#depending how Season 3 goes I guess

[purple-petrichor]

Thinking about 457 and. You know it’s a toxic ship when No Children by The Mountain Goats would actually be…too optimistic for them

[wizardpink]

I screencapped these two posts four days ago because I had Something to Say and now I have no idea wth it was.

I think it had something to do with power dynamics and how Armand making Daniel a vampire actually handed Daniel a huge amount of power over Armand despite being the fledgling?

So number one Armand rendered his primary weapon against Daniel / form of self-defense completely useless by making Daniel his fledgling. He can no longer use the mind gift to manipulate Daniel or erase his memories. Which of course is true for all makers and fledglings, but most makers' fledglings aren't Sherlock Holmes with a BSJ. Daniel beat Armand's mental saw trap as a human. Armand is never, never getting one over on him now. Daniel will perceive the slightest change in energy coming from Armand and immediately know that he's lying, and 3 seconds of deduction later and he'll know why. He's an open book now, which must be terrifying.

Number two: mentorship. This is how Lestat kept control over Claudia and Louis for so long: he kept them dependent on him through ignorance. He only told them enough about vampirism to get through the day to day: don't go in the sun, don't drink dead blood, the other vampires of the world are vicious, etc. Every fledging needs their maker at LEAST in the beginning to teach them the ropes. Well, Daniel just wrote the goddamned book on vampirism, literally. Daniel sat there and listened as Louis told him everything he knew, everything Lestat ever taught him, everything Armand ever taught him. What other vampire ever got the in-depth two week course on Vampires 101 before they even got turned?! Crazy stuff.

Number three: vampire loneliness. Supposedly the most cruel and painful thing a vampire can endure. It keeps fledglings and makers tied to each other well past the point of being able to stand each other. And god knows Armand is staring down the barrel of having no one but Daniel. Which is unfortunate for him, considering Daniel is besties with his ex husband and touring with his ex boyfriend. Daniel has friends, friends that didn't torture him for 4 days then try to kill him. Oof.

All of this is to say that, with the info we have right now, Daniel has very little need for Armand. Armand in comparison needs him at least not to be alone, but what leverage does he have to get Daniel to stay with him? He's got nothing babes. I'm not a strong believer in the Armand is running from Daniel theory on season 3, but if he is, it's hard to blame him. He is shooting 0 for 1,000 right now, losing left and right, dying of shame and guilt and embarrassment. I'd probably crawl in a hole and die too.

"Oh but wizardpink, that's not very Devil's Minion of you!" AU CONTRAIRE. Because what could be more compelling and romantic than someone who has no use for you but nevertheless wants you? Thinks about you constantly and doesn't know why? You tried to capture them in a glass jar but they broke out and flew away, only to flutter back because they missed you? Yeah inject that straight into my veins.

And on the flip side? Maybe Armand goes straight back to that headspace he was in in '73, the crazed look in his eyes when he told Daniel he was going to teach him to be fascinating. That's ONE thing Armand still has on Daniel, he could probably overpower him enough to keep him trapped somewhere, if Armand thought Daniel was going to leave him. This, too, is Devil's Minion as fuck. Slowest of burns, as they say.

Hmm. Yeah I guess that was what I was gonna say.

[wynsummers]

felt like combining two of my biggest interests so this is my ranking of buffy characters by how much they would enjoy the rocky horror picture show

honorable mention - anya. i can't decide if anya would love or hate rocky. the more chaos-loving anyanka side of her would have a lot of fun with it, but i think she might also hate the idea of going to see a movie only to have it talked over by a bunch of hecklers. especially if she went to a theater where they throw/spray props. so i guess it would depend on whether she went to a showing for the experience or the film itself.

9. angel would walk in, sit in the back row, stare with an intense face at the screen for the entire hour and forty minutes of the film and then stand up and leave without saying a word. he would never come back.

8. xander - xander would enjoy rocky for all of the wrong reasons. he is the cishet man who only goes to see the lingerie-clad women. i've met so many xanders in my time. they always have that smug laugh when someone tries to interact with them, but they're too cool to do anything that they can't use to (attempt to) impress a woman

7. cordelia - i don't think rocky is really cordy's scene, no disrespect intended. i think she could have a good time but some of the more extreme traditions might put her off (especially if someone threw/sprayed something at her, i think she would hate that). she would look at it as that fun thing she did once, probably because someone invited her. that being said, though, if she ended up in a shadowcast, she would put her entire heart and soul into playing janet.

6. oz - i can't explain it but oz is both too cool not to be at rocky and too cool to be at rocky. like, oz has been going to rocky every week for two years but the scoobies only find out when they go as a group and everyone in the theater knows him already. i don't think he's ever said a callback in his life but he definitely has a bunch of them memorized

5. buffy - ok now hear me out. buffy needs something like rocky in her life. she needs a place where she can unwind, yell loudly, dance around, and just have fun. i don't think she'd be super into it right away, but i don't think it would take long for her to get into the rhythm of it. i can't see her going so far as to be in a shadowcast, but i can totally see her being a frequent audience member who tells all of her friends about this awesome thing she found

4. tara - listen, tara is a lesbian witch in college. rocky was made for her. season 4 tara is too shy to participate, but i can see it being a place she returns to a lot, and season 6 tara is definitely in the front row of the theater every friday gleefully yelling at the screen. she might even dress up as janet or magenta (shoutout amber benson for performing toucha touch me)

3. willow - this may be controversial, since early seasons willow is kind of reserved and seems like she would be really overwhelmed by rocky. but often that's the exact kind of person who thrives in rocky the most because it gives them a chance to come out of their shell. at her first show, she probably wouldn't participate at all, but something would compel her to come back, and slowly but surely, she'd start doing more. cut to a few months later and she's going full vampire willow in a theater full of people. i think later seasons willow wouldn't have as difficult of a time at first but i still don't think she'd get into it right away. but once she got it, she'd be a regular for life

2. spike - i think spike has been going to the shows for a long time; it's definitely his scene. it wouldn't surprise me if he invented some of the callbacks. yelling stupid snarky shit at a movie screen is so him. i don't know if i can see him dressing up as a character though.

giles - obviously. fucking obviously. in his ripper days he was frank at his local theater and he still goes to the shows all the time. maybe on special occasions they bring him back as frank for a special show. it wouldn't surprise me if he saw the rocky horror show before it was a movie. if buffy and the scoobies found out about his double life they would faint. (if you haven't seen anthony head as frank, do yourself a favor and look it up)

[petermorwood]

Flammkuchen / Tarte Flambeé / "German pizza"

This evening I found a slab of Speck (strong-smoked bacon) in the freezer that I didn't know we had, there was half an onion and a tub of Lithuanian sour cream in the fridge, so @dduane decided to try Flammkuchen.

Originally, so the story goes, it was made by bakers as a pre-thermometer way to check the temperature of their wood-fired ovens (and provide a quick snack at the same time).

Tarte flambée is the French name, but "German Pizza" or indeed any sort of pizza it certainly isn't; there's neither tomato sauce nor cheese, and no yeast in the dough.

Whether it's German or French depends on who you ask, since it originates from the province of Alsace, an area which has changed hands a lot in the past couple of centuries and whose ownership has been A Source Of Friction Between Guess Who for almost as long.

