#like the writers didn’t really know what they wanted to portray…

[yachl]

i really like when they adapt a series in a way that suits the new medium + provides alternate but harmonious development to the original series. adaptations don’t need to be 100% faithful to the original storyline as long as they remains faithful to the original themes and purposes

[ornii]

Bitterly Beautiful: Tame The Stress 🍋

Writers Block was a serious detriment to artists of literary all over the world. It even hampers the writing of Wednesday Addams, as invincible as she portrays herself. You sat gingerly on her bed, listening to her type away on the machine she uses near on her desk, you gently polished your cane, feeling the smooth wood along your palm and the slight sleek feel of the rag in your other. You were fairly content with how you spend your time with Wednesday.

She was the definition of Anti-social but you weren’t necessarily a people person either, that made spending time together just effortless. You both stayed in the room but mostly did your own thing, it’s the company she had is what made you so enthralled.

Your Blindness made reading her novel basically impossible, but it didn’t stop you from asking her to read it to you, still wanting to listen to your Girlfriends work. Knowing her in and out, you could always sense if something was up, the Octave in her vocal ranges goes up or down a pitch, her increased heartbeat, telltales of stress or anxiety. You could almost feel her scowling at the Typewriter as she stoped and typed spastically. You heard a sigh of annoyance and you knew she was hitting a block.

“Having trouble?” You asked, placing the cane down to prop yourself up on it. Wednesday wasn’t one for expressing feeling or even discomfort, she always kept aloof and distant. But lying to you was nearly impossible. Wednesday kept her nightly clothing simple, a pair of short black shorts and a desk black nightgown that lacked any flair, it looked more like an oversized t-shirt, but you obviously didn’t complain.

“It seems I’ve hit what weak minded writers call a “writers Block” she explained, she raised her hand to type once more and you could sense it just from her body movements.

“It isn’t Weak minded to be mentally stumped. Take a break, talk with me, or play your Cello.” You approach and knelt down slightly to be on her level. Wednesday turns her head to you, you could never truly understand what Wednesday looked like but you always had a general idea and sense, regardless she was beautiful.

“I don’t need your pity. especially from a blind man.” She huffed and went back to her work. But Wednesday wasn’t going to listen to your advice. There was always one thing that did really take off the stress from people, and it was your Boyfriend duties to make sure Wednesday was accurately taken care of. You calmly got down on all fours as she ignored you, and slipped under her desk. She continued to fumble with her writing, your hands gently poked her foot. She ignored it until you gently traced it along her shin and up to her knee, and softly kissed it.

“(Y/n), I’m not in the mood for your—“ she attempted to reprimand you, but you casually and gently placed your head on one of her legs. “Babe, just enjoy yourself.” You said in a loving whisper, you used both palms to softy grip her thighs, right below the Shorts, her skin was always soft and well taken care of.

You slowly and carefully went up her legs, feeling the tensing of her body. She was trying to ignore you, ignore your hands but it was slowly melting her icy resolve. Your fingertips gently brushed higher and higher right to her thighs, and trickled back down her shorts. You felt a sudden shift and you slowly crept closer and closer, palms gently closing in to her underwear. You felt her toes curl and a sigh of slight surprise come from her nose.

“Just relax, and enjoy yourself, Enids not here.” You spoke so softly but deeply, something about it almost made her shift switches in her brain. Your palms felt her legs spread a bit almost inviting you to get her off.

Wednesdays brain began to flow a bit more, this time typing on the Story she’s doing, your fingers reached slightly under her gown and to the waistband of her shorts and underwear, with a little pull you felt her clothes slip off. Your warm breath gently brushing up against her slightly aroused clit. You heard a slight shiver from your Girlfriend as she typed. More aggressive.

“You only have a few minutes before I— ooooh~” You leaned your head in and didn’t hesitate to give her inner lips a warm wet greeting. The suddenly shift of your warm wet tongue on her body made her demeanor shift to a woman in actual pleasure. You lapped your tongue all over and made sure to gently nudge her clitoris every time to tease her.

You shifted your body lower, letting Wednesday rest her legs on your shoulder as you worked your way inside her. Oral wasn’t something you both did since she viewed normal sex as more than satisfactory, and you didn’t particularly complain about it either. Being with her was more than enough, she obviously underappreciated how good you were, Wednesday at this time had completely abandoned her story and leaned on her arm, trying to hold it together as she felt you breath, tongue, saliva, all over her exposed privates. Her other hand rushed under the table to grip your hair. Wednesday wasn’t an aggressive lover on purpose, she just didn’t know how to be gentle.

“Move your.. tongue an inch to the right, yes.. there.” Wednesday was breathing much heavier than expected, she began to lean back, slowly coming to an orgasm.

“Keep going, don’t you dare stop..” she ordered, but it didn’t sound like authority, more like a woman telling you how to make the next few moments really matter. Your tongue slipped inside and the slightest gasp of air from her were music to your ears.

“There, I feel it, coming… I… I feel it…” Wednesday cocked her head back, gripping your scalp she wrapped her legs around your head and neck, pulling your tongue and face in deep, feeling her pussy convulse and drip right on your face, slowly trailing down your chin.

Her legs were shaky, exhausted from getting a very good workout. She finally relented and let your breath as you pulled back, taking a deep breath. You couldn’t see it but the sound of dripping on the door and Wednesday silence but heavy breath told you that you were doing just fine. Coming back from the desk you crept back up behind her, your face next to hers. “Feeling better?” You said into her ear, all of this intensity caused your cock to harden like stone and make it pretty obvious what’s next.

Standing up your bulge was nudged against her face, Wednesday looked up at you, and attempted to stand up but got a bit wobbly. She didn’t hesitate to shove her lips on yours. They wrestled for control as her hand pressed firmly on the outline of your cock. With a fumble and tumble with your clothes you both stripped down, taking a break, you felt the girl yank you to her bed, getting on all fours and bending over, she looked back at you.

“Do not make me beg..” she said, but you didn’t have to ask. Your hands grip her waist.

“Don’t hesitate to— Fuck!~” Wednesday tried not to make that kind of sound but it was too late, the sudden impact of your cock drilling into her made her cry out in please. She gripped the bed as you pulled out of her wet insides and went back in for good measure, giving her a heavy hammer to her insides as you thrust away.

Wednesday didn’t try to fight you in this, she wanted to be taken, to let you give it to her the way you wanted, the way you knew you both liked it. The way her insides squeezed around you, the way the sweat dripped off your chest and onto her back, the sounds she makes when you give her slightly pale ass a good slap. Her face buried into the pillows as she gasped and tried to hold on to some control but it wasn’t easy for her.

“I’m, gonna cum.”

“Do it… inside me… p-please… I can’t take it anymore.” Wednesday for the first time begged so softly for it. You gave her exactly what she asked, you gripped her pigtails and yanked as your legs grew numb, hitting the climax you let as much of it inside as you could. Reorganizing her insides to only fit you. Panting like a dog you almost fell on top of her, you held yourself up as she slide off your cock and collapsed into her bed, you fell next to her, feeling her breath brush against your neck as you slept.

You had woken tired, But somehow also more lightweight. Like you really took a load off, you sat up to sense where and what was going on. You felt something along your stomach and chest, a body, Wednesday was sleeping on you. Well she was awake.

“Hey sleepyhead?” You joked, Wednesday was silent, until she tilted her head to face you.

“Thank you for, letting me see reason, I needed to relax and you gave me what I needed, even though I thought I knew better.” She admits, your hand softly caressed her head as she put it back down to sleep.

“It’s okay, you were stressed, at least you tamed it.” You reassured her, and she sighed.

“No, you tamed it.”

[tommykinard6]

This blog is here to stay. It will remain a Tommy Kinard and BuckTommy blog.

I’m pissed. I’m grieving. 9-1-1 is my favorite show and now they’ve pulled this shit.

If Lou had left the show because the death threats were too much, his mental health was suffering, or he just couldn’t take it anymore, I would absolutely understand. I’d blame a certain part of the fandom, but I’d respect his decision. But he didn’t even want this. He loves Tommy and Tevan. I don’t know what Tim is thinking.

