#.....except that show had a better pilot there i said it
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ettadunham · 2 months ago
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idk who needs to hear this other than kaos netflix, but licensing a song to play every 5 minutes in your tv show does not make up for actually writing some scenes. also, there's almost always a better way to do exposition than through narration, unless you have a clear purpose and/or do it sparingly enough.
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madlori · 8 months ago
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On Tommy Kinard
"It's not that I don't like Buck and Tommy, it's just happening so fast, he's underdeveloped!"
*clears throat*
Here is a recap of what we know about Tommy. And this is just off the top of my head, I didn't rewatch anything.
He was closeted at the 118 before and found the atmosphere repressive. He (probably) acted like a dick to fit in. When presented with the chance to make things better, he took it, and developed positive relationships with Hen, Chim and Bobby.
He was in the army and trained there as a pilot.
He knows Muay Thai and has a set up in his house.
He likes to work on cars and has a lift at his house (where TF does he live is my question - he has some nerve being agog at Buck's loft if he has a muay thai gym and a car lift)
He is down for violating departmental policy at the drop of a hat (has done so on at least two occasions) to help a friend and has no problems fucking with the fire chief.
He is a nerd. He likes pub trivia and has incorrect Star Wars opinions, and can keep up with Chim in the movie-quoting department.
His favorite movie is "Love, Actually" and he likes craft beer and monster trucks.
He came out when he transferred to Harbor and felt comfortable enough to stop lying about who he was.
He follows MMA and has friends in Vegas who like him well enough to hook him up to a frankly insane degree.
He'll risk his own life and engage in helicopter skulduggery to save people he doesn't know...I mean, apart from doing that for a living.
He'll take time out of his day to give a tour to the cute boy who called him up and offer to give that boy flying lessons (a significant time investment) which was probably maybe about more one on one time with said boy.
He yearns for the belonging and found family that the 118 became after his departure and probably befriended Eddie hoping to earn a plate at the cookout, aside from just clicking with him.
He likes Eddie and Chris a lot and they like him. Chimney also likes him.
He was attracted to Buck right away and was emotionally aware enough to pick up on Buck's jealous feelings over Eddie and his friendship, even if he was surprised that it was him Buck wanted to get to know.
He respects and values Buck and Eddie's friendship and wanted to make sure Buck knew that.
He's brave enough to shoot his shot by planting one on a dude.
He's a lil bitchy but also generous and ready to throw in with this insane guy who's inviting him to a family wedding after 0.5 dates.
He showed up to a bachelor party when he was on call because Buck asked him to, then showed up in turnouts after fighting a fire for like 12 hours yadda yadda we all know this part.
He has got it BAD for one Evan Buckley, who he only calls "Evan" which according to LFJR is a conscious decision by the writers, which fascinates me.
He was willing to take a chance with a man just discovering his sexuality BUT wasn't willing to put himself through that if the man in question wasn't ready for it. When Buck showed him that he was, he was all in.
He does NOT take his coffee like that.
Oh and
He's a beast.
This is VASTLY more information than we knew about ANY of Buck's previous girlfriends with the possible exception of Abby. Even Taylor did not get this much development over 20 episodes (things we knew about her: she was an ambitious and ethically flexible reporter, did not eat fudge, had a dad in jail, and sometimes jogged for exercise, she was capable of being nice and did love Buck, I believe). And as for it being fast? Sometimes it just be like that? A relationship doesn't have to have year(s) of buildup. Sometimes people do just meet, like each other, and start dating, in fact in the real world that's usually what happens. It's in TV Land that you have to have eighteen seasons of UST before pulling the trigger. Most of the time in reality people just vibe off each other and decide to go out and THEN they learn about each other.
And they've got a great start. You'd think they'd barely spoken by how a few naysayers are talking about it - the loft scene was like a solid five minutes of very open conversation, the Cringe Date seemed to have gone well and again, open and honest (if cringey) conversation before Cockblocker Eddie showed up, and the coffee meetup was again....open and honest conversation. They're not gonna show us long scenes of them exchanging firefighting stories and workout preferences (I mean, I'd watch that, but it's not what the show is about).
In conclusion, anyone saying he's poorly developed or the relationship is "out of nowhere" either is being willfully obtuse or has ridiculously unrealistic expectations for relationships and/or what constitutes character development.
As for whether they have chemistry, that's a matter of subjective opinion. Given that a TON of people watched that harbor tour scene (even when it was posted as a sneak peek) and started going "wait...what's going on here...are they flirting??" might be a clue. People were talking about Bi!Buck maybe happening with Tommy based solely off that clip of the harbor tour and what they were seeing between them. And imho that loft scene was crackling. But we all see things through the lenses of our biases, myself included.
Got that off my chest, whew.
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thelostconsultant · 4 months ago
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Secrets
pairing: Lestappen x reader
summary: Charles convinces you to join his relationship with Max.
warnings: Well, not much, except for mentions of sexual activities, unprotected sex (wrap it, guys) and pregnancy.
note: Just little snippets stitched together to give you a glimpse into their life.
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The plan began to form in Charles’s head when it was announced you would become his race engineer from the 2024 season. As you got closer and got to know each other better, he began to flirt with you, making it quite clear that he wanted something from you, and when he kissed you for the first time, feeling it in his bones that he got you, he finally told you the truth. 
“There’s something you should know,” he told you softly with his hand resting on your cheek. “I’ve been in a relationship for a good… three years now, but me and my partner are looking for someone to play with, someone who would be willing to be a part of our little secret.”
“Why do you keep it a secret?” you asked him, flashing a curious look at him. 
Charles let out a long sigh as he thought about what to say to that. “We are trying to avoid a scandal.”
“So it’s someone people know. Hmm… If I was held at gunpoint and they told me to name one person you might be in a controversial relationship with, my first guess would be Max, but–” When you came to a sudden halt, he knew his expression gave away his surprise that you figured it out on your own. Well, he wasn’t that good at keeping a poker face after all. “No way,” you said slowly, your voice suddenly dropping. 
He smiled at you after shaking off the bad feeling he had. You wouldn’t rat them out, he could tell, but now he was worried you would say no and it would change the way you work together. “Now you know, but please, this has to stay between us.”
You nodded your head a few times. “Sure, I won’t tell a soul.” There was a short pause, but then you looked back at him and said, “So how long have you been looking for a third member for this relationship?”
“We weren’t actively searching. When I met you, I found you attractive, then I got to know you better and realized I like your personality too. Max heard a lot of stories about you, and he was also attracted, so we just came to the rational conclusion that we would love to have you,” he explained. 
You agreed pretty easily. Sure, you did point out that it was only a pilot period, you wanted to see if this could even work, but that was more than enough for Charles. And soon enough you fell in love with them the same way they fell in love with you, and being together in this relationship became the new normal for you.
During race weekends the two of you could spend a lot more time together, easily slipping into his driver’s room to have some fun, but times like this you usually put extra effort into showing Max how much you loved him when you got him in your company again.
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Charles was in an extremely good mood in the evening, and when Max finally arrived, he was immediately pulled into a hungry kiss, his back pressed against the now closed door. “Good drive today, pretty boy,” the Dutchman praised him as he placed kisses along his jawline. “Wish we could talk a little more.”
“We can talk now,” he said before letting out a short laugh and slipping out of his grasp to move towards the kitchen. 
Max shook his head with a smile as he glanced into the living room. “Where’s our princess?” he asked with a confused look as he followed the other man.
“Left to take care of something. Actually, it’s good that she’s not here, because I need to talk to you,” Charles said as he passed his boyfriend a glass of soda, who seemed much more interested in what he was about to hear. Rolling his eyes, Charles reached out to take his hand. “Hey, don’t give me that look, I’m not planning to break up with you. I was thinking about why she wanted to go on a date. Do you think she wants to leave us?”
“No, I don’t think so. But… I don’t know, I once overheard a conversation she had with a friend or relative, and she was trying to explain to them why she hasn’t been in a relationship for a while,” he admitted. 
