#also WHY did this episode need to take place on Halloween?

[theprinceandthewitch]

So... does anyone else get the impression season 3 was a giant middle finger to Disney? Like a whole "Oh, you want to cancel TOH? Fuck you. We are going to give you an ending so bad people are gonna shit on it forever."

While TOH always had an issues in the writing department there's just something about Season 3 that's particularly awful and kind of malicious tbh. Season 3 doesn't feel like there was any care put into it.

So... while I do like Thanks to Them because Hunter/Luz bonding and Caleb/Evelyn=Luz/Hunter tidbits... it's actually really, really bad. There is no logical explanation for why the characters are fucking around for literal months. Philip should know where titan blood can be found as he had SOMEWAY to get to TBI's. He also knew of Calebs and Evelyns relationship - thats why he even went to TBI's to begin with. He wanted to look for Caleb and convince him to come back to the human world. Philip met Evelyn when he and Caleb were teenagers and he was PROBABLY friends with her before he decided to double down on the witch hate.

Another thing: Flapjack did not need to keep quiet about there possibly being a rebus in the house and the existence of rebuses in general FOR MONTHS. He could have said the moment they came to the human realm something like:

"Hey so, Caleb and Philip were friends with a witch named Evelyn for years. There's titan blood hidden around Gravesfield. I know the landscape has changed over the centuries but you can probably find a vial somewhere by using glyphs near the location shown on the rebus. Caleb and Evelyn made maps to titan blood in the form of rebuses because they needed to keep their relationship a secret. This dilapidated house you guys arrived in when you came to the human realm is Calebs house because the doorways fixed location in the human realm is Caleb's house. There's probably a rebus somewhere in the house. If there are no rebuses in the house, I can show you the last known locations of other rebuses."

Because nobody does anything proactive to find a way home UNTIL Amity accidentally steps in the hole in the floor FLAPJACK made while looking for the rebus. Not only did Flapjack not bother to tell Hunter about there being a rebus that leads to titan blood in the house they fixed up and have been using as a base of operations for literal months - none of the characters ever thought to look around the town for some clues that could lead them back to the demon realm. All the characters try to do is build doorways. VEE could have mentioned there was a witch who came to Gravesfield centuries ago, which would have kickstarted their journey around town. Vee knows about the story because of Yesterdays Lie - and they fucking mention Vee's confrontation with Jacob and show us Jacob in Thanks to Them. THERES LITERALLY a whole museum full of rebuses that were dug up around Gravesfield the characters could have gone to. You cant tell me Gus, Amity, Willow and Hunter were too afraid to explore the demon realm as if they weren't literally living in the human realm for months and went on trips during their stay. As if they weren't gungho about exploring the human realm right after finding the rebus. AS IT they didnt have Vee as a reliable guide around town.

There's also no reason for Luz to go back to school when she has to find a way to get everyone back home. Luz going to school is another time waster with no reason to exist.

On top of that Flapjack doesn't tell Hunter a damn thing about Caleb. We dont even get a "Flapjack finds it difficult to talk about Caleb" moment to explain Flapjacks silence. We dont know WHY Flapjack doesnt say anything about Caleb even though Flapjack clearly belonged to Caleb and not Evelyn. He just lets Hunter read these history books about Caleb which might not even be completely accurate because history can be omitted and changed to fit certain narratives. And the stories about The Wittebane brothers and Evelyn are proven to be incorrect because they paint Evelyn as a stereotype AND as the person who killed Caleb.

But yeah, Thanks to Them is alot less enjoyable when you realize ALL of the characters are wasting time for no reason.

[memes-saved-me]

Was Billy (accidentally) written as Steve's next love interest - a Meta

This is far from thought out and more thoughts thrown into a post. This is for fun and an over analysis by someone who did 4 years of media studies and has a major bias so don't take it personally

From the moment of Billy's introduction in season 2 he is put in the background of Steve and Nancy's relationship, even from his very first scene where in which he literally pulls Steve's attention from Nancy just after they have a moment in the car. A moment that takes on a completely different tone once you know Nancy is in fact in love with Jonathan not Steve.

It makes sense for Steve to react to Billy's entrance. Half of Billy's plot is Steve but what is more interesting and doesn't really make sense is that the camera then changes focus to Nancy and stays on her even in the next shot with Steve as an after thought in the background. Her reaction isn't the same either. Steve is somewhat curious but Nancy seems more concerned about whoever the car belongs to. Nancy and Billy never have a single conversation. Ever. So why have her reaction to him be so important to his first ever scene?

This could be read as an indication of a threat to their relationship being shown not told just yet. If Billy was a female character who stepped out of the car in the exact same manner it would be fully done to show her (Billy) as a threat to Nancy's relationship with Steve but since Billy is male it is not. Even then I find showing Nancy a very strange choice.

However, it does lead us into the next example of how strange this entire set up is. When Billy finally approaches Steve at the party, Nancy walks away looking hurt? Which does not add up in the slightest. She should be annoyed but instead she walks away to start drinking. Again if Billy was a girl this would be read as her (Billy) trying to not only intimidate Steve but also Nancy. Which this scene implies but makes no sense because Billy doesn't even look at her.

Nancy then starts to drink heavily to mock and get back at Steve for wanting to come to the party in the first place. Something a jealous upset girlfriend would do in any teen movie if another girl had approached her boyfriend, not if a random teenage boy had. This then leads to their big fight when she pretty much dumps him in the bathroom and Steve storms off upset, mirroring this scene from earlier in the episode. Which only reinforces the Nancy being upset not angry aspect.

Billy's entrance to the show leads to their break up. The domino effect of events makes it so. Would Nancy have started drinking if Billy hadn't approached Steve? Maybe, but we don't know anything except what we are shown by the narrative and the narrative has shown us that Billy is the reason she does. A very strange set up considering this is the last interaction they have until season 3 when she tries to shoot him...

The next day we are shown the iconic homoerotic basketball scene and towards the end we see Nancy walk into the room but Steve doesn't notice as he's too distracted by Billy who is at this point is literally waging his tongue at him. They position Steve in-between the two of them just like at the Halloween party as if he needs to make a choice.

Nancy has to call out for him to see her and he then follows her outside to talk. Said talk does not go so well for her and this time it is Steve who dumps her because she doesn't remember what happened the night before. As I mentioned Steve has a choice to make and unlike at Tina's party when he leaves Billy to run after Nancy, he leaves Nancy to go back inside for Billy after being called for by a member of his team. As if he has narratively made his choice as he doesn't chase after Nancy at all for the rest of the season and accepts their relationship is over.

If you take all of this into a count and then imagine Billy as a female character it would be insane to not picture them in a future relationship from a narrative point of view. The common literature tropes and framing of the set up is so clear that if Billy was a girl her and Steve would have been making out half way through the season or even after gym class (I know they are split by gender humour me). With the added somehow unintentional homoerotism of Billy and Steve's dynamic it only adds to the fact that some of the choices made for their relationship/rivalry build up is so strange.

Please add anything I've missed or forgotten because this drives me insane from a writing and media analysis point of view.

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

[zalrb]

Here Is The Thing About Movies Now Vs. Then

There is a certain darkness to ‘90s movies, which is just not the trend right now and as a child of the ‘90s, I prefer the former.

So, for instance, Hocus Pocus 1993 starts with the witches murdering a child by sucking her life force

like they dance in front of her corpse because they’re younger

her older brother failed to save her

and calls the sisters hags and so his punishment is to live forever as a cat so he can always remember his guilt for not saving his little sister

and when the mob from the village comes to burn them, they hide the dead child under a blanket while yelling that they aren’t witches

it’s HILARIOUS because it’s SO dark but also slapstick just like when they’re about to be hanged, the boy’s parents just want to know what happened to their son 

and she makes a joke

Like, if you think about it that’s pretty fucked up.

This Hocus Pocus starts with Winnie not wanting to marry a boy and setting some houses on fire

In the original movie when it’s current day, Max and Dani are being hassled  and get their candy stolen

Max gets merked

Thackery is murdered but then comes back to life because he’s an immortal human in a cat’s body

they kidnap Dani

like it’s a Halloween movie.

Hocus Pocus 2 is a movie that happens to take place on Halloween. There’s an undercooked storyline about friendship and an obligatory heavy-handed lesson about being sensitive to others’ differences with a dash of the power of sisterhood at the end. There are, like, one or two cool visuals and some atmospheric shots

but overall it’s very safe and very sanitary. It’s like what they did with Aladdin. From two other posts of mine:

So I watched the “A Whole New World” clip for the Live Action Aladdin

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and I get that the live action isn’t going to be the exact same as the cartoon but one of the things that I really loved about the original animation is the dark sense of humour. So before Aladdin takes Jasmine on the carpet ride, I kind of love that Jasmine thought Aladdin killed himself because she told him to jump off a balcony

and the fact that they changed that is unsurprising but still has me like, eh.

[..] and one of my favourite parts of the animated version is that when they’re on top, we see Jafar and Iago humiliate the people, namely Jasmine

and the sultan, who they thought looked down upon and humiliated them, which included Iago shoving crackers down the sultan’s throat.

I do understand that the above scene might be considered too dark (it’s probably why I love it so much) but this Iago is just a parrot that literally did not need to be there.

Or it’s like the original Jumanji, I answered an ask about why I considered the original dark and the full post is here but an excerpt:

imagine being a kid who watches her friend being sucked into a game and then is chased out of the house by bats

And no one believes you when you explain that your friend is gone because he was sucked into a game so then you have to go to therapy to convince yourself that what you saw was impossible because it technically is impossible and you even change your name because you don’t want to be associated with ANYTHING about that night because it was the night you saw your friend get sucked into a GAME but then he comes back twenty years later and asks you to continue playing that game and you legitimately think you’re having a psychotic episode

and then you have the remake --- and don’t get me wrong I absolutely adored the first instalment of the remake, Jack Black was hilarious --- where, like, yeah you can potentially die in the game if you lose all of your lives but there aren’t really any nuances or implications that make you go, that’s pretty fucked up once you think about them, it’s just a fun movie

which is, I mean it is what it is but I definitely finished Hocus Pocus 2 thinking it left no impression

[divine-knight-hand]

Night of The Maneater

Part 1: The Chase

Part Two || Michael Masterlist || Full Masterlist || Read on AO3 Halloween Triple Feature Masterlist

Pairing: Michael Afton x Ghostface!Female Reader

Summary: Since the destruction of Fazbear's Fright, Michael could finally celebrate Halloween in peace, but with a new serial killer on the loose known only by the name "The Maneater", how long will his night stay that way?

Content Warnings: Stalking, mentions of death and killing, descriptions of fear and creepy scenarios, death threats, sexual themes

Notes: I don't care that FNAF lore says that Fazbear's Fright happened in the future. This fic takes place in the 1990s because I said so... Also, that time is the perfect setting for a slasher moment and no, I will not be taking criticism.

I also just looked it up and the first Scream movie takes place in 1996, so my guts were on point with this one. Trust my judgement, y'all~

Word Count: 4,352

Dividers by @animatedglittergraphics-n-more

Halloween season had an air of peace ever since Fazbear’s Fright burned down. This year, instead of fighting for his life against a group of worn-down animatronics–only one of them being corporeal, though not untouched by the stench of death–he only encountered the bright faces that came to his door in search of candy.

Michael was more than happy to oblige, complimenting the costumes of each child as he dropped some candy into their bags. Each child’s parent warmly smiled in appreciation from across the lawn, and he always reciprocated the soft expression. It was nice, seeing parents who took the time to make memories with their children. It filled him with a sense of pride, knowing he could help create that experience for them.

Once he handed out the last of his candy for the night, he turned out his porch light and headed for his kitchen to start making popcorn. He figured he’d spend the rest of the night catching up on the episodes of The Immortal and the Restless he had recorded to his VCR.

As he was searching his cupboards for an aluminum popcorn pan, the radio on the counter switched from lighthearted Halloween tunes to an emergency news report.

“We’re just getting news of a new serial killing taking place here in Hurricane, Utah.” The radio anchor announced. “Police are currently unable to name a suspect. The only information they have is that this killer seems to only target young men in their mid-twenties. They’ve since been codenamed, ‘The Maneater’. Police are advising that all residents make sure their doors, windows, and all other entrances to their homes are locked-”

“And, that’s enough of that.” Michael muttered to himself as he switched off the radio. What a buzzkill…

He rooted around in his cupboards a little longer before finally finding the aluminum pan he was looking for. He’d just put the pan on the stove when the phone started ringing across the room.

He strolled over to where it was mounted and picked it up. “Hello?”

A woman’s voice softly responded. “Hello.” A long pause followed, the only sound Michael could hear being the soft popping of his popcorn, before she asked. “Who is this?”

“Who are you trying to reach?” Michael wasn’t sure why, but he felt the need to dodge the question. Something felt off already, and he hadn’t talked to this person for more than a few seconds. After another moment of silence, he tried to shut down the conversation. “I think you might have the wrong number.”

“Oh, do I?” The voice sounded playful.

“It happens to the best of us.” Michael reassured. “Take care, now.”

He had just moved to return to the stove when the phone rang again. Since when was I so popular?

He smiled to himself as he picked the phone back up off of the receiver. “Hello?”

“I’m sorry.” The same woman’s voice answered. “I guess I did dial the wrong number.”

Michael nervously chuckled. “So, why would you call me back?”

“To apologize.” The woman’s voice was smooth. She spoke lowly and calmly, like she was reading a bedtime story to a child. “I didn’t mean to inconvenience you, tonight of all nights.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Michael breathed a sigh of relief. “It happens all the time. I’m going to go now, okay?”

“Hold on,” The voice suddenly sounded hurried. “Don’t hang up, yet.”

Against his better judgment, Michael responded. “Why not?”

“I want to talk to you for a second.” The woman’s voice purred. It sounded almost… sultry.

Michael felt a shiver crawl down his spine. He wasn’t sure whether to be afraid or enthralled. “I’m sure there are more interesting people you could talk to at this time of night. I should go now. Bye.” As soon as he hung up the phone, it immediately began to ring again.

Michael audibly groaned before picking up. “Hello?”

“Why don’t you want to talk to me?” The same woman’s voice answered, feigning hurt.

Michael was beginning to grow fed up with what he assumed was a Halloween prank call. “Okay, who is this?”

“Why don’t you tell me your name first, handsome?” If the voice didn’t sound provocative before, it definitely did now.

“Michael,” He quickly clapped a hand over his mouth. He hadn’t meant to give up that information so voluntarily. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

“Michael~” The voice sounded borderline pornographic as it tested his name. “Like Michael Myres, from Halloween. I like that.” Michael gulped, the action requiring some effort due to his suddenly dry throat. “What are you up to, Michael?”

“I- I- Uhm-” He stammered. “M- Making popcorn.”

“Making popcorn?” The voice sounded genuinely interested. “I only eat popcorn if I’m watching something. Are you preparing for a scary movie marathon?”

“No, nothing scary.” Michael felt his prior tension easing as the conversation began to seem normal. “Just my favorite show.”

“No scary movies?” The voice sounded playfully appalled. “It’s Halloween! How could you pass up a scary movie on Halloween?”

Michael bashfully scratched the back of his neck. “Not really my thing, I guess.”

“That’s a shame.” The voice sounded almost melodic. “I love a good scary movie.” After a long pause, the voice spoke up again. “So, do you have a girlfriend, Michael?”

He felt his face begin to glow red as his heart fluttered. That question definitely caught him off guard. “I- Well- Uhm- No, not exactly.”

“No need to be shy.” The voice purred. “I’m sure you’re more than a decent catch~”

“Thanks.” Michael struggled to fend off the flattered smile that was tugging at his lips. “So, uhm… Why are you asking me so many of these questions? Are you flirting with me, or something?”

“Maybe~” The voice took on an air of mischief. “I just want to know who I’m looking at.”

Michael felt his heart drop out of his chest. What the fuck?

