#LOOK I LOVE A LOT OF THEM but dan will always be first fave

[blossoms-phan]

will never pass up the opportunity, so! i am asking. what are your phanfic recommendations?

ask (honoured!) and you shall receive bestie! quick preface: i returned to the wonderful world of reading phanfic around the start of this year and have admittedly missed out on years of incredible work i am now catching up on! also in terms of what i read i generally lean towards current-era fics, canon compliant/fluff/smut- although i'm always taking recs from lovely moots/whoever, you may find this isn't the largest range (no aus/long chapter fics or whatever) but this is just a selection of what i've discovered/loved in the past few months and i hope to make more of these as i discover more writings!

shoutout to everyone on here for their recs, all the incredible fanfic writers and the peeps at @phanfictioncatalogue for their work and accessibility and being the reason i discovered so many new fics/tropes i now love <3 ok lets get into ittttttttt

"you look at my face a lot" by natigail: i credit this fic for getting me into reading phanfic again in 2024 <3 one of the first ones i read post-hiatus and i've returned to it countless times! it makes my heart jump, just so sweet and so them. the slittening(s) were such an iconic moment i can't believe it's been 6+ months since them but i love the little moments like dan describing phil's hair colour to a sephora worker, always wanting to know more about each other and the soft intimacy.

"the angel in the marble" by ivylakes: OHH MY GOODNESS this one is artttt. this one is my fave of the post-phlondeing fics i can just see and feel everything that happens, the loving, lazy intimacy, and following this week's t-shirt events it absolutely cements my HC that angel is a nickname for our philly. introspection, hair-kissing, body worship- i eat it up (im having a thing for mirrors in fics rn so there's also that)

"slumber party" by possumdnp: if i wasn't already clear reality-based fics really just do it for me and i love this one!! slumber party is one of my favourite recent-ish gaming vids and i just love the cozy comfort vibes of having a sleepover and getting a little flirty with your best friend/crush going on 15 years <3

"after the birthday stream" by trashcanfromgallifrey: the birthday stream ignited something in all of us but this is just such a perfect depiction of (possible) events after hehe. feels so them, just love the loving intimacy and shower activities and fluffy endings with cake <3 (shoutout hannah ily!!)

"lovers, keep on the road you're on" by possumdnp: another personal fave. japhan 2019 is EVERYTHING to me, this is so lovely and well-researched and i just go in between reading this and watching the stories from it when i want to cry and book a flight to tokyo

"welcome home! (never leave that long again)" by natigail: this one is just soooooo soft and sweet and fluffy. so heartwarming and one of the many wad reunion fics that has my heart <3

ok i'm going to end up including all 40+ of my bookmarks (not a lot. but working on it hehe) if i don't stop myself so as much as i could write paragraphs about all of these just know that my PPA test is positive and i was probably sweating/giggling/kicking my feet at all of these so here's a speedrun list of pure smut (sorry it's a lot of what i read lmao):

"juxtaposition", "slow down", "sensitive", "some kind of mood" and literally everything written by the force that is intoapuddle

"come light me up" by JudeAraya (perhap not pure smut but I loveeee the teasing and characterization in this so so dan ugh)

"appreciation" by Scuddleduck

"a little vitamin D" by Spring_Haze

"good for you, good for you" and "under my thumb" by dvp_95

"lucky" by iihappydaysii

i could keep going but for now i'm going to stop here! i'm sorry if this is messy i have no idea what i'm doing with linking and stuff but i hope this introduces at least one person to a new fic they end up loving! i lurked/read sooo many fics before finally creating an a03 account only a little over a month ago so i def might be missing some i've forgotten to go back and bookmark! shoutout to all of these writers (i could include multiple works from them all u ppl are amazing)- again i'm soo open to discovering more phanfic and want to expand my horizons, i've started to read some chaptered fics i didn't include on here but will reblog more current reads where i can! also if we're moots pls shamelessly promote your works i'd love to check them out! need to start commenting more too but ok ok wrapping it up

[beefslipper]

More headcanons!!

My second post got a lot of interaction, so I'm making another post. This time I'm just gonna be focusing on HSR characters. Just a heads up that some things won't be canon and can be seen as mischaracterizing or something. I just like headcanoning my faves in a way that makes them more like me :D

Warnings: age regression, mentions of scars and sh, pacifiers, diapers, self-inserting? I guess.

First off, I'm doing bladie-boo <3

A pattern you'll see with me is that I HC my faves as regressors and/or caregivers.

I HC Blade as a super duper young regressor because I'm sure all the crap he's dealing with overwhelms him and can feel impossible to manage.

Aside from that, I HC that he has multiple SH wounds from the past, but he's slowly recovering because I said so and I love him <3 I'm sure he'd always feel upset about his scars, but one of his caregivers (Dan Heng, Kafka, Trailblazer, whoever you think fits him most) would give him kisses and one of his little emotional support stuffed animals to make him feel better.

Returning to the regressor HC thing because my teeny tiny pea-sized brain came up with stuff; I think he'd be a nonverbal regressor. Words are hard, man. When he's regressing, he's definitely a teether or thumb-sucker. Pacifiers and those cute little chewing ring things are a must, otherwise, EVERYTHING will have little teeth marks. Don't even get me started on the poor guy's sleeves.

Onto Aventurine!!! (CURSE YOU, FALSE TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND!!!!!!)

Back at it again with HCing my fave as an age regressor (I cannot be stopped, insert evil cackle while rubbing hands together.)

I feel like he'd beg and beg and BEG for Ratio to be a caregiver of his or something, and Ratio would only accept by saying "Only so your stupidity doesn't get you killed" but bro would go protective mama bear for him.

Sunday might be one of his caregivers, but I feel like he would be uneasy around Sunday while regressed. (Sunday would say some "be not afraid, child" BS like a biblically accurate angel and scare him LMAO)

Aventurine probably has a wide range on ages when regressing, but I think that when he regresses from stress, he's real young. When he's just being a silly goose, he's probably 5-8 years old.

DAN HENG, MY BOY!! (DAMN YOU YET AGAIN, FALSE TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

*insert deep breath* INFANT REGRESSOR DAN HENG

Bro's definitely nonverbal when regressing. I don't doubt that he'd need diapers from all the nightmares he'd have that might lead to accidents. Papa Welt and Mama Himeko 100% take care of him 24/7, even when he's not regressed.

March is definitely like a sisterly figure to him, sometimes a younger sister, sometimes an older sister. She lets him stay in her room instead of his room to play in or something since the room he normally sleeps in is super dull, doesn't even have a real bed and has some dangerous things in it.

Besides him being a regressor, I think he's also a caregiver. So a flip? IIRC that's what they're called. Correct me if I'm wrong. I think he'd be a caregiver for a wide variety of people, mostly Trailblazer, March, and Blade.

I'm done yapping.. FOR NOW! I'll try to post more regularly, but it's hard without requests. Start yapping at me for stuff to write about! I do free requests y'all!

I can write character headcanons, little stories on situations, I can even do more meme-y things if you want. I'm open to pretty much anything!

P.S. When I figure out what thing I'm using for this website, I might download Tumblr on my phone to make more professional-looking posts. So no more jumbled paragraphs and ghits and siggles.

Anyways, have a great day, evening, and or night. Stay hydrated and remember to try to eat at least one thing today, no matter what it is!

[yuukei-yikes]

Okay okay okay I have a very specific itch to hear about Mekakushi Dan sensory needs and bc you're the first person I can think of who has drawn them stimming I thought your askbox was the perfect place to launch myself. If you have thoughts here pls feed me. Bonus points for Takane's sensory needs + challenges before becoming a computer program and post str bc I do think her needs would be different than they were before?? I think not having a body for 2 years would do that to you

HI ok i dont have a lot of headcanons in general its mostly haruka and takane and mostly takane. i think haruka is the one ive drawn stimming the most Like i just think that guy would flap his little hands around yknow.

so im sorry i dont have hcs for the whole mekadan. IF UR INTERESTED IN A PARTICULAR MEKADAN GUY u can ask me and I'll come up with something >:3 it just feels overwhelming to think of it all at once. and also u said takane and you know damn well im abt to talk for 1 million hours

ok. takane❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ sorry this isn't sensory needs but girl.. takanes Gamer Secret being found out... idk man it's like. this bitch had been MASKING‼️‼️‼️

even in hs days i think takane feels weird about Touching with her hands. she doesn't have the cartoonishly large sleeves she has as ene, but i think she pulls down her sleeves over her hands like in this specific manga panel i indeed have in speed dial

i wish it appeared more often bc its a cute shoutout to ene later on and also WOOO THIS BITCH HAS SENSORY ISSUES!!! i made a comic abt it once but haruka designing actor with the bigass sleeves because he observed that takane pulls down her sleeves. *bite bite bite bite bite* also this panel has always been a fave of mine bc of autism creature takane and also bc the desk is like. at haruka's chest and he looks like he's sitting on the ground

i also think its very funny to imagine takane kicking ass in games while holding the controller with her sleeves over it and everyone's like ?????girl what. ofc she probably has specific textures she hates and all that, takane doesnt feel weird about touching as a whole.

in several instances of yuukei yesterday haruka and takane casually touch each other and while thats obviously cuz they're close friends, a lot of close friends dont act that way or arent comfortable with touch yknow!! in fact takanes the one to start most physical interactions with him. i could be crazy enough to go and check but im gonna trust my memory. and bc i love art where ene is jumping on shintaro and stuff i like to think takane is Actually touchy with ppl she trusts. also she doesnt register personal space sometimes, and ends up standing too close without noticing until someone points it out. i guess this is a bit contrary to a typical takane interpretation (UR STANDING TOO CLOSE DUMBASS🙄🙄🙄🙄 tsundere moment) but i think it's a fun spin to it. i think kenjirou is the one to most point it out like Girl step BACK ur all in my zone and she's like UGH WHATEVER and haruka also notices but never rly says anything. he probably loves it lol haruka's so overdue physical connection he loves that takane doesn't mind touching him or being close to him. also since they have a big height difference its not like she's all up on his face. i think takane starts letting go more once her ene secret's out and stops caring so much but it sorta comes back when ayano and shintaro join the group. i think shintaro especially would point out UGH WHY ARE YOU STANDING SO CLOSE TO ME or even question why she's so close to haruka or ayano. haruka and ayano are all like NOOO DONT WORRY I DONT MIND but takanes already mortified and is more self aware

another one. takane with her big old headphones. yeah yeah uses them disconnected to get haruka's attention Whatever she also uses them bc she prefers hearing stuff muffled instead of hearing it directly 👍 when she gets overwhelmed she puts those things on with the music to the max and just logs out for a min

OH also this is a canon one😼😼😼 her leg bouncy thing. shintaro points it out in the seventh novel that takane is bouncing her leg and says it's a nervous habit he never noticed on her but TO ME. SHE DOES THAT❤️ takane has huge leg bouncer energy i bet she makes the whole table shake and everyone asks her to quit it and she says Damn ok sorry and stops it for a total of 50 seconds before starting again

anyways in summary hs takane is like. tends not to notice personal space, hates touching stuff with her hands, likes having control over what or how she hears, and has a tough time staying still. POST STR... its all to the max. takane is overly aware of everything. all 5 senses are as much of a nightmare as they are a relief and it's all mixed together!!!!

