#Rewatching 2014 was torture...

[lawisnotmocked]

*6 hour torture session for my beautiful husband :-)

Most of the adaptations on this list are rewatches for us so if you have any suggestions for something new pls leave it in the comments/tags! We’re both Les Mis Enjoyers so don’t worry about adaptation suggestions being accessible to newcomers lol we’ll watch anything <3

[cdramastuff]

would you share your top 3/top 5 dramas based on your personal enjoyment?

When it comes to cdramas, 2024 was absolutely magical for me since it gave me 2 absolute (and very different) faves at once. Before that, cdramas usually left me traumatised and / or disappointed.

First of all - Blossoms in Adversity. A show that is actually centered around the heroine and her choices (including her choice of a man). I honestly felt high from the fact that it was a female-lead drama from beginning to end. The main girl was never reduced to the position of someone who needs to be saved by a man. And her being feminine af while also badass af felt extremely genuine. I rewatch bits of this drama all the time, the romance is very cute, and the music is great as well (excluding the cringe ending that one can easily skip). The only downside is that I didn't enjoy the fight scenes as much, but that wasn't the main point of the series.

Secondly, Fangs of Fortune. I don't even know what to say here. The show was a fever dream that I still haven't recovered from. It owned and still owns my ass. The number of gifs I made for this series speaks for itself. The most beautiful shit I have ever seen. People who get my obsession with it are my kind of people.

Now for the older shows that stuck with me through the years.

Sound of the Desert (2014). In retrospective, main couple's relationship does have several not-so-comfortable moments, and yet, the two are my huge faves. Their bickering is life. Eddie Peng as the general who comes back from battles covered in blood, sweat and dirt, is the hottest a cdrama male lead could look, ever. It doesn't even bother me that his wig line is very visible now that the show is available in hd. Also, despite multiple rewatches, I still haven't seen the finale. I'd rather leave on a happy note. I don't even know if the ending is truly sad. In my heart, the two are living happily ever after.

Perfect Couple (2014). Another case of a series where I absolutely adore the cast. As someone who's seen just about everything with Wallace Huo, where he plays all sorts of jerks with all sorts of haircuts, this is the one role I keep coming back to. The ending song is one of my favest tunes and also one of the reasons I keep rewatching the drama. The main couple is yet again one that bickers 24/7, and that is obviously what I'm into. Occasionally, I feel guilty for not having posted any screenshots or gifs from this show to this day. Maybe I will.

Now that I mentioned all the stuff that I genuinely loved, I need to mention the cdramas that traumatized me, destroyed my soul and made me feel the rage of a thousand suns. I think about them a lot and can never forget them. That's the hatred that secretly borders on love, I guess.

The Journey of Flower (2015). I lovingly call it "A thousand swords show". No matter how horribly any male lead mistreats and tortures his girl, he can never top this shit. Ever. The things this drama did to it's main girl are unrivaled. I sometimes rewatch the cursed torture episode to keep myself in check. The short description of the thousand swords fiasco is here.

Investiture of the Gods (2019). Holy shit. I have no words for this. Watching the main girl destroy herself and her pet demon beyond repair worse and worse with each episode was one hell of an experience. Peak toxic shit. I feel like I should rewatch it now that some time has passed and see whether it will hit me as hard as it did the first time. I guess I love pain.

Princess Agents (2017). I'm pretty sure anyone who's heard of this show also heard that the production company did both the leads and the plot dirty in hopes to leave a possibility for s2. The only words I have to say about this are: Ice Lake. The show that made me swear to never watch an ongoing cdrama again. And yet, here I am, years later, watching all those ongoing shows, but dropping them the moment I feel they're not heading the way I want them to. Also, unlike the two shows mentioned before, I suspect rewatch value of Princess Agents is around 0. I'm pretty sure, in 2025 I wouldn't be able to sit even through one ep of this shit. I hoped that The Legend of Shen Li would make up for everything, but I guess I'll just have to live with this bitterness.

Honorable mention - Chinese Paladin 5 (2016). One of my first cdramas, one that gave me Elvis Han with violet hair. And also made me want to be taken to hell by the demon king so I can stay there forever. Lots of questionable stuff there, but man, was it an experience. I wish I could rewatch this drama for the first time again.

[mercurygray]

Merc, what kind of Historical Military Man gets the wheels turning for you? What are the markers of 'Oh, that one, that one is now mine'?

Nat, I'm going to be honest, this question provoked something of an existential crisis. so I went back through, like, 20 years of fandom favorites to see if there's a pattern.

Spoiler: there isn't, apart from a perennial need to be different. This is kind of long .

2001 (ish) - Lord of the Rings is coming out, and you are either a Legolas or Aragorn girl. I am deep in my 'not like the other girls' phase and decide Boromir is actually the superior choice here. (This leads me to watch A LOT of period dramas that are probably not appropriate for for me at this age, including Clarissa and Lady Chatterley's Lover.) It also leads me to the Sharpe books, which are great and awesome. Richard Sharpe doesn't necessarily do anything for me as a character, but that gets me into Hornblower, which gets me into the Aubreyad, which leads me to read a lot about the Napoleonic Wars in high school. Cliff-diving into a different historical period is now something I do every single summer.

I also spend about 5 years (2008-2013) writing a 225,000 word fanfic in which Boromir doesn't die.

