#karen quest continues...

[tangledinink]

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[raya-rhaenyra-ahsoka]

My thoughts on Ep. 4 - I Plunge to My Death, A rant

First off, Sally and baby Percy scene was so cute. I swear to god, no one will ever top Sally Jackson for being the best mortal parent in the series.

That Percabeth bonding scene in the train. Bruh, I cannot wait for the Kindness International truck and Waterland scenes.

Annabeth opening up about her Dad and Percy utterly shocked that not all mortal parents are like his Mom.

Frederick’s college ring on Annabeth’s necklace. To non book-readers, yes, that's her Dad's name.

Annabeth having to earn Thalia’s respect.

Luke caring for Annabeth right away just makes it more gut-wrenching and heart-breaking with what he’s about to do. (SPOILER ALERT) “Family, Luke. You promised.”

Grover being super grouchy when he doesn’t get enough sleep. And as someone in their twenties, I totally could relate to him.

This convo:

Percy : Can I ask a dumb question?

Annabeth: It's like you need me to make fun of you.

That's it, that's their relationship.

Mentioning the god of the wild, Pan, and that there are searchers for him.

How that convo basically went:

Train Cop: I don’t think you wanna take that tone with me, little girl.

Annabeth: EXFUCKINGCUSE ME?

Grover: Annabeth, no-!

Echidna calling the cops on 3 minors, just screams typical Karen behavior.

The St. Louis Arch being an actual temple of Athena is a nice change from Annabeth just wanting to go sightseeing.

This convo:

Percy: You've done more for me in the past few days than my father has done in my entire life. If I had to stick with someone, I-

Annabeth: Careful, I think you were about to call me a friend.

Percy: *stumbles because of the poison from the stinger*

Annabeth: *catches him*

Again, that’s their relationship.

Annabeth and Grover splashing water at Percy at a fountain when there’s a big-ass river nearby. Idk, but I find that funny.

Athena letting Echidna and the Chimera into the Arch because it wounded her pride? OH, HELL NO!

Athena’s Logic: Punish her devotee because someone close to them did something that wounded her pride. Medusa=Poseidon; Annabeth=Percy. She didn’t even gave a f*ck that the devotee in question is her own daughter. WTF, ATHENA!

I always thought Zeus has the crown for being the deadbeat absent godly parent, but Athena is slowly giving him a run for his money.

Annabeth deciding to sacrifice herself so Percy and Grover can continue the quest. WTF!

Percy tricking Annabeth into taking the final stand himself. Dude, your fatal flaw is showing.

Annabeth having to deal with a forbidden child sacrificing themselves for her safety AGAIN (With Thalia, and now Percy). Girl must be traumatized.

Grover having to go through it again as well.

The Chimera being terrifying than how non clear-sighted mortals see it.

Poseidon “always been here/so hard for me to stand back” Daddy to the rescue.

This:

Percy: *gets stuck underwater*

Nereid: It’s okay. You father sent me-

Percy: Oh, hell no! *tries to swim harder*

Percy only now realizing he can breath underwater. Like, of course, he can. He's Poseidon's kid.

We're only in Episode 4 and it's already so good. Can't wait for the episode 5.

[stagefoureddiediaz]

Costume Meta 6x13

Was that real - did that episode actually happen or was it all a collective fever dream?!! I”m still sat here with my jaw on the floor trying to process all of the epic goodies we got in that episode, and the costumes were no exception!!!

I’ve spent far too long trying to figure out how to assemble my meta this week, but I’ve just gone with the flow and seen where it take me! Also this beast did not want to be wrangled and my ADHD decided side quests were far more fun and so getting this written has been a real struggle (I came out victorious though which is all that matters) and why its a bit later than normal (we’re not going to talk about my laptop deciding to crash and rebooting to a document that was missing half of what I had written - I couldn’t get it back so sad times!)!!

its under the cut - because as always - its a loooonnnnggggg post!!

We’re starting with the Wilson family (and Chimneys first costume!) because they actually sit separately from the rest of the characters from a costuming perspective this week!

There are a couple of things to note for the opening Wilson family scene which are kind of overarching things. Firstly the fact that Chim and Denny are both dressed in black and grey - a really clever choice when you consider their topic of conversation - fathers and things that have happened that cannot be undone - the grey acts as a form of fade out - kind of like a greyed out button on a computer screen - preventing you from clicking on it. Both Chimneys semi resolved arc (the decision to make his peace with his father and he reality of the situation) and Denny’s current arc echo each other up to this point in time - Chim’s father came back into his life and he made peace with it, Denny’s father is currently (and unknown to everyone) back in his life. 

Both Chim and Denny are also wearing chack pattern - chims more hidden and Denny’s down the side - but Hen is also wearing a very loud and bright check pattern - she is the nly one in colour and the test card patterning of her jumper says so mcuh about both check theory and the fact that at this moment in time, she is not active in the plot - not in the conversation Denny and Chim have just had, and not in the Nathaniel of it all either. We know Denny is in danger later on so his check is also foreshadowing that, Hen is also in danger (emotional danger is just as vaild as physical danger) and Chimneys danger is more low key - its closer to his chest - his home being ‘invaded’.

However when Hen does come into play, we get a much more muted tones and we get these, whites, dusty pinks, lilacs and dusty purples, along with teal green trousers. Karen is in a black silk blouse with lilacs in a lilac colour on - this pairs her and Hen up in their respective styles and shows us they are on the same page. Lilacs are an interesting choice of floral and colour - it symbolises youth and innocence as well as love and purity. However Lilacs also mean old love and were often given to and worn by widows in the victorian era as a symbol of lost love and lost innocence! so the black paired with the prolifferation of lilacs (both colour and flowers) are telling that Hen and Karen are no longer ‘innocent’ (by which I mean they have gained knowledge) and they are also mourning the loss of the stable family life they thought they had created.

the choice to have Denny in army green continues a theme we’ve seen with him so far this season - the use of camouflage and army colour-ways to show him as sneaking around going undetected, and now the full on army green reads as an act of aggression - to the family life Hen and Karen have created, as well as to the agreement they had put into place with Nathaniel back in season 2.

I found the choice to have Karen in black with some yellow in her trousers and Hen in very bright emerald green (also with some yellow in her trousers) very interesting. Karens black is carrying on that theme of mourning, but its also a power colour - so its Karen still angry and grieving, but its also her pushing forward. the yellow is her communicating (on a low level) her anger and upset over what has happened.

Hen meanwhile is going full out into jealousy mode - we are seeing a Hen who is feeling threatened by Nathaniel and is jealous of the relationship her son has secretly been building with his bio father. THis is the culmination of all those little hints about the role Hen fills in Denny’s life - that she has been the one supporting and encouraging his sporting interests - thats why we saw Eddie and her throwing a baseball - so she could continue to share a sporting connection and interest wit her son. Hen feels threatened and jealous of Nathaniel’s stepping into that area she previously filled.

The wardrobe department just keep knocking it out of the park with the kids clothes this season. Denny’s mushroom shirt is amazing. Mushrooms are about duality - they represent both decay and deterioration, but also transformation and growth in the darkness. so Denny wearing this shirt here is perfect - he is going through puberty - a time of transformation and his acting out in his sneaking around etc is a symbol of that transformative time. His relationship with his mothers has deteriorated and decayed - they no longer feel like they can trust him, but his conversation with Toni brings him hope and the opportunity for all to grow through this dark time. its a really clever piece of costuming and I love it so much.

Karens dark teal green is interesting - there was actually quite a bit of teal at play in this episode. teal is a colour of clarity  the darkness of it here suggests that clarity is coming but not fully in place yet - that Karen is more aware, but not yet fully accepting of the new reality she lives in. 

Hens black and beige jumper is a wonderful choice as well - the beige representing neutrality and its being a soothing colour is important - accompanied by the black spots it has the affect of suggesting that the initial anger is passing and giving way to a more open time - one where calmness and the ability to see things more clearly come into play. the fact that this jumper has runs and frayed edges still maintains that idea that this has damaged Hen - that she is scared from this turn of events, even if she is more open to moving forward and accepting of Denny’s desire to have a relationship with his father. 

Here we have a Denny in navy blue shirt and a yellow and green palm frond pattern - I thought originally they were bird of paradise flowers when I was watching live, but they are more obvious in the stills! palm fronds are an iinteresting and perfect choice - they are a symbol of peace and triumph - exactly what Denny is experiencing here - triumph in being allowed to see and build a relationship with his father and the resulting peace in his family dynamic that will come as a result.

I know I talk a lot about yellow being a colour of communication - and that still holds - but it is also a colour of anxiety and that very much matches up wit the look on Hens face. Her patchwork camouflage trousers hint at her uncertainty about the situation - she is trying to mask her nervousness and misgivings. These trousers are the same ones she was wearing at her leaving the 118 party - a time when she was also feeling nervous and had misgivings about becoming a doctor. Karen being in a navy jumpsuit with a variety of headdresses on is, again, an interesting choice - headdresses like those depicted are ceremonial (for the most part) and are a symbol of leadership, strength and bravery - perfect for Karen in this moment (and in general).

Just a quick aside before we move onto the ret of the mains! I don’t normally focus on the side and guest characters, but the guy whose wife got a vibrator lodged inside her is wearing the shirt Buck was wearing in his coma dream and that has me both cackling and wide eyed! 

The scene in Bucks coma dream where he is wearing this shirt is one of mostly confusion and uncertainty for him - loosely speaking - its when he’s really trying to understand what exactly is going on in this world his mind has built for him - one where after that initial confusion we see him essentially embrace this new reality where he has what he thinks he wants - but what actually turns out to be something else - something that he doesn’t want/need. And here in this scene we have a guy going through the sexual version of the same thing - thinking that this different version of his sex life with his wife will be better - make things better and make her happy, when the reality is that if he’d had an actual conversation with her about it things would more than likely turned out differently. So major props to the wardrobe team for this little gem of a costume reuse!

Maddie rocking the layers here in Black, grey and red - very telling for this scene. layering is generally about protection - in an attempt to deflect something that is making you uncertain or causing anxiety. This is very much what is going on with Maddie here. the red top being the one closest to her skin - the bottom layer, shows that she is happy, in love and in a good place - the red of romance and passion, but it can also be a sign of danger and I think its is a combination of these two meanings here - the danger element coming from the fact that this new neighbour has got Maddie’s spidey senses tingling. The grey hoodie is a little bit of foreshadowing for her later silver top - the grey transforms into silver and becomes reflective (more on that in a moment). Then there is the black blazer - power and mystery. the mystery element is connected to who this woman is/ actually is while the power element is connected to Maddie having the power to control her own destiny in this moment - her returning the muffin tray is about her attempting to assert some authority over the situation. it is worth mentioning that aside from the Black blazer, they have Rhonda dressed in slightly darker versions of the the same colours when she gets caught - red high neck top with a darker grey jacket than Maddie’s hoodie!  

