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synchodai · 3 months ago

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A bit of a serious question and maybe a controversial opinion. I've liked jacegan ever since I read the books. I've always thought there's a lovely strong, mutual connection between them, regardless of whether you see romantic or sexual overtones.

And of course I was waiting for hotd to show that. And unfortunately got crumbs. But let's get to the main point. What I didn't realize when there were only books and not much has changed since the series came out. It's Jace and Baela. These two as a couple never interested me in the book or the show. And given the current agendas, fans of the Jace/Baela pairing are especially "aggressive". Because if you're a jacegan fan, you're automatically a racist and misigonist. But.... I didn't like her when she was a white canon Targaryen. I have no hatred or anything like that. The character just didn't hook me, nor did their connection to Jace. On the show, I'm sorry, Baela barely has a chance to develop as a character in season 1. Season 2 has some cool moments with her, but she's still more of an appendix to Rhaenyra and Jace. And yes, I'm sorry that such a character is neglected, as well as many other interesting characters, but given the format of the show and the number of episodes, they have to sacrifice something (the jacegan line is almost completely cut). And back to the serialized Baela and Jace. Their pairing is more of a favorable union for me. There's no spark, no love, no passion. They literally haven't seen each other in years since Rhaenys took her away. Then they met and were unexpectedly announced to be engaged. And there was a shaky situation all around. There was no room for any romance. Then the diplomatic mission, Luke dies and the whole of season 2 Jace is busy with anything but Baela. She's the one who's more of a comforter. And the rare "cute" moments are improvised by the actors who are trying to create/show some kind of relationship in place of the writers, because they are engaged. But it doesn't help, imho, for me personally. I just see two early matured people who are in a stressful situation. They support each other as best they can. I'm sure their marriage would be strong, secure because they are more like friends/family than lovers. And that is my main complaint. I'm sorry, but even in Jace and Cregan's 3 minute scene, there is more chemistry through looks than in the entire time Jace and Baela interacted. Of course that's still a matter of taste. But then again, why would anyone allow themselves to criticize another person for their tastes and hobbies? Why is it that if I'm not interested in Jace and Baela's pairing, I'm immediately misogynistic and racist, and don't support the characters' geth, but cling to white men in homosexual relationships. Like...what do you want? I don't want to be a hypocrite. I just don't care for Baela's character and her relationship with Jace in either the books or the show. That's it.

Jace and Kregan's relationship is much more interesting, colorful, tragic and carries more meaning and love. I won't describe it in detail, because there are some great methinks on the blog. And that's it.

Wow...uh... I sincerely hope you feel better getting that off your chest, anon. Thankfully, I've never interacted with people who react negatively to my jacegan posts or fics. I'm sorry you've had that experience and thank you for taking the time and effort to share it with me. If you encounter people like that, you should really block them and not allow them access into your mental space.

If your question was what I feel about jacaela, then I don't really feel strongly about it either way? I was also neutral to jacegan until I started writing about it, to be fair. I mainly got into it because I wanted to explore the idea of Sara Snow being Jace and/or Cregan and relate that to masks, identity, and performance of masculinity/femininity/gender.

I'm willing to bet if I start a jacaela project, I'd see the merits of that ship, too. I probably won't write about show!Baela though, because she doesn't have much of a personality and seems to be more loyal to Rhaenyra than Jace? She only ever speaks for Rhaenyra's interests and never Jace's. Honestly, her one scene with Rhaenyra made me think she's more enamored with the mom than the son. When Jace was having valid issues about his legitimacy, Baela was quick to dismiss him as "pouting" even though both their lives and positions rely on the strength of his claim to the throne. It was honestly baffling. If I was gonna write for show!Baela, I'd ship her with Rhaenyra before Jace — makes a lot more sense with the text.

In the book, Baela was eager to get married to Jace and had some really compelling tension with him. Him delaying their wedding after going north? Really juicy stuff. Baela is only noted as getting more promiscuous after Jace's death (and after she was left alone in Dragonstone) — so another writer (who isn't me) could explore the conflicting emotions of feeling free of the shackles of arranged marriage while also grieving a future that Baela very likely once dreamed of. There's also the incest angle, the fact that Rhaenyra and Daemon's marriage could have only happened if the parent they both loved died, how Baela doesn't want to act like a lady/princess but Jace desperately wants to be seen as a lord/prince — lots of places a competent writer can take it for sure. It can be a great friends-to-lovers, shared trauma/mutual healing, marriage-of-convenience-turned-real kind of thing. Baela as a tsundere, Jace as an angsty anime protag.

I don't think one ship is more meaningful or loving than the other — it really depends on what you're looking for and who's writing. For now, I'm full throttle manning my current ship and I've already made so many posts about why. I'd like to think I do a good job exploring the potential of jacegan, and I am fully aware it is a ship made of crumbs, but that's the fun of it. Embrace that it's a hidden gem that you unearthed! Embrace the tinfoil.

#long post #asks #hotd critical #hotd fandom critical #hotd #house of the dragon #jacaerys velaryon #hotd jacaerys #you gotta stop giving “ship wars” oxygen my fellas #alas the children yearn for the crusades #baela x rhaenyra

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lattexalmond · 2 years ago

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🎩Top Ten Shows of 2022🎩

I decided to make this post for fun.😜If you haven’t followed me all year then you may be surprised by my opinions here. This took me a long time to think about. Thank goodness for mdl. Also thanks bestie @gunsatthaphan for making the gifs for me so it’s not boring 🥺

Without further ado,

I couldn’t not give the number one spot to this show. It may have lagged in the middle, but by the end it was a 12/10 for me. JimmySea deliveredddddddddd. I loved it so much I bought their plushies.

This was the surprise of the year for me. I did not like Tae in Paint With Love so I was hesitant. I saw gifs all over my dashboard mostly courtesy of @laowen. I decided to give it a try, and it quickly rose up in the ranks for me. I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the feel of Manner of Death since it is by the same author. TaeTee had some amazing chemistry!!

Did this show have the best plot? No, it did not. What it lacked in it made up for in the three couples. All three couples were loveable and the cinematography was really nice. I have watched this show probably at least 4 times now. ZeeNunew are kings. They carried that show. I am so excited for Cutiepie 2 You. Also how can anyone hate Nat Natsit? He is so cute I just want to put him in my pocket.

I don’t know what it was about this show. I loved the main character so much. I was so excited each week to watch it. I would scour the internet looking for the episodes. Akira was so lovable and adorable.

I am most definitely in the minority here. This show had me dying of laughter the entire time. All the couples were adorable. BillySeng killed it with their chemistry. If you want to laugh then you need to watch this show. I watched episodes multiple times because it was so entertaining. The subtitles even explained all the inside jokes for me and that was just such a nice touch. 🥺

I was one of the few that preferred this show over Star In My Mind. Were Joongdunk adorable? Yes of course, but the story lost me and I was very irritated by the end. I identified with Fah’s character so much. I really liked FahPrince. They were so cute 😍

This show was so so so good! The chemistry was unmatched for a Korean bl. I was so impressed. The story was a great enemies to lovers trope. It was excellent! Jaeyoung was my crush of the year 🙈

I enjoyed the original. It was interesting, but this version was so real. They tackled the relationships and explained everything so well. I really felt what the characters were feeling. YinWar have an insane chemistry. I thoroughly enjoyed this one. VeeMark messy endgame 😝

I feel like this should have been higher purely based on how adorable all three couples were, but the plot was a little frustrating at times. It made it in to the top 10 though, They were all disgustingly sweet. ParkLee, 💣and 🐻, MekKim 💙

I was sooooooo against this show. I blocked the tag because I was so irritated by seeing it on my dashboard. Someone told me to just give it a chance and I ended up enjoying it. Was I as crazy about it as everyone else? The answer would be no. The action scenes and entire production as a whole were fantastic. I felt it deserved the last spot. I did not like VegasPete and never will. I am honestly here for Jeff Satur’s Kim being the badass protecting Porchay.

Honorable mentions: P.S I Hate You, Old Fashion Cupcake, Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai!, About Youth, First Love Again, Blueming and Happy Ending Romance.

Also Between Us, My School President, and Never Let Me Go need to be mentioned because they’re all my favs right now.

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denimbex1986 · 10 months ago

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'All of Us Strangers is going to break your heart, and every crack is worth it.

Andrew Haigh's movie is a magical experience exploring universal fears – grief, isolation, loneliness, fear of not being loved – while creating an incredibly touching, personal story about queer trauma. It's extraordinarily unexpected, too.

Ultimately, this is a story about learning how to live with ghosts.

The movie follows Adam (Andrew Scott), a screenwriter who revisits his childhood and his relationship with his parents, who died 30 years ago in an accident.

Now, this is not a flashback-based narrative – All of Us Strangers is not about revisiting the past, but reprogramming it so it's bearable to live with it in the present.

The movie exists within a mysterious space, equally likely to be interpreted as a paranormal scenario where ghosts exist or simply as a hallucinatory manifestation of Adam's corrosive grief. It doesn't matter, really.

Scott travels back to his childhood home to find his parents (Claire Foy and Jamie Bell) exactly as they were before they died. He, however, is a fully-grown man now. The image is striking, bordering on comical, yet still intensely affecting.

Only a superb movie would be able to stick Scott in children's pyjamas and still make us cry with the rawness of what's happening in that haunted house.

For the first time, Adam gets to tell his parents he is gay. He also gets to confront them about not having a better understanding of what he went through as a bullied child. Far from an ideal fantasy, these ghosts are not perfect. They don't necessarily say what he longs to hear. And still, the protagonist is getting the closure he so desperately needs.

In one of the best scenes in the film, the family is decorating their Christmas tree to the sound of Pet Shop Boys' rendition of 'Always on My Mind'.

The lyrics come alive as the mother sings, looking at her son with eyes filled with regrets for love never given and apologies never offered. It's a healing moment for a broken family, and one of the most beautiful movie moments of the year.

While exploring unfinished business with his parents, Adam starts getting close to the only other person living in his near-empty London apartment block, Harry (Paul Mescal), who one day shows up at his door looking for company.

Scott and Mescal's chemistry is beautiful, pouring in every heart-on-hand conversation and every incredibly sensual sex scene they share on screen.

Haigh nails this relationship in the vein of his 2011 movie Weekend. The filmmaker is hardly a stranger when it comes to exploring meaningful, complex connections, as well as the emotional burdens queer people carry.

In All of Us Strangers, he seems to rely on contrasts to dismantle preconceived ideas.

There are tensions between the present and the past, how it used to be and how it is. The cold city turns out to be a place of acceptance among unrelated people, while a home in the suburbs is the one that is full of strangers. The idea of the 'chosen family' is essential for the LGBTQ+ community.

As Harry says in one scene: "I always felt like a stranger in my own family."

All that is connected by public transport, which Haigh focuses on often. The constant movement between contrasts is what creates restlessness in Adam's life — the incessant travelling between the past he can't let go, and the present he can't fully live in.

Through drug-induced nightmarish sequences and Adam's distorted reflections on countless mirrors and windows, All of Us Strangers takes viewers into an emotional storm crafted to perfection.

The movie's performances, visual language, song choices, emotional scope — everything is on point, utterly devastating and still soul-healing.

Since Adam is a writer looking for inspiration, this is also about how stories help us live through memories, keeping people alive when they're no longer here and allowing us to tell them things we'd never had the chance (or the nerve) to in real life.

Stories help us deal with grief, understand it, embrace it, and live with it. This movie deals with all that in the most mystical, heart-rending way.

****.'

#All of Us Strangers #Andrew Haigh #Andrew Scott #Claire Foy #Paul Mescal #Jamie Bell #Pet Shop Boys #Always on My Mind #Weekend

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tiny-katara · 2 years ago

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Let’s be real. I bet that if Aang looked like Zuko, you all would ship Kataang. Just admit that you think Zuko is attractive and not Aang. And Zuko may be your type, but he isn’t Katara’s. She never expressed any attraction towards Zuko, not even a subtle attraction like she did towards Haru. You may not think Aang is attractive but Katara obviously does. She has her own taste.

