#(conversation; aisha)

[thats-the-biz-babe]

this is just kinda an amalgamation of thoughts with no point to it but. i've been thinking about how the show would explain it if they had buck move on to another love interest next season. and idk how to word this correctly but the thought i'm having is like... if the only given explanation for bucktommy being over and the relationship not being the right one for buck is that tommy was his first boyfriend, for me what that's doing is legitimising the "i'm not your last, i'm your first" which was a statement born out of insecurity! to me the point of that should be tommy was wrong. i need him to be proved wrong.

otherwise... so the moral of the story here is that tommy was right and that buck doesn't understand his own feeings? that he mistook the excitement of the "novelty" of having a boyfriend for having real feelings for someone? that tommy was just a starter boyfriend and buck needs to "try out" other people (because his relationships with women don't count, obviously). biphobia? on the show that won't even let buck say the word bisexual? surprise! but not just that, i'm kinda sick of the whole treating buck like he's not an almost 34 year old man and is instead an impulsive teenage boy who we can't possibly take seriously when he says something about how he's feeling.

ALSO we know that abby was buck's most transformative relationship up until tommy. that i don't disagree with, buck said it himself. but i don't think we should look at it as tommy is only his most transformative relationship because he's a man and he made buck realise he liked men. is that part of it? definitely. but i don't think this was comparable to his other relationships in so many ways. Buck was, as he said, just so comfortable with him. he let tommy look after him and was never made to feel guilty about it. he wanted to move in with him, and while perhaps it was impulsive it wasn't like with taylor where he asked her to avoid telling her something else. he even brought up marriage unprompted! whereas the whole idea of getting engaged to taylor weirded him out. i don't want this relationship to be reduced to the fact that tommy was a man or that he helped buck "figure himself out".

personally i would like it to be made clear that tommy said what he said purely because he was scared of getting his heart broken, not because there was any truth to it. i can't have this end with buck going "yeah, guess he was right". the important points are, 1, he's not his first, and 2, it doesn't fucking matter if he was. I'm not even saying he HAS to end up with tommy. do i think he should? yes. do i think it would be a massively wasted opportunity and a stupid decision if not? yes. but the point is that if he decides to move on all of a sudden after holding on to these feelings for so long, i want to be given a better reason it couldn't work out 🤷‍♂️

(oh, and just adding that as a tommy enjoyer, i don't like leaving him believing that he isn't good enough, and then having that confirmed when buck moves on with someone "better". but whatever.)

[getouyuri]

random rant and no this is not me bashing anyone’s writing, this is just me saying what I personally don’t like and that’s it. expressing an opinion without pointing fingers or thinking about anyone in particular

but ooohhhhtnshenfn u know what I really am not a fan of in writing… when a character and a reader are having a conversation, reader says smth witty or whatever, and the character responds with some dom daddy ‘talk like that and you’re getting fucked/punished at home’ bullshit like hello WE WENT FROM A NORMAL CONVERSATION TO THIS??? WHERE DID THE SEXUAL ASPECT COME IN cos it’ll be a totally casual back and forth and then suddenly boom cock is in the conversation… what happened to uhhh idk normal human interaction?!52 why is everything bout sex

[lakesbian]

i understand now. the tragicomedic appeal of aisha having a shit rebound relationship with vista during the timeskip and being blatantly hung up on her dead best friend she never dated the entire time

[blackbird-brewster]

Me and @gaelic-symphony are making a list of all the sapphics on this show (hint: it's all of the women)

[xmikamorris]

where: Flour Co. when: Season of Love - February 2025 who: Mika & @aishathevar

With all of the activities being made available in the spirit of Valentine's Day, Mika and Aisha decided to take advantage of one of those opportunities around town. That opportunity, the baking lessons at Flour Co.

As the pair made their way to their station, Mika excitedly turned to her roommate. "We should have invited Darrius. If only to collectively improve our baking skills.." she laughed, tuning to Aisha directly with a grin.

