#ALSO UH. SPOILERS FOR OKLAHOMA

[autumnleaves1991-blog]

Can't Take the Home out of Oklahoma (Javi Rivera x F! Reader)

A/N: Thank you to everyone that read We Found Love in a Tornado, this is a continuation of that. I also have another part already written and ready to post! I also recommend listening to Out of Oklahoma by Lainey Wilson while reading this. I had it on repeat the whole time I wrote it.

Pairing: Javi Rivera x F! Reader (Kate's Sister) *No physical descriptions besides mentioning younger sister.

Warnings: 18 + Language, angst, some sexual situations (no smut..yet), and movie spoilers.

“I lost three of my best friends so you could get your big grant money!” Javi shouts at Kate and she takes a step back like he’d struck her. His hands are still shaking as he replays the words over and over like a broken record. “Shit, Kate, I-”

Kate pushes past you and runs towards the white truck and you don’t hesitate to follow. “Baby,” Javi follows close behind running to keep up, “no, please don’t go.” 

“No Javi,” you stop holding up your hands, “that was too far, give her some space.” 

He freezes, tears tracking through the dirt staining his cheeks. But you leave, climbing in the passenger seat beside your sister and taking off into the night. Kate is silent, her knuckles bright white with how hard she is clenching the wheel and you slip off your boots and lean back closing your eyes. 

“You don’t have to go with me, you know,” she whispers, her eyes still on the road. 

You sit up slowly opening your eyes. “I’m not letting you go again,” you reach a hand out and leave it outstretched before her own holds on tight across the center console. “We Carter girls got to stay together. Let me know when we get there.” 

Kate huffs out a broken laugh, “And where are we going?” 

“You can’t take the home out of Oklahoma, Katie, you’ll know when you get there,” she squeezes your hand but doesn’t let go and you lean back closing your eyes. 

Several hours pass before the truck slows down and you blink away the sleep, the old farmhouse a friendly site. You sit up, look at Kate with a small smile, and follow her out of the truck, finding the spare key and entering the house. 

Everything is as you left it and you quickly find two glasses and fill them with water from the jug in the fridge. “Mama, it’s us,” Katie calls when a shadow moves in the doorway, her arms opening for us. 

“My girls,” she embraces us and presses a kiss to our head, before looking at our disheveled appearance and the blood drying on Kate’s cheek. “What happened to you?” 

“Nothing,” Kate shakes her head, “we just needed to come home.”

“You go take a shower, I’ll get you some extra clothes and clean up the bedroom,” Mama hurries towards the stairs. 

“You shower first,” you hold Kate’s hand and follow mom up the stairs, “you stink.” Kate smiles sadly before giving you a playful shove. 

“If I knew you girls were coming, I would have had the room all set up,” Mama tosses shirts and magazines into a box before putting it on the bed with a sigh. “What happened out there?” 

“We survived an EF4,” she covers her mouth, “barely to be honest. If it weren’t for Kate we’d probably be dead. Javi and Tyler covered us from the brunt of the damage.” 

“Javi? He came by a few months ago looking for you two. And isn’t Tyler your boss?” 

“Yeah, he is. He’s a really great guy, and absolutely losing his mind over Kate.” 

“No, he is not,” Kate blushes coming into the room and ringing out her hair with the towel, “we’re just acquaintances. If you want to talk about someone losing their mind it’s Javi! He ran into a Tornado and confessed his love for you live on camera.” 

“He did what now?” Mama looks between you two, before crossing her arms with a smirk, “I am going to have to see this video.” 

“Tomorrow,” you tell her, “I promise you can see the video tomorrow. Tonight he’s on my shit list.” You walk away towards the shower, stripping off your clothes. 

“Uh oh,” Mama calls, “trouble in paradise?” 

“You tell her,” you shout at Kate before getting in the shower and washing off the dirt and grime from the day. When you emerge Mama is gone and Kate is snuggled under the covers of the queen size bed of her former bedroom. 

“Do you need anything?” you ask her, tugging on the clothes Mama left at the end of the bed. Kate doesn’t say anything, just pulls back the cover with a raised brow. You don’t hesitate crawling into the bed beside her and flicking out the light. “You okay?” you whisper, turning to face her.

“No,” she shakes her head, “Javi was right. They died because I got it wrong. I killed them.” 

You reach over and pull her into your arms, letting her cry against your chest, her arms wrapped tight around your waist. “Listen to me, Katie,” you whisper when her cries slow, brushing her hair out of her face, “it was a horrible tragedy. And there is nothing you did that could change that. That storm took everything from you, when are you going to stop letting it?” 

Kate is quiet contemplating your words and eventually sleep claims you both. Two sisters, holding on to one another, weathering the storm. 

The next morning comes too soon, the sun streaming through the window and the roosters crowing at the first break of daylight. Mama moves around the house and the scent of coffee floats up the stairs, and you crawl out from under Kate and slip silently down the stairs. 

“I LOVE YOU!” you hear Javi shout from the kitchen and come around the corner to see Mama sitting at the table with her laptop and a cup of coffee. A hand pressed to her mouth as she watches the moment Javi literally ran through a storm to follow you. 

She presses the keyboard and looks up at you, “that’s got to be the most damn romantic thing I’ve ever seen. And I watch alot of hallmark movies.” 

You snort, “thanks, mama. I feel pretty lucky to be on the same level as hallmark.” The coffee is fresh and you prepare the cup and bring it over to the table, “I wish we could just live in that moment.” 

“Why? Is he not treating you right?” 

“No, he is. And I do really love him, but he hurt Katie. And his company Storm Par while built with good intentions are taking advantage of people’s tragedy.” 

“Sounds like something you need to talk about with him,” she sips her coffee and reaches a hand out to hold your own. “Javi is a good man, he’s really grown since he first came around here. And I can tell by that video that he really loves you. You’ll figure everything out.” Mama rises, kissing the top of your head before walking out the front door to muck and feed the cows. 

You sit there, drinking another two cups of coffee before Kate stumbles down the stairs dressed for the day. You switch places, giving her a cup before climbing back up the stairs to get dressed. When you’re finished you follow her out to the barn and sit back watching her go through the memories and the grief that follows. 

Neither of you notice the sound of a truck pulling up until the barn door opens and Tyler and Javi walk through the door followed by our smirking mama. “Seems like you two have some guests,” she looks between the four of you, seeing the variety of expressions. “I’m gonna make some lunch, the boys are staying.” She doesn’t ask, retreating to leave the four of you in silence. 

Kate sighs rubbing her head, “what are you doing here?” 

“Javi here gave me your address, Dex remembered your name from an article a few years back,” Tyler steps toward her, “I’m real sorry about your friends.” 

“And I was an asshole,” Javi's voice cracks, “I should never have said that, Kate. I hope you’ll be able to forgive me.” 

“There’s nothing to forgive, it’s the truth. I killed them,” Kate lowers her head fidgeting with her fingers, “but-I am tired of letting that storm take anything else away from me.” 

“Can we have a moment?” Javi looks between you and Tyler, and you look to Kate who nods at you. You follow Tyler out of the barn but not before Javi reaches for your arm and pulls you into his chest, snaking his arms around your waist. “When I’m done here don’t think you’re getting away with leaving me again.” 

You nod, squeezing him tight before following behind and closing the barn door. Mama stands against the fence acting like she hasn’t been listening the whole time and you laugh. 

“That fence seems real interesting mama,” you tease giving her a hug from behind. 

“Tyler,” she turns, wrapping you up in her arms, “you’ve been taking my baby into Tornados for two years and we haven’t met, how is that possible?” 

“I’m not sure ma’am but I think you may be seeing a lot more of me.” Tyler looks back at the barn doors before turning back around, “hopefully.” 

“Why don’t you stay the night? We have plenty of extra space.” Mama holds you tight as you go to protest, effectively shutting you up. “I insist, both you and Javi can spend the night.” 

Tyler beams, “thank you ma’am, sounds like a wonderful offer.” 

“Perfect, I’ll go make some lunch!” 

Tyler waits a moment before chuckling at the embarrassed expression on your face. “She seems real friendly,” he teases. 

“Nosey is more like it,” you grumble before cracking a smile, “but she means well.” 

“How are you holding up?” He asks, leaning on the fence beside you, “that was one hell of a twister.” 

“I think the twister was rather mild compared to the rage I felt when Javi yelled at Kate.” 

Tyler lifts a brow, “you’ve kinda jumped ship with everything regarding your sister. I remember a few days ago you being so angry to see her.” 

“That was before I knew, before I really understood…how broken she is.” You glance up to see Tyler already looking at you, “my sister lost everyone she cared about. I remember thinking Jeb was the one she was going to marry someday. They loved each other so much.” 

You sit there silent before the creaking of the barn door has you standing up straight, Javi making a beeline to you. “She’s all yours,” Javi tells Tyler, clapping him on the back as the other man all but runs into the barn. 

Javi stands before you, your arms crossed over your chest and a frown on your face. “Baby-“ he starts before you step forward and shove him, hard. 

“That’s for what you said to Kate,” you feel the tears burn, shoving him again, “and that’s for being an asshole.” 

“I deserve that,” he says quietly, resigned. “You done pushing me, baby?” You nod, brushing the tears off your cheeks and he holds up his hands, “can I hold you?” 

“Yes,” he doesn’t hesitate for a second. 

His arms are warm and you can feel the muscles as he tugs you into his chest, your head landing in the crook of his neck. “I’m so sorry,” he whispers, pressing kisses to your head, “I’m so sorry for saying that. I-I was just angry and hurt and scared and I took it out on you and Kate.” 

“I was scared too, Javi,” you hold him tighter, “I almost had you ripped away from me, literally. We almost died in that pool, all of us. And then the second we get out, Scott is there trying to make money off of that motel owner. I just lost my mind.” 

“I know,” he rests his head against you, “I got to figure a way out of this. I really needed the money for the start up, but not like this.” 

“We’ll figure it out,” he pulls back to look down at you. 

“We?” he smiles. 

“Yes, we. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” 

“I don’t know about that. I was unprepared for how much it would hurt to see my whole life drive off in my truck.” 

You cringe, “sorry about that. We did kind of leave you stranded.” 

“You had every reason,” he shakes his head pulling you back into his chest, “I was a major asshole.” 

“Yeah,” you chuckle, “you were.” 

He laughs, tickling your side, “hey! I said I was sorry.” 

You squirm trying to move away but he holds you tighter, both of you laughing, the stress from the last 48 hours melting in his arms. “I forgive you.” He sags in relief, before leaning down to press a kiss to your lips, your arms winding around his neck. The kiss turning more passionate with every second. 

“That is going to take some getting used too,” you jump apart with a yelp. Kate and Tyler standing in the doorway to the barn. “My best friend and my baby sister, gross.” 

“Oh hush,” you chastise teasingly, “imagine how I feel with my boss making goo goo eyes at my older sister, talk about gross.” 

“I do not make goo goo eyes,” Tyler puts his hands on his hips. 

“But you don’t deny you have feelings for her?” you challenge matching his stance. 

“Well I- “ Tyler shakes his head before sighing, “I can’t argue with you there.” 

Kate looks at him with wide eyes and opens her mouth to respond when Mama shouts from the front porch, “lunch is ready!” 

The conversation burns in their eyes and you look at Javi with a grin, pulling him towards the kitchen to help bring out the food. 

Mama has outdone herself, bringing out a plethora of bbq and sides for us to devour. The sweet tea flows and everyone smiles as they dig into the food. 

“So Javi,” Mama passes me the coleslaw, “what are your intentions with my youngest?” 

Javi chokes on his tea and you frantically pat his back and glare at your mama. He clears his throat, catching his breath and taking your hand, “Excuse me ma’am you caught me by surprise.” Mama grins, not looking the least bit sorry for almost killing your boyfriend. “I love her. I’m going to do my best to never let her forget that for the rest of her life. And in the future, if she’ll have me,” he meets your eyes, giving you a wink, “she’ll let me become Mr. Carter.” 

“Good,” Mama smiles, “and you,” she turns to Tyler. 

Tyler never falters, his smile in place as he looks at Kate, “maybe I can convince Kate to give me a second date. Since the first one was interrupted.” 

“That was not a date,” Kate argues. 

“Okay,” he nods, “then a first date. We can start there.” 

“How about you go tonight?” Mama smiles, looking at the four of you, “take her line dancing.” 

“Mama,” Kate chastises, “I’m not ready.”

“No time like the present, Katie,” Mama stands lifting the plates and walking towards the house. 

“We don’t have too,” Tyler places a gentle hand on her arm, “I just want to spend some time with you.” 

Kate looks at him grateful, “thank you.” 

“What about you?” Javi looks at you with a smile, “want to go line dancing?” 

“You want to go line dancing?” Your brows reach the ceiling as you look at him. 

“Or,” he looks at Kate and Tyler, “how about we dance here?” He stands holding out his hand, “milady?” 

“There’s no music,” you stay seated looking for your sister for backup. 

“I got it,” Tyler pulls his phone from his pocket and pulls up the Spotify app. “Here we go,” he turns up the volume, Ain’t in Kansas Anymore by Miranda Lambert blaring out of the small speakers.

“Come on baby,” Javi moves his hips back and forth and you stay in your spot watching him with wide eyes. “Tyler buddy, come help me out!” 

Tyler jumps up with a cheer and as the chorus breaks they start dancing, their fingers in the air as they twirl their finger in Tyler’s signature move. Kate laughs beside you, quickly covering her mouth as they move to the beat, spinning to give you their backs. 

“Come on girls,” Mama shocks you both, whipping around, “live a little.” 

