#I just have really really strong opinions on Coach and I hate how some of the fans treat him

[sheepkebby]

This might be a hot take (and this isn't targeted at anyone either) but I'm kinda tired of the way some L4D2 fans don't take Coach seriously at all. Most of the L4D2 memes and meme SFM's I've seen on youtube have turned Coach into this lol funny meme icon and I don't get it.

Ellis is supposed to be the funny one, Coach is the responsible one.

Don't get me wrong, all the characters have funny moments, and Coach on his own is very funny and lovable, but Ellis was literally made to be the comedic relief. He tells Keith stories, he makes silly comments about his surroundings, he doesn't take anything too seriously, and he's a little dumb. He's the "funny one."

So it doesn't make sense to me how most L4D2 memes treat Coach like he's the goofy memeable one. Honestly there are some videos/fanworks where Coach is flanderized so badly he's barely the same person he is in the original game.

Not gonna lie? I think it's just because he's fat and black. Like genuinely I think that's the reason some people don't take him seriously. idk

[writtenicarus]

AFTG Headcanon Series [4] Kevin

part 1, part 2, part 3 part 4, part 5

Okay first of all let's start off by saying this man is so much more then vodka and goddamn exy, seriously

The fandom and the foxes never take his trauma and issues seriously and it hurts me to the core so much

A year after he told Wymack he was his father he started getting him Father's Day cards, he was extremely embarrassed at first and ran away but Wymack found him after and hugged him

Eventually sees Bee about his drinking problems, he tries very hard to work on it but it's still quite tough and he relapses several times

Trials to call Jeremy and Jean once every two weeks to check in on them, see how they're doing, he's trying to build friendships

Still gets upset on both Riko's birthday and the anniversary of his death but, again, it's another thing he's working on

Is able to set boundaries with Andrew, he doesn't trust him as much as he used to after what happened on the bus trying to figure out where Neil was but he's at peace with it, he doesn't feel bad. Andrew fucked up, he's allowed to distance himself

Finds new friends that take the same classes as him

Starts truly coming out of the shell he was forced into throughout his teenage years and is able to discover who he is as a person

Gets really close with Neil by the end of Neil's second year at Palmetto and he values Neil's opinions on everything

Doodler!!! This man will absently draw on anything without noticing including the people around him

Doesn't like hugs from just anyone but if he does trust you will hug you for hours

Is not really the type to get sick but when he does he takes absolutely no time off to feel better, he just pushes himself until he breaks and moves on

Silently judges people whenever he leaves the house

Idk why but I could see him being really really interested in marine biology

Writes a book at some point in his life - whether it's about exy or whatever he does eventually and it does really well

Can tie his shoelaces at an alarming pace because he used to being forced onto the court as soon as possible, but also because he can't wait

I'd like to say he eventually Coaches his own team, but I don't think he would, I think he would play until he couldn't no longer and opt for a quieter life (perhaps pursuing marine biology)

Misses his mom oh so very much

Hates any form of hot drink unless it's extremely black coffee or tea with ONE sugar

Is trying to get out of the funk he's in when it comes to food, he is trying to learn that not all foods are bad and will kill him just because they're not fruit or vegetables

Afraid of dying and drowning (why he works so hard on being a strong swimmer)

Can't sleep fully in the dark, he got used to it early on but after being at Palmetto and getting used to the life around him, if he ever was put in a dark room it triggers a lot of flashbacks for him

Always helps Abby with dinner when the foxes go to her house, she will never be Kayleigh but he eventually sees her as a motherly figure

Overall, I think his recovery and development as a person starts with him realising he doesn't have to box himself up anymore

Part of why he cared so much for Exy was because it was all he had

Now he has so much more

[redheadwannabesblog]

Hermione and Ginny friendship: Girls supporting girls

I went to the gym last night and the coach teaching class has the most incredible abs. kind of inspired this. ——————————————————

Hermione���s parents had remained in Australia after their memories were restored and the group had made it a frequent vacation spot since. 

Ron and Hermione had been there a week already visiting and Harry and Ginny had arrived this morning for a rare long weekend.

Ginny couldn’t wait to go down the beach. She had started surfing recently but Englands waters were cold but the sun was shining today. Ron was thrilled with the suggestion saying Hermione hadn’t been interested with going to the shoreline all week and she smiled weakly and agreed. Harry was helping Ron fill Mr. Grangers jeep for their day out while Hermione and Ginny got ready. Ginny went to Hermione’s room to see if she had extra towels to find her angrily swearing front of the mirror while struggling with her bathing suit. 

She looked up at Ginny and groaned “oh come on” while waving frustrated in her direction and she slumped onto the bed. 

“Hermione what is going on with you” Ginny said urgently running to her side as angry tears streamed down her face. 

“It’s just how do you look like that. You look incredible, Your stomach is so flat! I can barely fit in my clothes anymore, let alone wear a bathing suit.” 

Ginny looked down at her own bath suit top and shorts. She’d had a light white top but the blue bikini top shown through. The season had wrapped but her tight muscles were still highlighting the core strength she had built over the last few years. 

She looked at Hermione. Her beautiful curls filling her arms around as she pulled her crying friend into a hug. 

“Is that why you haven’t been wanting to go to the beach? Hermione you look incredible.“

Hermione scoffed. “I’ve been so focused on law school and the internship. I feel so bloated and stressed all the time. Ron has been trying to get me to relax all week but I don’t feel like myself at all.  And I see you and the girls here all look like models and i just feel so out of shape.”

Her exhaustion was so evident and her self esteem had taken a hit. 

“You are studying and working 20 hours a day. Of course you don’t feel like yourself, your body is telling you to slow down. And as much as I hate to admit it my idiot brother is right. You need to get some real rest.”

“Rest isn’t gonna make me look as fit as you. You don’t get it. You’ve always been hot”

It was Ginny’s turn to scoff.

“I’m flattered but I’m afraid I have a boyfriend. “

Hermione gave a wet snort through her tears. 

Ginny squeezed her shoulder. “I am a professional athlete. My job requires me to train several hours a day. Trust you don’t want to be this fit. And you think I don’t get it? 

When I was first signed to the harpies there were dozens of articles saying the only reason I was brought on was because I was Harry’s girlfriend and I was too small to really be successful. When I crushed my first season they started saying I was freakishly strong and overly aggressive. Witch Weekly did a whole piece on if arm muscles were sexy or if they were too masculine, with a photo of me from training camp. The damn paparazzi got a shot of me sunbathing and called me slutty even though it was meant to be a private beach and when I refused to do the Quidditch Monthly photo shoot I got called a prude for ages. “

Hermione dried her face realizing the truth of all of it. Ginny’s body had been under nothing but scrutiny for years and had always not let it phase her. 

“Of course it gets to me but I know there is no winning and everyone always has their opinions but what I refuse to do is let what other people think dictate what I do or how I feel. And neither should you because honestly Granger you are fucking hot.”

It made Hermione giggle. But Ginny kept going.

“Seriously, You’re jealous of my abs. I’m jealous of your tits. They’re incredible. If I had those maybe I would’ve done the centerfold photo shoot. The world shouldn’t be deprived of such beauty.”

At Hermione’s bright smile she double down. 

“Harry would feed himself to a pack of thestrals before cheating on me but I’ll bet you my bonus if you walk out in this he’s gonna spend all day desperately avoiding looking at you. And Ron’s gonna start drooling the second he sees you.” 

Hermione squeezed her future sister in law hand and said “thank you really. I don’t know what got into me. Everything has been stressing me out.”

“Come on let’s go have a great day at the beach.”

[raviposting]

Nate is really one of the most interesting characters to me, because his character begs the question: what happens when your life gets better but you’re still not happy? 

Because we see how Nate is in the beginning. We root for him and we love the attention that he gets and how he gets his time to shine. Ted’s methods clearly work for a lot of the characters, it has its merit, and Nate (at first) is no exception. He’s promoted to being a coach, he’s getting attention, the team is also improving so they’re being kinder and everything is better now, right? 

Except in season 2 (and 3!) we see the cracks - in Nate, but for all the coaches, really, because ironically the coaches who are mentoring the players and telling them to believe are also the ones we see struggling with that mentality the most. Beard’s one of Ted’s strongest supporters, his right-hand man, but we see in Beard’s episode how deep his depression and self-hatred run. Roy isn’t exactly screaming Ted’s methods from the rooftops, but we see how he slowly accepts it and appreciates it, and how it does help him - but he struggles with finding his purpose and feeling wanted and needed, and it shines in quitting things early and never getting proper closure in things he really loved, with him constantly wondering if he ever really made the best choice (his team, his job, his relationship with Keeley). Ted struggles to express these negative emotions and it spirals quickly, especially in season 2. 

And Nate? Nate watches as his life objectively gets better, but struggles because his anger and resentment don’t go away. He gets the attention from Ted but (even though it’s not the intention!) feels as if Ted drops him the second things improve. He gets a better job but his father will never say he’s proud. He tries to exude confidence but Jade (who’s most likely seen him for a while since it’s his favorite restaurant) immediately sees through through his persona and Doesn’t Care and Nate is so thrown off by it. He keeps looking for that validation through other people and we see that clear frustration because everything is better on paper so then why are the bad feelings still there? With every win, with every improvement, he gets angrier and more frustrated and then it spirals into him leaving for West Ham and Rupert. With Rupert, Nate leans in on hey, nobody loved me at my lowest and nobody loved me at my best, so maybe I’ll try being my worst. 