ok her sensory needs that she already had pre ene are still there but completely amped up, except the personal space one. now everyone is always too close and literally just opening her eyes (HEH!! OPENING EYES!!!!) is super overwhelming bc WHOA EVERYTHING IS SO CLOSE AND HUGE AND HD. i could imagine comparing it to like, wearing contacts for the first time for any fellow glasses wearing people. like u know this, youve seen all this. but suddenly youre watching it differently without a frame around ur eyes and it just feels weird. for takane the frame was a screen instead of the glasses yknow. and to her its A LOT

i think post str takane keeps using her powers and having meltdowns because on top of all the existentialism she has to deal with being alive and everything, suddenly She Cannot Control Anything And It Is A Nightmare. she can't handle the lack of control she has over her needs and body temperature. just feeling hungry or sweating after walking for a little in summer makes her upset. bc she gets her body back during summer so GOOD LUCK WITH THAT GIRL. the clothes she wears feel all insane and irritated and nauseous!!! awful!!! even showers feel strange bc AUGGHHH so much is touching her at once!!! she also hates eating soooo yeah also a thing. i think she's always been a picky eater but post str its like she will only eat like 2 things or something

ON THE OTHER HAND.... it suddenly goes on the opposite end. like for a few days she's nightmare overstim city and then she's SUPER understim and COMPLETELYYYYY over eager about having a body and horribly indulges in like. overeating and running around <- overeating (especially when u usually avoid eating), awful for ur tummy. running a lot when u have chronic pains, also awful for ur pains later. sooo nothing she wont pay the price for later. it needs to get pointed out to her she needs to find a balance and cant have all or nothing (by haruka probably)

the personal space thing comes back here like she gets So touchy and needs hug or death. i think she can be all happy hugging haruka and all of a sudden pushes him away and is like WHOA I NEED TO GET OUT OF MY BODY RIGHT NOW MAYBE RIP MY SKIN OFF TOO MAYBE so it's rly like a light switch all of a sudden she can get overwhelmed with it and revert. like jumping back and forth between seeking and avoiding sensation.

i drew this once but haruka with his arms inside of takane's sleeves LOLLL i think skin to skin rly helps her when she's feeling like she needs sensation. a big part of the sudden overindulgence is OUGH IM REAL!!!! bc like i said takane isnt just dealing with having a body again she's dealing with having her Life again. being alive again. and she LOVES being alive. and the avoidance of all these sensations sometimes piles up and ends on the opposite like I NEED TO EAT💥💥💥I NEED TO SCREAM💥💥💥💥I NEED TO RUN AND HUG AND KISS AND DANCE AND SWIM💥💥💥 yknow. so yeah haruka helps her a lot with it when she needs touching and hugging ��🙏🙏 cuz he also wont get offended if she's suddenly like Ok get away from me before i explode����

also post str takane To Me also has mobility issues like haruka does bc all her muscles are atrophied from yknow Not moving for 2 years so it's like, even more that she has to deal with. physical therapy is incredibly invasive to her too so it's extra difficult. i think haruka and her do it together and that's why haruka is so on top of what's going on with her, he's the closest and sees her whenever she's the most vulnerable. also their situations are So similar they cant help just gravitating to each other for support. i also think haruka's the one to always point out to her when she's overindulging like Hey i love that ur rly enjoying that bigmac but i can already see you wanting to rip out ur organs later tonight so maybe dont eat a third one.

anyways ermmm takane's biggest challenge is Stop resorting to opening eyes whenever it gets too bad. like i also got sensory issues and assuming whoever is reading also does imagine having the option to just Jump out of ur body when its feeling Awful. ofc ur gonna take it when ur feeling like that. but it doesn't help takane to do it. while it helps her to calm down, it's not good in the long run. she actively wants a PHYSICAL life and work on all this. takane never wanted to die and is super motivated to get better but it's not quick or easy!!! eventually she finds a good balance i think. she's still a rly touchy person who hates grabbing her phone directly without the sleeves in the middle and will only eat like 3 things❤️ but also a hug lover❤️

[thomaslightwoodenthusiast]

alright fuckers u asked for it u got it

here is my thomastair playlist

its fifteen songs long, could be subject to change we’ll see lol

it’s on spotify so i’m going to link it at the bottom of this post, but first i’m going to list the songs and artists and provide a little context as to why i believe it qualifies as a thomastair song 😈😈

1.) dixie boy - april smith and the great picture show

chose bc i absolutely love this song, and i love belting it when i’m home alone lol. it *is* sang by a girl, however a) her voice is beautiful and b) the lyrics just fit thomastair SO well. no spoilers ofc but think of when alastair said that he always noticed when others were looking at thomas and how much he hated it. that’s this song. although it could also be how thomas feels about charles LMAO

2.) medicine - royal sugar

got recommended these guys on ig and they’re great!! no reason other than it’s just a rly cool song, kinda sexy, it’s just great lol

3.) fleeting love - royal sugar

reminds me of earlier thomastair 💗🙏

4.) indigo - mouth culture

there aren’t many lyrics to this, but it’s one of my fave songs. such a chill, great vibe, just makes me picture the two of them sitting together in the evening, no words, just relaxing :)

5.) why’d you only call me when you’re high? - arctic monkeys

possibly the only song on this any of u will recognise HA. again no real reason. just i guess when they had their oh moment??

6.) loud - feed the biirds (not a typo)

they’re out. they’re happy. they don’t give a fuck who says what. they love each other and the whole world is gonna know.

7.) palo santo - years & years

the first of 3 y&y appearances. olly (the singer) is gay and i love how his music expresses his identity; he’s not shy about it. reminds me a little of the sanctuary scene??

8.) i need you to hate me - jc stewart

okay i’m gonna be honest this is here for 2 reasons. one, bc it makes so much sense for thomastair. how alastair was so desperate for thomas to not care about him so that neither of them got their hearts broken. two, because apparently jc stewart is from a place just down the road from where i live HA ni represent fr

9.) DKLA - troye sivan, tkay maidza

fuck it lol just makes sense to me

10.) sanctify -years & years

one of the lines is ‘you don’t have to be straight with me’ with heavy emphasis on the word straight and it makes me giggle so

11.) tout l’univers - gjon’s tears

okay it’s a eurovision song BUT i needed a french song!!! cause paris!!! if you want to look up a translation of the lyrics feel free, but here’s (roughly) what the chorus says:

all the universe // our two hearts beneath the earth // in the midst of failures, everything explodes // to be at the point of impact // without you

i am aware they are kind of sad lyrics but i think this song captures how tumultuous everything was for them at the start, especially from a personal point of view for alastair

12.) moon - the cab

i love alexander deleon’s (lead singer) work as bohnes soooo the cab are great too. again just a silly kinda sexy song lol. also just realised it’s called moon and la voyage dans la lune guys i’m so smart

13.) hypnotised - years & years

more early thomastair vibes. actually the y&y songs on this make me want to write smth. idk. i think early thomastair owns my heart tbh

14.) love it if we made it - the 1975

yes i dislike matty as much as the next person however this song means a lot to me personally. i don’t know why, but it has helped me through a lot, like a note to self kind of thing? anyways. yeah i love this song and i think it really represents the desperation of thomastair, particularly how thomas put so much effort into convincing alastair that they’d be ok, that they could be together. ‘i’d love it if we made it’ just makes me think of thomas tbh. and!!! it’s all good bc!!! they did!!!

15.) hit and run - lolo

okay i’m going to be honest. i wanted there to be specifically 15 songs and so i needed to think of a final one to add. i really like this one, and thomastair often comes to mind when i listen to it. like i could just see them doing something borderline illegal or generally stupid and running away laughing because they’re just two idiots in love. lowkey oneshot idea of them being a criminal duo? who knows

that’s it for now, happy listening and feel free to add your own songs! you should be able to, i think it’s public and if you really want you can follow my spotify lol

here is the link:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6uSxw4bJefjV9iTQaEPZYD?si=BByxWrnLTwObcEM2PYbD3A

[shixen]

The Movie

Okay mugen backstory

Delinquents vs. Actual yakuzas vs. Some Big Bang wannabes vs. Also maybe the amamiya brothers

Smoky is fireproof, fitting on account of his name I guess

Japanese yell a lot. Very high pitched. Lots of vocal fry. Cant be good for the throat

Step into the Mighty Warriors Funk Jungle why don't you?

Oh shit I was joking about big bang but they're actually performing on stage

Its not very good

They got a girl so the clockwork orange rascals can't hurt them

A cop just literally tickled cobra

Why is Lala so clean? Not a realistic portrayal of homelessness

There is another Amamiya brother? A secret one, I don't even know anything about the 2 that already exist

Dan wants to work at tetsus bathhouse

The fact that a Japanese version of house of pain plays everytime we see Oya high is objectively hilarious

Is hyuga drunk? What does he do all day

Anti-gangster law. Just the one.

Iemura family is sucks

Kohaku's no good very bad life

"Donnnnnn sshhhhow yuh facccce againnn"

Gold cutlery is tacky

But the English is wild

Dad is angry with the kids

This motherfucker in a full-ass fur coat

All these dudes are like "punch off! Look tough" meanwhile a bunch of people are legit dead

Cobra really will just let anyone manhandle him, excessive baby girl energy

Smokey is not here to play, also extremely baby girl with his fluffy hooded jacket

This bitch brought a whole sabre to a punch off. Extremely cheating

Its an Amamiya! Here to save smokey from his extremely bloody anime mom cough

"I won't forget your face" thats gay brutha

Japanese, now English, now Korean, now mandarin, no wait back to English, syke Japanese all the way

"Aaaahhhhh BiKeu!" Relatable dude, Masaki is my fave Amamiya so far

The flow is wack as shit, like embarassing

This uncle has commitment issues

Take smokey to a fucking hospital bro, dudes not well

Run more fucking pathetically Lala for gods sake

That was the smoothest fucking snatch and grab I've ever seen

Yamato is going to cry again I can sense it on the air

Kohaku needs a therapist

I have no idea what the bleached bitch's name is but he has one of the most korean faces I've ever seen

Uncles name is tsukumo. Good to know

Why the fuck is smokey sleeping on his back

His recently cut open back

WHO IS THE THIRD AMAMIYA. I ONLY JUST MET THE FIRST 2

Noboru has prepared a presentation for us all with sick graphics and everything

We aren't even half way through the movie at this point

Naomi has started crying so you know damn well Yamato is also crying, he never sleeps on an opportunity to shed a few tears with the homies

Cobra has hairspray in now so you know its serious

"I'm prepared to die for this" bro how old are any of you???

Who let chiharu have his own motorbike, he's like 12 years old

Murayama graduated? Good for you girly

Best fucking believe Jump Around is playing

Where did they get trucks from?

Rocky looks like if Willy Wonka was blatantly evil

Hyuga you're gonna die if you sit like that. What if they need to break?

Quick movie note break cause I'm eating a sandwich and I didn't realise what an insane amount of lettuce I put in it like what's wrong with me on a fundamental level?

Rocky who the fuck shows up to a gang War in a white fur coat? Dry cleaning cant help you if you make choices like this

Daddy had the budget for camera rigs I see

Rocky don't call Yamato a baka in such a low voice, im gonna fall in love with your cringe ass

Where did all these grown men willing to fight children come from

Oh shit its the Amamiya brothers I GUESS

Daruma gang is straight up killing people. And they're correct about it

Just 2 dudes with styled hair and leather jackets having a fun time punching each other

Cobra really said "I don't know any English, and I don't care to" respectable sentiment

Tsukumo talk some sense into your boy

Oh shit I forgot that tsukumo actually got straight up hit by a car

Its crying hours again. It always is with these boys

Who fuck was it that hit them with the car?

