#shauna beat the hell out of lottie

[tabithatwo]

no cause on rewatch lottie REALLY said “of COURSE we have to do ritual suicide murder! natalie is in so much pain she tried to KILL herself!” lmaooo queen <3 even the antler queen was giving that one side eye <3 the pitch is lacking severely <3

[fromabasementonthehilll]

Hunted

͙⁺･༓☾ - Summary: Doomcoming had everyone in a ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ craze, it had you almost killed, until Natalie ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎ ‎ ‎ ‎‎found you.

Pairing: Natalie Scatorccio x fem!reader

Warnings: whatever the hell happened in ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‏‏‏‏‎‏‏‎‏‏‏‏‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎ ‏‏‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‎‎‏‏‎ ‎‎ ‎‎‏‏‎ ‎the doomcoming episode

Original request ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎

∘₊✧────────────────────✧₊∘

A light had sprung within everyone, it was as if everything had come back to life. They danced, laughed and talked as if the crash had never even happened. You also danced, with anybody you could find, flinging your arms around in the air and enjoying the moment without a care in the world, smelling the breeze of a new spring and hearing the trees move their leaves.

Natalie had leaned against a table, drinking from her cup with the alcohol all of you had made. She watched you, admiring you, how the flare of your short skirted dress waved around as you danced; how your body moved so beautifully, and how you would talk to everyone but her. Her limerence for you was aching, you were just too oblivious to notice.

Her eyes shadowed you and only you, eventually you had saw her and made your way towards her - almost skipping with joy.

"Hey Nat!" You settled down next to her, grabbing a cup to match her.

"You're having fun aren't you?" She smiled with wide eyes, pupils as big as comets.

"Well I'm tired now. I'm glad we did this, it's nice isn't it?" You said, titling your head.

She just nodded, taking another sip from her drink.

"You look really pretty, (y/n)" She said as you walked away, you gave her a glance with a smirk on your face - making your way back to the rest of the girls.

-

The sun had began to set, though everyone seemed to get even more excited. You rubbed your eyes as you stretched your neck, almost exhausted from all the stupid things you managed to do during the day.

You walked into the cabin, hazy vision scanning the room for everyone. You managed to land your eyes upon Lottie, who eyed you intensely, though you hadn't found Natalie yet. Wondering where she was, you came up to Lottie. "Do you know where Nat is? I looked around the cabin but I can't find her." Your eyes wandered around as you grew worried.

"Don't worry about her, (y/n)." Her voice almost seemed distracted as she stared into you.

"But what if something happened? I wouldn't want her to-"

"Let her be."

A slow shiver overtook your spine while your lips quivered, opening to speak, ignoring Lottie moving her body closer to yours.

"She doesn't matter anymore."

You'd finally looked back at her, a strange fear overcoming your face. Her look towards you was overwhelming, you became agitated; dizzy, a cold sinking feeling breathing into you.

Your discernment had sensed everyone surrounding you, no longer making time to think of Natalie and where she could of been, or what she could've been doing. Though your eyes gazed under Lottie, holding your breath as she screamed hunger.

Suddenly, you were pushed down onto a chair, fast hands sucked onto your bones, tearing off the dress you wore. They were esurient against you, breathing into you as they slid their starved hands all across your beating chest. You sunk into their craze, losing all control and looking side to side, covered in nonsensical adrenaline.

You had noticed the face of Shauna, her dark brown eyes being darker than usual as she wrapped her mouth against your neck like an animal. Her savory cast snapped you out of your state, a switch in your mind had completely changed the direction of your thought, now you had to survive.

When you saw the chance, you ran. You ran faster than you ever did before, a blank mind coming over you as an impending feeling bled into you - you were their prey. Their animalistic noises chased you, stalking your rushing steps as you fled through the nightmare and into the dark woods.

A falter of your legs had you backed into a corner, they had caught you. The hunt was over and the only choice you had was to surrender into their compulsion, but despite that - you fought against them, though eventually a weak feeling taking over you as they stood before you.

Lottie fixed a crown onto her head, a terror blinded you in a way you had never come to experience, she was stronger than you. They were stronger than you.

Lottie's words were blunt, heavy with her desire.

"Stop fighting."

You had been tied up to a wooden post, against your weak will, they had all the power now.

"You know what to do." She turned to Shauna.

Shauna crawled towards you with a knife against your neck, you were shaking shamelessly with your head slowly moving away from her threat. She hesitated, and you watched her change back into something that resembled the slightest of human emotion, though that was quickly broken by Lottie's interference.

"It's okay, it wants us to," A smirk almost patterning her ghastly face, you were a stroke away from being killed and the fact that none of them cared wasn't endearing to you at all. Your eyes were heavy, grazed with hurt and confusion, it was all too surreal.

Shauna fixed her hand onto the grip of the blade, as she backed it to gain momentum for her slash,

Your impotence was gnashing.

-

"What the fuck are you doing?!" A familiar tone shouted, voicing into Shauna and interrupting her. In the flash of a second you were saved, saved from being met with death from your own teammates, relief settled into you, finally taking a breath of air.

Natalie rushed over to you, taking you down from the post you had been tied to, "Are you okay??" Her words were spoken in between gasps for air, you stayed silent as you regained composure and control.

"You can't just have her, Lottie, you're sick," Natalie spit her words out in disgust watching Lottie laugh through your turmoil. "She belongs to me, not you." You hadn't heard Natalie say it, you hadn't heard any of it really, your mind was preoccupied with sweaty arms and legs; muffled voices was all you managed to hear through your unfocused state, all of it had been lasting for too long and you were drained.

"You can't have her all to yourself, Natalie,"

"It's in all of us you know, even her, even you." Lottie moved close to Natalie.

They all looked at the two of you, stares still hungry for your blood - and they wouldn't stop, the hunt was not over.

