#he wants to keep the women out of the battle but that’s more because Lucy is like 11 and he knows Susan is the only voice of reason

[annalu86]

A second go at a first date.

Tim is not against public displays of affection. Within reason.

He actively likes holding hands with women he is in a relationship with.

He’s been known to put his hand on a lower back, or an arm round a shoulder

And maybe even a quick hug.

He likes to think it was because he was a gentleman, he would tell his partners their relationship was no one else’s business but he was beginning to believe that maybe he’d never been in a relationship where he just couldn’t keep his hands off the other person before…

He has the feeling Lucy is really going to answer this question for him.

Of course in this moment he’s not thinking any of this, he’s not thinking at all. Sitting as close to Lucy as possible in these uncomfortable metal chairs, food forgotten in front of them.

One hand on her knee, the other in her hair. The kiss had built and built, the idea that the other food truck patrons or passers by might see them had not crossed his mind.

The minute she had told him, in that fancy restaurant during their disastrous first ‘first date’, that she wanted them to have their first “real” kiss he had thought about how much he wanted to finally be the one to take control.

The first peck, back in her apartment all those months ago, an embarrassment he needed to make up for. Lucy had followed that very first kiss up with 2 of the most heart racing, knee buckling kisses Tim had ever experienced. He had something to prove.

Not that he was competitive or anything but, he had to at least level the playing field.

It was Lucy who pulled back first, out of breath, flushed cheeks and red lips. She placed her hands on his chest as he reflexively leaned forward to chase another kiss.

“Let me breathe” she giggled slightly and he worked to contain the slightly smug grin that threatened to take over his face

“Sure thing” he leaned back in his chair not taking his eyes off her. He picked at his food as she took a deep drink from her can.

For several minutes they both sat in silence, gazes soft, gentle smiles.

Lucy starts to lean forward in her seat and Tim forces himself to remain still, to focus on the way her hair falls forward over her shoulders. How her smile quirks up on one side as she watches his reaction intently. Her hand reaches up and round to the back of his neck and his eyes close, briefly, at the light touch she leaves on his skin.

Goose bumps erupt on his skin as she trails her finger tips down his neck and along his collar bone. She pauses, momentarily.

“Lucy” it comes out as a whisper when her finger tighten around the collar of his shirt and she draws him firmly to her.

Tim is the first to pull away this time, he feels like he’s losing a battle of wills. Against his own hands. Touching Lucy is a heady mixture of electrifying and familiar. New, but also as it had always been. He knows how her soft face will fit in his hand because he knows every inch of her face as well as he knows his own.

But her words ring in his ears. They shouldn’t rush just because they know each other so well.

So with super human strength he sits back and tries to string together a sentence.

“Angela is going to be insufferable” he rolled his eyes but his smile remained.

“You’re going to tell her?” Lucy didn’t sound nervous but he wanted to reassure her that he wasn’t going to be telling anyone until she was ready.

“Honestly I don’t think I’m going to have to. Detective Lopez will work it out in minutes” then in a moment of bravery “she’s been on at me about us” he says gesturing between them “for some time”

Lucy’s mouth hangs open

“Us?” She stutters “for sometime?!” Her mouth opens and closes like a fish and Tim can’t help but grin “Tim!” She swats at his shoulder. “Explain!”

“She may have worked out that I had feelings for you, maybe even before I was sure” Tim could feel the heat in his cheeks and new a blush was creeping over his face. “She asked some questions, made me ask a few more of myself”

“When?” Was all she asked her eyes locked on his.

“After we kissed, the first time in your apartment” Lucy’s eyes shot wide open “I… I was… confused” he stuttered “I wasn’t expecting to feel what I felt. Does that make sense?”

“Absolutely” she nodded “I feel like things had been a little…” she paused “fuzzy? Before. But after?” She swallowed hard “I thought about that kiss more than I probably should have.” Her gaze dropped to her lap “dreamt about it more than I should have”

Tim felt his heart hammer in his chest at her confession. No words formed, he just stared at her as she fiddled nervously with the hem of her shirt.

Slowly, he reached his hand out. Sliding his fingers along her jaw until her face was resting in his large hand, he lifted her face towards his and placed a single gentle kiss to her lips. As quick as the first, in her apartment but with all the feelings, all the meaning neither of them had been free to express at the time.

“Ok.” Tim said sitting back again “so how many grandchildren are you thinking exactly”

Lucy’s hearty laugh echoed out into the night “Tim!” He was beginning to think her love language was whacking him on the shoulder

“Well I’m just saying, we might not want to take it too slow or…” and just like that they were back to their gentle teasing.

They finally finished their food and arranged that their next date would see Tim cooking for her at his place and after 3 failed attempts at saying goodnight at their cars, that just saw them out of breath and Lucy with wild hair, Tim was finally in his truck on his way home.

He would see her again in the morning and he new just the thought would send him off to a blissful sleep and just maybe he’d have a few dreams of his own.

[whateverurmomwants]

No cuz do you ever just realize how powerful lucy is?

She was able to conjure ALL of her celestial spirits, 3 or 4 of them being fricking ZODIACS, all at once and being powerful enough to be recognized by the celestial spirit king? And all in the first season? Where she hasn’t even had her star dresses and other abilities she has learned?

Not to mention this theory about her being a descendent of the goddess Anna, the best Celestial Spirit user.

And im rewatching it rn, and ive already encountered a moment where if she didnt interfere, natsu would have died. The arc with phantom lord where natsu is battling gajeel? Gajeel had eaten iron but there was no fire for natsu to eat, and so Lucy gave him that fire by using Sagittarius. Without that fire, natsu definitely wouldnt have finished that fight.

People are always saying ‘oh well that may be so, but if she hadn’t joined the guild-‘ Phantom lord would have most definitely attacked them for another reason. They wanted to remain the best guild in Fiore. Fairytail challenged that, so it was just a matter of time before they fought.

“Well, she always gets in their way-“ Yeah, considering the fact that she grew up in a household where her fathers only concern was the family line, she wouldn’t exactly have time to practice her magic. The only spirit she really had was Aquarius, and we can infer that she only brought her out on very few occasions. And she also wouldn’t have been able to build up any target practice or any muscle building, since Jude would say, in the stupid old fashioned way, ‘women don’t need muscles. All you need to do is make yourself look presentable to find a husband.’ He definitely wouldn’t have wanted her practicing her magic.

Meanwhile, all the others grew up in an environment where they could practice their magic freely with other wizards. They had teachers and activities that enhanced their magic and physical builds, she didn’t. So of course she wouldn’t be able to be on their level so soon.

Also, the amount of magic it takes to summon a silver spirit is a lot, but even MORE so for a Zodiac. Mashima explained that it pretty much is on a scale from 1-100. Plu being the easiest to summon at one, and her highest silver key being Lyra at 18. Her golden keys on the other hand, has Aquarius at 100 and the lowest being Cancer at 52. Others talk about the spirits only being able to use as much magical power as Lucy uses to summon them, but i doubt that theory/statement.

And its also amazing even then because she can keep those gates open for a tremendous amount of time, and multiple on some occasions. I don’t know if this part is true, but i believe that the mage has to have at-least some level of concentration on the gate for it to keep open, so if that’s correct, then it makes it even more astounding that she is able to focus on the bond at all times while fighting. And i only say this because her spirits go back to the spirit realm when she is knocked out.

Also during the E.N.D arc, (haven’t gotten there yet, seen bits and pieces) she literally REWRITES the E.N.D book that Zeref HIMSELF wrote. She literally rewrote his fate. And yes, i know that Gray was there to help her out, but at the same time, most people would have still not have been able to handle the mental and physical strain that causes.

And im just guessing on this part, but didnt she learn an entirely new part of her magic by someone in blue pegasus and learned how to preform the spell in like a week? Month? Some other very short time span?

Anyways i just love lucy and i would litterally rather show everyone my ao3 library before letting her get hurt/bashed. Lmao

[artist-issues]

I love your post detailing greta gerwig's changes in her adaptation of little women, but isn't Narnia definitely flavored with some universalism? In the Last Battle, a worshipper of Tash ends up in heaven because he's like "truly seeking the face of God" essentially even if he knew Aslan by the wrong name because his culture only exposed him to Tash. Also, I was raised protestant so I don't know if catholics have a different idea about what counts as universalism or not, but basically I'm not so sure if this will get in the way of her working on the films, especially if she does the Magicians Nephew. Unrelated, I wonder how they're going to go about adapting the Horse and his Boy without it being lambasted for racism etc lol

I think "flavored" with Universalism is a good way to describe The Last Battle--and only The Last Battle, and only that bite of the meal that deals with the young Calormene. Because my understanding of Universalism is that they believe all people, regardless of their beliefs contradicting Biblical Christianity, go to heaven and are not condemned for choosing to be god-of-their-own-life.

You can't quite look at C.S. Lewis' entirety of work and believe he was a Universalist in that sense. He certainly believed in the Biblical truth of Hell. Otherwise, specifically in Narnia, there would be no "Darkness on Aslan's Left Side" that all the creatures who fear and hate him disappear into at the end of the world. That seems like a pretty straightforward representation of Judgement.

I think the whole thing with Emeth the Calormene is interesting. From the language Lewis uses, it seems like he's trying to say something about the posture of a heart more than the name one swears by. Emeth is confused that he's been allowed into the True Narnia because "all my life I have served Tash." But Aslan basically looks at the heart; he says if Emeth had been serving Tash, his deeds and his heart would match Tash. It actually seems more like Emeth didn't know who Tash was at all, or he would have been performing vile works to please Tash. Aslan also says Emeth would never have kept "seeking" for so long if his heart had been serving Tash, which implies that Tash is easier to know than Aslan.

All of that is fascinating (I do think it is the theologically weakest, if not worst, part of the Chronicles of Narnia series.) But I don't think it has anything to do with Universalism as we know it today. Unitarian Universalism is just "Believe whatever you want as long as your belief system doesn't judge other people's belief systems, and you'll be fine with 'God.'" Lewis certainly didn't subscribe to that unbiblical worldview, even with the Calormene in the Last Battle.

I don't know what you mean about the Magician's Nephew.

The real problem with Greta Gerwig is not that she claims Unitarian Universalism. It's that she can't tell a story that is faithful to the original books; she has to transpose it into her own values. So, for example in what we're talking about, if she were doing "The Last Battle," she'd certainly cut out The Darkness on Aslan's Left Side scene, and maybe even reduce the whole conversation between Aslan and Emeth to "all are welcome!" But the main thing she'll do is elevate Susan, Lucy, Jill, Aravis, and Polly to a disproportionate degree.

Finally, I would just say, I'd love for somebody to explain to me what makes The Horse and His Boy racist. (With a reminder that nobody on this website knows my race, so nobody can claim that race-based unconscious bias is what's keeping me from seeing it.)

Lewis invented his own race that, yes, is heavily influenced by Western-Arabian-Nights-interpretations of Middle Eastern cultures. But the Calormenes don't serve Allah, they serve Tash and other gods. The Calormene characters are not all ugly. The Calormen food is not all disgusting. Aravis is a Calormene, and she is a heroine and a main character. Not even every Calormene is even evil, or the enemy of Narnia, though the nation is. What, just because a non-white nation is depicted in Narnia and you can see what culture their fantasy culture is based on, that makes it racist? How? Because Lewis doesn't even write all Calormenes as good or evil, he writes them as humans. Explain to me how that's racist.

(I mean, not you, @childlessoldcatlady, I'm enjoying answering this question. I just meant, someone explain it, now that I'm on the subject. Thanks for the question. I'm Protestant, too.)

[see-arcane]

Siiiiiiigh

Well, this is the entry where we add another stamp to Bram Stoker’s Bias Bingo. We’ve covered xenophobia, racism, anti-New Womanism, Lombroso-flavored pseudoscience, and now we get:

We found Hildesheim in his office, a Hebrew of rather the Adelphi Theatre type, with a nose like a sheep, and a fez.

Followed a paragraph later by one freshly dead victim and some background lady hollering:

Whilst we were talking one came running and breathlessly gasped out that the body of Skinsky had been found inside the wall of the churchyard of St. Peter, and that the throat had been torn open as if by some wild animal. Those we had been speaking with ran off to see the horror, the women crying out "This is the work of a Slovak!"

While I will give Stoker the most moderate credit for not forcing Jonathan/the plot to go full-blown anti-Semitic stereotype, but the point still stands that this shit was not necessary. Also, bonus points for hammering home the point that the Slovaks are Evil+ to Englishmen and ~good~ Europeans alike, living only to be loyal to Dracula! The cads!

I’m sure there will be far more erudite and in-depth analyses to this chunk of the entry as the day goes on, but, like so much of the infuriating to flat-out contrary characterization that Stoker’s shitty mouthpiece moments are with his characters, this kind of thing feels like something that needs spitting out as an exorcised ball of bile. Not least because, no matter how many times I read this book, no matter how acclimated I think I am to the factors of it being a Victorian piece of writing, it’s always so jarring.

Because honestly--despite a clear need for a thesaurus, Mr. Voluptuous-and-Manful--the characterization of the whole cast and even the overall bonhomie that seems to radiate from most of the helpful/chatty background characters, is just so intrinsically benevolent. 

Jonathan meets nothing but worried, helpful strangers en route to the nightmare at the castle, trying to keep him safe, followed by charity and care of the nuns after his escape.

Jonathan himself is shown to be a chronically friendly and heart-winning individual (when not sharpening the kukri).

Lucy is just as chronically a sweetheart who goes out of her way to be a ray of sunshine to put up a front and keep those around her buoyant.

Mina is endlessly curious and engaging, always wanting to hear someone else’s story. 

The entire suitor squad is made of friends who do not resort even once to fits of jealousy or chest-pounding over loving the same woman.

Van Helsing is in a perpetual state of trying to battle evil with preparation and action, wanting more than anything not to see the young people in his charge suffer.

Even before Mina’s safety came into it, these are all people throwing in their hand to risk their lives against what amounts to an undead sorcerer and his bodyguards to make sure he doesn’t get to inflict more pain and death on others. 

But at the same time, all this refreshingly lovable and genuine characterization gets stuck full of needles in the shape of Stoker’s backwards soapbox moments. All those unctuous little snippets--be it the offhand Othello comment, the shitting on the equality of the New Woman movement, or the variety pack of bigotries--feel like someone mixed a bunch of thumbtacks in the lovely cake I’ve been eating, and every bite is a gamble on whether readers get a bad mouthful. Even after 100 years and change, it still feels so shocking, so pointlessly callous to hit on these moments.

If I hadn’t known better, I’d think the whole novel really was someone else’s correspondences, and Stoker ran it through his own filter to add more of his favorite adjectives and biases.

These characters deserved a better writer.

[rebeccalouisaferguson]

Editor’s note: The following interview was conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike began on July 14, 2023.]

Rebecca Ferguson is ready for a break. She’s finished her A.D.R. (additional dialogue) on “Dune: Part Two,” the promotion chores on “Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One” (her third in the series), and is on her way home to hang with her 16-year-old son and still-friendly first husband in Sweden.

She was prepared to go back to England’s Hoddesdon Studios to shoot the second season of “Silo,” the most popular series on AppleTV+, returning her to the lead role of Sheriff. Not necessary, as the day after we spoke, July 13, SAG-AFTRA announced they were going on strike. “The percentage of people fortunate enough to have a good life as actors have to fight for the other percentage,” she said on the phone.

