#like does hbo pay these people or what

[laligraves]

morning run

joel miller x fem!reader

[18+] | wc: ~ 2.8k summary: Joel overhears your argument with the neighbor. masterlist | AO3

warnings: HBO Joel, TLOU AU, dubious consent (i'm so serious, don't read if it makes you uncomfortable), NSFW, pre/no outbreak, some proofreading, Joel is a tall and very strong man, older man/college-aged reader, Joel lives in a wealthy neighborhood with an HOA (homeowners association), no use of y/n or too many details on reader's appearance, somewhat public setting, breeding kink (kinda), fingering, squirting, unprotected sex, creampie

“These HOA people are vultures,” your sister mutters. 

You look up from your laptop and watch out the window as the committee leaves on their golf cart, most likely on their way to torment another house on the block. 

“Is it that big of a deal that my flower garden has the wrong color of roses?” 

“There’s a wrong color of roses?” you ask in confusion. 

“Yes! The president of the HOA, Susan,” you sister spits out in disdain, “only wants light pink roses on this block.” 

She slams the written warning on the entrance table and storms off into the kitchen. “I’m not sure how her husband stands her. I guess that’s why he spends so much time at the golf course.” 

You follow her into the kitchen, partly because you want a break from your assignments and also because you want to hear more gossip about her new neighborhood. 

“You know she made me pay a fine because my car was left on the driveway after hours? It’s my driveway!” 

You raise your eyebrows in surprise. “Suddenly, I’m not so jealous about your new place.” 

She throws a sponge at your head. 

“Why don’t you just say no?” you ask as you narrowly dodge the sponge. 

“I’ve tried so hard to be nice to everyone here. But all Susan does is turn people against me. Everytime I walk outside to grab the mail or go to work, people give me dirty looks!” 

You don’t like seeing your sister like this. It’s her home. One she worked very hard to buy in this wealthy neighborhood. No one has the right to make her feel like an outsider. So you develop a plan. 

You find out Susan’s schedule fairly easily. Every morning at 8 a.m. she walks her husband to his car and kisses him goodbye before he leaves for work. She then walks back inside for her notebook and pen to then walk around the neighborhood. 

She stops at every house to ensure it fits her standards and if they don’t, she leaves a written warning on the front door. During the weekends, she and her gang of friends drive around on a golf cart to give out even more citations. 

So at exactly 7:55 A.M., you make your way to her house. You’re careful in the outfit you chose this morning: a tight sports bra and running shorts. She, and most importantly her husband, are definitely going to notice you. 

You slow down as you round the corner, already seeing her husband place his briefcase in the backseat of his beamer. She walks right behind him with a lunch pail and kisses his cheek. You shout out a good morning and watch as they both turn to look at you. 

Her right eye immediately begins to twitch and she plasters on a fake smile. His eyes do an appreciative sweep of your body as he walks to the end of the driveway. 

“Good morning! Susan,” he says turning to his wife, “why didn’t you tell me we had a new neighbor?” 

He grasps your hand and gives it a firm shake. His thumb caresses the back of your hand as he slowly lets go. Susan finally reaches the both of you and grabs onto her husband's arm to pull him away. 

You give him a sweet smile, pushing your chest out in a calculated move so he has no choice but to look.   

“I’m just visiting my sister over on Ocean Avenue. The neighborhood is so nice I thought it would be perfect for my morning runs.” 

“I agree, you can run anytime you want–” 

“Sweetie,” Susan interrupts in a high-pitched voice, “you’re going to be late.”

He asks for your name and what you’re studying in college, then shakes your hand again while Susan seethes next to the driver’s side door. He drives off, promising a tour of the country club later that day. You're left standing alone with Susan, just as you wanted.  

“Look here, young lady,” she snarls, “this is a neighborhood full of families. Not some frat house. We do not allow blatant displays of–of–well this ,” she says as she motions to your workout attire. “I am going to write your sister a citation for this disrespectful action.” 

“Well, that does make me sad. I guess I’ll have to ask your husband to cheer me up later when I visit him.” 

Her face turns beet red and you wonder briefly if steam will come out of her ears. “What did you just say?” 

“Your husband was so nice in inviting me to the country club, how can I say no? I really need to work on my swing–” 

“You stay away from my husband,” she whispers, pointing a finger at your face, “or I will find a way to run your sister out of this neighborhood.” 

“Leave my sister alone,” you say as you walk right up to her and push her finger out of the way, “or I’ll fuck your husband.”

Susan gasps, dramatically placing a hand over her mouth. 

“I’ll make sure he finishes inside me, too. Maybe give him a baby.” 

With that, you continue your jog down the sidewalk. You don’t notice Susan’s neighbor, who stands by his gate and watches you run off.  

- 

You continue your jogs for the next few days, waving at Susan and her husband every morning. You and Susan come to an unspoken agreement: she stops bothering your sister and you make sure to stay away from her husband. 

Just as you jog past her house, you notice an envelope on the sidewalk. It’s next to a brick mailbox that has the name Miller written on a plaque. You check the envelope and sure enough you see it's made out to a Joel Miller . 

You walk up to the iron gate that matches the address and call out a hello , but no one answers. There’s red roses that wrap around the expansive gate which look and smell beautiful, but block your view inside. You test the handle of the gate and luckily it opens. 

“They must’ve dropped it when getting the mail this morning,” you mumble to yourself. 

“Mornin’, doll,” a gruff voice calls out to your right. 

You jump slightly and turn to look, finding a man crouched by the gate. He stands to his full height and you have to tilt your head up just so you can keep eye contact. 

“Good morning,” you whisper. 

He’s older and handsome, much more attractive than the college boys you're used to. He places his gardening shears down and takes off his gloves to shake your hand. You do your best to control the shiver that courses through your body at the touch of his warm skin. 

“Joel,” he states, swiping his other hand through his salt and pepper hair. 

You open your mouth to say your name, but he beats you to it. 

“How did you know–” 

“I heard your conversation with Susan the other day,” Joel interrupts with a slight smirk. 

His hand tightens for a moment until he lets go, dragging his fingers over your palm. You feel embarrassment wash over your body and you quickly hand him the envelope. 

“Right–um, how much of the conversation did you hear?” 

He lets out a laugh and drops the envelope into a basket that you’ve now just noticed. It’s full of the same red roses that cover his gate. 

“Just the part where you threatened to fuck her husband if she didn’t leave your sister alone,” he says, placing his hands on his hips. “Effective threat, it seems.” 

His eyes sweep over your body and you become hyper aware of the workout clothes you're wearing. Once again, a sports bra and running shorts. 

“She’s backed down,” you say after a few moments, crossing your arms to cover your pebbling nipples. 

“So,” he continues while walking closer, “you offerin’ to fuck every man on the block or just her’s?” 

His words send a shock wave through your body, landing right between your legs. You ignore the pulsing in your cunt and instead lift your hand to slap him across the face. 

As if he’s able to sense what you’re about to do, he catches your wrist before your hand makes contact with his face. 

“How dare you–”  

“Don’t act so innocent now,” he growls, pushing your body against the gate. “You told Susan you were going to let ‘em fill you up. Put a baby inside of you.” 

Your back makes contact with the gate, luckily in a place where there’s no thorns. You try to push out of his hold, confused at how much you enjoy being manhandled by an older man you just met. 

“Let me go or I’ll scream–”

“Joel?” a familiar high-pitched voice interrupts you. “Are you there?” 

Your body stills at the sound of Susan’s voice. Theoretically, you could use this opportunity to scream for help. Sure, you’d have to face Susan again, but you’d be able to escape. 

Except, Joel manages to pick up your lower body and push his jean-covered cock right against your cunt. You wrap your legs around his waist to not fall and place one hand on the iron gate behind you.

He rocks against you, moving a finger in front of his mouth, motioning you to stay quiet. Your mouth drops open in surprise as he grabs your hips and begins to grind you down on him. 

“Yes, ma’am. What can I help you with?” Joel responds. 

She tries to open the gate and you press your body back so she won’t see you. You’re not quite sure why you’re trying to hide. 

“Joel, honey. Your gate is locked,” she says. “Come unlock it and let me in.”  

Through your daze, you faintly register her tone. Did she just call him honey?  

“Sorry, Susan. It does that sometimes. I’ve got my hands full at the moment,” Joel calls out, giving you another hard thrust. 

You bite your lip to stop the moan that threatens to escape. 

“That’s okay, I just wanted to stop by and warn you about the young lady that’s staying with her sister over on Ocean Avenue.” 

Joel raises his eyebrow and stops his movements, dropping your thighs from his hold. You're shocked again, feeling dejected that he’s stopping.  

He quickly spins you around and bends you over, pushing a hand between your thighs. You grab onto the iron gate once more and slap a hand over your mouth as he begins to rub a big hand over your thin shorts. 

