#i love these gay little spies so much ���

[itsjusteds]

My sweet sweet boys 😭😭😭 If curtwen has no supporters, I'm dead

[wiredalienvampire]

me when i FUCKING GET YOU!!!!

[g0lden-wings]

Curt singing "doesn't even matter if I killed my best friend" and the most dangerous man alive aka Owen sings "To show you the horror of staying alive" at the same time then on top of that Curt has been feeling guilty all thos years and started drinking because of it and then when he reveal his true identity to Curt he's fucking heart broken, he thought he died and had been mourning him and had just decided he's gonna give it once more try at saving the world only to find out the person behind it all was Owen.

Also in one step ahead Curt has another line that's literally "you know you broke my heart" Curtwen deserve the win and yes this is Curtwen propaganda 😌😌😌

MAIN BRACKET FINALS

[kairithemang0]

Alr chat am I cooking?

So the original reason the little mermaid was written is because Hans Christian Andersen attempted to pursue a relationship with a man, and was rejected and they both knew it could truly never work because of the time they lived in. So. what if this was Curtwen? And if I added random shit to it

Curt and Owen have been spies together for years, however their relationship never truly went past sex. They never became the duo we know, they stayed as more of a friends with benefits type of thing.

They survive for years, however on seperate missions they end up gravely injured and decide they should leave the field, knowing their lives as spies would never be the same due to their health declining rapidly and Owen being paralyzed from the waist down.

They drift apart, letters become less frequent, until 1976. Owen sends Curt a letter confessing how much he truly loved him, how much he misses him and wishes they could be together. He asks Curt to come visit him, Owen knows he isn't going to live much longer. His health is declining, he misses his job. He misses Curt especially.

Curt sends him a letter back. Not one of acceptance of Owen's feeling, but an apology. He worries he's misled Owen. He's got a wife now, a baby on the way. He claims to be happy, Owen believes he is. Curt isn't as happy as he wants to be, in truth he isn't. He's gay and refuses to admit it to himself. What he had with Owen was a once in a lifetime thing

He does tell Owen he'll visit in the coming months, once his wife (possibly Barb) is on her feet again, he'd go the England to visit him before he passes.

He's too late, Owen passes a few weeks after receiving the letter. When searching through his house the police find hundreds of unsent letters to Curt, dating from when they first met all the way up to days before Owen's passing, all love letters. They found ones he had received too. They're sent to Curt, who's heartbroken by Owen's death. He never tells anyone about his relationship with Owen, only realizing the extent of his love for Owen after he's gone

[smytherines]

So over the course of the last couple of days I have watched both A1P1 and Doing This several times, sometimes on 0.5 playback speed to take screenshots. Just so many screenshots. And the thing that really hits so hard for me is the... gender of it all?

Here's the thing. Curt and Owen flirt pretty much nonstop throughout A1P1 (especially if you believe Curt did know it was Owen in disguise, which I'm 50/50 on). And it seems really easy for Curt. He has that swagger, that confidence, the smile, its all very genuinely charming and you can definitely see why he and Owen got together. He seems not just comfortable in his skin, but thriving. He has someone who knows who he is. He doesn't have to put on an act with this person.

But in Doing This (and in the Casino scene, which I did screenshots for last week), it's all the most obscenely awkward thing in the world. There's I dunno 15 seconds or so where Curt looks distressed over thinking that Tatiana wants to *ahem* do it. But in the space of a just a few frames he goes from that look of pure panic to this incredibly cheesy Walmart book bin romance cover guy.

Its a gender performance that feels very noticably off. Its like he snaps into a role. The poses, the mugging, it's all very.... rehearsed. And maybe it worked with women who aren't spies, and maybe he was better at pretending before he lost Owen, but he is very obviously pretending.

And in this specific instance I don't think it's an issue of losing his rizz (as the kids call it). He's trying to act the way he thinks a straight man would act. Trying on this version of masculinity that simply does not fit him. And the more he tries to contort himself to make it fit, the less stereotypically masculine he comes across. Whereas in A1P1, when he was really flirting with someone he was really attracted to, that came across as very stereotypically, effortlessly masculine.

And once they kiss and Tatiana immediately clocks him as gay and tells him she's cool with it, the body language changes again to just pure relief. This guy who has had to spend his whole life pretending to be something he isn't, who lost the one person in his life who really knew him, and finally he has someone else in his life that he doesn't have to pretend around. Just... I dunno, the difference in body language is so poignant to me. I love how this show is built around so many subtle little storytelling moments.

[slocumjoe]

Companions reactions when Sole finds an abandoned baby and is like, “Welp! No parents, your mine now!” And wants to take them back with them?

Cait; ...okay...she understands that there is something of an obligation to not leave a baby to die, but...does Sole really have to keep it? Surely there's someone else that would like a baby, like a gay couple somewhere. Maybe those lesbians in the DC science center. Or the Ms. Nanny and teacher dude that got married, also in Diamond City. Like...Sole already has a bab—oh. Right.

Codsworth; Gotcha, what are they naming it? He'll sort out the feeding situation while they figure it out, go check shops for baby things.

Curie; Ms. Nanny protocol remnants + Curie naturally having a strong sense of justice = Sole will finally hear Curie say naughty words. They won't understand it if they don't speak French, but Curie is spitting pissed off. If Sole wants that baby, they might have to wrestle it out of her hands. Becomes very mama bear. Fusses over it in incessantly. Will relax once it is in a safe environment, and then Sole can claim it for themselves.

Danse; Goes fucking Terminator levels of bodyguard until the kid is in safe hands, like Curie. If a leaf on a tree moves, he's shooting it. Twitchy and on high alert until they get to a settlement. Sole is already planning on putting a baby room in their house. Very worried. Sole has a lot on their plate, much of it involving travel. Sole is not going to travel with a baby in their arms, fuck no. Pre-BB, suggests taking it straight to the Prydwen. After...surprisingly open to keeping it.

Deacon; Thinks they're straight-up joking. Makes a joke in response. Sole keeps joking, he keeps joking, Sole holds up a baby, Deacon has an aneurysm. Plays 5d chess in his head, planning the safest routes back to a town. Hyperventilating the whole time. Babies are loud. Loud is bad. Sole says they want it. Also bad. Sole. You are a spy. Spies don't have kids. You can't keep it, he's sorry, he knows what it's like, but that kid is safer somewhere else.

