#idk if anyone else will see it but i tried making rebecca look like she dresses like janine from abbott elementary

[manitapaleta]

mommy? sorry. mommy?? ...sorry.

S2 milfs!!! and Marco hehe

[mrgaretcarter]

🤡 👀 and 🧠 for Keeley

🤡 What’s a line, scene, or exchange you’ve written that made you laugh?

I feel like this one was only that funny to me, but idc I stand by it (from the cause and the consequences)

The crowd pleaser is this one though I think (from once or twice i've thought about it)

🧠 Pick a character, and I’ll tell you my favorite headcanon for them.

Oh God, this one is kinda dark, but I headcanon that Keeley's dad left her and her mum when she was little (and I have thought about her and Ted discussing that)

👀 Tell me about an up and coming wip please!

I will finish the motherhood fic before I write anything else, I really really wanna be done with it. Idk what else to say, so here's a snippet:

“Do you reckon her hair will darken?”

“Think so, mine did.”

Rebecca ran her fingers through the wisps of white-blonde hair and lowered her face into the thin strands to breathe in the baby head smell.

“I love the name,” she murmured, delighting in Nora’s perfect existence. She was trying to seem calm and collected, but the immediate love was overwhelming. She didn’t see how it would be possible, even, to feel this much for her own hypothetical children.

“After Nora Ephron. Can you believe? Darren’s idea.”

Rebecca shot her a look.

“Yes, I was surprised too, but there you go, bugger outdid himself.”

Nora yawned and twisted in the blankets, blinking her eyes open to reveal crystal blue irises. Rebecca wanted to cry, suddenly.

“Oh, Stinky, you will be so easily manipulated.”

Rebecca had no defense, so she just shrugged and tried to will the tears back, not entirely successfully.

“Have you decided on your thing yet?” Sassy asked after a moment.

Rebecca snorted. “My thing?”

“Yes, the thing.”

“You mean my engagement.”

Sassy shifted on the bed to look at her properly, holding her lower abdomen where the incision was still fresh to keep the stitches from pulling.

“Have you said yes already?”

Rebecca started pacing, swaying Nora gently. “Not yet.”

“But you will.”

“I don’t-”

“Not asking. I can see it, you will.”

Rebecca stopped by the window and tilted Nora towards it, so she could see the garden outside. “I love Rupert.”

“He doesn’t deserve it. Or you.”

Rebecca scoffed.

“Oh, Stinky, really?” Sassy’s voice had an edge of pity to it. Rebecca tensed.

“Don't. I’m perfectly comfortable making my own decisions.”

“Rebecca-”

“I think that’s enough of that.” Rebecca said sharply, walking back towards the bed. She tried not to jostle Nora too much while handing her over.

Nora perked up at the proximity to her mum and wiggled around like a chubby worm, looking to latch, her little mouth opening and closing aimlessly. That distracted Sassy, who busied herself arranging them belly to belly, and guided her nipple towards Nora’s seeking lips. Immediately Nora started slurping happily, cheeks concaving with the force of the suction, while Sassy looked on with an earnest sort of awe that was hard to imagine her offering anyone else.

Rebecca felt a dull ache bloom inside her chest at the sight, and shook her head to try and dislodge it. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

Sassy nodded. “Will I be invited to the wedding?” she asked, in a way that wasn’t entirely a quip, still looking at Nora.

The ache sharpened. “Of course," Rebecca breathed out.

Sassy turned towards her then. “Good, you’ll look smashing in the gown, would hate to miss that.”

Rebecca was glad for the reprieve, and smirked to say “And the free booze?”

“Would hate to miss that even more.”

They both chuckled, and it was easy again.

“I think you’ll still be breastfeeding then, so I wouldn’t get too terribly excited.”

Sassy waved her off “Bullocks, she’s British, better get a taste for it early on.”

Rebecca snorted, shaking her head, and with her index finger picked up the hand Nora wasn’t using to clutch at Sassy, and bent over to kiss the backs of her tiny fingers. “Good luck Nora, you’ll need it.”

“Fuck off, Aunt Stinky,” Sassy answered in a high-pitched stage whisper.

Rebecca rolled her eyes fondly and planted another, quicker, kiss to the top of Sassy's head. “See you tomorrow, Sass."

Sassy took her hand and squeezed it. “See ya, Stinky."

Rebecca called Darren back into the room and stood there for a moment while he pulled a chair up by the bed and laid his head on Sassy’s lap to watch Nora feed. She shut the door on that image, feeling eerily as though she was running out of time.

Rupert had his "yes" the following night.

Thank you for asking 😘

Fanfic Writer Emoji Ask

[lowlyroach]

611) pantry goblin

ok now im a small goblin in a pantry

tech support mom and dad above me

"why are women so.. "

I stare at your name

"beautiful" I say.

"y'know what i mean?"

my smile leaps from my skin

three seconds later

"nevermind. women are so stupid."

Rebecca chimes in

she's looking at tik toks i guess of food

the way she says caramel.. something or other sounded cute

and comfy

anyway

she chimes in-

awww

listen, you got to be on top for a second

now we're back to baseline

women are dumb!!!!

women are stupid!!!!

tech support parents bicker and then

okay check this folder

make sure this matches this .dll file

me, a grape, a small pantry goblin

stares at pathfinder rules tom is looking at

while they look at files

i keep asking

'do you guys think i can make it to the fridge and back?

i can probably make it to the fridge and back.

do you think i could get water and make it back?

fuck im out of water every minute i wait its going to get harder

i should have got the water earlier!

do you think i can make it?'

right now, I'm doubting it

every once in a while tom will

pass a note in class over to me

okay but look at this rule

yeah i can fucking try but do you see what the words on your screen are doing?

anyone else blasting through serotonin right now?

fuck

yeah, whatever, it works like that

okay now you're a sorcerer with a wizard fucking spellbook?

just play a wizard, but alright..

i guess it makes sense

yeah i can barely read any of this

okay so that matches, ch ch ch, let's go back a folder and check documents, oh where's your game saved? can we go to the game directory, okay back a folder. No. three up. No, back where you were"

Austin is doing a great job

Grant is just.. this poor guy

i look over at what they're doing

BIG MISTAKE

too many letters and they're so small

go back to Tom it's comfy here

And I'm listening and feeling like I'm in a small pantry

smiling and staring at your name

what season of tech support anime is this?

how many arcs do we have to go through?

im so invested in this storyline are my friends

going to be able to play elden ring randomized mod together

is elden ring seamless coop folder going to get a happy ending?

this feels anything but seamless

i giggle in fits as i hear them talk about where to put things

gods i really hope this season is better

the classic fatalerror.dll twist! who could have seen it coming

cant wait for next season

please! it's been a thousand episodes! i need to know the ending!

okay, jacob but look at

bro whyyy did you wait till i took three tabs of acid before

you wanted to make this character!!!!

okay i can try to read but your letters keep dancing dude

sorry, i know but okay look at recognize spell and then quick recognition, isn't this one just better.. so why would i..?

idk man, oh it's a prerequisite! solved. easy, keep these easy ones coming

okay get all this wizard shit out of heeeeeeere get rid of it! it's getting in the way

okay now read magical shorthand

bro anything but magical shorthand i can't

it's so many leterrrrrs

okay but now that im basically a wizard this should work, right?

oh. yeah!

finally

oh my god

anything but magical shorthand again

he really wanted that to work

it just has like.. words in it

so your folder looks the same as mine.. maybe it's the crash text logs or something, that'd be STUPID but maybe??

okay it's still not launching

okay i know youre going to hate this but, we might just want to start from scratch

okay.. Grant i think starting from season 1 is probably best this story is way too convoluted

oh my god it's finally launching!

and i think they gave up they couldnt get it to work together

the seeds weren't working

but they should have been

i got up to go to the fridge but i

didn't make it back

Tom was in here till 4am clicking through things but

at least Austin could play

i had to go sit on the bed

why was your name doing that

with all its beautiful letters?

i couldnt keep my smile contained

i tried to catch it

but it kept leaping out of my face

[dachi-chan25]

Haven't done this in a while but I had the time so why not?

1.- Pizza Girl by Kyoung Jean Frazier

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really did like it, reminded me a lot of "Convinience store woman". Like clearly our protagonist needed thrapy ASAP to help her deal with her dad's death, her pregnancy, her attraction to women and hell just for existing as an Asian woman in the USA, but I liked how messy and obsesive she was and how the author allowed her to be fucked up and take bad decisions, I love to see female characters simply exist, it's also a pretty short read so I definitely recommend it.

2.-The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Daría is a persian teen who is really involved in her cultural background and feels that the most important thing one can be is authentic, so that's the name she and her friends take for their clique. But everything comes crashing down on her when she discovers she is adopted, and soon follows an identity crisis. I loved it so much, it felt pretty realistic, like Daría could be self absorbed and unlikeable at times, but who wasn't as a teen? And we get such beautiful heartwarming moments between Daría and her family and friends. Totally recommend it.

3.- The Mall by Megan McCafferty

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Cassie has her life completely mapped out but nothing goes quite as planned, first she gets mononucleosis and after she gets better gets dumped and fired almost simultaneously. Determined not to let it get the best of her, Cassie gets a brand new job, reconnects with an old friend and even finds a hidden treasure. This one is so much fun, all the 90s references and the growth Cassie goes through is amazing, honeslty i would love to see this as a Netflix movie.

4.- Luster by Raven Leilani

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book was hard, Edie is a very raw character, at first she seems flippant even when describing disturbing facts about her past or details about her relationship with a much older man she seems to be talking about something that happened to someone else all this to cope dealing with her solitude, her trauma, her self hate. And gosh it was so intresting to see her interact with Rebecca and Akila, especially Akila as Edie finds kinship in this young girl not only cuz they are both black but because they are both lost and afraid.

5.- Lakewood by Megan Giddings

🌟🌟🌟

Lena decides to participate on a financially compensated medical experiment so her mom can get proper medical care and to lessen their debts after her Grandmother's death.

So I had many mixed feelings about this, on one hand I liked that we are adressing how sistematical racism has permited experiments on black people with no consequences at all and how it has been happening for decades, but there were certain parts of the book that I couldn't enjoy as much because they were very trippy like I get we are on Lena's mind as things are becoming muddled up because of the medications and all those mind games and the words they have her memorize and repeat but all of it took me a bit away from the story. Still I do recommend it just be aware there is quite a bit of body horror in this so if you are sqeamish better skip it.

6.-The Voting Booth - Brandy Colbert

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Marva and Duke meet on election day as she helps him find the precint he is registered on.

This is very enjoyable, the story is very straightforward, and it insists on our right and responsability to vote even if we feel our vote alone can't possibly change all the injustice we see in the world. And also the romance was cute and developed slowly as Marva and Duke are just knowing each other. Really cute and quick read.

7.- Such a fun age - Kiley Reid

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Emira works as a babysitter for the Chamberleins' . She loves her little charge Briar, although she feels preassured to seek a 'real job' by her friends and by her own economic troubles. Emira soon finds herself in the middle of a tug of war between her boss Alix who tries to befriend her, and Kelley the guy she is dating.

So much drama. This is a great example of what performative activism looks like, first Alix is completely nuts, from her obsession to be seen as this wonderful understanding girl boss activist and the down right creepy sense of entitlement to Emira's friendship and intimacy. Like it doesn't surprise me she chose to victimize herself instead of recognizing it had all been a misunderstanding. And even then she still wants to seem atractive to the man she feels victimized by. Girl no.

Kelley is the ultimate fake woke ally. Dude Robbie was wrong period, he had no business inviting people over to someone else's house no matter the color of his skin. You don't get to talk over Emira on matters of what a person of color should do or feel on certain situations. That said it was so funny when he and Alix called each other out for their fetishization of people of color and yet none of them actually gave a damn about what Emira thought/felt/percieved. They just wanted her stamp of approval so they could pat themselves in the back for being such good allies.

8.- The Life and (Medieval) times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton

🌟🌟

Kit is working as a serving wench at the Castle, medieval themed restaurant run by her uncle, though she really wants to be a Knight, not only cuz the better pay would help around the house but because she really admires Joan of Arc, problem is the Castle management doesn't allow for anyone who is not a cis male to be a knight. Kit is set on changing that.

Ok so I feel a bit lukewarm toward this. Kit in my opinion doesn't get much growth, it seems she just can do whatever and her friends have to be ok w it, her romance w her friend feels pulled out of nowhere like Jett at one point tells her he is not intrested in dating her and then he is ???, those GoT references killed me, I get it I watched the show and sometimes even enjoyed it but it's not representative of anything medieval and Kit was always talking about how much she liked the actual history of the medieval times so...

Also as much as this book was about feminism and how we should fight for equal job oportunities, it feels as though Kit only cared about medieval woman who fought physically and not on the badass medieval woman, like idk it feels as a rejection of tradicional feminity like even the girl playing the Princess is a jerk. But I did like some parts, like her decision to confront her asshole dad to help her mom and the girls training together.

9.-Cien años de soledad de Gabriel Garcia Marquez

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

En Macondo, una población Colombiana a un lado del río, vemos como una de sus familias fundadoras crece, se expande y cambia a través de cien años.

Me encanto, hace mucho tiempo que no leía una novela de realismo mágico que me provocará tantos sentimientos. Creo que todos los personajes reflejan aspectos de la humanidad tan diversos y complejos que sería inútil tratar de enlistarlos todos.

Ultimadamente siento que lo que condenó a la familia Buendia a cumplir las profecías de Melquiades fue sus propia naturaleza que ellos nunca tuvieron intención de pelear, siempre sucumbian a las locuras o pasiones que los inundarán sin mesura alguna o consideración por las consecuencias. Y creo que aún así lo prefiero pues es lo que hace a cada personaje por confuso que a veces llegue a ser la repetición de nombres (que para mi es el simbolismo de una naturaleza y destino continuos) único e intrigante. En verdad espero que se den la oportunidad de leer este libro por lo menos una vez en sus vidas.

10.-The Monsters of music by Rebecca F. Kenney

🌟🌟🌟

This is a gender-swaped modern retelling of the Phantom of the Opera.