Natalie caught on, your dissonance had resulted in a lack of awareness, hence you were startled as she suddenly grabbed onto your hand and ran back into the dimly lit woods. They kept on chasing you, as if you were running from wild wolves; you could almost sense the foaming of their rabid mouths, as if seeing it up close wasn't enough.

-

Natalie dropped down behind a tree when she could no longer see the luminescence of the fire, dragging you down with her. Both of you were panting like dogs, you leant your head back onto the oak and closed your eyes in solace.

"(y/n)," She spoke, her breath calming itself. "What the fuck happened out there?"

You opened your eyes back up and looked towards Natalie, eyebrows whining at her.

"I don't know, they just," You found it hard to put into words, you didn't even get time to think while it all happened.

"They just came onto me, like they were possessed or something." The night got darker, wind soothed your red face and all that could be heard was the girls running the wrong direction, further away from you and Natalie. Your attention diverted back to her, away from the sound, as she kept looking at you, even more confused than yourself.

"What do you mean came onto you? Is that why your dress is ripped?" Her brows furrowed, you'd think she was almost mad the way she spoke.

"I was looking for you and then they were all over me, so I ran. God it was fucking terrifying, Nat." Your thoughts were faster than your mouth, and you still couldn't think of how to describe it to her.

"You were looking for me?"

Natalie's expression had melted quietly, you couldn't see the anger and confusion in her anymore, like something had shifted.

"Of course, I was worried about you, you had just disappeared." You shivered slightly as a gust of wind caressed the tear in your dress.

"Here, have this." Natalie took her jacket off, shuffling closer to put it over you. You uncrossed your arms and helped her wrap it around your shoulders, "Thanks, Nat." You became warmer and smiled at her, pupils growing into her gaze as your eyes softened.

"That's so fucked up, (y/n)." Silence was broken as she spoke, slight worry still trailing in her lips.

"I know, It's like they were hungry for me. I mean I get it, we're basically fucked out here and everyone's losing their minds, but they almost killed me." Your vision was averted to the floor, questioning yourself as you spoke - trying to figure right from wrong.

You ultimately turned to Natalie, who never took her eyes off of you. "It's okay, you're safe with me (y/n)." She whispered, her sleepy hand resting on top of your legs.

You played with your fingers, smiling and looking back down as you sensed Natalie bear down on you through your peripheral, she moved slowly, keeping track of your expression. You met her eyes, illuminated by the moon that hung over you, and the stars that shined just for the two of you.

She gently raised her hand to meet your face, lowering her regard to your lips and back to your eyes, where your eyebrows raised like a hurt puppy, knees to your chest.

"That dress looked gorgeous on you, by the way."

Your cheeks flustered. She tucked a piece of loose hair behind your ear before leaning into you, softly meeting her lips with yours. She tasted like berries and alcohol, your lips moving in sync. The breeze was soft, and you were gasping for air, grazing her beautiful moonlit face with your desperate eyes before falling further in.

-

You spent the rest of the night sleeping in the woods, gazing intently at the stars that appeared throughout the night, holding onto each other for the warmth that left with the day, your head resting on her chest.

[novelconcepts]

In watching more interviews with Liv about Van and the escalation of Van's pragmatism to such dark degrees, I find myself genuinely baffled that anyone could ever think Van the bad guy. I mean, I'm perplexed at finding ANY of these girls The Bad Guy. The bad guy is the situation. It's being lost. It's freezing. It's starving. It's being scraped down to the barest bone of being alive. They make choices that might be snippy, or cruel, or hard-headed, sure--Shauna refusing to just hash it out with Jackie; Jackie being too stubborn to come inside; Taissa refusing to discuss her situation plainly; etc--but by the time we reach the end of season 2, it doesn't even matter. Petty bullshit doesn't matter. Jealousy doesn't matter. Those things are still going to be present and complicated, because--for all their choices, for all the distancing they're trying to do--these kids ARE still human beings. But it isn't the point.

The point is survival. Plain, simple, straightforward. Van's pragmatism is survival. It is the difference between living another day with blood on your teeth or dying pretty. It is the difference between fighting forward through the fire and the snow and the hell of it all, and laying down to die. Van knowing, in watching the ritual violence of Shauna beating Lottie nearly the death, that they will be killing and eating one another soon. Van coming up with the cards for the hunt. Van not blinking when the moment comes, Van choosing a weapon that doubles as a tool to bring the body back, Van refusing to apologize for staying alive--it's not evil. It's not Bad Guy behavior. It's purely about survival, because there is nothing else left to her--or to any of them. They can play the pretty little Sweet Angel Girl game and die, or they can get dirty, bloody, horrific and fight. Van chooses the fight. Van chooses to fight for herself, for her lover, for her team, even knowing not everyone is going to make it out...because the alternate path there is that no one makes it out. Van knew the baby wouldn't live. Van knows the rest of them won't, either. Not unless they start making the hard choices.

And, honestly, the fact that Van sees this narrative coming. Comes up with this plan. Brings out the cards. To me, that is the opposite of Bad Behavior. That is as close to justice as anyone can find in the wilderness. If someone else came up with an idea, maybe it would have come down to voting--but that would have had such a human element to it, with bitterness or hostility or whatever ultimately petty shit always comes of humans selecting who to Other. The cards don't leave room for that. It isn't fair, because the situation isn't fair, because Man vs. Nature isn't fair, but it's as close to a just system as they could possibly find. It's the kindest solution to an unwinnable game. Not to bring it back to American Gods again, but all I can think is "it's easy, there's a trick to it: you do it, or you die." Van gave them that.

[zqmbiescorpse]

CLEANING YOUR BLOODY WOUNDS

lottie matthews x female reader

a/n: episode seven absolutely destroyed me, i'm pretty sure i spent half of it crying. i cannot handle having to wait a week to see if lottie's alright, i am stressinnnngggg. anyways, here's me pretending that she is! (i'm extremely delusional.)

summary: established relationship, lottie gets the shit beaten out of her, fluffy ig, its kinda short

warnings: mentions of violence, a lot of injury, lottie is totally okay with the fact that she was almost beaten to the death

word count: 1.3k

(masterlist)

She hadn't woken up yet. 

