#Which one of Benedicts 3 sex scene was more important to the story than the longer dance scene

[0ffbeatt]

I need the Bridgerton S3: Part 2 (Nicola's Version) because clearly she's the one that knew what the people wanted

[choster33]

Bridgerton Season 3 ep 2 Reaction

Again, I am going at this slowly and probably going to be spoiled mercilessly until June but I am watching one episode a week until June. So here is my reaction to Episode 2. Spoilers ahead.

Ok, so I've been spoiled by references to this already. But Colin and the whores. So right now I don't feel any way about this because Colin is over age and single. He is back from Europe and has had the influence of Anthony and Benedict before him. He is not cheating on anyone here and having fun especially because he can. He has the money and the freedom to do it. He is not deflowering virgins and lying to women or mistreating them, he is getting in practice.

Now back to Polin. Ok the discussion about the first meeting is SO CUTE! He brings it up which shows how much of it he remembers and shows that it is important to him, not some insignificant thing. I would be melting! "Because we were children" indeed. The best love starts with friendship and there is no better friends than the ones you have as little children! You are your purest selves! Even Rae the housemaid thinks there's something going on! Plus I love the ease Penelope feels around Colin and that they are friends. Yes!

Colin talking to Penelope about going abroad and finding himself is surprising and refreshing. In the books, a major plot point was Colin chafing at the Bridgerton name and wanting to be known and admired for himself which leads to Penelope encouraging Colin's writing. I wonder if they will ever include Colin writing in the show and am curious about that. But I'm not mad that show!Colin is more at peace and one with himself in the show than the books, it makes him more grounded and by the time they get together Penelope will be getting whole, mature Colin. "Living for the estimation of others is a trap, once you break free, the world opens up." Swoon!

Bridgerton drawing room! Colin listens to her. He asked her where she was most comfortable and uses that information. This is the kind of stuff that makes me love friends to lovers. Whether there is sex involved or not, this is the one person who actually knows you, who actually cares about your wants and needs. He's not doing anything nefarious or even self serving, he is just being her friend. Yes! This is also one of the reasons I've always liked Colin, he is a cinnamon roll sweetheart who truly is a good friend which makes Penelope's crush on him a healthy choice.

OMG! The eyes bit! Yes, Penelope yes! See, she loves the kindness in Colin and she was vulnerable, even he needed a drink then! Ooh they put in the journal reading and hand cutting scene from the books! Yes, it was one of the scenes I loved! He is angry at her for seeing something so intimate, but he also is super close physically to her as well as a type of freedom that someone has seen his most intimate thoughts.

Ooh, hand twitching, he's definitely thinking of Penelope! Eloise is not wrong here, they are single and often unchaperoned, if they are really playing friends and leading to nothing it does not look right, but we know better! Aww, Polin laughing together! Yes, that is a horse joke! One thing I love about Polin is their mutual sense of humor at puns, jokes etc. They are both word nerds at heart and I love it.

Featheringtons and the lack of sex knowledge is a hoot! They are not my favorite people and side story, but I did cackle at that. Aww, I;m glad that Bridgerton is putting people in wheelchairs in the show! Yes and he's not a joke or anything, good for them! And Colin isn't judgmental or disapproving, score!

Ooof, damn you meddling mamas and gossiping bitches leave Penelope alone! And I am proud and clinging to the writers allowing Cressida to be a fully fleshed out person and not just a villain for not starting the gossip. Ooh, yes though on Colin defending Pen so heartily even to his own sister.

I knew Cressida wasn't the culprit! Yes, the writers are really trying to make Cressida a rounded out character and worthy of forgiveness or at least some understanding. I wonder what they are going to do for her as the season progresses... I think it might be a good look to turn things on its head and to put out the message that no one is irredeemable and etc.

The scene of Penelope at the window is so sad, even her mother doesn't believe she will get a husband and she was forced to write as Lady Whistledown about how pathetic she is. She herself knows how the game is played and how courtship works and this is not the way to get a husband, she's definitely in some deep darkness right now.

Then we get Colin coming over to check in on Pen! Ohh, she asked for a kiss! They started and now they are really going for it! Yeehaw! Squee! Omg! SO hot. The look in his eyes afterwards! Oh! I see where Colin is the prince being awakened by the kiss! Pen is like bye thanks for the kiss and it probably meant nothing to you so I won't make a thing out of it. And he is all I did it to be kind to my friend but it feels so good and right and HOT damn what am I feeling?? Yes, yes, yes!

I can't wait for the next two episodes! I'm living for this!

[mysteriouslybluepirate]

Criminal Justice (2007)- Episodes 1-5. Watching Con O'Neill's old stuff cause it's fun. Day #? RALPH STONE!

Warnings: Murder. Blood. Drug Use. Needle Use/Injection is shown on the scene. Drunk driving. Accused/discussed sexual assault. Abusive parents, grief, and general bullshit in the justice system.

Should you watch this if you haven't: YES! Five episodes, each being an hour, but if you don't have any issues with the warning, it should be a fun time. I was on the edge of my seat for most of this show and Con is a very important character! He is on screen more than most of his other tv parts and is having a great time. It's a story about one defendant and the shit that goes down as he's tried for the crime.

Special thanks to:

@dianetastesmetal who I chatted with around midway through about the show! (For me it was ~2 in the morning, so it was a whole lot of fun!)

The Usual Suspects! I would love to hear your thoughts about this show down alone! I want to thank all of you for following me and giving me love. Y'all are enabling my current fixation, and I thank you all! If you haven't seen it, just ignore me <3

@sphealybojeely @thedowneyheart @kimpreg @gydima @ivegotnonameidea @treesofgreen @tummy-stab-wounds @mossiestpiglet @sidewalk-scrawls @crybabyclover @

Criminal Justice- EP 1 (Guest starring my brother)

Why does that kid look like Benedict Cumberbatch?

He just needs a haircut. That hair looks awful.

This takes place in 2008 right? 

Why didn't the dad knock?

He's going to go have sex, huh, he's not going to his friend's house. 

Is he going to abuse his position here? Pretend he's a cab driver?

I feel like cab drivers are trained to drop a rando with no destination to a hospital or a police station. 

Also, a situation that's only playful because it's a young woman. If this were a homeless person? This shit isn't flying. 

DON'T SHARE YOUR FUCKING DRINKS WITH A STRANGER??!?!?!