AND WHO IS THE THIRD AMAMIYA

Your friend just woke up from a coma  better punch the shit out of him

Pulling hair now are we boys

There's always a koren shit-stirring from the back

And his dress shirt is covered in rhinestones

Hell yeah cobra punch Kohaku in the face. He pulled your hair.

Cobra be flying

Slightly too far that time Cobra but thats okay baby girl

Cobra stronk

His baby-girlness is intensifying

Damn cobra is always getting choked though

Screaming makes the punch stronger

Yep more crying time

Yamato weeping like a child. Checks out

Get it together Yamato, not every movie has to end with you crying for 20 minutes

Okay everyone is crying now

Maybe a hug and some group therapy??

Screaming on your knees under a shower of sparks? Yas queen slayyyy the drama of it all

Where did rocky get a cigar from?

Murayama can sense babygirl energy, its like a gaydar, like calls to like

WHO WAS DRIVING THE CAR

WHO IS THE THIRD AMAMIYA

WHAT THE FUUUUUCK

Tsukumo for sure needs a hospital

I am watching every HiGH&LoW movie back to back and simply allowing my brain to drip out of my ears

Its how I want to go out

I am taking notes for introspection though, to report my findings

[drivindrivin]

Crimsix being like “sorry don’t be mad, Daniel is my favorite” to Charles and Lando is a whole fucking mood.

[terrainofheartfelt]

Oh, here’s a question! If Dan and Blair were going to get a place together - assuming one isn’t moving into the other’s space, but they’re getting a whole new place to build their lives together in from scratch - what do you think it might look like, and what do you think the vibe would be? I always thought it was… interesting how at the end of 6x10 we got a glimpse into what Blair and Chuck’s townhouse was like (even though it 100% didn’t feel like them at all), and I’m curious what sort of space Dan and Blair might create together!

So first of all, I have had the MOST fun thinking about this answer so thank you for that. 🤍🤍🤍

This post is brought to you by @strideofpride and her dream home tag.

Okay so, this is an interesting question/premise because for the duration of the show, both Blair and Dan live in their childhood homes, set up by their parents, so like, we get an idea of their tastes, but it’s still adapted from their parents’. But when you compare their rooms, I think there are similarities in what they find comfortable/comforting and they would build their home around that. And though there are some artistic differences, what happens is pretty complementary. The color palette of soft blues and greys (and greens too) with warm lighting and warm & pastel colors in the accents. And when I referred back to their bedrooms, I noticed that Blair actually had a lot of earth tones in her bedroom. Inch-resting.

More under the cut because I had way too much fun writing this

So, I have made some ~moodboards~ BUT I have been collecting ideas since like, 18 months ago when I started writing Mouthful of Forevers. And on one of my fave blogs, I found this Gramercy Park apartment that I just kind of love for them, not all of the staging & interior design exactly, but the architecture of a renovated abbey, with those WINDOWS?! And the molding and the lighting fixtures and the home offices and the outdoor space. Idk it just feels very Dair to me. (idk anything about the neighborhood don’t @ me. I mean I kinda think it’s too far south for Blair’s taste but it’s not about the location for me on this but The VIBES)

Oh and ummmm in the Miloverse™ I hint at the Humphreys moving into a bigger house in Brooklyn and I think I like this one for them in that universe. The beauty of writing fic of the rich kid show is that everything’s made up and the price doesn’t matter. thehousehuntingblog is no longer actively posting but her archive is so fun to scroll through, and when I fancy giving myself a visual for a fic, even if I don’t end up writing much about it, that blog is one of the first I go to.

So a few things I imagine about Their Place

Dan just wants enough room for his books, a place to write, and a sit-in kitchen counter so he can cook and serve breakfast for his family. When Joy Harjo said the world begins at the kitchen table…

And because I’m getting very self-indulgent and much like the gg writers not letting the constraints of NY real estate stop me, my thoughts on the kitchen: I think they both like the feel of the loft kitchen, and that sort of french, mediterranean european kitchen with an airy space, no top cabinets, just open shelving and hanging things. It feels homey like the loft, but also harkens to the time they’ve had in France and Italy.

Dan is an absolute whore for soft lighting. He hates overhead lighting with the fire of a thousand suns (unless he’s cooking obvi). So, lots of lamps, and Blair loves an elegant lighting feature.

And Dan loves his Stuff. His books, his tchotchkes, his coffee mugs, the blown glass, the wall o’ photos in the loft kitchen.

Blair’s taste is neater than Dan’s, naturally, and leans towards more Victorian & Parisian things rather than the modern, and being who she is she likes touches of luxury and individuality. Things that are hers and no one else's. Which is why Dan’s preferences complement hers, because Brooklyn Boy has an eye for the unique.

She likes Dan’s Things(™) but wants to elevate them

she takes their plethora of photos and frames them to make a gallery wall

Absolutely have the colorful, cozy accents: rugs, cushions, blankets, but made out of the very best materials and fabrics.

Her expensive-ass candles

Every book, record, dvd case has a shelf. spillover piles like his old room make her nervous.

She meticulously organizes their collections, by genre then author & title, or artist, or director (but Audrey is in a collection of her own).

There's a turntable that’s aesthetic-suitable but is top of the line. she gets it as a gift one birthday and/or christmas and he insists that it’s too much but it’s a fight he cannot win

She also gets him an espresso machine and milk frother but her defense for that one is that she wants him to make her lattes so it’s really a gift for her. Evil lil genius.

Speaking of shelving, they have an extensive home library that only grows and grows and grows. Like Nads said, their whole home is a library, so there’s bookcases everywhere, and I love the idea of colorful bookcases. And the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of them having an upright piano in one corner. Musician!Dan supremacy. (Obviously in The Miloverse™ Blair insist on getting one when they move out of the loft).

They both want a home office space, Dan works from home all of the time, but when they do have kids, Blair also wants the option, but her work from home needs are less—she can get by with a nook in their bedroom or like one in the apt posting I linked above.

Dan’s office is a definite room with a door that closes, because sometimes he needs to block out the rest of the world, or sometimes Blair needs to lock him in there when he’s on deadline, but again, with The Kids he gets in the habit of leaving it open so they can find him when they need him. The first book he publishes after their first baby is written one naptime at a time with his daughter sleeping on the sofa in his office.

On a related note, I discussed this with S and we agreed that Blair and Dan are both green velvet sofa girls. Like one of these pieces so exists in either Dan’s office or their bedroom.

And, since this is Blair Waldorf, the master bath is of great importance. Her bathtub is her sanctuary. And I like the idea of taking those soothing deep blues and greens of their color palette and carrying them through into her bathroom. Or, even keeping that sunny warmth from her Pink Bathroom in the penthouse.

And, of course, these nerds have art everywhere. Forever laughing at the 🪑 home and that godawful painting on the stairwell like what happened to my dictator of taste???

Old film posters

Posters of art museum exhibitions (Mostly from the Met where Blair works)

Vintage Vogue covers

Original pieces when they go gallery cruising. During which they are absolute menaces; they’ll debate and pick apart a piece for hours until ultimately buying it. If there’s a cafe with a tip jar Dan will just preemptively slip cash in there as an apology.

I like to think when their daughter is born (Lizzie Humphrey rights!) Alison does a mural. Maybe about Sarah Kay's “B”? this is my headcanon post so I can do what I want

And Dan is artistically capable enough that I think he would paint flowers or leaves or stars on the wall. (Glow in the dark stars a ala jonah simms send post)

Oh and some more couch & bedroom inspo, just ‘cause. It’s about luxury meets the cushy and cozy with the warm accents. And they have to have a big comfy couch for movie watchings and game nights and couch sex when they have the place to themselves

Okay so there’s a kidfic that I’ve played in my head but haven’t written of Humphrey fam movie night and ofc Dan and Blair are invested in making their kids pretentious but it ends with their 4-year-old conked out with her head in Blair’s lap and the baby asleep on Dan’s chest and idk if I will write it but the picture makes me very Soft

All of these images were sourced from S’s dream home tag, thehousehuntingblog, thenordroom on tumblr, and pinterest.

[lentendays]

Things that don’t make sense about the Gossip Girl reboot 1x01

1. Why do these new characters not know who Serena, Blair, Nate, and Chuck are? They only reference them in passing after scouring through the old GG blog, but by all rights the NJBC should be really powerful and influential people they would be aspiring to - and could meet as a cameo one day. THIS Is where they should have dropped all the references and made us care. Episode 1 should have given us glimpses of what the old cast’s lives have been like, to draw people in. They could have made Julien especially, as a fashion designer, look up to Blair or even Jenny. They could have made Max have his regular hang out at Chuck’s hotel. They could have done more to reference WHAT Nate’s doing.

2. Who Gossip Girl is. First, that it was revealed at all. Part of the draw of Gossip Girl is that we didn’t know who she was, she was this malevolent, all-knowing character that kept tabs on everyone. We could root for her because we didn’t know who she was and she took our cocky faves down a peg or two. It fueled the mystery, and when characters like Georgina hacked into the account they immediately gained significant power - while ALSO emphasizing GG’s, since the hackers were always inferior to the real one. Second - the identity of GG herself.

3. Not only is Gossip Girl a group of teachers - as in ADULTS - who from what we’ve seen have very little reason to keep their positions if they really are that oppressed (Zoya goes on about how private school teachers are severely underpaid, which we’re supposed to associate with her being compassionate - but just brings up more plot holes), they are adults creeping on CHILDREN in petty revenge. Yes, in real life, treatment like the ones that these teachers get happens and it’s terrible. But we’re not watching soaps about rich kids to root for unlikeable teachers who take compromising pictures of 14 year olds and imply they had sex with their sister’s boyfriend. It’s petty and disgusting, especially since their target is the one kid who hasn’t done anything to them and actually stood up for them. It could also fall apart so quickly, with just one of these kids calling someone to get the identity of the GG account holder, and suing them for all they’re worth for taking compromising pics of minors. GG is not a powerful, all-knowing character who has the other characters on edge - and who is ON THEIR LEVEL, able to pose a threat and play the UES game - e know they are underpaid adult teachers one step away from being discovered and brought down. The power is too imbalanced.

[It’s not like you can’t bring adults into the drama - Rufus and Lily proved that. The self-righteous character can also do well - see Dan. But not adults who stoop to the kids’ level without being clearly pushed to it for a reason we’re interested in. Like the teacher who gave Blair a B and later slept with Dan.]

4. Pacing. The OG series dropped us straight into the mystery and drama. Why has Serena been gone a year? What is this Gossip Girl’s role in all this? Nate slept with Serena and Blair doesn’t know? The reboot drops us into BURGEONING drama - everyone is great with each other, GG is not established, Zoya and Julien are actually buddy-buddy. The gang of 7 are tight-knit, with little drama except on a moral level (ie Obie not liking Julien’s manipulativeness) which doesn’t always work out great for soaps since that moral ball is going to get dropped SO many times. We don’t know why we should care, there’s not much to uncover.