To stay neutral, the recipe DD used is Swiss. ;->

Here's the translation:

*****

Alsatian tarte flambée

This delicious speciality from Alsace is also ideal for an aperitif. Thinly rolled bread dough with sour cream, onions and bacon cubes!

350g flour (12½ oz) 1.25 tsp salt 2 dl water (6.7 US fl oz / .42 US pt) 2 tbsp olive oil 200 g crème fraîche / sour cream (7 oz) 2 onions (we had less, so used less...) 120 g farmer's (thick, well-smoked) bacon in slices (4¼ oz) a small grind of pepper

And this is how it's done:

Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Pour in water and oil, mix and knead into a soft, smooth dough. Form the dough into a ball, cover and let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 240 degrees (464 F). Halve the dough and roll it out into an oval shape about 3 mm thick (1/10 inch) on a lightly floured surface. Place the dough on two baking sheets lined with baking paper.

Spread the crème fraîche / sour cream over the dough, leaving a border of approx. 1 cm (½ inch) free all around. Peel the onions, cut them into fine rings, cut the bacon into strips, spread both over the crème fraîche / sour cream and season.

Baking per tray: approx. 12 minutes each on the bottom shelf of the oven.

*****

Since this was our first time making Flammkuchen, we baked them one at a time to check for errors. There were none (Swiss recipe!) and 12 minutes was exactly right to produce this result both times:

DD needs to be careful because of IBS so they were made with mostly bacon on one side, mostly onion on the other, and with a glass of cool white wine they made an excellent Sunday supper.

Next time, now we know how well this recipe works, we'll be more generous with the toppings. :->

Incidentally, rather than baking-trays or the pizza stone we need to replace (ceramic utensils, tile floors and gravity Do Not Mix Well) we used the cast-iron griddle which in summer often goes on the BBQ...

... and gave the oven a thorough pre-heating, then transferred the Flammkuchen in and out with a peel, all of which worked splendidly.

That tip about using baking paper is excellent, BTW: no sticking, no spillage, no washing up. I bet it'll work with other things as well.

Like, for instance, more Flammkuchen... ;->

[panic-in-the-multiverse]

A Pirates Life For Me

Pairings: father Killian Jones x child/teen!reader

Imagine: what it would be like to be Killian Jones child

Warnings: none really, mostly fluff, and Killian Jones being the best father ever, I guess there’s some spoilers for those who haven’t watched all seasons I guess, mention of when he died, NOT proofread yet

A/N back to writing ya’ll (hopefully), thought I’d start it of easy with some headcanons, so a few other will come out too but this is the first because recently I’ve been obsessing over Killian again along with Obi-Wan Kenobi and Hunter (from tbb)

Side note half of this got deleted and couldn’t really remember what I wrote so it’s definitely not as good as the first draft

First things first you were raised on the Jolly Roger, you would most probably grow up as a pirate, and when old enough you’d help him fighting against the other pirates that would attack you at times

I’m sorry but you’re gonna have to deal with wearing dark colored clothes, he doesn’t do light color therefore neither do you at least until you’re old enough to decide for yourself what clothes you want

You’d beg Killian to buy you the biggest hat ever as you read somewhere that pirates has hats, he never bought you that hat… he did steal a tiny hat that fit you perfectly though…

He was scared to death that he would be like his own father, but don’t worry he’s both like that he’s the best and he’d never leave you like that

Your initials are written beside the wheel (you know where he wrote with his hook for Bae/Neal)

Things you carved into the ship as a kid can still be seen in the most random places

He childproofed the ship, put child locks on nearly every cabinet not knowing if it was child appropriate things in them as the crew would put their things in random places, he did not find the thought of you finding a knife, sword, or gun and accidentally hurt yourself very comforting

Adopted child, biological child, doesn’t matter he loves you the same.

Depending on when you were born you might of watched The Dark One rip the heart out of your father’s lover

One of many traumatic events

Killian values you more than anything else, if he had to choose between revenge or you, he’d always choose you, he’d do anything for you even if it meant him dying

He still knows how to say no to things though

He made a mental list in his head on things he would teach you

1. How to sail

2. How to navigate with stars

3. Sword fighting

4. How to survive on Neverland (just in case Pan decided to kidnap you or something to mess with him)

5. How to escape from Neverland

6. What plants are poisonous or not

7. Do not make deals with the dark one

And then the list goes on and on, he would want to teach you everything he knows about everything really, he just doesn’t want you to make the same mistakes he did, or to end up being a villain as he wants you to get your happy ending

Somewhere along the road you got dragged into wanting to help your father get revenge, nearly succeeded in multiple occasions, but as it turns out villains don’t really get their revenge

You once made the crew find a hook and clothes similar to Killian’s and later on that day you’d run up to Killian, hand clutching a hook and act as if you were the captain of the ship, imitating your father (with a really bad “adult” voice). He would let out a wide smile, eyes twinkling and a soft gaze as he looked down at you trying to reach the wheel. He’d eventually pick you up and let you steer the destination as he helped you turn the wheel the other way than he had set the course too. This was also the first time he taught you how to sail. Or somewhat, it wasn’t like you took much of the information in as you soon got bored and went to watch over the railing at the crashing waves.

Btw I’m tired of fics where Captain Hooks child likes Peter Pan, why because a parents ideals usually sets with the child, meaning you’d probably hate Peter Pan and Rumplestiltskin as much as your father does

He would tell you stories of his older brother and how he was a hero and he wished you’d met him, you would eventually in hell though later as you went to rescue your father so that’s fine, turns out he wasn’t the hero your father made him out to be, but that’s fine you only need one hero and that’s your dad

He would also tell you stories of his adventures, it made for quite the long entertaining tales as he tucked you into bed, kissing your forehead before continuing his story which he altered to be a bit more child friendly and a bit more dramatic

He lets you have some of his clothes when he’s going away for a long time because he knows you’ll miss him

He lets you wear his jackets/coats, you freezing he’s already put his jacket/coat over you, even if they’re too big for you , he loves how adorable you look in it as he’s reminded that you’re still just a child and he doesn’t want you to grow up

He’d try to teach you how to paint, might succeed might not still he loves the bonding time he’s good at painting in any universe you can’t tell me otherwise

He hates seeing you hurt

If you get hurt on a raid he’d made sure whoever hurt you would suffer, you want him kiss the injury better, he’d do so in a heartbeat even if it meant his reputation would falter slightly

He starts dating someone else (Emma) he’d make sure that person treated you right, if not he’d dump said person

If he founds out you like someone he wouldn’t be overprotective, he’d still be protective but he’d mostly be supportive. He’d tease you about it until it became annoying, he’d encourage you and give you advice (even if most of his advice failed)and if it failed he’d be there to comfort you through it all

You’d blame Emma for turning Killian into a dark one and you’d blame Emma for Killian’s death

When you rescued Killian from hell he promised you he’d never die again if not of old age and that he’d never take of his good luck ring ever again as you thought he jinxed it by giving it to Emma

You were glad for his sake when he married Emma just because you saw your father happy with someone else again and not just grieving and seeking revenge for his ex lover