I got to inform my brother that in England they call soft-served ice cream 'whippies' after the popular brand 'Mr. Whippy', to which he just said 'it's a clown land'

DRUGS! Here we go!

This is suspicious as fuck. Don't take her booze! She's a chick you just met! 

WHY IS THIS HAPPENING

NOOOO! NO. NO. NO. KNIFE GAME IS TAPPING, NOT FUCKING STABBING! WTF! 

Society would be a lot further on if we just stopped caring about peer pressure.

WHAT? HE STABBED HER!?!?!?!?!? WHY ARE THEY FUCKING? 

We have seen so much of this man's ass, why? 

We are 12 minutes in?

Oh. She's dead. She's so dead. 

OH SHIT. Yep thats a stabbing

Brother guesses it was the parent, I say ex lover.

God, he's just bad at this

BRO WENT BACK AND NOW HAS A WITNESS?????

This is an actual ACE ATTORNEY CASE WTF

JESUS FUCKING CHRIST. HE THEN CRASHES THE CAR? ACE ATTORNEY LEVELS OF DUMB!

Bro, is this your first break in?

Ohhh he's fucked. 

Ohhhhh, this is the cops best day of his life

Oh, good luck defense attorney Con. You better get Phoenix Wright levels of bullshit. 

Oh my god, don't fucking fight the cops. 

Bro, take a nap. It's been a long night. 

OH MY GOD IT'S HIM. 

Hello Con! Lovely to see you. Love the rat man fit. I know it's on purpose, but damn. He looks wet.

This is where my brother bullies the shit out of Con. 

OH I LOVE HIM-He's actually giving good legal advice! The cops are going to do whatever they can to get a false conviction.

'No comment man'- Hard nose solicitor I FUCKING LOVE IT

RALPH STONE! TROLLIN'. I love it. GOD I LOVE IT.

It's so much easier to be quiet when you're nervous. 

Lessons to be learned from this tv show: Don't random desperate women, don't fall to peer pressure, don't say shit to the police. 

They wouldn't have left her body there. They would have taken photos then taken the body out of the house asap. It's weird they've waited so long to investigate. 

Solicitation of evidence. It's illegal to receive testimony from a private source without giving the evidence to opposing council. 

Nice that she packed him a sandwich. 

Why is the shitty cops boss so much taller? That's funny. 

Whelp. RIP Ralph, you did all you could. Having the guy almost assault a police officer isn't fun.

OHHHHH!!!!!! RALPH I LOVE IT- GOOD GOD IS HE FUN

Oh this whole detective thing feels illegal. Without his attorney to represent him.

Yeah. Sure. Don't get buddy-buddy with the guy who wants to put you away for years.  

IS THIS DETECTIVE A VILLAIN? Oh, he likes you? FUN.

They're in a public spot, there is no expectation for privacy and this can be recorded, HAHAHAHAHHAHA. GOOD, HE DIDN'T SAY SHIT. 

It's 2007, a bit of weird transphobia was to expected. 

UHHHHH….. I SWEAR TO GOD. DON'T SWAP ATTORNIES!

CLASSIST BRITISH PEOPLE AHHHHH-

OH I'D BE PISSED!!!!!! RALPH IS SO GOOD!!!!!

Oh good, Ralph corrected himself about his client's name and pronouns, nice. 

Ralph at the end of ep 1-'I looked into his eyes, and we vibed. He can't be innocent'

AWWW RALPH STILL WANTS TO HELP HIM EVEN AFTER HE GOT SCREWED OVER BY HIS POSH LAWYERS! God, I love him. 

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EPISODE 2: This is where my brother dipped out, but I summarized as much as I could for him. 

I'm going to be honest I skipped through this ep a ton. I generally got the gyst. I'm here for my guy, you know. 

I watched a bit, but this just establishes our protagonist's life in jail. 

I skipped Ralph's scene/ the trial. Seriously the preview in ep 1 gives you the gist. Read a summary. Etc. His roomie is great.  

AHHH RALPHS SMILE. "I don't care what you'd do as a lawyer, just as a human being" AHHH. 

GOD HIS CELLMATE IS SO GOOD.

HAHHHAHHAHAHAHHAH! WTF?!?!?!??! Oh, poor ralph. You guy just blowing up in court.

At this point, if I was Ralph Stone, I wouldn't really believe him, but that's what that whole grin was for. He just knew our guy was innocent!

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Episode 3

Oh good. Protag was able to deep throat the drugs. 

Ralph! AHHH!! God, he has great outfits in this show. 

WHY DOES RALPH HAVE A FOOT THING? I noticed it earlier, but why are we drawing attention to it. 

Oh good, Ralph doesn't want to senselessly tarnish a dead girl's name. Nice. 

THAT FACE! Uh, the reluctant face! Chewing on the lip! 

Ralph! AHHH!! God, he has great outfits in this show. 

WHY DOES RALPH HAVE A FOOT THING? I noticed it earlier, but why are we drawing attention to it. 

Oh good, Ralph doesn't want to senselessly tarnish a dead girl's name. Nice. 

THAT FACE! Uh, the reluctant face! Chewing on the lip! Love it.

Ohhh, god. Ralph's a good actor. That's cute. 

OHH THE DETECTIVE ALSO BEING THERE! SHIT. RALPH RUN!

GOD HIM BEING VAGUE AS SHIT TO A WITNESS! I love it. 

'With alpha brain?' What the fuck?

AHHH! I LOVE RALPH. 

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA. I got to see his chest :)

Oh, Ralph doesn't like this at all. But shit. Not much he can do. 

Oh no. It's really not ethical. And this yonger lady is going to mess it up. 

AHAHHAHAAAHAHAAA. THE WIGS! 

Is this inadvertently informing the audience of how fucked the courts can be. Which is both good and bad. People deserve to know exactly what our lawyers know.   

RALPH BEING THE FUCKING SAD DOG MIDDLEMAN THAT NEEDS TO RUN BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM IS SO FUNNY. 

Ralph with glasses gives me life. 

OH SHIT THE FRIEND SHOWED UP?

Okay, this is fun. But maybe let's not make jokes in a murder trial?

I love the one juror struggling to stay awake. Showing that even with all these verbal chess, they still need to convince the jury. 

Hey, babe. If you really fucking hate prison, maybe don't give a shit about how your mom reacts here!

Good on Ralph. Trying to speak up for her. 

