#like beyond the few episodes of the seven that take place there we really don't know anything about it

[maxdurden]

who is vivika i am so curious

thank you?? for this ask anon, i am always sooo happy to talk about vivka!!

vivka vileshade is a fantasy high oc i created (and then got carried away with) when trying to pad out my headcanons about max durden's adventuring party!

she's a human rogue, with the subclass of assassin.

she's from the baronies, specifically a short lived province called kartova. her father, ermolai kartov, was the first sovereign of kartova (and managed to rule, in grand total, thirteen years). the vileshade clan is a legendary clan of assassins in the baronies; they're responsible for far more of the regions tumultuous political history than can be credibly traced back to them. a neighboring king enlisted the clan to kill the kartov royal line. ignato vileshade, an incredibly accomplished assassin, was assigned to the task. he killed ermolai and his wife yeva the dread, but instead of killing vivka as well and returning to his patron for his pay, his pilfered the kartovan treasury and ran away with the child and her nurse, matya. vivka lived in the baronies on the run, being trained by ignato between the ages of eight and fourteen, at which point ignato discovered the solesian offer of amnesty. he applied for citizenship, accepted the total amnesty, and settled their little makeshift family in elmville where vivka started to attend aguefort adventuring academy.

generally speaking, vivka is very blasé about her life story. whenever prodded, she insists that it's a pretty typical upbringing for someone from the baronies. it's very much this meme:

she's definitely odd. her interests lean macabre, but she's also got the entitled holdovers of being a literal princess for the first eight years of her life. but she's also so loyal! i plan on her (along with the rest of max's party) playing at least a small part in the durdawn fic i'm working on,,, assuming that it ever actually gets written, but here's a snippet to give you an idea of her vibe:

i could go on (i literally started writing a detailed breakdown of the baronies politics that led to the rise and fall of kartova before realizing that's NOT particularly relevant here),,,,, but this is already pretty long so i'll stop myself here lol

[rocket-sith]

Q GOT TIRED OF MAKING ROBINHOOD LARPS SO HE DECIDED TO OPEN FOUR DIFFERENT CHRONO-TRIGGER SAVE FILES AT THE SAME TIME INSTEAD, but only one needed further progress (non-linear progress of course), two were already complete but were saved in the wrong place and missing a sidequest (lol time being non-linear what?), and the fourth was a big ol' sparkly decoy, a glitched file of nonsensical bits n bites, alluringly named Picard, that nearly crashed the game and took everything with it while you were busy looking for continuity in all the wrong places.

Behold! Season 2 of Picard, AKA Facepalm Theater Presents, AKA "Dude, where's my Tapestry?"

Love it, hate it, WTF it, or some should-be-impossible combination thereof - but somehow, you feel it. Are you in one or both of those last two camps? Yeah, me too. But I think I might have a theory. And no, it's not bunnies. (I rambled a bit about this somewhat in the A/Ns and comment thread of one of my fics a few weeks back, but the proper brain dump belongs here).

Season 2 of Picard is neither episodic, NOR is it one major overarching story with various sub-plots. It's FOUR overarching major stories, well-conceived in theory (mostly), but thrown together as gracelessly and incoherently, with the same abundance of panic and lack of transitions as the night-before-it's-due school essays we're all so painfully familiar with perpetrating. (Admittedly, a lot of us got pretty good at being zero-hour coherent by the time we got to high school, but apparently, this skill does not translate to timetravel via stellar slingshots and demigod trolls.) So that leaves us with - 

Picard Season 2: A Trek in Four Acts Loosely Disjointed and Sloppily Squished Together Parts. Feast your eyes, rub your temples, and buckle up. 

CRIS AND THERESA'S WILD RIDE: (Love story, social commentary, classic Trek shiz focused on the more touching/emotional side of temporal shenanigans.)

RENEE PICARD'S TIME HEIST AND EVEN WILDER RIDE:  (Classic Trek shiz, classic time travel fuckery, focuses on the more action-packed side of temporal shenanigans.)

THE RED HERRING, AKA THE ROCKY HORROR PICARD SHOW:

Supposedly the main plot, but really a completely ridiculous distraction that's the narrative equivalent of dumping sand in the snowglobe and violently shaking it up. Captain Picard takes a wrong turn at Albuquerque and has to go do the Timewarp (again) in some creepy old castle so he can be magically transported back home. Yeah, okay buddy, just don't forget the teddy and the TP rolls to throw around the theater.

Cut this entire arc out, and the season improves substantially in both enjoyability and coherence. (I said what I said.) If any of the four major threads don't belong, don't move the story forward, and only serve to muck things up - it's this one. It's not so much an arc as a collapsible squiggly line that looks like it might go somewhere but never does. Great if you're drunk with a shadow cast and some floorwalkers. Not so great if you're actually trying to figure out WTF is going on. 

TAPESTRY RIDES AGAIN, AKA GRAND THEFT BORG QUEEN LOS ANGELES: And now for the main event, which was literally announced as such in one of the episodes, by two people breaking the fourth wall who were probably the LAST people anyone was expecting to break the fourth wall: Seven and Raffi. So naturally, we viewers took it as a couple of throwaway comments and cute banter to lighten the dark/intense mood of all the other crap. Yeah, oops. We can't say they didn't warn us.

At one point the two of them are joking around, talking about how they're the main event, and all these other side stories are just side stories, but...yeah. Looking back after S3, that was not a joke, and it goes above and beyond the call of foreshadowing. It was a flat-out tell, and with ALL the potential fourth wallbreakers in S2 - Q, the Borg Queen, The Traveller, the Long-Lived Alien Bartender With Multiple Mysterious Powers, The Temporally Flexible Romulan Spy Of Dubious Origin - if somebody's gonna spill some futuristic tea, it's gotta be one of them, right? RIGHT? Nope. Seven and Raffi snuck in the back door.

Basically, the Grand Theft Borg Queen arc was Tapestry, but for Seven (and Raffi and Jurati to an extent). Jurati and Raffi were, IMHO, initially intended to be pieces on the gameboard, not players, but they made themselves into major players. To what extent Jurati's involvement in outsmarting the Borg Queen was meant to be a challenge for her by Q, or part of Seven's trial that Jurati unwittingly assisted in IDK, and ditto Raffi's major role in all the aforementioned drama, but either way - Seven finally accepting herself the way she is, Borg hardware and all, was a direct, not even subtle parallel to the TNG episode Tapestry. 