He hugs surprisingly great, he’s like your human sized pirate teddy bear

He misses the times when you would come into his room late at night after a nightmare and crawl under the covers and cuddle close to him, not because you had a nightmare but because he liked that you knew you would always be safe with him

He would hate that you’d have nightmares after his death and you no matter what age you are in would sometimes go into his room to make sure he was still alive and maybe even sleep beside him, he’d wake up to you sprawled out over the whole bed clutching his side tightly as if you were afraid he’d disappear

Will make sure you get your happy ending

He’s just father material it’s as simple as that (just look at Nook, love Nook though but original Hook is the best)

[marinettesaltprompts]

Heyyyyy!!! I was just wondering if you’ve read Adrien salt fics and if so, how do they normally end? I’m planning on making a storyline about how a group of upcoming teen punk rock artists find Adrien and practically adopt him :3

Heyyyyy!!! I was just wondering if you’ve read Adrien salt fics and if so, how do they normally end? I’m planning on making a storyline about how a group of upcoming teen punk rock artists find Adrien and practically adopt him :3

Honestly you'd be better off reading of the MANY adrien salt prompts or just a summary of one of the fics to get a better idea, I don't know why you would ask me in particular, but I will try to summarise the few points for you.

Usually a fanfic involving Adrien salt ends with Adrien losing the ring and being officiallry removed as Chat Noir, either because Ladybug gets fed up of him or he ends up in a situation that makes him lose the ring and get his identity exposed (usually being a result of his own salt-driven actions, though this depends on the author).

This oftentimes results in Adrien's reputation being tarnished, even more so than the flak Gabriel usually gets. I mean, one guy terrorised Paris for many years and the other told another girl to take the high road, but I guess the high road guy is somehow worse.

Assuming that the rest of the class isn't similarly villified, the class will also turn on Adrien for "siding with Lila" (this can be true sometimes, but this is usually Adrien recieving flak for not openly calling out Lila, usually out of a misplace belief that doing so won't help the situation.) Either way, the rest of the class will treat him like he was worse than Chloe for simply choosing to believe the best in Lila (though the reason will sometimes change with the author to better villify him)

This usually goes hand in hand with Gabriel being exposed, but because of his family having to bear the brunt of Gabriel being the villain, Adrien will lose EVERYTHING. His family's assets will be siezed (either to pay reparations for damage to Paris and its people or simply because they were Gabriel's) and the Gabriel brand will soon fall after as everyone leaves or it gets rebranded. This usually means that Adrien is left broke.

His extended family won't usually care either, usually because Felix ends up being Marinette's new "love interest" if Luka isn't chosen. They'll usually leave him high and dry once everything comes out.

Adrien won't be able to find work because of his ruined reputation. In ideal cases he can change his name and identity and go look for work abroad but in most cases he will be tracked endlessly, because somehow making a random bakery girl cry warrants that...

On the complete inverse, Marinette gets everything she ever wants because Marinette doesn't already have enough. She'll get the "perfect" boyfriend, "new friends" or her old friends will stick by her after kissing her feet, she gets her MDC brand and hell, she might even turn out to be a princess. Good idea for an author who wants to make Marinette even more of a Mari-Sue than she was in canon.

Meanwhile Adrien's life is so thoroughly tarnished that he's probably a moment away from breaking the rings containing his amok by himself (assuming he even learns the truth about being a sentimonster or the author wrote the fic before season 5).

So yeah, here's the summary, have fun.

Also why did you duplicate your question twice in different colors?

[amazingdeadfish]

hey! do u have any 'terrible' shadowpuppet AU/concept with things like kidnapping or abuse or other bad violence things? cause I have much of them

CW: Discussions about toxic relationships.

The thing is... Shadowpuppet shipping already has those things in itself..? Kind of.

I mean Mayor literally kidnaps Macaque in the last minute or so of Shadowplay-

-And then Macaque proceeds to kidnap Mayor in the season 3 finale and hands him over to the Monkie Kids.

Abuse on the other hand is a finicky subject because this is still a kids show, but Macaque was definitely not having a good time working under LBD. The uneven power scale between the two and the lack of equality in the 'working relationship' is just another form of a toxic relationship. She literally floats above him in every scene the two are in together. Power dynamic goes crazy.

LBD did not treat Macaque like a person, and I suppose this would extend to Mayor. Mayor on one hand probably would not have been treated like a person (an equal) by LBD either, but in turn (as one can now argue that), the Mayor probably wouldn't have treated Macaque like a person too? Copying their Lady's treatment of him? Which, can obviously be seen when the Mayor carelessly shoves Macaque through the portal in season 3 in canon. Not an ounce of respect. You could even go as far as to say that Mayor probably thinks that equality in a relationship isn't normal. That someone has to always have more control and power over the other one.

This essentially, where Macaque lacks control over his own life because of this power struggle, is a form of abuse. And instead of Mayor sympathising with Macaque, he would just be (depending on how you interpreted LBD's relationship with Mayor) a victim who also plays a role as an abuser.

I guess what I'm trying to say is: No, I do not have any toxic AUs regarding shadowpuppet, because Shadowpuppet is already plenty toxic material in itself. I mean, there is already too much to play around with their dynamic that I find no need to exaggerate or add anymore problematic content to it in an AU. I think that's why I like it so much. So much of an interesting dynamic that can be poked around with but also, so much room for interpretation (which is something Shadowpeach is getting less of as LMK canonically develops Wukong and Macaque's relationship further).

But this doesn't mean I'm trying to tell you that you can't have your own toxic spin on Shadowpuppet! I mean, your interpretation of them is bound to be different than mine and everyone thinks of a ship differently. Because yeah, there MUST have been more problematic situations between these two behind the screen and not in the canonical story itself. And who knows how toxic these two might be to each other when put out of the LMK universe entirely?

[flownwrong]

dS rewatch shenanigans

So me and @mannequin3thereckoning rewatched 2.04 Bird in the Hand, 3.02 Eclipse and 4.03 The Ladies' Man (or 4.05, depending on the region; I like this ordering of the episodes better, it makes the season more equally paced to me). Somehow we picked a nice equal distribution between seasons 2-4 (sorry s1, I just did not have that much free time!)

It was fun to compare the impressions between us, a person who's fresh off a rewatch and one who didn't touch dS for some years :) Unlike my rigorous friend, I don't have it in me to do a separate post for each episode. It's all pretty chaotic, but here goes:

Bird in the Hand

It was funny to notice how much easier it is to judge the pacing of an episode while also chatting about it in real time compared to a regular watch. This one is pretty much perfect!

It's a great showcase for the side of Fraser that sometimes gets lost between screen and fic, or screen and meta—his lowkey permanent annoyance with his circumstances ("I'm not sulky. I don't sulk," he said. You know, like a liar!) and his masterfully contained intense anger. It's so funny how annoyed he gets with Turnbull! Finally, someone at the consulate who gets more shit than he does haha.

Also another great example of Ray consistently ready to both stir up shit and take shit for Fraser in a highly stressful situation where Fraser's hands are tied. “He’d shoot him for you if you asked"—even Dad knows <3 Linking this wonderful art to express my endless appreciation for how well-oiled Ray and Fraser's banter is. No one does put upon like Ray Vecchio. No one.

