#(Tabitha’s trying to change his course of thinking

[richeeduvie]

She definitely won’t hear it, but I think Roman would try to explain to her how she was groomed by Kendall in the short period where he thinks he can still maybe get her back and leave Tabitha post Tern Haven.

Maybe he says something about a college kid taking Sophie to a club and getting her hooked on drugs saying you were only a few years older than her. You see how fucked that was right?

"This is a groomer's wet dream. Kendall is cumming by the second - you're giving in! He pumped a fourteen year old you with a shitload of shitloads and you've come back to him. Should I be surprised? Were you always going to do this? I was just a placeholder until Kendall cornered you in."

"Roman. This isn't like that. We've gone through this-"

"Yeah, yeah. My heartful plea that failed. Fine, you don't want me or the way I want you and how you've ruined my dick for anyone else like a selfish bitch. Fine, I'm not entitled to that. I guess. But that doesn't change the fact that college-aged him has everything he's ever wanted. Do you roleplay as the fourteen year old you when he fucks his cock inside you or-"

"Roman."

She can't with the humor in his anger. Not now.

"Imagine a Sophomore in college taking Sophie to clubs and pumping her with pills. And sleepovers face-to-face. And that sort of yearning that should not be in place between a teen and a man trying to grow a beard-"

"It wasn't like that! Don't bring Kendall's kids up-"

"Someone like Kendall bringing his teen daughter to clubs. Pumping her with pills. Sleeping in her bed. No...no, sorry - you would sleep in his bed most of the time. Wrong sort of example-"

"Roman. Stop it."

"You see this is fucked, right?"

It's tragedy. A junkie, sick, terrifying tragedy.

"Where the fuck are you going?"

"I can't listen to this."

"Because it's the truth and it makes you sick. You're a coward when it comes to your own victimhood, of fucking course. That's what a fucking victim like you does, now go back to Kenny-"

The door slams. Roman digs his nails into himself.

"Fuck!"

[freezerbnuuy]

Act 3:8 - Little Rose (Page 2)

LORE | CHARACTERS | ABOUT / CHAPTERS / WARNINGS

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Róisín

After the fortnight of mourning, Peterans come together to celebrate life, the lives of those still with us, and those who have passed. The fortnight of mourning is the time to be sad, and the celebration of life is the time to be happy. Everyone is chatting amongst each other. That's when Father spots me, scooping me up in his arms. I missed him so much.

"You arrived just in time!"

"I know! I missed the big long speech!"

"I meant that the food has arrived!" he replies, chuckling. "Why don't you have a look around? I'm sure the children would love to have someone else to play with." 

Even though bad things are happening, and all the Peterans have been sad for the fortnight, everyone seems so cheerful today. It makes me happy, too, seeing other people smile like that! I'm excited to go home and play with my new horse, but maybe I should try and get to know the other children.

Most of the Peteran regulars are all adults, and they're friendly, but I can't talk to them about things as easily. They don't care about toys or fairytales.

"So does this mean you'll be home again now?"

"I will," Father replies, kissing me on the cheek. 

"Mother has been saying she really, really wanted you home again," I tell him, "but she wouldn't tell me why. She must have missed you even more than me! I bet she missed all of the kisses and cuddles."

"Indeed, the kisses and cuddles...I'm sure she did," he says, in a flat voice. Am I missing something? Adults always have so many secrets.

After eating some of the food, I talk to a girl about my age. She seems funny and friendly and we play together for a while. Her name is Tabitha and she lives in Willow Creek. I tell her about my new toy, and she says it should be a girl horse named Beauty. I like it! I think we're going to be good friends. Father says I should make as many friends as I can when I'm young, because it can be harder to make friends when you're older.

Reynold

Soon enough, once everyone's done with the feast and the cheer, most people leave. Áine goes outside to talk to Abigail and Mason, the two that she helped some years ago out at some village, who we're both thankful are still alive. Róisín is outside playing with the children under their watchful eye. I hear a tutting sound behind me, and once I hear the accent, I recognise him straight away.

"Ugh. Of course they took all the best cuts of the meat...I need to stop arriving to events so late."

"Shepherd Julian?"

He turns to me, and lets out an awkward laugh. "Ah. Just Julian, I'm afraid."

"Oh? You finally retired, did you?"

He groans to himself.

"Goodness, no. I was kicked out, as was your sister."

Kicked out? For what?

"What on Earth happened?"

"To put a long story short, the higher-ups didn't like that we refused to speak out against witchcraft, and so had us removed."

"You can't be serious. You've been there for years!"

"Indeed, but Jacobism is changing, and now I am no longer needed, I suppose," he replies. with a sigh. "The religion isn't as set-in-stone as many think it is. I tried to turn Jacobism back around to what it used to be, but it seems this new imitation of Jacobism is what's popular now.

I've been replaced with some battleaxe named Juniper, one of the Great Convincers. They like to say Jacobism cannot be changed, but it's not true. Yacothia realistically can't keep an eye on everyone all of the time, and they're taking advantange of that."

So the Jacobans now have a proper hand in the witch-hunts, just as we were starting to get things under control again. Wonderful.

"Don't be surprised if Juniper sends you a letter requesting to meet you, Father, but don't let her get under your skin. She'll try to lure you into a corner with her high position in the church as a woman, but believe me when I tell you she does not care for women in the slightest. She only cares about herself."

A shiver crosses my spine. I doubt the Jacobans liked the fact Julian was 'fraternising' with me, as Julian said they'd called it. There's every chance they'll know about my magic, and there's every chance it will endanger the monastery.

[ivoryminitower]

Echoes of Home: 95 - Steve ("harm's way")

Echoes of Home: FFXIV AU OC – WoLs on Earth

CW: Violence

I keep having to tell myself we're in this together.  I suppose "normal" wasn't really ever going to be an option for us as long as we were living off the grid.  But when things go sideways for you, even if you sort of saw it coming, you're still left feeling like it was happening sooner than expected.

The day started out normal enough.  Mark called last night to confirm that the guys were up for a training session, so today Tsu'na and I headed for Tony's.  When we got there we saw Mark and Chester, and Ted showed up a bit later.  This time, though, Scott didn't show.

I asked Chester about it.  "So I guess being an investment consultant doesn't always mean you can keep your own hours, huh?"

"Investment consultant?"

"Yeah…isn't that what Scott is?"

"He told you that?  Ha, that's cute.  I gotta remember that.  Scott's a bookie."

That explained a lot, like how he hung out at the fights and had such an interest in knowing what Tsu'na could do.  And how he never asked me about how well my IRA was doing.

This time Ted was teaching throws.  Tsu'na could of course grab and throw someone at will; the trick was to do it without snapping a neck, breaking a back or, if possible, dislocating a limb.

Tony actually proved useful for this; seems he knows his stuff.  He prepped Mark and Chester on how to fall properly, looking to hit with the shoulder and roll, keeping the head tucked.  Ted, meanwhile, got Tsu'na started on the idea of redirecting force, letting a charging opponent keep charging without her in his path.

Mark was happier with being thrown than he had been about punching her…guess he was falling for her enough to fall for her.  That's something we'll have to dissuade sooner or later.

Which left Chester idle enough to be looking out the storefront window from time to time.  Twenty minutes into training he came over to me and said, "Hey, I don't know if it's anything, but there's a car that's driven by at least three times.  Real heavy window tint."

Not ominous at all.  I positioned myself so that he and I both had our sides to the window.  "Keep your eyes on me.  Tell me if it comes by again."

We stood and "chatted" for a bit until Chester's eyes briefly jerked to the left.  Out of the corner of my eye I could see a faded grey sedan passing by, slowing slightly in front of the dojo before driving on.  Its windows were indeed too dark to see through, especially when I was trying to not look like I was looking.

I'd started to wonder about Chester's suspicious nature, but then I was glad for it.  Scoping out for a robbery?  A dojo isn't a cash-heavy business, and aside from that there isn't typically much of interest in one.  Striking dummies.  Maybe some wooden weapons.

And, in this case, us.

"Tabitha, my love."

She took a beat to react to the unfamiliar name, but she looked up from having dumped Mark flat onto his back.  "Yes, Husband?"

"How about we get some air?"

She glanced at Ted and Mark. "Right now?"

"I think so."

She studied me a moment, then went to the changing room.  There was a pull-down blind on the window; I pulled it down while Chester herded the guys to the other side of the room.

When she came out in Earth normal we went out the door and stopped in front of the dojo.  She turned to me and asked, "What is happening?"

"Bandits, I think.  Grey car with really dark windows.  Maybe Chester's paranoid, maybe he's got me paranoid…"

"What is paranoid?"

"An irrational fear that someone is out to get you."

"What if someone is truly out to get you?"

"Not mutually exclusive."

She was going to say something else, but stopped when she spotted something behind me.  I turned to see the grey car in question.  It had slowed down.  Its windows were rolling down.  I switched to Paladin and got my shield up just before the bullets started flying.

A lot of bullets went into a couple cars parked along the curb.  A lot more went into the dojo window; I heard it shatter.  Some pinged off my shield and armor…the shooters had more enthusiasm than skill.

The engine revved and the car started to pull off fast.  I expected to hear the creak of Tsu'na's bow behind me.  Instead I heard the rustle of her book.

There was a flash inside the car.  It was partway into turning around the corner, but instead went straight across the intersection and slammed into a lamppost, very shortly before a delivery truck plowed into it from the side.

I switched to Earth normal and turned to Tsu'na, who likewise switched from Summoner.  "Energy Drain?"

"Energy Siphon.  I could not target quickly enough."

Energy Siphon is the area-of-effect version of the Summoner instant spell Energy Drain.  At Tsu'na's level, everyone in the car would have been dead with the flash.

Had the car simply rolled to a stop, there would have been three or four apparent heart-attack victims inside, which would have been weird and probably raised questions.  As it was, between the lamppost and the T-boning and the recently-used guns, I doubt anyone would look too closely at cause of death.

But that's retrospective.  It wasn't what was on my mind right then.

What was on my mind was: She's now killed people.

Which immediately amended to: We're in this together.  We have now killed people.

I grabbed her in a tight hug.  She hesitantly returned it.  "Husband…?"

I pulled back.  "I'll check on the guys.  Stealth over there and get a look at them, see if you recognize them.  Take pictures if you can."

"Pictures?  Of the dead?"

"Trust me, people in this world do that.  Go."

She pursed her lips, but nodded, switched to Ninja, and vanished to non-party eyes.  I went back in the dojo.

The guys were crowded into a corner away from the window.  Tony found his voice first.  "What the fuck was that?"

"That was a drive-by.  Anyone hurt?"

 No one seemed to be.  Chester asked, "They coming back?"

"No.  They're dead."

Palpable silence.

"They crashed their car while driving away."

"Sure.  Okay."

"Why would someone be shooting at your place, Tony?"

"How the hell would I know?"

"No problems with the Mob?  Loan sharks, protection rackets, drug dealers?"

"Only problem I have is you people."

Wishful thinking.  It would have been nice if this wasn't our personal problem, but the shooting didn't start until we were in clear view.  "Okay.  Anyone been talking about us?  Mark, Chester?"

"You said if people knew about your wife it'd hurt her career," said Mark.  "We wouldn't want that."

"Yeah," added Chester.  "It'd mess up our betting."

Mark shrugged. "That too."

"What about Scott?  Where is he, anyway?"

"Off somewhere with family.  He's got a bigger stake in her than we do."

"Ted?"

"Just the wife, and she doesn't want to hear what I do out of the house."

I nodded, and turned to the product of elimination.  "Tony?  Who'd you talk to?"

"Uh, no one, really."

I walked slowly toward him. "No one…really?"

He backed up against a wall mirror. "I didn't talk to anyone!"

"That's not what you said.  Who'd you talk to?"

"I dunno.  Just some guy at a bar.  It wasn't anything."

"A guy.  At a bar.  What bar and when?"

"Paulie's Pub.  Last Tuesday, after the last time you guys were here."

"Fern bar a couple blocks over," said Chester.

I leaned in on Tony.  "I told you not to talk to anyone.  I told you very specifically not to talk to anyone.  We just got shot at because you didn't listen to me."

"How the hell was I supposed to know?  It was just talking!  He was a good listener!"

