#erica deserved so much better lmao

[ladyimaginarium]

"we need more traumatized women characters with cptsd and are abuse victims that are actually portrayed realistically and don't always show symptoms that are 'cute', 'soft' or 'pretty'!!!" y'all couldn't even handle erica from gangsta.

[comradecowplant]

Mental health status: just caught up to the most recent episode of the currently airing season of grey's anatomy 😬😬😬

[thestobingirlie]

We talk a lot about what we love about Steve, what do you love about other characters that you don't post about as often?

okay, here we go!! (this got pretty long lmao, i’m sorry, i’ve just got a lot of love to give and this show has too many characters)

starting with the kids:

lucas is my baby boy, okay? he’s so brave and dedicated and he just wants to protect and do right by his friends. i will never forgive the others for not going to his game.

max deserves so much better than what she’s got! she just loves her friends so much, and the strength it took for her to stand up to billy in s2! her fear about ending up like him kills me, but that moment with lucas on top of the bus is so sweet!

i think dustin and dart are so cute, like he really found this weird worm and decided he would protect it with his life. and i love how passionate he is about everything, d&d, and my little pony, and how willing he is to die for his loved ones. the fact that lucas told him he was in terrible danger and he said, who gives a fuck, it’s max!! and dustin’s insecurity about being on the edge of the group makes me want to cry.

and once again, mike, willing to throw himself off a cliff for dustin. he just loves his friends, and he struggles with showing it sometimes, but he really would do anything to keep them safe. and i actually really love his more bitchy moments. oh, and mike sobbing into hopper’s arms in s2 gets me every single rewatch.

i love will’s little comments, he’s just a bitchy as mike but he hides it better. and he’s just kind! like that little story about him giving away his toy when he was little, and the way he just instantly takes el in and calls her his sister. his love is what helped bring him out of the mind flayers clutches and he was ready to die to save them.

el is my girl!!! watching her develop her style and decide who she wants to be, outside of the lab and hopper and mike. it’s about her. what makes her happy. and once again!! all these kids just ready to die so young!! she met these three kids and they showed her basic kindness and she just instantly sacrificed herself for them. she just has so much love.

and erica!!! my little nerd! i love her little snappy comments, and i love how much she obviously loves lucas but she’s such a little sister about it! the fact that she stayed with him in the hospital with max. oh god, and the moment she smacked andy with a flashlight and literally said “crit hit”!!! i love how we’ve really seen her grow into her interests, and her friendship with dustin is so cute!!

now the teens, i speak a fair bit about nancy and steve, so i’ll focus on the others:

robin is my girl!! okay. the way she hears two crazies talking about invading russians and immediately said, i will involve myself in this, and i will brag about my ears. and then she did!! her bravery in the coming out scene makes me sob every time, her reaction to steve’s crush, but deciding to tell him the truth even though she could just lie! the way she made just as much of a sacrifice when she decided to hold the door shut as steve, knowing these kids even less time then he did, thinking she’s gonna die down there. and the way she’s the reason they know anything about vecna and saved max, but it’s only nancy called a genius, where is robin’s appreciation?

now eddie! love that a girl went to him for drugs and seemed anxious and he said, okay, time to throw myself on the floor and hit some trees!!! he was ready to do anything to try to make her feel better, and that’s so cute! and then he literally went up against hundreds of monsters in her honour. and he met steve, immediately decided to involve himself in his love life and change everything about the way he viewed the world. he’s just so…. he’s rigid in his world views, but the second he meets someone outside of them he just welcomes them in, and tries to make them happy, and protect them, and i love that.

you can’t mention jonathan’s name without talking about his dedication to his family. he would do anything to keep will safe, and the way jonathan protected him from the worst of their parents. a lot of stuff i love about jonathan also just makes me sad. the way he’s ready to just throw away all his hopes and dreams for the people he loves. his own college dreams don’t even factor in.

and argyle, we didn’t get much of him, but i love the way he just rolls with all the shit thrown at him, he’s saving lives, finding el, pulling girls. the way he managed to get jonathan to open up about his issues in a few months when others have had years and failed!!! no one is doing it like argyle baby.

i’m not doing the adults, this is getting too long lmao. but, uh, if i’ve forgotten someone, tell me?

[childofaura]

Since I’m kind of in the mood to ask about the FE Echoes VA….

Any thoughts on Keith Silverstein? He plays Saber.

Outside of FEH, he’s Zhongli from Genshin Impact, Torbjorn from Overwatch, Norman (RSE & ORAS gym leader) in Pokèmon Masters and many more.

Same disclaimer I put on Armen Taylor’s review: Making this statement completely respectfully and knowing the unlikeliness of anybody seeing this post:

Hot DAMN his voice is incredibly attractive and if it doesn’t make you weak in the knees, then there’s something wrong.

Also he plays Kabal in Mortal Kombat: Snowblind, which while I think he does a great job (and way better than the goofy voice Jonathan Cahill gave him in MK11), I’m still more partial to David Lodge’s Kabal in MK9 (fun fact, the same actor who plays Jeralt!), especially when he was playing pre-burned Kabal. Also also, he played Vector for a little while, in Sonic Generations and that one episode of Sonic Boom (Funnily and shockingly the CLOSEST we’ve seen Vector doing actual, bonafide detective work). Biggest backlash of my life was looking up Saber and seeing he was the SAME guy playing Vector. And he’s En in Dorohedoro.

BUT ANYWAYS, in FEH, all he plays is Saber. But he does a damn fine job.

Keith’s performance as Saber is SO SOLID. His voice is very easy-going, friendly and inviting, and good humored. His best line in my opinion is “You ain’t half-bad, haha!… not half good either.” There’s so much energy behind it and it’s such a funny line. His Resplendent lines seem to have much more energy added to them and MAN… there’s some FLIRTY undertones in some of those lines (“Am I doing it justice?”). Keith’s voice is super hearty and husky, and it’s a horrible shame that Saber’s only had one unofficial alt. Someday, SOMEDAY IS will remember the female fanbase exists, and then we’ll get the Saber alt (and more Keith voice lines) we deserve. Additionally, I don’t know if it’s true or not but I heard once that Erica Lindbeck herself admitted Keith’s voice was super hot, lmao. Again, take it with a grain of salt.

WITHOUT A DOUBT, Keith’s voice was perfect for the role of Saber and you simply could not replace him.

Ok so FEH-wise, we can’t really say anything about range. Again, outside of FEH he played Vector and that’s a HUGE shift. But in FEH all he’s played was Saber.

The most I can do is give him an unofficial rating of 9/10, but officially he is unranked due to Saber being his only role in FEH.

[lesbianlotties]

Stranger things for the tv ask!

thank you for asking!! sorry it took me so long!!

Favourite character: Robin!! Robin Buckley!! Funniest character: oohh they're all kind of funny in their own ways even untintentionally lmao could be Robin too but let's say Dustin? Best-looking character: hmm Robin sghdjfhgj i'm sorry i'm a lesbian 3 favourite ships: RONANCE, elmax!!!!! and... hmmm.... the sapphic senate Least favourite character: probably mike. second place to eddie probably tho that's in large part to the world's annoying obsession w him Least favourite ship: eddie and nancy... like why would you do that. also stancy like it should be criminalized by now Reason why I watch it: for the ladies and the ladies only!!! for el and her journey, for max and the happy ending she deserves (please), for joyce byers #1 milf, for nancy wheeler who deserves so much better, for Robin Buckley my beloved <33, for Erica who deserves so much more, even Karen Wheeler Why I started watching it: hmm i don't remember very well but i think my friends and cousins insisted for a long time and when s2 came out i was like okay fine! i watched s1 and s2 just casually and without hurry and just enjoyed it. then s3 came out and i fell in love with robin. and then s4 happened and i absolutely lost my mind about it

Send me a tv show!

[foreveralwaysanauthor]

Scattered Screams (Part 7/12)

January 25, 2023

Notes - I really want to post the next part, but I have to write part 9 first and, to do that, I need my laptop, so just picture me screaming nonsensically at my currently dead laptop and you'll get the gist of how I'm feeling today lmao

The more you love, the more you suffer.

The lights of the Capitol will only highlight every tear that threatens to burn past my glittering eyelashes, so I try to take slow, deep breaths as I fight back the thoughts of my untimely demise and the sinking feeling that, even if I were to make it out of the arena with Riven and Royce, my love story with Royce could never work. I’m not from the Capitol where love can pass district lines. Mick and Butchy’s relationship is a prime example of that. Even before Mick’s supposed death in the arena, they couldn’t even talk to each other outside of radio broadcasts and the train deliveries Butchy made every week. Even if Royce did love me and even if we did make it out of the arena alive, a love like ours could never survive under the scrutinous eyes of the Capitol’s resident assholes. We would have eyes on us for as long as we live. I wouldn’t want that for him. He deserves far better than that.

Despite my inner turmoil, I have to sit patiently and politely through the rest of the tributes and their little falsehoods, watching them play one angle or another while I still desperately try to keep up appearances. I hardly pay attention as Lexi, our supposed ally from District 7, rambles on about some girl she likes, but I still try to pay attention since she’s potentially one of the few people who won’t be aiming for my head in the arena. As Lexi takes her seat and her twelve-year-old fellow tribute, Rigg, takes the stage, I spare a glance at Juliet, who smiles back at me before turning back to Carrie to say something. I squeeze Riven’s hand and send him a small grin that he answers by rubbing his thumb in circles on my hand and smiling back at me. Now and then, I distract myself by leaning forward just enough to see Royce past the tributes that separate us, but he only returns my glance once with a beaming smile. From what I can see, Royce isn’t wearing the earbuds from his brother, which I suppose is a good thing since the Gamemakers supposedly believe they’re noise-canceling, but his perfectly coiled curls could easily hide them if he wanted to wear them. 

I hardly pay attention as the rest of the tributes go about their interviews since none of them are particularly noteworthy anyway, but I do note that Erica makes herself favored as the only girl from one of the lower-ranking districts to have a lot of confidence, showing that she isn’t afraid of anything the stronger, faster tributes could throw her way. She did earn herself an eight, after all, and I doubt they would have given her that for nothing. After the rest of the tributes finish playing up their assigned roles and the male tribute from District 12 returns to his seat, everyone on the stage and in the audience stands for Panem’s national anthem. I can’t help spotting a few screens that show either me and Riven or me and Royce. It isn’t hard to tell that we’ve become their newest fantasy; the young lovers and their faithful protector. The little love story Royce and I now share, no matter how unrequited it may be, is now all anybody will talk about, even after our untimely deaths in the arena. Once the anthem is finally over, the tributes file off the stage in the order of our districts and we flood the Training Center’s lobby.

