#and acted AND the actress was so mid let's be real

[littlerosetrove]

Okay this may largely be my Buddie bias speaking, but I think one of the many reasons I definitely wish Buddie would become canon is because Buck/Oliver is, like, waaaay less awkward with Eddie/Ryan.

Without having to type out a long explanation (too lazy at the moment), but it's clear that Buck/Oliver has never had the same ease he has than he does with Eddie/Ryan. And IDK about y'all, but I'm kinda tired of having to witness *flaps hand* so much awkwardness on screen with Buck and whatever LI he's with. Please, cease with the secondhand embarrassment. </3

[meenafreezoid]

Some King Dice headcanons ~

Hey, so I'm back at my Cuphead phase and I re-fell in love with the Dice Man, ehehehehehe ~ After watching Casino Cups again I had some headcanons (sfw) I'd like to share, let's gooo ! This include the game, the show and Casino Cups (I see it as the official prequel of the game ehehe)

💜🎲✨️ KING DICE ✨️🎲💜

King Dice is just a pseudonym, no one knows his real name, except the Devil. But even him prefers to call him King Dice.

He is in his late thirty, at least in the game. He is a little bit younger of one or two years in the Show, and in his mid-forty in Casino Cups

He is a bisexual icon, definitely seduces both men and women, as the charming manager he is (also obviously a heart-breaker)

He is a Taurus Sun, Leo Moon and Leo Rising ~

He is terrified of getting old, and uses makeup in order to look younger. His appearance is one of his top priority.

Speaking of that, he is a morning person because he has a long beauty routine and like to take his time. This include shower, polishing his dice-head to make it shine, numerous concealers and skin-care products, a combo of eye-shadow and eye-liner, transparent gloss, sometimes blush and of course perfume, you name it.

Is also slightly muscular under his clothes, like to stay in shape <3

He never swears, he's to polite for that (except when he's very very angry)

PURPLE. Just Purple.

Everything he buy has to be purple (or gold)

Scatting is like his second language, the man express himself a lot with it. He scats out of pride, joy, stress, when he wants to calm himself down, etc.

By the way, he is a walking musical, the man is ALWAYS humming something. He even created his own band to occasionally play at the casino, after the Devil re-hired him.

He speaks multiple languages, including english of course, but also french, italian, spanish and german.

Definitely a cat and tea person (somewhat confirmed by DD)

He never had a particularly sad childhood and doesn't have trauma neither. On the contrary, he was the only child of a famous and very rich couple who built their empire on Inkwell Isle. His mother was a former actress and his father the head of a mafia organization. He grew up with everything he wanted, but his parents never paid that much attention to him. Not that they didn't love him, but they were such infatuated with each other that Dice never had a real place between them, he was secondary.

One day, another gang with whom Dice's father had a rivalty kidnapped his wife in exchange of his money. Deeply in love, he accepted, and they both ended up killed, King Dice was 15. Dice despise love and see it as a weakness because of this.

King Dice always had a mischevous side in him. Because of his parents negligence, he developped insecurities of failure and being forgotten, so his greatest wish was to surpass his parents's reputation and glory, whatever if he was feared or adored.

This is also why he is soooooo devoted to the Devil and needs his validation as his number one in the Cuphead Show, imagine being the literal Devil's Right Hand Man, who can surpass him then ?

King Dice gave birth to his pack of cards with his magic. He has them since he's a child, and considers them as his confidents and family, he's like a Lion with his tribe with them.

I like to imagine that King Dice and the Devil, since the Game's events, have a similar relationship to Snape and Dumbledore. Like, they aren't close emotionaly speaking (this is more Henchman's role), but they respect each other. King Dice is deeply loyal to the Devil and is his most trusted ally, his number one to whom he reveals every of his schemes. The Devil just has to make a hand movement and King Dice is like "Your wish is my command, boss". They act like a dark prince and his butler.

So, he has a fear of failure, uselessness and being forgotten, and see everything as a competition he has to win. This is why he killed all the Devil's finest demons in "Release the Demons", he needs constant praise and special treatment from the Devil to make up his insecurities. Because of his immaturity, the Devil was mainly annoyed by him in the Cuphead Show. That's when he gave him a second chance and created the casino that King Dice grew more close to his crueler and calculative personality from the game, and the Devil trusted him in making him his casino's manager

In a way, the Devil allowed King Dice's darkness to take over him by removing every of his human aspects : he became less emotive and goofy, not insecure anymore, etc...

Despite being close intellectually and professionally speaking, the Devil and King Dice are less about emotional discussion, unlike Henchman who acts like the Devil's confident. If the Devil ever cry in front of King Dice, he would probably be uneasy and try to be comforting but would fail miserabily : "Uuuuh... come on, man, get over it, it doesn't matter that much... ?"

Despite that, I think that when they grew closer between the Show and the Game, they started to have a sort of sexual tension and both are in denial of that. They do have some moments of intimacy when both end up blushing at each other, like when King Dice gets closer to lights up the Devil's cigar, or when they share a quick glance after a angry customer coming at them, knowing what has to be done next ~~

A bit like the Devil with Henchman, King Dice is grateful to people that are loyal to him since a long time and genuily care for him, like his little cards. King Dice is very egocentric, but that doesn't mean he is incapable of being attached. He is very protective actually.

That is a surprise to anyone, but maaan the Dice man has a beautiful voice, but he doesn't only sing jazz, or swing or showing off his lovely voice. Sometimes, when he's alone, or with his cards, he sings more emotional and soft tunes, like a lullaby.

That's it for now guys ! I hope you enjoyed it and if you want more <33

[mono-blogs-art]

incredible chaser game w moments (part 2) up to & incl. episode 4

the most homophobic breakup you've ever seen. just, unholy behavior. on fucking god itsuki i know you had good intentions but you're the worst for doing it like that !!!!!!!!! at least let her down easy !!!!! if i was 22 and my gf of 4 years did that to me i'd fucking go insane as well

the elevator stopped working ➡️ you are trapped in with the person you hate ➡️ you are forced to sit it out and face your fears together, ultimately bringing you closer both emotionally & physically. i love this trope and i didn't know i needed it here, but it was great. step 1 to the meowmeow-ification of fuyu complete

my prediction of itsuki running into & taking care of little tsuki and the two of them then being found by fuyu, resulting in an awkward and heartbreaking scene, came true exactly like that. i think this scene was genuinely so well done and well acted, it broke my heart. i think this was the scene that really got me to say Damn, I'm invested in this now...

^ I'm still waiting for Itsuki to bring up the similar names in conversation though. like you need to talk about that

"ohhh harumoto-san, so you're part of that team?" - itsuki (sweating in closeted lesbian): "huh? what? n-no, of course not- I'm--" - "Don't worry, it's all good, we're all into BL too!!!" ➡️falsely coming out as a yaoi fangirl to your coworkers to avoid having to talk about your own sexuality. LMAO

^ this scene only being a setup so fuyu can be homophobic on main is what makes it even funnier

why. in every gods name. would you go to your boss' home address. why on earth would you do that. at least itsuki was self-aware about it too. girl you are SO unwell

every time fuyu has kissed itsuki of her own initiative, it has been when she was drunk... can we remedy that for future episodes, please? not that consent has been an issue, their mutual feelings are obvious, but i think she should be making a move when she doesn't have any liquid courage in her. step up your fucking game, fuyu

"she's a classic tsundere, after all" - fuyu, who has been severly harassing her subordinates at work (again, there seems to be no HR department at this company) being written off as a "tsundere" by the rest of the team - I mean, you're not wrong, but you should still file a complaint against her.

fuyu's husband Kouu is the nicest man on earth. my man doesn't deserve ANY of this. he even calls her dongyu. he even calls his wife by her real fucking name like the bar is so low

fuyu treats him so badly too, man, i genuinely felt bad watching it. were the 5 years of marriage all like this? was he always just a means to you getting your revenge? i'm sick. i hope they can make up by the end of the show and have a real conversation about their feelings and relationship.

that aside, i do have some theories on kouu, his disappearance, and his own feelings as well, but i'm keeping that to myself atm...

fuyu & itsuki keep having insanely homoerotic moments in front of god and everyone on earth, I'm starting to believe the only person with a gaydar in this company is the photographer from the other office. the fact that you two haven't been found out yet is honestly a massive plot hole (lmao)

has itsuki eaten anything else but sweets (cake, in particular?) on screen yet? apart from the homemade meal at the hayashi's, whenever there's a scene of her alone or with her grandma, she's always eating cake. i wonder if it will come up at some point, but it's just something i noticed. no shade though girl i'm also (almost) 27 and if you wanna eat cake for dinner alone at home I'm your nr1 supporter

i'm never a fan of the trope of a bilingual character breaking out into their native tongue for swearing or just randomly, but it is fun that only fuyu does it and that all the other chinese characters just don't speak mandarin at all. and i'm happy they actually cast a bilingual actress for fuyu!

episode 4 was the mid-series finale, and it definitely showed. this was the best episode so far by a pretty significant margin imo.

the. silent pleading fuyu puts on to make itsuki stay at the hayashi house. the most fucking 🥺*twirling my hair cutely* AND IT WORKS TOO BECAUSE ITSUKI IS JUST AS INSANE AS YOU ARE

i would like to talk about the best scene of this show yet. i really wished it was longer and was given even more weight. in episode 4, fuyu & itsuki are sitting in the living room together at night, so far apart that they're completely out of each other's camera shots even. i found this to be the most interesting scene so far. there was genuine tension in the shot composition, the acting, the complete absence of music. just silence and their voices. "after all, it was all my fault, wasn't it? that we ended up like this?" fuyu still deep down believes that she was the reason their relationship failed. she wasn't enough, because she's fuyu, because she's a woman. she still thinks that. my heart fucking broke in two

their fight after fuyu came back home drunk was so funny. especially with their height difference... hydrogen bomb vs coughing baby

after finally learning the truth about their break-up, fuyu is absolutely devastated. "you valued your promise to my mother more than the one you made to me?" just completely broken. after all this time sitting with these unresolved emotions, feelings of guilt and deep shame, only for that to be the reason? I feel so bad for her

the mutual love confession!!!!! i'm honestly a bit surprised it came so early, i thought they were just going to sleep together and not talk emotions first. but i'm not gonna complain (i just love mess) i'm also devastated that itsuki used suki while fuyu used the word aishiteru. my friends it's so bad for me right now (and them)

did. they. fuck. on. the. floor. in. the. living room.