Gage; The deepest sigh man has ever achieved. Could have inflated a blimp with it. Okay, yeah, sure. Don't use crotchgoblins as bearbait. He's a raider, but there's...no, no there isn't honor amongst raiders. There is with Gage, though, he has, like, some coupons he can cash in whenever the ol' moral compass stops pointing at money. But...no. No, Sole...no. You don't have to put it back, but you can't keep it. And if they're Overboss? What the fuck are you thinking? What, like Mags is gonna babysit or some shi–why are they looking at him like that.

Hancock; A pendulum of 'chill with it' and 'unchill.' On one hand, SOMEONE GET THE BABY AN ADULT. On the other, WAIT NO NOT HIM, A CAPABLE ADULT. Doesn't matter what relationship he has with Sole. Hancock is getting babysitting duty. Hancock always gets babysitting duty. For some reason, he gets stuck watching kids way too fucking much. It's not that he hates them, it's that he breathes more Jet than air and has a penchant for throwing knives at things when bored. Please for the love of God, keep it if you want, but understand Hancock himself is baby and is not suitable for watching another baby.

MacCready; He's from Little Lamplight. As if he's even gonna blink. Hops on board quicker than Codsworth.

Piper; Sole's probably still in that phase after having their own child, where the hormones go all crazy with kids in general...losing their kid isn't helping matters, either, huh? Regardless of the circumstances, Piper is just going to shrug and do what she can to help. Whoever the parents are, they're either dead or don't deserve it, so...

Nick; Will not rest until he finds parents, dead or alive. If they are alive, has some stern fucking words for them. It'll take a damn good reason for him to take the kid from Sole and give it back to the parents. Will also suggest giving it to a couple who wants kids, but can't have them. Knows quite a few people who'd appreciate it. But not against Sole keeping it. Hope they like Uncle Nick back-seat parenting, though. Like a crusty grandpa at Thanksgiving who makes a face when your five year old has an iPad.

That grandpa is right, by the way.

Preston; Also doesn't flinch. Baby alone in the Commonwealth, you take the baby. This isn't a moral conundrum, it's basic common sense. Sole wants to keep the baby? Chill. Preston is not a useless potato sack of a person, like some people. Baby get, baby take care of. Hey, they're Minutemen, too, so they should have access to resources you need for childrearing. Third fastest to hop aboard the This Is My Baby Now train.

X6-88;

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

So I Spied Another Day...

You know it was a good show when you can��t decide whether your heart is so full from all the love and joy, or so empty because it's over.

Really do buckle up, because this is a long one.

So the show went a little like this. They played the Spies pro-shoot on a giant movie screen, but any time a song started, the audio changed to the instrumental track, the video typically faded to simple background graphics, and the cast came out to perform the number live in concert style. There were also a series of audience participation prompts up on the movie screen, such as standing to deliver a line in unison, giving Lauren a standing ovation for the Pay Attention! Reprise, enthusiastically booing Dr. Baron von Nazi and the still infuriatingly catchy Not So Bad (for anyone who’s curious, in addition to encouraging boos and yelled disagreements with von Nazi, they also cut the audience participation bit from the song).

The energy in the room was so electric and full of joy and warmth. People shouted out iconic lines, went wild for everyone’s entrances, and absolutely lost their damn minds over Curtwen at pretty much every opportunity. And the cast were clearly having just as much fun. Doing This has always been my favorite, and there was something so sweet about them singing it again all these years later. We finally got Joey performing Spies Are Forever (Evil Reprise) again and it was just as chilling and beautiful as you’d expect. And One Step Ahead was just on a whole new level. I don’t want to give anything away, but the details in that performance were INCREDIBLE.

It was simply so special seeing most of the original gang come back while also bringing some new friends along. Shout out to Mariah for coming out at the top of the show so ready to play, setting the tone for the whole evening. Shout out to James for putting his comedy chops on full display (LET JAMES BE FUNNY MORE) and dancing the hell out of One More Shot (another favorite number). And shoutout to Carlos Alazraqui (taking over the roles of Sergio and Vladimir Poopin) and Tommy Link for coming into this crazy part of our world with such enthusiasm and silliness. Brian deserves a medal for agreeing to once again play the most cringe-worthy character in all of Pulp-StarCanWrecked history, and for sounding so fucking good while doing it. Tessa was having a blast in full unhinged glory and I gladly worship at her altar. Lauren is maybe the funniest person alive and deserved her standing ovation, prompted or not. Seeing Joe Walker perform live has been Item Number One on my fandom bucket list since I moved to LA a couple of years ago, and I still can’t quite believe I managed it. I’d wondered if he’d be rusty, but honestly he sounded great; it was like no time had passed. Mary Kate still has one of my all-time favorite voices and her Tatiana remains forever engaging. Joey showed up dressed to slay as a gay evil genius Bond-movie supervillain and proceeded to thoroughly deliver on that promise. And Curt… every time I watch Spies I am increasingly blown away by what he does with this arrogant, broken mess of a character. He clearly loves Agent Mega as much as any of us, and to see a performance refined and powered by such clear and thoughtful passion is just a huge treat.

(And while he wasn’t in the cast, I can’t not mention Corey. Between his roles as director and co-writer, so much of what Spies is comes directly from him and we don’t appreciate that nearly enough. And shout out to Esther Fallick for her wonderful work as Susan and the Informant. She might not have been there in person, but her incredible performance was with us the whole time.)

I know this is preaching to the choir, but Spies Are Forever really is such a special show. It’s a story about recovery, and devastating as it can be, I think there’s also something deeply healing about it at its core. For one thing, I know it played a huge role in mending my relationship with my asexuality. I will forever be grateful to it for existing, to TCB, Talkfine, and the original cast for creating it, and to those same people for maintaining its legacy with the amount of love and care it deserves. It was a privilege to be in the room as so many people came to celebrate this miraculous little musical. There were a couple of minor tech glitches (I wonder if they’ll even include the “big one”—the projector jumping over most of the staircase scene before getting fixed—in the digital ticket version), but nothing that could even begin to damper the magic of the night.

We all know that spies never die (except for Owen and the Informant, oops). And at times like this concert, I think this special little show with its short run in 2016 will prove to be just as immortal.