Maddie in silver and being reflective is actually kind of a jarring outfit for her -and thats rather the point. Its not a colour we see her in and she wears greys infrequently as well - she tends towards a warmer and brighter palette with the accompanying blacks, so this is out of place for her - it highlights her discomfort and actually there is something in the reflecting of that discomfort towards Athena - the one person who knows exactly what Maddie means about not feeling safe or comfortable in ones own home. The metallic top is also reminiscent of plate armour and suggests Maddie is arming her self - getting ready to protect herself iff needed. Its a top that represents her trauma response bubbling beneath the surface ready to reassert itself if needed.

Buck in yet another grey jumper! honestly I’m beginning to wonder how many more grey jumpers they can find for him to wear!! This one is a much lighter grey than we saw him wear in season 5, and its also lighter than any we’ve seen him in so far in season 6. It follows on nicely from the one we saw him in in 6x12 when he was sleeping on Eddies couch and having meaningful conversations in the kitchen late at night! but it is also tv static grey - it has that fuzzy appearance, which in Buck terms means uncertainty and confusion. This is such an interesting choice for this scene and its vitally important for it as well. 

This is Buck outright parenting Chris - completely on his own with no Eddie to be seen. The only other times we’ve seen this happen are during the shooting arc and in 4x08 when Chris runs to Buck after Eddie reveals to Chris he has a girlfriend. Before you all shout at me about the tsunami it doesn’t count because Eddie actively sets up that Buck and Chris time on screen, so his influence remains a part of the scene even if he isn’t present (It is also a trauma event and that means it sits separately). The shooting arc sits separately from this new scene and the 4x08 one by virtue of it being a trauma event - like the tsunami. We also know that Buck looking after Chris like this is a common thing from the canon text, however this is one of the few times we’ve seen it on screen and the first time we see it where Eddie is not even remotely present - making it a step up from the 4x08 scene where he is present via the tail end of a phone conversation. 

The grey fuzzy jacket Buck wears in the 4x08 scene is darker and the fact the cookie scene has lighter grey is telling about the level of uncertainty Buck is feeling. this scene is one fraught with potential danger for Buck - his choices could anger or alienate Eddie and erode their relationship if he gets it wrong - he could get accused of stepping in where he doesn’t belong. It could also land a critical blow to his relationship with Chris - what he says could upset him or make Chris feel like Buck isn’t supportive etc, it is a fine line Buck has to tread and he does it masterfully here - giving him the confidence going forward. WE see the results of that in the cookie kitchen scene - Buck bantering with Chris and successfully parenting him - and not being good cop! So here we have costume highlighting the development of Buck and Christophers father son relationship!

The Poker Game!!!!

This gets its own little section because there is a lot going on! to start with I’m going to link to this meta about Bucks costume and this one about Eddies costume, because they still, for the most part, ring true. getting the full scene hasn’t really altered my opinions on their costumes per-say. I’ll add a bit more to them once you get to the stills of them!

We have Chief Miranda Williams in a black sequin and slightly sheer waterfall front top with gold jewellery, and Captain Jeshan Mehta in all black with this dark plum striped tie. A very deliberate choice to have the both of them in full black (except the tie). All of the characters wear black in this scene (Julie only has black shoes so kind of doesn’t count and I’ll explain why when we get to her) Both Buck and Eddie are wearing black shirts/turtlenecks and they are the ones with the power in the game (thanks to Bucks new found math skills) while Chief W and Captain M both have seniority in the real world and therefore power of a different kind. I’d even argue that Chief W has the ultimate power because she wises up and allows the boys to have their fun and thus the power remains with her regardless! the use of a waterfall front top is just another subtle reference to the water theme. the purple tie is also a deliberate choice - purple is the combination of the two jackets Buck and Eddie are wearing - red and blue! Purple is a colour of mystery (much like the black they’re all wearing is) but it’s also a colour of enlightenment and understanding our inner most thoughts and feelings. It being worn by Mehta connects this concept to the shooting and Buck and Eddie finally coming to terms with the realities of it and what it means going forward - them acknowledging their feelings etc and what it means for them, both individually and together.

Julie Rosen in a dark teal asymmetric dress with a high front slit and silver jewellery. Ok so things to focus on with this costume are the asymmetry and the colour teal. Asymmetry represents unbalance (for obvious reasons) and there are a couple of ways to interpret that in this scene - obviously things are unbalanced because Buck has an advantage with his math skills. there is also the fact that Julie is in on the hustle (her comment about Buck being bad at math is deliberate and pointed!) which pits the 3 members of the 118 against Chief Williams and Captain Mehta so its 3v2. 

Then there is the teal - a colour of clarity, objectivity, support, earnestness and of being true to oneself. the other thing about teal is that it is a combination of blue and green - a combination of Buck and Eddie’s colours! As a side character and one who is in on the hustle, her costume is supposed to give us more information about our main characters and her dress is really doing that!

So here we have a scene centred on them where we have a connected character wearing a colour that is a combination of their individual colours and one which means clarity etc, the return of Captain Mehta whose name literally means crystal clear and Chief Williams - whose first name is Miranda - which means to be wondered at - can they make it any louder that Buddie is happening if they tried???

Well yes actually they can - because I seem to be doing nearly all of the non main characters tonight, lets talk about the croupier as well! Firstly we need to note her location at the table in relation to Buck and Eddie - she sits opposite them and directly in between them. She is wearing a black shirt with a rusty orangey brown rope pattern woven across it. 

I know its not red, but this is yet another example of the show making use of what it can to keep the red string of fate metaphor active. Here we have the rope/string twisted and looped, suggesting things are being tied together and because of her location and the implication is that this poker game is ting Buck and Eddie even more closely together (it really is a date even if neither of them actually realise it!!)

 We’ve had so many game, cards and fate metaphors thrown at us across the series, but especially this season, now we’re getting to the business end of things. We have all of the metaphors at play in this one scene - the universe screaming at you (as represented by Mehtas presence), the idea of playing a game to win - when you can’t lose, making the most of the hand you’ve been dealt, the gaining of knowledge and it all being tied up together by the red string of fate - represented by the croupier - who is, like I said, sat in front of and between Buck and Eddie - in front of being the operative point (the future)!

Do you want me to go on with all the subtext in this scene?!! 

Then we get to Buck and Eddie - Buck sticking to type and rolling up his long sleeves - taking off his jacket and dressing himself down (a nice touch to add to the mini dressing down he gets from Chief Williams!) but him removing the red jacket is symbolic of him stepping back into himself and his normal role - cracking dumb jokes, being a golden retriever and also reasserts his uncertainty about his future - his desire to become a captain - the theme that has been bubbling along all season. 

I will make a more full meta post specifically about Buck and Eddies watches, but for now - we get a better still to scream over! The watch that had been more or less hidden under Bucks sleeves for the duration of the poker game, is now revealed to us once Buck has won his steaks. black leather strap and a white face. black and white - things are black and white - time is black and white - its telling us that Buck is no longer in the dark (all his watches have been fully black up to now) and also that there are no grey areas!

Also they just look epically good so why wouldn’t I add in extra pictures of them for us all to appreciate!!

Everything I said about the choice to have Eddie in a turtleneck holds true - thanks to Joaquin Sedillio telling us that they were inspired by George Clooneys look in oceans 11 - a look that was inspired by golden age Hollywood.  

I do want to mention the use of texture in the poker scene and this connects into Bucks burgundy velvet jacket. the scene uses texture very deliberately, only Buck and Chief Williams are wearing anything textured - her texture is rough, while Bucks is soft and smooth (as long as you brush it the right way!) they also contrast each other in terms of look - velvet is a very flat texture - its matt and absorbs light, unlike the sequins which bounce light around and sparkle, drawing the eye and reflecting light. it is the absorbing/ reflection aspect that is the mist interesting because it lays into the idea of showy versus understated - and that is actually giving us hints of Bucks growth - before he was all about being showy - bright and bold and going through the whole fake it till you make it thing and seemingly lacking substance. Now though we see a Buck who is more considered - his brush with death has made him less flashy and more internalised. (I also love that this absorbing concept plays on the fact that he ‘absorbed’ a lightning bolt and lived to tell the tale!!). the other thing about the velvet being absorbing is that it places the focus onto Buck - this scene is all about him and he is absorbing the attention (and revealing in it!)

I’ve put the photo above where I have because of the Athena and Buck connection. Athena wearing a reverse of Bucks poker suit - burgundy top black jacket. The Burgundy has the same meaning that we get with Bucks jacket - the deep love and passion and romance - it is telling us that Bathena are very happy and very in love - that its a deep love. The black leather jacket contrasts with Buck as well - it has a more reflective surface - this scene isn’t about Athena, its about Madney. 

So we have a reverse parallel going on between Buck and Athena - something we’ve seen at play many times throughout the seasons combined with Bobby wearing a very Eddie shade of green - that khaki shirt is straight out of the Eddie Diaz playbook and isn’t a shade we see Bobby in that often - he’s often dressed in similarly muted shades to Eddie, but they are never that much of an army colour like this one is. In an episode that shows us Bobby and Athena being in love and happy and finding new things out about each other without any children being a part of the narrative. the show is being pretty on the nose about asking us to draw the parallel - especially when we’ve seen Christopher seeking his own independence.

The blue and green of it all 

Honestly the amount of blue and green paralleling going on in this episode was insane! I spent a long time uhming and ahhing about how to present this - to put all the green together followed by the blue, or to keep the coupes together! I’m going to keep this fairly brief as this post is already reaching epic proportions (I write in a very scattered manner so thats how its already super long!!)

Green

First thing to note is that the greens get darker as the episode goes on - we start with Eddie in his khaki olive green, only this one is a much lighter shade and tonally has a lot more yellow going on which actually helps connect him to the first dining table scene and his yellow shirt. Its also important to note that he has his blue face watch on - which I’ve started calling his Christopher watch

This henley is the same one we see him wearing when he is at the Grant Nash house talking to Athena about his Abeula and her being taken advantage of - such a choice by the wardrobe team - foreshadowing the poker game hustle as well as playing on the theme of being taken advantage of and of cards (tarot cards!) they really are going to town with very deliberate repeat costumes since 5b! 