The 39-year-old actress, who grew up in Stockholm, attended a bilingual English school, and trained as a dancer, has steadily built herself into a major star. Who else goes toe-to-toe with Tom Cruise and returns to do it again, twice, without simply being a romantic appendage? It makes perfect sense that her best friend on the set of “Dune” was Charlotte Rampling. “She’s absolutely exquisite,” she said. “I look up to and admire her ridiculously.”

...

The actress rejects the notion of ever “going up against” Tom Cruise, who wanted her for Ilsa after seeing her in the “War of the Roses” mini-series “The White Queen.” “It’s not a battle,” she said. “You go in with the mission of trying to survive. It is written by the incredible Christopher McQuarrie, and Tom is part of that journey. They want phenomenal characters. It merged beautifully, the character [Ilsa] with me: the time, the place, the relationship with Tom all worked with well. The trajectory of this character is so complex and interesting to work with. I asked for a continuation. The story writes itself.”

The actress does not even try to keep up with Cruise. For one thing, she doesn’t perform all her own stunts. If she has to fall out of a speeding car, she leaves that to her beloved stunt double Lucy Cork.

Ferguson did, however, handle the climactic “Dead Reckoning” fight on the bridge herself, she said. “I tend to be running far behind, but I try. Tom is the movie. He represents ‘Mission,’ everything that’s good, and thankfully nothing bad has come from it. You are offered a palette of knowledge: you learn it and do it and embrace it. You also can choose to say ‘no.’ They will find a solution around it, you’re never forced to do it.”

She gamely tried to master riding a motorcycle, and had to earn a license. “You have to learn quickly,” she said. “I had to be ready to shoot soon. It was a 760 Triumph, a big motorbike. I am very strong, but being on one of these on a road in England going fast — the trainer said I was going too slow. ‘I need to get off; it’s not safe. I don’t trust myself.’ No worries! They had other options: Jennie [Tinmouth], the best motorcycle bike rider in the world.”

This “Mission: Impossible” installment boasts more women than usual including Ferguson, Vanessa Kirby, Pom Klementieff, and Hayley Atwell. “‘Mission’ is probably the one franchise that knows how to write storylines for women,” said Ferguson, who takes the scripts as they come. “They break things down; there’s not a lot of going into detail about what happened. You do not talk about it. There’s always reasons why arcs go a certain way,” she said. I control my own destiny [as Ilsa], there are reasons why things happen.” (A very compelling notation, given what happens to Ilsa in the latest film.)

“Silo” has turned out to be the happiest experience of Ferguson’s career, partly because she is an executive producer, but mostly, she said, because showrunner-creator Graham Yost (“Speed”) runs a non-hierarchical set. “I don’t like it when people are more important than others,” she said. “A happy set becomes creative and a safe set becomes a safe space.”

.....

What’s most important with each character for Ferguson, besides building up the right physique, is to “create a silhouette,” she said. “Then you’ve nailed a memorable figure, say, Cruella de Vil, through movement.” Working with movement coach Alexandra Reynolds (“The Theory of Everything”) she expressed the trauma Juliette stores in her body. “She carries a lot of internal grief and internally, and is socially uncomfortable, and is walking away when people touch her. She’s tactile with her own tools and her own world,” Ferguson said. “I often take on powerful characters and portray regal princesses and countesses and concubines, so my agenda was to completely break down and find in myself the capacity to do something else with Juliette.”

At first when the mechanic is named sheriff, she wants to solve the mystery of her lover’s death. “I find Juliette selfish in the beginning, she’s a broken heroine who gradually realizes there are things bigger than herself,” she said. “I love where we are going to in Season 2. She definitely learns new tricks and things get very wet.”

Next up: “Dune: Part Two” (November 3, Warner Bros.) is in the hands of the editors and composer Hans Zimmer. Assuming the strikes are resolved by October, Ferguson will be back on the promo trail.

Returning to Lady Jessica offered a character in transition. “She starts as a powerful, knowledgeable, magical mother and protector on a quest and a journey to make Paul into the leader,” she said. “She’s on a path to see the creation she has made and how is this new Jessica in relation to what her son has become? He’s more forceful, what does she do? She’s a significantly important person to the Fremen.”

[stellaluna33]

Do you think the Chronicles of Narnia are sexist? I've heard people argue both ways. (If you don't want to answer this of course feel free to completely ignore it. But your post about Aravis and assault and so forth made me want to know what your opinion on this was.

Oof. Haha! So... keep in mind that I am really REALLY not an expert, and am no Lewis scholar, so this is just my opinion. However, I have read most if not all of his books as well as some of his letters, as well as done some study of his life, so... With that in mind, my answer would be: it's complicated? Haha! I'll start out by saying this: Lewis was definitely a man of his time. He was born in the late 19th century and spent much of his life in male-dominated academic circles, and with that came certain assumptions (very widely held at the time!) about the way the world and gender roles worked. A lot of those assumptions would now be considered "outdated," to put it generously. But here's the thing, though: C.S. Lewis's views evolved throughout his life. As he interacted with more Actual Women, especially through his friendship with Joy Davidman (who would later become his wife), he rethought a lot of things, and you can really see the difference between his earlier books and his later ones. Even within the Chronicles of Narnia series itself you can see this shift happening! You go from Susan and Lucy being categorically forbidden to partake in the battle in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (I still roll my eyes at that part, haha) to Jill being very definitely involved (as well as being The Best at tracking and stealth) in The Last Battle. Did he get it perfect all the time? No. But he TRIED, and was humble enough to admit when he'd been wrong and ADAPT. And, you know what? I'm going to give him credit for that. That's far better than a lot of people do, even nowadays.

But one area in which I will emphatically answer "No!" to is in the case of Susan. I still remember the first time I ever heard the take that Susan was "condemned" because of, I don't know, being interested in "sexual maturity" or something, and it was an interview/talk with J.K. Rowling, actually (YEARS ago). I remember being just FLOORED and absolutely bewildered because I had NEVER gotten that impression AT ALL. The one comment in the book about Susan being only interested in "nylons and invitations" (or something?) was from the character Jill, who is a young teenage girl who's a bit of a tomboy (I know that's an outdated expression; just roll with it!) and scornful of that sort of thing. But that's not WHY she couldn't come back to Narnia! It's because Susan didn't want to. It has nothing to do with being "sexually mature" or being interested in femininity, it's that she's so obsessed with LOOKING like a grown-up that she doesn't want to believe that Narnia was real. And this has nothing to do with her being a woman because this is how C.S. Lewis talked about HIMSELF. In his autobiographical book, Surprised By Joy, he talks about going through a long phase where he was too embarrassed to read Fairy Tales and acted scornful about them because he was so anxious to avoid anything that might be seen as "childish." What's that quote of his? "Someday you'll be old enough to enjoy Fairy Tales again." This was about himself, and it was about Susan too. Because that's another thing: Susan's story wasn't over yet! She wasn't on the train with the rest of them when it crashed, so she didn't die! And Lewis himself, in a letter written to a fan, said that he expected and hoped that Susan WOULD find her way back to Narnia again! That it might take her a while to get there (as it did with Lewis himself), but she would. I will die on this hill. Haha! Anyway, that's my long, convoluted answer, as best as I can give it. 😊

[petri808]

If you're open for nalu requests, can you write a smut fic where nalu goes to a lingerie store because lucy wants to try on some lingerie and natsu ends up getting aroused? But if you can't it's fine just ignore this ask😊

Hi Nony, this is the last request I’ll do. Decided to save this for @thenaluarchive Sinfully Nalu event Mirror prompt. What did Lucy expect by dragging Natsu lingerie shopping?

“I’ve just got one more stop to make.” Lucy pointed towards the other side of the mall.

“Ugh…” Natsu’s shoulders dropped, “but we’ve been here for 2 hours already, Lucy, and I’m getting hungry.”

“I’ll spring for lunch. Anything you want.”

“I’m holding you to it,” he grumbled, but allowed her to pull him forward.

Natsu knew the mall well enough to know that the section they were heading towards were mostly women’s clothing stores— definitely not where he wanted to be. All these fancy clothes, and accessories, and… stuff that his girlfriend loved to wear. Sure, he didn’t complain cause it made her happy, he just didn’t wanna shop for it. Forever twenty something, Cache or Channel— whatever, “oh, uh-uh, no way,” he jerked them to a halt. “I ain’t going in there.”

“It’s just Victoria’s Secret.”

“Well Victoria can keep her secret. Lucy you’re crazy if you think I’m going in a women’s lingerie store!”

Lucy turned to face, then grabbed both of Natsu’s hands, holding them together close to her chest. “Please,” her eyes begged. “I need you to tell me what you think will be nice on me.”

Thinking about his girl, in lingerie, while standing in a mall was *not* the image Natsu wanted conjuring in his mind. But between the soft, puppy-dog expression, and her whimpering pleading— he was powerless to turn Lucy down. He sighed with a whine. “Fine. I’ll go.”

“Yay!” She giggled, kissed his cheek, and took his hand again, entwining their fingers together. “I’ll make it as painless as possible.”

Yeah, uh-huh, right… Painless.

As they walked down the rows and racks of lingerie, Natsu hummed in his head as a distraction. Bras, panties. Low cut, high cut, thongs, g-strings. Sets, individual pieces. Lace, satin, cotton. So many choices! He let the colors blend in his vision, the scents of brand-new clothing mixed with perfumes sold, or miscellaneous accessories. How do women pick anything when there’s so many options? Give him a t-shirt and jeans and he was good to go.

Every so many picks, Lucy would ask his opinion. ‘Yeah, that’s nice. No, that looks itchy. I like that color. Eww, it doesn’t match you.’ Finding her size in the styles she wanted wasn’t always easy, but after 30 minutes, Lucy had half a dozen or so items to try on. So, they head towards the fitting rooms.

Natsu stopped in front of the doors, and readied himself to stand around and wait—

“You’re coming in with me.” Lucy tugged on his hand. “I need your final opinion.”

Up until now, Natsu had managed to avoid thinking about anything even remotely related to sex, but now?! “Uh-uh, no way!”

“Please…” Lucy turned on the pouty lip-action and puppy-dog eyes again. “It’s not like you won’t see me in them later.”

Natsu gulped hard as the naughty images were unlocked. “Are you trying to kill me in public?”

“Pfft, no,” she giggled. “Stop exaggerating this.”

‘You have no idea, woman…’ “Alright, fine. But don’t blame me if anything happens in there.” Because if the twitch in his pants and slight bulge growing was any indication, it wouldn’t be what she’d be expecting.

“Tch.” Lucy rolled her eyes. “It’ll be fine, Natsu, you’ll see.”

The dressing room was a lot more spacious than he was used to seeing. Men’s fitting rooms, at least the ones he’s been in are like closets with just one full length mirror, and maybe a small bench inside. This one could easily fit them both, with wrap around mirrors to catch every angle. It had a small, cushioned bench along one wall, and a couple of hooks on the inside of the door. But most noteworthy was the fact it was a fully enclosed room— not those partial-length doors at lower-quality stores. It was very, very private.

Natsu sat down on the bench and closed his eyes while Lucy fiddled with her options. He could hear the plastic and metal hangers going up on the hooks, as well as the sounds of his girlfriend shedding her clothing. His mouth suddenly felt dry… Lucy’s voluptuous body bared for him to see with only her regular panties left on— he squeezed his eyes tighter shut. ‘Don’t think about it! Don’t think about it!’

“Ready— Natsu, silly,” Lucy giggled. “How are you gonna tell me if it’s good or not if you can’t see?”

“No.”

Lucy threaded her fingers gingerly through his hair. “Just one peak…”

‘Fuck…’ he groaned as the tightening in his shorts grew uncomfortable. “One peak.”

Natsu opened his eyes and immediately slammed them shut again from the screaming bra and panties glued to her frame. A sheer red with solid fabric only over the nipples and a strip covering her crotch. So much flesh revealed in these outfits, was there even a point to wearing anything at all?

“Great!” His voice squeaked out. “Looks fine.”

Her giggles only added to his demise. The sounds of more fabric rustling, and the twitch in his shorts… Natsu shifted in his seat trying to get comfortable, but he couldn’t. Lucy had grabbed about six of seven different pieces to try, and this was only the beginning. She was too damn sexy, and he swore, derived pleasure out of torturing him like this! Ugh, his cock was so hard right now…

“Okay, next piece,” Natsu heard her say. “I’m not sure about it, cause the color doesn’t seem to look good on me.”

Tch, it could be multi-colored polka dots and Lucy would still be a man’s wet dream. He cracked open one eye. It was a dark green, combo with frilled lace along the waistband. Natsu gulped hard as she did a turn around to reveal a thong and curvy swell of her backside.

“You do realize I’m biased, right?” Natsu blurted out. “Everything looks good on you to me.”

“Awww,” Lucy bent down and placed a chaste kiss to his lips. “I still think I’ll add this to the maybe pile,” she spoke as she started removing the pieces. “I think you’ll really like the next one I found; it has these cute flames on them.”

“You know what I’d prefer to see?” Natsu questioned, for he was done holding back.

Lucy stopped mid-way, bent slightly over with the thong down to her thighs. “What?”

Without answering her, Natsu got off the bench and started helping her take the thong off.

“Natsu, what are you—”

Once off, he moved onto her regular panties down.

“Nat— s-stop!” Lucy grabbed for his hands, but she couldn’t do much without twisting or tripping. “What are you do—”

“Keep your voice down.” He tugged those off too leaving her exposed from the waist down.

“Natsu this isn’t funny!” She seethed in an exasperated whisper.

“Neither is this,” he gestured at the bulge in his shorts. Guiding her against the mirrored wall as he spoke. “You said I could choose whatever I wanted for lunch, and I’ve decided to put you on the menu.”

Lucy whimpered when she felt the cold mirror against her bare skin. “But we’re in public.”

“I warned you didn’t I…” Natsu leaned in with a whisper, cheek to cheek. “Then I suggest you not make any noise,” his words wisp out, warm breath fanning down the barren skin as his lips burn a trail over her neck. Lucy dug her fingers into his hair, holding on but not stopping him as he moved lower.

His stops were brief, lips ghosting burning marks along her chest, a mountainous journey over the pillowy bosoms, a few licks against the pert nipples, and lower… down … snaking over her torso to what he was truly after. “Breathe, baby,” Natsu teased at her halted, bated breathing. “Just look forward and watch.”

She sucked in a gulp of air and stared forward at the mirrored image of Natsu going down on her. It was strange to literally watch every move he made like a voyeur living through another’s body. Lucy’s fingers tightened their grip on his hair in anticipation as he spread her legs a little wider…

“Mmm,” he mused in thought on how to get the best angle. “Hold to me,” Natsu suggested, and before she could reply, lifted Lucy’s left leg, and rested it on his shoulder. “Perfect…”

Natsu dove right in, latching his mouth onto the moist folds he knew so well, humming at the quick squeak his girl couldn’t catch in time. But he knew from the pull on his scalp exactly what she was experiencing. He kept one hand on her raised hip, while the fingers of his other toyed around the edge of her wet opening. His tongue pressed and circled around her clit, sucking, palpating, interspersed with soothing flicks and long strokes to lap up the growing sap gathering in the area. He closed his eyes as he relished in the warmth oozing over his face from her beautiful sex.

