#it's like a better version of Baird

[dravidious]

You're real neat, you know?

A really neat thing that happened in a draft yesterday was I was playing a UB control deck against a WU control deck, and we were deep in the late game, I had a flier and was whittling away at their life total, they had a creature that gets infinite +1/+1 counters and were whittling away at my board, and then one turn, I realize something: I have exact lethal. Thanks to my menace creature, I have exactly enough damage to kill them no matter how they block! So I swing with everything.

And they activate this

It had been on their board. Sitting there. For the past like 5 turns. I had completely forgotten about it.

I lost the game next turn.

[m4tthewmurd0ck]

Tom Blyth x Actress!Reader

i try to avoid descriptors but i do use she/her, mention being shorter than tom and reader is a swiftie! click [HERE] for my tom blyth masterlist :)

the beginning of everything 🩵

*ALSO* speak now (taylor’s version) was released on july 7, 2023 but for my story it’s june 7, 2022 because we only support taylor’s version in this house

june 7, 2022

liked by username and others…

yourname enchanted (taylor’s version) 4:13 - 4:36. also no one is prouder of mother than i. she has my whole heart fr

username excuse me???

username whoooooo?!?

↳ username who what

↳ username i think they’re asking who the caption is about. because of the time stamps.

username i’m lazy can someone tell me what the lyrics are

↳ yournamefans “these are the words i held back as i was leaving too soon / i was enchanted to meet you / please don’t be in love with someone else / please don’t have somebody waiting on you”

rachelzegler 🥰 i ship iiiiittt!!!

↳ yourname shhh not so loud hasmzjejiajef

taylorswift meredith said if you don’t tell me who you’re talking about she’s going to be extremely upset. also hi i love you and you totally have my whole heart 💜

↳ taylorswift but tell me. i mean her.

↳ yourname i’m crying right now 😭 but also of course i’ll tell u anything for you my queen

joshandresrivera 🙊

↳ yourname and the monkey’s mouth better stay closed 🙃🙃🙃

ewanmitchell ooooooooooooooo

↳ yourname juliette is gonna put poison in aemonds drink istg

↳ username house of the dragon isn’t even released yet and we’re already witnessing a lovers spat!

↳ username wait is she dating ewan?

↳ username no but ewan plays aemond targaryen and yourname plays juliette atlas. they’re together in the book at least

tchalamet je sais qui 😄 (i know who)

↳ yourname je vais te tuer 🤭 (i’m going to kill you)

tomblyth liked this photo

tomblyth followed yourname

yourname followed tomblyth

~ 2 weeks later ~

liked by joshandresrivera and others…

tomblyth by the way, i was enchanted to meet you too ♥️

username i’m crying????

username i’m going to die alone.

↳ username heavy on that for me too 😭

username soft launch!!

↳ username more like hard af launch. this is obviously referring to yourname post a couple of weeks ago which means her crush was mutuaaaaal

yourname ♥️

username WAIT that means they’re gonna be in a movie together???

↳ username do your hands hurt from all that reaching 😳

↳ yournamefans i think they’re right. tomblyth and rachelzegler were already announced to play lucy gray baird and coriolanus snow. they were then seen with joshandresrivera and yourname on june 7. that wasn’t a double date based on their captions, so it was possibly a meet / hang out with your co-stars thing? they haven’t known josh and rachel that long so that’s my guess.

rachelzegler i’m screaming! i knew you guys would be perfect together 😍

If you’d like to be tagged for future Tom x Actress!Reader, let me know! if you’ve already asked to be tagged and don’t see your username, it means I wasn’t able to tag you.

TAGLIST — @daenerysqueenofhearts | @coconut-dreamz | @spencerstits | @callsignwidow | @inf4ntdeath | @upsidedownjill | @toeoffrog | @bada-lee-ily | @sassyangel16 | @or-was-it-just-a-dream | @jolleluvsyou | @ennycutie | @ashcosmo | @urfavnoirette | @nomorespahgetti | @a-mysterious-potato

[amidst-wonderland]

Saltburn - Potential Fic

Felix Catton + Original Female Character + Oliver Quick

This is really just to get a state of the nation, but would people be interested in this dynamic?

content warnings are incoming.

(this was literally just me fooling around on word with small character bios, so make of this what you will.)

Margaret was enamoured with Oliver. She initially tolerates his presence better than most of the Oxford clique, with their overlapping degrees but he’s as much of her little pet-project, as he is Felix’s school-boy muse. Their familiarity grows throughout the Spring-Summer terms.

Maggie craves a feral man with bite, someone to ruin her in a way that she feels no man of class ever could nor would deserve – becoming the tragic starlet with a story to violate.

Star–Crossed Soulmates. They’re together, but not really, not to anyone with eyes and a low tolerance for bullshit. Margaret truly cared for Felix, the Catton boy who would protect her from sharing a fate worse than death, even if it meant an absence of honesty.

Felix adores the girl – the version he knew at least. In Oliver’s initial monologue she’s described as a “tainted, hedonistic pair of tits, disguised under a perpetual halo gifted by one, Felix Catton because he, pathetically, fucking loved her.”

Margaret “Maggie” Layton-Baird, is an Oxford drama student. Daughter to ex-Playboy Bunny, Pamela Piper and theatre director, Sebastian Layton-Baird.

gonna call it lowlife princess, utterly inspired by bibi’s album (which is a literal masterpiece, but maggie’s vibe gives me big rina sawayama vibes, especially songs like “hold the girl”, “dynasty” and “kiss me”’s instrumental intro is literally her soundscape)

[mswyrr]

lucy gray baird's philosophy

I want to "yes, and" this great meta post by @burst-of-iridescent​. Specifically this part:

by the end of the book, coriolanus gives in fully to dr gaul’s way of thinking simply because it excuses him from accepting blame for his actions. if he killed sejanus, it’s because he had no choice. if he betrayed lucy gray, it’s because she would’ve betrayed him first. coriolanus refuses to believe in the goodness of humanity because that would have meant accepting the goodness that existed within him, and with that came the potential for making a different, better choice - potential that he knew, deep down, he had wasted. attributing his crimes to an innate evil that no one can overcome means that he can’t be held accountable, because it’s out of his control.

This got me thinking about how much Lucy Gray's worldview rejects of this way of thinking (and of a Calvinist*/ableist "some people are just born evil" pov people try to impose on the text, which people think is condemning him but actually... accidentally agrees with him that he was born evil and therefore can't help it??????). The book begins with several quotes chosen by the author, but I believe the one that represents Lucy Gray's worldview is Rousseau, who believed people were born with fundamental goodness.

Here's a source on him:

(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

And here's the quote Collins opens with:

“Man is born free; and everywhere he is in chains.” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract, 1762

That's Lucy Gray's pov she's come to through living and reflecting as an artist; someone can disagree with it (of course, all of these questions are open for endless debate; they have been debated endlessly!) however, it's important to respect that is where she's coming from, not being foolish or naive. It is a worthy pov that should be respected, even if you disagree. And that she came to this pov through a hard life and from much thinking and she expresses it beautifully in her art.

Here's the key exchange from the book, after Coriolanus has taken on the idea that people are just awful and her articulating her philosophy in response:

(Ballad, 495)

She's not naive. She recognizes the nuance that Rousseau does, that society shapes us. And Panem is pretty clearly a society led by people applying all the pressures they can think of on people toward evil. (And, after his heel turn, Coriolanus' is going to innovate some new pressures...) Clearly there are situations and circumstances that form us before we have much say in it, but that's not the same as being born evil.

