#Matt: idk sometime after new years I think

[mikeluciraphgabe]

Wade: Oh! Em! Gee!

Peter: Wade-

Wade: dat ass looks uh-may-zing

Peter: *deep sigh*

Matt: in his defense, it does.

Peter:

Peter: YOU’RE BLIND STOP ENCOURAGING HIM

[hysteria-things]

hi! i recently found your account, and i js wanna say omg ur so talented, like ur fr my new fav writer. could u maybe write something about a virgin reader, whos only ever fingered herself, and so when matt (or chris but im a matt girl and im being self indulgent about this), and she squirts, and is super embarrassed about it and he comforts her about it? u dont have to, but idk i js think u could do this idea rlly well:)

FIRST TIME

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: soft dom!matt x virgin!reader

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: you and matt have been together for quite sometime, but never had sex. he knows you’re a virgin and he’s so patient with you, but now you think you’re ready

𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: SMUT but fluff!, making out, mini panic attack, praising, p in v, squirting

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 1,066

𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞: for anon and @mattsleftnipple03

these were pretty much the same so i combined them! hope you like :)

thank you and love you guys🫶

the pen in your hand scribbles on the piece of paper in front of you as you ponder. you’re in art class and your best friend sits across from you at the big table.

art class is basically a free period because let’s face it, you guys don’t do anything except gossip and draw for fun.

you’ve been asking your friend a series of questions about what losing your virginity is like since she has experience. the only experience you’ve ever gotten was your fingers, and to be honest, it gets old after a while.

you’re not embarrassed about being a senior in high school and still a virgin, but your boyfriend who graduated last year lost his with his ex a while back. you guys have talked about having sex for the first time for quite some time, but you were never ready.

no words can describe how grateful you are for matt. he’s been super patient and understanding with you.

but now, you think you’re ready.

“is there a reason you are asking me these questions?” your best friend asks, raising a brow.

you shrug, your hand still having a mind of its own with the pen. “i’m thinking about going all the way with matt.”

she smiles, genuinely looking happy for you. “oh my god! when?”

“i told him i plan on this weekend.”

“that’s so exciting!”

“yeah, but,” you pause to take a deep breath. “i feel nervous.”

she reaches over to stop your drawing hand. “it’s totally normal to feel nervous. matt’s such a sweet guy. i’m sure if you feel the slightest bit of discomfort, he’ll stop immediately.”

you smile at the mention of your boyfriend. she’s not wrong. matt will do anything to make you feel comfortable. he’s not one to force anything on someone. “you’re right.”

she gives your hand a light squeeze. “let me know how it goes.” she winks just as the bell rings for dismissal.

the rain outside is pattering on the window, you and matt cuddling comfortably on his bed. you guys just woke up from the best nap of your life.

you nibble on the inside of your mouth. “matt?”

“hm?” he hums, picking up his head that was resting on your chest.

“i want to do it.”

he beams at you. “positive?”

you bite your lip in excitement and nod. matt lifts himself to get more serious. “don’t be afraid to tell me to stop, okay?”

“i know,” you reply. he leans in and kisses you passionately with a hint of hunger. he breaks the kiss to take off his and your shirt but goes back at it to unclip your bra.

the skin-to-skin contact felt warm and comforting, but your anxiety is starting to take over.

you try to brush it off until matt reaches for your pants. yanking his hands away, you cover your top half with the comforter as you feel tears start to form.

matt freezes, a hint of guilt on his face. you try your best to take as many deep breaths as possible. “i’m so sorry, y/n.”

he carefully places his hand on your arm and rubs soothingly to calm you down. “n-no it’s not you.” you take three deep breaths before continuing. “it’s silly. the thought of a penis about to be inside of me freaks me out.”

you chuckle along with him, the humor helping you relax. “we don’t have—”

“i want to.” you say truthfully. “i just need a second.”

he goes through different breathing techniques with you until you calm down from your mini panic attack. he asks if you're okay at least a hundred times before you shut him up by kissing him again.

he hesitates with your pants not wanting to trigger you again, but after a beat, he pulls them down with your underwear.

his pajama pants soon end up on the floor with the rest of your clothes. he comes under the blanket with you and pecks you on the temple, grabbing a condom from the nightstand. “so proud of you.” he starts, making you blush. “you ready?”

you give him the okay, and he slowly starts pushing into you. the stretch makes you cringe and hiss, causing him to halt. “hurts?”

you shake your head. “pressure… keep going.”

dampening your lips by licking them, he continues to move. his eyes are dead set on your face to sense any discomfort. you let out a ‘mmph’ when he’s all the way in.

when he doesn’t see any bad signs, he starts moving his hips. you moan softly, the pain turning into pleasure.

“you can go faster,” you whisper, and he does. your nails leave crescent marks on his shoulders as he peppers kisses on your chest, neck, and face.

you squeeze your eyes closed, the softest of sounds leaving your lips. then, your legs twitch, and a watery liquid squirts out of you. your eyes widen, and matt stops the second he notices. “what’s wrong? need me to stop?”

“no. i think i…” your cheeks burn, too embarrassed to admit what you’re thinking.

“that’s okay. it’s completely natural.” he reassures, grabbing one of your hands to interlock with his above your head. “you’re doing so well, y/n. so fucking proud of you.”

he continues to rock his hips, this time pulling out more and thrusting back in a smidge harder. “oh.” you moan, arching your back when he starts hitting a certain spot. “oh shit, matt. just like that.”

he tries his best not to pick up speed to scare you, so instead he keeps the rhythm you’re comfortable with. he grunts, taking the hand that’s not holding yours and placing it on your hip.

the grip you have on his hand tightens, indicating that you’re close when his tip keeps abusing your g-spot.

you whimper, your legs starting to quiver from pleasure. “i’m close.”

“cum, baby. you’re doing such a good job.”

you sigh of relief when your cum slowly starts to ooze around him. matt’s right there with you with just a few more thrusts before spilling into the condom.

the feeling of him pulling out of you makes you wince, but then you two giggle. “i did it!” you say proudly, holding up your hand to give him a high five.

he laughs. “damn right you did.” he takes your high five, followed by a handhold.

𝐭𝐚𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭!

@bunbunbl0gs @lexisecretaccx @thy-mission @angelic-sturniolos111 @sophssturn @mattsneezing @janiellasblog @blahbel668 @meg-sturniolo @hearts4chris @mattslolita @sturnbaby @imwetforyourmom @tillies33ssss @sturnifyed @mayhem-72

[devilfic]

Prob, wayyyy too damn specific but I saw posts of Matt and I just rewatched The Batman (2022) and like I had this prompt of:

Reader is pushed away by Matt and decides to not fall with more vigilantes but runs in with Bruce and marries him? Maybe and it becomes some love triangle plot or idk

Idk what you could do with this, pls feel free to ignore it or modify. It’s just a weird ass crossovers of my two husbands.

at first I meant to humor you a bit with my thoughts on bruce and matt as very similar lovers but then it just turned into a throuple. walk with me:

it’s funny because matt and bruce have very similar self-destructive behaviors when it comes to relationships, but I think bruce is a bit more indulgent (whether he’d admit to that or not is another story entirely).

where matt is clearly insecure about if he can protect you—certainly he will fight until his last dying breath to do so but would rather you never be in danger to begin with—bruce is (and I'm especially thinking of an older, more experienced bruce), I think, unwilling to let you know that he’s just as insecure. mainly because failure cannot be an option. bruce also has much more at his disposal to protect you (cough cough money cough) and has backup plans for days. at this point in time, bruce would be more willing to let others in and have a healthier (?) way of maintaining relationships.

matt is, to the best of his ability, an ordinary man who strikes suddenly, sometimes recklessly, and thinks better within the throes of action. matt strikes me as someone who carries too many burdens to ever think a relationship with a civillian would work. he is a martyr like bruce, but I think where matt is in daredevil and where bruce is in my mind (years later, a little less cynical) are different enough to make them stand out.

that being said, I think matt would be hella suspicious of bruce because let’s be honest…. everything about him is a red flag LMAO. I can imagine matt playing mind games with bruce if they ever met, perhaps matt is representing a client who is suing wayne enterprises and oh, look, there’s you and bruce all cuddled up in the courtroom. matt listens for bruce’s heartbeat whenever he asks a particularly pointed question about his life but bruce has trained his heartbeat to be steady, his reactions natural. he gets one past matt.

and you think this man has some NERVE interrogating your new boyfriend when he’s the one who put you out. you almost let him have a piece of your mind but think better of it.

matt wonders if you like being bruce wayne’s. are you even able to still be you? the you that he truly knows?

needless to say, if they cross each other in cowls, matt will know it’s him instantly. I think it would sting matt to know that not only had you moved on to a man of much higher class, you’d also moved onto another nocturnal vigilante. one who, apparently, had no hangups about having you.

bruce also isn’t stupid. he’d done his research into the masked vigilante running around the neighboring borough of hell’s kitchen. it wasn’t apparent to him when he’d first met matt, but a little stalking research down the line and he’d put it together. they don’t reveal this to each other at first.

but later that night, bruce is holding you and wondering… is that your type? if it was by the simple hilarity of the universe that you ended up falling for him, right after leaving a man not too different from himself.

anon, I have a feeling that when you said love triangle, you really meant a love v as in bruce likes reader, matt likes reader, and reader likes both. but if I may talk my shit, I think these two might have a lot to like about each other. two vigilantes who operate by night and shadow, who have similar dedications to justice (matt’s being the idea of righteous and fair law, bruce’s being protecting the weak and innocent and rehabilitating or stopping the corrupt), two men leading double lives, two men as equally charming, and two men in love with you. bruce and matt find it hard not to see what you like in the other.

bruce befriends him. it’s kind of an accident the way he finds a kindred spirit in him, and at first it’s purely to keep an eye on this guy, perhaps to put together a contingency plan just in case. he starts sending nelson, murdock, and page cases in gotham that could use their legal advice, sending business partners and citizens alike to their door for referrals. matt isn’t sure what to do when they start getting a wave of new clients, all suspiciously right up their alley, but foggy and karen don’t mind the extra cash flow and matt struggles to find a way to not be okay with helping those in need.

matt returns the favor and starts training bruce on how to hone his other senses in combat. the two of them will spar for hours, only stopping if alfred were to come yank them apart or, god forbid, you come home early to find your boyfriend pinning your ex to the mat.

and you’re both horrified and fascinated to find that they get along really well. but you can’t just let matt back into your life after he’d all but slammed the door in your face. he’d given up on you. now he was weaseling his way back into your life with bruce—a happy life, might I add, although no less stressful—hanging around you like a dark shadow.

bruce isn’t sure how to feel about it either. he knows how much you loved matt, how much you still love matt, and he can tell matt is not over you no matter how much he waxes poetic about the greater good and why you two couldn’t really work out. bruce gets it, worries that maybe he should get it more and cut you loose too before something happens to you. it had always been their worry: that while they were off protecting the city, there’d be no one there to watch over you. and there was no one there to watch over you. once upon a time.

there is no organized discussion about it. bruce is less hung up about it than matt. it does feel odd, imagining him around you and it being… normal. inviting matt over for dinner with your permission, and sharing wine and heavy goodbyes as bruce pays a taxi to see him home safe. he considers the way you squirm at the table, trying to keep it friendly between you and matt but there is that ache in your chest that remembers this man differently. it feels disrespectful and rude to be friends with him now, having him around gotham. eventually bruce asks you as you wind down for the night, his rings clattering onto the dresser tray as you pull back the sheets, “you love him still.” well, he doesn’t ask.

you freeze, halfway into the sheets, unsure if you’d even heard him right, “I’m sorry?”