Erica and Jade come over to me with identical smirks, applauding me on a job well done. While Jade stands aside with a proud grin, Erica cackles mischievously and teases me nearly as much as I suspect Riven will once he gets the chance, but her jokes subside as Lexi joins the group. She doesn’t say much other than mentioning how I even took her by surprise with my accidental confession, but she tells me she was glad my feelings were reciprocated so quickly. I don’t think quickly enough to tell her anything other than a quick thank you and, before I know it, she’s called over to the elevator by her escort.

“Sorry about her,” Jade sighs as the doors to the elevator close. “Lexi’s got a lot on her mind lately.”

A genuine look of confusion floods Erica’s face as she turns to Jade and asks, “Since when? She’s been like that since we met.”

Jade looks ready to answer, but chooses to shake her head and turn back to me and Riven with a sigh, “Good luck tomorrow, you two. I wish you all the best.”

“Same to you,” Riven nods. 

“Yeah,” I tack on, “good luck.”

Jade nods and heads for the elevator after wishing Erica a good night, but Erica doesn’t follow. Instead, she turns to us and sighs, “I don’t know about her sometimes.”

“Which one?” I try to joke.

“Either, honestly,” Erica chuckles. “Lexi wants to be with us, yet she refuses to let us get close. Jade is hot as hell, but is far more people smart than she is book smart.”

“Guess that comes with the territory of being a Career,” Riven says with a shrug. “Most of the Careers this year aren’t exactly the sharpest tools in the shed.”

“You can say that again,” Erica says with a smirk.

I slap a hand over Riven’s mouth before he gets the chance to literally repeat himself. Mischief blossoms in Riven’s eyes and, under my hand, I can feel his mouth tugging into a smile. “Don’t you dare,” I snarl. Riven’s hot breath hits the palm of my hand before the wetness of his tongue does, but his childish move is effective as I quickly pull away with a noise of disgust. “Ugh, you absolute ass!”

Riven and Erica laugh at me as I swipe my slobbered hand on Riven’s shirt. Riven taunts, “Well, you shouldn’t have dared me, you little shit.”

“That was such a dick move,” I huff. “I’ve never done anything bad to you.”

“Says the one who dyed my dog pink by bathing him in ketchup.”

“He was sprayed by a skunk, what else was I supposed to do?!” I ask incredulously.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Riven begins, mimicking my tone, “use the tomato juice like I told you to!”

Before I can fire back, Erica laughs at our petty argument. With a look in her eyes I find difficult to decipher, Erica smiles and says, “I’ll see you guys in the arena. Have a good night.” Confused by her sudden departure, Riven and I wish her goodnight and watch as she joins the rest of her team in the elevator. I glance around the lobby to see who is still lurking around and find that, as Serena from District 4 stomps her way into an elevator, we are just a couple of the handful of people still waiting around.

It isn’t long before Royce joins us, looking particularly exhausted. Riven chuckles, “What happened to you? Get mauled by the paparazzi or something?”

Royce shakes his head, sighing as we head toward the only elevator nobody has occupied yet, “Serena happened.”

I don’t bother disguising the eye roll that begs to be seen, “What did she want now?”

The smirk on Royce’s face is enough to tell me the redhead did something stupid, but the way he pitches his voice to mimic Serena’s high-pitched, whiny tone only makes the situation that much more hilarious. “To tell me I’m not in love with you and that I must be confused.”

Riven and I don’t bother hiding our laughter as the elevator begins to move. As the lobby below us begins to shrink, Riven asks, “You think she had a crush on you or something?”

“Most likely,” Royce shrugs. “She was always trying to hang around me and acted like she was the best in training whenever I was near her. I don’t see why she would pick me, of all people.”

My mouth works faster than my brain and I don’t stop myself before the words just start tumbling out, “Probably for the same reasons I like you.” Royce’s eyebrow raises and, deciding to just continue as though nothing happened, I shrug and add, “You’re smart, kind, you handled yourself really well in training, you’re connected to your mentors and the tributes from last year, and, to top it all off, you’re cute. She’s probably just mad she didn’t get to play her story around having a crush on you like I did.”

Riven is quick to mask the smirk on his face with a hum of agreement as the elevator slows to a stop and we reach our floor. He places a hand between my shoulder blades and gives me a gentle push toward the door as Royce and I just stand there like a pair of idiots, staring at each other wordlessly. “You’re probably right, Pip,” Riven says, guiding me out of the elevator with a smile before turning back to Royce. “We’ll see you tomorrow, kid.”

Royce seems to snap back to his senses as the elevator dings, forcing him to nod back at Riven. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

Once the doors close and Royce is rocketed up another three floors, I allow my head to thump against Riven’s chest as he wraps an arm around my shoulders. “That was so stupid.”

“It was,” Riven agrees with a soft chuckle, “but the way you said it could come off as something a friend would say. Don’t beat yourself up just yet.”

As Riven leads me to the living room, I sigh, “Easy for you to say. You didn’t just confess you liked someone before heading into a death match.”

“True,” he says with a smirk, “but I’ve done my fair share of stupid shit and stupid shit is almost always forgotten after a few days.”

With a scoff, I shake my head, “Well, one of us will probably be dead in a few days, so let’s hope you’re right.”

I feel Riven’s gaze on me and I don’t dare meet his eyes as he lets out a heavy sigh, “What happened to making it out together and getting some horses?”

“I’m still holding out hope,” I quietly tell him. “It just feels like our chances of the three of us getting out alive are getting slimmer as we get closer to going into the arena.”

Distantly, I hear the elevator ding as we sit on the couch, telling me the others have arrived in the corridor as Riven takes the opportunity to quickly kiss the top of my head. “We’ll make it out just fine. You just need to relax and trust that I’ll be there for you.”

Meeting Riven’s gaze is difficult since I’m so ready to prattle off about all the muddled thoughts that fill my head, but the confidence and sincerity in his hazel eyes seem to dull the tsunami that rages on in my head. He’s right and, as much as I hate to admit it, I know he is. I need to relax and trust that he can handle whatever comes our way. With Riven’s calm, collected eyes still locked on mine, I give him a nod and say, “I’ll always trust you, Riv.”

With a beaming smile, Riven squeezes me to his side and says, “That’s my Pip.”

We don’t get the chance to say anything else to each other as Halo enters from the other room with a smile so blindingly white that I’m sure her teeth must be fake. “There you two are!” she giggles, making her way to us and perching herself on the coffee table. “Dinner will be served in a little bit, are you going to change into something more comfortable before we eat?”

I peer up at Riven and we share a shrug before nodding to Halo who smiles as Riven says, “Wouldn’t want to get such fancy outfits all covered in food.”

“How right you are,” Halo chirps, clapping her hands together and offering us each a hand up as she rises from the small table. Once we’re on our feet, she all but shoves us toward the hallway and it isn’t long until I’m handing Riven the jacket I’ve had around my shoulders and disappearing into my room. 

My shoes end up kicked aside by the end of the bed and my feet sing in relief once they’re gone. The hair is easy to untangle once Bissette’s stick is out of the way, but I’m surprised by just how many pins it took to hold together the ends of my braids. -Once my hair is down and I’ve shaken it loose, I move onto my dress which, sadly has no instruction manual to help me figure out how to take it off. It’s difficult to see what’s behind me on the dress and feeling around blindly does nothing to help me get the laces of the dress out, but once I settle in front of the mirror, I’m able to untie the bow that rests against the bottom of my spine. Thankfully, Juliet enters before I get too tangled in the strings that have held the gown together the entire night, taking the silky strands from my hands and loosening their hold on me with expertly quick fingers. In the mirror, I can see Juliet smile behind me as she says, “You were incredible tonight. From what I heard, you and Riven have earned a bunch of potential sponsors.”

“What about Royce?” I ask. “Did Carrie say anything about how he did?”

Juliet’s eyes find mine as her smile turns blinding. “He’s doing just as well as you two are. The way things seem to be going, your districts will have better odds than the Careers for the first time in a long time.”

The smile that blooms on my face doesn’t last long as my floundering thoughts get the better of me. “But there’s still no way to call off the Games, is there?”

I feel the need to apologize as Juliet’s expression falters, but she quickly brushes it off with a shake of her head and helps me out of the dress as silently as she helped me into it earlier. Once I’m free of the emerald fabric, Juliet sits on the end of my bed and allows me to change into a pair of shorts and a loose, flowing shirt as she says, “I don’t think there’s a way to stop the Games until you’re in the arena, but I have some ideas that could help you.”

As soon as I tug the shirt over my head and pull my hair free from under the collar, I make my way over to where Juliet has perched herself and say, “Any help is good help at this point.”

Juliet nods, pulling a thick elastic from her wrist and pulling her hair into a tight ponytail at the crown of her skull. “Well, the Gamemakers almost had to call off the Games last year after the incident with Kona’s tracker. They claim that they’re still investigating what happened, but we all know that isn’t true, so if you can find a way to trigger the cannons by either draining the battery or cutting it out of your arm, there’s no way for them to track your movements in the arena without broadcasting the fact that you’re still alive to all of Panem.”

“Do you really think something like that could work?”

With a shrug, Juliet asks, “Remember the guy from Six a few years ago who started eating the people he killed in the arena?” Of course, I do. I think everyone in Panem remembers him. His name was Titus and they had to electrically stun him a few times to get out the bodies of his victims before the Gamemakers eventually killed him in an avalanche. My parents made my siblings and I go to the other room to play a lot during his time in the arena, but it was impossible to not hear what was going on. With a shudder of disgust, I nod and Juliet continues, “Well, he supposedly killed one of the other tributes by slitting their wrist open, but the cannon went off when the tracker came out.”

“So, it just appeared that they were dead?”

“Exactly.”

The idea of anyone cutting my arm open just to remove my tracker makes my stomach clench and my skin run cold - I don’t handle blood well. “I could always drain it like Kona did, right?”

Juliet shrugs, “I suppose, but I figured that, in the event that there are no devices to drain it with, cutting it out wouldn’t be hard since it sits not far under the skin.”