The difference between inherent goodness and a corrupt society is, for Lucy Gray, a lot of hard work. It's a struggle. This repudiates both the version of "born evil" Coriolanus himself takes on, which relieves him of responsibility, and the self-righteous, Calvinist and/or ableist pov people keep arguing for, which makes "normal" people feel like they can be sure they're good (and ignore how we are all complicit in evil to some degree or another) because they have a "good" normal brain or they were just born so pure as a soul predestined for heaven. No, for her, everyone has to do the work. To her it's everyone's "life's challenge to try and stay on the right side of that line."

Even more pointedly, the love song she wrote him before his betrayal, "Pure as the Driven Snow," articulates her philosophy in the opening lines:

(Ballad, 481)

Again, we have her personal focus on the work of "staying on the right side" of good and evil after being born good into evil circumstances. She knows it hurts; she's led a hard life herself. "It's rough as a bair" to do that work, it's "like walkin' through fire." But it is doable.

Lucy Gray meant it as a love song but IMO "Pure as the Driven Snow" ends up a lament for the boy Coriolanus was and her love that he betrayed when he betrayed himself. And it is a direct rejection of his excuses, it is inadvertently reading him for filth for the lies he tells himself that all the world is the Games arena, all people are selfish and bad, and he isn't to blame for what he's done because he just wants to come out on top/be the victor of this "natural" "war of all against all" that is Gaul's philosophy (related to the Hobbes quote Collins begins with; I wrote a meta on that here) that he adopts.

I see her demeaned as a foolish girl who just "like bad boys" and I get so frustrated. I also get frustrated by the view that she must not have ever been sincere in loving or trusting him because IF SHE WAS then she would be a fool and his betrayal would somehow be her fault. And she'd reject the idea that she's "good" just because she's so pure or that anyone can claim we're good without doing a lot of hard work.

(Ballad, 482)

She is so thoughtful and interesting as a character. And she didn't just "like bad boys" - Coriolanus showed only his good side to her until the very end, once he'd decided to kill that part of himself. She had no way of knowing. Sometimes you trust someone and they betray you, it doesn't make you wrong, the shame is all theirs.

*Strict Calvinist predestination is some people are just predetermined to be bound for heaven and some for hell, some people are just born good and others are born bad. A lot of people in fandom seem to love Calvinism idk why. The ableism bit of this should be self-evident: there is no such thing as a "bad" brain type completely incapable of morality or a "good" brain and neurodivergence is not the source of all evil!

[zoloftsexdeath]

Thinking about the origin songs of all the surviving covey members. I can’t speak to color theory, and I haven’t read the books, but I do know some folk songs and recognized some names. Now I don’t stick to Childes ballads strictly when listening to these songs, but I will be listing the number for reference on all the names that have a childe’s ballad corresponding, just for ease of research.

Lucy Grey Baird

Lucy Grey is her own creature and her song is plain in the books. I think the difference between the book ballad of Lucy Gray and the one in the movie (the song she herself wrote about Billy Taupe) is fascinating, as the first one is more of a story-song traditional like, and the Ballad per the movie is so. Im shoving it in my mouth and eating it. Smarter people with more context than me can write better about it though so I’ll leave it at this. I personally think Rachael Ziegler killed it though, and her voice is high and clear, would love to hear her live so I could lay in the grass and kick my feet as I listen.

Barbara Azure Baird

Barb Azure canonically came from Barbara Allen/Barb’ry Allen [CB # ]traditionally a round sung about a woman whose lover dies of wanting her, and she dies of sorrow, and their graves lie entertwined with plants of rose and briar on each respective grave to form a true lover’s knot. My favorite version comes from Joan Baez. This is the only of the covey songs I’ve ever heard before doing this research, and I love it dearly.

Tam Amber [last name unknown]

Tam Amber from Tam Lin! Also known as Tamlaine, Tamlin, or Tam Lyne [Child Ballad #39]. An epic Scottish ballad, and a lovely round. As the story went he was a mortal kidnapped by faeries and has become their unwilling servant, protecting a forest in which he finds a beautiful young woman (usually named Janet or Margaret) whom he confronts for plucking roses. They doink about it, she gets pregnant, her father asks who got her with child, and she rushes back to Tam Lin and begs him to either get rid of the child he begot or marry hee, which in his current state he cannot do. He then devises a plan for Janet/Margaret to performs several tasks that will allow him to return to the land of the mortals, angering the faery queen but assuaging her enough that she makes good on her promise and reluctantly frees Tam Lin to marry his now beloved Janet and legitimize their child. Perhaps not the most traditional version, the one by Anaïs Mitchell and Jefferson Hamer makes me think yes, I can see Tam Amber’s parents falling in love to this song, singing it to him and the other covey children to put them to sleep.

Clerk Carmine Clade

From the ballad Clerk Colven [Child Ballad #42] about a real piece of work who tries to run off on his wife and sleep with a mermaid. The mermaid knows this though, and curses him to suffer a horrific headache until I think his head actually explodes. I don’t think it necessarily has any bearing on Clerk Carmine’s actual personality, but the combination of this song with the color carmine (a brilliant red extracted from the cochinil bug) leads me to believe he was either conceived, born, or his parents married while traveling in district 5. I can see this one being a favorite in district, where they know the danger of baiting the sea and possibly the danger of being a jackass to your wife as well. The location of D5 down in the southwest also leads me to believe it was one of the few places the Covey could have encountered the color as well, as often red 40 or other synthetics are used in mass production of vibrant reds and the use of cochinil based carmine would likely be a very “district” thing, used by native residents for painting or decoration of small items. It’s a strong name, and dangerous when it comes to taking a stand against what the capital represents. I’m surprised he was able to keep it. I reccomend this cover, dunno the singer really but the accent is heavy and his voice is true. I would listen with lyrics alongside though.

Maude Ivory Baird

The book tells us that Maude comes from the poem “Maude Clare” by Christina Rosetti, and Ivory from piano keys. I also like to think that she was partially named after Maud Karpeles, a British folk song collector who helped write down a lot of folk music.

Billy Taupe Clade

Likely from Billy Boy, ironic and fitting for its being about a man after a wife who can feed and care for him despite her being “too young to leave her mother” something Lucy Gray says about him wanting in the books (and seemingly not wanting much more). I don’t care much for this song (sorry), but this is an alright cover.

[supercheesecakemiracle]

Lucy Gray Baird - an innocent victim or a manipulator?

What's your first impression of Lucy Gray?

Do you think she loved Coriolanus in tbosas?

What do you think might have happened to Lucy Gray in the end?

What's your opinion about theories :

1. Greasy Sae as Lucy Gray.

2. Coin as a daughter or relative of Lucy Gray.

Thank you :)

@curiousnonny

Ooooh these are good.

First off, I don't think Lucy Gray thought of herself as an innocent person, she had to kill to survive but she still killed, there's blood on her hands and I don't think she could have ever forgotten that. She's quite innocent and believing of Coriolanus in the books, so I definitely like the movie version of her better. She's not innocent but she is ultimately a good and righteous person, it's in her nature. (I have so many thoughts about nature vs nurture in TBOSAS)

She absolutely loved Coriolanus, thought he he was pure fallen snow among the dirt of the capitol. The thing about snow is that it's pretty at first, but without the perfect environment it turns into dirty sludge. Lucy Gray slowly realised it.