Uhhnmm????

Excuse you???

No. Even if Aang looked like Zuko I wouldn’t ship it because my problem with their relationship has literally nothing to do with aesthetics and everything to do with the fact that Aang doesn't respect Katara's boundaries.

It also has to do with the fact I personally identify with Katara's passion and have been with a partner who hated conflict/confrontation like Aang, which wasn't a great time for me. It is a deeply personal dislike based on my struggle to make my feelings more palatable and toned down for my male counterpart in the relationship. It was painful and I see that part of myself in Katara, who handles all of the attempts to get her to calm down and do the easy thing with a grace and strength I can only aspire to.

Also it's a bit disgusting to assume some random person's type. It's at the very least rude. You know absolutely nothing about me and the argument that you're insinuating is that I want to "fuck Zuko." Whether that's your intention or not, that is the implication and it's completely disrespectful of the aspec Zutara shippers, which I personally identify with, and any Zutara shipper that is not attracted to men. Please take a solid look in the mirror and think about that.

And you know what, yeah. I don't think Aang is attractive because he is a literal child. No one except maybe other children should be finding him attractive!!! That's weird.

Additionally, Katara literally tells us her type in "The Fortune Teller" if you missed it. She specifically mentions that she hopes her partner will be tall and handsome. Aang is neither of these things in the show, and he shouldn't be because he is a 12-year-old child.

And yeah, Katara doesn't express any interest in Zuko but literally what does that have to do with the conversation? This about Kata*ng and how a lot of the scenes in the show make some women uncomfortable. Zuko does not fit into this equation at all.

I also noticed you mention Haru and not Jet, someone Katara is most definitely interested in. Jet and Zuko look strikingly similar and if Jet is Katara's type, I see no reason why Zuko wouldn't be, although I will admit this is speculation, but it's pretty well founded if you just... look at both of them lol.

Katara is welcome to have her own taste. I have no issue with that, but what I find odd is that the guy she ends up with is one she shows little to no interest in during the show and the ones she explicitly shows interest in look nothing like her canon love interest and are instead tall and handsome. Your argument could carry some weight if she actually ends up with Aang when she's older, but she doesn't.

And also we don't need to see her express any canonical interest in Zuko to ship it. We're here for concepts and the chemistry, although I can see how that can be confusing to someone who's main argument for their ship is that its canon and everyone else should just move on.

Please go enjoy canon on your own. You're more than welcome to, anon. I encourage you to do so and to block any tags that may upset you in the future.

#anti kataang #anti aang #zutara #pro zutara #anti bryke #katara #seriously katara is awesome #she is such an amazing role model #i know i only talked about it a little #but i mean it #she is great #i want to handle the discouragement of my passion the way she does #bc she always sticks up for what she believes in #we could all use a little katara

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firelxdykatara · 4 years ago

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not gonna lie I would love to hear more about the drama and infighting that went on in The Vampire Diaries fandom if you have the time (and also want to use that time to give your experience with the fandom, which from the snippets you've told sounds Not Fun so I get it if you don't want to lol)

oh god, there was like, SO MUCH, i just

i really feel like tvd is one of those fandoms that is so hard to describe without a lot of ‘you’d have to have been there’, but it really felt like this huge and all-consuming beast for about five years until the show finally imploded and the fandom basically turned on it en masse. (you ever see that post going around that’s like ‘if you ever want to know what true regret feels like, ask someone who once called tvd their favorite show’? still a mood, all these years later. basically the entire fandom thought the show should have just bowed out with whatever shreds of dignity it had left at the end of season 6, and became more of a hatedom than a fandom for the last two seasons. when you have an entire fandom cheering news of your show’s cancellation, i think that’s a sign you done fucked up, julie.)

first and most infamous, of course, are the ship wars. which are pretty much inevitable in any teen-centered drama, and i really think the CW fucking thrives on them, but it was particularly egregious in TVD’s case because not only was the base premise of the show a love triangle, but the two main romantic leads were brothers that the show constantly pit against one another--in pursuit of elena’s affections, but also because it kept up this insistence on the ‘good brother/bad brother’ dichotomy which stopped making sense after about season 2 (by which time we have found out that the good brother was never as good as he appeared, and the bad brother has been growing and isn’t nearly as bad as he pretends to be)--and the question of which brother ‘deserved’ elena (and no, what elena wanted very rarely factored into these discussions, especially in the team stefan camp because they turned on her when what she wanted was no longer The Good Brother, but i’ll get to that in a bit) was hotly contested.

i’m not kidding when i say the shipping wars were vicious. i started watching tvd shortly after it began to air, which was late 2009, and kept up with it fairly sporadically over the years. i didn’t come onto tumblr until 2011/2012, and by then, the fandom was already pretty much a garbagefire. there were anti ship and anti character blogs, any time something bad happened for one ship the rival ship would invade the tags to gloat about it (seasons 3 and 4 were especially rough, and i’m not gonna pretend delena fans weren’t just as bad about tag invasion and shit, but as that was my side of the road i saw a lot more of the stelena shippers being assholes, which soured my opinion on the ship a long time before i started rewatching and realized the red flags were there from the start), confessions blogs were popular also toxic as fuck (so much fighting happened in the notes of those posts, good gods), and this was right around when twitter’s popularity was on the rise and the line between Celebrity and Fan was thinning, so the fandom was absolutely atrocious to much of the tvd cast and crew.

(some of them deserved a lot of the later backlash, but in the early years a lot of it was ‘how dare you write the story in a way i dont like, you terrible fucking person’, and gods don’t get me started on the dobsley vs nian Thing)

i think what really encapsulates my feelings on the tvd fandom as a whole, though, is the way they (to this DAY) treated elena gilbert, which can be summed up in one meme that gained a lot of traction around season 3 if i remember right: that gif of pam from true blood, with the text altered to read “i’m so OVER elena and her precious doppelganger vagina!”

i swear at one time i had over half the active tvd fan accounts on tumblr blocked, because i got to a point where i would no longer tolerate elena hate, and she was (and still is, in what remains of the fandom; you’ll see a lot of ‘elena was one of the worst things about the show’ takes from ex-fans, too) one of the most widely despised characters in the entire fandom. because she -checks smudged writing on hand- was a traumatized teenage girl who -reads off a crumpled notecard- couldn’t always perfectly sort out her own feelings and -squints at the ceiling- sometimes made mistakes or bad decisions. (except a lot of the fandom also insisted that she was a mary sue who had no character traits or flaws or faults and it was like....make up your fucking minds???? is she a calculating conniving bitch whose somehow manipulating these centuries old vampires to tie them around her little finger or is she a boring flat character with no depth and no flaws??? jfc)

there was this massive double standard, too--like, stefan and damon could fuck whoever they wanted and that was fine, but elena was constantly raked over the coals for the crime of developing romantic feelings for the two men who had become constants in her life and whom she cared for deeply, and oh my GOD the slut shaming that happened when elena slept with damon was fucking wild. (and also happened in canon lmfao. like the show had one of elena’s best friends basically call her diseased on screen for falling in love with someone other than stefan. it was gross and ridiculous and the friend in question was also being a giant hypocrite at the time since she was happily flirting with someone who was directly responsible for the deaths of like four of elena’s loved ones and her own boyfriend’s mother but that’s beside the point) but like elena was called a slut and a bitch and a whore for ‘cheating’ on stefan (she hadn’t, and she had in fact broken up with him on screen the episode earlier) and ‘immediately’ jumping into bed with damon, even though none of them said fucking boo when stefan had one night stands or damon had fuckbuddies or whatever.

shit, caroline didn’t get any of this treatment when she started falling for tyler while dating matt! which isn’t to say i think she should have, just that i think it’s fucking ridiculous that elena was absolutely demonized by the fandom for daring to have feelings for two guys at once and eventually acting on them--despite the fact that the entire premise of the show was a love triangle. it’s not a love triangle if both sides don’t eventually get explored, and the crew had been pretty explicit about the fact that delena was going to happen at some point--but when it did, a huge chunk of the fandom absolutely threw a fit.

and a lot of these elena haters were alleged stelena stans, and i say alleged because they hated her so much for not wanting stefan’s dick anymore that it was clear they were really stefan stans and only wanted stelena to be endgame because they wanted stefan to ‘win’ at the end of the day, because ‘he’s the good brother’ so he deserved elena more.

it was all very gross and very misogynistic and very sex shaming (apparently delena was a ‘shallow’ and ‘superficial’ relationship because they had sex after two years of unrequited feelings slowly becoming requited and then pining for ages on both sides, and because they had a lot of on screen chemistry that the show capitalized on for years so of course they did a lot of making out and shit but it’s not like stelena didn’t have its fair share of making out and sex scenes, stefan was just too much of a coward to let elena top i’d apologize for that joke but i’m really not sorry because it’s true), and when i say it was egged on by the crew, that’s because they refused to let the love triangle die back in season 4 when it should have.

they insisted on stringing stelena fans along, dropping little bread crumbs to keep them invested, like dreams of a future where they were married and revealing that stefan was also a doppelganger and he and elena were descended from a pair of star-crossed lovers (a plot that ultimately went nowhere, to no one’s great surprise), and then fucking like. julie plec turned around and threw nina under the bus after she chose not to extend her contract and pretended that stelena might have happened again if she hadn’t left the show, which....i mean frankly i wouldn’t put it past her, but it would have been shitty writing. then again, she thought having a vampire pregnancy where a uterus was magically transplanted from a witch into a vampire that could somehow......carry the babies to term.... made sense and was a good way to accomodate candice’s RL pregnancy rather than like literally ANYTHING else, soooooo. but anyway julie saying that around like, end of s6 sparked off a new wave of nina hate and elena hate and ship wars bc they SEers took it as ‘confirmation’ that stelena was REALLY meant to be endgame and it was all just a hot fucking mess

another thing is that, while tvd was in its prime before the anti/purity culture shit started picking up any real steam, there was still this pervasive attitude throughout the fandom that if you liked Damon, you were A Bad Person. liking damon was apparently grounds for insults and harassment, and apparently he was The Worst Person on the Show even though literally nothing he does on screen is any worse than shit we know stefan has done (and frankly every other vampire too, but i mention stefan specifically because he was always held up--in the show but especially in the fandom--as the Good Brother while damon was the Bad One, and if you liked damon more then that had to mean your morals were dodgy and you clearly couldn’t appreciate what a heroic and saintly figure dear stefan was and....oops, i’m sorry, my salt keeps leaking -cough-).

meanwhile klaus quickly became a fandom darling despite not even really having much of a redemption arc (on tvd anyway, he just became more ‘affably evil’ as the show went on and more inclined to work with the main characters rather than try to kill them; i have no idea what went on over on his show, though), and like i can 100% appreciate liking villains and not caring that they do dodgy villainous shit, even just liking them bc they’re hot and wanting them to kiss a main character bc they have insanely good chemistry (yes i ship klaroline, no i won’t apologize for it, they could have been Really Great), it’s just really the double standard that gets me.

and all of this, incidentally, required ignoring some truly gross shit stefan was responsible for wrt his relationship with elena, that frankly it has always bothered me never really got addressed in the show. i get why elena herself would never be able to actually call him on it, but the fact is that he stalked her for months after he first saw her and thought she was katherine (meanwhile it only took damon .5 seconds to realize she was someone else entirely, but that’s another topic entirely), and then he deliberately inserted himself into her life because, in his words, ‘i have to know her’. he never gave a thought to how his presence in her life might affect her (or rather, he did, and tormented himself about it in his internal monologue, but never let this actually dissuade him from disrupting her life), and elena would wind up blaming herself for every tragedy that befell her friends and loved ones as a result of getting mixed up in vampire bullshit even though none of it was her fault--she literally blamed herself for existing but most of the fandom didn’t give a fuck about that lmfao--and stefan did shit like find out that she was adopted and then withhold this information from her until she got pissed about another secret he was keeping (her resemblence to katherine) and drop it on her to try and distract her from her very reasonable anger, and like... i should stop before this becomes a whole rant about how much i hate stefan fucking salvatore, but the point is, he did a lot of really sketchy shit he never answered for and elena never really took him to task for, and the fandom just kept eating up his insistence that he was the Good Brother and therefore he deserved to have elena, and if she didn’t want him anymore it was because she was a heinous bitch who didn’t deserve him.

uh.....i think i got off track there. and there’s probably a lot of shit i missed, like i think i was incandescent with rage for most of seasons 5 and 6 so i missed a lot of the interfandom shit cause i was too busy being increasingly pissed off at the show itself, but if nothing else this should give you an idea of how much of a goddamn cesspit the fandom was while the show as in its prime. there’s a reason both the show and the fandom have such a lousy reputation lmfao.