We should remember that Hen is also sporting green in this episode - a very bright emerald green as well as Denny in army green and Karen in teal green at various points - they all darken within their own separate arc as well as fitting into the wider arc of the episode (see the Wilson family section at the beginning if you want a reminder).

Chimney wearing army green is showing us that he is ready to fight for his family - for Maddie - so that she can feel safe in her home. 

And Bobby rounds out the green in a bottle green tee and jacket combo which is verdant and shows that his relationship with Athena is in full bloom.

This use of green getting increasingly darker is something we’ve been seeing at play throughout the season - we’ve had it with Buck, particularly in relation to the sperm donor storyline, but also in connection with Hen as well as its abundance in the coma dream. Like I’ve said a million times  green is generally symbolic of growth and what we’re getting with its use in this episode and more widely this season is a deliberate choice to make that growth even more explicit - whatever story arc its connected to - Buck adn the sperm Donor, Hen and her attempts to connect with Denny so she can be a good parent to him and be supportive, or Bobby and his relationship with Athena and how he is getting a better understanding of her and how that is growing his love for her even more.

Blue

The blue doesn’t follow the same linear trajectory as the green - the colour starts dark, lightens up and then heads dark again in the most general sense, but it also brightens as the episode progresses, .

Athena is in both light blue and dark blue here 

while in the same scene Bobby is also in dark blue - they are matching and complimenting each other. Dressing them both in blue at the same time is an indicator of shared trust and loyalty.

Chimney has on a blue jumper here,

which he is wearing over this blue check shirt that we see him in later on, so again dark heading slightly lighter. Check theory was working over time with Chimney in this episode - the only time we see him without check is when he’s in green. That is interesting to me - its making me think that the check is telling us that Chimneys home life is stable and happy, but that his work life might be less so - the blue and the fact that we’ve seen him in check in connection with various members of the firefam in the last couple of episodes - Buck post coma, Hen in this episode, and now Bobby when He and Athena come over for dinner.

Bobby is wearing this dusty blue polo after Rhonda has been caught. 

I should point out here that Maddie is wearing a dark khaki green tee underneath her bright blue shirt which is a clever hint at the fact that this playdate she has set up is a trap - Maddie is waging war - fighting for her home and the ability to live in it without fear. The bright cobalt blue indicates ingenuity and enlightenment - playing into the trap that has been set for Rhonda. It is also a happy shade of blue - bright and cheerful it ties into the idea of comfort and contentment and indicates Maddie being able to return to feeling happy and secure in her home.

And finally we have Athena in this cobalt blue running tee and gilet - its a brighter blue than the cobalt of Maddie’s shirt, almost royal blue - it still shares the meaning though - enlightenment and happiness. Its telling us that Athena is finding joy in discovering both her enjoyment of running and her enjoyment of haring an activity with her husband. The otehr thing to note is a contniation of Buck and Athena being paralleled - here we have her in a blue gilet when she flirts and insitgates shower sexy times shortly after we’ve seen Buck attend the sex gone wrong call - wearing a gilet - with him then checking in on his previous relationships and hook ups to see if they were satisfied sexually with him - the loudness is getting louder! 

Blue is a colour that has been slowly increasing in frequency for Buck and I have a theory about it - bear with me here because we need to look at when he wears the colour - I’m not going to include them all or I’d be her all day - the ones i’ve excluded are either denim shirts/jackets or where blue is one of the colours rather than the only colour of a top!!

Season 1 - Buck and Abby go on a date - the only time we see Buck wear blue in season 1 and its his blue suit (with a white shirt) Season 2 - Buck wears blue 7 times in season 2 but the two key moments we need to look at come early on in the season 2x01 - the blue henley he’s wearing when he finds Maddie in his apartment - its the first non uniform outfit we see him post Abby leaving and comes after Eddie has been introduced (coincidentally this is the same henley we know we’re going to see Eddie wearing later in the season!). the second one comes in 2x04, when Buck talks to Maddie about Eddie struggling with paperwork to get Chris the help and support he needs (its the boy crush conversation!) Season 3 - Buck also wears blue 7 times in season 3. The 3 we need to focus on are; 3x04 Bucky talks to Chase Mackey and sues the city, 3x06 Bucks return to the 118 post lawsuit and 3x16 - Buck goes to a bar and meets Red. Season 4 - the number of blue shirts goes up dramatically to 10 (especially as its a short season) and we’re interested in 6 of them. 4x03 - games night at he Diaz house when Eddie is dismantling technology and Buck has to do some parenting. 4x05 we have 2 - Peru Buck and the blue jacket he wears when Maddie gives him the postcards he sent her over the years. 4x07 Buck tries dating Veronica. 4x12 Buck, Eddie and Taylor discuss the treasure hunt at Bucks loft (petty Eddie drinking beer scene). 4x14 Buck sleeps on Eddies couch and parents Chris after the shooting. Season 5 Buck wears blue 9 times in season 5 and we’re looking at 5 of them, 5x09 Buck washing up in the loft while Taylor is being distant (pink marigolds scene). 5x11 Buck and Taylor have dinner at the Diaz house - Buck and Eddie argue. 5x13 Maddie’s return from Boston and also Buck breaks down Eddies door and was in the room! 5x18 the blue suit he wears to HenRen’s vow renewal. Season 6, we’re just over half way through and are already up to 19 blue buck outfits!! the key ones are 6x01 - the lasagne kitchen scene. 6x02 post convention locker room talk with Hen, 6x04 Madney apartment Buck tells Maddie about the year of yes, a second one is the navy top he wears when getting drunk with Hen and then the blue striped shirt when he tells C&K he’ll be their donor. 6x07 there are 3 blue shirts when he fails to donate sperm, 6x09 when he tells the firefam that his sperm has helped C&K get pregnant. 6x11 when he comes home from the hospital post lightning strike. 6x12 while he’s trying to recover at his loft and then a second one when he has is appointment with Dr Salazar. 6x13 the superpowers scene.

Eddie also wears Blue at some key moments

Season 3 - 3x03 post tsunami ‘theres no one in the world I trust more with my son than you’ scene. 3x4 - chris wakes from a nightmare. 3x09 therapy with frank. 3x12 Chris has his skateboarding accident and Eddie shouts at Ana.  Season 4 - 4x08 Eddie introduces Ana to Chris as his girlfriend. 4x14 - the will reveal. Season 5 - 5x10 Chris has a nightmare. 5x14 dream Eddie in the kitchen serving Chris breakfast. 5x17 talks to Buck about his family - while in Christophers bedroom. 5x18 the suit he wears to HenRen’s vow renewal. Season 6 - 6x08 dressing Chris for his school dance. 6x09, sleeping on the sofa. 6x13 poker night.

Why have I written all of this out you ask - well because I want to show you how all of these scenes (and the ones I’ve not included in the list also fit the theme) are water finding its level related. They are all very key moments when either Buck or Eddie are finding a new level or at turning points - not only in their relationship with each other, but also with Christopher. 

All of Eddies wearing of blue connects to Christopher, until the one from this episode - the first time we see Eddie wearing blue while doing something not related to Christopher. I included the dream sequence Eddie in the list because he literally starts coughing up water. 

As for Buck - again most of the scenes (even the ones with Maddie) are connected to Eddie and Chris in some way, even if indirectly (lawsuit I’m looking at you) There are a few exceptions - such as Maddies return from Boston, the vow renewal suit, Buck washing up or the sperm donor ones and obviously the one from season 1! I included the Abby date one because Buck chokes on water in that scene and the Taylor washing up scene - Buck literally has his hands in water. The vow renewal is Buck breaking freed of his bad relationship. As for the sperm donor arc, while not directly connected to Eddie or Chris, the parenting connection is a key one - after all much of Bucks journey to finding his level is connected to the idea of parenthood and dad not donor v donor not dad.

As for the lighter blue specifically - which is a post Taylor exclusive colour for Buck and ties into the theme of deepening ones understanding of self and the growth that comes from that - the idea of choosing to be happy. Buck choosing to break free of his depressing relationship was him choosing himself, choosing to be happy. The post Lev dying conversation Buck has with hen in the locker room is about Bucks search for happiness - about him wanting to be happy for himself. The phone call where he reveals that C&K are pregnant - that is him being happy for his friends, but also him feeling the glow of happiness from being able to help them achieve that pregnancy. The blue top we had him wearing in MacArthur park in last weeks episode is showing him choosing to move on from his brush with death - accepting it for what it is and choosing to be happy (whether that s just happy to be alive - something he was clearly grappling with, or a more generalised happiness remains to be seen) that is why we see him looking contemplative - he is choosing to put that life changing event away and accept it for what it is and the chance it has given him to be happy going forward. This theming holds true for other characters too - Athena in light blue is about her happiness - getting her parents sorted in the aftermath of her fathers stroke is making her happy.

So this new light blue top we have Buck wearing (which is the most reminiscent of the one Lev is wearing) is very much about him being happy - we see the joy he feels at being good at something, the happiness he gets from being with his Diaz boys and sharing in happy banter with them and basking in the glow of being part of a family.

Christopher 

I’ve saved Christopher for last this week because he also plays into the Blue and green theming - in fact he straddles across the two colours and that makes him interesting. 

Firstly we have this seafoam green tee with a pineapple on the pocket. Not only do we have a pineapple though - no we have a pineapple with a sunset scene in the fruit section. Yes you read that right - it is an actual sunset!!! So here we have a physical embodiment of the sunset theme that has been in play since season 4 - a theme that Christopher has always been connected to indirectly - construction on sunset or Bucks heart drawing with sunset colouring and misunderstanding the assignment - both times when Buck has been babysitting and both in some way connected to Christophers homework -  Ana teaching Eddie Math in connection to the first one - making the whole Ana being construction on the way to Buck metaphor even more obvious, especially now in light of this new homework scene with a sunset incorporated in it!

The pineapple itself is also interesting - there are a couple of meaning we can attach to its use here. Historically, pineapples were status symbols - they were a show of wealth due to the difficulty in growing them. those who could afford them would display them prominently at dinner parties and the like to show their wealth. Here Christopher is the wealth - he is the thing both Buck and Eddie place most highly. and the scene we see this top in proves that - Christopher being an active part of their conversation about Bucks newfound superpowers - his opinions and comments are a valuable pat of the conversation to both Eddie and Buck. Christophers inclusion, comfort and confidence in this dynamic is being highlighted here - showing the difference to how he was treated in the dynamic between Eddie Chris and Ana. 

