#I think I only got Soap’s proportions

[theartgremlin]

Soap’s escapin’, Roach is giving his biggest, wettest, saddest puppy eyes, Gaz is trying flattery, Ghost’s gonna bite, and Price is Patiently Waiting

[snackugaki]

...visdev really is my enrichment activity for i am just a bored tiger in my enclosure, looking to figure out how to get this steak out of this metal ball.

________

my tmnt au (where everyone made it past their 20s, splinter’s alive just old, venus is here, and they deserve some goddamn respite and shenanigans)

tmnt au part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4

tmnt au omake 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

lny visit 1 | 2

also uhhh... i guess still idw, next mutation, and like 1 mirage spoiler? mostly for the kids who haven’t but were planning to read/watch

you’re about to perceive so much

p r e p a r e

so close to getting this AU looking as crunchy as i want it, almosttttt tttthhhhhere...!

just somewhere tasty between Mignola’s use of deep black shadow, what MTV Liquid Television woulda greenlit re: The Maxx, a dash of 2007, 1 part Next Mutation, 2 parts funny proportions

hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh str ugglingggg

Leo’s shortest because haha (family baby gang, get rekt)

this is so much thought for something I’m just doing to give these turtle ninjas some softness and the genx/millenial pop culture references gag comics

Splinter is full of ghosts

(specifically the onryo borne from the murdered Yoshi Hamato and Tang Shen [because oroku saki a bitch])

[ redacted ] and Tang Shen’s ghost gained control and guided Splinter to raise the boys in love and not [ redacted ] to [ redacted ] in [ redacted ]

Splinter was just a regular little rat... who on his 1000th birthday witnessed the death of his friend/unwitting master and his wife, and thus transformed into a wrathful kyūso (minus the kitten eating) and chased Shredder until losing his trail in New York

Shredder’s fuck around and Splinter’s rampaging as the find out caused the tengu to repo some of the mysticism from ninjutsu

now all the (remaining) ninja clans debuffed and mad about it

The tengu bestowed the ninja the ability to summon shit (kuchiyose), enact mystical effects upon people and objects (kuji kiri), going invisible, minor flight (actually just qinggong/light body technique), and manipulation of the 5 elements, and creating doubles (bunshin)

but again, Shredder fucked up so now ninja can like barely control anything bigger than a lit torch or a 16 oz bottle of liquid and that’s if you got in enough hours to do even that

I mentioned elsewhere but for me in any AU I make, Venus is a cultivator and the more I think about it the more I will die on this hill, not only does it fit better than her being a “shaman” or “shinobi” it’s sick as fuck

Jennika’s origin was pretty fkkn metal, she still falls in with the Foot, gets shanked, Leo gives blood-- bam, turtle time

Jennika goes to hang with Venus in China and get a better understanding of her new turtle body

Keno’s here, still tried to infiltrate the Foot (with Jennika) but bugged out when she couldn’t stay without being made (Jennika refused to leave womp)

teaches Leo some arnis techniques for Leo’s dual wielding; Donnie also just in case his bo is shattered... again. :)

Irma has made all the boys blush at least twice

Irma is also soap opera buddies with Splinter

they meet up at least twice a month to gab, gush, and groan over what’s currently going on in their stories, when Venus visits she also joins in, Irma also has a conversational grasp on Japanese and Venus’ regional dialect because of these visits

April has a full out shoujo manga romance with Chu Hsi

and he’s a hot dragon prince uhuhuhuhuhu

Irma is privy to all the steamy details

keeping Leo and Karai as character foils

both received scars from one another

both released each other from sealing wards from [ redacted ]

now they just meet every so often to eat the greasiest fast food and unclench of an hour

Raph still gets his ass worked by Ninjara, folded like an omelette sat on a lawn chair

Vam Mi is also here, she’s fought first (because honestly she should’ve been either brought in earlier in the season or had a few more episodes because that shit coulda resolved better)

Venus is brought to NYC for this antagonist instead of Dragonlord escaping (and murdering her father figure forcing her to seek out his friend Splinter for aid)

Donnie doesn’t take the news of real vampires or real magic well

Donnie and Venus have a knock down drag out fight over it (because they’re 17 at this point and being li’l shits to each other about their respective fields of expertise)

“The nerds are fightingggggg!” cries Mikey, Leo and Raph don’t believe it so imagine their surprise when they get a demo in real time on how scary competent staff fighters are

Leo gets Splinter when one of Donnie’s missed strikes cracks the concrete

Splinter breaks them up like talking a walk in the park and it’d be comical if they both weren’t bleeding from the mouth and peppered with swelling contusions

Venus begins accepting Donnie when his tech prevents her from becoming a thrall of Vam-Mi

Donnie begins accepting Venus when she uses a massive amount of chi to manipulate gravity just before he becomes street pizza when Vam-Mi throws him off a bridge

they also combine skill sets to save Mikey so there’s that

Venus goes from calling Donnie, “Horatio (derogatory)” to “Horatio (affectionate)”

they now have a dumbass long-as-fuck handshake that’s unforgivably nerdy 

April is still a magic drawing-brought-to-life baby, Venus puts her in a painted scroll when she starts phasing in and out of existence (she and Chu Hsi have a great time in the scroll... while everyone is shitting bricks until Venus and her sect stabilize her and get her made real, Pinocchio style)

April’s grandmothers gifted Venus 2 pieces of jade jewelry, and her family’s recipe for sweet potato pudding respectively for saving April

the boss fight against Dragonlord is dope as fuckkkkk, Chu Hsi is being cool as fuck, fiddled with some concepts* that has Leo and Karai being a champion of Genbu, Raph for Byakko, Mikey for Suzaku, Chu Hsi’s retainer (a good dragon, wink wonk) steps in for Seiryu because Donnie and Venus are siphoning and redirecting an enormous amount and variety of mystical power

*i’m just pulling from fushigi yugi honestly

splinter, the boys, and venus (and others) mutating from mutagen laced toxic waste was a pure accident

Splinter was investigating a lead on Shredder’s movements concerning the Foot the same night an animal liberation sleeper cell ‘freed’ some animals from the back of a pet store (that was a front for black market domestic and exotic animal trafficking) that is also the same night a stolen truck driven by some corporate spies filled with a competitor’s chemical waste, which then collides with said liberation sleeper cell’s truck and... ooze happens

Leatherhead, the Mutanimals, Mondo, Mona Lisa, Slash also get mutated from the events of that night, either leading up to or following the aftermath

plus some others etc etc

Venus still washes down the gutter, gets rube goldberg pinballed onto a crate of plums where Chung I finds her and still gets named Mei and taken to live in China and eventually learns to cultivate

Tokka and Rahzar get made, and unmade ala TMNT II; the mutagen made them a little silly tho, April adopts Rahzar and passes him off as a low content wolfdog, Leatherhead takes in Tokka

April went through a couple of major changes so now she’s a journalist with a computer programming background who now does a podcast as an informal neighborhood news reporter with a segment for chatting with people from around the street

Mikey’s the most frequent guest and co-hosts sometimes; Donnie troubleshoots free of charge

Venus brings her province’s regional delicacies when she comes to visit, Splinter and Leo both get pu er tea cakes (she managed to get one the same age as him; Splinter is too old so she got the oldest she could find, Leo has so many tea pets and a nice yixing collection); Raph, Keno, and Casey fight over the pickles, meat jerkies, and chili oil; Mikey has an artillery of cool shirts and a lifetime supply of haw flakes, Donnie has a mountain of doodads with increasingly specific uses, April gets neat accessories and the occasional care package sent with Venus from her grandparents, uncles, and aunties; Irma gets neat frames and coats that never fail to get a “Where did you get that??”

Raph rides a Kawasaki Ninja because it’s funny

A lot of bodegas give Mikey free snacks because the bodega cats love him, and he’s also saved some from being run over or ripped apart by stray dogs or the few large angry raccoons

Donnie’s the only one of his brothers to wear both a top and bottom with shoes because once he figured out how to integrate a motherboard and miscellany wiring onto clothing... he’s been a walking computing menace ever since

Splinter does his best to enjoy his time with his sons (because as a kyūso, he knows the chances of outliving his precious sons is very high (ᴗ‿ᴗ✿)  ...give or take one of the many opponents and obstacles his sons take on takes him out first ( ◕ᴗ◕✿ ) )

god whathefuck, I was just going to make silly comics for them. how did it come to this.

[confessionsofacougar]

Watching mum in the shower

This is a role-play I did with my 31-year-old friend with benefits a few days ago... It was soooo damn hot I had to write about it :) Love to know what you think!

As Ben walked in the door, he could hear the shower running in the main bedroom. His mum must be in the shower again. He walked towards the main bedroom hoping the door would be open as it had been the past few days. It was. He quickly got undressed and snuck into the main room. The ensuite was off to the right and the door was open as usual. If he stood against the wall just near the door, he could see the mirror which gave him a full view of the shower. The shower screen was glass so he could see his mum clearly. She was using a loofah and soaping up her body. Ben started stroking himself as he watched the soap slide off his mum’s breasts and stomach. She turned and bent over and he watched as she lathered up her legs. He loved her round ass. She turned again and his heart skipped a beat as he saw the loofah brush against her pussy. He had been surprised to find that she was clean shaven. He loved it. He continued stroking his now hard cock as he watched her. He was watching his mum soap up her breasts again and he inadvertently stepped forward. As he did so, his mum glanced over at the mirror and saw him just beyond the door frame. She turned the shower off, opened the shower door and grabbed a towel. She held it in front of her as she stepped out of the shower.

“What the hell are you doing?” she asked him.

“I’m sorry mum. I just got home from work and was coming to let you know I was home when I saw you in there. You looked so sexy I couldn’t help myself.”

“You think I look sexy?”

“Absolutely! I love your body.”

“Thanks Ben.”

“I really am sorry mum. I’m usually gone before you get out.”

“Usually?? You’ve done this before??”

Ben went bright red as he nodded. “Yes. I’ve been doing it for a while now.”

“Really. I don’t know what to think about this.”

“I’m sorry mum.”

As he spoke, his mum noticed that he was still stroking himself. She allowed herself to look at him properly. He was naked, and he actually had a really nice body. Not skinny, but well proportioned. He’d been doing physical work lately and his muscles were becoming more defined. His cock was rock hard. It must be 7 inches long and it was quite thick too.

“Well if you are going to watch me, I guess it’s only fair that I get to watch you too.”

Ben looked at her. “Huh? You want to watch me shower?”