I know it all feels like a waste right now, but it’s not. Let me recount really quick:

• Buck is bisexual.

• There have been some really important scenes to come out of his discovering his sexuality, including Josh’s speech and his own lesson in fighting for his relationship.

• Tommy Kinard will be a character you pry from my cold dead hands. A gay man who discovered himself late in life and is still living his life genuinely. A man who made mistakes and acknowledges them, but has grown far past them. What a wonderfully rounded character.

• Excepting the end of 806, the beauty of their relationship. They did so much with so little screen time.

It’s not a waste, even though the ending absolutely trashed the progress made.

Resolutely, I do not believe this is the end. I know, I know, “the interviews”. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that they’re misdirecting. Also, they haven’t even written the rest of the season yet. The storyline is fixable if there’s a make up.

Not telling anyone how to feel about Oliver’s comments, but I would caution about using TVline’s article as the Bible. It was a terribly written, heavily biased interview and frankly it’s an insult that it was even conducted.

Even if it is the end, no one has to stop shipping. No one has to leave the fandom. We did not lose. We still got our canon ship and it will forever be an irrevocable fact that it was canon. BuckTommy is endgame for me. I may be disappointed by expectations, but I will never be in the wrong for sticking by that.

Make your displeasure known to Tim and ABC, but do not lose your dignity doing so. Do not engage with the haters. No harassing Lou. You can hold Oliver accountable for his remarks, but no harassment of him. You can call him out without making him the fandom whipping boy. I’ve seen many people latching onto him as the outlet for their feelings on this. Do not harass or bully the writers or actors, but make sure the producers and showrunners know they fucked up.

And most importantly, look after yourselves and each other. We’re still a community and we’re here to stay. This week is one of the worst ever, but we will come out of it.

Thank you, Tommy Kinard, for the hope you gave us, the representation you presented, and the character you were. Thank you Lou for portraying such a character and being such a sweetheart. BuckTommy will forever be in our hearts, endgame or not.

As a reminder, BuckTommy is not the be all end all of the show for queer rep. Hen and Karen, our fabulous queens, and Josh will still always be there. Buck is still bi, no matter what’s next in store for him. Tommy, even if gone forever, is still a significant moment of gay rep. And that’s not even counting the small characters that come in and out. It’s not always done well, but it’s there.

[lemotmo]

Can we take a minute to talk about how today’s bts clip is the perfect example of how much…for lack of a better word, damage, Lou’s cameos really caused?

Because the show, the writers, the directors, Oliver, the promo teams etc have all been showing and telling us a very specific story. With very specific moments. And very specific scenes with specific beats hit or missed. And it paints us the picture of what the storyline is about. Buck. Buck figuring out this new piece of information about himself. Buck figuring this new piece about himself out and finding his footing with it. Nothing more. Nothing less.

Then we have Lou and the small section of his following who are very loud. They showing a very different story. Lou has used cameo to spread head canon after head canon after head canon about his character, his relationship with Buck, his relationship with other characters. And it’s warped the actual story to the point where it very much goes against what the actual canon events are showing and telling the viewers. The loud BT fans truly believe Buck and Tommy are this match made in heaven, stars aligned, madly in love about to move in together and start planning a wedding, couple. And the loud BT fans think that because the head canons they were told in these cameos, and because they paid for them, they think they hold more meaning than the free episodes that are aired.

But then as we see by the clip released today, and despite all the other issues people have with the scene and how we can interpret the actions not matching what we’ve seen especially compared to how their first date played out, the actual words they have Tommy telling hen and Karen and by extension the audience is “we’re taking it very slow. Bucks setting the pace”

That doesn’t sound like a deeply in love about to move in and get married couple being portrayed in cameo videos to me. It’s the actual canon reality of the show and the BT relationship though. Snail paced speed. Not that deeply developed or defined. Entry level to allow Buck to get his footing in this new reality he’s discovered.

It also gave yet another moment of is this man actual that serious about Buck? Because instead of taking the opportunity presented to him to reassure Hen and Karen, two important members of Bucks family, Tommy once again instead deflected and made jokes at an inappropriate moment that again didn’t land well, based on Henrens faces. Which again, doesn’t sound like the “everyone loves and respects Tommy and is to thrilled he’s dating Buck, he’s got all these connections with the 118” narrative that has been given through cameo videos.

We will probably never know the actual full reason why Lou suddenly cut his cameos off. But I do think this released bts video is a perfect example of at least one of the reasons he did. Because the content and context of them was getting so far off base from the actual canon of the show and story.

YES! All of this Nonny!

Lou's cameos were such a bad idea. I wouldn't be surprised at all if he was told to stop making them either.

He filled these fans' heads with headcanons and wild fairytales about Tommy's completely made up childhood and how he feels about Buck. All while the writers were clearly telling us a very different story. His narrative about Tommy doesn't match the show's narrative. But for some reason a lot of the BT fans don't want to see the canon evidence that BT is not that big love story they want it to be.

On the contrary, the show has been pretty consistent in telling us Buck and Eddie's story and their connection. THAT is canon. All the rest that Lou made up? Definitely fanon!

[zutarasbuff]

I watched the Netflix adaptation of ATLA today and being a hardcore fan of the OG series who knows every nook and cranny of the ATLA world, here’s my unbiased and truly honest review (It contains both the negatives and positives of the series, so dear reader please enter to read at your own risk).

Firstly, let’s talk about the wonderful additions to the already magical world of ATLA.

1. The depth of the genocide

Well, I always wanted to know how the air nomads were suddenly wiped out and how it would have been for them? Why didn’t they resist? I got my answers in the first episode where we explore how the unhinged power of the comet was “actually” used to create a genocide on a massive level. Before that, I had only heard about it in the OG series. Those few scenes were so powerful that they had left me sobbing uncontrollably and Gyatso’s concern regarding Aang had me bawling.

2. Suki’s Characterization

In the OG series, we do find our Suki the fiercest warrior, but here in the live action, she’s an absolute goddess. She is perfect in every sense. She understands the responsibilities she has being a non-bender and is fearless. Her character is what I believe to be was the strongest one of all.

3. Graphics & Music

We never talk about a film by M.Night (that didn’t happen), but this one is really a visual treat for you can readily set yourself up for some mind-blowing bending scenes, plus the fight scenes are quite impressive. It seems that the VFX team had really done their homework this time. Plus, both Momo and Appa are so freaking cute. I loved the fluffy Appa. Good work over there. The revival of the OG theme is also a highlight plus the sun warriors’ chanting in the end is given a new but intriguing twist. The background music especially in scenes where Aang unravels his Avatar powers is mystical in every aspect.

4. Life in motion

I don’t know about others, but I have always been a sucker for animation as well as live-action where characters are operating even in the direst of the circumstances. Life is there and even after they know what happened a hundred years ago, they are still trying to believe and regain their past confidence. This is beautifully portrayed and I was very much impressed by the way people are continuing their day-to-day activities even in the middle of a crisis.

Overall, the series serves the purpose of an adaptation carrying its unique colors (at least better than the previous live-action disaster that didn’t happen).

Now let’s move to the bad side, and when I say it’s honestly what I felt, you need to take my word on it being a hardcore Atla fan.

1. Weak writing & lots of exposition

ATLA remains at a 9.2 IMDB rating even after years because of its writing, strong plot, and very few plot holes. This time, the writers are the real amateur ones. Despite adding more to the already flourishing universe of ATLA, sadly, they killed the quest of the viewer to find answers. There is too much exposition. It seems that every character just wants to see the end of the war and keeps on revealing things after things. Plus, some of the OG moments that were the soul of the series are not even included. The way Aang finds Momo and then decides to keep it with him as a last remnant of their bygone air nomad civilization is nowhere to be found. In fact, the replacement of Roku with Kyoshi is the biggest disappointment. I love Kyoshi like no one else but that was unnecessary as per the cycle.