Your knees grew sore, the flesh pressing into the hard wooden floor beneath you, but no matter the severity of the ache, you were not leaving her side. That was a fact. You didn't care about the pain jolting your joints or about chores that needed for filling or whether you would be eating tonight, the only significance to your life, at that moment, was Lottie.

The concept of time was a genuine mystery that you didn't bother to solve, it could've been minutes or hours since you last saw Shauna, the girl had fled the cabin after pummeling Lottie's face into a grotesque mush. You would remain in the exact position, knelt at the bed, all night if needed - without even snatching a wink of sleep for yourself if that's what it came down to.

At least she wasn't dead. Though her soft, usually pale skin dotted with rosey pink specs had been corrupted by a brutal crimson swelling in vicious lumps, there was still a rise and a fall present in her chest. Each unconscious twitch and shake your girlfriend expressed signalled that she was alive, regardless, the distressed movements caused the pit in your stomach to expand, and you wondered if the battered brunette was reliving the agony of the incident in her dreams. 

The urge to reach out and caress her bruised body was a strong however stupid one, instead, you opted to run the freezing, soggy rag over her cheeks once more to help the swollen areas recover. Whilst you freshened her up, you whispered positive reassurances, telling her that she was going to be okay, somewhat simultaneously relaxing yourself, reducing your own stress levels as a bonus.

It was impossible to fathom how you'd managed to do absolutely nothing to stop the savagery. Stood there, watching horrified and devastated to see Lottie offer herself up like that, happily receiving a beating for the sake of Shauna's emotions. The lack of noise during it intensely disturbed you, even with all the continuous punches and kicks, you didn't recall a single scream. In fact, no one said anything. 

You understood that not everyone appreciated her odd chants and offerings, hell, you didn't even understand it properly either. To be brought so close to death because of that was obviously undeserved. Something could've been done to have prevented things from getting wildly out of control. The blame you kept shovelling onto yourself was suffocating, burying you. What sort of girlfriend simply observes as her lover gets knocked to the floor and attacked barbarically by a crazy girl bearing an overwhelming amount of anger? You felt bad for Shauna, but you couldn't excuse this. 

"You're thinking so… loud," the injured girl stuttered and coughed between the broken words, a slight delight in her voice. 

Lottie stirred, her eyes slowly opening - adjusting to the swells preventing them from working how they usually would. She had been laid on her side, toward you, thus you didn't neglect a single thing, panic immediately kicking now that she was awake. 

"No no, don't try to move or get up, or anything," You commanded, shakily. 

Underneath the wounds, Lottie's features were calm and gentle, a small smile grew on her lips despite the pain such a minor action caused. 

"Is Shauna, is she, okay?" Lottie mumbled earnestly, never losing the melancholy grin. 

You stared at her in utter shock; bewildered that Shauna was who she was most concerned about. 

"Lottie, do you not remember what she did to you?" You whispered, loudly, mimicking a frustrated shout without actually raising your voice. 

"She needed… it, we both know… that." 

"But you nearly died! I don't care what she needs, we all need some kind of release." You spat, maybe too selfishly, "You didn't even fight back."

"Trust me… everything's okay, I'm happy about what Shauna did, please don't worry," She soothed, her calm tone juxtaposing your desperate one perfectly. "My wounds will heal and I have you, by my side, taking care of me, and that's a wonderful thing."

Lottie raised a trembling hand, ignoring your wide-eyed pleas to stay still and comfortable, cupping your face tenderly. Consequently, you broke out in a flush and tears began to prick, threatening to spill, something that you couldn't permit. 

"I'm so sorry, Lottie." You sniffled, heartbroken at the affection you were receiving from someone who needed it more than you, "You shouldn't be putting any sort of strain on yourself in a critical condition."

A simple laughter blessed your ears, though confusing, it was the first time in months you'd heard such authentic cheeriness. You felt it was inappropriate considering the dreadful scenario, yet, your endearing girlfriend's content joy was contagious - your own wobbling lips contorted upwards, smiling through the tears. 

"Although I am in a lot of pain…it's only temporary, who knows what could've happened… if Shauna's intense feelings were left to manifest any longer," Lottie explained, stroking away any wet drops that spilled over the edge of your eyes. It was a miracle that she could even spot them. 

"I get why - you did it but, my god Lottie I hate seeing you hurt, can we just agree that it will never happen again, please." 

The brunette sensed a newfound comprehension present in you, alongside a more relaxed approach to the conversation, which she appreciated. She didn't want you upset, it was the last thing she wanted, however, she had needed you to see where she was coming from. 

"I love you a lot," You sighed, running your hands through her tangled hair, then leaning over to kiss her atop her head. 

"I can't… promise anything but I assure you that I will be more careful in the future," She admitted wholeheartedly, her honesty charmed you, hence why you placed another gentle kiss, this time, on her aforementioned palm that was cupping your skin; apparently it was stuck to you since Lottie hadn't moved it once. 

"I love you too," she added cheesily, the muscles in her mouth pushing the limit now as she beamed brightly. 

There was a lot of relief radiating off of you, the tremor in your hardworking hands settled, a detail that your girlfriend noticed, prompting her to squirm into a new position on one of the few man-made beds that the old cabin possessed. Her back carefully pressed into the feather mattress and the nested blankets surrounding her. 

You assumed that Lottie was ready to drift back to sleep, believing that this was your cue to leave, you prepared yourself to face the rest of the girls lingering around the cabin. Due to the sheer amount of time you'd spent absent from the group tending to Lottie, you hadn't experienced any confrontation from Shauna after what she did, sparking anxiety. You'd have to see her eventually. 

"Don't," Lottie spoke up, "You need to rest just as much as I do."