It was creative to make Mel, our Phantom, a true magical creature, and the singing contest was also cool. Like don't get me wrong I did have fun reading this but it also felt pretty unpolished like most characters were teens on the contest and that kinda made me roll my eyes a bit, like unless it's the Voice Kids age ranges are quite ample on this kind of shows, also kinda clumsy the addition of the magical elements with the modern setting, Kiyo didn't make much of an impression with me even when Christine is my fave on the original book. Still if you are a Phan like me you might wanna check this one out.

11.- Anna K by Jenny Lee

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is a modern americanized ya retelling of Anna Karenina.

Not gonna lie this made me cry so much at the end. I really liked Anna and Vronski together so much, and I don't like the love at first sight trope, but here it felt so inevitable. Anna was so self contained until she met him and could truly explore being herself and they really loved each other so much. Also I liked the treatment of the side characters Kimmie and Dustin were well developed and I really enjoyed this one can't wait to get to the second book.

12.- Wonderland by Zoje Stage

🌟🌟🌟

It was ok, but I was actually a bit disappointed cuz I had such high expectations for it. Like for about half the book I was really into the atmospheric vibe the book pulls you into, but as we get the reveal it started to go down hill for me, and the ending left me feeling meh. But maybe it was just not my cup of tea.

13.-Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book is so well crafted!!! I love how it goes back and forth between past and present , first it feels as if history is repeating itself, then as both narratives unfold we start to question and discovering things and the twist at the end was chillin and masterful, I truly and wholeheartedly recommend it.

14.- The Girl with the louding voice by Abi Daré

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Adunni, a teenage girl, flees from her husband to work as a maid in Lagos, though everything she has ever wanted is to study.

This broke my heart, as it reflects how people coming from rural backgrounds get taken advantage of in the City, like similar things happen here in Mexico, but also it made me glad to see Adunni fight and keep her spirit so no one could ever silence her.

15.- The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Immanuel does her very best to fit in Bethel, follow the scriptures and the Prophets words, but nothing seems to be enough to erase her mother's sin especially when the Darkwood seems to pull her in. As a plague starts to ravage Bethel, Immanuel has to face her past to save her people.

So frickin' good !!!! This story is great, mainly about the explotation of woman and young girls by people in power (in this case a church), the atmosphere is always tense, Ezra and Immanuel 's relationship is very well developed and one can really see how loyal they are to each other. A great option for horror fans.

[notjanine]

2020 in books!

the only kind of new year’s resolution i made as a naive baby last january was to try to read 40 books for the year. (i read 37 in 2019, for context.) well, with all of my commuting time eliminated and an increased need for immersive escapism, i ended up surpassing that goal three times over lmao (thanks library ebooks!)

idk how to summarize my year in books in a way that makes sense but

(f) = fiction, (nf) = nonfiction, (p) = poetry.

books that rewired my fucking brain:

braiding sweetgrass by robin wall kimmerer (nf)- GOD?!?!?! good. dr. k is right. ostensibly a book about plants, but actually a book about shut up and go outside. consumerism and capitalism are doing their damnedest to fuck you up, but you can just choose to value different things. take care of yourself by taking care of your environment. etc etc.

wasp by richard jones (nf)- lissen. when i got this book, my wasp-phobia was so severe that i had to put it away face down on a high shelf because there are wasps on the cover and i couldn’t bear to RISK even GLIMPSING them. now i am like... a wasp evangelist. (also due to the bugs 101 course on coursera it’s so good.)

wag by zazie todd (nf)- i have a dog, but i am NOT a Dog Person (i.e. i love my dog, but please keep yours away from me, thanks.) this book helped me understand my little guy better, plus it gives actionable tasks and activities to do with and for your pup! plus, y’know, learning about things you’re scared of helps to lessen that fear. i’d recommend this to anyone who has, wants, or regularly interacts with a dog.

a closed and common orbit by becky chambers (f)- is this series complete fluff? absolutely. am i fundamentally different after reading this one? maybe.

the best we could do by thi bui (nf)- this is so far outside of my personal experience but somehow still made me come to peace with my relationship with my mom?? and it’s barely even about that?? idk. this is probably objectively the best book i’ve read this year.

books that were just fun as hell:

mexican gothic by silvia moreno-garcia (f)- this book made me YELL out loud

death on the nile by agatha christie (f)- i grew up on agatha christie shows, but never actually read her before this year! she really was That Bitch. read this before the movie comes out

cosmoknights by hannah templer (f)- i read this in one sitting through the worst headache i’ve had in years. it is a goddamn DELIGHT. this book has everything: spaceships. mech suits. fighting the patriarchy. a perfect otp. fun art in bright colors with clean lines. onomatopoetic WAPs from before the song gave that hilarious context. 800 lesbians. this is an antidepressant in graphic novel form.

stiff by mary roach (nf)- ms. roach is like the 4th most represented author on my bookshelf because she 1. stays writing about shit i’m interested in and 2. manages to talk about gross and ridiculous things without resorting to sensationalism. it takes skill to write a hilarious book about corpses.

black sun by rebecca roanhorse (f)- excellent sexual tension between a horny siren pirate and a hot doomed... monk, kinda? set in the pre-columbian gulf of mexico with magic and shit.

cuisine chinoise by zao dao (? n/f)- this graphic novel about chinese food history/mythology is BEAUTIFUL.

the color of magic by terry pratchett (f)- you’d think a hardcore douglas adams stan would have gotten to this sooner, but no, i had to date a nerdy white boy to get here. it’s fun though! i’m not gonna read them all, but this one was good. bonus: contains one (1) great himbo.

gideon the ninth by tamsyn muir (f)- like 500 pages of action and mystery and jokes and space necromancy. harrow the ninth gets a special mention bc it has a meme reference that took me out so hard i had to close the book, lie down, and groan for an entire minute before continuing.

other minds by peter godfrey-smith (nf)- i love octopuses. on one tma bonus ep, jonny sims says that if a creature can choose to do evil, then it’s a Person. octopuses are People. but anyway frfr this has an explanation of the evolution of consciousness that is cool af. (this one is much better than the other recent popsci octo book which i will not name out of politeness.)

the perfect predator by steffanie strathdee and thomas patterson (nf)- i read this bc my microbiology prof recommended it and it’s cool as heck! it’s got adventure, drama, mystery, Science-with-a-capital-S. i’m biased bc i’m a bit of a microbes nerd, but i had a blast with this. (but only bc we know going in that everything works out okay; if i hadn’t known that, i would have been TOO stressed!)

books that were a little less fun but still very readable:

my sister, the serial killer by oyinkan braithwaite (f)- i couldn’t find this as funny as other people bc i, too, have a beautiful sister who’s an insufferable narcissist, so it hits a little too close to home, but. it is a wild ride.

piranesi by susanna clarke (f)- idek what to say! i went into this one blind just bc it had a cool cover and title, so i guess i’d recommend that for other people too.

the sixth world series by rebecca roanhorse (f)- monster hunting! a post-apocalyptic take that doesn’t feel tired.

the shades of magic trilogy by v.e. schwab (f)- easy escapism. some ideas feel a little first draft-y, but idk, it’s also a pretty simple premise (which isn’t a bad thing). it’s a decent urban fantasy set in ~georgian?-era london. very actiony. suffers from a bit of i’m-not-like-other-girls disease, but i didn’t even notice until book two or three, so.

the only good indians by stephen graham jones (f)- starts off a little ??? (and reeks of being Written By A Man) but picks up. the pacing’s great and there’s just a super fucking cool monster.

robopocalypse by daniel h. wilson (f)- this reads like a tv miniseries so much that i can’t believe it isn’t one yet.

confessions of the fox by jordy rosenberg (f)- not my usual cup of tea, fiction-wise, but still compelling. a fresh take on the white-male-english-professor-self-insert? but not insufferable. gets weird!

spinning silver by naomi novik (f)- rumplestilstkin, but make it interesting! a great, richly-told fairy tale, but like, large scale. good to read on a cold day while you’re wrapped up in a blanket with some hot tea.

interior chinatown by charles yu (f)- compulsively readable. a couple things bugged me, but not enough to make me dislike it. a fun companion piece to how to live safely in a science fictional universe. i like this guy’s style.

cannibalism by bill schutt (nf)- COOL. mostly covers the animal kingdom (fun), spends too much time on the donner party (less fun), ends with a SPICY take on prions that i cannot get out of my head!!!

buzz, sting, bite by anne sverdrup-thygeson (nf)- BUGS! broad but not overwhelming, neither dumbed down nor overly scientific, short enough to finish in a day or two. recommend this to literally everyone.

books that made me want to read everything else in the author’s ouevre:

the time invariance of snow by e. lily yu (f)- this FUCKS but it’s too short!!!

an unkindness of ghosts by rivers solomon (f)- okay this book is SO good and so well-written and interesting and blah blah blah all the good things, but... the whole time, i was just like?? why???? why is this what you’re choosing to write about??? (i did also read the deep and blood is another word for hunger after this one, and i did like them both, especially the latter, but i think they can do better! like i think they could write a perfect book and i am gonna be *eyes emoji* until then.)

the space between worlds by micaiah johnson (f)- a fine debut novel, but i want to see her do something a little more... idk, refined? i think she overreaches here, like it’s a little... idk looper? this is how you lose the time war? there’s a better comparison, but i can’t think of it, but you get the idea. and then halfway through it shifts gears to mad max. there’s something weird about one of the central relationships, like it’s not complex enough to take as long to resolve as it does. idk idk. there are just a lot of little nitpicky things. it’s not bad! but i think she can do better and i look forward to finding out.

postcolonial love poem by natalie diaz (p)- thinky! like i tried to read this before bed, but it’s not the sort of thing to parse out while you’re falling asleep, it requires more attention than that.

books that Learned Me Somethin:

smoke gets in your eyes by caitlin doughty (nf)- i am a self-professed death obsessed weirdo, fascinated by death and mourning, but i didn’t know all that much about what happens to a body between the dying and the funeral! this book isn’t big, but it covers a lot and doughty’s writing style is engaging and honest. it’s very memorable.

queer by meg-john barker and julia scheele (nf)- i’m gonna be totally honest and say Queer Theory is above my intellectual pay grade, but this book takes you by the hand and explains the basics.

vitamania by catherine price (nf)- LMAO my fellow americans, never take a supplement. this book is great and well-researched, but normal folks don’t need to read it, just listen to season two of the dream podcast, which definitely cribbed from this.

vegetable kingdom by bryant terry (nf)- this is a fine cookbook, my favorite of his that i’ve read so far. gets a special mention bc i had a religious experience just reading one of his kohlrabi recipes. absolutely gutted that i didn’t have an opportunity to try it this year, since the pandemic put the kibosh on all family bbqs.

the best american food writing 2020 edited by j. kenji lopez-alt (nf)- this really is just a great collection.

are prisons obsolete? by angela y. davis (nf)- yes.

i moved to los angeles to work in animation by natalie nourigat (nf)- before reading this, i had basically zero knowledge of how the animation industry works. now i know like three things.

the secret lives of bats by merlin tuttle (nf)- BATS! okay this book is more about the adventures of being a bat scientist than it actually is about bats, but there are bats in there. insectivorous bats basically shit glitter, you should know this.

books from valuable perspectives:

hood feminism by mikki kendall (nf)- a breakdown of who’s getting left out of feminist spaces, why that’s happening, and why it shouldn’t be happening.

all you can ever know by nicole chung (nf)- a (transracial) adoptee’s take on adoption and learning more about her birth family. the personal storytelling of this one really stuck with me.

motherhood so white by nefertiti austin (nf)- a single-mom-by-choice’s take on the foster system/adoption process. walks you through some things i always wondered about and some things i wouldn’t even have thought about.

this place by kateri akiwenzie-damm et al (? n/f)- i, like a lot of non- native americans, only know that history in broad strokes. getting this many highly specific stories in one dense and beautiful book felt like a lucky find. and taking that perspective into the future in the context of that history is v good.

empty by susan burton (nf)- eating disorder stories are important to me bc i care about food so much. this one is so relatable- not in its specificity, but rather its generality. it’s easy to empathize with her perspective because it’s like, Oh, i don’t have that exact problem, but i struggle with different problems in a very similar way. (feels like the opposite of roxane gay’s hunger, in a way.)

obit by victoria chang (p)- this exploration of grief is... woof.

short story collections are hard to evaluate bc you’ll never read one where every single story hits but i generally enjoyed these:

a thousand beginnings and endings edited by ellen oh and elsie chapman (f)

how long til black future month? by n.k. jemisin (f)

her body and other parties by carmen maria machado (f)

books i revisited:

the broken earth trilogy by n.k. jemisin (f)- i read the series backwards this time and like... i can’t really find any faults in these books, man. they’re just the best.

everyone’s a aliebn when ur a aliebn too by jomny sun (f... but is it really?)- half of this book’s sales are from me buying it for other people bc it’s the only way i know how to say i love you. i reread it every time just to make sure it still feels right and it always does.

other honorable mentions:

white is for witching by helen oyeyemi (f)- not to pit two bad bitches against each other, but this book does what akwaeke emezi’s freshwater was trying to do. it’s a little weird, a little haunted, a little of a lot of things. read this only in the dead of winter. (and with stephen rennicks’ score for the little stranger playing in the background.)

homie by danez smith (p)- there’s a lot going on here, but this just made me crack a smile a couple times in a way that no other book of poetry has ever done.

the murder of roger ackroyd and murder in mesopotamia by agatha christie (f)- That Bitch!

blues by nikki giovanni (p)- she sure has some Things To Say

the three-body problem by cixin liu (f)- interesting concepts, but... idk something’s missing? felt weirdly soulless to me. i’m probably not gonna read the sequels. but it did make some points!

the sisters of the winter wood by rena rossner (f)- i’m a slut for shapeshifting, okay. but this is a good fairy tale, it works!

parable of the sower by octavia butler (f)- i read this in march, when the pandemic was just kicking off and boy that was not the right time. def my least favorite of hers so far, but an octavia butler i don’t love is still better than a hell of a lot of other books. no idea when or if i’ll get to a good enough headspace for the sequel.

faves:

saturnino herrán by adriana zapett tapia (nf)- i got to learn new things about my mans and see some of his paintings i’ve never even seen online! GOSH.

on food and cooking by harold mcgee (nf)- yeah yeah, i’ve already mentioned this book half a dozen times on here this year, but i don’t care. this book lives off the shelf in my home bc i reference it like every other fucking day. this book is a part of me now.

