#never felt more like a teenage tv show fan

[tomasz-the-hater]

the rogue episode got me giggling, gripping my seat, gasping in surprise, etc etc

[gayhoediaz]

nieeeee. i literally cannot stop thinking about of solace and amelioration. like. i've read it three times and i always skip to the end and cry because buck and tommy are. so full of love for each other, it literally makes me Ache. and. the little details you wove in there about tommy's backstory? just.. annihilate me. do you have any more tommy/bucktommy headcanons to share pls 🤲🏾🥺

jaaaack my loveee 🥺🥺🥺 yess of course anything for you!!!! ❤️❤️❤️

tommy spent a lot of time alone growing up so he can solve a rubik’s cube in like absolute record time. for some reason buck finds this just… so hot. he loves it when his man is capable and confident. (and he loves his hands.)

tommy doesn’t necessarily mind being alone because he is so used to it - spending christmas alone, watching love actually and cooking just for himself doesn’t make him sad. he’s certainly not someone who feels sorry for himself. but when he does have people around him? oh god he loves it so much. he loves taking care of people he loves loving people and he loves it when he gets the same right back.

buck is not a huge fan of muay thai either but he still learns a little bit - mostly because he likes seeing tommy all hot and sweaty (and capable) in as many situations as possible (and yes it always ends in sex, in fact i think eventually “muay thai” stops meaning muay thai altogether. it’s just code for dicking each other down.)

buck loves running his fingers through tommy’s hair and tommy loves it when he does it. after a bad day, he’ll just walk in through the door and drop himself on the couch with his head in buck’s lap.

a few years ago tommy went to the animal shelter to maybe get a cat cause he was a little lonely, but he came home with an irish wolfhound and he named her keira because bonus hc: keira knightley is his favorite actress. (buck and keira take to each other immediately, and since buck does more cardio than tommy, he takes up a habit of running with her whenever he has time - usually in the morning, dropping a kiss to a half-asleep tommy’s temple as he tells him he’ll be back in a bit.)

tommy loves buck’s ass (what he sees, i don’t know, there is literally nothing there) but by the time they’ve been together for a few months, he’s comfortable enough to stop holding back, and he’ll just fucking live down there. often it’s sexual but sometimes it’s also not - sometimes they’re having a sick or lazy day, watching the tv in tommy’s bedroom, and buck is fully dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie, and he always ends up on his stomach so tommy can use his non-existent ass as a pillow.

they shut keira out of the room when they fuck, but when they’re done they always let her back in to sleep in bed and she takes up 85% of the space but that’s okay ❤️

tommy meditates and buck tries too but his brain moves too quickly it doesn’t really work for him. when meditation doesn’t work for tommy either - he smokes. it’s a terrible habit left over from rebellious teenage years and stressful time in the closet, and he’s done a good job kicking it, but sometimes buck kisses him, and he can smell it on his breath and he just. sighs. and runs a hand through his hair and asks if he wants to talk abt it.

the longer they’re together the more “cracks” start to show in tommy, i think he’s a lot better at hiding it than buck is - but he struggles not only with ptsd, but with depression and anxiety and he has worked on himself and continues to do so, but he still keeps a lot of that stuff to himself - it takes a while but when buck starts opening up more, tommy slowly starts to do the same, and evan is the first person he feels he can truly rely on and trust, and he’s never really had that before, never felt as if he can be all of himself with someone - not like this.

tommy is plant dad. he has so many plants and he takes such good care of them, and of course, since buck loves learning things, it quickly becomes a shared hobby. their monstera is their pride and joy.

tommy drinks his coffee with so many extra shots of espresso that buck usually makes a little bit of a face when he kisses him right afterwards.

tommy has a lot of small skills he’s kinda good at but not really but kind of (usually, again, born out of boredom and/or loneliness) painting, baking bread, playing the harmonica. he knows how to do these things, but whether or not his own results will be great is… a toss up. however combined with buck’s love of learning and adhd brain, they learn a lot more small skills together. kind of. for a while. until they drop it and move onto the next thing.

tommy is really good at playing the guitar and the first morning buck wakes up in his bed, he asks him about it, and he plays for him. until buck wrestles it out of his hands and puts it to the side because his boyfriend is even hotter now and he needs to get dicked down again thanks. (when they’re done, buck asks tommy to teach him and they end up doing the classic “hands over hands” move and it’s very cute but tommy keeps pressing soft little kisses to bucks shoulder and telling him he’s doing so good and it’s hngggggg… very distracting.)

tommy used to be on the swim team in high school.

tommy is indeed abby’s tommy cause i think it’s funny. it throws them both off a little bit but then tommy says something so smooth that buck forgets all about it. it doesn’t matter. they are each other’s now, fuck her. (i think tommy ended things w her amicably probably cause he was figuring out he’s gay and doesn’t have any negative nor positive feelings abt her, but when buck eventually tells him how she ended (or didn’t) things w him, tommy decides that he does have decidedly negative feelings about her actually.)

[ingravinoveritas]

I feel like this went by really quickly a few days ago, and I thought it deserved to be seen because this is just so utterly lovely. For context, the person Michael is replying to is one of the participants who was chosen for this year's A Writing Chance program (Michael's organization is one of the founders and partners of said program).

When I saw this two days ago, though, it made me genuinely emotional. The fandom that I was in before Good Omens was for a band from the 1960s. I'd been a fan of theirs since I was a kid and found one of my dad's old cassette tapes, and ten years ago or so, I had the opportunity to meet all of the band members and ended up on a first-name basis with three of them, and I become close friends with one member in particular. We were friends online first, on Facebook/Google chat/video chatting on Skype, before meeting in person later on.

In 2011, I was invited to speak at the UN (United Nations) for World Autism Awareness Day, and I posted a status about it on FB. This was just a few months after we'd started talking, and apropos of absolutely nothing, this man left a comment in response to my status update that I will never forget:

"Amy, I am so proud of you! To think I knew you when."

To this day, that comment means more to me than being asked to speak at the UN. I had watched this man and his bandmates on TV as a young autistic teenager (their show aired in reruns on Nick at Nite), and every time I watched, it felt like I suddenly had four friends, which meant the world at a time when I was being bullied relentlessly and didn't have friends in real life. Growing up, I also didn't feel as though anyone was proud of me, even my parents...so to have someone that I had admired and looked up to say that to me years later was beyond anything I could have imagined.