2010-2015

Matthew Crawley (Dan Stevens) is really only in the army a brief while but who can say no to the blue eyes and the absolute vibe he has going with Mary?

During the Downton phase I decide to raid the library for other period dramas, again, and watch The Forsyte Saga. Soames Forsyte is not a man you love, but Damian Lewis has A Face and I know he was on Band of Brothers, which the library perennially never has a copy of.

2011

I finally watch Band of Brothers in its entirety my senior year of college and am a little disappointed I appear to be missing large parts of the story. (Future rewatches will explain that this is actually a feature of the show, not a bug.) My recollections of this are hazy, but I'm fairly certain my favorite character the first time I watched this was Lewis Nixon (Ron Livingston). He's dark-haired, he's funny, he's an absolute mess with a trust fund. Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) also has one hell of a face. He's a red-head, he's in charge of everyone else, he doesn't say much, and he is tall. I know there must be fic for this show but am also very, very sure it is shippy in a direction I do not want to read, so I do not go looking for it.

TURN - 2014-2017

Ben Tallmadge (Seth Numrich) is the guy to watch on TURN: he's a lieutenant, he's tall, he struggles with rules, but the entire fandom is also crazy about him and the leading queen bee in the OC end of that fandom is a real pain about it, so I decide I will not be writing for him no matter what it costs me to hold off admitting I want to. However, in the next episode we meet his best friend, Caleb Brewster (Daniel Henshall) who is short, bearded, dark-haired and chaotic. The moment he comes onscreen I love him. Sadly, no one is reading fic for him and this project is abandoned.

In Season 3, we meet the Marquis de Lafayette. Historical Lafayette is a tall, awkward redhead in need of a father figure who makes up for war experience with boundless enthusiasm. His letters home are adorable. Show Lafayette (Ben Wiles) is tall and enthusiastic. I love him anyway and I make it everyone's problem for, like, a year.

2016-2017 - Mercy Street

Henry Hopkins (Luke Macfarlane) is a military chaplain in a hotel-turned Union hospital in Alexandria, Virginia. He's tall, he's a little tortured, and he has a knack for putting others first. Wrestling with some past choices, his romance with Emma Green, the privileged daughter of the family who owned the hotel, is sweet and full of pining. I write so much fix-it fic for them it's not even funny. (I love this show because the female characters I love come pre-installed. Please watch this.)

2016 - Dunkirk

I see this movie three times in theaters and love it more each time. Collins (Jack Lowden) is a blonde RAF flyboy with a very adorable face. (Tom Glynn Carney is also a face I like but he's on a backburner for a bit.) I write a lot of fic about it and affectionately refer to this as my first Planes Go Zoom phase.

2020

Two weeks into the pandemic I decide rewatching Band of Brothers is a good idea and buy the book and the DVD set from my local secondhand bookshop like I am doing a drug deal in a parking lot. Two weeks after that I am writing a fanfic for Dick Winters (Damian Lewis) because I am a loon who likes men in charge and painfully slow burns.

2021

Still in the middle of a pandemic I decide to watch The Pacific, because I make good decisions, apparently. Hoosier Smith (Jacob Pitts) is a taciturn, wise-cracking friend of Leckie's who is joked about as being the pretty one. He is. Andrew Haldane (Scott Gibson) is quiet, unassuming, and in charge, and played college football for Bowdoin. Very dad energy. Extremely charming. Dead in three episodes as history intended. Fix-it fic incoming.

2022 Top Gun Maverick comes out. Jake "Hangman" Seresin (played by Glen Powell, who I loved in Hidden Figures and The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel Pie Society) has a jawline you could cut something with and an attitude. My friends think I am mental. Second Planes Go Zoom phase coupled with Devotion, which comes out shortly after.

SAS Rogue Heroes comes out. I have been really looking forward to seeing Tom Glynn Carney in something else and he delivers. Mike Sadler is blond, extremely good at his job, not capable of suffering fools, and far too attractive for the desert.

2024

We do not even make it out of trailer season before I realize I still have a Thing (TM) for Callum Turner's face, which I have known since he was Theseus Scamander in Fantastic Beasts. Watching The Boys in the Boat before this all starts doesn't help - he has regrettably blond hair but thighs for days and shoulders you could hang the universe on. John "Bucky" Egan, is tall, dark-haired, incredibly generous spirited and nominally in charge. I want all of it. The rest of the fandom does too. I try to make peace with that and write anyway. Third Planes Go Zoom phase.

[bending-sickle]

h'okay so i am rewatching dawn of the planet of the apes (2014) and just have like, this one rant about a detonating interaction:

okay so the humans have trespassed a second time and asked to be allowed to work on the hydroelectric plant, which is no innocent little exercise

Dreyfus: [That] power... is not just about keeping the lights on. It's about giving us the tools to reconnect to the rest of the world. To find out who else is out there so that we can start to rebuild and reclaim the world we lost.

and koba reiterates his "this is a bad fucking idea, Caesar, giving them power will bite us in the ass, we should go to war"

and like, he's not even being paranoid either because:

Dreyfus: I'm gonna take some men up to Fort Point. I'm gonna go through the armory. I'm gonna see what's still working. Three days. You're not back in three days we're going up there, and we're gonna kill every last one of them.

so while caesar is letting the humans do their Human Work (and ooooh, when koba snaps back with his scars as evidence of Human Work), koba is off seeing the arsenal being readied.