“matthew,” he casts a glance over his shoulder, “it didn’t really end between you. not on your end.”

“if you’re trying to accuse me of something-“

“I’m not. I can see it on you.” but bruce’s voice isn’t angry or mocking or blaming. it’s… oddly resolute. thoughtful, even. “I like him.”

“I… what are you saying, bruce?”

he crawls under the sheets, nonchalant, but he finds himself just a little (just a little) unsure. “I’m saying that… maybe the reason why he pushed you away isn’t a problem anymore,” he stares ahead, focused on the fireplace that burns low, “if you wanted him still. I wouldn’t mind it. I wouldn’t mind him.”

you almost can’t believe your ears. “and you like him.”

bruce takes a minute to shrug, as if he needed to roll it around in his mind one more time.

“do you… want us to be together? all of us?” you watch the reflection of the fire in his eyes, waiting with bated breath.

he turns his head to you, “if we can get the usher boy to agree.”

you have to have a long, long talk with matt. there’s tears and a little anger and a whole lot of uncertainty as you talk out your tumultuous parting but then, as matt’s guilt starts slipping in and he says he’ll stay out of gotham so that he doesn’t cause you more pain, you blurt it out. matt isn’t sure he’s heard you right. you have to repeat yourself, a bit more eloquently, “I said… do you want to be with me and bruce?”

he doesn’t immediately say yes. in fact, he takes a day or two to himself to think about it. he’s staunchly sure in the beginning that he will turn you down but the words do not form, the hesitance keeps him from calling. when he gets advice from foggy (who is twice as bewildered but all too excited by the prospect) about how to say he’s not interested, he writes it down and it just. doesn’t feel right. he finds himself rearranging the words in his mind to be softer, more… flexible. less “hard and fast no” and more “I just don’t know”. the more he thinks about it the less inclined he is to even SAY the word no. is it because it’d really, finally cut you out of his life? would he only be saying yes to have you again?

bruce would be there too, that’s the key thing. maybe it could start out as just him being with you and bruce being with you at the same time, but maybe that was too weird for him to think about. sharing you with someone else. he wouldn’t want to. but what would the alternative be?

he calls bruce to meet in hell’s kitchen where he feels safer. bruce is calm, not imposing in the least. he lets matt rant it all out and get his feelings in check. when he’s blown off all the steam, bruce just says, “if it comes down to it, there’ll be no hard feelings if it ends.”

“this is crazy.”

“you can say no.”

“yeah. I know.”

some time passes. bruce comes to stand beside matt sitting on the ledge of the rooftop, keeping his heavy gaze fixed on him. “they still love you.”

“I know.”

the two of them say nothing for a while. matt tries to focus on the city, as loud as it always is, but keeps zeroing in on the steady earnest thumping of the man’s heart right next to him. he is being honest with what remains unsaid, what you’d told matt days ago that he still struggled to believe. he tilts his head so, and bruce has known him long enough now to know that he’s thinking hard about what to say next, “I suppose you’ll have to take me on a date first. just so we’re all even.”

“is pinning you to the mat not courting enough for you?”

[eulaliasims]

Get to know you: Sims Style

Ty for the tag @executables-sims. ^^

What’s your favorite Sims death?

idk this time, whoops. I haven't had a sim die in my game except by old age for a while. 🤔

Alpha CC or Maxis Match?

Both? Is that an option? Both. Really, I like aspects of both and so I blend both in my game. Alpha hair and clay hair, maxis match objects and realistic objects, whatever, if it fits in my game I'll use it.

Do you cheat your sims weight?

I used the SimBlender to change some of the models fit states on my last download post; otherwise, no.

Do you move objects?

I move so many objects, baby 😎

Favorite Mod?

My enormous hacks folder makes this hard to answer, lol. I'll shout out Epi's Baby Personality mod, b/c finally I'm getting some sims with more than 0 to 1 nice points born in Middleground again.

First Expansion/Game Pack/Stuff Pack?

It was Pets. Because I've always been an animal lover and it came out right after I started playing.

Do you pronounce live mode like aLIVE or LIVing?

It's still LIV mode and I'll still die on this hill.

Who’s your favorite sim that you’ve made?

Made? Idk, I don't often make sims to play (I think I picked Jackie from Far Valley last time), so I'll show you my favorite born in-game sim!

is anyone surprised (if you're new here, that's Clara Blanch)

Have you made a simself?

Yeah, but she no longer exists in my sim bin and no one gets to see her.

Which is your favorite EA hair color?

Black? I guess? Idk, I don't really have a favorite hair color.

Favorite EA hair?

Hmm, I don't remember what I answered last time I did this one. I think the little half-up ponytail from Seasons.

Favorite life stage?

Is it a cop-out if I say everything besides the infant stage? (Does that one even count? They're basically potatoes.) Playing this hood for so long, I've come to enjoy playing sims through each of their life stages. Toddler and kid are cute; teen stage is fun because I get to explore their personality and interests more, and ofc there's budding romances for sims who are into that; adult stage, I get to build their lives and see what their own family turns out like; and elders in my game usually get to relax and savor things once they retire, and spend a lot of time with their family and friends and hobbies, which can be a nice change of pace.

Are you a builder or are you in it for the gameplay?

insert both is good gif from @executables-sims's post here

Are you a CC creator?

Sometimes!

Do you have any Simblr friends or a Sim Squad?

Yeah, though the concept of a sim squad is so funny to me for some reason.

Do you have any sims merch?

Nope

Do you have a YouTube for sims?

Nooooope. I like to watch some simmers, especially speedbuilds (shout out to @kayleigh-83 and @nervosims for their great speedbuild vids!), but no one would enjoy me flitting back and forth between seven different things at once, lmao

How has your “Sims style” changed throughout your years of playing?

Play style or aesthetic style? They've both changed over time. Gameplay wise, I really only stick with Middleground and my rotational play now, whereas I used to start (and abandon) a lot of legacies, tried at least one BACC, just random sims that were fun to play. Aesthetically... hmm, you know, I'm not sure this has changed *that* much. Here's Clara circa 2011:

I use more matte skins now, and the style of clothing I download has probably changed the most, but I could absolutely recreate this pic without downloading anything new, including the CC stuff in the background.

Who’s your favorite CC creator?

Don't make me pick one!! If you're really interested, check my sims pinterest in my pinned post, I'm sure there's patterns there.

How long have you had Simblr?

*checks archive* ...Ten years next May, yikes!

What expansion/gamepack is your favorite?

Hmmm, I'm going to say Apartment Life this time. I've really been enjoying playing witches lately, and it added a lot of buy/build items I like. Or maybe Uni??? No, AL it is.

Tagging, uhhh, I'm a little late so sorry if you already did this and I missed it!: @isimchi, @tvickiesims, @episims, @anachronisims, @sushigal007

[radioactive-earthshine]

Wait.

Conner was homeless and Cassie didn't help him?

Weren't they dating at the time?

Where was Clark?

Tim?

Bart?

I have so many questions.

I avoided reading all of Superboy because of the unforgivable sexism but now I'm figuring that might have been a mistake.

1.) Conner was homeless and Cassie didn't help him?

Nope. Dan Didio did her extremely dirty.

Superboy #94 I don't even want to show the whole page of this because it is severely gross, but Cassie basically tells Kon to leave, despite Young Justice's HQs being more than large enough to accommodate him, and for some reason he was sharing a room with Slo-bo.... when it was more than large enough to house him.... idk.

"Stop depending on others" when you are BOTH sixteen and are in a TEAM where you HAVE to depend on each other to me sounds out of character for her, or at least in poor taste as it strips the compassion from her.

Didio decided this was the route to go with her, I'm not sure if he forgot these were sixteen year olds, or if he just didn't care, because either way it's not fair of a move to pull. You can argue that it's definitely something a teenager would pull but I think Cassie would at least have compassion here for Kon, even if she is a little high strung at this time and also dealing with PTSD (likely).

Cassie did recognize later in the issue that she was "rough" on him and it ends on a hopeful note that a new start for Kon would be good, but it doesn't bode to be a positive experience. His move was done on a sinking raft.

In a hypothetical situation where things go better and Cassie recognizes that it is unfair to demand that Kon leave when she herself has a home, a mother, and a large support system to protect her, I feel like she would allow Kon to stay at Young Justice like she allowed Slo-bo to stay.

2.) Weren't they dating at the time?

Nope. They didn't get together until later, they were flirting at this time in varying intensity. They both clearly liked each other but neither really made the push to make it anything more than being friends and annoying the hell out each other.

3. ) Where was Clark?

When Kon was actually homeless and looking for a place to live he was not present. A relator thought Superman was logically Kon's father but Kon quickly corrected that assumption and it cost him a place to live.

In issue #100 Clark reveals that sometime during the time Kon took up residency in Metropolis in the apartment complex he was working/living at, he had Jimmy filling him in on the chaotic events going on, but other than that he was not involved.

Clark did here what he should have done a long, long time ago. You can write a lot of meta, analysis and critiques for why it took Clark so long to act in this moment, and it would all be fair, but in the end he did finally help Kon.

Clark does eventually involve himself and save Kon from exploitation and a second homeless situation, thus ending Kon's comic series. He was too late, but he did solve the issue.

4.) Tim?

He had taken a leave of absence from Young Justice directly after the Our World at War story arc that preceded Kon's homelessness, so it's likely he didn't even KNOW this was going on.

Kon and Tim got into a huge fight as well, and it contributed to Tim's motivation for quitting because he didn't want to stay where he wasn't trusted (PTSD thanks to Granny Goodness as well).

Kon also did not know Tim's identity at this time, and he doesn't find it out until after The World Without Young Justice arc that takes place around Superboy #99. They're not really on speaking terms here from issues #94-#98, and in the majority of Young Justice they have more of a peer-based relationship than a friendly one. They do CARE about each other, but it's not this deep wholesome best friend relationship that Geoff John's made it into in TTv3 right out of the gate. They're not there, yet.

