#(also I've definitely gotten used to Harry now! I was sad when it looked like he was leaving. I need more of them being friends it heals my

[running-in-the-dark]

one thing I love about Redemption is Eliot and Harry interacting. I just love those two old men being friends, okay, it's adorable 💖

[t1oui]

thinking about how living w regulus would affect harry like

he's such a fucking snob about everything. food, decor, fashion, you name it, he's got opinions on it.

he does ballet despite being the least graceful person on the planet. he's somehow pretty good at it, likely out of spite

speaks french

very much a cat person, has a cat named leo who is his baby

like yk how james and sirius are extremely codependent? that's how harry is w leo. both of them can not handle being apart from each other too long

reads a lot of stories

thinks seeker is the best quidditch position

on that note, lots of slytherin house pride. james hates it. harry refuses to put any gryffindor decorations up in his room

harry loves taking pictures just like reg so the house is filled with photographs

and ofc harry is snobby about what types of cameras he uses thanks to reg. james now just lets them deal with the cameras & photography stuff bc he's scared to get the wrong thing lol

harry is taller than reg but bc dysphoria all of reg's old clothes (like quidditch jerseys + hoodies and stuff) are his size so half his wardrobe is from reg's hogwarts days

definitely the type of guy to change his bedding & curtains & everything in his room based on the season. will anybody actually be in there other than him and his parents? not really, but he MUST redecorate

idk what this even means but snobby about candles. this is another thing james is scared to buy him

harry and reg speak french w each other more than english

since james doesn't speak french w harry (i hc he's only comfortable speaking it w reg) harry is used to having a conversation in two different languages so sometimes he'll be speaking french w his friends without noticing

he'll be in the middle of a rant and realize they don't understand a thing he's saying lol

reg and harry control the decorating for every holiday, every birthday, etc.

the one thing harry knows how to do that reg doesn't/reg didn't teach him is cooking. reg never cooked for himself as a child so james was the one who taught him

doesn't look like it most of the time but all of harry's clothes are very expensive... did i mention he's a snob

harry is such a dry texter/writer... he's such a dick about grammar when it comes to writing even tho he can barely string a sentence together when speaking

deeply sarcastic (look! a canon detail! we never thought we'd see that on this account, did we?)

will take his partners on the most expensive dates & whatnot like it's nothing... cedric the farmboy™️ is not prepared

writes sad boy poetry when he gets annoyed w someone... like harry will storm off all pissed and then he comes back 20 mins later with a beautifully written, very angry poem for whoever made him mad

has so many clothes & different curtains and bedding sets for different seasons that he also uses the closet in the guest room (reg takes up 99% of his and james's closet for the same reason)

has an inherent hatred of fake plants

bedroom is simultaneously tidy and so messy a hurricane might as well have come through

leaves a book behind everywhere he goes

secretly the worst sense of humor lmao

he may not have gotten his love of drawing/painting from regulus, but you def see reg in the way he is, you guessed it, a massive snob about art supplies

soooo indecisive. redoes his room at least twice a year

an asshole when he gets less than 10 hours of sleep... he's mildly tolerable after 3 cups of coffee (black, of course) but you might as well just ignore him until he gets a nap in

on that note is very good at making coffee and is, drum roll please, a massive snob about it. who would've guessed (somebody count how many times i've said snob in this post and comment it please and thank you)

if he doesn't like a gift he's horrible at pretending he's happy w it so people usually go through reg whenever they buy him something... this goes both ways too, people go through harry when buying something for reg

is visually james and lily's but in personality is really just reg's (and also lily's... he definitely inherited his spite from her lol)

is a crazy cat lady by age 20

at least 10 pictures of leo in his room... he has whole photoshoots for her and she poses for them

might as well not hang out w harry at his house bc he'll make out with his cat the whole time

loves going to art museums w regulus

he's a, surprise surprise, snob about art. james just doesn't comment on art altogether atp

his vocabulary is a weird mashup of french, english, and hindi that makes it very hard for anybody who doesn't know him well to understand what he's saying lol

looks angry until he smiles (he got this from lily but a life with reg has perfected it)

needs a golden retriever to his black cat in any given relationship (enter cedric and cho) (yes i'm going to push my rarepair on everyone reading this)

tl;dr being raised by/living w regulus has turned harry into a massive snob about literally everything and regulus is proud of it (blink twice if you need help, james)

[violeteclipseboaty]

So I recently went to go watch KOTPOTA again. I wanted to share my thoughts overall on the film, I couldn't properly do it before because I had forgotten some stuff lol

The pacing: at first watch I though it was kinda weird but watching it again I realized it pretty much went straight to the point, if anything I wanted MORE but you know the movie would've been too long but I wouldn't have minded either way. I mean, I've watched the Avatar and Harry Potter movies, so yeah I could've handled that lol

I really like the environment they set up with the eagle clan; their culture, their tradition with the eggs, and their bond with the eagles. I hope we get to see more details in the next movie.

The cinematography was amazing, they really nailed it. The sceneries were outstanding. A lot of that stuff reminded me back to Rise, back when it was filled with human life, now sadly the structures are abandoned and overtaken by nature but look pretty either way. The action scenes omg were so engaging and just done so well.

Let's talk about the main characters:

Noa: Great character. He's curious, smart, brave, and compassionate. I know a lot of people wanted him to be Caesar's descendant but i didnt really care about that. I'm excited where his next journey will take us if they have the chance to make a sequel (please 🙏) I'm pretty sure at the end of the film, Noa now has a new view of the world he lives in and now questioning his entire existence lol

Raka: loved him!! I really like how he truly understood what Caesar stood for. I did notice some things he believed were wrong lol but he's got the spirit and would lighten up the mood after what happened with Noa's clan. He's got a good heart, he sacrificed himself for Mae despite knowing her for a very short amount of time after all. Also I refuse to believe he's dead so there's that also and I hope he comes back to guide both Mae and Noa onto the path for the coexistence of both apes and humans.

Soona: I really wish we could've gotten more scenes with her, but I really like her. She's brave, sweet, and a ride or die for both Noa and Anaya. I hope we get to see her more in the next film

Anaya: yall already know cause I made a seperate post lol but loved him and I wish we had more scenes with him as well! I felt so bad for him when we see him again with Proximus, he's been through enough!

Proximus: he was a great villian and I did not like him, which is good! Not all villians need a sad backstory, this dude was clearly only hungry for power. He was twisting Caesar's words, enslaving other apes, killing humans, and wanted access to technology capable of bringing destruction and chaos. He's smart and knows how to be resourceful. I find it funny that he was talking smack about humans yet his way of thinking and actions are similar to the bad side of humanity. I only wish we could've gotten more scenes with him; he was underused and I thought he would have a much bigger role based on the trailers, but I enjoyed his presence overall.

Mae: I've already made a seperate post about her character and I still sorta feel the same way about her. Rewatching it again, I got to sympathize more with her situation. She's a survivor who clearly grew up and was taught misinformation about apes, but after meeting Raka and bonding with Noa; i truly believe she'll come around and change her mind. I believe in her, and I hope we get to see her again and get more of her backstory to understand her better.

The movie was great. The plot, visuals, and acting were so well done. I took about 5 years for them to work on this, and it SHOWS. Their dedication shows that when enough time is given; movies that involve CGI can be done properly. I'm sick of projects being crunched and the visuals ending up looking like 💩 because the teams/artists aren't appreciated enough. I definitely recommend watching at least twice, and I pray for a sequel.

[anakinsthot]

Fic Tag Game!

I was tagged by @veloursdor, @mischievouschan4, and @lilredghost. Y'all probably forgot but I DID NOT. I've just been sad and mopey because I'm working when it's dark out with the time change and it's pitch black by the time I'm home, so I haven't gotten anything done!

How many works do you have on a03?

Ten

2. What’s your ao3 word count?

118,260!!

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently just Star Wars! And I don’t foresee that changing. When I first got into fanfic I wrote for Bleach, Final Fantasy VII (oh my god there were song fics, what the fuck), Harry Potter, Marvel Cinematic Universe (I had forgotten about that completely. Hopefully I forget again), and The Hobbit.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Hey this feels like a war crime, actually. They’re all obikin except the first.

Lady of the Rocks, with 1,125 kudos… my Hobbit fic that hasn’t been touched in like 6 years.

Bitter Honey (BEE FIC, BEE FIC, BEE FIC!! Sits at 447 right now)

Anakin Skywalker, Witch (420, nice)

Living with the Present (402)

Tapio (128)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yes! Although frequently very late. I got bad about it this summer because this summer sucked, emotionally. But I love it when authors respond to my comments so, as hard as it is for me to believe, I imagine that people enjoy when I respond to their comments and try my best to do it.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I don’t think any of them have an angsty ending. One of the Harry Potter fics was going to though. LOL.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Anakin Skywalker, Witch.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Nope!

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Yes… mostly pretty vanilla right now I think. I need to expand my writing comfort bubble.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I haven’t written any. Used to read a ton though.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, not to my knowledge.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. It’s stressful enough trying to match my own writing voice haha.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Obikin, definitely!

15. What’s a WIP you’d like to finish, but doubt you ever will?

My hobbit fic. I still get comment occasionally asking if I’ll finish it. My big thing with that fic was world-building and I’ve lost a lot of what I had. I WANT to work on it for the people that still enjoy it though.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I’d say probably dialogue, because I feel like I edit that the least, and world-building.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

….actually writing the words down RIP. Also comma usage.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I avoid it, generally. I read too many fantasy books and fics back in the day where you had to flip to the glossary at the end of the book/bottom of the page for translations and it gets annoying, especially if there’s a multiple characters speaking.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Omg I had to look up my old ff.net account to check this. It was Bleach.

20. Favorite fic you’ve ever written?

I want to immediately say Anakin Skywalker, Witch. It’s my first obikin fic, my first fanfic after a long hiatus. I’ve put so much work and research into it. But Tapio has a vibe that I really enjoy, and has managed to inspire that vibe in readers so… dark horse winner is Tapio.

