#letti my beloved <3< /div> Explore tagged Tumblr posts

[carnivalcarriondiscarded]

the best thing about having a cat that Fully understands and typically obeys the commands "sit" and "stay" is that when she doesn't obey, you're Keenly aware that it's a conscious decision

[llondonfog]

i hope you're doing well, my dear lettie <3 for the six sentence prompt ask game, might i request silver getting sick at school and lilia dutifully cuts class to take care of him? 🥹

"Oh— oh, watch yourself, love—"

The hand on his arm is sure and steady, and it is the only thing that keeps Silver's knees from buckling away beneath him as if he were wobbling around with transfigured sea legs, jellified and weak.

It's a familiar touch, one that he would know even in the deepest of slumbers. He doesn't need to lift his heavy eyes to know who has seemingly materialized out of thin air to support him, and because Silver is, still among all things, a child, it takes no effort at all to slump his head to the side and rest his forehead against the waiting curve of his father's shoulder.

" . . . now, what am I to do with you?"

Silver was sick.

And not the average, runny-nose and scratchy cough kind, but the roiling shower steam nausea, feverish kind— the kind that felt as if little craft fairies with lead hammers had taken up residence in the hollows of his bones and the aching sinus pockets behind his eyes, and were banging incessantly on his raw nerves with vicious, unmitigated glee.

Morning classes had been an absolute misery of sensory havoc, his mind distracted and his glazed eyes slipping shut with even more forceful vengeance than usual. His pen had scrawled aimless lines across the blank notebook pages, and even Trein had spared him a pitying glance, not that Silver had realized it, for his flushed cheeks and obvious disorientation.

(Neither had he noticed Kalim's repeated concerned glances, nor the way that his friend kept tapping on his cell phone with a worried twist to his perpetually upturned lips.)

It was little wonder then that as the students streamed in eager droves out of their lecture halls for lunch, Silver chose instead to attempt a shuffling escape towards the Mirror Hall, towards Diasomnia and the promise of a timed catnap in the gloomy embrace of its dark, cool corridors before the rigor of his afternoon classes could begin.

He'd been rather foolish to believe he'd make it there unaided with how the stone floor beneath him started to wink closer, the sinking realization tugging at his stomach that he was beginning to plummet down to meet it without resistance, until a presence unannounced had swooped in by his side.

So focused now on attempting to wrangle his breakfast into submission before it inevitably made a second, less pleasant appearance upon his father's uniform, he hardly notices until too late that the ground has disappeared under his very feet with a swiftness that spares him the nauseous threat. Bleary eyes blink past the invisible weight pressing insistent fingers against them, and Silver manages to find a glimmer of incredulity among all of his slippery, pounding thoughts as he stares up at the fae cradling him in his arms as if he were all of five again— and smiling as pleased as punch, in the middle of the grand hallway no less.

". . . Father— !" he doesn't even think to correct himself as he croaks out the beloved title, utterly at a loss as to what the fae could possibly be thinking. "Father, please, put me down! Someone might see—"

"And see what?" His father's eyes sparkle down at him with mischievous delight, but it is not enough to mask the darker currents of worry that linger there, stealing the rest of the sputtering arguments from Silver's mind. "That I'm caring for my adorable junior classmate as a good vice housewarden should?"

His mouth opens and closes more uselessly than a fish as he stares without a rebuttal at the self-satisfied fae, unable to come up with a worthwhile protest in the sluggish cogs of his mind.

The rambunctious cacophony of their fellow classmates echoes from further down the hall, and Lilia's smile creases into something tender and private, an expression reserved for Silver and Silver alone as those clawed fingertips drift soothingly through his sweaty bangs. There's no magic that glitters from his touch, and yet Silver's eyes find themselves drooping instantly just the same, his head tucking forward to rest against his father's chest where that heartbeat reverberates like a lullaby in his ears.

"Come on, dear— let's get you back to bed."

[ghostorbz]

INVADER ZIM HEADCANONS BECAUSE. YAAAYYYYY

!! some zadr !!

Main characters:

-Irken show affection by entangling their antenna together. So Zim wraps his antenna around Dibs hair spike

-Zim shoplifts candy from the store (and Dibs fridge) other times he gets Gir to steal stuff

-Once Dib ate cup noodles for 3 weeks straight. He hasn't done it since

-Dib still has the snarl beast

-He's also very good at drawing, most of his drawings being of him and Zim

-Dib probably gets dizzy when he stands up too fast

-Gaz and Tak like playing games together, Tak is super bad at them though

-Gaz is really into robotics, that's why Professor Membrane doesn't pressure her into science like he does with Dib. In fact she programmed her "security" plushies all by herself

-Gaz HAS and WILL doxx people

-Gir and MiMi are very lady and the tramp coded

-Gir would be best friends with Jenny Wakeman

-Gir CONSTANTLY steals drinks, not only from people he knows either. Like in a restaurant he will just take a big sip of someones drink and walk away

Other characters:

-Zita is a theater kid, she puts the most effort in school plays compared to everyone else

-Carl has literally anything and everything in his beanie. Need a spare pencil? He's got it. Need a notebook? It's in there. Need a bag of chips? You know he has it. But he won't ever give it to you. Like Pinkie Pie except Carl isn't helpful

-Gretchen actually can tell really good jokes, she just doesn't tell them

-Jessica and Letty are lesbian I swear to god they are

-Poonchy is a lot like Tobias from the amazing world of gumball except maybe a little less mean

-Mr. Elliot is Ms. Bitters son, he likes being around her so he got the same job as her (despite her protests)

-Mr. Dwicky probably killed that guy in the vents. Among us imposter ass

-Miyuki and Sporks tallest uniforms seem to be slightly different than Red and Purples, the slight adjustments are there to prevent Zims monsters from eating them

General:

-Hugs from behind are very beloved since you're basically hugging their PAK which is like, their everything

-Irken relationships are heavily looked down upon until they are officialized

-Tallest DNA is used for reproduction by being put in a lil tube until a smeet develops

-Tallest colors are passed down (I don't reaaally headcanon this but I think it's a cute idea)

(Not super invader zim related, but it's one of my favorite headcanons)

-Alien hominid landed on earth after the Irken empire took over his planet. He really hates Zim

(I DON'T KNOW A LOT ABOUT ALIEN HOMINID so like, sorry if I'm ignoring already established lore idk)

[m-rod-unofficial]

My ranking of MRod characters that nobody asked for <3

Characters in tiers themselves aren't in any particular order. Excluded characters from things I haven't seen for obvious reasons

Sweet baby angel. My beloved. I would kill & die for them

Rain Ocampo (Resident Evil) (Straight up my favorite Mrod character overall. Knew I loved her from the second she pulled that gas mask off and said "Blow me". The number of fanfics I've written with her is steadily climbing lol)

Ana Lucía Cortez (LOST)

Good Rain (Resident Evil: Retribution)

Nicki (The Breed)

Eden (Blue Crush)

Salgado (3 A.M) (I wish her side plot explored her sixth sense a bit more :( But I guess the other stuff going on in the plot didn't leave much time)

Katarin (BloodRayne) (I definitely love this movie more than any normal person should. Endlessly fascinated. And y'know what? I think Rin's character had the potential to be really interesting. Especially if her relationship with her dad was actually explored)

Bad Rain (Resident Evil: Retribution) (I love her evil lil' grin <3)

Diana Guzmán (Girlfight)

Letty Ortiz (Shocking!!! Order of fave to least fave appearance would be The Fast & The Furious, Fast & Furious 6, Fast & Furious 7, F9, The Fate of The Furious, Los Bandoleros, Fast & Furious, Fast & Furious: Crossroads, Fast X, Fast & Furious: Supercharged)

Holga Kilgore (Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves)

Sweet baby angel. My beloved. I would kill & die for them. (Said with less intensity)

Chris Sánchez (S.W.A.T.)