[sentofight]

Machina for the multimuse ask meme

MULTIMUSE ASK MEME! send in the name of a muse you don’t know at all and i’ll tell you…| accepting | @pieman1112

their general personality

[ [ Generally, without which cycle we are taking about, he is a cheerful friendly guy. Machina is a hardworking person who always strives to be better, to be stronger to protect the people he loves. add dramatic, liar, traitor, and just a scared full of questions and worried young man in his type0 cycle. he bears the FEAR trait in this cycle which makes him afraid of losing everything, thus why he gets tricked easily, and turn on the people who actually want to help. hes just a misguided teenager cries. in agito he can be a tiny bit pervert but not to a degree like mister date kaname ofc. hes just a dumb teenager. 

their hobbies

[[TAKING CARE OF CHOCOBOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! training, watching over rem, chocobos, sad noises he does not think of hobbies ....but chocobos..lmao. being a cadet, striving to be one, i can see machina just not cared that much about hobbies when all his mind is full of trying to be strong. though in agito cycle he likes to sing! play instruments and enjoy sports! 

things they like

[ [ chocobos. izana. rem. boobs. chocobos. power. class zero .deuce.

things they dislike

[ [ being powerless. losing. not remembering. people treating him like a weakling, lying to him, himself for lying to others, the crystals, the war, death. arecia

some things people do that annoy them

[[ talking like they are higher/stronger/better than him. belittle him. compare him to someone else.

how easily they form friendships

[ [ quite easily. he is friendly after all, but due to his perseverance to be stronger, some might find him too serious or unapproachable

how easily they get crushes

[[ he has crush on someone? or like someone has a crush on him? for the former, it takes some time before he finds someone interesting to him. machina is a sweet boy he is good and romantic but it does not mean he easily get a crush. being sweet is something and actually crushing on someone is something else. it takes some development for him. though depend on the person ofc it might hit him like a brick to his head on their first interaction, who knows. but does he get crushes? idk. in game i didnt see anyone go ‘kyaaa machina~’ perhaps because of how uptight he was in the game cycle lol. ...wait i got some vague kyas from the manga....perhaps he has crushes. i mean hamsome, Class second, strong....yep. he got crushes. but he just looks away i dont care, i want power (and rem.)  

the kind of person they get along with the best

[[ ooo now thats a tricky one. because it is the same person, can be his worst too. machina finds people who does not lie to him, does not treat him like a nobody, actually recognize his efforts to be stronger. someone who does not shy away from slapping some truth slaps at him and correct him if he did something wrong. people who talk normally, no riddles or extra information jammed in their speech to sound sophisticated.   

the kind of person they get along with the worst

[[ sweats. again depend on which machina this is. for in game cycle, he will be irritated if someone tried to preach him. people who talk weirdly for him just makes him roll his eyes, especially in an aggressive manner or knows-everything-kind of attitude. also people who are strong but acts like its nothing just sets him on flames.   

whether or not they could get along with your muse(s)

[[oooh~ omg machina will find spartan insufferable if he started to lecture him (just like his class commander sdlfkd) but surely with good conversation he can tell spartan means what he says for his sake. for rebecca hmm i think they can go ok from the beginning unless she sees him as a whiny child then whooops. omg s.t.a.r. tho . . . . hmmm... they can get along together lol 

[comradesummers]

I’m curious about 1. Top 5 TV shows, 11. Top 5 female characters and 20. Top 5 overrated characters

Hi, thanks for asking!

Top 5 TV shows

(This list is based on my current mood, and will probably change tomorrow)

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer 

Yeah, I know, what a shocker. It may be flawed, and old, and a little corny, but well, there’s a reason I dedicated a blog to it. No show means more to me than Buffy, and no show probably ever will.

2. Legends of Tomorrow

You know what, more shows need to be as batshit fucking crazy as Legends of Tomorrow is. More shows need to save the day via our main characters joining together to create a giant stuffed animal that hugs the bad guy to death. More shows need to give us killer unicorns, and sentient nipples, and hot girls with weapons who make out with each other.

Fuck the golden age of television, fuck everyone taking everything so goddamn seriously. Give me a pure, unadulterated, chaotic, drug-addled (I can only assume), queer, joyful, wonderful mess, and I will love and treasure it forever.

3. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Look, it’s just really good. I don’t really have much to say, beyond just like, it’s great, and it has great songs, and great comedy, and great drama, and great acting, and great writing, etc. It’s not perfect, because nothing is, but I do genuinely believe that it’s one of the best uses of the medium of television that I’ve ever seen. If any show could make me buy into the golden age of television bullshit, it’s probably Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

4. One Day at a Time

So there’s this interview with Gloria Calderón Kellett and Mike Royce, where they talk about how the basic structure of any episode of the show, is that there is a topic at hand, whatever it may be, and then we hear the conservative argument (Lydia), the progressive argument (Elena), and the mediator (Penelope). And like, yeah, that’s it, that’s the show. In that sense it’s super reminiscent of Norman Lear’s work in the 70′s - All in the Family was also basically just one big argument.

So, in addition to everything that’s obviously incredible about the show (funny, well written, loving, the representation, Rita Moreno’s very existence being a gift to us all, etc.), there’s just something so brilliant about the simplicity of the basic premise, the argument about traditionalism vs. progress, which is made far more poignant and interesting because the characters are Cuban American. Lydia isn’t Archie Bunker, because her desire to preserve her traditions isn’t rooted in bigotry, it’s rooted in the culture that she was forced to leave behind. And Elena, as admirable as her quest for progress is, often fails to see the importance of preserving that culture (illustrated most obviously by the fact that she doesn’t speak Spanish). And although Penelope represents the middle ground, she isn’t always right either.

Everyone has a point, and that’s what makes each new conflict so fun to watch.

5. Queer Eye

Queer Eye makes me happy. It really is as simple as that. It has perfected the formula of bringing joy to the world, and I think that is a truly impressive feat.

Top 5 female characters

(I’m going to keep it to one character per show, because otherwise I'd be here all day. Also, again, this list is based on my current mood. It could change tomorrow.)

1. Buffy Summers 

Again, what a shocker. I don’t think I need to explain this one.

2. Elena Alvarez 

I really had to struggle to choose between Lydia, Penelope, and Elena, because I love all three of them so so much. But I went with Elena because she’s the person I aspire to be. She’s awkward, and weird, and struggles socially, and she’s not always right, but she also fights for what she believes in, actively. It’s not just about arguing with her grandmother, it’s about taking action, even if that action can be a little awkward and Elena-y. And well, seeing a character like her, who isn’t just the regular armchair activist young person that’s so common on TV, is really important and inspiring and I love her.

3. Rebecca Bunch 

She’s just kind of one of those characters that was iconic right out of the gate. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a character like Rebecca before, ever. And I haven’t seen any since honestly. It’s small stuff, like the fact that a character with Rachel Bloom’s body type is allowed to be aggressively sexual without being seen as disgusting or villainous for it. And it’s big stuff, like the portrayal of her mental illness, the fact that she was never written to be “likable” or whatever the fuck that means, but we loved her so much anyway. The show may have occasionally faltered, but Rebecca Bunch was always its center and its greatest achievement, and I will forever be grateful for her.

4. Regina Mills and Santana Lopez 

Yeah, I’m cheating, this one’s a tie. My justification for the cheating is that these two are in the same category for me, in terms of characters that I love, but I’m kind of ashamed of choosing because of their garbage source material. So yeah, it would probably be more accurate to say that I’ve chosen the fanfiction versions of both of these characters, but in my defense, the fics are a lot better than the shows they’re based on. Also, kudos to both of these actresses for somehow making these characters interesting in spite of the writing they had to work with.

5. Petra Solano 

Look, if it wasn’t already evident that I like type A control freaks, bonus points if they’re super fucked up, and extra bonus points if they’re into women, well it should be clear now. Petra in particular manages to walk the fine line of being easily the most tragic character of the show, and also easily one of the funniest, while also having one of the best redemption arcs I’ve ever seen. Idk how Grobglas and the writers managed to do all that, but it was really incredible to behold.

(I would like to extend my sincerest apologies to Veronica Mars, Amy Santiago, Rosa Diaz, Sara Lance, Zari Tomaz, and a bunch of other characters who have probably slipped my mind, all of whom would have made the list if I was in a different mood, or was currently obsessed with them. I love them all.)

Top 5 overrated characters

1. Wesley Wyndam Pryce

So, full disclosure, I’m just really not a fan of broody men who’s character development involves them being violent towards women and then brooding about it.

Wesley in particular, I get why people like him, he is a very well written and well acted example of this kind of character. But I’ve seen multiple people suggest that he’s the best character in the Buffyverse, and that drives me a little crazy. Like, no. Wesley becoming a broody asshole doesn’t make him a better character than Buffy or Willow or Cordelia or Gunn or Faith or anyone else, and I am so sick of that kind of broody man story being prioritized over every other kind of story.

2. Logan Echolls (please don’t kill me)

I actually like Logan, I think he’s a good character. I just wish the show, and subsequently the fandom, hadn’t prioritized his character over pretty much everyone else not named Veronica. But I do like him, to be clear.

3. Illyria (I’m so sorry)

Like really, I wish I liked her more. I guess it’s just because I was pissed they had to kill off Fred for Illyria, and she spent all of her time with Wesley, which didn’t do much to endear me to her. I guess maybe if she’d spent time with anyone else, I’d get why people like her, beyond Amy Acker being really good at her job. But she didn’t, and I just don’t get it.

I couldn’t think of a fourth and fifth one. As it turns out, I’m not a fan of the concept of something being overrated. All of the characters I named just aren’t necessarily my cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean I think they’re bad, they’re just not for me. And I don’t really like saying that people are wrong to like things. Plus, I just really couldn’t come up with anybody, and I really tried, I’m sorry.

[catty-words]

not sure if i asked for this already, but for the dvd commentary meme: the passage from "a friend," starting from "I think we can drop the metaphor" to "She’s even in the middle of googling how to make bread—it’s surprisingly simple, really—when her phone rings."

mm good choice

She squeezes him closer. His responding grunt has her pressing her face even harder into his shoulder, trying to staunch her smile.

“Rebecca?”

“Right, right, right. So I’m at the egg store.”

i loved making the whole set-up of this fic a cozy tightrope for rebecca to walk. obviously, their physical draw toward each other has always been a great source of distraction for rebecca, so to have them snuggle while she tries to explain why she a) nearly gave into temptation and b) can’t give into temptation now because of what these distractions have meant to her in the past should fill the reader with a tension at the same time the snuggles are a shippy treat. because i like to have my cake and eat it too.

But what I really need to do is learn how to bake myself bread or make pasta from scratch or, I don’t know, glaze doughnuts.

in the silly egg metaphor, rebecca finding other foods to eat is obviously her looking for other things to sustain her emotionally. and my including glazing doughnuts is my own personal, didn’t-expect-anyone-else-to-pick-up-on-this nod to the fact that the gurls are in her life. she’s not baking them from scratch cause they’re already there, but she does need to spend more time on the relationships.....glazing them, if you will

“Don’t two thirds of those foods also require eggs?”

“Well, sure. Because I’m still going to want eggs in my life. They just can’t be the only thing I rely on to give me sustenance.”

love literal nathaniel over-analyzing the metaphor, and rebecca turning that around to, well, poke at the show not dealing with the fact that rebecca never actually leaned how to have romantic relationships in her life in a healthy way even though that’s gonna be an important part of her journey eventually

“And…Greg is the egg, right?”

Her stomach goes on an entire roller coaster ride between the thought that, no, Greg will probably never be eggs again—or at least not for a while

man, could you tell i was bitter about the direction of canon? let greg be free, it’s not healthy for him to hang around after this!!!

“So the other night—”

“I had not yet come to this conclusion,” she says, quick to hop in. “Or, I guess that’s not entirely true. Because I’ve come to this conclusion at least half a dozen times.”

this is also a little bit of a snipe at canon for walking back rebecca’s revelation in 4.07, “i know who i am now” and all that. but even with that said, i do love this aspect of rebecca’s journey. how she can come to conclusions and then not follow through, even knowing they’re the right conclusions to draw.

“So what stops you?” he asks. “You know, from learning how to bake bread.”

She feels a twinge in her chest. “I happen to know some really enticing eggs.”

i really am very proud of how ridiculous this metaphor is, but at the same time super apt in breaking down rebecca’s emotional state into easily understood moments like this.

“So I get to stay in the basket?”

“I’d like that.”

the moment nathaniel commits to the metaphor himself...

“Me, too. I think.”

...and how that gets him to really take what rebecca’s saying to heart. the added ‘i think’ is very important to the end of the fic

“It’s okay if that changes,” she assures him, her heart splintering a little to do so. “I know I can be a lot.”

in this version of events, rebecca just lost greg because of her insatiable need for eggs, and idk. this is just me sending my whole heart out to s4 rebecca, who screws up but ultimately is thinking about her people’s well-being as well as her own and all that means for her growth.

“Hey.”

“What?”

“Roll over.”

and nathaniel’s definitely thinking more about rebecca’s well-being than his own in this moment, but because we all love rebecca, we’re okay with that.

“Was that really all it was—um, everything you said? Just raiding the…just raiding?”

as rebecca’s falling asleep, nathaniel’s processing what she’d said and his place in her life, so he’s gotta know where she stands on the stuff she said the other night.

“‘s a dangerous question,” she says.

“Deadly,” he agrees.

and she’s calling back to what he said earlier, about how opening the door to let her in was dangerous, and how discussing what happened after she was inside would be dangerous. they’ve both been playing with fire this whole time--for rebecca it’s the snuggling, for nathaniel it’s the hope that she’ll say something he can keep as proof that she still has feelings for him--and maybe it doesn’t count for much, but them taking this moment to acknowledge that is still Something.

“It’s never just, Nathaniel. Should know that by now. Never just.”

being evolved rebecca, she of course tells the truth, no matter how dangerous

Last night might not have been just about maturely touching base for me, as you helped me realize. I think I should take another few days before we see if there’s room for me in the basket.

In the meantime, you deserve a smorgasbord.

and i think the renewed hope he felt at hearing that she wasn’t just saying anything she could to get what she wanted -- that it wasn’t just about raiding the egg store -- was what finally made up nathaniel’s mind that space was necessary. but him wanting out of the basket for now has nothing to do with her forcing him out by being herself, and he uses that sign-off to tell her as much. the tenderness!