“Shit,” Kate looks at you with a shrug, both of you scrambling to your feet to dance beside them. The four of you laugh through several songs, trying to keep up with the steps, Javi breaking off to pull you into his arms for a slow dance. Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson serenading you to Save Me.  

You rest your head on his chest as he sways you to the music. Kate and Tyler move closer together and he holds one of her hands and wraps the other around her waist. They’re stiff at first before Tyler flashes her a smile and she melts into his arms. 

“I meant every word,” Javi whispers and you lift your head to look at him, hands pressed to his chest and his hands low on your hips. “I love you, baby. And I’m gonna spend the rest of my life trying to prove it to you.” 

“When did you know?” his eyes soften as he thinks back. 

“When you came and tapped me out.” 

“That long?” You shake your head, “we’ve wasted so much time.” 

“What about you?” 

“After the EF5,” you close your arms and lean against his chest, “I just remember running into the hospital and seeing you standing there. And my heart stopped.” His hands run comfortingly on your back, “I’ve never been so scared in my entire life.” 

“I know,” he tightens his arms around you, “I felt so numb to everything and then you come barreling into me. Almost took me to the ground,” he chuckles, “I should have realized it then.” He shakes his head, “I’m sorry it took me so long.” 

“We both made mistakes,” you open your eyes and pull back, “the main thing now is that we’re together and nothing is gonna tear us apart.” 

He leans down and kisses you, wrapping his arms around your waist. The music fades and for a moment nothing exists besides the two of you. His lips are warm and soft and he groans tugging you closer till you’re flush against each other. His tongue moves out to flick against your lips and you open your mouth on a moan tugging his curls between your fingers. 

“Javi,” you whimper, feeling him hard against you and leaving you dripping. 

When you come up for air you notice the music gone and so are Tyler and Kate. “Do you wanna move this inside?” he whispers against your lips. 

“God yes,” you sigh, “but I would rather the first time we have sex not be in my childhood bedroom.” 

He chuckles, his voice deep and raspy, “understood. But,” he leans down lowering his voice to whisper in your ear, “but I am going to make love to you baby, and soon. I’m gonna taste every inch of this body and have you shaking beneath me, till I make you cum so hard you see stars.” 

“Fuck, Javi,” you grind against him, your panties drenched, “you can’t say shit like that to me.” 

He chuckles holding your hips and pushing you back a step, “down girl,” he teases, “you’re trying to climb me like a tree.” He laughs when you pout, “you’re the one that didn’t wanna have sex in your childhood bedroom. You worried Justin Timberlake would be jealous?” 

“Don’t insult Justin,” you glare, “he’s been with me a long time.” 

He holds up his hands in surrender with a smile, “okay, I’m sorry. I’ll never speak ill of Justin again.” 

“You better not,” you warn playfully, “or there could be trouble.”

He reaches for you, putting an arm around your shoulders and leading you into the house. When you’re outside Kates room he gives you a soft kiss, his lips lingering for a moment before he whispers, “love you,” against your lips before going into the room, mama set up for him earlier. 

“I love you,” you whisper back, going into the room and closing the door quietly behind you. 

“I thought you’d spend the night with him,” Kate says softly from the bed, “I wouldn’t blame you.” 

You quickly change into your pajamas before crawling into bed beside Kate and pulling her into your arms, “I’m happy right here.” 

Kate feels tense, her shoulders tight, “Tyler wants me to try again,” she whispers into the darkness. “He found my research and wants me to try again to tame a tornado.” 

“And what do you want to do?” 

“I want their death to mean something,” your shirt dampens from her tears and you rub her back. “I want to try again but I’m-“ her voice cracks, “I’m so scared of getting it wrong again.” 

“Only you can decide Katie,” you give her a squeeze, “but I can guarantee one variable that’s different this time.” 

“What’s that?” 

“Tyler Owens. He is the tornado wrangler, and heaven help anything that tries to take you away from him. Trust him, he won’t let you down.” 

Kate contemplates, her shoulders dropping as she melts into you and it only takes a moment for her to breathe to even out. You sit there and wonder how long it’s been since she slept so peacefully, and you tug her closer before falling asleep. 

@angryschnauzer @itspdameronthings @mars-interlude @its-breanna-lynn @waitingforsols @combat-sixty-three @phoenixhalliwell @littledragonlady @wunder-blunder @

[auroralwriting]

if you feel it, chase it

spencer reid x fem!reader (twisters! au)

storm chasing was the intent, falling in love was not.

word count: 4.0k

warnings: do not read if you don't want twisters spoilers, it's the whole fic so beware, spencer is tyler and reader is kate basically, spencer is still himself with a touch of tyler, sort of enemies/strangers to lovers, this has more romance than the movie and it has the kiss we all wanted, no use of y/n

You promised yourself long ago you’d never storm chase again.

After the losses of Elle, Jason, and Haley, it was too much to bare. You’d been the sole survivor of the tornado. Of course, your friend Derek had also survived, but he didn’t experience what you did. He could never understand.

You’d moved from Oklahoma to New York in hopes of moving on, but when Derek came to you five years later, asking you to help his team, you found yourself on a flight back home before you could even reconsider. Going back home after all this time sort of scared you, but Derek and his fifteen missed calls, twenty messages, and one voice message really seemed to convince you.

Derek’s team was for a company run by an investor named Erin Strauss. You’d only overheard her name, but she was using the data collected by Derek’s team to help predict storms before they happened. It seemed like the best idea. It could help save a lot of lives.

The team was small, but included Derek and storm chasers David Rossi, Emily Prentiss, Mateo Cruz, and Jennifer Jareau. Now, it also included you. For the week, you reminded yourself.

You stood with the team as Derek introduced you. Suddenly, a loud stream of music approached quickly. You all watched as a truck and van pulled up. JJ scoffed, “Ignore them. They’re just some famous youtube storm chasers. They’re just in this for the trill of the storm.”

It was inevitable that you continued to stare. The group looked interesting, especially their leader, as you’d guessed. He was tall, curly dark hair, and was yelling something the crowd chanted back. If you feel it, chase it.

"They call themselves the BAU. Boundary Advection Units."

Deciding to ignore them, you walked out to the empty field to stare at the sky. Where would the best storm be…

“West looks good,” A voice said behind you. You turned to see the man from minutes ago, now staring at the sky. “East looks like it could be something.. maybe. High risk, high reward."

“Air’s thicker east, looks like a lot of empty space for a storms to grow.” You commented. “You’ll get a nice show that way for your fans. West is fine, but don't be surprised if they choke each other out, though."

The man stepped closer as you two looked at each other. “I’m, uh, Spencer Reid.” He introduced.

“I have a job to get to,” You scoffed, walking passed him. “East’s got the best chances, take ‘em!”

Approaching your somewhat team, you turned to Derek. “West, we have to go west.”

Rossi scrunched his eyebrows together, “But west has the best air quality for tornados. It looks like there could be several-"

"We go west. Come on, let's get in the vans." Derek said quickly.

Fireworks. They lit off fucking fireworks into the tornado. That had to be some kind of hazard, right? You were a little pissed at yourself for becoming so scared of the tornado. It was simple, an E2. It wouldn't have hurt you. You should have let Derek place the device down to get data.

Derek walked along the path with you to the hotel. He'd asked you to hang out, but you declined. It was too much, too soon. Actually, it wasn't too soon. It reminded you too much of the past. It could never happen. You weren't back. It was just one week.

As you walked up the stairs to your room, you were stopped by Spencer.

"Hey," He called. "The cells to the west will choke each other out, she said. The one in the east will put on a show."

You shrugged, "It didn't throw you off the scent."

"That's what makes Spencer so famous," A woman beside Spencer said. "Hi, I'm Penelope."

Eyebrow raised, you leaned on the railing. "You mean on YouTube?"

"On- Yeah, yeah. We have a million followers!" Penelope cheered with the rest of the crowd. "You know Spencer, but that's Tara, Luke, Alex, and Kate." They all waved and you gave a forced smile. "You made a good call earlier. On my devices, the other cell looked stronger but the cap never broke."

"Where did you all meet? Did you study meteorology in college together?" You asked.

They all laughed, "Nah, only Spencer has a degree, a whole ass PhD in meteorology." Luke laughed. "We all just like to go with the flow. Or, his flow, I guess."

"Our crew isn't quite like your crew. We don't need PhDs and fancy gadgets to do what we do." Spencer said. "I guarantee that these guys," Spencer pointed to the clearly homemade windcatchers, "have seen more tornadoes than anyone here."

"Is that right?" You asked sarcastically.

Spencer turned to you once more, but this time, it was awkwardly. "If you want, uh, maybe we can put you in one of our episodes."

You feigned a clearly fake awe, "Wow. I guess you can always trust a guy who puts his crew on a tee-shirt."

"Hey, I did that!" Penelope called as the rest of the group ooh'd at your comment about Spencer.

You began to walk up to your room as Spencer was quick to follow. "Hey, it wasn't my idea to start the channel." He frowned as you grabbed the key. "I just do it to get my knowledge out there."

"What knowledge?" You ask.

"I have an eidetic memory," Spencer awkwardly said. "That and my PhD. I, uh, know a lot about tornadoes. I want to inform people. Knowledge is power."

With a shake of your head, you open the door. "But knowledge isn't everything, right?" You asked, going inside and shutting the door behind you.

Spencer stood outside for a moment, reeling from your comment. Maybe his friends had been influencing him too much.

It was twins, a whole set of twin tornadoes. Luckily, you'd picked the right one, and Spencer didn't. Unluckily, the tornado almost flipped the truck you and Derek shared. Even worse, it damaged a nearby town.

Everything had been destroyed. Derek and the team were handing out cards to the people as you looked around, helping people find their belongings and returning them.

You knew what it felt like to have everything taken from you, just like that. It was horrible. This was the first tornado you'd been caught in since the last, and you truly thought you were going to die, too. You remembered the looks on your friends faces as the wind swept them up and away. You were truly scared.

Of course, the BAU showed up, too. They set up a merch table. It made you sick to see them selling their merchandise minutes after a life-changing event took place. It made you even angrier to know these people were being taken advantage of.

"Nice play on the left twin." Spencer said as he walked up to you.

"Yeah, well it didn't help these people any." You sighed, looking around.

Spencer watched as Strauss gave her business card to a man. "I wasn't aware that Storm Par was in the helping business." Spencer bitterly stated.

"Well, from what I see they're trying to make a difference." Slowly, you approached Spencer. His well-fitted shirt looked good on him. You took notice of his different-colored converse. It was oddly charming.

"That's one way of putting it." Spencer replied.

"What?"

Spencer paused, "Do you even know who you're chasing for?"

What did he mean? You knew of Strauss, and it was for Derek. "What are you talking about?"

"How much more do these people have to lose?" Spencer angrily asked, walking closer to you. "Is this what you call making a difference?"

"Sorry," You chuckled bitterly, "Says the guy setting up shop selling tee-shirts and mugs after the storms hit."

Spencer ran a hand through his hair, "I have a dog to find." With that, he walked away leaving you more confused than you had been.

What did he mean? Was there something he knew that you didn't? Even if you didn't know anything, you knew you didn't like Spencer getting angry with you. It didn't suit him, the anger. He looked too sweet to be so upset. Maybe you needed to do some digging and find out what he knew.

Right as you walked back to your truck, Kate ran up to you calling your name. "Hey, take some food."

"Oh, don't have any cash." You replied, looking at the girls outstretched arm.

Kate gave you a confused look, "It's free. That's why we're always selling those tee-shirts."

It hit you that maybe you were being the ass. You looked back to the stand to see people getting food and water. You felt your stomach churn. You turned back to Kate. "Oh. Well, save it in case you run low."

"Okay," Kate softly agreed, "At least take some water, stay hydrated."

"Thanks," You replied softly.

"Yeah, see ya." Kate ran back over to her group as you watched. Something wasn't right. You were misinformed. Yeah, it was definitely research time.

WE BUY LAND.

The slogan of the website made you feel like you'd betrayed the whole world as you stared at Strauss' figure standing over a pile of rubble. That's what this was for. It wasn't to help people, it was to buy their land after the tornado came through. It wasn't to stop the tornado, it was just to track it.

Derek knew that wasn't what you were about. It never used to be what he was about. He had to know, so the real question was why would he lie to you?

A knock at your motel door interrupted your thoughts. You shut your laptop and stood up to walk to the door. You opened it to see Spencer standing awkwardly with a box of pizza. His hair was messy and he gave you a crooked smile.

"Thought you might be hungry." He offered. Hesitantly, you took the pizza. You ended up shutting the door without a word and walking back over to your bed.

You opened it, suddenly feeling the urge to see if maybe he wanted some. You needed to tell him you weren't like them. Why his opinion of you mattered so highly, you didn't quite understand.

Opening the door, he was still standing there. "You find that dog?"

"Of course," Spencer nodded. "I wouldn't have left until I did. How you doing after all that?"

You tsked, "It doesn't matter. It's those people who matter."

"Well, you've seen the worst of this place." Spencer hesitated. "I thought that, uh, maybe it would be nice to show you something good. That's if you want to go, of course. It's late and tornado chasing can make you tired-"

"I'll go." You nodded, cutting him off. "Let me get my shoes."

Spencer ended up taking you to a rodeo. You sat in the stands watching. "This isn't, uh, really my speed to be honest." He admitted, awkwardly smiling at you.

"What is your speed then?" You asked, now interested in getting to know him better.