As he sat on a barstool, Charles let out a thoughtful hum. “It’s a good thing you mentioned this, because my idea could actually help this issue,” he began, earning a questioning look. “Maybe it’s time to make things official for our sake.” Max shook his head, but before he could say anything, he went on. “Not us, dummy. I know we agreed to keep it a secret for a few more years. I’m talking about you and her. Just hear me out. I can be seen in her company because she’s my race engineer and we’re friends as far as people know. But you? You’re on a different team, people think we don’t like each other. So if she was dating you, you wouldn’t have to feel left out even on race weekends, and I could jump over to meet her, even if she’s with you.”
With a thoughtful hum, Max rested his forearms on the kitchen island. “That’s… actually… not a bad idea,” he said slowly. “Have you told her about this?”
“No, not yet. I was waiting for you,” came the response. 
Nodding, he moved to stand behind him and wrapped his arms around his body. “Are you sure about this?” Charles let out a confirming hum in response. “Well, if she’s on board, I say let’s do this,” he replied before placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
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Max woke up to the sound of you vomiting in the bathroom. He quickly jumped out of bed to see what was up with you, and when he opened the door, he saw you sitting on the floor with tears in your eyes. With a worried look, he kneeled next to you and kissed the top of your head. “Stomach flu?” he asked you softly. But you shook your head at this, carefully avoiding his gaze. “Tell me, what’s wrong? You’re hiding something.”
“What’s going on?” came Charles’s groggy voice from the door. When Max looked over at him, he saw the way he was rubbing his eyes, but then he focused on the two of you on the floor and quickly woke up. “You okay?”
You groaned, then flushed the toilet and went to the sink to wash your face. “I’m fine,” you replied defensively. 
“What are you hiding from us?” Max pressed on, knowing you well enough to sense there was more to the story. 
A minute or two passed in tense silence while they waited for you to finally speak up. Charles moved to be by your side as support, but he was stopped right away. He meant well, but this wasn’t the time to play nice. Max wanted answers, and if he had to be harsh to get them, he was willing to do it. And his strategy worked, because you finally took a deep breath and turned around to rest your hips against the sink. 
Your eyes moved back and forth between the two of them as you said, “I’m pregnant.”
Charles gasped next to him, barely able to hide his bright smile, but Max was hesitant. You had been with them for almost a year, and you had been publicly dating him for a while too, but this? This he wasn’t expecting. It’s not that he wasn’t happy, because he was. But you looked scared and maybe even ashamed, and this was killing him. So he quickly rushed over to you to cup your face with a smile on his face. 
“Are you sure?” When you nodded, he kissed your forehead. “I love you, sweet girl.”
“You’re gonna be a great mom,” Charles added as he joined you and put his arms on your shoulders. “So… I’m gonna ask. Who’s the father?” he wondered out loud with raised eyebrows. 
Shrugging, you looked down at your hands. “I don’t know. I’m on the pill, but both of you doofuses tend to forget to use a goddamn condom, so it could be either of you,” you mumbled. 
Max looked over at his boyfriend as he bit on his lower lip, feeling guilty since they had agreed at the beginning not to do this. But based on the look on Charles’s face, he wasn’t the only one thinking about this. Of course, this was nothing new for the two of them, they had discussed their preference to fuck you raw countless times, but they never explicitly told you about this. But you weren’t stupid, you just probably loved them enough to let them do what they wanted as long as you all tested yourselves on a regular basis. 
“Are you mad at us?” Charles asked cautiously, but you just shook your head. “Then what’s wrong? I can see there’s something else you’re not telling us.”
“That’s not how you wanted to become parents,” you eventually told them. 
The sentence made Max’s heart clench, and he could tell Charles felt just the same based on the look they exchanged. They had told you about their plan to one day either use a surrogate mother or adopt a child depending on how things stood in their lives. Adoption seemed to be the winning option at the time as they couldn’t decide whose biological child should it be if they chose the surrogacy option. 
But things had changed since then, a lot of things happened and their feelings also changed. Once the Monegasque nodded, Max took a deep breath and prepared to tell you what they were both thinking about at the moment. 
“We love you. Yes, we did have different options in our heads at the time we talked about this, but now you fully belong to us. Our gorgeous and smart girlfriend is pregnant from one of us,” he said with a smile as he tipped your head to make you look at him. “It’s so much better than anything we could dream of. You should be happy now. We’re here, we love you, we’re going to support you the whole time.”
On his side, Charles let out a quiet chuckle, then kissed your temple. “You’re not getting rid of us, baby, don’t even think about it.”
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note2: I just wanted a little glimpse into their lives. I don't know if I should write more about them, little snippets or text or idk.
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red-bat-arse · 2 months ago
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Working on a BillFord fic I'm internally calling my delusional au lol but I think I'd actually title it the Have A Heart AU
Wherein Fiddleford leaves the project but Ford doesn't confront Bill, and since Bill is very happy things are going well he decides to start actually flirting. His way of doing this is to give Ford gifts of possessed rats, hurt his body in controlled ways, and talk about dangerous things they could do together...
Oh, and be so distracted by infighting in the Nightmare Realm that when Ford starts spiraling into scared paranoia over the -to him -literal torture, he doesn't notice until Ford throws him out of the mindscape.
So now he's got to figure out how to fix what he broke, or he'll never get the portal running, sure, but worse than that is he'll lose Ford for good. With Stan on the way to the cabin, looks like he'll have to make a deal with Specs of all people so he can have a body to pilot -if Ford doesn't want him in his mind, they can talk on more even ground. And maybe Bill can start making up for his mistakes along the way.
Excerpt and rambling underneath;
Bill looked down at the nail wound and tensed up -what if he made it worse? What if he got it wrong again and Ford woke up and thought he did it on purpose, thought he just wanted to- what, torture him?
Did Ford think Bill hated him? Or did he assume this was all some sort of prank like his childhood bullies would pull, a betrayal like his oaf of a twin committed, or plain scorn like nearly everyone else showed him for his big ideas? For the mind that Bill thought was exceptional and shone like a star- and-
-and why was this so hard? Why was Bill even second guessing himself? He was a god! He could take care of Sixer any way he wanted and he should be glad he showed him that much care. Any other being with Bill's amount of power would've taken Ford and made him into a mere pet, would've wasted his potential instead of cultivating it, and this was stupid! Bill should already know how to put Ford back together! Ford was his! Ford was supposed to-
Bill caught his reflection in the mirror and snapped out of his spiral. The battered, unkempt body of his author stared back at him, blood slowly leaking from his eye as Ford unconsciously fought against Bill's possession.
He hadn't ever done that before. Bill wiped at the blood but just ended up smearing it around, so he grabbed a new looking washcloth and wet it, taking Ford's glasses off to get at the stain better. He cleaned the blood away carefully and closed the eye once it looked like it had stopped leaking, and when he rinsed the cloth out the water ran down the drain pink.
Ford was supposed to be fine.
"I think I screwed up," he said out loud, and it was then he realized if he didn't fix this, properly, he'd lose everything.
He'd lose any hope of the portal being completed, sure, which meant sooner or later the Nightmare Realm would finally collapse in on itself and kill everyone inside. Granted, with how bad he was feeling at the moment after thousands of years of nothing, dying like that didn't exactly sound like the worst option. Sure, Ax would be sad for a bit, the old sap, but there wouldn't be anyone actually mourning him if he went out that way.
Not even his author, not even Ford, because he'd probably be relieved. The being Bill thought he would spend the next eternity with was terrified of him and if he didn't fix it he would be relieved when Bill died. He would be glad for it and die at 92 of a petty thing like a heart attack and then they'd both be written out of existence, and that would be the end.
If there was one thing Bill hated at this moment, it was thinking about Ford ending. He'd caused so many others over the years after that first unintentional one, after bringing Euclydia to an end, and he hadn't cared at all, had reveled in it even, but with Ford the notion was wrong, was awful. And the idea of Ford dying hating him and being glad to be rid of him, it made his entire shape seize up in distress.
Ford had rejuvenated him, brought him back from an apathetic husk of a being through nothing more than his mind and his charms, and look how Bill had repaid him.
