’s also not a good wife to him, might I add), but there’s no denying that he was a good father to Bree. He was her father for most of her life, and she looked up to him. And that little scene in the port where she turned around and saw him and they did that nodding thing? That really touched me. It’s as if she made peace with him, and promising him that he will always be his father, even though they’re not really blood related.

Though I don’t like the part that they showed Frank knew about the fire and didn’t tell Claire anything! Like, umm, you should’ve told your wife about that, Frank. It was good to see Tobias Menzies again, though. He’s a wonderful actor. (Can’t wait to see him in The Crown!)

Also, a lot of fans were not happy to see Laoghaire (hopefully I spelled that right). It didn’t stay true in the books, and Bree didn’t get to spend enough time in Lallybroch like she’s supposed to. Again, as I haven’t read the book, I’m going to let this pass. Laoghaire and Bree’s interaction at first was all right, until the former found out that the latter was Jamie and Claire’s daughter. This, of course, made Laoghaire flip and start spewing lies to Bree. Thankfully, Bree’s smart and finally realized that this was the woman who tried to kill her mother before. Ahh, I can’t stress enough how I was thrilled to hear Bree tell Laoghaire that Jamie never really loved her and he was never hers. Yes, gurl, tell that bitch the truth!

It was great to see Old Ian again because Steven Cree’s amazing. But it was sad that Jenny wasn’t there. I would love for Jenny to see her niece. Plus, this is probably the first episode (ever?) that Jamie and Claire didn’t make an appearance so that was also really sad, too. I missed them in this episode. 

#06: Episode 10 - The Deep Heart’s Core

Did somebody say family drama? Because this episode definitely delivered a good family drama. I mean, this is Outlander we’re talking about! No one creates good family drama more than Outlander. Well, probably Downton Abbey. 

This episode started off really well, with more scenes of Jamie and Bree bonding. I especially love their conversation about Bree’s pregnancy, and how they opened up to each other’s trauma. Jamie was able to comfort Bree, telling her about how he coped after what Black Jack Randall did to him. (Side note: I wonder what would Bree think about Frank if she knows he looks exactly like Black Jack.) 

And just as Jamie and Bree’s relationship began to flourish, it was finally revealed that the Jamie attacked the wrong man. All because of friggin’ Lizzie. I know it’s not entirely her fault, but ugh! Anyway, Bree just started screaming and slapping Jamie and Young Ian, which really stressed me out. And telling Jamie “you’re nothing but a savage”? That’s a tad too harsh, Bree. 

Claire’s also felt helpless because she doesn’t know what to do. She’s mad at Jamie, but she can’t really blame him for acting like a normal father. (But she gave him the cold shoulder, which annoyed me because they could just talk about this.)

So, yes. I was more or less frustrated the entire episode. But it made me feel things, so I ranked it higher. The episode actually delivered all the drama and I just love it. 

#05: Episode 1 - America The Beautiful 

Outlander started the fourth season very strong. It had romantic cute Jamie and Claire moments, thrilling action, and of course, a very sad ending that gutted me. I couldn’t ask for anything better. 

After they were shipwrecked in the Season 3 Finale, it looks like the Frasers and their company were well-adjusted in America. Though their friend was executed for a crime, which was very sad, life goes on. Fergus and Marsali announced they’re expecting a child, which is thrilling for them. Jamie’s been offered a land by Governor Tryon, which is quite problematic because if he accepts, he’ll be swearing loyalty to the English Crown, and, as Claire reminded him, the English would be defeated by the American Revolution in the near future.

We also finally get to meet Stephen friggin’ Bonnet. If you think you can’t hate on another Outlander character more than Black Jack Randall, then think again. This thief is just an ungrateful asshole who, after being saved and shown mercy by the Frasers, decide to rob them and even kill one of their companions.

And despite the weird CGI in the river scenes, we are given a cute Jamie and Claire moment as Jamie gifts her a medicine box for their wedding anniversary. It was just so cute and romantic and aahhh, Jamie knows how to make a girl swoon after being twenty-four years of marriage. Claire is one lucky gal. Actually, this episode had a lot of cute Jamie and Claire moments, like the one when they were talking about the American Dream. The one with the medicine box was my favorite, though. 

And even though the ending was really dark and horrifying, I just want to point out that Caitriona Balfe’s acting was exceptional. The expression she made when she realized that the ring Bonnet took was Jamie’s ring was so heartbreaking. Honestly, Stephen Bonnet is such a piece of shit. 

#04: Episode 4 - Common Ground

Remember Tryon’s offer? Obviously, Jamie accepted it, and they - him, Claire, and Young Ian - start to build Fraser’s Ridge in this episode. It may sound really tiring, but it was great family bonding, trust me. It’s amazing how it only took them one episode to build their cottage because in the next episode (Savages), they already had furnitures and other house stuff. 

So, as the Frasers begin to settle in their new land, the Cherokee were still wary of them. I can’t blame them, though. I mean, it’s their land, too, you know. Jamie tried to earn their trust, offering them goods through John Quincy Myers, one of Jocasta’s friends, who is close to the Native Americans. 

Book readers were also surprised to see a major difference from the source material. There was a scene in the book in which Jamie wrestles a bear. However, the show changed it into a man wearing a bear get-up. Apparently, this man was banished from his tribe, lost his mind in the woods, and began to attack people like a bear. This guy is feared by the Cherokee but when Jamie killed him and brought the corpse to them, they dubbed him “bear killer” and finally formed a truce.

As much as I want to see Jamie wrestle a bear (how cool would that be???), I understand that TV shows don’t have enough budget like a blockbuster film. So, it was definitely all right for me to see Jamie wrestle a regular guy. I’d choose that rather than see him wrestle a bad CGI bear. Ugh. Also, I miss seeing Sam Heughan in action sequences, just like in the first season. 

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode. Especially when Jamie carried Claire princess-style and told her about his plans for Fraser’s Ridge. It was so romantic and sweet. 

#03: Episode 6 - Blood of my Blood 

Lord John Grey’s first appearance in this season! Ah, that guy really knows how to make an entrance. In this episode, he said he “happened” to pass by Fraser’s Ridge, but of course we all know he just wants to see Jamie. You’re not being subtle there, Lord John. 

He also brought Willie along, who prefers to be called William now. Of course, William doesn’t know about Jamie being his father, which is probably very torturing for Jamie. As they were about to leave the next day, Lord John fell ill and Claire tends to him, as Jamie takes out William so he can’t catch the measles, and of course, to spend quality time with each other. 

Jamie and William are so cute together and it makes me wonder what could happen if Jamie was the one who raised him. It’s sad to think that Jamie never really gets to raise any of his children. He didn’t even get to see Faith before she was buried. And to think, all he wanted was to have a big loving family. (Wait, I’m straying away and I’m getting emotional.) 

ANYWAY, Lord John and Claire also has a heart-to-heart talk with each other. I actually love the both of them so much. Caitriona Balfe and David Berry work so well with each other and it’s amazing. I know what’s going to happen to Claire and Lord John in the future (I accidentally read it in a comment thread ugh) so it’s good to see that both actors know what they’re doing. 

The ending with Jamie giving Claire a new ring is so romantic and just plain swoon-y. I love it so much. Jamie and Claire romantic moments will never get tiring, I swear. 

I also love the title of this episode because it could mean both things. First, it could mean Jamie and William because he did mention that “his blood is my blood” when the Natives was about to punish them because William took fish from their waters. Also, it could mean Jamie and Claire’s wedding vows because he presented her another ring as a symbol of his love for her. 