Bonus: What fic would you want to rewrite one day?

Probably that damn Hobbit fic. I didn’t have an editor back then so I shudder to think about what the comma situation is there.

I feel like I've seen most people do this game already! So I'm not going to tag anyone, but if you see this and have not been tagged yet/want to do it... this is me, tagging you.

[septembersghost]

It's so funny that when tayjoe were together swifties(not you sweetie😘😘) were literally sh*tting on harry and made fun of him for writing 'I love you'(which was sweet af) and looking sad at bbmas. And when tayjoe broke up they were calling him YB(🤢)and making poor man jokes. Yet after m*** h**** happened they are literally begging for both of them lol. And the amount of people I have seen who are predicting a haylor reunion is insane. I always thought no one took their relationship as anything beyond a fling yet even people in reddit(biggest anti haylors and the ones who hate harry ) knows about the 2014 phase and thinks they would give it a shot. I am not overly invested as in I'll be happy if they date but I will support any relationship they have(as long as it's not matt Healy). But I definitely didn't know people thought of haylor as anything beyond pr and I am shocked in the best way possible.

is now an appropriate time to say how horrendously some fans treated joe for actual years over nothing? calling him a nepo boyfriend (what does that even mean), calling him poor/jobless/boring, accusing him of all sorts of baseless things (the DV hand signal, for example), anons on here harassing blogs by saying she didn't care about him and he was a joke, i've never seen someone treated so badly for quietly minding his business and trying to stay in his lane. idk how tuned in he ever was to any of that noise, and i hope not at all, but that alone would become unbearable for a lot of people after awhile. and like i said before, we have no idea what happened between them and it's not our place to know (unless she decides to tell us), but there's no concrete reason to believe he betrayed her in some massive way right now. people grow apart. the dissolution of a six+ year relationship is going to leave hurt and scars and wreckage even if it WAS somewhat amicable, because you're losing a whole life you've built together, and whatever plans you might have had for the future. so of course she's hurting, i'm sure he is too, but i'm just not ready yet to skewer him and put him on the list with JM, JG, and CH as this terrible partner when all we knew was him being a good and decent and kind one for years (from more commentary than just taylor's). the tweets begging for joe to fight for her and to come back are funny, but also very sad - it's like the epitome of you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone. (i also don't think ANY of us were prepared for this massive of a shift in one month's time. during tour. with a re-recording coming soon. it's a lot to process.)

then with harry, i've never understood making fun of what he wrote if you're a fan of what she writes, because they're both drawing on confessional personal experiences? where is the logic? he's the only instance where we've gotten the other side of the conversation! i think the (totally idiotic) pr accusation started to really die down several years ago as more and more people got into the truth of their relationship and when he repeatedly praised her songwriting (the only people who accuse them of that now are detached from reality akljsdkljf). but yeah it's quite the mood switch to see the subreddits bringing him up in a positive way and acknowledging that he's a sweet and talented guy after ripping him to shreds for no reason last year. :/ although that's what he deserves to have said!

i've also never seen swifties and even people who don't like her so united in an opinion as they are in collectively being in shambles over this development. 😭 and as i said before, there's a difference between a bad boy edgy persona and actively causing harm with bigoted words/actions - you can only use racism as "satire" so many times before it stops being a joke, or make sexist comments and follow someone like andr*w t*te without being legitimately misogynistic. i just. *head in hands* someone on the sub said, "people keep saying 'let her live her life' - and i absolutely am, but i don't have to be comfortable with the way she's doing it when it involves racist boys, and i don't have to support it," and someone else said, "being hurt can make you do crazy things, and she is only a human just like all of us," and i honestly feel there's room for both thoughts here. we can understand it wholly and let her live, and that doesn't mean we have to support it ourselves.

meanwhile let us just keep manifesting haylor friends era. anything feels possible at this point!

[danwhobrowses]

Spider-Man: No Way Home - Review

At 10:30am I sat in a cinema, a tad concerned that there was people sitting next to me, ready to watch something we had been anticipating for a long time. Marvel and Sony's most ambitious crossover story had finally arrived, so now I can review it

Obviously, there will be spoilers for this movie, so go and watch it (warning though, the 'second post-credits scene' is not a post-credits, it's a trailer for another movie)

So it's no surprise that I enjoyed this movie, but alas it wasn't the best Spider-Man movie as it could have been, definitely a strong showing but it had some messy content too: which I will get into.

What wasn't great about the movie

Please bear in mind that while these are criticisms, these are not dealbreakers in my enjoyment of the movie, they're more observations that made me pause a little.

The Usual Problem of Trailer Content While the trailers did do a good job in keeping most of the trailer content in the first half of the movie, I will stay consistent and say that there were some scenes in the trailers modified in the movies. It didn't change the tone of the plot but still, it's a nuisance to promote something that's not in the movie.

Flash Thompson is just terrible I've had a bit of a mixed feeling towards MCU's version of Eugene 'Flash' Thompson, but No Way Home did nothing to help that. The guy's main character point is that as much as he's a dick to Peter, he is Spider-Man's biggest fan; he believes in him, he admires his strive and commitment. So it sucked that when he found out Peter was Spider-Man the first thing he did was seek to profit from it: writing a book and pretending to be Peter's best friend, without getting any of the harassment, cancel culture or negativity his actual friends did - it's off is what it is. Plus it makes little sense why Peter needs to go through Flash to plea his application to MIT - which Flash somehow got into despite all this profiteering.

The First Act is perhaps a little too slow One can understand starting the movie where Far From Home left off, however, it left a lot of repetitive stuff of Peter and co being treated differently now that everyone knows he's Spider-Man. For some reason though Peter's charges are dropped thanks to Matt but Stark Industries is taken down because the drones are Stark's (also we do no service towards actually clearing Peter's name, like it should be really easy to prove that Mysterio was lying) so it basically kills off all of Peter's AI advantage, but he can still use the spider-limbs that one time. It is necessary, but it's annoying that it took so much time out of the movie AND that the straw that broke the camel's back is going to MIT, it did feel like there were worse times where MJ and Ned suffered which could've warranted Peter going to Dr. Strange better. We could've sped through the initial aftermath and gotten to the same destination.

The film still struggles to leave Tony Stark's shadow A common criticism of the MCU Spider-Man is how most of his stories still end up revolving around Tony Stark in some way: Vulture and Mysterio being disgruntled Stark-haters and Peter uses Stark tech in his suit. While No Way Home will end the Stark dependency, much of its Second Act ends up being due to Tony Stark's tech: the Fabricator. This magic 3D Printer thing becomes key to Doc Ock being 'healed' - not to mention how the nanotech of Stark's suit is what nullifies Doc Ock's tentacles - as well as providing an Arc Reactor for Electro to use, while not as blatant as prior movies, I am tired of Stark being the reason for Spider-Man's success and enemies.

They got rid of the Goblin Mask! Green Goblin's suit in the Raimiverse was cartoony yes, but it also fit the manic alternate personality Norman had within him. To shatter it really early in the film did make me feel a little sad, not to mention replacing it simply with some goggles and a hood like Harry's Raimi Goblin, which of course looked less striking, would've been cooler to keep it around, or even remake it.

Some major characters felt wasted It can't be much of a surprise given the massive amount of character and famous actors in this movies, so unfortunately some characters fall through the cracks. The biggest letdown in that is Lizard, his arrival is him already captured, then he spends most of the movie hiding in a van until the fights happen, given how he was a similarly tragic character to the Raimi villains it was a shame that Lizard didn't really get some time to flesh himself out. Similar criticism can be said for Happy and MJ; while they're present a lot in the movie they do little in the grand scale, watching others do the thing. Also Dr Strange, while it isn't his movie of course he is a key part of why this is happening, so it's surprising that after their mirror dimension fight he's just gone until he needs to properly clean up the mess.

Sandman's motivations to turn are weak I can understand Sandman wanting to go home, and I can understand him not fully trusting Holland's Peter, but Flint deciding to fight with the villains on the Statue of Liberty was, daft. He wants to go home right? He's supposed to be a crook with a heart and yet he acts pretty heartless towards Holland, and then when Tobey is here he shows zero sympathy there either, almost drowning him in his own sand. Sandman could've easily just been a hero that the villains neutered like Norman 'curing' him before his deception was revealed to keep him off the board.

Aunt May felt kinda fridged The idea of making Aunt May's death the Uncle Ben for Holland didn't land for me. Marisa Tomei put on a good performance for her death but we already saw this from the PS4 game and this death does kinda come out of the blue, only to serve a moment where Tobey gets stabbed stopping Holland from killing Norman. I can understand the direction, but it did feel like we put Aunt May in the fridge, not so long after Peter got over Tony's death, to make him vengeful towards the end.

Tobey barely encounters Norman While Garfield got some time to chat with Max and Tobey time with Octavius and Flint, it was a shame we didn't retread the baggage that comes with Tobey's Peter and Norman. A minor shame, but still one, especially since he steps in to stop Holland from killing Norman. They don't even exchange in dialogue, despite how a lot of Tobey's character baggage with MJ and Harry come from his confrontation with Norman, we don't get closure on that.

'I was kinda hoping you were black' Small thing but I felt it kinda unnecessary for Max to say this to Garfield. I mean Into the Spider-verse is one of the most popular Spider-Man films, we know about Miles Morales (and very much enjoy his version of Spider-Man), this quote just felt a little bit forced to me, especially if the MCU doesn't intend to build on it.

The Spell's rules are broken almost instantly Remind me, when did Electro find out that Spider-Man was Peter? Better yet, when did Tom Hardy's Venom? Strange said that those were the parameters and yet they still showed up. The spell itself is wonky from the start anyway, it's clear that parameters can be set since Strange has done this spell before which he can remember but not Wong but why do the old parameters still stay mid casting? Why couldn't Strange just cancel the initial versions of the spell like he has done with other versions, it is for lack of a better explanation a convenient plot device. As a result of this spell too it was weird also that Lizard and Octavius don't remember their repenting but it was implied that it was before their defeat. Then came the retcon when suddenly it's okay for the symbiote to stay around, and the idea that everyone will just 'forget' is not so airtight.