5. The characters don’t have strong motivations. At least not compelling ones, not right now. Julien seems to be the leader, the Blair-lite - but she’s very nice. She just wants to have followers and get to know her sister. She’s not the antagonist we love to hate. When there’s a legitimate reason for her to potentially be angry or suspicious - when Obie and Zoya are suspected of sleeping together - she immediately dismisses it. What ends up tipping her over and sparking the conflict between her and Zoya is that she lost followers, and Zoya was ‘humiliated’ by being framed for sending a dick pic. Zoya loses it but we’re not sure why - she was hurt, yes, but what exactly did this affect? We didn’t see her ostracized in school, we don’t know what repercussions that one incident was supposed to have except a moment of embarrassment in front of people who could very well have been strangers. If Zoya had cared about fashion and blown her chance with designers, then that would have made sense, with the undercurrent of hurt. But this is what sparks their conflict - not Gossip Girl, who just comes off as try-hard middle aged sad adults - and results in Zoya declaring she won’t leave but she also won’t play Julien’s game. What does that mean? That she’ll just live her life the best she can? We’re not watching a soap to avoid pettiness! We see Julien later reacting to Zoya and Obie, who recently dumped her, later getting close, and she stomps off. And then she reacts nicely to the teacher she bumped into, contrasting the first part, where by all rights she should have been pissed. The teacher looks triumphant, but that doesn’t make sense. Their goal was to get these kids scared with Gossip Girl, but GG hasn’t created any change - Zoya and Julien fell apart because of Monet’s machinations - and this makes the teachers come off as EVEN WORSE because now the kids are even being nice! What’s the motivation to double down on GG?

This show had a lot of promise but they dropped the ball. Hope they get better in the next eps.

Edit: They totally did! And now that it's clear we're meant to hate the teachers, I can watch this again

[wild-aloof-rebel]

Some Favorite Fics from 2020

Like last year, I want to end 2020 by highlighting some fics that have become favorites over the last twelve months. Before I dive into it though, I just want to take a minute to send some love to all of the authors writing in this fandom.

As of the end of 2019, there were about 8.8 million words of fic on AO3 for this fandom. This year, more than 450 authors have added another 15 million more. That’s so incredibly impressive, especially in a year this difficult. Thank you, thank you, thank you to every single person who contributed to that, whether you wrote one fic or a hundred, a drabble or a novel. Thank you for giving this fandom the gift of your creativity and voice. Your work is so, so appreciated, and you’ve helped to create joy in a year where it was often in short supply. 💗💗💗

*

Okay, on to the fics. I’ve limited myself to no more than one work for any individual author to spread the love around as much as possible, and I’ve bumped up the number to 25 this time around because there was just too much fic this year for me to cut it down any further. 

So here we go. These are 25 fics I loved this year, and what I love about them...

Your heart is keeping time with me by yourbuttervoicedbeau • rated E • 33k+ confession before i start: i’ve never actually seen 50 first dates. but i thought this AU based on it was delightful. patrick’s love for david is so big, right from the start, and i love seeing david lean into trusting himself (and patrick) over and over again

will this ever get old? by startswithhope • rated T • <1k i just like seeing them domestic and soft and happy, okay? and while most of dee’s fics are like that, this particular one is a fave because of them thinking about their future and how they’ll change over the years but love each other right on through

Just to Hold the Hands I Love by DesignatedGrape • rated T • 20k+ it’s like a warm christmas hug, full of musical trolling, gentle pining, domestic nights in, and careful attention to fashion details, which are all absolutely the kinds of things i appreciate

A Case of You by DoubleL27 • rated T • 6k+ patrick is an absolute menace in exactly the way you would expect every valentine’s day. it’s funny and sweet and ends with them in exactly the kind of future we all want for them

Dulce by another_Hero • rated T • 1k+ original characters can be hard to do right. they have to be compelling enough to fit in with these characters we already know so well, and dulce is the kind of character who grabs you from the start. the whole series is lovely, but this first interaction with ronnie is my favorite of them

Tea-Kettle Love by ArabellaStrange • rated G • 5k+ even though this coda to “the pitch” isn’t technically canon compliant now, it still feels a lot like it is. it’s about the sacrifices we are and aren’t willing to make for the people we love, taking the new york discussion into more depth than we get in the show and still arriving in largely the same place

Vanquished by Codswallop • rated G • 3k+ if you’re looking for soft, fluffy sickfic, this is not it, lol. patrick is sick here but won’t let anyone take care of him. he’s stubborn and basically minor chaos ensues. it’s funny and sweet but not schmaltzy. the characterization is 👌, and it feels like the kind of thing that fits perfectly into the world of the show

To Come Out the Other Side by unfolded73 • rated T • 4k+ • warning for major character death i don’t want to read sad things about david and patrick very often, but sometimes the mood strikes. this one is definitely sad right from the start, but there’s hope and resilience through grief, and i think this year especially, there’s something to be said for stories that can make you feel like there is still good to be found after the bad

Hold Me Like You’ll Never Let Me Go by moodlighting • rated T • 21k+ i never would have thought that a fic would make me WANT to be trapped in an airport, but it’s 2020 and anything is possible, lol. this is what meet cute dreams are made of

Your mother keeps a spreadsheet by upbeat • rated G • 3k+ obviously i love a good spreadsheet, so this one was up my alley from the start, lol. but really it’s moira and patrick bonding through the cataloguing of her wigs (and all the stories that go with them) that makes this one an easy favorite

keep me in the pulses, keep me in the sound by dinnfameron • rated G • 2k+ this sweet little slice of a summer vacation made me ache to be with friends. plus, sometimes you just need some overwhelmingly happy david rose. he deserves it, and so do we

eggs and the flour, no higher power by withkissesfour • rated T • 1k+ i’m pretty sure this fic is the definition of sweet, in more ways than one. it’s a short piece, but the writing is lush and indulgent in all the right places, just like the cakes being described

sustineo by rockinhamburger • rated E • 10k+ before i was even done reading this fic, i wanted another 50k words set in this universe. the conversation between david and patrick is sharp in all the right ways, and because this david has such a hard shell to crack after being hurt in such a horrible and heartbreaking way, it’s that much more satisfying watching patrick break through it

All-Natural Care, Locally Sourced by Siria • rated T • 2k+ siria’s fics are always funny, with banter that’s so perfectly on point, and that’s certainly true here. but there are also care packages and photos and just so much love. it’s a perfect balance, just like the show

hold on to me as you go by helvetica_upstart • rated T • 3k+ i love a good look at just how long patrick has been head over heels in love with david and how much he was in this for life all along. this fic does just that through the framework of times that they saw their new house before they bought it, and it’s everything that you would want that concept to be and more

Exposed Brick by swat117 • rated M • 9k+ this is such a lovely look at david and patrick a few years into their marriage, steady in all the right ways, even when old fears try to rise up between them. it gives david a chance to be the solid and supportive one in the relationship, something i never get tired of reading

We Could Turn the World to Gold by middyblue • rated T • 27k+ as someone who also did c25k at one point, i def empathize with david’s plight in this fic, lol. as much fun as that part of the story is, it’s really the house and everything related to that part of the story that makes this a favorite in my book. this was posted very early in s6, so it’s not the house from canon, but it’s beautiful either way to see them so excited about building their future together there

Waiting on the Day by High-Seas-Swan • rated E • 22k+ this is another fic that makes me absolutely ache for things i couldn’t have this year, namely my favorite local brewery and all the nights spent there with friends. beyond that, it’s just a very sweet AU, and the scene with their first kiss and the rest of that night live in my head rent free

Pot o’ Gold by ahurston • rated E • 22k+ where is the leprechaun/love of my life who’s gonna take me out to eat all of the best foods that my city has to offer? this one is a slow burn but their relationship is so much fun to read right from the start that you definitely don’t mind taking your time getting there. also, the palm reading scene. good grief.

there is no design by the_hodag • rated T • 12k+ this fic gives us a look at some of david’s art, and all the loneliness and love that inspires it. it’s poignant and painful and hopeful and sweet in turn, and i think it does a marvelous job of capturing so many of the facets of david’s past that have made him who he is

A Little Broken, A Little New by nameless_bliss • rated G • 3k+ i’ve read this fic several times now, and david and johnny having a conversation about their own relationship through the guise of talking about patrick and his parents never fails to make me cry

Une très bonne table dans sa catégorie by cromarty • rated T • 23k+ just the concept of this one alone would have sold me on it—like, hello? michelin reviewer and chef? sign me the fuck up—but it’s written with the kind of attention to detail i always expect from claire’s writing, and the fact that it practically starts with a first kiss but then pulls back makes for a delicious dynamic as they build a friendship over that foundational attraction, both tempering and intensifying the wait for them to find their way back into each others’ arms

happy golden days of yore by blueink3 • rated E • 17k+ i literally stopped in the middle of this fic, sat down on my kitchen floor, and had a good cry. i hate thinking about them ending up divorced in the first place, but even as exes, they’re so careful and gentle with one another and so, so clearly still in a forever kind of love. that makes it bearable to see them apart because even if it weren’t tagged for a happy ending, there’s such a feeling of inevitability to it, you know exactly how it’s going to end and just get to enjoy the devastating ride it takes to get there

Fifteen Hundred Miles by MoreHuman • rated M • 30k+ this is one of those fics where everything comes together just right and achieves a perfect balance of introspection and action, courage and fear, despair and hope, forthright honesty and cautious reservation... MoreHuman makes it all look easy, which says so much about all the care that had to have gone into the planning and writing. this fic does everything well, and it’s an absolute pleasure to read from start to end

840 Havenwood Road E by Distractivate • rated E • 10k+ we barely see david and patrick’s new house in the show, so it shouldn’t be possible for me to be as emotional about it as this fic makes me, every single time i read it. but it’s the home they chose, the place they decided to build a life together, and getting to see flashes of that life through the years and how much love they clearly had for each other within those four walls just makes me cry again and again

[mrs-nate-humphrey]

I'm so sorry, but I just *need* to know your thoughts about Desperate Housewives!

haha, i'm always down to talk about DH! got some disclaimers to slap on first:

a) i watched this show a few years ago. i mean. i was 19 at the time, which isn't THAT long ago, but still: i wonder if i rewatch now, whether i'll have different takes on some of the stuff. there are also probably things i'm misremembering, or have forgotten.

b) i only watched until around the beginning of s3? i temporarily discontinued because of mental health nonsense, and when i was in the right headspace to finish watching the show, it turned out they'd taken it off amazon prime :(

the good news is i know how to continue watching it now (evil giggle) so i will maybe get around to doing that at some point, when uni isn't taking all my brainspace :/

c) you probably know this, pat, but to the casual gg fan on my blog who knows nothing about DH, a lot of my gg-esque complaints/criticism/viewpoints carry forward a bit into DH, too.

it's not a show that'll teach you good morals or good behaviour, essentially - it does look at a certain privileged group of women who do terrible things all the time, and there's a lot of extremely problematic stuff on the show (gabrielle's affair with a high schooler, ew, this one dude tampering with birth control w/o his wife's knowledge, the extremely racist plotline that s2 gave the only Black family in the neighbourhood, that bit where lynette pretends her kids have cancer for the #perks, so many more things i'm likely forgetting... what was that weird baby stealing plot? did not vibe. anywayyy) & i think going into it knowing that it's a garbage fire tv show is VERY important.

i think the same part of my brain that enjoys gg enjoys dh, if that makes sense to say. "i didn't say it was good, i just said that i liked it", and all that.

d) fun fact before i REALLY go into it. i quoted gabrielle solis in a paper for class once.