2. Bland acting

Even the worst writing shots can be digested only if the acting appears real good. Sadly, this is another issue that I found with the NETFLIXED version. No doubt the characters must have done a lot of hard work for this, yet, they lack the expressive power. Gordon as Aang is super cute but the goofiness is not even there. Katara seems a nerd who doesn’t like to talk much even when it’s necessary and Sokka’s jokes are forced. Meanwhile, Dallas seems to save the day at one point, but again his over-the-top angry young man attitude ruins it for me. Maybe the actors will learn from the criticism in the upcoming season (if Netflix plans to go with it).

3. Major changes

Yes, it’s okay to change the narrative while you are working on an adaptation, but targeting the loyal viewers who are OG fans of ATLA means that you have to be very careful when you are trying to implement your changes in scenes that are the real soul of the OG. You can’t change the Omashu myth as if it’s nothing when we actually see even the cute animated version of the folklore. You cannot portray Roku more as a perpetrator of the genocide and Bumi as the evil king when in truth he’s the mad king who’s known for his genius ways of teaching. I hated that. Plus, reducing Zhao’s authority and taking Uncle Iroh’s sarcastic attitude is just meh. Mai again doesn’t even seem perfect as a cast. Jet is good as far as the aesthetics are concerned but Jet being in Omashu doesn’t even sit right with me. The amalgamation of multiple storylines creates so much confusion and this persists till the end.

4. Bending at convenience

We all know how Katara’s bending progressed throughout the first season and it’s little effort each day. However, in series, one day she’s unable to bend even a droplet of water and the next day she is capable of producing ice crystals. This was unacceptable for me because I was anticipating her learning strategies. Besides, Aang doesn’t learn much water bending throughout this season and in the end, it’s him being the savior in Avatar state. Thoughtless bending sucks despite the great VFX and that’s one thing at which you can’t convince me otherwise.

5. Forced friendships

We all know how it took some time for Sokka to embrace Aang as a chum. However, here Sokka keeps on calling him “the kid” and remains mostly alienated from Aang. Talking to Katara, then she also seems more interested in helping Avatar fulfill his goal than being with a friend. I hated the scene where Aang comes into the Avatar state and instead of hugging him just like in the OG series, Katara runs along Sokka and keeps on calling his name. How is that going to build any organic friendship? I think the first mistake began right from the very moment when Aang was taken back to Wolf Cove on a boat in his unconscious state. Upon opening his eyes, the first person he finds near him is neither Katara nor Sokka but a tribesman who’s playing guessing games. Writers were really high when they wrote that.

6. Lack of the four nations’ biodiversity

Maybe in live action, it’s difficult to create all the marvels of the four nations when we talk about their natural biodiversity. In the OG series, it is indicated by Aang that even after 112 years, he has still not forgotten the animals that define different regions in the four kingdoms and that’s exactly why he wants to finish those “important tasks” alongside saving the world. His important tasks included keeping a check on the natural biodiversity of the lands and exploring whether the Hundred Years’ War had not damaged the majestic animals. Actually, his first dialogue right after regaining consciousness is to go for an otter penguin’s ride with Katara. When I thought about that I felt that somewhere in Aang’s mind he was always connected to nature and that’s why he wanted to regain that connection by being an avatar. Sadly we never see much of the biodiversity but I hoped that maybe they will.

Also, how come Aang had that silent whistle for one hundred years when in the series he only discovers that accidentally? I missed the OG Yip Yip for our Appa. There are lots and lots of problems with the Netflix version, and no I am not being a nitpicker. I appreciate how the current creators credited the original ones, but now I know why Bryan and Michael bade farewell to this project. On a scale of 10, it’s a 4 for me or 4.5 if I am being too generous.

If I am asked to review the live action in a single line, I would only say this:

“The Netflixed ATLA makes you go back to the OG series and you end up watching the animation to give your mind a much-needed respite from a carefully crafted artistic disaster aimed at the sensationalized generation.”

[genericpuff]

So, I want to confess something. I believe I speak for everyone when I say that the SA in LO is not only poorly written but very mishandled and was unnecessary. I want to point out I am not a SA victim, so I can not say with experience how well the deception was. Though I do know people in real life that were victims, I also don’t want to disclose their stories either. But, here’s the thing. I personally don’t mind SA in the media, if it is handled with care and they portray it as a serious issue!

The problem I have with most media is that shows and stories will either use SA as A. A plot device for romance development. B. Shock value or C. A joke. So many media I’ve watched use SA as any of the three categories (13 Reasons Why and content from Vivziepop being a few that I can think of off the top of my head). The only show I can think of that actually portrays SA seriously and shows real life impact is Tuca and Bride. I also think it’s pretty hypocritical that the media will use SA as long as they fall into any of the three categories, but when you want to show the negative effects of it like in Moral Orel, suddenly you get canceled! Again, Hypocrites! I also don’t think first time writers should write this kind of stuff, and Rachel is no exception. You can tell she didn’t know what she was doing, based on how little importance the SA has on the plot or how it falls into said categories as well. (and the rumors that she didn’t even know it was SA doesn’t help).

Now, that being said I don’t think a SA plot line was a bad idea for this kind of story. Again, the original myth was “The abduction of Persephone” and in some versions, Hades did force himself onto Persephone. And considering Ancient Greece was rife with many stories of such heavy topics, I can see why they would include that. My personal issue with LO’s SA plotline… is Apollo! First of all, while Apollo may have had some questionable relationships in his myths, he never really forced himself on anyone. In fact, the most famous story of him chasing Daphne was only because he was under the influence of Eros, meaning Apollo had no agency in loving Daphne. Second, Apollo had nothing to do with Persephone. They never interacted in any myths. Sure, there was one myth where Apollo asked Demeter for her daughter’s hand and Demeter rejected, but that’s it. The two never had any relationship. So it makes the plot line even more convoluted because of their lack of historical and mythical connection. Though, I do admit I kind of like Apollo and Persephone as a couple (In Rekindled not Lore Olympus), but I know they don’t get together.

Honestly, if Rachel really wanted to do a SA story that would prop up Hades without demonizing anyone, she could have done that! By making Persephone’s assaulter be Zeus instead of Apollo! Hear me out, in some stories, Zeus actually disguised himself as Hades and slept with Persephone, thus it resulted in Zagerus. So, it is canon in a sense that Zeus did SA Persephone. Not only that, but given he had a role to play in the “Abduction of Persephone” where he sold his daughter off to Hades, this makes him even more impactful to the story. He could be the villain instead of Demeter, who wants to use Persephone. And considering Zeus’s love affairs and his god complex (no pun intended) he would believe he was entitled to Persephone and would want to have her as a secret concubine.

Maybe Zeus would be able to learn more about Persephone through Hera and he would decide to set his sights on her. He could try and get closer to her as she is naive and never met the King of Gods, and would use her trust to pounce on her (Because in SA cases, your attacker is more likely to be someone close to you rather than a stranger.) And maybe Zeus would blackmail Persephone so she would have to keep seeing him or else get kicked out of school and be a disgrace to her mother. Then, you could have Hades find out and he would rage against Zeus. Maybe Hades would get Demeter involved and they would team up to punish the King all for the sake of protecting Persephone. Hades would suggest making Persephone his queen for protection, and Demeter would make the world grow cold unless Zeus complies, thus explaining Winter. Zeus would agree to give Persephone to Hades, and she will be under Hades’s protection. But Persephone would still want to be with her mother, so Demeter and Hades make custody arrangements.

Bam! A SA plot line that A. Actually adds to the story and raises stakes. B. Makes a terrifying but complex villain for the story that we all can hate without assassinating his character. C. Have Hades and Demeter come out on top. D. Be historical and mythologically accurate. (I’m also not saying that I wanted SA in LO or LR, nor do I think this version would have made it better, but I personally believe this plot line makes way more sense than: Apollo meeting Persephone in one day and SA her in her sleep.)