He cradled the phone in his arms as he ran around the house, checking the windows to see if he could find any suspicious figure looking back at him.

When he couldn’t find anything, he just made sure the windows were locked before he held the phone back to his ear, returning to the kitchen. “What did you say?”

“I said I want to know who I’m talking to, silly!” The voice lightly giggled. “Everything okay?”

“N- no…” Michael breathed, the dread from earlier creeping back into his chest. “That wasn’t what you said.”

“I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree.” The voice spoke in a cautionary tone.

Michael struggled to swallow as he gulped again. “I wish I could say this was fun, but… Well… Goodnight, okay?”

“Don’t hang up on me.” The voice sounded a little more firm than the last time it asked him not to hang up.

Michael shivered. “Gotta go…” He hung up the phone and all but ran to the kitchen to take his popcorn off of the stove. He’d just finished pouring it into a large bowl when the phone rang again.

He rolled his eyes and tossed the empty pan in the garbage before picking up the phone. “Hello?”

“I told you not to hang up on me, Michael.” The voice sounded a lot less playful than before, instead bordering on angry. “That wasn’t very nice.”

“What’s your problem?” He began impatiently tapping his foot.

“I don’t have a problem with you, Michael.” The voice sounded almost as annoyed as Michael felt. “As I’ve already said, I just want to talk.”

“Well, talk to someone else, okay?” Michael hated the way his voice cracked, but he hoped he still got his message across.

“Are you getting scared?” The voice found its playful tone again, using it to tease him.

“No, just tired.” He slammed the phone back onto the receiver, making one last attempt to return to his cooling popcorn before the phone rang again.

Michael growled as he answered the phone. “Listen, I don’t-”

“NO, YOU LISTEN, YOU LITTLE BITCH!” The voice exploded. “If you hang up on me again I'll gut you like a fish! Do you understand me?!”

Michael was at a loss for words. As he tried to find the right words to say, his mouth opened and closed, like a fish filtering water.

“I’m sorry, Michael.” The voice purred after a tense moment of silence. “I don’t normally lose my temper so quickly like that. Especially on pretty boys like you.”

Michael was still stuck in an astonished silence, and the voice took that as an invitation to continue. “I don’t like being hung up on. That was rude…” The voice paused, sighing in disapproval before continuing. “I also couldn’t help but notice you locking your windows. I thought it was really bold of you to assume I wasn’t already inside.”

Suddenly, all the power in the house went out, plummeting Michael into a silent darkness. His blood ran cold as he rushed to one of his kitchen drawers to grab a flashlight.

“Wh- What the hell was that?” His hands began to shake as he clicked the flashlight on. “Is this some kind of sick joke?”

“No, no.” The voice reassured. “Nothing of the sort. I like to think of it as more of a game.”

“I- I’ll call the cops!” Michael attempted a threat of his own.

“Oh, come on, now.” The voice softly tutted. “You’re smarter than this, Michael. You know they’d never make it in time.”

He felt nauseous. “What do you want from me?”

“I want to play a game.” The voice calmly answered. “And if you play the right way, you get to walk out alive.”

Michael scoffed at the voice’s request. “You’re insane.”

“That wasn’t a no.” The voice softly giggled. “Come on, Michael. You know you want to. It’ll be fun~”

“Fine.” Michael spat. “I’ll play your stupid game.”

“Ouch.” The voice teased. “I haven’t even explained the rules yet. But, here they are. We’re going to do a little bit of trivia. I’ll ask you a series of questions. Each time you get a question wrong, I’ll walk into one room adjacent to the one I’m in. Each time you get a question right, I’ll stay put. You can move regardless, but only after you answer a question, and only one room at a time. Oh, and just know that you’ll be moving at your own risk. Got it?”

“You’re insane…” Michael repeated.

“I believe we’ve covered that.” The voice sounded amused at his apparent fear. “I may be insane, but I’m a woman of my word. I haven’t moved an inch since I got here.”

Michael silently shook his head. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“A few last-minute things,” The voice went on. “If you hang up on me, I’ll kill you. If you try to leave the house, I’ll kill you. If you try to call the cops, I’ll kill you. Notice the trend?” The voice chuckled before continuing. “And, if I get to the same room as you? …Actually, let’s keep that a surprise for now.” The voice giggled again. “Are you ready for your first question, Michael?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be.” He felt defeated, and the game hadn’t even started yet.

“Good!” The voice enthused. “These questions are scary movie-themed, so I’m afraid you’ll be at a disadvantage.”

“Of course.” Michael muttered, bringing a hand up to massage the bridge of his nose.

“First question,” The voice began. “Proclaiming herself to be the ‘Mistress of the Dark’, this character hosted her own ‘Movie Macabre’ before moving on to star in her own self-titled film. What’s her name?”

Michael struggled to find an answer in his anxious mental haze. “I- I don’t know.”

“Really?” The voice sounded genuinely shocked. “What, do you live under a rock? You have to know this one! Men really love her for her huge… ratings! Yeah, ratings…”

Michael cringed at the voice's poor attempt at humor. “I still don’t know.”

“That’s unfortunate.” The voice sighed. “I’ll be moving rooms now, since the name Elvira doesn’t seem to be coming to your mind.” Then, the only thing Michael could hear on the other end of the line was the sound of a door softly opening and closing. “There we go.” 

His mind began to race as he tried to find some strategy to get himself through this game. His house was only one story high, and he only had so many rooms. When moving in, he felt he didn’t need much more than that, since he planned on living alone. He’d originally imagined that the woman was on the other side of the house, but she’d only specified that she was inside. She never told him where she was. That meant she could be anywhere from across the house to right outside the nearest door. Michael decided to stay in the kitchen for the time being. He didn’t want to risk bumping into her just yet… though he’d still be taking that risk if he stayed where he was.

“Alright!” The voice interrupted his thoughts. “Ready for the next question?”

“Let’s do it.” He did his best to summon his courage and clear his thoughts.

“Tell me the name of the killer doll from the film Child’s Play.” The voice directed.

Michael began biting his thumbnail in deep thought. I know this one. It’s that creepy ginger doll. But, what was his name?

“Tick tock, Michael.” The voice taunted. “Neither of us have all night.”

“Chucky!” He blurted once the answer finally came to mind. “The doll’s name was Chucky.”

An agonizing silence passed before the voice purred, “Well done, Michael. You’re more clever than you look. I guess I’ll be staying put this time.”

His mind began whirring again with a million questions. Where could she be? How long would it take for her to find him? What would she do to him once she did? He couldn’t just sit around and find out. Michael took the opportunity to slip from the kitchen into the living room. Since the doorway to the living room was open, he was able to make sure no one was there before entering.

“I see you decided to move this round.” The voice pointed out. “Interesting choice.”

“You know where I am right now?” He shuddered at the possibility.

“Of course I do.” The voice calmly responded. “I’ve been watching you this whole time, Michael.”

He quickly spun around, looking over his shoulder to make sure the owner of the voice hadn’t already found him. “H- How?”

“I don’t want to reveal my secrets just yet.” The voice responded.

Fuck! Michael’s heart began to pound. This obviously put him at a huge disadvantage. He needed to find a way to even out the playing field.

“Well, maybe I’m curious.” A new idea slowly unfurled in his mind as he spoke.

“Well, maybe I want to move on to the next question.” The voice insisted.

“Wait,” Michael felt his resolve slowly growing. “Before we do that, I want to change the rules of the game, just a little.”

A long pause followed, and just when Michael was worried that the voice wouldn’t take the bait, it responded. “Go on…”

“What if I could ask questions, too?” He proposed. “For every question you answer, I’ll stay still, but for every one you refuse, I move.”

This time, the voice let out a hum of consideration. “That sounds fun… I’ll accept, only if I get to move regardless, like you do when I ask questions.”

“Deal.” Michael knew this was a risky plan, but any answers he could get out of this person could help him to escape her. “We’ll alternate asking questions, so it’s fair.”

“Deal.” The voice purred. “After you, cutie~”

Michael felt his face flush as he tried to think carefully about his first question. Now is not the time to get flattered by a crazy killer in your house! …Come to think of it, why is she here?

He decided that would be his first question. “Why did you come here of all places?”

“Hmmm,” The voice paused for a moment before answering. “Because I was looking for a new catch, and you happened to be alone.”

“A new catch?” He was even more confused than before. “What do you mean?”

“Michael, Michael, Michael…” The voice tsked. “You didn’t waste any time before trying to break your own rule.” Michael could faintly hear the sound of a door opening and closing over the phone before the voice continued, softer than before. “I believe it’s my turn to ask a question.”

“Sorry,” Michael gulped. “Go on.”

“Alright, next question,” The line went silent again before the voice found its question. “Name one scary movie that came out this year.”

Michael scratched his head. He knew a lot of horror movies came out this year, but he barely paid attention to the trailers when they came on the television. Think, damnit!

He knew he had to get this one. The owner of the voice could have been anywhere in the house, and the living room had the most doors out of all the rooms.

“Michael, are you still there?” The voice softly giggled. “Oh, who am I kidding? Of course you are! Come on. Don’t keep me waiting.”

He knew there was a sequel to some Stephen King movie. What was it? The Shining? No. It? No… Cujo? No, but he vaguely remembered it involving pets. Wait a minute… Pets! That’s it!

“Pet Semetary II,” Michael breathed.

“Well done,” The voice didn’t pause before congratulating him this time. “That tracks. Looks like I’m not going anywhere.”

Michael quickly ran up to the nearest door, holding his ear up to it to make sure he couldn’t hear anyone on the other side. When he felt confident enough, he entered the room, softly closing the door behind him.

“The laundry room?” The voice sounded condescending. “That seems like a dead end to me, but if that’s what you want…”

“It’s my turn to ask a question.” Michael was anxious to get back to the point. He leaned back against the washing machine, gripping the edge with his free hand until his knuckles turned white.

“Okay, okay.” The voice conceded. “Ask away.”

“What did you mean earlier when you said you were looking for ‘a new catch’?” His voice wavered mid-question.

“That’s a good one,” The voice answered. “Sometimes, I’m not even sure, myself. I’ve chalked it up to this. The ideal catch for me is someone beautiful. Someone who’s willing to play my games. Someone strong enough to put up a good fight. But, above all, the ideal catch for me is someone clever and obedient.” After a heartbeat passed, the voice asked. “Is that a satisfactory answer for you, Michael.”

“I- I think so…” He gulped. He felt weak in the knees. What the hell was this person playing at? What was she hoping to do with him once she caught him? No, I can’t think like that. He mentally chided himself. I can’t lose this. I can’t!

But, at the same time, a new feeling rose within him. His sudden weakness in the knees couldn’t only be chalked up to fear. Hearing this voice compliment him tonight, it did things to him. How many times had she called him ‘clever’? How many times had she complimented his looks? Not to mention the thrill of having her go through all this trouble with the hopes of catching him. Part of him almost began to want to be found. Maybe it was because he hadn’t romantically been with someone in a while, but he suddenly found that the hairs on the back of his neck weren’t the only thing standing upright.

Get a grip! Michael frowned the crotch of his jeans, which was slowly pitching a tent.

A new sound snapped him out of his thoughts. He heard a door open and close, except it wasn’t just over the phone. He heard it in real life. He heard it from the next room. The owner of the voice was in the living room. His breath hitched. Oh, god! It’s over…

“Ready for your next question, Michael?” The voice spoke just low enough so he could only hear it through the phone.

Michael decided to match its volume. “Yes, I’m ready.”

“Alright,” The voice softly hummed as its owner thought of a question. “Okay! I got one. What is the name of the movie where a group of people take refuge in an old farmhouse to protect themselves from a horde of zombies?”

Now, this sounded very familiar. Michael recognized this as the plot to a movie he’d watched with his family when he was younger. It was one of the fonder memories he had with them before everything began to fall apart. But, it had been so long that he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to recall the name of it. What was it called?

“You’re killing me, Michael.” The voice groaned. “Must you take so long to come up with an answer to every single one of my questions?”

Michael’s brow furrowed in concentration. The title was on the tip of his tongue. If only he could recall it. He knew it had something to do with the ‘living dead’, because of the zombies, and it all happened at night… Oh! Duh! I’m a fucking idiot…

“It’s Night of the Living Dead.” Michael answered. “I used to watch it with my family as a kid.”

“How cute~” The voice purred. “And I thought scary movies weren’t your thing.”

“Not anymore…” He muttered.

“Do you have your next question ready?” The voice asked.

“I think I do.” Michael shuddered as he took a breath to steady his nerves. “Are you ‘The Maneater’ that the radio station’s been talking about?”

“Am I ‘The Maneater’?” The voice softly chuckled as it repeated his question. “I believe that is what they call me, yes.” After that, silence…

That was, until Michael could hear growing footsteps. His heart leapt into his throat. He’d forgotten that whenever he asked a question, she could move rooms regardless of whether or not she answered. This was it. She would open the door and kill him. It was game over. Oh god. Oh, fuck…

He couldn’t breathe. He clicked off his flashlight, but he knew it didn’t matter. She already knew where he was. The Maneater was right there.

Once the shadows of her feet appeared under the door, Michael felt tremors work their way through his body. He gulped, the heartbeat in his ears blocking out any other sounds around him.

Then, the shadows disappeared, and he heard the footsteps quickly retreat. Michael let go of the breath he was holding, a fresh wave of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

“Your fear is adorable.” The Maneater softly giggled. “No, that’s an understatement.” Her words grew breathy. “Your fear… it excites me.”

Michael willed his heart to slow down. He was convinced that, had the washing machine not been holding most of his weight, he would have keeled over.

“I could chase you like this for hours.” She ecstatically sighed. “After all this time I spent searching… I finally found the perfect catch.”

Her words were barely registering to him. Did she avoid him on purpose? She had the perfect opportunity to catch him just then. Why didn’t she?

“I have to ask, Michael,” The Maneater went on. “And I’m counting this as my next question… Do you enjoy being hunted?”

“Wh- What?” That fully grabbed his attention again.

“Do you enjoy being hunted?” She repeated. “Does our little game of cat-and-mouse excite you?”

Michael felt his face flush. It was like she was invading his mind, as well as his home. “Wh- What do you mean?”

“Don’t play dumb.” The Maneater scoffed. “I know you know what I mean.” Her voice grew sensual. “Does being hunted turn you on as much as it turns me on to chase you?”

Michael hesitated. Clearly, his common sense steered him to believe it didn’t. This woman was insane, and she’d killed men just like him. There was no way he could possibly enjoy being in such a dangerous position.

His body, however, heavily disagreed. It didn’t care about the circumstances. It just fell prey to the allure of this woman’s voice and it wasn’t as shy as he was about expressing his sudden libido. He looked back down at the evidence, growing more apparent the longer it strained against the front of his pants.

He decided to respond as vaguely as possible, seeing as he wasn’t too sure of the answer himself. “What does that matter? That doesn’t change the fact that I’m stuck playing this crazy game until you leave me alone.”

The Maneater softly chuckled at his boldness. “I should’ve expected that.”

Michael didn’t wait to hear whether or not she considered that answer correct. He knew he had to keep moving. He had to get out of that laundry room before she cornered him in it again.

He threw the door open, not even checking for The Maneater on the other side. He knew she was just a room away, and all she had to do to catch him was turn around, but he didn’t care. He was willing to take that risk. 

Michael rushed across the living room, stopping by the door to his bedroom. He already knew what his next question was going to be. He was going to ask The Maneater for her name. If she didn’t answer, he’d be able to move into a new room. If she did, then he’d finally know her by name. He just had to ask for her name and-

WHAM! A flash of pain exploded from the back of Michael’s head, and he fell to the floor from the impact. The last thing he saw was the ghoulish, dark empty eyes of a ghost-faced mask looking down at him before his vision went black.