Trudy Chacón (Avatar)

Luz (Machete & Machete Kills) (I would put her in the top category but I didn't really like how they wrote her in Machete Kills. She felt off)

Mineŕva Mirabal (Trópico de Sangre)

Elena Santos (Battle: Los Angeles)

Linda (Widows)

M-13 (The Limit)

I could easily be talked into doing illegal shit with them

Teresa (Control)

Rosie Velasco (True Crime: Streets of LA)

Lou Phillips (Battle in Seattle)

The lady in the Confident music video (Ik she doesn't have a name and doesn't say anything and idc)

Frank Kitchen (Tomboy: A Revenger's Tale) (My relationship with this flick is like what I have with BloodRayne. Kinda)

I like them <3

Ms. Ferguson (Milton's Secret)

Calita Martínez (Driv3r)

Smurfstorm (Smurfs: The Lost Village)

Supervisor Garrett (Crisis)

Jujube (The Amazing Adventure of Marchello the Cat)

Marine (Halo)

Would love more with more screentime

Voula (2031)

Sky (She Dies Tomorrow)

Gelda (Alita: Battle Angel)

Paz (Turbo)

[jiminy-crickets]

make a new post with the names of all the files in your wip folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! then, tag as many people as you have wips.

Aaaaughhhhh @nightshadehasblorbos omg tytyty I can’t wait to info dump about my beloved WIPs

I’m tagging @mercurymilkcap (ty bestie for letting me yap at you about my fics) and @v8mpvrse (again ty for letting me yap) and literally anyone else who wants to do this <3

Obsessed

Mattdrai with past mcdrai, takes place from 2018 to the november 20th Edmonton Florida Game of this last season, it’s a song fic based off of Obsessed by Olivia Rodrigo, and it is from Matthew’s POV as he spends YEARS feeling like a bad boyfriend for obsessing over Leon and Connor’s long since ended ‘friends with benefits’ esque situationship, but it’s mostly about just falling in love how how to be a good boyfriend when you are both closeted public figures who have to keep up appearances of being rivals, and surviving long distance and what it’s like when you haven’t even met each others parents because you can’t come out because your father is a blabermouth with a history of hating you for being gay, the mortifying ordeal of coming out to your teammates and having them think you are actually dating your boyfriends ex, and figuring out how many ways you can have phone sex to forget about the thousands of kilometres between you and the love of your life.

Winners room trope exploration

It’s what it says on the tin, this is a doc with a bunch of half finished ideas, and outlined one shots exploring the logistical side of winners room verse, I made up a fun new job position “player health coordinator” who on paper are essentially health advocates for players and make sure that the team doctor is acting in the players best interest not the teams, but do double duty as being the people who organize rooms, and make sure the rules and followed and enforced. Also they gossip with each other and have a group chat where they are like ‘XYZ is being a little bitch lately, do NOT let him in rooms with dudes who are doormats, it will NOT end well” and “please remind visitors to XYZ arena that the room has shut sound insulation, the things I have heard would make a sailor blush” but these fics are mostly just like explorations of the culture around rooms, what teams let the winners pick? What teams pull straws? What is it like when you are dating someone and you meet them in the rooms? What players do people never pick from unspoken rules? What’s it like as a rookie? Etc etc etc

Lake House: Kiss Me Over The Garden Gate

This is my baby!!!! Quinn/Brady “secret dating” (everyone knows) the title kiss me over the garden gate is a type of flower that Quinn grows in the garden Brady made for him at the lake house <3 it’s about being tender and domestic and in love with your boyfriend of almost a decade for the short amount of time you have together before you need to go back to other sides of the continent and separated by five timezones… it’s also about how a LOT of queer teens/young adults want families, kids, white picket fence etc etc, and how it can seem impossible to achieve and how being closeted public figures who lives across the country from your LONG TERM boyfriend is hell, and how some days it seems like you will never get the life you want with one annother…. But mostly this fic is about Brady and Quinn being gross and sappy and in love and Jack, Luke and Matthew third wheeling them and they can’t even say “ew you guys are gross and in love and we hate third wheeling yall” because they made a pact when they realized Brady and Quinn were dating that they would let them come out when they were ready… but they made that pact seven years ago and oh my GOD can they be ready to come yet???

I know what boys like

Sid being a dude magnet at clubs and being all coy and not actually letting them hit because he’s a TEASE (and a closet case) and also because it’s MUCH much more entertaining to make dudes think they are about to hook up with Sidney Crosby then go “this is was fun… bye” before hopping in the closest taxi and speeding away to go jack off in his hotel room. Anyways he tries this trick with Colby and Colby is having NONE of it he’s like “sid!! I know your tricks I am wise to them!!! You cannot do this to me, I won’t let you!!!” Sid does however succeed in making Colby think they are gonna hook up… and they do!!! And it’s very sweet <3 (song fic based off of I know what boys like by the waitresses)

Guess

I’m not 10000% sure on the pairing, but… the vibes are telling me it’s two leafs, this is yet another song fic based off of guess by Charli xcx, and it’s very much living upto the chorus “you wanna guess the colour of my underwear, you wanna know what I got going on down there, is it pretty in pink or all see through? Is it showing off my brand new lower back tattoo? You wanna put it in your mouth, pull it all down south, you wanna turn this shit out that’s what I’m talking about, you wanna try it bite it lick it spit it pull it to the side and get all up in it, wear em post em might remix it send it to the dare yeah I think he’s with it” and “guess how much money I just took from this deal, guess the password to my google drive, you wanna guess the adresse of the party I’m at, you wanna guess if I’m serious about this song” basically player A just told player B that he’s about to sign a new deal (player A and B are in a FWB situation) and player B is like ‘let’s go out let’s celebrate!!’ And so they do… and right before they get into the Uber to head out player A sends player B a photo of a messy ‘someone just rummaged through here” drawer of panties and poor poor player B spends the entire evening hard and wanting to KNOW what player A is wearing but he can’t ask because ya know closeted athletes in a major hockey market and people eavesdropping, anyways it ends with player B indeed trying, biting, licking, spitting, wearing, pulling to the side and getting all up in player A’s panties.