Tim comes back on the team AFTER the World Without Young Justice arc when his identity is revealed via Matt Stewart's meddling with events, by this time Kon is in Kansas with Ma and Pa Kent and the situation is over, his series is over.

In the hypothetical situation where Tim did know that Kon was homeless, I'd think he'd probably reach out to Dick over Bruce at this time and ask what they should do. Tim more often sought Dick out for these sorts of things than he did Bruce, and I feel like it would remind Dick of when Donna was homeless during his time as a Titan.

It would go from there I think, and Kon might have actually had a swifter response from Clark or maybe Kara or someone else with Dick sounding the alarm, but that's just one angle and all a "what if" and we cannot hold this as fact because... it's hypothetical.

It would make a GREAT premise for a fix-it fanfic.

TLDR: He just likely didn't know and they weren't close enough for Tim to know, but if he did he'd most likely ask Dick "WHAT DO?"

5.) Bart?

Bart left Young Justice at the same time as Tim did due to PTSD, however Kon knew exactly who Bart was at this time and they were very close friends. Out of everyone on Young Justice, they were the closest. Even so, Bart (likely) would not have known that this was going on with Kon as he had distanced himself from his teammates.

There was a point during one of the Impulse comics that Bart needed help for one of his cases, and he briefly considered reaching out to Young Justice but STOPPED because he had quit, he felt it was not a viable option, therefore it is logical to assume he was not communicating with anyone from his team.

Also to note, during this period of time of 2002, cellphones were not readily available (yet) and email, instant messaging and direct (expensive!) phone calls would have been the primary way to keep in touch over long distance, for them they of course could just meet up and chat but the comics don't show this happening when Bart left the team.

Kon likely never reached out for help, because Cassie told him to "stop depending on others" and it pushed a button for Kon to be stubborn and try to fix his own situation so he probably didn't even think to say "Oh hey btw I'm homeless!" (in fact the word 'homeless' doesn't even come up).

Had Bart known Kon was homeless and needed help, he might have asked Max for advice on what to do like Tim might with Dick, and Max has shown that when children are in peril (like with Cissie being abused by her mother) he will act.

I feel like Max would probably pull what Bruce did with Clark in YJA and tell him that he NEEDS to be there for him, NOW. It would likely be a push to get a more prompt reaction. Again though, this did not happen and is speculative.

Also, Max's 'death' almost overlaps Kon's homeless situation so another factor that can contribute to Bart not being able to help, or knowing, was that Bart himself was in crisis and in a full new transition from one household to another.

TLDR: Bart and Kon were extremely close at this time, but due to personal circumstances they likely just did not communicate well enough to convey the situation.

6.) I have so many questions.

Me too, why was Didio allowed to write anything, why couldn't he just remain a producer? He produced the Orion solo and that was amazing.

7.) I avoided reading all of Superboy because of the unforgivable sexism but now I'm figuring that might have been a mistake.

No, not a mistake. Not wanting to come across a lot of the more gross and unsavory themes that are depicted all throughout Kon's comics are a valid reason to skip it, however it is unfortunate that in order to really grasp him it would be extremely advisable to read it. If you are really deeply triggered by those gross themes, then don't hurt yourself, but if it is something you can consume to glean the rest of the events that are formative to Kon, I would suggest it.

[souliebird]

hi !!

i know you're not asking anyone's opinion but i think the skull tattoo w the mushroom crown would be so cool! idk i like the idea of that the best. Hopefully you get a tattoo soon tho! I just got my second tattoo and im in love

i came here to say that i loved Addicted. the silent drop was crazy (it's giving beyonce dropping lemonade and walking away) i was like oh ???? interesting indeed. after i read it ? i was like oh... how interesting 🥹

i honestly loved how you wrote that fic. the way you so clearly wrote depression was almost scary 😭 it almost had me wondering if YOU are okay lmao

but seriously, the writing was amazing. the way you obviously portrayed depression without stating what it is, even once, was really impressive. i feel like that's an emotion that's really hard to describe in any capacity, so reading it in Addicted really had me feeling for the reader. A+ writing for that alone.

i also really liked how Addicted included the hardest part (in my opinion) of that kind of relationship, which is those small glimmers of hope you get that keep you going. It's like those small crumbs of matt that reader was able to get was enough to keep reader from the brink of starvation. enough to keep reader from wanting more/wanting anything different. idk if that makes sense but i hope it does.

anyway, i could go on for longer but i don't wanna bore you. i really liked the fic and i hope you keep going!!! thank you sm for sharing it!!!

🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻

Thank you for such a wonderful ask!!!

First for my tattoo, I probably won't be able to get anything until later this year, but the idea is a crow skull someone would find on a forest floor that's got new signs of life on it. A mushroom crown frown and some spider webs and such.

I get nervous talking about my work bc I believe ppl aren't interested in hearing it. I also get nervous if I mention I'll do something, I'll disappoint ppl if I don't deliver. If no one expects anyone, only I can be disappointed by it :')

You are the second person to ask if I'm okay based on this fic and the answer is I'm not!!!! But it helps me have the words and description to portray it, so crippling depression is good for something.

I'm glad you enjoyed the fic!! I am actually rather proud of how it came out. I love the cycle that Reader and Matt are in and I like imagining the different explanations of why this is happening and what will happen after. Will Matt take her out of the apartment and get her help or will it continue until something breaks.

I love angst and @bellaxgiornata inspired me to do some heavy Matt angst. I don't think this will be as popular as other fics, but sometimes you just need a good hurty one.

[science-lings]

Intro to my Phoenix!Phoenix AU

One thing I love about 'Phoenix being an actual Phoenix' AU's is that everyone can kind of put their own spin on it, maybe he has feathers and can talk to birds or is immune to fire, but because making a humanoid character into a mythical reincarnating bird is already deviating from every type of lore out there, you can just do whatever you want with it, which is my favorite thing to do.

The most important part of my particular Phoenix AU is his blood. In this au, his blood is what bursts into flames when he dies or is jumpstarted by an outside source of fire. It glows like molten metal to heal wounds and can even be transferred to another host to give them a bit of a magical healing boost in extreme situations.

continue on if you want to see the full informative essay lmao

He can set his blood on fire to jumpstart his own rebirth to skip the whole 'dying' thing, but that comes with its own consequences. It leaves him extremely weak and feverish for days afterward. In this AU he did take Dahlia's poison pills, and he ate the necklace, though because he almost died too recently, he still gets scars from the glass and the subsequent surgeries, he just wasn't strong enough to heal completely. It's why he gets away from eagle river with just a cold, he caught some of the debris of the flaming bridge and that ultimately saved him during the impact. Or at least kept him from having to fully die.

The fire fueled by phoenix blood is an unnatural blue and gets so hot that it melts metal and sets things around it aflame really easily. It extinguishes itself once Phoenix is healed but leaves behind scorch marks (both anywhere it touched and on Phoenix's body) and the normal fire that spawns from it needs to be dealt with more normally. Being reborn won't completely burn his suit off, but will leave ashy black marks in the places he was injured. idk how to logic that one out, I just think he deserves the mercy of not having to wake up from dying to be naked on top of everything else.

Phoenix can change forms, but as he wants to keep his mythical status a bit of a secret, he rarely does so and isn't good enough at transforming to do it during more urgent situations. His fear of heights also makes him less inclined to go birdmode. It's only after his disbarment that he becomes more comfortable testing out his own abilities and even joins Trucy in her magic shows as a flaming bird assistant. When he wants to watch his junior partners' trials, he occasionally attends in birdmode and hangs out in the courthouse windows. Sometimes he will swoop down to defend his kids from Taka as he has a bit of a grudge against the bird. He appears like Mia in times when hope is lost to scream a little, because he is a bird. (Trucy and her bird dad art)

Physical indicators of his true nature can mostly be hidden by his clothes, he has patches of small iridescent black/blue/indigo feathers like soft scales on his forearms, shoulders, back, hips, and lower legs. His hair is not quite made up of feathers but kind of supplemented by more featherlike bits of hair that only become obvious when touching it. He still has plausible deniability about his weird hair. His nails are naturally matte black and his eyelashes are long and dark enough to be noticeable but not too unusual.

Pre-Trucy he's trying his best to hide this part of himself but he gets more relaxed about it during his disbarment. when before he would refuse to roll his sleeves up even on the hottest of days, he gets more open about it with her. By the time he gets reinstated, his secret is kind of out so he sees no reason to try so hard to hide it.

One thing I'm still mulling over is how his immortality works. Either he can be good at being able to revive himself before he fully dies which causes him to reincarnate/regenerate into a new baby form with no/few memories of his life before or he could die, but only fully reincarnate every hundred or so years. This is all to say that I want his previous form to be Ryuunosuke. There are just core pieces of his personality that continue on, like being gay for his best friend and becoming a lawyer for him, and also his weird hair and big puppy eyes.

Also with all the talk about blood, I think a spinoff AU with Edgeworth being a vampire would just be fun. But I don't know how phoenix blood would affect a vampire... like would it reverse the vampirism? Would it partially reverse it? would it reverse the undead part but keep some of the silly vampire features? I haven't decided yet but it sounds funky to consider.

now to figure out what to call it... maybe Blood of the Phoenix (BotP AU), idk I'm taking suggestions now lmao

[berlinini]

my fav parts and random thoughts in no particular order after watching AOTV below the cut!

FULL OF SPOILERS (not joking!!)

This is the good stuff, since I can't help being a hater I have Thoughts™️ but I'm going to think about how to correctly articulate them, later on. I don't want to bring the mood down right now. Just want to recap all the amazing parts that stayed with me!

First of all, the most important moment of the 82 minutes: Oli whispering to the camera that Scala was better than any one direction gig. The only thing that matters. Pick someone supportive <3 Oli is the secondary character that you wish will get a spin-off. He’s so funny and articulated. I was already a fan of his but now I want to marry him.

Backstage footage of before and after portland n2!!! It was crazy! So glad we got to see that!

“Minimum stress, maximum bless” - Matt in the lagoon, pretending to smoke a joint…. He is adorable.

LTWT Dallas you will always be special LTWT Santiago you will always be famous Bigger Than Me and Milano San Siro you will always be iconic That's it that's the tweet

Fearless during the latam leg!!! YAAAAS

Unseen footage of the Black Sabbath t-shirt!! Really his favourite shirt!

No mention of AFHF 2021 or 2022, which I found weird.

The London livestream excerpt being Copy 💕💕💕

Louis being a dad is as hot as Louis being a daddy. I don't want to have children, but with him raising my kid I would change my mind in one second.

