#have a gifset of a moment that destroyed me

[tardxsblues]

You're back.

[allmyandroids]

fuck...I felt that 😭

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Ava Gardner (The Killers, The Barefoot Contessa)— She's so goddamn hot. Her and Frank Sinatra could've sandwiched me and I would've thanked them for the privilege

Jean Seberg (Breathless, Saint Joan)— Some of us watched À bout de souffle as a lil French undergrad and had the trajectory of our lives changed by Jean Seberg. She IS French new wave!! She is the moment!! She sadly had to work with a lot of shitty directors in her career but even so, she has this magnetic energy whenever she’s on screen. In her personal life, she was also very supportive of civil rights causes, and was even targeted/harassed by the FBI for financially supporting the Black Panther Party.

This is round 2 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Ava Gardner:

Ava Gardner is one of my favorite actresses of all time. Although a lot of her roles in movies are about her being beautiful and nothing else, there are some films where her acting truly shines.

Gifset: https://www.tumblr.com/pelopides/721438308726603776/ava-gardner-as-pandora-reynolds-pandora-and-the

Gifset 2: https://www.tumblr.com/portraitoflestatonfire/731899355804598272/if-the-loustat-reunion-doesnt-look-like-this-then

HER FACE. LOOK AT IT. Also was a life long supporter of civil rights and a member of the NAACP, had lots of fun love affairs with other stars, bullfighters, married several times but was also happy in between to just have lovers and was unapologetically herself.

I literally gasp every time I see her.

Between 1942 and 1964, Ava Gardner was credited in no less 50 films, and is still considered by some to be the most beautiful actresses that ever graced the silver screen. Despite life-long insecurities regarding her talent as an actress, she weathered public scandal, industry hostility, and outright condemnation by the Catholic Church with fearless grace. She would later in life talk candidly about the reality and pain of living through two (studio approved!!) abortions during her short marriage to Frank Sinatra, and while the two of them could not make their relationship work, they remained in each other’s lives for nearly 30 years. She would forever describe herself as a small-town girl who just got lucky, but always felt like a beautiful outsider.

Really genuinely one of the most beautiful human beings I have ever seen. An autodidact. Had amazing chemistry with Gregory Peck to the point where I do think about watching On The Beach again sometimes because they're so good together even though that movie did destroy me. Was a great femme fatale in many movies.

Jean Seberg:

anyone who plays Joan of Arc is kind of hot by default tbh

she's gorgeous, she's cool, she has the original blond pixie cut

She donated a lot of her money to civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the black panther party as well as Native American school groups, as a result of this the fbi ran a smear campaign against her and a surveillance campaign which is thought to have led to her suicide tragically.

idk if this is propaganda but the COINTELPRO and the FBI are widely blamed for her death. If the FBI was after her for supporting the Black Panther Party you know she was good

[lena-in-a-red-dress]

Medieval Supercorp AU

EDIT: it's this gifset

Continuing from this gif inspiration by @weinzapfel, have this full angstified story overview:

This makes me think Lena and Kara are both noblewomen of a kingdom at peace. They grow up together at court, sharing tutors and charming the king with their adorable antics while they're young enough to be adorable.

And then as they grow older, everyone continues to assume that they're the best of friends, which they are, but little do their parents know that their afternoon rides through the forest take them to a hidden copse of trees where they cuddle gently in dappled sunlight.

Their eventual marriages of politic are a distant future, leaving them with a present that is just the two of them, happy and in love.

Trouble comes, as all trouble must, when the King dies with neither an heir nor a ratified succession plan. The two greatest families in the realm, the Luthors and the Els, each claim a right to the throne, sparking a year of discord and unrest at court. At first, their youth and their stations as younger children of each family leave them out of the fray, but when forces storm the castle one night, all that changes.

Lena and Kara are sequestered together when the assault begins. No one tells them whose family is storming the Citadel, and so they wait in wary apprehension to see which crest comes bursting through the door.

It's the el mayarah.

For a brief moment, Kara is relieved, because she knows her family's forces won't harm Lena. Not if Kara speaks for her. But these soldiers don't heed Kara's protests as they rip Lena from her arms and drag her from the room. Kara struggles to follow, but the soldiers shove her back and lock her in.

By the time she is finally released, she demands to see Lena, decrying her friend's treatment and the brutish actions of her house in taking the stronghold. To her shock, her family knows nothing of Lena's whereabouts. They had stormed the castle, yes, but they hadn't entered the living quarters until that morning.

At first they believe Kara mistaken, but the staff confirm they witnessed the same. A search of the castle is ordered, but no trace of Lena remains to be found. She has disappeared, and with no Lena to present as proof of her survival, the Luthor family not only refuse to acknowledge the Els as the rightful rulers, they swear vengeance for the murder of their beloved daughter, cruelly mistreated and killed by the rebels.

Years pass, and the realm falls into further turmoil. The Els maintain their hold on the citadel, but the Luthors have established their own capital city safe on the far side of the northern mountains. Lex Luthor and Kal El have destroyed each other in the conflict-- Lex on the battlefield, and Kal at the hands of a Luthor assassin in retribution.

Kara is now the surviving heir, though her family elders rule in her stead as she gets a crash course in regency. It’s hard for her to embrace her duties however, as doubt eats away at the back of her mind as to what happened to her best friend. With no answers, she wonders if her family did in fact had something to do with her disappearance and presumed death. She has nightmares, none of which she clearly remembers but leaves her with a deep unease she can’t shake. For years, she struggles to rise above and be what her family needs, but can’t fully engage in her role with half her soul missing.

Then one day Kara’s having a rare moment of escapism, participating in a hunt with some of her closest friends. During a break, one of the scouts comes thundering in through the brush. Kara’s tease about scaring off the game dies on her lips when she sees the page’s frantic gaze and desperate puffing breath.

“Your Majesty-- we’ve found something.”

Something is a pit set into the ground, deep enough that the sunlight filtering in through the canopy can’t find the bottom. Their torchlight can, and Kara’s blood chills at the sight of iron shackles dangling on long chains from a bolt in the wall. 

“What is this place?” she asks, half to herself. Her mind races, piecing the puzzle together. If this was a prison, then there must have been traffic to and from. Her eyes scan the forest floor around the mouth of the pit, and feels her heart seize when the light of her torch glints against something metal half-hidden among the detritus. “Nobody move.”

Her party all freezes, and Kara reaches down and lifts the golden chain of a familiar necklace from the dirt. From it dangles the crest of the House of Luthor, adorned with a long tear drop pearl.

“Is that...”

Lena’s.

“Clear out. Retrace your own footsteps. If there’s tracks, we need to find them.”

There are no tracks. Lena’s pendant is tarnished with time and the elements. If Lena had been there, it had been months ago, if not years. For the first time wielding the powers vested in her as the royal heir, Kara launches another wide scale search, the largest since Lena’s initial abduction. 

This time, they find her.