And god, I LOVE that even though fans thought he’d fail and that this would humble him into a redemption, he hasn’t. He tries to go with Rupert and get that validation from him and we see how much he struggles with that, because now he’s leaning in at what Rupert wants and we see how much he hates that, but Nate’s also at a point where Rupert’s attention is clearly conditional, he’s still not getting that fatherly validation, and he knows that and that’s where we see him finally start to come into his true self. Jade finally softens because she sees Nate holding strong to his opinion on Taste of Athens and admitting he’s putting on an act, he’s being honest and himself for the first time in those scenes. He tries to cultivate a relationship with the other employees and even if the Diamond Dogs ripoff didn’t work? They still invited him to drinks this episode! He sees Rupert for who he is and he goes back to Jade, and he wants so, so much to apologize to Ted for everything. 

Nate’s moved from a positive environment to this conditional one and the narrative could have easily went “Nate has crashed and burned and now realizes what he messed up” but instead it allowed Nate to figure out who he is and who he wants to be, by himself. He’s still growing and learning, of course, but he’s well on his way, and I think it’s just such a cool way to show that what’s helpful for some people can be incredibly detrimental for others if it doesn’t target what they need and that there’s so many avenues for a person to grow and improve themselves. 

[queenharumiura]

Send me a KHR ship pairing and i'll tell you: Yamamoto x Squaletta

[My KHR ship game] ||Accepting|| @squaletta Reminder: As with the last one, take my thoughts with a grain of salt because I can only work based off what I know of Squaletta and I don’t know everything about her. In other words forgive any and all inaccuracies.

Hate it |Am Neutral to it|Ship it| love it! |

Hmm… so you’ve asked for Squaletta before so I can probably recycle some bits as the character thoughts for some parts will remain the same. So, if some parts sound familiar… there is a reason for it lol. Since answering the last one, I don’t think I received any new information I didn’t have before, and I don’t believe you’ve written out some of the information that I know in a bio page yet, so I won’t speak too in depth on some things.

Those disclaimers finished, let’s move on.

I think I told you before that I’m pretty neutral to the ship in general though moving towards slight dislike in regards to Squalo and Yamamoto. I suppose I just strongly bias over other ships instead with Yamamoto so Squalo x Yamamoto get pushed down. (For reference, I am a biased queen and I love Gokudera and Yamamoto, Haru and Yamamoto, and Hibari and Yamamoto. Can you tell I bias over 10th gen?) ANYWAYS. A part of my reservation comes from the age gap. Yamamoto from the start is 14, while Squalo is 22, so that’s like a 8 year gap. It isn’t to say that I’m totally against it because of it, but I would require certain circumstances to be okay with it, like a ship only happening in the adult years for one- which would already be the case since you write TYL verses.

I know people IRL with larger age gaps and they’ve met later in life, so an age gap of 8- though a bit difficult to work with at times because of the maturity differences there can be, I’m not against it. That’s just the explanation for why I’m on the fence with the ship in general.

Now to ACTUALLY start (for real this time).

To talk about Yamamoto and Squaletta as a ship, one of which is a canon divergent gender bend, it’s hard to say something is truly canon or otherwise. There are various Yamamoto muses that you write with, and so the circumstances of background stories and set up vastly differ how a ship can go and whether or not I’m personally on board with it or not.

Just based off how I personally see Yamamoto and understand him, Yamamoto is the kind of guy who has a lot of trust and respect for those around him, and authority is actually something that means something to him. He puts a lot of respect to those above him or his superiors (such as coaches or teachers). He may act freely and may have a bit of a flippant side to him occasionally, he does really respect people. IF there is a Yamamoto that viewed Squaletta as a teacher, I do not see him forming romantic feelings for the person. HE would not cross those boundaries, and he would only really see them as a teacher and respect that role for what it is. So, in my opinion, if a ship were to happen, he cannot view Squalo/Squaletta as his teacher. Instead, viewing them as a comrade or a fellow more experienced swords(wo)man is fine.

I’ve mentioned it before, but in the case of my Yamamoto, he does not see Squaletta as his teacher. For me, with the way that he is and how strong his convictions are about his faith in his father’s Shigure Souen-Ryu, he will only see his father as his teacher. You can make the case of Reborn during the TYL arc, but I honestly get the vibe that Yamamoto doesn’t see Reborn as his teacher either. First of all, he knows full well that Reborn is Tsuna’s tutor, and he won’t do a thing like ‘stealing’ someone’s teacher. Secondly, Reborn was there to help train Yamamoto and hone his skill since there wasn’t an appropriate person who can help him until Squalo/Squaletta came. Even then, he more likely viewed it as Squalo/Squaletta volunteering their time to help train Yamamoto and instill some of their experience into him to make him stronger.

He wasn’t actively trying to learn everything he could from either of them to then forge their teachings into himself. He was taking in their pointers and advice and adapting it to work with the Shigure Souen-Ryu. The ONLY teacher he will acknowledge for swordsmanship is his father, the one who ‘birthed him’ as a swordsman through teaching him the ways.

I will finish this thought by saying that if anyone disagrees with me, that’s totally okay! This is just how I personally see him and how I personally will characterize my own Yamamoto- is all. If anyone believes that Yamamoto views other tutors as his teachers and respects them as such, all the power to you! I think it makes sense! It just doesn’t work with my characterization is all =w=

Moving on.

How Yamamoto views Squaletta is that she is a strong and independent woman. I’ve mentioned to you before in private that part of the appeal of what makes Squaletta so interesting as a character is her drives, her motivations, and the way she interacts with people. She’s different, and I don’t mean that in the ‘I’m not like the other girls~’ kinda thing. She’s different as a person in general. To be honest, that’s to be expected of Varia-Quality. She’s just built different (I love the built different meme) and that’s what makes her so funny (Yamamoto’s words, not mine). He finds some of her reactions to be funny, and he finds it so fascinating to see how mad she gets at him at times.

You’ve mentioned before: “When he was younger, she admonished him to take swordsmanship seriously because she saw his talent and potential. She tried to help him and still tries to help him. They are not in the position of superior and inferior - teacher and pupil. She may sometimes sound like a teacher because she is more experienced in swordsmanship and is dominant and bosssy, but those are her personality traits. She is very happy to tell him what he is doing wrong. XD” [ß lol yes from discord]

This is something he’ll better understand later in life, but when he was younger, he kind of saw her as a fussy swords senpai who is getting mad at him for having two priorities. Why can’t he like both things? If he’s doing well, what’s the problem if he does it? In canon Squalo even says ‘I know you have the ability to do both, you have the talent for it!’ and I’ll say that I BET that inside his head he thought ‘Then what’s the problem, haha?’ Someone cure him of his idiocy, please. Lol Like I said, he understands it later on in life. She didn’t want his talent to go to waste, and she wanted for him to really hone his skill because he clearly had the talent for it.

People just don’t like to see wasted talent, especially if they too had talent. Does this mean he’ll regret all the time he spent on baseball? No, it was a part of him and his history. It was a big part of who he is, and he’ll never regret that.

So, I mentioned just moments ago that he felt that Squaletta was like a fussy swords senpai. He has a lot of respect for his upperclassman and such. He has a lot of trust for those he acknowledged, and so that is why he REALLLYYY disliked Xanxus for a long time. He heard/saw the way that Xanxus treated her. To see someone he greatly respects being treated that way does not sit well with him. So, he probably asked about it one day and then she explained that they’re basically friends who trust each other a lot and that’s simply how they operate. They just banter a lot. He’ll then realize: OH! Just like me and Gokudera! [they fight a lot] He’ll be okay with Xanxus after that. Grudges don’t last long with this one.

I do think that he could’ve possibly had a small budding crush on her but literally never realized it. He’s a lil… daft when it comes to introspection, so I really don’t think he would easily realize if he were to have feelings for someone. His focus is usually elsewhere like his swordsmanship or baseball, so he doesn’t usually have the time to even contemplate on his feelings in particular. Not only that, whenever he did have a small baby crush it would’ve been when he was young, and she obviously wouldn’t have any feelings for him then or I’d really start questioning things like—why you looking at a young teen like that? B<

Therefore his small baby crush would’ve been short lived and then he’s simply move on with his life. He spent some time in Italy when Tsu-chan moved there as an exchange program, and then he went back to Japan. In TYL times, he does still primarily stay in Japan, but he does visit Italy quite often. From there, he would’ve have more dealings with Squaletta. Now we’re finally getting to the part that you’re actually curious about, I think. LOL 1500+ words to finally start talking about the actual premise of the ask.

If they were to ship together, they would’ve had to once he was an adult, and probably happen because she started to notice how accomplished he’d become as a swordsman. With all the experiences in battles honing his blade to such a razor sharp point, I think that would be one reason for her to start actually noticing him and not just see him as a fledgling chick who is just ‘playing around’ with his sword. In the TYL timeline, he is fully capable of holding his own, even against the Varia, and that would make him a fun opponent to spar against. Yamamoto’s ability to go from 8D to >B| in a matter of seconds is something wild and for someone who has a bit of a feral element to her, I bet that’s EXCITING.

