#he’s not a villain he just has a creepy demeanor lmao

[devilsrecreation]

I love how Nosferatu went from a menacing silent movie monster to a silly vampire dude who likes playing pranks

Look at the funny vampire man

You’re gonna look at me and tell me he’s evil? Nahhhhhh he just wants to have a good time! :3

[hawkins-family-video]

Stranger Things and Con Air Parallel

Since it doesn’t look like season 5 of Stranger Things is going to come out any time soon thanks to Netflix not paying it’s writers, I’ve decided to spend my hiatus getting around to watching all of the movies on the DNA board. One of the movies I haven’t seen anybody talk about is this little 90s action flick called Con Air.

I’d never seen it before, but now that I have, I can say that this was one of the dumbest movies I’ve ever seen — but it was really fun and I highly recommend it. Basically, the movie is about a former army ranger who has been in prison for accidentally killing a man, and is now being let out on parole to see his wife and daughter. But first he hitches a ride on a prison transport plane loaded with the country’s most dangerous criminals. Cue to it being Die Hard on a plane. Anyway, what I want to focus on is the inmate who is considered to be the most evil and dangerous and how he is... oddly familiar.

This Steve Buscemi character is Garland Greene, an alleged serial killer whose primary victims were apparently children and/or teenagers. I say allegedly because Garland is one of the only characters who doesn't harm anyone on-screen and he is pretty affable the entire time if a little creepy; in addition the ages of his victims are only heavily implied. The serial killer of youths is something shared by 001/Henry/Vecna in addition to the very similar appearances: dirty blond hair parted to the side, the only prisoner/number to wear an all white collared outfit that visually separates them from the others, and a similar demeanor. They also both play with a little girl they bond with:

(Also something really weird and funny to note about the above scene is that the movie plays it as if playing with the little girl and singing him the song “he's got the whole world in his hands” is the thing that “cures” him of his homicidal urges lmao)

So now that it’s established that Garland is probably an influence for 001, there is one other scene that connects the two. Basically, part of Henry’s monologue was possibly derived from Garland’s monologue.

001/Henry/Vecna:

“You see, humans are a unique type of pest, multiplying and poisoning our world, all while enforcing a structure of their own. A deeply unnatural structure. Where others saw order, I saw a straitjacket. A cruel, oppressive world dictated by made-up rules. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades. Each life a faded, lesser copy of the one before. Wake up, eat, work, sleep, reproduce, and die. Everyone is just waiting. Waiting for it all to be over. All while performing in a silly, terrible play, day after day. I could not do that. I could not close off my mind and join in the madness.”

Garland Greene:

“What if I told you insane was working 50 hours a week in some office for 50 years, at the end of which they tell you to piss off? Ending up in some retirement village, hoping to die before suffering the indignity of trying to make it to the toilet on time. Wouldn’t you consider that to be insane?”

It’s hard to see, but Garland is framed behind a cage while he says this; we aren’t supposed to agree with him as he’s the one in the conversation who is actually trapped. This is only punctuated by Nicolas Cage’s character, Cameron Poe, (who’s the main character and hero) replying with “Murdering 30 people, semantics or not, is insane!” (and not being framed behind bars).

Well, Stranger Things and the Duffers end up agreeing with both Garland and Poe to some extent if Lucas’ line to Jason means anything: “I thought I wanted to be like you. Popular. Normal. But it turns out, normal’s just a raging psychopath.” — which repeats the same point Henry and Garland were making. I find it interesting then that the writers of the show might have used Garland’s monologue as a reference for why 001/Henry/Vecna also espouses the forced conformity messaging even though he is a villain.

But those are just my observations connecting the two and why Con Air is on the board. This is my first attempt at making something like this so I hope you enjoyed it!