Deep in a vassal’s dungeon, royal guards find Lena chained in the dark, pale and gaunt from years of imprisonment. The vassal lord is arrested and held for questioning, while Lena is installed and seen to in proper rooms on the estate until she’s well enough to travel. Kara’s duties keep her from traveling to the vassal’s holdings herself, but the moment Lena arrives back in the capital she’s aching to visit, but heeds her mother’s warning to let Lena get comfortable first, so that she isn’t overwhelmed. She’s been sleeping most of her days regardless. So Kara gives her a day to settle in, but when evening falls, she can’t wait a moment longer.

She knocks softly on Lena’s door, and enters on shaking legs. Lena sits wrapped in a shawl near the windows, which have been left open to admit the cool evening breeze. It’s a long moment before Lena turns to regard her, and when she does, she rises only to dip into a deep curtsy.

“Your Majesty.”

“Lena--” Kara surges towards her, to lift Lena to equal footing, to embrace her, to hold her so tight she’d never let go... But Lena recoils from her touch, and Kara stops short. “I’m sorry, I-- I didn’t mean...”

But Lena can’t meet her gaze, and in her features Kara reads the distrust, the suspicion. And in that moment Kara knows that Lena believes that her family ordered her imprisonment. 

“We didn’t order it,” Kara says.

Lena nods, but says nothing, gaze still askance. Her discomfort is plain, and so Kara does the only thing she can. She turns to leave. 

“Word has been sent to your family. At this time of year, the mountains will be impassable, but I give you my word that you will be safe here until they are able to send an emissary to collect you.”

Just before she leaves, Lena finally speaks. “I still dream of you,” she whispers, trembling with tears. “Every time I reach for you, you disappear into the darkness. I don’t-- I don’t think I’ll survive if I reach for you again and you’re not there.”

Kara pauses, then returns to stand before Lena. Her head is bowed, tears glistening on her cheeks. Kara’s own throat locks around the sobs rising in her chest. 

“Then let me reach for you.”

She slowly, carefully, reaches up and cups Lena’s damp cheeks between her palms. The moment their skin touches, a sob pulls from Lena’s chest, and finally she reaches for Kara, clinging to her as the years of fear and helplessness releases in a flood of tears. Kara holds her all through the night, spilling no small amount of tears herself. 

When morning comes, the light shines on them both, together once more.

[secriden]

so @rayandgay's gifset of mahasamut slipping the leash got me thinking and...

one thing that makes jak such a well written villain is how quickly our perception (of jak) as the audience shifts in this moment and how utterly believable that is.

jak is honed in on tongrak throughout the scene, even when mahasamut gets up, you see jak is focused fully on tongrak and doesn't even glance at mahasamut until he's grabbed and decked in the face. and at that point all he seems to register is shock.

perhaps its blind arrogance or his obsession with controlling tongrak, but jak doesn't actually seem that...smart? like, this is after he's sent 2 goons to beat up/kill mahasamut and they came crawling back severely beaten up themselves, so he should really have been expecting mahasamut to be a physical threat.

but also, it helps us as the audience understand and empathise with the hold jak has over tongrak. because jak has devoted time and effort to creating this larger-than-life perception of control, power, and ability to harm and/or destroy the things and people tongrak loves. tongrak cannot even perceive his own father's weakness at this point. manipulation is what jak's actually good at.

but then, it's also why his control over tongrak finally breaks here because mahasamut manages to show tongrak just how weak jak really is.

and we as the viewer experience the same flip in perception as tongrak does! prior to this moment, the show really makes it seem that jak is going to be this huge threat, this big looming final boss that they have to fight to get their happily ever after. in the scene with prin, it feels like he's the mastermind behind her. like she's supplying the money but the true brains behind the encroaching threat to our lovers is jak. it helps that jak is physically terrifying cuz he towers over everyone else in the cast.

but in the confrontation all it takes is 2 punches for him to go from threats to begging. he's begging after 1 punch, and barely takes 2 the entire scene to be rendered out of commission.

(this is not a flattering screenshot of jak and i do NOT care)

we go on the same journey as tongrak does in this moment: "is this it? is this really the larger than life man? this!? could it be that this man was nothing more than a pathetic opportunist who got his hooks into a child and has been using that to maintain his control this entire time? could it be that he only seemed so strong before because he was an adult who took his strength out on a child?"

jak's written this way to get us to understand tongrak better because we as an audience have been taken in that same emotional journey. we, too, are fooled by jak's looming presence and vague threats and lies. but we are also released from the hold by mahasamut's actions. we see jak for what he truly is (a sad, pathetic excuse of a man who had a golden opportunity and took it) and that sets us up to understand tongrak's journey (and it was a journey; its implied by the multiple flashbacks and tongrak's name that his mom tried for several years after he was born to keep jak around - so tongrak had jak's cruelty and physical violence and probably verbal snide remarks for years). it's why tongrak takes episode 10 to finally be free. its why we love tongrak so much, because mame helps us relate to him and how desperately he needed to be set free. and mame gives tongrak (and us) that with mahasamut. <3

[atopvisenyashill]

why do you think jonsa is happening tho? jonerys is different bc they are going to be enemies, but i don’t see what jonsa does for the story

so let me first lay out roughly what i think is going to happen should jonsa become canon. I personally love going down meta and graphic spirals, so I'm including links to other people’s theories/explanations/graphics of events too - also I would like to shout out @istumpysk because half these metas and gifsets were stuff I found on their blog initially, and also was the one who really convinced me that jonsa is less of a crackship and more of a contender for an actual canon theory, and from there i really found my niche in this fandom. specifically this meta about jon being the mummer's dragon is what pulled me out of my "we're never getting twow and if we do it's just gonna be that stupid dany has jon's magical baby while tyrion watches, then they all die theory" slump and lit my brain on fire again. let's goooo:

The Ashford Tourney Theory - Something Shady goes down at the tourney Petyr has planned that requires Sansa to make a quick getaway, and likely causes her to run into Brienne while fleeing. This theory for me is about hinting at Sansa's romantic future, allies, and how she's getting the hell out of the Vale: both the dark haired, Not Targ Looking Targ Prince that is the son of A Great Prince That Never Was being her romantic endgame but also it's about Brienne (/Dunk) getting her the hell out of there and becoming Sansa's number one ally and protector (with Sansa's number two being Bronze Yohn!! But he's not fleeing with her - if he helps her get out of the Vale, it'll be to cause a distraction or a fight so Sansa can slip away unnoticed. Bronze Yohn is coming with the knights of the Vale later to help defend his girl!).

The Girl In Grey - Out of options on where to go, Sansa & Brienne makes a long, fast, and dangerous trek to the only family she knows is still alive: Jon Snow at the Wall. No, I don't think Alys Karstark is the girl in grey on a dying horse; I think she's a red herring, the same as the scene where Sweetrobin destroys the snow castle, and that the real girl in grey (who slays the savage giant) is Sansa. Melisandre says that she sees "Jon's sister" but doesn't specify more than that, or how she knows it's Jon's sister, even - why would she assume Alys is Jon's sister and not some random Northern girl? Why was she so sure that it was his sister? It's because Alys isn't the girl in grey, it's Sansa, her horse dying because she's traveled halfway across the continent with Brienne and Pod, desperately trying to keep ahead of the dozens of people hunting her down.