According to Jameson's post-battle report, they still remember Spider-Man's actions, just that they don't know it's Peter, so surely people will still connect the dots. Ned, Happy and MJ don't just forget that they worked alongside Spider-Man after all? So wouldn't Ned and MJ retain knowledge of the places they hanged with Spider-Man, remember being with Aunt May and Spider-Man? It seems a bit too convenient that the spell picks and chooses this way. Also there's still that huge mural in his high school, does that get erased? I mean it belongs in-universe so it can't be retconned right? There'd also still be paperwork; blogs, articles, paper trails, Matt Murdock's consultant fees, arrest warrants, negotiation tapes, Mysterio's video, the spell may've erased Peter Parker from memory but there's still physical evidence of his existence and his appearance.

The Ending is a Downer While I expect MJ and Ned to return in the later sequels - since Holland is signed for 2 more movies - it was a bit of a sour taste that we went as close as the MCU could get with the infamous 'One More Day' plot - the main difference being that Aunt May is still dead and Peter was never married anyway. I can understand Peter's reasoning to not involve MJ and Ned, but as I noted earlier they would still remember helping out Spider-Man, it's not exactly an avoidable situation, plus he made a promise to them.

I can see the ending being hit or miss with a lot of fans, but for me it was a miss. We spent a lot of the film with Holland's Peter noting how he needs MJ and Ned for support and kinda proving that he can't do this all alone, only for him to break his promise and try and do this alone. Almost an attempt to combine Raimi and Webb's Spider-Man 1 endings into one, even though Raimi's was earned because Peter was just starting out and Webb's was criticized for quickly deciding to break a dead man's promise, it was kind of a letdown after such an exciting climax we finish with Peter friendless, auntless, no academic career (since nobody will be able to verify that he even went to high school), jobless, without the tech he inherited from the last 2 movies, and without any backup his contributions in the MCU could offer him...but at least he has a new suit?

Spider-Man is still a public enemy in a lot of people's opinion too, the Mysterio stuff still doesn't just up and go away. In terms of progressing the Spider-Man character in the MCU, a lot of it is a step back, Peter is somehow worse off at the end of this film than he was at the start. While it's not awful, it's deflating to end this way for such an anticipated movie.

This, tampers things though right? While it was nice to see the Peters seek to help their enemies, you do have to wonder about the repercussions. With the Goblin gone, Norman will return to his time and likely not die, which will mean Harry won't take over Oscorp and fund Octavius, but since Octavius has to go back too, we'll now have three Raimiverse timelines: untampered, good Norman, and good Octavius (which'd be the same as untampered since Octavius would return to the machine and still have to drown himself), this is the same with Electro being depowered: this'll likely prevent their Goblin from figuring out about Peter and thus Gwen won't die. After going through Endgame and then Loki talking about how you don't mess with the timeline, we seem to continue messing with the timeline.

A TRAILER IS NOT A POST-CREDITS SCENE I'd have rather been told that it was a mid-credits scene and a trailer for a future movie, rather than wait for the credits to roll - desperately needing the bathroom - just to see a trailer of Dr. Strange 2 which will likely be released in a few weeks anyway. Would not want more of that please.

PS: Where's Bruce Campbell? More of a joke criticism, but it was a shame that Campbell had cameos in the full Raimi trilogy - intending for him to be the Raimiverse Mysterio - but didn't sneak in a cameo for this crossover, it probably would've completed it.

What was great about the film

It could be easy to say 'the rest of it' because between Norman being at FEAST all the way to the retconning the film was great. So let's try to break down the specifics of what was great about it.

Hello Charlie The film is full of worst kept secrets, but seeing Charlie Cox's Matt Murdock was still fun to see. Canonizing Daredevil in the MCU once more, I can't be upset that Cox nor Vincent will reprise their roles as the Red-Eyes Blind Devil and the Big Bad Fisk Man in the future. It still gives me hope to see Agents of Shield, Jessica Jones and others will return to canon too, if only a small hope...Quake could certainly work for SWORD with Monica, Carol and the Skrulls right?

Come for the Money, Stay for the Thrill Alfred Molina is iconic as Dr Octopus, and as the first enemy Holland's Peter encounters he definitely makes an impact. Although, angrier and erratic, he still maintained his character and as I predicted earlier proved an asset to the Peters at the end by catching Electro off-guard. While Molina jokes this is a cash-grab role, he makes his minutes worthwhile, only being outdone in the villain department by one other.

Peter vs Strange is visually great There was a lot of fun with the very disgruntled Dr Strange being annoyed by Peter's relentlessness and quick-thinking (conscious or unconscious). Bringing out the reality-bending effects from Doctor Strange made for an entertaining action scene, ending with Peter outwitting Strange with his own unique intelligence and then fanboying over it as he wins the villains' trust. The fight aside too, Peter proving to Strange that people are worth saving even if they're bad was a nice little arc, even if Strange won't remember Peter doing it, this will hopefully bleed into Multiverse of Madness with Wanda and Mordo, but it serves to also show that heroes each have different ideals and priorities which make them stand out without showing off their powers.

Electro is salvaged Jamie Foxx had a bad hand with Amazing Spider-Man 2; blue and poor motivations, Foxx was allowed to portray a more realistic-looking version of Electro while also making his character a little cooler. Don't get me wrong, him getting a power boner was a bit limp, but they salvage it in the end by noting that Max for the most part just wanted to feel like he was important, and thus once again rescuing an iconic villain from the depths.

Ned is magic! While an initial gag, seeing Ned use the sling ring is definitely something I feel we should explore, it became helpful in summoning the Peters and helping him and MJ escape the Lizard. It was a fun little addition which added a new flair to the MCU Spidey friend-trio, Strange did acknowledge his ability to - on a whim remember - do what Strange himself struggled to do after several attempts, the story owes it to Ned to look deeper into this.

Dafoe - unsurprisingly - is amazing I said only one person outshines Molina in the villain department and it is the definitive Spider-Man Villain. If it wasn't clear: Willem Dafoe is a tremendous actor, and his Jekyll & Hyde persona in Spider-Man is excellent and it's on full show in this movie, luring the audience with more sympathy as a broken Norman while doubling down on the evil as the Goblin. His physical, almost pro-wrestler esque brawling with Peter was equal parts scrappy as it was visceral, they make no sugarcoat that Norman is an old man smacking around a teenager, but there's also method in his madness: sneaking goblin bombs that kill Aunt May (part of me hoped he manipulated the original serum to be full Goblin when May injected him) and threaten to break the multiverse. Dafoe's Goblin ended up being the perfect big bad, even if he is 'cured' at the end to repent.

The film knows when to laugh at itself While some of the comedy doesn't land, Electro does try a bit too hard to crack a joke every time, the film was good with poking fun at its own mythos. Electro and Sandman talking about their similar origins, the Peters, Ned promising not to turn evil, Lizard being able to talk, even Otto's name, it did help alleviate the tension and make the fanservice a bit more organic, so it was appreciated the attention put into the jokes, even if some were just direct winks to the camera. Even the mid-credits scene with Hardy's Eddie Brock (and Venom) getting drunk and trying to make sense of the Avengers and Thanos was a nice bit of fun.

Marvel's Worst Kept Secret It feels like it was almost willed into existence by the fandom, but finally we got it: and it was great. Tobey, Andrew and Tom, individually they were a lot of fun in the film, maintaining their own personal charms while also keeping the spirit of Peter Parker intact. I could easily watch the three Spiders just chatting about their experiences for hours, from them freaking out over Tobey's organic webbing, encouraging Andrew's feelings of inferiority, to grasping the concept of the Avengers and still supporting one another in an awkward nerdy manner. The three Spiders delivered together, with their respective villains, and with the other MCU characters such as Ned and MJ, because for this movie to work it absolutely needed to.

Development, Redemption, Closure It would've been very easy to just have gratuitous cameos of Tobey and Andrew to further Tom's story, but each of the Peters got to progress in the story and the previous Spiders got to close their chapter much more neatly than their abrupt franchise endings. After consoling Tom over May's death by sharing their own experiences with their Uncle Bens' deaths, we got to learn that Tobey did indeed make it work with MJ, finding balance between Peter and Spider-Man - which is good enough given how well-rounded Tobey was thanks to having 3 movies rather than 2. It's Andrew who gets the full 'redemption' and closure by successfully saving MJ, a fulfilling and relieving moment for the character which feels earned, Garfield really shows how much it means to him to save someone, but layer it with regret that he couldn't do it with Gwen. Garfield's actions give him closure and allow his character to start opening his Peter side up - just as Tom starts closing off his Peter side when memory of him is removed - which makes it more than just glorified cameos for the Spiders.

Also J Jonah Jameson develops, not in a good way but when he outs Peter you can see that he's in a basement studio with a green screen, and at the end he's now got a full crew and LED board. Unlike Flash's profiteering, it made sense how Jameson would profit from his anti-spiderman propaganda, given how we know this is his character, and he did in fact prove to be a platform and a thorn in the side for Peter when it came to public opinion.

Conclusion

As I said, it's not the greatest Spider-Man movie, but it is definitely a great movie. All the major cast put on a great performance, and while it started slow and ended a bit sadly, it was definitely an experience.

It is worth reminding that there was extremely high expectations for this movie too, everyone wanted the three Spiders, Sinister Six, Daredevil, Strange and the Multiverse, and they got it! Just because expectations were met rather than exceeded should not dissuade you from watching the film with pessimism. This is still a very strong 8.5/10 for me, and with all the Spider-Man media we've been feasting on these last few years with still Across the Spider-Verse and the game sequel still to come, it is still a great time to be a Spider-Man fan.

[elles-archives]

I posted 113 times in 2021

38 posts created (34%)

75 posts reblogged (66%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 2.0 posts.