[pickled-flowers]

Having very big thoughts about spirituality and humanity.. alas I am never articulate enough so I'm just gonna rent in the tags as always

[xjaylahopkins]

where: Snowflake Gala - From Brush to Canvas when: January 25, 2025 who: Jayla & @aishathevar

Jayla spun Aisha to the music, perhaps a little too aggressively for the vibe of the string band playing in the background. However, after enough champagne, the pair were having a great time. "Do you want to go ask to see if they'll play us some songs?" she asked through a giggle.

[toomanyf4ndoms7]

Shannon: I was just diagnosed with deez. Aisha: Good, I hope it’s lethal.

[zo1nkss]

it wasn't just billionaires on the trip!!! It's such a disservice that people think the only people who went up there were rich women in entertainment.

There were real astronauts who trained for yesrs for this. One of which (Amanda Nguyen) missed an opportunity to go to space years ago, and this was her second chance to achieve her dreams.

I appreciate the distaste for Katy and Bezos' wife and those who didn't really earn their place on that trip. But there were people there who really deserved to have that opportunity, and they're being sadly erased from the narrative altogether. Lumping them in as "irrelivent billionaires" is so disrespectful, OP.

btw the katy perry/bezos' girlfriend/other four irrelevant billionaires 10 minute space stunt was not the first all female expedition no matter how much they try to market it as such. the first all female mission was in 1963 with soviet cosmonauts Valentina Tereshkova, Irina Solovyova and Valentina Ponomaryova - all three of which were working class and had to pass incredibly hard exams to be chosen from 400 potential candidates. just in case we started falling for the propaganda machine again

[floralovebot]

they changed stella's outfit!! it looks soo much better like im sorry i get they were trying to be New and Modern but also it was Bad and didn't feel like stella at all. from what we can see, this new change feels like stella and is still new!

[holfelderwrites124]

Severed Threads

Chapter 7: Conversations

(Chapter 6: Finding Ian)

John leads Ian back up to the apartment after texting Aisha to let her know he has Ian. When they reach the apartment, Aisha is waiting for them with the door open. She darts out and throws her arms around Ian, pulling him into a hug. He stiffens for a split second, before relaxing into her hold.

“Jesus, Ian, you scared the hell out of me,” Aisha mumbles into Ian’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry,” Ian whispers.

Aisha pulls back and glares at him. “What the fuck were you even thinking?”

“Easy, Aisha,” John says, gently herding the two of them into the apartment. “I’ve already chewed him out.”

Aisha glares at him. “Well, it’s my turn now.” She turns back to Ian, but John stops her with a hand on her arm.

“Love, leave him be.” When Aisha turns questioning eyes to John, he shakes his head slightly. “He’s hurting,” he says softly.

Aisha huffs, but her shoulders relax. “Fine. Did you eat your bagel?” she asks, her tone softer than before.

Ian shakes his head. “We were talking.”

“Well, let’s get that into you. Come on,” Aisha motions the two of them to the couch. “Sit,” she orders Ian.

He goes willingly, collapsing onto the couch. “Ouch,” he hisses.

Both John and Aisha turn concerned expressions to Ian. “What’s wrong?” John asks.

“Muscles are mad,” Ian mutters. He pushes himself back up. “I need to stretch or I won’t be able to walk tomorrow.”

Aisha glares at him. “You’re insane. Go.” She motions at him to move.

“Can I … do you mind if I shower? It’s cool out there but I … kinda worked up a sweat?”

Aisha narrows her eyes. “You, sir, are absolutely a disaster.” She shakes her head. “Yes, go shower. You can use John’s stuff in there.” Aisha watches Ian disappear down the hall.

John’s eyes also follow Ian down the hall. He notes the way Ian is walking, favoring his left foot. “He hurt himself,” John whispers to Aisha.

“A ten mile run? Yeah, I would assume he did.” Aisha purses her lips and turns to John. “Now, want to tell me why you wouldn’t let me give him what for about all this bullshit?”

“He’s hurting, Aisha,” John says quietly. “He’s trying to decide about leaving Abby and Dennis, and he’s scared.”

Aisha tilts her head. “He’s actually considering leaving?”

John nods. “He is.”

“Hallelujah!” Aisha curls her legs under her on the couch. “Finally.”