[foreverindreamlandd]

Party Like it's 1984

Pairing: Neighbor!Steve Harrington x Plus Size!Reader

WC: 3.1k

Summary: You and Steve arrived at the Halloween party separately - him with Nancy, you with Robin and Keith. But when shit goes down with the new kid Billy Hargrove, everything gets a bit mixed up.

Warnings: Underage drinking, Billy Hargrove being an absolute asshole, bullying, fat-shaming, name calling, protective Steve.

Note: This is part of the Neighbor!Steve x Plus Size!Reader AU, but you do not need to read the previous parts to read this one! Takes place during the Halloween episode of season 2. This one's a bit angsty....also ignore Nancy in the gif plz it was the best one I could find :,)

Stranger Things Masterlist

~~~~~~

“This is a bad idea,” you mumbled, shifting in your seat until the buttons of your shirt were no longer pulling open.

Robin turned to you from the passenger seat. “Come on, babe. You promised we could go. Besides, we look hot. Right, Keith?”

Keith muttered something incoherent. “How long do we have to be at this thing again?” he asked.

“Until Tammy Thompson flirts with lady Indiana Jones,” you responded, staring at your reflection in the rearview mirror. Maybe if you pulled your own dark brown fedora, no one would be able to recognize you.

Robin started sputtering in an attempt to form a defense, but eventually just crossed her arms and went silent.

You were right, after all.

When you had agreed to let Robin drag you to this Halloween party, you imagined you could just throw on some witch mask and continue being invisible as you strived to be in the halls of Hawkins High. But then, your horrible, mean, psychotic best friend convinced you to wear matching costumes.

“Why do men get to wear the fun, hot, rogue archeologist outfit?” she had argued while the two of you thrifted for your costume pieces at Goodwill. “We could make it look even better. Sexier.” She winked and you groaned.

Sure. She could. With the cinched waist, the dazzling smile, and the stellar leather jacket she managed to find in her size.

They definitely didn’t have one in yours. So you went with the more casual look, a light brown button up that was a little too tight in some places, the top buttons undone to reveal a white tank top, sleeves rolled up your forearm and threatening to cut off circulation.

It would have been easier to find a large blazer to cover up your body, to hide the way these clothes clung to your skin.

But then you would have dealt with an even worse issue, the sweat. It may have been a cool October evening, but you knew that in a house full of horny, drunk teenagers, you would be standing in a gross, smelly sauna. If you had the blazer, you’d probably have put stains and sweat marks traveling down your back (or even worse, your backside).

So even though both costume choices weren’t ideal, you decided to go with the lesser of two evils.

Still, there were moments when you were getting ready, when you applied the red lipstick and adjusted the fake whip to your waist, that you did feel like a badass heroine. Where you felt….pretty.

The sentiment would usually go away when you turned to see yourself at the “bad” angle in the mirror, and then the dread would return.

That feeling of dread returned as you felt your stomach turn to knots as Keith parked the car and you all got out. 

You began your approach to the house, music blaring loud enough to be heard from the end of the street. The yard was in shambles, and there were hoards of people trying to get inside.

Your feet began to slow. “You know, maybe you two should go in. I can just hang out in the car-”

Robin whipped her head around, eyes wide and terrifying. “Y/n, listen to me.” She reached out and grabbed your hand. “You look fucking amazing. Please just come inside. If you aren’t having fun in 20 minutes, we can go, okay? Please?”

You bit the inside of your cheek, looking between the front door and your best friend. 

Finally, you squeezed her hand and nodded. Robin jumped in excitement and pulled you with her as she scurried to the entrance, Keith following behind in his vampire costume. 

It was chaos the moment you walked inside. People everywhere, limbs flying all over the place as they yell-sang to the music and danced along. It smelled like cheap beer and smoke and you instantly felt dizzy from the overstimulation.

Your hand tightened around Robin and she turned back with another reassuring smile. “Let’s get a drink, k?”

You swallowed, forcing a smile and nodding. She pulled you along through the moving bodies, some of them bumping into you and making you that much more aware of how much space you took up.

On your journey, your eyes flashed to the left, somehow able to immediately spot Steve as if being pulled to him.

He looked….amazing. The black shirt and blazer hugging his form in the best ways, his hair waving around as he danced, the sunglasses that made him look cool despite wearing them inside…at night.

His smile, which could have lit up the whole room if needed.

Tom Cruise had nothing on Steve Harrington.

Looking at him, you felt instantly at peace, and you felt your own smile creeping up your face.

A cruel, invasive daydream formed in your mind as you watched him. You imagined him turning over and meeting your eye, and him stopping short, completely entranced by you.

You imagined the way he would take off his sunglasses to get a better look, eyes not leaving you as he practically floated over to where you were…hand moving up to graze his knuckles over your skin..

And then you watched his gaze find the figure in front of him, and the smile instantly dropped.

Nancy looked stunning. Her tiny frame bouncing up and down to the music, perfect brown hair tied back.

Steve’s smile widened as he watched her, as did the crack forming in your heart as you watched him.

You made your way to the backyard where the keg was, grimacing as you watched a couple guys holding someone over it for a keg stand, counting and shouting wildly.

Thankfully, there was another keg a few feet away so you didn’t have to get any nearer to that.

The guy manning the keg looked you and Robin up and down, and you felt his gaze linger at your stomach a few seconds longer than the rest of your body. Your arms instinctively shifted to cover it up.

As soon as the drinks were in your hands, you nudged Robin. “Let’s go back inside.

Just then, the guy doing the keg stand was brought back to the ground, wiping his mouth and roaring into the air. 

Billy Hargrove. The new kid and apparently the new reigning king of Hawkins High.

A total fucking asshole. Smug, arrogant, a bully. You caught him in his car a few times screaming at his younger sister, or harassing some of the girls.

Billy was trouble, and you wanted nothing to do with it.

That thought entered your mind as soon as his eyes flashed over to you. He puffed his chest out, looked you up and down, then grimaced as he walked away.

“This was a bad idea,” you tried to yell to Robin over the crowd as you walked back inside. “Can we go ho-”

“Oh, there’s Tammy!” Robin exclaimed, totally oblivious to everything happening. She hooked her arm around yours and pulled. “Come on!”

Of course, Tammy was right fucking next to Steve Harrington, making heart eyes at the back of his head as he danced with Nancy.

He finally noticed you when you were about five feet away, you pulling away from Robin and moving to hug the wall.

“Hey!” he said, surprise in his voice as he rested his sunglasses on the top of his head and looked you up and down.

You braced yourself for the same judgment you received from the other two guys this evening. For any sign of a grimace, any disgust in his expression.

His eyes widened, and his smile grew. “You look fucking awesome!”

Your chest swelled. “Really?” you asked, voice inaudible with the music blasting.

“Hell yeah! I love it. Totally badass.”

He started saying something in a quieter voice and it got jumbled through the noise. “What?” you yelled.

Suddenly, he was leaning in, lips inches away from your ear. “If I ever hear word about an ancient, impossible to find treasure, I’m calling you up.”

A smile crept up your face and you nodded. “You got it, Steve.”

Nancy was still dancing, not noticing you, which was fine because you were too distracted by the way Steve’s body turned to face you completely as he leaned back to engage in any small talk. He rested his hands on his hips.

“So?” he started. “What do you think of my look?”

You rolled your eyes, instantly feeling more at ease than you had five minutes ago. “Tom Cruise ain’t got nothing on you.”

His brows raised, a look of….awe? or something painted across his face for a millisecond before he regained composure. He nodded. 

“Someone put that on my tombstone,” he responded.

The two of you laughed, you lightly shoving his arm and he leaned into you.

And just like that, the music and loud noise faded around you, and there weren’t any drunk people in costumes, there was no stale scent of beer and cigarettes and weed.

All you could hear was the pounding of your heart, all you could see was the man before you, and all you could smell was the cologne drifting from his neck into your nostrils.

You had hardly ever drank alcohol in your life, so it might have been the few sips of beer you had consumed, but you could have sworn his eyes flickered to your mouth and that he might have leaned forward-

“I’m getting another drink,” Nancy suddenly slurred. Steve whipped his head toward his girlfriend and you followed suit, watching her tiny body stumble away into the crowd.

He groaned, eyes tracking her movements. “I should go with her.” He turned to you with a smile that looked more like a grimace. “She’s had way too much. Time to cut her off.”

You nodded. “Good luck.”

Steve stared at you a few moments longer. “You really do look great tonight, Y/n. Not that you don’t always. It’s just…” he shook his head. “Nevermind. I’ll see ya around, okay?”

Another nod. “Sounds good,” you said, trying to hide your disappointment.

You watched him walk away before turning around, noticing Robin leaning against the wall, staring at you in disgust.

You mimicked her expression. “What?”

“What the hell was that?” she accused, standing straight.

“What the hell was what?”

She scoffed, waving her hand out in front of you. “That! You and dumb Harrington practically eye-fucking each other.”

You barked out a laugh, shaking your head. “You’re ridiculous.” You took a sip of beer.

“Am not! You’re like, totally in love with him, aren’t you?”

And then you were choking on your sip of beer, coughing and sputtering.

Robin groaned. “Y/n, come on! Him? That dipshit sucks!”

“He does not and you know that! Remember when he forced Tommy to switch lockers with him so that I stopped getting harassed? He also drives me to school everyday!”

She snapped her fingers, eyes widening in an aha! moment. “But Keith has offered to drive you and you keep saying no! Because you want your Harrington time!”

You jumped forward, covering her mouth with your hand. “Robin. Stop.”

Robin licked your hand and you yelped. 

“Listen,” she said when you finally pulled your hand away, voice quieter, “I just don’t want you to get hurt, okay? So if your heart wants that clown, then fine. But if he does one thing to upset you, his ass is grass.”

You nodded, expression softening at the sweet yet somewhat terrifying sentiment. “I love you, too.”

She smiled. “Come on, let’s get another drink.”

Instead of going outside, Robin led you to the kitchen where there was a massive punch bowl. The fumes it gave off as you stood over it seemed dangerous.

Hell, maybe this would help you loosen up a bit.

Just as you were about to head back to your spot, Robin froze, eyes following Tammy Thomspon as she approached the punch bowl.

You looked over to her and smiled, squeezing her hand. “Good luck, bud.”

She swallowed and squeezed your hand back before you let go and walked back to your safe space by the wall.

You did your best to try to make your body as small as possible, not wanting people to bump into the fat girl and have yet another excuse to judge you and your larger body.

You did your best, but nothing could have prepared you for the moment that Billy Hargrove barrelled across the room, knocking straight into you and spilling your punch all over your button up.

Billy scrunched his face staring at you. “Watch it, cow.”

You stood there, a mixture of shock and embarrassment making it impossible for you to move. You wished that you could just disintegrate into the floor and never be seen here again-

“The fuck did you just call her, Hargrove?” You turned your head to the right to see Steve storming over, eyes ignited with rage. He stopped once he was between you and Billy.

Billy smirked. “Look, King Steve, it’s not my fault. Some things are just too big to ignore.”

Wow, this kid sure fucking knew how to get you right where it hurt.

Steve took another step forward, and you watched his hands clenched into fists. When he spoke next, his voice was low, threatening. “Don’t you dare talk about her like that or I swear to God-”

Billy let out a low, antagonizing chuckle as he took a swig of beer. “Damn Harrington. I thought you preferred skim milk,” his eyes flickered over to Nancy stumbling out of the house in Jonathan Byers’s arms, then over to meet yours, “not heavy cream.”

Steve lunged at Billy, right arm swinging back to ready a punch.

You grabbed said arm, pulling him back.

“Steve, stop,” you whispered, hand clinging to him. “Ignore him. It’s not worth it.”

He looked at you in horror. “What the hell does that mean?”

You shook your head, forcing the tears back. “Just…please. I don’t want to deal with this.”

Steve stared at you for a long moment, chest heaving up and down. From the corner of your eye, you watched Billy saunter away, smug smile growing.

Finally, he relaxed, and you let go of his arm as he moved to take your hand. “Come on,” he said softly. “I’ll take you home.”

Another shake of your head. “It’s fine. Robin and Keith can take me.”

His jaw clenched, and he looked up to scan the room until he found Robin in the kitchen. He looked at you, eyes wide with concern. “Wait here one moment.”

You watched as he walked over to Robin, whispering something in her ear. Her eyes went to you, and when she looked back at Steve she glared, mumbling something in response. 

All Steve did was nod, then walked back to you.

“Let’s go, Y/n.” His hand went back to yours, and you were too tired to keep fighting.

He kept hold of your hand until you got to the maroon BMW. He walked over to the trunk and pulled out an oversized Hawkins High Basketball sweatshirt, handing it to you.

You nodded in thanks, silently praying that it would fit.

“You can change in the car,” he murmured, walking over to the passenger side to open the door for you.

Another nod from you and you stepped in. He waited a few seconds - back turned to you as he blocked your window from any onlookers - and then moved over to the driver’s side.

It was silent the entire ride home, you staring outside the window, Billy’s words playing in an endless loop in your mind.

The car pulled to a stop outside your house, Steve’s movements slow as he turned the ignition off, bringing his hands back to the wheel.

Had they been clenched around it that tightly this whole time?

Silence.

“Is that really how you feel?” he finally asked, looking over to you in such a pained expression that you felt your heart break.

“What?” you whispered.

“That you’re not worth it? That you don’t deserve having someone beat the shit out of some asshole who thinks they can say such awful, fucking untrue things to you?”

Your bottom lip trembled. “Steve..”

“No, Y/n, listen.” His hands somehow clenched the steering wheel even more tightly. “If anyone thinks of being a dick to you ever again, I’m swinging. You can try to act like it doesn’t hurt you or that you don’t care, but I do. And I’m not letting it slide.”

A tear fell down your cheek and you smiled.

“Steve Harrington, my stubborn knight in shining armor.”

Steve laughed, his body relaxing and he shook his head. “What can I say?” His eyes met yours and your breath hitched from the intensity of them. “You’re worth protecting.”

You swallowed, suddenly dizzy from the sincerity in this voice. If only you had managed to drink more of that toxic punch to give yourself more liquid courage to be in this moment.

But alas, you hadn’t so you were too sober to delve any further into this conversation.

“Is Nancy okay?” you asked, changing the subject back to his girlfriend.

The light left Steve’s eyes and he sighed. “I don’t know. She had a lot to drink and sort of freaked out.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shook her head. “She’s…she’s been through a lot lately. I try to help her the best I can, but sometimes I don’t think I’ll ever be enough.”

“Hey,” you said, hand reaching out to take his. “You’re always enough, Steve. More than enough. Nancy seems great, but if she can’t see that, then she honestly doesn’t deserve you.”

Shit….maybe I’ve had more to drink than I thought.

Steve looked down at your hand, his thumb stroking your knuckles once before he looked back at you.

“Nanc….she said something tonight. About you.”

Your heart skipped a beat and you blinked a few times. “What did she say?”

Steve stared at you, and you could almost see a million little gears turning in his head as he thought of the next thing to say.

Finally, he released your hand, eyes leaving yours. “She said you looked really great tonight. Incredible, actually.”

Your shoulders relaxed, though you didn’t realize how tense they had gotten in those few seconds of silence. “Oh…that was really nice of her.”

“She meant it,” he mumbled. His hand went back to the ignition. “I should get going.”

You nodded, reaching for the handle. “Thanks for the ride.”

He nodded. “Anytime.”

You forced yourself not to look back as you approached the front door to your hours, which meant you missed how Steve’s eyes didn’t leave you until you were safely inside, the hand once again tightening around the steering wheel before he drove home.