Heaven help her, Lucy couldn’t stop staring at that mirror… her gripped fingers to his hair and nails digging into his shoulder for dear life from the seasoned oral ministrations that slowly undid her sanity. Just his tongue alone… but the teasing fingers… Oh! Oh— Her thighs clenched to the sides of Natsu’s head as she felt one, then two fingers slipped through her walls. Lucy’s body arched slightly, and head tilted back as those fingers began swiftly pumping.

“Natsu…” Lucy moaned softly through sealed lips. She could feel his grin against her flesh, hear the squishing sounds, and smell the light scent of her extreme arousal. Damn him…

In a race against time, Natsu pumped fast and hard while his mouth and tongue devoured Lucy’s sex and sanity with an intensity to rival any known battle for supremacy. Each passing second, drawing the heated coil at her core closer to snapping. Her legs trembled, yet clenched and stiffened as his fingers pummeled, bumping the swollen sex being driven to his knuckles reach. He could feel Lucy start unraveling and held firmly to her hip bone as the jerky spasms rocked her body in orgasmic euphoria.

“Stop, stop, stop—” Lucy clawed at his back and neck as she whimpered from the immense pressure boiling in her body, and radiant moisture pooled in her eyes. “Please… enough, Natsu my legs are gonna give out.”

After giving her pussy a few more licks to clean up the excess juices, Natsu finally obliged and put down Lucy’s leg, then stood up while still supporting her as she caught her breath. He licked around his lips and cleaned off his fingers. “Best lunch in the world,” he grinned.

“Oof!” Lucy playfully slapped his chest with a short laugh. “Not what I’d meant. And now I don’t have time to try on the rest.”

“Why not?”

Lucy started putting on her regular clothes. “We’ve been in here for too long, it’ll be suspicious.”

“Tch, then just buy all of it if you like them, cause I’m telling you they’ll all look great on you.”

She glared at him. “Fine, but after pulling that stunt, now you owe me lunch!”

Natsu shrugged and grabbed all the hangers of clothing. “Okay, since you’ll need your strength later.”

“Later?”

The widest seedy grin bloomed on Natsu’s face. “You’ll see…”

[animeyanderelover]

Yandere Loke Hc’s

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, obsessiveness, delusions, manipulation, stalking, mentioning of kidnapping, threatening, killing

♌️His most outstanding traits are his manipulation, his obsession and the fact that he is a stalker. He is a Celestial Spirit and contracted to Lucy so he gets called every once in a while and additionally is the leader of the Zodiac Spirits, he has work up his sleeves. Yet he definitely won’t miss up the chance to watch over his darling as often as he can. He watches rather closely since he definitely doesn’t plan on being the silent stalker forever, he wants to confront the s/o very soon and charm them as best as he can. So it is from importance that he knows what they’re like and how he has an easier time catching their sympathy. Loke is what you may call a pure charmer and sweet talker so he would probably have an easy time getting close to his darling and since he does every romantic act out of the picture book, he is bound to flatter you constantly.

♌️He’s protective over those he cares and will rush to their side if they need help so he behaves the same towards his darling as well. He kind of babies his darling, not because he doesn’t trust them, but rather because he likes doing so. Will of course stop if they get a bit mad with him over it. He’s semi-delusional. Loke has a healthy amount of confidence in himself that he’ll be able to have his darling falling for him with the help of his charm and initially he honestly takes you as another of many persons he flirts with. But the moment he recognizes that this is more than just a small flirting session, he kind of starts thinking it was destiny that he met them. I don’t believe him to be completely delusional though since he is the leader and shows attributes of one as well.

♌️It might honestly be that his darling gets more jealous because even if Loke has eyes for only his darling. He needs a bit before he has shaken off the habit of flirting with women around him and he definitely also sometimes makes you on purpose jealous when you kind of ignore him or don’t pay as much attention to him as he would like too. Causing him to get jealous might just be a payback from your side, though it is hard to do so since Loke knows when you try to make him jealous which he finds adorable. Loke has trust in his darling and for that never believes them to leave for someone else. Funnily it is incredibly easy to see him getting jealous the moment someone acts just as flattering to you as he does, even worse if you fall for it.

♌️As someone who will always defend and fight those who are a threat to those dear to his heart, Loke will always help if his s/o is in danger and especially if they’re in serious troubles he wants to save them as fast as possible. He might appear to be quite chill on the outside, but he doesn’t take it lightly when someone mistreats his darling at all and there will be warnings and threats coming along the way. That’s how he deals with most people categorized as danger. He threatens and blackmails them to stay away. Even in battles he focuses rather on getting you out of harm’s way instead of killing the person who causes the chaos.

♌️As long as he doesn’t drag his darling in the Celestial World he has no real place where he could keep them. But since he introduces them at one point anyways to Lucy, the girl kind of starts looking after them and befriending them when Loke is away and since he trusts the girl, he’ll give his darling freedom. In an emergency Lucy can call him after all. With Lucy in the boat it becomes anyways more difficult because over time you become a dear friend of his and the moment you disappears, she will find out quickly that the lion might know something about it since Loke uses his own magic to track when he senses that you might run into danger.

♌️Lucy might be a bit surprised when hearing that Loke is in a relationship, but she’s extremely happy for her friend and all the other Zodiac signs are as well, everyone eager to get to know this lucky person. Of course some might doubt that this is something serious at first, but it becomes over time clear that Loke really loves you. He hastily apologizes whenever he accidentally flirted with someone and tries to stop this habit of his and gathers all the time he can to spend with you. To be honest, at one point he might get in serious troubles with Lucy if she gets to know that he flirted yet again with someone else and that because of this you got sad and upset.

[rthstewart]

More Narnia Spare Oom AUs

So I’ve like actually written a lot of this.  But....  based on this lovely post by @athoughtfox and then @edmundjustking made the serious mistake of asking for me to elaborate and so I did , a little bit here .  But... I have opinions about this, OK?  And A LOT OF WORDS.   REALLY A LOT OF WORDS.

Digory – Professor at Oxford, professor of philosophy and theology, renowned expert on the Oxford Franciscans, the Blessed Duns Scotus, and Gerard Manly Hopkins.  Professor Kirke is trying to construct an elaborate theory of environmental stewardship and haecceity based upon his Narnia experience. An excellent theologian and a very bad Christian – he’s not been to church in over 30 years.  Ace.

Polly – Amateur zoologist and naturalist --- “maiden” aunt HA! Always accompanied by a dog, a cat, an umbrella and a carpet bag.  Drove an ambulance in France for the Red Cross in WW1 in France.  Drives an MG. World traveler.   Bisexual. Works at the Whipsnade Zoo and has a bad habit of always trying to curtsy in front of Peter.

Peter: Private, youngest member of Ox & Bucks 2d Battalion, D Company, Glider Corps (whose insignia is Bellerophon aboard Pegasus) and sees the first action on D-Day when his Horsa Glider crashes into the Caen Canal bridge (Normandy) (which becomes known as Pegasus Bridge). He’s wounded in hedgerow battles on the march to Paris, sent home to recover and (probably) never sees more action.  (Unless he joins Captain America’s Howling Commandos and cleans up Hydra nests in former occupied Europe).  Maybe ends up with T-Force, Ox & Bucks 1st Battalion, who are rounding up German scientists and high value targets and “persuading” them to come to England or America.  

After he’s demobbed, he enrolls at Oxford and starts an affair with a married woman.  He then drops out of Oxford as a dismal failure at the classics curriculum.  He comes into some money and finally gets Aslan’s message and begins rebuilding a country for a 3rd time -- he ends up working in construction and literally becomes a rock on which England is rebuilt, as a carpenter and bricklayer.  Ultimately he’s elected to Commons as the rep for Oxford-Cowley where his battles with Margaret Thatcher become legendary.  Bisexual, married, two children, 6 grandchildren. Knighted in 1992.  

 Susan:  Lying about her age and armed with forged identify papers, Susan begins running a spy through the British Embassy in Washington DC in the summer of 1942 to build support in the American Congress for the British war effort.  She leaves school in 1943 and enters SOE training.  She is deployed to Bénouville at a woman’s hospital to spy on the Nazi fortification of the Caen Canal which Peter’s Horsa glider crashed into on D-Day. Sometime thereafter, she is eventually able to return to England (and maybe hangs out with/has sex with Peggy Carter for a while in France on the road to Paris).  Eventually, she is recruited to MI6/SIS with her partner from Washington and they eventually marry where they built networks of spies throughout the Balkans that are blown and murdered by the Cambridge 5.  Her husband may die in Berlin in or around 1950 and/or she remarries.  One daughter; one grandchild.  COE Deaconess, international election observer, advocate for women’s pentathlon in the Olympics, always keeps wolfhounds and a really large handbag that she keeps a Little Joe crossbow in that she got during the War.  Becomes Dame Commander in or around 1980.  

 Edmund:  With forged papers, Edmund passes off as a British army private in Washington DC in 1943, becomes fluent in German and Russian, and is involved in espionage efforts in Greece and the Balkans that preceded Allied operations in the Mediterranean in 1943.   He narrowly avoids a honey trap and seduction by a man with the aim of  compromising him into becoming a Soviet agent – the Soviets are seeking information on the Venona project.  After flirting with the SIS, he decides to not join his sister in espionage.  He reads law at Oxford and works the Judges’ Trial at Nuremberg.  He becomes a successful barrister and renowned human rights activist, with a particular focus on war crimes (with Lucy) and tirelessly advocates for the Chagoss Islands.  Edmund refuses a knighthood for years because he wants Peter to get his first.  He finally relents and becomes the Right Honourable Sir Edmund Pevensie but hates being called Sir.  Sits on the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.  Bisexual, married, three children, five grandchildren, married to a Holocaust survivor. Always keeps cats.

 Lucy:  Leaves school in 1943 with forged identity papers to begin agitating for Greek famine relief and more aggressive action to stop the Holocaust and allow more Jews into England.  Joins the Red Cross.  Eventually becomes involved in smuggling food to the Channel Islands which are under Nazi occupation. After the war, Lucy advocates for families of Chinese men in the Liverpool area after the Chinese merchant sailors are secretly kidnapped and forcibly repatriated back to China.  She eventually goes back to school and becomes a doctor.  She and Edmund are involved war crimes investigations all over the world.  Through NGOs, she operates clinics and advocates for security of the whole person (income, education, home, political stability, healthcare) as universal human rights.  Short listed for a Nobel Peace prize twice.  Has arrest records in 5 countries for civil disobedience.  Bisexual. Marries an American, has three children and four grandchildren.  

 Eustace:  Becomes a world-renowned paleontologist, with a focus on trying to find fossil records that can explain the worldwide mythology of dragons. Discovers a species of flying lizard, Draco Scrubb.  Marries Jill, two children.

 Jill:  A respected artist and cook.  She sells art to sporting magazines her mother and father run in the U.S. and Caribbean and also to paleontological and naturalist publications.  Also active with her family, in the cause of Jamaican independence and politics thereafter.  She purchases a cottage on the Isle of Wright that has portals to a magical place with pink water and blue sand.  

[demivampirew]

The interview

Smut one shot

Summary: Henry is doing an interview with Variety and things happen in the meantime.

Triggers: Smut; blowjob.

Requested by @kitty-blades​

Tag list: @lunedelorient​​ @henrythickcavill​ @wolvesandhoundshowltogether​ @mary-ann84​ @desperate-and-broken​ @peakygroupie​ @summersong69​ @ivvitm1109​ @madbaddic7ed​ @seb-owns-these-tatas​

Two days earlier: - Are you serious? Did you really have not had sex in a public place? You?- you asked your boyfriend - Of course not. It's uncomfortable. There's not privacy and things don't happen as naturally as they should. I prefer to do those things in private. Besides, that's not a pretty Superman thing to do.- Henry explained shrugging. You rolled your eyes in a sign of annoyment. - Oh, Henners. You're way too vanilla for this word.- you replied sitting on his lap.- You realized that you're on the position thousands of guys would love to be? You're super hot, nice, you have a British accent, you're famous and you haven't taken advantage of any of that.- you laughed - I think that's a good thing, isn't it? I don't think that taking advantage of your position is a good thing to do. - Using your power over others to get what you want against the other people's desires is a bad thing; to make some fantasies come true with people that are more than willing to do them with you is a completely different thing. Like, you never had a threesome... I bet you have had plenty of offers by thirsty women to go to bed with you.- you prompted and he smirked as an affirmation to your suggestion.- See, I knew it. - Ok. You're right.-he agreed - You agree with me that you should have accepted those proposals?- you questioned - Nope. I agree with you in the fact that I'm vanilla.- he corrected you with a huge smile.- Sued me if you want, but I'm the man who only wants to be with his lady and only her and save all the passion for her.- he informed you as he played with your ear, biting it softly. The warmth of his breath hitting your ear made you shiver. You laughed as a reflection from the tingles.

Now:

- Wasn't this place supposed to have better wifi?- you asked raising an eyebrow. - It does.- Henry replied smirking. - Maybe in a parallel universe.- you argued and he laughed. - Well, is better than the one in the house. - I'd like to disagree with that statement. Just say that you wanted to get out of the house because confinement was making you insane.- you reproached him with a devilishly smirk. - Ok, maybe.- he shrugged. - It feels so silent without Kal.- you left your furry bear baby in the care of the guy that took care of the Zeus and Hector before going to that place for Henry's interview with Variety because he didn't trust you and Kal to keep quiet. You were always playing with the puppy he'd bark a lot and that wasn't the ideal environment for an interview. Henry was finishing setting up the app for the interview. You looked at him. You loved to see him work his way around the computer. The fact that that giant muscular guy, who was also extremely good looking, talented and sweet as sugar, could also be a big geek and intelligent blew your mind every time. And whenever you thought about, you'd get aroused. You checked beforehand the view from the app perspective, making sure that later you'd not be caught on camera. You kneeled before your boyfriend, unzipping his pants. - What are you doing?- he questioned laughing nervously. - I was bored, so I'm doing the only fun thing I can think of.- you replied. - The interview is about to start- he warned blushing as you took his cock out of his briefs. - So? You are an actor...you can cry when they asked you too but cannot act cool while being blown? - you laughed and lick his member, making him moan at the instant contact of your tongue with his member. You were sweetly stroking him with your lips and tongue when the interview started. You had to admit that was impressive how cool he was acting but you were feeling naughty, so decided to push thing a little bit. When the journalist started to talk about a gym-related thing, you started to go deep on him, losing your breath as his manhood reached the limits of your throat. Tears drop from your eyes. You held your breath and battled the waves of nausea as much as you could, before slowly taking it off and then continued to lick the downside of his big throbbing cock, from the base to the tip, back and forward. You heard him talk about the show and the books. He'd gesture a lot with his hands while talking and then put it them on your head, stroking your hair. How come some people criticise his acting habilities when, not only he was great on his roles, but he was a pro at acting like nothing was going on, while you were sucking the juices out of him. His member was hard as a rock and warm as well. You sucked the head of it while stroking the rest with both of your hands, stimulating it. You'd look up to see his face. There were a few sings he showed of his enjoyment: he'd lick his lips and swallow every now and then. His skin was glowing because he was sweating, which made you giggle in silence. You started to take him all in once more, and as you were trying to fit his impressive cock inside your mouth and throat, you heard him say "we speak each other's language and so he knew exactly what I wanted to do with the scene, I knew exactly what he was capable of and he knew that he could push me, and so he pushed and pushed and pushed to the absolute limit..." and you avoid to chuckled intending to avoid making any sounds. Was he trying to order you to take him all in, covering his petition under an inoffensive story about a coworker? Well, if that was the case you were not about to disappoint him. As you were recovering for another long breathless moment, you heard him talk about his ex-girlfriend. Was he for real? How could he mention Lucy while you were blowing him? You knew the context and he was that nice guy who talks wonder of people, but the timing was key. He needed to learn when was and when it was not ok to talk about a former lover. As a lesson, you grabbed the foreskin with your teeth, stretching it up and bitting it a bit. You knew that that'd hurt, but he always loved that. Your plan was not to cause him pain but to make it harder for him to keep a straight face. And he'd also have to hear you go about how he should not bring an ex into a conversation when he's getting a blowjob or any other sexual situation. You held the tip of his dick on your mouth, sucking it as hard as you could, with stroking it with your hands. Fortunately, the interviewer was talking loud enough to mask any possible sounds. If it wasn't for the fact that you weren't technically alone and that thousands of people would watch that talk later, you would have burst into laughter at the face he put as he came inside your mouth. You could hear the guy ask Henry a question about working out for movies when the moment happen, just when he was supposed to answer. He was lucky that he was a cute dork and nobody would suspect anything because he was used to putting weird faces while being interviewed. You made sure to take every last drop of the juice his body produced, before putting in inside his briefs and zipping his pants. You crawled your way out of under the table and went for a soda in the fridge that was in the next room of that place. Shortly, your boyfriend entered the small kitchen, pressing you against the wall, kissing you with a burning passion. - You're a bad, bad girl.- he reapproached you with a smirk while kissing your neck. - And you're an ass.- you said frowning and pouting. - What happened?- he questioned confused. He was clueless. - Lucy is great. She's the best... blah blah blah.- you misquoted with a sarcastic tone. - I thought you liked her.- he replied and you wanted to throw the soda on his face. - I don't even know her. I'm ok with you working with her and all. What I'm not is delighted to hear you mention her all the time, especially when I'm giving you one hell of a blowjob.- you exclaimed. - I'm so sorry, babygirl.- he said, kissing you softly on the cheek and then in your neck.- Let me make it up to you.- he begged as he got on his knees, taking your panties off and putting his head inside your summer dress, and soon enough, eating you out.

