#women get sacrificed to danny

[youcalledsworld]

What would Ares do?

Ghost King Danny but instead of mistaking him as a thousand years old ghost everyone knows he's a teenage boy. So everyone assumes he won't be able to keep it in his pants when beautiful women are offered as sacrifices.

Danny hates this and tries to help the best he can by either getting them home, finding new homes or giving them money to get home by themselves because they understandably don't trust him.

But there are some who latch onto him because he is the only one who showed them kindness and promised safety. And he can't just leave them all alone. So with the help of Pandora they create a safe haven for them. He visits them every now and again and Pandora decided to stay with them.

[theglamorousferal]

Persephone's Binding Part 3

Anger Management/Hardcover ship Sacrificial Bride au

AO3 Prompt Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

As Jason was engrossed in the collection of Infinite Realms lore, a knock sounded at the door. "Come in." Jason said absentmindedly finding a stopping point and placing his finger in between the pages to mark his spot. Jeeves let himself in.

"Yes sir, it is dinnertime, I have been sent to escort you to the dining room." He said as he patiently floated.

"Right yeah, let me just find a bookmark-"

"Here you are sir." Jeeves held out a silver feather shaped bookmark from apparently the aether.

"Awesome, thanks." He placed the bookmark in his spot and set it on the side table next to the bed. "Okay, lead the way please."

Once more Jason was led throughout the dark, yet glowing, halls of the High Queen's castle. They passed many different entities, all of which were obviously not human and Jason hadn't seen this diversity of different fashions since he was last at a costume party. There were actual knights with swords and lances, some yeti's with arms full of scrolls, and eight foot tall women with bright blue skin and Amazonian armor, some with multiple arms. There was what appeared to be a wolf-man talking with the knights, in some language that seemed to have some roots in Latin, though other words he could hear were from other areas. Eventually, they arrived at a set of carved wooden doors.

"Here you are sir, the royal family awaits you inside." Jeeves said prepared to open the door.

"Wait, the whole family? I thought it was just Jazz?" Jason was suddenly nervous, he thought he'd have more time before meeting the family.

"It's quite alright sir, tonight it is only the High Queen Regent and High Prince Danny in attendance. I believe she thought the entire family would be a bit much, but the High Prince has a habit of showing up anyway. He is quite protective of his sister." With that bit of advice, Jeeves opened the door.

The room was ornate, though not as large as he was expecting, clearly this was the smaller dining room. Sat at the head of the table in a seat that in some countries would be considered a throne, was Jazz, she still had her helm-crown, but now she was just in the teal toga with clasps shaped like a sun at both shoulders. She still had her arm bracers on, which he expected, if she was trained by an Amazon, then those would likely stay on always.

Sat to her right was a young man, perhaps around 19 years old, with jet black hair and piercing blue eyes. He had been talking animatedly with Jazz when he heard the door open and his eyes snapped to Jason. He was in clothing far more similar to the yeti Frostbite, though in different colors and with a white peasant shirt on. Where Frostbite had gold, Danny had silver, where the yeti had blue, Danny had black.

"So, you're the sacrifice huh?" Danny looked unimpressed at Jason's entire existence. "How'd you manage to get sacrificed? You look like you'd be hard to take down for cultists."

Jason took a moment to process what was said and then made his way to the seat to the left of Jazz. He cleared his throat. "They got me while I was distracted helping a little girl get her stuffie that was stuck on her rusty fire escape. When she was walking away with her mom, I got clocked on the back of the head. Now I'm here." He splayed out his hands as if to say 'what can you do?'

"Hmmm, okay that's fair. At least I know you're not a cretin. What are your opinions on the undead?" He slouched back into his chair with his arms crossed, a critical eye on Jason.

"Danny! I thought I told you no twenty-questions! He hasn't even been here a day, and since I was dealing with paperwork all afternoon, I haven't been able to talk with him yet either." She scolded before she turned to Jason. "I am so sorry about him, I had one bad boyfriend years ago and now he thinks any guy that comes near me has unsavory intentions." She turned back to Danny. "Jason didn't choose to be here, remember? I'm sure the whole sacrificing to an unknown being in an unknown dimension has got to be somewhat traumatic and I don't want to make him relive that if we can help it."

Jason snorted. "Honestly, not even in my top ten most traumatic experiences. This one ranks so far a solid 3/10."

"Really?" Danny quirked an eyebrow. He stared longer at Jason and his eyes flashed that Lazarus green. "Ancients dude, what the hell happened to you?"

Jason sighed heavily. "I mean, Jazz already knows some of it, but," he swallowed heavily, "I died." He took a deep breath. "And then I came back. It hasn't been great since then." He said with a tone of finality, indicating he was done with this line of questioning. Danny's look of judgement turned more understanding.

"Okay, let's say we start dinner then? I'm sure you have some questions for us too." Jazz clapped her hands and skeletons came in with carts full of food. They placed plates in front of each of them and refilled the glasses of water before exiting the room. Upon the plate was a cut of salmon, some roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes. Okay, so they at least have a similar diet to humans. He dug in, and was reminded of Alfred's cooking.

Alfred...

"Would it be possible to get a message to my family somehow? To let them know that I'm alright?" He asked a little desperately.

The siblings traded glances. "It might take a while to pin down the correct dimension, but we should have a record of your time here in the archives, and that should have your dimensional code. You mentioned heroes, maybe we can pin down which one it might be if we can figure out which ones have those heroes?"

"There are heroes in your universe?" Danny perked up at the mention of heroes. Seems like the kid is intrigued by them.

"Yeah, there's a bunch, I don't even know all of them. The big three started an organization called the Justice League. Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman founded it to help protect the Earth."

"What's their deal? What are their powers? Do you know any of them?"

"Danny! What did I say about the twenty questions?"

Jason narrowed his eyes momentarily, thinking. Do I tell them? I did show up in armor with a domino on. "It's alright Jazz, I'm used to being interrogated by younger siblings. It comes with having the Batman as a father and all his birds and bats as siblings." He looked a little smug, bragging about his family where they would never hear him.

Both siblings looked blankly at him. Right.

He blew out a breath. "I forgot you don't know who that is." He took a bite and thought how to describe his family. "So, B is the world's greatest detective, and every one of his kids ended up becoming heroes in their own right. All of us are human, one of us has meta abilities, but we mostly rely on our minds, bodies and tech. Superman is from the planet Krypton, but it was destroyed just after he was born and his parents shipped him off to Earth. He's got a laundry list of powers, but the big ones are super strength, flight, enhanced senses and laser and x-ray vision. Wonder Woman is an Amazon Warrior Princess from Themyscira, she was molded from clay by her mother Hippolyta and trained as the strongest warrior of her people. She's got flight, super strength and the Golden Lasso of Truth." Jazz grasped her bracers when it was mentioned that Wonder Woman was an Amazon. Jason looks directly at her. "I noticed you have similar bracers and armor to her, as well as some of the people I've seen around the castle. Were you trained by an Amazon?"

Jazz looked up with wide eyes, not expecting the connection. She quickly recovered and took a bite of food before responding. "Yes, I was trained by Lady Pandora here in the Realms. When I completed my training, I received these." Jason nodded.

"Wait, Pandora? Like the Box Pandora?"

"Yeah, she's nice, but strict. She's the Ancient of Peace, and trained me in quite a lot before I took the throne. I found I quite enjoy sword fighting."

"Maybe we can spar sometime? Lord knows I get enough practice from the Demon Brat demanding fights all the time." Jason and Jazz shared a smile with each other.

"Demon Brat? Do you have a demon sibling?" Danny asked, startling Jason and Jazz and causing them both to blush lightly. He smirked at breaking up the moment.

"No, I just call him that. He's the only one of us that's biologically B's, but he was kinda raised in a murder cult. When he first came to us, he tried to murder every one of us to gain his 'rightful place as blood son'. Obviously it didn't work, but it was not for lack of trying. Replacement got the worst of it honestly, and the Brat seems to mellow out around Dickwing."

"How many siblings do you have?" Danny asked shocked.

"Uh, that's a good question. Are we talking legal adoption or emotional adoption?"

"What's the difference?"

"Oh probably at lease six people."

"I think your dad has a problem."

"Trust me, you aren't the first to say that and you definitely aren't the last." They all dug into their dinner and there was several minutes of quiet. "So, I guess the biggest thing about my universe would be finding one that has the League and meta-humans. Then find whichever one is missing me that should have me in it."

"Yeah, that's probably a good start, I'll get some of my aides to scour the archives. One team to locate the file about the time you spent here when you were, you know," Jazz hesitated, "Yeah, and then I'll have a team looking for the files on which universes have those heroes you mentioned. If there's any other details you can think of to help us narrow it down, that'd be great." She looked at him earnestly.

He smiled softly at her. "Yeah, I'll let you know. I guess another big one is probably that in that universe, I am known as the Red Hood."

"Oh, is that your hero name?" Danny asked.

"Uh, kinda kid. My methods are often frowned upon by the majority of the hero community, they also don't like that I use guns most of the time." He cleared his throat. "Some people consider me a hero, most just see me as a nuisance crime lord of Crime Alley. Which, I get, I do technically run drugs, but it's just to keep it outta the hands of kids and make sure it's all clean so nobody's dying from contaminated product. It's gonna get sold anyway, I might as well make it as safe as I can. I'm just trying to clean up my city as best I can." He carefully wasn't looking at either of them, they seemed like decent people, they probably would agree with the majority on this particular topic.

Jazz placed a hand over his. "I get it. There are some decisions I have had to make since taking rule that seemed counter-productive to my goal, but any little thing helps. You do what you need, those people are just gonna try and get it elsewhere that's not as safe if you don't provide the service, I'm sure some people are thankful for you." Jason looked at her as though seeing her for the first time. That is, his mind stuttered at how regal she held herself as she was comforting him, leader to leader.