[crashingwavesinmyworld]

Riverdale Review

Wow I can’t believe I actually missed this show lol. It’s so ridiculous but 95% of it so entertaining I can’t stop watching

But this episode actually had me emotional 😭😭 I feel so horribly for Veronica. Especially when she sang that song not knowing it was Archie’s song for Betty I cried so hard. And when she told him she loved him, it just reminded me of how hard it was for her to say it before, and now that same person she finally let herself be vulnerable with betrayed her, and with one of her best friends of all people. And I’m also really angry that Archie still wasn’t fully honest with her either. Like they may have just kissed once(not counting the staged kiss that Veronica knew about) but they were meeting in secret, that one romantic dance sequence that I know wasn’t real but like he actually had feelings for Betty and he wasn’t straight up about this, it doesn’t matter if he was just confused or not. I’m still so mad that this plot had to happen in the first place. They could have still had Varchie go their separate ways because of Archie’s fear of holding her back/long distance, Why was the cheating necessary? It’s just so unfair to Veronica she deserves so much better. And I know that this isn’t as important but like it sucks to see another one of my OTPS get destroyed by cheating. It doesn’t matter what happens in the future because that will always be the elephant in the room. Like, my OTP on Degrassi (Zaya) got tainted by cheating too and as much as I still love them, it’s still hard to look at them the same. Thankfully I wasn’t as attached to Varchie but it still hurts because I genuinely loved them for a long time. I don’t even hate them now I’m just upset and frustrated and I don’t even care if they end up together now I just want them both to be happy but mostly Veronica. Also, I love Mary but can she stop saying endgame now this goes for any character it’s so cringe please. Even if it weren’t for what Archie did that line still would have bugged me lol

Last thing about Archie, his boxing plot is so boring I just...do not care...and hope he doesn’t change his mind and decide to do the academy because it’s just so boring I wanted to fall asleep thanks

Okay onto Cheryl/Toni. I’m SO happy we met one of Toni’s family members. She has every right to be wary of a Cheryl cuz of her family, and I feel so bad for both of them because Toni wants to be loyal to her family but also to Cheryl. But honestly, I’m in favor of right now Toni having her own life outside Cheryl. I love them together but they both need to grow on their own and we need to learn more about Toni outside of Cheryl. This was a step in the right direction but we still need a solo Toni Plot without Cheryl involved, and also have her interacting with other characters. As much as I don’t like the Serpents, (mainly cuz of the overuse of Jughead in the storyline, I love him but he was so obnoxious then) it was interesting to see Toni bring it up again wanting to be the leader and I’m curious to see where that goes. My heart did break for Cheryl too though, when she was crying in the end about being alone and it being her curse, I feel that way all the time 😭😭😭 It did bother me though when she visited Toni’s aunt without her permission. At this point Cheryl thought the issue was that they are LGBT, and Cheryl visiting was basically outing Toni. (Correct me if I’m wrong I can’t remember if her aunt already knew and was just unaccepting or if Toni wasn’t out to her yet) But it’s actually besides the point it could have created a huge problem for Toni. This is another reason why they need to grow on their own, a problem Cheryl has is she tends to overstep and do things without thinking about the consequences. Which, is realistic and is true for more than just her character, but still, it’s something she needs to grow from. On a positive note though Choni looked stunning in their prom dresses and I’m glad they won prom queens 💕💕 Also on another positive note I am glad they were able to split them up without irreparable damage in a realistic way that wouldn’t taint either character or their relationship. Idk why they couldn’t do that with Bughead and Varchie but I’m glad they could do that with Choni.

