#also elizabeth said this was a slay when i showed her so

[girlboydotjpg]

tw: blood

elizabeth, in the chasm where was my soul,

forever young, elizabeth báthory.

(likeness of my own sister, elizabeth)

[themomsandthecity]

Drew Barrymore's Last Divorce Hit Hard: "I Never Thought I Would Be With Anyone Else"

Drew Barrymore has been married three times, and she "never" plans to do it again, she said during a recent episode of the "Best Friend Energy" podcast with Joanna Teplin and Clea Shearer, released Jan. 10. While in conversation with The Home Edit team, Barrymore opened up about exactly why she's done with marriage, as well as her coparenting experience with her ex Will Kopelman - the marriage she thought would truly last. "I never thought I would be with anyone else," Barrymore said of her relationship with Kopelman, whom she married in 2012 before the pair divorced in 2016. It was a different experience than her two previous marriages, the 47-year-old actor and TV host explained. "I married someone early on for a sort of [a] . . . logistical thing," she said, referencing her marriage to bar owner Jeremy Thomas in 1994. Then she married actor Tom Green, who was "such a lovely person," she said. "We were just young, and we were just kids. We just tried to do something, and it didn't work out." But her relationship with Kopelman, Barrymore said, was the one she thought would go the distance. "When I married my kids' father, it was like, that was it," she explained. "I'm going to have that nuclear family, and we're going to be a four-top at dinner for life. And when that just couldn't happen that way, I felt like it took me a very long time to come to terms with that." "I just did not accept divorce lightly," she told Teflon and Shearer. "I really mourned the death of this dream for many, many years." Barrymore used alcohol to "numb the pain and feel good," she told People in a December 2022 interview. In 2021, she told CNN she'd been sober for two years. Related: Rooney Mara Talks Parenting With Joaquin Phoenix in a "Creative Household" One reason Barrymore said she doesn't want to marry again is because "it would be my fourth marriage. So unless I'm cool like Elizabeth Taylor . . . it's not a good look," she joked on "Best Friend Energy." She also said she and Kopelman "work so well as coparents." She described how close she is with his family; apparently she lives within blocks of them. Barrymore said she's fortunate that nothing changed about her "community and love" with Kopelman and his family. But that didn't make the divorce any easier, she noted. "I just couldn't come to terms with it for a few years, and that took me down." Fast-forward to today, though, and Barrymore says she's the happiest she's ever been. She called the past decade "the best . . . of my life, without question," during the People interview. And it didn't just magically happen that way - she created her current happiness. "I feel like I've slayed more dragons than I ever have in my whole life," she told People. One thing that may have helped? Barrymore learned how to let herself take breaks. She took her cue from Simone Biles, she said on "Best Friend Energy." "I remember when Simone Biles said, 'I can't do this, I'm gonna stop,'" she said, referencing Biles's choice to withdraw from the Olympic gymnastics team final in 2021 when she realized she was mentally unable to perform her routines safely. "That flipped me out," Barrymore said. "I was like, 'Oh my god. I've never stopped running.'" She added, "I wish for more people to know that they can take a pause." Now happily single and hosting her own successful talk show, Barrymore appears to be fully embracing this inner peace. "I never knew that I would love such a quiet life," she said. "And I'm having it, and it's just so good." Related: Ian Somerhalder and Nikki Reed Expecting Baby No. 2: "Some Things Are Too Good Not to Share" https://www.popsugar.com/family/drew-barrymore-divorce-49060066?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr

[gablehood]

Hello, curious about your top 5 fave The White Queen costumes 🖤 I would say the show had decent(boring-ish) costumes, but unfortunately every character owned max 5 gowns😒 seeing the queen of England wearing the same dress for 3 episodes is....weird

Hello lovely! I definitely agree w/r to the show costumes, they were absolutely on the simpler side, and those ladies knew how to get their money's worth out of one dress. That being said, I'm certainly quite fond of them all the same, or perhaps as a result of that? The White Queen's lower-budget and plainer dresses hold a more special place in my heart than some other productions with lots of money to spend yet a lot less character-driven wardrobe choices (I shall name no names, of course... 👀)

Now, I'm sure I'll miss a few, but I'm gonna go with my gut and choose the costumes I can think of that spark the most joy (Marie Kondo style.)

Elizabeth Woodville's Blue Wedding Gown: I really respect how this gown reflects Elizabeth's relatively lower social standing and financial means at the time (just compare it to some of her more elaborate dresses when she becomes queen, such as her coronation gown) and yet still manages to come across quite lavish. It's a lovely colour and fabric, and definitely encapsulates the water element that the Woodville's are so attached to in the show.

Anne Neville's Yellow Wedding Gown : Now, I won't deny that it's tacky. It's certainly tacky! But I like a bit of tacky every now and again (or maybe more than just every now and again.) I also think this style choice, the bright colour, the gaudiness, is very in line with medieval fashion sensibilities, and totally fitting for a dynastic marriage... plus, love the sleeves. No shame.

Margaret of Anjou's Mother of the Bride Dress: It's nigh on impossible to find a good picture of this one on google images, but Margaret really served, proving that even if weddings are where everyone serves the best looks in this show, they're not necessarily all on the brides. It doesn't hurt that it teeters closer to accuracy than a few of the gowns in the show.

Elizabeth Woodville's Pink Shift: This costume probably encapsulates the whole "simple costumes can be better" thing. I won't deny it's a plain dress, but I love the material and the colour, and I'm very fond of it as being the look we see Elizabeth in most during her first episode. Maybe Rebecca Ferguson just looks good in anything?

Every Headdress worn by Cecily of York: This one is self-explanatory. She served it in every single scene. With the exception of a few of the other mother characters, barely any of the women in this series wear the iconic, weird headdresses that they could be. Cecily is the only one who understood the assignment. This is why she's the only one who got invited back for The White Princess. #Slay.

[not-close-to-straight]

Random Wanda Vision Thoughts--

Episode 1: I am an emotional bitch crying at Wanda and Vision saying “i do” at the end of episode 1, like can these babies please catch a break? they just want to be happy. 

Also Agnes and the 70′s show mom are my favorite wtf. 

STARK TOASTERS I SEE YOU. 

WHO IS WATCHING THEM WTF 

Episode 2: 

Dottie should die, she seems like the type who needs gently run over by a bus

WHO IS IN THE RADIO

Elizabeth Olsen is so cute in this, absolutely adorable 

IS THAT DAVID SCHWIMMER PLAYING THE PIANO

Vision is drunk from getting gum in his gears, I’m actually cackling right now. 

Tiny bit culty with the “for the children” thing, huh? Yikes

BABY BUMP! 

Some creepo decides to get in on their world and Wanda literally went “i think the fuck not, let’s try this again and this time in technicolor” 

is that the cop who asked out Ant Man on the radio?

The difference in “sitcom” Wanda who is happy in her world and “real life” Wanda when she realizes something isn’t right is honestly astonishing and Grade A Face Acting. See what happens when they let women do more on screen then walk around in tight clothes with full lips parted in a sexy pout? 

Episode 3: 

Seventies Vision’s hair is ENDING ME, I can’t even deal with that. 

IT HAS TO BE DAVID SCHWIMMER except he looks like “russ” from friends instead of “ross” 

Poor Vision is not handling impending fatherhood well 

COMIC BOOK NAME DROP BILLY AND TOMMY I LOVE IT 

Poor pregnancy fritzing Wanda. DID WANDA JUST GLITCH A TIME ERASE AND NOT MEAN TO? Listen, I did not expect to love them as a couple this much. EW HER WATER BROKE OMG 

A STORK 

Oh Wanda, poor baby she’s so afraid, I write way too much fan fiction about how all these characters are secretly terrified to go through life alone to be okay with this. 

Why did I start crying immediately when the babies were born, I’m too emotional for this. She is so beautiful and Vision is so soft meeting his son as himself, oh my gosh. THE TWIN SCREAMS while the other twin comes omg this is Grade A Sitcom bullshit. 

The doctor knows something is Up and so do Herb and Agnes. *don’t be suspicious, don’t be suspicious*

...have we actually seen Ralph and I’m just blanking on it? WHY DON’T THEY LIKE GERALDINE? WHO IS SHE?

Oh no i’m crying again over pietro and the sokovian lullaby. Don’t let me watch this while I’m PMSing wtf this is torture. GERALDINE KNOWS ABOUT ULTRON

OH SHIT WANDA IS PISSED LOOK AT THAT DANGEROUS LADY. that head tilt is fucking lethal. 

I love agnes oh man. I know because of spoilers she’s something of a bad guy? but I love her

WHAT HAPPENED TO GERALDINE OMG DID WANDA KILL HER

Oh no, not dead. Just kicked tf out of the bubble. I just realized the symbol is for Sword. Is this some sort of experiment to keep Wanda contained post Endgame? I should have read more spoilers, I’m fucking confused. 

Episode 4: OH HOLY SHIT IT’S MONICA RAMBEAU AND IT’S POST EG SNAP OH MY GOSH SHE HAS NO IDEA SHES BEEN GONE FOR FIVE YEARS MY HEART IS BREAKING MY HEART IS BREAKING I CAN’T TAKE IT 

It IS the cop that hit on Ant Man! WHAT DO THEY MEAN WESTVIEW DOESN’T EXIST 

Oh it’s Darcy! Damn straight it’s Dr. Lewis. How very shocking, a woman was the one to show a room full of Ridiculous Men what’s going on?

ZOMBIE VISION OH MY GOD “no we can’t” oh man she is starting to CRACK and Vision knows something is wrong OH NO 

At this point I should point out that I am 1000% surprised at the quality of the show and 1000% pleasantly surprised by how much I’m enjoying it. The bar for Wanda’s character development was literally subterranean, but this is has been frankly sort of amazing?? 

Episode 5

Agnes asking about “taking it from the top” WHAT. I love so much the way the characters “break character” it’s so interesting and well done! WHY IS WANDA LYING TO VISION. 

WHERE IS RALPH

oh my god the babies are children now?? why isn’t agnes noticing?? THEY’RE SO CUTE I COULD CRY ALL OVER AGAIN 

I do not. trust. hayward. Why is he asking about Wandas nickname? Monica knows whats up-- she knows Wanda is grieving and hurting. 

THE VISIONS CORPSE WHAT? WHAT IS WANDA DOING OH MY GOD SHE STOLE VISION. Vision has a living will? Don’t you have to be human for that? Are you telling me the woman that loved Vision would straight up ignore his wish to not be turned into a weapon after his death? I have a hard time with this. 

Oh no Vision is starting to worry me. He’s onto Agnes, he’s noticing Wanda getting careless...the boys are adorable though. Good on Agnes for not even flinching. 

DAMN RIGHT WANDA COULD HAVE TAKEN OUT THANOS LETS HAVE SOME RESPECT PEOPLE. Also, why is Monica being sketchy about Captain Marvel? 

EMAIL ALERT EMAIL ALERT “none of it is real.” oh my god what is happening?!?!

“Is this yours?” OH MY GOD. “This will be your only warning” she is so unafraid and I love her for it. I love her accent coming back when she breaks characters LOOK AT HER TURNING ALL THOSE MEN AROUND I LOVE HER. 

“Fix the dead” oh my god the shock on her face. The absolute irony of her trying to tell her boys there’s rules when she’s writing the playbook as she goes. Oh my god. “Can’t I?” Jesus, then the credits start rolling because she wants the episode to be over but Vision won’t let her OH MY GOD. My heart is breaking

WHAT DOES IT MEAN SHE DOESN’T KNOW 

SHE RECAST PIETRO

Episode 6

OOOOH look at the classic costumes! Pietro is slaying me. I mean, it’s the wrong pietro but its still very funny. The way Vision calls her out and then plays it off is.... spooky. She is fully aware thats not her brother. “Be good.” holy shit. 

Look at me not liking Hayward again. “which one is the sassy best friend” i feel like that’s....racist. “don’t use the last five years as an excuse to be a coward” DRAG HIM SIS 

Listen Uncle Pietro being a little shit head is my favorite. I use the OG Pietro in my fics but this one is hilarious. 

Vision lied about being on duty? Yikes. The one house where people are stuck in a loop? YIKES. Its crazy how everyone is starting to be super aware of Wanda pulling the strings--MAGIC CHILD OMG. 

Whats past ellis avenue? Is that the limit of Wanda’s powers? I don’t super understand how Vision has his powers if he’s technically dead. HE DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THE AVENGERS ARE she really just gave him enough life to exist just barely. Agnes knows he’s dead so she wasn’t snapped??

Agnes’s witchy laugh while dressed like a witch is legit awesome. We call that FOREEEEEEEEESHADOWING! Oh and there’s Ellis Ave. Got it. 

Monica’s blood is changed?? Idk how to feel about Black Character willing to die for White Charaxter? I mean I know Wanda should be Jewish but still. Uncomfortably close to icky tropes but maybe I’m reading too far into it.

YIKES where was she hiding the kids till now? How’d she do all this? “I’m not a stranger or your husband” YIKES.

OH MY GOD DEAD PIETRO

OH MY GOD VISION STAY IN THE BUBBLE SOMEONE SAVE HIM SAVE HIM OMG BILLY CAN HEAR HIS DADDY DYING SAVE HIM

“The people need help” oh Vision you are truly Worthy

She literally expanded her world to save him omg

DARCY WHERED YOU GO geez look at power of this girls mind it’s about damn time we got a glimpse at just how intense her powers are

Season 7

Ok is this like a reality show? Oh man she is GLITCHING.

Oh no it’s just Wanda not Wanda vision cos she feels alone? So sad. She really is losing it isn’t she and not in a “lol how awkward” sortnof way but in that truthful hard to watch way that so many of us feel when we’re at the breaking point

“I actually did bite a kid once” I literally ugly laughed right there

I KNEW I COULDNT TRUST HAYWOOD

It’s so nice to see Darcy used in a real way. Her character was totally wasted in Thor

The way Wandas little interviews get more and more sad :(

Uhhh what does that mean Agnes is quiet on the inside? Again with the Ralph thing. I’m starting to think there’s no Ralph at all??

LOOK AT THIS GIRL WITH HER SPACE ROVER . She’s got that same look of determination her mama had. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO HER WHY ARE HER EYES BLUE

“....soooo Wanda killed me?” I’m ugly laughing again and I shouldn’t be but the comedic delivery is excellent. The whole “office” vibe with the cameras is making an otherwise devastating episode fairly funny

LOOK AT THIS GIRL STANDING UP TO WANDA we love a sharp cheekbones beauty

“Maybe I already am” I mean, I would have loved to hear that post Ultron when for some reason everyone blamed Tony for everything?? But hearing it now is just horrifying and I hate it

Oh vision deciding to go get to his wife is beautiful.

WHERE ARE THE BABIES WHERE ARE THE BOYS OH MY GOD IM FREAKING OUT WHAT BASEMENT THATS NEVER GOOD

Uh hey what the fuck is up with Agness creepy basement of horrors??

AGATHA HARKNESS OH MY GOD

This song is a BOP wtf she deserves an Emmy for this shit

Snoopers gonna snoop what?

Episode 8

Of course it’s Salem, where else would a witch story start

“They simply bent to my power” What a queen

lmaoooo THAT ACCENT COMES AND GOES Agatha really said what we’ve all been thinking

Wait so Wandas power drew Agatha in? I thought maybe Agatha trapped her here?? SHE DOESNT KNOW WHAT WANDA IS

THE BABIES

Oh ouch this trip down memory lane is gonna hurt me isn’t it?

Oh no her mama I’m dying inside send help. The TV sitcoms. Oh my god is this her last memory before her parents died. HELP ME I CANT WATCH THIS

Oh my god, she had powers when she was little?? SHES NOT AN EXPERIMENT???

Listen I generally think telling a story retroactively is lazy writing? Just give us a well developed story the first time?? But this is BRUTAL and brutally well done.

SHE SAW HERSELF IN THE MIND STONE???

Would it have been so difficult for them to give us even a PEEK at this version of wanda vision in CACW? Marvel has the worst habit of just popping up like “oh hey these two love each other all the sudden with no real reason for it” but this is wonderful. So much character development.