Danny cleared his throat breaking the moment again. Jazz was wide-eyed for a moment before collecting herself and Jason blushed to the tips of his ears. Dinner was cleared by the same skeletons from earlier and dessert was placed before them. It appeared to be a chocolate fudge sundae with hand-churned vanilla ice cream.

"So you mentioned sparring, You gotta spar with me before you can spar with Jazz." Danny pointed at him with his spoon.

Jazz sighed, exasperated. "Danny."

"Nope! You have meetings all day tomorrow, I call first dibs."

"Danny!"

"Come on Jazz, I haven't been able to spar with anyone new in so long. Please please please?"

Jazz rolled her eyes and looked over to Jason. "If it's alright with you? He's right, I'm busy all day tomorrow so I wasn't going to be able to entertain you anyway, and it's probably better than being cooped up in the guest room all day."

Jason shrugged his shoulders. "I don't see why not? It'll be fun, I usually spar with an alternate version of Superman named Bizarro, so I'll go easy on you." Jason smirked, but was startled to find Danny already smirking at him with fanged teeth.

"Oh, you'll regret that." There was a bright flash of white light and suddenly floating there was a color-inverted version of Danny with bright Lazarus green eyes. He winked and flew out one of the windows near the ceiling.

There were a couple awkward moments before either of them spoke. "So, I didn't want to be insensitive at all, but uh, are you guys human? I know you said you were from Earth, but I've met all sorts of different types of beings too." Jazz sighed heavily.

"That's a complicated answer." She closed her eyes and folded her hands on the table. "Let's move to the library, we can discuss more details there." They rose and he followed her out the door and down the corridor.

[reigningqueenofwords]

Surprise Me

Pairing: past Dean x Reader, past Reader x Mitchell (OC), Dean x Lana (OC) Word count: 2,334

Read on AO3

Part 5 of It’s Not Mine

Finally, you were registering Danny for kindergarten. Or, you were trying to force yourself to go do just that. However, you were emotional and couldn’t get yourself out the damn door. John and your dad took Danny out to the waterpark for the day, and you’d done all the housework you could (a lame excuse to put off going to the school). Finally, you pulled out your phone and texted Dean. Are you working today? I need to go sign him up for school and need support. You sent before flopping on the couch. You crossed your fingers he was available. 

Any high school friends you had ditched you when you got pregnant, you didn’t really make friends at your old job, and you didn’t click with any of your current coworkers. Going out wasn’t your style, so making friends wasn’t easy. Your circle was literally your dad, John, and Dean. You’d have your mother back, too…when she was done traveling. However, she seemed so happy in the pictures she sent and when she called. You hoped she traveled as long as she felt that happy. At the moment she planned to at least come spend Christmas with you and Danny. 

Hearing your phone ding, you looked at Dean’s reply. Lemme get dressed. Lunch after we get him signed up? He asked, making you smile slightly. My treat, your choice. He sent. 

While you didn’t have a desire to be with him at the moment, you were thankful he was there where he counted. He would drop everything for Danny, and Danny really looked up to him. Every day that Dean kept a promise to Danny meant the world to you. 

Thankfully your divorce was finalized the first week in July. You’d gone to change your last name the very next day. You were free from Mitchell. However, you couldn’t begin to picture yourself dating anyone any time soon. 

As you were thinking about how guarded you’d be when you did decide to date, Dean knocked on the door. Getting up, you went and opened the door. “Thank you for agreeing to come. I’ve been putting it off all morning. You could eat off of every surface in this house.” You joked, grabbing your purse.

He chuckled, nodding. “It’s a big step, but I’m sure he’ll love it.” He noted. “Especially having all those kids to play with.”

“That I am looking forward to for him. It’s the him being gone all day that I’m not used to, and I’ll be the youngest mom. That’s scary. Older women are so judgemental!” You huffed. “I’m not ashamed of being a young mom, but that doesn’t mean I want to be the target of their dirty looks.” 

“Want me to come the first few days and distract them?” He offered. 

“And how would you do that?” You raised an eyebrow at him as you reached your car. 

He shrugged. “Easy. Wear tighter shirts and pants that have gotten me my share of free drinks.” He smirked. “I know I’m pretty.” 

You snorted, shaking your head. “Maybe when it comes time for his birthday party.” 

Thankfully it was pretty quick and easy to get him all signed up. John was his main emergency contact after you (mainly because he didn’t work), followed by Dean, and then your dad. You felt that having multiple contacts couldn’t hurt. School started in two and a half weeks, and you now had the supply list to go shopping. 

Sitting in the car, you leaned your head back against the headrest. “You’d make a good teacher.” Dean said out of nowhere, making you look at him. “What? You would.” 

“That was so random.” You chuckled. “Where did that come from?” 

“Just a thought. I know you don’t like working as a cashier, it’s just another idea.” He noted. 

“I would have to go back to school. I don’t know if I could afford that. And doing school, plus working, and raising Danny? I don’t know how I would juggle that. I did college online so I wouldn’t be away from him more than when I worked.” 

Dean felt that guilt bubble up again. You’d sacrificed so much, and then some, because he was a scared asshole. “Well, he’s in school now. You can do school part time, and then work part time.” He urged you. “And I can watch him after work if you have to work or take a class in the evening. You going to school wouldn’t be forever.” 

“Are you going to pay for my classes?” You asked. 

“If I had the money I would.” Hands down. “But why not look into grants and stuff? I’m sure Sammy could help you hunt down assistance.” 

You chewed on your lip. “I’ll think about it.” 

After the first week of school, a routine easily fell into place. Either you or Dean would get Danny on the bus, and John would get him in the afternoons. You’d get him from John’s after work most days, but some days let Dean bring him home after dinner. Every other weekend he had a sleepover with Dean, something he eagerly looked forward to. 

Which was why, on the Friday night Dean was supposed to have Danny, you were surprised when he texted you. I have a date tonight, can we swap weekends? I don’t know if I’ll get home before his bedtime.  

You blinked. You couldn’t plan this date on a night you didn’t have him? He’s been looking forward to this all week. He’s already packed his little sleepover bag. You sent. The last thing you wanted was to tell Danny his father made plans. 

After what felt like ages, he texted back. You’re right, I’m sorry. It’s been awhile since I went on a date, and got too excited. I called her and we rescheduled. He sent, actually surprising you. You’d been preparing what to tell Danny and everything.This took a load off your shoulders. 

When he knocked on your door, you answered in a pair of sweats and a tank top. “Come on in.” You stepped aside. “He’ll be down in a second. He decided he needs a costume, but couldn’t figure out which.” 

Dean chuckled at that. “I’m in no rush. And, I am sorry about trying to move our weekends.” He felt he needed to tell you that in person. “I wasn’t thinking straight.” 

“Oh, I’m sure I can figure out how you were thinking.” You gave him a sarcastic smile. “I will ask that if you start seeing someone, that I meet her before you introduce her to Danny, and make sure you’re serious before that happens.” While you didn’t see him getting serious with anyone, you wanted to get that out there.

He nodded as he licked his lips. “Yeah, sure.” He agreed. Looking over, he saw Danny in a cape and Batman mask. “I get a weekend with Batman? Cool!” He grinned, lifting him up when Danny ran to him. “Ready for some Chuck E. Cheese?” 

“Yeah!” Danny wiggled down to go hug you. “Bye, mommy!” 

You smiled and crouched to hug him better. “Have fun with daddy. I look forward to hearing all about it.” Standing up, you handed Dean Danny’s bag that was by the door as Danny took Dean’s other hand. 

“Can we win mommy a prize?” Danny asked as they walked out the door. You smiled softly at that and shut the door. 

Right at that moment, you wished you were more of a bar or club type of person. 

You didn’t hear anything more about Dean’s dating life after that. Even when everyone was together for Thanksgiving and Christmas, nothing was mentioned. Since it was Dean’s first Christmas with Danny, you had been a bit emotional. Danny was so excited about it, telling you that it was okay if Santa didn’t get him anything because he had his daddy there. Which you felt spoke volumes about how much he loved Dean. 

Come New Year’s, your dad was watching Danny. He told you that you were young, and should take one night to act young. You caved, knowing he was right. You were 23, and may one day look back and regret not going out now and then. 

Which led you to that moment. You were wearing a cute dress that went to mid-thighs, knee high boots, your hair up, and a cute (but very warm) coat. Grabbing your purse, you walked out your front door, making your way towards your car. “Are you headed to the bar?” Dean called from by the Impala. 

“Shockingly, yes.” You chuckled. “Why?” 

“Want a ride?” He offered. “I just have to pick up my girlfriend.”

You weren’t sure how you felt about that. You didn’t even know he had a girlfriend. “Don’t you think it’ll bother her that you’re picking her up with me in the car?” You countered. “It’s okay. I’ll drive myself.” 

Dean watched you slip into your car and let out a sigh. Maybe you would be going to a different bar. 

Sitting at the bar, you sipped your drink. You didn’t think you’d be staying until the ball dropped, but it was relaxing to just…be. To not be doing the mom thing or housework. You started to think about really looking for an apartment soon. You’d been saving, and while you knew that your father would let you stay as long as you’d like, it wasn’t fair on him. 

“Hey you.” You heard Dean’s voice, making you look to your left. He had his arm around some woman’s shoulders. 

“Hi.” You smiled. 

“Y/N/N, this is my girlfriend, Lana. Lana, this is Y/N/N.” He introduced the pair of you.

“Nice to meet you.” You said politely, even though this was beyond awkward. Yes, you told him to introduce you to people he was serious with. And yes, you appreciated it. However, you didn’t expect it so soon. Or on your one night out. 

She gave you a fake smile. “Same.” 

Dean was oblivious. “Next rounds on me.” He told you. “I’ll be right back. You two chat.” He turned to make his way towards the bathroom, hoping you two would hit it off. 