“No. I have something else in mind.” Mum dropped her towel and walked over to the end of the bed and sat down. She patted the mattress in front of her. “Come on. Sit down.”

Ben walked over to the bed and sat cross legged opposite his mum.

“I want to watch you masturbate.”

He spread his legs slightly and leant back against the headboard. He looked at his mum, unsure of what to do next.

“Go on…” said mum.

 Ben proceeded to stroke his cock again. Every now and then he’d run his hand down over his testicles and give them a squeeze. He was looking at his mum’s body as he did so. She could see the desire in his eyes and to her surprise, she was feeling quite turned on.

She adjusted her position so that her legs were slightly apart and she started to rub her pussy. Ben’s breath caught in his throat.

“Mum, what are you doing?”

“You seem to be enjoying yourself. I am enjoying watching you, so I thought I’d join in. Is that okay?”

“Um yeah of course”

Ben couldn’t take his eyes off his mum’s pussy as she rubbed her clit and slid her fingers in and out of her bald pussy. He could feel his cock throb as he watched her.

“You know what? I’ve got an idea.” His mum said.

“Yeah?”

Mum spread her legs wider and patted the mattress between them. “I want you to sit here.” She said. Ben shuffled closer to her. “Get on your knees,” she said. Ben did so. “Now, I want you to keep masturbating, but you can touch me. You can rub your cock on my pussy, you can press it against me… anything you want, but you cannot go inside me.”

“Oh my god. Really? You sure?”

“Yes”

Ben shuffled even closer. He continued stroking his cock but seemed hesitant to touch her even though he couldn’t take his eyes off her.

“Touch me” she said.

He rubbed the head of his cock along the length of her pussy. They both held their breath for a moment. He held his shaft and hit her clit with the head of his cock a few times. Her pussy lips were slightly open and he pressed the head of his cock between them. Mum lifted her hips and pushed against him slightly. He rubbed the head up and down between the lips. She was so wet his cock slid easily between them. Mum pushed against him again.

“Fuck me” she said

Ben looked at her. “What?”

“Fuck me”

“Mum… are you sure???”

“Yes.”

Mum lay back on the bed with her legs wide apart. Ben held her hips and pulled her closer to him. He positioned himself and pressed his cock against her. He hesitated slightly and mum lifted her hips, pushing against him. He pushed his cock between her lips and slowly entered her. They both moaned. He because she was so tight and so wet. He’d never dreamt she would feel so good. Her because his cock was so hard and so thick. She could feel him stretch her as he pushed deeper inside her. He started fucking her slowly at first. Almost as though he were afraid he’d hurt her. Mum wrapped her legs around him and her hands raked down his back. Her enthusiasm encouraged him to go faster and harder. He lifted her legs and placed them on his shoulders. He was so deep inside her he could feel her cervix. Mum clenched her pussy tight around him and the pressure drove him wild. With a final thrust he pushed deep inside her and mum could feel his cock throb as he filled her with his warm cum. After a few seconds, he withdrew and lay beside her. They were both breathless.

“Well, we will definitely be doing that again” Mum said and Ben smiled.

“Absolutely” he replied.

[s1ckh1mb0]

Gaz x reader angst

How did it possibly turn into a fucking hurricane of emotions?

Gaz came home up upset because of his teammates. The constant belittling of him and doubting of his abilities could only go on for so long before he eventually snapped. He could usually take it as a joke because he knew damn well he was a lot better than any of the team knew. But once Ghost made a comment to Soap about how “He’s surprised that Gaz is even part of team” something in him just couldn’t take it no more. For fuck sake he worked with the queen and they still think he’s just some amateur.

He couldn’t prove them by snapping at them. So what would he do to calm himself down? Well nothing good…

All you did was simply greet him when he came in. In return you got yelled at to get the fuck off his back and how he doesn’t need you bitching at him. You turned and looked at him like he had two heads. He must have lost his mind speaking to you that way.

“Excuse you?”

“Oh what now?! You to fucking dumb to understand what I’m saying?”

You laughed at him in disbelief it’s no way in the world he was talking to you that way. This set him off beyond belief. He got in your face screaming at you about how he bust his ass all day just for you to laugh at him. Of course you argued back telling him how he threw everything out of proportion.

It had been almost two hours and you’ve been arguing non stop. You had a pounding migraine and just threw you arms in the arm and told him you were done.

“Tsk of course you are that’s cause your weak if it weren’t for me who knows where you would be. Probably with that little bitch you dating before me”

You went silent as you looked at him in astonishment. He just had the audacity to throw your past in your face for no reason. And now you just both stood there looking at each other. He knew he fucked up but how pride was to big for him at the moment. You sucked your teeth and shrugged as you grabbed your phone and started walking to the door of your shared home.

“Who really knows, but I know one thing you got me mistaken with some other bitch right now.”

“Babe where are you going.”

He couldn’t believe that you were leaving but once he seen you step foot out the door his heart shattered.

“Don’t worry about me Kyle.”

“Kyle?”

“Mhm me and you we are done.”

“Babe wai-”

“Maybe you should take their advice Kyle, you still do act like a child.”

@silas-222

[ilove-masked-men]

”How much do her parents make?”

a y/n x Johnny (Soap) Mactavish forbidden love based fanfic

Y/N POV

Arguing about money again, ofcourse they were, my dad loves to start arguments about money when he can’t afford his whiskey because mom payed for the rent instead of cigerettes. It was horrible, you asked him to go to rehab again but he said it “only made him worse” we all knew he was lying. I needed out and immediately. I didn’t want to go into the living room through front door though, they would drag me into the argument. I only had one other way out - my window. Right outside my window was a skip we had hired to clear out the house but we had barely used it, the only thing inside of it were some pillows and old blankets, creating the perfect soft landing. 

I jumped out and down onto it, it hurt, but not as much as it would if there wasn’t any cushoning. I got up and started walking, it was cold, even with my thickest coat on. It was so late too, almost tweleve and i was out walking. I’m asking to be kidnapped.

I was too busy lost in thought to see the man i had bumped into, almost knocking both of our balance. I mindlessly grabbed onto him for stabilty with my eyes squeezing shut in shock.

“What’s somet gorgeous la’hk yo’ou doin’ all about this late at ni’ht?” A heavy Scottish accent asked me, he didn’t seem to mega uncomfortable, but i let go of him without hesitance to make sure.

I realised i still had my eyes closed and opened them up, to be blessed in my vision… i think. He had an uneven smirk on his lips as he looked at me, with an extremely noticable mowhawk and peircing blue eyes. His face was imperfect but in all the right ways that made him something amazing to look at. He had the perfect build, his whole body being perfectly proportioned in his skin tight black shirt and slightly baggy blue jeans, only tight in the right places. 

“Still waitin’ for me answer pretty.” He said with a slight scoff, he was so full of himself i couldn’t help but be flattered.

“Uhm, sorry i was just going for a walk.” I answered directly, looking down.

“At twelve o’clock at ni’ht? Are you sure tha’s it?” He asked, his voice rung with a slight concern in it.

“Oh.. i mean, you know how it is.. rough night..” I explained to him, becoming more and more nervous, which he clearly picked up on.

“Hey, i ain’ abou’ to try and kidnap yo’ou or other stuff. How old are yous? And what’s your name? I’m 18 and me name is Johnny, but yous can call me Soap.” He asked me the questions so gently and he sounded so sincere i fell undee his spell, i made eye contact with him and smiled slightly.

“I’m y/n and i’m 16.” I told him, i felt more comfortable with him now that i had felt used to him.

“What time have yous gotta be home lovie? You wanna walk n’ talk?” He asked me with a kind smile.

I nod and begin talking to him, walking down the road next to him. He bought us coffee at the 24 hour cafê and we got phone numbers, i hope we can keep in touch alot, tonight was amazing - i met him at 12:00 and i got back home at 2:00. He even walked me home, i was writing about him in my diary for ages, filling up 3 pages just describing and drawing him. I slept like a baby after hetting everything off my chest too.

[primal-slayer]

Charmed drama Mega-Post

Mid 2000: Per Jason Priestley

Shannen talks Charmed and the joy she gets from working with Holly/Alyssa:

2001:

2.6.01 - Wanda at E!Online reports that there is definitely something a-brewin' regarding the rumors about Alyssa Milano leaving the show. A source close to the set has told her that there is some not-so-charming tension between Alyssa and her onscreen sibs. Apparently it's stemming from jealousy over better storylines and Shannen's more expensive wardrobe, which is full of Chloe and Versace and has created a few budget problems. Link

2.28.01 - E! Online's Wanda reports that things are getting really ugly on the set of "Charmed." Doherty acts like a primadonna all the time, demanding the best clothes and to be in the middle of all the publicity shots, and Milano is sick of it and threatening to leave. Meanwhile, Combs has managed to pretty much stay out of it.

5.10.01 - This week's Soap Opera Weekly interviews Executive Producer Brad Kern in an effort to confirm the rumors behind Alyssa's said departure from the series in her on-the-set battles with co-star Shannen Doherty. "Nothing I've been told from the people that I work for indicates whatsoever that anybody's leaving the show," Kern says of the rumor that Milano wants off and that her character will be killed. "Alyssa and Shannen are professionals. Are they best friends? No. Do they have to be? No. Do they work well together? Yeah. They're sisters in character only. They come in and do their job well. That's all that matters to us."

TVGO: After all the rumors about why you leftCharmed— including backstage feuding with covenmateAlyssa Milano— would you like to take this chance to clarify things for the record? Doherty: You know, I don't really want to be given the opportunity to clear the record. I have absolutely nothing to say. Details magazine will be out in August — that's probably the most honest interview that you'll ever read with me. I picked one magazine to tell the true story in and... if somebody wants to read it, then great. My opinion is, it really doesn't matter. I moved on, they moved on and who cares? You know, everything gets so blown out of proportion by the press that after awhile, you just gotta bury your head in the sand and go, 'I'm done talkin' about it.' TVGO: Any parting advice for your replacement, Rose McGowan? Doherty: [grinning mischievously] No, I think Rose will do a fine job, actually. I think Rose can hold her own and she's very sexy and beautiful — and I think it's actually going to make for a very interesting show, to be honest with you. I wish them all the luck.