And, I mean, the emotional centerpiece of the episode is BRILLIANT. The tone balances on the usual dS edge between wacky and weighty juuust right for juuuuust long enough via Ghost Dad, and then it cannonballs right into heartbreaking because of the Ghost Dad in the span of two lines, sustains it for one of the most effective conversations in all of dS and eases out of it by—you guessed it—Ghost Dad diffusing the tension with continuous murderous overtures.

And I think Fraser's ✨Plan✨ in this one is a rare example of his speechifying that actually bares his underbelly as opposed to only expressing his beliefs illustrated by his experiences. He's very self-aware: he says to his father, "I'm no better", I, too, can't ask for help, I, too, can't express my love and my hurts—and then he goes and does exactly that—and then he immediately follows it by turning the tables on everyone and going "ah, but I stunned you all with my emotional openness on purpose so I could get the upper hand in the stand-off"—but it works both ways, and it's clearly also him using the excuse to actually be vulnerable for a second. Man, Fraser is a thing to behold in this episode.

But you can actually see how far he's come since the pilot, and how his partnership with Ray affected him—it's cool that this happens only two episodes after Ray bullies him into admitting his dissatisfaction with his circumstances. And here he's expressing grief, not the anger, not the desire for revenge, but grief, out loud, to everyone. "You broke my heart." Jesus.

10/10 episode, highly recommended.

Eclipse

This episode is like a favourite well-worn hoodie to me. Apart from the iconic "Do you find me attractive?" exchange it offers so many joys.

It's funny (The "now it's broken and it's working" exchange and "Mom, how you've changed—into cuban cigars" are both beautiful moments).

There's Fraser's "I'm acquainted with loss and, on occasion, loneliness" line which is I think a great thing to learn about him early in the season both if you tuned into the show without seeing s1-2 and if you're Ray Kowalski.

There's the great Ray intro, doubly so because we already had the intro, and were even given a lot of the info there that Eclipse reinforces (like Ray's compulsive need to express his vulnerabilities in hope of protecting himself from being judged too harshly, but also his competence—even if my man should really keep those glasses on—and his ability to think on his feet and his obsessive tendencies and his soft romantic underbelly and I could go on, we learn so. much. stuff. by the point we hear Fraser's exposition on Ray's professional record we're not even surprised).

I love that Fraser is immediately comfortable with his new position of being the more emotionally stable one in the duo, haha—while Ray Vecchio had his insecurities and great moments of learning to trust himself with Fraser's help, Fraser is clearly both fascinated by Ray Kowalski's openness and ready to offer his shoulder to lean on, with an added bonus of being in less danger of being perceived while near this dude who constantly makes himself available for perception.

Random little notes: I really love how Ray says his own name with so much disappointment when introducing himself: "I'm... *frustrated sigh* Kowalski." I love how he tentatively asks Fraser to repeat "friend" after his declaration of friendship. I love that he's a dork who throws the dreamcatcher like a frisbee. I love the b-plot letting us hang out with the station gang a little and see them stand up for each other. I love the insane angle on Ray's face while he's being interrogated (see: my eyelashes gifset). I love the birthday party. I love the crypt as a setting, and I love everyone in that impromptu holding cell.

And, in the words of my wiser friend, "ray finding out his imposter syndrome was caused by a guy who doesn’t even remember him is so very ray". I take my hat off to everyone involved in making this episode.

The Ladies' Man, which I'm very glad my friend suggested, bc otherwise I probably would've forced her to watch it anyway, and I'm not a fan of such cruelty.

Let's get some things out of the way:

Ray looks incredibly good in this episode. It's a crime to look this good AND suffer prettily on top of that. The fact that the camera that was already pretty obsessed with CKR these two seasons gets, like, terminally stuck on him here does Not hurt matters.

I have some Questions for the episode, and I'll get to them, but it's my top one dS episode on a pure viewing pleasure level because it pushes my buttons.

Can't say much about the cold open because it's pretty much perfect, tight and tense and we get the Homoerotic Calling Off Your Rabid Dog Partner When He's Losing It Before He Kills Someone, which is a timeless classic (complete with the obvious and iconic Look at me! Look! At! Me!), and Ray and Fraser are perfect characters to act it out. CKR is on fire, no notes.

One moment I somehow forgot from my many previous rewatches that really struck me during this one is Fraser's almost casual admission of imagining murdering his father's murderers—thinking again about Bird in the Hand up there. It's a great reminder late in the show, where we see this aspect of him less often, and it's cool that he can safely share it in the face of Ray's rawness, you know, as opposed to it being a great and painful admission when he's the vulnerable one.

A brief interlude to shake my fists at the sky and wail Why, o Paul Gross, did you have to add the singing—it's not just that the joke didn't age well, it didn't even land at the time, and I don't think it would in any episode, but especially here???— and the bark tea flirting—which is par for the course as far as dS goes and could be cute but it feels totally disconnected from the rest of the scene, let alone the episode, so, again, ???? It's not that I wanted a mournful monotony of an episode with no laughs—I would pick a different show then—but like, I think better jokes could've been made. Like later in the episode, where during a climactic scene they drop the "actually, all that exposition makes me feel a little thirsty" line, it works.

Back to the point: Dixie Seatle is fucking amazing??? Her and CKR work so well together that all the noise of failed gags and nonsensical continuity of Ray's cover and whatnot is super easy to wave away because they're the emotional core of the episode, and they deliver. They have such a fragile thing going on, with him being exhausted from all the guilt and her also being exhausted from his guilt on top of the, you know, the whole death penalty thing.

Which, speaking of, UM, that's one of Thee Darkest Premises in the whole show and encountering it for the first time was a trip, during a season I was not a fan of and considered dropping. And yes many rewatches later I'm still confused but grateful about it all. The world in this episode is brutal in the way it rarely is in the show; integrity and redemption and whatnot are big motives in dS, and the big point is usually that the world, imperfect and unfair as it is, can respond to kindness with kindness and this is worth upholding. It is Not So here; scenes like the whole precinct cheering away at the prospect of Beth's impending execution are just—wow, okay.

So, as far as dS goes, this is a super solipsistic episode. It's perfectly self-contained, and even though it could have, I don't know, implications for Ray the way some of Fraser's Bad Shit did for Fraser, it just isn't addressed in the end. And I don't think it should be. It's a character study, and whoever decided they needed a very heavy one for Ray is my hero. (Note: I think this is the reason I never read a coda for this episode that I enjoyed. Having your blorbo break down in tears right in front of his boyfriend right before the credits with no follow-up kind of begs for a coda, but—newp. It works so well because it cuts off with no big resolutions.)

And whoever wrote those two closing scenes deserves a medal; to have this much restraint is an achievement for late season dS. CKR and Dixie Seatle also deserve a medal each for creating something this excruciating with super precise line deliveries and body language.

Small things my mind always catches on:

Welsh and his pink duster, looking out for Ray

CKR's rolling over the car stunt (steam comes out of my ears)

tiny flashback Ray checking his hair in the mirror at the crime scene because of course he does

Ray casually fiddling with Fraser's hat as they walk around

Sam Franklin's whole deal. I mean, there's tension there. For god's sake he pats Ray's cheek like a proud mentor he played the whole time when Ray takes his gun during his arrest. I mean. Uh. Yeah.

the fact that truepenny quit her meta right before this episode is a human tragedy

Probably like 40% of what you've read above have been brought up or articulated by @mannequin3thereckoning, so thank her for all the fun. I hope we can do this again some time <3

[simlicious]

Personal update!