Okay onto the Betty and Jughead Plot. They were SO cute before/during their prom pictures 💖💖💖 their actual plot was okay, classic Bughead but nothing really new or exciting and honestly when Jellybean turned up at the rave I thought she was gonna be behind it all or at least a part of it and I’m glad she wasn’t but it would explain why she’s barely around. As much as I wouldn’t want her to be a villain, it would have been an interesting plot twist and given her something to do at least. God though I wish Bughead (and all the characters) could have just had one nice dance without weird shit happening but that’s the Riverdale way lol. I still can’t figure out whose doing this but we did see Brett in jail, I honestly can’t remember what happened to Donna in her last appearance but maybe she’s behind it some how? Or one of the other Stonewall kids but I really don’t know. It’s funny how they at first assumed Reggie did it lmao. Anyway, i guess for Bughead I should address that Jughead still doesn’t know yet about the cheating. What bugs me about this is that Archie said that he and Betty “swore” not to tell. I don’t remember that happening, must have been offscreen and I get it, they don’t wanna hurt them and at least with Betty I can believe she actually loves Jughead and wants a future with him, based on every interaction they’ve had since that whole fiasco, it’s almost like nothing ever happened and if it weren’t for Betty’s face during Veronica singing the song I honestly would have forgotten until Archie mentioned it tbh, (based on Bughead scenes only) but with Varchie scenes it was obvious something was off with Archie. And like it didn’t even seem like Archie wanted to fight for Veronica, I don’t know if it’s because he already thought he was holding her back, I mean, the reason he even told her the truth was because she said she wanted to stay in town with him instead of going to college, with or without the cheating he clearly didn’t want to hold her back. I feel like that’s the likely reason but like, the Archie’s stiff demeanor and awkwardness before the confession could have been explained as guilt but afterwards, he still acted so indifferent like he didn’t care much. He didn’t even cry. Like. It was just weird, but I don’t imagine that happening with Bughead. The thing is though, if Betty really did swear to never tell him, then that really makes it harder to believe they could make their future work whether they both want it to or not because if she can’t be honest, there is little hope. And now it will just look like when Jughead does find out it will only be because Veronica did, so it’s likely he won’t even hear it from Betty herself. I don’t think Veronica will tell him because her and Archie agreed not to but with all the creepiness going on he could find out another way, but I WANT to believe Betty confesses on her own. I actually think it could be Archie that convinces Betty to tell or maybe even he will tell Jughead because in the promo for the next episode Betty’s asking Archie what’s wrong. Jughead is also present, maybe they both tell him together. I hope that’s the case because I think something the writers have largely forgotten is the Core 4 Friendships. They barely interact one on one or even as a group it’s either the couples off together or throughout some of season 4 it was Cheryl/Veronica or Veronica and her parents and Betty/Charles but like no Beronica or Jughead/Archie, Hell even the Betty/Archie friendship was nonexistent before their random affair. If not only the relationships but the friendships can ever be repaired they need to be honest. All of them with each other. I mean I guess it’s kind of good those friendships haven’t on screen because they still would have been keeping that secret acting like all was fine and we already got Betty doing that to Jughead/Archie with Veronica until this ep so it would have been awful to see Betty do that to Veronica and Archie to Jughead, But like they’re still lying to them and they need to stop. All the truth needs to come out.

Also in the promo for next week it shows the Archie/Hiram conflict is back and like there is actually a good reason for it this time but I also just cannot bring myself to care because they overdid that shit in seasons 2-3 and like he has every right to call Archie out and that doesn’t bother me but the violence does because it’s really unnecessary and once again they already have overdone that and I know it’s possible Archie is 18 now but like Hiram’s obsession with terrorizing teenagers is creepy and if this was the first time he did if it wouldn’t bother me because Archie cheated on his daughter so his anger makes sense but he was already trying to kill Archie before for no good reason for 2 seasons straight so like, I can’t get behind this. Just call him out on his shit then move on. And please no more fights or boxing matches please I’m begging you. (For the record I know the promo could have been misleading but it did look like Hiram was trying to beat him up. Now like if Reggie or Jughead wanted to beat him up or fight him I wouldn’t be so bothered but Hiram is an adult and he’s been such a shitty father even if his anger is justified he’s hurt Veronica twice as much so he can sit down tbh). If this is them trying to redeem him for protecting Veronica or something it’s not the way to do it.

Anyway wow this was long. It’s been awhile since I’ve had a show to look forward to. As crazy as Riverdale is I’m glad it’s back and am excited for next week but am not prepared for my Bughead heart to break either 😭 at least Choni aren’t on bad terms and Varchie can’t hurt me anymore than this episode did

[kinetic-elaboration]

November 8: 1x22 Space Seed

I’m really tired right now for some reason... I mean it’s definitely the hour a normal person would start to feel sleepy (or already be asleep) but not me lol. I probably didn’t pay enough attention to this episode, which is a shame because it’s a good one, but I tried.