The modern pineapple meaning is as an emoji - where it is an indicator of relationship status - meaning ‘its complicated’ Need I say more!!!!

Then we have the blue tee from the kitchen cookie scene. A tee with little surfing skeletons on! I’ve said it many times before and I’ll say it again. This show is just so so good at using the kids costumes to tell us things. first up the blue - Bucks colour and its important that Chris is wearing it in this scene where he is alone with Buck. I talked about the buck in grey in both the two scenes where he is parenting with out Eddie, well the same rings true for Chris here - he is in blue for both of the scenes (a pale blue long sleeve tee with the dinosaur wearing sunglasses which show space ships in their reflection). then there is the fact that we have surfboards reappearing on Christophers clothing - the surfing thing has always been connected to Buck in some way - both overtly and covertly. Chris was wearing a shirt with surfers on at Bucks recertification party and the last time he wore something surf related (for definite) was in 4x13 - when Carla returned to the Diaz’s and told Eddie to make sure he was following his heart and not Christophers. The other thing to note is that both of those incidents proceeded a major event - the Tsunami and the shooting. this one has skeletons on and thats making me both nervous and excited. We’ve been saying all season that Chris is due some sort of trauma or incident and I’m now very much expecting it to happen in the next two episodes and for it to be something that pushes Buddie even closer together. those Skeletons are (to me at least) suggesting that the current set up of Bucks relationship with Christopher is about to change - that it will become the old version - a dead version and that post event they will have a new and different form of relationship (as in the father-son thing will become more concrete in the same way that Buck and Bobbys has this season) because all of the surfing theming has been used at moments that have really pushed Buck and Christophers dynamic forward and increased the parent-child bond! 

The thing with these to colours is that this season especially, we’ve seen Chris wearing shirts that contain both colours a couple of times - both in and out of dream sequences and both connected to parenting. 

We have Chris breaking his punishment and Eddie being an amazing dad. This one is especially close in terms of colours to the two shades from this episode and now I have more context for it, the smashing and merging of the two colours would appear to be foreshadowing the merging of Buck and Eddie as coparents.

And coma Chris - who Buck has to chose to ignore/ leave behind. leaving him feeling guilty, but actually showing that he is a good parent to Chris because he recognises that he can only get back to the real one if he abandons this Chris (a chris who is a representation of Bucks own childhood abandonment issues - and therefore it is showing us Buck breaking the cycle)

In summation - the use of costume and colour was so much more out there in terms of helping with the storytelling and ensuring the Buck and Eddie as a couple message was made loud and clear - more than we’ve ever seen before - its been slowly ramping up and now they’ve taken the breaks off!!

Thank you as always for reading  - it really does mean the world to me that you're interested in the costuming of our wee woo show!! I’ll shut up now and let you have your lives back. If you’ve made it through the whole thing then you are my MVP and you get this trophy! 🏆 I’m off to rock in the corner now I’ve finished this epic. 

I would tag below but it won’t let me (maybe i wrote too many words 😂 so I’ll be reblogging with the tag list!

Until the next episode! 💜💜💜

[zimcard-artblog]

"I found a weird floppy disk, heard there's a funky game in it!"

"Oh god oh fuck what is that"

Long text explaining the AU >>>

Oliver Swift is indeed the poor fool who bought himself a random floppy disk from a quote-unquote haunted garage sale, was told there were some dark secrets in the disk along with an old game that has never seen the light and Oliver bought it because he only heard game.

Booting it up, he is met with the title ENCRYPTION which isn't actually the true game's name besides the title reflecting the buried data called The_Enc0unter which, of course, plays a huge role within the digita and coded world.

He's met with only >continue on the screen which brings him to ACT 1; Norm G. Allen. A shadowy figured man wearing a cowboy hat and a Nasa suit. He has been stuck in his own game like an isolated hermit for who knows how long, waiting for someone to pick up the game again so he can finally be done with everything.

He doesn't care for the game except for wanting all of it to end, following his own set of rules he had placed beforehand such as punishments and the rule book yet he sounds very... very tired.

He isn't an actual character from the original game besides a manifestation of some of the contents in the buried data, explaining the Nasa suit and American flag on his hat. He stands out the most and his main goal is to leave the awful place because it has caused him nothing but pain.

Upon finishing ACT 1 by finding the New game button before Norm could even do anything drastic such as deleting the entire game, it moves to ACT 2- the real game before the buried data had infected it: Crowned Glory.

In a world that uses cards to solve conflict and build harmony within the four main themes such as beasts, machinery, ghouls, and mages; there is an unknown place that the Challenger- Gingi- must get in. However, Jerry, a penguin beastman who guards the gate, says that Gingi is unable to pass as they are not worthy of meeting the Crowned One.

Gingi has to beat everyone through card battles but can cut down the task by doing side quests, building friendship and whatnot. It has lots of dialogue options and Oliver having Gingi being an extension of himself despite Gingi having already gained sentience; the two were, indeed, sharing the same braincell.

It is unknown if Gingi's current design was meant for the Challenger as they are more or so an amalgamation of existing assets to create a vessel for Oliver to monitor. Dialogue wise, Gingi is saying what's on their mind. Card battle wise? All Oliver’s work.

The world does not have any scrybes, mere funky characters in their respective themes and areas.

Printer-Bot, who named herself Karen, works at the factory. She prints things of course but unlike the regular printer, she generates her own images through what she sees and processes all of that. She's an artist, of course, and works through the factory in means of concept art and printing out papers to share. She sees something? She prints it.

Randy Jade, a ghoul in the local graveyard. He claims he died from a curse yet the lodged hammer within his skull says otherwise. He lingers near his grave , in complete denial of both his past lives and afterlife. Sad little ghoul. Sad sad sad. But friendly...? He can be a sweetheart.

Bigfoot exists there deep within the woods if you find the right spot, lingering in a cave and waiting for company. He would give out banana peels or make funny 'oogh' sounds in response but if he receivers a banana then Bigfoot will give little bits of The_Enc0unter to the player. It's his way of trying to warn the player that there is a lingering evil within. Bigfoot is a manifestation from contents within the buried data.

We move to ACT 3, in which it returns to the theme of ENCRYPTION but the one running the show is none other than Mayor Mingus Crown. A cat lady who had taken control after realizing that Norm had failed in his attempt to escape, laughing at the fact he also failed to go nuclear. She was originally a mere cat for the Crowned One yet due to the buried data, she ended up becoming a cat lady beastman who was mutated by the contents of the data, giving her the 'Mayor' vibe. Politics cat lady, yes, a smidgen of corruption.

She starts off by explaining her drive and goal, her main drive being the Crowned one: Callum Crown. Callum Crown was the heart of the game, the main ending for the Challenger, the end goal to complete the game. However, he was left unfinished and the data had distorted him along with the world, causing this game to go through a cycle of self destruction and desperate healing, causing pain to the characters who are now sentient and aware of a lingering evil.

Most live in blissful ignorance yet a handful knew pain.

Mingus has a deep connection to Callum Crown, he's like a paw-paw to her. She cares for him and thus attempts to build the world into the perfect vision of the game, enforcing the data to stay buried and not tether the world again. By any means necessary. Her entire game focuses on the Player patching things up such as errors and reintroduction ACT 2 characters through cards. Mingus wants to rebuild the game as a last chance to bring Callum Crown back, only caring for her Paw-paw. If he wasn't the heart of the game then she'd say fuck all to the world and focus on him only.

She doesn't care about anything else, no, ignoring whenever the ACT 2 characters experience pain through being in a card or ignoring the room for doubt incase there was no hope for Callum Crown at all.

Callum Crown is merely a husk of a character, a distorted image, mere static within the deep, he is there but at the same time not, perhaps he is in a loop of decomposing or just a standing corpse. All you can hear is a soft, radio-like, static voice that says;

"Is the war over yet? I can't get a signal..."

[gracegrove]

Ok but....

Last Unicorn au????

Billy is the last unicorn, or so the hunters have told him. Neil has been searching his whole life for the sake of his family to kill the last of these great beasts. He has so many trophies mounted in his home.

Billy for a long time believes that he is the last of his kind until a kindly butterfly named Eleven tells him that they have seen others like himself. Billy sets out to see if this is true.

While on his quest, Billy is taken prisoner by a witch (Karen 🙃) to be made money off of. He is eventually freed by a wizard (Will ofc) who disguises Billy with magic. Turning him into a human so that he can continue his quest.

Steve is a local villager that comes across Billy in his travels and joins him. Steve feels very protective of Billy but he is unsure why. He admires Billy for searching out the unicorns. Something people have long written off as myths.

[daisyandbilly]

Let’s talk about episodes 4, 5, and 6 of Daisy Jones & the Six! This is kind of late because I have written and re-written this review 8 times.

(Spoilers galore — do not continue reading if you don’t want to be spoiled)

Let’s start with the good! Immersion. Episode 4’s house party was what I’ve been waiting for in terms of set and scenery. The smoky rooms, the people, the noise, the outfits, the wood paneling of the house. I think the house party will forever be a favorite part of this series for me. It was a happy addition. Although it didn’t exist in the book, Camila bringing Daisy into the fold and getting Billy to put aside his ego for the sake of his art and the band was great. She saw the potential of them and orchestrated a thing of beauty. Lots of mess but also beauty! Seeing the band interact outside of a strict music setting was a joy. Can we get more of that?! Daisy holding Julia: chills. Another full circle moment, they’ve always been somewhat connected.

I still don’t like that Daisy didn’t actually have a career until she met the Six but their first performance was great. Billy’s annoyance, Daisy’s false bravado, her crashing the stage after the first song, The Six’s excitement. All so good. Camila clocking Billy for his rudeness during the interview. So good!

I have zero notes for Simone thus far, she has been a delight to watch and I can’t wait to experience her New York disco days.

I loved everything about Karen and Graham’s little surfing side quest, down to the car his… girlfriend(?) was driving — i want it! When she pulled him inside of the house my eyes popped out of my head lmao. Karen jokingly using her jealousy to shame the poor girl for her love of Barry Manilow threw me off a liiiitle. It wasn’t a huge issue at all, it’s just that in my head she would’ve been too cool to say that, girls girl and #girlboss and all.