The most direct link is the scene in Tapestry where Picard realizes he'd rather die as his true self than live as his other-universe self who "corrected" the "mistake" that led to his artifical heart. Seven accepted that she would rather live as her Ex-B true self than die as a fully organic human, and in doing so, passed the test. 

And Jurati and Raffi played no small part in that realization, and passed their own tests in the process - with Raffi embracing Seven (literally and figuratively) while resisting the urge to manipulate Cris out of choosing his own fate, and Jurati outsmarting and merging herself with the damn Borg Queen to protect humanity and her friends. Seven passed the Q Troll test with flying colors, and Raffi and Jurati did too - giving us Elnor and a benevolent Borg Queen in the future as a result. (Q is totally one of those teachers who gives his students rewards for passing the Big Test.)

Fire up S2 of Picard, get your Fast Forward button ready, and follow the Grand Theft Borg Queen: Los Angeles arc and ONLY that arc. Skip over every single thing (other than Q monologing, as that's the one common thread) that doesn't have Seven, Raffi, and/or Jurati. You'll get an entirely different experience. It's Tapestry, but for Seven, and with different tests/opportunities for Jurati and Raffi. (And they all pass). 

Now do it again, but FF anything that ISN'T either part of the Renee Picard Time Heist plotline or part of Cris and Theresa's story. You'll get a classic Back to the Future, MCU, Reset the Timeline, Poke-An-Alternate-Reality's-Doom-Destination-With-A-Stick style story. And they all pass too. Cris and Theresa get their happily ever after and punt the primeline forward through the next generation of temporally paradoxical, adopted and found family members. 

As for the BS at Chateau Picard? It's all a decoy/charade. So come in costume, bring plenty of shit to throw, and chug the wine. You'll need it. 

[heretherebedork]

Francis watches Tharntype 2

First thought: I am too hopeful about the future, time to bring myself back to reality.

Second thought: Oven preheating for pizza!

Third thought: Cut!

Episode 1

This is not going to be a realistic depiction of two people who've been together for seven years, is it?

The little tent is adorable but the level of pointless is beyond me. But I don't get that kind of thing at all, yo.

ah, the two types of sleepers and wakers. I am a Type, just FYI. I pop out of bed awake, get dressed and get ready to go within seconds if needed.

He's always been clingy, Type. That didn't change.

lol they literally own a book about themselves. Why?

That as the dumbest way to walk into a place ever.

Wow. I've never been so grateful to not talk to the people I work with about this kind of thing.

Doc! I've heard so much about you!

Look, seven years is a while. There's a lot about this relationship that feels more like... 2-3 years. I say, as someone who've never been a relationship beyond a few months because I'm just not built for one. Maybe not my place to judge? Eh. I'll judge anyway. Fiction!

At least Type smiles more. It's definitely cuter here.

Again, I shall never deny their chemistry nor their comfort with each other. It's just never felt earned in terms of their canon relationship.

Type complaining about a soap opera is a little too on the nose.

Why is this still a discussion after seven years of a relationship? Shouldn't they know this about each other's clothing and priorities?

Halloween costume idea: the sheets from Tharn and Type's bed.

Type really is the good communicator in this relationship. It's honestly impressive considering where he started.

Poor Type just trying to sleep and stop thinking but Tharn won't stop. Boo, Tharn. Space is a thing we can give people!

Go Type!

Cir! Cir! Ultimate Daddy. I hope Leo takes lessons from him. And he even calls Phugun a good boy -in the elevator-. I love them so much. I love them nad I've had them thirty seconds.

Phugun is the shyest and most adorable boy ever and Cir is just like MINE. MINE MINE MINE BACK THE FUCK OFF.

"Why would I tell my boyfriend, whom I love and talk to regularly, about my issues?" Totally reads long-term relationship to me.

KHUNPOL! Khun! BABIES. These are the ones that I liked reading about in @absolutebl's recaps but never watched. This is my chance!

The background music is just really amusing to me.

lol princess Thanya and Tharn drops everything instantly. Type's amusement is well-earned.

Seven years and Type is still this jealous? You're all idiots.

They're a good family but poor Thorn.

lol awkward questions at family dinners.

Why would Type ever worry about Tharn's family considering how much they all support him and keep asking him to marry their son/brother? But, also, buddy, you've been together for seven years. Not break up after that time won't include gossip and drama.

FIAT. FIAT. FIAT. My tiny BRAT. He's HERE.

Awwww, Fiat looking for messages from Leo because he's useless for him and lonely without him. But also, Super Penguin is a better team name than Don't Say No.

I love this tiny brat with the hurt feelings and the bone deep loneliness and abandonment issues.

Okay, I like the shot with Type and Tharn on opposite sides of the table just staring at each other. That was actually really good and I loved the artistic styling of it. Obvious but whatever I liked it.

Type, you've been living together for pretty much your entire relationship and also if you can't talk without fighting maybe this isn't a good relationship? Oh, idiots (unaffectionate)

Episode 2

Seriously. Seven years and they're still so bad at this? Did they just fuck for seven years and never actually... advance their relationship otherwise?

Type, you literally told him not to keep talking or you'd just start fighting. Oh, confusing boy.

They really are incapable of having a conversation, aren't they? Like... wow. It's impressive how they absolutely can't talk without fighting. Because they can't talk to each other at all.

You know, Tharn, maybe you should try saying that to him and more nicely? Maybe not in the middle of the night and during a fight? Oh. Wait. No. We don't communicate in this house.

"It is worth a thousand wounds to see the true care in his eyes" Yeah, sorry TT2, Sherlock Holmes did it better a very, very long time ago.

Cir and Phugun and the teddy bear and the cutesy pajamas and hoo boy this is definitely a daddy/boy relationship and I love them dearly. They're so cute I almost died. And he just SCOOPS HIM OUT OF BED? Yes. I have been gifted this. I'm sorry I skipped it when I watched Leo and Fiat the first time around.

WTF happened to Klui?

"Oh, yeah, we've been together for seven years but we still fight every day because we never figured out how communicate... but we're real good at fucking, okay?"