okay, now, onwards!

hmm, okay, before i begin with DH talk (i know, you're getting SUCH an introduction here, lol) i love the idea of dan & nate watching DH partially because it would make sense for them to do that, like i said earlier - dan being like "milf show, here you go nate" and then both of them getting hooked - but i also love the idea of DN, or any gg characters watching the show, really, because compared to life in wisteria lane, the upper east side actually feels... normal.

alright, pat & whoever else may be reading this. let's go!

i was thinking of going character by character, or housewife by housewife. or whatever. the first thing you realise about this show is that a dead woman is the narrator, which i found very cool. yes, i found it cool. sue me. what the fuck.

anyway! living character time. i'm probably going to start with bree, because well.. *shrugs*. bree is absolutely a problematic fave ......... she is SO problematic in every single way, but the way marcia cross plays her is INCREDIBLY captivating... and to me, there's definitely parallels between leight's blair & marcia's bree. both the characters want things to be perfect sooo badly, to the extent where they're denying things and are very repressed and trying so hard to fit some unattainable standard and - gah.

bree honestly terrifies me more than blair, though - that bit in s2 when she got out her gun and whatnot... i would not want to get on the wrong side of bree van de kamp. & her political views make me want to like, never engage with her ever. i would block her on twitter.

the way she is with her kids also..... in the first two seasons, it sets my teeth on edge, or whatever the saying is. i'm like, perpetually worried about andrew & danielle. and also perpetually like, hey, somebody get those kids some therapy, please.

my cousin, who's watched the whole show, says that bree gets a character arc which is SO good that it's worth watching the whole show just for bree's chara development. she didn't give me any spoilers, because i asked her not to, so the last bree update i have is that she married that serial killer dude. ngl, that cliffhanger itself is worth watching the show for.

so, basically! bree to me feels like a terrible person to meet irl, but a fascinating fictional character. i love her because she's fictional! she makes me very uncomfortable because she reminds me of certain people irl. but ultimately, the way marcia cross played her.......... brb, screaming.

i miss rex. what happened to him [ spoiler! ] should not have happened. i actually really liked rex's energy, and bree & rex reminded me a bit of like... chandler and monica, but SUPER distorted? like, put chandler and monica in a fun house full of mirrors, all the trick mirrors, and maybe, just maybe, you'll get bree and rex. also i think their ship name would be bree-rex, which is so cute?? it's like t-rex. hello.

that speech rex gives bree in the pilot about "where's the woman i fell in love with who drinks milk from the carton?" always makes my heart hurt. (also i was considering giffing an incorrect blate to that. something about breerex when they don't fit together hits all my blair & nate feels. *shrugs*)

moving on... lynette. (i just googled her to check if i spelt her name right, and YEAH, i did! but apparently her middle name is lindquist. interesting). i don't really know what to say about lynette - her backstory, re: being good at her career, really thriving, and then having kids, and tom being all like "you should take care of them" and her having to leave work, which she loved, to take care of her kids, which she.... did not love, let's put it like that... it makes me sad, because it's a reality for so many women. tom should've been a househusband, etc etc.

lynette terrifies me too, mostly because of how it feels like there is nothing she wouldn't do. in some of my gg meta, i've mentioned that dan is an "ends justifies the means" kind of person.... oh, he is nothing compared to lynette. i feel like lynette would kill a man if she had to. she is just always stressed and always working high stakes and harbouring so much (justified!) resentment and - idk. it's complicated. maybe in a different environment, she'd be different.

things with lynette and tom are also extremely ??? to me. the whole thing of how tom cheated on someone w/ lynette, and then tom & lynette got married, and the fact that it's something both of them seem to view as romantic?? what disaster spouses, good lord.

anyway. i'm just gonna drop this here, because i'm me. bree & lynette had a vibe. they REALLY did. they should've wived each other, i would have loved to watch that show. (i think there might even be fic out there, but i didn't look too hard. i would've ended up spoiling the show for myself, since most of it seemed to contain spoilers.)

susan. ngl, susan is my favourite. idk why people hate her so much... i went on the DH tags on tumblr a while ago and people are writing such verbose, eloquent anti-susan-meyer rants. i guess she did something truly awful after the second season which made people hate her?? (don't tell me, lol.)

susan just radiates disaster bi energy. like. i don't think i've EVER headcannoned a character as bisexual as quickly as i did with susan. there is just NO way that is a heterosexual woman. absolutely no way in hell.

i found susan really relatable when i was 19 & watching this!!! she is just so bad at so many things she should not be so bad at. the fact that she BURNS A HOUSE DOWN in the pilot.... BY ACCIDENT... because she crept in there to SPY on her RIVAL whom she thought had scored a date with a man she was too nervous to ask out... susan, what are you doing. you are so bad at being an adult. i love you.

julie has so much emotional intelligence. and, i glimpsed a spoiler which i'm only vaguely aware of but like... it seems like her arc overall, thru the show, wasn't as cool as she deserved. sometimes it seems like julie is parenting susan instead of vice versa. despite that, i felt like the susan & julie mother/daughter dynamic was pretty good... especially compared to how some of the other mothers (*cough* bree i'm lookin' at you *cough*) were with their kids. sure, it wasn't the healthiest dynamic in a lot of ways, you shouldn't treat your child as your peer, which susan often did. anyway.

(i just get a big kick out of dan's favourite being susan, too. and i love the image of dan & nate watching DH together, and nate being like "she reminds me of you" and dan getting all "nate how dare you" about it lkggkh but also is nate even wrong? dan's always been awkward, he knows he's always been awkward, and here is a character who is visibly a disaster. why can't susan just be allowed to be bad at things? he gets protective of her so damn quick. no i am not projecting haha why would you say that?)

edie my most beloved. edie is the best part of this show, hands down. i don't know what more to say. i mean, all the characters are problematic in some way or the other, but nobody does it quite as stunningly or fabulously as edie does. if you've read the asoue series, i just gotta say... edie has esme energy, sort of?? i mean, she's not evil in the same way, just in terms of the vibe. like the, i'm gonna be a stylish nuisance kind of vibe.

(i think edie would be nate's favourite. i WANT edie to be nate's favourite. i want nate to look at edie and her confidence and how fucking unapologetic she is about literally everything, and go, "hey, i'm gonna channel that vibe." i want nate to learn to put himself first, because of edie britt.)

and the susan/mike/edie love triangle......well. i gotta admit that i was 100% a susan/mike shipper (i found spoilers for what happens on tumblr and i am so devastated. i can't believe they [redacted ] like WHY would they - ) but. you know what i've always, always thought was better than susan & mike?

susan and edie. those few episodes (how many episodes? 1? 2? 3? definitely not more than that) where they were best friends and doing things together was SUCH a good vibe. susan and edie had such a great dynamic and i just loved it.... there's something so homoerotic about having a rival, and love triangles ALWAYS get so much better when you get a gay outcome. susan and edie are like, my otp from this garbage show, i think.

(& yes, i think DN would ship them too. because this is my evil headcanon land and i can make one of my otps ship another of my otps. this really IS how i live, thanks for asking.)

i think i've covered everyone except gaby! i have such mixed feelings re: gaby. by virtue of being the only housewife of colour, i'm already naturally protective of her, but i just wish SO badly that they hadn't had her have an affair with a high schooler. couldn't she have had an affair with someone older? if they wanted to do the "woman in her 30s has sex with a younger man oh lord the scandal" couldn't they have chosen like. a twenty year old. or something. and the show was SO aware of this, so many people talk about how this is wrong and gross and if i remember right, the boy's mother even calls gaby a p*dophile or whatever, which was... really weird and jarring? in the sense of like - the show didn't think that it was "nbd", they thought it was a big deal, but they wanted us to accept it because it was gaby.

and honestly, keeping that aside, if that had never happened, i would've probably adored gaby? (is this what being a chucky fan feels like. i mean, it's not the same thing. but also, it's kind of the same thing.) gaby had such good lines, eva longoria played her so well, and there was a lot that really intrigued me about like... her character motivations, the fact that she wanted a rich husband and not a good one, and the way the narrative (if i remember right) never judged her for that... gaby's backstory was also tragic, and carlos was such a dick to her for so much of what i watched, i didn't like that :/ i think he gradually becomes better, if meta i've read is to be believed, but... idk. he did some truly unforgivable things. and it pisses me off, that the ONE non-white main couple they had were dysfunctional in this way. but then again, everyone on the show is dysfunctional, so... idk.

i do remember seeing some chair on here who'd made a moodboard of all their ships from various fandoms, and they'd put their chuck/blair edit RIGHT NEXT to their gabrielle/carlos one. it made me kind of go :0 because i definitely see the parallels. not to stereotype or anything, but i think there are definitely common elements to both ships, so if you like one, you might like the other, and ditto with disliking them.

reiterating, now, at the very end, that i've only watched s1 & s2, and that was a WHILE ago. if anything here doesn't make sense, or if i've missed anything, that's probably why :) i hope this was somewhat satisfying to read! <3 and if you disagree or think any of these are totally off, that's totally fine too, naturally. for me a big part of being proship is just understanding that different people interpret characters in different ways, so like....... of course you don't have to agree with all of this, haha.

[tanktop-lou]

Tag 9 people to learn more about their interests!

Thanks for the tag @counttoinfinityy @iicflicker @farawaytatmybeloved @whaleharry I know it took too long but here I am🌷

MUSIC

fav genre? almost every kind of rock (punk/heavily/indie/pop ecc) so yeah rock in general

fav artist? louis right now

fav song? that's impossible, I can't choose I love a lot of songs and my fave always changes

most listened song recently? the outside by twenty one pilots

song currently stuck in your head? revolution by elias (yeah that's the song of young royals and it plays 24/7 in my head)

5 fav lyrics? This is tough, I'll try (some are pretty old but they still mean a lot to me)

I don't want to die/I sometimes wish I'd never been born at all (Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen)

Do you ever wanna run away?/Do you lock yourself in your room/With the radio on turned up so loud/That no one hears you're screaming? (Welcome to my life by Simple Plan)

Put a price on emotion/I'm looking for something to buy (Fine line by Harry Styles)

It's been a minute since I called you/Just to hear the answerphone/Yeah, I know that you won't get this/But I'll leave a message so I'm not alone/This morning I woke up still dreaming/With memories playing through my head/You'll never know how much I miss you/The day that they took you, I wish it was me instead (Two of us by Louis Tomlinson)

'Cause sometimes to stay alive you gotta kill your mind (Migraine by Twenty one pilots)

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands | pop or indie | loud or silent volume I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on (I don't ever drive in silence, I drive to silent to music basically)

BOOKS (and fanfictions because I read them a lot more then books)

fav book genre? mystery, thriller, fiction, romance

fav writer? Dan Brown

fav book? Can't choose, so 'The Nonexistent Knight' by Italo Calvino, 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen, 'The Lost Symbol' by Dan Brown

fav book series? percy jackson of course <3

comfort book? all fanfictions, they are my comfort

perfect book to read on a rainy day? 'Inferno' by Dan Brown

fav characters? Annabeth Chase (such a badass)

5 quotes from your fav book that you know by heart? don't know any, I wish I was like a lot of people who remember these things

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first | reliable or unreliable narrator  | realism or fantasy (both sorry) | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once

TV AND MOVIES

fav tv/movie genre? romance, fantasy

fav movie? I have too many... Mulan is a fave

comfort movie? 13 going on 30

movie you watch every year? the holiday (it's tradition every Christmas)

fav tv show? young royals (new fave i'm in love with it), brooklyn 99, money heist, friends, the good place, shadowhunters, doctor who, black mirror, sherlock

comfort tv show? brooklyn 99 or friends

most rewatched tv show? teen wolf and pretty little liars

ultimate otp? Jake and Amy (brooklyn 99), Magnus and Alec (Shadowhunters), Simon and Wilhelm (Young Royals)

5 fav characters?

