#despite what some people say Owen is a good dad

[sweettkstrand]

Did anyone else just love Owen’s reaction when he opened the door to TK? I mean he practically squealed. The way he said his name was so cute. I love that we’re getting back to season 1 Strand Boys.

[dmercer91]

in your arms i feel at peace | look after you, tz11

in which trevor is your shoulder to cry on

don't let those super fluffy pictures of z fool you, this is sad as fuck (and dialogue heavy)

when i first started this account i figured i'd be doing mostly nsfw and look at me!!! every character i write has mommy issues :)

also send in for this au pls and thank you ill give you a vital organ

"someone's in a good mood," trevor mumbled behind you, wrapping his arms around your waist as you made breakfast for the two of you. nobody else was awake yet, and it was nice to just have some quiet time with him.

in just a couple weeks you’d become great friends, and you found yourself glued to him or to a book all day every day

“my mom asked if i wanted to go shopping with her today, it’s been a while since we’ve done something like that,” you explained, not clocking the look of worry on trevor’s face

you were over the moon that your mom wanted to spend time with you, one on one. this was your chance to bond with her now that you were closer to being an adult

your chance to fix things and have her treat you as an individual

you figured your mom saw today the same, that she might change. maybe she wouldn’t undermine your issues, compare them to her own

maybe she’d offer you help rather than argue that she was worse off

maybe she’d buy you things you actually like rather than force you to dress like she wanted - professional and proper so that you would be taken more seriously

trevor could tell that you thought today would change some things, and he wasn’t quite sure what to think of it

he knew your relationship with your mom wasn’t great. he knew your relationship with your whole family was less than ideal, actually.

he was a little nervous to see where the day went, but for now? you were excited, and he loved that for you

that excitement didn’t last long

he had a feeling he’d be left picking up the broken pieces of your heart whenever you got back

the feeling was right

but, he didn’t think it’d be this bad.

you were yelling as you walked through the door, your mom poker faced and unimpressed, almost rolling her eyes as she told you to calm down

“would you quit being a brat? there are other people in this house!”

trevor watched from the bottom of the stairs as you paused, laughing to yourself

“right. other people. you know what, mom?” you left space for her to answer you despite the question being rhetorical, but she just crossed her arms

challenging you to say what it was that was on your mind

“i don’t want to be your daughter anymore. from here on out, i am a stranger to you, i am the other people you’re so worried about looking your best for” you smiled softly

your moms face fell from amused to confused, thinking you’d do what you normally did - cry, and then accept any offer to rekindle your relationship in hopes that this time, she’d be a mom to you.

“you’re a pathetic excuse for a mother and i was just a kid. i didn’t- i don’t deserve to be tangled in this stupid, one sided vendetta you have against me for just existing,” your tone was level, you weren’t yelling anymore

your mom scoffed, trying to hold up a cold exterior while facing the reality that she was losing the only person who’d do anything for her

the person who, at seven years old, helped her move out of your dads house after the divorce

the person who didn’t question that you were moving in with a man you’d never met before

the person who cleaned the whole house regularly so that she wouldn’t have to stress about it

the person who helped her with laundry because her boyfriend refused

the person who defended her when he was drunk

the person who let her cry on your shoulder when owen wanted to stay with your dad for some time

the person who didn’t do the same because you didn’t want to hurt her feelings

the person who offers to do anything and everything for her because you know she works a lot

the person who forgives quickly and tries to forget, cause that’s your mom and you believed she could be better

the person who shuts up when you’re feeling down because you don’t want to put more things on her

the person who drops anything you’re feeling cause when you bring it up, suddenly she feels worse than you about that same thing and she needs you to lean on

the person who after seventeen years, has finally given up

you’ve given up.

“don’t you think that’s a little dramatic, y/n?” you smiled with a shake of your head, a tear falling down your face

“that’s kinda the problem, isn’t it? if i was any less emotional you might have me checked for psychopathy.

my whole life you let owen walk all over me. demean me over and over, and of course i cried, i was eight years old.

every time i tried to say something you’d tell me i was too emotional, that he treated me like shit on the bottom of his shoe because it was easy and i reacted too much

that wasn’t the truth. you just didn’t want to deal with it. you were annoyed that i was crying.

regardless i believed you because you were meant to be my mother

the bullying never stopped but every single time i just walked away and suddenly i wasn’t emotional enough for you

i was uncomfortable in my own home and that meant i was rude and blunt and i needed to smile sometimes cause i seemed like a bitch

you made me into that and i think it’s time someone lets you know so you can get the fuck off your high horse, cause we all know you think you’re a great mother”

she clenched her jaw and opened her mouth to speak, but you cut her off

“i’m not done.

news flash, buying me things at the mall just to soften the blow of you being a massive cunt doesn’t make you a good mother

putting a roof over my head and feeding me doesn’t make you a good mother, it just allows you to keep your kids.

so, again. you’re gonna start treating me like a stranger

because it’s not hard to see how insecure you are about how random people see you on the outside

you put up this mask of perfection for people who don’t even know you and never will, but you don’t give a single fuck how your own child sees you on the inside

i’m done being an extension of you to torment and compare yourself to, and i’m staying here wether you like it or not.

i’m here as a friend of quinn’s, now. as a friend of the family’s. this is not my family,”

the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop

“don’t be disrespectful, y/n. i do a lot for you. i bought you summer clothes today!” you bit the inside of your cheek, filing through you head to look for any memory of her that wasn’t tainted by it’s true purpose, and you couldn’t.

“you didn’t listen to a word i said, huh? figures,”

when you turned and the first thing you saw was trevor, looking at you from the staircase, every bit of yourself willed to not let the dam break until you were alone, with him.

you walked right into him, clinging onto him and pressing your face tight into his neck

he reciprocated the second you were near, taking you into his arms and squeezing you tight, cupping your head and rubbing your back

he helped you up the stairs and towards the door to his room, holding your hand until you got to his bed and he could pull you back into his arms, on his lap.

"what happened, sunshine?" he murmured, letting you comb your fingers through his hair to try and keep yourself calm

it didn't work all that well, tears already streaming down your face now that you were in the comfort of his room, alone where you felt you wouldn't be judged.

your reply was muffled by his shoulder, where you'd pressed your jaw to try and keep your cries quiet

"she wanted me to go back home."

trevor furrowed his eyebrows and traced patterns on your leg with his fingers, knowing you'd open up when you were ready.

you took a minute to calm your breathing, explaining everyhting.

that originally you wanted to spend the summer at home with your dad because you knew you'd be isolated here, that quinn had other friends and you couldn't steal him away from everyone for the whole offseason.

that you got put in your place before the drive down to michigan and told that ellen needed you there to help around the house and that you could just be helpful 'this one time'

that ellen hadn't made you touch a thing all summer, the only time you did a chore was when you made yourself and him a snack, so you knew your mom just wanted you here to be a servant

that when you met him, you were finally happy in michigan and you were actually looking forward to the summer and getting to know him, spending some more time with jack and luke now that you had someone in common

that today, the shopping trip was just a cover up, your mom spoiling you before telling you - not asking - that you were going back home to house sit until the offseason was over

that you were naive at first, that you thought your mom grew a heart and that she was giving you an out due to you wanting to stay back home weeks ago

that you quickly saw through that

that your mom told you that owen had been excited to meet the team usa guys, trevor especially, and that you were getting in the way of your brother having the offseason experience he wanted

that you were going to be miserable the whole summer, but now that you've found a happy place in michigan, you were told to go home and be miserable there instead

that she wanted you isolated all summer. that was her plan.

and after you let it all out to him, you just started sobbing, and you couldn't stop

trevor did his best to soothe you, mumbling sweet nothings and reassuring you that ellen wanted you at the lake house and that he knew she'd let you stay

"i don't know what i could've done to make her hate me so much," you croaked, balling his shirt up into your fists and pulling him closer

“you didn’t do anything, sunshine. there’s nothing in the world you could’ve done to deserve that, you were just a kid. n’ you’re an angel, you know? like heaven on earth, it’s not your fault,” he whispered, cradling the back of your head

you looked up into his eyes from your spot on his shoulder, eyes uncertain and still overflowing with tears

“i know you don’t believe me, it’s okay,” he slid his thumb back and forth along your hair, kissing you on the temple.

you adjusted your head to get closer to him, still keeping your eyes on his

sniffling slightly, you took his other hand and toyed with his fingers, gaze eventually falling there as your tears slowed and nose cleared up

“thank you, trev, that-“ he cut you off with a kiss, catching you a little off guard

still, you pulled away with a smile, holding his jaw with the hand you’d had gripping his shirt

“that’s really sweet.” you finished, fresh tears falling from your face

he moved to wipe them, brushing his thumb against your nose gently

“of course, my sunshine,”

you hugged him, using both arms to wrap around him and squeeze tight, him returning the favour

“i’m all yours for the rest of the day, hm? maybe we can sneak off on the boat? bring some snacks, blankets n’ your laptop for movies and make a day out of it,”

you nodded happily, becoming pliant in his arms with a dumb smile

“that sounds perfect, z,”

he went to kiss you again, but the door cracked open mid lean-in and you jumped apart like it was an affair

it was ellen, now grinning to herself at the sight in front of her

“i figured you’d be in here. can we talk?”

you blushed, nodding.

“yeah, auntie el, just-“

“i’ll go,” trevor cut you off, ruffling your hair and placing a kiss on your cheek

[koris-crumbs]

gimme td character headcanons. literally any.

RAHHH okay anything for you pookie. These are mainly for my favorite four but i probably have some more somewhere in this brain of mine

Heather:

Fem lesbian obvious

Her and Noah are best friends bc they both clocked each other IMMEDIATELY when total drama island first happened

By best friends I mean both of them only admit it internally and never to each other

Shitty, homophobic parents meant she ran away/got kicked out 😋

MAJOR mommy issues. her dad just was kinda there and didn’t do anything

despises her siblings but LOVES noah and his own family

Ended up moving in with Noah trust she’s basically his sister

LOVES babies despite what people may think

Immediately falls asleep after eating (yeah she’s one of those people)

Pretends she only eats gourmet food when in reality her fave is honestly just a good, greasy burger from some shitty diner Noah took her too

Since she got cut off she makes Noah, and eventually Alejandro and Court buy everything for her 😍

LOVES her weird off brand total dramaverse jigsaw movies but that’s about the only type of scary movie she’ll watch bc it has no jumpscares it’s just gore basically.

HATES HATES HATES JUMPSCARES she’ll scream

thinks noah’s crush on alejandro is genuinely the funniest thing in the world she never lets him live it down

was stunned into silence one time bc noah flashed a photo of her bald on facetime one night

Immediately clocked Alejandro as being a closet bisexual she genuinely probably knew he was a boy kisser before he did

Courtney followed her private account after the events of World Tour transpired and heather screamed when she got the notification

has a key to Noah’s house bc she lives there (this will come back later trust)

passenger princess every time

Noah:

Gay gay homosexual gay

after World Tour and swearing off of reality shows (for now) he gets a job as a barista at some shitty cafe near his house

he gives Heather free coffee bc girl can’t live without it

drove like four hours to pick heather up after she got kicked out

is the designated driver of the group

also usually pays for everything despite being friends with mainly rich (or previously rich in heathers case) kids

knew he had a crush on alejandro from the start and just kinda let it simmer bc he figured nothing would ever come out of it

he has a mom car. a beat up subaru. he is truly the mom friend fr

carries that photo of bald heather around as a way to get her to shut up if she says anything too mean (usually to owen or izzy)

had to be the one to ask alejandro out and literally rehearsed it for hours

is a surprisingly good cook despite being the youngest of nine children. him and owen cook together all the time as a sort of bonding thing

hes a mommas boy trust. both of his parents are great though

never really went all out for halloween until he was roped into a group costume with owen and team e-scope one year. after world tour alejandro convinced him to do couples costumes with him

the most ATROCIOUS fashion sense known to man

Alejandro:

the definition of bisexual

he has the absolute shittiest gaydar in the world though. I know it

didn’t even know he himself was bi until world tour

ALSO meant he couldn’t tell noah was gay (stupid) and it devastated him on that plane even though he had no idea why yet

THIS BOY HAS JEALOUSYYYYY PROBLEMSSSS

being the youngest and always second best to josé definitely contributed to that

the daddy issues to match heathers mommy issues

always wanted a sister

after courtney and him make up after the events of world tour he basically gets her as one

they shit talk people in spanish together trust

has one sided beef with one of noah’s coworkers bc they have a crush on noah

him and heather stayed close after world tour but he did NOT know she lived with noah. he didn’t even know they were friends.

was always confused on why heather made him drop her off like a block from where she said she lived

was scandalized when he found out heather did in fact not strictly eat gourmet food

hates Owen with a seething passion. this one isn’t even a hc honestly. the hatred after world tour mainly stems from jealousy bc owens so close with noah