John gives Aisha a reserved smile. “He has nowhere to go, love. He fully moved in with them, put his shit in a storage unit, and then let his lease expire on his apartment. If he leaves … he has no where to go.”

Aisha nods slowly, clearly considering what John has said. John holds his breath, hoping that she will come to the same conclusion he did. After a long moment, her eyes light up.

“John, we have a guest bedroom, and bathroom!” Aisha’s excitement is palpable. “He could totally stay here … either for a while, until he finds a place or for however long he needs.” She pauses. “Right?”

John smiles at her. “That’s what I told him … mostly accidentally.”

Aisha gives him a teasing smile. “Oh you are so gone,” she whispers.

John glares at her. “Aisha!” he hisses. “He’s here.”

“I know, I’m sorry.” Her wide grin belies her words. “But you are.”

John rolls his eyes. “I cannot—”

“I know. And I know you won’t, not until he’s well on the way to healing from this.” Aisha reaches out and squeezes John’s wrist. “For what it’s worth, I think you two would be good for each other.”

John’s eyes widen. “Aisha, stop.”

Aisha’s smile softens. “I will.” She glances around the living room. “I wonder if we can convince him to bring more of his stuff here than he has at the McCartney’s.”

“It’s going to be hard to convince him to come here, period.”

Aisha nods. “He’s an independent motherfucker. He’s going to want to do it on his own, but … he needs to learn that he doesn’t need to go it all on his own.”

“Yeah. That’s going to be tricky.” John sighs. “I think he knows he needs to leave them. But I think he’s scared of being on his own. And probably a little scared of telling Abby. He … he said he’s sometimes afraid she will hit him.”

Aisha’s head snaps around, her eyes widening. “What?”

John nods. “I was about ready to hit something when he said that. He … shit, he doesn’t deserve that kind of fear from someone who’s supposed to love him.”

Aisha snorts. “That bitch doesn’t love him. She just wants to use him, for money, sex, handyman services, and honestly? I think she likes the prestige of dating an FBI agent.” She shakes her head. “And Dennis? That … bastard just wants a piece of Ian’s ass, and I fucking hate that. He deserves so much more.”

“He does,” John agrees.

The two of them lapse into silence. After a few moments, Ian limps into the room. He’s dressed in the pajamas from earlier, and John has to keep from grinning wildly about the way Ian looks in his t-shirt.

Ian gives the two of them an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that, I just felt kinda gross.”

“You’re fine, Ian,” Aisha says. “I am worried about that limp, though. What did you do?”

Ian glances down at his feet, his face turning a delicate shade of red. “Blisters. I … um, haven’t run that far in a while. My feet weren’t used to it.”

Aisha huffs. “Ian Maynard, you have no business running that far in the middle of the night.” She glares at John when he puts a hand out to calm her. “I know John already chewed you out, but honestly? You cannot do shit like that. You’re going to hurt yourself.”

Ian gives Aisha a lopsided smile. “I know. I’m sorry. I just … needed to think.” He limps to an armchair and sits down. “I needed to think about … everything that’s happened in the last few days.” He sighs. “I … I need to leave them. Abby and Dennis. I just don’t know how. Or where … where to go. I don’t … I don’t know how to do this. I’ve … usually it’s someone else doing the leaving. Not me.” He stares up at them, and John can see tears in his eyes. “I don’t know how to do this.”

John’s heart aches for Ian. He looks so broken and frightened sitting there, and John knows that’s not how Ian usually looks. The man is a formidable force when he’s in work mode, tall and lean and dressed in his usual armor: dark wash jeans and a dark button down with a tan vest. He wears his gun on his hip, visible to the world even though he rarely uses it. He doesn’t need to: confidence radiates from him. He can command a room just by stepping through the door. For all the insecurities John knows that Ian has, the man can be a powerful force when he wants to be.

Now, though, Ian is curled in on himself, eyes pointed at the floor and hands nervously clasped together. His one leg is bouncing incessantly. He’s anxious, broken, terrified. John hates it.

John can’t resist standing slowly and walking over to Ian. John squats down to be eye level with Ian, and rests a hand on Ian’s unmoving knee. He’s learned better than to try and still stimming movements when someone is in distress — unless they are actively harmful. Ian needs to get his anxious energy out, and the leg bouncing is safe.