"I like museums. Books, uh, research. That's what I wanted to do. But my mom got sick, so I came back here to help her. Got into chasing." Spencer answered. "I still want to do research. Maybe at a college, somewhere. And I can still chase."

You nodded, "You'd like it. It seems up your alley. Use those smarts to inform the people about tornados and shit."

Spencer chuckled, "Yeah, and shit." After a moment, he asked "Is this your speed?"

"I grew up out here, this isn't my first rodeo." You joked. Spencer chuckled too. It warmed you to know you two had connected.

"Look at that, we're learning things about each other." Spencer commented.

"I didn't know she was buying land," You admitted to him. "I looked it up. Derek just asked me to help his team, we've been friends for years so I just said yes."

Spencer nodded. He looked compassionate. "You didn't strike me as the type to do something like that."

"I'm not," You agreed.

All of a sudden, the wind picked up strongly. It made you shiver. Wait, the weather man didn't predict strong winds. Your heart stopped as you turned to Spencer, who was already looking at you with the same look you adorned. "Were you tracking cells out this way?" Spencer didn't reply, he just slowly turned to the sky. You did the same, staring up. "Air feels heavy, this isn't good."

The same alarm blared from the stands. It was your phones. You opened it to see the bold letters, Tornado Warning. The sirens began to echo throughout the vast space and your heart rate increased.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I've just received word a tornado has touched down near the area! Please evacuate this arena right now!"

Spencer quickly grabbed your hand to help lead you out through the crowd of people. "Come on," He muttered your name a few times. "Hold on, come on." As the crowed began to run, so did you both. A woman fell in front of you and you both helped her up quickly. "Hurry, come on!" Spencer said with more urgency.

It was a disaster. People were scrambling, cars were hitting each other. Spencer held your hand tightly and pulled you closer to him. The lightning lit up the sky, and you could see the tornado.

"Spencer, we have no time!" You yelled.

Right as you went to cross the street, cars almost hit you. Spencer jumped out in front of them, yelling for them to stop as the two of you ran across. You ran into some ranky motel where the front counter worker was arguing with some customers. You'd managed to grab their attention and run outside. After a small scan, you realized there was really nowhere safe to go.

You had to think outside the box, where would be the safest?

Once your eyes fell on the pool, you knew. "The pool! Come on!" You yelled as everyone ran.

The three from the motel ended up running to car. You couldn't stop them. So, you focused on the mom and child you came across, helping them down. Spencer was the last, and right as he made it down, a large chunk of metal hit the ladder and you yanked his arm, pulling him close to you. Quickly, you ran to the end of the pool and held onto the metal pipes as the tornado finally made its way to you.

Please, don't let me die. Not here, not now.

Spencer held on above you, shielding you with his own body.

The moment it was over, you made your way up the ladder to see that everything was utterly destroyed. The Storm Par van you recognized as Derek's drove up. A moment later, he was sprinting out of the car and to you.

"God," He muttered your name as he pulled you into a tight hug. "I thought I lost you."

"Derek," You pulled back. "Why didn't you tell me about Strauss?" You looked over his shoulder to see her speaking with a couple, probably the owners of the land. "She's profiting off their loss."

Derek furrowed his brows, "The way I see it, she's helping them restart."

"By taking all they have left?" You questioned. "That's not helping."

"Yeah?" Derek challenged, anger taking over his features. "How would you know what losing everything you have is?" The moment the words left his mouth, he froze. "I didn't.. I didn't mean--"

You shook your head, "No, Derek. I understand perfectly fine." Slowly, you began to back away. You took the keys from his hand quickly and ran to the van, Derek yelling behind you.

Without a second thought, you started the vehicle and began to drive away. You could still hear Derek yelling apologizes, but what caught your eye was Spencer watching you drive away with a look on his face you couldn't quite understand.

Back at home, your mother welcomed you with open arms. She even left your science experiments in the barn, exactly how you left it all five years ago. It was comforting to be back at home, but at the same time it brought back those painful memories you tried so hard to bury deep, deep down.

The next morning, your mom came to let you know a scrawny, handsome man was here to see you. You simply sighed, telling her to let him come to you.

You stared at your tornado machine from middle school, remembering how happy you were when you'd won first place. Footsteps echoed behind you, and you knew it was Spencer.

"A tornado machine," He stepped close, leaning over to observe it. "The hydraulics on this thing are amazing. Plus, the art is really good too."

"It was my middle school science fair project," You hummed, watching as he carefully picked up one of the small houses, setting it back up.

Spencer turned back around with a geeky smile, "Did you win?"

"What do you think?" You replied with a small smile matching his.

"It's definitely no volcano," Spencer joked as he walked back over to you. "It was Penelope who recognized your name from the news a few years back. I'm sorry about your friends." Spencer said as he eyes a photo that was tacked to the barn's walls. It was one with you, Derek, and your friends. He looked back to you with a look you hadn't seen him give you before. If you would've thought about it, you would've known it was adoration.

You shrugged, shoving your hands in your pockets. "It was my fault. There's nothing to be sorry for."

"It wasn't your fault," Spencer shook his head, walking closer to you.

"It wasn't supposed to be an E5. It was supposed to be smaller, easier to manipulate and be around. I convinced them all to do it." You argued.

Spencer took one of your notebooks and began looking through it, "You theorized you could stop a tornado with polymers that would suck up the moisture." Spencer said as he flipped through the pages.

"It didn't work." You casually replied.

"Well, maybe it could." Spencer looked up, "Maybe you just need a new model. This has a genuine chance of working if you just--"

You held out a hand, closing your eyes as you sucked in a breath. "Spencer, no. That's in the past. I can't-- I just can't."

"You should try," Spencer encouraged. "Imagine the difference you could make with this."

Spencer's words struck a chord with you. That had been your goal, and it was his, too. Even so, it was too risky. It was too painful after what had happened. There was no way you could do it again, let alone rope in Spencer to help you. "I just can't." You finally said after a moment. "It won't." After another moment, you swallowed the lump in your throat. "Stay for dinner, and stay the night. You shouldn't be driving so late during tornado season by yourself."

"I don't want to intrude--"

"Please?"

Spencer looked to you, his eyes wider than normal at your plead. "Okay," He nodded. "Yeah, I'll stay."

You couldn't let anything happen to Spencer, too, you decided.

El Reno was about to be hit with the biggest fucking tornado you'd ever seen. Not only did it just hit a power plant and set on fire, but it was headed to small town with no warnings.

Spencer and you sped to the town, Luke's RV trailing right behind you. The second you got there, it was about finding shelter for people. His team and you all directed people to the storm shelters, but there was just so many people.

"Hey, the shelters are all full." Luke ran up to inform you and Spencer. "We gotta direct them to the theater."

"That won't be any better than standing outside," You shook your head. "There has to be another way."

Luke called Penelope over who typed into her phone at rapid speed, "There's nowhere else without windows." Penelope informed. "Theater is the best place we can take them."

You looked to Spencer, nervously biting your lip. He nodded at you as you took a deep breath, "Okay, let's move them fast. Keep them in the middle, hold onto seats when the walls cave."

The theater became so full, it felt like you were moving through a mosh crowd. This wasn't safe, with the number of people and size of tornado, it was bound to kill everyone. You ran to one side of the building, checking to see if there was shelter.

To your surprise, Derek met up with you and Spencer. "Other side has nothing." Derek said quickly. You knew he'd choose the right way.

"Okay, we gotta get these people in safer positions." Spencer said quickly. As the two ran off, you couldn't help but stare at the tornado.

Maybe Spencer was right. Maybe you could make a difference. After all, this tornado was bound to kill you all. Might as well die trying, right? You took a look at his truck that still had the barrels of your concoction loaded on the back. Quickly, you ran to it, trying your best to not get swept up by the wind. The second you got inside, you knew there was no going back from this.

Spencer began to look for you, asking Derek if he'd seen you. When he saw his truck out in the field, driving right for the tornado, his heart nearly stopped beating right then and there. He yelled your name, desperately trying to get to you. Derek and Luke had to hold him back to keep him inside and safe.

He didn't even realize until that moment how infatuated he'd become with you. You were his dream girl, the one he'd been chasing. And now, you were going to be gone.

You, on the other hand, tried your best not to think about Spencer. It was hard enough leaving him. You felt a connection with him you didn't quite understand, but now was not the time to decode it.

Time felt like it passed by so quickly. The next thing you knew, you were clawing your way outside of the flipped truck. If you were alive, that was a good thing, right? Unless you were dead and you were about to see tornado Jesus right in front of your eyes.

The sunlight hurt, you definitely had some sort of head injury. You reached your hand outside and felt someone grab it. They began to pull you out, another hand grabbing your other arm once your torso was out of the truck.

"Oh my god," You heard Spencer's lovely voice mumble as you finally were freed.

"Is one of you tornado Jesus?" You muttered, blinking back the pain.

A laugh came from Alex, "I thought you were a goner for sure,"

"You did it," Spencer said as he knelt down next to you. "It worked. You fucking did it." His words echoed in your mind as he pulled you into a hug. You didn't even realize you were already hugging back by the time you thought you should. Quickly, you grabbed Spencer's face and pulled him into a kiss.

A howl came from Luke as Spencer pulled back with his gorgeous wide eyes. "We did it."

At your words, Spencer smiled and, this time, pulled you into a kiss. "Okay, back off, let me see my best friend after she almost died." You chucked at Derek's words as he came to hug you, nearly pushing Spencer away. "Never do that again."

"Can't promise that," You chuckled, staring at Spencer over Derek's shoulder as his cheeks warmed at your stare. "Because I think we may just have ourselves a new storm chasing crew." As the group whooped at the victory, you pulled back from Derek and turned to Spencer. "If you feel it..."

"Chase it." Spencer smiled back as he gently set a hand on your face, causing you to smile even wider at your storm-chasing boy.

[calzone-d]

I’m so psyched for headcannons!!! What about one that’s a little angsty like you and Ted on a break?

i’m glad you’re excited! thanks for sending this in! we all love a little angst. (tagging @carmylasso because I know she’s all about some angst)

got a lil long winded with this one and just ran with it, don’t say i didn’t warn you!

also, spoilers for season 3 if you haven’t watched yet.

ted would absolutely overthink everything

i feel like he’d intiate it while dealing with the whole dr. jacob mess

he thinks about how easily michelle cheated, how it was right under his nose

how he had NO idea it was even happening

his anxiety gets the best of him and combined with the stress of the team he has a “you know what? let’s push everyone away” moment

you guys had only gone on a couple dates, but have been close friends since he moved to richmond

he felt he’d gotten over Michelle enough to where he could finally express his feelings for you without that getting in the way

def would do it after the phone call, and a couple glasses of whiskey

he does it over the phone, his words are slurred and his voice is thick and you can tell somethings just wrong, but he hangs up before you can question him any further

you text him

“Ted, please talk to me about this. Things have been going good, I thought”

“They were. It’s not you, I’m sorry.”

and that’s it for a couple days

EESH maybe he doesn’t show up to work for the rest of the week, calls in “sick”

and when he tries pulling that excuse the next week, beard & roy go over to his apartment and straighten him the fuck out

they make him shower, help him clean, make him eat

“What does y/n have to say about all of this?”

“She uh- she don’t know.”

and they think about how you acted at work and put the pieces together

they lovingly rip into him about how he’s known you for over a year now, how they know he’s hurt by michelle’s cheating but not everyone is like that

what gets him is when they talk about how you’ve been at work. not happy or bubbly as usual, eating alone in your office, always having a sniffle and puffy eyes in the halls.

“Shit, y’all.. I-I did that to her.. I was just tryin’ to avoid getting hurt again I never meant to-“

Beard shakes is head and is like “No, tell her that”

would have a therapy session the next day and explains everything to dr sharon, she also tells him that he handled that wrong and should’ve just let you in, or asked for some reassurance from you

after that, he goes to your apartment with flowers and shaky hands

you answer in a robe, wine bottle behind you, eyes red and swollen, he can tell you’ve been crying.

your usually tidy living room is super cluttered

“Can I come in? I’ve got some explainin’ to do.”

breaks his heart when you sit on the opposite end of the couch instead of right beside him

he explains what happened with michelle, his thought process of not wanting to get hurt again, all of it

“I wasn’t the one that did that, Ted. I shouldn’t be punished for her mistake.”

“I know.. That was unfair, and I’m sorry.”

definitely not the type of guy to ignore the fact he made a mistake

“This won’t work without trust, Ted. I cant be in a relationship with you if you don’t trust me.”

“There was never an issue with trust, it was just- I was scared. So scared, y/n.”

“Then tell me that next time. Tell me what you’re scared of, or if i’ve done something to make you feel scared, or if you just need reassurance. I can work with that, Ted, but not if you just shut me out.”

“Do you think we could maybe uh, make some sorta system for when I’m feelin’ that way? Because I can’t promise I won’t be kinda scared for a while but I don’t want it messin’ with what we’ve got goin’ on. Don’t want her messin’ up anymore of the good things in my life.”

sooo that’s what you do. maybe similar to the “oklahoma” situation, you come up with a word for when he’s feeling scared or anxious, particularly when it’s related to the relationship

tears up a bit, it’s just pretty emotional overall

maybe you sit in on a session with dr sharon

i do think he’d make some strong improvement after that, like how we’ve seen with his panic attacks

would set boundaries about things that make him especially anxious, and asks you to do the same

very open and honest as a lover, regardless of the whole michelle shitshow

so apologetic for a while because he know what he did was wrong

oh god just imagine him holding while he calms down that night

he’d need you so close

just needs to feel you around him

needs to feel you breathe, smell your shampoo, needs to know you’re there for him

i’m so fucking soft for this man

thanks anon!! this was fun!!