“why is he here??” “he’s my best friend, alejandro” “i thought I was your best friend ☹️”

yeah he sticks to that “best friend” story a lot.

noah only starts getting suspicious when alejandro says it’s okay for best friends to kiss just for funsies

him, heather, and courtney have to take noah shopping bc of how atrocious noah’s taste is

doesn’t watch movies in general but he loathes horror movies with a passion bc he’s just like heather and hates jumpscares

noah and court put a horror movie on during movie night one time and alejandro literally almost cut off noah’s circulation from how hard he was gripping

for their first halloween as a couple he made noah dress up as a vampire while he was a werewolf (a better love story than twilight 🤯)

does not. know what to do around babies and toddlers. they make him uncomfortable tbh. what if one crawls over to him? he will kindly pass on that, thank you

one time one of noah’s little cousins waddled up to him and he went 😟 bc he thought noah was testing how good he was with kids

has a key to noah’s house bc he’s down bad and already spends 90% of his time there anyway

neither his nor heathers keys were given to them by noah himself

noah’s momma strikes again

whenever he sits behind her he kicks heathers seat in the subaru

Courtney:

lesbian in denial for a while (lmaoooo i’m dr seuss)

honestly wasn’t even that sad about duncan tbh she was DEVASTATED about gwen though

musical theater kid. probably music kid in general.

despite popular belief i actually imagine her parents being very proud and genuinely good parents. they adore their baby girl

definitely has a big photo of her as a baby hung up in like the main area in her huge house

after heather comforted her she honestly regretted not getting her contact info so she had to resort to finding her on instagram after like a month of searching

her and alejandro had kept in touch so she was surprised when she found out he was best friends with heather and noah as well

100% said the infamous heartbreaking quote to heather during world tour at some point

“why not?” “i wish you were a boy” (sorry)

is a beast and super fan for horror movies and noah’s the first friend she actually gets to enjoy them with bc he doesn’t get scared (unlike a specific two people)

ALWAYS dresses up as a princess or fairy or smth for halloween every year without a doubt. heather nearly had an aneurysm the first halloween they spent together

is scary when she drives solely bc of her road rage which is why noah’s the designated driver not her (heather and alejandro don’t know how to lmaooo losers)

that’s it for them for the moment. maybe i’ll do more for other characters if i think of anything ^^

[aroaceweirdos101]

Guess who finished another Hello Puppets! OC's ref sheet, THIS GAL!!!(cant believe I finished this guy in 1/2 days)

"Duke is a brave, and albeit foolish(often said by his cousin, Riley) daredevil. Who sometimes, unintentially causes trouble. Despite that, He's always there to help people face their fears and become as daring as he is!"

In the show:

Duke first appeared in the episode, 'Daring Danger', when the Handeemen decided to attend one of his stunt shows. After the show he immediatly recognised Riley and decided to pay her a visit, slightly embarrassing her infront of the other Handees-

He decides to hang around for a while, accidentally causing a few accidents to happen due to his recklessness. Eventually, around the end of the episode, he learns a valuble lesson on safety and how to be careful.

Outside of the show:

He was created by one of the show's writers, Avery Flores, as a self insert and aswell as a possible side character for the show. It took awhile but Owen finally accepted his submission and made him Duke's official pupeteer!

Nobody knows what had happened to Avery when the studio fire started, but it is highly likely that he didnt make it...

Relationship with the Handeemen(Show counterparts):

- Rosco: Duke adores the golden retriever, he would always give him alot of belly rubs and treats whenever he gets to visit(Duke always wanted to have a dog, but due to his constant travels(and the fact he lives in a van), he's unnable to own one).

Rosco loves to play with Duke and would look forward to his visits(which makes Riley abit jealous), their favourite thing to do together is digging!

- Riley: As said before, Duke is Riley's reckless cousin(specifically from her mother's side), they've knowned eachother since they were toddlers and would often visit eachother during the holidays. Duke likes to tease her about her height, despite also being short.

Riley might never admit it, but she is glad to have Duke's company(as she didnt have many friends back then). Tho, she is tired of constantly scolding him for his reckless behaviour.

- Nick: Duke sees the artist as a close friend of his. The two would often exchange terrible dad jokes and team up to prank/tease Riley(much to the scientist's dismay). He's also one of the only few who wilingly listens to the artist's poems(tho half the time, Duke gets distracted by other things and ends up forgeting what Nick just spoke).

While Nick is annoyed by Duke's reckless antics(he still holds a grudge againts him for accidentally ruining one of his paintings that took hours to finish), he's glad to have another theater kid to talk to(Yep, Duke's a theater kid. So is Riley, but she's in the closet).

- Daisy: Duke LOVES Daisy's cooking(as it reminds him of his grandma's), he would often try and volunteer to help her in the kitchen(tho he was quickly banned after he somehow set it on fire the moment he stepped in).

Daisy's mother hen tendencies are increased when Duke's around, mostly due to his clumsy nature(he keeps giving her heart attacks with his definitely not safe stunt shows). Tho, its safe to say the two are good friends.

- Mortimer: The daredevil admires the old magician as he never cease to amaze him with his unbeliavable magic tricks, so much so that Duke wouldnt stop talking about them(he's abit of a chatter box). He greatly respects him.

Mortimer is both amused and overwhelmed by his enthusiam, either way, he's glad to have another person be his practice audience.

More Info about him:

- Since it was the 80s, his transgender reprsentation was never outright said due to the censorships. However, the crew managed to work around it by giving small hints throughout the show(e.g., sneakily showing a trans bumper sticker on his van).

- On some occasions, he'll dye his hair a different color to match the theme of the episode, or out of curiosity on what they'll look like.

- He has ADHD, Riley made him get a diagnosis after showing multiple signs of having it(that probably explains why he gets distracted easily, and why he keeps forgetting shit-).

- He is allergic to cats(they found out after he tried to pet the neighbors cat when he was little), tho that doesnt stop him from trying to pet any cat he finds, much to Riley's annoyence(she had to stop him from petting Angel when he first met the feline).

Feel free to ask some questions about him!

[talenlee]

Story Pile: Hoot

In 2006, the movie Hoot was made, and seemingly nobody in the universe I know saw it or heard of it. This is despite it being made out of an award-winning children’s book about being nice to the environment in Florida. When the movie got made, it got some press attention because of its producer, and then just…

nothing.

Which is a shame because it’s a really good movie, and I am surprised to say that.

Look, I have something of a spoiler warning here, in that I intend to talk about the way this movie ends, but, like, you know what this movie is, right? It’s a children’s movie based on an award-winning children’s novel and it doesn’t have a dog on the cover of the book, which means you can guess the entirety of this story from just knowing the characters exist. You are not watching this movie to be challenged by a plot twist.

more

Alright, the plot for this one, let’s see if I can do this in one breath.

We have Roy, who moves from Montana to Florida and then has to do the new kid thing at school where he winds up seeing a running kid his own age in the wilds and becomes fascinated with it while in the b plot a police officer is trying to deal with a construction site for a pancake house that keeps getting vandalised I wonder how these two threads intersect and then the running boy’s step-sister reveals to Roy that her name is Bianca and she rules and her brother is meant to be in military school and instead he’s doing ecoterrorism to try and stop the construction from running over the nesting grounds of a type of Floridan burrowing owl, which are very cute and then the teens have to work together to find a way to delay, prevent, and then stop the construction which they do with an elaborate con and some minor crimes and convincing the cop to help them out (though Roy’s schoolteacher doesn’t help the cops, because he knows what’s what) and then they all stand around the shut-off bulldozer and everybody claps.

This isn’t a complicated movie. It has the feeling that you’re already watching it on Youtube at 1.5 speed.

Hey, also, a thing that this movie has that I wouldn’t expect is that this cast of actors are kind of incredible, in a ‘oh hey it’s that guy’ way? Like how Leverage is a show made up of talented character actors recruiting other talented character actors to make stories, this movie is built out of people you will, probably, recognise.

Roy, our main character, is Logan Lerman, aka Percy Jackson. Mullet Fingers, his boyfriend, is Cody Linley, aka Hannah Monatana’s boyfriend. Bianca the Bear, the girl who would have permanently deformed your sexuality if you saw this at the right age, is Brie Larson. But then in the adults, you have Neil Flynn (the Janitor from Scrubs) as Roy’s dad, and the evil corrupt owl-hater executive is Clark Gregg (Agent Coulson from the good Marvel Cinematic Universe Shorts). Finally, rounding out the adult cast members, playing the cop, is Luke Wilson, the Owen Wilson you got on wish or the Matthew Fox you got on Temu.

And while we’re dealing with, essentially stock characters, they’re still executed on reasonably well. Particularly interesting to me at first is how the story handles the characters of Roy, Mullet Fingers and Bianca. Roy is an out of towner kid from a wildly different space, and a bullied put-upon newcomer, but they don’t go to that story beat too hard or too deep — he’s mostly notable for just being nice and interested in helping what he interprets as a homeless person, like he’s unused to seeing a child his age running around Florida without shoes.

It does come across as a little queer that he thinks of bringing care to this person without ever meeting him first, but y’know, you can have a boyfriend, as a treat, narrative. All the Mullet Finger moments are essentially dating montages, these two boys hanging out and like, being introduced to the wonders of the Floridan wildlife. Mullet Fingers is also a real himbo, just simple as you can get and honest and beloved by the animals, which creates a sort of Disney Princess meets ecoterrorist boyfriend vibe that’s really unexpected.

Bianca is a character archetype that I like when done well and here, she’s done really well. The easy thing to do would be to have her leverage her position/presence as a girl to put Dana, the bully in his place, and then forget she did that and have her tag along. Instead, Bianca gets multiple scenes where she demonstrates her ability to throw Dana around is neither gendered nor a fluke, we get to hear her talk about her and her brother’s experiences, and it even includes a consideration of her inner life. This doesn’t pass the Bechdel-Wallace test or nothing, but it’s a damn sight improvement over her and she doesn’t kiss the hero at the end because he’s a good boy. They become friends, which makes sense, because he’s dating her stepbrother.

Oh, and the big final reveal is that Roy and Mullet Fingers spend their time sneaking around Florida’s developments and committing acts of eco terrorism. That owns.

And it’s pretty reasonable to ask: hey why the hell, Talen, why the hell did you watch this movie for literal babies? Why did you spend your time watching a movie that’s presented with the star power of a couple of guest episodes of a mid-budget TV series? And why is it, when I will gleefully mock ‘And Everybody Clapped’ in all sorts of media, why do I forgive this one so readily?

First of all: This is for children. The idea of ‘everybody clapped’ media isn’t a real problem to me when we’re talking about a way to get children invested in the story of how things should be. Maybe the brutal realities of how actual zoning law enforcement works will be different for them but we can handle the idea of a rousing speech and an inspiring idea being good things to share when we want actual kids to feel like they have agency in the world.

The other thing, though? Why watch this?

This is a Jimmy Buffett movie. Jimmy Buffett produced the movie, and back in 2004 when he was getting ready to make it, I remembered hearing the news that he was invested in this because he believed in the movie and the message. This is a man whose work was very important to me throughout my entire childhood and most of my adulthood if I have one of those and in all that time, I am aware I mostly listened to music he made in one small window of time. This guy’s career was longer than my entire life, and I mostly know him for one ten year window of time my Dad liked.

I wanted to change that. And I wanted to try something else he had a hand in, and that meant checking out Hoot.

Glad I did.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[lingeringscars]

I should make a separate post just for alex but little things about Derek's death, Meredith leaving, and how it impacts the people left behind.

Maggie feeling abandoned for the first time in her life. Derek made Maggie feel welcome when no one else did. She was struggling to find her footing, her place, missing her family, and reeling from the one she found. But Derek hugged her and invited her over and made her feel like she could have friends or a place here, too. That she wouldn't have to just be the lonely, friendless person in a new place without even her family to rely on.

And despite how they started, Meredith really did become a sister to her. They hung out. They talked to each other. They understood each other. Maggie sent her some when she was worried about Derek because she knew how Meredith's mind worked because it was how hers does. Then Meredith left without telling her, without checking in, and she feels abandoned.

From the moment the news broke, amelia focused on work. She's been here before. She knows what this is like. She knew there would come a time when this could happen. So she bottles it up, lives at the hospital, and does her job. But it's amelia so nothing is ever bottled up. She makes jokes that make people uncomfortable about her dead brother. She's aware that she told Meredith that she didn't understand what it was like to lose the love of her life, but she doesn't care about that. Meredith pulled the plug without calling her, and she will never forgive her for that. She will never forgive Meredith for taking all of this away from her, no matter how unfair it is to hold against her. She finally felt like they were in a good place, and in one move, she stopped trusting mer.