[lit3rally-m1ke-whlr]

Byler analysis (from a song perspective)

ok so I was reading @miwiheroes beautiful fic on ao3 and when Mike told Will he thought he was in love with him and will didn’t believe it the song “I Think I’m in Love” just randomly popped into my head, so I looked up the lyrics and omg I think it UNIRONICALLY is THE byler song??? Like it just fits them so well😭

I mean just look at the lyrics (posting on mobile so bear with me here):

will: highlighted in yellow

Mike: highlighted in blue

either or/ both: green

this may be a longer post so I’m going to add the “keep reading” so it doesn’t take up too much space!

literally sounds like Vecna trying to attack Hawkins by taunting and killing his victims, and Will noticing his presence (particularly reminds me of the movie theater double-date scene where Mike asks if he’s okay and he just says he’s fine)

couldn’t find a gif so here’s an image I found online

Feel like these could apply to both, will is ignoring the signs of Mike liking him back because he thinks mikes straight and it’s impossible for him to return his feelings, and he’s “bluffing” by lying about the painting, saying it’s from el. I think we can all agree Mike is aware of his lie but maybe just doesn’t know why he’s lying. And as for Mike, well, he doesn’t want to admit to his own feelings for Will so he throws himself into a relationship with El and projects his desires onto Will (“it’s not my fault you don’t like girls” or “we’re friends! We’re friends!”), but the little things he do can sometimes be confusing because friends don’t act like Mike does to will, they don’t stare at their lips like they want to kiss them 😭

And the hugging, well.

I think I’m in love (again). Speaks for itself no? now the “(in my head, yeah, you’re in my head)” is interesting, because it could be one of two things: a) obviously, they’re thinking a lot of each other because that’s what you do when you love someone, but it could also be interpreted as b) Mike/will potentially being vecna’d in s5 and seeing a false vision of will/mike as a way to torture them about their sexuality? “I didn’t think that it could be true, let alone that it would be you” also I feel applies to both; will didn’t think he was capable of falling in love with someone who would ever be able to reciprocate, let alone Mike, and Mike didn’t think he could ever be gay and fall in love with his best friend, especially since he’s supposed to have those feelings for El, his girlfriend.

this mostly applies to will, with his being possessed in season 2 (and potentially in season 5, and how vecna might use Mike as a way to get to him) and how shocked and hurt he felt by Mike saying “It’s not my fault you don’t like girls” because he’d never seen Mike get mad at him like that before, and was scared he knew he was gay.

but it can also be used for Mike if he does end up getting Vecna’d in s5, and also him starting to realize his feelings for Will and being scared by that fact. Kind of reminds me of this scene in season 2:

(Ignore how there’s no sound and it’s a shitty recording of my iPad 💀) and this being his reaction afterwards

(GIF creds to @davinaclaires).

I think this may be when he first realized he liked Will as more than a friend, and you can see how confused and dazed he looks. Besides, I imagine if either of them ends up confessing, the other might have a hard time believing it at first and question if it’s real.

must I even explain this one? There is no single lyric in the history of songs that describes Will better.

I’m just going to let the gifs speak for themselves.

-W: “what if he spies back?”

-M: “he won’t.”

-W: “how do you know?” -M: “we won’t let him.”

and then Mike finding will after he has a true-sight episode and bringing him back to reality:

Though if Will or Mike get Vecna’d in s5 and the other helps them snap out of it, that could be a good interpretation of these lyrics as well.

Okay, this one is mostly a joke but just try replacing “Dutch” and “Dutchess” with “Paladin” and “Cleric” and you basically have Byler. As for “And we ain’t got a label/ we’re just rolling with the punches” it describes how Mike and Will are constantly toeing the line between how just friends act and being more than friends, even if they won’t admit it to themselves yet. And I just thought the last part is sooo Byler’s dynamic, like I can totally see them flirting/ bantering like that when they finally get together, kind of gives me “I didn’t say it.” “You didn’t have to.” vibes. Also, I’m sure we already know that there’s nobody else Will would ever fall in love with; he only wants to be with Mike for the rest of his life.

But the crazy part is, a lot of these lyrics can also apply to Lumax as well, specifically from Max’s perspective!? Like, take this verse for example, showcasing how she acts like she’s okay and pushes Lucas away for most of s4.

and especially this one?

(ignore my sloppy handwriting I’m using my finger 😭)

anyways, byler/ lumax endgame iktr 🤪✌️

[lady-of-the-spirit]

Universal Monsters + Fuckability

Qualifications (choosing movies)

I have seen the movie.

Characters listed as part of the Universal Monsters lineup (Phantom of the Opera from 1925 for example is not included.)

Personality and events of film considered just as much as physical attractiveness.

[ID: Picture of Bela Lugosi as Dracula, dressed in black clothes and a cape, staring at the camera with an annoyed expression. His face is slightly in the shadows. End id]

Dracula (1931)

Bela Lugosi kinda handsome

Vampires hot

Rich. 

Has three wives (dick is good) (plus you can hang out with wives)

Hypnosis

Loses points because the movie was boring and he kills Lucy Westron, poly icon (antifeminist)

7/10

[ID: image of Boris Karloff as Frankenstein, holding his hands to his face, looking offscreen and with a disturbed expression. The lighting only lights up his face. End ID]

Frankenstein (1931)

Literally just born (minor) and doesn’t understand sex

Movie diverged too much from the book for me to like it 

Too awkward and big

Unclear if he has any genitalia at all

1/10 because this image is cool and a little sexy

[ID: Boris Karloff as Imhotep the mummy. His skin is dried and sunken in. He's glaring at something offscreen. He's dressed in a high collar brown shirt and a cap that covers the top of his head. End ID]

The Mummy (1932)

One of my faves 

Backstory is centered around LOVE - will literally curse the gods and forsake everyone for his lover. Hot. 

The opening scene where he came awake for the first time was sexy.

Anti colonialist

Hypnosis

Nice voice

Loses points for unfortunately not being very attractive - dry skin

9/10

[No image for this slide]

The Invisible Man (1933)

Wanted to take over the world and went to his best friend and not his FIANCE??? Gay, and clearly doesn’t care about lover’s needs (even with said best friend). 

Not a monster, just an asshole

Pushed over a baby carriage! Disgusting

We don’t know what he looks like. Sexiness only comes from whether or not you think having sex with someone you can’t see would be hot or not.