It's for all of these reasons that I was so touched by what Michael tweeted, and I am so happy for this person that they got to have this kind of moment with someone they also admire. And I love that Michael cares so much, not just to offer people these opportunities as a philanthropic endeavor, but to let it be something that means something to him personally, because it's personal to them...

[graciegoeskrazy]

yeah, you wanna find love

matty healy + teen!swiftie!daughter!reader

warnings: some language, angst, fluff, cheating

a/n: do u guys get the title? get it? get it? the title? cuz she sang it? the city? at satvb? get it?

ty bae anon who requested im in LOVE.

I know Eras and Matty and her dating happened way after Red TV was released but shhhhhhhhh

Like any other normal teenage girl, you got excited every time Taylor Swift dropped an album, announced an album, or did anything remotely hinting at herself and her work. Even if it was a far stretch, you were on social media like the rest ready to prove or debunk theories. Tonight, she’s releasing her second re-recording, Red (Taylor’s Version) You were a fan. Even though she and your father dated for like a month and now they never speak to each other and the chances of you seeing The Eras Tour ever again are slim to none, you admired her so much.

Your dad had said goodnight and sent you to bed more than an hour ago. You planned to go against his wishes a little bit and stay up and listen to the album. It was only one time, and it was for the sake of music, so if you got caught he wouldn't be too upset, right? …Right?

The plan was all fine until you got hungry. The kitchen was connected to the living room which is where your father spent most of his late nights, doing work, watching TV, sleeping, whatever. It was quiet so you assumed that he had already gone upstairs for the night or was fast asleep on the couch. It all gave you the confidence to believe that you could sneak into the pantry and not be seen. You were wrong, however.

“Go to bed.”

He was there. Wide awake. Just quietly scrolling through his phone.

You pouted. “C’mon. It comes out in like an hour.”

He never took his eyes off his phone. “And you have to wake up at 6 am for school tomorrow.”

“And I’m still gonna go! One night of staying up and listening to an album isn’t going to change my perfect grades or 4.0 GPA.”

“I said no.” His voice grew a little more stern.

Your begging was now at a full 10. “This is a big deal, Dad! Just because you can’t listen to Taylor anymore doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t!”

“What I say goes, you know that.”

You smirked. “Oh, so it was fine when it was your album?” He hated it when you were a smart-ass. Mainly because you reminded him too much of himself when you acted that way.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “Go to bed.”

“Ughhhhh.” You slumped up the stairs.

“I love you, baby.”

“And I love your ex!”

…

Almost 2 hours later, Matty got tired of the things he saw on Instagram, and the yawns he kept giving let him know that it was time for bed. As he walked upstairs he heard the faintest sound

At first, he thought it was because of something he had done. He thought that maybe the attitude he showed earlier was too much, but on the other hand, he knew his girl was too tough for that to break her. He opened the door and saw your frame curled on the bed. Your face was buried in your pillow but it was evident by the bits that were showing that your face was red and littered with tears. You heard him open the door and walk to you, but you didn't move.

“What’s happened.” He asked quietly as he slipped in into the other side and pulled you close.

“Just shut up. I just need you.” You were harsh but he knew your tone held no true anger or hurt.

“Okay. Okay, I’m here. I’m right here.” He held you as you cried into his chest. You were sobbing. You tried to catch your breath between the hiccups and cries, but it took minutes for you to fully calm down. To you, those minutes felt like hours, and as time went on Matty became increasingly worried about the severity of the situation.

You took one last big inhale, then spoke. “He cheated on me”

“What?”

“He cheated on me…then dumped me when I found out.”

“When?! When did this happen?”

“A little less than a week ago.” He sighed, He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. You and your boyfriend had been dating for nearly 2 years. From the way it looked to the outside world, you two were as happy as could be. Matty always had his doubts but he chalked it up to the typical dad senses overreacting, especially because you always looked so happy and you hadn't been that way in a long time. “I should’ve broken it off long ago.” You hiccuped and cried through your next words. “He ignores me. Everything I say. Everything I do. It's like I’m talking to a brink wall half of the time. I tell him I’ve had enough and he apologizes and makes me feel great like I’m the only one who matters, and then he makes the same fucking mistakes, over and over and over again. He likes the idea of a relationship but doesn't want to put in the work of having one. At least when it comes to me…”

Matty didn't know what to say. It was a complete shock to him. “He doesn’t know what he’s missing-”

“Yes, he does. He just doesn't care.”

“How did this happen, if this happened a bit ago then why are you crying just now?”

You hid your face again. He rubbed your back. “You’re gonna laugh…”

“I won't laugh-”

“You’re gonna be mad,” You said, looking up.

He smiled. “I won't. Promise.” He said, winking.

You sighed and buried your head back into him. “I was listening to the 10-minute version of All Too Well.”

“God, bubs.”

You sat up and looked at him. “Let me live! It was too real. I related too much. I’m serious.”

He reached his arms back up, guiding you to come back to him. “I know. Im sorry.”

You pouted as he placed a kiss on the top of your head. “Do you ever cry to my songs?”

“Only of embarrassment.”

[icearts]

A couple things about Sonic Prime that disappointed me

1. Shadow was in almost the entire trailer, but showed up for 3 out of the 7 episodes

2. An action scene that lasted for three episodes. It got redundant

3. There was an entire plot point where Sonic was dying from the prism energy being taken from him. This took 3 minutes of screen time and the risk felt minimal if it was there at all

4. No consequences = no stakes (literally there was no issue or "sacrifice" that came out of repairing the prism. Idk what i was hoping for, but the fact that everything was so easily fixed kinda hurt my feelings because it made the entirety of season 2 seem completely pointless and dumb)

5. Shadow was super protective of Sonic in the first episode, but never showed that same "Would kill and die for you in a seconds notice" energy he had in that first episode

6. The chaos emerald is mentioned again but never used as a plot point. Chekov's Gun is fake, apparently

7. It's said that Sonic can't exist in the Shatterspace without prism energy, but Shadow never had it in the first place. There is no provided explanation as to why this makes sense. The closest thing was "shadow wasn't there during the blast" but that only explains why he doesn't have the energy, not why he doesn't need it to live like Sonic does (I assume the others have at least a signature of it too which is why they cloned and Shadow didn't. Again this is unexplained in Prime. What does the prism energy even do for/to the supporting cast)

8. Why are there only 7 episodes? Why do they take up so much time in one place?

9. Rouge and Shadow only had one line of dialogue (this isn't a genuine critique I just wanted to see my favorite duo be a duo)

10. Sonic's Prism "Super Form" doesn't come back. Shadow doesn't get anything like that either. Another dud Chekov Gun. Why is this dumb little anecdotal metaphorical firearm never firing

I really loved the new season, and it was great and super fun, but those critiques really ruined some things because those were all things I thought would be a guarantee because of the trailer and because of how the other seasons were.