i hope so because 1) hot and 2) although i'm still unsure as to the exact room situation of the hayashi household, don't they all have one shared bedroom??? isn't the bedroom that they're in after they've had sex (hopefully in the living room) the same one we've previously seen, where the kid also sleeps????? WHERE WAS THE KID ITSUKI. WHERE. WAS. THE. KID. WE KNOW SHE'S WITH YOU BECAUSE THAT WAS THE WHOLE REASON YOU STARTED FIGHTING!!!!!

if you had sex while your kid was sleeping soundly in the same room i'm sending both of you to superhell. i'm praying you guys just have a totally identical bed in another room. please.

if it wasn't the same bed we've previously seen from tsuki's room, that means you guys fucked in the marriage bed, which is only slightly less gonna get you sent to superhell.

in any case, happy lesbian sex to them. i know neither of you have known the touch of a woman in the past 5 years so it was probably intense. drink a lot of water in episode 5, alright? jesus.

it was also quite funny that the scriptwriter for the show tweeted out a few hours before this episode aired that "itsuki has always taken the leader position in their relationship" and that "you should watch episode 4 with this in mind" and we were all like. oh so you're telling me that fuyu is a bottom? you're telling me water is wet? fork found in kitchen??????

their lil afterglow convo in bed was just perfectly sweet. 1 point to fuyu, now presumably much more sobered up, for having the courage to ask if itsuki's gonna stay the night after all. girl you don't have to ask. i think she's ready for another 12 rounds. she's not going anywhere.

the line delivery of the "alright" (i'm gonna stay) oh my god. oh my god... oh. oh.

the meowmeow-ification babygirl-ification of fuyu is now complete

in the preview for ep5, fuyu is wearing a mixture of white and black clothes. girl... it was that good, huh?????

in conclusion:

i had a lot of thoughts on this one and i've found great joy in going deep into the twt tags for it as well. and i'm glad to see many japanese sapphics also being super vocal about the show. it's really interesting to read and interact with that side of the fandom i haven't really seen in this capacity for a (lesbian) live action show yet. i see people slowing down & brightening up footage to analyse who's taking each other's clothes off first, people just posting close-ups of Yuuka's hands, people going into Yurika's past filmography to dig up ancient clips of other sapphic roles she's played (of which there seem to be actually quite a lot?). i love to see it lmao. on a more serious note, it makes me happy to see sapphics from so far away expressing themselves similarily to myself or my other lesbian friends. it's cute!! as for cgw, part b of the series is gonna be intense, and i'm especially curious to see how they're gonna do the inevitable breakdown of fuyu again. my girl is so deep in the trenches, her temporary being on cloud 9 right now is gonna be short-lived and i want to see it happen. i hope she can really stand up for herself and make things right after all!

[silviakundera]

Love's Rebellion ep 4 -8 watch comments (warning: these are my raw thoughts, so can be critical. don't read if that will upset you.)

I am enjoying the drama now less than in the first 3 episodes. I think it's that I have limited patience for nice characters pretending to be menacing. I'm ready for them actually to be communicating with each other and working off the same page.

I can see that he's becoming soft for her, since she's so obviously a nice person (and because of seal thingy we know he canonically has a pure heart). But I want more sexual and/or romantic tension than what they are giving so far. ML has made some effort but I'll be honest, I'm feeling nothing coming back from the FL actress. (i.e. nothing in her micro expressions & body language)

Gonna try to fast forward thru things.

Fox clan prince has been introduced. He doesn't like women; he only loves himself. So there is our first grey character.

Episode 5

It's so dumb that she believes in the fake death curse that I refuse to acknowledge this is happening

They are finally turning on some romance but guys, slow mo and mid music is not the answer. Just ask them to both ACT like they're falling in love.

The Great Sect dicks are being dicks, except 1 junior good boy

Young Dragon Lord is still a bro. Very appealing loser.

Episode 6-8

Continuing the situation where she's a nice person, but there's little in her individual performance that indicates she likes him that way. While it's clear that he has started falling for her.

Fox guy is just annoying. Sorry to all fox fans out there.

ah, memories of Super Sus Shifu. Why did ML of the canonically pure heart plead guilty? 🤔 The reason is gonna be some noble idiocy, I'm sure.

More contrived misunderstandings. The writing is forcing her to be annoyingly foolish. Why would she assume he is only after her pearl when he's never been the slightest bit interested in it?

This thing where they are always at odds for petty reasons, a fake-ass enemies to lovers, is wearing thin. Real enemies to lovers, I like. This stuff isn't to my taste. I am not a determined-to-dispute, bickering to lovers trope fan.

Now everyone's in mortal peril from boat lady, the demon elder of Evil Path sect. Sadly, she also bores me.

I like ML and FL ok (when they are getting along) and I do like Dragon bro. Add in fox and demon jiejie and 💤💤💤

Ugly cgi gremlin makes another appearance

ML shows up finally as backup. But will this just end up another annoying misunderstanding?

So after he rescues her and puts her necklace back on, they actually have a mutual romantic moment!

She's finally figured out he's a Canonically Pure Heart™ who is all bark, no bite

Now can you just get along for multiple episodes in a row???

There is absolutely no reason to forgive duplicitous fox boy and not wipe his memory and kick him the fuck out. 😑

On the plus side, we are finally getting some warm vibes back from her

oh how nice, poisioned hot pot. The fox betrayed them AGAIN. And once again he just says shit and FL lets it go. 😒

We actually get a moment of her appearing attracted to Shao Cang! 😯

I still attest that you don't need lense flares, slow mo, or tinted filters to communicate affection. Just acting. Someone ring Richard Li, he can show you how it's done.

I have enjoyed objectively worse & lower budget dramas, but somehow LR isn't clicking in with me. It somehow doesn't have that cdrama feel that compels me... Perhaps I'm not hooking into that emotional sincerity; so many things are constantly happening but they feel like noise and I don't have emotional resonance from the episodes. Characters are frequently picking at each other & prodding at each other, which fills up time on screen but that's what it all feels like... filler. Somehow the vibes remind me less of a cdrama and more about the fantasy adventure genre of tv series that were being aired on Sci-fi (Syfy) network and the BBC circa 2005 - 2015. And tbh I mostly watched those shows because of fandom participation and fan outputs, not for the media product on its own.

I've commented before that cdramas finally introduced me to "good guy" characters that I wholeheartedly love and see as badass. But these leads aren't that style of protagonist. This isn't Xie Lian, Shen Qiao, Tang Fan, et al. So I'm left wishing that FL and ML were more ruthless, calculating, and grey.

[quackle]

What is your first impression of each members of the reboot cast?

gonna base my first thoughts off the first ep greetings. initial thoughts under cut:

millie: idgaf she was real for coming on this show just to study why people her age act the way they do. i didn't think she'd win, but i loved her automatically. she seemed very relatable based off her initial motive (and i was right!)

axel: "oh she's going to be a challenge dominator!" i screamed, not knowing just how wrong i was </3 i started off thinking she was a combo of eva and shawn aha. i thought she'd make it mid merge

priya: "oh she's going to be a challenge dominator!" i screamed, not knowing just how correct i was <3 IMMEDIATELY loved her. the way her voice actress in english captures her personality from the start is brilliant ugh priya ily!!!

zee: AWESOME GUY. love a down to earth, mellow dude, so i was happy seeing zee. i figured he'd be a much needed comic relief

ripper: "oh he looks silly and his green sweater is great- wait what do you mean he has criminally convicted for pooping in a stranger's purse on a bus-" -me (i was concerned about this guy, and i did not know just how much that concern would grow as the eps went on)

damien: this dude stepped foot on that island and his first words on that dock were, "aye what's up man, i'm here for that million bucks, where it at?" like sir the competition ain't even start yet whatttt 😭 first character to make me crack tf up, ugh i knew i'd love him and i still do! another example of a voice actor perfectly embodying their character from the very start.

lauren (scary girl): SILLY GAG CHARACTER. i smiled so wide when she appeared. i knew she wouldn't win but i thought she was neat. much needed comic relief, kind of like zee

bowie: "OK PROM KING AND QUEEN, LET'S GET TO THAT FINALE 🤩" i screamed, not knowing just how right i was <3 i knew he was gonna bring something interesting to this game from his intro and i was right!

chase: "i haven't seen your ex on the screen yet, but just know i'm not on your side. i know how your brand of streamers acts... probably a gaslighter..." -me (i knew i wasn't gonna vibe with him much from the get go)

emma: "CUTIE PATOOTIE, I'M ON YOUR SIDE QUEEN" -me (i knew i was gonna vibe with her and defend her with my whole entire life from the get go)

mk: "let's get this enby thief to that final three!" i shouted, not knowing how wrong i was </3 i was so intrigued by her lol. she seemed cool and collected in a way, and i thought she was gonna sneak her way up the ranks throughout this competition. and... well, she was close! (not really)

caleb: "ok justin 2.0" was all i could say about him during his intro. like they ain't really give us nothing back then </3 sorry caleb, you really were basic

wayne and raj: "oh neat some silly ass jocks, i hope i never grow to hate them," i said, not knowing just how much i'd adore them <3 from their silly laughs to the way they made fun of ripper, they were awesome to me. i initially thought they'd be antagonistic in a way

nichelle: "YAS BIG DEAL QUEEN, LET'S WIN THIS THING," i yelled, not knowing just how much she'd fail at this game </3 she did that lil hair flip and said that cocky lil "mkay" to priya's fangirling and my brain went "yeah. that's the fav there." thought she was gonna be antagonistic too

julia: "oh ok so this girl is fake af," i said, somehow knowing how right i was because look at her and that fake personality shine through them brand commercials! i cackled at her mass amount of phones she had + how disappointed chris sounded when he scanned her for the phone she tried to hide 😭

[scorbleeo]

TV Series Discussion: Supergirl

Season 6 (2021)

Source: Google Images

The adventures of Superman's cousin and her own superhero career.

Source: IMDb (2015)

A Bittersweet End

I am going to start this out by saying I had no expectations for Supergirl Season 6. I might have watched all the previous seasons, but I was disappointed with the last or last 2 season(s). Although I adore Supergirl and the Super Friends, the plots were often average. Now thinking back, I can't even name a Supergirl villain that stuck to me.