Gets points for being a silly little guy, ambition being hot, and the “villain goes soft only for his loved one” trope

Still. -5/10

Bride of Frankenstein (1935)

Like Frankenstein, Literally just born (minor) and doesn’t understand sex

Also had strong reaction AGAINST being an object of desire and so ranking her is missing the point

However because she’s the ONLY woman on this list she gets special privileges.

will be ranking her as if she was not literally ten minutes old and if she understood sex

[ID: Elsa Lanchester as the bride of Frankenstein. The lighting of the image is very bright, so you can see her whole upper body with very few shadows. She's staring at something offscreen with a curious but frightened expression. She wears white robes, and her hair is black with a white streak up the sides, in a beehive style. End ID]

Bride of Frankenstein (1935) (cont.)

Horror movie scream A+

Gorgeous and Iconic

Understands No Means No. (Unlike other creatures on this list) 

Baby Girl you are SO unnerving 💖💖💖 

Tall Woman. Probably strong. 

10/10.

[ID: Two images of the wolf man. One is the wolf man as the wolf man, standing in thr woods, his face covered in fur, his hands furry and clawed, looking panicked. The second is Lon Cheney Jr. as Larry Talbot, a white man with short dark hair slicked back, dressed in a suit with a plaid tie, with a stressed out look on his face. End ID]

The Wolf Man (1941)

This movie just makes me sad. Larry Talbot is a tragic figure.

But he’s also kind of a stalker (spies on woman)

Only a monster half of the time

Wolf form isn’t attractive. (human form okay.)

No sense of control. 

Not even a little okay with his murders. Too pathetic and sad.

2/10

[ID: Image of the creature from the black lagoon, a creature the size of a man covered in scaley and amphibian-like skin with a fish-like face. He's mostly submerged in water, only his head and finned hands with sharp claws poking out of the water. End ID]

The Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

Definitely my favourite

Environmentalist! Anti colonialist! 

Swimming scene half creepy half romantic, also gets points for inspiring The Shape of Water (2017).

Phenomenal creature design, A+. 

Just wants someone to love

Will kill everyone else but NOT lover.

Underwater sex. Rough sex.

Sex will probably be awkward because of this.

8/10

[ID: profile of the Bride of Frankenstein. Her head is tiled up and her eyes are mostly closed.]

Congratulations to our winner! Runner ups, The Mummy and the Creature From the Black Lagoon.

[closedrop]

So far I am 25 hours into Crisis Core and learned many things

(Crisis Core spoilers and theories ahead)

- Genesis has a Bible (most likely related to LOVELESS and his theories) and I joined his fan club

- Sephiroth has a fan club with “images that your average Sephiroth fan could never ever dream of seeing” apparently which is a bit worrying but I am also a Sephiroth fan club member so

- Tseng knows Aerith somehow? Willing to bet this is either related to her having been in I think Shinra facilities for a while. Orrrr something love related(?)

- Cid is in space training :) (I love Cid.)

- Cissnei is a character, don’t know much about her but she’s there and I don’t THINK she’s in the original FFVII but if she is she’s hidden because I dragged Cloud around on SO MANY side quests. (Cissnei your chances of living do not look good in the future I’m not gonna lie)

- I believe Gongaga is still intact and hasn’t yet been destroyed by theeee Mako Reactor I think it was sooo that’s probably gonna be an important plot point if that happens

- At least two of the SOLDIERS are gay for Zack or at least find him attractive in some way (which if they are, good for them, good for them)

- The fact that once you’re in the science dept. you can’t leave because they deal with too much sensitive information, that’s a really nice detail and I really love it. I learned that a few days ago I think and I really appreciate that because it makes Hollander’s stuff make more sense I guess from what little I do know

- I lied about Sephiroth he’s not the comedy character it’s Genesis, my man just shows up, spouts poetry(It’s always LOVELESS) and then dips. “My friend, will you fly away now. To a world that abhors you and I 🤓” (I’m sorry Genny ily I’m in your fan club 😞)

- Apparently nobody likes Angeal because from what I saw there was one person in his fan club and it’s getting shut down because she’s too depressed to do anything about it (unless Zack intervenes, which can’t be possible anymore because I missed that chance, sorry Angie 😞)

- There’s a lot of definitely not relevant small details(lie) Like Zack’s whatever limit break that he uses when you haven’t gotten the character’s image in the DMW yet. It’s just cross slash, which is Cloud’s 2nd limit break in the original FFVII (I can’t say anything about the new one since I haven’t played it yet- but yeah) Another one being Aerith’s bow, since Zack buys it. (I’m sure there’s more I can’t think of right now but yeah)

- Zack is 6’1” and his hobby is squats apparently which makes sense but I figured he’d more of a casual baking kind of guy. (Though he’d also be the kind of guy to burn like Kraft Mac n cheese so I don’t know if I’d trust him in the kitchen ever-)

- Zack got doxed lol (and Yuffie got his address)

- Zack the puppy.

- Wutai spies are very bad at being spies

- Every child is a con artist (except for that one that one time)

- Zack, master treasure hunter (Me because I have spent most of my time doing just missions and side quests-)

[missholloween]

29 and 34 from the headcanon ask game for owen pretty please?

29. Quirks and personal habits

One of my favorite Owen-isms from the show is how he plays with his hair <3 The little comb he has in the reveal scene, how he takes off his hair from his face when Spies are forever (song) finishes... I like to think Owen prefers how he looks with longer hair even if it often gets in his way and ends up being annoying most of the time. Still, cutting it isn't an option, so it would lead to a slightly tedious and longer than he wishes hair routine. Curt often mocks him for it even though his would be longer and more tedious, but when they're short of time he'd lend Owen a hand with it.

As a whole though, I see Owen as someone with very strong routines and ways of doing things, and he wouldn't like changes to said routines. This applies to spying, with specific way of debriefing or a concrete order for his mission rundowns, but it would also apply to his day to day life. Curt and him would clash in their first meetings for this, as Curt would see his habits as annoying obsessions rather than something that keeps Owen anchored and help him clear his mind.

34. Feelings about themself

I don't think Owen thought much of who he was before meeting Curt. As someone whose childhood/adolescence was world war ii, who probably lost his family on said war if he had any link to them and then started working for the United Kingdom's secret service, I don't think Owen had a really strong identity.