That’s a weird opening shot, from the back of the bridge. It makes the space look really small.

Uhura reading Morse Code!

“An emotional Earth weakness of mine”

I can’t believe Kirk and Spock are having a nerd competition.

The 1990s!

“Or an old earth ship being used by aliens”--this is such a cool idea!! That should have been a story line at some point.

I love when they find old space stuff.

Great shot of the two ships together--the Enterprise is so beautiful!

“The records from that era are fragmentary.”

Kirk hearing Spock and Bones banter: “uh this is great and all but we have stuff to do.”

Kirk hates that there’s a historian on board like ugh, useless historian.

Bones and his hatred of transporters again. “This gadget.”

“You’re an old-fashioned boy, McCoy.”

Scotty’s nerding out about the old ship.

2018!! They had to use cryo sleep before 2018! We were supposed to have warp by now, I’m so cheated.

I can’t believe no one knows what the Botany Bay is a reference too; don’t you know your history at all, nerds?

Then they just push a random button and wake some guy up!

McGivers isn’t paying the slightest bit of attention. This is probably why Kirk doesn’t like her.

Guess the casting department in 2012 didn’t get the part about “Northern India.” Must have thought they said “whitest part of England.”

And after all that work, traveling all that time and space, he’s almost killed by some dust.

McGivers is really distracted by his hotness I guess.

When Kirk needs to think, he goes to stand by Spock. Who happens to be bending over whatever.

Finally someone remembers the Botany Bay!

Earth was on the verge of a dark age...that’s actually pretty true.

Spock is wrong about a lot of things today.

Kirk’s not even mad or frustrated by Spock’s whole ‘I have no emotions, I don’t know what irritation is” thing. He just loves him so much and accepts this about him completely.

“I’m good but I’m not that good.” Oh Bones, yes you are.

Kirk sharing his opinions on men with McGivers. Yet again the gender dynamics in this show are... a thing. But I’m zeroing in on bi!Kirk anyway lol.

“A fair psychologist? Bones, come on--I’d be great.”

“Well either choke me or cute my throat, but make up your mind.” McCoy is the BEST. So brave.

Kirk isn’t fooled at all by this “I’m tired” crap. Tired? I thought you were a superman.

I find Khan fairly annoying but I do admit he has a certain gravitas...

The events of 1993... only 90′s kids would understand.

I feel like Kirk’s hand is sitting all the way over there just begging to be held by Spock.

So the 80-90 escapees weren’t even everybody?? How many supermen did they create?

McGivers is an interesting character but she makes me really uncomfortable.

Khan did a really bad job styling her hair lol. He just pulled out a few strands of her hair and then said he was done. Also I don’t know what she’s talking about, that hairstyle is not “comfortable.” (A man wrote this.)

Lol where did Khan find those clothes?

Spock comes to formal dinner, ready to start shit.

Ironic that Spock is so against the idea of a singular ruler for all of Earth when every last person on his planet follows the same quasi-religion/philosophy.

“You have a tendency to express ideas in military terms, Mr. Khan.”

This scene with McGivers and Khan has more intrigue and tension than ALL of STID. He makes STID!Khan look like a little boy. That version was always declaring his strength, but this one just projects strength. The way he manipulates McGivers is so succinct and so creepy and so effective.

Absolute ruler from 1992-1996.

It’s weird how so much of this episode seemed to be allegedly built on this “who is this person” mystery but like....did anyone ever NOT guess he was one of the strongmen they keep referring to?

Spock does not like the romanticization of dictators.

Kirk is so strong, too, though. His demeanor is really powerful. Another mistake of STID was pitting such a young Kirk against Khan. There’s no interest in that.

“They’ve thrown away their own worthless vessel.” Someone’s angry that the Enterprise got stolen from him--again.

Plus side, he gets to dramatically give commendations while struggling for air.

This fool trying to give Uhura orders lmao nice try.

This is such a classic super-villain error: “oh I am so confident he must be dead, I’m not even going to check.”

McGivers wants to play both sides.

I can’t believe that for all that, Khan was defeated by a bit of plastic.