There was an awkward silence hanging over the pair of you, but you decided to be the bigger person. “So, how did you meet Dean?” You asked, feeling that was a safe question. 

She rolled her eyes. “I had a flat tire and he pulled over to help me.” She told you. 

“He’s great like that.” You nodded, finishing your drink. 

“Don’t get any ideas.” She snapped. 

Blinking, you stared at her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.” 

“Don’t go thinking that you can have him. You’re nothing special.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “Just because he’s a good guy and stepped up for his kid doesn’t mean you actually mean anything to him. I’d appreciate it if you only talked to him when it came to his son.” 

“Oh, that’s adorable.” You smiled. “You think I give a shit what you think. Sweetie, it doesn’t matter if we ever wind up together. I’ll still be more special than you could hope to be. I’ve known him my whole life. We had sleepovers as kids, we spent summers playing together, we told each other all our secrets, and I can promise you that he hears you talking to the mother of his child like this you won’t be the one in his bed anymore. He’ll move on to someone less bitchy.” You raised an amused eyebrow at her. “I’m his friend, nothing you say will change that.” You turned back to the bartender. “Can I get another? Thank you.” 

Dean had been on his way back when you went off on her. He was shocked, and found it extremely hot. He loved how sassy you got. “Well, what’re we talking about?” 

Lana pouted. “She said I’m not special to you.” 

“Oh, that’s rich.” You chuckled, nodding a thanks to the bartender as he set your drink in front of you. “I will say that Lana will never meet our son.” You said without looking at Dean. 

“Lana, can I talk to you?” He turned to his soon to be ex-girlfriend. “I’ll be right back, Y/N/N.” All you did was nod, focusing on your drink. 

You weren’t surprised when Dean didn’t come back. You paid for your drinks and ordered a cab home. Your car would be fine there until morning. 

When the cab dropped you off at home, you were surprised to see Dean on your porch. “You’re a bit far from the bar.” You told him, more buzzed than not. 

“Lana demanded I bring her home after I broke up with her, and I didn’t wanna ruin your New Year’s.” He sighed. 

“I didn’t expect you to break up with her. You clearly saw something in her.” And she was pretty. You moved to sit next to him. 

“Yeah, but then I heard you going off on her, and you said she wouldn’t be meeting Danny.” He told you. 

That made you blush. “You heard that?” You asked softly. 

He nodded, chuckling. “You’re feisty when you’re mad. And it’s hot when it’s not aimed at me.” He nudged you slightly with his shoulder. “Why would I want to keep seeing someone I can’t, and won’t, introduce to Danny?” 

“To have fun?” You shrugged. 

“He’s more important than someone I’m seeing for ‘fun’.” His words warmed your heart. “It’s still early, only 10. Want to go get something to eat to ring in the New Year?” 

You thought for a moment. “Counter offer.” You looked at him. “Go change into your pajamas, come over, and we can watch a movie.” 

His face lit up. “Deal. I’m still gonna go get us food, though. Want me to grab us some drinks, too?” He offered, standing up. 

“Surprise me.” You smiled. 

Tagging:

@s0urw00lf

[theboarsbride]

Also!

Which character has changed the most since your first draft of them, and how?

(God sorry for sending so many questions)

(OMG NO WORRIES I LOVE THESE KINDS OF QUESTIONS PLS KEEP SENDING THEM-)

But OH MY GOD!!!!! E D G A R. Edgar from The Monster and the Butterfly is the character that I feel has changed the most since the very VERY first draft of this story. Both in design and character! He and Sophie are some of my oldest OCs, with their story existing in some way shape or form for about 10 years when I first started writing in middle school!

Be prepared for a long post because omg I love rambling about the evolution of characters and stories, I hope you don't mind!!

Also I got excited about this ask so I included a rough visual of Edgar's previous designs:

Starting in 2014 he (or rather she) was Ophelia, a witch that cursed herself with a rogue spell, and her 'beauty' counterpart was a boy named Samael that was sacrificed to her by a witch cult lol. It was very cringe, very much 2010s Wattpad content (i mean...the story literally started with Samael waking up to his alarm and mom waking him up for school)... and I distinctly remember calling this story "Beautiful Beast" because I thought I was being very original with a female beast x male beauty story lmfao (i was not)

Then around that same time I discovered The Phantom of the Opera...meaning that Edgar was going to become a poorly done carbon copy of the Phantom lol. He was like this for about a year, and across the board he was a dragon shifter for some reason? I cannot remember why lol...and also I remember in these versions of the story he had a brother named Lazarus who's FC was Robby Benson, and his 'beauty' in this version was named Kristine and she had a son (???????). Again, very 2010s Wattpad cringe, very much plagiarized Phantom X Christine fanfic (i'm very sorry)

It was around 2016 when I discovered the movie Panna a Netvor/Beauty and the Beast (1979), a very gaudy, atmospheric Gothic horror retelling of the fairytale from then Czechoslovakia. I was OBSESSED With it (and still am!) so I wanted to create a bird-like beast like in the movie. At the same time I was also obsessed with stuff like Black Butler and Penny Dreadful so I was inspired to change this story set in Victorian Era London. But this version of Edgar was VERY horrible and very much made it a tragic horror story rather than Gothic romance. He was the one behind the Jack the Ripper murders, drinking the blood of woman to satiate himself, and had very poorly-written schizophrenia as he was 'haunted' by his dead mom. I did away with this idea around the time of the pandemic because I found the idea insensitive and overly-edgy. But nonetheless this was where TMATB as we know it came to be: Gothic romantic setting in late Victorian era London with a bird-themed beast and a main female character who was into gardening in some capacity.

Then story started becoming more romantic, Edgar went through another design change to now be a fleshy vulture-thing, and was now becoming a sympathetic, gentle beast who loved reading and ornithology. Still I wasn't satisfied in terms of his design tho.

So then around 2020, after wanting inspiration to create a more humanoid-looking beast (and getting such inspiration from Brad Dourif as Grima Wormtongue in the LOTR films and Danny DeVito as The Penguin in Tim Burton's Batman Returns), Edgar's design became this:

While remaining a romantic hero, his role has become the more feminine one in the romance: he is the one needing saving, he is the one often in distress, he reads romances often intended for women, he's a very passive romantic role, etc. Also, his character is now heavily inspired by historical figures like Joseph Merrick (a.k.a. The Elephant Man) and Quasimodo from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, so now he's a gentle, well-read, kind-hearted, traumatized emotional basket case we all love today!

I hope this is a satisfactory answer omg so sorry for the long ramble of a post!!

[black-arcana]

NEW YEARS DAY's ASH COSTELLO Opens Up About Pregnancy Loss, Divorce And Dating

In a new interview with The Mistress Carrie Podcast, NEW YEARS DAY singer Ash Costello opened up about the personal tragedy and trauma that she went through during and after the pandemic. She said in part (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I don't talk about that stuff publicly ever, really. We were announced [for this year's] Rockville. Welcome To Rockville is a really amazing Danny Wimmer festival. We're playing with MÖTLEY CRÜE and JUDAS PRIEST. And the last time we were on Rockville, we had to cancel — we had to cancel all of our festivals last summer. And I saw the comments, like, 'Oh, NEW YEARS DAY's gonna pull out again.' 'I don't trust they'll ever make it.' 'How come they always cancel?' And I just wanna reach out to those people, like, you have no idea the personal battles I was going through that summer."

She continued: "I had to really learn to prioritize myself and my health. I went through a pregnancy. I went through a pregnancy loss, which was really traumatic because it was like a prolonged — tons and tons of tests, and it just kept getting worse and worse. And it was like an all-summer stressful event. And then a divorce and moving to another state. And there's just so much that happened, and I just wanna reach out to those people and be, like, you have no idea what any artist you're idolizing is going through. We're all human beings facing battles you know nothing about. But that was a big lesson for me because I was never putting myself first, and it showed. So now I put myself first, and we're getting way more creative, which I'm excited about."

Elaborating on her pregnancy loss, Ash said: "I didn't know how common it was. And although common, still not fun.

"I had plans to be on that 'Kiss Of Death' tour [with ICE NINE KILLS and IN THIS MOMENT last fall] seven months pregnant. That was gonna be the plan. I was gonna rock it. I was actually really into the idea of it, even though I'm sure it would have been really hard, but I was gonna do it. And everyone was on board and everyone was supportive. And then it just didn't…

"Life gives you what you need and taketh away what it's supposed to take away, and looking back, everything happens as it should, even though it's still sucky, but everything goes exactly as it should," Costello philosophized. "And it's not something I talk about. It's how you said, it's important to have a community of women in the rock world talking about their real womanly issues that go on in our lives. I don't talk about this in general, but this is a girl's podcast. So I feel super comfortable talking about mental health and self-care and prioritizing yourself and not sacrificing your happiness and your mental health just to grind."

Ash also talked the difficulty in maintaining romantic relationships while being in a touring band. She said: "I'm not a dater. I've never been. I hate dating. I don't do it. I'm the kind of person where it's, like, 'All right, we get married or not, 'cause I've got somewhere to be.' I've always been like that. And if someone freaks out over that, I'm, like, 'Cool. You're not my person. Next.'

Addressing specifically the breakdown of her marriage, three and a half years after she tied the knot with Jered Boeving, Ash said: "It was harder to make a marriage work while being in a band with maybe a person who's not from the industry and doesn't necessarily understand… 'Cause I always said I'm not gonna date anyone in a band. I'm gonna go with someone in a totally different field. And then that also came with its cons as well, because it was a little hard for the other person to understand what it takes. And I'm a very friendly person. I've always been one of the guys, just because I've always been in bands. And so that can be a bit jarring for someone who maybe doesn't understand what the camaraderie is actually like while you're traveling and stuff like that. So definitely difficult to navigate. It's gonna take a very understanding person or just someone in the industry."