My gut instinct tells me it’s these small points that has her noticing him and slowly start to come to like him more and more. Over time she starts to realize that she thinks about him more than she should, and find a lot of things about him cool or somewhat cute. His carefree attitude may have irritated her when he was real young, but maybe now it’s a little bit endearing. It’s like gap moe to have him have a carefree and cute side that contrasts the sharp and cold attitude he has when in the midst of battle. The duality of a person is very fun to witness.

Knowing that not many get to see both sides of him (and live to tell the tale) would be a reason for anyone to feel honored and special. Just things like that help some feelings form- is my guess.

Being the strong and independent woman that she is, where she cares about her sense of self, her right to herself, and being in control of what happens to herself, it would be good to have someone who could truly treasure her and treat her with respect. Yamamoto has a casual gentleness to him, and he’s respectful in his own ways. He would never do anything he knows bothers her. He’s more aware than others usually give him credit for. It wouldn’t be hard for him to have noticed that Squaletta normally doesn’t like to be touched by others. Knowing that, he is careful about giving her her space. It’s the small things of consideration to show that he cares to respect her and took the time to notice.

It's commonly noted that she’s a bit of a huntress, and has the instincts of a killer/hunter, so it would make sense for her to also like a man who is capable. Someone who has the ability to fend for themselves adequately is just the bare minimum. It’s super important from a romance perspective because being around a Varia member can mean someone could be in danger. I’m sure people can recognize the flag of the Varia and possibly also the uniform. So being seen around her is like walking around with a target. So Yamamoto being able to protect himself is very important.

If you take some of those things into consideration, it gives the feel of… Squaletta having a preference towards men who not only can treat her well. Like I said in Dino’s thing, I do think that treating her like a woman is also important to her as well. Yes, she’s a swordswoman who should be respected, she’s the vice-commander of the fearsome Varia—but she’s also a woman. Don’t forget that she’s a woman in favor of respecting her for her accomplishments. It is only right to require both. Respect her for her titles and accomplishments, but don’t lose the sense of treating her well as she should. Every person, regardless of how capable they are, should still feel like they are cared for and appreciated. No one wants to be in a relationship where their partner doesn’t make them feel courted. Her love is not easy to come by, so you better actually fight and work hard for it!

Like I said, Yamamoto does have some awareness of things around him. He’s quickly notice things about Squaletta and her actions. He can tell that even if she acts rough or whatever, she doesn’t mean it with ill intent. She only means it either teasingly or out of care. Having someone who can understand you is very important, and the fact that Yamamoto is a pretty easy going guy, it’s also equally as important that she’d be with someone who doesn’t have thin skin. She couldn’t be with someone who gets hurt over every small thing, but they can’t be too thick-skinned either. If they are, then they won’t really understand a lot of the nuances behind her actions. If she’s going out of her way to push past her comfort zone or anything and the other party doesn’t realize it? That’s almost insulting, like you’re taking her good will for granted or not even appreciating it. HOW DARE YOU- is the vibe that I get from her. She has standards and refuses to settle for less.

She more than likely didn’t think she’d ever have a romance considering she cared so much about swords and fighting. She probably didn’t have romance in the brain a lot, so if she’s going to be in an actual romantic relationship, the person had BETTER BE WORTH IT. Therefore, I think Yamamoto having those qualities is a good thing, because she can be assured that he understands her and would be willing to travel through life with her. He won’t die such a pitiful death, and she can trust him to forge a path on his own, but still be close by to her so that if she ever looks for him, he’s right there. She really values independence and self-will, so she wouldn’t impose her way of life on someone. She’d respect him for his goals and aspirations.

Of course, this isn’t to say that she wouldn’t doesn’t care if they are apart. I get the feeling that if Squaletta were to actually fall in love with someone, my gut feeling tells me that she is the kind of person who falls hard in love with her lover. She still loves space and independence, but when with her lover, she enjoys having moments of closeness with them. She loves to feel the heat of the passion of their love, to really prove to her that what they have is real and powerful. It isn’t something that she could ever tire of.

(in the back of my mind, I feel like when she realizes she’s in love and notices that she can actually enjoy soft moments over fighting… is when she can somewhat understand how he felt about baseball and the sword. In those moments, there can exist something that means more to her than a fight)

In that way, Squaletta can learn about the more gentler things in life with Yamamoto. It’s also so important that Yamamoto is an accepting guy. She can feel assured that he won’t ever demean her for being herself. He won’t chastise her for being loud, bossy, snarky, etc. He won’t ever try to change her as he’s accepted her for who she is and he came to love her anyways. That is a really important thing to her is what my instincts tell me.

Like I said before, he finds her amusing at times. I think any time she teases him, it reminds him of how he tends to tease and make jokes a lot to make light of situations. He would secretly wonder to himself if it’s a part of his influence that she’ll tease more often. Even if it’s not true, let him believe it. It makes him happy lol.

To know that she’d allow him to touch her hair (referencing the one meme), it’s really important to him, because it would show him that she really cares for him and trusts him. She is really trusting him and letting herself be more vulnerable around him. It is so easy to just grab someone by the hair and disarm them, so it’s actually really big that she’d let him touch and play with her hair. Not only that she’d allow him to help her address a wound. I understand that that meme was sent during my testing phase so it’s not a canon event, but the fact remains that you sent it. It thereby means that in TYL, Squaletta WOULD trust him enough to be around when she’s injured. For beasts and warriors alike, being injured means you’re more vulnerable and you’re more than likely to be hostile towards anyone—unless you actually trust them.

For Yamamoto, having someone trust him that much is PEAK goodness. It’s like baseball, where teamwork is really important and having trust that your teammates will be there for you. As such, trust, compatible teamwork, and faith in someone is really big factors in if he’ll like someone. Small things like that actually would be the start of him catching FEELINGS TM. It leaves a bit impression on him.

They truly would be a power couple LOL. They can fight and have eachothers back. I can absolutely see the playful banter between them if they’re fighting together and Yamamoto takes out an enemy behind her who was about to slice her—imagine?

‘I knew they were there, I could’ve handled it myself.’

‘I know, but I could’ve handled it quicker, so I did.’

Just the casual air between them built off of trust in each other and their skills is PEAK, and it would SOOO piss off all the enemies like FUCK OFF with your flirting? DIE, ACTUALLY. Alas, they always die to the blade of the power duo. SIGHHHHH (kekek)

Will say that I do think that in a relationship they both do maintain a level of independence. I feel they MUST due to their jobs. She’s in the Varia and he’s a guardian, so that independence they both have is actually a really good thing because then they can still focus on their duties and not slack off. BOTH people could not handle a slacker. Squaletta would probably rather murder someone than date a slacker, and Yamamoto couldn’t really be with someone who doesn’t have drive. It would make him feel a bit stifled.

So the fact that they both can understand that in eachother and be accepting of distance between them is actually a really REALLY good thing about them. When they are together though, Yamamoto is an openly affectionate person and I think she could be too once she falls in love. So, they embody the phrase ‘time and place.’ When on the job, they are serious and dedicated, but when they’re together, they can be soft… they can be calm and enjoy the atmosphere… they can just… be there in the moment and that’s so sweet.

-

Let’s see… as for some cute ideas… unfortunately I will have to cheat you on this. Any ideas that I put here may be things that I may plan on using in the future for interactions and I don’t like to give out spoilers like that. I tend to think of cute ideas that I want to do in advance and I really look forward to using them—so I don’t want to give out any spoilers.

Sorry! Look forward to things for whenever we do develop a solid (romantic) relationship between them!

[homosandhomies]

My favorite solo from each main character on glee (because why not)

SUE: Vogue. “WILL SCHUESTER I HATE YOU”

KURT: Rose’s Turn. Chris Colfer rarely got songs that highlighted ALL his vocal strengths. This song used everything. He had a strong head voice, an amazing mix, and he can EMOTE WITH EVERY INCH OF HIS LIFE. No wonder he got the Golden Globe.

QUINN: This Is A Man’s World. This scene is ridiculous, but out of context the song absolutely slaps. Diana can BELT and she deserved to do it more.

ARTIE: Stronger. Probably my favorite Britney song. Kevin ate. That is all.

PUCK: Only the Good Die Young. This song is so fun and I think Puck’s voice is very underrated. A good ol’ jam. Thank you for repping the Jewish community king ❤️

WILL: Sway. It’s a shame that we never talk about his voice because HOLY SHIT MATTHEW MORRISON IS INCREDIBLE. This man is so talented and we never acknowledge it because of Will Schuester’s shenanigans.

BLAINE: Somewhere Only We Know. You can hate Blaine all you want but you can’t deny the POWER of this song. The love in his eyes is sickening I am not okay right now

FINN: I’ve Gotta Be Me. Given the fact that Cory didn’t have any singing experience before, this song makes me so fucking happy because you can see how much he had grown as a singer, but also how proud he was of himself! Look at him go!!! (Bonus: If I’m bending the rules in terms of what qualifies as a solo I would 100% make his Paradise By the Dashboard Light. That was his undoubtedly his very best vocal performance. It’s SO FUCKING GOOD it makes me go batshit.)

