#if the movies allowed to take creative liberties i am too!!!

[p1zzaparty]

And if i told you one of my favorite characters from It, specifically the 2019 sequel where we saw her for .2 seconds pulling Richies annoying ass down, was Maggie Tozier would you believe me

[juniperskye]

Three’s Company

This is just a lil blurb about Aaron Hotchner, Derek Morgan and you being in love! Based on the following Request: @satans-bitch Hi! Idk if you would be comfortable writing it, but I love the idea of Aaron hotchner x reader x Derek Morgan just all being so in love with each other. Thank u Xx – I took some creative liberties…I hope you like it!

Hotch x BAU! Fem Reader x Morgan

Word count: 883

REQUESTS ARE OPEN - not edited - please be kind. Requests are open and feedback is welcome if it's constructive!

Warnings: My blog is 18+, minors DNI, Fem reader, pet names, poly-relationship (I’m not the most familiar with this lifestyle) canon typical violence, mantion of babies and pregnancy, Let me know if I missed any.

I do not consent to having my work translated or reposted to any other site. That being said I do not own the characters portrayed in this story.

So, neither Derek nor Aaron ever and I mean EVER thought they’d be in a polyamorous relationship. But let me tell you, when you arrived at the BAU, they both knew they had to have you. Aaron had gone to Dave time and time again seeking advice and Derek did the same with Penelope.

They’d both complain that there was no way you were interested, because clearly you like the other guy. Only, that wasn’t quite the issue.

You didn’t just like Aaron or Derek, you liked them both. They were so similar and yet so different and there was no way you could ever choose just one of them.

After many instances of the men fighting for your attention and affection, you pulled them both aside to have a serious conversation.

“I think I should leave the BAU.” You stated.

“What? No!” Derek blurted.

“Why would you think that?” Aaron inquired. “If our behavior has made you uncomfortable, I am so sorry. It was never my intention, and I would hate to see such a talented agent leave because of my idiocy.”

“It’s not your guy’s behavior that’s making me feel this way. It’s my feelings for you.” You said, gesturing to both men.

“Feelings for who?” Derek questioned.

“Both of you.” You blushed.

That evening you’d explained to the men that you had feelings for both of them and had the situation been different you’d have suggested a poly relationship, but you knew that it was too much to ask of two alpha males who’d never been in one before.

What you hadn’t expected to happen was for them to give you a quizzical look and then ask you to give them some time to think about it.

--

It had been nearly a year since then and the three of you had developed something truly beautiful. Aaron had been so stoic at work but at home he was soft, and he always did everything in his power to ensure you and Derek were both cared for.

And well Derek, he was clingy at home. Always wanting his hands on you and he’d come to really enjoy having physical contact with Aaron.

Like when you’d watch a movie, Aaron would have his arm slung over the back of the couch while you cuddled up into his side, and Derek would be sitting as close to you as possible, practically sitting you in his lap. This position would allow for Aaron’s hand to rest around Derek as well and that warmth became a comfort for him.

There had been another shift shortly after that, pet names…they’d been slipping out more frequently. And not just them men using them with you either.

“Sweetheart can you pass me my phone?” Aaron had asked, looking directly at Derek.

“Sure thing sugar.” Derek had replied.

You had been shocked initially, but it ultimately had warmed your heart to see them falling into this relationship more and more. Their comfort in this had been your main priority, you hadn’t cared about anything else.

--

Work had been the toughest part of this newfound dynamic. When any of you got hurt on a case, the other two couldn’t exactly hold it together. And with the team being out of the loop of your lifestyle, well they definitely suspected something.

The most recent had been Aaron, he had been shot while taking down an unsub. Thankfully it had been a flesh wound, but when you heard the shot and saw him go down, you couldn’t help the wail that tore through you. The paramedics had requested you step away, and Derek pulled you into his embrace to get you to comply.

“Baby he’s gonna be okay!” Derek said while holding you close.

“He was shot D! What if he’s not?” You cried.

“I know he’s gonna be okay baby. He has to be.” Derek mumbled the last part.

You looked up to see the tears falling from his misty eyes, and you held him tighter. The team sat by and watched the situation play out, fully convinced now that something was transpiring between the three of you. More than they had initially assumed.

--

The newest development had been the discussion of children. The guys had baby fever, they had seen you interacting with your sister’s newborn and you swear you saw them both drooling over the sight of you.

So…have you ever thought about having kids princess?” Derek posed.

Currently you were lying on the couch, your head in Derek’s lap and him pressed against Aaron. The movie playing, long forgotten as Derek combed his fingers through your hair and Aaron traced shapes on Derek’s bicep.

“Um, yes…I have thought about it. Why do you ask?” You sat up.

“Well, honey, we had a conversation about it the other day.” Aaron clarified.

“You two…had a conversation about me having a baby?” You questioned.

“About us…having a baby.” Derek said, gesturing to the three of you.

Your jaw dropped in shock. What had started as inappropriate flirting in the workplace had developed into a serious relationship between the three of you. One fueled by love, safety, and trust.

“I would love to have a baby with you guys.” You smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

[yrrtyrrtwhenihrrthrrt]

Goldenheart choices

1. Pirate or surfer Ambro and mermaid Bal au

2. Tinker fairy bal and human ambro childhood friends au

3. Fae Bal and Hunter ambro, (if you want smut? Top ambro, bottom bal with vines as bondage)

4. Riririkinzi's little mermaid au drabble (angst, fluff, or smut)

Ok so I chose Pirate/Mermaid (movie ver.) And let me tell you this was SO much fun to write!!!! I might continue it into something more long-form on my AO3, is that something anyone is interested in?? Thank you for the request anon! I hope you don't mind all the creative liberties I took ❤️

--

Ballister lifted himself up onto the rocks and sang, his brilliant black tail flicking the water beneath. It was the curse of the sirens that they should be forced to sing, forced to lure the sailors who would linger among them, enraptured, until succumbing to starvation on the barren seabanks of their island. The sirens did not wish to see their beloved muses suffer for them, but if any ship was able to resist their call and pass them by, or if any sailor managed to leave their island, they would all dissolve into the salt of the ocean. So he sang with his brothers and sisters, as beautifully as he could, desperate to lure any ship that came within earshot of their island, to preserve his family. Siren voices carry for well over a mile.

Just as usual, the ship crashed on the rocks and the surviving sailors were thrown to the sea below. They would need to retrieve them. Of course it would be easier to just allow the sailors to drown, but just as the sailors were enraptured by the sirens, so too were the sirens captivated by the sailors. It was nice, sometimes, to have their company, but in addition to that, sirens could not reproduce with one another. To keep their island alive, they needed to rescue the humans.

Diving below the sea, Ballister saw what appeared to be the Captain, based on his attire. He was young to be a captain, with blond hair that whipped and floated in the water. Ballister wrapped his arm around him and carried him to the surface, ushering him to the rocky shore.

Canals ran through this island of boulders, allowing the merfolk to interact with their human pets for however long they had. There was some freshwater springs, but no food. Sirens didn't need to eat.

He rested his hand on the Captain's chest and pressed until all the water was out of him. The man coughed and sputtered. He met Ballister's eyes. "You. Were you the one singing, with the beautiful voice?"

Ballister cradled his head and smiled. "I was singing with my brothers and sisters. We each have our own song. They harmonize when we sing together, but each one is a melody on its own."

The captain blinked. "What was your song?"

Ballister opened his mouth to sing softly. The man's eyes widened. "That's it! Your song is the one that I heard!"

Ballister blushed. "You only heard mine? We were all singing."

"I heard the harmony when we got closer. You all sounded lovely. Are you a mermaid? Or a siren?"

"I'm a merman," Ballister said with an annoyed albeit amused lilt. "But I am also a siren. They're the same thing, you know."

"Oh." The man looked over the stones and into the water, his eyes widening as he caught a glimpse of Ballister's tail. "You don't look like you'll try to eat me."

Ballister laughed. "We don't eat sailors! We don't need to eat. We live forever, unless we are killed or captured. I am a Guardian, I protect the island. You seem to be a pirate, but you don't look like you're going to brutally pillage me."

"Heavens no!" The Captain laughed nervously. "We aren't those kinds of pirates. I was the heir to a corrupt, powerful fishing company. They were exploiting their sailors and stealing from the public, so I rounded up some sailors and now we take down their fishing boats. We don't hurt anyone, we recruit those who want to join us and bring the rest home. Anyway, do you all have names?"

Ballister snorted. "Yes, and mine is Ballister."

"My name is Ambrosius. Hello, Ballister." Ballister just smiled and nodded. They weren't supposed to remember the humans' names. It made things too hard.

The siren's eyes widened when a warm hand, with a skin far more textured than his own cupped his face. "Has anyone told you that you are so beautiful, Ballister?"

He blushed and sank a bit deeper into the water. "I am frequently told I have a lovely voice."

"No," said the human-- the Captain-- Ambrosius. "That's not what I mean. Your voice is beautiful, but that's not what I mean. Something about your eyes. You're just the most gorgeous person I've ever seen. Not something I thought I'd ever say washed up on a boulder to a half-fish man, but I mean it."

Ballister laughed, but something inside him twisted. The siren's seductive magic lies solely in his song. He cannot keep a human captivated unless he is singing. He wasn't singing, but this man still looked at him with that look in his beautiful almond eyes.

Ballister had already decided that this human was going to be his. But now, he was starting to feel sure that he didn't want to let this one go.

[sexyleon]

I felt that post of yours about the Dracula fandom and the way it talks about adaptations tbh, like, I'm someone who was very involved in DD last year and I've written critique myself about Dracula adaptations bc I love comparative analysis and really thinking about the choices adaptations make, for good or for ill, but from my personal experience, a lot of fandom commentary on adaptations isn't really thoughtful analysis, and don't get me wrong, I'm a hater sometimes too and enjoying venting, but I noticed that this year, there were so many posts that started out as thoughtful commentary on the book, then launched into bitching about the evils of adaptations out of nowhere, and people can write what they want, but it got tiring after awhile to be in a fandom with so much angry energy, not to mention the divergence in canon vs fanon that was much starker this year that made me feel like I had read a different book.

Also, every time I see people point at re: Dracula to be like, see, it's so easy to do a perfect 1:1 adaptation of the novel, why can't other adaptations do it?, it's like, it's an audiobook, a movie can't be that long, even a television mini-series would have to make cuts. And I might dislike a lot of choices adaptations make, but creatives absolutely have the right to take a public domain work and put their own spin on things beyond book accuracy as the number one goal - and like, do we truly want a 100% accurate adaptation when the novel is still ultimately a xenophobic reverse invasion story? Like, I would hope modern directors would seriously grapple with those aspects of the original story instead of reproducing Victorian bigotry unquestioned.

Hi, thank you for your response! I'm glad that my post resonated with a few people!

I definitely also felt a shift in energy with this season of Dracula Daily, and I'm pretty sure it is a direct result of the phenomena that is Re: Dracula. Don't get me wrong, I am a HUGE supporter of RE: Dracula, and I found it to be absolutely delightful specifically because it was a 1:1 adaptation of the book, but I also think that it has skewed the way people engage with all the other adaptations of Dracula. You are so right when you say that Re: Dracula's media as audiobook is what allowed it to be so authentic. Even if it was a long-form series, there would have to be creative liberties taken to account for visualising certain aspects of the text. I am 100% sure someone would be able to do it, but it would undoubtedly be a labour of love and expense.

I think the biggest thing that got lost in translation in my post is that I was speaking specifically on the rhetoric of "bad adaptation = bad media." I don't even like to use the term "bad adaptation" because it feels inaccurate and gives the connotation of being holistically terrible; "failed adaptation" or "inauthentic adaptation" seems more apt when discussing how close an adaptation relates to the source material. I think it is unfair for any adaptation to be written off solely on the fact that it does not strictly adhere to the original text. This can be in way of narrative, characterization, theme, etc. I don't think it's fair to say "x adaptation is bad because it ignores x from the text" because that fundamentally dismisses all the other attributes that contribute to whether or not a piece of media is subjectively good (because honestly that's all it is-- subjectivity). Media, especially film and stage, has so many dynamic and moving parts. There are so many attributes that contribute to the success of any one given thing, especially adaptations (which can claim the title with even the loosest references to the source material). I feel like the black and white thinking when it comes to this doesn't really allow for a dialogue to exist between people who enjoy Dracula adaptations for what they are and, forgive me for saying this, book purists.