[blkmxrvel]

Haven’t Forgotten My Way Home (26) - [CONVERTED]

Pairing: Kara Zor-El x Female!Reader

Summary: In the D/s society of National City, men and women abandoned by their Dom/mes or otherwise deemed unfit for life “outside” end up at the Mount Overland House for Orphaned Submissives. It is here that Kara Zor-El finds Y/N Hastings, broken and fearful from mistreatment at the hands of her former Dom. Can Kara coax Y/N back into the world that once so terrified her, and show her the true meaning of care and submission?

Warnings: Domestic Violence (Flashbacks, Mentions and Descriptions), Misogyny, Domination/Submission.

They filed into the courtroom one by one, a nervous band of shaking hands and uncertain faces. Kara wanted, once again, to sit with Y/N, but she had to satisfy herself with a kiss, and tucking a loose strand of hair behind Y/N’s ear, before Lena ushered Kara off to sit in their previous seats.

It had been hell, sitting through Y/N’s testimony, especially knowing that Schott probably was turning a deaf ear to everything the young woman was saying. Kara didn’t know how that was exactly possible; there was nothing in what Y/N told that should lead anyone to believe she’d had a happy life with James Olsen. Kara had wanted to run up to the table and take Y/N in her arms, telling her that everything would be okay. And she wanted to punch Iris West.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Kara muttered to her.

Lena slipped an arm around Kara and squeezed her close. “Breathe, little one,” she whispered, and Kara didn’t object to the term of endearment. “You need to be strong for her, because if you’re not, who else is going to be?”

“I have to think about myself too, you know,” Kara said with a sigh. The talk she’d have to have with her bosses was looming ever-present in her mind, even as she tried to shove it away and concentrate on Y/N.

Not like my Miss Kara.

They were words that simultaneously thrilled her, and damned her. Kara knew that morally and legally she hadn’t done anything wrong; her bosses couldn’t keep her away from Y/N. But ethically… ethically she’d broken every rule in the book. Don’t get involved with a client. Don’t give a client preferential treatment. Don’t fall in love with a client.

Alex’s knowing face had told Kara that she knew what was in store for her, and Kara couldn’t help but absurdly wonder if she’d called her bosses to be there. There wasn’t any reason for them to be there, they usually never expressed interest in court cases involving clients.

“She wouldn’t do that,” Lena said when Kara voiced her fears. “I think Alex learned her lesson about not being upfront with you.”

“And I’m not telling you to not care for yourself,” Lena added. “You ought to know me better than that. Your first priority is to yourself. But don’t get so lost in it that you forget Y/N, too.”

“And you know me bet—“ Kara trailed off as the door opened and she and the others stood up as Judge Schott entered.

“Be seated,” he said. “Mr. Olsen, remain standing, please.”

His smile to James filled Kara with dread as she sat down and Lena took her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. Kara looked at Y/N, who sat there stone-faced, as if she knew what was to come, and was steeling herself for the inevitability.

“I’m going to get right to the point,” Judge Schott said smoothly. “Mr. Olsen, I find you not guilty of the charge of neglect.”

Kara growled low in her throat and Lena’s hand tightened around hers.

“I find that you provided Y/N with food, shelter, and the discipline that should be given to a submissive. Since you did not have a contract outlining rules and the consequences for breaking those rules, as well as the establishment of a safe word, it is the judgment of this court that you cannot be held responsible for going beyond acceptable punishment.”

Iris West-Allen looked startled at Judge Schott’s words, a fact that gave Kara no small amount of satisfaction. The man’s own lawyer hadn’t even believed in him. Alex glanced over at Kara, a combined expression of regret and triumph on her face. Kara knew she’d want to start phase two of bringing down Schott as soon as possible, but Kara felt tired, so impossibly tired.

And she only had eyes for Y/N.

“While the court finds you not guilty of the charges of neglect, the court does find that you did not obtain a contract, including the use of a safe word, at the beginning of your relationship with Y/N, as is required by law.”

“Slap on the wrist,” Kara muttered, and Lena shushed her.

“The court therefore sentences you to one month of probation as well as one month of Dominant education classes. Before you enter a claim with another submissive you will be required to submit proof that you attended these classes, is that clear?”

“Yes, Your Honor,” James Olsen replied; Kara found it curious that instead of looking relieved, Olsen seemed more… sad than anything.

Good, Kara thought. Maybe his conscience was finally catching up to him.

“Do you have any questions?” the judge was asking Y/N, though by his tone it was obvious any question she could ask would be considered stupid, and a waste of time.

“Do I- do I have to go back with him?” Y/N asked softly.

Kara nearly retched; it was only Lena’s hand still gripping hers that kept her from doing so. She hadn’t even entertained that possibility. Y/N had left James; there had been no thought in Kara’s mind about her having to return to him, or even still being bound to him. But Judge Schott had insisted on calling her Hastings-Olsen…

Oh god. What if—

“Do you want to be with him?”

This time, Y/N’s voice was strong, solid.

“Not if he were the last Dominant on earth.”

Kara smirked; next to her, Lena chuckled.

“You’ve taught her well.”

Kara shook her head. “That’s all Y/N,” she said proudly. “I’ve had nothing to do with that.”

“I think you have, more than you know.”

Maybe, she thought to herself, but the judge was speaking again.

“If you don’t want to be with him—“

“But I want to be with her,” James interrupted. He leaned forward, his hands splayed open on the table.

For a moment, Kara realized, the roles had changed. James was the one reaching out in supplication, and this time Y/N had the upper hand. This time, it was Y/N who had the power over James Olsen.

“I love you, and I’m sorry,” he insisted. “Things will be different, you’ll see. I know how to do things better now, you have to come home.”

There was a pause that seemed, to Kara, to go on forever before Y/N answered.

“I will go home, but not with you.” She looked at the judge. “I don’t want to be with him.”

A second pause; Kara and everyone else jumped at the sound of the gavel. When had that appeared?

“The claim is dissolved, and court is adjourned.”

The room emptied out quickly; Lena had gone off to console Sam, who seemed to be muttering swear words under her breath while glaring at the door through which Schott had made his hasty exit. Lucy’s job was done so she felt no need to linger around after a simple touch on Y/N’s shoulder and an apologetic smile. Alex allowed Maggie to wrap her arms around her, and the two women stopped in front of Kara.

“We’ll talk later?” Alex asked quietly.

Kara nodded, her gaze focused on the girl sat at the table in the front of the room.

“We’ll talk later.”

“I’ll call you.”

“You’ll call me. Alex?" She stopped and turned back.

Kara smiled. “Love you.”

She winked. “Love you too.”

Kara turned back around, watching her in the silence of the almost empty room. Watched as Y/N took a breath in, out, fingers flexing against the laminate wood of the table. What thoughts were warring with themselves in her mind? Kara wondered. She wondered if it was the same thought that kept running through Kara’s own mind.

Y/N was free.

Free. To enjoy personal rights or liberty, as a person who is not in slavery. Pertaining to or reserved for those who enjoy personal liberty.

To make free; set at liberty; release from bondage or imprisonment.

Schott may not have given them what they really wanted – James in prison, but he’d given Y/N exactly what she needed, had needed ever since she was a sixteen year old, terrified submissive.

A voice. A decision. A choice.

The claim is dissolved.

Kara sat in her chair and watched Y/N. In, out, hands flat on the table. Lips parted, eyes ahead.

“It’s not my fault.”

The battle was raging. Kara nodded.

“It’s not.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I-I’m free.”

Kara stood up and moved to the front of the room, to the table, positioning herself on it in front of Y/N.

“You’re free.”

Y/N looked at her, then wrapped her arms around Kara’s waist and rested her head on Kara’s lap.

“I can do whatever I want.”

Kara stroked her fingers through Y/N’s hair. It was always so soft, she thought.

“You can do whatever you want.”

Y/N let out a shuddering sigh, and Kara hunched forward slightly, covering Y/N as best she could in a hug and kissing the top of her head. She sat back up, her hand in the girl’s hair.

“What do you think you want?” Kara asked.

Y/N was quiet, and Kara felt a little worried about what Y/N’s answer might be. Perhaps she’d say she wanted time. Her own apartment. Which would be nice, really, Kara knew that Y/N was probably ready to leave Nia’s, leave Mt. Overland House behind. It would be absurd to think that Y/N would want to move in with Kara; it was absurd to think that that would even be a good idea at this point.

But what if she said she wanted to see other people? Maybe she wanted to try to submit to someone else, someone who wasn’t Kara. Maybe she didn’t want to submit at all.

But it would be her choice, Kara knew. Her choice, and she’d stand by whatever Y/N decided. Because she was free.

“A cheeseburger.”

Kara tilted her head. “What?”

“A cheeseburger, Miss Kara,” Y/N said, lifting her own head and smiling at Kara a little, her eyes sparkling with tears. Happy tears. “I’m starving.”

“Then you should get a cheeseburger,” Kara said with a laugh, her fears a little relieved. “You certainly deserve one.”

“Why didn’t he believe me?” Y/N asked, and Kara knew the opposing side of the battle was making its move.

“I told the truth…”

“I know,” Kara soothed, pulling Y/N up from her lap and cupping her cheek. “I am so proud of you. But we knew how this was most likely to turn out, Y/N. Judge Schott clearly had his mind made up before you even spoke.”

“I just thought if he heard me, if he listened—“

“He didn’t want to listen, little one.” Kara leaned forward and gently kissed Y/N’s lips. “But that doesn’t mean that you weren’t right, that this was your fault. None of this is your fault, and you know that now.”

Y/N stared at her for a long moment, and Kara was glad to see a new resolve appear in her eyes, and Kara was pretty sure she knew which side had won the battle.

“I know it wasn’t my fault.”

Kara smiled and kissed Y/N’s forehead. “Let’s go get that cheeseburger, shall we?” She had her own resolve, to put the impending meeting with her bosses out of her mind, at least for now.

He was waiting for her as Kara walked out holding Y/N’s hand. The surprise in his eyes told Kara that James hadn’t expected her to be there as well; had he expected to ambush Y/N in an empty hallway? Y/N’s hand tightened in hers.

“What do you want?”

“To talk to you.” He flicked his gaze to Kara. “Alone.”

Kara opened her mouth, but Y/N beat her to it. “That’s not happening.” She couldn’t help but smirk.

“We need to talk. I want to talk to you now.”

His hand was around Y/N’s arm, and Kara sprang into action, pulling Y/N behind her and positioning herself in front of James.

“Are you all right?” she asked, her eyes never leaving James’s face.

“I’m fine, Miss Kara.”

“Good.” She addressed James. “You’re going to leave her alone.”

“Says who?” he snorted.

“Says me.”

Kara smiled at Y/N’s words, and nodded. “You’re going to leave her alone. Your claim is dissolved. You had a good thing and you cruelly, brutally mistreated one of the most beautiful things you could have ever been given.”

“I didn’t know what I—“

“You’re right. You didn’t know, and you still don’t. You don’t know that women are no longer required to accept mediocrity when they deserve superiority.” He looked confused, but Kara didn’t bother to stop to explain.

“You are the poorest excuse for a dominant I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, and I am so sorry that Y/N ever had to suffer under your stupidity. But I’m also glad.”

Kara reached behind her and grasped Y/N’s hand again, pulling the girl forward so that they were standing close.

“I’m glad because now she knows what she should have had, and what she still can have. So no, you’re not going to talk to her, and no, she’s not going back to you, and yes, you’re going to leave her alone.”

She stepped so that she was so close to James she could feel his breath on her; it didn’t matter that he could easily crush her. Protecting Y/N made her feel ten feet tall.

“Because if you don’t, I will make your life a living hell, James Olsen.”

For the rest of her life Kara would consider it a personal triumph when James Olsen walked away with a glare, and Y/N threw back her head, laughing, as she picked Kara up and spun her around in a hug.

Two days later, triumph was the last thing on her mind when Kara was sat in the boardroom at SETS, facing down Bamford and Truelove. It was awkward, Kara thought, knowing that she would have to justify her actions to someone named Truelove. She would have thought he’d understand, but his stony expression as they both stared at her told her that she wouldn’t be that lucky. Of course.

“Are you Miss Hastings’s mistress?”

Apparently there weren’t even going to be forced, meaningless pleasantries; just jumping straight to the point. “No,” Kara answered.

“But she refers to you as Miss Kara.”

“That’s what you heard,” Kara said wearily. “And that’s why we’re here.”

“Kara.” Mr. Bamford folded his hands together and leaned forward against the table, regarding her with something that was between father and executioner. “We’re here because based on Miss Hastings’s comments during the hearing, it’s clear that you overstepped your boundaries as an employee of the Society for the Ethical Treatment of Submissives.”

“I didn’t intend to,” Kara insisted, though she knew in the end it wouldn’t matter.

“Is she submitting to you?” Truelove asked, and Kara sighed inwardly.

It was well-known, Alex had told her when she’d started at SETS, that Truelove’s aim was to become Bamford’s right hand man, and it didn’t matter who he railroaded to get to that point.