Type's dad is still threatening Tharn after seven years? Seriously? Oy vey.

FIAT! Tiny abandoned and sad and bratty Fiat! I love him again all over again. His abandonment issues are just such a struggle.

Also, wow, what a tiny push for such a huge injury.

Fiat's absolute panic over the very idea of losing basketball (and thus Leo) is just... like, I get how he could be annoying but I love brats in these shows. No denials, no hesitation. I adore brats (... there are many people who will attest to this.)

Champ and his tiny restaurant! Love him already all over again.

lol the three of them talking about being grown ups is the goofiest shorthand for trying to make them all seem more mature and adult like while not working at all.

Ugh, poor Champ. Let people be single! It's okay. Seriously. I'm definitely on Champ's side in this whole thing right now.

Forgiveness means nothing because you still haven't actually TALKED about anything damnit!

No, where do you think they are? Their entire relationship is built on fucking instead of talking. At least Champ figured it out!

Yesss, the tiny remeetcute. That's darling! And they're already cute. Why didn't they get a spinoff... MAME. Oh. Wait. Yeah. Don't want them MAME. Shhh, ignore me.

Oh, I do look forward to seeing this guy get punched.

The way Doc looks at Champ is darling. His smile is HUGE. I love them already. And Champ instantly going for the hair touch and Doc using it to find out he's single. Ugh. This is absolutely adorable already. I'd literally watch a series just of the two of them in, like, Oxygen style.

Watching them not-play pool amused me on many levels because it looks like me trying to avoid playing pool because of how bad I am at it.

Also, Champ just quietly rambling about how cute Doc is. Adorable. Holy shit, darling. Cutest boys. They win so many awards from me.

Ah, the traditional hand off of the drunken Type.

I'm still thinking about how darling Champ is, honestly. The rest of this is barely registering through how cute all the side characters are. Champ and Doc, Cir and Phugun, Leo and Fiat... they're gonna save me from the main couple, right?

Tiny brat! I love the tiny brat and his tiny priorities and his tiny not-understanding surgery because he's terrified.

Episode 3

I just want to be clear that I love Fiat because he's a brat and not in spite of it. I adore my trash can brat characters in all their varying forms.

Fiat and his tiny priorities are adorable, shut up. He's lashing out because of fear and worry and loneliness and abandonment and a need to keep to the only path he's ever known. I really wonder if he ever would have even played basketball if Leo had asked him out earlier.

Type recognizes the way fear comes across as anger. He's felt that so many times. And he sees that in Fiat, just like I do. And I respect that about him.

Pissy, bratty, lonely, scared... I love Fiat so much. He needs Leo so much because he's just a hanging thread without him, alone and scared and wild in the wind.

I love how everyone knows exactly how protective and possessive Leo is of Fiat at all times. Absolutely everyone knows.

Oh, Tharn and Type did stuff. Was there a conversa-... no? Okay, done. Whatever.

Doc is darling and I love him and he's just the cutest little thing about his crush on Champ. He and Bar could absolutely have a darling little conversation about how to work up the courage to talk to your crush.

Champ just automatically takes care of Doc and it's so sweet. Like, seriously. Techno is basically having a stroke just watching this. You can see all his wheels turning.

Oh, Fiat. You're so lonely and full of abandonment issues and fear and anger and you don't know what to do. Don't worry, you'll figure it out eventually. Especially once Leo figures his shit out as well. Poor boy is so, so abandoned without him. You can see him try to push all that loneliness and hurt into something else.

Yes, this is definitively a healthy long term relationship with good communication. A+ job on that boys.

lol very subtle look of ribbon around his finger. VERY subtle.

Look, I love Thorn, but I don't actually care about his relationship.

Who the fuck asks the person proposing them to always be their no 3? I mean, at least they're clear about it I guess...

lol I literally just realized it was Tharn playing the piano. I am so bad at faces.

Ah, infamous lap scene. Okay, this is cute. I won't deny it. And probably the only moment the feels more like a longer relationship to me. Just that familiarity and working around him so gently and knowing what he needs.

I love Phugun so much. He's darling and goofy and so cute. lol and then Cir and his instant jealousy and possessiveness. Love him, love them.

LEO!!! With his scarf and his sweater and his instant panic over Fiat's injury because that's HIS. "When will you be back?" /Leo is already booking a plane ticket/

Fiat's just so sensitive and easily hurt and panicked. I love him. Still. Tiny brat. He's trying so, so hard to just not care about anything when all he wants is to be sure of his spot at Leo's side in everything he does.

Yeah, I see why Fiat falls for Type. He acts a lot like Leo in this situation but uses words better than Leo does. Mostly because he doesn't personally care about Fiat in the same way Leo does. I mean, duh.

Leo's BAAACK. Yesssss.

The way Fiat looks at Leo and looks away and then looks back but hides his own reaction while Leo just stares... and then takes his phone. Because Leo knows his Fiat. And the hand on his waist again... best hand on his waist.

Fiat's abandonment issue, volume 1! Leo's a lot better with his words before he starts dating Fiat, let's be honest.

Yeah, Fiat is extra bratty because he's been so hurt and so scared for a while that it all comes out because he feels safe with Leo... only Leo can't quite read that right because he's not expecting that.

lol why would anyone see Tharn with a girl and instantly assume he was cheating? That's just... why?

COUCH SCENE COUCH SCENE COUCH SCENE. It's all about Fiat apologizing and seeking that approval and comfort he desperately wants and needs and only every truly gets from Leo. And he gets that understanding, that comfort, the touches and the love and the affection he doesn't get from anyone else in his life and doesn't want from them either.

But also this is the least platonic thing in the entire universe.

Leo literally coming back just because he knows how scared Fiat is and how much he needs him and Fiat admitting it. Again, their communication is so much better and more honest here than it is ever again. Which is... fascinating.

Alright! More when I feel like more is needed.

[sailtoafarawayland]

The Things We Don’t Say (modern AU - Actors)

Summary:  No one is perfect, and sometimes, two people are just so perfectly flawed that those pieces fit together and make something beautiful. When sparks fly between two leads of a new hit show, is there a happy ending in sight, or will their own mistakes overshadow any chance they had at something worth fighting for.