Understandably, there is criticism against some adaptations that have claimed to follow the source text closely, but very distinctly did not (Ahum, Cappola). However, I think it does everyone a disservice to deny the impact of a lot of these (mostly) films. Someone in the reblogs of my original post did a good breakdown of the origins of the Dracula genre itself, and I think it goes to show that the story of Dracula has a life of its own outside of the pages of Bram Stoker's book.

The most annoying thing about the responses to my initial post was the refusal to believe that anyone was making these comparisons. I really would not have gone out on a limb to rant about this if I hadn't been consistently seeing vent posts in the main tag with mostly negative responses to a lot of different adaptations of Dracula based on the authenticity of them to the text. I admit I was frustrated when I wrote it, but it really was meant to just address the black and white thinking re: failed adaptations making bad media. This is not to say that criticism of adaptations isn't valid, but I think there should be more nuance to this conversation and that's what I wasn't seeing. It's not fun to dive into the broad Dracula tag and find post after post shitting on your favourite media because it isn't like the book.

Sorry this was a bit long! I am just really passionate about Dracula okay!! And I really really really like all the shitty little shows and movies and plays and comics and all other media that comes out of his name (because YES, a lot of adaptations really make vampire synonymous with Dracula and ROLL WITH IT). Vampires are really neat and the Dracula genre of film has been a huge influence on horror media. I think there is a lot to be said when analysing adaptations, but none of it can come from blanket statements against them.

@spider-xan

[archduk-e]

An attempt to investigate and explain fandoms and headcannons thorough Orientalism

Recently I started reading Orientalism (in short - a book on how the West saw and created the narrative of the Orient more than 100 years ago) and suddenly had a bit of a realisation. The author, Edward W. Said, mentioned how an important aspect of Orientalism was the fact that firstly, it fascinated the westerners because they already felt a certain (superior) way about that territory due to their history with it and the colonial past related to it, and secondly, the Orient was incapable of resisting being fantasised and thought about.

Anyways, I think I saw a link between this and what I and many other people do on the Internet with fandom characters and celebrities (which by the way isn’t as common as we think outside of websites like this). I must also add that my points of reference for this text are (ironically) my own fandoms and communities and what I see and do in them. This post will likely reach no one, but even if that won’t be the case, take all of this with a grain of salt as I am also very biased in my data sources.

I believe that just as with the western ideas of Orientalism there are 3 important factors that enable us to photoshop pictures of grown men and add glitter and bowties to their hair (not that it’s not cute and funny of course)

1. Personal Creative Empowerment

There already exists a certain attitude towards what we call “headcannons” - we know everyone has them! However, what we forget is that it wasn’t always likely the case. Unlike 100 years ago anyone today is at complete liberty to create any art, fiction or similar, at their own pace and in their own places. We feel empowered and capable of creating and publishing any art and any stories, and we always take a moment to imagine something in situations where someone from 100 years ago (or pre internet) wouldn’t have taken the time to. AO3, fanfiction.net, Tumblr - all of these places house many small creators, who upload silly art, romantic and cute stories, write these “POWs” and interact with other fans about their chosen fandoms. This removes the elitism from these communities and makes everyone who visits such websites think “hey… I can create and upload my silly tv-show art too! just like [this creator] and [that creator]!”. It is a very positive and empowering concept, and it creates a much less limited environment that allows us to share content and amplify the made-up and non-existent narratives we create for our own comfort and amusement.

2. Honest Internal Fascination

Our fantastical and sometimes concerning thoughts and ideas about characters, people and fandoms all relate to things we find inherently fascinating ourselves. Whether it be a WW2 era movie, or a fantasy game, or a documentary, we always talk about, draw and write about things (and aspects of things) we ourselves are connected to beforehand. We find a character who we feel personally connected to in some way, an idea which resonates with us on a deeper level, or a general concept of being someone else somewhere else and being able to do things we cannot do right now.