Hey everyone! I started to write this at 9:40 am, then I got distracted and did not post it right away but I guess activity on tumblr at that time is low anyway.

I am happy to report that I am still going strong with my changed day/night cycle. It's not always easy, I don't get into bed early enough on some days and feel pretty groggy the next. But this is always where I get defeated - I think okay, sleeping in for half an hour won't be a problem... but then I go to bed even later and the cycle goes backwards really quickly. This time I am determined to stay strong even if that means I walk around like a zombie and drink 1.5 liters of black tea on some days to keep me awake 😆

I guess it takes time to adjust the evening routines too. On these "useless" days, I often play Anno 1800 which is engaging and relaxing at the same time. I often quit the game to mod this and that in the game, so my brain is pretty engaged still and this is how I like it most days.

Since new habits need at least 6 weeks to be counted as a new stable habit, I will focus only on my sleep rhythm for the time being and allow myself to take a mental break from other projects to eliminate the inner expectation of working on those when I know it is unreasonable at this time. It also does me good to let go of any pressure to create TS3 content. I know it has been a while but it does nobody any good if I guilt myself because of it. I often get negative feelings around my simblr lately and it sucks, like I am really unsure about the few AI patterns I made and the poll made me really question what I should do since it is pretty divided. I do not know whether those are more random people who answered the poll or people who often engage in my blog anyway. So I don't really know if I should release those patterns at all or if people come and harass me over them if I do. But not releasing them would mean that energy to create them would be truly wasted, I think? If the images exist already, shouldn't they be used to make it count? Because thinking of that makes me uneasy, I put my creative energy into Anno 1800 for the time being which is not emotionally loaded. I am way too disorganized to really do beauty building, and most of the time I am just happy when my population get the goods they want 😆but modding another item that helps with that or editing other people's mods to fit my needs is fun and satisfying. It's a bit like editing tuning mods for Sims 3 (just with some more complicated layers added depending on the mod).

Knowing myself, I will get another pattern idea soon enough though, and sweater season is fast approaching which means I get into the mood of creating more cozy patterns, hopefully! I want to give a shoutout to people who have shown my patterns in screenshots lately. I admit I am not very active on tumblr at the moment and do not see everything I should. Memorable ones were @martassimsbook and @gittessimsadventuresog, but anyone else please feel addressed too! It means a lot to me to see my patterns in use, it makes me feel validated and useful and lifts my spirits. It also helps to dispel some of my negative thoughts (maybe patterns do not go obsolete after all if people are still using them). I'm really happy they are so useful to you! A lot of you probably do not post many gameplay screenshots but use my patterns anyway, I cannot forget about you 💜thanks for all the support!

[translucentshine]

The X-Files Season 2 Rankings!!! Hi I'm still a first-time watcher and I'm finally done with S2, here's my thoughts&ratings:

Episode 1 (Little Green Men) - 7/10: it's been a while but I remember I was hooked

Episode 2 (The Host) - wtf/10: 😭 I liked that we finally saw a ~creature~ on screen but we moved on from this too quickly I fear?? like this was insane???

Episode 3 (Blood) - 5/10: it was okay but in retrospect not very strong of an episode :(

Episode 4 (Sleepless) - 6/10: was scratching my head trying to remember what this episode was about... lmao. But we got introduced to Krycek & the Preacher guy's actor was really compelling.

Episode 5 (Duane Berry) - 10/10: brilliant, I was on the edge of my seattt. really enjoyed this episode. no notes it's too good

Episode 6 (Ascension) - 7/10: I was still hooked but the storyline kinda goes downhill here lmao😭

Episode 7 (3) - 3/10: man I did not care for this episode & did not get the vampire thing BUT the scene of local loserboy mulder hooking up with a rando was kind of a treat. the 3 pts are only for him being hot and pathetic missing scully ♡

Episode 8 (One Breath) - 8/10: I was just glad for Scully to reappear lmao. liked the storyline also and more skinnerrrr🤭

Episode 9 (Firewalker) - 😵‍💫/10: release me from my suffering bc we finally have Scully back... and this is the storyline......... if I watched this show back in the 90s and this was my weekly dosis of my fav show I would be mad. it was okay...... i guess........

Episode 10 (Red Museum) - 9/10: this was the shit fr I loved the vibessss everything

Episode 11 (Excelsis Dei) - 0/10: I was so mad at Mulder for not caring about the rape case & the storyline was ridiculous. Like I would not rewatch this episode. 😭 not even scully's girlbossing could save this.

Episode 12 (Aubrey) - 6/10: I was pretty hooked so I can forgive the fact that the resolution was. kind of ridiculous. work?

Episode 13 (Irresistible) - 7/10: total nightmare fuel. too nasty... but I loved the focus on Scully (even though my girl got traumatised AGAIN.) but omfg.

Episode 14 (Die Hand Die Verletzt) - 2/10: as a german girlie I wanna like this just bc the episode has a german title but um... uh... hm. the writing was really something. yeah.

Episode 15 (Fresh Bones) - ?/10: literally don't remember anything beyond the opening scene for this episode. Surely it can't have been that good?

Episode 16 (Colony) - 7/10: yeah it was pretty good?? I don't remember this one well but I remember liking it. mind u it's only been a few weeks since I watched it. (😐)

Episode 17 (End Game) - hm/10: don't like the fake Samantha stuff it honestly kind of got my nerves. Still enjoyed watching but would I rewatch? hm. HM. (no)

Episode 18 (Fearful Symmetry) - IS THIS FR?/10 this episode was INSANEEE lmao how do you come up with a plot like this 😭😭😭 iconic. probably like a 7/10 BUT WHO CAME UP WITH THIS

Episode 19 (Død Kalm) - 0/10: I'm sorryyy I think a lot of people like this episode? But it took me like 3 days to finish it was just so boring 😭 im sorry this is the only episode where I couldn't even sit through the last 10 Minutes I skipped to the next. I usually never do this. IM SORRY.

Episode 20 (Humbug) - 10/10 I wanted to be a hater because this episode is RIDICULOUS!!!! Ridiculous! But it was so entertaining I enjoyed it way too much lmao. nothing could've prepared me for 1) who the "killer" is 2) THE KILLER GETTING EATEN LMAO... I thought it couldn't get crazier after the zoo animals got kidnapped, impregnated, kidnapped again-

Episode 21 (The Calusari) - ?/10: I need someone who's Romanian to tell me what they thought of this episode. I fear the whole episode kind of depends on that. 🤨

Episode 22 (F. Emasculata) - I don't know how to rate this episode bc I was just really grossed out the whole time.

Episode 23 (Soft Light) - 7/10: I thought this plot idea was really interesting. The actor was great.

Episode 24 (Our Town) - WTFFFFFF😭 I watched this really absentmindedly as background noise so when Mulder opened that closet I WAS TERRIFIED. Rewound the episode and paid proper attention and yep... still terrified. This episode actually freaked me out. Was great. 9/10 easily. but I'm scared.