~~~~~~~~

Thank you for reading! :)

[27emailsicantsend]

You know what I just realized when Ricky told Gina that she was super busy with the movie filming and barely had no time to make to to rehearsal not with her tight schedule on Halloween episode so you know what Gina did. She took care of issue next day when she told Quinn that she could film all day with Mack as that was most of her filming schedule with him so that she would have all the time to do HSM3 with Ricky. So she did something about it and made sure she would have time for Ricky and the drama club, unlike EJ. When EJ was so overwhelmed last summer with all of tasks and he didn't even ask Val for help or anyone as well to take some of burdens so he would have some time to spend with Gina so this really shows that Gina was truly committed to Ricky and drama club because she actually cared about them and they were very important to her more than anything else and didn't want to put them off or ignore it just because she was too busy. EJ thought the problem would go away itself and everything would be okay and the problems would keep increasing to the point that Gina just had it with him and had to end it. I find it very interesting that when you are truly commit to something, you do everything in your power to make sure you get what you want. If you don't care much about something, why bother to put all the efforts into it. Gina showed her commitment to the drama club and her time with Ricky and she proved it. EJ didn't bother to do all that so that really shows that he wasn't really committed to Gina at all. She wasn't first thing on his mind and not even his first priority and never was. It was all about impressing his father. So if he was really committed to Gina, his actions would have showed differently. This is not that hard. If you care about someone, you show it through your actions. Like he had many jobs and college courses and more and yet he made time to talk to Val on the phone says a lot about who he is truly committed to.

Yes! You expressed this perfectly, anon! I am sort of parroting you here, but truly everything EJ did s3 was self-serving. He wanted to impress his dad because it benefitted him not going to that college. If he didn't go to that college, it benefitted him so he could be with his girlfriend. I always felt so icky the way he twisted the narrative to make it look like he was doing it all for Gina.

I think it was actually crucial we got that scene of Gina apologizing to EJ, because if you were team EJ season 3, then watched that scene you might have went "now wait a minute, why is gina apologizing?" And then you would also wonder why her apologizing caught you off guard in the first place. Because the way gina and ej handled everything was not equal. Maybe the premise was the same, but the reactions were not. And that is all the difference you need in seeing where true intentions were.

Now, I'm going to give EJ some credit here: season 4 I genuinely felt like he was actually doing things for other people. Episode 5 is the biggest proof of that. He dropped everything to help his ex's new boyfriend basically get back with her. He said so himself he was not totally loving hearing ricky talk about gina, but he still pushed ricky to fight for her. Then we also got the scene of ashlyn telling maddox EJ had been rooting for them since the beginning. We see him tell ashlyn that he thinks maddox has feelings for her. Then we see EJ hear Gina out and own up to his behavior season 3, not trying to fight to win her back. His intentions became unselfish again and it was clear in his characterization season 4. You could genuinely see his growth and I found myself liking him again!

Joshua Bassett said it (I'm summarizing): Ricky and Gina represent a healthy relationship and posts like this prove why.

[ecoamerica]

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[buckybarnesss]

so. motel california. do you have thoughts?

I know the doylist explanation is just that jeff wanted to do a fun spooky episode and didn't give a fuck whether it made sense, but from a watsonian perspective?

did jennifer crash the truck that causes the traffic jam? did she cause the tornado? if she didn't cause the tornado, what was her plan? if she did cause it what was her plan?! why are none of the humans affected by the wolfsbane? why did she just give up after the werewolves had emotional breakthroughs, was this some kind of deeply unethical therapy? why does teen wolf take place in the same universe as psycho?!

i really like the horror-lite aesthetic, it's a fun episode, but it makes so little sense, and it's driving me crazy!

my apologies that this took me so long to answer but it took me a while to gather my thoughts. as with a lot of things in teen wolf it's hard to give a straight answer without breaking down some things first.

the simple answer is: jennifer is good but she's not that good and teen wolf wanted a halloween episode despite airing in july.

but i can never just give a simple answer.

i'm just gonna read more this now because like always i get long goddamn winded about what was going on in 3A.

the thing about 3A i think that is sort of missed is that it's the closing moves of a chess match that began long before wolf moon. the chess metaphor is deep this season, okay. there's a reason derek is the king on stiles's chess board and it's not just because stiles is unhinged about derek.

in 3A there's plot threads that happen in the background that are easy to miss because it's never outright stated and one of those things is that both jennifer and duecalion scoped beacon hills out long before they showed up.

marin morrell shows up for the first time in abomination. much like jennifer she's presented at first as benign and largely unthreatening. we learn later morrell is anything but.

while we don't know if morrell was already working for the school when we meet her it does make her a direct parallel to jennifer.

duecalion's interest was piqued by what happened in season 1. with laura hale's murder, peter's revenge spree ending with the death of kate argent and than derek subsequently becoming the alpha duecalion sees an opportunity.

people have asked what was duecalion's motivation initially and my answer is that it was simple.

duecalion is a collector and he wanted to collect the last hale into his pack.

the events of season 2 only served to interest him more due to the kanima but likely also because of gerard argent's involvement. duecalion and gerard are set up as a lot like kate and peter were in season 1.

they're different sides of the same coin. duecalion and gerard are shadow actors for much of the series both before and after their appearances.

we have to remember that marin morrell is there before peter's resurrection and before the alphas got ahold of erica, boyd and cora.

i fully believe that derek was not only aware that there'd be more hunters coming to beacon hills but also he may have guessed the alpha pack would come too.

derek's desperation for a pack throughout season 2 isn't just because of the kanima it's because he knows he needs a power base and he needs one fast. i don't think he would've pressed scott as hard as he did otherwise.

it should also be noted that deaton (and morrell) were keeping scott's potential of being a true alpha on the down low. deaton tells scott in currents he believed scott would be a true alpha when he learned he was bitten.

i have a whole theory about deaton and morrell having their own conspiracy surrounding scott becoming a true alpha. they definitely kept it as an ace in the hole.

derek was also trying to keep scott away from everything relating to the alphas but his motivation was straight forward. derek wants scott to be a normal teenager.

this is all but said in tattoo.

scott: hey, are you gonna tell me who that was back there? that alpha? derek: a rival pack. it's my problem. i know you wanna help, and you did-- i owe you one. now, go home. go back to being a teenager.

we know deaton was aware of duecalion and his pack coming at least by raving due to the conversation he and morrell have after derek brings scott to him after victoria tries to kill him.

marin: i can't decide if i admire your sentimentality or despise it... deaton: if i want your opinion, i'll make an appointment with the guidance office. marin: from the state of things, i think you could use a little guidance. are you really going to leave all of this up to a couple of kids? deaton: they're more capable than you think. marin: and, are you going to tell them what's coming? deaton: they've got enough to worry about...

there's also an argument to be made that victoria argent was bitten by one of the alphas and not derek like we are led to believe.

duecalion doesn't really change focus off derek until he meets scott and realizes what scott can become. again, he's a collector and a true alpha is rare.

jennifer in turn is also focused on derek. he is central to her plan.

there are two things at play with jennifer being that she is obsessed with derek and she does the absolute most to get under his defenses.

jennifer is obsessed with derek because she views him as her savior.

jennifer: you didn't know what you were doing back then, but killing paige in the root cellar-- sacrificing her there-- gave power to the nemeton. you gave it power again. you gave me power. Just enough to hold onto life a little longer. long enough to be found.

she uses her ill begotten power from virgin sacrifices to assist in her seduction of him and her glamour as jennifer is visually similar to both pagie and stiles. there's even moments where she seems to purposefully emulate stiles's more endearing, curious and less threatening behavior to lure derek into a false sense of security.

derek was supposed to be the guardian. jennifer says as much in lunar eclipse

jennifer: i need a guardian... and that's a role that can either be filled by the three parents i was forced to take, or by you.

derek was always jennifer's first choice but poisoning cora and jennifer taking melissa, the sheriff and chris was insurance not just for cooperation but just in case she needed them for the guardian sacrifice.

what she didn't count on was her magic not being enough against the tears of stiles stilinski.

so how does any of this answer your question about what the fuck jennifer's plan was?

let's just say teen wolf played fast and loose with this because it doesn't make a lot of sense when you examine it too closely but i shall try.

i think it's far too easy to say she was going to sacrifice the werewolves but if stiles's theory is true she planned on removing scott, isaac and boyd off the board so she could have free access to derek.

however i wonder if jennifer was planning on sacrificing them in a three fold death than what was she looking to gain from it? possibly their advanced healing as the next episode is when she does the one for healers but i think there was more than one thing at play in motel califnornia.

there's jennifer's plan of completing her seduction of derek and than there's lydia's banshee abilities.

jennifer's surprise when derek turned up at the school parking lot in frayed is genuine. fortuitous for her but unplanned as getting derek alone to complete her seduction was her plan which is where the cross country meet comes in.

as a teacher she would know about the cross country meet and have access to finstock's whistle. there obviously wasn't enough to really affect the humans in the group as the wolfsbane wasn't ingested like at lydia's party but rather inhaled randomly when the whistle was blown which really just makes it less reliable.

so her targets seem to be scott, boyd and isaac over ethan. she wants them out of the way and distracted and them thinking derek is dead is a bonus for her.

jennifer didn't know about the mall rumble nor could she have known they'd stop at the motel glen capri.

i mean, sure maybe she did cause the torndao warning and than also caused the traffic jam to slow them up but that seems like way too many variables for her to control in my opinion.

glen capri seems to have it's own weird magic that the wolfsbane in the werewolf's systems was exacerbated by.

she also didn't know lydia and allison were following them and she definitely didn't know lydia was a banshee yet.

lydia's banshee abilities is what allowed them to figure out what was going on with the motel and prevent deaths.

so to me the whole plan was to get derek alone and scott, isaac and boyd away from him.

[luna-writes-stuff]

Day 4: The Last Time, Gabriel

Song link

Fanfic, fem! muse!reader

Little fluff, little angst

Word count: 3034

Tw: Written before I watched the Calliope episode. Muses aren’t evil because I said so. Also, you are now Erato, yay! One (1) pjo reference, I couldn’t resist but it’s hidden very well! References to other Greek Tales.

Summary: When a case in Missouri begins to look an awful lot like a Greek god wreaking havoc, the Winchesters and their two angels have to find someone to help them research old scrolls. Turns out Gabriel knows a Muse. And unresolved feelings fall back into the play.

[This might be one of my new favorite tropes idc I’ll say it]

"Find myself at your door Just like all those times before I'm not sure how I got there All roads, they lead me here."

The four of them had no idea how they ended up here in the first place. Or at least three of them. When a hunt reveals more than it had appeared to let on at first sight, it urged Gabriel - though much to the persistence of Cas - to show up on a doorstep he hadn’t stood in front of in a long time. He hadn’t even expected your home to still stand here, let alone still be inhabited by you.

But here they stood, Gabriel’s hand hovering just in front of the door, before turning around on his heels, holding uncharacteristic hesitance in his face.

“We could always ask another one,”

“Well, she knows you, so tough luck.” Dean mumbled, earning an urging look from Sam.

Gabriel sighed deeply, his eyes trailing from the group to the door once more. He hadn’t even heard his brother approach until it was his fist that made contact with the door.

"I imagine you are home In your room, all alone And you open your eyes into mine And everything feels better."

A moment of silence hung in the air, and Castiel had almost taken the liberty of simply entering your home without further announcement, but it had appeared you were quicker. Before he could turn to Dean to tell him he would be leaving, the door opened, revealing a disheveled looking woman in the doorway; her pajamas hanging loosely from her body as her hair was kept untamed. Perhaps not a rare occurrence, seeing as it was just past midnight. And you were having a great power nap on the couch.

Your eyes first fell on Castiel, his face blank as ever, though a tiny part of relief seemed to flood his features.

“Castiel,” you greeted through a yawn, a hand coming into your vision. You turned your head to meet his eyes, a sliver of a smile growing on your face.

“Gabe.”

“Hey there, sweet cheeks.” He acknowledged, a smirk forming on his face, early anxiety slowly exiting his system.

The two men behind them did not escape your notice. You decided however, to let the two angels decide. They wouldn’t have showed up without reason to begin with.

Yet, before any of them could talk, one of the unknown men spoke up.

“You do not appear very,” he halted momentarily, trying to find the correct words, while simultaneously ignoring the warning looks both Castiel and Gabriel shot him. “Muse-ish.”

You squinted your eyes at him. Exhaustion be damned; mortals would never learn. “Greek divinities do not take kind on taunting words and insults, need I remind you.”

Another silence filled the cold midnight air, and you subconsciously shivered at the feeling, the cold wind hitting your bare feet.

Taking a step back, you opened the door wider, silently urging the four to step in. An offer they graciously accepted.

"And right before your eyes I'm breaking No past, no reasons why Just you and me."

After they had removed their coats and shoes, you had moved to the kitchen, already preparing tea for the visitors. The two men, which you learned to be Sam and Dean, sat on the chair connected to the kitchen island, watching your every move. Gabriel had familiarised himself with the black cat you had affectionately called ‘Halloween’, and whom he had happened to gift you a while back. Castiel was…well, Castiel. Sitting in a corner, observing everything quietly, but closely.

“Erato, we need-“ Sam started, but you interrupted him halfway, nearing with the burning kettle.

“I go by Y/N these days,” Questioning looks were received from both Winchesters, causing you to smile a little, pouring a cup for Sam and Gabriel, knowing Cas would not be interested, and Dean did not appear the tea-drinking type. “Erato becomes a bit old fashioned after thousands of years, do you not think?”

Sam only snickered briefly, grabbing his cup. “I suppose.”

“And I suppose you are here because of the ritualistic sacrifices occurring in Missouri?”

Gabriel hopped off the couch, already running to the top cupboards, grabbing the sugar pot from the pantry. You ignored his movements, only inching towards the left to give him access to his own cup. You almost missed the frown on Sam’s face, or the distrust on his brother’s.

“You know of that?”

“I am a muse,” you pointed out. “I know everything written about my family at any given time in history. It is in the job description.”

"This is the last time I'm asking you this Put my name at the top of your list."

“A plague, miracles, and lack of sunlight. It does sound like Phoebus Apollo.” You listed off from the top of your head, mindlessly handing Gabriel a teaspoon, as if it had been natural for the both of you. Perhaps, once, it had been.

“That is what we figured as well.” Sam answered.

“Yes, but that brings me to this next question; why visit a muse, if it is not the problem nor causation of one? Low education or mere ignorance?”

“Ignorance is bliss.” Dean finally spoke up.

“Ignorance is pointless.” Shutting his words down quickly, you brought the cup to your lips, giving the younger Winchester time to speak.

“We were hoping you would be able to tell us what was happening.”

“The muses haven’t intervened with the gods for a long time now. Not since Mount Olympus fell.” You informed, rolling your eyes at Gabriel, who was mocking Sam behind his back.

“Mount Olympus fell?” Dean wondered.

“Yes,” Castiel spoke up ultimately, making himself known in the room. “It moved to New York.”

“New York?”

“Empire State?” Gabriel filled in. “Keep up.”

"This is the last time I'm asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye."

Pulling a scroll of paper from his jacket, Sam handed it to you. Gently, you took it from him, your eyes scanning over the older symbols, a form of Greek you hadn’t read in centuries.

“Can you read it?”

Turning your head towards Gabriel, you raised your eyebrows, almost provoking him. “Can you not?”

“My Greek is not what it used to be.” He defended, walking up behind you, reading the scroll from over your shoulder.

“Getting old?” You mumbled, focusing on the words written in front of you.

“You wish.”

His voice was nearby, nearly sending shivers down your spine. It was no secret to any angel nor god about your past relations with Gabriel, but even after years apart, his mere presence could make you weak at the knees.

You’d never tell him, of course. He was smug enough already. There was no need to boost his self esteem.

"You find yourself at my door Just like all those times before You wear your best apology But I was there to watch you leave."

The two of you had met at the start of the Greek age, not even a hundred years after your creation. He had mistaken you for a mortal as first, and you decided to have your fun with it. But it wasn’t until you outlived your village, save for your eight sisters, that he ultimately realised you were indeed not of mankind.

Through the years, you’ve had a loving relationship. You took time off, just to crawl back to each other within a matter of decades. And though it seemed sickening to all around you, you had grown familiar with it. And you figured Gabriel had as well.

