#he even gives them puzzles!

[the-witchhunter]

You know those video games where the character has to complete puzzles and work through their trauma to escape/wake up/something? Obstacles getting in their way and being tied to their past as they delve more into their trauma and have to learn/heal from it before they can progress?

Danny has been around a loooong time. He's old, he's powerful, and has a space in the ghost zone that he controls much like a god. The ghosts have long since started leaving him alone, the ones he's friends with have their own affaires to deal with, and in his ever shifting labyrinthian layer he's too powerful, and even outside of it he can still kick their asses.

and he's without a purpose

His friends had long since passed on after leading long and wonderful lives with him, not even leaving a ghost behind. His Family as well. Jazz had never had children, and try as he and Sam might have, half dead as he was he couldn't have children. He had no one left and nothing to do, and all of eternity to do it in.

Thinking of Jazz is what made him do it the first time

She loved helping people with her psychology, and Danny decided to do it in his own way. It hadn't been pretty, and it hadn't been easy, but he had found his method. Some took to it better than others, and many had different theories about his lair and his motives, but he helped people move past their trauma. Some believed his lair was some kind of purgatory, and... they weren't totally off

So, when Danny moved on to the timeline of the DC multiverse, he had some experience under his belt

He just underestimated how much trauma superheroes can have

#danny phantom #dp x dc #dp x dc crossover #dp x dc prompt #dpxdc #Danny pulling a silent hill and making superheroes work through their trauma #he even gives them puzzles! #Maybe he does this to villains/former villains too #like the harley quinn show and going into her mind #half kidnapping half cognitive behavioral therapy #I just think this could be angsty and kind of cathartic #Just jason having to address his rage #it was never the pits #and maybe not letting it go but at least redirecting it #I need my boy to be happy okay #and if that takes dragging him and his family through a psychological horror game that's fine #might be more interesting as alternating vignettes

[kaissauce]

with every “kirby kills gods at any minor inconvenience” “kirby is a ruthless killer” “kirby is literally a god” “kirby is a complete unaware infant” joke, i write a word to my fic. that’s how i’ve been able to write so much

#so little people give kirby character it’s so waaaaugh #sure there’s not THAT much to go off of from the media we have of him alone but there’s plenty tk expand upon #he’s kind and cares a lot about his friends and would do anything to keep them safe #but he’s also impulsive and acts on instinct rather than stopping to talk #and he’s like that because he has a strong moral code. he doesn’t appreciate it when someone forcefully takes something #or when his home is in danger #and he helps strangers in need of help but it doesn’t make him naive because he will fight back if he’s been wronged #he’s smart and knowledgeable about tech. able to make a spaceship and hack robots do all these puzzles #even in the novels kirby has character. sure he mostly thinks about food but his friends are still prioritized above that #hell even in the anime there’s some stuff to kirby despite the fact he IS a baby #people just don’t really treat him like a character #he can feel other emotions other than happiness. he doesn’t always perpetually smile #can you see why kirby’s written the way he is in my fics? #of course he’s still a young silly goofball #but my writing is meant to reflect what else there is to kirby because there’s hardly stuff about it

[dylanconrique]

me:

#*and this is icarly! #the rookie #the rookie spoilers #tim bradford #lucy chen #chenford #otp: you know me so well #SHUT UP THIS IS SO PERSONAL TO ME YOU DON'T EVEN KNOOOOWW #HE KISSED THE TOP OF HER FOREHEAD SO FIRMLY AND FOR SO LONG SHE IS HIS MOST PRECIOUS TREASURE 😭😭😭😭😭 #GOD AND THEIR HEIGHT DIFFENERENCE IS SO PERFECT TOO JUST LOOK HOW SHE'S PUZZLE PIECED INTO HIM LIKE THAT #WITH HER HEAD TUCKED UNDERNEATH TIM'S CHIN #THEY MAKE ME SO VILONTELY ILL #GIVE ME MORE OF THEM LIKE THIS NOM NOM

[six-of-ravens]

think I've figured out what bugs me so much about Natasha Pulley's work - every female character who could potentially interfere with the ~gay couple~ is portrayed in a negative light