She sets the note aside, feeling unexpectedly buoyed.

it works of course. she feels how much he cares for her even when he’s asking for space -- kinda like their scene in the final episode where she tells him she’s not choosing one of the guys.

She’s even in the middle of googling how to make bread—it’s surprisingly simple, really—when her phone rings.

i like ending the commentary here because i like how this shows that she’s committed to actually doing something about her revelation this time. she’s already taken it a step further than normal and, having taken this step, it’s actually gonna be pretty simple for her to keep moving down this path.

[fullmetalscullyy]

Can I please request some Modern AU with a spoonful of pining/adorkable Roy and tons of fluff? :D :D thank youuuu in advance, Emma!!

so i’ve fallen in love with this oneshot and writing their banter in a modern setting uwu thank you for this tas!! 

also i hope the texting reads well in this format ksjdfjk i realise the format is 14:00pm which is a bit redundant but i didnt notice until reading it back on here aaaaand tbh i’ve waited too long to post this and its 10:30pm so i really can’t be bothered changing it at this point

part 2 | part 3

There was an incessant banging on his apartment door.Stumbling through his living room, Roy cursed as he kicked the corner of hiscouch hard, his toe throbbing. His irritation growing by the second, hisvisitor still banging away on thedoor like there was no tomorrow, he wrenched the door open with a glare. Riza,his neighbour, stood on the other side of the door, hand raised and poised toknock again with an impatient expression.

“What?” he growled irritably.

“Hey,” she greeted brightly, unconcerned about the time andthe sacred rite that was a lie in on a fucking Saturday. “Can I ask you a favour?”

“Riza, it’s Saturday morning.”

“And?” Damn her. Dam her and her ability to rise at six inthe morning any day of the week. The woman had probably never slept past sevenbefore in her life. Roy, on the other hand, appreciated and valued his sleep.

“Saturday,” hestressed slowly. He had finished work late last night and had been lookingforward to his sleep. Now it had been ruined by Riza.

They were good friends and hung out frequently. Starting offas neighbours who politely greeted each other every morning, they quicklydiscovered they shared mutual friends, so it was easy for their relationship todevelop. To Roy it had been the most natural thing. The only down side was saidfriends were both couples and they ended up third wheeling any outing theyattended. Through this, however, they had formed a close friendship, which hedeeply valued.

But when she interrupted his morning by loudly banging on his front door for about five minutes instead ofwaiting for a more respectable hour, Riza really tried his patience.

“Good observation,” she quipped. “Anyway, I need a favour,if you’re up for it?”

Roy sighed, admitting defeat. He rubbed his eyes tiredly,resigned to the fact that for the fourteenth day in a row, he had been woken upat six thirty in the morning.

“What?” he asked irritably.

“I’ve got a work thing tonight and I need you to come withme.” Roy narrowed his eyes critically, eyeing her open and honest expression.

“What’s this really about?”

With a sigh, she finally revealed the truth. “You know thatguy I was dating?”

“The stick?”

Riza huffed. “He’s not a stick.”

“Riza, he’s built like a stick.”

“Anyway, it didn’twork out and now I have… a situation.”

It shouldn’t have excited him so much to hear that herrelationship with Stick Man Dan didn’t work out. Roy wasn’t blind, Riza was abeautiful woman. Plus, he adored her as a friend. They had clicked instantlyand the banter they shared was effortless. If things were to progress furtherbetween them, Roy certainly wouldn’t say no.

“A situation?” Roy asked doubtfully, yawning loudly. “Whatkind of situation?”

“Just some friendly stalking, that’s all.”

That woke him up.“He’s stalking you?”

Riza nodded and Roy didn’t miss the briefest flash of worryappear on her face. “Have you gone to the police?”

Riza nodded. “Yeah, of course, but they won’t do anything.”

“Why?” he asked, unable to keep the anger out of his voice.Regardless of his feelings towards Riza, they should be doing something aboutit.

“Apparently until he does something concrete, and there’sevidence, they can’t charge him.”

“Bullshit.”

Riza’s lips quirked upwards. “I’m inclined to agree. Anyway,it’s fine. I can look after myself. My hope was that you could accompany me tothis thing tonight to try and gently tell him that, you know, I’ve moved on.”

“Yeah, of course,” he replied, tone concerned. “Do you needsomewhere to stay? Is it that serious?”

Riza smiled at him instead of replying, Roy unable todetermine the emotion on her face. “No, thank you. I’m okay.”

“Let me know if you do. And if Stick Man Dan comes around,give me a text or a knock.”

“I will,” she smiled that cryptic smile, expression soft.“Thank you.”

“Okay then. What time do I need to be ready for?”

“Six, if that’s okay?”

“No problem.”

“It’s date,” she grinned.

“But be warned,” Roy added. Riza’s expression turnedexpectant. “Wake me up, banging on my door, at this time tomorrow and I will remove your hands from the ends ofyour arms.”

Riza grinned. “Thanks Roy!” She walked towards the lift, aspring in her step, completely unconcerned about his empty-but-tempting threat.He sighed, closing his door, but smiled as he re-entered his apartment. Anevening with Riza on a “date” didn’t seem so bad.

*          *          *

RM: What do Ineed to wear tonight? 13:44pm

RM: Smart?Casual? We talking tux? 13:44pm

RH: Smart casual is fine.13:51pm

RM: Wow. Thankyou. Much helpful. Very cool. 13:51pm

RH: You’re welcome.13:52pm

RH: Do I detect sarcasm?13:52pm

RM: Your powersof deduction are unparalleled. 13:53pm

RH: Thank you. I pridemyself on that. 13:54pm

RH: Idk just weartrousers and a shirt. 13:54pm

RM: Still nothelpful. 13:55pm

RH: Idk, I’m nota dude. I don’t know what you wear on a night out. 13:55pm

RM: Where is itbeing held? 13:56pm

RH: In a function suite.It’s just a gathering to celebrate a colleague retiring. Dan will be therebecause he was a friend of the retiree and one of my colleagues. 13:57pm

RM: Stick ManDan is friends with old age pensioners? 13:58pm

RM: Riza.13:58pm

RH: Shut your mouth rightnow. I already regret the decision no need to rub it in. 13:59pm

RH: And if you say I toldyou so I will punch you in the face. Guaranteed. 13:59pm

RM: What acatch. 14:01pm

RH: I hope you enjoy thatpunch coming your way in approximately 4 hours. 14:01pm

RM: Hey if noone else will make fun of you for it I’ve got to step up to the plate. 14:05pm

RM: I’m justfulfilling my duty as a friend. 14:05pm

RH: Two punches. 14:05pm

RM: Come at me.I look forward to them. 14:06pm

RM: So… Aboutthat dress code… 14:10pm

RH: Roy. You’re a grownass man. Dress yourself. 14:11pm

RM: Do you wantStick Man Dan to get the message or not? 14:11pm

RH: What, pray tell,message could you send from the way you are dressed? 14:12pm

RM: That I’m asexy motherfucker and you’ve done so much better than him already? 14:13pm

RH: … 14:13pm

RH: Insert picture of melaughing my ass off while rolling my eyes here. 14:13pm

RM: Juststaying true to myself. 14:13pm

RH: Keep telling yourselfthat buddy. 14:14pm

RM: To behonest anyone is a step up from Stick Man Dan. 14:14pm

RH: All right I’m goingnow. I’ve got more important shit to do than tell a grown man how to dress fora “date”. 14:15pm

RH: I thought you were“Mr. Hot Stuff” anyway? Surely you know how to dress for a date. 14:15pm

RH: Wait. 14:17pm

RH: You’ve gone on a datebefore, haven’t you? 14:17pm

RM: I’m noteven going to dignify that stupid question with an answer. 14:22pm

RH: Oh my god. 14:22pm

RH: Hahahaha. 14:22pm

RH: That pause speaksvolumes. 14:22pm

RM: I was inthe bathroom. 14:22pm

RH: TMI dude. 14:23pm

RH: Roy is not the“player” he makes himself out to be. Confirmed. 14:23pm

RH: I can’t wait to tellBecca. 14:25pm

RM: Youwouldn’t dare. 14:24pm

RH: ; ) 14:28pm

RM: Yourloyalties, and any impending betrayals, are noted. 14:29pm

*          *          *

“I’m going to kill you,” Roy grinned, trying to hide hisirritation as they walked arm in arm towards the function room where this partywas being held. “Really, Riza. This time, I will.”

“I’d like to see you try,” she muttered under her breathquickly before greeting a colleague and introducing Roy.

“You told Catalinaof all people.” Riza snickered beside him, steering Roy towards the buffettable. “You lied to her as well.”

“You neither confirmed, nor denied, if it was true.”

“I said I wouldn’t dignify it with an answer,” he bit back,his irritation rising. He couldn’t believeRiza had said to Catalina that he’d never been on a date before. Of course, he had been on a date before.The woman had phoned him up, cackling, asking if it was true. No matter what hesaid, Rebecca refused to accept any other answer.

God, he hated those two when they were together. A force tobe reckoned with, for sure, and often at his expense. Although they were maddening,Roy never minded it really. It was all good fun. However, it was just asentertaining to banter back and forth with Riza about the situation.

“Well, now we know you have,” she deadpanned, picking up apaper plate and filling it with food.

Roy followed suit, a smirk on his face as he shook his headin amusement. “I don’t feel so bad about making fun of you about Stick Man Dananymore. In fact, I don’t feel bad at all.”

“I would care butthat’s history.”

“Doesn’t look like it,” he muttered in her ear, picking outthe Stick Man himself heading their way, his approach unknown to Riza. Roy shothim a polite smile, which was ignored.

“What?” she asked, mid turn.

“Hey, Riza,” Stick Man Dan greeted his ex, still completelyignoring Roy. Thanks, mate.

Roy had never liked him. He was built like a stick, all skinand bones, and taller than anyone Roy had ever met, which did nothing in hisfavour in the appearance department. Every time they met up as a group, hewould completely gloss over everyone who wasn’t Riza, offering only one-wordanswers. Not to mention he hated Roy for some unknown reason. He couldn’tfigure out what it was. Roy would chuckle to himself when he considered StickMan Dan may have felt threatened by him.

Roy had often wondered what Riza saw in him. “As a concernedfriend,” he would tell Hughes and Catalina irritably when they gave each otherThe Look. Said look was a “oh-shit-he-loves-her” look.

Amusement aside, Roy did consider how it looked from anoutsider’s perspective. Both he and Riza were very close. Probably too close inthe opinion of significant others, but nothing had ever happened. It didn’tmean Roy didn’t want it too, but ifRiza wasn’t interested, then so be it. He wasn’t about to mess up thisfriendship and make it awkward by asking her.

As Stick Man Dan ignored Roy, he considered that perhapsthey were close enough that it wouldn’t makeit awkward between them. They told each other everything.

Only one way to find out, however now was not the time.

“So, you’re here with Gerald?” Riza asked him politelygripping Roy’s arm tighter and sliding an arm around his waist. Not expectingsuch close contact, his breath hitched as he ate, but was luckily able to hideit behind that.

“Gerald, unfortunately, was unable to make it tonight,however I thought I would just come anyway to honour Janine.”

Roy frowned. What person comes to a friend’s retirementparty? At said friend’s place of work?

A stalker, looking tosee someone who shot them down.

Roy shifted, wrapping his arm around Riza’s shoulder as hecontinued to eat, staring Stick Man Dan down. His hand came to rest on saidshoulder and he gave it a quick squeeze. Dan seemed to realise who it wasstanding beside Riza, and his eyes flicked to Roy’s briefly, before moving toRoy’s hand on Riza. If a six foot seven bean pole could look dangerous, thenthat’s what Stick Man Dan’s eyes looked like.

And Roy did notlike it.

Apparently, neither did Riza. She was tense underneath his arm,so he rubbed his shoulder in response. This man made her uncomfortable now,that was for sure. That was his job tonight, as a friend, to help her make itthrough this night and get rid of this guy forever. The only way Stick Man Danwould ever take the hint was if they were convincing.

However, he didn’t want to push the boundaries too much –

Oh my god, Roy, chill.You’re here as a friend, that’s it. Nothing more. Just help her out.

“That’s very nice of you,” Riza replied.

Stick Man Dan’s eyes flicked over to Roy’s once more. Oh, so he wasn’t invisible? Who knew? “Iwas wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?”

“Sorry, Janine asked us to come and speak to her after we’vegrabbed a plate,” Riza lied smoothly. Roy watched as the disappointment crossedStick Man Dan’s face, feeling very pleased by the show. Riza begun to walk away,neglecting to offer Dan another chance for his talk, and Roy let his arm drop,regrettably, but followed after her.

“Can you see me?” Roy whispered to her quietly, leaning inclose, as they left Stick Man Dan at the buffet table alone.

“What?” Riza asked, looking up at him, confused.

“Can you see me?” he repeated. “Stick Man Dan acted as if Iwasn’t there and I was wondering if I’ve miraculously achieved the ability toturn invisible.” Riza snorted, loudly. “I mean, it would come in incrediblyuseful. I’ll be disappointed if you cansee me at this point.”

“Shut up,” she laughed quietly, approaching the woman of thehour. “He’s an ass.”

“I honestly don’t know what you saw in him,” Roy joked,sighing dramatically. He would never let on that he was being serious. “I mean,clearly he was a charmer.”

“He never liked you, did he?” Riza smirked, popping asandwich in to her mouth.

“Oh, we were best buds. Me and Dan?” He rose his hand,crossing over his pointer and middle finger. “We were tight, just like that.”

“Shut up,” she chuckled.

The rest of the evening was pleasant. Riza’s colleagues weregood people who welcomed him with open arms. Apparently, they were in on thewhole stalker situation, and were aware of Roy’s role in the night. It didn’tstop them from playing it up, perhaps too much. As much as Roy enjoyedpretending that he and Riza were a couple, that was just it.

Pretend.

“Do you want to go with them?” Riza whispered in his ear.The feeling of her hot breath on his ear made him shiver, goose bumps rising onhis flesh. There were a few people who were going out for the night to a clubnearby. Truthfully, Roy didn’t want the evening to end. He enjoyed having hisarm around Riza as they sat together, their thighs pressed against each other.Holding her hand was something he couldn’t get enough of, and often foundhimself stroking the back of it with his thumb as they sat.