I hope she got away, she dodged the bullets, hid under a bush or something, and then just ran and ran and ran, far from the capitol, from district 12 and 13, from panem. She lived with the trees, sang with the mocking birds and died peacefully.

Which leads to my opinions on the other theories, that I simply don't really believe them. I don't consider them a satisfying ending for Lucy Gray in any way. She would not have become president Coin, she wouldn't have done those things.

And i think the books are better if she isn't, because it really shows that even when you crush everything into ashes, even if the hope of change, of rebellion, of Lucy Gray is gone, people will still rise from the ashes and fight back, its never gone forever.

Thanks so much for the ask!

[manderleyfire]

hey, ali! i feel your pain about the tbosas adaptation! i cried so much during the movie but not because i felt emotional, seeing MY book comes alive on screen but because we were robbbbbbbbbbed and shot 😞😞😞😞😞😞 anyways, what's your opinion on the music tho? fav/least fav song? (my is the oldtherebefore and least fav the 0livia r0drigo's one)

hey, lollis!

‘robbed and shot’, exactly. i couldn’t have said it better myself because unfortunately, that’s spot on 🥲

I LOVED THE MUSIC! a dystopian reflection of our reality through intentional use of folk/bluegrass music is something that resonates strongly with me. i mean, they knew how to strike the right chord in the hearts of book readers for sure! *the only other thing i wish was different about the music it's the variety of tempo and rhythm because as much as i LOVED the unified sound of LG's songs, i would prefer each song to have its own individual tune and ~aura)

my absolute favourite adaptation that they did was 'nothing you can take from me' (boot-stompin’ version); i am utterly in awe of the powerful passionate energy that they gave to this song?? also i loveeed the similarity of rhythm and tone between 'nothing you can take from me' and a traditional american folk song 'man of constant sorrow', i kinda feel it was a deliberate parallel which worked just great. (also i’m glad they added maude ivory’s 'keep on the sunny side'!)

my least favourite is perhaps 'the ballad of lucy gray baird'?.. and though i did enjoy rachel’s rendition (she copies a young dolly parton in such a warm-hearted respectful manner!), and the respect for traditional appalachian music, she sang it in a cheerful 'to hell with you!' manner which is less intense and intimate that i remember it from the book to be? to quote tbosas here: 'the haunting melody set the tone, and her words did the rest as she began to sing in a voice husky from smoke and sadness' – the movie version really failed to capture both the haunting tune (their version doesn't really tell the story musically because of a major key) and the lucy gray's vulnerability here for me. in the book she did what carrie fisher told us all to do: 'take your broken heart and turn it into art' while in the movie she isn't even angry at billy taupe?? like his betrayal (and her place in the games) is not a big deal? she's openly rebellious and sassy with out of place 'i need no man' attitude and that simply didn't work for me personally.

it took some time for 'pure as the driven snow' to grow on me (i expected it to be more of a waltz-like, similar to maiah wynne's cover), but i'm coming around to it. yet… i wish it was STAGED differently??? they had to combine certain scenes and songs in the film but it was such a SURREAL idea to meld PATDS with 'sell you for a song' setting? and it took away so much from that moment of love and connection and unconditional acceptance, where lucy gray is finally ready to be emotionally unshielded in front of her lover (maybe for the first time ever)?? it was a PIVOTAL snowbaird moment but they needed to blend two songs together because obviously PATDS can't be love confession in form of a song because it should be taken as an ominous warning instead (duh!). 'bitch you better not turn out to be a bad guy even tho i knew you were a villain all along' :??? and it could've worked in its own angst-y way, if there had been any development in snowbaird love story?? but since movie!they are full on survival the whole time (there's no canonical teetering on the edge of an actual fondness/love and survival instinct), PATDS makes no sense at all. so… i extremely frustrated by the use of PATDS on screen but at the same time i love the sound of the full version on the soundtrack album.

annnd i'm actually IN PAIN because they had the audacity to leave so many songs out?? especially given their ties to the original trilogy?? 'deep in the meadow' aka rue's song???? 'the valley song' aka the one peeta mentioned seeing katniss sing at school when they were children????  the festive 'crawling to you' ('that thing i love with') likely performed at finnick’s wedding?? idk maybe it's a musical nerd who is speaking in me but i wish they could have included more of the book songs at least on the album, if not in the actual movie (even tho i'm still sure, it would've been possible to present the whole complexity of this book AND its poetic side too, if they decided to split the film in two).

[the score album wasn't much to talk about but 'snow lands on top' piece tho… vivid, striking, remarkable]

[dollarbin]

Nickel Bin #2:

The Roches' Hammond Song

Some songs have no peers.

There's nothing comparable to Dylan's Like a Rolling Stone: while his efforts to write another anthem are many, and they vary from the successful (Knocking on Heaven's Door) to the underappreciated (Changing of the Guard) to the overrated (Gotta Serve Somebody) to the annoying unless you are in a very weird mood (Brownsville Girl), he, and everybody else, has never come close to a comparable synergy of warmth, anger and energy.

I think The Roches' Hammond Song is equally unique. Suzzy, Terre and Maggie Roche never climbed a musical mountain like it again in their fitful, joyful and far too short career together, and I don't know any other song or group that presents such bizarre and daring vocals (they range from startlingly androgynous to winningly effete and back again); where else can you hear three such utterly distinct voices sharing a space with such elegance? Add to that mix the unique layers afforded by the song's length and its guitar solos, plus its confusing but vital story, and you've got yourself a masterpiece.

Let's listen.

First of all they're not singing about Heaven. They're singing about Hammond, Louisiana and Maggie and Terre's decision, years earlier, to ditch their budding music career altogether. It seems there was a Kung Fu school (seriously!) in Hammond that a friend was running and that seemed like a better place to be than in New York City, wearing clothes assigned to them by their record company.

The song is a natural cousin to Cat Stevens' Father and Son: In Hammond Song The Roches present a musical debate between the patriarchs in their life and themselves; they sing both sides of the argument and they let you choose the winner.

The song opens with a long, suspenseful opening that gives way to warm strumming and then the refrain's three part harmony. But then it swerves for the first wild time into Maggie Roche alone, and she's telling the band they're "on the wrong track". What other voice is like hers? I'm afraid my sexist biases hear her unique contralto and summon up a woman on a motorcycle with arms the size of my thighs who smokes six packs a day and would happily kick my ass while having yet another. But here she is:

Maggie died 6 or 7 years ago. My famous brother's friend Ryan, who recently bought me a very delicious beer at a Yo La Tengo show, sobbed when he heard the news. The more time I spend listening to Maggie's music, the more I understand where he was coming from. Just take a listen to Quitting Time from the same record:

At the end of each section of Hammond Song The Roches hit and hold a high, odd and transfixing note. You can hear it for the first time on the Ooooo after the first section, soon after Maggie's introduces her voice. That same note, or one close to it anyway, comes back again before the first guitar solo on "you're LYYYYYYing to me", then again on "don't be a FOOOOL."

When CS&N reach for a note like that I wonder just what the hell I'm doing with my life. When Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris finally threw off the concerns of their record companies in the mid-80's and came together as a bluegrass version of The Roches they hit some angelic notes, yes, but they never sounded weird. Such weirdness is a big part of Hammond Song's, and the band's, genius.