I think he would start working for the UK's goverment really young, probably a teen spy during wwii or during its immediate aftermatch. This would provoke spying to be one of his core traits, but also an easy way to define himself. Owen would enjoy being a spy: as he said in the reveal, he has a spot on aim and an interest in foreing politics. But by being a spy, he could forget who he is suppose to be to become whoever is needed on a mission, be the hero the world needs. By being a spy he wouldn't have to care about how he's feeling or his interest in men, as those feelings could be burried by whichever identity he had to take that week.

All of that is, of course, until he meets Curt. Quoting Hadestown, when Owen fell, he fell in spite of himself in love with Curt. I think Owen would've had a couple flings now and again by the time he meets Curt, some on missions, others in a certain kind of bars, but he never would've felt something so intense, so... Sincere. During their relationship, Owen would notice that Curt is not only interested in the physical parts of intimacy, but also on the emotional side. Curt would try to see who's Owen beneath his different masks, and to Owen surprise, he would not know it.

Their relationship thus would allow Owen to not only discover who Owen Carvour is as a partner, but also who Owen Carvour is, not as a weapon for his country or an experienced actor, but as a person. I think this would scare him at first, reason why he would have avoided looking inwards at all. However, as their relationship grows stronger and he gets used to this "being a person" thing, Owen would like it. I don't see neither Curt or Owen as being the most romantic people ever, but they would do their best two gay spies in the 50s could do. After a while, Owen would get use to knowing what his feelings are or what he wants, being able to picture himself as something other than a spy. They would be mostly daydreams, thinking of retiring with Curt and both of them having a calm and quiet life. Curt would make sure of reminding him how impossible those dreams are, as he wouldn't be quite fond of the idea of stop being a spy. But Owen would take care of them... Until the fall, that is.

One of the (many) reasons I think Owen's motivations work so well is because when he falls, he loses absolutely everything. Yes, he loses Curt, probably the only thing he trully cared about, but he also loses spying, his profession, what he does. Curt betrays Owen by not going back and leaving him to die at the bottom of the staircase, but so does the MI6 by not rescuing him. Owen has nothing to cling back to after surviving, as everything he clinged to had abandoned him. The Deadliest Man Alive is the easiest way out: with Chimera he has a purpose, he can get his revenge against the system and the person that betrayed him, but he also can wear a mask to do his job.

The DMA mask is so interesting, as Owen literally becomes someone else, he gets a way to escape the hatred and anger he feels not only towards Curt or spying, but also towards himself. For opening up, for trusting someone as careless as Curt to take care of himself. I think after the fall Owen would like to be as far away from who he is as possible. The Owen we see in the reveal is someone very different of the person we see in a1p1 because of the fall, of course, but there's also a clear lack of sincerety on the way he acts during his monologue: it is theatric, it is dramatic, but it is also artificial. Owen probably hadn't shown his real face to anyone for months, maybe years, and he has forgotten how to play himself. Because he thinks that Owen Carvour really died at the bottom of those stairs all those years ago, and that whatever he is, the broken remains, the hatred, the anger, is something else.

However, in the last moments of his life, Owen discovers that his heart, as breaten and hurt as it was, had continued beating despite of himself. When Owen dies, he dies as the fool who still loved Curt Mega.

[cassiaratheslytherpuff]

Drarry Podfic Recs - Length 6-10 hours

A list of podfics I've enjoyed. Sorted first by length, then alphabetically.

This is the list with podfics that are 6-10 hours long. I also have lists for Length 1-3 hours, Length 3-6 hours and Length 10+ hours or you can check out the masterlist.

6-8 hours

Title: Stop and Stare Read by: lastontheboat Authour: Saras_Girl Length:~ 7.5h Rating: Mature Summary: Harry’s life is full of care, he has no time to stop or stare; he has no time for anyone’s shit, until his friends aren’t having it. A story about the unravelly things. 2015 advent fic. I was so excited when lastontheboat did another advent podfic and it did in no way dissapoint. This is perfectly read and exactly what I want in December (and let's be honest, January-November as well)

Title: The Boy Who Only Lived Twice Read by: TheOneCalledEli Authour: lettered Length:~ 6h Rating: Explicit Summary: Harry Potter is an Unspeakable. Draco Malfoy is the wizard who shagged him. Adventure! Intrigue! Secret identities, celebrities, spies! It's all right here, folks. Drarry as secret spies is so much fun and excitement, and the slow falling in love and wanting but not knowing was just so perfect. And TheOneCalledEli reads it so brilliantly, it made me fall in love with this fic all over again!

Title: The Four Doors + Eight o'clock, tomorrow evening Read by: lastontheboat Authour: fluxweed Length:~ 5h + 1h Rating: Explicit Summary: It’s been four months since Harry lost his memory. Four months of dead ends and no answers. With time running out until his memories are gone for good, Harry agrees to a course of Legilimency therapy with a renowned specialist: Mind Healer Draco Malfoy. I love this! Communication and memory loss and falling in love. Brilliantly read too! And the sequel is smutty brilliance.

Title: Who we are in the shadows Read by: Sandstripe Authour: Quicksilvermaid Length:~ 7h Rating: Explicit Summary: What happens when you’re forced to become the very thing you despise? Ex-Auror Harry Potter, tossed out of the Ministry for something he had no control over, has been looking for a way back to his former life. When he comes across Draco Malfoy in the criminal underbelly of Wizarding London and in need of protection, Harry figures bringing him in to face the Ministry's justice is his ticket back to everything he's lost. But nothing is exactly as it seems. Not even Harry himself. And as he gets drawn further and further into Malfoy's world of honour and deception he finds himself questioning everything he thought he knew—about his childhood nemesis, the Ministry job he misses so much, and most of all, about himself. What happens when you’re forced to see that you were wrong? This fic feels a little like a healing bruise. By which I mean that it hurts, a little – but in a good way. Sandstripe does a brilliant job of making all the emotions come across and I'll definetly be listening to this many times.

