#he was really a manic pixie dream boy come to life

[vaaaaaiolet]

Sleep-deprived Leon's upstairs neighbor works late 'cause she's a singer on a deadline, and he's having none of it. He comes up with a wild solution to the problem in a moment of desperation, and he's surprised when you actually go along with it, but anything to get a full night's sleep, right? Then he finds himself wanting a bit more than camaraderie with you in the process.

f/m, romance, fluff, does this count as crack??? popstar reader w/ a twist, ID leon is USELESS w tech + lives under a ROCK, also you manic pixie dream girl a bit too close to the sun but it's ok bc ur cute LOL

word count: 2.6k // read this chapter on ao3

a/n: req fic + belated bday gift for my lovely 🍍 anon!! as usual i got carried away and butchered it. um. NOTHING makes sense just go w the vibes i beg you </3 pt. 2 coming out asap bc this fic will not leave me alone in the best way :)

chapter one

Rule of thumb: don’t bang on the first date. 

Leon’s wrapping his pillow around his head like a pair of goddamn Beefs (or is Beets? those tacky, overpriced- oh, forget it) while his upstairs neighbor gives her bed a run for its money on a Friday night, at a blessed 9 PM no less. 

Oh yeah. Her.

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. 

R-rated suspicions aside, Leon tries hoping for the best. His new neighbor might just be an interior designer of the nocturnal sort. Sick of his previous rowdy, college kid-infested apartment building, he’d moved into this complex not too long ago thanks to a very politely-worded call to Hunnigan about open listings in quiet, senior citizen-friendly neighborhoods. Call him old, call him boring, but after a long day of running around saving humanity from the newest bioweapon to hit the market, all Leon ever wants to do these days is get a few winks of sleep. He’s pushing 30. Insomnia’s no fountain of youth, people. 

Thump, thump-thump-thump. 

New Girl upstairs seemed to have the same idea but with far more nefarious intent. She’d moved in at the same time as him, he’s sure – Leon saw a flash of her face a few days ago when she was lugging boxes of stuff into the elevator up to her floor. She’s the only sign of life from the 21st century he’s encountered since the day he came to sign his lease papers. Why? 

Because Hunnigan had fulfilled his request to a T. Leon’s new apartment building is long-term care home adjacent. 

Full of grandmas and grandpas who got about as loud as their record players, only leaving their homes to fetch the mail – telegrams by the wrinkles on some of them. It was perfect. Leon was positively thrilled when Eunice from Unit 202 very, very slowly, waved hello to him on his moving day.

THUMP-THUMP! THUMP-THUMP!

And then she happened.

Maybe he’s just a grumpy old man right where he belongs, in all his 29-and-a-half glory. But the pounding that girl is giving her bed with some frat boy right now is giving Leon the college dorm experience all over again. It takes him half an hour of tossing and turning in his sheets to throw on an old jacket, beeline to the elevator, punch the neon 3 button, and darken New Girl’s doorstep. 

His turn now. A quick knock, knock is enough for Unit 304’s door to open a crack.

“Hey, I’m from downst- oh my God, are you decent?”

And you, standing at the door in a dress that’s more sheer than his disbelief, only tilt your head to go, “Huh?” 

“Listen, I know tomorrow’s the weekend but I- shit,” his face burns, “could you keep it down, please? You guys are really loud and it’s late.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You- you and whoever you’re with, could you not do this right now?” Leon croaks. 

Your hands flail wildly in dismissal. “Oh no, that was just me jumping on my bed! Helps with my creative process,” you say, smiling weakly. “I didn’t know the floors were that thin, I’m sorry.”

Bullshit. “They are.” Leon grimaces, “And um, it’s fine if you guys are loud, just save it for when everyone’s asleep next time.”

A frown interrupts your smile. “I just said it was me. There’s no one else here, seriously.”

“So what’s with the getup?”

“The-” your eyes drift down to the near see-through of your dress and Leon gestures vaguely, as if you need more explanation to why he’s avoiding eye contact with your chest. “Oh, this?”

He nods. 

“Creative process!” you chirp brightly.

“For what, pray tell?”

Curiously, that puts the wind out of your sails. Suddenly you having trouble meeting Leon’s eyes, lashes fluttering as you look up, down, anywhere that’s not his face. 

“For school,” you finally make out, fingers wrapping around the edge of your door. “I’m a music major.”

Pianos and prancing on beds don’t exactly mix. He can’t help but squint at you. “And the jumping helps with…?”

“Getting past writer’s block!” 

Back to bubbly with the ball in your court, you go so far as to open your door a little further to explain. Leon’s cheeks blaze as he tries his damndest to keep his eyes from drifting south. 

“I read online that moving around helps with ideas, and I’m supposed to have a whole album written by the end of the week. I probably shouldn’t have procrastinated…” you trail off with a half-hearted chuckle, “so now I’m throwing everything at the wall to see what sticks, y’know?”  

He hums. “You wanna be a singer?” 

“Mhm!” Your updone hair bobs with you, reminding him a little of a bobblehead. It’s almost cute enough to make his AMs worthwhile.

“Then you better start singing somewhere else, sweetheart. The walls are just as thin as the floors.” 

And Leon immediately turns his ass around to go back to sleep.

In hindsight, it might’ve been a little mean of him to leave like that. But his bed is just so heavenly, and with the sleep deprivation he’s been racking up lately, Leon’s half sure he just dreamed that entire exchange. There’s no way a girl like you in college – in her 20s, give or take – is seriously jumping on her bed on a Friday night for a homework assignment. That too in a dress fit for the club to add to the irony. Are all creatives this weird?

He pinches the bridge of his nose as the elevator descends, pushing aside his last glimpse of the glum expression he left you with in your doorway. So much for first impressions. But hey, you didn’t really make a great one either. He’ll call it even. Maybe get you a gift basket for chivalry’s sake.

He considers all this as he slips back under his blankets, finally, at 9:45 PM.

And then he hears a creeeaaak.

“Please,” Leon groans, jamming his pillow over his ears. 

Thump…thump?

Nix the gift basket.

6:00 AM on Saturday finds Leon with his eyes wide open and glazed insomniac red.

His alarm blares as if to say, you actually thought you’d need to get woken up, didn’t you?

It’s a little patronizing. He teaches it a lesson by throwing it off his nightstand.

Sometime between 11 and 12 at night, you’d gotten bored of your bed and taken to something with wheels. An office chair is Leon’s best guess. You’d rolled across your floor all night, and the resulting clatter of plastic grating on hardwood had kept him awake until the sunrise. Hangovers were more pleasant than the night of sleep (or lack thereof) he’d just gotten, and Leon’s no wimp. He’s a man, goddamnit. A decorated government agent!

So he handles the problem at its source. Whips out his flip phone like a man, and makes a very important call.

A disgruntled female voice crackles through at the first ring. “May I remind you that this line’s only for emergencies, Leon?”

“It is! I need you to find me another apartment, Hunnigan, please,” Leon sits up, rubbing his eyes to plead his case to an unimpressed Ingrid Hunnigan. “My upstairs neighbor won’t let me sleep. The floors are thin as hell and she’s been moving around all night. It’s even worse than my last place.”

“Really? An old lady is giving you that hard of a time?” 

“She’s college age — a singer — and when she starts singing for her homework all the time, I’m really not going to get any sleep. I’m begging you, Hunnigan. Get me out of here.” 

“Strange.”

“Isn’t it?”

“Truly,” Hunnigan deadpans. “You know how hard of a time I had getting you into an apartment building only for people over 55, Leon?” 

He winces, holding the phone a little further from his ears just in case. 

“How many favors I had to cash in, strings I had to pull, all because you’re hopeless at navigating an apartment listing site, let alone anything on the Internet? Do you realize I had to do that in my personal time because your request would fall under illegal use of federal intelligence resources?”

Leon falters. “I didn’t-”

“So here’s what you’re going to do,” Hunnigan says shortly. “You are going right back to your neighbor and working out a solution like an adult.”

“But I already-”

“You’re solving this on your own, Leon. Figure something out because I know you can delegate. Got it?”

He really doesn’t. He’s only good at that outside of the US.

“Is that clear, Agent Kennedy?” Hunnigan repeats for semantic measure.

“Crystal,” Leon mopes, sapped of all hope when she ends the call with a ‘good luck’, just like back in Spain. A familiar routine.

He’s back in front of Unit 304 by 9:00 AM. 

You open your door with a half-chewed yawn, wrapped in a robe and looking deceptively angelic, that is, if it weren’t for the immediate pinch your pretty brows take on when you grace him with a decidedly sour look. 

“Up already?” Leon tries.

This time all he gets in response is a quick nod, a mouth parted in distaste. 

Forward march, Kennedy.

“You were up past midnight. I heard you, y’know, on your chair. Kinda loud.”