(Seeing Ralphs…ex? For the first time) Oh I love them. WHAT ARE THEY ON?

OH SHE MOVED ON, GOD HIS ACTING. A SECOND TO SEE THAT FULL FUCKING FACE JOURNEY! 

Oh good. We can really hate the cops now. I mean, I already did. BUT. 

OHHH DO THEY HAVE FOOTAGE. 

OH, HE COMPLIMENTS RALPH WHEN IT LOOKS GOOD IN FRONT OF THE JURY. 

God I hate her(lead defense lady), but this scene is fun. 

RALPH IS HAVING SUCH A GOOD TIME. He's watching the divorced parents fight and he loves it. He should be allowed to smile.

Ha, she's sowing seeds of guilt but that's really not how the law works. 

Ralph-'I told you not to talk two episodes ago, and you do it fucking now?!?!??!?!'

Is Ralph being kinda shitty? Yes. Is there any other option right now? Nope. 

Them showing how mentally I'll people in prison are severely punished without being able to seek help is cool. 

Back to court- OHHHH! SHIT. Yeah, digging at how the medical examiner is only going on prosecution for the state is suspicious as fuck. 

FUCK. ASSHOLE DON'T SAY SHIT! DONT CONTRADICT THE DEFENSE!!!!!

SHIT

Ralph, mentally deciding if now is a good place to just call it a day when his client is just begging to go to jail.

OH ANOTHER FUCKING CON CHARACTER WHO FELL IN LOVE THE WRONG WAY!!?!?!?!??!?!!? Well, that fills out my bingo card. This makes maybe 20 characters. I swear to god, if he ends up sad and alone I will make a Con O'Neill drinking game. 

"Are you calling me a hypocrite?" *Slight head tilt* -ME rolling on the floor laughing

Good on Ralph for staying with him though. 

AWWW. Ralph's an asshole but this is one of the few cases that's gotten to him! I love it. :)

Aww, they are sweet as a couple, but he needs to reorient himself. Find his own center and work on not 'always looking for doubt' before moving on. 

OH GOD! Don't fucking smile Con. It's mean. To me. Personally. 

AHHH! HIS TICKS WHEN HE'S LYING! Okay, that's funny as shit. I love him.

It's good that the main defense younger lady and the defendant trust each other. AND CON'S GRIN!

Say what you will, this man loves his job

OH SO YOU'LL LET THE SENIOR DEFENSE CHAT AND BE EXTRA BUT NOT THE JUNIOR! RUDE!

OHHHH SHIT THEY GAVE HIM BACK (the inhaler) EVIDENCE

AHHHHHHH!H!H!H!H!HH!H!HH HE TOOK EVIDENCE BITCH! It proves that he stayed in her bed

RALPH SMILING AHHHH!H!H!H!H!H!HH!

Oh they're getting him addicted to drugs to keep him loyal. Whelp. That's going to ruin him.

EPISODE 4:

Why is Ralph going into his clients home? 

Ralph(I'm paraphrasing)- Look, I'm a hard ass. I'm a dick who usually has guilty clients and does what he can to abuse loopholes and police mistakes to get them free. If I have a gut feeling, that really fucking matters. So I'm going to do what I can. 

Yeah, the neighbor did it

OHHHH! SHE PULLED RANK ON RALPH AHAHAHAHAHHAHA

Stone is pissed, and doesn't want to freak out in court. OR HE'S GOING TO EXAMINE A WITNESS?

What act is he playing here? I love it. He's being a clever cheeky bastard. Knowing how people want to treat court like they're the important heros that can save the day! AHAHHAH! I love it. 

"Are you the kind of person-"- SHUT THE FUCK UP-He's just trying to establish his character before crushing it.

OHHH THEY ARE ABUSING THE SHIT OUT OF HIS COYNESS AND NERVOUSNESS WHEN TALKING ABOUT SEX. 

AND HE'S HIDING EVIDENCE

Ralph, I love you. Babe. This is the kind of trust in the justice system I need. 

Another court scene goes by without note. But Ralph shows up? Oh boy, I'm typing. 

OOOOHHHH RALPH GETS TO BE A DETECTIVE!

SCENE SKIP

WHY ARE THE CLIENT AND YONGER LADY DEFENSE ATTORNEY SMOOCHIN? EXCUSE ME? ISN'T THAT AGE GAP WEIRD??!?!?!??!?

Oh good. Ralph. 

OH MY GOD HIM FUCKING SITTING ON THE TABLE? Me Moment. Queer? Coded. I'm assigning it to him. I'm giving him an honorary badge even though this is probably one of his straightest roles. 

Ralph- "I like getting my clients off." YEAH so does she! *Ba Dumb Tisk*. See, Ralph is smart. Get entangled with others in the arm of the law, not your fucking client. 

Scene passes without note. But a few prison scenes go by. 

GLASSES!!!!!! Look at them! THE EXAMINER GENUINELY HELPED. I'd also be smiling at him like that. 

Aww, Ralph's trying to ask without asking to hang out with a friend. 

Skipped a bit. Back in court. 

AWW Ralph and the yonger female defense attorney leaning together to chat. 

BRO HE IS SO WHIPPED FOR THE EXAMINER! I LOVE THIS!!!!!

THAT FUCKING SMILE. GOOD FOR HIM! GOOD FOR HELLEN! I love that they're immediately like, yeah, this might be a conflict of witness BUT. She still has a point.

I WOULD BE SWAYED BY HIS CHARM! I HAVE BEEN SWAYED BY HIS CHARM.

DAMN. Good on the friend/witness. 

Oh wow, the cellmate is just as shitty and corrupt as everyone else? I'm shocked. 

I love Ralph trying his best here. 

"You're 46 years old, what do you know about justice?" :0. WOW.

OH SHIT THIS MIGHT FUCK THIS ALL UP. CALLING IN THE DAD IF HE HAS AN ALIBI

OHHHH FUCK. RALPH IS A SECOND FROM STEPPING IN. 

OHHHH FUCK. GOOD ON HER. CALL THE DAD OUT FOR BEING ABUSIVE. 

FUCK if they pull her in the case is fucked. 

YEP RALPH SEES IT! SHIT!!!!!! 

EP 5: 

JURY CONSIDERING VERDICT! 

HI RALPH! LOVE YOU BABE!

Hour and a half deliberation is good! 