#the vampire diaries #tvd #tvd fandom salt #anti stefan #anti stelena #salt for ts #asked #Anonymous

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rinharu-purple · 4 years ago

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Hi, nice to meet you!

As a fellow Gavin stan, I found your analysis quite interesting and I'm very happy that someone finally understand the other side of our ginkgo boy... Idk whether you play in CN server or MLQC. I'm just curious, what do you think of Gavin in S2? Because I hear that everything is gonna be different. Also, the latest main story in CN server--do you think the story will be more angst?

Thank youu..

Waiting for more analyzes from you ❤

Dear Anon,

Thank you very much for your kind words and I’m also happy to meet you ^_^

Please excuse my belated answer. I waited specifically for cheri’s translation of the S2 CH11, so that I could give you a worthy answer <3

I play MLQC, because I don’t understand Chinese (yet), so I am following @cheri-translates on a daily basis for the season 2 material. (Thank you cheri, you’re the best! (ɔˆ ³(ˆ⌣ˆc) )

From what we get so far, Gavin shows some differences in his aura and character in S2 due to two main reasons:

1) He didn’t have the extreme teenage drama from S1 (except for his mother’s passing)

2) He and MC were companions during high school, so their relationship has a healthier fundament.

The events of the second season take place in a “parallel universe”, therefore MC’s relationships vary from those in S1. But also the Loveland City they are in is a different one, with different players but also different villains. So things DO change in S2 in general.

What do I think about Gavin in S2?

I - AM - IN - LOOOOOOOVVVEEEE - WITH - HIM!!! <3 <3 <3

Gavin was the main reason I watched the anime and downloaded the game in the first place. He was a very caring, understanding, talented and *ehm extremely good looking guy. He still is btw. This guy has a very big heart and is the most human among all LIs if you ask me. But sometimes I had the feeling in S1, that he wasn’t reaching to his full potential. His love for MC was at times awkward, mainly because he doubted himself a lot and was underestimating himself in many topics with regards to MC. His past with his father and brother was also weighting on him big time. Thus affecting his actions to a great extent. Gavin’s potential was bound by ball and chains and he didn’t seem to be able to free himself from them. And yet, he was a resilient guy, who made peace with his past, always finding the love&faith in his heart and following his own path. Those unnecessary insecurities caused by his experiences were Gav-babe’s downside in S1.

In the second season, we meet a very self confident Gavin who doesn’t get worked up in front of MC easily, let alone shy away from her. On the contrary, Gavin is teasing MC shamelessly and even toys around with her as he lets her hover over the ocean. Would you ever think that S1 Gavin would dare to do that? :D He interrogates her just for the kicks even though he doesn’t suspect her one bit, or asks her if he should detain her, since she looked like she was asking for it (I really recommend you to read the scene in CH11). Gavin is carefree towards MC and this makes him unbelievably attractive. Sure, I was surprised at first as I saw him immobilizing MC after meeting her for the first time after many years and was afraid, that he would be hostile towards her. Thankfully, this wasn’t the case...so far.

In S1, Gavin and MC were already in a harmonious relationship and were moving forward side by side gradually. But they were also having difficulties in terms of protecting each other from harm’s way and hiding their dangerous missions or wounds from each other. Which didn’t go along with a healthy relationship, even though they came a long way by the end of the S1. Plus, their positions weren’t even equal in respect of being a couple since Gavin was quite the simp and was insecure at times about his interactions with the MC. There was a teenage Gavin in him, who was telling him that he wasn’t good enough for her, that he is useless, that he is worthless. Therefore he always had his gloves on, so the speak.

These insecurities are downed to a minimum in S2 and Gavin no longer has the self loathing inner thoughts, so it feels as though, he is the real Gavin. The Gavin who he could be, he should be. Up to this point (S2 CH11). I feel like we are watching a Gavin who’s reached, or is reaching, to his full potential.

In S2, we see him co-operating with MC right from the beginning with little reluctance at first, which is natural since -you know- they are working for the opposing sides. But then we saw in CH11, that they make one hell of a team! In all honesty, Gavin and MC don’t even need to talk to each other to understand what the other thinks. We witnessed many times in S1 when they were thinking/saying/doing the same thing at the same time. But this time, they are aware of the fact that they can see through each other without words. Moreover, they banter with each other by calling one another out. Which is mostly Gavin calling her out btw. This almost flirt-like sweet bantering makes their interaction all the more titillating to me. The chemistry between them is very evident and Papergames makes sure to let us producers know, the attraction is mutual and on equal grounds. Maybe its only my opinion, but I find S2 Gavin way more sexier than the Version 1.0. But its probably because I find self-confidence to be the sexiest trait a person can have.

On a side note, Gavin also doesn’t display jealousy as in S1 and I believe this also has to do with his self confidence. Jealousy is an emotion which arouses from lack of self-confidence and trust. And the level of trust Gavin and MC share in S2 is off the charts, dare I claim.

One might even say, that the tables have turned in S2. MC has her memories from S1 whereas Gavin has started having flashbacks or dreams about their past just recently. Because of that MC already carries her romantic feelings from S1, she is the one with denser emotions in the new chapters and is rather insecure in front of Gavin. Thus making herself vulnerable for his “toying sessions”. Gavin on the other hand is beginning to explore his heart’s desires towards MC only piece by piece. He cares a great deal about her and is drawn to her inevitably, but can’t quite put his finger on it. His body and soul is already reacting to her, but his mind is a little bit slow on this front. But as stated in R&S “Inevitable”, his heart is destined to get drawn to hers.

Whether the story is going to get angstier...Let’s not fool ourselves, Papergames has the word angst in block letters carved in marble in their office. So yeah, I am pretty sure that the story is going to get angstier. But I haven’t seen anything as angsty as in S1 CH13, 14, 15, 18. Those chapters were really hard to read, but let’s wait and see.

Another important point about Gavin’s character in S2 is related to his position. He is now the Commander of the STF and therefore carries a heavier responsibility than in S1. We see in every chapter how strategically he is acting and picking the best option in which nobody gets hurt. He is still a maverick and does things in his own way and yet he is now well aware of the fact that each of his actions are affecting great numbers of people. With his subordinates he shares special bonds all the while keeping them disciplined and whatever he does, he prioritizes everybody’s safety equally (only with MC as an exception). Of course, this was one of his strengths also in S1, but in S2, he can have a bigger impact, since he has more resources to do so. He has become the perfect leader.

Which can be tied to his balanced temper. In S1 there were times, where Gavin wasn’t able to control his Evol and caused mayhem. We haven’t seen any uproar like this in S1 so far. Gavin is in control of his Evol, his emotions and his blushes...hih...well... almost. But he certainly blushes much less in S2.

So to sum it up, yes, Gavin is different in S2, but in all the good ways and I couldn’t find anything that goes in the wrong direction so far. We have a more mature, confident and experienced Gavin in S2 and I can simply say:

AMEN

I hope my answers can help you with your questions and you can always feel free the contact me if you have any questions...be it anonymously or not.

Have a nice weekend dear anon! d=(´▽｀)=b

#mlqc #mlqc gavin #mlqc haku #mlqc bai qi #mlqc baek gi #mr love queen's choice #Mlqc answers #Season 2 Gavin #Season 2

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favoriteliar-archive · 4 years ago

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ur such a hypocrite lol

if this is referring to me liking the idea of julie/reggie idk why that makes me a hypocrite. because i also like the idea of juke in the same way???

my problem with romantic juke is in the physical show. i literally feel sick seeing charlie and madi having to be romantic with each other because of their obvious age gap. all i see is an adult making eyes at a child

thats why i want juke to be platonic. and thats why i want rulie to be platonic. i dont want to see madi have to have romantic chemistry with an adult. it makes me uncomfortable. id rather have julie/nick or julie/flynn be explored because it makes me feel more comfortable since theyre all around the same age

but heres the thing. i absolutely LOVE julie/luke/reggie and julie/luke/reggie/alex (alex and julie being queer platonic ofc). but thats because i can explore it in fic dynamic because lets be real, theres no way any polyam relationship would happen in the show. it makes me feel more comfortable to consume the ships in fics/art because they arent necessarily the actors in that way. with the show, all i see are the actors

to me, madi and charlie's real life relationship carries over into the way they act. and since they have both said that theyre like brother and sister, thats they way their on screen chemistry reads to me. same with jer and madi. juke and rulie in the show have such amazing chemistry, but it reads like a sibling dynamic to me

charlie and madi's strongest scenes together are the ones where they arent necessarily romantic (i say necessarily because people make them romantic anyway lmao). their scene together in the kitchen in ep 2? thats so amazing!! or when they perform in bright or the whole ep of 3?? i live for it! the way she teases him in the hallway is hilarious too. or after the orpheum! their hug makes me so happy!!

the thing is, if the show suddenly for some reason switched to romantic rulie, id have the exact same problem that i do with physical romantic juke. my problem isnt with the dynamic, its the fact that madison is a minor and the boys are not. they are adults. and its extremely uncomfortable for me to have to see a minor and adult be in a romantic relationship, even if in the show, the boys are technically only a year or two older than julie

also guess what? people are allowed to like/dislike ships for any reason. literally no one owes you an explanation for why they might not like a ship. i could dislike juke just because i dont vibe with them. some people dont like peterpatter because they dont see chemistry, and thats valid. im not going to yell at them just because they dont like the same ship i like. its so easy to just avoid people who dont share the same opinion as you if you care that much. block people, blacklist content/tags, exclude things from your searches. so block me if you think im a hypocrite

#i feel like ive said this stuff before but whatever. here it is again ig #julie and the phantoms #anti juke #??#ask #anonymous #star talks

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shellbilee · 5 years ago

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What about Henry and famous gf do an interview together and he accidentally spills something embarrassing from their sex lives? Humor me! 😂😂💓

–

I love this H/C! Thank you for requesting! Hope it’s along the lines of what you wanted. This is my first ever head canon and I realise it’s really long but sue me. Requests for Henry Cavill or Chris Evans head canon’s open!

You and Henry had been dating for several months, having met during the initial casting call for the Witcher last year. You were an up and coming actress who’d thus far only had small roles here and there in TV shows and netflix movies. You’d been over the moon when you’d received the call to play the part of Ana, a powerful mage and Yennifer’s sister in the second season of the Witcher.

You’d arrived at your first table read for the new season and Henry had clocked you as soon as you’d walked in, remembering you from your audition a few months back. He’d been almost completely enamoured by you when he’d watched you audition, in awe of both how gorgeous he thought you were as well as how captivating you’d been with your scene. He’d known instantly that he wanted you to play Ana, feeling an instant chemistry when you’d acted out a scene together for the producers.

You’d beamed when he’d approached you, delighted that he’d even remembered you, unable to help your smile when he’d taken a seat beside you and proceeded to talk, laugh and joke with you through the table read.

A month of script practice, late night dinners on set and shameless flirting, Henry had asked you to dinner for a real date. It had been everything you’d imagined and more, Henry as always the perfect gentleman, ending the night with a goodnight kiss that had made your heart flutter and your insides turn to melted chocolate. The rest they say, is history.

That’s how you’d found yourself sitting beside Henry in a press interview, following the hugely successful release of the Witcher season 2. You grinned stupidly as you waited for the interview to start, glancing over at Henry and smiling affectionately when he’d squeezed your knee reassuringly.

“So Henry, Y/N, it’s great to see you both! How are you feeling about it all? Henry, you’ve obviously now been on two seasons of the show with Geralt, and Y/N you’ve just joined as the ever mysterious Ana!”.