Why would they even bother to mention the chaos emerald, and this weird void thing if it wasn't going to be essential to the plot other than being an excuse to sideline Shadow. They could have just as easily said that chaos energy is neutralized in cyberspace because it's not connected to the world/chaos/master emerald. That works too!

Plus, why was Shadow sidelined so much? What's the reason? Why wasn't he allowed to use chaos energy and go apeshit? Why couldn't he take off his inhibitor rings in a desperate situation to protect Sonic and be able to teleport into shatterspaces even at the expense of his health?

I know it's a TV-Y7 show. It honestly did not need to be, but I'm sure it was a Netflix mandate to make sure their animation is all meant for kids and only kids, but they really ended up nerfing themselves by alienating their more passionate audience which would be teenagers and adults. Just make it TV PG that would've allowed you to work with higher stakes and a higher budget (oh wait that's what Netflix's intention was nevermind).

If you wanna see me make a list of things I genuinely liked, feel free to ask or comment that. I might do so anyway. I feel like the internet is too negative and critiques of shows tend to do too much of that, so sorry for contributing to that culture, but I really needed to get that disappointment out because it bothered me quite a bit. Feel free to disagree too, or say "bro it's a kids show. It's not that deep. Stop having passion and emotions for your special interests you dumb fuck" I get it. Anyways, good show, good season, highly recommend, it's very fun and enjoyable especially if you're a fan of Sonic

Last minute edit: I only saw the season once and my sense of media literacy isn't by any means perfect, and also, to clarify, most of my concern isn't quite "these plot points are 1000% absent and terrible" and more "I thought the distribution between the action scene in episodes 4-7 and the rest of the season's story was very poor and made the content I was more excited for seem watered down/unplanned/super easily resolved". Again the part of the show where Sonic almost dies because of the prism energy withdrawal was about 3 minutes long. Why did it feel so low-stakes?? I love action scenes. They're great, but when you dedicate over 30 minutes to one long fight scene, it becomes less interesting and there's still MORE OF THE SHOW TO GET THROUGH so those parts got super rushed

[antiquepearlss]

Late Night Phone Call (WIP)

Eugene receives a phone call late at night from his cousin whom he has never had a relationship with.

Eugene knew he was an insomniac. He was well aware of his awful habit of staying up late. But, he rarely had days off as a detective. If he didn’t have work the next day, he was going to stay up as late as he pleased, sleep schedule and overall health be damned.

And, if he hadn’t been awake, he wouldn’t have received what he considered to be one of the most important phone calls of his life. Even if it was at first, an odd and unexpected, downright bizarre call.

See, at two am, Eugene Fitzherbert, the estranged member of his family, received a Messenger call from the cousin he had only had one conversation with in the past decade. That conversation being them awkwardly catching up at the latest family reunion a few months ago. (It was odd that he got along better with Rapunzel than Eugene, the two seemed to instantly become best friends.) They added eachother on Facebook soon after and since then, their conversations had simply been the occasional meme or TikTok the two shared with eachother.

Eugene felt bad, the kid had tried to make conversation with him at first, and he tried to reciprocate. It just felt too weird and awkward to return the favor. Thus, the two barely talked.

All of this to say that the call was very odd, especially considering the late hour. But Eugene had a bad feeling in his gut. Something was wrong, he needed to answer the call. Even if it was likely a bored teenager wanting to ramble or a prank call of sorts.

“Hey kiddo, what’re you doing up so late?”

A small sniffled sound rang through the silence, and Eugene could feel his hairs stand on end. He may not be close with his cousin, but he already knew he would end anyone who hurt him. He was precious and innocent, and already probably had daddy issues (it runs in the family.)

“Hey, sorry I didn’t mean to bother you. I can hang up if you want I just thought you were awake because your icon said you were active butifyoudontwanttotalkitsfinejustignoremeillhangupnow.” The last part being said in a rushed whispery way, the kid sounded like he was trying not to wake someone up, and trying not to cry, or like he had been crying.

Something was wrong, Eugene could feel it. “You’re not bothering me, I’m just watching tv. Day off tomorrow yaknow.” Eugene chuckled, tone light. The kid was clearly upset and needed someone right now, and may not have anyone considering he was reaching out to his estranged cousin.

Eugene may not be close with Varian, but he was that kid before. And he’d be damned before he acted like the only adults he had. 

He could hear a shuffle, and Varian spoke again, a little more clearly. “Whatcha watching?”

The kid wasn’t crying or thinking he was a burden, crisis averted.

“Some shitty cop show, I don’t even remember the name of it. It’s all that’s on right now.” Which was true, he had barely been paying attention and had simply been scrolling his phone for the last hour. It might have been NCIS, he wasn’t sure.

“You have cable?” Varian seemed to perk up. Eugene chuckled “Yeah, Rapunzel wanted it. I don’t like it, makes me feel old.”

“We don’t have cable at home, I wish we did, though.” The kid sounded a touch lighter, having actual conversation material now. Eugene took it.

“Trust me, you don’t. It’s a worthless expensive nightmare. You’re better off with Netflix or Hulu.”

A sad chuckle sounded “we don’t have that either, dad’s not a big fan of tv.” Yeah, that sounded like Quirin. Old timey and boring.

“Whatever I watch I usually just pirate it.” 

Eugene snorted “I’m a police officer kid, you can’t just admit to high crime like that in front of me.” He teased.

Varian let out the lightest little huff “like you don’t do it too.”

“Innocent until proven guilty!” 

The lightest, softest little giggle rang through Eugene’s speaker. Then a sniffle. 

“Are you going to come arrest me then?” His tone was teasing.

Eugene hummed a little, pretending to consider it. “If it was your first misdemeanor, then I think I’ll let you off with a warning.”