Rated: Explicit    

Warnings:   This is a joyfully Captain Swan story, but there are a few warnings. It does start with Emma/Neal and Killian/Milah. I don't write non-CS, so there won't be any sexual anything happening 'on screen', so to speak, between those couples, but I won't guarantee there may not be a mention. This story contains numerous episodes of cheating. If any of these things make you squick or are not your bag, carry on.

AO3 - FF 

- or read below the cut - 

As always, let me know if you’d like to be tagged for further updates. 

Tag list: @xarandomdreamx @jrob64 @wefoundloveunderthelight @teamhook @tiganasummertree @pirateprincessofpizza @lfh1226-linda @kmomof4 

Chapter One

Emma scrolled through the email her manager had sent detailing the new role she was being offered. It was something fresh, something different from what she normally focused on—no hint of a police procedural in sight—and based on the tone, it sounded like they were very interested in getting her signed for one of the leads. She stretched her legs out along the couch, digging her cold toes underneath the pillows in search of some warmth, only to yank them back when she encountered something both crinkly and wet.

“Dammit, Neal! What the hell is this?” she growled, glaring at the brown sludge coating her foot.

She leaned forward, careful to angle her toes away from any other surface, and peeled the throw pillow from the couch. Smeared across the white fabric and the expensive leather was what looked like the remainder of a milky way bar, the wrapper still clinging to the puddle of caramel and chocolate.

“You have got to be kidding me. Neal!”

The only response she got was the sound of something hitting a pan full of oil in the kitchen, the apartment filled with the sizzling hiss of something frying. Dropping her phone and forgetting all about the email she’d just been reading, she hobbled down the hall into the bathroom to clean up, wondering how in the hell to get out a chocolate and caramel stain. Why he couldn’t just learn to clean up after himself was beyond understanding. Sometimes it felt like she was living with a teenager who never wanted to grow up, and she couldn’t help but long for the days when her apartment was clean and didn’t smell like whatever weird odor it was that Neal always brought home—grease and cigarette smoke, maybe.

Her foot finally clean enough to be walked on, she headed into the kitchen to get some paper towels only to be greeted by what looked like every dish she owned spread out on the counters and island. Every surface was dusted in flour and drips of batter, measuring spoons leaving trails of oil and sugar across the floor and counters alike.

“Oh my god,” she cringed, knowing the mess would be left for her. “What are you doing?”

“I was wondering when you’d get off the phone,” Neal poked, giving her a quick glance over his shoulder before motioning proudly over the mess that just seemed to get worse each time she looked at it. “I’m cooking.”

The casual way he always stabbed at her phone use was exactly what she didn’t want to hear right now. Maybe she wouldn’t have to spend so much time working if he bothered looking for something himself. He’d had a recurring role on a family comedy when they met, but he’d been fired not long after, and for the last six months, Emma was pretty sure he hadn’t even gone to any of the auditions she’d mentioned. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if he had an agent anymore. 

“When was the last time you had a Milky Way?” she asked, choosing to ignore his snide comment. She just wasn’t in the mood.

“That’s a weird question. I don’t know, maybe last week? You didn’t pick any up the last time you ran to the store.”

Emma nodded, her lips drawn tight as she tore paper towels from the rack and returned to the living room, pulling what she could of the melted mass from the couch and thinking she’d need to resort to Google to get the rest out. Her anger bubbled with every sticky string of caramel that wrapped around her fingers. Why couldn’t he go to the store on his day off? He only had seven of them. She stomped back into the kitchen, hitting the garbage can a little harder than necessary and tossing the mess of chocolate and paper inside.

There was just enough room in the overload sink—what had he used the colander for—that she could wash her hands.

“There’s leftovers in the fridge. What was so important that you had to turn the entire kitchen into a complete disaster?” she questioned, already adding up how much time it would take her to wash and wipe everything down.

She’d be lucky if she was able to get back to her manager before tomorrow as requested.

“You remember that travel show we watched the other night?” he prodded, his eyes glued to the pan as it hissed on the stovetop, a spatula held ready in his hand. “You mentioned you hadn’t had good churros since that trip to Mexico, so I thought maybe I’d make you some.”

The anger that had been just about to boil over slipped away to that place far enough below everything else that she could just go back to ignoring it.  

“Neal,” she sighed, suddenly more exhausted than anything else. “Thanks.”

“Of course, Ems—anything for you.”

In the living room her phone blared to life, the dark tones of The Imperial March echoing as it vibrated across the coffee table.

“Work calls,” Neal sniped, a trace of resentment running beneath the pleasant smile he fixed in her direction. “Wouldn’t want to keep Regina waiting.”

It was amazing how quickly that anger came right back to the top of everything, and she found her feet pushing her as far away from Neal as possible, snatching her phone from the table and forgetting entirely about the couch as she stormed into the bedroom.

“What?” she hissed, slamming the door behind her and clenching the cell like it was something she wanted to crush. “What is so important that you couldn’t give me a few more hours, Regina?”

The other end of the line was silent, as if Regina had either hung up, or was waiting for an apology. Well, she wasn’t getting one—not today.

“Is there something you needed, Regina?”

“Are you okay?” Regina asked, not as a friend, but as an employee that was curious to know how soon she would have to contact Emma’s PR team and inform them a mental breakdown was imminent.

“I’m fine. It’s just a bad time. I got the details you sent. I just haven’t read through everything yet.”

“Well, that explains why I haven’t heard from you. Honestly, I thought you cared more about your career than that. I was quite clear this was urgent. Don’t take your time with this one, Miss Swan—they want you, but they can’t wait much longer.”

The line went dead after Regina had delivered her scolding and Emma sighed, dropping to the bed and rolling onto her back as she flicked back into her email and started again from the top. It was an interesting premise with even more depth than she’d originally thought—a new series that centered on the mental health of a man who had developed delusions after a car accident that took his brother, leading him to believe everyone in the hospital was a character from a fairy tale world—but then she got the part that Regina really focused on, the money.

“Holy shit!” Emma gasped, double checking the figures and thinking how she’d never seen such a good offer—not for someone in her bracket. It was unheard of. “I guess they really do want me.”