RACHEL: My Man. “She may be difficult but boy can she sing.”

BRITTANY: Run the World. The dancing is definitely the more impressive part of this number, but it still sounds great! This song really highlighted Heather’s strengths, when most of her songs weren’t very memorable in my opinion.

MIKE: Cool. Maybe Tina should be a professional vocal coach because damn look at him go!! Idk why an Asian kid wanted to play the role of a leader of a white supremacist group but at least he sounds great 🤷‍♀️

MERCEDES: I Will Always Love You. Literally every single Mercedes song is perfect, so this was the hardest one for me. This means I had to base it on acting. And she DELIVERS here. It should be illegal to be this talented.

TINA: Because You Loved Me. The fact that this is one of TWO solos that Jenna actually got to finish infuriates me. She was ROBBED because she is an amazing singer.

SANTANA: Nutbush City Limits. LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, MISS NAYA RIVERA. HOLY SHIT. Finn saying before the song, “They say that true divas aren’t really mortal” is so true. This woman was an absolute icon and I will always be blown away by her talent.

JAKE: Let Me Love You (Until You Learn to Love Yourself). It’s so EARNEST and HEARTFELT and Jacob Artist popped off with the acting. And the falsetto!! God it’s just beautiful.

EMMA: Getting Married Today. This is a trio, not a solo, but it’s so fucking good that I HAD to do it. That is literally one of the hardest female songs on Broadway, and for some reason they had Jayma sing it even FASTER than the original version? I can’t imagine the stress of trying to do that, but she was perfect.

SAM: Copacabana. This is just a really fun song! Everyone’s having a good time and Chord sounds amazing.

RYDER: Your Song. This is my favorite Elton John song, and boy was it done justice. The acting is really good in this scene. The mix of anxiety and earnestness coming from Ryder is adorable. He had great chemistry with whoever that girl was. (On a storyline note, I hated how this all developed though. If it had gone my way, Unique would confess it was her, then Ryder would sing this directly to Unique.)

KITTY: Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours. I just really like this number. Obsessed with Becca’s high notes.

MARLEY: Wrecking Ball. The cheating storyline with Bree was so fucking stupid and shouldn’t have happened. That being said, Melissa ATE what they gave her and left zero crumbs. She really came in like a wrecking ball.

UNIQUE: I Know Where I’ve Been. THIS SONG MAKES ME GO FUCKING CRAZY!!! THE TRANS CHOIR!!!! THE ACTING!!!!! THE FUCKING HIGH NOTE!!!!!! IT’S JUST SO GOOD I CAN’T HANDLE IT!!!!!!! This is the best part of season 6, full stop. THE most underrated Glee song ever. I will not accept criticism towards this opinion.

[castlebyersafterdark]

Finn is a big star now but I don’t think he’s a strong enough actor to be in better movies. I’m sorry it’s just my opinion of him as an actor and his skills at this moment. I don’t think he’s bad just needs to hone skills If he wants more diverse and grown films he’s gonna have to truly get trained and work with an acting coach. Otherwise I say he should do more indie comedy shit instead of nostalgia bait but budget stuff and work on becoming a top director and writer instead. Noah on the other hand has the acting talent but I think his agent has always sucked and never gotten him more good work, I also think personally he doesn’t have the acting passion needed to be successful on another level, he seems too chill for that if that makes sense? almost like acting for him is a fun hobby and he’s not cutthroat enough for the biz …no matter how much he says he wants to keep acting, I just don’t get the sense even he wants to do that for life. Add in the industry’s homophobia which will be hard to navigate, plus all the hate he’s gotten lately that might have made being a public figure even harder… hard to say but I wouldn’t be surprised if he just pulls back from the spotlight, gets his degree, maybe a masters, and goes more into the business world or bts in the entertainment industry (he can produce finn’s films lol) and lives a private life. MBB gonna get divorced before 30, live off of selling various product lines to her fanbase and star in mediocre streaming productions until she marries like an older billionaire. Caleb will be successful in supporting roles in films until he’s older and he gets a recurring role in a tv procedural. Gaten will do some screen stuff but mostly transition to be full time stage work. imo Sadie is gonna be the one with a surprise smash career who gets an oscar by 35

Love the reads!! Thank you for sharing!!

I love love love Finn but that's also why I'd prefer to see him in smaller fare, hone his skills in a more focused way. I think to get better he needs to distance himself from another major production. I think he has the potential but he does need to grow. Directing is ideal, tho. Agree on the Noah read. Which is hard to admit and talk about because I really care about the kid but I'm just... so not sure what he's gonna do!! MILLIE 🤣🤣🤣 Yeah, that all tracks. CALEB WITH THE TV PROCEDURAL you are so right, ain't nothing wrong with that, those shows pay the rent, baby!! Sadie will win awards, I feel it.

[lonelier-version-of-you]

I’m not quite sure what to make of that Casualty episode. I didn’t hate it, but I can’t say I was a fan. I think it just had too many Casualty tropes that I despise for me to fully appreciate it. I’m also not quite sure what to make of the new character yet. This is not an episode for which I can sum my opinions up quickly, so here I go into analysing my episode thoughts.

Welcome, Dr. Max Cristie! AKA, to many, Dennis Rickman from EastEnders. Lol. I think I’m gonna be calling this guy by his full name, surname, or “Dr. Cristie” a lot, because it’s already inconvenient enough having to differentiate between Max Walker and Max McGerry without adding a third Max into the mix (I think there have been more, but I’ve only watched these three). Honestly, they’re getting almost as overloaded as the Sams at this point.

Anyway, Max (who gets called by his first name for his first review post) is... interesting so far. He feels a bit generic and bland, to be perfectly honest, but his connection with Dylan keeps me intrigued. Some part of me is still convinced they’re exes after seeing this first episode, especially as the history between them still hasn’t been explained yet. It wouldn’t be the first time a long-running Holbyverse male character has been established as bi through the introduction of a male lover from med school - Henrik and Gaskell, anyone?? Though obviously I hope Max doesn’t turn out anything like Gaskell. The closest to Gaskell that Casualty should ever go is Stevie.

They really went out of their way to establish Max as very protective over children, first with the little girl he brought in (whose hair he was awkwardly stroking??) and then the teenager being groomed by her football coach. I’m almost certain Max will have a backstory where either he had a child who died, or he suffered some sort of trauma in his childhood (possibly abuse-related as it would add further complication between him and Dylan due to their similar trauma, and the useage of this SA storyline in his first episode, and how angry he was at the football coach, and also he reminds me of Greg Douglas, but it could be something else) that’s made him protective towards kids. It’s one of those Holbyverse cliches - if a character is protective of children, you know they have some sort of trauma.

Anyway, it’s not this guy’s fault so I’m trying not to hold it against him, but the introduction of a new character named Max really, really worries me because the most obvious option for who they could declare as CEO now that Henrik’s left is Max McGerry. But they wouldn’t want a new character and a CEO with the same name, as that could get confusing. So this makes me think it’s more likely that Casualty will retcon Henrik leaving, and we’ll have to be burdened with the knowledge that he’s still stuck in the job that he is utterly incompetent at and literally hates, rather than away from Holby with the man he loves. Sigh.

Robyn may or may not be leaving, Paul almost definitely is. Meh. I don’t really have strong feelings about Robyn, but I despise Paul. I’ll accept Robyn leaving if it means we don’t have to put up with Paul anymore. It would be a shame for the show to lose Amanda Henderson, as she is a very good actress when they actually give her worthwhile material, but Robyn as a character has hardly had any decent storylines or development since the excellent Glen story.

I don’t know why Robyn would want to marry Paul. He’s so annoying and irritating and bland. But if he makes her happy, then, er, good for her I guess??

I am really, really angry that the show had Faith turn out to be right about the football coach grooming the teenaged patient. Portraying a character who is literally an attempted rapist as some kind of hero to a rape victim is absolutely disgusting. I was hoping that this would be a story where Faith got it all wrong and ended up with egg on her face, so to speak, but evidently not. If anything, it feels like they’re saying “see, Faith’s not an abuser, look at all these men, that’s what a real abuser is!”. And as disgusted as I was with the football coach tonight, or the man hurting his daughter in that storyline a few months ago, I am equally disgusted with Faith and find it disturbing that the show wants to paint her as a hero to abuse victims.

Not only is this deeply frustrating, it feels like an utter letdown coming from Jon Sen, who did one of the best female-on-male sexual abuse stories I’ve ever seen on TV during his time at EastEnders (Mick’s storyline about being groomed by his foster worker). I know he can tell stories about female abusers better than this. So why is the show still romanticising and glorifying Faith? As a queer person whose abuser was a woman, I hate that the show doesn’t seem to care about people like me or Lev.

I know the storyline was more to provide an establishing moment for Max when he confronted the coach in the hall (and I was totally cheering him on when he did!) than it was anything for Faith, but in that case, why include Faith at all? Why not use a character who wasn’t an attempted rapist - someone like Marty, perhaps - to recognise the grooming situation? Or it even could’ve been Jacob! That would tie into all the Tina aftermath lately as well.