Varian let out the same sad little laugh, “bummer, I kinda wanted to see what it was like in the back of a cop car.”

Eugene knew he was joking, but the Older Cousin instincts came in. Something was wrong with Varian, he could tell that much, he needed to nip any possible life ruining thoughts in the bud. “Trust me kid, it sucks. Don’t try anything, it will follow you for the rest of your life. Stupid decisions will always haunt you.”

His tone must have been too harsh, because the light mood was instantly destroyed when Eugene could hear a wet voice respond with “oh, sorry.”

Shit. He fucked that up.

[historical-romances9]

Apparently people in the fandom are upset and pressed because some fans didn’t like Season 3 and what the showrunners did to Polin.

Look, first of all, it’s not my job to cater to other people’s feelings on the internet, especially about fiction. Seriously, we are discussing a TV show here, not real life issues. I know the fandom has people of all ages, even some teenagers (who aren’t old enough to watch this, but I get it, I was the same), and that explains a lot.

Second, I’m 30 years old, I’m married, I have kids and I have a job. And historic romantic dramas have always been my personal favorite form of escapism and just to relax. While I watch many movies and TV shows with my husband, and he likes History as well, romance is not a favorite genre of his, but it’s mine. It’s my personal thing. So, yes, I want a good and entertaining story to decompress from everyday life.

I was very excited about Season 3 and Polin, and enjoyed Part 1. I rarely post anything here other than gifs from historic romances I enjoyed, but I was so disappointed with Part 2, I had to share my thoughts because it’s my blog and I can write about whatever I want.

You have the right to enjoy whatever you want, too. If you think Season 3 was a masterpiece and everything you ever wanted, good for you. Cool.

But others have the right to disagree as well. I have the right to say “it was bad”, they should have done better and deviate from the source material (book) was a terrible idea and it hurt the story being told.

And if I’m being honest, I think many fans were more concerned about Polin being “endgame” than the story itself, and that’s why they are praising Season 3. Of course they were endgame: there’s a book about it, and the show is based on those books. So, yeah, don’t label other people’s opinions as “bad takes”.

People aren’t mindless consumers (or they shouldn’t be), and so I stand by my views. Many choices from the showrunners harmed the love story, deeply. Dragging the angst, Polin wedding while they were in bad terms, the Queen crashing the wedding, no wedding night nor honeymoon. I don’t even care if I’m offending anyone by saying how can anyone actually defend these choices by the showrunners. It felt like Episodes 5&6 and Episodes 7&8 were written by different people!

I’m aware that many fans are very protective of Polin because there are many haters in the fandom. But thanks to what the showrunners did in Season 3, those haters won’t go away. If anything, the showrunners gave them more reasons to hate on Polin. And that upsets me as well because I love them and was very invested in their story.

Oh, well, I’ll just keep on pretending the major parts of Episodes 7 and 8 never happened. Polin had a beautiful wedding and wedding night, and then a beautiful baby because of their passionate honeymoon.

[justwritedreams]

Hello can you do something with Sehun? I had this idea, i think this can be a good story.

He and the reader had feelings for each other,( she’s also a singer/actress) but she went on a big hiatus (because she had and accident) and lost contact with Se, then we she makes a comback,…. What would Se do?🤔👀 that’s up to you

Thanks

OH OK HEAR ME OUT

You debuted almost at the same period as Sehun

Being at the same events, same awards, following each other's careers

You knew who he was, and he knew you

You attended exo concerts in secret because you were always a big fan and never hid that

And he did the same

Going to your concerts too, especially with Chanyeol

Every time you said how much you admired their work, the first thing they asked was who your bias was

You never answered directly, but you always had a specific person in your mind 😏

Cof Sehun Cof

It didn't take long for the internet to explode with theories about the two of you

Exactly like Suho and Irene from Red Velvet lol

You officially met when you debuted as an actress

Antagonist in a film that one of the exo members starred in

He was in the premiere and it was the first time you spoke without any kind of script as MC's or anything like that

Surprisingly you got into a lively conversation

And eventually you've become friends

I feel like Sehun as a friend must be the most annoying person in the world 🤣🤣

But not in such a negative way

I mean, he must be a very present person

That cares about every detail you do

With every story you tell

So it became very difficult for you to get used to living without him

And it became even more difficult for the friendship not to become something more

But did either of you two say anything?

Of course not!

And ruin the friendship, the same old cliché? No way!!

The accident caused you to have a very serious injury at a time when you would begin to dominate the top of the world

So to ensure your physical and mental recovery, you decided to spend time at your parents' house

Exactly at the time when Sehun was too busy with tours

So it was impossible for him to be by your side the way you both wanted 🥲

You even exchanged messages, but that was it

With his busy schedule, contact between you became less and less frequent

And you both missed it 🥹

Everyone was waiting for you to come back and you wanted to do something that meant a lot and consolidated your career once and for all

So you hid it from everyone around you

To make a surprise

Your comeback would be both on stage and on TV

You composed the music and would star in a promising series

But let's talk about the day it happened!!

The show you were performing in agreed to keep everything a secret

Not even the idols of that day knew it was you who would perform

So when Sehun heard your voice on the TV in the dressing room

Mixed with a classic melody but in the best kpop style, the shock was so big that his neck made a noise when he turned to look at you

He didn't even care about the makeup artist doing her work on his face 🤣

And let me tell you he felt more in love with you at that very moment

Everything about you was magnificent and it was as if he saw you for the first time

Were the boys teasing him? No doubt

But the only thing he could think about was seeing you backstage

And he did, before you could go to the dressing room

He found you in the hallway

And his hug 😭 oh god

You felt like a teenager in love

But of course you didn't have enough privacy to talk in front of everyone in the hallway

So after he complained because you didn't say you were coming back, he pulled you into the dressing room where he was

And he were angry because the members came to talk to you, interrupting your conversation 🤣

I can totally see his sassy face LOL

Jealous and pouty Sehun? ✅

I don't think he would let you go anyway

"I need to change"

"You can do that here when it's our performance. We have a lot to talk about since you've isolated yourself from everyone, including me."

Even in a joking tone, you knew he was serious

So you had nothing to do but wait

And when I said he wouldn't let you go, I meant it

He would find a way for you to go to a quiet place where you could make up for lost time

And this time he wouldn't keep what he feels for you hidden

After all, he missed you so much

I think he would confess

Like "I missed you, it felt like I was dying"

"Me too "

"I know you can't live without me"

"You can't live without me."