She can't handle this pain, but she's been through it before. She feels it every day. So even though she also feels abandoned, she can keep moving. But she can't go back to that house where Meredith and Derek are both absent (and Owen is present). She can't deal with the looks given to her because her brother died. Every man she has ever loved has died, and she's had to face all of that grief and pain and hurt in a couple months (jackson and aprils baby dying reminding her of her baby, everyone finding out about her boyfriend who died with her in bed with him, telling Meredith about that moment because she lives in that grief and doesn't get to be judged for trying to figure it out, and then Derek dying and leaving her without this person that always protected her even when she didn't want it but now she would kill to have one more day of him undermining her).

And then there is alex. Alex who...wasn't close with Derek so much as he was another colleague. But alex is close with Meredith, and he feels that pain for her. He and izzie got married, and Meredith earlier that year told him that it didn't count because of the circumstances, and he knows what it is for someone you love to die in your arms.

He's been there, and he is there. He watches mer collapse and thinks this is the end. He's going to lose her, too. Because that's all he knows in this life. He's been abandoned more times that he can count, but he does have a count. So Derek dies and he's the only one not trying to talk in that moment. His eyes are locked on Meredith.

And then Meredith leaves. Meredith abandons him. Meredith vanishes without a trace and refuses to pick up the damn phone. But Meredith is his person, too, and that rocks him. Izzie vanished and didn't say anything until he was given divorce papers. He's worried it'll be worse when Meredith resurfaces. She's gone, and she was there after izzie so she knows what this would do to him.

He's calling everyone. Cristina. Meredith's dad. Hospitals around Boston and other areas. He's searching and searching. He keeps calling her, and she doesn't respond. And he's basically going through the motions, but only physically. He isn't being an ass to anyone, he's just there. He's doing his job, but he's not talking.

[punkrockmads]

Fuck You and Your Fireflies

TLOU2 Nora x Mel

Summary: When Nora and Mel catch a drunk Owen trying to swoon Abby, Mel's suspicions are confirmed and feelings are revealed.

Note: I wrote this for the amazing people in the Abby Simp Society Discord❤

(Special photo at the end made by @melstanaccount )

Mel and Nora had decided to go after Owen when they found out Abby went AWOL to find him. At first, Mel wanted to go alone, but Nora refused, saying it was way too dangerous. They knew they couldn't go back to the FOB or the stadium after this or they'd answer to Isaac. So, once Manny made a plan to get his dad out safely, everything was set in motion. Mel and Nora would find Owen and hopefully Abby, and Manny and his dad would meet them at the aquarium once Isaac was too busy to care. It was risky, but they were family. That kind of risk just came with the title.

When Mel and Nora made it to the aquarium, they could hear arguing. Quickly, they made their way to the boat Owen had been fixing up. Nora quietly climbed on board, opening the door to see Owen trying to pin Abby against a wall. Abby shoved him off, making him land on the floor, hitting his back. "What the fuck are you doing?!" She yelled. "Did you really think I would ever sleep with you?! We're done, Owen! We have been for years! Get over yourself!" Owen looked past Abby, his eyes going wide in fear when he saw Nora. Abby turned around, surprised, but extremely relieved.

"What's going on in here?" Nora asked, stepping in. The whole boat smelled like alcohol.

"He's drunk out of his mind." Abby scoffed. "He tried to kiss me." Mel gasped when she heard this, standing beside the boat.

"Owen, what the fuck?!" Nora glared at the man. "You're really trying to cheat on your pregnant girlfriend? How fucking low can you get?" She crossed her arms.

"Look, it was a mistake." Owen argued, standing up. "It didn't mean anything- just... please don't tell Mel."

"She doesn't have to." Mel cut in, hitting the side of the boat with the butt of her shotgun. "We're done, Owen." Owen tried to talk, only to be shoved by Abby once more. "Abby, come on." Abby complied, getting out and standing beside Mel. She stayed quiet. This wasn't her fight anymore.

"Mel, really this was all just a mistake." Owen slurred, climbing out. He nearly fell on his face stepping off the platform.

"Get back in your boat." Mel glared with teary eyes. "Fix it. And then we're all going to Santa Barbara where you will be going your own way."

"But what about the Fireflies?" Owen asked.

"Is that all you care about?" Mel scoffed. She grabbed him by his shirt collar. "You owe it to this baby to fix that boat and get us to Santa Barbara." She seethed. Owen nodded. Mel let go. "Fuck you and your stupid Fireflies!" She yelled, storming off.

Nora gave Owen one last glare before she and Abby followed after Mel. She sat in the lounge, crying into her hands. Nora sat down beside her, Abby standing in the kitchen to give the two some space. She'd known for a while that Nora liked Mel. She just didn't ask her before Owen did. She was too late. "Hey, Melon." Nora said softly, putting a hand on her back.

Mel leaned into Nora's side, wiping away tears. "Hey." She sniffled. "Abby, I don't blame you." She assured quickly. "I know you didn't do anything. I'm not mad at you." Abby gave her a small nod, deciding to walk around the aquarium so she and Nora could talk. "Why am I not surprised?" Mel laughed, feeling hurt despite knowing Owen's feelings weren't all in order. "I knew something was off the whole time."

Nora rubbed Mel's back, comforting her. "Despite a lot of Owen's bad, you saw the good in him." She reasoned. "You can always see the good in people. You're sweet like that." She paused for a moment. "He doesn't deserve you."

Mel smiled a bit, wiping her nose. "What am I gonna do?" She whispered.

"You're gonna let Owen go off and do his own shit." Nora started. "And then you're gonna live the life you deserve. Abby and I can help you with the baby." Nora assured. "Everything's gonna be okay. I promise."

Mel nodded, sitting up a bit. "I think I lost feelings for Owen a long time ago." She admitted. "We only stayed together because of the baby."

Nora listened. "That happens. You worry about the baby's safety and who's gonna be there to help you raise it and all that stuff. Sometimes it becomes easier to just stay together." She took Mel's hands in hers, squeezing them gently. "You're not doing any of this alone, okay? I promise."

Mel smiled, nodding. "Y'know... I've known about your crush on me for a while." She admitted.

"Oh my God!" Nora groaned as Mel laughed. "Did Abby tell you?"

"On accident." Mel shrugged. "I asked her. She tried to deny it."

"She is the worst liar." Nora chuckled.

"I know!" Mel laughed. "That's why I asked her! I see how you look at me!"

"You guys are awful." Nora joked. Her expression quickly changed from happy to shocked when Mel brushed the pad of her thumb over her bottom lip. "What are you doing?" She whispered.

"Who said I didn't feel the same?" Mel shrugged, smiling. She leaned a little closer. "Can I?" She asked quietly. Nora nodded, closing the gap between them. She pressed her lips to Mel's softly, hearing the excited thrum of her heart. Mel kissed back, one hand on Nora's shoulder as the other cupped her cheek gently. It would take some time before the sting of hurt left from Owen would go away, but they both knew that, with each other, everything would be alright.

Abby came back in a moment later as Nora was deepening the kiss. "Hey! Don't fuck on the couch I sleep on!"

Photo made by: @melstanaccount

(Thank you so much, you have no idea how proud this makes me feel! I feel like this was my official welcome into writing lol❤❤)

[rexismycopilot]

So going off what you said about Fifty shades being kid free. I was just wondering say you did Add in luke and leia. Obviously not as Anakin and obi-wans kids.

But hear me out, obi-wan and Anakin as cool uncles instead.

Like maybe Bail and Breha hear about Luke and leia especially if palpatine bragged about having them. And then they learn what palpatine is doing to them so obviously they run to Anakin and obi-wan for help since they desperately wish to help these kids but don’t know what to do.

(I also feel like obi-wan knows some pretty good lawyers and child services people ya know)

Maybe obi and Anakin end up helping Breha and Bail adopt Luke and leia. Maybe whenever obi-wan and Anakin visit the kids take to calling them uncle Anakin and Ben.

I don’t know I honestly just feel like Anakin and Obi-wan despite not having kids on there own, would definitely be amazing uncles.

I definitely think they would be really fun and great uncles! This is such a cute idea too. I'm an aunt and I get to hang out with my niece for all the great moments and as soon as she starts acting up, I just pass her to mom or dad. It's great. It's the best thing ever haha

It's funny that you mentioned Bail and Breha being the parents because I was actually thinking of Owen and Beru adopting them. 🤔 No matter how this plays out, I love the idea of these two being the best uncles in the galaxy.

[mandalora]

Feeling some kind of way after the first two kenobi episodes and putting out a list of things I loved and general observations because I forever cry over Hayden and Ewan not getting their proper recognition at the time of the prequels so I want to do my part in spreADING POSITIVITY FOR ONCE

SPOILERS:

The opening order 66 scene was harrowing, thank you. The choreography there was so good. I wanted that jedi to be my mom. Rip jedi mom

Obi-wan is absolutely miserable on his sad meat conveyor belt and I couldn’t have asked for anything else

I would die for the eopie

Obi-wan lives in a fucking cave. What a miserable dude I’m crying I love him I’m so depressed

The special effects on his little porridge thing reminded me of the inflatable bread from TFA and that’s always a win. We should all be more like the inflatable bread from TFA

Obi-wan having literal prequel flashback dreams tO THIS DAY, TEN YEARS LATER,

SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP

I swear to god if we don’t see him communing with Qui-gon I’ll riot

Obi-wan leaving presents and treats for Luke is so fucking precious and Owen bringing it back is the sheerest of pain

“I KiLL vErMin oN My FaRm”

Ah finally some dismemberment

LEIA. BABY LEIA. EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS

it’s been so long since we’ve seen live action scenery that isn’t sand dunes and seedy limestone towns; Alderaan is such a breath of fresh air, I’m so happy to see it

Special mention to Breha and Bail for being fabulous and beautiful. And of course Bail is the real mvp dad

Obi-wan refusing to go after Leia for so long is just [clenches fist] so frustrating and so good and so pain. What a sad man

Lola better get fucking fixed or I’ll fuckebwnebekrjrkdkfk

Obi-wan keeping both his and Anakin’s lightsabers in a neat little box side by side.

Obi-wan giving credits to the old clone despite how much it probably hurts.

The girl selling drugs made me sad

The Jedi scam artist is honestly such a good concept and gives me mad KotOR vibes for some reason. Also - Kumail Nanjiani?! [beyonce?????.jpg] And Obi-wan being Done all throughout their conversation is so good

The gosh darn meth lab…………… ben broke bad

One thing star wars never fails to deliver on is beating obi-wan up

LEIA WHACKING HIM WITH A CHAIR…………

“Your father sent me” “WHERE’S THE ARMY”

“You’re kinda old and beat up” girl that’s the whole point

Leia is amazing and so is her and Obi-wan’s banter

Always good to see infighting between imps :’)

The new inquisitor lady that the grand inq brought on to replace the third sister is gorgeous and I would like more of her, thank you

“[Lola]’s hurt” “GOOD.” Obi pls

That’s so in character though it’s hilarious. The fact that he visibly feels bad immediately after saying it but doesn’t apologize and just changes the subject asjskskfkfjf

“Inquisiting people”

Obi-wan having to strain to use the Force…..he really hasn’t used it in years……he really felt That Shitty for it to have gotten so far out of reach…………….I am in pain

I was starting to get the impression that the Grand Inquisitor doesn’t want them to catch Obi-wan for a reason, but then he went and got run through. Either he somehow gets back up later, or this isn’t the same guy from Rebels after all 🤔

The ten- or twenty-odd-second close up on Ewan’s face when the sister says Anakin is alive. The micro expressions. The subtlest of changes between said micro expressions. The sheer trauma in his eyes. Jesus

Him trying to get his shit together later on the train and absolutely f a i l i n g

A n a k i n

The entirety of this was pure agony and I couldn’t be more grateful

[derekmorganscrocs]

Her Lipstick: Ace x Reader

Pairing: Ace (Nancy Drew CW) x Reader, Valentine’s Special.

Word Count: 1,725 (short but sweet.)

Summary: With everyone else having their nights planned out with romance and dates, Y/n and Ace get stuck manning the night shift at The Claw.

Notes: Ideally takes place after the aglacea is gone, and we’re finally having a quiet moment. But like SPOILER ALERT!!!! if Owen lived. ALSO A QUESTIONABLE ENDING BUT I LIKED IT NGL.

Ace’s Dad’s name is Tom by the way, this is key info for later.

“No one’s even gonna come in, George. It’s Valentines, and last I checked, crappy fried clams aren’t most people’s version of romance.” You glance her way from the kitchen, pausing with an alarmingly large knife in hand. The parsley in front of you isn’t going to chop itself, but your hands are starting to cramp.