She’s right, it would be easy. I just don’t want to keep thinking about it. “Makes sense,” I tell her. “Is there anything else?”

“Two more,” Juliet says. “One: if you get to the end with Royce and Riven, use the Capitol’s love for you three against them. The Gamemakers need a victor to keep the people happy, but if the Capitol loves all three of you to the point of protesting the Games, maybe the Gamemakers can make something happen. I’ll work my dad down as much as possible from the outside while you work on the Capitol’s heartstrings on the inside.”

She makes it sound easy. Three out of twenty-four making it out alive would be a slap in the face to the president and all the high-ranking officials that run the Games. The chances of the three of us being crowned are slim to none, but I desperately want it to come true, so I’ll take Juliet’s words at face value. “I can make that work,” I tell her.

Juliet takes my hand in hers and smiles as she says, “I know you can.”

After sharing a small smile with my stylist and friend, I ask, “What else was there?”

“Well,” she begins, “I overheard Mack and Brady talking with Riven about a plan to get you guys out when the time comes.” 

That must have been what they got so quiet about when I came into the room. I hadn’t wanted to pry if they were going to tell me eventually, but I didn’t want to think it had anything to do with me. For once, I’m glad for the Capitol’s habit of promoting privileged, unbridled gossip. It’s helpful whether Juliet realizes it or not. Slowly, I bring myself to nod, take in a deep breath, and ask, “Do you have any idea what they were going to do?”

“Not really,” Juliet sheepishly admits. “They were pretty much done talking by the time I joined them, but I know for a fact that Riven said something about a tracker, and Mack and Brady promised him they were going to do whatever it takes, so take that as you will.”

If there’s one thing I know about Mack and Brady, it’s that they’re people of their word. If they promise you something, it’s as good as gold. If they told Riven they would help get us out of there, they’ll do it no matter what the cost. Mack and Brady are like another set of parents to me and Riven, and they have been for years now. I don’t doubt they’ll do whatever it takes to save me, Riven, and possibly Royce from the Capitol’s razor-sharp claws. For the first time in a while, it feels as though the elephant that had stepped on my chest at the reaping is finally lifting its foot. Relief floods through my veins, warming me from the inside like a cup of hot cider on a crisp autumn day and, finally, I feel like I can breathe again. As Riven knocks on the door and asks if we’re coming to dinner, I find the tension in my shoulders lessening and I call back that we’ll be there in a minute.

Turning to Juliet, I bring my arms around her shoulders and hug her tightly. The blonde’s shock doesn’t last long as her arms wind around my waist. We stay there for a while before I softly whisper, “Thank you, Juliet.”

“Of course,” she mutters back.

As I pull away enough to meet Juliet’s eyes, I make sure to get my point across by adding some seriousness to my tone as I repeat myself, “No, seriously. Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me.”

Even though she seems taken aback by how intense my expression is, Juliet smiles sincerely and tilts her head down before slowly bringing it back up. “You’re welcome, Vivien. I’m not entirely sure how, but I’m glad that could bring you some solace.”

“It did,” I tell her.

“Good,” she softly says before taking my face in her hands and placing a kiss on each of my cheeks - a Capitol gesture I’d seen in movies before. Once she releases my face with a soft smile, Juliet stands from the bed and holds out a hand for me to latch onto before saying, “Now, let’s go eat before it gets cold.”

I let out an all too girly giggle and lace my fingers with Juliet’s before allowing her to pull me out of my bedroom and down to the dining room where everyone else is gathered, preparing to eat some kind of fish meat that I quickly realize is lobster just by taking one look at Riven’s plate from across the table. Our district doesn’t get a lot of lobsters, especially not for the regular citizens like my family, but I’ve had some before with Mick’s family during a sleepover and it was alright, I guess. I just wasn’t fond of having the crustacean looking back at me while I was trying to eat it. This time, thankfully, someone else had gotten to my plate before I sat down, pulled the meat out of the creature, and set it on my plate so I wouldn’t have its beady little eyes staring up at me the whole time. I try to eat my way through the lobster as quickly as possible, but with Riven tossing the shells of his lobster onto my plate after he’s through emptying them of meat and me fighting to not chuck them back at him so the Avoxes don’t have to clean up after us, it takes a lot longer to get through our meal. 

After dinner, we watch the replay of the interviews on the television, and Riven’s stylist, Topaz, mentions many times how in love Royce and I seem to be. Now that Riven can see how well he did in his interview, he seems to not only relax, but also puff up with confidence. I’m proud of him and how well he handled himself. His ease with it all makes me feel as though my interview was a stumbling, stuttering mess, but everyone assures me that I came across as innocent and charming. I feel as though I looked more like a little girl looking up to her big sister than anything, but as soon as Royce claims his reciprocation for my feelings, I turn into something extraordinary in the Capitol’s eyes. No longer am I the little girl looking up to a dead girl she saw as an older sister. Now, I am a girl who is faithfully protected by a longtime friend and has been made elegant by her stylist, desirable by a fellow tribute, tragically in love by circumstance, and by all accounts, unforgettable. 

Royce’s outcome will be similar. No matter how much his story relied on his bond with Miles, he will now be known as the boy from District 6 who tragically fell in love with a girl from another district before having to go into the arena where one, if not both, of them will eventually die. We have become their real-life Romeo and Juliet - a tragic love story playing out before their very eyes. Regardless of whether our feelings for each other are real or not, we certainly made ourselves memorable to the Capitol and it won’t be long before that all pays off in the arena. If they love us enough, maybe they’ll plead for our release and beg for us to be crowned victors together instead of watching us kill each other off. 

When the anthem finishes and the screen goes dark, Halo stands from her seat, takes me and Riven by the hand, and, with tears in her eyes, wishes us well in the arena. She thanks us for being so kind-hearted and tells us we’ve been some of the best tributes she’s had in her time as an escort. Then in a flourish of Capitol theatrics, Halo wipes the tears from her eyes, kisses us both on the cheek, and scurries off to her room, most likely to cry in peace. We won’t be seeing her for the foreseeable future since Riven and I will have to be up at dawn to get ready for the Games, but her little goodbye was nice while it lasted.

Taking a deep breath, I turn my attention to Mick’s parents as they stand from the couch and position themselves so that they’re blocking the television. Brady is the first to speak, a serious tone in his voice that I hardly ever hear, “Now, no more joking around. Is there anything you can think of that would help you in the arena? Weapons, clothing, food, anything?”

Riven is quick to ask, “How about a thermal camera?”

It’s a good idea. We use them back home to see what part of a computer is overheating, but sometimes kids in the district use them for fun, tracking each other around in hide and seek by following the traces of heat they leave behind. It could be useful in the arena since we could track the other tributes by their heat signatures. Mack nods, scribbling out Riven’s answer on a pad of paper as she mutters, “Good thinking.”

“How about some food or water?” I question. “If we’re stuck on a ship in the middle of the ocean, food isn’t going to come easily and I wouldn’t trust half of the stuff the Gamemakers leave for us.”

“Not even the water,” Riven agrees. “There’s nothing those assholes like more than some dead tributes.”

Mack writes down our suggestions as we go, adding some ideas from Juliet and Topaz as well so the list feels more complete. After a while of working on the list, Mack sets down the pad of paper and Brady places an arm around her waist as I ask, “Any last advice for us?”

Brady slowly nods, takes a deep breath, and firmly says, “Once the gong sounds, get something small and the hell out of there unless you can get something big and get out quick. Take what supplies you need while the Careers are off hunting down others later on. Most Career groups go hunting for other tributes on the second or third day in the arena once there are no more easy pickings to kill, but in such a huge arena, they’ll probably only stick it out for a night before they go on a hunting spree.”

“Cruise ships are like mazes,” Mack adds. “The Capitol sent us on one for our honeymoon years ago. It’s easy to get lost, so if you have someone chasing you, it should be easy to hide out or evade them.”

Juliet softly pipes up from the corner of the couch she’s been silently sitting in since we first sat down, “If it’s anything like the ships my dad has brought me on, there are hidden passageways meant for the crew to be able to get from one place to another without being seen by the passengers. If you can find something like that, you might be able to hide out for most of the Games.”

“There are also lifeboat pods on the deck below the last floor of cabins,” Topaz offers. “At least, that’s how it was on the cruise I took last year. Those capsules fit quite a few people in case the ship starts taking on water.”

Brady turns to Mack and the pair share a nod of agreement. “That could be very helpful.”

“Anything else?” Riven asks.

“Stay alive,” the couple replies. If we can escape the bloodbath quickly enough, their advice will be easy to follow. Riven and I can only find it in us to nod at their words, but Riven is the first to stand and accept the hug they offer him. This is the last time we’ll be seeing them until we leave the arena, so we make this time count. Mack’s arms find me first and she holds me even tighter than she had on the train after the reaping. It feels more like the day they came back home after last year’s Games where they both took turns holding me tight and assuring me that everything would be alright sooner or later. One of Brady’s arms encircles my shoulders while the other wraps around his wife, his grasp just as tight as his wife’s. Despite the time they’ve spent in the Capitol, they still feel like home. We stay like that for a while before they finally release me, pressing soft kisses to my forehead before telling me they love me and that they’ll keep an eye on us. I don’t know what else to say, so I thank them for everything they’ve done for me before retiring to my room.

I spend a lot of time in the shower, washing the paint, makeup, and delicately made lines from my skin. By the time I’m done, my skin is red from scrubbing so hard to get the glitter off and all that remains of the prep team’s efforts are the intricate, circuit-board-style lines they’ve painted on my nails. I decide to leave the artwork there as a show of pride for my district and the work I’ve done. Perhaps it will give me something to cling to, a reminder of who I am in the days to come. Once I’m done drying off, I slide into a pair of loose sweatpants and a baggy shirt before trying to get some sleep. To my dismay, it only takes a few minutes to realize I won’t be sleeping anytime soon.