“Yes.”

“Are you making a claim on her?”

Kara glanced out the window. “I don’t know.”

“So you picked a patient at Mt. Overland House, ingratiated yourself into her life without regard to her recovery or treatment, and coerced her into submitting to you, but you don’t know if you’re making a claim on her?”

Kara slapped her hands on the table and stood up, beginning to pace around the room.

“From day one my only thought has been for Y/N’s well-being,” she said. “I didn’t pick her as if she was at a trade auction, I did not pick her as if she were a target for some… nefarious plan of domination. Things just… happened.”

“And they’re not supposed to,” Bamford said, a measure of kindness in his voice. “Sit down, Kara.”

She sat, still on edge, her foot tapping nervously.

“You’ve been trained,” Bamford said. “You’ve been trained, and you’re an excellent worker. You truly do have your clients’ best interests at heart, but I don’t think you can deny that you skirted your responsibilities to pursue a relationship with Miss Hastings.”

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Kara said, and narrowed her eyes when Truelove laughed out loud.

“Stop it,” Bamford admonished him, and Kara refrained from sticking her tongue out. Bamford regarded her and shook his head.

“Legally, you didn’t. Morally, you didn’t. You can’t help who you fall in love with, Kara. The heart wants what it wants.”

Kara managed a smile as his words sank in. The heart wants what it wants.

“But we cannot have an employee who is in love with a client.”

“She’s not a client anymore, the claim has been dissolved and she’ll be leaving Nia’s house on the Mt. Overland grounds.”

“To move in with you?” Truelove asked; Kara didn’t answer.

“That doesn’t matter. What does matter is that all of this happened while she was still a client. Didn’t you at any time think that perhaps you shouldn’t be dominating her?”

Kara shook her head. “We all know why I’m here, and we all know what you’ve already decided, so why don’t you save me some precious time and just tell me.”

Bamford sighed and looked at her. “We will give you two weeks to submit your resignation. If we don’t have the paperwork in hand when two weeks are up, you’ll be terminated.”

“So quit or be fired,” Kara translated, her hands beginning to tremble. She hadn’t actually thought it would be that bad. “Can I not just be transferred to another department?”

“So you can case for your next claim?”

“Truelove, go make yourself useful,” Bamford said. “Get me a coffee.”

He waited until his coworker had left with a huff, and then shook his head at Kara. “If he wasn’t my nephew,” he sighed, and Kara giggled a little.

“We can’t transfer you to another department,” Bamford said, sounding regretful. “Kara, I would if I could but you’ve compromised the good work we’re trying to do here. Who is going to take submissives’ rights seriously if counselors, advocates, workers start falling in love with them and getting into relationships? You’re a liability.”

He laid his hand on Kara’s arm. “I’m sorry.”

Kara stood up and moved towards the door, then paused to glance back at her boss. “You’ll have my resignation in a couple of days.”

“I’ll probably look for another job in a few days,” Kara said to her fathers, later as she was curled up on their couch in a pair of her old pajamas and indulging in a pint of ice cream.

Her fathers exchanged a look. “What about New York?” Randy asked carefully.

“What about it?”

“Kara,” David admonished softly.

“Now you can go to New York.”

“I don’t want to go to New York.”

“That’s crap, young lady, and you know it.”

Kara winced, and Randy wrapped his arm around her, kissing the top of her head.

“It’s my fault you’re still here.”

“Dad—“

“Hush while your elders are speaking, Kara Zor-El.” Kara rolled her eyes but fell silent. “It’s my fault that you’re still here. I should never have let you use my illness as an excuse not to chase your dreams. But you’re still young, you still have plenty of time, and now you have the opportunity. You’d be a fool not to take it.”

“Then I’m a fool,” Kara muttered, concentrating on the ice cream.

“What are you so afraid of, Sophie?” David asked, and she shrugged. “I know Y/N would want to go with you.”

“Y/N needs to make her own decisions about that.”

“You’re right, but is it her decision if you don’t even give her the opportunity to make it?”

“Do you love her?”

Kara just looked at him. She had thought it was obvious, but putting it into words, that was a whole different matter.

“Do you want to make a claim on her?”

“I don’t know, Daddy.”

Wasn’t this what she wanted? Kara thought. Everything seemed to be falling perfectly into place. Y/N was free to make up her own mind, and Kara was reasonably certain if she offered Y/N a collar, Y/N would accept it. Though it wouldn’t be a collar she’d offer, Kara knew. Maybe a necklace. A delicate chain with a dainty lock. Silver, and a gold star on. Or perhaps just a simple ribbon with a charm…  Maybe white. Green? And what would the ceremony be like? Would they even have a ceremony? Well, of course they would. They’d have the chance to stand there in front of everyone – well, Kara would stand, Y/N would kneel. And Kara would make her claim, pledging her love for always. Y/N would answer that she would be Kara’s girl, Kara’s little one, as long as they live. What would she wear, Kara wondered. But it wouldn’t matter to her; Y/N could wear anything and she’d still be the prettiest girl Kara had ever met.

She was smiling, and the look her fathers were giving each other now told Kara that yes, she really was obvious. Kara sighed.

It was what she wanted, more than anything. But an offer was just that, an offer. And as “reasonably certain” as she was about Y/N’s answer, an offer could be turned down. A heart open with love could be broken. And though she called Y/N hers, though Y/N was her little one, it was in words only. There was no contract, no signatures, no rules or safe words on paper. At least not officially. Ultimately the decision would be Y/N’s, and Kara knew that a decision wasn’t always “yes.”

And New York… New York could mean too many things that were too uncertain. New York could mean success and happiness, or New York could mean endless auditions, one rejection after another, a career working as a waitress instead of on Broadway. A high-rise apartment in a great part of town, or a dumpy studio with bars on the window. And if she couldn’t provide for Y/N, what would she do then? Y/N deserved better than having to support Kara because she couldn’t be successful. She wanted more than anything to believe that New York would be the beginning of a magical new life for herself and Y/N, but Y/N had already had her hopes and dreams shattered once before; Kara didn’t know that she was willing to risk doing that to her again.

“You should at least talk to her,” her daddy said. “It’s not fair to Y/N for you to just shut her out of this decision. Of course it’s yours to go to New York or not, but to not ask Y/N for her input… It would seem to me that you’d be telling her all her hard work after James was for nothing.”

That wasn’t what Kara wanted to do, at all. Y/N had worked so hard, she was so strong now, probably the strongest person Kara knew. And the last thing she wanted to do was send a message to Y/N that Kara, who had believed in her more than anyone, thought she was too weak to share in Kara’s concerns, Kara’s dreams, Kara’s life.

But Kara could handle being fired. She could handle living in Lima for the rest of her life. What she knew she wouldn’t be able to handle, was a rejection from Y/N.

“The sky’s the limit, Kara,” her dad said quietly, squeezing her close. “The sky’s the limit, and Y/N can share that with you.”

She started to answer, but the vibrating of her cell phone distracted her. Kara glanced at it; Y/N’s smiling face stared up at her as it had for the past ten times she had called since Kara had left the SETS building.

Kara picked up her phone.

“Hi, little one. I think we should talk.”

[tabloidtoc]

Us, May 3

You can buy a brand new copy of this issue without the mailing label for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Pregnant Meghan Markle: My Baby, My Way

Page 2: Red Carpet -- rufflemania -- Hollywood style stars are tier-ing it up in this flattering design with feminine flair -- Tracee Ellis Ross, Kaitlyn Dever, Margot Robbie, Logan Browning, Nicola Coughlan

Page 3: Lizzo, Maude Apatow, Lucy Boynton, Jessica Alba, Lily Collins

Page 4: Who Wore It Best? Anya Taylor-Joy vs. Isla Fisher vs. Regina King in Stuart Weitzman Nudist sandal

Page 6: Loose Talk -- Shonda Rhimes on the intense backlash she received over Rege-Jean Page's exit from Bridgerton, Kelly Ripa on her most embarrassing interview, Luke Bryan on his mother LeClaire's Instagram fame, Blake Shelton on The Voice's new coach Ariana Grande, Reese Witherspoon joking about wearing bottoms that aren't sweatpants

Page 8: Contents

Page 10: A Final Farewell to Prince Philip, his four children Prince Charles and Princess Anne and Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were among the loved ones who participated in the emotional ceremony, feuding brothers Prince Harry and Prince William (and his wife Duchess Kate) put their differences aside after the intimate service, due to Covid-19 protocols the grieving Queen Elizabeth stayed socially distant from the other 29 people who attended the funeral for her husband of 73 years

Page 11: ACM Awards 2021 -- Maren Morris teamed up with her husband Ryan Hurd and won Female Artist of the Year, Thomas Rhett won Male Artist of the Year, Carrie Underwood took the stage

Page 12: Hot Pics -- Rosie Huntington-Whiteley wore an orange coat during a visit to NYC, John Stamos plays a coach on the TV show Big Shot, Zach Braff goofed around on the set of Cheaper by the Dozen in L.A.

Page 13: Eva Longoria on her trampoline while aboard a yacht in Miami, Howie Mandel arrived to the set of America's Got Talent dressed as a bug in Pasadena

Page 14: Jon Hamm and his rescue dog Splash strolled around the neighborhood in L.A., Heidi Klum in all white in Pasadena, Sara Gilbert and Linda Perry take a stroll in L.A.

Page 15: Eddie Cibrian and LeAnn Rimes held hands after dinner at Il Segreto in L.A., Patrick Dempsey shot a scene for his show Devils in Rome

Page 16: Rachel Brosnahan in a blue dress and carrying a clear umbrella on the set of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel in NYC, Lin-Manuel Miranda at the opening of a vaccination center for Broadway workers in Times Square, Trisha Yearwood feeds one of her rescue pups

Page 18: Gen Z Has Spoken -- these celebs are making the young kids proud -- Baggy Jeans -- Hailey Bieber, Tracee Ellis Ross, Bella Hadid

Page 19: Middle Parts -- Busy Philipps, Lizzo, Jennifer Lopez, Kourtney Kardashian, baguette bags -- Dua Lipa, Elsa Hosk, Irina Shayk, Kendall Jenner

Page 20: Seeing Double -- stars bear a striking resemblance to their famous counterparts -- Elizabeth Banks and Chelsea Handler, Emmanuelle Chriqui and Nina Dobrev, Betty Gilpin and Jodie Comer

Page 21: Rob Lowe and Ian Somerhalder, Jaime Pressly and Margot Robbie, Isla Fisher and Amy Adams, Rupert Grint and Ed Sheeran, Kyle Richards and Kacey Musgraves

Page 22: Clueless Crew -- stars are totally buggin' over Cher Horowitz's style in yellow plaid -- Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, Katie Holmes was rollin' with her homie beau Emilio Vitolo Jr. in NYC, Vanessa Hudgens, Dianna Agron

Page 23: Gabrielle Union

Page 24: Stars They're Not Like Us -- Jay Leno took one of his vintage automobiles out for a spin in L.A., Chrissy Teigen and John Legend took a selfie with a fan while grocery shopping in Beverly Hills, Kylie Jenner has custom vending machines

Page 25: Carrie Underwood in her massive walk-in closet, Denzel Washington signs autographs for fans in NYC, Megan Thee Stallion on a private plane, Drake and his bodyguard in Beverly Hills

Page 26: Stars They're Just Like Us -- Sarah Jessica Parker catches a yellow cab after working at her shoe store in NYC, Brad Paisley picked up five pizzas to go in Montecito

Page 27: Kelly Osbourne handed out goods at a drive-thru food distribution event at the Islamic Center of Southern California, HGTV's Egypt Sherrod transformed her closet into a meditation space in Atlanta, in between filming Law & Order: SVU's Mariska Hargitay and Ice-T take a selfie

Page 28: Hollywood Dads -- Scott Porter on parenting his two kids McCoy and Clover

Page 29: Jonathan Tucker on life with twins Hayes and India, parenthood is a lot tougher than Jovi Dufren imagined, Maksim Chmerkovskiy can't wait to show son Shai his work

Page 30: Love Lives -- Rihanna and A$AP Rocky are showing no signs of slowing down -- the pair enjoyed a night out in L.A. hotspot Delilah where they were holding hands and laughing and they're not hiding the fact that they're dating but they just don't want people in their business -- they're a good match and are each other's best friend

Page 31: Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber may look like the picture-perfect couple, but Justin admits that their first year of marriage wasn't what he expected, saying it was really tough and there was just a lack of trust and he blamed the strain on his own personal struggles and said before he didn't have someone to love or someone to pour into but now, more than two years after exchanging vows with Hailey, he has that

* Kacey Musgraves' romance with Dr. Gerald Onuoha is giving her butterflies -- the pair are so happy they found each other and while Kacey, who split from her husband Ruston Kelly last summer, is trying not to get too ahead of herself, her connection to the Nashville-based doc is off the charts and it's got the potential to go a very long way

* Today's Savannah Guthrie is thankful to have husband Michael Feldman in her life, especially given the demands of her early morning work schedule

Page 32: Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker are getting serious -- all the details on their whirlwind romance

Page 33: Adapting to parenthood has been a breeze for Emma Stone and she's soaking in all the precious moments of being a mom for the first time -- she and husband Dave McCary welcomed their baby daughter in March and Emma is super protective and a very hands-on mom and Dave is also hands-on and helps with their daughter -- thanks to the little one, Emma's marriage with the comedian has also gotten stronger and having a baby has brought them closer in a way they never expected -- Emma is looking forward to getting back to work; she's taken this time off to embrace motherhood and her number one priority is to raise a healthy baby so that's what she's focused on right now

* Britney Spears is setting the record straight -- despite her ongoing conservatorship battle with her dad, Jamie Spears, she is doing totally fine, assuring fans that she's extremely happy and she has a beautiful home, beautiful children and she's taking a break right now because she's enjoying herself -- although the legal drama with her father is heating up, Britney is staying strong and she has this wonderful ability to see the positive even when the odds are against her

* Keeping Up With Us -- production for the Downton Abbey sequel is underway, Mossimo Giannulli is a free man, Chrissy Teigen returned to Twitter 23 days after announcing that she was leaving the platform, Vanessa Bryant remembered her late husband Kobe Bryant on what would have been their 20th wedding anniversary, Helen McCrory lost her battle with cancer at age 52 according to her husband Damian Lewis

Page 34: A Day in My Life -- Whitney Port

Page 35: Colton Underwood is ready to live his truth -- during an interview on Good Morning America, the former Bachelor came out as gay, saying he's run from himself for a long time and he came to terms with his sexuality earlier this year and he's the happiest and healthiest he's ever been -- now that he feels like he can finally breathe, Colton is excited for his next chapter, which fans will get to see on an upcoming reality show with Olympian Gus Kenworthy -- a huge weight has been lifted off of Colton's shoulders and he is looking forward to being his authentic self

Page 36: Moms Tell All -- Happy Mother's Day! From milestones and manners to rules and nanny-bans, celebs and insiders talk about raising kids in Hollywood