“Yeah, well it’s business hours. Just humour me this once? I’ll owe you one.”

“George, you already owe me like nine.” You roll your eyes and look her way, attitude softening slightly at her expression. Knowing how she felt when the whole crew was a day away from death, about missing out on her and Nick... it puts a little graciousness in your heart. For their first Valentines together, why not just help her out? “I’ll do this one for free. Wait! Not for free! I’m still getting paid right?”

“Yes,” she laughs. “Thank you.” Nodding your way once more, she turns and heads out, closing the door behind her. You sigh, turning back to your cutting-board. Finishing with the stack of parsley and dumping it in a plastic container, you throw the knife in the sink. Surveying the restaurant quickly, as well as the parking lot, you ensure the coast is clear before heading to the freezer.

These days it seems like everyone’s got someone except you. Nancy and Owen, Nick and George, Bess and Lisbeth, hell, even the weirdo chef no one likes who only works fridays has a girlfriend. Not you though. You and Ace got stuck on the Valentine’s shifts no one else wanted because you were the only two available. Admittedly, Valentine’s wasn’t a big deal to you, you just thought the tacky decorations were kind of entertaining to have around. However, it kinda sucks when you’re single. And crushing. Speaking of crushes, you snap yourself out of your thoughts at the idea of a certain floppy haired boy.

“Ace?” You look around for your shift partner and best friend... and yes, crush, who for some reason isn’t in his usual happy place. Or anywhere to be seen. He doesn’t respond, so you look in the pantry, the dark corner by the lockers, and even the supply closet. He’s nowhere to be found. “Ace?”

“You looking for me?” Ace puts a hand on your shoulder, coming from behind you. Not gonna lie, it scares the crap out of you. And you whip around and punch him in the face. Then you realize it’s him and let out a small gasp.

“Ace! Oh my god, I’m so sorry-“ you lean down, taking his hand and helping him up, as he massages his jaw with his other hand. That’s embarrassing. Really embarrassing.

“My fault,” he mumbles. “Forgot you scare...” he pauses for a second, trying to find the word, “...punchily. Good hit though, really starting to get that impact value.”

“Thanks, I think. I’ll go get you some ice, can you just watch the dining room?”

Ace nods and you head to the freezer. Of course there’s no ice. Why would there ever be ice when you need it? You root through the options of ice packs for Ace’s eye, as you think to yourself.

Lately, you’ve been making yourself a fool in front of Ace. See, it wasn’t this bad a few weeks ago, when you liked him but didn’t know you liked him. You throw a box of clams (ew.) to the side. Now that you’ve realized, you’re a hot mess. Next you find a singular frozen fish (also ew.). He’s been acting a little off too, and you’re worried it’s because he knows. Now you’ve found a lobster that you’re pretty sure has been there since the place opened (ew x3). Oh look, some frozen bread (that won’t really work).

What you don’t know is that Ace has also just recently realized his feelings for you, and his dad, Tom, has just tricked him into bringing you over to their place later. You finally find a box of heart shaped popsicles, and take a couple of them back to the kitchen, where Ace stands, leaning against the counter.

“This is all we have. Valentine’s special, have some heart shaped chemicals for your black eye.” You hand him two of the three popsicles you’re holding. “I also brought you one to eat. If you’re crazy enough to.” You hop up on the counter beside him and sit cross legged, tearing open the third wrapper.

“If you are, I am.” He rips open one of the frozen treats and places the other below his eye. Looking down at the wrapper from the one he opened, he makes a face. “I can’t even read half of these things.”

“Hey, I could’ve brought you the lobster.”

He knows exactly what you’re talking about and backtracks his critiques of the popsicle. The two of you sit in silence for a few seconds, disturbed by the bell ringing. A woman walks in, which grabs both your and Ace’s attention, but she just pins a flyer to the bulletin board and leaves. Exciting crowd.

Soon enough, the snack popsicles are gone, and the ice pack popsicle is slush. Ace throws the melted package into the sink, the slush inside making a questionable ‘plop’ sound as it hits the metal. The two of you stand around a little longer, before packing up the perishables and putting them back in the freezer/pantry. Business is slow, and it’s boring. The two of you are back to waiting around, and Ace ends up laying across one side of a booth, you on the other. The two of you pass a rolled up napkin back and forth, tossing it over the table to the other person. It doesn’t keep you entertained for long, though.

“You bored?” You turn your head and look at him under the table.

“Yeah,” he chuckles.

“Same.” You sit up, getting a slight head rush as you do. Ace mirrors your actions, minus the head rush. The two of you stand, but before you can start wandering around aimlessly-

“You, uh, you have something on your face,” he chuckles softly, his goofy grin turning into a smaller smile, a certain softness appearing in his eyes. You reach for your cheek, trying to swipe whatever it is off your face. Seems like you miss, because Ace chuckles, before asking- “Can I?”

You nod, and he wipes your cheekbone with his thumb, his lips parting just a little bit as he lets out a small, nervous, chuckle. Suddenly your heart is beating about a thousand miles a minute, and as Ace’s eyes settle on your lips for a second, you look at his face, taking in every detail that you can.

The bell rings and the door opens, making you and Ace launch away from each other. A strong gust of wind blows in, and no one walks in, making you sigh. The wind literally blew open the door. Horseshoe Bay is dead quiet tonight. No customers. You close the door, and realize it’s nine pm, so you flip the sign to closed and lock the door.

“Hey, Y/n, you wanna come to my place? My dad told me he’s making food for three tonight.” Ace watches as you make your way to where he stands by the kitchen.

“That his way of inviting me over?”

“Guess so,” Ace quips with a smirk, throwing an arm around your shoulders as the two of you walk to the locker room. After double checking that the freezer is sealed, you lock up The Claw and head to Ace’s place, hitching a ride in Florence, of course.

When you get to Ace’s place, the smell of cherry pie wafts straight into your face as soon as you open the door. Ace’s dad stands by the coffee table in the living room, and his face lights up when you walk in. You sign a quick hello, Ace doing the same behind you. Ace also throws in a cautionary ‘don’t embarrass me’ but that goes unnoticed by you, you’re too busy checking out the coffee table. There’s all sorts of food that you love, especially compliments of Chef Tom.

You flop onto the couch, snatching a fresh baked dinner roll off the table. Ace flips on the tv, sitting down beside you, and Tom heads back to the kitchen to clean up. Looking around, you notice some of the sweet little Valentine’s decorations around the house. There’s a few plastic hearts hanging around the rooms, and some red streamer thingys. They bring a smile to your face, despite being a little corny.

“Dad knows you like the tacky decorations. No matter how much you say you hate them.”

“Your dad is so sweet. I always feel like part of the family when I’m here,” you say softly, pure joy radiating off your face.

“Okay, I gotta be honest for a second,” Ace blurts out sharply, seemingly out of nowhere. Your heartbeat speeds up a little as anxiety bubbles in your chest, and you nod quickly. “It’s because he wants you to be part of the family.”

“What?” Your eyes widen as you look at Ace. “Sorry, that makes no sense.”

“You really are blind. Nancy told me you couldn’t take hints but I didn’t think she-“

“Ace!” You put a hand on his thigh, cutting him off. He pauses, getting back on topic.

“Well... you see. You’ve always gotten along great with everyone. Especially Dad, sometimes I’m convinced he’s your best friend. And I made the mistake of telling him that I have feelings for you, so now he’s like extra nice. Because he wants me to be happy.”

“Oh wow,” you laugh, suddenly a lot more relaxed.

“I’m sorry, I know it’s stupid, and-“

You cut him off by grabbing his shirt and pulling him towards you. You kiss him, and he obviously kisses back, his hands settling against your face as he pushes himself closer to you.

“I like you too. Thought it was obvious,” you breathe against his lips. He lets out small chuckle.

“Not really,” he whispers, and then kisses you again.

Now your arms are over his shoulders, and you’re basically on his lap as the kiss heats up a little. Tom is forgotten until the sound of footsteps behind you causes the two of you break away again. You turn to see Ace’s dad come over and put a plate on the table.

You sign a ‘thank you, Tom.’ his way, and he smiles widely back at you. He glances over at his son beside you, and his eyes widen slightly. Glancing back and forth a few times, he lets out a delighted chuckle when he makes the connection.

“You two? Finally,” He signs quickly.

“What?” Ace tries to play it off, but fails miserably. He’s not the best actor. About thirty seconds of your and Tom’s laughter and Ace’s denial go by before Ace folds. “What gave it away?”

“You’re wearing her lipstick.”

TAGS:

@ananad1

@remmysrecs

@bookish-bucky

@sahi-raa

@peakyrogers

[tarlos-spain]

Februwhump Day 26 - Please don't do it

Title: They took you and they made me see

Fandom 9-1- Lone Star

Characters: Carlos Reyes, TK Strand, Owen Strand, Gabriel Reyes

Pairing: Carlos Reyes/TK Strand

Chapter 06

"I should have gone with the rescue team," TK muttered with his face in his hands. "Why did you let me stay here watching how... how...?"

"TK..."

"No, Dad! I can't watch how that bastard... You know what he's going to do to Carlos and I'm here, watching him!"

He pressed his hands against his face until he hurt himself, somehow he needed to feel some of the pain Carlos was going through at that moment.

Gabriel, however, held his hands, turning his back to the screen and TK wondered how he was able to know what they were doing to his son and not watch.

"We've already seen that these people are dangerous, mijo." It had been a while since Gabriel had started calling TK like he was just another son; so TK knew that whatever he was telling him now was to make him feel good and protect him. "Carlos wouldn't want you in there for anything in the world, let alone to save him."

"But it's my duty, he would do it for me," TK sobbed and noticed his hands trembling between Gabriel's. "Carlos would be in command of that operation to get me out of there. It should have been me they took. Everything would have been easier now for everyone."

"Don't you dare say something like that."

Owen's voice echoed throughout the room.

"Dad, I mean it. If Carlos were here he would have found a way to find me by now and he wouldn't have stood here watching me...how I...how I..."

TK looked up at the screen. The man's huge body barely allowed him to see Carlos underneath him. He was hurting him, there was no doubt about that.

Carlos' legs struggled and strained to try to hit the man holding him, but every time he seemed about to succeed in kicking him, the man grabbed him by the neck and squeezed hard until he stopped.

And then the man would laugh. He was certainly having a good time. TK thought that, maybe, if he was having fun he wasn't abusing Carlos too much. But that thought had disappeared when he had seen the man open the bag at the foot of the bed.

The number of objects and gadgets that looked more like something out of a lowlife sex shop with the worst toys imaginable.

"No!" Gabriel shook TK, as if, by doing so, he was able to knock some sense into TK. "Forget that already. Carlos wouldn't want to see you in that situation, much less your father, and I certainly couldn't stand it if you were the one in there either. Do you understand, boy?"

TK nodded.

He didn't want to argue, although he still felt the same way.

Suddenly, Carlos shouted and all three of them focused on the screen. The stranger had forced him to turn around. That had hurt his side and soon traces of blood began to remain on the sheet.

But that was not the worst of it and the three knew it, Carlos himself knew it, despite the fear he felt, he was very clear about what that man intended to do to him. He grabbed him by the neck and pulled him.

His back couldn't bend as much as the bastard wanted it to, but he didn't seem to care, because he pulled him and made him scream. He saw it harder and then Carlos screamed almost in despair.

"Please...don't...don't...don't do this."

"Don't do what?" the man said in his ear and licked his ear. "I've paid to do what I want to you and you're too handsome that I can't spend hours playing with you."

One of the man's hands slipped between Carlos' body and the bed, while the other covered his mouth. He began unbuttoning his pants and Carlos kept protesting and trying to scream.

"Keep fighting me, boy, you don't know how much that turns me on. Keep going, please, keep going."

"Stop it!"

Keep reading in AO3

[bi-bi-buckleydiaz]

i think not | owen joyner

requested?; - yes! Owen Joyner x reader - their characters might not be love interests on the show (readers is possibly a new one for Luke/which causes a rift in Juke) but they are in real life and are trying to keep it on the down low especially during cast interviews and with fans.

word count; 2K

warnings; language, yelling but only like two sentences

a/n; I didn’t know how to end it so the ending kinda sucks sorry. also side note, the character the reader plays on jatp is a character I’m planning on writing an x reggie fic with so be on the lookout for that !

that close up tho 

You didn’t mean for it to happen. 

Not the, relationship, of course. You wanted that to happen. You’ve been wanting that to happen since you were an extra dancer on the first season of Julie and the Phantoms and danced right into Owen on accident during The Other Side of Hollywood. He was sweet about it, of course he was, asking if you were okay when he was the one that got barrelled into. The apology coffee date turned into a movie night at his apartment which then turned into weekly Friday night takeout dates which ultimately turned into Owen blurting out one night that he liked you and wanted to be your boyfriend. 

