#but also i think it might have just been him telling him coz of the media announcement they'd have to make soon

[world-of-wales]

Jason Knauf speaking about how he was the first one to know from the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge about Princess Charlotte's arrival and the tiny crisis he had to deal with while announcing the news to the media.

🎥 - CBS/60 Minutes

[xenteaart]

when you're feeling weak, i'll be the words if you can't speak

pairing: chan x reader (i wrote it with idol!chan or producer!chan in mind, but it can fit any au, really) genre/warnings: er, angst, hurt/comfort, implied suffering w depression and anxiety. reader is feeling off and insecure. also kinda going almost non verbal author's note: a short lil songfic ig coz it's inspired by Isak Danielson – I Can't Lose You. basically channie being a comfort boyfie material

to put it simply, you were never not anxious or insecure. but stepping into the big adult life, you sort of learned to conceal it well, even from your own self. the fake it till you make it thing, and you could even say you've "made it" with a small exception of the days where your brain and your entire nervous system randomly circled back to your default settings. "so what are you gonna eat, baby?" chan asks with a cheerful soft tone, glancing over the menu and then back at you.

today's a good day. you haven't been too overwhelmed with work, nothing out of the ordinary happened. so naturally, a pinch of guilt somewhere deep in your guts makes you feel like a bother to be around, and today — for no good reason.

"are you okay?" he notices your slightly spaced out gaze when you're trying to read the menu but not really reading, more like frowning and getting nervous.

"yeah.. no. no, i don't know," you murmur barely audibly, losing your focus for the tenth time in a span of the last five minutes. brain fog takes over, making your vision blurrier than normal and your thinking all floaty and hazy. as if you're looking at the world through dirty lenses, but also the lights are too bright and your surroundings are loud.

"i dunno, i just..." can't even speak for myself today and choose a meal and say it out loud because suddenly everything is embarrassing and difficult.

chris looks slightly worried because you might be in pain or feeling unwell, but nothing hurts except your pride. because you're a big girl, you have been for years, and now you want to cry on the spot because you can't choose between pasta and soup all of a sudden. it makes you feel even more stupid.

"can you please choose and order for me today? my brain just can't," you try to explain, visibly stressed and overwhelmed by a simple mundane task, "i want somethin' warm and filling," you specify to make it easier for chan.

he doesn't make a big deal out of it, just nods and meets you with a gentle 'course, baby. he then talks to the waiter and makes sure they don't ask you anything which feels like a relief. sometimes it's nice to feel invisible, especially in a vulnerable state.

after the horrifying deed is over with, chris leans in a little closer to be able to speak in a softer, quieter voice.

"d'you wanna just have dinner in silence and head home?" he asks while massaging your palm with his fingers soothingly, so calm and nonchalant as if you didn't just obsess over the smallest thing to the point of making yourself filled with shame and insecurity.

that's how chris always does it. by showing you that whatever it is that's bothering you is not a burden to him. he's got you. it's okay if you want or rather need him to do something for you. he's happy to be your strong shoulder to lean onto and not think about a single thing while he takes care of whatever it is at the time.

"yeah. or you can tell me about your day and stuff. i wanna know and i'm okay with listening. just not... responding, maybe?" you give him an awkward smile as he nods understandingly and plants a little kiss on the back of your hand. a modern gentleman and a caring lover.

somewhere in the middle of a story about how cubase was lagging and almost crashed mid producing session today, the waiter brings your meals. it's two pumpkin cream soups, some grilled and seasoned breads and a fresh greek salad to share.

oh, to be loved like this.

your stomach growls at the smell of food, and a bright proud smile is instantly painted over chan's features.

[wuucchoo]

Understanding Tsumiki and Megumi's relationship

Hey there! It's me, Megumi's defense attorney - here once more to defend my boy.

I've been seeing A LOT of people saying they cannot sympathize with Megumi's grief because they don't know Tsumiki that well. And although I would argue that you don't need to know the person who died for you to sympathize with the one who was left behind - I do understand what these people mean, i don't agree with them! But I understand why they think this. And yes, we dont know Tsumiki.

However, we first need to understand why gege chose to present Tsumiki this way. On a surface level, she can only be seen as 'the thing that would cause Megumi's downfall' - we dont know her thoughts, her ambitions, her real personality, anything really - except for what Megumi says about her. A 'textbook good person'.

And that's because she is a character that we were only able to see through someone else's eyes. We don't know Tsumiki, because Megumi doesn't know Tsumiki.

BUT WAIT!! What do I mean by that?

Before that though, I would like to say first! This doesn't mean that Megumi's love for her is diminished by this. Just because he doesn't know her doesn't mean he doesn't love her. Megumi cares about her more than anyone in his life, and that's a fact!

Now we can proceed! What does this mean? Let's look at this page from ch 56: origin of obedience:

This was a case that they have been investigating, and it is pretty damn close to Megumi's and Tsumiki's old school. And yet, the thought that Tsumiki might have went to the bridge with her classmates never crossed his mind. He doesnt know that Tsumiki is someone capable of breaking the rules, going against curfew, and joining her friends to go to a haunted bridge in the dead of night. This boy Megumi thinks his sister is a damn saint.

He put Tsumiki on a pedestal, and it resulted in her turning into nothing but the mold of a good person Megumi uses to judge other people. If a person is not Tsumiki-shaped, then they're not worth saving. ((Luckily for Yuuji, he IS Tsumiki-shaped lmao. But anyway!))

Truth be told, I used to think it sucks that we never knew Tsumiki outside of what Megumi says. I never felt bad when she died, I felt bad that Megumi's sister died. I felt bad FOR Megumi.

And now that I actually think on it, THAT was the exact point. We dont NEED to know Tsumiki, we only needed to see her through Megumi's eyes - and through that, understand that Megumi doesn't really know her that well.

It is something that Megumi have to mull over. Why did he keep Tsumiki at an arm's length despite how much he cares for her? Why is it so hard for him to let people in? Why is asking someone for help so difficult for him?

ITS BECAUSE OF THAT MFKER TOJI!!!! IM TELLING YA'LL!! /hj

Look at the face he was making in Toji's memory. That's a kid who shows his emotions outright. My boy is pouting (つ╥﹏╥)つ. But when Gojo met him, Megumi has become a total idgafker (at least on the outside). And thats not only because Gojo was a stranger - coz thats how he looks like when he talks to Tsumiki too. It's because he became that way when Toji left.

Anyway, my point is, due to Megumi's abandonment issues - he never let anyone in. EVER. Not even Tsumiki. Megumi put a wall between him and other people - for his own protection. The one who came a little bit close into breaking that wall is Yuuji (and we are yet to see how that goes).

And this is why, we as the readers are all detached from Tsumiki's character. Because we saw her through Megumi's eyes, who loves her and cares about her very, very much - yet despite that he never let her get too close. (っ- ‸ - ς)

If you read up to here, whats up! Thank you for reading! Feel free to counter it or anything, Im happy to discuss!

((also something to add: Megumi cares so much about Tsumiki because she's the first one who actively chose to stay - amidst all the people who left.

this was inspired by a great megumi character analysis i found on twitter:

read it if you have time! its really good!

[jellitchi]

varigo lovely night animatic

i made this in a sickly haze.... i uploaded her to youtube as well feel free to check it out. under the cut is a Huge Ramble abt sum context / what happens In My Mind... also their Fancy ballroom fits n whatever

yk how theres a ball/fancy party or smth? yeah i needed stupid designs so i cranked these out might return and color them but i basically based varian n hugos design off of these just dressed down...