“I’ve regained control of the Enterprise, nbd, now time for the actual hard stuff.”

Of course Kirk has not only read Milton, he IMMEDIATELY know exactly what part of Paradise Lost Khan is referring to.

The ending of this ep is, of course, classic... Truly wild. I mean weirdly I remember it as like a compromise, kinda, like Kirk shows mercy at the same time as he exiles Khan to a barely habitable planet, but actually in the context of just this ep--kinda seems like Khan got what he wanted. Like he didn’t get a population to control, but he was set free on a planet all his own to conquer so...

I mean obviously it went badly but still.

Weirdly, I remembered some stuff wrong about this ep. I thought that the Botany Bay criminals were exiled on purpose, probably because of the name of the ship, but the ep implies that actually they escaped and went off on their own, on purpose. What with the “unaccounted for” language and Khan as the leader.

Also, I remembered criticizing STID for stating that the other criminals were Khan’s friends, even as close as family, when really what I remembered from Space Seed was that all the supermen were out for themselves. But he does go through the effort of waking them and so on. That said, I don’t think they’re friends. I think the others are useful to Khan, and he’ll keep them around as long as they’re useful and deferential to him. I think he wouldn’t hesitate to kill any of them if they stepped out of line.

Anyway. I am so exhausted right now. I wish I’d been more... into and aware of this ep tbh. Next up is A Taste of Armageddon, which I remember being a very good ep.

[healer-blissey]

since the remaster theory was basically debunked, here’s some things from the original that should be changed if one ever comes out:

all characters introduced post-madarame should have their social links reworked. every single one of them. makoto and haru’s especially bc makoto’s sl doesn’t even revolve around her growing as a person. that whole ‘im not just gonna do what adults tell me to do’ shit is complete bs bc she still does Just That. haru’s confidant is all over the place and weirdly rushed and flip-flops between ‘you should trust people!!’ and ‘not everyone is trustworthy.’

take out all older woman/mc romances. it’s gross, weird, and completely destroys the characterization of everyone involved, especially ohya and kawakami, who are shown to be good people despite being pedos if you take the romantic route somehow 🙃

take out the homophobic caricatures of gay men in shinjuku. its not funny and this game came out 2017 for fucks sake

similarly, give us a gay and female option. women like to play videogames, shockingly enough, and gay people. Exist.

a p4 situation should’ve been what happened for valentines day if you cheated on your gfs so it drives home the point that cheating is wrong and hurts people, despite what others may think

ryuji in terms of him outside his confidant needs to be completely reworked. his characterization during and post-kamoshida are two drastically different people. he went from someone who didn’t give a shit abt other’s appearances and genuinely being a good person to a superficial perv jackass

in general the plot needs a shit ton of refinement:

the nude modelling sub-plot and yusuke’s creepy behavior needs to be completely removed to avoid him coming off as a piece of shit right out of the gate.

makoto’s entire character needs to be reworked or replaced with hifumi bc a school president who doesn’t change at all with the exception of telling kobayakawa to fuck off (and ONLY him, bc after he dies she goes back to being straight-laced and a COP) is not a rebel. she’s what a failed naoto looks like

haru needs more characterization aside from sweet girl. we need to see more of her vicious and cruel side, which has been hinted at, but never fully explored. could be seen in relation to akechi killing her father, which for whatever reason is pushed aside to redeem him despite him not deserving it in the slightest

akechi should not have been redeemed. Full stop. he caused irreversible mental shutdowns, killed wakaba and okumura, and ruined the lives of both futaba and ohya, giving the latter life-long mental issues. i don’t give a shit if he had an absent father, it doesn’t excuse the fact that he willingly went over to shido’s side without any prompting. he was not manipulated or threatened, he even states himself his reason for hating him is that he was an absentee father. this honestly makes his actions worse in hindsight, bc he did this all for the purpose of getting back at him in such a miniscule and utterly insignificant way without giving a shit abt the people he destroyed in the process. akechi did not deserve redemption in any form, and was not a tragic villain - just a stupid one

the conflict between morgana and ryuji is also completely ridiculous, bc morgana is the aggressor for more than half of the situations presented, and ryuji only suddenly becomes a dick for the sake of this conflict despite only responding to morgana’s below-the-belt jabs in the past prior. not to mention his main reason for getting upset is because ryuji compliments futaba for her superior navigation skills...... which is true, bc futaba persona is a fucking navigator. morgana is meant to be a fighter and only took up a navi role bc no one else could, why the hell would he be better than futaba. honestly morgana was such an unlikeable character, i was actually glad he “died” near the end. says a lot abt the writing of the game if i end up hating a cat :/