Notes;
explores the idea of Bill not really understanding why humans work the way they do -such as hallucinating after days without sleep and reacting badly when the being possessing their body starts hurting it without explanation -but having to reckon with it if he wants to keep Ford
he's from an extinct dimension and's been around for millennia, and Ford is the first being in general he's ever actually liked -this is not a recipe for well-meshing love languages. i was like "what if Bill actually thinks giving someone a wound they can easily heal is like, the highest form of showing love"? what if he saw the aftermath and went "oh shit i fd up" and wanted to fix it? could something like that even be fixed? not with canon Bill, certainly, but i saw someone point out that if Ford were a touch worse of a person or Bill were a touch better, they probably could have been happy together, so in this AU -spoilers -i think it could be fixed
will be posted on my ao3 later today
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The Spock Universes Theory of Star Trek
Recently I made a very quick, late-night reply to a post in which I mentioned my ‘Spock Universes’ theory which to my surprise ended up being somewhat popular with the people, and so I have decided to give it its own post.
The theory is simple. Every time Spock is played by someone different on screen you are watching a different universe’s timeline.
Why does this work? First off it is canon that there are different universes. For one, the Animated Series was disavowed by Gene Roddenberry as not canon, which by extension means it had to have taken place in another universe, but we also have the mirror universe  which continues to exist even when we occasionally wish it didn’t. So Star Trek was doing a multiverse from almost the very beginning. So what is the easiest way to tell them apart?
Spock.
Spock is the key to the whole multiverse. Behold:
TOS: Nimoy Spock, Prime universe
TAS: Voiced by Nimoy but disavowed by Roddenberry, ‘Animated Prime’ universe in which everything that happened in Prime Universe also happened here, but everything that happened here did not automatically happen in Prime.
Star Trek Movies I through VI: Nimoy Spock, Prime universe
TNG: Nimoy Spock appeared in Unification Parts 1 and 2, therefore TNG is in Prime universe
Star Trek: Generations: No Spock. NOT PRIME UNIVERSE.
The evidence: In the TNG episode Relics the crew discover Scotty, played by James Doohan, trapped in a transporter buffer on an infinite loop. This is considered god-tier engineering by Geordie, who did not believe it was possible despite 70 years of advancements in the engineering space (more on that in the SNW section).
Scotty makes a comment that he thought Kirk got the original Enterprise out of mothballs to come looking for him, and was saddened to find out this was not the case. In Generations, Scotty is present when Kirk get pulled into the Nexus and everyone think he is dead. In Prime universe Scotty was not there or he would not have made this assumption, however there is one person who has to be there in order to determine if the universe is Prime: Nimoy Spock.
Who was originally supposed to be there according to the original script? Nimoy Spock.
Who forced a change to the universe by not showing up? Nimoy Spock.
In Prime universe Spock was there instead of Scotty, who had not delayed his retirement to see off the Enterprise B and instead was already on his way to the Norpin colony when Kirk was ‘killed’ the news reached the colony but not the ship, which because it never made it meant Scotty never knew Kirk was gone.
It is important to note that everything else happened the exact same way, except Lursa and B’Etor got hold of a much better ship solely because I said so.
DS9: In the episode Trials and Tribble-ations, the crew was thrown back in time to the days of the original Enterprise, in which Nimoy Spock appeared, even without the various TNG crossovers it’s still Prime universe
Voyager: No Spock, but pilot episode crossed over with DS9, and the character of Barkley crossed over from TNG on more than one occasion. In addition, in the episode Flashback there was an appearance by Captain Sulu, played by George Takei, who was last seen playing his character opposite Nimoy’s Spock. Most likely Prime universe
Enterprise: Predates the Spock schism and therefore theoretically belongs to all universes. It has been referenced in several of the newer series in various ways, however there is a continuity issue in regards to the Klingons, which may mean that the event which lead to Spock being played by someone other than Nimoy happen even further back in the timeline, with the majority of changes being negligible by the time of Enterprise other than the Klingon ridge thing, which Discovery and SNW do not follow
‘Kelvin’ movies: Two Spocks. Nimoy Spock is specifically stated to come from the future Prime universe and the events featuring Quinto Spock are now a new, branched timeline. Further proof for the theory.
Discovery: Peck Spock, new timeline. Other notable changes include the style and advancement of technology and the fact that the Klingons appear to have solved their forehead ridge-flattening troubles, plus added extra for good luck.*
SNW: Peck Spock, crossover with Discovery. Peck universe. This also means that major continuity changes like the Gorn being both known and evil monsters are due to the different universe. In addition, Dr. M’Benga hides his daughter in a transporter buffer to slow down her illness. As previously mentioned, this was god-tier engineering when Prime Scotty did it in 2294, however in this universe technology is more advanced as no one bats an eye at the doctor’s technical prowess when they find out what he did.
Prodigy: Nimoy Spock facsimile which uses Nimoy voice recordings, Prime universe
Picard: No Spock, pick your poison. Basically because there is no Spock this could be Prime or it could be the same universe as Generations. Clearly there are a lot of similarities between Prime and Generations universe, but as the ending shown in All Good Things is not the one we see in Picard, it’s possible, likely even, that we have crossed universes again. I blame Q.
Lower Decks: Somehow exists in a universe where all shows are simultaneously canon, including TAS, probably due to some weird phenomena  
*Challenges to the theory and how it has adapted.
It was pointed out to me that Michael Burnham watches a recording of old Spock once she goes to the future, and that this recording was of Nimoy Spock, and so I have had to alter my theory slightly.
The Spock Checkpoint can only be done when Spock is a young man. This is because once Spock approaches old age, regardless of who has been playing him, he begin to morph into Nimoy Spock. As Mr. Nimoy himself claimed in his second autobiography: I am Spock.
Dude wasn’t kidding.
Personally I find that this theory helps me deal with the more extreme continuity issues that NuTrek has brought to the show. It's easy to pretend that Turnabout Intruder's claim that women can't be captains never actually happened, harder to believe that everyone met the Gorn except Kirk, and that somehow they demonsterfied in about five to ten years, or that a doctor could rig a transporter as well as a master engineer with technology forty years more advanced. Spock theory has calmed my mind and soothed my soul so I can better enjoy Trek. I hope if you felt the same way then it can do the same for you.
Thank you for reading my waffle.
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vi0lentquiche · 1 month ago
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I vaguely remember reading this and watching the interview with Bryan and Hugh at some point but can’t find any traces of it here, so to commemorate the heroic sacrifices of everyone working on Season 1 and to preserve the McDonalds bit especially:
For the first season, it was interesting, 'cause I wrote the pilot and it was so closely tuned to what Thomas Harris had written, and there was so much from the books that was going into it. Then I think we had four or five scripts, and then I saw the pilot, and I saw the work that Hugh and Mads were doing, and I saw the work that David Slade was doing, and I looked at those four or five scripts that we had written, and I said that they weren't good enough, and I threw them out. And then we started over. I think we shut down for two weeks between the pilot and the rest of the show. So, after seeing the pilot and going, 'This is actually really good, and this cast is phenomenal and they deserve better material,' [we changed our approach] because the four or five scripts that we had done were very procedural, and very sort of strange.
One of the episodes was about a mass shooting in a McDonald's, and we were trying to make this commentary on fast food culture and gun culture. Now, looking back on that, I'm like, 'What the fuck were we thinking?' 'cause there's no way to skin that and not be offensive to somebody. Not that I care about offending people, but it just was sort of inelegant and cheap and not necessarily elevating the genre. I feel a deep responsibility to try to elevate the genre of whatever I'm doing. So we tossed all of those scripts out, and then it was a scramble for the rest of the season.
And it was really hard on Mads because English is his second language, and a lot of the shit that Hannibal is saying are words that I have to look up, to go like, 'Is that right? Is that a word?' So it was really difficult for him. The first season was insane, it was very depressing, and it felt very much like I was in Will Graham's head a little too far. And I remember there was one time when Hugh and Claire [Danes, Dancy's wife] and I were walking around a park and it was just nice to be with people who weren't expecting something from me that I knew I couldn't give them. To just have general support and go, like I said, when Hugh and I had our first dinner, I was like, 'Oh, this is gonna be my friend. This isn't just a working relationship, this is somebody whose company that I adore.' So those moments kind of got me through the complexities and the real hardships of season one. And then after surviving something you go, like, 'Oh, I can survive.'
bonus:
Truthfully, in the chaos that we experienced and that Bryan was kind of in the frontline of, in retrospect it didn't compromise for me the ability to submerge ourselves in it. I honestly don't know why that should be, except for the fact that... he, and we all, felt that responsibility, right? Not even to anybody else, just to ourselves, right?" Fuller finished Dancy's thought for him: "As artists."