The Blood of Winterfell - Sansa and Jon will reclaim winterfell together. This one is similar to above; just like Alys was a red herring, the scene where Sansa rebuilds the castle has a lot of foreshadowing (imo) but that isn't the moment in the prophecy Arya hears. The Savage Giant is Littlefinger, the castle of snow is Winterfell, and Sansa is going to liberate her home alongside Jon and what's left of the Northern lords.

Stone and Snow Remains - THIS is where Sansa and Jon will fall in love while fighting for the North. This is also the part where you lose a lot of people, because they think the evidence is real weak sauce but like, I also think the Jonerys "evidence" is weak af too (and no wonder, we have at minimum 2k pages left to get through!!). There's several believed foreshadowing points to this one, bare with me for this weird ass formatting because I can't do sub bullet points on tumblr:

1. Sansa's linking of snow with love and affection - "drifting snowflakes brushed her face as light as lover’s kisses, and melted on her cheeks...She could feel the snow on her lashes, taste it on her lips. It was the taste of Winterfell. The taste of innocence. The taste of dreams." along with her snow maiden and snow knight.

2. Bael the Bard and the Rose of Winterfell - the chapter where Sansa gets her period for the first time, Cersei refers to it as “flowering” a dozen times, linking being a maiden (a young girl, not quite of age or just barely of age) to flowers and several people refer to sex as ~plucking. Also notice the one who stole her from KL is Lord BAELish.

3. Aemon the Dragonknight & Queen Naerys - Sansa compares herself to Naerys, Joffrey to Aegon, and wishes for an Aemon, among the many similarities between her life and Naerys'. Jon not only calls himself Aemon, he has a deep connection with a different Aemon Targaryen. And if you’re thinking “Sansa isn’t Naerys, X is Naerys” I would remind you that Sansa as a character existed first, George purposefully had her compare herself to Naerys, and parallels don't belong to just one character.

4. Jenny of Oldstones and The Prince of Dragonflies - there's honestly a lot of parallels between them but like the Aemon/Naerys parallel, the Jenny/Duncan one stands out to me.

5. Janos Slynt - I mean. Iconic. This was the scene that made me first think about what their relationship could be in the future and there’s a reason Jonsas fixate on it. It’s about Sansa being desperate for a hero and the hero she dreamed about being Jon the whole time. 6. Societal Alienation - There's the bastard parallels here, the "it would be so sweet to see him again", the "Winterfell belongs to my sister, Sansa." It's about how Jon, through circumstances of his birth, finds himself alienated from the rest of society and reconnects with his prim and proper sister Sansa, who finds herself alienated from the rest of society as well but for vastly different reasons.

Robb’s Will - Howland is going to show up in the North, along with Maege and Galbert, with some WILD news about why Jon can’t rule Winterfell. There’s a lot of contention around this. Bran probably shows up around this time too, and Arya gets to the Riverlands to discover Lady Stoneheart and give her the gift of mercy. This is where all the inheritance stuff is going to happen and I have no idea how it's going to go down besides it's going to be messy as all fuck.

The Pact Of Ice And Fire - Jon & Sansa get secret married bc they’re in love, not siblings, & jon is the only man she trusts not to steal her claim. This isn't the only possible foreshadowing instance of a marriage either - some believe the Sandor/Sansa scene during the Battle of the Blackwater is foreshadowing as well (personally I feel that's a bit of a stretch but I wanted to include it anyway).

Jon As An Envoy - I talked about this in my "what's Jon's ending" a little but I believe Jon will act as an envoy for either Sansa or Bran to Aegon VI, essentially playing out a similar story that he does in the show with Daenerys. By which I mean, Jon is not the King because the ruler themselves do not go as an envoy, that’s stupid and dangerous, but he goes as an ambassador for Sansa or Bran, to treat with a new claimant to the Iron Throne that is gaining support - Aegon VI & Jon Connington. They will probably clash, Jon will probably have yet another identity crisis, there had BETTER be gay incest subtext, then Aegon dies, and Jon has his sixth quarter life crisis in a row.

“King” of the Gift - again, something I touched on in my Jon meta is that I think he’s going to have a hand in resettling the Gift. Personally, I think it's likely that Jon leaves to protect the claims of his siblings (see: Duncan and Jenny) and goes to the Gift to help resettle it to keep out of the way. This ending is typically referred to as the "bael the bard" ending but i like to think of it as the "brandon's gift" ending instead - though he is not physically with his family, Jon feels fulfilled having confirmed his family loves him through reclaiming Winterfell and marrying Sansa, being reunited with Arya, and being given the Gift by Bran. Sansa claims her children were fathered by a wolf.

So…what does all this do for the story?

Well, in my opinion, several things.

I think the main barrier here is that most people in the greater fandom describe Sansa's story as ~growing past childish wants~ and Jon's as ~rejecting love~ and I do not agree with either of those takes even a little bit. This is where (imo) the dividing line between Jonsas and the rest of the fandom is. I don’t think the answer to Sansa’s question “will anyone ever marry me for love” is going to be “nah" - that's not just a sad story to me (wanting to be married isn't childish! craving intimacy and understanding isn't childish! it's also not wrong for a child to be childish!), I think the idea that Sansa (or Jon) will not find another love just doesn't line up with how George approaches his story. Who Sansa's husband will be has been such a big question, and her story is so heavy into the more romantic tropes like courtly love and chivalry and the line between politics and love and identity, that the question of Sansa's hand in marriage will be plot relevant. I also think it's kinda naive of people to pretend like George isn't very interested in the sexual dynamics of the characters he writes about (yeah, sure, no woman needs a man but "needing a man" is not what this is about. look at everything this man wrote in F&B and tell me he is going to write a female character that longs for sex and desire and doesn't get it!).

After AGOT, nearly every time Sansa thinks about marriage involves her longing for love but believing she will never get it because a man will only ever love her for her claim. Giving her a man - like Jon - who not only will not steal her claim and in fact has defended it twice over already, who will love her for who she is and not what she can give him, is a really important aspect of her story in my opinion.

As for Jon, I am even more firmly against the opinion that his story is about rejecting love; Jon’s story is about wanting to be a good man, to measure up to his father ~despite~ his bastard blood. When Aemon asks if Ned would choose honor over love and Jon stubbornly says yes, Jon is wrong and it’s important to not forget that. Ned has never once in his entire life chosen honor over love; he chooses his daughter’s life over his honor, he chooses his sister & her son’s life over honor, he chooses Arya & Nymeria over honor, and on and on!!! Ned chooses love at almost turn but none of his children know that just yet - look at Robb choosing Jeyne’s honor over his own and how upset he is at the idea that Ned would be disappointed despite the fact that Ned would have understand Robb’s decision! Jon's whole arc is tied up in realizing that it is not wrong or dirty to feel and choose love, passion, and desire and if he never has another romantic arc again, I think you lose the second part of that lesson which is "you are responsible for how you act when you feel love but that doesn't mean that simply choosing love makes you a bad person."