Btw shido is also a terrible villain bc of how they shoehorned a puppetmaster trope into his character despite not really needing one. he didn’t need to have a connection to madarame or kaneshiro, everything else was good enough. he’s just so underwhelming as a villain :/

give lasting consequences to the characters? P4 and p3 did this way better, with all character deaths (sans morooka) having lasting effects on the characters and even serving as their primary motivations for some, and in p3’s case answering the primary question posed throughout the game (what is the meaning of death?) with the protagonist’s death, as he found the answer and found meaning in his fleeting life through death. when p5 ends, nothing really changes with the status quo, it’s all wordy bullshit that’s never shown to the viewers and only stated through observations by other characters. not a good thing for such an environmentally driven game

there needs to be more team interactions in non-serious settings. just let them be kids, please. not just for me, but bc we don’t really get to see them acting as a family, their strong bond is something that feels out-of-place and unnatural. this is especially true for haru, bc we are introduced to the interesting concept or her not trusting the pthieves at first. have her watch from the sidelines before eventually deciding that they’re good or whatever and formally become a pt in a cool way. Not just ‘now that morgana likes you i like you :)’

for the love of god, don’t romance-code the strength confidant. i shouldn’t need to explain this

also some more bits that are less pressing and more me just nitpicking:

haru’s voice. her japanese va sounds nothing like her english one, and you would be forgiven for thinking she’s 12 with that voice. an entire layer of her character is removed with her cutesy uwu voice bc her regal appearance and demeanor was meant to contrast her vicious attitude and fighting style. get smoked kid also needs to have a va change - kid sounds like he’s a 65 yr-old granny

morgana does not make a good magician, bc all he ever guides us with is in the tutorial, then he becomes the ‘idk what tf is going on either lmao’ guy. yosuke’s role as a guide in p4 was through emotional means, and serving as the connection between city and country life to the protagonist. he is literally your partner. junpei is your guide to living life to the fullest without being tied down to your past - something vital in such a depressing game like p3, with characters whose pasts define their presents with a very much No Fun Allowed attitude.

the fortune confidant being a fortune teller is just... lazy :/ really?

that’s p much it but there’s a lot more to improve that i just didnt mention bc. This post is long enough already :|

[eliamatrell]

hi i came from Narkik and I would love!!! some tomione/gin’n’tonic fic recs hahaha

hi anon!!!!!! gosh, i don’t get to talk about t/h very often, so i got really excited when i saw your ask. but firstly - i am afraid that i don’t really know of any t/g fics i could recommend, since i read about them very seldom. i am just too attached to t/h i guess? i try to be a multishipper, but alas, i am a little bit too biased ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  however, i’m pretty sure that amanda @narkik has some quality t/g recs, so i’m calling for her aid! 

***

but! back to tomione. as i mentioned under amanda’s post, i have a very specific vision of tom and hermione as a couple. this is a ship with almost no canon basis, so many fics tend to be very ooc (which i despise and avoid at all cost). granted, it is hard to write them in-character (& since we don’t know almost anything about young tom riddle, we have to work with absolute scraps) but not impossible. and they have a lot of potential if you’re into villain/heroine ships. i could write my entire doctoral thesis about them, but i don’t want this post to be too long and overwhelming, so i’ll just link my favourite tomione manifestos (which provide a quite complex answer as to why and how):

one, two, three, four + bonus (which is basically 4k words of me rambling why i love t/h, both generally and specifically in this one perfect fic. so, spoilers if you haven’t read nothing like the sun!)