You obviously said yes. 

Which brings you to now, two years later filming season two of JatP, except this time you weren’t a dancer, but a recurring character - Delilah Alarie, a 17 year old girl who can hear ghosts, but can’t see them, and forms an unlikely relationship with everyone’s favorite bassist in a ghost band. This is where the problem comes in. 

When you and Owen started dating back in 2019, you two decided to keep it on the DL because you both weren’t totally sure where it was going to go. At the time you were both so busy: Owen having his first acting job as an adult so he was getting used to the long hours, and you working what felt like 25/8 to get all the dance routines down pat. So you both just...didn’t tell anyone. That’s not to say people weren’t suspicious. Charlie was present at many movie nights and Tori liked to tease you about you how you’d spend your time between takes staring at the blond drummer and his fidgeting fingers. 

Filming wrapped and you planned to announce your relationship at the wrap party, but a certain 19 year old thought it would be smart to get a little wasted and passed out before you could say “hey, we’re dating.” Then, you all went your separate ways and you and Owen didn’t see the need to inform everyone of the relationship, especially because you had to figure out the whole long-distance thing. 

Then Covid hit. And there really wasn’t a need because you both were fighting so hard to not get insecure and worried about the hundreds of miles between you two. But you got through it. Between many facetime calls, a spontaneous trip to Hawaii, and one memorable meet up at a halfway point between your two states, you were finally back in each other's arms after the last three months apart. Of course, it was on set, where everyone thinks you’re just friends. 

So yeah, there’s a problem. Because you didn’t mean for the secret dating to go on for so long. Life just, happened, and now you two are constantly sneaking around your fellow castmates and trading secret kisses in each other’s trailers and having little rendezvous meetings in the apartment building’s pool after your roommates have fallen asleep. You’re sure Savannah and Tori have heard you sneaking out a few times, but they wisely say nothing. Charlie sleeps like the dead so your certain Owen is in the clear. 

It’s not like you two want to keep it a secret. Of course you want to tell your friends, it's just, since it’s gone on for so long you’re scared of what could happen. If they’ll get mad about the sneaking around and the lying. 

But alas, you knew the day when the secret would slip out would come. And today just happened to be that day. 

Your friends were already starting to get suspicious, you and Owen were starting to lose your subtlety with the sneaking around, and some fans don’t understand the term BOUNDARIES and caught you two outside the apartment building one day. You weren’t doing anything relationship-y, you two were just coming back from a short day on set because you both ended at the same time and were looking forward to some much needed alone time. But you both knew better than to hold hands or kiss in public, which you were glad for that rule when a few girls bombarded Owen when you both walked out of the parking garage to head inside. The girls posted about the interaction online and of course, assumptions were made about why you two were together. The cast brought it up, but you both shut it down. You really thought the secret would be exposed because someone would catch you two together...Owen is not good at keeping his hands to himself despite his own PDA rule. 

But no, the secret came to a head because Owen is a big fat st0upid head and got jealous over his best friend. 

It started as a normal day. You got up at the last possible minute, Savannah and Tori already eating breakfast in the kitchen, knowing better than to wake you up before your alarm. You ate, showered, changed into comfy clothes for the ride to work. Madi joined you and the other girls that day, now being a little older her dad trusted her to be alone with the older cast members and alone on set for a little while. You jammed out to Doja Cat and HSM because “range, Y/N, range.” Then you arrived on set to Kenny calling you and Madi over for an impromptu meeting before any of you could reach hair and makeup. 

“Alright, now that the rest of you guys are here, I have an announcement to make.” You looked around to see that it was just the main four and you, and that’s when trepidation hit. The only scene you knew of today that involved you five was when the boys finally became visible to you, and you and Reggie share a moment. It’s a hug, much like the one Julie and Luke shared in the season one finale. But Kenny had come up to you a few days ago, suggesting adding a little something something. He told you he wasn’t sure yet, had to run it by a few execs, but that Jeremy was okay with it and he wanted to make sure you’d be okay with it too. You had said yes, after all Jeremy was the one married so you were really only worried about how he and Carolynn would feel about the kiss, you didn’t even think about Owen. 

That was a mistake. 

“So, I ran it by a few execs and of course, our own Delilah and Reggie, and have decided that after their big hug moment, a little kiss would really make the scene and ma -” 

“Uh I think not.” It was muttered, but everyone heard it. And everyone froze, Kenny stopping mid sentence to look at the culprit. Owen was looking at his hands, completely oblivious to everyone staring at him. He didn’t even realize he’d said it aloud until Jeremy cut the tension with a little forced chuckle. 

“C’mon Owen there’s enough of me to go around.” Everyone chuckled a bit, but Owen froze in his fidgeting, his face going firetruck red and eyes darting over to you. 

“Shit. Fuck I said that aloud didn’t I?” He groaned, putting his face in his hands and, before you could stop yourself, you walked up to him. 

“Hey. Hey c’mon.” You gently wrapped your hands around his wrists and pulled his hands away from his face. “It’s okay.” You expected him to look stressed. Based on his tone of voice you were preparing for a minor panic attack. But when you saw his face, all you saw was anger. It shocked you, causing you to stumble back a bit. 

“You knew about this?” And okay, yeah, you also expected a bit of that. But not to this caliber. 

“Owen I -”

“No. No you knew and didn’t tell me? Didn’t think to mention that you’d be kissing one of my best friends? What the hell Y/N?” You flinched, not used to Owen being this angry and loud.

“Owen, buddy, hey. Let’s just -” Charlie started, trying to diffuse the situation having noticed you flinching. 

“No! This isn’t a ‘calm down’ thing. This is a “my girlfriend lied to me” thing and I’m very upset about it!” And whoop...there it is. 

“Owen...” 

“God just, really Y/N?” Then he walks away, leaving you surrounded by your confused friends. It’s silent for a few seconds, everyone taking in what just happened. 

“Um...I know this probably a really bad time to bring this up but uh...y’all owe me twenty bucks each,” Charlie said. Then everyone started talking at one. Kenny apologizing for not knowing, Madi berating Charlie for the bad timing, Charlie firing back that Owen is just being dramatic, and Jeremy consoling you with Kenny. His hand on your back jump starts you into action. You quickly excuse yourself to make your way to Owen’s trailer, knowing that’s probably where he stormed off too. 

You don’t knock when you get there, just walk in, making sure to lock it behind you. Owen is there on the couch, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. 

“Owen Joyner what the hell was that?” That’s not what you had wanted to say. You were going to be nice and ease into it. But he yelled first and now you're anxious and stressed and upset. He sighs heavily and looks up at you, eyes red and glassy with unshed tears. 

“I’m sorry. I - Y/N I didn’t mean to freak. I realized halfway here that was not the way to go. I’m so -” You cut him off by pushing him back and crawling into his lap.

“It’s okay. It’s okay I should’ve - I shouldn’t’ve just yelled and I definitely should have told you when Kenny proposed the idea I just got so caught up in the fact it’d be my first on screen kiss and it’d be with a married man who’s in quite possibly the cutest relationship ever and I was worried about -” 

“You’re rambling babe,” Owen says with a smile. It’s a soft thing, one that makes your insides all mushy and your heart starts beating a little faster. “It’s okay. I mean, I would’ve liked to have found out earlier and not in front of our friends - oh my God! I just completely exposed us didn’t I? Oh God!” He whimpers out a whine and leans his head forward onto your shoulder. You giggle at the blonde beneath you, running your hands through his hair as he pinches your sides for the laugh. 

“Babe, I’m pretty sure they already knew.” Owen whips his head up at that, eyebrows furrowed. 

“Charlie mentioned everyone owes him twenty so, i’m pretty sure they were betting on when we’d tell them.” Owen groans and grumbles at that, throwing his head back in a dramatic way to convey his fake frustration. He brings his head back center and smiles softly again at you. 

“I will make sure to steal it from him tonight. That’s our money babe.” You giggle into the kiss he places onto your lips. You two sit there for a few more minutes, exchanging kisses and trading affirmations of love. After a final kiss, one that’s full of passion and heat, you decide to head back to set. 

You walk into the stage with the studio hand-in-hand, smiles on your faces. Madi squeals when she sees you both, running over to hug you. 

“Yay yay! I knew you’d work it out and now I have another couple to fangirl over. Yay!” You hug the small girl back before she bounces over to give Owen the same treatment. 

“Congrats bro,” Charlie says with a smile, clapping a hand on Owen’s back and ruffling your hair up. Jeremy smiles at you two, hugging you both as well. 

“Congrats you two, now can we get back to the meeting? You two dating is old news. Like, 2019 old. But congrats on finally announcing it!” You look at Kenny in shock for a second, before bursting out into laughter, everyone around you following suit. Owen squeezes your hand three times and you look back over at him. You both shoot each other a small smile. 

It’s gonna be okay. 

[sheepfulsheepyardinspace]

I posted 1,677 times in 2021

61 posts created (4%)

1616 posts reblogged (96%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 26.5 posts.

I added 4,551 tags in 2021

#sw - 1208 posts

#star wars - 849 posts

#space meme - 685 posts

#sw art - 529 posts

#darth anakin - 312 posts

#swtcw - 287 posts

#swtm - 255 posts

#ahsoka tano - 145 posts

#jedi - 144 posts

#mando - 137 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#will never convince me. becaus everything about padme’s character is that she is someone at 110% all of the time and that is classic anakin

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

[owen lars voice]: mr kenobi. mr kenobi please stop sobbing into my vaporators. there's a perfectly good patch of sand that u can lie facedown in. yeah. any other patch of desert that isnt my front door. please kenobi––yeah of course anakin called you that. that's ur fucking name. christ. god. please get off my lawn

1881 notes • Posted 2021-04-19 03:45:09 GMT

#4

yo nothing will EVER be as batshit in star wars as whatever the fuck was up with darth maul. no questions no answers. so he's split in half & falls down into a never-ending portal. ok, cool. following so far. & tHEN. not only does he miraculously SURVIVE THAT (???)––meanwhile, SOME sith have to have metal organs stuffed into their shellacked shells of life support slash body armor but maul gets straight up shishkebabed through all the important places in COMPLETE SEPARATE HALVES, & can just roll with it. ok. huh.––but THEN. he gets miraculously zoomed away from naboo like st. john's body flying through the winds to santiago de compostela all the way to a garbage dump ten feet underground on an entirely DIFFERENT PLANET, which. ok. inchresting. but NOT ONLY THAT, but maul SOMEHOW accumulates eight extra legs (8!!!! 4+4=8!!!! approximately six (6!!!!) more legs than he requires!!!!) to become some weird landfill mechanical spider amalgam with surprisingly great healthcare despite, y'know, the garbage dump situation. & AFTER TEN LONG YEARS OF LIVING IN A LITERAL HOLE, his long-lost brother (one of TWO long-lost brothers, may i point out) somehow FINDS him on this rando planet that is entirely garbage dump, in a hole, with eight legs, scrawling KENOBI!!!! on the wall in honest to god blood. ok so. one might think: well, where could we possibly go from here? perhaps a rehabilitation center? maury, to deal with the long-lost brother situation? a petting zoo? no. instead, darth maul spends a three-day weekend with a witch who does some bright green toxic joker sludge magic & is then raring to go and build a criminal empire with no after effects re: the vivisection, other then the whole frothing at the mouth KENOBI!!!!!! thing. did i fever dream this? maybe. possibly. what the absolute fuck

2384 notes • Posted 2021-05-13 01:08:46 GMT

#3

people keep saying "jedi r found family!!!" like these people chose each other. no. the infinitely more correct & funny thing is that the jedi order is made up of people who all grew up around each other from birth till death and all the awkward stages in between. this means that every single order member is simultaneously your best friend from preschool, your preschool teacher, that rando neighbor whose name u do not remember, your grandfather, your roommate, ur worst enemy from middle school, that group project member who u want to strangle, ur asshole math teacher, ur super cool older cousin, ur dad, ur son, ur brother, & ur grandfather. at the same time. why else do u think they’re all so bitchy

3040 notes • Posted 2021-07-25 05:38:15 GMT

#2

star wars: the clone wars drives me fucking nuts in a most magnificent way because it’s completely apeshit but also has to aggressively maintain the status quo. u’ve heard of “anakin can’t ever meet general grievous because of one throw away line in rots” but that bar is so low it’s in the center of the earth. nobody knows palpatine’s the sith lord until the final few minutes of rots, so goddamn it all no one will EVER know palpatine’s the sith lord in swtcw!!! palpatine could get on a twitch livestream and eat live babies while cackling maniacally and, miraculously, no one would notice. anakin has a brief, five-second blackout where he cameos as Thee darth vader while partying on mortis but as long as he’s mysteriously brainwashed at the end of the day it doesn’t count, right, dave? every single character not explicitly shown in rots has to be either a) killed b) disappeared into the void or c) personally launched into the sun by sheev palpatine. there’s not a man in a galaxy far, far away that can’t somehow fall prey to this looney tunes logic and/or phineas and ferb unbustable summer hijinks insanity. yoda’s gotta fuck off into his swamp vacay in shame while also somehow being a beloved pillar of the community so he has arcs like “clearly cannot read the room, feat. anakin” and “once again fails to comprehend the impact of trauma, feat. anakin” and “‘friends, are we not?’ feat. anakin”. here, in gffa circa swtcw era, Status Quo Is God. obi-wan could actually physically watch with his own eyes anakin descend into peak vadersanity, paint himself with blood, and declare himself sith lord supreme emperor of all bad things master of destruction & somehow still walk away with the conclusion that Anakin Is Stable And Doing Well! Better Than Great, Actually! anakin and padmé could fall through the roof of the jedi temple while having sex and shouting their marriage vows & it would turn out every single jedi had been sucked into the vacuum of space & conveniently missed the show. also, jar jar is there. welcome to groundhog day, space wizard style.