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genericpuff · 1 year ago
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Hey so I have a question-
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Is Rachel even contributing to LO's art anymore? Like, at all?
CAUTION: MILD FASTPASS SPOILERS AHEAD !!!
I've talked at length about the 'tells' of each assistant and artist, and while it doesn't guarantee that I can tell exactly who drew each panel, there's one thing there's been a lot less of in the most recent episodes that have caught my attention - things that I know Rachel would typically contribute.
And most of it comes down to her lineart.
The shading was always her, no doubt about that, you could tell with how consistently awful it is, how she would take actual decent flats from her assistants and proceed to butcher them with muddied shading.
AmyKim89's flats vs. after Rachel's gotten her hands on them:
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(seriously Rachel why tf did you darken Persephone's legs here, it looked so much better before ??)
But there was also her lineart which, at first, I didn't realize who was drawing it. It didn't show up super often in LO but it was always very noticeable when it did so I knew it had to be someone on the team doing it:
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The thickness of the lines and the extra little strokes added in along the knuckles and bends, that wasn't something that was really common in LO at this point... at least it hasn't been since S1:
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And when comparing it to the lineart she used to do in The Doctor Pepper/Foxglove Show:
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(look at the mouth in The Doctor Foxglove Show vs. Hera in the pilot version of LO, they're literally the same)
So yeah, it was certainly the revelation to discover that that one instance of "weirdly detailed lineart" wasn't one of her assistants having a little extra fun, it was Rachel herself. It was already so uncommon for her to contribute all the way back in S2 that her contributions seemed to be more of the exception rather than the norm.
And since seeing the art that's been in the newest FP episodes following the return of the series... is Rachel even drawing at all anymore? Because lately the lineart has felt very thin, in a way that I can't tell if it's her assistants just doing all the lineart now or if she's trying to emulate S1 LO more by using less lineart. But S1 didn't have thin lineart, it had very thick lineart, BUT only being used where necessary to emphasis shadows and depth.
Now the lineart feels very... dinky? Especially when you look at the eyelashes.
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That said, there are moments from S1 that had similarly 'dinky' lineart, so take this with grains of salt. It still didn't feel as dinky though as it does today where the lines are practically non-existent in how thin they are.
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There are also times when you can tell they're really trying to emulate that S1 look, the pieces are there but they aren't being put together very well:
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So yeah at this point I wouldn't even be shocked if all Rachel's doing at this point is scripting and roughs. And considering there are definitely times where she'll just draw without knowing what to write, the 'scripting' is also practically non-existent. It's just her leaving her roughs off to the last second for her assistants to whip out with very little time to pay attention to what's being submitted.
Once again it's Rachel fundamentally missing the point of the criticism that's being made of her work. She's trying to forcefully emulate something that she didn't even have a process behind. I can attest as someone who's been trying to do studies of her past work to recreate it as faithfully as possible through Rekindled, it's very difficult to achieve the 'old LO' look because 'old LO' was literally just Rachel slapping down brush strokes until they looked good, there was no specific process or guidelines that she followed, she just made things look textured and colorful. Everything else was basically up to her figuring out what actually looked good, with panels often having their own vibes separate from others in isolation of one another.
Now she's trying to replicate that look while missing the point entirely that it's not something she can really replicate anymore. Though we do get the odd panel that's way closer to the point, those panels have one thing that she's clearly not putting into the comic as a whole anymore - love and effort.
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(fr this panel is so gorgeous but I feel like at this point it was more sheer luck because of how rare it is to see panels like these nowadays, this feels like an accident LOL)
Case in point, this honorable mention towards Persephone's outfit which is literally just a color-swapped version of the sketch that Rachel posted to Blue Sky that got meme'd to death in the ULO sub:
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Did you catch that though? The weird dark patch over her boob and the gap in the lineart of her cleavage?
That's because they copy pasted the first panel and then erased out the hands, but missed the part of the hand shading that was overlapping the breast and the gap in the lineart.
I shit you not, Rachel coming up with memes on Blue Sky that she's scraped out of shows she watched 20 years ago is basically the full extent of her writing at this point.
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Haha take a thing and make it bigger! So funnyyyy!
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(seriously Rachel's 'humor' feels like it's stuck in 2010)
Yep, you're really earning that #1 NYT Bestseller label that you haven't even gotten since Volume 3, Rachel. Put your hand down, there are no high fives for you here.
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Been largely absent from Tumblr since I had to reset my phone but in preparation for the last race of the season here's my updated rating of the drivers based on how much I love and support them
1. Carlos - you are the reason I got into the sport Smooth Operator and "I ain't quitting you" even if you did decide to go to the cellar that is Williams
2. Fernando - with the Newey news hope is restored for my favorite old man to get his much deserved and long overdue 3 WDC "help me Adrian Newey you're my only hope"
3. Oscar - well with Logan and Danny gone and Checo leaving looks like you're getting adopted yet again Osco by me the American congratulations you can now claim 3 more races as "home races" because I'm claiming you as my home driver cause it sure ain't gonna be Canadian Nepo Baby
4. Esteban - oh Estie Bestie they didn't even let you say goodbye. Screw that shit show that is Alpine. Can't wait to see you take Haas to the next level with lovely Ollie Bear beside you (please don't hurt him or I will end you)
5. Max - my trauma bro for life who healed my inner child when he let his little sister Victoria put the sticker on the Redbull cooler at Qatar. You are the champion of the world and of the horror story that is your past
6. Lando - "a gentleman on and off the track" as your bro4lyfe Carlos said. I will never say anything bad about you again after how gallantly you treated Oscar. The goodest boy.
7. Franco - chaos powered by maté please don't go away. We need the heir of Sebastian's rizzardry and Senna's face to stick around
8. Charles - you can be a princess sometimes but you're my best friend's favorite princess just maybe don't act like someone pissed on your cheerios every time Carlos does better than you and please toughen up and lighten up because i don't know if I'm prepared to see BOTH Ferrari pilots be sad wet mops next year
9. Pierre - I used to think you were an arrogant little Frenchman who came off as vain but after burying the hatchet with Esteban at Brazil and then qualifying like a GOAT ever since I'm prepared to look past the past and actually like you now
10. Valterri - oh you cheeky cheeky Finn with your cheeks out everywhere, the grid won't be the same without you and if you want me to help you lock Helmut Marko in a shed so you can get that Redbull seat I'd only be too happy to help
11. Alex - sweet zookeeper I'm sorry your car is held together by scotch tape and prayers these days
12. Nico - the Just For Men hair care model that you are never change Nico... Except hopefully Audi can change the number of podiums you have
13. Yuki - feisty parkour king you deserve the seat alongside Max more than anyone else in the RB family currently and I will help you beat up Helmut Marko if that's what it takes
14. Checo - please go spend time with your family. You were great but you gotta go it's getting embarrassing leave before there's no dignity left to leave with and your successes get lost for the sour ending
15. Kevin - please use your last race in F1 to absolutely embrace the Danish Demolition Derby that you are and clear a path for Hulk's first podium and then enjoy your adorable lovely family and whatever sports you move on to next
16. Zhou - thanks for saving Sauber from the total ignominy of a big ole goose egg at the end of the year. I hope you come back cause you're such an inspiration to your country
17. George - once upon a time you were in my top 3 and then you decided chicanery was the way to take down Max. If you don't believe you can beat him on the track then admit it don't go plotting his downfall by getting him hit with penalty points for basically a non-event. I loved you but now you're just some whiny bitch I used to know
18. Lewis - you literally would have had a chance to surpass George if you too weren't being a whiny bitch Lewis. Threatening to not race the last 3! Whining before Brazil! Wanting to quit in Qatar! Are you or are you not a 7 time world champion? Freaking act like it. Regardless of whatever Toto may say you owe it to the team that brought you most of your championships to at least try. Think of Bono if you can't think of anyone else to show your appreciation by sucking it up a little bit bro
19. Lance - you are basically useless but at least your daddy's money will get my Daddy a better car since he brought Newey in with his dough
20. Liam - I was prepared to forgive you for replacing my beloved Danny Ric and then you went and acted like the biggest prick on the grid and decided it was on sight with any pilot who spoke Spanish or their teammates now at this rate. Your love for Cars cannot redeem your attitude which smells like Durian fruit.