Simon (young royals)

Holt (brooklyn 99)

Sherlock (sherlock)

Stiles (teen wolf)

Tahani (the good place)

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons(22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging (lol I wish I had the patience for one episode a week) |one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off (because I always watch it in the original language) | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online

Tagging (if you haven't already and you want to) @holyshit @sunsmile-lou @gettingdizzyoh @thosefookinavacados @hearyouhowling @kiwikiwiandkiwi @princess-lou @longhairlouis-mybeloved @avocadolouis28

[coramvobis]

Imagine an South Korea!AU where Seo Dan and Seri are both chaebols... (part 1 because this is getting out of hand)

Obvs, Seri and Jeong Hyeok are married already bc this STORY IS ABOUT DAN AND HER HAPPINESS SO TAKE A BACK SEAT BINJIN.

Jeong Hyeok, pianist, whatever. Sickeningly in love with Seri. Seri is basically the same as CLOY, just got the man AND IS BEST FRIENDS WITH DAN EVEN THO DAN WOULD NEVER SAY IT OUT LOUD

My boy Seung Joon, a poor boy who’s living in a shitty small ass closet of an apartment. He’s just gotten fired from his job bc he prob gives out free shit or something to old ladies and loses profit or whatever that he did as a job

Now Dan is obvs CEO of you guessed it, her moms cosmetic department store but imagine it’s like a chain now and it’s big and international. That’s prob how she met Seri, two strong women in the business. Instead of competing they got together and TAKE DOWN ANY MAN WHO THINKS THEY CAN WALK OVER THEM

So Dan, workaholic, doesn’t take care of herself very well bc she wanna make her moms company the best she can. Doesn’t date v often and so her mom is like dan u need to go out more!!! You can’t just hole up in your office everyday, you’re at the perfect age for marriage and kids!!

Dan, not having it, bc single is the new trend right? (IM CRYING) basically brushes her mom off n was like I don’t need that kind of burden right now and was like I don’t have time to cater to a mans ego where they want to be the alpha and like her to be a docile housewife. And listed all the things that she doesn’t wanna deal with when being with a guy.

Mom, I swear she’s my fave, like second to seo dan. Mom being the smart ass bitch that she is, went and posted an ad, like discreetly Ofc, looking for a stay at home husband. And proceed to like list all the requirements.

Guess what. seung joon saw the ad and was like this sounds fun and totally replied to the ad. Not knowing it’s for like a fucking millionaire or whatever.

Comes the day of interview, mom went thru all the candidates, some were plain ugly (dan has taste and she doesn’t want her grand babies to b ugly), some were creepy (like srsly), and some just outright lied on their app and did NOT in fact want to be a stay at home husband but wants to “fix” her daughter.

So this is where our boy seung Joon comes in right. With his charming suave self and a killer smile, charmed the pants off mom and landed himself a trial period of 6 months.

U might be wondering. After mom set it all up, she went to see Dan and told her the good news. Dan was HELLLLAAA PISSED Ofc and was like MOM WTF DID U DO. Moms like I found u a suitable candidate! And bc nobody can out argue her mom, dan is like ok fine, I’ll try it for 6 months but if it doesn’t work out u can’t interfere in my personal life ever again. Mom Ofc agreed bc mom knows everything.

So fastforward.

Seung Joon is literally the perfect stay at home husband(fiancé???). He realized this is literally his dream life. He gets to live with a gorgeous woman and take care of her and don’t have to work????

Every day seung joon would cook her breakfast (which dan is like ??? Bc her breakfast was a cup of coffee), prepare her lunch with like a cute lil note about how he hopes her day is going well, or not to forget to take a break, or something cheesy n cute ok. Like it just shows he cares. When dan comes home he’d have dinner ready and he would b like the devoted husband and ask about her day n everything (Ofc at the beginning she’s prob like only replying with one word or two, then slowly she starts to say a little more when she realized he actually wanna hear about her day.) when dan stays late at the office, he would bring dinner to her and stay just enough to watch her finish dinner. Then one day he just shows up to pick her up from work BY WAITING OUTSIDE HER BUILDING UNTIL SHE COMES OUT. And so after that dan just sends him a txt when she’s about to leave so he doesn’t have to sit and wait. And SEUNG JOON BECAME HER DRIVER TOO. They just spend a lot of time together ok. Whenever Dan isn’t working, he tries to be with her. Bc he’s in love.

Lbr seung joon fell in love with her like at first sight ok. He just wants to know everything about her and wants to care for her and just make sure she knows she’s not alone and she can rely on him too bc he’s there for her and her only. He wants to be the person that she depends on, the person she shares her thought and emotions with. He wants to make her happy.

So they ended up with a routine of sorts. They started texting each other throughout the day (ok seung joon txts her and she just subconsciously smiles at it bc it’s always something stupid or flirty or just something so very seung joon, but she secretly like it even tho she doesn’t know why)

Seung joon takes her on spontaneous little dates when she’s free. He makes sure she’s having fun, he tried to teach her how to make food once and it ended terribly but it was hilarious and they were LAUGHING AND JUST CUTE.

I can’t.

Six month mark coming up right. Seung joon knew already like two months in or something when dan started warming up to him that he wants this. He wants this for as long as he can. He wants to marry her bc she’s amazing and literally a goddess. She’s exactly his type (TEARS R STREAMIMG DOWN MY FACE) so he used the little savings he’s got and went and bought this cute ring right. Not the biggest diamond. It’s nothing flashy but pretty. It’s pretty and sophisticated and it reminds him of dan. So he’s got it all planned right.

On the last day of the 6 months period, Seung joon made like this romantic ass dinner for dan. Decorated the place and all. Made it look a+. They had a rly nice time n they were so comfortable (dan even laughed at one of his jokes and he felt like he was on top of the world). The night was winding down. Seung joon was getting nervous but Dan’s fave song came on and it was Time.

So he reached for Dan’s hand and started his whole speech (you know the one. The one on the bridge where we all just died a little bc damn that’s cute) and at the end, he kneel in front of her with the ring between his thumb and forefinger. AND ASKED IF SHE WILL HAVR HIM AS HER HUSBAND BC HE WANTS TO SPEND HIS LIFE MAKIMG HER AS HAPPY AS SHE MAKES HIM.

Dan, not knowing that Seung joon was actually going to do this, was SHOOK. She thought they both knew it wasn’t gonna be like a Marriage thing after the 6 months but here he is. On one knee. Looking at her with those soft eyes.

She wrapped her hand over the ring and Seung joons hand and frowned. Ofc. Seung joon knew what that meant but a little bit of him still HOPED LIKE I HOPED THEY WOULDNT KILL HIM and dan said no. She can’t marry him. She was sorry but he’s like don’t apologise right. Bc even tho he’s like dead ass heart broken, he doesn’t wanna hear her apologise to him about this. So he got up, put the ring back into his pocket, and started cleaning up the dinner table like nothing happened. He told Dan to go rest n shower like it was just another regular night with them.

Ofc. The next day, Seung joon is GONE GONE GONE. he left a little card that says thank you on it but nothing else. All of his things r gone.

Dan’s mom called n was like SO HOW DID IT GO. And dan just tells her that Seung joon is gone. He proposed and she said no. And he left.

AND SCENE. tbc

[piastri]

Tumblr Tag Game

Been waiting to do this one so thank you for tagging me Anna! @gp2engine 💛

1. Why did you choose your url?

I had it saved since Yuki’s F3 days and was waiting for the day he got into F1 and that day came so 🎉

2. Any side blogs?

This is a sideblog, @dailycillianmurphy is another one and i have a few others mostly to save things on. 

3. How long have you been on tumblr?

I’ve had my main since 2014... i was a lonely year 7 and for better or worse turned to tumblr for interaction. 

4. Do you have a queue tag?

Yeah ‘q’ coz i’m really creative like that <3

5. Why did you start your blog in the first place?

I had a Daniel insta fanpage in 2017/18 and this was a good source for like Dan updates, so i’d occasionally reblog pictures of him. I didn’t interact with anyone or speak in the tags so it was pretty much just a place to save pics. I started being active on here in April 2019 coz I got tired of f1 reddit dudebros but still wanted to speak to people about it. 

6. Why did you choose your icon/pfp?

Coz that’s my baby, that’s my love 💘 My header + url are both F1 so I wanted something feeder series to reflect my blog and it’s a really nice pic of Liam who is my fave feeder series driver :)

7. Why did you choose your header?

I made a bunch of Daniel/Lewis headers last year and i thought they looked pretty so i just meshed them both together so I could have both my faves there :D

8. What’s your post with the most notes?

For once my tagging system comes in handy, it’s close between Uncle Daniel and my ‘prove them wrong’ set, they both have 1.5k notes. 

9. How many mutuals do you have?

I don’t really know who i’m mutuals with it’s hard to tell with sideblogs. 

10. How many followers do you have?

2.6k 

11. How many people do you follow?

312, 174 of which are motorsport blogs (yes i just counted and i didn’t realise i follow that many wow) 

12. Have you ever made a shit post?

Yeah but i don’t do it that often, i’ll leave it to the actually funny people

13. How often do you use tumblr a day?

Depends, during the work week i delete the app off my phone which decreases it a lot so probs 1-2 hours in the evening, during the weekends.... when am i not on here. 

14. Did you ever have a fight/argument with another blog?

*cricket noises* it was a while ago now, and just lead to mutual unfollowing. nowadays i just don’t respond, if u wanna argue under my posts go ahead just don’t drag me into it. 

15. How do you feel about the ‘you need to reblog’ posts?

‘I guess it depends? Like those posts about a topic that says stuff like you need to reblog otherwise you don't care I'm always like "well now i won't do it".’ < yap agreed, or like the ‘reblog or u’ll have good/bad luck’ posts gtfo. In terms of supporting content creators, i feel like it’s beating a dead horse at this point but yeah pleaseee reblog it means a lot and motivates us to make more content so i feel like it’s a win-win situation. 

16. Do you like tag games?

I really like being tagged!! I don’t talk to that many people on here so it’s nice to be acknowledged from time to time. I’ll admit i’m not the best at doing them sometimes like my brain just short circuits and for the love of god there’s only so many times i can expose my shitty music taste 😂😩

17. Do you like ask games?

I don’t do them often coz i’m scared i won’t get any asks lol, but it’s nice when people do send them and I like reading other people’s. 

