#ew now if i edit after posting which i Often do i also have to edit it on ao3 ldksghljsdf

[p0rk-guts]

Tentative final design for Charlie! yes I low-key abandoned the poll results but there's elements there. Really happy with this ^ - ^ design breakdown below👇🏾

I have a plethora of notes on my redesign Charlie's character and personality, but we'll skim over that for now and focus on their design. Og Charlie is supposed to be inspired by or themed after a porcelain doll I think? But it doesn't really come across without being directly told, which we aren't. Also I think her legs are supposed to be goat legs but they look normal as hell. Overall she just looks very basic. Her human edits just change like 3 little details and she becomes some white girl. Not giving "princess of hell" very much.

I wanted to base my Charlie off of a Chimera bc lions represent pride (Lucifer's sin), goats are often associated with the devil, and a snake was the form Lucifer took in the garden of Eden. Perfect thematic storm. I gave them dark hair that gradients into blonde (it's natural because this is fiction and also hell) to represent a lion's mane as chimeras have lion heads. I also gave her various goat features bc they're also part goat, as well as a snake tail like like chimeras have. The snake is like an extension of her subconscious, not its own consciousness, but Charlie often talks to it as if it were.

I wanted to give them shapes that'd allude to their angelic roots through Lucifer as well like with the ears and horns. They're also dark skinned because Lilith— as the first woman— was also dark skinned. Still debating what I want Lucifer to be and look like. Also I didn't draw her with her mouth open here but her teeth still look pretty much the same as they do originally

I really. don't like og Charlie's outfit. Logically. At a distance it looks fine, but under closer inspection it's just kinda weird and ugly. Why does her white turtleneck have buttons? If it's tucked into her pants, why are her pants so low waisted? If it's not tucked in and she wears it over her pants (ew), where's the middle seam? Her whole midsection just looks awkward and ugly to me. And the burgundy cuffs under her blazer?? Where do they come from???

She's a huge musical theatre nerd who's (supposedly) older than the Victorian era itself so I leaned into that and gave her old English and concert conductor inspired attire. I imagine Lucifer liked dressing them in similar old timey outfits. She wears a slightly simplified or toned down version of the style because she doesn't like overstating her status; she wants to come off as approachable and normal (but still kinda falls short of this with her inclination to bold clothing and her general off-putting nature)

Aaalright that's time! I wanna make another post abt her eventually bc I reworked her character a lot and I wanna yell about it. But later. Once again as a gift for (maybe) reading all the way through I offer some supplementary doodles

More hair options I liked but just wasn't sold on

And some sleepy Charlie's! Aka sleepwear redesign. Love the big bonnet with the cute little bow<3 Also if you noticed yes i did she/they her she's somewhere on the genderqueer/nonbinary spectrum now<3

And let me reiterate bc someone didn't get it last time!

[kuiinncedes]

come morning light

another shadowhunter au oneshot time lol 🤪 this is directly related to my last one “and you knew what it was” (takes place before it) but you don’t necessarily need to read that first (it might make this one make more sense tho there’s like more background i guess kinda lol 😋)

kinda angsty mostly hurt/comfort-y and it is a shadowhunter fic so there’s a little bit of description of violence and injury but nothing graphic

title from “safe and sound” by taylor swift

also as always lmk if anyone wants any shadowhunter things to be explained :]

the full fic is under the cut and also on ao3!!! :DDD ahhh the first new fic i’m posting on tumblr and ao3 at the same time lol 🤪

--

“I’m fine,” Tina manages to say, teeth clenched and hand pressed to her side.

“You’re very much not,” Kurt says, all but dragging her over to a corner alley, out of the way of demons. “Don’t even try to pretend.” 

“What are you - I need to be out there - ”

“Getting yourself killed is not going to help Quinn,” Kurt hisses, but not unkindly, gripping Tina’s arms -- not too tightly, he hopes. He feels the tension in her muscles give in under his hands and then a sob bursts out of her like she can’t control it, and her hands shoot up to cover her mouth. The sobs tear out and part of Kurt’s mind thinks, finally, because, fuck, Kurt knows.

He recognizes this, recognizes it in Tina, but also recognizes it because he’s been so close to it himself lately. He’s been there. 

He helps Tina stand up against the wall, scribbling a quick iratze below her collarbone and watching for the demons because, by the Angel --

“Now is not a good time for this, babe,” he whispers gently, mostly to himself. He adds an amissio rune beside the iratze just in case; he didn’t get to see how deep the cut went, or if there was poison or anything, in which case it will be a much bigger problem. Thank the Angel that his rune-drawing has always been perfect, even when he’s barely looking and just scratching them out as quickly as humanly possible. 

“Stay here,” he says, and he knows Tina would object if she could, but Kurt really just needs to get rid of these demons as soon as fucking possible because there are fucking mundanes nearby and it’s so hard to keep track of everything when he feels the same, when he feels like he’s unraveling and has been for the last two days --

But Quinn is okay, he has to remind himself before he can start spiraling too. The parabatai bond doesn’t lie. He can feel it.

So the demons. 

Luckily, it’s a relatively common, relatively mindless brand of demon -- Kurt never knows the species off the top of his head, doesn’t care enough to memorize them except for the really dangerous ones -- and he’s able to surprise them, taking two out right off the bat. The other three give him some trouble, and he very nearly misses what would’ve been a more than somewhat painful strike but he gets away almost unscathed. A check on his Sensor that there aren’t any more demons in the immediate area, a check around him to make sure everything was well-glamoured and no mundanes saw anything of note, a quick iratze while he’s doing that and he’s back to Tina, who doesn’t look much different.

It’s not the first time Kurt’s had to help Tina calm down when the stress -- the everything -- gets too much and it just bursts out. It is the first time it’s happened in a situation that was so high-stress itself, so that was a little harrowing, but since that part’s over now, thankfully… 

He talks to her about their newest design ideas, which had screeched to somewhat of a halt because of Quinn, but they still float around in his head and he takes them out at night, modifies and deletes and creates and designs until he can fall asleep, so he catches Tina up on what he’s been doing with them. He talks about dumb stories of himself and Quinn when they were younger, training together to be parabatai and sparring when neither of them knew how to spar and they nearly killed each other, whether from incompetence or later, from overcharged feelings and tension during arguments. He talks about everything and nothing until Tina’s sobs have turned into slow breaths and an air of defeat.

Kurt takes her hand and stops talking. He’s not quite on the level of Mercedes or even Quinn in being able to tell what Tina needs right now, so he just waits. They have time; he assumes she probably wasn’t planning on getting much sleep tonight, anyway. Neither was he.

Tina calms down and opens her mouth to speak, taking a little breath, but Kurt interrupts, “If you’re about to say ‘sorry,’ forget about it.” Tina freezes and he smiles a little. 

She ducks her head with a breathy laugh. “Okay,” she whispers.

Kurt stands up and offers his hand. “Come on,” he says. “Let’s get some food to eat while watching a dumb cheesy movie instead of sleeping to take our minds off of the shitshow that is life as a Shadowhunter.”

“That sounds nice,” Tina says with a wince as she gets up, hand hovering back over her injured side that Kurt all but forgot about until now. Before she can say anything, he draws another iratze by the faded scar from the first one. 

“Better?” he asks after a moment, already prepared to immediately have to either draw another or pull out his phone to call Mike or the Silent Brothers. 

Tina nods, shooting him a grateful smile. “Thank you.” Kurt can hear the weight of everything she’s including in the statement; he smiles back at her.

[asexualone]

(pls take the time to read)

Signs I should have known I was aro: Disney edition

I think this topic has been stressed a lot already. But here is my take, anyway.

Of course, romantic love had been, is and will always be one of the main themes in kids' movies. Why, I can never fully understand. I'll explain below how I like other themes more.

Some time ago, I did a post on the kiss/hug scenes in Rapunzel which depicts how much more I value acts of showing love that don't include kissing.

Not only those two. I have a history of hating Disney on-screen smooches. As a kid, I thought, "Well, maybe, I don't like seeing these characters kiss because it's a grownup thing."

Could you blame me? When my parents were in the room and a kissing scene appeared on the screen, they changed the channel. So my toddler brain concluded that the reason I didn't like watching kisses was because I wasn't of age to like it. Or something.

At the time, I had no idea that I was hand-picking my favorite movies by the level of romance they had in. Or lack thereof. And I was a very judgemental kid. Let's go through my original thoughts on some Disney classics.

Snow White — No. Just no. She's a child, fourteen. Marrying an older guy she doesn't even know. After he kisses her corpse. NO.

Cinderella — The age difference is a little better, I guess. So is the age of consent. But they only talked one (1) night and he relied on that slipper to find her instead of asking to meet all women and see for himself. Fairytale logic I guess. I didn't like how she called it love immediately and kissed the prince at least once that same night. Or how they got married immediately.

The Sleeping Beauty — Must I even explain? Aurora didn't even know Philip that much, had only met him once (if you exclude the "dreams"). And yet, he's her true love, the only one who can revive her corpse. Ridiculous. And yes, kissing a comatose body, ew. Also, the arranged marriage trope pisses me off, royalty or not. Aurora was engaged as a newborn baby, come on.

Mulan — Cinematic gold. I didn't know it back then, but the fact that romantic love is such a pushed-aside aspect in this movie gives me life. The songs give me life. Especially when the trio dresses as concubines and "Be a Man" plays in the background. An absolute gem, lmao. The sequel however ruined the story somewhat for me, too much lovey-dovey stuff. I like Mulan more when she's fighting than when she's acting all sappy towards Shang, sorry not sorry.

Peter Pan — Loved it, still do. But I did dislike the mermaids, the image of fangirls who are petty towards other girls. And Pan's brief "relationship" with Tiger Lily was nauseating to me. I couldn't explain it but when Pan blushed at her nose-nuzzling thing, I always pulled a face.

The Princess and the Frog — In my opinion, (remember, always my opinion): Tiana, this hard-working girl who doesn't belong to anyone, was lost to love. Well, not lost. But falling for Naveen in the course of three days? Unrealistic and kinda unnecessary. Sweet, but still. I adored the "relationship" between Ray and Evangeline more. Either way, it's a movie that I enjoyed when love wasn't that prominent on screen.

Aladdin — I love this movie because of the Genie. The relationship between Jasmine and Aladdin is meh. She forgot his face and didn't recognize him until later. Their coming together is a lot like that trope "first guy who treats her right sets the expectations and wins her heart". Usually that's a thing, not only in Disney movies but media in general. The female lead settles for the first guy that treats her right because the bar is that low. A good movie, all in all. Love how Jasmine stands up for herself at least. Not a lot of princesses fight against the objectification of women.

Pocahontas — I used to hate this movie. I didn't sit right with me: the racism in it, the manipulation, the murders. And the romance, yes. Pocahontas fell for the strange man who tickled her curiosity in the span of two days. I also hated how her father just sold her to marry Kocoum like that. I know it's tradition. Heck, that's a tradition that still goes on in my country. Maybe that's why I didn't like seeing it on screen. And Pocahontas doesn't even end up with John Smith. The second movie definitely ruined the story. So yes, she's the first princess who fell for a man in three days, TWICE. Needless to say, only the songs kept me from blacklisting the movie entirely.

The Little Mermaid — I actually loved this movie for some reason. I can't explain why, maybe it was my obsession with mermaids. Yeah, that was probably it. But I was pissed when Ariel exchanged her tail for legs. Not to mention human periods and overall, all the bad in the world, for a man she'd only seen once. As I grew up I realized just how f*cked up that story was: Ariel giving her entire lifestyle, family and identity up for a guy she hadn't even spoken to. I don't know why I loved that movie, alright? Hell I still do a little. The sequel too. Say what you want.

Brave — (I know this is technically Pixar, shut up) Much like the paradox with Ariel, I didn't like this movie. I can't explain it. Maybe because Merida wasn't the typical Disney princess I had been used to seeing. Now though, I ADORE that story. No, it's not because Merida knows archery... Okay, yes maybe a little. I love the aro-arrow word play, alright? Anyway, the way Merida fights against being shipped to a husband like the "tradition" I aforementioned asks her to, has always had my heart, even when I didn't like the movie. The focus on the mother-daughter relationship is special, I love it. Stellar movie.

Tangled — One of my favorite Disney movies, my favorite princess. But her relationship with Eugene.... Well. Again, three days. That's all it takes to fall in love. Classic of Disney. Not only that, but Eugene is literally the first man person Raps has ever since, besides Gothel. The bar is nonexistent for her, she would have fallen for anyone. He lied to her and she still... Well, I won't stress that any longer. Their relationship in the end is sweet, one of the few cases where we are actually shown that they would risk their lives to save each other. Respect that. Mostly, I love her magical hair and Pascal. And the guys of Snuggly Duckling.

Moana — EPIC MOVIE. The story, the culture, the character growth, the plot twist, everything! Loved it at first sight, at second and forever. Even more when I became aware that there's no romance in it. I don't think I need to say more.

Frozen — My opinions on this movie have always been changing, accompanied by mixed feelings. So the relationship between sisters was cute, but Lilo and Stitch made that more realistic. Anna's relationship with Hans, ugh. I think that for a long time I used the fact that he was the antagonist to justify my absolute hate for the way Anna "fell" for him in one evening. Again, Anna sweetheart. This is the first man you've met. The bar is nonexistent for you too. God bless Elsa for forbidding her to marry Hans. And while it's cute to think Elsa as a lesbian, she has aromantic vibes. Sorry not sorry, but she's also a God by the end of Frozen 2. Gods are beyond attraction, I said what I said.

Raya and the Last Dragon — Loved it, still do. Say what you will about "dragon Elsa". Sisu is her own character, and I adore her. And yes, I love the lack of romance in the movie. Make no mistake, I shipped Raya and Namaari from the first moment they smiled at each other. I swear on my name that I paused the movie and screamed, GAYYYY, at the top of my lungs. Luckily, I was home alone. If only Disney directors would do the right fcking thing and give me a queer main couple!! I swear I wouldn't mind the lovey-dovey romance one bit.

Of course, I've left dozens of movies out. This post is already way longer than I wanted it to be. But I think that was enough to make a point.

While I'm not romance-repulsed, seeing animated kisses (and unnecessary relationships) on screen makes me uncomfortable. As a child and as a grownup. It just doesn't sit right with me. Not to mention all these princesses who identify with their princes and specifically their relationships with said princes when they're perfect on their. Wreck it Ralph 2 made them a favor, I think, by making them work together and showing their strengths. Another movie I love.

Friendship just makes an overall better theme to apply to kids shows, my opinion. Family, work, self-discovery, mental health, happiness. These are all better themes to portray in media dedicated for children. Which is, again, my opinion.

