(for the shaunahat scene analysis masterpost, click here)
And we’ve reached the second major shaunahat scene. This is the aftermath of their kiss in the previous episode. We do not know exactly how that last scene ended, but given the awkwardness of this scene, I’d say they probably didn’t talk about the kiss and just went their separate ways. Anyway, buckle up, before this one risks to also be a long post!
This scene does seem to take place maybe a day after the end of episode 2. Mari is still currently missing. Shauna is on her own, sitting on a log and writing in her journal. What could she be writing about? Given the recent event, possibly about Mari going missing or her kiss with Melissa. We know she now often uses her journal to vent, so those are possibilities. Either way, she seems to be there because she wanted to have some time alone, away from the village. It may be because everyone is currently worried about Mari’s disappearance, and it makes Shauna uncomfortable, since she made it very clear that she is not concerned about it. She might also be there to avoid running into Melissa in the village, given that it might feel awkward after their kiss. Perhaps Shauna hasn’t fully processed how she felt about it and what it meant for herself. Hence why she might be writing in her journal about it. Regardless, Shauna purposefully isolating herself seems like an interesting detail to point out.
Then Melissa approached her. Shauna does notice her before she has the time to say anything. She quickly glanced in her direction before looking back at her journal, casually saying, “stalk much?”. First off, in this instance, I wouldn’t call what Melissa is doing “stalking”. She very much only walks up to Shauna, fully exposed, not even trying to hide her presence. But I can’t really blame Shauna for jumping to that conclusion, given that Melissa did stalk her in the past. Also, this line served a purpose, on a meta level. It gives us a hint that the person currently stalking Shauna in the adult timeline might be Melissa. I also want to point out how nonchalant Shauna was when she noticed Melissa’s presence. It almost seemed like she purposefully wanted to pretend she didn’t care, only subtly glancing at her before returning to her journal, not even looking at her when she spoke to her. I think that nonchalance is performative, and she didn’t feel indifferent to Melissa seeking her out, she just doesn’t want to show it. Because at that moment, she still hadn’t fully processed how she felt about her and the kiss they shared.
Now let’s talk about Melissa. Before going into her reaction to Shauna spotting her, I want to take the time to discuss her appearance. Because yes, I do think the way she is dressed and styled is important here. She is almost wearing the same outfit she had when she kissed Shauna (and basically, in the two previous episodes), with the exception of her shorts. Instead of those, she is now wearing a (very ugly imo) pants and skirts combo. She did wear those together in winter, but that was for practical reasons, because of the cold they all wear multiple layers of clothes. But it’s summer now. There is no practical reason for Melissa to wear those. And Melissa only ever wore skirts during winter, and above pants. So this isn’t part of her usual style. I think she wore a skirt to go see Shauna specifically to look “better”, by performing femininity. Because it’s not just the skirts. She also has two little braids in her hair. It isn’t the first time Melissa braids her hair, but it usually looks more practical, while here this seems purely to be an aesthetic choice. I do still find it odd that she’d choose to wear pants underneath her skirt instead of just the skirt. Maybe it’s a fashion choice. Or perhaps Melissa wasn’t comfortable just wearing a skirt, given she does seem to be more masc-leaning. But in the end, it is obvious to me that this outfit and hairstyle were chosen specifically to look good for Shauna, and it speaks about Melissa’s desire to impress her crush.
Now we can move to Melissa’s reaction. For a moment, she seemed stunned by Shauna’s comment, and she needed a second to find her words. It seems likely to me that Melissa had a pre-planned speech in mind, but Shauna talking first derailed her train of thought. So for a moment, it is possible Melissa hesitated with replying to Shauna’s claim or going for her pre-planned speech. It does seem like she opted to ignore Shauna’s remark, resulting in this awkward “there you are, I’ve been looking for you” line. That is definitely something you’d say if you are the first one speaking, hence why it didn’t sound natural for her to say that. So I go back to my theory that it was pre-planned and she just couldn’t improvise something new and just hoped Shauna wouldn’t notice. Last time she tried to improvise with Shauna, she got angry at her, so it makes sense she wouldn’t try that again.
Once again, Shauna acts nonchalant about it, simply replying “well, you found me” in a sarcastic tone. Either she noticed that what Melissa said didn’t sound natural, or she didn’t have anything else to say so replied something basic. She is still not looking at Melissa, which I still think is her being performatively nonchalant. Perhaps this is her way of letting Melissa actually talk to her and show that more bold side of her she had when she kissed her. She’s giving Melissa another chance to find something better to say to her, something she’d consider to be worth her attention.
Shauna’s apparent lack of interest didn’t discourage Melissa right away. Faced with Shauna’s nonchalance, she went straight to the point and asked Shauna if they could “talk”. The implication being, talk about what happened the other day, about their kiss, and what it means for them. Melissa has expectations, she hopes that it meant something for Shauna. She’s been having this crush on her for months now, so now that her crush seemingly “reciprocated” her affection, she is expecting that it will lead somewhere.
But unfortunately for her, Shauna is dedicated to being performatively nonchalant, and simply replied “about what?” as if she doesn’t know. Because Shauna obviously knows what Melissa wants to talk about, and she’s purposefully acting as if she doesn’t know. Perhaps both because Shauna is still conflicted about the kiss and would rather act as if it didn’t happen, or to test if Melissa will insist and keep pushing for a talk. But also, now that we know about the “slumber party makeout” and that it implied Shauna and Jackie have kissed in the past, there is also the possibility that Shauna is behaving the way Jackie did towards, but now her towards Melissa. Maybe it happened that after their makeout, Shauna tried to talk to Jackie about it, only for Jackie to dismiss her and act as if it didn’t matter or count, or even act as if it didn’t happen. We do know shaunahat is meant to be a reversal of jackieshauna, so this would be the first instance of Shauna assuming the role of “Jackie” while treating Melissa the way Jackie used to treat her, and make her her own “Shauna”. Or perhaps Shauna never dared to be this upfront to Jackie about their kiss, so there is a bit of bitterness in Shauna to see Melissa do what she wasn’t able to.