And capturing that weirdness, and that note, is still a goal for a new bands. Check out Meg Baird search for and then find it - and then keep it for an impossible, audacious length, at 3:15 mark of Heron Oblivion's seismic Your Hollows:

Next time I get an hour with Baird in a bar I'll ask her about Hammond Song as a basis for Your Hollows instead of quizzing her on Mike Heron. Poor Meg. I suppose she's been warned.

And now that you have Heron Oblivion in your ears, let's talk about Hammond Song's guitar solos. That's Robert Fripp, of King Crimson/Eno/Bowie/Talking Heads fame, making himself known. He walks a careful and skillful line in his production of the song and the record around it: you never forget he's there but he never gets in the way. This is the sisters' record and the sisters' song. But wow, what a guitar sound he achieves: it's nearly as weird as the vocals, part theremin, part Hendrix, all magic.

Finally, Hammond Song avoids easy cliche in its storytelling as well. Okay, their male authorities wanted them to put on sexy dresses and stop being weird, but the girls said no and became their awesome selves instead:

Lesser artists would have wrapped the story up with victory. But Maggie and her sisters know it's not that simple. When they released Hammond Song their story was far from over: the record could have tanked; it could have proved the record company right.

And so The Roches bring us into the debate; they let us decide whether their defiance in life and in the song are justified. "Tell me," they appeal to us in the song's conclusion, "I'm okay."

Dear Suzzy, Terre and Maggie,

You are not okay. You are the best.

Sincerely,

The Nickel Bin

[thetreestumptherapist]

Warehouse 13 appreciation post

(I used halo tags on this post because I mentioned some halo stuff in it, so if this post found you and and you were expecting halo, I apologize for the microscopic amount of halo in it, feel free to read it anyway, you might find something you never knew you needed)

I recently finished watching Warehouse 13 and am now watching The Librarians and I don't think I will ever find this high again. Both shows are on prime if any of you feel like joining me here at the top of the steampunk/magical artifact mountain. (Please join me, it's so lonely up here)

I also have a theory that the library is either a future or alternate universe version of the warehouse. Like, they have the exact same function, same idea, and what's even better (but completely useless info in universe) is the librarians first aired the same year warehouse 13 got over. But, as far as I can tell, they have nothing in common. Except the " hide magical artifacts from the world" thing and maybe some bit parts from the actors, but those details are hard to come by and difficult to decipher.

Future version theory: I think that eventually a future caretaker decided to call it the library instead of a warehouse because

Libraries are more magical.

Warehouses have a reputation of being old, damp, and boring. Which would have worked for Artie's steampunk vision for it and it would also have previously helped remove some of people's curiosity about it. But, maybe it wouldn't work for someone who likes fantasy and and wishes they could live in an Elven castle with a library full of magic.

Alternate universe theory: The caretaker deciding to call it a library happens exactly the same way, but in a branch of the warehouse's timeline where it either happens earlier, or possibly was never called a warehouse in the first place.

I realize there are some problems, one being that I'm pretty sure the warehouse names itself, so I don't actually know how it would be changed to being called the library. But, surely the earliest warehouses weren't called warehouses because they were there in like, the stone age or something. Like warehouse 2 was a pyramid, and the word warehouse was first recorded being used in the 1300s. So, warehouse 2 must have been retroactively named that because it predates the 1300s.

Also, Eve Baird reminds me of Veronica Dare from halo 3: ODST. But, Eve is just a liiittle bit softer and I think she's not AS stuck up though she comes SO close to being a live action Veronica that it keeps tripping me up.

[marta-bee]

I've recently reread The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and just saw the movie version, and I've been rolling over a question in my mind. Even the question is chock full of spoilers, so let's put even it under a cut.

Namely: does it matter whether Snow really killed Lucy Baird?

If you don't know (and as I said: major spoilers here ....), TBOSAS is a Hunger Games prequel about Snow's schoolboy experiences mentoring Lucy through the Hunger Games. He cheats to insure her survival and gets punished by being conscripted into the military and sent to District Twelve.

Once there, he and Lucy are suspected of shooting the mayor's daughter (Snow rightly, though it's arguably a kind of self-defense; Lucy is innocent but suspected because of her past) and decide to flee Panem entirely and live in the wilderness outside District Twelve. While fleeing they discover the gun used, meaning Snow at least can safely return to District Twelve once he's destroyed it - if he can trust Lucy to keep his secret.

All of which leads to my basic question. Snow, increasingly paranoid, shoots at Lucy with the same gun he used to kill the mayor's daughter. It's ambiguously written and very unclear what Snow actually sees and does and what he's imagining. Certainly Snow didn't find her body (he looked) or any other concrete evidence she actually died. She just sort of disappeared, and a lot of fan forums have discussions on what actually happened in there, if she was murdered by Snow or not.

I'm all for fan discussions, but for me the real question is, would it matter if she had? If she survived she certainly didn't return to Twelve (at least by the novel's end), and the most likely future other than her death is a solitary life lived in exile. Assuming she doesn't somehow find other exiles, would it actually matter if she went on to live decades more but separated from everyone?

I'm enough of a solitary soul, I think I could be quite content living on my own. But Lucy's a storyteller by nature, and that requires an audience, never mind an ensemble to sing the story along side. I wonder how meaningful a life could be if she didn't have anyone to share it with. Snow says he looks forward to getting away from people so the world can't twist him into hurting them. Lucy doesn't think people are so bad. She seems to really regret leaving her family behind, and in the books at least doesn't think she would have been able to force herself to leave Twelve if Snow wasn't going with her.

Again, though, it's not clearcut. She's not driven by actual love the way Katniss is with Prim, and her fight is to survive so she can live on and grow her own character and experiences, not to get back to her home or family or whatever else. In probably her clearest statement of what a well-lived life means for her, she says she's willing to die only "When I'm pure like a dove / When I've learned how to love / Right here in the old there before." You can't learn how to love without another person to love, I guess, but you could paint this as more a drive for self-actualization and developing into a better, more complete person. For moral progress, for lack of a better word: she wants to complete the song that is how we change and what we change into. And while most of us like community, that can be done on our lonesome.

Still. I have to imagine this complete an exile would be a kind of living death for someone like Lucy. Of course I much prefer to think of her living for decades after the book, even if the birds and the wind are her only companions. I'm just not sure for how long she'd agree.

[nogenderbee]

Just someone to vent to. I apologize.

I'm disabled. Cis-male. Unlike the "pillow angel" featured in the media a while back, i still have a grown up mind. That did not save me from a similar (but more extensive and male version) of the "Ashley Treatment".

Not easy coping with a baby sized body and babylike features. The epiphysis of the bones is absent. The epiphysis, a secondary boneforming center at the ends of the bones, without them I can't grow. Doctor Baird told my sister and niece "even if we could try hormones, which likely wouldn't work in this case, do you really want an adult sized infant?"

Aoooh I get, I get it! Well I'm not really good at comforting but I can listen!

But I kinda get it now... But it's your comfort that counts so if you feel like you'd be more comfortable after taking hormones, then take them!