And yes, Disney has been getting better. They've fixed the age difference and the age of consent. The female characters no longer depend on the male ones, at least not as often. They understand the assignment, alright. There are still many questionable things about Disney's reputation though, things we all choose to overlook for the sake of the good movies. But who knows? They might change. Hopefully soon we'll also have an obviously queer couple in a movie. Hope dies last.

[yvesdot]

Since that zine got all the stretch goals reached, will you be releasing that vampire as liberation essay? I wanted to buy that zine so bad, but my own financial issues came up at the same time so I couldn't. But, I'd love to read the essay.

Good question! And my apologies for being silent on this-- though I asked about the orders (WE HIT 100!!!) shortly after the sales closed, I've been so busy that I haven't had time to look over the essay (originally written for a university class [ew]) yet. Since I work so sporadically, I didn't want to give a specific date and risk not meeting it.

Also, don't worry about not being able to buy the zine! I completely understand. I personally bought two extra copies so that people who know or meet me IRL might be able to buy one in the future if they weren't able to do so this run. Something Weird I Heard About Rebecca will ALSO go up for free on this blog once the zines have been shipped and are arriving with buyers, so don't worry—you'll still be able to read the story!

It's also really sweet of you to express interest; I often have no idea who is reading my work (or whether anyone is) so every ask like this is a big flare in the night, letting me know that readers are out there! I also know how intimidating it can be to send in asks, so another big thank you for inquiring (●´ω｀●)

tl;dr it's going to happen ASAP and thank you for asking!

However, if you want to hear more...

Disclaimer that this is not to make you feel guilty about my having a lot of work!! I just want to clarify what on Earth I've been doing this week to make it so busy. I will admit that some of my being 'behind' on things is due to a few days of sheer terror over unexpectedly testing positive for COVID (despite being a/low-symptomatic, thank God). Also, I just enjoy talking about my writing, so there's no pressure to read this if you're not interested in Everything I Am Working On Right Now.

With that said, if you are interested, here's the current list of priorities.

Patreon gets planned in advance and executed the week each post is 'due'. Done with everything for this month but the Newsletter, which I won't have to worry about for a week now (until the 24th, basically).

HOUSE RAINIER is a Choose Your Own Adventure x RPG x word crawl event I am running for Camp NaNo. I know from experience that I need to finish writing it ASAP, or I will not have time to get feedback or edit it by the time Camp begins... and I need all of it to be done, 100%, by the time I run the event. So I am finishing that this Sunday or Monday, if all goes well.

Patterned Seats and In Her Arms critique. I got critique on Patterned Seats this last week. I got critique on In Her Arms... let's not talk about that right now. The point is, I never organized these into usable feedback documents, so I have to do that before every individual feedback letter immolates itself.

YOU ARE HERE! The Vampire As Liberation. This is next on the list. Tragically, HOUSE RAINIER is a 20-page document, and the critique thing is moving slowly as a result.

LIT198A-02 students, put your hands up! I'm teaching a creative writing class, and I wrote a demo outline to show people... how to outline. Now I have to look it over, ensure it's readable, and figure out whether it's too long to assign as reading (vs. assigning some portions). This is 'due' by January 24th.

I recently got edits back on a piece submitted to a magazine, and they want another draft back in ~2 weeks. So: roughly before February begins.

I'm also in a workshop. Aren't I always? For this one, I'm writing a piece called Lend a Hand, Or a Knife, because we are writing fresh new things for workshop. This is the first time I have ever mentioned it on this blog. Fortunately, it's only a bit at a time, so I can work around it.

I'm still reformatting Exhaustively for print, and I recently hit a stumbling block with the subjectivity of How To Format. This is not a priority in the sense that it has to happen in some time frame, but I promised it to Max @goose-books, so I am going to get it done. Making books takes time...

Does anyone remember Forest Castles? I haven't edited it in a really long time—over a month, what with December's housekeeping and January's rush with the COVID and the sudden Camp NaNo planning.

I never finished the KAY outline. I worked on it during #10Kin1Day, and I got a lot done (10,000 words!), but there's still more to do. I'd like to do it. You can probably imagine from this list why I haven't done it...

I also wanted to edit my WIP pages to make them more comprehensible and accessible, and I have some pieces to submit hanging around my Drive. I even know where to submit them-- I just haven't had a minute to sit down and send them out! Hyeek!

I'm also realizing this schedule might look a little daunting... it doesn't feel that way! At least, it does not feel negatively daunting. It feels inspiring! I've got a big mountain to climb, which is just the way I like it. If you'd like to see me chip away at all this, come by a Twitch stream!

And, on behalf of everyone who might have been wondering what I've been working on lately but was too afraid to ask... thank you for asking!

[adrenaline-whump]

Thanks for the tag @thatsgonnaleaveamark !  

1. Why did you choose your url?

It’s a play on “adrenaline dump” - basically when you're startled by something scary/bad happening and your body gives you all the adrenaline at once.

2. Any side-blogs? If you have them, name them and why you have them. 

Yep, I’ve got a few, though they’re not very active. [Edit: updated URLs] I’ve got @drensfavorites which I use to reblog/save long posts, there’s @drens-writing-reference for writing reference posts, @vertical-shift is an aesthetic blog, and then one called @exhaleandsettle where I save things to look at when stressed out.

3. How long have you been on Tumblr?

Started this blog on December 30, 2017, though I was lurking for a while before that.

4. Do you have a queue tag?

Just “q”.  

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I was SO excited to find the whump community!  I did a little lurking but I knew pretty fast that I wanted to participate.  

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

Joel Kinnaman’s character in Altered Carbon is pretty much my ideal whumpee. He’s strong and capable, but he’s up against equally tough opponents. He always seems to be simmering with resentment or anger, but that’s partly to cover up the emotional pain he’s struggling with. Also he looks great with bruises!

7. Why did you choose your header?

Tbh I just wanted a good whumpy picture, and I always like the aesthetic of a whumper tilting a whumpee’s chin up.

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

Technically this one about the fighter & the rescued kid, although I never know if I should count it since the addition is so good, it really increased the visibility & reach.  Other than that one, this post about whumpee types is probably the one with the most notes.

9. How many mutuals do you have?

Hmm, I wish there was an easier way to figure that out.  A fast scroll through the followers list says about 25.

10. How many followers do you have?

1360.

11. How many people do you follow?

89, and nearly all whump blogs. I really should follow more people, but since this is my main, I worry about people thinking “ew, why is a whump blog following me?” Social anxiety strikes again, lol.

12. Have you ever made a shitpost?

You know, I don’t think so. 

13. How often do you use Tumblr each day?

It’s the first thing I open in the morning, haha. Right now, work is super busy so I’m just checking a couple of times during the day and in the evening after dinner.

14. Did you have a fight/argument with another blog once?  Who won?

Nah, I prefer to avoid drama. More than once I’ve written out a whole response to something that annoyed me, then deleted it and moved on.  

15. How do you feel about “you need to reblog this” posts?

Even if I agree with the sentiment being expressed, that type of post strikes me as manipulative and a little rude. 

16. Do you like tag games?

Yes, but I have a spotty track record, lol. I promise, if you tag me in something and I don’t do it, the most likely scenario is that I went “Yay, I got tagged! I should do this thing!” and promptly got distracted and forgot about it.

17. Do you like ask games?

In theory, yes, although I’ve never reblogged one for myself.

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

I think all of my mutuals are whump blogs, and I don’t think any of us are really tumblr famous. We have our own happy little bubble over here.

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

If we’re defining crush as someone that makes you go all heart-eyes-and-blushing, nah, but platonic/affectionate feelings, sure.  :)

20. Tags?

I’ve already seen others tag everyone I would tag, haha.  If you are reading this and want to do it, I tag YOU.

[theskullton]

I don’t like the Witch Episode

Note: (This is a copypasta I made and have posted a few other places. I’m bored (and have a headache) so I’m just going to copy and paste it here)

I don't like this episode. It's not because Frida is the witch instead of Hilda but I do feel like the episode tried to make Hilda look dumb to make Frida look smarter. I mean, am I really suppose to believe that trusting a giant fish wasn't the first thing Hilda thought of? Or that Frida would just throw herself into a pit of spikes before Hilda would? Also I don't understand why Frida wants to be a witch, I get the magic and stuff but the Committee of Three tried to have her and her friends killed over a late library book. And she really wants to be in the same group as them? If it wasn't for Matilda they would've been thrown in the Void immediately and they would've likely done it again right after they got out. It was also stated that they use "any excuse to throw people in the void" which strongly implies that this is a common thing. I really don't get why Frida or Hilda would want anything to do with the people who would do this. I get that Matilda is nice to them (and is a pretty good character in her own right) but the Committee of Three are just terrible and the fact that they're just allowed to kill people over stupid stuff like that just annoys me. I get that we're not really suppose to like them (at least I hope we aren't) but I still don't really get why anyone (not just Hilda and Frida) would want anything to do with people like them. Other then that there isn't much that stands out. The plot twist didn't work because they made it way too obvious from the first challenge (also they showed Frida doing magic and holding a wand in the posters) and the witches were just boring in my opinion but that may have been the point. Hilda herself says "witches really know how to take the fun out of magic" so maybe we aren't suppose to find them interesting. I certainly don't.

Something else I didn't like. Why did it need to be a life or death thing? They could've just had Kaisa's job as a witch be in danger not her life. Hilda had always been about low stake adventures yet they raised the stakes this season for seemingly no reason. It probably would've been better if the stakes were gradually raised over time and not just immediately. Like, have the adventures get more and more dangerous as the season goes on eventually getting to the Stone Forest where the stakes are raise up to 11. It honestly hurts the episode and makes the Committee of Three look so much worse for trying to murder Hilda and Frida who are children. There really wasn't any real reason to make the stakes in every episode this season so high. I get wanting to do something more intense as the show goes on but making every new episode life or death isn't the right way in my opinion. I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be high stakes but I eel like The Witch didn’t really need those high stakes.

Now that I think about it, the Committee of Three could be a subvention of a subvention. In most media that has secret witch societies the witches are portrayed as wrongfully hated, yet in Hilda they don't appears to be hated and have equally as (if not even more) corrupt and incompetent leaders as Trolberg (they try to have their own killed over library books and had to relay on 3 children and a low level witch to resolve the Tide Mice issue) so maybe they're making them bad leaders to continue their "fuck the police" (pardon my language) theme this season? or maybe I'm overthinking it?

anyway that’s my opinion, I know many of you will likely disagree. I respect your opinions and I hope you can respect my opinion.

Edit: Something else I forgot to mention was that I also don’t like that Hilda is Frida’s familiar. It just feels really weird to me because Familiars are often referred to as pets and this has led to people making really weird fetish art of them (stuff like Frida having Hilda on a leash, ew). I could forgive it if it was important to the story but it’s not. It doesn’t really come up again after the episode (except for that one time that it’s mentioned) and everything Hilda does for Frida she easily could’ve done as a friend. The familiar thing can be entirely cut from the story and absolutely nothing would change. It’s honestly so forgettable that I completely forgot about it when I first made this post. I’ve barely seen anyone bring it up on it’s own. That’s how little it adds to the story. Overall, Hilda being Frida’s familiar could’ve (and should’ve) been cut without changing anything to the story really.

[ninastarkov]

Ahsoka and the clones: Rex and ahsoka edition

Part 1

I made another post about ahsoka and the clones, minus Rex and ahsoka if you want to check it out! This one is also going to be very long so get ready guys. Sorry this is posted much later than I wanted, I accidentally deleted a bunch of what I’d written and had to redo it :(

Also, I’ve realized I actually have too much to say, so i’m going to separate this into 2 posts: this one will be movie through the end of season 3, the next one will be 4, 5 and 7. I’ll talk about what we know in canon/what can reasonably be predicted based on that, what we as a fandom have decided, and my own takes. Here we go!

Alright in general, I think their relationship moves from mentor-student to equals. My own thoughts make me think that they go from mentor to equals to family by the end of the show (I mean. season 7 gives me SUCH found family vibes).

The movie and season 1

small (TM) Ahsoka is a sassy icon, but also doesn’t really know what she’s doing. Yeah, she’s a highly trained warrior with a laser sword, but she’s been pushed into a war at 14 after having 0 experiences with the real world before that. In these early times, Rex is definitely a mentor to her, as we see in the movie (EXPERIENCE OUTRANKS EVERYTHING!). Rex is really the first one to accept Ahsoka, from his quick teaching when ahsoka first shows up, to his “you too, kid”—giving her encouragement when she’s been pulled into an entirely new life. Anakin doesn’t clearly give her that acceptance until the end of the movie, so at least in my own thoughts, Rex is her first mentor figure outside the temple.

(Wow, just looking through season 1 ep list, I’ve realized there’s actually a lot to talk about).

Rex is a mentor to her, but I think she also considers him a friends almost immediately—there’s small moments of banter or exasperation throughout season 1 that make it seem like they’re friends (ex. in the ep where artoo goes missing, ahsoka tells Rex he has to carry the traitor droid down to the listening post and he is Not Happy. that interaction is great. Also when he catches her when she collapses in the blue shadow virus arc. he looks so concerned!!!!)

Also in that droid arc, when grievous tries to kill Rex and ahsoka blocks the lightsaber right before it hits his helmet, then draws grievous away. Yeah, it’s partially because she’s overconfident in her abilities, but she wants to do anything possible to save Rex and the rest of her men.

And that small Ryloth moment, when Anakin leaves Ahsoka in charge and the troops ask for orders and she says “I’ll..be on...the bridge...” and basically runs away. Rex says something like “you heard her, back to work!” Obviously, Ahsoka did NOT say that, but it shows that Rex has her back, and wants to help her out in a difficult situation. Later, on the bridge when she introduces her plan, Rex seems unsure, showing that he doesn’t have that full trust in her yet. This is a rare moment, because usually their interactions are focused on a building trust between them, but this one highlights that there’s a long way to go. Even if Rex tries to have her back when she’s unsure what to do, he’s not going to blindly follow her because she hasn’t earned that trust. It takes the Admiral coming back for her plan to take action.

But in building trust, of course the Jedi Crash ep!! Anakin is badly injured and ahsoka wants to stay with him, but aayla tells her she must go with her to find other people on the planet to help. Rex reassures her that he’ll stay behind with Anakin and watch his back, and I think that’s the only reason she’s willing to go. At this point, she thinks it’s her responsibility to watch over Anakin, but she trusts Rex to do her job for her. I really think that if it were Bly that stayed behind instead, she wouldn’t have been willing to leave—not because Bly’s not capable, but because she doesn’t have that trust in him that she does with Rex.

Overall, in season 1 Rex is definitely a mentor to ahsoka, giving her confidence and reassurance as she’s thrown into a war zone. I do think that he was her first mentor figure, which is so important, because he accepts her before Anakin does.