#there's something else about it that bugs me too. like. something about her depiction of history... #i started the kingdoms and im trying to puzzle out why it's not really working for me #also i swear this author KEEPS GIVING HER GAY CHARACTERS WIVES for NO REASON #she literally just wants to portray the wives as bitches #but like. WHY ADD THEM?? WHY MAKE ALICE JOE'S WIFE??? #she did that and then immediately went 'well alice is a rapist and a bad mother then!!' like girl. you could have just made them like #co-inhabitants of this house. and not married. and Lily could be related to Joe in some other way if you NEED a kid... #idk. im still bitter about pepperharrow lol where the eofe finally started being treated like a human and not a fucking chess piece #and then killed herself for her husband basically. SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE. THERE WERE A TON OF SOLUTIONS!! #but no. we can't have sweet baby Mori having a wife after he ran away to England to live with his gay lover nooooooo #WHY EVEN MAKE HIM MARRIED JUST SO YOU CAN KILL HIS WIFE OFF. SHE COULD'VE BEEN HIS HOUSEKEEPER OR SMTH #this has gotten away from me. I just don't like it tho. #if there were any female characters that were portrayed positively though and not treated like a Threat to the Gay I'd feel better #but there aren't so far #unless you count the absentee Madeline #the only female character treated well so far is Joe's daughter Lily and she's two

[chitinleg]

so if someone was theoretically going to write a fic based off of the tags on that one very excellent garashir artwork you did... what would be a suitable villain role and/or scheme for garak to play? i know basically nothing about spy media and even less about james bond. i googled "most homoerotic james bond villain" and that was interesting but not helpful for this scenario... idk i want to really do this justice so i figured i could ask, since you came up with the idea in the first place and i guess that means this is a gift for you? and everyone else who liked that piece? thank you for your time :)

this is SUCH a charming question to receive!!! it's an honor that my art might inspire others to create! that said, here is my advice: i think you should follow your heart, mainly! i say this to everyone about everything but its very true, with writing especially, i think, you might want to write things that are especially interesting to you so that its exciting to keep going with them

personally, i don't watch a lot of spy media, i disliked james bond as a kid and i still dislike him now, so the character archetypes and plots from that wouldn't interest me enough to write a fanfic off of—i could read ds9 fic based off of them easily bc i love the ds9 characters!!! but. i couldn't write like that. therefore, i can't give you useful answers from that canon. i can give you this, but i don't know if it will be helpful: i think i would first start with the question—what about garak excites you? what puts you on the edge of your seat with him? what about julian—what actions do you like to see him take? what decisions of his make you giddy? how do you like to dig into his character? how do you like to dig into garak's? if you write down the answers to your question, it becomes the puzzle of how you can get everything you want out of the fic. the beautiful thing about the holosuite is that anything can happen at all, and while you're telling a spy story, it doesn't have to all be spy tropes. you could, if you wanted, play out a shakespeare play (your favorite shakespeare play, assuming you don't hate them all) as if it were a spy thriller! Sure, what's Twelfth Night as a spy thriller? We already have many characters playing with the fluidity of identity, going by different names, taking on different roles, gaining trust and acting on their own best interests. Just raise the stakes a little. is this insane? i feel insane. is it worth anything? i hope so. my ending point is: i am not so good at writing advice! i'm a much better drawer than a worder, but it's a gift already that you've said my art has motivated your desire to create!!!!!!!!! from there on—don't worry about what i want at all, don't worry about doing my work justice!!! take what excites you about the idea, take what excites you from your own ideas, and build it into something that makes you giddy to work on!!! i believe in you, and you have the world at your fingertips!!!!!!

#communications #midnightcommittee #it's a big beautiful world and it is gift enough that my artwork makes you want to create! #a small connection of beauty and meaning through the vastness of life! #follow your heart and create something that makes you even more excited than my art! get self indulgent! thats the best gift you could give #what draws me about garak and bashirs relationship i think is that bashir likes to solve puzzles. and garak likes to give him puzzles #he delights in bashirs quickness and bashir delights in showing off his quickness—being challenged and measuring up #and then. and then—once they reach that point. bashir takes even better delight in flipping the tables—he doesn't give garak a puzzle #but he likes to get garak off his footing. he likes. (i think) to be the puzzle that garak is now trying to solve. #theyre very playful. they love games. they love to play them together. #you don't have to use any of that in your fic but in case you needed some more thoughts to springboard off of—i hope they help! #i hope anything that ive said has been useful honestly #REGARDLESS: good luck! thank you for telling me my artwork inspired you! i wish u good luck and easy writing! #and i hope to read ur fic one day :D