“Warn me?” he calls out. “What’s this young lady been up to?” 

“Well, that–that– tramp ,” Susan spits out, “is acting in ways that she shouldn’t. I know you’re a hardworking man who has done so much for our community and the last thing I want is this girl making you uncomfortable.” 

Joel yanks down your shorts and plunges a thick finger inside of you. You’d roll your eyes at her words but instead they're rolling into the back of your skull. He thrusts his finger a few times and calls out a is that right to Susan. 

Joel adds another finger and you almost fall at the stretch. If those are just his fingers, you wonder how big his cock is. He uses his other hand to keep you steady and continues to fuck you with his thick fingers while talking to her. 

“I just,” Susan continues, “I don’t know what to do. Maybe we can find a way for the sister to leave? If we all band together?” 

Joel removes his hand from between your legs and places it on your back to keep you in place. This time you actually struggle in his hold, wanting to face Susan and give her a piece of your mind. 

“Now, Susan,” Joel admonishes, “don’t go blaming the sister for the younger one’s actions. There’s no need to be spiteful to our new neighbor. There’s more than enough room in this neighborhood for everyone.” 

You stop, surprised that Joel is standing up for your sister. He presses against you and you feel the roughness of his jeans on your bare skin. He brings you in close, gently rubbing his crotch on your slick cunt. 

“Oh, you’re so right, Joel. I just get so caught up in the politics of the HOA. I want this community to be perfect.” 

A wet glob of spit lands on your asshole and you clench in surprise. Joel quietly unzips his jeans and takes out his cock. 

“Fucking perfect little asshole,” he whispers, pushing the tip of his cock right on your hole. “Not today, baby. Today is that juicy, little cunt.” 

You arch your back and barely manage to stifle a whimper when he teases the tip of your entrance. 

“What was that, Joel?” Susan calls out. 

“That the community is already perfect, Susan.” 

His voice sounds annoyed at this point. 

“You think so, Joel? Thank you, I–” 

Joel uses that moment to plunge inside of you, bumping your g-spot and reaching so deep that you choke on your own spit. 

“I’m getting a call, Susan,” Joel says through gritted teeth, “I’ll speak to you later.” 

Susan gives a sad goodbye while you bite on your hand to stop your moans. Joel is big, much bigger than any of the boys in your past. Your pussy spasms and flutters over his length and you breathe in deep to adjust to the size. 

“S’tight,” he mutters, ”keep quiet f’me, doll. Too many people on the sidewalk at this time of mornin’.” 

You hum in response, wanting him to fuck you, to stretch you and make you come on his cock. He starts a rhythm, keeping one hand on your waist so you match his thrusts and the other slips between your thighs. 

Sticky wetness drips down your inner thighs and he swipes two fingers through the mess to bring them up to your clit. Joel pistons faster, rubbing harsh circles on your clit that have you accidently whimpering in pleasure. 

“I know, baby,” he coos, “feels so good, doesn’t it?” 

“ Y–yes ,” you whisper. 

“Showing off that pretty body when runnin’ around the neighborhood,” he groans. “Picking fights and trespassing. Just needed someone to fuck some manners into you.” 

Your fingers curl into the iron gate and your back arches even deeper. He speeds up, becomes harsher in his thrusts once he notices your pussy become softer, wetter, gripping his cock with each plunge. 

“Little cunt can barely take my cock,” Joel groans, “fuck, doll. You’re choking me.”

You wish you could bite his neck, leave red hickeys on his tan skin that you imagine tastes like salt and roses and spearmint. Your head spins from lust and you feel the coil in your belly, ready to burst at any moment. 

You hear voices, people walking past on the sidewalk for some early morning exercise. Joel lands a quick slap, slap to your clit and your cumming, clenching hard on his length while you fall apart. 

Your vision blurs and you faintly hear him say there you go, make a fuckin’ mess on me . Wetness spills from your cunt, only making it easier for Joel. You bite hard on your bottom lip to stop the whimpers and your fingers curl into the iron gate. 

“Gonna cum inside this pussy, put a baby in there,” he whispers. 

“ Please, Joel,” you whine. 

He brings your back to his chest, molds his lips to your neck and bites down, moving you like his personal fleshlight. Joel groans in your shoulder and then you feel it, hot pulses of cum, filling you up. 

You hold onto his arm that's branded across your chest and squeeze down on him, milking every drop from his body, wanting it to mark you deep inside.

Joel's body trembles from the exertion and he stumbles as he finishes, turning his body to lean on the iron gate with you still attached to his cock.

He keeps you pressed to him for a few moments, keeping his nose pressed to your neck as he breathes deep. Your own breathing regulates and you become aware of the sensitivity all over your body.

Joel stands straight and gently pulls out. He reaches into his jeans pocket to reach for a clean handkerchief that he uses to clean up between your thighs.

"Same time tomorrow?" he asks.

You manage a rough fuck off and lightly push at his shoulders. He laughs and helps you fix your clothes. He swipes your phone that fell on the ground the moment he pushed you to the gate, having you unlock it so he can put in his phone number.

You make it back home a few minutes later, sore but for the most part, satiated . Your sister gets home hours later, once you've relaxed in her ginormous bathtub and washed away the evidence of your morning run.

"Are you seeing someone?" she teases as she walks in.

"What? No, why?"

"Someone left a giant bouquet of red roses on the porch." 

Sure enough, you find a bouquet of familiar red roses on the front doorstep. You don’t need a notecard to know who they're from. 

[obaaaa]

A small rant with all the respect and love I have for this show and fandom!

I think many of us don't value AMC enough. I don't want to kiss a big corporation's ass, but here are the facts.

AMC is a small channel that has been experiencing financial difficulties for years.

Their streaming is nothing for the industry.

The channel's audience, with such a heteronormative history, has a clear resistance to iwtv

And yet it's also clear that amc think of iwtv as something long term

I see a lot of people bashing amc and prasing netflix for their work on social media (which it is very likely that amc is paying to have) but I see no difference in what the immortal universe accounts does... the only real difference is that the reach of one is millions of times greater!

I'm going to be very honest here, personally I don't understand some disproportionate complaints about amc's marketing work with the series, I followed everything from the announcement of the Season 2 renewal, to the last episode's release, and considering all the company's problems, I found the work very decent, we need to understand that amc is not hbo or netflix, the series will not become a mainstream success overnight and maybe not at all.

We have to be thankful that they are thinking long term, because this would never happen on Netflix. For me, amc's biggest mistake is not having a more efficient worldwide distribution strategy, in this matter they make a huge mistake and it's a problem!

But this time on Netflix is ​​being good to humble us, the series is not making it into the top 10, and with the cherry on top, Mayfair Witches is! and that reminds me of something else, let's avoid bashing the other Immortal Universe series on the official social media, even if you don't like it or don't care, just don't engage! MW has a appeal with the regular audience, so we have to stop thinking otherwise. The rivalry will do more harm then anything else to The Vampire Chronicles future on television, because for the company the project is the whole universe!

Also amc is that. a company, not a fan club! they need to work on the other products, there is no point in harassing the social media manager because they're probably working on several things at the same time.

Ultimately, the fandom needs to be more strategic, the future of the show is our priority, but for that to happen we have to be realistic and humble.

Anyway closing with this cute jam moment!

[elliesgaymachete]

I think Game of Thrones damaged collective expectations for television media and is the reason for the decline of full length low budget seasons.

We all know HBO is high budget cable even before, but Game of Thrones was arguably the first time one of their shows became so massively, globally successful. People who had never consumed fantasy media in their lives were watching Game of Thrones. It became mainstream culture rather than nerd culture so your coworkers weren’t going to make fun of you for liking it. In fact, your coworkers probably watched it too.

Before this the only TV shows that achieved anywhere close to this level of popularity (and even then were not nearly as popular as Game of Thrones) were network shows, usually TV comedies. These were low budget and had full seasons! Things like HIMYM, Big Bang Theory, The Office. You either watched them or knew multiple people who watched them. Sometimes TV dramas also reached this level of popularity—Shondaland shows to name a few. Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder. Even if you didn’t watch them, you had heard of them. These were also network shows. Low budgets, 22 episodes. Not to mention network television is FREE so it has the potential to reach a much wider audience than cable.