Henry nodded and flashed his effortlessly handsome smile that made your stomach flip, going on to talk about how much he’d enjoyed playing Geralt and working with the rest of the cast and crew. It was more than evident as he spoke just how passionate he was about the show, and just how much he was actually enjoying playing the role. “Yeah the hours can be brutal, and the initial getting into shape even more so, but when you hear the final ‘CUT’ or even see the finished product on screen, it all just becomes so worth it!”.

“And Y/N what about you? This is the first major project that you’ve worked on. How has your experience been with it all?”.

You grinned and nodded. “It’s been incredible honestly. And every one has been so supportive. My first day I was so overwhelmed, there seemed to be a million and one things going on at once and it was very easy to lose your head. Henry especially was great though, he helped me get settled with everything. Talking to a 'seasoned veteran’ like him is certainly helpful”

You flashed him a playful smile and felt your heart swell when you saw him looking at you with that same expression, completely enamoured and in awe just like he had that first day at the audition.

The interviewer nodded, looking down at her list of questions before looking back up at the two of you. She went on to ask Henry a few more questions before turning to you. “So, there are quite a few nude scenes in the show. Henry you are as Y/N said, a 'seasoned veteran’ by now with those, but Y/N how did you feel? Have you ever done anything like this before?”

Henry laughed and you let out a nervous chuckle, glancing over at him with an amused expression. “Yeah…about those” you said as you turned back to the interviewer, “At the time I remember being ridiculously freaked out. I’d never actually done any nude scenes or any love scenes so I felt like a wide-eyed innocent on set compared to everyone else” you explained with a laugh. “I was incredibly nervous and I remembered feeling like all of a sudden it was like every single insecurity I’d ever had about my body was popping up at once”.

“Even though she has absolutely no reason at all to be insecure. I mean look at her” Henry added quickly, causing the interviewer to let out a quick 'aww’ as you’d felt your cheeks flush.

You shook your head dismissively and laughed. “Even so, even though I’d done months of training and clean eating prior to starting shooting - which might I add, was basically torture, even though I feel like I’m currently in the best shape I’ve ever been in, it was yeah, still super daunting for me”.

“You and Henry have several love scenes together in the show. Did you find it got easier to film them as you went on?”

You tilted your head as you considered her question, glancing over at Henry as he too thought about an answer. “Well, I initially and perhaps naively assumed they’d film all of those scenes together to just save time. But it wasn’t like that at all, they spread them out quite a bit actually, giving us time to recover I guess. They give you notice too actually, so you’ve time to prepare. We’d end a day of shooting and they’d be like, just so you know, we’re doing one of those scenes tomorrow.” you answered with a laugh.

“Was there anything you did to make it easier for yourself?”

You laughed out loud this time, shaking your head. “Well look, the first one I felt like I needed to have a few shots of tequila or something just to calm my nerves. And you know, like you’re acting that you’re having sex and it’s as far from the real thing as it can be. You’re supposed to feel completely relaxed, in the throes of passion type thing. In reality, you’ve got thirty people watching you, yelling out 'move this arm here’, 'louder’, 'squeeze his bicep’ that type of thing, so you feel the furthest thing from relaxed”.

The interviewer laughed and turned to Henry. “What about you Henry? Anything you do?”.

Henry chuckled, “Look not really. I can’t say there’s anything specific that I do. Like Y/N said, it’s hard to completely relax when you’ve got thirty pairs of eyes on you and people yelling out telling you what to do and you’re trying to convey this sense of erotic intimacy. I just try and block out everything around me and focus on the person I’m with. Try and make it as natural and comfortable for them as possible - especially when they’ve not done it before” Henry added, gesturing to you with a soft smile.

The interviewer nodded. “You and Y/N are dating though. Did you find this made it easier for you?”

You and Henry both laughed out loud at this one and you felt your face flame with embarrassment. Henry glanced at you and looked back at the interviewer. “Well for me, it was yes and no, but definitely yes more than no. It’s much easier to act something when you’re actually, feeling it, you know? But obviously, you also need to remember that you can’t get too carried away since it’s not just you two in the room. But yes, I’d say that it definitely made things easier. For me anyway”.

You felt your cheeks heat as you listened to Henry, instantly remembering the time that you’d actually had an orgasm on set.It was during your second or third love scene with Henry and you’d only just started having sex with him in your relationship. You’d been so ridiculously turned on from having his skin on yours, his thick muscles holding you as he’d ground his hips against you, it had just happened. The directors had praised you for doing such a good job and when you’d watched the play back you’d been silently mortified. Henry had picked up that it had been real almost instantly, teasing you mercilessly about it ever since.

“What about you Y/N? Is that the same for you?”.

“Uh well yes and no. I was new to the whole thing so having some one I was…for lack of a better word, familiar with, certainly made it easier to a certain degree. But yeah as Henry said, there is also that flip side”.

“We had plenty of….practice runs, both in and out of costume” Henry suddenly interjected, yelping when you elbowed him in the ribs almost instantly.

“Henry!” you squeaked in morbid embarrassment, burying your face in your hands as both he and the interviewer laughed. This was going to be watched by millions of people everywhere. You wanted to die of embarrassment.

“What?” Henry asked innocently, putting his hands up in a surrender gesture as he looked at you and grinned, “It was your idea to bring the wig home from set remember. And the leather pants”.

“Oh my god” you gasped, Henry’s eyes widening as he’d realised what he’d just said, the interviewer chuckling out loud.

“Can I go now? Before the floor swallows me up and I die of shame and embarrassment?” you asked, looking around dramatically and shaking your head at your boyfriend.

Henry only grinned sheepishly, shrugging his shoulders as he listened to you back pedal, trying to explain that it was to try and 'get comfortable with the scenes’.

You paused abruptly half way through a sentence, only shaking your head. “You know what, I’m just going to stop talking. Can we PLEASE change the subject?” you pleaded looking at the interviewer as she laughed and nodded, looking down at her questions.

You glanced at Henry and narrowed your eyes, giving him a look that said 'I’m going to kill you after this". He only grinned back at you with a chesire-cat grin, wiggling his eyes brows and leaning towards you so that his lips were at your ear.

“Oh baby I can’t wait”

—

REQUESTS OPEN FOR H/C’s - Henry Cavill or Chris Evans

Let me know if you’d like to be tagged!

#Henry Cavill #henry cavill headcan #henry cavill edit #henry cavill x you #henry cavill fic #henry cavill fluff #henry cavill smut #henry cavill imagine

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aion-rsa · 4 years ago

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The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12 Review: Diary Queen

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This The Simpsons review contains spoilers.

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12

The Simpsons Season 32, episode 12, “Diary Queen,” may be the sweetest offering of the series. It’s not only sentimental and self-esteem-positive, it’s downright edumacational. At least for Bart, who certainly learns a lesson. Thankfully, as the episode explains by example, he probably won’t retain it.

“What’s the matter, Bart? I figure you’d be used to failing by now,” Edna Krabappel once consoled the spiky haired kid who seemed so determined to get through school without schooling. Marcia Wallace, who played the Springfield Elementary teacher, died unexpectedly in October 2013. Edna’s death was first acknowledged in “Four Regrettings and a Funeral,” from season 25, when Bart wrote “We’ll really miss you Mrs. K” on the chalkboard. He only wrote it once. Her death was punishment enough. Both the character and the voice actor were instrumental in the chemistry of The Simpsons, and chemistry happens to be one of the few things Bart’s ever excelled at in school, even pranking a talent show in the “Haw-Haw Land” episode. But he gets his beakers crossed in the latest installment.

“Diary Queen” opens with an inspired West Side Story song parody, “Too Nice” replacing “Tonight.” It’s time for Ned Flanders’s annual yard sale, and he’s on a holy mission to undersell eBay. Comic Book Guy is looking for a broom to play Quidditch on, Waylen Smithers is going to score some kitsch, and Ned will finally toss those fuzzy dice Maude bought him to the bottom of an impulse item box of jokes he did not get. The Flanders family are parting with their humble possession in a public bid for humility, in case no one notices. Ned gives up Rod’s teeth. Todd consigns his toys to the auction block on the grass. “Playing is a sin that we regret,” one of the Flanders kids explains.

Ned’s bizarre outdoor bazaar is the only segment which has any meanness in it. The Springfieldians want to take advantage of Ned, and openly mock him. Carl and Lenny turn the yard sale into a yarn brawl, and Jimbo’s gang buys commemorative plates just to smash them. It’s enough to send Ned looking for the fans he always carries around in case of stress-induced hot flashes. As Patty and Selma are flicking ashes into Rod and Tod’s baby shoes, it seems Nelson, Bart, and Millhouse are the only ones worthy to buy Ned’s treasured mementos. And, of those, only Nelson’s purchase is authentic. He buys all the bad words, like “adultery” and “fornication,” which Ned cut out of his old religious texts. Nelson has a genuine use for them, you can just tell.

Bart and Millhouse buy the books. Even without the offending admonishments, they swear they’ll still find useful ways to better themselves. Their haul winds up being the fiery centerpiece for a supercool skateboarding feat which no one will ever see. It’s an old joke, but we do get to notice how big Millhouse’s nose looks when he’s picking it. One book, which gives the title to the episode, is spared the conflagration of Bart’s daredevil jump: Edna Krabappel’s diary. Bart recognizes the Ds and Fs, and Millhouse recognizes the smell of Parliament Lights 100s. It’s very telling how these are the most recognizable clues. They are each ready-made character punchlines.

The diary is a font of information. Bart and Millhouse learn all the teachers work night jobs during school hours, and the many lonely secrets of Groundskeeper Willie. But their first use of it is inspired gaggery. Bart learns Superintendent Chalmers keeps his car keys behind the visor. The two kids not only steal the car but take advantage of a free yogurt offer at a car wash. The idea that taking the yogurt and ditching the car is a “perfect crime” is great kids’ logic. It is a little odd, however, that Springfield’s Chief Wiggum sees fourth grade car thieves as inspiration for a little personal time with Officer Lou, but it works within Simpsons logic.

The central point of the episode is Bart’s relationship with his dead teacher, and his relationship with himself. He actually believes someone he thought only saw him as troublesome also considered him “smart as a whip.” It leads him to believe he actually has potential, which he translates to: all the time he was showing his butt he was showing promise. This spurs him into thinking about getting seriously educated. Not only does he try but he succeeds on his first dry run, resisting the urge to draw a skeleton head on a multiple-choice test grid, and getting an A. Not only does he finally understand how his sister Lisa doesn’t suck, but he puts himself on the same level.

Lisa goes through all the stages of jealousy, and even realizes she’s on the verge of obsession when even her imaginary comfort pony begins to look like Bart. This makes it worse, because realizing he is the only thing she can think about only makes her dwell on it. Lisa is usually the family genius, and how she reacts to Bart doing well really depends on the circumstance and need for story conflict. For instance, when Bart had to apply geometry to miniature golf in an early episode, Lisa brought a Zenlike understanding of all things which putt. Lisa does Bart a disservice tonight in the guise of doing the right thing. It’s her MO.

Of course, Marge and Lisa don’t trust Bart’s recent good grades, but while he comes up clean to Marge, Lisa digs up the dirt. Bart correlates “cruel” with “lying” because “they’re both great.” He thinks he’s going to win a Spelling Bee just because he has the potential to do it. Would it have been less cruel for Lisa to let him see how far his belief would get him? She’s set him up for worse humiliations just for an edge at science fairs.

Millhouse gets a few good gags tonight. When Lisa starts developing a rash because of the stress of not crushing her brother’s potential, he pulls cream out of his fanny pack labeled “rash stash.” Groundskeeper Willie is a highlight of the episode. His character has one of the most interesting takes on passive aggressive behavior in comedy. It’s not that he gets it backwards, so much as he pays it forward: Terrorizing Bart with the idea of simmering a new pet into rabbit stew when all he’s thinking of is how much bunnies love stewed carrots.