These episodes were some of my favorite so far. The tension and initial anger and the music were great. I love understanding the context of songs and this was so special. More Fun to Miss and Regret Me truly hit even deeper if that was possible. Watching Billy and Daisy go back and forth when writing the album felt very frustratingly satisfying. It’s such an important chunk of the book and I wouldn’t have minded it playing out a bit longer but I’m unsure if that’s because I still feel thrown off by the pacing of the show. We only have four episodes left.

Now let’s get to the elephant in the post. Unfortunately I have been spoiled left and right while running this blog. I knew about the kiss (and a few other changes that I won’t spoil, don’t worry.) And as much of a fangirl moment that I had during it (I still gasped and leapt from my chair), when it was over… I was left scratching my head. The excruciating what-if aspect that looms over the book has been replaced with a handful of cliches. There is no guessing or later revelation, it’s all been laid out.

I hate that I agree with the critics again, I swear I never thought that would happen, but once Billy initiates the kiss a lot of the plot has been stripped of its nuance. This is now a show about a very real love triangle. I know things must change for adaptations and they really wanted to lean into the Fleetwood Mac aspect of the band’s relationships but something about the dynamic between these characters is off especially this version of Camila and Billy as we continue with the season. We’re supposed to feel love and instead it’s translating as obligation.

Book Billy’s faithfulness to Camila after he got sober is what he held onto with a vice grip. And although he loved her and emphasized that he chose her above all else, the weight of temptation everyday constantly crushed and guided most of his decisions when he was with Daisy. They were magic onstage because it was where they could be together and burn all that pent up energy. Daisy replaced his addiction and because of that she was the temptation he never fully lost himself in because of what happened the first time. Watching them together on stage was meant to be akin to the dynamic of The Civil Wars. Profound longing mixed with unbridled inhibition and the sadness of the reality of their situation.

Here he’s already given into the temptation that he was supposed to ultimately struggle with when he made a decision at that bar in Chicago. And once Daisy vocalizes her anger/hurt at him bringing Camila to the Aurora cover shoot, the triangle has been solidified. This feels like an affair, just one that didn’t have enough gas to take off. I understand the idea of and see the tweets about conflicting point of views and unreliable accounts (due to who is interviewing them) and while I agree (I do!), that just doesn’t hold up here. Daisy’s shame that Billy rejects her after she kisses him is meant to get her on the path to running away to Thailand, marrying Niccolò and falling deeper into addiction. The idea of her leaving because of the same Rolling Stone article that she exposed Billy for is ??????? And seeing Camila here being relegated to a wife standing by her man cheating a second time as long as he doesn’t love Daisy is so… weird. Not even a little fling with Eddie could even the score but honestly good for her! (this is meant to replace that “lunch” with Greg/Gary Egan that happens in the book). I hope they don’t turn Camila into a placeholder; just another obstacle for Daisy and Billy to endure especially now that they’ve chosen to shorten the age gap between the interviews because that would be depressing.

Do I still love these characters? Absolutely. The show is doing a wonderful job of capturing a lot of emotions and I can not emphasize enough how much I love this cast. I know these are deeply flawed characters and they eventually experience the consequences of their actions and selfishness but we’re still supposed to be rooting for them. I do think they’ve forgotten to slip a few redeeming qualities for Billy in tho 👀.

Rating ⭐️ — 4 out of 5

24 hours later and Im still going back and forth with this rating lol

Also why Greece? Nothing wrong with that change, just curious

[ladylilithprime]

Where Many Paths And Errands Meet

Series: Fluffy Faerie Tales

Fandom: Supernatural

Pairing: Preslash Sastimmy/Jamstiel (Jimmy Novak/Sam Winchester/Castiel)

Rating: Teen and Up

Tags/Warnings: Half-Fae Sam Winchester, Jimmy and Castiel Are Twins, Selkie Jack Kline, Sam Winchester Is Jack Kline's Adopted Father, Brief Allusions to Canon-Typical Violence, Ableist Language (Lucas Novak), Misogynistic Language (also Lucas Novak), Dragon Kevin Tran, Faerie Princess Mary Winchester, Faerie Bargains

Summary: John Castiel and James Constantine Novak were twins. This was not always the case, and this point of contention caused some resentment and ill-feeling on the part of their less supportive family members. When their least supportive uncle drunkenly suggested finding a faerie to turn them back into one boy so they'd only be half the disappointment, Cas and Jimmy decided that, for their own aafety and continued survival, they needed to find a faerie first. This was easier said than done.

For: @fluffyfebruary challenge!

Prompt: Day 11: Quest

Read on AO3

-Chapter One-

THE GLOW FROM the dashboard illuminated the sleeping face of John Castiel Novak, casting the exhausted shadows under his eyes in stark relief. Beside him in the driver's seat, James Constantine Novak tried to avoid shooting worried looks in his brother's direction too often given the need to keep his eyes on the road when he wasn't checking the printout for directions. Neither of them had been able to sleep much the last few days, what with the scratchy sheets and overwhelming levels of unfamiliar noises at every motel they could afford. Jimmy was slightly better off, finding it easier to drop off to sleep in the moving car than Cas could, but it seemed exhaustion had finally won out above overstimulation.

It had been three years since graduating college with their respective Bachelor's degrees, Jimmy's in Communications and Cas's in Technical Writing. Degrees in hand, they had had to face the reality of limited jobs for those fields, which stuck them mostly working retail and food service for as long as they could stand. None of those jobs lasted very long, as people tended to be people no matter what and customers ran the spectrum of "polite and appreciative" to "bitchy Karen finding fault with everything". For every kind and understanding manager they had who was willing to work with their necessary accommodations due to their autism, there was always at least one bigoted, ableist asshole who was just looking for an excuse to toss the "retarded deadweight" to the curb.

Three months ago, their uncle, Lucas Novak, got drunk enough to mouth off at Thanksgiving dinner about "finding one of those fairies running around and getting them to zap those two defective idiots back into one so they'll stop being twice the disappointment." Their mother, Charlene, had immediately snapped at him to watch his mouth, which caused Lucas to tell her to shut her mouth since "it's your damn fault there's two of 'em in the first place, you superstitious cunt!" That proved too much for Michael Novak, who might well have agreed with his brother up until the insult to his wife, and he had punched Uncle Lucas while Jimmy had grabbed a nonverbal Cas and pulled him out of the dining room and up to the attic loft where they couldn't hear the full force of the brawling and shouting that became of dinner. Safe in the attic, the twins had huddled under the soft blanket that was too threadbare and worn to be kept in the main part of the house and clung to each other. When things calmed down enough after their father kicked Uncle Lucas out, their mother had come up to check on them.

"Could a faerie do that to us?" Jimmy had asked in a small voice, saying the words both he and Cas were thinking. "Just... zap us back into one?"

"I don't know, baby," Charlene had whispered, forgetting for the moment that her boys were technically fully grown adults in her need to comfort them. "All the stories I was ever told say faeries have great power. I don't know if it would be stronger than the power of the angel who gave you both to me."

Later that night, in the dark of their room, Cas had whispered to Jimmy, "Maybe we should find a faerie first, before Uncle Lucas can."

Three weeks ago, after quitting their latest shitty jobs at the Gas'n'Sip, Jimmy and Cas had bought a cheap Lincoln Continental off the local lemon lot, packed a week's worth of clothes and toiletries that were the least offensive to their sensory issues within their limited budget, and hit the road. The twins had spend hours every day getting in touch with as many of their old college friends with magical heritage as they had working numbers and then waiting as those friends played telephone with other friends and family members around the country and finally Kevin Tran, one of their former dormmates who had been reasonably close to them, had come through with a solid lead.

"My girlfriend Channing had an Introduction to Magical History course at the College of William and Mary," he told them. "She was mostly just sitting in to see how wrong the human professor would get everything, but the guy brought in a guest lecturer he introduced as 'Dr Cerise Prince' who admitted to being a faerie. She's probably not still there, but the professor, Asa Fox, would probably know how to contact her."

Mr Fox had not known how to contact Dr Prince, which he ruefully admitted probably wasn't even close to her real name.

"Faeries that old would have a few dozen aliases and nicknames, and they don't ever give out their true names to anybody," he told them apologetically. "Not even the university board knows how to contact her directly, just a series of relay numbers for leaving messages which she'll check and get back to eventually. They're also bound under oath not to hand out any of those numbers, even more strictly than the usual privacy protections. I'm sorry."

They had still asked, going to as many board and faculty members as would give them appointments, and getting the same answer each time until the textile arts professor overheard them as they left the latest disappointment and gave them a card.

"Kate Summers is probably your best bet for finding Dr Prince," she told them. "If not Dr Prince herself, then at least a suitably knowledgeable member of her family. Whatever it is you're looking for in her, if you can convince Kate, she'll help you."

The drive was only about two hours, but Ms Summers was apparently out of town for a convention and her husband wasn't keen to tell them anything. It was pure chance that the phone rang while Jimmy and Cas were there and, five minutes later, Jimmy was handed the phone to talk to Ms Summers herself.

"Why are you looking for Dr Prince?" she asked sharply.

"It's personal," Jimmy admitted. "My brother and I have a problem, a question, that only a powerful faerie can help with."

She was silent for a long moment, and then she sighed. "I can't tell you how to find Mary. She's not even in the mortal realms this month. However, if you swear on your life that you are not a hunter... I know someone who can help you."

Jimmy swore readily, and Cas echoed him, and Ms Summers told them to give the phone back to her husband. An hour later and a repeat of their oaths with specific wording under the watchful eye of Ms Summers's husband, and they had the printed out directions to a cafe on Seven Mile Island in New Jersey. Despite their exhaustion and painfully dwindling funds, Jimmy and Cas piled back into the Lincoln and turned its nose northwards again. Traveling in February meant the sun went down well before the cafe hours hastily scribbled on the directions indicated closing time, leaving Jimmy to drive them through the gloom while Cas attempted to sleep.

Jimmy didn't really want to wake him if he didn't have to, at least not until they were closer to their destination. It wasn't just the shitty motel rooms that disturbed his brother's rest night after night. The same fear that haunted Jimmy dogged Cas as well: that their uncle's drunken vitriol would bear out action. Not from their mother, never her - Charlene was sharp and vicious in putting a stop to any and all talk of changelings and magical children - but the twins knew their father's displeasure at suddenly finding two young and picky mouths to feed where before there had been just one and neither of them was "normal". The fear that any one of their father's side of the family might just decide that one "freak son" was enough. That they could be changed again, against their will, because they were too disappointing, too much trouble, too weird for the people who were blood kin to them but barely counted as family.