“I’m not annoying you on purpose,” you sigh, tucking your arms into a tight cross over the fluff of your robe. “I just really have to turn my album in on time and I’m having crazy writer’s block. They told me the people here are quiet and easygoing. I haven’t had a single noise complaint so far except for you, did you know that?” 

“That’s because everyone in this building either has hearing aids or doesn’t realize they need them yet,” Leon grits. “I don’t even know how you got in here, to be honest.”

“A sparkling letter of recommendation, thank you very much. And you?” You push up on your toes indignantly. “Are you just older than you look? ‘Cause you might need a pair of hearing aids yourself.”

Leon bites back a scoff. “Don’t need ‘em. I can hear you plain as day from below.”

Sirens are starting to blare in his head and it’s like he can feel Hunnigan glaring at him from her HQ in the sky. Aborting mission again isn’t an option. If Leon doesn’t fix things now, he’d be starting bad blood that might outlast the combined remaining lifespans of the building’s tenants. His salary could cover rent that long; his ego, not so much.

You’re about two seconds away from shutting your door in Leon’s face before he interrupts with a save pulled straight from his ass: “I’ll help you write your songs.”

So instead, you squawk, “What?”

He sticks the toe of his shoe in your doorjamb for insurance. Blurts, “I mean it. I’ll help you come up with ideas.”

“How on Earth would you do that?”

Great question. No better time than the present for the both of you to find out. 

“You said moving around helps?” Leon repeats for you to confirm with a quizzical nod, “I’ll take you anywhere you want. Anywhere in the city, you name it, I’ve got a motorcycle I’ll get you there on. It’ll be a change of scenery. Just whatever you do, enough with the gymnastics at midnight.”

It’s a desperate lifeline, a creepy one now that he’s had more than two seconds to think about it, but a lifeline nonetheless.

And to his horror, all you do is stare. 

The resulting silence feels like crystallizing amber. A clock ticks agonizingly from somewhere in your living room. Tick, tick, shit, he desponds. But thankfully, your laugh bubbles out not a moment too soon, sending a tsunami of relief down his shoulders. 

“Gymnastics, really?” you snort, covering your mouth with a well-manicured hand.

“I’m serious.” Leon shoots for a winning smile. “But I have to ask, is working late also part of your creative process?”

Your eyes crinkle maybe, but you shake your head no. 

“Then we’ll go whenever you’re free. Show you a few of my favorite spots, see if it speeds up your songwriting. Sound okay, sweetheart?” 

“How about now?” you pipe up.

Leon coughs his splutter into something more dignified. 

“You said whenever I was free! It’s a Saturday, you’re free,” you point a finger at his chest, “I’m free,” turn it back on yourself, “and I need to finish writing my album by, like, yesterday. This is perfect!” With a miniscule squeal, you disappear back into your apartment.

Leon’s left standing in your entryway wondering when his lifeline became a dynamite detonation cord.

“You haven’t even asked me my name,” he calls out to deaf ears. Cups his hands for effect because he can hear you flinging hangers onto the floor. “Don’t they teach you about stranger danger at school?” 

“I’ll find out eventually!” floats back your worrying response.

You’re an efficient dresser, Leon gives you that. A thankfully normal one too at the dress and heels you rush back up to the door with. A large pair of cat-eye sunglasses perched on the bridge of your nose makes Leon do a double take at the cloudy sky outside, but then again, maybe it’s another part of your creative process. Beyond his pay grade.

You adjust your sunnies with gusto, grin up at him when he gives you a curious look. 

“Well, go on,” you say, pulling out your phone. 

Leon blinks at the glowing rectangle.

“Number, name?” You tilt it as if you’re trying to entice a toddler. “I can’t just keep calling you Mr. Noise Complaint.”

“Aw, you’ve been telling your friends about me?” Leon chuckles at last, pulling out his flip phone and handing it to you.  

And suddenly it’s your turn to stare at a piece of foreign technology.

You take your sweet time putting in your number. It’s very entertaining, the way the tip of your tongue sticks out the tiniest bit when you make a mistake and the sound of furious keypad backspacing follows right after. Leon’s no better, setting himself on your phone as “LOEN KEENAYD”, and with his pride bordering on hubris, he has no choice but to keep it that way.

“Really small backspace key,” he fibs when you peer at the gibberish in your contacts. 

Your lip bite makes for a piss-poor job of hiding how funny it is.  

“It’s Leon, by the way. Leon Kennedy. Apartment 204.” 

You fix his name in half the time it took him to put it in. He holds his hand out for a shake, timeless enough, and you give it three businesslike pumps.

“I have to grab a spare helmet from my place, I’ll meet you down at the garage,” Leon promises.

You point at him before stepping into the elevator. “Either your idea works or I’ll have to work past midnight to get this album done and then you’ll really owe me, Leon.” 

In another life, you could’ve been a CEO. You’ve certainly got the pointer finger for it. 

Leon tips his chin in acknowledgment. “Whatever it takes to get back into your good graces, ma’am,” he grins.

That gets a cackle out of you as the elevator doors slide shut.

And he takes the stairs this time, waves good morning to Eunice in 215 on his way to pick up that helmet for you. It must be a good day, Leon thinks, sounding out your name in his phone’s contacts. Eunice even has a post- Great Depression era vinyl playing on her record player. Maybe it’s a sign to not be so glum about his situation. He’s finally fixing it, isn’t he? 

So be it. A guy can dream. In Leon’s case, he’s hoping he gets eight hours by Monday.

psst, find more of my work here!

comments and reblogs are very much appreciated <3 take care and i love you!

divider by @/saradika-graphics <3

[shakemelikeasnowglobe]

F1 driver duos and the booktropes I associate with them

Max and checo: not a booktrope but you know those oscar bait movies about a person pursuing something to his own destruction being the best but also being doomed like I,Tonya yep those movies both of them are those movies

Lewis and george: gay book writen by a white woman who was raised on yaoi and tumblr shiping 2014, Its painfully British and might be a larry stylinson fanfic has a cute dog and the author is eventually canceled on Twitter for the age gap.

Carlos and Charles: not a book again but telenovela romantic pairs, Charles is the good boy the protagonist will end with carlos the second evil boyfriend who will eventually team up with the vilaness to break them apart.

Oscar and Lando: just heartstoper core mindless teen fluff who will win the GlAAD award of unburied happy coming of age gays

Lance and Fernando: all the daddy Dom mafia millionaire boss ceo booktok brainrot but somehow in both ends of the relationship.

Yuki and Daniel : like early 2010s young adult pre teen emotional coming if age Novel writen by someone trying so hard to be John green it will include some profound analysis about life and meaning tumblr would love for the quotable phrases then Hate it because they eventually realize the characters did some fucked up shit.

Bottass and Zhou: that one book your very obnoxious book friend will recommend saying it's very good but it's just a soft thriller from 1980 about a teenage boy obsessing and stalking his low key weird neighbor and about 300 pages of heavy handed love and murder metaphors involving deers bears and bunnies by the end you really don't understand what is about but the subtext it's actually good

Pierre and Ocon: both are secondary love interests on a book that once was a wattpad original they only exist so the actual main love interest looks good so they are an inch above absolutely dreadful still main love interest is so bad they are considered good by the haters.

Logan and Alex: both are wattpad Born lover boys in different books Logan it's the secondary love interest who was actually the good option but he is against a tatoo covered dark haired asshole so he loses meanwhile Alex is in those quirky mindless fluff books that it's almost all pining he id basically a manic pixie dream boy.

Hulkenberg and kmag: weird mommy erotica you will find in that old single aunt room about vikings and pirates or both hallmark style holydays books about finding love for the ripped blond lumberjack in a small town, or a gay erotica actually written by a gay man who skips the fluff and its mostly about hot ripped blondes getting down to business.