That being said, this final season of Supergirl was much better than the previous seasons. It got me hooked onto the show and there were times when I was actually emotional. Although the villains were way below mid, the storylines were solid. And the action, I absolutely enjoyed it. Even the character developments were good. As a Supergirl season, season 6 was one of the better ones. As a final season, I believe it could have been better plotted.

Lets start with the villains. I'm not saying Nyxly was a marvellous villain but because of her existence and actions, it created several great storylines, especially the role it played into Kara's self-realisation, then development.

Lex on the other hand, his arc was so weirdly written. The Lex Luthor I was used to disappeared in season 6, for real. Him being in love really ruined his arc, when he could have gone down as one of the show's better villains. But, I like what the writers did with this character. I mean, people have tried to kill Lex, he lived. People have tried to incarcerate Lex, he walked away scott free. Other than the Phantom Zone, I doubt there would be another way to get rid of Lex once and for all.

As for Lillian. I hated her throughout all 6 seasons. I really did not like the idea of her redemption in the end but her redemption meant enlightenment for Lena. For that, I eventually accepted that there was a redemption arc for this infuriating woman. Perhaps, if her redemption was shown gradually through this last season, I might not have disliked the idea as much.

Through the entire season, I enjoyed more than I was bored. I liked more than I disliked. Unfortunately, there was something I seriously wished the writers never wrote down. What happened to William did not need to happen, or at least, not to him. It's not as if William's death meant the whole Super Friends was going on a revenge path, so why bring him back from being shot only to have him go permanently by being shot? He was the one character I constantly wished nothing happened to him since his first appearance...

Moving on to brighter topics, lets talk about Kelly. First thing first, that episode that was Kelly-centric? Wow. It was the first time Azie Tesfai impressed me. The way Tesfai portrayed Kelly in the episode, it was almost like I could feel everything Kelly was experiencing. Then came their wedding scene and I am never one for vows, not a romantic and could care less about wedding vows. However, Kelly's vows to Alex touched my heart. I really don't know if it's the words, Tesfai's acting, or the combination of both. Whatever it is, I finished Supergirl extremely aware of what a magnificent actress Tesfai is.

Next, Nia. Not only did Nia (and Dreamer) grow, Nicole Maines improved so much too. I never disliked Maines nor her character but the acting always felt a little awkward. Usually, I just let it go because if Nia is one awkward girl, Dreamer will be awkward too and thus the awkward acting. This last season proved me wrong because I still see awkward Nia but the acting very obviously improved. Completely off the tangent here but when Nia confronted Maeve? Atta girl! I loved it when Nia told her sister, she will not forgive her but she can give a second chance. That's the way, actually. How do people forgive without seeing how others handle their second chances?

Lastly, Kara's character arc. I have always loved it when Kara showed vulnerability. In this season, she's practically always vulnerable even when she's not actively attacked. It hurts to watch Supergirl lose hope so often but then the way the smallest things brought back some hope to her? Love it. The courage plot was something else too, something I did not see play out the way it did. As much as I loved it, I still don't know how I feel about the season ending with the world finding out Supergirl's identity.

After watching several Arrowverse shows consecutively, Supergirl was a nice end before a break from the Arrowverse TV shows. Although Kara and Mon-El are not endgame, I am still very happy that the finale brought back the old faces.

Rating: ★★★★☆

More Arrowverse here: Legends of Tomorrow Season 6 | The Flash Season 7

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: Shazam! Fury of the Gods

There is a sense of balance that has been missing in the big blockbuster films these days. The balance between telling a story that has a theme that resonates with throughout the story and then the big CGI spectacle of the opening, mid and finale that acts as a button to the story more often. More films focus on the spectacle and even though it may be visually pleasing, it often just pads out the film without any of the visuals telling a story or even affecting it. This film didn't waste any of its time doing that, but the spectacle was informed by the plot and did affect the characters within it. What I truly loved about this film is that it kept that same since of wonder and darkness the first film started and it stayed in its lane. It connects to the soon to be rebooted DCEU, but it stands strong enough on it own to be a soft disconnect. The themes of growing up, responsibilities, acceptance and family were refreshing to see handled in such a skilled way. This film reminded me of the late 80's and mid 90's kid and teen films where they weren't afraid to address the humanity of the heroes. Growing up can be scary because you don't want to let go of the fun times where the world seemed so open and free before stepping into adulthood. This film tackles that subject through the eyes of the leads while still giving us a surprisingly fun family action film that has a horror edge to it.

Asher Angel and Zachary Levi return as Billy Batson / Shazam and they're still magnetic and fun. Billy now has to balance being a leader and teenager growing into an adult and that was great to see handled. Asher does this wonderfully and actual gets to shine  in the more emotional segments. Zachary Levi takes on the majority of the weight this time as the adult version of Billy and through him, you see Billy's naivtey really become his weakness in so many ways. Zachary's comedic timing and joyful take on the character was spot on and he nails what its like to be a teen in an adult's body. Billy's journey from child to adult was hilarious and also heartfelt. Jack Dylan Grazer and Adam Brody couldn't be more of a perfect pair as the teen and adult version of Freddy Freeman. Jack truly steals the film with his amazing wit, charm and hilarious sarcasm. His energy is so infectious and I loved that he is the center of the story this time around. He truly delivers a show stopping performance and Adam Brody amplifies that as his adult persona. Adam shows the more cocky nature of Freddy when he's "super" which was so much fun. Grace Caroline Currey was wonderful and wise as Mary Bromfield. She is the oldest in the family and I loved seeing her embrace the real world while still having fun as a superhero. She is that reminder that we all have to grow up at some point and contribute to a household and the world in some way. Ross Butler and Ian Chen were fun yet again as the young version and the adult version of Eugene Choi. They both show off his intelligent and exploratory nature within their lair. D. J. Cotrona and Jovan Armand were fantastic yet again as Pedro Peña. The way he handles his coming out to the family was handled very well and builds to a moment of true acceptance and I loved that it was natural and not forced. Meagan Good and Faithe Herman were the heart of the film as the adult and child version of Darla Dudley. The innocence of the character was so much fun and beautifully showcased by both actresses. I couldn't get enough them together or even separately. Marta Milans and Cooper Andrews return as their foster parents Rosa and Victor Vásquez and they both get so many great moments to shine and really bring the family together in a touching scene.

The score by Christophe Beck was awesome and epic in all the right ways as the action in the film really ramps up. When the screen isn't filled with action, he nails the more emotional moments. Visually the film was stunning to look at and I loved that the colors popped. The creatures in the film were yet again another standout and ranged from terrifying to badass. Its been a long time since anyone has brought to life any of the iconic monsters of the Greek mythos and I loved every bit of their strong and sometimes violent nature. Where the film has problems is the last half of the film. It tends to feel bloated in the last 30 minutes as the same amount of destruction keeps happening that makes the film drag on. There are moments that could've trimmed or cut to tighten up the finale. Director David S. Sandberg directed the first film that was a fun Christmas themed family film that tackled some heavy themes and wasn't afraid to touch on the darkness of the villains. He continues that here and has made another fun family film that adults can enjoy as well. Even with the bloated third act, this was an action packed and hefty 2 hour epic that should not be missed. Do stick around for the 2 great credit scenes. I don't know where this franchise will go once the DCEU is rebooted, but I hope we see a payoff to the story crumbs leftover from these 2 scenes. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[badedramay]

i also feel like the yumna situation isn't really comparable bc the anger stems from the fact that yumna built her image on being the indie darling who did the thought provoking projects that were markedly different from what was mainstream, only to end up trying to justify working in a project as egregious as tere bin. like when you have something like dil nah umeed toh nahi in your repertoire, in which a focus on violence against women and the horrors of it are so pronounced to the point you risk being banned by pemra, it's hard to justify your own integrity as an actor when you switch to something like tere bin once mainstream success is more immediately accessible to you (and the same goes for wahaj). obv plenty of pakistani actors have starred in projects ranging anywhere from mid to trash. it's an unfortunate reality if staying consistently employed is the goal esp when you're starting to build your career. but when you're a veteran with a reputable resume to boot you have a choice and people are going to notice what you choose and how you wield the influence you've developed. you don't see sajal or kubra or ramsha or mawra interested in starring in the same trash simply bc they're more famous now than they were before. some of their projects may have shortcomings (eg hum kahaan kay sachay thay or for a more recent example neem) but the social statements of their works are clearly important to them and that's what people are criticizing yumna for lacking at present. even moreso when she's taking active steps to defend herself from criticism rather than hearing out and acknowledging what worthwhile criticism there is. i hate it when actresses are lectured on humbling themselves but listening to her comments at the round table recently was alarming for me. there's all too many actors including her who feel entitled to shrug off criticism bc if they know they acted well then that's seemingly all that matters. i can't imagine living in a state of unreality like that

but Tere Bin isn't the only mainstream drama that she has done though? Raaz e Ulfat is right there. Guzaarish was also a soapy melodrama. so it's not like her repertoire is only made up of the artsy dramas. Pukaar too, if I'm not wrong, had her as a damsel in distress for the most run-time of the show. frankly, I don't mind Yumna doing more proper mainstream dramas because let's face it..the on-ground popularity come from such dramas only. TB's success led her to gain more commercials and more campaigns which mean more money for her. actors already have a limited shelf life..why wouldn't she want to make the most of it now that the opportunity has struck?