#02: Episode 13 - Man of Worth 

It was totally worth the wait. One of the best finales Outlander ever did. It had just the right amount of action and romance and drama. Everyone did a good job, and I’m so happy with it I can almost cry. I wasn’t too happy in the previous two episodes, so it was relief that the ending was just so good. 

They finally rescued Roger, even though they had to exchange Young Ian for him. Young Ian’s actually one of my favorite characters, and he’s such a sweet goofball that I’m so sad to watch him go. It was the brave thing to do, and it was so good to see him grow up. He’s no longer a boy; he’s definitely a man of worth. 

The whole scene with Jamie, Claire, and Roger in the woods was definitely fun to watch, all because of their exceptional acting, particularly Sam Heughan. His protectiveness and devotion for Bree was very apparent, as he wanted Roger to accept her, even though she was pregnant and all. It was such a Jamie thing to do, and I love that about him. 

I’ve also read a short excerpt that’s been going around Facebook - the one when Bree gave birth during Drums of Autumn. Turns out her parents were present in the book, and it was such a sweet scene, and I’m kind of upset that it didn’t make it in the show. I’d love to see her and Jamie as she was giving birth. Still, I’m okay with how the show did it. Would’ve been nice, though. 

Murtagh and Jocasta was a surprise, but it was a good one. Let’s throw in another major couple, shall we? I think Murtagh deserves a good love story, so I approve of this pairing! Wish to see more of this, too. 

Love Roger and Bree’s very dramatic reunion. Of course they’re going to run to each other as music builds up. This is Outlander, after all. I just hope that they have better scenes together in the future seasons. 

#01: Episode 9 - The Birds and the Bees

I mean, seriously. This is what we’re all looking forward to in this season. Jamie and Bree was the major highlight of this episode, and I love every moment they share. It was just a beautiful first-meeting scene. And I’m just so happy for the both of them! Finally, they get to meet each other! Sam Heughan and Sophie Skelton actually had good chemistry. They play the father and daughter duo perfectly. 

I also love Jamie talking about Bree to Claire. This is what he’s wishing for a really long time: to actually get to spend time with his wife and his daughter. He gave them up so they can be spared from the Battle of Culloden, and now he finally gets to be with them. I’m a wreck in this episode, to be honest. Especially when he took her hunting and Jamie told Bree to call him “Da”. It was honestly the best thing ever. Can you just imagine the possibilities if Jamie actually saw her grow up? (Actually I can, and now I’m sad because it’s not true.)

Claire meeting with Bree was also sweet. Claire’s reaction when she first saw Bree was so pure. She’s been missing Bree for a really long time, too, and she thought she’s never going to see her again, so it’s just a miracle for her to see her daughter in the eighteenth century. 

Though it’s quite sad when Bree admitted to Claire about being raped, it was a good mother-and-daughter scene. Claire’s maternal instincts kicked in, and she’s honestly just destroyed that she couldn’t protect her daughter from all the dangers in the world. 

Ah, yes, this episode ended quite badly, as Lizzie (friggin’ Lizzie) had mistaken Roger for Bree’s attacker. Because of this, Jamie beat him up and Young Ian sold him to the Mohawks. I’m not a big fan of Roger, sure, but he does not deserve those punches. 

Still, this episode was well-executed. It’s my favorite in this season, all because of the reunions, the smiles, and tears. 

There you have it! Season 4 may be messy and rushed, but I was entertained and I had fun for the most part. It was fun looking forward to Monday (I watch it in Netflix, and it arrives a day later in my country) and now, I have no idea how to spend my Mondays. 

It’s not the best season, in my opinion, but I’m glad that they have expanded the story to other characters. As I said earlier, this is not Jamie and Claire’s story anymore. It’s now going to be about their extended family, too. I’m honestly looking forward for the next seasons, though I wonder how they’re going to make Jamie and Claire look like real grandparents. 

Your grandparents could never. I mean, look at them! 👇

[sterekhobrienfics]

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a fic rec list, and since we are only 76 followers away from TEN THOUSAND, I figured I’d throw the latest bunch of fics I’ve read together for you guys. I know things have been slow over here lately, but I want to thank you guys for sticking with me even when I don’t post every day. Y’all are the best! Happy Reading!

I’ve Always Been the Storm (Complete | 25,251 | Explicit)

“You’re all headed out to Oklahoma in a week.”

Derek snaps his head up, stares at him in horror, “No, boss.”

“Yes,” Finstock insists in a steely voice. “The NSSL have been on at us for a year about some decent exposure, and I think you’re just the team to do it.”

“I haven’t done weather since college,” Derek protests.

Boyd snorts again, presumably because he’s thinking back to the time when Derek and the weather last collided and he…. well, did the guy into the weather for a brief, wonderful, terribly foolish time. But, Boyd needs to shut up before Derek punches him on the nose.

Of Glasses and Lacrosse Sticks (Oneshot | 6,810 | Teen)

“Okay, how ‘bout this? One date, just one date, and if you still don’t believe I’m genuinely interested in you, then I’ll leave you alone for good. How does that sound?”

Derek hesitated for another moment, before he sighed and said, “Fine. One date.”

I Know That I Remember You (Oneshot | 1,307 | Teen)

“I didn’t know you could sing.” The guy says, walking towards him, cautious.

Derek busies himself with closing the guitar case, waits for the guy to say anything else or maybe introduce himself. The bar is always crowded whenever Derek sings, and many people approach him every night, how would Derek remember who he is?

“Do I know you?” He ends up asking, not being able to hide the annoyed tone. He just wants to go home, take a shower and watch some stupid TV show.

To his surprise the guy flinches. “I don’t think so.”

Regression to the Mean (Oneshot | 16,580 | Mature)

There aren’t really words for this – “sure, dude. Let’s hang out sometime and bond over the fact that our lives suck and we’ve both basically killed a bunch of people by accident” somehow doesn’t roll off the tongue. –

Prompt: In the aftermath of 3B, Stiles and Derek learn to trust, learn to fuck, and learn to love themselves, each other, and their pack.

First Impressions are Overrated (Complete | 14,634 | Teen)

In Stiles’ defense, he didn’t deliberately ram his grocery cart into the (evidently precarious) pyramid of oranges. 

Throw me to the Wolves (Complete | 13,493 | Teen)

He feels the physical embodiment of devastated, his already too strung-out mind struggling to wall up all the hurt, the rejection—he takes a deep shuddering breath and looks down at the shredded skin on his arms, at the sluggish way they’re weakly healing.

There is nothing, nothing he wants more than to have Derek sweep in and make everything all better. He should have known, though, that something like that would never happen to him.

OR -

Stiles accidentally gets bitten, and everything goes to hell.

One Piece at a Time (Complete | 24,994 | Mature)

Scott is a mechanic who never answers his phone. Derek is also a mechanic who never leaves the shop. Stiles has a low alcohol tolerance and lots of car problems. Everyone knows except Stiles and Derek. This also turns into a holiday fic halfway through, so if you were here for the car stuff, I’m sorry!

Title is a song by Johnny Cash.

Happy Birthday To Me (Oneshot | 10,819 | Mature)

It’s Laura’s 30th birthday and Derek sucks at buying gifts. Then he stumbles across ‘Full Moon Jewellery’, an Etsy store run by an art student who has strange ideas about nutrition, and whose enthusiasm for his new commission is actually kind of adorable.

In which the whole pack wants Derek to get a life, and Derek just wants some peace.