This time, it did seem Melissa let herself be discouraged by Shauna’s nonchalance. She looked in absolute disbelief at how Shauna is acting so dismissively, but instead of insisting, she started to walk away. It does seem like Shauna’s disinterest in their kiss hurt her. Perhaps because she had so much expectation about it, even going so far as to “get dressed up” for the occasion. But also, there is the possibility that it might not have been the first time Melissa has been “rejected” after kissing a girl. Maybe Melissa did kiss girls before, perhaps at one of those slumber parties where straight girls would kiss just for fun. But Melissa took it more seriously, only to be disappointed when the girls didn’t reciprocate. It would add another layer to both Shauna and Melissa's experiences of kissing a girl in the past, only to have said girl act as if nothing happened the next morning.
Maybe that’s why, when Melissa started to walk away, deflated, Shauna called her out. Because at that moment, Melissa reminded her of herself. And also to do the one thing she hoped Jackie would have done for her, which is to not act like it didn’t happen. In a way, not only is Shauna trying to be the “Jackie”, but she is also being the Jackie she wished she had, the one who didn’t dismiss their kiss and actually gave her a chance and has their relationship be something more.
So, in the most Shauna way, she told Melissa that she can stay… if she wants. She doesn’t ask Melissa to stay, because that’d shatter Shauna’s performative nonchalance. Instead, she phrases it so it’s Melissa’s choice, to remove the responsibility from herself. Because she can’t show that she might care. While there is definitely a certain curiosity from Shauna towards Melissa, she is mostly projecting her own insecurities onto her, and making Melissa think that this is her decision to stay instead of letting her believe that it might be what Shauna wants. This is her way of asserting control of the situation.
Melissa looked surprised at first then nervously agreed before sitting down next to Shauna on the log. I think she was relieved that Shauna called her back. At least it showed her that the kiss did mean something and that she might have a chance after all. But given Shauna wasn’t talking, Melissa herself didn’t know what to say. Either she didn’t plan for anything to say outside of talking about the kiss, or she’s too nervous to say anything. Shauna seemed to be expecting her to say something, so they just ended up staring at each other awkwardly in silence. Shauna certainly didn’t have anything specific in mind to talk about either.
Then Shauna broke the silence, asking Melissa if she’s going to turn out to be boring. So many layers here. First, I think Shauna said that because she was uncomfortable with the awkward silence and it’s the first thing she thought to say. But, it’s also a call back to her fight with Jackie before she died. One of the last things Shauna told her before her tragic passing was how “boring” she was. I think Shauna regrets it, especially since she feels responsible for Jackie’s death. I think Shauna wanted reassurance that Melissa wouldn’t turn out to be like Jackie. Not because Shauna genuinely believed Jackie was boring, but because she wouldn’t want Melissa to remind her of Jackie. As a reminder, Melissa isn’t meant to be a replacement for Jackie. Shauna would probably not want to be with someone who reminds her of Jackie. She wants to be the “Jackie”. Also, I think this line served as a test for Melissa, to gauge her reaction. Because her reaction itself would give her the answer she was looking for.
Melissa was probably taken aback, and didn’t know what to answer. Which, fair enough. Who’d expect to be asked that? Let alone have a response. How do you prove you aren’t going to be boring? Especially with words? I doubt that, for Melissa, just replying “no Shauna I promise I won’t turn out to be boring” would have cut it. If anything, that’d be a boring answer, because it’s the expected one. So Melissa replied in another way, without words: she smiled. Which makes sense, given that in their last interaction, it’s not with words that she got through Shauna, but through a gesture (the kiss). The smile itself is a response. It’s Melissa’s way to show Shauna that she won’t be boring. With a smile I assumed was meant to be a reassurance that she won’t be. The smile itself was shy at first, because Melissa was still nervous, but it slowly softened as she became more confident when she saw that Shauna smiled back.
Then we have Shauna not subtly checking out Melissa, looking her up and down, like she’s appraising her. I think this is the first time Shauna actually took the time to observe Melissa for her appearance. And it does seem like she likes what she saw, given her little smirk. First, she noticed Melissa had a personality, and now that she finds her attractive (or at least, pleasant-looking enough). I could also interpret that smirk being about Shauna noticing the way Melissa is dressed, which would be a reasonable reaction to seeing someone wear pants underneath a skirt in summer. Like, she can tell Melissa was doing too much, and she found it funny. But I prefer to think the smirk mostly meant “eh, she’ll do. Good enough”. And Melissa’s smile seemed way happier and more confident after Shauna checked her out.
And then they got interrupted by Mari coming back after going missing. Part of me can’t help but wonder what would have happened if Mari didn’t come back at that moment. (I like to think they might have kissed again, but alas. (I bet Mari would be happy if she knew she had cockblocked Shauna, tho)
Overall, this scene establishes that shaunahat’s dynamic will be a reversal of jackieshauna, where Shauna is taking the role of Jackie (or rather, the twisted version of her she turned her into in her mind) while making Melissa her own “Shauna”. I think in this scene, Shauna is warming up to the idea of having someone she has power over in the same way she felt Jackie had power over her, or rather, how she felt like she was living in her shadow. She can also recognize herself in Melissa, feeding off this new "power fantasy" that Shauna is developing, where she finally gets to reverse that previous dynamic with Jackie and be the one in control. Or as the writers themselves said, to become “the sun to someone else's moon”.
This is why I find it so important to remind people that shaunahat is meant to be a jackieshauna reversal and not just a jackieshauna 2.0 where Melissa is simply a Jackie replacement, because she’s not. She’s her own character who serves a narrative purpose, especially in Shauna’s story. And that’s not only evident in the show itself, but confirmed by the writers and supported by the actresses portraying them. And that’s what makes shaunahat distinct from jackieshauna while still being intimately connected to it. In a way, shaunahat is an extension of jackieshauna and both ships can be appreciated for what they bring to the other.
This year, we won't have an annual Sailor Moon LGBTQ+ Week. Instead, we will celebrate the entire month of June! There are no themes required, just ping and tag us during Pride Month and we will reblog your post during all Pride Month! The same rules we had for the annual weeks apply to this year too:
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Submissions should have an LGBTQ+ character, ship or topic at their core, with any theme of your choosing. It doesn't have to focus on or even include a ship, given this week also celebrates asexuality and trans identities! M/F pairings are allowed as long as one of the characters is LGBTQ+ and the work references their queerness. Bi/Pan people in m/f relationships are still queer and valid. This also applies to trans people in m/f relationships. Basically, as long as you're writing/ drawing/creating something featuring LGBTQ+ character(s), you're golden.