which means he both misses seeing:

alvarez carver endanger caesar's newborn

carver smuggle in a gun and threaten apes with it

apes helping pull humans out of the rubble of their own making

ellie saving cornelia's life with medicine

but like. he's just been to the city and seen the humans getting ready to destroy them all, so he's a little distressed when he finds caesar with the humans at the hydro:

Koba: Just came from the city. Humans very dangerous! Where is Caesar? Blue Eyes: With the humans... Foster: Yo, Alex. This relay's busted. See if there's another one. Yeah. Koba: [enters] Caesar. [pushes Alex aside; Alex falls] Alex: Hey! Koba: [snarls at Alex] Malcolm: [getting between the two] No! No, no, no, don't! No! No! No! Maurice: [stands in Koba's way]

[which, idk man, if a super angry ape on a mission shoves me aside i would not utter an annoyed dude wtf "hey!" at him]

Koba: [cont.] Where Caesar? Want Caesar. Caesar! Caesar: [shows himself] Koba: Humans attack your sons. You let them stay! Put apes in danger! Caesar love humans more than apes! More than your sons.

and like okay the last dig must've stung but the first bit? valid as fuck. and what does caesar do? absolutely whales on him. i'm talking ketamine ape levels. doesn't say anything at all, just screams and goes right for it. he beats the shit out of koba and has his hands around koba's throat.

you know, the ape who just a few days ago had said:

Koba: For years I was a prisoner in their lab. They cut me. Tortured me. You freed me. I would do anything you ask.

and he clearly has every intent of killing his right-hand arm man. his silly rabbit ape and friend:

Caesar: [making a visible effort to stop himself] Ape not kill ape.

all for *checks notes* barging in and saying "yo dude wtf"

and then what happens?

Koba: Forgive me.

and it's like...wtf for, my guy? for taking a beating and attempted-murder in front of friend and foe? for going "dude wtf are you doing with the enemy who is literally right this second raiding their arsenal to come kill us all?"

and then caesar's like "oh koba only learned hate from humans, he's all dark and twisted and evil" like my brother on a different evolutionary tree, consider your actions for one second

* why in the fuck was an infant taken on this outing with enemies, far away from its mother or any sort of safety? i don't fucking know. i thought caesar was smart.

[miloscat]

[Review] The Legend of Korra (PS3)

A budget Avatar game done right.

Platinum Games are well known as specialists in "character action" games, flashy brawlers with tight controls. Around this time in the studio's life (2014-2016) they cranked out a few smaller licensed games like Transformers Devastation, a Ninja Turtles game, and this. These are normally seen as lesser compared to their flagship titles but they still have a solid gameplay core, and compared to some other Avatar games I've played recently this one really shines.

I've been rewatching Korra for the first time since its broadcast and absolutely loving it. The ideal for a tie-in game like this is a new story, so I was pleased to see new events in this poorly-titled game taking place between Books 2 and 3... now, the actual gap between seasons of the show is small, but they managed to squeeze a little week-long adventure in there. The settings and array of baddies to beat up are very much rehashed from Books 1 and 2, but a new antagonist with a wacky reveal gives it some spice.

After Korra is ambushed in the streets of Republic City, she finds her bending once again blocked. A creepy old wizard man has nefarious plans for her, and she travels through the new Spirit Wilds districts, to Air Temple Island, to the South Pole, and eventually into the Spirit World to stop him. He can summon dark spirits but has also coerced Equalists, paid off Triads, and acquired mecha tanks to stop her. It's a small, self-contained story but comes with some nice cutscenes animated well in the style of the show by American studio Titmouse.

The voice acting is also authentic with the show's actors returning... although, the budget scope is indicated here again. Jinora shows up in spirit form to give exposition, and there are minor appearances by Tenzin, Mako, Bolin, and Shiro Shinobi the pro bending commentator with a few lines each, but most of the time Korra is just talking to herself. The creative staff on the show also were involved, with the show's writing and art leads contributing the story, writing, and character design.

As for the gameplay, it works very well. Korra has her four bending styles that are unlocked gradually, each one giving you different options: for example, waterbending allows for ranged attacks, earthbending is slow and powerful, fire is fast, and airbending comes last and has totally OP area effect attacks. Each style has its own experience bar that unlocks new moves, and you can customise further with some powerful modifiers bought from Iroh's shop (get the health regen comb asap!). Aside from the four fighting styles, guard countering is very important, as well as knowing when to dodge and the occasional mini-QTE against bender characters. Another central mechanic is chi charging, where you can hold an attack button to charge up and fill your chi bar, which then powers up all your attacks before it drains. It's a little risk-reward thing but managing your bar becomes essential and makes for an interesting balance during combat sequences.

Between all the knocking heads, there's some light exploration and platforming. The structure of levels reminded me of Platinum's recent World of Demons: pretty straightforward with some short side paths for goodies, only more developed and three-dimensional. There's occasional pro bending segments, that use a stripped-down control scheme, as well as a side mode where you play out a series of bouts. There's also Naga sequences presented as three-lane 3D autorunners, which are a decent change of pace (although I did spend a torturous hour or two doing the triple-mecha tank Naga-back boss fight in Extreme mode). They're a million times better than the animal-riding bits in Quest for Balance, at least.

Although Platinum are known for their demanding action games, there are plenty of concessions here that make Korra accessible, from difficulty select to the shop's talismans that can give you a leg up. You still get ranked on each battle but I didn't have much trouble doing well, especially after unlocking the better combos and items. Most of the time I didn't find it harsh unless I'd chosen the specific tradeoffs that made it rougher, and dying is only penalised by starting the current fight over again.