[hilsonisthecure]

oh so you guys weren’t kidding 😐🤨

#tf is all this then #how have i seen the show 3 times and never. #known the title song had LYRICS #that describe house and wilson’s relationship #because with them love isn’t just a word it’s an action and a thing and a doing word. it’s active and not passive and they never have to sa #say it because even in the PILOT wilson knows he’s loved and then they end the show with house still never saying it but he doesn’t hve to #because house gives up his life the greatest sacrifice of a further proving wilson means more to him than puzzles or medicine #house md #hilson

[roselightfairy]

I have mostly been restraining my Takes out of general self-consciousness and overall exhaustion, but it is very important to me that Obi-Wan has at least once said to Qui-Gon, “One day you��re going to be wrong about something, and I hope I’m there to see it,” and then he was dueling Anakin surrounded by lava and everyone was dead and he couldn’t even enjoy the moment.

(and then years later they were both Force ghosts and Anakin was key in Palpatine’s downfall and he HAD TO EAT HIS WORDS AFTER ALL THAT)

#my real hot take is that people who talk about whose fault it is that anakin fell to the dark side are ignoring the fact that palpatine #didn't even need anakin he just wanted him because he thought it would be fun #all the pieces of the puzzle were already underway the only thing anakin being his apprentice at the end did was #give him someone with a weakness that could be exploited at a crucial moment #anyway i sure have a lot of opinions for someone who barely knows the canon which is why i'm mostly keeping them to myself #but i thought this take was funny so here you are #star wars #qui-gon jinn #obi wan kenobi

[dmclemblems]

he’s right there, claude... he will help you on your path...

#DimiClaude #like okay. hear me out. i know this is gd. but. #it also fits into AM like a puzzle piece #because even tho in this route they can't join forces you still get more of claude's thoughts/feelings #so those feelings are still true in AM. they join forces in AM and claude decides he's ready to go back to almyra #because he realized dimitri is the other half of his path #he needed someone in charge of fodlan that would have the same thoughts/feelings/goals/ideals as him #and dimitri was already also trying just as hard as claude has been to have people be accepted in fodlan from outside of fodlan #i have been completely and utterly ROBBED that they didn't get to talk about that more in canon dialogue #because it ALL OVER THE PLACE that they have the EXACT SAME THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS on all the most important things #pls im dying intsys give me a duo heroes unit of them so they can talk abt this stuff #Three Houses

[psqqa]

love also that miyuki is still sitting there all alone at the table after everyone else has left, pouting and mentally processing interpersonal relationships 101 like “am i out of touch? no it’s people having feelings and emotions that is wrong”

#baseballs are forever #guy who loves it when people are a little puzzle he can solve #but hates it when people come to him with their little puzzles and ask him to solve them #and there aren’t even any baseballs in the picture #wtf is he even supposed to do with that? #all the best little puzzles have baseballs in them #they give context and clarity to the entire image #you can always orient a puzzle around a baseball #without a baseball in it it could be fucking anything! how the fuck should he know??

[bylertruther]

just had a thought. the religious panic is ramping up going into season five and so is the gay shit which means that mike and will are inevitably going to enter their take me to church by hozier era:

knows everybody's disapproval i should've worshiped her sooner if the heavens ever did speak, she's the last true mouthpiece every sunday's getting more bleak, a fresh poison each week we were "born sick", you heard them say it my church offers no absolutes she tells me "worship in the bedroom" the only heaven i'll be sent to is when i'm alone with you i was born sick, but i love it [..] there is no sweeter innocence than our gentle sin in the madness and soil of that sad earthly scene only then i am human only then i am clean