It’s all an act,he kept reminding himself.

But as the night wore on, Roy found he didn’t want it to bejust an act.

So, he agreed to going out to the club.

That was his first mistake.

His second came when they were dancing under the dimlighting, smoke coiling around their legs as they moved dangerously close to one another. Roy saw, rather than felt, hishand reaching out to brush her bangs off her face, his hand curving around hercheek to cup it. Riza’s eyes that had once been on the space between them hadsnapped up to meet his, both their dancing slowly coming to a stop. A thumbbrushed over her cheekbone and Riza’s eyes widened. The music in the clubdulled to a heavy thump, the wordsfading away to become obsolete.

He pressed his lips gently against Riza’s, feeling herbreathing hitch underneath them. His free hand made its way to her waist, handgliding effortlessly across the material of her silk top as it moved around toher lower back. Riza responded eagerly, deepening the kiss after she locked herarms around his neck, pulling him tightly against her body.

For a few moments all was right in the world. This felt good. It felt natural. It made Roywonder why they hadn’t done it sooner. He pulled back, as if his brain finallyrealised what he had done, and who hehad kissed.

Riza was a friend. This was supposed to be pretend. Not thatRiza could hear him, but he stuttered, trying to apologise for oversteppingthat final boundary.

The look in her eyes told Roy she was okay with it.

One of her own hands rose to cup his cheek this time, drawing his lips back against hers.

*          *          *

“Would… Would you like to come in for a coffee?”

Riza smiled tiredly. She had ridden in the lift with her headon his shoulder, eyes closed, and a small smile on her face. It had made Roy’sstomach go crazy and grip her hand tighter as they stood waiting on theirfloor.

That second mistake was working out all right.

“I would love to, but I think I’m just going to go tosleep.”

“See, if you slept in at the weekend, you wouldn’t be sotired at one am.”

Riza smirked but the lift dinged at their floor before she would reply.

“Maybe one day, you could teach me,” she replied, playingcoy, before giving him a wink as she stepped out of the lift. That left Roystaring after her, desire in his eyes.

A hand stilled the one on her door handle, gently but firmlyspinning Riza around so her back was against her apartment door. Roy’s handswere pressed flat against Riza’s apartment door, trapping her head betweenthem. Her surprised squeak was adorable and so was the grin on her face as Roybent to kiss her lips. Since he had done it for the first time in the club, he hadached to do it again.

“See you tomorrow?” Roy murmured, his hands moving slowly upand down her waist.

“See you tomorrow,” she agreed, her face and neck flushedfrom their activities. “You can count on it.”

He bid her goodnight and entered his own empty apartment. Thememory of kissing Riza, the feelings of her skin underneath his hands on herwaist, the softness of her hair as he ran his hands through it feverishly were freshin his mind as they lulled him peacefully to sleep.

Only to be interrupted by incessant knocking on hisapartment door.

At six thirty in the morning.

There is only one person…

Gearing up for his charade of being truly irritated, butready to joke with his friend, his retort about removing her hands from theends of her arms died on his tongue. One look at Riza’s face told him this visitwas different. She looked… scared?

“Can… Can I stay here?” Her voice was hesitant and quiet,almost fearful. His irritation gone after hearing her speak, Roy opened thedoor wider so she would enter his apartment. He was worried. Riza never looked like this.

“Yeah, of course. Is everything okay?”

Riza shook her head, offering him her phone instead ofreplying. Apprehensively, Roy took the phone from her unresisting hands.

Unknown Number: Riza weneed to talk. I didn’t like what I saw tonight. I don’t like you spending timewith that guy. I won’t allow it. 06:21am

Roy looked up at her from the screen. Her eyes were castdown towards the floor, not looking at him in the eye.

“I got that this morning, a few minutes after I woke up.”

He tried to reign in his anger. He really did. Was he watching her? The thought made himphysically ill and see red at the same time. “This happen often?” he askedcurtly, but somehow, he already knew her answer.

“Yes,” she replied in a small voice.

“Has it ever escalated?” Riza was silent and that was theonly answer Roy needed. “Why didn’t you tellme?”

“I could handle it,” she replied, voice stronger now. “Buteven after last night he still hasn’t gotten the hint and…”

“What?”

“I’m scared,” she whispered. “I’m scared of what he might do,of what he’s possibly already done, and I… I don’t want to be alone right now.Especially not in my apartment.”

Roy closed the door behind her, putting the chain across it,as if a reassurance that Dan wouldn’t get anywhere near her. Not while Roy wasaround anyway.

“Block that number after you’ve reported him to the police,”Roy told her. “I’ll drive you down there tomo – Well, at a more respectablehour,” he quipped.

“Why don’t we just go now?” Riza asked, confused. Ah, of course, Misswhat-is-sleeping-past-six-am?

“I’m going back to bed,” Roy told her. “And – only if youwant to – you can learn the benefits of sleeping past six am at the weekend.”

His attempt at humour was only to try and lighten the mood –to try and take Riza’s mind off things – and he was pleased to see she fellinto step with him, their banter coming easily to each other. He was thrilledto learn thigs weren’t different between them, despite what happened tonight.

Riza’s lips quirked up and her posture relaxed. Instead ofher arms hugging her body, they moved into the front pocket of her hoodie. “Andwhat benefits would those be?”

“Waking up next to me?” he offered with a smirk.

Riza sighed, cocking her head as if to consider hisproposal. “I think I like that benefit. Are there anymore?”

Roy grinned widely as he closed the distance between them,kissing Riza Hawkeye like his life depended on it.

God, it felt good.

[faejilly]

I have no excuse for this, except that the first time I started writing this SH/HP AU thing I set it back when they were students and it was an outside perspective thing and apparently it didn’t want to die just because I wrote something else? idk. IDK. I wrote some dumb dialogue, and now I don’t know what to do with it so I’m sharing! I guess. *hands*

“Alright first years!” Jace clapped his hands and grinned as the messy knot of eleven-year-olds all stumbled and turned until they were looking in his general direction. “Welcome to Hogwarts, I’m Jace Herondale, and we’re all here to help show you around and answer any questions you have.” He gestured to both sides, at the four of them that made up the welcoming committee. “I’m in Gryffindor, Clary Fray there is Slytherin, Maia Roberts is Ravenclaw, and Simon Lewis is Hufflepuff.” 

“For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Houses,” Maia smiled her least innocent version of a grin, “Gryffindors are the hot-headed impulsive ones.”

“Are we really?” The shortest first-year Jace had ever seen shouted at them, and Jace grinned back.

“’Course we are. It’s part of our charm.”

Clary groaned and Simon and Maia rolled their eyes in sync. 

“Hufflepuffs are the ones in yellow,” Jace pointed at Simon. “And you want to make friends with a couple as soon as possible because they’re right next to the kitchens and get the best snacks.”

“They also make the best tutors,” Clary huffed out a sigh at Jace before turning back to their first-years. “They’re very proud of the fact that they’ll figure out how to help you study if the way the Professor’s teaching it doesn’t work out for you.”

“Awww, thanks Clary.” Simon grinned. “We try.”

“I thought Ravenclaws were the smart ones.” Jace didn’t see who in the hoard of children asked that one, but he waved at Maia to answer. 

“There are smart people in all the Houses.” Maia smiled a genuine smile this time, and Jace swallowed a snort as he saw a couple of the first-years go a little glassy-eyed at the sight. Simon was full on heart-eyes at her, too, which never stopped being a little hilarious. “Unfortunately, most of us are way more likely to spend a couple hours telling you about our independent studies, or the best way to answer the letter of an assignment without actually doing what the Professor asked.” She shrugged apologetically. “It’s kind of an internal House competition at this point, and uh. Not really helpful if you’re worried about passing.”

“Except for Magnus!” Clary added. “He’s the Ravenclaw Prefect, and he’s great at helping people out with their work, especially in Potions.”

Before anyone could ask, Jace pulled the group picture of the Prefects out of his wallet that’d been taken this morning for just this purpose, and waved his wand to project the image above them, pointing at the right person so they’d all recognize Magnus.

“But he’s wearing green?” The same really short Gryffindor spoke up again, and Jace decided she was his new favorite first-year.

“His boyfriend’s the Slytherin Prefect.” Clary started, gesturing at Alec. 

“He looks good in green,” Simon offered.

“He looks good in everything!” One of the students passing by shouted out in agreement. Jace let the spell drop and tried to glare at Catarina, but she just shrugged at him, clearly unrepentant. It was entirely possible Magnus had asked her to point him out; it would be a very Magnus thing to do, messing with Jace by proxy.

“Or nothing!” Helen added from her spot next to Cat. “Have you seen him in the gym?”

“Biceps as big as a first-year’s head!” Dot was there too, and Jace sighed. But the first-year’s started laughing, looking less nervous as a whole than they had all night.

Ragnor drawled out loudly enough to carry over the giggles. “Pretty sure he just likes staking his claim.”

“Can’t blame him, have you seen Lightwood in the gym?” Jace couldn’t see who said that, someone from behind the usual crowd, but he did recognize Aline’s laugh next to Helen. “I’d climb that like a tree if I didn’t think he’d kill me.”

“Which he, Lightwood or Bane?” That was Raphael, clearly just trying to wind everyone up, and Jace couldn’t decide if this was the best orientation ever or the worst.

“BOTH!” Jace interrupted. “Or possibly me. Please stop perving on my brother and his boyfriend, it’s weird.”

“We could perv on your sister instead?” Aline offered, her voice still a little shaky from laughing. 

“She really would kill you,” Clary said. “And no one would ever find the body.”

“Might be worth it?” Helen grinned at them, clearly kidding.

“Still weird!” Jace glared indiscriminately at the crowd of upper-classmen. “Now get out of the way, you’re interrupting.”

Dot stuck out her tongue, and Cat laughed, but Ragnor started pushing them along, and they traipsed their way out of the Hall until there wasn’t anyone left besides the group that was supposed to be there.

Jace turned back to the first years, and Clary swallowed something he was pretty sure was a giggle.

“In case you need help, or get in trouble, the other Prefects are these guys.” Simon, thankfully, miraculously, got them back on track, grabbing the neglected photo from Jace and using the same spell as earlier so everyone could see. “Magnus Bane, Ravenclaw. Alec Lightwood, Slytherin, Lydia Branwell, Gryffindor, and Rebecca Lewis, Hufflepuff.”

Alec looked like he was going to impale anyone who bothered him, and Lydia looked almost as scary, but at least Rebecca and Magnus knew how to smile for a camera. 

“But feel free to come to us first, we’re way less scowly or official and don’t have to answer directly to the Heads of the Houses.” Jace grinned, and ignored the fact that Clary rolled her eyes with Simon and Maia this time. “And now it’s time for the tour!”

[monotype-on-phantom]

To wrap up the recurring girls at Casper High, here are a few who, as far as I know, are never given names. We know that there are students named Donna, Sasha, and Denise, but they’re only mentioned by name. We don’t know if they’re any of these girls. It’s a possibility worth keeping in mind, though.

Since they don’t have names, here are my nicknames for them: veggie burger (in reference to the one person who said she looks like a Tucker and Sam lovechild), curly, Dee Dee, kitty shirt, tall hair, Ember fan, and the cheerleaders. Hopefully that’s easy enough to follow.

Ironically, despite someone pointing her out in the past, veggie burger has actually shown up the least out of these unnamed girls (not counting the Ember fan or cheerleaders). At least up until The Ultimate Enemy, which is what I’m mostly covering. She definitely has more of a presence than, say, Sarah does, but it’s still hard to figure her out.

She mostly has a serious/calm face, and she gives off the impression that she’s pretty quiet (aside from in Fanning the Flames, where she’s a gushing Ember fan just like everyone else). Not that she’s unsociable. She just seems mind her own business. She’s normally only seen in assemblies and classes outside of Fanning the Flames, and not much outside of school or in the halls.

The one other time (pre-TUE) that I’ve caught her out and about was in Life Lessons. She’s sitting next to the “4″ jock at the Nasty Burger. It’s possible they were paired up for the health sciences project, but since we don’t see them with a flour sack, I can’t say for sure. I do know she wasn’t looking at or talking with him, though. It’s hard to believe such an active bully would be a friend of hers if she’s so quiet. It’s possible, though.

So far, the only class I’ve caught her in is Danny’s math class, and she was taking the CAT at the same time as him. She’s also in Doctor’s Disorders, where the ghost power she gained seems to be the ghost sense.

I haven’t picked up much else about her, but hopefully we’ll see more of her in the future.

I haven’t found many frames that actually focus on curly. If you’re looking for her, though, there are plenty of times you can spot her in the background. She’s at assemblies, in the halls, in classes, and even around town. For whatever reason, though, I never noticed her until I started looking for the background characters.

There’s not a lot of information about her personality, but she’s smiling most of the time, so she seems pretty chipper. I’ve also spotted her hanging out with Mia and Brittany, and she’s the last known member of the Decorations Committee. This gives me the impression that she’s at least somewhat creative and outgoing.

I haven’t spotted anyone that she consistently hangs out with, but she was paired off with the depressed jock in Life Lessons. She’s also been seen a couple of times with the character of indeterminate gender (once laughing at Danny in the Spirit Week baby suit, and once ditching Jazz when she was blabbering about college).

The only class I’ve seen her in is Danny’s math class, and as seen above, it looks like she got the ghost ray in Doctor’s Disorders.

Then there’s Dee Dee, who I call that because she sort of reminds me of Dexter’s sister from Dexter’s Laboratory. Like curly, it’s hard to say much about her because we don’t see her often.

She definitely doesn’t seem like a loner. Most of her posture shows attitude, and she’s been seen chatting on her cell phone in the halls. I haven’t picked out any of her friends, though she might be a bit of a party girl. She was one of the kids at the front of the surprise Ember show at Casper High, and she was at the party at Fentonworks in Pirate Radio. Both of these things could also indicate that she likes pop music in general, since she seems to show up where that’s playing.

There aren’t many other things I’ve noticed about her. She’s in the same health sciences class as Danny. It also looks like she traded partners with Rebecca, since she was originally paired off with her partner. As seen in the top screenshot, though, she ends up paired up with a different guy.

She was once seen running away from ghosts with the blond kid with an overbite who has a crush on Paulina (in Public Enemies). Given their similar face shapes and colors, they could be related. That’s only speculation, though.