This is pretty much one of the best Avatar games out there; a strong gameplay foundation, authenticity in presentation, a little sprinkling of fanservice here and there, doesn't overstay its welcome... too bad it was delisted a mere three years after release! It was on PC as well as both the PS3 and PS4 generation consoles, although I didn't have a PS4 in 2014 when I bought it so I dusted off my PS3 for this. It performed very well despite being "last-gen" at the time, and barely feels dated technologically even now. There must be a way to pirate it, hopefully, and I recommend it for Korra fans. Otherwise, there's a 37-minute video that stitches the cutscenes together with short bridging gameplay snippets that I'd recommend. Either way, don't miss it!

[torturedpoetskywalker]

My 2024 Media Wrapped

(or my favorite medias from 2024)

Movies:

1. Past Lives (2023)

2. Whisper of the Heart (1995)

3. The Boy and the Heron (2023)

4. Perfect Days (2023)

5. Anatomy of a Fall (Og: Anatomie d'une chute), 2023

6. Heartless (Og: Sem Coração), 2023

7. Lisa Frankenstein (2024)

8. When Marnie Was There (2014)

9. Sense and Sensibility (1995)

10. Heathers (1988)

Rewatches:

1. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971)

2. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)

3. Ponyo (2008)

4. Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

5. Mary Poppins (1964)

6. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014)

7. Coraline (2009)

8. Jurassic Park (1993)

9. Jurassic Park III (2001)

10. Coco (2017)

Books/HQ's/Manga's:

1. the mermaid's voice returns in this one, Amanda Lovelace

2. Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi

3. Embroideries, Marjane Satrapi

4. This Winter, Alice Oseman

5. Cardcaptor Sakura #01

Albums:

1. Charm, Clairo

2. The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology, Taylor Swift

3. Short n' Sweet, Sabrina Carpenter

4. Summer's Over, Jordana & TV Girl

5. SOS, SZA

6. The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess, Chappell Roan

[morethanonepage]

You posted something that prompted me to rewatch 2014 constantine and the thought I had during the 'alright, daddy' scene this time was "hi, this is my ship. Here's the bisexual tortured disaster I project onto. Here's the tall, competent sweetheart who takes care of him. Don't read into this." I'm pretty sure I was channeling you.

what is a legacy.....

(idk if everyone who now follows me for constantine/chastantine content REALIZES how out of left field 'all right, daddy' was for us watching it in real time. like i didn't literally scream but. i wanted to. like we already knew they were living together and that chas did the cooking and it was all domestic but we NEVER imagined--)

[catgirlsupremacist]

Stumbled recently and due to nostalgia and missing an old freind rewatched the winter soldier and am becoming the defitnion of, 'some of our best minds were lost to the 'winter soldier (2014)'. Somehow found a fanfic in which captain america is a communist of the mlm variety and bucky is meant to be anarchist wanting to blow things up. I enjoy torturing myself , as seen by the fast and furious franchise watching, so let's see how messy this is and please at least have a good sex scene

[lesbianwithchainsaws]

This would be such a long list! But I gathered a few favs and some possibly lesser known films to recommend:

Fade to Black (1980) - watched this about a year ago and I adore this movie. Its sorta a slasher, but not quite. Like a mix between slasher and psychological I think

Boys in the Trees (2016) - I will recommend this movie every single time, it changed me I think. Its not a fun movie and is more serious, but it is so good and so underrated

Lake Mungo - another more serious one and it's not quite a traditional type horror film, but it really is such an experience

Haunt (2019) - this one's set on Halloween and is honestly a more recent fav. It does the whole "horror attraction is actually all real" thing and personally I think it executes it the best. I do wish there were more horror movies that did that concept well

Memento Mori (1999) - this is a Korean film and its not like super horror-y but it has lesbians and something about it just kinda hit. It doesn't have a happy ending, but I think it's worth a watch overall

The Black Phone - another more recent one that I think is overall executed so so well

The Descent (2005) - if you haven't seen this one, you absolutely need to! Also one of my favs and its just so well done

1408 - paranormal movie that I actually need to rewatch myself, but I loved it when I first watched it

Killer Klowns from Outer Space - the most ridiculous and fun movie ever. Has cartoony gore and kills, but also incredible effects. One of my fav movies of all time!

Kristy (2014) - more modern day slasher. I think overall its really good and really tense a lot of times. My one criticism of this movie is that there are a lot of scenes that are just way too dark. Like you can't really tell what's going on at times. It doesn't ruin the movie completely imo, but it is a bit frustrating

The Loved Ones - I'm kind of obsessed with this movie honestly. Don't watch this if you don't like/can't handle gore and torture stuff. If you can, this is so good. The side story is a bit weaker imo, but the actual horror stuff is horrifying. I love this movie!

The Stepfather (1987) - this one's sometimes called a slasher movie, but imo that doesn't quite fit. I haven't seen the remake or any other movie in this franchise, but I was really surprised by just how good this first one is. Highly recommend!

Totally Killer (2023) - very recent slasher movie and so so much fun!!!!

Frankenhooker (1990) - I watched this one very recently and it absolutely slayed my world. The last like 20 minutes of this are so ridiculous and fun. I mean, the entire movie is ridiculous and fun, but especially so at the end!