3. Power(less)fullness and Entitlement

Most importantly, we feel entitled to produce these pieces of content and “yap” about these things because neither the made up non-existent movie characters, nor the very much real but distant actors and personalities can not resist or in any way inhibit (stop or resist) our creative eruptions. They are powerless and helpless against our metaphorical imaginative offence, and find no way to express their own thoughts on the matter, making us feel even more entitled and empowered than we previously would have been. It also notably enables us to twist and shape these characters ideas or people into whatever we want - give them any traits they originally didn’t possess or assume their behaviour in situations. The terms “yassification” and “babygirl” come to mind, often made to relate to characters who didn’t show any such behaviour in the actual piece of media. The oversimplification of motives and traits also stems from this empowerment, allowing us to make anyone into anyone, just for our own psychological comfort and amusement.

~~~

Now indeed, just as with Orientalism, the most evident reason behind our actions is also true and honest fascination and interest (sometimes even love) - we don’t have a monetary or political motive behind our actions (in some cases however this isn’t necessarily true), we are simply drawn to these things due to our very real emotions and feelings. However I do believe that without the aforementioned 3 factors there would be much less “fangirling”, Tumblr posts about characters, and discord servers discussing how literal war officers from a popular movie would behave in an aqua park (real example).

I want to finish this by saying that I personally find nothing bad in this behaviour - indeed I display it myself (look at my posts and you’ll get it). I do however find it infinitely interesting.

[utaicon]

100 Followers Event!

Hi everyone! This is a little bit late- I thought I might notice that I hit 100 followers, but I guess I didn't!

Since I happen to be making this in October, I thought I'd make it a Halloween themed editing contest! If the creepy themes of Halloween aren't your thing, though, you're welcome to go with general autumn themes. I want everyone to be able to participate in this if they so desire :3

More details under cut!

The prompts are more or less made with idol-rhythm games in mind, but if you want to use something else, that's 100% allowed! I believe in your creative abilities!

To make up for my lateness, this event will extend for exactly a month, so the submission period is October 5th - November 5th! You are welcome to complete as many or as few prompts as you want, in any order you want, and be as technical and creative about them as you want! The most important part is to have fun with it!

There will be 5 winners, selected semi-randomly with a wheel. Your name will be entered once per edit you make, and if you edit something on my whitelist, I will enter your name twice! In a similar vein, if you enter anything on my blacklist, you will be disqualified.

Prizes:

5th place: 1 edit of choice

4th place: 2 edits of choice

3rd place: 3 edits of choice

2nd place: 4 edits of choice

1st place: 5 edits of choice + I'll reblog a boatload of your other edits :3

rules: same as my regular rules, respect dni, do not submit anything from the blacklist, as stated above you are welcome to complete however many prompts you want in whatever order you want but please do not repeat prompts, have fun!

please tag me in your edits for this event so I can see them! You are welcome to use the tag #utaicon 100 followers contest, but I am more likely to see if when you tag me!

Prompt List:

note: some of these are vague on purpose! take as much creative liberty as you want!

#1 - edit a character with orange!

#2 - edit 2 characters that you think would swap Halloween candy!

#3 - edit 2 characters you think are angel/devil coded!

#4 - make an edit based on your favorite Halloween/autumn song! It can be a song specifically about Halloween or autumn or it can just be a song that gives you vibes!

#5 - edit a character with a skeleton theme!

#6 - edit a character with purple!

#7 - edit a character with a werewolf theme!

#8 - edit a card/scene from a Halloween event/episode!

#9 - edit two characters from the same Halloween card set!

#10 - edit a character with a ghost theme!

#11 - edit enough characters to create a Halloween themed unit!

#12 - edit a character with green!

#13 - edit a character with red eyes! You can pick a character that already has red eyes or give them red eyes with editing magic instead!

#14 - edit 2 characters that you think would have fun trick-or-treating or playing in leaves together!

#15 - incorporate pride into a Halloween/autumn themed edit!

#16 - edit a character with a bat theme!

#17 - edit a character with a night theme! (stars, moon, etc)

#18 - edit a character with blue!

#19 - edit a character that you think would find a horror movie entirely too scary!

#20 - edit a character you feel is vampire coded!

#21 - edit a card/scene from a non-halloween event/episode!

#22 - edit a character with fire/candles!

#23 - edit a character with leaves!

#24 - edit a character in monochrome/grayscale/B&W!

#25 - edit a character with a candy theme!

#26 - edit two characters from different Halloween card sets!

#27 - edit a character with a pumpkin theme!

#28 - edit a character that you think would find a horror movie entirely too humorous!

#29 - edit a character in red!

#30 - edit a character with a theme of a monster of your choosing!

#31 - free prompt! Do whatever you like!

Happy editing!

[itsjustmyunpopularopinion]

Modern Film Critics are Fucking Idiots.

Like, occasionally, you'll find some poor schmuck working for some big publication that clearly doesn't understand the "Rules" of film criticism in journalism (IE - if people like the movie, it must be bad. Only big corpo movies are allowed to be good.)...but more often than not, it's these self-important, self-aggrandizing, self-entitled soybloggers LARPing like they're the next Gene Siskel or Robert Ebert, like their opinions mean dick diddly.

Like, if a film adaptation is meant to be a love-letter to the community that surrounds the source material of said film? The producers knew who they were aiming the film at, it's not your fault that you're not in that group. See it for what it is, call a spade a spade, and move the fuck on. Report on the numbers. Don't feel the need to drag a film through the mud just because YOU didn't get it, Kyle, everyone else seems to be having a fun fucking time, so apparently YOU might be the one who's wrong, here.

Not every fucking movie needs to be some "Masterwork of Cinema" like some Scorsese Snob flick, the whole POINT of going to the movies is to turn your brain off from the world of reality, escape into some cinematic fantasy, and enjoy some overpriced popcorn in a nice, dark, spacious, climate-controlled theater with an amazing sound system.

Alone, with friends, with family, etc. you get the idea.

Most recent example I can give is the Five Nights at Freddy's movie. Was it a bad movie? No. Was it a bad adaptation? No. Was it good? Surprisingly? Yes. It was (for the most part) faithful to its source material, didn't take too many creative liberties with the IP to the point of making it unrecognizable to the source (Looking at you Resident Evil/Silent Hill/Monster Hunter/Any number of other adaptations)...like, this was a movie made with FNaF fans in mind, and it clearly shows and wears this fact on its sleeve.

A common complaint I see from "Critics" is that the movie "Deters Too Far From the Game's Elements" like...what, you want the whole movie to be Mike, sitting in a stuffy security office, flipping through cameras, locking doors, and suffering ten thousand jumpscares? 6:00 AM rolls by, bell chimes, roll credits? Really? That's what you want to see? When you see a review that says "There's too much plot" like...what? This shit reeks of the whole "Too Much Water" review from the Ruby/Sapphire remakes, y'know? (Doesn't help that it was from an IGN review, as well...)

TL;DR

If the Audience Score on a film is much higher than the critics' score? the movie clearly wasn't made for said critic, or they simply weren't being paid by a corpo to suck the film off like they were holding their family hostage at gunpoint. Critics are entitled to their opinion, yes, I agree, no matter how wrong their opinion may be, they are entitled to it. They just need to stop acting like they're the fucking arbiters of entertainment.

[missamyshay]

Hello Amy, so I’m conflicted about your new one shot. While it is a beautiful depiction of grief, I also feel that in trying to fit the narrative, who Peter Parker is at his core was changed. He literally walked away from the only two people he had left in the world because of just the possibility of them getting hurt because of who he is, but in this story, he willingly gets in a relationship with a woman that he knows will die because of being with Peter Parker? That is so out of left field. I get that as a writer, writers take creative liberties with your stories (and I love that, just to be clear) but not at the risk of changing who Peter Parker is at his core and that is a selfless person that will do whatever it takes to keep those around him safe, not put them in danger. So anyways, just my two cents on why I feel the way I do after reading it. Thanks for your time.

Thank you for your two cents.

While I’m glad that you felt this was a beautiful depiction of grief, I too am utterly perplexed by your reading of this story.

Again, I’m confused where the idea that Peter knows Gwen will die because of him comes from?? Peter is not the author of his own narrative. Peter does know that Gwen is fated to die the way she did. Peter, a human being, does not design his own life by narrative conventions.

My question to you would be this: at his “core”, who do you think Peter Parker is?

As I said to the anon before this one, to me, the idea that Peter Parker is the 2D Good Guy, doesn’t sit well with me—any canonical version of him. I’m going to assume we’re talking about just the movies here because in the comics it’s hard not to see how complex Peter is. But in the movies:

You expect me to believe that Peter “let me contact a wizard to fuck with the entire world’s minds so that I can keep up my double life and my friends and I can go to the same college” Parker, does not have a lick of selfishness in him? Peter, who allowed his friends to help him fight superpowered villains from other universes has never and would never put anyone in danger? These are both completely reductive readings, I’m aware, but I’m trying to demonstrate that a thing called nuance exists.

Which leads me to ask which version of Peter Parker you’re talking about. And I’m inclined to say it’s one that you’ve headcannoned. If it seems to you that I changed him for narrative gags, then I think you didn’t read the fic that I wrote. Reread it, or don’t, either way I’m not sure it was written for you.

But thank you, anyway, for taking the time to read it in the first place.

[storybounded]

I am re-posting this because I can't find the original post I made about the movie, Bolt. But...the logic used in the movie cannot be explained, and every single time I attempt to think about it, my head wants to explode. So instead of trying to do what I can to make the movie version fit in, I will take some creative liberties to make my version WORK

I want to make it clear that Bolt will still be Bolt. Until his accidental trip to New York, he will remain oblivious to the realities of the real world.

—||| Bolt calls his Trainers ( and those who helped raise him from puppyhood) Allies to himself and Penny. He understands the importance of allies to his “mission”. We saw him take on Rhino as a wingman (er…hamster) easily during the cross-country trip, he understands the benefits of teamwork. That being said, he trusts these ‘Allies’ to hone in his “Powers’ through training. With every practice session, he believes his powers will grow stronger, and his senses will grow sharper. Bolt’s ‘Allies’ are the only people he trusts around Penny.

( This will help threads for people who want to know him during his Hollywood days. Maybe they worked closely with him perhaps ? )

—||| To transport Bolt on / off the Studio lot, the director ordered his kennel to be ‘covered’ so his belief of the show isn’t ‘broken’. He has private grooming appointments, usually scheduled under the best of the best groomers. A hero has to keep up good image after all!! Bolt has regularly scheduled appointments to the vet. Although, he isn’t too fond of these trips. He squirms. He barks. He growls. He snaps. He doesn’t like the idea of his ‘powers’ and ‘will’ being stripped away when they have to give him a weak sedative. Though it is for his best interest because he needs his daily check up.

—||| His ‘Trainer’ takes Bolt home during seasonal breaks. The canine still believes he is a superdog, thus he believes he is being ‘stationed’ within another district for a few months for his and Penny’s safety. Penny will continue to visit to show Bolt that she is ‘okay’. They are allowed to play with one another, but Penny is not allowed to take him home. Still not very ‘dog’ in behaviors. During a season of shooting on set however, Bolt stays within his trailer. This is what we see in the movie! This is the time where he is HIGHEST on alert and cannot settle. He relates this 'station' to ‘danger’ at every turn. Penny isn’t safe!

-||| The sets used in Bolt are very expensive and very uniquely made under the director's supervision. They do their damnnest to keep EVERYTHING looking natural and real. Which means sets are fully decorated from all sides & top & bottom. And they have hidden holes and clever ways to disguise important pieces of equipment to shoot the film. Not truly realistic by a long shot, but what even is realistic about this movie lmao. So there is a reason why the director freaked out about a boom mic being in the shot.

I can see why Mindy from the network wanted to pull the plug on Bolt when viewership dropped. This entire show was one expensive nightmare that also relied on Merch, I'm sure.

[yuribomber]

I just woke up from a dream that they adapted Solitaire into a movie and uhhh... let me preface this by saying I have not read the book yet so I don't know the plot so my subconscious brain took a couple 'creative liberties....'

Tori has a pet raccoon. I think their name was Hambone or something like that. They had the ability to speak but chose not to. Anyway, Hambone ran away and became friends with a goose and they started pulling heists together because they wanted to break into an art museum and smash all the Venetian glass. During the heist, the goose starts slinging webs cause apparently they've been bitten by the spider from spiderman. idk. Somehow, they uncover a plot that a mad scientist/evil billionaire will launch a satellite that will allow him to destroy and/or take over the world. don't ask me what that info was doing in an art gallery.

So now it's a spy movie starring spidergoose and a raccoon and I'm sitting in the theater wondering when all that happened in the book or if I'm even in the right movie?? Occasionally it'll cut to Tori but she's just vibing in her room. And then after 2 and a half minutes of her listening to music and spinning around in her chair, they cut back to the real protagonists of the story who are in space now and it's an action movie and spidergoose is yelling out stuff like "Hurry! We only have 15 minutes before the satellite starts quantum entangling (????) the Earth!"