I agree with a lot of this, thank you for sharing!! (sorry this is a late response, I didn't want this big analysis to go to waste fdjasklfdsajlk)

But yeah, in essence / on paper the SA plotline in LO would have been fine, especially considering SA is present in just about every Greek myth story, but I don't think Rachel was really cut out to tackle that subject yet, mostly as a writer as all of her writing is very baseless and doesn't have the necessary planning, research, and direction required to depict a subject like that. It takes a lot of sensitivity, self-awareness, and self control, none of which LO has as a narrative or Rachel as a writer.

IMO Apollo being the god of the sun made for a great springboard for him to be like, this self-centered god who was so delusional in his own ego that he couldn't believe Persephone wouldn't want him, that alone was enough to make him out to be a great villain - even with the use of SA, where he couldn't take no for an answer - but then we had to get into the whole "Apollo is gonna use Persephone to overthrow Zeus" crap and it all fell apart from there. Not to mention the story could never decide if Apollo was some nefarious puppet master or just a delusional dumbass, so all the flip-flopping on his motivations led to him becoming a very weak villain.

That said, I will cut her some slack for not having Zeus assault her. Because while it's more accurate to the myths (and character accurate) the story could barely handle Apollo and he's the canon Good Boytm in the myths, imagine it trying to handle an actual serial assaulter?

But that's not me saying it's necessarily a bad idea. I just don't think LO would be able to handle it with Rachel at the helm lol

[funhouse-mirror-barbie]

Random thoughts on sexism and misogyny in Helluva Boss:

I think there’s this big misconception among people who dislike Stella Goetia, that her fans want to absolve her of everything bad she’s ever done.

And obviously I can only speak for myself, but I don’t like Stella because I think all of her actions are valid or anything like that—I like her because I see the potential for a more complex and flawed character, and that potential interests me.

I want her to be an actual CHARACTER instead of an obstacle—I want her flaws to be called out and I want to see her develop as a character, whether that’s for better or worse. Or, at the very least, if she’s going to be a villain, what kind of villain she’d be.

I used to even be kind of excited to see how she would develop as a villain! I wondered what sort of fun campy villainy she could get into? Maybe she would get a villain song or something. I thought she could at least be a FUN villain, or a villain that I’d love to hate, or that she would be entertaining.

But now it’s EXTREMELY evident that she is no longer going to be the main villain/focus, and that her brother will become the next big villain. (more below)

In a story where she exits SOLELY to be a villain, she doesn’t even really get to be the villain. Her brother does. (REALLY HOPING I’m wrong honestly b/c I’m so tired of HB women literally only existing in relation to the men in their lives. Women in HB are almost exclusively portrayed as either support beams or obstacles for their male counterparts)

Since Western Energy, Stella is not only a flat one-dimensional villain, but she’s also a useless one. Andrealphus is now the brains behind her villainy.

It’s just very frustrating. And I do believe it’s also just straight-up misogynistic writing.

I know people will try to counter that with the argument of “men can be abused too” and they’re absolutely right. I’m not denying that.

But I’m personally convinced Stella’s abuse was a writing choice made to absolve Stolas of wrong doing. Like. Literally to the point where Stolas just tells the audience that he didn’t hurt Stella, so he shouldn’t have to feel bad about cheating on her.

It’s so clear that the head writers of helluva boss just like. Do not know how to write a woman without giving her a man to revolve around—they’re always either supporting a man or tearing a man down—women characters in HB, with very few exceptions, are hardly ever allowed to just BE.

The most recent example of this is Verosika in “Apology Tour”. Prior to this episode, we only knew about her and interacted with her in the story through the lense of her being Blitzø’s ex, and being an obstacle for him. During “Apology Tour” though, we do get to see a new side of her…as a support for Stolas. Her involvement and importance to the plot once again hinges on her (barely present) relationship to man as a nurturing figure.

We don’t know anything about WHO Verosika is as a person outside of these relationships to Blitz and Stolas. Her only purpose in the narrative is to act as an antagonistic or supporting force towards the men in the story.

There’s just this very clear disdain for women characters in a lot of HB and HH’s writing, and I just don’t know what to make of it.

[the-fandom-finder]

It think my main problem with some Izzy fans is they straight up lie or have extreme cognitive dissonance for stuff. “Izzy is more popular than ed/stede” no you were just around people who like is he more than them? I promise you the average person fandom or not does not like him more than the main characters. Also, just because he’s popular in the fandom doesn’t mean he’s a better character. You how many fandom I’ve been where they sent her around the white male character more than any other character? So often it’s a dime a dozen. He talks about how crazy Ed is before we even meet the character and when we meet him, he’s just a little suicidal at very least at that point. honestly even if he did survive, it would not make sense for him to be the captain of the ship. It’s canon that he’s not good at running anything and only really good at violence. he’s an interesting character meant to represent toxic masculinity at least in season one and how breakable and fragile it is. Honestly, him and Zuko have a lot in common when it comes to fandoms. These characters are both flawed and I’ve done bad things, but for some reason, some fans wanna make them look perfect like they’ve done nothing wrong and excuse everything that comes with the cost of completely miss characterizing everyone else around them. Man called the British, which are basically the cop because he didn’t get what he wants and view himself as knowing Ed more than himself which is messed up, bro. and the story portrays this as bad like it should be. Also, why are all the tags that were created to criticize Izzy taking over by Izzy fans like you asked for a specific tag and then take it over and then get upset when people use it. I also have seen fans on Twitter called themselves Ofmd hater and then spend all their time talking about the show. It’s OK to move on. It is not the Izzy show and never was. I have to rewash the show to remember Izzy‘s and actually interesting character because his fans have changed him so much that I can’t stand him if I don’t watch the show. There is a reason why people were being rude against the phantom for some stupid reason reasons or only a small group of people they named them and that weird little list they had. Now I don’t think any of the Izzy fan should be attacked or doxxed because that’s just weird and wrong. That doesn’t mean you can’t criticize them and how weird they are about this white man. I think it’s time for some of you who just have so much hatred of everything else in the TV show. Make an OC That’s like 2 inches away from that character and leave you’ll be much happier. Another problem I have is how some people treat David he’s not a perfect man nor perfect writer, but to go out of your way to say you understand the story infinitely more than him is crazy. He is shown multiple times he loves the character. This is just how he wanted to take him in the story not out of malice,, not out of homophobia not of hatred for disabled people, but because that’s how his story was always going to end he just got to die slightly less full of hate and may be a little happy. Izzy and ed had no chance of ending up together. The story basically states that pretty early that it was one-sided and not entirely healthy on either side. Also celebrating the show knocking a third season and people losing their jobs even though you were probably going to see Izzy again in some form is crazy.  I promise you your hate did nothing or brothers was just being a cheap ass and canceled other diverse shows so it definitely wasn’t because of you. Either way, I guess I win in the end. I still love the show and not full of anger at least about this. I got a lot of other problems lol. This post is probably way too long about something that doesn’t really matter too much but it feels good to get it out especially with finals coming around. If you read this entire thing and hate me well thanks for reading. I guess. Hope you have a nice day and I mean that genuinely life‘s kind of sucks right now for everyone lol.

[sepublic]

            Looking back, a lot of us assumed the statues in Gravesfield depicting Caleb and Philip as adults was an example of in-universe historical inaccuracy, kind of like how Pocahontas is portrayed as an adult, when she was actually a child when everything happened. But in hindsight, I have to wonder if this adult depiction is even a discrepancy to begin with, and not a point of clarification for the timeline of events for these brothers?

         I think what contributed to the belief that Caleb and Philip were children when the former entered the isles forever is because of Belos’ memory portraits. But we know they don’t depict everything, such as how Philip arrived in the Boiling Isles; From a Doylist perspective, the writers want to leave in some ambiguity, some mystery, and there’s only room for so many memories in the background.

         But as we learn in Thanks to Them, Caleb and Evelyn communicated through hidden rebuses to meet up multiple times; So their interactions in the human world took place over time, and it wasn’t just an instant, one-off meeting and then Caleb disappeared, his brother in hot pursuit. Dana even clarified in a Post-Hoot that Evelyn initially presented herself as human to Caleb and the rest of Gravesfield, and revealed herself after Caleb earned her trust.