Oh listen to this woman begging to be able to bury her husband omg. WAIT SO SHE DIDNT BREAK IN AND TAKE HIM?? WHAT ARE THEY DOING TO VISION?? DID HE PUSH HER INTO THIS PSYCHOTIC BREAK?? HE TOTALLY PLAYED HER INTO RECREATING VISION SHE JUST WANTED CLOSURE. He literally showed her visions dismembered corpse and said “say goodbye” I will kill this dude wtf

“I can’t feel you” guys I have to pause this so I can cry for a minute

“I can’t feel you” and then she leaves. Totally alone in the world. My heart is an empty husk.

Why the house though? Why west view?

OH FUCK ME UP ARE YOU KIDDING ME VISION WAS GOING TO BUILD THEM A HOUSE I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE

It’s not even real vision? Just the projection of her broken heart? “Welcome home” I am broken. Physically broken.

CHAOS MAGIC

SCARLET WITCH

I CANNOT

OH MY GOD WHITE VISION??? NO NO NO

[mieteve-minijoma]

Songfic Day 14: If

Day 14: A song you’d love played at your wedding: If - Bread

Jughead and Betty throughout their wedding day

*****

If a picture paints a thousand words,

Then why can't I paint you?

The words will never show the you I've come to know.

  6:32 am - Betty

  “Good Morning Besties! Time to rise and shine, we have to get the blushing bride to the chapel on time and we’re already behind schedule,” Veronica sang, pulling back the curtains of the grande suite she’d rented for her best friend Betty’s wedding.

 “Christ Lodge, the sun is barely up, can you not?” Toni grumbled from one of the large king size beds that she and Cheryl had passed out the night before. Jellybean lay sprawled out on the sofa, snoring despite all the noise around her. 

 “No can do, Topaz. As maid of honor it is my duty to keep you bridesmaids on schedule while also making sure B has everything she needs and stays sane today. Last thing we need is Alice complaining that things are running behind,” she said, placing two lattes beside Toni.

 “V, it’s entirely too early to mention my mother. I need my coffee first before we can even go there. What time is it anyway?” Betty yawned, stretching as she spoke.  

  7:35 am - Jughead

  “Archie!” Jughead yelled across the apartment he shared with his best friend, Archie. After today, he would be moving in with his fiance -well wife- and he really couldn't wait.

 He and Betty have been together for 6 years now and he couldn't be happier with his life. They were both officially done with school and had just opened their own Private Investigation Firm. That way they could work together while also allowing Jughead to have time to work on his novel. 

 Life had been good to them and now they finally get to be man and wife. Jughead was trying not to be sappy about it all, but this was his ultimate dream come true.

 "What is it Jug? What time is it?" Archie asked, hair askew and wiping the sleep from his eyes.

 "It's almost 8, coffee’s in the pot. Have you seen my cufflinks? You know the ones Dad had made, the little silver crowns? I can't find them anywhere," Jughead was a bit worried when they weren’t on his dresser that morning. FP’d had them made for the wedding with an identical pendant made for Betty to wear as well. And his Dad didn't give him a lot of gifts growing up so these were very important to him. 

 "Yeah man, there in the box with mine and the groomsmen's in my bag ready to go to the church," Archie said in a calming voice, "Don't freak out man, as your best man it's my job to keep you calm and threaten to murder you or break your legs if you try to run."

 "I think death threats and acts of violence are a bit extreme, don't you Arch?" Jughead laughed.

 Archie rolled his eyes, grabbing a cup to pour them some coffee, "Tell that to Veronica."

  If a face could launch a thousand ships,

Then where am I to go?

  9:23 am - Betty

"V, I’m so glad you talked me into doing a massage and facial before our mani-pedis. This is literally heaven," Betty sighed, taking a sip of her mimosa while the manicurist massaged lotion onto her calves.

 "Only the best for my B. I wanted to make you feel as special your wedding day as everyday of my life has felt since you came into it," Veronica smiled, eyes glistening. Betty teared up at her best friends heartfelt words.

 "Oh, V. I love you so much," Betty pulled her into a crushing hug, being sure not to shift her lower half. She felt a tear roll down her cheek and whispered, "Thanks for always being there for me, no matter what. I wouldn't be here today if it wasn't for you."

 Veronica pulled back, laughing through a sob, "Ok, enough of that. I may have gotten the best waterproof makeup money can buy, but we aren't trying to test that claim today."

 "Betty?" They both froze when they heard the voice calling from the hall. Betty let out an exasperated sigh.

 "In here, Mom."

  9:47 am - Jughead

  "Coming!" Jughead yelled, walking towards the front door. When he opened it, he was met with the smiling faces of his father and his other three best friends.

 "Congratulations, boy," FP stepped in, hugging his son tight, "I can't believe you're actually getting married."

 "Thanks Dad, what you you doing here so early? I didn't expect you for another hour at least," Jughead said, hugging and high-fiving his groomsmen -Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Kevin- as they entered the apartment.

 "You know Alice, she was itching to leave Riverdale at 6 this morning. I held her off as long as possible but that’s like fighting a grizzly bear and well, Archie wasn’t around for back up. Is JB here?" FP asked, looking around Jug's apartment for his daughter.

 "She decided to stay over at the hotel with the girls so they could all be together to get ready or whatever they plan on doing," Jughead said, shrugging his shoulders.

 "Looks Sweets will be disappointed. He was hoping to see her before we all had to get ready," FP nodded his head towards Sweet Pea who'd spent the entire time with his nose shoved in his phone, dopey grin plastered on his face.

 It honestly used to bother him Sweet Pea and Jellybean had started dating when she turned 18 but he got over that fairly quickly. Just seeing how good they were for each other eased Jughead's mind. Besides that, Sweets looked at Jelly the same way he looked at Betty, so he knew what they had was real.

  There's no one home but you,

You're all that's left me too.

  11:56 am - Betty

  "Stand up straight, Elizabeth. We still have to finish getting you in this corset or we will never get your dress on properly," Alice huffed, pulling on the fabric. Veronica had gone downstairs to handle a situation with the caterers and all the girls had stepped out to get drinks and snacks for the rest of the wedding party, leaving Betty alone with her mother for the first time all morning.  And frankly, she was about to her breaking point. 

 She loved her mother, she really did, and ever since she and FP had gotten better but as soon as the wedding planning started she had started to nitpick every little thing Betty did or choice she made. 

 With hips like yours, would a mermaid cut dress be appropriate? Elizabeth, just because Jughead wants a chocolate cake doesn't mean he should get it, it’s your special day. Is that really the font you chose for the invitations? You’re seriously going to have your bridesmaids and groomsmen mixed up on both sides?

 It has gotten so bad that Jughead and FP had to step in to tell her that it was enough and that she needed to back off. Which she did, that is, until she arrived this morning and thought she’d try to pack months of criticism into one morning. Betty didn’t need to deal with this today, of all days, so she grabbed her phone and sent an SOS text.

 SOS... Send reinforcements to slay the dragon and save the princess...

 “Mom, I'm sure it will be fine,” Betty tried to stop the discussion but Alice was having none of it and cut her off. 

 “Elizabeth, I just don’t want those extra pounds you’ve added these last few weeks to show through because you didn’t properly shinch your corset. Now- “ Alice was interrupted by a knock at the door. 

 “Hey Alice, Dad said he needs your help. Something about his tie or something?” Jellybean smiled sheepishly but winked at Betty once Alice turned her back. Betty smiled, mouthing her thanks to her future sister-in-law.

 “I swear, I have no idea how that man survived all those years on his own without me,” Alice scoffed as she marched out of the women’s dressing area. Betty was grateful when Veronica walked back in the room, an apologetic look on her face and holding two lattes.

 “I am so sorry, B. I swear I didn’t mean to leave you alone with her this morning,” Veronica apologized.

 “It’s ok Ronnie. Jug took care of it,” Betty smiled, sipping her cinnamon dulce white chocolate mocha.

  12:02 pm - Jughead

  Betty: SOS... Send reinforcements to slay the dragon and save the princess...

 “Dad, get your woman before I have Sweet Pea hogtie her and toss her in your truck,” Jughead groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in his frustration.

 “Oh Lord, what’s she doing this time, boy?” FP asked. Jughead didn’t answer, just handed him his phone to show FP the text from Betty. “Alright, I’ll take care of this. JELLY!” he yelled.

 “Yeah Dad?” Jellybean said, walking in from the hallway where she and Sweet Pea were talking with the rest of the wedding party.

 “We have a code viper in Betty’s room, can you handle it for us please?” Jelly nodded, running out the door.

 “Code viper?” Jughead smirked. 

 FP simply shrugged and smiled at his son. “You’ve met that woman, right?”

  And when my love for life is running dry,

You come and pour yourself on me.

 2:00 pm - Betty

 “Betty, you look beautiful,” FP choked, grinning as he walked up to her at the front of the church. She beamed at FP, tears pricking her eyes.

 “Thanks FP, you clean up well yourself,” she chuckled. She was thankful to have FP in her life as her surrogate father. After everything that happened with her father and his death, she never thought she’d have a chance to be walked down the aisle properly. But after living with FP and Jellybean her senior year, he really became the father she no longer had and she was so grateful.

 “Are you nervous?” he asked. 

 Betty shook her head and smiled, “Not even a little bit.” 

 The music began and FP offered her his arm, “Let’s make you a Jones.” Betty placed her tiny hand in the crook of his arm and grinned. This was the moment she’d been waiting for all her life.

  2:00 pm - Jughead

  The doors opened slowly and Jughead lost his ability to breathe. At the end of the aisle, standing beside his father, was the most beautiful vision he had ever seen. Betty’s dress, form-fitting until just past her hips and flaring out at the bottom, made her look like a princess in a fairytale. Her veil had tiny diamonds that sparkled like the stars in the sky, catching the light with every step she took towards him. 

 When their eyes locked, Jughead could feel the tears dripping from his eyes despite the goofy grin that was plastered on his face. He could see that Betty was as much in the same boat as he was, her smile rivaling the sunshine and her hands gripping tighter to the bouquet of wildflowers in her hands.

 As his future stepped up to stand beside him, he knew that his life was finally complete. He had loved her for so many years that he couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t. His whole life had been leading to this moment and he was speechless. Betty placed her hand in his and squeezed, grinning at him.

 “Hi Juggie.”

  If a man could be two places at one time,

I'd be with you.

Tomorrow and today, beside you all the way.

 3:33 pm - Betty

  “I met Betty in my sophomore year of highschool when my family moved to Riverdale from the city. She was my tour guide at Riverdale High and the moment we met, I knew she would be my best friend. And even though we have had our ups and downs in the past, I have never regretted a moment that I have spent with her. My life would be incomplete without her,” Veronica paused to wipe a tear from her eyes, “Oh, and Jughead is ok too, I guess.” Everyone burst into a fit of laughter.

 “In all seriousness, I have been around Jughead and Betty throughout their entire relationship and I can safely say I have never seen two people more in love. Well except for my Archikins and I,” everyone chuckled again at the nickname, “Jughead, Betty, I wish you all the happiness in the world and I know that, without a doubt, there is not two people more suited for each other then you two. I love you guys, salud!” Veronica held up her glass as everyone chapped and sipped their champagne.

  3:35 pm - Jughead

  “Thanks everyone, um, I have known Betty and Jughead for my entire. We have all been friends since we were still in diapers and our parents would bathe us together,” Betty and Jughead blushed as people giggled, “Um, yeah but we have been through a lot together. I was actually really shocked when I first found out that they were dating, just simply for the fact that I never saw it coming. No one did really. But I remember seeing them one day outside Southside High and, with the help of Ronnie, I realized that they were soulmates. And I also realized that I wanted what they have with each other. I got lucky and found my soulmate too,” he paused to smile at Veronica, “Jughead, you have always been more like my brother than anything and I am so happy for you. You deserve to be with someone who will treat you like you are their whole world, and you’ve got that person beside you. Betty, you have been my rock since we were two years old. You helped me pass the second grade, you saved my life more than once when we were younger and I will always be thankful to have you in my life. You will always be my best friend and I am so happy that you and Jughead have found the happiness you both deserve together. I love you guys, cheers!”  

 If the world should stop revolving spinning slowly down to die,

I'd spend the end with you. 

And when the world was through,

  6:26 pm - Betty

  Betty was thankful she had decided to change into a more comfortable dress as she moved with Veronica on the dance floor, dancing to cringy Britney Spears songs just like they’d done so many times before. Betty bit her lip as she looked over her shoulder to see her husband standing off to the side, laughing and having a cigarette with Fangs and Toni, tie long gone along with his coat. 

 He had rolled up his sleeves earlier in the evening, showing off all the ink that he’d accumulated over the years that Betty loved to look at. His suspenders were hanging down around his hips in their usual place, his hair falling into his eyes and Betty couldn’t help but think of how sexy he was. And better still, how he was all hers. 

 She told Veronica she was taking a break and walked over to the bar for some bottled water. As she sipped her drink, she glanced back over to where Jughead was and caught him staring at her while taking a drag from his smoke. She winked at him, biting her lip and slowly walking towards one of the coat closets near the front of the reception hall. Just before opening the door to step inside she ran the tip of her tongue around the rim of the water bottle and grinned, knowing he wouldn’t be far behind.

   7:44 pm - Jughead

  “Mmm, Betty?” Jughead pulled away panting, lips bee stung from ravaging his wife in the tiny coat closet. Her breasts heaved as she tried to find her voice, “Yeah?” she said, latching her lips to his neck, sucking a dark bruise for everyone to see.

 “Do- um, do you think they’ve noticed we are missing yet?” Jughead asked, moaning loudly at the feeling of his wife's tongue on his bare skin. A loud banging at the door startled them both causing them to jump apart like two teenagers.

 “Yes, we know you’re missing and yes, the entire banquet does know what you are doing in here,” Veronica shouted through the door. Jughead’s face turned bright red as Betty burst into laughter and threw her arms around his neck.

 “Take me to our room, husband. I have plans for you,” Betty grinned. 

 “Don’t threaten me with a good time, wife,” She squealed with laughter as Jughead threw her over his shoulder and pushed the door open to make a mad dash for the elevators. 

  Then one by one the stars would all go out,

Then you and I would simply fly away

[momothegeckho]

Magi19 is Online...

Mystic Messenger Fanfic. Yoosung x Reader (OC)

Note: So i totally did this when this game first came out, and its been collecting dust for a long time lol. I know its a bit lat and irrelevant now, but I enjoyed writing it so here it goes. I may not continue it unless I feel it needs more, so this is just what I wrote.

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• Yoosung unlocked his door and sighed. His Professor had caught him texting during class again and really let him have it after the session ended. He went into his room, dropped his bag, and jumped onto his bed. “He just had to give me extra homework, today of all days! What luck…” Today was a special event on his favorite MMORPG, LOLOL. If he wasn’t there today, it would be gone tomorrow. Yoosung sat up and looked at his bag, then at his computer. After what seemed like forever, which was really five seconds, Yoosung chose LOLOL. He just couldn’t wait. And the homework was due on friday, anyway. He pushed the power button on the side of his computer and smiled. 

“Armor is 60% off today! As well as certain boosts, too! No way can I miss this event!” The desktop on his screen lit up to show the background picture of him when he was younger, holding a light brown puppy with brown eyes. Rika’s puppy. He smiled at the memory and quickly opened up LOLOL, put on his headphones, and logged in. As soon as he was about to review his character, Yoosung’s phone beeped. A new chat room had opened up on the messenger app. He picked up his phone and sighed. It was Seven again, most likely signing on to poke a little fun at everyone. He turned on the app and entered the chatroom.

707: Yoosung!!!!

Yoosung: Seven… why are you here? Didn’t you say you had work?

Mina (MC):He does… but he’s putting it off until the last minute. Hello Yoosung! How was school?

Yoosung: Fine I guess, but my prof. yelled at me for being on my phone… I was just about to get on LOLOL.

707: Yoosung.

Yoosung: What?

