#it makes the whole drama realistic as well as losing the ground at the same time.

[taems-world]

just finished watching flower of evil-

[idk-my-aesthetic]

Spy x fam 76 spoilers!

There was so much incredible about this arc, and I want to talk about more of it, but I want to start with Nightfall

I’ll say it again I wasn’t a huge nightfall fan before this arc. I lowkey thought it’d be cute for her to develop a bit of a crush on Yor in a comedic way but besides that didn’t think too much of her

This freaking arc tho??? Oh my g-d???

1) this is just a general statement about the series as a whole but sxf truely is like. Both a love story and a spy thriller. You can’t take away the themes about love (both romantic and platonic) and family without completely compromising the story. It’s just one of the best stories I’ve ever seen with the way the creator weaves in drama and action and the SYMBOLISM. The PARALLELS. Im losing my fucking mind so-

1.1) listen. Listen. I know it sounds like I’m saying nonsense but I cannot express how IMPRESSIVE the story telling here is. Doing this so well is HARD. There’s a reason so many action movies have garbage tacked on romance plots. It takes a lot of different skills to make a good action drama vs a romantic or emotional drama. And this series just does such a good job at having an engaging world, stakes that feel genuinely scary and grounded, and characters that manage to both work as narrative tools while still feeling like real actual multidimensional people.

And that ability to have such incredibly multidimensional characters that still push the narrative is what brings me to Nightfall

2) this was the first time (at least in my opinion) nightfall became more of her own person and not just a token romantic rival to progress Loid and Yors romance. She’s starting to feel more like a real person.

One of the things about her that absolutely jumps out to me is her similarities to Yor. Her willingness to self sacrifice for the people she loves, her sheer power, and most importantly the way she views love

Yor and Fiona both view love as a strength. At the moment Twilight views it as a weakness. He also assumes that’s how the others around him view his attachments, as a form of weakness. Including Nightfall, he assumes she’s going to think him weak and she’s too flustered to correct him

I think there’s two possibilities with what will happen with Nightfall and Twilight.

A) Nightfall is going to help Twilight realize it’s okay to be in love with Yor and to love Anya (because I do think he will begin to view her as a weakness as well). It’s probably going to break her heart but we can already see how much she’s willing to sacrifice for him

(In an ideal world she’d go through a lot of character development, fall in love with Yor as well and then they’d be a throuple, but I am realistic enough to understand that’ll probably never happen and go write my own fic or smthn lol)

B) nightfall becomes a representation of the parts of himself that Loid will eventually sacrifice/turn away from in favor of his family. This is honestly what I was expecting to happen before this arc, especially cus it would be easy to do a mirroring thing with Yor and Yuri. (For the record I don’t think it would be a thing of like fully rejecting their old lives for either Loid or Yor but I also can only predict so much lol).

3) I really really hope nightfall continues to evolve. Yuri as well. As much as it is important to have rival or threat characters like them in this type of stories I feel like their characters have so much potential. But at the same time that’s one of the huge struggles with writing! It’s incredibly difficult to balance the narrative role of a character while still making them feel real. I think they’ve done and incredible job so far and I am curious where they’re going to go with it

[megs-mus]

Cooking Up Something Nostalgic

The first preview of Zora Howard’s “Stew” was produced on Saturday night at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. I was a lucky member of the audience to give my critique. 

“Stew” is a contemporary drama in the kitchen with three generations of women. A great way to kick off Women’s History Month. And feed the audience with so much feeling and drama it is impossible to look away. While the story itself is unique it leaves a lot up to the audience. But regardless the message of reflecting on family bonds and traditions. Especially looking at the new definition of the “American Family” now, this play resonates with the importance of generating good bonds with family members and what responsibilities are expected with that. 

With an incredible cast of four women of color all ranging in various ages, the play feels intimate and homely. The acting from Mama, Michele Shay, the eldest to Lil’ Mama, Sydnie Brown, the youngest leaves the audience in awe, with a standing ovation by the end of this short 90-minute play. This cast stands strong together and makes each other shine. It is a hefty material and they all carry that weight equally. There are also a few light-hearted moments as well, weaving a wonderful blend and drama and comedy. Howard does a wonderful job grounded these characters in realism to make them feel very authentic. And the actresses also do a phenomenal job keeping the flow of the scenes. One of the memorable moments in the play was Shay’s bone-chilling scream in lasting moments. It was utterly haunting to hear. The overlapping dialogue, while very realistic, tended to get muddled during the play at times where it seemed that the actors were unsure what to say next. It would have been interesting to see the rehearsal process for that to figure out how they practiced those overlapping moments. 

The set design was phenomenal and felt like I walked into my grandmother’s kitchen with set props and smell. The theatre was a thrust stage, which added to the acting skill of the women, however, there were times that entrances and action were cut off by where I was sitting. I am sure that from the front of the stage sides closer to the exit had a better view, but you lose a bit of momentum from sitting on the very edge of the stage wall. Though this did not diminish the acting or story at all, just a few missed moments that are gives and takes of a thrust style. The set itself was not a complicated structure but the detail of the props and set dressing was thorough. It would have been intriguing to see the initial layout and inspiration of the set and the time setting for creating the set. It seemed that the play was taking place in the 2000s, maybe the present day, but regardless being in the location of Mama’s house dates the set because not everything would be “upgraded” to the 21st century. Hence the landline in the house and some of the clothing choices, though most everyone was in the same attire the whole show. But there is a lot of background research and work going into the set design and to see the process would be interesting, to say the least.

The story Howard tells is a bittersweet nostalgic one. It leaves the audience feeling that maybe they should reach out to their grandmother or mother. It was a wonderful evening seeing all of the pieces come together. From the actors to the set everything felt like a perfect picture frozen in time. A moment never to be wasted or forgotten, the bond between women and family, and the support of one another. “Stew” is a fantastical blend of these ingredients to make the perfect show.

[istansamwilsonbish]

If I read one more fanfiction like this...Or get another Role partner who wants to play out this storyline, I will lose my fucking shit. I swear for god.

I hate the whole Storyline with SamSteve(Or SamBucky) where Steve and Bucky were together originally but something happens. (Bucky or Steve 'dies'. Or Maybe They break up or something.) Then while the other is gone, They met Sam and start a healthy relationship. Then somewhere down the line, the other one comes back, and it's just drama.

I'm so sick of it. Like I hate this plotline so fucking much.

Mostly because it leads to some very unneeded drama and strange resolution. Just to make it simpler for myself to explain, Imma use SamSteve as the main ship for my explanation. But everything I mention Steve doing can apply to Bucky as well.

EXAMPLE 1: Steve tries to force Bucky into both his and Sam's lives. Which Sam is just okay with. There is very little pushback from Sam.

Okay This is just.....unrealistic. Yes, Sam was willing to go to bat for Steve and Bucky in Winter Soldier and Civil War canonly. But within Canon, None of these men are in a romantic relationship. It doesn't have the same rules in my opinion. I don't think any lover would be okay with their Boyfriend/Husband bringing their Ex into their home. Or at least not originally.

But it is So often that I see Sam just.....going along with it. Like Steve is very clearly holding onto Feelings for Bucky. But Sam doesn't care or leaves it alone. Not saying I want Sam to flip out and act a fool. Just saying that it's a very weird thing that he never calls out Steve's very obvious attraction. Or at least display some level of discomfort.

EXAMPLE #2: Steve doesn't explain the full story/Lies about it

Another thing I see happen is Steve leaves out important details about his and Bucky's relationship. Mostly that they were Lovers and not just friends. Somewhere down the line, Sam finds out the whole truth. Normally from Bucky after something happens to Steve.

This one just makes me hate Steve. Cause.....why you gotta lie for? Just tell the whole truth babe.

But I think I'm much more annoyed by how Sam reacts. Again. Sam normally gets mad but that's doesn't amount to anything. Like every time. Sam gets mad at Steve but something forces him to put that on the back burner. Then when they do discuss it, Steve gives a sob story and Sam just kinda lets it go.

Like.....Bitch what? Y'all want drama? So play out the drama realistic. Yes, Sam is calm and very chill. But that's doesn't mean Sam will take that from Steve. He is an honest man who respects himself. So maybe he's not gonna yell and curse everyone out, but he's not gonna allow Steve to treat him this way. Also, Steve LIED or at least withheld information from his boyfriend to get his way. Don't let him cry to Sam and be forgiven like that.

EXAMPLE #3 Steve is VERY close to Bucky and it makes Sam uncomfortable.

For one yes it is okay to have friends you are just very close to. I have friends that I cuddle with and tell everything to. But in a relationship, you have to be mindful that sometimes things aren't okay with your partner. And they have to understand your point of view as well. You have to come to a middle ground.

The problem is, That doesn't happen a lot of the time. Let's say, it's normal for Steve and Bucky to Cuddle together. They did it in the 40s. To them it's fine. But Sam isn't very comfortable with that. Sam voices this to Steve but Steve pushes back. They get into a fight over it and everything is tense.

Couples fight. That's fine. It's normal. But every time I see a resolution for these plot lines, It's always Sam apologizes and Sam is always in the wrong. He needs to get over it, That's how Steve and Bucky are. It's never Both of them being wrong and they need to compromise. It's never Steve coming to understand Sam's discomfort.

Also, God forbid Sam gets actually angry. Not just a mild disagreement. Like Sam actually sticks to his guns and it is a screaming match. Sam is always treated as the aggressive one and the main asshole. Even if Steve started the situation or Bucky instigated it. Sam is always wrong, Sam always gets kicked out of the house or whatever.

EXAMPLE #4 Bucky is overprotective/Jealous

This one isn't that much of an issue. Cause it's normally written okay. Bucky is Jealous and he's mean to Sam. Sam and Bucky don't get along. Cool.

But if someone acts like it's Okay for Steve to just ignore the overly aggressive behavior from Bucky one more fucking time......I swear to god. Cause it is not like Steve doesn't see it or Bucky is nicer around Steve, It's very clear. Steve just doesn't defend his current boyfriend on purpose and makes excuses.

And when Sam notices and confronts Steve, it is always a sob story excuse and they are all cool again. The FUCK is that?!

Also if you have Bucky be Racist and Bigoted to Sam just cause he is jealous of Sam.....Go fuck yourself.

EXAMPLE #5 SamSteveBucky

Ugh...I actually like This ship. And it annoys me when writers use it horribly.

If You bring Bucky back and you push Sam to the side just to act like that's a normal thing in a ploy ship. And its not for the plot, Sam is just ignored just because.....go fuck yourself. Thats not how poly works.

I can be here for days on this rant alone so Imma saves that one for another post.

My Conclusion.......Well for one I can go into the whole Racial part of things. But that's will take me years so Imma save that for another post too. Imma just keep to the shipping side of shit.

I've come to notice that most people who Roleplay these plots or write these fictions with the issues I've listed, Primarily Ship Stucky or are Steve/Bucky stans. Which is fine! We will not be hating on Stucky here even though I don't like the ship. But I will say this, it is becoming a trend. A trend where people who fall into those categories write Sam to be more of a prop in the spotlight rather than the main character. Like Sam is either there to break up with one of the 40s Boys and help them get together or he's there to basically be the drama starter cause the 40s boys can do no wrong. Sam's emotions are ignored very often in favor of Steve's or Bucky's. Even though he is half of the ship that yall are writing.

Don't get me wrong, You can have Steve/Bucky Centric fiction if Sam is the other half of the ship. But you don't have to degrade/Downgrade Sam to do it.

And if you don't know how to do so? Ask for help. The SamBucky fandom is very Sam positive. They will help you even if you are writing SamSteve(for the most part. I am aware there are bad apples.) Read Sam Centric fanfictions. Bonus points if the writer is a POC. Ask for feedback. There are so many people who will get you some positive ideas and help.

Stop writing Sam to be a passive man who just follows everything even if it makes him uncomfortable. Stop writing Sam to be the classic angry Black man when you need drama in your story.

Hell even if you do write the things that I straight up said I disliked, Make it good. Make a point, make a statement. Do something new and creative with it. Make each character in the ship shine in their own ways and make the drama mean something. This isn't only for Sam. This is for every character that gets mistreated for a different ship.

And if you can't do that......maybe stick to your main ship. I've said it once, I'll say it again. If you wanna write Stucky. And just Stucky. Do that.

[orsuliya]

... the evil cousin in the book tried to "seduce" Xiao Qi even before the arranged marriage in Hulan? What was exactly her plan? Did her and her evil mum really think Awu could accept this shit?

Anyway I'm happy that Awu here is more aware of her own insecurities. She already knows about her health problems and deals with it with her own terms. Qianer's affair made her more frustrated and conscious about her own position. She is really jealous but jealousy isn't the real problem here.....she knows her husband isn't interested at all about Qianer, she doesn't doubt on his fidelity but this doesn't change the reality. Xiao Qi can accept to have a wife who can't give him sons, but the society can't. Her enemies won't never stop to use this weakness to ruin their peace or to try to usurp her position, and she can't live like this.