But after hotel Elysian you were unaware of what had happened to your beloved angel, and no one had come to contact you. The angels were not completely happy with the other deities, therefore you had figured they simply did not want to inform you of his loss.

And then, after a short decade, he simply showed up on your doorsteps with three others. No warnings or letters beforehand. You should have been mad, angry, perhaps even enraged. But you were none of the above.

You were relieved.

"And all the times I let you in Just for you to go again Disappear when you come back Everything is better."

“I am sorry,” you muttered, fatigue still laced in your eyes, your senses suddenly overwhelmed at his presence. “I need some sleep.”

“You need some sleep?” Dean repeated.

“Yes,” you empathised. “You mortals are aware of that term, correct?”

“Muses are called muses for a reason,” Cas stated bluntly, drawing the Winchesters’ attention. “They need to be in a good mood in order to function. Physically and mentally. Muses in other mythologies often die out by lack of inspiration.”

He then turned to you, nodding in agreement. “Sleep seems to be an adequate solution.”

You smiled in appreciation, downing the rest of your tea. “Even deities need sleep. How do you think Medusa was killed?”

Gabriel smirked, stepping even closer to you. So close, you could feel his breath fanning your neck. And just like that, you were grateful to have told the guys to wait. Would you have kept reading now, you would have short-circuited.

“Not to worry, sugar,” he began. “I will look over you. No Perseus will come barging in.”

“Oh, this will be great.” Dean mumbled.

"And right before your eyes I'm aching Run fast, nowhere to hide Just you and me."

“Guest room is at the end of the hall, last door on the left. It has two beds; fresh beddings should be in the closet there.” You muttered out, handing the scroll back to Sam, who stuffed it back in his coat pockets.

“Cas, tv volume does not go higher than five,” Ultimately, you turned to Gabriel, who had already started to follow you around as you instructed the group. “Gabe, no funny business.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.“ He smirked.

Raising your eyebrows at him, you gave him a pointed look. “You cannot lie to me.”

“No one can, sugar.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

Bidding your good nights to the group, you walked upstairs, letting another yawn escape your mouth. Gabriel, still behind you, snickered lightly open the sound, his eyes drifting to the cat that had followed you, and was mimicking your actions.

"This is the last time I'm asking you this Put my name at the top of your list."

When you finally reached your room, you quite literally threw your body onto the bed, exhaling deeply. You had no more energy to move, let alone bid Gabriel a good night’s rest, even though he was most likely going to sit beside the bed with a cat in his lap.

But it seemed none of that was necessary. The bed dipped beside you, a weight you had grown all too accustomed to, and you could not help but smile upon the notion.

A hand gently rested on your back, rubbing short circles, before it reached towards the sheets at the foot-end, dragging it over your body.

Unable to make a clear offer of gratitude, you uttered a “warm” followed by your body subconsciously getting adjusted underneath the blankets.

"This is the last time I'm asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye."

Though it was the first time you had seen him in nearly ten years, his scent seemed to work its way to your nose almost instantaneously. It was something too well known for you, yet something so nostalgic. And after him leaving without any words, it brought you some source of comfort. Simply to know he was still there.

And so, without thinking, your hand reached out from underneath the blankets, lazily - and rather clumsily - finding his, lacing your pinky with his.

No objection was heard nor recognised from him. If anything, it only seemed to calm the air around the both of you.

His pinky lightly squeezed yours before loosening its hold, though not enough to let go of you. No; his hand seemed to linger exactly where it was.

"This is the last time you tell me I've got it wrong This is the last time I say it's been you all along This is the last time I let you in my door This is the last time, I won't hurt you anymore."

A whisper suddenly filled the air; so silent, you were not sure if you had heard it correctly after all. But it was clearly him.

“You are my muse.”

Heat rose to your cheeks as your hand now covered his entirely, melting under the comfort of his touch and words. You had missed this, you had missed him. You always did, but now more than ever, that feeling seemed predominant. Sure, he had always been flirty towards you, and you loved to return it, but this was something different. It was in the way his voice carried his words, how his touch seemed less eager than usual.

He was almost weak under your hold. Not in a negative sense; in a vulnerable sense.

"This is the last time I'm asking you this Put my name at the top of your list This is the last time I'm asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye."

“Gabe,” you spoke up, rolling into your side in a lazy manner.

He hummed in acknowledgment, turning his hand under yours, he laced his fingers with yours, squeezing them in assurance.

“Will you leave again tomorrow?”

A heavy silence filled the air after that question. From what you had gathered, Cas seemed keen on staying with the Winchesters, or the hunters, so it would come as no surprise to you would Gabriel want the same.

But there was hesitation in his silence. Not the one where he was afraid to speak the truth, but the one where he truly could not tell what he was going to do.

“If I do,” he eventually decided. “What will become of us?”

"This is the last time I'm asking you this Put my name at the top of your list This is the last time I'm asking you why You break my heart in the blink of an eye."

“Today was the last day I’d ever want to see you on my doorstep.” You confided, now turning on your back so you could face him. “You could either stay with me for as long as we can manage, or you need to move on.”

His eyes drooped, staring into yours with an awful kind of remorse. No remorse for his unspoken words, but remorse for his already passed actions. For what he had done for you to tell him today was the last day.

Slowly, he let himself lay down on the bed beside you, his head connecting with your chest as he simply laid there, listening to your heartbeat. Something you were sure was beating as irretical as it always did when he was around you.

His arms wound around your waist, pulling you into his hold, as his legs folded over yours, leaving you covered with blankets still.

"This is the last time I'm asking you Last time I'm asking you Last time I'm asking you this."

“I belong with you.” He finally whispered. “Always have, always will. Regardless of what has come to pass, or what will come to pass, I will always run back to you.”

Unable to hide the joyous giggle, your free hand covered your intertwined ones. “You do not need to run back to me. Not if you stay here.”

Though you did no longer look at him - for your eyes were on the ceiling -, you could feel him staring at you. “You never asked me this before. Why now?”

"This is the last time I'm asking you Last time I'm asking you Last time I'm asking you this."

“I shall not lose you again.” You admitted, gently stroking his arm. “Not if I would have any say over it. Us muses are not only here for the arts, we can be fighters as well. I am a fighter.”

The angel huffed in amusement, leaning forward to press a kiss against the top of your head. “I am highly aware.”

And then, you turned your head, looking up at him, your face only removed inches from his. His breath was mingling with yours, his eyes nearly piercing through you. The grip he had on you had been tight, as if he was scared; terrified. The was something so vulnerable hidden behind his stance, and you could only wonder what had happened to him.

“I have no idea how this took me eons to say, but I am deeply, and immeasurably in love with you.” He uttered through a low breath.

And that was all it took for you to break.

"This is the last time I'm asking you Last time I'm asking you Last time I'm asking you this."

Untangling your hand from his, they connected to the back of his neck and the side of his cheek, pulling him closer as your lips finally met.

His hands hopelessly grabbed your waist, now pulling you flush against him, as if he would lose you otherwise. His kisses were needy, and demanding; more passionate than they had been before, but they had been so welcome.

Parting briefly, you murmured against his lips the very same words he had spoken to you seconds prior. He did not give you any time to come up with something after that, for his lips were on yours immediately after, asking for more. Desiring more.

But he was damaged, you could tell. And so, with one final kiss, you snuggled up against him, tucking your head under his, kissing the top of his chest, which was still covered in his shirt.

“Stay with me now, and forever.” You proposed once more, for the last time.

And finally, he yielded, refusing to let go of you. Refusing to leave your side.

"This is the last time I'm asking you Last time I'm asking you Last time I'm asking you this."

[judedeluca]

If Bob’s Burgers Did A Pride Episode - The Master Post

This is built off a thread on Twitter hypothesizing how the show would do an episode about Pride. You can find it here: https://twitter.com/KB_SFWArtist/status/1541122201142939649?s=20&t=IknQdxd0_I_O9rg_Wojj4w

The A-Plot: Bob and Linda are asked by Marshmallow and the girls to serve up some fantastic burgers at Pride to help them upstage their rivals. The problem is the rivals have hired Big Bob.

The B-Plot: At the school, Gene is shaken when Tammy obnoxiously asks what Gene’s “deal” is for Pride and tells him he has to figure out his identity before Pride is over. The Belcher siblings spend the week trying to help Gene determine his label until Gene figures out he doesn’t need one.

Everyone in town is getting ready for Pride with varying results:

Teddy gets too enthusiastic about it when he learns Bob is serving burgers for Marshmallow’s crew and shows up in drag, later singing “I Will Survive” on a float will be simultaneously terrified and proud.

Linda has to deal with the fact that Gayle doesn’t know what Pride is. She assumes it’s Halloween in June and it terrifies her, so she barricades herself in her apartment for the month.

Gayle: HALLOWEEN IN JUNE! HALLOWEEN IN JUNE! LINDA YOU TOLD ME MY NIGHTMARES WEREN’T REAL!

Linda: Gayle calm d-

Gayle: YOU LIED TO ME! LOOK AT THE LITTLE GREMLINS WHAT IS THAT?!

Linda: That’s supposed to be Liza Minelli, Gayle.

Gayle: IT’S THE GHOST OF LIZA MINELLI?!

Drag Queen: Rude!

Linda: I’m sorry, oh but you look just like her! Love your lipstick.

Gayle: THAT’S HUMAN BLOOD, LINDA!

There’s also the fact that Bob made Linda promise that he and the kids would never have to be in contact with Gloria and Al during June, because Gloria’s dismissive of Pride and Bob has had... words with her.

Bob (answering the phone): Bob’s Burgers.

(Bob immediately slams the phone down on the receiver)

Linda: Who was that?

Bob: The devil.

Linda: Wha-? (answers phone as it rings again) Oh, hi Mom! No no, we didn’t hang up on you! Bob just dropped the phone. Uh, yeah cuz his hands are greasy.

(Some time later)

Linda: Bob did you rea-

Bob: No. No. Linda you know the agreement. The kids and I don’t have to have any contact with either of your parents during June for any reason whatsoever.

Linda: Yes Bob I remember what the contact said.

Linda: I still think having Mort notarize that agreement was going overboard.

Tina: Remind me again why you guys did that?

Louise: Because Grandma hates Pride.

Gene: Really? I thought she just hates rainbows and sparkles and wigs and having fun.

Bob: She does. She hates all of those things.

Linda: She does not.

Bob: She does.

Tina: So Grandma just hates queer people?

Linda: Look, your grandparents are from a different time.

Bob: Your parents live in a swingers community, Lin, that’s like the perfect place to host Pride.

Linda: See? They’re making progress.

Louise: Oh absolutely. Especially last year when they had to stay with us for a week because their old people place was being fumigated.

FLASHBACK to Gloria and Bob screaming at each other in the restaurant while Linda tries to push them away from each other.

Gloria: DON’T YOU TALK TO ME ABOUT-

Bob: DO YOU JUST HATE HAPPINESS IS THAT IT GLORIA-

Gloria: IF YOU EXPECT ME TO BELIEVE A GROWN MAN IN A DRESS-

Bob: YOU JUST CAN’T STAND THAT THEY HAVE MORE CLASS AND STYLE THAN YOU WILL EVER-!!!!!

End Flashback

Bob: I feel I argued my point rather well.

Louise: You mean before or after you took a swing at Grandma?

Linda: Louise your father did not take a swing at your grandmother.

Bob: I should’ve taken her down when I had the chance.

Linda: ENOUGH.

Mr. Frond is completely obnoxious as an ally and Bob and Linda have the misfortune of running into him one day.

Frond: Bob, I will have you know as an out and proud ally I am right there on the frontlines with everyone else. What do you think the A in LGBTA stands for?

Bob: First of all, it’s LGBTQIAP. Second, that is not what the A stands for.

Frond: I do believe you’re wrong there, Bob. You know, it is people like you that make it so hard for us allies to be who we really are.

Bob: Are you sure this is who you really want to be?

Frond: You are so alliphobic it is sad.

Bob: That is not a thing, Frond! And that’s not what the A stands for!

Linda: Yeah it stands for acesexual!

Bob: Asexual.

Linda: That’s what I said, acesexual.

Bob: No it’s a-sexual. You’re saying ace, like a playing card.

Linda: I know, acesexual.

Bob: You *chuckles* you really think it’s pronounced acesexual?

Linda: Well yeah cuz they’re all out there, acing it!

Bob (amused): I mean, kind of, yeah, but, that’s not what-you know what it’s fine.

Linda: Don’t be acephobic, Bob!

Bob (laughing): Oh my God.

Jimmy Pesto got into a lot of trouble when he tried hanging straight pride flags from his restaurant and got destroyed on social media.

Jimmy: What straight people can’t have Pride, too?!

Logan and Cynthia Bush are utterly horrible and feel the need to complain about Pride and the “moral decay” of the city.

Linda: I’ll show her moral decay.

Bob: Lin no.

Bob: There are witnesses.

Linda: Alright later when she’s alone.

Mr. Fischoeder believes the concept of Pride is adorable

Fischoeder: Ah, I remember back when we didn’t have this LGBTMNOP hullabaloo. Back then we didn’t need it because everyone was everything.

Bob: I’m sure it must’ve been a fun time.

Fischoeder: Oh it was. I have pictures, you want to see the pictures Bob?

Bob: No that’s ok-

Linda: I do!

Fischoeder: Here you go.

Bob: You just happen to carry Polaroids of queer people around with you?

Fischoeder: Doesn’t everyone?

Linda: Ooooooh. Wait, is that-

Fischoeder: Before she was famous.

Linda: Oh I loved her in that one movie with the boat!

Fischoeder: She was robbed of that Oscar.

Bob: Yeah she kind of was.

Linda: Hold on, is she with a-

Fischoeder: It was domesticated, if that’s what you’re going to ask.

Linda: Oh.

Bob: Annnd I’m gonna go now.

Linda: Oh my God.

Surprisingly the Cranwrinkles are all for Pride for various reasons. They make a fortune thanks to people putting together parade floats and making flags for the month.

Edith: We don’t care about gender or sexuality. All we care about is that they spend their money here, at the most inclusive art store in the city!

Bob: Edith that’s somehow the nicest thing you could’ve possibly said.

Unfortunately the Cranwrinkles feel the need to inform Bob of how they’ve done pretty much everything and he’s informed of the various sexual escapades they’ve had.

Edith: Pride’s the one time of year Harold and I get to experiment without judgment.

Bob: Please, stop talking.

Edith: Don’t be such a prude, Bob!

Harold: Is it our fault you haven’t lived life, Chubs?

Bob: I’m gonna be sick.

Edith: You name it we’ve done it.

Harold: Maple Syrup Montana.

Edith: Spoiled Milk.

Harold: Haberdashery in Wales.

Edith: The Bashful Midwife.

Harold: Kate Mulgrew.

Edith: We invented the Kate Mulgrew!

Harold: Invented it, Tubsy!

Edith: I became a woman thanks to the Kate Mulgrew!

Harold: A WOMAN!

Edith: IT’S PRIDE, BOB!

Millie got into trouble at school when she announced she was Louisesexual and Louise ran out of the class screaming her head off. She even had a flag.

Andy and Ollie Pesto, unsurprisingly, announced “I’m Andysexual!” “I’m Olliesexual!”

Ms. LaBonz: Millie, Andy and Ollie go to the counselor’s office. Though I doubt there’s anything he can do for you at this point.

Regular-Sized Rudy tried to get Louise’s input on if his one-man puppet show was right for Pride. Louise was dubious but Rudy insisted it has something for everyone.

Tina tries to write erotic friend fiction that is especially erotic and inclusive for Pride.

Tammy is absolutely obnoxious and constantly tries to identify with whatever she thinks is the coolest, but even Jocelyn can’t stand her attitude and calls Tammy out on her bullshit.