But Game of Thrones exploded into common popularity. Even people who didn’t watch much television watched Game of Thrones. And you know what they had because it’s an HBO show? Insanely high budgets and 10 episode seasons. They were basically making ten short movies released as TV seasons. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that itself, it worked well for Game of Thrones. The problem is how its affected television production since then. Sure shorter seasons and miniseries have existed before, but it feels like they’ve been in an upward trend ever since Game of Thrones

Every studio with a streaming service wants to create the next mega popular phenomenon like Game of Thrones so they copy the formula. Big budget, shorter seasons. Quality over quantity. But in doing so they neglected the main format television has used for quite a while. Network seasons are fewer and far between with smaller budgets and shorter seasons so they can invest more in the high budget shows. And a few of them were good, but somewhere along the way, they lost sight of the quality part and throw microbudgets at shows for six episode runs and are surprised when no one gets invested after only six episodes when we used to get 22 episodes and since no one’s watching anyway they just cancel it without giving the show a chance to find its legs. If it happens to get a lucky with a second season but there’s not EXPONENTIAL growth in viewership? Cancelled. Why is no one watching tv anymore? Why does no one want to pay for our streaming service that releases maybe one show you like every other year? Why why why they ask when they ruined a perfectly good formula and make things less and less accessible

[teleit]

Plot bunny - Daemyra meets the consequences of passion on the beach

Okay, this isn't my usual yapping about how I desperately want to ask HBO to provide the public with a report on the show's expenses and find out how much they pay those nine monkeys with typewriters and one college student with three other jobs who are posing as the House of the Dragon writing team.

But one thing leads to another, so I'm thinking about how convenient it is for Daemon and Rhaenyra to indulge their fetish for public intercourse, and somehow no one found them at all, even though they were not just simple servants, and they couldn't just disappear for a whole night without someone noticing.

And if someone had found them? Maybe someone like Laenor Velaryon?

Laenor, mad with grief, having almost drowned himself a few hours ago, and unable to sleep, escapes from surveillance and goes wandering around Driftmark and the surrounding area. He can't help but think about how his sister died, the one he hadn't seen in years but loved so much; how scared and desperate she was when she couldn't give birth herself, and how much pain she must have suffered; how she spent her last moments in agony and terror. He lost his sister and the nephew who killed her, and whom he almost hates, but knows Laena would never forgive him for those feelings.

And now he stumbles upon his wife and brother-in-law fucking like wild animals on the sand, hidden from the world by a rotten boat hulk. From the world, but not from Laenor.

A part of Laenor understands what these two feel, and is happy for them. His marriage to Rhaenyra was an arrangement that grew into friendship, but never into love; his true love died on the floor of the feast hall, beaten to death by the hands of Criston Cole. He is happy for her, finding solace in their cold, empty marriage, first in Harvin and now in the man she has desired for decades.

He is happy for Daemon. They are friends as much as they are family, which is rare in their houses. They fought together in the Stepstones, and Laenor was happy for them and Laena, the kind of man he would have wished for his sister - almost, Daemon had an unfinished gestalt with his niece, so it was not perfect. But Laena was happy, or sounded so in her letters, so Laenor accepted it as it was. True, now Laenor is more inclined to hate Daemon for laughing at the funeral, but Daemon is Daemon, and someday the pain of loss will pass and Laenor will be able to look at him again without disgust.

But this part is small, quiet, and immediately drowned out by the anger, fury and betrayal rising inside like a storm wave. How dare they! At the funeral of Laena! His sister! Who died giving birth to Daemon's son! Died far from home, far from her family! Daemon didn't even bring her body, just charred bones!! The coffin didn't even touch the seabed, and these two had already stuck together with their crotches!!! HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE THEY HOW DARE THEY!!!

And Laenor, in whom a sea of ​​hatred rages, takes up the blade. He doesn't think about anything, doesn't understand what he's doing, but he knows that these two people, half-naked and shuddering with vile pleasure, are his and Laena's traitors. They are monsters, and Laenor doesn't understand how he could have considered these two his friends.

Daemon Targaryen is still a rogue prince even with his pants down, and Laenor was never considered the best swordsman, at best a good one. Rhaenyra screams at them to come to their senses, but it's no use to Laenor. Daemon dodges the sword, disarms Laenor, but it's doesn't help at all - Velaryon does not listen, his eyes are empty and dark with hatred, he rushes at Daemon empty-handed, wanting to hurt him, just as he and Rhaenyra did to him and Laena.

And Daemon makes a mistake - he, a skilled warrior, underestimates Laenor's rage, and when he swings his blade, intended to drive Velaryon away, he pierces him. Laenor does not die quickly enough - he screams in pain and anger, screams so loudly that he attracts the attention of the guards, who were alerted when it became clear that Corlys' son had disappeared and every servant and guard rushed to search for him.

And what a picture the guards find - the heir of Lord Velaryon, husband of the crown princess and the father of her children, future king consort, Laenor Velaryon, agonizing on the dirty sand. Daemon, shirtless and with unbuttoned pants, with a bloody sword in his hands. And Princess Rhaenyra herself, Laenor's wife, looking at what is happening in horror, wrapped in a dress with loose lacing and pulled off her shoulders, disheveled and covered in sand.

The events that followed have not yet come together in my head in any confident way, there are so many possible consequences.

Rhaenyra and Daemon are caught at the crime scene with bloody hands, one of them not even metaphorically. Denying the fact of murder and sexual intimacy is simply stupid.

Rhaenyra has two options:

1) Lie about how she and Daemon were enthusiastically doing a vertical tango on the beach as soon as they had the chance. She will wring her hands, roll her eyes, and start crying about how her evil uncle tried to take advantage of her, and how the noble and fearless Laenor rushed to her rescue. No one will believe her, of course, but the consequences will be mostly laid on Daemon. He won't be executed as a kinslayer, because Viserys is a spineless whiner, but he will be sent to the Wall.

2) Stand with her uncle and go for broke, and if they die together, they will die together. Again, Viserys' spine is a monkey noodle, he will never kill his sweet daughter in his life, and will try to leave her as his heir, because she is the daughter of the woman he once cut up like a pig in a slaughterhouse.

In any case, what will happen for sure in any case is a complete loss of the Velaryon support for Rhaenyra, Luke losing his rights to inherit Driftmark and the Velaryon name in favor, most likely, of Baela, the loss of Daemon's rights to his daughters - this will be one of Corlys' first demands to the crown, he will not allow the only thing left of his daughter and children in general to remain in the hands of the man who killed his son. All of Westeros will discuss and condemn the actions of the Princess of Whores, Uncle's Delight, for many years. It would take a miracle for Viserys to leave her as his heir, but will he succeed, and what kind of reign awaits a woman with such a background?

Anyone want to add anything that I might have missed?

P.S. If someone wants to use my idea and turn it into a fanfic, be my guest, just tag me, and left a link in the comments down below, I REALLY want to read a story with such a plot =)

PPS. English can kiss my ass me in that scary and dark place where I learned it through sheer force

[pupkashi]

movie nights

gojo satoru has developed a new weakness: romcoms

a/n: hi friends !! hope you are all well <3 just a quick little something I’ve been thinking of

wordcount: 1,138

masterlist

“okay give it one shot and i swear i will never ask you to watch a romcom ever again!” you’re pleading, seconds away from getting on your knees and waving your hands in the air, shouting a ‘please, please, please, please’ until he caves to your wishes.

“what’s it called again?” he’s sighing, already pulling the streaming app onto the tv as you’re grinning widely.

“crazy, stupid, love! you’re gonna love it i swear” you giggle, cuddling into his side as he run his fingers up and down your arm absentmindedly.

it’s only 10 minutes into the movie when you’re glancing at your boyfriend, biting back a grin when you see his eyes glued to his screen. you’re shocked when you hear a giggle from the 6 ft something man as ryan gosling flirts on screen.

“did you just giggle at ryan gosling?” you’re smiling and he only looks at you with one brow lifted. “you didn’t? it’s fuckimg ryan gosling” he emphasizes and you nod your head, “fair,” you reply settling back into his side as you two focus on the movie.

satoru is almost in tears by the end of the movie, a heartfelt smile on his face as he watches the ending unfold, giggling at the dialogue (or maybe ryan gosling).

“so what did you think?” you ask, grabbing the remote after the credits start rolling. your lovers unusual silence causes you to glance at him, bursting into laughter as you take in the pout on his lip and his expression of defeat.

“i cant believe i was wrong” he mumbles, “how can this happen to me, how could i be defeated?” he’s holding his head in his hands dramatically as you wheeze from laughter, squeaking a bit as you try to calm yourself down.

“does this make me the strongest” you laugh, shoving him lightly, his blue eyes narrow at you playfully, tackling you so he’s laying ontop of you, his bed resting in the crook of your neck as he’s sighing loudly.

“so what did you think” you smile, already knowing his answer. he’s not moving as his lips mumble against your skin, tickling you slightly and pushing him off you, “can’t hear you” you tease, satoru pouts a bit.

“it was amazing, it was real cinema” he sighs, his eyes screwed shut as he tries to force some tears out of his eyes.