It's not because she doesn't trust her husband, she knows his heart but her fears are still realistic.....She even feels guilty towards him because he's giving up to have precious heirs! And no other man would do the same. (She includes even Zitan, lolololol)

That's why she tried everything to get pregnant, not only because of maternal instincts *_*

(So sorry for the long post‼️)

Hey, that plan wasn't so bad! In fact, I propose it was far more sensible than their drama shenanigans, which had little rhyme or reason. But then, that's what you get when you accept drugs from Xie Wanru.

The book establishes two things. One, Awu's aunt has an axe to grind with the main branch of the Wang clan as Wang Kai, her sole biological child, died while Turnip Wang survived and thrived. This made her resent the main branch in general and Awu's other aunt in particular. And what an excellent revenge would it be to see her own Qian'er - a daughter from a concubine no less! - lord it over the oh so high and mighty Wang Xuan in her own house! Two, childless women are vulnerable. So much so that Awu's aunt sees nothing wrong with giving Pei'er, Qian'er's sickly elder half-sister, two maids with the express purpose for using them as breeders, should Pei'er have trouble with bearing children for her new husband. Huanmi, also not a shining example of health, came to her marriage accompanied by four concubines, although we don't know the exact reason for that.

What's more, there's nothing to suggest that book!Qian'er was the toast of Langya. In fact, the aunt's total lack of resistance to the idea of marrying Pei'er off to another province - which Awu notes as somewhat suspect - combined with her general behaviour and what she says about her hometown, makes me wonder how good their situation really was. They have their name and that name is exactly what nets Pei'er a marriage into one of Jiangnan's preeminent clans... But would she rate this match if it wasn't for the pressing need to patch up political relationships with Jiangnan aristocracy via a double marriage: Turnip to Shen Lin, Pei'er to Wu Jun. Why, Pei'er is furnished with the title of Xuanning Princess, which screams of a peace marriage. Unless another peace marriage comes along, what kind of match might Qian'er expect for herself?

Well, I can tell you what kind of match she wouldn't be expecting and that is one to a man of Xiao Qi's standing, at least not as his main wife. By the time this whole mess happens he's the single most powerful man in Cheng. A glaringly childless one with no women other than his main wife. No other women = no competition. By the local standards this is not something that happens very often: Turnip's concubine count is in double digits, Song Huaien takes some at the first opportunity, I mean, who doesn't have a few concubines in their family? Well, except imperial brothers-in-law whose previous ones died in exceptionally tragic circumstances.

Since there's no competition, the only thing that Qian'er would need to do is to get with child. She bears the heir, her status goes sky-high. Especially since it doesn't look like the main wife is going to procreate any time soon. In the book it's been years and years and still nothing. And really, why should Awu be against this whole enterprise? Better a Wang girl than a stranger, right?

That Xiao Qi is Xiao Qi is another matter altogether. By the way, while in the drama his insistence on monogamy seems motivated solely by his love for Awu, it is not the case in the book. Or rather it is, but not quite, see: his tragic backstory. His aversion to having children with anybody but his main wife dates from before their marriage and is motivated by his childhood. Seeing as his mother was from a disgraced family and didn't even rate the status of a concubine, which made Xiao Qi's birth something of a disgrace, and that he ran the moment his father breathed his last... Yeah, I suspect life in the Guangling Xiao clan wasn't exactly all rainbows for a boy of comparatively low rank. Our general is simply too smart to replicate a losing strategy!

And yes, Awu's fears are entirely too grounded in reality. Sure, she believes Xiao Qi won't be faithless and it's clear that in the absence of the Re-do Wedding he must have made some sort of announcement, otherwise how come the whole country knows that their Regent doesn't accept concubines? But still, he's not the one that will feel the societal pressure and not the one who faces the rather bleak prospect of becoming a childless widow. Awu is the one who will be branded a failure if this situation persists any longer. But you know what, there is every possibility Xiao Qi might have enough power to shut everybody's mouths. Except.

Except that in the book there is one other factor that makes having children a must. Xiao Qi has been gunning for that throne for years and he's just a few steps away from his goal. The problem is this: how does one establish a new dynasty with no heirs in sight? Childlessness rather invalidates this whole enterprise and Awu is just as invested as Xiao Qi; why, at one point he gives her an out and still she tells him to go for it. This whole desperate trying for children is less about maternal feelings and more about building legacy. Which, taking their imperial ambitions into account, rapidly becomes a matter of national stability. It's already a miracle that Xiao Qi got away with abolishing the imperial system of six palaces with only a single male heir; I suspect it was nowhere near painless nor widely accepted. Without that male heir? Ooof, it simply doesn't bear thinking about!

[darylwillfightnatureforcarol]

Just finished watching the rest of the episodes. Obviously, there will be spoilers for all of the bonus episodes, including Here's Negan. Here's my thoughts. WARNING for some negativity:

Home Sweet Home:

Kind of a blah episode. Half of it seemed to be a 'walking in the woods simulator'. Don't have any eagerness for another rival group. I'm sick of the people vs people storylines. We should go back to basics for a while, just fighting the dead. This is just recycling the same storylines.

Enjoyed Maggie and Daryl's chat in the container (though I just know it ignited crack shippers). Was it just me or was Lauren Cohan's accent weird? Like, is it because she's been away from the show that she can't remember how to do it the way she used to? It just sounded off the whole time to me, like she was trying to sound more country than Maggie has in the past.

Liked Daryl seeing Hershel, though I wish the scene had been longer. It looks like we're continuing the trend of having 'legacy' kids around without giving them a personality like they do with RJ.

Liked Daryl and Kelly's interactions in this episode. It did annoy me how they wrote Kelly running off on her own in the woods. Like, you guys literally wrote her getting lost and losing her hearing not even a handful of episodes ago. Why would she risk doing that, knowing there was a chance it could happen again? Sure she wants to find her sister, but I don't think anyone in the group--Daryl especially--would have opposed to going with her. Annoying writing again.

By the way, I can't not point out that the spoilers for this were so anti-Carol. The way it sounded through spoilers made it sound as if Maggie was pissed at Carol for letting Negan out when it was clear that she understood Carol's decision (she was just irritated that Negan was out at all).

Find Me:

I won't go into a full rant about this episode. You can find that on my page. I'll just discuss a few things.

First of all, I really liked the banter between Caryl at the start. It was the kind of content we've been wanting for a while.

We probably all saw it this way but Leah was a Carol replacement. No doubt about it. Carol was 'happy' so Daryl tried to move on with the next best thing (well, according to him at least).

Shipping aside, the relationship and build up to it between Daryl and Leah was so bland and generic. The woman literally seemed to have no personality apart from 'I live in the woods and I lost my son'. I actually rolled my eyes when she started explaining about not having a good family growing up. It was like watching Mary Sue fanfic play out on screen.

I don't want to rant too much but I have to say again, you can't just have a relationship blossom that generically with a character who has clearly struggled with intimacy for a good chunk of his life. It was literally inserting Daryl into the plot of any other cheesy boy meets girl romance. If you are going to do something like this, you need to do it realistically. There should have been more of a struggle there for Daryl. For pete's sake, Daryl's love life (or lack thereof) has been a point of discussion for so many years. You can't just rewrite that lore with some half assed meet-cute storyline.

Oh and I can't forget to say another big fuck you to the end of this episode. Seriously, fuck the shit Daryl spouted at Carol. That shit would have worked for S2 Daryl but not this one.

Okay I'll stop myself there or I'll just keep going. Seriously, I don't think I'll run out of things to bitch about for this episode.

One more:

This episode was okay. I'm not a fan of Gabriel, so I didn't really enjoy the focus being on him. I do like Aaron though, so that was a saving point.

No offense if you're a Gabriel fan but I found this episode kind of pointless. The message was relevant of course but the whole thing seemed a bit hoky to me. Especially the whole 'talking at the bad guy until they have a change of heart'. I can see that this was an important turning point for Gabriel but honestly, I just don't care enough about his character to appreciate it. Felt bad for Aaron though. You can tell he's trying so hard to hold onto humanity.

Splinter:

Probably gonna upset people with this but I'm not really a Princess fan (though Paola Lazaro is great). The episode had an interesting concept and I know it was to try to set up for the Commonwealth or the CRM etc. I just found the way they went about it to be too dragged out without much substance. Even the twist with finding out that the others were figments of her imagination didn't save it for me. I like the concept of seeing things through Princess' mindset and it could have worked well but we just didn't really get any storyline there. I think the only thing I enjoyed was when she talked about her family (she should chat to Daryl. There would certainly be some common ground). Gotta admit though, Ezekiel and his Walker posse was kind of hilarious.

Diverged:

Loved it for the most part. Who knew we needed Carol vs a rat? I certainly didn't but I'm glad I got it. Also Carol smashing that wall to pieces was so badass and kind of hot. Anyone else feel like that? No? Okay...

I enjoyed the comedic moments in this episode. Loved Carol hanging out with Dog and Dog being a menace. Appreciated seeing more of Daryl's room (Why did he have a pirate book though? There had to be a point, right? WAIT, I just realised as I was typing this what it is. It's a reference to when Carol invited him to go out on the boat with her and they would be 'pirates' ����)

Daryl certainly got a collection of multitools, didn't he? Seriously though, that scene where he was just walking away from the walkers was hilarious. It's literally what people have been saying for years--that the walkers are too slow.

Okay, now let's get to the bad parts I didn't like. Hated the start. They were so stilted and awkward and the fact that Daryl didn't apologize pissed me off. I don't care what Carol said, she didn't deserve any of that shit he said in Find Me. He knows better than anyone why she has done what she has done.

This storyline they seem to be running with for Carol is starting to piss me off. It's obvious they're trying to go for a redemption arc for her when she shouldn't need to be redeemed. She didn't do anything wrong. Yes, she made mistakes but think about how you would be if you had lost so much.

Maggie is being lorded as a hero but remember, she behaved pretty much the same as Carol did in S7,8,9. But no one labelled her as a villain or a nuisance. No, Maggie was strong and a leader for stepping up and making a stand.

I'm really dreading the last season. It's obvious they're planning for Daryl and Carol's rift in their relationship to be a main arc. We probably won't see them reconcile until the end of the season where Daryl'll be like 'Alright, I don't hate you anymore, let's go to New Mexico.' That will annoy the shit out of me.

Here's Negan:

Mixed feelings about this one. I enjoyed seeing Negans backstory. Also props to the makeup team. They did a great job making JDM look younger. The thing I didn't like was the flashbacks within flashbacks. It made it hard to follow at times. Still, JDM and Hilary Burton Morgan had great onscreen chemistry (which they should, of course). I was surprised to see Laura pop up. I never thought she would have been one of the first Saviours.

Can't not mention how good Carol's hair looked in this episode. Please let us have this wig more often. It's so cute compared to the other frizzy one.

Also, I really don't give a shit about the drama between Maggie and Negan. There can't be a peaceful solution to it. There's no way Maggie will ever be okay with Negan being alive. Carol's right. If he stays, Maggie will (try) to kill him. If they have them come to an understanding next season, it will be super out of character. Same as when they kept pushing the Daryl/Negan team up. No way, no how, can either Maggie or Daryl look past what happened to Glenn.

Well, there are my thoughts on the episodes. I seriously battled against my anxiety to even sit and watch these. I was dreading watching Find Me especially for obvious reasons. It was awful but not as bad as I expected. I still wanted to throw my laptop out the window though.

[vanityeols]

Dangerous Ride 》 Jungkook F1 Pilot AU

PART 1.

After your boss gave you the hard task to interview the most famous, hot and womanizer F1 pilot Jeon Jungkook, you considered yourself the luckiest columnist in Celebrity Magazine. C'mon, have you seen him? And he is single, for God sake...

"Bring me a good article. I need juicy news about him. Write a front page deserving article or don't even bother coming back young lady." Your boss's voice echoed in your head the whole flight.

You settled down in the hotel in Monaco after your flight from New York, and you are now near the bar area, preparing for the interview. When you turn around, you drop your notebook on the ground and when you are about to catch it...

Oh, god! It's Jeon Jungkook. Just the man I was looking for.

He beats you to it, and hands you your book.

"I think you dropped this."

He looks amazing. White shirt, black suit, messed black hair. What a man...

"Thank you."

Jungkook stares at you with a seductive smirk on his lips and takes a seat next to you. Please greek God, if you come any closer I won't be able to keep my hands to myself.

"A water please". He orders and turns to face you. "Do you want something?".

"I'm already served..." you smile politely.

"I'm too late as it appears." He smiles back.

You can't help but notice his perfect features, his magnetic aura. He is incredibly good-looking. Jungkook catches your gaze and smiles.

You are about to introduce yourself, but he and his husky voice beat you to it.