707:… Get a girlfriend.

Those words made Yoosung sigh. Ever since Seven and Mina had gotten together, Seven tried to set Yoosung up on dates with girls he barely knew. He just wanted to find a girl naturally and connect with her through a mutual friendship, though he knew it wouldn’t happen overnight. Even though he wished it would.

Yoosung: Seven… Pls.

Mina: Seven! That was rude! Let Yoosung find love by his own terms! Sorry Yoosung. You know Seven is just playing.

Yoosung: Thanks, Mina. I’ll find someone someday!!!

{Jaehee Kang Has Entered the Chatroom}

Jaehee: How soon is someday exactly? Because from what I see, you barely put yourself out there.

Yoosung: Jaehee! You’re so mean!!!!

Jaehee: Just speaking the truth. Hello Seven, Mina. Finally got a break from Mr. Han!!!

Mina: Glad you made it out alive! How is Jumin? He hasn’t been in the chatroom lately.

Jaehee: He’s been on a lot of business trips lately. Just this morning, he took off for America for a transaction. And this time, he took the furball with him! 

707: Wow. You must be really happy. Elizabeth Third! Come baaack!

Jaehee: Don’t jinx this. Please.

Yoosung: Lol. Jaehee. Do you really not like Elizabeth the Third? She’s cute!

Jaehee: No… She’s the devil with shedding hair. Zen’s new role in ‘Love Under the Cherry Blossom’ is cute! ////

Yoosung: Whatever. LOLOL calls for me. Later, everyone!

Mina: Bye, Yoosung!!

Yoosung put down his phone and started to play LOLOL. He smiled at the prices on new armor and buffs for his character. It was like being a kid in a candy store! He bought up a few things and started to play. He found a dungeon to go into and saw another player standing outside of it. The character wore a white cape with gold decorating the edges, while the armor she had on was very amazon-like. The character’s hair was black with white tips, and she had a sword on her side. Almost as if on cue, the messenger block popped up with blinking dots. The player was contacting him.

Magi19: Hello! Are you here for the event, too?

Yoosung: Yeah! I mean, who could miss it? I would hate myself if this passed and I wasn’t here to participate. What did you get?

Magi19: Right!? I just got a few buffs to help me cast spells quicker. I also got some new armor! You?

Yoosung: A few armor suits and some buffs. Hey, do you want to be friends? We could conquer the dungeon together! 

There was a small pause after Yoosung’s question, and he started to feel awkward. Was he too straightforward? After all, He only met Magi19 a few seconds ago. The worst thing that got to him was that he was thinking so hard about this as if he was asking out a girl… He was about to dismiss his question when a beep came from his computer.

Magi19: Yeah, sure!! I haven’t went inside yet! Let me send you my info really quickly…

Yoosung received Magi19’s profile info and looked through it. Everything seemed normal, from her gender all the way to her stats.

Yoosung: Wow! You’re really experienced! Level 60? You could clear this level by yourself if you wanted!

Magi19: I’m not that experienced. I just fight monsters here and there for the items. You have a really high level, too. Lol!!!

Yoosung: I’m sure you’re great! Let’s go!

Magi19: Wait! Shouldn’t we hook up our mics so we can talk instead of type? I don’t know about you, but I’m a bit of a slow typer…

Yoosung: Oh yeah, sure! Here’s my sky-pic number.

Magi19: Thanks! Hold on…

Magi19 stopped typing and then called Yoosung on Skypic. He answered and was met with a smiling face. “Hi! You’re Yoosung, right?” The girl had brown hair with light purple tips, brown eyes, and a really bright smile. 

“Yeah… Hi. I’m Yoosung! Nice to meet you…” Yoosung trailed off, not knowing her real name and smiled. “Sorry! My name is Yoona. Nice to meet you, Yoosung!” Yoosung smiled and laughed with the girl as they entered the dungeon together. Jokes were exchanged between the two as they slayed monsters and talked about daily life “You go to Sky University, too?” Yoosung looked at the girl on his screen as she nodded and smiled. “Yeah! I actually got there a few months ago! You see, I had to transfer from my other college for a few reasons…” Yoona trailed off and slayed a beast in front of her. “But I like Sky. It’s the best school I’ve ever been to!” Yoosung smiled and laughed a little. 

Where was this girl all his life? She liked video games, she was super comfortable around people, she has a great personality, and to top it all off, she was comfortable in her own skin. She didn’t need to be told she was pretty, because she didn’t care. Yoosung liked that. “So Yoosung, what are you planning on making your occupation later in life?” Yoona looked at Yoosung and picked up some items from the dungeon. “I’m going into medicine to become a veterinarian. What about you?”  Yoona stopped moving her character and looked into the lens. Yoosung knew that she wasn’t there with him and couldn’t really stare through a camera, but still felt as though her eyes were going to pierce his soul. “I wanted to go into medicine to be a veterinarian freelancer, but instead, I want to become a patissiere! I have already went to culinary school in France and got my degree, so now, all I have to do is get this degree, and I’ll be able to open up my own shop! It doesn’t sound stupid, does it?” Yoosung smiled and shook his head. “No! I think that it’s amazing you can study so hard and still have time for LOLOL. How do you do it?” 

Yoona thought for a moment and sighed. “To be honest, I don’t really know. Once I got everything down on a schedule, it all fit together. How about you? I only just got here, and I already know that the Uni’s homework is a bit… piled.” Yoosung sighed deeply at the question and instantly got depressed. “To be honest with you, I don’t do a lot of my work. You see… I’m addicted to LOLOL. As we speak, I have homework I still haven’t gotten to. How about you?” Yoona smiled. “I already finished! You know, if you want, I could help you with your homework!” Hearing Yoona say she would help made Yoosung tear up. He didn’t know many people from the campus, but loved to meet new people along the way to graduation. 

“You’d really do that for me? Thank you so much!” Yoosung wiped away a fake tear and laughed. “Anything for a fellow LOLOL player and teammate! Here’s my number…” Yoona gave Yoosung her number and smiled. “I hate to do this now, but it’s getting really late. I have to go now.” Yoosung groaned and gave her puppy eyes. “You can’t stay a bit longer?” Yoona smiled and sighed. “Sorry! But hey! We go to the same school! Let’s just meet up tomorrow, kay’?” Yoosung nodded and exited out of the game. They said their goodbyes and signed off, anticipating if they would really see each other tomorrow. Yoosung was excited to make a new friend like Yoona. She seemed really cool, and definitely had a certain enthusiasm about her. He couldn’t wait to see her again. Even though they had literally just met a few hours earlier. He logged onto the messenger and saw no one was online. He took the opportunity to open a chat room. He smiled as he typed in the news.

Yoosung: Everyone, I met someone today. She’s a really nice girl, and she also likes LOLOL…

Yoosung: She’s really pretty, her name is Yoona. 

Yoosung: Turns out, we go to the same school… and have probably been passing each other everyday.

Yoosung:… 

Yoosung: What should I do!?!?

Yoosung: I’m meeting her tomorrow! Should I buy her something? Should I?

Yoosung: … Is it weird that I’m talking like this even though I met her a few hours ago?

Yoosung: Gahhh!!!

{YOOSUNG HAS LEFT CHAT ROOM}

•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:•☾☼☽•:•.•:•.•:•:•:•:•:•:•:• There are 3 other chapters I made, so this is just the first one. ugh its so cringey lmaooo - 

[hms-chill]

RWRB Study Guide: Chapter 10

Hi y’all! I’m going through Casey McQuiston’s Red, White & Royal Blue and defining/explaining references! Feel free to follow along, or block the tag #rwrbStudyGuide if you’re not interested!

Earl Grey (267): Earl Grey tea is an incredibly common caffeinated tea. It is the base of a London fog.

Hamilton to Laurens, “you should not have taken advantage of my sensibility to steal into my affections without my consent” (267): This quote is from an April 1779 letter and is immediately followed by “But, as you have done it, and as we are generally indulgent to those we love, I shall not scruple to pardon the fraud you have committed, on one condition; that for my sake, of not your own, you will always continue to merit the partiality, which you have so artfully instilled into me”. Essentially, “you were rude to me, but I love you so much I forgive you as long as you look after yourself”. Just before it, Hamilton’s like “you taught me what it means to love”. (You can find it here)

Pyramus and Thisbe (268): The pair of lovers whose story inspired Romeo and Juliet, they were separated and could only talk through a wall between their houses (I’ve written a very in-depth analysis of this myth, which you can find here).

Dulles International to Heathrow (268): Dulles International is the airport in Washington, DC, and Heathrow is the classy airport in London.

John Cusack (270): An American actor largely known for his roles in the 1980s. This line in particular likely references Say Anything..., a romantic comedy known in part for a scene where Cusack’s character stands outside a girl’s window and plays music from a boombox.

Y’all had to marry your cousins (270): A reference to the royal tradition of only marrying other royals, which led to a whole lot of inbreeding.

Consummation (275): To consummate a marriage is to have sex for the first time, therefore making it “official”. 

Wilde’s complete works (276): Oscar Wilde is an Irish author famous for writing satires and also defining gay culture in the late 1800s. 

Fit of pique (277): If someone does something in a fit of pique, they do it spontaneously and out of anger at being wronged.

Mr. Darcy brooding at Pemberley (278): In Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (spoilers, though it’s been out for 207 years), after Elizabeth rejects Darcy’s first marriage proposal (which is essentially “your family sucks but you’re hot; marry me”), he goes back to the house his family owns and thinks about it and misses her.

Anmer Hall (278): A house owned by the Crown in Norfolk, England; it is currently home to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.

Mel and Sue (280): A comedy duo and hosts of The Great British Bake Off. Sue was outed in 2002, but claims that “being a lesbian is only about the 47th most interesting thing about me”.

South Kensington (284): A district of West London known for its high density of museums and cultural landmarks.

Prince Consort Road (284): Prince Consort Road is a street in London named after Prince Albert, consort to Queen Victoria. A consort is a royal’s spouse or partner (hence Alex laughing at the idea of his being a prince’s consort)

Ferris Bueller/ Sloane (284-285): Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is a popular movie from the 1980s about Ferris, who skips school for a day of wild shenanigans in Chicago. Sloane is his girlfriend who’s roped in for the ride. 

Victoria and Albert Museum* (285): The Victoria and Albert Museum, often abbreviated “V&A”, is the world’s largest museum of applied and decorative art and design. (you can explore their collections here)

Renaissance City (285): Room 50a of the V&A is full of Renaissance sculptures. (photo here) 

Seated Buddha in black stone (285): The V&A has a bunch of Buddha sculptures, but this one is the only one I saw that’s in black stone.

John the Baptist nude and in bronze (285): Possibly this piece from 1881 by French sculptor Auguste Rodin and is in the V&A’s collection.

Tipu’s Tiger (285): A nearly life-sized semi-automaton that shows a tiger mauling a man in European clothes. The tiger makes growling sounds and the man screams and waves his hand when a handle on the side is turned; it also contains a small pipe organ on the inside and was created to show the power that the Tipu Sultan of India held over invading Brits. The “give it back” that Catherine argues for is officially called repatriation, it would mean that (Western) museums have to give back stolen objects; British museums are famously bad at doing this. (see Tipu’s Tiger here)

Westminster (286): Westminster Abbey, a church in London where royals are crowned and buried. It is covered with intricate carvings and beautiful stained glass.

The Great Bed of Ware (286): A bed made by Hans Vredeman de Vries from the 1590s; it is ten feet wide and made of oak. (see it here)

Twelfth Night (286): A Shakespeare comedy full of chaos that includes a woman cross-dressing, then her twin brother being mistaken for her. 

Epocoene (286): A 1609 play that includes a boy dressing as a woman to dupe a man into giving his son an acceptable inheritance. 

Don Juan (286): A Spanish figure known for his powers for wooing women; the first text published about him was in the 1630s.

Florence (287): Florence is a city known for its art; it was the cultural center of the Italian renaissance. 

Gothic choir screen in the V&A’s Renaissance City (287): This Roodloft, or choir screen, carved by Coenraed van Norenberch is in the back of the Renaissance City in the V&A. It’s a stunning piece; the link above has great pictures and a more in-depth description than I could give.

Zephyr statue by Francavilla (287): You can see this statue here; it was one of thirteen statues commissioned for the garden of a villa near Florence. According to Greek mythology, Zephyr (the west wind) was married to Chloris, goddess of flowers.

Narcissus (by Cioli) (287): This statue may have once been the centerpiece to a fountain with Narcissus looking into an actual pool; it depicts him in the moment he sees and is mesmerised by his reflection.

Pluto stealing Proserpina (287): Likely the statue “The Rape of Proserpina” by Vincenzo de' Rossi. I couldn’t find it on the V&A’s site, but there’s more info here.

Jason with the Golden Fleece (287): This is a sculpture of a very naked Jason, the Greek hero who stole the golden fleece. He was helped by its owner’s daughter, who was in love with him, but whom he later abandoned. You can see the statue here.

Samson Slaying a Philistine (287): You can see this statue here. Henry does a pretty good job of explaining the incredible history behind it; all I have to add from my (limited) research is that it is remarkable in part for the fact that there is no one point on it that draws the eye-- it demands to be looked at completely or not at all.

Victoria and sodomy laws (288): Queen Victoria famously instituted a whole lot of anti-sodomy laws.

Viau on James/George (288): A 1623 poem by Théophile de Viau:

“Apollo with his songs

Debauched young Hyacinthus

Just as Corydon fucked Amyntas,

So Caesar did not spurn boys.

One man fucks Monsieur le Grand de Bellegarde [a friend of Viau],

Another fucks the Comte de Tonnerre.

And it is well known that the King of England

Fucks the Duke of Buckingham.”

“Christ had John, and I have George” (288): This is an actual thing that James I/VI said to the heads of the church. Here’s the full quote, from wikipedia (emphasis is my own): “I, James, am neither a god nor an angel, but a man like any other. Therefore I act like a man and confess to loving those dear to me more than other men. You may be sure that I love the Earl of Buckingham more than anyone else, and more than you who are here, assembled. I wish to speak in my own behalf and not to have it thought to be a defect, for Jesus Christ did the same, and therefore I cannot be blamed. Christ had John, and I have George.”

George iii (289): George III was the king against whom the American colonies revolted. He was deeply religious and instituted laws declaring that royals could not marry without the approval of the court.

Convent church of Santa Chiara in Florence (290): This church is no longer a church, but the altar chapel is in an alcove in the V&A. It is the only Italian Renaissance chapel outside of Italy. (you can see photos of it here and here)

Santa Chiara and Saint Francis of Assisi (290): Saint Francis of Assisi founded a few different monastic orders and is one of the most celebrated saints; Saint Clare of Assisi founded a women’s monastic order and wrote the first set of monastic guidelines by a woman. 

Blessed Mother (290): Mary, the mother of Jesus, one of the holiest figures in Catholicism. 

“Come, hijo mío, de la miel, porque es Buena, and the honeycomb sweet to thy taste”** (290): “My son, eat thou honey, because it is good; and the honeycomb, which is sweet to thy taste. So shall the knowledge of wisdom be unto thy soul: when thou hast found it, then there shall be a reward, and thy expectation shall not be cut off” -- Proverbs 24:13-14, King James Version (yes, that King James. He translated the Bible to make the church stop hating him). 

David and Jonathan (290): An aggressively gay couple from the Bible who have been presented as friends for centuries. Jonathan was a prince and David a shepherd, but God promised that David would be king one day. Rather than argue this or hate David for it, Jonathan welcomed David into his household and loved him despite the prophecy that he would one day usurp him. Following Jonathan’s death, David took in Jonathan’s son and looked after him. 

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, amen (291): Many Christian prayers end with “in the name of the Father, the son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen”. It’s a way of celebrating the god who gives you all of the good things in your life while also giving up control to them. 

------

A fill in from chapter 1, as requested by someone on AO3: 

Deputy Chief of Staff (Zahra’s position, 23): The Deputy Chief of Staff is the top aide to the president’s top aide, and is responsible for ensuring that everything runs smoothly within the bureaucracy of the White House. 