         Maybe this happened across one meeting, one day; But the likelihood is that Caleb and Evelyn interacted as ‘fellow humans’ a few times before the truth was revealed. And they continued to meet up, discreetly contacting one another with hidden rebuses for the other to find and decode.

         So if all this happened over an unspecified period of time, who’s to say it wasn’t across years? And that by the time Caleb made the decision to move to the Boiling Isles, it was when he and Philip were adults; In fact, he might’ve even waited until Philip was an adult who could take care of himself, before leaving him to live his own life!

         Likewise, there is a valid interpretation that Caleb hid the truth of Evelyn from Philip, and wasn’t aware he was watching when he went off to explore the Demon Realm a few times, before eventually making the permanent move. But I think the other interpretation works, too; That Caleb DOES know Philip is there and watching. And he never made Philip enter the Demon Realm with him, out of a misguided desire to not make his baby brother uncomfortable, force him out of his comfort zone, etc.

         Caleb might’ve told Philip to wait for him back home, if he didn’t want to enter the magical portal with him; He’d be back! And Caleb did return, multiple times. And Philip didn’t rat him and Evelyn out because he was still a child, and not as dead set into his hatred yet… But I’ve compared Philip to King, as little kids with delusions of grandeur involving their enemies being crushed beneath them.

         And remember Really Small Problems, when King initially tolerated Luz going off to be with Willow and Gus, due to her promise to come back for him? But after enough time of feeling neglected, King’s resentment began to build up? Within the span of just one night, King wasn’t yet ready to intentionally make Willow and Gus ‘temporarily disappear’, but when it happened, he took advantage of the situation anyway instead of bringing them back ASAP, and eventually owned up to this mistake.

         So imagine how Philip felt across years; He may have disliked Evelyn, but not enough to want her dead… But after enough time of feeling resentful over Caleb dedicating time to Evelyn instead of just him, Philip became selfish and entitled over the fact that his brother dared to have a life that didn’t revolve around Philip. Until he became angry enough at Evelyn to want her dead, and retroactively fell back on the belief of witches as inherently evil in order to morally justify these desires, instead of admitting he was just possessive of his older brother. Plus, exposing Evelyn could make him a hero in the eyes of the townsfolk!

         We know there was a big fire, and we know Evelyn was declared a witch by Gravesfield. This could’ve been in response to her, Caleb, and Philip all disappearing; But it’s also possible that realization occurred while they were still there. And that it in fact may have driven Evelyn out of the human world, with Caleb following because he potentially ousted himself by openly defending her. Seeing his brother commit a moral wrong he couldn’t stand by could’ve influenced Caleb to leave when the two of them were adults; As was the ‘reassurance’ that Philip was now accepted by the town as a witch hunter who exposed Evelyn and spearheaded her exile, whereas Caleb was even more of an outcast for his collaboration.

         Of course, the idea that Caleb was an adult when he moved out does raise the question? Why do we not see this progression of age in the memory portraits? And again, there’s what I said about ambiguity and whatnot, but there’s also the conventions of the time skip. Just as TOH ends on a time skip where we don’t see the gradual progression of the characters’ aging outside of some photos, for the Wittebanes, whose story is only told through photos, the framing skips over the years Caleb and Evelyn interacted. The turning point in which the two met and the latter revealed herself was enough…

         After all, the portraits already skip past Philip’s aging to bring us to his arrival in the Demon Realm as an adult; Who’s to say they didn’t skip past years of Caleb growing up in Gravesfield with Evelyn? Caleb entering the Boiling Isles with Evelyn as a child wasn’t the last Philip saw of his brother, until he himself entered years later; But it was the beginning of ‘the end’ in his eyes, the beginning of when he felt he lost Caleb.

         In the end, a lot of this is speculative. It’s possible Caleb was only portrayed as an adult in-universe because the townspeople correctly remembered Philip being an adult when they last saw him, so generations afterwards made the mistake of applying this to his older brother. History isn’t as well-documented as people would like to believe, even the famous stories are forgotten and picked up after a while; Major details people should’ve easily remembered fall through the holes of time. Entire cities have been lost and rediscovered.

        But ultimately, the fact that Belos’ memories DO portray a ‘timeskip’ based on what we see of them anyway, in addition to the confirmation that Caleb and Evelyn met up over time before the former moved… I think that solidifies my belief that yes, Caleb was an adult when he left Gravesfield, as was Philip. The statues in Yesterday’s Lie are among the very first indicators of Caleb’s existence, as is the episode itself acting as a ‘debut’ of sorts for him in the lore. So maybe Gravesfield’s depiction isn’t so inaccurate, after all…

[pinazee]

First season wrap up:

Okay, to start, i should mention my general opinion on first seasons for shows, especially cable shows, is not to read too much of it as canon. The writers, producers, actors- everyone- are all trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t, so i give them latitude, particularly when it conflicts with later seasons. That being said, i do enjoy jumping through the hoops to make it all fit haha

So heres a few leftover notes i had as i revisited the eps to rank them:

I bet part of Lassie was craving the father figure in Henry, since we find out later his own father passed away when he was quite young. I wonder if thats part of the reason why he became a cop, as they are portrayed as the protectors and in the 80’s they were mainly men (i don’t really remember if he states his reason later, i suspect he did and im just not remembering). So when Henry didn’t meet up to the expectation he had in his mind, i bet it hurt a little more as it reminded him of what he lost :/

I think the other reason Shawn plays dumb so much, besides hiding his genius so ppl believe hes psychic, or for laughs, is because its how he gets people talking. Like in Shawn vs. the red phantom, he purposely guessed the wrong room number so the boys would correct him. My apologies if someones pointed this out before, i haven’t combed through the internet for everyone’s theories 😬 i only now noticed. I’m not the quickest at picking these things up lol

If i had to guess, Shawn didn’t want to be a cop for halloween, he probably wanted to be something star wars related to go with Gus’s Lando. So i wonder at what age Shawn stopped trying to please his dad. But also, why didn’t his mother ever stand up for him?? I’ll come back to her later -_-

I somehow missed it the first time, but shawn clearly asked Gus to come to the dinner and Gus even points out that it was a big deal for henry to reach out. Soo, yeah, shawn obviously didn’t wanna be alone with his dad, and even henry seemed nervous about it as hes pretty drunk.

Shawn has a right to be afraid of pointy things, his dad hid his easter eggs under glass when he was 6! Not to mention he later gets stabbed 3 times! (Also its just a legitimate fear???)

So far the list of Shawns knowledge (things i wouldn’t expect an average person to know) includes (beyond the obvious observational skills, deductive reasoning, reading people (poker), and all things police (marksmanship, police codes, etc.)):

Incredible spatial and physical reasoning skills (knowing how much money could fit in the duffle bag, knowing to rotate the water pitcher to catch the reflection from the tv)

Kurt Vonnegut (well, I didn’t know who he was at least)

How to spell aggiornamento (and probably all words because of his photographic memory)

Handwriting expert

Casually spoke and understood german

Has every road he’s driven mapped in his brain, and likely all of Santa Barbara

Familiar with paint (enough to know to mix latex enamel for no messy drips)

Animal tracks (i went back and forth on this but ultimately decided he must have known what to look for)

And heres a list of Gus’s niche interests:

Forensics

Spelling bee

Safe cracking

Historic rifles

Comic books

Astronomy (even though he was going to the planetarium for the girl)

Law

Local tennis

Online poker

Lastly, Ive decided instead of ranking them, im putting them in tiers. I feel like too many of them are hitting at the same level and I can’t differentiate:

Sweetest, Juiciest Golden Pineapple Tier

Scary Sherry, Biancas toast (ohmygod i just got the biancas toast 🤦🏽‍♀️)

Blue Psych Logo Tier

Weekend warriors

Forget me not

From the earth to starbucks

Poker? I hardly know her! (Sorry @pineapple-psychic!)

Pepto Bismo Pink Tier

Spelling bee

Pilot

She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me oops hes dead

Who ya gonna call?