 "I think my passion for my work was too overwhelming," says Doherty of the fur-fly that became the Charmed set. Doherty claims the issue was one colleague's work ethic. "I mean, what do we do?" she continues. "Say a few lines, sit in our trailers, and get paid a fortune. That's really rough. And yet there was a person there that bitched about her job, day in, day out." According to Doherty, a "mediator" was brought in to diffuse all the poisonous estrogen. To this diplomat she said, "Are you supposed to be my shrink? Because I've already got one." Exchanges like these apparently so riled Milano, Doherty says, that the comely newcomer announced that she would not return to the show if Doherty stayed on. Doherty insists that she was the more politic star; to settle things, she took the matter up with the serge suits at Paramount, threatening to quit unless "changes" were made, though she says she wanted Milano to stay. "I would never wish another actor out of a job," she adds. "I think it's terrible karma." (Milano's reps did not return phone calls.) Six months later, at the end of the season, came a frilly pink slip. Though Doherty claims that she actually wanted to leave the show, she remains bitter that she's yet to hear from Spelling and that no one sat down with her to explain what happened. "You know what?" she says. "The lack of appreciation he's showing for me as a human being and as an actor is overwhelming." (Spelling's office issued a terse "No comment.") Others believe Doherty has her charms. "I worked with her for three years," says Charmed witch No.3, Holly Marie Combs. "I don't think she's difficult at all."

But trouble was undeniably brewing between Doherty and Milano by the time production started on the third season last summer. The fawning quotes to the press had stopped, as had the costars' time together away from the set. As Milano puts it, "I wasn't going to call [Shannen] on the weekend to go hand out." Rumors quickly swirled that Doherty was resentful of Milano's growing popularity, which had translated into several endorsement deals, including one with MCI. But those close to the situation claim it was more complicated than that. "There were no angels," Combs says. "We all had our bad days. We all [got] stressed out."

That's hardly surprising, says executive producer Kern. "People on a TV set work together 12 to 14 hours a day, five days a week. Rarely have I seen cast members stay, or even become, best friends." Adding to the friction, says Combs, was the stars' growing frustration with the show's direction. "We were in [a] rut, where we felt like we were doing the same episodes over and over again," she says. Doherty, in particular, "wanted to make the show bigger and better and stretch her boundaries," says Combs, who has been friends with the actress for eight years, and still speaks frequently with her. "I'd see her in the morning and she'd be like, 'OK, how are we going to fix this scene?' She was really dedicated and she didn't have a lot of patience for anyone [she felt] wasn't."

Whatever broke the spell, "we definitely didn't get along," admits Milano. "Shannen and I are very different people, and I think it's almost like a roommate. If you spend that much time with someone and there are differences anyway, you're not always going to get along.

Both Milano and Combs deny tabloid reports that Doherty would only speak to them when the cameras were rolling. But Milano acknowledges that she and her former costar could get downright witchy: "There were times when I'd come in and say 'Good morning, Shannen,' and she didn't say anything to me. And there wer times when she'd come in and say 'Good morning, Ayssa,' and I wouldn't say anything to her."

"The problems we had weren't things some big company mediator could fix," Combs adds quietly. "They needed to be fixed between us [by] going into [each other's] trailers and saying, 'All right, I don't like it when you do this.' Or 'I didn't like it when you said this.'"

That apparently never happened. Doherty has contended that Milano eventually got fed up and issued producers an ultimatum--either Doherty walked or she would--but Milano insists that isn't truel "I never even thought about doing that," she says. "I couldn't sleep knowing I backed out of something I'd committed to."

Doherty's eventual dismissal, then, came as a surprise. And the form Combs says it took--a phone call to Doherty's lawyer after the embattled actress had flown to Winnipeg, Canada, to start shooting Another Day, USA's upcoming Francis Ford Coppola TV-movie--still clearly angers her. "How do you go from directing the season finale to being [given] a pink slip over the phone, when [you're] in another country, at eight at night?" Combs says. "it was really a tacky way to go about it.

While no one's officially saying why doherty was ultimately cut loose, a series insider says, "It eventually became clear that [either Doherty or Milano] had to go." And Doherty may have been the safer choice, according to Stacey Lynn Koerner, an industry analyst with Initiative Media: "Alyssa is just as popular, if no more so, than Shannen. And when Shannen left 90210, the series did just fine."

While answering questions at the TCA press gathering in Los Angeles, a number of WB's own addressed what happened this last year on CHARMED regarding Shannen Doherty's exit. The network's Jordan Levin spoke of the matter, saying, "We knew last year that there were some decisions that probably had to be made in the best interest of Aaron Spelling and his company, our company and Shannen. And everybody came to the decision that they felt was mutually beneficial for all parties involved." When asked if the season finale was geared crafted in order to set up the entrance of a replacement for Doherty, Levin says, "We had an idea that we wanted to give ourselves some flexibility." More specifically regarding the addition of Rose McGowan to the cast, Levin adds, "There's a history within the mythology that there could be another sister because of the Lighter. We're still sort of hammering that out, and we haven't heard the full pitch yet and how that's going to work. But we're looking to bring in someone who could provide some conflict within the group and someone who could bring a younger audience into the show. We feel like Rose does that for us."   

Early/Mid 2001

Alyssa claims that Shannen is out to destroy to her and it caused her to gain weight. Upon Shannens termination, Alyssa secures a substantial raise for S4

”I think it’s hard when you put…[long pause]…two very different people together. I’m very laid-back and passive. I have my Buddha,” Milano says, gesturing to a small shrine at the back of her trailer. ”I come in here and meditate. [Shannen’s] got a lot of energy, she’s very headstrong, she wants to get the job done…. I think it’s unfortunate that she left, and that she needed to bad-mouth everyone involved and the audience,” continues Milano, alluding to the former 90210 star’s recent dismissal of Charmed as ”a show for 12-year-olds.” (Doherty declined to comment for this story.) ”She sounds really angry. I just hope I didn’t contribute to that anger.”Shannen’s not the only one who’s miffed. ”It was done very poorly, in my opinion,” says Holly Marie Combs (Piper) of the producers’ postseason decision to allow Doherty to leave the coven. ”We should have had an opportunity to have her character, Prue, make a graceful exit and have our story writers properly plan for that.” Instead, writers were compelled to turn last season’s standard-issue cliff-hanger — Prue and Piper get thrown through a wall by a cranky demon — into a makeshift tragic send-off. ”Now,” adds Combs, ”we’re scrambling to explain why I live and she doesn’t.”

That stuff's hard to wash out. You're even more famous for those MCI commercials. Oh, yeah. Little kids only know me from those spots. They don't know from Who's the Boss? and aren't allowed to watch Charmed. It's a great night job, especially if Charmed doesn't last. Speaking of which... Shannen Doherty? You know, if you remember the way Shannen left Beverly Hills, 90210, it's almost exactly the way it happened on Charmed. She left for personal reasons, then it started coming out that she didn;t get along with the other cast members. It seemed she was so angry and upset over leaving another hit show that she had to lash out at me. Suddenly it's my fault. I think she did the right thing by leaving, but once she left she attacked many people—not only me, our audience, too, and almost everyone on the show. She lost credibility. She was like a bad roommate. There was a lot of tension on the set. I have a fear of confrontation, and she can be aggressive, so I was afraid of her. Shannen doesn't hate you—she hates herself. I haven't been able to figure it out, and I might die not knowing. And that's OK. OK. You and Shannen Doherty in a celebrity death match: Who wins? Sarah Michelle Gellar.

2004: Alyssa fires her agency over them signing Shannen. Agency sues and apparently wins their lawsuit against Alyssa for $1mill

2021:

While Milano said she's still so very proud of Charmed, she didn't always have the easiest time on set, especially when it came to her co-star, Beverly Hills, 90210 alum Shannen Doherty. After years of tension between the two during the show's eight seasons, Milano said she and Doherty are now "cordial." "I would say we are cordial," she shared. "You know, I could take responsibility for a lot of our tension that we had. I think a lot of our struggle came from feeling that I was in competition rather than it being that sisterhood that the show was so much about. And I have some guilt about my part in that." While the 48-year-old actress admitted that she still has some guilt for her part in their feud, their decades-old spat didn't stop her from reaching out to Doherty when she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. 2022/2023: Shannen speaks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHisM0QLPEw&t=85s&ab_channel=Let%27sBeClearwithShannenDohertyPods

So it was interesting that when I had a problem after this all transpired and I wanted to discuss leaving the show and all my reasons why they put me in a room with Jonathan Levin, which I don't know that I had seen since we went to network, and you had told me about your background with him, which is varied and interesting, and he obviously has a very fond spot, shall we say, for you, And I don't know why they chose him to do this meeting, but I can tell you that during the meeting where I said this is not the show I signed on to do, I hear that you're looking for other people. And it's not about the list of names. It's about this was not a show that I wanted to do without Shannon. She didn't want to do it without me. Therefore I don't want to do it without her, and that should be fairly clear. And he hadars in his eyes already because he could see I was getting upset. As you can hear me getting upset, And I said, why would you hire her again just to fire her? And he said, we didn't mean to, And he said, but we've been backed into this corner. He said, you know, we're basically in a position where it's one or the other. We were told that it's her me and Alyssa has threatened to sue us for a hostile workplace environment, which because she went to the therapist or the mediator or the corporate mediator, whatever the heck his title is, she built a case for herself where she was documenting every time she felt uncomfortable on set and for whatever reason, whereas you and I refused to speak to him. So that's where the deck was stacked There was no either even like harsh words exchanged. It was all behind the scenes, it was all in the trailer. It was nothing that anybody or any of our guest stars ever noticed or noted. And you know, there's not a director that would not work with you. Again, there's not any one of our crew members that did not have a great time working with you. So by today's standards, it wouldn't fucking fly, right, And I don't think being laid as a teenager on a set called nine O two one zero would fly for being fired either. Like it's just it's just doesn't make any sense anymore. There are people that actually behave badly and get away with it, and there are men that you know, abuse people, throw things, screaming fits and get away with it. Alyssa/Holly Speak:

Guest stars speak throughout the years:

Michael Bailey Smith aka Belthazor/Shax/Grimlock I did 14 episodes on “Charmed” and had a great time. Whenever I showed up to the set as Belthazor, Alyssa Milano would always give me a kiss on the cheek and say, “You’re not scary.” Holly was really nice too, really down to earth. And I know the rumors about Shannen Doherty, but for me, she was always nice and very professional. I would always see her doing extra work off the set with the stunt people just to make sure her fight scenes looked good. I remember one time when we were preparing for a scene, she got a box of roses from someone. When she opened them, they were dead roses. People can be so cruel. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10157836541399125&set=a.404883944124&type=3&theater

Brian Krause (leo)“ I can just tell you that she was the hardest working person on the set. Yes, she could be terse and abrupt, but she wasn’t always wrong, I’ll tell you that.”“She had everybody’s back, she was part of the family, she was the family. And when she left, we all wondered how the show was gonna last, and it’s honestly a miracle that we did and kudos to Holly and Alyssa and Rose [McGowan] that we did, they kept it together. But I have nothing but love for Shannen Doherty.”“Most of those comments come from guys, men in power with money who don’t like to be told what to do by a woman, especially a strong opinionated woman,” he said, adding: “She wasn’t always right, but she stood her ground.”https://www.pedestrian.tv/entertainment/brian-krause-interview/

James L Conway (producer)"Shannen was nice to almost everyday, she had script problems, always nice to the cast, she was the HEART AND SOUL OF CHARMED" That really says it all doesn't it? She viewed Charmed as her baby.Source: Charmed blu ray special feature

Christine Rose (Claire)"It was all with Shannen, and I thought she was absolutely darling. I had worked with her years before on Life Goes on. That was about a boy with a Down’s syndrome, and I was guest-starring as the boy’s teacher. Shannen was on that episode, too, and I was setting them up to be married, for what that might be like. I was new to L.A. then because I’d mostly been on the stage, and I was relatively new to being on camera. And I remember thinking, «This girl is a pro”. So I was aware of how good Shannen was, and she was very nice when I did Charmed. I enjoyed working with her, Holly Marie Combs, I had played her biological mother on Picket Fences. We didn’t get to work together on Charmed, but it was fun just getting to see her again. Otherwise my experience was pretty straightforward.