#was in the middle of my sorry attempt to be a Human Being In The World when this song came on #and ofc my brain immediately went to my blorbitos </3 #that last part makes me especially insane btw . #they're already half-way there tbh. mike makes will feel better for being different and will's confession made mike feel like he's worthy #and that he IS loved for who he truly is. that he DOES matter. that he IS needed and important. that he's not worthless. #as soon as mike realizes it's will and it's always been will it's a WRAP! #the upside down/vecna feeds on shame and pain. their love for each other washes away the shame and pain that they feel. #what they feel for each other will literally make them invincible! it's their shield against the darkness! #asking will to be his friend was the best thing mike's ever done. mike's friendship and love makes will feel like he's not a mistake and #it gives him the strength to fight on. it's literally canon. #mike pulled will out of vecna's hold with just his voice and presence. mike's best memory is befriending will. #mike's home isn't a home without will. his life is weird without will. when he's gone or in trouble he goes to the ends of the world to #rescue him and stays by his side the entire time. when he's states away he calls him even if will never answers or calls back. #he NEVER gives up on will. he CAN live without him but he doesn't WANT to. because it's always been will for him. always. #like. they've been giving us the puzzle pieces this entire time. #'that's bullshit media propaganda' + eddie mentioning sodomy in his lunchroom rant #mike will literally not give a single fuck about any of these mouthbreathers calling him a satanist. once he finds out tht will loves him #back? it's ONNNNNNNNNNNNN LIKE ITS OVER HENRY GO HOME!!!!!!! #(i'm exaggerating a little bit bt. u know wht i mean.) #like i jsut . *explodes thinking abt how it's always been abt byler how it started with byler and will end with byler and how s5 #is will's coming of age story which means that he's done hiding from those that he loves he wants to come clean #he wants to tell his truth he destroyed castle byers and outgrew it it isn't enough to live in the world as a lie #he wants to be will byers and as scary as it is to accept that and live that it's . it's what he wants!!! #and he's working towards that he is because he's brave and now that he's going to be surrounded by people who have fought against #impossible odds to save his life time and time again it's liek . it's all going to come together. u kno? #literally how can i think abt all of that and NOT fucking explode . wht th efuck #mine #byler thoughts #writing a gat damn epic poem in this bitch jesus . ok back 2 my cave i go now

[jeoseungsaja]

# ( did u say...memes 👀 okie!! for hyurick in main!verse?? of course if nothing's changed from the last time feel free to skip this one!! )

@ofgentleresolve ♚ from x.

what your muse’s name is in mine’s phone:

대야  (Dae-yah) 

what your muse’s picture is in mine’s phone

what your muse’s ringtone is in mine’s phone

SHINEE’s ‘The Reason’ (I remembered this song recently AND OF COURSE HYUK WOULD USE IT FOR PATRICK’S RINGTONE, PLEASE, THE LYRICS---)

my muse’s last text to your muse

[✉️ 8:01PM] : What do you mean that’s not the right answer???????? It has to be, I’ve tried this puzzle more than 30 times already [✉️ 8:05PM] : Are you trying to fool me? You little--- [✉️ 8:09PM] : I got you a fountain pen so I can give it to you next time I see you, but now I’m going to use it as a weapon against you for making me lose my mind, the tip is sharp enough, isn’t it?

#ofgentleresolve #♔ || the puzzle of our friendship is the most comforting (patrick). #♔ || interaction (patrick). #AS YOU CAN SEE THERE'S BEEN PLENTY OF CHANGES ;W; WIEUDHWIEUDH #same name though UwU #AND THE PICTURE!!!!! #I feel that perhaps Hyuk took it whilst Patrick's giving a talk at the university or something? #Maybe a student made a comment or a joke that made Patrick smile like that -- a spontaneous one #Or Patrick and him are just talking and Hyuk decides to snap a picture after they had a good time laughing and that's the one that comes out #C: #AND THE RINGTONE!!!!!!!!!!!!! #It was 'Good Evening' before (which still applies for them UwU) bUT THIS SONG I #It's NSFTH okay KASHDIWUDEHIWHED #I thought it was very fitting and Hyuk would think of Patrick whilst listening to it #which is why he put it as Patrick's ringtone ;W; #AND THE TEXTS #OF COURSE THAT THEM BEING BFF'S WILL NEVER CHANGE WIUEDHWIHED #I love that they're...you know exploring their feelings #but they're also still silly with each other and teasing each other in their own way #I LOVE THEM SO MUCH FERRE PLEASE IWEHDIWUEHDIH #AND I LOVE YOU ;W; <3 #I HOPE THIS IS OKAY!!! BUT AS ALWAYS -- IF YOU'D LIKE ME TO CHANGE ANYTHING LET ME KNOW!!! #THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SENDING THIS IN AND FOR HYURICK AND FOR EVERYTHING <3 #HOPE YOU'RE DOING SUPERB!!! #also not me realizing...through this ringtone... #'Hyuk you are kinda romantic in your own way did you know---' #KASHDIUEH #♔ || queue.