"I'm Jeon Jungkook".

"Yeah, I know. I'm Y/N."

You stare over the crowd of reporters with a few racing drivers giving press conferences. "Aren't you supposed to be there?"

He nodded, looking back at them. "Yeah I should, but I'm not a big fan of the media."

Which makes my task so hard to complete.

"Oh let me guess. You are a fan of privacy."

He smirks and leans closer to you. "How did you know?" Ok, too close loverboy.

You shrugged and looked down to your water cup. "Gossip flies around."

He nodded and licked his juicy lips. "So will you be watching the race tomorrow? I suppose you're here for that?".

"Indeed I will. In fact I came here just to see you.." you told him, tucking your hair behind your ear, in a innocent but at the same time flirty way.

He eyed you from head to toe with an arrogant smile playing on his face. "Then, I better take the pole position".

"Oh, someone is being confident."

"I'm being realistic."

You're impressed by how easy it is to have a conversation with him. Rumors say he is not nice to interviewers. But they also say he loves to play around women so you must be one more easy target to him.

He leans toward you, his woody scent galvanizing your senses. Keep your cool Y/N, keep your cool. A ghost of a smile spreads on his face when he notices your breath fastening by the sudden proximity.

"I better go, I don't do social appearences too long." He whispered in your ear, before pulling away subtly.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Jungkook."

"Likewise, beautiful. Will I see you tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow night?" I asked, confused.

"At the after race party. I would love to see you there."

OK Y/N AM I DREAMING?

"Maybe, who knows."

He smiles before brushing his hand behind your back. "I don't accept no's or maybe's lady Y/N. I will be waiting for you tomorrow night."

And with this, he leaves. And there you are trying to hide your blush. Damn is he hitting on me?

You go back to your room and text your bestfriend and colleague, Hanna, who's a huge fan of Jeon Jungkook.

"I just ran into Jeon Jungkook in the hotel bar."

"LUCKY BITCH!!!! I'm so jealous right now. What happened?"

"Well...he wants to meet me tomorrow after de race."

"Is it a date?"

"Of course not! I still need to interview him."

"But you know he is single, right? But as your bestfriend and a huge fan of him, I need to warn you. He is never serious about relationships. He never goes out with the same woman twice. In fact we never heard of him having a girlfriend officially, but he is a playboy. Believe me, I know a looot about him."

"Interesting. A man like him doesn't scream engagement, I know. But it's not like I want to have something with him. I just need a few answers to my juicy questions, that's all."

"But Jungkook wasn't like that two years ago. Something must have happened. My theory is that a woman screwed him over. That's why he is single for so long. You should try your luck. The bad boy falling for the cute and petite interviewer."

"Hanna, that's ridiculous."

"You two are very alike, trust me. But at least he enjoys the pleasures of life."

"Ok, I got it Hanna. I'm not here for this. Anyway, I got to go."

"Good luck babe, you got this."

The next day you are getting ready to watch the qualification race, and even though you brought the best of your clothes with you, seems like you got nothing fancy enought to wear. I'm meeting Jungkook tonight, I should dress up well, it's an exclusive party invitation only.

You pick a tight black dress a little above the knees with long sleeves and a heart shape cleavage. To finish the look you added a beautiful gold necklace, black high heels and a black purse. Your hair was perfectly straight, falling down your back. To finish the look, you added a red lipstick to your lips and voi la.

A few minutes later, you are watching the qualification race of the Monaco Grand Prix in the VIP area. You spot Jungkook's red car as the crowd cheers for him with thunderous roars.

"And Jeon Jungkook is leading the qualification race! He's bending the track to his own will." You hear the voice of the commentator on the speakers.

In a flash, the drivers pass in front of the crowd, leaving the screaming, brutal sounds of their engines behind them.

"Jeon Jungkook is driving a blistering speed, and Kim Jongin is on his tail. Unbelievable! It's only the qualification race but neither of the two want to slow down. This opening lap will tell us which one of the- OH MY GOD!" The commentator gasps.

Jeon Jungkook tries a dangerous maneuver. He is in a skirmish with Kim Jongin. With all eyes on him, he loses control of the car. Tire squealing. Air hissing and....CRASH.

"AND JUNGKOOK CRASHED".

Your heart almost jumped out of your chest. "Oh my god!"

He slams brutally into the barriers. The audience starts to worry and falls quiet. A minute later, Jungkook gets out of his cockpit and waves at the crowd assuring he's fine.

"Oh no, the judge gave him a black flag...." you mumbled, biting your nails.

"Our favorite, Jeon Jungkook has been disqualified. He won't participate in the Grand Prix. This time his reckless maneuver was penalized!"

You see Jungkook getting out of his car. He smashes his helmet on the ground and strides toward his pit. Man that was intense. It must have been terrible for him.

As much as you wanted to talk to him and see how he was feeling, you didn't get the chance to. Journalists were fast to run to him and all you could see was cameras flashing, and he doesn't really like that, like he told you before.

A few hours later you were at de VIP party. All the elites are there: models, celebrities, racing pilots. E everything was peefectly designed. The decoration was spot on. The atmosphere was magical, glamorous, like a Gatsby's party.

And like all great parties, there is drama...and troublemakers.

This can't be true. What is he doing here?

You spotted Park Jimin, aka your ex boyfriend, dancing with some random supermodel, grinding against her hips. Just the sight of him turns your stomach instantly. And to make the mood even better, he spots you right away, smirking when he caught your eye. I know he is from a very healthy family, but why is he in this after party, in Monaco?

"Well, well, well, Y/N, what are you doing here?" He looks at you from head to toe. "And....so elegant...". He walks towards you and you freeze. That good looking bastard, cheated on me with my at the time best friend. He was the man who broke my heart, made me feel worthless, destroyed my vision of true love. Now thanks to him I never believe anyone who tries to get close to me.

"You can stop right there. I appreciate the compliment. Now if you excuse me..." you gave him your best fake smile and rush towards the bar area, as far from him as possible. You call out a bartender, determined to drown your misery and the terrible memories you have of Jimin. "Give me something strong...".

"Coming right up lady." The bartender winked at you and disappeared to get your drink.

You looked around. Your ex having the time of his live. Couples kissing, others flirting...

And here I am, feeling miserable. Not being brave enough to talk to men. Too much of a good girl to be risky and flirty with someone. You shake your head, biting your bottom lip.

Shot after shot, you forgot why you were here in the first place. Anger is getting the best of you. You were about to ask for another shot, when a strong hand grabbed the cup from your hand and pushed it aside.

"Apparently misery does love company?" Jungkook smiled, genuinely, before taking a seat next to you.

Finally someone to make my night, a better night. Hi eye candy.

"Do you need some help? I mean, seems like you have a lot going on in here." He points to his head.

You rolled your eyes at him. "You crashed your car earlier. It seems like you have your own problems to solve."

"Ouch" he placed a hand on top his chest with a hurt (playful) expression. "Ok I probably deserved that one. But what happened to you today?".

You took a deep breath and looked right at him, resting your chin in the palm of your hand. "I ran into my ex boyfriend. Yeah, bad luck. I found that douchebag in Monaco. What a coincidence. Of all the places he could go, he is here. In this party. Almost having sex on the dance floor with some supemodel. You grabbed your drink and took it down with one gulp.

Jungkook blinked and looked around. "Where is he?"

"You see the guy with the white shirt wearing black pants? The one next to the blonde supermodel? That's him."

Jungkook nodded. "What a bad haircut. And to be honest he looks like a robot trying to dance. If you ask me, you are way out of his league." And when he said that, his hand rested on your thigh. "Way too attractive miss Y/N..."

You looked down at his hand and then back at him. A playful grin on your face. "Mr.Jeon Jungkook, are you flirting with me?"

You both laughed. Jungkook bites his bottom lip, something he seems to do a lot to his own good, and pulled you closer.

"Why don't we make this night better for both of us?" His breath mixed with mint and alcohol is sending shivers down your spine. His hand is now down your back. You drank way too much already and it's not helping.

You remember what your bestfriend Hanna told you about him being a womanizer and only doing one night stands kind of things. But you were tired of being the good girl. Tired of not having adventurous memories because you were too good for your own good and ttonight.Damn tonight, a hell of a man was in front of you. Wanting you as much as you want him and even if it's one night only, the present is what counts.

I wanna live this moment.

You look at his perfect lips, wondering how it would feel like to kiss Jeon Jungkook.

And just like you, Jungkook is staring back at your lips, waiting for you to do the first move.

"Like what you see?" You asked, feeling daring.

He smirked. "Oh, I'm definitively enjoying the view."

You licked your lips, tracing your fingers down his arm. "You must know I'm here for business."

Jungkook nodded "is that so?"

"I'm a columnist."

He shrugged. "And?"

You remember your boss's words. "Interview Jeon Jungkook, give me juicy news, write a front page deserving article or don't even bother coming back young lady."

"...and I'm here to interview you. I've been trying to do it all day..."

His expression changes. As if he was...mad.

I know he hates the media, but I would hate to be fired.

"It's for a women's magazine. You sure know you have a huge feminine fanbase who would love to know more about you...."

Jungkook gives a deep breath and nods. "I see..but what about you? Not the Y/N columnist, but the real Y/N...."

You raised an eyebrow, obviously confused.

"What about me?"

He wrapped an hand around your wrist and pulled you close to him, his grip gentle, his lips brushing your earlobe.

"Would you like to know me?"

[char-lotteral]

Spill the tea. Don't worry about it being long XD

This has been in my ask box for a while now, and I keep forgetting to respond to some of my anons, so im sorry.... x))

This'll be a little debunk between Nart's feelings for Sak and Hina but first, LISTEN HERE

This isn't a breeding ground for discourse or shipping wars or whatever tf negativity you have going on, I just wanna ramble my thoughts. This is an innocent post and if you disagree with it, well--i really dont care :DD

Anw, here are my thoughts as to how different Naruto's feelings are for Sakura and Hinata

I just randomly thought of making this longass essay because apparently, there's been another "war" over on narutwt with NS vs. NH and ohmyGODDDDD, WHO CARESSSSS. SHUT THE FUCK UPPP PLEASEEE.

this shit should've ended in shippuden, I hate it here

If youre an nh fan, please I beg of you, let ppl ship ns if they want to, its really not that hard. It's so embarrassing seeing nh fans go rogue whenever they see an ns related post. Like please stop being rude to ns shippers, let ppl ship their drawings, who tf cares. Ur embarrassing the fandom ://

Okay so i think i wanna start off with how Nart fell for Sakura. They were kids. Kindergartners even. He saw Sakura as the "pretty, smart, popular girl" and like the attention deprived child that he is, he chose he wanted to be with her. It was a CRUSH. An innocent and childish one at that.

Did he love her? Yes. Was he in love with her? Debatable tbh. He was infatuated with her. It's a normal infatuation vs. real love type of shit.

I mean, he was too busy to even focus on himself and with the whole Sauce drama, so i doubt he even had the time to even sort out his own romantic feelings. I'm not even sure if his feelings for Sakura were really that deep rooted as what alot of fans claim it to be.

BECAUSE BECAUSE GETTHIS. If Naruto was really that in love with Sak, why didn't he introduce him to Minato when he was about to depart? If he was really that confident for his feelings for Sakura, then why didn't he share those thoughts to one the most essential things his mother imparted to him?

The only thing similar between Sakura and Kushina are their hot headedness. Even kishi himself admitted that scene with the girlfriend thingy was a herring. Even freaking Tsunade admitted that if Naruto were to be with someone as willful as him, they'd be butting heads all the time.

Do they have a special bond? Yes. Would they work out together as a couple? Yeah, as a bickering married one

And another thing, remember the fake confession scene? Sakura said "I love you" to Naruto. She said those words that Naruto himself has been "dying" to hear, so why didn't he get all ecstatic?

Because he knew she was lying!

Exactly!! He knew she was lying. He knew he'd never have a chance with her. He knew the extent of her feelings for Sasuke and respected it. He didn't act on it, he joked around with dates and what not but there was never any impactful romantic scene between them. Oh and shouldn't romantic scene have i dunno; mutual romance?

Theyre "the most developed ship" but Sakura has established mulitiple times that she was only in love with Sasuke. Narusaku was just as one sided as the other ships in shippuden but some of you aren't ready for that concersation.

Naruto would get rejected every damn minute or at every "moment" they had. How is that mutual??

They just had the upper hand because theyre mcs and they had the most screentime, let's be real

And what I absolutely hate the most about how people perceive Naruto's feelings for Sakura is that they see him as this pathetically in love, obsessed weirdo who only chose Hinata as a rebound or a second choice.

NEWS FLASH

PEOPLE MOVE ON. IT'S NOT THAT SERIOUS

It's not rocket science, it's not some philosophical shit, it's healthy and normal and realistic.

Istg some diehard shippers are too detached from reality that they can't even grasp the concept of moving on from a crush.