Actually, one other thing I remember was being at a table and another guest star was having a hard time. In between takes Shannen said something very encouraging and nurturing to her, and I thought she was very nice. So those are my memories, as sparse as they are"Source Unknown via: https://thecharmedcafe.proboards.com/thread/11658/guest-stars-working-shannen-doherty

TW King (andy) I think some of it is rumor, but a lot of it is based on truth because she was young when success hit her. The great thing about Shannen is that she is a total professional and is always prepared, and she expects everyone around her to be at the same level - and I like to think I am the same way, so I respect the way she is around the set. We get things done, things rapidly and according to the script, so I certainly can't complain.Source Unknown via: https://thecharmedcafe.proboards.com/thread/11658/guest-stars-working-shannen-doherty

Scott Steiner (Wrestling W/Demons demon) Steiner is asked about appearing on the TV show "Charmed" while working in WCW. He said that while explaining to Shannen Doherty's stunt double that he would have to put his hand in her crotch to perform a press slam, Shannen came up to him and said that she would do that and when Steiner told her that he would have to put his hand in her crotch, Shannen told him that is why she asked. Steiner says that she was cool and gets a lot of bad press.https://www.rspwfaq.net/2014/05/rf-video-shoot-interview-with-scott.html

Armin Shimerman (The Wizard) "I hated the ladies on "Bewitched"...um...uh..."Charmed!" "Charmed!" And there's a reason they were cast as witches. I...of all the shows I've ever worked, that was by far the ugliest." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zl24cHSS-w (8:10)

Danielle Harris (Aviva) First AC guy was talking to me - Shannen kept walking by, she wasn't very nice to me anyway but she kept getting mad. Wasn't sure what was going on. Wasn't a fun experience. A lot of fighting between the girls. If I pick Shannen, Holly would be mean. If I picked Holly, Shannen would be mean. Alyssa kept telling me what to do as if I didn't know anything. The AC was using me to get back at Shannen. He had been her boyfriend for 1.5 years. Thats why I was getting stink eye.

Scout Compton (Thistle the fairy) I did 7 or 8 episodes and it was interesting. I wasnt on (when Rose was on NOTE: She was only on 1 episode with Shannen. The rest with Rose)The women were always fighting in the makeup trailer.

https://talkscarytome.podbean.com/e/talk-scary-to-me-e9/ (22:00)

Geoffrey Blake (Four horseman) Alyssa was very welcoming. Most of them were except one that wasnt so nice**. (Shannen was largely absent this episode)** https://podcasts.apple.com/be/podcast/geoffrey-blake-podcast-apocalypse-not-part-2/id1573860155?i=1000526963557

Elisabeth Hernois ( Brooke in the season 3 episode "Magic Hour"):

The dynamic on set was “interesting,” she said, as she “hadn’t really ever witnessed anything like that on a set — where people really aren’t hiding not liking each other.”

“Definitely as a young person, I sensed the tension on the set,” Harnois, 44, said, noting that her overall experience was “actually really good” as she shouted out Alyssa Milano, who she said “was a sweetheart to me.”

“She really took me under her wing, and a lot of my stuff was with her too, so that was helpful,” she recalled.

Shannen Doherty and Holly Marie Combs, who made up the other ⅔ of the sister witches who led the show, “were nice to me but not as effusively kind as Alyssa was,” Harnois said.

“And they were always off in their own space and [Alyssa] would sit all the way on the other side of the set by herself," she continued. “There was a major divide on that set, even back then, and I don’t think that was that long into the show.” https://people.com/charmed-guest-star-recalls-major-divide-on-set-shannen-doherty-alyssa-milano-8604809

[fourseasonsfigs]

Many Seeds Many Blessings

There's a lot of reasons I like this set, not the least because we have Zhang Zhehan and Gong Jun in their bright blue and red Wenzhou colors.

I also like figs that have a leg kicked up, like Zhehan does here in his inspiration photo:

I love active poses from Zhehan, he's always so athletic and graceful looking in motion.

Here's the inspiration for Gong Jun's outfit and pose:

What an absolutely beautiful smile from Junjun. I wouldn't think a Safeguard soap ad would feature one of my favorite smiles of his, but here we are.

I really, really love the bandana on his wrist - not only does it highlight the strength of his arm and the beauty of his hand and fingers, but it also has the pop of bright blue. Which I know is for Safeguard's logo, not the Wenzhou blue, but the associations are still really nice for me!

Before we get started, with fig pics, I just wanted to say I'm DISAPPOINTED in these figs. Well, not the figs, they're innocent. The FIG MAKER. She posted a pic of the figs looking like this:

Notice the smooch on Zhehan's sliver of chest and of course right there under Gong Jun's beauty mark. I was so charmed! Then I got these figs, and saw the kiss on Gong Jun's face, but where is the kiss on Zhehan?!? NOT there in the final product!

I don't know about you, but I'm a fan of equal smooch time, and I have a feeling some of you may be too. More to come on that.

These two arrived safely! They were part of the experimental batch I didn't air column wrap, so thankfully they were not victims of my own hubris.

Zhehan looks a little woeful here, no doubt because he's lacking a good solid smooch. It's OK honey, we'll see what we can do about that.

I'm just tickled that these figs can actually stand. They're pretty heavy, so I was a bit worried to experiment with them, but they stand beautifully. AND, not only can they stand, but Zhehan can stand on either foot!

Actually, the fact that he can stand on either foot proved difficult (for me) as I very carefully noted that he was standing on his right leg in the magazine picture, and mentally chanted, right leg right leg right leg as I was taking pictures. And then promptly managed to take a pic of him on his left leg.

Ahh it's been a while, but we're back to the typical JZP fig maker fig silhouettes. We've got Junjun's very slim runway model proportions, and Zhehan's lusher frame.

Both of their sets of legs are cute! I like we've got a little bit of movement for Junjun too.

This is such a cute angle on Junjun! Adorable.

Even a cuter angle! Good shot of the silhouettes too.

I wish we had gotten the scarf around Junjun's wrist, but that would likely have been quite difficult.

Well, since I took the photo anyway, here's how he stands on the other leg!

Nice and clean paint. The clothes are simple but executed quite well.

The pants aren't as shiny as they look, I just have late afternoon sun pouring in through my window and lighting up the figs!

Oops. I got here and realized I had not taken a top down picture! I had already finished up and put the figs on stands and away on my fig display. Alright, they came back for a photo encore.

I had been so focused on poor smooch-less Zhehan, and making sure he got all the kisses he so rightfully deserves!

I had this water sticker pack that was part of the Zhongpei fig set, and as you can see it had quite a few little lip stickers.

As you can see, the little lip print is quite a bit bigger than the one on Junjun, and a little bit darker. I don't mind the darker color, since Junjun's eating a pomegranate, after all, but the fact that it's bigger is problematic. There's very little real estate there on Zhehan's chest.

You can see there's definitely no room on his chest for the entire print without it looking strange, so I trimmed it to have just enough peeking out.

Well, I'll cut to the chase...somehow I bungled the first couple tries. The first time I have no idea what happened, the kiss like smeared into a little red ball before I even was able to try to apply it. The second time I don't know what happened either, but the sticker would not stick for anything, no matter how much water or what I tried to do, either side. The third time I realized that the sticker is the opposite side, so I could only stick it on his right side.

The third time was the charm! There's a little bit of a line where I wasn't able to get it snug enough against the lapel, but honestly it was a miracle I even got it on. I'll get a little bit of acrylic paint and paint in the little bit of the line so it looks like it's under the lapel. I still have one kiss sticker left, but I didn't dare take this off and try to reapply - it was very difficult to get on as it is! It also bunched up, but I ran my finger over it and it stretched out somehow. I'm not rolling the dice that I'll be able to do any better!

This also came with a magnet as a free gift. And look! They put the kiss on the same side I did! Looks like that worked out.

Material: Resin...and some smooches!