It turns out that Ms. Schnur and Ms. Jacobson run the actual version of Wagstaff School’s queer student association, and the one Frond “runs” is just a decoy so they don’t have to deal with him. Schnur is a lesbian while Jacobson is demisexual. Believe it or not Schnur met her girlfriend through a Brendan Fraser message board.

Ms. Schnur: It was a passionate affair of love and violence as we waged war over whether or not Brendan’s best movie was The Mummy or George of the Jungle. Somewhere along the line we stopped being enemies and became... soulmates.

Dr. Yap likes to hit on lesbians at Pride.

Randy Watkins tried to make a documentary about Pride and went “undercover” as a gay man but it failed miserably.

Randy: Clearly the gay community in this town has horrible taste.

Bob: Yeah they, they clearly don’t know what they’re missing.

Randy: Thank you, Bob.

Gene’s subplot comes to a conclusion after he has both a heartfelt talk with Bob, and when he’s with Courtney who simply tells him “Well you’re Gene. I always think of you as Gene.”

Gene shows up at Pride dressed as Baby Spice and lip-syncing the Spice Girls.

Linda: Oh look at that little baby Baby Spice, his wig is enormous.

Bob: Wait, I think that’s Gene.

Linda: You’re right it IS Gene!

Bob: Oh my God!

Linda: My little Gene’s a drag queen!

Bob: Go Gene!

Linda: Aww, my little Genie Queenie!

Bob: That’s Gene Spice, that’s my son!

And finally, we have Marshmallow and Nat Kinkle meeting for the first time. Nat immediately guesses that Marshmallow’s name comes from her love of sweet potato pies. Bob literally cries tears of joy when he overhears them setting up a date.

[thewritingsandwich]

The Chiming Lady - Part 4

A Lockwood & Co. Fan Fiction

Other Parts: 1 2 3 4 5

Summary: The agents of Lockwood & Co. are invited to the Halloween-Party of a former client.

A/N: I originally wrote this for @ savelockwoodnco on instagram's filler episode theme. But I'm a month too late... anyways this takes place after 'The Empty Grave' but there are no major spoilers for it. Originally I wrote it in german, but I translated it for the internet with the help of DeepL.

Tag List: @ahead-fullofdreams

Warnings: Mentions of injuries, brief mentions of su***de and mu**er

"Would it be terribly inappropriate to think that this is a perfect situation to show the guests our talents?" Lockwood whispered to Holly, George and me. All the guests had gathered in the ballroom. We stood in the front row in front of a man dressed as a sad clown.

"Please, explain to us what happened," Holly replied, suddenly holding a pen and paper in her hand. The clown took a deep breath.

"I went outside for a smoke. I saw a person by the lake. He was one of the caterers and he was moving towards the lake. I tried to speak to him and stop him, but he was in a trance. I couldn't stop him and then he was in the lake. He sank like a stone. I wanted to go back to the house, but I suddenly had the feeling that I urgently needed to get into the lake too. I only came out of my trance because the ash from my cigarette got on my hand." His shoes and trousers were definitely wet.

"Do you really want to fight a possible stray and who knows what else when we only have our rapiers with us?" George whispered to Lockwood. But he was already grinning. It was unavoidable. Anthony Lockwood had made up his mind that we would solve this ghost problem, so we would. However, I had to agree with George. This situation was not ideal.

Unfortunately, the sad clown couldn't give us any more information either, so we made our way outside while the rest of the guests took flight.

A light mist shrouded the small lake on the grounds. A few reeds grew here and there and some water lilies floated on the surface of the water. A single, sad willow stretched across the lake and a lonely little boat could be found under its branches.

Without any equipment, our approach was slightly different. Without stepping too close to the lake, I listened into the darkness. The bell rang again. But there was also a female voice.

"You wretched brat," she whispered and a child's cry rang out. Sounds of fighting followed, as well as the wild splashing in the water. At first it was loud and uncontrolled, but it became less and less until the water finally stopped.

"Oh no, what have I done?" the female voice murmured and I felt her remorse. It hit me like a big wave and I was in danger of drowning in the feeling. I shouldn't have done that. I shouldn't have done that. Why did I do that? He was only supposed to be quiet for a moment. Now I'm losing everything - absolutely everything.

The bell rang again and I opened my eyes. I had just been a few metres away from the lake and now I was ankle-deep in water. I quickly scurried back ashore and looked around. Where were the others?

I turned round searching. It was almost impossible to recognise anything in the fog and darkness. I could only vaguely recognise the lights of the building. Then a child's laughter. The boy was playing with us.

There was a hiss, followed by a bright, reddish flash from the north-east. I ran to the light and caught sight of Lockwood, rapier drawn and flare fending off the shrivelled manifestation of a small boy. Neither Lockwood nor the ghost had recognised me. So I took the opportunity to run my rapier through the ghost from top to bottom.

"Where are the others?" he asked me. But I just shook my head.

"But I know what happened - or at least I think I do." He nodded at me and prompted me to continue. "I think the nanny drowned Mr Pearson's twin brother in the lake. I heard everything." The bell rang again, this time even louder and almost deafening for me. I covered my ears, but the ringing didn't stop, it just got louder.

Lockwood looked at me and said, "What do you hear?"

"Bells," I got out, probably shouting, whereupon Lockwood turned to the tower in the grounds. The ringing stopped abruptly.

"There's another ghost in the tower."

"Are you sure?" He turned back to me.

"Yes... 90% and I've already made decisions I was more unsure about."

"But what are we going to do about the stray? I'm pretty sure its source is at the bottom of the lake, and let me remind you that the lake doesn't count as running water."

He glanced at the lake and paused for a moment. The harsh light from the torch made his sharp face look even more sharp. The red colour of the light made him look almost normal again.

Before he could reply, Holly and George arrived - both panting mightily. George's make-up was all runny from his sweat.

"What's the plan, boss?" he asked Lockwood immediately. It would certainly have been smarter to find out more about the estate and come back later with more equipment. But you can imagine that if that were the case, I wouldn't be telling you this.

I saw Lockwood start to speak, but once again the bells rang - this time so loudly that they completely drowned out Lockwood's plan. The dull thuds grew louder and louder, so I desperately covered my ears, but the ringing continued. I fell to my knees and screamed because the pain was unbearable. A draft of air made me feel someone walk past me.

Then someone grabbed my hands and I slowly opened my eyes again. The ringing continued. Holly was crouching in front of me, saying something, but I couldn't understand a word she was saying. She looked at someone else and out of nowhere a silver net fell over my head. The ringing ended abruptly. Through the fine mesh I could still make out Holly helping me up, as well as Lockwood and George.

"What's wrong, Lucy?" George and Holly asked in confusion.

"I keep hearing the bell ringing." I pointed to the bell tower, where another person could be seen. The others followed the direction of my finger.

"Then it's settled. We'll deal with the ghost of the bell tower first. I think this is the one tormenting Lucy. Whatever it is, it's cunning and clever," Lockwood said. Something warm ran down my neck and I carefully touched the strange liquid. The fading light from the torch made the little part on my finger look jet black. What the hell was that?

We returned to the estate and Mrs Pearson was waiting anxiously in the entrance hall. When we asked her why she was still here, she replied that she didn't want to leave us alone. Even if that was meant kindly, it was extremely stupid. We would see a ghost coming - she wouldn't. But we definitely didn't have the time or the energy to argue with her. She was a grown woman who knew the Problem, so she had to know the dangers.

In the foyer, I put the silver mesh back down and looked at my finger again. It was blood. I briefly bled from my ears.

"Where did you get the net anyway?", I asked before the others noticed the blood.

"I took a small selection of our equipment. The likelihood of us dealing with a ghost was pretty high and I wanted to have equipment with us to showcase our talents properly," Lockwood replied. That's probably the reason for the rucksack.

Mrs Pearson explained to us the way to the bell tower. We walked through the house, past lots of furniture covered in white lacquer and many old paintings. I kept hearing the sounds of children playing or a nanny scolding. Lockwood handed out a few bombs along the way. I ran behind, trying to contain my panic at the blood in my ears.

"Don't act like I haven't already seen the blood coming out of your ears," Lockwood replied, dropping back and now walking beside me.

"I'm fine." He raised an eyebrow and I didn't believe myself.

"One word, Luce. One word from you and then we're out of here." I probably should have said something, but at that moment my curiosity about what kind of ghost was hanging around up there on the tower got the better of me.

"I'm all right. Let's keep going."

[random-mailbox]

Random-Mailbox's Favorite Sailor Moon Fics - Week 39 - Missing Scenes Part I

This week’s post is for the amazing @riverlethe, since today is her birthday! 🍰❤️🎂🎉🎊💐

Following one-shots are fandom’s way to fill in the blanks in both Anime and Manga, giving our characters much needed closure and depth. It was hard to decide what to include, so @goddessalthena suggested I do this as Part I, which will allow me to do another post down the road with more (similar to what I did with Christmas stories).

Also, don't forget to check out the prompts for @usamamoweek2023!

As always, my apologies in advance for spoiling some of these for you (Fic Titles are linked to either FFN or AO3 entries).

A Nightmare Between Them - Sweetsugarines

This one-shot gives us a glimpse into the mental state that Usagi was in post-Black Moon and Nehelenia battles.

Love Breeds Insanity - @angelmoongirl

Usagi absolutely refused to cancel or postpone her first date with Mamoru since the defeat of Galaxia. No matter how terrible she might be starting to feel or what her friends are trying to tell her.

The Aftermath - sailor-elsa

This is the darkest story of the bunch, with Usagi trying and almost failing to handle the aftereffects of the battle with Pharoah 90.

ER Epiphany - @uglygreenjacket

Mamoru’s work-shift gets interrupted by a youma in the ER. Who will step in to help if he is not able to transform without someone noticing?

All's Fair in Love and Birthdays - @uglygreenjacket

Another awesome one-shot that fills in the gap after the birthday episode. Mamoru and Usagi actually get to discuss what happened that day and what it meant to both of them. With Mamoru not playing very fair 😏

These Games We Play: Chapter 11: From Silk to Cotton - @allyunabridged

This one-shot takes place in Sailor Moon R, after Usagi gets rescued from Prince Dimande and before returning to the past. With King Endymion helping her take baby steps towards getting over the ordeal.

Day 2: Item - @tinacentury

Set at the start of the 3rd season of the Anime, this one-shot fills in the gaps on what went on in Mamoru’s head when Usagi wasn’t able to transform.

this little brook of life - Tosca1390

Set between Anime’s R and S seasons, Usagi and Mamoru grapple with the weight of responsibilities and lack of alone time, as Chibi-Usa re-appears in their lives.

Miscellaneous Works: Short Stories That Tumbled From Tumblr: Chapter 6: Oneiromancy - @floraone

Set at the end of the break-up arc in the Anime, Usagi gets to see more of the nightmares that Mamoru have been dealing with and understands why he can't let go of them.

---

That's it for this week! Next time we are covering Green Jacket stories!

Here are the links to the previous Tumblr posts in these series to explore more amazing works based on different themes - make sure to check them out if you haven't had a chance! (Click on title name to go to the post) - I will keep updating the list every week as new posts come up:

Week 1 - Groundhog Day

Week 2 - Established Relationships

Week 3 - Sex Positivity

Week 4 - Unfinished Stories

Week 5 - Darker Stories

Week 6 - Potions 🧪

Week 7 - Reveals

Week 8 - 👻Halloween🎃

Week 9 - Wrong Perceptions

Week 10 - Non-Senshi AU

Week 11 - In-Progress Fics

Week 12 - Mutual Pining

Week 13 - Enemies to Lovers

Week 14 - Slow Burn

Week 15 - Christmas Part 1 - Ugly Christmas Sweaters and Santa!

Week 16 - Christmas Part 2

Week 17 - New Years

Week 18 - High School AU

Week 19 - Slice of Life

Week 20 - Coffee shop AU

Week 21 - Huddle for Warmth

Week 22 - Friends to Lovers

Week 23 - ❤️Valentines Day❤️

Week 24 - Do a Grouch a Favour Day (or Cheer Up Fics)

Week 25 - Soulmate AU

Week 26 - Amnesia Fics (and resources)

Week 27 - 🍀St Patrick's Day🍀

Week 28 - Fix it Fics

Week 29 - Prompt: Mug

Week 30 - Flowers

Week 31 - Traditions

Week 32 - Dreams

Week 33 - Friends

Week 34 - Body-Swap

Week 35 - Medical Assistance

Week 36 - Sex Pollen

Week 37 - Psychometry

Week 38 - What If

[jenyifer]

Crimes against Nick

I’m hopeful Boston won’t fuck up again. My ex says I just forgive Boston too easily but that’s not true.(I’ll probably do one for Nick on Boston crimes next just to spite her so haha)

So in honor of me rewatching all the BostonNick bits here are some of the worst mental damages Boston has inflicted on Nick in my opinion.

1. The worst one in my opinion is the phone isle confirmation. Name a worse love confession. Boston completely rejecting Nick awful psychic damage.

2. Controversial pick probably but next I’d put the Halloween party. Nick really thought he could talk to Boston again it’d been some time since their breakup (for convenience let’s call it that). But Boston questions why Nick would think he’d have any place in Boston’s life. Then Boston ignores him and goes off with Atom. Nick is so devastated he gives up on Boston coming back. He also seems to have lasting effects of this conversation in episode 9 10 and 11. It haunts him because Nick wonders what he could have done better Boston frames it like that and it effectively slices Nick up into a million pieces.

3. Boston sleeping with Top. Also something I often forget Nick got to hear about MewRay before this. He got the full car convo. So everything is super fucked. Yes the audio does Immense damage on Nick. BUT I don’t have it higher because Nick can still justify being with Boston. He isn’t delulu he knows their relationship wasn’t closed. It just hurts Nick he’s not the one Boston wants. Nick can’t be top. Also the depths Boston will go to get his goal.

4. Boston rejecting Nick’s comfort after Mews bday party. It’s a little thing but Nick could see his lies chasing him and Nick needed comfort as well. But he reached out to Boston and was denied. I feel like to Nick this cemented him back in a reality where he’s just a prop in Bostons life and not a person. (To be fair to Boston he didn’t mean to hurt Nick here He did want Nick at his side it was just he was so hurt upset with himself he couldn’t take nicks love and didn’t know Nick himself was tortured by the nights events)

5. Boston calling Gap disgusting for filming him. Does make Nick feel awful idk whether to put this one on or not. Because Boston does except Nick’s comfort which is good. BUT I THINK THIS SCENE HAUNTED NICK FOR THE REST OF THE SERIES SO MUCH FORESHADOWING. Might write about it might not it was ep6

Honorable mentions: Boston calling Nick his friend at Mews bday party. Nick seeing Boston and random guy at the bar when he’s on a date with Dan.

Questionable mentions: Boston denying taking a photo with nick (he did take a photo). Boston calling Nick his customer(Bostons first ever apology in the show is to Nick here). Boston not answering if Nick could have extra men too at the pool date(Boston dodged this by talking about how he kind of wants to be with just nick).

Non Boston related injuries:

1. Sand revealing the audio. If that was to rank in this list I’d put it above the actual recording of Top and Boston. Nick really loves Sand genuinely. I think this hurt him

2. Top making Nick feel less than during Nick’s stay away from Boston speech.

3. Mew saying Boston couldn’t love anyone and Nick was a victim after BosotnNick Breakup. I think the manipulation tactics would hurt Nick extra hard while he was still in the shock hurt stage of breakup. And once Nick calmed down I bet he regretted what he did.

4. Ray being a dick either time. I don’t think Nick takes what Ray says too seriously. Yes Nick knows Ray is Bostons best friend so from that POV it does hurt but Nick knows Ray was already hurt not because of Nick what Ray said may or may not be true. Nick barely knows him. I doubt either time stuck.