Yeah, I should have seen that coming. 

WHELP. SHIT. 

He's going to kill himself within a year. Calling it now. 

That moment when you work the same job as our prisoner protagonist 😐. Hey, don't dis a dishwashing job, protag. It's nice and easy.

HI CON! 

"'Self-deprecating jokes get you out of hard questions'- avoids the question by shoving toast in his mouth"-me. God, I was messaging @dianetastesmetal during this bit. Who pointed out how loving these characters is a form of self-love, and I will partially embrace it. Maybe I just want to see a man with a nice chest and a nice smile huh! ;)

Oh good, the protagonist is doing more drugs. Love that

GLASSES! I AM BACK ON MY WHORE SHIT. 

The hugging of the book! THE GRINNING! AHH!

This is why Ralph is emotionally distant, 'cause he's lost good cases before. HAHAHAHHA HE CAN'T LET IT GO. 

AHHHHH!H!H!H!HH!!H  THE TUFTED-UP HAIR ENTERING THE PRISON!

OH SHIT! RALPH INVESTIGATING THEIR RELATIONSHIP! He's asking the protagonist to sell out his legal advisor! 

No, RALPH IS SO RIGHT! She abused her station and got too close. 

Oh good. Another arm of the law is weird around police reports and evidence. Great.  

AHHH! Her sewing that little tidbit in the cop's head! She's onto him! 

Yeah, good on our protag to stand up for himself. 

Cellmate is going to get killed cause he knew too much, huh. 

Hey, good on the cop for looking into it a bit more. Still a jackass. But you know. 

Skipped a few scenes without note.

OHHH SHIT HE FILED THE SUIT!!!!!!! GOOD ON RALPH! We love a man who cares about giving justice to his client. 

'Frances- out for blood after Ralph is about to ruin her career'

 'Ralph-Half passed out on a couch with a rag over his eyes, already done with this conversation. Ready to throw every insult she directed to him back into his face.'

Ralph knew to get romantically entangled with a medical examiner and not a fucking witness.

GET IT RALPH! God, good for him. SHE ABUSED HER POSITION! She took everything they worked for and threw it all away. She didn't let their client find justice. 

Yeah, cellmate's about to die, huh. 

OHHHH SHIT! GET IT!!!!!! Good on him! Yeah, he's going to get murdered, but good on him. MURDER THAT BASTARD! 

OHHH SHIT. THE ASSHOLE COP HELPED THE MOB! 

GOOD ON THE CHIEF FOR CALLING HIM OUT! DAMN! 

Oh, wow. Ben's life is ruined. He's hooked on drugs, and he thinks he has no prospects in life. 

Now he can't fall asleep without listening to the radio.

Hi Ralph. Why are we talking about your feet? 

Frances is fucked essentially. 

Yeah, going in for a mistrial was the right option. 

Yeah, no. Nothing would have changed if Ben told Ralph the truth the moment they met. Good on Ralph! Giving our protag a bit of closure on this whole thing. Telling that none of this was really his fault.  

Yep. He had his last few free years of youth ripped from him. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Final thoughts:

I think the fact that this was a mob member being the real murder and that it was covered up was the real thing here. The entire point and moral the audience was meant to learn. It didn't matter if Ben had the best case, the entire Crown was against him. Ralph and his team could have been the best defense lawyers in the world and it still would have gotten buried. I'm happy the final evidence came out, obviously, but Ben was fucked over in so many ways. Now what life does he have? He lost his friends, his trust in his family, and is now destined to fall back into the system he knows. It's a shame. 

Con: 11+/10. Long hair AND glasses AND he's Exhausted! Perfect role. I want him. I want to be him. He's divorced, and sad, and I love it.

Ralph saved this series for me personally. He was so much fun. I will be updating the Con list here soon to include bit TV roles. Ralph is going to be high on my ranking. We are given a Con character who has REAL impact on the story, introduces the audience to the rules of this world, AND GETS A HAPPY ENDING! It's brilliant. Obviously, there are moral issues to him being such a good defense attorney to allow criminals to get away, but this whole story was about giving Ralph a different perspective. He's a slime-ball but he's not totally against change. Willing to look at other perspectives. He started to genuinely care about his client, and didn't treat it as some weird game of chess. Him genuinely helping the younger defense attorney was nice, especially because he rarely blew up at her for her choices. He did his best to help where he could and didn't take things personally when shit blew up. 

Con's acting here is so fun and fluid! I hate being a person that ties OFMD into everything, but this is kind of what I want Izzy to become. Con's allowed to be fun! He's allowed to be mad, suspicious, have doubt etc. There are a few scenes that got me chuckling just by his face! He feels really confident and comfortable in this role. He talks with his hands! He's a dick, a total slime-ball, but he really cares about getting things done right! I love it. 

Everyone else: 8/10. Nothing really stood out besides our protagonist, and after a quick google, he won an award for this role. Which is deserved. He does great. I liked the characters the show wanted me to like, and vice versa. 

Story 7/10: Intriguing. I had fun, but this show sits more in the turn off your brain and gets swept along by the bullshit, vs trying to solve it yourself. 

Overall. 9/10: I highly recommend it if the tags don't worry you. Con is in this enough to justify a Con watch. I have a thing for Professor esk Con. I will not be ashamed about that. His whole speech about how he was perceived was nice. Now, this is about five hours of commitment, but If you need something longer I'd recommend it.

[womeninfilms]

Tipping the Velvet

First aired: 09 October 2002 – 23 October 2002

Number of episodes: 3

Length: ~ 1 h per episode

Genre: Drama, Romance

Language: English

Director: Geoffrey Sax

Script: Andrew Davies

Starring: Rachael Stirling, Keeley Hawes, Anna Chancellor, Jodhi May, John Bowe, Sally Hawkins, Alexei Sayle

Story: Tipping the Velvet, based on Sarah Waters’ book of the same name, tells the story of Nan Astley (Rachael Stirling), a young woman from Kent, who falls in love with the singer Kitty Butler (Keeley Hawes) and follows her to London. There, Kitty breaks her heart and Nan tries to find a new home, first as a sex slave to Diana Lethaby (Anna Chancellor), later as a housekeeper to Florence Banner (Jodhi May).