The mentions of the “dark times” that lasted 2 years post hiatus/ personal tragedies are mentioned by third parties, not Louis. No details are mentioned. So, we have to keep guessing, though he 'said' pretty much everything with Saved By A Stranger :(

No hot Luke :(

Saturdays was written in Mexico in 2021?! At least that’s the song they put over the footage. And that’s what he was recording at Wendy Studio when we got pics of him in summer 2021. I think that song means a lot to him? Given how it made the setlist of the FITF LIC?

Yacht footage... SO HOT It was paella they were eating so that’s what Louis was saying in the IGTV - remember the debate around it? I'm saying this just to claim that I was right.

I fucking lost it at the scene on the band where they talk about being a close band and Louis not being a snob #foundfamilytrope #bandofidiotsthatilove #bigbuttbiggerheart

Louis jumping from the boat with his little yellow shorts gave me 10 lifes

There’s a sequence at the end with All this time playing and it made me lose it.... that fucking song.

The film ends on a very positive note, the last words but also some post credits footage. Faith in the future 💕

Credit song is Bigger Than Me…. Yeah you’re crying

Liam Payne what were you doing half naked in a hotel room with Louis in Madrid?!?!?!?!

Why was Louis half naked before the last 1D performance. Actually from the footage he could have been stark naked… we don’t even see a boxer band. All the boys are dressed for the stage and he’s just having a pep talk naked. Not that I’m complaining…..

Incredible sweater he wears with Freddie on the beach. Vintage fashion queen. Again, Dad!Louis is rocking my socks off. His haircut and beard was just... He's hot. That's all. He's fucking hot.

So much footage of Louis dancing!!!! I could fix him but whatever he’s got going on is way funnier.txt

Btw I was right, sometimes Oli looks like Alex Turner, it’s true. The big expressive eyes and the nose I guess. IDK now I just really want to sit on his face. Anyways. Did I say he was the true star of the film? They're married btw.

Needless to say, it’s fascinating to hear Louis talk and see him too. I loved the footage from the stage - since it’s filmed from behind, we get a whole new perspective from what we saw in the livestreams. He looks so good on stage! He's in his element! He's magnetic!!! I love him.

It's great to see his bandmates featured so much, and to see how the big venues were also important to them, and how they bonded and how Louis is a special person. Also loved his family and his friends being featured. Some parts about his mom were very emotional and I appreciate that they showed a moment in which it's his granddad that cries - as we know it's not often that we see men crying. And I could see so much of Louis in his grandpa, especially the sense of humour. Matt V and Chris can fuck off tho <3

That's it for now! Just thinking about it made me emotional again! I wish I wasn't this emotionally invested in some random British man's wellbeing but what can I do!

As the saying goes, but I love him your honor!

[talkin-tdc]

Jim Henson AU feedback

So I’m looking to possibly write a big fic on Jim Henson multiverse kinda with an emphasis on dark crystal. Basically a few gelfling would be transported to earth which is shared between fraggle rock, muppets, and Sesame Street all in their irl locations (fraggle rock in Canada, seasame street New York, muppets in Los Angeles).

But idk where everyone would go necessarily? I feel like Rian would definitely end up in fraggle rock, possibly with Brea and Deet maybe? Maybe Hup? Trying to also determine who would go to the muppets and who would go to Sesame Street.

Basically the premise is it’s an AU where tdc characters (mostly gelf) get sucked into an earth where the muppets, fraggles, and Sesame Street is all real. Their mission is to find each other and get home. I may also place a few characters from each in Thra but again focus would mainly be gelfling on earth.

The characters I see going to Thra are probably uncle traveling Matt, Kermit, Cookie Monster, Fozzie, and Boober, with their respective friends scrambling for leadership replacements/trying to find them. But if anyone could find better fits to go to Thra lmk. I was preparing to have Honeydew and Beaker stay on earth with Doc to come up with a way to get the gelfling home when they eventually team up. Other than that lmk who you guys think should go to Thra/be interesting plot points. The only one I know for sure is staying is Gobo so he can interact with Rian.

I’d go in depth on Matt/Gobo’s relationship and how much it actually hurts Gobo that he’s always gone/he longs for something more and for Matt to be close more often and see him as more of a son than nephew. I think for Kermit I’d explore him not having to take a leadership role and realizing he’s happier getting to be part of a group and not have to lead it.

For the gelfling, it’d be finding out how the world works on earth and them slowly realizing the Skeksis were actually oppressing them. For Mayrin/Ordon, they’d learn how much they put work over their kids and ended up hurting them and strive to have better and stronger relationships with them. For Rian, Gurjin, Brea, Deet, and a few others, it’d be hardening them to an unfamiliar world and making them a bit more serious/respect the lives they had rather than try throwing it away by putting themselves in dangerous situations. For characters like Tolyn/Seladon, it’d be that they can have fun sometimes and not to only focus on work but on those around them they love.

I also point out characters like Gobo and Kermit as being the leaders of their respective shows they’d also be semi main focuses. I’m thinking possibly a team up in the end to defeat the Skeksis with the Skeksis teaming up with others as well? (Though other JH villians are kinda hard to find…maybe the hecklers form muppets? I don’t think Doc would help them though…but maybe unwillingly or they lie to him that they’re the good guys?).

To give more clarity on the timeline it happens right before AoR and on earth would be the original muppet show, fraggle rock, and semi original Sesame Street (perhaps a few years after Kermit started the muppets and switched jobs from Sesame Street to the muppets). Not planning on Walter or anything like that. Main human with be Doc or ocs/side characters without a big role.

But anyway any help is greatly appreciated might make this more of a summer project but I’d enjoy any feedback I got thanks!

[marcskywalker]

HI!

So f2, f3, f4 and the f1 academy are in their off seasons (so is indycar). So if you want to catch up on old broadcasts now is the best time without getting overwhelmed. I find the f1 tv app is best (it costs like 20 pounds per year or monthly installments of 2.50 I think)

F1 has three days of driving. Either a sprint weekend, or non-sprint.

Non sprint-weekend:

Friday: Free Practice 1 & 2, where the teams have the cars run as long or as little as they want to see if any adjustments need to be made to the car or to see if they need to use different tyres to the ones they planned to use. A lot of people choose to skip FP1 & FP2 but some drama can come out of it.

Saturday: Free practice 3 and qualifying, the last practice session and then qualifying. Qualifying is a short race do to determine the starting positions of each car in the actual race. The bottom 5 of qualifying are knocked out after 15 minutes and are at the back of the grid. This continues until we find our winner (known as pole position) and our number 2. In f1, the 1st and 2nd places are on the first row, 3rd and 4th are second row and so forth.

Sunday: The race. Everyone will fine up on the grid and complete a formation lap before getting into their grid positions according to where they ended up in qualifying. Sometimes people will move back due to penalties or start from the pitlane because they made major changes to the car. The top 10 positions gain points.

Sprint weekend:

Sprint weekends replace fp2 & fp3 with a sprint shootout and sprint race. These races are basically a mini race, with the top 8 positions gaining points. They are controversial as not many people like the current sprint format.

Terms you will hear:

Safety car: after a crash or if there is a hazard on track a red flag will come out and a safety car will be deployed. All racing cars must stay behind the safety car and cannot overtake.

Virtual Safety Car: this means that all cars must not overtake and stay under a specific speed as if a safety car was on track.

Red flag: danger, stop.

Yellow flag: be careful.

Double yellow flag: be extremely careful

so sorry this is so long!

First of, thanks so much answering me in great detail!!! bless your soul, honestly!!!!!!

I've been watching F1 for a while now so I'm pretty well versed with that (I say this with caution because every other week FIA talks about a new rule that I didn't know existed). But idk where to start with other series??

What's the difference between f2, f3, f4 and f1 academy?? Is it just, idk, an age category or something. And which ones do you recommend to watch?

Also, unrelated question, do you have any F1 podcast/video recommendations? I watch Matt and Tommy, and I thought more content would be nice

[inappropriatestork]

Finally got to see Les Mis live again after almost 10 years. And since my memory is terrible nowadays and I barely remember those shows other than what I recorded on Tumblr, I figured I better do so again, LOL.

The anticipation dramatically rekindled my Les Mis obsession. I watched the 25th and the Staged Concert versions again about 5 times each in the span of a week and a half or so, developed a bit of a new Thing for Javert in general and Michael Ball's Javert in particular, abruptly became a Valjean/Javert shipper, dove into Les Mis fic (I'd read a few E/R things here and there but not a lot), and decided to give The Brick another try (the new Donougher translation this time, which I've really enjoyed - especially with helpful historical and cultural footnotes on Kindle - though I've gotten a bit stuck at Waterloo again).

Anyway, this was by far the best of the three times I've now seen it live. The first time, in 2012, I had an unsatisfying understudy playing Valjean. The second time, in 2013, the cast was mostly great but there were some technical glitches. This time was more or less perfect and the cast was amazing.

And yes, I painted my nails to match the program.

Loooong rambling review/notes/thoughts, mainly for Future Me, below the cut.

It was opening night in Charlotte, January 31 with my mom and Jeff, and I think we had the full cast with no understudies or anything.

Nick Cartell as Valjean, Preston Truman Boyd as Javert, Haley Dortch as Fantine, Christine Heesun Hwang as Eponine, Devin Archer as Enjolras, Gregory Lee Rodriguez as Marius, Addie Morales as Cosette, Kyle Adams as Grantaire, Matt Crowle and Christina Rose Hall as the Thenardiers.

Looking at their headshots beforehand I wondered if Nick Cartell and Preston Truman Boyd weren't a bit young for the roles, but they were fantastic.

Cartell's voice was a little higher and lighter at times than some Valjeans, but also a bit deeper at others, and he held his own in duets with Javert. His Bring Him Home was gorgeous and his Finale was beautifully emotional and moving. Boyd was perfect as Javert. Powerful voice but still a lot of feeling and emotion.

Haley Dortch as Fantine was wonderful but a little soft and quiet at times. When she put some volume into it, like on I Dreamed A Dream, she was great, but some of her factory bits and deathbed bits were a little too soft and hard to hear. Addie Morales had a beautiful clear soprano as Cosette, and Christine Heesun Hwang was amazing as Eponine.

I thought Gregory Lee Rodriguez as Marius was perfectly good for most of the show but then his Empty Chairs at Empty Tables was absolutely showstopping, maybe the best I've ever heard.

All of Les Amis were good, and Harrison Fox as Gavroche. Devin Archer especially was extremely good as Enjolras. I feel like in the other live shows I've seen Enjolras didn't have a lot of interaction with Grantaire or anyone else outside of specific lines that require it, really? This one had a bit more humanity and feeling to him and I really liked him. Kyle Adams as Grantaire was also excellent, even apart from Grantaire's relatively few lines, his mannerisms and acting were spot on and compelling - cynical and mocking, knowing what's coming and scared for his friends, heartbroken as they begin to fall, starting with Gavroche.