***

and as for fics:

ad infinitum by speechwriter

As he forges inexorably toward the end of time, he may come to wonder if this is a world worth ruling. Science fantasy.

gosh, even thinking about ad infinitum makes me emotional - it was the very fic that made me fall for tomione. and believe me, i fell hard. it is very broad in scope and fantastic in execution. also, riley is one of the legends of t/h fandom and an incredible writer. very slow burn, believable character development, great prose, high stakes danger, two brilliant and stubborn people forced by the fate to work together and actually negotiate and discuss their messed up relationship…. god i love. please, do read ad infinitum, you won’t regret it. oh, also, magic in space. 

nothing like the sun by [redacted, since it’s orphaned now and as much it saddens me (and it REALLY saddens me, good god), i respect the author’s decision]

Hermione had never had much patience for Tom Riddle.

Riddle was a model student, ostensibly, and most everyone could vouch for him being the nicest Slytherin that they knew, but Hermione had always felt that his polite demeanor was rather insincere. How nice could he be, really, if he cornered his friends in dodgy alleys and caused them inexplicable pain?

(Or, Hermione follows the Muggle admonition that she keep her enemies closer a little too strictly to the letter.)

oh my god oh my god oh my god. i adore this fic with all my heart and i really mean it. it got everything right. every single thing about them. it’s one of the most well-written fics i have ever read (and ao3 has been my most frequently visited site for years now), the characterization is incredible and just. very caring? they’re all so human, complicated and passionate, and tangled up in something messy and terrible (hermione is so hermionish that i just want to hug her. and never let go, honestly. also - ron and harry aren’t sidelined, which happens in so many tomione and/or dramione fics. also, lavender and parvati! they are the most amusing supporting characters.), it’s clever, and heartwarming, and complex, and everything i had hoped for, and then some. and sadly - unfinished. please don’t let it discourage you, it’s still worth it. really really worth it. and i still have hope that the author will write another tomione story one day. oh, dear anon, that would be the most wonderful. 

unsinkable by speechwriter

He: a young man long since raised from poverty, now on the verge of inheriting a magnate’s business in the 1910s. She: an impoverished young woman on her way to start a new life in America. In short: Tom Marvolo Riddle, Hermione Jean Granger, and one voyage on the RMS Titanic - and how it would change their lives forever.

do i usually like no magic aus? not really, no. do i love this fic? more than you can imagine. but then again, as i mentioned above - riley just /gets/ tom and hermione. 

blood and gold by obsidianpen 

The true time-turner was slammed savagely into Hermione’s throat. It shattered against her neck, bits of glass and gold piercing into her skin. The last thing she saw before blackness consumed her was a plume of metallic dust and vitreous fragments, tiny prisms dancing behind her eyelids.

(In which Hermione accidentally ends up in 1950, pitted against an ascending Dark Lord in his prime, caught in the entanglement of pureblood politics, dark magic, and Tom Riddle’s interest)

the last chapter emotionally destroyed me lmao. they are! so much! also, i love world-building in this one and how carefully and slowly their story unfolds. it will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. also, the prose is simply splendid.

the night watchman by unrefinedtales

#i had a dream about this#house of labyrinths and mirrors and illusions#that you can only escape if you cease all deception forever#and are 100% honest#but the house has been sitting dormant for centuries#and it’s hungry#it doesn’t want you to get out#and i was thinking what sort of place this would be#for two people to fall in love 

it it still a work in progess - there are four published chapters in the moment i’m writing this reply. house of leaves-esque afterlife, haunting visuals, lingering creepiness, tom and hermione trying to figure out what this place wants from them and learning to trust each other - goodness, i love it so far. 

i still haven’t started unsphere the stars by cocoartist (i have little to no free time these days), but it looks very promising!

When you can’t change time, but you can’t go forward, what is left? Hermione learns how to be the protagonist of her own story. [EWE] [Tomione*] [*mostly]

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that’d be all for now! and dear anon, if you finish any of these fics and want to talk about them, write to me again - i love discussing tomione but alas, i don’t get an opportunity to do it very often. enjoy! ♡♡♡