My fist slammed into the mirror beside Tony's head.  It was polished metal rather than glass, so it didn't shatter, but it did buckle a little. "You put these people in harm's way!  You endangered my wife!"

"I didn't know!  I'm sorry!  I didn't know!"

I was sufficiently distracting that no one noticed Tsu'na un-Stealth in the doorway, though she was quite arresting in her black leather and holstered daggers. "Many people were taking pictures.  People dressed like Deputy Frank made them leave."  She took in the tableau. "Why are you frightening Master Shen?"

"Master Shen can't keep his mouth shut."

She turned to Tony, her eyes narrowed.  I was being violent, she was looking dangerous.  Tony was apparently torn over who to be more frightened by.

"Did you recognize them, my love?"

"No.  Do you?"  She held up her phone with a picture of bodies in a car.  They were scruffy, but not the right kind of scruffy for The Pit or Wyatt in general…a bit too urban.

"Haven't seen them.  Tony?"

Tony's back was already against the wall, but he still tried to back away from the picture.  He jerked his head in a negative.

"All right, listen to me.  Tony?"  I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes. "Listen to me.  Here's what's gonna happen.  You got a back door?"

Tony nodded.

"You're going to show us out the back door.  When the police come…"

"The police are coming?"

"Someone shot out your window.  Of course the police are coming.  When they do, we were never here.  You were alone in here when the shooting started.  With me so far?"

Another nod.

"We'll come back later with some plywood for the window.  We'll look into getting it replaced.  And tonight we're going with you back to that bar."

"I don't want any part of this!"

"Someone shot out your window.  You're already a part of this.  We don't know these guys, so someone sent them.  We need to know who.  They don't know where to find us, but they know where to find you."

"What makes you think the guy'll even be there?"

"If he set this up, he'll want to know what happened.  We'll tell you what to say."  I got even more in his face. "Don't flake on us, Tony.  We'll be even more unhappy than we already are.  Understood?"

He understood.  He had a shattered window and a dented wall to remind him.  We left, the guys parted with us, we Returned.  Tsu'na went to tell the Hartmans we had a friend who needed some help this evening.  I stopped by The Pit for a cider on the way to the workshop.  Because I needed to air my mind.

I have plywood to make.  My wife and I have a date with Tony for drinks and a meet-and-greet.  And then we'll probably talk about killing people.

I wonder if she made any gil.

[solanumflare]

me on my way to, instead of wait for people to send asks, answer every single question in this ask game (i am normal). going to do this for my second playthrough's MC, which I consider my canon playthrough!

meet.... Felix Scarlet-Lee!

What are your mc’s traits? What’s their hardcore mode trait (Or if they are primarily a hardcore mode mc, what trait could they do without)?

Felix has the Hot and Book Smart traits! I think he'd have Talk to Animals in hardcore mode. This man needs to talk to Dustin so badly.

Who does your mc get along with best? Why?

He gets along pretty well with Tabitha, but in the way where he's a perfect match for her. He's nice to other people but pretty clipped, pushes back on anything Tabitha says that's overly rude, and tries to spend time with her when possible. He also gets along with Reese-- shared like of horror, agrees with some of his morbid outlooks on life, appreciates art.

Who does your mc not get along with? Why?

Felix is a Sybil hater to the ends of the earth. She just has a weird vibe! He can't put his finger on it but she has a weird vibe and she's not to be trusted!! And she has poisonous plants in her tea room!!! Who has poisonous plants lying around???? (Please ignore that Felix has multiple poisonous plants in his own room. They're his #1 special interest. Don't be mean.) Felix also reaaallly doesn't like Dr. Kelly. He doesn't want her dead, but he dislikes her a whole lot and thinks she probably took the worse possible course of action dealing with Reese. If he never has to interact with her again, he'll die happy. He's not really friends with Kaneeka, either, mostly because he's close with Tabitha.

Who, if anyone, is your mc’s love interest?

Reese!

What does your mc do for a living? Where do they live?

Felix lives in Denver, Colorado, alone in a shitty studio apartment, but he's okay with it. (Just a bit lonely.) He streams video games!

What relationship do they have with people back home?

Eeh. Felix isn't in touch with anyone from where he grew up. He has a bit of a reputation for being a weird guy, and he'd already established character traits such as believing in cryptids, starting conversations with infodumps, reading the dictionary for fun, and leaving conversations the second they became not interesting. His being hot wasn't really able to sway anyone to liking him. He's also a bit intense and pretty blunt at times, and not the best at first impressions. He's never been invited to a party and never been over at someone else's house with them actually wanting him there. Currently, he basically doesn't talk to anyone in his local community. Busy sleeping and streaming and reading.

What was your mc’s relationship with Vivian?

Pretty good. They weren't the world's most happy and functional mother-son relationship, but they're miles better than a lot of people. She cared about Felix and treated him well, but sometimes ended up a bit stifling when she tried to get him to stop coming across the way he does socially. It was for the good of his relationships and social status, but he's still a little pissed that she wasn't super supportive of the idea of him sharing his interests with others.

Why did they decide to come to the funeral?

He needed a hiatus from streaming and a change of scenery anyway. Why not.

In what way, if any, does your mc resemble their family?

Similar cheekbones and face shape the other Scarlets, and the same sort of purple eyes as Tabitha. His hair is thicker and dark brown instead of blond, though.

Which of the game events got to them the most?

Probably everything that happened in the mines in chapter two. Felix doesn't really get out much, and suddenly he's running through a collapsed mine and trying to make sure a bunch of teenagers, along with his cousin and newfound friends, don't die.

How are they coping with the horrors?

...Surprisingly well. Well, not surprisingly, considered his whole thing is he plays horror games and watches horror movies and reads horror books. The monsters in Scarlet Hollow aren't affecting Felix very much. The real horrors are the people here, and the past it's built on. That's affecting him quite a bit. Thinking about the history of the Scarlets makes him want to strangle someone.

What’s your mc’s favourite meal?

Felix is a big fan of instant-ramen. Most of his meals are either something he can make fast (ramen or mac and cheese) or a mixture of random fruit, chips, and chocolates he has lying around the house.

What’s your mc’s favourite movie/genre? Why?

He's generally more of a books guy than a movies guy, though, so I'll put his favorite book instead of his favorite movie: It's House of Leaves. He likes anything that's surreal, full of creeping dread, makes you feel like the fictional world is real for a minute. He also likes horror, as well as Gothic literature and movies. Body horror and monster horror are his favorite subgenres (he reads a whole lot of Junji Ito manga), though he won't say no to psychological horror and found footage.

Is your mc good with people?

...If those people like horror and/or hearing about birds and/or hearing about poison and/or hearing about 20th century literature written by severely depressed people. Those are sort of Felix's conversation topics.

Are there any characters/media that inspired your mc?

Hm. Not really, he's sort of just inspired by... me, I guess? A lot of his interests are similar to mine, especially his taste in books and movies and his like of poisonous plants.

Are there any songs you associate with your mc?

Hmm. I sort of associate him with the song Curses by the Crane Wives. I don't know how to explain it but the song feels very Scarlet Hollow-coded and the sort of thing I think Felix would listen to.

Which of the additional April Fools traits would they have?

Just a lil guy. Because he is. He is a little guy and he is perfect

What’s their episode 1 climax choice? How do they feel about it?

Saving Gretchen. Felix didn't know Duke well, and he can't bear to see an animal hurt, but... he still feels a little sick thinking about it.

What’s their episode 2 climax choice? How do they feel about it?

Going after the other two teens. He feels like it was the right choice. Of course it's awful that Rosalina's leg was amputated, but all of the teens are alive, and she seems to be doing okay. Better for one person to be injured than for two to be dead.

What’s their episode 3 climax choice? How do they feel about it?

Being Book Smart, Felix won the trial, and feels pretty fucking proud of himself. He's still happy about it even despite all the extra horrors thrown his way.

What’s their episode 4 climax choice? How do they feel about it?

Felix talked Reese out of killing Dr. Kelly. On one hand, he's happy that Reese is free and nobody had to die, and on the other hand god does he sort of hate that she didn't even face a little bit of punishment for her actions. He hopes Reese is safe, and that they meet again over the next few days... he really liked Reese. He really liked him.

TRAIT QUESTIONS!!

Book Smart:

What’s your mc’s area of expertise?

Poisonous plants. And depressed people from the 20th century and the books they wrote.

What’s their preferred method of learning?

Picking up a book and reading it fifty times and then going on an infodump about it.

Does it show that they’re a smarty-pants. Be honest.

Yes. Absolutely.

Hot:

What does your mc consider to be their most ‘hot’ trait?

His eyes are really pretty. They sort of sparkle and he has decently long eyelashes, plus a birthmark beneath his left eye that a lot of people compliment.

Has your mc been in many relationships?

Nope. Despite being hot, he's only been in two relationships, and they were both from when he was in college (he dropped out after two years.) Neither of them was super great.

Do they put a lot of time/thought into their appearance?

Usually no, because of wonderful things called "having a Vtuber model" and "rarely leaving his house." In Scarlet Hollow, since he has to be looked at every day, he's been putting more thought in. Adding jewelry and accessories, putting gloves on, wearing clothes that look nice, doing his hair.

Scarlet Hollow MC ask game!

Bc . I'd love an excuse to talk about my guy and hear people talk about theirs . please pelase please

What are your mc’s traits? What’s their hardcore mode trait (Or if they are primarily a hardcore mode mc, what trait could they do without)?

Who does your mc get along with best? Why?

Who does your mc not get along with? Why?

Who, if anyone, is your mc’s love interest?

What does your mc do for a living? Where do they live?

What relationship do they have with people back home?

What was your mc’s relationship with Vivian?

Why did they decide to come to the funeral?

In what way,  if any, does your mc resemble their family?

Which of the game events got to them the most?

How are they coping with the horrors?

What’s your mc’s favourite meal?

What’s your mc’s favourite movie/genre? Why?

Is your mc good with people?

Are there any characters/media that inspired your mc?

Are there any songs you associate with your mc?

Which of the additional April Fools traits would they have?

What’s their episode 1 climax choice? How do they feel about it?

What’s their episode 2 climax choice? How do they feel about it?

What’s their episode 3 climax choice? How do they feel about it?

What’s their episode 4 climax choice? How do they feel about it?

Trait questions!

Powerful build:

What’s your mc’s favourite physical activity?

What’s the weirdest thing they’ve eaten?

Do they make use of their intimidation factor often? Why?

Mystical:

How does this trait manifest?

What does your mc think of this ability?

Is your mc open about their premonitions? Why?

Talk to animals:

When did this trait manifest?

What does your mc think of this ability?

What’s their favourite type of animal to talk to? Why?

Street smart:

How did your mc learn to pick locks?

Do they lie often? Why?

What’s their relationship with the law?

Keen eye:

Is your mc naturally observant, or trained in the skill?

What’s the sharpest of their senses?

Do they make use of their additional insights? Why?

Book smart:

What’s your mc’s area of expertise?

What’s their preferred method of learning?

Does it show that they’re a smarty-pants. Be honest

Hot:

What does your mc consider to be their most ‘hot’ trait?

Has your mc been in many relationships?

Do they put a lot of time/thought into their appearance?