“okay well what do you wanna watch now?” you ask, giving him the remote. satoru is quiet as he hands you the remote, not daring to look you in the eye.

“another one” he mumbles, trying his best to avoid your gaze.

“say that again?” you smile, there’s a shit eating grin on your face as he repeats the two words. “what happened to my satoru? the one who called romcoms the downfall of society?” you accuse, laughing as he rolls his eyes and gets off of you, pouting and sitting on the opposite end of the couch.

“people can change! I’m a changed man” he says, closing his eyes and crossing his arms over his chest. he still has a small pout on his soft lips, opening one eye to peak if you were staring at him, satisfied that you were he hugged once more.

“alright i believe you” you smile, moving so that your arms wrapped around his waist, squeezing a bit. “so i have like three other ones tied for second favorite of mine, let me show you” he’s paying attention to you now, eyes glued to the screen as you show him the previews for the movies.

“hm” he has a finger on his chin and his brows are furrowed, “i think i wanna watch 10 things i hate about you” you’re cheering as you press play, the two of you giggling to each other as you cuddle up, silent as the movie begins to play.

it had been only a couple days since that night, and satoru was off overseas on a mission, texting you more often than not and calling you anytime he could.

hey what’s the hbo password?

the sudden text catches you off guard, furrowing your brows as you reply, unlocking your front door.

*******

you can at least ask me about my day >:(

how was your day sweetheart <333 ??

the apple of my eye

my sweet sweet lover

you’re rolling your eyes, smiling and shaking your head at your boyfriends actions. curiosity gets the best of you, and soon enough you’re logging into hbo, going to satorus profile and your mouth is wide open.

Continue Watching: Confessions of a Shopaholic

you’re full on laughing, scrambling for your phone as you call your boyfriend.

“hi sweets can we talk in like… 47 minutes and 28 seconds?” his eyes flicking between his phone and the tv screen in his hotel room.

“why’s that?” You ask, your brow arched and suddenly he’s panicking a bit. “you’re too busy for me now? is that it?” your voice is stern and it’s taking everything for you to not burst into a smile.

“no! of course not sweetheart it’s just-” he’s pausing the movie, and you’re cutting him off before he can admit to his crimes.

“is it Rebecca Bloomberg? or are you too busy giggling over Luke? which is understandable by the way” you laugh, toppling over and wheezing as you see the utter shock on your lovers face.

“how did you- but- i can explain okay?” he’s speaking loudly, trying his best to save face and spewing all sorts of lies.

“-so when you think about it if i didn’t watch it the world would’ve burned!” he finishes after a second, you’re shaking your head at him.

“tell me what you think of the ending, I’m gonna make dinner and sleep, take care okay?” you’re saying your goodbyes as he blows a much too loud kiss to the camera.

when satoru returned from his mission he did what any sane man does. he walked into his home, kissed his wonderful, amazing, beautiful partner, order dinner for the two of you, and put on one of the movies he’d been dying to watch.

How to lose a guy in 10 days.

it was funny really, how many times you’d changed his mind on things he’d always sworn he hated. if anyone had told him he’d be in a stable loving relationship, watching romcoms deep into the morning he would’ve laughed at them in their face. if he’d been told he would like the way anyone cooked cauliflower or a variety of veggies he would’ve ignored them, calling them dirty liars.

yet there he was, watching romcoms with you until 4 am, having some dinner you’d cooked with a side of veggies that he absolutely devoured. and he wouldn’t trade it for the world.

[lizardsfromspace]

Also the building video essay backlash I guess has entered the "make up reasons it's Objectively Bad that don't seem rooted in anything" phase huh

I'd have to imagine the view counts on even the biggest video essays are dwarfed by the buzzy true crime slop that once-doc-heavy platforms like HBO and Netflix have pivoted to entirely, which feels like a worse problem, along with yet more true crime slop (and even AI-generated "films" now) inundating streaming platforms, which feels like a even worse problem, but like. In what sense is the documentary dead. Did everyone forget documentaries were just plain not watched or distributed much at all before, like, 2004. How does watching a free Youtube video eat up the audience for documentaries in other mediums. I don't doubt an executive would look at the evidence that, huh, people do like well-researched longform content and declare "well obviously we don't need to make that then" but how would that be the Youtuber's fault

It looks like the specific problem is that documentaries don't have a "theatrical presence" anymore - something they more-or-less never did, not en masse - and streamers pay less than broadcast nets. Which is, of course, the fault of Youtube...? Love to engage in a righteous crusade to *checks notes* get absolutely furious at independent artists and blame them for things corporations do

[pixeldistractions]

previously on boxes and squares…

The following chapters or scenes will be relevant to chapter #5.2. Recap, shall we?

Colette will absolutely tell Jordan to leave, and then also tell him where he can’t go.

“I’m leaving.” “Damn right you are. And don’t let the door hit you on the—” “I mean, I’m leaving. I told the boys already, we talked about it. I’m moving out west.” “What? Where?” “Nevada, probably. It’s not definite yet.” “Like hell you are!” “Colette, you can’t tell me to leave, then tell me where I can’t go.”

Maria has a little bit of money stashed away.

“He’s paying for this one, I’ll pay for the next. It’s even. It should be, right? Aren’t you a feminist?” Lou gave her sister a disapproving stare. “I don’t know, equality and all that, but… that money is for you and JoJo. That’s why Joseph left it to you, so you’d be taken care of. Not to spend on your boyfriend.” “I know,” Maria said. “But anyway, he’s never asked me for money. He’s not like that. He’s not materialistic at all.” “Does he know you have it?” “Uh, no, he probably doesn’t.”

Everything you need to know about Maria’s relationship with her parents.

“Please don’t tell Mom and Dad yet,” Maria begged. “Give me a week or two?” “Don’t you think they’ll notice when you don’t need them to watch JoJo while you work?” “I was going to bring JoJo out to see Jordan next month,” Maria said. “I’ll just say we went early.” “They’re going to miss her. They’ll be sad.” “I don’t know about sad,” Maria said. “Mom thinks I’m a burden.” “She never said that.” “She doesn’t have to say it. She would never. Joseph died a war hero, so she so can’t say it because she doesn’t want to look bad. But I know she wished I never got married and knocked up and widowed at twenty-one in the first place, then she wouldn’t be honor-bound to help me. She thinks I’m a wreck. She already raised her children, and she never wanted to help raise a grandchild, too. Well, now she doesn’t have to worry about us anymore.”

Jordan’s climb club family.

Jordan was perplexed at how he ended up here, part of all this, especially since he’d spent the better part of his twenties alienating himself and pushing people away. Now his family was part of all this, too, before they even got here. These people hadn’t met Maria yet, but already they loved her. They hadn’t met his boys yet, but already they were expected to share a bunk room with the other children in Japan next winter. These people were warm and welcoming. No one was left uninvited. No one was left behind. No one was allowed to give up. These people were wild and brave and unstoppable, and Jordan hadn’t met so many people like this in his whole life. They understood each other. They didn’t question each other’s priorities or ambitions. Nobody thought of him as frivolous or irresponsible for wanting to do this. You want to climb mountains? Well, of course you do! Let’s go do it! Jordan wasn’t looking to find his tribe here, but they scooped him up, folded him into their world, and adopted him anyway. It was everything. Almost.

Jordan said he was going to take Maria to his favorite spot in the climbing park.

“It looks better in person. Can’t wait to show you this.” “How will I get up there?” “I’m gonna carry you up the wall under one arm like I’m King Kong,” he said. “What!?” she squealed happily. “Just kidding, there’s stairs, too.”

Before we get into #5.2. Because I know this story is LONG, and I’ve noticed a few new faces around here lately joining us in book 5! (Hi, new friends!) Let’s pretend we’re one of those dramatic HBO series on a Sunday night and do little recaps before new chapters start.

And the youngins around here won’t even understand why I said “Sunday night,” from back in the day when you couldn’t just binge-watch an entire season whenever you wanted. All the most moody and dramatic TV shows were on Sunday nights. Deeper comedies and light dramas were always on Thursdays. Sitcoms were Monday, Wednesday, or Friday. Saturday night was nothing except reruns and SNL. Anyone else old enough to remember??? Somebody hand me my cane, lol! 👵

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

Dick went to prison in Titans?? -Rotten Anon

I'm getting ready for bed but this is SOOOOO FUNNY to me and I feel the need to tell you the context because it's just SOOO

Like Titans is a comedy. Strap in.

Also because you haven't seen the show, I could tell you anything about it and you would have to believe me, but please know that EVERYTHING I am about to tell you is 100% canon to HBO Titans and the fucking Wattpad style of storytelling is one of the reasons I love the show SO. FUCKING. MUCH.