There's also the fact that George has talked a lot about "who lives, who dies, who gets married" and yet we have not one marriage at the end of the show AND there's not a lot of guesses at what "who gets married" means besides Jon/erys (and even if Jonsa doesn't happen, I simply do not see Jon/erys happening. they are not similar enough, they will not be in the same space for long enough, and they are on wildlly different trajectories for their story, they are not getting married let alone having sex). I think Jonsa fits that bill very well.

These various theories - from Sansa being queen, Jon living in exile, The Ashford Tourney Theory, the secret marriage, every one of them - are ideas and themes that I have really been thinking about for about 12 years now. I think Jon and Sansa's relationship could fit with the themes in their stories, the overarching themes in the books, and my own personal opinions. I think it gives George a great opportunity to delve into the courtly love aspects he enjoys so much, as well as delve into inheritance, legacy, legitimacy, honor, incest (yes, that too), and above all, what George himself has said the whole series is about - love. The human heart in conflict with itself is what I think Jon and Sansa as a romantic couple does for the series.

[knickynoo]

Well, I was sufficiently enabled for the idea, so here it is: ✨Alex P. Keaton's Top Neurodivergent Moments✨

The funny thing is that the amount of time I put into scrolling through my encyclopedic mental inventory of Family Ties scenes, compiling these moments in a list, making gifs, and finding past gifsets/analysis to link back to makes creating this post one of my most neurodivergent moments. Good for me.

These will be organized by season (easier for me than trying to rank on a scale) and are in no way ALL of the moments. I'd need like...15 posts for that. Also, tumblr only allows 30 images/gifs per post, so I'm going to include links to past posts when possible.

ENJOY!

• Alex gets his first-ever failing grade and immediately decides to quit school

Exactly what it says. Alex strolls into college all bright-eyed and confident and ends up a broken shell of a guy just a week or so later. The prototypical Gifted Kid from the moment he learned to speak, Alex cannot handle anything less than perfection. Getting the first F of his life shatters his entire self-image, and he wants to drop out of college entirely.

• Alex's friend Doug announces he's getting married, and Alex spirals into despair. As one does.

The entirety of the "Best Man" episode is one big Alex displaying neurodivergent behaviors moment, honestly. There are a whole lot of Alex-centered plots that are set into motion because A Change happens, and he just cannot deal with it, and this is one of the best examples. Alex is so distraught at the suddenly altered dynamic that he wanders the house like a lost soul—sad and confused and needy. He walks in on Steven's shower just to give him a hug, offers to go shopping with Mal and play dolls with Jen, and also draws up a seven-year contract for his other friends to sign to ensure they stick to their regularly scheduled card games, lest they also run off to get married and destroy his life.

• Alex P. Keaton: child development expert

When faced with the news of another sibling on the way, Alex has some very nurturing advice at the ready for when the baby is crying.

• The Keatons all laugh at a funny story. Alex is not amused.

This is one of my favorite Alex scenes of the series. Uncle Rob shares a memory of the time Steven was young and got in trouble because he started rebelling against the system and refused to write his name in the designated spot on his school test papers. The family shares a hearty laugh. Alex, king of black-and-white thinking and lover of rules, is deeply upset.

I love him so much. He genuinely cannot see how they're enjoying such a story. The Name Spot is for names. And his father dared to write in the Not For Names Spot?? Jail for Steven.

He's so ridiculously autistic.

• Alex's favorite childhood toy

It was a cardboard box. I can't quite put into words why this sets off my ND radar, but it does. Maybe it's the being attached to unusual items thing that's common with autism? The intense fixations that make other people go ????

The Alex and Ba-ba plotline provides some wonderful Alex Lore.

• Mr. Mustache

Yeah, those intense fixations? In the "Fool for Love" episode, Alex grows a mustache and legitimately cannot speak about anything else for the several days that follow. He's asked to present a speech at Mallory's homecoming dance and centers his entire speech around his mustache. He's unable to have a conversation that doesn't involve mustaches. It's incredible.

• Everything in "Matchmaker"

Alex is so sweet in this one. After Mallory comes home crying after a bad date, Alex promises to help her find a great guy. Unfortunately, putting someone who struggles socially and with processing emotions in charge of your love life isn't exactly a great fit. Alex uses the power of science to craft a formula to find Mallory's perfect match (he isn't), then tags along on their date and helps foster a very natural environment (it isn't) for the relationship to flourish (it doesn't).

The episode ends with a great scene between Alex and Mallory that shows just how well Mal understands the inner-workings of her big brother's head.

• Divorce is tough. Alex has some advice.

The Keaton kids are shocked to learn that their Uncle Rob is divorcing their Aunt Maureen. As Jen and Mallory reel from the information, Alex helps to reframe things.

He then pulls out the Special Interest Card and compares the divorce of their aunt and uncle to a "failed merger, not unlike the breakup of the phone company—although obviously less emotional. Nothing more than a natural fluctuation in the marketplace of love and marriage."

And the thing is, he IS impacted by the news. He just hasn't the slightest clue how to actually process it. So, a simple failed merger it is!

• You had one job

Mallory needs some croissants for a fancy get-together she's having with her poetry class. Alex helpfully offers to go pick them up.

Now, I debated about this one because there's part of me that's like, "Hmm, did Alex purposely do this to annoy Mallory?" Is this just a jerk move? But you know what? It stays on the list because the whole "I personally don't like this thing and struggle to see how anyone else could. Therefore, I will get the thing I like" is (for me) a relatable aspect of being ND.

• Every single second of "A, My Name is Alex"

For real, though. This episode is a deep dive into how Alex became the person he is, and it is FILLED with "flashbacks" of an intensely neurodivergent child whose issues were made worse by the people around him. (Mostly teachers and peers. Steven and Elyse did their best with him, but I do also have some critiques of the way they parented him). Anyway, he represses his emotions to the point of a meltdown

And then there's this

Full coin gifset here. Also, I made posts on the full episode, which can be found here and here.

• "Alex has a weird body"

That's Mallory's explanation to Andy as to why Alex can't help her when she needs someone to model one of her latest clothing creations. She says Alex's head is too big for his body, and those words, unfortunately, find their way back to him. In a mini plot reminiscent of the mustache one, Alex proceeds to obsess over the comment.

And I mean, I think being told your head is too big for your body would make anyone insecure, but it's the way Alex handles it. He's unable to have regular conversations for a while because he can't stop fixating on the size of his noggin'.

Both of the "Read it and Weep" episodes fit in this list, to be honest

• An accurate statement by Lauren

I've got to include this because it really does neatly condense a lot of who Alex is

So true, bestie.

And then, to wrap this whole thing up, there's all of this

And this is just what I can fit in this here post without going over the limit lol. Obsessed with the way MJF played Alex.