(But not really)

36 Questions (Oneshot | 8,071 | Teen)

“So I’m doing my senior psych thesis on friendships,” Erica says, not-so-accidentally elbowing Derek in the ribs as she turns to face Stiles. “How they develop, how intimacy is fostered, stuff like that.”

“That’s cool,” Stiles says agreeably. “What’s our part?”

“Well, I can’t really tell you the point because that would influence the results. But it’s a set of 36 questions that you have to ask each other.”

“Just the two of us?” Derek chimes in, finally, and Stiles sighs.

“Okay, dude,” he says, making a face, “could you try not to look quite so offended? Like, my ego’s pretty strong, but come on, man.”

Wood and Nails (Series | 50,188 | Mature)

”The five stages of grief,” Stiles nods and sighs. They've both seen it, been through it. Heard them repeated by therapist after therapist. Stiles doesn't say anything, but they both know which one Derek's slipped into by now.

***

When things calm down in Beacon Hills, all the things Derek hasn't dealt with come back with a vengeance. Stiles does his best to help him.

Stars in his eyes (Oneshot | 5,303 | Teen)

“License and registration, please.”

“He was kidding,” Derek interjects, “He’s just being an idiot.”

Stiles resents that.

“You too, please,” The officer addresses Derek.

“What? You’re gonna arrest me for sarcasm?”

And that’s how they ended up in jail.

I Breathe Disaster (Complete | 84,946 | Explicit)

“No. I’m not doing it. You can’t make me, Scott.”

“Don’t be such a wuss. You don’t want to die, do you? This is the only way to keep you safe from the Alpha pack.”

“Why not Danny? He’s actually gay, kind of adorable, and doesn’t look at me like he wants to shut me up…with his teeth.” Stiles threw his arms out in front of him, Scott shook his head for the thousandth time. “Why not?”

or

How Stiles went from hating Derek, to wanting to cuddle him, to hating him again, to kissing his boo-boo’s, to waxing poetic, then finally laying his life on the line to save him. Funny how things turn out.

[cywscross]

Pt.1 | Pt.2 | Pt.3 | Pt.4 | Pt.5 | Pt.6 | Pt.7

Lookee what my brain coughed up~~

Peter stays the night again. The man cooks for the two of them, Stiles finishes his homework, Peter uses his shower and poaches more of Stiles’ clothes, and they end up in the fort again, knees and arms knocking together, blankets piled on top of them.

“Should we be expecting your father tonight?”  Peter enquires idly, not sounding like he cares much either way.

“Mm, no, he’s working on a case out of town.”  It’s instinct to check his phone, but there’s no text message waiting for him, and that’s to be expected too.  He sends one off to Scott though, just to check in, just to ask how he’s doing after everything that went down.  He doesn’t get a reply this time either, which doesn’t surprise him one bit.

He tosses the device aside and sighs before pulling his laptop over.  “Wanna watch a movie?”

He feels more than sees Peter shrug, so Stiles goes about setting up Tangled.  He wants fun and light-hearted, and if Peter doesn’t, the werewolf can deal.

Peter mostly just seems entertained though, and interested because oh yeah, coma equals six years of missed media.  Amongst other things.

So they watch Rapunzel venture out into the world and beat people up with her frying pan and defy her mother and finally get her happily ever after, and it’s a nice distraction from the death and destruction here in good old Beacon Hills.  After that, he goes further back and puts on Enchanted.  Stiles has a soft spot for musicals, so sue him, and he refuses to be embarrassed by it even when Peter slants an amused look at him.

As it turns out, Peter doesn’t mind a bit of singing and dancing either, especially when the movie gives such a unique twist to the classic fairy tale, combining live-action and animation together.  Still, he must’ve been more tired than Stiles thought because by the time everyone gets their happily ever after in this one (except the bad guy, obviously), Peter’s dozed off, still sitting but slumped against the wall behind them.

The movie ends, everything goes silent, and Stiles just sits there for a while, watching Peter sleep. Then he sighs, powers down his laptop, and sets about getting ready for bed.  It takes two trips out of the fort because he forgets to line all the windows and doors in the house with the bag of mountain ash under his bed, at least for the night.  He doesn’t feel like dealing with any werewolves who might swing by and break into his house just because they can.  Granted, it isn’t likely.  Scott’s (getting) busy with other people, Boyd and Erica have run off to god knows where, if Isaac shows up, Stiles might actually strangle him with his scarf, and he hasn’t even seen Derek since that night with the kanima and Gerard.  But just in case, Stiles does it anyway.  If any of them do show up, it’ll be because they’ll want him to do something for them, and helpful is about the last thing he feels like being right now.

Peter’s the exception only because the dude’s already inside, and it would be a hassle to shove him back out the window.  Besides, it’s pretty clear the werewolf doesn’t want anything from him aside from a place to bunk, and even if he does, Stiles figures Peter’s allowed to at least ask, if only because he’s cooked for Stiles and even taken his pain a few times.

Although admittedly, the former was still on Stiles’ dime.  But not even Peter Hale can produce money out of thin air, or he wouldn’t even be in Stiles’ house right now.  He came though, to check on Stiles.  Which, pathetically enough, is more than anyone else has done.

What exactly does it say about Stiles that the only one who cared enough about him to come at all is the formerly dead former psycho on a former vengeance bender?

Probably nothing good. Best not to think about it then.  And the pain-drawing thing is true enough.  He’s done that pretty regularly as Stiles’ injuries heal at glacial speeds.

He crawls back into the fort and starts prodding Peter into something more horizontal.  Blue eyes flicker open, hazy to sharp in about 0.5 seconds, but they go drowsy again when they recognize Stiles, and Peter doesn’t do anything to stop him from piling a couple blankets on top of him.

It only takes another minute for Stiles to get comfortable himself, and another few minutes for sleep to creep up on him.  He doesn’t even open his eyes when he feels the bedding shift and the warm line of a body press against his own.

The rest of the week goes about the same.  Peter camps out in Stiles’ bedroom, cooks him meals, and spends the hours between nine and three probably apartment hunting and doing other hopefully not too illegal things.  Stiles goes to school, sits through his classes, and doesn’t bother eating in the cafeteria anymore because it makes him feel like he’s trying too hard to get Scott’s attention, and that’s just pathetic.  Downside, he hasn’t been this alone at school since junior high when Scott transferred in and Jackson stole his inhaler so Stiles tripped him down the stairs.  But on the other hand, every other hour that he isn’t in school means he’s with Peter, and Peter… somehow, Peter makes it very hard to feel lonely, even if they’re not doing anything except sitting side by side and working on their own thing.

By the weekend, Peter’s found a place, a small apartment building on the corner of Wisteria and Clove, near the edge of town.  The paint is faded, the floorboards creak, but the place seems sturdy enough, if a bit shabby and actually not at all what Stiles would picture Peter choosing to live in. It isn’t smack in the middle of downtown either so there doesn’t seem to be many tenants.  Still, even though Peter’s the one who suggests giving Stiles the grand thirty-second tour of the single bedroom, bathroom, and sitting room and attached kitchenette in the first place, a defiant, defensive slant remains in his shoulders the entire time, and he watches Stiles like he thinks Stiles might laugh at him or something.

The mighty ex-Alpha brought low.  Stiles wonders if Derek would taunt him about it.  He’d like to think no, ’cause that’s just kicking someone when they’re already down, and… yeah okay, Stiles is exactly the type to do that if the person is high enough on his shit list, but he’d never do it to his dad no matter how… absent the man is from his life or how much he drinks, or even his mom, no matter how many times she hit him, or even Scott, even though Stiles doesn’t know where they stand these days.  And he won’t do it to Peter.