[firebirdsdaughter]

This is what I mean…

… The little synchronisations. The way they turn in sync and then glance at each other multiple times, both of them correcting Hardison’s spelling, every time they exchange a look, esp when one or both of them smirks about it.

#Leverage #I stand by my take #that Nate and Eliot have a lot more in common than people give them credit for #and while Nate loves all his crime kids equally #Parker is the princess he's trying to help branch out/make friends Hardison is the brilliant goofball he's trying to teach a work ethic to #I just feel like #I almost feel like Eliot is the closest to what Sam would have been #now absolutely the relationship is slightly different bc of the whole Crime Family aspect #Eliot's also the lieutenant and enforcer and bodyguard #but even though it's not spelled out #I think Nate and Eliot both find in each other a companionship they never got to have w/ their biological relatives #Eliot gets a father to look up to work w/ and who will be proud of him #Nate finds a son he can spend time w/ watch sports w/ and worry about #sure Eliot's a former hitman who beats people up regularly #but he's also the brave intelligent determined stubborn loyal and compassionate person I think Nate would have wanted Sam to be #he's the protective supportive older brother Nate would have wanted Sam to be #no the ages don't line up #like I'm pretty sure Sam's not of an age w/ Eliot or anything #but that's just the way found family works #the things they needed happened to fit together like puzzle pieces #Literal Crime Family

[sheliesshattered]

I’m just so tired

#things with my dad are getting significantly worse. with terminal brain cancer that's pretty much the only direction things can go #but his mental state is deteriorating quickly. multiple massive brain tumors will do that to you but now it's accelerating #I described it to one of my siblings that it's like Dad's mind is a big jigsaw puzzle and for a year now it's been clear that #the once-whole puzzle is breaking into pieces. for awhile the pieces were still pretty big and he could still carry on a conversation well #he might not remember it 15 minutes later but get him talking about an old memory or something he's an expert on and he could just go on #I've been calling him twice a week for months now. since Mom first suggested we work on writing a book together #in the month since we decided to give that up as a lost cause Dad has gotten noticeably worse. he's gone from losing his train of thought #to talking complete nonsense in a scrambled combination of old memories and things he once read about -- smaller and smaller puzzle pieces #and as things have taken a downward term I know from talking to Mom separately that Dad is also having a lot of trouble with basic self care #balance and bathing and eating and knowing where he is and all kinds of things. all of which is made worse by his memory problems #and by the fact that he outweighs my mom by a good 100lbs. so when he fell in the tub and couldn't get himself out she had to call for help #had to have a church friend who is more than a foot taller than her drive over to help maneuver my dad out of the bathtub #he's also getting obstinate and angry and saying that my mom and my nb sibling who lives with them are the ones with mental problems #all of which means I think they're going to need in-home healthcare ASAP. if not a round-the-clock facility. it's coming sooner or later #but Dad still hasn't officially retired so he's still on his own insurance which apparentlydoesn't have any coverage for that sort of thing #so Mom has to get him to file the paperwork to officially retire and then get him on her insurance. hopefully without a huge confrontation #and I feel like we're running out of time. that he's going to need that care before all the paperwork has time to clear once its started #I feel like we've been barely surviving horrific river rapids and now I'm the ONLY one pointing out that there's a massive waterfall coming #ignoring it won't make it go away or take longer to get here. it'll just hit us with even fewer preparations in place #I have enlisted the help of siblings so hopefully we can convince Mom of the importance of getting the paperwork started #but Mom is so mired in her own grief and busy with work (and she can't quit bc of the health insurance) and unable to get the help she needs #that it's tricky to bring up any of this sort of thing in a helpful way. and all the while Dad is getting worse #meanwhile I'm trying to deal with my own grief and manage my own chronic health situation. and still call Dad twice a week just to chat #and holy hell I'm just so TIRED

[kundann]

watching the clips from NCT Dream's The Dream Show 2 made me feel a lootttt of things since a lot happened actually. Overall it just made me realize how thankful and proud I am for the 7 of them and I hope they'll stay together for how many years seeing how much they really treasure their friendship and even us their fans.