Thanks for reading ✌️

This is me with Alex, btw

[cursedvida]

Honestly. Every two or three days someone publishes a post saying "oh why do you like nomae? If mae is bad, she's the villain, blah blah blah" that makes me wonder if these people have a life beyond wasting their time hating.

If you don't like something, can't you just block it? Or can't you just focus on promoting what you like?

Oh my god, do something productive with your lives.

It's good to see that lately even those who don't ship nomae are against these people.

There are many points we can discuss about this.

For example, we can talk about how absurd and pointless it is to throw hate at a ship. I mean, what do people gain from it? Making others feel bad? Do they really get satisfaction from shaming and trying to make people feel guilty for just trying to escape reality for a while by shipping and fangirling over things they like in a healthy and purely playful way? Do they seriously find any pleasure in it? Does it give them dopamine or something? Because if they really need to crush people to feel better about themselves, what I would recommend is to leave the internet and start therapy because these are indeed very sadistic and sociopathic behaviors.

Putting aside the melodramatic and catastrophic moment, we can also talk about how sad it is to waste time hating something instead of doing something productive like, for example, creating content. They complain that the KotPotA tags are infested with things about Nomae, but do they contribute anything beyond the hate? Do they write dissertations, present theories, upload gifsets or fanarts? No, of course not, they just throw crap. I mean, if it bothers you so much that when you enter the tag 90% of the content is not to your liking, then I invite you to fill the tag with things you do like. You are free to do so. But I guess it’s much easier to just complain instead of making an effort to contribute.

This brings me to another point that I find very ironic. Yes, everything is full of Nomae, but that is precisely what keeps the fandom alive. Every day someone uploads some fanart, some video, some comment or fanfic. Every day there is someone talking in this tag about the topic that, whether many like it or not, means talking about the movies. Let’s be honest, those of us who keep fandoms alive (and I speak in general) are the shippers, especially when they are fandoms of franchises whose content are movies that take years to come out. If it weren’t for people fangirling all the time, there would be no content on social media. I’m sorry if you don’t like that content, but once again I invite you to use your freedom of expression to create rather than try to destroy people’s self-esteem.

But well, as you say, at least there are people with common sense and enough mental maturity to understand that if you don’t like something, the best thing to do is ignore it and that’s it, as well as understanding that shaming people on social media is very much a thing of 15 years ago and today it’s just pathetic.

[beevean]

I remembered a post I stumbled upon a while ago. It was a gifset of that moment in NFCV where Carmilla strokes Hector's hair and says "You are mine now, Forgemaster. You have nothing else but me."

But what really made my neurons go into overdrive was the way the person tagged the post.

"I am not yours. I am not anyone's. - Hector & Carmilla"

Would you believe that this one singular line made my brain fire up like fireworks? This is a brilliant way to convey the parallels between the two characters! Well. The potential parallels, since Carmilla is hardly relevant after S2 :^)

It made me think of how the story would have gone if they kept Carmilla as Hector's antagonist and Lenore and the other two were never introduced. (when you think about it, Lenore's main purpose in S3 was effectively hijacking Carmilla's place: while I prefer her concept, narratively speaking she shouldn't exist. I'm not even being mean when I say it. In a hypothetical rewrite, I'd fuse the two characters)

I found some Hectilla fics, mostly written pre-S3 when fans still believed she'd have a bigger role. Needless to say, they're mostly BDSM porn built on a generic dommy mommy/subby puppy dynamic: while Hector's attraction to Carmilla can be explained with anything from "she's hot and charming" to "she's the only one who makes sense in the court and the only one who cares about my work", no such depth is given to Carmilla. She likes Hector because... he's pathetic and breedable.

So, I propose another angle.

If the ideal Lenector that only exists in my head is built on lies, treachery, and shared misery with a hint of growing mutual empathy that nevertheless never allows them to overcome their resentment... the ideal Hectilla is built on fear. They are both afraid of each other, but need each other for their needs. They are also both afraid of the world, it's just that they react to that fear in different ways: Carmilla by attacking first, Hector by hiding and fawning.

And making Carmilla a creature of fear would make her so, so much more interesting, and allow her to be a real visceral victim of trauma and not just a flat radfem stereotype. A lot of what I say here is inspired by this brilliant post by @chumpovodir!

Carmilla sees every man as a potential threat. An old man turned her and kept her as a pet, showed her that "vampiric love" that she has internalized but despises when it comes from men, and other men attacked her kingdom to destroy everything she built, and other men wanted her to die because, well, the nerve of that woman, thinking she could be in charge. She finds Dracula disgusting for being, in her eyes, like that old man who ruined her life, an insane destructive leech good for nothing. She loathes power-hungry men, violent men, men who think they're in charge and can toy her as they please.

Hector is the opposite of that. He doesn't crave any power: he wants to be left in peace. He craves, as it becomes immediately clear to her, acceptance. He's easily swayed with a few nice words, and even when Dracula dies, he holds no malice in his heart.

He's young. He's cute. He's a useful idiot.

The broken little girl in her still sees him a threat, because one day, he might grow up and become a real man, with their fangs and claws and thirst for power.

But - and this is the important part - the threat is now curbable. Hector placed himself in her hands, and she has the power to do with him as she pleases.

Carmilla has put herself in the position of that old man enslaving a cute girl for his sick desires. However, she thinks she's justified. It's not cruelty: it's preemptive self-defense. She can make this dirty almost-man into a docile puppy who will never hurt her, and work for her, and give her pleasure, never pain.

He can be a prized possession, because he is smart and knowledgeable and has blasphemous powers and shares the same goal of turning humans into livestock. This man deserves to live, for now. As long as he never thinks of harming her. As long as he remains a puppy forever. As long as he's hers, because only she deserves to have stuff and other people.

Carmilla takes pride in not belonging to anyone, let alone a man, but she doesn't see the irony in forcing Hector to the same fate that traumatized her. She doesn't see herself in him, because she did nothing to deserve pain, but he does, for the sin of being born the same gender as all the people who hurt her.

Perhaps she refuses to see herself in him, because the thought disgusts her too much.

But what about Hector?

Well, at first he'd cling onto Carmilla, because what else is he supposed to do? Sure, she tricked him and beat him to a pulp to assert dominance, but she still needs him, and her plans still make sense to him, and part of him still wants to hope that when she praised his skills, she meant it, even if in a selfish way. For a while, she becomes his world - a cruel world, but a stable one.

But then... it will become his turn to claim that he's not hers, he's not anyone's.

Perhaps he'll use his parents as reference. He used to be afraid of them, and resentful for making him believe he should have never been born, and eventually he killed them in retailation. Carmilla, too, terrifies him, but because she swings from saccharine praise to violent rage. So there's hope to get the former, if he plays nice. And if he gets the latters, that means he deserved it, right? And besides, she finds him useful, right? Isn't that, too, appreciation? That is why, at first, he accepts his position.

When she put that collar on him, wasn't that her way of showing love? He understands that. He is still, at his core, that abused kid who looks up to authority figures who see him as dirt.