TB was a mess. no arguments there. it was problematic and probably the worst character Yumna had to give life to. I agree. but how does that mean Yumna has fully switched to these roles? afaik her next confirmed project is a movie Nayab that's taking her back to her character-driven narrative roots. who knows what her next project is going to be? I'll reserve my criticism for her if she chooses to do another TB because yeah, then this becomes a choice. but until then..this girl has done more than enough projects in her career as an actor to warrant at least one project where she gets to relieve herself from social responsibility and just have fun. acting in Pakistani drama industry is already hard enough, it doesn't need to become a platform for activism all the time especially when all the responsibility is thrust on the shoulders of the actors when they are the most dispensable pawns of the game and the real power lies in the hands of the executives and makers. I find it unfair if all the work Yumna has done over the years gets dismissed because of one bad project (that I personally believe she didn't expect to blow up in the way it did) or that her previous conscious choices of project be seen in a suspicious or dubious light.

not every actor has the same circumstances so expecting them all to make similar choices or have the same career arc is not wise. we can't disregard the fact that acting is also a job for these people and sometimes as an employed adult you gotta suck it up. Yumna has power, Yumha has a voice; and she has used it plenty in some very powerful projects. but like every adult she has the right to not be defined by being just one kind of actor. as I type this I am reminded of how Maya had said that Yumna mostly gets cast in these heavy character roles when she can do something completely different if given a chance and she should be given a chance.

if Yumna is facing criticism for defending TB then she's also receiving immense love for this project in real time. expecting her to denounce the project that continues to give her love and acceptance sounds rather...foolish, no? i doubt Yumna is dumb enough to not know where TB went wrong with her character likewise she's not dumb enough to not acknowledge that TB is her biggest success. she's stuck in a catch 22.

honestly I don't see how being part of projects that almost get banned by PEMRA or barely get any ratings or views are some matter of pride and only they should be an actor's standard. even the biggest actors in the most stable industries want to have a balance of artsy and mainstream projects to satisfy both the artist and the actor in them. if Yumna is doing that as well..so what? being an "indie darling" has barely promised her guaranteed acknowledgement. her performance in Parizaad was phenomenal and what did she get in return for it? just a measly "best couple" nomination alongside Ahmed Ali Akbar. and this wasn't her first snub btw, she's been snubbed many times. with the body of work she has..she should have more awards to her name because that's what the indie darlings are supposed to have at least, right? but will anyone in their right mind deny Meerab a nomination if not a win? that's the whole game here.

[watchworldlive]

Erin Odenkirk: A Glimpse into Bob Odenkirk's Daughter Life

Erin Odenkirk, like many others out there, was born into the light. There is a good ending alongside some not-so-good ones, which comes with the bundle in which the celebrity deals with his or her life, right? Erin Odenkirk is the daughter of Better Call Saul actor Bob Odenkirk. As long as Bob's Star blooms bright and scatters its light all over Hollywood, Erin has managed the virtually impossible-for her, at least. She has inscribed her own mark of visibility that forms an individuality that will not be shared with any old dad-father.

Who is Erin Odenkirk?

Born in the mid-2000s, Erin Odenkirk is the youngest child to actor Bob Odenkirk and his wife, Naomi Odenkirk. Coming from a celebrated actor and a renowned producer as parents has made Erin's life nothing but entertainment. But who is Erin Odenkirk, after all, and how does she stand out?

Childhood in a Famous Family

It is one thing being a celebrity's child, but most certainly it means living in a fishbowl. For Erin, that was certainly the case. Imagine growing up while the world recognizes your dad from one of TV's shows. From the red carpet events to the dinners with the family, Erin has witnessed the fever and pace of Hollywood life for real.

Life in the Spotlight

As long as many celebrity children stay far from the limelight, Erin, in her own way, seems to have accepted it. Erin has been spotted in different Hollywood events with her dad; each premiere event of the show or movie, she was right beside him. However, she maintains things in a balance and never lets the limelight get to her.

Relationship with Bob Odenkirk

Maybe you're a fanboy of Bob Odenkirk, but the reader would well understand what value family is to him. Most of Bob's connection with his kids, such as Erin, are revealed through his tidbits. Their bond appears just fantastic and always at the fore of Bob's head as an essential part of his life. Erin, in no way, is an exception to the love and affection Bob accords his children.

Bob Odenkirk Impact on Erin

Of course, being brought up by a father like Bob has shaped Erin's worldview. The earthy and aurally attuned Bob must have had a profound impact on the values and ideals of Erin. Surely, Bob is that ideal blend of role model as well as doting father for his daughter .

Naomi Odenkirk Impact

While much can be said about Bob's influence, it would go remiss if Erin's mother was forgotten-Naomi. Naomi also plays a very influential role in the Odenkirk family. As a producer and talent manager, Naomi's knowledge of the entertainment world allows her to have yet another modicum of influence in Erin's life. This balance between Bob and Naomi creates an equilibrium in Erin's upbringing.

Erin's Passion for the Arts

Being brought up in such a creatively charged environment, it is but natural that Erin would have an artistic bent of mind. Though still young, Erin has always been interested in painting and in design. Creativity definitely runs in her veins, much like her father, yet she would rather unleash it on the canvas instead of stage or camera.

A Talent in Bloom?

People in her life compliment her work as if it promises well for a future in visual arts, and though she hasn't yet pursued such a career, the promise is there. Whether she will is another question altogether.

Does Erin Want to Be an Actress?

As Erin's father is such a prominent actor, people want to know whether she is going to follow in Bob's footsteps. The answer, at least so far, is no way to tell. She is not currently an acting career singer, but definitely has been supportive of her dad and probably learned a thing or two about the world in which he operates. Erin seems more concerned with making her own way instead of finding herself in her father's shoes.

Expectation Burden

Let's be realistic—having a renowned parent can bring a lot of pressure. There's always that expectation to succeed in the same way or do something big in your own right. For Erin, this will be a significant pressure; however, she has maintained her individuality and not let the weight of family fame decide her choices.

Erin's Future Plans

At this stage, Erin is still very young, and the future is wide open before her. She has lots of possibilities ahead of her. Whether she chooses the arts, a Hollywood career, or something else in their entirety, it is clear that Erin has a supportive family behind her.

Education and Career Aspirations

Erin, probably, is busy with her studies now. Public sources contain no information on where Erin studies, but it may be supposed that she is a dedicated student and focuses her attention on preparing for a great future. However, in whatever way she chooses, one thing is sure-Erin has many options and the whole world is like an oyster in front of her.

Conclusion

In reality, among other celebrity offspring, Erin Odenkirk was most fortunate to avoid the brightest and most garish public attention. Of course, she appears at all sorts of events once in a while, but by no means does she become one of those gossip mills or even regularly feature in the tabloids. For now, at any rate, Erin seems to appreciate a quieter life where she can develop personally as well as spend quality time with her family. In the course of the day, Erin Odenkirk is a lot more than being the daughter of a famous person, such as Bob Odenkirk. She is a young woman searching to find her footing in this world and learning how to navigate the perks and challenges associated with being part of a famous family. Whether following her parents' footsteps or making a mark off them, one thing is clear: Erin Odenkirk is a name to look out for.

[luci-in-trenchcoats]

Once In A Lifetime

Summary: While at a brewery the day before her sister’s wedding, the reader runs into her once in a lifetime fling, Dean, for the third time. It’s been fours years since they’ve seen each other and eight since they met but the timing’s never seemed to work out between them until maybe now...

Pairing: Wedding Date!Dean x reader

Square: Wedding Date!AU

Word Count: 2,100ish

Warnings: language, fluff

A/N: Written for @supernatural-jackles​​ Tell Me A Story Bingo. Enjoy!

______

“Y/N fucking Y/L/N,” you heard as you were mid chew of eating your piece of pizza. You spun around and swallowed, a big grin crossing your face. 

“Dean!” you said. You ditched your table with your family and ran over to him, Dean giving you a big hug and swinging you around. “You look great!”

“You got even better looking, sweetheart,” he grinned as he set you down. You bit your bottom lip and he blushed a bit. “You look good, Y/N. Never expected to see you again, especially Kansas City of all places.”

“I’m in town for a family wedding. I thought you lived in LA?” you said.

“Used to. I own this place,” he said. “How long’s it been?”

“Four years. Another four before that,” you said. 

“So much for once in a lifetime,” he smirked. 

“Still a boy in there, aren’t you, Dean.”

“A bit,” he smiled. “Older too.”

“Same. We were just kids back then.”

“We’re still kids. We just got most of our shit together now,” he said. 

“Oh yes. Still single and still working a job I hate. I so got my shit together,” you said.

“I wear makeup for a living so you’re doing better than me,” he said. “Also still single.”

“I thought you dated some actress or something a while back.”

“Didn’t work out. Put my head down, been working a lot lately,” he said. “Am I about to meet your fangirl sister you told me about?”

“Oh God,” you said as you caught Georgia wandering over from your table with Scott. “I am so-”

“Hi!” she said and you groaned. “Do you know my little sister?”

“Y/N and I go way back,” said Dean. Georgia slapped your arm and you whined. 

“You’re friends with him and you didn’t tell me!” she said.

“Oh well we haven’t seen each other in years,” said Dean. Georgia looked at you and you shook your head, her own nodding.

“He’s Italy Dean, isn’t he. Dean Winchester is freaking Italy Dean!” she said and Scott covered her mouth, shaking his head.

“Gia, let’s leave your sister to catch up with her friend in peace, hm?” he said.

“This is why I love you Scott,” you said as he dragged her away.

“I like her,” chuckled Dean. “How long you in town for?”

“A few days. Rehearsal dinner is tonight, wedding tomorrow, head home the next day.”

“Not much free time then,” he said.

“Yeah I-” you said before Georgia screamed. You turned around, your sister stomping around and shouting into a phone. 

“It’s tomorrow! They wait until the last minute to call and cancel the venue!” she said. Scott seemed miffed which was probably as angry as he ever got and your mom was already over trying to calm them both down.

“You can use the brewery,” said Dean quietly. He shrugged as you stared up at him. “We’ve been toying with reserving for private parties over on the far side of the property. Strand lights, farmhouse style wedding, yada yada.”

“Can it look like this?” you asked as you pulled out your phone. You showed him a picture of the venue and the style Georgia had wanted to go for. “I can call all the vendors. All we need here is tables, clean up, you get the drill.”

“What time is the wedding?” he asked.

“1. Reception starts at 4, was supposed to go to about midnight or so.”

“You’re the maid of honor I presume.”

“Can we make this work? I know she sounds insane but she’s actually really sweet most of the time.”

“I’m gonna need help setting this up. Might be an all nighter.”

“I like coffee,” you said. He nodded and you turned around. “Gia! Calm down! I got a solution for ya.”

“Hi,” said Dean as you pulled into the employee parking lot at around ten that night. “How’d the dinner go?”

“Fine. Gia’s stressed out so Scott and I got her drunk. I told her I had it handled,” you said. “I have dunkin and my sneakers and put me to work.”