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An Archive of Our Own, a project of the Organization for Transformative Works
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Yellowjackets (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Gen/Melissa (Yellowjackets), Gen & Melissa (Yellowjackets)
Characters: Melissa (Yellowjackets), Gen (Yellowjackets), Akilah (Yellowjackets), Jackie Taylor (Yellowjackets), Javi Martinez (Yellowjackets), Crystal (Yellowjackets), Ben Scott (Yellowjackets), Mari (Yellowjackets), Britt (Yellowjackets), Robin (Yellowjackets), Shauna Shipman's Wilderness Baby, School Spirits AU - Character, The Wilderness (Yellowjackets)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Canon Compliant, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Wraith, Phantom - Freeform
Summary:
No one truly leaves the wilderness. Not even in death. When the survivors die, they reunite in the "spirit world", a plane of existence within the wilderness. The story begins with the arrival of a new ghost, but something isn't quite right about her...
Sharing with you an original webcomic I started around 2020. These pages specifically were done in 2022, but I got a few more pages done and then stopped working on it in 2024. I might continue eventually, since I'm very attached to these characters.
This is a comic about my original characters Kisaki Silvers and Shade Whiton (and later Hana).
It started as a simple comedy comic strip but ended up having a darker tone.
Bonus: the characters' profiles (some stuff are outdated and I might redo them if I decide to continue this comic)
I think ao3 is literally the only site where no censorship means no censorship. you can post the most vile things on there — things that will get taken down on any other platforms — and ao3 will protect you, your works, and your rights to create whatever you want, however you want.
and no, this isn’t me saying “write that messed up, disgusting thing” because while, yes, write it if it’s what you want (I myself enjoy writing dark fics, something I believe would be considered “vile” to a lot of people), this is me saying in a world of censorship and capitalism, ao3 really is a treasure.
(for the shaunahat scene analysis masterpost, click here)
Alright, we’ve reached the first “actual” shaunahat scene. The one where the ship officially sailed. And oh boy, there is a lot to say about this scene, so bear with me.
The scene starts with Shauna going to her baby’s grave and discovering that someone left flowers on it. For context, let’s remember that Shauna recently buried her baby there, away from the others so she could mourn him in peace. We know Shauna feels uncomfortable with how the group turned her dead child into an object of worship, preventing her from properly grieving him. The situation was so unbearable for her that she had to dig up her dead baby to rebury him somewhere secret so the others couldn’t have access to his body anymore. So understand, from her perspective, discovering that someone found her dead baby’s grave is her worst nightmare and something she desperately wanted to prevent. This just confirms her worst fear that she will never be allowed to grieve him in peace. Someone putting flowers on her baby’s grave isn’t a sweet gesture for her, it’s a violation, akin to a profanation. It would be an understatement to say this alone put Shauna in the worst possible mood imaginable, and it’s very understandable, given her past trauma and everything she went through.
Now, we also have to acknowledge what it’s like from Melissa’s perspective. I think it’s fair to assume she did not realize that her action came off that way for Shauna. To her, leaving flowers on her baby’s grave was a sweet gesture. There were no ill intentions (at least, consciously). And I think one of the reasons why she decided to do that is because of how Shauna reacted to Akilah’s “gift” (the makeshift crown thingy) earlier in the episode. This was a gift that highlighted Shauna’s motherhood, and given her child died, also a painful reminder of his death. It put the emphasis on her as the mother of this child they are now “worshipping” instead of allowing Shauna to mourn her loss, essentially turning her grief into a spectacle. Melissa might not have fully understood why this “gift” upset Shauna, but she isn’t clueless either. She can probably tell that Shauna is not comfortable with how they treat her baby, and it shouldn’t be hard for her to figure out it’s because they view him as an idol of worship instead of the tragedy he truly is: a dead baby. So it makes sense that Melissa would have wanted to do something that acknowledges that fact. After taking a stand by stepping on Akilah’s gift in front of Shauna, it also makes sense that Melissa would have wanted to give Shauna her own gift instead, something she assumed Shauna would have rather wanted: something acknowledging her grief. And in normal circumstances, leaving flowers on someone’s grave is the appropriate way to pay respect to them. But, unfortunately for her, those are not “normal” circumstances, resulting in her action not being appropriate.
However, despite Melissa’s intention being primarily good, we also have to acknowledge that it wasn’t entirely selfless. Yes, her sympathy for Shauna and her loss is sincere. She does feel bad for her and did this because she thought it would make Shauna feel better. But we also have to realize that, in order for Melissa to be able to leave flowers there, it’s because she was stalking Shauna. She followed her there without Shauna’s knowledge, and discovered something she was not supposed to know. Then used that discovery to her advantage, without Shauna’s permission. And let’s not forget, Melissa didn’t simply leave flowers: she stayed and hid. She wanted to see Shauna’s reaction. So not only did she stalk Shauna, there is something a little bit voyeuristic about what she did. And this does fit with how Jenna Burgess interpreted this scene. She described Melissa’s initial intentions as “pure” and “empathetic”, but accurately points out that the truly empathetic action would have been to leave the flowers and walk away, just to let Shauna know there’s someone who is acknowledging her grief. Melissa decided to stay and watch for a reaction, which Jenna describes as being “audacious”, a “power move" and “self-serving”, which I do agree with. By observing how Shauna reacts to her “gift”, she can more easily learn what works or doesn’t work with Shauna and prepare her next move. It’s important to keep in mind that Melissa didn’t plan that she’d get caught, so even if she wasn’t being purely selfless in her intentions, she wasn’t planning to take advantage of the situation to manipulate Shauna in any way. Everything that happens after getting caught was purely her improvising and trying to turn an unexpected confrontation to her own advantage, while being truthful about her feelings towards Shauna.
Back to Shauna. After discovering the flowers, she panicked because she realized someone managed to find where her baby was buried. Then, she heard someone moving and realized she was being observed. Her first instinct when that happened was to pull out her knife. This shows how frightened she truly was by the situation, and perhaps even expecting to be in danger. Shauna is in a state of panic and in “defense mode”, basically.