“Ian, you’re going to get through this. You are not alone. You’ve got us, and Paul.” John squeezes Ian’s knee gently. “We’re going to get you through this.”

Ian brings his gaze up to meet John’s. He studies John for a long moment. “I don’t know where to go,” he repeats, his voice forlorn.

“Here,” John replies. “Aisha and I talked about it. We’re in agreement. We want you here.”

“We do,” Aisha says, coming to sit cross-legged next to John. “You need some place safe to stay, we have space.” She motions to the room. “Hell, you can even bring some of your stuff here, make it more you. A chair or two, your own desk. Whatever you need.”

Ian blinks at them. “I can’t impose on you,” he whispers.

John shakes his head. “It’s not an imposition, Ian. We asked. We want you here, Ian. We want to help out.”

 “And before you get any ideas in your head, this has nothing to do with looking for a third,” Aisha says. “This is about helping a friend get out of a bad situation.”

Ian glances back and forth between the two of them. “I don’t … I don’t know what to say. I don’t … it feels wrong to just move in here. But … I have nowhere else to go.” He wraps his arms around himself and squeezes tightly. “I don’t want to have to stay with them until I find a place of my own.” He smiles ruefully. “I realized … spending the night here … I don’t even miss them. Either of them. It … it was nice … sleeping on my own. No one pawing at me, no one trying to get me to do anything.” Ian stares down at his feet. “I miss having my own space, but I hate living on my own,” he murmurs, almost to himself.

John squeezes Ian’s knee. “Ian, you can have that here. The guest room would be yours. You can retreat there anytime you need to. But we’d be here too, and you can come out and join us whenever you need to.”

“Whenever your mind is too much,” Aisha adds gently. “I would never try to pressure you, Ian, but this … could be what you need, even for a little while — however long you need to stay.”

Ian sniffs, and it’s then that John realizes he’s crying. A few tears have spilled over and are tracking slowly down Ian’s cheeks. John wants to reach out and brush the tears away, but he knows that’s far too intimate of a gesture.

“Hey, it’s alright,” John rushes to assure Ian. “It’s okay.”

Ian blinks back tears. “I’m sorry. It’s … you both care.” He swallows hard. “I don’t know … if Abby even cares anymore. Dennis …” Ian huffs an ugly laugh. “Dennis just cares whether or not he can have sex with me.”

John bites back a curse. He hates the way Dennis treats Ian like a sex-toy, and hates the callous way Abby ignores Ian’s needs.

“You deserve to be cared for, Ian,” John says softly.

Aisha nods her agreement.

“It’s been so long since someone actually cared,” Ian whispers. “I’m not … even sure I can remember when.” He clears his throat. “Maura cared,” he says, referencing his ex-girlfriend from when he was eighteen. They were together three years, before she ultimately cheated on Ian — throwing him out like trash, according to Aisha. “For a while, at least.”

Aisha raises an eyebrow. “Maura?” she scoffs. “From what I remember you telling me, she treated you with the bare minimum of respect and care.”

Ian considers Aisha’s words. “I guess … I don’t really know any better.” He shrugs. “It was Maura, and then I dated a few people, and then … Abby. Dennis came into the picture a little later.” He hugs himself tightly again. “Maybe I just … don’t deserve to be loved?”

“Ian James Maynard, you stop that right now,” Aisha growls. “Absolutely not. You deserve to be loved and cared for and treated with all the respect and care in the world.” She sighs. “That’s the religious trauma talking.”

Ian gives her a sideways glance. “I don’t know.”

Aisha huffs. “Well, I do. I know damn well what you deserve.” She stares at Ian, and then glances over at John.

John widens his eyes at her. Shut up, he attempts to communicate telepathically. She smirks, and glances back at Ian — who is thankfully paying no attention to either of them.

“I want to say yes,” Ian says slowly. “I do.”

“What’s stopping you?” Aisha asks.

He turns eyes suddenly full of trepidation towards both of them. “Abby’s going to kill me.”

Aisha glances at John. “Metaphorically?”