I'm really hoping it'll get better for you so stay safe there, darl <3

[eppysboys]

Eppy can you rate the Beatles parents on /10 ? (the parents of the bugs not the bugs themselves as parents)

Hi anon! I don't think I could give a neat number out of 10 on something like parenting (unless you meant /10 based on looks? 😳). My general impressions of them are basically:

Elsie Starkey: An absolute gem! 😊 (who also happened to be very persuasive) She loved her little drummer boy, and he adored her, and I have endless respect for how she cared for him and carved out the best life she could give him out of often unfortunate circumstances.

Harry Graves: Seems like a genuinely lovely man, who importantly taught Ringo 'gentleness' (I'd interpret that as more Harry encouraged Ringo to be gentle, rather than mask up that aspect of his personality).

The Harrisons: #1 Fans and supporters of George and the boys. It's really sweet hearing them talk about George - they just seemed to /know/ him, and wanted him to follow his own path because they understood how important it was to him. They speak more of his character than of his achievements, which is just very sweet to me. Louise in particular is a legend :')

Aunt Mimi: 😐 (I think she would have made a great strong parent to someone with a different personality + free of horrible trauma, but unfortunately - despite mostly good intentions - a lot of choices she made and her approach to raising John really mixed him up. 10/10 would raid her book collection, though.)

Julia Lennon: Manic Pixie Dream Girl irl??? Seriously though, It's a little hard to gauge that much about Julia and who she was/could have been between all the versions of her story told by various people and the fact her life was tragically cut short. There's large chasm between the 'handling' (for a lack of a better word) of John and Julia + Jackie Baird (who vehemently object to how their mother has been written about and portrayed). I think she would have been a lovely entertaining friend for sure, but there seems (to me at least) a mix of immaturity and harmful circumstances inflicted on her that really complicated how she could have parented John. I do trust in Julia Baird's kinder portrait of her, though, during those last few years of her life.

Alfred Lennon: He gives me battery acid vibes.

Mary McCartney: I just sort of follow what Paul and Mike say about her - Strong, intelligent, stern, motivated woman who wanted the best for her family. It would be lovely to know more about her personality outside of 'Mother Mary' 👀 So I dearly treasure how Mike wrote about her, in particular.

Jim McCartney: By all accounts he was a sweet man that clearly loved his boys and wanted the best for them. It's hard to reconcile that image of soft spoken Jim - learning to cook and take care of his two sons, wringing out Paul's sweaty shirts after gigs and preparing him dinners for when Paul came back home - alongside Paul's descriptions of him hitting him well into his teenage years. Looking through forums, there's a mixture of opinions on how common that was (specifically relating to Paul's age) for the time and place, in any case, I do respect him for how hard he tried and how he guided his boys through their upbringing, but it's obviously really upsetting to read how he dealt (or failed to properly deal with) his anger/disappointment in Paul (and Mike) at times.

[marvella15]

Astaire & Rogers Rewatch Part 7: Shall We Dance

• Something I didn’t consciously realize about this film until reading Hannah Hyam’s book is that Astaire and Rogers don’t dance together until nearly an hour in. That hasn’t happened since Gay Divorcee. What was anyone thinking??

• Shall We Dance suffers from a lot of extra crap that it didn’t need, such as extraneous characters, far too many interruptions in the Astaire and Rogers relationship, and a bunch of weirdness like life-sized dolls, life-like masks, and backbending ballerinas. The film also has a lot of wasted potential, including a great score and songs by George and Ira Gershwin. 

The Gershwins were already well acquainted with Astaire and Rogers. The duo had first met when she was starring in the brothers’ show, Girl Crazy, and Astaire was brought in to help with choreography. Rogers was close friends with George and even dated him. Astaire had known the brothers prior, having starred in a few of their shows with his sister, Adele. 

• Our characters/actors: Peter “Petrov” Peters (Fred Astaire), Linda Keene (Ginger Rogers), Jeffrey Baird (Edward Everett Horton), Arthur Miller (Jerome Cowan)

• Around the time I was first really into classic Hollywood films, including these ones, my family and I adopted a new dog. I annoyed my parents to no end by suggesting we name him Peter P. Peters. Don’t know why I latched onto that name but I did. 

• Even in the massive portrait of Petrov, you can see Astaire has his fingers curled in rather than fully extended.

• Astaire’s ballet attire lets us once again see just how skinny he is. 

• Always loved how Peter does a little tap at the rhythmic sound of his name and birthplace: Pete Peters, Philadelphia PA.

• Rogers’ cardigan with all of its baubles is truly awful looking. It will only be out done by a terrible floral dress she wears later. 

• I do however like that she shoves her handsy stage partner into a fountain. Why are men constantly the worst?

• “And why must there always be a kiss at the second-act curtain?” is YET ANOTHER example of these films trolling us. Not once up until this point has any act of an Astaire/Rogers outing included a kiss between them. 

• Linda’s disinterest in even meeting Petrov is based on the assumption that he’s a “simpering toe dancer.” While that’s incorrect, she’s not wrong that he is indeed another man who has seen a picture of her and wants to tell her he can’t live without her. So she gets partial credit. 

• If Peter wasn’t totally smitten before, Linda’s jab, “It’s just a game little American boys play” gets him. 

• As a mixed race number, “Slap That Bass” is incredibly unusual for the era. Astaire was a great admirer of African-American dancers and was strongly influenced by Bill Robinson and John W. Bubbles. I love the blend of all of the voices in this song. 

• The dance portion of “Slap That Bass” gives Astaire a chance to show off more of his innovative mind and choreography. He dances in time with the sounds of the ship’s engine and compels the camera to follow him across and up the vast set. The dance is also special in that we have behind the scenes footage of Astaire rehearsing, thanks to a home video shot by George Gershwin. 

• Peter making Jeffrey believe the boat is rocking may seem a bit unbelievable but having been on a large ship myself, sometimes you don’t realize it’s rocking until you see other passengers weaving or a giant chandelier swaying. 

• I usually skip most if not all of Jeffrey and Arthur’s scenes together. They slow down this film soooo much.

• Like in all of their films, songs are sometimes heard in the background before the actual musical number they appear in. But because this film is scored by the Gershwins, there’s an array of shorter pieces of music that are all their own, such as the whimsical score heard while Rogers and then Rogers with Astaire are walking her dog.

• The dog Peter borrows to give himself an excuse to talk to Linda hits his bark cue perfectly and looks extremely happy about it. 

• I would love to know what exactly Astaire and Rogers are talking about while walking her dog. Maybe they were given lines that were then not recorded or maybe it’s improv. But it seems very natural. 

Rogers did say that Astaire was a wonderful conversationalist and was adept at talking while dancing, something she noted most men couldn’t manage. 

• Wow do I love it when Rogers gets to be extra sassy

Peter: “Isn’t it wonderful being here tonight like this? Still on the same boat together.”

Linda: “Oh, I seldom change boats in mid-ocean.”

• “Beginner’s Luck” is such a charming, fast song that Astaire delivers wonderfully. He hardly seems to take a breath. 

A jazzed up version of “Beginner’s Luck” is the song Peter tried to dance to in Paris but the record kept getting stuck. 

• Something this movie fails at is letting Linda and Peter’s relationship continue to progress before throwing more obstacles in their way. We know from the gossip of the ship’s staff that they have been spending a lot of time together. When we see them, they are having a relaxing evening that’s incredibly domestic: sitting side by side on the deck while she knits and he smokes. Wouldn’t it have been nice to see more of this part of their relationship? 

• Why on earth did Peter think sending Jeffrey to fix the false baby rumors was the right decision? Jeffrey can’t handle a single thing. 