TLDR: Dick got himself arrested on purpose because he wanted a big kid timeout. But like this post is SOOO long because once I get chatting about Titans I can't fucking stop 🤭😂

SO - partway through Season 2, the Titans have a Destiny's Child style breakup (but it's really more like a Fall Out Boy style hiatus because they all come back later) because Dick tells everyone that he liked about the circumstances of Jericho's death and they're all mad because he's a liar and because ?? he supposedly got Jericho killed. When Jericho's gay little ass admired Dick so much that he THREW HIMSELF in front of the sword (I can talk more about that in another post).

Anyway, everyone is mad at Dick so they leave Titans Tower and #quittheband (for now) and there is a 2 or 3 episode span where they are all doing very different things, and there is no explicit timeline for how long they are apart in these episodes. When it follows Gar, it explicit states that he is alone for 3 days before Conner wakes up and in those 3 days he gones insane from loneliness, BUT - the time also seems way longer than days (it seems way more like weeks or months) because it is enough time for:

Conner to get kidnapped by Cadmus and have his entire mind reprogrammed so that he is a Cadmus robot

Gar also gets kidnapped and has BRAIN SURGERY performed on him to become a Cadmus slave

Dawn and Hank move to somewhere in the countryside, start fixing up a house, break up, and then Hank relapses in his addiction and joins an underground fighting ring where he gets beaten up for money

Rachel gets adopted by a group of homeless teenagers

Jason and Rose go back to Gotham and break up SEVERAL drug rings as Robin and Ravager

And Dick goes to prison

And the circumstances of Dick's arrest are HILARIOUS to me

The Titans all go their separate ways, and Dick is in the airport, and Dick asks the person at the check in desk for a ticket to the most isolated place possible, which she says is Greenland - so you expect that he's going to do what he does best - emotionally (and in this case physically) isolate himself and cut himself off from everyone

But then he oh so randomly crumples up his ticket (clearly changing his mind about his plans) and he ATTACKS ONE OF THE AIRPORTS SECURITY GUARDS?? And he gets arrested on purpose. Because he basically - he went to prison on purpose because the way he thought of it, he "murdered" Jericho, so he needed to go to prison to pay for his crimes.

Aka - big baby put himself on a time out on purpose.

And the whole point of the storyline is that it helps him mature and become Nightwing. And there is this element of it that feels pretty White Savior - because when he goes into the prison, he vows that he is "done helping people", but then his bunk mates are all from Mexico and they are being deported - and in their hometown, because they refused to join a gang (or because they fought back against a gang? I wasn't 100% clear on that part) they will be killed if they return, so they are going to make a prison break in order to illegally stay in America to avoid deportation. And Dick helps them with their prison break

And one of them spoke of a spirit named Alezule (I am probably spelling that wrong) who is a protector/savior who will make sure they are safe, and it's like a blue bird (like NIGHTWING) - and the symbolism is insisting that when Dick helped them with their prison break, he was becoming Nightwing

There's also this parallel because one of his worst moments was using his costume and skills as Robin to disrupt a prison transport truck carrying the head of the Maroni (again, bad spelling) crime family - and he left him exposed to be killed by his enemies as revenge for his parents being killed. And this came back around and got his entire circus family killed

And this time he used his skills to disrupt a prison transport and saved a family when he had previously vowed not to help them. Idk

Anyway - another thing I find hilarious about it is that after a hallucination of Bruce Wayne that is projected by Rachel (again, I can expand in another post), gathers Dawn, Donna, Kory and Rachel at a diner together and "mansplains them into putting the Titans back together" (Kory's literal words) - there is a news story on TV about Dick helping the prison escape and Donna literally says "he's on his own, we're not helping him. Whatever cross he's on, he nailed himself to it" and like SHE KNOWS HIM SO WEEEELLL

And so Rachel convinces Kory to go 'save' Dick and so they BREAK INTO THE PRISON, beat up a bunch of prison guards, and when they find Dick, his cell is empty 🤭 because he is gone (and that is not even mentioning the Bruce hallucinations HE was having and the fucking weird ass epiphany he had)

Yeah. He just escaped prison and the show DOES NOT GIVE ANY DETAILS. The show completely glosses over how he did it. (Which is something I kind of love about Titans. They gloss over things that are kind of majorly important to focus on joke conversations and dramatic freak outs).

And so Dick has a federal warrant for his arrest on his head for the rest of the show that is NEVER mentioned again - unless Daddy Bruce somehow magically made it go away 🤷‍♀️

[gingerylangylang1979]

How Colorism fuels BW/WM swirls in media

I guess this is maybe a counterpoint/companion post to this one and the dialogue started with @theonlyamazingtazmin in the comments.

That post was an ask that black women set personal boundaries around how the ship and media about the ship is effecting our well being. But an equally important conversation is why do we so often have to look to interracial couples for a well written romance for dark skinned black women. While I'm cautious about the level in investment in these pairings, I cannot deny the appeal and why it's almost a default because of how much romance for dark skinned black woman is gate kept.

My initial remedy to this frustration of how we attach ourselves to this pairing was, we need to watch and support black romance and and black tv shows and movies. But a lot of the problem is in doing just that. I watched mostly black shows in my youth and the pattern was already established of me always seeing the dark skin woman alone or butch while the lighter girls had their pick.

My favorite show as a teen was A Different World. And as ground breaking as that show was in many respects I do have to call out the paradigm it reinforced. Dwayne was obsessed with Whitley, the whitest looking woman shown on campus, and he was the darkest man shown on campus. Ron liked her best friend, Millie, a light skin girl, after that wasn't a thing it was like so crazy that he ended up with Jaleesa. His mom (the fab Patti LaBelle) kept telling him to get with the dark skinned girl with the pretty teeth, but it was like he resisted vehemently beforehand. He does, but then ends up with biracial Freddy and Jaleesa ends up with an old man and becomes a stepmom as her best option.

Back when I had HBO (I only pay for one subscription at a time and my current roommates decided to do the Disney+ package, but I only end up watching Hulu) I watched Insecure but didn't finish. I'm curious to see what happened romantically with the characters. Did they follow the same playbook? I don't want to be spoiled because I hope to continue that show one day, so please don't tell me. But I remember in the precursor to this show, Awkward Black Girl, Issa's love interest was a like pretty average, kinda lame white guy. Her black crush never panned out. I kind of rooted for her and white boy but like not that enthusiastically. I just wanted her to be loved, so tried to be into it, but honestly was like, is this her best option? I didn't finish because it frustrated me that he was her best option. Personal note: I need to finish an Issa Rae show.

Fast forward to literally as of yesterday. I started watching Queen Sugar (Hulu tries to represent black shows and movies but the selections aren't the best, if anyoen has recs, please share) because I said I want to watch more black entertainment like I did in my youth. The most recent try before this was Atlanta and I just wasn't impressed. Come to find out how douchey Donald Glover is about black women and got turned off. Anyways, I did get invested in QS after a few episodes and even cried. So what turned me off a bit and I hope doesn't put me off the show? Spoiler alert: The darkest woman, Nova, is a white cop's mistress. This isn't revealed right away. It opens with them having a sensual morning after but for some reason despite him being hot, I felt ick. Like, I predicted there was something ick coming, and sure enough she's the long term side piece. Her fine af dark skinned brother's ex is a light skinned woman and there seems to be a mild flirtation with his son's Latina teacher. The light skinned sister is married to a man about her skin tone. The aunt who is medium skin tone has a husband darker than her. So it kind of reinforced the colorism and that Nova's only option out of everyone else has to be a white man, and a white man that can't fully commit to her at that.

Now, let me jump back to why I got so invested in Richonne. I know some people probably like does this girl only hardcore ship traumatized curly haired blue eyed white men with dark skinned black women? Not intentionally, haha! But that was the most epic love story I've seen with a black woman who looks anything like me. I wasn't even expecting to ship anything on that bleak ass show. Not my fault. Maybe I'm not looking hard enough? But yeah, when I reached my adult years I kind of got tired of looking for the romance I wanted to see, that represented me, in black media and being disappointed. Because the dark skinned girls didn't get the same love as the lighter ones (or they are lesbians but that's a whole other post). I'm not saying white media isn't guilty. It's just white media when they tend to give a dark skinned black woman a romance it's with a white man if she isn't alone or a lesbian, just like black shows, but the romance tends to be deeper if it's main plot point, or at least that's what I see in Richonne and Carmy x Sydney.