They act as if Naruto didn't give a flying fuck for Hinata in the entire series or that he barely knew her name. I mean c'mon, it's self explanatory¿¿¿ He moved on. Same with Ino with Sasuke, they both moved on.

How👏is👏it👏that👏hard👏to👏understand

And I'd also like to compare the scenes with Naruto being rejected by Sakura wiith Naruto being rejected by Hinata.

Naruto gets rejected by Sakura - he gets beaten up - He laughs it off- He moves on

Naruto gets rejected by Hinata - crippling depression - looks like shit - loses all motivation - fights for the girl

Yeah, I'll leave that to you

I also see some say that Naruto needed a partner who could keep him in line and reprimand him for the stupid stuff he does.

Pft, like what? A mom?

What Naruto needs, as someone brash and acts on impulse time to time, is someone patient and understanding and considerate. Everything he didn't have growing up. He needs a partner, not someone who berates him for being all goofy and for being himself. Hinata in a way is kinda like a neutralizer.

Also, I think its important to remember that there was a TWO YEAR TIME SKIP AFTER THE WAR WHERE NARUTO AND HINATA CANONICALLY GREW CLOSER.

Man, none of this would have been up for discussion if Kishi just knew how to develop fucking romance between het couples. If we're being honest, sns would've made the most sense. Im not even kidding. Sns would've the only endgame couple that'd make sense. And this is coming from a person who loves NH xD

thus ends my ramblings :DD

I regret ever delving into the world of Naruto. Now I can't fucking escape

[mr-entj]

You've mentioned how you easily cut people out of your life a few times now. You are so certain of yourself and your choices whereas, after cutting many people out of my life as well, I have to ask. People make mistakes and can hurt you sometimes, but if everyone is flawed, how do you know which ones to cut out without leaving yourself alone in a lonely way? I ask because my own choices have been feeling muddled for a while when I used to be confident and with no second thought.

Related answers:

I have problems figuring out when I'm using black and white thinking ("this person is a waste of my time, cut contact immediately") and committing myself to stand my ground. i always feel like I'm being too stubborn and unreasonable. how would you face that?

What is your internal checklist for friends?

How do you deal with friends who project their personal weaknesses into your relationship? Are you willing to forgive jealousy, insecurity disguised as competition etc?

To ensure we didn’t misunderstand each other, I want to clarify that “easily cut people out of my life” doesn’t mean I cut them out for minor mistakes, it means that once they make major violations the process of removing them is swift and drama-free. I’m not cutting people out of my life because they like strawberry milk instead of chocolate milk, they don’t read my blog, or they think cats are better than dogs-- I’m cutting them out for severe breaches in my core values (infidelity, disloyalty, malicious sabotage, etc.). I’m not into public, emotional and dramatic shouting matches, scream fests, and social media meltdowns. When the time comes to cut, I explain to the person exactly what they did wrong so there’s no confusion or doubt, why I’m taking this specific action, and (depending on the person) I’ll wish them well before I move on with my life. There’s no perfect formula that if A happens, then you should react with B because anything involving relationships, friendships, and other human beings is an art and not a science. 

The reason I’m confident in my decisions is rooted in how I manage the friendships in my life:

1. I have clearly defined and communicated boundaries. I’m aware of what is and isn’t acceptable to me, I’ve identified my values, and I’ve set my limits. When someone crosses my boundaries, I figure out why they did so and then I look at the entire relationship as a whole to understand patterns of behavior before I take action. Sometimes the issue is that our boundaries and standards are unrealistic, other times the issue is that our boundaries and standards are realistic but everyone around us can’t meet them. Figure out which is your issue. If it’s the first one, talk to many people and get their feedback to calibrate your expectations. If it’s the second one, change your environment. This is how I figure out the difference. 

2. I set realistic expectations based on the person I’m dealing with. There’s a quote: “If you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” The same thing applies to people. 

For example, I have a friend named Kevin. Kevin is a nice guy with a good heart and a brilliant mind for sociology, psychology, anthropology, pop culture, and technology. Whenever we catch up, we talk for hours about all sorts of social science topics and bounce ideas off each other. In my friendship with Kevin, I get rewarding intellectual stimulation and great insight on some of my startup ideas. However, Kevin is hopelessly unreliable and flaky, he can’t manage money to save his life, and he has long bouts of unemployment due to laziness and inaction. Based on what I know about Kevin, he’s a great conversation partner and trusted friend, but he would be a disaster roommate or colleague at work. I adjusted my expectations of Kevin based on his personality without compromising my boundaries and we’ve been good friends for over 20 years without many issues. I don’t expect everyone to be great at everything for me, I expect them to be exactly who they are and great at their own strengths.

3. I’m very selective when it comes to choosing close friends which means I don’t need to cut many people out because I don’t let many people in to begin with. I don’t want to be friends with everyone I meet and I’m not too concerned about being liked by everyone who meets me, being acquaintances is just fine, or even less than that. I’d rather keep my door tightly shut and let people into my home one by one only after meeting stringent (but realistic) standards than to swing my door wide open, let everyone off the street into my home, and then have to kick a bunch of people out. 

4. My trust takes a long time and a lot of effort to earn. Becoming friends with me is like playing an RPG video game with multiple levels. As time goes by and we cross new milestones, our friendship levels up and you unlock new perks and new buffs from me. You don’t get all the perks and all the buffs at the beginning of the game. The more I get to know you, the more I interact with you, the more you prove to me that you can be trusted, then the more you get from me such as my time, my loyalty, my knowledge, my connections, etc. The opposite is also true: the more you screw up, the more levels you lose, and the more perks and buffs are taken away. There are many steps before someone is cut out of my life so when it finally happens it’s never a surprise and always after warnings have been given.

5. I love myself. I believe that I deserve happiness and peace of mind in my life without having to compromise my deeply held values or core identity. I will keep searching for the right people to surround myself with until I find them. There’s no such thing as loneliness because I don’t believe you own people forever-- you experience them temporarily in the time you have together. When you’ve outgrown the relationship and it no longer brings happiness, I know it’s time to move on.

[littleturtle95]

Alec’s birthday weekend celebration 🥰 Day 2 // free space. TLBOTW review

I havent’t seen a review for the book, only critics/praising and comments on specific moments, so I’m here to do a proper analysis.

This book has many perks and a few lows and I’d like to talk about both. I’ll start with the lows to end on a positive note. Surfing on the internet I’ve read that the plot feels a bit rushed, and I have to agree. I had the impression that the whole book serves the sole purpose of introducing Sammael and showing the last scene with all the princes of hell. Everything that leads to that (the thorn, the two swords then merging into one, the trip to Diyu, Shanghai and the false tracks) were born and died in this book and it felt like they were not well integrated with the TSC universe, they were just there to write something that could realistically lead to the final moment. The two swords Alec and Magnus carry are literal Gods that we’ve never heard before, they use them one time and then they’re gone. You don’t introduce something this powerful that carries so much weight just to shrug it off after one use, one use that doesn’t even involve the sake of our main characters (and why did only Alec have to be tested to prove his worth? both Alec and Magnus got a sword 🤔 that’s something I didn’t understand at all, if you know it feel free to explain in the comments) Another example of this are the two guardians of Diyu, the demons that heal constantly touching the ground of hell, apparently undefeatable. You don’t introduce something like that and kill it off in half a chapter, it’s anticlimactic. And you don’t hype up the father of all demons and then you get him defeated by Isabelle riding a tiger (come on he should have killed them all in that scene) and, even worse, you make him run away like a common demon after things start getting rough. Shinyu leaves and Sammael is “Fuck this, I’m out.” Bitch, you’re a Prince of hell! You’re the Prince of hell! Stop her! Kill them! WTF dude. Yeah, I think this is the main problem of the book. It introduces these huge elements and then it shrugs them off in the most anticlimactic way possible. The other thing I didn’t like was Ragnor’s reaction to Raphael’s dead. Ragnor probably isn’t one to make a fuss, but ffs they were extremely close friends. In TBC Ragnor scolds Magnus because Raphael calls him much more than Magnus does, they exchanged letters, calls, gossip, they used to have meetings, in GOTSM we see them greeting eachother with a high five, and we know how Raphael gets, he’s not so openly friendly even with Magnus and he died for him. They weren’t friends, they were great friends. All we get is a “he passes all stages of grief at once” and “I liked him // He liked you too”. Ohhhhhhhh and a “every war has a life count” like WHAT THE FUCK Seriously? Okay.

Well, what I didn’t like is over so let’s start with the perks. I’ve read many times that the characters are ooc. Jace feeling down because he has a broken foot and he can’t fight (Jace Herondale would never avoid a fight for a broken bone!!!), Simon feeling insecure (the first time he went down to hell things were even worse and he didn’t make such a fuss!!!), Alec calling Magnus pet names (it’s not like him he never did it!!!) and I’ll tell you this: At first I had this impression too, but in the long run I don’t think it’s fair to say those things. The TMI gang we know is younger, less mature, a teenage rebel gang. We read about the grown up them in other spin off books or in TDA, that’s for sure, but not as main characters, just as cameos, so it feels weird to see them as grownups. We thought we were familiar with them but we don’t feel the same familiarity anymore and that’s fine. It would be crazy if they were the same people as before. The Jace we knew was reckless, self destructive and didn’t care much if he lived or died. This Jace that doesn’t feel safe fighting with a broken foot and chooses to guide the others with his strategies is a Jace that knows his limits, a Jace that cares about his life and understands that his well being affects others, a Jace that accepts that the fact he can’t fight for once doesn’t make him less worthy. This Jace is the Jace he became, we are not used to it, we don’t recognise him at first, but what he does is perfectly normal. It would have been less realistic if he acted like he would have acted in City of Bones or even City of Heavenly Fire. This Simon is not the Simon he was the first time they went to Hell. That time he was a vampire, he wasn’t expecting to die. That time he cared deeply about Clary, he fancied Isabelle, but that was kind of all of it. Now he cares about Clary yes, but Isabelle is his family. Jace is his family. Magnus and Alec are his family, too. He is worried because he is mortal and because he has much more to lose. He is worried because he just lost a friend and for the first time he has to come to terms with the fact that being a Shadowhunter really means you go out in the morning and you don’t know if you’ll make it to dinner time. And this doesn’t only affect his bestfriend and the girl he dated while he dated some other chick. This affects him, his fiancée, his parabatai and the rest of his family. It’s not like City of Heavenly Fire, it’s okay for Simon to break down like this, it’s not ooc, it’s a character that changed because the story lead him to change. Alec calls Magnus pet names and is affectionate because he is not the closeted angsty teen he was in TMI. He is a father, a man, someone that knows his loved ones support him and someone who doesn’t have to hide. Come on, in GOTSM he showed Magnus’ and Max’s pictures to everyone he’s met, he stops randomly a werewolf girl getting ice cream, points at Magnus and says “See that man? That’s My Husband overthere.” He is not “He’s not my warlock” Alec, he is “That’s my husband” Alec and we aren’t used to it because we’ve never seen him as a main character in other books after his change, but we know this change happened so we can’t have a Pikachu face if Alec says “My love” or kisses him on the street in front of other people. This is not ooc, this is Alec, the same one, the one who is now more than twenty years old and wants to get married and is raising a child and in a few years is becoming consul. It would be absolutely nonsense for him to keep the distance he kept in TMI. Another complain I’ve seen is “not enough Malec and too many characters”. I don’t think there were too many characters and I don’t feel like we hadn’t enough Malec. Yes, the whole TMI gang was there but I liked that, that’s a plus for me. It’s true, Alec and Magnus’ relationship didn’t evolve in this book, they stayed pretty much the same, we don’t see an actual arc like we did in TRSOM but the romance was still there. There’s no need for relationship drama, and a book about romance doesn’t have to be a push and pull to be interesting. We had a lot of romance, but the angst and the challenges came from other people. It was an established relationship book and I think it worked well with it. The exchanges between the characters were genuine, witty, and I feel like every one of them bonded just right. The relationship between Alec and Jace, Simon and Clary, the other two couples, they were all on point and in character and I liked all their interactions. It was really nice to read them all together and I needed this. Now, the Tian discourse. I feel like Cassandra did a great foreshadowing with this one, something that I immediately noticed. In TRSOM I knew the whole time that Shinyun was going to betray them. It was said multiple times that Alec didn’t trust her and when they’re on the boat in Venice coming back from the party Alec is sleeping and still stops Shinyun that was going to touch Magnus waking up for a moment. Alec is really smart at reading people (except for understanding when they’re in love and that’s hilarious). A line that made me go mhhhh🤔 was when the book says “Alec trusted Tian”. Why say that in that way, totally random mid chapter? Why not to say the others trusted Tian too? Magnus at least? Or why to say anything at all? In that moment they weren’t discussing his worth and he hadn’t even started to act weird. The line made no sense. So I wondered if the line wasn’t saying Alec trusted Tian, the line was saying we should trust Tian, because the other time a trip like this happened Alec didn’t trust Shinyun and she turned out to be a total pain in the ass. Another thing I loved was the action. This is what I want from a TSC book, I want demon hunts, magic artifacts, trips to hell, weapon shopping. Our shadowhunters actually shadow hunting. This book had more of it than TRSOM, so kudos to that. To give this rant a end, I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed this book very much. I disagreed with some choices, I disliked some details, but I’m glad I bought it. It brought me back home, and that’s everything I wanted. This family, the TMI family, is a bit like my family now, and they were so much themselves that I couldn’t help but love it.