It wasn’t until she read through the rest of the itinerary and details that she wondered if the big paycheck wasn’t recompense for the filming location and duration—the middle of Nowhere, Maine, as if Maine wasn’t already considered the middle of nowhere.

She read everything twice before she shot Regina a quick text.  

E: I’ll take it

The message had only just sent and there were already three ellipses following. Emma could practically hear her manager’s smug response.

R: I knew you would. I’ll be in touch.

There should have been nerves fluttering in her stomach, or at least a solid pit of dread at the prospect of having to walk into the kitchen and tell Neal, but there was nothing. It was a big decision to move across the country for what could be a long-term role, but it was still her decision to make.

Hopefully, he would be happy for her, he would understand that this had the potential of lifting her out of her rut and providing great income for the foreseeable future. There were some great names attached, veterans of the industry that were looking to branch out into a new genre.

She was excited for the first time in a long time.  

She didn’t need to feel guilty, at least that was what she told herself as a niggling pang of guilt worked its way into her chest.

It would be good to break it to him gently though, to put a good spin on it.

The minutes ticked by and she finally realizing she couldn’t put it off any longer, she wandered into the kitchen, her arms crossed in front of her as she looked for him, but the apartment was empty. The stove was turned off and a plate, probably the last clean one, was waiting on the counter with a pile of golden churros perched on top of a greasy paper towel.

Next to it was another torn paper towel with a note scratched onto it in sharpie.

The boys called and I’m heading out for a few beers. Don’t wait up. Enjoy the churros.

She waited for the anger to bubble back to the top, but there was nothing—no anger, no guilt, just a deep, hollow nothingness that grew and yawned as she fingered the scrap of a note transparent with oily fingerprints. Feeling like maybe this job had come at the best possible time, she picked up the plate of churros and walked over to the trash, watching them slide in with the rest of the garbage.

[popcornbutterflymedia]

it’s a little before seven in the evening as i am attempting to begin writing this post on the day a former president has died. in other words, i am winging it and praying it comes out half decent. i have been winging all my the posts for this show, but writing this post about this particular episode at the tail end of the last week is interesting, to say the least.

upon first viewing on iwanttfc, i had already tweeted “consider this the soul of the show.” at this point we’re not even halfway to the entire series. that declaration carries such weight, but this episode did prove to be the soul of the series. this is also the first episode i’ve had a visceral reaction to, beyond the understandable kilig. i was lightheaded, stumped, and on the verge of tears after the first episode viewing, that’s probably why this is taking awhile to put out.

this also feels like an episodic answer to a lot of questions.

max has entered the lion’s den, lost, but with her defenses up. deib was less than prepared to fight back, considering the circumstances, but he was quick to gather his wits about him, pinning max where he is at an advantage. even now, as i am writing it, i feel it - it’s a notch above giddiness, it’s an awareness, it’s pushing the envelope in a way that’s right for their age, but still surprising, and refreshing. it’s the naughtiness of the sly smiles, the role reversal, and the trading of banter, all of them collectively are building blocks to max and deib’s dynamic.

the banter graduates to actual conversation, that, for people who are considered arch rivals, is surprisingly decent, and seemingly cordial. both max and deib give as good as they get, much like a tennis rally where either one refuses to be on the losing end. this amuses to no end, and ups the kilig factor in such an intelligent and substantial way. this is how you know, this part of the series is their story. more on this later.

outside of the boy’s room, the banter becomes a challenge, a daring as represented by a pool table, and the number of games that such table hosts. these pool games between benison’s star player and mindoro’s top billiard player, and pool center fixture, these games are metaphors, with the stakes higher each game, for their rivalry, and their curiosity about each other. more so his curiosity about this slip of a girl who he finds difficult to win against. i daresay, at some point he gave up trying to win, and just gave in seeing her in a different light. deib’s eyes give him away, and as for donny’s eyes, finally doing the work, this is it, and it’s a sight to see, a growth to enjoy.

it’s a given that belle makes donny’s job easier for him. four episodes in, and i am still in awe at belle’s ability to transform. it’s still surprising, how she willingly gets lost in character. i am watching max, but she doesn’t make me forget that i am watching belle. it’s a weird thing i have watching actors in character - i am aware i am watching both the character and the actor wholly and simultaneously, and belle is one of the few who makes me do that with ease.

deib’s mother announces her presence, interrupts the pool tournament shaping up between taguro and sensui.

in front of his mother, deib the star bear, the alpha disappears. he signals for max to leave, and just when she was about to, max is invited to join them for dinner. it is insisted that she join her for dinner. he warns his friend: 'don't say anything that will get us into trouble' prompting said friend, max to wonder, what could she ever say that will put them both in trouble?

at the dinner table, the silence weighs heavy between mother and son. a silence foreign to the lone guest, a silence she attempts to diffuse, by talking about anything other than subjects, as touchy as family, and the like. then again, between this mother and son, the line between touchy and permissible topics of conversation are blurred and fragile.

food! food is a free for all, food is a benign subject. the food's delicious, is it her own recipe? max is genuinely curious ma'am. the woman across the table laughs off such a formal honorific. call her auntie, she says. 'tita' is more like it. 'tita' it is, max decides. not stopping there, max asks if she'd gone to one of deib's games to see his lay ups and three pointers. she regaled him with embellished stories of his reputation, of being an all around star student and an instant friend. this, much to the mother's relief - her son is apparently surrounded by good people. max was able to do all this, when all deib asked of her was to not get both of them, into trouble. just like that, the girl single handedly broke the tension and dispelled the air of formality, in a way no one else has. if that isn't enough of a surprise for deib, max held the door open for him, and granteded him access to his own mother's heart, and let hope spring in his own.

after dinner, we find max and deib in his room, steeped in the assigned work. it's an easy silence between them, proof that from that dinner encounter, something new and beautiful and unnamed grew between them. he pays her his due, and thanks her for not damaging his reputation more in front of his own mother. so he knows how to say thank you, after all, she's surprised...in jest. he allows it. and so insues an exchange of histories, and fears and lessons. she reads him so perfectly, he's supposed to be scared, or condemn her, or banish her from this earth, or whatever it is the deib lhor enrile does to those who get a bit too close for comfort. he, instead allows it, giving her unprecedented access to his friends, his brother, his heart. and his heartbreaks. he dares to get closer himself, in the most physical sense so the curiosity planted at the pool table grew exponentially. that is until she breaks the spell. there is resistance in letting him in, which he knows to hold against her. he wins, and she relents. we learn of a ghost of a past love, a young love. a better player than deib is.