• Infuriated at the rumors that she’s married to Peter and pregnant with their baby, Linda tries to call him. “Operator! Get me Mr. Petrov. What? Don’t you dare congratulate me!”

• The theme of this movie is supposed to be the blend of dancing and music styles. Peter’s ballet and Linda’s jazz styles are one example, George Gershwin’s varied score, which switches from jazz to waltz to foxtrot to classical, etc, is another. But it’s a fairly weak concept that doesn’t quite land and reportedly, neither Astaire or Ira Gershwin was wild about it. 

• I love the new version of “Slap That Bass” that plays as Peter and Jeffrey enter the rooftop club. 

• When Rogers sings “They All Laughed,” she is singing to an off-screen Cary Grant, her friend and sometimes date who was visiting the set at the time. 

She is also wearing a dress with a horrible pattern. It’s supposed to be floral but it always makes me think of amoebas. Maybe it looked better in color?

• Astaire clearly has fun during the part where Peter hams it up a bit with his ballet next to Linda’s tapping. 

• In some ways, “They All Laughed” is reminiscent of “Isn’t it a Lovely Day.” They’re testing each other, trading glancing as they see whether the other can keep up with the increasingly complex steps. Until now, Linda didn’t know Peter could dance this way so her surprise and amusement unfolds slowly as the routine progresses. But he has been grinning since the start because he’s hoping to win her back through this dance.

• This is another duet where it takes a long time before they touch. The first physical contact is just her executing a series of spins with the help of his fingers. And it’s during this part that Rogers finally breaks into a wide smile.  

• When he spins her up onto the piano the first time, she happily waits for him to retrieve her. And when he spins her into a seated position and upright again a few times don’t miss how he looks at her with a wry, slightly mischievous smile. 

• The Linda doll is so creepy and not lifelike. Who was fooled by this?

Also, Arthur is terrible. Jeffrey is terrible too but he’s an idiot so I’m more willing to let it slide. 

• Peter walking out of Linda’s bedroom in the morning in his robe right in front of her fiancé while she is in her negligee is pretty funny. 

• Peter and Linda’s nice day out is just further proof that this movie should’ve spent more time on the two of them together rather than breaking them up every few minutes. 

• “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” is a fun song, though Astaire gets most of the good words imo. However, Rogers does do an extra affectation to some of her lyrics and that makes them funnier. 

At one point when she’s singing, he turns to her and for just a moment his face goes soft in that way it does sometimes when he looks at her. 

• Some film historians have labeled this dance as not that great when compared to other Astaire and Rogers numbers. But I’ve always found it very enjoyable and innovative. While Gene Kelly probably takes the gold medal for dancing on skates in It’s Always Fair Weather, Astaire and Rogers did it first, did it well, and deserve some extra credit for a duet on skates rather than a solo. 

Rogers also deserves some extra credit since the idea to dance on skates was supposedly hers. And probably deserves even more credit for doing this dance on skates while also in heels. 

• For some reason I really enjoy that they perform this number in their hats and street clothes. It’s so informal and feels like something you do on a fun date. 

• Throughout this dance, Peter continues to be the playful one, as he’s been in their interactions in the film, and Linda is the more serious one who needs to be coaxed into having fun. Maybe this is why Astaire frequently glances at her and even spends long seconds watching her at different parts as they move into the next series of steps. Rogers is more reserved in her expressions but whenever they are face to face, she appears happiest. 

A few times she looks triumphant, leading me to wonder if they or she had finally nailed a section that was giving them or her trouble. 

• Can’t say for certain but I swear she almost falls when they do the backwards steps. She just baaaarely snags his hand in time. 

They had to film this dance something like 150 times so I imagine there was more than one time where at least one of them did indeed fall. 

• The circular dance they do leading up to the end is based on a dance Astaire and his sister made famous in their time on the stage. 

• Apparently the grassy bank they tumble onto wasn’t padded so those fake grimaces of pain aren’t that fake. Their exchange after the tumble feels very much like married banter to me:

Peter: “Yes, it was my idea.”

Linda: “Have you any more of them?”

Peter, exaggerating: “No.”

• They’re such a good match:

Linda: “Peter, you’ve got to marry me.”

Peter: “Why, Linda, this is so sudden.”

• Oh 1930s Hays Code humor. The cop who overhears their conversation thinks she’s pregnant and pressuring the father of the baby into marrying her. Hurr hurr hurr.

• Heh:

Linda: “I beg your pardon but what are grounds for divorce in this state?”

Clerk: “Marriage.”

• It will never make sense to me that a dance was not planned in this film for “They Can’t Take That Away From Me.” It’s a truly lovely song. I know Astaire and Rogers will dance to it more than ten years later in The Barkleys of Broadway but it’s just not the same. 

It’s also a good reminder in the film that Peter has legitimate feelings for Linda and she does for him but they’re far more conflicted. Though he must sense he’s hooked her in a bit since he becomes very aloof once they return to the hotel in the stupid hope of making her want him more? Idk, men are dumb. 

• “They Can’t Take That Away From Me” carries special poignancy because it became a form of consolation to Ira Gershwin after his brother suddenly died two months after this film was released. 

• Oh Linda’s face when she walks in to see Peter with the loathsome Lady Tarrington is so sad and crestfallen. Ever thought you and your crush were finally on the same page only to find them canoodling with someone else? 

Although, she could’ve knocked first instead of just walking straight into his room…

• The ballet portion of the finale is weird and unappealing in every way. Harriet Hoctor was known for the backbend dance she does in this film. Maybe it was something spectacular in 1937?? but it doesn’t hold up. 

One thing I’ll say about Astaire’s duet with Hoctor, it’s a great chance to see him in a romantic duet with someone other than Rogers and notice how different he acts. No secret smile, no lingering looks, no whispered words, no soft expressions. 

• “Shall We Dance” is another upbeat song that deserves more than being featured in the remaining few minutes of the film. Their dance is far too short but wonderful all the same. Her delight when he finds her always makes me smile. She also executes some impressive full length lunges that I couldn’t do at this moment much less in a dress and heels in the middle of a dance number. 

For a few seconds, his fingers press into the exposed dip of her spine in yet another example of Victorian hotness. 

• And so we finish film number 7. Shall We Dance underperformed at the box office and wasn’t a critical darling. Everyone, the actors included, started to feel the magic was coming to an end. Coming up next is a film I pretty much never rewatch: Carefree. 