P.S. The cameos were rad. The parts with Maryse and Kadir were perfect, I adored Elyaas and when I read there was Raphael I screamed.

[ohveda]

The Terror - season 1 review

I have paused in my frantic gif reblogging to finally write out my thoughts on the Terror and why I enjoyed it so much.

The first season of The Terror tells the story of the tragic Franklin expedition. This was a British arctic expedition in the late 1840s, led by Sir John Franklin, which had the aim of finding the North West Passage. The expedition was comprised of two ships, Erebus and Terror, hence the name of the show. It was tragic because everyone died (this is not a spoiler). The circumstances as to how everyone died are still mysterious to this day and there is lots of speculation (although a cursory glance at wikipedia suggests that people are building up some theories).

So, this is a TV show where you know from the outset that it is going to end tragically: everyone you get to know is going to die, and the only question is exactly how. And this is why, despite how much I enjoyed it, I wouldn't recommend the show to everyone. It is not so much scary as it is harrowing: there is gore, there is a monster, and there are disturbing scenes. I finished watching it a day and a half ago and I do not yet feel like I have recovered mentally from what I have seen (give me a few more days and I will be fine). You guys out there will know your tv-watching habits; if you don't like stories that are scary, depressing or dark, this show is not for you. However, if you don't mind watching those themes then I absolutely recommend this show whole-heartedly. It is incredibly incredibly good.

Here is the trailer: https://youtu.be/3WLz6wxEabc

The rest of my review might contain mild spoilers, so I'm going to put it under a cut.

There are several things I love about the show. From the first glance it looks fantastic; you can tell that there was money behind the production. The sets and the setting are lush with atmosphere and historic detail; it really feels like care has been taken (not that I know enough about naval history to assess accuracy, but the little bits I do know felt very right). And those coats! If you know me you will know that I go crazy for well-fitted double-breasted coats with bright buttons. I WAS IN MY ELEMENT HERE.

The acting! You can't fault it. Everyone does a superb job and I think one of the reasons the story works so well is just how compelling everyone is.

But my absolute absolute favourite thing about the show is the writing. I am in ecstasies over how well it was written. It's the best period drama I have seen since 2014. The show is based on a book of the same name, so doubtless many good things from the show come from the book, but I have heard some not-entirely-great things about the book too, so I get the feeling that while the good characters and interesting plot may come from the book, the technical skill that makes the show truly rewarding and compelling comes from the show's writers.

The main thing that they get so right is exposition. It's tricky to do well in any piece of fiction, but it is particularly hard in historical fiction when there is always so much to explain. It seems that often the urge with historical fiction is to explain too much and too frequently, to the point where every line loses its poignancy because it's immediately followed by an explanation of why that line is poignant (Poldark, I am looking at you). The Terror does not fall into that trap at all. Things are not explained; the audience's hand is not held; and the viewer is treated like an intelligent person who can come to their own conclusions. This does, admittedly, lead to some parts where I didn't actually know exactly what happened until I read up about them after I finished the show, but this haziness in certain areas does not detract from the watching experience in any way. The writing is good enough that the viewer always knows the key points of what is happening and what that means for the plot (there is never a feeling of being lost and confused), and the fact that you can get an extra level of detail and interest the more you look into it is an additional joy.

When it comes to how good the exposition is, let us take scurvy as an example. Scurvy is mentioned a lot in the first episode, but not anywhere in that episode is it described. In a lesser show, as soon as scurvy is mentioned the first time, someone would say "oh, you mean the disease where your gums bleed and your old wounds open up?" In The Terror this information is not given in the first episode because it's not needed in the first episode. The information is not actually given until after the first symptoms start to show, and even then it's given in an offhand and believable comment that doesn't feel intrusive at all. This means that for viewers who already knew the symptoms of scurvy, it's not jarring in any way, while viewers who don't know the symptoms of scurvy get a wonderful reveal of what has been happening and are now prepared for what is yet to come.

Augh! It's just done so well! I absolutely can't stand it when TV shows talk down to me, whereas I love it when they treat me as a capable adult who is able to put the clues together by myself.

And then we come to the plot. Going from the trailer, and seeing how high the production values were, I had assumed that the plot would have a level of, what to call it, sensationalism? Hollywood-ness? I was expecting it to be more spectacle and less substance. I was ready for jump-scares and plot-twists and set-pieces, and they didn't come, not really, not in the way I was expecting. There was only one part in the final episode where things veered towards melodrama that was too ridiculous to believe. The rest of the plot is not ridiculous nor is it fluffy nor empty; it feels solid: the pacing works and each plot point follows on from one to another. This is not a show where an unsubstantiated plot twist is thrown into the mix for surprise value (looking at you, BBC 2020 Dracula); this is a show where the hard graft of writing is done, to make sure that the plot is built from the ground up so that the audience can follow it and believe in its progression, regardless of how unbelievable the actual events may seem to be.

One of the main reasons for why this plot progression works so well is that it is almost entirely character-driven. Oh yes, there are events from outside that affect the characters and what happens to them, but the bulk of the plot is driven by the characters and their choices. What is it about character-driven fiction that makes it so satisfying? Certainly stories can and do work without being character-driven, but there's something so good about having a character you can get your teeth into: a character who is a person, with likes and dislikes, and good parts and foibles; a character you get to know and care about. The characters in this story are not mere window-dressing; they drive the plot, and you both love them and hate them for it.

Now, take that well-written, rounded, satisfying character, and multiply them by thirty. This is an ensemble cast and boy does it feel like it! I'm frankly astounded by how many fully-thought-out characters there were. It's not like there are five main characters and the rest are all cannon-fodder. Each character we meet has their own story to tell. There are characters in the first episode who feel like extras, but who come to have important and complex parts as the story moves on. Even as we come to the final episodes there are characters whose significance only then begins to show.

This multitude of characters is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because it makes for a story that is rich, rewarding and realistic. But a curse because it is impossible to learn all those names and tell all those people apart. They all look the same! Is that character A in the navy blue coat with the big mutton chops? Or is that character B? I've watched the entire series and for a lot of the characters I still don't know! But this confusion doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the show. Just like the exposition, learning more about certain characters (which is where I think a rewatch would help) will add another layer of interest, but without that it is still easy to follow the main parts of the plot. There are certain main characters who you do come to recognise and to know, and this is enough; the other characters, each with their own richness, even if you don't know it yet, are an extra treat for those viewers who want to watch again and dig into the story a little more.

I won't say that the story is without its faults. I would like to ask the show-makers why apparently all British sailors in Victorian times were white??? And why did the cgi monster have to look like that??? But there aren't enough faults to truly detract from how enjoyable the show is.

Look at me here, trying to be all serious, making points with words, instead of just howling like I want to. What I haven't mentioned yet is how this show consumed me. I ate it up! I watched an episode per day (the short length of the show, being only ten episodes, is another reason why the plot is so tight and satisfying) and I couldn't stop thinking about it! My days were filled with thoughts of boats and mutton chops and my dreams were filled with them too. Even now that I have finished the show, and I have felt just how harrowing it is to watch a show where they all die, horribly, I long for it. I have withdrawal symptoms from it. I'm not yet mentally strong enough to watch it again, but my God I yearn for the time when I will be. It's that good! Whenever, over the past week, someone has asked me how I am, my answer has been "I'm watching The Terror!" as if I felt that from that response alone they could glean exactly how excited and happy I was to be watching it; as if it was my everything at that moment! My God!

And I'm not even mentioning just how much I came to enjoy the character of Goodsir. I was told "there's a character in this who's a bit like Segundus from 'Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell'; you'll like him." I did not know how accurate that was going to be. I want to slam my fist on the table! Do you know what it is like, in a show like this, to develop a favourite character and to know, to know, from the outset that every single character is going to die? It is heart-wrenching and it hurts, and I am still not over it (not by a long shot) but at the same time the pathos is so satisfying you want to eat it all up. This is 2021. We're not here for good times. Make it hurt. Make it cathartic. Take my mind off of the world of today with a pain that I can control with my TV.

So. Wow. tl;dr The Terror is an excellent show that I highly recommend for people who like this kind of stuff. (And I'm still sparkly-eyed over Goodsir and can't do anything about it.) The End.

[lushthemagicdragon]

On Deadpool, WandaVision and Breaking the Fourth Wall

Hey pals, let’s talk about breaking the fourth wall / extrapolation of meta information in multiverse universes--say, the Marvel cinematic vs the xmen films vs the comics. Actually, let’s talk specifically about the Marvel multiverse. 

I wrote you an essay, just go under the cut it’s shiny.

As a general rule, suspension of disbelief works better on paper than it does on video. Heroes was an excellent example of this problem. This was the first time TV show was made directly based on a comic book format, trying to emulate a comic book format. The ship sank when they tried to keep comic book pace, and to play by similar rules. Long story short, this is because the way our brains consume literature and comics is different from how we consume photographic media like movies or tv. Video, like photography, convinces the brain that it's depicting reality even when we logically know that it isn’t. Therefore, unless the rules of the video/TV world are well established as being different from our own, we apply to it our own real-world understandings of what is possible. We are able to follow the fantastic more willingly when we're imagining it (because we’re reading it) instead of seeing it with our senses. 

Breaking the fourth wall and/or being self-referential is extremely tricky on video media because you're forcing the audience's brain to acknowledge that this is fiction, which can cause some cognitive dissonance if the goal of your show/movie is to create second world immersion. Sitcoms are good at breaking the fourth wall because, with laugh tracks, live studio audiences, and a general lack of real-world consequences, our brains understand that it isn’t real. Generally, they’re not trying to fool us into believing that they’re real. Still, if Chandler Bing suddenly turned around and made eye contact with the camera, that would be weird. It’s not established in that particular sitcom world that they understand that they’re fictional. Fresh Prince on the other hand, did that all the time. 

But we’ll get back to Sitcoms, because WandaVision. As opposed to most sitcoms, most serious dramas and adventure-thrillers are trying to create a very different vibe. In order to function, you have to be fully engaged, and have to completely believe the second world you are currently in. Otherwise, the emotional experience falls short. Tonality must be consistent, whereas sitcoms can get away with having the odd emotional moment surrounded by a laugh track. 

Marvel is very weird when it comes to second worlds and believable experiences, because Marvel films, tv, and comics are all existing in the same multiverse but with wildly different tones. If you try to wrap your head around all of it as one body, it can give you a headache. Which is why I find it so interesting whenever they try to be meta. 

The MCU as we understand it is presented as a realistic second world. Yes, it's fun action adventure with magic and superheroes, but presented in a way that feels real, and rationalizes its reality. It explains with technobabble and sciencebabble everything that it's doing. It wants to feel real. There are a few examples of comedy in the MCU (AntMan, Guardians of the Galaxy, Thor Ragnorok), but their silliness can for the most part be explained away. With the latter two, they take place in space, with aliens, so our brains allow that as an explanation of wackiness outside our own reality. For Ant-Man, honestly I think it was a brilliant idea to make it a comedy because there was no way that film would have succeeded if they tried to make the audience take Ant-Man seriously on screen. I love Ant-Man, it’s a spectacularly made film. But I digress. Importantly, even though they’re funny and campy, they never lose their sense of realism, with emotional anchor points to keep them grounded.  When these characters are in an ensemble, they lose their high camp aesthetic and become part of the realism whole. 

Even when they say in the MCU, Oh look at this I am an action figure, I'm in comic books, it's presented as in-world realistic. These people are famous now, and they're real life superheroes, so obviously action figures and comic books are being produced about them. It all makes sense. Even the X-Men films, for as camp as they are, do this in their own realism bubble. I would argue the X-Men films actually do it better because you don't have to suspend as much disbelief to believe mutation as you do to believe in a super suit that shrinks people (I love you Small Rudd). 

Things get weird when the fourth wall is broken, and the multiverse is acknowledged, because the marvel cinematics have done an excellent job of creating stable second worlds. The Deadpool films, the prime example of fourth wall breaking in Marvel films/tv, are excellent because they go whole hog into breaking the fourth wall and acknowledging how ridiculous it all is. But it works for two reasons. 