On the subject of domestic abusers in Casualty, Marcus is becoming more of a disgusting monster by the episode. Poor, poor Stevie. It was so upsetting tonight, seeing Stevie in one of the most vulnerable moments she’s ever had, and Marcus using it against her to isolate her. This storyline is so hard to watch, although I suppose that’s a good thing with a topic like this, but it’s still distressing. Stevie deserves so much better. <3

It looks like in the next episode, we get those scenes from the trailer with Jacob trying to use his own experiences with Tina to help Stevie see that Marcus is controlling her. I’m very interested to see how that plays out - it’s a genius bit of writing, and I’m glad the writers are having someone other than Faith help Stevie.

[destinyc1020]

while I dont agree with your take on banshees ( I enjoyed it and I felt colin delivered a really good perfomance and I found his performance to be much stronger than austin tbh) I can actually see why someone may not like it, its structured like an irish fable and its comedy is very bleek, mundane and absurdist which is not something someone might be looking for in a comedy. I can see how that comedic style may not connect with everyone as opposed to the romanitic comedy or a buddy comedy. My sister had a similar opinion where she couldnt connect with the film and lost interest in it real quick.

But to that one anon, its unfair to expect everyone to understand the allegory of irish civil war, if the viewer couldnt see the connections then it may be because the film didnt truly contextualize the setting or the histories of the characters or maybe the viewer just wasnt invested in the film.

Also art in general has multiple meanings, the allegory to civil war is one of many themes the film presents.

I agree women king should have been there but dont hate me but Im taking out elvis.

while I dont agree with your take on banshees ( I enjoyed it and I felt colin delivered a really good perfomance

I definitely felt like Colin's acting was strong in this film. The entire cast was great imo. Very believable. 😊👍🏾 I've just seen Colin in other films where I felt like his acting was more noteworthy. There wasn't really anything that really stood out to me that made me say that his acting was much BETTER than Brendan's or Austin's. I'm sorry. 🤷🏾‍♀️ That's just my opinion.

and I found his performance to be much stronger than austin tbh)

Yeeeaaa see, I'm sorry but this is where I'm gonna have to disagree with you here lol 😆

In all honesty, I actually think that Austin probably had the hardest job out of all the other nominees. I venture to guess he probably worked the hardest as well. He and Baz poured their blood, sweat and tears into that film...a prep and filming that took all in all about 2 and a half years in the making...

Having to not only act, but also sing, play piano, play guitar, work with a vocal coach who not only had to train him on speaking with a southern drawl, but also how to SPEAK like Elvis spoke, SING like Elvis sang, MOVE like Elvis moved, have the same mannerisms that Elvis had, etc... and this is someone who's larger than life that everyone knew/knows, so the pressure to nail it must have been immense!

Add on top of that, thanks to covid, they could no longer film the movie in chronological order, so one day, Austin had to be 1968 Elvis, and the very next day be Elvis from the 50s.... including having to tweak his singing AND speaking voice for those various decades because Elvis' voice changed over the years. 🥴 I mean, to make sure you don't get confused with all of that... That in itself is amazing.

Austin's acting may not have been Shakespeare lol, but imo he did a very excellent job, and really stood out (even above Tom Hanks) in the role, and that's very hard to do since Tom is a GOAT. They have some very TENSE scenes together in the film which I think Austin did beautifully imo. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Colin's acting was good too (don't get wrong), but imo just about anyone could have been in the role and it would have been the same. Nothing really stood out to me. 🤷🏾‍♀️

Imo, Brendan's acting in "The Whale" is the best, with Austin being a close second based on the top 3 contenders that I've seen so far of nominated "Best Actors".

I haven't seen EEAAO yet, so my mind might change after that. 🤷🏾‍♀️

.

I can actually see why someone may not like it, its structured like an irish fable and its comedy is very bleek, mundane and absurdist which is not something someone might be looking for in a comedy. I can see how that comedic style may not connect with everyone as opposed to the romanitic comedy or a buddy comedy. My sister had a similar opinion where she couldnt connect with the film and lost interest in it real quick.

I actually don't mind dry humor, or even films from a foreign perspective. I actually like some foreign films, and I did find some of the scenes in the church confessional to be pretty funny lol 🤣

I just wouldn't really call it a "comedy", but to each his/her own 🤷🏾‍♀️

.

I agree women king should have been there but dont hate me but Im taking out elvis.

Lol I'm not gonna hate you lol 😂 Everyone is entitled to their own opinions! That's the beauty of art!

I mean, the way "Woman King" has just been completely IGNORED by the Academy, when this is usually the type of movie based on historical elements that they typically seem to like.... is just very very interesting to me. 😒

I looked through the list of Best Picture again and I tried to find a "weakest link" lol, but I honestly can't find one tbh. Of all the films I've seen, I think they ALL have smthg great about them.

I personally wouldn't take out "Elvis" because to me it was probably one of Baz Luhrmann's Best films (jmho lol), and the film itself said a lot about a time in US history, fighting for civil rights, amongst an artist and singer blended into the very fabric of American living, and how the music really touched different aspects of people's lives. Not to mention, the fact that Elvis wouldn't be anywhere without black music, which I felt the film tried to highlight beautifully.

It was hard to cram 30 years of someone's life into a 2.5 hour movie, but I felt like Baz did the best he could do!

Honestly? You're probably going to hate me lol, but if I had to take out one film I've seen so far and put "Woman King" in for BP nomination, I would actually take out "The Banshees of Inisherin" 👀 I'm sorry!! 🙈😅😅

Compared to the other films on that list? 👀 Like, c'mon lol 😆

[mayasdeluca]

ACA Here, so I was just albe to watch all the scenes of Carina and Maya (I refuse to watch anything with Grey sorry)

First of all Stefania continues to improve her speech pattern/accent/pronunciation , I’m very impressed, it’s still a tiny bit forced if you pay close attention to it, especially when Stefania talks medical and long sentences, her stops are still a bit too measured and not 100% natural but she improved tons, she has a pretty great dialect coach imo.

It does take time to adjust from a speech pattern technique that you are being using for all your life, but that’s totally normal, I’d love to see Stefania in other projects and see how these modifications she’s working on translate on other projects.

A part from this technical details, she was pretty amazing, the final part where she hides from Maya, holy shit, damn, no words only feelings.

What to say about Danielle!!!

She literally puts all the scenes on her very talented shoulders, I’m in awe with her acting, when she screamed at Carina while obviously try not to lose control and holding as much as possible: “STOP TELLING ME WHAT I NEED” I jumped, I got scared a bit by Maya for the first time, and I think Carina did too, it’s rare to be able to feel such strong physical emotion/response from a scene for me and this did it (I’m not complimenting the writings, cause a part from this, the rest was a fucking mess, cheap childish rookie predictable writing) do not let me start on how most of it becomes about Jack as usual, my hope is that they keep him out of Maya recovery and future reconciliation with Carina, we never really needed him and especially now!

Going back to Danielle, in my personal opinion she’s the most talented actress on S19 and most of GA (I put her very close to Sandra Oh) and she’s wasted there, I really hope for her career, that once she’s out of this shitty show, she can get a real project where she can show off without restrictions and have all the artist freedom she wants while given great writing to work on!

One thing is that some actors, once they played a specific character for years, even doing a great job, have problem adjusting to other shows/characters, they kinda disappoint me on other projects, so I guess what I’m saying I hope she’s not a character actress but a more complete one, only time will tell!

There’s nothing you can do, Stefania and Danielle have this once in a lifetime chemistry connection, that a few couple in acting had, I’m not gonna give you any examples because it could be very subjective, but some are undeniable, like their.

Anyway I’m not going more into it cause I could analyze their scenes for hours, but at the same time these scenes are so potent that I have problem watching them too many times, it took me a while to be able to watch them cause I knew they were way to powerful and indeed they were emotionally draining.

On another note I love how shitty Maya looked even if in a couple of close-up I could see a few brushes of make up.

She looked like death.

And I also love how I’m starting to dislike Maya a bit, I think Danielle did a great job on making us hating her (it’s not just the writing it’s literally her mannerisms and acting choices) I wanna see if they finally can give her a more complete storyline possibly a redemption healing one.

On the other side I won’t mind is Stef and Danielle leave the show, but it’s gonna be hard for them to get a project where they can have leading or even supporting roles especially Stefania, considering her Hollywood age, and her nationality, I know it’s sounds terrible said like this, believe me I know it’s sound horrible even by only writing it, it wanna makes me vomit and cry, but this is how Hollywood works, even if things are getting better, and there are more roles for over 40/50 yrs young actresses, it’s simply the truth for TV, I understand if they decide to do 10 more years of GA or S19, I mean even Ellen is tired of it but she’s economically set for life at this point.

You don’t wanna throw away a good steady job, also if it goes after season seven they prob go on syndication and can ask for a raise, and that’s why I think season 7 will prob be the last.

Anyway as usual I wrote twice as much of what I wanted but half of what I was thinking…

Love your comments and reviews!!

Hi ACA!

Thanks for the great thoughts/insight as always. I totally agree with the assessment on Stefania and Danielle. Danielle is super talented and yes, I hope that once Station 19 is over she's able to branch out and do other projects because her talent deserves to be recognized. I don't think she's just a one character type of talent, I think she'll excel with any kind of material. You can just tell.