My thoughts fly faster than the hovercraft that will be taking me to the arena, gliding from thoughts of the arena to thoughts of home. I bet my family is just as anxious as I am. Mom is probably trying to keep Dad sane so that he doesn’t make my siblings scared all while fighting fear herself. She’s been the backbone of the family for years, but now that I’m older, I know she just masks her emotions really well. Oliver and I are far more like our dad in that aspect - emotions on display for the world to see. Abby takes after Mom, for the most part, keeping her feelings hidden as best she can, but it hardly ever works out for her. I wonder how they’re doing having Mick in the house. Mick only talked with me while I was waiting during the interviews, but I can attribute that to the training she’s probably endured all day with Oliver and Abigail and the excitement of everything going on in the house once the interviews finished. She hasn’t said a word since then. I wouldn’t be surprised If she only ever talks to me once I’m in the arena or the catacombs under it, but I want nothing more than for her to wish me a good night’s sleep before I go into the arena. Maybe that would encourage my eyelids to grow heavy.

An hour, maybe two passes with no sign of sleep coming. The more I try to chase sleep, the more it seems to elude me. It doesn’t take me too long to figure out that, regardless of how much I toss and turn in the soft blankets, sleep won’t come to a restless soul. It feels as though I’m running a mental marathon. I try getting out of bed and pacing the floor, but the fluffy carpet does nothing to stop the sharp breaths I suck in and helps little to still my racing heart. For the first time, my room begins to feel like a prison cell - a little box the Capitol has left one of its star prisoners in. The confinement gets too much for me to handle and I quietly twist the doorknob to leave, slinking down the hallways until I reach the door to the rooftop. The distance from the third floor to the rooftop is exhausting, but it gives me time to think until I reach the glass dome and pull the door open. Regardless of the energy field enclosing the roof and the metaphorical jail cell of a building I’m in, the air that breezes by has never felt so freeing. The city is loud tonight with raucous parties blaring their music as loud as it can go, car horns honking as they pass celebrations on the streets below, and people chatting at full volume on nearby balconies. Unlike the rest of the city, the Training Center roof isn’t normally lit at night unless someone wants to throw a little party for their district, but nobody is celebrating tonight. Tonight, the roof is only illuminated by the lights that shine endlessly in the Capitol’s skyline, but on the edge of the roof, legs dangling over the side of the building, is a silhouette that I know all too well by the coiled curls alone.

He runs a hand through his hair and I find that I could sneak back inside unnoticed. He’s wearing his brother’s earbuds and talking to someone back home, if the wild hand gestures are anything to go by. But I don’t want to return to the stuffy cage I’ve been confined to, and, for all Royce knows, we’re just friends putting on a show. What does it matter if we talk in private like this? My bare feet move soundlessly across the tiled floor and, when I’m only a yard or so behind him, I teasingly ask, “Don’t you think you should be getting some sleep?”

Royce starts, turning to me with wide eyes before sighing in relief when he sees me, “You scared the shit out of me.”

“You’re welcome,” I chuckle as I take up the empty space next to him.

Instead of saying something back to me, Royce mutters, “Don’t worry, Miles. It’s just Vivien.”

“Tell him I said hello,” I tell Royce.

I know he doesn’t have to relay the message, but Royce still does, returning with a hello from both of his brothers. When he finally relaxes, he asks, “Couldn’t sleep either?”

With a shake of my head, I tell him, “Kind of hard to sleep when we’ll be watching people die tomorrow.”

Royce hums in understanding as he pulls out his earbuds and sets them into a small case, “At least you have a chance at winning.”

“We have a chance at winning,” I correct him. His eyes look nearly black in the dark of the rooftop, but I find them nonetheless as he turns to me. “We’re in this together, Royce.”

“Until it gets to the final three,” he mutters. “Riven would do anything for you to make it out alive.”

“He wants to protect both of us, not just me,” I tell him firmly. “And I would do anything for you and Riven to make it out alive. You deserve to go home to your family.”

“You do too.”

“Then, I suppose we’ll just have to make it out together, no matter what the cost.”

Royce shakes his head minutely before staring out at the city with a sigh, “They’ll never take two victors, let alone three.”

“They’ll have to,” I say with a shrug. “Riven won’t kill either of us, he promised me that ages ago. You won’t kill Riven because-”

“Because he could snap me like a twig,” Royce laughs.

I join him with a soft chuckle, “You said it. I didn’t.”

Royce smiles at me - a real, genuine smile - before softly admitting, “And I won’t kill you because it would break every promise I’ve made myself.”

“You’re a true man of your word, huh?”

“My brothers and I take promises very seriously,” he tells me with a nod.

“I can appreciate that.” I let out a sigh, “Killing you would break a lot of my personal promises, too.”

“Oh yeah?”

With a nod, I clear my throat and say, “It would also go against everything I said in my interview.”

Royce’s gaze falls to his fingers as he picks at the corner of one of his nails. “I guess that’s important too. Gotta keep up appearances and all that.”

Maybe it’s the exhaustion talking or the imminent death waiting around the corner, but I don’t bother to hold my tongue as I turn my gaze to the skyline and find myself admitting, “Yeah, but what I said wasn’t all for appearances.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Royce’s head slowly rise, his golden brown eyes locked on the side of my face as he softly questions, “What do you mean?”

A small, sad grin appears on my face as I slowly turn toward Royce and say, “When I said I fell in love in this city, I wasn’t just saying that to impress the crowd.”

Royce’s eyes widen as he softly breathes, “Oh.”

“Yeah,” I say with a short nod, turning back to the city that, seemingly, never sleeps. “I didn’t realize it until the party after our scores were announced, but I think it started a long time ago.”

Once again, Royce lets out a very soft, “Oh.” 

This time, however, he looks away and I feel my heart sink as his honey eyes scan the city as people cheer and party the night away. As much as I want so badly for my feelings to be reciprocated, I know I can’t force him to feel something he doesn’t. I guess it doesn’t really matter anyway. Even if we make it out of the arena alive, we’ll be living in separate districts and be unable to see each other apart from events like the Hunger Games or celebrations in the Capitol. Besides, the Capitol will have people throwing themselves at us for the rest of our lives. We won’t be able to have a simple, cute romance with all the nonsense around us at all times.

Royce turns back to me, looking poised to say something, but I brush him off with a wave of my hand and smile as I say, “You don’t have to say anything, Royce. It just feels good to get it off my chest before the Games begin.”

His mouth closes and I watch his eyes as the gears in his head whir to life, roaring louder than the computers back home when they overheat. I guess eyes really are the windows to the soul in Royce’s case. His thoughts race and I watch for a while before turning back toward the city and letting out a long breath. I try not to let my feelings get the better of me as silence clings to the air that flows by us, but it’s hard to hide my twitching fingers and the shuddering of my shoulders when I try to take in a breath. If Royce notices the minute details that give away how close I am to the verge of tears, he doesn’t say anything about it. Instead, he leans his forehead against one of the railings and sighs heavily. I spare a glance his way and softly ask if he’s alright, but Royce is quick to shake his head. 

“No,” Royce mutters as he slowly runs his hands through his once-perfect curls and rests his fingers at the base of his neck. “No, I’m not okay.”

Placing a hand on his back, I softly ask, “What’s wrong?”

Royce’s hands fall to the metal bar as his head lifts from it and he turns to me with a bewildered look in his eyes. “You just told me that you’re in love with me,” he tells me and I nod, not seeing where he’s going with this train of thought.

“It’s not the best circumstances, I know,” I shrug as my hand drops from his back to the floor by my thigh. “But I already said you don’t have to say anything about it, so if you don’t feel the same, that’s fine. I’ll get over it sooner or later.”

Royce’s curls flare in a ring around his head as he quickly, adamantly shakes his head. His eyes, a rich, chocolate brown in the darkness of the rooftop, lock with mine and I can almost feel the warmth and sincerity in them as he sends me a small smile. “That’s just it,” he begins, reaching for the hand I had just moved and taking it in his. His fingers are cold, mostly from being out here longer than I have, but also from the grip he had on the wind-chilled, metal bar. “I don’t want you to get over it, Vivien.”

“Why not?” I question, hoping he can’t feel the racing of my heart as his fingers rest against the pulse point on my wrist. 

“Because I feel the same way,” he practically whispers. My skepticism must show as Royce turns toward me and takes my hand in both of his. “You can ask anyone - Butchy, Kona, Carrie, hell, even my brothers - they’ll all tell you the same thing. They’ve been pestering me about it since I ran into you at the Remake Center.”

Deciding I can trust him with my feelings, I slowly turn so that I’m no longer swinging my legs off the side of the building and sheepishly tell Royce, “My teasing began on the train.”

“Really?” he asks me. I nod and tell him about Mick pressing so much to find out my opinion of him, hoping that I’d like him as much as she hoped I would. We spend a while on the roof, talking about how things have unfolded for us and what our plans in the arena are until the door leading onto the roof opens and Royce’s mentor, Butchy, makes an appearance.

“There you are, gattino,” the burly mentor sighs, his hands placed on his hips in the same manner my dad would stand when he was ready to reprimand me or my siblings. “I go to check on you and you’re nowhere to be seen. I had a feeling you’d be up here with the piccola.”

Before I get the chance to question what he called me, Royce speaks, “We both needed to get some air. I was talking to Miles when she came up.”

Butchy eyes us, his gaze lingering on our intertwined fingers as a smirk tugs at his lips. “Sure,” he drawls. “Well, you two should get back inside. You need as much sleep as you can before you hit the arena. Exhaustion-”

“Is basically sending an invitation to death,” Royce grumbles, shoving the case for his earbuds into his pocket and releasing my hand long enough to push himself to his feet before offering me a hand up. It’s evident, to me at least, that he must have heard the phrase a lot since being here. “Yeah, I know.”

“I’m just trying to help, gattino,” Butchy sighs, brushing some of Royce’s curls from his face once he has the curly-haired boy’s attention. “If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself. And, as much as I’m sure you both love having this alone time, now is not the time for it.”

“I know,” Royce sighs, sounding far more sympathetic toward his mentor as the older man takes Royce’s free hand in his. Royce turns to me and softly apologizes before asking, “Are you going back inside too?” 

“I am,” I tell him.

Almost instantly, Royce turns to Butchy and asks, “Can I at least walk her to her floor? You know, like you did for Mick?”

Butchy watches us for a brief moment before nodding. “Go ahead, bud, just come right back to Six, yeah?”