just a note though: for a past love who ghosted her, max boasts of rj being the better basketball player still. this could be true, based on who I am guessing rj is, but consider this: could she be clinging onto the untarnished memory she has of this first love, disregarding the pain she was caused, because straying away from that memory will allow her the space to fall, and that's what she promised herself she would never do? if that's the case, max is just as complex as deib is, maybe even more so.

after knowing her story, he did promise to go up against this ghost of a lover, in a one on one game of basketball and win it for her. someone is making her promises now. that's unsettling.

meanwhile, the barb is winding down as alpha two plus lorde strolls in. they keep it open for the boys who are in for a later night shot of caffeine, sweets, a shot at love perhaps?

art and sweets and flirtatious, funny quips are choice ammunition in this game of love, or something like it. naih's confidence is legendary. she gets away with her boldness because of criza's charm. joao, you know, that boy always makes it work.

tob and michiko are easy, because rhys and kaori make it easy. i understand the visual. I get the chemistry. I swear I get the hype. I have been waiting for this. you all know that. they've only cemented their place in the industry as new partnership, and there are hardly any words for it, a chemistry this strong. theirs is an unspoken connection and sincerity that cannot be taught. they are all that.

it is clear, though, that this is deib and max's story. see, I have been hyping myself up for thst tochiko moment, probably from the time when we still had very little news in the junket about donny and belle. and they did deliver, they did not disappoint. max and deib's chemistry surprisingly captured my heart from the get go, though, especially in this episode (as they should, this is, again, their story anyway). if I was a teenager, I would be fawning over tochiko's eye to eye silent conversation and up to now, I still do to some extent. I'm just older now. give me substantial kilig more than anything any day. give me kilig in context. kilig that opens up the heart. kilig with emotional intimacy.

max and deib in the fourth episode is kilig (just as tob and michiko are), but I can't stress enough, just how much and why. from the entire conversation from the banter to the interaction with the mom to the entire encounter in the room, they aren't trying to make us kilig. it isn't exactly sweet, but you'll reach a point where just the mere act of people wanting to have a conversation with you is life changing, when someone cares enough not to put you in more trouble than you expect, matters so much more. it shows you your worth. and that to me is the sweetest most loving thing ever. that is, even before both of them acknowledge that love between them.

a breakthrough has been reached. walls have been shattered.

the day of their school presentation, the event is met with an air of uncertainty, not for the two's lack of skill, but because two people from separate ends of the social spectrum are to work together, which up to that point is unprecedented.

the presentation started out shaky even for max and deib themselves, but once they got drafted, they had the audience, most of them, at least in the palm of their hands.

'we are all bullies, yet we are also victims. the cycle never ends...because we are all trying to survive this cruel world, trying to succeed, trying to grow. trying to discover who we really are. trying to accept who we really are. trying to be accepted for who we really are...'

this was followed by definitive apologies from both deib, for bullying, and max, for judging, and not necessarily helping to make things better. this prompted the entire community to mingle, and make their own apologies.

a few things about this whole moment:

there is such power in calling things as they are, calling things by their name. 'bully' and 'victim' are such weighted words and there is such a relief in taking responsibility for your disgressions and through that responsibility allowing your victim to embraced their pain guiltlessly.

there is also such power and humility, that while one did not do anything explicit, to stop the cycle, they did not do anything to make things better, easier. there is humility in realising that even as a victim your own pain, might have caused more pain to others.

apologies matter. the word 'sorry' matters. and it matters across the board. while metaphorical apologies are in some ways acceptable, and poetic, sometimes, the simpler, the better. a sincere 'sorry' should suffice. no one is ever too old to apologize.

now, even the sincerest words have parameters that are dictated by how many listen, and how many don't. and that's what we cannot control. there is power in recognizing who you are in the community, and that, especially when you are in a place of influence, you have the power to create change. the power to stop the cycle. there is peace in knowing we've done all that we could to make things better, just like deib had his own moment of reckoning.

as for max, the moment she stepped into that school, she was meant to be a trailblazer, and even at this point, she had been nothing but an agent of change.

I am curious now, how she is changed by the newness of her surroundings and the possibility of a budding love?

everything is well and dandy for everyone else, max and deib even had that little moment by the tables, again with the simple but powerful chemistry. everyone is changing (this is a shoutout to melizza again. every time the camera pans to her, especially when max was speaking at the auditorium, you could sense an internal transformation. she knows the assignment well, huh? )...everyone else, but aimee. I feel sorry for her. it makes me want to know more of her story. what makes her cling to being mean? why the volatility? more than anger, there's curiosity. I feel sorry for her. there's more to be told. breakthroughs open the narrative up for more, newer stories.

this was a fast one to write, but I held off until these last few moments, because it's incredibly triggering and just as healing. more than the kilig I understand and we all enjoy, the real message is the importance of communication, telling people how you really feel. don't let them assume and don't assume they know. it's also important to call things as they are, even if it's ugly, even as it hurts. some days, there is no replacement for a 'sorry,' a genuine apology.

be gentle. be kind. listen. everyone, after all, is a story.

[njawaidofficial]

'Game of Thrones' Star on Season 7 Finale: "I Don't Think Anybody Is Safe"

http://styleveryday.com/2017/08/22/game-of-thrones-star-on-season-7-finale-i-dont-think-anybody-is-safe/

'Game of Thrones' Star on Season 7 Finale: "I Don't Think Anybody Is Safe"

[Warning: This story contains spoilers for the sixth episode of Game of Thrones‘ seventh season, “Beyond the Wall.”]

“You’re the one they call the Dog.”

It’s among the few sincere belly laughs produced during the course of “Beyond the Wall,” season seven’s penultimate episode, as Tormund Giantsbane (Kristofer Hivju) and the Hound (Rory McCann) meet for the first time. The motor-mouthed wildling and the fire-fearing soldier have little in common, aside from their proficiency in combat and their shared connection to Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) — but the bond is just sturdy enough that the Hound risks life and limb to save Tormund from certain doom.