"Took you a while to realize, huh."

"WHAT"

I think it would become a contest to know who started to fall in love first 🤣

But you wouldn't leave there just as friends 😏

[melodiesofmidnight]

I want to talk about violence in Phantom of the Paradise for a moment.

Paul Williams once said in an interview that:

"You go back to, in our society, we were, as Americans, sitting and watching the footage from Vietnam. There were cameras following the fighting. We're sitting there with our TV dinners watching the war in Vietnam. And, at some point, it felt like something really evolved at this point.

But the news was becoming entertainment. And the line between the two, between the news and entertainment, our reality began to blur. And so when that amazing moment in the movie, when Beef was killed on stage and the kids think it's part of the show, I think that's a really pivotal moment [...] and it just feels like that was basically the heart of the picture."

It seems to me that this truth, which, at the time, may have seemed to be an overly-thoughtful consideration of the film's intended meaning, has now been augmented into something of so formidable a magnitude as to seem so obvious that it hardly warrants mentioning: and that is intentional.

*Further commentary under the Read More.*

In an ideal society, of course, this aspect of the film would be lost to us, a symptom of a bygone and barbaric society whose methods of entertainment would find themselves comfortably classified as having evolved from those of the Romans.

The "heart of the picture," as Paul put it, however, has only become more familiar to us as Time has steadily marched onward, and may now be so ubiquitous a phenomenon that we suffer the same blindness as those inhabiting said ideal society: we simply do not really analyze the violence. It is hardly mentioned in pertinence to this film in the realm of critical analysis, as that is just standard film fare: we hardly pause to consider its position within the film, or what the depiction of this violence may be trying to say: it is simply not particularly remarkable to us.

And why should it be?

Since the advent of the Internet, real violence has become so easily accessible to us that even a quick Google search can bring you within a finger's breadth of witnessing atrocities mankind was never meant to see.

Many of us grew up in the nascent, more unregulated days of the Internet, where kids passed shock sites between them like naughty magazines, and when places like LiveLeak consolidated into one convenient location the truly horrific realities of the world: beheadings, murders, war crimes, car crashes, cartel torturings...if it featured real, unadulturated human suffering, it had an ever-growing audience. People In the Know referenced these videos to one another, winking at the in-jokes made at the expense of real humans whose horrific deaths they had themselves witnessed.

Even in the current age, these things blur the lines between fantasy and reality for modern youths the way war footage may have for the youths of the Vietnam era: death is a spectacle, be it real or simulated.

We tell ourselves vehemently that we can distinguish between the two - between real and simulated violence - and, while this may be true in parsing the difference between fantasy and reality, can we parse the difference between its effect on us personally? Is every instance of real violence we witness truly as raw to us as it was the first time we saw it?

Ostracized teenage boys gather together to idolize school shooters the way horror fans may gather together to admire their favourite fictional slasher. People respond to a low death toll in mass shootings the way they may react to saving nearly all the characters in their favourite horror game: "Oh, just two got killed? That's not so bad."

Sure, it seems silly to us while watching the film that the audience doesn't recognize that Beef was truly killed whilst onstage, because of course they should have -- we would have. However, would we have cared? There have even recently been instances of people continuing to party on while their friends lie dying of alcohol poisoning on the couch, or of people livestreaming the murder of their partner while their viewers cheer them on, or even people who have displayed the body of a celebrity at a nightclub event.

People trample each other over 5% off sales on televisions and shoot each other's children over a perceived slight on the roadway. People commit random acts of violence against each other every single day, and, of late, have been livestreaming it: recording it for people all over the world to watch -- and they do. They gather en masse to watch, and, when a half-hearted attempt is made to remove the video from being accessible, people scour the Internet to find it: to be part of the group In the Know--to have something to talk about. An assassination live on television, coast to coast? Now that's entertainment!

I think the violence aspect of Phantom of the Paradise is terribly overlooked, and such really only speaks to the relevance of that particular criticism against our society, which still rings so true as to be invisible to us. Haha, the person in the movie killed another person with a bird hat, isn't that silly? Haha, the singer onstage got electrocuted to death, that's so absurd. Haha, that girl put on Winslow's mask after he died without even checking on him. Haha, everyone's partying even though four people just died. Isn't that silly?

And why shouldn't we find it silly, rather than horrifying? After all, we saw worse than that when we were six.

[likeabxrdinflight]

so as we all know, the live action atla airs tomorrow. knowing me, I'll end up binging the whole thing in one, two days tops.

I think the majority of my followers on this platform followed me back in 2020, when the animated show dropped on netflix and saw a sudden resurgence in popularity. so most of you know me as a fan, and it's not exactly a secret. I adore the animated show. It's somewhere in my top ten favorite tv series of all time. it might even be the top, I've never actually sat down and thought about it that deeply, but if I did, atla very well could be number one.

it's not a perfect show, far from it. it has flaws. everything does. but I was there with atla from literally day one. I remember back in 2005, all the tv ads for this cool, anime-esque nickelodeon show that was gonna air soon. I memorized the date and time of the premiere. I made damn sure I wasn't gonna miss it. my 12-year-old ass forced my little brother to surrender the remote for that hour and refused to let him touch it. turns out I didn't need to, because we both got invested right away. and I tuned in for every new episode from that day on. even if I was at a friend's house, I made sure we watched if a new episode of atla was airing. I was that insane about this show.

I can remember making up fake bending routines in my parents' living room (usually firebending lol). in the summers I'd pretend to be a waterbender in the swimming pool. some of my earliest drawings are of katara, aang, and zuko, and then later azula. I remember when the blue spirit first aired and presenting my brother with the "zuko will definitely become aang's friend and teach him firebending" manifesto. he was not convinced. I was devastated by the season two finale, and so vindicated by season three. I remember how long the 2008 writer's strike felt when it delayed the second half of season three. and I remember when the finale finally aired- by this point I was now 15- and just the rollercoaster of emotions that was for me as a teenager. I remember not wanting it to be over, delving into the online fandom and discovering all the different ships, fanart, fanfics, and video edits (and drama). I learned how to use windows movie maker and pirate the episodes just because I wanted to join in on the fun. I wrote a not good zutara fic that I never finished. I put my shitty little azula videos on youtube. I've been in and out of this fandom ever since.

so to say I have a lot of love for the animated series would be an understatement. when I think of the media that defined my childhood, there's really five things that first come to mind- harry potter, pokemon, anime more broadly (special shout out to yugioh and sailor moon), disney, and atla.