Season 2

Yeah, there’s not much in this season. There’s a lot more focus on developing each of their characters individually, so we don’t get much interaction. The one thing I have to talk about is geonosis, after she and barriss blow up the droid factory. Ahsoka apologizes to Rex that she’s leaving him there with the cleanup as she leaves the planet, and he assures her that she’s done enough. This is purely my own thoughts, but while I wouldn’t say this is a turning point in their relationship, it’s a huge moment because ahsoka had every intention of sacrificing herself for the good of others. I think that Rex gains a lot of respect for Ahsoka after this, and this is a big step in their journey towards becoming equals. This part is tricky, because Ahsoka shows such care for the people around her, and so I think her choice to sacrifice herself wouldn’t come as a surprise to Rex. However, there’s a difference between thinking this kid might give herself up for others, and actually witnessing it happen. The takeaway from this is that Rex gains a lot of respect for Ahsoka, and this respect doesn’t come from her status as a Jedi—it comes from her actions in protecting others.

Season 3

Season 3 is PEAK AHSOKA DEVELOPMENT and the outfit change lol but sadly we don’t get much of Rex. The only interaction in this season is the citadel, which is what I’ll talk about, but I feel like I need to preface it by just saying how much ahsoka grew over this season. By the time the citadel comes around, she has become an incredibly capable Jedi who’s infiltrated the trade federation to rescue the pantoran leader’s daughter, led a bunch of kids to discover a huge plot by mandalore’s prime minister, and just. MORTIS. The wildest episodes in the whole series. But that’s a whole other thing. Season 3 before the citadel gave us ahsoka growing into the maturity of an adult, basically. (Maybe the maturity of an immature adult, but still).

The Citadel is the first time we see Rex and ahsoka together after this development. I bet you can predict what moment I’ll talk a lot about. Yep! “I’ve served with her many times, and I trust her.”

THIS is that moment where we see that mentor relationship turn into a friendship of equals. We’ve seen Ahsoka trust Rex many times up to now, but there hasn’t really been a big time where Rex has shown his trust in Ahsoka. This is that time. Remember that he’s saying this to Tarkin (ew) after he questions Ahsoka’s abilities. Rex immediately comes to her defense with what I think is the most meaningful thing for him to say (I trust her). Trust is a huge theme in Star Wars (Anakin losing trust in obi wan and the Jedi, the Jedi losing trust in ahsoka and vice versa, Rex and the other troopers on Umbara losing trust in the Jedi, fives losing trust in the republic). That’s why this trust between Rex and Ahsoka is so important—in a setting where trust is often placed in the wrong people, or lost because of one’s mistakes, Rex and ahsoka are one of the few main characters that are always building that trust, instead of breaking it.

And that’s through season 3! Next up is 4 5 and 7. Let me know your own opinions and what you agree/disagree with!

I’m thinking about doing a thread on Ahsoka’s development in season 3? Anyone have interest in that?

[wreckofawriter]

Hi! Hope you are doing well :3 I was wondering if I could have a male Golden Era ship. I’m a Ravenclaw, opinionated, kind, loyal and I LOVE Quidditch and I play Chaser. I was also a hatstall between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. My favorite classes are Charms, Astronomy, and Transfiguration. I’d probably be friends with Hermione, Ginny, and the Twins, and I would mostly spend my time in the Room of Requirement and the Quidditch Pitch. Thank you sooo much & stay safe, -sugarquiils

I ship you with...

Oliver Wood!

You were good friends with the twins, really good friends. You guys would practice together on days off, you would have them try and hit you with bludgerss as you dodged

Maybe it wasnt the brightest idea but it was fun and helped with your monvuering skills

When Oliver caught on that the twins were practicing the enemy, the Chaser that had been giving him absolute hell never the less, he was pissed

He told them to stop practicing with you but of course they didnt listen so he was a bit fed up when he questioned you

When he accused you of corrupting his teammates and attempting to figure out their plans you had laughed telling him he was kinda uptight

So he began to practice with the twins claiming he needed to keep an eye on you

You had once again laughed at him saying he was weird and went on practiceing

Oliver knew you were good, but watching as you dodged bludger after bludger with ease he began to wish you were Gryffindor you were definitely better than any chaser they had

After a few weeks Oliver may have stopped coming to your practice to make sure you werent stealing his plays

Maybe, just maybe it was becaue you looked super hot

Fred and George caught on quick when their captain started asking about you a bit more than he needed to

Of course he would absolutely not admit to having a crush on you. You had scored more points on him than he cared to count, he absolutely did not have a crush on you

But then you wore that stupid red dress to that stupid party and Oliver decided he may have a crush on you

Fred and George were assholes about it of course, they found his feelings for you hilarious, and they claimed it made for great entertainment

He sat near you in classes, never next to you the last thing he need was you finding out about this

He felt his eyes wander to you during meals and classes he didnt want to be weird but you just so pretty it got hard to keep himself from looking

You were smarter than you were given credit for. You knew almost immediately when oliver strated to like you. He wasnt exsactly as subtle as he thought he was

Before either of you really k ew who the other was you had had run ins, mostly at the quidditch pitch where you you bother eventually agree to practice on separate sides

But now that he liked you he was always there and instead of being on separate sides you would practice together

It worked out well, a keeper and a chaser, you both got in good time

Oliver officially decied it had gone too far when he got distracted during a game

You were hit by a bludger and instead of stay at the goals like he supposed to he flew straight down in efforts to catch you before you hit the ground

He managed to catch your sleeve but the speed at which you feel dragged him off his broom and to the ground

You both tumbled onto the grass, Olvier landing on top of you as Ravenclaw scored another 10 points

He asked if you were okay and you could only nod, as panic finally left you both began to realise that your faces were only inches apart

Oliver went red and stood up mumbling something before helping you to your feet

Just then Lee called another 10 for Ravenclaw and his eyes widened, "oh shit." He ran to his broom and got on it without even sparing you another glance

After the game, you found him thanking him for slowing your fall, you knew he didnt have to and probably would have ended up with a broken arm

He brushed you off but Fred and Gerge would not let him live it down, no way no how they talked about it for weeks, the Oliver Wood had let Ravenclaw score 20 points to save a girl

He was whipped and it seemed everyone knew it, finally when you decied that Oliver wasnt going to do anything you asked him out, well more told him to take you out

He was kind of awkward at first but you found it endearing and kinda adorable

Sweetest boyfriend, would totally give up points to save you again

You are a quidditch power couple, you make bets like whoever's wins gets to pick the movie you watch or where you go on a date

He finds suddenly having to hang out with Fred and George a bit annoying but he gets over it

You practice together constantly, about 70% of your free time is spent on the pitch.

You drag him up to the astronomy tower every so often to look at stars with you

Super protective his competitive nature makes him ready to put down anyone who messes with you

He always tries to one up you, you kiss him, he kisses you back twice as hard, you got him a present he got you four, it's almost annoying except he is just so adorable constantly trying to make you happy

Still gets picked on for being orderly whipped for you

(Not edited and I i clicked post again on accident, I'm a fool)

[mooksie01]

With Teammates Like These, Who Needs Friends? (1/5)

Summary: Clover doesn't care what the other Ace Ops have to say, he absolutely does NOT have a crush on Huntsman Branwen. He just admires his skill on the battlefield. And the visible results of his obviously-excellent training regiment. And his gorgeous eyes. And his mysterious demeanor. And voice.

Okay, Clover might have just a little bit of a crush on Huntsman Branwen, but that doesn't matter, because if the other Ace Ops are going to tease him relentlessly for it, then he just won't pursue any relationship with the guy!

...Maybe.

Warnings: None, really, for this chapter. Death mention in the context of a joke. Gratuitous bullying of teammates. Spoilers for RWBY Volume 7.

AO3 Link: [X] 

Notes:  Hey, so... I haven't really written for fun in over four years. Which. Is pretty crazy to think about. But my New Year's Resolution this year is to get back into it because it used to make me really happy. With that said, I'm pretty rusty nowadays, so I'm sorry if any of this reads a little awkwardly. I'm hoping to get back to the level I used to be at with some practice, but I know it'll take time. This fic is mainly my effort at shaking the dust off with my current favorite show and favorite ship.  I hope you all enjoy! Please like, reblog, and comment if you have the time to do so, I'd really appreciate some encouragement while I get back into the swing of things! FAIR GAME RIGHTS!!

---

Clover can’t say that he isn’t expecting it, but even he is a little taken by surprise when, only mere seconds after closing the door to the Ace Ops’ commons, a heavy hand lands on his shoulder and spins him around with enough force to make him dizzy. 

Elm’s ecstatic face immediately fills his entire field of vision. 

Oh, Brothers.

“Clover!” 

He attempts to wave her off, feeling his face grow hot. “I’m trying to head to bed, Elm. Gotta be up bright and early tomorrow, you know.” 

Her shit-eating grin only grows larger. Her vice-grip tightens. He will not be escaping any time soon. His death warrant is signed and hidden somewhere in the mess that Elm calls her quarters. 

Elm manhandles him to the couch and shoves him down to sit, then flops down next to him and tosses her wrapped feet onto the coffee table. 

He wrinkles his nose. “Elm, please. I’ve talked to you about your feet and the table.” 

Ignoring him (as she so often does) Elm simply continues to grin smugly at him. “Who would’ve thought?! Our very own captain!” 

Clover rolls his eyes in what he hopes to be a clear sign of his exasperation. 

“Elm, what are you even talking about?” Marrow pipes up from where he is leaning against the wall. His arms are crossed over his chest in a deliberate attempt to appear uninterested, though his faintly wagging tail gives him away. Clover hadn’t even noticed him until he’d spoken. 

Looking around, he realizes that all of his subordinates are standing about the room, watching the interaction with varying degrees of interest. Just great. He considers whether or not it would be worth it to attempt to preemptively write Elm up for not-yet-conducted insubordination. 

Hm. He probably isn’t allowed to do that.

He startles as Elm yanks her feet off the table next to him, instead throwing herself forward so she can bang her fist against the helpless furniture to punctuate her next statement, “Our captain has a crush on Huntsman Branwen!” 

“Elm,” Harriet sighs, “stop being an idiot. Again. You know that he--” 

Clover pulls himself away from Elm and her interrogation couch. He stands up, straight-backed, falling into a parade rest that has his shoulders held just a little too tightly to his ears, positive that his face is red. “That’s enough,” he orders, voice as firm as he can make it, “what I do is none of your concern, Elm. Nor anyone else’s. This conversation is… unprofessional, to say the least. And it’s over.” 

Rather than be appropriately cowed by his scolding, Elm only flashes him an even bigger smile. On the other side of the room, Harriet makes a choking sound and starts to sputter, “Holy shit, you are--!”

Elm jumps to her feet, swinging a muscular arm over his shoulders. “I think you mean ‘who you do,’ Captain!” 

Clover shrugs her off, scowling. “Elm!” His mind races, attempting to formulate a way to escape this horrible situation, but it seems that no amount of luck is getting him out of this one.

“Well,” Vine rubs speculatively at his chin, finally deciding to contribute something to this dumpster-fire of a conversation, and Clover makes the split-second mistake of hoping that he will be the voice of reason to shut the whole thing down, “you can hardly blame our captain. Huntsman Branwen is, objectively, quite conventionally attractive. Not to mention his skill-level and renown in the field and all of the good he has done in the ongoing battle against Salem….” 

Clover feels his soul die a little.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me!” Marrow throws his hands up in the air, his tail raised in visible agitation. “What are we, a buncha kids? You’ve known the guy for five minutes!” 

Elm laughs uproariously, “And he stared at Huntsman Branwen for all five! Not to mention the extra twenty seconds when he was watching him walk away!” 

Harriet gags. She looks incredibly annoyed and vaguely disgusted at this turn of events.

“That really is enough--!” Clover tries.

“Really?” Vine tilts his head, coming a few steps closer. He peers at Clover in a speculative manner. “It seems to me that it would be difficult to catch a glimpse of Huntsman Branwen’s posterior, considering that the cape he wears covers it quite effectively. Are you sure, Elm, that that is what Clover was doing?” 

“Haha!” Elm raises her hand for a high-five, which her partner passively returns.

Clover is sure his skin-tone must faintly resemble that of the Atlas Academy mess hall’s tomato soup by now. He had not been staring at Huntsman Branwen’s ass. Even if he were interested in Qrow Branwen like that, he’s too much of a gentleman to do such a thing. Besides, there were plenty of other attractive aspects of Huntsman Branwen to focus on without having to drool over his “posterior” like some sort of mangy grimm. Like his soft vermillion eyes; or his trim waist; or his hair, which looked like the shining feathers of his namesake; or his elegant hands, undoubtedly calloused from so many years of handling his weapon so skillfully…. He swallows hard and feels his face flare up anew as he realizes what train of thought he’d been taking. 

Looking up, he catches Elm smirking at him again. Marrow and Harriet have near-matching expressions of distaste. Vine is merely studying him with even more interest than before.

He opens his mouth to retaliate, only for Vine to cut him off, clasping his hands behind his back in a move so prim that it leaves Clover completely unprepared for what he says next: “I believe our captain was just lost in thought about Huntsman Branwen’s posterior again.” 

Clover coughs hard, choking on his own spit. Vaguely, he registers the sound of Elm exploding into further laughter at his expense. 

“Oh, ew, ew, ew!” Marrow covers his ears, baring his teeth at Vine and Elm and probably also Clover. 

Harriet simply glowers at all of them, “I did not need to know that.”

After a moment, Clover pulls himself together. He glares at his attackers, “Elm,” he snarls, “Vine.” 

Vine takes an even step back, cocking his head inquisitively, “I apologize, did I say something incorrect?”

Elm loops her bicep around her partner’s neck in a pseudo-chokehold that he makes no attempt to remove himself from. “No, Vine, but I believe that’s our cue to leave!” She extricates herself from him and once again brings her hand down hard on Clover’s shoulder, having apparently never learned that it isn’t wise to poke an angry bear. “Don’t worry, boss, I’ll make sure to keep an extra eye out for your little bird!” She winks and pats him a few times with enough force to jolt his entire upper torso. “Though I’m sure you’ll already have that handled!” 

Then, in a blink, she has removed herself from the room, Vine following behind her at a more sedate pace. 

They are going to be facing so much disciplinary action, Clover thinks furiously. They will be scrubbing the floors for months. He turns to face Harriet and Marrow, who are somehow still in the room, staring at him. He crosses his arms firmly over his chest, “Do either of you have something to add?”

Marrow merely shakes his head and turns tail to leave. 

Harriet looks him over for a moment longer, then makes a sharp tsk’ing sound with her tongue. “Gross.”

She spins on her heel and walks down the hallway that leads to each of their personal rooms.