But when she sees no one “attacking” her, while still being aware that she isn’t alone, she demands whoever is hiding to come out. And I think it’s likely she could have attacked whoever showed up on the spot if it happened to be someone she wasn’t particularly fond of. For example, if it was Mari or Misty, Shauna might not have let them explain themselves and simply go on the offensive. But, the person who came out from the bushes was Melissa, someone she is mostly indifferent to and with whom she had a relatively “positive” interaction not so long ago. And I do think it could have contributed to Shauna not jumping on her right away, meaning if they didn’t have this interaction in ep1, perhaps Shauna would not have let Melissa attempt to explain herself and just attacked her instead. This would add an extra layer of importance to their first actual interaction this season, by affecting the way this scene ended up playing out.
Melissa could have attempted to run when Shauna caught her. Maybe she considered doing it. But I think she decided not to because if Shauna saw her run away and recognized her, it would not have been a good look for her. That wasn’t a risk she would take given she wants to get on Shauna’s good side. So she did show herself, which again, as Jenna mentioned, demonstrates that she is audacious. But also, Melissa didn’t realize how much her action had negatively affected Shauna’s mind. Once again, she viewed what she did as a nice gesture, while Shauna viewed it as a violation. So I think ultimately, Melissa didn’t run away because she wasn’t scared of Shauna, at least not enough to feel in immediate danger. Or rather, she underestimated Shauna and failed to realize how pissed off she made her. And unfortunately for her, one passively good interaction between them wasn’t enough to minimize Shauna’s anger.
Then, Melissa tries to justify her presence to Shauna. As I said earlier, I don’t think she was scared of Shauna, but she was definitely nervous. Just like anyone would be if they got caught spying, especially by their crush. And we can tell she was nervous by the way she’s rambling. If I’m understanding correctly what Melissa is saying, she is claiming she didn’t follow Shauna “this morning” (so earlier that day), she just couldn’t sleep because she was scared and then she saw Shauna going somewhere and decided to “keep and eye” on her because of how things are “crazy out there” (I assume this is about Mari’s disappearance and the weird screams they heard last night).
So when we saw Shauna go re-bury her kid earlier this episode, this is when Melissa followed her and found out about the grave. So, despite what Melissa claims… yes, she did “follow” Shauna. Maybe she is truthful about saying it was to keep an eye on her out of concern for her due to the recent events, but it’s also very possible she simply has the habit of following Shauna around, like a stalker. We saw Shauna bury her baby at the beginning of the episode, which seems to have been the morning, meaning Melissa was probably spying on her. Then we saw that quick scene between them after the group realized Mari had gone missing and Shauna angrily passed by Gen and Melissa. Given the chronology of events, it means Melissa already knew at that time where Shauna had re-buried her child. And seeing how on edge Shauna looked, might have thought that putting flowers on his grave would “help”. How wrong was she, huh.
While Melissa is rambling, Shauna is staring at her. I doubt she actually cares about whatever justification Melissa is giving. Shauna already made up her mind. They might have had one relatively “positive” interaction the other day, Melissa is still mostly a stranger to Shauna. The fact she only noticed Melissa having a “personality” recently is proof they were never close before. So even if Shauna didn’t attack Melissa right away, she is still unlikely to give her any benefit of the doubt. I wouldn’t be surprised if Shauna did not listen at all to what Melissa said and was too focused instead on her anger about having someone intrude on a place that is sacred to her. Melissa is essentially nothing more than an intruder in her mind, and Shauna had already decided that she was here to “take” her baby. Hence why she didn’t reply to anything Melissa said and instead told her that no one has a right to her baby, emphasizing how he is HER baby. So this really reinforced the crux of what Shauna solely has on her mind at the moment: her baby. And how someone, once again, from her perspective, is appropriating him. And nothing Melissa could have said would have changed her mind. This is the first thing she thought when she found the flowers, and it shaped how she continues to perceive the situation.
Melissa does seem taken aback by Shauna’s reaction, because to her, this was never about taking away her baby. To her, the flowers were something respectful. So I think part of her is confused about why Shauna is telling her this. And we can tell she doesn’t fully get it because she instantly “agrees” with Shauna, as if she just wants to get on her good side, and quickly move on to another topic. She can tell Shauna is on edge, and that trying to justify her presence here didn’t help.
So she moves tactic and instead, first by apologizing to her, for everything that happened to her out here. Actually acknowledging what Shauna had lost and expressing sympathy for her. Which I do believe is sincere. I think a big part of how Melissa’s infatuation with Shauna began was because she felt sympathy for her. Then, she decides to start complimenting Shauna. Telling her how resilient she is and how important it is out there (in the wilderness). Which that too, I believe Melissa is sincere. It comes off as awkward because she’s nervous, and I do think she is scared now. Not scared of Shauna, but scared of leaving a bad impression on Shauna. Once again, Melissa didn’t plan on getting caught, so she had no speech or monologue pre-planned. She didn’t rehearse any of this. I’m mentioning that because this does seem like something she does (as we will see in the next scene), so this really is just her trying to express how she feels on the spot and sounding clumsy.
And just like before, Shauna is simply staring at Melissa as she is basically glazing her. I don’t think Shauna is fully registering what Melissa is saying. She’s still very on edge and in the mindset that someone got too close to her baby. She doesn’t know Melissa very well, so it makes sense she wouldn’t trust her anyway. Shauna feels like the group as a whole doesn’t appreciate her (she was bitter they picked Nat as their queen and not her, despite what she did for them), so she does have reasons to be doubtful when someone she isn’t even close to is suddenly praising her. There’s probably no one who complimented her in a long time so this could also be confusing for her. Especially coming from someone who is essentially no different to a stranger for her. In other words, Shauna is not in the right state of mind to be hearing these kinds of praises, especially since she probably does not feel resilient, given how broken she feels, and neither does she think it’d be “important” out there given how unappreciated she thinks she is by the others.
Then, Melissa told Shauna that the others are “scared of her”, and declared that she is not. That’s a very interesting thing to say because of how wildly different Shauna interpreted that statement. From Melissa’s point of view, what she said was positive. She is letting Shauna know that she isn’t like the others, that she is on her “side”. She is presenting herself as an ally for Shauna. And also, by claiming she is not afraid of her, Melissa is telling Shauna she is someone she can rely on and can “match her freak”, so to speak. When asked about if Melissa was actually not scared of Shauna, Jenna said “yes and no”. So I do think part of Melissa was scared of Shauna, and she claimed otherwise to make herself look good in Shauna’s eyes.