Ian blinks. “Probably…”

John tilts his head. “Ian, how scared of Abby are you?”

“I’ve never see her as violent as she was Tuesday night, when she kicked me out.” Ian unwraps his arms from his waist and stares at his hands. “I wouldn’t have thought her capable of that level of anger. I … I thought she was going to hit me.” He blinks up at John, giving him a wobbly smile. “I doubt she would actually kill me. But … hell, I don’t even know.”

“We’ll go with you,” Aisha says abruptly. “I’m sure Paul would come along as well. We’ll come with you to tell her.”

Ian studies Aisha. “I need to do it myself.”

“You can. We can wait outside.” John smiles at Ian in what he prays is a comforting manner. “Just to be there, to give you that support. And then we can help you get your stuff out of the house.”

“There’s no weakness in asking for help,” Aisha says. “And that’s doubly true when you’re worried about the possibility of violence.”

Ian’s eyes are wide and wary as he stares between the two of them. “I can pay rent,” he murmurs. “I can. I’ll pay rent, I promise. And I can pay for groceries. I’m … I have the money. I could afford and apartment. I just … I want out. I realize the more I think … I need out. I need to get out.” His voice raises in pitch and speed. “I will do chores. I’ll clean. I can.  I won’t get in your way. I promise, you won’t even know I’m here. I won’t —”

“Ian, slow down. Breathe.” Aisha reaches out to gently squeeze Ian’s arm. She waits for a moment until Ian’s breathing calms down a bit. “I’ll let you pay for rent, and help with groceries and chores — but only because I know you’ll worry yourself to death if I don’t.” She ducks her head, catching Ian’s gaze. “But there is no paying the entire mortgage, or the grocery bill, or cleaning the whole damn apartment. We split things around here, from money to chores to space. If you’re contributing, then you are required to be in the house space.”

“We want you here,” John adds softly, trying to keep the emotion of how much he wants Ian here out of his voice. “She won’t rest until you’re somewhere safe.” Neither will I, John adds silently.

Ian sighs. He’s silent for a long moment, clearly considering his options. Then he nods. “Okay. I … yeah. Okay.” He glances up at John and Aisha from under his eyelashes (and John nearly swoons). “If … if you’re sure. If you … if you really mean it.  I’ll … yeah, I think I’d like to. Stay here. With you.” His gaze flicks to John, lingering for a half-second longer than John is used to. “Both of you,” Ian adds, very softly.

Tagging: @lofiyaketyblr

Comments? Pls? Am HONGRY! Also, comment or hit me up if you wanna be added to my meager tag list :)

(Chapter 8: Confrontation & Calamity)

[three-moving]

love love being around my friends bc who else can i have conversations about gender nonconformity and expression and hyper femininity with irl

[xalecjacobs]

"Not Pride without glitter and the aftermath," he chuckled. It was a perfect look for the weekend, and for this function in particular. "Exactly that." At Aisha's agreement to head for the bar, Alec wrapped an arm around her shoulder and led her in that direction.

"You get it! Just felt like glitter added that extra something the outfit needed. And it's not a regular going out thing after all," she nodded, a smile on her lips. Pride was a time she went a bit overboard on hastily picking the perfect outfit, regular nights out, and most of the time didn't get the same energy for details. "Works for me! Some liquid courage before we get out there?"

[lover-of-mine]

Okay, I wanna talk about this outfit because I talked about it a lot since we saw it on Aisha's story, what it could mean for a possible confrontation between Eddie and his parents.

So, I nicknamed this combo the "let's talk if I trust you with my kid combo" since other scenes Eddie is wearing it are in 207 when we meet Shannon, 315 when he's fighting his parents, and 303 when he tells Buck there's nobody he trusts Chris with more.

In 207, he is talking about not wanting Shannon to just walk back into Chris' life. In 315, is about how he knows he is what's best for Chris, no matter what his parents say. In 303 he is stating that he does trust someone deeply enough with Chris in a way we haven't seen before, especially since the whole thing with Shannon in 2a is Eddie struggling to trust her.