8-10 hours

Title: Chasing Shadows Read by: lastontheboat Authour: manixzen Length:~ 9.5h Rating: Explicit Summary: The murder of Lucius Malfoy seems impossible—no cause of death, no traces of spell-work, no potions in his system. The only leads Harry and his partner have are the trail of missing wizards the deeper they go. That and the help of the victim’s estranged son who now spends his time bartending at a queer-friendly Muggle pub. A case fic featuring a closeted Harry Potter, an out-and-proud, tattooed Draco Malfoy, and a murder mystery that seems to lead to more questions than answers. This fic is so good! Harry has hidden being gay for years and years and his growth to live as who he is is beautifully interwoven with him and Draco falling in love and a thrilling crime plot.Also I just love Draco in this! He's grown so much and is so attentive and he makes the smut so steamy! The reading of it is so well done and just brings so much life to the fic!

Title: Headlights in the Snow Read by: magsmagicalnightmare Authour: Saras_Girl Length:~ 10h Rating: Mature Summary: What’s big and purple and smells like tea? Harry is about to find out. Advent fic 2016. You can never go wrong with Saras_Girls christmas fics, and this is another great one! And it's so brilliantly read I felt like I was on the bus listening in on conversations. magsmagicalnightmare brought this fic so much life and personality and it's brilliant!

Title: If the Fates Allow Read by: lastontheboatAuthour: Saras_GirlLength:~8hRating: Mature Summary: What's that crackling in the walls? Harry has no clue at all. He'll eat some cake and drink some wine. Because he is completely FINE. -A story about life's disregard for our plans. An advent story in podfic form?! I’ll be listening to this every single December.

Title: Running on air Authour: eleventy7 Length:~ 8h Rating: Teen and up Summary: Draco Malfoy has been missing for three years. Harry is assigned the cold case and finds himself slowly falling in love with the memories he collects. This is a beautiful story and it's read just as beautifully.

Title: That Old Black Magic Read by: reveriepi Authour: bixgirl1 Length:~ 8.5h Rating: Explicit Summary: Centuries ago, marriage contracts were the norm — ready-made alliances between families, expected and complied with, without complaint. But norms have a way of changing, and when a long-dormant contract flares to life, Harry has to navigate an unexpected splintering of the path he'd thought would be easy after the war... with Draco Malfoy. I'm screaming about this podfic actually because I love the fic so much and having the characters brought to life like reveriepi does is just such a treat!

Bonus (podfics on my tbr):

Heaven Through a Window by Jocunda Sykes read and written by JocundaSykes 8.5h

My Big Fat Weasley Wedding written by slyth_princess read by Melcarrianna 7.5

Rookie Moves written by peu_a_peu read by sweaters_in_the_summer 7.5h

Tea and No Sympathy written by who_la_hoop read by Cailynwrites 6.5

[stem-sister-scuffle]

STEM SISTER SCUFFLE: ROUND 1 MASHUP 8

Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy (DC/Batman) vs Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum (Adventure Time)

Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy is a Botanist!

Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum is a Bioenginner, Chemist and Roboticist!

Why you should vote for each contestant:

Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy:

"She wants to destroy humanity to save the planet and she looks good doing it."

"SHENSHDMD8SJS She's so strong and pretty and cool. Whadda woman..."

"stem icon. uses her knowledge to be fucked up and evil with a possible interest in plants. more #MadScience rep"

"Sometimes ya gotta go a little ecoterrorist to get your point across and that scares people. However she did it and continues to do it despite persecution from the DC heroes. as a legal disclaimer the statement about ecoterrorism above is a Joke"

"Takes no shit canonically sapphic ecoterrorist emotionally repressed queen what more could you want."

"Gay"

Princess Bonnibel Bubblegum:

"She’s a freak about it! she is committing horrors in there but just lowkey, and she’s having fun doing it which is what matters"

"She cares about her people to an absolute fault and all her evil science is for them (when it’s not simply for sciences sake) and that’s why she’s a girlboss <3"

"She’s unethical. She’s a mother. She’s a monster. She lives in a world of magic but only believes in science. She was even a lesbian. PB for the win!"

"she is a pink lesbian!! she has committed war crimes!! she is much more complex than the audience's (and the main character's) initial impression of her!! she created an entire kingdom that she rules and when she gets voted out she loses her sense of identity!! and loves her subjects and also spies on them!! she is trying not to be so mean!! she is passionate about her science work and she loves her girlfriend!!! SHE IS SO GREAT. her gf Marcy is actually my favorite but bonnibel's relationship with family and home is super compelling, everything from her abusive/controlling uncle who tried to force her into a het relationship to her (metaphorically) intellectually disabled younger brother who she loves so much because people get built different! we don't need to know why we just need to respect them! thank you. I love her"

"Organizes conferences for people to present their scientific findings, created life forms when she was lonely, has committed so many war crimes (including intergalatically) using tech she invented, lost an election because she assumed people would care more about facts than charisma (they did not), is gay. Spent a thousand years pining for her rockstar vampire ex-girlfriend. 💕💞💕"

"She has a RAT named SCIENCE. One time in the comics she also did a flip and kicked a door down while saying ""physics I swear to gob if you don't work now I swear physics I SWEAR"" she was literally threatening physics. Anyways physics worked good for her! She has built an entire kingdom from the ground up INCLUDING its life forms. She HATES wizards with a passion. Magic to her is just science with silly presentation. It's implied she's been to wizard prison a lot of times before. HOWEVER she also has a vampire half-demon girlfriend so yeah. Oh yeah she's gay too. "I have a disease that makes me like vampires and titties its called being a fucking genius""

"She is the best woman in STEM because she LITERALLY created and genetically engineered the people of her kingdom, built incredible robot guardians to fight off intruders, and continues to experiment (including an experiment gone wrong where she was trying to resurrect dead citizens) in spite of being a busy princess (and lowkey dictator) ruling her kingdom solo. She created/built her own family (aside from her brother), and eliminated them when they tried to rule over her and stop her from being an independent scientist. She is multitalented, hardworking, and just unethical enough to keep things fun and entertaining! She has no ethics board, so the experiments get wild! She is so Blorbo, you know? Also people don't acknowledge her science stuff enough, I want her to get more recognition as the insane, wonderful mad scientist she is."

"She’s an unethical mad scientist who experiments on her subjects. What’s not to love"

"Invents gadgets/devices and even created her own citizens"

"For the realness of working in the lab endlessly without sleep (Ignore that she set up a police state I guess)"

"Literally built an entire kingdom citizen by citizen"

"She bioengineered an entire country . Kinda fucked up, but that's okay"

[n7punk]

What’s your beef with Spotify?