Creepshow (1982) - I've only seen this first one in the Creepshow franchise, but this movie is so incredible! It's probably my fav horror anthology, it's got so many iconic horror people working on it and the result is amazing

Misery - based off a Stephen King novel. I haven't read the book myself (yet) but the movie is great! The performances especially are unforgettable

Autopsy of Jane Doe - another one I've been meaning to rewatch. I was so into it the first time I watched this. It all mostly takes place in one location and is executed incredibly

Ginger Snaps - more like Ginger Slays. Another one I need to rewatch, but I think it changed something in me when I first watched it

Motel Hell - it's a comedy horror, but weirdly horrifying for a comedy horror. Kinda texas chainsaw massacre vibes on this one

and since I've just mentioned it, I gotta recommend Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) if you haven't seen it. It's my favourite movie of all time and I think it's the best horror film ever made. The 2003 remake is also pretty good, but not quite on the same level as the original. The 2022 one however is terrible

The Lodge (2019) - psychological horror that personally I thought was really good

Dead End (2003) - this one takes place on Christmas eve so technically could wait until Christmas time to watch it. Anyway, something about this movie really got to me and I need to recommend it every time

Night of the Creeps (1986) - another one thats just loads of fun to watch. And I love watching the special effects of older movies because they're more likely to be practical effects! They still hold up pretty well overall so I love this movie and movies like this

Fresh (2022) - horrifying. Highly recommend

The Blob (1988) - again, practical effects my beloved!!!! This movie slayed so hard

The Children (2008) - if you don't mind horror with kids in it, well this one is really good and kinda horrifying as well

Re-animator (1985) - another one of my favourites and also great practical effects! Also Herbert West is a freak (affectionate)

Spree (2020) - I kinda genuinely love horror that tries to use the internet/modern day tech for its horror. Unfortunately most movies don't quite succeed but Spree is an exception, and is a very fun and good movie!!!!

The Hitcher (1986) - the atmosphere in this movie alone makes it an incredible watch imo, but also its quite homoerotic and horrifying at times. Another movie I'm kinda obsessed with

In the Mouth of Madness (1994) - this is a John Carpenter film and I highly recommend this one too. I see this one talked about less than some of his other films, but personally I think this is one of my favourites of his!

I feel like this list is getting too long so I'm gonna cut it here because I could go on for way too long. I tried recommending ones that aren't talked about as much (so stuff like Scream, Saw, etc I didn't mention). There are still some well known ones, but either way I hope you find something here that you watch and like!

Its October now which means it's Halloween and horror season and like if anyone would like any horror movie recommendations, I know this really cool, horror obsessed lesbian who really enjoys giving people horror recs

[fuckspn]

okay new rule for this rewatch. every time buckleming force a torture scene/plot point into one of their episodes they have to venmo me $50. i have no way of legally enforcing this but rest assured i’ll make it happen

[villainous-queen]

[beachblanketblacksails]

Welcome to the beach! 🌴

Beach Blanket Black Sails is an 18+ fandom event to appreciate and share our love for Black Sails, Starz’ historical fiction pirate adventure series.

If you’re not familiar with the show, it’s a prequel to Treasure Island (yes, the same Treasure Island you may have enjoyed as a kid, but don’t worry about it). Black Sails is mid-2010’s premiere television, which means many beautiful people do extraordinary and sometimes awful things in expensive ways. There are ships, and cannons, and Spanish gold, and a lot of sex and violence. It also (eventually, we promise) tells stories about greed and power, narrative and truth, freedom and resistance, and about queer love, rage, and grief (and love, again).

Black Sails ended in 2017 and has been an understated but real presence in fandom since it started in 2014. There are about 4,800 fics in the Black Sails tags on Ao3. Lately, Black Sails seems to be picking up speed again in certain fandom circles, and so now seems like a good time for us to start shouting our love for it, too.

Okay, but what IS this?

Beach Blanket Black Sails is made up of two parts, both optional.

The first part is a semi-scheduled rewatch starting this summer. We’ll post a link to our proposed schedule, but you’re welcome to watch whenever it works for you.

(We should also mention that we’ve been calling it a rewatch but first-time viewers are also so, so welcome.)

The second part is a fic (and art, if you like!) fest. This will run throughout the fall, with the window for prompts opening on August 22, 2021 and final fills posted by December 10.

All of this will be supported through a Discord server. There will be a link to our server posted on this blog in the next few days, as we get it set up. We want this to be a fun, relaxed atmosphere; if you have experience modding and are interested in volunteering, please send us a DM or an ask!

Who can participate?

Everyone who is over 18 or the legal age of majority in your country is welcome to participate. Black Sails is emphatically adult content and we can’t endorse or take responsibility for minors (or for anyone, really) for whom that content isn’t suitable.

What are the rules?

A FAQ for the fest can be found here but in general, writers (and artists, if you like!) will fill prompts submitted by anyone participating in either the rewatch or the fic fest. Fills will be posted to an Ao3 collection and revealed around mid-December 2021.

The rules for participating in the event more generally are as follows:

This event is an adults-only event.

Be kind and respectful; remember that every username is a human being.

We shouldn’t have to say this, but this includes not harassing people for their ships, their meta, or their content.

We REALLY shouldn’t have to say this, but this also means that racism, homophobia, transphobia, queerphobia, ableism, fatphobia, ageism, sexism, and the like are not welcome in this event.