Shawn vs the red phantom

Oops Canadian Flag Tier

Cloudy with a chance of murder

9 lives

Game set muuurder

Speak now or forever hold your piece

Woman seeking dead husband, smokers okay, no pets

[jkftkth]

Sabotaging taekook is not only to elevate their fav member but also to undersell them to negotiate contracts. These people think they are so smart. If bangpd wants to keep taekook under his thumb the best way would be to sabotage them differently. Hybe undersell Taehyung deliberately to make it look like he is nothing without group. And only promotes Jungkook on their conditions (AYS!). I think everyone remembers how weird it was that company didn't contact Jungkook for anything. I don't know much of that is a fact but looking at history of whatever Jungkook has achieved is either distributed with the group or attached with fanship narrative. They also elevated the third member with heavy promo to show they are not dependent on taekook and oversell to investors. On the surface it looks like one is getting everything and the other nothing. Result: constant fight wars between both of their solos. Fandom will believe they are not close and group who supports both of them (tkk) will be mocked and labeled deranged.

If taekook were any less of people or had no United front, company would have done much worse. I don't claim to know what goes inside their heads or how they negotiate but BANG PD is greedy first. While his ego is huge and he will do anything to sabotage anyone who he can't control (Tae), money matters a lot. This way even after sabotaging Tae, his pockets are filled because fans want to outdo each other.

This is a classic but cheap strategy many conglomerate adopts.

it’s a very cheap strategy i agree.

if there’s one thing any of us should take from the current report drama, is that hybe doesn’t respect their artists. they talk about them, and also other idols who are under different companies apparently, as mere products and experiments. i said this to @charjube on here, but the contents of their report reminded me of how army act in fandom wars because the wording was very similar. that in itself should tell you that the writer of this report is chronically online, and deep in our spaces, and his analysis, if we can even call it that, has no real basis.

the contents are only narratives they need to push. we should be asking ourselves why are these narratives important, and what role are we playing in spreading/accepting/challenging these narratives.

when you keep that in mind, it makes you cautious of what to believe, and i think that’s very important right now. i personally know that from this point onwards, i’m taking a step back away from army and solos’ opinions whenever something new happens, because they are biased and based around intense emotions, and those emotions are so often a product of hybe’s manipulative tactics. and i don’t want to fall for that. people who are falling for that are throwing either of t/k under the bus.

i’m seeing so much drama especially today, so i thought i’d answer your ask now, but when we want to have a conversation about mistreatment and sabotage, we need to understand that things have to be separated for us to get somewhere that’s not a fandom war. jk can have been given tools for his album that tae never got and still have been denied basic protection of his well-being and his reputation.

the tools were more about needing to portray bang pd and scooter as “success makers” (bang pd literally tried to make it out that if scooter hadn’t been involved, jk’s album would’ve been in trouble) than it was about the person’s “privilege” or himself. because if the company really cared for the person himself, jk’s schedule would have been a healthy one that didn’t prioritize promoting another member, and his rumors circulating on DC would’ve been shut down immediately regardless of whether that would bring “hate” to the member who’s fans were being malicious, and he wouldn’t have been stalked and harassed, and he wouldn’t have been stripped of his autonomy for his own success and he wouldn’t have been trash talked on blind by staff. where’s the respect here to be found?

unfortunately, a lot of tae solos think that good promotion = the company has your back. if the company had jk’s back, they wouldn’t have a vip membership to sojang.

the company has bang pd’s back. they’re out here embarrassing themselves at the national assembly just so bang pd can carry on pretending he hasn’t been summoned for questioning. bang pd is after his own career. he’s moved towards focusing on his branding in the US and so jk was used conveniently to promote hybe america, because mediaplay is all bang pd has going for himself.

moving on to tae, if there is any tkkr, jk biased or tae biased, who still believes that what he’s being put through is similar to anyone else, or even remotely on a similar level to the rest, we have a problem. he is being beaten down. his career is being toyed with. he is seen by the company as a convenient shield/experiment for later group situations. his achievements are being erased, manipulated, distorted. staff are being told to make up hate to undermine his success. smear campaign after smear campaign. no protection. but apparently heavy monitoring. sneakily swaying fandom opinion and apparently staff opinion of him to make him seem like an outsider. the list goes on.

there is no artist protection when it comes to taekook. there is no respect. there are just narratives and bang pd’s ego. because if you think, that all the discourse and reactions since solo chapter weren’t all instigated by the company, go back to putting your head in the sand.

at least k-kths and k-jjks understand.

[arcadianambivalence]

Monsters and Accountability - IWTV S2's Adaptational Choices for Claudia and Madeline

…..Guess now’s a good a time as any to wade into the discourse regarding the changes made to Claudia and Madeline when adapting season two.

I read in a reddit board that IWTV is the "sympathy for the devil" show, and looking at how this season has characters grappling with their traumas and their ability to harm others, I'd say it's an accurate description.

Take this Collider interview with showrunner Rolin Jones and executive producer Mark Johnson:

"As we talked around the room, we didn’t think the character that we had written at that point would settle for a doll maker pretending she was her mom. [...] It’s so easy to turn [Claudia] into a saint and go, 'Oh, she never wanted to be a vampire.' But her being accountable for some of her behavior is really important for this. It’s essentially something for every one of the vampires this season."

I've noticed a split in fandom reaction to this choice in companion for Claudia. I get it. It's a very hard sell.

Despite the shocking change in backstory, Madeline is still portrayed with a surprising amount of empathy from the cast and crew. The show keeps Madeline's level of complicity vague. There is the impulse to conflate an affair with an occupying soldier ("horizontal collaboration") with active collaboration, such as intentionally turning people over to the French police or to the Gestapo for murder, imprisonment, or deportation to the camps.

Whether or not Madeline took part in the latter is not revealed this episode, but if we are to believe her recounting of events and the memory montage, her collaboration started and ended in the bedroom. (We’ll save the betrayal of others for someone else this episode…)

So why write Madeline this way?       

Well….when has this show ever had heroes? Why would Claudia develop a relationship with someone accepted by the wider (human) community? Why would someone who resisted the German occupation and the Vichy regime agree to become a vampire that feeds on living humans?

As an audience who loves Claudia, we want someone good, moral, and kind for her. But why would a good, moral, and kind person want to be a vampire? How could a good person survive as a vampire and maintain their goodness, morality, and kindness? They can’t.

In this show, good people do not make good vampires.

So the writers have rewritten Madeline from a surrogate mother to a friend and potential lover. Claudia offers her an escape from a lifetime of shame. She has already been humiliated and shorn by an angry mob. Neighbors draw swastikas on her shop window (a reference to how Jewish shops were marked and vandalized by Nazis), as if she could forget her actions. She has no family to support her. Much like Louis being offered a way out of “this life of shame” in the pilot, only through vampirism can Madeline change her future.

She has had something of the womanly life Claudia wants for herself (independence, a consensual sexual experience) but also the isolation and self-preservation Claudia has known. Much like the shopkeeper across the street when Madeline is attacked during the episode, she herself stood and watched as her neighbors died during the war, seemingly as unmoved as Claudia was when she killed and drained the Romanian characters in episode one. They too had barely survived occupation, war, starvation, and political violence. Where was the compassion for them?

The greatest irony is that Claudia has spent so much of her extended life looking for a good vampire, when she and Louis are the closest she’ll ever get to knowing good vampires.

And they've killed thousands of people over the years.

As has been said by others, a vampire must inflict on others the same violence visited upon them in order to survive. Madeline and Claudia can't be precious, perfect, unproblematic lesbians. That's not what this story is. They still eat and murder people who do not want to die.

The circle will not be broken entirely.

Madeline’s plan to hunt as a vampire is to pick off those at the margins of society, people like the neighbor who starved to death or the one murdered by the Gestapo, people like her sister...and people like herself.

Even before she is bitten, Madeline is already aware she is a monster to history, but she is also a victim of monsters.

When the Théâtre des Vampires company attacks, they pull a sack over her head and drag her away with Louis and Claudia. Just like with the murder mansion in episode 2, their violent show of justice is (literally) performative. In parallel to Claudia's trial for breaking vampire law, Madeline will be put to trial in a court of public opinion.