The compassion compelled you to obey her recommendation. She was right, you were exhausted. 

"Okay, I'm not going anywhere. I'm not getting in there with you either. You need the space," You compromised, regarding the bed's limited width, you weren't about to force her out of it for your own sake. 

"You're always welcome," Lottie chuckled, her eyes shutting, "Lay your head on my chest if that's what you'd like."

Actually, you were quite fond of the idea, your arms were set on the edge of the mattress and your head snuggled into her chest, not with too much force as you'd rather she wasn't hurt extra. Although your knees never got a break from digging into the rough floor, you were satisfied enough to let the desire for slumber overcome you - entwined with Lottie, your body heats mixed together to create a warm, loving haze that clouded around just the two of you, a suitable protection guiding you both into a deep, safe sleep.

[utopians]

I mean s1 was deffo better than s2 but why do you say that it wasn't good? /gen

mannn honestly it would take ages to enumerate all my problems with it but these are the main ones

just a massive, massive tone problem. this show just has no clue what it wants to be and it's bad as hell as a result. the wilderness scenes in this season had some of the darkest stuff of anything in the show (eating jackie + shauna miscarriage + shauna beating lottie) and having all that next to like... misty's quirky reddit boyfriend just absolutely defanged it. the show doesn't want to commit to being either a quirky mystery/comedy or a gritty survival horror and because of that it fails to effectively be anything at all

misty's reddit boyfriend in general just sucked so bad. like what was that

the escalation from 'we're hungry' to 'let's draw cards and murder whoever gets the wrong one' occurred over the span of ONE EPISODE. one SINGLE episode without ANY NEGOTIATION. literally not one single scene of the characters even TALKING about it before it happened. what a joke. what an absolute joke. they had an entire season to build to it how'd they fuck it up this bad

this is a problem I had with the first season as well but the survival threat feels so told and not shown. like we're told all these characters are Soooo Hungry but none of them are ever actually like. fatigued. or ill. or Dying. like how the fuck is coach ben still alive man. it just makes the escalation to killing people that much more abrupt and the whole situation seem so contrived when it doesn't actually feel like they're in danger

just in general the show like. refuses to let any of its characters feel anything at all. shauna straight up killed an innocent man that she was having an affair with last season and the extent of the emotional fallout of that act is her making quirky Oh Whoopsie comments about it. like that would be an insane traumatic thing to go through and you'd think it would be the kind of thing the show would want to explore. but no. not on amc's yellowjackets

on that same topic. shauna beating lottie had weirdly little emotional fallout. like ik they didn't like each other but shauna almost beat lottie to death with her hands and seemed just like. kind of sad and apologetic afterwards. like you'd think that such an act would have some sort of extreme ramifications for her relationship with the group and her own emotional state but nah

in the same vein: this season did adult taissa SO dirty. all the little plot threads that made her story difficult and compelling last season have completely been dropped -- her wife and son were literally written out like 4 episodes in and we don't see any of the emotional complexity of her leaving behind those relationships. additionally the last season ended with her being elected senator (sth that could cause a lot of conflict and drama bc of the increased responsibility on her shoulders + surveillance and scrutiny of her life) and it literally just. never comes up again? like her wife is in a coma and her son is just left fully parentless and she walks away from her job as a US STATE SENATOR and not only are there no consequences she also just literally does not seem to care. I feel like the writers just had no clue what they wanted to do with her and so they just gave her... nothing. no conflict no emotions just nothinggggg

okay they did give her one thing. they gave her an evil alter ego. which is mad corny imo. last season it was weird and ambiguous enough that I enjoyed it but this season it was just so literal and on the nose and I did not enjoy it One Bit

similar to the cards thing lottie deciding that they needed to kill one of them at the end was so damn abrupt and stupid. like literally so pointless and out of nowhere

natalie's death was so silly and contrived that it actually made me laugh

adult van is not butch enough ‼️‼️‼️‼️

[gunstar-red]

Rewatching the season one finale of Yellowjackets it really seems like the writers were originally setting up Lottie to be a villain going forward. That panicked phone call Natalie gets while being kidnapped where the woman says she is being followed and what the hell did you get me into makes it seem like the people who took Nat are some kind of sinister cult with powerful reach, rather than the harmless group of new-age hippies they turn out to be in season two.

Combined with that final scene with the bear heart and the whole “let the darkness set us free”, Lottie is framed as the instigator of the Yellowjackets descent into darkness and antler queendom. But then in season two, as of episode 207 at least, Lottie ends up being of the most sympathetic and empathetic characters in the show. She literally lets Shauna beat her to a bloody pulp to protect the others from her wrath and to try and help Shauna deal with her grief.

These aren’t criticisms mind you. I’m loving the hell out of what they are doing with Lottie this season, she’s probably my favorite character of the ‘96 timeline. It’s just interesting to see how the writers seem to have pivoted away from what they were setting up with her character at the end of the first season.

[kaftan]

Yellowjackets x The Land of Silence by May Sarton. ID under the cut.

[ID: 14 screencaps from Yellowjackets, with a line from The Land of Silence edited over each one.