[verdemoun]

timewarp at the bar on a friday night because i am being forced to leave the house against my will

it is always sean's idea and it's not just because alcohol he would just genuinely love the vibe and struggle to understand how people don't

sean buys the most expensive cocktails everywhere and thinks it's amazing alcohol can taste like fruit juice but lenny is a beer and whiskey purist as much as sean tries to get him to admit that sex on the beach is tasty (and maybe a good idea for later)

lenny never grows out of his loud silly drunk persona and is actually the life of the party he'll be standing on a table while staff scream at him but crowds are cheering as he balances a glass on a glass on his forehead. he has so many dumb party tricks like catching food in his mouth sean throws at him across the room and close up magic he learned from trelawney.

kieran shocks everyone by not hating going out. he has a sixth sense for finding the shes theys and sapphos and will get adopted before he's had two drinks. alcohol very much soothes his anxiety and he radiates so much genderchaotic the girlies drag him into the bathroom to be their hype squad while they fix their hair and makeup. he's just sitting on the sink merrily telling them they're pretty/handsome and they give him snacks

arthur never quite figured out not dressing like an outlaw or looking like he was sent to kill somebody but by the end of the night he'll have made a new friend like it was a side quest. he's the country boy version of a manic pixie dream girl the gays everywhere are left staring in awe as arthur casually 'welp better mosey on' and they never see him again

at least once isaac snuck into the bar with a fake id got caught by arthur who gave him a very firm lecture but then admittedly had a beer with his son before telling him he was grounded.

kieran sometimes gets to the classic wanders off/runs away for no reason level of drunk and the gang have come to speculate that's how the o'driscolls got him at jack's party. :c this is further supported by the fact he can get really panicky and disorientated when he's running. the positive is seeing almost any of the gang very quickly calms him down and he goes straight back to being giggly talkative drunk kieran.

arthur having caught kieran and trying to carry him home while kieran is giggling 'hey remember when you did this in colter' 'yes kieran i remember colter' 'i love you guys so much' 'you ain't so bad yourself' *delighted squee*

arthur, very drunk, trying to herd a very drunk kieran, sean and lenny home is hell. there's already buckets and towels spread out in the living room because none of them are making it to bed they're just sprawled out on the floor like there's been a shoot out hosea calmly steps over them to make his coffee the next morning.

[kaibutsushidousha]

Your opinion on Ayaka and richard relationship?

Oh right, Ayaka won't wake up for the rest of volume 9, so I guess I can already go over this one. Honestly, I'm tempted to wait until the series is over. This is one is difficult because Ayaka has been recontextualized pretty hard recently and they haven't interacted since, but I suppose I can give it a try.

In the simplest terms, they're really fun in a very basic way. A classic dynamic between a tried-and-true pair of staple archetypes rooted in a manic pixie dream boy arc. Ayaka's identity is quite innovative but the way she interacts with her Servant isn't. In fact, it's taken directly from Fate/Prototype's own Ayaka.

The main progression they get throughout the series is discovering their dreams together. Saber wants his personal hero to hear his song of triumph and Ayaka wants to make Saber's pure-hearted dream come true without him needing to sully his soul further.

Ayaka's dream being to grant someone else's wish fits really with her hidden nature, but it's easy to see why Richard's wish feels special. It's completely heartfelt and unambitious. A dream entirely for the sake of someone else. And the most important is that this pure and selfless dream is coming from a man plugged 24/7 to a greed amplifier.

As the recent talks about Rider and Berserker establish, Saber Richard I is a lot like Saber Charlemagne and Archer Napoleon. A heavily romanticized image of a brutal overlord. Perhaps he can't produce a greedier dream because he himself is also a dream. The gentle lie Ayaka needs. A strange fake, even.

Even without her memories, Ayaka was still consumed by the guilt and fear that came with taking A's life, but Richard's support let her find meaning in fight and become a better person. This reflects Saint-Germain's last advice to Ayaka: judge Saber by what she sees of Saber in the present, not by Richard I's life. A's human perspective left Ayaka horrendously disgusted with things she did as a natural Holy Grail, but like Saber, Ayaka Sajou is also a new person who should be judge herself by what she will do as Ayaka, not by A's or Little Red Riding Hood's lives.

The key difference between Ayaka and Saber throughout the series is self-awareness. He was an ideal knight who is perfectly aware and outspoken about his past life being all sins and bad decisions. He never denies responsibility but never self-loathes either. Meanwhile Ayaka was an amnesiac who hated herself intensely for a crime she didn't remember and couldn't properly place herself as the culprit.

Ultimately, Ayaka can only be freed by learning that past sins shouldn't follow you into a new life. Saber already knows and shows, but Ayaka struggles with the idea a lot. She needs to see it in Saber to be able to see it in herself, and I believe that's why Saint-Germain just showed her Richard's past in full.

[jewishrizahawkeye]

hello fellow members of the tortured poets department.

apologies for my absence from meeting, was being a little to tortured and not enough poet lately 😑.

but i would like to enter into evidence the songs for the days i missed. because it is late i might combine some songs together if they’re next to each other and if the idea for both over laps.

because of that this post will be analyzing fresh out the slammer and florida!!! but specifically how these songs start to explore more about the “american dream” theme that runs throughout the album. i’ve been waiting until these two songs to fully explore it as florida!!! is well… the most obvious place for me to start.

previous days: fortnight; THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT; my boy only breaks his favorite toys; down bad; so long, london; but daddy i love him

references to america are prevalent throughout the album. this does make perfect sense actually considering taylor had set up home base in london and even wrote songs mentioning certain spots (and even liking a boy from london). so taylor choosing to focus the next album on america and coming home after being away fits very well. taylor spent years away because she was afraid of people and moved to a different country to get away. but when she was left all alone and the relationship ended (so long, london) she had to go back home.

this is what we see in fresh out the slammer. the song feels more like a transition song, ie. moving from one location to the other. the song over all is not one of my favorites on the album as while it is nice i don’t feel like it adds as much depth. though i do think it adds more details to certain things touched on. specifically with taylor personifying london as her former partner transitions a bit to this song as she refers to him as a place and what that place did to her. it’s especially interesting to me seeing her refer to it as a prison at times considering in reputation there was also those motifs too but with fame and she felt more sheltered with her then partner. but now it is shown to be also caging her. she ran from one cage to another to protect herself, which is valid, but is now realizing that instead of seeing it as a safe haven.

the main part i want to focus on the song though is how she refers to her next partner viewing her as “the girl of his american dreams”. this is an interesting line and totally not referencing the 1975 as it paints a very distinct picture. the phrase “the girl of his dreams” means the person he thinks would be the ideal partner. this is shown in the media though as negative or in a overwhelming personification with the “manic pixie dream girl” archetype. so already the phrase is on shakey ground, but there’s nothing wrong with saying a partner is “your dream” partner. it can be a compliment.

however, taylor specifically adding the “american dream” to the phrases changes it entirely. she’s now evoking the idea of the american dream that’s the pull yourself up by your boot straps and end up with a house, a car, a wife, and two kids idea. i’m not going to sit here and dissect THAT cause that’s a whole ass lecture. but taylor saying this man views her as “the girl of his american dreams” is saying that she is the ideal partner to settle down with and start a life with. to have a family and get married. which is also noted on many other tracks as something a partner did to her but never followed through. which is ironically what the american dream is. it’s a lie sold to people to keep working and they can hope for a better future. but in actuality they have to keep working and climbing relentlessly to achieve it and never can reach it.

so by taylor saying she’s the girl of his american dreams, he’s selling her a false narrative that she desperately wants and craves but he has no intention on following through and will just use her until he’s done. it’s a very interesting word choice i really like.

and how that idea connects to florida!!!

florida is probably one of the most notoriously known states in america next texas and new york. it’s a hub for weird stories and hurricanes and just all together a chaotic place. but people still love it. in fact, it’s also another part of the american dream as the idea for a lot of people is to retire in florida after they lived their life. which is why i wanted to combine these two as they flow into each other.

taylor uses florida as both a place physically but also metaphorically (and technically as a person if we view it as the “miracle move in drug”) which ties into her using london as both a place and person. florida is the “state” your in post break up and leans into the chaoticness of the actual state. she uses the wildness that everyone has of florida to describe a post break up high.

there are MANY things she uses to describe this. but let’s first look at her referring to her partner as a “hurricane with her name/i got drunk and i dared it to wash me away/barricaded in the bathroom with a bottle of wine”. hurricanes aren’t a stranger to florida and have done extensive damage to the state. but taylor refers to it as a storm with her name, ie. he was made just for her and in this state he’s out to destroy her because of how much damage their relationship did to her overall. but she acknowledges that she did tempt it, she did let it get this far and she had to drink her way through while hiding just to make it out alive.

but this florida, no one asks for questions about why you hate your ex because no one else in this state cares. in fact, they’ll help you hide the body if you help them. so taylor can throw her former lovers who she considered her home town (a reference to london boy “home is where the heart is, but that’s not where mine lives”/“but god i love the english”) but he never considered her more than a passing guest or her feeling like she was arrested there, because of her love for him and wanting to make it work or him keeping her locked away is open to interpretation. so she’s pissed, she’s running free and wanting to escape it all and is in the one state no one cares because they’re going through hell to and can’t bother to care about you.

in this case taylor is referring to florida as the clarity of post break up and running wild and free. which also does tie back into my previous days post about but daddy i love him as that plays into the classic romance piece of a forbidden love. it’s a very quintessential american idea of trucks through fences and small town elders saying to stay away from the good girl. and taylor even introduces it in fortnight by refrencing florida and “another night lost in america”. she is actively introducing the listener on page one to the idea of her longing to run away from it all and have freedom, but freedom looks different there than in florida.

bdilh->florida!!! just screams the idea of american hopes and dreams and young love. it’s wild and loud and messy and destructive and doesn’t see the future. which then later gets wrapped up somewhat in i hate it here from the anthology tracks. because taylor saying “i’d say the 1830’s but without all the racists and getting married off for the highest bid… nostalgia is a minds trick if i had been there i’d hate it” which can be her acknowledging that the idea this man sold to her and the freedom she fantasized about wasn’t what it actually was and hates it in hindsight.

this post is disjointed, and i apologize, but the idea of the american dream running through has been something i keep going back to on relistens and i wanted to introduce it to the community for discussion. thank you again for letting this be late.