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 11 Review: The Dad Feelings-Limited

By Tony Sokol

The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 10 Review: A Springfield Summer Christmas for Christmas

By Tony Sokol

Subtle social commentary makes its way into the episode. As this is the first episode since the Trump presidency, it opens with a Bald Eagle flying a sign asking “Is it safe yet?” We learn Ned doesn’t find Bill Maher funny. A priest tells Bart and Millhouse reading someone else’s diary in church is not the worst thing you can do within the hallowed walls. Moments later we see the priest handcuffed and escorted past the pews by the police. We can only wonder what offenses are happening at Reverend Lovejoy’s competition.

Fat Tony (Tony Montagna) tells his henchmen his crime family doesn’t kill children, “We wait till they’re 18.” Lisa is kept up at night by the cold dead eyes of Mike Pence. Subtle subversive commentary can be found when Principal Skinner declares the drug-free portion of the school assembly a success because Lisa, the only one in the auditorium, tells him she doesn’t do drugs. But the scene comes shortly after we learn Dr. Hibbert is pushing kiddie-Xanax “sleepies” and “dopies” on her. The best bad side effects are “Portuguese insolence” and the “tendency to see yourself as others see you.”

The episode has quite a few sight gags which work well. The sign outside the Spelling Bee contest reads H-E-A-R, and we see one of the losing contestants ripping up a dictionary on the way to the exit. When Ned starts to preachify in the treehouse, he only stops because Bart is drawing back a trigger finger on his slingshot. Mrs. Krabappel’s beloved cat not only was not harmed during the making of the episode, but was a willing participant, according to the closing disclaimer. One of the stills in the photo montage is of Krabappel watching The Bob Newhart Show, which Marcia Wallace was a regular on.

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For the majority of The Simpsons’ run, Mrs. Krabappel was a sexually independent woman who was often “looking for a substitute to teach me a lesson I sorely need.” She began dating widower Ned in “The Ned-Liest Catch” from season 22. They married in secret and stayed together until her death in “The Man Who Grew Too Much.” The cause of Edna’s death has never been revealed, except in a non-canon, future-set episode. For this installment, Wallace’s two lines are taken from earlier episodes. “Diary Queen” will be her last appearance.

This is a different kind of arc for The Simpsons. “Diary Queen” is on an uplifting trajectory until Lisa knocks it off course, and ends in a sudden life-affirming crash. Bart’s final warning to Marge, “I’ll go over the edge if you try to make me feel better,” is wonderfully skewered, but the final twist is a dose of treacle. The episode was originally slated to premiere on Valentine’s Day, and is a sweet sendoff.

The post The Simpsons Season 32 Episode 12 Review: Diary Queen appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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fromsolowithlove · 5 years ago

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Like a Sucker Punch - Chapter 1

Here it is folks, a real person fiction for Adam/Daisy. Writing it was harder than I thought? Could it be my Catholic guilt from childhood brewing? Ehh, either way, it’s still here. ;) We’ll see if the spirit moves me to continue it on AO3 and make it a real thing.

Summary: Daisy gets in her head and tries to ignore unresolved feelings for Adam during the filming of TROS.

Rating: PG? G even? This one is is all angst. Zero smut. Again, the whole Catholic guilt thing. For now at least. 😈

Disclaimer: Sigrid is a musical angel and any/all Star Wars references belong wholly to Disney/Lucasfilms. Also, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, and their partners are just gems of humans who would probably vomit reading this. I’m going to the fiery depths for this but I can’t help but think about how palpable their chemistry is! Let’s hope that writing this out gets it off my chest. Likely not, but pretending is what I do best anyways. :)

Let me know your thoughts. Love it, hate it, either way - I’m glad you’re reading it.

Chapter 1: Strangers

“How about a twenty, folks?” JJ calls for a break after deciding something wasn’t quite right about the scene Daisy and Adam were filming. Rey and Kylo’s kiss should carry the weight of three movies worth of waiting and all involved knew it couldn’t be half-assed.

“Let’s make it a tight twenty,” Adam clarifies.

Daisy sits up first, letting her chest fall over her legs, taking a deep breath as she feels the fatigue of the past week settle into her bones.

Adam reaches out for her hand and she accepts the help as he pulls her up to a standing position.

“I wish JJ would give us a little more in terms of what he wants,” he mutters.

Daisy pulls her mouth into a tight smile and replies, “Well you know what he said. He wants us to decide how the moment should go. Says we know best about how our characters would have felt finally getting to this point.”

“And yet he’s obviously not happy with whatever we’re giving him.” Adam’s voice raises but he relaxes his shoulders and tries to shake it off. “Sorry Dais, you know I’m not frustrated with you.” He offers her a small smile in repentance, his mouth barely angling up but his eyes filling with warmth.

Daisy playfully slaps his chest with her open hand. “Uh-huh. SURE.” She turns to walk away, smiling to herself as she hears him let out a low chuckle.

She walks off to the side, picks up her water bottle and raises it to her lips, absently letting it fill her up as she stares at Adam across the way. She can’t believe the warmth that’s developing in her stomach again. Her cheeks are following closely behind as the familiar flush returns and she wants to slap herself.

Leading up to this point, Daisy had thought herself finally over him. Had she and Adam shared close, intimate moments during their prior years filming together? Of course. Skellig Michael was an especially treasured moment. After all, there had been such a small group of cast and crew present that she was able to pretend this wasn’t some crazy heavy-budget movie that was resting on her shoulders. “Don't go through the crew like wildfire!” Carrie had warned. And she hadn’t. Adam wasn’t the crew. He was her co-star. And did she know in her logical mind about the infamous co-star syndrome? Of course, she did. She quickly reminded herself of the time she had started feeling a deep fondness and attraction to her costar back in Romeo and Juliet at Tring Park. Just as her lines and blocking points had faded from memory with time, so had her attraction.

This thing with Adam, however, had not. And it angered her. Confused her. Made her unsure of whether she could trust herself. Made her question if she had it in her to continue a career as an actress. Would she fall for every costar she ever had? Jeez, wouldn't that be embarrassing? No one would want to hire a walking lawsuit waiting to happen. A little voice deep inside always told her that she was a fraud, undeserving of being in the presence of the great actors that she called friends and coworkers.

“You know... I’ve got this friend who’s working on casting ‘Into the Woods’. I could throw your name her way. I see you as the perfect Milky White.”

Suddenly Daisy is snapped back to reality by a teasing voice to her right. She raises her eyebrows and side-eyes the man who had just been occupying her thoughts.

“What?”

“You know. Because you just finished that water bottle in one swig and cows really love water,” Adam begins to explain.

“I thought that was camels?”

“Nope. Cows.” He pauses for a brief moment before adding in, “Yeah, definitely cows.”

“You’re an odd one, bestie,” she teases.

“And yet, you’re still here.”

As if I had a choice. Trust me, I’ve been trying to put up my distance, she thinks.

Before she has a chance to respond with another snarky response, JJ calls an end to their break and Daisy takes a deep breath.

“Shall we resume the most frustrating scene ever, then?” she asks Adam.

Adam shuffles his feet, eyes gazing out to the side, refusing to meet hers. “Very true. I honestly didn’t think it would be this hard.”

“Ehhh, it’s all me. You’re perfect as always, Adam.” She blushes and runs off, chiding herself for acting like a stupid school girl.

Despite her embarrassment, the break must have helped because only a few more takes later, Daisy finds herself in the most comfortable staring contest with Adam in a moment that she wishes she could freeze forever.

Except that she shouldn’t be thinking of Adam. She should be thinking of Ben.

At the realization that she was letting her personal feelings bleed into her acting, Daisy wrinkles her nose in frustration and shouts, “DAMN IT. I’m so sorry everyone! This next one is it, I swear.”

Adam reaches over and places his hand over hers. He gives her a small smile and she quietly curses her heart whose increasing pace threatens to give her secret away. “It’s okay. I feel it too. We’re almost there.”

Both of them were right, and after JJ declares the last take as “THE ONE”, the room erupts with whooping and hollering. Everyone begins circulating with hugs, thank-yous, and high fives. Daisy second-guesses going over to Adam, but knows it would be even more telling to avoid him after such a successful shoot.

When she reaches him, she does her best to give him a small hug. Adam, however, reaches his arms around her shoulders and pulls her in tighter.

“Well, it’s been great,” she starts. “Thank you so much. It’s truly been an honor to work with you, Adam.” Her eyes start to well, knowing things between them will never be the same again. Hell, they haven’t been this whole time.

“Hey, look, I’m sorry.” Adam’s words are barely above a whisper.

“For what?”

“You know. For everything. For making things weird between us. I, I never should have -”

“Never should have what?” she challenges. Should have let me fall in love with you? Treated me like I was yours? Let me believe we could ever be more than this great act of pretend? Those last thoughts rattle at the gate of her mouth, but remain hers to keep.

He glances down, unable to handle her gaze that begs him for words he can’t say out loud.

“I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about Adam. It’s been nothing but the best professional experience.”

He winces, and for a moment, Daisy almost feels guilty. But the anger and pain return swiftly, and she feels all too happy to have made him feel what she imagines to be only a small fraction of her own torment.

“To our amazing leads!” someone toasts a few feet over. “I’ve worked on a lot of movies, and it’s rare we get two incredible actors who made me believe I was watching a true relationship unfold, not just two really well-acted characters. To Daisy and Adam! To making us believe in the unreal.”

Everyone cheers in agreement around them and Daisy feels her heart rise up to her throat.

Exactly Dais. The unreal.

Suddenly, it’s all too much to handle and Daisy can’t stand to be around anyone anymore. She gives them all a quick glance, mutters thanks and runs off, tears threatening to give her away. Once she returns to her dressing room, she turns her speakers back on and starts laughing through runny tears at the irony of Sigrid’s lyrics that fill the space.

When the curtain drops

Our touch is just a touch

Not like in the movies

Our story's after the end

Like strangers

Perfect pretenders

We're falling head over heels

For something that ain't real

It could never be us, eh

Just you and I

Thanks for reading! Link to listen to “Strangers” by Sigrid here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fm7mll2qvg

#adaisy #adamsy #reylo #daisy ridley #adam driver #daiver #adam x daisy #fanfic #realpersonfic #rpf #adam driver x daisy ridley #star wars #sw

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palomvs · 5 years ago

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insert a GOOD tik tok reference here ! hey , i’m izzy ( my middle name , my actual first name is lola , but i thought having my character’s nickname and my name be the same might be confusing , but you can call me either ! ) , i use she / her pronouns , i live in the est timezone and i haven’t left my home in a solid FIFTY-THREE days ! i’m so , so , so excited for this group and to finally give netflix even more real estate in my brain — they really do own this ass !

( ester expósito , cisfemale , she / her , muse b ) — oh my god, i totally just saw PALOMA VIDAL walking through greenwich village ! you know, she plays VALENTINA ROMERO on that new netflix show, the village ? i can’t believe they’re already famous at TWENTY. i’ve watched all of their interviews, and they totally come off as BRAZEN and STOIC, but they can also be DEBONAIR and CONSCIENTIOUS. based on their social media, i’d describe LOLA like ( script pages covered in notes , silver rings , iced matcha on a warm day , coconut-scented sunblock ) — totally makes sense that people call them THE PRODIGY.

𝐢. 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬

full name : paloma isabella vidal. nicknames : lola , loma & palo. age : twenty. birthday : september 15 , 1999. sun sign : virgo. gender : cisfemale. pronouns : she / her / hers. romantic orientation : heteroromantic. sexual orientation : heterosexual. relationship status : tbd ! passports : spanish & american. languages spoken : spanish , english & a few words of french. label : the prodigy. pinterest board : click here !

faceclaim : ester expósito. height : 5'5". eye color : hazel. hair color : blonde. dominant hand : left. tattoos : a moon on her left shoulder blade , which she got in memory of the long nights she spent on the beach in california ( malibu nights by lany , anyone ? )

positive traits : debonair , conscientious. negative traits : brazen , stoic. enneagram type : type seven , the enthusiast. hogwarts house : gryffindor.