It's less beef and more just a product I don't like - because that's what Spotify is, a product. They really don't want you to think of it that way, but at the end of the day it's particularly invasive product packaging around the thing you actually want to listen to, and there are dozens of different ways to listen to music. As far as gripes, though, number 1 is that it doesn't really pay its artists for shit and its objectively kind of shitty audio-quality wise (I'm not a snob on this, but depending on your hardware it can be especially crunchy while other things like Youtube sound just fine). Number 2 is how much it spies on you and tracks your data. Number 3 is the ads. Number 4, and the actual reason I will never use it, is that it's the enshittification of media consumption.

I do, actually, have a Spotify account. I used it for all of a day before never logging in again or verifying my email. Spotify forces you to experience music the way it wants you to, with absolutely no benefit aside from cloud syncing cross-platform for your playlists that I don't actually need, and I'm used to the freedom from the dawn of the accessible mp3 era.

Better Kind Of Best Friend is a single. I bought it as part of the entire The Sex Was Good Until It Wasn't album, so it came with the album artwork. I wanted it to have its single artwork - so I changed it. And now, in MusicBee and on my phone, I see the single artwork because it's in the file metadata. Spotify doesn't give you that option. It's a little thing, maybe, except when it isn't, like when a song's cover art is graphic or otherwise upsetting to look at, or just plain doesn't fit it.

Sometimes I don't agree with a song's "official" genre (usually because the entire album classifies the songs one way while they actually span genres). The range of things that are classified as indie rock is insane. Anyway, other times I use the genre more specifically, such as "Dark Pop", which isn't actually a thing but if I played you Dark Pop songs you would understand what I mean. In MusicBee, I can change genres to be whatever I want, which is important for various auto-playlists in filtering.

I also have a custom tag for any sapphic songs that automatically populates my lesbian love auto-playlist as they're defined, and another playlist that automatically adds all music from my custom-defined list of queer artists to the "Gay Life" playlist. When I buy a new Reinaeiry song, it automatically gets added without me having to do anything.

I can't listen to demos or any music that Spotify has lost licensing to on it, which means that if I want a complete playlist with a demo song on it, I have to have all those songs exported anyway, and at that point why am I bothering to split my listening across platforms? Idk if you heard, but Spotify lost licensing to a giant catalogue of Kpop music at one point because one company pulled out, and all those listeners were fucked. I don't have to wait for an artist to upload their shit to Spotify (although right now I am waiting for Reinaeiry to put Too Sweet up for download - pls queen - this is luckily more rare of an occurrence than me seeing "please add this to Spotify" comments is).

I like music I can keep forever, listen to whenever, and do so without ads or paying three figures a year to hear uninterrupted. I'd rather buy one album a month with the Spotify premium money than pay for it. I like creating folder after subfolder worth of an unlimited number of playlists (admittedly idr if Spotify allows this feature. It varies by online listening platforms and I don't bother to track the ones I don't use). I like being able to drag and drop my playlists from MusicBee into iTunes to instantly listen to them on my phone (and thus cross-play isn't a concern for me as long as I remember to synch my phone). I like the feature of being able to instantly and permanently adjust the volume, as well as the beginning and end point, of any single song I chose (super helpful for when certain albums are inexplicably quieter/louder than others or have a stupid incongruous music or dialogue part in them).

If I want to listen to something without actually getting it, then I do it on Youtube, which has a wider music selection with more control. Don't like album art? Find a lyric video upload with a generic nebula background. Weird movie sample at the beginning? Someone might have cut that out in their upload (shoutout to the person who turned DICTATOR into a part 1 and 2 to match the two different mood halves), but otherwise Sponsorblock will skip the non-music segments. The only downside of Youtube versus Spotify is I can't share the playlists without exposing my name, but again I actually create those playlists in MusicBee 99% of the time so I wouldn't be sharing a link anyway.

[stelly38]

I thought Cambridge Spies was *the* most British thing I’d ever seen, until I watched Maurice shortly after. I’m still on my Toby Stephens kick, which explains Cambridge Spies, and lord, is he pretty in it. But I also wanted to ogle the very young, stunningly beautiful Hugh Grant in Maurice, so I watched both.

I nursed a bit of a crush on Grant back in his Four Weddings days, around the same time as Maurice, but I’d honestly forgotten how incredibly, ethereally gorgeous he was, like some androgynous nymph out of a Waterhouse painting, smooth and luscious, too perfect to be real. For the record, I do love today's older, rougher Hugh, who has managed, over time, to turn ass-hole-ish curmudgeonliness into a charming brand all his own.

My overall impression of Merchant Ivory flicks is that they are much like paintings: pretty to look at, and if you stare long enough, something in your field of view eventually moves, but it takes, like, days. Days. I don’t know if my attention span has been worn down over the decades like everyone else’s, or if these movies need some tighter editing, but good lord, at two hours and twenty minutes, not much happens in Maurice. Or is it EM Forster?  Maurice is a Forster adaptation; and similarly, so is A Room with a View, which also flows like molasses. I’ll never know if it’s the writing or the editing, because I’ve never read anything of Forster’s except for Room, which I attempted when I was a teenager and quit halfway through, because what in the fuck was he going onnnnn about? And I even had a better attention span back then, in the nineties. I said to my husband after Maurice ended, perhaps he and I needed a course on Forster to truly appreciate the literature and the movie adaptations. It’s unlikely to happen, but there it is.

Maurice follows the lead character, played by James Wilby, as he discovers and wrestles with his latent homosexuality. Hugh Grant plays Clive Durham, Maurice’s good school friend and first (unconsummated) love. The two men pal around London and the countryside as they age well into their twenties, spending time together and apart, both grappling with their sexual identities in different ways. The movie also casts a very cute Rupert Graves as Maurice’s first lover, and Ben Kingsley (with hair and a weird American accent—what a hoot) appears in a cameo as a shrink who attempts to hypnotize Maurice into heterosexuality.

My bitching isn’t a condemnation of Forster or Merchant Ivory; the film was a rather pretty little trifle to look at. I thought the story was good, and I love that a major film studio was tackling the horrors of being gay in Edwardian England so long ago (1987, when AIDS was still considered “the gay cancer.” —Hats off to them.) And I’m always game to watch pretty boys cavorting about. There was a good deal of that, one scene with full frontal nudity (gasp!)