Anyways.

uhm i might write a Whole fic abt this with Oomf but uhm.

this takes place during the events of vat7k about a year after varian initially left, he returns to corona w his friends to find the library and rapunzel and eugene throw him a surprise birthday party. and in true disney character fashion, something horrible happens on his birthday. the gang gets caught witnessing / overhearing plans to assassinate the princess tonight. or maybe its gonna b a murder mystery party gone awry- havent decided. the group splits into two groups, the detectives and the protectors. yong and nuru are the detectives, theyre looking for evidence they can use to prove this has been planned for a long time. hugo n varian r tasked w making sure rapz n eugene done die sum horrible death as they hang out at the party. did i mention the party is The royal ball. so everyone is in stuffy/fancypants fits.

the whole running gag was gonna b rapunzel and eugene having like fifty near death experiences n its always like, Unknowingly. and hugo and varian r stressed out of their mind.

the reason varian n hugo r on Protector duty is coz theyre like Uhm. we're better at Improvising stuff. We can curve this and try n get the Killer to mess up and leave a trail for nuru n yong to go after.

anyways this animatic takes place a bit after like fifty attempts (cartoon ass flower pot almost crashes on their head, they watch someone spike their drinks and hugo runs over and drinks them both followed by an antidote varian just made, they walk through an archway and just barely miss the guillotine positioned above their head okay you get it just Silly cartoonish methods of assassination)

A Lovely Night takes place after Most of that so theyre very tired, the two get locked onto a balcony and r forced to kinda js Watch rapz n eugene hang out. varian takes a seat n is trying to sleuth out whos tryna kill his sister, he has an imaginary cork board w strings. hugo is kinda like "mann theyre kinda cute tgt. see two ppl locked on a balcony alone under the night sky would consider this romantic, goggles." n then Lovely Night!

uhm and the afterwards i think theres a figure approaching eugene and rapunzel so the two literally make a makeshift rope and throw themselves down the balcony to save them but boom they played into the assassinators plan! they were tired of varian and hugo getting in the way so they were js gonna kill em too. n then this is when rapunzel n eugene step in, n save them yeah and then they tell them everything and all is well and good and the assassins r behind bars...! Segment end....

[chartreusevielle]

| Aged-up Midoriya Izuku x fem reader smut | for 18+ readers only please |

You don't know how many times you've turned your head up and down and turned your body sidewards and in all directions just to avoid him. But of course you can't escape his watchful eyes, you wouldn't date if that's not the case anyways.

"(name), why are you avoiding me?" he asked with watchful eyes hoping for explanation.

"w-what? I'm not avoiding you Izuku," yeah right.

"Oh, I see" he gave you a benevolent sad smile that makes you think, you, my darling has fucked up. How dare you make him sad after praying for his happiness all day and all night?

"Fuck it! I'm sorry Izuku," you throw your hands around him and throw him in a squishing hug, which clearly surprises him a little bit based on the way he reacted, before then hugging you back, rubbing your back slowly which makes the circuit go around your mind, almost bursting all the sanity you have.

'Damn it'

This is why you don't want to face him right now. Two months in your relationship and the both of you never go below the line. Kissing and cuddling is all you have, but what can you say, some things just don't fit anymore, especially now.

You bury your head on his shoulders, rubbing your head in his neck which makes him laugh a little because it tickles.

"Can you tell me now, why are you avoiding me?" you bit your lower lip, hiding your face from him even more.

"I'm ovulating", you felt him halt within your touch.

"Huh?", you sigh before you let him go, avoiding his green orbs that have their focus on you.

"I'm ovulating Izuku, and I'm horny as fuck right now. Especially when I see your face dang it!" you don't have time to see his reaction when your mouth begins to express words that are clearly not for everyone to hear.

"I want to cling on you, put you in my bed, wrap my fingers around you, kiss you 24 hours, and yes, have sex with you!" you rub your hands in your face clearly avoiding him even more, not even glancing at the way his face reddened and his mouth wide open and about to say something when you cut him off.

"I can even imagine you apologizing and rubbing my face, comforting me because, you don't fit easily in my hungry hole," both of your eyes widened because of what you just said and you just happened to stab yourself mentally as you then slap your hands to your mouth.

"Oh God, I'm sorry Izuku, this is all in my head and yes, I'm getting crazy so let me go now in my room and kill my self for a moment, okay?", but before you can leave, he goes within your boundaries and hug you tightly against his chest.

"I-Izuku" instead of an answer, all you can hear is the loud beating of his heart as you then turn to looked up and find him, still red and has his eyes close, breathing slowly, as if he is calming himself down, it might have worked for him but it only make you go wildin', coz your man is just to gorgeous even while just breathing, those who want to argue can talk to the wall.

"(name)" green eyes meet your irises and you gulp upon the deep intensity within them.

"I'm sorry", eh?

Before you know it, he was carrying you like a bride before getting into your room where the door was then closed with force in a hurry.

You felt the softness of the mattress as he slowly put you down before turning back as he went ahead and locked the door.

By the way the things have been going, you know where it is headed and you're up for it. You gulp down as he takes off his allmight t-shirt and stare at his body which was sculpted by his intense training and scars which you also found beautiful. Scratch that, the mere existence of Midoriya Izuku is like the beauty of the whole world to you.

As he comes back, you readied yourself to accept him, not until he ask—

"are you really okay-" did you let him finish his words? no, you shut the distance with your lips already.

Your hands traveled under his shirt to trace his skin as he did the same, having his palms reaching you back with his slow rubbing which throws you even deeper into the heat.

His hands reach the clasp of your bra in your back before you hear the sound of the clicking and the way your cup came loose. Your other arms came circling in his neck, reaching out his green locks as you mess it up, still having your lips closer than ever.

You felt him tug the hems of your shirt which gives you a chance to let him go and breathe for a moment as you guide him to take your shirt off, together with the rest of your upper garments, and there you were, half naked, only for him to see.

"God, you're so beautiful"

You saw him having deeper focus in your chest as if hesitating to touch you once again, making you giggle before taking one of his hands and having it the access to your circular mountains. You felt him tense as you spoke,

"Come on, Izuku, touch me more", as if something on him snapped he leans one more time and touches you in his own consciousness, cupping your breast, massaging them as you both continue your lovely kisses.

Slowly, his lips travel downwards, sucking and kissing you neck and shoulders, until they have reached your chest, he then take turns in kissing and and touching both of them which makes your back slowly rise as if giving him even more access that you could as your hands keep on circling within his green locks.

As the heat intensifies, you have the urge to take off the rest of both of your clothes, until you hear his soft breathing while resting his head at the peak of your breast, asking,

"Can I take it all off?" you grin at him.

"Take off everything Izuku"

Sound of belts and clothes made by both of your clothes, dropped down as you then positioned yourself in the middle of the bed as he was crawling into you. Both of you, under the cast of the moonlight outside your room are completely revealed and naked under each other's eyes.

You felt the entrance between your legs getting even more loose in wetness as he then proceeds to kiss your legs which makes you gasp.

"I-Izuku, y-you don't need-ah!" before you can finish your words you have him diving into your pearls as your breathing goes awry as the unfamiliarity of the feeling of his tongue between your legs.

Getting your silence as a sign of yes, Izuku gets down into his business which left you in ecstasy.

His tongue moves as he continues to taste you. Getting the rhythm right as he felt your hands gripping his hair, leading his head even deeper in your folds.

He can hear you, saying his name like a mantra as he felt your wetness gushing dripping out even more.

A few more times have passed and he hears you calling him again, but this time, with a higher pitch as you said,

"I-I'm cumming, I'm cumming Izuku!" you never heard a response from him but you felt the licking grew faster as your grip in his hair got even tighter, you felt the knots within your body getting loose together with the feeling of something coming out of your body.

You were panting as he licks you clean before raising his head to face you with the familiar bright touch of green in his eyes

"Did I do good?", does he need to ask you that?

"You were amazing, Izuku"

More kissing and licking passes as time then flows, and here you were. Folds opening as he inserted himself within you.

Your breathing hitched as you felt a new sense of pain and pleasure entering your body as you then felt his gentle hands cupping and rubbing your face.

"I'm sorry, does it hurt? oh God of course it hurts", he planted kisses within every corner of your face as you felt him slipping downwards as you felt yourself tearing up a little bit, " I'm very sorry love, it will be over soon okay? Just a little bit more, can you do it for me please?"

He whispers in your shoulder, and yet it comes passing into your ears as you are asking why it turns you on even more while apologizing and pleading for you as if you are his lifeline.

A few minutes passed and the surging pleasure came rushing in and you find yourself drowning, and your voice getting high in pitches and ecstacy as you felt him moving himself within you, slowly as if he was afraid to break you but that only feels you in agony as your eyes looked back to him as you managed to speak your words.

"Izuku", it was as if the trigger as he then pound you faster as if that was the only words that he's been waiting for.