“The guys are nearly done with the lights. I need you to help me with tables and stuff, where you want everything,” said Dean. 

“Alright,” you said. “Do you have a notebook I can borrow?”

“Pad of paper work?” he asked as you followed him into the back of the brewery. You hummed and he handed it over along with a pen. You cut through a side door and found yourself outside, staring at a whole bunch of lights in trees and along a privacy fence.

“Oh she’s gonna love this,” you said as you walked out there. You started to jot down where trees were and drew some tables on the paper, rearranging them a few times before you held it up to Dean. “Can you put the tables like this?”

“Definitely can do. I’ll handle the forklift, you tell me where you want the picnic tables,” he said.

Forty minutes later the tables were out back and you’d laid out some rubber mats to act as a dance floor with one of Dean’s employees. 

“So DJ is there…” you said to yourself as Dean whistled for you to come over to where he and a few guys were laying out the impromptu bar top. “What’s up?”

“We were just wondering how fancy is your sister? Like is it that fairytale farmhouse thing or she like it more rustic?”

“She’s the former. My future brother in law is the later. He’s the one from here,” you said. “I was just thinking we’d throw a table cloth over the top of whatever we use for a bar.”

“We still got that piece we didn’t use in the second room?” said a man.

“The too dark of stain one? Yeah, it’s in storage. I bet that’d work great,” said a different guy. They took off and you took a deep breath as you looked around.

“It’s getting there,” said Dean. “If you want to head back to your hotel I think we can handle the rest.”

“It’s not that late,” you said. “I can do the tables while you guys figure out the bar situation if that’s cool.”

“Alright. Let me know if you want any help, sweetheart,” he said. You crossed your arms and he mimicked you, tilting his head down. 

“Thank you for all of this. Georgia will love it.”

“I’m not doing it for Georgia,” he said with a soft smile. You bit your lip and turned your head, feeling Dean step closer. “If I asked you to stay a few more days, would you?”

“Dean-”

“Would you?”

“Yes.”

“Then stay. Let’s try this for real.”

“I thought you weren’t a commitment kind of guy. That’s what you said.”

“You said there were no strings attached and yet here we are eight years later and I am as smitten as the first time I saw you.” You looked up at him, Dean reminding you of just how easy it was to fall in love with him. 

And how hard it was to fall out of it after the two you went your separate ways. Twice.

“Dean it’s never worked before.”

“We never tried. Italy was the two of us having fun and falling way too hard and fast and it scared the shit out of us both. And your car...that couldn’t have been coincidence. We spent the night in that motel room being goofy and reconnecting and then you got so hard when we said goodbye.”

“It’s kinda hard to get over you.”

“Don’t get over me this time,” he said. “I never did with you.”

“I can’t be with a celebrity and do that stuff.”

“Oh yes, I live a very glamorous life,” he said as he looked around. “Should I get out the forklift again?”

“Dean you know what I mean. You were coming up eight years ago. Four you had fans. Now you got even more. I live in a one bedroom apartment and work on sales reports from my kitchen table.”

“If you work from home then staying down here a few more days shouldn’t be a problem,” he said.

“Dean you’re gonna break my fucking heart again and I don’t want to put it back together. Can we just leave it at friends?” 

“Okay.” He unfolded his arms and cupped your face with both hands, pulling you into a deep kiss. You grabbed onto his shirt and slid your hand up to his face, Dean slow to break it off. “I don’t want to wait another four years.”

“I’ll stay a few days and if I’m not convinced there’s something…” you said as Dean chuckled. “Oh shut up you hopeless romantic.”

You brought your lips to his, moving slowly, Dean’s hands wrapping around to your hip, the nape of your neck, kissing you as gently as he did the first time he had.

“Uh, boss,” said a voice. You stepped away from each other and he grunted. “We got some barrels we could use to rest the top on.”

“Yeah,” said Dean. “Sounds good. Right?”

“Very good,” you said with a nod. “Dean, you uh, mind helping me with the tables?”

“Not at all, sweetheart.”

The Next Evening

“Hey,” you said as you found Dean in a suit, no tie, top collar undone and helping serve some beer from the taproom.

“Hey. You want a glass?” he asked.

“Sure,” you said. He poured two and excused himself, heading back with you over towards the reception. “I really can’t thank you enough. My sister loves it even more than the original place.”

“It’s no problem. I’m glad I could help out,” he said. You stopped just outside the reception, Dean smiling as he sipped from his glass. 

“Would you dance with me?”

“Sure,” he said. He set his glass down and took yours, placing it with his own before he grabbed your hips and started to sway slowly. 

“I meant at the wedding,” you laughed.

“But we’re already dancing,” he smiled. He spun you around and hummed quietly. “You look gorgeous tonight.”

“Thank you. You clean up well, Winchester.”

“This old thing?” he chuckled. “It’s my lucky suit.”

“You wore it that night. I thought you were gonna blow me off.”

“Went out and bought it after that afternoon. You wore that pretty white summer dress with the ruffles.”

“Couldn’t exactly wear a white dress tonight,” you said.

“I’m sure you’ll wear one someday,” he said. “You got plans after the party?”

“Might see this guy if he’s available. Not sure yet.”

“Oh he is. He knows a late night diner not too far with big greasy burgers if she’s interested. Plus he’s got a cool car.”

“Let’s go,” you said as you brushed your lips over his.

“Is the wedding over?”

“It’s dying down. I don’t want to wait any longer.”

“Let’s go.” He held out his arm and you stuck yours through it, Dean escorting you out to his car. You felt cooler out in the open air and he shrugged off his suit jacket, slipping it over your shoulders. You stuck your arms through and he opened the door for you, smiling to himself. “Ladies first.”

“Dean?” you said before you sat down. You pecked a kiss to his lips and he inhaled sharply. “Maybe I can stay longer than a few days?”

“You could just stay forever,” he said.

“Maybe I will,” you said. He cupped your cheek and grinned, kissing you slowly. “Don’t go away again.”

“Never, sweetheart. Let’s see if we can get a start on forever finally.”

_______

[mermaidsirennikita]

what’d you think of the emmy’s?

There were a few things I disagreed with in terms of awards:

--No idea why everyone is still losing their shit over Julia Garner. She is boring, and having silently sat beside my mom on the couch while she watched the latest season of Ozark--the entire sum of her performance in that season was nothing compared to Sarah Snook playing Shiv's reaction to her mom telling her she shouldn't have children. Next.

--I would've had Elle Fanning win Best Actress in a Comedy but I had no realistic expectation of her winning and I'm happy with Jean Smart getting her dues always.

--I had no realistic expectation of Nick Hoult winning either, but Jason Sudeikis winning was... Lmao, Ted Lasso is so mid, y'all. It's not horrible. It's not great. It's just flat, and is it even? Really? A comedy? From the Ted Lasso-heads I know, it seems that s2 was not super FUN. Brett Goldstein does a good job with his material, but he shouldn't have gotten a second Emmy, I'm sorry. Let's stop the steal here.

--Squid Game... is a good show. Do I think it deserved what it won more than Succession? Not really, no. Am I happy that non-English shows (especially Korean) shows are getting recognition? Yes. Do I expect the Emmys to keep it up after patting themselves on the back? No. I think they'll go back to ignoring all of the great productions being made around the world. And here's the thing--I won't pretend to be an expert on Korean cinema or TV, but I have watched a good bit of it in a variety of genres, and like... I do think that with Squid Game, there was a lot of "ooooh, aaaah" from western audiences in a way that made me uncomfortable. Because they missed the point. It's similar to what happened with Parasite. You liked the spectacle and saw it as WILD and EXOTIC, but did you absorb the criticism and message? No, because now there's going to be a Squid Game reality show, and the creator of Squid Game has to act happy about it so that he can keep his ties up with Netflix. NICE. And the reality is that Squid Game is being treated like this phenom that proved, at last, that Korean TV could compete with the *HIGH STANDARDS* of western TV, when there have always been great Korean TV shows, and indeed many that were better than Squid Game. So it's like. I'm happy on some levels but on others I'm very skeptical of the Emmys MEANING IT.

--Jesse Armstrong should've been allowed to make fun of the queen dying as much as he wanted and everyone should've laughed their asses off because it was funny and points were made. Homeboy is British, his taxes have gone to keeping that family in golden toilet seats, he can mock her all he wants and frankly if he said worse I'd applaud.

--Jimmy Kimmel needs to go, and we've known this a long time, but that shit was foul.

--I said Zendaya would win and Zendaya won. I am super happy for her, she's the real thing and deserves the fuck out of it.

--Happy for all the Abbott Elementary wins! I only started watching last night after the Emmys because time management, but my mom is a Big Fan so I'd known of it and of course I knew of Quinta from way back on Buzzfeed. What a success story.

--MATTY MAC WON AND IT WAS SO DESERVED. AT LAST. I love Kieran but Matty Mac has been my "dude who should get a best supporting actor win first" on Succession since season 1, so.

--Very happy for Amanda winning in the most stacked category of the night, but I wish she and Toni Colette could've broken that award in half. They were both super deserving.

--Lmao wild to me that Michael Keaton beat Oscar Isaac (and a couple other guys in that category) but ya know not everyone has good taste.

--White Lotus is meh but Jennifer Coolidge and Murray Barlett are superb talents who killed it on that show so. Happy for that. Less happy for all the Mike White love because the show really is just kinda like... Idk, it had its moments but I don't think it had a point, at least not one it reached effectively.

--I wish the bits would stop.

[navree]

This might be a jump that I’m only doing in my head, but so often a young girl not looking her age or not ‘acting’ her age is seen as enough of a reason to not treat them as their age. Like when pple say ‘ girls mature faster’ so some 20 year old guy can be ‘dating’ a 16 year old if she is posing on insta looking like a model in her 20s. Or like how a 13 year old black boy will get treated and seen as an adult while a white 13 yro still thought of as a kid.

So I just dunno if saying the show got it wrong from day one cause ‘if Elizabeth looked super young everyone would have understood it’s abuse’ is right. I don’t think Alicia looks her age, and I definitely get a young vibe from her performance. And the show states repeatedly her age and that she’s ‘a child’, if people still see it as a romance just cause they’re not automatically getting the ick watching it, I don’t think that’s really fair.