------

*This museum puts out books called “maker’s guides” that teach you how to make pieces based on things in their collections; they’re super duper cool.

**I’m not a theologian, but I am a pastor’s kid, and just... this gets me. This whole bit, but this Proverb especially. Like obviously there’s the “oh we’re kissing and I’m thinking about honey tasting sweet”, but verse 14 coming in with the “when you’ve found what’s right, you will be rewarded with the confidence of that rightness and you will have hope”? Just kill me outright next time. Don’t make me google my own murder weapon.

------

If there’s anything I missed or that you’d like more on, please let me know! And if you’d like to/are able, please consider buying me a ko-fi? I know not everyone can, and that’s fine, but these things take a lot of time/work and I’d really appreciate it!

—–-

Chapter 1 // Chapter 9 // Chapter 11 

[letterstothemidnightsociety]

It’s week three of my Global-Pandemic-Induced decision to rewatch all of Supernatural, and so I’m still attempting to make this watch more productive than the last show that I binged.

So I’m on disc two now - that’s episodes 5 - 8 for those of you watching on Netflix. By the time we get to this disc, we know the basic formula for Supernatural as a series - Two Hunks + Fighting Evil to the Power of Acceptable Levels of Gore x Missing Dad = Ratings Gold. Or at the very least, good enough ratings that we’ll give you a season (or fourteen). And then...well...then.

Episode five is “Bloody Mary”, easily the scariest episode of this first season and, based on the nose dive that the formula takes after season 1, probably the entire series. Maybe it’s that the Bloody Mary legend was one that really got me as a kid, maybe it’s just that I don’t do so hot with ghosts, but guys this episode still made me turn on all the lights and avoid all my mirrors. I accidentally turned this episode on at 9pm and regretted it immediately. I walked away at one point to go clean my kitchen to strategically miss some of the spookier points and I walked back in during an even spookier point. I was mad that there were no commercials at the commercial break cut-to-black! The first time I watched this episode, I’m pretty sure I watched it through my fingers. This most recent viewing, I ALSO watched it through my fingers. Guys, THIS EPISODE. 

I will say it a-hecking-gain: This episode scared the SHIT out of me.

AND THEN, THEN! Then this show has the gall to go ahead and drop a major season/character plot point right there in the middle of all this content that I am actively trying not to look at: SURPRISE! Sam has premonition powers and sorta kinda knew that his girlfriend was gonna die a terrible death weeks before she dies. Because sure, why not? 

Ohmiglob the DRAMA.

I’m gonna take a moment to say that, yes, technically this piece of plot gets dropped within our first six episodes, so we can still safely say that, you know, they’re still setting up the story for the rest of the series. It’s not like a sudden twist they drop half way through the season, it’s being laid down as ground work. And I know that this turns out to be a MAJOR issue for the next four seasons at least, but can I just say: Kripke, you’re really throwing a lot at us. I mean, OK. here’s what we’ve got - 

The Winchester’s lost their mom at a young age to some evil thing. Cool, got it.

THEN they have daddy issues with C-minus Single Dad John Winchester. Alright, that seems logical. 

The brothers hunt bad guys looking for the thing that killed their mom. Ok still on board. 

There’s family drama, relatable. 

Dad’s gone missing and we gotta find, ok ok ok. 

Also Sam’s girlfriend dies in a fire, alright, so we’re looking for that thing now too. 

OH! And now Sam has magic powers. 

I mean, it’s a lot, right? We got a lot of layers here. That’s all I’m sayin.

So “Bloody Mary”, right? Big episode, big bad guy, they kinda loophole their way into defeating her but I’m not mad. Big reveal at the end, so kind of an important lore episode. And then...well...then we get the following episodes:

“Skinwalker” - gross-out fx, establishes Dean as a lonely asshole with a lot of APB’s out on him

“The Hook Man” - takes the Urban Legend angle of the show and dials it up to 11

“Bugs” - Does what it says on the tin.

Now to be fair: all three of these episodes have at least ONE shining moment that reveals a little more about the characters we’re working with, and that character development plays out in important ways in the rest of the season/series. But all three of them are arguably---

FILLER EPISODES-ODES-ODES-ODESSssssssss. 

Alright, maybe that’s unkind. Maybe we should call them standalones or self-contained. A Filler is an episode designed to “fill out” your season. It doesn’t necessarily move the overarching story of the season forward, although it may contain some concepts or revelations that are important later. I’d argue that Supernatural has only ever had two kinds of episodes - Series Arc and Filler. Not that that’s a bad thing -  I like a filler episode now and again. Depending on how heavy your season gets (and by all accounts Supernatural gets pretty heavy), they can be a nice breath of fresh air - also known as a Breather Episode. Or they can be just for fun. I’mma reference “Once More with Feeling” again because sure, why not throw in a musical episode in season 6 of a show about vampire slaying, that’s fine. I wanna reference something from Community here too, but honestly anything after season 2 could probably be called filler or self contained, so who even knows. I’ll point at the Voltron episode where they spend a day in the mall to gather some unobtainium for the ship and wacky shenanigans ensue. Point being, they can be times to break the mold and experiment and have fun with what you’re writing. Or they can be ridiculous nonsense. Mileage may vary. 

The crazy thing about these episodes is that they most closely resemble what Kripke intended the show to be in the first place. Kripke wanted a show that revolved around characters investigating American urban legends. What is more quintessentially urban legend than Bloody Mary, the Hook Man and curses from ancient Native American burial grounds? These were stories that I as the viewer was already sort of familiar with because I’d heard of all of them before. What I appreciated, specifically about the Bloody Mary episode, was that they a) acknowledge the fact that these are Urban Legends (capital letters and all) and then b) acknowledge that the legends vary wildly so a part of their job is figuring out what is true and what is rumor. I guess you could also call that a cop out but when I was a kid, I was told that Bloody Mary was the ghost of Queen Mary of England who was sister to Elizabeth I and was also violently anti-protestant. WHERE did I get this story? I have no idea. But I also have no idea where Sam got the “mutilated bride” story from either. 

In an old article I found circa season 2, Kripke actually talks about preferring standalone content to mythology/lore episodes in television. Both as a creator and as a viewer, he wants a show where people can jump in at any time and “join the party” wherever they are. That’s the beauty of procedurals - you don’t need to start from the beginning to enjoy them.

But what really got me personally hooked on the show was the mythology, was the season long arc to find John Winchester and whatever killed their mom. Those mythos episodes were where the meat of the show was for me - it usually involved a lot of feelings and a lot of character development which is still mostly my jam. If I’m obsessively watching a show, it’s because I’m connected to the characters and watching them struggle through the challenges in their path, not because I want to see what monster they kill next. 

And again, I’ll reiterate that each of these episodes contains an important nugget of character. In “Bloody Mary”, easily the least likely to be called Filler, we find out that Sam has weird magic powers that are the real source of his guilt over Jessica’s death. 

In “Skin”, we find out a lot about Dean’s inner landscape from the DopppleDeaner, who reveals that Dean is probably most afraid of people leaving him (be still my 19-year-old heart). 

Wasn’t mad about this bit...

Coulda done without this bit tho...

In “Hookman”...alright, you kinda got me on “Hookman”, but we do get the first appearance of the rocksalt shotgun and Sam talks with a girl about her dad issues which is really Sam talking about his own dad issues in the language of tv shows. Also, he maybe starts to move on from Jessica???? It’s unclear, and also a little weird but I guess he’s only 22 and that’s not that far off from 18/19. 

Really, WB?? Sneaking into sorority houses?

And then in “Bugs”, yes, even in “Bugs”, we get juicy little bit of tension between the brothers as they advise some teen boy about family dynamics. The fight shows a lot about what each character feels about their own experiences growing up the way they did, how they manage the expectations from their own father, and how they believe those family dynamics should exist. I mean I guess you could also argue this is the episode that plants the seed for Wincest, but I don’t really want to go there, let’s not talk about it.

This kid’s like, “This is...not a conversation about me and MY dad, is it?”

So they could be worse. I mean the last two definitely aren’t great, and we’ll see how they measure up to the Monster Truck episode later in the season, but they’re not bad episodes. 

So let’s flash forward to Now again - have we seen the end of Filler Episodes?

As I have mentioned in previous posts and will probably continue mentioning in future posts, the 22 episode season is not the norm anymore. A lot of articles I’ve read point to Breaking Bad as the first American show to really break that mold. Breaking Bad released only 7 episodes in it’s first season in 2007. When you’ve cut your story down that much, there’s no room for filler - you’re basically producing a 7 hour movie. 

Now notice I said American TV show. I’m pretty sure for most of the rest of the world, 22 episodes is way outside the norm, but really I can only speak to UK TV. Seasons in the UK do not last as long as seasons in America. Doctor Who, one of, if not the, longest running show on BBC, aired its first season with 42 episodes, which is mind boggling. But since the series revived in 2005, it hasn’t had more than 13 episodes in a season. Spooks/MI5 never had more than 10 episodes. The IT Crowd only aired 6 episodes per season. Broadchurch had only 8. And because I must complete the Superwholock trifecta, Sherlock seasons were only 3 episodes a piece. These are the shows that spring to mind while I’m writing this, but you get the idea.

So why does American broadcast TV have such long seasons? Well, the answer is: moneymoneymoney.

We live in an age of “prestige” TV. Some throw around “Golden Era”, but there’s been like, a Golden Era of television every 10 years since tv’s became household commodities, so that phrase basically means nothing. TV today is more similar to long-form film making than it was a decade ago. We associate terms like “film” with other terms like “art”, and sometimes we forget that television is, and always was, a business. It’s a business that’s making a lot of money entertaining you for hours on end, but a business nonetheless. I’d argue that it doesn’t mean it’s not art, but I don’t think we can separate the art and entertainment value of tv from its actual monetary value. 

Strategically, the 22-episode season was to get a show to a magical number of total episodes - 100. Once you hit the 100th episode, somewhere around season 5 (thanks math), then you can sell the show in syndicated reruns. This is also referred to as second-run syndication or off-network syndication. When a show is syndicated, that means the production company that produces the show can now sell the right to air episodes to other channels. Think channels like TBS or TNT or even USA Network - they don’t really dabble in producing their own content, they just repackage content from other networks to plug in to empty slots in their programming. And because these channels can air episodes 5 days a week, 365 days a year, that means the production company can actually make more money by selling the show in syndication than when they sold the show to the primary network. The more episodes you have in a season, the faster you get to syndication, and sometimes that means a show that’s on the brink of cancellation due to poor numbers may still get greenlit for another season or two if they’re closer to that magic 100th episode. For a show like Supernatural, that has a very procedural, not-super-heavy-mythos, structure, you can do very well in syndication. Just cuz another network agreed to air your show doesn’t mean they agreed to air it in order, so procedurals work better in syndication than your season-arc shows do. And that’s why we have episodes like Bugs, that have nothing to do with the overarching plot of the season and also phone in some questionable CGI. 

Apparently they DID use real bugs to shoot this scene and everyone got bit to hell but the bugs didn’t show up good and they went with CG anyway?!?

But these days, you don’t have to hit 100 episodes. Sometimes only 80 episodes will do. Sometimes, you run a streaming site and you don’t have to worry about reruns at all because your revenue isn’t generated from air time or even ads, but from subscription prices. Honestly, when you think of it that way, it makes way more sense to greenlight shorter seasons so that you have the budget to buy more and more diverse shows that will appeal to a broader audience of viewers. 

So if Supernatural was produced today, would we get these off-shoot, self-contained episodes that have little to do with the plot of finding Sam and Dean’s dad? It’s hard to say. Knowing what I do about Kripke’s original plans for the show and his thoughts on procedural standalone episodes in general, its possible that he’d still try for a traditional season aired on a traditional TV network. But in that same interview I quoted above, he also mentions that the only way to get into a show with a heavy mythos is to buy the DVDs. We don’t need DVDs anymore - we have Netflix. And Hulu and Prime and any number of other streaming services that pick up any show they can get just to have a larger library of content and attract new viewers. I think a good indicator of what Supernatural would look like if it aired today is Hulu’s Helstrom - a show about two siblings with a childhood marked by strange and terrible happenings, who spend the season trying to defeat an evil demon. This show is a Hulu original that dropped all 10 episodes on October 16, 2020, and damn if that doesn’t sound familiar. I told a friend, “it’s like Supernatural but more emotions.” (Her response was, MORE emotions?!?!?) And before you dive down the rabbit hole, the characters in Helstrom made their debut in a Marvel comic back in the 70’s, so you can just chalk it up to nothing new under the sun. 

Big Mood, guys. Big Mood.

I’ll close this one by reiterating I don’t mind a filler episode. Some fillers can be weird and great and wonderful. I’d say “Tales of Ba Sing Se” (Avatar the Last Air Bender, Season 2)  is a great example - with the possible exception of Appa, the vignettes presented in “Tales” are basically side quests that have nothing to do with the main quest of season 2 and only serve to develop characters. The stories are sweet and touching and also light and fun.

I’m not crying, YOU’RE crying! It’s ok, I’m also crying. 

 And the longer a show runs, the more likely you are to run into these fillers - episodes that take a break from the main action to bring something that’s new and out of the box and possibly/probably writers getting bored with the every-day formula of the show. I think season 1 of Supernatural does a decent job of balancing the two styles of episode so that neither gets boring. In fact, I’m pretty Supernatural was what taught me the difference between the two episode styles in the first place. And the first time around, I was hyped for those season arc episodes, because back in the late 2000’s, I hadn’t seen a lot of TV content like that. Now, 15 years on and mired in a sea of seasons that stick mainly to a season arc story with little to no room for breathing, I think that if all TV became nothing but season arc episodes...well, it’d get pretty boring. 

[theliberaltony]

via Politics – FiveThirtyEight

America is a little matryoshka doll of panic right now; pop open each layer to reveal a new, worrying scenario. For months the country was focused on reopening the economy, which had its own complicated set of problems. But only recently has a broader swath of America tuned into the mess nestled inside it, one that parents have been sitting with for months: what to do with the kids.

There has been no federal plan to help American parents with child care, and they continue to wonder whether schools will really open their doors come the new school year. That lack of action is in direct contrast to other crises that have struck America recently. After the financial crash of 2008, there was a bailout and a stimulus plan. After the protests against police over the last few months, officials in cities and states responded with promises of better actions in the future but also, immediate policy implementation: New York state repealed a law that had shielded police personnel files, while the Minneapolis City Council voted to begin a process that could eventually lead to the dissolution of the city police as it’s now known.

But on child care and school, a specific, urgent response has been missing, or at least one that acknowledges our new reality. President Trump threatened to withhold federal funding for education if schools didn’t open back up, counter to schools’ insistence they need more money to provide a safe education amid the pandemic. While the CARES Act, an omnibus COVID-19 relief bill signed into law in late March, gave extra stimulus funding to families with children, schools and child care businesses so they could remain afloat, a Democratic-backed bill to give a $50 billion bailout of the child care industry has gotten little attention. Teachers around the country have voiced doubt that necessary safety measures for in-school teaching will be sufficient, and Los Angeles Unified School District, one of the country’s largest school systems, has decided not to reopen classrooms when schools go back in session in August. Some worry that while distance learning is safer, socially different children and those without stable internet connections or computers — who are already at the margins in normal times — will fall irrevocably behind.

There is no cohesive solution to America’s child care problem. But the relative inattention to this crisis, one that’s so foundational to a functioning society, the economy and family units across the country, is revealing. It shows that for all the changes that have happened in American life — more female elected officials, a MeToo movement and a workforce that is around 47 percent female — our power dynamics remain fundamentally skewed. We are failing to collectively understand what our most critical and pressing problems actually are.

“Care in general has always been seen as a sideline issue,” Vicki Shabo of the left-leaning think tank New America said. “A nice-to-have and not something that’s necessary, and not something that’s central for adults to be productive in the economy.” Of course, now we’re seeing how much of a misunderstanding that is. In a country where most men and women work even when they have children, having child care is inextricably linked to economic productivity — and not having it often hurts women most. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2015 found that in households with children under 6, women spent an hour a day doing child care, compared to the 25 minutes of care provided by men. It’s easy to extrapolate this trend for pandemic times: American women will bear the brunt of the school and child care crisis.