Royce quickly nods and allows Butchy to lead the way back into the building. He stops at his floor and wishes me a good night and good luck before disappearing into the hallway and leaving the door open just enough for Royce to sneak in through later. Royce walks with me until we reach my floor and we reluctantly release the grip we’ve held, but neither of us chooses to wipe the sweat from our hands as we both struggle to find the words to say. It’s a difficult situation to be in, but certainly not a completely uncharted one. Mick and Butchy were in a similar situation last year. In the awkward silence, I take a deep breath and sigh, “I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Royce chuckles, “I’ll be the one running from the Cornucopia.”

The smile that blossoms on my face is hard to fight as I say, “I probably won’t be far behind you.”

With a small smile aimed my way, Royce takes my hand and presses a quick kiss to my knuckles before releasing me and softly saying, “Good night, Vivien.”

“Good night, Royce.”

I push the door open behind me and watch as Royce begins the climb back to his floor before slinking inside the hallway and silently pressing the door closed. The thought of sleep is no longer appealing to me, even though I know I need it, so I make my way to the living room where I find I’m not the only one still pacing the third floor. My mentors get quiet as I enter the room, but Brady is quick to ask, “What are you still doing up, honey?”

“Can’t sleep,” I tell them as I worm my way onto the cushion between them. Just like we’re watching a movie back at their home in Victor’s Village, their arms are secure around me as we settle into place. “I was going to see if sleeping on the couch helped.”

“Sadly, it’s not nearly as cozy as it looks,” Brady whispers. “I’ve slept out here more than once.”

Mack’s hand rests on the side of my head and slots me into place under her arm as I bring a hand around her waist. “Maybe someone just doesn’t want to be alone tonight,” she suggests.

“Maybe,” I mutter.

I hear them both hum in understanding, but as my eyes slide closed, they don’t say more. I try to listen as they talk softly around me, almost as though I’m not there, yet I find it hard to focus as their words bounce from topic to topic as I drift in and out of consciousness. My eyelids slide shut and I take in a deep breath as I hear a deeper, slightly louder voice ask if I’m with Mack and Brady. Riven is awake too, it seems. It’s impossible to comprehend any of what is said around me, but I eventually register the feeling of floating as I’m lifted off the couch by a pair of arms that could easily toss me out of the nearest window if they wanted to. I try to peel my eyes open as my head lulls against the person’s shoulder, but Riven doesn’t seem to notice my eyes on him as he walks back through the halls of our apartment and opens the door to my room. Riven deposits me between the sheets before covering me with my blankets and pausing to push my hair away from my eyes. 

In my daze, I find Riven’s hand and hold it as tightly as I can muster, locking him in place for a least a moment. “Sleep, Pip,” he gently orders, kneeling next to the bed and rubbing tiny circles into my hand as he smiles down at me.

“Will you stay with me?” I ask in a yawn. 

“I’m not supposed to,” he whispers in the quiet of my room. “We aren’t allowed to stay with each other.” 

“But you’re my brother,” is my poor attempt at an argument. 

It appears to be effective enough as Riven sighs, showing me that his resolve is wearing thin, “We’re not supposed to see each other before the arena.”

“Then just stay until I fall asleep.” Peering up at Riven, I tighten my hold on his hand and put on my best, teary-eyed gaze before pleading in a soft, overtired voice, “I don’t want to be alone, Riv.”

This is Riven’s undoing and I watch as his head drops and he lets out a prolonged sigh, “You’re really laying it on thick, aren’t you, pipsqueak?”

The giggle that leaves me makes me sound as though I’m no older than maybe six or seven, but in my exhausted haze, I can’t bring myself to care. It doesn’t matter, though, as Riven meets my gaze and I can tell he’ll stay with me for as long as I need him to. Normally, it’s Mick that has to deal with my whining pleas, but Riven dealt with me in this state a lot while Mick was missing in action. He carried me home from work more than once and had to deal with my clingy escapades for so long that it must no longer faze him. Riven runs a hand through his hair and yawns as he rounds the bed and slides into the empty space next to me, lifting an arm so I can find my resting place before relaxing into the mattress. 

“Thank you,” I mutter, resting my head against Riven’s chest.

“It’s what family does,” he says, gently running his hand down my back as I curl into him. “Now, get some sleep before I knock you out myself.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I yawn, allowing myself to finally slip into the grasp of sleep.

When my eyes peel open again, Juliet is lightly shaking my shoulders and the sun hasn’t even risen past the horizon. Her presence is warm and welcoming like a fresh cup of coffee on a cool morning and she takes her time with me, brushing my hair out and giving me something simple to wear until we get to the catacombs before ushering me to the roof. My legs are sore from all of the climbing I’ve done on those stairs on the many rooftop trips I’ve taken in the week I’ve been here, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem soon. As we reach the rooftop, a hovercraft appears out of thin air and a ladder drops down from it. Juliet gestures for me to go first and tells me something about not being afraid as I take hold of one of the rungs. My body freezes as I step onto another rung, a mild current of electricity gluing me in place. We have something similar back home for kids who are afraid of needles so that they don’t thrash around while getting shots, so I’m not too taken aback that they’re using similar technology to make sure the tributes can’t run away.

A man in a white coat holding a syringe comes near me once I’m inside, sliding my tracker into my right forearm as he explains that they need me to stay as still as possible for it to be placed correctly. The stinging in my arm from the injection disappears as the ladder releases me and goes back for Juliet, but I continue to rub my arm until my stylist has joined me. An Avox girl comes and directs me and Juliet to a room where breakfast has been laid out. The anxiety of the day has yet to sink in, so I wolf down as much as I can stomach, pounding back cups of coffee with Juliet until I decide I’ve had enough caffeine, and forces me to down some water. Juliet sits across from me as we watch the city below us turn into wilderness. The flight takes a while as we pass over a district - possibly District 1 or 4 - but Juliet keeps me entertained by helping me share stories of home. What she’ll do with the information, I may never know, but she seems keen on knowing everything about me and my family’s situation. In return, Juliet shares stories of her childhood and how different her life was growing up. At one point, she was the Head Gamemaker’s daughter and had grown up with her father teaching her the difference between what the Capitol schools taught and what he felt was right morally. Now, as the daughter to the president of the country, she felt it was her duty to help protect the people from the Capitol’s chaotic mess.

I’m unsure if Juliet’s storytelling is for my benefit or if she simply needs to get things off her chest, but I still listen to every word as though it’s the most important thing in my life. The conversation only lulls when the windows next to us black out after about an hour or so of flying, alerting us to the fact that we’re close to the arena. The hovercraft seems to only hover above the arena as Juliet and I are brought back to the ladder that now brings us into a tube leading into the catacombs. Juliet takes my hand as we follow the path leading us to my Launch Room, reminding me that I’m not alone in any of this. Although many districts call the preparation rooms the Stockyards, District 3 still calls it the Launch Room as a reminder of all the space explorations we helped create technology for. Granted, nobody in Panem thinks that stuff is important anymore, but we still care about it all the same.

Juliet busies herself with preparations for my hair and my token while I shower and brush my teeth, but she refuses to tell me what token Mack and Brady turned in for me until after my clothing arrives. I must emulate a statue by how still I sit while Juliet weaves my hair into braids, but once she shows me the four braids that connect into two ponytails on top of the rest of my loosened hair, I have to question her on it. “Wouldn’t it be better if my hair was all up?”

“Leaving your hair down makes it harder for people to grab you, but I wanted to keep some of it out of your way,” Juliet answers. “Besides, the four braids are for the people you love.”

“How?”

Juliet hovers a hand above each respective braid as she lists off, “One for your family, one for your friends, once for Riven, and one for Royce.”

The thought of something so simple meaning something so significant makes me smile, but it soon disappears as the clothing arrives and Juliet goes through the package with a hesitance that makes me nervous. Going into this, she has no clue what outfit I’ll be given which must suck as a stylist, but she plays off her surprise fairly well as she lays out the clothing on the only table in the room so we both can see it. My outfit consists of a black, one-piece swimsuit with long sleeves, a zipper up the front, and a leafy print on it that Juliet claims looks like the fronds of a palm tree, a pair of loose, emerald shorts to match the leafy pattern, a thick, adjustable belt, and a pair of sneakers that will come just above my ankle and are in the same emerald color as everything else.

Juliet helps me into the outfit, rattling off about how she could have done a much better job picking out the clothing as we go. I have no doubt that she could have, if given a chance. While the outfit suits the theme we went with for the interview, Juliet and I both feel the dark color scheme makes me a lot look paler than it would have if the outfit included more golden tones. Once everything is on and Juliet feels as though we can’t make it look any better, she heads over to where she’s left her small bag of things and digs around before returning with a small box and my glasses.

“The hair stick from your friend wouldn’t have passed because it could have been used as a weapon and I had to fight with the Gamemakers to let you keep these since I believe they’re a medical necessity,” Juliet sighs as she slides my glasses onto my face. “It wasn’t until my dad stepped in that they finally gave in and allowed them as well as your token.”

“You didn’t have to fight so hard for that,” I softly laugh. “I would’ve been fine with just the glasses.”

“I know you would’ve,” she insists, “but that doesn’t make it right.”

Knowing better than to argue with Juliet at this point, I simply smile and say, “Thanks, Juliet.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Juliet giggles. With a dramatic hand gesture, she presents the little box to me with a flourish and I find that my mom’s necklace with my parent’s wedding rings on it has been laid inside. “Ta-da!” Juliet sings as she sets the box in my hand.

She must have taken it from my nightstand back in the Training Center and gotten it approved when I was in training at some point. I pull the necklace from the box and allow Juliet to help me clasp it around my neck before slipping it under the neck of the swimsuit and zipping it up to my clavicle. I thank her too many times to count, pulling her into a tight hug as time ticks by. After a while, Juliet offers me some food and I make sure to eat enough to feed an army and drain at least a liter of water since there’s no telling when I’ll get more. My tracker sits not far under the skin and it doesn’t take long for Juliet and me to discover that I have a tendency to pick at things that don’t belong in my body since I keep poking at the hard little bump on my arm, almost willing it to poke back through my skin so I can be done with this whole thing. Eventually, Juliet gets tired of my constant fidgeting and takes my hands in hers, giving me words of encouragement until an all too calm female voice announces that it’s time to prepare for launch.

“I feel like I’m more afraid than you are right now,” Juliet tells me as we stand and she leads me to the circular metal plate in the corner of the room.

“I have Riven for protection and faith that our mentors will help us just as much as you will,” I tell Juliet as she brings me into the last squeeze we’ll share for the time being. “It’s also a shit-ton of caffeine and adrenaline.”