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princess-charlie-of-hell · 13 days ago
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Unpopular opinion (I think?)
The fandom needs to accept that Lilith is allowed to be flawed mother, wife and person without being treated like a monster
How was she supposed to perfectly know how to be a mother, she never had any parents from which she could learn to be one. Even parents who grew up in perfectly healthy families aren't perfect parents. She never was a child and therefore doesn't know how hard it is to go through puberty and other parts of growing up
She literally was one of the two first humans and i can image that neither Lilith nor Lucifer knew what it means to be in a super perfect relationship, Adam, Lilith first partner, literally demanded Liliths submissions which caused Lilith to meet Lucifer in the first place. So how is she supposed to know what a healthy relationship is supposed to be.
And from what we know so far fell Lucifer in depression after their fall and this can be hard for a relationship even if it was a healthy one. There was not really therapy invented to this time and for the next like thousand years or more. So how is she supposed to know what the perfect things are to do in this situation so maybe she did things which she thought would be right for him even if she it was wrong because she doesn't know better
We also don't really know how everything which happened affected her yet, we know that she motivated hell but that doesn't mean that she can't be traumatized as well
But from what we know what happened to her, it is just tragic
First she was trapped in a relationship with a misogynistic man who demanded submission from her
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She found love with Lucifer and they tried together to give Eve and humanity freewill by giving Eve the apple
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But that caused evil to find it's way and Lucifer and Lilith were banished to hell
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Lucifer then fell in depression while Lilith motivated Hell with her voice
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But that caused then the exterminations to happen in the first place where regularly sinners get killed, so I can image that Lilith was after that maybe not in the best head space
Ruling over hell is also a challenge itself and we don't know how Lucifer and Lilith split their work as being depressed can cause a person to be not able to handle that responsibility in Lucifers case, so maybe she did the main work while he just couldn't do it
The same with parenting Charlie, having a child is straight up exhausting whatever if the child is a human and or Sinner/angel hybrid. And if Charlie is now at least 200 years old how long took it till she was an adult?
We can't really say how she was as a mother but from what we heard from Charlie i can't image her to be cold and distant to her daughter. Charlie believes that Lilith would be proud of her if she saw her right now, she thinks that her mother is doing something important and in the pilot Charlie calls Lilith who disappeared for 7 years rather than her father (again not blaming Lucifer, he just was in shitty situation as well). Sure it could be a red hering so that it is more shocking that she evil but the same could be said about the last scene where we see her on the beach to make us believe that she is a villain despite her having a good reason for everything she does
Despite her being in heaven, we don't know why she is there, maybe she just couldn't take it anymore in hell, maybe she just saw an opportunity to be somewhere without her responsibility as a queen, the deal between her and Adam is unknown so we won't know the exact reason why she is there until later in the show
And honestly even if she is just in heaven for selfish reasons doesn't automatically mean that she is an unredeemable monster, this show afterall is about persons facing their flaws and personal problems to get redeemed so why should Lilith be the exception?
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pinazee · 9 months ago
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Weekend warriors is one of my fave episodes for a multitude of reasons
The way Shawn flirts with Sally Reynolds at the briefing was fantastic. Shes such a memorable one off character and she doesn’t really do much. I credit that to Clair Coffee and her dazzling smile.
One of the best moments of Shawn showing just how amazing his memory is, and the little montage was wonderfully set up. But Gus really shouldn’t be surprised by now. Out of everyone (except maybe his dad) he should be the least amazed by his gifts.
It has my favorite most stupidest joke i still laugh at to this day actually ive been promoted. Its Captain Crunch now.
I have a deep appreciation of this show for never shying away from the fact that Gus is black. It seems like a lot of 00’s shows simply avoided the topic altogether (if they even had a black main). Starting from the pilot when gus placed his hands on the dash when the cop pulled them over. It goes to show how important it is to collaborate with your actors, particularly if your writing room demographics don’t correlate with your acting talent.
The fuck are you talking about henry. It took him 4 months after he was born to smile at you and thats when you acknowledge him??? I mean, i think they both know thats crap, but still lol
Solid Juliet moment. I love that they showed she was scared, but was brave enough to continue. Too many shows try to do feminism by making their female characters not feel fear for some reason? Or like, they’re kind of crazy and seek it out. Idk. Its nice that shes allowed to be afraid and vulnerable. It makes her feel like a real person.
THIS!
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That end scene is the saddest fucking thing ive ever seen, and might be the most heartbreaking little shawn moment in the series. Im going to word for word this because i need ppl to share in my awwws
Shawn: Gus, when we grow up, think ill ever be as cool as you?
Gus: You’re better at kickball
Shawn: Not what I asked
Gus: We talking about your dad again?
Shawn: mm-hmm
Gus: Come on dude, the guy respects you
Shawn: Not like he does you
Gus: I’m not his son. I mean, he might like me okay, but he loves you
Shawn: Did he say that?
Gus: No.
Shawn: Well then how can you be sure?
Gus: You mean he’s never said it?
Shawn: Come on Gus, we’re guys.
SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE but i’m going to do that in my henry analysis ep. Theres just too much to say.
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oldiesstationlover11607 · 3 months ago
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Okay bestie I need a fake dating fic ?! I can’t think of a good idea so please use your amazing brain 🫶🏻 Josh or Tyler I just want the tensionnnn the piningggg yessss
Faking it - Josh Dun x Reader
Warnings: Tension and angst lol
Word Count: 2532
A/N: Girl I am so sorry this one took so long 😭 I've been very distracted this week so haven't gotten as much writing done as I normally would. Hopefully this makes up for it <3
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‘Josh Dun and Halsey are over! What’s next for the twenty one pilots drummer?’ 
That was the headline on the People post at the top of my Instagram feed three weeks before I was contacted. Josh and I had been friends in high school–long before he met Tyler or had anything to do with twenty one pilots. At that point in our lives our small group of friends would spend Friday nights at his house, recording demos for theoretical albums in a desperate attempt to pass the long Columbus summers. Most of us had lost contact since we’d graduated and gone off to college. In fact, I hadn’t had Josh’s real number in my phone for at least 10 years. I’d be lying if I said that hadn’t bothered me. Celebrities were supposed to remember their friends, they were supposed to keep in contact and see them every time they visited home. Josh lived in LA. Tyler lived in Columbus. But everyone knew he came back to see Tyler and his family as much as possible–no one had heard from him. 
Except me. That one fateful day that changed everything. 
“Hi Y/N. It’s Josh. Josh Dun. I don’t know if you remember me from school or if this is even your number anymore,” the voicemail started. “I’m in town for the next few weeks and I’d like to catch up with you. There’s something I’d like to ask you but you know, it’s one of those things best said in person.” The faint buzz of another voice sounded in the background. The audio went silent for a few seconds before he continued. “So… uh… flick me a text or call me back or something but I’d like to see you. Bye.” 
It took me three days and a conversation with every one of our old friends to respond to the message. Half of them told me to ignore it–that Josh didn’t deserve anything from me–but something inside me felt like he needed it. Most of the pop culture news sites had been giving updates about the breakup and Halsey had been posting near constant tweets about the situation. It had to have been difficult on Josh, he was one of the most sensitive people I knew, and according to TMZ, he’d been keeping quiet about the whole thing. I’d stared at my phone screen for a long time, his voice still playing in my mind long after the voicemail ended each time I played it. As usual, curiosity got the better of me. Against my friends’ advice, I texted him. 
“Hey Josh. I got your message. How about we go to Margaret’s for coffee?” 
Margaret’s was a small local cafe we used to go to on Friday nights in the fall and winter, coffee being the only thing that kept us warm. 
Josh responded almost instantly, suggesting a time. I agreed, nerves building as the reality of seeing him again after so many years set in. What would we even talk about? Did we still have anything in common?
The day we decided to meet, I found myself at the cafe ten minutes early, anxiously tapping my fingers on the table. When Josh finally walked in, I was hit by how different yet familiar he looked. The years had sharpened his features, his hair dyed a bright yellow, his arms covered in more ink than I remembered, but his smile—the same crooked grin—instantly melted the years away.