Girl at home (mcdrai edition)

Wow shock and surprise yet annother song fic, though this one is more playfull teasing based off of the title then actually based on the song (girl at home by taylor swift) its mcdrai (oh and it’s called “mcdrai edition” because years ago I started… and abandoned [sorry to the ao3 commenter who was exited to read the rest] a Sidon/Zelda/Link fic based off of the same song) with background Edmonton polycule, and it’s right after the WCF and Connor is making big puppy eyes at Leon to kiss him in the locker room and Leon is all ‘it’s gonna be so embarrassing to pay a PDA fine as the captain, smh Lauren is gonna be mad if she isn’t the first one to kiss you after that goal’ and Connor is like ‘oh please we both know her and Cel are up in the box three white claws deep dry humping each other infront of the other WAGs’ and Leon is like ‘hehe yeah <3 they areeee <3’ and then they do kiss because Leon is powerless against Connor’s puppy eyes.

Kevin/Connor nesting fluff

Everyone give @pwhl-mybeloved a big round of applause because these two WIPs would NOT be possible without Mary indulging my Connor brainrot and bouncing ideas about how weird and funny he is. Anywaysss THIS fic is gonna put the ‘non traditional’ part of the ‘non traditional A/B/O dynamics’ tag to work lmao, basically in this world being an alpha or an omega is a vestigial trait, and 90% of people will never know what/if they are one, and heats and ruts are most commonly brought on my stress and lifestyle changes… and Connor breaking his jaw and being hopped the fuck up on painkillers send him into heat. But again its not a traditional omegaverse heat, plus the fact that he’s on hella painkillers he just makes himself a nest in the shooting room at the practice facility (using whatever things and gear he found around the facility) and camps himself out sleeping, walking up and practicing as much as the trainers allow him, and drinking protein smoothies, Kevin tries to get his sweater back from Connors nest and Connor is VERY firm on that not happening, but he does let Kevin in to cuddle and they chat and nap, and it’s very sweet and fluffy and Connor is high and passively horny so he’s just happy someone is taking care of him without telling him “no Connor you can’t practice big shots! No Connor you can’t skate!!”

Road Roomies (it’s not gay if I don’t kiss you)

Yet annother Connor/Kevin fic we all can thank @pwhl-mybeloved for, this one was gonna be a simple one shot… and then it grew… a lot. I think I can still make it work as a one shot but it’s gonna be LONG. And yeah, it’s road roommates + masturbation based hockey superstition/ritual + the mortifying ordeal of being on a team that fucking sucks and they keep looking at the new kid to fix it + having a crush on the one person you really fucking shouldn’t (x2) + how to come out when you have spent the last few road games jacking off in proximity to one annother + miscommunication (very brief though, because I don’t like miscommunication as a trope) and then to quote my outline “they just fall into bed and exchange sweet puppy love big cow eyes looking at each other tender kisses on the others nose soft and sweet handjobs”

Muahahahaha I love yapping about my WIPs <333333 yippeeeee

[greatwyrmgold]

Every Cirno day (⑨/⑨, for those not in the know), I like to listen to remixes of Cirno's theme (「おてんば恋娘,」 which has several translations, but I like "Beloved Tomboyish Girl".) This Cirno Day, I decided to share nine of those with my Tumblr followers, in case any of them wanted to listen to Cirno's theme in a weird way.

【東方Violin／Piano】 Beloved Tomboyish Daughter -Quartet-

I'm a sucker for modern music played on traditional instruments.

2. Chirumiru Cirno

The musical accompaniment to what is undeniably the most significant Cirno-based music video in the Touhou fandom.

3. Cirno Awakens To Summer Days!

A sunny and upbeat number for a season I would not associate with Cirno.

5. Cirno ⑨'s Blue Regrets, Blue Tears

The music video is fun, and I'm told the lyrics reflect something significant to Cirno's character. Something about Letty?

6. Cirno's Bizarre Adventure - Frozen Wind

I like a good mashup, and this one qualifies. Shame it isn't longer. And that I have still failed to enjoy JoJo. (Freaking Phantom Blood.)

4. Einfach Einfach

It changes the character of the song, while maintaining the iconic theme. And also being nice to listen to.

3. From⑨Girl

The most significant IOSYS remix of "Beloved Tomboyish Girl".

12. tomboyish girl in pain

Same as "Einfach Einfach," except where it's different. But none of those differences make it painful for anyone except Cirno.

9. Touhou flute cover / Cirno's Perfect Math Class

I don't know what this math class song is, but it sounds like "Beloved Tomboyish Girl," so I'll count it.

I generally try to keep 99 songs in my 9/9 playlist, but due to a combination of videos taken off YouTube and versions I don't like, it's fallen to 92. If anyone has a cover/mix/mashup/whatever of Cirno's theme they'd like to share, I'd appreciate it! It might be one of the other 83 I already have on the list, but it might be #93. (Also, encouraging other people to talk about things they like is fun!)

[anonymolly]

3 6 and 28!

3. Reading or writing? Why?

Hmmm lately it’s been reading! I love both a lot, but I haven’t done much writing since I was in grad school and suicidal. I went through some of that writing lately and it was… not good to reread. I’m looking forward to revisiting that hobby once I’m in a better headspace! I also especially love writing poems when I’m in love, so I’m looking forward to that again someday. 🥰

6. What’s your favorite candle scent?

Oooh I have a fig and mistletoe one that I love so much. But I like lots! I can’t light them anymore because of Lettie (the essential oils aren’t very good for her and we live in such a small apartment that it wouldn’t be very well ventilated for her), but someday if I have a bigger house and can keep her safer maybe I’ll do candles again.

28. What are you proudest of?

Making through the past few years of my life. But also I got an exceptional grade on an essay on Toni Morrison’s Beloved & A Mercy from Oxford’s leading scholar on Toni Morrison which was pretty neat.

Thank you for the asks, you’re an angel 🥺🫂

[xoteajays]

My beloveds Angel and Roman + questions thirty through forty for the basic ship ask game? <3

30. What are their respective love languages? Do their love languages work well together?

angel's are quality time and acts of service, rome's are acts of service and gifts. so acts of service overlap. usually when angelo gives gifts to fulfil rome's love of things, it's something they can do together.

31. Do they often go out on dates? What are these like?

depends on how you define 'dates'. they don't necessarily go out much, but they'll spend time together. dates take an effort, later in their relationship they get better at planning them. do the family barbecues count as dates?

32. Do either of them drink? If so, who’s the lightweight, and how does their partner care for them?

they do both drink. neither are major lightweights, but angelo moreso than roman since he doesn't drink as much but rome, tej and brian like to egg him on to chug drinks or do shots. rome has to drag him home, sometime he remembers to leave out water, sometimes he just passes out with him. in the morning, rome will go out to get breakfast, something delicious and greasy.