Pros:

BBC miniseries: Tipping the Velvet is a BBC miniseries consisting of three episodes, like so many famous series of the same format, most famously adaptions of Jane Austen novels. It is quite similar to the three-hour long versions of Price and Prejudice or Emma, but it’s about sapphic women. Growing up loving those Jane Austen adaptions, I also fell in love with Tipping the Velvet immediately. This three-part structure also works perfectly for this story since the novel also is structured into three parts. It’s also nice to watch a BBC miniseries which is not about the upper class, but working-class people, as is the case with this story.

Internalised homophobia (sort of): One part of the story is concerned with Nan trying to find out who she is. When the story starts, she is dating Freddy (Benedict Cumberbatch), a young man from her village. However, she doesn’t feel any attraction towards him and only does what is expected of her. She thinks there is something wrong with her for not loving Freddy. Later, she realises she has the feelings she is supposed to be having for men for a woman and accepts this as something completely normal almost right away. It becomes clear that she never even considered being in love with a woman was possible, but once she learns that, she only wants to be around people who accept her. She also doesn’t see any difference between Freddy’s attraction to her and her attraction to Kitty, thinking if these feelings are similar then she has to be normal, even though she feels them for a woman.

Gender is a construct: The book puts a lot of emphasis on the fact that gender is constructed by society and works this into the story. This is also done in the miniseries, and this transfer from book to TV works well because you can see people’s looks and clothes instead of just reading about them.

Faithful to the book: The miniseries takes its time (it’s three hours long in total), so it’s also really faithful to the book; there aren’t any major cuts or changes. The ending is a bit different than it is in the book, the finale is set in a theatre instead of in a tent and Nan returns home to introduce Florence to her family, but apart from that the miniseries almost tells the exact same story. They even kept parts which could have been controversial: The most important sex scenes are shown, including Diana Lethaby’s dildo.

Three separate love stories: Due to the structure of the book, the miniseries consists of three different love stories. Nan is shown falling in love with Kitty, then being sucked into the world of Diana Lethaby, and finally discovering her feelings for Florence. This way you get three different love stories for the price of one.

Domestic lesbians: If you watch the miniseries for nothing else, watch it for the third episode, in which Nan works as Florence’s housekeeper before falling in love with her. Then Nan is happy with a simple life, raising a child together with Florence and her brother Ralph (Hugh Bonneville), settling for a life full of domestic bliss.

Cons:

Artsy miniseries: Even though Tipping the Velvet is quite similar to other (straight) BBC miniseries, there is one major difference: It’s much more artsy and over-the-top. For example, there are lots of images insinuating sex, like a shot of Nan having oral sex with a man intercut by a close-up of a horse having a carrot inserted into its mouth and biting it. There is nothing wrong with taking a more artsy approach to the subject, but it can be off-putting if you were expecting a classical, conservative BBC miniseries.

Self-pity: Especially during the second episode, Nan suffers from self-pity, often saying she belongs in the gutter or that her life is very horrible, and she is very unhappy. Even though this is done to keep the audience feeling for Nan, it gets a bit annoying after some time because Nan moans about her life but never does anything to change it.

Homophobia: 3/10 – There are some instances of homophobia in this miniseries, mostly during the first episode. Nan’s sister Alice (Monica Dolan) warns her from getting to close to Kitty because she thinks that people like her aren’t normal. When Nan confesses to her she is in love with Kitty, Alice calls Nan disgusting and her life dirty. Kitty and Nan’s manager Walter Bliss (John Bowe) says that their relationship cannot be real because two women can’t have sex with each other – you always need a man for that. In the third episode, Nan and Florence are verbally assaulted in front of a pub, but Nan fights back.

Violence: 0/10 – There is no (physical) violence against characters because of their sexual orientation.

Ending: In the end, Nan has to decide between Florence and Kitty and chooses Florence. They lead a life of domestic bliss, raising a child together. The final scene shows them getting ready to meet Nan’s parents.

Sexual orientation: The story mostly focuses on Nan discovering that she is a lesbian. Bisexuality is mentioned and Kitty can be read as either bisexual or suffering from internalised homophobia (at least she chooses Walter over Nan). Florence is also a lesbian because she never even so much as mentions men.

[natasha-cole]

That’s What Friends Are For Chapter 8: With Friends Like These

Pairing: Rob Benedict x Reader

Chapter Summary: It seems as if everyone that Reader has considered to be a friend is pushing her out of their lives. Decisions are made, no matter how painful they may be.

Word Count: 2964

Warnings: angst, swears

Notes: A short chapter to move things alone. Not a lot of Rob here.

Also, I love the entire cast. They are the sweetest. I don’t honestly think they act this way, but every story needs someone to drive the angst.

Catch Up: Chapter 1  Chapter 2  Chapter 3  Chapter 4  Chapter 5  Chapter 6  Chapter 7

You really didn’t want to be at this convention. You had considered cancelling your appearance altogether. It was bad enough that you and Rob were in such an awkward position with each other, but it also didn’t help that you knew everyone else still had their opinions about you and what had gone on between you and Rob to begin with. The fact that you were no longer talking to him wasn’t going to make you look any better.

You arrived at your hotel anyway, trying to decide the best way to avoid Rob for the weekend. You were still angry and you weren’t even sure what you would be feeling when you had to see him again. You hung out in your room that night, bored and alone. Usually, you’d get together with the rest of the group and do dinner or something; but no one had called or texted at all, which really wasn’t a surprise to you.

You stayed in, ordering room service and watching TV. You held onto a small sliver of hope that someone would call you or text you to hang out. You knew that the few people who had your back weren’t here yet, so you knew deep down that you would be on your own tonight.

Later that night, your phone buzzed with a notification from Twitter and you checked it, seeing that Briana had posted a picture. You hesitantly went to her post and then felt your heart drop. It was a photo of everyone at some restaurant having dinner together. “The gang’s all here!” the caption read. Sure enough, everyone that was always a part of the first day of the cons was there. Everyone except you. You studied the picture for a moment, taking note of how happy everyone looked to be together again; mostly your eyes fell on Rob as you felt your heart break all over again. He looked as if he hadn’t just lost his best friend. He looked like he was enjoying himself just fine without you. You didn’t know why it hurt so much to see him given the way he had treated you, but seeing his face hurt worse than you could have ever imagined. You exited the app, putting your phone aside as you pulled the blankets over your head. You didn’t want to cry; but the frustration and loneliness that you were feeling was really building up.