[supercantaloupe]

this oklahoma fucks

my thoughts on the oklahoma revival (6/8/19 matinee) under the cut! 

this show. i was absolutely blown away. i see a lot of shows (one glance at my theater page will tell you that much...) and at this point it’s rare that i see something which i feel in my gut from start to finish how incredible it is, but, wow, oklahoma lives up to the hype. it’s 2 hours and 45 minutes plus a 15 minute intermission, and i swear i didn’t stop grinning or giggling for that entire 3 hours.

it’s also sometimes a rarity now for me to go into a show blind. i certainly was familiar with oklahoma before today -- i knew the basic storyline, i’d even heard some of the songs from this cast, and hell, the musical’s almost a century old (it basically founded the modern broadway musical!) -- but i didn’t know it very intimately going in. from the moment i entered that theater, though, i was enraptured. 

the show has a comfortable feel to it, with its old-timey wild-west drawling dialect and a loveable-as-always rogers & hammerstein score, but it’s reimagined in a way that makes it feel both completely new and completely familiar at once. it’s an intimate theatrical experience, one i haven’t really felt since great comet took its final bows. i’ve always been a fan of intimate and innovative productions but this show really excelled. playing in the round is the perfect way to welcome an audience into your world on a personal level, but oklahoma takes it a step further. there isn’t even a shift in lighting from the beginning of the show; it looks the same from the momeny you walk in and sit down through the first two numbers. it’s a small detail but it really works wonders in creating a world that the audience feels a welcome part in from the get-go. and that’s not even mentioning the tables onstage, the crockpots full of chili, the table of yet-to-be-made cornbread (all of which gets to be enjoyed by the audience during intermission!). and the string band right there on stage! with pedal steel and mandolin and banjo! what better way to welcome your audience into your world than to incorporate real elements of americana: a barnyard hoedown, a cultural centerpiece in american mythos and identity. (plus, i’m always a sucker for country twang in my music and a band onstage. pit musicians never get enough love!)

and man oh man, the cast. they are all phenomenal. my selected and personal commendations go out to mary testa, whose aunt eller COMMANDED the room and oozed a lovable familial flavor; ali stroker, for her charming, bubbly, and completely endearing brand of wildness in her portrayal of ado annie; patrick vaill, for his deeply chilling performance as jud; rebecca naomi jones, for the surprisingly deep layers of thought and emotion she brings to her laurey; and to damon daunno, for his downright enchanting vocal performance, southern drawl, and ass-waggling swagger all the way to the drama of his more serious scenes, like in “poor jud is dead” and the wedding (dudes got raaaaange. just sayin.). i need a cast album immediately!

it needs to be mentioned how much personality and charm put into every aspect of each actor’s performances. the choreography was just wonderful, from the corn-shucking “many a new day” to curly and will prancing around the stage slapping their thighs (there’s a lot of chaps and a lot of ass wiggling in this show. make your peace with that right away.) to the delightful hoedown-style group dancing in “farmer and the cowman”. i’m absolutely delighted at how seamlessly integrated the wheelchair-bound ali stroker is in every aspect of choreography -- it’s skillful, it’s full of personality, it’s unique and fun to watch. really the only choreography (and really the only scene in general) that i failed to fully appreciate was the dream ballet: as cool as it was, i personally am just Not A Dancer in any shape or form and such an interpretive, almost contextless solo dance kind of flew over my head. i still appreciate the artistry and skill involved in it but i’m sure there are other people out there who got a lot more out of that scene than i did.

to take a moment to appreciate the more technical aspects of the show: firstly, i was impressed by the subtlety employed in the sound design. i’m pretty sure all the actors were all wearing body mics (pretty much standard practice nowadays), though they were either very hard or downright impossible to spy. (nice job to the costume and hair departments for concealing those even from audiences so close!) my theory is that the mics were placed higher up on the actors’ heads, effectively concealing them in their hair and distancing the mic from their mouths -- thereby lessening their ability to pic up the actor’s voices. in a huge, proscenium-style theater, that’d be a problem, but here, in a theater and a show where intimacy is the name of the game, that works. you still heard the actors’ voices from where they were onstage, not just pumped in from speakers (if they were at all!). effects were used sparingly but to great effect: i noticed even in the opening number the reverb effect used only at the ends of certain words or lines to evoke the echoing of a voice over the prairie, which i thought was a very nice touch. and in addition to body mics there were handheld and stage mics, which indeed functioned as handheld and stage mics, with a clear auditory difference between when the actors used them and when they didn’t. again, this built up the believability and intimacy of the world, as well as contributing another layer of coolness to certain scenes (like “poor jud is dead”, which is done almost entirely in the dark and almost entirely on one handheld mic between curly and jud. the upped volume and closeness evoked using the handheld mic brought the entire audience in that much closer into that small and intimate space of the smokehouse and heightened the tension masterfully.)

and, oh my god, the lighting. the biggest snub of the tonys this year is oklahoma not even getting a NOMINATION (atw turn on your location i just wanna talk). i mentioned before those house lights not changing from when you enter the theater through the first few numbers but when they do -- when curly and laurey lock eyes and really consider each other -- there’s a sudden and unexpected shift, going from the bright full house lights to dark everywhere, with the stage lit completely in a dreamlike green. and just as quickly as it came it goes, snapping back to those full house lights again. what a simple but very strong way to convey a message! the show also makes really great use of directional lighting, projection, and colored ambient lighting, with the latter i find particularly notable in the late part of the barn party scene when laurey has her encounters with jud and curly (with these interactions lit a cool and creepy red, mostly by the colored fairy lights strung from the ceiling among the streamers). also an effective surprise is this show’s use of blackouts, its use of complete darkness. i’ve seen a lot of shows but i’ve NEVER seen a show use a blackout like this before. 

for example, in the scene leading up to “poor jud is dead”, when curly goes to talk to jud in the smokehouse, the lights suddenly cut out, entirely, like we’ve stepped into a dark and sordid little corner of the world, jud’s domain. the whole beginning of this scene is played ENTIRELY in the dark, with naught but the sound of the two men’s conversation to tell us what’s going on. it’s creepy as hell and so effective. and then, as curly sings, a projector comes on, shining onto the back wall of the theater, an extreme black-and-white closeup, first of jud, then of curly, and of the two of them together, literally being broadcast from a camera held right up then and there. and after the song, after the projection fades away, we get a single spotlight, a pinpoint of light streaming from above; it shines onto the table directly between the two men, illuminating that patch of space, casting an eerie glow on the scene. and then, finally, the end, when auntie eller walks in, and the lights fade up just a bit, like would realistically happen if someone cracked open the door in a dark room. everything about the lighting in this scene plays up the creepiness of jud, the unpredictability of his madness, it plays with the suspicion and nerves of the audience by literally depriving them of information in the form of visuals. it plays similarly to jud’s and laurey’s encounter in act ii, when the lights cut to complete black again as he kisses her. we can’t see them, but we hear everything: kissing. metal clinking. footsteps, retreating. and then, those red party lights fade in, just enough to see laurey retreat to the opposite end of the stage, just enough to see jud’s unbuckled belt and confused, angry expression.

yeah, this oklahoma doesn’t pull its punches when it comes to jud. they make it crystal fucking clear who he is and what he’s trying to do. the lights, the sound, the whole production works to this end. and it doesn’t pull its punches with its finale, either. those of you familiar with the original show know that jud shows up to the wedding with a knife, and after a skirmish with curly, ends up falling on it and dying. this oklahoma did something else: jud shows up, asking only for a kiss from the bride and to give a gift to the groom. inside the box he brings is a shiny pistol, thrust into curly’s hand and trained on jud, standing open and ready for death, a forced assisted suicide. and after several long, tense, silent seconds, curly pulls the trigger. (i actually wasn’t even sure if they were going to go that far, but, yeah, they did that.) and the blood that splatters both on jud’s shirt and on the faces and white wedding outfits of laurey and curly is copious, and raw. it stays there for the rest of the show, a reminder. the finale ultimo is no longer a happy, triumphant reprise of the title number. it’s sung, powerfully and communally, by everyone with dead-fucking-straight faces. 

this isn’t your grandmother’s oklahoma, that’s for sure. 

what it is is a fantastic new staging of one of the biggest, most familiar classic pieces of american theater ever written. it’s simultaneously a back-to-its-roots retelling and a refreshing new take of classic material. it manages to be fresh and nostalgic, old and contemporary, mythologized and contemporary all at once. it’s not quite a masterpiece, but it’s damn near close to it. 

in short, i haven’t seen a show this good in a long time. if you get the chance, you should too. it’s not one you’ll want to miss.

[lokigodofaces]

thoughts on loki ep 2: the variant (spoilers)

under cut to not disturb your scrolling

Overall I enjoyed so that's good

Uh frick my mind blanked so sorry if things are completely out of order

I don't know, I expected the renaissance fair to be 2012 or 2021 or 2024 (Loki's time, our time, current time in the "sacred timeline"). So I was genuinely surprised when it was in 1985.

Ok, i really like the title card thing. And how the year scrolls around. It's a nice aesthetic touch there.

I wonder why the female Loki variant chooses her locations? Does she have a thing for renaissance fairs, French cathedrals, and Oklahoma?

1985 is when Back to the Future came out. And it's y'know, one of the most popular time travel movies ever. So I think they chose that year as a reference.

Again, not liking that the minutemen only have numbers, not names. It is giving me lots of Clone Wars vibes. If you don't know anything about Clone Wars, the clones are given number identifiers by the Kaminoans. Things like CT-7567. The clones would give themselves names (CT-7567, for example, names himself Rex). A really good sign throughout the series that someone is a sketchy person is if they call the clones by their numbers. The clones don't want to be known as numbers. They are people too, they deserve names, so they come up with all sorts of creative names (Rex, Fives, Cody, Tup, Hevy, Hardcase, Echo, Waxer, Boil, Wolffe, Jesse, Kix, Fox, Hunter, Wrecker, Crosshair, Omega, Tech, Matchstick, etc). The jedi respect this, and the only jedi that i can think of that called clones by their numbers is Krell, who fell to the dark side. the Kaminoans and other sketchy people all call them by their numbers and the clones don't like it. A big focus of the show is on the clone's agency (at the end, they all have brain chips that take away their agency and force them to kill jedi), and how the clones need to be respected. So for me to see in another series that people are only given numbers is bad. What's worse is that the minutemen are fine with this. They don't see it as dehumanizing or belittling. They are brainwashed into being okay with it. Which says a thing or two about the Time Keepers.

did. did the renaissance fair really have Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero" for their renaissance themed fight? Is this normal? Was it normal in the '80's? We saw later that the female Loki can do electronic stuff. Did she rig it to play it? For the vibes?

Also the stuff before the song was about fighting for a princess, and in the end she kidnaps C-20.

Okay, btw, I'm just gonna say Lady Loki for a while because no one has explicitly said Sylvie yet, so I'm going to refer to di Martino as Loki until she or another calls her Sylvie. Cool? Cool.

I was thinking the "Holding Out for a Hero" fight would be the roomba fight or something. It is such a good song that has huge potential for this genre. Why did they use it in a lame fight as that one?

When Lady Loki did the spell on C-20, it looked similar to what Wanda and Agatha can do. As in, it had similar visuals.

Loki reading a random magazine he finds while sitting with his feet on the desk bored out of his mind because he has to learn sh*t is a MOOD.

What is Miss Minutes? She can jump around anywhere, and pop into computers. But she can't be just a projection. She took the effort to dodge Loki swatting at her, so that may mean she was corporeal. She also could be something similar to the Kree's Supreme Intelligence?

So, did Mobius give Loki the shirt, tie, and slacks, but really didn't give him the jacket until they had to call him in? What? That makes no sense? Did the TVA not have any jackets with the variant label? Did someone have to custom design a jacket for Loki?

What is up with this show giving me things I wanted to see only in holographic form? First we saw Coulson's death, and now Loki in his Jotun form in a holograph of another variant.

Okay, Loki being someone the TVA has to constantly deal with is very on brand. Loki is a creature of chaos, of course he's going to unknowingly rebel against the sacred timeline.

Also, headcanon that the Jotun Loki we see is king of Jotunheim because that would be epic.

Also, for personal reasons I choose to believe there is a Loki variant that defeated the Avengers and immediately went queer rights.

Loki's reaction to there being many Loki variants. He's seen what his life is supposed to be. I think he is even more upset that the TVA often deals with him, that there are so many things that could have been instead if it weren't for the TVA and the "sacred timeline."

Also, I totally think Mobius was waiting for another Loki to show up to help him defeat Lady Loki. They get them so often, it makes sense.

Loki explaining the difference between illusion projection and duplication was great. And very helpful to me personally understanding lore. Also, Mobius, get your crap together. If you're a Loki expert, figure this stuff out.

Loki calling the TVA out on propaganda, we love that.

The wolf quote is actually very nice, I quite like it.

Okay, the TVA doesn't even bury or cremate or do any sort of ritual for their fallen minutemen, they just reset the timeline. Which to me seems like another way to show how little the TVA actually care for their workers.

There are statues of the Time Keepers in Ravonna's office. The camera pays extra attention to it. Keep reading for more about Time Keepers and cinematography choices.

What. What sort of relationship does Ravonna and Mobius have? What is going on there? I am really confused.

Who is this "analyst on the side?" What is going on there?

Ravonna is MEGA SUS. Along with that, the Time Keepers are mega sus.

She signs R. Slayer. Yeah. Slayer. Not at all subtle, Marvel. Letting us know that she'll do the deed if needed.