But the thing with this combo in 813 is that the person he doesn't trust Chris with is himself. He thinks all he's doing is interfering with his routine, that he needs to let Chris come to him, it's all about the way he doesn't trust himself as a father anymore. He's letting his mother convince him that he isn't what's best for Chris because he doesn't trust himself. The thing there was that Eddie needed to find his footing with parenting again because he convinced himself that all he could do was hurt Chris.

And it's actually very interesting that we see him try to step up, talking to his mother, but since he's not confident enough in himself, it doesn't work.

The trust he needed to find was in himself, and this outfit reflected that. Especially because it is basically what he was telling Buck during their conversations, he wanted Chris to come to him because he still didn't trust that he had done the right thing. It was about trust.

Random side note that I think is funny. I'm gonna link the blue and red and parenting meta again, the scene is overall very blue and red (the symbolism of Helena taking the cart away, even tho Eddie doesn't need it was something)

But I want to point out something, this is probably more of a continuity thing no one cared about, but there's a traffic light behind Eddie, and the light is green when he tries to talk, then it's red every time it cuts back to him. In fact, the one time it's green the whole time the focus is on Eddie after that initial switch, the camera moves to get it off frame.

And I don't know how intentional it is, but I do like both the way it adds more red to the scene and creates a metaphor for the way Helena is shutting down Eddie's attempt to make progress.

Anyway, that's all for today, if you read this I love you 🫶

[xjaylahopkins]

where: Winter Holiday Market when: December 2023 who: Jayla & @aishathevar

Jayla had left her parents manning her booth for a bit, in order for some time to hang out with friends. She had texted Aisha earlier to see if she wanted to meet up, and was now in search of her friend. Spotting her, Jayla rushed over. "Aisha! Hi!" Upon reaching her, Jayla extended her arms out for a hug. "Ready to get crafty?"

[cobraes]

the  accusation  doesn't  sound  fair  once  aisha  says  it  out  loud.      —      yeah,  he's  been  absent.  they  all  have,  but  so  has  she.  staying  in  touch  was  hard  since  her  move  up  north,  especially  when  former  friends  still  seemed  deeply  ingrained  in  karate  wars  she  was  lucky  enough  to  separate  herself  from  after  the  school  riot.  it  hurts  more  when  it's  him  though.  this  started  with  them;    the  original  cobras  2.0.      "i  mean…    it's  no  fun  if  you're  just  gonna  admit  defeat  like  that."    the  faint  smile  tugging  at  her  lips  suggests  she's  only  teasing.  teasing.  no  mercy  doesn't  apply  anymore.  the  reassurance  that  they're  still  friends  is  really  all  she  needs.  

"i  can  do  froyo."      the  mention  of  their  old  dojo  brings  back  memories  of  the  days  when  it  was  just  @mu1tiverse,  her  and  sensei  lawrence.  that's  what  she  really  misses.  learning  karate  had  been  fun  back  then.  it  helped,  before  kreese  took  over  and  miguel  got  hurt.  she  still  learns  now,  under  the  guise  of  a  new  sensei,  but  it  isn't  the  same.  it  meant  something  back  then.  her  new  dojo  certainly  won't  be  entering  any  world  tournaments.      "let's  go    [...]    you  can  tell  me  more  about  this..  what  did  you  call  it  again?  sek  -  something  kai?"

i  was  making  sure  you  weren't  dead,  since  you  never  called.   

he deserved that. @cobraes' tone was refreshingly familiar, even as it pulled at the guilt in miguel's stomach. he didn't even want to check his phone to see the last time he'd done more than a casual like of an instagram story. their long-distance friendship had started off well, but just like everything else that spring, miguel hadn't realized he was losing control of things until it was already (not) said and done.

the corner of his shifted slightly upwards at the jab, embarrassment clear in the acknowledging nod of his head. "no, you're right - i'm sorry," he started, finally stepping out of the front door of his apartment. "i should have reached out more." miguel wasn't going to start spewing out excuses - as their sensei had drilled into their heads last summer, talk was cheap.

just like that, a lightbulb went off. eyebrows were quick to raise, smile stretching across his lips. "let me make it up to you? we can get froyo from that spot by the old dojo? i'm buying, consider it gas money."