I doubt it surprises anybody that I’ve been excited to talk about the cutie in the cat shirt. I’ve mentioned her a few times already, and I don’t know why, but I think she’s precious.

I’ve seen her eating lunch with Rebecca a few times, but more often than that I see her hanging out with cyclops. They’ve eaten lunch together quite a lot, they may have been paired up for the health sciences project in Life Lessons (judging by where they were standing in line), they were sitting next to each other for Jazz’s spirit week speech, and they’re pretty close together at the party in Pirate Radio.

Given her style and sweet face, she gives off the impression of a kind girl who likes cute things. She probably isn’t super outgoing, but she’s not exactly shy, either. She’s comfortable dancing at high school parties with everyone and going out to do fun things like visit the water park or chase an ice cream truck with her classmates.

Still, her and cyclops are an oddly cute combo. I love imagining that he thinks she’s totally rad and hardcore, even with her cute kitty shirt. In fact, the cute kitty shirt is totally punk rock. She is punk rock. They are both punk rock. She’s cool with that. Idk, I just think that’s a cute idea.

The classes I’ve seen her in are Danny’s literature and astrology classes. (I’m just not gonna bother with health sciences from this point on. I think that’s a given by now.)

I tried to come up with a better nickname for this girl than “tall hair,” but it’s her most defining feature. Plenty of girls wear headbands, and the color of her clothes is inconsistent. Plus...I don’t know the name of that hairstyle, and “tall hair” seemed kinder than “Frankenstein’s Bride” or something. Because she’s perfectly lovely, that’s just the only way I know to describe that hairstyle.

But anyway, ramblings aside, tall hair pops up even less than Dee Dee does in the foreground. She’s in the background quite a bit, but she’s rarely the focus. I haven’t spotted her in any classes, but she was taking the CAT at the same time as Danny. In fact, she was sitting on his right (with Star on his left).

Heights in DP are often inconsistent, but a few times she’s drawn to be rather tall in general. Enough that she’s significantly taller than Danny when she’s standing several feet behind him with her knees bent. She’s a bit of a wild dancer, and she was really shaking it up at the party at Fentonworks.

The only person I’ve seen her hanging out with, in a sense, is square. She was also paired up with D in Life Lessons.

I have only spotted this Ember fan in Fanning the Flames. I have no idea who she is. I considered Rebecca, but Rebecca is shown elsewhere in this episode with her usual bangs and tiny ponytail (dyed bright blue). I also thought she might be tall hair, but she’s also seen somewhere else in this crowd, and her face shape is different.

Basically, I do not believe I’ve seen this girl anywhere other than exactly three moments in Fanning the Flames. To make matters weirder, her hair starts off partially blue, then turns completely blue, but then the ponytail turns brown after Ember’s spell is broken.

Perhaps she’s simply an embodiment of Ember’s influence on teens~! I dunno. It’s all I’ve got.

The cheerleaders only ever show up as cheerleaders. I haven’t seen them in casual clothes, classes, or anywhere else. They’re always the same girls, though. The Black girl, the blonde with pigtails, the redhead with a ponytail, and the brunette with a headband.

The episodes I’ve spotted them in so far are Splitting Images (though pigtail girl wasn’t there), My Brother’s Keeper, and I nabbed a screenshot of them from Forever Phantom.

For whatever reason, while Paulina is sometimes spotted with them, Star never is. I don’t know how cheer squad works, but it could be that Star wasn’t actually accepted onto the squad. Bummer.

[wonderstxrs]

Connor/Oliver things 1-9:

1) Okay so Connor has basically been wanting to go to the cops about what happened to Sam from the beginning. He had panic attacks and nightmares and god knows what else because of what they did. So it’s normal that he wants to protect Oliver from that. Keep him away from Annalise Keating and the house. The job. Everything that ruined his life.  

2) Telling his client, the woman who was abused by her husband and killed him, that he got away with murder for ‘less legit reasons than her’ was.. well, obviously risky. But it worked. It got her to talk and eventually, out of prison. Anyhow, my point is that he basically told a stranger this instead of Oliver. Not because he doesn’t want to tell Oliver, but bc he wants to protect & keep him safe. And, I think, deep down he knows Oliver wouldn’t forgive him for this. Meaning he’d lose the ONE GOOD THING in his life (altho I 100% believe that, if Oliver pressured him about ‘lying to him’ or ‘keeping something from him’ that he would’ve told him, maybe not right away but he would’ve. especially at this point, especially after telling this client).

3) That brings me to the following, Connor needs a stable life after what happened. So he basically changes completely. He doesn’t screw around anymore as much, he doesn’t sleep with anyone he comes across. He tries everything in his power to make up his for bad decision of sleeping w that one guy that got Connor to kick him out. And they got back together, and he’s been the PERFECT boyfriend ever since. He’s been attentive, reasonable, telling Oliver pretty much everything about himself (except that one dark thing they did, which isn’t even really Connor bc it was Wes killing Sam to save Rebecca bUT details - ‘cause yeah they covered it up). So even when he finds out that he got ACCEPTED to Standford ( which was his ticket out of this mess and meant a lot to him !! ), which he didn’t even think he would bc his number was lower than Michaela’s but ? HE GOT IN. But even after Oliver kept the letter from him, basically told Standford he was Connor and that he changed his mind ??? even bc of that, Connor didn’t get angry with Oliver. He was actually really understanding ( and maybe bc he’s keeping that one dark secret and he doesn’t /get/ to judge and doesn’t want smth like this to get between them but STILL ). He even APOLOGIZED to Oliver for not listening, bc that was the only reason he thought Oliver would do this behind his back bc ‘he didn’t listen enough bc he wanted to leave so badly’. 

4) The thing that happens next annoys me. Oliver breaks up with Connor. In my opinion, in this fucking moment, Oliver doesn’t get to be upset and he sure as hell doesn’t get to break up with Connor!! So Oliver is even saying he gets to be upset with him (thank you) and ?? but then he like breaks up bc ‘’he needs time for himself’’ suddenly ? it makes no sense whatsoever, especially bc he made it his goal to get a job with AK and FINALLY got it. So?? making things awkward at work bc of that as well. While Connor never even wanted him there in the first place, to keep him safe from everything. 

5) Okay so Connor goes back to sleeping around bc he needs to deal with losing the one good thing in his life, the one thing that kept his life stable. The one thing he always looked forwards to. Someone to come home to after all the crap he deals with daily, because of what happened to Sam and everything that’s happened since. He ofc tries to make Oliver jealous. Anyhow, then Oliver & Connor have that conversation about that Oliver can have sex too and he brings up being HIV-positive and guys not wanting that so that he basically can’t have sex with random guys like Connor. But I was like: basically you’re saying you can’t but YOU WANT TO. And that confused me bc? he claimed that he ‘wanted time alone to figure out who he is and what he wants’ and all that? but this basically says the opposite, he wants to date but just not with Connor anymore? And like, then the fucking episode happens where they’re at that casino as ‘’friends’’ and the fucking racist flirts w Connor and Connor like confronts the guy about that and Oliver assumes he scared him away??? and Connor just takes it, bc that’s how much he loves Oliver. Esp the ‘act like an adult’ comment like ?? GOD that frustrates me sm!! 

6) Oliver starts dating Thomas and everything is peachy until he tells the guy he’s HIV-positive and he’s not ready for it. Which, y’know, makes sense. It’s not nothing. But yeah it sucks for Oliver. Anyhow, Oliver gets drunk and GOES TO CONNOR. Who even asks what happened with Thomas (even though that’d obvs hurt him bc he still loves Oliver). Then Oliver (selfishly, which he even admits is selfish) tells Connor he missed him. See, I have a problem with that bc this is just like ? he was ready to move on 0.2 seconds ago but bc that didn’t work out you’re going to the /one/ guy you know loves you && will have sex with you and ??????????????? just rude. But anyway, so they have sex bc Connor still loves him. It goes on a couple of days. Thomas even apologizes and wants a second change but Oliver doesn’t want that anymore bc apparently he’s fixing things with Connor. 

7) But then Oliver and Connor get into that argument where Oliver says smth about ‘the reasons why they broke up’, basically insinuating it wasn’t to figure himself out (HE FUCKING LIED?) but that it was bc of the lies. Bc of the things he knows Connor is keeping from him. So, instead of confronting Connor about what he’s keeping from him he just broke up with him. And then he’s like calling Connor DAMAGED. And that cuts deep bc, yeah he is damaged bc of everything that happened but the ONLY time where he’s actually himself and doesn’t feel so damaged is with Oliver so hearing him say that, knowing he sees him as damaged? that hurts him deep. So he leaves && goes to Michaela, breaks down on her couch and says ‘I hate him, I hate him so much’.

8) Later on, after Wes’ dead. I love how Oliver finally confronted Connor with his suspicions and Connor told him the truth. And !!! HE BELIEVED CONNOR RIGHT AWAY. Even when the others didn’t. Thankfully Michaela did too, she’s basically his bestie. But Asher (he was being a jerk), Laurel (ok, she’s the preggy gf so that makes sense), Bonnie (god I can’t believe she still hasn’t been arrested) were giving him a hard time. I was really happy with the Connor/AK talk tbh, it was long over due!! Anyhow, Oliver believing Connor just <333

9) Oliver being hella worried when Connor was kidnapped by the police. And, when he came back, asking Connor to marry him. See, I have a problem with that because?? Oliver has been traumatized by the news of what happened to Frank and what he knows /suspects/ Connor, Michaela, Wes and Laurel did. He didn’t want any details (smart) but he practically knows. And he was having a hard time bc of that, you know, dealing with all of that. Even if he wasn’t traumatized, this is like ? really quick bc technically they’re still broken up. A decision HE made and Connor had to deal with. That like really messed with Connor’s head and fucked him up pretty bad that he even said ‘’I hate him. I hate him so much.’’ ???? so to just brush over that break up and?? ask that question was really selfish. And I know Oliver loves Connor and was hella worried and maybe that made him realize he wants no one else. That it’s always been Connor and with everything that’s happened, he needs him now too. But marriage tho? idk. Like everything they both go through, especially after Wes, is a lot and they get to be upset and do irrational things. Buttttttttt yeah. I’m so glad with how Connor dealt with this. sO PROUD OF HIM. 

[justafandomslutt]

Just a Girl-Part Two

Summary: Klaus is the original hybrid and (Y/N) is a normal human being. He’ll do anything for power but she’ll do anything to save the man and the city she loves.

Klaus Mikaelson x Reader

(Y/N)= Your Name (Y/L/N)= Your Last Name (Y/S/N)= Your Sisters Name

Requested: IDK

Part One

Masterlist

Characters: Reader, Klaus Mikaelson, Rebecca Mikaelson, Marcel, and Sophie Deveraux

Characters thoughts

Next: Me, You, Us-Part Two -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Readers POV: Klaus Mikaelson, the name people dared to say. The hybrid that could empty out a whole room with just the look in his eyes. People say he’s a ruthless killer only looking for power but they didn’t know him like I did.

I knew there was more to him then the guy that people feared and hated. I knew that deep down he wasn’t the killer Hybrid that people thought he was, but Klaus being Klaus wanted to prove that he was what everyone expected him to be. A killer…

I knew Klaus wasn’t like that, not because he would talk to me but because he showed me who he really was. Yes he was a killer at times but when you actually look deeper he was only trying to protect his family…

So is protecting the people you love, good or bad? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- He was always there looking off into the distance, drowning his sorrows, having the time of his life with Marcel. I don’t know why but he intrigued me in ways I can’t explain.

But from what I heard from Soph I knew I had to stay far away from him. But that was kind of impossible when you work at the only bar in the French quarter and when you couldn’t stop thinking about him.

I finish my last set of rounds and walk into the staff room to collect my gear. I open the door and walk to my locker grabbing my handbag and coat. I look for my phone and check to see if I have any messages from my sister or anyone that I know.

To: (Y/N) From: (Y/S/N) I’ll be coming home later than I expected. Just get you something for dinner.

To: (Y/S/N) From: (Y/N) Okay. Well, I’ll see you in the morning.

I place my phone into my back pocket and walk towards the door. I shut the door once I exit the staff room and make my way into the bar.

“Bye Soph, I’ll see you tomorrow” I say and wave at her. I look around the bar to see if Klaus was still there but when I continued to look around he was nowhere in sight. I sigh in relief and look at Soph waiting for a reply.

“Bye, (Y/N). Get home safe okay” She replies and waves back at me before going back to what she was doing.

“Will do” I reply and before walking towards the door and then proceeding to walk towards my car. I search my bag to look for my car keys but as I continue to look I couldn’t find them. I look through my bag once more but they were nowhere in sight. I groan in annoyance and turn around to walk to the bar to see if I left them there.

“You know, love. You should be more careful with your keys” I hear a familiar voice say behind me.

I jump and place my hand onto my chest checking if my heart was still pumping. I turn around to see Klaus behind me with my car keys. I sigh in relief and fold my arms in front of my chest.

“It’s not nice to sneak up on someone. How’d you get my keys anyway?” I say and try to grab them back. But each time I tried he would always move his hand or he would move away from me.

“Like I said you should be more careful with them” He replies and starts walking around me. I look at him weirdly and start to walk away. But when I look up he was right in front of me, with that devilish smirk of his.

“How’d you do that?” I ask and look at him utterly confused. He looks into my eyes and I feel this sudden feeling take over my entire body.

“I want you to forgive Marcel for what he done to you. You will go back to him and act like nothing happened” he says, I could feel his breathe against my skin as he continued to look into my eyes. I nod in response and continue to look into those brown cold eyes.

“Why should I forgive him? Wouldn’t you be angry at the girl you loved so much, the girl you told everything to, the girl you poured your heart and soul to. Just rip everything apart for someone else. Wouldn’t you feel somewhat angry and broken for that” I ask and continue to look into those cold brown eyes.

“Oh love, now this is not about me but about you” he says with that devilish smirk of his. He starts to walk around me in a circle, hands placed behind his back.

“Why me? I’m just a normal girl” I ask and stand there confused. He walks around me once more and suddenly stops.  

“That’s just it, love. You’re just a girl, a human. He wouldn’t expect something from you now would he” he says. He turns on his heels and like a flash of lightning he stands right in front of me.

