#did this over a bunch of gilmore girls episodes

[kingofthering]

f1 rpf survey - results (part two)

During the survey, I asked people for fic recs and after looking for them on ao3, I ended up compiling this list of 307 F1 fics (covering 66 pairings). And because sometimes people were reccing an entire author, you will also find a list of 47 authors.

The google sheet is available : here. My advice is for you to download the sheet on your own computer, that way you will be able to filter through the pairings/browse it however you want.

Edit : Thanks to a very nice fellow F1 rpf reader, the list now has links.

A couple of notes :

if a fic you recced is not here, it's probably that you did not include the title or the link, I tried my best with the descriptions but when it was a concept I didn't remember reading and the author wasn't specified, there wasn't much I could do

when several pairings where listed in the fics, either the main pairing seemed evident and that's the one I used in the table or several pairings seemed to have the same importance and then I used the "-" symbol in the table

obviously a ton of fics not present on that list are amazing and worth reading on ao3, this is merely a fragment of the available universe out there

#rpf #f1 rpf survey #f1rpfsr #if all went well I deleted all the doubles but you never know #did this over a bunch of gilmore girls episodes #I only read 5 fics in that top 19 (all fics with 4 votes or more) #had heard about 3 others including one I tried but couldn't vibe with #but anyway maybe this will be useful for some people #100 #200 #300

[bqstqnbruin]

The Party's Over, Go Home

Hello hello here I am with my fic for @wyattjohnston's winter fic exchange!

I had the pleasure of writing for @sc0tters I hope you like it!

Shoutout to @kat-hearts @matthewtkachuk and @raysofcrosby for reading through this and getting mad at me :)

This is inspired by Intrusive Thoughts by Natalie Jane, Deserve by Jake Clark, and the Gilmore Girl's episode from season 5 called The Party's Over

Warnings: swearing, alcohol, family financial issues, this is angst, the spacebar on my computer is starting to break so typos (I tried)

WC: 11k

__________________________________

“We should do something tonight.”

“I was going to go to bed early, actually.”

“You do that every night.”

“What, are you stalking me now?”

“No,” Kendyl draws out. “You stop texting me by like, 8:30 every night. Your phone is on do not disturb half an hour later. Either you’re asleep early, or you’re ignoring everyone by then.”

Ellie narrows her eyes at her coworker. They still weren’t close enough that she felt she could comfortably hang out with the people she worked with outside of the workday. She had only been at her new job for a month, still getting the hang of things, trying to get to know people and figure everything out. Spending time outside her apartment with people who were practically strangers when she could be in her warm bed with her flannel sheets that she loved more than anything on this planet? “I don’t like that you picked up on that.” 

“Well, too bad,” Kendyl says, sitting down on Ellie’s desk. “A bunch of us are going out tonight, so why not?” Ellie hesitates to answer. “If it sucks, you can go home at ten. You’ll be in bed by 10:30, two hours later than normal. And it’s Friday, we don’t have work tomorrow for you to use that as an excuse as to why you have to get up early, and you already told me that the only thing you planned on doing this weekend was laundry and cleaning.”

Ellie let out a long sigh. Maybe Kendyl did know her well enough to be able to call her out on her shit already. “God.”

“I don’t know if you’re religious or not to know if that’s a yes.”

“Fine,” she says, shuddering at Kendyl’s squeal of excitement. “But you’re buying at least one round and I get to leave at 9:30 if I want to.” 

“Deal.” 

Ellie’s day was full of dread, from spending the rest of work distracted about having to go out with seemingly everyone at her job, so the stress involved with getting ready and trying to look like someone who was actually 24, not the ‘1980’s power boss bitch without the hair and shoulder pads’ as Kendyl described her as multiple times, even do walking to the bar that Kendyl had picked that felt way too conveniently down the street from her apartment. 

“I’m surprised you even had someone convince you to go out,” her younger brother, Alex, says on the other end of their phone call. As soon as he saw Ellie leaving her apartment on Find My Friends, he called her panicked that something was wrong. “You never went out in college. I had to beg you to go to that one party the time I visited you.”

“That’s because you were still seventeen and Mom would have killed me if she found out you went.”

“She knew I was going to try anyway.”

“I’m going out because I was promised free drinks and the prospect of going home early if I want to. It’s not like I’m being forced to go out against my will.” 

“I promised you free drinks.” 

“Alexander.”

“Eleanor. Just be safe, ok? Let me know when you get home.”

“You sound like Mom.”

“If I were Mom, I would be yelling at you for not wearing a jacket.”

“How do you know I’m not wearing a jacket?”

“You never wear a jacket. Mom has been yelling at you about that since you were five.” 

Ellie lets out a laugh, a sudden chill coursing through her when she realizes she can see her breath. “How is Mom, have you checked in on her?’

“Yes, Ellie.”

“In person?”

“Yes, Ellie. She’s good. At least, she says she is.” 

The two of them stay on the phone in silence for a moment, knowing what he really means. Ellie and Alex hated the topic of how their mom was doing, but if they didn’t talk about it with each other, who else did they have? Their mom and Alex still live in the same area even if Alex was away at college and living in a dorm rather than with her. Ellie was on the other side of the continent now, for a job that she barely had any friends at, in a city she still barely knew, surrounded by things she wasn’t used to. 

“Hey, I’m outside the bar now, I’ll talk to you later?” she ends the call, taking in one last deep breath before heading into what she was sure was going to be 

“You came!” Kendyl yells once Ellie finally manages to get into the bar. “Here’s the first drink.”

Before Ellie could even tell Kendyl she wasn’t ready yet to start drinking, the drink was pressed to her chest and nearly spilled down the front of her. Despite it being early enough in the night that no one should be drunk by now, Kendyl and the rest of her coworkers seemed to be well on their way with Ellie needing more drinks than she could count to catch up. 

The night goes by slowly, the drinks going away fast, and Ellie sitting in the corner while her coworkers, who are obviously close, talk about a bunch of inside jokes from before she was hired that Ellie was unable to participate in.

“Remember when he ordered the wrong cake?” Wesley slurs, punching Doug in the shoulder.

“I swear she told me to say, ‘Happy Retirement,’” Douglas defends himself.

“It was my 28th birthday, not my retirement?” Hazel says, everyone except Ellie bursting into a fit of laughter.

“What about when Sammy dialed 911 during the meeting?” Kendyl adds through wheezes, the remains of her drink nearly spilling on Ellie’s shirt, again.

“It fell out of my pocket and bounced weird!”

“How does a bouncing phone dial 911?”

“That’s the set up to a bad pick up line.”

“More like the setup to a story that makes no sense,” Ellie mutters, thankful that her coworker's howling laughter was too loud to hear her.

She gets up from the table, draining her drink on her way to the bar. It was only 9:15. She promised Kendyl 15 more minutes. The least she could do was down another drink in that time before pulling her classic Irish exit to go home and get in bed. 

“Rum and coke?” she asks once she gets up to the bar, the sticky wooden counter acting as anything but inviting for her to lean on. 

“Me, too, and put it on my tab,” someone says behind her, Ellie’s face immediately turning sour at the thought of some guy buying her a drink to probably get her to hook up with him.

“My friend is paying for it, actually,” she turns to him, surprised to find a seemingly innocent-looking guy around her age and not the middle-aged gross man she thought he would be. Anything was possible, and looks can be deceiving.

“Which friend, the one who almost spilled her drink on you or the one of the ones who have been ignoring you the entire night and letting you sit in silence while they have a good time around you?”

“I already don’t like you.” 

“My friends pointed you out and said you were me when they drag me out to bars.”

“So you’re the friend who they barely know and who they only invited out of pity?”

“That’s dark. But also, kinda hot,” he says, the pink rushing to his cheeks as he turns away out of embarrassment. “Sorry, um. I’m going to go sit down now.”

“You haven’t gotten your drink yet,” Ellie points out, his sudden bashfulness making Ellie soften for him. “I just moved here. I don’t really know any of them too well.”

“I know what that’s like,” he tells her, leaning against the bar. 

“You’re not from here, either?”

He shakes his head. “Born in Orlando, moved to Boston, then moved to Toronto, and kept going from there.” 

“That sounds unstable,” she says, passing one of the newly appeared glasses of alcohol to the guy in front of her.

He shrugs, lifting the drink to his lips. “Well, they say you are a product of your environment.” 

Ellie lets out a laugh, the first one that she had let out all night. “That’s dark. But also, kinda hot,” she repeats, the pink returning to his cheeks again.

“I’m never gonna live that down, am I?”

“Depends on how long we keep talking.”

“Hopefully it lasts past tonight.”

“It can’t if you don’t tell me your name. I’m Ellie.”

“I’m Quinn.”

Ellie loses count of how many drinks Quinn gets her, how long they’re talking, and when all of her coworkers leave the bar, not even telling her that they were leaving without her. 

She could feel the warmth of the alcohol coursing through her body, the bar getting busier the longer she and Quinn stood there. Someone shoves in between Ellie and whoever is behind her, pushing her into Quinn’s arms without her being able to catch her balance. His hand falls to the small of her back, spreading out to hold her steady. They stood there in silence, the rest of the bar a world away from them. 

“Are you ok?” Quinn whispers in her ear, his breath tickling her skin. 

Ellie stammers for a second, trying to process what just happened. The alcohol was making everything foggy, and the room starting to spin slightly around her as if Quinn was rocking her back and forth. “Um, I, yes?”

His eyes flickered down to her lips, the distance between them closing with each additional person, he was so close to kissing her. 

“I should go home,” Ellie says before he can, knowing that kissing him now would not be a good idea for either of them. 

His grip on her doesn’t relax, the disappointment Ellie expected to show up on his face not there at all. “I’m walking you home,” he tells her, slipping his hand into hers before she can protest. 

“You don’t have to do that.” 

“I want to.” 

The difference in temperature between the bar and outside hit Ellie faster than she could process it, her lack of jacket her brother had scolded her for earlier biting her in the ass harder than the cold was in the moment.

Ellie didn’t even process Quinn taking off his own coat, the one she didn’t even realize he had been wearing the entire time, and putting it around her shoulders before wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close. 

She was on autopilot, unsure how she managed to navigate her way to her apartment when her mind was on Quinn’s body pressed against hers. She just met him. She didn’t know much about him. She didn’t even know what he did for work and only knew that he had two brothers who lived in New Jersey even though that wasn’t one of the places that he mentioned living before. 

“Here,” Ellie barely gets out, surprised with herself for managing to get back to the right place. 

“Do you want me to walk you to your door?” Quinn asks, shoving his hands in his pockets when he finally lets go of her. 

“No, it’s fine.” 

Ellie goes to take off the jacket and give it back to him, the warmth something her drunk self quickly realized she was going to miss. “No, keep it. It looks better on you anyway,” Quinn tells her, pulling his things out of his pockets before turning away to head off.

She stands there for a few seconds, trying to process what had happened that night. 

“Wait, no,” Quinn says, appearing again in front of her. “I can’t leave without getting your number first.” 

“I couldn’t even tell you what my number is right now,” she admits, handing him her phone instead.

Quinn laughs, putting his number in. “I want to see you again, Ellie.”

She smirks at him. “We’ll see, Quinn.” 

___________________

“What do you mean you’re not bringing anyone?”

“No one said I had to bring anyone.” 

“Everyone brings someone. You have to bring a date to the holiday party.”

“Then why was one of the options on the RSVP ‘no’ to the question ‘will a guest be accompanying you?’”

Kendyl whines, earning a cringy look from Ellie. “You have no one you can bring?” 

Ellie rolls her eyes, leaning back in her desk chair. “Let’s see, I’ve been here for like, what, two months? I knew no one when I got here, I hate going out and don’t have anywhere to meet anyone, and somehow none of you here know anyone either. Who would I bring?”

“What about that guy you met at the bar that one time? I see his name popping up on your phone all the time.”

Ellie snatches her phone from her desk and holds it against her chest as Kendyl cranes her neck to see that her statement is actually fact, three messages from Quinn, a fourth appearing while they were talking. “You need to learn what a boundary is.”

“And you need to learn what the Focus feature is on your phone when you’re showing me things because his name always shows up.” 

She couldn’t invite Quinn to the party. She barely knew him, she couldn’t throw him into the party with a bunch of her coworkers who she also barely knew, putting her phone back on the desk without thinking. “He’s probably busy.”

Kendyl rolls her eyes, snatching Ellie’s phone from her desk before she can protest, fiddling with it while Ellie tries to process what could possibly be happening in front of her. “He’s not.”

“What?”

“He’s not busy.” 

“Ken, what did you do?” Kendyl hands Ellie back her phone, a quick conversation with Quinn on her screen, ‘Ellie’ asks him what he was doing the night of the holiday party and he immediately answers that he is free. “Why are you like this?” 

Kendyl shrugs, slowly backing away from Ellie’s desk. “You had fun talking to him at the bar, enough fun that he responded to you within seconds of being asked if he was free.” 

Ellie looks back at her phone as Kendyl finally leaves her alone. The whole idea of having to bring a date seemed archaic in a way that Ellie couldn’t quite put her finger on. Why did she have to bring someone she barely knew to a party with more people she barely knew?

But she really did know Quinn better than she was letting on. She still didn’t know what he did with his life, him weirdly making her promise not to look him up, which made Ellie immediately question if he was a serial killer. He wasn’t, allegedly, but that still didn’t make sense. 

She knew that he was from the States, went to school there until he left early for whatever job he had. He has two younger brothers, and apparently is known amongst his friends for looking like he was having a nonstop existential crisis, while also being nicknamed ‘Huggy Bear.’ She also knew that he was sweet, and listened to her when she went off on a tangent about something, him following right along and matching the energy she had. She knew that she wanted to see him again every night since she had met him that first time, and that he wanted the same thing.

His name came up on her phone, a call from him. “Hi, sorry, it’s easier to talk than text right now.”

“Why are you out of breath?”

“Workout.” Must be nice to have a job where he can just go and work out in the middle of the day, Ellie thinks to herself. “So, the 18th?”