But that’s not how Shauna viewed it. To her, Melissa basically telling her “I’m not scared of you” was a taunt. She was already on edge and not receptive to Melissa’s praises, so hearing that was essentially the straw that broke the camel’s back. It was as if Shauna had been waiting for Melissa to “slip up” so she could finally snap at her and have an excuse to attack her. Shauna was like a bomb just waiting for the right trigger to explode. And as soon as she heard Melissa claim she wasn’t scared of her, this was it. This was a threat to her, and Shauna had to show Melissa she should be scared of her. All that anger she had accumulated burst, and she reacted by pushing Melissa against the tree and putting her knife to her throat. She threatened to kill Melissa if she told anyone about her baby’s grave- because once again, to Shauna, that’s her primary concern and all she had on her mind. Keeping her baby to herself.
Now, Melissa is actually scared. Which yeah, makes sense. She did not expect Shauna to react this way because as I said before, what she said was a positive thing in her mind. She did look confident that it would win Shauna over but instead, she is getting aggressively threatened with a knife under her throat. And not only did Melissa look scared, it seemed like she was panicking, we can hear her hyperventilate as Shauna is telling her that she will “gut her”. I don’t think she can process why Shauna is that angry at her. All she can think of is how she might be killed and had to think fast to find a way out of this situation. And turns out, her way was to kiss Shauna. She was terrified and in a moment of desperation, she kissed her. Yes, she does have a crush on Shauna, and it’s part of why she kissed her. But also, because she had nothing to lose. If Shauna was potentially going to kill her, then that was her last chance to show her how she felt about her. And also, according to Jenna, this was an act of self-preservation. This was Melissa’s only way left to let Shauna know that she meant no harm, and that she actually liked her. Because Shauna was clearly not listening to words.
The first kiss didn’t last long, and it looked mostly like a peck on the lips. It caught Shauna off guard and it looked like it instantly softened her. She doesn’t look angry anymore, just surprised. And for a moment, it looked like Melissa was worried about her reaction. Which is understandable when we take into consideration that it is the 90s, where homosexuality was still a taboo. It is possible that Melissa suspected Shauna wasn’t straight due to her relationship with Jackie, but it’s not like she knew for a fact Shauna was into girls. So she did take a huge risk by kissing her, especially when Shauna was holding her at knife point. When Jenna called Melissa "audacious", she wasn’t kidding. This was a bold move. And thankfully for her, Shauna “reciprocated” by kissing her back. And this time, it was more than a peck. They were full-on making out against that tree, while Shauna kept the knife to Melissa’s throat. And they both seemed into it.
Now, why did Shauna kiss Melissa back? Obviously, it’s not because she reciprocates her feelings. Shauna barely knows her. But the kiss was impactful enough to soften her and get her to calm down. And I think it’s because it awakened something in Shauna that she was never able to fully admit to herself, which is her sexuality. More specifically, her attraction to girls. It is obvious that Shauna had feelings for Jackie that she was never able to admit. And part of Shauna would have wanted to explore those, but unfortunately couldn’t because Jackie died. So Melissa is giving her an opportunity to explore those, in a way. And also, after everything she went through, this is also a way to unwind. The way Shauna is kissing Melissa does show a certain level of desperation, like she’s been craving that kind of physical contact for a long time. The kiss is hungry, passionate and even feral. Shauna is even seemingly "dry humping" Melissa as they make out. She also kept the knife the whole time, as if she still wanted to keep that power over Melissa and feel in control. For Shauna, the kiss isn’t about Melissa at all, but about herself and her desire.
I think it’s important to point out that this kiss, despite the fact Melissa did initiate it first, is very much in the category of “dubious consent”. Not only did Melissa kiss Shauna first without her consent, it was done under duress. As said before, this was partially done out of self-preservation. Melissa’s life was being threatened and she was scared of being killed. Even if she did have a crush on Shauna, even if she kissed Shauna first, she most likely wouldn’t have if it wasn’t for Shauna threatening her life. Then, when Shauna chose to kiss her back, she kept the knife under her throat the entire time. It made it impossible for Melissa to refuse if didn’t want to. And even if it did seem like Melissa was okay with it, it still shows that Shauna didn’t really take Melissa’s consent into consideration. If anything, she might have considered that Melissa kissing her first was her giving her consent, ignoring the fact Melissa did so because she was scared of dying. So the point remains, the kiss was of dubious consent, somewhat on both sides but mostly Shauna since she was the one in control in this situation and had power over Melissa.
Something interesting Jenna mentioned in an interview is that Melissa only “succeeded” in getting with Shauna because of how broken Shauna was. She stated that she played Melissa as if she didn’t have any game. It only worked because Shauna was so broken by everything that happened to her, so she essentially had nothing to lose and all to gain from this. This relationship started due to their circumstances, and it would probably not have happened if it wasn’t for the crash.
Another interesting detail is how this scene is juxtaposed with another one happening in the adult timeline. Adult Shauna has been taunted with a telephone left in the bathroom of the restaurant she was in with Jeff, seemingly for her, given the phone had “Queen of Hearts” as a ringtone and the wilderness as background.
Shauna left the phone at the restaurant and is now calling to see if someone came to pick it up. She learned that a woman did and she asked what she looked like. This is shown at the same time as Shauna and Melissa kissing. A not-so-subtle clue that the person who is seemingly stalking Shauna in the adult timeline is none other than Melissa. To this day, I am still confused about how so many people were in denial about adult Melissa when it was this obvious from the start. Oh well.
Interestingly, some of the dialogues between the two timelines mirror each other, too. Even in the way the two scenes are cut, it's almost as if the dialogues are meant to resemble each other- and it was probably on purpose.
This is the first major shaunahat scene and it does foreshadow the dynamic for their relationship. A big part of this interaction is the miscommunication. Both Shauna and Melissa had completely different perspectives of the situation and they both critically misunderstood each other, and it led to a violent confrontation. It did up “well” this time, showing that under the right circumstances these two can somewhat work, but it also shows how easy it is for their relationship to turn violent. They both aren’t on the same wavelength, they do not have the same desire and expectations. And in the end, this miscommunication is what caused the downfall of their relationship later on. This scene also illustrated the power imbalance, showing how Shauna wants to remain in control and hold power over Melissa, something that is at the center of their relationship, but also contributes to its downfall when Melissa no longer lets Shauna have this control over her.