I say this all to establish that there is zero chance the live action adaptation could ever overtake the animated original for me. I will always love it more, it will always be the more special version of this story. I was exactly aang's age when that first episode aired. there's no replacing something like that. when I think of this story and these characters, I think I will always default to the animated version.

that said, I really am feeling optimistic about the live action adaptation. I'm frequently skeptical of these kinds of projects, especially the disney remake trend, but there's a couple reasons I feel pretty okay with the adaptation of atla. one is that there has been a recent uptick in popularity of the original. it's a good time to re-visit this story, people are interested, and it can only serve to get even more people to watch the original given both will now be on netflix. two is that I'm very encouraged to see that both in front of and behind the camera, asian and indigenous people are taking center stage. I don't think we can discount the importance of that. third, everything I've seen about this show that's not a panicked hot take on twitter or a headline pulled out of context is fairly encouraging. I mostly like what I've heard from the cast and showrunners in interviews. several reviews of the first episode's premiere have been broadly positive, most importantly to me, from actual fans who attended.

I do have some reservations. I'm not totally sold on the visual aesthetic, with the somewhat darker color palette and the contrasting saturation of the costumes. for this first season, I'm easily most concerned about how katara is going to be written. I want them to make changes and tell the story differently, but I do worry they won't find the right balance. too much change to central character arcs could deleteriously impact the story. and I will always be concerned about the portrayal of azula.

I also have mixed feelings about the sexism thing- I'm not necessarily pressed that they might tone down sokka's or even pakku's overt sexism, and frankly the "girls can fight too!" version of feminism is kind of tired in 2024. I also know several indigenous people have spoken up about how the water tribe's being sexist was not a great look. but I am concerned that, in toning this aspect down, they might inadvertently neuter katara's character arc or remove some of her best moments. I have to question how this change will impact suki as well. ironically I'm not as worried about sokka, his sexism was a minimal part of his overall character arc- but it's impact on the women around him was much more meaningful. that's what I'm more concerned about.

I've also heard that the first episode suffers from a glut of exposition that was felt necessary for new viewers but returning fans will likely find tiresome. and naturally I'm worried some things will look goofy, fail to translate from cartoon to live action well, or that some of the heart and charm of the original will get lost in translation. so yeah, there's concerns.

but generally speaking I'm more excited than not. if the show has as much love put into it as the cast and crew interviews seem to indicate, then I think revisiting this world and these characters in a new way with a new generation at the helm will be a lot of fun. the nostalgia market is definitely oversaturated right now, you can certainly argue this didn't need to exist, but I'm not going to pretend I'm not interested to see what they do with this. especially when we already got such a bad live action version- it's not like this is a new idea for atla as a franchise. there's a precedent already set for trying it again. so I'm going in with an open mind. let's see what they do- it's not like it's ever going to replace the original. it can't.

...also I think the tag I'm going to use is "natla spoilers". I've been tagging "atla live action" but I think I'm gonna switch over to "natla" primarily from now on. and believe me, I will be sharing my thoughts.

[theimaginatrix27]

I've been in the Star Trek fandom spaces long enough, time to talk publicly about a thing that I am injecting into every fic where it is relevant

So if you've been paying attention to my blog the last couple months, you will know I am a huge fan of @enbygesserit 's work. They write the absolute best Dominion lore and fic I have ever had the pleasure of reading/encountering, and I eat up each new piece like my favourite confectionery.

What I am about to discuss predates any exposure I had to their work by at least thirteen years.

And the ship it surrounds was my DS9 OTP for two entire decades (before I discovered the O'Brien polycule and now my DS9 otp is a "One True Polyamorous tangle", but moving on).

That ship being Kiraodo. My heart broke when Odo confessed his love to an apparently dying Kira, she said she loved him back, and that was the clue for him to realise she was not Kira at all. And then when the Female Changeling Voice of the Link told him Kira would never love him because he was a Changeling, I was a tiny sad twelve-yo who thought, "But I love him!" And then I wanted it to be a thing.

And when I found out it was a thing in canon but they had to part ways at the end of the series, I was happy and sad at the same time.

I was a teenager, I didn't know the relationship felt awkward to some (though to be fair I still hated Children of Time and what the alternate/Gaia Odo did, but I address that in another fic so it's fine). I just wanted the sad Changeling and the fiery Bajoran to prove the mean Changeling wrong.

But also, I acknowledged to myself, even in 2009-10, that it would not be fair to Odo at all to make him leave his people again so quickly. I felt sympathetic toward the Changelings/Founders even as a teenager who had not and would not see DS9 in its entirety (curse you, cable TV! You with your reruns and exorbitant prices making it so hard for us to keep you for more than a few months at a time!) Anyways, I knew even then that I didn't want to take Odo away from his people again, even for him and Kira to be together.

So what was my solution?

Here were the canon points I considered at age nineteen (I was creating the bare bones of the Galactic Warp AU at the time and also had a strict must-adhere-to-canon policy for any fanfic ideas I'd had at the time):

The Great Link turned Odo into a solid.

The baby Changeling in The Begotten turned him back, at the cost of its life (but maybe not if it hadn't already been dying).

Therefore, it is canonically possible for a solid to become a Changeling.

What if Kira had been Changelinged?

WHY IS THAT NOT CANON?

I have this as a significant plot point in any Kiraodo content I'm going to write, so if you see Kiraodo becoming a thing in any fic, expect to see Changeling Kira show up somewhere.

"But wait!" someone yells. "You just said you didn't want to take Odo from his people, and Kira's Bajoranness is a huge part of her identity! And you're gonna just take that away from her?"

No, actually. You think the Prophets give a shit whether or not Kira's corporeal form is solid? Fuck no, they're not corporeal and time is not linear for them! The Kira is always the Kira. The Kira is always of Bajor. The Kira is always beloved of the Prophets.

This holds true in every single fic in which I have inserted this. Kira doesn't always become a Changeling full time (some of my AUs have magic), but more importantly, She never stops being Bajoran in the ways that really matter.

Which, if this had been a canon episode, would have been emphasised by the Prophets themselves and I am not taking critique on this.