"oh fvck, you're so tight", if you could, you would laugh at the fact that the gentle sunshine like Izuku just cuss, but right bow you can't, there's no way you can with the speed of his body rushing in and deeper within you.

You feel the love and lust compounding within your body and you then hear a voice calling out someone and then mentally laugh at the fact that the voice was you, calling and clinging in Izuku as he keeps his pace even faster.

Slowly he throws your legs into his shoulders before he continues to rail you. You are now screaming his name as he pound and drove you at the brink of your sanity while you were calling and panting his name, again and again.

"I-I'm cumming Izuku!"

"It's okay, cum for me, love"

You both end up panting as you both reach the nirvana that you have been searching for days since you begin ovulating.

As he dropped himself carefully above your body,

"Don't avoid me again, okay?", you translate it as, 'let me just fuck you again if you're ovulating, no need to hide yourself from me'. Obviously, That's not what he meant but you're too high to think of anything otherwise.

You nodded at him as he then threw you the familiar grin which just causes, another thing within you.

'Oh God, he's gorgeous'

"Izuku"

"hmm?"

"let's do it again"

"huh? um, ah, I mean, okay".

@chartreusevielle

This is my first time writing a smut so please forgive me if I wrote some mistakes. 😭 please forgive me, I don't even know what I'm doing rn.

[quietzap]

how do you navigate your feelings towards ziam and cheryl/bear/kate/maya on top of this immense grief? i don't mean to be insensitive but i haven't found an answer for myself yet, i can't believe we'll never get answers now

(To anyone seeing this, read until the end before saying anything thank you.) Well. I'm gonna ramble a bit but bear with me. Spotify played Let Me and Common on shuffle the other day and I cried a bit. It's unfair. It should've never ended this way. But I had already accepted ages ago that we might never know the truth. I still have my beliefs. That Zayn and Liam were together. Maybe they had broken up who knows but if they did then I still truly believe their bond was a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I've gone through so many emotions this past week. But seeing the posts of cheryl etcetc or people mentioning bear (Zayn was the only one who didn't fwiw), it didn't make me feel anything. Maybe bc I had already accepted we couldn't do anything about the stunts, and/or maybe bc it's still difficult for me to accept he's really gone or bc it doesn't matter to me at this moment. Or bc I haven't actually sat down to think about what it means that he's gone. I've just been thinking of the pain all of Liam's loved ones are in right now and will be in for the foreseeable future. And I include Zayn in this. I also don't really want to think about it bc I think I might get angry. We've all seen Liam's video on snapchat from last month, where he said he was stunting and forced to do things he didn't want to do and to send help. I often used to say that I didn't understand why the boys accepted this situation instead of just getting out, consequences be damned. Ofc it's easier said than done. But I thought maybe they thought it was worth it in some way. But then, Louis got out. Zayn got out. (In some way, I mean they have privacy and a real career, like Niall and Harry). I guess I will never understand why Liam was still the only one so stuck in this shitty situation. Why couldn't he live his life in peace like Zayn and only appear when he released music? Why couldn't he find a better team or why did he even accept to go along for so long? Why did people let him? Why?! That's what I want to know. Fucking why. And I want Liam's image/reputation to be redeemed. Anyway I digressed I'm sorry.

I just sincerely hope Zayn will be ok. Jaymi who was in Union J lost his soon-to-be-husband a couple months ago (Olly was buried the day they were supposed to get married last month). They'd been together for 14 years. And Olly died in similar circumstances (a fall from the 3rd floor of a hotel). And as incredibly awful as this is, knowing that other people are going through similar grief helps a bit, and I hope it will help Zayn and Liam's loved ones know they're not alone. (Edit: I'm not saying these deaths are linked, Olly's death is an accident, Jaymi was there when it happened. This paragraph is about not being fully alone in grief because other ppl go through similar things).

Idek if I've answered your question. I guess basically the stunts don't cross my mind coz it's not important to me. These past few years when Liam was alive it wasn't important (tho I hated it) bc I accepted the boys made their own choices. And now it's not important bc it won't bring Liam back and bc his loved ones matter more to me. Now, if I'm actually wrong about my beliefs then it is what it is and I feel for his exes/gf/child, and if the maya thing is true I still think addiction made him act that way and that if he'd got a chance to really get better this wouldn't have happened again. If I'm not wrong tho, I truly feel for Zayn who doesn't get to grieve the way he deserves to. Tho I'm glad he has loved ones who know the truth and who can support him the right way.

I hope this helps. Feel free to tell me if you want to discuss this further or anything ❤️

(Link to the videos of Liam from snapchat: x)

[capymosey]

on meljayvik & that bomb tinkering scene

i made a lil comment on this but i wanted to expand on it here since there’s no hard character limit

so, yeah, there’s a lot of what i would consider bs discourse on mel ignoring viktor etc and jayce and manipulation etc whatever blahblahblah i hate that shite because it really isn’t satisfying since it feels like people making claims on very little objective data

mel knows jayce couldnt take the bomb apart and she brings up this hot topic when viktor is in the middle of doing delicate, dangerous work. sure, he stops during it but she isn’t worried at all. she trusts him, jayce trusts him - they know he’s competent and brilliant and works well under pressure (“the resonance will stabilize it. trust me.”) so they are all ok to have this difficult convo during a very dangerous task

i did see some people stating viktor was also considering letting jayce and him die, whick is uhhhh something all right. viktor isn’t a fighter. he’s a scientist. he’s gentle, kind, quirky, but also a risk-taker. he isn’t someone who would hurt others, though. so as fun as that train of thought could be, i don’t buy it since it isn’t in line with who viktor is. i cant believe the same people who advocate for “there is always a choice”!viktor, and other such things about his character would even consider this line of thinking but whatever. it’s fandom 🤷‍♂️

i do think there is some great misunderstanding to characters because of ships and limited screen time to anyone who isn’t violet or jinx but i see the trio as a group who understand each other and work well together. yes, mel didnt realize how close jayce and viktor were before viktor got hospitalized, but she knows his mind and contributions. mel isnt an idiot. she knows shite. she researches and strategizes and she also knows viktor and jayce. just look back at any convo you might have with friends or family in groups of more than 2 people and this is like one glimpse into how the trio might talk to each other at any given time over any topic. not everyone always agrees with each other and sometimes you can tell when you can influence, for example, your dad over your mom regarding getting a pony. viktor’s name isnt on hextech public records so mel knows viktor has given up having a majority say on it (maybe because viktor is all about being behind the scenes, esp as his health continues to spiral, and jayce could also be at fault for not treating viktor like the partner he claims viktor is). sure, there’s some societal issues going on, too, but at this point - whether mel is still influenced by this piltover attitude or not - she cares about jayce enough at this point to value what he values, and one of those big things is viktor (which she undoubtedly knows coz he keeps going to her about him 😅). and when viktor strongly objects she looks at him like someone who wishes she didn’t have to suggest what she’s suggesting since her feelings about her mom/upbringing could be a factor she’s considering.

another big holy shit moment in this scene is mel bringing up heimer and showing he doesn’t always have the sway with jayce that she now does. heimer may have been neglectful of zaun, but now mel seems against zaun, too, and jayce is appearing to be agree with it (and he does, until the prep for the finale battle in s2)

like this scene is also more of a tie with the a bridge scene in showing jayce and viktor not sticking together. viktor is seeing jayce consider him less and less and seeing people from zaun as subhuman. jayce “understanding” grows less and less in his mind and viktor becomes more isolated. how can he trust jayce when jayce may not trust him (“they’re dangerous!” and “i need to think [about this on my own, without further convo with you, viktor, who i claim is my partner]” “defend your people”) and who can he depend on to help zaun if he’s dead and jayce is using hextech to take lives? he’s gotta take the risks. but sky’s death and the hexcore sentiently taking away the use of his leg show him the error of the path he starts and he just accepts death (not that he wants to die) as something that will happen irregardless of what happens after he’s gone. (too bad he just dies and we never see viktor in s2 until his theme comes up at the end when jayce gives him the cosmic hug)

also mel gives viktor another look before telling jayce the choice is his. i think she wishes he was on board coz then they might have come up with another solution but the show is written in a way where hextech is always the answer (i.e., weapons, etc) and not like…personal and political manouvering 😅

plus the trio smile at each other when an alternate option is approved by the council before jinx blows it all up. there’s some kind of dynamic going on here

anyway

my brain doesnt work this hard this long

i think fortiche should unleash their meljayvik vault of fics and help fandom out since they often partake and enjoy fanworks to help meljayvik out 🤣

p.s. can we instead focus on how hardcore viktor is in the end? not even a sigh of relief or anything showing stress. man is a well-oiled machine when it comes to how confident he in his choices. he already figured out the bomb and made a choice after getting distracted/frustrated with jayce