But she also hates him for something he had no control over, just like his parents. She fears him for no rational reason, and that fear clouds all judgment. She could turn on him at any moment. She's no better than Dracula in this regard. Carmilla is far less rational than she pretends to be, and eventually, as he's forced to be with her, he'll see that behind the mask of a confident predator, hides the heart of a frightful bird with a broken wing.

He'd see himself in her, and he wouldn't like it. He doesn't want to be feared at all, let alone for something he can't do anything about, and he doesn't want to belong to such a volatile person. That could set him to the thought path that'll lead him to desire freedom: most importantly, freedom from his traumatic past.

Perhaps, at some point, Hector would even hate Carmilla for what she does to him, fantasize about killing her and all. Then he'll realize that hatred, too, poisoned Carmilla to the point that she almost became pitiable. And hatred also poisoned Dracula to the point of making him irrational. He must avoid falling into the same trap.

Ideally, if Carmilla is doomed to become prey of her fear and hatred, Hector should find the strength to break free of his own, and learn to face the world.

i hate doing the showrunners' work for free :(

[zalrb]

why do you think the writers chose to make the steroline proposal so similar to the stelena one?

If I were a Steroline shipper, I would say that the purpose is to show that SE was a long-ago fantasy but SC is what's real and immediate and in front of him and that's what the parallels are meant to indicate. The "healthy" Steroline equivalent of Delena's "We're messy and we're complicated but we're real".

As a Stelena shipper, and taking in the fact that season 8 has a lot of loaded Stelena moments (not even accounting for season 7)

In season 8 Stefan could’ve spoken about how he told Caroline at the festival that things would be OK again, that they’ll make it through, he chose to speak about Elena

Caroline is the one who brings them up

Bonnie tells him to find hope,

the first thing we see him do is write in his diary to Elena:

The show even continues the narrative of Stefan being unable to leave town because Elena keeps him in MF:

which is a pattern Katherine brought up in season 5:

that we saw in season 1:

And season 3:

In 3x04 Klaus returns with him to Mystic Falls because Stefan couldn’t adequately lie to Rebekah about maybe loving someone else the way he loved Elena.

In 3x21, 3x22 he says he’ll leave town if she chooses Damon but she chooses him instead and more than that becomes a vampire so he stays.

Even Cade who is manipulated by Katherine, the way Katherine tortures Stefan has nothing to do with Caroline directly, she’s a casualty of her plan yes, but her plan is focused on making Stefan destroy his relationship with Elena once and for all, to poison their relationship:

taking in the fact that Elena is the last person he sees before he dies

taking in the fact that in season 6, Julie said this

Julie Plec: They [Stefan and Caroline] are sharing an experience of having to say goodbye to someone they care about [who] ultimately is Stefan’s true love. (source)

in season 8 KW said this

He pauses, then continues, “If there was any other conversations, we ended on this one. This show was always about Stefan being the hero, and if Stefan could not have Elena, Stefan could do this very nice thing of giving his brother the chance to live with Elena.”

I think the parallel is what I said in my "Just Be Happy" gifset

When I spoke to the anon about 8x05 and the kitchen scene, there was something about it that felt off to me that I couldn’t articulate until now. Making breakfast and getting coffee/tea whatever in the morning with your partner is innocuous enough, thousands of couples do that all the time, but within the context of other scenes in the season it feels as if Stefan is trying to recreate the Stelena fantasy life with Caroline in an effort to do what Elena told him to do in 6x22: be happy.

When push comes to shove, Elena is still the person Stefan draws hope, strength and inspiration from as seen in 8x01 and in 8x05 and there’s just something mechanical about his life with Caroline.

[illuminated-in-darkness]

Black Sails Musical Parallels Project

So in January of 2022 I was re-bingeing for my Black Sails anniversary, and I started having several moments where I recognized the music and remembered other scenes where it had played, often making each moment all the more poignant for the other moments it referenced.

And I thought hey, next time I rewatch I should track the musical themes! I was thinking it would be a fairly easy thing to just make a quick note of familiar music while watching, and might lead to some interesting parallels, since the show is so intentional about so many things, which I imagined extended to the music as well because, well, Bear McCreary.

Cut to a year-long project where I ended up tracking what definitely weren't just "themes", but all the musical moments in each episode in order to then find the matches for the bits that sounded familiar and that I could swear were heard somewhere else in the show. (and @amy-oswin-lovegood continually making fun of me and my magic pie bush, which I staunchly defended seeing as I did continue to find pies in the bush)

Because I'm autistic this further led to a notebook full of scribbled notes made while watching the episodes, a massive spreadsheet to dump those notes and start tracking repetitions, and over 800 files of music clips.

Then Obsidian to organize all the findings; namely, having each of the musical moments that were repeated at some point in the show, with all the instances where that music plays and a desciption of what's happening in the scene, attaching the corresponding music clips, and starting to name the musical parallels based on the patterns woven through when and how they appear.

And while I was screaming about my findings to my friends all throughout the process, at some point I realized I wanted to make gifsets to highlight the musical parallels and the way they increase how this show loves to destroy us.

And since I haven't figured out a good way of actually sharing the findings as I currently have them organized in Obsidian, this is a way to at least partly share the pain and excitement of the music in Black Sails.

So anyway here we are!

I've made gifsets for some of the first parallels, which I'll publish over the next few days, but this is definitely an ongoing project and so gifsets might be slow in coming thereafter.

I'll be tagging everything as #black sails musical parallels, but will also link to the tag on my blog for anyone who wants to see in chronological order Also if anyone wants to scream about musical parallels I'd love to chat!

[yenforfairytales]

Sure sure, Daniel has a bratty, sassy, flirty ‘Jersey’ side—but folks seem to forget just how sweet, earnest, naive, and innocent he was in the KK trilogy. One of my favourite scenes is in the first film at the start, when Daniel sees a dog in his flat complex and moments later fetches water for it—without being asked! What an angel. Anyway, this sweet innocence is probably why Terry had him totally blindsided for a while in KK3, and did it with such ease. And because Silverusso has always had my heart, let’s not forget this clueless, adorable Danny is exactly the one that piqued Terry’s demented, decades long obsession. That sweet and spicy combination is just so winning—along with the looks. I don’t blame Terry for being totally overwhelmed by the boy, it was inevitable. Terry Silver is the very definition of whipped. Lol.

Yes! Completely agree. Daniel is a perfect mix of tough but sweet. Slutty but innocent. It's a maddening blend.

He stands out. Unforgettable to everyone he's ever met even 35yrs later.

Oh, anon, are you me? Daniel giving the dog some water is one of my all time favorite scenes too!!

It's so subtle. Miyagi saw that in him. When he gifted Daniel the bonsai embroidery and Daniel said he'd understand if Miyagi ever wanted it back. And Miyagi smiled, "I know you understand." HUUUUU 😭 brb crying

There's other sweet examples, but Daniel is so thoughtful!! The most thoughtful and considerate.