In conclusion, this scene established not only the foundation of shaunahat, but also foreshadowed its downfall, when they ultimately break up, in similar circumstances as how they got together in the first place.
(If you are interested in more of my commentary on this ship, feel free to check out my extensive shaunahat analysis.)
Now that we are done going through every episode of season 1, I thought it'd be interesting to do a retrospective of everything that happened with the extrajackets in this season. But first, I highly recommend checking this masterlist for all the extras in s1.
First, the number of survivors at the start of season 1 was 24, including 11 extras (basically, the last two rows, minus Mari):
In order, the extrajackets are: Gen, proto-Melissa, proto-Crystal, proto-Robin, proto-Britt, YJ #17, YJ #15, Green Shirt Girl, Not Melissa, Also Not Melissa and Redhead Girl. (from now on, I won't use the term "proto" and simply consider them as the characters they are known as in later seasons)
Among the 11 extras, 6 of them are seen in the team pictures. We have Crystal in between Laura Lee and Lottie, then YJ #15 and YJ #17 next to each other, with Melissa (as YJ #18). Then we have Gen next to her, and in front of her, Robin.
Most of the extrajackets we see in the wilderness are introduced in the first episode, on the plane. Here's a collage of the extras we saw on the plane:
From left to right: Yellowjackets #15 and #17, Melissa, Robin, Crystal, redhead girl, Britt and Not Melissa. Interestingly, Gen is the only extra who was in the team photo who is missing from the plane. Other absents are Green Shirt Girl, Also Not Melissa and Redhead Girl.
However, Not Melissa was known on the plane in the second episode, during the crash. The other missing extras were also introduced in the second episode, after the crash.
Throughout the season, the number of extras we see diminishes as some of them stop appearing altogether. Most notably, YJ #17, Redhead Girl, Green Shirt Girl and Also Not Melissa disappear after episode 3. Technically, so does the proto-Crystal, but given Crystal's inclusion in season 2, it's a bit different from the other four, who simply stop existing. If we want an in-universe explanation, I'd say maybe they got lost in the woods between ep3 and ep4. My headcanon is that they got killed by wolves off-screen. RIP to these four.
Regarding group dynamics, most of the extras seem to stick together. There is a popular theory among fans that the extrajackets are JVs, while the mainjackets are Varsity. This isn't 100% confirmed, but some of the former extrajackets (Melissa, Gen and Crystal) have been referred to as JV by the cast and crew, so this is a likely possibility. That would explain why most of the extras would stick to each other almost as a separate group, since JV is essentially a different team. They wouldn't necessarily be close to the Varsity players. Interestingly tho, Gen and Britt are often hanging out with the main cast.
We have a good example in s1ep3 of those two groups:
In the "main" group, we can see Shauna, Jackie, Natalie, Lottie, Akilah, Mari, Laura Lee, Taissa, and later Gen and Britt.
Meanwhile, in the other group, we can see YJ #15, Melissa, Redhead Girl, Crystal, Robin and YJ #17.
In season 1, Gen and Britt were credited as "Yellowjacket #1" and "Yellowjacket #2", the only extras who were credited. They were also the extras with the most appearances, sometimes even the only ones who appeared. But from an in-universe perspective, it's interesting that these two were the closest to the main group, especially given the latter seasons where they were portrayed more as outsiders (Gen in s2, Britt in s3).
Gen is also seen hanging out with Robin, and went to Doomcoming with her and Britt.
Melissa is mostly seen hanging out with YJ #15, who seemed to have been her "bestie" in s1. This is interesting because, although YJ #15 appears until the last episode of s1, she is nowhere to be seen after that season. Perhaps this extra died in between s1 and s2. Melissa also losing a close friend could add more depth to why she started gravitating around Shauna in s2 and later developed a crush on her in s3, as she can actually relate to Shauna's loss.
Speaking of bestie, Melissa and Gen actually never interact with one another in s1. We don't see them hang out with each other at all. This is interesting, given how close they seem to be in s2. This would mean they became friends between s1 and s2. Jenna Burgess and Mya Lowe both decided that their characters became close friends after the crash while portraying their relationship, so this does make sense. Perhaps after the loss of YJ #15, Melissa befriended Gen instead. I can only think of three instances where Gen and Melissa shared the screen, and in none of those they were interacting. (see below)
However, despite not being shown to be friends, Gen and Melissa do seem to have friends in common in s1. Even if Gen is mostly seen hanging out with the main group (including Britt), we also see her hang out with YJ #15, as well as Redhead Girl and YJ #17, who were part of the same group Melissa was seen with previously.
Speaking of Melissa, it's unclear when the proto-Melissa extra stopped appearing in s1. I do think the latest appearance for this extra was technically s1ep5, but I don't think it was "Melissa"'s last appearance. We do see a blonde extra in episode 9, during Doomcoming. She does resemble the extra who plays Not Melissa (and probably is), but her hair is significantly blonder now. So, for continuity's sake, given she is the last remaining blonde extra, she is "Now Melissa". So s1ep9 is the last time we saw "Melissa" this season.
Regarding Doomcoming, other than Melissa going with YJ #15 while Gen went with Robin and Britt, another interesting detail is how the only extra who hunted down Travis with the main group is Melissa. Gen, YJ #15, Robin and Britt are nowhere to be seen after everyone got high. None of the extras assaulted Travis either. Melissa was in the cabin when it happened, though, and only joined when they started chasing him down.
No potential Melissa extras appear in the last episode. The only extras we see in ep10 are: Gen, YJ#15, Britt and Robin. We see all four of them at the end of the season, when they discovered Jackie's body. And among those, the only one we won't see in a later season is YJ#15.
Also, in season 2, there are three unnamed extras we see from time to time, and while it'd make sense for two of them to be Britt and Robin given we see them in s3, a lot of fans assume the third one might be YJ #15. But that's more something I'd get into if I decide to do an Extrajackets season 2.