Peter’s family to Derek though, no matter how much history there is between them, and yet Peter seems used to expecting the worst from those around him.

Of course, then Stiles remembers Derek ripping Peter’s throat out without a beat of hesitation just a month ago, remembers him leaving his crippled uncle behind all those years ago, remembers each and every one of his own interactions with Derek and how Derek’s go-to methods were always to threaten or insult or use violence to get Stiles to do what he wanted or even just to tear him down for whatever reason.  He even remembers the tiny smirk on Derek’s face as he stood by and watched Erica mock Stiles like he thought it was funny.

Right.   Never mind.  Christ.  No wonder Peter killed Laura.  Leaving him to rot was enough of a crime.

Stiles’ absolute favourite part of the tour is the collection of furniture Peter’s amassed. There isn’t much, and it’s not overly expensive stuff, but what the werewolf has somehow managed to get his hands on are new and elegant and moveable, and if he turns all of it over and throws a couple sheets over it, the resulting fort would be almost as spacious as the sitting room.

“I love it,” He announces before he can stop himself, already eyeing the furniture greedily.

Peter blinks, follows Stiles’ line of sight, and then his shoulders finally relax, as if Stiles has passed some sort of test.  He even huffs a laugh and overall looks pretty happy for someone whose guest is more excited about building furniture forts in their home than complimenting the decor.  Then again, Stiles is sort of doing that.

“I thought you might,” Peter smirks.  “Feel free to do some… rearranging anytime you want.”

Stiles gapes at him a bit because he didn’t actually think Peter would- “Wait, you’re gonna let me build-”

He cuts himself and flushes a bit.  Saying furniture forts out loud makes him sound a lot more childish than he’d like.

But Peter just shrugs. “You’re welcome to it.  It isn’t as if I need to sit down to watch the evening news, Stiles.  I don’t even have a TV, and I’m not planning on getting one.”

“…Oh.”  Stiles pauses, uncertain of what else to say.  Thanking the man for something like this just feels plain awkward.

“On one condition of course,” Peter continues, all smug cheer again.  “I get free entry and sleeping space in there.”

Stiles sort of just stares, because for an adult, Peter is so weird.  Only his mom ever called Stiles creative when he upended the house’s furniture, and she was sort of obligated to, being Mom and all.  Dad always called it a mess, exasperatedly amused at first, then just… long-suffering at times, annoyed at others, and forever confused over why his son never seemed to grow out of this phase even as he got older.

“…Well,” Stiles flaps his hand in the vague direction of everywhere.  “It is your place.  So yeah.  But don’t you want to sleep on a bed?”

“I don’t have a bed,” Peter points out, because yeah, Stiles did notice that, but he just thought Peter hadn’t gotten around to buying that yet.  But the werewolf only glances thoughtfully at the sitting room.  “And I don’t think I’ll buy one.  Who needs a bed anyway when I have my own personal professional fort designer?”

Stiles’ ears go pink. Peter grins but it lacks bite despite the teasing.  Stiles rolls his eyes at him.

“I’ll bring my spare blankets over then,” He offers.  So you won’t have to buy any, he doesn’t say. He thinks about the text he got today from Jenna.  “Dad’s case is wrapping up and he’ll be returning sometime late tomorrow anyway so I have to clean the house before he gets back.  Actually, we can do it now.  I mean I guess it’ll look kinda weird since neither of us has a working vehicle but we can just stuff them in bags and carry them over here.  You’re a werewolf anyway so it’s not like it’ll be too heavy for you.”

Peter arches an eyebrow and looks like he wants to say something sarcastic.  But he restrains himself and just nods.  “We can straighten up your house first.”

Stiles blinks at that, startled, but Peter’s already heading for the door.  He hurries after the werewolf, tripping over the doorstep and almost doing a faceplant before Peter catches him by his good shoulder and hauls him back up without missing a beat.

He didn’t actually mean for Peter to help him with the cleaning, but he can’t complain either.  It’s always just been his job though, household chores, for almost as long as he can remember.  Nobody’s ever given him a hand before, even in the early days when he was messing up the laundry and burning the food and his fingers.  It’s weird that Peter’s willing to help.  Peter is just… weird.  So weird.

He gives himself a hard mental shake and shunts it all aside.  Whatever. Four hands make faster work than two anyway.

Peter stays one more night at the Stilinski home, and they end up hauling the blankets over to the man’s new apartment in the morning instead, and then Stiles just goes to town on pushing furniture together with all the glee of a five-year-old on a sugar high.  Peter sits at the kitchen counter, half his attention on whatever he’s doing on his laptop, the other half on Stiles, a fond quirk playing at his lips that Stiles pointedly does not look too deeply into.

Noon comes around, and Peter cooks them lunch.  Then they both hole up in the fort with part of the blanket-ceiling pulled back to let the sunlight and breeze filter in through the open window.

It’s four in the afternoon before Stiles finally gets up to leave.  Peter sees him to the door, expression indecipherable, but he reaches out to cup a hand around the back of Stiles’ neck for a last pain extraction before they say their goodbyes.  Stiles wants to ask when (if?) he can come back, and when would be a good time, but in the end, the words get stuck in his throat, and he scarpers without voicing his questions.

He’s back in his bedroom and shucking his sweater before he realizes there’s an extra key on his keyring.

He’s still smiling when his dad walks in through the door.

[hiddlesfashion]

#TodayInHiddleHistory

January 30, 2014: the March issue of Elle UK was released featuring Tom Hiddleston A God Among Men. 

A video posted by The Fashion of Tom Hiddleston (@hiddlesfashion) on Jan 30, 2017 at 5:50am PST

full interview below 

Tom Hiddleston: A god among men?

Hollywood A-lister, ELLE writer, YouTube sensation – Tom Hiddleston’s cult status is evident on every platform. And, as ELLE’s Annabel Brog discovers, he’s not afraid of revealing, well, everything.​

When ELLE’s Editor-in-Chief Lorraine Candy was at Wimbledon last year, she rather naively tweeted afterwards: ‘I sat next to actor Tom Hiddleston and his girlfriend Jane. He’s a very funny man.’ She has never – bear in mind this is a mother of four who edits a fashion magazine, which puts her high on a certain demographic hit-list – been trolled like it. The responses veered between righteous fury that she had outed Hiddleston as being ‘With Girlfriend’, and rather bloodthirsty expressions of envy that she had, you know, talked to him.

Tom Hiddleston inspires fervour in his fans. He’s an extraordinary actor who has won universal acclaim – his roles include feckless Prince Hal in the BBC’s The Hollow Crown; sweet, doomed Captain Nicholls in Spielberg’s War Horse; and currently the blood-drenched warrior Coriolanus at the Donmar Ware- house – but it’s his performance as pallid, sociopathic god of mischief Loki in the Thor and Avengers Assemble films that catapulted him into the stratosphere. To put it in context: Hiddleston recently donated a pair of signed Converse to the Small Steps charity auction, alongside the likes of Mick Jagger and Kate Moss. His shoes sold for £4,500 (more than anyone else’s). He is very appreciative of the interest, while simultaneously being uncomfortable with the idea of fame. ‘Do I like it? It’s sort of inconsequential in a way, a weird corollary to everything else I’ve done. I cannot tell you how surprising it is. It’s like, really? REALLY? I honestly try not to think about it too much.’