The pervasive, niggling doubt in the back of each of their minds that the other one was the real child and they were the magically created mirror, created with a snap and just as easily unmade.

The sign for Lighthouse CommodiTeas was so small that Jimmy almost missed it. Just a plain, weathered, whitewashed wooden sign with black lettering, illuminated by two strategically placed fluorescent lights designed to look like old-fashioned lanterns. The cafe itself was tucked into a strip of shops, sandwiched between a smoke shop and a hair salon. There was one parking space available in front of the strip on the far side of the hair salon nearly in front of the tattoo parlor on its other side, and Jimmy tried not to feel self-conscious about turning directly into that empty parking spot.

Cas was grumpy when Jimmy gently shook him awake, but climbed out of the car without protest, stretching while Jimmy got out and locked the car and then claiming Jimmy's left hand. His thumb went immediately to the silver ring on Jimmy's thumb, a gift from Kevin to Cas for use as a stimming device with its two raised Asian dragons chasing each other around the free-spinning circle of metal. Cas couldn't bear to wear rings or have anything constricting on his hands below his wrists, so Jimmy wore it for him and it was a familiar ritual now for Cas to hold Jimmy's hand to have access to the ring as much as to hold his hand, and they had long since resigned themselves to drawing odd looks from strangers over the two of them holding hands and other such "girly" behavior if it meant they could anchor themselves and each other.

They did draw attention entering the cafe, the jingling chimes attached to the door drawing several eyes their way. Most of them promptly looked away again to attend to their own business, but the willowy redhead standing behind the counter in a dark blue apron called out a cheerful greeting. Her coworker, a tall man with chestnut brown hair that fell several inches past his shoulders, was busy mixing a complicated-looking drink and didn't bother even glancing up. Jimmy got the impression that they weren't being ignored at all, though, a weighted feeling of attention settling on them. His grip on Cas's hand tightened nervously.

"Large Hellfire Mocha with a drop of demon blood!" the man called out as he set the cup on the counter. One of the customers lounging in an armchair rolled to his feet and picked up the mug, saluting the man with a sardonic little smirk.

"Ta, Moose," he said, taking a sip and licking his lips obnoxiously. "Always glad t'know you're putting my produce to good use."

"Always glad to make a nuisance of yourself, you mean," the barista retorted with a roll of his eyes that was almost belied by a fond sort of smile. "See you for next month's delivery, Crowley."

Jimmy and Cas stepped sideways out of the path of the door and further into the cafe as the man-shaped being of suddenly questionable origin called Crowley sauntered out, leaving a scent of sulfur in his wake that made Jimmy's nose twitch with the desire to sneeze. With both baristas' attention on them now, the twins exchanged glances and then shuffled forward towards the register.

"Welcome to Lighthouse CommodiTeas," the redhead said cheerfully as they approached. "Our special today is our Dragon's Breath Chai, a Lapsang Souchong tea base with almond and dragon's milk and a blend of six aromatic spices."

Two taps from Castiel's thumb against his prompted Jimmy to say, "That sounds interesting, we'll try it."

"One or two, and what size?"

Another single tap, a pause, two taps. "Just one, please, medium."

The redhead gave him a narrow look that Jimmy wasn't sure how to interpret. It wasn't the same sort of "why are you so weird" look that he and Cas had gotten used to receiving, but he couldn't help feeling judged for some reason he couldn't parse. Still, she rang up the order, and then turned to look directly at Cas and said, "And for you, sir?"

Oh.

"That is for both of us, ma'am," Jimmy said with an awkward smile, fighting back a wince as the grip Cas had on his hand tightened sharply and he pressed closer to Jimmy's side. "We both have sensory issues that fortunately don't overlap much. We know we like chai, but goat milk is unfamiliar. If one of us can't manage it, the other usually can, reducing the chance that the drink might go to waste, and if we both like it then we'll know for the future."

"Do you always speak for your friend?" the barista asked with a sharper tone. Cas practically plastered himself to Jimmy's side. Jimmy's smile got even more stiff.

"When he's nonverbal and someone is being pushy about eye contact, it is absolutely my job to protect my brother," he said, forcibly holding himself back from matching her tone. It still came out sharper than he meant, and he saw her jerk back as if he had slapped her. He braced himself, gripping Cas's hand.

"Charlie," the other barista broke in, surprisingly gentle. "Ease up. Not everyone who speaks for others is doing it to be controlling."

"He didn't even check, boss!" the redhead, Charlie, protested.

"They're holding hands," her boss said patiently. "If it was me and Dean, we would have a system of communication set up between us that wouldn't be intelligible to anyone else. Do, actually. You've seen us in action."

"Yeah, well, you two are you two," Charlie grumbled, which must have made some sort of sense because the man laughed.

"We also aren't unique," he pointed out. Then he turned his gaze thoughtfully towards Jimmy, absently reaching up to tuck his hair behind his...

...pointed ear.

"We're used to people making assumptions about us," Jimmy found himself saying, more on autopilot than anything, mind racing. "Might be the first time someone's assumed I was his controlling boyfriend, though."

"Sorry," Charlie said, ducking her head. "I know I shouldn't assume, I just... had some bad experiences with people."

"We've worked retail," Jimmy said dryly. "We get it. How much for the Dragon's Breath Chai?"

"Six dollars," Charlie said, and seemed to visibly shake herself. "Anything else for you?"

"Kate Summers sent us," Cas whispered, fiddling with the ring with very slow, deliberate movements as he pulled the words up and forced them out into the sudden stillness. "She said you could help."

Charlie's mouth formed an O of surprise below her now very wide eyes. Jimmy gave Cas's hand a reassuring squeeze and tried to pretend that he wasn't keenly aware of the other six customers in the cafe, all of whom were pretending a little too hard not to listen in. The faerie didn't even blink, merely continued to study them both.

"Go have a seat at the corner table," he said at length. "I'll bring your drink out to you and we can talk."

Jimmy wordlessly dug his wallet out of his back pocket and fished a five and a one out of it one-handed. Charlie took the bills from him and tucked them into the register, then handed him back the receipt by what Jimmy suspected was rote muscle memory. The faerie, who apparently had a brother called "Dean" but whose name or even alias Jimmy still didn't know, stepped back to the line and began doing strange things with cups and pitchers and powders that would no doubt turn into a fantastic drink in the very literal sense without another word.

Cas gave a slight tug on Jimmy's hand and they moved over to the vacant table in the far corner that was more of a diner booth with plush padded seats. They slid into one side of the booth side by side, Cas moving in first and down to give Jimmy room to get settled before immediately plastering himself to Jimmy's side again. Jimmy shifted and shuffled until his brother was tucked under the curve of his arm, then tilted his head back and tried to just breathe.

They had found a faerie. What's more, he was willing to hear them out. Now all they could do was hope he would be willing to help them.

Read Chapter Two on AO3

[ruhrohrichie]

eddie never really hears mike talk about the music he likes. he knows dustin likes weird al, and that will inherited a love of grunge and indie stuff from jonathan. he knows lucas has a wide range of music tastes, a mix of influences from his friends and parents and team, with a particular ear for kate bush. but mike never really talks about music.

he listens, though, when eddie talks about music—and eddie talks about music a lot. rambling about metal vs punk vs rock vs grunge, ranking different bands and their albums. he’s also very loud with his complaints about the “top 40s bullshit” steve and robin play at family video. he’s got a lot to say, which mike usually just smiles at.

but then one week eddies got too much going on to dm, so mike agrees to run a side quest. eddie decides to come early and help mike set up, bringing him some pizza as a thank you for stepping in

but when he gets to the wheelers place, just at the top of the basement stairs, he hears there’s music blasting

and there’s a voice singing along: off key but very passionate, and so incredibly endearing eddie thinks he might actually physically melt

mike is downstairs absolutely belting along to foreigners “I want to know what love is”. eddie watches through a crack in the door as bambi legs mike wheeler does a clumsy little dance across the room to the verses. then mike, in his hellfire t-shirt and his black skinny jeans, all 5’11 of his baby punk self, draped head to toe is eddie’s metal influences, pauses everything he’s doing and holds his hands out to some invisible audience as he sings about his life of heartache and pain.

just as he sings about changing his lonely life, eddie throws the door open as wide as he can while still respecting karen wheeler’s home and bellows the chorus down the stairs

mike jumps, his cheeks redder than the demon on his shirt as he stutters out eddies name and scrambles to turn the music off

eddie laughs and saunters down the stairs. “aw, but i really do wanna know what love is!” he teases, ruffling mikes hair. “aren’t you gonna show me, wheeler? I know you can show me”

mike shoves him away grumbling, but his cheeks are still pink, and eddie doesn’t think he’ll get over how cute that little performance was for a while

he encourages mike to pick the music as they continue setting up. he even sorta likes a few of the songs that come on, even if what he mostly likes is learning something new about mike, seeing him having genuine fun, seeing him nodding his head to madonna as he flips through his notes

he makes a note to maybe stop shitting on pop music so much (around mike at least) and maybe even give some of it a fair listen

[rightnowyoucanttell]

Windows;

Part one

Billy breaks Y/N's heart by cheating with Karen, there acceptance soon fuels to anger and revenge upon meeting Eddie Munson.

Warnings: smut, angst, Eddie munson- spoilers? Teen Pregnancy, cheating, age gap, smoking/drugs

- I Gave the reader a name halfway through but can definetly be read as a insert still

(Other S4 Characters could appear )

Criticism appreciated!!

In this universe Billy is alive, and continues into the plot of season 4.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I didn't think it would go this far, but after one whack of that wooden bat with its steel teeth of nails there was no going back. A large Crack spread through the windshield of the retro blue car. One, two, three and the numbers went higher. No door, no bird, no strangers walked by. Just Y/n in the crisp sunrise of the motels parking lot a cigarette just snuffed below her boot.

"Fucking asshat," she muttered into the silence the brease barely forming with her. The world wasn't awake yet. No one had heard the scandalous rumor of Billy Hargrove: the keg King and the milf. "Details for 5.95".

Y/n rolled her eyes at the thought, a beasous wave spreading. She slammed the bat the last whack setting off the cars alarm, she booked it as hotel room lights flicked on in sync across the lot. She swiftly buckled her helmet and her bike zoomed off into the town pulling up to the high school parking lot, books in stow. No one was there, or so she thought.