Fig Count: 423

Scene Count: 29

Rating: 💋💋

[link back to Master Fig Index for more posts]

[verycharismaticdragon]

Tag 10 People You Wanna Get to Know Better

tagged by @mu-qingfang-stan-account ty <3

relationship status: single (as in "too scared to try finding someone to date considering the state of queer rights here rn")

favorite colors: *james pokemon voice* its lavender (but honestly purple in all shades. my life have improved immensely when i started dyeing my hair purple and getting clothes to match)

favorite food: this is so broad uh... if its sweet stuff I gotta go with ice cream because whatever u want. it got u. and if we are talking about proper meal foods i think i gotta say chicken. shes so versatile what cant she do

song stuck in your head: oughh i cycle thru so many... i guess Leia (Rondo cover) came up a lot in the last few days

last thing you googled: spelling of some word, dont remember which. i often do this bcus im not confident in my spellings, esp with longer words, because I only learned them visually and that doesn't necessarily mean all letters or in the right order. wait i think it was resurrect, i keep forgeting if its two "s"s or two "r"s in there (yes i googled it again to spell it rn)

time: 13:40

dream trip: listen this is just gonna be sad if i answer it, so lets not

last thing you read: I'm currently super mega slowly rereading Scum Villain - like, taking notes every page slowly - so that's been going for the past month or so. If we're talking finished, then pipi's You Fei.

last book you enjoyed reading: I did enjoy Fei a whole lot! As usual, I'm a sucker for priest's ability to entwine some absolute clownery with so much subtle (and sometimes not subtle) heartbreak. Also the more I hear from my friend who branches out into BG cnovels/cdramas the more I realize how special a female protagonist like Fei is.

last book you hated reading: a danmei novel that shall remain unnamed bcus it was recced by a mutual. meanwhile i regret finishing it. the plot was such a friggin soap opera. literally almost Every soap opera trope. i'm surprised nobody's clone showed up, it wouldnt have been out of place! the ship dynamic was good so i finished to get their happy ending but. kinda felt that it wasn't worth it in the end.

favorite thing to cook/bake: gotta be meringues, as long as you know the perfect time for your particular oven theyre literally SO easy to make. and tasty. I like making blini too but they are kinda stressful because you gotta stay on them the entire time.

favorite craft to do in your free time: cross-stitch, it's somehow just the right proportion of mindlessness and engagement for me

most niche dislike: there's this special kind of annoying fans that make me dislike thing that they are fan of literally just because it becomes associated in my mind with their annoyingness. (I don't know how to explain every nuance of how they are annoying, but most often it involves being shitty about something else, that I already like.) And it kinda pisses me off not just on its own, but also on behalf of the thing they are fan of. Like - it usually doesn't deserve my ire! it's literally just the fans, and only some specific ones! But I can't stop my brain from cringing at the sight of the thing. ugh. So: hate it when this happens.

opinion on circuses: im more interested in the aesthetic concept of circuses than in any real ones.

do you have any sense of direction: yeah im pretty good with it, both in "reading maps" way and in "understanding where things are located relative to each other and alternate routes/shortcuts" way

tagging: god please I always forget every single person I ever seen or talked to when it comes to tagging. Literally any of my followers, I'm interested, I wanna hear about u, if you'd like to do this say i tagged you and go off

[rigelmejo]

A drama rec list (with some special mentions for beginner learners*):

Guardian (my favorite, if you like Torchwood or Xmen this will be your kinda thing, search for it as it's on bilibili right now instead of youtube, language is case fic/supernatural geared, which I found useful later, also i just love this show to pieces)

Detective L (good for learners, a very Sherlock style setup and cases are relatively simple, fairly straightforward language for case shows)

My Roommate is a Detective/Checkmate (if you liked Detective L, this is another sherlock like case setup, with somewhat more complex plot but fairly genre specific words so if you tend to watch/read this stuff you'll adjust well)

History 3 Trapped (gay, cop/mafia, also technically about solving a murder case so the combo of case genre words and slice of life romance make this approachable and fun if you like action in your romance)

Bromance (Baron Chen stars, gender fun, also slice of life romance meets mafia boss with kickass civilian getting involved with mafia boss trying to turn his company legit Baron Chen, mostly slice of life language which makes it an easier watch but also some fun action fights for people like me who like that)

Love is More Than A Word/Till Death Tear Us Apart (two connected dramas, find them on dramacool or elsewhere uncensored. Good for learners who like explicit queer marriage in their period dramas, republican era spy/business boss enemies to lovers With Happy ending in their dramas, and these shows are hard dual subtitled which is nice for learners I think, a fairly basic short plot in both shows which makes the period historical of limtaw and republican era tdtua genre words easier to figure out)

Granting You A Dreamlike Life (a hot mess of a show, GREAT for learners I learned to watch Chinese shows just steamrolling through 15 episodes of this with only chinese subs. Features zhu yilong, a lot of romance cute and angst galore, some gangster action to appease people like me ToT, and a just ridiculous soap opera style plot to keep you going. Also it's particular story style makes it easy enough to follow even if you're mainly relying on actions and visuals. It's not 'good' let's say, but if you do happen to like it, it's a great easier drama to learn from)

The Lost Tomb (the yang yang one. Very short, great intro cdrama. It's got the cheapest cgi/visuals of all daomubiji dramas so if you can handle this then quality only goes up by gratuitous proportions until you get to Tomb of The Sea, Reboot, and Ultimate Note which look movie level budget. It's fairly straightforward Indiana jones/the mummy/typical Tomb raider story plot, some easy genre related words could get picked up here, also often available with dual subtitles)

Love and Redemption (I know, you're wondering why I put this beautiful 59 episode show I adore on the learner recommendations. A big reason, is that LaR decides to often just call characters by given name. So Chu Xuanji is often just "Xuanji" when being talked to or talked about, often a character only has one name. For a xianxia, this very simple naming scheme means it's easier to learn all the character names and clans asap. It also reminded me a bit of English when I watched, just compared to shows like The Untamed which tend to use family and given name usually "Wei Wuxian" along with alternate names "Wei Ying" and nicknames "Yiling Laozi/A Xian" for many characters. So I feel if you're a learner going into xianxia, Love and Redemption is going to stick pretty straightforward in at least learning names and clans. Then also it's one of my favorite xianxia ever so the story is satisfying. Alternative "easier" starter xianxia: Eternal Love Ten Miles of Peach Blossoms - it's not my favorite but it uses straightforward tropes that are staples in this genre and it is quite solid to follow the plot, Ice Fantasy - not particularly typical, I enjoy the plot on this one, naming conventions are also fairly straightforward).

Hikaru No Go/Qi Hun (a phenomenal adaptation of the Japanese manga/anime of the same name, on iqiyi and currently free on youtube, just absolutely lovely. Slice of life/coming of age/competition story. Lots of everyday kinds of words, competition and school story type words, fast paced which I liked, ghost in the story to add a supernatural flair to the realism of the rest, very heartwarming)

Go Ahead (a serious drama about a family, very good story. Honorable mention to The Bond which I did not finish but is another serious drama about a family, starring Bai Yu).

ANY modern romance drama you can think of (seriously, modern fluffy romance is the EASIEST genre of show to watch in chinese first, language is very simple and that's why Granting You a Dreamlike Life was the first show I watched in chinese - even in republican era, its a romance so the words were easier. I personally liked My Mowgli Boy cause I love Ma Tianyu and it's both dramatic and very silly at times, Advance Bravely - has gong Jun but it's a hot mess so definitely try it and take or leave it lol, Bromance as mentioned is good with Baron Chen, Romance of Hua Rong is a good simple costume drama romance, there's also usually one or two starring your favorite actors if you just look these kinds of dramas up by actor, Plus + Minus bl looks potentially this genre as well)

We Are Not Human (webseries with 5 minute eps, on youtube and some other places. It's supernatural vampire with his zombie boyfriend and other associates, it's a comedy, and it's short comedy skit nature means all situations tend to be slice of life with some easy visual cues making it quite approachable for learners who like wwdits type stories)

Some dramas I love but think are not going to suit all beginners:

Goodbye My Princess (amazing fantasy romantic tragedy)

Rattan (amazing actors, my favorite premise of "alien/mutant" living among humans handled in a heavy way with a very old powerful mutant woman and very mortal human man both played by phenomenal actors)

Bureau of Transformer (on iqiyi, Olivia Wang stars, absolutely best written sci fi I've seen in ages world wide, please give it a shot if you like sci fi case of the week social issue allegory stories a la Star Trek, Black Mirror, Torchwood, etc. One of my top favorite shows ever).

Humans (cdrama adaptation of a show that's had 2 other versions before. It's a sci fi story about androids, stars Ma Tianyu. Incredibly well done, great acting, best sci fi looks/budget I've seen for a cdrama. I've only found it in chinese with chinese subs but it was enjoyable enough and straightforward enough I watched. Absolutely worth it if you enjoy sci fi and liked the other Humans adaptations).

The Secret of The Three Kingdoms (its like an au fanfiction take on The Three Kingdoms full of beautiful people like the best empress performance I've ever seen, Elvis Han, Ma Tianyu, Tan Jianci. One of the period dramas I've most enjoyed).

Love Between Fairy and Devil/cang lan jue (best xianxia I've seen this year, definitely worth watching)

Once Upon a Time In Lingjian Mountain (a very fun time, silly, still pulls heart strings)

Killer and Healer (I watched this with chinese subs so it's doable, but it's an involved republican era crime drama so the plots a fair bit more involved than Detective L)

Word of Honor (watched this in chinese subs then English later so its doable for a learner, but some chinese in this is very poetic or very wuxia genre specific so there's some challenging parts to this, very followable plot if you're familiar with the novel. GREAT wuxia and drama in general so it's worth the watch).

Ultimate Note (dmbj show, I loved it, effects almost as nice as Reboot but shorter and snappier pace which I enjoyed. Reboot and all other dmbj dramas recommended for dmbj fans or perusers.)

LORD Critical World (I know the cgi is bad but its a fun time, Zhang Mingen fans get constant eyecandy, this show is Xena meets Drakengard 3 with a very gay feeling main duo that to me screams Moshang from svsss vibes, fucked up at times and comedic as much as it is dark and just ridiculously bizarre, certainly A Time which I appreciate in shows)

Couple of Mirrors (republican era gl, well acted, you could try watching this as a learner like Killer and Healer, the drama is short so like The Lost Tomb it's not a big commitment, also there's a manhua!)

[amyisherenowitsokay]

HEY! how come I don’t see any of those silly-Willy emoji writing prompt questions? I got you boo.

💖 what made you start writing?

❌ what is a trope that you’ll never write?

WABAM.

Have a nice day or my son Winnifred gets it 🐟🔫

I think because I take awhile to answer them lmao, but nah I just put things out there for fun. Whether ppl want to participate or not is totally chill, I'm just here for vibes.

💖 What made you start writing?

Even looooong before I wrote fanfics, I wrote a unique series about like magic and time travel and war and romance and shit. It was 6 books, at roughly however many pages are in those journals you can get at Barnes & Nobles (I think around 250 pages?). It had insp from Teen Titans, Kingdom Hearts, Artemis Fowl, and some other fandoms I loved as a kid (and still do).

I've never let anyone read them, but their existence did end up being weaponized by my parents against the school district into letting me into AP English classes lmao.

❌ What’s a trope you will never write?

I have a few -

Disclaimer that I respect anyone who writes whatever they want, and support you wholeheartedly in your creative pursuits, this is just for me and mine.

1 ) Romance bait. Like something where it's extremely clearly a formula that's disingenuous and not in the vein of a slow burn, but solely dragging out the will they/won't they of the situation for the sake of baiting the reader into digesting more content.