Really, even though we lost Thoros of Myr (Paul Kaye), and even though we lost a dragon, “Beyond the Wall” was rather lenient in allowing the other members of the Eastwatch elite to survive the big battle with their lives intact, red shirts aside. But there was a moment where it looked like we were about to add one more main character to the body pile: Tormund, mobbed by wights at one point, on the cusp of being dragged into a frozen watery grave. The fear on his face is unlike anything we’ve ever seen from the character before, matched in its power only by the sheer relief when the Hound steps in and rescues Tormund from the clutches of the dead.

For more on how the sequence played out, The Hollywood Reporter spoke with Kristofer Hivju, who gave his thoughts on how “Beyond the Wall” compared to his other Game of Thrones combat experiences, how he views the camaraderie between Tormund and the Hound, the giant-killer’s views toward Brienne, and more.

How worried were you for Tormund, when you started reading the script for this episode?

I was like, “This is it.” I was sure that this was my time to go. But then when the Hound pulled him out? I was like, “Hallelujah!” And it’s all because they both know Brienne! (Laughs.) If it hadn’t been for that conversation, he would have never saved me!

Can you describe how the scene in which the wights start attacking Tormund, and start dragging him into the lake, was written?

It was many pages of wights getting chopped. The whole sequence. But the scene turned out more intense than how I read it. The way the whole sequence was written was that horrible things were happening and they keep getting caught up. It was a page-turner! 

There are so many components to the moment, with Tormund getting hit on the head, and then being dragged into the lake… what are your memories of filming the near-death?

This is the thing: you can’t fake chaos. You can fake a lot of things when you make movies, but you can’t fake chaos. It was the same thing with “The Battle of the Bastards,” when you had to go into the mud and you were surrounded by stuntmen, and people are running over you. It was the same thing here. We had hundreds of stuntmen, and so many extras, and people kept running, and I just screamed for mama. It was a horrible sequence. My voice went on the first take. One bite, and you’re gone. It was very chaotic and very intense. We wanted to give the audience the feeling that it was Tormund’s turn to go.

It’s very effective. I definitely thought that was it, and I was screaming, “No!”

Ha! (Big laugh.) That is very good to know.

You sold the fear. It’s very jarring to see Tormund so afraid. This is not a man you think of as ever feeling fear, even in the face of death. What was it like tapping into that aspect of the character? It must have been unfamiliar territory for you.

The interesting thing is that every season, I find pieces of Tormund that I didn’t know he had. For example, in the end of “Hardhome,” when Tormund sees all of these people becoming wights, and he almost cries… I didn’t see that coming. Definitely how we chose to do that scene, it’s the fear of death, which is one thing. But when you’ve seen what will happen to you if you die here? That’s the worst scenario Tormund can think of. So it’s not just a fear of death. It’s a fear of becoming one of them. I just thought that it can’t get worse than this. (Laughs.) Worse than this? It can’t get.

You have been at the heart of some incredible action scenes on Game of Thrones, from the Battle at Castle Black to Hardhome to the Battle of the Bastards and now this. How did this week’s battle compare to the other ones?

The funny thing about making those episodes, and it’s pretty unique to Game of Thrones, is it’s like shooting a full feature-length movie. It seems like that. We shoot these sequences for so long. I must say, it was a long run. We had the lake, we had everything, all of the fantastic extras who did such an amazing job and the incredible stuntmen. We shot most of that scene chronologically, so we could follow every step of it. It was a lot of wight-chopping. When you have so many kills in a sequence, we couldn’t plan all of the kills. So what [stunt coordinator Rowley Irlam] did is he created an alphabet for each one of us. We had an alphabet of kills. The stuntmen read our language of fighting, so they could die in the right way. It wasn’t like, “You take him here, and you take him there.” It was like, they sent people on us and they just kept coming, and we just had to follow the alphabet and keep a clear head. It felt like real fighting. It felt like we were fighting for our lives. That made the whole sequence very fun and very intense and very intuitive.

Do you have a favorite kill from this one? 

There’s a smash with the ax… I had that new weapon this year, that was very fun. I have an axe over my head, and I just kept smashing it down. I liked a lot of them. If you count all of the takes and all of the kills, I feel like I have at least a thousand kills from the two months we shot. I read somewhere that there’s a kill score, and I hope my kill score is going up. I was second or third place. After “Battle of the Bastards,” Jon Snow is high up there as well, so it’s a close competition. 

You mentioned it earlier, but the pairing of Tormund and the Hound was very fun to see. Or Tormund and “the Dog,” I should say, which I hope you came up with.

No, it was beautifully written. We didn’t change a comma. It was all there. It was a relationship and a meeting of characters that I didn’t expect. It’s a funny thing. They’re both warriors. They’ve both been through a winter storm or two. The Hound is such a deadpan non-talking kind of guy, and Tormund, he lets out pressure by talking. And he’s back home. He finds out that the Hound knows the love of his life. It’s so many great things for Tormund. He’s just curious about the guy. He doesn’t say anything. He becomes a bit childish. That was all there, and a new side of Tormund that I loved. Those two guys could become good friends.

Tormund and the Hound connect over Brienne. At this point, do you really think Tormund is legitimately in love with Brienne of Tarth?

A hundred percent, yes. Tormund has found his love. In his mind, in his dreams, they are already married. There’s the scene between Brienne and Tormund in the first episode of season seven, which was cut. I hope it will show up somewhere, on some deleted scenes or something.

What did we miss?

Well, the director, Jeremy [Podeswa], has already spoken about it, so you can find what he’s said. But it was a scene where [Tormund] was talking about someone who was dear to him, and when [Brienne] understands he’s talking about Sheila, the bear he has fucked… she didn’t like the pick-up line. (Laughs.) 

How did being back beyond the Wall fuel your performance as Tormund?

A lot of this, we shot it in Iceland. I think Tormund was very happy to be back home. His costume is designed so he can be one with the landscape. I really enjoyed that. I enjoyed being back, and so did Tormund. It was beautiful. What we shot in Iceland, the scenery… we had such a great time filming there. I’m so glad they went for the real thing.

Do you feel like Tormund is somewhat safe now? If the writers wanted to kill him off, how could they ever top the opportunity they had here?