Parking and heading to the bleachers and sitting upon a spot in the middle out looking the dew covered empty green feel and it's muddy pitchers mound, the mud stained and cracked against the dugout matching the laziness in the rusted chain that lined it.

Hawkins had given up since the mall accident, and frankly so did Y/N. And Nancy, and Johnathan and Billy. They all did the rusted fence, a metaphor to be digested as one may see fit.

A scream echoed as pale ringed hand grabbed the ankle of Y/N. A laugh bellowed from below the bleachers a lighter flicked, the flame igniting a tightly rolled blunt giving Y/N a view.

It was the Munson boy. The one everyone accused of murder last year, Billy's biggest rival, for what reason I'll never know. Then again Billy had said thar about Steve and well..

"M'lady, what quest leads you to a wet field on ye early morning?" Dark eyes of the boy meeting Y/N as he spoke behind the blunt. The paper wobbling as he spoke the smoke blowing in the breeze, stinging y/N's nose.

"It's Mikayla. And I can't tell you how much I'm not your lady." She shrugged and shifted looking away instead to the train thar passed up far in the distance. She hopped Robin wouldn't be skipping today, hopefully Steve would actually bring the two of them on time. God, wouldn't that be a miracle.

"It's eddie, you don't remember me do you?"

"I recognize you. But I'm not afraid of you, so if your looking for a scare just beat it alright?"

"Aw your so cute when your mad, that's what I like about you, haha man-"

"Shut up and kiss me."

"Huh?" He removed the weed from his mouth.

"You heard me, shut up and kiss me?"

"But, you-you and hargrove?"

"Would that have really stopped you, Munson?" Kayla cocked her eyebrow at the attractive alternative drug dealer.

"Nope," he reached his right hand behind Mikaylas ear, brushing her check with his thumb, the metal and silver of his wings blending with her skin. Likely leaving smudges.

The two blissfully continued lips and teeth nipping and fighting at one another alone as the blunt smoked out as it snuffed in a puddle of water left in the bleachers.

One would assume this meant nothing, rebound, Mikaylas just getting over Billy? Right? Eddie got it, Kayla got it, but Billy?

He was not going to get it....

[anamoon63]

TIME TRAVELER: E208. TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS 2/2

"You mentioned a third option," Bjorn continued.

"The space shuttles. I wouldn't recommend them either," Sopeha was quick to reply.

"Why?"

"Well, most of them are driven by intergalactic bounty hunters, criminals looking for fugitives or other crooks to hand in to the authorities for money".

"Usually, these are stolen and refitted vehicles. The cost of the ticket is not high, but the ride is not pleasant at all, the pilots usually sedate their passengers and put them in cryogenic chambers so that they resist the trip or to avoid problems with them".

"It doesn't sound good," Dylan said.

"I know, that's why I don't recommend it."

"Well, I vote against that option too," Karen jumped in.

"So do I," Dylan seconded her. "Rob is just a kid, if something bad happened to him with those guys, I wouldn't forgive myself," he concluded.

"I wouldn't risk my kids traveling with those scoundrels either," Bjorn sighed.

"Then, I'm afraid we're out of options," Dylan concluded grimly.

Sopeha went silent this time, which seemed to encourage Karen.

"What about your 'Guardians Alliance' - why can't they make the trip? Didn't you say that their mission is to 'help their own kind'?" she demanded.

Dylan and Bjorn were speechless. The Guardians Alliance! Of course, how had they not thought of that, and why hadn't Sopeha named them as an option?

Sopeha remained deep in thought. Of course the Alliance was an option, the best, if not the only one. And it was the choice that she liked, that was why she had ruled out the others, one by one. The Guardians certainly had the power and the means to complete this quest; and her boss, the head of Moonbase Beta, would be the most interested in helping, more so when he found out who the passenger was. But before proposing him to take over the mission, she would have to prove that Robin was - who he said he was.

While she was in her thoughts, Dylan, Bjorn and Karen watched her, she seemed genuinely concerned, as if this whole thing had become personal to her.

After a few seconds and a deep breath, she turned to look at them again. She no longer seemed worried, on the contrary, she looked animated, her eyes deeper and brighter, and her face lit up as she spoke, addressing Karen specifically.

"I too believe that the safest way to take Robin to Lunar Lakes is in an Alliance ship. And right today I can ask my boss to authorize the trip, but…"

"Of course there would be a but'", Karen complained.

(To be Continued)

Credits and thanks to Moria from MTS for their amazing decorative starship Go Beyond.

[beatradical]

Have you ever imagined, in your Rapierzel AU, the Team Yell members as the Pub Thugs reenacting the scene where they sing I've Got A Dream to Rapierzel and Raihder?

Hi Anon, YESSSS....!!! XDD Since I am unsure that I will be bothered to actually draw these scenes at all, I shall let you in on my vision...

On their journey, the unlikely trio made a pitstop at Raihder's run-down and shady hometown Spikemuth Village - Yes you did not read that wrong, Raihder (Raihan) is from Spikemuth, Rapierzel (Piers) is from Hammerlocke - so that he can pick up some intel and gear, before they can continue on.

They go into a bar, filled to the brim with Thugs. The thugs consist of various evil team leaders/ members, chaotic gym leaders and elite four members (Eg. Guzma, Grimsley, Sydney, Karen, etc.), and of course, the Team Yell members.

Now, unlike the original Tangled movie where the thugs are hostile towards Flynn Rider, the thugs here are acquaintances of Raihan. They are fairly amicable towards Raihan, but too cold and suspicious at first towards his new companions to share any intel.

This being his first time meeting so many people at once, Piers is understandably apprehensive and overwhelmed at first. To show goodwill, he humbly gifts them the one thing he does best- sing.

To say that the entire pub has been captivated, is an understatement. Raihan was also taken aback with how different Piers' singing voice is, compared to how he usually speaks.

Encores are requested, Sidney even lent Piers his cittern- and thus Piers bashfully held his first ever concert (Pub singer AU unlocked?) to complete critical acclaim.

Of course, Piers also sang about his dream of being free to go wherever he wanted. His audience, moved by his passion, started singing along. This was the most joyful Piers has ever been, and thinks to himself that he would not mind doing this more often, or even settling down at Spikemuth. :)

During their stay at Spikemuth, I've imagined Raihan hanging out with his childhood best friend Lance (the dragon-type champion) here as well, and Piers meeting Nanu, a former Commander of the Hammerlocke Royal Guard during the time of the Lost Prince's birth and kidnapping. He took the incident as his personal failure, stepped down and left Hammerlocke for years.

Now face to face with Rapierzel, the undeniable image (and hair) of the little royal babe he had failed to protect and rescue decades ago, he was relieved and amazed that the prince himself just so happen to waltz up to him in a random pub, one random day, safe and healthy.

Piers of course is not aware of his own true identity, and not wanting to cause any panic, Nanu kept his thoughts to himself. However, he promises his allegiance and assistance to Piers whenever he should need it.

Now warmed up to the trio, the villagers/ thugs proceeded to share the needed intel, Raihder and Rapierzel got some new equipment, and resumed their quest to Hammerlocke. Here is a preview of Raihan's upgrade~ ;>

SPOILER: At the end of the main story, Piers would return regularly to Spikemuth, this time as Prince of Hammerlocke, in order to give royal assistance in improving the living conditions in Spikemuth for its thugs and villagers alike, and to perform concerts for them as well! (... Unlike in SWSH, where Spikemuth remained run-down and unchanged even after the end of the game TvT )

[outrunningthedark]

I just wanted to let you know that I screamed when Karen said "Once is an Accident, Twice is a Coincidence, Three Times is a Pattern", she was talking about Jonah, but the line was also pointing at miss report- because I remembered the talk about how the show didn't redeem her, Ana or Shannon

THANK YOU FOR THIS TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE: "And now we have TayKay. Tim & co. can “excuse” her invasive behavior on the job for now because we weren’t aware of her reasons for acting that way, but if she’s around at the beginning of 5B…might her continued quest for “the truth” help Buck face what he’s known all along? What if she’s not a faultless victim of heartbreak after all? What if she doesn’t actually change?"

[stories-by-rie]

126 Her Wicked Intentions

a quick thing. the alternative title was "the karen in the witch's shop". you ever start writing something and then it turns out completely different from what you imagined? yes, this is that, in 1k words and no content warnings <3

There was a tickling smell in the witch's shop. Glitter still danced in the air from a minor explosion three hours ago and mixed with the purple smoke of incense.

The witch in question leaned against the counter, idly flipping through the newest issue of Witch's Hottest Pot - when, surely, there was something to be done about the glitter - as the door opened with a crow and a young woman with a haggard appearance stepped in. Deep circles lay around her eyes, her blonde hair unkempt on her shoulders. 

Castilla looked her up and down. She knew the likes of her, people who walked into her shop on their quest to vengeance. Annoyance so sharp she had to keep herself from rolling her eyes shot through her and looking back at the article she was currently reading, she said, “Same rules here, international guidelines of ethics in witchery and magics apply. No wishing for creating or ending life, no wishing for endless or free work - I do like to eat and live under a roof, thank you very much -  and no wishing for love.”

A light smile, barely enough to shift the corners of her mouth upwards, appeared on the other’s face. Slowly she came closer, sat down on one of the chairs at Castilla’s desk and ran her finger up and down the dark brown wood as if to check for dust. Castilla was quite proud to note that, no, her whole shop was dust-free thanks to her charms, but of course there was nothing to be done about the glitter sticking to the woman’s finger.

“Oh”, she said as she smeared the glitter around on her fingertip, “I am more than familiar with the guidelines. No wishing for love, stunning rule. Though I can’t help but wonder who came up with it. Why exactly was it love?”

She looked up at that, met Castilla’s eyes directly and for no reason she could have named, she felt like that gaze pierced her deep in her chest.

“Well- I, uh”, Castilla stuttered. Turly, not that she would ever admit such a thing, she had perhaps not always listened that well during ethics class. But there was quite a possibility that questions like such had been answered then. “It were people who actually knew of such matters, of course”, she answered and tilted her chin up.

“Then what of other emotions?” The woman looked at her expectantly, but her lips still held that slight smirk that betrayed her wicked intentions.

“What other emotions?”