“Yeah,” Ellie lets out, suddenly nervous. It felt like she was asking him for something much more serious than just going with her to an office party. “It’s the holiday party for my company, and apparently everyone needs to bring a date.”

“And you want me to find you one?”

Ellie’s jaw drops at his comment. “No, idiot, I wanted to bring you.” 

“Oh, thank god. I was running through my friends who would go and none of them are good enough for you.”

Ellie could feel the heat rushing to her cheeks at his comment. Did he consider this a date? Was it a date? Was it bad if she considered it a date and he didn’t? What if he didn’t? Why was her mind running at a mile a minute while Quinn was there on the other end of her phone waiting for her to say something else? “So that’s a yes?”

“Of course, it’s a yes. It’s one of the few nights I have off, I want to spend it with you.”

The next days went by in a blur, Ellie freaking out over everything from what she was going to wear, texting and calling Quinn even more, wishing that they could see each other sooner.

“It’s not obsessive, is it?” she asks Kendyl, staring at herself in the mirror. Kendyl insisted on coming over to Ellie’s place to get ready, telling her that her roommate had their partner over that night and the last thing she needed to do was try to use the bathroom to get rid when they had a habit of taking it over for more than a few hours.

“No, El, you just like him. I think it becomes obsessive when you start to stalk him and you show up to where he works unprovoked.” 

“Why do you say that like you’ve either done that or you’ve had that happen to you?”

“I’ll let you decide which one is better. What time is Quinn coming?”

“He’s supposed to get here in ten minutes.” 

“Just breathe, El. You’re going to have fun.” Kendyl left her to finish getting herself ready, her date already waiting outside to take her to the party. They could have all gone together, as pointed out by Kendyl, but it was better to not throw Quinn directly into the fire that was her closest coworker. 

Ellie’s phone starts ringing, not checking but expecting it to be Quinn calling to tell her he was early. She pops out of her seat to head to the door, picking up the phone and answering with an excited “Hi!”

“Eleanor?” 

Ellie stops in her tracks, her mom’s voice coming over her phone speaker. “Mom?”

“Sweetie, can you do me a favor?” 

Ellie felt her heart drop to her stomach, already knowing what her mom was going to ask her. It was the same thing that her mom always asked since she first got a job when she was in high school, every time she answered the phone while she was getting her degree, no matter where Ellie was in her life, it was never a call that a mother should have to make to one of her children this often. “Mom,” she lets out, knowing that she couldn’t say no.

“Please, Eleanor. I need the money. I, I-” 

“Mom, you promised,” Ellie cuts her off, not wanting to hear anymore even though she knew her mom would keep going.

“I thought I would get a raise before they sent the eviction notice this time.”

“Mom,” Ellie says, more exasperated this time. “You have to stop doing this. You do this to me every time.” 

“Alexander can’t help this time.”

Ellie heard a knock at her door, not even processing the fact that she should be looking through the peephole to make sure it wasn’t a murderer, opening it, and letting whoever it was in. Thankfully, it was Quinn, waving him in and motioning to give her a moment.

“Alex is still in college, already struggling because you’re no help. He shouldn’t have to give you anything in the first place.”

Quinn stands there, clearly uneasy at listening to only Ellie’s end of the conversation but following Ellie into her room regardless. He stands in the doorway, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed while he watches Ellie continue to get ready. 

“But you said last time that I couldn’t ask you again.”

“I didn’t mean for you to ask my little brother.”

“Eleanor, please. He’ll have nowhere to come home to. I’ll have nowhere to go home to.”

“What happened to everything you had last time I asked you?”

“It went towards all of the other bills, I promise. I’ll send you every confirmation for every bill I have.” 

“You’re not lying to me this time?”

“I’m not, I swear!”

“How many months did Alex cover?”

“Only half of one month.”

“How many months are you behind?”

“I swear I used everything I had to pay-”

“Mom, how many months are you behind?” Ellie knew she was raising her voice, forgetting that Quinn was even behind her. She stopped putting her makeup on at this point, knowing that the tears that were about to fall were going to ruin what she had already on, anyway. 

“Four.”

“Fuck, Mom.”

“Please?” her mom’s voice comes through, small and on the brink of breaking. “I know I’m still paying you back from last time. But what else am I supposed to do?’

“I’m sending it now,” she tells her, hanging up before her mother could say anything else. Ellie forgot Quinn was standing there in her doorway, putting her phone down on her vanity and putting her face in her hands. This couldn’t be happening again. Not again.

Quinn clears his throat, causing Ellie to jump. “Should I go?” he asks, creeping into her room.

Ellie wipes the tears from her cheeks, cursing herself mentally for now having to redo the makeup she already took too long to do the first time. “Uh,” she stammers, “No, no. I’ll be ready in a second.”

“Ellie,” Quinn kneels on the floor next to her, gently placing his hand on her thigh. “We don’t have to go to this.” 

“No, it’s fine, I’m fine.”

“El.” 

Ellie finally turned to him, the genuine concern on his face causing her to burst into tears. He reached up and pulled her close to him, his one hand on her back, the other holding her head on his shoulder, letting her cry on his white shirt. She hears him let out a quiet shushing noise, trying to comfort her in the way she had needed for so long. She cried for so long that she didn’t know how much time passed. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize,” he whispers when she finally stops crying, not moving from their position. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She never told anyone about the stuff with her mom. Ellie had been holding it in for years, going from friend to friend, place to place, never letting this out with anyone who wasn’t her younger brother, the one person who would understand and who she knew also understood what it was like. 

But there was something about Quinn. She thought she could trust him, for whatever reason. She never told her ex-boyfriends in college or high school, despite the fact that this had been going on since then. 

Ellie takes in a deep breath. “The only people who know this are me, my mom, and my brother, do you understand?” she asks him, watching him nod. “It started, I think, when my dad left. I was probably 10? Alex was 6, maybe?  I don’t even remember, honestly. This probably started before Dad left, Alex and I think it’s why he left. But our mother is absolutely shit when it comes to money. Like, put us in debt every few months that then somehow fell to us as her children to bail her out.” 

“God,” Quinn lets out, Ellie continuing over him.

“I think we realized it was getting bad when she told us we were moving somewhere smaller right before I was starting high school, out of the blue, when we had already moved to ‘somewhere smaller’ three times in four years. Normally she said she had been planning it because we, of course, needed somewhere to live, and she didn’t like where we were, but that was weird. I didn’t realize it was because we had been evicted every single time until I found the seven eviction notices my second year of high school from the last three times and a notice that we were getting evicted that year, too.”

“Ellie, I’m so sorry,” he tells her, pulling her back in for a hug. 

She sighed, knowing that there was nothing more he could say. “At this point it’s normal, it’s just still frustrating when she tells me and Alex that she’s fine and that she has the money for everything, and then out of nowhere, tells us she hasn’t paid the rent for her current place in four months. Like, do you know what it’s like to have your mother owe you nearly a hundred thousand dollars because of how much she keeps needing?”

“I can’t even imagine.” The two of them sit in silence for a moment, neither of them sure what to do next. 

“I’m glad you can’t. It fucking sucks,” she says, turning back to her vanity mirror. “God, I don’t even want to go to this stupid party anymore.” 

“Hey, we don’t have to go if you don’t want to. We can stay here, we can go to my place, we can go somewhere else, we can do anything.”

“We?”

“I don’t want to leave you, Ellie. I came tonight because I wanted to spend time with you,” Quinn tells her, taking her hand in his. “If you’ll let me, I’ll take you wherever you want.” 

“You don’t have to.”

“Ellie, I want to be with you.” 

___________________

“Kendyl, I told you, I’m hanging out with Quinn and the rest of the guys tonight.” 

“Can I please come?”

“Absolutely not.” 

“But you’re dating the captain of the fucking Vancouver Canucks. You have to bring your best friend along with you.” 

“Alexander can’t come tonight either.”

“Ok, rude.”

Ellie was already nervous about meeting Quinn's teammates. It had taken a while for her to wrap her head around that he was not only a hockey player, but a professional one, and the actual captain of the team. Honestly, she didn’t see it coming. She had heard so much about Elias and Brock that she felt like she knew them at this point. She hadn’t even met them. As close as she had gotten to Kendyl in the last six months she spent at her job, and as much time as they spent together outside of work when she wasn’t with Quinn, she didn’t need Kendyl mixed into the group. 

“Let me meet them first, then we can talk about you meeting them, ok?” she tries to assure her, hearing a knock at her door. “I’ve gotta go, Quinn is here.”

She hangs up on Kendyl before she can protest, slightly worried that she would use the ‘Find my friends’ feature to just stalk the house they were going to and end up on the doorstep uninvited. 

“Hi,” she opens the door, stopping for a second to take him in. God, she hated how hard she fell for him in a short amount of time. He was perfect to her at that moment. 

He pulled her in for a kiss, one that made her wish they were staying in rather than heading to spend time with his friends. “Hi,” he whispers, kissing her again before pulling away. “You look amazing, as always.”

“I’m wearing jeans and a sweater,” she counters.

“And?” He could say anything to her with that stupid smile on his face and make her swoon. “Ready?”

They head out to his car, Ellie’s heart racing as they get closer and closer to Thatcher’s house. She wasn’t great with meeting large groups of people all at once, despite being in a new school nearly every year of her awkward teenage years and being forced to interact with new people every time. 

“Hey,” Quinn says, resting his hand on her thigh as he drives down the highway, giving her a gentle squeeze to try to calm her down. “You’re going to like the guys. And they’re going to love you.”

“Yeah?” she says, her voice shaking slightly. 

“How could they not?” he asks, taking her hand and bringing to his lips, his eyes glued to the road in front of them so he couldn’t see her melting at his words and his touch. “You’ll get along great with Elias.”

“He’s the one from Sweden?”

“Yeah,” Quinn tells her, pulling into the driveway of a house so massive Ellie wasn’t sure people could actually live in it. It was certainly bigger than anything she could have ever dreamed of being near, let alone being invited to. “He’s got kind of a dry humor. You’ll like him.”

Ellie takes in a deep breath, feeling incredibly inadequate just getting out of his car and standing on the pavement of a place like Thatcher’s house. Maybe she should have invited Kendyl. 

Quinn takes her hand, pulling her along to the door when everything inside her was telling her to turn around and just run. There was no way she was good enough to be in this house, not with everything in her life, not when Quinn and his teammates had everything they could possibly want at the tips of their fingers. 

He stops at the door, pulling her close to him, dropping her hand, and cupping her face to kiss her again, calming her immediately. “Hi,” he breathes when he pulls away.

“Hi again. What was that for?” she asked, his hands slipping down to her waist, sending a shiver through her entire body as he traced her sides. 

“I’m going to want to do that so many times tonight, but I know the guys will tease us for it. I’ve gotta do what I can now.” 

That shouldn’t have made her feel the way it did. He could say or do anything at this point and she would melt. 

They go inside, the house loud and full of people despite Quinn telling her that it was just supposed to be a ‘small get-together.’ Everything in the house looked expensive, Ellie’s anxiety immediately spiking. She followed Quinn blindly through the house, all of his teammates talking to him and him introducing her to all of them while she stood there nearly mute over the sheer stimulus overload that was all around her. She barely noticed the drinks that found their way in hers and Quinn's hands, drinking once she saw Quinn drinking it, as well. 

“Elias is right over here,” he whispers in her ear, his hand still in hers and giving her a reassuring squeeze as he leads her off into one of the side rooms. The room was quieter, the lights dimmer, and had a lot less people than any of the other rooms. 

“You got here half an hour ago and you’re just making it in here?” one of the guys asks as she and Quinn sit next to each other on the couch. “Ellie, you have to get him to go faster through the greetings next time. I cannot be left alone with Brock for this long.”

She looks at Quinn, confused as to how they already know her name. 

“You know I have to say hi to everyone, I’m captain.”

“As captain, you should be able to do one big greeting and let that be it so you can seclude yourself in a separate room where you don’t have to talk to everyone else,” one of the other guys said.

“Every time you talk, Brock, you add more to the long list of why you would make a horrible captain.”

“I would be a great captain.” 

“Elias, Brock, jeez.” 

“You know you can’t leave us alone for too long.” 

Ellie gets lost in their conversation, not even being able to contribute to what they were saying because their verbal sparring is so fast and so specific to their history with each other, she wouldn’t even know where to begin. Quinn puts his arm around her, pulling her closer to him by her waist. He looks at her while Brock and Elias continue bickering, smiling at her and giving her a soft kiss on her forehead. 

The guys interrupt them, jeering and teasing them to the point where Ellie has her face buried in Quinn’s shoulder, trying to hide from the embarrassment. “So, Ellie, what do you see in El Capitan here?” Brock asks, giving the most obnoxious facial expression possible.

“You do not have to answer that,” Elias tells her. “Brock has no idea how to interact with anyone, just ignore him.”

“That’s not true.” 

“You thought a good pick up line to use on a girl was ‘you dropped something, my jaw,’ the other night and then were shocked when she just turned and walked away,” Elias says, earning a laugh from Ellie and Quinn.

“You have definitely taken a girl out on a date and then talked about yourself the entire time,” Quinn adds, Brock shrinking further into his seat. 

“You look like the kind of guy that would go to a bookstore and pretend to look lost to see if a girl would talk to you,” Ellie adds, sending the guys into a frenzy. 

“He wouldn’t have to pretend to be lost,” Elias says, poking a pouting Brock in the leg. “You should come around more, Ellie.”

“She’s spent too much time with Quinn already,” Brock whines, Quinn pulling her so she’s practically in his lap, kissing her cheek.

“I told you,” he whispers, just loud enough for only her to hear. “I need you to come around more, too.” Ellie turns to him, her cheeks burning before they both burst out laughing. “That sounded horrible.”

The four of them fall into an easy conversation, the three boys doing everything they can to make Ellie feel included, not shying away from teasing her like they were each other earlier. She felt comfortable. 

Ellie eventually excused herself to go to the bathroom and get more drinks for her and Quinn, the alcohol finally hitting her. She barely finds her way back to the room the guys were in, Thatcher’s house seeming much bigger now that she wasn’t sober and much harder to navigate without Quinn taking her around.