Yet, child care in particular hasn’t often found itself at the forefront of political debate. Experts and activists I talked to for this story all used the same framing to talk about why: an American narrative that child care problems are individuals’ problems, not society’s.

“If you think about child care traditionally before the pandemic, you probably didn’t think about it too much before you had kids,” Melissa Boteach, vice president of income security and child care at the National Women’s Law Center, said. “Then you have kids, you’re in the most stressful and resource-strapped part of your life: You’re operating on three hours of sleep a night, you’re financially squeezed, because at the very time you’re taking off of work, you have diapers and wipes and formula and whatever else. You’re in this total daze of early motherhood. That’s probably not the time when you say, ‘You know what, I’m going to call my member of Congress.’ You’re feeling it like a personal issue.”

Child care isn’t necessarily seen as a macroeconomic issue or a driver of labor force participation or GDP, Shabo said. And because of that, she said, it often takes a backseat to economic issues like wages when lobbying efforts happen. This is not to say that child care issues don’t get attention — in the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries, which featured several female candidates, child care plans took a more front and center role in the campaign than they had in the past. One leading candidate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, co-authored a 2004 book, “The Two-Income Trap,” which was about the ways the rising incomes of households with two full-time employed adults belied the heavy costs of essentials like child care. Warren thought child care costs were among the reasons the American middle class was in an economic crisis.

“Our workplaces were built for white men,” said Danielle Atkinson, the founder and director of Mothering Justice, a Detroit-area advocacy group for working families. The fact that parents are left to fend for themselves from birth to kindergarten and then during the after-school, pre-dinner hours, is an American tradition that seems to assume a readily available, at-home caregiver. (Atkinson pointed out the inextricable role black women have played in American child care; enslaved women often took care of white children.) The nuclear family with a stay-at-home parent (usually a mother) is an ideal that persists, or at the very least lingers in American life: only 18 percent of Americans in a 2018 Pew Research Survey thought it was ideal for both parents to work full time.

“This conversation about school is really a conversation about work,” Atkinson said. “The conversation about returning to school is not based on health. It’s about returning those workers to working and not looking after their children, so those children have to be somewhere.” Essential workers in particular are being forced to make difficult choices about their children’s care — many essential-worker jobs are lower wage — and many child care providers are in strapped situations. The work of child care providers, Atkinson said, is often undervalued — their median annual wage in 2017 was a little more than $22,000 annually, which is just above the federal government’s poverty line for a family of three — and as Boteach pointed out, those workers could continue to risk greater infection rates as schools and work open back up. She highlighted the plan put forth by Senate Democrats, the Child Care Is Essential Act — which would provide a bailout to the suffering industry and additional money for those providers to buy personal protective equipment — and cited an estimate that the U.S. child care industry would need a $9.6 billion injection monthly to survive the pandemic.

It’s more likely the next governmental nod to parents and their school-age children will come in the next iteration of the omnibus coronavirus relief package. Congressional Democrats have proposed $350 billion in funds for schools and universities to purchase PPE and clean their facilities. Republicans agree about more funds, though it’s not clear what their proposed number is — some have argued that since many schools will be operating on a partly virtual basis, less federal funding is needed.

The moral tussling that many parents have been doing — go back to work and risk potential COVID-19 infection at day care or school — will likely continue to be subjected to partisan politics. Trump and his Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos have been the loudest voices in recent days about sending children back to school at all costs, much to the chagrin of teachers, many of whom feel ill-prepared for the safety precautions necessary for in-person pandemic teaching. Ultimately, though, it is parents who are forced to make a choice. Atkinson, a mother of six, told me she would be keeping her children home in the fall.

For those who focus on child care, the pandemic has perversely presented an opportunity to advance the cause of greater access to guaranteed services. “This pandemic has created greater alignment of experience, potentially, between white middle class folks who saw this as an individual issue that they were struggling with and outraged by but hadn’t really taken action on and the longtime, long-standing lived experience of lower wage folks and people of color who have struggled for decades with the unaffordability of child care and the lack of care options to meet their work schedules,” Shabo said.

Atkinson said she also hoped the individualism narrative would be shattered by the current crisis. “We want to lift the veil away and help women, especially white women, know that you’ve been lied to. You were sold a bunch of lies: ‘if you just work harder, if you just slay sexism, you’ll be OK.’ But really, it’s a tool to divide,” she said.

The pandemic has shattered norms and paradigms ever since it arrived in the U.S. — our expectations of child care is no exception. What some politicians and activists had long sought to do to no avail — place working parents and their child care crisis on the center stage of American politics — the virus has done in a matter of months.

[themaddestofall]

Love is Mad (but so are we)

Against the damp moss and bulging tree roots, the sight of flickering purple fabric is unmistakable. That and the familiar voice calling out his name for the whole forest to hear. “Hatter! I know you can hear me! I swear on my pearls if you are hiding out here I will slay you myself!”

If it were up to him, he would stay in hiding forever, locked away without any sight of what life used to be. But he knows that would be impossible. She has questions about Betty. Of course she does. The girl’s voice is full of a fire that could burn down every tree around him times ten. 

“Hello Veronica,” stepping out from a patch of waist high tiger lilies, Jughead can see a brief look of surprise flash across the girl’s face. “What brings you all the way out to Witzend? Has Archibald run out of Pishsalver again?”

“Forsthe Pendleton Jones, have you been avoiding me?” Veronica places a manicured hand on her hip and shoots an accusing look towards the boy in front of her.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about-”

“For Crims sake Jughead, don’t lie to me! I need somebody to finally tell me why everything has been weird around here!” 

Her tone leaves no room for argument, so after a few beats he gives up and sighs, “What’s going on Ronnie?” 

“The people of Underland are going completely bonkers Jug. Nobody has seen the White Queen in weeks and rumors are spreading of Cheryl taking over.” 

The words felt like a punch to the gut. A stab right into the area that he had been dancing around for weeks.”Well, the people obviously don’t know their Queen if they think she would allow the bloody big head to rule all by herself.”

“That’s so not the point!” Jughead can see the anger flash across her eyes as her heeled foot begins tapping on an uprooted log, “Almost two weeks ago Betty told Archie not to come into the castle until she told him otherwise. She hasn’t come out since then. We’re not even allowed through the gates!”

“And what about it? What am I supposed to be doing about it?” Turning back towards his cottage, Jughead tries to ignore the irritated sounds that come from Veronica’s direction.

“Because for all we know, you’re the last one to see Betty before she locked herself in the castle! What the hell happened between you two?”

“Nothing happened! Why do you assume that I did something wrong? Why is it automatically my fault?”

“I never said it was your fault! I don’t even know what happened! But the fact that you’re acting like this tells me that something happened!” Her footsteps aren’t far behind his and something tells him that she won’t be leaving anytime soon. “Seriously, whatever you two talked about, just tell me! It’s not like it’s the end of the world-”

“I told her I loved her!”

She stops dead in her tracks, mouth open slightly, brows knitted together, “...what?”

With another sigh, Jughead turns back to face the raven haired girl. “I told Betty that I loved her, and she kicked me out of the castle. She fucking hates me.”

A few moments pass that are filled solely with Jughead’s breathing and Veronica’s confused thinking. 

“Did you ever think that for a moment that she might feel the same about you?” Like flipping a switch, her angry stance is replaced with soft eyes and a kinder voice.

“I’m pretty sure if she felt the same she wouldn’t have yelled at me and then locked herself away.”

“Look, I know Betty better than anyone in Underland. I also know the connection that you two have, and I think you’re an idiot to think for even a minute that she could ever hate you.” She reaches a manicured finger out and brushes a stray piece of hair from his face. “I swear you two are blind sometimes.”

Jughead toys with the pointed edges of his hat before taking a deep breath, “What should I do? She’s made it pretty apparent that she needs time to think it out.”

“You know how Betty is, we can’t let her get trapped in her own mind. My advice? Go talk to her. Show her that you weren’t playing around and that you’re here to stay.”

“When did you get so wise, Ronnie?”

With a wink and one last smile, she flips her midnight hair over her shoulder before turning and swishing back the way they came. “Fairfarren Jughead! Go get our Elizabeth!”

Once she’s out of sight, Jughead glances around the garden for the telltale sight of shaggy fur, “Hot Dog! Get up bud.” The white sheepdog gets up from his spot near the edge of the flowers and trots over and stand beneath Jughead’s hand. “Lets go get our girl.” 

From her perch on the balcony, she can see over almost all of Underland. Her kingdom. Her people. She had never really wanted to be Queen, she didn’t see any good in Kings Queens and unavoidable tyranny. Or, that’s how things used to be. Alice and Penelope were the absolute worst people, and Underland was lucky to survive their joint rule. Now, things were different. With Cheryl acting as her right hand, along with her White Knight, her mundane bestie, and the Hatter, well...things were great. The citizens of Underland had never been better. Then Jughead Jones threw a wrench in the plan. Her eyes fall closed as she takes a deep breath of the misty air. “What in the world did I get myself into?”

Directly below her lies the courtyard. Winding pathways of stone walled in by waist high flowers and different shaped hedges. A fountain in the shape of a queen chess piece stands directly in the middle, looking over the marble arch architecture. The exact spot where a mere two weeks ago, Jughead had looked at her with twinkly eyes and poured his heart out. And she pushed him away. 

His hands were on either side of her face and she could feel his breath dancing across her nose. He looked like whatever he had to tell her was the most important thing in the world. She smiled at him then, silently analyzing every spot and divet in his face. 

“I love you, Betty Cooper.”

That, she had not expected. Not in the slightest.

His next words died on her ears as her heart pounding took over. Memories flashed through her mind, along with her mother’s voice, of all things. Everything was too loud for her to concentrate. 

“Get out,” the words were barely a whisper, but he heard them. He looked taken aback for a moment, but then she was pushing him away. “Get out!”

She swore she saw him cry. A few silent tears rolling down his cheek, but the next second he was gone, storming out of Marmoreal’s gates. 

Her mother used to tell her that love was futile. That a Queen’s purpose in life was to be feared and respected by everyone around her. That being a ruler was the only thing that mattered. Betty had met Jughead when they were just 8 years old. Other kids in Underland made fun of his hat, but she always thought it was cute. When they were teenagers, Alice’s rein made people hate and blame Betty for what their world had become. He was always there for her. And she kicked him out. 

Betty sighs out her breath and takes a look at the swirling sky. Shades of midnight blue are starting to take over the golden rays of the sun. She knows she needs to stop feeling so sorry for herself, but her mind hasn’t stopped racing since that night, filled with thoughts of the past and what the future could be. Past the gates of Marmoreal lies the forest towards Witzend, and just within those borders sits the Hatter’s Cottage. She could be there in under 5 minutes, but her feet seem to be glued to their spot. 

There’s a simple answer to her predicament. Tell him you feel the same, tell him the truth for once. And yet…

Before she can process that thought, her eyes catch something shifting through the thick trees. As if by pure magic, by the edge of the forest a tall figure of a man followed by a small bouncing dog comes into view. Betty sneaks a glance to the far corner of the estate, to a rather large cabin where Veronica is no doubt smirking to herself in enjoyment. Her heart swells as Jughead’s figure gets clearer and clearer.

“Juggie!” She yells into the air, his head jerking up in surprise. She doesn’t give him much time to react before she’s running back inside and down to the first floor. Bursting through the doors, she sees him standing there, ever present hat and goofy grin. 

This time, her head isn't full of the sound of her mother’s voice. This time, she’s the one crying. This time, she doesn’t push him away, she runs right into his arms.

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

We Photoshopped an alternate cast of Avengers who almost got the roles

Avengers stans know the end is near, which means it's time to go back to the beginning. The very beginning.

In honor of the highly anticipated film, Avengers: Endgame, Marvel fans are reminiscing over just how much our heroes have grown since their first appearances on-screen. But we want to take you back even further that that — to the casting decisions.

We've come to know and love characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe so deeply that they feel almost irreplaceable. Chris Evans is Captain America, Chris Hemsworth perfectly embodies Thor, and Scarlett Johansson brings Black Widow to life. But the MCU group could have looked totally different today if casting directors had decided to go with some of the other talented actors who were up for the roles.

SEE ALSO: 'Avengers: Endgame' dazzles with epic and emotional world premiere

Here's a wild glimpse at what our Marvel Cinematic Universe could have looked like, had 12 crucial casting choices been different.

John Krasinski as Captain America / Steve Rogers

Blond, buff, and beardless Captain Krasinski.

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Since the 2011 film Captain America: The First Avenger, the adorably charming Chris Evans and his beard have truly mastered the role of Cap. But the patriotic, shield-wielding hero could have been played by my ultimate crush, John Krasinski. 

In 2016, The Office star told Conan O'Brien he auditioned to play Steve Rogers back in the day. He even tried on the freaking suit, but ultimately took himself out of the running after seeing a jacked Chris Hemsworth walk by and losing confidence. Since 2011, Krasinski's bulked up for roles in 13 Hours and Jack Ryan. He also grew a great beard, so we have no doubt he could have played a buff, bearded, and perhaps funnier, MCU hero.

Other rumored names considered for Cap include Friday Night Lights star Scott Porter, Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford, Magic Mike's Channing Tatum, Garrett Hedlund, Michael Cassidy, and Wilson Bethel. Even Sebastian Stan, who was eventually cast as Bucky Barnes, tried out for the part.

Tom Hiddleston as Thor

"Hey can someone help me with this hammer?" - This Thor, probably

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Karwai Tang/WireImage

Chris Hemsworth has a build, a voice, and a gorgeous head of hair that all scream "Thor." And yet, some other people still had the audacity to try out for the role. 

One of the most surprising was Tom Hiddleston, who I simply can't picture as our king of Asgard and God of Thunder. Hiddleston was instead cast as Thor's brother, Loki, which suits him marvelously. But let us take a moment to imagine what he would have looked like as the mighty hero.

Other actors almost worthy of holding Thor's hammer were Alexander Skarsgård, Charlie Hunnam, and Joel Kinnaman. Not to mention, Hemsworth's very own brother, Liam, auditioned to play Thor, which, I will admit would have been pretty interesting.

Emily Blunt as Black Widow / Natasha Romanoff

"No. Shan't!" — Black Widow to the bad guys

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Steve Granitz/WireImage

Scarlett Johansson plays the character Natasha Romanoff remarkably, but it turns out Emily Blunt was the original choice for the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2.

Sadly, Blunt was under a contractual obligation with 20th Century Fox to star in the movie Gulliver’s Travels, so she couldn't sign on to the Marvel film at the time. And though Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Eliza Dushku also showed a serious interest in the part, Johansson ultimately stepped in.

A (super) power couple.

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Noam Galai/WireImage

Rather than starring alongside each other in Marvel films, Blunt and Krasinski went on to co-star in Krasinski's hit horror film, A Quiet Place, so everything worked out. Even so, our trusty Senior Illustrator, Bob, created this couple composite to emotionally torture me and also give you all a look at what could have been.

David Duchovny as Hulk / Bruce Banner

"The truth is out there."

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic

Fans may recall Edward Norton played Bruce Banner in the 2008 film The Incredible Hulk, but he wasn't Marvel's final pick for the Avengers films. A lot of drama surrounding Norton's relationship with Incredible Hulk director Louis Leterrier and his negotiations with Marvel were reported, but Mark Ruffalo was ultimately signed.

Since we already know what Norton looks like as The Hulk, we decided to Photoshop David Duchovny, who was also rumored for the role at one point in time.

Timothée Chalamet as Spider-Man / Peter Parker

Oh will wonders ever cease?

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Gregg DeGuire/Getty Images for Turner

Forget Tobey Maguire, Tom Holland is our Spider-Man now and we adore him. But Spider-Man also could have been played by Call Me By Your Name cutie Timothée Chalamet, who auditioned for the part along with others like Josh Hutcherson, Nat Wolff, Liam James, and Asa Butterfield.