33. How do they flirt? Who’s the worse flirt?

angelo started off more jokey and tentative because he didn't know how roman would react. eventually roman does work up the courage to flirt back with him, but it's very clumsy since he hasn't ever flirted with another guy; angelo, lucky, thinks he's funny so it comes off as charming. roman thinks he's an excellent flirt. he is not.

34. Do they have any inside jokes?

nothing that i can think of off the top of my head. they definitely do though. probably all stuff that has to do with other members of the fast fam, especially tej, ramsey and lil nobody. no one else thinks they're funny.

35. Is their relationship a secret? If so, why?

it was probably kept on the downlow for a while when they first got together, just so they could figure it out and roman could get comfortable with it. the rest of the fam was very supportive when they did eventually tell them. well, their version of supportive. i can see brian and tej teasing rome about it.

36. How do they feel about having kids? Are they in agreement?

angelo had a pretty big family and grew up with a lot of the street kids like the torettos and letty. he'd like kids ... one day. he does worry that rome would have the same issue as brian did and 'miss the bullets'.

37. Who’s more emotionally sensitive/cries more often?

angelo is more openly emotional. rome pretends he's not.

38. Who’s got a quicker temper?

roman.

39. When and how did they admit that they loved each other? If they haven’t yet, why?

i don't know if they have said it yet. i think they kind of know that they love each other, but they haven't actually said it out loud. they're both just kind of awkward about it. it would kind of come out as a 'you know i love you ... right?' 'yeah'. awful, the both of them, all the other couples are like shut up and actually say you love each other, fuckin idiots.

40. Do they have any regrets in their relationship?

probably only that they didn't get together sooner. or that they didn't meet sooner.

[canongf-archive]

wait liv hot topic question. remember when you first saw knives out and you said the ending of the movie made you rewrite the whole scenario you were creating with ransom… what did that scenario look like before you found out he was the killer 🧐

LETTIE, MY BELOVED!!!!! 💗

so much of it revolved around his talk with marta... when he was talking about when harlan told him he was being cut off and he left and he drove around and he had this moment of clarity where he knew he was on his own and he was free and it felt good... and i took it and i thought of the two of us dropping everything and taking what we had and running away and learning how to do it all on our own together... i thought ransom was being honest and real and that there was a very different future awaiting us where we would go and we would figure things out on our own away from our families and away from the chaos and of course now i know he was full of shit and him being arrested threw a bit of a wrench into our plans but STILL!!!!!

[dotster001]

Meet the Parents

Summary:Fenn Luxure x gn! Reader. Fenn's dad comes to visit, and Fenn would rather you two not meet.

Cw:mild spoilers for book 3 of the consort path

"I would rather you stay in my room while he is here."

Fenn's dad was coming, and he had sat you down to chat with you about it.

"Why?" You asked. You knew they weren't on good terms, but what did that have to do with you?

"He can be," he paused. "He can be a bit much. I just don't want to have to worry that he'll try to hurt you, Treasure."

Fenn rarely took anything this seriously, and it was making you a bit nervous.

"What if we compromise and I stay in my own room?"

Fenn gave you a flirtatious grin. "But then I wouldn't have the pleasure of your company. And you know I have difficulty sleeping without you to lull me to sleep." 

After much debate, and some mediation from Letty, Fenn relented and agreed you could stay in your own room.

                                     …

You were bored out of your mind. It had been a week since you'd promised Fenn you would stay in your room so that his dad couldn't hurt you. He had assured you that you didn't have to wait much longer.

"My beloved treasure," he was gently stroking your hair as he held you from behind. "He is leaving in two days, and then you and I shall be free to roam the grounds again. I know you are bored, but just trust me okay?"

He had looked at you with the saddest eyes. You'd ask him about that later when he wasn't as clearly stressed as he was now. So you'd assured him everything was alright.

Less than 24 hours later, everything was not alright. You were very bored, and hungry. You decided that you would leave your room, get a snack, and head straight back. What were the odds that you would run into Fenn's dad?

You were on your way back to your room, when you bumped into Fenn. You watched his easy going smile slide off face. He ran up to you with the most panicked expression you'd ever seen on him.

He wrapped you up into his arms and whispered into your ear, "Treasure, why are here? Did something happen?"

Before you could answer him, you heard a rather large crowd of people walking your way. When you looked up, you saw a beautiful man surrounded by men and women who were doing everything in their power to be able to touch even one piece of him.

The man's eyes settled on Fenn, flicked to you, then back to Fenn.

"Ah Fenn, I have seen so little of you on my visit, I was beginning to worry."

Oh. OH! This must be Fenn's dad then. Looking closer at him, he definitely looked like him, just a little older. You felt Fenn stiffen.

"I have just been busy father."

Fenn had never spoken so coldly around you, not even to the people you'd seen him break up with before you both were dating.

The man gave a hmph, and looked at you again.

"You. Come," he said with a serene smile.

"The hell?" You whispered, and you felt Fenn's arms tighten around you. "Why should I…"

"You'll have a much better time with us, lovely."

You laughed dryly, "No, Fenn and I are going back to my room, but thanks for the offer."

"Suit yourself." He seemed unfazed as him and his entourage walked off. 

"God, what a jerk. Couldn't he see we were clearly together?" You were outraged until you noticed that Fenn had buried his face in your neck, and was shaking. "Fenn?"

You heard him heave a heavy sigh. "When I said I thought he would hurt you, that was a lie. I thought he would take my treasure away from me."

Now it was your turn to tighten your grip on him.

"But he didn't, Fenn, I'm still here."

Fenn looked  at you with an innocent smile, eyes filled with such joy it made your heart ache. "Yes you are." He gave a disbelieving laugh. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Treasure."

You grabbed his hand, and led him to your room. You spent the rest of the day in each other's arms, just basking in one another's presence.

You decided today wasn't the day to tell Fenn that you had sworn that if his dad ever hurt him again, you would kill him yourself.

[cassiopeiasara]

top 5 fictional women over 50 :)

YES!

1. Annalise Keating (How to Get Away with Murder)- HTGAWM was a dark show that I honestly would have quit after season one had it not been for Viola Davis. Like everyone in the cast was pretty exceptional but you’d have to be on a show led by such a phenomenal actress. Anyway, I loved Annalise and not just because she was clever and unafraid to play dirty but also for all of the layers she possessed. Viola played her with such a tangible vulnerability and I understood all of her motivations and choices even when they were TERRIBLE. I have no desire to rewatch the show ever but she most certainly left an impression that I’ll be thinking about for years.

2. Marilla Cuthbert (Anne of Green Gables)- I adore caregivers, most especially ones who adopt people not related to them. I remember being frustrated sometimes by marilla as a kid and wondering why she couldn’t be more like Matthew but I still knew I loved her. As I get older, I appreciate how much adjustment it must have taken for such a stubborn and old fashioned woman to unexpectedly become a mother to the loveable tornado that is Anne Shirley.