I added 142 tags in 2021

#harry potter fandom - 23 posts

#harry potter - 17 posts

#chris evans - 17 posts

#chris evans characters - 15 posts

#george weasley - 13 posts

#draco malfoy - 13 posts

#steve rogers x reader - 12 posts

#bucky barnes - 11 posts

#steve rogers - 11 posts

#ellen recommends - 10 posts

Longest Tag: 89 characters

#tip- don't listen to taylor swift all too well sad girl edition while reading this lol :)

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

The One I've Been Missing

(Images From Pinterest)

Chris Evans x British Singer!Reader

Based on the Song ‘One I’ve Been Missing’ by Little Mix

Summary: Being a singer on tour, gives you a lot of time to think about the person you are missing a lot. Enough time to be inspired to write about him

Word Count: 1.7k

Warnings: Insinuation to sex, potential age gap (Chris’ specific age not mentioned.), slight angst, fluff. (I think that’s all.)

Lyrics in Red

*Four Weeks Before Christmas*

The tour was nearly over. Five and a half months, you had been travelling on your world tour for you new album. For six months you had been performing in large stadiums and parks. For six months you had worked with an amazing crew, helping to enhance the experience for you fans. For six months you had been away from Chris.

This was your first world tour, and it had been great. Seeing how many people supported and loved your music made you realise why you started making music in the first place. However, the time away had also been hard on you. Being a famous musician definitely had its benefits, but it also had it’s flaws.

Being away from your second home was one of them. When you were only eighteen you started playing your music in the street, hoping that the right person would hear it. After two years you got lucky, and someone who worked for a small music production company liked what you played. Soon after you had your first record out and even though it wasn’t huge as such, it caught the eye of an LA production company.

Once your contract ended, you moved to LA on your own with the mindset of ‘you could always go home.’ You started working on your first album in LA and it reached the UK top ten and the US top fifty.

Ten years later, you had six albums out and were on a world tour.

Not long before your fourth album came out you met Chris. He was at a LA party, one you had to be dragged to by your manager after spending too much time writing songs in the studio. Little did you know that you had caught Chris’ eye the minute you walked in. He bought you a drink and you ended the night rolling around in the sheets of his expensive hotel room.

Normally, that wasn’t your thing but there was something about Chris that you liked and knew he was different. Now four years later you two had moved in together and shared homes in both LA and Massachusetts.

Finishing on stage you thanked your fans and headed backstage again to where your manager was waiting.

“Y/N that was amazing!” He congratulated as soon as you walked into the green room. You smiled and gave him a hug before looking for your phone.

“Thank you Shaun. This has all been so amazing. I can’t believe that we only have two weeks left.” He smiled at you and agreed.

“I know. But I bet you can’t wait for it to end really, go back to Boston to spend Christmas with Chris?” Shaun teased.

“You’re right.” You grinned at him and at the thought of four weeks’ time.

Later that evening you were sat on your tour bus moving to the next location when you decided you were going to release the song you had written and recorded at the beginning of the tour. Missing Chris had really gotten to you and the song was perfect. You had some footage on of on tour and you had some old photos and videos of you and Chris.

You spoke to Shaun about it, and he agreed. You were going to release your new song ‘One I’ve Been Missing’ in two weeks.

*Two Weeks Before Christmas*

You had just finished your last show on your tour and at once called Chris.

“Hey baby.” You greeted. His face lit up when he saw your face.

“Hi Sweetheart. Just finished your last show?” He asked.

“Yeah. Chris I have a surprise for you.” You smiled at him. You had yet to tell him you had a new song coming out tonight let alone a song about him.

“Oh, what’s that then?” He asked, subtly excited.

See the full post

79 notes • Posted 2021-12-08 08:56:50 GMT

#4

The Secrets We Keep

Draco Malfoy x Female Reader

Fluff + Angst

836 Words

Summary: Being in love can be magical. But what if it can also cause you pain?

*Reader's POV*

Being a Muggleborn is hard. Especially when I am in love with a Pure-Blood. Me and Draco Malfoy have been dating since our third year. I was helping him recover from being 'attacked' by Buckbeak. Of course, I think he was being overdramatic, but I wasn't going to pass up on the opportunity to help my injured crush. We both confessed our feelings for each other shortly after.

Me and Draco decided to keep our relationship a secret. For me this was because being best friends with Harry Potter and dating someone he was convinced was the 'enemy' didn't mix well. For Draco it was because of his family. Where blood purity mattered. We decided it was best to keep it on the down low for now.

*Time Skip – Sixth Year*

I was walking through Hogsmeade when it happened. There was black smoke all around me one moment and the next me, Hermione, Harry and Ron were all standing in a darkly lit hall. We had Death Eaters surrounding us.

"Draco told us about you. Darling Y/N." One of them cackled. I recognised her as Bellatrix Lestrange. Draco's Aunt. "Well don't be shy. Come to us girl."

I stayed where I was. I dare not speak or move. Another Death Eater pushed me towards her. I turned around to see and very distraught Draco being restrained and the other three being dragged away.

"Shouldn't we kill Potter whilst we have him?" The Death Eater who pushed me spoke.

"Not yet. We shall wait for the Dark Lord's orders first." A voice spoke. He removed his mask and revealed himself as Lucius Malfoy. "First we need the girl."

I was thoroughly confused. Why did they want me?

"Now girl. Our Draco tells us that you are the one he loves. Is that true?" Bellatrix questioned. I merely nodded. I looked at the ground begging the tears not to fall.

"Pathetic. Loving a mere Mudblood such as you?" Another Death Eater questions. I can hear Draco screaming in the back.

"Take him out of here." Lucius shouted. Draco was dragged away kicking and yelling. "Now Bellatrix, if you will." Bellatrix walked towards me.

"Crucio."

*Draco's POV*

I could hear her screaming in pain. This was all my fault. But I couldn't do it. I couldn't join them because of her. She would never forgive. I never thought my own father would go this far.

"You can make all this stop Draco." My mother whispered to me. I had tears of fear streaming down my face. "You can prevent her from getting hurt. Join us. They will leave her alone if you join us." Her words, of comfort contrasts her intentions.

I shook my head. Y/N/N wouldn't want me to join him.

Fifteen minutes had passed but it felt like hours. I could hear her shrieking. I hadn't realised until this moment that I am in the same room as Harry, Hermione and Ron. Normally I couldn't stand them but right now with the love of my life in danger I needed them to help me.

Eventually Y/N's cries died down. I took this opportunity to think straight. I looked towards my mother and nodded my head. "I'll join you." She gave a small smile and allowed the Death Eaters to let us go.

I motioned for the other three to follow me as I went back into the main hall. I stopped in the doorway just as Bellatrix raised her wand at Y/N for a second round of torture. Y/N had blood all around her and she was laying barely conscious on the floor.

*Reader's POV*

I saw Bellatrix raise her wand again and braced myself. Instead of pain I hear shouting. I don't have the strength to find out where it was coming from before everything goes black.

*A Few Hours Later*

I woke up to bright lights. My first thought was I died. Then I felt something heavy on my hand and small whispers around me. I struggled to open my eyes, but I soon recognised the voices. Draco and my friends in the same room? Not arguing?

See the full post

81 notes • Posted 2021-11-22 14:06:23 GMT

#3

These are the Fics that I recommend and love for Chris Evans and his Characters. Divider by @firefly-graphics

Chris Evans:

Followed by @time-for-a-lullaby – Mafia!Chris Evans x Female Reader

Summary: Chris sends you out with your best friend to do a little shopping while he handles business. On the way home you notice you’re being followed.

Desperate Affairs by @georgiapeach30513 – Multiple Chris Evans Characters x Reader (Complete)

Series Summary: Engaged to Andy Barber, and deeming him too safe, and only wanting to be intimate to get you pregnant, you start a sex only relationship with Ransom Drysdale. Nothing is ever easy, and you get yourself into a web of lies. Are you the only one lying? (Includes NSFW)

First Man by @kiwisomething – Chris Evans x Daughter!Reader, Harry Styles x Popstar!Reader

Summary: You debut a song on stage at the AMAs.

Fading Spark by @alisonsfics – Chris Evans x Wife!Reader

Summary: Chris and the reader are slowly beginning to lose their spark in their relationship and become more distant as time goes on. (Includes NSFW)

Futile by @rocketrhap3000 – Chris Evans x Reader

Series Summary: You grew up next door to the Evans Family, but what you didn’t know is that reuniting with Chris after a few years would spark an unbelievable attraction towards him. (i.e. another typical age gap fic) (Includes NSFW)

Well Shit by @falcqns – Chris Evans x Reader

Request Summary: Chris and the reader had a stressful day so to calm down they have some much-needed alone time. Only one of their children walks in. (Includes NSFW)

What a Time… by @time-for-a-lullaby – Chris Evans x Actress!Reader

Summary: You and Chris dated for a few years during your time with the MCU. Sometimes things just don’t work out. You reunite at the Endgame premiere afterparty and spend the night reminiscing the good and the bad of your relationship.

Gentleman – by @lexiawrittings – Chris Evans x Reader

Summary: After an amazing and incredible one-night stand with the most handsome actor on the planet, you find yourself in a humiliating situation. Little did you know that Chris Evans is the kindest person ever. A grown man, who is a true gentleman. (Includes NSFW)

See the full post

108 notes • Posted 2021-11-20 18:38:48 GMT

#2

You Were Wrong

(Starts with..) Draco Malfoy x Reader, (Ends with..) George Weasley x Reader.

Angst to start with, Fluff. Set six years after the Battle of Hogwarts.

3158 Words

Summary: All you wanted was a child. The inability to have one tore your marriage apart. Thinking everything was your fault, you prepared to be alone. Until someone found you and told you that you were indeed not 'broken'.

Warnings: Infertility, divorce, arguments, mentions of mental health conditions, Pregnancy.

Y/C/N – Your Cousin's Name

(A/N: This is quite sad to start with but in the end everything works out for the reader. I can't say the same for the other characters but in life not everyone can be happy.

I had this idea as I was walking around after this happened to someone I know. They have given me permission to mention this. Sorry that there are so many time skips in this.

This is my own work. If any of this affects you feel free to leave me a message I don't judge.)