Sure, his temper can override that sometimes, but even though he has attitude, he remains observant and so empathetic that he feels guilty about everything and can't sleep unless he apologizes.

That's a sensitive soul who never wanted to fight anyone and ended up constantly under attack. But look how much everyone loves him and will do anything for him. HIS LOVE SAVES PEOPLE. His forgiveness. He's truly a light.

Not to get off track but, another favorite innocent moment of mine is in kk2 when they're getting on the airplane and Daniel goes, "Airsick? What's airsick?!" :U

Just super loud and confused. Lmao

Again speaks to his innocence at that time. Maybe more Jersey street smarts than book smarts but the poor baby went through like a lifetime of maturity in one year because of the events of all three movies.

A little heartbreaking that CK Daniel is so... world weary. He's quieter. He's more observant. Meaning, he's more calculated in every interaction. Ten times smarter than when he was a kid.

I definitely blame Terry for that. He broke Daniel's heart. And according to Jessica, it took him some time to recover. (Although we know it was not completely)

Luckily for everyone, Daniel is such an angel that he never lost his sweetness or his instinct to help others even if he is cautious. He's willing to forgive but he tried his damndest to become people and business savvy as to never get hurt again.

He's intelligent. He's refined. He's a leader.

The irony that the parts of Daniel that Terry liked best he helped destroy. That trust and innocence. The irony that Terry was denied the forgiving nature of Daniel he knows is there because of his own actions.

Terry remembered that sweet, naive boy and imagined being forgiven right away and was legit shocked at Daniel's anger. Not necessarily at the rejection, but at Daniel's angerrr.

Daniel's comment about Terry being in a padded cell really struck a nerve.

I will say this - both men would not have such hurt and anger after 35 YEARS if there was no love involved at all.

The reason Daniel could forgive everyone else was because he never loved them. They were never friends.

He loved Terry. He mourned someone who never existed. And Terry wouldn't care so much about being forgiven if he felt nothing either.

THIS IS GETTING TOO ANGSTY I'M SORRY

One day someone will have to do a gifset of all the times Terry and Daniel eye-fucked each other in CK. There were so many secret smiles y'all.

I think they missed each other as much as they're mad at each other.

Anyway

This sweet innocence is probably why Terry had him totally blindsided for a while in KK3, and did it with such ease. And because Silverusso has always had my heart, let’s not forget this clueless, adorable Danny is exactly the one that piqued Terry’s demented, decades long obsession.

Let's think for a moment the picture that Kreese painted to Terry about this "punk kid" and his sensei.

Some prissy troublemaker that unfairly beat up the Cobra Kai students and made a fool of Kreese.

Then Terry meets Daniel and he's tiny and sweet and can barely meet Terry's eyes.

They spent months together. Terry's not stupid, he quickly learned the truth. He just desperately wanted to make Kreese happy.

And then years later, we see that Terry doesn't believe Kreese about the past anymore. He scoffs and rolls his eyes!

And if Terry was being honest with himself, he'd admit that he wanted to be a sensei(but couldn't because of his father's business) and loved having his own student. I and others think he was a little hurt when Daniel didn't want to be in Cobra Kai anymore and quit.

(Terry was like Bill in Kill Bill. "I... overreacted.")

That sweet and spicy combination is just so winning—along with the looks. I don’t blame Terry for being totally overwhelmed by the boy, it was inevitable.

Who wouldn't love having Daniel's full attention? Daniel was like... enamoured with everything about Terry. He did everything he said.

That's intoxicating.

Terry already thought of himself as godlike. Wealthy. Handsome. Powerful. Getting away with crimes and tricking this sweet young thing.

And then said sweet young thing looks up to you and hangs on your every word? AND he's actually a pretty good student, a fast learner?

BUT Daniel has enough attitude that he does give Terry a bit of a challenge. All the more sweeter for when Daniel eventually gives in. What fun!

Terry Silver is the very definition of whipped. Lol.

What is this?! Terry, explain!!!

Where were you going with this??

"That was beautiful!"

35 years later...

"You were powerful, free..."

Legit Terry would have done anything Daniel asked if he had been greeted with a warm reception in CK.

Lest you all forget! Terry was happy to see Daniel again. He was not happy to see Kreese.

Terry called Kreese his weakness because he was a weight around his neck and had to be removed. But Terry refused to get rid of Daniel, who all but jumped on Terry's back like a spider monkey and caused more trouble for Terry than Kreese ever did! Amazing!

I was going to say more about that and lost my train of thought.

Still waiting for the au where Daniel reigns in the righteous anger a bit and manipulates Terry to be on his side over Kreese's.

[kalinara]

It’s interesting to me how many Nate-haters in the Ted Lasso fandom seem to also be big fans of Rebecca Welton, or “Tedbecca” as a ship.

Disclaimer: this is not an attack on either character or ship.  I like the idea of Tedbecca, and I love Rebecca as a character.  I am also not saying ALL Tedbecca/Rebecca fans hate Nate.  Many people actually have taste.  :-)

But it’s very interesting.

I had an old post reblogged recently by someone who just HAD to add tags about how they wanted Nate to be redeemed, but thought he shouldn’t be able to come back to Richmond afterward.  He’d done too much.

On that person’s tumblr was another post, of a gifset from the most recent episode, talking about how much they wanted to see Rebecca tear Nate a new one.

I am not, for one moment, trying to excuse what Nate did.  But there is no objective standard where Nate’s actions are worse than Rebecca Welton’s.

Rebecca spent an entire season trying to destroy Richmond.  She very nearly succeeded.  If Ted Lasso the show were just a hair more realistic, or Ted Lasso the character just a hair less magical, then Richmond the team wouldn’t have stayed together during their demotion.  The more talented players would have jumped ship to greener pastures.

That is, assuming they were recognized for their talents.  Rebecca’s sabotage was long-term, and it made the entire team a laughing-stock.  They have the advantage of performing very well during their Champion League year, but they still have the stigma of season one to get past.  She might well have done irreparable damage to more than one career.

The funny/sad thing about Rebecca’s plot this season is that her humiliation and fear of ridicule isn’t due to Rupert’s actions, but her own.  

Rebecca can’t even claim the moral high ground when it comes to Ted himself.  She was sympathetic to his panic attacks, sure.  But that was after she’d already been softened by half a season of sincere friendship, plus the emotional catharsis of her reunion/reconciliation with Sassy.  This is also the woman who tried very hard to get Keeley and Ted exposed for an affair that never existed, remember.  And she’d had no idea at the time that Ted and Michelle’s marriage was on the rocks anyway.  She could have destroyed his (and Keeley’s) life if she hadn’t belatedly realized it could be traced back to her.

And bullying?  Sure, Nate was a dick to Colin (who had been a dick to him first, remember?) but Rebecca spent a whole year making Leslie Higgins miserable.  Did she have a legitimate reason to be angry with him?  Sure.  But that’s when you fire someone.  You don’t spend a year torturing them.  

I am not saying this to attack Rebecca.  I’m just pointing out that if Nate’s actions caused enough harm that he can’t possibly return to Richmond (assuming he’d want to), then why isn’t that true for Rebecca, who has caused far more harm to far more people?  