𝐢𝐢. 𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲

paloma was born to cristian and alina vidal ( respectively a producer for film and television , and a retired actress turned director ) in los angeles in september 1999 , and grew up in the GLITZ of hollywood from a young age. though many would think a life of premieres , backstage passes and paparazzi would go straight to a little girl’s head , paloma’s parents both made sure her life was kept as normal as possible. she was raised in l.a. , and spent most of her time either in school , or by the water.

despite her parents’ backgrounds and careers , it was never really written in the stars for paloma to follow in their footsteps. growing up , she was a particularly active and outdoorsy child , with a penchant for sailing , surfing ( see her HEADCANONS below for more on her surfing ! ) and photography. guidance counselors thought she might choose to become a pro athlete of some kind , or perhaps some kind of sports journalist or photo-reporter.

throughout high school , she felt a certain lack of direction , feeling torn between her childhood interests and the pull of hollywood , and what she’d seen her parents do their whole lives. in her junior year of high school , the opportunity to audition for the role of audrey in her school’s rendition of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS came up. landing the role , and the subsequent weeks of rehearsals and performances , cemented the idea of a career in the arts for paloma.

she eventually made a move towards the industry by attending the savannah college of art and design ( scad ) , as a performing arts major. the opportunity to audition for the role of VALENTINA , in netflix’s upcoming show the village was brought up by one of her professors ( along with her parents’ connections ) , who urged her to travel to new york. within a few weeks , filled with travel and a flurry of online assignments , paloma landed the role and decided to move to new york full-time to be present for the filming of the show.

though she’s always been known as quite a workaholic , taking on the role of valentina has amplified it greatly. she’s usually the first in and last out on set ( actor-wise , at least ) and is known to prioritize making sure she knows her lines and blocking over beauty sleep. at present , this hasn’t devolved into anything too SERIOUS , but definitely could in the future ( will it be a slippery slope to a caffeine addiction and perhaps something more , or will she correct course in time ? stay tuned to find out ! )

𝐢𝐢𝐢. 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐚

VALENTINA ROMERO , known as val to friends , is the village’s resident pretty girl ( with a brain ). she’s what would result if serena van der woodsen , cher horowitz , cordelia chase , elle woods and summer roberts were put into a blender. from a prominent political family , she was raised between party fundraisers , easter egg hunts on the white house lawn , campaign trails and society gatherings.

much like SERENA , her life has happened under the warm glow of the spotlight , and things always seem to have come easy to her. she’s a little more tame than serena though , and rarely ends up on page six ( when she does end up in the pages of magazines , it’s usually for something a little more decent ).

much like CHER , she’s known for her fashion , and is the darling of amateur photographers in greenwich village. she’s not really the type to bring anyone down for their taste , but rather one to remark when someone wears something she’s into.

much like CORDELIA , she’s not one to bite her tongue when something’s on her mind. she’s got a sharp wit , and adores honesty over everything else. again , she’s not known to bring people down for sport , but will rebut anything that comes her way if it’s meant to be damaging to her , her family or her friends.

much like ELLE and SUMMER , she’s a lot smarter than she looks. she doesn’t always try as hard as muse a , but often ends up with good grades anyway. she’s often underestimated by group project members or fellow students , who see her as the stereotypical DUMB BLONDE. proving them wrong is her favorite sport.

𝐢𝐯. 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

she took up surfing at a young age , and made it her primarily source of exercise growing up. for a while , many thought she’d either go pro , or end up photographing surfers professionally. since moving to new york , she’s had to CHANGE workout regimes , but that hasn’t stopped her from decorating her apartment with surf memorabilia.

she loves experimenting with fashion , and is known for her BOLD red carpet looks. from bright colors to unusual materials , nothing is off limits ( as long as it’s ethical ! ) she chose her stylist specifically because both saw eye to eye when it came to taking a risk , rather than playing it safe.

her favorite scents are coconut sunblock and surf wax , which she found is CANDLE form and is always burning in her apartment when she’s running through lines , practicing her blocking , or hanging out with castmates / friends. it’s also one of her favorite ‘ first day of shooting ’ gifts for the cast and crew around her.

dried mango is her ABSOLUTE favorite snack , and she’s always carrying some around on-set. her mother used to give her that and frozen grapes growing up instead of candy ( since she has such a sweet tooth ) , and she’s been hooked ever since.

she’s not one to name-drop her parents’ connections and friends in the industry , but the one connection she’ll proudly let people know about ( when they ask ) is that , yes , hugh jackman is her godfather. he and her father met when the latter produced x-men in 2000 and have been INSEPARABLE ever since. if paloma’s ever able to fake a believable aussie accent , it’s thanks to hugh.

her script pages are usually covered in notes , made in pencil , highlighter , markers , or whatever else she can get her hands on. over the past few months , and during her time at scad , she found that jotting down her IMMEDIATE thoughts on a scene , her lines and / or her blocking always help her remember things better. she keeps all of her notes and script pages in binders back at her apartment , so she can always look back on her character arc and make sure she stays true to who valentina is.

𝐯. 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

give me the WILL THEY , WON’T THEY ? , where the paparazzi and magazine editors are all convinced there’s a relationship bubbling below the surface. and who wouldn’t ? paloma and your muse have incredible on-set chemistry , are always seen hanging out outside of work hours , and are expertly paired by their publicists during press rounds. that said , when removed from the flashes of the paparazzi , nothing seems to have transpired ( yet ).

give me a RYAN REYNOLDS TO MY JAKE GYLLENHAAL ( see this video ) , where our muses cannot be paired together for interviews anymore , after cracking jokes every five seconds instead of promoting the village. they’re fused at the hip on-set , and are usually the ones to go live on instagram during filming breaks , to the delight of fans.

give me an EX , because working with someone you used to date ( or just sleep with ! ) creates so many great possibilities. was it awkward for them to see each other’s names in the press when casting for the village was revealed ? or did one ( or both ) of them see it as an opportunity to build a friendship ? are they jealous on-set , or can they keep it together ?

give me CHILDHOOD FRIENDS , with bonus points if the friendship exists because of their families’ ties to the film & tv industry. if people dig deep enough through google images , there’s bound to be a picture of them together as children on some red carpet. perhaps the years of knowing each other have turned them into best friends , or maybe they now can’t stand the sight of each other. after all , hollywood can get competitive and ugly.

give me the BROTHER SHE’S NEVER HAD , who teases her mercilessly , but will always protect her from the paparazzi. they’re protective of one another and are each other’s rock in the new world that is sudden overnight fame.

give me the PLATONIC LIFE PARTNER , whom paloma loves more than her own self. they have the login information to all her devices , they text people back in her stead , they sleep in the same bed , they readjust each other’s clothing on red carpets. one is rarely seen without the other , and the village’s fans revel in the two’s friendship.

i also have a full WANTED CONNECTIONS tag right here , if you want to peruse and find something that suits you , your muse and your own wc !

#( paloma vidal ) / * out of character .#villagetvintro

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artigas · 5 years ago

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(1) Hi! Its the anon that asked about lizzie and tatiana, I’m currently halfway through s5 and i really like jessie! I thought she was gonna be the one to finally resist tommys advances. I liked the scene where he goes to her apartment and they have a good back and forth. But alas she cant resist and sleeps w him, and he’s essentially just using her. I love her as a character and how she manifests her ideals into actions but, so far i thought she’d call out tommys shit by now!

And specially i cant help but resent how they set up the women to compete against one another, i rolled my eyes at the scene where they are exiting the polls and jesse and lizzie size each other up. Girls, please move on. I did like in season 5 where tommy is drunk meeting w jessie and she just gets up and leaves. I think the show has good female characters it just that they prioritize the male ones more. Unlike the women, the male characters dont revolve around a relationship. and finally, And idk if im just overthinking things but i think the show has upped its sexist comments? specially w tommy and arthur. W tommy telling lizzie shes his property and arthur telling linda to just be a good wife. Meanwhile polly and ada are really well written characters for the most part! Sorry this is so long i just have a lot of thoughts regarding the women of this show. And i love your analisis!

Nope! Don’t apologize, friend, I’ve absolutely adored reading all your feedback and your experience watching the show! I think Peaky Blinders, for all its good, has a lot of space to grow when it comes to women characters who are potentially romantically/sexually available to the protagonists- it does sometimes feel like the quality of writing and the depth of character for women characters waxes and wanes, but I also think that a lot of these characters- Lizzie, Grace, Polly, Esme, etc- have these great foundations, these building blocks of characterization that make them really compelling and really promising so long as they have free reign to be written as complexly and as thoughtfully as their male counterparts. I think Grace is a really stellar example, you know? Love her or hate her, she has a history, a back-story, individual motivations, and a social/political ideology that can actually really be broken down in some pretty interesting ways! Polly, too, is another character who is probably most obviously allowed to be pointedly ambitious, sexual, manipulative and outright cruel and still someone the show clearly roots for and sides with. I love what we get with Polly, especially considering how most shows would probably limit her to being maternal, chaste, and uninvolved in the family business (likely because of her age, too). Overall, I think the show does a good job of giving women characters flaws- none of them are meant to be perfect. But I really do think Peaky Blinders could benefit from occasionally resisting the urge to have all its women have romantic subplots, primarily with Tommy almost unexceptionally.

As far as Jessie goes, I really do love that she’s someone who has this strong ethical and political foundation. I mean, Jessie and Freddie in a room together would’ve been a sight, right? I especially adored her scenes with Ada. I think they had such interesting chemistry and so much could’ve been done if the show had the real estate to really contrast Jessie’s idealism and dedication to the communist cause and Ada’s disenchanted relationship with that same movement she once honestly dedicated herself to. The fact that Jessie and Tommy both draw together because they represent to one (or, at least, invoke the memory of) their respective lost loves was also a refreshing change in terms of the sort of “romantic” relationships Tommy has had thus far. (How authentic we want to think that ‘relationship’ was from either Jessie or Tommy’s end is a different story and definitely worthy of suspect and investigation in the funnest possible way, I think, but I don’t wanna rant).

As far as season five goes, I think the hike in misogynist language and ideology wasn’t coincidental or without thought. I think Arthur and Tommy both are progressively getting worse as the show goes on and went through separate, but equally erosive psychological processes that took out a really ugly side to them both, especially in their relationship with the women in their lives. It felt to me like both characters were scrambling for control and finding a way to express authority over women who depend on them became one of the ways that need made itself manifest. I think it’s no coincidence that Lizzie and Linda look for solidarity in each other. I think their joint decision to write those letters, advocate their needs, and then respectively find some sort of approach to the state of their lives so that they could carry on with some semblance of safety, security, or (dare I say it!) happiness was interesting and heartbreaking- Linda tried to find it by leaving the family, finding another person to speak to and find solace with, and then eventually breaking down to the decision to attack Arthur and it hurt to see it! Lizzie’s own process was so complex, I think. I could go on and on about her belief that life wasn’t about what one deserves, but what one agrees to, settles for, etc. Her sex scene with Tommy, too, really just invites so much analysis and criticism, right? Which makes it, I think, a very effective sex scene as far as writing goes, because it isn’t a pause from characterization or plot, but rather a moment of intimacy between Lizzie and Tommy that reveals a different facet of their respective character developments. Was it kinda messy for Tommy to call her his property? Absolutely! But I also don’t want to dismiss how much I liked hearing Lizzie advocate some boundaries in that sex scene, too. It’s complicated, man! It’s a scene a lot of people have interpreted different and I’ve loved hearing all the different takes, there’s so much validity to be found in the different readings I’ve already seen out there.

I think the show made no excuses for how awful Tommy and Arthur were being through season five. I think we as the audience are meant to recognize that their conduct and their comments weren’t something to emulate or exonerate, but instead symptomatic of their downwards progression throughout the season. It’s just a shame that these condemnations probably aren’t overt enough for the real Meat-Head faction of the fandom to catch onto- reddit is a nasty place to venture off into if you’re invested in any of Peaky’s female characters, that’s for sure. But man, if you’re here on tumblr, boy does this fandom have a lot of people churning out meta worth reading! If you want some blog recommendations, let me know!!! Thank you for keeping my in the loop with your watching journey ♡

#peaky blinders #Anonymous #here's the mail it never fails

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honeypiehotchner · 6 years ago

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Trust -- part three

So...I’m thinking of deviating completely from canon soon because I love Mary and John’s relationship, and I’d love for the reader to meet Mary. So obviously what goes down with Mary wouldn’t go down here. It’d be a much happier ending, so to speak. I watched the wedding episode yesterday and immediately got hit with so many ideas. Thoughts? I do want some input but let’s be real, I’ll probably doing it anyway, because I’m going through it lately, and I need to write something with a fairly happy ending/happy scenes.