I think there is a good and bad side to this. On one hand yes, give it to me. On the other is it only palatable for a dark skinned black woman to get love in a show with a mixed cast with a white man because there is still and aversion to black love for these women? It's so complex. This is why when I wrote my Syd and Carmy fic I intentionally made her ex a dark skinned black man. Carmy is mad jealous of him. It's not a real love triangle, he just frames it as one because he's insecure of her highly successful, young Idris Elba looking almost fiance, who her dad loves and is a family friend. So, of course Carmy is in his feelings. Although Syd dated white guys I didn't want the strongest competition to be another white guy. And I have Syd speak to the lameness of these other white men on purpose, on multiple occasions. She was always kind of chasing a Carmy replica but not because they were white, it's because he imprinted on her. But she chased trying to be with her ex just as hard, but for different reasons and in a different way.

Anyways, I don't even know what to expect from media at this point because often what we see onscreen does reflect reality. I'll describe myself. I'm a petite, slim curvy girl, cocoa complexion, kinky curly who often gets that "so pretty for a black girl" type compliment in the black community and from racist white people. My dating history has been mixed and mostly white (two Asians also in the mix) in my latter years by default. When I was in high school the few black boys (I went to a mostly white school) chased the white, Latina, or light skinned girls. And the few that were interested were not desirable trouble makers. One was so bad he verbally abused me in front of people consistently and then I found out he had a crush one me. No thanks, red flags galore. The first somewhat decent boy that was interested and actually knew me was my white boy best friend who tried to make a move one day. I wasn't interested, didn't see it coming, but it started a pattern. I just wanted to be his bestie because we were both film geeks, had family trauma, were loners, smoked weed, and were in theater together. It's so funny because he was a dead ringer for Leonardo Dicaprio and all the white girls swooned for him and I was like eh (never thought Leo was all that). So, no, I didn't view him as a prize romantically. But this same type thing continued with white guy friends secretly having a crush and me like not being that excited. But one day I did like one, gave it a try, and was like, ok cool, I can try this. And since then I get way more interest from white men than black men.

*Caveat, I'm currently single and don't think race has any influence on quality of men. My long term Asian ex was the worst boyfriend of my life and I'm still traumatized. Long story.

So should I be this surprised that media reflects my same experience? I don't know what the solution is going forward. Like, will media change and influence society or does society need to change to influence media?

[so-long-soldier-writes]

absolutely random kol mikaelson headcanons

huge maneskin fan

has an anxious habit of biting his nails that bex often scolds him for doing

heavily reliant on autocorrect whenever he texts

he can spell just fine, but is still getting used to the small keyboard

a lot of the time, he pushes 'enter' instead of the send button, expecting it to send, but it just makes a new paragraph and his texts are never actually sent

it pisses his siblings off big time

canonically spends time in records shops to flirt with girls, but secretly has a record player and owns many albums

100% pulls harmless pranks on his siblings, and 50% of the time, they never realize it was him

but one time, he meant to scare bex by hiding behind a door, and accidentally scared elijah, and the man had a fit of rage at his youngest brother after nearly jumping out of his own skin

thinks damon would be a cool friend / murder / prank buddy if they could put aside their differences (wanting each other dead) and give it a try

definitely has mommy issues (what mikaelson doesn't?), but his make him more passive than aggressive

the only people he's ever opened up to, he's ended up killing out of fear of his secrets being shared

loves a good fruity cocktail every now and then, but it's a secret he guards with his life

bonus points if the straw has an umbrella

was never actually going to kill jeremy, he just wanted to get under bonnie's skin

however, he was ready to kill any of them that wanted to raise silas

and would've killed april young for fun had she not been a friend of his sister's, and he and his sister were getting along that day

has a playlist full of songs from musicals that is locked from his profile, just in case one of his siblings look at his account (btw, elijah pays for the family spotify account)

and since elijah pays for spotify, kol pays for netflix, bex pays for disney+, and klaus pays for hbo

they all get the money from the same place, but they feel like they're making meaningful contributions to the family by putting their names on these specific bills

when kol died, bex was not happy about having to pay for two streaming services, but she was not about to miss out on finishing the shows she had started

when kol came back, she immediately gave him back his payment responsibility

whenever they're pissed at each other, they change the password and the one at whom they're mad has to complete a series of puzzles to get access to the new password

kol started this, but klaus does it the most

has a secret affinity for iced coffee, and goes ham for pumpkin spiced lattes every year

pumpkin flavored everything, really

when bex finds out, the teasing never ceases

kol and bex spend halloween together watching movies all day, but then going out and scaring children at night

elijah chides them for being childish, so sometimes they sneak out before he can ruin the fun

wants to kill matt donovan solely for the fact that he slept with his sister

wanted to kill him before, but now it's personal

secretly adores hope, even though klaus doesn't let him near her

braids her hair whenever his brother isn't around, then says elijah or bex did it, and klaus doesn't question it

has tea parties with her and lets her paint his nails

when klaus finally catches them, hope defends her uncle, and her father reluctantly lets them continue to hang out

weapon of choice has been a baseball bat ever since he got a huge satisfaction out of hitting damon with one

likes caroline over cami when it comes to klaus' dating life

likes that caroline persistently rejected him despite his multiple attempts to woo her

painted itty bitty ghost into one of klaus' paintings and he has yet to notice

lives in fear of the day he finally does notice (but not enough to regret doing it)

doesn't often drink so much he gets drunk, but on bourbon, he's a rather upset drunk, however on wine, he's a very giggly drunk

touchier than people would think, and many never realize until he is drunk and lets his guard down a little

has a fear of tight spaces

much prefers being a witch, but also enjoys the thrill of tearing off someone's head with his teeth

no outfit is complete without a little bit of blood

[knight-princess]

There’s something pretty surreal about how if Disney does go ahead and remove Willow then this’ll be a side blog for a show that doesn’t exist anymore. Or I guess one that can’t be watched legally anymore. Regardless, there’ll be hundreds of posts and reblogs and gif sets on this blog about a thing that cannot be found. Say a new person stumbles across the blog, and they wanna watch it bc hey it looks interesting, only to find out they can’t because Disney took it down. Just imagining that hypothetical person scrolling through this blog. There’s something so surreal about that image. So dystopian

I recently watched the Last of Us, but only through reaction videos on YouTube. I didn’t have access to HBO and didn’t want to pay for Now TV or whatever and I have anxiety and didn’t want to search for pirated versions. And it was the weirdest thing, skipping from video to video, seeing which scenes were included, which were left out, only finding out a certain scene even existed on the fifth reaction channel, and knowing all the while how much of each episode was beyond my reach. But that was a choice. I could have just paid to watch it for proper and I didn’t. But what if that was the only way someone like me would have access to Willow? Some queer kid who’s seen people talking about it and thought it was cool and literally cannot get hold of it? Watching multiple different reaction channels looking for one that’s included that scene they’ve seen an analysis of?

I know I’m aimlessly rambling but the whole things pretty surreal. The kind of surreal you expect of the far future looking back at a distant past, not a fan thinking about a show that came out last year

[scarsbloodandleather]

had this in the drafts for a LONGGG ASS TIME:,,,

i just stayed up all night thinking about trans dean!!! (hbo dean) and wrote an approximate 5 page essay of my thoughts!!! (written by a transmasc)

(just on how dean is trans while keeping majority of the plot is the same, but also better than canon..)

Starting at the beginning. born Deanna. Dean always wanted to present more masculine. as a little kid always wanted to play with the boys stuff and dress in daddys clothes not mommys. in the first scene of him holding baby Sammy, it’s very much possible that he could still look pretty much the same considering the popularity of bowlcuts in young kids especially amongst little girls at that time. After Marys death, john never knew how to shop for girls clothing, so Dean just got the most basic looking clothes, already making him slide into that masculine nature. He probably grew out his hair after Mary died for a while (because of johns inability to take care of his kids and give them regular haircuts), until lets say 6?? when Dean figured out how to use scissors on his hair. John is unfazed, like as long as it doesn’t get in the way, and monsters cant grab deans hair(idk, things like that)

Bobby is the first to figure out Dean is trans. obviously. he pays more attention to the kids than john does. Dean just acts like a boy, thinks he’s a boy, though still being technically a girl. He’s complained before to Bobby about wanting to be a boy and hates being seen as/called a “dyke” or a “tomboy” by classmates and teachers. Dean doesnt think anything is wrong with expressing those emotions, still being just a young kid.

Around 8?9? Dean end up just straight up telling john he thinks he’s actually a boy and john couldnt care less tbh, trans men were nearly invisible to society at that time, especially to someone like john who probably grew up under a rock about those things more than anyone. John probably just somehow believed what dean said.. but in a twisted fucked up way… In Johns head Dean is now “a boy with feminine parts, and that is not right, you cant be a man and feminine.” (something like that) So John double time forces hyper masculinity upon dean much too early, as a compensation for anything possibly non-masculine about dean. Trans men are not a concept in johns mind and he doesnt care at all what it could mean other than Dean just being fucked up. This ideology weighs heavily into Dean’s trauma and daddy issues. Especially when john has angry drunk outbursts of ridiculing Dean for the way he is, doing things like deadnaming and misgendering Dean on purpose.