Page 37: Bindi Irwin says life at home with her daughter Grace Warrior has been positively blissful and her family with dad Chandler Powell is so full of love, adding that the newborn has already met some of the wildlife at the Australia Zoo where Bindi and Chandler live and work and of course she's seen some crocs and really lit up when she saw them -- while the Aussie conservationist is sad Grace won't get to meet her late dad Steve Irwin, Bindi's brother Robert Irwin and mom Terri Irwin have been by her side constantly and Robert is obsessed with Grace and has been helping out so much and her mom has been the biggest guiding light and she's already taught Bindi so much about being a mother, both in how she raised her and by showing her things day by day and Terri is quite the baby whisperer and she's so great a calming Grace down when she's crying -- first-time father Chandler is also a natural with Grace and he's been the most supportive and involved dad and together, he and Bindi make such a great team -- for now, Bindi, who stars with Chandler in Crikey! It's a Baby!, is hoping Grace will follow in her animal-activist footsteps, saying having three generations of strong women working as conservationists is a dream come true

* Jennifer Garner said teaching your kids is a lifelong job, and certainly values are something you have to show them -- Jennifer, who shares kids Violet, Seraphina and Samuel with ex Ben Affleck, is staying true to her word and has led by example when it comes to things like kindness and patience and she won't let anyone in the house to judge or speak ill of people, and she enforces the same wholesome, traditional values that she was raised with and the kids have been taught to be loving, hardworking and fair -- Jennifer has always taken a kids-come-first approach to parenting, and it shows as they bake together, enjoy movie nights, read books and have very active lives and it's a very healthy, happy household filled with laughter and love

Page 38: Gwen Stefani has her hands full with her sons Kingston, Zuma and Apollo with ex-husband Gavin Rossdale, but she wouldn't want it any other way -- Gwen's a tomboy, so having three boys wasn't daunting for her at all, plus she has fiance Blake Shelton by her side to pitch in with parenting duties and Gwen and the boys have a blast at Blake's ranch in Oklahoma where they enjoy riding their ATVs, and they play baseball and football -- it's not all fun and games, though because Gwen is big on boundaries and manners and she doesn't want to raise Hollywood brats and it's important to her that her sons be gentlemen

* Meghan Markle's pregnancy with Archie was no walk in the park, as she revealed during her bombshell TV interview with husband Prince Harry, the couple had concerns over whether or not the royal family would provide security for their son and claimed there were conversations about his skin color -- but this time around, as Meghan and Harry gear up for baby No. 2 at home in L.A., she's doing everything her way, without the royals and Meghan and Harry feel blessed that they're able to raise their daughter in the U.S. and can live by their own rules and make the decisions they feel are best for their children; having independence is the most important thing for Meghan and she's got free rein to be exactly the kind of mom she wants to be -- her parenting style is really like most mothers out there, and she's been craving pasta and doing yoga two times a day as her due date nears and she keeps a lot of art supplies out to foster creativity and healthy snacks around and she's a devoted mom and wants the best for her kids

Page 39: Kate Hudson has a lot on her plate, so the mom of three, who shares son Ryder with former husband Chris Robinson and son Bingham with ex Matt Bellamy and daughter Rani with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa, knows when to put her foot down as things can get a little overwhelming at times for Kate, but when she says no, it absolutely means no, and the kids respect her very much because of that

* Gigi Hadid, who shares daughter Khai with boyfriend Zayn Malik, wants to spend every waking moment with her precious little girl -- Gigi could easily afford to employ a team of nannies but chooses not to and she prefers to do everything herself and besides, she can't bear to be away from Khai for more than a few hours

* Candace Cameron Bure's three grown kids are flying the coop, but she's still super involved in their lives, despite slowly becoming an empty nester -- the mom of Natasha, Lev, and Maksim with former hockey player Valeri Bure says it's been a very transitional time and she's been trying to help them make decisions they feel good about and it's challenging, but they're figuring it out

Page 40: Oh, Baby! Meghan Markle's due date is just around the corner, and here are all the details

* Bump Brigade -- Halsey, Gal Gadot, Shawn Johnson East

Page 42: 10 Years of the Cambridges -- a look back at Prince William and Duchess Kate Middleton's solid marriage for their anniversary

Page 44: Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez: What Really Happened -- cheating and lies? The truth behind J.Lo's split from fiance A-Rod

Page 45: Friendliest Exes -- these former couples managed to stay close after going their separate ways -- Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux, Orlando Bloom and Miranda Kerr, Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, Lisa Bonet and Lenny Kravitz

Page 48: Gifts for Mother's Day

Page 54: Entertainment -- Ben Barnes on Shadow and Bone

Page 58: Fashion Police -- the most daring Oscars looks -- Bjork, Whoopi Goldberg, Charlize Theron

Page 59: Rachel Weisz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Lady Gaga

Page 60: 25 Things You Don't Know About Me -- Julia Michaels

[animezing-fandoms]

Nalu and Feminism:

Why Lucy Heartfilia being Natsu’s love interest isn’t as “irrelevant” to the story as the haters think.

Companion piece to Feminism in Fairy Tail with Lucy Heartfilia

Also, I will briefly discuss Gruvia. And in particular, how Juvia’s character is impacted by her relationship with Gray in comparison to Lucy with Nalu. 

Okay while I was writing that long meta about how Lucy not being a fighter and serving a more emotional role in the story doesn’t make her character any less important than the fighters, I also thought about the other reason that people claim Lucy isn’t a strong female character. Because she’s Natsu’s love interest. 

Now we’ve all been trained to think that when a female character in an action/sci-fi/shounen type story falls in love with and wants to be with a male character, that that somehow diminishes her character. And that adding romance to the story is unnecessary and is just pandering to shippers who they claim are only interested in the story for the romance. Which is a pretty sexist accusation considering that most (but not all) shippers tend to be women, so they’re basically saying that as women all we care about is romance and not the actual story. 

But if all we cared about was romance, then why would we be so invested in a relationship between two characters that haven’t even gotten together yet in a story that isn’t centered around romance. 

And if we were somehow able to force Hiro Mashima into making Nalu canon, then trust me, they would have been canon years ago! We have no power over what happens in this story in any way shape or form. Looking at you on that one Chris. 

We’re invested in Fairy Tail because of the story. And the story isn’t just about fighting. It’s about personal journeys, and overcoming obstacles, and being stronger together as a team. And when you have a story that is heavily focused on teamwork, then the relationships between the characters play a huge role in that story! Those relationships are what drive the characters to become stronger, and what give them something to fight for! Their love for each other doesn’t make them weak, it’s what makes them stronger. 

So yes, Lucy is Natsu’s love interest in the story. But that doesn’t mean she’s a weak character or doesn’t serve any real purpose to the story. In fact, it actually means the opposite. Her feelings for Natsu are what strengthens her character, and here’s why. 

So the main argument with “pointless romance” in stories that aren’t centered around it, is that it’s forced and underdeveloped. And while that is true for some stories (mainly Western TV/movies. I honestly can’t think of any “forced” romances in the manga/anime I’ve watched tbh), in Fairy Tail that’s definitely not the case. 

Honestly, nalu might be the slowest slow burn I’ve ever witnessed in a fictional story. Their relationship has tons of development, and considering they’re both the main characters of the story, that relationship is pretty important to the story. 

Just think about how they first met. That was how this whole story started! Natsu saves her from being enslaved by a criminal and yes while he did go fight Bora because he was lying about being from Fairy Tail, after the fight he brings Lucy with him to join the guild. He didn’t have to do that. But he did. Natsu is the first Fairy Tail wizard that Lucy meets and he’s the one that makes her dream of joining the guild come true. It’s because of him that she finds a family that loves and accepts her and supports her. And because of that, she grows as a wizard and as a writer. 

Natsu is the one who not only changed her life but also stood by her through all of that change. Ever since they met, Natsu has been there for her and she’s been there for him. So them falling in love after everything they’ve been through wouldn’t be forced at all. 

No relationship in Fairy Tail is forced. Even the smaller background ones like Elfever and Albis have good development! 

The main Fairy Tail story was pretty long. And when you have a story that long, you’ve got a lot of time to develop relationships. I honestly think Hiro Mashima did an amazing job of pacing the development of their relationship to having them build up to become basically irreplaceable people in their lives by the end of the story. And we see that development in both of their characters. 

In stories I’ve seen where romance feels “forced”. They often only have one character (mainly the guy) showing interest in the girl and her showing no interest in having a romantic relationship with him at all, until one point near the end of the story she suddenly reciprocates those feelings without anything prompting that change or anything else she’s said or done in the story thus far leading up to that. 

Yes, Lucy is often annoyed by Natsu and Happy breaking into her apartment. And yes she is sometimes annoyed by Natsu’s reckless nature. They bicker a lot in the beginning of the story. But there’s also multiple points throughout the story where both Natsu and Lucy show how much they care about each other. By the end of the GMG arc, it’s clear that they’re both important to each other. That’s why Lucy was so distraught at the thought of losing Natsu during the Alvarez arc. And that’s why thinking Lucy was dead was what triggered Natsu to become END. 

So now in the 100 YQ, Lucy is starting to show more obvious signs of having a romantic interest in Natsu. And that’s not out of nowhere. That’s basically where the story left off. And the same goes for Natsu. Honestly most of us think that he probably just assumes that he and Lucy are a thing already and if that turned out to be the case, we would not be surprised! 

And one final thing to people being upset about a possible romance between Natsu and Lucy in the 100 YQ. It was obviously going to happen in this sequel. The story ended basically with them basically admitting that they love each other, without saying those exact words. They’re definitely more than friends at the end of that story. And a story is only good if the characters and relationships develop further from where they began in the beginning of the story. So in the 100 YQ, the only way to develop Natsu and Lucy’s relationship further, is by them admitting their love for each other and becoming a couple. If their relationship stayed the same, then it wouldn’t be a good story because nothing would have changed from beginning to end. 

Now, to people who think that Lucy being in love with Natsu means she’s not a strong character because they think that her being in love with him means that the only thing she wants to do in life is be his wife and have his babies, you’re totally wrong. 

Lucy does want to get married and have a family someday, and at this point in the story we know that it’s probably going to end up being with Natsu. But that doesn’t mean that being his wife/girlfriend is or ever will be her only desire in life. She clearly has other goals. She wants to become a stronger wizard, and she’s an author and she wants to keep writing books. She can still do those things while being married to Natsu and having a family with him. And he’d support her to! 

Her being in love with Natsu does not take away from those goals or her development as a character. Her showing romantic feelings for Natsu shows a new side to her character. Not many people noticed this, but throughout the story, as her feelings for Natsu get stronger, she fights harder. And I don’t mean that in the sense that she became a stronger wizard. I mean she starts being more confident in battle and taking more risks in order to save him. She fell off of a waterfall with him in the Oracion Seis arc. And in the final arc of the series, she’s literally tampering with a book of dark magic in order to save Natsu’s life! 

So yes, being in love with Natsu did cause Lucy’s character to change. But that’s not a bad thing. Her love for him made her stronger. That added to her character development, not subtracted from it. The argument that a character, mainly female characters being in love makes them weaker is a sexist one because it implies that if a female character is in love with another character, that they somehow become less important to the story and become weaker simply for finding joy in their life in the form of love for another person. 

You know what other character in Fairy Tail is deemed weak because of that? Juvia Lockser. Now, a lot of her character development does revolve around her relationship with Gray. And yes, being with him is all she wants. Her goal is to marry him and have a family with him. And yes that is a traditionally feminine desire, but that doesn’t mean it’s a bad goal. 

We’re at a point now in society where women can pursue things other than domestic life. But that doesn’t mean that women shouldn’t also pursue a domestic life. The point of feminism and gender equality is that women get to have a choice between just being a wife and mother or pursuing something else or doing both. And that’s the thing, it’s a choice! Which means that some women are going to choose to devote themselves to their family. And that’s not a bad choice at all. 

Remember that Juvia was an orphan. She’s never had parents or a family. She had literally never seen the sun until she met Gray so if him changing her life like that makes her want to devote her life to being with him and having a family with him as her idea of true happiness, then power to her! Let her pursue that dream! Especially since now we know that Gray loves her back.

And it’s not like she’s the only female character in Fairy Tail either. If she was the only girl in the series, then I’d probably take issue with her main desire being to be a wife and mother. But there’s so many other characters, and each of them have different desires, personalities, and roles in the story. So one of them primarily desiring a domestic life as a wife and mother is totally fine. There’s other female characters who pursue other things. Just like in real life, women are all different and make different choices.

And her being a wife and mother doesn’t mean she’ll be locked up in the house cooking and cleaning all of the time either. She’s still a wizard. She’ll still go on jobs on her own and with Gray. That definitely won’t change. 

And just like with Lucy, she became a stronger wizard after falling in love with Gray. She’s beaten some tough opponents in the name of love. And there’s nothing wrong with fighting for love! 

So love is not something that weakens the female characters in Fairy Tail. It makes them stronger. Love is a great source of joy and happiness and it’s perfectly acceptable to fight for that. It’s a very strong emotion, and it’s not only felt by the girls in these stories. The guys fight for love too. Heck, Gray and Natsu both unleashed their demon side when they thought their girls were dead. 

But we don’t see as many people saying that love weakens Natsu or Gray’s characters as they do for Juvia and Lucy. 

Why is it that people are always so much more critical of the girls motives, desires and actions in a story instead of the boys?

Why are fans so critical of the main female character of a story than they are of the main male character of the story? 

How come Lucy can’t be a strong character because she’s in love?

It’s because the idea that Lucy can have it all by being a successful wizard and author and having a loving and supportive family too, scares the misogynists because it would mean that a female character was able to make all of her dreams come true by the end of a story, by the power of love pushing her to become stronger. They’re scared of something traditionally “feminine” like romance becoming a powerful factor in a story. If love = power, then the one who possess that love, Lucy = power. And that’s what they’re really upset about.

And now I’ll get off of my soapbox. I feel like I was mostly ranting through this and I’m not sure if it made sense but I hope it did! 😂

[hunterguyveriv]

Teela New Design Thoughts and Rant

So I have sat on this, trying to let the image of Teela’s new design grow on me, and I am not sorry to say I am not digging it. Like Allura’s redesign for Legendary Defender, the image in question screams tones of political correctness and a grab for “representation” brownie points with Teela’s new appearance and the race-bending of a less known character to me (Andra) except for Injustice vs Masters of the Universe. So I’ll wait to collect my bag of worms on that topic once the series is out in completion, THIS topic is more about Teela.

I need more than just an image to accept and like it. I need to know why she doesn’t keep her classic design, the function and reason of this new one. And no, I am not talking about that ridiculous image someone did calling her “a mean bisexual.” Just because... NEW “fans” love the new design and accept it, does not mean old timers like myself need to love it and automatically accept it. 

And before any of you NEW fans (who more than likely will jump ship once the series is over like most did to Voltron for newer series like Dragon Prince/She-Ra/Owl Hotel) jump down my throat, (like your lot did to us old-timers with Voltron and She-Ra,) keep this in mind - I was 1 when He-Man and the Masters of the Universe first hit TV screens back in 1983. Those of us who grew up with the classic series, WE, are allowed to have our opinions about newer versions of the shows we grew up with, if it goes against your views move on. We go into any new series to a franchise we loved as young children hoping for the best - that it honors the original it hails from. We want it to succeed and be popular.

Like Voltron, I grew up with many iterations of He-Man. The classic Masters of the Universe series, the Masters of the Universe movie with Dolph Lundgren as He-Man (still think he should make a cameo as Prince Adam's father or distant ancestor but that’s just me), and even The New Adventures of He-Man, and even the 2002 cartoon series. Each iteration had Teela in it, and we fans accepted her designs.

