#crystava

New fic alert. I had this one sitting on the shelf for a while. It's a work in progress but the first few chapters are up. I plan to write for other ships as well, but something about Ava x Crystal is sooo fun to write about because it's so layered.

Second Crystava fic is up.

Read "The First Time" (18+):

https://archiveofourown.org/works/83009136

I decided to do my part and write a fic because there is so much STUFF between the two of them, there's no way there's not a backstory. Let me know what you guys think!

Read "Irreconcilable Differences" (18+):

https://archiveofourown.org/works/82951936

Please keep in mind I wrote this a few months ago and never posted it because I lowkey forgot, so if it feels less accurate after this latest abbott episode (S5 E17) that's why:

1. Here's a fun (...sad) Ava Coleman "quotation pair" (I don't know what you call these, but hopefully this works lol)!

S3 E5 

16:14

"I know why my sorority sisters don't like me. But why don't those church ladies like you, Barb?"

Firstly, I love the subtle vulnerability in this scene. From this line alone you can see how she may relate to Barbara in this episode, and just how much she respects her. And paired with the fact that Crystal shows up only 3 episodes later,  the writing of this episode felt like a lead up to the Crystal reveal (whom we've already learnt a few things about over the previous episodes and seasons).

 And I think it reveals more of what their dynamic was like in, specifically in college. Not necessarily that Crystal was spiteful to her in the ways Ava implies of the general sorority, or, at least ONLY that, but that they were definitely likely a product of the overall influences and underlying processes placed on them (or that preceded them?) and that their relationship was heavily competition-based (though I want to explore more as to why).

+

S4 E6

12:28

"I've been told I'm 'too much' or 'too brash' or 'not right for the job' my whole life. I'm used to it. If people don't like me, it's on them."

And this slams it home for me! I can't remember the quote, but Ava mentions stealing BC for her sorority sisters (in S1 E8?), them having her back at the "after-after party" and whatnot and she also mentions in the same episode of the quote above that she knew the church ladies wouldn't go for it when Barbara tries to explain why 'Shackles' meant so much to her, saying "That's just like my sorority. If you not cool with the mean girls, they’ll have you all the way at the back of the step show like the creepy uncle at a wedding."

Which tells me she still got along with some of them, just not ALL of them. And because Crystal was described along the lines of being a "frenemy" both by Ava in canon ("my friend Crystal") and Tatyana in real life, something tells me their dynamic wasn't clear-cut and that they both played their part being more inclined to the "mean girls" side of the sorority, whether from feeling the need to prove themselves (Ava-hear me out, I'll explain-and Crystal) or actually perpetuating the funtioning dynamics at play for their own gain (Crystal), while maintaining their own personal fued.

Honestly, they're so similar in some ways it's shocking and the only major difference I can see is the immediate power they leverage. I personally HC Crystal as having more given to her in her childhood, not purely out of vibes (but mostly because of them) and we already see how people tend to flock to Crystal because of her charisma, something Ava doesn’t have in the same way. Something less conventionally appealing for the general people.

I think they grew to be friends/frenemies/interests in each other's lives and that the biggest thing getting in their way was ultimately their own insecurites sustained by the larger group of the toxic sorority (and a few other things I'd like to mentally explore further before I take the time to type it out). 

When it comes to why I think Ava wanted to make herself appealing to the sorority group as a whole (including the "mean girls" who are obviously the ones with power) I mainly think about how they provided a sense of being "at the top", which is what Ava has indicated in canon as not being something she possessed as much as she did when she was younger, but also something Janelle has described IRL, saying she feels Ava was likely a nerd who felt the need to try and prove herself to others who "made fun of her" when she was younger. 

Do I necessarily think Ava was completely discarded by others? Hell no, but it's obvious and clearly stated she's faced rejection in her life, and I think when the wounds were still fresh as she was young (and had more recently dealt with losing her father) she may have felt some inner turmoil with that and her perception on how exactly she fit into the sorority world with all their expectations and ridcule. I just don't imagine it ever held her down for too long, because I don't think that's how Ava would ever handle things, even from a very young age.

It also makes me appreciate how we see her get vulnerable... that anger is long-bidden and old. And while I ship Crystava, it's definitely a toxic relationship that I appreciate for giving even more context to a dynamic that I could only guess at before.

Respecting your elders is a really important thing to do, so seeing Ava go off the rails like that genuinely floored me, but it worked out so wonderfully! It was serious rather than funny, and seeing Mel stop her from saying something crazy hit the nail on the head for me. I also love the pause that was just a little too long after Gregory says Ava mentioned Crystal's name three times... it's really some of the most subtle things that made this episode just as much as the larger details did.

It's honestly heavensent when Abbott seamlessly blends tones into the comedy; it makes it so much better of a watch for me.