3. Dorothy Zbornak (Golden Girls)-It’s legit very hard to choose among my beloved Golden Girls because they’re all so lovely in their own right but Dorothy is my favorite. I think there’s something poignant about Dorothy being the only divorced character while the other three are widows who had husbands that loved them very much. While they all have their losses, I think Dorothy’s is the saddest for me. She loves learning and I bet she’s actually a great teacher but she wasn’t allowed to grow in the way she should have been able to because the only choice for a teenager girl who got pregnant in her time was marriage. Also her quips are hilarious as is her relationship with her mother. Bea was a comedic genius and that’s incredibly apparent in her performance.

4. Jessica Fletcher (Murder She Wrote)- I mean solving crimes and writing novels is the dream right? I love Angela Lansbury (Mrs. Potts has always been my fave) and this series just makes me feel warm and miss my grandmother something fierce. Jessica is incredibly perceptive and funny and a joy to watch.

5. Violet Bordelon (Queen Sugar)-I’m a season behind on Queen Sugar but Vi is such an incredible character. She’s familiar in that she’s the kind of caregiver you always see black women play. She takes care of her family members, is a stalwart voice of reason and an incredible cook. However, this show brought such a new depth to that very familiar (and stereotypical in the wrong hands) role. We see Violet struggle in her relationship with her nieces and nephew because they’re all adults with their own opinions. She struggles in her romantic relationship due to the very real remnants of having gone through an abusive marriage. THEN she receives a lupus diagnosis and we get to see her navigate what it’s like to have your body change and deal with not being able to do everything you used to.

Special Mentions-Mona Robinson, Chrisjen Avasarala, Sharon Raydor, and Lettie Bostic

[iklees]

The Mystery of the Sorrowful Maiden / Kate Saunders

Laetitia Rodd #3

Letty wordt gevraagd om de zaak te behartigen van een vrouw uit de theaterwereld, die door haar man -- acteur en theatermagnaat -- aan de kant is gezet. Het blijkt dat haar broer de advocaat is van de echtgenoot. De dochters van het stel hebben zich verdeeld in loyaliteit tussen hun ouders. Al snel wordt de zaak gecompliceerd als in het oude theater van het echtpaar, dat 10 jaar geleden na een grote brand is gesloten, onder het toneel een lijk wordt aangetroffen. Gaandeweg ontdekt Letty dat in deze zaak, moord niet het minste kwaad is waar het toneelgezelschap mee te maken heeft.

I must now pause, to warn the reader that my account of these murders is about to descend into yet greater darkness. In relating the facts, I must touch on subjects most emphatically not suitable for young, impressionable people, nor for those who have led sheltered lives. I do not write for publication; my family and friends are my public, and my beloved niece, Tishy, is usually the first to read of my experiences. This manuscript, however, will be put straight into the hands of her husband, Sir Patrick Flint. I trust him to know what to do with it – if I do not decide to burn it first.

Als 20ste-eeuwse lezer heb je al wel wat eerden een vermoeden, maar de hele zaak zit -- net als bij de vorige boeken -- weer goed in elkaar; ook dit keer zijn de verhoudingen tussen de personages belangrijker dan de 'whodunnit' van de moord. Fijn leesvoer. Dit is het meest recent van de Laetitia Rodd boeken, verschenen in 2021. Ik hoop dat er meer komen.

[daleisgreat]

The Fate of the Furious

A little over a year ago I reviewed Furious 7 to coincide with the theatrical release of the spinoff film, Hobbes & Shaw. On a quick side note Hobbes & Shaw was a surprisingly bad detour for the series that I would rank right at the bottom with 2 Fast 2 Furious as the only two subpar entries from the franchise. It is safe to say I do no plan on reviewing it here. What I am reviewing today is the latest core entry in The Fast and the Furious brand in 2017’s The Fate of the Furious (trailer). Fast & Furious 9 was supposed to hit theaters earlier this summer, but the pandemic and current closure of a majority of theaters prompted Universal to push it back to April 2021. So while today’s entry will not have the honor of coinciding with the latest theatrical release like I did with my blog last year, it does have consolation prize of coinciding with the blink-and-miss-it release of the critically panned videogame, Fast and Furious: Crossroads, a couple weeks ago. I have yet to play the game, but I feel safe to say The Fate of the Furious is likely exponentially better than it. Veteran director Gary Gray takes his first attempt at directing a F&F film and opens The Fate of the Furious off with Dom (Vin Diesel) and Letty (Michelle Rodriguez) enjoying themselves in an extended honeymoon in Cuba before Vin’s cousin finds himself in trouble and Dom has to naturally race the local goon to settle the score. It is one of the best races of all the films where Dom tricks out his cousin’s lemon of a ride with a Cuban formula of NOS that propels Dom to push the car to its limits and have a thrilling finish which raises the ‘yeah, right’ factor of the F&F films to new heights, but in all the right ways.

Not all is peachy for Dom though because not long after that killer opening he meets this film’s antagonist, Cipher (Charlize Theron). Fate of the Furious quickly establishes that Cipher is no pushover villain as she forces Dom’s hand to turning on his team on a routine black ops mission in Germany where he steals an EMP for Cipher. From here the film shifts into how Cipher has her hooks into Dom and has him doing jobs for her across the globe to setup one ultimate heist in Russia to close off the film in a dazzling array of the eye-popping stunts and special effects the brand is known for. Seeing how Dom’s team responds to his betrayal and try to stay on his toes is a fun game of cat and mouse. Mr. Nobody (Kurt Russell) returns to assemble the team on these unofficial black ops missions and has a new apprentice by his side going by Little Nobody (Scott Eastwood). Roman (Tyrese Gibson) has a fun friendly rivalry with Little Nobody throughout the film. This is probably the best performance Tyrese has put in throughout the series, with him disposing of several baddies with his signature flair in the last act especially standing out for him. Tej (Ludacris) and Ramsey (Nathalie Emanuel) return to display their hacking prowess. A quick line of dialogue addresses the Paul Walker dilemma by the gang respecting Brian and Mia’s choice to live their family life and not get them involved. Hobbes (The Rock) is as awesome as ever in his larger-than-life persona. One of the most entertaining scenes in the film is where Hobbes finds himself locked up with Furious 7’s villain, Deckard Shaw (Jason Statham). Watching the two go on a showcase prison break was a delight and a half to consume.

In a questionable twist, Hobbes ropes Shaw into working for the team to help bring down Cipher and Dom. Surprisingly the rest of the team has no problem welcoming Shaw into the team despite Shaw murdering their former beloved comrade, Han, in the Furious 7. I have a big problem with this since Shaw shows no remorse for his past and no one on the team confronts Shaw about Han’s assassination here. Shaw does play a big role in the final big Russia action scene to help assist the team, but it is quite the stretch to say it absolves him of murdering Han. Granted, there are a lot of suspend disbelief moments with any F&F film, but this is a glaring flaw that goes unaddressed in this film. Speaking of ‘suspend disbelief’ moments, as far as the action and stunts in Fate of the Furious goes, I can safely assure that this film lives up to the high bar the series has established. There is a absurd scene involving an army of hacked smart cars that I was able to turn off my mind and roll with. Same goes for a military grade tank and submarine chase on the Russian ice. Gary Gray pulls out all the stops in that final act at the Russian base and the final half hour will fly by before you know it. I remember coming off my initial theatrical viewing of this thinking that Cipher’s ruthlessness seemed too forced and put on, but I came around on her in my second viewing. Her constant bullying over Dom to keep him doing her bidding throughout and being presented as the mastermind of all hackers makes Cipher reside in the top tier of villains for the films. It ultimately all comes together for another outstanding film for the franchise.