Episode 25 (Anasazi) - 10/10: Get why so many people love this one. Mulder is perfect. Loved the grandson getting pulled into all this on a random thursday. I also like how up until this point, CSM is written as a possibly multi-faceted character. I know through spoilers he's apparently like super evil later on??(impregnating scully? 😭) and it's just such a waste. oh well! also scully has so much patience mulder would've gotten on my last nerve in this

My ratings on S1 were a lot more consistently positive than on S2. I don't think I had one or more than one 10/10 episodes in S2 but I also didn't have this many I outright disliked. S2 definitely had a lot of ups and downs for me. 😅 I feel like a lot of S2 episodes have this thing where they're all over the place sadly and some story elements just get brought up and not mentioned again etc. (e.g. the girl in Episode 14 claiming she was SAd and impregnated as a child and it's this long upsetting scene and then later on they're like "oh she saw this on TV" and then it's never brought up again??)

but I'm having great fun regardless. 🤭🥰

Sorry for being forgetful about some episodes & not rating them properly, I genuinely have health-related memory issues 🥲

[adamnablelittledevil]

Just finished Part I of The Vampire Lestat and here are my first impressions (I skipped IWTV *for now* since the show has already covered it... I'll read it eventually):

I can't tell yet if I like it or not.

So far, I enjoy the concept and the characters seem to be compelling. In terms of eventfulness, there hasn't been much, but I do have some interest in these people. They all appear to be complicated and have a lot of baggage, which I guess makes them appealing and gives the story potential. Let's see where this goes.

I don't hate, but I also don't love Anne's writing style. I don't think she narrates and describes things very well, she lingers on stuff I don't care that much for and doesn't provide details on things I'm actually curious about? There are some abrupt changes that annoy me sometimes as well.

I do believe this might be an attempt to get ourselves in the mind of Lestat and how he process to the world around him, though? It would make sense considering how chaotic he is.

Another thing I like is how he got so obsessed with the 20th Century, music and theater. The descriptions really give me the idea of someone experiencing the world for the first time (in a while) and considering how isolated he was growing up or after everything that happened with Louis/Claudia, it makes sense that he is so fascinated by all these discoveries. And it's really immersive and sweet to see how he in awe he is with all of it.

He also speaks like he is somebody born in the 1700s. So I give her credits for that as well.

Pretty sure Lestat is neurodivergent at this point (ADHD is basically a yes from me, maybe he has dyslexia and/or autism too).

And his memory is trash. So often he doesn't know if he actually did something, or if it were someone else, or if it was just a thought... I'm like, ARE YOU OKAY (he isn't)? By the way, this is painfully relatable because I also have poor short (and long-term) memory. Heaven help him (and moi).

That boy is a water sign if I've ever seen one.

He cries A LOT. I don't remember ever seeing any (book/show/movie) character cry that much, specially in such a short time lol. And the fact this is coming from a man and not a woman... There you go with defying gender norms, king!

Lestat having Borderline Personality Disorder isn't even a headcanon at this point, but a FACT.

He probably hasn't been hugged enough times in his life and it SHOWS.

Even with the abuse in his family, his frustration with his mother and the "malady of mortality", he manages to stay optimistic in a way that feels so childlike and naive that makes my heart warm and ache for him. I'm like, you deserve better.

Again, I don't know if I'm enjoying or not, but I do like the fact I can imagine Sam's Lestat doing all of this on season 3. Picturing Sam bringing these moments to life is the BEST PART of the reading.

Would I still read these books if the show never existed? That's what I need to find out.

I can see why some people got so invested in this character, though. At least for now. Some stuff hit close to home and I find myself rooting for him. I imagine that for the ones who read it at as a teenager, it must've made them feel less alone and seen to some extent.

At this moment, it's Lestat > Gabrielle > Nicholas for me.

Lestat's father isn't a person I care about, but depending on how the show adapts him, I guess it could be a good opportunity for a blind actor. It would be killing two birds with one stone, because it would develop Lestat's backstory, but also give space for a category that barely gets any job in the industry. I would love to see a powerful guest star that is a an actual disabled person playing a disabled character. Sure, we would hate him, but if someone manages to show their potential, book more roles and maybe even earn an award or nomination, why not?

Whenever Lestat talks about kissing his mother I get confused if the incest is already happening or not lol. Because I normally would just imagine a platonic kiss on the cheek or forehead and I haven't seen anything explicitly inappropriate. I don't know if it's because I'm reading the Brazilian Portuguese version, or if Anne wasn't that clear, or maybe I'm slow and naive, but nothing big seems to have happened? But I'm familiar with those spoilers, so... Anyway, whatever. It's not like I was counting the days to read about incest, so I don't really care about it being evident or not. I just mean that for now they seem to be more of a "parent that didn't want kids, but cares for him in a distant, but still real way and child that seeks for any crumbs of love and affection" kind of relationship.

Speaking of that, Lestat is SO DESPERATE for love, omg. Nicki was basically the first person besides his mother that was nice to him and he told the guy ALL OF HIS LIFE STORY AND FELL IN LOVE almost immediately? Get up!

Peak BPD/ADHD/maybe autistic/water sign/Scorpio behavior. MY GOD.

Still don't know how to picture Gabrielle and who I fancast playing her. I do think I have some sense of who she is now, which is nice. I also have some actors that could pass for Sam's parent and have the appropriate age to play her in my mental library, but I can't form a face yet. Not the face of a real actress or even an imaginary face, it's just a blur so far. Which sucks because I loooooooooove imagining fancasts, specially for a show as great as this one, but I'm just waiting for the revelation to come to me lmao.

[calypsolemon]

for wyv au;

whos ur favorite character to include that isnt the Main Duo ?

are there any parallels/similarities to other au's of urs? (namely transgender au)

which seasons have the greatest impact on this au?

if ur willing to share, whats the best scene you have mapped out in your head? (doesnt have to be a major spoiler. it could be something like siren jay popping a balloon for shits and giggles)

whats ur favorite aspect of the toxic dependency that notjaya have for one another?

does siren jay smell like fish ? does nya smell like fish from all the fishing ? does that smell draw sirenjay to nya ?

why doesnt siren jay just consume nya, is he stupid ? (that last ones a joke, but i am curious on if the more emotional she is, the better she tastes or not.)

does siren jay ever develop any actual feelings for nya...

thats all chat !

favorite character to include that isnt the Main Duo?

That's hard because I really love all of them, and many I am still in the process of figuring out, so there may be dimensions to characters I add later that makes me like them more. Right now I think it's Lloyd because I think he is the shining beacon in the dark mist that is this au. And also because I have a Lloyd bias.

are there any parallels/similarities to other au's of urs? (namely transgender au)

I think characters having conflicting reactions to life problems and intense relationship drama brewing because of it is a common thread through many of my au's. I think it also has the most notable similarities to Splinter-Hearted back when that was an au, especially the idea of Kai and Nya's sibling relationship breaking down in reaction to loss.