NEW YEARS DAY's fifth studio album, "Half Black Heart", arrived on March 1.

[anotherguiltybystander]

Let her keep her powers

(spoilers for Doctor Who and Renegade Nell)

Is anyone else tired of the superhero trope where a woman has powers and then loses them at the end of her arc? The last two things I watched with a woman who gets superpowers -- the Dr. Who christmas episode with the return of Donna, and Renegade Nell -- both fell prey to a message that once they've served the plot and self-sacrificed, they also go back to being "normal" people. I was particularly annoyed by Donna losing her powers again after the travesty of her losing everything the first time around (her powers, her memories, her relationship with the doctor, adventuring throughout space and time).

I don't see this happening with men in modern superhero stories, unless I'm forgetting them (the most recent show I watched with a superpower male was Knuckles, for instance, and he keeps his powers at the end).

I suspect that the writers of these shows will say that the women lose their powers so that they can go back to living happy easy lives in the status quo (cough cough they're forced to live these lives by losing their powers cough). Aside from that plot being problematically sexist, they're forgetting that women with superpowers can live cozy happy lives after their arc is over in a show. We need more stories in the spirit of Danny Devito's Matilda, where he changed the ending of the original book so that Matilda gets to keep her powers, even though they're triggered by trauma, so that she can enjoy them in her life once she's safe and happy. I need more girls with super powers getting Moby Dick to float off the shelf and into her hands so she can read with her mom in bed. Donna and her kid can keep their time lord abilities and be a good moms and children. Granted, Nell's powers were always borrowed (from a man), but I don't understand why earning them permanently couldn't have been part of the plot. And once again, Renegade Nell doesn't have to go in the liberating direction of the Buffy series finale, giving powers to every girl, but she could at least keep her powers to help her village safe in case of a fire or something.

There are a few exceptions to my hatred of this trope (i.e. Rogue from X-men, whose powers are debilitating to the point that she's constantly sacrificing her happiness to help humanity - she choses to give up her powers to meet her basic human needs). But odds are if this is how your superhero woman's arc ends, it will disappoint.

I know Renegade Nell isn't over yet, so maybe they plan to give her powers again. There's a literal glimmer of hope at the end of the show that suggests she may get her powers back. Fingers crossed.

[aikoiya]

DP AU - Timeless Journey

What if the Infini-Map episode was more like individual, full-scale journeys. Like, the map deactivates for a period of time after each leap, so Vlad & Team Phantom have to survive in each time until then. Because of this, they are essentially stuck for months at a time. Like, depending on how far into the future/past it sends someone, the more it drains the map & the longer it takes for it to recharge. Sending people to other places in the same time is small beans, but sending people through time is difficult.

So, they literally have to dress & act the part while becoming part of the legends there.

Like, there was this one Danny Phantom x Teen Titans fic that did this with the Ancient Asia time & it was super cool!

Like, in these times, they have other things to contend with besides Vlad. In fact, Vlad is about the only Hereafter Ghost that they have to fight & as such, they have to adjust how they fight.

In Rome, they have to fight monsters. In Salem, they are hunted regularly by Supernatural hunters, legit human-sacrificing, devil-worshiping witches, zealous Puritans, monsters, & angry Natives. In Asia, they have to go against Yaoguai & Youkai, as well as Yuurei.

In Salem, it becomes apparent that it's far more complicated than just black & white. For one, there are legit witches & then there are people who just wanna live their lives in a way that might not be entirely endorced by the general public. There are also true Children of God Christians who want to live a good life in His honor, then there are religious zealots that go way too far, & then there are those who use their religion to manipulate others & as a ticket to further their own agendas or to spread hate. Not to mention how there were places where there was conflict between settlers & Natives where in some places it was the settlers who attack, while in others, it was the Natives.

They were especially surprised to see how the 2 sides delt with the other's dead. Generally, settlers just killed & buried, & sometimes so did the Natives. However, there were also tribes that actually did scalp people or even ate the losers in order to 'gain their power.' At the same time, there were also plenty of places where the 2 sides actually got along very well.

Sam is especially shocked to learn that it actually wasn't a genocide as genocides imply an intent & concerted effort by a people to cause an entire population to go extinct. Yes, there were dickwads that mistreated them, but there are assholes like that everywhere, you can't get rid of 'em. It wasn't the norm, nor the goal. In fact, what killed most of the Natives were diseases accidentally brought over by the English. That isn't genocide. That's an accident.

As for the reason behind Lincoln's execution of 38 indigenous individuals. From what I'm seeing, the Dakota killed hundreds of settlers & took many hostages, hundreds infact; most of said hostages being women & children. Not just white people either, but "mixed-blood" as well. True, their land was taken, they were asked to stop their traditional hunting practices, forced to farm (after which there was crop failure, a harsh winter, & depletion of wild game due to poor hunting practices; none of which besides the poor hunting was something that could've possibly been predicted at the time by either the Dakota or the settlers), they were promised provisions & annuity which, just before the war they didn't get, & they weren't able to trade because of the Civil War.

All these things were obviously wrong & unfair, & I can definitely understand their anger, but the Dakota also shouldn't have attacked & killed so many people in retaliation. Protest should always be your first option in these situations.

At the end of the war, 2,000 Dakota either surrendered or were taken into custody. This included 1,658 non-combatants, as well as those who opposed the war & tried to free the hostages. In actuality, out of all those people, only a little more than 300 Dakota men were initially sentenced to death. Then, Lincoln came in, reviewed the cases, & reduced that number even further until it was only 39. Even then, one later got a reprieve, so the total was reduced to 38!

Only 38 out of 2,000!

The likelihood that even one of those 38 Dakota were innocent is very low. And the fact that it was so few meant that Lincoln was trying his damnedest to salvage the situation!

If it were a true genocide, each & every one of those 2,000 Dakota, including the 1,658 non-combatants & indigenous who didn't agree with the war & tried to free the hostages & the "mixed-bloods," would've also been killed, but they weren't!

Also keep in mind that what we know of today as Native Americans weren't even the original occupants of America. Most Natives can trace their lineage back to Asia because the Natives migrated to America from across the Baring Straight. Those migrants then either fought with the original inhabitants of America or mixed with them exactly like how the English did, so Natives have no more claim over American land than modern Americans.

Back then, land was obtained via right of conquest because, whether you like it or not, back then the general belief was might makes right.

The same could be said of the Natives. They waged wars between each other all the time. Not just with the white man. And when one tribe won, what do you think happened? The winner took the losers, either their belongings, people, or land. Sometimes all 3. Life was just cruel back then. So, why is it okay when the Native Americans did it, but when the white man did it, it was wrong?

That's what we in the business call a double standard.

It is very much not just black & white.

While briefly in Japan, specifically, Danny is called a Hanyuu, or 'Half-Spirit' & is often targeted by Youkai, Buddhist monks, Taijiya, as well as Shinto Miko & Kanushi. He has a similar journey there to what was described in the Teen Titans Crossover fic I mentioned.

Like, I'd like to see character growth in the trio especially. Especially in Sam who, as a very modern, vegan, & obviously left-leaning, feminist individual, has to learn that women actually have it super good back home. That she is not oppressed &, in fact, even has a couple of freedoms that men don't. Also that if she doesn't eat meat in these times, it's actually possible that she might not eat for long periods of time & might even die. At least, she definitely wouldn't be able to eat enough to keep her healthy. It's not like they made supplements back then.

Not to mention how up-in-arms she gets with a lot of the Puritans in Salem. There is this belief that she has that all of them were wicked & evil & were genocidal maniac zealots & barbaric slavers, but she's very quickly confronted with the fact that most of them were actually just people.

Let's not forget how much Tucker actually learns about actual slavery & racism. Yeah, the Emancipation Proclaimation was passed at least a decade before the time that they arrive there, but prejudices still ran very high. Like, he never really knew that there were black plantation owners & while he knew, conceptually, that slavery was a world-wide issue, it never really clicked inside his head what that meant. Such as the fact that there were white slaves such as the Irish or that 99% of the black slaves in America had not been stolen from Africa by white colonists, but rather sold by other African natives such as the Dahomey. Let alone the fact that the Barbary Pirates had more white slaves in Africa than there ever were black slaves in America.

It's only here in this journey to different times & countries that he realizes that slavery was legitimately a world-wide pandemic. That it had existed since the foundation of human history & had a handhold in practically every country. That people didn't simply imprison other cultures or races because of racism. Rather, the strong enslaved the weak. To the victor went the spoils & that included the people of the same race. If you lost, you were likely enslaved.

Hell, slavery was even worse in Rome than it ever was in America. Tucker never knew that in Rome it was entirely legal if a slave killed their master, for every slave in that household to then be executed to dissuade rebellion. THAT'S NUTS!!

Then, to connect the fact that the very word "Slave" was derived from Slavs who were white themselves & were often enslaved in the Ottoman Empire. It was mind-boggling.

As such, in modern times, there was likely not a single human alive that wasn't descended from at least one slave. No one group had more right to being angry about it than anyone else. If anything, white people should be proud because they can truthfully say that their ancestors ended slavery. Or, at least made it illegal in most of the free world. No other race has done more to end slavery than those demonized most today. If not for this, it's highly likely that slavery never would've ended. In fact, no other country has ever had slavery as part of their institution for such a short amount of time as America. No other country has abolished it so quickly after their inception.

Hell, Sam is Jewish! They'd been enslaved multiple times! They'd been culled in Egypt & had a genocide waged upon them! Sure, the genocide failed, but only due to American intervention.

So, the entire idea of reparations is sheer lunacy because if one group that'd suffered from slavery got reparations, then shouldn't every other group that suffered through it too? Including those of European descent? Realistically, if everyone got reparations for their ancestors' suffering in slavery, then how would you even keep track of the exchange of money because, again, literally every person on the planet probably has a slave ancestor.