1. Deadpool is the only person in the entire movie that acknowledges the fourth wall (I am pretty sure, it’s been a while since I’ve watched them but I am pretty sure). Because he alone is aware that he's a fictional character in a wider fictional universe, it's not weird when he references his actor being the green lantern or talks directly to the camera. It’s exactly what we expect from him. With Deadpool, we're in on the joke but no one else is. And that's funny. 

2. The tone of the Deadpool films is always funny and stupid. Even when it gets serious, that becomes the joke. There is no cognitive dissonance because it's consistent. See: Sitcom Logic. If the tone is light, breaking the fourth wall doesn’t jarr quite so much. 

3. Deadpool is never in the other films, and MOSTLY, the characters in Deadpool (beyond the odd brief cameo) aren't in the greater universe (I say mostly because of Colossus, but he was in one movie ages ago for like ten minutes it’s not the biggest deal). It's consistent, and it doesn't become confusing because it's contained in itself as a weird fourth wall bubble on the side of the greater universe. Anything that happens to characters in the Deadpool films will not carry over to the more serious timeline. 

There is one place in which I would say that the Deadpool films miss the mark, and make a mess of things. By making that one joke where young 90s xmen from the newest film are behind a door and shut it before he turns around, a wrench is thrown in. The weirdness of the Deadpool films suddenly is an issue because the question is asked: Where do the Deadpool films sit in the timeline? The answer is that the Deadpool films don't fit anywhere in the established XMen Cinematic Timeline, and the big mistake was having a group of characters from an xmen film on screen at the same time even as a gag. In this moment, the Deadpool films are very suddenly part of the greater universe, rather than a sidecar referencing what’s going on inside. By doing this, Deadpool is not the only character breaking the fourth wall. Now the physical world is breaking the fourth wall. And our brains will try to make sense where they cannot make sense.

But anyway for the most part, Deadpool does an excellent job of it by being a weird little fourth wall meta bubble on the fringe of existence. Wandavision though, that gets weird in a different but also very fun way.

The reason why the first 3/4ths of WandaVision work in terms of being meta-referential and also occasionally breaking the fourth wall is because 

1. genre and tone. It sets up from the beginning, this is a sitcom world, not gritty realism world. We get sitcom world, we know what to expect from sitcom world. We can laugh along with the laugh track when something odd or silly or referential happens, and accept it as truth, because a sitcom generally does not pretend to be reality. 

2. Whenever the fourth wall breaks in a way that doesn't make sense, it's intentional. Wanda reacts accordingly. Something goes weird, she fixes it. When something goes weird for someone other than Wanda (Say, the Vision), the integrity of this sitcom world is called into question in an intentional way that tracks with what is actually going on in the gritty-realism world (acknowledging that we’re in a bubble within a bubble). This camp sitcom world breaks the fourth wall within itself, not to us. Billy talking to the screen isn't talking to us, he's talking to the imagined viewer in-world. 

3. Most of the meta-references are either subtle enough to be Easter eggs (like the kick-ass reference) or exist solely as fun gaffs that have no consequences and are never acknowledged as being meta (the Halloween costumes). I say most, because there is one big meta-reference that I think was a mistake, and where it kind of starts to fall apart in my eyes. 

As much as I adore Evan Peters’ Pietro, as extremely happy as I was to see him on this show, this particular meta-reference was done in a way that breaks the second world illusion, because they pointed a big red sign at a meta reference and then tried to explain it without breaking into the multiverse. 

The thing about breaking the fourth wall and meta-referencing is that it has to be toungue in cheek to be sustainable. Our brains are accepting that this reference is for us, but to make it a serious part of the story requires an answer to the question: why? By explaining that actually, this fake Pietro was Ralph the whole time, a real person who exists in this gritty realism universe, the illusion of tongue in cheek is gone. Suddenly, there is a person who brings into question the entire structure of the second world. Because this second world does not have access to the multiverse (Into the Spiderverse is wholly its own thing), it doesn't make sense that this random guy who happened to be used to play Pietro looks exactly like Pietro from elsewhere in the multiverse. It stops being fun, and starts becoming confusing, and we start trying to find answers where there are none. 

IMO, two ways to solve that problem. 1. never explain it. If you never explain it, it's just a weird meta reference for us that also exists in Wanda's fake-world that is in itself accessing the multiverse (see: the costumes), without touching the realism world outside the bubble. 

2. What I'm now calling the Taika Waititi method. Give a nonsense explanation told with a straight face as a brush-off. Say, Wanda asks Agatha who this guy is, and she says something along the lines of, oh I don't know I just pulled some random Pietro out of the universe, I never met the guy I had to improvise. 

Anyway I still give WandaVision an 8/10 and an A for effort. Pulling off multiple tones and multiple second worlds simultaneously without even explaining it away with the multiverse is fucking hard, and they did a pretty good job all things considered. 

And if anyone is interested in wtf I'm talking about re: second worlds, I highly recommend Tolkien's essay On Fairy Stories which pretty much defines how fantastic fiction works.

[the-girl-with-the-glass-heart]

So I’ve decided to talk in depth about my sander sides high school au, specifically the characterization of Remus, Janus and Virgil.

I tried to make a rather grounded and realistic take on things with some conventional teen drama tropes mixed in there along with some serious storylines about family and the issues Remus, Virgil and Janus experience because of it.

I will make a part two to this post if you guys so desire with the other sides and possibly Picani and Remy.

Virgil is the main character of this au, he moved back to his old home town after moving away when he was fairly young to go start a new life with his dad.

Virgil and his dad are all on their own with little money to their names making them live in the poorer area of town, which doesn’t exactly help Virgil with bullies.

Virgil also has some deep underlying issues about his mother since she died in labor and thus never got to meet her, his dad goes to great lengths to teach him about her and how much she unconditionally loved him but it does little to quell Virgil’s complex feelings towards her.

Despite the amount of attention his dad gives him he does feel especially empty and sad about his lack of a mother, it doesn’t exactly help that because of the way Juliet died Virgil feels in some way, partially responsible.

This would later cause him to build up emotional walls to cover up how he really felt about his mom, insisting that he’s okay and doesn’t think about it often.

This also causes him to stress a lot about small situations and in more extreme scenarios full on fits of anxiety due to his underlying fears about losing even more people in his life.

Ultimately this all mixed together with the bullying Virgil received growing up for his lack of a mother made him a very tense and self conscious individual with a deep rooted fear of the unknown and loss.

Virgil still has a support group there for him, like I said, his dad is always there to provide and take care of him no matter what and his friends always make an effort to understand his plights despite not really having the same issues as he does.

Really the only person who comes close to understanding him is Remy, who also is raised by a single parent and understands the hurt that can leave you with.

Remy’s mom and Virgil’s dad are quite close though and since they are neighbors try to take care of each other’s kids the best they can when the other can’t.

Overall Virgil’s life isn’t all that great but it could be a whole lot worse if he didn’t have his friends with him.

Now onto Janus, Janus’s familial troubles culminate into anger and spite, his family was rather normal until he was around five years old and his parents got divorced and it was rather messy.

Janus couldn’t adjust very well to not only his parents being separated but also his dad losing his job and most of his money, making him move across town, next door to Virgil.

He coped with it after a little while but everything seemed to get way worse after one day when he was visiting his mom and her boyfriend, an electrical fire started and Janus got trapped in the bathroom causing him to get very bad burns all up one side of his body, making him lose most of his hair and most importantly of all, push his mother to take extreme lengths to protect him.

She just seemed to become more and more irrational over time and take even more precautions that made little sense to anyone but her.

She even prevented Janus from hanging out with Remus since his behavior kinda scared her which only made Janus want to hang out with him more.

She was already very over protective of him but the fire just made everything worse and eventually Janus developed a habit for lying as a way to hide his more “dangerous” activity from his invasive mother.

Janus was often confused and didn’t know exactly how to feel about his mother, his love for her was both very strong since he admired how much she wanted to protect him but also was full of anger and spite for how controlling she was.

At least his dad and step mom were better, his father though not the most emotionally available still takes care of him and loves him while his step mom is the most wholesome a person could possible be and much better than his step dad (Who’s just a complete idiot).

Janus mostly deals with his problems by venting about them to remus and going through lengths to cover his burns (wearing hats to cover up his bald spot, gloves to hide his hands, jackets to hide his arms, ect.) unfortunately though sometimes this will lead to confrontations with Virgil.

Virgil’s fear of loss and want to keep his loved ones safe will often clash for Janus’s demands for freedom and independence making them sometimes clash until remus tries to calm them down.

As for Remus, unlike his friends he didn’t care much about how his family was, yes they are clearly dysfunctional and Remus fully knows how his families relationship was strained and probably really toxic but he didn’t care.

Even though favoritism was really clear at his house, his parents weren’t home often due to work and his brother seemed to get everything, remus just sorta took it in stride and used it as an excuse to grow more independent and bombastic.

He likes himself, in fact maybe he likes himself a little too much tbh.

He developed a strong sense of self, something that Janus really admired and would often look up to him for.

Eventually his teen years hit and surprise surprise, this independent loud bastard with strong opinions got a really weird sense of style (I mean, who else would draw on a fake mustache and dye their hair grey while wearing chokers and knee length boots?) and a penchant for partying.

Not only would he party (very hard, sometimes at bars with fake IDs) but he also started having small relationships that didn’t last very long (didn’t matter who it was, hell it could of been a guy who was already in a committed relationship, remus didn’t care).

To go along with his bold and odd personality he was often contradictory, putting on a persona of the stupid party guy while also being surprisingly intelligent, to the point that he even rivaled Logan (some one had to be the smart twin).

He has a great relationship with his brother, they actually get along very well, they just don’t speak much during school hours.

Remus has a very can do attitude and is completely determined to be his own person and nobody is gonna fell him other wise.

So yeah... if you read this far thank you, I appreciate it.

[stranger-who-writes-fiction]

Superman & Lois - Ep. 102 “Heritage”

In which the Sad Dad vibes and teen angst continues!

Spoilers!

Lois gets the opening and closing narration this week! And generally has more to do, which is nice.

The fam has officially moved to Smallville, so the boys are gearing up to start school...or are they???

Well, Jon is. Jordan is told he has to stay home until he can get his nascent powers under control because they don’t want him to accidentally flash frying a classmate. Which he almost did. Last week. 

Clark calls Jordan’s accidental heat vision an ‘ocular release of energy.’

This decision, of course, leads to some FAMILY DRAMA. Jordan feels like a freak! Jonathan is upset that they’ve had to move! Clark feels like he’s failing as a parent!

Oh and also the guy in the Master Chief suit is on the hunt for Kryptonite. Which is, you know. Troubling.

SO it’s off to school for Jonathan and off to the Fortress for Jordan!

Lois, upon Jonathan asking why Jordan gets to go flying with dad: “At least we have the radio!”

One plus side about the show being ‘grounded’ and ‘prestige-y’: the high school drama is of a more believable variety. Still tedious, but at least it’s not dated 90s tropes.

...Well, okay. Not entirely true. Sarah Cushing’s personality thus far is ‘nice girl who’s dating a jerk’ and yes, the line “What do you see in that guy?” is said aloud. So.

Win some, lose some.

MEANWHILE, AT THE FORTRESS:

Love the actor they got for Jor-El. He’s perfect, in that he feels like an homage to Brando, Crowe, but is also his own distinct version. I dig it. 

But there’s no giant key made of dwarf star matter because this is GROUNDED and REALISTIC and none of that SILLY CW NONSENSE, WE GOT HBO MAX MONEY. 

Back to the Lois vs. Edge plot:

For all the folks wondering how Lois working at the Planet was going to continue, what with the show being set in Smallville...

WELL.

Edge now owns the Planet, so he re-writes a negative article she’s written about him, which leads to her quitting, and going to write for the Smallville Gazette.

Which is operated by Chrissy Beppo.

Who is...named after the super monkey? 

Does this mean we’ll eventually meet other Smallville residents named after super pets? Like Marsha Whizzy, or maybe Kenneth Comet.

Seems a weird choice when ‘Bibbo’ is right there.

ANYWAYS.

Best line of the episode: “You know what babe? You do your Superman stuff, and I will do my Lois Lane stuff.”

MEANWHILE, THE SAD DAD VIBES INTENSIFY as Grandpa Jor-El reveals: Jordan...will never be like you, Kal-El. His human DNA is too limiting.

Which is a very interesting plot point (that was sorta mentioned/explored in Future State!)

So, about the boys: I still find them...mostly annoying. But I appreciate the dynamic they’re establishing: Jordan has always required more time and attention due to his anxiety disorder, and Jonathan has always had to look after him and compensate--this carries over into the new status quo where Jordan has the super powers and Jonathan further feels that his brother is getting time and attention and he needs to make sacrifices and changes for him/the family. 

This leads to a really lovely moment between the brothers at the end of the episode that I genuinely enjoyed, so. I’m hoping that there will be more of that and less of ‘drama with Sarah’.