Mobius you are sending me mixed signals. What do you want?

Okay, Mobius saying Loki was a "cold, scared boy" and an "ice runt" and stuff was totally a jab at Loki being Jotun.

Mobius saying Loki is insecure because of Lady Loki is...probably true.

With the elevator, the camera stops and focuses on the Time Keepers.

The Creation of the TVA, the beginning of time, the end of time, all classified. That is sus.

Loki almost crying over Ragnarok was good. Let him cry over the destruction of his home.

Loki being the one to discover something the TVA had no idea about after a day is on brand for Loki. And it shows how the TVA really are vulnerable.

Mobius: Really? In front of my salad?

No but the object lesson was well done and actually did help me understand what Loki was talking about.

Casey! Casey drinks grape juice! Imagine how confusing this is for Casey though. Loki is captured, threatens to gut you like a fish (whatever that means), and now he's dressed like an analysist, stealing your juice box. Does Loki get Casey more juice?

Honestly, Loki looking at everything logically and scientifically is fantastic. Adds to the science = magic thing Marvel's got going on, since Loki is a sorcerer.

Loki saying volcanoes are cool is fun. I agree. Volcanoes mean the planet is geologically active, which means we won't die. Also, there is a volcano named Loki on one of Jupiter's moons. I wonder if the creators knew that and put Loki in Pompeii because he is already linked with volcanoes.

Mobius telling Loki to start off small and Loki completely disregarding that felt very personal to me.

Loki being absolutely chaotic and telling everyone they were going to die while speaking perfect Latin was iconic. I want more of that content. Let the man be buckwild.

Again, Loki finding something out after a day that the TVA never knew about is on brand.

"Be free, my horned friends, be free!" I love that way too much.

Mobius being obsessed with jet skis wasn't something I expected, but I'm down for it. Heck, even Loki admitted they were cool.

The discussion on beliefs is going to lead to saying the Time Keepers are bullcrap. Hopefully.

Grapes and nuts are "candy" on Asgard. So, when Loki was eating grapes in Ragnarok, we can interpret that as him eating M&Ms. Second, this might add to something I've seen around here. I've seen things about a book somewhere with Loki saying chocolate fountains are mythical (which is really funny to me). So, I guess Asgard really doesn't have chocolate.

Oh my gosh, so many apocalypses between 2047 and 2051...hopefully none of those happen in real life.

Roxxcart is probably part of Roxxon, something that has been around in Iron Man movies.

Lady Loki got the shovel thing from Roxxcart that she left in Oklahoma! The minutemen said it was from the early third millenia, which is where we are now! 2050 also fits that category!

I saw something about the file saying Class 8 hurricane...there are only 5 classes...which means this is a crazy storm.

Does B-15 want Loki dead? This is a legitimate question, because I think she does. Dead or pruned.

Loki looking around at the storm, I love it. This could be him loving science, or him missing Thor, since Thor creates storms. Also, at this point Loki probably things Thor dies shortly after him in the sacred timeline, so Loki would be particularly sentimental about Thor.

I love Loki drying himself off and not anyone else. And B-15 yelling about his magic. And Loki's motions are so fluid, it's so aesthetically pleasing, I love it.

Dudes, I thought B-15 was going to try to prune Loki when they were alone.

Okay, was Lady Loki bsing about the azalea sale, or does Roxxcart actually do that? I want to know.

Wunmi Mosaku did a really good job as Lady Loki, I loved it.

Loki being annoyed at Lady Loki and saying he understood how Thor felt, does that insinuate Loki can do what Lady Loki was doing?

B-15 and C-20 were both very shaken after being possessed by Lady Loki. I wonder how that felt for them? We've had different explanations of mind control/brainwashing/similar from Clint, Bucky, Daisy, Mack, Fitz, and Monica in the MCU (including AoS). I wonder what is specific to Lady Loki's possession.

C-20 kept going on about something being real. What was that about?

C-20 revealed the location of the Time Keepers to Lady Loki!

Lady Loki not wanting to be called Loki could be a sign she is Sylvie.

There's something weird where Loki's voice echoed around while the camera focused on Lady Loki. Maybe she's telepathic?

Someone needs to keep a tracker on people telling Loki this isn't his story in a show literally about him.

But, that does add to themes for his life, and how everything was always about someone else in his life. He was always a supporting character for Thor, for Odin, for Thanos. Now, even in his own story, everyone insists he doesn't matter.

I was wondering what the reset charges would be used for. I wasn't expecting a massive bombing of the sacred timeline! Wow! That was unexpected and I loved it!

Okay, this isn't from me, this is from New Rockstars. But to list all the places mentioned on chronomonitors, either bombed or not: Knowhere, Barcelona, Niflheim, Dartford, Phong Nha, Lisbon, Vormir, Thorton, Cookeville, Asgard, Rome, Sakaar, Barichara, Porvoo, Ego, Titan, New York City, Tokyo, Hala, Kingsport, Xandar, Beijing, Madrid, Portland, Jotunheim. Bolded are other planets. Those are almost all the planets visited in the MCU. So fun easter eggs there!

I like Lady Loki's aesthetic. The fingerless gloves, the cloak, I love it. And YES SHE ISN'T SEXUALIZED. So many genderbent characters are excuses to sexualize women. But Lady Loki is just as covered as the male Lokis.

Lady Loki just...left the time door open for Loki to follow...for a really long time...I'm worried he's running into a trap.

What is Loki going to do now?

Theory time y'alls: Lady Loki bombed the sacred timeline to flush the minutemen out of the TVA, leaving it defenseless. And she's gonna go after the Time Keepers themselves. We know she gets into the TVA from trailer footage, and that's what I think we're gonna see next episode. I think she (like the Loki we are following) is upset over the lack of free will, and she plans to change that. That's why she wasn't interested in helping Loki "take over" the TVA, because she doesn't want to become the leader of a new TVA, she wants it destroyed.

Alright, back to the Time Keepers stuff. They keep focusing on the middle Time Keeper. Even in the end credits they have a weird cut to focus directly on his face. I'm not 100% on this, but I like this theory. That face is similar to Jonathan Major's, the actor confirmed to be Kang the Conqueror in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Kang is a well known time travelling villain in Marvel. Maybe he is Kang, and is using variant versions of himself (that's a Kang thing in the comics) to mess with the timeline, and no one expects that from him. Also, Renslayer was his S/O for a bit in the comics, and they keep framing her in front of that one Time Keeper's face. I feel like this would be a good way to set up Quantumania and to show how sus the Time Keepers are.

Also, Loki was absolutely adorable the entire episode. And he got to sleep! Yay for him!

Again, I enjoyed, and can't wait for next week!

[itsthenovelteafactor]

Superhero Gothic

Thanks to everyone who responded to my previous post (special shoutout to @jeyfeather1234 💛 ) about superheroes and gothic media! I know it’s been, like, a month, but here we go.

Here’s a bit of a look into some common gothic themes, and how they apply to Doom Patrol, The Boys, Watchmen (2019), and The Umbrella Academy. This one’s a bit long, not gonna lie, but I hope you enjoy! 

Part I: Let’s Talk About Gothic Media

There is not actually an all-encompassing definition for gothic media, or even a universally agreed-upon one. You’re probably familiar with some well-known gothic works (think Dracula, Frankenstein, Edgar Allen Poe, Stephen King) but there is a lot of debate on what exactly makes them gothic. 

There are some common themes in gothic works, though: families/characters under the control of a tyrannical paterfamilias, the crumbling of the established order/estate, long-buried secrets that have consequences in the present, and supernatural events that are stand-ins for/reflective of the emotional state/past actions of the characters. 

(Note: these aren’t all the themes of gothic works or even most of them, but for purposes here, I’d like to limit this analysis to them. I’d love to talk about other themes/ideas, though, if anyone has them. 😊)

So… superheroes (quick overview in case you haven’t watched any of them… spoiler warnings for the rest of this discussion)

Doom Patrol:

Five misfit superhumans attempt to rescue their mentor figure when he is kidnapped by an old enemy.

They are very, very bad at it.

Also features a singing horse head, a sentient nonbinary teleporting street (who is by far the best character) and the narrator is the fourth-wall breaking series villain. 

Beautifully weird but will also emotionally devastate you. Criminally underrated, tbh.

Watchmen (2019):

Story takes place after the canon of the graphic novel which is too much to summarize.

Alternate history (that should really feel more fictitious than it does) where white supremacist organization the Seventh Cavalry, masked police officers, and former superheroes in hiding all collide in Tulsa Oklahoma

Swept the Emmys this year and ABSOLUTELY DESERVED TO

The Umbrella Academy:

Washed up former child superheroes are forced to reunite when their father dies under mysterious circumstances 

Time travel, dysfunctional siblings, and a killer soundtrack

Basically a family drama with the superhero story as secondary (complimentary)

Probably the most obviously gothic of all of these it is aesthetic AF 

The Boys: 

Superheroes exist but they are corporate sellouts under the control of evil company Not-Amazon (AKA Vought)

Regular human protagonists try to hold them accountable for their actions with varying (read: usually minimal) success

Yes, it’s the one from those weird ads earlier this year

Billy Joel!! 

Part II: Niles Caulder, Ozymandias, and Other Terrible Father Figures

The Tyrannical Paterfamilias: 

Does not always mean a father figure explicitly, often relating to the notion of a patriarchal tradition, or family inheritance that plays a role in controlling the main characters. 

Sometimes, it is a father figure. 

Sometimes, it is a representative of patriarchal tradition/male head of pseudo-family unit.

So, uh, role call: 

Reginald Hargreeves (even in death) holds power over his children, and has shaped all of them into the adults they have become, and that drives the majority of the conflict. Each of the major character individually grapples with the after-effects of his abuse. Luther feels the need to be the leader and protect everyone and alienates his allies as a consequence. Diego constantly asserts himself as a hero (often to dangerous extremes) because it is the only way he was ever valued. Allison has to teach herself boundaries and responsible use of her powers after he encouraged her to abuse them for years. Klaus turns to drugs to cope with his childhood trauma. Five disobeyed his father with disastrous consequences and is constantly fighting to not become him. Vanya spent her entire childhood in the background, and never learned to assert herself in a healthy way. Thanks, Reggie.

Homelander says that The Seven are like a family. While whether or not this is accurate (it isn’t) is up for debate, he does occupy the tyrannical paterfamilias roles incredibly well. Homelander controls every member of the Seven, threatening them and their loved ones whenever they step out of line (read: do not do exactly what he wants in the exact way he wants them to do it.) He is also very closely tied with conservative/patriarchal rhetoric in-universe and at one point dates a literal Nazi. 

William Butcher less evil than most of the other characters on this list but the bar is also like, on the ground. Butcher tries to control the Boys in a similar way (Butcher and Homelander are character foils, okay? it’s actually pretty neat). He’s perfectly willing to sacrifice them in pursuit of his own goals, disregards their points of view and the well-being of their loved ones, and tries to cut loose anyone who disagrees with his methods (recall when Hughie tried to rescue his friends at the end of s1 and Butcher… punched him in the face? Yeah, that.) The difference is that the Boys can push back against his without being, you know, brutally murdered. (And also the Butcher isn’t a literal monster; I’m not anti-Butcher, okay? He’s an interesting character and the fact that he seems constantly on the verge of becoming that which he hates most is part of what makes him interesting.)

Guess what, folks? It’s hating Niles Caulder hours. He engineered accidents to turn the main characters into his test subjects, and then kept them conveniently hidden away in his large manor. Stole their autonomy and independence but paints himself as a benevolent father figure. And that’s not even including what he does to his actual daughter, Dorothy. He’s terrified of her growing up (read: becoming a young woman) and so he locks her away for almost 100 years and, when she is freed, yells at her constantly and makes her terrified of showing any signs of maturation (even though she’s 111 and clearly tired of being written off as a child).

The relationship between Ozymandias and his daughter, Lady Trieu, is integral to the final act of Watchmen. Heralded as the “smartest man in the world,” Ozymandias refused to acknowledge his daughter as his until he needed something from her. While Lady Trieu is more self-sufficient and independent than some of the applications of this trope, she goes to great lengths to prove herself, first to him, and then to herself when he rejects her.

Part III: Been a Long Time Gone (Constantinople) 

Gothic fiction is often associated with change, and particularly, the collapse of established systems of power. For example, many works like The House of the Seven Gables and The Fall of the House of Usher take place in old, crumbling manor houses. There is a reason for this! These kinds of estates are remnants of a past that is irreversibly gone, and their continued presence in decrypt forms serves as a reminder. 

Each of the four series takes place at a moment, either on a wide scale or on a personal scale (or both!), in which an established order is being questioned, and the constant reminders of that failed order are used to gothic effect.

The Umbrella Academy plays this most directly (In fact, there are TONS of parallels between the end of s1 of TUA and House of Usher that I don’t have the time to get into right now... lmk if you want that meta). We can see the Hargreeves mansion as a very literal example of this. While not worn down, the house is notably both very large and very empty. Shelves are filled with merchandise for a superhero team that disbanded over a decade prior, and portraits of a family that no longer speaks to each other. None of the family members ever seem truly comfortable or at ease in the house, and for good reason - every back corner is a reminder of their incredibly traumatic childhood. 

In The Boys, the story begins with the fridging death of the main character’s girlfriend, Robin, at the hands of a member of the Seven, a group of heroes so ingrained in the public consciousness that when they later hide out in a costume shop, literally every single costume is for one of Vought’s heroes. The Seven represent the system in power, which, at the disposal of Not-Amazon means corporate greed, shallow altruism, and the cultivation of public personas at the expense of actual humanity. 