“Y/N,” he greeted, pulling me into a quick hug, his scent instantly bringing back memories of those long summers. For once the man in front of me wasn’t the man in all the news stories or playing sold out shows–he was just Josh. 
“Hey.” I smiled, feeling his arms wrap around me before we split off and sat into the cozy chairs on either side of the little coffee table I’d chosen. We talked about everything, our old friends, our lives since high school, and then, after what felt like hours of catching up, Josh cleared his throat and leaned forward.
“So… there’s actually something I need to ask you. And I’m aware of how ridiculous it might sound,” he started, looking almost embarrassed. “But I really need your help and I didn’t know who else to ask.”
I raised an eyebrow, intrigued. “Go on…”
Josh took a deep breath. “The media’s been relentless since the breakup, and it’s getting hard to deal with all the rumors and speculation. My management team suggested that if I was seen… with someone else, it might get them off my back. Temporarily, at least.”
It took a moment for his words to sink in. “Wait, are you saying… you want me to be your girlfriend?”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I want you to pretend to be my girlfriend. I know it’s a huge ask, but we’ve known each other forever, and I trust you. I wouldn’t feel comfortable doing this with anyone else. It’d only be for a little while, just until things die down.”
I sat back, processing the situation. Fake dating Josh? I mean, it wasn’t like it was unheard of for celebrities to stage relationships for the media. But me? I wasn’t exactly a part of his world anymore. I wasn’t sure I even wanted to be. But the look in his eyes—vulnerable, pleading—told me this wasn’t just a PR stunt for him. He needed this.
“Okay,” I found myself saying, surprising even myself. “I’ll do it.”
His eyes lit up in relief. “Really? You will?”
I nodded. “On one condition—this doesn’t get weird. We’ll stay friends, no matter what.”
Josh grinned, a hint of his old mischievous self returning. “Deal.”
And so, the charade began.
The first few weeks were awkward, to say the least. Paparazzi seemed to follow us everywhere, and we had to carefully choreograph our interactions—just enough affection to seem real, but not too much to make it uncomfortable. Josh would hold my hand in public, drape his arm over my shoulders during interviews, and we’d smile for the cameras as if everything was perfectly natural. 
The Paramore show was supposed to be one of the easier ‘dates.’ At least, that’s what I told myself as we entered the packed arena. The buzz of excitement from the crowd, dressed in a mix of colorful costumes and band tees, should have distracted me from the knot tightening in my stomach. Josh seemed at ease, smiling and waving to fans who recognized him as we made our way to the VIP area just above the main floor. But even then, I could feel the weight of the act hanging over us.
As the lights dimmed and the band took the stage, I felt Josh move closer, his arm casually draping around my waist. It was a simple gesture, one that would seem natural to anyone watching, but the second his hands slid to my hips, something inside me tensed. He wasn't doing anything inappropriate, but the intimacy of it felt wrong. I wasn’t his girlfriend—I was playing a part—and this level of closeness blurred lines I wasn’t ready to cross.
I glanced up at him, hoping to catch his eye, maybe give him a silent cue to ease up. But he wasn’t looking at me. His gaze was fixed straight ahead, lost in the music. For a brief moment, I almost forgot the cameras were on us, the spotlight that wasn’t really ours pressing in from every angle. Then, he leaned down, his breath warm against my ear.
“Look at the camera,” he murmured, his voice low, almost too soft to hear over the music.
I stiffened. Even here, in this moment, we were still performing. I darted my eyes across the crowd, picking out the nearest lens trained on us like vultures waiting for scraps. I swallowed hard, forcing a laugh that sounded hollow to my own ears.
“Now laugh,” Josh added, his voice almost playful, but it grated on my nerves. Then, without warning, he pressed his lips to my neck, an action that was too intimate, too calculated for comfort.
I jerked back slightly, lifting my heel and grinding it down on the tip of his shoe—not enough to hurt, but enough to send a clear message.
“Watch it,” I muttered under my breath, just loud enough for him to hear.
Josh’s grip on my hips loosened immediately, his hands retreating as if he'd touched a hot stove. “I’m watching it,” he replied, his tone smooth but with a hint of defensiveness.
“You better be,” I shot back, trying to sound stern, but the words came out shaky. I didn’t know if I was warning him or myself. Still, a smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth, a reflex that came from trying to play it cool, even though everything about this felt far from easy.
He caught the smirk, his eyes finally dropping to meet mine, and for a split second, something unspoken passed between us. Annoyance, frustration—maybe a bit of amusement at how absurd this whole thing had become. But whatever it was, it was fleeting, buried under layers of whatever we were pretending to be.
“You’re a terrible actress,” Josh teased, his lips twitching into a smile, though it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
“Maybe I just don’t like my co-star,” I shot back, but there was no real bite to the words. If anything, the tension between us had only grown more complicated. I wasn’t sure if it was the act, the pressure of being watched, or something else entirely, but it left me feeling raw, exposed in a way I didn’t expect.
Josh’s smile faltered, and for a moment, he looked like he might say something more, something real. But instead, he just nodded, his gaze drifting back to the stage, leaving me standing there, caught between wanting to scream at him and wanting to laugh at the absurdity of it all.
As Paramore's set continued, we went through the motions—laughing, leaning into each other, playing the part. But beneath it all, there was a tension neither of us could ignore. The lines were blurring too much, and the more we tried to act like this was all just a game, the more it felt like we were both losing.
After a few weeks the articles started to slow. Things were slowly getting easier between us and we’d even managed to get a couple paps to catch us kissing. One afternoon, Josh invited me to a small gathering at Tyler’s place. It was supposed to be low-key, just the three of us hanging out—no cameras, no staged displays. Tyler had always been a grounding presence for Josh, and I wasn’t surprised when Josh mentioned he’d already told Tyler about our fake relationship.
“I want you to meet him,” Josh had said with a hint of pride. “He’s my best friend. And, well, it’ll feel a little more real if you’ve met him, right?”
So there I was, sitting in Tyler Joseph’s living room, sipping iced tea, and trying not to overthink everything. Tyler was exactly as I imagined—easygoing, warm, with a dry sense of humor that kept the conversation light.
At one point, he leaned forward, eyeing me with curiosity. “So, Y/N, Josh tells me you’ve known each other forever.”
I nodded, glancing at Josh, who was sitting beside me on the couch, fiddling with the string of his hoodie. “Yeah, high school. We were in the same friend group, used to hang out all the time.”
Tyler smirked, clearly aware of the irony. “And now you’re in a PR relationship.”
Josh groaned, throwing his head back dramatically. “Don’t start, man.”
Tyler chuckled but didn’t let it go. “Nah, I’m just curious. I mean, you two seem pretty comfortable around each other. Doesn’t look that fake to me.” He raised an eyebrow, watching as Josh and I exchanged a quick, nervous glance.
“We’re just good actors,” I said quickly, trying to keep the tone casual. “Right, Josh?”
Josh nodded, but the smirk on Tyler’s face told me he wasn’t buying it.
“Look, I’m just saying,” Tyler continued, leaning back in his chair. “Sometimes these things have a way of turning into something else. Just make sure you both know what you’re getting into.”
It was a harmless statement, but it lingered in the air long after the conversation moved on. I found myself glancing at Josh more often, wondering if there was any truth to Tyler’s words. Did we know what we were getting into?
As the evening wound down, Tyler gave me a knowing look before we left, almost like he’d seen something we hadn’t.
A few days later, Josh and I were walking through a park near his place, taking a break from the media frenzy. The crisp autumn air had a way of making everything feel a little clearer, and I found myself wanting to address the strange tension that had been building between us.
“Tyler’s not wrong, you know,” I said quietly, breaking the silence.
Josh glanced at me, his brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“About this. About us.” I waved a hand between us. “I know we agreed this wouldn’t get weird, but… doesn’t it feel like things are changing?”
He stopped walking, turning to face me fully. His expression was unreadable, and for a moment, I wondered if I’d said too much. But then, he sighed, running a hand through his hair.
“I’ve been thinking the same thing,” he admitted softly. “At first, it was just this… fake thing. But now, being around you again, it doesn’t feel fake anymore. I don’t know what to make of it.”