Clover sighs heavily and plops back down on the couch. It is going to be a long however-many-months with Huntsman Branwen and his students here. 

Still, he can certainly make it easier on himself by avoiding working with the other man. Even if he is incredibly attractive….

(No! Bad Clover!)

Everything will go over much more smoothly if he just isn’t seen staring at or talking to or even vaguely thinking about Huntsman Branwen from here on out.

---

More Notes: So, that was the first chapter! I hope you liked it and that it made your day a little brighter :)

The first installment is already completely finished minus some light editing. Stuff from here on out will probably be formatted as oneshots rather than chaptered fics, but I wanted this first part to be a bit longer and explore the very beginnings of our boys' relationship, with particular emphasis on Clover being a Secret Gay Disaster. Is that actually my headcanon for the show? Nah. Is that what this fic turned into? Absolutely.

Anyway, I'm currently deciding whether I want to post one chapter everyday for the next four days to finish this story up or if I want to post every other day. If anyone has any opinions on that, I'd be glad to hear them.

[diminuel]

I wasn’t all that fond of 15x10 while I watched it yesterday. I loved the premise and Garth, but I think it was just a bit too over the top for me. The placement of this episode within the greater context of it being the final episode and following the rather gloomy previous episode just made it feel a bit off. That aside, I just didn’t enjoy watching it all that much even though I could appreciate what we were given.

But I’m giving it another rewatch and another chance! I’d love to hear your thoughts too, whether you agree or disagree with my reactions. :D

It takes hardly any time for us to notice something completely amiss and they don’t even hide it: a classical piece of music accompanying a bloody fight between two monsters. Everyone is going to notice that this isn’t quite right, which then guides over into the next thought: the editing makes or breaks a scene. I think that’s the overall theme I took away from this episode. Metatron said that God posted the first draft and we’ve seen both Becky and Metatron edit God’s writing. The first conclusion we could draw is that God is not “editing” Sam and Dean’s story. But actually that doesn’t make a lot of sense because he couldn’t see Sam and Dean before either and they were fine. It’s maybe that he over-edits it. He throws problems in their ways that are... well, kind of what Becky wanted; the everday issues. Them dealing with laundry all day. This is the stuff we write, ad absurdum. And with monsters.

So the theory I’m going with right now is that Chuck is editing, just differently than before.

One preliminary thought regarding Garth: Were there no consequences to the Grace he had swallowed during AU Michael’s weird monster plan? What happened to that monster plan in general? Michael seems to be very bad at stragegizing.......

Dean’ shopping: The shop is called Berens’ quick trip. Berens is always sending us on a trip, though I think this one was Dabb’s fever dream. *lol* Lots of music for what is basically just showing Dean shopping. We see the guy giving Dean a ticket through the window but Dean’s oblivious, too focused on shopping. (Two six packs of beer. This might either show Dean indulging or Dean stocking up for Cas, not that Cas wants beer usually.) 

Dean knows the store attendant by name, so I guess this is a place he goes to often, though I doubt it’s in Lebanon because of the high rises in the background? 

What did Dean buy? Some beer, a magazine, some chips, something sweet he’s eating... How did that amount to over 40$? Why did he go buy that? Why not go to a proper store and buy proper food? Just beer and snacks? As someone who has to do her own shopping now this seems inefficient. (And my shopping center is in 5 minutes walking distance. *lol*) Also, I think I’ve seen people mention that the magazine is a cooking or baking magazine?

Also, here’s the first instance we have of Dean’s teeth hurting. Just stop eating the chocolate you silly man.

I have no compassion for Dean whining about getting a ticket. He’s not allowed to park there. Rules apply for you too, Mr. Winchester. I don’t like people who think they can do what they want. *thinks back to young snobby looking BMW driver who parked in the middle of a square in front of a bank and who got a ticket* *Schadenfreude* (That’s the kind of person I am. I like people who think rules don’t apply for them to be punished by the law.)

Sam’s scene in the kitchen: I assume it was Dean who had started cooking and then just walked away to get some more shopping done. This is merely based on my assumption that Sam doesn’t cook. We know that Sam sometimes does kinda stupid things like blowing on paper to make the fire go out... Touching things straight out of the oven and putting his hands on a hot pot are pretty thoughtless. And he’s clumsy apparently.

Also why the heck would he pull the pot from the stove? It wasn’t even boiling over. Just lower the temperature. Have you never been in a kitchen before, dude? And you’re not even cleaning up after yourself?

Dean and Sam discussing their issues: So Sam never trips? Both noticed right away that this was weird. Sam looks so offended. Like “I’m Sam Fucking Winchester, I don’t trip!”?

Also, did Sam say “dinner”? Is it already evening and they’ve just been hit with “normal person-itis” now? I see Sam’s watch but I can’t decipher it right. It it 5:35? What time of the year is it in canon? I was still light outside when Dean was shopping.

In the car on the way to Garth: A look, it’s dark now, which suppors the “they just randomly got hit with normal people problems. The music for this scene is also unusual. 

I’m annoyed that Cas is in heaven. Why. Why is he up there? Why does SPN always stash Cas out of the way with random stuff? It would have been nice if there had been a phone call or something with Cas checking in or just a mention that Dean was driving back from dropping Cas off at the angel gate or whatever. It takes so little, makes such an impact for me. This? Sorry. It’s just not enough for me.

Why is the car giving up the ghost? Especially in such a weird way? Isn’t Dean constantly working on the Impala? This is not normal people problems either.

At Garth’s: So Sam and Dean walked like 16km? Couldn’t they have taken public transport OR a taxi like normal people...? Or call road assistance or Garth at least? I don’t know what it’s like in the US but that seems a bit extra, even for Sam and Dean.

Garth and Bess have an old style phone in their house, which is a random remark but it’s a nice deco object.

Garth’s Twins: I don’t quite understand why Garth calls the twins Sam and Castiel. What kind of connection does Garth have to Cas? Why not Sam and Dean? If only one of the brothers, why Sam? He has more of a connection to Dean after all? I don’t get it. Dabb just liking it when people prefer Sam and Dean has to roll his eyes at it? :/

Again with the weird, out of place music when they have a look at Bess’ cousin.

Dean and Garth: The dramatic music when Dean steps into the dentist’s room. *lol* And then his disquieted “you’re very strong” when Garth forced him. I think since Garth treats werewolves who might also have an aversion to the dentist, he’d be used having to use a bit of force *lol* Besides. I really love getting insight into how monsters deal with “normal people problems” because they have them too. It’s a shame that we don’t see more of that side to monsters. We only see those monsters who mess up after all, rarely those who try to blend in. 

I might not know much about dentistry but I only had cotton stuffed into my bleeding mouth like that when I got my wisdom teeth out in an operation. Sure, I bleed a bit when I have appointment but not like that??? Just what did Garth do? Replace Dean’s teeth with werewolf teeth? *lol*

Sam and Bess: Dramatic music continues when Bess hands Sam the “cure” drink. It kind of frames the scenes as dangerous and at least it put me slightly on “confused edge” because the music made me think I couldn’t trust Garth and Bess. Sam’s struggles are kinda... over the top. I mean, we’ve seen Dean eat ghost pepper jerky and suffer, but Sam is suffering kinda ridiculously, like he’s been hit by a curse or something (i.e. still like he’s in the middle of a battle against some monster). Ew. Sam wiping his tongue on the arm he’s been sneezing and snotting into. Uff.

The tap dancing: Nice but I don’t really see the point in it >w< I guess normal people have normal funky dreams. And I guess Dean dreams of joyful things like dancing and having FOR ONCE gentle interactions with a lamp instead of always smashing them.

Talking about God and being heroes in a story: I like Garths’ approach to this topic and that he’s much more aware of story structures than the Winchesters seem to be. Why does Dean need a colonoscopy? (Angsty thought: does he have cancer...? Can werewolves smell it? Is that how it’s gonna end? Normal people problem killing Dean? Nope.)

Scene with the cousin: Poor Sam, he looks so upset when his “gentle request and puppy eyes” approach didn’t work. Though I like that it’s Bess who gets the guy to talk (like it’s Garth who gets the job done later on). I really like that monsters have normal people problems too. And it seems like the Winchesters are still very surprised about that.

Sam and Dean “job”: I think they’re being idiots here. Not only do they lack any evidence that the monsters who watch those fights are harming people, so they just kill them because they’re monsters? Also, it seems very unwise for two people alone to take on how many monsters?? No damn research done at all. And on top of that it seems really unwise to go on a case when they don’t know what else “normal people problems” entails while hunting. At least Sam might have been alarmed due to his sudden clumsiness... Just, stupid move on the Winchesters’ part. 

Side note: Sam doesn’t seem to be comfortable saying anything at all. He still seems to be shocked by the werewolf’s diss.

Dean continues to be kinda dumb and I don’t exactly get why. They don’t know what they’re walking into, so they definitely need to be prepared and I can think of several examples where he was prepared for anything. And now that he can’t be sure of his “luck” he’s not gonna think twice about it? And him munching his grilled cheese, talking with his mouth full and “playing” with the gun wasn’t super endearing to me. Sorry, I know many found it cute *lol* And who vomits that loudly...? I mean... ew.

I liked that Dean tried to bluff his way out of the situation and maybe it would have worked in another situation... 

Dean and Sam in cages: It makes no sense that not being able to pick locks is part of normal people problems because I’m sure they learnt how to pick locks over the years. So this, and their inability to fight later on (another thing they’ve learnt) just makes it clear that Chuck didn’t just remove them from “hero” status, but took away more than just their special skills.

Dean’s entire heartfelt speech doesn’t work either, neither on Sam or Dean, nor on the audience both because of how it’s filmed (no particular clear shot of Dean’s face and Sam constantly looking uncomfortable) and the variation of Dean’s theme.

What’s with Dean’s throat? I don’t understand what he said.

Garth saves the day: Dean’s awed “you are so strong” is cute! Why has he never been in awe of Cas’ strenght? Cas lifted a 1t anvil once and Dean didn’t even look at him amorously for it. 

Man, there are a couple things I don’t understand here! Wish I had subtitles because I’ll probably only get what “we’re gotta get out of here blblblbl monstersquad” or “the monster squad bbbüb the good guys” means.

I think they might still be able to fight but whatever “hero” bonus they had was deleted and now it IS almost impossible to just knock out a monster. They did have more trouble in earlier seasons before they could just easily stick an angelblade into every monster and not even break much of a sweat. But the whole fight sequence is just a little bit too ridiculous for me...

Back at Garth’s home: The whole “this Cas keeps looking at me weird” scene is my highlight. I wonder if now that Dean and Cas are no longer locked into their defined roles (though I’m not sure if Chuck has written them with a specific dynamic, since he never seems to make use of Cas) Dean will notice more about Cas too ;D Though of course Dean does notice the way Cas looks at him (”the last time someone looked at me like that, I got laid” as a classic example). But still, maybe something to think about. Since a story does come with particular characters dynamics between heros and their supporting characters.

Dean saying that he could be an awesome dancer if he wanted to be is nice. The only thing he lacks is a partner to dance with. Though... He doesn’t lack a partner since he has Cas back now. He just needs to make the first move ;3

Baby clearly doesn’t want to go to Alaska. *lol*

Okay, that was a long post again, not structured at all, not edited, and it still took me multiple days to rewatch and type this up! Haha

[gushingviolet]

Weekly Must List Pick: Kirsten Dunst on her bonkers new TV series — and blissfully weird trip through Hollywood via Entertainment Weekly    

'On Becoming a God in Central Florida' marks the actress' latest unorthodox role in her eclectic filmography.                        

By Joey Nolfi August 15, 2019

Kirsten Dunst connects while driving through “the worst pocket” of cell reception in California. She shares your prayer that we get through this. “We are, together,” she coos reassuringly. Minutes later, she cuts out. Behold the continued queen of the unexpected.

It’s probably easy to trust her because, as an acting veteran at 37, Dunst has self-made a career of subverting expectations and surprising audiences, expertly balancing untraditional turns in offbeat dramas (a rebel royal in Marie-Antoinette) and art-house gems (a bride whose depression wills the apocalypse in Melancholia) with big-budget blockbusters (minimizing damsel Mary Jane’s distress in three Spider-Man films), often more enticed by the vision fueling a particular project than its scale.

“When I make something, I feel like no one’s ever going to see it,” Dunst says of her approach to the craft. “I feel like I do it for myself.”

Most likely, however, it feels especially right trusting her because she seamlessly overcomes the seemingly insurmountable in her newest endeavor. Dunst’s instincts have now guided her to the realm of television, where she’ll continue her singular streak producing and starring in Showtime’s dark comedy On Becoming a God in Central Florida (premiering Aug. 25 at 10 p.m.) as Krystal Stubbs, an Orlando-adjacent waterpark employee (with a wardrobe best described as “Lisa Frank dabbling in textiles”) forced into conning her way up the ranks of a pyramid scheme (one that ensnares her zany, workaholic husband, played by Alexander Skarsgård) in the wake of a personal tragedy tied to the illicit operation.

“She’s cutthroat, but with a heart of gold,” says Dunst, who lends her cool, inviting calmness to Krystal’s vengeful rage — even as her mama-bear survivalist tactics grow increasingly bonkers. Within two episodes of the ’90s-set series, a wailing Krystal fires a shotgun into a swamp of alligators, later skinning the beasts and hand-harvesting the meat to feed her young. “It’s about a mother trying to make it work!” Dunst chirps. “I get to put things that are ugly in front of myself into my roles. I can express my rage through Krystal. It ends up almost being therapeutic in a way. For me, I could play Krystal because I understand her, but also I get to release those things as well.”

For the producer and star, making things work meant anchoring herself to the series through multiple network handoffs — first at AMC, then YouTube, then Showtime, at one point with The Favourite director Yorgos Lanthimos attached to helm. Dunst confesses that, after giving birth to her first child in May 2018, she considered leaving the project. Still, despite the shakeups and personal developments, “I couldn’t let this character go,” says Dunst, savoring Krystal’s agency amid other offers the actress has received to play helpless thirtysomethings.

“I read other shows before that I could’ve done, but this was just so different,” she adds. “I don’t have to be crying about some man or what the man did to me. It doesn’t matter. This is Krystal’s show and it’s not about that, which most female roles kind of still are…. This is the age range where it’s easier to find good material in television. That’s where the best work is for me and what I’m interested in doing.”

Krystal marks the latest benchmark in Dunst’s mission to resist the Hollywood-blonde stereotypes. She values complex renegades, which drew her to the new “creative freedom” of TV to perform juicy roles (like in her Golden Globe-nominated turn on 2015’s Fargo) she rarely sees in film. “I wanted to be more of an artist in my acting, instead of making tons of money being a star of every big whatever.”