I get your point that with a younger actress the material would have been tamer, but the show obviously decided it was going to go there with the abuse which is why they didn’t cast someone super young, I don’t think that’s a fault of casting or Alicia, but a decision by the creators. But tbh even if the scenes had been much milder, I wouldn’t have liked to see the ’ ep 2 ‘rooster’ antics if Tom Cullen in his mid 30s was ripping the bed sheets off an 18 year old actress, never mind a younger one. I wouldn’t have been more tuned into Elizabeth’s age and abuse cause I’d be far too preoccupied seeing the actors behind the characters.

So I want to make it very clear since I guess that was opened to being misconstrued, I do not blame Alicia for taking the role and doing her job. It is not Alicia's job to manage the material, ask for rewrites, or do anything other than what she is paid to do, which she is doing. At no point am I blaming Alicia for choices made by the creators and nothing negative I say about the creative decision of the show is meant to be a negative about Alicia. Good? Clear? Great.

As I've said in my post, I haven't watched this show beyond clips. The information I'm getting is information from reviews and history/period drama reviewers I know across social media platforms that I've been engaging with on the subject (and also my mother who is watching the show, is as into the Tudors as I am, and is offering me her takes as she goes along). Take what I say with a grain of salt because I am currently not the audience watching the show (and probably won't be until the first season is finished).

But, all that being said: which is it? Is the show saying that Elizabeth's abuse is being excused by her abuser as her being "mature for her age", the way you mentioned, or is it repeatedly trying to let the audience know that she's "a child", the way you mentioned? And more importantly, my issue isn't about the show "going there" wrt to the abuse and my being upset it's not tame, my issue is that what the show is "going" towards is portraying a man in his forties fucking a fourteen year old in real time, that they're getting away with because they cast actors who have a more similar age gap to Elizabeth and Edward VI than Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour. My issue is that they are using Alicia being a grown woman, and thus not under the purview of things like child pornography laws, to make this as sexy and eroticized and graphic in the worst ways.

Like I said in my OG post, the problem is that the show's apparent mishandling of this abuse (particularly egregious, given how Anya Reiss was really hyping up that they were meant to be handling this sensitively and the end result is........This), combined with Alicia very much looking like an adult woman and not a girl who is meant to be starting this show who's been thirteen for less than half a year, offers ambiguity and thus cover for Seymour for people who aren't well versed in the history and are tuning into this show because they know who Elizabeth is and maybe saw Young Bess back in the day and were curious. They are presenting a scenario where, instead, of seeing someone barely into her teens being abused by a man practically the same age her own mother would have been, they're seeing two adults engaging in a tantalizing push and pull thanks not only to the apparent writing choices, but the choice to have Elizabeth be played by an adult.

On the subject of "I wouldn’t have liked to see the ’ ep 2 ‘rooster’ antics if Tom Cullen in his mid 30s was ripping the bed sheets off an 18 year old actress, never mind a younger one.", yeah, that's kind of my point. No one should be liking anything that's going on, nothing portrayed should be Open To Interpretation, considering how determined they were to hammer into everyone's head in pre-release material that they understood that the Seymour situation was abuse and they were going to sensitively handle it as such. Appropriate casting would have actually helped add to the story they were telling (assuming that's the story they wanted to to tell) by producing visceral shock and disgust and horror in the audience at Elizabeth's treatment at the hands of an adult man. Having it be two adults with the same age gap as my parents cheapens that.

Sorry to talk about GOT again cuz that's a shitshow if I ever saw one but the season 2 throne room scene with Sansa is legit awful to watch, meant to be awful to watch, and emphasizing the point of the scene, that Joffrey is awful and Sansa is in real danger and everyone is too scared of him to intervene save one of our core protagonists Tyrion, enhanced by the fact that Sophie was similar in age to her character (and it was still toned down from its source material due to the actress's age). And there's also things like cuts, filming tricks, editing, the use of body doubles in case things start running the risk, and obviously having appropriate counseling and anything else necessary available to the actress, so that they can avoid breaking the law and avoid causing undo harm to this hypothetical actress while still showcasing the abuse as abuse while having to deal with the fact that they don't get to add in ahistorical graphic sex scenes.

If you think I'm being unfair to Alicia, my apologies, none of these issues are with her and as I said, I think she's a good actress. If you think I'm being unfair to Anya, the rest of the writers, and their casting department (since casting is ultimately up to the creatives), then you are well within your rights to do so. But I am also well within my rights to feel that the casting choices made, compounded by the writing choices made, doesn't sit right with me, causes problems, and ultimately cheapens the tale they've told us they're telling, but failing to actually deliver on because of these factors.

[mcmusing]

😲....... 😵.......... EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE 😍😃

Zack: Hey, take it easy, Tiger Zord. No need to fall out. We're all family here.

Billy: Though your enthusiasm is commendable.

ATG: I.... I cannot believe this.

Jason: We're flattered, but we figured you'd be used to your OG Support Squad answering your distress calls by now.

ATG: Oh, I am. I just can't believe you guys didn't pop in when I was in mid-rant like the others.

Zack: Nah, we taught you better than that.

Tommy: Also, the others came to pry you from the pit. With the sky so grey, we thought you could use a burst of real color.

Trini: We're also here to say how sorry we are.

ATG: What??? No way. You guys are the last ones needing to apologize. For years, you were my siblings; my legit family.

Tommy: We know. That's kind of the reason we're sorry. We took care of you for so long and we thought we molded a better world for you than this.

Jason: A peaceful and friendly world.

Kim: With no hatred.

Billy: No prejudice.

Trini: No crime.

Zack: And no wars.

Billy: Admittedly, we were young and unrealistic, but none of us could have predicted a modern day so backwards.

Zack: Yeah, anything our big bads dished out looks humanitarian next to this mess.

ATG: I know, right? Give me Rita and Lord Zedd any day over this transparent tyranny.

Billy: History is being erased at such an inconceivable rate that I almost suspect a spell.

Kim: Erasure is the more merciful option than what the media is doing. These dweebs are seriously out to demolish all of our legacies.

Trini: Walt Disney, George Lucas, Stan Lee....

Zack: Saban. What was up with that Power Rangers parody they called a reboot?

Tommy: That flick is worse than any evil ranger clones we've tangled with. They assassinated our characters and stuck them in some YA dystopia. That's what kids relate to now?

Zack: That and race swapping, apparently.

ATG: Ugh, some idiots still act like it was a federal crime that you and Trini were black and yellow.

Kim: Yeah, how was that a hate crime but no one griped about pink being associated with someone as girly as me?

Tommy: Or when they thought I was white and had the same ranger color. Then, when they found out I'm native american, suddenly I wasn't allowed to be the red ranger anymore.

Billy: That overblown racial falsehood somehow forgets the fact that our show and action scenes originated in Japan. Color symbolism over there is significantly different than that of the US. For instance, our team never had a purple ranger due to the color's negative connotations within Japanese culture.

Trini: And before my actress got the role, they casted a white girl for the yellow ranger. Things just got shifted around. There was no nefarious motive involved. Except for how underpaid our actors were.

Zack: Because Saban's one and only motive is the almighty dollar. But I remember a lot of black boys looked up to me.

Billy: The same way introverted kids with low self-esteem looked up to me.

Kim: Seriously, our team rocked diversity before it became forced. The Power Rangers actually gave boys and girls a common interest they could enjoy together.

ATG: Trust me, I remember well. Playing rangers with the boys was one of the few bright spots of school. But no one ever wants to talk about wholesome aspects like that.

Jason: Least of all, suburban mothers. They were convinced we were negatively influencing kids with violence.

ATG: That makes less sense than the race hustling thing. Unless you were under a spell, you guys only ever fought monsters trying to destroy the city. In your spare time, you taught sports to preteens. And what about all of your PSAs? Anti-bullying, don't imitate tv stunts at home, fight only for self-defense, don't talk to strangers....

Zack: We figured you were the only one who listened to those. But let's face it, you're the only one who even remembers them.

ATG: More than I realized growing up. Yep, coolest kid ever- that's me.

Jason: No matter how lonely you felt, deep down you knew you didn't care about popularity. Not at the cost of losing who you really are.

ATG: What I am struggling to remember is who that person was.

Kim: Is. Yes, you've been unwell for the last few years, but you're still you. You still want to fight back by doing good.

ATG: And I feel outnumbered a billion to one. I can't single-handedly usher in that better world you guys talked about.

Jason: When did anyone ask you to? As idealistic as our hopes sounded, don't forget what else we said. Everyone has to do their part.

Trini: It's a frustrating conundrum. People feel discouraged, believing nothing they do makes a difference.

Billy: It easier to conform than to correct.

ATG: I love how all of you OGs are coming from different fandoms and dimensions yet you're all the living embodiment of the 'anti-conformity tag'.

Jason: Because none of us are saying it for edginess clout. People can say what they will about what unrealistic, good-natured teenagers we were, but we only wanted to set an example.

Kim: There is so much more to heroism than cool costumes and robot battle royale. I think you knew that even back then.

Tommy: Take it from someone almost swallowed by darkness. Regardless of my skills, for so long I felt unworthy of standing alongside these guys. Do you remember all the turmoil with my green ranger powers?

ATG: I could never forget that. It was one of the most intense storylines.

Tommy: Tell me about it. I was miserable when it first happened; more lost than my powers. When Zordon managed to restore some of my green energy, it was hard to be happy about it. I lived in constant dread of potentially losing them again.

Zack: Huh, sounds like somebody else we know....

ATG: I really want to kick whatever crackhead who says you guys aren't relatable.

Kim: We know it's hard, but it's definitely not hopeless. Your entire life is proof of that. We remember the little girl we used to shelter. The one who loved the people inside the suits way more than the powers themselves. Everything has changed for you for the better.

Tommy: We've walked such similar paths, Princess. You think you're fighting for your powers, but you're actually fighting for your life. Through whatever pain and sadness, the will to live is greater than any ranger power.

Trini: More than that, you're fighting for life itself. In a world that's made you feel so out of place. You still comprehend the sanctity of life. You still respect and desire to preserve it. One ranger in particular would be honored to learn she served any small part in helping you forge such a mindset.

ATG: Trini....

Trini: Honey, I know. It's okay.

Kim: You're going to be better than okay.

Jason: To paraphrase a wizard we all once knew, the world is lucky to have you and so are we.