But the vampires are more interested in Claudia than anyone else. It would hardly matter to the coven if Madeline were a resistance hero, a Holocaust survivor, or a collaborator. Her crime, to them, is merely her existence.

This episode may take place in 1949, but the echoes of WW2 continue to reverberate across the narrative. The next episode is going to be a heavy one.

[buckbuckbarnesstuff]

Two-Parts

Get yourself a snack, enjoy these wonderful two-parts and leave some love for the creative writers :)

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1. Conflict of Interest [2.9k] @elixirfromthestars

Detective!Bucky x Lawyer!Reader

Summary: After the many failed dates Natasha set you up on, you decide to give up on the dating scene all together. That is until Bucky makes it his mission to change your mind, but will he be enough to change it?

{personal comment: Bucky is so nice and my heart broke for him, but it’s really beautiful and the way you end it definitely tempts people to read the second part}

2. Conflict of Interest - part ll [8.5k]

Detective!Bucky x Lawyer!Reader

Summary: After deserting Bucky at the fair, you are left dealing with the consequences. This becomes difficult as you are all assigned to a new case. 

{personal comment: I like the writing style and the way it’s portrayed how hard it is for them to interact normally thereafter. And Bucky is so sweet for wanting to fix things even if it meant he could end up hurting}

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1. Graveyard [10k] @wkemeup

Bucky x healer!Reader

Summary: As the unofficial healer for the Avengers, you pride yourself on the ability to mend heroes with the touch of your hand. Only, your gift comes at a heavy price — one you keep secret from your friends —and when Bucky asks you to do the impossible, they’ll discover why your gift is called a sacrifice, too. 

{personal comment: I can hardly imagine there's people who haven't read this, but it’s one of my favourite fics so I have to put it here. I love the way Bucky acts and it’s so sweet how reluctant he is to let reader heal him, not wanting to take advantage of her powers}

2. Sacrifice [13.6k]

Bucky x healer!Reader

Summary: In the midst of an attack, you’re dosed with an unknown chemical and your healing ability becomes compromised.

What if instead of relieving pain – you became the cause of it?

{personal comment: The little insights in the reader's backstory and how she dealt with her powers before the Avengers was really interesting to me. Also, I'm loving Bucky here so much. Him being so fiercly protective has me on the edge of my seat}

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1. The shot heard round the tower [3.7k] @pellucid-constellations

Avenger!Bucky x reader

Summary: You just want to know if Bucky has feelings for you. Bucky just wants you to be okay.

{personal comment: Bucky being such a softy for the reader gives me butterflies. I love this}

2. Unwarranted Weaknesses [3.3k]

Avenger!Bucky x reader

Summary: Ever since you’d been attacked, things hadn’t felt right. Work was harder, you weren’t sleeping, and the smallest things set you off. No one could convince you to get help. That didn’t mean Bucky was going to stop trying.

{personal comment: Bucky is so sweet, patient and understanding and I really love him. I liked how this is written}

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1. Public affair [8.2k] @kaznejis

Avenger!Bucky x Avenger!Reader

Summary: The Avengers PR department designs the perfect fake relationship for you- the key to instant fame and high ratings. Except, you’re already in a relationship with Bucky. 

{personal comment: This had me feeling so many different things, I was so invested. I'm glad they got to talk about everything in the end}

2. Public display [6k]

Avenger!Bucky x Avenger!Reader

{personal comment: So angsty, didn’t expect that but it was a pleasant surprise. Greatly written}

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1. Like I want you [4.4k] @tmpestuous

College!Bucky x College!Reader

Summary: you and bucky have been best friends your entire life and it’s never been anything but platonic. so why do things get so bad when he gets a new girlfriend?

{personal comment: I felt with the reader, it was really poignant, but I enjoyed the writing style and the tension}

2. Like I want you - part ll [5k]

College!Bucky x College!Reader

{personal comment: The tension grew even higher and I loved how it turned out, made me feel all giddy and excited}

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1. Not my babe [3.4k] @avecra

Biker!Bucky x reader

Summary: After a nasty break up to a nearly two year relationship, you find yourself dragged to a bar by your best friend, though a familiar blue-eyed biker makes the best of your crappy situation.

{personal comment: Really enjoyed this, I love how the guys were there for her. And Bucky is a sweetheart}

2. You'll never be alone [2.9k]

Biker!Bucky x reader

Summary: Bucky finally takes you out on the date you deserve.

{personal comment: That date is so sweet. Love how perceptive Bucky is}

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[endiness]

Debunking misinformation about Netflix's The Witcher (Part 7)

[Part 1] [Part 2] [Part 3] [Part 4] [Part 5] [Part 6]

"The writers were mad that Henry Cavill wouldn't do any shirtless scenes or sex scenes."

So. The origin of this is based off of an episode of the Deuxmoi podcast that alleges that Henry Cavill was ultimately fired for sexist behavior that caused production delays — which has obviously never been officially confirmed. However, just to entertain the idea for a second to debunk why exactly Henry Cavill not wanting to do any sex scenes and/or nudity might've been a problem as I've seen people bring this up against the show a lot…

Obviously actors shouldn't have to do any nudity or sex scenes if they don't want to.

She told us: ‘I had a body double for the sex scenes, and she was always there. Flora. But I didn’t, I only used her for the first sex scene because I realised very quickly in that first sex scene that actually, I didn’t feel comfortable anyone else portraying Yennefer, because it’s still acting isn’t it?’

And they don't have to. Anya herself, at least initially, used a body double for her first sex scene on the show.

"The first thing that happens is we sit with the actor, and we have a conversation [about the scene]. If the actor is not comfortable, that scene is rewritten. There is absolutely no way that we proceed forward unless everyone is comfortable. Of course, if at any time someone does feel uncomfortable, not even just the actors themselves, but anyone else on the set, we stop immediately and reassess."

That's Lauren's stance on the filming of nudity and sex scenes on the show.

Lastly, we have a rather curious addition to the crew. Lizzy Talbot has been tapped as the intimacy coordinator for the show. For those of you who don’t know, an intimacy coordinator is a rather recently invented position for film and TV and their duties involve ensuring the well-being and consent of actors performing in intimate scenes as well as making sure the intimate scenes are filmed according to a previously agreed choreography. What this informs us about the story is that yes, there will be intimate scenes in Season 2.

The show also hired an intimacy coordinator from season 2 onwards and they were also used for Blood Origin.

“Lizzy Talbot was our intimacy coordinator and she was just brilliant. She made it like a stunt, really,” O’Fuarain said of the intimate scenes.

So if this was a problem for production (which, again, we have no official confirmation of), it likely would've been because Henry Cavill was very controlling when it came to Geralt's physical depiction and didn't want to use any body doubles or stunt doubles and insisted that only he ever physically portray Geralt on screen:

"From the very beginning, he said he wanted to be involved in the actual stunts. He didn’t want to use movie magic or camera tricks to pretend it was him. Anytime Geralt is on the screen, even if it’s just his hand reaching for something or his hair flipping through the frame, it’s always him."

Which means that if he did shut down any nudity and sex scenes, he essentially would've been shutting down the idea of Geralt as a character (as opposed to Henry the actor) ever engaging in any of those scenes. (Which, if you know anything about the books, would've actually caused significant problems with the story later on.)

"The show made Henry Cavill go on a dehydration diet for shirtless scenes."

Henry Cavill talked about the dehydration diet on Graham Norton's show and at no point in time was there ever any indication of the role that production played in that decision. Now, is it likely production was involved in at least some way? Yeah, probably. But afaik there is still no indication either way of just how much it was their decision, his decision, both, or what.