[mwagneto]

okay phew. my thoughts on watson episode 1. might put a readmore coz it'll probably get long. anyway um

so 💥 IN MY OPINION 💥 it was not good but it wasn't bad either it's the exact perfect mid i usually get with american episodic tv especially one trying to adapt something from england. not even a complaint btw i would've been shocked if it was good. i do think they needed a much stronger pilot but it was like... fine? like i had a good time with it overall and then sometimes i went HRHRGH WHAT. but anyway let's go category by category otherwise this'll be even more incoherent than it already is. so yeah cut incoming this is gonna be long as hell i was right

1) characters

watson: i elaborated on this topic in an earlier post but to sum it up, i think watson's personhood, by nature of being the pov character in the novels, revolves so strongly around holmes that it's an incredibly difficult task to define who he is without holmes, and especially to portray it. so far nothing this watson has said or done made me go "he wouldn't fucking say that" but at the same time nothing's made me go "he WOULD fucking say that" either. no actually him immediately jumping into a waterfall without any hesitation coz he saw holmes go in was extremely in character he would fucking do that. but like that just comes back to the whole issue of like, that's in character for him bc it's about holmes. but the rest? like who even is he? esp here where he can't even be defined by his position in his society or his era or his city because he's in modern day americatown instead of victorian england. so like overall i like the guy but as soon as the scene isn't about holmes he stops being watson and just becomes generic medical show leading man. i'm very curious to see if they can manage to make me feel like i really am watching dr john watson instead of just a random guy. but again outside of not really being watson i like him he seems fun

adam and stephens: i don't know why the showrunners would fuck themselves like this like why are you making your job so much harder by having 1 guy play 2 guys. edit ok apparently it's literally coz the showrunner wanted something challenging. well i hate it. also i don't think the twin thing works on any front it just makes me very uncomfortable to watch a guy trying his absolute hardest to pretend to be two separate people. it sucks. hopefully their plots will be interesting at least. calling it now there's gonna be a plot where they switch places

ingrid: i like her she's really hot imean interesting but her energy is so millenial i feel like she's gonna drop an umm that just happened! any second now. but that's not the character's or the actor's fault it's just a vibe i get

sasha: i had to look up her name on wikipedia icl but i only know the other people's names because every time a name was mentioned i rewound and paused and said OK THATS [insert name]. DONT FORGET. she just didnt get a proper namedrop ig. anyway i have 0 thoughts abt her other than her first line being about her accent which then proceeded to completely disappear in her 3rd line and then come and go as it pleased for the rest of the episode was really funny. the adoption thing is interesting tho let's see where they go with that

mary: mary-s (maries?) tend to be very strangely written bc every time they're included the writer wants to do a subversion of the generic irrelevant wife from the victorian era stories so she's usually a plot relevant badass which like. i don't think that's necessary. like you don't have to be doing all that. like i don't mind i'm usually neutral abt any given mary i just think it's annoying that they all default to that instead of doing literally anything interesting. so it's a relief that i actually like this mary coz even though she's still the usual plot relevant badass, it's not accompanied by her being watson's epic cool girlfriend she gets to be her own person. like as far as i can tell they're not gonna get back together #i ❤️ divorce. she's even bisexual!! sweep

shinwell: whyyyyy does he talk like that omg. please. also guy from the east end is a criminal duuuuude thats crazy however do they come up with these. sucks so bad. i'm gonna like him out of spite but he's such a bad character what are we doing

moriarty: what can i fucking say man. why is he here. also the acting was so bad??? like wh??? ???? why was it this bad. i guess you could blame the script but like, second takes exist yknow. you can do another one if the first take sucks. are you aware. anyway i hate it when moriarty is a big bad but we'll get into that in a later section... can't say much abt his character he was only in 1 scene. usually i'm a huge fan of colourblind casting but i don't get making him a poc if you're gonna make him the horrible evil mastermind but hey at least he's not a black woman killing orphans for money like in enola. still don't know why they did that. getting off topic anyway why did he also get hit with the yankify beam. does anyone remember england. sherlock holmes was there

2) the plot

the episode's plot: it was... fine? like it was stupid as hell but it's a medical drama so whatever. patient needs mouse bites to live. this vexes me. etc. i do think the whole today☝️ we're 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 NOT ❌ doctors ⚕️ we're 😎 detectives 🕵️ was kinda cringe but it's like the entire premise of the show so it's very much a megszoksz vagy megszöksz situation. how do you say that in english. my way or the highway. take it or leave it. you get what i mean

the overarching plot: i mean obviously this was one episode so i can't reflect on the entire thing but i CAN look at the setups and think about them. it's nice that a major part of this show seems to be watson coping with the absence of holmes. i think they should focus on it slightly more, like acd watson's life was essentially over and pointless post reichenbach and i don't think they fully emphasise the severity of that but we only have one episode so we'll see. i am very very annoyed that moriarty is a presence at all in this show and especially that they didn't even have enough faith either in the audience or their own material to wait a bit before revealing him. episode one bam he's there and he's immediately named. it sucks. we do not need him. hold my hand. look me in the eye. it's ok to write a holmes adaptation where moriarty doesn't keep coming back from the dead. it's ok to have a different villain. or just regular ass criminals that aren't masterminds. it's fine. it's ok. you can just have moran if you're desperate. in fact you SHOULD have moran we're literally post final problem pre empty house this is moran's main time in the spotlight. but whatever what's done is done. i just think what's done is dumb as hell

3) the technical stuff that reviewers love talking about to make themselves sound smarter

the dialogue: chief. it's not good. like it's not outstandingly bad but there were some lines that made me go 😬 and some of them are just. so bad. eugh. like i alluded to in ingrid's section, if a script feels like it could smoothly fit an mcu style quip without it feeling out of place, maybe reconsider the lines you're writing.

the lighting/colours: i actually really like this, i think it gives the show a very distinctive look. i do think it's weird how ambient all the lighting is in this hospital but it's a lot nicer than the horrible white and blue you'd normally get, plus as a serial surgery haver i would much prefer to have this to the inhumane buzzing leds. not to mention i'm eastern european so compared to our hospitals, this place is like a spaceship.

cinnamon topography: i just watched brilliant minds last week which had some of the most beautiful shots i have ever seen and easily the most beautiful shots i've ever seen in an episodic medical drama which is unfortunate for this show because it's also very competent in this field but my standards are all the way up. but yea overall the shots range from generic-good to pretty good so no complaints there. i really liked the shot of watson and mary talking with the garage pillar separating them, and the overhead shot of a board that says WE LIE in big red letters made me laugh really hard

4) miscellaneous

my cat just crawled into my lap while i was trying to spell meschallenios everyone shut up. ok she was there for an hour and then left so back to it

acd story references: i always think these are fun and very satisfying to clock, and by god there were a lot of them in just this one ep. my episode was like 240p so i couldn't really observe the background details (to be remedied once i get my paws on 1080p) but even then there was a ton of stuff to go duuude 🫵 at. the 1881 robot (year study in scarlet is set in) which was then immediately revealed to be called clyde (elementary turtle) was really funny like why are we referencemaxxing. like i mentioned in the john watson post, i hope they won't overly rely on them, but it was fun to pay a little extra attention to everything to see if there was a reference hidden anywhere

5) overall

my general faith in this is. very little. a lot of people have a lot of goodwill for this show, both because of elementary (which i haven't seen sorry) and because of morris chestnut (who i didn't know before this but i'm very much the kinda person who prefers to not even know the names of actors) but neither of those have any impact on my opinion or my trust in the show, nor do i think it should. even if elementary was my favourite show, i'd still expect watson to win me over just by itself. i'm also very worried about some comments the showrunner made, especially the one abt adler being holmes's lover (what?? 💀) none of which inspire confidence but again that's not part of the show either and if the show itself is good, i don't care what the showrunner thinks.