Tears streamed down my face as I stared at another negative pregnancy test. This is the latest of the many tests I had taken in the last few months. Me and my Husband Draco had been wanting children for as long as we had been married and for most of our engagement. With the pressure my mother-in-law had been putting on us to have children and my desperation to give my husband what he desires, my mental health had been getting worse. Every negative test is another step closer to a break down. I am starting to think that there is something wrong with me. Questions of whys surround my head. Why me? Why won't this happen for us? Why is there so much pressure?

Eventually I made my way out of the bathroom. Draco was on the bed looking at me hopefully. I just shook my head and looked down. I heard Draco sigh. The first few negative tests he would hug me and tell me we could try as many times as needed. That soon enough we would have a child. But as time went on, Draco got less and less affectionate. He would spend long hours away from the house during the day and then in the evening we would only be intimate when trying to conceive.

I was still head over heels for Draco. But I wasn't stupid. I could tell he didn't feel the same. Not anymore. I didn't want to say anything because I didn't want to face the fact that he was falling out of love with me. The woman who couldn't give him children.

Draco patted my shoulder as he walked past me, the negative pregnancy test in my hands. Before he walked out the room he turned and looked at me. There was nothing behind his eyes. He wasn't cold or void of emotion but there was nothing there aimed at me.

"I erm, I'm going out for a little while. Don't wait up." He spoke. I just nodded and let him go. Again, holding my tongue. Things weren't perfect between us but at least I had him. Right? Soon I drifted off to sleep not knowing where my husband was.

When I woke up he wasn't in bed. I walked downstairs to find him asleep on the couch. Why didn't he come to bed? I walked out of the front room into the kitchen. I started making breakfast for the both of us. Halfway through cooking I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around to see my husband behind me.

"Morning." I softly spoke.

"Yeah morning." He grunted back.

"Why did you sleep on the couch?" I asked him.

"Didn't wanna wake you." I could tell I wasn't going to get a straight answer out of him. We sat at the dining table for breakfast and Draco couldn't even look at me. As we continued to eat in a painful silence, I decided I had to speak up about what had been worrying me.

"Draco, are we okay?" I asked him.

"What do you mean."

"I mean you can't even look at me anymore. What happened to us?"

"Nothing." He said still not looking at me.

"Okay now tell me there is nothing wrong while looking at me. We aren't talking anymore."

"We are talking now."

I sighed and got up from the table. "I wish you would just tell me what's bothering you. We are meant to be married but it feels like you are a stranger now."

He didn't answer me.

"Is it because we are struggling to conceive?" I asked quietly. He didn't answer again but I could tell that's what it was. "I want kids as much as you Draco you can't shut me out this is happening to both of us."

"I know it is, but I can't help but resent you for it."

See the full post

121 notes • Posted 2021-12-07 22:46:25 GMT

#1

Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Harry Potter:

I'll Protect You - Being Hermione's twin sister meant searching for Horcruxes with Harry, Ron and Hermione. However things don't always go to plan. At least Harry Potter is beside you.

See the full post

139 notes • Posted 2021-11-20 19:44:32 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[bakagamieru]

Hi! I've been feeling really down, as well as frustrated and sad these past few days and I guess I'm here for a bit of reassurance maybe? Your blog was what opened my eyes to Ziam and also to the stunt ot4 v Zayn and all that, about a year ago, so I'm quite new. Your masterposts especially have been very informative! So basically I trust your judgement in this as someone who's been here a while and gone through it. Anyway, I completely believe in Ziam along with Larry now (been a Larrie (1)

(2) a long while) and I also believe all bbg's are fake etc. The thing I still get confused about/doubt sometimes, is the whole Harry&Louis & Zayn 'feud' thing. Most days I'm sure in my heart that all the twitter fights and post-interviews being mad at Z is all fake and part of a narrative. Zayn honestly even put lyrics to a song about a fight before actual fight for fucks sake?! Also it was all so ridiculous and public, childish, etc. it can't possibly have been real. Then his 'falling out

(3) with NB in the end. Also what ELSE (if not that 'fight') could they have been mad at him for? For 'leaving' because of his health (or whatever they said was the reason)? And after all this time still being mad/or at least bringing it up? Sounds very unlike H&L too doesn't it? Then I remember rbb/sbb, and this is something I've researched TOO MUCH honestly. Some people still refuse to even admit it was there or that it meant ANYTHING. But that goddamn yellow smiley was there several times

(4) after the 'twitter fight'. Why would that be the case? Also Ziam being together, and Louis being so close with Liam and hating on his man? It just doesn't add up anywhere. Sorry I know this is just me sounding very insecure about it all and atm I kinda am. I was having a discussion with a Larrie the other day. One of the bigger blogs with a big influence and lots of people reblogged and agreed with them, when I was trying to point out how I think 1D as a 'whole' are still being under some

(5) form of contract or image clause at the very least. They said the whole contract thing is fanfiction at this point (besides Louis essentially) and the other boys are all free to do whatever. They also don't believe in Ziam or that Zayn is friends with the boys at all. Mentioned how Harry is still 'salty' about him in interviews etc etc. They are so SURE of themselves. But yeah even though I mostly KNOW I still doubt on this because of the fucked up narratives. what if H&L / Zayn really did

(7) has been a stunt? Not saying they hang out as best friends these days maybe, what with their own lives and pandemic on top of it, but do you still think they're 'family'/ot5forever'? I honestly feel like I get gaslighted even by Larries these days and it's not much fun to follow them anymore :( Seeing Harry with Niall made me smile though! Gives me at least some hope that they still are close xx //This got very long, I'm so sorry. You can answer in tags if you wish :)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Number 6 never seems to have made it to my inbox.  Good job numbering them, though, because I never would have realized one was missing otherwise.

Anyway, I hate to say it, but talking to Larries is a fraught prospect.  Almost all of the people who still call themselves Larries don’t believe in Ziam and it’s because they’ve never bothered to actually look at the evidence.  They don’t treat all of the boys with the same respect or interest that they treat Harry and Louis, so any time you try to convince them of a stunt related to Liam, Zayn, or Niall, they’re likely going to make their decision based on nothing but bias and refuse to budge on it no matter how much evidence you have.  Taking their word on Louis being the only one still under contract/sabotaged when they clearly don’t pay any attention to what’s actually going on with the other boys would be foolish.  You can always try to change a Larrie’s mind and maybe there should always be people that do try, but from my perspective, it’s just a depressing and infuriating situation to put yourself in.  

At best, I would have those conversations privately, especially if the blog has a lot of influence.  A blog with a lot of influence has ulterior motives to not changing their views publicly because if they do, they may well lose followers.  You may have a chance of getting them to look at evidence if you’re talking in private though.

I know the whole 1D friendship thing is hard right now because it’s been more than 5 years since they’ve really interacted.  We’ve gotten some Niam, Nouis, and Lilo here and there, but most of that is just talk even, no pics.  Because we have no immediate evidence of their friendship in front of us, all we have to rely on is interviews which we KNOW are BS-narrative machines.  It’s hard to ignore them when it’s all we have, but we should ignore them anyway because past experience has taught us just how much interviews push stunt narratives.

I would actually say the whole Narry outing recently gives us more to believe in than anything else.  If Harry and Niall hung out completely in public and we only found out about it through a picture a week or two later that could easily have never been identified by a fan, then it’s pretty likely that all the boys have managed to hang out whenever they want without being noticed, right?  Especially if they went to each other’s houses instead of to a public hiking trail.  There’s so much going on behind the scenes that we don’t have access to or knowledge of.  Zayn could have hung out with any one of the boys at any time because we hardly know where he is.  He’s almost never even on social media, so there are huge chunks of time where he’s unaccounted for.

The hiatus is hard specifically because of a lack of new information and because the status quo (in terms of the BS narrative) has had no reason to change for a long time.  I’ve said it before, but with Zayn’s situation, the only time after hiatus started that it makes narrative and business sense to reverse the “feud” narrative is leading up to a reunion.  That means we most likely WILL NOT see any improvement until a reunion approaches and with the pandemic, that’s definitely not happening this year and probably not even next.  It sucks, but the status quo of BS being maintained is what we should expect right now and just because it IS being maintained isn’t a sign of anything having worsened.  It’s just logical.  If you want to use the hype of a reconciliation to get fans excited, to sell tickets, to earn money, etc., then you need to wait until a reunion so that you HAVE tickets to sell and money to earn.

I would say hold on to the logical conclusions you can come to from the time when we had a lot of information to go off of (the OTRA tour and just after) and try not to read into anything happening now because there’s just about NOTHING happening right now and there’s just not enough data to find patterns and draw conclusions about the reality behind the fakery. 

[mikkomacko]

Dear Daisy 5

Daisy never realized how big the house is until Harry's not there. Without his large personality sitting at the table, or his lanky legs kicked up on the coffee table while he works, or his broad body moving around the kitchen, Daisy feels like she's living in an empty palace. It's gotten to the point that she hates being at the house, but going to visit her family is just as depressing with them now crying over Sterling's departure. Her father's taken up more work with Thomas, hoping to make up for the usual revenue Sterling brings into the family. It's not much seeing as most of her brother's earnings goes into his personal savings so he can afford to marry Stella and take care of her. Daisy tried spending time with her future sister too, but that ended up being even more depressing then staring at Harry's empty couch cushion. So she goes on walks now. She's been putting off walking through the park because it reminds her of Harry now, and she stays as far away from the beach as possible. That really only leaves the town for her to walk through, but she likes the shops so she doesn't mind. She hardly buys anything, but the browsing keeps her mind off of Harry and how much she misses him and if he's okay. Her favorite shop to go in is the local bakery, owned a ran by a man named Robin and his kids. It's nice to sit at one of the tables, picking at a scone or mini pie and watch Robin teach his son's to roll out dough correctly and cut shapes into the pies. The three men are always so happy and carefree, and the feeling rubs off on her after sitting there for a bit.

Today, however, is different.