However, I do have to note that given that Henry Cavill almost nearly blinded himself because he blew off the advice of his doctor who told him that he could not wear his Geralt contacts for an extended period of time without risking damage to his eyes:

"I was only allowed to keep them in for three hours at a time, well I supposed to only keep them in three hours at a time. […] My eye-technician was always pushing me to say like, “No, I don’t care. I don’t care what you need to shoot, take, take the bloody contacts out, because you will start to go blind after a while”. I was sure she was probably selling a slightly more dramatic version of the truth, because I do tend to be a bit stubborn like that. And I’ll say, no, it’s alright we can shoot couple more hours will be fine. And she said, we won’t be fine. You’ve got to take them out now. There’s lot of volcanic rock in the Canary Island, and when it picks up a lot and it’s all this stuff, which becomes very, very light and dusty. It got in behind the contacts, so my eyes ended up being scratched. I didn’t realise it was scratching so we went back to Budapest after our trip to Canary Islands. But it got to the point where I couldn’t really keep my eyes open, my eyes were watering, had to try and wash everything out. Very, very stingy, very painful, but I just thought it’s just because I’m tired and not getting much sleep and I just need to muscle through it. It got to the point where my technician found me hiding in the shadows of my eyes closed because it was was very bright. She said take them out. And I said, No, No, I’m fine. I’m fine. I’m fine. Just give me some things to dab my eyes before a scene will be good. She put her foot down and said, “No, I’m stopping shooting until you take them out”."

And how he'd wear his armor practically 24/7 in order to break it in because he wanted it to look realistically worn down (and nevermind it's literally canon in the books that Geralt buys himself new clothes anyway 🙃):

"He wanted, for instance, for the armour to look like it had been worn for years and years. So he made breakfast in it and he would sleep in it. We were like ‘you don’t have to do that by the way’, but he’s that invested in embodying his character."

And how he insisted that only he ever physically portray Geralt on screen, including for things minute as closeups of his hand or shots where Geralt's just a blip on screen because the shot is from so far away:

"So for the action, if I’m going to take on a physical role, which has a lot of athleticism to it or whatever it may be, I’m going to bring myself up to that level so I can perform that role to the fullest. It’s important to me that the audience knows this and they see the character at all times. They see all the work that I put into designing this character in every single move, look, glance, shrug, walk, step. For the long shots, they were saying, we’re gonna save time because we don’t need you in the shot because it’s just so far away and I said well, has the person who you’re going to have double me studied the way I move as Geralt? And they were like, he’s your double, and this is so far away, it doesn’t matter, and I say, it does matter because that informs the audience about this character. What we, as human beings do, is we study people’s movement without even knowing it. We’re watching how humans interact with the world, how they interact with other people. We then make a decision upon them, whether it be minor or major decisions, it doesn’t matter. So watching Geralt, even from a distance, was very, very important to me and so with the action, it’s even more important."

Like, js, but I don't exactly think it's out of the realm of possibility that he had more of a hand in that than anyone and anything else given how weirdly obsessive he was when it came to the physicality of the role. (There's also Freya and Anya referring to the dehydration as "his" diet in this video, btw.)

[jellybeansintheabyss]

I think part of it is ignoring what Ryan says about Eddie. How he is heterosexual, and how important it was for Ryan to portray the scene of Buck coming out to Eddie, a heterosexual character and Eddie being supportive. I forget the exact wording but that was the gist of it. It’s fine if you want to see a character as something, but it’s knowing the difference of what’s fanon and what’s canon. at what point does it seem disrespectful towards the actor, who is playing the character as straight, and telling you the character is straight, to say, “well actually, you’re wrong”

This isn’t me saying Ryan doesn’t want buddie, no one knows what he does or doesn’t want (outside of speculation). But I feel like maybe people don’t listen to some things he says because they just don’t want to hear it. So they ignore it, when he says it’s important for him to portray the heterosexual man accepting his friend’s bisexuality, because they don’t like it. I think that’s why some people may get annoyed with it. Ya know.

I hope this didn’t come off as rude! It wasn’t my intention, just trying to give my thoughts on your post.

i appreciate you being civil, i’ve gotten plenty of replies that were not lol.

i’m fairly sure i know what interview you’re talking about and while yeah, that could be a reason towards choosing to view eddie as strictly heterosexual, i just don’t think it’s really fair to say that because of that interview, it’s against ryan guzman’s wishes to view him differently.

when you consider the multiple other interviews of ryan saying that he’s up for whatever the writers give them, i think it’s fair to say maybe he was just talking about how he was choosing to act that scene out, because ultimately he doesn’t know what will happen between the characters.

also, i think a fair comparison to draw to is destiel, one of, if not the most famous slash ships ever. jensen ackles did not like it. at all. for awhile. over time, he’s gotten less annoyed by it, but my point still stands. is it fair to say dean winchester couldn’t possibly be read as bisexual because jensen ackles intended him to be straight when portraying the character?

finally, it’s important to note that there have been interviews saying they intended to write buddie into season 4, but someone at fox told them no. along with that, lou ferrigno jr himself said that buck and tommy’s storyline was initially intended for eddie and tommy, but annelise ceparo (natalia’s actress) did not want to return but edy ganem (marisol’s actress) did, so they gave the storyline to buck instead. neither of those times fell through because ryan guzman did not want to portray the story.

[astralnymphh]

I just got on and saw what’s been happening and bro…I’m glad people are talking about it. Mostly about the smut, inclusivity, Palestine, and the fetishization of trans people.

Reading smut is so underwhelming like it seems like that’s all what people write these days. Like I need ANGST! I need to CRY! I need SLOW BURN AND PLOT….

And to be honest, I personally feel like some writers purposely list the reader’s physical descriptions as being white… like damn you know multiple people are going to come across your shit. I would get annoyed asf when I see something like “she touched your soft pale flushed skin” BITCH- 💀 don’t piss me off 😒🦶🏽

I won’t speak too in depth about the fetishization of trans people in fanfics because I’m not trans and I don’t want to say anything inaccurate BUT I will say it’s so disturbing and off putting seeing shit like that and seeing how people are sexualizing trans people more than treating them like regular humans…I also came across that ‘femcel’ series and🧍🏽‍♀️erm… no.

I appreciate the account who made the post discussing how the word trans and the f word are completely different. I didn’t even know that word was derogatory and it shocked me... I hope that account takes it down and they educate themselves or something cause 🙁👎🏽

yes pook YES smut can be underwhelming and so overdone. we definitely need more angst/fluff.. or just PLOT in general. no, i'm not saying don't write it at all (incase anons twist my words, cause.. they're good at that.) i'm just saying that it would be nice to see some fully fleshed out pieces with emotion and storytelling. i have something in the works though, that encompasses all genres (fluff/smut/angst) so, there's that!

people will so clearly write the whole petite pale white girl bs like "ur delicate small hand" or the fuckass "doey eyed and blushing cherub red" like NEVER portray reader so specifically unless you're going to specify it in the cw!!!! do whatever for ellie's white ass but for the love of gods and goddess BE AWARE OF READER AS A SPOT TO FILL, NOT AN OC!!!! idk how else to describe what i just said. but. it is said. so it. yeah. that whole delicate small petite thing kinda trickles into writing childlike readers too but. thats a whole nother discussion. no clue if i ever used that phrasing in the past tho i have no bold memories of my writings in detail.

i think people will listen to anybody but trans people who are actively calling it fetishization, like. all the mfs arguing with them say "trans and f💀ta aren't the same!" yeah. they aren't. cause one is like, a genuine, flesh and bone person.. with a whole story.. and feelings.. and experiences.. and one is.. fetishization. how many times do trans people have to repeat that? bet most of the people trying to argue against it aren't even trans.

the whole thing about authors "flooding" the tlou tag with palestine posts is also dumb as fuck. is scrolling a bit too taxing on your poor smut-guzzling thumbs?? ur scrolling over big booty fics, i think you can scroll a little further past those posts if you're really that much of a basement dwelling fuck that's sitting comfortably in their homes while a genocide is happening. out here sobbing cause people are spreading awareness. eat my bum bum booty. ++ also add-on cause we're holding writers accountable for ignoring a strike (different than not knowing at first) but there's also the artists!! they're there too.

anons r gonna come into my inbox abt all this but i'm not even gonna answer like, don't waste your time. im not reading all that. especially coming from an ANON 💀

me when