Like, she references, her string of studio rom-coms in the late aughts. “Post-Spider-Man it was like, I could definitely go down this romantic comedy route. Those were really popular then, too, but it just was like, ugh, no thank you,” she recalls. “It wasn’t for me. I hated that kind of acting. It was so hard for me to do. Thank God Sofia Coppola would sweep me away to do a Marie-Antoinette in between.”

So, what’s next? On her previously announced directorial debut — an adaptation of Sylvia Plath’s beloved novel The Bell Jar — Dunst says the film isn’t happening, at least with her in the director’s chair.

“I never owned [the rights], so it went away for me. It went to other hands. That ship sunk, too,” she confirms. Instead, Florida could be a hit, or Dunst may focus on producing more projects to allow extra time with her infant son, Ennis, with partner and Fargo costar Jesse Plemons. “This is the first year I’ve been a mom. Directing a film and having a baby…that’s two years of your life, directing, editing, and promoting all of it. Maybe when I’m older I’ll want to again. Right now, I have zero interest in committing myself to that.” (Cornerstone Films did not immediately respond to EW’s request for clarification on The Bell Jar‘s status).

In other words, Dunst’s plan isn’t entirely clear — and it never has been. Whether weird or wonderful, all we know is we’re going to get through it together.

Photos - Illustration by Germån Gonzalez for EW; Liz Von Hoene /SHOWTIME

[artificialqueens]

Confessions: Part 3 (Trixya) - Sigyn

A/N: so it’s fully been like two years since I updated this so I imagine everyone’s forgotten it but I’ve started adding to it again so I feel like I might as well keep posting it despite the two year break…

I’ve made some slight edits to the first two parts and published them on AO3 as well so here’s a link to that

full disclosure, the next update is like two weeks away because I have deadlines I need to meet at school (but at least it won’t be two years lmao)

Katya has a confession to make.

There was a time when she was sexually attracted to Trixie Mattel.

Okay. Times, plural.

It wasn’t all the time, though.

Just sometimes.

For example, when Trixie was doing her makeup, ear splitting levels of Dolly Parton blaring in the background, and she’d done everything except her lips and looked demented by anyone’s standards. Katya couldn’t help but be attracted to her then.

Of course, she was also attracted to her when she’d put on the lips and the whole fantasy came together but that was to be expected. Trixie looked other-worldly when her makeup was done. In some ways so done up that she no longer looked human, in others so stripped bare and exposed. More human than Katya ever dared be.

She was also attracted to her when Trixie decided to forgo the coloured contacts she usually wore but that didn’t mean anything, Katya had always been a sucker for brown eyes.

Naturally, she was attracted to her when her face was completely washed clean and she donned a backwards baseball cap with some oversized t-shirt, not an ounce of pink in sight except for the stain around her lips that sometimes stayed for hours after she removed her lipstick. That was a side of Trixie she found particularly attractive, largely because it was how she was most comfortable, and perhaps partly because it was a side of her very few people ever got to see.

Often, she found that spark of attraction when Trixie told a particularly crass joke.

And, fuck, was she attracted to her when the Barbie fantasy was both contrasted and complimented by her tendency to scream her enjoyment, rather than laughing in a manner others might have found more acceptable.

Trixie never did anything by halves and that was perhaps what Katya found most attractive about her.

Pretty much every time Trixie broke the social norms, behaving in a way some would argue did not befit a young woman, Katya found the stirrings of attraction deep in her stomach.

But she wasn’t attracted to her all the time.

Not at all.

For example, she wasn’t attracted to her right now.

Katya is pretty sure she wouldn’t be attracted to anyone who woke her up before eight am on a Saturday.

“I’ve decided what my new year’s resolution is,” Trixie announced cheerfully, without so much as a greeting to give Katya a moment to adjust to the shift from being asleep to being expected to hold a conversation.

“Is it to buy a calendar?” She guessed, voice raspy with sleep, “as it is April and either too late or too soon to be making such resolutions.”

Trixie seemed unconcerned by this as she resolutely stated that “it’s never too late to begin the new year.” Katya decided not to challenge her on that. “And as a wise man once said, new year new me.” She paused as if waiting for Katya to either prompt her further or laugh but Katya didn’t really feel so inclined. She had half a mind to just go back to sleep and let Trixie have this conversation with herself.

Unperturbed by Katya’s lack of a response, Trixie soldiered on. “I’m embarking on a fitness journey,” she declared, as though she expected a deafening round of applause to erupt.

“Okay,” Katya drawled, still not having decided whether she was going to be a part of this conversation, “lets pretend that’s a real thing and that we both know what that means.”

“I’m joining a gym, I’m eating healthy, the whole nine yard, I’m embarking on this journey from today onwards, would you care to join me?”

Katya found herself thinking that if Trixie’s dream as a child had been to become a travelling salesman she was quite certain her sheer enthusiasm alone would have made her a roaring success. However, Katya had always been a hard sell.

“Absolutely not,” she replied, without remorse.

“Okay, well, I’m joining your gym so I wouldn’t be so quick to say no-“

“No,” she firmly interrupted, having already decided that Trixie’s apparent illusion that Katya would go in for any such thing needed to be nipped in the bud.

Trixie shrieked and though the loudness of it made Katya wince, she couldn’t help but smile at the reaction.

“When are you teaching again?” her friend asked instead of giving her the expended sales pitch that Katya was certain she had been gearing up for.

“I don’t know. You can probably find my hours on the gym website, did you have to wake me up for this conversation?”

“Absolutely,” Trixie replied, resolutely. “If you’re allowed to wake me up at 3 am on a weekday to discuss what a terrible place the world would be without laughter then I’m allowed this.”

Katya had no real argument to counteract that point as it really was fair enough. Instead she simply acknowledged Trixie’s good point, well made with a repeat of the thoughts that had come to her in the middle of the night, last week. “God, it would be such a terrible place though.”

“No,” Trixie stopped her, “we’ve had this conversation, now we’re having my conversation.”

Katya made a noncommittal grunt that sounded vaguely affirmative.

“Text me your classes and if I’m not there at least three times a week you have my formal permission to kick my butt.”

Katya snorted and responded, “what if I don’t want to kick your butt?”

“Since when have you ever denied an opportunity to come near my butt? I’m sure you’ll get a kick out of kicking it.”

Another grunt, more concrete in its affirmation this time.

“Okay, go back to sleep, you’re boring me. I’ll be there by noon to make green juices and a salad with you.”

Katya’s face screwed up in disgust at the very thought, “Ew, Tracy, no, you will not. I told you I refuse to be a part of your healthy road trip or whatever you dubbed it.”

“Fitness journey and I can’t hear you, I’m going through a tunnel!”

The line went dead before Katya could respond.

“Fucking bitch,” she muttered to herself, though the smile that always followed a conversation with Trixie was firmly in place.

Doubtful that she’d manage to fall asleep again what with the sunlight already forcing its way through her curtains, Katya seriously considered getting up and making coffee for several long minutes. Her musings only being cut short by her consciousness slowly slipping away as sleep dragged her back under.

When Katya next awoke it was to the simultaneous banging of her door and the ringing of her phone.

She didn’t know what year it was, much less what time but Trixie’s name flashing on her screen, paired with her ringtone, told her that ignoring the ruckus and going back to sleep was not a viable option.

Forcing her limbs into action Katya got up, grabbing her phone and accepting the phone call.

“If you damage my door, you’re buying me a new one,” she simply said in lieu of a proper greeting.

“You’ll have to take me to court over it,” Trixie replied though she did cease her vehement knocking which Katya considered a victory in and of itself.

“See you there,” she said, ending the phone call before opening the door to reveal a version of Trixie she had not yet had the pleasure of meeting.

Straight-from-the-gym Trixie apparently wore a pink velour jumpsuit, no makeup, her hair up in a ponytail, and radiated a tired kind of happiness.

Katya decided this Trixie was definitely one of the Trixies that she was attracted to.

“Move bitch, these are heavy,” Trixie squeezed past her, her gym bag slung over one shoulder, and carrying a grocery bag that looked about ready to burst, “we’re making goats’ cheese salad and scrambled eggs,” she called out behind herself, confidently striding into Katya’s kitchen.

Okay, maybe she wasn’t quite as attracted to post-gym Trixie as she’d believed at first glance.

Katya followed her into the kitchen, regardless.

“We’re making what?” Katya asked incredulously, “lettuce and eggs do not a breakfast make, we’re having toast.”

“It’s lunch,” Trixie stated, not even looking at Katya, “and you can have all the toast you want, babe but you won’t tempt me.” She dumped her grocery bag on the kitchen counter and removed her gym bag. Turning around she held it out, “can you put it in your room?” she asked, though it was clear this was more of a demand than a request.

Katya arched an eyebrow at her, “you can take it yourself.”

“I’m making you food, you’re taking my bag to your room.”

“Wow, you didn’t mention the new you would be a rotted cunt,” Katya laughed, taking Trixie’s bag, regardless.

The taller blonde shrugged with a smile, “the old me was, I don’t see a reason to change that,” turning back around to the counter she added, offhand, “maybe next year.”

It didn’t take them long to prepare the food. Trixie had brought an abundance of groceries intended to spruce up a salad and make it worth while, including grapes, walnuts, goats’ cheese, and honey. No matter how much she tried to persuade Katya (and perhaps herself) that this would make more than an adequate meal, Katya fried up some bacon and made herself two slices of toast to go with it. Trixie made faces at the meat, claiming that the smell caused by “carcass fumes” was infecting her salad and eggs, an argument that seamlessly carried on into their meal.

They were sat there, in the kitchen, Katya enjoying her substantially larger meal and Trixie trying not to feel envious of the white bread Katya was happily munching on.

“Dead pig,” she muttered, not entirely jokingly as Katya lined her bacon strips up on the piece of toast before piling on the scrambled eggs.

“I’d appreciate if you refrained from calling me names,” Katya retorted, lifting the piece of toast to her mouth and succeeding in making a right mess of both her plate and herself. “Besides,” she nodded her head towards Trixie’s plate, “cheese and eggs.”

Trixie gasped in mock offence. “Don’t you dare throw that in my face,” she said, “I can not accept my vegan fate at the same time as I embark on my fitness journey. I must first save my body, then save the planet.”

Katya just sat there smirking, they both knew she didn’t have strong feelings about veganism but Trixie did and so it was a decent card to pull.

“You know, you should try going vegetarian,” Trixie suggested in a way that was neither new nor hopeful. She’d long since given up on the idea that Katya’s moral compass, which was sketchy at the best of times, would somehow win out over the taste of meat. “Since you’re not saving your body, your schedule should be wide open to try and save the world. You know, try something new,” she shrugged.

“Why try new things when you can try nothing?” asked Katya around another mouthful.

Perhaps Trixie would have responded to that had there not been a resounding smack of what sounded like a person’s full body weight being slammed against Katya’s front door, followed by smothered laughter and the jingling of keys.

Trixie, her eyes wide, turned askance to Katya who simply rolled her eyes ever so slightly.

The sound of the door opening and swiftly closing was followed by a repeat of someone’s body hitting against it and laughter, half-swallowed up by kisses.

It wasn’t unheard of for Alaska and Sharon to turn up from some after party or other that had run through the night and well into the morning in a slight state. They usually preferred Sharon’s apartment for that, given that space was her own and not shared with someone else but did, on occasion, come back to Alaska’s place, whether because of misplaced keys, lack of forethought, or the location of the party from which they were headed.

Katya was relatively unfazed by the ruckus currently coming from the hallway but a quick glance at Trixie assured her the feeling was not shared by her companion so she decided to intervene. She knew from experience that Alaska and Sharon had no problem experimenting with locations outside of Alaska’s bedroom and was doubtful the thought of checking whether the apartment was empty would occur to either of them, especially given that their mental state was likely to be altered by chemicals of the less-than-legal variety.

“Are you planning on only giving us the sound bite or are we going to be treated to the whole show?” Katya called out to them, prompting another fit of slightly muffled giggles and the padding of bare feet that made their way closer, relatively unsteadily.

Alaska appeared first in the kitchen doorway, leaning against it slightly. Her makeup was smeared, her clothing askew, and her pupils noticeably dilated. Her long, thin legs were exposed up to mid-thigh and perpetually bruised in a way Alaska had once told her accompanied the rockstar life… or the groupie life. Katya wasn’t quite sure where that stood as Alaska had been performing less and less these days, instead accompanying Sharon to various “industry parties”, although Katya felt that title suggested a lot less drug use than she knew went on at said events.

“How much are you willing to pay for it?” Alaska asked, twisting her body back around to her girlfriend who looked only marginally less dishevelled.

Before Katya had a chance to reply Sharon crowded Alaska up against the doorway, nipping playfully at her jaw. “Not that you’re not worth every cent,” she breathed against her throat, “but I don’t feel inclined to share right now.”

Alaska’s eyelids fluttered as Sharon bit across her neck, prompting a breathy moan that indicated that despite her words Katya and Trixie just might be treated to the full show if they didn’t remove themselves from the situation quite hastily.

Sharon pressed Alaska harder up against the doorway, running her hands down her sides, to her ass, prompting Alaska to wrap her legs around her. The soles of her feet looked as though she might have walked barefoot the entire way home and Katya didn’t doubt that she would have, either because her shoes had been deemed too uncomfortable after wearing them for entirely too many hours or because they had been misplaced; sacrificed to the alter of the party gods as several previous possessions of Alaska’s had been before them.

Katya glanced at Trixie who seemed to be in a slight state of shock and then, purely for her benefit, delicately cleared her throat. “Should we make some popcorn?” she asked pointedly.

Sufficiently reminded of the presence of other people Sharon turned to grin slightly at Katya for the briefest of seconds before her eyes were tugged back to Alaska. “We’ll be in her room,” she almost growled, hoisting Alaska up and carrying her out of the sight of their audience.

“Don’t interrupt us unless there’s a fire,” Alaska called out.

“Maybe not even then,” Sharon threw in for good measure.

“It was nice to meet you,” Trixie called back but was only met with the slamming of Alaska’s bedroom door.

Katya barked out a laugh at the sheer absurdity of the situation. “Okay,” she said, “I imagine we have about 20 seconds until we’re treated to the not-at-all censored soundtrack of those two going at it so I hope you’ve finished eating.”

Trixie threw her a look of amused disbelief before giving her a nod, “okay,” she said with a chuckle, “you know, it’s quite nice outside and I’m simply dying for some sun.” She stood up and started gathering their mostly empty plates before Katya stopped her.

“20 seconds,” she reminded her before a high moan punctured the air. “Maybe not even that,” she amended. “Leave the dishes, we don’t have time.”

Katya grabbed Trixie’s hand, pulling her out of the apartment and down the stairs, onto the street below where Trixie was finally overcome by giggles.