The Thenardiers were pretty good, maybe a little more exaggerated and broad humor than some I've seen, and M. Thenardier's voice seemed a bit obviously a put on funny/evil caricature sort of voice? IDK, I've never heard his natural voice, but this seemed more obviously fake and cartoony than most, sometimes kind of tilting toward Billy Crystal as Miracle Max?

I also thought he played Dog Eats Dog much too funny. I kind of feel like that scene should lean more into the sinister aspect of Thenardier, which Matt Lucas does very well. This one played it a good bit lighter and sillier with his mannerisms and tone, which kind of made the dark lyrics about God being dead and the harvest moon feel a bit out of place and less impactful. I feel like Master of the House should be his sort of genial host persona, even if he's humorously admitting to being a scheming crook at the same time, but Dog Eats Dog (and the robberies) should be more a brief glimpse of his real sinister and base nature without the veneer of humor, what he truly is when there's no one to fawn and flatter and manipulate - and then by Beggars At the Feast he's back to scheming and flattering, craven and vulgar but the darker side hidden away again.

Other stuff:

I'm not sure how much the staging changed since I last saw it live? The souvenir program says the visuals and scenery were revamped in 2009, and a lot of that looked the same, though I think the Paris and barricade sets were a bit different?

I think the opening and Look Down were a little different from what I've seen before. And I've definitely never seen a version that included some extra scenes of Valjean being abused and driven away by the townspeople after his release and before meeting the Bishop. There was even an extra verse about the Mark of Cain? that I had definitely never heard before at all. It was a nice addition, though.

The Fantine scenes were good and about the same as I've seen, I think. One slightly jarring note was the American-ness that showed through in a few parts. I guess I'm just used to British versions, but Mme Thenardier had a very sort of brash American accent, and the factory foreman sang "sitting flat on your ass doesn't buy any bread," which just seemed glaringly out of place? Like I could buy "arse," maybe, but "ass" just seems jarringly American and modern. I kept thinking about the Fry & Laurie "American Ass" sketch.

I'm pretty sure the staging of Lovely Ladies was a good bit different than I remember. One of the whores also had a verse I've never heard in Lovely Ladies, something about "will the bleeding ever stop?" And instead of Fantine singing "Come on, Captain, you can wear your shoes - don't it make a a change to have a girl that can't refuse?" they changed it to "did you wear your shoes?" and had the other whores sing those lines when Fantine came back after her first time with a customer. Which seemed a slightly odd decision to me, I always thought Fantine bitterly singing those lines was pretty central to showing that she's accepted her lot and how far she's fallen as she joins the fallen women.

There's a few other bits that I'm not super familiar with as they're not in the recorded versions I know best - Valjean's lines to Cosette just after they've left the Thenardiers', Grantaire's "fleas will bite" part, Cosette's "you are loving and gentle and good"/"in your eyes I am just like a child who is lost in a wood" verse of In My Life - but I had at least some familiarity with them. I'm still quite sure I'd never heard Valjean's Mark of Cain verse or the one in Lovely Ladies before at all.

I'm not sure if Who Am I? was a bit different from the other times I've seen it in person too. In the recorded versions I've seen most, they mostly skip Valjean actually going to court and revealing himself. I only recently saw a recording of a London version that had the end of Who Am I? in the courtroom and Valjean opening his shirt to show his brand, and it was new to me, so I don't think the previous versions I've seen did it that way? I like this version of it, though.

(ETA: Found the playbill and program from the 2012 show and it does have a Champmathieu - normally played by the guy who ended up as my disappointing Valjean that night instead - in the credits, so perhaps it did have a court scene and I've just forgotten ever seeing it 🤷‍♀️ Goodness knows what else I've forgotten, lol.)

I'm not sure about Enjolras' verse admitting the people have not risen and telling the women and fathers to leave the barricade to not waste lives - it was unfamiliar enough that I was startled by it, but I think I might have at least heard of it or read the lyrics or something at some point but mostly forgot about it? It still surprised me. I also feel like the others I've seen must have had some form of the runaway cart scene, but I'm quite sure never as in depth as this one? Usually just more suggested or glossed over quite quickly, I feel like. Here we had Valjean asking around desperately trying to get the townspeople to help (more like the book) before doing it himself and Fauchelevant thanking him afterward, which I haven't seen before.

I definitely liked Les Amis (and the bits of E/R content) more in this version than past ones. If I remember right (and judging by my notes) the other versions had only the bare minimum of Enjolras & Grantaire interaction, and Grantaire mainly interacted with Gavroche? This version kept the Gavroche & Grantaire bond, which I rather like, but did have a fair bit of E/R too. Early on in the cafe, Enjolras sort of grabbed Grantaire while he sang "don't let the wine go to your brain." and in Drink With Me, Enjolras was up on the barricade looking all statuesque and dramatically lit when Grantaire began his verse, but he quickly came down and stopped the others from bothering Grantaire, looked into his eyes for a long moment, and clasped Grantaire's arms in a somewhat comforting way for a moment, at least.

This Grantaire was not very comforted, though - he turned away and sort of staggered miserably off to the corner of the room and hid his face in his arms against the wall until Gavroche ran and threw his arms around him. Enjolras looked after him for a moment, but didn't follow. I really liked this Grantaire, he was very mocking and sarcastic early on, then pretty wretchedly angry and scared and bitter knowing what was coming for his friends and Enjolras, and showed all of that even in his manner and gestures when he didn't have lines. On the barricade he hung around the fringes, hanging back when the others had all climbed up. He was the one to stay and watch the captive Javert during the first battle and clearly wasn't in any hurry to join in. It was subtle enough that if you didn't know the characters you probably wouldn't catch much of the nuance, but if you do and you were making a point to watch Grantaire especially, he was absolutely perfect.

And then when Gavroche died! Apparently the other versions I've seen, his death was off-stage. Here he'd climbed down behind the barricade out of sight and Les Amis and Grantaire all panicked when there was a shot but cheered when he turned out to be fine. He'd climbed back up the barricade and was standing at the top finishing Little People when he was shot and fell forward across Enjolras' lap. And gah, the way they all reacted, but especially the tender sorrow of Enjolras picking up his body and the sad, lingering touch as he handed him down to Grantaire. And then Grantaire carried him to the front of the stage and just sat bowed over him for a good long time. I also liked how after everything was over, Javert stopped and looked sadly at Gavroche's body, bowed his head and crossed himself (I can't remember exactly where but earlier in the Paris street scenes there was a quick, cute little sassy interaction between Gavroche and Javert at one point, too.)

I wasn't expecting the Grantaire & Gavroche relationship the first time I saw it live, being mostly familiar with the 25th and YouTube clips of older versions, but I like it (though I prefer they don't make that Grantaire's *only* real interactions, which I think the first versions I saw live kind of did). It gives Grantaire a little more softness and humanity. This version had a cute moment, I think maybe during Red & Black? where Gavroche, feeling like one of the grown up rebels, is enthusiastically swallowed up in a crowd of most of Les Amis singing fervently about rebellion and stuff, and Grantaire, who has kept his distance from the passionate crowd, sort of sighs, walks over, reaches into the crowd and extracts Gavroche at arms length and pulls him away. I thought it was sort of a sweet moment of Grantaire not wanting Gavroche to get so enthusiastically swept up and involved in this adult (albeit young) rebellion that he's quite sure is doomed.

(Another minor Gavroche bit - after Eponine died, he was standing next to Grantaire and turned his face into Grantaire, who hugged him for a bit. Then Gavroche went and hugged Marius for a long moment and then picked up Eponine's fallen hat after she'd been carried away and handed it to Marius. The show usually doesn't acknowledge him being Eponine's brother, but it was a nice little touch.)

I really wish I'd followed the final barricade death scene better. I'm seeing it again in March, so will pay closer attention to that. It's quite dark and strobey, so that makes it harder to follow, but it seemed like Grantaire kept trying, at the very end as his friends began to fall, to climb the barricade at last, maybe toward Enjolras, but never made it all the way? It's not quite "will you permit it?" but if I was reading (and am remembering) it right, at least it's a sort of nod to Grantaire still being willing to die with his friends and Enjolras in particular even if he can't truly embrace their cause.

While I'm on a shippy note, I have recently found myself enthusiastically on board the Valjean/Javert ship (IDK how I wasn't before, tbh, but I blame Michael Ball for giving me a new appreciation for Javert that I never quite got from Norm Lewis) and there were some good moments for them too. I'm so used to recorded concert versions with minimal acting, so it's always nice to actually see stuff. And this Valjean and Javert had pretty good chemistry, quite a lot of physicality, pushing each other around and grappling and a lot of long tense eye-contact. Especially after saving Fauchelevant, if I remember right Javert ended up holding Valjean's coat when he went to lift the cart? And there was some lingering eye contact as Valjean cleaned up and put his coat back on. And it might have been there or some other scene around that time, Javert holding onto Valjean, like they shook hands or maybe Javert was handing him his coat and kind of grabbed him and lingered for a moment while singing the "I have only known one other" stuff? Something like that, anyway, and I enjoyed it.

Boyd did a great Javert's Soliloquy, enough convincing fury and despair and agony. Some Javerts don't put enough emotion and absolute end-of-his-rope despair into it for my liking, but his was excellent. And as I mentioned, Gregory Lee Rodriguez was very good as Marius in general - even a few humorous touches I hadn't seen before when he's in the throes of awkward infatuation with Cosette - but then his Empty Chairs at Empty Tables blew me away, both the voice and the emotion.

The staging of the finale bugged me a little. I did like that once Valjean joined the company for DYHTPS, the Bishop stepped forward and hugged him in welcome - I've seen that in other versions but never live. But it drove me nuts that from the "take my hand" line on, well into the DYHTPS reprise, Marius and Cosette were just sitting at center stage holding each other sadly, which felt a bit distracting? Valjean was a bit off to one side, but it would have felt more fitting to me to have him at center stage and let Cosette and Marius move off to the side to comfort each other. It's not their moment! And then they stayed sitting there when the rest of the cast was gathered singing the closing lines, which still felt a bit off. I think they finally got up and joined the company on the very last line or two? Meh.That staging bothered me a bit.

That scene, especially once it gets to "take my hand" and he's actually dying, should be entirely Valjean's moment. Fantine and Eponine too for the gorgeous harmony, but Valjean and "to love another person is to see the face of God" should absolutely be the focal point. And then the DYHTPS finale should be about unity, everyone together. So it just seemed weird to have them just sitting around in the middle of the stage for so much of that transcendent ending.