Finally, no complaining about pirate puns or silly server names. It gets us through the day!

Is there anything else I should know?

We’ve mentioned it already, but Black Sails is extremely adult content. The show contains graphic violence, torture, explicit sexual content, depictions of enslaved persons, sexual assualt, imperialism and colonialism, and extensive drug and alcohol use. It is also frequently funny, tender, heartbreaking, beautiful, and insightful. If this is your first time watching Black Sails, we ask that you enter into it prepared to encounter and engage with this content and these themes, or to back out or otherwise self-manage if you are not able to watch uninterrupted.

The deeply personal and variable nature of triggers means that we will not be providing content warnings or trigger warnings for each episode. You can find some detail on Does the Dog Die?; others may be found with a google search.

All of this said, we really do want this event to be fun. Black Sails is fascinating, but it’s also wildly entertaining and compelling TV! Please, put on your best pirate fits and grab a glass of your favourite (adult) beverage, and come shout with us about how incredible this absolutely wild piece of television is!

Follow this blog or check back soon for more info! 

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: DAN AND PHIL ANIME COSPLAY!

Date video was published: 11/07/2016 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 328

Another joint video! There were so many in 2016. Also another spon for Crunchyroll, which they did a lot of.

0:02 - failed intro by Phil...”I’m used to you sitting next to me”

0:16 - it was 2014 for that tweet. also, lol at the “Pumpkin Spice Lester” twitter name and icon

0:27 - if they said they would do a thing, they will get tweets about it

0:41 - where has Dan’s brain gone here, yikes

1:01 - Dan should be scared hahaha. Phil seems to have a goal at this point of brining Dan on his channel and making him dress up ridiculously...WILL DAN AND PHIL SURVIVE AUSTRALIA? was just the start

1:07 - Dan does not believe him 😂

1:12 - they are constantly singing the theme tune from this one

1:20 - I’m glad the shaved sides didn’t last very long for Phil

1:32 - Dan is SO excited about the hairstyling. also love that Phil zoomed in on his excited face in editing 😊

1:39 - now Phil looks scared

1:46 - “the boy band dream” ...sure

1:49 - I don’t think it’s tangled; Dan is just having to comb through an intense amount of hairspray...that is a look

2:05 - he did wear the jacket in a gaming video after it got there

2:17 - I love stylist Dan 🥺

2:32 - Phil never says that right 😂

2:48 - Dan immediately goes to style/fix that as well

3:00 - Dan forgot about the part where he has to dress up too...

3:17 - this costume is very disturbing...Phil seems to regret buying it too, haha

3:30 - the “hello internet” mocking with the dramatic background music is great

3:40 - Phil has to touch to see how it feels

3:52 - had to include some focus on the nipples I guess?! I think I’ve always been so disturbed by the costume face that I never noticed Phil fully grabbing Dan’s hand to guide him to the costume nipples

3:59 - tackle. and Phil squeal

4:11 - Phil just staring in horror instead of helping

4:16 - slightly disturbed by the noises. little Phil tongue-thing and messy Dan hair is great though

4:25 - Phil is very touch-y in this one

4:42 - that is a choice of a screenshot

5:04 - Dan’s right; those look really great

5:15 - of course he is. also the character Dan has on the pillowcase he was referencing

5:28 - Dan is quite touch-y in this one too, actually

5:34 - he’s looks like he’s trying to be so gentle but it can’t overcome the clumsiness

5:47 - Dan’s fringe really holds in perfect spike shapes

6:03 - Phil really does just want to torture Dan, huh. He is enjoying this way too much

6:28 - Phil’s instructions are actually not bad but it’s not at all easy to do if you’re not used to it

6:32 - I don’t think I would ever let another person hold my eyelid for me...how even

6:45 - Phil is still just laughing at him

7:02 - Dan already know exactly what Phil means by “the noise” before he says it

7:23 - Dan made another anime recommendations video on his side channel for his crunchyroll spon

7:27 - of course Phil has made himself the main character for all of them

7:35 - their faces here are perfect 😂

7:44 - Phil is enjoying this so much. And very-rare Dan with pushed back hair!

8:08 - great tentacle-hand-motion there 😳

8:30 - lol I love that Dan put it on

9:12 - Phil looks disturbingly good in this wig

9:15 - more Dan-styling. they are going full-out with this one with the hairspray too

9:35 - Dan can’t even pretend to be that mad about it

9:52 - I hope that is a prop cleaver...got a “Philly” from Dan too

10:15 - lol at the censoring

10:30 - I don’t know about this position... 😳

10:43 - “the action pose” ...have to make sure the tentacles are visible

10:50 - okay Phil is touching the edge of it it must be fake

11:02 - “I suit being a red head” says the man who dyes his ginger-y hair

11:13 - “he had fun” I wonder why 😂

11:20 - even Dan had to admit it was fun

11:43 - really a perfect spon for them. Phil looks so happy in the photo

12:30 - this was the first video on Phil’s channel since the DAPGO release

I love this video. Phil being a little shit and making Dan do things is always great. And also cute with stylist-Dan trying to make Phil look perfect for each one.

Phil posted this video while he was holidaying with his family. With apparently interesting times at the pool (1, 2) and pretty scenery (1, 2). Dan was bored. Though he did get to see a dog. Then DNP met up in LA for a DAPGOOSE event there, and then stayed for a few days, where Dan had some interesting hotel shower experiences (1, 2) and they took a photo with their giant billboard, before heading back home on November 18.