[madeliefkrans]

you give me fever

this fic is my manifestation for the upcoming episode "sick day"! gregory better miss janine at school and act on with that feeling! it was originally only a sickfic, but i figured that janine's birthday is also soon since she's a sagittarius, soooo i combined the two.

fandom: abbott elementary (tv series) type: sickfic meets birthday fic with lots of fluff pairing: janine x gregory pov: janine’s word count: 4,556 on ao3 as well

summary: it’s janine’s birthday and... she’s at home with a cold.

you give me fever

Janine shivers under her ochre duvet cover, even though she’s put on clothes that should warm her up: her striped woollen socks and Christmas themed pyjamas. Sure, she loves Christmas and yes, she’s the person to secretly listen to Christmas songs during summer and okay, Christmas is right around the corner, but that’s not why she’s wearing them right now. They’re the warmest outfit she owns and bonus, they’re covered with deer whose noses are as red as hers right now. She could be wearing them because her heater is broken, but no. It’s Janine’s birthday and she’s got a cold.

Obviously, this was not how she planned this day to go. Her plans were to go to work and tonight, meet up with Erica. Yesterday, she daydreamed (during cooking, not a great time, she almost burnt herself) about walking through the doors of Abbott, stepping into to the staff room and seeing the incredible, thoughtful, creative surprise her (work) friends had orchestrated for her. Up next, her students, with their smiley little faces, would sing Happy Birthday to her. And after that, she would meet up with Erica and head into town for the most fun night ever. They would go to the street food festival downtown or a comedy show or a glow-in-the-dark mini golf course. Or all those places.

Alas. Even though Janine keeps her side of the street clean, apparently, today, karma and she don’t vibe like that. It’s fine. Technically, her birthday is a day like any other. She could celebrate her birthday next week. She could find out the surprise (which, at this point, only exists in her fantasy, its presence not yet confirmed) waiting for her at school later. She could be sung to by her talented students later. She could head into town and make a fool of herself together with Erica later.

That’s what she tells herself as she sneezes, stuffing a tissue to her nose. It’s fine. You’ll be fine.

She spends her morning sleeping, tucked in bed with a hot water bottle at her feet. During her lunch break, Erica video calls, congratulating her and wishing her well in the same sentence. She asks a million times if Janine needs anything and how she’s feeling. Promising Janine they’ll head into town the moment she’s her old self again. Janine’s glad she welcomed Erica back into her life after Halloween. The call wears her out a bit, though. So, after they hang up, she tries to get cosy on the couch with a fleece blanket and watch some TV. The rest of the afternoon passes by with sniffing, sneezing, and shivering.

It's around five when she realises she’s doing worse than earlier this day. After sleeping all morning, she perked up a bit, but as the afternoon dragged on, she’s feeling more and more uneasy. She’s not hungry, but her breakfast early this morning feels far away. Her blanket is not keeping her as warm as she would like it to. She debates whether she should take some painkillers, but her thoughts are interrupted when she’s hears the doorbell buzzing.

She’s trying to remember if she expects a package to arrive. Unfortunately, but expectedly, her brain is not cooperating. So she bundles up her burnt orange blanket across her shoulders and shuffles to her intercom. Getting up was a bad idea, because now she feels light in her head. She brings the phone to her ear.

“Hello?” Her voice weak.

“Hi. Janine? We, at Abbott, made you something. Can I bring it up?”

She’s not sure she’s hearing correctly. Is Gregory standing in front of her apartment building? If she did hear his voice, she’s having a hard time processing what that means.

“Janine? You there?”

“Yes! I am. Sorry, zoned out a bit. I’ll buzz you through.”

She does, and hangs up the phone. Then she stands there as it dawns to her. Gregory is here. He’s never been here. She’s wearing Christmas pyjamas. There’s at least a hundred tissues spread on the floor. Her hair is a mess. And she feels dizzy.

On a better, brighter day, this would be her cue for quickly trying to clean her living room, scanning the room for dirty dishes, clearing out her side table. But right now, even standing is too much, so she leans against the wall next to her intercom, until Gregory rings her doorbell.

She opens the door.

He’s standing in the hallway in all his glory. Holding a big bag in his right hand.

The strength is leaving her legs, but she’s happy to see him. She smiles, feeling self-conscious. And you know, not well.

“Hey.”

“Hey,” he smiles back.

“Come in.” She makes room for him and gestures at the coat rack next to the front door. “You can leave your coat and shoes here.”

“Thanks.” He puts down the bag and does so. “Is it okay I’m here?”

Janine nods. Then regrets it because her dizziness is now ringing in her ears. She’s sweating, but she’s cold. Gregory is looking at her, a frown forming between his brows. She’s not sure what kind of face she’s pulling, but she doesn’t want him to worry.

“Hey, are you alright?” He takes a step towards her.

“Yes, I’m fi–” she starts to say, but she cannot finish, because suddenly, her legs give out. And only distantly she feels the impact of the side of her body against his chest as his arms embrace her. The next moment she’s laying on the floor, still caught in her blanket. She looks up at Gregory, who’s on his knees, bent over her.

“Janine? How are you feeling?” His voice is soft. Not at all distressed, what she would be if someone next to her fainted. Her body is the heaviest it’s ever been.

“Tired.”

“You fainted.”

“I figured.”

Janine tries to sit up, leaning on her elbows.

“No rush, take it slow,” he urges.

She does. And slowly, she’s able to sit up, leaning back on her hands.

“I think I wanna rest for a bit.”

“Sounds like a good idea.”

“Thank you. And sorry.”

“It’s totally fine.”

Bit by bit, she makes her way up to standing, with Gregory watching her every move. She shuffles to her bedroom. Takes some painkillers on the way. In the back of her head there’s a voice trying to point her attention to the fact that Gregory is in her apartment, that he can see her messed up bed, the stuffed animal (Kurt the koala) she’s had since she was a little girl. She cannot seem to care though, because she’s distracted by how good it feels to slip under her duvet.

“Before you fall asleep, what is your favourite type of soup?”

She meets his gaze; he’s standing in the doorway of her bedroom. Despite feeling the heaviness of sleep pulling her down, she can’t help but let out a little laugh. Is he for real?

“It’s spicy tomato soup. What are you planning to do with that info?”

He grins. “You’ll see.”

She doesn’t imagine the possible scenarios for long. Because after pulling Kurt close to her, she cannot seem to keep her eyes open and she drifts into sleep.

It’s dark out when Janine wakes. Seems like Gregory closed the door and her curtains too. Sleeping during the day is the strangest thing, but she’s not sweating anymore and the extreme coldness in her bones is gone, so she did the right thing. She’s glad her nap and the painkillers worked.

She hears water running and clanging of what sounds like dishes. Then, miraculously, her stuffed nose is able to identify the smell coming from under her bedroom door. Food.

Janine’s belly rumbles loudly.

For a moment, she braces herself to leave the warmth of her bed. Then she flips her duvet and reaches her feet to the ground. Once again, she grabs her loyal plaid, wrapping it around her body. She makes her way to the door but stops in front of the mirror on top of her dresser. Good to know her nose is still red as Melissa’s cape on Halloween this year. She pulls her hair into a half bun, noticing she’s feeling a bit embarrassed. She shouldn’t expect to look like her usual self when she’s down with a cold. But Gregory is on the other side of the door. And somehow that makes her want to make an effort to look presentable.

She opens her bedroom door and steps into the aromatic kitchen. Standing by the sink is Gregory, doing the dishes. He looks up, midway scrubbing, a trace of worry on his face.

“Hey, how are you feeling?”

Janine is stunned. She looks at the pan on the stove. The collection of clean dishes behind Gregory. The floor, which is empty of tissues, but now covered with balloons in all colours imaginable. She feels a wave of gratefulness wash over her.

“Gregory, oh my god, I can’t believe this. This is crazy. You didn’t have to do all this.”

His smiles at her. “I wanted to. And you’re not feeling well, so it’s the least I could do.”

“Thank you. Really.”

She drops the blanket on her couch and walks over to stand next to him. “I’m feeling a lot better, sleeping helped.”

“I’m glad. Are you hungry?”

“Yes, actually. What did you make?” She walks over to the stove and peers into the pan. Steamy, red soup that smells wonderful. “You… made my favourite soup. You’re gonna make me cry.”

Her overly, but truly genuinely, touched expression makes Gregory let out a laugh.

She points Gregory to the high shelf that has her bowls on it (glad to not use her improvised stool for once) and pours both bowls full. They sit at her round table.

The soup tastes incredible. And not only because she’s hungry. Gregory is a good cook. It doesn’t surprise her.

“This is delicious,” she tells him. He answers with a smile. The steam of the soup opens her nose. It’s a welcome sensation.

“I like your outfit.”

“Thanks, where’s yours?”

“I left my Christmas sweater at home. Hope you can forgive me.”

“Oh? I didn’t peg you as a person who owns Christmas themed clothes.”

“It was a gift. But it’s very soft. It’s a green turtleneck, with a huge deer face on the front.”

Janine grins, imagining Gregory with the jumper on. A proud, stoic Mr. Darcy. She wonders whether he knows his sweater is a reference to Bridget Jones’s Diary. And she wonders who gave him the gift. His mom? Or maybe an ex-lover?

“Did your family give that to you?”

Gregory snorts, spoon full of soup mid-air. Janine is surprised by his reaction.

“No, my dad hates Christmas,” Gregory answers, his voice almost devoid of any emotion. Almost, because Janine’s sure she catches some bitterness in there. She waits for him to elaborate, but he doesn’t. Silently, he continues to eat his soup. She follows his movements with her eyes.

“When I was sick as a kid, my mom didn’t really care for me. I learned to take care of myself.”

She didn’t realise that was on the tip of her tongue, but it’s out before she knows it. He meets her gaze. She breaks eye contact immediately. Her turn to stare at her bowl and lift a spoon to her mouth.

“That must’ve been tough.” The softest voice.

“It was.” Her throat feels tighter than usual. She forces out her next words. “It’s alright, though. It could’ve been worse. It meant I had more cooking and cleaning experience than the other kids in my class. Which paid off when I finally moved out.”

She laughs a little. It feels fake, she knows it. But she doesn’t want him to pity her. She’s glad he’s silent.

“My dad is all about tradition and sobriety. Whenever I got too excited as a kid, he would put me on time-out. Everything that came with Christmas, like the presents, decorations and Santa Claus, which made me ecstatic of course, was a reason for him to discipline me.”

She looks up at him. He gives her a small smile, almost apologetic.  

“But the one thing I love most about kids is their carefree enthusiasm.”

Gregory shrugs. “Guess my dad didn’t think that way.”

She’s silent for a bit.

“That explains why you’re so composed,” she says, before quickly adding: “Which is not a bad thing by the way, I think it’s a great personality trait.”

His smile is back, a bit bigger this time. “You taking care of yourself as a kid explains your resilience.”

She answers his smile. It’s true. Her memories of growing up aren’t always great, but her childhood did bring her to where she is right now. And it resulted in the traits she’s most proud of: her spirit and optimism. It’s reassuring Gregory can see that.

She remembers the conversation they had on the day Tariq performed for F.A.D.E. at Abbott. They were standing in front of the school, sharing an umbrella he held up, in the rain. It confused her that his dad didn’t want him to be a teacher. She agreed with what Gregory said that day: it shouldn’t matter what his dad thinks, it should be about what makes him, Gregory, happy. It doesn’t surprise her that Gregory’s dad dislikes Christmas. Janine’s mom couldn’t be the mom she wanted and often needed. Maybe Gregory’s dad was the same.  

Despite that, he turned into this person who decided to take a chance and continue teaching, because he thought it could make him happy. And even more, he showed up on her birthday, even though she has a cold, making her favourite soup, cleaning up her apartment, decorating it. Her heart inflates like one of the balloons covering the floor. She’s glad he’s here. It makes her see him in a new light.

They finish their bowls. Together they clean up the rest of the dishes. Janine is storing away cutlery when she sees Gregory rummaging the bag he brought.

“I have something for you,” he says. “We all pitched in on this, so Barbara, Melissa, Jacob and me. Originally it was just for your birthday, but now it has a get-well-soon part as well.”

He takes out a big, wrapped present out of the bag and places it on her white dining table. Janine is overjoyed. A birthday gift! And everyone pitched in! She can’t stop grinning.

“Oh my god! Thank you!”

Carefully, she opens the present, unfolding the paper until she can see what’s inside. It seems to be a basket filled with different things. There’s a box of ripe, shiny plums. A shawl in lovely pastel green and pink colours. A small ficus plant. And some tea. She picks everything up to inspect it with the widest grin imaginable.

“This is so great, thank you so much!” she beams up at Gregory. “I really have to get better soon so I can thank the rest.”

“Happy birthday, Janine.”

Janine can’t stop smiling at him. She looks into his eyes, and the feeling of wanting more washes in, even though he’s right there, giving her his fullest attention, smiling at her.

“You know,” she starts, feeling brave, “whenever I’m sick there’s a movie I watch… Want to stay and watch WALL-E with me?”

“Yeah,” Gregory replies, almost without missing a beat, nodding, “sounds good.”

“Okay, great!” Janine plucks the tea from her gift basket. “Do you also want a cup?”

“Yeah, thanks.”

She makes tea for them both. A few minutes later, they’ve set up on her couch. Steaming cups in front of them on the side table. Movie paused right at the beginning on her TV. Janine’s more conscious than usual of his presence. Her couch is not that big. Three people on it would sit knee to knee. Earlier today she couldn’t get her body to warm up, but it now seems her skin is radiating heat and it’s not because she’s running a fever.

“You ready?” she asks.

“More than.”

Janine knows exactly why WALL-E is her comfort movie. It calms her down, watching a story of how meaningful connection is still possible long after the Earth is no longer inhabitable. A story of how robot WALL-E travels across the entire galaxy to follow this meaningful connection. It’s magical, touching and has so much heart. It makes her think about the consequences of her choices, but in the most soft and grateful way possible.

It’s exactly because it’s her comfort movie and Gregory sitting next to her makes her feel safe, that she starts feeling drowsy and drifts into sleep. She blames her after-dinner dip too. And her sleepless night. And her cold.

She dreams of them sitting on her couch. Or rather, she’s laying on her side, with her head in his lap, on one of her cushions, knees pulled up a bit. WALL-E is still chasing after EVE on the TV. Gregory runs his fingers through her curls. Each touch a lullaby. It soothes her.

“Don’t stop…” she mumbles.

Gregory hums gently in question.

“Your fingers in my hair… feels good…”

He continues. She nudges the side of her face into the cushion. She never wants this dream to end.

Inevitably, it does. She was only taking a small nap, apparently, because when she wakes the movie is still running. But something is not right. It’s not WALL-E’s adorkableness. It’s that she’s laying in Gregory’s lap, like in her dream, covered by her blanket. Immediately, her heart rate rises. Did she fall over while sleeping? Or did she decide to rest her head here while she was sleeping? Her cheeks glow from embarrassment. Did Gregory let her and cover her with the plaid?

Slowly, she turns her head for as much is possible with her laying on her side. Her eyes fall on Gregory’s sleeping face, resting his head on the backrest of her couch, slightly leaning to his right. His breathing is slow and steady. The skin on his face relaxed. It’s cute. Something flips in her stomach. It makes her skin burn even more.

Maybe she rested her head on his thighs while he was sleeping. There’s still a way to make sure he doesn’t know this ever happened.

With utmost care, as quietly and slowly as possible, she rises from her position. She holds her breath getting up, the only sound her heart beating and rustling of the blanket on top of her clothes. And, she notices the next moment, to her deepest regret, the rustling of his clothes too. He’s moving.

“Janine?” A croaky voice.

He’s awake.

She jerks herself up. The impact comes with a thud.

“Ow,” Gregory groans. “Shit.”

Oh god. She headbutted him. His chin, to be precise.

“Oh my god, Gregory, I’m so sorry,” Janine has never been this flustered. She sits up and shifts in her seat, so her body is facing him, sitting on her knees. “Are you alright?”