And if you say that only those who suffered the most should get reparations, then how do you even measure that?? You can only know this sort of thing through deep, deep research. Do you have any idea the amount of money it would take to figure all that out? It'd probably take more money to sus all this out than to actually pay reparations! Then there's the reparations on top of that?? Entire countries would go bankrupt all to soothe a phantom hurt that no one still alive actually experienced for themselves! A hurt that isn't even secondhand!

You don't heal generational trauma with freaking money!

And just like with Natives, African tribes waged war against each other & took the spoils including people & land from the losers all the time! So, why was it perfectly fine for the black man to do this, but not for the white man? Why does everyone hold the white man to such a high standard??

But I digress.

Either way, Tucker & Danny become the designated hunters of the group, while Sam forages. With how naturally archery came to him in Beauty Marked, I see Tucker getting very good & seemed to be oddly suited to the life of a hunter, to Sam's growing anger.

However, she is quickly forced to either eat meat or die because, without her supplements or access to a wide enough variety of vegetables, she becomes very sick.

Then, one night she was attacked by a bear who would've killed her if not for Tucker's shooting. Sam's automatic response was to go ballistic on him for killing an animal, until he told her that it would've killed her. Period.

It wasn't playing games, it would've killed her & she expected him, her best friend, to do nothing? To what? Choose the bear's life over hers? Hard pass.

That already was humbling, but then Tucker later taught her a hard lesson in the natural order; you kill it, you eat it.

She'd been attacked again, but neither Tucker nor Danny had been near & so she was forced to defend herself.

The cougar that had attacked her, went down with a lucky shot to the head.

The thing was, when Tucker, Danny, & an old, grisled hunter who lived nearby found her crying over it, the old man told her that they had to use its parts or it'd rot & it'd have died for nothing. That she needed to take responsibility for the life she took.

It was a hard lesson for Sam to learn. She sobbed as she ate the cougar's meat. As much as she hated to admit it, it was the most delicious thing she'd tasted in a long time. Due to her stubborn adherence to veganism, she'd been slowly starving herself.

It was here that she finally realized that not everyone had the luxury of veganism. That it was only possible because of modern convenience & if society were to collapse, the stubborn vegans would be the first ones to die.

[dbd-imagines]

any headcanons for plague?

Adiris | The Plague - Headcanons

She is 100% a lesbian. I'm sorry but you cannot change my mind. She loves women and is a supportive partner. She constantly checks on her girlfriend's needs and her love language is acts of service.

Adiris is a truly giving person and resolute in her beliefs. She doesn't actually want to be a killer, nor does she enjoy harming the survivors. It isn't something that gives her pleasure or purpose, but something she simply has to do.

She resents being called 'The Plague'. This is what she lost her people to, this is what she was trying to fight for so long, and by being called that by survivors it is just another reminder that she failed and still died.

She hates that she was tricked by the entity into an endless cycle of death and killing. She sacrificed herself to 'her' god to save her people from the plague not to become it herself.

She was devastated when she found out that her people still died. That the plague still ravaged the lands and her sacrifice meant nothing. She does not like the entity at all.

Adiris is definitely the mom friend along with Sally. She looks out for others and attempts to get along with both survivors and other killers alike, though the immature ones annoy her a bit.

Overtime she practices her English so she can communicate with the others better. It feels weird on her tongue compared to her native language, but she hopes to be less frightening.

Adiris holds herself with a confident demeanor, not allowing anyone to look down on her. There has been more than one occasion where she has had to put other disrespectful killers back into their place including Danny and Freddy. She has little to no patience for them and their senseless cruelty.

Adiris and Philip get along very well, especially since they both are in the same boat of being forced to kill people.

That's it for now. I wasn't sure what kind of headcanons you were looking for so I sort of rambled. These are my personal ones based off the lore we have about her. I love Adiris and think she is really interesting for a killer.

[2x4plank]

I played 400 Days over the past weekend and I don't really know what to say about it. I think my main feeling was, "Is that it?" But I still enjoyed what I was given and the ideas it played with.

I think I wanted to see more of Nate. I hate him. I was worried they were going to turn him into a "lovable creep" and treat his terrible attitude towards women and boundary-pushing with Russel as something funny. But then I came back to it and they didn't do that. I wasn't going to agree to him murdering those old racist (because what's the point? they're on their way out due to lack of supplies; one of 'em is losing lots of blood). But if I did, I think they could've taken the opportunity to show what it would be like if I did just go along with whatever bs Nate was on. What it would do to Russel if he kept Nate as this negative influence in his life. But then we wouldn't have the time or the budget for all these other stories. If they did flesh it out, this story could especially tie into the campers choosing to leave for Carver Depot as they get indoctrinated into a cult.

I won't lie and say that the shortness of these stories wasn't 80% of what kept me interested. I knew I could finish them all within a day, so why not take the time? But of course that sacrificed the potential these other stories had to become something more. Like Shel's story--it had so many interesting elements (using walkers as defense, childcare, and killing to send a message). But it doesn't really feel like it matters because the outcome of killing Stephanie or leaving isn't shown. It doesn't feel like any of these stories have any staying power outside of the little cameos in S2.

Bonnie of course is a major character in season two, but I didn't really see how what happened in 400 days impacted her character. I will say her story put her in a sympathetic position and I don't understand why Dee (is that her name) would hold her drug addiction over her head, especially in an apocalypse. And it felt like Leland was especially exploitative of Bonnie's vulnerabilities.

Also, of course I'm killing Danny. He's creepy! And I hope Vince felt absolutely no remorse for leaving him behind.

[itlivesproject]

I feel like this is not talked abt that much so here we go

When women of it lives universe have periods

ILITW MC(when she used to be human for the peeps who sacrificed her instead of Noah): I feel like she has the smoothest period possible, no pain, just a bit of weakness

Lily: She has mild cramps, but feels extra energetic and struggles with being attentive.

Stacy: I feel like she has a lot of mood swings during her periods. And plus like me she CANNOT FIND THE RIGHT POSITION TO SLEEP

Ava: her powers are heightened and she uses that time to kill some monsters

Jocelyn: She has extreme back pain and insomnia so she goes to the jungle so that she can kill some monsters and grt exhausted enough to sleep.

ILB MC: She has extreme cramps. Like the ones which make you curl up into a ball and cry, but thankfully they have their partner to help them get thru it

Imogen: Imogen is the kinda gal who watches soppy romances while eating a whole box of ice cream while crying abt having nobody (if ur ilb mc isn't dating her)

Danni: She's the silent sufferer. Like u wouldn't even know until she tells u that she's on her period

ILW MC: She probably has everything, cramps, nausea, heightened powers of already almost uncontrollable powers. Oo plus she'll be extra horny. Like very very very horny

Amalia: She'll be having mood swings about everything that's going on with her life. She'll be like I'm so lucky to have u as my friend Nadia (my ilw mc) but i can't go to law school WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Ok Idk why i did this bye

Idk why you did this either but I’m not complaining 😂 this is fun to think about. Everyone’s experiences with periods are super different. Also I think you’re right on the money with ilw mc being super horny, but let’s be real when aren’t they horny 😂

P.S. mod eri says "Ava's more powerful during her period? Absolute girlboss, no choice but to stan 😩"

[cerezsis]

What I Hoped Would Be Impossible

Chapter Three: It’s a Family Affair

A Weeping Angel in the 1970s leads Cecilia and Clara to a familiar yet unfamiliar face.

--

“So there we are, about to be sacrificed to the fish god,” Clara recounted the tale to Danny as she pulled two mugs out of the cupboard, “We’re tied up, no hope of escape, surrounded by saber-toothed aliens doing some kind of ceremonial song and dance, and that’s when the Doctor stops to ask if they mean a god of fish, or a god that looks like a fish.”

As she snickered at the absurdity, Danny continued to scroll through his phone. The first two times she brought up her adventures with the Doctor and Cecilia, he’d tried his best to feign enthusiasm, but given that he hadn’t even been at her flat for an hour, his mask was starting to slip.

“So, then the chanting stops, Cecilia and I are looking at him like “Really? That’s what you’re concerned about right now?” and, of course, that only makes the leader more-” Turning around, she finally saw Danny with his head down and phone in hand. Eyes narrowing, she paused making coffee as her grin fell. “Sorry, am I boring you?”

Danny quickly looked up, sliding his phone into his pocket. “No, I’m listening. What did the fish god guy do?”

“Oh, it doesn’t matter.” Turning her back to him, she aggressively pressed the buttons on the coffee maker. “Please, tell me about your thrilling evening of grading papers.”

“Clara…” He sighed. “Just… Do you think we could talk about something other than your new friends?”

“What’s wrong with my friends?” she asked, her tone defensive as she turned back around, arms crossed over her chest.

“Nothing’s wrong. It’d just be nice if-”

Before he could finish, an eager knock-knock-knockcame from the front door. All too eager to walk away, Clara hurried to answer it, not even looking through the peephole before she turned the knob. Laying eyes on her visitor, her irritation began to melt away as she moved to let her inside.

“Hey,” Cecilia grinned as she stepped through the threshold of the flat, “You’re not busy, are-?”

Looking over Clara’s shoulder, she caught a glimpse of Danny in the kitchen. “Oh, sorry, I-”

“No, it’s fine,” Clara assured her, unable to mask the lingering passive-aggression, “Things were getting boringaround here, anyway.”

“I didn’t-!” Letting out a sigh, Danny stood up, grabbing his jacket before heading towards the door. “It’s fine, whatever. Call me when you’re done with whatever she wants.”

Without so much as glancing at either of them, he walked out the door, not quite slamming it behind him, but closing it with more force than needed.

“Um…” Cecilia spoke up, “Everything ok?”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it.” As she crossed her arms, she finally noticed what the other woman was wearing. “What’s with the getup?”