[woodchoc-magnum]

just curious, what about criminal minds upset you so much? i know what almost got me to stop watching at one point.

lol it's kind of a long, boring story

So I got into it really early on; started watching from when Season 1 was airing on TV, joined the LiveJournal fandom probably... during season 2/3, started writing fanfic, shipped Hotch/Prentiss. I was a moderator on the Hotch LJ page for a long time and had a group of friends on LJ, we all loved Hotch the most and I think we all shipped Hotch/Prentiss.

CM was a weird show because the start and ends of the episode would have the character development stuff, but the middle was all about the cases - from memory (I haven't seen an episode since... 2014/15 probably) in the earlier seasons, it was pretty light on character development. You vaguely knew what was going on with the characters outside of work but it wasn't like 911 where there was a balance between work stuff/non-work stuff.

ANYWAY the reason I mention that is because at the time any H/P crumbs were literally crumbs, and I don't think I ever believed that they would go canon (and they didn't).

SO. I was super into the show in seasons 3, 4 and 5, very active in the fandom on LJ, writing fanfic etc. I sort of pinpoint a change in the show at the 100th episode - they built up to it, it was this HUGE thing (I even took a sick day from work so I could stay home, download and watch it) and then... idk. For me, after that, the show wasn't the same but I can't really explain why.

Then in Season 6, they decided to fuck with the formula. They fired Paget Brewster and AJ Cook; they "killed off" Prentiss and sent JJ away and brought in a new blonde FBI agent who was supposed to take their place (this was also around the time they made the first spin-off).

So for me, someone whose favourite characters were Hotch and Prentiss, that was a huge slap in the face. It also felt like the show was very anti-women in general and that the female characters on the show were just interchangeable. There was a huge backlash against it on LJ at the time and it honestly really soured the entire show for me from that point.

I sort of dipped out of the fandom but I kept watching, through the Jeanne Tripplehorn season and the Jennifer Love Hewitt season, but what was really pissing me off at the time was just... the constant, never-ending episodes about women being raped, tortured and murdered. It just felt like it was every single episode, and I was already burnt out on the show but sort of watching it out of obligation, because I still loved Hotch.

And then Thomas Gibson turned out to be a total fucking dick IRL, he got caught out cheating on his wife with a fan and made this super cringey hot tub video that was fucking gross, and then he punched the producer on set or something and got fired (I can't remember in what order that happened though). As soon as that happened, I went, oh, I'm free. I don't have to watch this shit anymore. I think that was right at the end of Season 9, and so I just stopped watching instantly and never went back to it.

And they literally brought Prentiss back to replace him. It was just like, fucking salt in the wound. The whole thing still makes me angry - not TG getting fired, but just the way the show treated the female characters from Season 6 onwards. It was so fucking shitty and there was no good reason to fire either of them - they ended up bringing AJ Cook back super quickly because they knew they fucked up.

Anyway, 911 is the only "procedural" style show I still watch and I don't consider it a procedural in the traditional sense (there's more emphasis on the personal lives than the work stuff, which I like). I will not watch any other police/fire/medical procedural shows, I'm just not interested. CM really burned my bridges on those.

I still think the earlier seasons of CM were probably pretty good and I have considered rewatching Seasons 1 to 4, or even to the 100th episode again, but... I see clips of it now occasionally and I'm still cringing? So I'm probably not there yet. And I've seen clips of the new season that literally make my skin crawl with how stilted the acting is and how cheap the whole thing seems to be, and I feel like I made the right choice in staying away from it.

(I also absolutely grew to hate MGG/Reid as the show progressed, so yeah.)

In conclusion, I hate it and have no good feelings left towards it. Paget Brewster has always deserved better than CM.

[luna-rainbow]

So I rewatched episode 1 and thought I'd pause this to see what it says, and the text surprised me.

(1st panel incomplete)

Captured by Hydra troops ____(blurry)____ Barnes endured long periods of isolation, depravation and torture. But his will was strong. In an ironic twist of fate, his prison camp was liberated by none other than his childhood friend, Steve Rogers, now Captain America.

(2nd panel)

Reunited, Barnes and Rogers led Captain America's newly formed unit, the Howling Commandos. Barnes' marksmanship was invaluable as Rogers and his team destroyed Hydra bases and disrupted Nazi troop movement throughout the European Theater.

In 1944, while on a mission to thwart a Hydra weapon transport in the Alps, Barnes was thrown from a train and believed to have been killed in action. It wasn't until 2014, over seventy years later, that it was revealed that Barnes was alive, having been found by Hydra operatives.

(3rd panel unclear)

(4th panel also blurry)

Captain America....(unclear).

...aid in escape from custody having been convinced of his innocence. Steve's loyalty to his old friend, coupled with his refusal to sign the Sokovia Accords, led to the dissolution of the Avengers and drove Captain into hiding with other like-minded Avengers, including Natasha Romanoff, Wanda Maximoff, and Sam Wilson. The current whereabouts of Barnes remains unknown, having been labelled a fugitive following his escape from custody.

Maybe this panel is yet to be updated but given they're installing Captain America's shield, you'd think they would have refreshed the information. In this sense:

- The tone of it largely paints Bucky in a positive light, however:

- Bucky's presidential pardon is not on the panel and he's still labelled as a fugitive. This is in a museum where a lot of people frequent.