[divorcingjimmatthews]

s2e7 belly of the beast spoilers! rambly rambly thoughts. loved this episode, love this show. sorry, it's very long.

jim, jade and tabitha

CONGRATULATIONS JADE for officially not losing your mind and coming on top of the whole thing. CONDOLENCES to JIM for catching the crazy ball and going full conspiracy theorist now it's him that i'm most worried for. basically what tabitha said. they don't know but they gotta cope with not knowing. i'm glad to see jade and tabitha on the same wavelength about that because from my personal experience i think it's the healthiest mindset you can have in a situation like that. jumping to conclusions like i was saying in my other post is extremely dangerous.

also glad to see jade's first actual contribution to everyday life in the town. hilarious that's gonna be "better alcohol" but awesome that he found something to work on to keep him sane. "i needed a project that wasn't fucking terrifying" i love you jade. your soul is beautiful. also i don't care if i'm grasping at straws but i think victor interrupting him when he was in the middle of his crazy guy skit really helped him stay grounded so he kind of wanted to help tabitha too and that's why he roped her along on his project. like "okay, i'll give you the crazy town lore BUT you gotta do a normal person thing too to balance it out and not lose yourself in this". or maybe he was just lonely and wanted someone to work with him on his project. i've been lowkey shipping them since before they even interacted so i guess this episode was like my personal christmas.

ship or no ship i think it's really important for tabitha to open up with someone outside of her family. it's probably gonna make her family life better to have, you know, friends. jade has a talent for knowing what to say around really heavy topics. telling her "fuck, that sucks, i don't think you're being punished though, i think maybe bad things are just happening and that's it" was really what she needed to hear. in the early episodes tabitha complains to jim that him acting like he knows everything and saying it's all going to be fine like it's obvious makes her feel like she's "doing something wrong". jim's kind of doubling down on acting like he's got it all figured out so i'm glad tabby has a friend that's more on her wavelength now.

i'm fully biased because of my own personal experiences i'll admit it, but i don't think trying to fix a relationship that went south a long time ago is always the best course of action. parting ways doesn't have to be a tragedy, sometimes it's a really good thing. in s1 it looked like they were kinda fixing it but now it feels like they're further apart than at the beginning of the show. i feel really bad for jim but he's gotta pull himself out of that hole he's digging for himself. he's not just jumping to conclusions about things he can't know, he's rejecting reality ("that's what they want you to think!!!" about tabitha defending victor because he's proved time and time again that he's a good man) and leaning on someone that's encouraging him to keep thinking that way and who he barely knows. i'm thinking what other character could help him but i'm kind of drawing a blank. maybe also jade. just pushing my ot3 agenda sorry guys.

donna and fatima, victor and ethan

even though pregnancy in fiction is kind of an ick of mine (SPECIALLY when something goes supernaturally wrong with the pregnancy like, the lord is testing me i guess...?) so i can't really get on board the excitement some of the characters show, i'm really enjoying the "can any of the supernatural wild stuff happening here actually be GOOD" theme with the pregnancy and the changing of the leaves. fatima gave me some strong john locke (the bald guy, not the philosopher) vibes with the pregnancy when she's not supposed to be able to have kids. but i'm not gonna be able to breathe well again until they confirm that's not gonna be some night creature baby thing. if i could i'd honestly abort in that situation like absolutely not risking that possibility like can you imagine? can you freaking imagine. nononono. not taking that chance. nopp.

ANYWAY victor and ethan were so sweet and sad and i'm sobbing. victor saying he wants to protect ethan because bad things always happen to his friends here :')))) give me 10 thousand tissues please. but he let him help in the end and ethan was so happy. i'm actually sobbing. i love them i love them i love them. their friendship has my whole heart. also, love victor's vest.

jim and randall

love himmmmmmmmmmmm love him love him he was just flying his drone, he was going to his nephew's bday and that was such a badass present to give. love this guy what can i say. he has such a cute smile too. he's just got there and he knows nothing and i'm scared for him. the bit he added to jim's theory is SO dangerous though like starting to distrust each other is the last thing they should be doing. hell randall himself could be the person that's "in on it" for all we know, that's one hell of a question to raise if you want to cause disruption on purpose. i don't think he is though but like jim should consider it before he goes around distrusting people that have proven to be kind hearted like victor.

kenny's warning to jade in s1 ("the people who can't adapt here, when they can't bend, they break") rings specially true for jim rn. he's genuinely not past his first impression of victor, who he mistook for a child molester when they first arrived (rightfully let's be honest, he was being creepy to an outside observer and he did point his gun at him). unlike jade who's changed his approach (from "i don't do impossible" to "maybe crazy awful shit happens here and that's it"), jim's been completely unable to get past his first impressions of everything and is cracking under the pressure, and pulling apart from his loved ones bc of it... really worrying.

OK THIS IS LONG ENOUGH ILL SAVE THE KENNY THOUGHTS FOR A DIFFERENT POST

[kyrathor]

I'm late to the party but wanted to share anyways.

My cat Yumiko is the dumbest cat I've ever met. Whatever intelligence she had has been wholly replaced with sheer love. She is one of two cats I've ever met that like belly rubs (the other is her sister, who belongs to my ex), and will frequently try to obtain them by showing off her belly. Whenever we have to move her because she's stolen one of our chairs, She'll roll over and act super cute in a bid to delay the relocation. It doesn't always work, but sometimes we'll go do something else for a little bit, so it's not a 0 percent success rate. I'm her favourite person in the world, and She'll meow a lot if she can't get to me (say I'm in the bathroom). Sometimes when I shower, when I shut off the water she'll charge in and get on the toilet or the edge of the tub just to be near me. Despite this, she also adores my girlfriend, and will frequently cuddle her, sometimes to the point of annoyance (her annoyance, to be clear. Yumi will get in moods of wanting to be on one of us ALL THE TIME and won't take no for an answer). She has spots she likes to sit or lay, and these will periodically shift. So for a month she'll steal my chair, sit in the window, and on a specific box. The next month she'll be in one box, steal my girlfriend's chair, and sit on one specific spot on the floor for no apparent reason. When she is in a chair stealing mood, she'll frequently steal it right when you stand up. But sometimes she'll wait till right when you're coming back and steal it right in front of you. My girlfriend accidentally trained her to be a shoulder cat, which she has taken to like wildfire, and sometimes demand from us. Sometimes she purrs so much I feel like she is purring at me, instead of simply purring because she's happy. And sometimes she'll purr so much that it sounds like she's trying to purr twice at the same time (I call it overpurring), and if she keeps doing that She'll start wheezing and coughing after a little bit. She is a gray tabby cat with a roundish face, and I raised her from a kitten, and she has many of my quirks and oddities. I love her to death.

My first cat that was really mine was a cat named Kiki. She has sadly passed, a bit over a year ago at this point. She was the first cat that wholeheartedly chose me. We got her from a family friend whose trailer park management had changed and pet fees updated, so they had to give away 2 of their 3 pets. I don't know why but she chose me to be her human. She was mostly white, with black spots, and I think she was part Siamese because she liked to talk a lot. On one side she had a black heart, and on the other she had a comma. She loved to be near me, sleeping with me when I went to bed, sitting on my lap, just generally being affectionate. When I'd come home, my parents always said she'd specifically hear me coming, and could tell it was me, and get excited, rushing to the door. When I moved out I had to leave her behind because my mom was worried about her health with a big move like I was about to undertake. When I flew home to visit a couple years later though, she still remembered me and stuck like glue for my entire stay. In the years I was gone, she grew close to my mom, which made me happy. I loved Kiki so much.

I'm including pictures of my cats. All but Yumi have passed now. The tortoiseshell is Tabitha, whom I nicknamed Tabbycat, then Tabicat, then Tabica. The black is Jaguar. His tail never worked, and he came as a stray, so we don't know what happened to him. And of course Kiki and Yumiko.

I know I'm way late and you won't be able to use this in your assignment, but I hope that you, and maybe some other people can enjoy my kitties. I love all of them dearly, whether they are still around or not.

Want to help me with an assignment by talking about your pet?

Hi!! I have an assignment to make a piece of art using crowdsourcing. My idea involves collecting a lot of text about people's pets! Anything about them, what you like about them, a description of their personality or appearance, something funny they did--really anything. In the end, I want to use all the text to make something interesting (I haven't decided the specifics yet). I'll upload the finished project here when it's done! (it's due a week from now, March 12th)

How to be a part of this project:

Reply to this post or reblog and put in the tags or in the post itself anything you want about your pet. You can also send me an ask if you want, but I will not post any of these asks.

If you want to speak about a pet that has passed, please indicate somewhere in your reply that it has passed. I intend to use that information in the piece itself.

You can include a picture of your pet ONLY IF YOU WANT! Pictures aren't necessary but I might figure out a way to incorporate them.

Important:

The text you provide is not going to be credited to you/your url, everything will be anonymous.

I'll be reblogging this every now and then to help get a lot of different responses :) Sorry if you get sick of seeing this post! Also, if you don't have a pet or you don't want to talk about your pet, it would help out if you would reblog this anyway! But ofc, you don't have to.

[alaffy]

Riverdale, Ep.7x01 - Don’t Worry Darling (Spoilers)

Well that was...something. Less of a recap this time. Most of this was setting up the new version of Riverdale and how that characters behave. And, yeah, a lot of this plays out like your average teen drama...which is weird for Riverdale. Part of the reason why I won't do a recap as such is that....I really don't like the fact that they used Emmett Till's story as their focal point. I get what they're trying to do on the broad scope for the season. It's obvious that, as Jughead put it, the events that happened in the episode caused a conversation to happen that normally wouldn't have happened in white suburbia 1950's. The thing is, they could have had a storyline about a racially motivated murder without using a real life murder and still had the conversation. In fact, I argue it might have been better because of the simple fact that I think the idea of Riverdale using actual events just scares the crap out of the audience as it usually doesn't go well. (I also was uncomfortable with the whole tying Veronica to James Dean thing, although not nearly as much as the Emmett Till).

So, yeah, most of the characters are similar to the characters we know; but not exactly the same. Veronica's parents are this reality's version of Ricky and Lucy (God!). Betty's parents are...Allice is just the 1950's version of Allice and Hal is....actually, Hal probably was my favorite in the episode (in a sort of WTF way). Mrs. Andrews has gone full on Stepford.

But there are some strange things happening. For one, Jason is gone and Julien is alive. And there's some strange things afoot (although really just a minor part, for now). Jughead does remember their past life and tries to convince the others by showing them their time capsule that, for some reason, has also ended up in this reality. Except for Jughead's beanie. Of course, nobody believes him and (I think this is a big plot point) twice they mention the possibility of him being locked up in the insane asylum like the others (I wonder if there will be others who remember).

But let's talk about the big moment at the end. Well, two moments that are important in Jughead's life. First off, the Tabitha of the 1950s does not know Jughead and, long story short, is basically written out of the show (she's leaving school for awhile). Then, at the end of the episode, we see another Tabitha. She is the Tabitha of our Riverdale, the Guardian Angel. And she tells Jughead that their plan to save Riverdale failed and that she used the last of her life force to throw everyone into this alternate reality. Yet somehow she's also working to untangle the timelines so that everyone can go back before the comet. Yeah...look, long story short, Tabitha isn't exactly being written completely out of the series at this moment...but it's also clear that we won't be seeing her much for awhile. And, yeah, this is a reset button...but who knows where it will reset to.

However, until Tabitha can untangle the timeline, the group from Riverdale must push this timeline toward justice. But they have to do it without their memories. Which means Jughead has to forget. So Tabitha kisses Jughead and he forgets after trying to write down his memories. But as he stumbles into his home, guess what pops up?

That's right, everybody's favorite beanie is back! And they way this series is going, it will probably be the big bad this season.

This episode...isn't as bad as I feared it would be; especially considering how well Riverdale usually handles sensitive topics. But I also don't get the hype that I've seen from some reviewers. I think they did see more then one episode; so maybe that will change. Maybe.

[jerzwriter]

Simple Moments

Book: Open Heart (Non-Canon – Later in Book 2)

Pairing: Tobias Carrick x F!MC (Casey MacTavish)

Rating: Teen

Category: Fluff – Syrupy even

Summary: Tobias has got it bad. After a ribbing from his brother, he hears a song that reminds him of Casey, and he rushes home to share it with her.

Warnings: None

Words: Approx. 1200

A/N: I heard this song playing and I was inspired. Every Time I Close My Eyes, Babyface. This is pure, unadulterated fluff. But it’s Valentine’s month, so why not? I love the love story between these two, I hope you enjoy it too!

A/N 2: I am also participating in this month’s @choicesfebruary2022challenge day 7 – Music.

CHARACTERS BELONG TO PIXELBERRY STUDIOS

If you wish to be added or removed from tags, please let me know.

“I can’t believe that you have a four-bedroom townhome, and your baby brother is in town for one night, and I’m staying at a hotel.”

“Whoa, hold on there!” Tobias smirked as he turned the steering wheel. “First, said baby brother shows up with one day’s notice. Second, he happens to show up on the first night I’ve had off work with my girl in over a week, and, third, if you stayed at my place tonight, I assure you, we’d be waking you with sounds you don’t want to hear.”