She didn’t mean to listen to their conversation, standing on other side of the opening without them seeing her.

“Brock, I swear, if brains were dynamite, you wouldn’t be able to blow your fucking nose,” she hears Elias say, stiffling a laugh as Brock mumbles something about not meaning to spill his drink on Elias.

“Anyway,” Quinn grunts, sounding like he was getting off the floor.

“Ellie is awesome, by the way,” Elias says, Ellie sure she missed some sort of segue that could have led the conversation from Brock to Ellie.

“She’s snarky,” Brock adds, Ellie hearing a smack and Brock letting out a cough. “That’s not a bad thing.” 

“I met her by accident but I cannot think about what it would be like without her now,” she hears Quinn say, Ellie trying to figure out if she actually heard him right. That sounded like he was much more serious about her than she thought he was. 

“Woah, Quinn,” Elias says. “You met her a few months ago.”

“God, I know,” she hears Quinn let out. “But you know how you just know sometimes? You run into this person one day and they just make your life better?”

“You guys made my life worse since I met you,” Brock mutters. “I say goodnight to her every night and I can’t wait until I can say good morning to her the next day.” 

“You’re a simp.”

“Can you blame me? She’s perfect.”

Ellie finally enters the room, trying her best to pretend that she didn’t just hear everything Quinn told his friends, the ones he told her he would trust with anything. It had to mean something that they already knew who she was before coming and that he could tell them those things unprovoked.

Quinn lights up at the sight of her, giving her another kiss and wrapping his arms around her when she sits down. “You took a bit,” he comments. 

“This house is confusing,” she lies.

Elias and Brock continue to bicker while ignoring Ellie and Quinn. Ellie eventually finishes her drink, along with the third one that Brock had managed to hand off to her at some point, sinking down so her head was in Quinn’s lap.

“How often do you think about the future?”

“I mean, I’m normally thinking about what I’m making for my next meal once I finish the one I’m eating.”

Ellie groans, their hands intertwined and in constant movement, suddenly regretting how much they had both had to drink. She looks up at him, a smile on her face despite the look on his that told her he had absolutely no thoughts behind those eyes. “Like, us in the future. Our future.”

“Huh,” Quinn starts, “I don’t know. I like us right now where we are.” 

Ellie nods, trying to hide the disappointment that she felt. Why could he tell Elias and Brock what he thought about her, but not tell her? He hadn’t even called her his girlfriend to her face, yet. Were they even boyfriend and girlfriend yet? Was it too early to even ask, or should she even ask at all?

They were staying over at Thatcher’s house at this point, neither of them in the position to drive, Elias and Brock electing to stay on the couches. Quinn pulls her up and kisses her, a yawn escaping her after he pulls away. “Want to head to bed? Thatch said we can snag one of the guest rooms.”

Ellie nodded, Quinns hand in hers as he lead her down the hallway. She should be nervous, the first night they were spending together completely unplanned and in one of his teammates house instead of somewhere special. 

But it was with Quinn.

She was fine.  

___________________

“When are you going to be ready?” 

“When I am.”

“You’re taking way too long.” 

“I am not taking too long, you got ready too quickly.”

“Kendyl, I took an hour to get ready to meet Quinn and his friends, and you started getting ready before I got here,” Ellie groans, lying down on Kendyl’s bed. The group chat Ellie had with Quinn and the guys was blowing up, asking where Ellie and Kendyl were. After meeting Kendyl a while back, Quinn was convinced she would be the person to set Brock straight. Ellie wasn’t convinced, but what was the harm of introducing them?

“I’m meeting a Canuck, tonight, El, I have to look good.”

Ellie sits up, looking at Kendyl in her mirror. She knew her friend was nervous. No matter what she could say, nothing would change. “I promise you, you could wear nothing more than a trash bag and Brock would be drooling over you.” 

Kendyl took a deep breath. “Are you sure?”

“Ken, you’re beautiful. You’re funny. You can verbally spar with anyone to get what you want at any time. If you decide you want something to happen with Brock, there’s no way he wouldn’t agree to it.”

Kendyl nods, finally getting up and grabbing Ellie’s hand and her coat to drag her out the door. 

“Are we sure we’re going to have fun?” Kendyl asks, the shaking in her voice something Ellie had never seen before.

“You sound like me now.” It was still winter in Vancouver, the below freezing temperatures combined with the warmest bar appropriate outfits they had not enough to actually keep them warm as they walked through the city to meet all of the guys. 

“What are they like? I only know Quinn.”

Ellie has to stop and think for a moment. How did she even begin to describe them? “I think you just have to wait and see. Quinn is nothing like them.” 

“Oh, my god, you hate your boyfriend's friends.”

“No, what?” Ellie asks, unable to hide her laughter. “I really like his friends. I’m getting closer with Elias and Brock is definitely good for a laugh when you need it.” 

Kendyl nods, both of them shivering as they walk. Quinn had such a warm jacket, Ellie thought back to the night the two of them met. She wouldn’t have been able to see herlife with Quinn coming. She thought Kendyl was just an annoying coworker, Quinn would be just a hook up, and that she would end up having to move home because of her mom and Alex. She never thought it would be this. 

They get to the bar after feeling like they were walking forever, Quinn making a beeline to Ellie as soon as they made eye contact. “God, I’m happy you’re here,” he slurs, planting a sloppy kiss on her cheek.

“Wow, you’re already drunk,” she points out, trying to push him away slightly. Quinn had told her they were going into a break in the season, so getting drunk was necessary. She had seen him a little drunk, more tipsy than anything, but never like this, and never in public. “Let’s get you some water, babe.”

Quinn lets out a giggle, slinging his arm around Ellie while she focuses on him instead of getting Kendyl over to Brock. She looks around the bar for her friend, or at least one of the guys to hopefully help her make sure he doesn’t go much farther than he already was with the alcohol. 

“Ellie, right?” she hears from behind her as she sets Quinn down at the booth in the back where the rest of the guys were seated. She turns around, one of the new guys in the office standing behind her, glass of beer in hand. 

“Uh, yeah, hey. Dylan, right?”

“Declan, actually,” he corrects her, a quick apology escaping her lips. “Sorry, I don’t mean to interrupt, I just saw Kendyl over by the bar and she mentioned you were here. I wanted to say hi.”

Even though it was darker in the bar, Ellie swears she saw him blushing, fidgeting and acting nervous in front of her. The guys didn’t seem to notice she was even standing there, but Declan seemed to be trying to take in everything about her. 

“Are you here with anyone?” she asks, feeling Quinn pull her into his lap, Ellie falling without an ounce of grace down towards him. “Sorry, this is my boyfriend, Quinn, and some of his friends.”

“Uh, hi,” he says, Ellie feeling Quinns arms wrap tighter around her as Declan talks, “I’m here with my roommate, but I lost him about half an hour ago.” 

“You should join us then,” Quinn says, moving him and Ellie further into the booth to make room for Declan. The tone in his voice told her he really didn’t want to do that. 

Kendyl finally comes back with drinks, Quinn taking the beer that was meant for Ellie and downing it much faster than he should have. Brock was already captivated by Kendyl as soon as she sat down, Elias rolling his eyes as he was making a fool of himself, Kendyl finding it weirdly endearing.

“So, Deacon,” Quinn starts, much louder than he should have been. “How do you know my girlfriend?”

“Uh,” Declan says, as caught off guard by Quinn’s sudden shift in mood as Ellie is, “I work with her. Just started about a month ago.”

Quinn nods. “What did you do before this?”

“I was a nurse in the ICU at Vancouver General.” 

“Couldn’t handle it, Derek?” 

“Quinn, what?” Ellie scoffs. 

Declan coughs, clearly getting uncomfortable fast. “It was a lot, so no. I liked helping people, but seeing traumatic thing after traumatic thing takes a toll on you really fast. So I went back to school and ended up with Ellie and Kendyl.” 

“Ah, a college degree.” 

“Quinn,” Ellie hissed. She didn’t like where this was going, Quinn holding on to Ellie like he was marking his territory. 

“I actually don’t have my degree, yet.”

“Interesting thing to brag about?” Declan says, nervously sipping on his beer. 

“Well, it’s hard to finish when you get called up to play with the Canucks, you know?”

Declan shrugs. “Is that the CFL team? I don’t follow sports.”

Ellie gets off Quinns lap, pushing Declan aside and dragging Quinn along with her. She didn’t need to hear what Quinn was going to say next. He was starting to act like a jackass and she didn’t want to see more. 

The two of them end up outside, the cold hitting Ellie like a slap in face. “What is wrong with you? He wasn’t doing anything for you to act like that to him.”

“I don’t like him,” Quinn pouts.

“You just met him.”

“I don’t like people who are trying to take my girl.”

Ellie can’t help but scoff. “‘Take your girl?’ What, am I your property? Did you get a good dowry? How many sheep did you have to give my family in exchange for your hand?”

Quinn rolls his eyes. “Come on, Ellie.”

“No, Quinn, you come on. He wasn’t hitting on me. He doesn’t even know me to like me.”

“Of course he likes you, Ellie, look at you.” Quinn takes a step closer to her, suddenly getting softer towards her. “You’re so pretty. You’re so smart. You know what to do with everything.” 

“If he likes me, that doesn’t matter,” Ellie snaps, still annoyed with him. “I don’t like him. I like you. I’m dating you. That should be enough for you to not act like an asshole towards him.”

Quinn hangs his head. “I’m sorry.” 

“You should be saying that to him.”

The two of them stand there in the cold in silence, Ellie not wanting to budge and Quinn wanting her to go with him. “Come with me?”

Ellie bites her lip, her mood ruined because of him in just a short amount of time. “I think I’m going to go home. I’m tired, anyway.”

“Let me walk you?” Just like the night they met.

“No, it’s fine. I’ll let you know when I’m back.”

They stand there for another moment, Quinn making the first move to pull Ellie in for a kiss. “I love you, Ellie.”

Ellie hadn’t been thinking about love with him yet. She wasn’t there yet. “Goodnight, Quinn,” she told him, turning and walking away, leaving him there on the sidewalk.

___________________

“Have you ever loved anyone?” 

“Uh, you.”

“Not that kind of love, idiot.”

“Oh, um. I was in love with Tess Virtue for a while there.”

“While I get that, I still don’t mean that kind of love, Alex.” 

Alex laughs on the other end of the call, Ellie getting ready for work while he got ready for class. “El, you’re the other sister here, aren’t I supposed to be asking you this?”

Ellie and Quinn were in a weird place since Ellie left that night. She had hoped that Quinn was too drunk to remember that he had told her loved her and Ellie’s response was just to walk away. She didn’t know if she was in love with him. She knew she wanted to be with him. She didn’t know if she loved him.

“I mean,” Ellie starts, not sure where to go. 

“Are you and Quinn ok?” Ellie tells her brother everything that happened, Alex staying silent for a few seconds after she finished. “Ellie, you did this last time.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Not to go psychology major on you,” Alex says, earning a groan from his sister, “But I think you’re more messed up from Dad leaving than you like to admit you are. You have what sounds like a solid relationship with this guy but you’re afraid that if you let him love you and you let yourself love him, that he’s going to leave just like Dad did. He left us with Mom and we never got that love back.” 

Ellie takes a deep breath. “Jesus. At least I know your degree is worth it.” 

“I could be wrong. I’m only six semesters into this degree, after all.”

“I hate you.” 

“I love you, too, El.” 

Everything goes back to her parents. There’s no reason she couldn’t love Quinn. 

She was in a daze on her commute to the office. Does she love him? Regardless of Alex’s psychoanalysis, even if their dad leaving them with their mom made her think anyone who would love her would leave, is she able to love him?

She wanted to be with him, but she didn’t know what it was like to love him.

“You look horrible,” Kendyl says, Declan trying not to make eye contact with her at their little desk clump, probably trying to not agree. 

“Thank you, for that,” Ellie huffs, dropping her bag on the floor before she falls into her chair. “I just had a weird morning. Don’t really want to talk about it.” 

The morning passes by in a blur, the menial tasks of her job at least giving Ellie something to take her mind off Quinn. Anytime her mind would start to wander, anytime she thought about him in any way, she would just switch back to work mode and force herself to do whatever it is she needed to do.

“Hey,” Ellie thinks she hears from behind her, someone sounding just like Quinn. She ignored it, figuring it was just her imagination and her officially losing her mind over what was going on in her relationship. “Babe?”

Ellie jumps, thoroughly surprised that Quinn was actually standing behind her. “I thought you were leaving for Florida today.”

Quinn pulls her up, kissing her hello, a soft look on his face that told Ellie that everything was ok. “We leave in a few hours, so I wanted to come by and surprise you. Do you have a minute?”

Ellie nods, following Quinn down to the lobby of the building. She knew that if she went somewhere in the office, Kendyl would probably have her ear glued to the other side of the wall of whatever room they were in to try to listen to their conversation. 

“So, you don’t love me,” Quinn lets out slowly, pausing a little between each word, breaking Ellie’s heart each time.

“God,” she lets out.

“It’s ok.” They stand in silence, what they had with each other when they first met already somehow dying off between them. “I’m ok.”

“I want to love you. You know I have other things going on that are messing with my mind. You know me.” 

Quinn rolls his eyes, Ellie taking a step back. “What, the stuff with your mom?” Ellie gives him a small nod. “You can’t keep using that as an excuse, Ellie,” he snaps.

Ellie recoils at his words, the person in front of her not the same one who told her would always be there for her when she needed him, that he would help if she would let him and that he wanted to be there, for her and with her, for everything. This was someone who wouldn’t do any of that. “It’s not an excuse. It’s my life, Quinn. You grew up never having to worry about coming home from school and learning that the lights were turned off, or getting scared that the heat would get cut off in the middle of the winter, or that you were two days away from living in a car,” she nearly yells at him, catching him off guard. “I’m sorry that it messed me up and I’m trying to fix it and at least be honest with you about it because I want to be with you.” 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, you idiot. I want to be with you. But I don’t know what it’s like to be loved by someone who stays. I don’t know what it’s like to love someone who wants to stay. I think I love you, but I don’t think that my work is the place to figure it out.” 