I think maybe it might come from the idea that Ted forgiving Rebecca is a cornerstone moment of the ship, and that it’s somehow less impactful if Ted extends that same forgiveness to someone else.  

There are other, less generous interpretations, of course...

[sophsun1]

This gifset I made of Joan and Jack Kinney's perception that Brian was a carbon copy of his father a lone wolf and selfish man vs Justin knowing that was the furthest thing from the truth hits even harder when you flashback to 1.02 where Brian has such a visceral reaction to Ted yelling at Michael "Where do people get off thinking I'm not a kind person? I happen to be very kind, very loving/ My only responsibility is to myself I don't owe anybody a goddamn thing."

Selfish is such a prominent word in his life. We hear it from many of his so called friends. He's selfish and can't or won't love anyone or anything. Yet his actions towards them even when they don't deserve it show the complete opposite. You can sort of see why it cuts so deep when he hears these words "selfish and responsibility" in the context of the scenes with his parents.

We have Joan in church telling Brian he reminds her of Jack, he's equally as selfish always letting her down and mocking her love for God. How she took Jack's abuse and beatings to protect him though we the audience know Brian had his own share of abuse from him both physical and emotional along with his mother's neglect and alcoholism. He denies this but she won't hear of it. Adding on to her previously telling him her new priest has been like a son to her and now Brian has the power to destroy her entire world view and he doesn't. There's also a weird sort of parallel where now instead of her biological son being like her husband, her surrogate son is just like the son she rejects and is ashamed of.

Jack proudly announcing he's a chip off the old block not made to be a family man, Brian agreeing. Throw in the bombshell that if it was up to him, Brian wouldn't even exist. This man who shirked all responsibilities as a husband, a father and role model to his children telling his son who he wished was never born that he is just like him. Imagine the mind fuck. His line about not letting the ladies tie him down, Brian knowing he would never be accepted if he ever came out to him. Then buttering him up for cold hard cash, even though Brian had it ready and waiting because he knew that's all he's worth to him. Which leads me to the anger I feel towards Mel and Lindsey who immediately jump on Brian about his financial responsibility to Gus. Wanting him to sign a life insurance policy because his "lifestyle" according to Mel makes him more of a risk factor. They don't want him to be fully physically involved but they'll take his money. Here comes the theme of death once more, his father didn't want him to exist but he'll take his money. Mel and Lindsey, pointing out if he dies it doesn't matter as long as Gus profits. Yet he fought so hard for Lindsey in the custody battle for J.R, funding it all when he never got that same unwavering support when it came to Gus. Wanting so steadfastly to take care of Justin financially when they were together and apart because that's how he has been made to feel with Gus and his father. So many layers. Sonny boy indeed.

Is it any wonder? Brian Kinney never believed in love and thought it only lead to bitterness and resentment, and settling down meant settling into a toxic environment where hatred flourished. Especially as your parents are your first example of love and family. You literally are the product of that union in most cases, it's a fundamental part of your childhood and has a deep effect on you ergo why therapists always lead with "So tell me about your relationship with your mother/father."

WHICH IS WHY WE SHOULD HAVE HAD A SEASON DEDICATED TO THIS ASPECT!

Ultimately people are always wanting a piece of Brian. The raw, unfiltered Brian Kinney that Justin sees and accepts and loves is not good enough for them. Sure they have their moments and he's by no means perfect but Justin doesn't want to intrinsically change him, he encourages him to be better and we see Brian respond to this. They blow hot and cold, his Peter Pan complex is embarrassing it's time to grow up! Brian tries to change, no this isn't the Brian we know and love, we prefer the old version of him come back! With his friends he's made to feel responsible for their mistakes and fuck ups, to be a support to them, to help rescue them even to his own detriment at times. To feel guilt at his existence in their lives and how it affects them, as financial support or simply telling him how to react/feel to really major emotional life events. Debbie insisting he "owed" his father his coming out, telling Joan he had cancer. Michael at his father's death, that regardless of what he did he was still his dad. The amount of pressure that was placed on him was insane the "responsibility" never ends. It goes to the -> I don't owe anybody a goddamn thing! He got himself out of his terrible upbringing, worked hard and got an amazing loft with a job in a career he excels at. No one gave him a hand out. Technically even when they did in the concerned citizens for truth era he paid them back plus extra. He hates feeling indebted to people, or in need, and yes part of that is pride but also because he's the one that is always on standby to be that for others, so where is his room to fail?

[yourbuckies]

Hi! I hope you're having a wonderful weekend so far (and happy (almost) September!) 🍂

Your Thursday gifsets absolutely kill me every single time in the best ways and I absolutely adore how creative they are. You pick the most wonderful quotes/lyrics/moments that just destroy me and ruin my day (affectionate).

If you have time, I would like to suggest a gifset to Spinnin' by Madison Beer. The lyrics feel so Steve to me post-Bucky's fall in CATFA and waking up in Avengers Assemble. I particularly like the lines:

I woke up, fell back to sleep (sleep) 'Cause I'd rather live in my dreams (ah, ah, ah) I lay here wonderin' why Did the world stop spinnin' or did I?

But I honestly think the song is so Steve-coded that any of the lyrics could work for that period in his life when everything changed for him.

No rush obviously, and if you hate them then that's okay too! I just have been thinking about this since last November and I finally got brave enough to ask 🫣

Have a great weekend! 😘💖

hiiiiii <33333 hope your september has been going well so far!

the lyrics are very steve(bucky) coded 😌 please feel free to ask whenever!! you'd honestly be doing me a favor sometimes i'm just endlessly scrolling through #webweaving desperately looking for a quote as it gets closer and closer to a responsible bedtime.

hope you have a lovely day mwah mwah mwah kisses for you <3

[absolutebl]

Hello again.

First of all, thank you for your recommendations. A while ago I asked you for Thai BL recs based on my favs until that moment (OFC, Cherry Magic, I Cannot Reach You and Semantic Error).

Well, I haven't watched all your recs but I have watched A Tale of Thousand Stars and Moonlight Chicken and I loved them so much. Both of them have so many amazing things and they're going directly to my favorites.

I watched ATOTS first and it destroyed me, it was so good and bittersweet at moments, and so cathartic. I cried for a big part of the last two episodes.

After a few days I didn't know what to watch next and just accidentally came across a gifset from Moonlight Chicken (from episode one, with sweaty Jim and Wen walking at midnight) and I made my decision based on that very convincing gifset.

Ohhhh, boy. I didn't expect to fixate on it the way I'm doing it. I just loved everything about it. It felt intimate and so real. I specially loved the way some scenes have no dialogue at all and they just show us the actions, attitudes and expressions of the characters and the use of the music. I am gonna need a bit to sit for a bit with all the emotions it evoked before I continue my journey through the rec list.

Anyway, thank you so much again for the recs.

My very great pleasure I am so glad I managed to hit (at least some of them) on the nose!

yay!!!