You didn't ask, but I think the main difference this au has to my others is the subtlety with which I'm portraying the more magical/supernatural aspects of the story, and the tone, which is probably the most Adult I've ever approached a silly spinning ninjas au by.

which seasons have the greatest impact on this au?

guess it's kinda obvious, but Seabound and DR s2. Skybound as well as it's sort of foundational to why those other seasons even work. And obviously I'm sprinkling in a bit of Possession for flavor (don't expect Morro to make a miraculous return here tho, its just the vibes)

Fun fact is actually that Nya's locket is designed to look like a compass in the front, to mirror the compass which held Delara's photo in Skybound.

if ur willing to share, whats the best scene you have mapped out in your head?

There's a point in the story where everyone piles into a car for a drive. Everything goes very wrong from there <3

whats ur favorite aspect of the toxic dependency that notjaya have for one another?

I like how simultaneously very alien and very human it is. The thought patterns of the siren are impossible to comprehend for a human as the thought patterns of a creature from the ocean's abyss, and yet at its core, its drawn to Nya's side by a universal instinct - a gnawing hunger which screams to survive. I think the grief that drives Nya's actions is just as indiscernible, and just as primal.

does siren jay smell like fish ? does nya smell like fish from all the fishing ? does that smell draw sirenjay to nya ?

Imagine everything in this au smells like fish and seaweed and brine and rust all the time. Everyone in Stiix is pretty noseblind to it.

why doesnt siren jay just consume nya, is he stupid ? (that last ones a joke, but i am curious on if the more emotional she is, the better she tastes or not.)

It's not about emotionally fattening her up for the slaughter or anything like that. Sirens are not really stronger than humans physically, their only real weapons are their voices and appearance. It's just that they rarely encounter anyone as capable of resistance for no discernible reason as Nya is. The siren has no choice but to continue to play her little game until it can break down her defenses, or risk death if she ever leaves the city of Stiix.

does siren jay ever develop any actual feelings for nya...

He tells her he loves her, once. Interpret that as you will.

[the-s1lly-corner]

Ookay this one is really really tooth rotting fluff level

Tadc x reader who just realized christmas is coming, and is freaking out with absolute glee and childlike wonder

TADC cast x reader who loves christmas!

AAAAAA im so so sorry i could have sworn i answered this but i guess i didnt??? i promise i didnt mean to leave this in the inbox this long on purpose i think i must have lost track of stuff </3 regardless, i hope you enjoy! admin must admit, asides from presents and the christmas tree, he doesnt do many holiday activities so... admin is underqualified for this but hes still gonna try! a lot of the character segments intertwine in this btw! like not in a "similar idea" thing but in a "they are actually overlapping and interacting with one another" way so !! side note unrelated to the post eheheheh the second batch of macarons have been piped! theyre now on the counter set out to dry, and ive got my ganaches out to get to room temperature so i can whip em up into a frosting :3

CAINE:

oh i just know that caine would lean hard into holiday stuff, plus i think he has the best sense of time in the digital world out of everyone.. plus he just seems like the kind of guy to celebrate all sorts of holidays, not just christmas! year round stuff, you know? not just winter... so you guys would likely team up and totally deck out the grounds to match the holiday spirit! sure caine on his own already puts in way too much effort decorating everything, he even makes it snow! but with you around he cranks it up to 11! lets just hope there arent any scrooges around, though.... also prepare yourself because he would definitely find a way to have christmas music play on loop in the background... somewhere... ambient music but its festive songs... i think caine is also the one responsible for most of the presents, since he can basically get most things with just a flick of his wrist! ooooo perhaps a date (platonic or romantic! up to you!) where you guys wrap the gifts together!

POMNI:

funny enough, while i usually think pomni would SUCK at cooking, i think she can make a mean hot coco. granted, hot coco and/or hot chocolate arent the hardest things to make, but... i dont know, its just different when she makes it... (recommendation from the admin, add a bit of cinnamon or nutmeg to your hot coco its a game changer frfr, this goes for a lot of chocolate stuff, actually. its like the chocolate-coffee effect but like. makes a different flavor profile. add a bit of nutmeg to your chocolate chip goodies. rn.)

anyways! pomni always keeps you supplied with hot coco, and honestly it benefits you both! keeps you nice and warm, plus its delicious; and it gives pomni something to do... i mean, its christmas... surely she can take it easy from trying to find the exit... just for the season... helps with her anxiety about the whole situation, you know? making digital food sure is weird, though...

RAGATHA:

as mentioned in gangles part, she joins you and gangle in helping making a skirt for the tree! keeping up with the idea of sewing things, i think she would also make stockings for everyone; leaving most of them blank so everyone can customize them however they like... but you and her get together to decorate your own together and just !! i just think thats sweet! depending on how soon caine starts putting the christmas stuff around, you and her might be able to make some ugly sweaters for yourselves! thats a christmas thing, right? oooo and they match.... OOOO YOU GUYS MAKE AN EXTRA LONG SCARF FOR YOU GUYS TO SHARE!!!! rolls around... she makes you mittens so you can go mess around in the snow caine put all over the grounds

JAX:

snowball fight. and i mean really intense once. in fact it wouldnt be too much of a stress to call it a snowball WAR! honestly jax might just be the type to put rocks in his snowballs.... but because this is meant to be nice and sweet, he wont... just this once, and because he feels TOO mean crushing your holiday spirit (even if your digital body would quickly recover from the possible injury...)

you guys make forts and go absolutely ham. the stuff ragatha had made for the two of you! i mean sure you guys cant succumb to hypothermia, buuuuuuuuuut being really painfully cold still sucks... but the sweaters help you guys stay out for longer to play! and you can perhaps ask pomni to make some hot coco

oh yes its all coming together

ooo perhaps you convince jax to make snow angels and snowmen with you... though, i think jax would make the snowmen purposefully unappealing... but maybe you think hes actually trying his best... oh you jolly little thing..

KINGER:

okay so i admit this one might be a stretch and its mostly because his robe already has the fur and he gives off grandpa energy (even though hes only 48 but hey some grandpas become grandpas young) but imagine somehow someway he dresses up as santa (and i say that loosely, his robe turns red and the fur turns a plain white), bonus if he wears a hat to tie in the entire look. while caine is the one getting the gifts and wrapping them, i like to think kinger would ask to be the one to put them under the tree at an ungodly hour. sweet man. chews

as for an interaction with the reader... hmm.. hes the last character im writing, everyone else already has their parts done... the one christmas activity i can think of that hasnt been taken yet is baking! honestly i can see him being a decent chef! maybe its the dad/granddad energy speaking to me again... perhaps its the admin projecting... buuuut imagine you two make shaped cookies togehter; stars, candy canes, trees, bells, ect... and you ice them together! sure they may not be the prettiest or look the most professional; but does that really matter when youre having fun? they still taste delicious!

ZOOBLE:

ok i get it, i tend to lean hard into the zooble being negative and/or unimpressed with things a liiiiiiiiittle too often, but again zooble doesnt strike me as the type to enjoy most holidays. they seem more of a halloween person to me, you know? though, i think that they would switch out their antennae for ones that resemble antlers more... or if they dont have those, they string lights up on them! all for you, just because they know how excited the holiday makes you. they dont care about many things, but they care about you... and if it means doing (harmless) things they normally wouldnt do, then so be it! dont expect them to get in on many holiday activities, though...