Image 1: "Time beats like a heart; we do not hear it" / Pit girl's blood draining into the snow. Image 2: "But we are nourished as by sleep after pain." / The yellowjackets walking off after having seemingly consumed pit girl's flesh. Image 3: "Death is so close to life that we can bear it." / Jackie dropping her heart necklace into Shauna's hand on the plane. Image 4: "The smallest veins drink time and breathe again." / Shauna smiling down at what she thinks is her breastfeeding baby. Image 5: "Now I am here in the land of silence," / An image of the wilderness: forest to the left, lake to the right. Image 6: "Of the near dove and the distant hills," / Van holding up Tai's hand in the lake as Tai looks down at her dirt-stained fingernails. Image 7: "I know that the surface is the essence," / The bloody-antlered deer, Lottie's first hallucination. Image 8: "No stripping down what is already bare," / The yellowjackets gathered in the attic as a blindfolded Shauna holds a knife on a string for the seance. Image 9: "No probing what is absolutely here." / Van holding the deck of cards as they prepare to draw for the first time. Image 10: "This is the land of bones and violent dreaming" / The yellowjackets laughing at the bacchanal as they begin to eat. Image 11: "Where heaven is woven in and out of hell" / Shauna and Akilah wrapping themselves around Travis during the doomcoming orgy. Image 12: "And each not essence but actual and near." / The queen card appearing in the adult timeline underneath a note that reads 'I am grateful for my friends.' The top of the text is cut off, so only 'for my friends' is visible. Image 13: "Even more than love we search for faith" / A collage of four screencaps: Lottie pricking her finger for the blood tea, Travis setting Javi's wooden figurine on the mantle, Tai pressing the deer bone into Shauna's hands, Lottie holding Laura Lee's cross necklace in a hallucination. Image 14: "Who in this high air must gasp for breath." / The yellowjackets face the cabin as it burns.

End ID]

[jackietaylorsversion]

Shauna Shipman is a terrifying character to me, and I love her so fucking much.

This girl (because she is a girl, just a girl, either seventeen or eighteen, supposed to be in her first year of college but instead stuck in the Wilderness missing more pieces of herself than a plane wreckage) beat the absolute shit out of the Wilderness girlprophet that was once her friend (and I do believe they were friends. I think they were all friends, especially that group of seniors who had probably spent most days together for the last for years; before Lottie was a prophet, she, too, was just a girl), and Shauna thought, "You know what I deserve? To be leader." Because she does a lot for them. Because that's true. She does the dirty things, the butchering, and, while we can infer that maybe a few of the other girls help, none of them helped with Javi. That was all Shauna. The first to take a bite of Jackie? That was Shauna. The one to put a knife to Nat's throat, to do what none of the others would? Shauna. It was Shauna. Does she not deserve to lead them? Does she not deserve her chance to shine?

Here's the thing: I don't think Shauna wants that, not really, not deep down. She just thinks she wants it. She thinks she wants leadership like she thought she wanted Jackie's life, to be Jackie. At least, that's what she told herself. And the things that Shauna tells herself can be really fucking powerful, seeing as how she convinced herself that her teammates had eaten her baby and decided to start a MMA match in the cabin. Hell, in the modern timeline, she even convinces herself that she's going to have to sacrifice a goat, to the point of tears. Shauna in the Wilderness thinks she wants to be leader to the point that she can validate it to herself. Hasn't she done so much for them? But, at the same time, hasn't she done so much to them?

To me, Shauna isn't cut out to be a leader; that doesn't invalidate her as a character, and it's only my opinion. To me, though, the facts are laid out like this: yes, Shauna is willing to do the dirty work. She'll take care of the butchering. She's good at lending an ear or a hand. She's willing to pitch in. But she's also volatile and unpredictable. She can be vindictive (sleeping with her best friend's boyfriend), she talked to her best friend's corpse for months (can't blame her), and, at the end of the day, she tends to look to other people for guidance. Shauna doesn't make decisions; something can be said there about her and Jackie's relationship and "Did I make you live in my shadow?" She can toss in her vote, she can make her own opinion, but actually leading isn't something that really comes naturally to her. And it doesn't seem like something she actually wants.

But, like, not getting it. That's probably the bitch.

[sunshinethena]

the beauty of teen shauna beating the hell out of teen lottie as modern day survivors dance altogether *chefs kiss*

[itsnunoclock]

A Leap of Faith | Rated G | Jackie / Shauna, Nat / Shauna | Part 4 of Odds and Ends series | Word count: 2,006 Tags: One Shot, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, POV Shauna Shipman, Pre-Plane Crash (Yellowjackets), Soccer, Teen Timeline (Yellowjackets) --- Shauna Shipman knew two things with ironclad certainty: soccer made sense and love did not. In the euphoric aftermath of their victory, the Yellowjackets come together for a celebratory group photo. ---

Shauna Shipman knew two things with ironclad certainty: soccer made sense and love did not.

On the field, she understood her role with crystalline clarity. Center midfielder, the beating heart of the team’s 4-4-2 formation. Always in motion, Shauna lived to control the middle of the field, to stifle the opposition’s attacks and spring her own forwards free. It was a 90-minute high-wire act of balance and precision, but one she’d performed since forever.

The grass stains on her knees and the burning in her lungs after a hard sprint felt more real than any of the insipid love songs crooning from mall speakers or her car radio. Those sugary melodies sang of love as some aspirational prize, all dramatic professions and happily ever afters wrapped in a tidy bow.

But Shauna had seen what lay beneath the shiny plastic veneer of suburbia. The hairline fractures and rotting foundations behind every picket fence smile, the furious silences stretching between her parents louder than any shouted argument. Love was a con, she’d decided long ago. An unstable isotope, decaying from the moment it was formed.

On the soccer field, at least, the rules stayed blessedly constant. The comforting geometry of the penalty box, the reliable rhythm of a well-executed give-and-go. Shauna could chart her course on muscle memory alone, Jackie always exactly where she needed to be to receive the pass, Lottie reliably hugging the touchline, Van an unyielding sentinel in goal. There were no hidden traps waiting to trip her up, just the black and white certainty of the scoreboard when the final whistle blew.

Maybe that was why she kept coming back year after year, despite the burning in her thighs and the way her heart felt like it might pound out of her chest. Because for 90 minutes (and maybe a handful more if Tai got her way), Shauna’s world made sense. On the field she was pure kinetic energy, the simple Newtonian physics of a body in motion. Soccer stripped her life down to the bare essentials: get ball, keep ball, put ball in net. Lather, rinse, repeat.

No hidden agendas, no false promises. Just 21 other girls and 2 goals and 1 ball, the elegant simplicity of action and reaction. The scoreboard never lied.