So, to summarize: season 1, we started with 11 extrajackets out of 24 survivors. Five of them disappeared after ep3 (one of them being proto-Crystal, so only 4 that are permanently gone). Then, we have proto-Melissa and Not Melissa merging into a single character (Now Melissa) in ep9 after also disappearing past this episode, while the proto-Melissa actress technically stopped showing up after ep5. Then, in the finale, we are left with 4 extrajackets, 3 of which will be seen in later seasons (Gen in s2 and 3, Robin and Britt in s3). Then we have Melissa and Crystal, who aren't shown in the finale but will be formally introduced in s2 (played by new actresses while Gen is the same in s2). So if we include these two, we have 6 remaining extrajackets still alive at the end of s1. And with Laura Lee and Jackie's death, a total of 17 survivors.
Other notable details before I end this post: Melissa and Gen seemingly not being friends in this season. Instead, Melissa is mostly hanging out with her fellow extrajackets (especially YJ#15), and among those extras, there are Crystal and Robin, whom we see her hang out with in later seasons. Meanwhile, Gen, alongside Britt, is mostly seen hanging out with the main cast. Although, Gen is also seen being friends with YJ#15 and Robin, something she has in common with Melissa. Even if this wasn't done intentionally, it is still interesting in retrospect, given their relationship later.
And that will be all for Extrajackets season 1! I might do something similar for season 2, though the only "extrajackets" we primarily see are Gen and Melissa (who are technically no longer extras, since they have names and lines, but in this season they are mostly being used as glorified extras). Let me know what you think, if you think I missed anything notable in s1, and if you want something similar for s2!
what's your opinion on shaunahat as a pairing and melissa as a character?
Hi! Thanks for asking!
I actually didn’t like shaunahat at first but they definitely grew on me by the end of the season
They are so awful for each other in a good way. Shauna the antler queen would not exist without Melissa.
I feel like both of them exploited and abused each other in different ways, I’ve talked about it in other posts
Shauna took out her grief and anger out on her, while Melissa used her to hide her own violent tendencies and toxic behaviors
I do believe that they both loved each other in spite of their issues. The relationship is interesting for me to dissect as someone who loves nuance
It’s also incredibly interesting that Melissa was the one who inadvertently created the wilderness baby religion, which is actually one of my favorite shaunahat tethers
I really hate it when their relationship is flattened to evil Shauna and baby Melissa, but don’t worry, I know Shauna abused Melissa and I don’t justify it either
I mean, Melissa did cause a lot of harm to Shauna’s psyche at one of the most vulnerable times of her life whether it was entirely intentional or not, and attempted to murder her and almost carried it out. She stalked her in adulthood and ragebaited her knowing that they had just been doing cult stuff at Lottie’s place and that Natalie died.
Melissa is a lot more interesting when you acknowledge her agency instead of entirely removing it to demonize Shauna
I also hate the jackieshauna 2.0 allegations, especially since Melissa is nothing like Jackie and Shauna and Melissa’s relationship was forged in completely different circumstances compared to jackie and Shauna and their relationship served a different purpose
I definitely don’t think their relationship would’ve worked without the specific circumstances they were in, but I find that makes it even more interesting
Melissa as a character has grown on me a lot lately, and I credit your posts (I’m a casual fan 😊). And I hope we get more on her.
Thank you so much for asking me and I hope you’re satisfied with my answer!
Thank you for your answer! I very much agree with most of your points. Personally I'm a big fan of shaunahat and both Shauna and Melissa are among my fav characters. I do agree it's a mutually toxic couple and people often brush off that Melissa is also toxic in this relationship, and how she contributed to Shauna becoming the Antler Queen. She is manipulative and an enabler, and I do hope s4 shows more of that. The abuse was mostly from Shauna's side (ep9 for example), but Melissa is just as capable of violence. She is the one who maimed Ben and attempted to murder Shauna. And as an adult, she killed Van just like Shauna killed Adam, and they both married someone out of guilt for what they did in the wilderness. I feel like they are intentionally written to be mirrors of each other.
I actually didn't make the connection that Melissa inadvertently caused the wilderness baby religion with that line. It is ironic, given she is one of the least involved in Lottie's cult in s2. She only participated in two prayer circles, once when Shauna was nearly dying giving birth and when Crystal went missing. Then in s3 she does acknowledge Shauna's grief by leaving flowers on her baby's grave, but understandably, that's not how Shauna viewed it. So the fact that Melissa inadvertently started that whole wilderness baby thing adds an extra layer to all of this, and I agree it makes shaunahat even more twisted.
I think Shauna being abusive but Melissa not being a perfect victim who never did anything wrong adds realism to me (as someone who experienced domestic abuse in the past). A lot of victims of abuse are not "perfect" victims, and even if how Shauna treated Melissa can't be justified, I can see why she ended up that way. So I still have sympathy for both of them. Their relationship is relatable to me.
Even Jenna Burgess agrees that Melissa was manipulative, even if she didn't realize it herself. And Adult Melissa is definitely more aware of what she is doing and purposefully wanted to ragebait Shauna into coming after her. To me it's a good example of "trauma bond" between these two and how learning about Nat's death and the cult stuff "triggered" Melissa into seeking Shauna again, and she wasn't being innocent by sending the tape. Putting the wilderness symbol on the envelope to me shows she intended to trigger Shauna too. And to this day, I do not understand how so many people fail to realize that.
Also same, people turning them into jackieshauna 2.0 and thinking Shauna would want to "replace" Jackie with Melissa either lack some media literacy or just want to use shaunahat as a proxy for jackieshauna by imagining Melissa as Jackie. While in reality, as even mentioned by the writers, shaunahat is a "reversal" of jackieshauna. It's Shauna trying to mimic that relationship but making herself the "Jackie", but ends up being a very different dynamic. I swear, the "do you think she makes Mel wear Jackie's clothes when they make out" did irreparable damage because so many people took that line as truth instead of just TaiVan wrongly assuming something. If anything, Shauna was wearing Jackie's clothes while making out with Melissa.
And yeah, shaunahat would probably not have worked if it wasn't for the crash, and Jackie's death. Not only would Shauna not be interested in Melissa if Jackie was still around, but Melissa herself wouldn't have been interested in Shauna. By her own words, she was into the Shauna who embraced her bad parts. And again, something Jenna also agrees with.
Sorry for the long reply, I got a lot to say about this, and I really appreciated your insight! Especially since I also think Shauna is unfairly demonized in the fandom.