The bell above the door chimes as she pushes it open, stepping into the little shop and expecting a smile from Richard who's usually behind the counter. He's not there today, and walking up to the counter she realizes that Sam isn't either. It's just Robin, lips drooping down in the corners as he dusts some flower onto his apron. Daisy's smile falls, confused by the unusual gloomy mood in the bakery.

"Oh, hello Daisy." Robin greets when he notices her, offering her a pathetic smile. Daisy rests her elbows on the counter, holding her chin up.

"Is everything okay Robin?"

The man shrugs, shaking his head with a sad chuckle. "My boys left today," he mumbles, "one of them to the Poland, the other Germany."

Her heart falls to her stomach, and she thinks of Harry again. She's so worried knowing he's in France, she can't imagine how upsetting it'd be if he were sent to the front lines. "I'm sorry," she sympathizes, pausing a brief second before deciding what the hell, "my fiance shipped out a few weeks ago."

Robin looks up, a bit surprised as he moves to stand across from her. "Mr. Styles was called out?"

She shifts uncomfortably, scratching her fingernail across the wooden counter to keep her mind off of the war as much as possible. "To France for training and then assignment. I haven't gotten a letter yet informing me of where he's heading afterwards."

One of Robin's hands move over the counter, patting the top of Daisy's comfortingly. "It's tough, but I can't think of a greater man than Harry Styles fighting."

Daisy pauses, looking up at him curiously. She's never heard anyone say anything remotely kind about Harry before. He's always whispered about, gossiped about, but they're all tells of his rudeness or his harsh words. Daisy, having been privy to both, never really questioned anyone's dislike for Harry. But she'll definitely question their compliments for him.

"You know Harry really well?"

Robin nods, moving to untie his apron. "Grew up with his father. When he passed away I tried to keep an eye on Harryand Gemma. Of course that uncle of his stepped in, tried to raise Harry to be a prick like him-" Daisy giggles, never having heard Robin curse, "but good always beats bad."

He hangs his apron up, reaching under the counter for a small basket of oatmeal cookies. He places them on the counter in front of Daisy. "Free of charge, for Harry." He says, smiling softly. Daisy watches him for a moment, thinking that Robin must be a great father. He's kind, compassionate, but also tough. And judging by the two boys she's met in here before, he knows how to raise a good son. It's then that she realizes he's the only one running the bakery now, and while rations for the war have started, bread is always in demand. He'll be getting busy, busier than usual, and he might need help.

"Mr. Robin," she murmurs carefully, waiting for him to look at her expectantly, "if you'd like company or help around the shop while you're boys are away, I'd be happy to do so. Don't have to pay me or anything, I'd just like to get out of the empty house."

Robin's smile is warm and grateful, and he looks around the kitchen as if trying to picture Daisy back there helping him. Finally, he nods. "I'd love to have you Daisy, and I'd be happy to let you take home the tips for the day."

"No that's-"

"It's the least I could do," Robin interrupts, "owe it to Harry and his father."

She knows by the firmness of his voice that there's no room for arguing, and she knows tips aren't very much right now anyway so she won't feel bad for taking money from him. Plus the holidays are coming up, and she'd really like to get gifts from everyone without having to use Harry's money. It doesn't feel right to use it without him there, but then again, nothing really feels right while he's gone anyway.

~

Dear Daisy,

My training has been completed and I've received my assignment. Luckily for us, I'm staying in France, patrolling Paris in case Germany attacks. I'm sorry I didn't write sooner, it was difficult to find time during the first couple weeks, but you should know that not a day has gone by where I haven't thought of you. I ache for you, long for you so much it makes me dizzy. Patrolling Paris is wonderful, I've been here a few times, but I can't help but find you on ever corner. In the flower shops, laying among the soft petals. In the warmth of the bakeries and restaurant, beckoning me. Swirling in the air around me, shining in the stars above me. It's not the first city I've found you in and I'm certain it won't be the last.

I know I have so much to say to you. Secrets and truths that have been on the tip of my tongue since the night we met, pleading to be told. Oh how desperate I was on our last night together, aching to tell you everything. Again, I'm sorry, for I'm making you wait. I know you hate me, enough to cry for me, enough to marry me. I was once told my parents hated each other as well, and I had never seen love like theirs.

I hope you're staying warm as the days get colder, maybe planting vegetables in your garden in the back. Pumpkins grow well against the wall of the house and my mum has a wonderful pumpkin soup recipe. I'll dream of you tonight, and maybe every night, in our kitchen with the pretty blue apron around your hips, filling our house with a warmth only you could bring. My radio playing in the background, I'll wish to be sat there with you, argue over how you under-cooked the pumpkin just because I like the color of your pink cheeks when we fight.

Stay safe for me Daisy for I need a home to come home to.

-The Harry Styles x

~

Cold winds come with fall, blowing into the bakery every time the door is even slightly cracked. Daisy's lucky enough to be on oven duty, staying warm in the back while Robin works the counter. She's been working with him for almost a month now, finally skilled enough to help decorate the Halloween cookies and package them. Robin does most of the baking, but she always helps, and every time she finds a recipe of interest he goes out of his way to teach her to make it. Daisy finds working at the bakery to be quite wonderful. It's a good way to spend her time and she's never been good at cooking despite her mother's hard efforts to teach her. Meredith isn't much of a baker either so Daisy never learned that growing up either. It's exciting, working here. Like she's got a new hidden talent or secret that only her and Robin know.

It's only a matter of time before her mother or Summer starts questioning what she's been doing during the days, and she's dreading having to answer. Some may it find it silly but if she tells them about her new hobby she's afraid it'll lose its appeal. When she's here, everything is simple. She bakes and laughs with Robin, forgetting that men are fighting a few countries over. And if she's feeling particularly lonely, she can imagine that Harry's just at work, that she'll finish her goodies for the day and take them home in a box wrapped with pretty ribbon, body flushing when her husband praises her.

Even if it makes going home even more disappointing, Daisy will enjoy her time in the bakery. She's nearly curling the ribbon on a package of croissants for the girl on the other side of the counter when Robin says he's going to take the trash out back real quick. They were starting to close up when the lady came in, a Mrs. Weathers as Robin had greeted her, and he instructed y/n to quickly wrap her order. She carries the package over, smiling politely at Mrs. Weathers and charging her.

"You're Mr. Styles' fiancee aren't you?" She asks, counting out the coins in her purse. Her green eyes look Daisy up and down (as much as possible with the counter between them) but she looks more curious than judging.

"Yes ma'am."

Mrs. Weathers hums, accepting her change from Daisy. "Never thought I'd see the day he'd find a wife." Her tone is amused, mixed with a little bit of surprise, and her eyes shine at Daisy with a newfound respect.

"Why's that?" Daisy questions. She knows Harry's not well liked. He's not really liked at all, but everyone has their person. Maybe she's not Harry's person but her family made it so she is. And it turned out to be better than expected. So maybe she actually is his person and she never knew.

"I had a bit of a crush on him myself a few years ago." Mrs. Weathers admits, looking sheepish. "Tried to talk to him on the beach once, maybe get him to take me on a date in that pretty car of his. Barely spoke to me though. Ignored my flirting, even went as far as telling me I was desperate." Daisy cringes at the word. Harry used to hint at her being desperate too, but he never outright said it to her. If he had she thinks she would've hit him.

"I'm sorry," she apologizes, feeling the need to make up for Harry's rudeness. "He's got a sharp tongue and an ego big enough to keep his mouth flapping."

Mrs. Weathers laughs, waving her hand. "Don't apologize! It hurt at the time but I'm grateful he's the way he is. I probably would've married him and that would be awful. My husband Terry is the greatest love I've ever known."

Daisy smiles at the dreamy look in Mrs. Weathers eyes, but her chest aches for Harry. He may be rough on the edges, but she knows deep down he's sweet. He has a reason for all his actions, and maybe that's why he's terrible to everyone. A sort of test, wanting to see who cares enough to stick around. Or it could just be him knowing what he wants and being careless. Either way she's proud, knowing she was the one to turn him.

"It just takes him a bit to warm up." Daisy defends, "But I'm the lucky one that stuck around, I suppose."

Mrs. Weathers chuckles, picking up the package and nestling it in the crook of her elbow. "If you say so." She hums, adjusting her scarf and then she's heading out into the chilly air. Daisy stares at the door for a moment, thinking that Harry's actually a lot kinder than Mrs. Weathers and any other person that something bad to say about him.

~

Daisy's crouched on the lowest porch step, fingers begin to burn as she lights the last of the Jack-O-lanters her and Summer had carved yesterday. Harry had been right about the pumpkins, she grew so many that they were able to save two for soup, leave three on the steps here, and take two back to Summer's house.

Tossing the match to the side, Daisy watches the candle flicker through it's smile. She can't help but notice that this particular face has the same little bunny teeth as Harry, even if it's big smile is nothing like Harry's. Her heart sinks, eyes stinging as she pathetically imagines him. Not exactly sure how long she watches the flame dance, wishing it were Harry's eyes in front of her, she practically jumps out of skin when two hands jab her shoulders. "Boo!"

She almost falls off the porch steps as she leaps to her full height, the hands of Gemma being the one thing to steady her. "You scared me." Daisy says sheepishly, holding a hand to her racing heart.

"That was the point," Gemma teases, "it's Halloween." Her eyes look over Daisy, smiling falling. "And you're not dressed up at all."

Blushing, Daisy picks at the bow around her waist. "I was gonna be a kitten but I haven't had time to draw my nose and whiskers on. What are you?"

Gemma adjust the sleeves of the button up, tugging down the too-small sweater vest and holding her arms open. Her hip pops out sassily, "I'm Harry!" Daisy examines her again, realizing she's wearing her version of the outfit they mocked Harry about when wedding shopping. "I figured you could use a little Harry today, and I'm as close as it gets right now."

Daisy's glad she hadn't done her makeup yet, because Gemma's words send her to tears.

~

Dear Harry,

I've never been to Paris but I can't help but find comfort in the city knowing you're there. I'm sure it's not exactly what you were expecting for assignment; you've always been a front line man, but I'm grateful the universe is on my side this time.