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: A Jingle Bell Mingle by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone

4.75/5. Releases 9/24/24.

The Vibes: roommates with benefits, widower angst, porn star/boy bander, tons of banging; tons of emotional constipation

Heat Index: 8/10

The Basics:

Five years, former boy bander (and People's Sexiest Man Alive) Isaac Kelly suddenly lost his wife Brooklyn—and he'll never love again. Two years ago, Isaac had the first sexual experience since his wife died (I mean, his only sexual experience with anyone OTHER than his wife) in the form of a threesome with porn stars Jack and Sunny. NOW, he's back in Christmas Notch, moping in a mansion as he tries to write a Christmas album. Sunny's in town too, NOT moping as she tries to write a Christmas movie script. It's all too convenient for them to become temporary roommates... and maybe roommates with benefits. But all Isaac can offer Sunny is sex—and while that seems like a good idea to a woman who can't say "I love you", once she starts feeling feelings... It might not be enough.

The Review:

I knew this would be good. But it was better than good. It was the perfect culmination of the Christmas Notch series—the rare series that really just kept getting better. The three main books are all great, but each one was superior to the last for me (the novellas are fab too, but I need to rethink and rank them separately).

They're Christmas-y (but not so Christmas-y that I at all regretted reading this in July... I'll just reread it closer to the date). They're SUPER hot (more on that below). They're body-positive, sex worker positive (Sunny is no longer active in the industry once this story really begins, but she has no bad feelings about it) and deal with actual issues while maintaining a fun, heartwarming tone. Oh, and they're fucking hilarious. It's surprisingly hard to find romcom books that are actually funny, but—here you go!

What makes this book so special is that, while you have the framing of Sunny trying to find Isaac his muse while Isaac tries to help her write her script (almost like... a muse...), this is really a character piece. So much time is spent building up Isaac and Sunny's relationship. While I kind of refuse to call this "friends to lovers" because the reality is that these two are super into each other from the jump—albeit moreso physically than emotionally in the beginning—you do truly believe in their bond. Their emotional connection is just as intense as their sexual connection, which is, um, pretty intense.

And dude. If you read the previous books first—not strictly necessary but HIGHLY recommended—you'll see that Isaac is just... so depressed. Like, not leaving his house depressed. Ironically, his threesome with Jack and Sunny kind of jolted him back to life? And that's all it's supposed to be. So he's not in complete "wallowing in grief" mode here, but he is still very sad, and really only half-enjoying life. But Sunny is by no means a Manic Pixie Dream Girl. She has her own responsibilities. She has her own goals. And she has her own problems—if this book has any weakness (and it's minor) it's that Sunny's problems aren't quite as dramatic or compelling as Isaac's. But they're still valid, and they're integral to her growth. Point is: Sunny has her own deal, and Isaac helps her with her deal just as much as she helps him with his, and they also both have a lot of growing to do.

But anyway, what Isaac's deal gets us is a lot of sweet, SWEET angst. Not the level of angst you'll find in some of Sierra Simone's darker works. Just enough angst to have me feeling the fucking emotions, though. There's a moment late in this book that is the conflict I was SO hoping would come up. A conflict that is honestly quite real, but still a gut punch. And soooo satisfying to see resolved. We may have a "snowmobile for your love" moment. Can neither confirm or deny.

Finally, it's a great time to see everyone in Christmas Notch together again. Bee and Nolan! Winnie and Kallum! The North Pole dancers! Luca and Angel! Krysta and Addison! And we get some really good Teddy Ray and Steph content. I love Teddy Ray. Such a unique character. Rarely do you get a "wholesome porn peddler" stepfather figure in a contemporary romance series, and seeing him get his HEA with Steph was incredibly sweet.

The Sex:

RIDICULOUSLY hot. All of these books are hot, but there was something about Sunny and Isaac falling in love, each encounter becoming more intimate, while remaining in such deep denial about their feelings...

I mean, photo booth sex... creative usage of gingerbread lotion (a big thing in this series)... butt stuff with the HERO as the recipient, something we don't see enough of in m/f romance... And Isaac is a bit bossy! Which we love to see!

You really feel like these two can be honest with their feelings in the bedroom, without words. Which I am SUCH trash for.

Also, loved how casual the book was about Isaac and Sunny both being bi, their threesome with Jack, Isaac being pushed onto dates (by Sunny) with men and women. It's just the norm, which is in fact standard for pretty much all Sierra Simone books. Love.

Anyway, this is great, a perfect finale for a series I've loved and can't recommend enough. Read it during the holiday season. Read it now. Read it next summer. I mean, read it ASAP because you'll love it. But I might do an entire series reread around Christmas, to be real. These are CLASSICS.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[kindaorangey]

half blank, half apocalyptic [armand playlist]

half blank

i'm your man (mitski)

this song is like. a thesis statement of sorts for the playlist. every line is armand. but here's the key stuff:

"i can feel it gettin' near/like flashlights comin' down the way/one day you'll figure me out/i'll meet judgement by the hounds"

i find it interesting that armand let daniel interview louis a second time, even though he had so much to hide. on the one hand, he believes himself powerful enough to retain control of the situation; on the other hand, there's only so much he's willing to do to make sure louis stays - louis is suspicious of armand before the story begins and armand knows this, thinks daniel will help put those suspicions to rest if he can make it through the interview without being found out. far from exerting complete control over louis all the time, armand pulls the strings from time to time from the cover of shadow. so, by letting daniel come for the interview, he inadvertently bring about the unravelling of his lies.

"people always gave me love/others were never to blame after all"

there's a tendency among trauma survivors to swing from understanding themselves as a victim to viewing themselves as solely at fault for the damage done to them, and as evil. of course, these extremes are both kind of true for armand - he is a victim, and he is kind of evil and responsible for his own suffering. but the pendulum swing is what i'm talking about here - in the wake of his lies being revealed and louis leaving him, that sense of guilt bleeds into everything he might otherwise see himself as innocent for. this is my fault, therefore all of it has always been my fault.

geyser (mitski)

"you're the one i want/and i have turned down/every hand that had beckoned me to come"

rewatching s2 it's crazy to me how much armand throws himself at louis in paris, how quickly he's ready to let his coven turn on him just so he can chase after his manic pixie dream boy

"i will be the one you need/i just can't be without you"

as much as armand molds louis into someone who would want to be with him by lying to and gaslighting him, he also molds himself into someone louis would want to be with. he plays the victim, he's subservient to louis, he lets louis sleep with hundreds of other men even though he's clearly not thrilled about the situation. and i think he enjoys playing this role, but a lot of it is not good for him. louis makes a mess, armand cleans it up.

off to the races (lana del rey)

THIS ONE'S ABOUT MARIUS!!!! DON'T COME FOR ME!!!!!! listen i feel so self-conscious putting a song that is so quintessentially modern LA on a playlist about a 500-year-old vampire. but there really isn't anyone that captures the concept of this song better than ms. lana del rey.

"my old man is a bad man, but/i can't deny the way he holds my hand/and he grabs me, he has me by my heart"

"he knows me/every inch of my tar-black soul"

"light of your life, fire of your loins/tell me you own me"

"i'm not afraid to say that i'd die without him/who else is gonna put up with me this way?"

the power imbalance, the slight awareness that this relationship is unhealthy, but committing wholeheartedly to it because you sincerely believe there's nothing better you deserve, and nobody else would treat you better. it's armand and marius.

me and my husband (mitski)

"i steal a few breaths from the world for a minute/and then i'll be nothing forever"

anyone else constantly thinking about lestat calling armand "nothing"?