From that moment on, the sheer presence of The Seven on everything from public billboards to breakfast cereal is a remainder for Hughie (and the audience) that this established system doesn’t work and is based on lies, which serves this effect on a personal level. In the broader scale, however, we also see that the Seven themselves are fracturing under an unsustainable business model. Even their name, “The Seven” starts to seem a bit dated when halfway through season one through the end of season two there are notably... less than seven of them. 

The main characters in Doom Patrol are all in recovery after the accidents that irreversibly changed their lives. We see through flashbacks the people that they used to be, and the difference is striking. They were each established in their own elements: Cliff a famous race-car driver, Rita a world renowned actress, Larry a hero pilot, Jane was involved in counter-cultural movements, Vic was a student and athlete. The foundations upon which their worlds were established are completely decimated by the accidents, and now they (save Vic and sometimes Jane) live mostly in isolation in Niles’ manor house, an estate that is far larger than would be necessary to comfortably house a group of their size.

And you feel the emptiness, both in the manor, and in the lives of the characters. They have barely created a shadow version of their own existence when the series starts, so fragile that a simple trip into town devolves into utter chaos. 

Angela Abar of Watchmen has also constructed a life following the terrifying act of terrorism on the White Night. It’s a bit of a double life, and we see that the balancing act is challenging for her, even before the story truly begins. The death of Judd Crawford, and the revelation about him that follows is not only traumatizing on a personal level (but it definitely is that), but also upsets her understanding of the world. People she’s come to trust are not just dishonest but truly monstrous. And the more Angela learns about what has been happening, the more her understanding of the world begins to unravel. Her memories, and the memories of those around her are cast in a much more sinister light, and the effect is genuinely chilling. 

Part IV: “I’m the Little Girl Who Threw the Brick in the Air”

In episode 3 of Watchmen, Laurie contacts Dr. Manhattan on the cosmic phone booth to tell him a joke. It’s a version of what TVTropes calls the “brick joke,” and it relies on set up taking place early on, other stuff happening, and then the response coming at an unexpected moment. 

So, yeah. Events of the past/buried secrets resurfacing with consequences in the present.

Continuing with the theme from Watchmen, the entire series is punctuated with the way the past and the present intertwine, with elements from both the original Watchmen graphic novel, and actual American history. One of the things we talked a lot about in my gothic lit class was the manner in which the overhanging specter of past atrocities casts a shadow over the present, and how many works cannot help but have gothic themes because there are so many horrifying things in the past that cannot be ignored, and provide both context and nuance for the discussions we have in the present. No series tackles these topics quite so directly (and with as much care) as Watchmen. (note: it does not always make for easy viewing, but if you’re in a place where you feel like you can engage with that kind of material, I highly recommend the show.)

In Doom Patrol, the past actions of the characters very much control the storyline (see: previous discussion of Niles Caulder), but the character whose storyline I want to talk about here is Rita (partially for plot reasons and partially because I just love Rita, okay?). We learn when we first meet Rita that in the past she was... not a great person. We know that the trauma of the accident that gave her her powers has changed her, we also know that she still holds on to the guilt and that her guilt has limited the scope of her world for years, but we don’t know what exactly it is that she’s done. 

Enter Mr. Nobody, all-powerful narrator who is not just aware of Rita’s greatest sins, but perfectly capable of manifesting reminders of them into the story. She is confronted with empty cradles, and the sound of crying children in the background of many scenes and we see how much it effects her, without a full understanding of why it does (see: The Tell-Tale Heart). Her past begins to haunt her physically, and she begins to crumble in response to it, until finally she is forced to confide in a stranger (and thus the audience). The past actions do not just inform the audience of Rita’s character - they show up to influence her behavior in the present. 

The ending of The Umbrella Academy season 1 is super evocative of the gothic genre with Vanya breaking open the soundproof chamber (wherein she was silenced for years) and rising from the basement to destroy the last remnants of the Hargreeves legacy (which would be awesome if the last remnants of the Hargreeves legacy didn’t include the rest of her family). Pretty much every mistake the siblings make over the course of the season feeds together to create the finale, but the primary cause isn’t something any of them actually did. It all ties back to Reginald Hargreeves’ complete inability to be nice to children. Any children. His own and random strangers that need help. 

In The Boys, while the extent to which people are making f-ed up choices in the present cannot be expressed enough, we see through the characters of Homelander that many of the present difficulties are a result of past mistakes. Particularly, the profit-seeking corruption within Vought. We learn in s1 through Vogelbaum that Homelander was raised in a lab by Vought as an experiment, only to be unceremoniously thrust into the spotlight and told he was a superhero (which... does not justify a single one of his actions but is still a major yikes). As the head scientist of the project, Vogelbaum is very aware that ignoring his conscious if the name of research has essentially created the biggest threat their world has ever seen. 

(Seriously y’all just stop raising your super kids in isolation) 

Part V: Put Them Together, and They’re the MF-ing Spice Girls 

Having the environment respond to characters’ emotions/mental states is pretty common in gothic works (it was a dark and stormy night = someone is probably not doing super well). One of the advantages of the genre’s tendency towards the supernatural is that, often, those elements of the stories, as well, are reflections of the main ideas of a work of fiction (see: Stephen King’s really unsubtle period metaphors).

Because all of these shows have a ton of supernatural/scifi elements by virtue of being, well, superhero shows, I thought it would be easier (and more fun!) to come up with a short list of elements, what they mean, and what cases they might apply to.

1. A Nonlinear Experience of Time

The Umbrella Academy: legitimately about time travel. Characters are attempting to fix the timeline but are unable to because they are both mentally and sometimes literally stuck in the past. 

Watchmen: In the episode This Extraordinary Being, Angela experiences firsthand the experiences of her grandfather, under the influence of a drug called Nostalgia. The episode touches on many themes, one of which being the impact of generational trauma in marginalized communities. Throughout the series, Dr. Manhatten is cursed with experiencing all time at once, and the episode A God Walks into Abar illustrates that, because of this, he is constantly facing the consequences of particular actions before, after, and while he is preforming him.

Doom Patrol: Mr. Nobody is able to physically travel to one of Jane’s flashbacks via his fourth-wall breaking powers, and gives Dr. Harrison an ultimatum for the future. 

What it implies: Events, particularly events that evoke guilt or conflict, are not as rooted in the past as one would like to think.

2. Powers/Abilities that reflect personal trauma/failings

Doom Patrol: Larry’s abilities/bond with the Negative Spirit have made it so that he is constantly covering himself with bandages/avoiding other people, which reflects his experiences having to hide his identity as a gay man in the 50/60s. Rita forced herself to walk a thin line, betraying everything in pursuit of her image; her abilities require constant effort to keep her entire body from becoming misshapen and out of control. Vic’s father with boundary issues can literally control his perception of the world through his cybernetic enhancements. Dorothy’s abilities manifest as imaginary friends because she was kept isolated for years at a time. 

The Umbrella Academy: pretty much all of the kids’ powers are representative of the interpersonal skills they were never able to develop. Luther is super-durable but also the most emotionally vulnerable of the group. Five can teleport and time travel but always seems to be too late to stop things. Diego can manipulate the trajectory of projectiles but cannot escape the path his father set out for him, not matter how much he resents it. Vanya always forced herself to stay quiet until the sound literally explodes out of her.

The Boys: Annie’s abilities allow her to control light, but she struggles (in the beginning) to bring to light the horrible things done to her behind closed doors. 

Watchmen: Not technically a power, but Looking Glass’ mirror-mask is a constant reminder of the hall of mirrors that both saved his life and traumatized him forever. 

What it implies: from a story perspective, these allow for an exploration of trauma/guilt to occur on a scale much larger than people simply talking about their problems (as if anyone on any of these shows knows how to talk about their problems...) It also means that the trauma/guilt of the characters takes on a physical form that is able to haunt them, and constantly remind them/hold them accountable for their past actions.

3. Diluted Sense of Reality:

Doom Patrol: The first season is narrated by its main villain, and throughout the season we see that the act of narration itself has an impact on the story.

Watchmen: The event that kicks off the plot of the story is hinged upon a paradox introduced by Angela near the end of the series when trying to speak to her Grandfather in the past through Dr. Manhattan.

The Umbrella Academy: The pair of episodes in season 1, The Day that Wasn’t and The Day That Was take the same point in time and explore two possible avenue for the future from there, with The Day that Wasn’t ending with the events of the entire episode being completely erased from the timeline.

What it implies: you can’t necessarily trust everything you see, even from the audience perspective, giving them a position not unlike that of the characters. The character’s uncertainty and confusion is magnified and reflected in the world that surrounds them.

Other examples: an apocalypse (The Umbrella Academy, Doom Patrol, Watchmen (of a sort)), ghosts (The Umbrella Academy - hi, Ben!), immortality/invulnerability (Watchmen, Doom Patrol, The Boys), and characters that look significantly younger than they actually are (The Boys, The Umbrella Academy, Doom Patrol). 

Part VI: Why Did You Write a Literal Essay Don’t You Have Real Schoolwork (yes... shhhhh...)

And... there you have it. I don’t really have some grand conclusion here. This is (clearly) far from a complete analysis but it is the most my finals-week brain can concoct at the moment. 

If you have other ideas, let me know! You can always add to the notes or message me – my inbox is always open!  If you got this far, thank you so much for taking the time to read this! Much love! ❤️

[trisscar368]

Spnlv - Jeffrey Vincent Price

“I DO NOT LOOK LIKE COLONEL SANDERS! I dont even like chicken!”

For the record i love mark s, i thought he was amazing

Q: where asmodeus’ suit come from

A: it was all the writers. I love the juxtaposition of how evil he is, white is normally pure so he’s pure evil

Q: advice for cons from other actors

A: dont bring up mark s? Rich has been helpful.

Q: when you saw the concept, what were some of the things you thought of to being him to life?

A: kevin spacey, house of cards. Southern gent that can charm and then stab you in the back. He just felt like this old plantation owners sitting on his porch drinking a mint julep and just a lot of evil shit going on.

Q: pranks

A: haircut - Jared must have the longest hair, its in his contract

Q: fave dinosaur

A: would the cockroach be considered a dino? They’ve been around 450 million years and they havent changed their shape.

Ode to a cockroach

(He talks too fast but gorgeous poetry)

Q:what was it like working with misha and mark p? Pranks?

A: they were awesome, misha was impressed that he got the costume ref. Mark same deal, connected right away - v comfortable actor

Q: fave scene?

A: hasnt aired yet. Besides that, the first ep when he’s explaining the scars. Love the set, it felt like theater. It felt like it transcended the form, to be on the show

Q: paintings, what inspires you

A: for those who dont know im also a painter, seventeen 18 years. Grew up drawing, but it came and went, cast in film in berlin. Asked them to pay cash and fly me to prague. Backpacked europe. Some lonely days, but i would go in these museums and see these paintings, long dead artists and these paintings were still moving me. Felt like a human game, leaving things behind for people to understand. Shorter answer, people and animals that i paint. Series “naked and famous”, all people i know that stand live. I paint them because they’re some of the most interesting and beautiful people ive come across. And animals are just beautiful (except possums)

Q: fave artist

A: egon shelia (1800s)

Lot of people ask that, long answer - doing a five hour painting takes 17 years

Q: had you seen the show first

A: had not, but ive been catching up. I’ll ask again on twitter for fave eps, which ones i should watch and why. Love french mistake, love rich springfield. Loved Baby.

First ep he did was reunion with director

Q: we found out about gabriel, how did asmodeus catch gabriel?

A: spoilers

Q: who inspired you to become an actor: who still inspires you

A: robert deniro, esp in earlier stuff, he looked a lot like my dad. These days, daniel day lewis, shawn penn, love jeff bridges, watching him go from comedy to drama. Love watching actors do that

Q: entry to acting

A: auditioned for Oklahoma in hs, « do i have to sing » , didn’t want to but did it anyways. Looked at costume, sets, lights, realized people do this for a living, i wanna do this!

Q: show allows characters to grow and change, where would you like to see asmo grow?

A: ruler of all things great and small. Unlimited power! Did i say that out loud? Like to see him out in the world more, playing nice with others. Show’s in such good hands with the writers so i havent projected too far ahead. Trust them.

Q: have you and tim omundson ever been seen in the same place at the same time

A: uh oh she’s on to me

Q: if gabriel put asmo into tv land, what shows to annoy the most

A: dukes of hazzard, leave it to beaver, continuous kfc commercials eating kfc

*pets dog*

Q: when you got the ep with gabe in the cell, how did that feel?

A: mmnm

Person: How about now?

Jef: Pretty powerful

Person: Luce or gabe?

Jef: I got a lot of bad mofos after me rn

Q: love witch

A: love the movie, “you’ll end up calling me Assmodeus”, love the way it was filmed, loves the director/creator

Q: when asmodeus finally gets taken out (coooold blooded!), for the first time, how do you want him to go? Winchesters, luci, cas?

A: can i choose none? I mean, winchesters take out everyone dont they? All the big bads? Take both of em at once.

Q: (you’re super hot btw) have you ever done a horror film?

A: love witch is kinda considered horror, if love witch is horror thats my fave.... another one called dark reel, such an odd film

Rich: i forgot, we were on jericho together, and he punched me in the face

[aion-rsa]

Marvel’s Loki Episode 2: MCU Easter Eggs and Reference Guide

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

This article contains major spoilers for Marvel’s Loki episode 2, potentially future episodes, and the wider MCU.