4425 notes • Posted 2021-06-17 12:12:10 GMT

#1

say whatchu will about the official jedi doctrine of Only Beige Tones and, believe me, i will. but the jedi really did rock the fuck out of beige. mace windu? who else can so eloquently say Don’t Fuck With Me in Premiere Pantone 15-1214 TCX Warm Sand™? can anybody else but shaak ti strut out in Entirely terracotta color palette yet still radiate Pure Working Single Mom Kick Ass Energy for millions of her clone sons? and who can forget obi-wan, who manages to be perfectly slutty—yet his v-necks are chastity-height and general style is mid-2000s suburban house demo? panache. pure, perfectly beige swag

6657 notes • Posted 2021-03-23 00:52:19 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[kizzys]

Starkid Rewatch: Black Friday 🎁

Let me just preface by saying the intro is absolutely chilling

curt's sniggle is so fucking adorable

They all are actually look at them

I don't know how to feel about the fact that I know the fucking wiggly jingle by heart

There they are - my emotional support paulkins

You're cutting into a heat of lettuce and oH shit a baby

I wanted a salad, but now I have a child

He will never invite "us" over again no labels my ass paul is her family

Can we talk about the way she looks at him here though, it's so fucking soft 🥰

The crowd goes wild as a wild dylan saunders appears

BuT wE aRe InTiMaTe

Thank you for your service. I didn't do it for you.

Okay

Okay

Okay

OKAY

Soulmate behavior

I still can't get over the fact that we got the softest version of paulkins in black friday

dylan's microexpressions in 'what tim wants' i'm going to cry

Also can we talk about how pretty the set looks

dylan just radiates dad energy

You can try telling me tom didn't adopt lex and hannah after all this i just won't believe you

HE HAS ARRIVED

Lexthan has my heart

They could have made ethan one of those cliche assholes whose only using lex and putting up with hannah but instead they made him soft and caring and the closest thing hannah has to an older brother/father figure to the point where he was ready to give his life to save them

So if ethan got the greyskull hat from a "powerful warrior" this technically means ethan has met or knows miss holloway

lex blowing kisses when ethan sings his part and ethan just bopping along/pretending to be paparazzi when lex does hers

We love a supportive couple

You're either in the smoke club or you're OUT

That better be fucking floss

linda monroe is a complete bitch BUT she can step on me please and thank you

That's called a bribe sir, and it's illegal...or it should be

I hope you don't get a wiggly, I hope you fucking die

'What do you say' is basically just a summary of shipping

curt is me watching my ship interact

sherman and gary are just holding hands and skipping in the background

corey you dropped this king 👑

'Our doors are open' is honestly the best song in black friday

It is to black friday what show stopping number is to tgwdlm

The grandeur, the drama, THE HIPS

So gary and linda have definitely fucked right

Get ready for audits! Audits up your ears! Audits in your yinyang! Audits in your wazoo!

Higarygoldsteinattorneyatlaw

RIGHT IN THE SUBPEONA

Feast or famine is a fucking masterpiece

The chorus part is visually stunning

The music to show me your hands playing when james' cop enters

The first thing ethan asks curt's shopper is if he's okay, pure soul

They kicked his head

His last act was to protect hannah and his last thought was of lex im crying

GIVE ME THAT FUCKING DOLL I'M IN A HURRY

I don't know if you wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna fuck with me miss monroe

The lighting here is incredible

And they both look very hot

Do you see him? Do you see him? Do you see him? Do you see him? Do you see him?

YES I FUCKING SEE HIM!

jaime in a suit is making me gayer

morris rocking the wiggly like a baby

They all went completely fucking feral in this scene its incredible

curt REALLY went for it

Hope you don't mind that I let myself in. Into the oval office?

The audience clapping after everything mcnamara says is honestly a mood

The positioning of the people in the background in monsters and men is amazing. cross and linda - evil; frank, becky and roberts shopper - people who have both light and dark in them; and lex and hannah - good

jingle jangle jingle jangle jingle jangle jingle jangle jingle jangle jingle jangle RING A LING DING

Is it just me or does jon's character look like he's there to fucking murder a child

I mean jeff has a full on beard and even he looks more like a teenager than jon does here

Santa claus is going to highschool: a hallmark-esque Christmas movie starring a bunch of teenagers

Jon's "highschooler":

'Take me back' makes me cry every time its so beautiful

This is such a soft moment

a ReD tRiCyClE

So john and lee are definitely husbands im not taking no for an answer

I've met God, he had nothing nice to say about you

She likes to be tall

'Do you want to play' is honestly such a creepy song

It gives me chills every time

[casually eats an apple in the middle of an evil speech]

Actually its not even an evil speech, cross may be evil but every word of his speech is fucking true

I can't be evil, I'm a status quo democrat

No john don't leave your husband

I'm honestly loving starkid's trend of calling america out on its bullshit

The fact that only the female sniggles have worn the antennae till now and then robert's sniggle is wearing one in 'made in america'

I'm thinking

This was the most creative thing ever and I gasped when I saw it

owen and curt walked so cross and howie could run

lex singing "should I never have wanted" during black friday and paul saying "it doesn't matter what I want" in let it out

Two crucial songs that are character defining points

I don't want your half baked sympathy, when did it save those in need?

Angela's performance of black friday honestly makes me cry every time

[eagle screeching]

They're all into fortnight dude!

An update in songs that make me cry every time - if I fail you

Especially the part where the music switches to 'what tim wants' and he starts singing about jane

Is this some kind of a jOooke?

I've said it before and I'll say it again - he will wiggle has THE horniest choreography in the history of starkid, and that is including all of mamd

Specifically whatever gary and curt's shopper are doing

becky barnes is a fucking badass

I know gary leaves with linda because jon and lauren needed to be in the next scene as paul and emma, but this technically means that gary escaped

tom and becky immediately hugging the girls once they're out of danger i'm soft for them

Can we talk about how paul and emma were basically ready to adopt tim

Wear a watch

Everyone else is looking at their hands during what if tomorrow comes, but paulkins are looking at each other 🥺

Yes I am back on my paulkins bullshit

I never left

Also paul, despite his deep hate for musicals, sings in 'what if tomorrow comes'. Do with this information what you will

I know the most probable scenario is that they all died in the end but I refuse to believe it

[morganaspendragonss]

The Broken Soul of TK Strand (1/?)

so, that bonus fic i mentioned. i cannot take credit for it - it is a translation of 'la esencia rota de tk strand' by road1985, which in turn was inspired by my fic, 'out, damned spot'

i am so grateful to the original author for not only taking the time to write something based on one of my works, but also for allowing me to discuss the plot with her and translate it into english, especially when i am still learning her language. the only thing of this that is mine is the translation, and i sincerely apologise for any mistakes on this front 💚

ao3 | 3k | hurt tk, worried carlos, rituals, kidnapping, angst and hurt/comfort

The man leaned out from the alley and watched the scene. He had spent so much time preparing, he had carefully chosen the victim from many candidates weeks ago, and now it had all gone to shit because of a cigarette and some curtains embroidered by an old woman for her grandson.

He liked the fire. It was erratic, unpredictable, and powerful, just like his Lord, just as he himself aspired to be.

He watched the flames and longed to get closer, to touch them and know first hand the home of his master. But he still wasn’t prepared; he was missing one more sacrifice, the last one. He just needed one more soul, and then the doorway to hell would be open for him.

But it wasn’t just any soul he needed; he couldn’t choose the first stranger who crossed his path. That would be too easy - his Lord had told him so in dreams. To open the door to hell, he had to find pure souls which were close to the dark side, good souls that had been through horrible experiences and whose pain could be extracted together with their body’s vital liquid.

With each one of the souls he had already extracted, he had improved the ritual a little more. It was becoming cleaner, more discrete, and it seemed that the police still hadn’t found the other three bodies. With luck, he would finish the ritual before that happened.

But because everything couldn’t be perfect, the fire had ruined his plans.

He had spent days researching the people living in that building. All of them had problems, but David Archings was his target. An orphan and divorced, it was said that his parents died because of him, and this had destroyed his marriage even though the police found no proof. Now he lived alone in a small flat where no-one ever visited him.

He was a sad man, consumed by grief, and few would miss him.

But the fire had taken him before he could do anything, and this delayed his plans.

Or not.

Whilst he watched the flames consuming the building, the firefighters arrived. They worked quickly and in a matter of minutes, the fire was under control and almost extinguished.

He hated these people who always destroyed the work of his Lord. Who were they to put out the flames of the kingdom of darkness?

On more than one occasion, he had thought out teaching the firefighters a lesson, showing that that they weren’t and never would be stronger than the power of his master.

But there were always so many of them, always with police involved. For someone who enjoyed going unseen and carrying out assignments quickly, it would be too complicated and too much work to hurt them.

Despite everything, that night, the cards played a very different hand, one which could solve all his problems.

In that first moment, he didn’t know why he noticed the young paramedic, but there had been something about that that caught his attention. He had a special aura, which changed from dark to light and dark again, depending on the moment.

It was easy to focus on him. If men interested him, he would say that he was truly attractive. If he were searching for a pretty face, there was no doubt that the boy had it. He didn’t know him at all, but he could tell that he had a sad smile which hid fear and regrets - exactly the kind of darkness that he wanted and needed.

“TK,” an older man said, one of the firefighters who, judging by the resemblance, was clearly his father. “We couldn’t have done anything even if we had arrived earlier.”

“I know, but I can’t get the idea out of my head that it was my fault we got here late.”

“It could have happened to anyone.” The older man put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “You are one of the best firefighters I know, and now one of the best paramedics. We all have the right to make mistakes sometimes.”

The man began to see some of the darkness he needed for the ritual, but he needed more.

Another man, a police officer, came closer to the young man and opened his arms. The firefighter buried himself in them and the officer kissed his head. It was obvious that they were a couple; they weren’t hiding that they were together, and there was a great love between them. The officer was worried for the paramedic - it almost seemed like it had been taken from a romantic novel.

“Ty, your father is right. You shouldn’t blame yourself for what happened. Tommy said that the man was dead before you got here.”

“I know, but I always think that it’s not fair, that things could have gone another way.”

The man smiled; the paramedic blamed himself for these two deaths but it was easy to see that he carried more guilt inside him.

“When these things happen, I remember what happened to me. If it hadn’t been for my dad always worrying about me, I wouldn’t be here right now.”

“That’s a thing of the past and, look, thanks to it, you are here. Have you thought about it that way?” The police officer kissed him and they hugged again before leaving.

It was incredible. He had only thought about taking a soul who was close enough to what he needed. But that paramedic who had been a firefighter, that TK, was exactly what he needed. He was a broken soul, an aged vase in danger of shattering into a million pieces. A firefighter, perfect for punishing those meddlers, and, further, in a relationship with a police officer.

But he was surrounded by people and in the middle of a shift; he wouldn’t be able to take him that night. His master had taught him to have patience, so he let him go, taking note of the firefighters’ station number, so he knew where he worked.

The idea that he would have the soul he was sure was the perfect subject excited him greatly. He didn’t want any mistakes or to find him with a perfect family at home, so he decided to wait and do things right.

*

TK didn’t sleep well that night. They returned to the station after the fire, but he needed time to get to sleep and he woke up many times. When he finally did manage to sleep, he had nightmares about the idea that they could have saved those two strangers.

It wasn’t his fault, not directly at least, but if he had been ready earlier, if he hadn’t forgotten to replace the bandages in the ambulance, they would have arrived on time. Maybe then things would have turned out differently. He couldn’t be sure of course, but the nightmares did nothing but tell him just that.