The makeup team did a great job with Maya! And yes, Hollywood is definitely a tough business so I would assume they would want to stay at a steady/stable job until they can't anymore. But I hope for both of their sakes they're able to be successful elsewhere when the time comes because they both deserve it. That's an interesting point about what happens with a show after season seven, it does make me wonder if seven will be the last too. I mean it's hard to say because ABC does an awful job at promoting it and have for a while now so who knows. It's still doing better than Grey's though in ratings lol but I guess we'll see!

[sleepyivoryrose]

A bit early for Alien Stage Friday, but it's been early since pretty much yesterday, because, like so many endless nights, I didn't sleep a wink.

Very early mornings always have the smell of a new day, a new dawn, but also of solitude and loneliness. So I needed my virtual wall to talk to. It's kind of like children talk to their stuffed animals. I am not a child (even though I am very inmature), but I guess I wanted to write this feeling away.

I listened to a bit of music in bed, and one of the songs was "Good Luck Babe" from Chappell Roan, I think she is called? The PMJ version. The singers there are always so frikkin talented. But I didn't find a mlm version. Cowards. I tried (half tried) to try to make my own version (even though my voice is still too effeminate to pass off as a males) and then I remembered I can't sing. And I quickly learned one thing, which is - you have to be able to sing really well, and ennunciate properly, which I mumblefuck couldn't do it even if I put my whole heart into it. Okay, maybe I would, if I had a vocal coach or something. But I'm not breaking my vocal chords for my shipping needs (even though it was really tempting.)

That reminds me how my little brother always thought as a child, that women kind of have the same voice breaking as a man, because my voice got a bit deeper myself, which is really cute when you think about it.

I mean, they do also change, just not almost one day to another. More gradually, I would say.

---

Today, since I had lot of time on my hands, I moved my bed closer to the heater. Winter is rapidly approaching. Or you could say...winter is coming (I'll shut up now with the GOT references.) It was very pleasant to just huddle and cuddle up against it. That's how my familys cat must feel, when she hops onto the heater to sleep. (She is really hardcore, she doesn't care if her belly burns, but my parents are kind enough to provide her with a towel, so that doesn't happen.) She always thinks of herself like a ferocious tiger, but she also loves to be spoiled and gets pissed if she doesnt get her way. Prime cat behaviour. If she was a human, she certainly would be a megalomaniac narcissist (or at the very least, a little bit arrogant.)

---

These last months I've been thinking about how peoples minds are shifting. "That's right!" "No, that's wrong!" But most of the time...isn't this about perspective, and not righteousness? Like, let's take a green sphere. Everyone would agree that it's a sphere. That's a fact (some people are maybe shortsighted, or just like to bend the rules of their reality for their own amusement and ego, but it's still a sphere, objectively, agreed by the vast majority of people.)

But with the color it get's tricky. Some people see it as green...a lot of people probably would. But what if you put those people with a bunch of people with green-red blindness? They would see it as red.

If we think about it, we don't know who is wrong of both. Sure, the majority says it's green, but...what if they're wrong? Depending on the time period and place, a ton of people had had things in mind, that nowadays would be seen as wrong. That doesn't change that back in the day it was seen as right.

So, translated into opinions: We could talk about our feelings and thoughts. But taking those feelings and thoughts as facts is dangerous. They are strong, but ephemeral, and depending on the person easily swayed. The pictures, that were black-and-white a second ago, suddelnly have a large barrage of colors.

I think it's, a lot of the time, about perspective. How we grew up, how we were educated, the people we met, the things we enjoy, the things we hate, our struggles, our successes, they all amalgamate into our reality. It sounds so simple, so easy to understand. I've got the feeling though people are closing up (in the internet, of course, but in the small town I live in too) and not letting any others perspectives in. They are painting their realities grey, when they could be so much more colorful.

I am personally working on that too. Due to not having much contact with other people, I am growing intolerant and impulsive. I don't want that for myself. On the other hand, I've got a quite severe illness, not deadly, but certainly messes with my brain, and even though I am on one part resigned to just give up, a little part of me wants to keep working on themselves and fight.

I guess people would be happier if they let themselves be free and open for change, but the feeling of void and the fear of loss is also very prevalent.

Fighting for what you think is right is a good thing, don't get me wrong. It may not be a fact, but if it's important to you, you probably can't help yourself.

I just think that sometimes, a little less talking and a little bit more listening, with patience and tolerance, would come a long way.

[fruitcoops]

i feel like you write really good arguments, as a few people have brought up before, where the parties make mistakes but own up to them and acknowledge the other side. Same thing with Captain Sirius- his reprimands are always respectful. It feels mature and just well-thought out. But we know Sirius wasn't always like that, because he came to dumo's house knowing arguments=violence. Would you write a fic where Sirius learns how to argue/captain? maybe from Dumo-the-parent? Does that make sense?

Father-son bonding on this fine Thursday! I love it! SW credit goes to @lumosinlove <3

Dumo’s phone rang halfway through his lunch, which wasn’t unusual, except for the fact that it was Sirius calling and not…well, literally anyone else. Sirius seemed rather allergic to his phone—text replies often went unanswered for an average of 3 hours, and he wasn’t sure he had ever managed to reach Sirius on the first ring. Concern flickered in his chest and he lifted it to his ear.

“H—”

“Oh, thank god,” Sirius said, breathless. “Hi, hello, it’s me—uh, it’s Sirius—and I was just calling to ask for some help because I’m the captain now—you know that, what am I doing—and I don’t have a fucking clue what to do and I’m kind of—”

“Sirius,” Dumo interrupted as soon as his astonishment faded. He had never heard Sirius say so many words in so little time. Silence fell on the other end of the line. “Sirius, are you still there?”

“Yeah. Sorry.”

“Okay, take a deep breath, then tell me what you need.”

Another beat of quiet passed. “So, I’m the captain now.”

“You are.”

“And the guys really like you, but I don’t even know where to start, so I was hoping you could give me a hand with this.”

“With what?”

“How do I make people like me?” Sirius asked, sounding uncharacteristically timid.

Dumo paused, confused. “They already do.”

“But I’m the captain now. They have to like me more, right?”

He pinched the bridge of his nose, torn between laughing and laying down to stave off a headache. “Why don’t you come over and we can talk in person, alright?”

“Right.” Sirius cleared his throat. “Right, yeah, about that.”

“Sirius. Are you—are you currently on my porch?”

“…maybe.” Dumo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s kind of cold out here.”

“You have a key.”

“I thought it would be rude to just let myself in.”

“Oh my god,” Dumo muttered, rising from his chair with a huff. The autumn wind howled as he opened the front door, stripping the trees of their leaves and turning Sirius’ cheeks vivid red as he stood on the top step with the phone still at his ear and anxiety written all over his face.

“Bonjour.”

“You can hang up the phone now.”

Sirius bit his lip and slid it back into his pocket, waiting awkwardly until Dumo motioned him inside and he hurried out of the chill. “Thanks for picking up, by the way.”

“Of course. I’ll always pick up the phone for you.” He guided him toward the kitchen with a hand on his shoulder. “Coffee?”

“Yes, please.”

Still so polite. The coffeepot was still warm from Celeste’s late breakfast, and Sirius’ eyes grew wide at the steam curling off the top when Dumo handed him a mug to wrap his frozen hands around before sitting across from him. “Back to business. Number one: the team already likes you, and you need no help from me getting their approval. Got it?”

Sirius nodded and took a sip.

“Number two: If you ever need my help, please don’t wait on the front porch in freezing weather when you could just knock.” A sheepish smile twitched at the side of his mouth and Dumo shook his head. “I won’t be responsible for your hypothermia. Now, what did you want advice about?”

Sirius let out a slow breath. “I don’t want to be the hardass captain that everyone hates. I just—this is an amazing opportunity, but honestly I just want my friends.”

Dumo hummed, even as his heart panged. “At the risk of sounding vague, the way to do that is to not be a hardass in the first place. Be a leader instead.”

“But I have to tell them what to do—”

“—and a leader does that the right way. There’s a difference between being a leader and being a tyrant. Push them to be better, but don’t be cruel about it. Set an example through the things you do, not the things you make other people do.” He touched the back of his hand gently and Sirius’ eyes flickered over. “Don’t lead through fear, but through respect.”

“I don’t know how.”

“That’s why you called me, non?” He waited until he saw the small smile return. “Alright, how would you approach a situation where one of your teammates is lagging behind in their speed trials?”

Sirius blinked. “Tell them to do better?”

Different tactic. “How did your coaches talk to you when you lagged behind in your speed trials?”

“…told me to do better.”

Orion Black, I will break your kneecaps the next time I see you. Dumo poured himself a fresh cup of coffee. “That may have been a strategy for you, but for someone who is already trying their best, it could be very discouraging. They might resent you for trying to seem better than them.”

Sirius’ brows furrowed. “But I’m not.”

“I know. But they wouldn’t. In my opinion, the best course of action would be to ask what’s wrong, and how you can help. It might not get better overnight, but that teammate will trust that you can help them with their problem and will know that you care about them.”

“So I should just let them fail for a while?”

“You push them toward success gradually, and don’t berate them for any hiccups along the way. Failure can bring growth.”