Speaking of pretty boys, several feature in Cambridge Spies, which takes place about thirty years after Maurice, shortly before WWII. The prettiest of them is Toby Stephens, who is just dashing dressed in wide leg trousers, fedoras, and the well-tailored suits of the era. He plays Kim Philby, one of the notorious Soviet spies that comprised the group known in real life as the Cambridge Five. Rupert Penry Jones plays Donald Maclean; Samuel West is Anthony Blunt, and Tom Hollander is Guy Burgess. Since American public-school curriculum doesn’t teach any history but its own, (much of which is white-washed lies, but that’s a kvetch for another day), I never knew about the British turncoats until I watched this, which was last week. Yay for me.

Spies is a four-part miniseries, the last two episodes of which are far, far more entertaining and engaging than the first two. It’s good they decided to balance the episodes thusly, as I was ready to throw in the towel after the second one. The only reason I continued on was because I’d already invested time in watching the first 50 percent—in for a penny, in for a pound. I think the writers wanted the first two episodes for back-story and character development, but there is little that reveals the principals’ various motivations for spying other than that they were all friends at Cambridge, and they shared a deep hatred of fascism. Weird that that was all it took, right? I dunno, maybe I missed something—these were the two most boring episodes.

The entire series really belongs to Tom Hollander. He steals every scene he’s in; he has the best lines, the most cuttingly funny remarks, and he’s the craziest and loosest cannon of the bunch, hence, the most entertaining. Previously, I’d only known his work from 2005’s Pride and Prejudice (the boiled potatoes), and from his creepily-repressed turn as art critic John Ruskin in Desperate Romantics. He’s great and memorable in those, but he is phenomenal in Spies.

Hollander’s Burgess, as well as West’s Anthony Blunt, are gay men, compelling because they'd opted into an overwhelmingly straight-male power structure: espionage. Spies doesn’t really speak to this much, rather than to have Hollander portray Burgess as an out and proud gay man, I suppose as much as one could be on the brink of WWII in England. But it is striking to see the difference just three decades made in how gays were perceived by English society (or not) when you compare the attitudes on display in Maurice to those in Spies. Homosexuality was the worst sin one could commit in the world of Maurice; but by the time we get to Spies, it’s barely an issue. I suspect that homosexuality was still offensive to many in England at the time, as that country’s decriminalization law only took effect in 1967, but for some reason unknown to me, the writers and producers of Spies made it mostly a non-issue.

Overall, Spies was a good series, educational for me, at least, and I got to stare at Toby Stephens for four hours, including a couple safe-for-granny sex scenes. Would I write home about the show? —probably not, but it was not wasted time.

Tom Hollander’s best scene (and they’re all good) is a tantrum he throws during a trip to the States, where he drives across suburban lawns, destroying several white picket fences, then stands atop his car screaming “God Bless America” (in a good American accent), and decries this country’s never-acknowledged social and political hypocrisy.

Brilliant. And funny.

[smytherines]

I love One Step Ahead for all the obvious reasons (gay angst), but also because it is so packed with little storytelling moments. Also it just seems exhausting. So much happens in that song:

1. Motorcycle chase (with office chairs)

2. Boat chase

3. Staff fight

4. Sword fight

5. Vigorous musket loading

6. Run up the staircase

7. Hang glider chase

8. Fistfight

9. Run halfway down the stairs again

And the entire time they are doing all of this, they're belting out a vocally demanding song. I mean, no wonder Curt Mega had to take a breath during that final note. That's a feat of endurance. I simply would've passed out and died.

One Step Ahead is one of my favorite setpieces of all time. In anything. Ever. It is so impressive, and it is even more impressive when you realize this was done by a tiny little independent company with the theatre budget equivalent of $1.50. Unreal. It should not be possible.

And the thing is, One Step Ahead is the perfect narrative counterweight to A1P1 (Spies Are Forever). The amount of thought they put into this is just stunning. Because here's the thing: A1P1 is also incredibly physical. For most of the song Curt and Owen are on the move, they're going up the ladder, they're fighting goons, they're going down the staircase, they're running.

But more importantly, Curt and Owen are touching a lot in A1P1. And yeah, that's fun in a swoony curtwen vibes way, but its also incredibly important to the narrative. They are touching a lot, and when they aren't touching they are standing just a little bit too close together. Its subtle enough that you initially dismiss it as a stylistic choice, but once you have the full context it is remarkably intimate.

Those are important details- like the way Owen has his arm around Curt and is literally holding his hand when they're talking to Cynthia. Its meant to tell us that they are together. In the romantic way, yes, but also they're just aligned, working together, on the same page. They are partners here. They literally have each other's backs.

And that's down to Curt Mega and Joey Richter selling the absolute shit out of these roles, and genius choreography by Lauren Lopez, and Corey Lubowich being the director of all time.

The digital download BTS has a part with Joey and Curt rehearsing the bit where they do the hug, and right after that they're trying to figure out what cool action poses to move into and Corey says that he wants to see something with them "connected," which is just... yeah, that's the perfect word to describe what is going on in A1P1. These two are connected.

So then we get to One Step Ahead. At the very beginning, Curt does the arm clasp with Tatiana. The first time they did this, Curt had a flashback of Owen. Owen was still his partner in his heart. But this time that bond is severed. Curt thinks of Tatiana as his partner now.

We get into the action of the song, and Curt and Owen do not touch. Even when they are very physically close together, there are weapons between them. In A1P1 they had lots of moments with their backs turned to each other, trusting each other, working perfectly in sync. In One Step Ahead they are facing each other head on. They are literally and figuratively fighting. They are breaking up.

The only moment during this sequence where they are actually touching each other is when Owen slaps Curt, Curt punches Owen twice, and they do that lock up move. They're only touching to hurt each other now.

And its so subtle and well executed that you don't really think about the parallels between these two scenes the first time you watch them. But you feel it on an emotional level. They had about ten minutes to establish the relationship between these two, and they used that ten minutes so effectively that the staircase scene ends up hitting like a ton of bricks.

Just. I love this show. I love how much TCB and Curt Mega and the rest of the cast care about this show. I'm so grateful they keep coming back to it. I cannot wait to see what they do with these scenes for Spy Another Day.