“That was absolutely ridiculous,” she wheezed out, freeing her hand from Katya’s grasp to dab delicately at corners of her eyes with her fingertips in a careful manner designed to avoid smudging her makeup. The fact that she wasn’t wearing any at the moment was immaterial, it had become a habit. “It’s like 12:30 pm, where the fuck were they coming from?”

“I have no idea,” Katya earnestly replied, “some party I presume, Sharon drags her to a lot of those although Alaska never seems unwilling.”

Trixie straightened up, a slightly dazed expression on her face, “oh, that really was Sharon Coady then,” she said, “I wasn’t sure.”

“Do you know her?” Katya asked, slightly perplexed.

“Not personally,” Trixie shrugged, taking Katya’s hand back in her own and heading on down the street. Katya didn’t know if they were headed anywhere in particular and she found she truly didn’t care. “I know some people who work with her, she’s apparently very talented, has a real eye for what will make a trend.”

Katya nodded.

Sharon’s career seemed to be on a trajectory, only going up, and Alaska had on multiple occasions mentioned the talk about her that was apparently circulating the fashion scene.

Trixie went on, “Some of my friends are astounded she hasn’t started her own label yet, say she’s one of the few people they’ve met who stands a real chance of actually breaking into the business on their own.”

When Katya first met Trixie she’d been surprised to find out how much she knew about the inner workings of almost every aspect of industry LA had to offer. She claimed it came from working in makeup and that in order to be good at her job she needed to keep her ear to the ground but Katya suspected it was more than that. Trixie respected people who were good at what they did. It didn’t matter if they were makeup artists, models, fashion designers or musicians. Trixie simply had an earnest respect and admiration for people who put their all into their work.

“Yeah,” Katya replied, “she claims that’s what the parties are about,” she expanded, “she’s pretty sure the label wouldn’t take well to her quitting so she wants to make sure she has her own connections if and when she burns that bridge. Claims she can’t break into the industry if people are too scared of RuPaul’s wrath to actually work with her.”

“That’s pretty smart of her,” Trixie agreed, “Ru can barely just be called a designer anymore, he’s almost a religious leader. I swear, it boarders on a cult. It’s very much a ‘you’re either in or you’re out’ kind of situation. Sharon’s wouldn’t be the first career not allowed to prosper because RuPaul decided she betrayed him.”

Katya shrugged. She wasn’t really all that familiar with the fashion industry, only really privy to what she’d gathered from her relatively limited interaction with Sharon, and what Alaska had let slip. Katya always did her level best to ignore the bitterness that sometimes lurked underneath Alaska’s comments. Although she couldn’t relate to their particular situation, she could empathise. It wasn’t long ago that Sharon had been struggling as hard as Alaska to gain recognition and, anyway, most of the time Alaska managed to radiate pure pride at her partner’s success.

“I’d be lying if I said I believed that was the only reason she attends the parties though,” Katya said, raising an eyebrow.

“I guess they don’t call her Sharon Needles for nothing,” Trixie said, laughing, “oh god, knowing me I’ll actually slip up and call her that to her face one day.”

“I doubt she’d mind,” Katya replied, “she and Alaska used to have this punk band when they were younger where that was legitimately her stage name. That’s actually where the name originated. Although from what I’ve seen she prefers rolled up bills to needles so the truth of it is debatable.”

Trixie shrieked her enjoyment, but Katya wasn’t done.

“In fact, she’s probably doing blow off Alaska’s tits right now,” she proclaimed, lips stretched wide in a smile that only grew wider in response to the grimace on Trixie’s face.

“I didn’t get out of the apartment just to have you describe what I’m missing,” her companion complained, nose all scrunched up in distaste. Katya fought down the urge to tell her just how beautiful it made her look.

“Without dirty thoughts, there are only dirty dishes,” she said instead, prompting an eye roll from her friend.

“You’re such an idiot,” Trixie replied but the fondness of her tone accompanied by the soft smile on her face caused a fluttering in Katya’s stomach, as though she had just been showered with the loveliest of compliments.

She simply smiled back, swinging their joined hands between them, and allowed Trixie to turn the conversation to some other hopeful designer whose name Katya had never heard.

It didn’t matter though.

She made the appropriate noises of interest and laughed when the anecdotes warranted it, and although the topic wasn’t something she had a particular interest in she found that her reactions weren’t feigned.

The truth is, she suspected she could listen to Trixie read aloud from the phone book for hours without getting bored; each name and number as fascinating to her as the last.

[intolerablexsacrifice]

HEADCANON.  (cw for talk of homophobia, both societal and internalized. also i use the word ‘homosexuality’ a lot in case that bothers anyone; I just didn’t know what other word to use to help it flow better fkcnjfnfg bc ‘gayness’ didn’t seem to fit/work with the...wording. the word ‘queer’ is also used once or twice.

cw for some unhealthy mindsets re: sex during the second half, specifically related to dissociation during The Scene with miranda.)

EDIT: ALSO the things talked about here are why I tend to have Flint reject propositions unless I know the mun of the other muse very well. Since it can be argued that Flint may not be in a healthy mindset to be having sex if he consented (especially if he was drunk), I would obviously prefer to only write that with a mun who would a) be comfortable with such a potentially complicated issue and b) acknowledge its complexity and the potential problematic aspects it poses.

THIS GOT REALLY LONG (it’s... it’s over 1000 words long, Heaven help me) so I’m putting it under a cut, but it’s about:

1. Nassau’s leniency re: gay pirates 2. How Flint responds emotionally to all the rampant gay sex these pirates are having 3. How he reacts to propositions from other men

SO I was talking with a friend (hi Harri <3) about like... the widespread acceptance of homosexuality among the pirates of Nassau, both at sea and on the island itself. And naturally, things are far more lenient at sea because Necessity(TM) or whatever the fuck else (whether that’s genuinely what it is or whether that’s the excuse will vary between individuals, I’m sure), but it’s clear that homosexuality isn’t seen as a sin among the pirates/traders on the island. 

Canonically, we only actually have evidence for that among the women, because Black Sails never gives us any other mlm aside from James and Thomas: Max, Eleanor and Anne are never ostracized for engaging with other women. Although it’s clear that Anne suffers from internalized shame and the effects of compulsory heterosexuality, those are likely things that came from outside of/before Nassau that she carried there with her. 

Now, it could be argued that the inhabitants of Nassau aren’t actually more lenient of homosexuality- from the sources I’ve been reading for a dissertation lately, homosexuality between women wasn’t really punished in 18th century... whatever the fuck it was called at the time (the New World? whatever I don’t care about the history I’m sorry). Not to the extent or with the frequency that male-on-male homosexuality was, for sure (though even that wasn’t really punished as often or as severely as the law apparently should’ve dictated, with the death penalty being rare and floggings/exile being more likely- which would explain James’ “don’t be naive” comment, and Miranda’s insistence that political motive meant they could be hanged). It’s possible that it was a case of like “hmm well it’s women and there’s no penetration involved or pregnancy so it doesn’t count!” nonsense or whatever the fuck else. 

BUT I’m going to argue against that, because fuck that, and I genuinely don’t think canon gives us any evidence that there wouldn’t be acceptance of male-on-male homosexuality in Nassau considering the complete lack of any adverse reactions to it among the pirates. Like, even with that one guy who’s like “:/ listen I’m gonna go fuck Charlotte or I’m gonna fuck you”, there’s no ‘ew that’s gay’ comment/joke, it’s just kind of like “i see your point, go have fun with Charlotte”. 

I’d argue that the Puritan farmers/etc of the interior are most likely against homosexuality based on how Pastor Lambrick or w/e his name acts after he literally seeks Miranda out to fuck her - but the pirates and traders in the street, and on the beach? Nah son.

ANYWAY I’VE KIND OF BEEN TALKING FOR LONG ENOUGH let me get to the fuckin’ point I wanted to make: how Flint reacts to all the gay sex his crew are having onboard.

Because like... that’s absolutely happening, right? Someone literally fucks a goat on the ship, there’s no g-ddamn way they aren’t also fucking each other (thank you Harri for pointing that out). And they’re at sea, and situational homosexuality is a thing even if the men are otherwise straight or whatever the fuck. So one way or another, there are men fucking on the ship. There are men fucking on the island. There’s matelotage (whether it’s actually used between partnered queer couples or not). There are canon WLW couples whose relationships are acknowledged by other people, and I choose to believe the same applies to MLM. 

Flint has internalized shame surrounding his love for Thomas. We know this. We know that it’s a small part of him- he still believes whole-heartedly that the rest of the world was wrong, that what he and Thomas had was good and right. It’s just impossible for that to be the whole of it- Flint could not come out of the trauma and exile he went through without some part of him being made to feel like a monster because of how he was treated, even though he knows that they were wrong. 

That shame, as well as his grief and guilt and trauma, is part of what prevents him from seeking out other men even though he could. Trauma/PTSD also adversely affected his libido in general as well as his capacity for building relationships, so it’s not like it’s something he feels like he wants to seek out (except for when he does, and then the guilt comes crashing back down on him). We don’t see him make advances on anyone in canon. The one person he does sleep with is Miranda, and I’ve talked before about how that’s not because of an attraction to her, nor do I believe it to be the case for her, either: they’re doing it because it’s their only connection to Thomas (again, thank you, Harri). The only way they can still love him is through loving one another. 

And unfortunately, to me, Flint is dissociating throughout that scene, at least to some degree, just as I don’t think Miranda wants to be sleeping with him so much as Thomas (hence why she then sleeps with Lambrick- he looks a lot like Thomas. That has to be intentional). I don’t think sex is something he does with a completely healthy mindset. Not just with Miranda - which is the point I’ve been trying to get to, because ultimately I think if Flint has had sexual contact with other men, he was either:

a) Drunk, which points to a bad mindset in itself as discussed in this headcanon post here b) Otherwise in a bad mindset/just kind of going with the flow//desperate and upset

So while Flint is obviously accepting of men being gay as hell on his crew, etc etc, there’s a bittersweetness that comes with that and there’s definitely an aversion to engaging in sexual contact with men himself. Harri asked me how he’d react to being propositioned by a member of the crew, and the answer is most likely that he would essentially shut down, reject them, and flatly conjure a story so that the two of them wouldn’t speak of it again (as he did with Kili when propositioned - he essentially told him ‘you’re drunk’, which he wasn’t, and ‘you’ve mistaken me for someone else’, which he hadn’t, so that they’d never talk about it).

Now part of this is because of all of the shame and guilt and trauma I’ve been talking about, buuut it’s also because there’s the chance that whoever’s propositioning him isn’t doing it because they like men, or because they like him. He has no interest in being someone’s physical gratification when, were they on land, they would choose a woman and be disgusted by the thought of being with a man. Flint left that shit behind (welcome to the Navy) the second he found Thomas, and he’s genuinely afraid of it happening again. He’s afraid of trusting someone like that--because there is a trust involved, even if it’s just a clumsy fumbling of hands in the dark--only to later realise that they’re not the same after all, that whoever he just slept with finds him monstrous. 

So he avoids that possibility at all costs. This has been my 1000+ word headcanon post about gay piracy thanks for coming to my TED talk.

[plotlinehotline]

In the story I'm planning there is a decent sized group of main characters plus recurring characters who have smaller but important roles to play in moving the story forward. With such a large group, do you have any tips for how to organize and prioritize which characters get more scenes and development?

Developing and Organizing Character Arcs 

@suksi-vittuun

It’s as if you already knew what I was going to say! Yes, when you’re balancing a lot of characters, your first step is to make sure that each character is crucial to the plot and that their story arc is helping to move your plot forward. Since you included those key criteria in your ask, I’ll assume that you’ve already determined all this. 

When you’ve got a lot of characters, it’s assumed that each character (or set of characters) has their own story arc (and get ready; I use the word “arc” a million times in this post). The arc should be able to tell a complete story from beginning to end, but when combined with the other arcs in the novel will form a complete, complex narrative.

For example, if you’re familiar with Harry Potter, then you know his story arc in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, but Draco Malfoy has his own story arc, that mostly happens “off-screen,” where he is plotting to murder Dumbledore. We see his story arc collide with Harry’s towards the end when Snape steps in to kill Dumbledore for Malfoy (and consequently, Snape has his own story arc too! He’s advising Dumbledore on what to do about his damaged hand, and he’s keeping an eye on Malfoy after making the Unbreakable Vow). 

Name any character that’s even briefly mentioned in a novel, and you could technically devise a story arc for that character that fills in the gaps of all the times they appear “on screen.”

1. So first things first - make a list of the characters you’re concerned about. If you’re unsure about any of them, go ahead and include them in this list. Then, for each character, write out as much of their story arc as you can. If there are uncertainties in any of the arcs, do your best to fill them in. 

There are lots of fun ways you can organize this, depending on the tools you have. If you’re more into free-hand, you can keep your arc notes in a journal, with tabs for each character (use post-it tabs, labeled/colored masking tape, or improvise ways of dividing the notebook). You might also use a binder and have actual dividers. Digitally, you could use separate Word documents, or if you have other writing software like Scrivener, you can use separate docs within your story file, and even have character profiles associated with each. 

Now earlier I threw out the terms “on-screen” and “off-screen” and it’s important to note the difference between them. Don’t limit your thinking to what’s actually on the page - think beyond what you intend to show scenically. Think of your novel as highlighting the key points of each arc; you still need to understand more than the key points. This knowledge helps you keep the narrative cohesive, and it helps you make additions and subtractions to the story as you need to (because chances are, during the editing process, you will make changes). 

So really elaborate when you write out your characters’ arcs. Throw in information that you think you may not even use, and be as detailed as you can. During this process, think about what each character wants, and what needs to happen in order to get what they want. If nothing else, determine what’s motivating each character as that will help drive the arc and you’ll be able to see it more vividly. 

Once you have this, then you can begin to think about actual “on-screen” content. 

2. Second, go through each arc and decide what you will actually write into the story. 

Now’s the time to decide between on-screen and off-screen content. Only you can decide what scenes to include in your story, but I would advise choosing scenes where something changes, whether this change is something literal (the character getting fired, let’s say) or whether the change is internal (the moment when the character decides to quit). Change may also be seen in relationships - when two characters fight or reconcile. Scenes that reveal some sort of backstory are also good, as are scenes where some important plot detail is discovered. 

Do your best to whittle down what you outlined in the character arc (the more characters you have, the harder you should try), but don’t be so selective that you lose the meat of the arc. A novel that only features a few scenes for each of twenty characters might work if the characters are compelling enough, but for a plot centric novel that’s trying to tell a complex narrative, you need more content with each character to get readers invested. Think about Stephen King’s books that feature large casts (It or The Stand), or Game of Thrones, or books by David Foster Wallace - they’re thick. If this is the kind of narrative you’re looking to tell, I’d recommend checking out any of those (a friend of mine also recommended Robert Jordan, especially if your novel is fantasy). 