Like most past F&F BluRays and DVDs, there is a hearty amount of extra features on this BluRay. Gary Gray offers up a solo commentary track which offers up plenty of production facts and insight. Highlights include his love for the opening Cuban race, relating his past chemistry working with The Rock on Be Cool paying off dividends here, pulling off the ostensibly impossible feat of closing off Time’s Square and how Gray slyly snuck in a reference to his past work on Friday that went right over my head. There is a little over an hour worth of additional bonus material on here. They are split up into many smaller features, and of those I would recommend checking out Zombie Cars, Malecon Stunt Race, Streets of New York and Iceland Stunt Drops the most as they all do a masterful job at breaking down the stunt work and the logistics that made these ambitious scenes possible. I re-watched all the previous films along with a commentary track from the crew at Giant Bomb, but all their commentary tracks were planned in time to build up to the theatrical release of this film so instead of a commentary track they released a spoiler-cast analyzing the whole film and ranking all the films at the end. I re-listened to it last night and they do a thorough job dissecting their highs and lows with it. Click or press here to give it a listen. The Fate of the Furious held up much better than I originally thought. Thinking back on it, a part of me likely felt awkward how to take in a F&F film without Paul Walker and Jordana Brewster undoubtedly played a role in my initial mixed take on the eighth film. It also helped that I came around on Charlize Theron’s performance on my second viewing too. Aside from my reservations with Deckard Shaw being fully welcomed into ‘the family’ by the end of the film, I had a riot with The Fate of the Furious and it continues the roll of outstanding entries in the series since the fifth film. Here is hoping the ninth film does not suffer any more delays and that it will hit theaters this April!

Other Random Backlog Movie Blogs 3 12 Angry Men (1957) 12 Rounds 3: Lockdown 21 Jump Street The Accountant Angry Video Game Nerd: The Movie Atari: Game Over The Avengers: Age of Ultron The Avengers: Infinity War Batman: The Dark Knight Rises Batman: The Killing Joke Batman: Mask of the Phantasm Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice Bounty Hunters Cabin in the Woods Captain America: Civil War Captain America: The First Avenger Captain America: The Winter Soldier Christmas Eve Clash of the Titans (1981) Clint Eastwood 11-pack Special The Condemned 2 Countdown Creed I & II Deck the Halls Detroit Rock City Die Hard Dredd The Eliminators The Equalizer Dirty Work Faster Fast and Furious I-VIII Field of Dreams Fight Club The Fighter For Love of the Game Good Will Hunting Gravity Grunt: The Wrestling Movie Guardians of the Galaxy Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 Hell Comes to Frogtown Hercules: Reborn Hitman I Like to Hurt People Indiana Jones 1-4 Ink The Interrogation Interstellar Jay and Silent Bob Reboot Jobs Joy Ride 1-3 Last Action Hero Major League Man of Steel Man on the Moon Man vs Snake Marine 3-6 Merry Friggin Christmas Metallica: Some Kind of Monster Mortal Kombat Mortal Kombat Legends: Scorpions Revenge National Treasure National Treasure: Book of Secrets Not for Resale Pulp Fiction The Replacements Reservoir Dogs Rocky I-VIII Running Films Part 1 Running Films Part 2 San Andreas ScoobyDoo Wrestlemania Mystery Scott Pilgrim vs the World The Secret Life of Walter Mitty Shoot em Up Slacker Skyscraper Small Town Santa Steve Jobs Source Code Star Trek I-XIII Sully Take Me Home Tonight TMNT The Tooth Fairy 1 & 2 UHF Veronica Mars Vision Quest The War Wild The Wizard Wonder Woman The Wrestler (2008) X-Men: Apocalypse X-Men: Days of Future Past

[ramajmedia]

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

In a world where wrestlers-turned-actors usually go straight to DVD in a slog of terrible B-actioners, Dwayne Johnson – formerly better known by his ring name as the WWE legend “the Rock” – came along and cemented his place as one of Hollywood’s most popular and bankable stars in just a couple of years.

RELATED: The Rock and Roles: Dwayne Johnson's 10 Most Badass Characters, Ranked

His rise to the A-list began with a supporting role in the Fast & Furious franchise, but it wasn’t long before he was headlining his own vehicles. He remains one of the few stars who can lead original stories to box office triumph. So, here are Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes.

10 Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (67%)

When it was announced that the Fast & Furious franchise would unleash a spin-off pairing up the mismatched characters played by Jason Statham and Dwayne Johnson, fans were a little dubious. And then when the first trailer was released, showing Idris Elba’s villain giving himself superpowers, they were even more dubious.

But the movie actually turned out really well. It gets plenty of steam out of the hilarious energy shared by Statham and Johnson, and in between that are plenty of well-crafted action sequences, courtesy of Atomic Blonde director David Leitch. Leave your brain at the door and you’ll love it.

9 The Rundown (69%)

Long before Dwayne Johnson was the biggest movie star on the planet, he teamed up with American Pie’s Seann William Scott for this action comedy, which isn’t a stone-cold masterpiece, but is a lot of fun. Johnson plays a bounty hunter who is sent deep into the jungles of Brazil to track down his boss’ son, played by Scott.

As expected, the two are a delightfully mismatched pair – both likable in their own right, but with virtually nothing in common – that keep this cross between Indiana Jones and Midnight Run chugging along for its 104-minute runtime. It won’t leave you disappointed.

8 Fast & Furious 6 (70%)

The sixth Fast & Furious movie was Dwayne Johnson’s second outing in the franchise, but he was already a welcome and ingratiated member of the central family. While his first turn as Luke Hobbs was antagonistic towards Dom Toretto and his crew, this time around, he’s an ally of their team.

RELATED: The Deadliest Fast And Furious Characters, Ranked

This was the movie that brought the gang to London and culminated in a set piece that took place on the longest runway in the world. As always, the laws of physics are ripped apart and put back together again, but when the action is this fun and the cast is this likable, who even cares?

7 Central Intelligence (71%)

Although Rawson Marshall Thurber’s action comedy Central Intelligence has a pretty generic plot with predictable twists, one-dimensional characters, and forced messages about bullying, it gets plenty of mileage out of the chemistry shared by Kevin Hart and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Hart and Johnson are individually two of the most energetic, bubbly, charismatic leading men at the multiplex right now, so it’s hardly surprising that, together, they’re dynamite. Central Intelligence is not an all-time classic of the buddy cop genre – it falls into a lot of the genre’s clichés and pitfalls – but its two stars make it more than watchable.