You didn’t sleep well that night. You thought a lot about how things had gone with Rob. While you had done well in pushing the thoughts from your mind while you were back home, lying here alone in the deafening silence of your hotel room left you vulnerable to the intrusive thoughts. You let it all replay in your head; the way he didn’t hesitate to call you for a hookup after you had given in once. You recalled the phone call in which you told him to fuck off and that you were done with him. You relived the way you had felt when he told you to back off and how he had called you clingy. Mostly, you thought about what it had been like to be with him after so many years. You had been single for so long, losing yourself in trying to meet someone, dating and feeling disappointed with any man that you fell into any sort of intimacy with.

Being with Rob had been a relief given the limited dating scene that you had experienced. You knew that sleeping together had simply been a way for him to move on and get over his ex. For you, even though you didn’t want to admit it, it had felt comforting and… right. You had thought at one point that maybe things could work out differently between you. The sex had been amazing, you felt a connection to him that you hadn’t felt with anyone else that you had encountered during your tireless attempts at dating. Maybe it had been the fact that you were already so close and he was something familiar to you. Maybe you might have started to fall in love with him, thinking that since things had ended for him and Julia, maybe now things would work between the two of you.

Sitting in the green room the next day, you kept to yourself. No one acknowledged you anyway; so you put on headphones and pretended to listen to music to make it look like you weren't a total loser. You waited rather impatiently for the day to start, knowing that you had a busy schedule that would at least keep you busy enough so that you wouldn’t think to much.

You played on your phone, switching between apps mindlessly and nervously now that you could feel occasional stares in your direction. Briana, Kim, and the other guys from the band were sat at a table on the other side of the room; and you knew that they were looking at you. You kept pretending as if you didn’t notice. You might have been better off actually listening to music, but you wanted to be aware if someone was talking to or about you.

The others must have been trying to test you, because you definitely heard your name mentioned as you sat there. You didn’t look up, didn’t even give a hint that you could hear them. Unfortunately, ignoring the situation left them to believe that you really were deaf to their discussion, and it quickly turned into free-range for them to talk about you.

“I can’t believe she’s even here still,” you heard Kim mutter, “After what she did? How can she even show her face anymore.”

“It’s because she has no shame,” Briana added. “Poor Rob obviously doesn’t want her here.”

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen him not talk to her,” you heard Mike say. “They used to be inseparable.”

“Well, I think he’s realized his mistake,” Kim offered. “It’s for the best, him avoiding her.”

“I just can’t believe she did this. She seemed so supportive of the two of them.” Billy spoke up now, sounding a little bit sad as he talked. You’d almost believe that he seemed to be more apprehensive in believing everything than anyone else.

“She was until she realized she was going to lose him,” Briana replied. “I just didn’t think she was the type to break up a relationship just because her friend was caught up in someone who wasn’t her.”

“It’s pretty selfish.” Stephen agreed.

“Well, I don’t think he’s any less guilty of what happened.” Again, Billy sounded as if he might be sticking up for you.

“Maybe not,” Briana agreed, “but he wouldn't have done this if she hadn’t seduced him. We all know that he was always way more into her than she was with him. She just waited until he was happy with someone else to fuck his life up. Obviously she doesn’t care about him that much. You don’t mess up someone’s life if you love them.”

You still didn’t believe the fact that apparently everyone thought Rob had been interested in you as more than a friend. How was it that they all saw this and you never did? You felt your face heat up as you listened to them ramble on. There were a lot of sour words said about you, a lot of disappointment in their voices; at least Billy continued to sound as if he wasn’t one-hundred percent in agreement that all of this was only your fault, or that it had gone the way that everyone else believed it had.

You wanted to cut in, you wanted for them to know the truth finally. You wanted for them to stop hating you and being misinformed about all of this. You almost did say something, until you thought back to how humiliated Rob had been by the fact that he had been cheated on. You knew you couldn’t be the one to talk about why things had ended with Julia. Even though you were furious with him and you devastated by his treatment of you, you still cared for him. Your love for him was more important than saving face with everyone else. You decided to be the bigger person. No matter how badly you wanted to call Briana and everyone else out on their treatment of you, you kept quiet. They were angry with you, you understood that. But you’d be damned if you sunk to their level of pettiness.

During a moment of downtime, you watched as everyone discussed karaoke for the night; who would sing what, what costumes each of them would wear… you said nothing as Matt volunteered himself to wear the tiger costume, the only costume that you ever wore to karaoke. You bit your tongue, still understanding that they were gradually trying to push you out.

“The tiger is your costume,” Rich said to you. For some reason, he didn’t appear to be upset by you or your presence here.

“Yeah, I mean, I always do that one.”

“Matt, maybe you should do something else,” Rich said as he glanced to Matt.

“It’s okay,” you blurted out, “I’m not going to karaoke. I’m uh- not feeling well.”

“Too bad,” Briana mumbled.

You blushed, noticing the snark laced in her voice as she spoke. You glanced over to Rob out of habit, but the man was doing well in pretending that you weren’t there.

You wanted him to look at you. You wanted him to acknowledge that you were still here. Yes, he was going through some things, but you wanted him to recognize that you were hurting as well; and most of that hurt stemmed from the way that he had treated you.

When the discussion shifted to the concert, you perked up sightly. SNS was always a treat, it was the one night that you all made sure you were involved in. You had found yourself during your first performance when you had joined the show and the con circuit. Music was one thing that you and Rob shared a love for, and he had supported you in pursuing it a little more than you had ever considered. You singing with the band on stage was just something that was expected now. There was never a convention in which you sat on the sidelines.

As the set-list was discussed, you of course being excluded from the conversation, you quickly learned that this would be the first time you would sit on the sidelines. The realization hit you hard as you paid attention to the fact that the set-list was pretty much ready to go, and you were no longer included on it.

Before the meeting ended, you hastily gathered your belongings and darted from the room. You felt humiliated and alone. You felt angry and sad. You decided to call it a day since you were done with your responsibilities for now. You needed to be alone, and nobody objected as you left.

The last day, it was more of the same. You had been left out of karaoke, rejected from the concert, and continued to wander alone as you made your way to photo ops and autographs and panels. It was as if you were in a dream most of the time and everyone in that dream didn’t see you.

At the end of the day, you sat alone for some time until a familiar face approached you. You smiled up at Mark as he joined you. It felt strange really to have someone take notice that you still existed.