Teela from the original series “He-Man and the Masters of the Universe”

Teela from the1980s live action movie “Masters of the Universe” portray by Chelsea Field

Teela and He-Man seen from The New Adventures of He-Man

Teela from the 2002 He-Man series 

Teela’s various appearances in the Eternity War Saga and Masters of the Universe comics as Captain of the Guard/Future Sorceress of Greyskull/Prince Adam’s Wife/He-Man’s barbarian queen

First image of Kevin Smith’s Teela.

To old-timers like myself, who grew up with the series, read the comics growing, who collected the toys - THIS is Teela! This is who we grew up with, so YES(!) we are going to be resistant of excepting what she looks like now. Just like many of us old timers didn’t like the things they were doing in the Voltron series.

Teela from comic strips pre-dating the filmation series

But as you can also see, she never used to be the white skin tight jumpsuit clad redhead. She had the appearance of a Barbarian woman you would see in something like Conan or Red Sonja. In these images, Teela has the right quirks about her. She is beautiful, strong minded and willed, determined, doesn’t put up with anyone’s shit while also having a vulnerability she tries desperately to hide from not just Prince Adam, her father, but even Adora in some of the comics. Here...

 this design doesn’t scream beautiful strong warrior training to be the next sorceress (depending on what canon you follow). But I personally think they took away all the traits that made Teela such a great and complex character over the years just to fit the current narrative that a strong willed woman doesn’t need any male support whether it is her father Man-At-Arms or her betrothed (again depending on which canon you follow) Prince Adam/He-Man.

This new design to me, looks like Kevin Smith wants to capitalize on the Cara Dune design as if to say "I see how much you loved Cara-Dune, look I have my own version!" 

This worked for Gina Carano, because she is a former MMA fighter, which played greatly into the role of being a former Rebel Alliance Shock-trooper turned brawler. However even with her being built like she is, they gave her obvious curves while making her the brawler she was. The only curve I remotely see on her is her waist and hips. With her looking like Cara-Dune it also says LACK OF ORIGINALITY which Voltron Legendary Defender and other Netflix reboots are NOT innocent at either - case in point both from Voltron the Shiro & Keith fight seemed to Anakin vs Obi-Wan and the Paladin Uniforms in Season 8 seeming too Wrath of Khan-Undiscovered Country like.

Secondly and most briefly don’t even get me started on who is voicing Teela too! I never liked Sarah Michelle Gellar, thought she was way to overrated because of Buffy the Vampire Slayer! I know the original voice actress let alone the voice actress from The New Adventures of He-Man are probably too old to do so, but I would have gladly accepted Lisa Ann Beley who voiced her in the 2002 series or even Shannon Chan-Kent who for those who don’t know her, voiced Larmina in 2011s Voltron Force!

Last, some have stated that they don’t like that she looks more masculine then feminine. That she needs to look male to be a hero or compete in a man’s world and I have to agree. Some have argued that Kevin Smith is going for a more realistic appearance of a woman who has the strength to wield not just a sword and shield in battle but also a staff. This I call horseshit, complete and utter horseshit and those that say that need to do their research!

Look at these following actresses:

Underworld franchise: - Rhona Mitra - Sonja

- Zita Görög - Amelia

- Kate Beckingsale

- Clementine Nicholson 

Fantasy/Historical/Sci-Fi/Superhero Movies: - Bridgette Nelson who played Sonja in Red Sonja (BIG ONE HERE!)

- Sandahl Bergman who played Valeria in Conan the Barbarian and Queen Gedren in Red Sonja

- Sienna Guillory as Arya from the movie Eragon

- Keira Knightley from 2004s King Arthur and then the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. (which this is possibly the most accurate depiction of ancient celtic women in battle by Hollywood)

- Rosa Salazar of Alita, granted she wore a motion capture suit, but she wasn't built 

- EVEN Gal Gadot! She was an actual Israeli Soldier

- Zoe Saldana for Gomora

- Lucy Lawliss as Xena 

- Leonor Varela of Blade II

A woman does not need to be built like this new design of Teela to fit a role that requires them to be someone who wields a sword/staff/battle ax/or bow and arrow. Are you going to tell other actresses like Cate Blanchet, Milla Jovovich, Charlize Theron, or the actresses of other fantasy films or actresses from the History Channel series Vikings that they need to bulk up to use those weapons realistically like some have tried arguing ? 

These are all actresses who prove that you don’t need to have buff arms to wield weapons like a staff/sword/or ax. They all played characters who still managed to look bad ass when in combat while looking feminine and beautiful. Yes women warriors wanted to stand side by side with their brothers at arms and have done so throughout many cultures in ancient history. Most of them probably having the build of many of the women above!

Wielding weapons like swords/axes/clubs/ etc properly you don’t need to have your arms built like that, all it requires is the proper weapons training and time. Someone who is captain of the royal guard…which oh gee is someone like Teela(!) is would be well versed in. So answer me this, why is a feminine looking Teela problematic and the new one isn’t?

Now as a He-Man fan, I will go into this series hoping for the best, that it does what Voltron Legendary Defender failed to do and that is honor the original series and be a love letter to us old-timers. But depending on the trailer (which I am surprised we haven’t seen yet) or the series itself I am bracing myself for it  to be a shit show like Voltron became when they brought Shiro back. 

[365days365movies]

Western August I: Stagecoach (1939) - Recap and Review

Let’s start at the beginning...almost,

The Western arguably was born with the 1903 film, The Great Train Robbery. This 12-minute short film is a classic, and one of the earliest achievements in film-making. It’s also, unsurprisingly, a Western, and based on an actual train robbery. At the time it was made, the Wild West had only really ended a few years prior, with its heyday being about 40 years past. Which, yeah, is CRAZY. People who remembered the Wild West lived into the 1950s and ‘60s. It seems like so long ago, and it was, but it was still relatively recent from a historical standpoint.

From then, the Western remained a staple of cinema, and would be so for over half a century. And then, enter John Ford. Born in 1894, the Irish American director began his career in 1914 as an assistant and handyman, often working with his older brother Francis. Eventually, John took his place as a director, starting with silent films, especially westerns. Starting with the very successful film The Iron Horse in 1924, he quickly rose to stardom. He transitioned from silent films to talkies pretty effortlessly, and continued his streak. All the while, he was also one of the first directors to have a roster of actors in his company. You know how Tim Burton always uses Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter? Or how the Coen Brothers always use Frances McDormand and John Goodman? Or Wes Andersen with Bill Murray and Owen Wilson? Yeah, that started with John Ford and...ugh...

Before I start...fuck John Wayne.

Dude was a racist homophobic asshole, and absolutely a dick. Look it up, or don’t if you’d rather not have one of cinemas most iconic faces completely ruined for you. But OK, outside of that one time that he said that the Native Americans were “selfishly trying to keep the land for themselves”, or that he believed in white supremacy over uneducated blacks...yeah, he’s a DICK...

Marion Robert Morrison was born in Iowa in 1907, and began his film career after becoming injured while surfing without a surfboard and ending his football career. Yes, really. His football coach was a friend of a film director named John Ford, who hired Morrison as a favor to him. Said football coach was also friends with an actual remnant of the Old West: WYATT FUCKING EARP. YEAH.

For years, Morrison was a bit player until starring in the film The Big Trail in 1930, a Western directed by Raoul Walsh. And he wasn’t exactly famous after this, but it was with this film that he took up a screen name: John Wayne, after a Revolutionary War general, Anthony Wayne, and...well, the name John. Anthony sounded too Italian. Yes, really. After this movie, Wayne continued to star in more Westerns, and even became one of the first film cowboys to sing on camera. 

And then, 1939 came along, and John Ford came to him with a new film project. Being a classic Western, the film was about a group of settlers riding on a stagecoach together through the West. Strangers to each other, they find themselves attacked by a group of Native Americans belonging to the Apache tribes. This film, an adaptation of a 1939 short story, would come to be known as Stagecoach. And it would launch Ford, Wayne, and the Western genre into a Golden Age. So no more navel-gazing, let’s get started!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

I get reminded that I haven’t watched a Criterion Collection film in a while, and the film begins with a rousing Western theme, courtesy of...holy shit, this movie has SEVEN COMPOSERS? Well, OK, courtesy of somebody in that list of seven. From there, we cut to a camp somewhere in the Arizona Territory in 1880. Which, again, is only 60 years prior to this film’s release date. There, a group of men discuss the danger imposed on them by the Apache, stirred up by the legendary warrior Geronimo. 

And from there, we go to the town of Tonto, where stagecoach driver Buck (Andy Devine) lets a group of passengers out. One of these passengers is Lucy Mallory (Louise Platt), there to catch another shuttle to meet her husband in Dry Fork, New Mexico. However, the stagecoach gains an extra passenger in the form of the Marshal, Curley Wilcox (George Bancroft), who goes to find an outlaw also in Lordsburg.

The passenger list builds with the addition of Doc Boone (Thomas Mitchell) and Dallas (Claire Trevor), a drunk and a prostitute both driven out of town by the Law and Order League of Women, due to social stigma affecting them both. In a bar getting a farewell drink, Doc meets yet one more passenger, Samuel Peacock (Donald Meek), a whiskey salesman that Doc is glad to meet. Meanwhile, banker Henry Gatewood (Berton Churchill) also boards the vehicle, under mysterious circumstances.

Friends of Lucy are worried with her travelling a drunk and a prostitute (the ABSOLUTE SCANDAL), but she needs to visit her husband in Dry Fork. As she leaves, she meets eyes with the dangerous but enigmatic gambler Hatfield (John Carradine). And before they’re able to leave altogether, the carriage is stopped by the army, who warn them of the Apache and Geronimo. All of the passengers refuse to get off, and YET TWO MORE passengers board to protect the carriage: the Marshal and Hatfield. And finally, they’re off! But as they head out, they’re stopped when they encounter a recently escaped outlaw.

This is The Ringo Kid (John Wayne), who just got out of prison. The Marshal sees him, and takes him into custody on the way to Lordsburg, where they plan to drop him off into jail. And yes, he’s put on the fucking stagecoach. In total, we have Buck, the Marshal, Lucy, Hatfield, Doc, Peacock, Gatewood, and the Ringo Kid. Jesus, that’s a crowded-ass carriage, even if two of them are outside of it. Hell, Ringo’s sitting on the fuckin’ floor!

Anyway, the group interacts and introduces themselves. We learn that Doc once patched up Ringo’s brother, and was discharged from the Union Army for drunkenness. We learn that Hatfield is a true southern gentleman, and a veteran of the Confederate army (much to Doc’s ire), and that Ringo’s brother was murdered under mysterious circumstances.

The group gets to Dry Forks, currently under occupation by the army. Said army had accompanied them (outside of the carriage, thank God) to Dry Forks, and are staying there to guard against the Apache. Meanwhile, Lucy’s dismayed to find that her husband isn’t in fact there. This leads to the debate of whether or not the party should go back to Tonto, or head onwards to Lordsburg. Buck wants to go back to Tonto, as does Peacock, while literally everybody else wants to go to Lordsburg. And so, they continue onwards.

Before heading onwards, the group sits for dinner, during which Ringo is the only one to show any form of kindness to Dallas, as everybody else looks down on her for prostitution. Shit, man, they won’t even sit near her at the table. Jesus. Unfortunately, Dallas is used to this cruel treatment, and it allows her to bond with Ringo in her loneliness. Once again, character interactions reveal things about our cast. Lucy is feeling quite ill, and Hatfield reveals that he served under her father in the Confederate Army. 

And from there, the coach continues on through the desert. Buck and the Marshal argue about letting Ringo free, as he aims to continue his feud with the outlaw Luke Plummer and his brothers, despite the fact that he’ll likely be killed by them. It’s for this reason that the Marshal wants to keep Ringo in his custody, as he was good friends with his father and doesn’t want to see him killed by the dangerous Plummers, whom Buck thinks should be taken down regardless.

Inside the coach, the banker reveals that he’s literally a Republican from 2016 (he rants about small government, and claims that a businessman should be President, holy shit), while people keep treating Dallas like shit, except for Ringo. They go through a cold mountain pass, which isn’t great for Lucy for some reason. It’s actually quite rough on everyone. Except for Doc Boone, who keeps drinking Peacock’s whiskey samples, which is hilarious.

Finally, the group makes it to the next stop, Apache Wells. There, Lucy discovers that her husband has been severely wounded in a battle with the Apache, and she falls faint. Despite being absolutely SMASHED, Doc sobers up to help her, with the help of Ringo and the Marshal. Meanwhile, Dallas watches over her, despite the rancor that Lucy’s tossed at her this whole time.

The group stays the night, attended to by Chris (Chris Pin-Martin) a Mexican man who’s married to Yakima (Elvira Rios), an Apache woman who...is played by a Mexican singer. Huh. I mean...it’s still technically redface, unfortunately. But then again, the attitude towards Native American actors at this time was...oh boy. And the portrayal of the Mexicans in the camp aren’t exactly great, as a group of them steal the group’s spare horses, meaning that they only have one set of horses to use from here on out.

But amongst the unpleasant is a pleasant surprise, and the reveal of the cause for Lucy’s mysterious condition: she’s pregnant. Or rather, she was, as the baby’s just been delivered, and is being held by Dallas. As the group celebrates, Chris warns Ringo to stay away from Lordsburg, as the Plummers will kill him. But Ringo has something else on his mind.

See, on seeing Dallas with the baby, he finds himself quite in love with her. He finds her outside, and tells her that his father and brothers were killed by the Plummers. In turn, she reveals that her family was massacred on the real-life Superstition Mountain. Their conversation ends in Ringo proposing to Dallas, which she protests to because of her mysterious past.

The next morning, Yakima’s left with Chris’ horse and rifle, and the group worry that she’s gone to tell the Apache. After Gatewood panics about his mysterious valise being possibly stolen, the group packs up and readies themselves to go. But Lucy is, of course, still ill from literally giving birth hours ago. Things are still tense between Lucy and Dallas, despite Dallas taking care of her the entire fucking night. Jesus, lady, that high horse is looking uncomfortable, you should get off it.

Dallas has something else to worry about, as she’s thinking on Ringo’s proposal. She consults with the doctor, who reminds her of her mysterious and checkered past being revealed if she goes. But she doesn’t seem to care, and she decides to accept the proposal. As for the rest, Gatewood’s freakin’ the fuck out. Because of Lucy’s condition, the doctor requests that they don’t leave until a day later. And Gatewood doesn’t give a single shit, as the Apache are close enough. Still, the party decides to stay, at Hatfield’s added insistence.

Ringo and Dallas talk, with Dallas both warning him of the Plummers, and also accepting his proposal. The men are all still arguing about whether or not they should leave, and they note that the Apache are likely between them and their destination. Ringo then takes the opportunity to escape and ride to Lordsburg for revenge on the Plummers. But he stops when he sees smoke signals on the hill. The Apache are coming.

No more waiting, it’s time to GO. Taking the still recovering lady and her newborn child Coyote into the stagecoach, they take off into the desert. Gatewood continues to run his loudmouth, to the ire of Hatfield and Ringo. And Peacock, to my delight, shows some kindness and “Christian charity” to Dallas, as she holds Coyote during the ride. And after all, they’re almost at the ferry!