He got up. Everything was still; with a little bit of luck nothing else would happen and they could finish the shift calmly and go home. But this didn’t make him feel any better, so he made himself a tea - if he had a coffee he wouldn’t be able to sleep a wink - and left the station. There were barely any buildings around it, so there was always a beautiful view of the sky.

A little while ago, they had placed some deck chairs on the small back patio and TK sat on one, with a blanket around his shoulders as it was a cool night. He drank the tea slowly as he watched the stars; they never changed, no matter what happened below. Whether people lived or died, the stars remained unshakeable and, in a certain way, this comforted him.

He liked the idea that there were things that couldn’t be changed, things that always happened in a certain way and, as much as he or anyone tried, it couldn’t change.

He closed his eyes - maybe he would be able to sleep out here, and in the worst case, he would catch a cold and spend a couple of days in bed with Carlos. That didn’t sound bad at all. TK drank the last drop of the tea and tried to relax; he had almost managed it when a noise at his back grabbed his attention.

It sounded like a crack, like branches breaking or something similar. He got up and peered into the darkness but there was no-one there and nothing moved. The sound returned, a little closer; maybe it was a wounded animal or one that was trying to get into the station’s trash in search of food.

“Hello?” TK called, only to feel like an idiot a second later; he already knew that there was no-one there.

He headed towards the trash cans but there was nothing there, and he sighed in relief - he would not have wanted a pissed-off raccoon to throw itself at him. TK turned around, but a dark figure, wearing a large coat or cape that didn’t even show a centimetre of skin, appeared in front of him.

“Who are you?” he asked, taking a step back and throwing two of the dumpsters to the floor.

He received no response other than seeing the gleaming edge of a knife the man had taken from under his clothes as he approached him.

The station lights turned on - throwing the dumpsters had raised the alarm. The stranger turned - he wouldn’t be able to do what he wanted, but before Paul and Judd arrived, he used the knife against him. TK raised his arm in defence and shouted at the sensation of the blade cutting his skin. He stumbled backwards and fell to the floor, but no-one was there save for his friends running towards him.

“TK, are you okay? What happened?”

He looked around him, but the stranger had already managed to disappear. “Where did he go?”

“Who? Hey, that cut looks bad,” Judd said, helping him to his feet.

“There was someone here, he attacked me with a knife.”

Owen and the others arrived a moment later, and searched the station, but found no-one. Judd pushed TK to go back inside so that Tommy could treat his arm.

“It’s not a deep cut, but it has nicked a couple of veins so it looks worse than it is,” his captain said as she finished bandaging his arm. “You said that a hooded stranger did this? It’s possible that you tripped and cut it on glass or a broken bottle.”

“There was someone in front of me, he had a knife.”

“Something tells me that the fire today affected you a lot,” Owen said behind him. “Captain Vega, don’t you think it would be a good idea for him to go home and rest?”

“No! I’m fine, really. That man attacked me and then disappeared.”

But they forced him to go home.

Carlos was waiting for him; he had been asleep but he always left the sound on his phone in case anything happened to TK. Judd had called him and told him what had happened and that TK had been put in a car home.

He met him at the door, barely having time to prepare himself before TK was hugging him.

“I’m not crazy, babe, and the fire didn’t affect me so much that I’m having hallucinations of people attacking me.”

“Shhh, I know. I know you’re not crazy.” Carlos left kisses on TK’s forehead and cheek, and did the same when he took his hands, kissing the palms and the back as he led him to the sofa. “You need to sleep and relax. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

“But…”

“But nothing, baby. Sleep, and I’ll stay awake so no-one else tries to hurt you.”

TK wasn’t sure if Carlos believed him or not, but he always felt safe in his arms. He let go and, without bothering to change his clothes, curled up next to Carlos on the sofa. He sighed, feeling his arms surrounding him, and closed his eyes.

They were all right about something - between the last shift and what had happened by the dumpsters, he was exhausted and needed sleep, so it wouldn’t hurt to do it.

When he woke up, Carlos was still awake, reading. By the yawn he gave, it was clear that he had fulfilled his promise and not slept all night.

“Are you feeling better?”

TK looked at his arm, hoping that what had happened the previous night had been a dream. But the bandage was still there.

He nodded. It was stupid to think that someone wanted to hurt him, or that they’d wait around the station until dawn to do it. Maybe it was true, maybe he had had a nightmare about the fire and ended up cutting himself with glass, like Tommy had said.

The kiss to his cheek brought him back to reality.

“Should I make breakfast?”

“We could do it together?” TK offered, but Carlos clicked his tongue and laughed. “Okay, sorry, what I meant is that you make breakfast and I’ll lend a hand.”

“Perfect.” With another kiss to the forehead, Carlos circled his waist and made him get up. He looked happy, with that warm, perfect smile that made TK feel as if nothing could go wrong. “What’s up? Why are you looking at me like that?” Carlos asked.

TK shook his head and the smile returned. His arm didn’t hurt and the fear of the hooded stranger disappeared all at once. He took Carlos’s hand to go to the kitchen and they spent the next hour making a breakfast that, between laughs, games, caresses, and a round of sex on the kitchen island, ended up more on them instead of being eaten.

“Happy anniversary,” Carlos whispered in TK’s ear, feeling the fast beat of his heart.

“Oh, are you serious? We’ve been together for a year today?”

“You forgot, right?”

“Babe, I’m so sorry, I… No, I did forget, but I’ll make it up to you.”

Carlos took off his flour-covered shirt and gave him a quick kiss. “You don’t have to, don’t worry,” he said, before heading to the bathroom.

“Carlos, babe, wait.” TK tugged at him. “Everything’s been so perfect with you. And it’s gone so fast too. When we started dating for real, I didn’t want to give myself hope that we would last and I decided to take it day by day. I was always scared that…”

Carlos took his face in both hands. “I’m not Alex, nor could I ever be Alex.” He never lost his smile; even now that he was hurt, he kept smiling and kissing TK. “And I’m going to be here, with you, forever. I love you, Ty. I love you so much, so I’m going to carry on as if I hadn’t heard anything, and I’ll wait for you at the precinct at six tonight so we can celebrate our anniversary.”

“Okay, though what we just did…”

“That was just the appetiser. Babe, you have no idea what I have prepared for tonight.”

*

TK worked that shift like normal, though every once in a while, he looked at his arm. He’d convinced himself that it was impossible that someone would have attacked him. Why go to the station to hurt him? Why him? It didn’t make sense.

Luckily, the shift was quiet and it enabled him to rest; they only went on one call and the rest of the day, Tommy and his father both told him to take it easy. But now that he wasn’t thinking about the fire, he couldn’t get out of his head how bad Carlos must be feeling after TK forgot their anniversary.

He had to do something, to somehow make it up to him.

“Can I leave a little early today?” he asked Captain Vega, before telling her everything that had happened.

“Go, buy him something pretty - forgetting the first anniversary is very serious.”

*

He had studied the area, parking the car somewhere that wouldn’t appear suspicious, but also a place where he could see the soul he lacked.

His blood was perfect; the ritual he had done last night had been a success, and its taste was exquisite. Now all that was left was to take him and prepare him for the final ritual.

He had decided to wait until his shift was over, but there was no doubt that fate was helping him, as he saw him leave two hours early. He got out of the car, seeing him put in his headphones, and raised his hood to avoid the wind.

“Hey, TK!” a voice behind them said, the only thing that hadn’t gone as he expected, the only thing that made him improvise.

He hid the syringe he carried in his jacket pocket and, gripping tightly to the iron bar he’d found nearby, hit his victim in the head.

TK fell to the floor, sounds reverberating around him, barely able to see anything other than white lights.

“He’s already left,” said another voice inside the station.

“I’m… I’m here. Help,” TK breathed, his voice barely there. Even that was painful as he watched the stranger, the same from the previous night, approached him with an iron bar in his hand. “Dad… Judd… Please.”

“For the return of the Great Dark Lord,” said the other man, closing the gap that separated him from TK. He knelt in front of him and placed the iron on his chest. “For the Lord of the Dark to walk the earth, you will give your life, your blood, and your soul. You are the fourth chosen. The fourth cardinal point to mark his return.”

“Please, you’re wrong… I’m not the one you’re looking for.”

“You are. Soon you will see.”

Before TK could say anything else, a second blow to his head left him sprawled on the ground, like a broken toy.

[jazy3]

Thoughts on Grey’s Anatomy: 17X15

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Wow! A lot happened in this episode. It was billed as Jackson’s goodbye episode, but it turned out to be so much more than that. Meredith got discharged and was reunited with her kids, Tom decided to move to Boston to work for Jackson, and we got the show’s first Indigenous doctor and patient storyline! I honestly think Jackson’s farewell was really well done! While it’s true he could do the work he wants to do just as easily from Seattle everything else about his exit makes sense to me. He’s tired of sitting on the sidelines and he wants to make real change where he can.

I loved his conversation with Meredith and how he was the one to sneak her out. I loved Meredith's voice over for this episode and how it followed Jackson's actions and the flashback montage set to music. I thought it was fitting. I would have liked him to have said goodbye to Ben because they were the Plastics Posse until he left to become a firefighter but apart from that I was happy with it. The character has come such a long way during his run on the show and I feel like this episode reflected that.

The editing was really well done too. Especially the shot of him overlooking the lobby. That transition was seamless. I loved his goodbye scene with Meredith. It made me so emotional. I love that Meredith tried to lighten the mood by making a joke about how she won because she's the last one standing. That scene when she hugged the pillow after he left because she misses him and everyone else really got me. I also really liked the conversation he had with Bailey and Richard.

I'm glad he said a proper goodbye to Jo although I didn't find it super emotional. In addition to Ben, I would also like to have seen a goodbye with Maggie. I'm surprised they didn't do that. Maggie was so focused on Meredith's recovery that it's not clear if she even knows that Jackson is moving to Boston. They also could have done a big emotional scene with Catherine. On a lighter note, I am so happy that Meredith is doing better for real this time and has been discharged! I've been waiting for this since the mid-season point.

I loved the scene where she was reunited with her kids and Amelia was panicking about the state of the house and Meredith told her it was fine and that was just how she liked it. Meredith getting Jackson to sneak her out of the hospital felt very in character to me. As her voice over says Meredith isn't one for tradition or big hullabaloos which is why I think the others tried to keep it a secret. I'm not surprised that she ducked out early. While I get why the other characters wanted to do a big send off for her, I feel like they should know by now that's not her style.  

I loved the scene where Amelia and Link found out Meredith might be coming home, and they hugged and then Link said he had to go to work and Amelia started crying and then asked why he was still there. Link was so confused and then Amelia told him she’d be crying off and on like that all day to get her emotions out and that she’d be fine and he needed to go to work. That is so Amelia! But in a good way. Post-tumour and with her addiction under control even in a pandemic Amelia is now able to express her emotions in a healthy way so she doesn’t relapse or spin out of control. That is such huge growth for her. I loved the scene at the end with her and Meredith.

The smile that they share. The look between them. You could see early seasons Private Practice Amelia in that look but also mature and stable new Amelia. I loved that Amelia was all worried about the state of the house and Meredith was fine with it being a mess because as a working Mom she knows what it’s like and all she wanted was to be at home with her kids in her messy house.

At the end of the episode we find out that Tom’s near death experience with COVID has caused him to re-evaluate his life. He feels lucky to have lived to have been spared and he wants to help Jackson make real change in Boston. On the one hand I was surprised by Tom’s exit, but on the other hand I wasn’t. I love Tom and will truly miss his character, but ever since the affair came out and he and Teddy split and she started working on trying to repair her relationship with Owen, Tom hasn't had a lot to do.

I'm sad they didn't do more with him because he's such a great and complex character and I know some people had speculated they might pair him up with Mama Ortiz which could have been interesting. I'm sad we didn't get to see him say goodbye to Amelia, Link, Teddy, Catherine, or Meredith. Tom and Amelia are old friends, he trained her, he took out her brain tumour, and she rushed to the hospital when she heard he had been admitted for COVID-19.

Tom and Link seemed to be getting along as of late and Tom was ready to be a father to Teddy's baby before she got back together with Owen. He found her the perfect apartment and he built a crib for a child that wasn’t biologically his that he was so excited to meet and be a Dad to. All this after his own son died and his marriage collapsed as a result. He treated her like gold and she’s done nothing but treat him horribly for no reason. I don't think I’ll ever forgive Teddy for that.

Catherine and Tom are also old friends that go back even farther. She appointed him as Chief Medical Officer of the Fox Foundation. She told him about DeLuca’s death and took him to the Memorial. When Richard was sick, she told him she wanted him to take over the Foundation in her absence. Tom and Meredith had such an emotional scene earlier this season and he's been praying for her every day. Does she know that? Does Meredith know that Tom has been praying for her and worrying about her? I was expecting a follow up scene to that, so I hope we get one.