The honesty in his voice made my heart skip a beat. I swallowed hard, trying to find the right words. “Josh, I don’t want to complicate things. We’re friends, and I don’t want to lose that. But lately… I’ve been feeling things I wasn’t expecting.”
Josh stepped closer, his eyes searching mine. “I feel it too,” he confessed, his voice barely above a whisper. “And I don’t know what that means for us.”
I could feel the space between us shrinking, the air heavy with unspoken tension. My mind raced with a million thoughts, but none of them made sense anymore. All I knew was that the line between fake and real had blurred beyond recognition, and we were standing at the edge of something neither of us had planned for.
“What do we do?” I asked, my voice trembling slightly.
Josh reached out, gently taking my hand, his thumb brushing over my knuckles. “We figure it out,” he said softly. “Together.”
I looked up at him, my heart pounding as I realized that whatever this was, whatever it would become, we were in it together. The charade was over—this was real now.
But as real as it felt, there was still the looming pressure of the media, the world watching our every move. And even as Josh’s fingers laced with mine, I couldn’t help but wonder how long we could keep this new reality to ourselves before the outside world caught up.
//
REQUESTS OPEN
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grumpygwen23 · 3 months ago
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Twenty One Pilots hot take this, Twenty One Pilots hot take that…I want to hear y’all’s Twenty One Pilots stories and journeys. Is this because I want to share mine? Yes. Is that self-indulgent? Yes, but who cares.
Listen. I started listening to Twenty One Pilots almost exactly 10 years ago, right before Blurryface came out. My first concert was at the Quiet is Violent tour and I’ll never forget the feeling. I was 16 and moody at the time and despite how much I loved Vessel, I was obsessed with Regional at Best, Self Titled, and best of all, No Phun Intended. At the time, it was at least partially a pride thing, preferring their earlier music, but more than anything those songs spoke to me in a way nothing else did.
I loved Blurryface when it came out, and when Stressed Out started playing on the radio, I’m still proud to say I didn’t jump on the “overhyped” train. Obviously I hadn’t been around since the beginning, so I had no claim on Twenty One Pilots in any way, but it was still exciting and I felt proud of “my boys” in a way every time I heard it on the radio.
I went to my second show on the Emotional Roadshow tour in early 2016, right before I graduated high school. At the end of the show, Tyler said “we made it, we survived,” and I’ve held onto that with a vice grip ever since.
I went to my third show on the Trench tour in 2018 in the cheapest seats possible. Literally my back was against a wall. But it was spiritual in a way no other show has been.
After Trench came out though, I lost track of the plot. I honestly haven’t listened hardly at all to Scaled and Icy or Clancy yet. I know it wasn’t for the reason of “they’re too big now” or “the music is too poppy” because I’m still proud of them and so glad that others have found meaning and purpose in their music. For a long time, I didn’t know why I didn’t get back on with their music. Hell, I could barely even relisten to the older stuff. And I couldn’t figure out why (and honestly, didn’t think about it much).
Until this past week. See, I got my younger brother and sister hooked on Twenty One Pilots when I was in high school/college. They just went to their first concert and I’m so happy that they got to experience that. My brother has been badgering me for the past year to get onto listening to the new music and for some reason there was a wall there.
But a couple of days ago I started back at the beginning and listened to No Phun Intended and Self Titled. And every single song brought me back to being 16 again. I haven’t felt so viscerally reminiscent? Healed? I don’t know how to describe it. But I realized why I couldn’t listen to them before. Because for so many years, I was still on the slow slope of getting better. Backsliding constantly and hating myself because it felt like every time I thought I was getting better, I was back to where I started. And those songs made me feel so heavily, that it was like I was back there again. And the new stuff, with the Clancy storyline, it felt like a transition to healing that I wasn’t ready for yet. I was stuck in between, not wanting to slide backwards and not ready to move forwards.
But I can listen to those songs again, and by god it made me cry. I listen to Goner and remember teaching it to myself on the piano and screaming the lyrics in an empty house. But I don’t feel gone anymore.
10 years ago, I listened to Friend, Please and sang it to myself in the mirror because I felt like I had no one to say those words to me except Tyler Joseph. Yesterday, I sang along to it and for the first time didn’t feel like I was begging myself.
9 years ago, I sang along to Fairly Local and was stuck in the first verse. Yesterday, I sang along to it and was able to sing the second verse and believe it the first time.
5 years ago, I got a tattoo with my younger sister that says “Peace will win, Fear will lose” in my handwriting and hers. Yesterday, I realized that peace really has won.
I’m still not perfect. I still struggle. But I’ve grown a lot, and Twenty One Pilots has been there the whole time, even when I couldn’t handle hearing it.
I’m not entirely sure what I’m trying to say here. But to whoever else has listened to Twenty One Pilots for years and is also on their healing journey, I love you. To whoever has just started listening to them and has found an outlet and a resonance during tough times, I love you. To everyone in between, I love you.
Now, I’m finally working my way through the albums and catching up with the storyline, and I’m excited to keep seeing this through to the end.
All that to say: we made it. We survived.
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lover-of-mine · 3 months ago
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Lady Whistledown. I totally understand if you don't post this. Huge no worries because honestly, their fandom is on fire, and it makes me sad the hate they send you. Like it's a damn ship, people. Just stop.
But to get where we are now you sort of have to go back to the beginning of epsiode 4 last season then repeat after every sentence their copium after 24 hours of rage was "well duh the Buddies are crazy so of course ". Oliver only posted he and Eddie for his coming out episode. Oliver never followed or promoted Lou and now they even admit there is bad blood. Oliver never talked to them only Lou took the money. Oliver gave too much attention in the BTS of the medal ceremony to Ryan. Oliver didn't talk about bisexuality in regards to Tommy only to the fact he is. Oliver never promoted interviews. Oliver posted more of Gerrard this season. Oliver flirts too much with Ryan. They didnt get Hen approval scene. No JLH scene after she said they filmed in the same building. They never got the family scenes of Christopher with his 3 dad's. Got more Eddie and Tommy. More Tommy and Eddie. Tommy was supposed to be a main. And as always they would throw Buck off a bridge to get Eddie and Tommy.
So now we lean into Narnia. They had a high after the first episode. OK he's there. But honestly after the initial time. It was a nothing scene. It was about Eddie. It could have been 2 friends teasing each other. Then everything fell apart after that. He wasnt with Athena. He didn't save the day. He didn't have a double date breakfast with Bathena the day after. The worst? They used his truck and he wasn't even there. There is a lot of chatter of the story is narrowing. All they wanted was a 118 family dinner. But he was iced out. Now it's pretty excepted he's not part of the 118. He will be regulated for however long to just Bucks partner. Saw one rage that at least they used Taylor in her job and they couldn't here. We are clearly going into Eddie's isolation arc. They hate his interviews that came out today. He won't be the one to get Christopher back. They basically lost all of their hopes. His story now is how Buck resolves Gerrard issues. Oh and weird fact they seriously thought that when Lou came out of hiding for ABs birthday that it was proof the Athena Tommy connection. She had his back. And well we know how that worked out.
Back on grass. Its been sort of wild to see them keep lowering their bar to make themselves feel better about the story. Well we didn't see Karen sort of thing. Oh but also an annoyance at Josh with Maddie. Apparently in their world there's a limit to queer people and it can only be BT and Henren.
Hello my love 🩷🩷
This made me giggle, ngl. Each episode proving their spec wrong was awesome lol. He was there for 30 seconds and had 2 lines and they were expecting him to be everywhere. It was extra sweet to see a black child do the thing they were convinced he would. He wasn't on the plane. He wasn't on the highway. He wasn't lowered through the hole in the cockpit. He wasn't on top of the truck. Buck didn't even mention a little plane fact he learned from him. He was only in the story when he was on screen and he was barely there. And now the conflict with Gerrard can't be good for the relationship considering his past. Of course they hate Oliver even though Oliver is the main character and he's made it very clear where he stands when it comes to them, but the flirting too much with Ryan made me scream. They are so mad they rpfing. I kinda love that they want more of Tommy and Eddie but even though he was in a scene about Eddie, he did not interact with Eddie, not really. I guess living of "you're a vision in a cone" is not good when there's a plane emergency and he's not there. And yeah, the show did find a way to incorporate the journalist, if they wanted to incorporate the firefighter pilot, they would, too bad they don't. I did not see the bathena breakfast spec, that one is funny as hell. I wanna say I can't believe they actually thought the comment was a message but, I totally can, and that obviously didn't go anywhere. And of course they are turning on Josh, why wouldn't they. I will say their cope has been glorious to read, like my god you guys are so close to the point and missing it. I can't imagine how mad they must be behind closed doors.