Marvel’s Loki episode 2, “The Variant,” wastes absolutely no time. And like some of the best Marvel TV efforts, the Easter eggs and references are numerous, but not all of them are obvious. In fact, a lot of them don’t even necessarily pertain to the MCU! Loki is having fun with genre, TV formulas, and the very notions of time travel itself, so looking to the pages of Marvel Comics isn’t quite enough.

Here’s everything we’ve found so far, and if you spot anything we missed, be sure to let us know!

The Renaissance Fair

The Renaissance Fair takes place on April 12, 1985…in Oshkosh, WI. Why Oshkosh? It could very well be because that’s the place where legendary Marvel writer/editor Mark Gruenwald, the man who is the basis for Agent Mobius, was born! 

Now, anyone have any ideas why that date might be significant…other than it being the opening date of Return of the Living Dead?

The Renaissance Fair setting of the opening feels like a nod to early Thor and Loki comics, where Stan Lee’s overblown faux-Shakespearean dialogue felt like the kind of fun put-on you would find at a RenFaire.

The poor Ren Faire actress who is sad to see the TVA in their futuristic garb is played by Kate Berlant. Like fellow Loki actor Eugene Cordero, she comes from a comedy background and you may have seen (or heard) her in Search Party, The Good Place, and BoJack Horseman.

Holding Out for a Hero

Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero” plays during the pre-credits Renaissance Fair sequence. This song is EVERYWHERE at the moment, but its connection to the MCU is at least twofold. There’s this incredible Thor: Ragnarok fan edit that went viral back in 2018, and then there’s the fact that the ’80s banger was originally recorded for the Footloose soundtrack …aka Star-Lord’s favorite film.

Meanwhile…at TVA HQ…

The TVA’s commitment to outmoded technology is on full display on Mobius’ desk next to that old computer terminal, with an actual hourglass instead of a clock.

The jacket that says VARIANT is like the PRISONER prominently displayed on the back of orange jumpsuits.

In the TVA Nexus Event Report we learn that TVA Agents are called Minutemen. Because of course they are.

There’s a hilariously dystopian poster in the TVA commissary that says “the timeline won’t wait for seconds,” exhorting people not to linger on their lunch breaks.

Since we found out last week that Casey doesn’t know what a fish is, we can reasonably conclude that Agent Mobius isn’t eating a Caesar salad, the dressing of which is made with anchovies. 

Running off the Josta gag that started in episode 1 (and continues here), where the TVA consumes discontinued food items as well, we have a Boku juice box. Boku was on shelves from about 1990-2003, and was like a juice box for grownups.

Miss Minutes

Even the computer terminals at the TVA display readouts in Miss Minutes’ accent. On Loki’s screen you can see “let’s see what ya know!”

Jet Skis, the Universe, and Everything

Loki appears to be reading something called Wake magazine, volume 26, #4. Like many things in the TVA, this appears to be a vintage magazine rather than one being published currently. Probably at the height of the jet ski craze of the early ’90s. We’re reasonably sure this is a fake magazine, but haven’t been able to verify it. Yet.

LOKI VARIANTS 

For the sake of keeping all of these straight, we’re just cataloging the Loki variant numbers for you. Here they are…

“Our” Loki  = L6792

“Athlete” Loki = L1247 (you know he cheats…and this image seems to be from a familiar photo)

“Horny” Loki (sorry) = L6795

“Party” Loki = L8914

“Warrior” Loki = L7803

The Lady Loki/Sylvie variant appears to be L1130. More on her down below!

If you’ve got any ideas about the significance of these numbers, please let us know!

Loki explaining the differences between particular magical abilities feels very much like anyone who has ever played D&D with someone who REALLY knows their stuff and/or is a bit of a “rules lawyer.”

Loki tells the TVA hunters that “where there are wolf’s ears, wolf’s teeth are near.” At first glance, this is just a charming Loki-ism in which he celebrates how cool and dangerous his Variant is. It also, however, is an homage to the “real” Loki of Norse mythology. That Loki has some latent lupine characteristics to the point that he fathered the giant wolf, Fenrir.

The FDR High School pen is…probably nothing. The school was established in Brooklyn in 1965, so there’s obviously no chance Steve Rogers went there. We’re trying to figure out if a Loki or Marvel-related creator went to high school there, but so far…no luck.

Also, is it us, or does the Timekeeper’s armor in Ravonna’s office look a LOT like a Dr. Doom mask?

The Destruction of Asgard

Just a few notes from the “destruction of Asgard” paperwork…

File IPB-ASG-001

Note the “Revengers” codename mentioned from Thor: Ragnarok

Asgard’s population was 9,719…not really an Easter egg, just kind of a cool and useless fact.

Destruction of Asgard was a “class  7 apocalypse” yet the hurricane later in the episode was a “class 10.” More on this in a minute…

Pompeii and Other Apocalypses

The destruction of Pompeii not only is a horrific historical moment, it’s also the basis for one of the greatest concert films of all time, the moody and bizarre Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii.

Almost all of the apocalypses Loki and Mobius find between 2047-2051 are climate related. The climate disaster of 2048, extinction of the swallow in 2050, the tsunami of 2051…and of course the fact that the hurricane hitting Alabama in 2050 is a “Category 8.” At the moment, in our real/modern world, hurricane classifications only go up to “5” and 5s are becoming more common. Oh no.

Roxxcart

Originally created by Steve Engleheart and Sal Buscema in a 1974 issue of Captain America, Roxxon (loosely based on Exxon – weird how some folks knew they were evil in the ‘70s) eventually moved beyond its petrochemical roots and became a stand in for all evil corporations in general, which is why they map so neatly onto Amazon here. Roxxon has regularly come into conflict with Thor, most recently when they were headed by actual minotaur Daario Agger in the Thor: God of Thunder–War of the Realms run by Jason Aaron and several incredible artists.

Hunter B-15 notes that the events in Roxxcart represent a “Class 10 apocalypse.” It’s interesting that the TVA recognizes multiple severities of apocalypses as the apocalypse is supposed to be a singular event: the end of the world. If the Roxxcart hurricane is a “Class 10” then the TVA’s classification system must recognize Class 1 as the most severe, since this is relatively mild as apocalypses go. It’s also worth noting that similar classification systems for tornadoes and hurricanes both go up to only “Category 5”.

Haven Hills, AL appears to be fictional, but there is a Haven Hills Farms near Mobile, AL, and Mobile certainly would be vulnerable to the kind of storm surge damage that we seem to be seeing in this episode.

Lady Loki…or Sylvie?

A Lady Loki isn’t new or all that surprising, as there is precedent for Loki taking on a woman’s form for at least the last 15 years of comics. But it also…might not be Lady Loki after all.

Sylvie Lushton was a regular human living in Broxton, Oklahoma, until one day shortly after Asgard reappeared over her hometown (following Ragnarok). Long story short, Loki gave her powers just to mess with her.

It’s complicated, so we have much more on who our mysterious variant is here.

The Branching Timeline

These are the places mentioned as the timeline starts to branch. Something tells us we’re going to be visiting most of these places.

Vormir:  the location of the Soul Stone. We saw this teased in the early trailers, as well.

Asgard: This shouldn’t need any further explanation why this show might bring us there.

Jotunheim: the realm of the Frost Giants. Might we get an It’s A Wonderful Life style look at a life for Loki that might have been?

Hala: The Kree homeworld, a place that certainly won’t be getting any LESS significant to the MCU any time soon going forward!

Xandar: the homeworld/headquarters of the Nova Corps (of Guardians of the Galaxy fame). We’re probably due to eventually get more Nova stuff in the MCU down the line, so perhaps we’ll get a glimpse of that here.

Ego: Kurt Russell, cosmic deadbeat dad extraordinaire, from Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.

Titan: The homeworld of the dreaded Thanos. uh-oh…

Miscellanous Time Fragments

Mobius refers to Loki as an “ice runt” during his “scared little boy, shivering in the cold” speech. It feels pretty rare that we get direct references to Loki’s frost giant roots in the MCU these days. Based on the Jotunheim reference above, there’s probably more coming, though…

The woman that Loki has to deal with in charge of the file room desk feels like a live-action Roz from Monsters Inc., which is a super fun touch.

The beginning of Loki and Sylvie’s face-off reminds us of the Kermit the Frog vs. Hooded Kermit the Frog meme, and that’s just a treat. 

Before they deploy to Alabama, Mobius hands Loki his trusty twin daggers…which are promptly confiscated again.

The locker room number where Mobius’ locker is #26. 2/6 as in Number 2 and Number 6 from The Prisoner?

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Spot anything we missed? Let us know in the comments!

The post Marvel’s Loki Episode 2: MCU Easter Eggs and Reference Guide appeared first on Den of Geek.

from Den of Geek https://ift.tt/3gx4IUt

[auburnfamilynews]

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

We don’t even have all the facts yet, but that’s never stopped us.

The 2019 season isn’t even cold yet, there’s still football to be played as bowl season comes to a close, and we’re looking ahead to what the Auburn Tigers have to negotiate for next year. While sentiment heading into the offseason may have been much different based on what could have happened two days ago, there’s still a need to break some trends in 2020 if Gus Malzahn doesn’t want to waste the goodwill he engendered from November’s Iron Bowl win.

Thankfully, the schedule sets up pretty nicely. Yeah, the even year gets us road tilts in Athens and Tuscaloosa, and there will be storylines galore in some of the other games, but it’ll be a longshot for us to play six eleven-win teams again. The schedule should be easier. I think.

AUBURN TIGERS 2020 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE

SEPTEMBER 5th - ALCORN STATE (Auburn, AL)

Is Steve McNair suiting up? No? Okay. Auburn should be able to work on the new offensive line and ease into the Chad Morris offense with a seasoned Bo Nix at quarterback. Big win, it’ll be hard to tell anything from this game at all.

Chance to win: 99.9999999999999999%

SEPTEMBER 12th - vs NORTH CAROLINA (Atlanta, GA)

Thankfully we get the big non-conference game after a warmup, but OF COURSE the team we play will get a ton of hype during the offseason. The Tar Heels will likely be a top fifteen team based on Sam Howell’s bowl performance and UNC’s near-upset of Clemson. They’ll be hailed as a division favorite and they’ll definitely make noise in the ACC. We should - should - be the more talented team, but there will be some question as to how we handle a P5 team with new faces across both lines.

Chance to win: 70%

SEPTEMBER 19th - at OLE MISS (Oxford, MS)

If we stub our toe against the Tar Heels, you can bet that Lane Kiffin is going to throw everything he has into this game. He’ll probably do that anyway. Ole Miss will be better and more dangerous on offense. After a close game earlier this year, I really don’t know what to think about this one. The Rebels will be close to an unknown quantity under Kiffin, but they could very well be the spoiler the SEC West doesn’t want to see. John Rhys Plumlee ran for more than 1,000 yards, and Kiffin’s influence could make him a supremely scary guy to gameplan against. Still, Ole Miss won’t have a whole lot else around him.

Chance to win: 69%

SEPTEMBER 26th - SOUTHERN MISS (Auburn, AL)

We played a close game with these guys in 2018, but they’ll always be a complete talent level below Auburn. If we take a loss in the first three games and then struggle with the Golden Eagles, it won’t be good. I don’t think that’ll happen. Auburn wins easily.

Chance to win: 95%

OCTOBER 3rd - KENTUCKY (Auburn, AL)

Get ready for the buildup to this one. Joey Gatewood (if he gets that waiver) is going to roll back into Jordan-Hare Stadium wearing royal blue instead of navy and he’ll be leading a confident Kentucky team. The Wildcats will likely be 3-1 heading into this game with EMU, Florida, Kent State, and South Carolina on the slate before Auburn. If they spring an upset in Gainesville, then we’ll be nervous about this one. I don’t think Auburn’s defense will be susceptible to what Kentucky’s going to want to run, and we definitely know Gatewood, but he also knows us. This game could turn out to be the biggest game in the conference that weekend, depending on how Ole Miss is doing. The Rebs host Alabama that weekend.

Chance to win: 64%

OCTOBER 10th - at GEORGIA (Athens, GA)

Ready to feel weird? Auburn plays Georgia in Athens in October. The last time that these two met before November was 1936, when the Tigers got a 24-13 win over the Dawgs in Columbus on October 24th. The back to back at Georgia and at Alabama was difficult to manage, and now it’ll be much easier. What’s even better is that we can hope that Georgia isn’t settled at all by this point. The NFL Draft took a toll on the Bulldogs — no Jake Fromm, the entire offensive line gone, no running backs, and only one returning receiver. The defense will be great. Still, Athens is tough no matter when you visit. If CBS still has the TV rights, we’ll be part of a doubleheader on this day with LSU @ Florida also on the docket.

Chance to win: 40%

OCTOBER 17th - TEXAS A&M (Auburn, AL)

I dunno, man. Is Jimbo good? He’s definitely not worth the $75 million unless he wins the next couple of national titles in a row. Although, A&M finally got a little of what we all thought Kellen Mond might be in the Texas Bowl, when he ran through Oklahoma State for the game-winning touchdown from 67 yards out. He should be pretty solid next season, but despite good recruiting, everyone’s still waiting for the Aggies to truly put it together. Traditionally, this game would have been an automatic loss since it’s in Auburn, but the Tigers have won three straight in the series. Bo Nix was steady in his first real road start, and I think he’ll have plenty for the A&M defense in this one.