Quinn smiles at her, hugging her and holding her tight, every part of her relaxing as he does so. “That’s all I need. That’s all I want.” 

___________________

“Ok, if we have to stay all night, then we’re ordering food.” 

“I never agreed to staying all night.” 

“Ellie, we have to get this done before we go home.”

“Yeah, but I have plans tonight. I’m not staying all night, extra pay or not.”

Declan groans, a stupid smile on his face. “Are you driving to these plans tonight?”

Ellie gets a bad feeling in her stomach, one that puts a smile on her face regardless. This project had forced them together much more often than Quinn probably would have liked if he found out. The client was demanding it be done three weeks faster than anticipated,which meant they had to get it done before Monday. “Nope. Why?” Declan gets up from the table the two of them and Kendyl are sitting at in the conference room to give them more space to spread out, running over to his desk and yanking one of the drawers open. “Dex, what are you doing?” Ellie calls.

The three of them had already been in the office much longer than everyone else, the rest of their colleagues having left early for the weekend while the three of them stayed behind.

Ellie had plans with Quinn that night for the first time in a while.

“Getting this,” Declan says, pulling her out of the spiraling thoughts she was having about her relationship.

He holds up three plastic red cups and a bottle of rum, the one alcohol that Ellie could stomach without any mixer, a sociopathic tendency as Kendyl would call it. “Why is that there?” Kendyl asks.

Declan shrugs, popping open the bottle with ease and pouring way more than a single shot into each of the cups. “One of the clients gave it to me as a thank you.”

“We never get alcohol as a thank you,” Ellie scoffs, Kendyl agreeing.

“Men,” Kendyl rolls her eyes.

Declan laughs, raising his cup to Ellie and clinking it against hers, downing it in a few seconds as he watches Ellie do the same. Both of them cough, the liquid burning down their throats much more than they were expecting, neither of them breaking eye contact with each other while forgetting Kendyl was there with them. “Alright, we work until we’re done. We refill when we need to.”

Ellie smiles at him, the warmth of the alcohol already coursing through her. Her phone starts buzzing, a call coming in from someone whose contact she can’t quite make out. “No phones.”

The three of them get to work, the sun setting without them realizing it as their phones keep buzzing over and over again. They weren’t even entirely sure what the project was that their boss was asking of them, but then again, when were they ever?

They had to have been working for at least two hours straight without moving, feeling like they hadn’t even made a dent in the amount of tasks they had for the project. “I need to go home,” Kendyl groans, rubbing her hands over her face.

“We need to finish this,” Ellie points out.

“We need more alcohol.” Declan gets up, already somehow emptying the bottle into their three cups. He winks at Ellie, yet again ignoring Kendyl and sending a chill down Ellie’s spine before heading back out of the conference room without another word. 

Kendyl squeals once he’s out of earshot, shaking Ellie’s arm. “Oh, my god, he is so obsessed with you.”

“He is not,” Ellie insists, the heat running to her cheeks at the thought of her coworker liking her. She’s dating Quinn. Dating a coworker is out of the question. Dating Delcan isn’t even a thought.

“Ellie, I’m not even here when he’s around. You two are flirting so much.”

“I’m not sure you know what flirting is.”

“What about Quinn?”

Ellie’s stomach churned at his name. “Quinn and I are fine,” she tells Kendyl, trying to ignore how high her voice got involuntarily. 

“El.”

“Ken.”

“You’re lying to me.” Ellie bites her lip, hating that Kendyl knew her well enough to tell. “What’s going on with you two? You were off last time I saw you together.”

Ellie sees Declan out of the corner of her eye shifting around the desks outside the conference room. “I have no idea.” Kendyl stays silent, Ellie feeling like she has to fill the space. “We see each other less and less now, part of it because of both our jobs right now.”

“Well, that makes sense, that happens.”

“But when we do spend time together, we don’t say anything. We barely talk anymore at all. It’s like we ran out of things to say.”

“Who has nothing to say?” Declan interrupts, plopping down in his chair with another bottle of rum.

“Ellie and Quinn. Why do you have another bottle?” Kendyl asks.

“I have many bottles. Who’s Quinn?” 

“Ellie’s boyfriend.” 

Declan just nods, giving Ellie an uneasy feeling as they both take a sip of their drinks again, the eye contact between them mixed with the alcohol making her mind spin. “We’re just going through a weird phase right now. We’ll get through it.”

Kendyl recaps what Ellie told her, unprompted, to Declan, who infuriatingly just sits there, the alcohol making him look way too attractive for Ellie’s liking. “You don’t want my opinion, do you?” he asks.

“Kendyl gives me hers all the time when I don’t want it, you might as well give yours.”

“You’re both busy. That happens.”

“See?” Ellie prods Kendyl. 

“But,” Declan starts again, Kendyl sticking her tongue out at Ellie like a child, “Being busy could also mean not being willing to make time for each other.” 

Ellie took in a deep breath, hating what he was saying. It wasn’t like he said that much, but he said enough. The room suddenly felt too small, the work too overwhelming, the alcohol hitting her all at once. “I’m going to go to the bathroom,” she says, practically running out of the room. 

Are she and Quinn not making enough time for each other? Are they just ending their relationship without saying that it’s over? She didn’t think she wanted to break up with him, but at this point, what was staying with him doing for her? 

Ellie looks at herself in the mirror. She didn’t know if it was the alcohol distorting her perception of herself or if it was the mirror that probably hadn’t been cleaned in a while, but she didn’t look like herself. She looked off. She had felt off for a while, but she had no idea why. 

Was it because of Quinn? Ellie had heard that to be loved was to be changed, but what happens when you don’t like how you’ve changed? How much should she fight to get things back to the way there were when they first started seeing each other? What has to happen for her to just give up instead?

“Hey, sorry,” Declan startles Ellie, causing her to lose her balance and stumble against the sink. “I’m sorry that I upset you.”

“No, uh,” Ellie starts, wiping a tear from her cheek she didn’t even know had fallen, “You didn’t upset me.”

“Can I ask you something?” Declan’s voice is gentle as he takes a step closer to you, waiting for her to nod. “If you aren’t happy, why are you still with him?”

Ellie shrugs, not wanting to look at him. If she looks, she’ll fall apart. “I love him. I do. He knows me better than anyone. I’ve told him things I haven’t told anyone outside of my family, not even Kendyl. But sometimes,” she takes in a breath, her voice shaking. “Sometimes I wonder if it was all for nothing. We have no time for each other anymore. I see Kendyl more than I see him.”

“Ellie,” he says, his voice low as he steps closer to her. She was sure he could hear her heart racing. 

She was dating Quinn.

Quinn.

“Oh, fuck,” Ellie practically yells. “What time is it?”

“Uh, 8:30.”

“Quinn was picking me up at 8:15.” Ellie runs from the bathroom, leaving Declan calling after her. She grabs her stuff from the conference room without saying a word to Kendyl. 

She hears Declan in the background, calling after her as she runs down the stairs, dropping things in the stairwell that she doesn’t bother to pick up. She was rattled, Quinn already waiting for what had now become twenty minutes without her so much as texting him back the entire time.

Declan catches up to her, everything she’s dropped in his hands when she bursts through the front door of the building, Quinn’s car at the curb with him leaning against it scrolling on his phone. He looks up, his eyes going between his disheveled girlfriend and the one guy that she talked to that he was worried about, equally out of breath and carrying her things, both of them looking panicked.

He could tell Ellie was drunk. He knew she was drinking with him.

“What is this, Ellie?” he asks, trying to keep a calm tone in his voice as best as he can.

Ellie starts stammering, the alcohol not helping her at all. “We were doing that project I told you about, we lost track of time. I know I’m late but I wasn’t looking at my phone so we could finish as fast as possible.”

Quinn takes in a deep breath, looking up to the sky so he didn’t have to see her reaction to what he was about to say. “Ellie, I know he likes you. I told you likes you the night I met him. And, I know you like him, even if you don’t realize it yet. What am I doing here?”

Ellie steps toward him, her legs starting to shake as she tried to process what he was saying. “Quinn, you’re taking me out. You said we were meeting the guys tonight.”

“No, Ellie. I am. You’re gonna stay here.You’re gonna finish the project. You’re going to spend the night with Declan. You should be with someone who has time for you.”

“Quinn.” 

“We’ve both been busy. We’ve both had way too many things going on to focus on each other. We deserve better. You deserve better.”

“Quinn,” she repeats, standing right in front of him. She reaches up to his cheek, him leaning into her touch as he finally looks at her. “What are you saying?”

“You know, Ellie.” 

They stand there, forgetting Declan behind them and ignoring the world around them. Quinn cups her cheeks, kissing her like he did the very first time. “Bye, Eleanor.”

“Bye, Quinn,” Ellie whispers, not wanting to let go. 

Everything happened so fast. Ellie stood on the curb, wanting to drop her things right on the sidewalk and chase after him as he got in his car and drove away. She didn’t move as Declan came up behind her, gently putting his arm around her to try to comfort her. She didn’t hear him say that he wanted to get her back inside so that Kendyl could be with her, so that she’d have someone she trusted to talk to after what just happened.

She just stood there. 

___________________

Quinn was miserable. The guys were all with their partners, while Quinn sat in the middle with no one by his side. All he had was the beer in front of him that he didn’t even want to drink. 

He should be happy. They were already having a great season. They had already secured a playoff spot. The team was playing to have fun and winning was coming because of it. 

Brock comes up to him with Kendyl, the two of them still going strong. Quinn liked Kendyl, but seeing her still reminded him of Ellie, even if the two of them didn’t work together anymore. 

“Come on, buck up. There are plenty of girls here that you could at least talk to,” Brock tries to encourage him.

Quinn just shrugs him off, slowly turning the glass of beer around on the table. He wasn’t in the mood to be there, but there was no way the guys would let him leave this early. 

Brock leaves to get another round of drinks, Kendyl staying behind. “She’s doing ok, you know,” she says, barely above a whisper. 

Quinn sighs. “I miss her.” 

Kendyl puts her hand on his shoulder, giving him a sympathetic smile. “I know.”

They sit for a moment, both of them unsure what to say next. What do you say to someone who was still broken over something that should have never shattered in the first place?

“Hey, isn’t that that Dexter guy you work with?” Elias comes over and asks, pointing to the other side of the bar. 

Quinn feels the air escape his lungs, Ellie and Declan together, Declan holding on to her as a guy moved past them, pressing their bodies against each other. She didn’t hesitate to take the opportunity to drape her arms on his shoulders, getting up on her toes to kiss him, their foreheads pressed together when they pull away while they looked at each other like they were the only people in the world. 

“She’s happy,” Kendyl says. 

“She’s happier,” Quinn corrects her, his heart breaking at the fact that he couldn’t do that for her. 

#winter fic exchange 2024 #quinn hughes #quinn hughes one shot #quinn hughes fic #vancouver canucks #canucks

[frazzledsoul]

It's generally left out in the annals of bad behavior/infidelity in the Gilmore Girls canon, but I just want to review the details of Lorelai's "situationship" with Twilight Dad in season 3 when she is in the midst of lecturing Jess and Rory on proper boyfriend/girlfriend etiquette.

Lorelai meets Alex (aka Twilight Dad) on 3.11, which aired on January 21. She and Alex are third wheels when Sookie meets up with an old friend and accidentally sets up a date with him (this takes place during the episode where Rory and Paris fence and have intense sexual tension). I think he asks her out during this episode.

One week later, on 3.12 (airing on February 28) Lorelai and Alex have a coffee date. They discuss the coffee shop he's opening and his two kids who he shares custody with his ex. He suggests a fishing date, and Lorelai ropes Luke into teaching her how to fish. Bear in mind that she has known Luke has crushed on her for the better part of two years.

Anyway, after this incident, Luke decides to give up on Lorelai and asks Nicole out.

The next episode is 3.13, which is the flashback episode. It airs on February 4. This is Luke and Nicole's first date. Nicole definitely does not spend the night.

3.14 airs on February 11. This is Swan Song, where Lorelai is antsy about Rory and Jess possibly fucking, he gets beaked in the eye by the ghost of Shane, they fight, and at the end of the episode Alexis makes a way too realistic moan into Milo's mouth and Rory goes home and tells Lorelai that she's totally going to do Jess at some point.

So Alex and Lorelai have been going out for three weeks, and they decide to go away together with Sookie and Jackson. Sounds kind of serious. It's also mentioned in this episode that in the one week he's been dating Nicole Luke has been on a bunch of overnight trips to New York and seen a bunch of Broadway plays with his girlfriend. I guess we're supposed to assume there's a time jump here because there's no way he did all that within a week.

I'll also point out here that even though Luke mentions he interrupts Rory and Jess every ten minutes so they don't get around to having sex, if he's also making overnight trips to New York they're probably being left alone in the apartment at night quite a bit. Pair that with the offscreen "movie nights" we hear about later and yeah, uh, I think we can figure out what is taking place because no way is that going on in Lorelai's house unless it's also happening while she's out with Alex.

3.15 is February 18, the hockey episode. Jess doesn't call Rory to arrange a date and Lorelai lectures him on his terrible boyfriend behavior. Then he shows up with hickey tickets (and then some!) and I'm guessing Rory's virginity became fairly technical in the car afterwards.

3.16 is the episode where Paris is rejected from Harvard, which airs on February 25. Lorelai is delighted to know that Rory has not actually had sex and that she has "the good kid". She also makes out with Max and then tells Rory all about it and when Rory asks about poor Twilight Dad, Lorelai says "I don't know." I'm thinking you really should not be giving lectures on morality and proper relationship etiquette, hon. Also two weeks ago the relationship was serious enough to include an overnight weekend, but now it doesn't matter? Huh.

So let's skip ahead to Keg. Max, which is three episodes and two months later, which airs on April 25. I'm assuming there actually was a time jump between Luke and Nicole's first date and the swan episode and these episodes actually took place much closer together than they aired, as there's a lot of stuff going on with Luke finding out Jess is skipping school, steals his car to force him to go, and Jess finally being told he isn't graduating that seems like it would take place much closer in time. Anyway, it seems that Lorelai concludes that her relationship with Twilight Dad is over, because "it's become more intermittent". Does she call him and ask them if their relationship is over? I think we all know the answer to that one. Lorelai tries to push herself on Max after he says no and acts like she's the one that's been affronted when he shoves a table between them. I think there was supposed to be a parallel between Lorelai and Jess crossing boundaries in this episode, although I'm not sure why Lorelai did what she did for any reason other than she felt like it.