Cecilia glanced down at her outfit, a beige women’s pantsuits with a red blouse, paired with white heels and a belt that matched. All very disco, and a sharp contrast to her usual 50s-inspired dresses.

“Camouflage,” she explained with a grin, “Got a new assignment from UNIT. Was wondering if you’d like to join me.”

“An assignment where?” Looking her up and down, she struggled to think of a place where an ensemble like that was needed. “The 1970s?”

“Actually, yes.”

Clara suddenly perked up, posture straightening as she wore a wide grin. “Is the Doctor coming too?”

“No- er, well…” Biting the side of her lip, she quickly glanced to the ceiling. It was a fair question – adventures in time travel usually involved the Doctor – but the answer was a bit more complicated. “Sort of.”

“What do you mean sort of?” Her eyes again narrowed in confusion.

“I mean a Doctor will be there, but not the one you know. Not one I’ve ever met either.”

“Not one you’ve…” She quickly shook her head. “Nope, sorry, you lost me. From the top, please. What exactly is going on?”

“Well, simply put, 1972 called. There’s a Weeping Angel running around Wales, and UNIT’s trying to capture it.” She cringed as the creature’s name left her lips. “I hate those things, but people have already gone missing, and their chief scientific advisor is apparently moving too slowly.”

“And where does the Doctor come in?”

Cecilia couldn’t help but flash a grin. “Who do you think the scientific advisor is?”

Read More on AO3

[korra-the-red-lion]

Supergirl 6x11: Mxy in the Middle.

Hey everyone! Sorry this is a week late. I had a family emergency last week then I had to work two days and two nights, so I just wasn’t really in a great headspace to watch SG. I watched it today though, and I will watch tonight’s episode tomorrow morning! So, what did I think of this episode? Let’s find out and as always, SPOILERS AHEAD.

Mxy explaining Nyxly’s backstory to the tune of I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor was not something I was expecting, but it was fun in a cringe way! Everyone was hating it except for Alex was hilarious.

I do like Nyxly’s vibe. I think she’s an interesting villain. She’s been scorn by so many people in her life, and just when she thought her and Kara were connecting on a deep level, Kara ‘betrays’ her. Now granted, Nyxly brought Kara’s ‘betrayal’ on herself, but it does make sense. She’s not the best villain from the show, but I’m enjoying her quite a bit. And it looks like Peta is having a good time playing her as well!

Nia feeling immense guilt letting her free but not telling anyone why until further into the episode is such a Supergirl mood, haha.

The Brainia content this episode was really good, though. I love that they always support one another, it’s really refreshing to see.

Lena Luthor. Ma’am. That outfit is fantastic. And Andrea letting her borrow a jet and calling to check in on her is a nice reminder of their friendship.

I also am enjoying Lena’s storyline. I know some people felt like the Witch Lena stuff came from out of nowhere, and that’s very valid, but I personally feel like they sort of began teasing it back in s4. Now, s5 was such a dumpster fire in comparison that I think we as a fandom have forgotten a lot of content introduced back then, I know I have. I mean hell, look at how quickly they brought back the adoption storyline.

I am missing Kelly this episode, but I also think it was the right move to have the focus be a little narrower this episode. Plus I know she’s gonna be bombass in episode 12, so I’m not too upset.

Alex and J’onn just deadpanned staring at Mxy as he tries to explain everything was hilarious. I love when these two do stuff like that.

Okay, for some reason I saw a LOT of people complaining about the giant cat. I think that yes, the CGI wasn’t fantastic, but it was fun! Kara using her eye lasers to distract it was really clever and funny. I’m trying to decide if Brainy using a container like that is another Ghostbusters reference or a Danny Phantom reference haha.

All three people in Newfoundland being mean to Lena. Poor girl can’t even catch a break in effing Canada. Shame on my fictional people with mild Irish accents. But seriously though, laughing over the Irish accents of the Newfoundlanders.

The bartender lady roasting Lena for running around with aliens but not believing in magic was great! She also had a great line about the Luthors: “Your family may be used to leaving a trail of bodies behind, but you could have had the decency to leave these ones buried” or something like that. I just thought it was very cool.

Okay, admittedly that wig is pretty bad haha.

Elizabeth and the other witches using magic on some abusive bastard and somehow we’re supposed to believe the women thought they were evil? Yeah right. They went to the bar and celebrated in style after that.

I’m ready for Witch Lena to come back to National City and Kara being wide-eyed about it. 

Nia telling Brainy and Kara, the two people most important in her life, was a good moment. She felt really guilty about it, but both of them understood why she did it. It was a really good moment.

This was probably the only thing in the episode I didn’t like, truthfully. They had this whole plan about Nia using some technology to disguise herself as Mxy to get a cuff on Nyxly to block her powers. Okay, then it goes wrong right away because of her magic. Why did J’onn just shapeshift? Wouldn’t that have been safer? Plus he’s got more speed than Nia if something did go wrong. That was the only thing that had me rolling my eyes because it was a simple thing that the writers made harder on purpose.

The dragon looked a lot better than the cat, though it didn’t do much.

Mxy sacrificed himself because he didn’t want Kara to use the PZ device. I do like that Kara understands that while Nxyly is doing something wrong, she’s doing it from a place of pain. Yes, Kara says she’s no longer holding back after this but she does have a soft spot for Nxyly.

Overall, this episode wasn’t the best one. It wasn’t the worst episode of the season. I believe that still belongs to the trial episode. However, I don’t think it was bad as I thought it was going to be based on fan reaction. I do hope for more Kara in upcoming episodes because she does feel a bit like a passive player in her own show at the moment. But tonight’s episode should be good!

[riotkissedarchived]

  »   CARMILLA KARNSTEIN / LEGACIES BACKSTORY

carmilla was murdered in 1868 at a ball in austria ,   and resurrected by a close family friend ,   revealed to be a   vampire . 

carmila’s   “mother”   would go on to use her as bait to lure unsuspecting girls that would later be abducted for purposes carmilla was not aware of. 

in 1872,  carmilla falls in love with   ella ,   one of her mother’s marks.    she then researches what her mother is doing and learns that the girls are being sacrificed. 

she attempts to run away with ella ,   but her mother intervenes ,   and reveals to ella that carmilla is a vampire.   ella is digusted by carmilla and later abducted. 

her mother is displeased with her ,   and forces her to   w a t c h   ella’s sacrifice.    it is then that she learns that her mother is not   simply   a vampire ,    but a sort of deity that she has no words to describe.    carmilla is then desiccatted as punishment ,   but meant to be revived within the century.

however ,   carmilla’s mother is   consumed by malivore   before carmilla is woken.

she is buried in mystic falls graveyard ,   and blood reaches her during one of the necromancer’s rituals.    she is later found once she finally digs herself out of her shallow grave and tries to feed on a deputy.

alaric later takes her in when he hears about her behavior and questions her. 

she doesn’t approve of alaric’s rules ,   but would rather safety ,   so she plays along. 

she has a large gap in memory because so much of her life revolved around her mother after she was turned.   she only remembers ella.

once everyone gets their memory back ,   she slowly remembers her mother and realizes she was consumed by malivore.   she would stop at nothing to keep her there.

carmilla can turn in to a giant black cat   /   panther. 

  »   DANNY LAWRENCE  /  LEGACIES BACKSTORY

she belonged to a   new age   pack   :    the summer society.     a werewolf pack dedicated to justice.     defenders of those who cannot protect themselves.    they’re   hunters   by trade ,   but only hunt those that threaten innocent lives. 

the pack functions as a   democracy   rather than following the will of an alpha.    

she was   15   when she first triggered her curse.    she was running to defend a fellow classmate from a violent bully.    she sent him   crashing   skull first in to a jagged rock.

a year and a half after she joins the summers   :    they are all hunted and killed.     a group of vicious vampires ,   threatened   by the pack’s presence and determined to do whatever they like take the pack out before the pack can protect the town around them.

uncertain what to do with his daughter in the wake of the aftermath ,   danny’s father sends her to the salvatore school.

danny has trouble feeling   one   with the salvatore pack as she is mourning the loss of her own.    she also finds dealing with so much testosterone difficult ,   and the summers were mostly women. 

she   distrusts   vampires after what they did her her pack.  

[bert-thefrog]

Dirty Little Secret - Part 6 - Bryce Lahela/Harper Emery

* | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | *

* Trigger Warning: This chapter includes mention of a car crash. I don’t think it’s graphic but what ever. *

Naveen and Ethan both agree that maybe it’s better for me to go to the confrence, take some time away from the whispers and stares. Bryce doesn’t have that luxury though and as I walk past the surgical interns with Ethan later that week I’m not oblivious to their stares and giggles. “Go on Lahela. What was she like?” Someone laughs and I freeze, the derision in his voice throwing me. “Harper, ignore them.” Ethan murmurs, trying to stop me. No. I refuse to be talked about like that, but before I can confront the intern Bryce has stepped up. “Shut your mouth unless you want me to shut it for you.”

“Protective are we?” The other intern mocks him, but he sounds less sure of himself now, backing away slightly.

“Do you talk about all women this way? Or just when you think you’re better than them.”

“I-”

“Because you’re not. You’re pathetic, you struggle to get in on even the most basic surgeries. You’re not a good surgeon and you’re not a good person and it’s sad that you think mocking your boss is going to win you friends here because she is ten times the surgeon you’ll ever be.” Bryce stalks after the intern, fists clenched at his sides.

“Dr. Lahela. That’s enough.” I call out, stopping him before he can do something stupid, he tenses at my voice, but goes no further, choosing to walk away from the other interns. Away from me.

“And you.” I point at the intern. “I think we need to have a chat about appropriate behavior in the workplace when I come back.” He gulps, visibly paling.

“Are you okay?” Ethan questions me as we walk across the parking lot, shoulders brushing slightly.