At this point, enough is enough and I am so damn confused that I pull out my copy of the book and flip through the pages and the inside is a Shel Silverstein type of book? Like really short poems and semi abstract drawings and lots of empty pages. I realize that somehow I accidentally bought the wrong book and apparently the writers of the movie did too.🤷‍♀️

I think this dream was too much for me cause i woke up with a splitting migraine and i just lay there for an hour trying to process what i had experienced🤕

[doctorstethoscope]

The Whole Time || A. Hotchner x Fem!Reader

It’s @ssahotchswife ‘s soft hotch saturday again bitches. u know the drill. 

Summary: Aaron decides to make some happier memories in New York

Contains: fluff, alcohol consumption, law-breaking but not the kind anyone cares about, canon-typical descriptions of kidnapping, author taking creative liberties with the geography of New York City

word count: 1.7k

You let out a breath you didn’t realize you were holding when you watch the child you’d saved from an attempted kidnapping rush into his mother’s waiting arms. The most recent case had brought the team to New York City, for a kidnapping that was ultimately linked to a trafficking ring. You’d recovered a dozen kids of all ages, but Charlotte, the child you’d been called on the case for originally, was finally with her parents again, and you could rest, and rest easy, knowing that you’d saved them.

Spencer and JJ were already taking apart the team’s whiteboard in the conference room. Aaron was off making a call, and you spotted Derek and Emily fussing with the coffee pot in the NYPD’s break room. You started clearing off the table, preparing for your swift exit, and hopefully a night at home with Aaron and Jack. 

“Jet leaves tomorrow at 8AM.” Aaron announces when he enters the conference room. 

“We’re not leaving this afternoon?” JJ asked. 

“We had to shut the airports down to stop the unsubs. LaGuardia is a mess trying to get all of today’s rescheduled flights out, and it seemed better to give you all a day in the city than to sit on the tarmac for eight hours. But if you want me to call them back--” 

“Ah, ah, I think what JJ meant to say is first round on her tonight.” Morgan corrected and the team let out a laugh.

“Well, I for one, am overdue for some self care in the form of a little blue box.” Emily said, already pulling up walking directions to Tiffany’s. 

“Oh, can we go to Saks, too!” JJ asked, peering over Emily’s shoulder. 

You crossed the room to slide beside Aaron. The team knew that you were together, but for professionalism’s sake, you tried to make sure any local teams you worked with couldn’t tell, which meant you had to be very careful about your PDA.

“So… a day in New York, huh?” You looked up at him, and he smiled at you. 

“I think I’m just gonna take some time and work on my report so it’s done when we get in tomorrow. You should go shopping with the girls.” He tells you, and you squint up at him.

“You okay?” You asked. 

“Yeah,” he assures you with a little nod and a quirk of his brow that doesn’t leave you feeling very assured at all. 

“I know New York isn’t your favorite place. You don’t have a lot of happy memories here,” you understated. 

“Well, today’s not all that bad.” He winks at you. “Go shop. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you used the money your parents sent you for your birthday on Jack.” He narrows his eyes at you. 

“It’s all the same money once it gets into the account, babe. I don’t feel deprived of anything. Don’t think I didn’t notice that you went way overboard with my presents this year.” You remind him with a smirk. 

“No such thing,” he said, taking a risk and pressing a quick kiss to the top of your head. The case was done now, anyways. “Have fun with the girls. I’ll be waiting for you when you get back. You’d better have more bags than you can carry.” 

“You’re ridiculous.” You rolled your eyes at him playfully as he gave you a gentle shove towards JJ and Emily. You took a couple steps over to where they were planning the rest of their afternoon. “Mind if I crash?” You asked. 

“We were planning on stealing you away from Hotch regardless of whether or not you asked, so this seems easier,” Emily tells you and you laugh. 

“I need coffee before we do anything. Real, not-police-station coffee.” JJ moans out, and you drag her out the door in the direction of the nearest Starbucks.

You’re headed back to the hotel after some shopping when Emily mentions a detour through Central Park. The air is warm, and contrary to Aaron’s orders, your bags aren’t all that heavy, so you’re happy to oblige her. You’re distracted, following JJ’s lead as you breathe in the smell of the flowers and appreciate the life of the city, the simplicity of all these people who have no clue about the international kidnapping scheme you and your team had taken down not even four hours ago. Emily and JJ come to a stop and you look between them. They gesture to a tree not far off from your path. Aaron’s underneath it, a blanket beneath him and a picnic basket on the ground beside him. He stands up and makes his way towards you.

“Did you two know about this?’ You ask, looking back and forth between Emily and JJ, betrayed but not at all angry. 

“He texted us and asked if we could covertly get you here, but other than that we knew nothing.” JJ assured you. You’re about to pressure Emily for more answers, but Aaron makes his way to you. 

“Hi angel,” He tells you, leaning in to kiss your cheek. 

“Hi.” You smile at him. “When did you have time to do all of this? You said you were working on your report.” 

He shrugged. “I lied. If you want to yell at me, I’ll allow it, but let’s not make Emily and JJ watch.” He teases.

You’d forgotten that they were even there. They both gave you hugs goodbye before taking off, and Aaron took your hand in his to lead you back to the blanket he’d set up on a slight hill, overlooking a bit of the park. 

“I figured it was time to make some happy memories in the city.” He tells you, beckoning you to sit. You do, scooting your way next to him so that your thighs were touching. He leans forward for the basket and procures a chilled bottle of white wine and a small package of red solo cups. 

“Aaron Hotchner, are you drinking in public?” You asked incredulously. 

“I figure the NYPD’ll give us a pass, just this once.” He says, uncorking the bottle and pouring modest glasses into two cups for you both.

You raised your glass to his. “To happier memories.” 

He connected his cup to your own but leaned in to kiss you before you could take a sip. “I love you,” he reminds you between kisses, and you smile. To anyone else in the park, especially from a distance, you two must have looked like crazy twenty-somethings freshly in love. Sometimes you felt like that, too. 

He pulls away from you, after a moment. “I love you.” You say, taking your free hand and wrapping it around Aaron’s arm, pulling him in and resting your head on his shoulder. 

He places a hand on your thigh and turns his head to leave a kiss on top of yours. “We don’t do this enough.” 

“No amount of time with you could ever be enough,” you concur. “But we get out as often as we can. We’re busy, Aaron, and we have a son.” 

His heart warmed when you referred to Jack as your own-- it wasn’t the first time you’d done it, not by a long shot, and he’d known even before you started calling him yours that you’d risk life and limb for him. So why hadn’t he asked you yet? Why hadn’t he pulled the ring out of his sock drawer and made it official?

“A son who I see you’ve spoiled, when I specifically told you to go shopping for yourself.” He teased you, changing the subject in his own brain and gesturing to the FAO Schwarz bag in your collection. 

“It’s just a couple comic books, Aaron. It’s reading material, it hardly counts as a gift.” You defended, knowing there was no need.

“Sure,” He chuckles at you, concealing his grin with a sip of wine. 

He pulls a small plate of cut fruit out of the basket, and you talk and eat and giggle and settle in to each other to watch the sunset. He’s leaning back against the tree, his legs spread so you can lean against his chest and sit between them, his arms wrapped around you from behind. The setting sun has allowed a slight chill to settle into the air, but the weight of his body wrapped around yours keeps you warm. 

“Aaron?” You ask, not daring to tear your eyes away from the cascading pinks and purples of the sky in front of you. 

“Hm?” He asks. 

“Do you think you’d want more?” You ask, internally cringing at your own vulnerability, hoping you hadn’t ruined an otherwise perfect evening.

“More wine?” He asked, unwrapping a hand from you to look for his cup. 

You let out a nervous little laugh. “No, hon. I, uh. I meant more kids. Sorry, didn’t mean to spring that on you, it was just on my mind. You don’t have to answer.” 

“Only if they’re yours,” he replies, and you’re confused. 

“Huh?” You ask. 

“I only want more kids if they’re yours.” He reiterates, craning to look at you a little. “Isn’t it obvious?” He asked. 

“Well, you know, it doesn’t hurt to hear, regardless.” You responded, a little breathless. You turned to face him. 

“Silly girl,” He smiled at you. “I only want you. I want you and our future together, and our babies, if we are to have any, and I want to keep making you smile for the rest of my life. And if I have that, I’ll be happy.” He states simply, as if it were the easiest thing in the world, as if he’d known it all along. He suspects that deep down, he has. 

“Sounds like a pretty good life you’ve dreamed up for yourself, there.” You smile at him, just happy to be included. 

“Yeah, I think so.” He agrees, giving you a squeeze. 

“You know, you’re gonna have to marry me before I let you knock me up,” you inform him with a laugh. 

“Working on it,” He tells you, and you roll your eyes. 

“Sure you are,” you counter, and he kisses your temple. 

“It’s coming when you least expect it. Like an action movie. You’d better watch out.” He whispers against you, and you laugh, the sound vibrating through your chest and warming him from the inside out. 

“You’re missing the sunset, silly boy.” You reminded him. 

He’d been looking at you the whole time, anyways. 

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 1: La Seine no Hoshi (1975)

1. Introduction

Well, dear reader, here it is. My first ever official review. And, as promised, this is one of the pieces of Frev media that you have likely never heard of before.

So, without further ado, sit down, relax, grab drinks and snacks and allow me to tell you about an anime called “La Seine no Hoshi” (The Star of the Seine).

“La Seine no Hoshi” is a children’s anime series made by Studio Sunrise. It consists of 39 episodes and was originally broadcast in Japan from April 4th to December 26th of 1975.

Unlike its more famous contemporary, a manga called “Rose of Versailles” that had begun being released in 1972 and is considered a classic to this day, “La Seine no Hoshi” has stayed relatively obscure both in the world of anime and among other Frev pop culture.

Personally, the only reason why I found out about its existence was the fact that I actively seek out everything Frev-related and I just happened to stumble upon the title on an anime forum several years ago.

So far, the anime has been dubbed into Italian, French, German and Korean but there is no English or even Spanish dub so, unfortunately, people who do not speak fluent Japanese or any other aforementioned language are out of luck ( if anyone decides to make a fandub of the series, call me). That being said, the series is readily available in dubs and the original version on YouTube, which is where I ended up watching it. The French dub calls the anime “La Tulipe Noire” (The Black Tulip), which could be an homage to the movie with the same name that takes place in the same time period.

Unfortunately, while I do speak Japanese well enough to maintain a basic conversation and interact with people in casual daily situations, I’m far from fluent in the language so the version I watched was the French dub, seeing as I am majoring in French.

So, with all of this info in mind, let’s find out what the story is about and proceed to the actual review.

2. The Summary

(Note: Names of the characters in the French dub and the original version differ so I will use names from the former since that’s what I watched)

The story of “La Seine no Hoshi” revolves around a 15-year old girl called Mathilde Pasquier - a daughter of two Parisian florists who helps her parents run their flower shop and has a generally happy life.

But things begin to change when Comte de Vaudreuil, an elderly Parisian noble to whom Mathilde delivers flowers in the second episode, takes her under his wing and starts teaching her fencing for an unknown reason and generally seems to know more about her than he lets on.

Little does Mathilde know, those fencing lessons will end up coming in handy sooner than she expected. When her parents are killed by corrupt nobles, the girl teams up with Comte de Vaudreuil’s son, François, to fight against corruption as heroes of the people, all while the revolution keeps drawing near day by day and tensions in the city are at an all time high.

This is the gist of the story, dear readers, so with that out of the way, here’s the actual review:

3. The Story

Honestly, I kind of like the plot. It has a certain charm to it, like an old swashbuckling novel, of which I’ve read a lot as a kid.

The narrative of a “hero of the common folk” has been a staple in literature for centuries so some might consider the premise to be unoriginal, but I personally like this narrative more than “champion of the rich” (Looking at you, Scarlet Pimpernel) because, historically, it really was a difficult time for commoners and when times are hard people tend to need such heroes the most.

People need hope, so it’s no surprise that Mathilde and François (who already moonlights as a folk hero, The Black Tulip) become living legends thanks to their escapades.

Interestingly enough, the series also subverts a common trope of a hero seeking revenge for the death of his family. Mathilde is deeply affected by the death of her parents but she doesn’t actively seek revenge. Instead, this tragedy makes the fight and the upcoming revolution a personal matter to her and motivates her to fight corruption because she is not the only person who ended up on its receiving end.

The pacing is generally pretty good but I do wish there were less filler episodes and more of the overarching story that’s dedicated to the secret that Comte de Vaudreuil and Mathilde’s parents seem to be hiding from her and maybe it would be better if the secret in question was revealed to the audience a bit later than episode 7 or so.

However, revealing the twist early on is still an interesting narrative choice because then the main question is not what the secret itself is but rather when and how Mathilde will find out and how she will react, not to mention how it will affect the story.

That being said, even the filler episodes do drive home the point that a hero like Mathilde is needed, that nobles are generally corrupt and that something needs to change. Plus, those episodes were still enjoyable and entertaining enough for me to keep watching, which is good because usually I don’t like filler episodes much and it’s pretty easy to make them too boring.

Unfortunately, the show is affected by the common trope of the characters not growing up but I don’t usually mind that much. It also has the cliché of heroes being unrecognizable in costumes and masks, but that’s a bit of a staple in the superhero stories even today so it’s not that bothersome.