A really good example of this would be Lucifer (tv series). The amount of times these characters got together at the end of the season only for something stupid and absurd to happen that just equated to 'take backsies' was fucking dumb and really killed my interest in the series. It feels disrespectful to the audience and is painfully annoying to experience.

2) Forced misunderstandings that cause things to blow wildly out of proportion. Overhearing a snippet of conversation that causes really unnecessary drama. I'm not talking about like people keeping secrets deliberately, or people being angry, or not admitting feelings they're not ready to admit to. I'm talking about like, for example, let's say Gaz walked in and heard Zim talking about a meeting he's looking forward to. She just assumes he's cheating, and runs off, trashing his place on the way out and leaving a note about how they're now broken up. Zim the whole time was actually talking to Skoodge! Gasp! And about a gift he was making for Gaz that he inexplicably needed help with! Gasp x2! But now that she's trashed his place, he doesn't even notice the note, and think she's betrayed him! Gasp x3! And just spirals from there. Just really soap-opera level overreactions and miscommunications.

I really feel like arguments make a story so interesting. I enjoy making characters escalate a situation together. I think you get juicier content out of two characters screaming at each other rather than two characters misunderstanding. Communication is interesting and fun. It just feels like the writer is reluctant to actually make the characters pick a fight because they don't know how they'd resolve it afterwards if it isn't instantly all solved by saying "no! it wasn't like that! it was all just a gift for you!"

3 ) Pregnancy-based stories, but one trope in particular. Like specifically the 'drunken-one-night-stand-caused-pregnancy-and-now-the-protagonists-will-fall-in-real-love-over-the-joys-of-pregnancy.' It's super annoying. Let the characters fuck. Also 99% of the time they don't really have a mature discussion about abortion options, financial obligations, etc. I think I'd be down to read an unintentional pregnancy that wasn't just a forced proximity trope in disguise.

Also it's basically ignoring that being drunk is a consent issue, but smoothed over with 'well but they actually wanted to the whole time, being drunk just created the opportunity.'

[superghfan]

Everything to Know About 'General Hospital' Star and Daytime Emmy Winner Nicholas Chavez

People Magazine

Meet General Hospital's newest breakout star.

Nicholas Chavez, who plays spoiled rich kid Spencer Cassadine on the ABC soap opera, won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series in June less than a year after joining the General Hospital cast.

"Twelve months before I received that award, I was selling cars down in Florida so it was a paradigm shift of epic proportions," he tells PEOPLE. "It was very, very surreal to stand up on that stage and be recognized for the thing that I'm more passionate about than anything else in life."

He adds, "It was a real dream come true, and I'm incredibly thankful — and still now, months later, in disbelief quite frankly."

Chavez, 23, shares that winning the prize for his first professional acting role was "completely unexpected" but he did prepare a speech just in case.

"Whenever I have to be on stage as myself, I can get a bit nervous so it's helpful for me to have something to fall back on so I'm not just rambling," he shares. "So in that sense, I did prepare something. The only thing I expected was it was going to be a fun night with my coworkers."

He knew he wanted to be an actor in high school — but was hesitant to pursue it

The Colorado native recalls getting the acting bug while playing Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird in high school after another student called out sick.

"I didn't really know what I wanted to do with my life when I was in high school," he tells PEOPLE. "So when the faculty all came and saw the production, I had multiple people pull me aside and say, 'You should consider doing this as a profession,' which sounded really, really crazy to me because that wasn't generally something you did for work in Denver."

He adds that working in the entertainment industry was a "pretty foreign concept" to him at the time.

He was cast on General Hospital 24 hours after his screen test

Chavez recalls the quick audition process for landing the part of spoiled rich kid Spencer Cassadine on the soap opera.

When the actor arrived for the screen test, he looked around the room and saw "pretty stiff competition."

"But, ultimately I just sorta reconciled that ultimately all I can do is be the artist that I am and bring to it what I bring to it," he explains.

He found that he got the part only one day later, telling PEOPLE it "was probably the coolest moment of my life so far." He adds, "I bought a return ticket but they called me 24 hours after the audition and they said, 'Hey, don't fly back home. We need you to film here next Wednesday. Congratulations.'"

He is grateful the support of his General Hospital costars

Chavez took over the part of Spencer from actor Nicolas Bechtel, so fans weren't immediately thrilled with the recasting decision.

"Some of the fans didn't like me at first because I'm a recast. There was an actor who played my character before me," he says. "You know I was a bit green at first. I think people were seeing that. So online, people would be like, 'I like the old actor who played Spencer better.' I've seen him work and he's a great actor. Very, very charismatic."

"Some of the comments were sorta getting to me," he admits. "[My costars] were like, 'Dude, just give it some time, give it some time let them get used to you,' you know, 'Don't think too hard about it.'"

Chavez is grateful to the cast for welcoming him into "the General Hospital family with open arms" and says fans' comments online "are great now. Now, it's like fun to go online. It's like rave reviews every time."

He predicts his character can find a better path

Chavez admits that landing in prison was "a new low for Spencer."

"I think that if I had to make a prediction about what will happen, it will be seeing Spencer pull himself up by sheer force and volition," he shares of his character's future. "Seeing Spencer pull himself up for the lowest point he's ever been in his life to becoming self-realized and exactly who is destined to become even if it doesn't please everyone else in his life.

He has some big career goals

Chavez says General Hospital has been a "a really, really phenomenal training ground."

"You get a lot of experiences doing soaps as an actor, but I would love to stay in TV," he says. "I would love to do film."

He adds that he would like to join the cast of an "HBO-style drama." His dream shows include Euphoria and Succession.

He's an adventurer seeker

One look at Chavez's Instagram and it's clear that he is always for an adventure.

He booked a trip to Istanbul, Athens and Rome four days before he left earlier this month. He also recently went skydiving and surfing.

For his next big adventure, he hopes to visit Vietnam and Thailand.

x

[idontlikejazzsonowitsmyname]

I need a homeless/no caretakers Deku where he struggles to have proportional responses to situations AND has realistically bad hygiene NOW.

Apologies in advance for my awful writing, I'm posting this without checking any grammar or helped of autocorrect at 3 40 in the night/morning idk which it is.

Also alot of the ideas here are based off of what I know about homeless people in my country so it's probably not accurate to Japan at all, if you knkw anythinf else please, PLEASE, feed me more information, I love knowing things.

Has REAALY bad patches of matting in his hair but it's so thick that he can't deal with Jr most of the time and doesn't really bother unless it's showing on the outside.

I know Asian people don't grow beards as early as other ethnicities but I'm still gonna imagine Midoriya having really bad patches all over his face that he can't shave off.

Also really bad acne.

He goes into fight, flight, freeze or fawn mode so fast at the smallest things.

Someone tries to nab a tiny piece of food off his plate, the carnage CAN be described but I'm not gonna.

Someone makes eye contact with him after he's just relaxed, he's gone, didn't even see him run, looked like he teleported, he was gone that fast.

He spots someone doing something against the rules, rock solid, not a muscle moving, he's a statue now, please don't notice him, he won't say anything to anyone about anything.

Someone sits where he was sitting or was gonna sit, he's nodding along, playing it off, desperately hoping this won't became a fight over nothing.

He KNOWS what a toothbrush is, but it's been so long that he thinks you just have to brush once and that's it.

Everytime he's given fresh fruit he has to hide it while he's eating it and tries to savour it.

HATES owing anyone anything and will do whatever it takes to get rid of the "debt" as fasf as possible, alot of the time there's no debt at all but he's not used to people willing to do anything for free.

Doesn't like talking to people alone or in private and gets stressed when he's not able to have his back to the wall, he doesn't have to in order to be comfortable but losing the option makes him wary.

Goes to school early to take full advantage of the showers and free soap, probably washes his clothes there too.

100% becomes a really bad hoarder once they get dorms, now that he has an actual place to stay he can KEEP THINGS, he's so happy tk have stuff to come back to he struggles to notice when the cereal boxes start falling apart from the damp.

I need Midoriya to SUCK at cleaning his dorm and other spaces, this boi has two mattresses stacked on top of eachother with no duvet and the only form of "cleaning" He's done is occasionally swap the top and bottom one after something spills.

He's got dust everywhere and god bless (I'm atheist which makes this worse somehow) whoever the poor smuck is that got the dorm under his cause there's gonna be SO MUCH WATER DAMAGE in their ceiling.

He's got atleast three different types of mold growing in the corners of his room and they've all developed sentience, declared war on eachother, held peace treaties, and are now attempting to merge into one mold and ASCEND.

I need that bush boy's breath to smell likes he just ate a rotting corpse, and his teeth to be so yellow they make Denki's hair feel insecure.

If you wanna be extra dark about this you could also throw in some kind of addiction, not sure if that's as common for homeless people in Japan, but in my country its really common for people to become involved with substances to either get rid of pain cause by periodic starvation, never staying dry, the freezing cold, the constant bruising or to help stay semi-lucid while dealing serious injuries like broken limbs, or of they need medication which they can no longer access legally.

So you could give him a medical issue which requires certain drugs, like insulin or antihistamines, pain meds, etc, and since those are hard to get without a legal address or prescription, he'd have to find second hand access, such as ✨️drug dealers✨️

I'd imagine constant arguing over Midoriya not wanting to arrest dealers over this and getting into really heavy debates with people at UA over this, especially the more privileged like Todoroki or Iida.

I'm not really sure if Ururaka's family is consistently-poor or if her family just raised her with a really unstable income so I think other way she'd probably recognise Midoriya had no money growing up but she might not be able to figure out he had no house or care-takers entirely.

Bakugo preferably either exploded or just doesn't exist because I wanna read about a boy trying to become a hero to the society that's abandoned him, not whatever beautiful tragic thing he's got going on for Deku that's too complicated for my puny brain.

I've run out of gas rn but if anybody has any idea of something new to add...

GIVE IT TO ME

GIVE IT TO ME NOW

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 15th March

Back to multiple songs, one of which is a cover, and one of which I definitely know - in fact, one of the lines has become practically proverbial, which is how you know a song's made it into the collective consciousness. Or how many other songs do you know that have become a sort of call-and-response greeting?

Memories Are Made of This - Dave King (peaked at Number 5)

I didn't massively love this song in its original Dean Martin form, but I didn't hate it, and a speedy google tells me that Dave King was a British actor and comedian, who got his first ever break in a comedy group called Morton Fraser's Harmonica Gang, which means I'm already in his corner from the get-go. So we shall see!