"i bet all i have on that furrowed brow/and at least in this lifetime, we're sticking together"

again, a big part of armand was willing to throw away his coven of 300 years to be with louis. he just latches on to louis as his thing to pursue and reason to live.

to be alone (hozier)

sexual trauma song woo

half apocalyptic

the kiss (the cure)

"kiss me, kiss me, kiss me/your tongue is like poison/so swollen it fills up my mouth/just, just love me, love me, love me/you nail me to the floor/and push my guts all inside out

just get it out, get it out, get it out/get your fucking voice/out of my head

i never wanted this/i never wanted any of this/i wish you were dead"

armand tends to seek out relationships that remind him of his relationship with marius - which is to say, one where he concedes control to the other person, and toxicity feels familiar to him. he simultaneously craves this dynamic and, naturally, resents it, because it's unhealthy for him. and in 2×05, i think we see hints of him conceding control to louis as a way to punish himself for what he did in paris.

f major (hania rani)

plucked straight from assad zaman's armand playlist! it's dark, it's elegant, it just has a really beautiful ominous vibe

tuck (yves tumor, NAKED)

mostly vibes tbh. it's unsettling to listen to, and i put it on here because it's unsettling to listen to. but here are the relevant lyrics anyways:

"tears on steel for you/you, you, you/piercing skin for you/you, you, you/scars in my heart for you/you, you, you/i fell off this world for you/you, you, you"

"tie me up/looking down/black mass ready/tie me now"

"have someone else's will as your own/mercy of the master you've never known"

it will come back (hozier)

this one's full gremlin.

[13eyond13]

In your reply about how L is written without a lot of inner world for lack of a better term, I totally agree. I think L is genuinely a hard character to write because he's both an enigma and highly specific in his mannerisms and speech. It's easy to both go really overboard with how he's strange and off putting and at the same time under write him as a person with ideas and desires. When I see L being essentially written to revolve around Light as either his gay awakening/nemesis/boyfriend/ force that shakes up his life I call it the inverse of a manic pixie dream girl. Depressed Goblin Nightmare Boy L who doesn't really want anything except Light and who exists to do something for Light's character growth. I personally love when fics take the time to give him a past, and a life outside of Light and expands on him as a person and not just a detective. This is a long ramble but anyway, do you have any head canons about L's past?

Depressed Goblin Nightmare Boy ahahaha so true

I think part of the issue that shippy fic writers might run into with L is kind of also that he's not the focus of the source material in terms of like. Having a character arc that needs to be satisfied somehow, really? It's not about L having an emotional journey because it's about Light having one, and L is almost more fun in some ways when he DOESN'T change a whole lot as a character (he's fairly iconic in how stubborn and arrogant and seemingly unmoveable he already is). He's there mostly to oppose Light and make things really difficult for him, as well as to represent things in the story that come up as part of the themes and ideas and whatnot - an equal/intellectual rival that Light can actually feel threatened by and come to respect, a person who already reached the peak of power for his job of bringing criminals to justice and yet does so without necessarily adhering to any sort of noble ideals or worrying about whether or not he's being moral or a hypocrite of some kind, etc etc etc. And a lot of the appeal of his character in canon can also be how vague and cryptic and difficult to fully know he is as well, hahaha. So you're right, he's pretty difficult to fully flesh out in terms of his life outside the Kira case and so on, especially if you don't find him easy to intuitively read.

In terms of headcanons about his past, I feel almost as though it might not be totally set in stone and change a bit for me just depending on what kind of fic I was writing? I might give him certain life experiences and memories and beliefs and so on that would serve a certain purpose in the story, like contrast or parallel things that Light has experienced or believes in or whatever else. So unless I have a specific story in mind I'm not sure I have a ton of them that I'd stick to absolutely no matter what.

However the broad strokes of things we were told about L's past and childhood in the one-shots do make for decent scaffolding to work from for L to me. Like I DO think he probably made himself useful and interesting to Watari at a young age with his smarts, and that he never quite knows if he would have been taken care of or protected or had his needs met properly if he wasn't exceptionally talented in some way, which would definitely be kind of fucked up for him emotionally to dwell on a bunch. I headcanon that he doesn't really like to dwell on the past or the future a whole lot maybe in part because he finds it pretty depressing stuff to contemplate, and that living in the moment is by far his favourite thing to do.

And I for some reason feel like he isn't maybe an orphan in the sense that he has no living relatives left so much as maybe that he was given up or abandoned by them at an early age or taken away from a rough/abusive home life of some sort, and maybe was thought of as much too difficult to care for by them. I think the tension between L's extreme and more difficult traits being both his biggest asset and thing people admire about him most, and also the thing that causes him the most alienation and trouble in his life, or his own belief/understanding that this is the case, might for me be the most interesting stuff to explore more thoroughly with him.

[delivish]

haha your recent tumblr Stutters piece finally let me connect the dots on what was vaguely familiar about the pairing that was bugging me because I couldn’t remember the name for it 💡😮 ❤️❤️ so thank you! ❤️❤️❤️

The phrase was “manic pixie dream girl” 🤔 just cause to me Stan/Butters pairing gives off major MPDG energy or I guess in this specific case boy/girl/bigender?Genderfluid? depending how people write Margarine/Butters. My interpretation of the pairing is a quirky, bubbly sunshine that revitalizes a sad sack by emotionally supporting them and showing them life still has joy and meaning. 😂 Which despite feminist critique is still fun to read 😝. Though this is entirely based off fics I have read where he is a depressed alcoholic all the time, since I have no frame of reference since I don’t follow the show. Though not necessary I think there is potential for trope subversion as well. Curious what your interpretation is on how they fit together?

oooooo!! hmmm, see, while I could certainly see Stutters falling into a lot of the manic pixie dream girl tropes, I don't necessarily see it for them (and I'm not the most, like. eloquent person? so forgive me if this is all word vomit that doesn't make a ton of sense, but I will do my best!!)

namely because in a lot of MPDG tropes, the pixie is meant to be this quirky, lovable character with no real flaws whose only function to is to provide emotional support to their love interest, or to teach him important life lessons, all while receiving very little in return. and, despite the pixie's love interest being objectively the saddest, wettest beast you can imagine, somehow he still gets his girl because. idk, pity I guess?? lmao

but Butters is a significantly flawed person. they BOTH are. Butters is a gossip, he's a follower, he's naive, he's a people-pleaser who can be easily coerced; he's the type of person who won't stand very firmly on his convictions, especially if it means people might like him more or he has a chance to feel powerful and be a part of the in-crowd. BUT. he's also a hard worker, and a bright, selfless and genuinely kind person who loves life and loves making other people happy!!

and Stan is an absolute sweetheart, but i also think he can also be a sad sack who takes himself much too seriously and a cynic and someone who cares a lot about his image but conversely can be very, very insecure. his tenderness and sensitivity are assets, but i also think he's someone whose feelings can be hurt very easily and doesn't always think or even consider the ways in which his own behavior contributes to some of his grief because he kinda romanticizes it in a way! i can see him being the type of person you could come to with very real concerns, and somehow end up comforting anyway even though you did nothing wrong, lmao

(which, as an aside, is why i think Style really, really works as a pairing because Kyle is someone who absolutely refuses to coddle Stan, but we're not talking about them!!!!)

i think they would both get on each other's nerves at first. i think Stan, while genuinely liking Butters, would find him kind of weak and annoying, whereas Butters would think Stan is cool but also an impossible wet blanket at times. and because Butters can be an easy target, and Stan cares a lot about his image, I think the thought of being with Butters seriously would embarrass him a little because seriously?? him??

these two aren't the most obvious match and I love them anyway because I find all the ways they would butt heads and still fall for each other really fun. because i do think they would be good for each other, but they'd have to work at it, and that's just!!!!!!! Idk, so much more interesting to me!!! because they DO see each others' faults, and for all the ways each one annoys the other, I think they are both really, really kind people who would treat the other very tenderly, and be very intentional about it (I also think they'd have the most INSANE unexpected physical chemistry hehee)

anyway ramble over the only other thing I'll say is if you like South Park, you should definitely watch the show, all of it!! not only is it goddamn hilarious, but it is very difficult to build solid fanon interpretations if you don't engage with canon <3

[thegodcomplcx]

i don’t understand the people that say eleven only held platonic love for amy what scenes do you think disprove that?

i think that love is all consuming. i actually do not really care whether the love between eleven and amy is called platonic or romantic or both or familial or whatever you want to call it, i care that the doctor loves amy more than he loves anyone else. that’s what is so romantic to me.

some scenes that make belie the doctor’s love for amy; amy’s choice (nini if you’re reading this i am gonna go more in depth about this when i answer your ask LOL) because the doctors subconscious CLEARLY recognizes that amy is in love with him and he reciprocates to some degree.

a lot of the s5 (and even s6) doctor/rory scenes have this antagonistic energy between them, on the doctors part too! the doctor comes to respect rory and he likes him as a friend/companion, but on a deeper level he will always hate rory because rory is The Boyfriend. anyone that amy is in love with the doctor will compete with. that’s why he makes innuendos at rory’s stag party (the man knew what he was doing.) and the doctor gets all pissy when rory doesn’t buy his manic pixie dream boy schtick and they compare dick flashlight sizes and the doctor (+amy) treat him like he’s a pet. (basically all of vampires in venice)

i also think the way the doctor treats river, his love interest, compared to the way he treats amy is deeply interesting. the show specifically draws parallels between river and amy and how the doctor looms large over their lives, and how they both couldn’t not love him (6x01). and they give river such. amy energy.

but eleven holds this disdain for river that comes out when he gets frustrated. he doesn’t like that the universe has basically told him he will be in a relationship with river. and he takes it out on her! river is someone he feels comfortable being mean and cruel to, with the expectation that she will just. figure it out. or not be hurt by this behavior. (TWORS). he treats her in a way he would never treat amy, because he might be a manipulative bastard but with amy at least he’ll do it with kindness and tenderness because she’s someone he actually respects.

biggest moment of this is in TATM when river has to break her wrist to get out of the weeping angel’s grasp. she has to do this because amy read about it and the doctor uses this as a teaching moment for amy, nevermind that river is literally fighting for her life. he’s always so gentle with amy and in the very same scene he turns around and yells at river to fucking figure it out and he doesn’t care how. (he was angry. at the thought of losing amy. so once again river becomes collateral.)

it’s a bunch of little moments that build up the fact that the doctor respects amy more than anyone else.