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samiiola · 1 year ago
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How can anyone hate her 😭😭??
I just saw a tt that said "cry harder uzi" while showing Alice torturing uzi. She didn't do anything 😭😭
Some others are saying pilot uzi is better and that uzi rn has changed. They're also saying she's a pick me.
The angsty uzi we know from the pilot had no one. She had no one to care for her, except for thad. That's until N showed up, and then V started to care for her in ep 6. Uzi just found people who actually cared for her and they're breaking her angsty teen shell.
also, @toomanyhyperfixationsinmybrain thanks for pointing out that Uzi is getting blamed for V's "death" We're not gonna forget that her arm got CHOPPED off and that shes getting possessed by the absolute solver. She was also laying down in the elevator because she was too weak since her arm got chopped off and the absolute solver possessed her for 5 seconds at least. Not just that, she coughed up BLOOD. Not oil. Uzi isn't at fault, Doll is.
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dragonform · 3 months ago
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Lurking on some Ninjago communities is driving me batty, so let me just get this out here.
"oLd NinJaGO wAs BetTeR"
"JuSt LeT nINjaGo dIE"
Look, buddy. Lemme tell you a story. (Buckle up, this is gonna be a long one.)
Last year, my kid Ry was six years old. Prime Ninjago age. He had already started watching Lego shows, and in fact already loved the dragon sets from Ninjago (we got him the sets for 4+ years the moment he was old enough to follow the instructions), but was a bit hesitant to start the show because some of it looked scary.
We started with Dragons Rising, because it was new at the time and Netflix was pushing it. As we watched, we got the sense that there was a lot of history behind it. My husband and I already knew Ninjago had been around for a while, having seen the sets in shops. So I looked up the history of the show to see how much we needed to catch up on.
"15 seasons!?" I yelped to my husband.
"Has it been around that long???" he responded.
We were happy, of course, that Ry had found a nice long Lego show to watch (we generally love Lego shows in this house, they all seem to be of much higher quality than other kids' tv shows out there. But I digress.)
We started from Season 1. Somewhere around Skybound (yes, ok, I know), it dawned on me that not only was Ry enjoying the show, I was enjoying the show. The scenes looked ridiculously cinematic, larger in scale than what Lego Minifigures should reasonably deliver. The action and fight scenes were ridiculously complex and fluid for little square plastic people. The faces far more expressive than what's basically an emoji printed on yellow plastic should allow for. And the characters and writing? Light years more compelling than any Hollywood superhero movie in recent memory.
"This show is ridiculous," I said to my husband, amazed.
One year later, we've collected almost all the sets we could find, and Ninjago is officially our favorite show in the entire household. Not Dragons Rising. Ninjago. All of it, from beginning to end, including the pilots and Day of the Departed (in both English and Chinese), all of it. Ask Ry if he prefers "old Ninjago" or Dragons Rising, and he'll tell you old Ninjago without hesitation. But he will cheerfully rewatch DR anytime. (We're rewatching DR S1 for the fourth time as I write this.)
What I'm trying to say is, you (imaginary OG Ninjago fan) may not like Dragons Rising, but it's how kids nowadays are discovering old Ninjago. To say it should end just because you don't like the changes? Is basically saying you're so selfish you don't want to share your childhood with the kids of today. Old Ninjago isn't going anywhere. You can rewatch it anytime. I hate New Ducktales because I grew up with Old Ducktales (jeez, now everyone knows how old I am) but I don't wish they never made New Ducktales. There's a whole new generation waiting to discover the same joy and wonder you felt watching your favorite shows. Let them watch it.
And before you say my kid and I are the exception, have you been to Legoland lately? The Ninjago rooms and ride haven't been updated since the Tournament of Elements. That's 2015 - almost a decade ago. And you know what? At our Legoland, the Ninjago rooms still go for a premium because the demand is so high. The Ninjago ride still boasts one of the longest queues in the whole of Legoland. The kids' t-shirts sell like hotcakes.
Just yesterday, at the mall, I watched a random girl, about 8 years old, sit down and pull out a copy of The Book of Elemental Powers (released in 2021) and read it. Ry has a copy of the same book.
Kids nowadays love old Ninjago AND new Ninjago. I don't know who needs to hear this, but it's right here for whoever does.
Ninjago is amazing and I wish it many long years ahead for the generations to come.
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nose-nippin-fun · 1 year ago
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Hazbin Hotel Episode 4 Discussion:
I’ve seen a lot of nasty posts floating around today criticizing Vivzie and the show. I’m not here to discredit your feelings, but I think that the darker tone of episode 4 merits some constructive discussion beyond a knee-jerk, pearl-clutching reaction.
From what I’ve seen, the biggest complaint from viewers, myself included, is that this emotional episode with some fairly intense depictions of SA/r*pe was not prefaced with a content warning aside from the usual small text in the top left corner. I truly do believe Amazon should correct this going forward so that viewers can feel better prepared for tone shifts between episodes. That being said, here are my defenses of the show.
Hazbin Hotel has had a huge fan following since the pilot release back in 2019, which set the tone of the show. Between the pilot and Addict music video, people had a pretty clear indication of the adult themes that would be present in the project moving forward. The show is set in Hell, the place where the world’s worst sinners are trapped in the afterlife. This is not an excuse, this is an explanation. There are going to be several characters with tainted morality, some of whom are irredeemable. That’s why they’re in Hell. This show is not meant to glorify sins, but to shine a light on flawed, relatable characters who will grapple with ethics and other struggles and come out changed in the end.
“I can’t believe Angel doesn’t leave his situation and stays stagnant.” Have you ever lived through/witnessed abuse? It is never this easy to sever ties with an abuser. They position themselves in power to control and manipulate, and many times, it’s not physically safe to get away from them. Also, this has been ONE EPISODE, you cannot expect a character with deep trauma to be totally different after a 20-30 minute episode. Angel’s character arc will take time, but his interaction with Husk at the end is an important first step in that direction.
“So Angel is supposed to just get over his trauma because he and Husk sang a song about it?” No. If that was your takeaway, I’m truly sorry you missed the point. Husk is the only person who’s been raw and blunt with Angel (on screen) about dropping the Angel Dust persona and being Anthony. Angel is used to having to put on a flawless, sexy act at all times, so much so that that’s how people really believe he is at all times. Husk sees through this mask Angel developed to protect himself and tell him through their song that imperfect and broken as he feels, Angel isn’t alone in struggling with feelings of powerlessness and addiction. He’s not comparing his loss of overlord status to Angel’s horrible SA, he’s finding common ground and empathizing (the best way a Hellbound soul can). This song wasn’t a solution, it was a gateway to vulnerability and the beginning of change for both characters.
“We’re expected to just ship Huskerdust after Angel has done nothing but sexually harass and push Husk’s boundaries?” No. That’s absolutely the wrong reason to ship anything. While it’s true that in the first three episodes, Angel sees Husk as eye candy who might be able to distract him from his suffering, episode 4 brings a necessary shift in their dynamic. Angel is used to everyone around him wanting Angel Dust, the pornstar. But for the first time, someone doesn’t want that coveted persona, and he can’t comprehend this. Angel has no control over anything except the act he keeps up, so he clings to it as a false sense of power. It’s only after Husk tells him that he likes Angel for everything he is off camera that Angel starts to treat Husk with respect, which will pave the way for any future Huskerdust shipping.
You don’t have to agree with what I’ve written, and I absolutely don’t blame you if you’ve realized this show is not content you can comfortably consume, but please understand that depicting difficult material is not the same as glorifying or excusing it. This episode was hard for me too, because I care about Angel Dust, and I am so eager to watch his growth as the show continues. My heart goes out to anyone struggling from triggering this episode caused. I hope you’re able to safely navigate away from this show while respecting the viewers who continue to watch.
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