That being said, here’s another part.

Warnings: Just Mycroft and you having a chat. And a case.

It’s been four days. Four days since you met Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. Four days since you moved into 221C.

All you wanted to do was check out the music store around the block. That’s all you wanted to do.

But apparently when you’re living at 221 Baker Street, nothing is ever that simple.

You did get to check out said music store, at least. You were just getting to the letter B – just past The Beatles – in the crate of vinyl records when you were rudely interrupted by a woman in a black dress standing next to you.

Not one to turn down a good time, you offer her a smile – that she returns. She’s too busy typing on her phone to carry a conversation, though, so you continue looking through the records, amused to find some artists you’ve never heard of.

Then, your phone starts ringing. Thinking it’s John – because the old man has really become like a mother hen in the past four days you’ve been staying at 221C – you pull it out of your pocket with a huff. But it’s not John at all. It’s an unknown number.

“You might want to get that.”

You give the woman a strange look as you answer the call, pressing the phone to your ear. “Hello?”

“Hello, Y/N.”

You don’t recognize the voice at all. “Who is this?”

“Do you see the security camera to your left?”

You look. You nod. “Yes.” For Christ’s sake, can you not look through vinyl records in peace? You just wanted to do something simple after being cooped up in your flat for the past four days.

“Get into the car, Y/N.”

“What car? I’m in a fucking vinyl store—” Your sentence is cut short when you look out the store window, a black (very expensive looking) car pulling up to the curb. “Who are you?” You ask again.

“Get into the car.”

“Alright, fine,” you snap, ending the call. You look to the woman, who is still on her phone, mind you, and ask, rather harshly, “I’m assuming you work for him?”

She merely nods before she walks off toward the front door, giving you no choice but to follow her. And you do, a little reluctantly you add, because you aren’t sure who she is or who that man on the phone was. But you’ve gotten into enough trouble to know you’ve probably done something to him or some corporation he owns, and now he wants a word with you. Whether it be for revenge or to settle (because you have had some who are a little too annoyed with you to even bother with revenge), who knows.

For God’s sake, can you not have one normal afternoon while you’re in London? You haven’t had a normal life, so normal days aren’t normal, but a few here and there would be nice.

“Any point in asking where we’re going?”

The woman snickers. “Your brother asked the same thing. No.”

You blink at her statement and her answer to your question. You’re now thoroughly confused, especially since you didn’t know of John until four days ago. So there’s no possible way this could be connected to any trouble you’ve gotten into – or could it?

Do others know John is your brother and the both of you have just been clueless this entire time?

You shake your head at the absurd thought. John’s father’s name isn’t even on your birth certificate for Christ’s sake. The only reason you know who fathered you is because of your mother telling you and showing pictures.

You have his eyes. So does John.

The thought startles you. You always liked to believe you got every aspect of yourself from your mother. But meeting John has showed you which aspects are not at all hers.

After what feels like an hour-long ride, the car pulls into a warehouse. Not abandoned at all, from the looks of it, but also not frequently used, considering the position you’re in.

There’s a brief moment when your car door opens that you wonder if you’re going to die. But no one around appears to be posing a threat so far.

Cautiously, you step out of the vehicle. In front of the car, but further away, stands a tall man leaning on his umbrella. Someone of high regard, judging by his attire…and entire being. You almost let yourself smirk at his appearance.

You’ve dealt with a few like him before. You know how they work.

You walk up to him, grateful in this moment that you decided to wear your heels – but not grateful as the thought of needing to make a run for it crosses your mind. Not because you can’t run in heels, but because your feet will absolutely kill you tomorrow if you do.

“Nice place,” you comment. “Who the hell are you?”

“It’s not mine,” the man replies, avoiding your question and instead addressing your sarcastic comment. “And when one is avoiding the attention of Sherlock Holmes, one learns to be discreet, hence this place and hence phoning when you were outside 221B Baker Street.”

“Ah,” you nod. You should’ve known this had something to do with him. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think Sherlock has a reputation worse than yours. “Sherlock Holmes. The man of the hour. You know, everyone seems so interested in him. Care to tell me what your interest is?”

He smirks. “You don’t seem very afraid.”

“Trust me, I’ve been in far worse situations. This,” you gesture around you. “A damp warehouse and some power trip in an overpriced suit? Not my first.”

“Right, the Troublemaker. That is what they call you, yes?”

“My favorite nickname,” you grin proudly, glad to hear it again. This is fun. It’s been a while since you’ve heard it. “You’ve heard of my work then.”

“Yes, and it seems only obvious you’d run into Sherlock Holmes.” The man sighs, suddenly very focused on the concrete beneath your feet. “What is your connection to him?”

“Connection?” You scoff. “He’s barely uttered a few complete sentences since I’ve met him. The connection is nonexistent. Well, besides annoying him while he experiments.”

“But you’re living in 221C.”

“And you’re spying on me.”

“I spy on everyone.”

“What is it you want? I’m impatient.”

“Yes, I see.” He taps his umbrella on the concrete. “I want you to provide me with…information.”

“Information? On Sherlock?” You nearly laugh. “He doesn’t sleep. He’s been doing a chemistry experiment since yesterday afternoon and hasn’t finished it yet. And he’s a pain in the ass when he can be. Anything else?”

He doesn’t seem at all amused. “I meant what cases he’s solving.”

“Cases? There haven’t been any.” Well, there has. But minor ones. Ones Sherlock, and you quote, “solved without leaving the flat.”

“And you’ve only known him for four days.”

“Okay, again, who the hell are you?”

“An interested party.”

“Like that means a damn thing to me,” you shake your head. “Waste of my time.”

“What was that?”

“This is a waste of my damn time!” You repeat, louder so he can hear you. “What the hell would I get in exchange for giving you meaningless information on Sherlock?”

“I’d be willing to pay you a large sum of money to…ease the financial burden you’re under.”

“You would be willing, or you will?”

He clenches his jaw. You almost smile. Pushing buttons; it’s your favorite hobby. “I will.”

“Tell me why you’re interested in him.”

“I worry about him. Constantly.”

“Not good enough.”

You’re bound to weasel it out of him. The secret you picked up on from the second you heard a single sentence leave his mouth.

He’s Sherlock’s brother. You’re not an idiot.

But he’s not giving up that easily. “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

“Well then,” you shrug. “I’m afraid I’ve suddenly forgotten who Sherlock Holmes is and what he does on a regular basis.”

“I occupy a minor position in the British government,” he replies, rather quickly because in that lull you had decided to turn and begin walking away. “And I know you have a long history of getting in trouble.”

“See, now we’re getting somewhere,” you smirk. “You work for the government?” He nods. You narrow your eyes, an idea suddenly coming to mind. “I’ll consider your offer…” You pause, crossing your arms over your chest. “If you can do me an added favor.”

He seems pleased with this progression. “And what might that be?”

“You know I have a record.” He nods. “Wipe it.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Clean slate,” you continue. “Erase all the charges. Give me a fresh start.”

“Does this mean the Troublemaker is retiring?”

“Christ, no,” you laugh. “I’m too young to retire.” You would just prefer to not run for your life for a while. Something about living on Baker Street has changed that in you.

He narrows his eyes, weighing the options. “Alright. Done.”

“Done?” You scoff. “You expect me to just take your word for it?”

He tosses a roll of cash in your direction, a surprised look crossing his features when you catch it effortlessly with one hand. “Is that better than my word?”

You raise your eyebrows. There’s more here than you’ve ever held in your hand at one time. This will last ages if you spend it right. “Much.”

“I’ll be in touch,” he pauses, “when your slate is wiped clean as you say.”

You smirk. “Pleasure doing business with you,” you begin backing away, and under your breath, low enough so he can’t hear, you add, “Mr. Holmes.”

Upon arriving back at Baker Street, you head past your flat and up to the boy’s. You’re surprised to find John has gone out, leaving Sherlock in his chair – thinking.

You lean against the doorframe. “I was just speaking with your brother.”

Sherlock doesn’t move.

“He’s rather annoying, isn’t he?”

“Who, Mycroft? Yes.”

“Mycroft Holmes,” you mutter. “Doesn’t have the same ring to it as Sherlock Holmes.”

This causes Sherlock to open his eyes, almost glaring at you.

“Come to the store with me,” you try.

“No.”

“You don’t even know why.”

“Fine then,” he huffs. “Why?”

You smirk, knowing that he’s only asking to make fun of you. “I need help carrying stuff back here.”

“No.”

“An ass when he can be,” you shake your head, chuckling. “When will John be back?”

“I don’t know when he left.”

“Alright.”

You head back down the stairs to your flat, chuckling to yourself. You hadn’t expected anything less from Sherlock. You merely wanted to let him know you’d spoken with Mycroft, and see if you could annoy him in the process.

Mission accomplished, you’d say.

And Sherlock would agree. Back in 221B, he resumes his thinking, but his mind is now clouded. An unfortunate thing that has been bothering him for the past four days, and he hasn’t found the cause yet. No amount of thinking has provided him with a good enough answer.

He stands abruptly, grabbing his violin from the desk and begins playing a random tune.

Down in your flat, you smile at the sound, moving to leave your door open so you can hear him play more clearly.