“Stop! Stop! Say no more. I’ll be more than happy at the hotel.”

“Yeah, especially since I’m putting you up at the Four-Seasons.”

“You did make a quality choice, big brother!” Jordan laughed. “Quite like your choice in women. Casey… she’s something else. But then again, she must be. It only took you 37 years to take you off the market.”

“Yeah,” he smiled, “she is something else all right. I’m glad you got to spend a little more with her this time. Next time, maybe I’ll let you stay with us.”

“Ha, fat chance.”

The brothers continued to enjoy their conversation as they drove through the dark streets of Boston. The windows were down to take advantage of the warm breeze that evening. Every so often, the conversation would lull to listen to a favorite song playing on surround sound. Tobias closed his eyes to take it all on while stopped at a red light, and a smile crept across his face. If someone had told him where his life would be a year ago, he would not have believed them. He was broken from his reverie when the car behind him honked the second the light turned green.

“Hey, take it easy!” He yelled, looking in his rear-view mirror. “I was having a moment.”

Jordan laughed as he motioned to change the song that started playing.

“Just as well, this jam is too slow for right now.”

Tobias quickly pushed his brother’s hand away.

“Hey, I’m the driver. I pick the music. Besides, don’t change that song.”

“Why? Oh, wait,” his brother said with a shit-eating grin, “oh my God, is this your song or something? Jesus, T! What has happenedto you?”

“All good things,” he said, turning into the hotel's carport. “It’s not exactly our song, but, yeah, it reminds me of Casey. Now pause it so I can listen to it on the way back home.”

“I’m calling Ma. She needs to hear about this,” Jordan laughed as he jumped out of the car.

“Go ahead,” Tobias called after him, “You’ll make her night! I’ll see you at breakfast in the morning.”

“Yep, right before you make me get an Uber to Logan.”

“Screw you, J.”

His brother shook his head, laughing, “Love you, T. Even this new whipped version of you, man.”

“Hey, it’s new and improved!” He yelled as he drove off.

When he got to the next red light, he put the song back on, sitting back to reflect on the words. It was an old song. He was only thirteen when it was released. He recalled Tabitha Clark trying to get him to dance to it with her at their 8th-grade dance, and he refused. He laughed thinking about it now. Of course he wouldn’t dance to that song with her; this song was meant for only one woman in his life, and, right now, she was waiting for him back at his townhome. He couldn’t get there fast enough.

When he walked through the door, he could hear water running in the kitchen, and he rolled his eyes.

“Hon,” he yelled as he made his way there, “I told you to relax and not clean up.”

“It’s just a few dishes, and I was getting a little restless. I may as well make myself useful,” she smiled.

He stood behind her as she washed the remaining dishes and wrapped his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him as he kissed the top of her head. Who knew simple moments like this could be so blissful?

“You’re always useful. Besides, that’s what that expensive dishwasher is for.”

“Yeah,” she laughed, “well, this dishwasher is cheap.”

“But not easy!”

Laughing, she turned back into his arms.

“It was nice seeing your brother. You could have let him stay here tonight.”

“And ruin our first night together in over a week? Hell no!”

He chuckled when he saw a tiny bunch of bubbles from the dish soap had somehow ended up stuck on her hair. He brushed it away and smiled, taken in by the glow on her cheeks and the sparkle in her eyes. He hoped he would never take the way she looked at him like he was absolutely everything in the world for granted. He hoped she knew she meant that much to him. That’s when the idea came to him.

“Hey, come here,” he said, leading her by the hand to the living room, “I want to do something.”

“Baby, can I at least shower first,” she joked.

“Not that!” shot back, before turning to her with a devilish smirk, “Well... not now anyway. I want you to hear something. And you have to really listen to the words, OK?”

“OK.”

He set a song up to play on his sound system, explaining how he listened to it in the car on his way home, and he refused to dance to it with Tabitha back in the day…

“all because I was waiting for you,” he finished. “This song, it just says you to me.”

As the cords started playing, he extended his hand with a wink. “Can I have this dance?”

“Well, sure,” she grinned. “Since I’m not Tabitha!”

She fell into his arms, nuzzling her head into his shoulder as he held her close. He inhaled the jasmine scent in her hair, reveling in how lucky he was to have her. Forever grateful for the second chance she gave him, he vowed that this time it was forever, and he wasn’t screwing it up.

“Do you mind if I sing it to you?” He asked.

“Only if you sing well.”

“You’re about to find out.”

Pulling her in tighter, he whispered the words into her ear, holding her closer and closer throughout.

Neither moved when the song ended, continuing to sway in silence, unable to let go of the special moment they were sharing. Eventually, Tobias broke the silence in the most Tobias of ways: with a joke.

“Was I that bad?” He asked.

Casey’s giggles reverberated off his chest, then she turned up to look at him, her eyes glistening.

“No. You have a really great voice, T. And that was beautiful, all of it.”

He sat on the arm of his sofa and pulled her in front of him.

“Well, that is how I feel about you, every word. Tabitha had the audacity to think I’d ever dance with anyone else to that song. It’s obvious; I was saving it for you.”

Casey’s face morphed into a sweet smile, and she let out a soft snort.

“You know, Carrick, you didn’t have to do all this. I was going to sleep with you tonight no matter what.”

“Really,” he said with a roar of laughter. “I kind of figured you would.”

“But once again, you’ve proven that each new day with you is just a little more special than the last.”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his giving him the tenderest, soft kiss. The smoldering inferno burning inside them would need to wait because this moment was about the tenderness of this beautiful thing they were building together.

“And now, we have our first song,” he whispered. “I love you.”

“I love you more.”

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@choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

[edgarsabandonedrocketship]

After sleeping on it, I have some more thoughts about the episode (and what’s looming in the next). Of course this is all probably far too deep for this show, but it's possible the writers had some intention besides stirring up drama for its own sake.  Initially, I thought the musical's rushed storylines and awkwardness were simply due to bad writing and poor planning. The ship stuff seemed jarringly out of place alongside the Cooper plot. I was also baffled as to how/why B/A become a thing again, and how two measly episodes are somehow launching 4-5 ships (it's like an armada ffs).

I still think the whole thing is a rushed mess, but the dumb ship stuff might make more sense if viewed in a certain light. I’m putting my thoughts below the cut since they’re not the most favorable to any ship.

In the group scene, Betty mentions Next to Normal and how Alice is creating a "perfect" fantasy at home. Later, Alice and Betty basically decide that while they might never be happy, they can try to be the next best thing. Everyone else seems to be doing something similar relative to their own situations, which ends up heavily impacting the ship changes. 

For Veronica and Archie, things seem to be fairly perfect now that Chad's gone. They decide to move in together and discuss their long-term future. She plans/makes dinner but then reality hits and Archie leaves to fight fires (snort) and she's disillusioned. She decides she needs to choose herself or whatever (which is valid), but is then intrigued by Reggie's goals (which are remarkably aligned with Hiram/Chad's stories) and it looks like they’re going to get together in the finale. For Reggie, I imagine he’s probably lonely and might decide it’s not so bad being Veronica’s second choice (which is horribly sad, but has precedent).

Jughead has been hung up over Betty for years, and hasn't shown any indication that he's over it. He's had visions of her as sort of a savior and guiding light leading him out of the darkness (he even told his AA group this). It's an impossible standard for anyone to meet. But now, newly sober (though still a hot mess), Jughead's looking to move on and give it a shot with Tabitha. While it's not out of the blue, it was rather rushed in the episode, and I found his intensity a bit much for where they're actually at. They sing "Perfect for You," but is it actually true (or healthy)? The way he looks at her at the funeral when everyone else is singing "Light" makes me wonder if he's transferred the savior/guiding light role from Betty to Tabitha. He also doesn't appear to be singing himself, which stands out.

For Tabitha, dating Jughead could be a way to convince her parents (and perhaps herself) that she's completely happy with her choice to move to this terrible town. 

Toni and Fangs already have a child together, love each other (platonically until now, apparently), so they decide to try out the nuclear family ideal. 

For B/A, I wonder if they’ll just decide to give a go to what people have no doubt told them for most of their lives (that they'd be a "perfect" couple). Both have decided (Betty out of guilt) to stay in Riverdale and neither of the people they’d prefer are available. They might not ever be truly happy, but perhaps hope they can get something close to happiness by settling for each other.

As for Alice and Uncle Frank, it's probably a matter of convenience and the fact they're some of the only members of that generation left in town.

Alternatively, this could all be happening because Cheryl’s a witch or whatever.

Anyways, I hate this whole storyline, whatever it actually ends up being.

[askandsmile]

Veronica deserves so much more than being an accessory to every man in her life and an afterthought to the writers. I’m over it

okay, please, i'm sorry for saying this but the whole problem with veronica's storylines is how the fandom pursues them.

veronica ISN'T an ACCESSORY to the men in her life. in fact, her storylines aren't about men; men are the ones revolving in her storylines, but the fandom really fails to see that (the one exception for this is hiram, but more on that later).

take season one for example. veronica is a reformed mean girl who's trying to make new friends and become a better person, while also coming to terms with the fact that maybe her father wasn't as innocent as she thought he was. men in her storyline? archie, who she helps as a friend as they connect, and who promises to stand by her when her father comes back. yes, a lot of veronica's actions are reactions to hiram's actions, but you can clearly see the conflict in her point of view there, not his. we don't even know anything about hiram for real then. it's all through her eyes that we're introduced to the biggest villain of the series.

season two, with hiram back, veronica finds herself torn between two things: light and dark. that's the overall theme of the season. light is represented quite literally by archie, and dark is represented by her family. but still, veronica herself decides to act as a grounding force between these two things. she wants to keep her parents on check. she wants to make peace between the north and the southside. she wants her father not to be involved with murder. then, when she fails to control them, she's the one rebelling and going against them. she decides to stand by archie and fred. she decides to buy pops and to forfeit her father. there's some complicated theme here, with not much explored on her point of view, but you can see that she makes those decisions for herself, and not for archie or hiram, even though they are inserted in her story. it's just not just about them, it's about her, who's she's gonna be, which side she's gonna take.

she chooses light. "you chose that boy over blood". no one else makes that choice for her. and then hiram takes it away from her, of course, because that's what he's there for - to ruin their lives. veronica does fight for archie in season s3A and she puts a lot of faith on the fact that they can survive anything if they're together, like a good hero's love interest, but he leaves and she feels utterly betrayed. meanwhile, she starts building her own business from scratch. yes, reggie helps, but we don't get reggie's point of view about that, not even once. so he's the one in her storyline, not the way around. when archie comes back and hiram gets shot, she's torn between her family and her heart again, and she chooses her blood this time. she dives into it, grows her business, owes her father's admiration, and then they decide to get a divorce and let her hopeless. so here veronica chose the boy over blood and lost, then veronica chose blood over the boy, and lost too. that's her dichotomy in the season...