I really feel someone who behaves in this manner should not be lecturing her teenage daughter or her boyfriend about what a real relationship looks like, nor should she be evaluating who or who isn't "the good kid" based on what she's been doing. It appears Alex was just cheated on and dropped without explanation as the relationship was getting serious. Rory was fully aware of what was happening and further got the message that it is okay to do this sort of thing if an ex boyfriend enters the picture because if he was yours first, it's okay to cheat with him whenever you feel like it. I'm sure that's not something she's going to take to heart or anything.

Anyway, fair well Twilight Dad. I'm sure you'll have more interesting adventures in the PNW from now on.

#alex lesman #gilmore girls #the misadventures of twilight dad #also thoughts on rory and jess's movie nights

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls- Season 2, Episode 16, "There's The Rub", aka A Sheer Masterpiece of GilmoreDom, AKA Jess, Rory, And Paris Eat Together And All Is Right With The World-Part 3

Who's ready for more TTR? (PS: There is a link to all previous recaps including parts 1 and 2 of TTR in my pinned post, while I work on puting together a better master index. You can also search my Tumblr by specific episode name or season).

Anyone ever look at unofficial GG merchandise on places like Redbubble and Etsy? There are a bunch of phrases that always end up on crap. Oy with the poodles already. I smell snow. Etc etc. "Vicious trollop" is a very common one as well. But nobody was putting "Why Did You Drop Out of Yale" on anything, so I had to create my own custom merch.

The banter between Emily and Lorelai is so sharp and witty and wonderful in this episode, it reminds me why am I still watching this show in the first place and subjecting myself to the additional torture of analyzing every episode minute by minute (for the second time in 3 years), even though it so often greatly disappoints me or angers me. There are just some episodes where AmyShermanPalladino's light shines through and touches everything in her kingdom. None of these moments involve Dean Forrester.

Never have I ever been so excited to see these two little words. "Doorbell Rings." JESS JESS JESS JESS JESS JESS JESS JESS JESS JESS

When I tell you I literally squealed when she opened the door. If Gilly Girls was taking place in the 2020's, Jess would be a DoorDasher. I would have him deliver to the Forresters and spit in Dean's food. This is all too pure. My heart's a flutter. I can't snark on it. SaltyGilmores™ has been disabled. Look, I can't just regurgiate every single line and frame from this scene so I'll just post a select few things. Enjoy and #AdmireTheDeliveryBaby

Can we talk about the way she's looking at him? 😍 R: How come Cesar didn't deliver this? J: I volunteered. R: Why? J: I wanted to get out of the construction zone. Mmm, sure. I love when he does this shit:

He doesn't exactly sound surprised that one of the Gilmores didn't tip him. I will never cease, desist or yield in making "Rory and Lorelai don't pay for their food" jokes.

Should I instead make jokes about how this is the second time in a row that the Gilmores actually did try to pay him and he refused?

The last time we saw this shirt, he had a name patch over his titty. I really like this shirt and how we can see his scandalous bare forearms for once. Dear Baby Jesus, Milo is adorable. And the light on him is just perfect in this shot.

R: You're staying? J: Didn't you just invite me? R: No... J: You told me I could have all the food I wanted. That sounded Invitation-Like. R: You want to stay here and eat? J: Beats being at Luke's.

You will not be going anywhere, young lady. You sit right down at that table and have a literary debate with Jess and Rory, eat some fries, and don't get up until Dean Forrester barges in and ruins everything.

Jess Mariano's social anxiety is so palpable you could eat it. It is radiating from his pores with the intensity of a hundred suns. This anxious little nugget, who did not make even a second of eye contact upon meeting a new person, has the entire town of Schitt's Hollow quaking in fear of what atrocities he may be capable of. Oooh what have we here? A MINOR INCONSEQUENTIAL PLOT HOLE!

To be continued.

#milo ventimiglia #gilmore girls #jess mariano #rory gilmore #lorelai gilmore #denise rewatches gilmore girls #gilmore girls season 2 #theres the rub #emily gilmore #paris geller #I love this episode I just want to gently place it in my nest #and incubate it #Anti Dean Forrester

[mwolf0epsilon]

Bedtime Anxieties

I have been wanting to transcribe this Parafernalha video as a sort of clone wars incorrect quotes for ages. This is a whole series of them themed around bedtime anxieties.

(For my non-portuguese speaking followers, Parafernalha is a Brazilian comedy skit youtube channel and they have some pretty funny vids that definitely work as incorrect quotes situations.)

---

-Fear of the Dark-

Jesse, turning off his bedside lamp after getting nice and comfortable in bed: Ominous voice in the dark: Jeeeeeesse.... Jesse, turning the light back on and glancing around in confusion: ...? Jesse, shrugs and turns the light back off to try to get some sleep: Ominous voice in the dark, slightly more insistent than before: Jeeeeeesseeeee.... Jesse, turning the light on again and looking around more frantically: ?! Jesse, turning the light back off slightly annoyed: Ominous voice in the dark, mockingly: JeEeEeEsSeEeEeE!!! Jesse, turning the light back on: FUCK! -turns over and tries to get some sleep with the light on-

-Domestic Accidents-

Echo, laying in his hammock and pulling his blanket over himself before closing his eyes and turning onto his side to get comfortable: Echo, suddenly snapping his eyes back open and jolting up in bed: Did I remember to turn off the gas??? -The Havoc Marauder explodes-

-Sleepwalking-

Dogma, sleeping peacefully on the top bunk: Tup, sleeping on the bottom bunk: Guaraná!!! Dogma, jolting awake: Whoa..?! Dogma, looking around in confusion: ...? -tiredly rubs his face before laying his head back down to try to get back to sleep- Tup: Guaraná!!! -shifting in his sleep- Dogma, sitting back up: Ah...? Tup, sitting up and beginning to sleepwalk: A glass of guaraná... Dogma, watching him go: ... Tup, stumbling on his way out and now yelling: I want a glass of guaraná!! I wanna eat my children!!! Dogma, unsure what the hell he's dreaming about that's making him say that and honestly too afraid to ask: ??? Tup, sleepwalking out of the barracks: Y'all are a bunch of punks! Dogma, stays in bed after deciding this is ultimately not his problem:

-Insomnia-

Kix, thinking to himself while laying in bed: Why do I always have so much trouble falling asleep? I shouldn't have watched that extra episode of Gilmore Girls. Why do I always sabotage myself like that? What am I even doing with my life? You know what, fuck it. I'll think about it tomorrow. Kix, closes his eyes and tries to fall asleep: -Kex's alarm goes off, signalling the start of his shift- Kix, tiredly opening his eyes: Motherfucker...

-Nighttime Invaders-

Cody, asleep in his bed in the officer's quarters of the Negotiator after a rough day of preparations before a campaign: Cody, slowly wakes up when he realizes he hears loud techno music: ... Cody, gets up and goes investigate only to find the 501st appear to have invaded the Negotiator and are currently throwing a party: ..... Fives, dancing and having a good time before noticing Cody standing in the doorway: ... You left the ship unlocked. Come join the party! -continuing to enjoy himself- Cody, flabbergasted: ...

-Back with Sleepwalking Tup-

Random Mugger, blaster in hand: Oi, this is a robbery! Give me everything you've got. Tup, still very much sleepwalking: I'd like a cup treat with strawberry and nutella... Random Mugger, confused: You'd like a-- Dude are you crazy??? Tup, disarming the man with ease: THE CLIENT IS ALWAYS RIGHT! -shoots the blaster in the air before stuffing it in his waistband and continuing on his journey- I'd like a cup treat with just a little bit of ganache... Random Mugger, shocked and mildly afraid: ...

-Bizarre Dreams-

Hardcase, sleepily eating junkfood while watching a holofilm on his datapad: Hardcase, slowly nods off: Hardcase, while dreaming: ... -sitting up and beginning to scratch himself frantically- Hardcase, still dreaming: ...? -keeps scratching himself and only pauses when he notices someone sitting at the foot of his bed- Giant Cockroach, sitting at the foot of Hardcase's bed: -lighting a cigar and just sitting there like it owns the place- Hardcase, begins screaming at the top of his lungs and wakes up the entire barracks in the process:

-Awaiting a Visit from Death-

Thorn, shifting in bed and noticing Fox getting dressed in his officer's greys: ... What are you doing Fox? Where are you going? Fox: Getting ready for bed. Thorn, confused: ... Dressed like that? Fox: Obviously... Imagine I die in my sleep and the Grim Reaper comes to get me. Fox: I'm not going dressed in a moth-eaten bodyglove. No. Gotta have SOME dignity... Thorn, rolling his eyes: ...

-Sleeping with Uncovered Feet-

Rex, peacefully asleep in his bed and shifting slight causing the covers to be pulled away from his feet: Random wearing a Jason Voorhees mask, rising up from under the bed and raising a hatched over his head to strike Rex's exposed feet:

-Once again, back with Sleepwalking Tup-

Tup, still sleepwalking and apparently participating in a kowakian monkey-lizard knife fight: Crowd of Natborns, cheering: YEAH! THAT'S IT! WOOHOO!!! One of the Natborn, turns to congratulate Tup on yet another victory: You're on a roll you lucky bastard! -smacking Tup on the back- Tup, jolting awake: ... -looking around in confusion- W-what? Where am I? Where am I?! WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?! The Crowd of Natborns, all startled: ??? Tup, panicking as apparently this isn't the first time he's gotten up to shenanigans while sleepwalking: OH GOD NOT AGAIN! NOT AGAIN!!!

#star wars #the clone wars #incorrect quotes #source: parafernalha #arc trooper jesse #arc trooper echo #clone trooper dogma #clone trooper tup #clone medic kix #commander cody #arc trooper fives #clone trooper hardcase #commander thorn #commander fox #captain rex

[gingerteaonthetardis]

What did you think of the final episode of Mrs Maisel? My expectations were in the gutter due to being absolutely destroyed and demoralized after what ASP did to the Gilmore girls in Year in the Life, so I must say I was actually pleasantly surprised! I knew they weren’t going to give us a happy present day or future with MidgeLenny so I thought the flashback to the Chinese restaurant was nice.

hiiiiii, sorry for the delay, i needed all night to mentally prepare myself to answer this ask <3 i feel like there is no short answer, so i'll probably have to give a long one. my deepest apologies...

so. to be totally honest, i think the finale was about as good as it could be, given the structure of the season up to that point. do i wish they'd chosen to tell the story in real time, not using flashes forward to negate tension, solve problems off-screen, and shortcut emotionally impactful moments? yeah. yeah, i do.

i would have loved to see midge and susie fall out and actually make up in real time; that didn't need to happen in the future/off screen. that should've been the driving arc and the emotional core of the season.

i would have loved to see lenny's supreme court case and the start of his real decline—particularly to contrast it against midge's blossoming career, showing that while they care for each other fuck it, love each other deeply, they are also on paths that must inevitably diverge.

i would have loved for j*el not to be there at all, but that's because i am petty.

i would have loved mei to randomly show up for no narrative reason, because i love stephanie hsu.

i would have loved loved loved to see lenny's 'to is a preposition, come is a verb' bit immortalized on the show, and i will quite literally never forgive them for not including it. i deserve to hear luke kirby singing, "don't come in me, don't come in me, don't come in me me me me me..."

i would have loved to see midge squaring up with the actual consequences of her parenting, maybe trying to restore her relationship with her kids, if we had to do the time jumps. she could even fail! (i mean, i know she made a joke about forgetting their names in the final episode, but i don't think that means they should have been forgotten by the narrative.)

i would have loved to see susie actually with someone, maybe reunited with hedy—or they could have set up a love interest over the course of the season.

i would have loved to see midge and lenny ride off into the sunset, because i am a clown who doesn't care about historical accuracy. (jk, i care about it a lot. you should see the footnotes for the fic i'm writing.) at the very least, we should have seen her reaction to lenny's posthumous pardon.

anyway, i would have loved a lot of things.

as it is, when the finale came to an end, i literally out loud said, "oh. that was the end." gotta love the enthusiasm.

at least it didn't make a whole bunch of things demonstrably worse, which... considering AYITL, i suppose we should be grateful for.

the chinese food scene was lovely and sweet from start to finish. the whole gordon ford hijacking was good, and i was touched at susie's emotional reaction to seeing midge take the mic. i was delighted by how much effort midge put into making sure her mom got the message to come see her perform. i loved abe's enthusiasm about his daughter's success and i loved him reaching to touch her cheek. the return of imogene's beret was good, if i didn't hallucinate that bit.

all said, the finale had its moments, and i enjoyed them when they came. i'm just bummed it was built on, in my opinion, the shaky framework that is the entire rest of the season.

#abbey.txt #tmmm posting #i'm not saying all this to rain on anybody's parade btw #if the finale worked for you... great! it did not work for me #because the entire season did not work for me #so it goes

[mannatea]

Every role in every fandom you've ever been in! GO!!!!!!

Uhhhhh, I’ll try.

Dragon Ball Z: Reader for some years, then writer. Someone in this fandom illustrated one of my ‘fics (the first time that had ever happened to me!) so that was a fun experience.

InuYasha: Obsessive writer with many WIPs. Met my husband through this fandom in 2003 so it’s special. Eventually I actually stopped writing for the fandom and went back to read. I still have fond memories of a specific AU writer (one of the stories they wrote was Bottled Genius).

Rurouni Kenshin: Obsessive writer with many WIPs, most of which were REALLY out there. "Stomach-chewing Demons" still haunts me to this day. (IYKYK.) Also embarrassing? I wrote a lot of poetry here.

G Gundam: Casual enjoyer and fic writer. Unfortunately I still wrote poetry, including a particularly stupid piece about Argo's eyebrows. I have to be kind to this fandom though, it started my tradition of writing "A Kitten for" 'fics.