but is the show itself good? i mean, it's not bad and i never expected it to be good. i'm a huge fan of holmes adaptations and have seen way too many of them (pretty much every single one that's not unwatchably bad, and then some) so i'm always hyped when there's a new one. i don't hate this by any means, i'm glad it exists and it was a fun way to spend 2 hours watching something that's 40 minutes long and then an entire day writing a review of it.

like i said at the beginning of this unnecessarily long post, it's perfectly mid with some tentative swings in both positive and negative directions which is probably why i was able to write this much about it. if it was good i would've just said IT SLAPS YAYY YIPPIE and if it was bad i would've said "holy shit this is the worst thing i have ever seen" and that would've been it but instead here we are. hope you're glad you spent the past 7 hours reading this instead of war and peace. thank you for coming and hopefully my review of episode 2 will be a more managable size coz lowkey what the hell am i doing lol. goodbye

[bara-izu]

What moment do you think Astarion realized he has genuine feelings toward Halion and vice versa for Halion

MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD / EVEN MORE me rambling about Astarion and my Tav...

So Astarion mentions at least twice about about sweet / shy guys from his past:

1. When he talks about how he refused to bring someone back for cazador

2. When you meet Sebastian in the dungeon

So he clearly has a soft spot for that type.

Unfortunately, Halion fell hook line and sinker for his honeyed words, thinking he was sincere, but very forward. He did tell him to stop though because he found it embarrassing... (his ass did not pass the insight check)

If nothing else, seeing Halion's genuine reactions to his attempt at manipulation was probably funny. HOWEVER it also probably brought up that bittersweet reminder from the past, which may have changed how Astarion viewed things as their journey progressed.

While the conversation with the Araj Oblodra (the drow lady in Moonrise) was the catalyst for Astarion speaking up about everything, I don't think it was the "oh." moment. I feel like that snowballed from smaller gestures, which included helping the other party members with the same level of kindness Halion had been treating him. Showing he wasn't helping Astarion as a means to get something from him, he just genuinely cared.

And that must have felt terrifying. Not only from a "oh crap I have to tell this person I've been manipulating them and they now might hate me" but also; this person could literally die at any moment. If not the tadpoles or the cultists, it could very much be by the hand of the person who has taken everything else from me.

ALSO HI the in game dialogue response to "Sounds like you need a friend more then a lover" (to which, Astarion replies "I... would like that" then talks about how he cant remember the last time he had a friend) broke my heart and I would like to retcon that Halion said that when he gave Astarion the hug tm. As a "I know we both have some kind of genuine feelings now but, I think we should start off as friends coz by god you need one" 😭😭😭

[mysteryanimator]

What music would you believe would represent Mizrak? I was thinking his theme song would be, ✨"Unholy" by Sam Smith.✨

Because he is doing something unholy with that pretty face dragon vampire.👀👀😉

You've opened Pandora's box here. To tell you I have MULTIPLE playlists for both Mizrak and Olrox (and multiple playlists for their dynamic) is an understatement. Right now they're a mess/all over the place, but Unholy by Sam Smith is definitely on a couple of them. It's super hard for me to pick like ONE SONG, so I'm giving you multiple HAHAHAHA.

Here are a few songs I personally think fit Mizrak, categorised by general Mizrak and spicy-core Mizrak. Also, you're getting explanations for each song because I think too hard about my music choices. BTW, all thoughts are my own, I'm just being really silly since season 2 news is coming soon and I'm excited.

pspspspsps when nocturne s2 comes out make sure to watch it and give the crew the recognition they deserve coz they worked their asses off.

General:

Hell's Comin with Me - Poor Man's Posion This describes about bringing justice to those who have wronged him (and in this case others). Also, there's a line about "paying twice as much for the devil to keep your soul", which I feel like is a reference to indulgences but flipped on its head. Indulgences were an actual thing people paid for so they could secure a place in Heaven. So flipping it on its head to double it so they can be ensured they stay in hell is a very cool way of looking at it. Also, Providence, Feed the Machine and Give and Take get honorary mentions because they also fit well but this will get hella long if I also give them explanations LOL.

Foreigner's God - Hozier A song about uncertainty and isolation from the catholic church. To feel alienated by its ideas and values since Mizrak has been doubting about what Abbott is doing before the events of Nocturne take place.

Icarus & Apollo - Ripto Now this also can be a Mizrak/Olrox dynamic song, but also this can be seen as Mizrak's own self-discovery which is his conflict of the Abbott's path on 'protecting' the church and its people, versus how Mizrak personally thinks/wants to protect people. Collaborating with vampires and using night creatures, DEAD PEOPLE is not a path I think he wants but he's stuck unsure of where God is calling him to, and it's a path he has to figure out himself.

Wine and Wheat - Madds Buckley NOW, this is another Mizrak/Olrox dynamic song, but this leans more into Mizrak's POV along with the fact he's again, conflicted about his place amongst his fellow monks/Abbott since he has to conspire with vampires to keep their place against the revolution. COUPLED WITH THE FACT, he's sleeping with a vampire, it's a very confusing time for him, and all he can say in the face of it "Pray with me, pray with me for this madness to end" while he does the best he can to keep the people he cares about alive.

Father Finlee - Spencer Hood, Justin Ray Stringer I will admit a lot of this is for vibes, BUT, also this song is about a man who defies an almost impossible situation and escapes out alive, with Mizrak's perseverance, the burning passion to live, and the potential to die while trying to save others, is a very him thing.

Spicy-core:

side note from me, I feel like we moved far too quickly from this one shot LIKE WHAT THE FUCK /pos

His Hands - Blegh This is actually one of my favourites I'll be so honest HAHAHHA. (Also just the whole album of It Was a Religion by Blegh mostly fits if you think about it). This one steers more into Olrox/Mizrak dynamics because the song starts off very similar to how Mizrak and Olrox get to know each other. They 'do it again somewhere more comfortable' HAHASDJDS. But after that is all exalted from their bodies, there is something between them that they can't place and the tension is THICK. Also the gradual build of the lyrics "And you know you love him, And you might be in love with him, And you know you love him, And you're falling in love with him" IS CRAZY.

A Night to Remember - Beabadoobee, Laufey This one is super self-indulgent, this reminds me of them a lot HAHHA

Take Me Back to Eden - Sleep Token DOOMED YAOI. Not only do we have religious metaphors to describe a relationship here, is a doomed relationship.

The Summoning - Sleep Token "Did I mistake you for a sign from God?" HELLO? Like I know this is a song very much associated with Astarion, but ik this song works for Mizrak POV and Mizrak/Olrox dynamics. In my mind, I think Mizrak IS looking for a sign from God, anything that comes by his way to confirm his doubts, and Olrox just so happens to be a soft nudge that he should be doubting the system he grew up in.

Salvation - Christabelle Marbun I don't need to elaborate further if you look at the lyrics, let alone the title itself HAHHA. Also, this song is super self-indulgent, like there's no way I can't include this in a spice-core Mizrak thing.

Whisper - Burn the Ballroom Simply the lyrics "Come in, sit down, sweet angel, leave me all your tears." Biting the walls over it.

Whoops that was long but uh I have a lot more and its super hard to condense down to a few LOLOLOL, ty for the ask!

[not-goldy]

I think a lot of ship fights might be put to rest if Jungkook starts being more vocal about his relationship with the members.

Right now it's usually Tae and Jimin talking. Jimin actually reduced a lot now and Tae has just increased.

Jungkook can always speak more. Just more about regular things. Like I was out with Jimin, or I called Jimin or I ate with Jimin, you know basic things so Jimin doesn't get called a liar everytime coz JK never says anything to confirm.

Who's calling Jimin a liar???

Give me a lock of their hair☠

Also I don't think he's saying much these days either which to me is a very good thing. Silence is Golden.

On the part of Jungkook I see what you mean but I might have to respectfully disagree with you on this.