We are nestled under a heater in the beer garden of a north-west London pub on a chilly December evening. Hiddleston is drinking whiskey, which is part of my cunning strategy to break him down – he has always given me the impression of being very prepared in interviews – but it doesn’t work. After five shots, he remains entirely in control.

Nonetheless, he is rather adorable: ferociously bright (he went to Eton, then Cambridge, where he got a double first), earnest ('I know. I’m sorry. I can’t help it’), obliging, and old-fashioned. Partly that’s his classical- ly handsome face, partly it’s his impeccable manners, and partly it’s the way he constructs his sentences.

Describing his favourite book, William Boyd’s Any Human Heart, for instance, he says, 'Like all life, it contains multitudes’; or, on opening up to new people, 'I fear I am initially quite private.’ When he is sure of his subject – talking about work, family, culture – he is eloquent and assertive. When he is less certain – typically on the subject of himself – his voice rises slightly in inadvertent questions: 'I’m solitary [but] I don’t think that’s a good thing, I think I’m better in company?’ Or: 'I know that there’s this thinking capacity, which is possibly not a good thing?’

Tom William Hiddleston is 33 (on 9 February, to be precise), a middle child with one sister 15 months older, and another five years younger. His childhood sounds like a simple, pleasurable place. 'I have memories of climbing trees and watching The Snowman, with David Bowie introducing it in his snowman scarf.’ He starts to laugh. 'When I actually learned who David Bowie was, I was like, “That’s the man from The Snowman”. And people were: “Never say that again. That’s Ziggy Stardust. Shut up!”’

His parents are incredibly proud of him: 'It’s taken us a while to get there. It’s one of those conversations I don’t have with them, but I just know that they are [proud]. If we [he and his mother] start talking about it, we will both collapse in a heap of tears. It’s moving to make your mother proud.’

Growing up surrounded by women has had a glorious effect on his view of them. 'I believe in the strength and intelligence and sensitivity of women. My mother, my sisters [they] are strong. My mum is a strong woman and I love her for it.’ He is also – praise the Lord for men like Hiddleston – very romantic. When asked about love and relationships, he simply says, 'Honesty is a gift – to be honest about who you are and how you feel – because it encourages intimacy, and intimacy is really where’s it at. To be known and know someone is an amazing feeling, and you don’t get there if you’re pretending to be anyone else.’

Hiddleston voices Captain Hook in Disney’s Tinker Bell And The Pirate Fairy (out this month), and has a high-impact cameo in Muppets Most Wanted. But his next lead in a film is in an homage to both strong women and love. Only Lovers Left Alive is an enchanting, funny, somnolent Jim Jarmusch project in which he plays Adam, a 500-year-old vampire rock star with suicidal leanings. 'Adam is a delicate soul,’ says Tom. Adam is, indeed, delicate, but he is also (and this is where Tom’s gift for comedy comes into play) sweet and entirely useless, a reclusive musician suffering the despair of being eternal. Think undead My Chemical Romance fan. He stars opposite Tilda Swinton, who he says is just like her giddy, optimistic character, Eve. 'She’s the most beautiful woman in the world, and it’s seemingly effortless. She’s very, very warm. Tilda and I would be laughing sometimes and Jim would come in and say [he adopts a lazy Ohio drawl]: “Taaammmm, you smile a lot, man. And Adam doesn’t smile so much.”’ He also loved the purity of the love story. 'Adam is so deeply flawed, and depressive, and melancholic. But Eve just loves it, loves his commitment to it. We were trying to make a film about acceptance. And true love is an acceptance of someone else for who they are.’

So Hiddleston is clever, eloquent, charming, sensitive and earnest. But then there’s that other side, the spontaneous and silly side, best seen on YouTube, where he has become an inadvertent sensation due to the fact that 'I don’t know what my boundaries are, I just say yes to things’.

That’s how he ended up throwing some serious shapes on Alan Carr: Chatty Man, which, for the record, was 1) not planned: 'I promise I had no idea I was going to do that’; and 2) the genuine Hiddleston disco experience: 'If you asked me to dance now, it would be the same moves. That’s my dance.’ He can also be seen sing- ing Michael Jackson’s Man In The Mirror on Korean TV, because the talk show host asked him which part of his body he had most confidence in and he said his voice. (And, yes, he was tempted to say something smutty: 'I’m English, so I’m dirty.’) His own favourite clip features him teaching the Cookie Monster a lesson in delayed gratification. ('Are you saying if me wait, me going to get cookie?’) 'I’m proud that I’ve met him.

He’s the Cookie Monster, a cultural icon. My mum loves it and my niece loves it. She’s two years old and she thinks there’s nothing illogical about Uncle Tom speak- ing to the Cookie Monster.’

So when we meet for the second time, after he comes off stage at the Donmar, I am tempted to see if the no-boundaries thing is for real. There is beer involved (the man can drink) and a line of questioning veering from the absurd to the inappropriate. Put it this way, he’s a very good sport…

Annabel Brog: Will you throw me your best insults? 

Tom Hiddleston: [Laughs] Why are we doing the insult game?

AB: Just go with it, I can take it.

TH: Um. 'You utter, utter [with increasing emphasis], utter c**k’ is good.

AB: I just wondered if foul language, delivered beauti- fully, sounds less foul. Which, in fact, it does.

TH: When I get angry with myself, when I forget lines, I’ll be like, 'You absolute f **king f **k c**k b***ocks p**s f **k. You, you… f **ker’.

AB: You say that to yourself ?

TH: Yes.

AB: How do you feel afterwards?

TH: I feel better! The word f **k is enormously satisfying. 

AB: OK, I am going to describe teenage Tom to you and you are going to tell me how accurate I am.

TH: [Grins] OK.

AB: I’ve realised this may be quite insulting. Please remember it’s only a game.

TH: That’s totally fine. It may well be more favourable than the truth.

AB: Teenage Tom wasn’t uncomfortable with girls, but he didn’t get to touch one for quite some time. First kiss, 16.

TH: NO! [Emphatic] First kiss 10! Yes, 10 years old, tongues and everything. [Laughs] She was a huge crush, we were in the same class, a lot of note swap- ping, and eventually it all went down in a cricket pavilion on an autumn night. It was very thrilling.

AB: I got it so wrong.

TH: I was sometimes quite alarmed by friends of mine at school who didn’t have sisters, the way they treated girls, the way they spoke about them… I was like, 'Guys, they’re not aliens, they’re human beings.’

AB: You hear stories about Eton schoolboys, and the fan girls who line the cricket pitches when they play… TH: I don’t relate to that at all. I didn’t have a serious relationship until I was about 19. I fell head over heels in love and I was with her for two years, and it was an amazing relationship. So I don’t know who those girls are, who line the cricket pitches.

AB: How would you describe yourself as a boyfriend?

TH: Very honest, I hope. God, I don’t know. I hope I’m fun, I hope I’m a good time. Sponta- neous, surprising, affectionate? I hope, kind. Dancing… a lot of dancing. I insist upon dancing. Anywhere. Anytime. The more dancing, the better.

AB: [Referring to an incident last year when Tom, on a press call with Swinton for Only Lovers Left Alive, was photographed in a revealingly tight trousers] Cannes. Trousergate. Discuss.

TH: Trousergate?

AB: Please tell me you know what I am referring to.

TH: What are you… I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about. Cannes?

AB: Oh God, really? Oh no. OK, OK, shall we move on? 

TH: [Squeaky] What’s trousergate? [Clears throat] Trousergate…

AB: Maybe I should just get it up on the iPhone and show it to you.

TH: OK, get it up on the phone.