Fire Emblem: Obsessive writer who wrote hundreds of fics for this fandom over the course of a decade. EXTREMELY prolific but because I wasn't picky about what I wrote I just posted anything that came to mind. I was super super annoying about my ships too. (RIP to everyone who dealt with me and still talks to me from those days.)

Tales of Symphonia: Eager writer in early 2005 who made a lot of friends early and was active on the Namco forums. Mostly flipped between writing humor and angst. I'm haunted by my humor contributions to this fandom. This was my first foray into dark fiction too (we all had our cringe years please be nice to me). When I got back into the fandom some years later I focused more on angst. The third time I was in the fandom I did more reading/commenting and ended up doing RP (as Regal ♥). This time I haven't settled into a role yet, but hopefully it's as the new R/R writer idk.

Star Wars: I read fics for this fandom for years and only ever wrote one. I was heavy into the EU back in like 2002 onward and would reread the Thrawn trilogy and duology on REPEAT. To this day Luke and Mara are the only enemies to lovers pairing I like.

Fushigi Yuugi / Ranma 1/2 / Trigun: Fringe enjoyer, though I did write a fic for FY and Ranma. Don't worry, they both sucked ass.

Pokémon: I used to write AAML and random sad things for no reason. Mostly a casual game enjoyer though. When S&M came out I was the resident fallershipping writer and an RPer until I got bored.

Rose of Versailles: The first regular English writer for the fandom who then dragged a bunch of other people in too, heralding an interesting time for the thirsty fans desperate for fic. This was probably my favorite fandom I was ever in; everybody was just so nice. I wrote my first sex scene for this fandom lmao.

Ouran High School Host Club: Casual writer. This is the fandom where I first wrote a "twist ending" fic and won a contest on LJ with it.

Warcraft: Salty healer gamer. Usually a discipline priest for some reason. (It's the shields. I love the idea of a healer that protects/prevents damage in the first place.) I have tons and tons of OCs in this universe for literally no reason. I've also written a few fics over the years, mostly about characters nobody cares about.

Gilmore Girls: I watched this as it was airing and would talk about it at work with a guy I worked with who watched the new episodes with his wife every week. I wrote a fic but mostly preferred to simply watch it.

Road to Avonlea: Avid viewer, obsesser, and lover of this series. I love love love the characters and the character development and almost all the storylines given to the cast. I only ever wrote one 'fic because this is the kind of series you just don't feel needs a lot of extra stuff.

Kaze Hikaru: Mostly just enjoy the series tbh. I haven't finished it, I just buy my latest manga every year and suffer with the knowledge that death is imminent.

Harry Potter: Got into this late, liked only two characters enough to write about them, disappeared almost instantly again from the fandom.

Full Metal Alchemist: Like Road to Avonlea this series just doesn't need me to write for it. It stands alone very well. Casual enjoyer.

Frozen: I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW I DON'T KNOW. This movie touched me in my soul and meant a lot to me, what can I say. I hardly EVER see movies in theater and I went back more than once to see this one. Elsa was just so relateable to me. I wrote 6 fics somehow and also made some friends.

Attack on Titan: My obsession for writing for this series came out of aBSOLUTELY NOWHERE and decimated me and probably many friendships of years gone by just because I could literally not stop writing stuff. I wrote 100 fics while I was in the fandom and made many friends and acquaintances so I can't regret the time I spent there, even though the last few years were really fuckin' rough. I think there was something really fresh about the 2014 vibe in the fanbase that made it a fun and exciting place to be. Everyone was speculating and having a good time writing about their blorbos back then; it was contagious! This is where I cemented myself as a rarepair enjoyer too because I'm an idiot. (Gelyn. ♥)

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun: Casual enjoyer who wrote a couple of fics for some reason I no longer remember.

Psycho Pass: I needed a new obsession, I got it. The second season sucked so much though, that it made it hard to stay in the fandom, and also the vibe there was kind of bad. Fun while it lasted I guess. I only wrote 8 fics.

When Calls the Heart: What's this Hallmark shit doing here anyway... LOL. I grew up reading Janette Oke's books so seeing a series on Netflix based off of one of her novel series HIT ME LIKE A BRICK and I got a bit obsessed, at least until things fell apart in Season 5. I cared most about characters that felt the least liked by the fans AND the writers so it didn't feel like continuing to write for it was worth my time. 11 stories was enough.

I'm probably forgetting something because I've been in a lot of fandoms, but these are the ones that were more serious, at least to some degree. If I wrote even one fic you know I cared. LOL

#if i missed something just lemme know i guess lmao

[austennerdita2533]

Since you were nice enough to send me a UO, I'm sending you a few in return! Just please resist the temptation to unfollow me if you disagree ;) 1. I ship literati and always felt like they were soulmates but don't think either Dean or Logan - or Rory's relationships with them - were as awful as fandom makes them out to be. Imperfect? Definitely. But toxic and abusive? No, definitely not, at least not according to how I define those words! 2. At least 90% or more of my favorite Luke/Lorelai scenes came before they were actually dating. Basically I found a lot about the way their romance was written in canon to be mildly to majorly disappointing. 3. I don't hate season seven of Gilmore Girls. I'd happily choose to rewatch S7 over almost all of S6 or the revival! 4. Shifting to Friends: I never liked Monica/Richard, and this was way before I shipped Monica/Chandler. I just felt like he was too perfect in a dull, unrealistic way, and their relationship - while objectively positive and healthy and all that -just never emotionally connected with me. 5. Phoebe/Mike are actually perfect for each other and a very underrated ship! I have like 100 more but will shut myself up :)

Love these unpopular opinions! Thanks for sharing them with me. 💕

Literati is OTP for life, but I actually quite enjoy Rory/Logan myself. They have a nice arc and grow to genuinely care for each other. They have a bunch of cute moments, too. With Dean, I do think he exhibits some problematic behavior the further the series/his relationship with Rory goes along.

Most of Luke and Lorelai’s best moments were mostly before they got together. Agreed. And I have a special fondness for certain episodes of s7.

I never thought about Richard that way before, about him being too perfect in an unrealistic way, but you’re probably right haha. I always liked Tom Selleck so that probably colored my opinion of his character in a lot of ways. I did enjoy Monica/Richard, though. Age gap and all.

And YASSSS! Another Phoebe/Mike shipper! I wish there were more of us. They are adorable!

#no one is totally normal #replies #the loveliest of lovely people #ashlee bree talks tv

[ear-worthy]

Double Take Podcast: Your Guide To Streaming TV

There are several reasons why podcasts about movies and TV proliferate. First, listeners of podcasts are also consumers of movies and TV. Second, movie reviews and TV show reviews require no degree or academic certification. In effect, anyone with a sense for artistic excellence can do such reviews. Third, these review shows engender a cadre of co-hosts bantering and bashing each other, adding a comedic touch to the reviews. 

However, just because there are a lot of these podcasts doesn't mean they're easy to do and easy to do well. 

That's why I recommend the Double Take podcast for people who want guidance on streaming TV shows. The co-hosts are articulate, insightful, and engaging, and their reviews are astute and carefully considered. In effect, this podcast can help you find and recognize eye-worthy streaming TV shows.

 Here's the marketing pitch from Double Take: "Not with anything life changing, but with your constant struggle to figure out what to watch on TV. Because there’s nothing worse than endlessly scrolling through all of your streaming service apps, right?"

"Join Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen as they give their thoughts on new streaming shows in the form of episode-by-episode reactions, reviews of new shows, and more."

The podcast name, Double Take, is apparently a reference to the two women who provide reviews on TV shows.

Double Take began in July 2022 with several episodes about season two of Only Murders In The Building. It began to branch out with episodes like "Top 10 TV Shows And Movies For Fall" and "The Best Halloween TV Episodes."

Jess and Jenni comment: "We have always loved talking about TV together, and then we started a newsletter in early 2022, Double Take, to review and highlight new and upcoming series. We saw that there was a dearth of female voices in movie and TV criticism, and in entertainment podcasting, and wanted to bring a different perspective to the landscape. We hope that the podcast evokes hanging out with your two friends and chatting about TV."

I like the fact their show isn't a bunch of bros trying too hard to be funny with endless banter about their fantasy football teams in between brief discussions of Tulsa King. In 2023, Double Take focused on HBO's The Last Of Us, reviewing all the episodes in season one. Throughout the year, the podcast focused on hit streaming shows like Ted Lasso and Succession, and found time to review a broadcast show, Abbott Elementary.

The show even did Veronica Mars rewatch episodes during the summer, and I enjoyed it.

The co-hosts -- Jess Spoll and Jenni Cullen -- do a commendable job with reviews and keeping the show lively and informative. Both women clearly possess a strong sense of artistic acumen. To their credit, they give reviews based on the show's appeal to its target audience, even if Spoll and Cullen are not part of that target audience.

The co-hosts have developed a nice cadence on their podcasts and compliment each other well. That's an unappreciated skill. I listened to many podcasts where the co-hosts talked over one another, interrupted one another, and had the chemistry of oil and water.

Jess Spoll started her career as a software engineer and then transitioned into self-employment. She runs a wedding photography business alongside writing the newsletter, co-hosting the podcast, and creating TV and movie based content for social media. She currently has over 150k followers on TikTok, where she shares her thoughts and recommendations with her audience.

Jenni Cullen is a writer and digital producer. She has worked as a creative marketing professional for early-stage startups while contributing weekly reviews to the newsletter and co-hosting the podcast.

From their podcast, I learned that they bonded in eighth grade over Harry Potter and Gilmore Girls. 

It's smart for the co-hosts to say at the beginning of each episode that the show is about "their takes on all things TV." For first-time listeners, that phrase informs new listeners about the subject of the show. Further, the co-hosts avoid the trap of too much banter before diving into their TV reviews.

 Kudos to co-host Jess Spoll, who is the editor and producer because the sound quality is solid, the show is tightly edited, and the intro and outro music matches the tone of the show.

Jess Spoll also does TikTok videos with TV show recommendations, and her short spots are informative, upbeat, and well done. Her TikTok videos seamlessly summarize complex information to offer viewers brief reviews of upcoming TV shows. It's one of those media skills that looks like easier than it actually is. Like many indie podcasters, time to write, record and edit their podcast is always an issue. Here's what they said: "One of the greatest challenges for us in doing the podcast is actually just finding a consistent time to record. We both have busy schedules and aren't often in the same city, so figuring out those logistics — as boring as it sounds — is the toughest part."

Double Take does provide a valuable service by guiding people through the morass of streaming shows and channels by helping them find shows that are worthy of their eyeball time. The co-hosts are engaging, knowledgeable, and have sensitive and sensible artistic taste. The co-hosts avoid the mean-spirited snark that some TV and movie review podcasts think makes them edgy and funny. They're not. 

The show is informative, fun, nimble-witted, and is definitely a great tour guide through the baffling array of TV shows on the streaming channels. 

************************************

 This review is part of an ongoing series of reviews, recommendations, and essays about Indie podcasters -- their craft, their challenges, and the critical role they play in podcasting. These entrepreneurs display skills as disparate as hosting, sound production, graphic design, scriptwriting, interviewing, marketing genius, and financial watchdog. They are the heart and soul of podcasting.

You can become a supporter of Double Take by clicking here. 

#podcast #podcasting #tv shows #streaming

[mx-kaminari]

Bakugou's First Birthday Party - Bakugou x Reader

╔═════ °• ♔ •° ═════╗

A/N: based on that one episode of gilmore girls with logan’s birthday, you know the one. i tried to schedule this to post at midnight my time but it's not working so you get it two hours early hah! anyways, enjoy!

Warnings: none, it's just cute!

Word Count: 527

╚═════ °• ♔ •° ═════╝

- bakugou never really had a birthday party growing up

- he always got presents and his favorite meal, but he never had enough actual friends to want a birthday party

- you find out about this, and of course, you’re appalled

- your birthday parties were the best growing up; your parents always went all out

- but finding out six months into your relationship with the explody boy that he had never had a proper birthday party shocked you

- you made it your personal mission to give him an amazing surprise birthday party, better than every one you ever had combined

- you gathered the bakusquad together and formed a plan

- bakugou knew something was off with his friends and partner immediately

- you all were acting suspiciously, and blasty was not having it

- it was even more suspicious when he couldn't find you anywhere on the day of his birthday

- he looked everywhere, and you were nowhere to be found

- until he came back to the common room

- there were streamers everywhere and a big banner that said 'happy birthday katsuki' in your handwriting

- you got sato to bake a cake, vanilla with buttercream frosting, just how katsuki liked it

- momo helped make the decorations

- ochako helped make snacks (little rice krispies shaped and frosted like his grenades)

- the whole class pitched in to help decorate and keep this a secret from our favorite boy

- you even got him an all might themed pinata (that deku helped you find)

- he was shocked

- shouts of happy birthday came from every corner of the room

- "happy birthday kacchan!" - izuku

- "happy birthday man!" - denki and sero in unison

- "happy birthday bakubro!" - kirishima

- "happy birthday firecracker!!" - the loudest shout, from you

- he didn't know what to say

- no one had ever done something like this for him

- immediately, he comes over to interrogate you

✦✧✦✧

"Did you do all this?" He asked with a mixture of irritation and amazement in his voice. He was upset no one told him but amazed you pulled it off.

You nod. Keeping the secret from your boyfriend wasn't easy. He was smart as a whip and had a tendency to not miss anything. Somehow, you pulled it off.

He looked at the class surrounding the two of you. "And you got those extras to help you?" He raised his eyebrow and looked around, eyes skimming over every member of the class.

"Of course they helped! Your a member of our class Katsuki, we all care about you. When I told them you had never had a proper party, we had to remedy that." You end your mini-speech with a shy smile, one he loved to see on you.

"You're all a bunch of sappy fuckin extras." He growled, but shortly after, quietly, he added, "Thanks for this."

You kiss his cheek softly. "Of course, my love." He tries to pretend he's not blushing and turns away.

Kirishima gets excited and yells, "Let's get this party started!"