“Well, let’s assume”, she started to walk around the shop, inspecting one item after the other, “that there once had been a young maiden. No one truly special but in her own worth. Let’s imagine she befriended a knight who got lost in the local woods and helped him find his way back home. But since they have become dear to each other, they keep meeting where they once first met.”

The clinking of two orbs tinkling together. One rolls dangerously close to the edge of the shelf, but a single touch of the woman’s stops it on its way to destruction. Still, Castilla flinches and winces audibly.

The woman raises an eyebrow at her, before she continues. “Let’s say there was yet another young maiden who had grown close to that knight and mistook their kinship for a romance, let’s say she walked to the nearest witch’s shop. Knowing she could not wish for the knight to fall in love with her but that sure would not stop her from ruining what the other two mistaken for a pair already had.”

“I find this story a little bit too specific for it to be hypothetical”, Castilla mumbled and earned another glare.

“Let’s say the witch sold that woman a concoction to have grief and hatred grow in our first young maiden, so it would not leave room for love and the knight would be hers instead.”

A vial fell down a shelf and fair blue glitter started to erupt. Which—sure some people could rock that combo—but in Castilla’s opinion did not do well in her witch’s shop.

With a loud flap, she put down her issue of Witch’s Hottest Pot and walked around the counter to tidy up the mess.

“I’m starting to think that, maybe, if you want to take vengeance for being cursed with hatred and grief, you should just go to therapy. Sometimes self-care is the greatest revenge we can take.”

At that, the dark look on the woman’s face shattered into one of utter disbelief and confusion.

“Eh?”

“Well, clearly that woman wanted you to suffer, so if you now want to get revenge, just get better again”, Castilla explained and got one of her brother’s business cards from her desk. It really paid off to have a psychologist in the family.

“I am not that mediocre forest child! I am the one who wished to curse her! How do you not recognize me? You sold me the potion!”

Well, was that not a turn of events! Castilla put her hand down but kept the business card close. Same solution even if the problem had changed. 

“Ah, so why have you come again if you got what you wanted?”

“I came for a refund since they never were in love to begin with, of course! I didn’t need the potion after all!”

Castilla looked at her with wide eyes. “But. But you still used it?”

“Yeah, so?”

“So you bought it and used it, how am I supposed to give you a refund?”

Truly, Castilla was too stunned to explain herself more after the woman explained at length why she deserved her money back. In the end she left with, “I will rate you zero crows on Rate My Witch!”

Which was ridiculous because the lowest amount of crows was, of course, one.

With a sigh she sank back into her chair and flipped open the magazine again, looked at her brother’s business card before she placed it back into her drawer. Perhaps it was time for another visit. 

[demented-tours]

The line between writer panic and comfort is so damned thin.

...that moment when you have a reasonable idea of how long a story is going to be based on the outline/past experience/your inability to write anything less than 100K words, and this one will be almost 2x that due to character complexity and the story structure you're exploring, and you also know your general output of words and how often that output can occur, so the math for how long it will take you to finish the story is pretty straightforward...

...and you realize you'll be writing this beast for another seven months. And part of you wants to roll around in happiness because OMG STORY FEELS SO GOOD AND IS SO DARK AND SEXY AND MMMM CHARACTER JOY and the other part of you looks at the long queue of creatures waiting to get written, and then you start calculating how long you have left to live, given a certain set of parameters and barring critical system failures, and you realize you need to cut out some major time sinks in order for this to all work, like sleeping, eating, and going to the bathroom...

...but your health journey dictates that you can no longer do that, as it's Bad For You, so, okay, you'll just have to flex the space/time continuum in order to bend reality and make additional pockets of time and hope you don't cause some kind of storyline event horizon that sucks down the entire planet or opens a hell gate or perhaps resets the universe to zero...

...but THEN you realize that if you DO that in the quest to make more stories, then that'd be an awfully good story for somebody (not you; you'll be squished flat by the terrible, infinite weight of dark matter, space, and time compression and/or eaten by demons and/or be too busy RULING the demons that your writing pursuits just need to go on hold for a little while for the sake of your new career, and KAREN, THAT DOES NOT ACTUALLY MAKE ME A FAILURE AS I WILL BE THE QUEEN OF THE MOTHERFUCKING DAMNED AND PLEASE STOP TRYING TO PUT ME IN A BOX AND NOT EVERYTHING IS MEANT TO BE FOREVER EXCEPT FOR POSSIBLY THIS NEW HELL DIMENSION THING THAT IS POTENTIALLY HAPPENING), once, you know, we develop out of primordial sludge and get those opposable thumbs happening again, and it won't MATTER that you can't finish all your stories because somebody else will... ...which just speaks to the continual wheel that is time and purpose and destiny and there's always another life around the corner and you won't KNOW you missed out on writing stories as it's a soul purpose, not a life purpose, and there will be new ones to tell in THAT life and in THAT existence, so, honestly, just do your best with the fucking word count, Dee, and maybe go have a goddamned cookie or some fruit or something because all of this spiraling over math computation is likely because you forgot to eat again, AS YOU DO, which is WHY WE ARE IN THERAPY.

*huff... puff... gasp... wheeze*

Okay. So, um. Yeah. Gonna go... get a snack. And, um... I'll be done with this story in July.

Cool.

Peace.

[iamtheladyshannon]

Road to Recovery - Day 1 (F)

It's been a very long journey...and not without its many bumps in the road...but it's finally here!

I feel better than I've ever felt in my life and it's all because I took that fearful step eight months ago...(well...more like having several forceful nudges...) But I don't regret a single minute of it...good times and bad.

I made the decision around three months ago when I was feeling like I was finally having my own thoughts and feelings...my own secure sense of self and still a bit of my Personal Brand of Bitch that keeps everyone on their toes...that I would find my own place to stay on the outside.

I knew @robby-l-keene had his own life to live and he was finally well into his own happiness... being a father and in love. He didn't need to worry about me when I got out!

I wanted to see if I could survive on the outside...on my own... without the weight of my personal baggage and my vices holding me back. I had spoken to @takearight who seems to grudgingly agree that the feathers that grew back on my clipped wings appeared to be stronger and ready for take off...but he wanted me to have a clear plan of action...so that he never had to see my face again. I kissed him on his weathered cheek.

There was only one other person I had decided to save my decision to 'go it alone' for a while. I was nervous to find out what he thought. So much has happened between us and yet so little in the past eight months. We've had some clarity moments in our quest to know one another and to see if there was any hope for a relationship. We've had good support friends, @dr-ali-mills and Charlie and Karen have all been rooting for us along the way...it hasn't always been easy. We are different people in every way...but I'm very much in love with him.

I hope he fully understands my decision in my continuing efforts to be a better woman for him...and myself and my family.

@drlivingstoneipresume //@mamabearlarusso

Wish me luck!!

[invisibleraven]

❛ wait, you think i’m cute? ❜ + Wiggie please and thank you!

Willie hummed as he quickly pleated his hair into a messy braid, and checked over his outfit, deeming it suitably fly. He grabbed the tickets he had spent probably way too much money on, sliding them into his pocket, and rushed off, knowing that no matter the cost, Reggie was worth it.

The mere thought of Reggie brought a smile to Willie's face. They had met at a thrift store, both grabbing for the same garish pair of cowboy boots at the same time, only to have them swiped out from under them by some Karen in an overly loud blouse. "Well I guess our quest continues," Reggie had said, and the two of them spent the rest of the day scouring various stores until they both came away with more than they had bargained for.

Reggie had declared he was ecstatic to finally have a buddy to thrift with, and Willie was about to reply the same when the sun had hit Reggie just right. Making him glow golden, catching highlights in his hair, the sprinkling of tiny freckles that kissed his skin, the brightness of his eyes. And Willie had almost swallowed his tongue, because gosh Reggie was pretty. So he had nodded, exchanged numbers, and they became friends, with Willie trying valiantly to hide his massive crush that only grew after every meet up.

"Hey Cowboy."

Reggie turned and grinned as Willie skated up to him. "You're gonna hurt yourself one of these days if you don't start wearing a helmet."

Willie waved him off. "Pssh, I'll be fine. You all ready for the show tonight?"

"Oh yes!" Reggie said, bouncing as they walked. "I cannot believe you managed to score tickets, the Griffith is so hard to get into every time we have the smallest astronomical event. Stupid light pollution."

They went off to have their coffee, just chatting and catching up. Willie telling Reggie all about his latest art project, Reggie filling Willie in on the latest band drama. Soon enough, they had to part, run various errands, and yelled they would see each other later. Willie smiled as he skated off, closing his eyes for a split second to soak up the sun and the warm feeling being with Reggie always left him with.

This was, of course when he skated right into a pot hole, both him and his board flying up into the air, and landing flat on his back, his head taking a nasty hit against the sidewalk. Willie groaned, staying still and keeping his eyes closed as he took in the state of his body.

"Willie! Oh my gosh are you okay? Talk to me please!" Reggie said, his hands flying over Willie to check for injuries.

"Howdy pardner," Willie croaked, his eyes peering open at Reggie, and then groaning as a wave of pain shot through him.

"You ass! You scared me half to death!" Reggie admonished, helping him up, and waving down a cab, grabbing Willie's board as they waited. "I swear, it's a good thing you're cute or I would have killed you for that."

"Wait... you think I'm cute?" Willie said as they slid into the cab, Reggie giving instructions to the nearest hospital.

"Oh you know you are," Reggie replied with a roll of his eyes.

"I mean yeah, total smokeshow, I just didn't think that you agreed."

Reggie turned to face Willie, looking at him like he was insane. "Willie, do you not have any idea how attractive I find you? I'm positive I was drooling the first time our eyes met at that thrift store! How could you not know?"

Willie giggled at that. "Omigod, we are idiots, I've thought you were cute since then too, but you said you wanted to be thrifting buddies so I figured I never had a chance!"

Reggie laughed as well, "And I thought no way would this super hot guy be into me, sop I went with friends, happy enough to have that. We are idiots."

Once at the hospital, there was a long time waiting to be seen only to be told that Willie didn't have a concussion, but they kept him under observation just to be safe. Willie lay back on the bed, Reggie's hand in his, and groaned when he caught sight of the time. "I don't think we're getting to the Griffith tonight babe."

Reggie shrugged at that, "It's okay, the stars aren't going anywhere."

Willie smiled at that, taking in the constellation of freckles on Reggie's face, the swirling nebula of shades that made up his eyes, and leaned in for a sweet kiss. Who needed the stars when he had the whole universe right here with him?