18. Which of your mutuals do you think is tumblr famous?

Cassy @dams-racing is tumblr famous as she should be :)

19. Do you have a crush on a mutual?

I’m straight but some of my moots are very lengg, I wanna send asks gushing over them but then i’m like are we that close, are u gonna think i’m creepy? so i just send marriage propsals on anon lol 

20. Tags!

Tagging: @dennishaugers (i forgot that u changed ur url djskd), @maxielstan @iguessfutball @querencva @justdrivee @brighterrdays if you haven’t already and anyone else who wants to say that i tagged you :)

[ttlmt]

I just watched the final google feud vid again and IM CACKLING why is it so CHAOTIC?!?!! I honestly cannot even handle it like the looks they kept giving each other AHH I’m soft. And the way Phil kept leaning on Dan’s arm? And Dan’s goblin gargle? And how it gets progressively more obvious that they’re not even trying to play the game any more? And the singing in UNISON? And the fact that they both seem high as hec? And how crazy Phil is acting? Like damn Philly. If you have anything to add(‘:

LITERALLY wtf happened to them while they were in Canada. every video they filmed here was insane but ESPECIALLY the final google fued.

like dan “live your truth constantly and you’ll be fine” and phil “you get up to a lot when you’re not tweeting” like we’re not even 30 seconds in and dan gives him That Look (i swore i giffed this before but i can’t find it so i know what im doing later oml). phil’s weird anecdotes? he probably dreamt them? dan is so done? and dan’s face when he says he’s cultured? and phil roasting him? and THE SECRET FOLDER BIT! (im sorry im not getting screengrabs of all this i just woke up and im too emo to make a coherent breakdown post) they’re just having so much fun in and the whole room service debacle? and like surely they couldnt get MORE chaotic and then BOOM. and remember when everyone thought phil slapped dan’s ass?? we had a field day that day we were so wild oml (we didn’t appreciate 2018 enough). dan’s face on real guesses (okay im gonna do one screengrab look at this shit and also phil for the lolz)

like maybe they weren’t drunk before but they def had something with dinner cause dan’s just out. of. it. and they’re literally debating about whether to play the game or be funny and like thats a dapg mood (rip) MEN CAN BE MILKED IS IN THIS VIDEO TOO WTF. fuck it have another one

he

the shameless spons? the yelling? the fact that their arms are like attached through the whole thing like YOU ARE IN TWO CHAIRS YOU ARE PROFFESIONALS YOUR CAMERA COULD GO WIDER THIS WAS A CHOICE. idk what happens to dans voice when he’s talking about drawing the dog but i would like it to happen more.

THE FUCK IS THIS

jesstina... she’s weird right?? is anyone else LeAvINg the EU? phil: i met someone who hates ice cream. dan: WHO IS THIS PERSON like hes so persistent and phil just ignores him like the toddler he is and then distracts him with the next topic. why do they call it dabbing? okay maybe i don’t miss 2018.

why do they call it spoons? wtf phil

dan screaming when phil skips the answers. phil shushing him cause they’re in a hotel. dan’s valley girl voice. phil mocking him for it. how do you make someone fall in love with you? dan: SHUT UP (okay we get it you have a soulmate yall fell in love at first sight or whatever we can’t all have that smh)

HOLY FUCK I JUST DELETED THIS WHOLE POST BUT TURNS OUT YOU CAN UNDO THINGS YOU JUST TYPE SO CTRL-Z TO SAVE A LIFE

alright back to the breakdown.

phil’s so stressed and dans so giggly and this whole thing is a mess. phil saying sTupId the friggin attempt at all or nothing at the end and dan just vetos that shit. and i always say this is my fave video but after watching it again i know im right ty

[kim-lexie]

crash landing on you.

woah...if a drama ever could crash land, oh i mean ‘descend’ into my heart it was this one. it descended from the greatest drama writers and has been placed into my list of top dramas of all time. like i’m telling you it’s up there with ‘scarlet heart ryeo’, ‘something in the rain’ and ‘mr. sunshine’. seriously it will not disappoint you and i would give it 100 out of 10. 

overview.

this drama follows se-ri, a ceo of an impressive cosmetic-lifestyle brand in seoul. she goes to test drive some of her paragliding products, and a nasty storms ends up sending her to north korea. after landing, she soon meets ri jung-hyuk, a captain in north korea monitoring the boarder. the drama follows him protecting her to deliver her home to south korea, and how their relationship flourishes in the diversity they face from two very different sides of the boarder.

there is romance, family drama, political issues, and cultural differences that are presented in this drama. and i was absolutely there for it all. i ended up writing down my thoughts and fave moments from each episode. because from the start i knew this drama would wreck my heart, and i wanted to look back at all the good times, and times i cried my eyes out of course. so i posted a week-by-week playback from the drama so if you want to see my random thoughts from each week here is the link week-by-week playback.

*spoiler alert* they are ahead, you have been warned.

i have many thoughts, and i am writing this the day i finished the drama. so i will do my best to touch on everything that really struck me throughout this drama. i may even have to go back and update later on, because it is a lot to process.

characters. 

i appreciated that we followed so many characters and that the characters were dynamic and held their own for the plot and development of the story.

ri jeong-hyeok and yoon se-ri. their relationship developed so beautifully. i loved how he had a heart to protect her immediately. from their first meeting and him directing her how to leave the north, and her running towards it just showed their personalities perfectly. once he discovered  that she was still there he was determined to get her out safely, and to protect her no matter the cost. when we come to find that they met long before, it just went to show how deep their connection and destiny was (cue me singing lyn’s ‘my destiny’ from my love from the star at least twice an episode). he saved her life many a times, as well as her saving his. they had so many moments. some of my faves (obvi not a comprehensive list all of their moments, that would be too much for my heart):

her falling from the tree saying he was totally her type. 

how he kept trying to meet her needs even though it was ridiculous and not necessities for the north, but were needs for her as a lady from the south. from making her food, to getting her the candles and body products from the market.

when she was lost in the market and he got a scented candle to lift up to find her.

him keeping her photo even though he called her out saying that it was silly to get extras.

after ri jeong-hyeok got shot protecting her, and their first kiss moment at the hospital. 

when ri jeong-hyeok’s family kidnaps her and they meet again at his family home.

when seri played on the piano and we discovered that it was jeong-hyeok’s song all along, the song for his brother that saved her life. when she contemplated suidcide in switzerland.

when his brother’s watch came full circle, to provide pertinent information in turning in the bad man and being the gift se-ri had bought to gift to jeong-hyeok.

when he followed her to the south to protect her, and they met on the street.

when he and the boys surprised her for her birthday.

him waiting for her after he was taken by the NIS and they allowed him to be at her bedside in the ICU until she woke up from the coma.

him leaving her a fully stocked fridge and writing out recipes for her. along with leaving her text messages for a year. 

him leaving her a recording of him playing the piece on the piano for her to fall asleep, rather than her depending on sleeping medications.

them writing i love you with books on the shelf.

captain ri’s company. i throughly enjoyed the addition of getting to know all of his men. they all developed a friendship with se-ri and it was so precious. and how she gave them all rewards before she was meant to leave the first time, and gifted them things. i loved how they all came to love her and wanted to protect her, which is especially prominent in how they all surround her after she was shot by cheol-gang. 

ju-meok and his love for south korean dramas throughout the episodes was precious. i loved that seri was able to make his dream and gift come true to meet his favorite actress. eun-dong a precious bean, just wanting to see his family, not always knowing what was going on, but always providing emotional support. kwang-beom the handsome face, who blew his cover in the south when all the agencies wanted to recruit him (hahaha). and of course chi-su the one most hesitant to accept her, came to love her most and became the most accustomed to the lifestyle of the south. 

these men tended to provide the perfect comedic relief for many tense moments. their one liners were perfect. i appreciated them coming to the south and trying to get accustomed to blend in. all those scenes were hilarious from them in the stores walking around with their knock off brand names, hours in the internet cafes, sauna stays, and chicken dinners. some notable moments include the birthday celebration scene, when seri thought they had left and gone back to the north and starts weeping on the floor, just for them to come out for the ‘surprise’. and them saying wait ju-meok you said surprises were a good idea but she is crying. another moment being when ri jeong-hyeok was showing seri his scars saying hers won't be too bad, and them walking in thinking something scandalous was happening, (this even happened when captain ri was in the hospital in north korea hahaha).

jeong-hyeok’s family. the storyline behind his brother was kind of dropped, and it was kinda sad because i feel like it shaped jeong-hyeok immensely. but it was so sad that his brother passed in such a tragic way at the hands of cheol-gang. and that it brought jeong-hyeok back from his dream as a pianist to fulfill what he needed to for his family. his father was stern and hilarious in the scene when the two of them finally met again. just being baffled that his only son left was in love with a woman from the south. his mother was so supportive of him, and i loved that. she just wanted her only son to be happy in life and come back alive. 

now seri’s family is whole other story they were WACK. like seriously insane and it was ridiculous. her father and mother redeemed themselves compared to the beginning, once seri returned they kept it in check and wanted the best for her. i loved how the mother and daughter relationship blossomed and how she was there for her daughter in recovery and grieving the loss of jeong-hyeok as he went back to the north. that was beautiful. 

now on to her oppa se-hyeong and his witch of a wife sang-a. they wanted to keep her in the north, then when she was back to send her back/use it against her in business ventures, then tell cheol-gang her address so he could take her. like what?!?! her eldest brother and his wife were oblivious and just wanted money and titles, but dang at least they didnt send an ex NK officer after seri. and it was only until the man-bok wire tapped the room while she was in a coma did it come out that they were truly evil. 

our second otp. seung-jung and seo dan. my goodness what an unexpected pairing, but you know i was on that ship as soon as i saw it developing. i loved how they dished what the other served, and how seung-jung was a different person who wanted to do better by her, seriously they were great. i loved that seo dan saw that she was worthy and deserved to have a man that wanted her and saw her true beauty and qualities that made her a strong and independent woman. and that she didnt need to pursue something that was not vibrant because jeong-hyeok did not pursue her how she deserved, because he had someone else in his heart. i loved this relationship. and i really did not appreciate that we finally had major character development from seung-jung, and then he died. like seriously?! we went from only a few episodes prior going to turn seri into her brother and keep her there in the north. and then he went to protect seo dan and ended up losing his life to protect her. 

the moment he asked her what she was referring to when she said, ‘i like it’. was it jeong-hyeok, was it the ramen, or was it him (seung-jung)?!? and she responded with him, weeping. i weeped like a baby. and then he died in the ambulance. i couldn't contain it.

seo dan’s family. i loved her mother, she provided much comedic relief when it came to how seo dan and jeong-hyeok were originally engaged, to kinda getting on the ship of ‘alberto’, to being like maybe it’s fine if she is alone, let me get myself a man. it was hilarious. i also loved how she went into the village and used her money on the black market to get goods to the ladies of the village. it was quite funny to see how much of the south, she appreciated even though they were pretty high up in status in the north. like the boutiques she went to, and the english phrases, and south korean products she used. 

the women of the village. these women were precious. they were hilarious in how they always prepared the best for jeong-hyeok when he came back from the outpost. i loved how the village banned together to protect seri and how seri made limited edition products in tribute to them. 

the premise and themes.

overall the idea of this concept is wild and completely ridiculous. that she was hidden for so long, that they met before in switzerland of all places, and that it took her weeks to escape the north and it took 8 men 12 hours to get there is ridiculous. but then again if we didn’t have these wild storylines would it really be a drama? 

it was interesting to see their perspective of life in the north, for the duration of the drama i was wondering how much of this is true. from the market to the wiretapping of the homes, to the guards and military structure. it was all very intriguing. and i also have issues with people saying this drama glorified north korea because i would like to see those receipts because i did not see it portrayed as a wonderful place to live. it looked difficult and cold, and terrifying! 

the only thing that humanized it was the people, which is how it is in these situations. the people there, just typical everyday people, do not necessarily reflect the hierarchy of hate portrayed by officials of the government. 