I grew pumpkins like you suggested and your mother made the best soup for us after Halloween. I wish you could have been at the house with me. A girl came dressed up as a fighter pilot and I thought of how much you'd enjoy that. Gemma came over to hand out candy and stay the night, which was nice. The house is to big without you in it, but for some reason it made me miss you more.

While your secrets make me nervous, I respect your choice to wait to spill them. At first it drove me mad and I spent days like a tornado in the house. I've found a distraction though, one I think you'll be proud of. An old friend of you father's, Robin, has been teaching me to bake. His son's shipped out as well and we've found company in each other's presence. I don't like cooking, as you very much know, but I really enjoy baking. Maybe one day that'll be our routine. You'll come back from the war, safe and sound, and I'll bake lots of desserts for us to devour while you cook our meals. And of course your radio will be on, and maybe I'll make you dance with me. I happen to be a very good dancer when you're my partner, and no matter how much I try to fight it, you'll always be my greatest partner.

Stay safe for me Harry or I'll have no husband to bake for. With all my heart, Daisy o

~

Rain pelts against her umbrella, ice cold in the November air. It far too late for her to be out here, but at least it's a nice neighborhood. Not as nice as Harry's or Thomas', but still better than the one she grew up in. She doesn't dwell on that thought too long though, because she's still trying to figure out why she came here. Shivering, the red door stares back at her tear filled eyes, daring her to step forward and knock. She wants to, she really does. Wants to go inside, sit next to the wood burning stove she'd sat by with Harry that one time he brought her here. Maybe drink some tea. Maybe wrap a blanket around her frame and cry. It felt too empty to cry in their house. Her sobs echoed and rattled, reminding her she was alone.

Still in her pajamas, she'd thrown on one of Harry's peacoats and grabbed the umbrella from the coat closet, running through two streets worth of puddles. Her soaked socks remind her of that.

Sniffling, Daisy wipes her eyes with the cuffs of the coat, finally stepping onto the welcome mat. Inhaling shakily, she knocks before she can duck out and spend all night crying in the street. Harry would be so upset with her if he found out she was even out right now. He told her not to worry, yet here she was.

It takes minute for the door to be answered, lights flicking on upstairs, and then on the staircase, and then in the living room. Daisy wills herself to calm down, bouncing anxiously as the door swings open.

"Daisy?"

Anne has wrapped her robe around her nightgown, rollers mussed in her hair, and eyes bleary but her eyes widen when she meets Daisy's red rimmed ones. "Oh dear, come in! Get out of the rain!"

She waves her in, Daisy's umbrella dripping water on the rug as she closes it and places it in the rack. Anne shuts and locks the door behind her, immediately reaching to help Daisy out of her son's coat. "I'm sorry," Daisy mumbles, shaking off the damp fabric. Helpless, she watches Anne hang it by the door, bottom lip trembling with surpressed cries.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Anne coos gently, reaching forward to push back her wet hair. Daisy crumbles under the affection, chest aching so bad she thinks it might crack open to reveal her longing heart to the cruel world. "Are you hurt?"

She shakes her head, finally breaking down. Her body shakes against Anne, shoulders hunching as her mother-in-law wraps her arms around Daisy. Anne shushes her, rubbing her hand in soothing circles over her back. "It's okay darling. You can talk to me."

Somehow, Daisy manages to choke out the one thought swirling through her brain. "I miss him so much." It's simple, but the words make her cry even more after finally admitting it. She didn't realize how much she enjoyed being around Harry, how much better he made her days. Being without him is like missing the broth in the soup, the flour in a loaf of bread, the roots of a plant. Nothing feels right and she hates it.

"Oh darling, I know." Anne coos, stroking her soggy hair tenderly. Daisy feels small in her arms, cradled like a girl as small as Kitty even though her feet are on the ground and not around Anne's waist. She thinks back on when she wishes she were as tiny as her sister, innocent to this kind of hurt, and she can't help but think this night was born out of that wish. Maybe the universe started a war, drafted the one boy she may one day love, just because she was being sad and petty. It's stupid, Hitler's not invading previous German land because she wished to be little again. But it does feel nice to have Anne hold her, tell her she understands. All Meredith’s ever done is tell her to grow up, act her age, learn to cook, get married, have kids. Everything she always felt like she could never do.

“He’s really irritating but I want him back.” Daisy murmurs around trembling breaths, beginning to calm down. Anne laughs, whispering an agreement before pulling back enough to see her face. She strokes her cheeks tenderly, motherly.

“Let’s her you dry clothes and a cup of tea, yeah?” Daisy nods shyly, letting Anne guide her up the stairs and into a random bedroom. She digs through the dresser, pulling out a cotton tee and striped pajama bottoms. The same pajama bottoms Harry owns multiple pairs of. “These were his favorites as a boy. Don’t fit him now but I can’t get rid of them.”

Daisy changes into them in the bathroom, recognizing the scent of Harry immediate. He still smells the same today but more manly. Maybe it's that nice cologne he wears that makes him smell older, more mature. But his teen scent is comforting too. The two of them, feeling small but together. It makes her ache a bit more, but she smiles at it. Maybe Harry's thinking about her, smirking as he fall asleep and imagining her crying. Soulmates maybe, reaching out to jab at her throbbing heart. It's a very Harry thing to do, she thinks.

And she continues to think of him when she crawls into his childhood bed, an old record player playing an album he loved as a kid, with her mug of tea on his old nightstand. Buried in his sheets, it almost feels like he's there too. That's how it should be, husband and wife, buried next to each other forever.

[zozophoenixxx]

Friendly reminders about The Flash⚡️

Things I had forgotten or little details I just noticed on my rewatch, maybe even Unpopular Opinions 🤭👀

✨Season 4✨

Even though this was honestly one of my least favorite seasons it was pretty interesting to watch and it had some pretty cool, badass and hilarious scenes lmao

Ok but the intro on the first episode was kinda cool

Cisco, wally and Joe working together... we stan 🙌🏼

Also the new star labs tables and tech make it look pretty cool

Samuroid, Kilg%re, Hazard, Amunet Black, T•h•e W•e•e•p•e•r, Black Bison, The Thinker, Bᵣₐᵢₙₛₜₒᵣₘ, 千卂ㄥㄥㄖㄩㄒ, Prank and Trickster Jr., Dwarfstar, m̾e̾l̾t̾i̾n̾g̾ ̾p̾o̾i̾n̾t̾, Null, The folded man

Ramsey Deacon aka Kilg%re

Rebecca Sharpe (Becky) aka Hazard

Ralph Dibny aka the elongated man

T•h•e W•e•e•p•e•r

Mina Chaytan aka Black Bison

Dominic Lance aka Bᵣₐᵢₙₛₜₒᵣₘ

Neil Borman aka 千卂ㄥㄥㄖㄩㄒ

Sylbert Rundine aka Dwarfstar

Izzy Bowen

Matthew Kim aka m̾e̾l̾t̾i̾n̾g̾ ̾p̾o̾i̾n̾t̾

Janet Petty aka Null

Edwin Gauss aka the folded man

Wally can speak Japanese😂

Joe being able to forgive Caitlin after what she did is amazing I love them 🥺

West-Allen kiss count (approximately): 46 😘

Cisco being upset because he was at the "doghouse" in ep2 is hilarious

"Rule number 1, when a girl say it's fine, it's not fine" i- I'd be happy with Cisco as my boyfriend

Gypsy's gorgeous bro 🤩

Ok i'm sorry but that "we are the flash" bothers me

Not Cisco, Barry, and Caitlin playing laser tag... AGAINST KIDS😂💀 And Cisco really went "you have failed this city" I love them (ep3)

Jesse just broke up with Wally... With a…

Breakup cube i-

HARRY IS SO AWKWARD

Joe being lost or done with everything going on around him is hilarious, and he also looked so sad when Cecile asked him to sell the house

Iris and Barry really would've gotten married out of the blue if it hadn't been for Kevin (the lil boy in ep3) LMAOOO

This boy really used cinnamon incense on purpose when the father was allergic to it and just went :) ┐(´ー｀)┌

"no need to shame the little boy" I-

We love Barry defending little kids 🥺

I liked Cisco's shirt in this episode

Haikus are easy

But sometimes they don't make sense

Refrigerator

Not Wally leaving 🥺😩

BAHHAHHSXHAHSGHASGAH Joe's reaction when Cecile told him she was pregnant

OMG just realized that in the beginning of ep4 when Cisco and Gypsy are making out on Cisco's bed that… BRO I-

After Cisco asked Gypsy what her real name was she went to the bathroom and he stayed in bed but went to look for something in the little night table… that something was probably a condom… Y'ALL WHAT BAHBSAHBSHAS

Ralph Dibny used to be a dirty cop, I had Completely forgotten about this man

I just noticed that every time that Barry goes into a new room he looks around and i guess he tries to grasp as much information of it as possible and it's kinda cute

I like how Breacher always has a serious face but when Gypsy talks to him he smiles 🥺

CISKY KABDjahdHAHDSH

Also Breacher being Danny Trejo (Machete) from Spy Kids

"Good people don't destroy lives and call it noble"

Gypsy's real name is Cynthia and Breacher's Josh

Girl Night's out was an awesome episode, I mean we got to see the girls working together, Felicity, Drunk Barry and Cecile going #feminism it's just great

Amunet was kinda funny lmao Annoying but funny lol

BAHSHAHHA that scene when they get mugged by the guy that try to mugged Barry in s1 is hilariousss (ep6)

Ok but Black Bison (Mina) was right like why are things that belong to people that are still here in a museum?

Uff istg I hate Marlize sm like she's so manipulative and she just slapped Barry like bro u know ur guilty he's just doing his job ugh, I know she becomes good at the end but still 😤🙄

Harry and Caitlin 🥺

I love how Cisco's powers improved throughout the seasons. Like at the beginning he needed his goggles to vibe and now he just did it without them.