He tells and shows just as much. I mean had it not been for Jungkook we wouldn't know most of thr Jikook tea we know today. Their fights, Jimin staying up all night to browse the internet, them sharing a bed, Jungkook elbowing Jimin, their travel show, jikook stonewalling eachother etc

Jimin likes to talk about them but I feel he's very selective in the things he shares. While Kook doesn't have much of a filter so he'll share anything as and when the good and the bad and anything that leaves a lasting impact on him.

Eating Ramen on live- oh that reminds me of the Ramen Jimin and I ate yesterday. We were exercising at the gym last night. Proceeds to akiki over something random Jimin said and did when no one asked. Things like that.

Also, they are both triggered to share by different things. They both may share sometimes just to rub it in our faces. But for Jungkook it's usually when some members make it seem like they are more close to JM than him. He may not care what you or I think of their dynamic because we don't bother him much and he doesn't see us as a threat. Just a bunch of nuisance. However if there was someone present with them in a moment he felt threatened their dynamic he would get triggered sometimes.

Jimin cares about how you and I perceive their relationship. He is rarely bothered by the people around them- except for that one time with V where he felt he needed to assert himself. Even that I feel it was more because we were present on the live.

He cares about these things. So sometimes, sometimes, he likes to talk good about their relationship to us. And he likes to show off his man too. He gets giddy excited when Kook does things for him and he likes to share that too. He's more inclined to let us know he got the price you know, mah man treats me so well kinda shit. My man rich kinda shit. My man man man kinda shit.

Jungkook does this too. He just doesn't do it with words. He does it by bringing Jimin up every five seconds, forces us to watch ours and hours of Jimin content, and laughs all to himself while doing it🥴

They both whipped as fuck

And the fact he would follow Jimin around with a camera make him the focus of his attention zoom in on his face and lips-

He may not have to prove anything and he may not be questioned as much as Jimin is questioned because most times he comes with receipts.

I think what I all comes down to is people questions Jimin's assertions more than they do Jungkook's. Jimin gets called a liar when he shares more than Jungkook does.

I think it's the same for Taehyung. People question the intentions behind him showing off their dynamics more so than they would Jin Jungkook or any other member.

When Jungkook posts Jimin he is ship feeding. No one is assuming he is doing so to piss off certain groups of fans or to incite his shippers. When Tae does it, he is trying to incite his toxic shippers and to piss off jokers.

I think they may have contributed to these assumptions because time and again vmin are the members who frequently say they are taking pictures with Jungkook for "fans". So it stands to reason that people would assume they are fanning shipping flames when they post pictures with Jungkook or speak of their interactions with him

I won't lie to you, I have lost my train of thought 🥲

[wizardempires]

re: your challengers playlist!

are you thinking of hot and heavy from Patrick's perspective?? coz i love that song sm but when i was listening to your playlist it was the first time i like listened to the lyrics and thought about challengers and patrick specifically and it was melting my brain woooooow

OKAY. this is amazing. thank you for actually reaching out i'm giggling and kicking my feet

short answer: YES!!!!!

long answer: yes. ↓

like obviously right from the beginning the "couldn't look away even if i wanted / try to walk away but i come back to the start" is the new rochelle challenger, seeing tashi in the lobby and art across the tennis court and everything from the past 13 years just floods back to him. i have more to say abt this chorus trust but i'll circle back.

to me, the next verse is after tashi tears her ACL and patrick comes just to see her with art: "how could i deny a diamond in the rough? /... how did i believe i had a hold on you? / you were always stronger than people suspected / underestimated and overprotected", which i interpreted as directed towards art saying like how could you do this to me? i didn't think you had it in you. but also even a little bit of a snarky dig about how, like, yeah. i didn't think you fucking had it in you. which is SO patrick. maybe even a little bit about art's tennis ability, how patrick knows he's always been a little bit better than him and feels like rubbing it in his face just to be a bitch.

this is followed by "when i went away, it was the only option / couldn't trust myself to proceed with caution / the most that i could give to you is nothing at all / the best that i could offer was to miss your calls". of course patrick is angry after all this, his girlfriend so publicly breaking up with him and even WORSE the betrayal of his best friend!! so when they call, he doesn't answer (at the very least, art calls. tashi might be too stubborn). he can't trust himself not to lash out so he leaves, and eventually they just stop chasing him.

then back at the chorus again. "being back here makes me hot in the face / hot blood in my pulsing veins / heavy memories weighing on my brain"—again: the new rochelle challenger !!! though patrick has not Literally been here before, it's the same situation as in 2006, playing for tashi's number. he's hot in the face because like yeah they're all smokeshows WE KNOW THIS but he is also pissed the hell off... how dare they dump him like he's trash and then sweep through his life again, tashi telling him to lose to art, art telling him he means nothing, not even to the most obsessive tennis fan in the world. even when patrick is trying to be vulnerable, to bridge that gap (we can argue about how genuine he's being in the sauna scene but my personal take is that he's using this taunting demeanor as an excuse in case his attempts to reconnect go awry. which they do), he is still being pushed away.

the next lines, "you used to be so sweet / now you're a firecracker on a crowded street" are about art. when they were in school together art was very boy next door and now he's like. the most famous tennis player in the world and he's been on a tailspin trying to come back from this injury. he's a firecracker, bright and brilliant, but he's taking everyone on this crowded street (tashi) down with him. and he's MEAN now (see above not even to the most obsessive tennis fan etc etc).

and then we have those lyrics from my first paragraph again, but a slightly different interpretation. "couldn't look away even if i wanted / try to walk away but i come back to the start": patrick, against all odds, is really fucking enjoying this match. he and art haven't played in over a decade and this is fun. he doesn't want to look away. he's tried to walk away, taking the easy way out by agreeing to let art win, but now that he's playing this match he can't let it be over so easily. he goes back to the start of their schism. he places the ball in the centre of his racket.

next we get "and it happens over and over and over and over again / i wish i was over it, over it, over it, over it". like yeah. they have been playing this game back and forth since the junior open. tashi has always been in the stands assessing their performance and art has always been SO desperate for the win. tashi has always ended up with patrick, whether he wins her number or it's a one night stand. art has never ONCE told him or tashi how he really feels about any of this. over and over and over again. even if this is fun, it's so fucking weary.

the tone of the song shifts here, getting a little softer, a little more intimate !!! "a hidden gem / my own goldmine / ... you were a secret to yourself / you couldn't keep from anyone else". patrick grew up with art. he knows how good he is, and obviously other people do too because he's made it so far, but nobody else until tashi has ever told him you should win like patrick has. he is no longer the person whose job it is to remind art that he is a GOOD FUCKING TENNIS PLAYER and that is bad. especially because tashi is doing a terrible job at it (you know. sleeping with patrick in order to get him to throw the game).

these next lyrics harken back to the firecracker ones, "now you're the biggest brightest flame / you are a fire that can't be tamed". here, art is the first lyric, tashi is the second. what a fucking power couple. art is the public star, the brightest flame, but it's tashi's fire that propels them. tashi NEEDS him to succeed, and patrick knows that almost better than art does (see again: sleeping with him in order to get him to throw the game). they are gamechangers PLURAL for a reason.

so close to the end. now we get "you're better than ever, but i knew you when". art is finally getting to be on level playing field with patrick. he has never beaten him before, but now patrick isn't even throwing the game and art might win. even tashi, who has recovered so well from her injury in every aspect except actually playing tennis, shaping art into the player he is now. but of course it wouldn't be patrick without a little bit of snark.... he knew art when he couldn't beat him even in a game that meant nothing. he knew tashi when she was the biggest up-and-coming player in the world. and so now, confronted with him again, they're forced to reckon with who they used to be. they're forced to reckon with the question of whether who they are NOW is worth it after all that. and patrick Lives for this chaos

the very last lyric of the song is really the thesis statement of the whole thing. "it's bittersweet to see you again".

if you read all the way to the end of this fucking essay i will give you an award LMAOOO... but i am so serious when i say if you have questions about any of my playlist choices. please reach out. i have thoughts about ALL of them.

anyways i can't write all this and then NOT link the playlist so. Here you go! thank you for reading and reaching out. i love you and i love challengers.