Don’t forget the element of mystery as well. There are some details you’ll want to hide from the readers until the end, so allow yourself some room to exclude the parts of plot arcs that spoil your big reveals. In doing this, you’ll also be deciding what parts (if any) you do show - these will serve as hints, or foreshadowing of what ultimately happens.

Deciding what it is or isn’t important is one of those writer skills that you have to constantly work to master, but if you go into the process with a 50-100 word summary of your book, you can constantly go back to that summary and ask yourself if these things you’re considering including have anything to do with that summary. This will help you answer the question: Should this be in the novel?

Use your character arc docs to list these scenes that you want to include. You may end up with some “maybes” that you’re not sure about, so maybe highlight those in a different color, or put an asterisk or something beside them to remind yourself that you’re undecided. 

3. Put them all together.

Now, go to each arc document and copy all the scenes you selected and put them into one giant doc. Don’t worry about the order as you’re going - just get them all in one place first. Then, put the scenes in the order that you see them occurring. You can do this with paper/pen while referring to your screen, or perhaps a separate document, or you could even just copy and paste within the doc you’re already using to reorder them. 

Start with the obvious ones, and save any that could happen in multiple places until the very end. By the time you get to those scenes, you’ll have a better look at your story’s timeline and it might be easier to find potential places for these scenes. 

I also recommend choosing a unique color to either highlight or use as the text color for each character so you can visually see which characters have the most scenes. If you’re looking at your outline and you only see a couple of green spots, for instance, you can evaluate whether that character is getting enough screen time, or if they even need any. 

4. Consider the overlap (and how POV comes into play).

I’ve been avoiding this a little bit to avoid confusing everyone, but you also can’t forget that some arcs will overlap with one another, and you’ll have characters that will “pop up” in different arcs, or even be “missing” from their own arcs. The key is determining whose arc each scene is mostly contributing to. The scene may be advancing both arcs, but the idea is choosing whose arc it advances more. 

Going back to my earlier example, Harry and Malfoy each have their own arcs, but Harry often shows up in Malfoy’s and vice versa. Despite his “on-screen” absence, I would argue that the scenes where Malfoy fails to kill Dumbledore (the bewitchment of Katie Bell, and when Ron gets poisoned) do more to advance Malfoy’s arc than Harry’s, as Malfoy’s continued failures affect his mental state, as well as his position with the Death Eaters. So even though we don’t see Malfoy on-screen (since the perpetrator is meant to be a bit of a mystery, and because we’re from Harry’s POV), these scenes would be listed under Malfoy’s story arc.  

When it comes to prioritizing which characters you should develop more, that’s your choice. Once you’ve presented the bare minimum for each character, or the selected scenes that tell the story arc sufficiently, then you get to decide which ones we delve deeper into. There were enough scenes in Half Blood Prince to sufficiently tell Malfoy’s story arc, but if JKR had wanted to, she could have chosen to include scenes from Malfoy’s perspective to advance his development and garner more sympathy from readers. As a writer, she made the choice not to do this. As such, it’s your decision which characters you want in the spotlight and which you’d rather the reader be more distant from. 

So the bottom line here is that it’s not simple. Writing novels with big casts never is, so prepare yourself for the monumental task in front of you. Accept that you might be confused about what you’ve got going on quite frequently (and then reward yourself with candy anytime you feel like you actually have your shit together). Outlining is key, and hopefully this blog post helps you get closer to establishing an outline. 

5. Lastly, let your outline guide you, but don’t let it control you.

Once you’ve put all those scenes in a potential order, you’ll find that you may add new scenes from your arcs that you dismissed earlier (or ones you come up with later), and you also might delete ones that you used to think were super important. Allow yourself this freedom, because much of what you do in your draft is difficult to determine until you start writing it. 

Mia also just did a post on managing large casts of characters with a few tips that may be helpful to you when building your cast. We also have a few other posts on large casts if you want to check those out too. 

Good luck with your epic story!

-Rebekah

P.S. Thank you Megan for discussing this ask with me ;)

[miky91ftw]

The Protags of Knights of Almadel 1-10 just for basic introductions!

Thanks for asking! Some of these answer are a bit generic, but on mobile I can’t insert link or stuff, so I’ll probably revise them later. (edit: various link have been added)

1 - Favorite colors:

Nico likes purple. This may or may not be related to the fact that purple is the main color of his rugby team.

Rio prefers pale tones like azure and celadon.

Eli doesn’t have a specific preference, but is usually more drawn to vibrant colours (bonus point if they have unusual names).

Wilfrid likes red.

2 - Collections:

Aside from the shared effort aimed at collecting the Cosmic Eggs (which is not really a collection per se), Eli has a decent stash of comics in her room (her siblings also used to buy them, even if each one had a different taste. for these reason, there are comics from all over the world, such as manga, American comics and European productions).

Rio has a small collection of minerals, which he sometimes threatens to use as throwing weapons against Nico if he doesn’t shut up.

Wilfrid used to be an avid reader and used to collect books.

Nico collects Heismans on a weekly basis. whenwillheeverlearn.jpg

3 - allergies:

Nico has a mild form of pollen allergy! (Spoiler: this is actually an important plot point.)

4 - clothing style/preferences:

Nico prefers loose, comfy clothes. He is more often than not in his jersey/tracksuit. He tends to dislike hats (”you know, you’ll go bald if you wear hats too much. Hair needs to breathe too“).

On the contrary, Rio has a more sober and elegant style, often wearing button down shirts and/or his school uniform even after the classes have finished. Sometimes he overdresses, wearing clothes a bit too much fancy for an otherwise pretty casual occasion.

Balancing between the two there is Eli, which tends to prefer a simple style with an occasional fancy touch. More often than not she wear hand-me-downs from her siblings. Some of her style trademarks are floral patterns and really heavy scarfs/gloves/coats during winter (she kind of suffer the cold).

Fashion-wise, Wilfrid is an oddball, often ascending to actual fashion disaster. Like, how did he even get a customized uniform in black and grey? Somebody should stop him.

5 - first memories:

Nico: playing outside with an old friend of his on a snowy day. Returning home as it began to snow once again.

Rio: the days before meeting Lyris for the first time, when he befriended Marco and saw him use his powers for the first time.

Eli: playing with Marco and her older sister, meeting Nico for the first time at the kindergarten.

Wilfrid: playing with his siblings around their old house, pranking the butler.

6 - favourite/least favourite animal

Nico doesn’t have a favourite animals, but he is not particularly fond of worms and other “slimy things that can be easily chopped”. Ew.

Rio loves his two cats. He used to be a bug nerd before moving onto collecting minerals.

While Eli has been over her infamous horse phase (Nico sometimes teases her about it. He usually regrets this soon after), she has recently grown fond of deers: one of the characters of a videogame she played recently had the appearance of said animal and it was love at first sight. She dislikes centipedes (can you blame her tho?)

Surprisingly, Wilfrid is a dog person. When he was a kid, his family owned a big dog called Josef.

7 - element(This was kinda improvised. I tried to choose images that could both refers to elemental forces/concepts and to the innermost, true nature of the four Knights)

Nico: solid rock, ground, the dark soil

Rio: clouds, mist, the sky when a storm is brewing

Eli: the ember under the ashes, the warmth of the hearth.

Wilfrid: a lightening bolt in the dark, unknown starts glowing in an alien sky

8 - theme song(This part needs to be revised and explained later)

Nico: Tonight, Tonight, Tonight (Beat Crusaders)

Rio: Mowgli’s Road (Marina and the Diamonds)

Eli: La Cura (Franco Battiato) (link to a version with english-translated lyrics)

Wilfrid: the trollolol jingle. No, seriously, maybe something like “Immortal” (by MatD once again) or “Wisemen” (by James Blunt)

9 - faceclaim/voiceclaim(I’ll do a separate post with proper links so that you can actually know what kind of voices I’m talking about)(also, as of now I’ll just put some Italian voiceclaim because they are the one I’m most accustomed with. Later I’ll think about possible English ones)

Nico:Flavio Aquilone  (link to a video with some snippets of his various roles throug the years)

Rio: Marco Vivio (link to a clip where he voices Ron Stoppable from Kim Possibile)

Eli: Veronica Puccini (link to a clip where she voices Rei Ayanami from Evangelion. Keep in mind that this clip is from, I dunno, a lots of year ago, so her current voice is not as shrill as it used to be - tough she is still one of the best italian dubber IMO)

Wilfrid: Patrizio Prata (which btw is Zoro’s Italian voice actor. Note: he also sounds like this)

10 - deadly sin

Nico: sloth

Rio: pride

Eli: greed

Wilfrid: wrath

[allskynostars]