[lserver362reviews]

What a show, what a journey, what a town! I started watching Northern Exposure during the week between starting the job of my dreams and leaving a really bad workplace (one that I was desperate to go to because I was fleeing a REALLY bad workplace) in March of 2022. I finished the series tonight, the eve of my departure for my adventure from Twin Peaks to Cicely. I have followed along with the Northern OverExposure Podcast (catch me on their episode on Season 6 Episode 4 The Letter) over this year plus and have had a wonderful time live tweeting my thoughts and interacting with Northern Exposure fans and the hosts of that show, Charles and Lee. I've lost track of how many people have responded to me watching the show, irl, with, "Oh I loved that show!!" My parents (My dad said, "you don't remember when we watched that?" and I had to remind him I wasn't alive yet), my boss (who "stopped watching when Joel left"-spoiler!), my coworkers (and their siblings), my friends (who are accompanying me to the Informal Moosefest this weekend in Roslyn). I've also been able to share the show with my loved ones (showing it to my step-sisters in Montreal and showing it to my sister- the episode where Maggie turns 30 (season 4 episode 1)-a month before my sister turned 30). The Thanksgiving episode (season 4 episode 8) will be a yearly rewatch for me and my family now (my aunt was willing to watch it twice this past year). This show is never ever predictable, but always self reflective, and incredibly quirky (dream sequences or a gimmick abound). The characters are beautiful and the storylines range from profound to bonkers. The representation for Native people, gay people, hypochondriacs, strong women, hip girlies, manic pixie dream boys, and wise, as well as unwise, adults, was crucial for the time it aired on TV (maybe not all of those archetypes really needed the representation but once I started thinking about this ensemble cast I couldn't stop). I will always love the Zydeco style theme for something set so far away from the home of that music, but that's what the show is about. Finding joy in a place that maybe isn't your home. I haven't even gotten to my ideal man, love of my life, absolute smart cute sweetie boy himself, Chris Stevens. I was already a John Corbett fan but his monologues as Chris sent me over the moon. Where can I get me one of those? And if I'm getting into character specifics I also need to mention Ruth-Anne and Ed's relationship. Ed interacting with anybody (whether on a spiritual plane (One Who Waits) or a physical person (Shelly)), is a great time, but him and Ruth-Anne just have such a beautiful connection. I'm looking forward to dancing on Ruth-Anne's grave this weekend. Also I loved Mike Monroe (sue me, HE'S A LAWYER!). This show did so much with what seemed like so little. It's a straight forward premise, as it's known to Spanish speakers, "Doctor en Alaska", but what unfolded to me was much much bigger. I can't say too much about the short comings of season 6, but I never hated it. Characters acted a little more strange than usual and things felt different, maybe sometimes a little stale, but it's still the same town. It's funny to me how a fictional place, so far away, can remind me of my own hometown and state. There really is something universal in the particular. I have loved (mostly) every minute of watching this show (Maurice took the longest to grow on me) and shouting my reaction to it into the void only to have others respond (thoughtfully and with enthusiasm). It's really indicative of where I'm at in my life and I feel incredibly lucky. So thank you, everyone involved in the making of Northern Exposure, the Northern OverExposure Podcast, and anyone who lets this town into their heart. You'll find me, and many others, there. Happy Moosefest everyone, antlers up! <3

[kindheart525]

I’ve been doing more arc planning lately and adding more side characters to the cast, so I thought I’d do a doodle sheet to introduce some of them and give you all a small taste of what’s ahead! 

Smooth Tune AKA Smoothie - Licorice Lace’s girlfriend  A harpist from Licorice’s orchestra, she is equal parts beefcake and angel. She is graceful and gorgeous, with a more cheesy and girlish side too. Many would say she is way out of Lic’s league but she still chose him and would do so a thousand times over.

Aphrodisian Foam - Fashion Model In a sort of “ugly ducking” tale, she started out as an insecure chick with unusual hybrid traits (wingless unicorn hippogriffs are hard to come by) but now she is a show-stopping model who shares her beauty with the whole world.

Tranquila - Trailblazer’s “enemy” An “influencer” by her world’s standards, she has a passion for fitness and loves sharing it with the world. She publishes her favorite workouts and daily musings in various magazines and video tutorials, focusing on strength and balance in one’s lifestyle. She does it all with a calm, chilled-out attitude, contrasting the girl known as her enemy.

Roman Candle - Trailblazer’s “best friend” A wrestling champion in high school, he is a skilled athlete who knows how to stand out. But he was also your typical douchey teenage boy, generally a dick to those he didn’t call friend and not particularly favored among the girls because of that. Hopefully he won’t stay that way forever.

Almond Meringue AKA Uncle Al - Trailblazer’s publicist  A humble old stallion from a village outside of Trottingham, he is Trailblazer’s publicist on paper but in reality he’s so much more. He keeps her schedule intact, makes sure she remembers to eat and rest, and helps her avoid embarrassing herself in public. She really keeps him on his hooftips, but they’ve grown to care about each other in a somewhat familial way which makes his job worth it.

Burr - Mudbriar’s son Somewhat like the uncle he resembles, he broke the mold set by his parents, pursuing a more extroverted career path than Mudbriar and choosing a different genre of music than his other father Feather Bangs. An idol of his little cousin Meteor Shower, he has lofty goals for his career but is enjoying the ride on the way there.

Sweetpea Soup - Manic Pixie Dream Girl Her description is pretty self explanatory: she’s quirky and free-spirited with a rebellious streak, and a strong and contagious appreciation for all life has to offer. Anyone she meets would consider themselves lucky to have known her and be left wanting for more time with her.

Painted Lady - Tea Cake’s aide Passionate about foalcare, her greatest reward is getting to nurture foals as they grow and watching their vibrant personalities bloom. But she can also be a little overbearing and intrude on what is meant to be independent play if she thinks extra care is needed (which it sometimes isn’t). The foal she works with now needs that extra care to an extent, but it’s still annoying.

Infernal Startrail - Blackfire Phoenix’s coworker In some ways she is every corporation’s dream employee with the way she thinks outside the box and has a solution to most problems she encounters. She is decisive, intelligent, and professional, but isn’t above the occasional workplace gossip to an extent. But then again, most people aren’t.

Fireball Rosso - Bullseye’s boyfriend  A talented makeup artist for any and all genders, he’s very serious about his craft. Some consider him arrogant and snooty and maybe he is just a little bit, but he’s very secure in himself and he wants others to be confident in their expression too.

Strawberry Bon Bon - Meteor Shower’s girlfriend A hopeless romantic at heart, she puts her all into her relationships with others, sometimes to her own detriment. Getting her heart broken a few times by guys who didn’t put in equal effort has left her with some trust issues, leading to insecurities that carry over into the next relationship.

Pearl Closure - Sour Peach’s girlfriend  A fashion designer who specializes in “magical girl transformations,” i.e. those extra special outfits that have two designs in one! She can make literal rags unfold into a stunning ballgown, and at the height of her career she’s very popular among celebrities who want unique costume changes. She took her time to nurture her talent before sharing it with the world so it would really be worth the wait.

Fruit Salad - School of Friendship alum She’s a party animal with a little bit of bimbo mixed in, in the sense of not always reading the room. She’s well intentioned, just not super responsible or receptive to when someone wants to be left alone.

Pearl - Miner She is the type of diamond dog that when she has her mind set on something, she will not stop until she accomplishes it. This includes things like digging really deep to get a certain gem she senses, even when she hits rock. She’s eager to meet new creatures and when she is your friend she’s very affectionate.

Juneberry - Mailmare A flirt who always has things to share like fun facts, she likes talking to others and learns a lot from all the ponies and creatures she delivers mail to. Not everyone makes a habit of talking to the pony who delivers their mail outside of small talk, but when they do it makes her day.