...which heads us to season four, where she's trying to figure out who she's going to be. she tries to free her mother but her mother betrays her. her father is back into her life and guess what, he has a whole daughter. all that veronica knew about her family must've been a lie. she tells archie that the lodge name is tainted and that she wants out, that she feels like she needs to be a part of what he's doing because she believes in him. so she helps him with the community center because she wants to. then, she keeps on growing her business, and expanding it, working with cheryl for example, and trying to go head-to-head with hiram. until he manipulates her (no one believes he was sick right?) and hermione back in. veronica has daddy issues! she has a complicated relationship with her dad. and then she's betrayed by archie, who she put so much faith in. and realizes again that she's just going to stand alone.

so, yeah, we reach season five and veronica has realized that changing her name and having a partner might not be what she needs to be happy, especially if that partner is controlling and doesn't let her thrive. she says that she thinks she needs to give back to riverdale because of her father. she says that she wants to help archie with the bulldogs because she was a vixen. she says that she wants to help the town and places herself as one of the good guys. she believes in riverdale. she creates the riverdollars. she opens up a business. then, of course, her and archie reignite that flame but it's not all that she's doing. and lastly, chad throws her a curveball and she's doing everything in her power to regain her financial independence and to get rid of him. not only because of archie, but because of herself.

so this is veronica's trajectory through the seasons. as for the men in it:

hiram: is a relationship that's complicated for her, especially because she does love her father and did not want him to be an awful person, but knows that he is. still, she has these complicated feelings and is the only one who often goes head-to-head with him, building a bridge between the villain and the hero. we rarely get hiram's pov on veronica, but we do get hers on him. so it's her story. she's not the accessory.

archie: is her main love interest and while she has helped him through a lot, and vice-versa, 85% of their plots aren't always combined so i don't get when people say that it hurts her personality or whatever. could've she reacted differently to the cheating? i guess. but these writers didn't want it to matter as much to her so? it's been seven years, and she's a forgiving person, especially when people aren't so forgiving to her. it's also their relationship's story so they both get points of view here.

reggie: literally, and unfortunately, has never had a point of view regarding anything. he helps her for old times sake. there has been no explanation for him to be inserted in her storyline. but it's her storyline, not his.

chad: is there to represent hiram, to be honest? and how she does not want, in any way, to marry a man that's exactly like him? and how she can break free from that cycle if she chooses herself, and to stay true to who she is - a pop's girl? none of this was about chad. or about archie. it's been about veronica and how she'll have to break free from this relationship.

other than that, veronica has literally been a business woman, a heroine, and someone who has fought head-to-head with hiram. she's surrounded by this men in her storyline but she's not an accessory to them, and the fandom fails to see it because they fail to listen to the things SHE is saying, and making connections.

do i think veronica deserves better? YES. she deserves a lot better than having no point of view regarding some of her feelings, her trauma, and she deserves to be able to tell the audience how she really feels, and to react emotionally to stuff. she doesn't have to be #strong #girlboss the entire time. if they write vulnerability into veronica, we'll get more of her feelings. they should write her better and give her more screentime - the 514 episode is a clear example of how they chose to go deeper with jughead, archie, and betty, and we still know nothing about her in the past 7 years - and more depth about her stories.

the fact that i have to explain how was veronica's trajectory just proves that it's all over the place and that she deserves better. of course, should veronica interact with more women? SHE SHOULD. veronica needs a friend! and she needs friends that aren't betty, tbh, but well, does this show ever does the friendships any justice? she should be friends with toni and tabitha, or even cheryl; she should be able to have conversations about her feelings.

could she break free from her daddy issues and evolve? yes, of course. could we have more fun watching her not have those daddy issues? yes.

but to say that she's an accessory for men is just... absurd. you guys don't pay attention to what she says or does and keep saying that, i just don't understand. just because veronica has a father, a soon-to-be-ex-husband, a friend, and a love interest, it does not mean that she's ONLY there to serve them. in fact, i have seen them serve her plot a lot more than the contrary.

the little pov she gets, you guys make it about men. we cannot win like this, c'mon. try to pain attention on what she wants and says, instead.

[raymondebidochonlifechoices]

As Jughead and Tabitha are about to embark into fake dating, i.e. the tropiest of tropes to ever trope* -and we all know from 4x17 what faking dating leads to in Riverdale- a few thoughts on whether Jabitha are happening out of the blue or not under the cut.

Back in march, a kind anon had asked me what I thought of Jabitha. The answer is here and it hasn’t changed. Long story short, I don’t mind them but they’re not my otp and I’d like my bughead back asap, please and thank you.

That being said S4 B*rchie and s5 Jabitha are NOT comparable and not just because the latter doesn’t involve Archie (which is a blessing and -in this show- one learns to count those).

S4 B*rchie had no build-up. Archie and Betty hadn’t even shared scenes together. Betty’s whole storyline in s4 was about the lengths she would go to help Jughead because of her love for him. It was so unexpected that, when Barchie happened, the writers had to spell it out for us via Cheryl. And when they wanted to tell us that it hadn’t really meant anything (because they wanted to have their cake and eat it), they also had to spell it via Cheryl.

This is in no way comparable to a possible s5Jabitha. Tabitha has been Jughead’s confidant since ep5. Sure, Bughead had a heart to heart in 5x18. But that is just one episode. (Of course, this is Riverdale, so one episode might actually be enough, but you get the gist). They danced. They kissed. Yes, they were awkward about it afterwards but it was a good kiss. Had it been Betty in that kiss, I would have been absolutely ecstatic and wouldn’t have given a flying f*** about the lingering awkwardness. Jughead never said that he didn’t view Tabitha romantically, just that he wasn’t in the right place for a relationship. That was … several months according to Riverdale time (his trip to NY alone lasted weeks according to one Waldo Weatherbee). Jughead’s maple mushroom trip had him hallucinating Betty as a desired partner but also Tabitha (you can’t pick and choose: either it doesn’t mean anything for both women because he was high or it was his subconscious speaking in both instances). Most importantly, Tabitha has been Jughead’s almost exclusive scene partner for the biggest part of the season.

Do some heartfelt talks, a hand touch and a kiss constitute enough material for a romantic relationship?

I don’t know. I’m not an objective viewer: for me, one unfinished heartfelt talk, a shoulder touch and a hallucination are enough for Bughead coming back together. So, who knows?

After all, that is the whole purpose of this plot line, isn’t it? Keeping the viewers on their toes.

This, by the way, is in no form an attack against Jughead. Both Jabitha (now) and Bughead (later) can happen without people taking advantage of each other. If your destination is Hate Town, you can hop off, because this post is not going there.

The thing is: it can go either way. We are talking about writers who excitedly teased B*rchie showering together in 5x5 having already written (and probably even filmed) B*rchie breaking up in 5x8!

Narratively speaking, I don’t think the writers would show one half of an established and popular couple hallucinating their ex twice and leaving their job in the middle of the day to go help her with her investigation OR the other half finally admitting their problems to that person and that person only, for them not to come back together eventually.

* Bughead coming back to Riverdale in 5x4 as a couple that -for whatever investigative reason- had to fake being broken up was my most favourite head canon for teasing a (never actually happening) b*rchie back in the beginning of this season.

(There’ll be a smallish rant later on about s5′s misery porn. It’ll be the last one, because I’m watching this show for fun -or, at least, trying to- and want to limit the negativity!)

[jeromesxreader16]

Such a Joker (51)

Part 50 Here!

~o0o~

I scan through paint swatches, holding it up to the walls of the nursery contemplating the vast difference in the outcome. "I like this blue." Jeremiah picks up a swatch and tapes it to the wall. I smile as he narrows his hands focusing on the paint. He nods looking around the room. "We can put both the cribs against the wall here and place the changing station in the middle. Rocking chairs in either corner." He smiles with his accomplished plan.

"What do you think, boys?" He asks kneeling at my stomach. I scoff smiling, "How do you know these boys of yours aren't girls?" Jeremiah leans down pressing his ear on my swollen belly.

"Hmm. Yes. What was that? Of course, I'll let mommy know."

Jeremiah stands cupping my face. "You're children don't like the vitamin shake you drink." I roll my eyes walking away and taping a light pink swatch of paint on the wall.

Jeremiah raises a brow smirking. "Really, (Y/n)?" I shrug beaming. "You never know, Jer."

~

I look out the large window looking at the starved and rotten Gotham. I sigh sipping at my morning tea Ecco brought me.

"You're sighing again." I look over at her smiling. "You say that a lot." "It's because you sit there looking like a princess waiting for someone to come." I shake my head at Ecco laughing. "You're crazy, Ecco."

She hops in front of me smirking. "We could be bad, ya know? Sneak out. Just for a little." I narrow my eyes leaning in. "Keep talking."

~

Jeremiah POV:

Coming up the elevator into the late hours of the night to finally take rest next to my wife. "The tunnel is coming along nicely," Ecco says standing beside me. "Yes, there is much to do."

"Ecco, does my darling ever speak of life before this?" Ecco nods at me. "Mrs. Valeska always loves to spend time thinking of the good days." I hum reconnecting ways to make her happy. "I'll have to send her on a little trip out of our little Dark Zone."

I open the door to our room removing my tie and shirt and putting them away.

I walk over to my wife and rest my hands on her stomach holding my children. "We're not supposed to be here." I sigh resting my head against her. "I'm trying my best to get us out of here, loves."

She rolls to her side causing me to chuckle. I kiss her head cuddling into her in our sheets, dreaming of escaping Gotham with my family.

~

"Remember, love. Tonight is another graduation for the troops. It is still too dangerous. Care to take a trip to the Sirens today? I thought about sending you to have a full week of fun." Jeremiah asks as I cuddle into his side. "Yeah. I could use some girl time. If you're alright with having me away that long." Jeremiah holds my chin gazing into my eyes. "I love you so much, darling."

"I love you, Jeremiah." His smile warms my heart as he descends the elevator. "Behave yourself, loves."

~

I step out of the car smiling at the large buildings all so familiar. "Hello, Sirens." I grab the railing to step inside but am bumped by a force making me stumble.

"I - I'm so sorry, miss!" I look down at a little boy with bruises and scratches all over his body. I kneel gasping at his frame. "Oh, honey." He looks behind his shoulder gulping. "You have to help me, please."

I look up at the building thinking over my plans. Jeremiah told me to go here and only here, but it's not like he knew I was going to run into an abandoned child!

I nod at the small kid getting back in my car. "Come on, kid." He jumps in my car closing the door and gasping. "Thank you! Thank you so much, miss!" I smile sadly at the frightened little boy.

"Where are you going? Where can I take you?"

He looks at me with hopeful eyes. "The Haven."

I've heard whispers of the spot concealed in safety for a couple of weeks now. "I have an idea of where it is. I'll take you there."

He nods smiling, "My name is Will Thomas." He offers his hand.

"(Y/n) Valeska. It's good to meet you, Will." He smiles shaking my hand.

~

"Whoa." Will gasps as the large caged in the apartment corner appears. "Yeah," I say taking a look at all the people smiling. "Are you coming with me? I have to find someone who can help my brother and sister!" I nod turning off the car. "Yeah. I'm not sure who all lives here, but I can help you look around."

Walking in the small compound many of the people were friendly in this trying time.

I walk up holding Will's weak hand. "Excuse me, sir." He turns to me confused. "Yes?" "This boy needs your help." I try to usher him and scatter away but a hand reaches out grasping my wrist as I walk away from them.

I look up meeting my father's eyes through the shades. "(Y/n)?"

I smile removing the glasses. "Jim." he crumbles losing his balance. "Where have you been?" I shake my head tugging at my arm. "I-I can't be here."

I run away slipping out of the Haven untouched and back to my car as my father runs out screaming my name. I drive to the club again and entering as nothing happened.

"(Y/n)!" Babs screams running to me. "Oh, my! You've filled out!" I laugh pushing out my stomach. "Well, when you've got two fighting for space."

~

Jim POV:

That was her. My girl. My beautiful daughter walking right in and then scurried away faster than wildfire. "Jim, was that-" I turn to Harvey with a smile breaking my features. "Yeah. That was (Y/n)." Harvey pats my shoulder. "I know you're thinking you have to find her at this very second and trust me I do too, but we've got another pressing thing. Like this mystery kid." Harvey pulls me away from my thoughts.

"Right. What do we know?"

"His name is Will Thomas. Parents died in a home invasion a few weeks after the bridges came down. Guys that broke in took him to some sort of factory where he was held alongside dozens of other stolen kids, all chained together."

"God. Who are these guys?" "Call themselves The Soothsayers."

"You ever heard of them?" "No. But who can keep track these days?"

"Which district?" "Granton. Near the water, he said. Had them digging some sort of tunnel. Will broke free from his restraints last night and walked nine miles through the Dark Zone and found Mrs. Valeska in the Sirens block. She brought him here."

"What kind of tunnel?"

"Unclear."

"There's an abandoned waterworks by the old dock in Granton."

"Detective Gordon?" The small boy asks. "My friends. You'll save them, won't you?" I nod at him holding a smile. "I'll look into it."

"The Soothsayers won't be happy I escaped. They'll punish

the others for it. Please, Mr. Gordon. I promised them I'd bring help."

~

"Gosh, I can't wait until I can drink again." I laugh at Babara from behind the bar as she throws down a shot. "Oh, me and you both. Push those kids onto that pale freak and go wild!"

Feet away the crowd split and they still their ongoing conversations. None other than James Gordon walks over to Barbara. I duck under the bar hiding in plain sight.