And even though Bakugou would likely never admit it, it was not only the best night of his life, but it was also the day he decided he wanted to make you his spouse.

#bakugou's birthday bash #bakugou katsuki #bakusquad #bakugou x reader #gn!reader #bakugou's birthday

[positivexcellence]

Walker star Jared Padalecki on how his new character differs from Sam on Supernatural

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I know the idea for this all started with you, so how did it come about?

JARED PADALECKI: We'd already announced that season 15 of Supernatural was going to be the last, and it was at the same time of all the border migrations and families being torn apart. I read something talking about how some law enforcement officials couldn't bring themselves to put a kid in a cage and take their parent. They found themselves going, "I can't. I know I'm bound by my, duty but this just doesn't feel right." I remember reading it and going, "That's so interesting to me, I want to read more about this. I want to hear about who this person is and what drove somebody to go, 'I signed up to serve and protect, not to possibly endanger.'" They were bound by duty but also had their own moral code.

You didn't plan to act in this originally, correct?

Right. I did want to get out of acting. I didn't want to get out of the business entirely, but I was like, I need to figure out who I am, spend some time with Jared. Also I wanted to take some time after Supernatural to mourn and grieve Supernatural. But then I was like, if someone wants me to be in it, it'd have to film in Austin. If I wanted to film anywhere other than Austin, where my family is, then I would've stayed on Supernatural. The primary reason that Jensen [Ackles] and I both decided to let Supernatural rest, at least for now, was that our wives and kids lived in a different country and we'd see them four days a month sometimes. Then we realized Austin is the headquarters of the Texas Rangers. Then [my manager] Dan [Spilo] asked me if I had any showrunners I'd like to work with, and the first name out of my mouth was Anna Fricke. Dan said she probably had a deal somewhere, and sure enough we found out that Walker, the property, was owned by CBS studios and that Anna had a deal with CBS. It was kismet.

What was your relationship to the original Walker, Texas Ranger?

I wasn't a superfan but I grew up with it, I saw most of the episodes. It was part of growing up in Texas. It was huge all over, but it was certainly huge here. But this show is very different. It's not called Walker, Texas Ranger, and that's for more than one reason, but largely it's because this is not a show about a Texas Ranger who has a family. This is a show about a family man who goes to work as a Texas Ranger. It's almost like more Gilmore Girls than Supernatural.

How is Cordell Walker different from Sam Winchester?

He's a bit more Han Solo than Luke Skywalker. He's not necessarily the super-pensive, super-research-oriented, read-the-instruction-booklet guy. He's more a shoot-from-the-hip guy. He trusts his instincts. He's also very much a father and a widower. What drives him is trying to figure out how to exist as a father after having lost his partner, who was doing all the heavy lifting at home, and still having a job that demands a lot. It's a lot of what Jared was going through. I'd get home from Vancouver and [my wife] Gen had been with the kids for two weeks sometimes and I was like, "Where do I fit here because, I gotta fly back to Vancouver in 24 hours to film for another two weeks?" So I'm trying to do the best I can, but my kids are used to my wife. The parallel feels very real. But Sam and Cordell are both haunted. They both went through a terrible loss and they have a really difficult job. Sam, in a strange way, probably dealt with it in a healthier way than Cordell. Cordell probably drinks a little bit too much, and he's more caustic than Sam would be.

There's a larger mystery in the series of what happened to Cordell's wife, but will there be a more procedural element week to week as well?

We didn't want this to be like, "Hey, this is the first scene and there's a bad guy and he just stole a bunch of watches from a jewelry store, and we look for him and we find him and then we all toast and high-five at the end of the episode." Plus we can't high-five during COVID. We Zoom-toast. No, Walker being a Texas Ranger and needing to do the kinds of things that Texas Rangers need to do is very much a part of the show, and I think a lot of this first season is trying to show the audience how difficult it can be to care so much about your family and your friends but also have a very demanding job that could save lives if done well. There will be episodes where the Rangers get a case and they're called in because it requires a little out-of-the-box thinking that maybe other law enforcement agencies aren't allowed to do, so we do have that.

Most important question: In the trailer, there's a very impressive moment when Walker jumps a fence on horseback. Is that you on the horse?

No, that was not me. That is me driving the car, and that is me riding the horse and roping. I do ride horses. I'm not a black belt in horse riding, but I did spend a lot of time riding and roping [for this]. But we shot that early on. I certainly would've tried it, but I think their thought was, "We have a 12-day pilot, we don't want our lead actor/executive producer to go down with a broken foot on day 3." So my stuntman and our stunt coordinator did that part. I had a funny conversation the other day where someone was like, "You're not really a rodeo guy, so how can you play a rodeo guy?" I was like, "Listen, for 15 years I played a guy who hunted demons and who was Lucifer for a little bit, so I certainly have more experience doing rodeo-type things than hunting demons and vampires. I think we'll be all right." [Laughs]

Have you gotten used to the shorter hair yet?

It's weird. I'm getting accustomed to it. I've spent the last 20 years of my life in beanies. I'm wearing a lot more baseball caps and cowboy hats these days because otherwise I just look a little odd. I still love my beanies and I'm wearing one right now, but it's a lot less work, which is great. And I never, other than on set for Supernatural, I never did my hair anyways. So this is definitely a change. I love that it's a very obvious visual change from Sam Winchester. And feels different. I certainly feel more like a Ranger than if I had hair down to my shoulder, so that helps. I'm getting used to it.

X

#Jared Padalecki

[saltygilmores]

Thoughts While Watching Gilmore Girls, Season 2, Episode 8, Part 2 ("The Inns and Outs of Inns")

You can read my previous reviews here.

Every time I'm in the middle of buzzing from all the warm fuzzies of a cute Jess and Rory interaction, this fucklehead and his constipated looking face has to show up and fucking ruin everything. Apparently this is the first time Jess and Dean have met, I don't know why I felt like they did already. But I guess not. Jess has only been around for four episodes. Wait, wait. Jess and Dean go to school together. How did they not meet yet? That is not a big high school. I guess it's not totally implausible that they haven't crossed paths yet, but still. Now that little part of my brain that fiaxtes on off-screen plot details is itching. It gets especially itchy thinking about the off-screen world of Lane, Dean and Jess attending school together. I'm gonna guess Dean didn't go out of his way to make the new kid from New York City feel welcome at his new school. Anyway, this begins a pointless, three year long rivalry over a pretty but incredibly dull teenage girl. Just like with Tristan and Dean, I tried to tell Rory to run away, again, if she values her sanity. But she never listens to me. Probably because I call her dull and uninteresting and not worth fighting over. Understandable.

Jess' uber patronizing "How ya doin" to Dean sent me through the stratosphere.

Milo's line delivery is just so perfectly dry, sarcastic, impeccable, perfect, stellar, award worthy.

I luv you.

Green is your color, babe. Love it. Rory and Lorelai's list of pet peeves: People who eat crunchy food with their mouths open. People who spit when they talk. People who dog ear library books.

Oh Rory Gil, if only you knew how your life is about to turn upside-fucking-down.

He can fix cars, learn to drive a forklift in one weekend, piss off a bunch of weirdoes with some chalk, steal your girl AND your garden gnome, and fix your toaster. There is nothing my Little Guy can't do.

#gilmore girls #jess mariano #rory gilmore #Fuckleface Forrester #denise rewatches gilmore girls #literati #Gilmore Girls Season 2 #The Inns and Outs of Inns

[tiktaalic]

All I know of sheila is what i've read in your posts over the last, um, ten minutes --- but she exudes og wincest shipper c.2007-2008. Accurate?

A couple thoughts: I did not start watching the show through a certain lens. I was hooked by the acting and cinematography as well as the twisted fucked-up Winchester story. My only awareness of a fanbase were the “Destiel” people, whose eruption of outrage in re: Season 9, episode 3 is what made me start watching, out of curiosity. But all the other stuff – Wincest, etc. – wasn’t on my radar. I think that because I didn’t write my re-caps through a particular lens – defensive/offensive in re: my particular “ship” – because I was open to possibilities (in the story onscreen) – since the show ITSELF encourages that kind of ambiguity – the people who gravitated here were those who also liked to “swim in possibilities.” Who were interested in story and how stories are told.

There have been a couple of “either/or” people who showed up here, Sam Girls, Dean Girls, who “hated” Sam, or “hated” Dean, but they didn’t last long. (Member “You’re all a bunch of annoying cunts,” anyone?) In general, you fine people who read my SPN stuff are “both/and” people. We like the show and how it’s told. We like trying to parse it out, figure it out, we like to look at all the possibilities. This is why the discussions here have been so epic. We all have our takes, and strong takes, but we aren’t positional about our SHIPS. Because we aren’t interested only in our ships. We’re interested in the SHOW. The way I look at it is: I don’t “ship” the brothers. I’m a fan of the SHOW. As I became more aware of the fan battles – most of which I stay out of – I became aware of what I call the “consensus thinking” in the different factions. If you ship THIS one thing, then you also like/hate this other character. And it all seems agreed upon. If you ship THAT, you hate THAT arc. Etc. I am so glad I watched the show completely free of all that white noise.

I didn’t know I wasn’t supposed to “like” Amelia. I was open to the possibilities of that arc, and very curious about it. I like learning new things about Sam and Dean. People who are like “I hated Amelia, she was so rude” … that’s fine, it’s just that that’s not how I interact with stories. What does Amelia bring to the table as a STORY? Why did they write her that way? Back then, I trusted the writers. It was fascinating to me that Sam found comfort with a woman who was such a mess. It told me where HE was at. What a fascinating and complex choice. These secondary characters need to reveal something about our leads. Amelia – like Bela – was HUGELY revealing about our leads. I also didn’t know I was supposed to “hate” that Sam didn’t look for Dean, and see it as – dreaded word – “ooc.” So any time something bad happens, or your “fave” does something you don’t approve of – it’s “ooc.” Convenient! I find Lady Macbeth sinister, but I love her as a character. I don’t want to meet Raskolnikov in a dark alley, but he’s one of the greatest characters ever written. I didn’t know I was supposed to run out of town on a rail any woman who DARED to “come between the boys.” Nope. I don’t watch the show that way. People who aren’t on this wavelength are really turned off by me. Lol. I’ve seen your subtweets.

I prefer Sam and Dean fucked up. Not ENEMIES, or at loggerheads, but fucked up. Human, making mistakes, screwing up, hiding things from each other (thinking they’re protecting the other), always making the same mistakes because they can’t help it. This feels very true to me. This whole “relatable” thing – a character deemed good/bad based on whether or not you “relate” to them … this is fine for fans (I guess? I’ve never rolled that way, but never mind) … but for a critic, which I am, and how I’ve approached writing about this show – relatability doesn’t matter. When Tommy Lee Jones came and spoke at my school, he was talking about Executioner’s Song, where he played serial killer Gary Gilmore. Someone asked if you needed to “like” the character you played. TLJ said, “No. You don’t need to like the character. You need to want to WATCH the character.” This is so well said. No matter what either of those guys did in early seasons, I wanted to watch what happened. Even when they betrayed each other, did awful things, etc. I’m not running around “defending” this or that choice. That’s not how I engage with stories. So all of this “I hated when Sam wouldn’t forgive Dean in Season 9” noise … is really foreign to me. Okay, yes, it was upsetting, but my God, it was great dramatically. It was supposed to be stressful and uncomfortable to watch. It showed character growth, and development.

Wanting everyone to be nice and supportive to each other all the time is fine for fanfic and boring as hell onscreen (which we have now seen for the past 3 seasons, which are basically crowd-sourced from the fandom). I sound like I’m down on fanfic. Please. One of the first things I ever wrote was at the age of 12, and it was a screenplay about Han Solo’s scrappy 12-year-old sister. But I don’t think George Lucas needed to listen to my fanfic. I never showed it to a soul. It has nothing to do with the movie itself, it was a FANTASY. So anyway, back to the point. What is the point?

june 2019 viewing diary, sheila o'malley

#tldr. no . she's an ACADEMIC #incest cw #if we were putting ppl in boxes. shed probably be best defined as a bibro #but cant we in this post riverdale society coexist with sheila omalley #ask #anonymous #spnwatch #sheila posting #theres another post where she says i dont think everyone is gay and i also dont Do wincest

[autisticlenaluthor]

(okay this is regarding the miscellaneous conversation)

oh absolutely, the lexie + az era is the best one!! i especially like s6-7 bc of episodes like the one in which they all get drunk and go to that baseball place at night (april says she can hear her heart singing)

AMELIA!!! IS!!! BABY!!!! i would die for her and will defend her till my last breath, then come back and haunt the ~haters. have u watched private practice? that show broke me even worse than greys but like at least fetus amelia was so adorable to watch in the earlier seasons!! honestly the only thing that makes me want to catch up on the newest greys stuff is her sapphic relationship like yES ANOTHER CRUSH CONFIRMED NOT-STRAIGHT

i’ve started rewatching gilmore girls a few times but i have so many feelings about how they carried out the last seasons, i just give up honestly. i did absolutely adore lorelai and get into a bunch of lauren graham interviews way back when tho

i absolutely want to watch the marvelous mrs maisel once the television world claims me once more (i tend to spend a few months entirely into reading and then entirely into tv, and then into reading…)

i think that’s all!!

im so sorry i took so long to respond to this !! my follow through actually responding to any sort of message is awful like 90% of the time lmao

but anyways

youre so right the lexi and arizona episodes are elite. especially like, early season lexi, i would die for her she was so sweet and so relatable. like eating eggs even though she's allergic so she wouldn't dissapoint Meredith? totally something i would do. and also just the way that she was always so good to George !! i hate him tbh he didn't deserve her friendship, but that is not the point.

and YES amelia is the best and tbh just keeps getting better. i feel like she is one of the only characters who has consistently gotten better and hasn't been damaged over time. i love her development so much it just makes my heart do things.

ive watched an episode or two of private practice but that's about it, i just wasn't super interested. i want to watch it though bc the clips ive seen of amelia were great.

and same i only rewatch early seasons of gilmore girls. yale rory doesn't exist to me. season one Rory who had a total hatecrush on paris? that is where it's at.

and if you ever watch mrs maisel pleeeeeease send me your thoughts on it, none of my friends watch it and i need to hear someone elses opinion on it😭

[tuesdaysinoctober]

Why Riverdale doesn’t work as a TV show-- but other TV shows in same or similar genres do

TV has slowly become more campy over the past couple of decades. The 90s started with Twin Peaks and ended with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The 2010s gave birth to Teen Wolf, Riverdale, and then the Chilling Adventures of Sabrina. 