His mouth set into a line of frustration. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“I’m not explaining this right,” Dumo muttered, chewing the inside of his lip. How to explain to the new leader of your team what leadership is... “Let’s put it this way. You want Pots and Harzy to run a specific play, but they don’t understand it. How do you fix it?”

Sirius started to answer, then closed his mouth and thought for a moment, staring into the depths of his coffee. “I…I would walk them through it section by section, because I know they’re smart, but they might have problems with different parts.”

Dumo wondered if the room had actually become brighter, or if the pride in his heart was just shining through into the real world. “Exactly. And afterward, when they get it right?”

“High-five and run it again.”

“Now you’re getting it!” Something more difficult... “What if Kuny and Nado won’t shut up during Coach’s breakdown?”

“Tell them to be quiet.”

“But then Nado calls you a buzzkill and starts whispering to Kuny, and giving you looks.” Sirius’ whole face fell; if Dumo wasn’t so committed to making sure he got it right, he would’ve felt bad. “What do you do, Sirius?”

“Apolo—”

“No. People don’t respect those who apologize every time they face pushback.”

“But you said I need them to like me.”

“You need them to respect you. They don’t have to like you at all hours of the day.” He poked him lightly on the chest. “It’s your job to keep the team in line, now, and that means being a bit of a buzzkill sometimes. Not an asshole. Just a leader. What do you do if they start whispering about you?”

Sirius scrunched his nose. “Tell them to cut it out again,” he said grudgingly.

“And if they don’t?”

“Can I make them run laps after the meeting?”

“Yep. How many?”

“Three, because I had to ask three times.” He frowned. “And they should run at separate times, otherwise they’ll keep talking. God, they really don’t shut up, do they?”

That’s rich coming from you, Mr.-Chats-with-Pots-24/7. He decided to keep his thoughts to himself—that wasn’t what today was about. “Good job, Sirius.”

“Really?”

“Oui. If you lay down the rules early, you won’t have to keep correcting mistakes. They won’t want to disappoint you in the first place.”

“I don’t want to disappoint them,” he said quietly.

“You won’t.” If there was one thing Dumo was sure of, it was that Sirius would be the best captain the Lions ever had. “Ready for the toughest part?”

“Yes?”

“Are you ready?” he asked again.

Sirius swallowed, then nodded. “Yes.”

“I don’t like the way you’re captaining this team.”

From the look on his face, Dumo might as well have whacked him over the head with a spatula. “What?”

“I don’t think you have the guts.”

A combination of hurt and anger flashed in his eyes. “Hey!”

Dumo prodded him on the shoulder. “You’re not going to be able to stick up for yourself when it comes down to it. You can’t say no to your friends.”

“I can!”

“Then do it,” he challenged. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re—” Sirius pressed his lips together and stood up. “Fuck you. I came to you for help—”

Dumo rose as well, leaning forward half an inch. “Then tell me I’m wrong. Tell me you can captain the shit out of this team.”

“You’re wrong!”

“Say it like you mean it!”

“You’re wrong!” Sirius repeated as his jaw set, louder. “I’m going to captain the shit out of this team and fuck you for thinking I can’t!”

“But I don’t like it!” Though they were both shouting at each other, Sirius’ defensiveness and timidity in the face of conflict were nowhere to be found.

“That’s not my problem!” His cheeks were turning pink again, but not from the cold. “I’m the captain, so you either listen to me or tell me what the hell your problem is!”

“There you go!” Dumo cheered, stepping around the table to crush him in a hug. “That was perfect.”

Sirius went still with befuddlement. “What?”

“You didn’t believe you could captain this team until just now, did you?” He stepped back and held Sirius’ shoulders, beaming. “You just did exactly what you were supposed to do. You cannot let yourself be pushed around if you want to lead and keep your friendships strong. I am so, so proud of you.”

Sirius stared at him in shock for a moment, then moved forward again and rested his chin on Dumo’s shoulder as he pulled him in for another hug. “Thank you.”

“You are going to do great things, Sirius. I’m just glad I could help.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you.”

Dumo smiled and patted his back, giving him a squeeze. “Yes, you could. That’s how I know you will.”

[adultswiim]

Clay for the character thing? Sorry lol

Sexuality Headcanon: He is gay! Internalized homophobia is strong with this one. If only he had the time to figure it out.

Gender Headcanon: I cannot imagine him as anything other than cis sadly, he has a curse.

A ship I have with said character: Not necessarily a ship, but I do wish we could've seen more of his relationship with Coach Stopframe before they broke it off. Some of their moments were cute I will admit.

A random headcanon: He seems like the kind of dad who's really into model trains, or those little Christmas towns people have in their house. Maybe instead of guns his study is just full of those.

A NOTP I have with said character: His wife.

A BROTP I have with said character: He has friends? I kid. On a serious note we didn't really get to see him bond with characters a whole lot, and if we did it was kind of implied he hated them? Or at least that he was talking with them to be polite. So I guess I have N/A, but I'm curious to see if other people have opinions on who he would've been buddy buddy with.

General Opinion over said character: I love Clay as a character, he's really neat! He helps create the image of an elder implementing childhood/religious trauma, not to mention I adore what we got to see of his early years! He's very well written and I got analyze this dude for hours. That being said, while I can praise him for how he's written, I will also hate on him for his actions. I guess you can say I have a love-hatw relationship with him. Goes to show how good his character is.

[lovee-infected]

So Merlin the goddamn great, smh but no ROOK LORE I AM FURIOUS! I STILL WANT TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS

Warning: Spoiler alert!

Oooooofff the final episodes of chapter 5 did seriously explode the fandom I see, from the overblot Grim to our twst Merlin, everything literally everything about the end of this chapter was a big surprise but... This chapter has also brought up a considerably huge wave of drama along with it, which is basically because of Rook voting for RSA instead of NRC. I, personally, considered it to be just a reason to laugh and make a meme or two about this chapter and all. But looking at the fandom, I can clearly see that it's been causing some serious consequences, some fans/creators are leaving the fandom, there has been a couple of offensively worded Rook hate posts (small memes and jokes aren't counted) and there's ever a #RookIsOverParty on Twitter now.

Okay but, it was all cool and chill until it was just a joke. Can't you see? This happens in many fandoms! And is often a good chance to laugh! But...This is getting serious. A huge majority of this fandom (even Rook/Vil shippers and Rook stans themselves) are hating on Rook/Rook stans and fans are leaving, therefore I believe the situation needs to be clarified before it leads to more dramas.

Many of you had also requested a Rook analysis before sooooo- here we go!

First off, this episode did eventually give us a considerable amount of Rook lore although it wasn't as perfect as we wanted it to be. Most of us wanted to get to know him more, but I'd say focusing on all we've got already would do for now. But before that, let's talk about what exactly happened in chapter 5 and why are fand hating on Rook rn:

after the performances are voted on, it’s revealed that nrc lost to rsa by just a single vote. that vote turned out to be rook, who voted for rsa in favor of their own team as he was moved by their spirit. the whole nrc team is shellshocked (of course) and vil faints

it’s also later revealed that rook is one of neige’s biggest fans, possessing albums full of his bromides, going to each meet and greet, and even writing him anonymous fan letters.

Okay okay I know this was quite unexpected and resulted in NRC's loss, but before you say how much of a shitty character Rook is consider this:

1) He was totally honest with his opinion and thoughts.

One of the interesting facts regarding Rook's character design and presence in chapter 5, is how he played the role of both the huntsman and the mirror.

He was honest with his beliefs and decision, although it was against his friends. Just as how the mirror introduced Snow White as the fairest one of all although Evil Queen didn't want to hear of her.

This is also what Rook did, he judged based on his idealistics towards beauty. NOT because he's a screaming Neige fanboy and NOT because he disliked Vil.

Honestly, if there's one person whose judgement would be strong and on point, that'll be Rook and only him; in parts (2) & (4) we'll explain why.

2) His decision has nothing to do with his personal relationship with Vil!

Yes, he voted for RSA, but to assume that this means he secretly preferred Neige over Vil all this time and call him a betrayer now, that's wrong.

Look, if there one person who could judge NRC's process through the training sessions fairly, that'll be Rook. He's been there all this time, watching each and every second of Vil's coaching and team's progressing, note that he also helped Vil the most, this performance would've been impossible without his help!

But, he was also there when Vil lost it, when Vil's fear of not being the winner took over him and made him even try to poison Neige. At some point Vil was nothing like the perfect coach he was at the very beginning, and if Rook hadn't told Neige to escape who knows how terrible the whole think might've gone.

His decision, on the other hand, was HIS decision. He was asked to choose one performance, and he chose what he liked; that's all, no big deal. Note that the silly thing with the whole issue isn't mainly how Rook voted for RSA, it's also about how half of the audience as well voted for RSA which makes it sound almost stupid, this point will be explained in part (5)!

3) Have you all really forgotten what Rook is like?

I mean, come on this is what he is in general! This is Rook Hunt we're speaking of, one of the rarely known characters of the game and mister of surprises and unpredictable decisions!