"But the Founders would never do this in canon!" I hear you cry. "They hate solids and the Voice doesn't like Kira especially!"

First of all, the convoluted love triangle between Odo, Kira and the Voice was stupid.

Second of all, it doesn't even have to be them who do it, we got other more powerful entities around! Q was basically banned from DS9, sure, but what if Kira and Odo weren't on DS9?

Here's my idea for how this could have happened in canon, if the writers had really wanted to sell us the ship.

Odo and Kira have been away on a mission together (doesn't matter where, they just have to be off the station). It's sometime in Season 6, post the Dominion occupation of DS9. When the runabout returns, Odo coms the station and says he needs to give them warning about something, and they're going to have to take him at his word, however hard that may be.

"What's wrong?" Sisko asks. "And where's Major Kira?"

In response, Odo holds up his bucket. There is a Changeling in goo form inside.

"There was an—incident while we were returning from our mission. It was successful, by the way."

Sisko stares at the screen intently for a moment.

"Are you saying," he asks slowly, "that Major Kira was replaced by a Changeling?"

"No, Captain," Odo responds. "I am saying this Changeling is Major Kira."

Cue opening theme!

And possibly this would be a two-parter! I feel that with the whole theme of DS9 being nuance, and with the Dominion being such a big deal, it deserves to be!

Basically the plot would first involve a flashback to Q popping in while Kira and Odo are arguing about something Changeling-related or whatever, going "You know, I've been watching you and yours for a while now—from a safe distance of course—and frankly, I've been surprised by the lack of nuance with regard to the Founders."

And Kira's all, "Oh come on, don't you start with this high-and-mighty attitude! I read all the records about you after your last visit to Deep Space 9, you don't have any room to talk!"

"And neither do you," Q fires back. "You think your terrible acts were justified, don't you? Oh, you know they were dreadful, the fact that you could be so violent distressed you so! But when it comes down to it, you can sleep at night, because you helped drive out the Cardassians and set Bajor free. But when the Dominion imposes their order on their part of the galaxy because they used to be oppressed and were traumatised, you sit there on what moral high ground you have and pass judgment on them!"

"I don't need to hear this! Especially not from you! Sisko made you stay away from the station—from us! Now get off this runabout and leave us alone."

"Oh, you do need to hear it, Nerys. But if you insist on me leaving, let me do so on my terms. Don't worry, my little firework, I'll make sure you don't need my help undoing this." And he snaps his fingers and disappears.

And Kira's form begins to melt and she barely has time to call Odo's name before she dissolves into Changeling goo.

Back on DS9, everyone's a bit frantic after seeing the runabout footage, which confirms Odo's story. He links with her and is able to help her reform after a little time, during which we get to hear panicked Kira thoughts and some cool visuals of what the link is like for her. We get a scene after she's able to shift back into herself where Jadzia quips that she's got purple hair and Cardassian neck ridges or something, which is not amusing to her at all.

Then there's a whole discussion on how they're going to fix her before the rest of the Federation finds out, because "Are they going to believe the testimony of one rogue Changeling and the footage from a runabout computer? What if they decide Kira's a threat and take her into custody?"

And the answer is pretty obvious, especially after Julian examines a sample of her matrix and discovers traces of her dna are still in it.

They have to take her to the Great Link so she can be restored to solidity. The Founders are rather good at genetic manipulation, after all. It'll be fine!

Except they're at war, and the Voice does not like Kira, which forms the majority of the conflict, as they have to convince any Dominion forces they meet that "Seriously, we are not here to fight, please don't blow us up, we just want to help our friend, yes we mean it, don't fire!"

And in the end Kira has to pretend to be a Founder just to get the various ships to leave them alone, and it's weird as fuck for her but she makes it to the Great Link and the Voice is there and doesn't believe her at first until they link and she gets proof from her memories.

Which leads to Kira finding out about the morphogenic virus early, and being incensed, because "Look, I don't like you, but that's crossing multiple lines! I'd never have signed off on that if it were up to me, and I know Sisko wouldn't either! Doctor Bashir's brilliant—he can help you, I'm sure of it."

"Even if we did not help you right away?"

"I can wait, if I have to. I'm kind of getting used to this whole thing. It's been—an interesting experience."

And after another link to confirm that yes, she means that and it's not even in a bad way, the Voice consents to help her regain her solid status and she goes into the Great Link, gets a small taste of the Founders' collective trauma and is deeply moved by it, bursting into tears when she emerges, once more humanoid. There's a whole final scene about how she wishes more people in the Federation could have experienced what she did, and then she goes to write a log entry on the whole thing or something.

But this would absolutely change the trajectory of the war because that's how DS9 works, so it wouldn't just be handwaved away. in subsequent episodes, Julian is able to find a cure—possibly with help from within the Dominion itself because the Founders would very much like to not die and Julian is being Julian at them and they're taking a real liking to him.

And the galaxy is saved because Q did a thing! But also Kira understands Odo better after this and their relationship is all the richer for it.

*Starts chanting* It should've been canon, it should've been canon, it should've been canon, IT SHOULD'VE BEEN CANON!

[bluebird-in-a-cagedrawing]

Also, help i fall down this rabbit hole... I did plan to write a lot about it 😅, sorry guys for the torture, please forgive me! Ok? 🥺🥺

P. S 2.0:This is an old fanfiction that never come out two years ago, didn't have the mood to write that much...It is a bit prepared with feelings... I do plan to write more with cases and of course more SCP style since H. Hope is my SCP persona... 😅 I just got the taste of the case-detective stories 👀👀👀, oh boy... My imagination is over 9000🤣🤣♥️

...

Also part 1:->

Part 3: ->

The others strangers looked strange at her, had that look as if they could eat her, Hope was in a new completely unknown location to her, it Was scary but she had to be brave after all they Were people not anomalies.

Most teenagers and even some adults found comfort in alcohol and very fould language, they were dressed too stridently and vulgar, it Was indeed a mad world out there, the streets have so much danger on them after the sunset and With every step she took, she felt watched.

On the Site after everything that happened that day she couldn't stay there for much longer, she needed a break and her colleague understand her, for that Hope was grateful, she did not need to explain to them any forward, there was still blood, bad blood and smell, that smell made Hope sick.

While she tried to avoid unwilling conflicts a group of three boys blocked her way, that made her sigh, can't she just had a peacefully night at least once...