Strong, Chapter 1: First Impressions

Welcome! :) I'm so happy to be here, writing another multi chapter fic for you lovely people. So, without further ado: This is completely AU. No Jason murder, no events of S1. Jughead is a born and raised South-Sider, he knows no such thing as an Archie, Veronica or Betty. (Not for long!) He does know fellow South-Sider, Cheryl though ;) God, I'm so excited to write these characters. I really wanted to write JB, and Gladys also. You may have some questions after the first chapter, but hold on, they shall be answered. *DISCLAIMER* I know absolutely nothing of the American school system, so please just take it with a grain of salt as it is more than likely not accurate. I'm not American, hence 'Mum'. Although I've read so many fics with 'Mom' I almost slipped up a couple times! Ha. Also edited myself so sorry for any mistakes!! Also posting this from mobile so sorry for the no read more break, and anything else that could potentially go wrong with this shitty app. Aaaaand I think that's all! Enjoy, buggies. ❤️ Read on AO3!; http://archiveofourown.org/works/11748321/chapters/26476650 <b>Summary:<\b><i>Betty Cooper swore she only signed up to tutor a young girl from South Side High, and definitely not for what followed. And Jughead Jones didn't sign up for anything. ** It was sunny out. And Betty thought the temperature was high enough to warrant the black denim high waisted shorts she had changed into, paired with a simple white tank top she tucked in. As she turned herself in front of her bedroom mirror, she spared a thought to how her Mother would disapprove. <i>'Far too much skin, Elizabeth.' </i>A smirk grew on her face. Well, she wasn't home from work in time to scorn her choice of clothing today. And in a last minute act of rebellion Betty didn't even grab a cardigan as she popped her feet into a pair of converse, tightened her ponytail, and left the house.  Her phone started to buzz in her back pocket. She reached for it as she continued her journey to Pops. It was nearly August and the warmer weather was coming to an end. Which meant that Summer Break was also, and Betty had put her name forward for a "Big Sister" volunteer programme at a school on the other side of town, Southside High. She was hoping this is what the phone call was about. It was basically after school tutoring for any student who was put forward, Betty had done it last year with a different young girl and she was looking really looking forward to it again. Regardless of <i>'how good it looks on a college application' </i>, in her Mothers words.  Not that it mattered. Betty already had early acceptance to the Medill school of Journalism at Northwestern, starting in the Spring Semester. Chicago was far enough for Betty to gain some independence, but not far enough that she couldn't visit often.  "Hello, Elizabeth Cooper speaking." She answered, always polite, always the full name if the number was unknown. "Hi, Elizabeth? This is Gladys Jones. I'm ringing in regards to the Big Sister programme at South Side High. How are you?" The voice through the phone sounded maternal, and younger than Betty had expected.  "This is she, but Betty is fine. I'm well, thank you Mrs Jones. I'm glad to be hearing from you." And she was, it was genuine. Betty loved to offer a hand to any student who wanted to better themselves.  "Well, Betty, I'm glad to be calling. I was shown a few profiles from some of the volunteers, and yours stood out to me the most. You seem to have a wide range of curricular, extra and otherwise." Betty smiled on the other end of the phone, she did look awfully good on paper. "And I was hoping, if you haven't already been snatched up of course, that you would buddy up with my daughter."  "I would love too, Mrs Jones, thank you for considering me." She smiled while checking the road to cross.  "Of course.  Would you like to come over tomorrow and meet myself and JB? Say around 4pm? I will be home from work then"  "Yes, definitely, I'll see you both then. I look forward too it." Betty replied.  "As do I, Betty. I'll send you through our address, and I'll see you then. Thanks again."  She couldn't wipe the smile from her face after the phone call had ended, and it still resided there as she walked through the front door at Pops, the ding of the bell alerting her arrival to her best friends.  "There she is, my own personal ray of sunshine. I took the liberty of ordering your usual for you." Veronica nodded at the vanilla milkshake that was waiting for Betty as she slide into their usual booth opposite her and Archie. She smiled at Veronica in thanks. "And what, or who, has gotten into you to make you look so happy, huh?"  "V, honestly." She joked, rolling her eyes. "I actually just got off the phone with the Mother of a Southside High student about the Big Sister programme. She wants to meet me tomorrow." She explained, taking a sip of her shake.  "Oh that's cool, Betty." Archie chimed in, smiling across the booth at Betty. "I remember how much you enjoyed that last year."  "Thanks, Arch." She returned his smile and gave a thought back to other things he probably didn't remember from last year. Or chose not too. Like her unrequited feelings of what she thought was love towards him, but turned out to just be a silly childish obsession gone on too long. As soon as she had seen Archie with Veronica, she was simply happy for the both of them. There was no jealousy, and Betty found relief in finally letting go of that Andrews fantasy. Besides, Veronica was such a permanent fixture in Bettys own day to day life now that she would not have it any other way.  Even if that meant being the third wheel more often than not when there was no one else to act as a buffer.  "Well, that's less risque than I was hoping. But, you are the true star of Riverdale after all, Betty Cooper. What will this town do without you?" Veronica was only half joking. "What will I do without you!" She reached across the table to take Betty's hand in her own and gave it a squeeze.  "Chicago really isn't that far from NY, V. We will see each other all the time, I promise." Betty squeezed back in return.  "Oh, I will make sure of it. Daddy's jet will be getting so much use it won't know what hit it." Archie sniggered at how pretentious she had sounded, and Betty couldn't help but join in. Veronica waved her hand in dismissal and rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Oh Archie, please, don't act as though you haven't been begging me to take you on your first flight."  Now Betty was laughing in Archie's direction, the look on his face one of a boyfriend who just got shut down by his own, entitled girlfriend. The sound of their laughing was cut off by the ding of the bell above the door again, Archie watching the group who just walked in over Betty's shoulder.  "Those Serpent wannabe kids do hang out here a lot lately." His eyes were trained on the leather jackets of the group as they made their way to the back corner booth. "I wish they would fuck off, they give me the creeps." Betty shot him a dirty look.  "Jeez, Arch, louder for those in the back please." But the curiously had gotten the better of Betty as she glanced quickly over her shoulder into the back corner of the diner. It was the same group as always, 3 boys and the red headed girl. One of the boys, Betty had noticed, never seemed to be without his grey beanie, detailed to look like a crown. It stood out against the harsh of his leather jacket, and she wondered how the two fit together.  "They might be scum but those jackets make them super hot, right Betty?" Veronica asked, watching the group with hungry eyes.  "They aren't scum, V." Was all Betty would reply, she refused to admit that there was something about the leather that did make them seem more attractive. Unattainably  so. The attitude that seemed to come with the jacket probably helped the cause. They looked miserable, all the time, Betty thought as she looked back toward her friends. Especially the one with the beanie. She wondered if it was part of the act.  "Say, Archiekins, do you think if I got you a leather jacket like that, you would swap it out for you letterman? Just for a night or two, just for me?" Veronica made eyes at her boyfriend, the way she held the straw in her mouth more than enough to imply exactly what she meant.  "Only if you wear one to match, and nothing else." He winked. "Okay, guys, ew!" Betty pulled a face, covering her ears with her hands. This was the kind of thing that made her resent being a third wheel. She could handle watching them try and eat each other's faces off, but sex talk? No thanks. She didn't get paid enough for that. "There's a minor present."  Archie threw his arm around Veronica's shoulder as they laughed, pulling her closer to him. "You'll get there, Betty." Archie joked. Betty just rolled her eyes at the both of them and quickly finished her milkshake.  "Well, there won't be any leather jackets, that's for sure." She shimmied her way down the bench to exit the booth. "And on that note, I'm going home. I need to get some more reading done in advance for school, seeing as I'll have just less time when the new term starts up with this tutoring."  "B, you just got here! You bore." Veronica sighed, her mouth shaped in an exaggerated pout. To anyone else it would seem condescending, but not to Betty. She knew Veronica well enough to know she always meant well. "Bye guys, I'll text you later, V." She climbed from the booth and walked backward toward the door, waving at her friends. Just as she turned back she walked into something hard. And leather. It was the chest of one of the serpent group, one of the beanie less boys. "Shit, sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." She offered the boy a forgiving smile. He wasn't much taller than Betty, his jet black hair quiffed back from his face.  "That's okay, darlin'." He looked her up and down, his tongue darting out to wet his lips. "I'll watch for you instead."  "Oh Joaquin, please." The red head rolled her eyes, but was watching Betty with a look she couldn't quite grasp. Her lips were blood red, matching her hair, and her arms were crossed right across her chest. And even though she was shorter than Betty, the look she was giving made her feel small. "We all know she's not your type."  Betty faked a laugh, but she could feel the colour creeping into her cheeks. And she figured you could see it, at least the rest of the group who were stood behind this guy definitely could. She gave him another smile before getting out of there as fast as she could without running. She could feel all their eyes burning into the back of her head.  ** It was 3.30 the next afternoon, and Betty was yet again stood in front of her bedroom mirror. But this time she was dressed just how her mother approves. Dark blue jeans, and a pastel pink sweater with a white collar.  "Elizabeth, downstairs quickly! You don't want to be late. Punctuation is key!" Betty rolled her eyes at her Mother, but did as she was told. With one more tight tug of her pony, she slipped her feet into a pair of black ballet flats and hurried down the stairs. Alice Cooper, her overbearing, ever concerned, painfully punctual Mother was already waiting for her at the front door. She was tapping her foot, and giving Betty a look that she was all too familiar with.  "Sorry, Mum." she murmured as she slipped past her out the front door, avoiding her gaze. As she walked to the car, she could hear her Mother muttering as she followed.  "It's not just you that would look bad, Elizabeth. It would also fall back on us, your parents." Her tone was condescending, and Betty was all too familiar with the words that fell from her Mothers tongue. "Would you want to disappoint us like that? Like your sister?" Betty could feel her fingers curling into her palm, her nails itching to break skin. She shook it off, stretching her fingers before opening the door and climbing into the car.  "Mum, it only takes 15 minutes to drive to South Side. We have plenty of time." Betty crossed her arms over her chest, purposely looking straight ahead to stare at the garage door. Alice sighed as she sat in the drivers seat, angling her body to face Betty and tilting her head in concern.  "Are you taking your medication, Elizabeth?" There was that tone again, always with that tone. If she actually paid any attention at all to her daughter, she may have noticed that Betty hadn't been taking any of her medication in weeks. Months, for that matter. Betty would hold the pills under her tongue until she had opportune moment to spit them out again.  With everything that had happened with Polly, both of her parents had been rather distant lately. But that didn't mean Betty wasn't still nagged at every minute they were around. She continued to ignore  Alice, averting her eyes to stare out at the front garden through the car window. "Answer me, Elizabeth."   "Yes, Mother." Betty finally answered through gritted teeth. "Twice a day every day." She heard her Mum sigh beside her.  "We just want the best for you, sweetie. We want you to be your best." She was being genuine, but that didn't make it any easier for Betty to swallow. It was never about what she wanted. It was just about how good she could make her parents look. Alice reached out her hand to rest on the side of Betty's arm, an attempt at being sincere. Betty turned to her Mother, a fake smile plastered on her mouth.  "Thanks, Mum. But we need to leave." She nodded to the clock on the dashboard that now showed the time as 3.35pm. "Punctuation is key!" She mocked. Now it was Alice's turn to roll her eyes as she turned in her seat and started the engine. They were backed out of the drive and on their way before Alice spoke again.  "Look, Betty. I know sometimes we are hard on you. But, but after Polly, can you blame us?" <i>Can you blame her?</i> Betty thought. No wonder she threw it all in and ran half way across the world. Polly had needed her freedom, she wanted to make her own life decisions, and Betty was starting to understand that more every day. "We gave your sister everything. She had every option she could have wanted, and yet she threw it all back on our faces." Alice's voice had started to falter, and Betty knew talking about Polly made her upset.  "Mum, I'm not Polly.  Please don't get upset." She glanced in her Mothers direction. "I'm just nervous, okay?" Which wasn't a complete lie. She needed to make a good impression today, although that wasn't an entirely new concept. She had been taught that first impressions were everything. Alice looked at Betty in her peripheral and offered a light smile that didn't touch her eyes.  "You'll do great, Betty. You always do. Just remember, chin up. Don't slack." Betty unfolded her arms in favour of wringing her hands together. They had driven over the rail bridge that separated the North and South sides of Riverdale, which meant they would be arriving to the Jones' shortly. Betty could feel her hands slick with sweat, but she tried to push away her anxious thoughts. She had done this before, and as long as the girl wasn't a complete nightmare she knew she could handle it. Betty thrived off of helping others.  "It's this next left, Mum." Betty directed Alice down the right street, eyes squinting to read the numbers on the letterboxes. "It's number 44 so it's on my side."  The neighbourhood was nice, it looked as though the street could blend in just fine on the other side of the tracks.  "These houses are much tidier than where I dropped you last year. Thank god." Alice Cooper, the queen of laying judgment. She pulled into the driveway once they had reached the right house. Alice turned to Betty in her seat once again, reaching out her hand to dust off Betty's shoulder. "Now, do well. And call me when you need me or your Father to pick you up." "I could get the bus, Mum. It's just down the road an -" "God, no. I don't want you walking around here on your own. If anything comes up, I'll ask Archie to get you." Alice smiled a small smile at her daughter.  "Okay, thanks Mum. I'll call you later." Betty offered a smile in return , opened the car door and climbed out. She knew her Mother would wait until she was in the front door before she left, so Betty took in the house quickly as she walked to the door. It was lovely, and looked well kept. There was a red Mazda CX3 in the drive, which was a sight in itself. Obviously this family had money. Betty took a deep breath before raising her fist and knocking on the door.  The woman who answered the door was younger than Betty was expecting, yet again. Or maybe she just looked that way. Gladys Jones was of a similar height to Betty, her black hair fell just below her shoulders. Her blue eyes were striking.  "Betty? Hi, please, come in." Gladys pulled the door open wide, holding her arm out to welcome her in. Betty stepped foot through the front door into the kitchen, which was open plan with the living room. Everything was white and bright, and there was a young girl sat at the island in the kitchen. The girl, with hair longer than her Mothers but the same exact colour, smiled a dazzling smile at Betty.  "This is JB, and I'm Gladys." The older woman says, moving around to stand behind her daughter, her hands grasping thr girls shoulders. "Welcome. Can I get you a drink of something?"  "A water would be lovely, thanks." Betty moved around the island and perched on the stool next to JB. She smiled down at the young girl, and she noticed that her eyes were the same deep sea blue as her Mothers. She smiles a thanks at Gladys as she puts the glass in front of Betty. "Hi, JB. I'm Elizabeth, but everyone calls me Betty. Is JB a nickname?" The girl offered Betty a shy smile. She must be around 13, Betty thought.  "It stands for Jellybean." She answered, ducking her head a little. Betty looked up at Gladys, who just shrugged her shoulders and laughed. "Which is still a nickname, anyway." "Her Dad fought a hard case, and she won't tell you her real one unless she trusts you with her life." Gladys smiled, and Betty noticed the lines at the corner of her eyes. She was beautiful, but she looked tired. And not tired like she didn't have enough sleep the night before, but more like she had been exhausted for a long time. Betty commended herself on how she could read people. "Well, I'm going to go and sort out some washing, how about you two get to know each other some more." She ruffled JB's hair as she walked passed them, leaving the kitchen into the laundry attached.  "You know," Betty nudged JB's shoulder with her own, "I'm going to make it my goal to get your real name out of you. I'll prove you can trust me, JB." She offered the young girl a warm smile, that was returned ten fold. "So, tell me, whats your favourite subject in school?"  "Science." Jellybeans face lit up, and then it was hard for Betty to get a word in. Not that she minded. She told her all about her school, her friends, how her 14th birthday was coming up and she didn't know if she was allowed to invite boys to her house just yet but one of her best friends was a boy. She told her how her teachers always compared her to her brother and she hated it.  "Your brother?" Betty asked, her interest peaked. She had gotten the impression that it was just JB and Gladys, but then again, this house was awfully big for just the two of them. Betty was trying to pick up as much information she could without directly asking, rather waiting for JB to when she felt comfortable.  "Does he go to school with you?" "He's in senior year, same as you I think?" Betty nodded at JB. "He's a shit head in school, and all the teachers think I'll be a chip off the old block."  "Oh, well that's not fair." Betty was taken a back a little by how easy JB had sworn, but she had to remind herself that just because she still couldn't say the word crap in her parents house without some alarm going off didn't mean it was the same for everyone else. Jellybean just shrugged. "It's okay, he's not a shit head to me." She smiled, spinning herself side to side on her stool. "He's my big brother, he's the best." Betty felt warmth in her chest, the way that JB felt towards her brother was the same that she felt with Polly.  "That's nice, JB."   "Him and Mum don't get along that well, but.." Jellybean trailed off, catching herself before she spilled all their Jones family secrets to this girl she has just met. Sure, Betty was nice and seemed understanding, but JB liked her and didn't want to scare her away. This house was a good facade for how much they were a South Side family, through and through.  "I know what thats like." Betty nudged her shoulder, realising that JB didn't want to carry on with that sentance just yet. "My Sister and Parents definitely do not see eye to eye." Jellybean gave Betty a small smile in gratitude, and was about to ask about her sister when she heard the distinct rumbling of a motorbike coming into the street.  "Speak of the devil." Jellybean joked. Betty turned her head toward the window, watching a dark figure park up in the driveway on a motorbike. "What's your brothers name, dare I ask?" Was all Betty had time to ask before he made his way through the front door. "Jughead." Jellybean answered Betty, and announced his arrive at the same time. As the boy took off his helmet, Betty was shocked to realise it was the beanie wearing serpent from Pops. As if in time with her thoughts, Jughead reached into the pocket of his jacket and pulled the hat onto his head. He walked around the behind Betty to Jellybean, ruffling her hair on his way to the fridge. "Hey, Kid. Where's Mum?" He asked, not really taking any notice of Betty. She couldn't help but feel slightly flustered, especially after how much she floundered after the interaction she had with him and the rest of his gang yesterday. "Doing laundry, you're safe." She joked, smiling at her brother. "Good." He opened the milk and drank straight from the carton, something Betty found kind of gross. He raised his eyes brows in her direction, a question to his sister. "Oh, this is Betty. She's my tutor for the new term, for after school." Jellybean turned to look at Betty sat beside her. "This is Jughead." Betty smiled at him. "Another nickname, I'm presuming?" God, why did she ask that. Like it was any of her business. She could feel the flush rising in her cheeks. Jughead just gave her a sly smile while he screwed the lid back on the milk. This was the most she had gotten to look at him properly, not just from the far corner of the diner. He was good looking, that she wouldn't deny. He had a sharp jaw, and those blue eyes that seemed to be a Jones trait. She also couldn't help but notice his hands, the way they grasped the bottle. "It's far better than the alternative, trust me." He shut the fridge door, making to pick up his helmet on his way to the hall that on the opposite side of the kitchen. "I've seen you around, at Pops." Betty was slightly shocked, she didn't really think she was someone Jughead would notice. His eyes were trained on her now, and she suddenly hated the fact that she blushes so easily. "Yeah, I'm there a lot with my friends." She smiled at him, hoping her face wasn't as red as it felt. "That's it, you're always third wheeling with that ginger kid and his rich girlfriend, right?" He snarked, a smirk on his face. Betty dropped her smile, his comment kind of pissed her off. She knew she was a third wheel, she didn't need others pointing it out for her. "Didn't realise I was that obvious." She shot back, a sharp tone to her voice. "Sometimes, to me." He still had a smirk on his face, and Betty couldn't help but find herself enjoying his face. Her heart was beating a little faster, had he really noticed her? He looked her up and down before he spoke again. "When you've got those legs out." He winked, before turning around and walking into the hall. "Jug! Can you not!" Jellybean called out to her brother, shaking her head in shame. She shot an apologetic look to Betty. "Sorry, told you he was a shit head." "It's okay." Betty laughed. And as much as she probably wouldn't admit it, she had kind of enjoyed those comments. It usually wasn't her who got hit on, that normally fell to Veronica. But she kind of liked it. Or maybe she just liked the way he looked at her. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of those thoughts. Jughead was just a boy, this is just what they do. They liked to play games. Wasn't it similar to what happened at Pops yesterday? She reminded herself. "Where were we?" Betty had stayed for a little longer, Gladys came back and the three of them sat and talked. She turned down the invitation of dinner, claiming that her Mother would have already accounted for her, although in reality she wanted to avoid another run in with Jughead. Later that night while she was trying to sleep, she convinced herself that he was just trying to irk her. He was in a gang after all, it was probably a territorial thing. She wouldn't let some tiny little run in get to her, she was Betty Cooper after all. *