I found the patient storyline that Tom, Levi, and Indigenous intern James Chee had really moving. Grey's has never had an Indigenous patient or doctor on the show before and while the dialogue did feel heavy handed at times, they brought some really important issues to light and were trying to make up for lost time so that’s understandable.  

Robert I. Mesa who plays Dr. Chee is Navajo Soboba and the patients that they treat at Coast Salish whose traditional territory encompasses the province of British Columbia, Canada and the states of Washington and Oregon in the United States. It’s really great to see an Indigenous actor bring stories about Indigenous characters to life in a realistic way for the same reason that it’s important to see black, brown, Asian, latinx, and LGBTQ+ actors bring stories about characters like themselves to life. It brings authenticity and ensures sure that white straight cisgender people aren’t taking roles away from people within those communities.

When I found out through Twitter that the show had cast its first Indigenous doctor, I was very excited. I work for an Indigenous organization currently and so Indigenous representation is an issue that is very near and dear to my heart. The first thing that came to mind for me was the Coast Salish artwork you see in the background of so many scenes of the show. From the show’s earliest seasons, you can see beautiful art pieces in red, blue, and black depicting fish, birds, and other animals on the walls of the hospital and in people’s offices.

Yet it is never addressed or mentioned that that is Coast Salish artwork. In order for it to be there someone from the art department must have travelled to Seattle to buy some local artwork to put up around the hospital. While that’s great for making the hospital look authentic to the area by not mentioning its origins or the fact that Indigenous people exist for 16 seasons does all Indigenous people a disservice. Indigenous people are not stereotypes or tokens or simply makers of pretty pictures.

Every group has their own culture, artwork, language, and traditions. I’m glad that Grey’s Anatomy is finally acknowledging the existence of Indigenous Americans and the fact that Indigenous people exist and continue to exist despite repeated ruthless attempts to murder and assimilate them. This is a huge problem in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and other nations. While in the last few years Indigenous issues have gotten greater coverage in Canadian media there isn’t as much media coverage of Indigenous issues in the United States.

I love that Tom and Levi treated both the pregnant woman and her grandfather with respect and dignity and didn't dismiss their concerns or mock their traditions. I love that Tom actually had some knowledge of smudging ceremonies and that he referred to Dr. Chee respectfully when needed and allowed him to perform a smudging ceremony for the grandfather. When the pregnant patient’s husband thanks them and says that in the past they haven’t had great experiences in big hospitals that is unfortunately a sad reality for many.

Like other people of people and other marginalized and oppressed groups the concerns of Indigenous patients are often not taken seriously, and they often encounter racism that leads to poorer treatment and death. When the pregnant patient talks about how their centres are under resourced and that they were sent body bags instead of medical supplies that is a real thing. The Trump Administration actually did that in the States and the Harper Government here in Canada did that during the H1N1 Epidemic.

Thankfully, here in Canada the COVID-19 Pandemic response of the Trudeau Government has been worlds better. No sending of body bags and instead medical supplies and lots of relief money has been given to Indigenous organizations like mine to help real people. Indigenous Canadians have also been given priority status for vaccinations and as a result people are alive today that would have died previously. Now that’s not to say things are perfect here. There are still so many issues that need to be addressed including police violence, discrimination within the justice system, and the rate of missing and murdered Indigenous women. But at least some progress is being made.

The fact that they wrote Tom off reminded of an old adage about Grey’s Anatomy that I heard someone talking about at the start of this season which is that if there isn’t anyone significant for a character to date and you’re not an original character your days on the show are numbered. The fact that they wrote Tom off after putting Teddy and Owen back together makes me even more sure that Meredith and Hayes are going to end up together and that their relationship will be a key plot point of Season 18.

If that wasn’t the plan, I don’t think Hayes would still be there. There have been episodes this season where he has been very prominent, episodes where he’s been completely absent, and episodes like this one where he has a few short scenes. He wouldn’t still be there hanging around in the background if the plan wasn’t to set him up with Meredith. To me the only explanation that makes sense is that they are going to put Meredith and Hayes together hopefully before Season 17 ends.

Side note, I bet all of the actors who passed on being Meredith’s love interest or backed out for a movie or tv role on a newer show probably feel real dumb right now. Grey’s is about to go into its 18th season and Richard Flood who plays Hayes is getting paid mad bank whether he’s prominently in the episode or not! Plus, he slays that role. While the path they took to get here was bumpy I’m so glad that we got Hayes as a character and we’ve gotten to see his relationship with Meredith develop.

I would have loved to see more of Hayes this episode. I was expecting a scene in which he visited Meredith and I was a bit disappointed we didn’t get that. I get that the focus of the episode was on Jackson’s departure, Meredith being discharged, and Tom’s epiphany, but it would have been nice to see that. The scenes we did get were great! I love his dry sense of humour and his comments about Jo’s terrible handwriting.

My favourite moment of the episode was hands down when Hayes came to clap out Meredith with everyone else and then Perez came out and they realized that she had snuck out early and Hayes laughed and said, "Nice one Grey, Brillant!" And then he wished everyone a good night and headed out. If Meredith isn't there, he's out. He’s not even trying to hide his feelings for Meredith anymore. It’s an open secret that he likes her and is clearly smitten. Hell, at this point I wouldn’t be surprised if the janitors have a group chat about it.

I love that he laughed about it like it was some big cosmic joke they were both in on. He knows her so well. Everyone else was confused and her sisters were worried when they didn’t hear from her, but Hayes wasn’t worried because he knew she’d snuck out the back and that someone must have helped her. Speaking of romance, I’m guessing that next season they will bring in a new Head of Plastic Surgery for Jo to date. I feel like they will have more luck finding someone than they did when they tried to hire a new love interest for Meredith over the last few years because right now work is scarce.  

Also, in the romance department Teddy and Owen are back together. I'm happy for them, but other than that I don't really have any strong feelings about it. I am happy that they seem to be good and that the fighting and long-drawn-out drama is over. I've never been a ride or die Teddy and Owen shipper, so I don't feel an emotional rush seeing them back together. I loved Tom and Teddy together so I'm sorry that ended especially since Teddy and Owen have always been such a mess.

I think that they should have spent less time fighting and more time rebuilding their friendship before getting back together. We spent the first half of the season watching them fight non-stop and Owen made it clear he wanted nothing to do with Teddy ever again. Teddy treated Tom like crap while trying to win Owen back who clearly didn’t want her. While I’m glad they have reconciled, and the drama appears to be over I wish they had spent less time on the fighting and more time on exploring Teddy’s trauma and having them rebuild their friendship if that was the route they were going to go.

We also get more details about Maggie and Winston’s wedding this episode. I posited on Twitter a few days ago that I thought Maggie might ask both her dads Bill and Richard to walk her down the aisle as she'd want to include both of them in the ceremony. I think having Bill walk her down the aisle and Richard officiate is lovely. It reminds me of when Bailey stepped up to officiate Callie and Arizona's wedding.

I’d like to see more interactions between Meredith and Winston and Meredith and Link in the future as both men have become a part of the family largely while Meredith was sick so it would be great to see them get to know each other and bond. I really loved the scene between Winston, Link, and Owen where Winston was trying to figure out if Teddy and Owen were back together and Winston and Owen were teasing Link about the Sister House. It’s nice to see them all bond. It would be even better if they would all have more scenes with Hayes and for them to bond as well. I hope to see more of that next season.

I get why Link wants to get out of the Sister House, but I think he was a bit unrealistic about the situation. Meredith just got discharged. Amelia and Maggie aren’t going to want to leave her side until she tells them she’s ready and it’s okay for them to go and take a step back. I foresee them going with a hybrid approach next season where Maggie and Winston move to his place following the wedding and Link, Amelia, and Scout move to Link's place, but they still spend time at Meredith's house frequently. I imagine after being away from her kids for so long at some point Meredith is going to want her house back and to spend time alone with her kids.

I'm interested to see Meredith talk about her time on the beach in the upcoming episodes. Richard and Bailey were struggling to figure out how to tell her about DeLuca’s death but we the audience knew that Meredith already knew he had died. When she coded previously, and Ellis Grey passed away the first words out of her mouth were about her mother being dead. But here we see something different. When Meredith wakes up this season the first words out of her mouth are about how much she and Derek love Zola. She uses the word ‘we’ so the audience knows what she’s talking about, but the characters don’t.

It appears that at least a week has passed since the previous episode possibly two and we learn that Meredith hasn’t brought up her time on the beach or her visits from the dead to anyone. I think that she’s keeping that to herself for a few reasons. She didn’t want to leave the beach and telling that to the people who just spend the past three months trying desperately to save her life would probably come across as suicidal and upsetting. The conversations between her and Derek were personal and private, and she may not be ready to share them just yet.

Her conversations with George, Lexie, and Mark were also pretty personal so she might not be ready to talk about that either. In this episode we see her tell Bailey and Richard that DeLuca is okay because he’s with his mother. The scene cuts away, so we don’t know what else she tells them. Hopefully we’ll find out next week. My guess is that the first person she’ll talk to about the beach in the following episodes will be Hayes because he will understand her desire to stay because of how he lost his wife.

He won’t see her desire to stay on the beach as suicidal or crazy because he would probably think about doing the same thing if given the opportunity. We saw Meredith be really vulnerable with Hayes when she first got sick about her fears of dying and falling asleep. They’ve talked at length about their spouses and their past relationships in a way she hasn’t with other characters. I feel like he is the perfect person to talk to about what happened on the beach because he won’t judge Meredith or take her desire to stay personally.

They’ve already established that Hayes is a supportive and understanding person who is happy to sit there and listen to Meredith talk about her experience of dating after death and past relationships and so I think he’s someone Meredith can open to about what it was like to see Derek again, what it was like to realize her ex-boyfriend was dying, what is what like to get closure with George, and gain wisdom from Lexie and Mark. I’m hoping that will happen in next week’s episode and if not in the finale.

We saw Helm having a tough time this episode. I think Helm moving in with Levi and Jo is a good idea. I think it will give Helm the support she needs and I'm glad Levi is there for her. We haven't seen Jo and Helm interact much so far, so I'm interested to see how Jo is going to feel about her moving in. Also, where is Helm going to sleep? Jo and Levi live in a one room loft where Jo sleeps in a large bed and Levi sleeps on the couch. I would have liked to have seen more scenes along the way building up to this as Levi and Helm haven't had a scene all season and now right at the end you see him trying to help her. I also really miss Parker as a character. I wish they brought him back as well as Helm.

Something I didn’t like was that they seem to be focusing on DeLuca, his death, and his absence more than they should. I get that the writers and people behind the scenes liked the actor who played him, but the character himself was pretty widely detested by the other characters for seasons 15 and 16 so having them talk about him like he was such a great guy that everyone was super close to and that they all miss feels hollow to me and kind of annoying.

DeLuca and Meredith were not that close. They weren’t friends and rarely had a scene together prior to Season 15. They stopped talking entirely after he broke up with her in Season 16 and they weren’t friends when he died. So, talking about how he would have been so happy for her and one of the first people to cheer her on is strange. Also, I felt like Jo’s comments to Carina were out of place. I get that when someone dies its customary to say nice things about them to their family and Carina is mentoring Jo and she’s grateful for that, but DeLuca was god awful to her.

They become really good friends after Alex attacked him but then they stopped being friends when she got back together with Alex. They stopped having scenes together after that until he took an interest in Meredith at which time Jo and Alex both made it abundantly clear to his face and behind his back that they disliked him, and they hated the idea of him and Meredith together. All he did was antagonize both of them during seasons 15 and 16 for absolutely no reason and then after Alex left DeLuca walked up to Jo at the Emerald City Bar touched her without her consent and attempted to kiss her and get her to sleep with him to the point that she wound up throwing a drink in his face to get him to leave her alone.

He then told the bartender she was crazy after she told him to get some help. That’s sexual assault and attempted rape and DeLuca should have gone to jail for what he did. Instead we never see it addressed, he never apologizes, and they don’t share a single together after that. My hope is that they will finally moving on from talking about DeLuca and his absence next season. It’s getting a bit ridiculous at this point and it’s time to move on.

Onto next week’s promo! We don’t get a lot of information from this one. We see Bailey talking about how she’s losing surgeons left, right, and centre and she can’t afford to lose anymore and Meredith talking about how she can’t operate if she can’t stand on her feet. She’s worried she might never get back to operating, but this is Grey’s Anatomy so we know she will. Link talks to Amelia about wanting more children which considering that Scout is only a few months old and they couldn’t wait to get out of the house full of children just last week is a terrible idea. Link finally calls Jo on the fact that she clearly wants to adopt Luna who promptly codes! Yikes!

Until next time!