Veneer Smokescreen AKA Smoky - Movie theater employee With a monotone attitude, she’s the kind of pony where you just have to believe her when she says she feels a certain way because she’s not going to show you any other way. As a foal she was punished for being too childish despite being a child at the time so now she has issues expressing herself.

Hyacinth Moss - Marmalade Meringue’s wife Insecure and ashamed of her siren heritage, she is easily embarrassed by anything that even remotely makes her look bad (like Marmalade expressing a bad take in public or her kids lightly bickering). She is generally touchy and reactive and will react to any slights very passive-aggressively.

Starfruit Bouquet - Hyacinth and Marmalade’s oldest son A soccer player practically since he could walk, he has a love for the game and a love for life no matter what successes or failures come his way. He isn’t in the game to win, but loves it for the camaraderie and teamwork it comes with. Any mistakes he takes in stride as long as he has his friends by his side.

Sour Grapes - Hyacinth and Marmalade’s youngest son A spelling bee kid who will probably graduate to the debate team and then some prestigious college, he is ambitious and competitive. The game is cutthroat and so is he, albeit in a rule-abiding way. You would think he and his brother would be at odds with how different their values are, and they certainly do disagree, but not as much as their parents do. Making fun of them is one thing they can bond over.

Please let me know what you think and feel free to theorize about their roles! Which of these characters are most excited to see in the story? I can’t wait to introduce them proper, which for some should be pretty soon!

~~~~~~~~~~

Roman Candle designed by @melos-magic-ponies Infernal Startrail and Pearl (the dog) designed by me Everyone else designed by @gelidponies

[blusandbirds]

sara ellis really grew on me. like i saw her and i was like ugh not another Strong Female Character who's just there to look hot and be smarter than the boys and then fall in love with one of them in a relationship that does neither of them justice. but then like. her and neal's relationship is actually so interesting because he's so her manic pixie dream boy. she's an insurance recovery woman whose job is her entire life. they fake her death for an fbi operation and she sees firsthand how little meaningful human connection she has in her life. she realizes how truly dissatisfied she's been despite being rich and successful. and then here comes neal caffery, larger than life, adventure and excitement and danger all wrapped up in a pretty smile. and you can tell how much she loves the operations, the puzzles and mysteries they solve, she loves their world. and maybe some of that gets wrapped up with her feelings towards neal. they live in a whirlwind. they move in together, they can barely say they're dating. it's fast and fun and heated but they don't know each other. but then she crashes back to reality. it's great because you could always see the signs of how it would end. their entire relationship is people saying over and over again that they’d be good together. even they themselves say it. but when it comes down to it, they’re still just an idea. as she says, "you live in the clouds. i live on west 69th." sara’s pragmatic and real and he's flair and style under a stupid hat. im obsessed with them.

[autisticempathydaemon]

Hi, if you're still doing the matchups, I'd love to see what you have in store!

Song fixations

-- Currently, I've been listening to MARK CHAPMAN by Måneskin. The first lyrics that came to my mind was the end of the first verse and the chorus.

Ma se soltanto avesse La possibilità Ti seguirebbe al quattro angoli della città Nascosto fra la gente Senza un'identità Dice che mi ama ma lo so che mente

Si muove a piede libero Vestito come un incubo Vuole tu sia in pericolo Però'ti chiama idolo

Translated as: "But if only he had the possibility, It would follow you to the four corners of the city. Hidden among the people, without an identity. He says he loves me but I know he's lying. He moves freely, dressed like a nightmare. He wants you to be in danger, but he calls you an idol." I'm not entirely sure why these lyrics stand out to me in the way they do, but oh well. I've also been listening to READ YOUR DIARY from the same album.

The Redacted Part of this Ask

-- I absolutely love Hush's introductory video. The sound design and overall ambiguity surrounding his character at that point was so absolutely intriguing on its first release, and I still listen to it regularly.

I never was able to get into Asher, unfortunately. I know that there's probably so much more to his story, but it's just never clicked with me.

I would completely and absolutely love to befriend Huxley. I am a total Plant Slut, and I have (quite frankly) a concerning amount of house plants. Having someone who is not only Chill as Fuck to hang with, but could also help with the plants? That is a friendship that I need.

Book/series/tv show

-- Just solely by the volume of it that I watch, I could probably recall any given episode of Dimension 20. I watch it while crocheting, and so when I'm just chilling and have time on my hands, dice time it goes. I could probably name every insane Nat 20 Ally made in FH:FY and every intimidating Evan Kelmp line in Misfits + Magic.

Various other info (Sleepy time, Enneagram, etc)

-- My go-to way to fall asleep is, unfortunately, staying awake until I physically cannot keep my eyes open any longer. When I do get sleepy, I talk about stationary. It's something I've been into for a long time, and when I simply do not have the filter to not talk about my interests, I unleash everything about pens and notebooks that I know on the poor soul who is near me.

I'm a type 5 on the Enneagram and am currently pursuing a degree in Mathematics. Ideally, I want to go to grad school. I just really, really, fucking love maths. It is the best subject.

Gas Station. I normally do a water, a monster zero ultra, and kettle-cooked salt and vinegar chips.

Other than all of this, I'm just a dude. Just a silly little guy, if you will. Teehee. Have fun!

So this one was both so fun but so hard. You’re so interesting, you’ve got so much going on- a typical Type Five. Not to make you sound like a Manic Pixie Dream Boy but god, James could use you in his life.

By that, I mean Type Five’s are characterized as thoughtful, unique free-thinkers prone to philosophy and complexity. I think James respects and admires these qualities in you in addition to your pursuit of higher education. (I don’t think he knows a ton about math, but I do think he likes to hear you talk about it.) Complementing that, he loves the more unexpected, chaotic parts of you. Like, can you imagine listening to your thoughts and the cognitive dissonance of theorems versus Riz going up a corn monster���s butt? You keep him on his toes in the best way.

Another reason James strikes me as a good match for you is how easy, I think, it’ll be for him to take you with him to ETS. He could listen to Dimension 20 when he misses you, deeply confusing his coworkers who can’t picture him as a DnD guy. Like, I don’t think you would have had time to crochet him a blanket before he left, but maybe he’s got gloves, a scarf, socks, something you made for him that he can touch. Also, can’t you imagine sending him on his work trip with a little plant? The bonding opportunities for James and Anton to take care of their plants and miss their lovers write themselves!

Song:

Gonna soften the blow, soften the blow and give it up/ I saw the surprise, the look in your eyes, I gave it up/ Gonna be who I am, be who I am, and give it up/ I traveled the way/ Wait for me, wait for me/ It's all better now, it's all better now/ Wait for me, wait for me

James strikes me as an indie, alt rock kind of guy, so Kings of Leon would be a good fit for him. I like this song for y’all for that reason and the fact it’s got a sweet, longing kind of feel. Also, “wait for me” when he’s on that business trip a little incel motherfucker made that much longer just hits.

Runner-ups:

Anton is obviously a runner-up; like, he came to mind first. However, James strikes me as more interesting and therefore a better match for someone as interesting as you. Lasko is another runner-up because I think y’all would really share interests and hobbies. If I were doing platonic match-ups, he’d have been at the top of list.

note: thank you for waiting 🧡

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[tricoufamily]

I'm so curious about your personal Bob x Diego lore. Like, I can't stop thinking about it. Their dynamics, sexualities, and what they end up doing in the future. Ahhhhhh!! It's giving me sims brainrot. Do you have anymore crumbs of lore for them you'd be willing to share? If not that's okay too. I just love how you world build your sims.

yaa!!!! storytime!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

bob went to college because of his mom. she wanted him to, and he didn't know what he wanted to do w his life so he just went. he was an undecided major until he became a business major just because. shrug. he was also in a co-ed dorm where he met eliza, but they didn't start dating until the year after college. they were friends though

diego was an art history major and he was doing all kinds of odd jobs. he had really good grades, so he got in to college free, and his biggest goal in life was to move to nyc. he hated his small shitty town, he hated his college, he hated everyone there, and so on.

but yes, diego's gay, he was in drag when they met, he was coming home from a bar and just went to the dining hall late at night still in drag whatever he was hungry. and bob was there, he'd been doing an all-nighter, and he hit on him. diego thought it was funny but he also thought bob was hot so. long story short, bob is bisexual, and he had to figure that out in a small town in the early 2000s rip buddy

they started dating for real eventually, and it was a good relationship. for the most part. by this is the fall standards, they're the best couple (the bar is in hell). diego does have some...manic pixie dream boy tendencies though, and he's hot-headed, so they would have arguments, and diego's mood could change at the drop of a hat, but they did love each other.

graduation was getting closer, and diego was trying to convince bob that the city will be great and they don't need to get married or have kids and they'll be young forever. and bob just wasn't budging. they knew the end was approaching long before it came.

they were fighting a lot leading up to the break up, but when it finally was time, it was very quiet. and sad. and defeated. they kissed one more time, and diego packed a suitcase that night and left for the city with barely anything.