Ah, shit, the ferry! Looks like the ferry, and the entire town of Lee’s Ferry have been burned. And if they ford the river, all of their supplies could be flooded, or the oxen could drown! Or worse, dysentery could set in! That’s what The Oregon Trail taught me! And yet, despite this, that’s actually EXACTLY what they do! And unlike me literally every time I’ve every tried to cross a river without a ferry, they make it through fine! Realistic educational games my ASS!

But it’s not entirely safe, as the group are being watched by none other than the Apache, who make their way down to intercept the group. In the carriage, meanwhile, the group is thankful that they’ve made their way from danger, and even Gatewood relaxes a little. Doc Boone makes a toast, and everyone seems to be getting along for once.

OH FUCK, PEACOCK GOT HIT!

The girlfriend IMMEDIATELY SAYS, “Now he really is Drew Peacock.” I leave and get boba to soothe my injured spirit from that well-timed joke. And then, the movie continues, and the chase is on! The Apache chase the stagecoach through the desert, and the groups trade gunshots and arrows, with Ringo shooting from the back. Gatewood panics so hard that Doc Boone punches him and IMMEDIATELY knocks him out, as he attends to Peacock’s injuries.

But despite their best efforts, the Apache group catches up to them, although many of them are killed by Ringo, the Marshal, Doc, and Hatfield. In the process, Buck is also shot, and Ringo literally jumps ON THE FUCKING HORSES, and commands them from the front like a goddamn badass. Things begin to get worse, as everybody in the stagecoach runs out of ammo, at the worst possible time. Hatfield only has one bullet remaining, and he considers using it...to kill Lucy! Holy fuck!

And just as he’s about to fire IN HER FUCKING FACE, the sounds of horns ring out as the cavalry arrives. And Hatfield, dick that he is, is shot. I think he was trying to spare her the indignity of being captured by the Apache, but Jesus, man! He collapses, and reveals that his father is a judge in Virginia before he...either passes out or dies, I’m not sure. The group finally gets to Lordsburg, where it turns out that Lucy’s husband is gonna be OK, and wasn’t severely injured. She tanks Dallas for everything that she’s done, and promises to help her should she ever need assistance. Good, finally, the lady needs a goddamn break.

The stagecoach rides through the busy town, and the arrival of the Ringo Kid gets the attention of Luke Plummer (Tom Tyler), who fetches his brothers Hank (Vester Pegg) and Ike (Joe Rickson). Time to get ready for a showdown, it seems. Dallas seems to know this, and goes to Ringo after the living Peacock (yay!) and the not-so-living Hatfield (oof) are brought in for medical help.

Buck’s also OK, but Gatewood isn’t. See, that valise he was carrying was actually full of money, and he had embezzled it from his own bank. He had counted on telegraph lines being down, so that he could escape with his ill-gotten gains, but has no such luck, and is led away in handcuffs! HA!

Ringo, meanwhile, is set to kill Luke Plummer and his brothers. The Marshal lets him escape, and promises to get Dallas safely down to a little ranch he owns in the South. Dallas and Ringo walk off together, and Dallas tries to get him to leave and say goodbye before he goes to his death, and before he finds out about her past (presumably as a prostitute). 

See, they’re actually walking up to a brothel, where Dallas is going to stay and work. Because, yeah, she’s a prostitute. Sucks that she’s been so maligned, because prostitution fuckin’ BUILT the Old West! I guess it’s easier to see that with historical context. As Ringo finds out the truth about Dallas (which he might’ve known all along), he still insists upon marrying her...and upon killing the Plummers.

Doc, meanwhile, goes to the bar where the Plummers are waiting. He tells them that he’ll get them arrested, and Luke swears to come back for him after their business with Ringo is concluded. The brothers head outside, ready for the final showdown. It’s 3 on one, Plummers against Ringo. Ringo fires! A few more shots...then silence. And Dallas mourns.

Except that Ringo wins the fight, and goes back to her! A happy ending! I’m sure that’ll be pretty goddamn rare this month. The Marshal arrives to take Ringo away, and Ringo goes as promised. She asks to ride with him a bit, and the Marshal agrees. He and Doc watch them get on, then cause the horses of the carriage to stampede away, letting Ringo and Dallas escape into the desert, together. And that’s the end!

Y’know...I liked it! I really liked it! 

This movie is often referred to as the greatest Western of all time, and the reason that the Western survived into the next several decades. And honestly, I get it! It was nominated for 7 Academy Awards, and won for Best Supporting Actor (Thomas Mitchell, AKA Doc) and Best Original Score, both of which were quite deserved!

Review time!

Cast and Acting - 9/10: Sure, it’s a little hokey. But at the same time, it’s good classic Hollywood acting! Wayne, Trevor, Mitchell, Carradine, and Devine are standouts for me, all of which serving their roles well. Also, fun fact about Andy Devine: he’s the voice of Friar Tuck in Disney’s Robin Hood! KNEW I recognized that voice!

Plot and Writing - 10/10: Standard plot? Sure. Engaging as hell? Hell yeah! This is just a good story, plain and simple. No holes, no problems, no mistakes, and purely straightforward. Great writing by the original story author, Ernest Haycox, and great screenplay by Dudley Nichols!

Directing and Cinematography - 10/10: Great looking movie, too! All credit to John Ford, unsurprisingly. Cinematographer Bert Glennon also deserves credit for the beautiful landscape shots throughout. Gogeous film, even in black-and-white!

Production and Art Design - 8/10: This is pretty standard Western production design, so not a lot to write home about specifically. However, that doesn’t mean it’s bad. To the contrary, it’s quite good! Just does stand out to me quite as much as other movies. Might be a nitpick, but it’s still something against the film.

Music and Editing - 10/10: No complaints! Seven composers definitely make their presence known, and you can tell that this score heavily informed all Western scores after it. It’s iconic, and it’s perfect for the mood. As for the editing by Otho Lovering and Dorothy Spencer...it’s great! Perfect pacing, well-edited...no complaints whatsoever.

94%, and I had fun with this one!

I honestly did have quite a good time with this one. I can’t really call it a “fun” movie, but it definitely is a good one. Plus, it’s a John Ford/John Wayne film, which is basically a staple of the genre. So, what’s next?

Next: My Darling Clementine (1946), dir. John Ford

[rory-for-short]

We are not our parents|Part Five

He couldn't see them

When Lucy had gotten the call from her, well, she didn't know what they were... her Richard Grayson, asking for her measurements, she was ever the skeptic.

"Is this about your dad's big fling?" She asked over the phone as she settled on her couch.

"Possibly," he answered from the other end, sitting at a desk in his room.

"Why don't I just pick what I wear," she questioned. The way she said where was like "whey-uh" . It was all Jersey, and made Dick laugh to himself.

"You definitely could, but I just wanted to give you a designer option," he explained.

"You think I can't afford a designer option?"

"I know you can't. You make 11 dollars an hour in Gotham city

"Fair. Okay. Fine we can try designer, but I have some specifications."

"Okay, shoot."

"No checker board, no pinstripes. Nothing that says criminal. I don't mind blazers or flowers. Nothing flashy I'm laying low," she rattled off.

"Don't worry. I know you are feeling a little weird about this-"

"-A little?-"

"But I know what I'm doing. Well, I guess the dress maker does. I don't have any say. I can pass on your message to them though," he explained. She gave a sigh of relief. She had been freaking out all week about this party. This stupid, ritzy, heart of Gotham party.

After she found out about her man being THE Richard Grayson Wayne, she wanted out. Even if her parents weren't terrorists, she still wouldn't be on his level. She missed when she thought he was just a gutter rat greecer wannabe punching muggers for fun. But he was educated. High Socioty. Fit as a fiddle, and hot as the Sahara. Yet he chased her. He wanted her. He was so infatuated.

It's not like she didn't see anything good about herself. On the contrary, she knew she was hardworking, pretty funny, nice to look at expessialy when she was trying, and all in all she was a cute, blonde girl next door. However, sometimes it felt like none of that mattered. She was surrounded by a dark legacy. She couldn't even consider having her own kids. What would she tell them, and mabey crazy skips a generation.

But this dumb, cute, himbo of a boy saw none of it. Or at least, he pretended not to notice it. Sometimes he'd give her a strange look and she wonder if he was thinking about the people who raised her. She started being a bit more subtle. No dark makeup, lest she look like her mother. No red lipstick, because that was her father's signature look. Hair up in pigtails? Off limits. The colors red or green, she avoided them before Dick Grayson anyway.

"Hello? Lucy are you still there," Dicks voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Sorry I think a siren was going by," she said avoiding the truth.

"No worries, I was asking if you wanted me to get a hair and makeup person too?"

"Oh gawd no! I know what looks good on my face," she laughed.

"Even with you not knowing what the dress will look like?" He challenged.

"On second thought-" she trailed off. She could hear him laugh from the other side of the line.

"Gotcha, I'll get it all set up," he assured.

He got it all set up alright. The afternoon before the party a knock on her door sounded. She opened it to fing him grinning with a black dress bag slung over his shoulder.

"Heya-Hiya," he greeted fondly. She noticed he wasn't alone at the door. There was also a pale woman with raven hair longer than she'd ever seen and jagged bangs. She wore a mesh top, black shorts and a leather jacket. She was ethereal and beautiful. Lucy almost forgot to talk.

"Babe, this is Rachel. She's really good with makeup and she's a buddy of mine," he introduced.

"So you're Lucy? The way your Golden retriever of a boyfriend described you I was expecting Shera, or Captian Marvel," his friend mused. Dick was turning bright red from the tips of his ears to his neck.

"Yeah, yeah, that's really funny Rachel," he awkwardly laughed. Lucy welcomed them inside and Dick layed the dress bag on the couch while Rachel carried in a big metal mackup case.

"I haven't seen the dress yet," Dick admitted, "I told her all that stuff you told me. Hopefully they listened." He said getting ready to unveil it.

Rachel was now standing beside them as Dick revealed the dress. As they stood there taking it in, she realized that there was a color she forgot to say was off limits. It was a beautiful dress. The top of it like a Corsett with spaghetti straps. The tooling elegant and down to the knees. There were several star details on it. They lay on a sky of deep purple. Lucy bit her lip nervously. Richard noticed immediately.

"Well, that was an oversight on our part," he sighed disappointedly. Rachel cocked her head confused.

"And I thought I was a Debby downer. It's a beautiful peice, plus it isn't too bright. Hell, I'd wear it," she concluded settling her hands on her hips. And she was right, it was beautiful. Mabey beautiful enough to distrct from the rest of her. If the only people talked about was her dress, she'd be okay with that.

"I love it," she said smiling.

"Yeah, Dick doesn't know what he's talking about. He has zero taste unless it's in women," she joked. She met eyes with her boyfriend and smiled.

Bruce was stewing in indecision. His son had come to him and told him that he and Lucy discussed the risks involved with a public appearance, that he could protect her, and that she had been through enough in her life so she should be able to just have fun for one night. He agreed. Deep down he agreed. However, he knew the kinds of people that attended these parties.

Not all of them were in it for the charity. Big names who wanted investors, ass kissing new moneies wanting to climb ranks. People with dirty money. It was an open charity event, and gossip from the criminal higher ups couldn't be discounted. All his parties had this risk, but this time it felt more pressing. On top of that he now knew the Jokers name. His full name. All he had to do was bluff with the first name an Harley had spilled all her info. She had told him all about Joker, her daughter, and how no matter how brutal the man was she wanted to stay with him.

"Yah know, I could handle our fights. The way we went round and round. I never considered leaving him until he suggested we get Lucy in on the family business," she sighed taking a drag of her cigarette. "I knew then I had to get the hell outta dodge. You and I both know a battlefield is no place for a child. She was only 15-" she stopped herself as she realized just who she was talking to.

"Nevermind. I guess you wouldn't get it. I wanted her to be normal. Arthur wanted her to be us. You always gotta want better for your kids. I might be a criminal psychopath, but why drag her into it. Why make her fight my battles? Or his? Or anyone's? I started a money stash. I was gonna run away with her," she looked down at the ash falling from her cigarette, and stamped it with her foot.

Bruce knew the rest of the story or at least from the perspective of his and police. Jason was his Robin at the time. They got an anonymous tip on the Joker's hideout. Harley had sold him out. When they arrived on the scene there was almost no reason to interfere. The way the two clowns were going at it, they would probably just end up killing eachother.

Harley's neck was cut. Only deep enough to make a red necklace that was surface level but he could guess what Joker was trying to accomplish. The Joker had two knives in him. He was still on his feet sporting a death grip on a hatchet with Harley's name on it.

There was also a hostage. Looking on, holding a gun, and not knowing who to shoot at. She was about 15.

They didn't even stop to look their way. They knew he and Robin were there, but this was deeply personal and toxically volatile.

Bruce remembered how easy they were to take down. Gotham police had them unarmed, sedated and in medical vehicles in practically no time; they had already done so much damage to eachother they hardly needed a push. Jason got the gun from the hostage. While Batman delt with the authorities and offered to gaurd the hospitals, not to keep anyone out, but keep the two clowns in, he left Jason in charge of the hostage.

He found out later that night, or he guessed, the next morning, that she was their kid. He learned when he read the police report. He forgot about her after that, but it did cross his mind that she was out there, somewhere, from time to time.

Dick and Lucy headed to the mannor before the party. He explained how his dad was a tightass and his butler was a total bro, so they'd be going through the garden and climbing the wall.

"You want me to climb in this dress and heels? In your dreams puddin," she scoffed rolling her eyes and playfully hitting him on the shoulder.

"I'll lift you over you won't have to break a sweat," he coerced. She lifted her eyebrow, amused.

"I'm 5'9 and 173 pounds of pure woman. If you think you can get me over that wall you are psyco!" She laughed exgerattingly gesturing as she spoke. When they had first got together, he would have had one of those danger reactions to this. To her eyes going wide with disbelief, and throwing her head back in a cackle. But those happened less and less. He realized something

He couldn't see them in her anymore.

Without another word he placed his hands on her waist and practically ballerina tossed her. She managed to catch halfway up on the flat part Making the wall a ledge. It almost knocked the breath out of her. But she managed to steady herself and hoist her body the rest of the way up. She was a bit of a ballerina after all. When they had both sets of feet in the garden, he flashed an "I told you so" smile. She rolled he eyes and gestured for him to lead the way.

When he began sliding open the kitchen door, he heard Tim's voice carry from the foyer.

"Well, well, well, how the turn tables!" He cackled. He heard a frustrated groan.

"Forget it, I don't see why I ask you for anything," he heard another male voice carry. The two pairs of couples entered the kitchen at the same time. Tim with his 'friend' Connor, and Dick with Lucy.

There was a beat of silence.

"So, you went the kitchen route huh?" Drake noted.

"Yeah, we went the kitchen route," Dick sighed.

"You look like a ruffian," Conner stated.

"I'm getting into my suit. It's wool and everything, I just didn't before picking up Lucy," he srugged.

"The matching ties are cute. You guys look adorable together," Lucy chimed in.

"We're not together," they defended in unison.

Another beat of silence.

"Well, okay. We are going upstairs. You guys have fun," Dick announced as he practically dragged Lucy behind them. Once they hit the back staircase they went from stone cold silence to giggling.

"They were wearing pride pocket squares and matching ties, how was I supposed' ta know," she defended with a hushed alarm.

"Oh they are. They just don't know it yet," he lead her to his room and opened the door for her.