“Leave, your keys will be in your bag and you didn’t see me” he says and with that he was nowhere in sight. I felt this slight bit of pain and place my fingertips on my temples, massaging them to ease the pain.

I look into my bag for my car keys and found them next to my purse. I sigh in relief and continue to walk towards my car.   -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *The next day*

I woke up to the sound of my alarm, the feeling of regret takes over my body. I turn off my alarm and lay there looking at the white ceiling, contemplating my life for about five to ten minutes. I get up my feet hit the cold wooden floor brining chills to my body. I grab my coat and put on my slippers before walking to the kitchen to make me some breakfast.

I finally make it to the kitchen and make my way over to the cupboard to grab some cereal. I then proceed to grab a bowl, a spoon and some milk from the refrigerator. I pour in some of my lucky charms and milk into my bowl and place the spoon in. I walk to the sofa and turn on the T.V so I could entertain myself while I was eating.  

After I had finished my bowl of cereal, I place the bowl and spoon into the sink and walk to my room to get ready for the day.

I finally find an appropriate outfit for the day and walk to the bathroom to have a shower. I then change in some clothes, put on some make-up, brush my teeth and put my hair into a ponytail once I finished showering. I pick up my dirty clothes and towel and place them in the laundry basket.

I then grab my phone, charger and hand bag from my room and proceed to the front door. I grab my car keys and walk out the front door, closing it as I go. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Skip car ride. Because it’s boring to write about*

I walk into the bar and make my way to the staff room. I place my bag into my locker and shut the door. I walk to where Sophie was supposedly working, but seemed to be the worst decision of my life as I started to walk through I saw Sophie and some guy making out onto the kitchen counter.

“Oh god, seriously Soph. I feel like I’m about to puke” I say and fake gage. She throws a towel at me, I laugh and throw it back at her.

“Hahaha, very funny (Y/N)” she says and jumps off of the kitchen counter. The guy looks at me and kisses Sophie once more. I throw his shirt at him and look at him disgusted.

“Seriously stop, I eat in here. I don’t want to think about it anymore” I say and walk out before it goes too far.

I walk behind the bar and start cleaning up before any costumers come in. I heard someone approach me and look up thinking it was Sophie but it was someone else. When I saw who it was I sigh in relief.

“What are you doing here?” I ask and make my way towards Rebecca. I give her a big hug, happy to see my best friend after two years.

“Oh how I’ve missed you” Rebecca says into the hug. I pull away and look at her strangely, wondering why she was here.

“Actually why are you here? I thought you were staying in Mystic Falls” I ask and step away from her looking at her weirdly.

“I need to find my brother, I think something bad has happened to him” Rebecca explains and walks around the bar frantically.

“Well I pretty sure he’s not in here” I say and watch her closely.

“Have you seen anyone come in here with a suit on?” she asks and stands in front of me.

“He was in here three or five days ago. I haven’t seen him since” I explain and start wiping down some tables.

“What the bloody hell have you gotten yourself into” she says. I heard a gush of wind and look up seeing that there was no one there.

‘That’s strange, where is she’

I continue wiping down some more tables and then proceed to wipe the bar down. I hear a door open and ignore it thinking it was Rebecca.

“Well that was fast. Where wa-“I start to say but I shut up because it was Marcel.

“Oh sorry about that, I thought you were someone else. Anyway the usual or do you want something different?” I say. I pull out my pen and paper from my back pocket and wait for an answer.

“Usual” he says and takes a seat in front of the bar. I pour in his drink and place in front of him one I finished.

“What’s up?” I ask and start drying some cups waiting for a response from him.

“Camille broke things off, Klaus has been a big pain in the ass and I could just go on and on” Marcel explains. I stand in front of him listening quietly, nodding my head once he finishes.

“A little trouble in paradise, guess thing don’t always stay the way they were. But if you want some advice I say own it. Who cares if she left you, got out there and be yourself. Well for Klaus I don’t know him well enough and I in tend to make it stay that way” I say, I look at him for a few seconds and send him a small smile.

As he starts to say something more costumers start to stroll into the bar. I stand up and walk away, leaving Marcel by himself. After a few hours I have a lunch break, I grab my wallet out of my bag and walk towards the front exit so I could get me some lunch. I see Sophie behind the bar and I proceed to walk towards her.  

“I’ll be back soon, just getting me some food from the café down the road” I say and sit on the stool conveniently placed in front of her.

“Okay, be safe. You don’t know what kind of danger will be out there” She says. I look at her strangely and give her a nod before standing up and walking out of the bar.

As I walk out I hear someone yell my name from behind me. I turn around to see Marcel jogging towards me, I wait for him to approach. Once he’s beside me we walk down the street in silence, then I start to wonder why he wanted me.

“What’s up?” I ask. I continue to look in front of me not daring to look at him.

“Why are you so nice to me? I’ve put you through hell” He says. I look at my shoes and start to ask myself the same question.

“Well I needed to get over it sooner or later. Otherwise I’d probably regret it in the future” I explain, I take a deep breathe in and turn around to face him.

“Are you sure, Klaus hasn’t done anything to you has he?” He says.

“I haven’t seen him since yesterday morning. I was with Sophie so I’m pretty sure he’s done nothing to me. What can Klaus do to me anyway, hypnotise me” I say jokingly.

“Okay, that’s good. Just wondering that’s all” He says. We both continue to walk down the French quarter, laughing, talking just having a great time with each other. We walk back to the bar, I give him a small hug and say goodbye before walking back inside.

“Why are you so happy? Did you make out with some hot guy while you were ‘getting’ some food” Sophie says jokingly, laughing as she continue to pour in some drinks. I poke my tongue out and walk up to her, with the biggest smile on my face.

“I don’t know why but I think I’m just happy because Marcel and Cami broke up. I know it’s wrong but I can’t help it. It’s like somethings telling me that I should get over the fact that he completely broke my heart” I explain. I look at her to see what her reaction was and from the look of it she wasn’t happy or angry, she just looked at me speechless.

“Ahhhh, that’s bad isn’t it. I knew I should have stayed away from him. I’m a slut, I’m-I’m a freaking slut” I say freaking out. I pace back and forth, hands placed onto my head. I was so angry with myself that I could just scream in frustration.

“Shush, don’t say that. You’re not a slut, (Y/N). It’s just me and Marcel go way back and there are things that he’s done I can’t forgive him for. I know you’re happy and this is the happiest I’ve ever seen you but I can’t approve of your relationship. I’m sorry” Sophie explains. She places her hands onto my shoulder and look me in the eye. I take a deep breathe in and look at her.

“Me and Marcel will never get back together and I’m so sorry for what he done to you. Even though I have no idea what he done, if you can’t forgive him for it then I know it’s something serious. I can’t be mad at you for that, all I can do is understand where you’re coming from, okay. I’m so sorry, Soph” I say and give her a big hug, trying to comfort her.

“Thanks, (Y/N). You’re probably the greatest friend a girl could ask for” Sophie says into the hug. She breaks the hug and sends me smile before going back to work.

“I know” I say jokingly and walk into the kitchen to eat my cold food.

[dani-camp]

predictions for the series finale

mostly just to see how good i am at trying to get into these writers’ heads when i actually sit down and think about it 

in general, i think we’re casting too wide of a net prediction-wise. yes, the writers seem like they’re smoking crack some days. but overall, they’ve given us a really decent show with brilliant dialogue, actually surprising plot twists, and consistent characterization. i’ve also noticed several callbacks to the first season throughout this final season, which is probably a nice benefit of them knowing this was going to be the last season. so i think we need to think more about what the overall message is. maybe this is putting too much faith in the writers, but i do think they are credible enough that you should be able to watch the first episode and the last episode back to back and be able to make parallels.  

in regards to the trial, i think annalise is going to be acquitted and all of the other keating five too. after all, it’s in the show’s name that they all get away with it. OR in the same vein, annalise will be found guilty and everyone else (frank, bonnie, laurel, connor, nate, michaela) will get away with it, possibly because annalise willingly takes all the blame for it. this will include exonerating asher posthumously and telling a more honest version of the truth about sam and rebecca’s death, exonerating the possibly still-alive wes as well. small note, i don’t think gabriel will ever face any consequences for murdering vivian’s boyfriend either. this prediction comes from the emphasis consistently put upon the fact that annalise is the one person in the series who has never murdered anyone, directly or indirectly. she can’t get away with murder if she never murdered anyone. it has always been about annalise telling them how to get away with murder and then putting that into action--idk i feel like she may do it one last time. 

i’ve heard some theories that alfie is only there to portray adult christopher in the future, which i do believe has some credence. but like i said, i think we can give the writers a little more credit than that. they’ve never dangled such an important reveal over us before just to pull the rug, and i don’t feel that they’re desperate enough to do that now when they’re not vying for another season or anything. they like crazy plot twists, sure, but that would definitely register more as a let down than a plot twist. on the other hand, i noticed a little hint that annalise and/or bonnie might know that wes is alive in this past episode which is giving me a little hope: annalise said something along the lines of “who’s the defense going to pull out next, asher from the grave? wes?” and then bonnie gives her a long meaningful look. just the way she said it made it sound like a separate concept--asher from the grave OR wes vs. asher from the grave? or wes from the grave? THAT JUST MAY BE WISH FULFILLMENT THOUGH. also annalise’s picture at her funeral flash-forwards looked up-to-date, not aged or anything. and i don’t know if we could realistically believe that annalise would still look like that in the seventeen years its taken christopher to age--then again, they really tried to make us believe that gabriel could’ve been annalise’s actually-not-stillborn baby during season five so maybe the writers just think we can’t do math. or they thought an aged-up photo would be too much of a giveaway. idk.

related to “will the writers yank the wes reveal out from under us after teasing it for six episodes?”, are the writers actually going to let annalise live after teasing that she was getting killed all season? i’m way more iffy on that. sure, we see flash-forwards of annalise’s funeral, but we also saw a dream scenario of annalise’s funeral in the first episode of the season, too. and that just so happens to be the only time we see wes, who thus far has not been confirmed to be alive. and even if she does die, it doesn’t necessarily mean she’s murdered. she could die as a result of her alcoholism (teased since season one) or she could die in jail (violence in jail has also been consistently teased since season one). or she could die naturally, several years into the future. this is in my opinion confirmed by peter nowalk--("Annalise does die, I will say," creator Peter Nowalk revealed. "I'll also add, we all die.")--as in, we all die eventually and not necessarily from some crazy scenario. and annalise is pretty much the oldest of the main cast so it’s not crazy to think they’ll wrap it all up by bringing everyone else together at her funeral.

either way, i really don’t think any of the kids are going to get serious jail time or too-harsh consequences. they’re karma houdinis because that’s the whole point of the show. there’s also been special emphasis put upon connor and oliver’s desire to move away and have a normal life with a family and a dog, so i think that will definitely happen. michaela will be a lawyer because that’s always been her number one priority, from her conversation with aiden that he was likelier to be her trophy husband than she was to be a housewife to her asking the fbi if she could still be a lawyer after her plea deal and her dad reassuring her she would. laurel? i’m not sure. she always had this thing about not wanting to give everything up to be a mother (frank’s first characterization of her, which she called misogynistic) but that’s the dilemma she’s dealing with now--so the finale will likely address that altogether. maybe it hinges on whether wes actually is alive or not?

less of a prediction, more of an observation: the evidence and testimony and everything is so muddled and twisted that it would be a legal nightmare to try to prosecute the kids anyways. i still don’t even understand why the fbi is trying to do it with annalise tbh--they’ve got at least three lying witnesses, none of which have the same story. almost all evidence is circumstantial and based on hearsay. two other agents were found to have been coerced during the investigation. the deaths of denver and emmett don’t fit into their narrative at all. their whole case is paper thin tbh. this whole trial in this episode has literally been the least compelling court case i’ve seen on this show--idk if the writers realize that or not. if it’s intentional, maybe it’s just to foreshadow that it actually won’t be that hard for annalise to be acquitted, especially with the addition of jorge’s testimony.

i think there will be some kind of... conclusion to this annalise as a matriarch story arc. obviously we know annalise has major trauma surrounding her desire and ability to be a literal mother and has acted as a surrogate mother to pretty much the entire cast along the way, including frank and bonnie. i mean, they’ve addressed it in-universe during annalise and bonnie’s therapy sessions, in what ophelia has said to annalise, even having annalise be connected with most of the cast’s biological parents--the majority of which do not have a positive mother figure in their life. sadly, i do think this conclusion might be my prediction that she takes the fall for all of them; sacrificing all for her spiritual children. OR (i just now thought of this) in some crazy way, she’ll end up getting custody of christopher somehow. she is his godmother, after all, so it’s not completely off the table. wes & his son christopher have always acted as stand-ins for the children annalise could never have. 

happy prediction: whatever happens, i do think tegan and annalise will end on a romantic note. annalise identifying herself as bisexual in front of a courtroom just episodes after she told her mother she didn’t know what she was seems important. and idk why they’d build them up for multiple seasons and as intellectual equals if not to follow through at the last moment. robert showing up to her hearing uninvited was the nail in the coffin for them. same as emmett dying and isaac relapsing. i think it’s more meaningful for annalise to end up with a lovely lady (and i can understand why this thought process can seem like i’m saying bisexual people are less bisexual when they date people of the opposite gender, and i’m aware that’s not the case. i just think it’s more significant for annalise to openly date a woman after only dating eve and struggling with a fluid sexuality than it would be for her to end up with some guy or alone, with god forbid sam’s last name). who knows? maybe eve will pop up in the end, baby in tow for annalise to finally mother. frank did have her saved as “the one” in his phone. 

a less optimistic prediction: we’re not getting all our questions answered. there’s still so much we don’t know. did asher’s dad really kill himself? was emmett’s heart attack really a heart attack? who killed hannah? is wes alive? does someone actually kill annalise? will anyone find out who actually killed asher? will anyone find out about the incest? is simon okay? and these are just the b and c and d and f storyline plot holes of the past. much less who ends up with who, who goes to jail, who lives happily ever after. 

a very crazy theory i just came up with: annalise takes the blame, convicted for all murders and coercion and evidence tampering, etc. except she escapes from jail with help from nate & co. and goes into hiding and dies much later, but they only have an outdated photo of her because she never took new photos. wes is there at her funeral finally ready to come out of hiding himself because annalise took the fall for everything. everyone reunites at her funeral, finally giving her a PROPER FUCKING THANK YOU, and they are safe from suspicion because of annalise’s sacrifice and the time that has passed. wes and christopher and laurel get to be a family. the end. YEP, that’s what i’m going with. 

if you read all of this, i am so so sorry.