now, diego is a successful art critic and knows a lot of artists and influencer types like penny pizzazz and even established celebrities. he's kind of like a socialite. when we reach the tiktok era, i'm sure he'll start doing stuff there and get a following. he gets sad and lonely sometimes.

bob and eliza own a catering company together that does pretty well. their marriage is. well it's bob and eliza. she'll get pregnant w iggy soon.

i think sometime after iggy is born they'd go on vacation and bob and diego would meet again. you all know the christmas song same old lang syne? yeah that

[brzatto]

Hello again! Since I started watching season 2 of the bear I've been building up some thoughts regarding the overarching plot and characterisation. I haven't been able to share my ramblings with anyone else, so I hope it's ok to share them with you. It's been a while since I've been this disappointed by the direction a show has taken. :(

I mentioned before on one of your posts that I saw Carmy as asexual, or at least not seeking a physical or romantic relationship with women. In season 1 I was so happy that Sydney was kept as a colleague/friend, which carries into season 2. I was legitimately hopeful to get just one show where the main character doesn't have a contrived romance storyline. I feel they always just derail the main plot for meaningless character interactions with terrible dialogue, with male and female characters never being allowed to just be friends. When Claire was introduced I audibly GROANED. Manic pixie dream girl has entered the chat.

The scene in episode 6 where Richie and Mikey are saying how in love Carmy is with Claire, how amazing she is, how hot she is—it felt like they were trying to convince me and not Carmy. You and others have said before how Claire just exists to be a love interest, and every scene with her does nothing except try (desperately) to solidify that. I feel like I'm being repeatedly beaten with a bat that has "Claire is nice so you should like her" written on it. The scene where Richie is legitimately upset that he messed up the generator and is worried Carmy will dismiss him—why was Claire laughing at that? I thought she was meant to be nice? That's what every character keeps telling me... Every scene with her drags, every character that mentions her name suddenly causes the scene to shift to focusing on Claire. It's like Claire is the centre of the universe and is pulling in and crushing everything with her gravitational pull.

When Carmy kissed Claire in episode 5 it made me lose hope for his characterisation. It was like I was instead watching JAW's character from Shameless. All nuance thrown out the window for a rushed relationship with no chemistry. His journey to heal from his traumas and come to terms with Mikey's death sidelined to make way for boring shot reverse shot talking scenes with Claire. Carmy doing restaurant business? Nah, let's watch him and Claire have some boring dialogue during a car journey.

Hater mode activated: Claire as a character is boring, shallow, and only added because "hur dur boy must like girl". Despite what her character was supposedly introduced for, I think her introduction just caused season 2 to waste time on meaningless fluff that actively made other characters worse by association.

I have 3 episodes left to watch but I'm feeling pretty low about this season. I shouldn't have expected an asexual main character because I just set myself up for disappointment, but the bear really had me thinking it wouldn't do something this lame. I'm still carmrichie for life though, your fics are keeping me hanging on. Sorry for such a long and depressing ramble in your inbox. ❤️

P.S. The scene with Richie and Mikey confronting Carmy in episode 6 really gave me vibes of Carmy being closeted and feeling pressured about his friendship with a girl (similar to what you previously said about the monologue in s1e8). I also got vibes of Richie trying to hide his own insecurities with women by being vulgar in this scene.

hi! <3

if i’m being honest i agree about everything :/ and i hate saying that this show’s disappointed me because all of my friends know just how much this show means to me and the steel grip it’s had on my brain for the past year since the first season first came out… i feel like i’m partially the problem because my expectations were probably too high + the shift between s1 and s2 was very drastic and i’m honestly not a huge fan of change either. i’m not sure exactly what i expected from s2 but the demo and remodeling of the beef felt very rushed to me… like the restaurant was undergoing very significant changes but all of that felt like it was put on the backburner in favor of focusing on the characters. and obviously a show will focus more on individual character storylines than settings (and i actually did really enjoy some of the growth we got for our side characters, sydney marcus tina and richie’s episodes were all amazing and i loved that sugar’s presence was much more prominent this season) but like you said the claire plotline with carmy felt very out of place and ooc… it just felt extremely weird for carmy’s character to make this jump from s1 where we see all the emotional trauma he still suffers from being so attached to mikey, how he uses the beef as a distraction for his grief but obviously those two things are deeply intertwined for him and by obsessing over the beef day and night carmy still remains entrenched in mikey by extension—there’s still so much about carmy’s trauma in relation to mikey that’s been left unaddressed and imo he still largely lacks closure and i was expecting that to be fleshed out properly in s2 but instead he spent all of it being infatuated with a girl we were introduced to for the very first time this season.

can i say something actually. ik the creators and both jaw and ayo have all said that there won’t be any romance between carmy and sydney but i feel like they actually will be endgame and the creators are just trying to throw fans off so they won’t expect it LMAO or at the very least the way the writers have set up the storyline leaves it open as an option if they do change their minds and decide to go that route eventually. i’ve said before that i don’t ship them but i think there is a genuine and undeniable bond between carmy and sydney, although i enjoy their relationship platonically their dynamic and relationship has waaayy more depth than whatever carmy and claire are supposed to have going on… and i hate disliking female characters for being bland and stale because 9 times out of 10 it’s never their fault that they’re written that way, but seeing how realistic, grounded and likable our other female characters are (sydney, natalie, tina) it feels like there’s less of an excuse for her to be that way. she feels like a generic self insert pulled out of a x reader fanfic 😭 i immediately got the romantic vibe from her and carmy even from the season trailer but seeing what we’ve been told about carmy’s character i was sincerely hoping that i was misinterpreting it and she was just his cousin or something lmfsodoajaoaj and it felt so cheap and tacky for them to pull the “actually she’s his estranged childhood friend and he’s always had a crush on her!” card in e6. i also agree with what you said about that conversation sounding like carmy being closeted while richie and mikey tease him… also was kind of put off by the way they were talking about her tbh especially considering the fact she’s supposed to be carmy’s age and we know they’re both significantly older? i’ve also actually never considered interpreting it as richie overcompensating in that scene since he was still with tiff at the time (who i actually loved… i have my beef with carmy and claire but i would stand by tiff and richie until the end of time actually) but now that you mention it i think that makes sense too… much to think about

i can’t remember if i’ve said this before in another post but i also really disliked how love triangley they framed all of sydney’s interactions with carmy in relation to claire… i understood the purpose of other characters instilling this seed of doubt in her about her partnership with carmy and whether or not she was capable of trusting him, really trusting him, but i feel like there were multiple moments of unnecessary tension between the three of them and like you said, i’m so tired of contrived romance subplots in shows where there’s a female and male lead. i love carmy and sydney as individual characters but the possibility of their relationship being romantic just genuinely does not compute with me in my brain… that being said though it genuinely was very wild to me that everyone involved in the show made it clear on multiple occasions that there was no intention of sydney and carmy’s relationship going in that direction, just for them to introduce some random white girl this season just to give carmy a love interest. like? this season was longer than the first one and they still weren’t able to flesh out carmy and claire’s relationship and dynamic the way they did with him and sydney in s1, they felt so incredibly rushed and it was ABSURD to me when carmy openly admitted to liking and even loving her because those are things that feel like they should be so monumental for someone like him, who is supposed to be emotionally traumatized and romantically inexperienced—it was honestly strange to me hearing him tell even richie that he loved him and you know how i feel about them so. anyways you pretty much summed up my feelings towards claire and her plotline perfectly, and i genuinely wish that weren’t the case but i feel like that plays a part in why i find myself so incapable of rewatching this season t_t and i know objectively the point of the plotline was to show that carmy actually isn’t at a place in his life where he’s capable of maintaining a healthy romantic relationship/balancing it with his work but it still just felt strange to derail from the whole grief theme/mikey plotline for that when i was expecting them to delve even deeper into that this season instead.

i’m assuming you’ve finished the season since sending me this—just in case you haven’t i’ll refrain from talking about anything else that might spoil you but i will say that the one thing they absolutely did correct this season was e7. i’ve been dying for a richie centric episode and that gave me everything i could’ve asked for, it was so so gratifying seeing richie find his niche like that and i’m so excited to see what else the series has in store for him. this season wasn’t all bad but i was admittedly disappointed by a few things—nevertheless all that being said i did actually genuinely enjoy how the season ended and where it left off; that felt a lot more like s1 to me and i’m eager to see how they’ll pick things back up between carmy and richie specifically next season… hopefully s2 is just a product of middle child syndrome and s3 will blow us out of the water