Teen Wolf ended in 2017, with 81% overall on Rotten Tomatoes. The first season rated 68% and the last season rating 83%. 

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina ended in 2020, with 81% overall on Rotten Tomatoes. The first season rated 91% and the last season rating 78%. 

Riverdale’s fifth season was supposed to come out this year (2021) but due to Covid-19 restrictions, nothing has aired yet. Nevertheless, it rates 86% overall on Rotten Tomatoes. The first season rates 88% and the last season aired, season 4, rates 84%. But this is on the Tomatometer, not the audience review scores. And isn’t the audience the most important part of all? 

Teen Wolf - 83% on average audience viewing

Chilling Adventures of Sabrina - 74% on average audience viewing

Riverdale- 57% on average audience viewing

But maybe let’s start with the original campiness and why they work so well. 

~These are all TV shows that I have watched or am currently watching~

~~I’m also using the Tomatometer because everything seems to be low on on IMDB and also percentages make it look like I know what I’m doing~~

Spoilers for Twin Peaks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Teen Wolf, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and Riverdale below the cut

Twin Peaks is about a murder, and then another, at least in the first season. It’s quickly established that there’s something a little off with the town of Twin Peaks. Agent Cooper has some sort of supernatural dream very early on containing information of who the actual murderer of Laura Palmer is. It established supernatural tones quickly, and viewers know what they’re getting into early on, especially considering the first 15 minutes or so focus on the finding of Laura Palmer’s body. The characters were all fairly likeable, even if they made questionable decisions and in the 90s, this was new, exciting territory. Twin Peaks has now become a pop culture reference found in many media forms, even receiving a third season in 2017 with the return of some of the original cast. 

Twin Peaks, while not hilarious, was rather good at dry humor, the line, “This is a town where a yellow light still means slow down instead of speed up.” coming to mind. That, combined with the writing, cinematography, and the compelling little stares, made for a TV show that hit 88% on the Tomatometer and 89% based on audience views. 

Buffy the Vampire Slayer gave us a badass female protagonist who killed vampires throughout her lifetime. BTVS also quickly established elements of the supernatural in the first season and built upon it. There were multiple werewolf characters and Buffy herself dated two vampires, her other love interest being human but working for a government organization that studied supernatural creatures. In seasons 3 and 4, Buffy’s best friend, Willow, starts to dabble in spells and the occult and other witch characters, including Willow’s girlfriend, Tara, are introduced into the series. Coming on the tail end of the 90s, viewers were enthralled with the wit and brashness of some characters and the fact of the a protagonist that was allowed to be feminine and powerful at the same time. BTVS has an 82% on the Tomatometer and 92% based on audience views. 

Basically, in terms of these two shows, the characters were likeable, the writing was rather witty, and the shows very quickly established what they were about, making them popular with viewers. 

Now we come to the 2010s, starting with Teen Wolf. 

Teen Wolf’s very first episode turned Scott McCall into a werewolf fairly early on in the episode and introduced a family of werewolf hunters, as well as --quote unquote-- “popular kids” Lydia and Jackson, and Scott McCall’s smartass best friend, Stiles Stilinski. The dialogue was fresh, the cinematography was rather dark, but overall a memorable first episode. They built upon this, season by season, and the acting and writing became a little more powerful and a little darker through every season. The characters changed but also stayed true to their roots and new characters were fairly likable when they were added. Teen Wolf told viewers what they were getting into from the very first episode and it was rather consistent throughout the rest of the show, that Scott and his friends would be facing monsters and only monsters. There would be a new threat each season but it would make sense from where each season respectively ended. 

The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina also established what would be happening throughout the TV show. It would be about witches and the occult and fighting demons and going to hell. The writing could be cringy sometimes and essences of Riverdale leaked through (unavoidable, as the writer of Riverdale adapted Sabrina for the modern screen), but the show was overall consistent and the characters were appealing to the viewers, plus it gave representation to POC and LBTQ+ community. The show could become slow at times, but other than that, it was a solid TV show and did well on Netflix’s platform. 

We arrive at Riverdale. 

Riverdale’s first season started off well enough, with four high schoolers investigating the murder of Cheryl Blossom’s twin brother. It was a decent first season and the characters were fine, although there were a couple plotlines that seemed oddly dark for network TV. The second season, while still decent, had a plot line that revolved entirely around a serial killer that didn’t actually fit the classic definition of a serial killer. Both of these were likened to Twin Peaks, and there was an obvious Twin Peaks connection, with Madchen Amick, who played Shelly Johnson in 90s TV show, playing Betty Cooper’s mother in Riverdale. 

Season 3 went wild, with a plotline that villainized a game similar to Dungeons and Dragons, had Archie go to jail and get attacked by a bear, Mrs. Blossom opened a brothel, while Veronica opened a speakeasy and introduced a cult run by Chad Michael Murray, which is an odd sentence to type if you’ve seen Gilmore Girls or The OC. This is also the season that gave us the line, “I dropped out in the fourth grade to run drugs for my nana.” “Then you haven’t known the triumphs and defeats, the epic highs and lows of high school football.” Season 4 gave us blackmailing, two teenagers running an alcohol business, creepy tapes with creepier masks and a Jughead--is--dead--but--not--really--and--Barchie--became--a--thing--for--a--hot--second plotline. 

All four seasons are campy, just like the other shows, but not supernatural. This begs the question, why don’t people like Riverdale? 

Looking at Riverdale and then the four other shows I mentioned, it’s because Riverdale isn’t consistent. 

The first season established that murder would happen. That’s what people signed up for. They didn’t sign up for singing episodes or bear attacks. They signed up for teens solving murder, and viewers receive that with each season but they also get a bunch of weird, extended plotlines they didn’t ask for. The other shows stayed consistent with the content they delivered, while Riverdale didn’t--and, predictably, still won’t-- in the upcoming fifth season. 

Riverdale also takes heavy influence from Twin Peaks, with The Maple Club being their version of One Eyed Jack’s, and both TV shows having a diner main characters frequent. Other similarities include the killers in season 2 being revealed to be fathers/uncles of main characters and the dual opening on Laura Palmer’s dead body and Jason Blossom’s. It’s hard to unsee it, which just adds to the oddness of the show overall. 

That’s not to say the other TV shows aren’t connected. The actress who plays Hermione Lodge in Riverdale, Marisol Nichols, plays The Desert Wolf in Teen Wolf. Buffy the Vampire Slayer had a singing episode in their sixth season. It’s just terribly obvious when a show draws from the same influence over and over again, which Riverdale tends to do. 

Twin Peaks, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Teen Wolf, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina work because they are consistent, in content and character writing,  which is just something Riverdale hasn’t mastered yet. 

#the tags are going to be hell #riverdale fans please don't come for me #y'all's show needs help it's not my fault #twin peaks #dale cooper #shelly johnson #laura palmer #buffy the vampire slayer #btvs #buffy summers #willow rosenberg #angel #xander harris #rupert giles #spike #stiles stilinski #scott mccall #lydia martin #malia tate #teen wolf #the chilling adventures of sabrina #riverdale #betty cooper #nick scratch #jughead jones #sabrina spellman #archie andrews #roz walker #caos #queued my dude

[maybeacrowdedmind]

My Top Seven Favorite Musical Moments In Shows That Aren't Musically Driven* and why (in no particular order)**

*By not musically driven I mean shows that do not have plots driven by music (i.e. Glee, Smash, etc. etc.)

**I know I said top seven, but I just mean out of the many I have seen, these seven are the ones I like the most.

Note: None of the images used are mine; they belong to various internet gods.

#1

Legacies Season 1 Episode 11: We're Gonna Need a Spotlight

Kaleb and the Vampire faction singing "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone at the Salvatore School talent show.

While the entirety of the talent show was amazing (Kaylee Bryant's singing voice, Raf's slightly awkward yet still appropriately dramatic poetry), it was Kaleb and the vampires who stole the show. Chris Lee has an incredible voice and his rendition of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" was stunning, both visually and vocally. I'm also a great lover of epic dance moves, so it was no contest.

#2

Gilmore Girls Season 7 Episode 20: Lorelai? Lorelai?

Lorelai singing "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton originally (Whitney Houston covered) at Stars Hollow karaoke to Luke, despite beginning the song as a dedication to Rory.

Lorelai and Luke may be broken up, but Lorelai's beautiful (and slightly alcohol-fueled) version of Dolly Parton's kind of cheesy yet nonetheless tender "if you love someone, set them free" ballad that was later made into an iconic cover by Whitney Houston was proof that they'd never really be over. Sure, she says she's singing it to Rory, but the moment Luke walks in and they lock eyes, everyone knows. Lauren Graham also has a good voice, and the emotion that comes through is so real, a cheesy karaoke moment becomes a heartfelt cheesy karaoke moment.

#3

Everything's Gonna Be Okay Season 1 Episode 5: West African Giant Black Millipedes

Nicholas doing a drag queen routine to Thelma Houston's disco hit "Don't Leave Me This Way" for Alex and his friends.

Okay, so I love this scene so much, because not only is it done to an incredibly fun song, it also showcases Nicholas doing something so utterly entertaining for Alex and a bunch of people he was nervous about meeting. The fact that just a few days before watching this episode I had watched an episode of Ru Paul's Drag Race where two queens had to lip sync for their lives to the very same song made the scene that much more enjoyable to watch. Nicholas looks amazing, his dance moves are to die for, and his lip syncing game is strong. I also appreciated the fact that when he did this scene, Josh Thomas committed to it. The scene is done in full, not going for a bit and then fading out before we get to see the end. Also, I know that Nicholas isn't technically singing, but it still totally counts.

#4

The Magicians Season 1 Episode 4: The World in the Walls

Quentin starting up a group sing-along to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" to get Penny's attention in the mental hospital while under Julia and Marina's spell.

I just started watching this show after having read the first two books, and this scene was HILARIOUS! I loved that the show used a random interaction between Quentin and Penny from a previous episode and turned it into something more because usually shows ignore one-off interactions between characters. Also, Quentin singing off-key at the top of his lungs with everyone else joining in and dancing while Penny suddenly hears it in the real world was so funny and a huge break in an otherwise extremely dramatic and rather dark episode.

#5

Skam Season 2 Episode 3: Er det noe du skjuler for oss? (Are You Hiding Someone From Us?)

Noora singing Extreme's "More Than Words" on William's guitar, initially doing so to make fun of him, but quickly turning into a super sweet and romantic moment between the two.

Skam is another show I started watching recently, and Noora quickly became one of my favorite characters. Now, I'll admit, I wasn't too fond of the idea of William and Noora at first, but this scene changed my mind immediately. I'm also very into the whole "enemies to lovers" thing these two have with one another. All of the songs Noora sings in this scene are good, but "More Than Words" is the one where you really begin to see that William's feelings for Noora are not as one-sided as she says they are. Josefine Frida Petterson, who plays Noora, has an absolutely beautiful voice, and the vocalization and soft musicality throughout are stunning. This is one of my favorite scenes in this show to date, and everything about it was perfect.

#6

New Girl Season 1 Episode 1: Pilot

Coach, Schmidt, and Nick singing "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes from Dirty Dancing to Jess, who eventually joins in, after her date stands her up.

Poor Jess had just broken up with her boyfriend, moved into an apartment with three guys who have little to know emotional know-how when it comes to women, and had her first date since her breakup stand her up at a fancy restaurant. The situation was made worse by the fact that she was told to give up her table. When the boys showed up and claimed to be her boyfriends, it was sweet, but the moment they began singing "(I've Had) The Time Of My Life", they showed that they really did care about her. What makes this scene so funny is the fact that Nick (who begins it) and Coach (who joins in after Nick elbows him) don't really know the words, they're both singing different parts in different tunes at different volumes, and then Schmidt (who initially says he's not singing), comes out of nowhere belting the song with the correct words and tune. Then Jess joins in and they have a great time until the restaurant makes them leave. They head back to the apartment, watch Dirty Dancing, and show that any problem can be solved with good friends and 80s movies.

#7

Angel Season 2 Episode 11: Redefinition

Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn sing "We Are The Champions" by Queen at Caritas after Angel fires them.

Cordelia, Wesley, and Gunn had just been fired by Angel so he could kill Darla and Drusilla without their interference and the trio was at a loss for what to do next. Angel Investigations was disbanded, and none of them had any clue what to do about it. Their solution? Terribly sing Queen's "We Are The Champions" at Lorne's bar Caritas and drown their sorrows. While an extremely short scene, Cordy, Wes, and Gunn's reaction to being fired was super relatable, and you can never go wrong with Queen. They also have three very different personalities; Cordelia is snarky, has a lot of wit, and tends to be rather superficial, but she has so much heart beneath the surface, Wesley is a stuffy English professor type, and being a former Watcher means he couldn't be hip and cool if he tried, and Gunn is a hardened vampire hunter with a strong resolution and loyal to the core, who was still relatively new to the group when Angel gave them the boot. As such, seeing them all be together with arms around shoulders singing their hearts out was immensely fun to see.

Honorable Mentions:

Legacies: Alaric singing "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" terribly off-key before Kaleb and Cleo swooped in and saved the day with their improvised song.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Giles Singing "Free Bird" while playing his guitar in his home.

How I Met Your Mother: Lily and Marshall singing "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" at karaoke, effectively making up after Marshall accepts a corporate job rather than one that fits his morals.

#musical moments #top number of #legacies #kaleb hawkins #gilmore girls #lorelai gilmore #everything's gonna be okay #nicholas moss #the magicians #quentin coldwater #skam #noora saetre #new girl #jess day #nick miller #schmidt #coach #angel the series #cordelia chase #wesley wyndam pryce #charles gunn