My initial thought was that Chalamet wouldn't be dorky enough to play Spider-Man, but now WHO KNOWS, because he really pulls off the suit.

Zachary Levi as Star-Lord / Peter Quill

"Forget Fandral, I'm Star-Lord now." — Zachary Levi in a spaceship

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Victor Chavez/Getty Images

We know Chris Pratt completes the MCU Chris Trinity as Star-Lord, but Chuck and Marvelous Mrs. Maisel star Zachary Levi was interested in the role back in the day, and honestly? He might've been great.

Actors like Jim Sturgess, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lee Pace, Joel Edgerton, Jack Huston, and even Eddie Redmayne were also associated with the role early on, but Pratt joined the Guardians of the Galaxy family, while Levi went on to star in Shazam! and play Fandral in Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok.

Olivia Wilde as Gamora

It ain't easy being green.

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images

We all know Gamora as the brilliant Zoe Saldana, who memorably stood up to her adopted father, Thanos, in Avengers: Infinity War. However, the green Guardians of the Galaxy character was reportedly offered to House star Olivia Wilde.

Nicolas Cage as Iron Man / Tony Stark

Iron Man and Star-Lord plotting to steal the Declaration of Independence.

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Vittorio Zunino Celotto/Getty Images

Since Robert Downey Jr. played Tony Stark in the 2008 film Iron Man, we couldn't envision anyone else in the maroon and gold suit. Perhaps least of all, Nicolas Cage. And yet, he was one of the names rumored to be in the running.

Sam Rockwell and Tom Cruise were also on the list, but, I mean, we really had no choice but to Photoshop Cage.

Saoirse Ronan as Scarlet Witch / Wanda Maximoff 

"Call me Scarlet Witch like you said you would" — Saoirse as Wanda Maximoff, channeling Lady Bird

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Isabel Infantes/PA Images via Getty

If Elizabeth Olsen hadn't been cast as Scarlet Witch we might have seen Lady Bird star Saoirse Ronan join the MCU family... maybe. 

Rumor has it that Joss Whedon had Ronan in mind when scripting Avengers: Age of Ultron, and the young star appeared to show interest in a role, saying, "I love Joss and I love those films, and I love his handle on them and how he portrayed these kinds of superheroes. So yeah, I’d love to be in it."  

Later, Ronan reportedly passed on the film, which is when Marvel decided to cast Olsen.

Morris Chestnut as Black Panther / T'Challa

Could've been king.

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Paras Griffin/Getty Images

Chadwick Boseman absolutely slayed as T'Challa in Marvel's hit film Black Panther, and we can imagine no one better suited to rule as king of Wakanda. But in the name of Photoshop, here is Black Panther reimagined as Morris Chestnut, since he was among the names associated with the role.

Josh Hartnett as Loki

Whatever.

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Charley Gallay/Getty Images 

Tom Hiddleston, who thankfully was not cast as Thor, was cast as Loki. But if Hiddleston didn't snag the role, it seems Josh Hartnett could have stepped up and took the villain's greasy black wig for a spin. Hmm...

Joaquin Phoenix as Doctor Strange

Why so serious?

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Isiah Trickey/FilmMagic

Benedict Cumberbatch has nailed the art of portraying strange on-screen, so it's no surprise he shines as Marvel's Doctor Strange. But the casting list for Stephen Strange was ridiculously stacked. 

Joaquin Phoenix was one of the top contenders for the part, but explained in an interview with Little White Lies that he felt he made the right move in turning it down, explaining, "I think everybody was really happy with how things turned out. All parties were satisfied."

In addition to Phoenix, Jared Leto, Ewan McGregor, Oscar Isaac, Matthew McConaughey, Ethan Hawke, and Jake Gyllenhaal were also reportedly considered.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Ant Man / Scott Lang

Honey, I shrunk the JGL.

Image: Mashable composite; Marvel Studios, Steve Granitz/WIreImage via Getty

Finally, there's Ant Man. We know the shrinking superhero as the ageless Paul Rudd, but word has it that Joseph Gordon-Levitt was a front-runner for the part, too. If we're judging by our Photoshop, then JGL looks hilarious in the Ant Man suit. But who knows, maybe he could've been great.

It's fun to look back at this hilariously random group of superheroes who we could've been watching on the screen for the past decade, but really makes us appreciate the team of Avengers we ended up with.

WATCH: 'Avengers: Endgame' is smashing pre-sale box office records

[starwarsstreettalk]

Reylo?   (Part I - Pro Reylo Perspective)

Definition: Reylo (pronounced RAY-LOW) – the romantic pairing of Rey and Kylo Ren from the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy “ST”.

So about the Reylo concept... there are certainly many arguments for and against Rey and Kylo coming together in a romantic, or frankly in any way.  That being said, this post will provide some Pro-Reylo thoughts and observations.  It will be followed in a coming post with anti-Reylo opinions as well, as I like to play Devil’s Advocate. Disclaimer: before you like or dislike my post, it is not the place of this author to weigh in on what she would LIKE to happen, only what I think WILL or WILL NOT happen, based on clues in the story, movies and novelization only.  I may also point to subtle clues given by the writer/directors.  Please read with an open mind.

  Reylo clue #1:  Rey and Kylo’s first meeting on Takodana

Kylo Ren takes Rey captive on Takodana.  He doesn’t have time to find BB-8 and believes that the girl has the map in her head, and he is interested to know more about her, so he takes her with him to Starkiller Base.  So, Kylo Ren, with a stormtrooper only yards away, makes Rey unconscious and “bridal” carries unconsious Rey to his ship himself - and quite a distance besides!

Kylo carrying Rey to the ship was NOT in the novelization.  It was only in the movie.  Visually, JJ Abrams maybe wanted to create imagery that will be more significant as the story moves forward, particularly, a surprisingly tender connection between Kylo and Rey.  The Dark Prince and Secret “princess”.  From a fairytale perspective, this was like Aurora meeting Prince Phillip or Ariel meeting Prince Eric.  Someone of Kylo Ren’s importance and rank surely would not normally carry a grown woman approximately 1/2 mile.  He would make an underling, a soldier do it.  This may very well have been foreshadowing a romance very early on in the story before anyone really realized what was potentially happening.  In the director commentary of the movie, JJ Abrams basically references this fairytale story aspect himself.   It’s not your imagination!

Reylo clue #2:  “I’ll Come Back for you” dialog (Rey’s Vision on Takodana)

Going back to Rey’s vision in Maz’s castle basement when she touched the lightsaber, in the novelization, Rey hears what is called “THAT voice” and someone says “Stay here, I’ll come back for you.”   We did not see this from the flashback of Rey being left on Jakku by her ... well somebody.   Is this novel reference what we think it is?  Was it Rey’s parents?  Or could this actually end up being spoken in Episode IX by Ben Solo? You decide! I can picture this and I kind of like it.  It would certainly be thematic. 

Why include this “...I’ll come back for you” line in the novel but take it out of the movie?  Was it cut from the script at some point?   If so, you have to ask yourself why? Maybe it’s because we were not allowed to hear that person’s actual voice in Episode VII.  It was too early to reveal the person behind that bit of dialog.  Or it could just be that it was unnecessary (if it was indeed her parents) to have them say they would try to come back.   

We have no idea still if Rey’s parents meant to actually return to her or not.   Hopefully we will find out.  If not, Rey needs to move on from this past of hers.  But if this was actually Kylo Ren/Ben Solo, imagine that there is a scene where they are together and for some reason he has to leave her behind but promises to come back, harkening back to the last time she heard those words that have haunted her for all of these years.  If Reylo is real, he WILL come back, indicating that she was special, she is loved.

Reylo Clue #3: Kylo Ren’s “Money Shot”

Need I explain this one?  Well, let me go ahead and do so anyway.  Look, regardless of what great physical shape Adam Driver was in by the time of filming this particular force connection scene in Episode VIII (the one where he is wearing only black, high-waisted pants), Rian Johnson would not just decide “oh heck, let me include a beefcake shot of Kylo Ren” (only the second one in Star Wars history) if Kylo Ren is in ANY WAY related to Rey (brother, cousin, etc…) - that would just be icky.  And whether you like him or not, Rian Johnson is too sophisticated a filmmaker for that.  This is not some sleazy CW show.  

This is the scene that actually made me realize there WAS a Reylo dynamic.  I had no idea there was a Reylo before I watched this.  I was honestly, completely oblivious.  I thought for sure, Rey was Luke’s daughter.  This was the scene that prompted me to do the research on the Google machine.  This is why it is an obvious clue.  After all, I watch a lot of those sleazy CW shows.  I can tell when two characters are going to eventually hook up.

Reylo Clue #4: The Hut Scene, Bare Shoulders and Hand-touching All the Way Across the Galaxy

Like the Kylo Ren shirtless scene, Rey is all wet and her shoulders are bare in this scene holding a little blanket barely covering her wet clothes and body.   Things are getting a little familiar, no?  We go from fighting and snarky dialog to clothing starting to come off and sitting in front of a fire within hand touching range of each other.  That Rian Johnson… I hope I still sound objective here, but again, this is where my “CW” radar went off.   Firelight, bare shoulders, wet hair, gloves off, bare hands reaching out, softly touching, Rey and Kylo have tears running down their cheek, then Dad comes in and interrupts.   What is happening????   Separate those two!!!

Reylo Clue #5: Snoke taking credit for the Force Connection = Disappointed boy

When Snoke reveals to Rey, in front of the kneeling Kylo Ren, that it was he, Snoke, who opened the Force connection bridge between Rey and Kylo, Kylo looks slightly upward with a subtle yet angry face as if to say “What the Hell????” He was surprised, disappointed, hurt.   Snoke said he saw Kylo Ren as too weak to hide his feelings from Rey.  Snoke used Kylo as a tool to get at Rey, the real threat, not Luke Skywalker.   This is yet another blow to Kylo Ren, who saw the Force connection between him and Rey as something special, something the Force intended.  Instead of an opportunity for Kylo to find a kindred spirit in Rey, he learns that this experience was something manufactured by another person.   It reminds me of that Hallmark Christmas movie where the girl creates a dating app for her business and starts “dating” the cute guy that came up as a match in order to show her boss how well the app works.  Then the poor guy finds out she was just going out with him to forward her career and he decides to move back to his hometown, but she races to find him before he leaves to tell him that she really likes him and they end up together at the end.   The point is that the dude was hurt to find out that it wasn’t “fate” that brought them together but some stupid computer algorithm.  Technology can be a real bitch sometimes.  And so could Snoke apparently.

Reylo clue #6: Kylo’s Botched “Proposal” to Rey after the throne room fight mirrors a classic literary romance!

Fans of Pride and Prejudice, like me, will find strangely familiar the moment that Kylo Ren, in a moment of passion and heightened self-confidence, asks Rey to join him in ruling together. When the offer is not immediately accepted, his ego takes over.  He makes Rey cry and tells her she is nothing, a “nobody”, only then to tell her that regardless of her being a nobody, with no real connection to anything or anyone, she means something to HIM and wants her to join him.  This is, of course, followed by her justifiable rejection of this proposed partnership and the pair of them going their different ways. 

This is mirrors what happens in the novel by Jane Austen, but in this case Mr. Darcy is Kylo Ren and Elizabeth Bennett is Rey.  If you read P&P, you will also know that Elizabeth misjudged Mr. Darcy based on her initial impression of him and that first impression somewhat tainted her reception of Mr. Darcy’s marriage proposal.  Also, despite being raised wealthy and well-educated, Mr. Darcy’s social awkwardness caused him to inadvertently hurt her feelings while expressing his true and tender feelings for Elizabeth.

We also see that Mr. Darcy’s pain of rejection influenced his transformation into a better, less proud man, worthy of Elizabeth’s love, and his second marriage proposal is more graciously accepted.  If Episode IX follows this story influence, we may see something of a transformation in Kylo Ren aka Ben Solo.  Look for signs in the first act of Episode IX of Kylo changing his own behavior and proving himself more worthy.  Otherwise, I’m not sure how he would be worthy of a romantic relationship with anyone, except someone as mean as him who will stab him in his sleep.  

Final thought on this scene – if Kylo Ren’s feelings for Rey were not romantic, would he have extended his hand to her?  If Rey were a man, would he hold out his hand to him?   No, he would not.  He wanted her to take his hand and walk away with him like they were the new power couple, like a King and Queen, like a Prince and Princess, not merely as a “partner in crime”.  He is a man, she is a woman.  It seems reasonable to him that she would say yes to him after they just slayed the dragon together. Also, Kylo Ren has been thinking about this new vision for the future, internally planning.  This is not spur of the moment.   He knew Rey was coming to him, he knew what he had to do.

Some last thoughts

These are the big clues, albeit not as obvious as Anakin and Padme, and the Han & Leia thing was way more obvious, more flirtatious.  If Reylo was the plan from the beginning, this is definitely a slow burn but totally possible, a modern day twist of the classic story - designed from the beginning to shock and surprise and audience.

The Reylo concept has been a very divisive topic among Star Wars Fans.  The point here is that you can be objective and scientific about this, keep feelings out of it. 

I will not be disappointed if Rey and Kylo don’t have a romantic relationship in the last movie of Star Wars.  I just hope the ending makes sense.  This is the Star Wars universe, not real life.  Yes, we interpret movies and TV through a current day lens, but anything can happen in this world.  The filmmakers are trying to surprise/shock us.  At this point, would Reylo be the shock/surprise or would Reylo be the obvious outcome?    Is the average fan even aware of Reylo?  I asked my mom about it and she just doesn’t see it.  What percentage of people also watched Episode VII or VIII and Googled “Rey Kylo Ren romantic” and found two years worth of online post about it?

Final thoughts

For Reylo to happen, there has to be a catalyst for Kylo to be redeemable, a believable turning point.  

Does Rey have to have a romance? 

Do you think we’ll see a more mature, more confident, sexier version of Rey in this story?  If so, then I think we’ll see her with a sexier counterpart/partner, someone with the intensity and passion of Ben Solo (Kylo), not Mr. Nice Guy Finn or Poe.  (see my next post!)

What is the true significance of Rose’s line about not destroying what we hate but saving what we love?  Will Kylo love Rey, and vice versa, and will that be key to ultimate end of the story? 

And by the way, what did Kylo mean when he said to Rey “don’t be afraid, I feel it too.”

[archetypical-series]

The Princess Story - Part 7

Elizabeth had never seen anything quite like Deejay's ship before. Even the suggestion of a flying ship seemed incredible; seeing it in person was mind-boggling. From the outside, it looked to her more like an enormous egg than a ship. As it opened, the entire spherical craft split in half, revealing four chairs in rows of two nestled into the bottom half. Everything about the ship was alien to her, from the fabric of its seat cushions to the metals and plastics on the console, to the array of screens and buttons laid out across it. Deejay mentioned proudly that he had dubbed the ship the Scyphozoan. Even its name seemed impossibly complicated and foreign.

At his suggestion, Elizabeth kept her eyes closed for the entire journey, which by her reckoning couldn't have been more than an hour. They didn't speak much during that time, rocking and shuddering sounds from the ship filling the silence, but the sense of quiet anticipation made her all the more excited to see what their destination would be like. Still, she obligingly kept her eyes shut even after he informed her that they had landed back at the Tower, wherever that was. As the ship opened, Deejay carefully led her by the hand out of the cockpit and down a few steps. To get the full effect of the reveal, he led her a few more steps toward the guard railing at the edge of the platform where they had landed.

“Okay, open your eyes,” he said.

She did, and gasped in awe at the view. To her right, rolling desert sands stretched as far as the eye could see. As her gaze scanned left across the landscape, the sand was gradually broken up by large stone outcroppings, growing into a long mountain range on the horizon.

When she moved closer and leaned over the railing, she could just make out Esperanza, a tightly-packed group of buildings arranged in a semi-circular pattern, to the south-west. The town looked like a tiny city of ants from the top of the Tower, tens of thousands of feet above the ground. Deejay held his arm out proudly like a game show host introducing a showcase of fabulous prizes.