(Very on brand for Marius though, that boy can never read a room. Always making him and his love life center stage when everyone else is busy with serious things like dying.)

Overall, though, it's definitely the best of the three times I've seen it live. Really no significant complaints about the cast or anything at all, other than fairly minor nitpicking. I loved it and was just in heaven from start to finish. I'm seeing it again in March with my friend and I already can't wait.

My mom, who has seen the movie long ago but isn't super familiar with the story, said she found it a little hard to follow a few bits (at least from our upper level seats, though I did bring my binoculars). It took her a while to realize that M. Madeleine was actually Valjean, as he looked quite different between leaving the Bishop and showing up there, and she didn't realize who Javert was on the barricade until he'd gone and returned and Gavroche called him out. The musical also doesn't really mention Valjean's having been famous on the chain gang for his strength, which makes it not super clear why the runaway cart scene makes Javert suspicious. But overall both she and my brother loved it too, though not quite as rabidly as I did, lol.

[lollytea]

Random thought, but i kinda want Perry Porter and Mattholomule interaction in the aftermath of the Day of Unity. Perry is distraught looking for Gus, and Matt very awkwardly tries to reassure him, and Perry promises to help Matt find Steve.

I could see Mattholomule getting separated from his parents while all three of them are out looking for Steve. And he's having a difficult time finding anybody because there are people everywhere and it's chaos and he's tiny and keeps getting lost in the crowd.

Mattholomule hasn't seen Steve in person in about a month. He hasn't heard from him since a little after the Hexside Invasion when they had a pensta convo over how the Emperor's Coven kinda sucked honestly.

"Does this mean you're gonna quit now?" Mattholomule had asked.

"Idk what I'm gonna do little man" Steve had responded.

That had been the last message from Steve. Since then? Radio silence.

Their parents are scared half to death. Mattholomule swears that when he finds that idiot he's gonna punch him. Then hug him. Then punch him again.

And at some point Mattholomule happens upon Perry Porter, who's on his hands and knees, desperately trying to piece a shattered crystal ball back together so he can make a broadcast to the Isles and get a message out to his son. He's muttering under his breath in his news anchor voice, practising what he's going to say.

Perry has tried to "text" Augustus several times but has gotten no response. He's even attempted a "live stream" as that's how all the kids are getting their news these days but he couldn't figure out to work the stupid thing. Maybe Augustus was right. Maybe he was too set in his ways. Maybe he should have sat down and paid attention when Augustus offered to teach him how penstagram worked.

There were a lot of cases where he should have paid more attention to Augustus. Maybe if he was a more attentive father he would have noticed his son (who was legally a wanted criminal) sneaking out of the house 24 hours before the Day of Unity. If Perry had just been more alert, his son wouldn't have disappeared without a trace.

"Yeah no offense, Mr. Porter but I don't think there's anything you could've done." Says Mattholomule. He's sat down next to Perry, helping him puzzle out the broken glass. "If Augustus sets his mind to something, nothing is gonna stop him. He's a jerk like that. And I get that you're a good Dad or whatever but he woulda found a way around you."

"How? You really think a thirteen year old boy could outsmart me?" Perry asks.

Mattholomule flushes. He's never been the most polite kid to be around but he's always felt compelled to have some semblance of manners around his only friend's father.

Before he can stutter out a "I didn't mean it like that!" Perry quietly chuckles.

"Because you're correct, he could. Augustus is smarter than the best of us. I raised a genius and I guess I have to deal with the consequences. I can only hope that big brain of his has kept him safe."

"Ehh. Usually does." Matt shrugs dismissively. "That and his stupid illusions. You should see the stuff that kid can do in a fight. Betcha he could make an army of scouts piss their pants."

"Language."

"Oh. Sorry."

"But I hope you're right. Smart as he is, it's only recently that he's learned how to use magic to defend himself. He's never been much for duels."

There's a silence as this sinks in. Sure, Gus can handle himself. Mattholomule has seen him in action.

But...

Sometimes it's just by the skin of his teeth.

"I think Willow is with him." Perry mentions suddenly, as if reading Mattholomule's mind. "Harvey told me she snuck out too. And I hope she's found but....it's a comfort to think she's by his side."

"For what it's worth, it's probably not just her. I bet he's also got the homeless guy with him."

Perry blinks "Homeless guy?"

"Y'know. That one dude. The one Gus spends all his free time with now. Golden Guard turned homeless guy."

"You mean Hunter?"

Mattholomule snaps his fingers. "That's the bitch!"

"Language."

Mattholomule offers to show him how to stream properly to get this message out to Augustus and Perry cannot thank him enough.

After a series of trial and error, Perry realizes that repairing the crystal ball just simply isn't going to happen. Mattholomule could have told him that but felt he should humor him to prevent his mental breakdown from escalating.

He figures that, if anything, the methodical work of puzzle solving at least steadied Perry's anxiety. Now if he wants to make a broadcast, he'll at least have some composure.

"Before we start, could you do me a solid and request that a special man named Steve get his ass home immediately?" Asks Mattholomule peering over his scroll camera.

"Steve..." Mutters Perry, straightening his collar. "That's your brother, isn't it? The Coven Scout?"

"Oh....yeah....how'd you guess?"

"Let's..." He swallows. "Let's start the stream now, okay?"

"Augustus." Perry grins. "You're one of his closest friends. You really think he doesn't talk about you?"

The following silence is palpable. Mattholomule doesn't trust himself to speak for a long moment.

Perry's delivers Mattholomule's request to mention Steve amidst his plea for Augustus to return home. The comments are disheartening. Nobody has seen him. Nobody has seen either of them.

"Guess I gotta keep looking." Mattholomule sighs. "Titan, I can't wait to clobber this freak once I see him again."

"I'll help you." Says Perry.

"What?"

"I'll help you find your brother. It's the least I can do."

Mattholomule shifts uncomfortably. "Oh. Uh. I-I know you're going through a lot right now. Looking for Augustus n' all so it's fine if you don't wanna--aAGH!"

Mattholomule is promptly whisked off his feet and is planted atop Perry Porter's shoulders. "You can see better from up here, right?"

"Uh--I--...yeah I guess I can..."

"Excellent! We should find Steve in no time!"

Perry says nothing but this is nostalgic for him. Augustus used to ride on his shoulders when he was little. It had had stopped not too long ago actually, when Witch Puberty had added too many pounds for Perry to handle.

But Mattholomule is light as a feather. But obviously, no teenage boy wants to be told that so Perry wisely keeps his lips buttoned.

"Hey." Mattholomule says quietly. "After we find Steve and I finish pummelling him, I'm sure he'll help us look for Augustus."

"Sure" was an understatement. Mattholomule was certain that Steve would travel to the ends of the Titan's bones if it meant finding his brother's best friend. Not like his brother had many to spare.

"Thank you, Mattholomule." Says Perry, bracingly squeezing the boy's calves. "I appreciate it."

[lwt28brave]

LT2 masterpost

If it was up to me, we would get an autumn or winter EP. Since it’s not up to me at all, here, enjoy this post with everything we know so far of LT2, which is to say, not much at all. Everything here is hypothetical. I’ll be updating every time I see something relevant. A little disclaimer that while this is a masterpost (kinda), it could be read as discourse (duh, it’s also a theory), AND it’s also by me, and you shouldn’t expect me to be serious at this point.

Due to me restraining myself, there’s no reference to any of the times he’s mentioned his guitar skills and him improving but I hope you know I cried every single time.

I’m also linking my old pinned here. It was written before AFHF and around the free merch thing that didn’t lead to much, but I still think I made some good points.

Possible tracks:

Copy of a Copy of a Copy

Change

Faith in the future??

369??

Possible names:

369

Faith in the future

When is the album coming out?

Your guess is as good as mine

Friday 28th of January 2022. Almost two years after Walls. It’s a Friday. It’s a 28th. What else can I say?

Here you can find @want-to-be-loved timelines for every month.

Here you can find @berlinini’s timeline of what Louis has been up to this year (2021).

The rest is under the cut. And here you can find a PDF version where Tumblr can't tell me how many pictures I can add.

2020

He said back on May 2th 2020 he wasn’t writing anything new yet.

(x)(x)(x)

Interestingly enough, he’s said many times after that that the album’s not ready cause he has no new experiences to drawn from. I won’t call him out because he does it himself.

May 4th. He liked a tweet from DMA’s Johnny Took saying they had to go write together again. Louis has been credited as an influence for them and (kind of) participated in their previous record, so I’m assuming he meant for their music and not his, but you never know.

Nothing(literally nothing??? how did we survive) until 11th of July. We all know what happened that day. We all celebrated it. Nonetheless, that’s not what I’m talking about here.

(x) So, by the beginning of July 2020 he was working on concepts and ideas for the new album. That was fifteen months ago. I know perfection takes time but…

Brief summary of important things that happened from then until the next mention of new music:

Louis left Syco!!!! 10 days later he rescheduled the tour for the first time. He followed Matt Vines on Twitter, probably so we could publicly shame him into doing something. Also, the 10thanniversary. He followed more people I wish he hadn’t.

Then more nothing until September. Not even a single tweet. The first merch drop was on the 28th of August but he just RT’ed the tweet. He first mentioned Free my Meal on the 25th of September. Then on October 1st Walls hit #1 on a lot of countries and Louis was incredibly happy and excited about it ^^

And then, that same day, October 1st, 2020, he dropped this bomb:

(x)

He also said it was too soon to be sharing new lyrics with us (x)

And, obviously, this tweet which is actually what made me start this whole post. I would hope you know mate.

(x)

He also told us he was cooking "banger after banger" and that he was incorporating more social themes into his music (x)(x) (I believe any social issue is a political issue but that’s not the point rn).

COPY OF A COPY OF A COPY?!?!

These next paragraphs are brought to you by my mind not remembering things and me not having any links. I’m assuming COACOAC came from those writing sessions that supposedly happened in October. Or in LA but I have no idea if he actually was in LA at any point other than a Daily Mail article putting him there on December which would have been too late, but I do remember that someone said he was in the studio in LA last autumn???? A rumor. Maybe. IDK. Did I mention already all of this is very hypothetical?? Well, this is it. I can’t even remember if this was October or November or what. So, take this with a grain of salt.

I’m also… taking the liberty to assume, if you must, that Copy wasn’t meant to be a Walls reject because it sounds more mature and darker and it has a vastly different tone that Walls songs. I know he’s said that song probably isn’t getting into the album, but I want to have faith (in the future) that I’m getting a studio version. (But also, Louis, if you’re reading this, first of all GET OUT OF MY BLOG second of all, please don’t ever feel pressured again to add a song to the album because we have already heard it before. It’s your art and it should always be under your own terms).