[AB types 'Tom Hiddleston Cannes’ into Google Images and hands him the phone]

TH: [Slowly] Ohhhhhh heavens…

AB: It has a Tumblr account and everything.

TH: Oh God. [Laughing but horrified] How monumentally shaming! What does one say to something like that? What do I say? Do I need to explain it? I don’t think I can.

AB: Would you like to move on from this subject? 

TH: Maybe. Yes…

AB: OK.

TH: [Determined] Look, I had a very interesting experience going to Cannes. An airplane in Heathrow caught fire and they shut down the whole airport. There were no tickets on Eurostar. All the flights from Gatwick were booked. So I got in a taxi and drove to Dover. I got on the ferry at 2am, with people on the booze cruise, and students going on hockey tours, got to Calais at 5am, another taxi to Paris airport, flew to Nice, landed about 11.30am, went through customs, got in another cab and drove to straight to THAT photo call, where THAT picture was taken, having changed in the car on the way there. So I think I look all right, for someone who’s been up all night.

AB: You look great. [Long pause] It’s just a shame no one’s looking at your face.

TH: [Laughs] They’re looking at Tilda! That’s what they’re looking at.

You can’t really profile Tom Hiddleston without going there on his looks. He is, in the flesh, a deter- mined and imposing physical presence. If you have seen his Coriolanus – raging with pride and betrayal – you will know this, and on the ELLE shoot it is evident most when we film him running. Hiddleston has a fine-looking run. He may look like a matinee idol; he may speak like a 19th century poet; but watch him run and you are suddenly very aware that he is 21st century man. It would be nice, I suggest, to see him in a role that’s unquestioningly modern. 'I would really like to,’ he says. 'I’m knocking at the door, honestly.’

As expected, he is game for anything on our shoot. He hurls plastic chairs across the warehouse, he sprints down Scrubs Lane, and he scares the crap out of the whole team by leaping over the railing of a 10-foot stair- case, which would have ended his Coriolanus run rather spectacularly if it went wrong. At the end of the day, Hiddleston is hard to pin down. He tells me a story,about a spontaneous, solo trip he took to Hawaii after he flew to LA to audition for a part he didn’t get.

'I went canoeing with whales, ran around the island, climbed the volcanoes. There's this beach where all the surfers go to challenge themselves, the waves are like 30 feet high, and I was introduced to this lifeguard by some landscape gardeners I met. We were watching these kite surfers and I was in awe, frankly, of their courage and I said, "Why would you do that? It's so dangerous." And he looked at me with this amazing, generous smile and said [adopts a US accent]: "They're just trying to answer the same question we're all trying to answer, man." And I said: "What question is that?" And he said: "Is it enough?"'

So there you have it. Tom Hiddleston: big talent, big laugh, big thinker, non-planner, great dancer. In his own beautifully phrased words, he is 'just as complex and contradictory as everyone on this planet'. Or, in our rather more base words, pretty damn hot.

[movietvtechgeeks]

Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/regarding-dean-best-supernatural-episode-season-12-far/

Regarding Dean: Best 'Supernatural' episode of Season 12, so far

Regarding Dean has to be one of my favorite Supernatural episodes this season – it shows, distinctly, what great actors we have in Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles. Of course, Jensen gets the lion’s share of the scenes in this episode (it is called Regarding Dean, after all), but Jared’s role definitely doesn’t get lost – his skills are too great for that to happen. My first impression of Gideon Loughlin (played by Justin Turnbull) was that he was the victim of some unknown monster; I’m sure that wasn’t an uncommon thought. This scene was one of the few this episode where we see classic Dean – a confident Dean that knows what he’s doing. One of the things I noticed that was done with wardrobe was the state of Dean’s jacket – when he’s chasing Gideon, it’s the Dean we know and love – clean but still a bit rough around the edges. When it comes to the next scene, with that absolutely adorable bunny, Dean’s jacket – and Dean himself – is definitely more rough than not. I’m about 99% positive that the restaurant location used for the breakfast diner is an IHOP (if anyone knows for sure, I’d be interested in confirming this). I’ve been to many in Vancouver, and they all have a certain … look. This scene has one of my favorite lines in this episode – after Elka (played by the lovely Lindsay Winch) slaps him – “Yup, epic night.” The two trot off to the morgue to investigate their case – in which an accountant suffocates on a pile of money -- to find out that with a hex bag involved, it’s indeed one of “their kind” of cases. So far Sam has thought that Dean was still recovering from an all-night bender, and it isn’t until Dean can’t figure out how to reverse Baby – much less remember which key to use – that he gets the inkling that something just isn’t quite right. (Makes you wonder how many times Sam and Dean have been in this situation before. Probably a lot.) Both Jared and Jensen’s acting in this scene, the one in Baby, are totally spot on. At the beginning, Sam’s just laughing it off … but when Dean forgets his name (only for a second, but still) it’s obviously become a serious matter. Sam realizes that he needs some assistance, and – inadvertently -- ends up calling in for recruitments, in the nature of our favorite red-headed witch – Rowena. Although it’s a small scene, I quite enjoyed the one of Rowena playing poker. It gives us an insight into what she does when she’s not casting spells – although, her magic still comes into play when she turns her cards into a set of aces. Quite a good trick, that. What I love about this episode is that it could so easily become strictly serious – however, there are many lighthearted moments (Dory, anyone?) that just made me giggle. Also; I wonder how long it took Jared to write all those sticky notes? After talking to Rowena, and finding out the only way to get Dean’s memory back is to kill the witch, Sam and Dean set out to retrace Dean’s steps, and return to the accountant’s office. Kudos to the crew for the fast forward through the door to the accountant’s office – that was very well done. I also learned something about our Dean – who knew the guy liked cigars? Dean apparently went for burgers after the accountant’s office (surprise, surprise) and continuing to retrace Dean’s steps, they end up at a bar where we again see Elka. The look on Dean’s face when he forgets how to explain he and Sam are FBI agents was picture perfect. And Sam rolling his eyes when Elka says Dean was amazing? Priceless! There are many good guest star roles in this episode – and Elka’s is one of them. Lindsay’s tone of voice and facial expression when she talks about taking advantage of Dean (and following which, Dean’s reaction) was hilarious … and I have to wonder if “Now salsa you mittens!” was Jensen actually trying to read his own lips, or if that was scripted. Either way – kudos. Sam’s “Now that’s comedy” is another favorite line of mine – poor Dean, not being able to remember his time with Elka …. They find the video footage from the bar the night before, and of course, Dean can’t remember a thing about what’s on the screen … Now. As a fangirl, I have to say I love fourth wall breaks – and “Watching myself on Netflix” gets me each of the three times I watched this episode. I love it when the show gives us viewers a wink and a nod … it’s great to be validated! Back to Sam and Dean. They’ve found out who the witch is, and set out in the woods to continue retracing Dean’s steps – after Sam gives Dean “the talk” – yes Dean, there are monsters. The look that comes over Sam’s face when he realizes that he is giving Dean the same talk that they’ve given to uncountable civilians is … well, indescribable.  It’s almost in disbelief, like he can’t believe it’s happening. The boys traipse through the woods (another one of my favorite lines occurs here – “Our best friend’s an angel. Whaaaaa?”) to find Gideon dead – there goes the easy way to fix Dean – and some Celtic runes on the tree (anyone else find Sam’s knowledge on esoteric things amazing?). This next scene – back in the motel room – was an emotional roller coaster. I went from giggling at Dean’s comment on Rowena’s bouncy hair, and her “Do we have to fix him?” to utter sadness when Rowena says that Dean’s going to die … and then back to laughing again when Dean says, “Sucks for that guy!” During this exchange, and the next one in the bathroom, Jared’s acting is perfection. His look of loss when Rowena says that Dean’s going to die, and after telling Dean his life story – him staying strong for his older brother, and still trying to look on the bright side of things and saying, “We’ll figure it out.” It breaks my heart. This episode review would not be complete with a comment on Jensen’s acting in that bathroom scene. Speechless. That’s what it left me – looking into the camera/mirror and strictly with facial expressions alone conveying a complete and utter loss of memory. Wow. I love this show – and I love our boys. Back in the motel room, Rowena and Sam are discussing what to do next. This line? It was so epically Supernatural … about our brothers, about the family … “I’ve seen my brother die. But watching him become not him … this might actually be worse.” That’s some heavy stuff. The unshed tears in Sam’s eyes – and the frustration when Rowena mentions getting the spellbook … that’s damn good acting. Sam sets off to get the spellbook from the Loughlin siblings, and Rowena’s left back at the motel room babysitting Dean. Literally – Dean’s like a five-year-old, getting into everything until Rowena gives him a voodoo doll and some pins to play with. (Of course, she carries around voodoo dolls. This is Rowena we’re talking about.) Rowena’s role in this entire episode definitely gives us some idea of what she’s thinking – she tells Dean about meeting the Loughlin's back when she came to the country and being thrown out by them. She talks about power, and how if God and his sister can’t be happy, what hope is there for her? It’ll be interesting to see where that storyline goes … Meanwhile, Sam has found the Loughlin house – and I have to take a second to say I hope this library is real because the reader in me is absolutely lusting after it. I want that library! Anyway, Sam confronts Boyd and Catriona and ends up being tied to a chair. Again. What is with Sam and chairs in this season? Really? Sam’s inner goodness – and willingness to see the goodness in everyone – comes to play in this scene. He’s tied to a chair, yet he still tries to appeal to Boyd’s better side (if he has one) … trying to convince Boyd that he doesn’t have to play by his sister’s rules. Of course, it would be no fun if Boyd agrees, so we find out that Boyd and Catriona are planning to switch Sam’s soul for their dead brother’s. Lovely. We cut back to the Impala to see Dean waking up to yet another sticky note – one explaining that his brother has been kidnapped (Dean’s repeat of “stupid car” made me smile – even when he’s losing himself, he still knows Baby is definitely not stupid) and one saying “Stay.” (I do believe that is actually Ruth Connell’s writing. Very apropos.) I have to mention that I absolutely adore Tirra Dent’s character (Catriona). The use of her sing-song when she has Rowena up against the wall? Perfect. And Rowena’s line – “Nothing heals old wounds like opening fresh ones” is so obviously Rowena. Back at the Impala, Dean has bypassed the “Stay” and has made his way to Baby’s trunk … where there’s a very large NO on the rocket launcher (loved that touch) and a “Witch killing bullets” and “This gun.” Rowena is still up against the wall, and Dean – who has lost his ability to speak -- walks in pointing a gun at Catriona … his raised eyebrow after raising the “Witch killing bullets” sticky notes … well, it was wonderful. So Dean kills the witch(es) … Rowena casts the spell … and Dean’s back to normal, right? “Who’s this hippy?” and its effect on Sam was funny in a very evil way. Not surprising though, considering the pranks that the boys play on each other. It’s obvious – to me – how much Sam has grown. He says he was a little jealous – at first – of Dean because Dean couldn’t remember a thing about being a hunter. But I think he saw just how much of being a hunter is Dean – and himself, for that matter – and losing that would be like losing a part of himself. The scene ends with a grin to make Sam fans’ heart flutter, and a reminder to Dean that the Impala’s key is the shiny one. To wrap this up – I truly believe Dean remembers everything from what happened during his memory loss. I might be wrong, but the fact that he says “Blank, mostly” to Rowena and the look on his face – and the montage intertwined with Dean riding the bull (thanks for that, by the way) … it just makes me think that everything is still there. What do you think? This is my first Supernatural episode review – so my apologies if I miss anything. As with any family, I'm sure someone in the #SPNFamily will find something to say.