“I’m fine.” I shrug, sliding into the passenger seat whilst he walks round to the driver side. The door shuts with a firm thump and he starts the ignition, the engine purring to life as we reverse from the Edenbrook car park and out onto the road.

“Somehow I doubt that. Did they find out who posted the pictures?”

“Nope.” I sink down in the seat, folding my arms and staring pointedly out the window to signal the end of this conversation. Ethan doesn’t take the hint.

“Have you and Dr. Lahela spoken since everything happened?”

“Since when were you invested in my personal relationships?”

“Harper..”

“No Ethan I’m curious, since my life became a soap opera, since I became the laughing stock of the whole of Edenbrook you’re always hovering. Why is that?”

“Because I’m worried about you.” Ethan trails off as I laugh bitterly.

“I am not some delicate little flower who needs protecting. I never have been.”

“I know that.”

“Do you? Because you don’t act like it.”

“Ok maybe worrying wasn’t the right word. Harper I care about you, you’re my friend.” He heaved a sigh, taking one hand from the steering wheel to pinch the bridge of his nose.

“I care about you too. But I can stand on my own two feet.”

“I know you can.” He concedes, dropping the subject as we drive along in silence. The sun is setting in the distance, the light fading around us as we drive.

———

“We haven’t spoken no. We’ve argued alright, but never actually talked about anything.” Eventually I speak up, cringing at how small and unsure I sound.

“Well maybe talking to him would be a good start.”

“He wouldn’t want to speak to me even if I tried.”

“Don’t be pathetic.” Ethan snaps.

“Excuse me?”

“You always do this. Punish yourself for nothing. When are you going to stop with the self sacrificing martyr act and just let yourself be happy?”

“I-”

“Let yourself be happy Harper.” Ethan sighs, from behind his profile I see pinpricks of light cutting through the dark quickly coming towards us.

“Ethan...”

“No I’m serious, you deserve-” He’s not paying attention to the fast approaching headlights.

“Ethan!” I scream, but it’s too late. The light floods the car, blinding us. Metal on metal, mechanical screeching and shattering glass as we seem to freeze and roll at the same time; all bathed in stark white light until.

There is only darkness.

——— Bryce’s POV ———

I’m finishing up for the day, waiting in the nurses station and chatting to Danny until the others are ready to leave when Ines walks in, looking like she’s seen a ghost. “Whoa there are you alright?” Danny and I watch her as she clutches the counter top for support.

“There’s been an accident. Ethan and Dr. Emery were involved.” She takes a deep breath as fear runs its cold fingertip down my spine and I swallow back bile as it creeps it’s way up my throat.

“Are they okay?” Danny questions her as I stand in silence.

“I don’t know. There’s an ambulance headed this way with them now. Bryce? Bryce?” She calls after me as I walk away, I don’t know where my feet are taking me but I know I need to be far away from them. What if she’s hurt? What if she’s- I can’t finish that sentence. It’s not possible. I find myself in an empty corridor, taking a seat on the hard plastic chairs and burying my head in my hands as the tears begin to fall. I look up as the heavy doors swish, letting in a draught and Aurora. She sinks down against the wall opposite me, knees hunched to her chest like a child as she rests her head on them. “You alright?” My voice is dry and scratchy, choked up with emotion.

“I’m just waiting until she gets here.” Aurora shrugs, giving a shuddering breath. The two of us peter off into silence, unsure of what to say to the other, what could we say?

“I knew you were seeing one another.”

“What?” Of course she did, everyone knew after those photos..

“That day I came by the house. You were there weren’t you?”

“How did you-?”

“I don’t know any other idiot who’d wear orange crocs.” She nods down at my feet and I can’t help but laugh.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Why the hell would I ever willingly bring up my aunt’s sex life?”

“I mean you just did.”

“Ew.” She shudders delicately and I burst out laughing again at the ridiculousness of the situation, sobering up almost immediately though as I remember why we’re both down this hall.

“She hasn’t dated anyone since Dr. Ramsey.”

“We weren’t exactly a couple Aurora.”

“You liked her though.”

“Yeah.” I remember the night before it all kicked off, when I was so sure that I was in love. I went a lot further than ‘liking’ her.

“Then why would you give up on her?”

“I didn’t. She did.”

“That sounds like aunt Harper. In case you haven’t noticed, we don’t exactly share our feelings in this family.” I don’t know what to say to her at that, so instead I stand up, offering her my hand.

“Come on. We should be there when they bring her in.”

——— Bryce’s Pov ———

They wheel Dr. Ramsey in first, rushing past us with him on a gurney, shouting stats and instructions to one another. Casey watches him, white faced and squeezing tightly to Siennas hand, but as much as I want to be there for her I can’t. Not until I know Harper is okay. “Aunt Harper!” Aurora yells, running towards the entrance. She walks in, a purplish bruise forming on her head; followed by Rafael holds his hands up in a defensive position. “She refused to let me near her.”

“I’m okay.” She protests, looking around the corridor. “Where’s Ethan?”

“They’ve got him Harper, please let someone take a look at you.” I reach out, she looks numb, shaking as she stands there, as though a single gust of wind will knock her down.

“I’m okay.” She whispers again, repeating it to herself over and over like a mantra. Her knees buckle though, and she collapses against my chest sobbing. I’ve never seen her cry before.

“Hey, hey. I’ve got you.” I kiss the top of her head, not caring who sees us. “Can you find an empty exam room?” I look up at Aurora as she stands there helplessly. Harper clings to my shirt for dear life, and I scoop her up easily, gentle in case of broken bones; carrying her behind Aurora because I’m scared if I let her go she’ll fall, or I’ll lose her completely.

“The other driver?” Ines is there waiting for us as I put Harper down on the exam bed. Aurora shrugs her shoulders, none of us have seen anyone else come in. Rafael shakes his head at us silently from the doorway. Dead. Harper doesn’t let go of my hand as Ines begins to examine her, wincing as the younger doctor’s hands touch her ribs. “Does that hurt?”

“Only when I breathe.” Uh, Harper? You can’t really not breathe. I roll my eyes inwardly at her.

“Right. What about your head?” Ines continues checking her over.

“It hurts like a bitch.” Harper swears and I hide a smile, running my thumb across her knuckles gently. “What’s happening with Ethan?”

“I’m not sure. They have him in surgery right now.” Ines won’t say anything more, finishing up her examination and stepping back. “You are extremely lucky Dr. Emery. I suspect fractured ribs and a mild concussion and I’m going to book you in for a CT.” Harper doesn’t argue with her, instead slumping tiredly against me, all her energy drained.

“I was really worried about you.” Aurora finally speaks up, Harper holds her arms out to her niece, wrapping her into an awkward side hug.

“Be careful of your ribs.” Aurora warns her, I step back, heading for the door now I know she’s okay.

“Bryce?” Harper speaks up.

“Yeah?”

“Can you stay here? Please?” She looks at me, unsure of how I’ll respond, brown eyes wide and pleading. I let out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding, my shoulders relaxing as I pull up a chair beside the bed.

“Of course I can.”

I ignore Aurora’s smirk in my direction, reaching out to take Harper’s hand, tomorrow anything could happen; she could decide she doesn’t want to see me anymore, the walls could come back up... and that’s okay. Because right now I’m here. As long as she needs me.

*Tagging @lilyofchoices @msjpuddleduck @dr-casey-lahela @europeanguy @rookie-ramsey @lady-kato @ethanramseyposts @maria-lahela @chasingrobbie @omgjasminesimone @itsfabrayic @thisperfectmemory I actually despise this chapter it reads like trash I’m sorry.*

[titanicprophecy]

Resurrect the WWE Tag Team Division

WWE Tag Team Division Sucks. Ok bye.

OK I guess I should maybe explain.

WWE has some of,if not, the majority of the most talented, phenomenal wrestlers on the face of the earth. It's very hard to argue that. Unfortunately, only 30-40% are actually used on TV. You see, I see it, My neighbors blind dog sees it. It's been like this for the last few years. The company had created a Divas Revolution, literally jammed it down our throats because we asked for it, and so far has pushed it to the forefront. They resurrected the women's division, now maybe we should try something harder:  Resurrect the Tag Team Division. 

WWE Tag Division across all 3 brands (yes NXT is a brand now) is virtually dead and decimated. In total there are 5 tag teams on Raw, 8 on Smackdown and 10 in NXT and NXT UK COMBINED. Sounds like a lot right well let's break it all down: 

On Raw we have the Viking Raiders ruling the brand at Champs, with the OC, Street Profits and the AOP there as well. Considering the AOP are currently bodyguards for Seth Rollins and the 5th team being Hawkins and Ryder (who are glorified jobbers) they're only 3 Active Teams actually competing for the titles, and I know you seen Raw recently. Seeing these three teams are fine but they are getting rather tiresome very quickly. We need new blood in the tag division. They have a lot of stars just sitting on payroll and they havent been used at all recently or are just now jobbers due to not having any personality, but we can change that easily by just giving them personality via a team. Currently Rey Mysterio is in a feud with both Andrade and in a smaller way Seth Rollins. Seeing that he may shift into a feud with Seth Rollins, I say let's not do that. Once Humberto comes back from his kayfabe injury and after puts over Andrade (Seriously, don't give Humberto the title, it’ll kill the championship) you can put Humberto in a team With Rey. Kinda like a Master and Student of luchadors and have them chase the titles. Give Rey something to do for the rest of his contract in turn, makes Humberto a true student, have him team with his idol and make him like the next coming of Mexican wrestlers and when Rey is ready to leave again, you can make a new star out of Humberto due to the mentor ship or turn him heel on Rey and have him break out as another Heel latino star. In the same vain, maybe bring up Angel Garza, Humberto cousin and have them be a cocky duo that can outclass anyone. Make the cruiser weights into a tag team. The same can be said with Cedric Alexander and Akira Tozawa. Two 205 castaways that want to prove that they can survive in the land of the giants. Make them true underdogs and have them show more heart and resilience, like Paul London and Brian Kendrick back in the mid 2000s. You can boost the teams to 5 right off the bat and maybe make Hawkins and Ryder that typical loveable team that entertaining and that can be viable threats, not just jobbers.  Raw can easily boost the tag team division to 6 teams. Although it’s not a lot, it can start something that can snowball into something bigger.