“And why are you sitting over here all alone?” Mark asked as he took a seat next to you.

“I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but literally everyone is going out of their way to avoid me this weekend.”

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. The whole thing with Rob, right?”

“I’m beginning to think that everyone still believes that he cheated on Julia with me and I’m the reason his engagement ended. Everyone still thinks I’m a homewrecker.”

“You could just tell them the truth,” he replied, “screw what Rob thinks.”

“Yeah, I guess I could. But, I’m not sure that anyone would believe me over sweet, innocent Rob.”

“So, what? You just sit here all alone every convention weekend? You let them drive you out of all of the extra stuff? You allow them to give you looks and talk about you? I’ve seen it, you know. I’ve been hearing everything. I try to tell them that they’re misinterpreting the situation, but no one seems to care.”

“See, it’s not worth it,” you chuckled. “Thanks for having my back though.”

“Even Rob isn’t talking to you,” he pointed out.

“Yeah, we sort of had a falling out.”

“Over what?” He looked at you sympathetically, waiting as you considered how to word this.

“I’ll just say… it’s best to stay friends with your friends. Taking things any further is a mistake and it ruins things.”

“Hmm, that’s very misleading. I thought the two of you didn’t do the things that everyone is saying you did.”

“I didn’t hook up with him while he was in relationship. I was simply a good friend who was there for my best friend when his relationship ended.”

“Ah, that makes more sense. Still, you should probably clear the air,” he insisted. “Otherwise, it’s going to get more lonely when you’re sitting in a corner by yourself every other weekend.”

“Nothing to worry about. This is my last convention.”

He stared at you in disbelief. “You’re leaving?”

“Yeah, I’m done with all of this. I have a used-to-be best friend who used me and now doesn’t talk to me, a bunch of I-thought-they-were friends who talk about me and treat me like shit, probably a lot more ex-fans who say and do even worse. What’s the point?”

“You don’t have to do that. I still like you. Ruth and Osric still like you.”

“I’ve already talked to the organizers. Luckily I’m not contractually binded to these things, so I was able to back out easily.”

“What about the show?” He asked quietly. You studied him, realizing that he already knew your answer.

“I’m finishing out the season, then I’m done. I think they wanted to kill me off anyway, it works out for everyone.”

“Oh, Y/N,” he sighed, shaking his head when you finished speaking.

“It’s fine. I’m just going to move on to other things. Hopefully better things.”

“It won’t be the same without you.”

“It’s not the same now,” you said with a forced smile. You felt yourself tear up and Mark looked at you sadly. He said nothing else; he simply wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into him so that he could hold you. You let yourself cry silently, not wanting to bring attention to yourself, but knowing that at least he would comfort you. If nothing else, at the end of it all, you knew that a few people would care.

As the con came to a close, you wasted no time in collecting your things and heading out of the last green room you would ever share with these people. You took a brief moment to look around before you walked out, stopping on the faces of the people that you had grown to love and know; the same people who you had lost just as easily. None of them knew that you were done, they certainly wouldn’t care either. You let out a sigh, turning to leave finally. You admit you felt a bit of regret and heartache as you walked away, but you knew that no one would miss you.

Once you boarded your flight, you took solace in the fact that you would at least be going home for a while to be alone without having your friends ignore you and talk about you. You could finally be alone without scrutiny and without having to see Rob’s face every day.

You stared out the window of the plane, just thinking to yourself even though you didn’t really want to. You were lost for a moment until you remembered that you had to put your phone on airplane mode. You got your phone out, making the move to shut it off when you noticed that you had a text message. No one had texted you in days, so you opened it only to see that it was from Rob. you hesitated, wondering if you really wanted to hear from him again. You wondered what other horrible things he had to say to you. You opened the text and read it, confused and angry at the fact that he was still acting this way.

Rob: Are you okay? You seemed off this weekend.

That was it. Just a general observation that downplayed the fact that you were miserable. It was almost friendly, despite the fact that you knew this friendship was over. You were certain that he knew that too. You thought about answering him; telling him that you were not okay and that it was his fault. You were angry at the way he kept on acting oblivious to all of this. Everyone hated you and you knew damn well that he saw that.

Again, you chose not to stoop to that level. You shut your phone down, tossing it in your bag as you propped a pillow up against the window. You steadied your breathing as you felt your chest ache again, reminding yourself that it wasn't worth it to keep letting him play games with you. He could easily say terrible things to you, ignore you for weeks; you could do the same.

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[abumblebeeat221b]

Sherlock and the Female Gaze

If anyone asked me to point them to the most revolutionary piece of media ever created I’d probably show them Doctor Who (because guys - nothing beats a show that is basically Sherlock Holmes in space and keeps reinventing itself every other year).

But the second thing would be Sherlock. Not Doyle’s original, not the Rathbone, Granada, Soviet, new Russian adaptations (even though they are dear to me). Just 13 episodes of a TV show that was only ever meant to win some obscure film award in Eastern Europe and became a success over night instead.

The fandom that does its research has spent seven years trying to pinpoint its secret and the only thing we can agree on are three little words: it looks pretty.

On a more serious note: it is probably the first thing which made male eye-candy unashamedly mainstream. It is the millennial version of Pride and Prejudice, of Mr. Darcy, only that this time society doesn’t expect the story to bore our boyfriends to death.

And I’m not even sure that was something Mofftiss and Co were aiming for.

You see. It is a truth universally acknowledged that men have no idea what women like. They confuse it with male power fantasies ALL THE TIME because that’s what the media tells them we are day dreaming about. They are shocked to learn that we think Loki to be the sexually most appealing hero villain in the Avangers, that we consider Rodger from the original 101 Dalmatians to be perfect boyfriend material, that yes, we’d happily choose a dog loving, kind individual (with great hair) over most more manly super heroes out there.

And Sherlock ticks all the right boxes for women to find him attractive, while most guys wouldn’t think that lanky nerd to be much of a competition for them.

The cherry on our metaphorical fandom-cake is that Sherlock  is pretty much the first thing produced for a main stream audience I know of* which treats its leading male character as if he was a woman in order to cater to the female gaze (because the lgbqt+ community was not the only reason why the name Cumberbatch has showed up on most versions of the sexiest men alive lists since 2010/11).

Women look at Sherlock and think ‘sexy’ because we’ve been conditioned by the media to recognise this is what ‘sexy’ looks like.