(Also if you think that sounds a little like another pair of Super siblings...it does! And also hold that thought.)

The OTHER big twist is that Master Chief AKA Captain Luthor comes from a world with an EVIL SUPERMAN.

To be clear, the set-up is very obviously, ‘Our Clark will prove Captain Luthor wrong re: thinking he’ll turn evil,’ so I’m not seriously suggesting we’re in for a full-on Injustice situation. I just find it funny, how quickly they pulled out the ol’ evil Supes.

(The one we saw in Elseworlds doesn’t count since that wasn’t Clark.)

And maybe this one isn’t either! I admit complete ignorance as to the comics stuff they’re pulling from; I guess it’s somehow connected to Project 7734 (Which is ‘hell’ upside down, as any fifth grader with a calculator will tell you) a counter-Kryptonian force put together by Sam Lane, I think? 

IDK. Like I said, comics blind spot.

The episode ends with Grandpa Lane looking a bit spooked at the ominous 7734 keychain Captain Luthor gave him, and Captain Luthor still on the hunt for Kryptonite! DUN DUN DUUNNNNNN.  

And now, time for a segment I’ll call: Gettin’ Super Salty w/Stranger wherein I will stash all of my frustration regarding the fact that this spin-off doesn’t really want to be a spin-off.

Okay, so first up! As mentioned, the Fortress design has been changed because the silly Supergirl version does not vibe with the new serious aesthetic.

Their loss! More Legion Rings, baby Sun Eaters, and impractical front door keys for Supergirl!

The sunstone AI details the last days of Krypton, and only one (1) pod is shown escaping the destruction.

Thanks, I hate it.

I do appreciate that Jor-El at least kinda appears to be wearing clothes that match the look of Supergirl’s Krypton. I wasn’t paying close attention to the buildings in the hologram, no clue if they match the architecture we’ve seen thus far.

Like, I get it. There’s no time to pause the plot and be like, ‘hey, just FYI, I’m not the sole survivor of Krypton, my cousin escaped as well’ but also AAAARRRRRGHHHHHH. 

You’re using the versions of the characters introduced in Supergirl, the least you can do is namedrop her once. ONCE. That’s all I’m asking. XD

They missed their opportunity, actually; when the boys were like, ‘We have so many questions!’ All you had to do was slip in, ‘Are we related to Supergirl?’ Bam. Done. Never need to go back to it, you’ve acknowledged it, continue on with your solo Sad Dad adventures!

(Except I guess that wouldn’t work, since so much of this is built on Clark being the Lone Protector of the earth. If you allude to other heroes being around, your whole character motivation/struggle makes less sense.)

I get it but I don’t have to like it. XD

They shoulda just set this on another Earth!

Circling back to the sibling dynamic: I hate how now I really want Kara to someday appear on this show and hang out with the boys and be like, ‘ah, yes, I know the feeling, my sister and I were the same.’

That’s it, that’s all the crossover content I need. I realize Melissa is moving on to bigger and better things but MAYBE SOMEDAY. XD (Or maybe I’ll just write a fic, who knows.)

I can’t remember if I brought this up already but it is hilarious to me that anyone still thinks of Superman as a reporter--most modern takes treat it as an afterthought and here, it’s dispensed in the first episode.

It has not been brought up since.

Like, much is made about Lois leaving Metropolis, and what that’ll mean for her career, but no one in Smallville is like, ‘Clark, wow! Farming? That’s quite a career change!’

(I assume he’ll be farming, since they mentioned starting the farm up again.)  

...You think anyone will drag the writers for tossing aside Clark’s ‘true calling?’ 

Who am I kidding? Supergirl fandom is not watching this show, they’re just harassing the people running the social media accounts. 

SO OVERALL: The good remains good! The meh remains meh! I appreciate that this version of Clark and Lois exist as we inch ever closer to the release of the Snyder Cut! But also the behind-the-scenes stuff continues to hang over everything like a terrible cloud! Here’s hoping those problems are addressed!

[harrowdubois]

okay, i said if there was interest i would think about making a post listing all the references i squeezed into the locked tomb fic i spent the last month or so writing, and now i’ve realised i don’t care if there’s interest because i want to be self-indulgent SO

under the cut is a (somewhat spoilery) chronological list of all the memes, vines, and cribbed tumblr posts, as well as homages to various books, tv shows, song lyrics, etc. that made their way into blessed with a wilder mind! 

(cw for suicide mention)

this is of course a reference to the legendary bodybuilding forum thread where they did, actually, argue over how many days there are in a week (cw for ableist slurs in the thread)

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buzzfeed unsolved meme. i am dirt and i love to eat dirt

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this is so well-known it’s almost not worth listing it but oh my god they were roommates

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in itself, this isn’t a reference to anything in particular, but if you didn’t do this on your first read then i’d recommend taking another look at this scene and thinking about the specific wuthering heights/frankenstein/rebecca excerpts discussed by harrow and mercymorn but in relation to canon!harrow’s trauma/relationship with the body in htn :~) 

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also not really a reference to anything in particular but when i looked back over the fic for this post it struck me that the ‘sex panther’ phrasing was probably at least partially unconsciously inspired by the shoebox project (professor mcgonagall’s oiled man panther was a formative moment for me, truly)

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cw gross/unsanitary: it’s the tinder poop window incident. i mentioned this in the end notes of the fic as being what i had in mind for that scene but if it’s too gross for you (UNDERSTANDABLY) then feel free to Death Of The Author me to your heart’s content!

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i listened to a lot of orville peck while writing this

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 very very very loosely inspired by this clickhole article

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respectively: fourth of july by sufjan stevens / wuthering heights by emily bronte

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TWO BROS, CHILLIN IN A HOT TUB, FIVE FEET APART BECAUSE THEY’RE NOT GAY

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there was absolutely no need to stretch this across three paragraphs, and yet

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iconic

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i already linked to this one in the end notes of the fic itself, but it’s good, so here it is again

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 i can’t find the actual original post but it’s this fucking horrible thing 

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the last line is a reference to the secret history by donna tartt:

“Could it be because it reminds us that we are alive, of our mortality, of our individual souls- which, after all, we are too afraid to surrender but yet make us feel more miserable than any other thing? But isn't it also pain that often makes us most aware of self? It is a terrible thing to learn as a child that one is a being separate from the world, that no one and no thing hurts along with one's burned tongues and skinned knees, that one's aches and pains are all one’s own. Even more terrible, as we grow old, to learn that no person, no matter how beloved, can ever truly understand us. Our own selves make us most unhappy, and that's why we're so anxious to lose them, don't you think?”

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a lyrical double whammy!

from ‘last words of a shooting star’ by mitski: “they’ll never know how i’d stared at the dark in that room with no thoughts like a blood-sniffing shark”

from ‘a better son/daughter’ by rilo kiley: “sometimes in the morning i am petrified but can’t move/awake but cannot open my eyes” 

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*

shout-out to maybe my single favourite video game moment, the encounter with the sky cat in night in the woods: “There is a hole at the center of everything, and it is always growing. Between the stars I am seeing it. It is coming, and you are not escaping, and the universe is forgetting you, and the universe is being forgotten, and there is nothing to remember it, not even the things beyond. And now there is only the hole... You are atoms, and your atoms are not caring if you are existing. Your atoms are monstrous existence.”

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“Nothing is ever fulfilled, not until the very end.” - rust cohle, true detective s1, this reference is VERY tonally dissonant because in context it’s actually grim as all hell but w/e w/e i couldn’t resist the shout-out

also harrow quotes from the goldfinch again here! i had the reference included before i read this post and realised tamsyn muir also quotes from the secret history in htn. terrible synergy 

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they are in fact all real. you’re welcome

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this one’s doing a lot of work lmao. it’s paying homage to this quote by tamsyn muir talking about the draco-in-leather-pants trope in relation to ianthe by loosely referencing drop dead gorgeous, the best drarry fic ever written, in which harry is part veela

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“It's a very Greek idea, and a very profound one. Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves? Euripides speaks of the Maenads: head thrown I back, throat to the stars, "more like deer than human being." To be absolutely free! One is quite capable, of course, of working out these destructive passions in more vulgar and less efficient ways. But how glorious to release them in a single burst! To sing, to scream, to dance barefoot in the woods in the dead of night, with no more awareness of mortality than an animal! These are powerful mysteries. The bellowing of bulls. Springs of honey bubbling from the ground. If we are strong enough in our souls we can rip away the veil and look that naked, terrible beauty right in the face; let God consume us, devour us, unstring our bones. Then spit us out reborn.” - that’s right it’s another reference to the secret history, with a little bit of mary oliver (tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?) sprinkled on top for flavour

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a small one, but it’s the goldfinch again: “And I feel I have something very urgent and serious to say to you, my non-existent reader, and I feel I should say it as urgently as if I were standing in the room with you...”

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my FUCKING cinnamon apple

 what if i... put my minecraft bed.... next to yours... aha ha just kidding.... unless?

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[cw: suicide discussion in these next two]

*

robyn can have little a rust cohle quote, as a treat.

1. “I'd consider myself a realist, all right? But in philosophical terms I'm what's called a pessimist... I think human consciousness is a tragic misstep in evolution. We became too self-aware. Nature created an aspect of nature separate from itself. We are creatures that should not exist by natural law... We are things that labor under the illusion of having a self, that accretion of sensory experience and feelings, programmed with total assurance that we are each somebody, when in fact everybody's nobody... I think the honorable thing for our species to do is to deny our programming. Stop reproducing, walk hand in hand into extinction; one last midnight, brothers and sisters opting out of a raw deal.”

2. “This... This is what I'm talking about. This is what I mean when I'm talkin' about time, and death, and futility. All right, there are broader ideas at work, mainly what is owed between us as a society for our mutual illusions. Fourteen straight hours of staring at DBs, these are the things you think of. You ever done that? You look in their eyes, even in a picture, doesn't matter if they're dead or alive, you can still read 'em. You know what you see? They welcomed it... Not at first, but... right there in the last instant. It's an unmistakable relief. See, cause they were afraid, and now they saw for the very first time how easy it was to just... let go. Yeah, they saw, in that last nanosecond, they saw... what they were. You, yourself, this whole big drama, it was never more than a jerry-rig of presumption and dumb will, and you could just let go. To finally know that you didn't have to hold on so tight. To realize that all your life - you know, all your love, all your hate, all your memories, all your pain - it was all the same thing. It was all the same dream, a dream that you had inside a locked room, a dream about being a person.”

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ahaaa this one’s particularly rough. evil monkey no one alive dot jpg

“Later, that dozy embrace solidified in his memory as the single moment of artless, charmed happiness in their separate and difficult lives. Nothing marred it, even the knowledge that Ennis would not then embrace him face to face because he did not want to see or feel that it was Jack he held. And maybe, he thought, they’d never got much farther than that. Let be, let be.” - annie proulx, brokeback mountain

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a TRIPLE lyrical whammy!

- harrow’s words to gideon in the dream are a bit of a vague reference to the song ‘adventures in solitude’ by the new pornographers (”we thought we lost you/welcome back”) - gideon’s words to harrow are a reference to the song ‘blush’ by wolf alice (”you’ve got two hands to take all you can/but don’t take too long”) - what harrow texts to gideon is a line from ‘about today’ by the national, aka the most devastating song ever written (”hey, are you awake?/yeah i’m right here”...)

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i CANNOT find a clip of it but harrow’s repetition of “life is short... it’s short” was me paraphrasing from memory a line from pride (2014), because i am the worst

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spooky scary skeletons! 

“jail for gideon” is obviously a reference to the “jail for mother” tweet that tm also referenced in htn. so, not original in the slightest, but it’s a great tweet

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one of my favourite tumblr posts

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because naberius tern absolutely would watch rick and morty. he would. i know it in my heart. 

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and that’s it, i think. hope you enjoyed this horrid little post and my horrid little fic!

[s13e06]

The Start of Something Pt 2

Draco Malfoy / Female Reader

Harry Potter AU

Warnings: none? (let me know)

Words: 3K

Pt 1, Pt 3, Pt 4

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Chapter 2

After your little encounter with Draco in the pub, you found it hard to stop thinking about him.  Once school started again you would spend the moments between classes fantasizing about the older man. You knew it wasn’t right… but you couldn’t really help it.

Although the guilt really set in whenever you’d see Scorpius sitting politely in your class as always. After all, he and his father had been through… it really wasn’t your place to intrude.

Right?

However, one night upon receiving a rather interesting owl you found that you just couldn’t help yourself.

The letter had been simple and concise, politely inviting you out to lunch over the weekend. It would have seemed like a date had it not been for the clear indication of wanting to discuss matters of his son’s performance and the blatant usage of the words “friendly chat”.

But those details weren’t really a problem for you. If anything you felt a little relieved that he so clearly wanted to keep things proper between the two of you. Hopefully, you could genuinely become good friends with the man.