ATG: I really hope so. I was sure lucky to have all of you. Thank you.

Zack: I really hope you give that head of yours a rest. You know you need to tackle that laundry that should've been put away yesterday.

ATG: 😑........ Thank you, Zack.

God Bless, God Rest

Thuy Trang

1973-2001

💛Cherished Sister-Ranger💛

[parkers-gal]

Hello!

Could you do a Psychiatrist!Y/n and Tom Holland where they are together and the russo brothers assigned Dr.Y/n to be their mental health coach for all of the actors and actresses in Cherry especially Tom and Ciara and one day Tom just have major breakdown after shooting a scene where he just let go like act like Nico and think like Nico and Y/n and Tom went to have a one on one talk🥺and tom be like: you are so good to me🥺and during the press interview (The iconic yellow shirt;)) Tom mentioned his girlfriend on how helpful she is to him to the entire production and sending heart eyes as well and million of fans where like swoon over their relationship:) Sorry its long🤣

Thank you for accepting and writing it❣️💖

requests are open

wc: 1k

—

“Alright everyone, really quickly,” Anthony, one of the Russo brothers, quieted the set of people, crew members and actors focusing their attention on both the directors and the woman behind them. “I’m sure you’ve all read the email I mass-sent to you all, but I’d like to introduce our Psychiatrist, Dr. Y/N L/N.” He gestured to you, and you waved to the people looking at you, slightly intimidated. “She’ll be helping through the entirety of production, so let’s give her a warm welcome!” You heard them say, “Hi, Y/N,” and you assumed the Russos did such a thing with every guest. 

You stepped forward, straightening out your shirt. “Hi, I’m Dr. L/N. Feel free to just refer to me as my first name. I’ll be here if anyone is having a hard time or… needs a bit of therapy or needs to relieve some stress.” 

You saw a few people nod, and you turned back to Joe with a tight smile, excusing yourself as you went off of the set. You wanted to set up in the trailer they’d given you.

You’d read the script. It was harsh, it was heavy, but it was real. That’s what made it human. You knew the actors probably wouldn’t warm up to your offers at first, but eventually they’d be coming in. It was typical in most of your patients, you had noticed. Denial played a big role in receiving help. You hoped, though, that they wouldn’t come in too late. 

**

It had been about two weeks since your first introduction. You were on set, taking notes of how people acted, picking apart their every move and their habits. What you didn’t expect, however, was someone to come to you so soon. 

It was mid afternoon, and you were sitting in your trailer, getting some work done online, when someone had rung your work phone. Picking it up, you heard the frantic voice of one of the Russo brothers, informing you they had halted filming for the next hour or so. They’d sent someone to your room, and you could only wonder who it was. 

When you heard a very timid knock, you opened the door to see the star of the film himself, Tom. You smiled, inviting him. 

“Hey, Tom,” you sat down, and he sat on the couch beside your small table. “Everything alright.”

He nodded, seemingly in thought, and you gave him the space to flutter as he pleased, allowing him to open up at his own pace. He was grateful for that — that you were more considerate than you would be if you were strictly following rules. 

“I’ve just been…” his voice was rough and delicate, scratching and quite damp. “Having a really hard time.” He cleared his throat. “We’ve been talking to so many veterans and people with addictions and I’ve just-” he sighed, hands rubbing his face and going over his head. “I’ve been so exhausted.”

You saw a tear slip and set your clipboard down. Moving to sit beside him, you wrapped your arm around his shoulders, pulling him close in comfort. 

“I just feel like I’m turning into him.” He breathed out, gasping between breaths as he tried to slow his tears. 

“You will never be him,” you looked him straight into the eyes. “You’re so strong, Tom. I’ve seen you these past few weeks and- I’m honestly surprised you didn’t come sooner. I can see how much of a fighter you are, how in control of your mind and your headspace you are. And that’s good,” he let out a few more tears, looking down to his lap, and you pulled him closer. “You’re doing so good.”

He nodded, hand running over his buzzed head. “No yeah, I know,” his voice was so broken, rasping beyond belief. “I’m terrified of becoming him- of… of losing who I am.”

You nodded. “It’s hard,” you agreed. “Just because you can handle it doesn’t mean you’re not going to have rough patches. It’s okay to have breakdowns like today. We know what you have to do and what you have to go through for this role,” you lifted his chin, swallowing. “Days like this are going to happen, and you don’t need to be sorry.”

The two of you sat in each other’s embrace for a few minutes after that, silence settling in the trailer. 

“You’re so good to me,” he sighed out, and you shook your head. 

“You deserve the best, Tom.”

With all the time the two of you ended up spending together during production, a relationship had sprouted. He’d confided in you for basically everything, not just Cherry-related problems. He trusted you, and he was certain he loved you. It had only been a few months, and he didn’t want to scare you off, but he still knew. 

Press had started, from home of course. Over the course of quarantine, the two of you had gone public with your relationship, occasionally sharing a few pictures. He was in an interview now, smiling in his seat, a yellow-golden shirt fitted on his chest. You were sitting in the corner, out of the view of the camera. 

“How hard was it to differentiate your headspace? Between Cherry, with such a dark persona, and you yourself. Was it difficult to keep it out of your personal mindset?”

“Uhm,” he crossed his arms, biceps buff. “Well, it was definitely difficult. There were days on set where I’d just- I’d snap and I’d go up to the Russos and be like ‘Hey, sorry about that.’ And they’d say ‘Dude, you’re playing a drug addict. It’s gonna happen,’” he laughed wholeheartedly. “But, I’d say we had really great support. My girlfriend was such a huge factor in keeping me in the right headspace through all of this.” 

“Your girlfriend is a…. Psychiatrist, right?”

Tom nodded with a smile, “Yeah, she is.” He glanced at you when he replied, a small grin on his face as he watched you from afar. He was grinning like a madman when you stared back, and you giggled, waving at him in a silly manner. He waved back, momentarily forgetting he was on camera, and you tried not to laugh too loudly. 

“Is she in the room with you?”

Tom’s head snapped back to the monitor and he laughed, a blush coating his cheeks. “Yeah, she is,” he scratched his neck. You stuck your tongue out at him, and he did the same. You were sure twitter was going to have a fit tonight. 

[screaming-apple]

ON ZHANG ZHEHAN BEING ACCUSED OF S*XUALLY HARASSING CO-ACTOR (Ju Jingyi)

I don’t think this is known much among fans in the West but here in Asia, it was made a huge deal and even now, when proof has been found and clarification has been made, some people still think that this is one of many deals that has got him “boycotted or/and cancelled”. So, before I get to translating more well-known matters among the Western fans, I wanna do this first to warm up to translating these kinds of posts. Note that in the original post, they used a lot of slang and I have tried my best to make it clear in English while keeping the original poster’s tone.

---

ARE THE “ACCUSATIONS” OF ZHANG ZHEHAN HARASSING HIS CO-STAR RELIABLE?

Zhang Zhehan and Ju Jingyi collaborated 2 times: the first time in Legend of Yunxi - filmed in 2017, aired in 2018; the second time in The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion - filmed in 2019, aired in 2020. From 2017 to early 2021, there was never any information on accusing ZZH of sexually harassing his once co-star, along with the actress never having any criticism towards him, and the two of them even interacted really friendly and comfortably in real life.

From late February - early March 2021 (the time the whole world was preparing to celebrate International Women’s Day and WoH was airing), to the most recent being mid-August when ZZH continuously got accused of many unverified rumours, with the “accusations” of him harassing his once co-star Ju Jingyi kept being brought out and distorted to add insult to injury, tarnishing ZZH’s image.

One of the “proofs” that got used the most often for these accusations of harassment is a behind-the-scenes cut video of Legend of Yunxi when ZZH was holding JJY tightly and pressing into her shoulders. ZZH was immediately deemed as taking advantage of work to “sexually assault”, “harass”, “find her bra strap”.

Firstly, this needs to be affirmed, every action and word here is judged based on their full context. In the behind-the-scenes videos that the producers have released, along with comparing to the official scenes, we can see (video can be found being the first one in the OG post's comment section):

The hugging scene is in the context of standing opposite to each other, the two actors then went into their positions to continue filming the next scene.

His right hand was on JJY’s back, and did not move much or have any “handsy” action.

His left hand was pressing on one place on JJY’s shoulder, not “handsy”.

All of the crews on the set knew what the two were doing and showed no distasteful reaction, even going on putting notes of them feeling comfortable with this action in there.

The second “proof” for the case of ZZH taking advantage of work to harass his co-star was said to be the scene on the bed of The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion when he “trapped” his co-star and “did not let” her get up.

In the full video, the whole setting can be seen clearly (the second video in the comment section of the OG post:

ZZH backed down 2-3 times to avoid getting too close to his co-star. His actions were pretty slow, bit by bit, because then, he had recently gone through knee surgery. JJY was not in a hurry to get up and out either after the cut signal, but going well along with his speed.

The two actors were discussing with the crews in really fun and enthusiastic manners about their scene, they even joked with each other, the side of the actress showing no discomfort.

=> Therefore, we can see that ZZH never had any inappropriate action, never took advantage of or harassed his co-star in their two collaborations. Furthermore, male-female acting with each other, in both rehearsal and real shooting, always need time to warm up and build up feelings, the director even asked them to massage each other’s ears to create more effects (yeah, this is kinda weird but this was the director’s doing, this can also be found in one of the videos in the comment section). Not to mention, a star in the place of Ju Jingyi (more famous, with more weight to her voice compared to ZZH back then), having no protest, accusation nor avoidance to supposedly harassment and exploitation, but instead happily interacting and continuing to collaborate with ZZH for the second time - impossible.

---

*Notes:

The link to the original post - it would be better if you go into the link using a computer/laptop and remember to click "see more" in the comment section to see the hidden videos (again, don’t judge me for using Facebook, it’s the most popular here, and I think you can still see the post without signing in?): https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=599281397871631

ZZH’s and JJY’s “mother-daughter relationship”: There was this one scene they filmed that his action was reminding her of her own mother, so he kinda like said that she should just consider this a mother-daughter relationship and she replied “Okay! (Hǎo!)” loudly. Later on, before, like a basketball match of his and she even wished her “mama to have a good match”. And some said she even visited him in the hospital while he had knee surgery but I haven’t searched this up.