[survivornavarino]

Episode #7: I Stick Out Like A Sore Thumb -Tyler

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vIxALFpDbbk

I didn't look at my phone for 10 minutes and I'm on a different beach 

I am back with Tyler, who sees me as a threat, and Shoib, who left me out of the vote. However I have Julia with me, who I love, and Mo and Ben who were on my swap tribe. Hopefully I will be able to get through this round or get Tyler out this round. either way seems fine with me.

Hey everyone, karma got its kiss for me. So the thing is, I'm a little concerned about the original Preciado tribe, especially if we all make it to the final 9 (R.I.P Jacob) mainly because I'm afraid that I'm not really close to some of my OG tribe like Eddie and Drew. One of my many talents is jumping to conclusions so I could be dead wrong on the fact that it'll be about relationships when it comes to the final 9, but if I am right I need to find a way to take out some of the stronger players. So my dumbass is gonna try some shit and probably fail miserably.

https://youtu.be/tJGazlLR_eQ

WHOOT TEAM PLEASE SAVE US FROM TRIBAL AS I NEED TO SURVIVE. Julia Save my soul love.

I've never been more humiliated, 420 ruined my game.

THIS IS HOMOPHOBIC BECAUSE I'M GAY AND DIDN'T CONSENT

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9aQRb_LJmo&feature=youtu.be

What ass backwards flu is goin around First i'm on a tribe of all winners and then suddenly we start losing everything. Is it because we lost Drew? what the fuck That challenge was fun but I'm sad we lost by a point. And then Ben volunteers both of us to do it when we weren't in sync! like boi I do not TAN on vacation I SLEEP. So we gotta vote someone out. And Ben and Mo and I have made a Woolliance so we can coordinte votes and junk and it seems like they wanna vote Tyler, which I don't... like but hey it's not my ass I hope merge is soon because I really can't risk having to vote out someone else because my next priority would be Julia and I just feel like that would be a problem. ALSO I can't target Heather because people love her too much like... goddamnit

Im pretty sure I’ve been swap fucked. My entire alliance is on the other tribe. I was put on a tribe with a bunch of people I don’t know, and someone I have bad blood with. The only people I’ve played with previously are mitch who I never really spoke to and shoib who I trust but isn’t very active. I have tried to talk to people but a lot of them are difficult to engage with. They don’t really make conversation, don’t ask me questions back, and don’t seem interested in talking to me. It feels like they know I’d be an easy vote because I’m a fan and I’m from the other tribe. I stick out like a sore thumb. Furthermore, the comp players were randomized and I ended up not even getting to participate and help the tribe. I will try to create better relationships today but I don’t know how well that is going to work. I have my advantage, but again I’m not sure if it will be enough. Hopefully today I can get myself clued into the vote and hopefully it won’t be me.

We won! Yay! And I'm like medium happy with the tribe swap, I just wish I had mitch on my tribe like dad come back. Anyway since we won not a lot is happening so instead please enjoy this twitter video I found this morning it's pure gold watch until the end YAY 

https://twitter.com/shonnotsean/status/968163823088783367?ref_src=twcamp%5Eshare%7Ctwsrc%5Eios%7Ctwgr%5Eother%7Ctwcon%5E7100%7Ctwterm%5E3

So another tribal and I feel safe, my name hasn't come u at all and I really want Ben gone because I BARELY talk to him and think he is a good social player would be a  threat come merge, he is also a fave and like I need the fans to stay or we could be in deep shit. I think rn I will vote Tyler or Benjamin, Tyler wants to vote Julia but I trust Julia and DO NOT want that to happen. ________________________________________________________________ Ok so like now the vote is changing to Tyler, many people feel as though he is playing way TOO HARD, he trusts me but like if that is what people want I have to go along with it

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=W5c-PHtQ_P8

Oh honey, oh hoooooooooneeeeeeey. Tyler honey? Coming after me honey? I think the fuck not, I didn't get to beat my record of 8th place, I'm not ready to go.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SKw5ZbzanU8 ________________________________________________________________ So we currently are like just an hour and 18 mins from tribal and i'm extremely anxious. Idk how i can not be worried. Like this is a dangerous and big vote tonight let me tell you. But if this works out in my favor, than i've seriously been playing the game smart. Because I have so many people coming to me at the moment it's not even funny. And if I get to merge, I don't even know if I have to worry at the beginning. I have a shoib, julia, trixie f3 going on, a julia, matt, and rebecka f3, an autumn & julia f2, and a heather & julia f2(?). I also think I am in the good graces of Mo atm for exposing Tyler to him. So HOPEFULLY all my hard work pays off tonight and Tyler leaves. The funny thing about that situation is how once Shoib said he mentioned my name, I went all in. My goal is to know everything that is said in this game. And the moment someone mentions me and I find out, they are my no.1 target. Because honestly, in survivor you shouldnt give out second chances. Ok im rambeling at this point but yeah. Im def anxious. 

WE SWAPPED! I'M HOME! WE WON! It's like everything is back to normal, but with Jake and Trixie to add to the funderfulness. We just made F13, I feel okay, just a little worried for Tyler. Shoib should be mostly okay but Ty is gonna need some assistance. I'm worried for his ass but I'm really hopeful that I can make merge with this group.

ALSO I TOTALLY NEVER MENTIONED THIS. I ended up actually TELLING HEATHER ABOUT TRIXIES IDOL. I know you must think i'm dumb, and i'm questioning my decision too, but I think it's a good decision? My entire point was to bring Heather in closer so that she can trust me more. And I do believe it worked SOOOO, with that said, I think I will be gucci. 

Don't write your confessional last minute challenge. I'm sorry hosts for always writing last minute confessionals that don't really give much of an in depth view into my strategy cause I don't have time to articulate it since I always fill it out last minute before tribal. But anyway, what was happened since the last tribal? a damn swap. I stayed with Autumn, I stayed with Jake, and I stayed with Drew. Staying with Autumn and Jake is soooooo iconique but I hate that Drew is on this tribe because I feel like they will target one another and I will have to pick a side, which is confirmed to be Autumn's side. IDk,,,, love that girl whew. So yea, if that happens and I can't do anything to make it better I will be standing behind Autumn. Drew and I don't even really talk any game and Autumn and I have like lonnnnngg game talk calls. My gut tells me to stick with her, so I'll follow my gut. I have had such a trash social game since we swapped. Catch me literally not having a conversation with anyone except jake and rebecca. Short ones at that. I need to step it up and winning these people over. I definitely plan on sticking with our alliance from our old tribe. Jake and Autumn are probably the people I feel the most comfortable with on this tribe. I think Rebecca wants to work with me and I think she also wants to work with Autumn so it would make sense that we would be able to get her to vote with us. Drew would vote with us too if he didn't decide to just target Autumn. I need to say hey to matt summers now that I'm thinking about it. I haven't talked about anything with him and he was someone who I was hoping to work with on the other tribe. Yikes... I hate myself. That's all I really can think of talking about and I can't type anymore.

[ramle17-18]

10/30

lmao so i've been really really awful about keeping up with journaling. i wrote an entry about a week or so after the last one and then more than halfway through tumblr decided to delete it without saving it as a draft :) and i just simply didn't have the energy to rewrite it. so i will try to summarize everything that's been going on, because i hadn't even started school yet in the last entry. i think it'll be easier to go by subject than by day in this one just because so many different things have happened, and it's over 2 weeks' worth lol. so!

school:

we started school! we've successfully completed two weeks :) some days are definitely rougher than others, some kids are definitely rougher than others, but overall they seem to love marleigh and me a lot! the first week we just did nametag-making activities so we could start learning their names and get a rough idea of their hebrew levels (they're really all over the place). all last week we did halloween activities with them, which they LOVED. we did trick-or-treating games and then i drew these enormous word searches on the board for them to all take turns solving as a class, and that seemed to work really well with their vocab words so i think that's something we'll use again for sure.

iris, the school counselor, is apparently going to be giving us food every wednesday, which is honestly amazing. she's so incredibly sweet, but also very shy because her english isn't good so she barely talks to us. but she's adorable and so so nice.

i'm frustrated with hana, the other english teacher besides avital, because she just never seems to know what the fuck is going on with anything ever. but thankfully we really don't have to work or even talk to her very often.

marleigh and i have been working super well together, and i really do stand by what i said about not feeling like i would want to have been paired with anyone else in the house.

ulpan:

we also started ulpan. unforunately not as much of a success, which has been incredibly fucking frustrating. so basically what happened was, we went in for our first day about two weeks ago (wednesday the 18th i think) and she passed out these long-ish passages with questions to answer. everyone except me was like "nope lol" but i tried to do it, and immediately yael, the teacher, came over and was like "no you're doing this wrong" (because i was translating sentence by sentence so i could remember what i had read when it came time to answer the questions...she didn't explain to me why it was wrong to do it that way nor did she offer any alternatives but uh ok). she also doesn't speak very much english which would be fine except it just doesn't lend itself well to our situation which is so unnecessarily complicated.

anyway, so after that she wanted me to just start at the beginning with everyone else, yknow like the very very beginning with the letters and "ani jami, at yael" over and over and over and i was going to lose my shit. so i was asking if there was like an in-between level i could be put in because the second level (which is what the passage was from) seemed a little too hard for me, and she responded by...giving me another passage worksheet. and everyone was getting annoyed with me, and i felt bad, but also i had been looking forward to this since before even getting here, we had to wait a month and a half to start, and i really refuse to not learn anything at this point.

so i went into the hall to work and madeleine came out a bit later and nurit came to talk to us, and i guess yael told nurit that she thought i was very disrespectful and that i clearly don't know as much hebrew as i think i do, and that she knows what she's doing etc etc. (i also don't like that nurit told me that but i'll get to that in a minute lol). by the end of the day yael said she would try to find something in between for us, which is literally all we'd been asking for from the beginning.

so we left pissed but relatively mollified. we went back the next monday and yael's supervisor, gila, was there. she told us that basically instead of us all having a 2.5 hour class, madeleine and i would come in at 5:30 and work until 6:30 or 6:45 and the others would have from 4-5:30. everyone was pissed, fairly so, and so madeleine and i brought it up to gila and we were like "we just thought we'd be doing stuff to the side so we could ask her questions but that she would spend most of the time with the beginners, we don't want to take any of their time away from them" and she gave us this whole speech about how it's not allowed to work that way etc. which is bullshit. but anyway so we went back at 5:30 and then at 6:15 out of NOWHERE yael shoves all her shit into her bag and is like "ok see you next week!" and fucking bolts. and madeleine and i were like uh????

so we went back the next wednesday (which was last week) and tried to tell yael how we were feeling, but as usual she kept speaking over us and trying to guess what we were going to say before we said it, and she kept being like "so you want to come back into the other class?" and we were like "NO, we just want the others to have the full time that was promised to them." and so she takes us into the hall and she looks at me and goes like "i know you complained about me. i really think you need to trust what i'm doing and you need to have a more positive attitude about ulpan." and i was gonna fucking punch her. so then i was like "to be clear, are we done at 6:15 or 6:30? because gila said 6:30 a bunch of times the other day." and she said some bullshit about how the hour includes a 15 minute break and since she doesn't need the break we can just do the 45 minutes. but as matt pointed out later, it's supposed to be 75 minutes including a 15 minute break, so she's skimping off literally 25% of our lesson and we're now getting 45 minutes twice a week. she told us we can sit in on the other class and do work off to the side if we want, but they can't stay after. so like i think we're just gonna sit down and shut up and keep working on our own lol.

this woman's teaching methods are also fucking ridiculous. madeleine tried to use an infinitive and said it wrong and yael literally was like "ok, if you don't know how to do something correctly, don't do it at all." and also doesn't give us time to write anything down "we don't have time we don't have time!" and i just can't stand her. the stuff we're doing is also below my level but like i said i'm just gonna deal with it and keep working on duolingo. talia also sent me the online version of her hebrew textbook so i'm gonna use that as well and just do work on my own.

nurit & house drama:

well! first off, nurit finally got involved with all of the matt and rachel drama because he was being awful awful awful to her. so in typical nurit fashion she decided that the best way to handle the issue was to first speak to sultana and marleigh, then matt and rachel separately, and THEN matt and rachel together, which is literally the opposite way from how i would've done it, but whatever.

we've also noticed that in addition to her lovely habit of being "blunt" she likes to gossip. a lot. about us. to one another. and it makes us super fucking uncomfortable. yesterday i was in the car with her on the way to the rabin museum and she just started talking shit about matt to me, i was so uncomfortable and then of course immediately went to him and told him about it lmao

we're also butting heads with her because she keeps planning all this shit without any regard for what we want to do. her sunday activities have mostly been flops, and she ignores all of our input or suggestions. we went to the ilana goor art museum in jaffa which was actually really cool, but the tour was an hour long and she was like "what should we do after, i think we should do team-building, we can go to a park and i can bring a ball" and i was like "can we just stay in the museum? it looks really big on the website and i'm sure there are going to be things the tour doesn't cover" and matt and madeleine agreed, and nurit basically went into this whole thing (prompted by matt being kind of a dick ofc) about how she's in charge and we're being insulting and blahblahblah.

basically she has no problem with bluntness when it's coming from her but the second it's directed at her she gets super defensive. all i know is i'm never telling her anything about myself again because she can't be trusted to keep it to herself.

weight:

lowest so far is 136.2. i've been hovering around 137 on and off the past few days though, i think it's because i'm constipated tbh. idk if it's because i'm not eating enough or what. but i went down a notch on my fitbit strap :) we have the eilat trip this weekend and i think i'll wear the purple suit instead of the black one.

misc:

i ended up not going to hannah's halloween party :( they were super nice about it obviously but i felt bad. i just haven't been sleeping well and i was so exhausted, plus madeleine was sick and didn't really want to go either, so i just stayed home.

in other news i've been pretty good about reading! i just finished 'rebecca' by daphne du maurier yesterday and really enjoyed it. i want to try and read more classics by female authors.

we also watched pulp fiction and i didn't like it. we saw mother! and it was alright, super crazy symbolic but the movie itself was...a lot.

i think that's really it?