Movie TV Tech Geeks News

[bonniejstarks]

How Schitt’s Creek and Annie Murphy Turned A Little Bit Alexis into a Certified Banger

When Schitt’s Creek airs its season finale next week, it will leave behind not a singular legacy, but a collection of indelible marks on pop culture: the inimitable Moira Rose and her singular accent. David and Patrick’s understatedly groundbreaking love story, immortalized on billboards and magazine covers alike. And a pair of wildly different songs that took on a life well beyond the show. One is a heartfelt cover of a classic that became a talisman for Schitt’s Creek’s most beloved relationship. The other is a frenetic, frothy synth-pop creation plucked from the ether that is Alexis Rose’s past.

It’s been just over a year since “A Little Bit Alexis” first entered our collective consciousness, in a season five episode that finds Alexis auditioning for the town’s unforgettable performance of Cabaret. “I have chosen to perform the title track off of my critically-reviewed, limited reality series, A Little Bit Alexis,” she proclaims proudly to a bewildered Moira and Jocelyn. “Feel free to sing along if you know the words!” Though that request is ignored on the show, in the real world, Alexis would find a lot of takers. Ever since the full track was released last year, a gradual snowball effect has taken “A Little Bit Alexis” from a fun character note to a bona fide hit that can be heard in gay clubs nationwide.

Over the past few weeks, as the coronavirus pandemic dramatically transformed daily life across the globe and sent millions of people into lockdown, “A Little Bit Alexis” took yet another new lease on life as a viral TikTok sensation. Dozens of quarantined fans across the world are, probably right at this very moment, trying out Alexis’s deranged dance moves as a means of staving off cabin fever. As Alexis herself would doubtless say: yum!

The appeal of “A Little Bit Alexis” only grows as you discover more about its creation: Murphy herself wrote those ingenious lyrics while enlisting two musicians—her husband, Menno Versteeg, and his former bandmate Nick Boyd—as her collaborators. Below, the full story of how “A Little Bit Alexis” was conceived, created, and shaped into a phenomenon, as told by Murphy, Schitt’s Creek co-creator Dan Levy, and the entire musical creative team.

Dan Levy: From the first few days my dad and I spent brainstorming about what the show could be, I had come up with this little detail from Alexis’s past: She had a very short-lived, critically reviewed reality show called A Little Bit Alexis. It’s one of those things you write down as context for the character without knowing whether it’ll make it into the show. Four seasons later, Alexis auditioning for Cabaret felt like the perfect opportunity to hear the title track.

Annie Murphy: We were at the table read and I saw in the script, “Alexis performs ‘A Little Bit Alexis,’” and that’s all it said. I was both inspired by and jealous of Noah Reid in the previous season, when he did his own beautiful rendition of “Simply the Best.” So I immediately said to Dan, “I will try to write this,” not realizing that I am not a musician and Noah very much is a musician! And somehow Dan agreed to let this happen.

Levy: I like to hand over the torch to the cast and say “run free” with that kind of content creation. With Noah and his cover of “The Best,” I had given him the choice of whether to take a stab at it himself or bring someone in. With Annie it was the same approach, and she said, “Please let me take a stab at this.”

Murphy: Once I got the green light, of course I was like, “Oh fuck. Okay, resources, resources.” So I found my two dear musician people, and told them, “Well, I just got myself into a predicament.”