And this my friends is where the magic happens.

You want the list? Here have the list:

A well-tailored suit is to women what lingerie is to men. And let me tell you Sherlock wearing suits doesn’t look like a coincidence from over here.

The coat. It’s like a cape. Only way cooler.

The buttons which deserve their own award™. We all know the story behind the coat™, but I’m not aware of the official one explaining why Sherlock couldn’t buy the purple shirt of sex™ in a bigger size (lucky us he didn’t). On a sidenote: too small dress sizes and strained buttons are exactly what actresses are expected to wear in front of the camera.

The white sheet of possibilities. Sherlock Holmes visits Buckingham palace wearing nothing but a sheet BECAUSE THE SCRIPT SAYS SO and I can’t be the only one feeling reminded of the long standing tradition of women having to take off their clothes for very important plot reasons™. Two series later, Moffat does it again, and while IMHO Sherlock should have kept his hospital gown on in His Last Vow, I’m aware that is a pretty problematic™ thing to say given how it belongs to the most beloved (i.e. gifed and photoshopped) bits of that episode. (While at the same time, apart from Irene Adler, we have no idea what the Sherlock ladies wear underneath).

The cheekbones. Oh. The. Cheekbones. It is shocking exactly no one that Carrie Fisher was asked to lose weight every time she played Princess Leia (yes, also that one). Benedict Cumberbatch lost weight for series 2, then went to play the villain in Star Trek: Into Darkness, came back to series 3 having to lose those muscles and some weight - which goes against the *typical* male beauty standards in the industry, just saying. (NB: I’m pretty sure he did it again for TAB and series 4, but series 2 and series 3 are the only instances I’m aware of him mentioning it).

The weapons of a woman. When was the last time the male hero was allowed to lose? James Bond gets the girl because he is the best agent out there. It’s always the best knight who slays the dragon and saves the princess. I agree today personality matters - but that just means that now he needs to slay the dragon AND be charismatic on the top of it.

Heroes aren’t damsels in distress, they don’t get favours because of their looks and smiles, they don’t rely on other people or need emotional support. They are lone wolves, strong and self-efficient in every possible sense of the word and they have more than just their muscles to show for it.

Not in Sherlock.

Odds (*literally odds*) are Sherlock wouldn’t have survived the first episode without John.

Here we have someone who manipulates Molly (and clients alike) using his charm to get what he wants. Sherlock relies on his social network all the time, his adventures are about showing us how being the Cleverest™, the Best™ does not equal success.

He gets saved, beaten and drugged by Irene Adler, and just in case we’d still have some illusions left, the script for that scene describes the leading male character with the words ‘weak as a kitten’. I leave you to draw your own conclusions.

In the same episode he wins a fight because of pepper spray.

He relies on his brother’s help to beat Moriarty. He shoots Magnussen because even Mycroft’s long arm doesn’t end up being long enough. The only reason he makes it out of that mess alive is his freaking sister he isn’t even aware of.

The point is. Sherlock is right when he points out the obvious: he is no hero, but a mess who solves crimes as an alternative to getting high. Yes, he is phenomenally good at what he does. But he also needs an assistant, someone who takes some part of the responsibilities off his not-so-bulky shoulders and helps him to win those victories.

The fairytale of the high-functioning sociopath. For some baffling reason, sometime between now and the dark middle ages humankind decided that European culture only ever allows men to seek companionship when somehow sex (or bragging about sex) is involved.

This is why “being friendzoned” is the worst that can happen to the modern man™. This is why they honestly don’t get the concept of just friends™. To a good deal of them female friends are like unicorns in that they don’t exist. To them the age old “if I’m not getting sex out of it then why should I bother?” argument works on both sides: “if you are not getting sex out of it then why should you care?”.

(Before you spam my inbox yes, I know Scrubs exists, I’m more than just familiar with House MD *laughs uncomfortably for ten years*. But. For every single piece of media that happens to get it right there are 10 AU remakes of Fifty Shades of Grey being published).

Now. What on Earth does this have to do with Sherlock?

NOTHING.  We see Sherlock having more healthy relationships in every single episode (yes even that one) than Bond will have in a lifetime. And no matter how much Sherlock insists on being a sociopath, the hero in this story has friends, imperfect friends, and whether he likes it or not they do care about him. And he cares about them too.

Otherwise Mycroft wouldn’t need to tell his little brother that caring is not an advantage and Sherlock wouldn’t meet those words like an old friend.

On top of it, the writers never code Sherlock and John as gay. No, they don’t. To be fair, they also don’t say he’s straight. However, they do make him canonically fall for Irene Adler (FYI: if him going ALL THE WAY to Karachi for her sake wasn’t a big enough clue, then MP!Sherlock keeping a picture of her in his pocket watch should have been).

And while we do see Sherlock invested in plenty of typical male stuff (he fights, he wins, he plays the rude smart arse, the hero, the brilliant detective) at the same time he also accepts it when in TEH John decides he wants to keep his distance, and Sherlock leaves the matter in Mary’s capable hands, John’s love interest, the woman who should be traditionally the mortal enemy of male friendships.

We had a whole episode which was basically Sherlock helping Mary with wedding preparations and not (just) having a bad time.

The next episode has him do his best to save his friends’ marriage. It also has him fake a relationship with a woman (who ends up owning a cottage in Sussex that comes with bees). But he never takes advantage of her even though she wouldn’t mind being taken advantage of. And when she gets her well deserved revenge he admires her for her agency. That boy is so smitten by Janine Hawkins that the original shooting script for His Last Vow  had them agreeing to marry each other should they end up without anyone else by the time they are old end grey (page 72, you’re welcome).

Sherlock gets his support system and it doesn’t ask for anything in return. He is allowed to struggle, to become emotional, to not deserve his victories and still be the hero of the show. Those 13 episodes have Sherlock stumble from one failure to the next but every single time we learn it doesn’t matter. He gets to learn from his mistakes, he gets to grow.

Yes, he has his ghosts and demons but he never needs to face them on his own, which is something I’ve only ever seen on this stupid show

_____ * If anyone wants to point out the masterpiece that’s George from the Jungle then yes, I’m aware of it (also, surprise surprise another film that was pretty popular with the LGBTQ+ folks). However, generally speaking it never became mainstream. Which is what I’m talking about here. And while Marvel’s Loki is mainstream, he is not the main character in The Avengers.