“Welcome to my world.”

“Amazing...”

He laughed. “Not bad, right? I know, it’s a little on the barren side right now...”

“It’s beautiful. The view from here is astonishing.”

“Yeah, I like it well enough. I'd still like to see some more greenery instead of endless sand and rocks, but that's me. Anyway, come on. Let’s go inside. I have a lot more to show you.”

Deejay took her hand again and led her to the elevator. She followed his lead and stepped inside. He tapped the button for his room, and Elizabeth barely had time to register the sensation of movement before the doors opened moments later. She peered through the door, her mind swirling with equal parts awe, confusion, and curiosity.

Not that Elizabeth would have realized, but Deejay's room bore an uncanny resemblance to a college dorm room, only a bit more spacious. There was a twin-size bed to their left, a simple wooden desk and chair to the right, the bathroom door just beyond that, dresser at the end of the bed, mini fridge beside that, and some beanbag chairs and open floor space in front of a large closet at the opposite end of the room. There was a laptop, some books and miscellaneous junk on the desk, and the plain eggshell walls were covered with various posters torn out of old magazines. Most of them featured classic rock bands, but there were a few anime wall scrolls mixed in for color. Deejay stepped inside and presented the room.

“Please come in, Your Highness. Welcome to my humble abode. I know, it’s nothing special, but it suits me well enough.”

She stepped forward slowly, the door silently closing behind her. She turned around in place, still trying to take it all in.

“Yes, I suppose it does,” she said with a playful smile. “It has a sort of simple charm. Not unlike yourself.”

“Hah. Don't flatter me too much. If my ego gets any bigger it's going to start leaking out of my ears.”

She giggled. “You say the strangest things. But I believe I understand your meaning.”

“Good thing somebody does. Please, have a seat.”

He gestured to the bed. The two of them sat down beside each other.

“Now, we’ll need to keep pretty quiet for a bit. At least until my brother goes out. He hates it when I bring people home like this without telling him. But I figure what he doesn't know can't hurt him.”

“Is that so?”

The elevator door opened suddenly, and Ty stepped out.

“Gah!” Deejay jumped in place, and wound up perching on the edge of the bed like a gargoyle. “Ty? Dammit, how do you do that?”

“Plot convenience. Also, I get an alert in the boardroom whenever the ship returns. I'm pretty sure you helped me set that up.”

Deejay nodded sheepishly. “That I did. Dammit, past me, why must you always screw over present me?”

Elizabeth frowned. “You shouldn't barge into someone's room unannounced like that. It's terribly rude.”

She looked at Ty disapprovingly. He returned the look, although that is kind of just how he always looks. Finally, he shrugged.

“Alright, I'm sorry. For the sake of our royal guest, I'll make an attempt to be more polite.” He made a show of clearing his throat and adjusted his tie, which was royal blue in this case. “It's so nice to see you again, Your Highness. I don’t think we were properly introduced last time. I’m Tyler, co-owner of the Tower and older brother of this troublemaker here.”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance, Sir Tyler.”

She stood and curtsied before sitting again. Deejay rolled his eyes and settled back into his seat.

“Tch. Older brother. You're seven minutes older. Are you gonna hold that over me our whole lives?”

“Of course I am,” Ty said. “It's older brother tradition at this point. So, why don't you tell me why you’re going behind my back and bringing Princess Elizabeth to the Tower? And let me tell you, if this story doesn’t involve slaying a dragon or winning some kind of jousting competition, I will be seriously disappointed.”

“Well… I just wanted to see her again, and I knew there was no way I could just walk right into the castle and visit her, so…”

Ty rolled his eyes, which I'm sure is a phrase I'm going to be saying a lot.

“So, as long as you were already ignoring our rules about getting involved with prominent political figures and exposing them to technology that won't exist in their world for hundreds of years, you thought, ‘what the hell? I might as well make a day of it and kidnap a princess.’”

“I'm not being kidnapped,” Elizabeth protested. “I wanted to leave with Sir Deejay. My father is the one who was being stubborn and refusing to let me leave the castle.”

“Does your father know where you are now?”

“No… not as such.”

“And have you ever run away before?”

“Well, no... Unless abandoning my royal guard in the market for a few minutes counts.”

“So the day after his daughter is attacked by enemies of the crown who want her dead, the king now finds that the same daughter has mysteriously disappeared from the castle. He has no reason to believe she ran away on her own, and no idea where she could have gone. What conclusion does that reasonably lead him to? Kidnapping.”

Ty started clapping sarcastically.

“Congratulations, Deejay. You’ve just pissed in the afternoon tea of the King of Zalaria. What are you going to do next?”

“Ty, you’re making too much of this. She hasn’t been gone that long. I doubt anybody there has even realized she's missing yet. And even if they do, how big of a deal could it be? As long as I bring her home safe-”

“Butterfly effect, Deejay. Have you ever seen a parent when their child is missing, even for a little while? It's bad enough when that parent isn't in command of a country's military. When they are...”

“What, you think I'm going to start a war or something? Her father's not that crazy overprotective. Right?”

Elizabeth hesitated. “...Actually, the words 'crazy overprotective' seem quite apt for him. He was already very upset over yesterday. If he found out I was missing again...”

“Alright, I kind of see your point.”

“Good.” Ty folded his arms (speaking of things I'm going to be saying a lot). “Now, you’re going to return her to the castle right away and make damn sure they have no idea she was ever missing. Is that clear?”

Deejay sighed. “Yeah, okay...”

He looked at her for a beat, searching for something to say, when suddenly his eyes lit up.

“Oh, wait! I just remembered, the ship's fuel cells are still drained from all the travel I did this week. They’re recharging now, but it probably won’t be ready to go until tomorrow morning.” Deejay pumped his fist victoriously in the air. “Hah! Looks like Elizabeth is gonna have to spend the night with me after all!”

“Hold on, how can it be drained? Didn't you just use it to pick her up a few minutes ago?”

“Yeah, in hindsight that was a terrible idea. I had it in power saving mode and the ride back was pretty rocky.”

“I thought it was quite comfortable,” Elizabeth offered.

“But your main point of reference is the back of a wooden-wheeled vehicle on a cobblestone road. The ship's not supposed to feel like that.”

“It's not?”

Ty adjusted his glasses. “Wow. Okay yeah, if it's that bad we can't risk taking another trip right now. Damn... I’m sorry for the bother, Your Highness, but it looks like you’ll have to stay here until tomorrow.”

She shook her head. “Oh, it’s no bother at all. I would be happy to stay with Sir Deejay for the night.”

Deejay smirked and put his arm around her. Ty smirked back at him.

“Oh, Your Highness,” Ty said, “I wouldn’t dream of making a distinguished guest such as yourself share such a small room. We have a much larger, fully-furnished guest room a few floors below us for these kinds of occasions. You can stay there for the night. I think you'll find it much more comfortable.”

“Oh. Well thank you, Sir Tyler. That sounds wonderful.”

“Ty…” Deejay looked like a kid who'd just been told there's no Santa Claus. “You’re as cold as ice, man.”

Ty stepped back. “Well, now that that's settled, please allow me to show you to your room, Your Highness. If you’ll just follow me…”

He walked Elizabeth back to the elevator and they headed down, leaving Deejay sitting alone on his bed. He frowned and shook his head.

“Cold as ice...” He picked up a comic book off of his desk and started to flip through it, humming unconsciously. “...willing to sacrifice our love... You never take advice, someday- Aw great, now I've got Foreigner stuck in my head.”

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, October 5

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Cops in the Crosshairs

Page 2: Fears for the health of Ryan Seacrest as Keeping Up with the Kardashians which is his cash cow is being put out to pasture -- Ryan is pulling his hair out about the potential loss of revenue and racking his brain trying to come up with something that can replace it 

Page 3: Ellen DeGeneres is in a panic fearing she may lose her daytime TV show and wife Portia de Rossi in the wake of the scandal that’s tarnished her once pristine reputation as the Queen of Nice -- Ellen is in the deepest funk of her life as most of her high-powered Hollywood pals have been ghosting her and she is convinced there may be no coming back from this -- what’s more Ellen is concerned additional bad news may drive away her wife Portia 

Page 4: Kelly Clarkson has vowed to remain silent about the nightmare behind her divorce from Brandon Blackstock to protect her kids -- Kelly is known for oversharing but she’s keeping her lips zipped about Brandon because she never wants her children to know how bad things really were with their dad 

Page 5: Cardi B’s divorce filing from Offset described her marriage as irretrievably broken -- Cardi accused Offset of cheating in 2018 five months after the birth of their daughter Kulture and Offset seemed to own up to his infidelities on Instagram -- following the massive success of WAP Cardi finally listened to pals who have been telling her to toss the cheater but she wants the break to be amicable and will accept a joint custody arrangement for Kulture 

Page 6: Kanye West is crowing he personally engineered the downfall of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and that he’s the one calling the shots in his marriage to Kim Kardashian from now on -- Kanye hated the show and his constant negativity wore Kim down and killed it for her too and without her it couldn’t possibly go on -- Kanye believes Kim’s appearance on the show was at the heart of all their problems and now that she’s out of there he’s got every hope they can fix things 

Page 7: Endless renovations at their Los Angeles mansion have left George and Amal Clooney at each other’s throats and the feuding twosome are on the brink of a $500 million divorce -- the construction work which has soared over budget to more than $1 million has confined them to close quarters with their twins Ella and Alexander and they’re constantly bumping heads, love-hungry Katie Holmes is heading for a showdown with new boyfriend Emilio Vitolo Jr.’s scorned ex Rachel Emmons who was blindsided by Emilio and now she’s demanding answers from both him and Katie -- Katie knew Emilio was engaged to the designer but launched a steamy fling with him anyway and Rachel is not finished with Emilio or Katie by a long shot 

Page 8: Hollywood Hookups -- Ray J and Princess Love split again, Kaia Gerber and Jacob Elordi dating, Cassie Randolph gets a restraining order from Colton Underwood 

Page 9: Queen Elizabeth snubbed Tom Cruise’s request for a private chat and it’s got the snobby superstar’s nose out of joint -- the Scientology poster boy got the bright idea to drop in on the British royal while filming the latest Mission: Impossible movies using London as a base because he is a huge royal fan but so far no one from the palace has responded and Tom’s ego is hurt because almost no one refuses the opportunity to meet with Tom and no isn’t a word he’s used to hearing and being ignored happens even less -- Her majesty would barely know who Tom Cruise is and he’d be just another American pipsqueak to her and Hollywood is not exactly her favorite place at the moment 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Kristen Taekman of The Real Housewives of New York City in California, Riley Keough at the beach in Malibu, Frances McDormand offered the Vulcan salute before the L.A. screening of her film Nomadland, Jennifer Lopez at a lunch date in NYC, Bruce Willis out and about in Brentwood 

Page 11: A skin cancer scare has friends of sun-worshipping Caitlyn Jenner worried she’s playing Russian roulette with her health -- Caitlyn recently revealed a doctor took all the skin off her nose and reattached it to patch up a skin cancer scar -- she’s been treated for skin cancers on her cheek and nose but she’s a self-confessed tanning freak and can often be seen playing golf under the blazing California sun, Sofia Richie is getting revenge on ex Scott Disick by flirting up a storm with Will Smith’s son Jaden Smith and a string of other studs -- her phone was ringing off the hook with hot guys wanting a date and now that Sofia’s finally got Scott out of her hair she plans to show him what he’s missing

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Gavin Rossdale plays tennis (picture), Kelly Ripa is fuming over Drew Barrymore’s new talk show and it’s been made clear to A-listers if they appear on Drew’s show they will not be welcomed back to talk with Kelly and Ryan Seacrest any time soon and the competition between talk shows to book big-name celebrity guests has never been more intense, there’s a new stud in town at ABC and it’s got World News Tonight anchor David Muir’s knickers in a twist because weekend anchor Tom Llamas is horning in on David’s spotlight, Britney Spears and her little sister Jamie Lynn Spears are looking for a home together because Jamie Lynn has accepted that she’ll need to help look after Britney for the rest of her life and Britney can afford to buy a house with separate wings so they’ll each have their privacy but Jamie Lynn can keep an eye on Britney 

Page 13: In the latest sex scandal to hit the Fox News network senior legal analyst and former New Jersey judge Andrew Napolitano is battling back against allegations he sexually abused a New Jersey man in the 1980s, frail Ryan O’Neal reconciled with daughter Tatum O’Neal after 17 years but he’s a long way off from doing the same with son Redmond O’Neal -- ailing Ryan has distanced himself from his only child with the late Farrah Fawcett since Redmond was arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a knife and battery in 2018 -- Ryan sees Redmond’s troubles and demons as his alone to conquer and may even cut Redmond out of his will 

Page 14: Crime

Page 15: Reality show train-wrecks Kate and Jon Gosselin have renewed their toxic battle as the bickering exes engage in an ugly war of words over child abuse charges 

Page 16: Goodfellas movie gangster Ray Liotta has taken his whirlwind romance with brunette stunner Jacy Nittolo to the next level by tying the knot -- his new bride’s father was a real-life killer Stewart Woodman who was found guilty in 1990 of the execution-style slaying of his parents, Zac Efron’s summer lovin’ with an Aussie waitress seems to have already hit a sour note -- Zac has been living the high life Down Under with Vanessa Valladares since he hit up her boss for her number two months ago but by early September the pair were caught on camera in an outdoor cafe reportedly locked in a heated argument about their future -- this has been a fun fling for Zac but the reality is he has to head back to the U.S. and attend to his career while Vanessa is just a kid and her whole life is in Australia 

Page 17: Denise Richards is ditching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in a desperate bid to save her marriage -- the endless rehash of former co-star Brandi Glanville’s allegations they shared a same-sex fling despite Denise’s denials has pushed her relationship with alt-medicine guru Aaron Phypers onto life support 

Page 18: American Life -- I was trapped in wildfire hell 

Page 19: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood plan to tell their story in a no-holds-barred documentary -- the country duo hopes to mimic the success of Walk the Line which was a biopic about Johnny Cash and June Carter’s fiery romance and they’ve been talking to producers and writers -- they’ll also discuss their weight battles and food binges and how they got back in shape with clips of Garth working out and Trisha whipping up some of her healthier meals 

Page 20: America’s colleges infested by spies -- enemy nations using top schools to steal vital secrets and recruit moles 

Page 22: They Stayed After Partners Strayed -- cheating scandals that couldn’t tear star couples apart -- Jay-Z and Beyonce, David Letterman and Regina Lasko, Woody Harrelson and Laura Louie 

Page 23: Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish 

Page 26: Jaime King is locked in a vicious war with estranged husband Kyle Newman who has accused her of being a chronic drug addict and alcoholic and cleaning out their bank accounts -- Kyle also claims Jaime was abusing drugs during her two pregnancies and that their son Leo was born addicted to opiates -- Kyle said he makes $750 a month now as a writer and claimed he had to give up his directing career to look after their family and after their unsuccessful settlement talks in June he claimed Jaime went to Canada to film her show Black Summer leaving the boys with him for four months without support or any funds 

Page 27: Hoops phenom Maya Moore recently revealed she married Jonathan Irons the man she put her high-flying sports career on hold for as she helped free him from prison following his wrongful conviction more than 20 years ago -- Maya considered one of the greatest WNBA players ever ditched the league in 2019 to focus on social justice issues and secure Jonathan’s release -- Jonathan now 40 was only 16 when he was slapped with a 50-year sentence for burglary and assault in Missouri 

Page 28: Cover Story -- Cops in the crosshairs

Page 32: Acting legend Diana Rigg’s dying regret was that she never took advantage of the steamy chemistry she shared with Avengers co-star Patrick Macnee -- their sexual tension drove the series and young Diana always wanted to make it a reality but Patrick was married to Katherine Woodville at the time 

Page 34: Health Watch 

Page 36: Film femme fatale Sharon Stone is 62 but griped that folks are still angling to get an eyeful of her rack -- she compared her situation to Marilyn Monroe’s where she did movies that mattered but she still couldn’t get completely out of being that thing, Duane “Dog” Chapman claimed his late wife Beth haunted him after he found new love with fiancee Francie Frane 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Robert Pattinson 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Laurence Leboeuf and Kenny Wong on Transplant 