"Barbara." She looks down at me before turning to ace my father. "Jim, what brings you crawling out into the open tonight? Come to join the party? One last hoorah before someone wastes you?" She smirks taking another shot before slamming it down.

"I'm here to ask a favor. Maybe some information if you have it."

"A favor plus info, right. Is this after you stood by and did nothing while my best friend on this Earth was stabbed through the heart?"

"I put him down."

"You restored his limp."

"HE SHOULD BE DEAD!"

Jim sighs, "Barbara." She cuts him off with her screams. "Everybody out! Now! I said move!"

As they file out and the music comes to a halt I shiver on my knees. Why am I doing this? Hiding from my blood.

"Planning revenge?" "Well, someone has to do something about that freak."

"He has an army. It would be suicide." "Look around, Jim. We're all slowly dying. Just some of us get to choose how."

"I'm sorry about what happened to Tabitha."

Babs brushes off the matter scoffing, "So, these favors?"

"I need transportation. Trucks, maybe."

"Where are you going?"

"It's a police matter," Jim says making me hold in a laugh. How could police exist nowadays?

"You know, they should really write that on your tombstone. They're downstairs in the basement lot. Knock yourself out. Drive right into this nightmare you created. You won't last a night."

He stays quiet for a moment before asking, "Have you seen (y/n)?" Barbara chuckles, "And if I did, what makes you think she wants to see her father who turned her own happiness away?" I peer over the bar watching my father's eyes drop and sadness fills his emotions. He turns away from the bar walking away. "Thank you for the trucks."

I pop up resting my elbows on the counter. "You didn't have to yell at him." Babs turns to me locking eyes. She breaks shaking her head with a sad smile. "No, I guess I didn't." I come around the bar sitting beside her. "You really think he won't last out there?" She turns to me smirking. "Not if he has some help. How long are you staying here?" I shrug, "Jeremiah doesn't need me around when the church graduates. He said the tension in the air is stressful for the babies." She scoffs laughing. "Right, because he's Mr. smartypants."

~

I sit on the couch watching TV as Babs strides through tossing my gun at me. "Load it and follow me." I stand following her. "Uh, why do I need a gun?" She turns back to me as walks into the garage.

"We're going to help Jimmy. You want to drive?"

I smile at her nodding. "Okay."

~

"Wait, slow down! I hear something." Barbara says causing me to stop the vehicle equipped with machine guns on the empty road. "I won't say it again, freak. Gordon comes with me."

I smile at her, "Jackpot!"

"I'll tell you what! I'll take his head, and you can have the rest of him!"

"NOW!" I scream as we whip around the corner and shoot down the punks. Barabra hops out fo the car walking towards my father.

"Hi, Jim. About our last chat... I may have been a little rash. This what got you all hot and bothered? They need a bath."

"Crazy bi-" I stand from my seat shooting the armed man aiming at Babs. As I hit the target, my father does as well.

He looks at me in shock. "(Y/n)?" I smile sitting back and cranking the car.

"Oh, lookie there. I found her. Not all square yet though. You're gonna help me do what we all know needs doing."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?"

"Kill Penguin."

~

I gaze and smile a all the happy citizens in the Haven. "This is amazing."

"Citizens are heading here in droves. This place will be full

by sundown." Jim nods looking around. "Then we'll find another."

I look up at him. "I figured you left when the evacuation was called." My father puts an arm across my shoulder pulling me to him. "You were still here. I was never going to leave without you. Especially now with these two." He says placing a hand on my stomach.

A woman walks up with her younger ones grinning at Jim. "I just want to thank you, Captain Gordon. My family, we've been drifting from one place to the next ever since the blackout. You've delivered us." She walks away beaming with joy, leaving my father with a raised head and confidence and honor beaming from him.

His moment soon ruined by Barbara scoffing, "Seriously?" She rolls her eyes looking at me. "You know he'll be angry with you if he finds you here. You're staying with me so my ass will be burned."

I look back at Babs and my father. He grabs my wrist looking me in the eyes. "You can't go back, (Y/n). Look at what he's done!" I close my eyes gathering my emotions. "Jim, please let me go so I can go home to my husband. This will end ugly if you refuse." He looks at me with shock and shakes his head. "No, I found you and now I'm going to keep the three of you safe from him." I rip my arm out of his grip. "I came to you! I understand you're upset, I do. But... Daddy's little girl is gone, I married him, he is the father of my children, and that won't change. You can either fight it and our contact will end, or..." I take out his pen from his pocket and grab his hand, writing my phone number. "You can accept me for the person I have become, and call me."

Jim nods sadly. He places his hand on mine. "I love you, (Y/n)." I nod smiling at my father. "I hope so." I back up walking next to Barbara.

"I'll see you around, killer. We have some unfinished business, you and I." She nods to him as we exit the gates.

~

"How was the day, darling? Have my twins kicked you anymore? I talked with them the other night." I giggle over the line laying on the big bed in the guest room of Barbara's home. "They've been fine, Jer. How was the first day of the graduates?" He sighs over the phone. "10 go in and only 4 complete the trial. It's quite disappointing." "I bet you'll have more tomorrow. It is a new day after all." "Indeed, love."

I snuggle in my covers rubbing my belly. "Get some rest, Jeremiah. I'll see you soon." He hums in the line. "I do hope so, darling. I love you." I smile feeling complete. "I love you too, Jeremiah."

As the call ends it suddenly rings again. I pick it up figuring it to be Jeremiah, once more. "Did you forget something?" I giggle over the line. "(Y/n)?" Jim's shaky voice comes through. "Dad."

He sighs and speaks, "Hi honey. H-How are you?"

At this time I talk to my father and open the door that has been shut so long.

"Hey! How about we meet up for lunch when we can?" I laugh at him, "You're going to act like everything's normal and grab a sub?" "Why not? I've got my family back."

A piercing giggle springs from the bathroom. Jerome walks out with sunglasses and posing in the mirror. "I'm going to tell."

I shake my head at him as my father talks. Jerome cackles and runs to the door making me chase after him tripping him. "OW! Workers comp!" He cries.

He stands up giggling. "Ole Jimmy. Always slithering around and shitting on our lives. Brother will be mad, (Y/n), you know that."

"Goodnight, Dad."

I hang up rolling on my side and cuddling into the sheets. "He won't find out, Jerome." He scoffs cuddling close to me. "Lying to your husband? You naughty girl."

I laugh into the pillow. "Goodnight, Jerome." 

[jq37]

The Case File – Mice and Murder Ep 2

The Case of the Dismal Dinner

Summary

Welcome back to our flashback/Tisch fight already in progress where we learn what Daisy and Sly’s shared look was about while Rekha and Grant go for the proverbial jugular emotionally. It’s 12 years ago and Sylvester is tracking down a stolen diadem, the very same diadem that he sees Daisy swipe off the thief who has it (a jackal named Roscoe McCoy in case that matters). Sly swipes it back from her and, when she notices, she sniffs it down to his train car where he is sitting in the dark, waiting for her. He doesn’t turn the lights on, opting instead to dramatically strike a match to light his pipe, illuminating himself sitting in a big chair, holding the stolen item.

Daisy tries to bluff like she’s Virginia Chase, the owner of the diadem, but Sly knows that’s not true because he was hired by the real Virginia to track it down. Daisy is usually a better liar than this but she is insta-smitten by this figurative and literal fox and it’s throwing her off her game. But before they can continue their little tete-a-tete, they hear a gunshot ring out from Daisy’s room and know Roscoe and his guys are coming after her. Sly stuffs Daisy in a trunk before the boys show up and they actually seem a little impressed to meet him, him being a famous detective and all, but a Nat 1 deception means they hear Daisy being huffy in the chest and a fight/escape scene that Brennan takes over narration for ensues. 

After that, Sly and Daisy become close really quickly and partners in both senses of the word. Daisy tells him she’s an American PI and they work together on cases, travel the world, and become engaged within the year. But, the day before the wedding, when Sly is alone, he discovers all the documentation proving that Daisy lied about who she is, is actually a criminal, and has been using their partnership to sell information to other criminals.

She shows up and tries to pretend like she’s being set up but he replies, “You being duped is the only lie you’ve told I can’t believe.” He says that being with her changed him. He didn’t think he had it in him to actually love another person. He forgives her. He still wants to get married. Daisy is thrown by this reaction. She tells him she’s not gonna change for him and he might as well leave her. She’s being all unapologetic femme fatale about it but he gets the sense that under her bravado she’s low key pleading with him to give up on her. He doesn’t want to. He can’t. He still shows up the next day in his wedding tux. Daisy is nowhere to be seen. When he goes home, there’s a deerstalker cap on his porch and a note that just reads “-D”.

And we snap back to the present where Daisy is trying to figure out if she can take advantage of Lucretia’s fascination with the occult and all the rich vulnerable people present to make some money. Meanwhile, Sly has been totally rocked by seeing Daisy and is drowning his sorrows at the bar with Ollie, the otter bartender. Squire Badger (which is what I’ll be calling William) shows up and, in not so many words, threatens Sly for having not solved the case and making a fool of him. He says, “You’re not gonna rub my nose in this.” Move your nose then bitch, says Sly on a dirty 20 intimidation check. He’s sad about girl problems, not you! Squire Badger is scared off, but he looks like he knows something that Sly doesn’t. That someone is coming for him. 

Buckster (and Ian too btw) clocked the above conversation and sidles up to Sly at the bar. See, not only does Buckster know about Sly and Daisy’s history, he knew it was happening *while* it was happening. Sly used up all his cool swagger on the Squire so by the time Buckster shows up he’s a whole mess over Daisy. Buckster starts implying that maybe they can help each other out since they both dislike the Squire and with Sly’s Nat 20 Insight, they can totally clock each other’s double meanings perfectly. It’s a very cool game thing where Sly and Buckster are having an innocuous conversation about the weather or whatever but Grant and Sam are just saying what they mean. It’s like they’re having a telepathic conversation. Sly agrees that the enemy of his enemy is his friend and he’ll go along with Buck’s plans as long as he can keep his hands clean, even if he doesn’t really care for Buck himself. 

At the same time Gangie is in the kitchens getting fed (see the notes for a full list of kitchen staffers and other NPCs) and after the staff leaves, Gangie is told by Ambrose Harding (the Squire’s turtle valet) that there’s is business for him to attend to after dinner. 

Buckster talks to Lawrence Longfoot--the rabbit photographer from last ep who we learn runs a trash newspaper. He and Buck bond over being trash and he gets a pic of Sly and Buck together. 

Vicar Ian goes to talk to the Squire and basically tries to (openly) suss out whether the money was a bribe or a setup or what? Like, people are fully there (including the Lady Fawnbrook and her gossipy cat wife Tabitha). They snipe at each other a bit and then the Squire reveals that he’s talked him up to the Cardinal and the Cardinal agreed that he’s such a good vicar, he should be moved to Siberia. The decision has already been made and Ian doesn’t have the pull in the church to do anything about it. Yikes. 

Before dinner, the rat butler catches Buck and asks if he has time to talk to Squire Badger. Buck agrees to go with him and he’s taken to the billiards room where the Squire is along with Harding and James Hawkins, Squire’s Hawk war buddy (a literal war hawk). Buck immediately puts his foot in his mouth by messing up the Squire’s title with his American ignorance of British peerage rules which annoys him, the elitism of it all. The Squire’s friends leave and then Buck starts talking about PR and how this whole situation has been bad PR for the Squire and it would be a shame if his PR got even worse. The suggestion of blackmail sends the Squire into a full honey badger don’t care style rage and he knocks TF out of Buck, flips the pool table, and then catches himself and scurries off. Daisy, Sly, and Gangie all hear this conversation from their positions in the house via the pipes running through the manor. Buck picks himself up and, on a 25, realizes that two of the mouse maids were hiding behind a curtain, hearing the whole thing (specifically, Edwina Thimble and Carolyn Dickory--oh like hickory dickory doc, BRENNAN) . They were playing hooky so he flips them a coin each and they all agree that no one saw or heard anything. “Two blind mice, see how they run,” he quips as they leave (sidenote, what a morbid nursery rhyme to exist in that world--to be fair, it’s pretty morbid as is).