[snowblack-charcoalwhite]

You know what? Even though they depicted Aemond as an absolute cartoonish villain, I'm actually on his side because no matter how hard they try to ruin him (and are succeeding) the fact is that he's the only one who actually wants to fight. He is basically everything that's left of TG. Also, that scene on the balcony with Helaena made me feel bad for him because I think he genuinely cares about her, sees her value and acknowledges their bond (come with me to Harrenhal, help me destroy Daemon's army) . And it looked like he had a tear in the eye? It's much more than manipulation, there is something deep age genuine between them. I'm just sad they didn't have more scenes together and that they used Helaena only to make him look worse. The actors at least tried to save something of all that mess so there's that. Also, I really hate how the fans, especially TG fans, are justifying Aegon and even Alicent to some extent, but Aemond is to blame for everything?! How about no? Moreover, I hate what they did to Aegond in the Rook's Rest, but the thing is, even with Aegon and Sunfyre, the greens would be in a great disadvantage (we saw that Sunfyre is no match for Meleys, let alone vermithor, silverwing or caraxes, and Aegon is not much of a fighter either) so they would still need Dreamfyre and Helaena. That's why his request isn't about him being a crazy monster trying to force Helaena to fight (also, would people stop infantilize her), not is actually reasonable.

I won't talk about Daemon's vision and his and Rhaenyra's scene because it's stupid and corny af, but I must say that what deeply pains me is Alicent's character assassination. They literally made her betray her side twice (in ep 3 and now,) coz she practically agrees to Aemond's (and Aegon's) death and promises to open the city gates?? . And for some reason a big chunk of TG think that her actions are more justifiable than Aemond's?? She literally killed TG. And it pains me since she, Aemond and Aegon were my faves.

Anyway, sorry if this was too long. Always love to read your opinions so I had to vent. This is also my farewell to this horrible excuse of the show.

Hello!

As for Alicent - I do love her, and I try my best to keep my frustration about the things the script had her do this season directed at the writers. But damn. The "men bad, women good" agenda destroyed her character - but looks like that's not the main things the wokes care about. To them Alicent remains a decent person as long as she is not siding with her sons (especially Aemond). And the worst thing is that basically since the beginning of this season the writers have been hammering home the idea that there is no such thing as "team Green" (marketing be damned) as a unit. In the words of TB actors (I believe it was Bethany who said it first, though I might be mistaken) "They all hate each other".

And I am totally with you on the matter of Aemond remaining the only one among TG (at least those we know as we haven't met Daeron yet) who is still willing to fight. Rhaenyra literally tells Alicent she will have to eliminate all competition for the throne - and that includes not only Aegon but Aemond and Daeron as well. And people are still claiming that Aemond is wrong for trying to make his mother understand that her actions (or inaction) put all of their family into danger.

Aemond's scenes with Helaena became just a couple of tools used to make Aemond look bad, indeed. It's literally visible through Ewan and Phia's acting that they tried to show there's more to it - but it's nigh impossible to fight against the script in such cases. Ewan utters "I could have you killed" in the most vulnerable way possible - but it's still a death threat towards his sister, and many people will see it as nothing more than that.

I mean, Phia literally said that Helaena feels safer with Aemond than with Aegon and from each and every Ewan's interview where he mentioned Helaena it was clear that he likes and cherishes her character. But writers just had to ruin this relationship as well - and in such a dumb way.

Aemond's request about her joining the war might be questionable - but, once again, to me it felt like it was not even about Helaena potentially being endangered or her trauma as much as it was about her, a woman, not wanting to fight in a "men's war".

Thank you for showing your appreciation! May your next viewing experience be much better that what we had with HoTD👿

[madness-of-void]

Since I've been seeing it a lot lately, weirdly enough, I wanna say how I hc Ink is as a parent:

He already has to write things down on his scarf, yeah? Well, I think he would do the same with his kiddos. Except! That's so much info to have. Especially if you subscribe to the belief he has multiple kids with multiple people at once instead of only one set of kids with X person.

So, for each kid, he has a notebook dedicated to them. He has a list of things they like, things they don't, what they're scared of, how to do bedtime routines, ect ect.

Of course, at first, it's hard as hell for him to keep all that organized, to be organized in general, and he definitely stumbled around. But he at least TRIED. STILL tries. It comes a little easier for him as time goes on, but he still relies on the notebooks. Especially as the kiddos get older and they mold into different personalities.

He also has to create a place for them to live. Can't just have them wander around the Doodlesphere all willy nilly! Well, he could, but he would definitely not want to go on a hunt for the missing tyke as well as possibly explaining what happened to the other parent. So a legit home with bedrooms and other needs it is!

Speaking of other needs...kids gotta eat, right? Crap. That means he has to learn how to make at least something from time-to-time. Can't keep constantly eating out! That's such a hassle! Plus, it's not healthy (several Toriels told him so). Cue many burnt to hell meals, several almost house fires, and just going out for food anyways before he can figure out how to make something at least edible. Even then, it takes even longer for what he can make to taste good.

Lots of frustration. Lots of calls to his dads, Blue and Dream, sometimes a Toriel or two, sometimes even another Sans or a Papyrus, begging for help. Lots of zoning out from the stress coz this was easier when he was by himself, but he helped create the little thing reliant on him and will never forget him and won't abandon him like his own creator so he needs to be on top of it and stars how does Dream do this all the time with an entire Multiverse!

And he has yet another conundrum to deal with: his paints are mixing oddly. He doesn't understand why he became so highly protective of the little one in his arms when it was suggested he should put them up for adoption (no one ever suggested that again, they did not want to see a raging Ink a second time). Or why whenever they look at him he gets this warm, fuzzy 'feeling'. He mixed his paints as usual, and even changed it up a few times. Still the same protectiveness and the weird 'feeling'.

It takes an embarrassingly long time before he finally takes about it with someone, it just comes up randomly in said conversation, and he finds out what it all is is parental love. Love so strong that it overrides his paints somehow. Just like with everything else, he has no idea what to do. Technically, this shouldn't be possible! Or...he thought it wouldn't be. It also takes an embarrassingly long time for it to click for him that this is a thing, and it's not going to go away. When it finally sets in...he tells the kiddo(s) that he loves them, absolutely sobbing and smiling a little too wide coz, wow, he can feel love! And he doesn't miss a single moment to announce it to anyone who listens (pay no mind to the pics he shares of the ankle biter, he's just excited).

What about the other parent?

Well, depending on who it is, it shouldn't be too much work to convince them to be in the little one's life. Definitely no moving in (he has thought about it, scripts be damned), but there should be slotted times for everyone to be together, or the kids having time with their other parent. Hell, might even be the other parent who suggests all the things and they might be the one who has the kid living with them while Ink is the one with visitation (and in that case he visits daily coz he is just too fond and protective).

But what if the other parent is one of those that just...wants nothing to do with the little one they helped make? Well...it'll be hard. At first, Ink won't make a fuss. He has plenty of people who would help him. The kiddos don't need the other parent! But as time goes on, and maybe a few curious questions from said little one...he will feel another surge of protectiveness. He never hid who the other parent was, and has asked everyone else not to either, but now it's more serious. Nights of cries for someone never there, hundreds of questions why the other "doesn't love me"...Ink will not stand it. He will invade the other's space with a passionate and firm speech. All he's asking for is just every other weekend with the kid, and they have 2 months to prepare to pick them up at the home he made in the Doodlesphere. He won't force them to come, to be in the child's life. But he has to try. If they don't show up, then he has something planned instead for the whole weekend, on top of apologizing for something not his fault. At least he tried...and hopefully that's enough.

And, wow. That's it. I got my ramblings out. All done. Pretty sure nobody would subscribe to this, but eh. Everyone has their own headcannons and what have you. It's all in a bit of fun!

Now, if you excuse me...I have a fic to write about this...

[peachjagiya]

PEACH!!!! I just need to scream this somewhere LOL!! TAEKOOK REAL!!! ARGRGRGRGGRRHHHH Anyway, screaming aside, may I just point out how the "Jungkook might have been in Hawaii too" theories came about after Type 1 photos preview were dropped? I feel so proud and validated as a TKKR when some TKKRS pointed out how the "look" of some of Taehyung's photos is so relaxed and intimate. We noticed the look Tae usually has around Jungkook and how Jungkook captures him so the chatter of JK being there with him started. THEN, the Hello Kitty Plushie discussion era arrived, with us debating if it's the same or they both got 1. We were too careful with our theories even! Most settling on, they probably got 1 of each. BUT, the point is we still could identify that JK is somehow connected to Type 1!!