I can tell already from the intro that the speed has been upped a bit, and a jolly trombone added, both of which are very welcome additions. It turns it from a bit of a lecture into a swinging song you could genuinely dance to. And the little changes continue as the song wears on, with the addition of some church bells after the wedding bells lyric, and a separate female set of backing singers who take over the more religious with His blessings from above section while Dave steps back and briefly takes over the backing singers' lines. It's an effective little swap, and all the more so for the way it avoids slowing the song, which I remember not appreciating when Dean did it.

These are all little things, but they're enough to massively improve the song, at least for me. I was ready for Dave to add some comedy beats or a sort of comic sensibility to this à la Max Bygraves, but it turns out he didn't even need to, which I respect. This is just a solid cover, no comedy needed.

I would also be remiss not to mention that Dave gives us what I think is our first (but surely not our last) overlap between the words of British popular music and British soaps, having played a character called Clifford Duckworth in Coronation Street. He also appeared on an episode of Heartbeat in the 1990s, which is notable only because it's a police procedural set in the 1950s and 1960s, and what song did they play over the top of his exit? If you guessed Memories Are Made of This, well done! It's the kind of twistiness I really like, so kudos to their casting department, I guess?

See You Later, Alligator - Bill Haley & His Comets (7)

Come on, you know this song. Just about everybody I know, even in 2024, even in the UK, could quote you the response when somebody says "see you later alligator", and I'm sure a good proportion of them could also hum you the tune of this song. It was a phrase that was apparently already in currency when the song came out, but the song popularised it internationally. And honestly, I can see why.

There's just such a sense of fun to the track, from the pitched-up See you later, alligator line at the start, to the silly playground rhyminess of it, to the relish with which Bill launches in with each wellllllll and the way that the saxophone echoes his lines. It's not a song that takes itself too seriously, and I love that playfulness.

With all this, it's easy enough to ignore the fact that that yes, that iconic line is a break-up line from a cheating lady! From the moment that Bill saw my baby walkin' with another man today, to her iconic brush-off, to the even more devastating line where she tells Bill Can't you see you're in my way now / Don't you know you cramp my style, this song pulls no punches whatsoever. This woman, whoever she is, is going straight for the jugular!

Which makes it all the more satisfying when she comes crawling back and apologising, and Bill, now recovered from his heartbreak, can turn her words back on her, calling her out for how she doesn't really mean it, and bidding her farewell in the same callous way. His glee at this reveral makes the whole enterprise worth it, honestly. I particularly love the wild energy of Bill's final so long, that's all, goodbye line! He's just so glad to be shot of this woman, and you know what, good for him. It's a good, satisfying story, one you could absolutely find in a pop song today - think Forget You by CeeLo Green, or something of that ilk.

It's also catchy as heck, which, as I've probably said before, is really the main thing that matters in these early rock and roll songs. They're music for dancing along to, not for listening too hard to, and this song is repetitive, silly and has a heck of a riff to build on, with the way that the melody bounces between Bill and the saxophone. Plus, we get that sax / drum / guitar break in the middle, where the sax in particular cuts loose. It rocks, and I can absolutely imagine the youth going wild when it comes it!

It's also a very intense, full sound. I've noticed that about these rock and roll numbers - there's no space around the vocals or quiet bits, like it's been engineered for maximum volume, even on tinny radio or a jukebox. We're a way away from Phil Spector and the Wall of Sound, but we're already gunning for maximum loudness, and I kind of love it?

Well, those were two quite different songs, and while I did enjoy both, I think the sheer volume and dancability has to take it this time. While the adults are getting maudlin about marriage and kids, the youths are having all the fun, it seems.

Favourite song of the bunch: See You Later Alligator

[writingquestionsanswered]

Tattoo Shop AU - a quick, practical guide for writers

Guest Post by lebanon-hangover

lebanon-hangover said: this is based on my personal experience with the industry only, so depending on the era and country you are portraying, it may not be 100% accurate for your setting.

Hygiene

It may not be obvious at first glance, but most tattooists are clean freaks. We work with human blood every day, and we get clients from all ages, ethnic and social economic backgrounds, with all sorts of medical conditions.

We usually mop frequently, bleach the sinks, wipe down everything, and use cling film or bags to wrap everything. I mean fucking everything. We also scrub in, and sanitise the area on the person we work on.

Needles are collected in a sharps bin, and handled very carefully. Medical waste goes in yellow bags, and both are collected by a professional service.

Used ink caps may look full, but the ink gets diluted by blood. Like you dip the inky needle into the person, but you also dip the person’s blood into your ink. These are medical waste too.

Cleaning up must be done promptly after the session. Bin everything disposable, put things through the ultrasonic and the autoclave, and sanitise the area. We may take machines apart, but more for maintenance than cleaning, sometimes we swap parts in them too.

We have two sinks, one for hand washing, one for cleaning.

All inks and needles have use by dates.

The internal dynamics of a studio

Depending on the country, some tattoo shops tend to have ties to biker gangs, and some of those internal dynamics and unwritten rules are often present.

There’s a pecking order and it’s dead serious. Basically the longer you’ve been in a shop, the higher ‘rank’ you are, you get the better positioned stations, first pick of walk-ins, etc (Unless the client is asking for someone by name). Regardless of your actual experience in the industry, like if you move into your old apprentice’s shop, they are still senior to you. If the owner or their partner is an artist, obviously they are on top of the chain by default.

We are self employed, but we have a boss. You are only making money if you are working, but you still have set work hours.

We get paid by the clients, and we pay the studio a cut. In return, there are some items provided by them, and some we buy for ourselves. Usually the chairs, tattoo beds, gloves, cleaning products, clip cord covers, masks, aprons, ink caps, vaseline, green soap, and some basic ink is provided by the shop. We buy our own machines, arm rests, stations, pedals, power supplies, clipcords, tips and grips, needles, special colours, stencil fluid…these are a personal preference, and often depend on the artists’ style.

We totally ask to try out each other’s equipment sometimes, or ask for a certain type of needle if we ran out.

The receptionist is usually just one of us, maybe a piercer, but it also can be a hired person in top studios.

The apprentice in the traditional system is often mistreated, and they have to pay for their education, have to be there multiple days a week and don’t make any money. It’s kind of like a tear them down, build them back up again thing to see if they are really serious about the job. Times are slowly changing, but 99% of them will always need a second job. Most of them are working as bar staff.

When you open a new studio, you must visit all the existing local ones and introduce yourself, otherwise you may get a brick through the window. Otherwise there’s not much beef among individual artists, they are often friends, go to conventions together and party after, etc.

The Artists

Tattooing is a fairly physical job, stretching skin is very important. We have to also keep our clients safely still, so we often use positions to pin them down a bit. Sometimes you hit a reflex point on the foot or under a knee, and you don’t want to get kicked. Sometimes you have to pull away super fast, cos they are sneezing, yawning or giggling.

Most tattooists drink a lot of coffee, tea or energy drinks.

Some people are all rounders, some have specific styles, but we recognise each other’s art styles. Sometimes we delegate work to each other, if we think our coworkers style fits the concept better. For example if there’s a person who does script well, we give them those projects.

We don’t like when people come in with designs from other artists. Art theft is frowned upon, and we work best with our own drawings.

Most apprentices practice on their own legs, and sometimes we tattoo each other when it’s quiet. Most people have cover ups, or bad pieces from their early days. The artists’ own tattoos sometimes are in a different style than what they do, but we like to collect ink from friends or colleagues we admire.

In the first 1-2 years one is an apprentice, then junior artist. At 5-8 years of tattooing, you have earned your stripes and are considered an experienced artist.

Conventions are really fun, but can be stressful. You can make good money working at one, and sometimes get awarded for it too. We can also spend a lot at a convention.

Sometimes we poke our fingers by accident, and it’s a scary thing. Good case scenario is just some random dots on your fingers. Let’s not go into the bad case scenario.

We do guest spots sometimes, just to meet new clients, and change it up a bit.

We spend a lot of time drawing up things, and designs are meant to fall on specific muscles, stretch with the skin a certain way, so they are tailored to the body proportions of the client. A good tattoo is also an optical illusion, complimenting the body shape.

Social media presence is like a second job, you need good photos, and you need to market yourself.

Tattoo ink does not wash out, so some stains are inevitable when pouring it out. Those ink bottles get stuck so easily, and we wrestle them a lot. We try to avoid it, but wearing all dark colours is a thing for a reason.

The Clients

Tattooists need to have a good ‘bedside manners’ too. We get nervous or self conscious people, and we are told personal things during long sessions. For example scar coverups and memorial pieces can be very emotional.

We have pretty good poker faces and first aid trainings. People can faint, get shaky, throw up, some have seizures, have b.o., get sweaty, etc the same way as at a blood donation event? It’s no big deal really. We sit them down, give them some water and some sugar, and re-book them if necessary. Most artists keep some wet wipes, mouth wash, deodorant, sweets, maybe even some clean clothes at work, just in case.

If someone comes in with a wild idea for a jobstopper, we would sit down and have a long talk. If they haven’t got many tattoos, we usually try to stir them towards more safe choices, offering them creative ideas. It’s like those jedi mind tricks sometimes.

If someone is undecided, we show them our own hand drawn flash sheets. Once its gone, its gone tho, we don’t use the designs twice.

Pinterest is full of photoshopped fake tattoos, some that won’t even work as real ink. Many people also touch up their work digitally on photos, so some clients have really unrealistic expectations.

We can totally tell if someone is intoxicated or hangover. It thins the blood, and they bleed out the ink, and it’s super annoying. if it’s bad, they will be sent home and rebooked.

Some folks are self conscious about body hair, their size, stretch marks and scars. Chances are, we have seen similar, and we aren’t bothered by it, because it’s work. Surgery scars, scars from accidents, self harm scars, burns, we see it all the time. We shave some really hairy dudes all the time girl, your legs are fine. Seriously. If something makes tattooing you dangerous we will tell you.

Fit, muscular people are harder to tattoo because they are really firm. Its a workout for us.

Everyone gets midnight messages about the aftercare from nervous clients, and drunken booty calls about getting inked right at this second. We have copy paste replies…

We get creeps sometimes. Stalking, weird conversations, tmi info dumps etc.

Other things to include (for fun, or for plot reasons)

We sometimes have those “oh fuck” moments. We all do, but mistakes can be fixed, and we play it cool.

Tattooing takes time. Usually 30 minutes to multiple sessions though years and years.