6 Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle (76%)

This reboot of the Jumanji franchise was far better than it had any right to be. To take a beloved family comedy – and one starring the late, great Robin Williams, no less – and update it for a modern audience to turn a quick buck seemed like one of Hollywood’s worst ideas.

However, Jake Kasdan came in with a clear vision and a passion for his newly created characters and delivered an exciting, energetic cinematic ride whose sequel is eagerly awaited. He also shook up the formula in an exciting way by turning it from a board game into a video game, making way for some hilarious body-swap comedy involving the characters’ avatars (the rippling Dwayne Johnson, for example, is the avatar of a dorky, introverted teenage boy).

5 Fast Five (77%)

Dwayne Johnson used to joke that he was “franchise Viagra” – the guy who would join a franchise that was on the rocks like the G.I. Joe movies or the DC Extended Universe and give it the shot in the arm it needed to get back on track.

This all began with his first performance as Luke Hobbs, who is now a member of Dom Toretto’s crew, but started out as their adversary. In Fast Five, Hobbs is hot on Toretto’s trail as he plots a daring heist in Rio de Janeiro. The movie is rife with awesome set pieces, like the foot chase across the rooves of Rio’s slums, and Johnson sticks around for the post-credits stinger that reveals Letty is still alive.

4 The Other Guys (78%)

Adam McKay’s The Other Guys is really Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg’s movie (and their first collaboration, in fact), but Dwayne Johnson’s role is integral, too. He and Samuel L. Jackson play the absurd hotshot detectives straight out of a generic Michael Bay action thriller to whom Ferrell and Wahlberg are “the other guys.”

RELATED: 10 Most Hilarious Will Ferrell Characters, Ranked

Early on in the movie, they find themselves on top of a skyscraper after some bad guys have ziplined away and cut the wire. They make a snap decision to “aim for the bushes” and jump off the roof, falling to their deaths. It was a shocking, weird, and memorable way to kick off the movie.

3 Furious 7 (81%)

Part of the reason why Furious 7 is the best-reviewed entry in the franchise is that it has a special place in fans’ hearts, being Paul Walker’s final film before his tragic and untimely passing.

James Wan directed the film as both a high-octane action thriller filled with set pieces that are each more ludicrous than the last and a fitting tribute to one of the franchise’s oldest and most beloved stars, so on both counts, it honors Walker’s legacy. The actual plot sees Deckard Shaw, the brother of the previous movie’s primary villain, coming after Toretto’s crew for revenge.

2 Fighting with My Family (92%)

Stephen Merchant wrote and directed this lighthearted biopic of the WWE wrestler Paige, which was released earlier this year to surprise critical acclaim and a strong response from fans. Dwayne Johnson helped to produce the movie, having worked closely with Paige in her early career, and he also appeared in the film as himself.

Most of the time an actor plays themselves, it’s for comedic purposes – like the casts of Curb Your Enthusiasm and This is the End – but in this case, Johnson was simply reliving something that happened earlier in his life in a way that’s heartwarming and family-friendly moviegoing fun.

1 Moana (96%)

After a string of hits during Walt Disney’s personal reign and another such string in the so-called Disney Renaissance of the ‘90s, Walt Disney Animation Studios has been having its third wave of consecutive hits in recent years.

Both with traditional princess stories, like Frozen and Moana, and Pixar-esque world-building gems, like Zootopia and the Wreck-It Ralph films, Disney’s own animation arm is finally back on track. Dwayne Johnson lent his voice to Moana as the demigod Maui, who assists the title character in her quest, and he’s a large part of what makes this such a heartwarming, loveable, fun family adventure.

NEXT: Cate Blanchett's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

source https://screenrant.com/dwayne-johnson-best-movies-according-rotten-tomatoes/

[kaetien]

Rules: tag the person who tagged you, always post the rules, answer the questions, and add the date!

Tagged by @lakritzwolf

What are your five most popular works? (starting with the most kudos)

1. With All That I Wish I Could Say: The Hobbit, Gen, 117

Hobbits don’t have a word for a love that lasts forever. They don’t have a word that means their perfect mate, their perfect match. They don’t have a word or phrase that means anything like that, but it doesn’t mean that some of them don’t have those feelings. It didn’t mean that Bilbo Baggins didn’t suffer every day.

2. Hiding Out: The Host, Ian/Wanderer, 107

Even with the time she had spent with her humans, Wanderer was still pretty shy around them about some things.

3.  Nekhushel (The Sorrow of All Sorrows): The Hobbit, Bagginshield, 89

Thorin died and went to the Halls of his Fathers thinking that someone he had come to care for very much had betrayed him. His parents know the truth of the matter, but they have to do some digging of their own before they decide to tell Thorin what he needs to know in order to heal.

4.  The Seasons Stop and Hide Beneath the Ground: The 100, Bellamy/Clarke, 87

When the Mountain fell, Clarke walked away from her people. It was Bellamy who realized the truth of why.

5. The Righteous Side Of Hell: The Hobbit/Pacific Rim fusion, FiKi, 79

There are no secrets in the Drift. Fili Durin was only a pilot for a year when his first Drift partner was killed. Four years later the Marshal requests his return as they have a new Ranger prodigy that needs a partner and he is convinced that Fili will be perfectly compatible with him. Fili shows up and is furious to see that their new recruit is his beloved baby brother, Kili.

What are your five least popular works? (starting with the least kudos)

(I cheated a little and bypassed all the zero kudos and one kudos entries -- mainly because most of the zero ones were things written as notes for projects and the ones with one kudos were mainly RP examples or gifted works for exchanges)

1. Shattered By Your Smile: King Arthur, Guinevere, 816, 2

Bitter did not begin to describe the way she was feeling as she looked into his face.

2. Stronger Than Strong: Supernatural, Ellen Harvelle, 1267, 2

A long time ago, Ellen Harvelle sent two men out her door and the wrong one came back. That must have kinda sucked, huh?

3. Seeking Comfort: Kindred the Embraced, Gen, 312, 2

Every evening, Sasha would be summoned to the estates of the Prince of the City...

4. Drive: Fast and Furious series, Letty Ortiz, 1213, 2

Trying to work things out in her head, Letty goes for a drive with no destination in mind.

5. Breaking Out: Twilight, Jacob Black, 652, 2

The thing about breaking out of established patterns and routines in your life was that it wasn't always easy -- especially when the change in your pattern would affect others besides yourself.

Are you surprised? Why?

Not really by all of the low kudos ones. A couple were random ideas and the other two were prompt fills. It did make me sad for a little while that Drive didn’t seem to be liked as much. However, at the time I wrote it, I was well aware that the only characters or pairing most of the people in the fandom liked was the Dom/Brian ship.

I was surprised that the sad Bilbo fic was the one with the most kudos. I loved the idea and how easy it was for me to write, I just never expected it to be my most popular.  I'm also pretty happy that one of my favorite WiPs is in the top five as well as I am loving the hell out of writing The Righteous Side Of Hell.