Juliet and I share a laugh as I step onto the metal plate, but her expression turns serious as she says, “I’m getting you three out of there one way or another.”

Giving her a solid nod, I say, “I know. I trust you.”

“Good,” Juliet smiles as a glass cylinder begins lowering around me. “I’ll see you in a few days.”

“In a few days,” I echo.

Juliet nods back at me before rolling her shoulders back and tapping the back of her hand under her chin. Perfect your posture and hold your head high. As the cylinder begins to push me upward like a syringe full of medicine, I push my shoulders back and tip my head up slightly, hoping to look at least the littlest bit confident as the distinct smell of saltwater fills my nostrils and a breeze blows the scent of fresh paint in my direction as my eyes adjust to the light beaming down on us from above. Then, as I survey the area around us, I hear the legendary announcer, Claudius Templesmith, as his voice echoes through the area.

“Ladies and gentlemen, let the Sixty-third annual Hunger Games begin!”

[every-dayiwakeup]

The One Where Max Cries

Tw: J*son, fluff (I swear to you it's fluff! 😭)

"Hey, there! Is-"

"Good bye," Billy says pointedly, closing the door on Jason's fingers, huffing a soft laugh at the pitiful squealing from the radical blond on the other side of the door.

He takes comfort in the fact that while he may be batshit crazy, he's not a religious nut like Carver. The stark difference helps him sleep at night.

"Nailed it," Erica Sinclair says, abandoning her math textbook to hug his waist. She, Max and El are getting too damn tall for him.

He doesn't flinch at the contact. Probably because Erica is about as threatening as a baby seahorse... until she opens her mouth that is.

"Do you think he'll come back for more?"

"I wouldn't," she replies, and then she adds, "Hey, off brand Axl Rose, are you gonna help me with this stupid question or not?"

Max stifles a giggle, and Billy glares at her as he takes a seat beside Erica on the couch. "It wasn't that funny!"

Max doubles over in tears, and despite his pride taking a serious hit, Billy can't help but join in. This is the first time he's made her cry laughing. These are good tears. Happy tears.

Erica can throw a funeral for his deceased ego any day. It's worth it if it makes his little sister laugh.

Max grins at him, and he grins back.

Yeah, it's worth it.

****

Tagslist: (always room for more 🥰)

@suspiciouslackofclowns

@geormenia

@emeraldwitches

@shipworm

@ouizzyharringrove

@thatawkwardlittlefangirl

@polaris-ursae

@phishyie

@whoringrove

@harringroveheart

@justan-0-t-h-3-r

@harringrovetrashh

@m0isttoenails

@flayedintheusa

@namorian

@magellan-88

@jaethecreator

@spaceboxkitty

@talesfrom-theupsidedown

@wixterirox

Also I simply cannot choose the other nine people to send this to. Everyone I've been in kahoots with is just so great 😩😩💕💕

So to everyone who follows me, those who graze these wild pastures (even if you dont follow me) 💕💕🥰👇👇

🍃🌺🌙If you receive this you make somebody happy. Go and send this to ten of your followers who make you happy or somebody you think needs cheering up. If you get it back even better🌙🌺🍃

[ratdiscos]

teen......... teen wolf........... teen wolf reunion......... i can't do it.... i'm not strong enough...........

[rottingflowrs]

CW:SPOILERS FOR STRANGER THINGS VOL 2.

I made this post the day after stranger things volume 2 came out but Tumblr was being Tumblr and deleted it .I literally didn't even realize till right now but unlucky for Tumblr I had a picture of that rant saved so I typed that shit out again.Watch me go fight Tumblr smh. I'm so annoyed bye-

TW:talking about vecnna k*lling ( let me know if I need to add more) , my grammer lmao

I'm sure now that duffer brothers do not care about poc characters or queer characters. Wtf was that ending with Robin huh ??? Her love interest was so boring I literally don't rember her name anymore andl couldn't give enough of a fuck to look it up.The duffer brothers really include so many new WHITE characters as if they're show isn't white enough as it is .They did Kali dirty, they've been doing Lucas dirty and they did Erica dirty.

1. Kali -I have a lot of opions on how women of colour are treated like disposable characters and Kali is another victim of it .Bring Kali back make her Robin's love interest. I think they're about the same age .If not her love interest she can atleast team up with El to defeat Henry/Vecna/ 001 .You hyped up 001 because he was played by pretty white boy despite him killing children( i get it Jamie Campbell Bower is pretty asf but it's weird how you excuse child murder but get mad at woc for murdering bad ppl who hurt her when she was a child. The double standards are crazy) but y'all were mad at kali for getting revenge on the people that wronged her .Then you ppl go on to say Fandom racism doesn't exist.

2. Erica-They gave her such less screen time then they did in season 3 and for what ???? She could have done something why do they always give the white characters shit to do and the ones who solve the 'riddles 'or the problem idk what to call it ??? I am not a black woman so let me know if I'm crossing any boundaries but her character feels a bit stereotypical to how Hollywood writes young black girls and black women. Priah could do so much with the character if the duffer brothers provided her an opportunity to.

3. Lucas - Lucas deserves so much .Caleb Mclaughlin deserves so much better They've been doing him dirty since season 1 .They haven't let his skills shine.HELLO ??P MAXS 'DEATH' SCENE ? SIR OMG ?? HE WAS SO GOOD OMFG.@/dufferbrothers give him more shit to do .I think the Fandom will not die if one of the other white characters has one less thing to do.

4. Robin- give her a proper love interest dude wtf was that she was literally there for 3 scenes. I honestly thought she would join the group to fight vecna in vol 2 but obvi she didn't. The duffers want to show that their diverse without bringing in actual diversity.

5. Will- He can't catch a break can he ???I honestly don't know where they're going with this whole byler thing but I was stupid enough to believe they'd do a 'confession/ mike realizing he's also gay and in love with will scene in vol 2.Byler better be canon but AFTER Mike works out his emo boy issues and has some character development.

[salvatoreren]

Vol2 Thoughts

Alright everybody welcome back and ill try to make this as clean and constructed as possible anyways

i suppose chapter eight was the calm before the storm despite many people have died already

max having her halloween mask tho lmao what was she going to do with it and those poor people who got their van stolen,

the way i screamed when nancy saw jason, and erica just seeing the rest, im so glad eddie and the others stayed in the van, like please, dude my jaw dropped when i saw some dude kissing vickie, like poor robin, she deserves better

the way all of them had their moments while on the grass making weapons, i love that, i feel erica about lucas lol, robin and steve just comforting each other and being the best and that dustin and eddie scene, i love when they were scuffling, god they're so wholesome, YOUR HONOR I LOVE THEM, THE NEVER CHANGE UGHHH PLEASE IT HITS DIFF NOW

i cried when will was crying, he's been through so much and ik i have set my negative views regarding ships but like i said byler and mileven was cool okay? anyways im sure what he said to mike was his true feelings

ik it's just me but i wish brenner and el had more closure like a max and billy moment but i think like i said a month ago with hopper saying the need to surpass fathers and grow, it made sense actually because in order for el to grow she needs to defy and surpass him

ALSO WILL AND EL HUGGING

now

CHAPTER NINE REALLY WAS SO HEARTSTOPPING, I HAD A HEADACHE WATCHING IT, MY HANDS WERE SO COLD AND MY STOMACH WAS TWISTING AND SHIT, I WAS SO FUCKING SCARED BUT ANYWAYS

THAT BIT WHERE THEY TRY TO FORCE MIKE IN EATING PIZZA WITH PINEAPPLE, THAT WAS SO CUTE

THE LUMAX SCENES! THE HOW PRESUMPTUOUS OF YOU COMING BACK, I LOVE THEM THEY'RE SO CUTE UGHHH

THAT "CHRISSY THIS IS FOR YOU" HAD ME BAWLING AND SCREAMING, UGH I LOVE HIM, THOSE PEEPS WERE RIGHT ABOUT EDDIE PLAYING MASTER OF PUPPETS, HE WAS INSANE FOR THAT, UGH PLS

IM SORRY BUT I LAUGHED SO HARD WHEN DUSTIN AND EDDIE KEPT STABBING THE BATS LOL

THE WAY MY HEART BROKE WHEN EDDIE CUT OFF THE SHEET, DUSTIN SCREAMING, I HATE THIS

MY POOR BOY DUSTIN GETTING HIS LEG HURT

AND PROPS TO MURRAY, I LOVE HIM HE WAS CRAZY SHOOTING THAT FLAMETHROWER, MVP

THE SINCLAIRS BEATING THOSE TWO DOUCHES LMAO WHY WERE THEY ONLY TWO THO, ERICA KICKING HIM RIGHT IN THE NUTS AND HITTING HIM WITH A FLASHLIGHT QUEEN! ALSO LUCAS SAYING NORMAL IS A FUCKING PSYCHOPATH, YES HE RESIST CONFORMING

MIKE PULLED AN EREN ON ELEVEN UGH IN ASTONISHMENT BUT ALSO UGH IN DISGUST SINCE THEY REMIND ME OF MY NOTP, AND SAYING HOW HE LOVES HER, MILEVEN MAKES ME SOFT GOD

THE WAY THE MUSIC SET AND SHOWED EACH BATTLE JUISFAHKJSAF, I LOVE NANCY SHOOTING AT VECNA UGH, SHE WAS SO BADASS

I CRIED SO MUCH WHEN MAX SAID SHE DIDN'T WANT TO DIE AND ALSO BACK WHEN SHE WAS IN THE SNOWBALL PART, HER CRIES WERE SO GENUINE, SADIE SINK DOING SUCH A GREAT JOB AGAIN

and now my thoughts on our beloved boy eddie's death

yeah i screamed and cried as twice as much, esp when dustin was holding him, like bro what, he can't die, i was saying it with dustin that he can't die and after that the disappointment, the unfairness set in, like steve got bit by a bat too but he lived, dont even get me started on max, IT'S SO UNFAIR, he had his MOMENT, IT WAS HIS YEAR, im just ugh really disappointed by his death, pretty numb about it, who knew one death could bring such a huge feeling of disappointment like the posts ive seen where brutal and really mad but i suppose they had the right since eddie had potential, him dying was unfair, it was just for shock value and it didn't really advance the plot unless they're using that for season five

the disappointment is really real, im really sad and beyond pained that it had to go that way, they're right eddie could've been kept around just like max and robin, we prayed for steve and robin too much, forgetting who we really should've prayed for but yeah im glad those two are alive, i feel really bad for his uncle though, his nephew missing, having his poster constantly vandalized then only told that he was dead ughh it's so unfair, i am in pain and i miss him already, i loved him like a child, he was amazing and fuckkk

RIP baby boy we will miss you

also i remember someone saying that if hopper and el reunite again and hopper says hey kid, they were going to lose it, i wonder how they're doing rn lmao

honestly im so happy that mike and hopper hugged, their relationship in season two was great but then forgotten and soiled at season three so yey

THAT ENDING THO WITH THE MUSIC AND SHIT, GOD I LOVE THAT

to be honest i really wish it ended with season four, idk this season felt like the end and for it to be succeeded feels wrong but all in all it was actually a great season finale, just eddie's death really did sour everyone's enjoyment, despite how i feel ill stick around because i love this show and am too attached to it, it's basically my comfort show

i have more to say regarding my favorite parts but i kinda forgot about them sorry, i watched the two in separate days

[zalrb]

do you like any other characters from stranger things? or is will the only character you like? what do you think about lucas?