Healing tattoos takes about 2-4ish weeks, and your characters shouldn’t go roll around in dirt, sunbathe, swim, pick at the scabs. Nasty infections, and messed up tattoos would be the results.

If you have a strong immune system, and you get a lot of work done in one sitting, you may get a brief bit of a temperature. It’s normal, and will go away.

Its a lot easier to get seriously drunk after getting a tattoo. Be careful.

We sometimes draw on each other for practice with our marker pens.

Tattoos are inside the skin, not on top of it. Imagine a low opacity, skin toned layer over the ink, adding to the healed tattoos’ colour. Please stop making your characters skin fully transparent.

Heavy blackwork and palms are done in multiple sessions.

You can’t cover up moles, because if they develop skin cancer, the dermatologist can’t see the signs.

There’s a stereotype about piercers having blacked out sleeves.

Stencil fluid looks just like cum.

You get that annoying itch on your face when you scrubbed in, put on gloves and finally ready to go.

Some artists have a strong preference for coil or rotary machines, and they bicker about it a lot. Coils are louder, more punchy, and more traditional, perfect for lineart. They can be customised, and they last forever. They are also called glorified doorbells by people who prefer rotaries. Rotary machines are smoother, lighter, and often use needles that are pulled back into the cartridges for safety. They are better for shading and delicate line work. Older tattooists often say they are dildo or butt plug shaped, overly delicate and are for “soft millennials” only.

Every artist owns like 5 to 20 machines, and they have specific machine builders they are loyal to.

The “which cable is broken and cutting out” guessing game. Clip cords and pedal cables get worn out easily, and that results in your machine running really jerky.

Walk-in always show up 10 minutes before closing.

We often look quite silly at work. Sleeves rolled up, folks use all sorts of plastic ppe, headlamps, and we tie up our hair. Add couple of purple smears from carbon paper, and we aren’t scary at all.

[aleapple1216]

This time I said fuck lineart, fuck perspective, fuck detailed backgrounds, fuck anatomy, fuck my style, fuck proportions, fuck light studies, fuck everything.

Arlene can talk to the Bloody Baron. She met him in the Slytherin common room the day before the first year ended and tried talking him. 

Initially the Bloody Baron just left and did not pay much attention to her, but after a few months of insistence he agreed to spend time with her (although it is Arlene who usually does all the talk).

- Oooh, so you can float, cross through walls and go wherever you want without walking? That’s insane, dude!

-What is... a dude?

I also think that in fifth year, after trying to get Peeves to give her the portrait by playing the Frog Egg Soap prank on Charlie, Arlene got angry with Peeves and managed to convince the Bloody Baron to harass the poltergeist into giving her the portrait. 

By the end of 7th year, the Bloody Baron finally told Arlene the reason why he is stained with blood (obviously Arlene did not find out about the Ravenclaw diadem, Helena and Rowena were the only ones who knew) and made Arlene promise that she would not say anything , and of course, she never said anything about it.

-Well ... I guess we, Slytherins, have a soft spot for Ravenclaws...

[mskatesharma]

Anthony is lounging on the sofa, stretched out and content after a long day. He and Kate have no plans that evening, and he is looking forward to vegging out with some Netflix. He’s also hoping that he can convince her to order in, knows that they’ve both had long days at work, and the last thing Anthony wants to do is inspect the contents of the fridge and have to come up with a meal.

He feels lips press to his forehead, and Anthony closes his eyes as he breathes in his favourite scent of soap and lillies. He will never admit it to anyone other than Kate, but he adores forehead kisses, and the way they make you feel loved and adored all at once. Her lips linger, and Anthony revels in the warmth that spreads through him.

Kate removes her lips and Anthony opens his eyes, the curve of his mouth immediate as his vision is filled with Kate’s face, upside down as she looks at something on the other end of the sofa. Not that Anthony minds of course as he leans his head back a little further; from this vantage point and Kate’s current position bending over him, he has a fantastic view down the front of her loose T-shirt.

He’s just about to make a comment that’s sure to earn him a blush when Kate speaks first. “Are you wearing my socks?”

Anthony’s eyes immediately swivel down to his feet which are currently adorned with a pair of socks. Socks which he may or may not have taken from Kate’s drawer. “I don’t believe so, no.”

“Anthony.”

“Katherine.”

“Ant.”

“Kat.”

“Tony.”

“Katie.”

“Anton.”

“Kathy.”

“Anthony!” Her face has steadily got closer to his; her nose is practically touching his forehead. “Those are my socks!”

“Hmm, I must ask for proof Ms Sharma.” Before he’s even finished speaking, Kate makes a move towards his feet. Just as she rounds the corner of the armrest, Anthony snags an arm around her waist and pulls her on top of him. Her squeals are music to his ears, and he leans his head up to bury his nose in her hair.

“Anthony!”

“This is much better.”

“Ugh, let me go!” She wriggles against him, but Anthony just holds tighter. “And take my socks off! Why are you even wearing them?”

“Stop wriggling. And I think you’ll find these are my socks. They were gifted to me.” Kate manages to wrestle an arm free, and slides it under her back and pinches Anthony’s stomach. “Ow.” He holds her tighter still, trapping her arm in an awkward position.

“UGGHH.” Anthony revels in the struggle. “And you let me have them because you didn’t like them!” Anthony supposes that Kate is correct; he had received the socks at Christmas in the Bridgerton family Secret Santa, no doubt by a sibling determined to piss him off.

It’s not that they’re novelty socks, in fact, Anthony appreciates a good novelty sock. It’s just that this particular pair is covered in corgis, and while Anthony used to have no particular thoughts regarding corgis, that changed when Kate had been introduced to his life; Kate and her dog Newton.

His siblings had taken to exclusively referring to Anthony as corgi dad, or Newton’s Papa. It had started before he and Kate had even began dating, when Newton had run off during a walk, and it had ended with Anthony somehow dumped in the Serpentine. Anthony had been positive that the dog had done it on purpose. He can still picture Kate trying her hardest not to laugh at the picture he’s sure he made, and failing miserably, while trying to tell him that Newton was just effusive about life. He hadn’t been convinced, especially when a soggy Newton had trotted over and shaken out his fur right in front of him.

“I think they happen to look rather fetching, wouldn’t you agree?” He wiggles his toes for effect.

“Hmm no, I wouldn’t. Take. Them. Off.”

“Don’t think I will.”

“Anthony, your fat feet are going to stretch them out!” He loosens his grip just enough to flip them over, Kate’s face smooshed against the pillow his head has just been resting on. He smooths her hair out of the way and lays a kiss on the back of her neck. Kate awkwardly swats at him in response. “Anthony!”

“Fat feet? I think you know that my feet are in proportion to the rest of my body, thank you.”

Her breaths are heavy from the slight exertion, and her voice muffled by the cushion. “Well they’re still going to stretch the socks. Your toe is going to poke a hole through them! Take them off.” She tries to arch her back in an effort to dislodge him, but Anthony simply drops his hips a little more. He leans down to her ear.

“Stop struggling Kate.”

“Get off me then.”

“Only when you admit these are my socks.”

“You don’t even like them!”

“I think seeing them on your cute feet has made me jealous, and I realised what I’ve been missing out on.” He hears her scoff. “Maybe I should have been leaning into this whole corgi dad thing the whole time?”

“So should I get you a cap, to go along with the shirt?”

“Absolutely! I would like to have a matching set.” Kate stops struggling at his words. “I think it’s beyond time I accept Newton’s place in my life.”

“What are you up to?”

“I’m not up to anything.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“So untrusting Ms Sharma. Has anyone ever told you that?”

“Where you’re concerned, one can’t be too suspicious.” He leans down to kiss her neck again, and is momentarily distracted by lillies. Kate must sense this.

With a move that Anthony will put down to the regular pilates, Kate somehow manages to turn herself over while also ensuring Anthony falls off the sofa. She peers down at him, an undignified heap on the floor, victoriously.

There’s a low growl in his throat at the look on her face. How is he supposed to resist the provocation that is her expression; as though she has utterly bested him and is reveling in her triumph.

“The absolute most I am willing to say is that I may have taken these socks from your designated drawer.”

“So you do admit you pilfered them then?!”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You just said you took them from my drawer.”

“I didn’t say they were your socks though.”

“Anthony!”

“I would be willing to give them back, but I want something in exchange.”

“You are in no position to be asking for things. You stole my socks.”

“You know they’re mine-”

“And you let me have them.”

“HOWEVER, I would be willing to cede possession to you for one thing.”

Her eyes narrow. “Ugh, what would that be?”

“Move in with me.”

“Anthony-” He knows what’s coming, it’s been a sore in their relationship for a few weeks now. He understands her concerns; how she doesn’t want to move too fast because they haven’t even been dating for a year yet, how she’s worried that people at work will talk and say she only gets the cases she does because she’s sleeping with the boss’s best friend.

He also knows that deep down, she’s worried that at some point, Anthony will turn around and tell her it’s all been a mistake. And while Anthony would love to show her the contents of the small jewellery box he has hidden in a hollowed out tax manual, he figures getting her to move in with him would be the best place to start. He takes her hand in his.

“Look I know what you’re going to say, but, would it be really that bad?” Her expression softens, and Anthony loves how his heart clenches. “I just...I just really miss you when you’re not here. I know we spend most nights together anyway, I just wish, it was more than that. I want all your stuff mixed in with mine. I want it to be every night, and I hate it when I go to sleep or wake up those times you’re back at your flat, instead of in my bed with me. I’m even willing to get Newton that ridiculous dog bed that Colin found. I want to share my life with you, I mean everything, and I just, I want to be near you all the time.”

He can see the tears welling in her eyes, and feels his own prick in response. “What I was going to say before you so wonderfully interrupted, was my tenancy is up in two months, and I don’t think I want to renew it. Because you see, my boyfriend has been bugging me to just move in with him, and my excuses have been half-hearted at best. I’ve been silly, because really, if I think about it properly for more than a second, then I want all those things too.”

He notices her eyes overflow, and then he’s off the floor and laying Kate back on the sofa, covering her body with his as he kisses away the tears.

“I love you so much.”

“I love you too, so much.” He’s about to lean down and kiss her like he’s been wanting to since he stole a look down her top, but she stops him with a finger to his lips.

“We will resume our conversation regarding the stolen property currently residing on your feet after our interlude here. I hope you didn’t think sweet words and the relationship milestone would cause me to forget?” Her eyebrow is raised and a thrill shoots up Anthony’s spine.

His smirk is automatic, and from the way she mirrors his expression, he knows she’s enjoying this too. “Of course not. I look forward to your desired retribution."