John obviously didnt know or care about anything gender confirming beyond, “I have a son, I buy boy clothes, it’s easier in so many ways having two sons now.” Bobby was the one who fully supported and understood dean and tried to do everything he could to understand deans situation and help him with the transition.

also. no one really knew of john as a hunter at the start. so its easy for john to switch to saying he has two sons, without causing problems.

Puberty for Dean would fall around 1990/91. By that time hormone blockers were already a thing available for kids who had puberty too early, [BUT amongst my research on hormone blockers for trans people I couldn’t find when That became a common practice, and when or where it became easy(ish) to get such treatment without being denied or hatecrimed in some way...] (will have to do more research on some subjects, I still have several books and articles I need to go through) However, I do know testosterone was actually an accessible thing around the 90s for trans men(ofc i still cant find what the age is for being aproved to start hrt unfortunately).

But, I believe, thanks to Bobby’s cunning schemes, he can get what Dean wants/needs in an easy way (ex; lying about Dean’s age or gender[saying he’s intersex or a male with a hormone deficiency], stollen medical prescription forms, etc)

So maybe, most of Deans life he is stealth to most, (even if he doesnt get testosterone until later in life, there are multiple accounts of trans men more than fooling a vast majority of people into thinking theyre cis, even when literally having sex with women believe it or not(ex; Brandon Teena/Boys Don’t Cry film, a popular 50s gospel singer i forgot the name of, much more) Dean is definitely super crafty in canon so he is always finding ways to pass.

Sam knowing Dean is trans makes sense(even if he doesnt have a word for it at first) considering how close they are as siblings. And I think funnily enough he might not even know Dean is “trans” until he attends a gsa class in college(bonus: Sam is he/she/they nonbinary in my hc and they find out that too)

[Side note, because of genes*, it’s very possible for an afab in the winchester family to be up to 5’10(lets say dean is 5’9 though). He wears those 1 1/2 inch heeled boots he does in canon (funny how he’s canonically trans coded sm), with shoe inserts on top of that and, boom. easily 5’11-6’0. yet, he is still more than four inches shorter than his younger brother.(idk i think sam should chill like maybe he can just be 6’2or3 in hbo, bc *john is still 6’1or2, and mary’s family also has tall men*)]

Moving on. According to the timeline dean discovering girls (and boys) happens next at 12/13 (pls help i’m on the aro spec and dk the normal age you get crushes)

but since we already know john is even more strict about Dean’s masculinity than he would be with someone whos amab (notice john canonically is less forcing of masculinity upon sam... i wonder why....) Well in saying that, here comes the intense homophobia. Dean cannot like men. “thats for girls. and Dean said hes actually a man, and I cant let dean be feminine in any way” or some bullshit like that.

Somewhere in the future, before Dean turns 17, john is “worried” about deans possible attraction to men. Sends him on the nun hunt by himself. It’s a big step especially for Dean being afab and john still seeing him as weak and feminine despite believing Dean is actually a dude. (I think this is also the same reason, canonically, sam is so surprised that at 26 dean is going on his own hunts??)

But like- so if the last time Sam saw Dean, Dean was 22 and still an irresponsible youth, still new to the freedom of things that came at 21 and what not(even if dean has been drinking from a young age) and considering johns treatment of Dean, and Deans dependency on johns toxic grasp on him, Sam could still be surprised dean is on his own now[even if dean went on his own at 17, but sam wouldnt know that,, and plus it was just so john could teach him a lesson] So maybe john also let Dean go on his own at 23(before then dean always went with another person) and because he would soon see Dean and his hunting partner of the time, Lee, getting along “too well” he would just fr gaslight dean to just go on his own from then... (something like that)

Focusing back on Dean’s transition, I actually have no idea when dean would get top surgery bc of the busyness of a hunters life. but im thinking it’s a top priority of Deans for a while because of the discomfort of not being able to wear a binder when hunting, only a sports bra, which depending, could still be very uncomfortable for him dysphoria wise. (i know the struggle) Again, Bobby probably one to help with the whole process of payment, recovery and scheduling a good time.

When dean finally gets his top surgery it is when he is with Cassie. (theyre literally both t4t bi4bi) Dean by luck finds a nice girl at a queer bar and settles down with her and decides its time to chop the flesh bags and Cassie helps him in his recovery. (of course i think dean still goes hunting in secret and messed up the healing process and ends up with sorta messed up scars)

Now lisa well... (actually I think canon dean dated her before cassie, but she was only introduced later so-) okay Lisa lowkey gives me transphobe vibes-.. I wonder if it could be that even after they hook up she still isnt even aware that dean is trans, she still finds out someway though. (rip ben actually being from a random biker in this au, bc canon he is 100% deans kid) When Dean sees her again, they run into eachother and catch up despite lisa still being transphobic. She’s fine with just talking but keeping distance. Ben, already liking dean like a father figure, doesn’t understand why lisa dislikes him, even after she explains how Dean is trans, like most kids at that age it’s simple, if he looks and acts like a boy, he is a boy. Kids dont fucking know a thing about body parts or genders... Ben with that ideology, ultimately opens Lisas eyes on trans people and is now okay with Dean.

The only next big plot point I can think of?? is..

Cas raising Dean from hell. While recreating Dean, he sees Deans entire being through Deans perspective. and how Dean is meant to be rather than how he was born. In my mind it makes sense to cas as angel, by seeing Dean’s soul, his memories, everything that makes Dean, well.. Dean, that he is indeed a man. Also because angels have no construct of gender(besides how humans are born) and being genderless in the first place, Cas doesnt associate body parts with genders. He just knows dean is a man and is like “well if hes a human man he must have these parts i guess?”, Deans views of himself blurring his previous form, everything on how dean looks is slightly masculinized. Cas doesnt even think about how come these scars on deans chest are significant and important to him, at any point in the future he could still easily remove them, but he knew they meant something to dean in his mortal development and despite being a “flaw” they are the two scars he didnt wipe clean off of Dean’s body. Everything else, its like- as if Dean was born a man, or at least, however Dean wanted to look. (and still, cas removes all of deans tattoos. dean is pissed asf at cas. even if they had significance to dean, cas still removed them as it was not a part of his body and soul like the top scars, just a foreign blemish made of ink)

That is all i should probably fit in a post now, lmao

[horizon-verizon]

Yes, it's a little sad the way George is being called out because he wants to say the things he didn't like about HotD, specifically season 2. He was more than satisfied with the first one, although the changes were more or less criticized, but he didn't say anything bad and now that he wants to give his opinion as a writer/creator of the Song of Ice and Fire universe, they call him unprofessional (because they name him as a producer) and that he owes us more books, I even saw someone saying how he should have written the dance.

"unprofessional"

below or contrary to the standards expected in a particular profession

not having or showing the experience, skill, etc., that is expected or appropriate in a person who is trained to do a job well

not exhibiting a courteous, conscientious, or generally businesslike manner in the workplace

I agree completely. I'm not sure what "professional" means in this context, I listened to a TikTok creator who argued that GRRM leaving a quick, strongly-worded, strongly-toned paragraph at the end of a long post abt problems with S2 was unprofessional bc it was vague enough to open up

The thing is, does it really matter when, if we're talking exclusively about any sort of material prospects that GRRM could have to have more of his work adapted into TV/streaming OR the show's viability/popularity in streaming:

HBO owns any and all ASoIaF adaption now and in the future

HBO will continue to make adaptations even after he's gone most likely no matter how "unprofessional" he acts, bc they are getting rich from it and that's all they care about anyway

and GRRM is an old man who's now richer than he needs to be

yes, he is focused on ASoIaF, and this is his more famous as well as the only (I think) adapted part of his oeuvre

if he really has signed away his own work to be HBO's material forever and ever (as I heard) and has not assured that he could be the final authority for stuff NOT having to do with costs and those practical things AND if people really feel as if nothing he could say abt the show could deprive them of loving the show...why the claims of "unprofessionalism" if you're just going to watch the next season and keep HBo's pay up?

a) some of the actors don't even watch the show OR they avoided knowing too much abt the orig story so they wouldn't compare and be disappointed or stay focused on Ryan's vision (out of the mouth of Steve-Corlys' actor); b) some don't watch bc it's just a thing among actors to not watch what they are a part of, therefore how are their feelings really hurt, esp when the running line among fans who criticize the show is that the only or one of the few things abt it that were nonnegotiably good were the actors? When people ride and die even when some say Emma is not that good looking or BR-ugly or they say Matt is ugly and the responses are ranging from "no" to "no one else can play Daemon, I just can't see it"? The critiques are never abt the actors; c) GRRM has ALWAYS praised the actors, esp Paddy and Phia; d) the critiques were ALWAYS abt the writing or choices in STORYTELLING, not the fucking actors and non-writing crew! I swear to god, things get fed into the "Machine of Fandom Disengnuity" every other week: most recently it was why people disliked how HotD did B&C and some said "oh you wanted it to be bloodier, you just want to se a kid die a gory death" (as if what was presented on screen, even just by audio, wasn't "gory" by itself since hearing a literal child's head get sawed off instead of quickly cut off still presents an "image", one with even more physical suffering--again, gore).