I wouldn't even say that I like Will per se, he was just the only thing I vaguely cared about in the earlier seasons, lmao, and I think he deserves better friends -- how hard is it for someone to pay attention to him?? My god.

I don't like or dislike Lucas but, like, who is Lucas, I guess. In the first season I remember him having more of a personality and I even said I saw some of myself in him,

Lucas is the character who I related to the most because I’m extremely sceptical and suspicious and I found his doubtfulness of El valid and his frustration with Mike reasonable. His points were rational and they made sense and I think he was the most loyal to Will.

in the first season Dustin was also my favourite character because I thought he was funny but then, I don't know, in season 2 it felt like everyone got watered down I guess except for Will who shone because Noah shone in season 2, he carried season 2 on his back and then season 3 just became more about which duos/dynamics were more interesting than others despite me not really having much invested in them so I liked Erica and Dustin a lot in season 3, they were my favourite part of the season but did I actually care about them as characters? No. I definitely didn't care about Steve and Robin but their verbal sparring at least held my attention. That was really as far as it went.

[randomestfandoms-ocs]

Teen Wolf edition:

Scott >> Stiles

Stalia >> Stydia

Scira >> Scallison

I think Allison got off way too easily for the shit she pulled in season 2

Boyds death was entirely unnecessary after Erica had already been killed, they could have just as well had him leave like Cora did if Sinqua was needed on another set or whatever

That being said I dislike the introducion of Cora as a whole, she was fun, I guess, but the character came out of nowhere and left just as quickly and she didn't really make any splash in the bigger picture, Adelaide is amazing though!

Parrish, Kira and Noshiko were the most powerful creatures on the show

Lydia was overpowered towards the end

The pack was too easily fooled by Theo

You know I love Stiles but like.... Scott is the best character on that entire fucking show and I will die on that hill!!

I honestly didn’t like Stalia... like I feel like they could have been a good ship but I really hated how it started.  If it had started after Eichen when they were both like... actually themselves and in better mental states and more capable of consent then I probably would have been on board but the Eichen stuff just made me so uncomfortable that I couldn’t get on board

Scira >> Scallison any and every day baby

She did like... I mean I get forgiving her easily in s1 (I don’t agree but I get that there was a whole thing about how Kate was the person introducing her to the supernatural world and she didn’t know that Scott was a werewolf and all of that) but s2 Allison just... fucked up on so many counts and in so many ways and never really got held accountable?  and Derek’s dislike of Allison always felt like it was just “oh she’s an Argent” even though like??? also she shot at his pack, is responsible for Erica and Boyd getting tortured (and possibly their deaths — would they have gotten captured by the alpha pack if they hadn’t been stopped originally?), and just consistently hurt various members of the pack and then it was just like “oh she went away for the summer now everything is okay” and I hated it

Boyd did not need to die!!  and like... even if someone wanted to argue that he did, he deserved a better death.  If he needed to leave the show, he deserved to get his own closure and decide to leave Beacon Hills like he and Erica had initially planned.

I liked Cora as a character but I think that she really needed to be the focus of a season and not just thrown in for like... 12 episodes or whatever it was.  There’s so much that could have been done with her (and granted, Derek giving up his alpha powers for his family was a great character moment for him) but between Scott’s true alpha plot, the alpha pack, and the darach, it always felt like she was getting rushed along so they could focus on other characters.  If they weren’t going to give her the attention and development that she needed (and deserved), then I think they shouldn’t have bothered with including her

Parrish, Kira, and Noshiko were the most supernaturally powerful characters on the show 1000% — however, Sheriff Stilinski raised Stiles (alone for 8 years) without going completely insane so like.... that’s the ultimate power

I feel like Lydia’s powers could have all been fine if they’d been better introduced, but by the end I was always feeling like they were just throwing powers at her depending on what was needed for the plot.  If they’d established that “these are powers that banshees have and here’s why”, I could have lived with it (though also I’m biased bc I love her lmao) but the feeling of “oh no we’re stuck wait hey lydia has a power for that” just... took a lot of the stakes away for me

AGREED!!!  Like... this is a traumatized pack who’ve been betrayed and fucked over and tricked enough times that complete unwavering trust in someone they barely know just... no thanks.  Like I get why it’s in character for Scott to give everyone a million chances, don’t get me wrong, but I really feel like (especially after Void!Stiles), it felt very ooc

[skania]

Some Stranger Things Vol 2 Thoughts

Predictably enough, I’ve ended up with more thoughts than intended, so I figured I may as well write them here so I don’t forget them by the time S5 comes out.

I need to start by saying that I haven’t been impressed with the writing since S3. S3 was full of “misses” for me, and the “hits” were very few and far in-between. A few of those problems are still present in S4 - and they are entirely to blame for most of the stuff that didn’t land for me, but all in all I genuinely enjoyed S4 more than S3.

Spoilers for the entirety of S4 below the cut!

What I liked, in no particular order:

- Lucas & Max. I didn’t care about their budding relationship in S2, and I definitely didn’t care about them in S3 either since all we were told is that they argue a lot and then make up. However, S4 knocked it out of the park with them and I enjoyed every single scene they shared. They were SO good.

- Lucas. PLEASE I’ve been waiting for Lucas to go back to his S1 glory since forever, and he finally did. He was such a joy to watch. BLESS.

- Erica. She was a bit too much last season, but this season they struck the right balance and she stole the show. I love the kid.

- Eleven. I've always been kind of indifferent to her, but this season got me caring and they got me caring A LOT. This poor girl has been through SO much and she is always doing her best. If she sacrifices herself next season, I'll be really disappointed. She deserves better.  

- Mike & Eleven. Another ship I've always been indifferent about, but I felt for them this season. I actually found Mike’s inner conflict believable and understandable. I’m also hoping he won’t sacrifice himself for Eleven in S5, because at this point these two kids have earned their happy ending.

- Hopper. Thank GOD Hopper is back to being himself. I'll just pretend S3 never happened. 

- Jonathan & Will. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jonathan is at his best whenever he has meaningful scenes with Will. He is an excellent brother and I loved every single minute Vol 2 spent showing it.  

- Will & Eleven. They are SO sweet I wish we had gotten more of them.

- Robin & Vickie. I am confident they're going to get a happy ending and I'm 100% here for it. They're adorable. Although it kind of feels like Robin would be sort of dating herself, so hopefully they differentiate their personalities a bit more in S5 lol

 - The single most surprising thing about this season for me is... I didn't mind Murray. I even found him funny. For once. I usually roll my eyes every time he's on the screen, but this time Yuri got that honor. BOY was Yuri unbearable lmao

 Lastly and most importantly:

- Dustin. This kid still owns my heart, I can't possibly love him more than I do. Another perfect season for him. It’s funny because Mike is supposed to be “the heart”, but when you look at the series as a whole, for me the heart is clearly Dustin.

- Steve & Robin. Their friendship is everything. I wish they had been able to form a little unit with Eddie and Dustin, alas.

- Dustin & Eddie. HIS SECOND DAD. I LOVE THEM. It’s funny because while I was watching them in Vol 2, I got the feeling that Dustin is going to grow up to become exactly what Eddie was to him. He will be the figure that, by being unapologetically himself, will feel other outcasts feel welcome, seen and accepted. They were SO funny, together, too.

- EDDIE. Best character addition since Bob to be honest, so of course I was expecting him to meet the same fate. He would have been so, so ridiculously good with Steve, Dustin and Robin in Season 5. I knew they would take him away, but I still hate that it happened.

- EDDIE & CHRISSY. WE GOT ROBBED.

Now, the stuff that I didn’t quite like:

- Eddie's fate. Literally Bob all over again. A pointless death that was just there for shock value and to make us cry. I can’t believe that Eddie would decide to stop running right when he SHOULD have ran. It felt so hollow, too, because despite the show continuously making Eddie repeat that he sees himself as a coward, he never felt that way to me. His reactions were completely normal. Honestly, it was kind of a forced character-arc so that Dustin could lose an older-brother figure that isn’t Steve. Which I wouldn’t have minded so much if only losing Eddie wasn’t such big wated potential.

- Lack of Steve & Dustin. They set up a small conflict between them and it never got resolved. Steve obviously wants to be someone Dustin looks up to, so Dustin being 10 steps ahead of him intellectually makes Steve feel insecure. Yet, we just get Eddie telling Steve that Dustin thinks the world of him... and that’s that. You’d think Steve and Dustin would’ve been allowed to have a conversation, specially so that Steve could admit to Dustin that he was a little jealous of Eddie but that he now sees why Dustin likes the guy so much. But nope, nothing. They barely exchange a word with each other throughout S2. They really should have absorbed Steve into the Dustin & Eddie dynamic instead of sticking Steve with Nancy.  

- Steve confessing to Nancy. Just why. Steve was doing so well, thanking Nancy and acknowledging their S2 arc. The convo should’ve stopped right there, or at worst, right after Steve wondering if they would’ve worked out if they had met now. That bit should have been followed with a “I guess it’s for the best, though. You have Jonathan now, and I kind of have my six nuggets.”. They could have even followed that with Nancy going “Steve, I...” only for Robin to interrupt them. That way it would have been 100% open ended and no one would’ve stepped onto each other’s toes. Instead they literally made Steve confess to her while Nancy is still with Jonathan. That feels like such a betrayal of everything Steve has gone through, he would’ve never done that to Jonathan knowing he himself has been in Jonathan’s shoes before.