it was so sad at the place that seri was incredibly vulnerable and wanted to take her own life. she insanely depressed and how jeong-hyeok in that precise moment when he was sad and alone wrote a piece of music for his brother that brought her out of her own darkness was beautiful. even though they did not talk or communicate face to face, the heart behind his music brought her out. and they were eventually able to come full circle and meet and grow together. se-ri is an incredible strong character and i wish she had the support she needed from her family and friends. i am glad that jeong-hyeok was able to be there for her, and meet her in her most vulnerable moment on the bridge.

cinematography and episode layout.

i loved the filming of this. like seriously it was beautifully done. from the dynamic scenes in nature and traveling through the forests, to the cityscapes and small moments they highlighted.

i appreciated how we followed the cohesive storyline, but that at the end of each episode we got an extra tidbit to take with us. one of the most noteworthy ones being when the NIS was investigating the ‘spies’/captain ri’s men and looking at all their histories and transactions and places they visited (HILARIOUS). then at the end of that episode it flashed back to the NIS, and now they were looking into jeong-hyeok. and it showed the collective moments that him and se-ri shared and the investigator said that a psychologist viewed all the materials and found to conclude that jeong-hyeok was in love with se-ri. then the lead investigator was like, ‘no duh, you needed a psychologist to tell you that bro. i can see it with my own eyes’. i laughed so hard. 

these end scenes at the end of the episodes were also pivotal in piecing together their histories. and seeing how they had met long ago and that destiny truly brought them together. 

the ending.

i am partially satisfied with the ending. i like how we got to see where everyone went. like even the little things of how man-bok and his family ended up in pyeongyang. and that the village ladies were same old same old even with a new captain showing up. 

i was disappointed that our second otp was ripped apart by those chinese gangsters, because we could have had it all, and not the tragic ending of him protecting her from the bad men and dying a slow painful death and they finally confessed their love for each other. 

i loved that our couple found each other eventually, after years but that it was while she was paragliding, which i freaking called it being like wouldn't that bring us full circle! it was wild and i loved how it ended with them on a picnic enjoying life in a little house with all their photos, because that's how it all started. i wish we could have seen them in the future with their twins, but ya know i’ll take this ending over a scarlet heart ryeo for our main leads.

the ost. 

my goodness i have never had a great drama with a subpar ost tracks. and this one does not fall short. now, i have drama ost playlists each each, and i believe every track from this drama made the list, because *insert slow clap* they are fantastic. my faves:

‘flower’ by yoonmirae.

‘here i am again’ by yerin baek.

‘all of my days’ by sejeong.

‘photo of my mind’ by song ga in.

‘let us go’ by crush. (his tracks always get me)

‘give you my heart’ by iu.

now if you haven't watched it yet go get netflix and watch this one because it will not disappoint. and i will have to rewatch it eventually because it really was perfect. and i am sure there are many easter eggs that i missed. 

[terrainofheartfelt]

"It's you, it couldn't be awful"

A Playlist For Dair Appreciation Week, Day 7 - Fave Quotes & Lyrics

I haven’t the faintest idea how to make gifs (seriously I think all of you are witches) so I made this playlist, because there is nothing I love more than scrolling through my spotify library and just projecting all over it.

Track listings and links with opinions & lyrics under the cut, because this thing is long, because I have no restraint.

(Note: I intentionally left off all tswift bc if I didn’t, we’d be here all day)

Section 1: The Bops

Little of Your Love - HAIM

A bop that embodies the energy of the 4b arc, and an energy of “Oh for crying out loud, Humphrey”

You’re just another recovering heart / I wasn’t even gonna try / you wouldn’t even give the time

Stop runnin’ your mouth like that / ‘cause you know I’m gonna give it right back

Hate That You Know Me - Bleachers

It’s “You owe me ten / You owe me twenty!” & “I was hoping it would go away / I was humiliated” & basically all of While You Weren’t Sleeping, tbh

Some days I, I wish that I wasn't myself / No luck! / And I hate that you know me so well

I Like Me Better - Lauv

Heavily featured in all y’all’s gifsets—and rightfully so!!! It’s also like the perfect counter to the previous song.

To not know who I am but still know that I'm good long as you're here with me

Sweet Talk - Saint Motel

It’s about Blair roasting Dan for filth and him being completely charmed by it.

when you laugh / I forget that it's about me / But it's alright / Yeah, cause being your punchline / Still is something

No Reason to Run - Cold War Kids

In the perfect version of the show that lives in my head, this is the end credits song that plays as the two of them frolic in Rome.

I have evolved like a fish growing legs / Woke like a lightbulb clicked in my brain

You Make Lovin' Fun - Fleetwood Mac

The song for the couple that fucked in an elevator. Bless the work.

Sweet wonderful you / You make me happy with the things you do

No Matter What You Do - covered by Jakob Dylan and Regina Spektor

The energy is “I have a lot of affection for you but you are so annoying.” And this is the obligatory post-breakup s6 song.

No matter what in the world you do / Hey, I'll always be in love with you

Don't Take the Money - Bleachers

I see so much love for tswift on this website (valid) but I feel like the world as a whole sleeps on her collaborator Jack Antonoff bc he is brilliant and his act Bleachers has some of my favorite songs ever. Like this one. Antonoff has said before that the title phrase is more metaphorical than literal, like an idiom that means don’t take the easy way and give this up, because it’s genuine. Real “I want to have a sleepover with you” vibes.

Somebody broke me once / Love was a currency / A shimmering balance act / I think that I laughed at that

In the Morning - Nina Simone

It’s about the domesticity! And the “Our relationship is our world”! And the “we’re young and still have so much life to live so everything’s gonna be okay.” did i title a smut fic with lyrics from this song maybeso.gif

Please be patient with your life / It's only morning and you're still to live your day

This Must Be the Place - Talking Heads

This is a canon dair song bc @mysteriesofloves titled a fic after this song, them’s the rules. But for real, this is such a good one. The lyrics are intentionally scattered, a little bewildered, like “how did we get here? how did this happen? who found whom?” and finally “who cares? we found a home in each other.”

The less we say about it, the better / We'll make it up as we go along

Cleopatra in Brooklyn - Frank Turner

Chosen for the title obviously, but the lyrics capture the royal/5b arc pretty well, I think. The narrator carries this tongue-and-cheek comparison of the woman he’s singing to to Cleopatra through the whole song, comparing himself to Marc Antony, and ending with this really earnest kind of declaration. I’m obsessed with this songwriter he’s a genius please give him a listen.

These people are adjectives to your proper noun

I'll come find you when your fortunes fail you / I'll die with you when the gods desert you

Morphing into Section 2: Pure Vibes

Walking on a Dream - covered by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness

The original is by Empire of the Sun (and omigod I just realized the coincidence), but I first heard it covered by McMahon, and he’s one of my favorite musicians of ever so I just love his rendition. And this song is sort of like...about finally deciding that the reality of love with someone is so much better than the idea of it.

Thought I’d never see / The love you found in me / Now it’s changing all the time

Wake Me - Bleachers

Jack coming for my life yet again. This song is so romantic but also so melancholy? Which is such a Daniel Humphrey Vibe.

And I'd rather be sad with you / Than anywhere away from you

All I Want - Joni Mitchell

I’m a white girl with a mother who grew up in the 60s, so I love Joni. And this song is so bubbly and joyful, but it’s also about a relationship between two imperfect people and wanting it to work anyway. Big “Despicable B” vibes!

All I really want our love to do / Is to bring out the best in me / And in you, too.

Dust to Dust - The Civil Wars

A friend in undergrad got me into the Civil Wars by showing me their live videos, and they have such incredible musical chemistry - like, the synchronicity of their ensemble is so good that it even comes through on their studio recordings and it makes these simple lyrics hit SO HARD.

You're just lonely / You've been lonely too long

NFWMB - Hozier

Ok, this had to be like the first ask I ever sent @bisexualdanhumphrey bc they wrote this fantastic meta post about Hozier and Derena but I said: “consider: NFWMB is a Dair song.” And they said, “You right.” I stand by it, and that’s why this song is on this list.

If I was born as a blackthorn tree / I'd wanna be felled by you / Held by you / Fuel the pyre of your enemies

Friday I'm in Love - covered by Phoebe Bridgers

This song - especially this cover - gives such Secret Friendship Arc vibes a la the end of 4x16...the inherent romance of eating pizza and falling asleep on the couch together

Always take a big bite / It’s such a gorgeous sight / To see you eat in the middle of the night

A Case of You - Joni Mitchell

Queen Joni again. Like! I am a lonely painter / I live in a box of paints. & The “You’re the star of Dan’s book” of it all in these lyrics!

I remember that time you told me / You said “Love is touching souls” / Surely you touched mine / ‘cause part of you pours out of me / In these lines from time to time.

Longing to Belong - Eddie Vedder

This is my thinly veiled attempt to tell more people about this: a song written and performed by Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder on ukulele, that is actually the softest love song in the history of western music.

All my time is spent here / Longing to belong to you

Bones - Josh Record

Okay, so, that Moment on the Couch at the end of 5x02? That’s this song.

And darling, when your feet are cold / Wait up, I'm coming home / And all of you I will hold / My love will clothe your bones

Cinnamon Girl - Lana Del Rey

The song for when you reach the end of plausible deniability - One all consuming paralyzing thought & You need to go back to Brooklyn - and it scares the heck out of you.

There's things I wanna say to you, but I'll just let you live / Like if you hold me without hurting me / You'll be the first who ever did

You and Me - You + Me

You can be flawed enough but perfect for a person

Section 3: Songs for Dancing in the Kitchen with Your Lover at 1 am

Cigarettes and Coffee - Otis Redding

The “Dan and I have a real connection song.” It’s about the romance of commonplace things when they’re with the right person.

But it seemed so natural, darling / That you and I are here

I'd Be Waiting - Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats

It’s “I just want to spend the day with you” but in like, slow-dance, sexy harmonies format.

If you ever get lonely if you never did

Never My Love - covered by Jakob Dylan and Norah Jones

The “Words of Affirmation” love song they deserve, and an underrated love song from Laurel Canyon, imho

What makes you think love will end? / When you know that my whole life depends / On you

Dancing in the Dark - covered by Morgan James

Okay so these lyrics are such Dan lyrics to me, it’s charmingly self-aware and self-deprecating. And this cover by Morgan James turns this staple rock song into something ~sexy~

I'm dying for some action / I'm sick of sittin' round here trying to write this book / I need a love reaction / Come on, gimme just one look

Oh Me Oh My (I'm a Fool for You) - Aretha Franklin

They’re literally always making each other laugh! It’s about feeling safe enough to be uninhibited and unselfconscious in your joy.

To make you laugh / I would be a fool for you

I Fall in Love Too Easily - as done by Chet Baker

No one, but no one sounds as sweet or as smooth as Chet. I know it, you know it, Hozier knows it. And this song and it’s titular thesis is so Them, it’s such a central part of their respective characters, and one of the things that makes them compatible.

My heart should be well schooled / 'Cause I've been fooled in the past

For Me Formidable - Charles Aznavour

Due entirely to this fic (Part II of a god tier s4 au) This is the end credits song for their full feature length Nora Ephron romcom.

NSFW Honorable Mention: Dinner & Diatribes - Hozier

it’s the definitive “men get pegged” representation, iykyk