Optional: If you want to calculate this, what are your works’ average number of notes?

LOL.  I don’t even know how to calculate this.

Today’s date, so you can see how your results might change if you do this again in a year.

August 9, 2017

Tag six people to do this next!

I think most of the writers that I follow have done this already?If not, I tag all of you!!

[in-flagrante]

Michelle Dockery Talks Life After Downton Abbey and Her Fiery New Role

FEBRUARY 3, 2017 @ 1:15 PM BY: LAURA BROWN

She rose to fame as Lady Mary on Downton Abbey—now Good Behavior star Michelle Dockery is breaking out of the manor.

If Michelle Dockery ever gives up acting, she can spend her days doing endorsements for Great Britain. She arrives at my London hotel room wearing a Burberry trenchcoat and Topshop jeans and carrying a ladylike Aspinal of London bag that she designed. (More on that later.) She then proceeds to pour the perfect cup of tea. “Oh, I love a regular cup of builder’s tea,” she says, sounding as close to a construction worker as she will ever get, as she flips an exotic strainer just so. “I never came across this one in my Downton Abbey days. And we poured a lot of tea.”

Since last March’s final episode of Downton Abbey���the most successful British period drama in history—a lot has happened to Michelle Dockery. In a swift about-face from her beloved character, Lady Mary Crawley, she signed on to play con artist Letty Dobesh in the TNT series Good Behavior. “I was in from the get-go,” she says. “The first page of the script has her working in a burger joint, stealing a wallet from a guy who’s trying to molest her. I was like, ‘I am playing this role.’ ”

Dockery wasn’t looking to shock Downton fans; it just happened. “Sometimes I’ll be up for a role and there’s feedback that they can’t quite see me as another character than Lady Mary. But not this show—it just came along so fast. I wasn’t expecting it.”

And so it happened that the role, which Dockery started filming in Wilmington, N.C., in October 2015, would provide a much-needed escape. Two months later, she lost her fiancé, Irish PR executive John Dineen, to cancer. They had been together for two years, and he was just 34. Dockery won’t talk about the loss—adding a subtle reminder that she is not, in fact, obliged to.

She coped by throwing herself into Good Behavior, with her sister Louise coming to spend time with her in Wilmington. “Yeah, it was a great change,” she says of her relocation. “First thing I did when I got there was go to the beach.”

Dockery looks different too—her hair is longer and lighter, while a smattering of light freckles covers her face. “I like it,” she says of her warmer hue. “And I just wear a lot of sunscreen!” She’s enjoyed a break from the relentlessness of London celebrity. “I’m 35,” she says. “I’m getting to the point where I just kind of like ... ease.”

Recently, Dockery got her driver’s license as well—at long last. “I felt embarrassed that I didn’t have one for so long,” she laughs. “But Letty has to drive. So I had no choice.”

When she wasn’t shooting—a challenging exercise, given she was in almost every scene—the grieving Dockery took care of herself. “Protein in my smoothies, staying healthy as much as I could. And alcohol’s not always the best thing when you’re working that much,” she says. “Not like on Downton.”

Ah, Downton. Dockery’s affection for the series that changed her life is palpable. “I miss those guys. I miss them so much. All those weekdays where we’d all end up back at the hotel with a bottle of wine.” There’s talk of a movie, and Dockery is all for it. “Everyone is waiting for the go-ahead,” she says. “It’s proving difficult to get 18 actors all available.” If wrangling gets hard, why not just knock a few off in a car crash? “Yeah,” she laughs. “If no one wants to do it, we’ll just throw that into the storyline. Matthew’s car.”

She’s curious about what period a possible Downton movie would jump to. “There’s the General Strike in 1926, which is the next year. So ... spoiler alert! Or there could be a bit of a time jump.” Ooh, could Downton jump right into the new right royal hit, The Crown? Dockery imagines the scenario: “Ooh yes, I could meet up with Claire Foy. Lady Mary goes to see her friend.” She slips into Mary’s immaculate accent. “ ‘I’m going in to see Elizabeth. We’ve become acquainted recently.’ ”

Dockery, of course, has her own posse of actor mates. Beyond the Downton cast—particularly Laura Carmichael and Allen Leech—there’s Lupita Nyong’o, her co-star in the 2013 thriller Non-Stop, and Gwendoline Christie from Game of Thrones.

“She has all these expressions,” Dockery says. “She calls it Nest of Tables. She’s brilliant.”

One thing to know about Dockery: She is rather a fantastic dancer and DJ. She has a playlist named “DJ Dockers” that she pulls out on worthy occasions, like when she was shooting the new “feminist western” series Godless last year in New Mexico. The show is set in a curious town called La Belle, where all the residents are women. “There’s a saloon and everything!” Dockery says. Off set, the girls just got down. “We’d have these dance parties and I’d DJ.” On her extensive playlist: “Juicy,” by Notorious B.I.G.; “Love Like This,” by Faith Evans; “Sorry,” by Justin Bieber; and “Drop It Like It’s Hot,” by Snoop.

So if work is a curative, Dockery’s prognosis is excellent. She’s enjoying her return to London. “I’ve been hibernating a bit since I’ve been back.” She is also delving further into her collaboration with storied British label Aspinal of London. She cracks open the Dockery, a classic black croc doctor’s bag, which comes in a rainbow of colors. “It’s based on a bag that my grandmother had, because I loved the way it opened. I love wearing bags like this.” Alongside the Dockery, there’s the Dockery Snap, which is not a dance move but a close cousin to the original, and a line of vintage style scarves featuring animals in dreamlike woodland scenes. Lady Mary would be very impressed.

In the near future, Godless and The Sense of an Ending—a relationship drama out in March, co-starring Jim Broadbent—can only mean more red-carpet twirling, and Dockery is more than game. A recent favorite: “I just loved the Oscar de la Renta dress I wore for the Emmys,” she says. “That dress was so beautiful.” On Instagram is a clip of a gleaming Dockery, in said silvery gown, getting down to “Juicy” in the back of her limo. “It’s so funny, the things that go on behind the scenes,” she notes. “There’s a whole array of different Spanx you can wear. You know those Spanx that have butt pads in them to make your bum look more curvy? I put them on the other way once, just for a laugh.”

That’s the thing about Dockery: She’s kind of unsinkable. Whether it’s her British unflappability or her love of her work, she keeps calm and carries on. She wears her celebrity—overwhelming as it can be, especially in grief—as elegantly as Lady Mary’s gloves. “What I’ve learned to do is to have as much fun with it all as possible,” she explains. “I’ve traveled, I’ve seen and met extraordinary people and been to amazing places. Things I never dreamed I would experience in my life.”

But when it comes to her personal life, Dockery will never be “Access all areas.” “It’s important for me personally that I keep a little bit held back. Well ... a lot, in many ways.” She smiles and pours another cup of tea.

http://www.instyle.com/celebrity/michelle-dockery-life-after-downton-abbey-new-role