Chance to win: 65%

OCTOBER 31st - at MISSISSIPPI STATE (Starkville, MS)

Oh, great. We play these clowns on Halloween and now they’ve got the Mad Pirate running the show? Thankfully, the Bulldogs shouldn’t be very good under Mike Leach since they have, uh, no quarterback, no receivers, and not a whole lot coming back from the 2019 team. Kylin Hill will be returning at running back, but there’s really not much that I can see MSU putting on the field that we won’t be able to handle, especially after a bye.

Chance to win: 77%

NOVEMBER 7th - ARKANSAS (Auburn, AL)

Like Ole Miss and Mississippi State, the Piggies will be breaking in a new coach. Unlike those two, it’s a guy that 99% of college football fans have never heard of. Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman made the move to go lead Arkansas, and while his recruiting has been fantastic, that won’t help anyone in year one. Chad Morris clearly wasn’t cut out to be a head coach, and with his departure, the cupboard is as bare as it gets. Pittman will take his lumps for at least a couple years before he starts to get the ball rolling (if he’s given that much time).

Chance to win: 90%

NOVEMBER 14th - UMASS (Auburn, AL)

Is Marcus Camby playing? No? I see.

Chance to win: 99.999999999999999%

NOVEMBER 21st - LSU (Auburn, AL)

Now, here’s where it gets interesting. Meet the new Amen Corner, same as the old Amen Corner. Instead of Georgia, we get LSU. The benefit is that there’s no longer two away games in a row. We get to split the home and away matchups, which will even things out without changing the caliber of the opponent.

Obviously, LSU just wrapped up one of the greatest seasons in college football history, but let’s give you a list of what will be different in 2020 for the Bayou Bengals —

Heisman Trophy winner Joe Burrow

Running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire

Offensive tackle Saahdiq Charles

Wide receiver Justin Jefferson

Safety Grant Delpit

Center Lloyd Cushenberry

Linebacker Jacob Phillips

Linebacker Patrick Queen

And that’s just the juniors plus Burrow. LSU will also lose a handful of seniors, and there are still some decisions to be made from guys like K’Lavon Chaisson. However, that might not be the biggest loss from Ed Orgeron’s group. He’ll have to replace both coordinators in 2020, as Joe Brady made the move to run the offense with the Panthers, and Dave Aranda is now leading Baylor. It’s no secret that the reason that LSU took off this year was largely thanks to Brady’s offensive influence, and now the playmakers plus the chess players are gone. It’s going to be a completely different team in 2020, and now Auburn gets them at home. With the game in November, they’ll certainly be in more of a rhythm, but there’s no way that Myles Brennan replicates Burrow’s performance, especially with a new guy running the show.

Chance to win: 50%

NOVEMBER 28th - at ALABAMA (Tuscaloosa, AL)

In similar fashion to what’s happening at LSU, Alabama lost a ton as well, but I don’t think they’ll feel the sting quite the way they will in Baton Rouge. Tua’s gone, but I’ve said before that he wasn’t the most important player on that team by far. What’s a little more pressing is the fact that Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs have departed as well. Now, you don’t have to stick your third best cover guy on Devonta Smith, and your fourth best on Jaylen Waddle. Unfortunately, Alabama will still be solid. Mac Jones is good enough to utilize the talent, especially with Najee Harris returning (can’t take that paycut by going pro). While the offensive line may take a bit of a hit with Jedrick Wills leaving, Alex Leatherwood is back, along with Landon Dickerson.

Defensively, don’t be surprised if Alabama is good again. This year was hilarious, watching them trip all over themselves, and at times, their offense even had a poor scoring defense. Dylan Moses returns after missing all of last year, and all of those freshmen they played are now experienced. Losing Xavier McKinney is probably a positive, and Trevon Diggs made a ton of highlight reels for Jamar Chase, so there are probably some Bama fans excited to see the backups.

Look, anyone saying that Bama is going to fall on hard times has to know that a 10-2 regular season is likely the floor for them every year. Only with an absolute murderer’s row of injuries and the rare year when they play a real schedule would they hit three regular season losses. This year, they get Georgia... after the Dawgs lose everyone, and it’s early in the year. Watch out for the stretch in October — at Tennessee, bye, at LSU. We have to go to Bryant-Denny, so...

Chance to win: 30%

We’ve still got a few NFL decisions left to be made, but at this point we know roughly how everyone will look roster-wise in 2020. It’s not nearly the schedule we had last year, but it is always going to be difficult with Alabama, Georgia, and LSU on the slate year after year. Let’s see what you’ve got, Gus.

from College and Magnolia - All Posts https://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/2020/1/16/21048359/2020-football-schedule-way-too-early-outlook

[ayankun]

BAD BAD OT3

Fandom: Legends of Flarrowverse Type: Mostly nonsense, partially fluff Characters: (Bi!)Ray Palmer, (Ace!)Barry Allen, (Badass-as-Usual!)Sara Lance (feel free to add shipping lines in there at your own discretion) Warnings: Current season spoilers, mostly Word Count: 1836 Tag: Ray Palmer wasn’t invited to someone’s bachelor party, and a bunch of non-sequitur shipping ensues.

Note: I don’t know about you but watching ten year old Ray Palmer watching Singin’ In the Rain just melted my heart and I’m not entirely in control of whatever happened next as I processed these emotions.  (this fic is what happened next) 

BAD BAD OT3

Sometimes you don't get invited to bachelor parties.  Or birth of a first grandson parties.  Or congrats you made it off the island alive again parties.

Let's face it, you don't get invited to parties as a general rule.  

The closest experience you have is the cumulative black tie events you attended on behalf of Palmer Tech, although invitations to such affairs were more a matter of padding out the millionaire playboy industrialist demographic than a solicitation of your winning personality.

(Come to think of it, you never even went to your own bachelor parties.  Although you suppose this is largely due to those two engagements never making it to term.)

And anyway, you were a little preoccupied with saving younger you from the perils of 1988 suburbia while Stein was off seeing little Ronnie into the world, so that one was really just a matter of bad timing.  You're sure that if adequate planning had been involved, it would have been you and not MICK RORY of all people to tag along.

And maybe Oliver wasn't really in a partying mood, what with Thea and William and all.  You get that.  Then again, Oliver Queen wouldn't know the partying mood if it came up and instantly got three arrows to carefully targeted vital organs for its trouble.

Which leaves Barry Allen's bachelor party, and the fact that Ray Palmer's noticeable absence from which has absolutely no discernible excuse.

You and Barry have something special, you always thought.  Two connected souls.  You both have do-gooder track records that go back to way before you became superheroes.  You both have a head for hard science and a heart for science fiction.  You both work hard to protect your loved ones from ever experiencing that kind of ultimate loss the two of you have survived over and over.

Not to mention you both have immaculate hair and look great in uniform.

And you know you're living outside the traditional understanding of linear time, where temporal eddies swirl cause and effect and can reasonably be blamed for losing your mail, but you end up hearing from Mick who heard from Jax who heard from Stein who heard from Caitlin back in 2017 that Barry's gone and finally got himself married.

Why it always has to be Mick instead of you, you'll probably never know.

You know you are a leading member of a team in charge of operating a bonafide time machine, so you could just make a pit stop to a couple of months ago and make a note of reminding whoever it was that sent out the invites.  But you are also a highly decorated Boy Scout of America so you settle for avoiding time aberrations by inviting Barry's gang to your place for a shindig of your own creation.

It's some time -- speaking from a linear, subjective viewpoint -- before the business of superheroing quiets down enough for both teams to take a step back for some R&R.  But in the end, not everybody who was invited shows up.

Since the bachelor party's already ancient history, you decided to make it an event for general congratulations and invited both Barry and Iris as well as the rest of S.T.A.R. Labs.  Except Joe West declined, citing allergies to time travel.  And Caitlin bowed out, as well, prior engagements and all that.  Iris was on board except at the last minute Central City Picture News sent her on assignment to Star City to grab some juicy clickbait headlines thanks to her known connections to the superhero underground.

You tried to convince them that you could postpone.  Time machine and all.  But Iris West-Allen pushed Barry and Cisco out the door and made you boys promise to have a good time on her behalf.

Having never been to or hosted a party with friends, you wind up wondering whether anyone is having a good time at all.

Mick got through Fiddler on the Roof just fine, but drank himself to sleep before the opening number of Oklahoma! was through.  Sara's propped up on the floor leaning against his legs and Zari's snoring in her lap.

Amaya politely stayed through the opening snack buffet, but excused herself when the lights went down.  Nate watched her go, and made up some excuse himself not long after.

Stein and Jax and Cisco ended up chattering like school girls about the Waverider's tech, and after repeated shushings by the assembled musical-lovers, eventually took the hint and wandered off on a tour of the ship's underbelly.

So it's just you and Barry on the couch with a bowl of popcorn between you, attentively watching the antics of Gene Kelly and Donald O'Connor.

"I used to watch this with my mom all the time," Barry confides to you quietly.  Probably so as not to wake the others, but maybe also because he's a little shy to admit it.  "Especially on rainy days and stuff."

"That's cool," you reply.  "I, uh, watched it once with a baby Dominator named Gumball.  His mom tried to kill us but um.  She didn't!  Ha ha."

"Um," Barry says, frowning, eyes flicking to you and back to the movie.  "That's cool."

Remember how you weren't invited to many parties?  Could this stellar conversation have something to do with it?

"Is it just me or does Donald O'Connor totally outclass Gene Kelly in this?" Barry asks you after a while.  "Or maybe I just feel like I have more in common with Cosmo rather than Don and I subconsciously feel like he never gets the credit he deserves."

"I wouldn't have thought you of all people identified with the goofy sidekick," you say, "but I know exactly what you mean."

Barry shrugs, but now there's an avenue opened between you.

"You know, I always felt bad for Cosmo in the end," you try again during one of the lulls between numbers.  "Don and Kathy run off to live happily ever after and he winds up with nothing."

Barry looks at you with a quiet side-eye.  "He doesn't end up with nothing.  He has a whole studio department to run.  Besides..."

But Barry trails off.  You look over and see him shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

"Besides?"  You're patient.  You can wait out a mouthful of popcorn.

Barry glances down and scratches at the back of his neck.  When he puts his arm down, it's along the back of the couch and he tucks one of his legs up under him as he shifts a little to face you.

"Besides," he starts again, meeting your eyes briefly and then finally addressing the TV.  "He doesn't need to get the girl to have a happy ending.  I never thought Cosmo was, you know, into girls.  Or anybody, really.  He seemed happy enough with his work."

This is one of those few ways in which you and Barry are kind of the same but also a whole lot different.

You see what he's getting at, though.  "I hear that," you concede.  "Still, my personal read always was that Cosmo and Don were, uh, or could have been an item.  But public morals of the era prevented them from acting on it, and to top it all off, Kathy comes waltzing into the picture and effectively cancels their subtext relationship.  That never seemed fair."

There's a small but knowing smile on Barry's face that tells you that you're still on the same page.

"What, you mean Don and Cosmo couldn't be an item without the sex stuff?" he challenges.  "I happen to know from experience that that's not necessary to define an active relationship."

A new challenger appears.  "Like you want me to believe that you and Iris sat up playing pattycake and braiding each other's hair on your wedding night."

You look over to see Sara with her Mick armchair and Zari blanket giving Barry a predatory once-over.

That was slightly unfair and he blushes a little along his hairline.  He does a thing where it looks like he's trying to rearrange his neck as he sits up straighter against the arm of the couch.  "It's called falling in love with your best friend.  The sex stuff is totally secondary."

"Sex stuff or no," she says, sliding out from Zari like a pro and settling the other woman against Mick in her place, "I think you boys are completely missing the point."

You glance at Barry.  "Which is?"

Sara comes and helps herself to the cozy little spot between the two of you on the couch, relocating the popcorn to the floor.  She points out the trio on the screen, sitting around Don's kitchen with sandwiches and milk.  

"Look at them.  Cosmo's got a thing for Don, obviously.  Who wouldn't.  And Don and Kathy have their quaint little heteronormative leading-man-leading-lady thing going on, sure.  But our boy Don, well."  She turns her head to you and then to Barry, looking up at you both like she was the one with twenty degrees and you were the high school dropouts.

"He's into both of them and Kathy's cool with it!"  Sara shakes her hands at the screen.  "If that isn't a picture of polyamorous domestic bliss, I don't know what is."

"Hm," you and Barry both say.  The room goes quiet as you study the scene as it plays out before you.  You gradually notice the way your head is tilting farther and farther to the right in curiosity that eventually pays out as enlightenment.

"I ship it," you say quietly.

Sara nods, pleased.  She needles Barry in the ribs until he squirms.  "Sex stuff or no, this way all three of us can project onto these characters to our hearts' content."

The three of you sit contemplatively on the couch, watching the silver screen stars who are now sitting and laughing like maniacs on a couch of their own.

You begin to grow increasingly aware of Sara's arm on the couch behind your neck.  You glance over to Barry and see that his embarrassed flush has only deepened.

"You know, you two are a lot alike," she tells you.  "In a skinny-jeans and big-and-tall kind of way."  Her arm ghosts from the couch back, making your hair stand on end, and her hands end up settled on one each of your and Barry's knees.  And stay there.

You actually hear Barry gulp.

"How about more popcorn?" you squeak.  Forgetting exactly where the popcorn ended up, you manage to put your foot in it and then kick the bowl halfway across the room, sending popcorn flying.

Zari's jostled awake by Mick's sudden flinch, and she topples to the side amid a sea of popcorn.  "Good morning?" she says groggily.

"Good morning," answers Mick (and WHY is it always Mick roRY), "Out of the way new girl, I need to take a leak."

And that's when you decide that parties were never really meant to be your forte after all.