Bro even tho Amunet is evil she really just encouraged Caitlin and let her know that she is amazing for her, not only for killer frost.

I like Iris and Caitlin's friendship

The fact that she decided to go after Caitlin, instead of Barry shows how good of a leader she is

"those white girl dreads came straight from the 90s" BAHSHAHHA I love Cisco

Bro no wth I only saw Dominic for one episode and I already loved him 🥺

UGHHHH He didn't do anything this is not fair it makes me so upset like it was so infuriating to see him go through trial for something he didn't do🥺

Ig that's what he felt like when his dad-

I-

Noooooo

Caitlin holding Iris's hand during trial 🥺

Ralph really protected Joe and prevented him from basically destroying his life by planting fake evidence on Marlize's shoes

Ok but I love 千卂ㄥㄥㄖㄩㄒ's episode because I think it's like the first time that we get to see Killer Frost fighting alongside them 🥺

They really helped Caitlin turn into Killer Frost with... puppies 🥺😂❤️

Bro the amount of people that are in jail for crimes they didn't commit makes me so upset

And the fact that he got the same cell as his dad 🤌🏼😩

"I'm the fastest mop alive" I love how even when he's in prison he's still finds a way to smile or make Iris smile i-

Zoey Clark was James Jesse's girlfriend and Axel Walker's mother.

Ralph's first superhero name was stretchy man

Lexi La Roche was Caitlin's childhood bully

Omg just saw Nora for the first time in s4 ehhh actually probably not the first time since I think she appeared in the crossover but I skipped that episode so oh well 😂

She's so awkward- her Barry is showing lmaoooo

OMG I love this, Cecile just found out she can read minds lmaooo

JOE'S FACE BAHSHHHAHAHA

SHE'S A TELEPATH

BULBASAUR BAHAHAHAHAHA

Big Sir's real name is Dave and i-🥺

BARRY'S A CHEATER ABSHAHAHH he cheated on poker lmaooo

Cecile would definitely be me if I had powers

Harry's actually pretty insecure

Mini Ralph and Mini Cisco are hilarious

I will forever love Big Sir like 🥺

The fact that he did get his happy ending 🥺☺️❤️

Bro I felt so bad when the bus metas were almost free and Devoe took them 🥺

I'm ngl I'd love to get a pep talk from killer frost

OMG THATS WHY HE NEEDED T•h•e W•e•e•p•e•r i never really understood why he needed him but it was to keep Marlize in love

BAHSHAHHA I love Cisco "Ralph I love you but you sleep on a futon" (a damp futon)

AND IRIS "you nasty" JAHSHAHA

Ok but I love Izzy Bowen's energy, she reminds me of Laurel sm

I love how Harry calls Cecile- DA Cecile Horton

The Flash s4:E14 "Subject 9" minute 12:14 - Cisco yelling "Iris" with the voice Crack is the most hilarious thing I've seen today lmaoo

Just realized that the first time we saw Izzy Bowen she was singing Somethin' Bad which was probably foreshadowing what was going to happen with her character

Bro izzy🥺

"AH SON OF A BREACH" BAHSHAHHA

Iris being a speedster is kinda cool and I like that her lightning is purple :)💜⚡️

Cisco just saved Iris 🥺

Poor Cisco, Harry just destroyed his little airplane thingie he was working on because he was looking for his thinking cap that Joe had because Harry was getting addicted to it

And Joe noticed because Harry had the same symptoms as Francine did 🥺

Bro that scene in ep18 where Marlize and Iris are fighting is pretty badass, especially when Iris basically stabs herself to get rid of Marlize or when Joe makes it into the Cortex with the Samuroid's head in a pole lmaooo😂

Ralph and Killer Frost 🥺

I love Snart from Earth-X

Bro no I love Cisco and Gypsy I cried when they broke up 🥺

Amunet's real name is Leslie Jocoy

Diggle throwing up after running with Barry every single time is hilarious😂

I love it when Cecile inhabits other people's minds right when she's about to give birth BAHSHAHHA SHE REALLY IMPERSONATED JOE PERFECTLY

Joe and Cecile baby's name is Jenna Marie West🥺☺️

This house is bitchin' BAHAHAHA I hated this cliffhanger like I loved it bc it wasn't that bad but it was yk?😂

[nevergonnasimpyoumikey]

Some overtly personal thoughts about this fic and the father-son dynamic in general because I need to get it out after months of pondering. Please don't reblog this, it's just my rambles and not meant as fandom discourse per se (:''D), but if anyone wants to chat, read until the end and hit me up!

Maybe it's just me growing up with sorta distant parents (it's luckily gotten better now but I still can't really talk to them about many of my issues), but the found family trope speaks to me a lot. I think I used to cry reading Harry Potter when Harry was just so easily adopted into the Weasley family, for example. Being parentless or neglected and then finding an adult who cares... Yeah. Tears.

Michael has a bad relationship with his actual kids. Taking a protege and teaching them everything you know is a movie plot that Michael in my head definitely loves ("Tomorrow we'll try a training montage" or something :'D). It's no wonder he takes such a liking to Franklin and sees him as his kid.

In a friend conversation with the unholy trinity, Trevor talks about wanting a family eventually ("I'm sure I'll make a great father"), and he also seems to kinda collect people around him (Chef, Wade, Ron...). It's no secret he thinks that he's a better role model/mentor than Michael is. Makes a lot of sense for him to see Frank as his kid.

What about Franklin? He says that he doesn't listen to any advice M and T give him anymore, even though he originally was looking for a mentor in Michael. He doesn't like it when they joke about his shitty childhood in the "Are we the fathers you always wanted?" conversation, although personally, I don't think T and M were intentionally trying to make him sad about his childhood. They just could have handled the ending of that conversation better (APOLOGIZE, YOU ASSHOLES).

He wants to be seen as an equal in the group, which is understandable. When I was 18, I started a hobby where the only people younger than me were the other people's actual kids and it was/is a super close group, it could be called a family easily. Sometimes it was really nice being the young one and have people being so helpful and making cute jokes about me being their kid (I still call one friend my dad after years), sometimes it went overboard and it became patronizing instead of fun. Like when they assumed I couldn't do things on my own at all. :D The need to be respected and to prove that I could do things was strong and I see that in Franklin, too. But now I'm a bit older and I've been (and sometimes still am) the one helping teenagers or people in their early twenties even in really bad situations, and I understand Michael and his protectiveness so well, too. I'm crying a bit because I kinda just realized how far I've come in my life. :'D Didn't expect this for today.

Franklin doesn't argue when they call him kid, does he? Or have I just missed it? All I can think of is the friend conversation that I mentioned before where he says M and T weren't the daddies he wanted because he only wanted one. If someone reading this can think of a time when that happens, let me know. :') But because of that I never saw Franklin as hating the family thing. Maybe this is me projecting too much into the characters (isn't that what we all do though?) but I think he could have a similar thing here where usually he doesn't mind being the kid but sometimes it goes too far. He doesn't seem the type to not speak his mind if something bothers him for a long time, considering he's never been afraid to stand up to Trevor or tell Michael exactly how shitty he is.

Despite all this, I do understand the problem that there is with the way Franklin is being portrayed in almost all the works, including My Father's Mistakes. Since he is a lot younger than M and T and they most often address him as "kid", he often is viewed as the kid of that friend group. I think it's understandable, but the outside world's problems affect the way we perceive fiction. Not that long ago I found out about the phenomenon of black people's infantilization. I'd like to imagine that it doesn't affect my perception of this dynamic between the main characters, but we all live in racist societies, so who knows? If the fandom only sees Franklin as the kid or not as interesting... Well, he's not as fucked up as M or T and usually fans gravitate more towards the most fucked up characters, so I can even kinda get that.

But. There is a lot to Franklin's character other than being the young one. How did he get where he is now, what was his life like with an abusive aunt or in the streets learning how to be a criminal? What kind of things did he have to do? And there are many interesting relationships that he has other than M and T. For example, I've written down fic ideas exploring his relationships with Lamar, Tanisha, Aunt Denise, and Tonya (but there's literally over 140 fic ideas in my list and I'll never even write a fraction of them so don't wait on those. I'll just have someone release them as prompts if I die before I stop writing GTA fanfiction, I've got this all planned :DD). Anyway, I just wish Franklin's past and relationships got explored in the game more, but they focus more on M and T. That shows in the fandom, and not just in Tumblr. For example, on Instagram Ned has a lot more followers than Solo (Steven isn't that comparable because he's had other big roles like TWD, but I think both Ned and Solo are only really known for GTA?). But recently I've seen a lot more Franklin stuff so that's amazing. <3

I like to imagine the unholy trinity growing even closer to each other after the ending of the game and being a somewhat functional, mostly happy, little found family, Trikey included or not. The fic still holds a special place in my heart for these personal reasons. But I acknowledge that it could add to the infantilization of Franklin or black characters in general. That's why I probably wouldn't write this kind of fic anymore knowing of the harm it could cause or has caused (no one has talked to me about it so I can't be sure, but if anyone has experienced this while reading it and would like to talk about it, you can message me!).

If you read all the way here... hi? This took a lot longer than expected and I'm really tired, too tired to proofread this, so I hope it made any sense. :D Hope you're having a good day.

Michael took a deep breath, having poured out some of his greatest regrets, and Franklin nodded after staring at him for the longest time, a soft look in his eyes. “Okay, man, yeah. That was a lot but… I get it.” “Yeah?” Michael smiled a bit.

“Yeah. You’re telling me not to repeat my father’s mistakes.” Michael didn’t get the implication immediately, he opened his mouth to ask what Franklin meant, when it hit him. He closed his mouth, almost feeling tears in his eyes, not believing that he was lucky enough to have this kid in his life. Franklin grinned at him, and Michael’s smile was wide enough to hurt his face. “Yeah, son. That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

My Father’s Mistakes on Ao3

***

@prim42 said My Father’s Mistakes is her favorite fic from me which means so much as I hold it really close to my heart. The father-son relationship between Michael and Franklin is one of my favorite things and Prim captured this moment between them so well. T_T <3