Page 47: Odd List 

[sae-you-sae-me]

Hey guys! I had this crazy idea I can't get out of my head: RFA+V & Saeran in some disney scenario lmao. But! They're the 'princess' and MC is the 'prince' :D Just a random example to illustrate my point: Jumin is a rich and bored prince and only his tigress Elly is bringing him joy, but then this sneaky plebeian girl rolls up singing 'I can show you the world' lol

This is a really creative prompt! Hope you like these~

Zen:

(Cinderella)

Zen thought he was just a lowly boy in a household with his brother and mother 

His mother wasn’t the kindest of people

She made him clean a lot and she rarely let him leave the house

She never praised him for his actions, and always put him down for his looks

It grew to the climax when you, royalty, invites him to a ball

His mother locked him up in his room and refused to let him out, attending the party herself

Then one day, a fairy–er–godmother named Seven visited him and freed him from his room

Using magic, Seven dressed him in the finest suit and placed two glass roses in his suit pocket and sent him on his way

His beauty caught your eye, but there was something else about this man that intrigued you

You asked him to dance, and afterwards you both retreated into the nearby garden

You saw his kind heart and knew there was something about him

But then the clock struck midnight, and he rushed away from you in a fluster

A glass rose had fallen, miraculously intact on the stairs

You determined to find this kind heart someway or another

Meanwhile, Zen returned to his life unsatisfied with everything, but managing nonetheless

When he finds out you’re searching for someone with a glass rose, he’s ecstatic 

With the help of Seven, he manages to bypass his mother’s schemes and show you the matching rose

You two live happily ever after in a castle

Yoosung: 

(Sleeping Beauty) 

A prince with brown hair born to a kingdom and his name was Yoosung

His three fairy caretakers gave him gifts at his birth

Zen gave him beauty, which changed his hair to a bright blond

Jumin gave him wealth and wellbeing

Before the last gift could be given, an evil witch named Rika Morgana intruded and put a curse on him

So, as the last gift, the fairy V bestowed on Yoosung a blessing that made him go into a deep slumber instead of death

The king and queen still worried for their son, so they sent him with the three fairies to grow up away from troubles

Years later, Yoosung had a tendency to wander away from the small cottage

It was on one of these outings he met you, a princess from another land

He feels like he’s met you before, and instantly falls you *Cue Once Upon A Dream playing*

When he returns to the cottage and the fairies find out, they instantly separate you two to his chagrin

In his fit of anger, he runs away from the cottage and stumbles upon a castle

Morgana tricks him into pricking his finger and Yoosung falls into a deep sleep

But Morgana also pulled you in, luring you into the castle and becoming a dragon

She tried to kill you off but you persevered and slayed the dragon, suddenly motivated by saving Yoosung from his sleep

You rescue him by giving him true love’s kiss

You two return to the castle, reunite with Yoosung’s parents, and live happily ever after

Jaehee: 

(Frozen)

Jaehee was in charge of a kingdom after your parents died

But she had these special powers that she was unsure of and didn’t know what to do with

So she did her best to suppress her power and hide…even from you

But finally the day came where she was coronated, and you two would finally bond…you hoped

You met a man there…he seemed amazing

He was a prince and you two just seemed to click, and his name was Jumin

But Jaehee disagreed when you said you wanted to marry him

The argument caused her powers to slip out and the whole kingdom fell in fear

So she fled, and you couldn’t catch up though you tried

On your way to find her, you met a tall, really handsome man who somehow joined you on your search

This man, Zen, seemed to give you advice about marrying a man you just met and how it was ridiculous and how men were beasts

He also had this quirky reindeer named Sveven

On the way, you also met this happy little ball of snow named Yoosung

With their help, you found Jaehee’s castle of ice and approached her

Things didn’t go well and you got shot in the heart with ice

Zen hurried you out of there to the magical trolls while Jaehee continued to detiorate in her fear

When he hears about the act of true love, he takes you home to Jumin

Only, Jumin betrays you for the sake of a kingdom and takes over for awhile

Finally, Jaehee embraces her power and before she can be annihilated by Jumin, you intervene

This act of love melts your heart of ice

You and Jaehee  bond again and everyone lives happily ever after

Jumin: 

(Aladdin) 

He was a prince who was locked up in an extravagant castle

His father wanted him to marry, but Jumin wasn’t thrilled with the idea

One night, he kissed his tiger Elizabeth the Third before sliding over the wall in disguise to see the city

Not knowing much of commoner ways, he soon got lost, but thankfully a peasant girl intervened and helped him through

He had never felt a connection with anyone before you and he found the night flew by

Unfortunately, you were caught by his palace guards thanks to his father’s evil advisor Sarah Choi

Meanwhile, Sarah convinced his father, by nefarious means, to betroth Jumin to herself

You escaped prison, in the meantime, and followed a Sarah in disguise to find a genie lamp

You entered a cave with your monkey Saeran and passed a few obstacles

You befriended a magic carpet named Yoosung and found the genie lamp

The genie named Seven offered you three wishes, so you started your transformation to be worthy of Prince Jumin

With Seven’s help, you appear as a princess and go to Jumin

Your first meeting is rough, but you take him on a magic carpet ride and somewhere along the way he founds out you’re the peasant girl from the market place

Unfortunately, so does Sarah Choi

She plans your downfall but ultimately fails

You and Jumin end up together after all, despite your varying classes, and live happily ever after

 Seven:

(Tangled)

Saeyoung was a prince with magical red hair

As a result, he couldn’t cut it or the hair would turn normal

Because of this, he was kidnapped by a cruel woman and locked in a tower while she claimed to be his mother

He was never allowed to leave and didn’t have any friends but his chameleon Vanderwood

Still he had this longing to see the stars near the castle

One day, while his evil mother was out on “errands”, he made up his mind to finally leave the castle

But his plans were thwarted when a thief broke into his house while on the run from the castle guards and their dedicated royal horse Saeran

“What brought you here? Fate? Destiny?”

“Your brother A horse.”

He makes an agreement with you that he would return your stolen crown if you took him to see the stars

You agree, though you try to get rid of him somehow

He has a bunch of mood swings, feeling happy at his freedom but also guilty for leaving

Unfortunately, you drag him into your own problems as you try to run away from your old partners in crime

Finally, you make it to the city where you reunite with your enemy…Saeran…who happens to be protective of Saeyoung

Still, since it’s his birthday you two get along and spend a day in the city

During this time, you realize you had fallen for him and you want to quit your old life

Your magical boat ride underneath the stars goes awry when Saeyoung’s mother intervenes

You get wounded, you cut his hair, but in the end everything ends up okay

You get free from your life, Saeyoung ends up with his happy family, and you live happily ever after

Saeran: 

(Hercules)

You never really fit in anywhere because you had magical powers that made you super strong

After seeing you struggle, your parents revealed that you were actually the daughter of a god

But Hades intervened and drained you of your divinity, but your powers still remained

With this information, you went to training with the best of the best…Zen

With his help, you got even stronger and better

On your very first mission, you came across a damoiseua in distress

Only…the boy could handle himself

You found out the boy’s name was Saeran, and you were completely infatuated with him despite Zen’s warnings

Hades finds out Saeran met you and suddenly traps him into another agreement

Saeran is forced to lure you into a trap where Hades can get rid of you forever

But he finds himself falling in love with you on the way

When you and Hades face off, Saeran sacrifices himself, getting himself sent to the underworld

Desperate to get him back, you venture there and pull out his soul from the pool 

In the process, you showed you were truly the daughter of a god and regained your divinity

With your newfound power, you sent Hades back into the underworld and are reunited with your divine parents

But…you wanted to stay with Saeran

So you gave up your immortality to stay with Saeran and live the rest of your lives happily

V: 

Winnie the Pooh

V is Winnie the Pooh

MC is Christopher Robin

Jumin is piglet

Seven is Tigger

Yoosung is Roo

Jaehee is Eeyore

Saeran is Rabbit

They all live happily…no drama happens…everyone has a happy ending

Check out our other headcanons~ Masterlist

[historybehindassassinscreed]

In Game:

Apples of Eden were types of Pieces of Eden, a very specific type of technology made by Isu (more commonly referred to as “The First Civilization”).

Long before humans existed, the First Civilization of technologically advanced beings inhabited Earth. They created humanity and enslaved them by modifying their brains to be manipulable by Pieces of Eden. For some time there was a forced peace until Adam and Eve stole one of the Pieces, an Apple, and started the Human-Isu War.

A major solar flare impacted the earth, after which the First Civilization began to go extinct. From there, humans populated the earth and began to see their predecessors as myths or gods. The Pieces of Eden were not destroyed by the blast, and throughout time, humans started to recover them from various locations (such as beneath Solomon’s Temple in Jerusalem or Basilica di Santa Maria in Aracoeli in Rome), also causing a split of sides based on different mindsets; Templars and Assassins. The Templars were out to restore peace in the way the First Civilization had once done, forced by the Pieces, unlike the Assassins, that fought for freedom and a flawed humanity, putting free will above order.

The Apples are the most well-known Piece of Eden, being favored by Abstergo Industries in their plan of a New World Order, being likely the most predictable Piece, as some other Pieces were known to be able to create time paradoxes. 

Apples were designed to create illusions and to control human minds and even turn thought into reality, as stated by Juno, hence, they were used by many great rulers throughout history, proving the efficiency of the Apples' powers.

Although there have been many different Apples (at least seven are mentioned throughout the games), some of the most notable wielders include Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad, Ezio Auditore de Firenze, Aguilar de Nerha, Cesare Borgia, Queen Elizabeth I, George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolph Hitler, Desmond Miles, Alan Rikkin, and Callum Lynch.

The locations of five of the Apples are unknown, though the one that belonged to Altaïr was destroyed; Abstergo Industries had been experimenting with it underneath Denver International Airport. The Templar, Daniel Cross, upon visiting the underground facility, fell under the influence of the project's Apple of Eden and killed everyone in the facility before the company's clean-up crew had arrived. The Apple itself was ultimately destroyed. This would later become known as the DIA Satellite Accident.

Aguilar’s Apple of Eden is the other with a known location; it is currently in the hands of the Assassins. During the 15th century, it came into the possession of the Sultan of the Emirate of Granada, Muhammad XII, though it did not help him win his conflict against the Christian kingdoms of Iberia, Castile, and Aragon. When the Spanish Inquisition under the command of Grand Inquisitor Tomás de Torquemada, a leading Templar, caught wind of Muhammad XII's treasure, they abducted his son to be used as ransom for the artifact, only to be promptly deprived of it by the intervention of the Assassins Aguilar de Nerha and Maria. From Aguilar, the Apple was in turn transferred to the Italian explorer Christopher Columbus for safe keeping. In October of 2016, the Apple was briefly in the hands of Alan Rikkin, the CEO of Abstergo Industries, before he was killed by the Assassin, Callum Lynch.

In Real Life:

Golden apples show up in various mythologies around the world.

In Greek Mythology, the first time that a magic, golden apple makes an appearance is in the tale of Atalanta. Atalanta was the daughter of Iasus (or Mainalos or Schoeneus, according to Hyginus), a Boeotian (according to Hesiod), or an Arcadian princess (according to the Bibliotheca). She was a virgin huntress of Artemis (Diana, in Rome), unwilling to marry.

Because of her beauty, she gained a number of suitors and finally agreed to marry, but under the condition that her suitor was obligated to beat her in a footrace. Competitors who failed to beat her would be put to death. As Atalanta could run extremely fast, all her suitors died.

Melanion, however, as one of Atalanta’s suitors, realized that because she was under the protection of Artemis she could not be defeated in a fair race. Thus, he prayed to the goddess Aphrodite (Venus). The goddess gave him three golden apples and told him to drop them one at a time to distract Atalanta. Sure enough, she quit running long enough to retrieve each golden apple. It took all three apples and all of his speed, but Melanion finally succeeded, winning the race and Atalanta's hand.

Another myth in Greek Mythology that involves golden apples is the tale of the Golden Apple of Trojan War. In Olympus, Zeus (Jupiter) held a banquet in celebration of the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. Eris (Discordia), the goddess of discord, was not invited for her troublesome nature, and upon turning up uninvited, she threw a golden apple into the ceremony, with an inscription that read, “For the fairest.”

Three goddesses, Athena (Minerva), Hera (Juno), and Aphrodite all claimed the apple of discord for their own. They brought the matter before Zeus. Not wanting to get involved, Zeus assigned the task to Paris of Troy. Paris had demonstrated his exemplary fairness previously when he awarded a prize unhesitatingly to Ares after the god, in bull form, had bested his own prize bull.

Zeus gave the apple to Hermes and told him to deliver it to Paris and tell him that the goddesses would accept his decision without argument. As each goddess wanted to receive the apple, they each stripped off their own clothing and appeared naked before Paris. Each of the goddesses also offered Paris a gift as a bribe in return for the apple; Hera offered to make him the king of Europe and Asia, Athena offered him wisdom and skill in battle, and Aphrodite offered to give to him as a wife a most beautiful woman, Helen of Sparta, who according to legend was already married to Menelaus. Paris chose Aphrodite's bribe of committing adultery, a decision that caused the destruction of both adulterous Paris and his city, Troy, via the Trojan war.

(Image source)

The third Greek myth that involves golden apples was the eleventh labor of Hercules. After Hercules completed the first ten labors, Eurystheus gave him two more claiming that slaying the Hydra didn't count (because Iolaus helped Hercules) nor did cleaning the Augean Stables (either because he was paid for the job or because the rivers did the work).The first additional labor was to steal the apples from the garden of the Hesperides.

Hercules finally made his way to the Garden of the Hesperides, where he encountered the Titan Atlas holding up the heavens on his shoulders. Hercules persuaded Atlas to get some of the Golden Apples for him, by offering to hold up the heavens in his place for a little while. This would have made the labor – like the Hydra and the Augean Stables – void because Hercules had received help. When Atlas returned, he decided that he did not want to take the heavens back, and instead offered to deliver the Apples himself. But Hercules tricked him by agreeing to remain in the place of Atlas on condition that Atlas relieve him temporarily while Hercules adjusted his cloak. Atlas agreed, but Hercules reneged and walked away with the Apples. According to an alternative version, Hercules slew Ladon, the dragon-like guardian of the Apples, instead.

Golden Apples make appearances in Norse Mythology as well. In Norse Mythology the Golden Apples are cultivated by Idun, the goddess of love, fertility and the personification of springtime. The immortal gods of Asgard would have to eat one of the apples every day so that they could ward off disabilities and old age and diseases, in order to remain beautiful, young through countless ages and vigorous.

(Image source)

Irish Mythology has stories of Golden Apples as well. They are far more minor and less specific in Irish lore, mostly because it is an element of the Silver Branch, or Silver Bough, a symbol that is connected to the Celtic Otherworld. It is described as “A branch of silver with three golden apples on his shoulder” and is said that if someone were to try to travel to the afterlife before the time of their death, they would have to have the silver branch with golden apples as payment, further continuing the apple's divine connection found in Greek and Norse myth. Additionally, the apples themselves were said to have produced a music so beautiful that it could put anyone to sleep.

Lastly, Golden Apples make appearances in several fairy tales from different European countries; Germany (”The Golden Bird” and “The White Snake”), Russia (”The Fire Bird and the Gray Wolf”), Bulgaria (”The Three Brothers and the Golden Apple”), and Romania ("The Nine Peahens and the Golden Apples"). Most of these stories usually begin the Golden Apple being stolen from a king, usually by a bird.

Sources:

https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/Heroes/Atlanta/atlanta.html

http://www.uexpress.com/tell-me-a-story/2014/12/7/the-golden-apple-of-discord-a

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labours_of_Hercules#Eleventh_labour:_apples_of_the_Hesperides

http://www.messagetoeagle.com/goddess-idun-and-the-golden-apple-myth-in-norse-mythology/