#Quiet Down made me dizzy like i seriously did not expect that perfomance #The VCR's are so cuteee and yesss Actorrrr Dreamiesss #THE DREAMING FITS OMFG JENOOOOO #Even their intro fits are just 🫶🫶 also JAEMINNN #My first and last performance was cute and also made me emotional. Also love they include all the mini series something? #sorry heart also made me cry a liitle bit #and puzzle piece huhuhuhu #actually in puzzle piece i shed a tear but then chewing gum plays next shhshxusha #they sang Rainbow while the whole dome also looked like a rainbow becus of the lightsticks and it looked Magical #the Ments omg in Day1 Jisung cried and D2 almost half of them cried #Renjun doubting if he even deserve the love he's getting. I JUST WANNA GIVE HIM A HUG AND TELL HIM HE DESERVES ALL OF IT. #Started crying since Nana said he doesn't want czennies to cry and that made me cry #Haechan. omg haechan i also just wanna give him a hug since he did such a great job #Jeno saying he really felt that something was missing when Mark left back then. #Mark trying not to cry during his ment but still did when they performed on the way or walk you home? #i just love my dreamies so much

[just-an-enby-lemon]

Not only Bruce HAS to let Ed win in whatever the unhinged thing he is doing today but he HAS to appear and give Riddler some genuine attention even if what Ed wants today is an inofensive board game night and also he needs to bring cake cause he is the bilionaire (and no arresting the other Rogues either, unless they are the Joker). It's baby girl birthday and he gets to annoy the Bat. You go Eddie.

#he just wants some love #give him a break #yes he has murdered people cause they coudn't riddle him this #so what it's his birthday #bruce i'm begging you be nice #no stealing bones in his borthday #ed would totally give batman a very ominus birthday invitation #bruce would be like where tf are the hostages #and them is just Ed eating cake and wearing a party hat #maybe he even helped some rogues scape so he could have friends over becauee he didn't as a kid #and bruce is like there was a massive break in Arkham Asylum and Blackgate #and it was very specific criminals all who recived a question mark invitation just like mine #and them he comes to the warehouse expecting puzzle death and they are all singing happy birthday to you #and Ed is totaly not crying

[figtreeandvine]

I want to write a movie that is sort of the flip side of a Hallmark holiday movie. Not an anti-Hallmark movie, just like the other side of the same coin.

It starts with a well-dressed professional woman driving a convertible along a country road, autumn foliage in the background, terribly scenic. She turns onto a dirt road/long driveway, and stops next to a field of Christmas trees, all growing in neat, ordered rows, perfectly trimmed and pruned to form. She steps out of the car--no, she's not wearing high-heels, give her some sense!--and knocks on the door of a worn but nice-looking farmhouse. An older woman, late fifties maybe, answers the door, looking a bit puzzled. The younger woman asks if she can buy a Christmas tree now, today. The older woman says they don't do retail sales--and the younger woman breaks down crying.

Cut to the two women sitting at the kitchen table with cups of tea. The young woman (Michelle), no longer actively crying, explains that her mother loves Christmas more than anything, but is in the hospital with end-stage cancer. Her doctors don't think she'll live to see December, let alone Christmas. Nobody is selling Christmas trees in September, so could the older woman please make an exception, just this once? The older woman (Helen) regretfully explains that they have a contract to sell their trees that forbids outside sales. The younger woman nods, starts to stand up, but the older woman stops her with a hand and asks her what hospital her mother is in. After she answers the older woman says that "my Joe" will deliver a tree the next day. "Contract says I can't sell you a tree, but nothing says I can't give you one."