4. The Characters

It was admittedly pretty rare for a children’s show to have characters who were fleshed out enough to seem realistic and flawed, but I think this series gives its characters more development than most shows for kids did at the time.

I especially like Mathilde as a character. Sure, at first glance she seems like a typical Nice Pretty Ordinary Girl ™️ but that was a part of the appeal for me.

I am a strong believer in that a character does not need to be a blank slate or a troubled jerk to be interesting and Mathilde is neither of the above. She is essentially an ordinary girl with her own life, family, friends, personality and dreams and, unfortunately, all of that is taken away from her when her parents are killed.

Her initial reluctance to participate in the revolution is also pretty realistic as she is still trying to live her own life in peace and she made a promise to her parents to stay safe so there’s that too.

I really like the fact that the show did not give her magic powers and that she was not immediately good at fencing. François does remark that her fencing is not bad for a beginner but in those same episodes she is clearly shown making mistakes and it takes her time to upgrade from essentially François’s assistant in the heroic shenanigans to a teammate he can rely on and sees as an equal. Heck, later there’s a moment when Mathilde saves François, which is a nice tidbit of her development.

Mathilde also doesn’t have any romantic subplots, which is really rare for a female lead.

She has a childhood friend, Florent, but the two are not close romantically and they even begin to drift apart somewhat once Florent becomes invested in the revolution. François de Vaudreuil does not qualify for a love interest either - his father does take Mathilde in and adopts her after her parents are killed so François is more of an older brother than anything else.

Now, I’m not saying that romance is necessarily a bad thing but I do think that not having them is refreshing than shoehorning a romance into a story that’s not even about it. Plus most kids don’t care that much for romance to begin with so I’d say that the show only benefits from the creative decision of not setting Mathilde up with anyone.

Another interesting narrative choice I’d like to point out is the nearly complete absence of historical characters, like the revolutionaries. They do not make an appearance at all, save for Saint-Just’s cameo in one of the last episodes and, fortunately, he doesn’t get demonized. Instead, the revolutionary ideas are represented by Florent, who even joins the Jacobin Club during the story and is the one who tries to get Mathilde to become a revolutionary. Other real people, like young Napoleon and Mozart, do appear but they are also cameo characters, which does not count.

Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI are exceptions to the rule.

(Spoiler alert!)

Marie-Antoinette is portrayed as kind of spoiled and out of touch. Her spending habits get touched on too but she is not a malicious person at heart. She is simply flawed. She becomes especially important to the story later on when Mathilde finds out the secret that has been hidden from her for her entire life.

As it turns out, Marie- Antoinette, the same queen Mathilde hated so much, is the girl’s older half-sister and Mathilde is an illegitimate daughter of the Austrian king and an opera singer, given to a childless couple of florists to be raised in secret so that her identity can be protected.

The way Marie-Antoinette and Mathilde are related and their further interactions end up providing an interesting inner conflict for Mathilde as now she needs to reconcile this relationship with her sister and her hatred for the corruption filling Versailles.

The characters are not actively glorified or demonized for the most part and each side has a fair share of sympathetic characters but the anime doesn’t shy away from showing the dark sides of the revolution either, unlike some other shows that tackle history (*cough* Liberty’s Kids comes to mind *cough*).

All in all, pretty interesting characters and the way they develop is quite realistic too, even if they could’ve been more fleshed out in my opinion.

5. The Voice Acting

Pretty solid. No real complaints here. I’d say that the dub actors did a good job.

6. The Setting

I really like the pastel and simple color scheme of Paris and its contrast with the brighter palette of Versailles. It really drives home the contrast between these two worlds.

The character designs are pretty realistic, simple and pleasant to watch. No eyesores like neon colors and overly cutesy anime girls with giant tiddies here and that’s a big plus in my book.

7. The Conclusion

Like I said, the show is not available in English and those who are able to watch it might find it a bit cliché but, while it’s definitely not perfect. I actually quite like it for its interesting concept, fairly realistic characters and a complex view of the French Revolution. I can definitely recommend this show, if only to see what it’s all about.

Some people might find this show too childish and idealistic, but I’m not one of them.

I’m almost 21 but I still enjoy cartoons and I’m fairly idealistic because cynicism and nihilism do not equal maturity and, if not for the “silly” idealism, Frev itself wouldn’t happen so I think shows like that are necessary too, even if it’s just for escapism.

If you’re interested and want to check it out, more power to you.

Anyway, thank you for attending the first ever official meeting of the Jacobin Fiction Convention. Second meeting is coming soon so stay tuned for updates.

Have a good day, Citizens! I love you!

- Citizen Green Pixel

[iamthenightcolormeblack]

Pride and Prejudice 1940: "When Pretty Girls T-E-A-S-E-D Men Into Marriage"

Made during the Great Depression, this classic black and white film is loosely based on Austen's novel and is set in what is likely the 1830s rather than the Regency Era (late 18th century to early 19th century). It is an escapist piece which capitalizes on nostalgia for a simpler time by transporting its viewers to a chocolate-box vision of the past, while paying homage to Austen's social satire by delivering plenty of laughs along the way.

Overall Thoughts on the Film:

The first time I watched this movie, I was confused because the plot as well as the setting was revised significantly (the events after Darcy's first proposal are changed to hasten the happy ending; Darcy's letter and Elizabeth's visit to Pemberley are not included in this movie). This changing of plot points makes the 2005 movie a much more faithful adaptation in comparison with this version, in spite of the creative liberties both take with the novel.

Production Design:

The movie is a typical example of Golden Age Hollywood productions, with beautiful actresses and melodramatic flourishes added to increase the drama. Some of the lines are delivered very quickly, in keeping with the comedic style of the time.

The music: definitely not historically accurate. A lot of sentimental, "ye olde timey" string arrangements that emphasize emotions or fast-paced waltz music for balls/parties.

The 1830s costumes are beautiful; it seems as if no expense (or quantity of fabric) was spared in making them. The bonnets are way taller and have more decorations than typical 1830s bonnets. Some of the patterns/fabric choices are very 1930s, and the costumes are exaggerated in such as way as to make the wearers look like fancy turkeys.

Hair and Makeup: very 1930s, with finger/sausage curls, plucked eyebrows, lipstick/lip makeup, and long lashes.

The sets: the dollhouse-like interiors are lavishly gilded and made to look as opulent as possible. Outdoors scenes are lush, with lots of flowers and bushes; the garden in which the second proposal takes place is gorgeous. The set design transports the viewer into an idyllic vision of the bucolic English countryside.

The Lead Actors:

With the exception of Laurence Olivier, the majority of the actors are American, since this is a Hollywood production. Many of the characters in the film's imaginary vision of pastoral Britain speak American or make clumsy attempts to imitate British English.

Greer Garson: while she is definitely too old for the part, she perfectly conveys Elizabeth's intelligence, outspokenness, and sarcasm. Her facial expressions are killer as well; with the arch of an eyebrow along with a snarky side eye, she captivates us all. All in all, Garson effectively shows off Elizabeth's impertinence through her nonverbal acting (this reminds me strongly of Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennet).

Laurence Olivier: he effectively conveys Darcy's pride while hinting at his deeper feelings beneath the surface (I can see why Colin Firth spoke so highly of Olivier's portrayal of Darcy). Most importantly, the film emphasizes Darcy's intelligence; he is certainly Elizabeth's intellectual equal. While this portrayal of Darcy is very accurate to the book, Darcy's pride does go away pretty quickly (he and Elizabeth form a tentative friendship early on) and his social awkwardness isn't immediately obvious thanks to his charm. Also the unflattering hairstyle with the greasy hair and painted on sideburns makes me sad.

Key Scenes:

Opening scene: The title card appeals directly to the audience's nostalgia for a sentimental, romanticized past: “It happened in OLD ENGLAND (this was actually capitalized), in the village of Meryton…” The Bennet women are at a fabric shop, where they gossip with aunt Phillips about the rich people moving into Netherfield Park.

The carriage race: this scene, which isn’t in the original novel, represents the rivalry between the Bennets and Lucases. The mothers both want their daughters to be the first to snag the rich bachelors.

The first ball: There is a historical anachronism as the music is a waltz by Strauss, who became popular in late 19th century, specifically the Gilded Age; far too early for the Regency Era or 1830s England. Other changes from the original novel include Elizabeth meeting Wickham before Darcy; other events from Aunt Phillips’ ball (which isn’t included in this movie) and Wickham and Darcy’s confrontation are included in this scene.

Elizabeth’s impression of Darcy at the ball: she puts on airs and mocks his casual dismissal of her as tolerable (definitely a parallel with the 1995 version, where Jennifer Ehle does the same, but privately with Jane).

Great comedic change: Darcy introduces himself to Elizabeth after calling her tolerable and asks if she will dance with him (this originally takes place at Mr. Lucas' ball). Right after rejecting Darcy, she instantly agrees to dance with Wickham; in a humorous moment, Darcy evacuates to a corner of the room to sulk while seeing Wickham dance with Elizabeth.

The “Accomplished woman” scene: the dialogue lifted directly from the book for the most part. Darcy, in a departure from his trademark seriousness, shows off his playful side when reacting to Caroline Bingley's "turn about the room." I particularly like this added repartee from Elizabeth Bennet to Darcy, which is clever but also foreshadows her prejudice: “If my departure is any punishment, you are quite right. My character reading is not too brilliant.”

Elizabeth can't stand Mr. Collins: After twirling about his monocle, he pronounces that: “It might interest you to know my taste was formed by lady Catherine de Bourgh.” The best part of this scene is when Elizabeth plucks a wrong note on her harp when Collins gets really annoying.

The Netherfield ball (which is now a garden party):

Elizabeth running away from Mr. Collins: She looks rather ridiculous, almost like an overdressed turkey, in a white dress with puffy sleeves as she runs away from an overeager Collins. Then she hides in the bushes while Darcy helps her to hide, telling Collins he doesn't know where she is. It's fun but most likely not something a proper lady and gentleman would do (two people of the opposite gender out alone, shock!).

The archery scene: Darcy attempts to teach Elizabeth how to shoot a bow and arrow, even though he doesn’t hit the bullseye. She goes on to impress him by perfectly hitting the bullseye every time; Darcy learns his lesson: "Next time I talk to a young lady about archery I won't be so patronizing." Caroline Bingley, very passive aggressive as usual, shows up for her archery lesson right after and it's absolutely perfect.

Mr. Collins attempts to introduce himself to Mr. Darcy: Laurence Olivier captures Darcy so perfectly in this scene (really set the precedent for Colin Firth). When Mr. Collins starts talking (inviting Elizabeth to dance with him) Darcy tries to keep himself well-composed but has a pained expression on his face as if he’s about to pass out. Olivier masters the way Darcy can look so miserable but also disgusted and proud at the same time.

Mr. Collin's proposal to Elizabeth: I like the added touch of Mrs. Bennet pulling Elizabeth back by her skirt when she tries to run out of the room. The dialogue is taken directly from the book, and the scene is made even funnier when Collins holds on to Elizabeth's hand desperately and doesn’t let her get away. My only quibble is that Elizabeth isn’t indignant enough when Mr. Collins doesn't take no for an answer.

Elizabeth and Darcy at Rosings: I like that Olivier subtly indicates that Darcy is clearly affected upon seeing Elizabeth at Rosing, hinting at deeper feelings beneath the surface. I also like how the scriptwriter emphasizes that Darcy indirectly praises Elizabeth and enjoys their conversations, while she remains convinced that he hates her. Sadly, the original dialogue of the piano scene is not included, which is unfortunate as it allows Darcy to reveal his introvert tendencies, calling into question Elizabeth's assertion that he is unpardonably proud.

First proposal: The famous opening lines are mutilated with awkward punctuation: “It’s no use. I’ve struggled in vain. I must tell you how much I admire and love you." While the rest of the dialogue matches up closely with what happens in Austen's novel, both of the actors aren’t emotional enough; instead Elizabeth cries very daintily, and Darcy remains serene, which conflicts with the book's description of both of them being very angry and defensive at each other.

THE SCRIPT:

The first half of the film up to Darcy's first proposal follows the events of the original book closely, though certain blocks of dialogue are moved elsewhere and other events such as Mrs. Phillips' party are skipped over. The most significant changes, besides updating the setting to the 1830s, are made to the second half of the book to squeeze the key events of the story into the movie before delivering the inevitable happy ending.

Brilliant Quotes:

Mr. Bennet's reaction to Mrs. Bennet's despair over the situation of their 5 unmarried daughters: “Perhaps we should have drowned some of them at birth.”

Darcy insists Elizabeth cannot tempt him: “Ugh. Provincial young lady with a lively wit. And there’s that mother of hers.”

Darcy is an arrogant snob: “I’m in no humor tonight to give consequence to the middle classes at play.” (Technically the Bennets are part of the gentry; they just are less wealthy than Darcy).

Elizabeth's reaction to Darcy pronouncing her to be tolerable at best: “What a charming man!”

Elizabeth rebuffs Darcy's offer to dance after overhearing his insult: “I am afraid that the honor of standing up with you is more than I can bear, Mr Darcy.”