But love? Love was a four-letter word Shauna had long ago excised from her vocabulary. Just like all those other rose-tinted myths crammed down her throat since before she could walk. Prince Charming and happily ever afters and forevers that lasted until someone better came along or the going got tough or dad’s secretary bent over in a short enough skirt.

No, Shauna didn’t put much stock in forevers those days. She’d stick to 90 minutes instead, to the bruises and turf burns and shouts of her own name, the blessedly finite sprint from kickoff to final whistle.

That was enough for her. It had to be.

Except . . . somewhere in the sweat and the struggle and the desperate gasps for air, there was another four-letter word Shauna couldn’t quite dislodge. One that pulsed in time with her racing heart as she tracked Jackie’s darting runs, that rose in her throat like a cheer when Nat nutmegged a hapless defender. It was tangled and treacherous as a vine climbing towards the sun, but just as determined to take root.

And maybe, Shauna thought as Lottie sent a cross arcing her way and Jackie screamed for the ball, it wasn’t that different from soccer after all. Maybe love didn’t make sense and it didn’t follow rules and it sure as hell didn’t come with any guarantees.

But still she found herself leaning into it all the same, caught in its inexorable pull as surely as a satellite orbiting a star. All she could do was hold on tight, surrender to gravity, and pray the ride wouldn’t burn her up on re-entry.

So she did the only thing that had ever made sense. Shauna trapped the ball on her chest, looked up, and launched it into space.

And then?

She ran.

The referee’s whistle pierced through the clamor of the crowd, its shrill note heralding the end of the match. Shauna glanced up at the scoreboard, the numbers emblazoned there taking a moment to register through the haze of exhaustion: Wiskayok 3, Red Bank 1. They’d done it. They’d won the county championship.

Before the reality could fully sink in, Jackie’s arms were around her, the force of the hug nearly lifting Shauna off her feet. “We did it, Shauna! We fucking did it!” Jackie’s voice was hoarse from shouting, her breath hot against Shauna’s ear.

Shauna laughed, a giddy, breathless sound, and returned the embrace just as fiercely. Around them, the rest of the team converged in a tangle of sweaty limbs and elated shouts, the exhaustion of the hard-fought game momentarily forgotten in the rush of triumph. They jumped up and down, a pulsing mass of blue and yellow, until the need for air forced them apart.

As the initial euphoria began to ebb, Jackie disentangled herself from the group, her eyes sparkling with an idea. “Someone grab a camera!”

The suggestion was met with enthusiastic agreement, and the team began to assemble in front of the net, jostling each other good-naturedly as they jockeyed for position. Tai playfully shoved Van, who, in a burst of her usual theatrics, flopped onto the grass in front of everyone, striking a pose on her side with the ball resting against her stomach. Shauna found herself front and center, Jackie’s arm slung comfortably around her shoulders, the weight of it both familiar and thrilling.

“Misty! Get in here!” Nat called out, pale hands waving enthusiastically at their equipment manager from her spot between Shauna and Akilah. Misty, her face flushed with a mixture of shyness and exertion, ducked her head but scurried over to join the lineup beside Akilah.

Coach Scott surveyed the group, a rare smile softening his usually stern features. “Alright, everyone squeeze in!” He waved them closer, his eyes assessing the composition. “Misty, turn a bit to your left, please.”

As the team shuffled and compressed, Shauna became acutely aware of Nat’s presence to her right, the small space between them crackling with the residual energy of the game. Lottie, sitting on one knee in the front row, muttered something about Nat’s Italian heritage that Shauna didn’t quite catch, but it made Nat grin and raise her hand in a pinch gesture. Nat’s eyes caught Shauna’s, a fleeting moment of shared amusement, and Shauna felt an answering smile tug at her lips, charmed by the shy dimple that appeared on Nat’s cheek.

Then Jackie was adjusting her pose, her fingers brushing lightly against the 6 emblazoned on Shauna’s jersey, and suddenly Shauna’s focus narrowed to that single point of contact. The casual intimacy of the touch, the way Jackie’s hand lingered just a beat longer than necessary, made Shauna’s heart stutter in her chest, a familiar yet always surprising reaction.

It was always like this with Jackie - a constant push and pull, an undercurrent of something Shauna couldn’t quite name. Or maybe she could, but putting a label on it meant acknowledging the enormity of what she felt, the depth of her longing.

It was easier to focus on soccer, on the simplicity of the game. Pass, shoot, score. Cause and effect. Neat lines and clear objectives.

Not like the messy tangle of emotions that surfaced every time Jackie hugged her just a little too tight or fixed her with that soft, secret smile that seemed reserved only for Shauna.

“Okay, on three! One, two . . . ”

Shauna turned back to the camera, trying to school her features into something resembling a normal smile. Jackie’s arm tightened around her, pulling her close. The heat of her body, the citrusy scent of her shampoo beneath the sweat and grass, was dizzying.

“Three!” The shutter clicked, capturing the moment for posterity. The team erupted into cheers again, a jubilant mass of blue and yellow, when Laura Lee’s voice cut through the noise, “Let’s take a moment to give thanks.”

A few good-natured groans met her suggestion, but the team obediently formed a loose circle, arms slung around each other’s shoulders. Shauna found herself between Jackie and Nat, the warmth of their bodies bracketing her own.

Laura Lee began to speak, her voice steady and clear. “Dear Lord, we thank you for the strength and unity you’ve given us today. May we always remember the bonds we share, both on and off the field. Amen.”

A chorus of “Amen” echoed around the circle, some more enthusiastic than others. As Shauna murmured the word, she felt Jackie’s hand find hers, their fingers intertwining with practiced ease. On her other side, another hand brushed against hers, tentative but unmistakable.

“Alright, ladies, line up! Time for the handshake.”