So yeah, I believe that Copy is either one of those four songs (then imagine the other three??!!) or was written around the 1st of October date.

---End of the Intermission---

Then not much important (other than sharing more about Marcus Rashford fight against food poverty and the 2nd merch drop) until he announced the livestream on the 24th of November. (x)

It wasn’t until a few days before the livestream date we even thought again about new music (jk, I know we’re always thinking about new Louis’ music). So, December 9th/10th, 2020. Nine months ago. We got our first taste of new music!

He made sure we knew Copy of a Copy of a Copy isn't a cover! (x) (x)

(x)

Ok, so that’s it for 2020. (I feel like I’m missing something from September 17th because tweet was deleted but maybe he was still talking about cucumbers. We might never know. Unless I understand how Tumblr tags work). Expected, cause Walls was released in 2020. We needed to let it sit for a while.

2021

Another Summary: Louis third tweet of the year was telling the UK government off. So was the fifth. What a good beginning. On the 26th of January, he said he prefers pancakes over waffles. I hope he meant pancakes other than his own. More importantly, he tweeted the infamous “you lot read into things too much”. Don’t get me started, Tomlinson. Don’t. Then the 31st came around and Walls was one. He tweeted this. How wise. And Project Defenceless happened!!

15th of February!! Who cares about Valentine Day when the next day we got this? ♥

(x)

(x)

So…AN EP?? AN EP?? PLEASE RELEASE AN EP.

“I’m sure I will have something out this year but unlikely that will be the album”. Unlikely but not impossible. Also. A single would be good. This is the second time he mentions releasing something in 2021 and he sounds surer about it than the first time around.

He also said that he isn’t sure we will get a studio version of Copy. And that the best bridges from Walls to LT2 are Walls, OTB, KMM and Copy. Can’t wait!

Then we jump to March 6th when he announced he was going to create his own management company. “Sometimes action is needed first to encourage the motivation and belief”. As we can tell he was already manifesting some stuff which will lead us to the numerology stuff/Tesla… kidding. Or not. We might never know.

On the 22nd of March he answered some questions:

He told us music was still his main focus ♥ mwha. (x) I included this tweet to guilt-trip him into giving us music in case he’s reading this even after I told him to leave. ILY.

(x) I’d love to get a visual EP this autumn. Just saying. It sounds like a lovely concept.

(x)

…next (I will get into it, I promise. I’m just mad).

On the 25th he left for Mexico until April 10th. You could assume it was just for the documentary where we got ten seconds of footage or admit the obvious: LT2 its a Mexican baby!!

On the 26th (so, not so far apart from that first 369) we got the first Faith in the Future mention: (x)

Back then we were innocent people who had no idea what was coming upon us. We still have no idea because what the fuck does he mean with these. Please explain. I have one braincell and I don’t use it enough for this. I’m linking some theories.

On the 30th of March he confirmed he was already working on the documentary. So AFHF was already on the works. Will it take this long for us to get the Veeps numbers? We also got this tweet: "Got a decent chorus idea down" (x).

Same person that got the “something out this year” exclusive. If you know something share with the class. Also. Is this Change? I feel like this could be Change but I also assume he wrote Change after hanging out with his friends or being in Doncaster. But who knows.

(x) And the second mention to 369.

(x) 15th of April. The second "Faith in the future".

On the 19th of April he announced that he had something BIG for us later on the year which turned out to be the Away From Home Festival ♥♥ (x) I love him so much.

Then on the 28th he announced the 369 merch drop (which it’s probably the Walls drop? Except that the TOU and KMM ones were “drop 1 and drop 2” and this was drop 369 which, again, makes no sense) but we still don’t know what 369 means.

Into May’ 21 we go.

He rescheduled tour again. And dropped another bomb (x).

He announced he has signed with BMG as an independent artist by RTing this tweet on May 10th. The article also says that he’s already working on writing and recording LT2. The timing… we don’t know. What this deal involves… we don’t know either. Bear with me here because I have a lot to say about this.

I think the deal is only a distribution one, but that BMG are interested in Louis and what he (us) could bring to the table. They were either present at the festival or watching it, but officially they had no involvement at all with it (everything is credited either to Louis own company, 78 Productions, or Charlie Lightening’s company). That’s the case for both giveaways too; the vinyl one and the tickets for the festival.

I think it would be an unbelievably bad move not to test the waters with BMG now or soon-ish. At least a single, to see how it performs. Due to the circumstances, it’s obvious there’re certain limitations on place but I want to see how they push it, whether the radio play exist this time around and if the song is playlisted and promoted and all that… I would also love to know, since it says he signed with BMG UK, but it also states it’s a global deal, how things are going to go on the US and other countries.

Yes, yes. I know those are all questions and no answers. But I know the same as you, sadly. If any of you know more than you’re letting on… again, share with the class.

Where was I? Yes, on the 25th of May Louis had a great day writing (x). Since the first time he had mentioned he was officially writing to this date there’s almost eight months. And I believe he was writing before October’ 20.

He followed Robert Harvey that day and, on the 28th of May (why is it always the 28th???) he was spotted at the studio for the first time.

June was an interesting month for the fandom ♥. Lots of LHL content which I will love and cherish for the rest of times. On June 4th, June 9th, and June 10th he was spotted at the studio, but I believe he was there more days.

(x)

This was posted on June 6th and captioned Studio. Charlie also shared it with “Mega tunes being put down, can’t wait for this @louist91 #louistomlinson #LT2” as the caption. This gives me 2019 (Elton-Joint) vibes. I like it. Feels like we’re getting closer to something.

He added the Milano date on the 9th too which I’m mentioning because I’m going alone. Anyone wanna go with me please? I’m nice and I never eat anything before a concert so you can have my food. On other news. It didn’t come home.

During July he was at the studio at least three days too. Probably more. Feels like more with all the fan pictures we got. Or was that June? Anyway, July 1st and 9th we got some videos from Robert Harvey and wearesuperhi, which is who Louis has been working with the most, that we know of. I don’t know for sure they’re from that day. And on July 5th we got an article and lots of pictures of Louis looking really good outside the studio.

On the 12th of July the first fans started getting the free, 369 bucket hat and print. We still don’t know what the purpose was other than to thanks fans. Maybe that was it. I want answers and I still think it relates to a future project (see theories above), but it could also just be a bridge with the Walls breaking.

He didn’t tweet about anything interesting for a while, mostly because he lost his phone (he either throwed it in the air or smashed it who knows). Then on the 29th of July he announced the festival!

I’m glossing over it because there’s already been a lot of talk about it (rightfully) and while it was a wonderful thing, it doesn’t have much to do with LT2.

Let’s talk Change!

On August 3rd he tweeted this about the setlist.

(x)

And this (x) on the 28th! I can’t stand him.

We didn’t get it, obviously. Because who was going to get that. But we read too much into things. Alright.

On the 16thof August Dave Gibson shared this post tagged #LT2 with the eyes emojis 👀👀👀. I believe this has to do both with Change but also with whatever else came out of that Mexico trip.

(x) Last relevant tweet related to LT2 is this one.

So, on the 30th of August we got Change and we cried, and we know that Change is going in the new album. He said it. With those exact words. He also said he was “getting a feeling for it”. This has to meant he already has a general idea of the vibe of the new album and what’s going in it!!!!!! (Right? RIGHT?).

Anyway, let’s go back a few weeks because some other things happened on August. He was at the studio a few more times. Or it was suggested that he was there. On the 17th and the 18th. (Why was it so time-pressing to be at the studio instead of rehearsing for the festival? There was no studio at all on the documentary. Which makes sense, but again, then why?).

On the day of the festival we got another mention of Faith in The Future that made me feel part of a cult ngl. The words were flashing on the screen for less than a second. Okay.

And then he tweeted those words again after watching the livestream/documentary on the 4th of September (x). This is what makes me suspect it's either the name of the album or of the single.

On the same day, we got some interesting quotes about LT2 on the documentary.

“Soon I’ll have to think about me second album, which in my head I’ll get the tour out of the way and then I’ll address that. So, I hadn’t really given it much thought, to be honest”.

“When every day is the same is hard to feel creative and it’s hard to have any kind of proper inspiration”.

“As season started to come back, I started writing again and it was great and some of these songs turned out alright”.

And I think this is it. I might be overlooking some important details but that’s what we know and what we don’t know.

So. Conclusions. That’s what you missed on Glee. I do believe the album is, if not mostly done, partially there. And yes, this post is pointless and never-ending but it’s all in here if you need to tell Louis “Hey, you said this, mate”.

[emiko-matsui]

hello this is my official list of what i think every member of the bau would work with if they wouldn't work at the bau like if that wasn't a reality you get me

——

Jason Gideon: look i know this is technically canon but i truly do think he would be an author and would guest lecture a bit in his later years and like sure he could still write true crime books but also just regular crime novels i think this old man would just like to write

Jennifer "JJ" Jareau: i think she would work inside of the media, not in front of the camera necessarily but as a communicator or similarly inside of the media and the news. however i think there's a possibility of a divergence of path for her, i think its possible she could end up in a hostage situation due to her job in a similar situation like in neon terror and would start working out as a coping mechanism and like genuinely would pick up a (extra?) job as a personal trainer at her gym

Derek Morgan: firefighter. that's it i don't know what to say other than that, derek would 500% be a firefighter. there's nothing else. now that i think about it derek should've been a firefighter from the beginning fuck the bau this is his true calling don't even @ me

Elle Greenaway: similarly to JJ i think elle would work inside of the media but as an investigative journalist. well i think she would start out as a regular journalist but become an investigative journalist after a while because her drive would be too big you get me. also niche but i think that when she was a teen she was like briefly a singer like you know robin from how i met your mother but she would've made angry girl music

Aaron "Hotch" Hotchner: genuinely don't think this punk could stay away from the government so i think he would still work a fancy government job just not inside of the bau, maybe not even the fbi but i so think he'd still be in government. now what i have no idea because i know nothing about the government especially the american government seeing as im not even remotely american

David "Dave" Rossi: now i don't even know if this fucking counts but you know those really fancy shops that are like made of dark smelling wood and is called something extravagant with a cursive gold font and they sell like cigar or wine or herbal products or like mustache wax or whatever the fuck you know the places im talking about. i think rossi would work there and be that old man at the counter who will come up and talk to you and you have no idea if he just works there and is really invested in this stuff or if he owns the place or just a really weird costumer but then he's the one you pay too so you assume it's his but the moment you step out of the store you've forgotten his face and you never want to go back there but you always think about it once a month or something. if you don't know what kinda place im talking about consider yourself lucky