Lucretia decides to turn the séance into a post dinner séance but still brings Daisy and Lars to see her occult room which is full of crap from, as Rekha said, “1800s Party City”. Lucretia does a hilariously vague read on Daisy and says that there’s something happening with her involving a man she knew or maybe still knows but she’s in her feelings about Sly so it kinda shakes her up. She tries to get Lucretia to charge for her “””incredible gift””” (so she can skim off the top of course) but Lucretia thinks it would be a misuse of her ~talents~. She does give Daisy an incredibly broad as to be useless even if magic exists blessing before she leaves. 

Once she does, Daisy scopes out the room (which she realizes must have been retrofitted for Lucretia and wasn’t previously a séance room) and sees that the one thing in the room that doesn’t really match the aesthetic is a giant portrait of one of the previous squire badgers. On a 24 she notices two things: (1) the painting has recently been restored with new paint and (2) the frame is bolted to the wall. She wants to check it out but Lars is right there so she makes a note to check it out later and leaves. 

Lars, being a very ride or die friend for Sly, bounds after her and basically calls her trash and tries to tempt her with garbage so she’ll lose composure and start chowing down. She drools at the sight but keeps it together and leaves. Lars runs off to tell Sly that they were a good good dog and gives him a full play by play. 

Gangie meanwhile is watching a small argument between the butler and Harding in the servant’s quarters hallway and he realizes that he’s being talked about in veiled language. The butler is questioning Gangie’s employment and Harding says that, as servants, they shouldn’t question their master and that Gangie is employed for reasons that Squire Badger is aware of and reasons he is not. Hmm. Gangie realizes that Harding knows about his past which is weird because Gangie’s criminal record doesn’t follow him. There’s no internet. So what reason would this guy have to know about him?

Gangie doesn’t like this and decides to dip and steal some silverware on the way out. Mrs. Molesley (who I’ll be calling Mrs. M from now on) helps him (lol I’m not entirely sure if she didn’t know what he was doing or if she’s just down with stealing) and says that she’s been working there since Squire Badger was in diapers (she was his nanny) and if anyone bullies Gangie, she’ll take care of them. She also offers to make him a sweater so he doesn’t get cold and she’s just so nice that Gangie has to say yes. He looks to make sure no one is around and gives her a dandelion he picked. Cute!!!

And now it’s time for dinner and our very first box of doom roll for the most terrifying encounter of all: how close you have to sit next to your bitter ex! This is of course for Sly and Daisy with higher than a 15 meaning they don’t have to sit next to each other and anything lower meaning they have to sit pretty close. It is the first BOD roll I’ve ever wanted them to fail (mmm, except maybe Adaine’s werewolf roll but that’s a different conversation). 

It’s in the 6-10 bracket which means they’re sitting across from each other (below that would have been them next to each other). Everyone is seated based on how on Squire Badger’s shitlist they are. So you have Ian at the absolute back. Sly to his right and Daisy on his left. The Buckster and Lars to the right and left after that. Then Armond (armadillo lawyer guy) and a snail guy because Brennan is a madman who cannot be stopped. Constance (Squire’s daughter) makes a toast to her dad wishing him well even though they haven’t always seen eye to eye (hmmm).

Buckster fills in Daisy on his confrontation with the Squire quietly enough that no one else hears. Daisy then turns to Sly and says she hopes they can be civil. Sly is like, “Sure Ms. DUMPSTER.” They’re the kind of exes who know exactly how to hurt each other but are also super open to being hurt. Emotional glass cannons is how Brennan describes it. 

Buckster is given a note by Harding from Squire Badger and, once dinner is over, he takes Daisy off to the side to read it. Gangie follows, unseen. Ian, who recently prayed to God and got not super clear results goes to talk to Luecretia to see if maybe ghosts can help him instead. She is, as usual, not super helpful but does rush out to get her very necessary ritual dagger and declares to everyone that if anyone sees a ghost they have to tell her. As she says this, there is a flash of lightning and, through the window, Sylvester sees just for a moment the form of his nemesis, Fletcher Cottonbotton (who is by the docks).

Anyway, Buckster reads the note. It’s a document from the Squire selling his interest in BB Industries (Buck’s oil company) to Hazel Hogswallop who is another small shareholder in BB Industries. But, in doing so, it names Josiah Jackrabbit (one of his competitors) her proxy which means he’ll be able to vote on things (and with a lot of power with all that stock).  The contract was written in fresh ink which means (1) it was probably written after their fight and (2) hasn’t been mailed yet (I smell a heist attempt). Buck rolls insight on the writing (mastermind rogue ability) and with a 27 senses that the Squire has gone off his rocker. This isn’t going to make him any money. Josiah doesn’t have enough liquid cash to pay him what this is worth. And the thing with Hazel would have taken time to set up. This has been in the works for a while and he’s been sitting on it until the time was right. And he senses, like Sly and Gangie did earlier, that someone besides the Squire is pulling the strings. 

Then Gangie suddenly hears Constance’s distressed voice through the pipes from upstairs: “Father you’re possessed! You’re a mad man! This will never work. Speak of this to me never again.” And she slams the door (Buck, Daisy, and Gangie all hear). Constance comes downstairs and Squire Badger follows, looking upset. Mrs. M checks in on him too see if he’s eaten and he kind of gruffly has her follow him (along with Mr. Harding) into the drawing room.

There is a scream. Something drops. Silence. Footsteps. A door opens. Then a voice, “My God!”

Everyone rolls initiative. Ian moves first and, upon hearing all the commotion, gathers everyone together to go towards the sound (interesting choice but sure). Daisy recognizes that the scream heard was Mrs. M but barely knows who she is. She goes towards the commotion anyway. Gangie also goes towards the scream. Buckster grabs his gun (well he says “weapon”, but it’s gotta be a gun, right?) and makes like he’s following her but actually hides. Lars and Sylvester go towards the scream. 

With everyone gathered, Ambrose opens the door. Inside they see Mrs. M, her hands covered in blood (my guess? From trying to stop the bleeding), kneeling on the ground over the dead body of the Squire. The room is a mess and stuff is scattered everywhere. There is a bloody knife in the Squire’s hand and a stab wound over his heart. Ms. M, who is distressed as hell, says there was something wrong with him. There was a flash, and she looked down and he was stabbing himself. Everyone thinks this is suspicious as hell. She was the only one in the room. Everyone looks to Sly, the famous detective who is not in the presence of a murder case in progress. What does Sly say? “Lady Lucretia. I’ve seen a ghost.”

Case Notes

I have to acknowledge how ON FIRE Grant was this episode. Like everyone was. Buck was great with the Squire. Daisy and Lars sniping at each other was fun. But man Grant had so many good lines. The “move your nose”. The heartbreak with Daisy (ugh, so sad!) And that blackout line!!! I am biased towards foxes as you can see from my avatar so I am very here for this great fox rep.

Based on the way their staredown went last ep I kinda thought Daisy was the wronged party but ugh. Slyyyyyyy. He forgave herrrrrrr. And he still went to the alter. Daisy how you could youuuuuuu?

Also, sigh, Fox and the Hound. I keep getting hit with these after the fact. 

I loved Rekha’s “Of the Chase Sapphire’s?” improv.

That racoon/mink line was so sleazy. Weird compliment but Brennan is good at being animal-racist. Sidenote, Daisy makes a comment about being careful being a fox in England which I presume is a ref to fox hunting and like the implication of that are como se dice troubling. 

Here are all the new NPCs for this ep and here’s a full NPC guide that also includes the list of names Gangie gave Buck which Buck shares with Daisy this ep.

And on that topic I can’t get over the concept of a married couple named Millie Molton and Mollie Milton. Like, did they get married solely for the bit???

The best Ian-ism of the ep was him talking about getting rejected from Siberia. Poor guy.

Fave OOC moment was everyone at the table getting aggressively patriotic in response to the Squire being dismissive to Buck. There is nothing funnier than someone singing a purposefully overwrought version of I’m Proud to Be An American. 

“It’s 2020 for us bitch!”

The moment Mrs. M said she was gonna make Gangie a sweater I was scared for her. Sweaters take a long time to get made. I was like oh no. The plot is gonna stop you from making that sweater isn’t it. I’m willing to be proven wrong (Brennan loves his maids with secrets, see: Cathilda) but she seems super sweet and if anything happens to her I’m going to be upset. 

What’s behind the painting Brennan. I know there’s a door. I know this house is full of secret tunnels and revolving bookshelves and all that. Let me see it!

One great little moment was when there was a flash of lightning and the minis for Sly and Lars like stop motion moved to look at it. Just great attention to detail. The work that gets put into this show is incredible.

Edit: A note I forgot to mention. There’s gotta be a secret door in the room where it happened, right? Like, creep in, flash of light to mess up her vision, do some shenanigans, peace out.

[riverdale-retread]

Riverdale S5E9 Destroyer - 5 Things I Loved/ 3 Points to Consider

I loved -

1. Betty going ultra-rogue and raging out had me in ecstasy - not quite unadulterated, but no matter.  I generally hate the ‘rogue-cop-had-to-do-it-cuz-system-failed’ type nonsense because, you know, it’s propaganda of the most insidious kind.  BUT.   The sheer terror that Betty Cooper, formerly the pink-sweatered doe-eyed teen dream girl,  invokes in these men is so cathartic.  Betty’s childhood acts of violence were always in defense of someone else - and now she’s just taken it a step further, of trying to do prophylactic justice rather than preventing immediate harm.   Betty slamming that dude sneering that “these girls are ‘looking to trick’” right into his steering wheel WAS AMAZING.  We’ve gone from bash-on-back-of-head to slam-head-down-break-nose as the go-to move. Her measured “Jug. Head?” when he calls at a key moment was hilarious, as was her cold hard, “Or I might not” about coming back for that guy she tied to the tree. 

Sidebar:   I feel like I don’t know Betty’s true size because she was most frequently seen with Jughead, whose height and heft fluctuated a lot due to plot demands, but I actually believe she’d be frightening.  The set of her shoulders as she charges around looking for people to beat up is an astonishing change from how I think of her, the fairytale princess in the fluffy sparkly dress. 

2.  Cheryl Blossom performing Stupid Love in that amazing custom-tailored red jumpsuit  with the glittering red strips down the sides - Oh My GOSH!!!   I basically did everything she told me to do in the song - Freak Out/ Freak Out/ Freak Out/ Look At Me.  And the mandatory Cheryl hair whoosh!  Who says you need to show skin or wear heels to be blazing hot?  Her commitment to performance is such that she dances up the stairs at the start of the song. If there had been a coach like this at any of the schools I went to, my physically incompetent ass would’ve thrown the mother of all tantrums to be given dance lessons, instead of um, being a bookworm in the library. 

3.  This is a two-for-one but Fangs and Jughead are currently being the world’s best ex-boyfriends and I want to give them each a big forehead kiss (and a bum squeeze, no not like that, just a little one, friendly-like).  Fangs is so mature and so in love with Kevin, and he is much more calm than I could be given what Kevin has done to him. I want to know everything about you, the good and the bad, he says, looking so handsome and hurt.  Bad Kevin! I believed in you!  And of course the soft way that Jughead talks to Betty when she’s in distress, using his Let me help you sotto voce that he only ever uses with true intimates, always goes straight to my heart.   There’s literally nobody that offers Betty any sort of comfort anywhere but for Jughead. 

But. I did not feel any sexual tension or residual longing, not from this episode.  It was more sibling energy. The tendon of RAGE that stands out on Betty’s neck as the old codger starts going on about Alien Fusion Reactors, while Jughead  cringes like a younger brother who’s gonna GET IT when they get home or she tells mom, was very cute

4. I actually loved the We Scored a Single Point So Team Is Not Cancelled football match.  I normally never get anything out of these games but this one worked for me. I loved Archie’s speech to his players. Specifically, his tone of voice.  He’s so hot when he’s being someone’s big brother - this is the same tone of voice as him telling Joaquin, You have to hit me! Hit me, at the boxing match. There’s something about this delivery  that just um, makes me tingle.  And then him leaping with BOTH FEET off the ground when Britta scores that one touch down (is this right? i have no idea).  Oh Archie can move. And speaking of Britta - the way her long braid whips around when she avoids getting tackled was fantastic!  All the adults celebrating so hard because one thing went right!  I wish we had more of that energy in actual children’s sports lol.