AND BOOM! SUNDAY HAPPENED!! Taehyung confirmed our suspicions that JK was there with him!!! ARRRRRGGGGHHHHHHRHHGHG *combusting* LOL! I'm just so proud of us TKKRs too for knowing them enough to flag that "hey, this Tae look usually comes out when JK is around or taking photos of him" but the photobook description was spending alone time, BUT that's his Jungkook looooook!! Then we go about our days wondering if we are just hallucinating LOL! BUT NOOOOO, I am just so happy for TKKRs coz we can identify the nuances that their solos most likely are blind on specially those who diminish their bond. They miss out on being able to see through another layer of their fave because they don't want to accept the other's existence and importance on their faves' lives. Imagine living through one of our theories getting confirmed????!!! Like OMG, I am on a high right now... I feel so happy for them and proud at the same time that we can "see" them. Not to make TKKRs important but imagine having people who can acknowledge a huge part of you despite having to hide it not out of choice but out of norms and expectations, yet people can still acknowledge that your hearts have so much love to share and your bond is as beautiful as you believe it to be. You are SEEN. Our community is a mixed bag, we will always have bad apples, but for those who are just observing and getting inspired by them with no hate in their hearts, I want you to know that I may not know TaeKook and how they feel but I just know they are happy to have you around. I also want to take this opportunity to thank @taekooktimeline Kayla, I feel like what she is doing is so so significant and will be an important piece of TaeKook history. Going thru the timeline with your own judgment and seeing the bigger picture always blow me away. Specially when most moments get confirmed years later. It feels so surreal how we feel quite lost in moment of time, then clarity comes when you least expect it. Anyway, I blabbered too much, I'm still on that TaeKook High. People may say we are too delusional and romanticize stuff, but look we tried to be rational and logical, most recent example is the plushie then here comes Taehyung essentially telling us "You're not delusional enough. We didn't just spend time together. Jungkook actually flew to see me when I told him I missed him." Like no TKKR blog here would even come up with the Jungkook flying to Hawaii just coz Taehyung missed him part. We are too careful with our thoughts HAHAHA maybe in TK fanfic side of tumblr but dammmn.. it's real!! Have a great year Peach, the ride will be rougher the next couple of weeks but I know once MS is over there will be more of us screaming and feeling like everything is so surreal LOL!

ANON!

Scream away!

I think more than anything, even over very couple-y vibes, this feels special because it cements the bond we've known about and often been asked to defend.

This moment is not for the jkkrs. I don't even really care how they're dealing with it. Not my job to correct them or set them on a certain path.

BUT I must confess the fact that it's JK who travelled, that JK is shown being physically affectionate with his hand on Tae's neck so protectively when Tae isn't touching him at all... That did give me extra levels of joy because it torpedoes the (offensive) idea that JK is bothered by Tae's one sided affections. No, sorry and excuse me but Tae isn't a weirdo desperate for JK's attention, he isn't a clingy friend who JK wants to shake off and Tae isn't exaggerating their bond. Tae is none of the weird things people accuse him of and that's a good thing to have confirmed so decisively (even if we already knew.)

As for the photos, I guess this is the mystery that is left! It does feel kind of like Tae included JK because he was part of Type 1's production, doesn't it? And I do think the quality of some of the photos is very similar to JK's photos. And we have that picture of topless person with longish hair who may or may not be JK taking a picture:

(I go back and forth on this because sometimes it doesn't look curly enough to be JK's hair but then actually, I think his hair only looks so curly in that one picture because it's wet and when it's dried out, it can sit straighter. Etc etc.)

Anyway blah blah, maybe we'll find out for sure but we all absolutely had a hunch, didn't we?!

I hope they do find our support even a little bit encouraging. I reckon fandom can feel pretty intense but generally everyone on here seems to be rational and keen not to be inappropriate about them? At least I hope genuinely supportive voices sometimes get through.

What a nice ask. Thank you anon!

[lemonmoxy]

Ok, I know I'm a year late but MY BOY. They murdered my boy! Poirot is my favorite gay uncle, he is NOT my straight sad uncle.

So, I watched A Haunting in Venice which is an adaptation of Agatha Christie's Halloween Party by Kenneth Branagh, and I did not care for it. I did not care for it a lot. And that is why I have held you hostage here.

So disclaimer: I do not care about adaptational changes. I have the books. I have the David Scuhet's movies. Kenneth can make changes. Halloween Party is even a fine Christie story to change. It's fine but its not a masterpiece. It's just, if you're going to change things they should be lateral changes or better changes, not worse changes.

Now, for disclosure of bias. I have not liked any of these. I've found them all overwrought wastes of my time. But my partner loves Poirot, me, and doesn't mind wasting both of our times. And when he offers me fancy cheeses and movies, I say yes.

This movie was an absolute waste of my time. I did not like it. I got nothing of value out of it. It wasn't even bad coz that would have been interesting.

I do not like this Sherlock- I mean Poirot. They made him straight, they took away his OCD. They took away his heart of gold. He's just a sad mean old man, and he's not fun to watch. What does Kenneth think he's here to do? And its not just Poirot its the whole world. There's no sense of fun in these movies. In Orient Express it makes sense (although it made no sense to adapt that one first Kenneth). But Halloween Party? Guys live a fucking little.

Someone needs to explain to male directors that just because they're telling a story of cultural importance, doesn't make it epic. Agatha Christie's stories are fantastic! They're major cultural pieces of art. They are not epic though. They are fun mysteries. Kenneth, buddy, do you know what fun is? Because your movies haven't captured an iota of it.

That's maybe a slight exaggeration. There was one moment that made me smile. When Poirot said he would kill himself if the police solved the mystery before him, that was a real moment.

Poirot doesn't need war trauma guys. I don't even know how to tell you this. I fucking blame all the Sherlock adaptations for this. The detective shouldn't have that much going on, because we're here for the mystery not Poirot's damage. And if he must have damage it should be from things that we've seen and care about, not like, his dead wife. Or God forbid his dead congregation, looking at you BBC One. come on.

Making the killer the mother who couldn't stand to let her daughter grow up is predictable. It was my partner's first guess and he never gets these things right. I had guessed it was a Romeo and Juliet went wrong, which I think would have been interesting. But no, once again the faults of the child belong at the hands of the mother.

Also the whole time my partner was joking that the movie was going to decide that ghosts were real. And it did (kinda). Bizarre. I mean if you're going to that fucking go all out guys. Show me the dead girl waving to the survivors through the window. Have any fun with the idea. Please

Why was the parrot there? What was the point of it? Why is this child acting like the most world weary 11 year old? Has Kenneth met a child? Normally I'd be like "oh Lemon, it's just for fun" but Kenneth is determined we not have any, so what the hell?

Ah yes, let's put the man in the sound proof room and give the key very pointedly to one person. My partner and I were like "well whatever he knows is going to his grave" and yeah dead next scene coz duh. It was all very... I mean I know it's rude to compare a writer to Agatha Christie, but they're the ones who decided to square up. Every important clue dialogue is so obvious. Every death flag. They might as well do a pop-up on the screen. I've played Nancy Drew video games with more subtly.

They assassinated Ariadne, Christie's stand in for herself. And I feel very very negatively about this. Ah yes, kill her movies with shitty adaptations and then do a character assassination of her self insert. I mean, you can't say they're half-assing this. Tina Fey was actually good, it's not her fault almost all her lines were terribly written.

You can get the Dutch angle privilege back when you show me know how to use it properly Kenneth. Until then it's on the shelf.

If you wanted to do a horror movie hiding in a mystery story or a mystery story hiding in a horror movie, you need to commit to either idea Kenneth. Do something.

I am so so so tired of directors who keep acting like they have something important to say when they have nothing and refuse to have fun with the things that they do have.

They cannot keep getting away with this, guys. It's imperative we do something about this. Don't go see Nolan's Odyssey, I'm begging you. I'll never escape any other way.