Elizabeth favors Wickham after witnessing the bad blood between him and Darcy: “Without knowing anything about it I am on your side.”

Mrs. Bennet's comment after she sends Jane to Netherfield under stormy skies: “There isn’t anything like wet weather for engagements. Your dear father and I became engaged in a thunderstorm.”

Mr. Bennet's reaction to Jane's fever: “Jane must have all the credit for having caught the cold…we’re hoping Elizabeth will catch a cold and stay long enough to get engaged to Mr. Darcy. And if a good snowstorm could be arranged we’d send Kitty over!”

The sisters' description of Mr. Collins: “Oh heavens! what a pudding face.”

Caroline Bingley at the Netherfield garden party: “Entertaining the rustics is not as difficult as I feared. Any simple childish game seems to amuse them excessively.”

Darcy reassuring Elizabeth after helping her escape Mr. Collins: “If the dragon returns St. George will know how to deal with it.”

Darcy learns his lesson after Elizabeth beats him at archery: “The next time I talk to a young lady about archery I won’t be so patronizing.”

Elizabeth comments about a curtain: “Oh that’s pretty. It’s a pity you didn’t make it bigger. You could have put it around Mr. Collins when he becomes a bore.”

Elizabeth on Kitty and Lydia: “2 daughters out of 5, that represents 40% of the noise.”

Elizabeth sees Lady Catherine for the first time: “So that’s the great lady Catherine. Now I see where he learned his manners.”

Lady Catherine's attitude towards philanthropy: “You must learn to draw a firm line between the deserving poor and the undeserving poor.”

Darcy takes Elizabeth's advice: “I’ve thought a great deal about what you said at Netherfield, about laughing more...but it only makes me feel worse."

Elizabeth and Darcy have a conversation with Colonel Fitzwilliam: “He likes the landscape well enough, but the natives, the natives, what boors, what savages … Isn’t that what you think, Mr. Darcy?” With a smile: “It evidently amuses you to think so, Miss Bennet."

CHANGES FROM THE BOOK:

The first half of the film up to Darcy's first proposal follow the events of the original book closely, though certain blocks of dialogue are moved elsewhere and other events such as Mrs. Phillips' party are skipped over. The most significant changes, besides updating the setting to the 1830s, are made to the second half of the book to squeeze the key events of the story into the movie before delivering the inevitable happy ending.

With the exception of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the portrayals of the characters are (generally) true to the book.

As I said earlier, the film neglects any sort of historical accuracy when setting the story in romanticized "Old England," where genteel people pass simple lives that revolve around dresses, tea parties, social gossip, and marriages. A lot of Austen adaptations present an idealized vision of Regency life, where people are dressed immaculately, flawlessly adhere to "chivalry," and find love in the ballroom. This contributes to the misconception that Austen's novels are shallow chick-lit books with flat characters who live for lavish parties and hot men, instead of stories of unique, complicated women who happen to be well-off but aspire towards love, respect, or independence instead of being content to make economically advantageous marriages. Austen's novels are character novels and she doesn't waste time writing about dresses or tea parties; balls, while exciting, are just another part of daily life for her characters rather than some Extremely Big Special Once In a Blue Moon Event.

Austen's multifaceted view on marriage turns into a game of matchmaking. She recognizes it as necessary for women to survive in the patriarchy, since they cannot provide for themselves unless they marry well, but at the same time, presents marriage as a means for freedom if it is a loving partnership between two people that respect each other. In contrast, marriage is a game of manipulating the partners into wanting to marry (ex. Lady Catherine and Darcy's trickery). Also, it seems to be a given that Elizabeth will marry for love, unlike in the book where it is uncertain whether she will achieve this.

Kitty and Lydia's antics are viewed much more sympathetically as those of young people having fun; in the book, their behavior harms the family's social reputation, reducing the chances the Bennet daughters have of making good marriages.

Louisa Hurst, Georgiana Darcy, and Aunt and Uncle Gardiner are not in the movie.

Wickham is introduced much earlier than in the book; he is friends with Lydia from the very beginning. Interestingly, he doesn't begin to trash-talk Darcy until Bingley leaves; in the book he does so much earlier, before the Netherfield ball.

Darcy is more considerate towards Elizabeth at the Netherfield party (ex. rescuing her from Collins), until he overhears Mrs. Bennet scheming to get the daughters married. Elizabeth forms a tentative friendship with him until finding out that he separated Jane from Bingley.

Jane is more obviously heartbroken over Bingley's departure than in the book, where she keeps her pain to herself. In the movie, she runs away to cry, which is uncharacteristic of her.

Collins is a librarian instead of a clergyman. I dislike this change because some Austen scholars/fans think that Collins being a clergyman is a deliberate choice as part of Austen's social criticism. Collins is representative of how hypocritical the Church is, since he worships Lady Catherine's wealth instead of God, and preaches moral lessons instead of actually using religion to help people. My theory is that the change was made because of the Hays Code, which led to the censorship of movies for "unwholesome" or "indecent" things; the religious criticism could have been offensive.

Elizabeth reacts rather too kindly to Charlotte marrying Collins by showing concern for the loveless marriage. While she does worry about the lack of love in the marriage, initially she is extremely surprised, outright shocked, and confused.

The scene where Darcy tries and fails to talk to Elizabeth (the "charming house" scene in the 2005 movie) just before the proposal is removed.

Darcy's letter is skipped over and Elizabeth overcomes her prejudice of Darcy very quickly, as shown when she tells Jane she regrets rejecting his proposal. This is contrary to the book, where overcoming her prejudice is an emotionally exhausting and slow process that continues all the way up until the second proposal.

The Pemberley visit is removed; instead, Elizabeth returns home to the news that Lydia has eloped. Visiting Pemberley is very important as part of Elizabeth's re-evaluation of Darcy's character and provides an opportunity for Darcy to show Elizabeth that he has changed for her. The visit is key in increasing Elizabeth's love for Darcy, and removing it means that the characters have less personal growth (also wouldn't it have been great for the audience to be treated to another gorgeous estate of "Old England?"). Instead, Darcy visits Longbourn on his own and offers his help in finding Lydia. When the news comes that Wickham accepts very little money in exchange for marrying Lydia, it isn't as shocking as it is in the book because Darcy had already expressed his intentions of helping Elizabeth earlier.

Here's the change that bugs me the most: Lady Catherine becomes good; though she is a busybody, her main priority is Darcy's happiness. Her confrontation of Elizabeth is a scheme hatched between her and Darcy as a test to be certain of Elizabeth's love. This does not make sense on so many levels: first, Darcy insists that "disguise of every sort is my abhorrence," so why would he resort to trickery, however well-intentioned, to find out if Elizabeth still loves him? Second, Lady Catherine is a social snob and objects to Elizabeth's low connections; also she has an arranged marriage planned for Darcy. Third, in the book, because Elizabeth likes Pemberley and gets along really well with his sister Georgiana, Darcy would have had some evidence that Elizabeth, in the very least, cared for him. And the added claim that Lady Catherine approves of Elizabeth because she likes rudeness and thinks Darcy needs a humorous wife irritates me further because the marriage of Elizabeth and Darcy is revolutionary since it was made in defiance of societal rules!!! Why, why, why in the name of comedy did they have to do this?!

Darcy kisses Elizabeth (in a stagey and melodramatic way) after she accepts his second proposal. Seems a bit uncharacteristic of him.

All the sisters get married at the end. Happily ever after.

CONCLUSION

This movie certainly was not aiming for faithfulness to Austen's novel; it ignores her detailed portrait of Regency era society and its attitudes and focuses on the "light, bright, and sparkling" aspect of Pride and Prejudice that gives the story its timeless appeal.

All in all, this comedy of manners is definitely a classic thanks to the clever dialogue and jokes within the script, along with some great acting.

@appleinducedsleep @dahlia-coccinea @princesssarisa @colonelfitzwilliams @austengivesmeserotonin

[willow-salix]

It’s here, Virgil’s FabFiveFeb

A nice little bit of Virg fluff for @gumnut-logic

"I think he'd like someone that has an interest in creative pursuits," Gordon mused, poking one of the boxes to tick it. 

"And someone that likes to go for walks, you know what he's like for wanting to wander and take in the scenery, maybe even snap some pictures to paint later," Scott added, touching another box to tick it. 

"More of a home body than an adventurer, he gets enough of that with work," Gordon added it to the list. "And they definitely have to believe that family is important, he can't have someone that won't understand his commitments."

"OK, next, all about him," Scott scrolled down to the next section. "His interests…"

"Classical music, obviously."

"Enjoys visiting art galleries and concerts."

"And eating out."

"Don't we all?" 

Gordon nodded at that, there was nothing they liked more than picking up some tasty food. 

"Ideal date? What's that movie he likes? The one with the lake house?" 

"Oh, I know the one you mean, with the…the…" Scott's brain failed to make the connection, romantic comedies were not his thing, that was what Virgil watched with Selene, not him. 

"Doesn't matter," Gordon assured him, brushing it aside. "He liked the date so I'm putting it down. A relaxed stroll along a lake side at sunset," he murmured to himself as he quickly typed it out. 

"That's the one," Scott nodded. "He-" 

"Allie! Have you seen Scott?" The sound of Virgil's voice floating up from the kitchen made them both jump guilty. 

"I think he's in the lounge," Alan shouted back. 

"Shit!" 

"He's coming!" 

"Quick, submit it, submit it!" Gordon smacked at the submit button, growling in frustration when a flashing red 'incomplete field' warning mocked them. 

The sound of steel capped boots thumping up stairs spurred them on. 

"Just tick anything!" Scott yelped, fingers flying as he randomly poked boxes in between Gordon whacking the submit button like it had personally offended him. 

"Yes!" Gordon sighed as the 'congratulations' sign appeared in green. "Done!" 

Scott just had time to hit the x and pull up a report before Virgil strolled his way in. 

"What are you two doing?" he asked suspiciously, stopping dead in the doorway when he was greeted by the sight of the two brothers least likely to be discussing a report seeming to be doing just that. 

"Nothing!" Gordon yelped just as Scott yelled "Reports" which was definitely upping the suspicion levels. He didn't believe them. 

"I don't believe you," Virgil told them firmly, attempting to give them the kind of 'don't lie to me' eyebrow raise that Selene or John managed to pull off but knew he had failed. Damn the fact that he was the nice one and they both knew that any and all threats he might issue would go unfulfilled. 

"You doubt me?" Scott gasped in mock outrage. "Me? Your big brother? The one that always has your back?" 

"And me, your wingman? The one that always fixes your hairdryer fuse?" 

"One time Gordon! That was one time! And it wasn't my hairdryer!" 

"I don't know, you bought it, you keep it in your bathroom and you warned us all that we couldn't borrow it on pain of death, so that evidence all points to it being your hairdryer…" 

"I won't stay here to be insulted," Virgil sniffed indignantly, "I'm gonna go find Kayo and see if she'll help me with the inlet manifold, at least she can take instructions and won't lie to me."

They watched him stomp away in a huff, breathing a sigh of relief when the sound of his boots faded into nothing. 

"Damn, that was close," Scott gulped, clicking back onto the dating website to check it had worked. His eyes widened when he looked at the screen. 

"What? What's wrong?" 

"He's got three inboxes already."

"Seriously? Already, it's been what, five minutes?" 

"Yep."

"We’re gonna be spoilt for choice."

"I guess that just means we have more chance of picking him a good one, he needs to get out more."

"He'll thank us for it in the end."

       ***

"I don't understand, why do I have to dress up?" Virgil groaned. "I'm tired, I've had a long day, why do we need to go to the mainland just to pick up pizza?" 

Gordon glanced at Scott for help. None was forthcoming. He nudged him for emphasis. 

"Fine," Scott sighed, admitting defeat. Honesty was always the best policy anyway. "We arranged a blind date for you."

"You did what?" Virgil exploded. "Why the hell would you do that?" 

"We thought you needed to get out more," Gordon shrugged. "We were trying to help."

"I don't need your help, I didn't ask for it."

"Not like you were going to meet anyone on your own, was it?" Gordon continued to needle.

"John did! So did Scott. I am perfectly capable of getting my own dates."

"John is an enigma that none of us understand and Cat's my ex, I was recycling, that doesn't count."

"Do not let her hear you say that," Gordon laughed. 

"My point still stands," Scott insisted waving away the worry about his girlfriend, "we don't have a normal job or the chance to socialise much, and unless fate decides to be nice and throw someone at you like it did for John or you have an ex hidden away somewhere, you can't use us as an example."

"You don't want to let her down, do you?" Gordon tossed in, knowing that his softie brother would feel guilty as hell if he upset anyone. "How would you feel if you got dumped before you'd even met the person?" 

Virgil wanted to argue the point some more, but honesty and his vow never to lie to himself stopped him. They did have a point, a small one, but still pointy and therefore he was unable to ignore their logic. He decided to give in, although he refused to do so gracefully or with any forgiveness of their plotting. Plus, they were right, he wouldn't want to be responsible for anyone feeling like they weren't good enough in any way, shape or form.

"Looks like I don't have much of a choice…" he started only to be interrupted by the victorious cheers of his brothers. "Do you have a picture of her?" 

"Nope," Scott grinned. "We signed you up with that new site where pictures aren't allowed, you pick based on shared interests and compatibility, not looks."

"That's…actually a nice idea," Virgil acknowledged reluctantly. He wasn't one to judge people on looks, he cared more about personality and morals. 

"See, we knew you'd approve," Gordon grinned, slapping him on the back. 

"I didn't say I approved of this-" 

"Come on, hurry up, you don't want to be late for your date!" 