- In other words his pardon came with multiple crappy caveats including compulsory psychotherapy, not publicly acknowledging his current pardoned status, and not giving him a safe identity to live under. At the same time, they're keeping him closely watched by the military, with Walker/Cap having authority to cancel his therapy because he's "too valuable an asset".

W. T. H. No wonder he's so antagonistic at the beginning.

There was completely no plan to give him a life back, only to toughen him up so he can be used as a weapon again.

PS: It's interesting they used the word "depravation" (and not "deprivation"). Hydra was trying to corrupt Bucky even at his first capture.

[privatedb]

Writing Projects

Updated from original posting.

I thought I would do a post of all the writing projects I have on the go, that you can’t see yet as I don’t like to upload unless I’m a fair way in, or I’ve finished them.

Here goes….

Star Wars:

Shimmer Through the Woods: Part 26 is online, I have written Part 28, part way through Part 27, with another nine parts to go or maybe only two, as I did have an idea about how to shorten the story further just to get it done.

The Good Travelers: Part 1 was posted for the Obidala Valentine Convention in 2014. Eight more parts have been written, the end is nowhere in sight. Obi-Wan and Padmé travel back in time to Episode I.

Plot 8/untitled Obidala & Post Original Trilogy story: This is probably not that far from being finished, but needs a bit of time to be done. Astonishingly it was one of the first star wars fics that I wrote. Its set after ROTJ, when the New Republic opens negotiations with Naboo. Whilst visiting Naboo, Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade discover a prison whose inhabitants will rewrite history.

The Scarlet Jedi: Very much still an idea at present inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baronness Orczy.

Bladed Wings Upon a Star: This is still in developement, but its a time travel story that I fancy exploring, when I have the time. It brings Obi-Wan from ROTS into AOTC and Qui-Gon from before he chose Obi-Wan as his padawan into AOTC. I have about four parts written so far.

Obidala Crossover with a Discovery of Witches: first chapter written, second in progress.  No Vampire or Witch element, but the main plot around Ashmole 782 transported into a star wars universe.

Jane Austen:

Unititled: (This was influenced by Matthew Goode playing Wickham in Death Comes to Pemberley.) When Darcy returns to Pemberley, he revaluates his relationship with Elizabeth, Georgiana and Wickham, who rescues Lydia Bennet in Brighton, which leads to her traumatic demise, resulting in Wickham’s service in the Peninsular War, and eventual redemption. I’m going to try and write it so it fits with Adow maybe.

Serve & Volley: A rewrite of Say Hello, Wave Goodbye, where the Bennets and others take on the world of tennis.

A possible P&P story in the world of Formula One.

A Discovery of Witches:

Untitled: Just an idea which while rewatching the first episode. Diana and Matthew meeting without the book, which is either discovered much later or not at all.

A Star Wars crossover: first chapter written, second in progress.  No Vampire or Witch element, but the main plot around Ashmole 782 transported into a star wars universe.  

A Once Upon a Time Crossover: An idea still in development. Henry is a child prodigy at Oxford, Emma is there with him when she discovers the storybook. Killian, a professor and biochemist has been searching for the storybook for several years and learns of her discovery.

Escaping Death Spinoff: A continuation of that oneshot, an AU of a scene in Shadow of the Night.

A Downton Abbey Crossover/Spinoff: This is a continuation of my ideas from the previous Downton Abbey crossovers I have written, exploring Matthew’s life as Henry Talbot in full.

Untitled: Diana has a horse ranch somewhere in America. Matthew comes to work there with, looking after the horses when his research lab at Oxford gets closed by the Congregation.

Untitled: Diana has a cafe in Oxford, near the university, in which she sells blood among the usual coffee, tea, latte, etc and food. Matthew, Miriam and Marcus meet there, whereupon he meets Diana.

Untitled: Diana has been hired to work as a librarian and archivist at Sept Tours when it opens to public tours after the news of the existence of creatures goes public and the convenant is undone

Unititled: (This was influenced by Matthew Goode playing Wickham in Death Comes to Pemberley.) When Darcy returns to Pemberley, he revaluates his relationship with Elizabeth, Georgiana and Wickham, who rescues Lydia Bennet in Brighton, which leads to her traumatic demise, resulting in Wickham’s service in the Peninsular War, and eventual redemption. I’m going to try and write it so it fits with Adow maybe.

Game of Thrones:

Untitled Tysan: Modern Westros. Tywin Lannister is a photographer, Sansa Stark a fashion model who agrees to a weekend photoshoot away with him.

Untitled Tysan: Old Westros. Tywin Lannister endures several nightmares about the future which causes him to take the Iron Throne and change the lives of his three children, among others. Twenty years later, he goes to the North in search of the woman who was the subject of torture and abuse in his nightmares.

Btvs:

Seasons 6 & 7 of Seasons Rewrite: Episode Guides written, but other fandoms took hold.

Charmed:

A rewrite of Seasons 4-8 to include Prue, Cole and others: I started this and then abandoned it, but I still would like to do it, although at the moment the existence of Paige is up for debate. I’m currently not a fan of Rose McGowan at present. I know that’s no reason to write out her character, so we shall see.

Whether all of these stories will eventually go online is up to the muse. I plan to try and finish Shimmer in the July-October break before I start another year of my degree. After that it shall be whichever I decide to focus on.