- Steve’s screentime revolving around Nancy. WHY did they do my boy so dirty? Whoever said we need him to have a love interest at all? And what was even that speech about the 6 kids? Like I get it was supposed to be a cute nudge to the fact that he, essentially, is the babysitter of 6 kids and we all love him for it. But they should’ve realized that line wouldn’t be well received, specially not when said to Nancy out of all people. People are already twisting it into Steve wanting Nancy to be a stay at home wife. Why couldn’t they have chosen a smaller number like 2 so people would’ve been more inclined to take it a face value and let it slide. Like, I know Steve is a fan favorite, but they need to be careful with how they write him. I personally absolutely want him to stay that way lol

- Nancy's romances. Please just let the girl be single. She can't end every other season lying to her boyfriend and acting like things are fine, while she may or may not thinking of another guy. Come on.

- Will's feelings for Mike. I just want the kid to be happy. They could've chosen ANYONE to inspire Will's self-discovery, but of course it had to be a straight boy who already has his own OTP. I honestly feel like they went for it because the fandom has been wanting it to happen for so long, but this way no one wins. Will is stuck having unrequited feelings for a boy who is already taken, Mike gets demonized because he doesn’t have the emotional awareness to catch onto it and address it appropriately, Mike/Eleven gets trashed as the straight ship standing in the way of a queer romance, and those who do ship Mike and Will still don’t get their ship. It’s just lose/lose all around. I really wish poor Will had been allowed to fall for someone else, I’m so tired of seeing the poor kid suffer.

That said, I genuinely hope the D&D brothers won’t be tone-deaf enough to give Eleven a tragic ending in S5, and then have Mike end up with Will once she’s out of the picture. I genuinely feel like they’re not very good at writing romance and at realizing what things just don’t reflect well on their characters (the Jonathan/Nancy/Steve love triangle being the prime example of it), so I wouldn’t put it past them.

All in all, I’m definitely tuning in for S5, but I’m still as unimpressed with the writing when it comes to romances/new character introductions only to kill them off lol

[sterek]

If you had the power to change teen wolf, what would be the 10 things you would change in the show?

Only 10?? Lmao

Sterek. I would obviously make it canonically romantic, but I could stop at just not separating them in a desperate effort to no-homo their dynamic and the show would already turn out a thousand times better;

LEAVE DEREK ALONE. Seriously, they hurt him so much just because Jeff is an asshole who wanted us to hate Derek but didn’t know how to write. There was so much gratuitous pain inflicted upon Derek. Also: stop with the gross objectification. My boy deserved SO much better;

No true alpha plot line, at all;

Make the Hales the main focus of the show and the Hale-Argent war the main conflict;

Give Lydia the attention she deserved instead of constantly relegating her to the sideline and messing up her story over and over again (and follow it by respecting Kira like she deserved too);

Not add new main characters after Kira. We were good with just my girl;

Not kill Boyd and Erica. I’m still so bitter about that. The Hale pack 2.0 could have achieved so much. SO MUCH;

No more Kate after s1 FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. NO MORE. Enough was enough;

Stiles would have been canonically bisexual under my watch and not just baited over and over again with no real payoff;

No more token queer characters (and characters of color). Teen Wolf excelled at tokenism despite of how hard they tried to paint themselves as progressive. “Town free of homophobia” my ass!

Can I keep going? lol it’s been a while since I’ve publicly hated on tw, this is exciting!

[rescue-ram]

Scott/Jean, Scott/Logan and Logan/Jean for the ship bingo :D

You will note none of these have the aesthetic box checked, because none of these are particularly compelling on a visual level to me- nevertheless they make me COMPLETELY INSANE ♥️

Scott/Jean

MI AMORS. The only conflicting factor is that 90% of my favorite Scott/Jean moments that had me frothing at the mouth when I first read them have been retconned to be between Scott and the Phoenix Force so that's awkward lmao but no, they're SO GOOD, I love them so much, they compliment each other really well and they are SO SO MESSY GOD BLESS like I can't explain it, I love them both as sugar sweet OTP babies and as messy twice divorced middle aged disasters, I love them best at their relationships extremes and they have been through SO MUCH together, not to mention they canonically have sooooo muchhhh of the weird cringe shit I love in OTPs (telepathic bonds! mutual pining! dying for the one you love! killing the one you love!) Scean is good good shit, but I have not found a lot of good good Scean fiction (though I have found some!) and have been tragically underinspired to write some myself... Maybe someday. Anyways, I love them ♥️

Scott/Logan

MI OTRO AMORS ♥️. It genuinely took me a while to get into this ship- for a long while I literally only read it because Scott was my fave and I was DESPERATE for Scott centric stories. I fell in love with them as the inverse of Scean- if Scean is rooted in the characters closeness and the drama comes from division, Scogan sets them as diametrically opposed and the catharsis comes in the moments when they see they're more alike then they are different. The Scean moment that had me running around showing shitty scans to everyone I knew was the Plateau Sex Scene (the layers!! The trust!! The vulnerability!!) and, by contrast, the Scogan moment that straight up converted me, werewolf style, from begrudgingly reading Scogan for lack of anything better to read to frothing at the mouth and howling at the moon that I SHIP IT was the epilogue of AvX when Scott asked Logan to murder him (THE LAYERS!! THE TRUST!! THE VULNERABILITY!!!!!!) God it genuinely makes me insane. He knew he was going to die and wanted it to be done by someone who cared!! I'm literally nauseous just thinking about it! They make me sick, I love them! So yeah, Scogan has a lot of shit I find uncompelling- the bullying is obnoxious, I hate when Scott is written as a stick to make Logan cool, I also hate when their relationship is flattened to make it more conventionally shippy- but what IS compelling makes me want to walk into the sea and I LONG for a comic arc to truly Go There with these two and give us the deranged canon relationship we all deserve to bear witness to

Jean/Logan

The thing with Jean/Logan is- I get it. I truly do- both from the Doylist perspective of why others might ship them, and from the Watsonian understanding of why the characters are attracted to each other. That mutual attraction and the conflict around it is an important part of their dynamics, I would not do away with it! But it is lacking that je ne c'est quoi, except I can c'est quoi, because that's Scott. Like, without Scott there, it's just generic romance novel dynamics to me, which I get and think interesting stories could be told around, but is just not for me dawg. I also really like fics where Jean and Logan have settled into a platonic relationship, knowing they'll never act on their attraction, and some of the other axes they align on can be explored.

I realized I just said I only like Jean/Logan when they're actively cucking Scott and am laughing at myself because that's ridiculous, but it's true. They need to reenact that Erica Moen comic or nothing baybee 🤣 Slightly more charitable is just admitting these three have been my trash OT3 since age 12 when I watched the movies and I can't imagine Jean/Logan apart from that, but I'll stick to laughing at myself

[badmoon--rising]

Ice Pick

Oh no.... not this scene :( Allison your family is a cult I’m so sorry

The Argents really said how much can we traumatize and destroy Allison

Allison’s theme fucks though, it’s a good song

Rip dude

I’m sorry. Why did this show have to be called teen wolf....

Scott you’re so cute

I love all of Erica’s rings and piercings. She’s always been badass

Weird of like, everyone to be watching Erica in concern all quiet and worried and then two seconds later they’re all laughing at her. Like, sometimes high schoolers aren’t THAT cruel

YESSSS THE TRANS STILES LOCKER ROOM SCENE >:))))) thank you trans ally Scott ❤️

Melissaaaaaa :’) you’re such a mom I love you

Yeah we’re just gonna skip the creepy Derek scene. He’s written so weird this season it’s like he’s a completely different dude :/

Lydia’s makeup is so weird in this season she doesn’t look like herself at all

Jackson I hate you never yell at Lydia again I’ll kill you

Oh yeah we’re also gonna completely skip the young Peter hallucination sideplot bc I hate it and it makes me sick so when I never talk about it or acknowledge it that’s why

BOYD!!!!!!!!! HAAAAIIII him eating the whole dorito SNDJSJFK

HIS SMILE!!!! BOYD I MISSED YOU SM

Hi Erica you’re beautiful and evil

Derek’s stupid smile

:) Dr. Deaton youre such a wonderful and comforting man

SNSNDKSKFK I LOVE SCOTTS SMILE SO MUCH THIS EPISODE IS GOOD

Sorry Stiles Lydia’s a lesbian

AAAAAAAA THE ICE SKATING DATE 💕💕💕💕 THIS SCENE IS SO SWEET THEYRE JUST FRIENDS HAVING FUN!!! AND THIS CUTE AS FUCK SONG!!! THE LOVE IN THIS HOUSE :’))))

Scott is so cute ugh. Why is this episode pure serotonin

Aaaaaand then the madness begins

“Two’s not enough for Derek, I know he needs at least three” LMAOOOOO DRAG HIS ASS SCOTT!!!!!

:( no more neurodivergent misery being our only representation plz. I’m sorry Erica...

God. Victoria is so extremely fucked up and she was married INTO the Argent family. How much brainwashing did they put her through where she just slices open her arm like that AND THATS THE FIRST THING SHE THINKS OF DOING TO GET CHECKED OUT BY MELISSA....... LIKE....... FUCK.

“I don’t want you to be normal, I want you to be alive.” :(

WE GET IT STILES YOU LOVE HIM. This scene is really cute though, Scott deserves everything

Also can I just say that this is literally how queer people joke with each other. There’s no straight explanation for this, Stiles is bi

Chris really is trying to save Jackson though. He doesn’t want to kill kids :(((

I love Erica’s crazy eyes >:)

Boyd.......... you deserve so much better

Hi Isaac ❤️ oh and season 2 Derek :/

Scott’s really looking at Isaac like “after all we’ve been through....”

Honestly, I love the silent fight and then Iron kicks in at the end. It seriously goes.

Derek what the fuck is wrong with you

GODDDDD BOYD SAYING HE WANTS TO BE LIKE SCOTT..... YEAH.......... YEAH

Lmao Erica threw Stiles in a whole dumpster sndnskfkg good for her, but also Stiles no agency motif continues

I’m sorry Jackson I still don’t care about your problems