[kahans]

i was tagged by @fillippas​ and @radiantsusan​ to list the top 10 books i read in 2020. thank u both so much! <3

so i’ve only read 18 going on 19 books this year (pathetic i know) but it’s still better than last year so we’re going to say this is a good year of literature for me. to narrow things down even further i’m also going to exclude rereads. anyway, in no particular order, here are my favorite books read in 2020! under the cut because i don’t hate my followers lmao

jade city by fonda lee - imagine six of crows but everyone is allowed to swear and it’s set in a fantasy version of eastern asia in the mid-20th century. yeah, it’s that awesome. 11/10 recommend, though it is an adult fantasy novel, the first of three, and contains two (you could argue but that’s my count) explicit sex scenes, some violence, and strong language

emma by jane austen - i don’t have much to say about this book except that i was not expecting it to be so funny? like honestly the whole book was hilarious from the actual plot to austen’s choice of prose.

supernova by marissa meyer - this book is the third of the renegades series, and it has everything you could want from a young adult novel about superheroes: complex morality, exploration of social issues, found family—and most importantly, enemies to lovers—all set in a fictional city analogous to gotham city. if you were a fan of the lunar chronicles, you’ll probably like the renegades series

queen of nothing by holly black - if you like enemies to lovers and faeries, you’ll probably like this conclusion to the folk of the air trilogy. the way the author presented the enemies to lovers trope was healthy and well-written, in my opinion, and the world of the faery, extant parallel to our own, is so aesthetically pleasing and beautifully described. the main character’s fears and motivations are well supported by the plot and her own circumstances. also there was a little kid who didn’t constantly annoy me for once, so that’s also a nice bonus.

the song of achilles by madeline miller - honestly in fifty years i wouldn’t be surprised if this book was considered one of the classics. everything from the characters to the prose to the romance was beautifully done. as an amateur writer, i especially admired miller’s use of language. obviously she had source material to build upon but her choice of words fit so well with the setting and type of novel she wrote. now there are several raw ass quotes from this book that live in my mind rent fee

the secret history by donna tartt - when i first started this book all i could think was, what the heck is this book about? the writing was pretty, if not a little verbose, and the characters intriguing, but the plot dragged so much it took me forever to finish the book. by my estimation, things really started to get going about a third of the way through, and by then i was hooked and really began to enjoy things. like the entry just prior to this one, several of the quotes live in my brain rent free. some of the scenes do also, though mostly because they were delightfully absurd

the foxhole court by nora sakavic - okay, okay, make fun of me for jumping on the bandwagon all you want, but i had to see what all of the hype was about. i haven’t read all three, so i’m just passing a judgment on this book alone: i do not understand why people adore this book so much (please don’t kill me it’s just an opinion). maybe it gets better in the second and third novels, but there were some pretty...yikes things going on i wasn’t too comfy with. but i do like the characters and their dynamic

ballad of songbirds and snakes by suzanne collins - if this had been anything but a hunger games book i probably wouldn’t have put it on this list. that makes it sound really bad, but my expectations were high and this book was...so... slow. and dry. it was interesting to read how some of the aspects of the hunger games came to be, and of course i loved lucy gray baird, but she was probably the only highlight in a cast of otherwise bland characters. i feel like collins wrote this book as current sociopolitical commentary to give it a deeper meaning beyond a cash grab profiting off of her reader’s love of the first series.

frankenstein by mary shelley - i think part of what makes this book so good is knowing the details surrounding its creation and publication. i mean, have you ever written a book so unique and good it revolutionized a whole genre of literature? yeah, me neither. i’m one of the few who read kiersten white’s the dark descent of elizabeth frankenstein before the novel on which it was based so i might give that a reread as well because [saoirse ronan voice] women.

we rule the night by claire elizabeth bartlett - so I’m going to be honest: this book was not as good as I expected. The worldbuilding was lackluster and the magic system, while interesting, was not fleshed out enough to fully make the quasi-russian setting really come alive. however, one of the main characters was a disabled girl, and while I can’t speak for disabled people as I am not one myself, i enjoyed the way her disability was integrated into the magic system and how it was portrayed by the author.

Tagging: @opticarrow, @coachday, @cressisaqueen, @venkasring, and anyone else who wants to do this tag! (The whole mini review proceeding each book is not necessary to complete the tag, I’m just extra)

[bearholdingashark]

Dear Chocolate Box Creator Letter 2020

Hi! Thank you for creating something for me! I’m excited to see what you create! :D

General info

I adore tropes, the more ridiculous the better, and really what I love about ridiculous tropes is how it gives the creator an opportunity to explore the characters and their dynamics and motivations. Fun plots are great, but the characters and what the plot reveals about them is what I really love.

I also really love AUs (especially modern/historical AUs) or crossover fusions, and love how much changes and how much doesn’t. But straight up canon stuff is really good too. Really, character focused stuff is what I love most. I do also think canon divergence AUs can be really great, so feel free to play around with canon as well.

Please no smut. Romance is great, but nothing more than kissing/fade to black for the physical stuff.

While I’m a big fan of romantic ships, I also love relationships in general, romantic or not. Just characters being there for each other is great. I love fluff, but more serious/angsty/dramatic stuff is just as good too. :D And unless specifically stated otherwise, I have no problem with characters other than I requested in the story, but I want the requested characters to be a main focus.

None of the relationships I requested in any particular fandom are ones that I wouldn’t want combined with any other in that fandom, so feel free to use or not use any of the relationships requested.

Aside from the no smut request, my other DNWs (also listed on my sign up) are:  

explicit gore

violence and injury are fine, but nothing super graphic, generally I would say canon typical violence/gore or less is a good way to go

permanent character death of requested characters

angst without a happy (or at least hopeful) ending

I do tend to like fluffier stuff, but angst is great too, as long as there’s some hope or happiness there by the end.

I hope this helps! I’m including my general prompts below, but feel free to go where the inspiration takes you. Happy writing! :D (Length of prompts is not an indication of my feelings for a fandom. I steal prompts from my previous letters because I’m lazy and those tend to be shorter than newer prompts as I get better at these letters. :D)

Request 1

Fandom: DC Extended Universe

Relationships: Diana Prince/Steve Trevor, Lois Lane & The Justice League, Clark Kent/Lois Lane

Prompts: I’ve split these up by relationship, since they feel a little more separate than the relationships in the other fandoms, but feel free to combine as you want. :)

Diana/Steve Trevor: 

I love them so much, and I love how much Steve treats her as an equal. I am here for a full on AU, whether set within the canonverse or something totally different, just so they can have their happy ending. I have seen WW84, and while I had some problems with the ramifications of some of the writing choices (I’m looking at you, mechanic of Steve’s return), I did really like their scenes together. If sticking with a more canonverse setting, I’d be happy with a story set during the first movie, or even 1984, or even bring him forward to the current day movies. (I would love seeing Steve meet Lois and Clark and the League.)

Lois Lane & The Justice League

I would love to see Lois working with the Justice League and using her skills as a reporter to help with their missions. I’d also love to see her dynamic with Alfred, as well as the other members of the League. I think this would be especially interesting set between BvS and Justice League, but also after Clark comes back. 

Clark Kent/Lois Lane

I love this ship so much, and especially this version of them. I love how much trust and respect they have for each other from the word go. This version of them is a little quieter and more serious than other iterations and I’m happy with keeping a similar tone to Man of Steel/Batman V Superman, but lighter fare would be great too. We see Clark and Lois investigating stories separately as reporters, but not really together as a team, whether for the Planet or the League or both, and I’d love to see that. I would also love to see them dealing with the aftermath of Justice League and how they come back together after being apart for so long. I have seen all the current movies (although I’m less familiar with Justice League as it wasn’t my favorite, but I remember the big stuff), and am happy to see other characters show up as well if you would like. 