Menno Versteeg: I remember very clearly the moment Annie described it to me, the whole scene and what it needed to be and the backstory of the song. Earlier that same day, I’d been in some kind of chain fashion store and “Work Bitch” by Britney Spears was on. The second she told me, I knew I wanted to rip off the feel of that song. We set out to make a song you want to do spin class to.

Murphy: We went into my friend Nick’s studio, and we listened to “Work Bitch” so many times our ears started to bleed, but in the best way. We also listened to “Stars Are Blind” and a bunch of Paris Hilton stuff. And then Nick and Menno got to work on the melody, and I started writing the lyrics, and we all got on a roll.

Nick Boyd: Menno and I were in a band [Hollerado] together for years and years. We were all friends growing up and Annie would sometimes come with us on tour, so we’ve been making music and hanging out together as pals for literally 20 years.

Versteeg: When you’re married to someone who’s in a band, it’s a very specific type of relationship. For the first half of Hollerado’s career, Annie was a struggling actress—she would get the odd commercial or bit part here and there, but she had a lot of time off. So she would often come on tour with the band, and that would involve sometimes coming onstage to sing with us. We ended up writing songs together—she wrote half the lyrics to one of the more well-known Hollerado songs, “Good Day At The Races.” All of that backstory factored into what we were able to do with “A Little Bit Alexis.”

Murphy: We knew it had to be funny, and we knew it had to be kind of spoofy, but we all secretly wanted it to be a fucking banger of a song that people would actually put on to pre-drink to and, you know, dance to at the club. [Pauses] I sounded like such a grandmother there. “Dance to at the club”?

Boyd: When Menno and Annie came in, I had already put together a baseline and a groove, and they were feeling it, so we started brainstorming verse ideas. We knew the era when the song was supposed to have been released [the early 2000s], so we asked ourselves, what would Alexis’s younger self have wanted to put out, given the musical trends at that time?

Versteeg: There’s something really fun about being able to do trashy garbage pop that’s also tongue-in-cheek. It doesn’t need to be subtle in any way, you just throw in every single hook you can think of. Annie wrote all the lyrics, and she’s one of the funniest people on this entire planet, and that really reflected when she started having fun with the lyrics.

Boyd: Annie knows the character so thoroughly, from top to bottom, so it was easy to say whether a lyric was gonna work or not. I think somebody suggested “I’m a little bit drunk when I drive my car,” and Annie was like, “Well, she wouldn’t say drunk. She would say tipsy.” And that lyric really spring-boarded the process, because the idea behind it is that she is above the law—she can get away with anything and has no sense of her own privilege. That became a theme for us.

Murphy: I think I just blacked out and woke up and it was written down.

Levy: Everything in the show is considered, so we were never going to use a version of the song that didn’t feel right for the character. What’s so spot on about the lyrics they came up with is they really highlight this stark contrast between who Alexis was and who she is now.

Murphy: My favorite moment, when we were recording, was trying to make that “neigh” as sexy as possible. It’s an intense moment. I remember being like, “I never thought I’d be in the position of sexily whispering ‘neigh’ into a microphone, but here I am.”

Chris Soper: I’d known Annie and Menno and Nick for years—they would do their records at the same studio I worked out of in Brooklyn. Menno approached me after they’d done the writing and recording and asked if I would mix the song. He described this vision for something that sounded like a 2000s Britney Spears dance hit.

Versteeg: There’s a term producers use to describe music: a track is “in the box” or “out of the box,” and “the box” means the computer. So an out-of-the-box track would be something like Arcade Fire: all their gear is analogue, every single sound is a real sound that comes from an instrument, in some cases there’s no computer involved until the very end. “A Little Bit Alexis” is entirely the opposite: It’s made completely inside the computer. We didn’t use one real instrument. It’s the cheapest, quickest, dirtiest way to get the most bang-for-your-buck sound. You’re not trying to get anything that sounds fresh.

Soper: It’s pretty much an assault from beginning to end.

Murphy: I took it to Dan and nervously waited by my phone. Then I got an “Obsessed with this!” which is the highest form of praise from Dan Levy.

Levy: I was expecting a scratch-track, a basic idea of the song. And they went ahead and fully produced a banger!

Versteeg: I own a record label, and part of that is being able to hear when a song is a genuine, certified banger. The second I got the mix back from Chris, I was like, “If they don’t use it, they are literally deaf.”

Levy: It really felt like a moment from her past. It couldn’t sound too current, it had to live within the world of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, people who were big in the early 2000s when Alexis would have been shooting this reality show. Annie just ran with it!

Murphy: I think the success is half people liking it and half it getting stuck in your head in such an intense way: “I guess I like this, or I’ll go insane.”

Levy: The cover art was really important. We got to dig in and say, ‘okay, what did singles look like back then? What was the font like, what kind of photo would they use?’ We had to ask Annie if she had sexy photos from her past, which fortunately she did! We worked with the CBC on it—Calum [Shanlin], who does social media for the Schitt’s Creek account, created [it].

The cover art for “A Little Bit Alexis.”

CBC

Boyd: There was a moment, on the soundtrack chart, where it was sort of neck and neck with a bunch of the songs from A Star Is Born. I think it was number four, and the top three were all from A Star Is Born. That was a real “holy shit” moment. To be clear, it was there for maybe a week, but still!

Versteeg: A portion of the proceeds are getting donated to this really great Canadian organization called MusiCounts. It’s an organization that provides instruments and resources in schools that otherwise couldn’t afford music programs.

Levy: “A Little Bit Alexis” didn’t have the same overnight instant success that Noah’s “Simply The Best” had. It was a smaller detail in an episode, it wasn’t the climax of a storyline in the way Noah’s was, so you didn’t necessarily have the same rush of people desperately needing to find the song. The scene is 60 seconds long, and yet slowly but surely, the song has made its way onto people’s iTunes playlists and Spotify playlists and it’s been played in gay nightclubs across the world!

Murphy: I was in New York in December, and I was meeting a friend at a drag bar and had arrived early. One of the queens came up to me and said, “Just so you know, I’m about to do a DJ set where I play “A Little Bit Alexis,” and it goes into “Work Bitch,” so if that’s gonna be uncomfortable for you…” I was like, “I’m obviously staying for this!” The whole fucking bar was singing, like word for word, and dancing. And it was at that moment that my friend arrived. I had to be like, “I swear to God, I have not paid these people off. This is just a really fucking weird thing that’s happening to me right now.”

Dan: It’s always great when once in a while, somebody tweets footage from the inside of a very dark, steamy gay bar, and all you hear is “A Little Bit Alexis” thumping over the sound system. I’ve had situations with both Annie and Noah’s songs where I’ve been driving my car and I hear the song, and I look over and it’s the person in the car beside me, listening to it in their car on full blast! That’s been completely surreal and amazing.

Annie: I mean, I just performed with Kelly Clarkson on Kelly Clarkson’s talk show. In my wildest version of this, I never would have imagined that that would be happening. I knew I was going to be on her show, but I got a call about two days before from the producer asking, “Kelly was wondering if you’d consider performing ‘A Little Bit Alexis’ as a duet with her?” I was like “I’m sorry, did you just ask me if I would consider performing, with Kelly Clarkson, a song that I wrote?” It’s run away from me in the best way possible.

Dan: The song is ultimately a testament to Annie and her creativity and ingenuity as a performer, that she contributed in this way to the show, but also honestly to pop culture as a whole. We will all be listening to this song for years to come.

Emma Dibdin Contributor Emma Dibdin writes about television, movies, and podcasts, with coverage including opinion essays, news posts, episodic reviews and in-depth interviews with creatives.

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