Him being a Neige fan is no big deal, and I assure you, he probably stans a lot of other people else than Neige too. Don't forget that this is the same monseiur Rook who gave 100 points! to anyone who participated in NRC's VDC test, so there shouldn't really be a panic taking all over the fandom just because we know he stans Neige, Rook is one to greatly appreciate the concept of beauty in general, and Neige is one of the most famous and beautiful people in the whole twisted wonderland, so other than this being much of a snow white reference, it was totally expected to see him stanning Neige as well. Keep this in mind that just because he's a fan of Neige, it doesn't mean that he hates or he has betrayed Vil.

In Rook's point of view, there is no such thing as rivals in beauty, he just appreciates both Vil and Neige's beauty regardless of what's going on between them.

4) This chapter proved that Rook is indeed a perfect friend for Vil.

While there hasn't ever been a mention of a canon relationship between Vil and Rook, shipper may be happy to know that this episode didn't sink the ship at all. And if you judge and see through what happened in the right eye, you'll see it even shows how strong their friendship is.

Note that this wasn't the first time Rook criticizes Vil either, back in Vil's SR lab coat story he openly criticized Vil and said he's gonna get fat if he continued to eat like this. See? Rook never the once lied to Vil, he openly judges him, and his judgements are logical and on point.

Vil on the other hand is always working his hardest to improve, to become better and completer by each and every day that passes. He needs such a friend by his side to judge him nonetheless, a friend to judge him just like the mirror judged the Queen. But there's a difference, Vil accepts and appreciates criticism BECAUSE, he wants to improve.

A friend like Rook is seriously what he needs, Rook supported and helped him all the way as RSA was getting prepared for VDC, he could've just made them lose and by ruining their training sessions if he wanted to! Can't you see? He helped Vil more than anyone else, but didn't lie to him when it was the time to judge. Vil still has a long way to go, and Rook is aware. He wants Vil to see that he isn't yet complete so that he can become better than he already is.

That's it, that's what a real friend would do.

5) Twst needs to be more considerative toward story line and sudden reveals.

On the one hand, it's mainly fans who are exaggerating the whole issue and starting drama over a simple voting and all, but twst itself as well is partly guilty. This is such a huge and active fandom, each and every detail about the story can be super effective (ex: Sebek being half human, Malleus being an orphan, etc). After making RSA's Yahoo performance look super silly they worst thing they could do was to make NRC lose like this, meaningless, silly and helpless. Why?

Twst seriously needs to take details more seriously as they could've AT LEAST made this comparison sound reasonable by choosing a better and stronger song than a twisted version of Heigh-Ho.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with Rook voting for Neige, but seriously? Rook voting for Neige had to be a symbol of honesty and Rook's loyalty toward the concept of beauty itself and not Vil, not an stupid decision to make Rook prefer a childish song over NRC's wonderful performance and look like a helpless Neige fan boy.

-Sigh- Well, I guess that's all I had for now, hope I didn't miss anything. But anyway, the Rook drama is slowly getting overwhelming. There's nothing wrong with memes and jokes AS LONG AS THEY'RE JUST A JOKE- offending characters with clear intention and causing drama because of it is not okay. I know that was unexpected please remember not to exaggerate the story too much either!

[i-write-boop-spoops]

Leon with a chubby! S/O

Thanks for the request anon! I’m on the softer side too, so I really enjoyed this one!

This is gonna be wholesome and sfw! Though there will be brief mentions of fatphobia and body-shaming. Remember all bodies are beautiful, no matter the shape or size!

Seriously if I catch anybody body-shame on this blog they will catch this block, lemme tell ya that much

Enjoy!

Leon loves your body

He thinks it’s so gorgeous and soft

So beautiful!

So snuggle-able!

It’s so different from his

He really enjoys the contrast

One of his favourite things to do when he needs to de-stress

After a long day of league-business

Is resting his head on a plush part of you

Like your lap

Your tummy

Or your chest

And have you run your fingers through his hair

While he has his big strong arms wrapped around you

Basically hugging you

It’s heaven to him

You’re so nice and warm

Your scent is amazingly comforting too

The whole experience just makes him a happy, blessed boi

He’ll never need another pillow again, since he has you!

At no time has he ever felt ashamed or embarrassed to be seen with you

Whenever you’re out together, he holds your hand/hip proudly

Presenting you as his beloved S/O to the world

He’s fully aware of how the tabloids treat you

It’s honestly disgusting what they’ve written about your size/shape

And some of his stans are SO rude to you online

They already hate the fact their champion has a sweetheart

A sweetheart who isn’t them

So they would post terrible things about you and your appearance

He has denounced them, and blocked/reported many of them

You’ve done the same

But unfortunately you can’t escape all of what they say

One of the ones that stuck out to Leon

Was a particularly terrible rumour that you had blackmailed him into dating you

Which, besides from being absolutely vile

Is such a wild concept to him

Because like

In his opinion, it should be the other way around

He thinks you’re way out of his pokemon league

So pretty and kind and funny and cute and smart and sexy

Etc, etc

You see him as he truly is, not as his Champion façade

Man’s so whipped for you

You do your best to ignore his mean stans/the media, but sometimes they get to you

He makes sure to remind you of how much he loves you

How pretty you are

How gorgeous your body is

How you j i g g l e

You find solace in the fact you can always lean on Lee for support and reassurance

He really does make you feel beautiful/sexy

Leon loves to work out

All that wii sports resort does a body good

So if you wanted to start exercising with him

Whether to lose weight, get stronger or just to take up a new hobby

He will be the BEST coach ever

Supportive, encouraging, inspiring

Pushes you to push yourself, but not to the point of injury or exhaustion

After all, he finds you perfect as you are, so no need to over-exert yourself

He’s just very blessed to be with you

[where-theres-smoak-2]

Haters can whine, but when it comes to the age difference between Darklina, I actually think S&B Alina found Aleksander being older than her extremely sexy. She had this alluring and powerful older man desiring her. That had to be a heady thing for her after a lifetime of neglect and rejection. Even Jessie talked about how during her Winter Fete demonstration everyone's eyes were on her, but Alina wanted to impress Aleks the most. She loved teasing him and being adored by him (Praise Kink). 😉

Oh she 100% was into the fact that he was older than her. At that time she was very lost and very confused so I think the fact that Aleks was a bit older and seemed to be in control and put together was very comforting and attractive to her. As their relationship deepened and she saw that more vulnerable side to him she had become comfortable enough with him that she wanted to comfort him and instead of that vulnerable side scaring her away in actually made him even more attractive to her.

She clearly wanted to please him and as you said she loved to tease him and loved the attention and adoration he gave her. I think during that Winter fete demonstration it was important to her that she did him proud, she wanted to do well for him because she knew that he was relying on her doing well to keep alliances. Basically her doing well in the demonstration would make his job easier so I think she wanted to help in that to take some of that burden off him. I think also a part of her wanted to impress him and she wanted to see that pride and adoration on his face, it is so telling that during the demonstration it is him that she has her eyes locked on and lbr the look she gives him is one that is very lustful and charged.

There are other scenes as well where you can see how happy it makes her to impress and please Aleks. For example the scene in ep 3 after she does the demonstration for the king and Aleks tells her she was perfect, she was clearly on cloud nine and was so happy with his praise even then in that early stage of their relationship. Making him proud and not letting him down made her feel good and made her feel happy. I've seen some people say, and I would even argue that it is something the narrative in the book does too, that Alina wanting to please Aleks is a bad thing because she shouldn't need his approval, that it is anti feminist for her to want his approval. My response to that is needing someone's approval and appreciating someone's approval are two very different things. I don't think Alina needs Aleks' praise or approval but she does appreciate it and enjoys it and to be honest I don't see anything wrong with that. Quite the opposite actually I think its nice to be praised for something you've done well and its encouraging as well. Yet for some reason the narrative is trying to tell me that Baghra's method of beating her students is better than Aleks' method of praise and encouragement, Aleks praising and encouraging Alina is apparently actually evil and manipulative, label me confused as hell by that messaging. The point is just because Alina likes to be praised by Aleks and likes to impress him doesn't mean she is sacrificing some kind of feminist morals, you can still be a strong independent woman and enjoy the attentions of a man. Also to me it makes perfect sense that she wants and enjoys the attention and praise from Aleks when you consider just how overlooked and as you said neglected she was growing up. She was never really praised as doing well at something, she wasn't recognised as being an accomplished, talented cartographer, M*l also makes that joke about how she is a terrible shot and that they made her cartographer for a reason which suggests she wasn't praised for any talents during her training for the first army. This is the first time she is good at something and so of course she enjoys the attention she gets from it. I hate that people try to paint this as a bad thing because Alina deserves all the attention, recognition and praise. Like I saw an opinion piece from Den of Geek, most of which I strongly disagreed with, but there was one thing that they said against darklina that I think is relevant here. One of them makes the argument that Alina shouldn't have to fix the darkling that she and I quote 'She deserves support and love now, not some time in a possible future when she has managed to coach Aleksander through his pain.' The thing is she does have love and support now, she has it from Aleks. In fact he is one of her biggest supporters, he gives her care and encouragement. I feel like because of other toxic elements in their relationship people just ignore the good things about their relationship. You can acknowledge the things that make their relationship toxic whilst still recognises the things that are good and healthy, a relationship is never entirely one or the other. And there are good things about their relationship and the love and support he gives her are one of those things.