Next day "Joe" shows up at the hospital in flannel and jeans, with a smallish tree over her shoulder. Oh, whoops, that's Jo, Helen's daughter, short for Joanna, not Joe. Jo sets up the tree and even pulls out a box of lights and ornaments. Mother watches from hospital bed with a big smile as Jo and Michelle decorate the tree. Cue "end of movie" type sappiness as nurses and other patients gather in the doorway, smiling at the tree.

Cut to Michelle sitting in her dark apartment, clutching a mug of tea, staring out at the falling snow and the Christmas lights outside. Her apartment has no tree, no decorations, nothing. She starts at a knock on the door, goes to open it. Jo is standing there, again holding a tree over her shoulder.

Plot develops: the second tree is a gift, because Michelle might as well get it as the bank. The contract for the tree sales was an /option/ contract, which prevents them from selling to anyone else, but doesn't guarantee the sale. The corporation with the option isn't going to buy the trees, but Helen and Jo can't sell them anywhere else, and basically they get nothing. They'll lose the farm without the year's income. Michelle asks to see the contract and Jo promises to email it to her.

Next day at a very upscale law firm, Michelle asks at the end of a staff meeting if anyone in contract law still needs pro bono hours for the year. No one does, but a senior partner (Abe) takes her to his office and asks about it. She says the contract looks hinky to her ("Is that a legal term?" "Yes.") but contract law's not her thing. He raises an eyebrow and she grins and pulls a sheaf of paper out of her bag and hands it over. He reads it over, then looks up at her. "They signed this?"

More plot develops. Abe calls in underlings--interns, paralegals, whatever--and the contract is examined, dissected, and ultimately shredded (metaphorically). It's worse even than it looks--on January 1st Helen and Jo will have to repay the advanced they received at signing. The corporation has bought up a suspicious number of Christmas tree farms in previous years after foreclosure, etc.

Cut to Abe explaining all this to Helen and Jo while sitting with them and Michelle in a very swanky conference room. The firm is willing to take on the case pro bono, hopefully as a class's action suit for other farmers trapped by the contract--but there's no way it can go to court before January. Which will be too late to save the farm's income for the year. They might get enough in damages to tide them over, but….

After Michelle sees Helen and Jo out, she comes back and asks Abe if there's anything they can do immediately. Abe looks thoughtful for a long moment, then gets a really shark-like grin on his face. "Maybe…."

Cut to Helen wearing a bathrobe, coming into her kitchen in the morning. She looks out the window…and there's a food truck stopped in her driveway. She pulls a coat on over her robe and goes out--two more trucks have pulled up while she does this. Driver of the first truck asks her where they park. Another truck pulls up behind the others. Behind that is a black BMW--Abe rolls down the window and waves. Helen directs the trucks to the empty field/yard next to the house. Abe pulls up next to Helen's car and Jo's truck and parks. He and Michelle get out--Abe wearing a total power suit, Michelle in weekend casual.

The case will be easier if the corporation initially sues them for violating the (uninforcible!) contract, rather than them suing to corporation (damn if I know, but it's movie logic). So they're going to sell the trees now, and rounded up some food trucks and whatnot to draw people in.

Cue montage of Jo and Michelle running around helping people set up while Abe and Helen watch from the kitchen table. The table starts out covered in file folders…and slowly gains coffee cups and plates of cinnamon rolls. It becomes increasingly clear here that Abe and Helen are becoming as close as Jo and Michelle.

Everything gets set up and a very urban, very motley crowd appears--tats and studs and multiracial couples and LGBTQ parents and everything--and everyone is having a wonderful time eating funnel cake and choosing their tree so Jo and a bunch of rainbow-haired elves can cut it for them. At which point someone shows up from the corporation (maybe with a sheriff's deputy?) and starts yelling at Helen, who's running checkout. And suddenly Abe appears from the house and you realize why he's wearing that suit on a Saturday….

Cue confrontation and corporate flunky running off with their tail between their legs, blustering about suing. Cue Jo kissing Michelle. Cue Helen walking over and putting a hand on Abe's shoulder and smiling at her.

I want the lawyers to be the heroes because they are lawyers and know the law. I want a lesbian who lives in the country with her mother. I want urbanites to turn out as a community to help someone who isn't even part of their community. I want Michelle to keep working at her high-power job, loving Christmas and grieving her mother.

#hallmark #anti-hallmark #movie plot