Who knows! It’s one more episode [this season], bro. Nobody knows. A lot of things could happen. I really don’t know. I don’t think anybody is safe, especially with the threat that’s upon them. No, I don’t feel safe at all.

He’s going to be fine. Who else is supposed to rule over Westeros when this whole thing ends?

That’s right. (Big laugh.) He has to sit on the Iron Throne.

Watch the video below for the Game of Thrones cast’s preview of season seven’s battles.

Follow THR.com/GameOfThrones all season long for news, interviews, theories and more.

Game of Thrones

#7 #Dont #Finale #Game #Safe #Season #Star #Thrones

[asagimeta]

I'm of mixed feelings about the teen wolf spin-off/reboot mtv greenlit, because while I would LOVE to see more of that world, I don't know if it will be worth sticking to if it maintains the meta-heavy storytelling that tw does (since Davis will ALSO be showrunning it). I really like meta, but I don't want to have to perform tons of analysis on subtext that rarely becomes text to make anything make sense in-show.

Well, firstly, unless something new came up today, they haven’t greenlit anything (Sadly)

News medias got ahold of something and ran with it just like they ran with “OMG DYLAN O'BRIEN LEFT TEEN WOLF!!!!” back in 6A because of Dylan’s injuery- remember those “glorious” days where literally every aritcle about Teen Wolf mentioned some panic-inducing nonsense about how Dylan wasn’t going to be around because of his injuery? And the worse ones claimed it was because he hated the show, but I digress

Here’s what we know about Teen Wolf plans beyond season six- for *SURE*

-A podcast is the most likely thing on the table right now as Jeff is in support of and excited about it, this would follow the charectors we already have

-The new head of MTV still owns the rights to Teen Wolf and wants to do “something” with it in the future because he believes it’s profitable

-IF something happens it will *NOT. BE. A REBOOT.* because people are misusing that word, we would not have a new Scott & Stiles or what have you, we’d follow a *different* set of charectors in the same universe that our current charectors live in, taking place a few years after season six

-If they did do a spinoff it would be an anthology format, tenish episode seasons all taking place with a different cast in a different place like American Horror Story (but, you know, with a different cast) and some current charectors could make a guest spot or be mentioned here or there- it would be an expanded universe, like the MCU or Universal’s Dark Universe, all dealing with the same mythology and world but with a different set of charectors

-Jeff is reluctant about the anthology because he’s so attached to the current cast, but he isn’t *against* it

-Tyler Posey has mentioned wanting to come back “as a father figure” should a spinoff happen

Now with all of that being said, I’ll address your actual comment :)

I, personally, would jump through every hoop imaginable to get EXACTLY the spinoff they talked about- an expanded universe anthology- because I LOVE those, and I love the mythology of Teen Wolf, and I love the meta, so I would be ok with saying goodbye to the charectors- who can live on in fandom- and still get my yearly dose of TW-universe, but I do understand the hesitation

If a spinoff like this does happen, I, personally, believe it will be a very meta heavy show, because people won’t really be watching for the charectors the way alot of the fans have, they’ll be watching for the universe- end of story, and the universe … honestly isn’t very special without the meta, if you drain the meta out, you’re left with a town of werewolves and sometimes other supernatural creatures getting into wars with other supernatural creatures and sometimes hunters, wich is fine on it’s own, that’s kind of like what The Vampire  Diaries was and you see how well that show went, but I don’t think it’d be enough for them to hang their hats on and make a new show out of

Expanded universes have to rely on one of two things to do well:

A. Good charectors

or

B. A  good universe, a UNIQUE universe

Things like the MCU and the DCEU and the Dark Universe fit into category A- no one really criticizes not knowing Groot’s origins because people love him so much, people are excited for the Dark Universe before it’s even gotten off the ground because they love charectors like Dracula and the Wolfman so much, and people are still willing to keep trying the DCEU because charectors like Wonder Woman are in it, so things that are wrong with the universe or lore are forgiven because of these charectors

But things like American Horror Story thrive on category B- because AHS doesn’t often reuse charectors, so much of the fan stuff isn’t really about the charectors- wich are more often than not sacrificial lambs- it’s about the  UNIVERSE, it’s about peicing together the lore of vampires and how witches being “outed” affects the lore and about how Roanoke will impact Cult, etc etc, and that’s exactly what Teen Wolf is going to have to do if they have an anthology series, because the beloved charectors aren’t really going to be there anymore outside of (MAYBE) throw-away lines and a POSSIBLE guest appearance here or there, they’ll have to use their second strongest quality- the universe- to make it work

And the Teen Wolf universe has alooooooot of meta, to make a “season seven” let’s say, and keep it strictly to “Werewolf teen battles hunters to save their town and love interest”, most fans just wouldn’t be there, and even if they were, it’d be really hard to make a Teen Wolf true to the universe and not allow for meta-related lore, that would, for one thing, leave Teen Wolf with pretty much only werewolves and, at that, really only leave them with the possibility to have a recycled season one where some random teenager gets bitten in the woods by a rogue Alpha, because if they were to delve into a born werewolf’s storyline you’d get alot of mythology about born wolves that we just don’t have, if you get a teenager who intentionally gets themselves turned by an Alpha that opens the door for cultural mythology (in the way of werewolf culture, how do Alphas find good candidates to turn, what makes them decide the risk is worth it, how are they integrated into packs, etc) and all of that would bring meta with it just as consequence

Ofcourse this doesn’t mean that they’d keep things like alternate universes around and going, so what meta they have in a potential spinoff could be the easier kind, the “If born wolves are raised like this then does that mean Derek was raised like that” sort of thing or the “So vampires exist, how does that work?” sort of thing, but I tend to believe that if Jeff stays showrunner, he’ll continue to go heavy on meta as much as he can

I really can’t put into words how desperately I want an expanded universe anthology series, even if we never see or even HEAR about anyone from seasons 1-6 ever again, having that info to work with, seeing it play out, watching this mastery of lore and horror before my eyes, would be MORE than enough for me

(Hell, even without meta I"d STILL watch it because I have an unhealthy obsession with werewolves)

I really do hope we get it, I want this more than I’ve ever wanted any TV show to be honest