This is the first time you’ve heard him play.

~~~

John comes through the door some hours later, groaning because when he left, Sherlock was playing the violin, so now that he’s returned home to the same sound, he only wants to bang his head on the wall. You almost let out a laugh at how shocked his face looks when he passes by your door to see it wide open, willingly letting the sound travel inside.

He knocks on the doorframe, not noticing you sitting in the middle of your living room floor with a book. The sight almost startles him. Something as mundane as reading a book is not something he pictured you enjoying.

“Did you mean to leave your door open?”

You give him a strange look, closing the book in your hands. “I did.”

“Oh. Okay.”

You offer him a smile. You can always tell when he wants to say something else, but never does. “What is it now?”

“Nothing…have you eaten?”

For some reason, he’s been concerned with your eating habits since he met you. You aren’t sure what brought it on, but it has become a bit over-bearing.

So, you change the subject. “I meant to,” you stand to your feet, leaving the book on the floor. “But I was paid a visit by Sherlock’s brother.”

“Mycroft?”

You nod.

“What was he doing here?”

“Not here,” you shake your head. “I was out at the record store and got a call. Next thing I knew I was in a warehouse talking to some power trip in an overpriced suit.” You roll your eyes. Regardless of what you got out of the encounter – which is so far only some cash because Mycroft hasn’t been in touch yet – it still wasted your damn time.

“Power trip in an overpriced suit,” John chuckles. “That sounds like Mycroft.” He pauses, a thought occurring to him. “Did he tell you he was Sherlock’s brother?”

“God, no, he’s not stupid. But neither am I. After he said one sentence I knew exactly who he was.”

“Did you tell him?”

“‘Course not,” you smile. “Remember? I’m not stupid.”

“Yes, well,” he shakes his head with a laugh. “Did you accept his offer?”

John’s eyebrows raise when you nod. “I had one condition, but yeah.”

“What was it?”

As if on cue, your cellphone chimes in your pocket.

Done. –MH

You smirk. “And my condition has been met.” You look up to find John still giving you a confused look. “Oh, I asked him to wipe my criminal record clean.”

“You had a criminal record?”

“Don’t look so shocked. Don’t we all have a record?” You roll your eyes, bending down to grab the book. “Anyway, that was him,” you give your phone a little shake. “He wiped it clean.”

“So you’re just going to give him information about Sherlock, then?”

“What more do I tell him? I already told him he doesn’t sleep or eat, he just sits around thinking.”

“Well…”

“JOHN!”

You both jump, the loud exclamation startling you, but John looks less startled and a little annoyed.

“We have a case, I’m guessing?” John calls back, shaking his head. “I guess we’re going out.”

“We’re?”

John gives you a look. “Yeah, you can come with. I could use someone else around on these things.” He turns, then pauses, “Hurry. He’s impatient.”

Knowing that to be a fact – and being fairly impatient yourself – you slip into your heels (they’re closest) and follow John out into the hallway. Sherlock meets you both there, a smirk settling over his lips when he sees you’ll be joining them.

The three of you climb into the taxi that Sherlock so forcefully hailed after barely stepping foot outside the flat.

You sit beside John, but in between him and Sherlock. The silence isn’t as deafening because you can feel the excitement rolling off of Sherlock’s body.

“Would you mind introducing yourself as Y/N Watson?” John suddenly asks, gaining your attention.

You raise an eyebrow. “Why?” Your first thought is John wanting you to be a Watson, which will never happen. You’re a L/N, for Christ’s sake. You always have been.

And the look John gives you tells you that he wasn’t intending for that subtext. “I just mean it would make this easier to explain.”

“But this is none of their business.”

He tries again. “It’ll make them quicker to trust you.”

“You know I don’t care about trust.”

“I know you don’t, but they do.”

“He means it’s easier for their simple minds to think that you’re trustworthy by introducing yourself with the last name Watson rather than saying Y/N L/N and adding on the fact that you’re John’s half-sister he just happened to meet four days ago.” Sherlock barely moves an inch while he speaks, but does once he finishes to give the two of you a look. “It saves time.”

“We were too loud,” you snicker to John. “Interrupted his thinking.”

“Yes,” is all Sherlock replies with, but you see him turn his head to hide a smile. A smile Sherlock feels his brain beginning to scold the action, wondering why he would need to hide a smile or smile at all, for that matter. You had interrupted his thinking. That was something he should be frustrated with, not smiling about.

You smirk. John gives you a strange look, your attitude toward Sherlock still being a first for him. He remembers being royally pissed at the man for the first few weeks he lived with him until he finally got used to the comments he makes and the way he behaves. But you seem to take everything in stride, with an amused smirk.

When you reach the crime scene, which is a fancier looking hotel, you’re more than confused. You know Sherlock can observe and make deductions from just about anything, but what is the point of analyzing the crime scene if they’ve obviously taken the body to the morgue?

That one is too easy to notice. There’s an obvious, cleaned bloodstain on the concrete outside the hotel. And there’s too many people mulling about. They’re not going to keep the body here if the hotel is still operating as usual – which they no doubt are. A hotel that looks like this has to have a reputation they want to uphold, and part of that reputation would not be that they left a dead body lying on their sidewalk.

As soon as you get closer to the building, you recognize a certain face, immediately cursing under your breath and nudging John. “I think plan Y/N Watson isn’t going to work.”

“What? Why?”

You faintly hear Sherlock mutter his deduction. “Because Y/N and Lestrade have already met.” John’s head whips around to give Sherlock a bewildered look.

“Y/N L/N,” Lestrade shakes his head, walking over with an almost shit-eating grin on his face. “Didn’t I arrest you just last year?”

“That was me. How’ve you been Gerald?”

He frowns. “It’s Greg.”

You grimace. “Right.”

“Bloody hell,” he groans. “First Sherlock, now you?”

“Sorry,” you shrug, trying to lighten the blow. You’ve always been awful with his name in particular.

“I got a call this morning,” Lestrade continues. “Telling me all your charges had been dismissed. What’s that about?”

“Hm,” you smirk. “No idea.”

Lestrade begins to ask you for a more in-depth response – because he knows you know, especially if you’re hanging around Sherlock Holmes and John Watson now – but you’re off and following Sherlock into the crime scene before Lestrade can even blink. John just sighs, giving the detective a smile before following after his half-sister.

“The body is at the morgue already,” Lestrade announces when he reaches the hotel room, right behind John. “You’ve got five minutes Sherlock.”

“I only need two,” Sherlock replies, lifting his head from the nightstand. “But thank you for your overwhelming generosity.”

You roll your eyes, poking about the room aimlessly. You’re not expecting to find anything. You’ve met enough people to be able to analyze them when you meet them, but analyzing their hotel room? Not exactly your area of expertise.

Nor do you particularly care about it all that much.

“I don’t understand what we’re supposed to get from this,” you huff, kicking a random shoe over to the corner. It knocks into an open suitcase. “Whoever it was, obviously wasn’t here long.”

Once Sherlock finishes his examination, which takes all of those five minutes, he stands, abruptly announcing, “I need to see the body.”

Great. Now you’re off to a morgue.

You follow John out the door and back into the street, Sherlock busy with hailing a taxi. While you’re waiting, you see Lestrade walking up with another smile.

“Try and keep yourself out of trouble, okay?”

“Lestrade…” You shake your head with a grin, seeing Sherlock stop a taxi out of the corner of your eyes. “You do remember my name, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do, Troublemaker,” he sighs. “Just don’t get yourself arrested.”

“Oh, I plan on it,” you smirk, sliding into the taxi after John, shutting the door behind you.

You actually don’t plan on it. You never plan on getting arrested, really. It sort of just…happens. But then again, you did ask Mycroft to wipe your record clean for the sake of starting fresh. You think you can go a few more days without getting into serious trouble, maybe longer if Sherlock keeps you as entertained as he is doing now.

Cases, even though this is your first, appear to be fun. Mind racing, adrenaline pumping. The same feeling you get when you scale buildings.

You sigh, suddenly feeling a wave of nostalgia for the activity. You haven’t had fun in a while like that. Maybe one day soon.

#sherlock #sherlock holmes #sherlock holmes x reader #john watson #sibling!reader #half-sibling!reader #mycroft holmes #Trust

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rosalind-of-arden · 6 years ago

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Paper and Fire reread, chapters 1-3

Here we go with book 2! Once again, I will be looking at the relationship between Wolfe and Morgan, symptoms of Santi’s PTSD, and general worldbuilding details that may be fun for fics. I will probably also end up adding other stuff that catches my eye. Especially where Wolfe is concerned. Because I am predictable like that.

The Artifex describes Thomas as “outwardly cooperative and inwardly quite stubborn” and says that he hasn’t seen anyone like this since Wolfe. First of all, just how many people have you had thrown in prison and tortured for comparison, Artifex? Second, interesting detail about how both Thomas and Wolfe reacted to torture, at least some of the time. (Looks like their response is quite normal and realistic, actually.) Assuming Wolfe was like this more toward the beginning, since the Qualls letter in Smoke and Iron makes it sound like he was less cooperative by the end.

Santi is running interference for Wolfe and trying to keep him away from his class. Assuming they’re using paper notes here, and Santi intercepted it before Wolfe could see it? Or, Wolfe did see it, but Santi won that fight.

This report on Morgan is eerily similar to the one on Thomas. She’s stubborn. Attempts at coercion aren’t working. She’s extremely intelligent and has tried to find her way out of her situation.

So... six months. Three refusals. Morgan has irregular, or at least very long, cycles.

Either Caine is getting some extremely disturbing implications past the radar here, or she had no idea how cycle charting for purposes of conception actually works, particularly in someone with irregular cycles. Or, um, steampunk medical magic strikes again?

Ugh, the clinical language being used to describe the whole breeding system. “proper charts and anaylsis” “time for propagation” “compulsory procedure.” Congratulations, Gregory, you are the creepiest person in this series. Meanwhile, here’s one more horrific thing Keria Morning lets slide.

“The local fashion was to shave all body hair, even eyebrows.” I just want to know if any of our main characters have done this. Jess would notice if any of his friends or dads had no eyebrows, right? Who am I kidding, Jess is oblivious. Important detail for sex club crowd scenes here, folks.

Oh, look, it’s the Artifex trying to kill Wolfe again.

Where, relative to places like the Lighthouse and the Serapeum, is this gigantic High Garda compound, anyway? Jess walks everywhere. But they take a transport across the training ground. Just one exercise area has multiple blocks. I have no sense of direction and I cannot create a mental map of all this. Maybe High Garda compound at the edge of the city, front gates, barracks, etc. within walking distance of other important downtown destinations, then the training grounds continue on a long way past that?

Feng is in charge here, but the other soldiers present seem to be Santi’s people? Or did Botha get reassigned? Or, everyone there is on orders from the Artifex, whether they know it or not, and the Artifex is enough of a dick to want one of Santi’s soldiers to have be the one to report that Wolfe is dead?

So, for ranks, we’ve got Squad Leader, Sergeant, Centurion, Lieutenant, Captain, High Commander, and I’m not entirely sure I have the hierarchy right there, or if I’m missing any. How many of each to a company?

The guns confuse me so much. These have “live stunning rounds” and “half-strength regular rounds”. Are these energy weapons of some sort? Because actual bullets don’t come in “half strength” and guns that fire bullets can’t also fire taser darts. That’s just not how firearms work. For that matter, why do these “half-strength” rounds even exist? If they cause damage, and stun rounds exist, why not just use the stun when you don’t want someone dead and the regular when you do? Having a whole category of ammo just for maiming people seems... fuck, actually, it seems exactly like something the Library would do. Never mind, carry on then.

Desert camouflage Scholar’s robes are a thing. Of course they are.

So, Wolfe’s hair here: “a tangled mix of black and gray.” There was no gray in Ink and Bone. How long does it take for hair to change color like that? Google is not being all that helpful on this, but it sounds like it takes years under normal circumstances. So, options: 1. It’s not THAT much gray, but Jess is a teenager and thinks it is. 2. Stress and trauma make these things happen faster. 3. Wolfe has been coloring his hair, probably since he recovered from Rome, when trauma set off that particular premature aging process. He stopped with the hair dye due to stress/trauma/not giving a fuck anymore. I think I favor 3 with a generous handful of 2 and a dash of 1 mixed in.

Jess is an adorably unreliable narrator, thinking Wolfe must be there because Santi was threatened.

Wolfe is a gloriously snarky ass. But also, Wolfe is more of an ass when stressed, and by Jess’s observations, he hasn’t been eating or sleeping right. Neither have you, Jess.

Wolfe knows where the books are. “Jess wondered if he’d been told more than they had.” Yes, Jess, at least that much more. Well, ok, he could have scouted it himself, stolen documents, or something like that as opposed to being told.

Glain is ridiculously smart to aim at Jess here. First, he might be compromised and trying to hurt Wolfe for all she knows. Second, even if she trusts him, she’s being watched. If she shows that she trusts him right away, that’s suspicious.

Wolfe, being both heartbreaking and sexy in the same paragraph. He can outdo a teenager (who is probably smaller than him) at getting through a tight space, even when he’s tired and stressed. But he won’t take a gun because he wants his death to be suspicious.

Glows, at least some varieties, are a “milder version of Greek fire” that produces light without exploding. I barely passed high school chemistry, but by that description, I think Jess is even worse at it than I am. Or, um, hey, it’s steampunk magic alchemy, so sure, why not?

No, Jess, don’t immediately listen to the man who has lived in Egypt for 40 years about how to deal with the local wildlife. Never send this boy to Australia.

Caretaker Wolfe! All this physical contact makes me wonder if he isn’t using his tiny bit of Obscurist ability without even knowing it. Also, Medica training? He probably has Medica training.

Unreadable looks between Wolfe and Santi. Again. Jess, that look and Wolfe not being surprised at the arrest are giant fucking clues that he and Santi have planned this much. Being arrested, under normal circumstances, would be traumatic for Wolfe, probably enough for even Jess the Oblivious to see.

That fucking journal. The angst. The calculation. Trauma as performance art.

“Leaving you means giving up on a better world”, so... that’s not just romantic angst for the benefit of any Obscurist/Artifex reading. Here, again, everything Wolfe hopes for is pinned on Santi’s career. Back in Ink and Bone, they decided not to run away from or openly fight the Library. Their only hope of changing things is for Santi to reach a high enough rank to have that level of influence. And Wolfe does not have that kind of patience.

#the great library #paper and fire reread

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