Soccer was simple. Straightforward. You gave everything you had for ninety minutes, left it all on the field. There was a strange sort of peace in that single-minded focus, in surrendering to the flow of the game. The field was a world unto itself, a place where the only things that mattered were the ball at your feet and the teammates by your side.

But as the last hand was shaken and the teams began to drift apart, reality started to creep back in. And in the stillness that followed, in the quiet of the locker room or the hush of the bus ride home, Shauna’s thoughts always circled back to Jackie.

Sweet, stubborn, magnetic Jackie. Her best friend, her captain, the axis around which Shauna’s world turned. The one constant in a life that often felt like shifting sands beneath her feet.

It terrified Shauna sometimes, the depth of her feelings. The way her heart seized at the mere brush of Jackie’s hand, the way her skin tingled at the sound of her laugh. It was too much, too big, too all-consuming. A force as powerful and unpredictable as a free kick bending around a wall of defenders.

But maybe that was okay.

Maybe love wasn’t meant to make sense. Maybe it was supposed to be messy and confusing and utterly terrifying. Maybe that’s what made it so exhilarating, so worth chasing despite the risk of fumbling.

After all, wasn’t that the beauty of soccer? The unpredictability of it, the way the game could pivot on a dime? One moment you’re on the defensive, scrambling to protect your goal. The next, you’re surging forward, the ball dancing at your feet, the world blurring around you as you race towards the opposite end of the field.

It hadn’t always been this way for Shauna. There was a time when soccer was just another obligation, another box to check off on the endless list of expectations. But somewhere along the way, something had shifted.

And now, as she stood on the precipice of something new and terrifying and exciting, she couldn’t help but draw parallels between the two.

Love, Shauna was starting to realize, was not so different from soccer. It was a series of unexpected twists and turns, of setbacks and breakthroughs. It was the thrill of the unknown, the exhilaration of taking a leap of faith, of putting your heart on the line for something - for someone - that could change everything.

It was worth the risk of getting hurt, worth the uncertainty that came with stepping into uncharted territory. Because the alternative - a life without Jackie, without this wild, heart-pounding, breath-stealing feeling - was unimaginable.

Love and soccer. One intangible and elusive, the other solid and grounded. But at their core, they were two sides of the same coin, each a reflection of the other. Both demanding everything you had, both offering the chance at something extraordinary. The twin forces that kept her running, kept her chasing after dreams both on and off the field.

She might never fully understand love the way she understood soccer. But damn if she wasn’t going to keep playing the game.

[ashesrebirthed]

"Holy fuck, Lottie." It's the first time Jackie's seen her since Shauna beat the shit out her. And it wasn't as if Lottie'd looked any better then - but she's still completely fucked up now, face swollen, eyes drooping and bloody. How is she even alive?

Dropping to her knees next to the injured girl, Jackie's hands tremble when she brushes a stray strand of hair out of Lottie's face. "Shit. This was - this was all Shauna?"

Shauna, who'd clutched her dead fucking baby to her chest and looked at Jackie like she'd been the one to kill him. Who'd stared her dead in the eye and thrown her own words back at her in some twisted fucking echo: Don't pretend like this isn't exactly what you wanted the whole time. Who'd cried out for her in the meat shed - wailed like a keening animal until it made Jackie sob noiselessly too, hidden just outside and desperately trying to keep Shauna from hearing a single sound - yet nearly tore her head off any time they so much as existed in the same space.

Who'd nearly killed Lottie.

Shauna hated Jackie, so she'd nearly fucking killed Lottie. That could have been Jackie. That would have been Jackie, if not now then eventually, if Lottie hadn't stepped in.

But while that might have calmed Shauna down for now, shit for the rest of them only got worse. The card draw. Nat. Fucking Javi. All that crap Misty spouted after, about how Lottie's pleased with the wilderness' choice. Yeah, maybe the Charlotte Matthews she'd once known had gone completely off the fucking rails out here - at Jackie's expense, more than once - but after the girl had nearly fucking died for her... Jackie would believe that one when she heard it for herself.

Which is exactly what she's here to find out. Lottie looks just about anything but pleased right now, but Jackie has to know for sure. Has to hear Lottie say it, one way or another. "Why did you let her do this to you? Why did you let any of them - ? I don't even know what to - I mean, fuck, you probably saved my fucking life, but - they killed Javi because of you. Shit, he was just a fucking kid, Lottie!" Is Jackie worth his life? Is Lottie? Is Nat?

Nat is. Natalie fucking Scatorccio is worth all of them combined. The only one who'd come out to bring her in from the freezing cold, the only one to try and try and try to keep them all alive, the only fucking good thing left in this hell. The rest of them, though... Jackie isn't so sure any more. // @healiotrope + plotted starter!

[thewheelsofsteelareturning]

is antler queen a wronged party (shauna) who exacts revenge on a random victim (lottie)?

is shauna setting antler queen precedence? is lottie leading the way as sacrificial lamb?

did we just get a preview of fucking mari running away from misty?

do they find kristin/crystal? does misty plays up her grief to get an opportunity to beat the hell out of someone? especially if it’s mari? who else would mari be SO afraid of?

does this ritual continue? does someone become the scapegoat every time tragedy strikes? is eating the victim just a by-product of it all?

[munamania]

what an episode. two florence songs played. the musical theater moment. oh yeah btw elijah wood was there. and a giant bird. adult shauna finally breaking down holding a goat that she could allow herself to care for. young shauna breaking down in the shed bc jackie can’t comfort her after losing her baby. adult natalie and lottie acting lesbian as hell together. repressed horny taivan makeout. the girls hanging out dancing in the snow and shauna beating the ever living shit out of lottie. i love this show

[misquigleya]

hi hello, back on my bullshit that is misty fucking quigley. could have had much more of her but it's okay...i fully expect to see more of my unhinged baby in the coming episodes. as usual, thoughts under the read more <3

sure you can look and look and look for someone that you actually love but you can also find you someone that will listen to, with the windows down, fuck tha police in your minivan while you're inside being questioned about your totally not dead but def missing boyfriend....we stay stanning jeffrey sadecki in this house and i love him so much. but also rip that dash and steering wheel 'cause it got sticky af from that spit take. like shauna please...he's gotta clean that now before you go off to cult camp with your besties

i wasn't a callie stan until just recently ( annoying teenager pls forgive me for side-eyeing the fuck outta her ) but miss ma'am gO OFF MAKE THEM QUESTION EVERYTHING DET. CREEPO SAYS 'cause goddamn that man needs to go. he needs to be fed to whatever the fuck they all brought back from the woods. also "does this mean we're going to jail???" i love the sadecki family so much.