With that in mind, you headed out to meet him that weekend. Then the weekend after that… and the one after that as well. Pretty soon it became a kind of routine to meet with Draco. Your conversations consisted of friendly small talk and discussions of Hogwarts drama; whose kids were doing what now. Occasionally even you’d talk about yourself as he seemed eager to coax you on. You’d even learned more about him. Although, he’d never go too into detail.

Which was completely understandable…

But one day over your normal lunch the conversation took an odd turn.

“Then just as I was about to lose my temper Professor Longbottom came to my rescue. He just whisked me away from the little troublemakers and told me not to take them so seriously.” You laughed lightheartedly while telling a rather recent story.

However, upon finishing you noticed the way that Draco’s face began to kind of contort into a sort of displeased look. As if you said something he didn’t like.

“Longbottom as in Neville Longbottom?” he asked with an unreadable stare.

“Yes, that would be him. From what I’ve gathered you both were in the same year” you mentioned casually.

“We were… I did hear something about him becoming the new Herbology professor.” He said the last part mostly to himself.

“Are you two friends?” he asked nonchalantly.

“Yes, I think I’d say we are. He visits my classroom every now and then to chat. He’s such a nice man” you admitted honestly.

Draco only paused for a moment before letting out a kind of scoff that quickly turned into a chuckle.

“Well, that’s nice… That you have a good friend there” he said.

His entire demeanor was off as he seemed to be thinking about something deeply. The air grew kind of stiff between the two of you and the sudden urge to flee washed over you.

“It is nice” you spoke with bated breath.

The silence between you was almost unbearable and just as you were about to excuse yourself, Draco did it first.

“Sorry to say but I really must be going. I have some matters to attend to back at the manor” he told you with a smile.

“No worries! I should really be heading back as well,” you replied, watching him stand up and collect himself.

“Same time next week?” he asked with a hopeful kind of smile.

“Yes, absolutely” you grinned.

Once he was gone you slunk back into your seat ad gave out a defeated sigh. All the tension that was hung in the air slowly swept away.

What was all that about?

-

Back at school the following Monday you really couldn’t shake the feeling that things between you and Draco were kind of off now… you hoped that your next meeting wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.

As you gathered some of your things off your desk you heard a light knocking sound from the doorway. Looking up you saw Scorpius standing there patiently.

“Professor, could I have a moment to talk?” he asked you while walking into your class.

“Yes, of course, Mr. Malfoy, come right in,” you said with a friendly tone. “What is it that you’d like to discuss?”

“Well, professor… I know that you and my father have been meeting over the weekends” he started while giving you a kind of nervous glance.

Your heartbeat quickened upon hearing his words. It’s not that you really had anything to be ashamed of. You weren’t romantically involved with his father. No, it was all friendly chit chat. Yet, a strong part of you felt overwhelmingly guilty about the whole thing.

But before you had a chance to respond he continued.

“You see I noticed his owl a few times on school grounds and y curiosity got the better of me… and well I may have intercepted it and read the letter.” He confessed looking a little sheepish.

“Oh… well, that’s perfectly alright. You have a right to know what your father is up to I suppose” you stated anxiously, still unsure of how he felt about all this.

“Especially when it involves my professor…” Scorpius added quietly.

The look on your face must have been obviously guilty because after taking a long look at you he gave out a frustrated sigh.

“Professor Y/L/N, do you fancy my father?” he asked quickly; voice wavering slightly on the last word.

It was the last question you had wanted to hear come from anyone… let alone his own son. You hadn’t even properly come to terms with your own feeling let alone felt like it would be appropriate to share them… and as you looked at the young boy in front of you, you really thought about your answer.

This was a boy that had been through more than you could possibly imagine. Endured so much personal ridicule on behalf of others and even had to go through the devastating experience of losing his own mother. This was your student and someone who had previously admitted to being thankful to you. To betray his trust and disregard his feeling like this… it was downright cruel. You had no place being involved with his father in any way that would make him uncomfortable. It wasn’t right.

So as you watched his face carefully, you gave him a response. It may not have been the most honest answer. But it was the fairest.

“No, I don’t fancy your father Scorpius. He and I are simply friends. He’s an interesting man and we’ve merely developed an acquaintanceship that’s all” you reassured him.

But the way he looked at you came across as though he wasn’t at all satisfied with your answer.

“I see…” he said while furrowing his brow “Well, that’s all I had to ask I suppose… I’ll be going now”.

With that, he shuffled out of your classroom with surprising haste. Leaving you shocked and confused. The way he looked from you to the ground in concentration like that… it was if he knew something that you didn’t.

Little did you know however, the discussion with Scorpius was to be the least of your worries. Because unbeknownst to you, someone else had been listening in to the conversation. Someone who had shown unannounced in efforts to speak with you but upon hearing your conversation, quickly changed their minds and left.

-

It had been a few weeks since you’d last seen Draco.  For some reason, he hadn’t shown up for your usual meetings and you’d yet to receive any owls at all. Realistically you knew that you could send him an owl yourself if you really wanted you but a deep anxious part of you certainly didn’t want to face potential rejection.

Perhaps your last meeting had upset him more than you initially thought…

Not only was your friendship with Draco apparently on the rocks but even Scorpius was beginning to act more reserved in front of you. He stopped volunteering during class ad avoided your eyes altogether.

The whole thing had you feeling awful. Which you knew was probably a little selfish of you considering you were kind of the one who started it…

Your mood must have visibly changed significantly because, during dinner in the great hall, you found yourself being confronted by someone.

“Uh… excuse me… Ms. Y/L/N?” someone spoke next to you.

You jumped a little by the sudden intrusion. The voice next to you completely pulling out of your depressive trance. You turned to the side to see none other than professor Longbottom beside you with a rather concerned look on his face.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to intrude. I just noticed that you seem a little bit down… is something the matter?” he pressed sympathetically.

“Oh… it’s nothing really. Just lost in thought I suppose” you replied a little embarrassed by your distraught mental state.

“Ah well, I was wondering if you’re up for it… maybe you wouldn’t mind going to get some Butterbeers with me this weekend?” he asked with a slightly flushed face.

“I don’t mind at all. That sounds lovely, Mr. Longbottom” you replied with a genuine smile.

“P-please, call me Neville” he insisted with a toothy grin.

“Of course, Neville,” you said with a little laugh.

Neville only smiled harder in response before excusing himself back to his seat with a fluster of hand movements and nervous feet.

Of all the other professors at Hogwarts Neville was definitely your favorite. He was always so kind and polite to you. You found his boyish grin and calm mannerisms rather comforting.

It was nice to think that someone was thinking about you so wholeheartedly.

-

When the weekend came you made your way casually into the Three Broomsticks to meet with Neville. The place was slightly filled with students but in general, they paid you no mind as you made your way over to Neville who sat at a table near the back.

“I feel like a student again” you joked to him while picking up the glass of Butterbeer set in front of you, giving it a little sip with a smile.

“I hope you don’t find it inappropriate” he spoke with a grin “I just thought that maybe you could use a friend”.

You beamed at his thoughtful words while you sipped on your drink.

“I find it perfectly delightful, honestly,” you said.

Neville nodded his head lightly before looking down and smiling into his drink.

“So, what is it that seems to be troubling you? And you can’t say it’s nothing because you went from floating around the halls with a smile on your face every day to moping about wherever you go.” He told you while tapping his finger nervously against the table.

“If I’m being completely honest… something did kind of happen” you admitted.

He only looked at you quietly as he waited for you to continue.

“Well… over the holidays I happened to make friends with somebody… and he happened to be the father of one of my students.” You began, speaking slowly.

“Friends with a student’s father?” Neville questioned while raising an eyebrow at you.

“Ah, yes. But we really were just friends” you defended quickly. “We would just meet up for meals casually over the weekends. But… the thing is… his son recently comforted me about it”.

“What did he say?” he asked.

“He… he asked me if I fancied his father,” you said while feeling slight heat rise to your cheeks.

Neville seemed to cough a little uncomfortably at this.

“Of course I told him that I didn’t. But after that, he’s been acting rather distant with me and his father stopped meeting me as well. I don’t know what I did exactly but I know that whatever it is it’s definitely my fault” you whispered a little sadly.

“Y/N…” he spoke softly “Whatever it is… I’m sure you’re not at fault… who could ever stay ad at you?”

You felt yourself flushing at his comment. He was truly too nice for his own good.

“You’re too kind, Neville” you laughed.

“No… it’s not that” he replied with another toothy grin.

-

You and Neville had proven to be quite the inseparable pair as the weeks went by. You’d eat together during meals and visit each other’s classes to chat whenever one of you had free time. He was supportive and patient. He listened to all your concerns and idiotic stories. It was like he couldn’t get enough of you.

But despite it all… you found yourself missing Draco even with all the time that had gone by. Every time you’d see Scorpius in class or in the halls you’d be reminded of it all.

You even recalled the last time you’d seen him he’d given you a look you’d never seen before…

You and Neville had been walking down the hall as he escorted you to your classroom (something that had become quite a common occurrence) when you saw Scorpius heading towards you.

At first, he didn’t seem to notice you but when he did you saw how his eyes went from you and Neville several times, watching the way you two interacted.

You gave him a quizzical look before he turned away from you with a scowl on his face.

The entire exchange threw your whole day off… he went from not even looking at you to giving you these looks of disgust.

It made you want to cry.

Then before you knew it you found yourself in your quarters writing a letter to Draco. You weren’t really sure what to say or how you should say it. But you knew that you’d never be able to move on without a little bit of closure on what happened between the two of you… and hopefully, maybe even reconcile.

With a shaky hand, you put your quill to the parchment in front of you and began to write.

              Dear, Draco,

I hope you’re doing well. I’m sure you’ve got a million other things to be worrying about right now and I know it has been some time since we last spoke. But I’m worried that I have done something to offend you. We went from meeting every weekend to not meeting at all. I haven’t even heard a single word for you and to be frank I actually quite miss our little weekend meetups. I can’t help but wonder what exactly happened between us… I understand of course that you’re quite busy so if it’s simply a matter of having other things to do then I completely understand. I know that I’m at fault too for not reaching out sooner. But… I just miss you. But I do miss our conversations and I look forward to hearing from you… if you have the time of course.

 Sincerely,

Y/N

You finished writing with a little antsy tapping of your foot, contemplating on whether or not to rewrite it considering you had to scribble out a part.

Quickly deciding against it you sealed your letter and handed it to your owl. Watching as his wings soared through the dark sky you took a deep breath knowing that it was too late to go back now.

-

The next morning at breakfast you saw Neville make his way over to you, looking much more nervous than usual.

“Hey Nev, how’s it going?” you grinned at his awkward demeanor.

“Y/N! H-hello! I just wanted to ask if you wouldn’t mind meeting me later today... There’s something I’d like to speak with you about.” He asked hopefully.

You gave him a curious stare as you raised up one eyebrow playfully.

“Oh there is now?” you asked teasingly.

“Y-yes there is,” he said quickly.

“I’ll be sure to show then” you replied with a sly smile.

Neville’s face flushed pink as he stammered a quick thank you and goodbye before scurrying off.

You smiled down at your plate as you thought of his odd actions. It was nice to have something so pleasant and constant in your life. A true friend.

Maybe that’s all you really needed.

-

When you met with Neville you noticed how he kept fiddling with his fingers as he waited for you to sit.

“What are you so nervous about?” you asked with a little laugh hoping to ease his nerves.

Neville was clearly on edge as he kept glancing from you to his hands. You noted that he looked rather cute like this actually, in his formal sweater and dress pants all clammy and jittery.

You weren’t sure what it was he was so scared to talk to you about but for some reason, your mind drifted off to Draco again.

You knew it wasn’t right to be thinking about someone else when Neville was sat directly across from you clearly distressed. But you couldn’t help it…

You started thinking about the way he used to watch your every move as you talked. The way he always came dressed so nicely in clean pressed suits that fit perfectly against his body. How he would ask you question after question as though never getting bored of hearing you speak… and now it had been so long since you’d last seen him… it was almost like it had never happened.

“Uh Y/N…” Neville started snapping you out of your daydream.

“Yes, Neville?” you asked.

“The r-reason I asked you to meet me here today is because... I have something important I need t-to tell you” he stammered.

You eyed him curiously. Watching his nervous state started to make you feel bad and without much thought, you reached out a hand and placed it on his in reassurance.

His eyes widened a little as he looked down to your hand on his.

“Y/N, I…” he started “I’m…”

You gave his hand a squeeze. “What is it?”

He turned his hand over to squeeze your own before looking you directly in the eye.

“I’m in love with you”

Oh.

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Author’s Note: So I know I just posted the first part for this yesterday but I was on a roll today and this chapter just flew off my fingers. I hope you all like it! I definitely can’t promise that I'll be posting this consistently from now on but wouldn’t it be nice? lol