GANGLE:

you and her make decorations for the grounds and the giant digital tree caine put in the main common area! handmade ornaments, paper stars and snowflakes, things like that! you and gangle stay up take cutting each thing, applying the colors and the glitter and any small details.... dozens of times.... because caine chose a tree that was way too big than it needed to be.... oh you might have to have gangle on your shoulders so she can reach the higher points of the tree! sits and thinks.... ooouuuuuuuuugh you guys make a skirt for the tree together with the help of ragatha... little group activity... sobs...

[sunset-bobby]

9-1-1 rambles pt2 (it’s only 1 am this time)

now that i’m like taking introspective looks into like the 9-1-1 couple’s relationships I think it’s interesting how a lot of the canon couples are bolter x clinger pairings

I mean like the buckleys siblings discussed how maddie’s a bolter and buck is a clinger

chimney is a clinger i mean the whole tatiana thing and then you know boston

i think athena and bobby are a mix of both because in the early stages bobby was bolting and athena was clinging i mean the whole discussion of bobby moving in is an example but as time goes on bobby gets more secure he is a clinger and athena on the cruise and that whole arc was bolter behavior

hen and karen are hard bc they’re both very committed to each other and have had the longest relationship so neither of them are bolting or clinging but in henren begins (idk the actual title ya’ll) we literally see hen leave in the morning post date/hookup but idk if she said goodbye…im not discussing the season 1/2 cheating arc bc that’s just a different scenario but they get mad they reflect they reconcile there’s no one person doing the chasing or the distancing

buck is a clinger who stays dating bolters and even the relationships he ended they were bolters my mans got a type i guess lol…idk i think tommy could be either the restaurant was bolter behavior but once he got the confirmation buck is all in my man stays showing up so i think he has potential to be a clinger but also has self preservation skills and a fear of getting his heartbroken

lastly eddie…ngl i can’t tell u what eddie is doing it really depends on the person (i can make serious points for demisexual/demiromantic eddie diaz) but he’s overall clinging to an idea…i feel like we don’t discuss how like im 75% sure eddie has only ever been in 3 relationships his entire 33 years of life (no judgement in that) so unless he’s had his own slut era the man’s romantic experience is the equivalent of like the youths of today (again no judgement and i am one of those youths) in those 3 1/2 (Kim can be a half) experiences he’s got his idealized life and he’s tryna make it a reality and half way then he’s like wait i like the life but im not really into the person here Ana (my queen i miss you), Marisol and the idea isn’t shannon herself but the family life they almost had

truthfully idk what eddie is bc he’s clinging but bc he’s clinging he’s bolting and right now he’s doing who knows what lmao he’s building a roster i guess

anyway TLDR: everyone’s got their matching pair and eddie’s got the romantic experience of most college students (minus the kid and 1/4 of the trauma)

edit: “he’s attempting to bolt on his relationship with marisol (but not really) because he’s clinging to the idea of his relationship with shannon” my brain finally supplied an example of eddie being both so here

[writergirl2011]

I got tagged by @musing-and-music!! Thanks!! 😊 So here goes...

Story I'm proudest of...

Argh. That would be so unfair to the other stories I've written. But if I had to choose, it would be the baseball story, Diamond in the Rough simply because I always wanted to write about baseball and finally found the perfect pairing for it! Not to mention how much research went into the story.

Your story that's gotten the most love online...

Funny that this came up because this just overtook the baseball story for most hits--though to be honest, I probably would've put this anyway given that it actually got several mentions on Twitter during the 2022 J/B fic exchange: you who know what love is (lol, musing-and-music, you tagged me in this and our regency stories are the most popular!!)

Tease a current WIP or idea that you're currently working on...

Speaking of fic exchanges, I just started working on my very short story for the 2024 J/B fic exchange. So sorry, can't...oh, what the heck. Heeeeeere's...a little bit from the next story in the "A Girl for All Seasons" series!!

JAIME: I don’t know whether I’m going to kiss you or kill you next time I see you

TYRION: ahhh I see you talked to ros

JAIME: you didn’t think she’d keep that to herself did you

TYRION: guess not

TYRION: it was for your own good

TYRION: not to mention mine because if I had to listen to you moaning about your blue balls one more minute I was going to smother you in your sleep

TYRION: though now that I think about it that would’ve cured yoru problem too

Your top 3 fandoms...

I only have two. A Song of Ice and Fire and Bridgerton at the moment.

Your top three ships...

Jaime x Brienne, Eloise x Cressida (shut up) and I guess that's really it. If I had to have a third, it would probably be Sansa x Margaery since I've paired them off in some of my fics, but they're not the main focus of my stories and I don't write for them specifically.

Rec someone else's fic...

Yikes, there are far too many I want to rec, but I'm going with the story I received in this year's smut swap because I just love it to death: BT, Phone Home by @angelowl-fics. Brienne as an alien!!!! Jaime as her wannabe boy toy!!!! If you haven't read this already--go read it!!!!

Pick one!

Fluff or Angst: I don't think I write things that are especially fluffy. At the same time, I don't think my fics are super angsty for the most part. Dramatic at times? Sure, but angst--the part that really, really hurts--not so much. But I'll put angst because I do drift in that direction more often than fluff. Where's the "snark" option? That's definitely my speed.

Oneshots or longfics: 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Was this even a question???????

Canon compliance or canon divergence: I think it depends on the canon. For example, I'm not great at writing canon fic for J/B, so I stick with mod AUs. I was better at writing canon fic in other fandoms, though. So I'd say that for now, canon divergence. But I'll read both.

AO3 or ff.net: I somehow completely missed the ff.net experience. AO3 all the way.

[literateowl]

Season 5 Countdown Tag Game

For the @lonestar-s5countdown

(1) Which character death in 911 Lone Star hit you the hardest?

I think Gabriel's because I was not expecting it, it was rushed and is still unsolved. And also partly due to my own saltiness because my exact words to my sister before it aired was "the show is 2 hours tonight because someone's gotta have a near death experience and they also have to get married" and then, yeah we all know what actually happened. I hate it here 😑

(2) What is your favorite grief-related moment in the show?

Hmm The montage at the end of 2x02 sticks out because it shows all of them after losing Tim. It was fairly early in the show and I thought it was a nice touch of characterization to see how everyone chose to cope with it. And of course the TK and Carlos stairs hug <3

I also love the Owen and Carlos moment in the season 4 finale after Carlos goes off the rails.

(3) Do you think there will be a character death in season 5? If so, any guesses about who it might be?

They're kinda running out of side characters to kill off. Unless they introduce a new one just to kill them like Robert, I hope no one dies next season.

(4) Which living character's death would destroy you the most?

Any of them have the potential for this. Just depends on how the show handles it.

(5) Which character's childhood trauma do you think was most significant in shaping them?

It's a bit of a cop out to say this because we know the most about TK's and Owen's. But I think it's TK. It took him 26 or so years to realize that he didn't want to be a firefighter like his dad. He just wanted to be NEAR his dad because his dad left him when he was 7. But he doesn't even feel like he deserves to feel bad about it because his dad lived you know? Anyway I'm gonna stop before this turns into an entire essay.

💜 Open tag and tags for @lemonlyman-dotcom @thisbuildinghasfeelings @carlos-in-glasses @nancys-braids @tellmegoodbye @bonheur-cafe @goldenskykaysani @captain-gillian