Request 2

Fandom: Austenland (2013)

Relationships: Henry Nobley/Jane Hayes

Prompts: I love how this movie is both this beautiful (and hilarious) homage to Jane Austen and those period stories, while being a modern romcom in it’s own right. I love the ways that both Henry and Jane fit the Austen “archetypes”, while also being their own people in our modern world. I absolutely love their chemistry, and would be happy with something set during the movie, such as a missing scene or more character reflection (perhaps on catching feelings for each other?), or something set after the movie. (Like what was her friend’s reaction to walking in and finding them kissing? :D)

Request 3

Fandom: Enola Holmes (2020)

Relationships: Enola Holmes/Viscount “Tewky” Tewksbury, Enola Holmes & Sherlock Holmes

Prompts: I absolutely loved this movie and thought it was so much fun. I don’t typically read first person fanfics, but loved the fourth wall breaking in the movie and would love to see how that translated to a fic. I also really like 3rd person if you don’t want to take on the fourth wall breaking element. I would love to see more of what you think happens after the movie ends, with Enola finding her way, and exploring her friendship and blossoming romance with the Viscount. I would also love to see her interacting more with Sherlock and how their relationship grows  and I loved their take on Sherlock. But I’m also just excited to see what you create!

Request 4

Fandom: Knives Out

Relationships: Benoit Blanc/Marta Cabrera, Harlan Thrombey & Marta Cabrera

Prompts: If you look at my posted stories, you know I’m a fan of Marta/Benoit. It kind of snuck up on me, and I was obsessed earlier this year. There’s just something about them that works so well. I love AUs where Harlan lives or the murder attempt never happened and the three of them met some other way. I also like anything post movie where they work through the aftermath of the movie together. I love Marta and Harlan’s dynamic and would love something exploring their friendship. I love Marta/Benoit being partners, romantically, but also professionally if you want to go that direction. I don’t mind having the Thrombey’s involved, but don’t want them to be the focus. (This goes especially for Ransom. I really don’t want any hint of Marta/Ransom.) I do love both Lieutenant Elliott and Trooper Wagner if you go the more case fic route. I have no problem with vomiting if you want to include Marta’s “condition”, although I would request avoiding any really graphic description of vomit/vomiting.

Request 5

Fandom: The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (2015)

Relationships: Gaby Teller/Illya Kuryakin, Gaby Teller & Illya Kuryakin & Napoleon Solo

Prompts: Team shenanigans is my favorite. They’re all such interesting characters and I love their dynamic together. I would love something set in the future where they’ve settled more into a routine, or something where they’re still figuring out how to work together as a permanent team.  I also love modern AUs, or anytime Napoleon plays matchmaker. I also love how tender Illya is with Gaby and would love to see them finally get to kiss if you want to include that. I would also love to see something post movie where Gaby and Illya are getting to know each other once it’s known that Gaby is also an agent. 

Request 6

Fandom: The Scarlet Pimpernel (1982)

Relationships: Marguerite Blakeney/Percy Blakeney

Prompts: I would love anything where Marguerite is helping Percy and the League with their stuff and being all around awesome, but domestic, peaceful fluff is good too. I just love them being partners, whether in their marriage or in other aspects. I haven’t read many full on AUs (not just canon divergence) for this ship, but that could be really interesting too.  I have read the book, if you want to include details from that, but of course, that is not necessary. 

Request 7

Fandom: The Librarians

Relationships: Eve Baird/Flynn Carson, Cassandra Cillian & Eve Baird & Ezekiel & Jake Stone & Jenkins

Prompts: I absolutely love Eve/Flynn and how they both started having feelings for each other from the word go. While some of their issues were frustrating (and some of them certainly brought on by Noah Wyle’s schedule), I do like when they work and talk through their problems. I love how they balance each other out, and are both 100% in this ridiculous world of theirs in their own way. With the main show team, I love how they all become a family, and ultimately support and better each other. I also love how they’re all brilliant, but in completely different ways, and how they fill the gaps in each other’s knowledge bases. I also love Jenkins being the Grumpy OneTM, but having a great dynamic with each character. Something case related would be fun, or discovering something cool about the library together, or even just something more low key and domestic in the library after a case or during down time.  I would also love to see more after Eve and Flynn are tethered. 

Request 8

Fandom: Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman

Relationships: Clark Kent/Lois Lane

Prompts: I love anything where Lois and Clark are working together as a team at the Planet or elsewhere, especially with the great banter they can get going, or anything adorable or fluffy. I also love them fighting Tempus, because he’s such a ham. My favorite version of their relationship is post reveal/marriage, but earlier versions of their relationship are great too. I’m just excited to see what you create. :D

Request 9

Fandom: Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries

Relationships: Jack Robinson/Phryne Fisher, Elizabeth MacMillan & Phyrne Fisher, Hugh Collins/Dot Williams, Phryne Fisher & Dot Williams, Elizabeth MacMillan & Jack Robinson

Prompts: One of my favorite things about this show is the found family aspect, so whichever relationship you focus on, or end up using, that support and love (romantic, platonic, familial) is what I love about this show and these characters. My favorite ship on the show is Phryne/Jack, which is probably no surprise and I love their chemistry and how they are partners and support each other, even when seemingly at odds. Hugh and Dot are just so adorable, and I love how Dot grows throughout the show and forces Hugh to do his own growing. Phryne’s relationship with Dot is one of my favorites as well, for how she pushes Dot to grow and become so strong and very much her own person. Phryne and Mac is such a great friendship and I love how strong their love for each other is and what they will do to help the other. And Jack and Mac is such a fun friendship as well and I think a really interesting dynamic to explore.

I realize these aren’t really prompts and are just me gushing about the characters, but hopefully that helps with what I like about them. As for something more prompt like, I would love something to do with a case, or Phryne being her glorious self and dragging (but really, they’d all follow her anywhere) someone along with her schemes. 

Request 10

Fandom: Pride and Prejudice (1995)

Relationships: Charles Bingley/Jane Bennet & Elizabeth Bennet/Fitzwilliam Darcy, Charles Bingley, Jane Bennet

Prompts: I love both of these ships, and would love to see something exploring their dynamic. I am also very happy with the idea of just Charles and Jane being the focus. I  would love to see more of the time between the successful proposals and the wedding, them learning more about each other and strengthening the feelings they already have. Post movie is great too! How are they adapting to being married and all the changes that brings? My love for modern (and other) AUs applies here, although I am also very happy with straight up canon. I have read the book as well if you want to include any details from there, although that’s of course not necessary.

[a-blue-tree-man]

For the three things! 1) how are you? :D 2) who's your current fave kiddo to play/mess with? and 3) WILL KILLED ALTERNATE VERSIONS OF HIMSELF?? BUDDY YOU OKAY????

howdy! :D

1: im doin ok if a lil stressed, but the college classes are fun so far so the stress is worth it a bit lol

2: will is pretty much always my main, but ive also been playing baird a bunch recently trying to learn revenant! :D

3:oh hahaha no he is not ok, or at least he wasnt. for a long time he was dimension hopping and time traveling on his own, like, a long time. and the repeated loss of loved ones paired with his already big self loathing issues and his desperate need to try and fix what went wrong or try to save a timeline led to him for a few rounds coming to the conclusion that he was the problem that needed to be taken out. and well, he physically couldnt die himself, so next best thing in his mind at the time was to ‘remove himself from the equation’. in the form of killing versions of himself that were very much not immortal. that and a few times after when he would come in later in the timeline and try to see how he could attempt at helping he would end up taking out the version of will that was there at the time and taking his place. noooot greeaaattt. thankfully after he actually like, joins up with some of his loved ones again and admittedly after being told a few times by them that ‘hey you shouldnt kill your other selves, out other selves would miss those yous still dipshit’ among other things, hes pretty much stopped. or at least future him has lol. he gets better tho ;)