I really wanna know, WHAT is at real, deep stake here? HBO/HotD's reputation (S2 was mediocre, and I didn't like S1 but it certainly was just of shoddier quality than the last and people still loved it apparently) that they never really cared abt in the first place bc they know people will keep coming back for more? Or the justification for why they love ASoIaF?

Bc, again, if you really go by books =/= show, you'd be able to just enjoy the show for all of its flaws when they are presented to you as flaws OF when the AUTHOR OF THE ORG STORIES shares their opinion abt the work regardless! Why do you feel the need the label his actions as "unprofessional"

Why do you really care enough to try to argue the man--who said similar abt the separation of bk vs show atp--shouldn't give his two cents on the adaptation of his life's work? And esp if you argue that he doesn't have the obligation to give you more books/complete the series? So he's obligated to let us/you keep our blinders on abt the lore of his books, but not obligated to give us more books? Mayeb I'm missing something here.

Another thing, yes, he has been in the TV industry for long before ASoIaF; there have been some changes and he seems to stay back in ComicCons and writer's meetings. Still, if being "professional" means you need to shut up abt what you don't like abt an adaptation, point blank period, bc outstanding actors or non-responsible people will feel bad about it or the show will suffer or be your work is no longer yours to determine the meaning and themes of once you "sold" it...we're in serious trouble from self justifying capitalist interest.

Oh, and don't forget, when RYAN CONDAL decided to say that:

Daemon was the internet's "boyfriend" when he shouldn't be despite having to know he'd be a fan fav bc he already was one for years bc he's seemingly upset he hasn't been able to ubiquitously convince the female portion that he's a feminist...when such a statement is beyond condescending

the fans of the show/bks don't know the story as well as he does [pic below], when we all know GRRM is not often in the writer's room or has much authority on how they will write the series AND has gone on record to say he actually wanted to write the Dance when Aemon and Baelon were alive!

Basically saying/dismissing fans' critiques for "I know what I'm doing" and "trust me, bro". How is this not "unprofessional" and actually, "Ryan is right? to tell bk readers to shove it"?!

GRRM's July inflammatory post mentioned Maelor [below] and how he'd talk abt that...Ryan's post above hasn't aged well.

And you can see that he already hinted at his writing a blog post abt his issues with B&C; how would he not add other stuff he felt strongly about?! This was a long time coming and some were genuinely surprised not at the strength of his language and his being so direct (that is actually surprising, considering how he said nothing abt how HBO did Dany, Catelyn, Jaime even, Tyrion, the Three Eyed Crow, magic in general, etc. dirty that I've seen) but that he dislikes or could dislike the show or aspects of it when they are so used to using his praises or exec seat as way to say the show is valid for MONTHS and now can't always feel comfortable using it.

And no, I don' think that many TikTok creators are being paid to say they loved the show. I watched and listened to many, and they genuinely love the show or certain aspects of it when they say so. Let's take them at their word. All the power to them, sometimes--as many current HotD fans of S2 have said--people just want to either see their favs onscreen and realized or they are there for messy-boots drama and "comedic", "unserious" entertainment (which is funny, bc HotD has served genuinely interesting and non-superficial tidbits here and there but what's aggravating is how they almost immediately tend to not develop or some fans refuse to get into really acknowledging the problems HotD creates with is storytelling decisions both out and in the universe [race, gender like how they wrote Rhaenyra's sons and the Velaryons or the women's....passiveness and dragging an inevitable war post-Lucerys or trying to maintain Rhaenicent]).

[alexanderwales]

I'm reading a book which capitalizes Black for black characters, and it's one of those things that I had seen a lot before but never really paid that much attention to (not paying attention to things is underrated). So I figured this was a good enough time to go do some research, especially since it rubs me the wrong way.

The argument is, essentially, that names of ethnic and national groups ought to be capitalized, and that Black is especially important because ethnic identity was forcibly stripped away. Black people have something of a shared identity, and it's "orthographic injustice" to use a lower case b.

I personally think this gets awkward very fast, but that might be because I'm a fan of science fiction and fantasy. Took me about three seconds to find an example:

The members of House Velaryon, pale-skinned and purple-eyed in George R.R. Martin's hallowed texts, are wealthy Black seafarers in the HBO series — their race having been the subject of a number of think pieces, rants, and general internet weighings-in.

See, but they're not Black. They in fact have no connection to Africa or the African diaspora. The blood of old Valyria runs through their veins. What they're trying to refer to is skin color, but instead they use an ethnic identifier for an ethnicity that, again, does not exist in Westeros.

There are a lot of times and places that I think it would be appropriate to refer to a shared identity, but there are other times when I just want to refer to the color of someone's skin: when skin color is the thing that I'm talking about, rather than questions of identity.

Maybe it just feels New and I'll get used to it.

In the particular book I'm reading, a character is referred to as Black on first introduction, before we know a single thing about her, and it felt very loaded to me, like it was assuming things about the character that couldn't logically be assumed, particularly because another character introduced in the next paragraph was a princess from a Faerie realm (or something, I'm still reading).

I'm curious whether this is a uniquely American thing, because at first blush I would guess that it is, though American things have a way of spreading out into the rest of the world. I did my research duty and went to check whether e.g. the BBC uses "Black", which the AI overview assured me they do and which the actual website informed me they don't. Similarly, the AI overview told me that The Guardian uses "Black" and the actual style guide that was linked told me that it doesn't (unless a writer or editor prefers it).

I will grudgingly defer to whatever everyone else is doing, since I'm not a crusader on things that don't affect me.

(Note: In This Used to be About Dungeons, Alfric and his family are always described as "dark-skinned" specifically because "black" has a bunch of cultural connotations in America. I think this was slightly clunky, not sure that I would do it again, but also not sure how I would do it differently.)

[chocolatepot]

All work done on Good Omens has already been paid for. You aren’t continuing to keep his legacy alive for the workers sake because the workers have already worked. The show would be ending after S3 anyways. They would already have to look for other work.

GO should be canceled and people should stop keeping the fandom alive.

Does it make you feel better about your own failings to be an asshole to someone who just said they're conflicted? Like this is a more satisfying punch than what you could say to someone who denies the allegations or something? Genuine question. I'm not antisocial enough to know what this feels like from your perspective.

People have been paid for their work on S1 and S2, obviously. People expected work on a third season, which is what I'm talking about. Individual fans performatively disavowing the entire thing is not likely to affect that, cf HBO still paying JKR outrageous money to make a new adaptation of HP.

[siryouarebeingmocked]

LMGTS: "Why do you make me grift you?"

Youtube video: HBO Max renamed their streaming service to Max. This is silly.  

Top Comment:  Piracy was dead, until streaming companies revived it.  

Me: Yes, clearly the pirates had nothing to do with it.  

Me: It's not like there's a popular comic justifying pirating a show because of mild inconvenience, or lots of people pirated Crysis 1 just for benchmarking.*    

Me: This is when people usually qu-  

Another top comment: See, like Gabe Newell said, piracy is a service problem, not a price problem.  

Me: 

  Seriously, just admit you think you deserve a product without paying for it. Going "piracy is justified *because* people tried to charge money for this thing that cost money to make" just makes you sound like a dick.    

I guess that's why people have to dress it up.    

Also, the top comment under the first top comment was "Capitalism."     What exactly does digital piracy have to do with private ownership and trade of goods and services?  

By definition, it's circumventing someone's ownership rights.     

It's like saying actual, physical pirates were just a part of the economy, instead of parasites leeching off the system.   

 Also also, you can't say "piracy is an issue of underserved customers" and "pirates were never going to buy the media anyway, so they don't represent a loss" at the same time. Those are mutually contradictory.    

And yet they're both popular piracy defenses.

Also also also, piracy has never been dead. People pirated and bootlegged shows on broadcast and on digital, from the jump. Heck, people freeboot random videos and post them on other sites for revenue, often without even adding commentary.

*I’ve seen people say that piracy was Crytek’s fault for “bragging” about how good looking the game was and how high the specs were. 

Which is kind of like sneaking into a showing of Avatar 2 because you hear the movie is very pretty, and then saying it’s Fox’s fault for making the movie pretty.