   ***

Virgil waited nervously on the picnic bench, clutching the single sunflower Scott had thrust at him like it was a weapon, ready to fend off anything if his blind date turned out to be some kind of psycho.

They couldn't be too careful, they were far too used to people trying to find out details about them or to trick them in some way. No one was ever as they seemed. 

Scott had assured him that they hadn't used his real name and that no one would associate it with him but he couldn't help the little nagging doubts that gnawed away at the back of his mind. 

Plus he still hadn't forgiven them for pulling this stunt on him. Did they really think he was that bad at dating that he needed such help? He wasn't bad at dating, he got plenty of offers for a hook up, they all did. Well, not John but he was hardly ever out on rescues and Selene was common knowledge now but, to the rest of the world, him and his "single" brothers were all fair game. 

Butt gropes and comments about their hard muscles were a common occurrence, so much so that he often felt like a piece of meat being squished and tested before purchase. Another reason why he rarely managed to meet anyone that he could actually see himself wanting to date. 

Maybe their idea, while badly executed and heavy in trickery and taken liberties, hadn't come from a bad place. He'd worried the whole way to the meeting spot that they might have picked the worst candidate they could, but he firmly forced the thought out of his head. His brothers might like to indulge in mutual pranking and to push the limits sometimes but they would never do anything to hurt or embarrass someone, especially not a stranger. The thought had calmed him down enough that he hadn't had to make use of Two's on board bathroom facilities for an emergency freshen up because he'd stress sweated through the nice shirt and jacket they had forced him into. 

He'd managed to relax a little but, now that he was sitting here alone, waiting and looking out for someone he had no clue about, he was starting to worry again. 

Seeing an abandoned pen on the picnic table he snatched a few napkins from the dispenser and let his eyes roam the scenery. 

It really was a gorgeous place, something often referred to as a little slice of heaven in the city. The urban park, man made in the center of the mass of concrete and steel, sported a carefully constructed lake that was home to a teeming ecosystem of endangered species that exhaustive conservation efforts had made possible. 

The sun was just beginning to lower towards the horizon, painting the sky and the surface of the lake with the most beautiful colours. Virgil's fingers itched to paint them but he settled for snapping a couple of pictures on his phone. 

Trees of all types surrounded the lake, creating an attractive backdrop to the whole scene and before he even realised he was doing it he was deep in concentration as he sketched the lake area on the napkin. 

The process was calming, helping to soothe his nerves and slow his thumping heart, allowing him to stop and breathe for a second, helping him to resist the urge to cut and run. 

"Are you Virgil Grant? You have a sunflower." 

The voice behind him made him jump and drop his pen. 

"Yes, yes I am," he admitted as he turned around to face his date. 

      ***

"So, how did it go?" Scott asked when they arrived to pick Virgil up, less than half an hour after he'd text for a ride. "Did you have a good time?" 

"I had a great time," Virgil smiled. 

"You were gone a long time," Gordon grinned, nudging his older brother playfully with his elbow. "Did you go back to her place or something?" 

"Yeah, we did."

"You did? You dog you!" Gordon leered with an exaggerated wink. Virgil just smiled, taking the teasing with his usual good grace. 

"You gonna see her again?" Scott asked, pleased that their plan seemed to have gone so well. 

Virgil nodded. "I told her I'd drop in as soon as I'm free."

"Come on, give us all the juicy details, tell us all about, Emma, wasn't it?" Gordon pushed, desperate for gossip. 

"Nothing much to tell," Virgil shrugged. "She's sweet, we had a nice time hanging out, she gave me her number."

"That's it? That's all you can tell us?" Gordon groaned, disappointment evident in his voice. 

"No, that's all I'm going to tell you," Virgil corrected. "You've interfered in my private life enough already, thank you."

"Oh, come on, Virg," Scott pleaded. But the big guy wouldn't budge, staying smugly silent the entire journey home. 

Gordon and Scott had given up by the time they eased the little jet back into the hangar, going off to do their own thing, hopefully to remove his dating profile, leaving Virgil alone. 

Selene and John were cuddled up together on one of the couches, watching something on the holoscreen when he made his way into the lounge. 

He hadn't meant to disturb them, especially when they were actually getting some time alone for once, and was about to make his excuses but Selene had other ideas. She patted the couch beside her, shifting over to make room for him. 

He accepted the offer, sitting down and getting comfortable. He didn't know what they were watching, possibly some kind of documentary. 

"Cookie?" he offered, pulling a baggie of what looked to be pretty decent cookies out of his jacket pocket. 

Selene glanced up from the screen, looking first at the bag of cookies and then at Virgil, her eyes widening in surprise. 

"You're all dressed up."

This got John's attention as he reached for a cookie. "Have you been somewhere?" 

Selene selected a cookie and took a big bite. "Oh, damn, these are so good, where did you get them?" 

"My date made them for me," Virgil grinned, consuming almost half a cookie in one bite. 

"Wait, wait, back up, date?" Selene actually paused the documentary, something about William Shakespeare by the looks of it. 

"You had a date? That wasn't on the calendar?" John frowned. "Were they cleared by security?" 

"The romance is strong in this family," Selene drawled, rolling her eyes. 

"Scott and Gordon decided that signing me up to dating sites is their new hobby," Virgil sighed. 

"They arrange the date? What were they like? Did you have a good time? Witchy needs details," Selene gently shoved John's face away from her as he chewed loudly in her ear and leant closer to Virgil.

"We actually had a nice time. Emma, my date, is a local, lived there all her life. She's been a bit lonely so her friend set her up on the site. We wandered around a lake for a bit and then we went back to her place."

"Awww, so romantic," Selene sighed dreamily before mock glaring at her husband. "Why don't you take me on dates any more?" 

"Because we only got back off our honeymoon a few weeks ago and we live on an island?" 

"No excuse."

"Dinner on the mainland next week?" 

"Thought you'd never ask," she stole a quick kiss as he rolled his eyes in defeat. "Got any pictures?" 

"Of the restaurant? Are you needing to inspect my reservation making skills now?" 

"I was talking to Virgil."

"Oh, then carry on."

"Virg, pictures?" 

"I did take one, yes," he pulled out his phone, scrolled through for a couple of seconds then turned the phone to show them the screen. "I took a selfie of us at the lake." 

Selene and John blinked, unsure if they were seeing the right picture. 

"Erm… not to be a judgey judgerson or anything but…" Selene trailed off. 

"But she has to be older than Grandma," John finished for her, blunt and to the point as always.

They both looked at the picture again, showing a goofily grinning Virgil next to a sweet older lady, her blue rinsed hair set in a helmet of curls, her half moon glasses perched on her nose. 

"Again, not with the judging, you do you, but does she have to watch her heart? She needs to be careful if she's going out picking up handsome young men."

"Stop, please stop," Virgil groaned. "She didn't know how old I was. Gordon and Scott set it up and apparently they somehow, and I choose to believe it was unintentional, managed to upload my profile to the over 60s side."

"And you didn't correct her?" John had to ask. He knew his brother was the nice one of the family but that was a little ridiculous. 

"Of course I did, but we were there and she hadn't been out in a few weeks. Her grandson moved away for work and her husband died a few years ago so I bought her dinner and we had a nice walk around the park. She wasn't actually looking for a romantic date, she just wanted a companion, someone to chat to, go for a walk with and maybe see an exhibition or two. Her friend at the widows club set it up for her."

"So you were both set up by others?" 

"Yep. She's a really nice lady."

"And that walk around the park turned into cookies at her place?" John's fingers snuck into the bag again to take another. 

"And banana bread. She mentioned that she was going to hire a handyman to fix her sink because her daughter was too busy and she didn't have any help now."

"Ahhh," Selene could see exactly where this was going. 

"And so I offered to unblock her sink for her."

"Of course you did," John sighed, hiding his smile against Selene's shoulder. 

"And while I was there I put up some new shelves for her and took her trash cans out to the kerb and retuned her TV. She made me cookies to say thank you."

"She sounds lovely," Selene cooed, already in love with the thought of her. She could take or leave it when it came to little kids, usually leave if she was being honest, but she was a complete suckee when it came to the elderly. 

"She is, smart too. I complimented some of the paintings she had on her walls and she told me she'd painted them, her and her husband met at art school and used to go on vacation to different countries to visit galleries and take classes. I showed her a few pictures of some of my pieces and it turned out she'd seen one of mine in a gallery in New York, you know that one of the Sphinx I did from that picture I took after that rescue?"

"Do I take it that our darling brothers don't know any of this?" 

"Nope," Virgil grinned. "I'm letting them stay curious, they asked me all sorts of questions on the way back but I stayed quiet. I'll tell them eventually, once all the cookies are gone." He picked another out of the rapidly depleting stash. 

"I have never heard a more Virgil story in my entire life," Selene laughed, shaking her head. "So when are you seeing her again?" 

"Gonna try and visit next week to mow her lawn," Virgil admitted, looking somewhat sheepish. 

"Hey, no," Selene grabbed his hand, squeezing it tight. "No looking embarrassed. You're amazing, it's a totally you thing to go on a date, not get what you were expecting and still come away with an old lady best friend and having had a great time. That's one of the many reasons I love you, because you're just so you."

"She's right," John added, patting his brother's shoulder. "One thing I've learnt the last few years is that you shouldn't make excuses for who you are or try to change. Don't belittle the fact that you have probably made her happier than she has been in months just by giving her some time and treating her with respect. Don't undervalue that."

"Yeah," Virgil acknowledged. "I know I did the right thing, it doesn't hurt to help someone and I had fun too." 

"And that's all that matters," Selene said, patting his hand one last time before she let it go. 

"Yep," he smiled, settling back against the cushions, munching on his cookie, his cheeks bulging like a hamster's, muffling his words. "That and the fact that her granddaughter is a nurse and she's going to introduce us next month."

[mamanabeille]

As He Waits - Lukanette Exchange Fic

Here is my @lukanette-exchange fic for the lovely @airi-p4.  I’m sorry it’s a little late I would give you excuses but instead will just say that your piece inspired me to smooth out the last little bits.  I hope you enjoy it.  

He waits nervously at the end of the aisle of The Liberty, in between his mother and sister.  He attempts to spin the old ring on his thumb, knowing that in just a moment, he’ll have another adorning his hand.  His mother chuckles, “Calm yourself, boy.  She’ll be here in a moment.”  He looks around to the friends and family seated in rows along the deck, and thinks of the moments that have led them to this day. 

“Come on, Luka!  Just play with us,” a young Juleka begs tugging her brother’s arms to pull him along to her bedroom where the two other girls are waiting.  “We need a boy to be the groom.” 

Luka rolls his eyes, but lets his sister continue to guide him along. “Fine, but I’m not marrying you.  That’s too weird, even to pretend.” He shakes his head as if to clear the thought from his mind, and then adds quickly. “Or Rose.” 

“Got him,” Juleka announces triumphantly. “We have a groom for Marinette.” 

“I’m still not sure I want to be the bride,” the girl mutters quietly, flushing a deep red nearly hiding behind Rose. “Why not Rose, again?” 

“Because Luka is basically my brother too, and that’s gross. Come on Mari,” she begs cheerfully.   “There’s no point in playing wedding planner for forever if we don’t even get to have a wedding at the end.” 

Marinette tries to object a few more times, but none of her attempts produce any actual words, so she is ushered by the girls to the back of Juleka’s room so she can walk down ‘properly’ as Rose had said.    She makes her way up the makeshift aisle of fake rose petals that Marinette can only assume came from the bubblier of the two.  Luka can tell she is nervous so he offers him a smile and a little nod.  She smiles back at him.  Even at the age of cooties and boys vs girls, Luka is struck by how pretty she looks when she smiles at him. 

Once Marintte is standing next to Luka, Rose begins into a clearly plagerized speech on love and what has them all gathered there today. He’s sure it is from a movie, but he can’t exactly place which one.  He leans over to ask Marinette if she knows, but before he can get any words out she mutters quietly so the other two can’t hear, “Do you think she’s going to make us kiss?”

“She can’t make either one of us kiss each other, Marinette,” Luka tells her with a little laugh, before adding as an afterthought “And I won’t either.” 

Marinette physically relaxes at his words.  “Maybe just on the cheek,” she decides just as Rose is prompting her for the ‘I do’. 

Luka’s cheeks flush a soft pink at that, thankful that Marinette’s attention is no longer on him. He gives his response of ‘I do’ as well.  He leans forward to place a very soft, very quick kiss to Marinette’s cheek, and feels butterflies in his stomach for the first time in his life.  He ponders the meaning, but then Rose is hurting them back down the aisle, and he can hear the click click click of Juleka using their mother’s camera to snap photos, and the butterflies are gone. 

The music switches from the intro music to Canon in D and Luka glances over at Jagged with a little smile and nod as his father’s hands dance across the keys.  It had taken a while for them to get on good terms with one another once Anarka had confessed the rock star was indeed his and Juleka’s father.   Marinette had played a major part in encouraging them all to really spend time together and let each other into their lives. 

Luka doesn’t remember walking to the bakery.  The last thing he does remember are his mother’s words ringing in his ears. “It’s true, Jagged’s yer dad.” He’d walked out, maybe even ran.  He isn’t sure.  He has no clue how long he’d been wandering around the city before he ended up in the cafe.  He doesn’t even remember deciding that’s where he was going.  He doesn’t go in; just stands by the door.  It’s late, and he knows they are closed, but Tom must have been doing some prep for the next morning or cleaning up.  The baker opens the door, sees the expression on the young man’s face, and tells him to go on up to Marinette’s room.  “I’ll bring you two up something to eat and drink when I finish up here,” Tom tells him, unsurprised when he gets no reply. 