5. Reggie finally getting to show something of who he is as an adult.  (What I remember most about him from previous seasons is I gotta matter Ronnie! and his single tear of heartbreak as he tells Archie how it is at home for him).  Unsurprisingly, he’s much better at being an aggro asshole than Archie.  He smiles and smiles while delivering terrible news (Your team is about to be cancelled!) and jaunty while dealing low blows to kids (Loser, Loser, Loser).  And yet, he is not a heartless criminal of the stripe that Hiram is - I’m not gonna break some kid’s legs for no reason - and knows how to walk away from a Lodge when they ask too much of him.  I can’t wait to see where they go next with him.  He just gets handsomer every time I see him.

Things to Consider

a)  Archie propositions Veronica - to give him motivation heh - while IN THE locker room which was previously full of his teenage students. OK so as Betty Cooper says Three is a Pattern and I’m calling it. The Riverdale High School building is Archie’s orientation. 

b)  Alice Cooper is mixing Zolpiderm (sleeping pills) with wine and that is very upsetting.  She is at least not chugging the wine straight from the bottle which I hate in movies and tv.

c) Tabitha, Cheryl and Veronica starting to cooperate as the business-owner,  maple syrup and pizzazz supplier, and big-scheme launcher is so exciting, and I kind of wish there was a spinoff with just these three women doing things, really. Like, it wouldn’t even be fanfic, because I don’t ship them, but just, these beautiful smart young women doing business together and THAT being the story would be so comforting and inspirational to me. 

[alaffy]

Riverdale Ep. 100 - The Jughead Paradox (Spoilers)

Wow, that was fun and made so much more sense then that article made it seem. Anyway,....

So this is the end of Rivervale, unless it isn't. And it was weird and fun and, hey, Jason speaks! I absolutely loved seeing the two Reggie's fight it out and their ultimate end. And Dilton was the mad scientist that we all knew he would be. And Ethel helped saved the day.

Of course the main story is how Jughead manages to save two universes. And it's one of those things that, if this had been Riverdale I probably would have had problems (the universe was caused by the bomb, the kiss between Archie and Betty, the Palladium, and Cheryl's curse). But since this was all explained in the weirdness that is Rivervale, sure why not? I also liked the fact that, when Jughead started telling people about the comics, they didn't just dismiss him. I liked the fact the people are just kind of, yeah this is weird, oh well and moved on with their lives. I also liked how it’s confirmed that Rivervale does have a different history then Riverdale with the death of Hiram. Although it seems like the history, like the history in a comic book, is fluent as Betty was clearly in the FBI in episodes one and two and isn’t in this episode. Of course, that’s because what lead to her career choice never happened in Rivervale, or this version of Rivervale.

I also liked that Archie was the villain. Look, everybody has different opinions of characters. Personally, I think Archie is…ok. I don’t hate the character, but I’ve never found his stories interesting. I kinda liked crazy Archie here. And, as weird as it sounds, I kind of felt for him. I think it was kind of poignant to point out how all of these characters can just come back, but the one character I think most of us would love to see return can’t. At the same time, letting billions of people die in order to see your dad? I don't think Fred would approve Archie.

And everybody seemed to have their moments, except of Veronica and Archie really (which is a bit unfair). And it had a very big moment for Betty and Jughead (can’t say it’s not big as they’re trying to save two universes). Everyone’s going to have their own opinion. But as I have said, I’m not interested in shipper wars. I like what I like, you like what you like, I’m not fighting over this.

Anyway, the story ends with a Narrator Jughead explain to writer Jughead how to save the two universes. Basically, writer Jughead is going to have to go into isolation and write the story of Rivervale. Except it looks like Rivervale is always going to be in a time loop. For Jughead story is the story we see at the end of the comic book and he ends it by sending Betty and Jughead back to a dinner that (supposedly) happened just before Jughead and Tabitha moved in together. Of course, we cut close on the comic book collection that will someday lead to the moment where writer Jughead will realize what’s going on and take his place as the creative force, only to restart at the moment when….

Meanwhile, back in the real world. We find out that this whole adventure has changed the Riverdale universe as well. Archie and Betty are still in his room, but Betty gets a call that there’s a bomb in the house and they need to leave. Who this mystery caller is? Well, they did mention a character from Rivervale will cross into Riverdale, so it's possibly them.

We cut to the garage where Jughead is writing and there’s an explosion. And it seems like Jughead is (at least temporarily) going to loose his hearing.

[rosevanhelsing]

Wendigo

Chapter 20.

As Vic made her way to the gas station, Manx straightened up, sat on the couch, and watched Alice. The girl was shivering with cold since she was only wearing a nightgown.

-Come on, pretty. You're shivering with cold and you're going to catch pneumonia.

Alice approached him suspiciously. Charlie smiled, trying not to show his pointed teeth and said:

-Come, sit here a little while. I do not bite.

She sat on the opposite side of the couch but she didn't say anything. Manx took his coat and wrapped Alice up so she wouldn't get cold.

-That's better, isn't it? - said Charlie

Alice nodded in response. Charlie was curious to know what kind of inscape and special ability that girl might have to attract the Wendigo's attention so he subtly started asking her.

-Why was that bad man chasing you to kill you?

-I do not know. That man came into our house at night, I don't know why the alarm didn't go off, he came into my room, woke me up and said that people like me shouldn't exist, that we are bad and that he was going to kill me and then eat me - she said in a distressed voice.

-It is awful. You must have been terribly afraid. Lucky Vic rescued you.

-What was that man referring to "people like me"?

Charlie said:

-It means that you are a very, very special little person. Tell me, have you ever been in a place that is the same as you have imagined?

-Yes. Repeatedly. I have a place that I always go to. I call it The Forgotten Yard. I discovered it one day while going for a walk with my parents. Once I was there for a long time and my parents were very scared. They believed someone had kidnapped me.

- Oh, and how did you get in? Did you take something special with you?

- Like what?

- Something that you like a lot, and that you always wear when you go to the Forgotten Yard

 Alice thought a bit, and said:

"I think this," she said showing him a pendant of a little angel.

- How beautiful. Did your parents give it to you?

- No, my grandmother before going to heaven

- "Wow. I must be losing my faculties”- Manx said to himself, -“I should have been able to guess this”

At that moment, the Wraith sent him a telepathic message:

- This woman is a mess. She is driving me out of pain ...

- Well, take the initiative. Make driving easier.

The Wraith's engine roared a little under its breath as if it were huffing with resignation, though Vic didn't notice. In a subtle way, the Rolls made it easier for Vic to drive, anticipating her movements on the gear lever and clutch. Vic arrived at the gas station, put in the gasoline that Charlie had indicated, and went inside to buy a can of gasoline, oil, distilled water and some food.

While Vic was shopping, the Rolls asked Charlie if he wanted him to turn Vic into someone like him .... Charlie thought for a moment and said:

- No, now is not the time. That moment will come, sooner or later, Vic will end up being mine ... and she will be the one who begs me.

The Wraith's engine purred and she waited patiently for Vic. She loaded the bags into the front seat and they returned to the library. Vic called to let them  know that she was there and went upstairs

- Wow, Charlie. You have better color ... - Vic said- At least now, you don't look like a vampire at all ...

- You are so funny ... - Manx said sarcastically

 Vic looked at Alice peacefully asleep on the sofa and decided to wait for her to wake up alone, she sat on the floor and said:

- I'm going to call Tabitha to send the FBI and Child Care to take care of Alice and give her police protection as long as they don't capture or kill the Wendigo. If he is smart, he will not face the police, fortunately he is not practically immortal like you.

- I keep insisting that Alice should come with me to Christmasland, Vic. She is a creative soul, they will not understand her and that matter will get out of hand- said Charlie- By the way, in your absence, I have found out what her inner landscape is called, and what is her supposed "knife" ...

-Maybe it would be better for her if she didn't use her powers, so that the Wendigo couldn't track her again ... -Vic said

- Definitely. To do this, if you don't want her to come with me, we should take the knife from her, even destroy it. It is the pendant that she wears, it was given to her by her late grandmother.

- Charlie! Surely it is the only memory left of the poor girl of her grandmother. Surely there is a better way to explain it to her or to convince her to "lend" us her pendant while the Wendigo is on the loose ...

- What about my pendant? Alice asked half asleep

"You woke up, sleepyhead," Charlie said affably.

- Nothing, Alice.  I was simply commenting to Charlie that we had to tell you that you should not enter the Forgotten Yard while the Wendigo is on the loose.

- The Wendigo is the bad man who killed my parents?

-Yes. In a while I will call the police and they will protect you and hide you. The Wendigo will not come near you. But while to facilitate their work, do not enter your inscape.

-Inscape?

-That's what the Forgotten Yard is. A place created with your imagination and that you can make real and enter it.

- The Bridge that we cross also an inscape?

-Yes. It's mine

-And the amusement park where it is always Christmas from Mr. Vampire, too?

"Yes, it is too," Vic said as she laughed at the nickname Alice gave Charlie. "Now what do you think if we eat a little?"

 Alice nodded and Vic took the sandwiches she had bought out of her backpack.

-Are there any without meat or fish? I am vegetarian- Alice asked

Charlie rolled his eyes and said:

-You have to see  that you children are fussy  nowadays ... that if I'm allergic, that I don't like that or that ... take a walk with the Wraith and she will take away all that nonsense ...

-Don't worry Alice. I can take the ham off the sandwich… Vic said. She removed the ham from the sandwich and handed it to the girl with a reproachful look at Manx.

Alice stuck her tongue out at Charlie. Manx grunted and said:

- Jesus, look at how badly they educate children nowadays ...

Charlie took the distilled water and oil and said.

-I'm going to put the water and oil in the car. Leave me some of this delicacy ... he said ironically

While Manx was busy with the car, Vic called Tabitha to arrange Alice's pickup time. She also took the opportunity to call home and inform Lou of the situation and calm him down. Lou said:

- An invitation for Halloween has arrived from the publisher of your books. For a costume party, set in the 1930s.

- For parties I am ... we'll see ... how is the theme of Wayne's birthday?

- All ready. I have bought everything the puppy will need. Shall we pick up the puppy with Wayne or may he be surprised when he arrives?

- I don't know, Lou. I don't know what would make you more funny ... Let me finish fixing the girl and when this is over, I'll go home and talk about it. I have to hang up or I run out of battery.

- Okay.

When Charlie returned, Alice was half asleep with her head in Vic's lap. Manx took one of the sandwiches and one of the sodas and satiated his hunger a little. Vic said:

- We have to take care of the Wendigo, Charlie. I'll do it with or without you. I can't allow it to destroy more lives, like Alice's.

- We'll do that.- Charlie said sitting down next to her. -Miss Leigh predicted with her Scrabble tiles that we could beat him together." If the two of you were about to kill me ... imagine what the two of us can do. Vic, I am sure that right now we are the most powerful creatives- said Charlie enthusiastically, taking Vic gently by the shoulders and turning her towards him so that he looked into her eyes - We will come up with something ... and we are not going to die, none of the two. Since we have started this, we are going to finish it.

Vic smiled at him and held out her hand to fit him

- Done deal. The creative soul team will kick the Wendigo's butt and send him to hell.

Charlie laughed and looked directly at Vic as if he wanted to hypnotize her with his gaze, suddenly the Wraith began to honk its horn, and police sirens sounded in the distance.

- I think I'd better go, Vic. When you have a plan and are ready, just tell me.

- I will do it.

Charlie went downstairs, but instead of leaving, he sent the Wraith a few miles farther and hid in the shadows to watch. Vic and Alice went downstairs and spoke to that police officer who had chased him once. Vic hugged Alice and said

- They will take care of you. The bad man won't come for you.

Alice hugged him back tightly and said:

-Thank you for saving me, Vic. - She suddenly took off her pendant and said, "I'll lend you the little angel that my grandmother gave me to protect me.  It sure protects you too. You will return it to me when we meet again. Why will we meet again, right?

- Of course. When the Police and I are done with the Wendigo, I'll come see you and give it back to you. You have my word.

From the darkness, Charlie watched the scene intently, licked his lips and said to himself:

- You have changed a lot, Vic McQueen ... now you are worthy of being Mrs. Christmasland.