I have managed to download the video from the post but not from its comment section to attach them along with each explanation, but you can still visit the link if you want some cute GIFs and the rest of the videos of their interaction.

Video in the post: Just a cute short behind-the-scenes video.

(Context - first vid in the comment section) The scene where he hugged her and moved his hand a little on her shoulder was when Qin Wang (his character) gave Yunxi (her character) a small shoulder massage.

(Context - second vid) What was said to be the action of him “trapping” her under while it is clear in the video that she showed no sign of discomfort and he got up slowly because of his knee.

(Third vid) Their interaction on set, and the ear massage thing.

(Fourth vid) More on their interaction on set.

(Fifth vid) Them on the set of The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion.

(Sixth vid) More of The Blooms at Ruyi Pavilion behind the scenes (he even said some English here).

=> So, that was my translation and some additions to this case. It was not one of the main accusations that got brought up during 813 but this piece of wrong information is still spread through ignorant people. So, just in case you guys see some stuff on this, remember that he is not guilty of harassing anyone and especially not Ju Jingyi. Their relationship was so cute and precious, and I hope the recent events haven’t affected it much.

Link of the full list of my translations:

[youvebeenlivingfictional]

When We Were Young Part Two

Part One | Next Part | Masterlist Pairing: Sherlock Holmes x Reader

Rating: T

Notes: Not beta-read

Warnings: Uuuuuh none

Summary: You’d only caught glimpses of Mycroft when he’d returned to Ferndell, but it was so unmistakably him. 

You thanked the attendant that put your luggage on the overhead rack before you settled in your seat. Part of you had considered lingering on the platform, looking around and waiting for Sherlock, but it felt ridiculous. He’d surely been winding you up the day before; he’d done that when you were younger, when Mycroft had already started to tick you off, and had grown bored with your ‘antics’ as he’d call them (even at that age). Sherlock knew, back then, that it wouldn’t take much longer before you were on the verge of tears and stomping off to Eudoria. As you’d gotten older and looked back, you’d realized that that was just a tactic to get you to go away. Why he’d bothered to act as such last night, though, you simply didn’t understand. You leaned back, a book in your hands as you waited for the train to depart. “Have you room for two more?” You straightened and turned your head at the sound of Sherlock’s voice, brows raised at the sight of him standing in the doorway to the compartment. “I’m only seeing one of you at the moment,” You said. “Mycroft will be right along.” You carefully shielded your displeasure, but the quirk of Sherlock’s brow told you that you weren’t careful enough. You gestured to the seat across from yourself before returning your attention to your book. Sherlock sat directly across from you, a book and a notebook in his own hands. You eyed them with interest before lowering your eyes to your book again.

“What are you reading?” Sherlock asked as he opened his own book. “North and South,” you answered. “Do you like it?” You did, quite a bit, but you weren’t sure you wanted Sherlock making a mockery of the subject matter, or your swooning over Mr. Thornton. But then you remembered what he’d told you a few days ago about your handwriting, ‘You’re outspoken, comfortable in your own skin’. “Yes, I do,” You answered crisply, turning the page. There was a moment of silence between you before you asked, “Have you any news about Enola’s whereabouts?” “No.” You pursed your lips. Somehow you didn’t believe that; maybe you didn’t want to. Sherlock was brilliant. If he had no leads, there was a higher likelihood of Enola being lost. “Would you tell me if you did?” You asked. Sherlock didn’t answer right away, and when you glanced up, you found him watching you, eyes gentle.

“I know you’re worried about her, dove,” He said softly. It was so straightforward, still utterly Sherlock, but for once, this acknowledgement of your emotion didn’t feel like an indictment. You lowered your eyes to your book again, fully intending to focus, but you could feel the weight of Sherlock’s gaze on you still. “Ah, there you are, Sherlock.” Your attentions were averted at the sound of another voice at the door of the compartment. You’d only caught glimpses of Mycroft when he’d returned to Ferndell, but it was so unmistakably him. He regarded you with a pleased shock as he stepped inside, removing his hat and sitting beside Sherlock. “You look like you’ve rather grown up to be... Well, respectable,” He said, eyes carefully sweeping your person. You arched a brow. “And you look like you’ve rather grown up,” You returned before you shifted in your seat, fully intending to return to your reading. “Your parents are in good health?” Mycroft pressed, insistent on upholding the rules of polite conversation, despite it only being the three of you. “They are well as can be expected,” You answered with a polite nod. “And you are well?” “I am, thank you, Mr. Holmes.” A pause, you assumed a respite as you turned back to your book. “You are... Unmarried?” Mycroft asked. You bristled, fingers tightening around your book as you lifted your eyes to his again. A fair question - hands covered in gloves, Mycroft wouldn’t be able to see a ring if you’d been wearing one. “Yes,” You confirmed. “And yet you travel alone,” He observed, “Quite precarious for a woman in your position.” You knew better than this. You weren’t going to sink to the level of Mycroft’s ridiculous little game - you could see his spoiling to rile you up, his eagerness to call you on your impending outburst. He was waiting for it. Instead, you let your shoulders sag a little, your head tip to the side as you regarded him. “Needs must, Mr. Holmes. Unfortunately my father isn’t well enough to travel, which is one of the things that’s necessitating my travel into London in the first place. If he were well, or if my parents had been fortunate enough to have sons, as yours had been, I might not be in this situation. But if you’d be so kind as to lend yourself as my companion for the duration of this journey, I’d be incredibly grateful,” You answered in a steady voice, offering Mycroft a bashful smile. Mycroft’s excitement spoiled so fast you swore his mustache wilted a little. He faltered, clearing his throat before nodding and mumbling a, “It would be my privilege,” before opening his newspaper and shielding himself behind it. Once he was out of sight you allowed your smile to drop, and you rolled your eyes as you sat up straight. You made to turn back to your book, eyes catching on Sherlock’s on the way. He was smiling, fully, warmly - something you hadn’t seen directed at you in a long time. You felt a thrill run through you, and you couldn’t help the small smile, a real one, that grew on your own lips at the sight. Neither of you spoke, just returned to your respective reading materials. -- The train ride was spent in amiably awkward silence; Mycroft reading a paper and tutting over the reform bill, Sherlock and yourself immersed in your own books. Now and again you’d feel him watching you over the top of his, and you’d feel the urge to squirm, or bring your book up a little higher to block him out of your field of vision, but you kept carefully still. You wouldn’t let him get to you as he had on the path back from Ferndell. You’d been kicking yourself all night for snapping at him the way you had, letting him get the better of you. But what had bothered you, more than the fact that you’d started to lose your temper, was the fact that he’d actually seemed affected by what you said. The look in his eyes, the little clench of his jaw - and then to push it all down in a second. You’d wondered if that was what he needed to do in order to work on these cases, set the emotion aside, hone in on the facts. But you weren’t a case. You tried not to dwell, to instead focus on your book, but knowing he was watching you, that he was so close by, was just so distracting. -- “I trust you’ve someone to meet you at the station?” You’d said what you’d said to get a rise out of Mycroft, but he seemed to be taking his role as companion very seriously. “I have, yes. My uncle,” You nodded, closing your book and folding your hands atop it as the train pulled into the station. You’d hardly read a word after a certain point, you’d merely been turning the pages for the sake of appearances. “Your father’s brother?” Sherlock asked. “Mother’s,” You corrected. His brow furrowed at that, and he loosed a, “Hm.” “Problem?” You asked. Sherlock shook his head before directing his gaze out of the window. You took the moment to look over his profile, admire his strong jaw and the curl of his hair. You didn’t let yourself longer too long, strongly aware of the fact that Mycroft was still there. Sherlock and Mycroft were both out of their seats as soon as the train stopped. Sherlock offered his hand to you. You took it, letting him help you up. You loosened your grip on his hand, and he took a moment to do the same before he reached up, fetching your luggage down from the overhead rack. Mycroft stepped back, gesturing for you to go. You stepped out ahead of them, nodding in thanks. They followed you out of the compartment and off of the train. "I know you two have quite a bit to do, you don’t have to wait with me,” You offered as they stopped on either side of you. “Nonsense,” Mycroft said crisply, “I wouldn’t dare leave a lady unattended.” He offered you his arm, and you saw that glint in his eye, still egging you on. You matched it with the smile you’d given him before, wrapping your arm around his as you headed for the entrance, Sherlock trailing close behind. “There’s my uncle,” You said as soon as you spotted your Uncle Cornelius. He was smiling, red-cheeked (likely from the sherry he’d already dipped into and not a mid-morning chill). You made the necessary introductions to Mycroft, but when you turned to Sherlock, you narrowed your eyes, “I presume you two have already met?” Cornelius opened his mouth to contradict you, but the additional darkening in his cheeks told you that you were right. You let out your own knowing, “Hm.”  Mycroft cleared his throat. “I’ll get us a hansom,” He addressed Sherlock. He nodded to Cornelius, then yourself before stepping away. Cornelius reached out, taking your bag from Sherlock. “Do I even want to know how you two are acquainted?” You asked, clasping your hands behind your back and turning a sweet smile up at the both of them. “Mr. Holmes was kind enough to... Assist me with a personal matter last year,” Cornelius admitted. You nodded. “I see,” You said, “And this wouldn’t have anything to do with the actress that you took up with that subsequently tried sell your Rembrandt to the Louvre without your say-so, would it?” Cornelius let out a shaky, embarrassed laugh, eyes darting between yourself and Sherlock. You nodded, sighing, “Right.” “Sherlock!” Mycroft called from a ways away. You all turned at the sound of his voice to see him waving Sherlock away. You looked up at Sherlock. “If you find anything out about Enola--” “I will let you know,” He nodded. He glanced at Cornelius before he turned to face you fully. “Might I call on you while we’re both in town? -- If I have an update on Enola,” He clarified. You nodded. “Of course,” You said. Sherlock nodded. He turned, shaking Cornelius’ hand and saying his goodbyes before he left with Mycroft. You watched the two of them disappear into the crowd before you turned back to see your Uncle Cornelius eyeing you curiously. “What?” You asked, frowning. “I believe, my dear, that you are interested.” Your frown deepened to a scowl. “Try not to read too deeply into a woman’s interest, Uncle. You may find yourself short another Dutch Old Master.”