“I’m definitely awake now.” Gregory rubs his chin, folding one leg on the couch, the other one still over the edge. He’s laughing, to her relief. Which makes her laugh too. Laughing at the situation, her clumsiness.

“I come over to bring you a birthday and get-well gift, cook for you, and this is how you treat me,” he says, before pulling a serious face. “If you want me to leave, you can say so, Janine.”

She laughs some more. “Don’t leave. I still have to give you a black eye.” She holds up her fists to her cheeks, bouncing her arms, pretending to prepare herself for hitting him in the face.

As she does so, the blanket on top of her shoulders slips off. The next moment, Gregory reaches for it, his face close, stretching his arms on both her sides. In a swift motion, he pulls the blanket over her shoulders again, closing it in the middle, right before her chest, where she’s still holding up her hands, now in loosened fists. His hands brush over hers. His folded knee touches hers. He gently takes some of her hair to pull it out of her blanket cape, so it rests on top. The sound of the movie still running is miles away. She meets his gaze.

In that moment, she doubts her dream was a dream. It’s all there in the way he touched her hair just now and how he’s looking at her in this moment. And it’s locking her eyes with his that makes her realise this: she wants to kiss him.

He’s so close. His warm gaze not only soothing her but causing a tingling feeling across her forearms and the back of her neck. He’s everywhere around her, taking up all her senses.

His hands rests on his folded leg, his fingers touch her knee. Is he doing this on purpose? The sensation is enough to light her whole body on fire. She breaks eye contact, looking at the TV again.

“You know, it’s pretty fucked up we assume WALL-E is a boy. It’s a robot. You know? It makes no sense. It’s sexless.” She’s rambling, she knows it, but she cannot stop.

Gregory just hums, slowly nodding. She can feel his eyes on her face, but she’s looking everywhere but him. His finger traces a small circle on her knee. She feels the skin underneath burning up.

“And you know what! The movie’s message is really well handled. Under capitalism, the environment is doomed. We thrive when freed from the confines of oppression! After all these years, WALL-E is still relevant, maybe even more so today than when it got released.”

He hums again. It agitates her. How he’s simply sitting there, while she’s freaking out, trying to decide whether she should push her feelings away. Or give in to them. She clutches the fabric of her blanket in her hands, staring at her lap, at how his fingers trace the soft fabric of her deer-covered pyjama pants.

She can’t take it any longer; she’s almost bursting. So, she takes a shuddering breath. And looks up.

His face is there, filling up her whole vision. His fingers stop tracing her knee. He rang her doorbell, cooked for her, cleaned and decorated her apartment, wanted to watch her comfort movie with her, brushed his fingers on her knee. And now he’s here, on her sofa, sitting in front of her, close, so close. It’s only a split second, but meeting his gaze is all she needs.

She leans forward. And kisses him, quickly, before pulling back again.

Her heart is racing, unable to process what she did. She looks up to see his reaction, even though her nerves are killing her. She needs to know.

His surprise quickly makes way for a grin. Before Janine can feel even more nervous, he leans forward, cupping her face with his hand, the warmth of his touch and breath on her face, closing the distance between them.

It feels incredible.

It’s no use being careful when she already fainted in his arms and headbutted him in the face, when he’s seen Kurt the koala and her Christmas themed pyjamas, when she opened up about her mom, when she cuddled up in his lap. It’s no use being careful, so she leans into his hand, into his touch, taking in everything he’s giving her.  

She’d expected kissing him would ease her longing to pull him close, but it only makes her want him more. It’s like something inside her set off. Or like she passed a stop without knowing. She doesn’t ever want to return, though.

She senses he wants to get closer too, but their legs are in the way. The heat rises to her head. At this point, she cannot say whether it’s her fever acting up or that she’s feeling hot. Hot for him.

Her hand is on his chest, gently pressing. He pulls back. The look in his eyes knocks the air right out of her and for a moment, she stops in her tracks. He’s completely open, meeting her gaze with all he has. She’s never seen him like this. Her heart swells. She can’t go back.

She clasps his shoulder for stability as she straddles him. His eyes never leave her face as she settles and cups his face in her hands. She leans forward, his hands travel up her thighs, resting on her hips. It feels amazing, her body pressed to his, kissing him, his warm hands pressing into her hips, her lower back.

It’s not until she’s out of breath because of her stuffed nose that they pull back. Which is sooner than she would’ve liked. Her whole body is tingling, her thighs still pressing into the sides of his body, his hands still roaming her back, waist and hips. Her blanket long gone, bundled up on the side of her couch.  

He’s looking at her with so much fondness, a small smile lingering on his lips, she wants to kiss him all over again. She feels bare, naked, but it’s alright if he’s the one holding onto her.

“Do you think I passed on my cold to you?”

He chuckles softly. “Maybe. I’ll survive. It was a good trade.”

“Yeah,” Janine grins.

A moment of bliss passes. The next, she backs out of his lap and positions herself next to him again. She grabs one of the cups of tea they made. It’s cooled down entirely. Figures. She takes a sip anyway. Looks like WALL-E is almost over.

Gregory puts one of his arms on the backrest of the sofa, and she scooches closer to him, resting the back of her head in the crook of his armpit. And like that, they watch the remaining part of the movie.

It’s when Gregory’s putting on his coat to head home that she realises there’s no way she could’ve guessed how his day would go. Before going to bed yesterday, her plans were to go to Abbott and meet up with Erica afterwards. After waking up, she decided to stay in and recover from her cold, taking it easy even though it was her birthday. Not for a moment did she expect Gregory would show up at her door. That he would make her favourite soup. That he would kiss her. He has no idea how happy he makes her.

“Did you run your fingers through my hair while I was sleeping in your lap?” It’s not really a question.

Gregory meets her gaze, smiles softly, and nods.

“And then I told you to keep going.”

“Yeah, you did.” His smile deepens. “Want to do that again sometime soon?”

She beams up at him. “Yes. I would love that.”

He’s packed in to face the cold evening outside. She doesn’t want him to leave just yet. There’s a beat when they’re looking at each other. The next she takes a step forward. He folds his arms over her shoulders, her head, resting his chin on top of her hair. She places her hands on the broad of his back. Breathes in. And breathes out.

She could live here. In his arms.

[coraniaid]

Been thinking too much about minor Buffy characters this week.  Specifically, Amy Madison.

I'd always assumed -- to the extent I'd thought about it at all -- that when Amy talked to Willow about going back to see her dad in Smashed and Wrecked she was just lying. I assumed we were meant to think that she hadn't been back at all.  (Hence her talk about needing a 'new place' in Doublemeat Palace and needing Willow to lend her supplies; she doesn't have anybody else to ask for help precisely because she's not in touch with her dad.)  

Why would he even still be in Sunnydale, after all?  In Witch we're told that he broke up with Amy's mother when  Amy was twelve and that he left town afterwards.  As far as we know, he only comes back to Sunnydale to take care of Amy, after the events of that episode.  But with his daughter dead or missing – and we know that nobody told him his daughter had turned into a rat who was living in Willow's dorm room, so what else is he going to think? – why exactly would he want to hang around, years later?

But apparently that's not the intended reading: the original draft of the script for Wrecked has these lines (just before Amy takes Willow to see Rack):

AMY: God, I'm so glad you called. I had to get out of the house.

WILLOW: Already? So, things with your dad...

AMY: Bizarre. I guess after I disappeared he just decided to start over. He's, like, this new guy with a new wife and a new baby. And I'm this reminder of all his old stuff.

In other words Amy's unnamed dad -- previously probably in the running for father of the year, given the obvious lack of competition – suffered the gruesome fate that threatens all Sunnydale father figures: he turned into Hank Summers.  Also 'new wife' kind of suggests he wasn't in a relationship during Seasons 2 and 3, but Catherine says that he left her for another woman.  So is this wife number three, or did the writers just forget about that?

(I also don't think I'd realized until recently that Amy must have been going to see Rack before she was a rat, which ... honestly I'm not sure what I think of, as retcons go.  It interacts kind of oddly with the whole MOO thing from Gingerbread, doesn't it?)

More generally, while I know that Amy is only in Season 6 to enable the magic-as-drug-addiction subplot, it's kind of shocking just how utterly unsympathetic the narrative is to her.   I mean, she just spent years of her life as a rat.  Even if she doesn’t remember much of this … well, from her perspective one minute she's a high school student being burnt at the stake by a mob, now suddenly she's twenty years old with no friends and no support system and (given that she's retroactively a high school dropout) no obvious educational or employment opportunities.  And ... nobody seems to care. 

Instead Amy's presented as straightforwardly villainous for being angry about this, which ... well, who wouldn't be angry, in her position?  Did Willow really try that hard to bring her back?  Did anybody else?  (The viewer knows, after all, that Willow could have turned her back into a human as early as Season 4, if not sooner.)

There are some interesting parallels between S6!Buffy and S6!Amy, actually.  Both unexpectedly thrust back into their normal lives (in both cases because of Willow casting a spell); both struggling and failing to adjust to the change; both with (retroactively) shitty fathers and dead/missing mothers.  But the show sort of half-heartedly gestures at this once and then never comes back to it again.  Which feels like a missed opportunity.

(I also really don't buy the idea that Amy didn't know Larry was gay: didn't he come out almost a full year before she became a rat?  And on the other hand, if she didn't know, and still thought of Larry as the aggressively hyper-masculine jock we saw in Halloween ... why exactly did she want to go to the Prom with him?  And the more I think about it the more annoyed I get that this is the one and only time anybody in the show ever talks about Larry after Season 3.)

[kingfarce]

The (hopefully intended) viewing order of...

So recently, in preparation for the upcoming movie, and because it’s on Netflix, I decided to watch Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

However, as I watched it, I noticed that one aspect of the viewing experience still hasn’t been fixed: It’s out of order.

This might not be a deal breaker for a lot of people, but it irks me since I feel like there’s a lot of careful effort to make sure much of the timeline and rules of the setting make sense in the show.

At first I checked Wikipedia, which seemed to indicate it was in proper airing order, but then decided to check TMNTpedia, which had entirely different production codes.

While Wikipedia does cite a source for it, I’m not totally certain I trust it (due to it being a fairly obscure TV schedule site), and I think the order on TMNTpedia itself makes more sense, though it still has some issues I think.

So I’m gonna give my own proposed watch order for at least Season 1 (Season 2 aired mostly in order, likely because Nickelodeon already decided to cancel it). It’ll largely be the same as TMNTpedia’s Production Order, though some will be moved around.

Mystic Mayhem

Origami Tsunami

Newsworthy

War and Pizza

Donnie’s Gifts

Minotaur Maze

Down with the Sickness

Repo Mantis

Hypno!: Part Deux

The Fast and the Furriest

Mascot Melee

Bug Busters

Shell in a Cell

The Longest Fight

The Gumbus

Ms. Cuddles

Al Be Back

Stuck on You

The Purple Jacket

Pizza Pit

Smart Lair

Hot Soup: The Game

The Evil League of Mutants

Late Fee

Bullhop

Nothing But Truffle

Turtle-Dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man

Shadow of Evil

Mind Meld

Portal Jacked

Warren & Hypno, Sitting in a Tree

Sparring Partner

Mystic Library

Operation: Normal

How To Make Enemies and Bend People To Your Will

You Got Served

The Purple Game

Man Vs. Sewer

The Ancient Art of Ninja Hide and Seek

The Mutant Menace

One Man’s Junk

Snow Day

Cloak and Swaggart

Jupiter Jim Ahoy

Insane in the Mama Train

End Game

As I mentioned, I mainly adhered to the production order shown on TMNTpedia (I don’t expect I did it perfectly), but changed the order of some episodes since some of their placements made no sense to me:

Origami Tsunami has been placed as episode 2 due to that episode introducing Lou Jitsu and the Foot Clan, and also establishes the Turtles deciding to be heroes. (Thanks, @magicalspacedragon!)

Repo Mantis and Hypno!: Part Deux actually take place concurrently, hence why the two are close together here.

The Fast and the Furriest is before Mascot Melee due to the former introducing the Turtle Tank; in airing and supposedly production order, this resulted in an episode featuring the Turtle Tank before its formal introduction.

On the note of The Fast and the Furriest, for some reason Nickelodeon chose to air this episode before Minotaur Maze, the episode that introduces Senor Hueso and the pizzeria he works in, Run of the Mill Pizza.

I put The Gumbus before Al Be Back, since Baxter has an extended cameo in the latter episode. It isn’t very noticeable anyway, but for consistency and character introduction’s sake, I put it before.

Episodes not mentioned on this list (which again only covers Season 1) are Flushed But Not Forgotten and Sewer Games, which had the dubious honor of being aired before Season 1 finished; both episodes are from Season 2 (as evidenced by changes to the opening, most prominently Shredder replacing Draxum), but were aired as a Halloween Special in the show's second year. Netflix will likely correctly mark this as a Season 2 episode if it ever gets Season 2, as it was not included in Season 1's release on the platform.

I haven’t tried this order out for myself (I kinda gave up on the idea of watching it in any sort of chronological order around the time me and my sister reached Shadow of Evil on Netflix, and it would take a lot of time). I hope that the order shown here works, but it might need further nudging.

Here’s hoping the upcoming movie is good!

[lampmanliveblogs]

Amity: ”Luz, wait!” Luz: ”Come on! Look, I’m okay, it’s just water. This is just something that happens on Earth. Isn’t it cool?”

It’s fitting, that I make a reference to When It Rains, since I made a reference to that episode in my liveblog of The Intruder, when the concept of boiling rain was first introduced. So it’s sorta like we’ve come full circle.

…

…wait, it was raining when they got to the human realm, why are you looking so surprised Amity? 

(I like that Luz & Amity’s pajama pants & shorts are matching)

You know, thinking about it, me and Willow have a lot in common. We both have dark hair, we’re both named after plants, and we both take pictures of cute things.

Although I really need to stop taking screenshots of nice things just for the sake of taking screenshots of nice things. I’m five and a half minutes into the episode and I’ve already taken 27 screenshots. At this rate, I’ll have some 200 screenshots when I’m done. When I’m done, you know, in a year.

Come on Lampman, focus! It’ll be summer soon, so you better start summer-izing!

Luz is sad, Amity sees Luz is sad. Amity uses her magic to make Luz’ signature light spell, which they let drift into the night sky. This imagery is reminiscent the openings for seasons 1 & 2, where at the end, Luz lets a ball of light drift into the night sky.

Watch me ignore my own advice and take another screenshot ten seconds later.

There we have Luz’ palisman egg, still not hatched. So in case you missed it, I got an ask about what I thought Luz’’ palisman was gonna be. Now, I had already said I thought it was going to be a bird, most likely an owl… but they way that ask was written makes me suspect that it is, in fact, not going to be an owl. Unless I’m reading too much into things.

Anyway, Luz is pouting. She crumples up the page in her notebook, clearly frustrated when the light glyph she made doesn’t work. She has a new beanie, with two pins. There’s of course the bi flag, but also an eye, which kinda reminds me of the eye on the portal door. Symbolic of how the Demon Realm is always on her mind? It could be.

The Halloween decorations mean this takes place around the latter half of October. And no, I did not just forget when Halloween is and had to go look it up, shut up.

Let’s see… The events of Reaching Out happened on the 22:nd of August… it was less than a month until the Day of Unity then… so the Day of Unity happened maybe halfway into September, which means this takes place roughly a month to a month and a half after the Day of Unity, unless my calculations are completely wrong. Which they probably are, knowing my luck.

Ooh, are we gonna get to see Luz back in school? That’s actually one of the things I wanted to see in season three, though I didn’t dare to hope it would actually happen. Though it only makes sense I suppose, you know, show what life used to be like for Luz to better make the contrast between her old life and her new life in the Demon Realm and all that.

Season three title card! Hey, Future Lampman, do me a favor and make this the title card of the liveblog, will you? Oh, and add a proper title as well while you’re at it.

It might be of note that unlike season two’s title card, which had all four elements, this one only has a spark.