Penelope Garcia: if the bau wasn't even a prospect here there's no question that penelope would still be a hacker illegally and make most of her money from there but i also think that she would work in a small second hand shop with lots of old trinkets and clothes and stuff just because she genuinely thinks it's fun to work there and also the old woman who owns the shop lets her be on the computer when there's no costumers in the store. i just think she would sit there in her cupcake dress next to a ceramic old cat from the 1930s talking to bernice about her grandson while hacking jeff bezos on her computer

Spencer Reid: now it's time for spencer all over the place reid who i think would work at like one of those really prestige but still public libraries where like everyone is welcome but they have like locked rooms with super valuable books and stuff and he kinda does whatever there bc sometimes he gives tours talking about thr history of the building and stuff and sometimes you find him at the counter ready to guide you to the specific book you're looking for plus twenty other recommendations you should read if you like this book and sometimes you find him in a window reading and his coworkers politely ignore he's had his "break" for three hours now bc he guided 17 tours yesterday (only ten were scheduled) and they suspect he mightve slept here. plus in his spare time i think he would do some independent work to keep him stimulated with stuff but that's not a fully developed idea yet

Stephen Walker: this might be controversial but i think stephen would be a guidance counsellor at like a school and i don't know why but he has the vibe and i think he would be quite good at it. maybe he just gives me more official jawbone vibes from dimension 20

Emily Prentiss: i firmly believe this woman cannot hold down a job for her life. i think the bau and interpol were flukes in her reality because im quite certain emily would physically not be able to keep one job for longer than a year. if you mention a job she's probably done it. she's done everything from high positions in government to bagging groceries to leading seminars to breeding puppies. listen emily prentiss is a lesbian ex goth trust fund kid (like canonically yall). i think right now she's working with the lights for a theatre production and she's liking it and seems to have a knack for it

Tara Lewis: this one's out there but i think she would work as a principal at a university (do universities have principals?). but like the one who's in charge of a school but like advanced studies with like adults study after they've already studied if you know what i mean. idk i just think that's what she would be

Luke Alvez: hate to do this to luke but he would simply just be a cop. or like a detective (that's like a promotion for a cop in america right? bro my knowledge extends to brooklyn 99 and brooklyn 99 only). i hope this is because i feel like luke is the serious crime version of jake peralta and jake is the sitcom version of luke. anyway, cop

Matt Simmons: this is my magnum opus but bro i think he would be a podcaster. i think he would do a podcast with kristy. for everyone who follows my blog think justin and sydnee mcelroy but matt is sydnee. i think they would have a little podcast together. after his unit at the fbi (?) got got by linda barnes i think he would retire home and start doing podcasting full time with kristy. this is my hot take

Kate Callahan: because such a central part of kate's personality/backstory is that her sister died in 9/11 i think that kate would've been a nurse. specifically a nurse not a doctor and i don't think it's because a lack of competence or anything like that fuck u no i genuinely think kate wanted to be a nurse and chose to study to become that. her hours would still be crazy but maybe meg isn't as worried about her now

Ashley Seaver: i don't have a lot for seaver but i think she would work in local government more centralised like those guys from parks and rec and yes i realise ive made way too many references that some people might not understand but here we are. i think seaver would do whatever leslie does in parks and rec or something like that

Alex Blake: this is just a formality to have her on here because she's literally a linguistics professor in the show

[germanbitchfiona]

okay so

Neil sewing? I think y e s

he knows a bit of sewing from being on the run and having to sew up clothes and bags and stuff because they couldn’t always buy new things

the foxes find out about it because Nicky walks in on Neil just sitting on the couch sewing a rip in a pair of pants

like the next time the foxes hang out together nicky’s like “H E Y DID YOU KNOW NEIL CAN S E W”

and neils just like “yeah a n d????? What about it???”

and just

next thing he knows he’s the one they go to if their bag or shirt or whatever gets a hole in it and they need it fixed but they can’t s e w

and then Allison’s birthday comes around

and Neil decides he wants to try actually sewing clothes from scratch (bc they become best friends o b v i o u s l y have you m e t them?)

so he goes to the nearest crafts store and buys some fabric and a sewing pattern for a skirt

it ends up a bit wonky but pretty good for his first try

Allison hugs him for like ten minutes bc SHE LOVES HER BEST BITCH FRIEND AND HE MADE HER A SKIRT

anyway neil figures out that he really likes making clothes and stuff and eventually he gets really good at it

the only reason he developes s o m e t h i n g of a fashion sense is bc he sews most of his own clothes now and he likes to challenge himself to get better at it

Allison l o v e s to help him if he needs like a model or something or like help with designs or something idk

Nicky also loves it and will model and just l o v e s it when Neil makes him stuff

for Andrew’s birthday one year neil makes him a black denim jacket

and he puts a few patches on it

and after a while Andrew has covered the jacket in patches and Andrew says he hates the jacket but its in the same way he hates Neil and he wears it quite often

and when Dan and Matt get married neil volunteers to make Dan’s dress

he makes her one of those jumpsuits that has those flowy long pants that l o o k like a skirt but then b a m it’s actually pants

the top part has sparkles and while he was working on it he gets glitter e v e r y w h e r e and it stays there for m o n t h s and it’s a Problem bc while Neil doesn’t give a shit about being covered in glitter Andrew it’s Not Vibing With Being Glittery bc he wears all black so like i t s g o n n a b e r e a l l y n o t i c a b l e

anyway Dan absolutely l o v e s it and she cries when she sees it (Matt does too on their wedding day but also it’s cause Dan is so pretty and he’s in love with her)

It’s a off-white on the top and a light green or blue for the pants part because fuck it being fully white let’s get some pretty pastel colors in there

Dan looks absolutely a m a z i n g in it and she’s absolutely in love with it and she always tries to find excuses to wear it when she can (idk for what but whatever)

Neil also sews arm bands for him and Andrew

Neil gets fancy with his own BECAUSE HE C A N

for Andrew he’ll sometimes make them maroon or navy blue or evergreen or something instead of j u s t black

he’ll sew subtle styles into andrew’s sometimes

also renee is really good at embroidery and will embroider things for him

she embroiders stuff on the armbands sometimes

she also embroidered stuff on Dan’s dress

and yeah Neil just really likes making things for people and sometimes with other people too and it’s just :D

[professionalfangirl24601]

Your response was so right and I really liked the posts you linked as well!

And like, idk but I feel like people saying “oh this book is ableist” is a very blanket statement while ignoring that most people didn’t know the r word was a slur in like 2015 which is around when the books came out. Like this wasn’t common knowledge to people, and it still isn’t common knowledge to a lot of people! It’s fine to warn people before reading like, “hey this book has ableist language by the way so watch out for that” but that doesn’t mean Nora is ableist.

Also like as a woc, i have my own issues with people thinking the books are racist. I think Nicky could’ve definitely been handled better, but idk my thoughts about Nicky are more like “look how much he gave up for his cousins and how much he cared about them” instead of specifically the bad stuff he does. Like they’re all traumatized, I don’t expect them to be perfect or not say bad things. As for making all the villains asian, I feel like people just forget,,,,about Nathan? And Lola? And literally everyone in the scene where Neil gets kidnapped? And Drake? Like with all of the shitty people in aftg, I don’t even consider the yakuza the bad guys, only Riko and Tetsuji. My friend described it as Nora just having like “white blindness” and not realizing how stuff she writes can come across rather than intentionally being harmful, which makes a big difference to me.

I also hate the take that it’s like aphobic, considering Nora is aro ace and that there are people who don’t know what asexual or aromantic means. While it’s not great for Nicky to constantly push Neil for his sexuality, I also don’t blame him for not knowing that Neil is demisexual, especially considering that Neil didn’t know himself! And especially because there’s still so much ace discourse on tumblr! Like people still don’t know stuff about asexuality and aromanticism, so why do you expect her to write characters who are experts in it?

I think people forget that writing about problematic characters doesn’t make the author problematic. Also I agree that I don’t think aftg is even written that badly, but I also base books on how they make me feel, and I’ve been into aftg for 2 years (which is relatively long for me to be into something).

Sorry I rambled a lot but I just don’t like all the aftg hate, nor do I get repeating the criticism for it if people already know.

You bring up some very good points and It makes me want to go on another rant. And don't worry, I loved hearing your thoughts.

So the same warning here. Some discussions of racism, ableism and aphobia below the cut.

In general, I think accusing complete strangers of being x-phobic is a worse thing to do than defending them. Innocent until proven wrong, you know. I don't think there's enough proof of Nora being ableist in the books, and saying that she is can be very harmful. Here's a great post about aftg and ableism, and I'm glad you liked the previous ones :D

The yakuza wasn't even the main villain there. Considering it's well, the mafia, it didn't have that negative role. Ichirou wasn't portrayed as vicious and cruel, Nathan was. Ichirou didn't turn the nest into hell, Riko and Tetsuji did.

Riko was a complex character who had his motives and his race didn't have to do anything with his actions. If Nora wrote that Riko tortured people because he was Asian (? How??, but still), that would be racist.

This may be a controversial opinion, but I really don't like when people act like minorities can't be bad people. Isn't basing expectations of them on their race... racist?

Imagine saying Nathan being the villain of the story was anti-red haired people (let's pretend he's ginger, because there are people who actually hate them, for some reason. And I'm not comparing race to hair color, it's just the same logic). Wouldn't that be ridiculous? Especially because Neil, a flawed chatacter who's also one of the "good guys" has red hair too.

As a white person, I know I don't understand racism as well as poc, so correct me if I'm being wrong. I know that good representation is very important. But is having both white and poc characters being morally gray and deeply flawed that racist?

I really like the term "white blindness". Sometimes people come across as racist by accident or not thinking things through properly and it's so nice of you and your friend to acknowledge this.

(Like now I think I'm somehow being racist but I really am not. I don't know if what I said conveyed my opinion well, but please don't hesitate to send me another ask if you think I'm being one.)

I think aphobia is very compicated in the books. Of course Nicky saying life can't be good without a significant other and that he would give Neil a little "push" was clearly aphobic. Because Neil had said that he didn't swing before that and Nicky didn't believe him.

But considering how little known demisexuality was in the 00's, was Matt assuming Neil was gay after he found out about him and Andrew aphobic too? I think if Neil had explained that he was only attracted to Andrew, not men in general, Matt would have believed him.

Of course, in the end it doean't matter in this discussion because writing about it doesn't make Nora aphobic. It's purely realistic, both the people being assholes and just ignorant of it.

I've heard people say both, that they loved how trauma was handled in the books and that they hated it. It's clear that the books aren't for everyone. It usually leaves the reader either completely in love with it or filled with hate. Love and hate are both very strong emotions and people "criticizing" it isn't new either. I just hope it doesn't get to the point where aftg is just known as this horrible book and people don't even bother with reading it before judging it and writing hateful posts.