VAN AND TAI PLEASE STOP PUSHING EACH OTHER AWAY but also please explain what happened for y'all to split up 'cause i'm no longer thinking it was 'cause of the "wicca bullshit" anymore seeing as tai is leaning more into it ( though that was kinda obvious from the fact that adult tai has her little alter #ripbiscuits )

i know they all got beef / tension with lottie but what was up with lottie and misty upon lottie seeing her. like please...what happened out there other than hottie lottie being diagnosed as schizophrenic and being institutionalized and that could ya know....'cause some tension and questioning of what had happened out in the woods, bUT STILL WHAT HAPPENED. 'CAUSE WHAT DID MISTY DO SEEING AS THEY'RE ALL MEH WITH HER. aside from her general weirdness and slightly off-putting personality.

that jackie bit when shauna passed out had me clutching my pearls like sHAUNA BABY DO NOT GO INTO THE LIGHT. and also, i might get shit for this but whatever, eat my ass; thAT DREAM SEQUENCE HAD MY ASS BACK IN THE THEATER WATCHING TWILIGHT BREAKING DAWN PT. 2 like goddamn...okay this one wasn't THAT GOOD but they really had me there in the first half like i full blown thought i was gonna be able to tick off the eating of the...well you know off my bingo card. but nope, they played me, they said "yOU THOUGHT YOU SICK FUCK" so i'll give 'em that. four for you glen coco, four for you.

natalie bby do you need a hug?? yj writers...have you forgotten and or completely disregarded the whole mistnat setting up of season one and telling us to eat your asses now like ha-ha you really thought we'd give you those two?? hahahaha...i hate them and i need them to stop toying with my emotions. LET. THEM. BE. HAPPY. AND. TOGETHER. 'cause that "he was the only one i loved" and "he was the only one who cared about me" like mmmm...mmm...m'kay, i'm gonna go lay in the highway. but like i get. still going through some shit. bUT FUCKIN' RUDE.

deep breath

can we talk about misty's little goodie bag and how it was given carol in twd unloading all her shit when they got to alexandria and just...kept putting more and more on the cart? 'cause i loved that and i fucking lost it aND WALTER BUDDY BOY, YOU WAS GONNA DIE or i'm at least assuming as i don't know what was in the vial that misty had in her purse with the syringe like ma'am please. she was ready to beat the fuck outta whoever, handcuff them, and possibly do some light torturing....so i once again sAY WHY ARE YOU DICKING ME AROUND WITH MISTNAT YJ WRITERS?!?!!??! fucking hell...

anyways....

the episode was good but lowkey...they need to stop hyping them up so much or i need to lower my expectations. either way...felt there could be a bit more and feel like they're taking too long with the story and they're dragging it out to an almost annoying length. like we get it, you're hoping for five seasons but i don't want to wait 'til the last season to have all questions asked or if the worse outcome happens, they get cancelled, i don't want any room for no questions being answered. so...if they could stop dragging it out and get to the point, that'd be super. but that's just me.

[mau1ed]

i present : my jumbled thoughts on van post rescue & estrangement from the other girls

obviously before & especially after the wolf attack, van is painted as almost a disciple of sorts to lottie. a true believer if not one of the truest believers. ( the bear heart, trying to push taissa into talking to her because she believes she may be just as in tune to whatever is around them ) we see towards the end of s2 that van has kinda shifted into this different mentality that seems to be along the lines of eat or be eaten. when shauna beats up lottie i think it finally clicks to them that this is what it's gonna come to, they literally grabbed the rod from the fire when they went after nat ... i mean ... anyways. her fierce dedication to lottie & the wilderness & what i assume will also be nat in s3 ( because lottie deemed nat as worthy, as the next antler queen & who is van to disagree with lot ? ) stems from the fact that she's just a teenager who needs something to believe in. ( i need to know why i'm still here ) already has a somewhat finicky relationship with religion because of being gay & having it drilled into them that god would not like it at the end of the day she's just a scared girl trying to survive & then ... they do.

being rescued, while welcomed, was almost as if bursting a bubble. especially when they find out lottie's parents sent her away. it was like when she realized she was gay & suddenly this all knowing being who created them in his image & loved unconditionally had conditions & her attraction to women was over the line except this one came with realizing they may just be bad people who did awful things just for the hell of it ( survival but in the moment... ) & fucked their friend up so much she was sent across the world. van tried so hard to simply be the person they were before the crash but she was so disconnected from that person.

it also doesn't help that van kinda had the best reason for disconnecting from the others after she & taissa call it quits for good ( they tried, they really did. on again off again for a while before it was just too obvious that tai was diving headfirst into moving forward & van was being weighed down with living as if it never happened ) will say it's hard to be around them when all of their memories together are tied up with these other women. it wasn't very hard either ... everyone was dealing or not dealing with what happened in ways that were so different from each others.

and, so, van gets their ged & dives headfirst into movies. works odd rental store jobs until they finally bite the dust & van decides to open their own ( in another life where she grew up normal & not derailed by the crash, she likes to think she would've graduated. maybe gone to film school after & making movies rather than renting them out ). settles in ohio where only a few people here & there connect them to the yellowjackets & where the only real reminder of those 19 months happen when she glances in the mirror.