Marinette isn’t expecting him. It’s obvious by her startled jump as he weakly calls out her name.  

“Luka?” she whispered, dropping her sketchbook and practically running over to him. “You’re crying,” the words sound wrong on her tongue.  He isn’t crying.  He reaches up, feels his cheek, and sure enough his fingers come back damp.  “What happened?” she asks, pulling him further into her room. She guides him over to the chaise and he falls into her, resting his head against her shoulders and completely bursting into tears 

Marinette whispers little assurances and runs her fingers through his hair until he’s ready to talk.  Once he does, she repeats the whole process again.  By the time he’s all cried out, Tom has come and gone with cookies and milk that go untouched and a quick ‘he can stay here for the night if he wants’ before Marintte can even ask. 

As the music shifts all eyes shift to the back of the boat, to Marintte’s entrance. Not that Luka notices anyone other than the beautiful woman that he fell in love with so long ago.  She’s grinning back at him, and he knows he should look at her dress.  He knows that she’s put months of work and preparations into this exact moment, but his heart is aflutter and tears prickle his eyes.   He can’t bring himself to look away from her matching tear filled eyes for even a moment.  He quickly brushes away at his watery eyes, and catches Marinette let out a little giggle at the action before doing the same herself.

Marinette is finishing up the eggs when Luka comes up behind her, wraps his arms around her waist and rests his chin on her shoulder. He takes in an over exaggerated breath.  “Mmmm.  Breakfast for dinner.  My favorite.” 

“I know,” she chuckles proudly, turning over the bacon. 

“Need help with anything?” he asks her, nuzzling his head into her neck. 

She shakes her head with a ‘nope’ and turns to kiss his cheek.  He smiles back at her with an adoring boyish grin that she's never seen on him before. She pulls back just slightly to look at him properly.  “What?” she asks softly. 

“I love you.” 

Marinette drops the spatula at his words, frozen in place, her cheeks a deep red flush.  She grins bigger than he’s ever seen, but struggles to form any other words. 

“Marinette, your eggs are burning.”  

Marinette lets out a laugh that sends sparks through Luka.  “I love you, too!”  She goes to throw her arms around his neck. In her haste to pull him into a kiss, and have her lips against hers, she catches the side of the pan with her forearm.  Her eyes instantly fill with tears and sobs out a curse.

“Shit, Nette,” Luka gasps, pulling her away from the stove and guiding her over to the sink  He mutters a soft, “It’s okay, babe” as he gets her to place her arm under the cool  running tap.  “Are you okay?” 

“Yeah,” she hisses, trying to hold back tears.  “It’s not the worst burn I’ve ever gotten.”  She glances down at her arm with a wince. “Of the worse, but not the worst.” She holds her breath for a few moments through the pain.

Luka grabs the first aid kit from under the sink and rummages around looking for a salve, gauze, and tape. “Only you,” he sighs, shaking his head as he dresses the wound. 

“You love me,” she practically giggles. 

“Very much,” he nods, leaning to capture her lips with his. 

Luka finally allows himself to take in the full sight of her.  He is struck in awe, as he is nearly every time he sees her creations, by her pure talent, skill, and creativity. 

Luka is awoken from his midday nap by a knock on the door.  He yawns deeply, making his way over, and opening it lazily.  “-ello,” he greets, not even bothering to see who it is. 

“Lu-luka?” Marintte whimpers.  

It promptly wakes him out of his daze and he pulls her into his chest.  “Marientte,” he asks shocked, ushering them inside and closing the door behind them.  “What’s the matter?” 

“I didn’t get it.” She finally manages to get out after a few sniffles and sobs.  “I though-thought for sure I would. I mean, I’ve been working with Gabriel for years.  I know his style. I know what he likes and what he doesn’t.  I have been his top apprentice for nearly as long as I’ve been with the company and he gave the partnership to another designer.” 

“Oh, Nette.”  He rubs circles on her back with a sigh.  “You’re an amazing designer, and you know you are. He’s going to regret it one day.  That sucks though, and I’m sorry.  What do you need from me?” 

“I just want to cuddle and cry,” she tells him with a humph. 

“I am always down for cuddles,” he chuckles, tilting her chin up gently and placing a soft kiss on her lips. “I’m not going to tell you not to cry, but I am going to try to make you smile. You know that, right?” 

“I know.” She nods weakly and follows as he leads her to the couch, never fully leaving the embrace. 

He puts on an animated movie he knows she loves, but he’s never really cared for, and lets her cry on his chest. The tears eventually fade to sniffles, which soon die down to her breath evening out, and Luka realizing that she’s fallen asleep.  He kisses the top of her head, and rubs circles up and down her back.  

“Thanks, Lu.” Marinette whispers a little while later.  “I’m sorry I cried on you.” 

“Hey,” Luka says sharply,  catching her attention.  “Never apologize for me being the one you lean on, Marinette.  I want to be that person for you.  You are welcome to break down anytime and anyplace with me, do you understand?  

She nods gently and buries her face into his neck, and places a soft kiss there.  He feels his breath catch in his throat, and he’s sure she can hear him swallow the lump.  “I love you, Luka.” 

“I love you too,” he tells her with a soft kiss to the forehead. 

Tom leans down to whisper something in her ear, kisses her cheek, and releases her hand to place in it his. Luka squeezes her hand gently.  He can't believe this moment is happening.  He’s been dreaming of it since the very first time Tom ushered him to her. 

When Luka picks her up that evening, his breath catches in his throat.  He’s never seen Marintte out of her usual school outfit.   However when Tom ushers him into the cafe and Marinette makes her way down the stairs, she’s in a swirly skirt instead of her usual jeans.  He can’t help but stare for a moment until Tom chuckles and pats him on the back.  He’s thankful that he’s traded in his faded hoodie for a nicer leather jacket.  “Hi,” she blushes, once she’s standing in front of him. 

“Hey,” he manages to get out over the lump in his throat.  “You look beautiful, marinette.”  

“You too- I mean handsome,” Marinette huffs, covering her face with her hands momentarily to cover her embarrassed blush.  “You look great I mean.” 

Tom chuckles again and Sabine reminds them to be home before eleven as they  leave. 

“I was thinking coffee and then a little music place I know of, if you’re good with that,” Luka tells her, reaching for her hand as they walk.  “Is this okay?” he asks, nodding down to their intertwined hands. 

She nods happily.  “That sounds wonderful.  Oh, are you going to play?  You don’t have your guitar though.  Not sure I”ve seen you without it much. 

I left it at home.  You’re my main focus tonight.   

Marientte feels her stomach warm and can't hide the grin on her face.  Luka is pretty sure it’s his favorite sight in the world. 

Luka guides her up a couple of steps to where the three other Couffaines are waiting for them.  Rose leans forwards and squeezes Marintte tightly in a hug.   Juleka takes the opportunity to kiss his cheek and tell him how happy she is for him, for both of them.  The bride and groom clasp hands and Luka leans forward to place a soft kiss on Marintte’s forehead.  “I love you,” he mouths, silently.  “I love you, too,” she whispers back as Anarka begins her speech by welcoming everyone there. 

When Luka opens his eyes to morning sunlight, and is met with his favorite sight in the world. Marintte is still asleep on the pillow next to him.  When she’s awake, she usually has a million things on her mind, and it shows.  He always feels a warmth in his chest when he catches her like this, perfectly still and completely at peace.  It’s the only time he realizes how truly small she is, and it amazes him the strength that she harbors in such a slight frame.  He spends the next several moments simply watching her, until her eyes start to slowly flutter open. 

“..Mmm. Morning,” she yawns, scooting closer to him and nuzzling her head into the nook of his shoulder. Warm,” she hums, happily.  Luka smiles into the kiss he places onto the top of her head.  “This is nice,” he sighs contently, and she responds with a gentle nod of her head and a little murmur of content. “Marry me?” the words are out of his mouth without him really thinking, but he means them with every single atom of his being. 

“Of course,” she mumbles, her lips brushing up against his skin as she does. 

“Nettie, I’m serious,” he tells her with a small chuckle, at her half awake tone. 

“What?” she pulls back, to look him in the eyes in disbelief.  “You’re serious?” 

“I am,” he nods.  He brushes back some of the loose hair that has escaped her ponytail in the night and fallen in her face. He tucks it behind her ear and stokes the line of her jaw right below with his thumb.  “I want to wake up next to you every single morning for the rest of my life, love.   You are the most important part of my life. I want you to be my future.  I want this,” he looks between the two of them and squeezes her hand that he doesn’t remember grasping.  “I love you.” 

“I want that too,” she smiles, capturing his lips in a quick kiss. “I love you.”  She grins even bigger and throws his arms clumsily around his neck, pulling him even closer.  He rolls on top of her, deepening the kiss, pulling away only for the occasional breath and to mutter ‘I love you’.  

An eruption of cheers booms across the boat, as Luka kisses her, bending her into a deep dip.  They both come up beaming and make their way back down the aisle as Mr and Mrs Couffaine. 

[brkfstgrrrls]

@onlyhoped LEFT A NIGHTMARE AFTER THE TONE: 🥝🥝🥝🥝🥝

@thegothfiles - Tyler is one of the first writers I ever followed on tumblr, I know this because I followed him on my first blog, Alice’s blog, and we both happened to have heavy themes pertaining to My Chemical Romance on both of our blogs at the time, and both still do if you know where to look. Stumbling across their blog, aesthetics of my keen interests aside, I was completely mesmerized by their writing, their formatting. It gave me my first taste of what tumblr rp was like. Tyler has a multimuse blog which contains all original characters. Something I loved at first glance, and still adore whenever I check it out is that you can tell Tyler is a goth, and grew up on that shit in one way or another, another thing I can personally relate to. Not just cusa’ the aesthetics, but all of his muse faceclaims are related to the alt. subculture in some sort of way (Gerard Way, Frances Bean Cobain, Peter Steele, etc). While I could say Jessie is my favorite muse from his blog because he’s my oc Rosaliné’s canon husband, like most, my favorite has to be Jack. Take a chance, and dip your toes in. Tyler might not be on here 24/7, but whenever they’re online, it’s a thrill to have them back.

@killshope - I first followed Bastian back in 2019 on my oc blog for Rosaliné back before I first really got into Star Wars the way I am now. We didn’t get a chance to speak as much as I’d like up until recently, but I’m glad we got the chance to. We wrote a bit back when I had Rey on her indie, and I can confidently say that Bastian is the one Kylo blog I will continue to follow for years to come. When it comes to writing Kylo, she never leaves any details out. She’s thought of an explanation for just about everything, which isn’t an easy task when writing someone like Kylo Ren, a man who had fallen from grace. His character is complex, and every detail within her carrd will have you hooked and waiting for more.

@pistollips - OC blogs are just as important as canon, and arguably more interesting with all of the time it takes to create them from scratch! For a long time, I admire V’s blog from a distance, so shy to interact. Never before had I seen so many people be enamored by a female OC, and it makes sense why. Something about Atty as a muse screams Campy, or melodramatic, the most extreme version that one could be, and I adore it! She’s evil, and she knows it. Don’t like it? Whatever. Her graphics are always being updated to something so unique, it’s like the hook of an essay, and then you see the way V is able to spill the words out onto the keyboard, and write Atty’s most authentic self with each and every muse you throw at her, it’s astonishing. She’s always so much fun to write with, and there’s never a dull moment when she’s being posted to the dash. It’s high speed, and you better keep up before you get left in the dust.

@thecrypt​ - I always thought it was funny trying to talk about Alyssa to other people, because people either thought I was referring to myself, or I personally thought trying to say her name sounded funny, since we happen to share the same name. We both write in a small community here on tumblr, which consists of gothic/metal/horror based OCs. Alyssa & I first became mutuals way back when Jackie had her own blog poppin’ off, and the first muses we wrote together were Jackie Burkhart & Kenny Mccormick! They’re a pair that we still write about to this day, and their little ship dynamic may have you scratching your heads at first, but it is simply the best, I promise you. Alyssa writes a mix of canon muses, and those of her own creation. Her blog has a heavy theme of spookiness to it, so if that’s your thing, she is right up your alley and you’re missing out if you aren’t following her already. As far as her bios and writing goes, I’ve genuinely never seen someone put so much goddamn detail into each muse they write, I can’t imagine being so creative and working as hard as she does on everything she creates; I genuinely envy that about her. Do yourself a favor, and at the very minimum, check her blog out, you won’t be disappointed.

@sammyemerson - Have you guys ever heard that meme about underdeveloped canon characters, and it’s Fiona Goode from AHS talking and it says “I took the liberty of sprucing your boy up” and the guy sitting in the background is Kyle but his face is scribbled over with “underdeveloped canon muse” or some shit? That’s Edie’s blog. Yes, I know Sam Emerson isn’t a lowkey muse with underdeveloped details and that there are like... What? three lost boy movies, but I don’t care. In my eyes, Sam is Edie’s creation practically. She owns the boy, and she cares for him so very much. I’d known about Lost Boys before following her, but I’ve since learned so much from her blog alone. My favorite kind of writing blog is when someone is writing a niche muse you don’t see too often like Sam, and the writer just spends hours pouring new details into them, sharing ideas and headcanons. That’s what Edie does, and she welcomes you to her little world with open arms. She allows you to ask questions, and she genuinely wants to write with all who cross her path, and I love that about her! She’s a free spirit, and a true writer. You’ll fall in love with Sam after following her and reading her posts. She should be coming back to tumblr soon, so give her a follow for when she does! You’ll regret it if you don’t.

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