Smackdown on the other hand, they have a tag division. They really do have one. As of writing, they have a total of 7 teams, 8 since Miz and Morrison are set to be a reuniting team. It would be 9 but rumor has it that the Revival are on hiatus and may be out the door soon so let's go with 6. Smackdown has the New Day ruling their land, while feuding with the aforementioned reunion of Miz and Morrison. We have Heavy Machinery doing things that isnt team stuff right now, The Usos who just returned, Ziggler and Roode, who just came back from his suspension, and three teams who are currently on milk cartons as missing children in the B-team, Lucha house Party and the Colons. 5 teams that are actually on T.V. and 3 that are not even relevant so Smackdown has a very straightforward solution. Use them. Just use them. Miz and Morrison, Ziggler and Roode, Colons and the B-team are Heels. New Day, Usos, Heavy Machinery and LHP are faces. You have a perfectly balanced crop of teams for a proper tag division to develop. You can definitely use them and Resurrect the division. Give LHP some upset wins over Roode and Ziggler, have one of the B-team members upset the Usos with cheating ways. Build them up a bit and you can have quite possibly the most underrated tag division since the mid 2000’s. 

NXT, well this is kinda an issue. Their tag teams all graduated. They’re on the main roster. Currently The Undisputed era have a Horseman like choke hold on the Tag division. Mainly because they don't even have a tag division. It's like being the goodest boy in a contest against cats. Your the bestest because well, your the only one. As of today we have a total of 3 teams on regular NXT, The U.E., the Forgotten sons (who are forgotten unless they have a good team to bounce off) and Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch. This is about to change due to the debut of Alex Shelly and the reunion of the Timesplitters but I don't know if Shelly is gonna stay on for longer. Breezango keeps starting and stopping to injury so they're basically done for. In total, only 4 teams in NXT and they aren't even fighting for the titles. The U.E have literally a deathgrip on the Tag division which is good in a sense where whatever team that beats them gets an instant boost to their stock, but terrible because there are no believable teams that can beat them currently. Im calling it now, They need a superteam of two huge stars to team up to take the title off them. Either a #DIY reunion, and Dijakovic and Lee combination again or maybe Riddle and Dunne can take them out if the team sticks(which it shouldn't). NXT are gonna have to create teams just like Raw has to and they can do it but they will be sacrificing a lot of single star potential to do so. Cameron Grimes, Bronson Reed, even Matt Riddle and Pete Dunn are Single Superstars. They are meant to be single stars. Putting them in a team can work but it will be wasting their potential. NXT UK has 4 teams  in Gallus, Imperium, Grizzled Young Veterans and Flash Morgan Webster and Mark Andrews. These 4 teams are all they have and they are on the verge of getting tiresome as well. I don't know much about NXT UK and the roster so I’m not gonna talk about them so much but in NXT US, they have too many single stars. They may just have to sacrifice some of the single stars to create tag teams but I doubt Triple H would do that so unfortunately NXT may have to just suffer for now until we get some new debuts to the Black and Yellow. 

Raw and Smackdown can resurrect the Tag Team Division. NXT may have to some sacrificing to rebuild theirs but Raw and Smackdown, especially Smackdown, can fix theirs. Whether its pairing two underutilized stars into a team or just using the teams you have. It’s time to address the issue. Either consolidate the belts and have them float (Which has shown to be a great idea right 24/7 title that’s mainly on Raw, right Women’s tag team titles that's only on Raw) or get off your asses and start getting the teams together. Dash and Wilder may have brought a revival to the tag team wrestling but the entire division, on all three brands, need a resurrection. 

[safflowerseason]

Veep and Political Parties

In response to some Anon inquiries that @casliyn sent my way…essentially, what are Dan and Amy’s political views? 

This is a great question that really gets at the heart of some fundamental issues about what Veep tried to accomplish as a television show (and how it changed after S4). As usual, I went off in another mini-essay about Veep and American politics, so this time I inserted the “Keep Reading” link in order to preserve everyone’s timelines. But if you’re so inclined...keep reading :-) 

One of the central conceits of Veep is that political parties are never explicitly mentioned, and I believe that decision drew mixed views from critics?? (I didn’t watch when it first premiered, so I don’t have any of the original reviews on hand.) The decision to never mention party names vs. mentioning them is kind of a lose-lose in terms of criticism…the West Wing was criticized for doing the opposite of Veep, after all. Both choices open certain narrative doors and close others. 

Also, a lot has changed since the show first premiered. Watching the show now, it seems obvious that Selina belongs to the more liberal political party, because the current conservative party has become a party unwilling to abide by or protect democratic norms. As a result, the choice to not mention any parties by name seems a bit…problematic, or at the very least a big cop-out. But in 2011-2012, everyone could still assume that both parties chose to operate on the same playing field, just with contrasting political ideologies. 

Anyway, to the question at hand: Dan and Amy’s political affiliations, and therefore, Selina’s…you can’t really talk about politics on Veep without talking about Selina. 

Ultimately, the answer really depends on which “era” of the show you choose to refer to, S1-S4 or S5-S7.

In the Iannucci era of the show, especially early on, there are evident hints that Selina has more liberal political views. In S1, she and Amy work on a Clean Jobs bill and Selina is interested in progressive issues such as access to abortion and childcare for women in the workplace (these issues are considered “progressive” in the US *rolls eyes*). The fact that she was chosen to be vice president in spite of being a woman and divorced seems significant well. There are also a bunch of small asides that suggest a more liberal political outlook, like Dan disdainfully talking about the Drudge Report. Based on these hints, if you wanted, you could make the assumption that Amy and Dan work for the equivalent of the Democratic Party in the Veep universe, and therefore hold more socially liberal views. 

But that’s not really the point of the show, is it? In the very first episode, Selina is presented to the audience with a more typically liberal legislative goal, and almost immediately, we learn that she can’t get it as easily as she thought. This is the primary struggle in S1-S4 of Veep. The characters attempt to balance their political convictions and goals with the structural demands of a political system that severely constrains what they are able to say and accomplish in order to remain in power. In S1, the Clean Jobs bill gets scrapped because the President’s legislative agenda takes precedence over Selina’s. What other steps can she take in order to achieve her goals? Will she decide to take them? Political affiliation is just the beginning of the story.

However, what is crucial is that the very notion of a political party still matters in these seasons (for the most part). Selina learns in Ep. 1.01 that a good chunk of her party leadership is in the pocket of the plastics industry (and therefore oil), which means her Clean Jobs bill is going to have less support than she thought. In Episode 3.02, it’s a game-changer that POTUS has just come out in favor of limiting abortion access, because he’s the leader of Selina’s political party and she can’t just brush off what he says. In 3.03, Doyle informs Selina that he will make sure the senior members of the party abandon her if she puts childcare in her campaign kick-off speech. You have the sense in S1-S4 of Veep that “the party” is a political force that Selina can’t escape, one that binds her to men she can’t stand and whose political goals are different from hers, like Doyle and Furlong. In Ep 2.09, she tells Amy she’ll run against POTUS to “save the party from itself.”

As for Dan and Amy, their jobs as political strategists are to score wins for their bosses, even when it means ignoring their private political convictions. Amy criticizes O’Brien’s white supremacist politics, but goes and strikes a deal with him anyway. Dan is pro-choice, but pushes Selina to say whatever she thinks will win her more political support. Even for Dan, who spends half of S2 thinking about leaving Selina’s office, there’s never a question that he might bail for someone like O’Brien. Instead, he’s thinking about jumping ship for the current darling of the party, Danny Chung. Dan Egan is known in D.C. as a political strategist for the [X] Party, and that fundamentally shapes his career path. 

All this complicated nuance goes away in the Mandel era of the show. He would probably say that no one in Veep has any political convictions, or that they sacrificed them long ago. In Mandel’s vision of Veep, what a politician believes does not matter. Politicians and the people who work for them will say whatever they have to in order to gain power. Political affiliations of the characters are meaningless. What’s more, they can do and say whatever they want because the system allows them to do so. Voters, parties, political interest groups, and even elections are as meaningless a politician’s convictions. This is a very one-dimensional (and I would say fundamentally uninteresting) vision of politics.

One of my favorite television critics, Emily Nussbaum, said on Twitter that she always thought the decision to not mention the political parties by name was a bit of a cop-out. But in S7, it worked in the show’s favor because the parties essentially disappear and the primary election is just this crazed feeding frenzy between separate egotistical and power-hungry individuals. 

I would argue that this captured the sensibility of Trumpian politics, but doesn’t actually get at what really happens with political primaries. What we witnessed in the 2016 Republican primary was a battle for the soul of Republican party. That Trump, with his hybrid brand of demagogic and racist populism, won it easily indicated all kinds of ominous things to come. The same thing is happening now in the Democratic primary. There’s a fundamental fight over how the party should reinvent itself in the wake of the specific threats posed by Trump and others like him. That’s why there are twenty people running for one nomination.

How different would the final season of Veep had been if the show had seriously explored the the stakes of primary elections? The show dances around the idea a bit with Kemi and Selina, but in the end just goes for the lazy “millenials are whiny” trope. In what world do Buddy and Selina exist in the same political party? In what world did Amy voluntarily work for him—not to mention agree to marry him—if he was really a religious bigot all along? The creative team seemed so insistent on spotlighting the primary elections. Why waste the opportunity to say something really interesting and specific about them as a dimension of American political life? To me, that seems far more interesting and relevant than jokes about how election tampering is actually necessary for winning.