So cool to see Reinako being a close second to MakoAmi! I was always under the impression Reinako is mostly a manga and live action driven ship, while MakoAmi seems to have thrived in all versions of Sailor Moon, so this makes sense?
I thought most folks ship Usagi and Rei because of 90s anime, so I'm not surprised to see it in 3rd, but also didn't expect it to be so much lower than MakoAmi and Reinako, given how much attention and influence 90s anime garnered across the year, possibly more than manga. Maybe I assumed wrong?
From my experience, MakoAmi is mostly driven by the 90s anime only, same with ReiUsa. So I'm actually surprised it won against Reinako who is driven by both the manga and live action. Even some primarily 90s anime fans (such as myself) ship them a lot xD
No, the real drive is an animator’s hard on for an “Amazonian tamed by smol nerdy girl” fantasy and everything afterwards was retroactive cope to pretend otherwise.
It’s really a game of bingo at this point, when MakoAmi simps are shown a mirror, they flinch, block, ban, or insult to avoid looking at ot. I would have respected you more if you just blocked me, at least than it would be less transparent that you aren’t capable of engaging in good faith.
I don't even ship MakoAmi, it's just that unlike you, I don't lose my time obsessively hating on a ship. Just block the ship name, no one's mind will be changed because some weirdo keeps telling them their ship is "bad". No one has to justify to an unhinged rando online why they like two fictional characters smooching. Seriously, chill. That's not healthy and you definitely won't be welcomed in this fandom if this is how you behave.
So cool to see Reinako being a close second to MakoAmi! I was always under the impression Reinako is mostly a manga and live action driven ship, while MakoAmi seems to have thrived in all versions of Sailor Moon, so this makes sense?
I thought most folks ship Usagi and Rei because of 90s anime, so I'm not surprised to see it in 3rd, but also didn't expect it to be so much lower than MakoAmi and Reinako, given how much attention and influence 90s anime garnered across the year, possibly more than manga. Maybe I assumed wrong?
From my experience, MakoAmi is mostly driven by the 90s anime only, same with ReiUsa. So I'm actually surprised it won against Reinako who is driven by both the manga and live action. Even some primarily 90s anime fans (such as myself) ship them a lot xD
No, the real drive is an animator’s hard on for an “Amazonian tamed by smol nerdy girl” fantasy and everything afterwards was retroactive cope to pretend otherwise.
I don't think I've seen anyone talk about how the only on-screen murders (so far) that Shauna and Melissa committed are very similar. Both in the adult timeline, and they both stabbed someone with whom they had some closeness to with a knife after having their trauma triggered.
Sure, it's not exactly the same. Adam was Shauna's lover while Van was Melissa's old friend. But in both situations, Shauna and Melissa felt threatened, yet the person they killed wasn't actually going to hurt them. And it's very much a trauma response for both of them.
But, even if neither Adam nor Van were an immediate threat, Adam still lied to Shauna and hid stuff from her, while Van did kidnap and try to kill Melissa before changing her mind. So they both committed actions that ended up triggering their soon-to-be murderers.
I think it's clearer that Shauna was experiencing a PTSD attack because the scene is entirely from her pov. Because she's a main character, while Adam is just "some guy". So we get to focus on her psyche while the scene plays out, and how Adam triggered her trauma.
Meanwhile, when it comes to Melissa killing Van, both of them are important characters, so it does not focus solely on Mel. If anything, the scene is mostly from Van's pov. It happens quickly because Van is caught off guard and didn't see it coming, just like the viewers.
But, I think Melissa was having similar flashes of memory as Shauna was before she killed Adam and reverted back to her teen self. We didn't see it because the scene wasn't framed from her pov. I think Melissa mentioning "It" shows that, and how shocked she looked by what she had done.
This is something interesting, given that Melissa is intentionally written to "parallel" Shauna. Also, her having a trauma response in this scene is also something Hilary Swank mentioned during an interview with the show writers, which I talked a bit more about here.
Bonus: rip Adam and Van, the show just doesn't like Redhead, I guess 😔
A while ago, I wrote a 20k shaunahat analysis (which you can read here). I still stand by what I said in it, but given the length, I always wanted to split the analysis into "parts" to make it more accessible. But since it's been a while and I know I can go deeper, I decided to review all their scenes and re-analyze them individually. So here's a compilation post I'll be editing as I go through their scenes!
According to Melissa, Hannah told her where to find the tape she recorded, in which Hannah left a message for her daughter Alex, so Melissa could give it to her if she gets rescued. Melissa, however, did not give it to Alex and instead married her.
Melissa fact of the week #6
According to Ben Semanoff, who directed 309, Melissa wanted to separate from her life in the wilderness as soon as she was rescued. And given what Melissa said in 308, it does seem to imply that she faked her death not so long after being rescued.
Saying that "a lot happened in the last 25 years" as a response to Shauna's questions does seem to indicate that it's been 25 years since they saw each other, implying Melissa's "suicide" must have happened in the same year they got rescued. (source)
Melissa fact of the week #7
In Yellowjackets s3ep8 (adult timeline), when asked by Shauna why she faked her own suicide, Melissa explained that she had no other choice. She didn't feel like she was part of the group anymore after the rescue, and she was also scared of Shauna.
Melissa fact of the week #8
In s3ep8, Melissa admits having nightmares, not only during the night but also during the day while being awake. This seems to imply that she might be suffering from hallucinations.
Do you take story commissions? Have liked the stuff you’ve put out for a while!
Hey! I don't take commissions (I already struggle writing my own fics rip) but if you have suggestions feel free to share! If it fits with what I like to write I might!
According to Sophie Nélisse, when Shauna shot Melissa, she missed on purpose. She did so to regain control and fear over the group. She also believes that deep down, Shauna did care for Melissa, but she can't show it. source
Melissa fact of the week #2
Jenna Burgess said that the writers confirmed to her that the Melissa/Alex relationship doesn't happen until way later. She does not immediately stalk Alex after being rescued. When she does still remains unconfirmed, though. source
Melissa fact of the week #3
In Yellowjackets s3ep8, adult Melissa revealed that she is now going to church. However, which denomination she belongs to remains unconfirmed.
Melissa fact of the week #4
According to Vanessa Prasad, Melissa and Gen became friends after the crash. This was something Jenna Burgess and Mya Lowe decided while portraying their respective character in season 2, something Vanessa continued in season 3.