The blonde one said something to her, his breath smelled of cheap cigarettes and different types of alcohol, wondering how he stood on his feet by now, the middle one was shorter than the rest of those two, tried to grab Hope by her shoulder, lucky his face meet with Hope angry fist, the idiot felt down probably needed a dentist soon.

The third screams something Hope could not understand probably he had too many glass of whisky, but that kick somewhere should had wake him up.

For someone like Hope it was easy to kick their sorry lives but that wasn't something she wanted at that moment, Hope withdrew when she caught the moment.

Near the beach a detective looking at sea, the waves calmed him down, he didn't even know why he suffered from insomnia.

The moon was full and beamed with light as it looked upon him, the moon was the detective's only companion but as he sit down a noise caught his attention.

It looked like several people were chasing another person and a few swear words could be heard, this Was something that the detective didn't want to see it, his hero side come out, someone had to teach those jesters a lesson, it was incredible how society was deteriorating.

The detective had no problems When it came to fight, it is What comes with being a detective, having to know those things not only using your brain and of course be in the right shape he didn't had a problem catch up with them.

The detective had to take them by surprise so he hide behind a bush, finding a rock it throw it as far as he could, the rock made a sound that drove their attention away, following the sound they found and angry stray cat that gave them a scare, not far away two guardians having dogs come and chase those men, probably they had heard the laughter and come to see What was going on, a hotel was nearby.

As the scene was safe detective Void decided it Was time to come out, that sure Was boring but he didn't knew What happened to the fourth person, was injured, did it needed help.

As he was walking by mistake, his leg got tangled by something and in the sand his hand found a long thin rope only that it moved in his palm. As soon as it moved, it withdrew immediately leaving a thin trace in the velvet sand and clearly that wasn't a fish.

The detective follow the trace, it was obviously something was going on, he knew only one person with that tail, it was three years ago since he last saw her... And those men could come anytime soon, he had to warn her and make sure Hope was alright, not that he cared that much, sure he did not or that he tries to say to himself.

He finally found her hidden behind some rocks, the light Was weak, nearly impossible to see someone there if it wasn't for the thin rose tail that the Waves brought it ashore, he slowly gave his hand so the female anomaly would have a better chance to come out of her hidding spot.

Hope remember the young male in front of her, another strange place for a reunion but then again, they first have meet on the Site at the worst time possible, maybe next time they could have a nice cup of tea, the water in the sea was just like ice.

Just a reminder for them, they Were in an open area where they could easily fall prey, Hope made a sign, they have to move in the opposite direction, as they walked the big full moon follows them and more stars were revealing themselves.

The beach was long and wide, the sea become restless, they already were going by an half of hour, no noise, no strange figure, occasionally they heard a train passing by, the detective was silent.

Even in the darkness she could still see the sadness in his eyes,even if the detective tried so hard to hide it, something was wrong with him too, maybe he saw something that broke him too, Hope realize thst she wasn't the only one who was running from something. She knows that face too well, even in her nightmares. She got closer to the detective,as the breeze started to bother her, she still was wet from that early night bath in the sea, wished she had a towel.

Anyway deep down Hope was really happy to see the detective, since last time in a way she had missed him but then she remember her true mission and the foundation purpose, people like detective Void should be protected from any anomalies no matter the cost.

On the other hand, the silence Was killing the detective, who Were those men that were following Hope? Why Hope needed to hide from them? Have they found out? They were in danger?

The flashbacks from the recent events come before her eyes, Hope didn't even knew the detective asked her something so she tried to change the subject.

"It's crazy to think how the stars appears so small on the sky but if you would get closer to them, it can kill you."

"What are you trying to say with this?"

That wasn't exactly the conversation the detective really wanted at that moment but it had to start from somewhere plus it looked like Hope felt a little better, he saw how tense she was.

"Do you always have to let your little tail get into trouble?"

At that Hope let a small laugh, if only the detective knew, but he knows only 0.0002% of it, truth Was she always had her little tail into trouble more or less...it Was funnier this Way more or less, unlike the rest of the SCP colleague she has fun.

"I kinda wish the stars would have been this small so i could pick up some of them in my hand and make a lovely how you call those paper flowers that puts them around your neck in the old Hawai beach movies?

"For good people there will always be a compliment found."

"It's just you should be more careful... Take care of you, mister detective Void... Um, your soulmate needs you whole body and soul."

"You are sometimes weird, Hope... Why would i even need a relationship?"

"And the detectives past time activities is star gazing?"

"No. Is it yours?"

Ouch, there he caught her, she tried so hard maybe too hard to not make herself a fool well it did not work.

"Probably, i don't know, i like the night sky and looking at the many stars, at least they are not alone."

"Are you? Is that all, Hope, you are a little defensive there... When you are a detective you get to speak to lots of different people/ suspects."

"I only want someone to have a heart to heart conversation that is all. Nothing too much, or too many..."

"How was your day?"

"Great! Containment breach, violence, blood, more people in the cemetery the usually stuff. Yours?"

"Maybe i shouldn't have asked, i'm sorry... Well, i failed finding a perfect gift for someone whos birthday is about in 2 months, i can't find the right one and i am a detective i should know were to look for it."

"That is so sweet, i am sure this person knows you live them even without the perfect gift."

Hope looked at the detective and it was getting hard to keep herself up, the sad feelings were still there and it Wasn't like it could go away that easily, knocking at her doors, she tried her best to not give up anything besides good vibes, it wasn't about her anymore, it is never about her, she can go through it just fine, right? Wrong. Just thinking about those hours back the containment breach, oh gosh, it could have been anyone even the person in front of her, dead, just as cold as an ice-cream...

"Please don't go, i don't want to have you too on my consciousness. I can't protect you!"

She found herself speaking, it was true after all and if it wasn't for the professional expression mask the young detective had, that statement would have taken him by surprise. He had to admit to himself that nothing was shocking him anymore at that point, well he was wrong, they barely knew each other after all, that must have been confusing as redacted.

"I thought more than half of the foundation would dislike me, wasn't expecting this from you!"

"I don't know what your problem is but we are not evil and you are not a hero either, it's just you should live your life as a simple life nothing too complicated."

This somehow hurt him, it's not like he wanted any of this in the first place, he wouldn't admit it to anyone but this secret started to get the better of him, it wasn't like detective Void forgot his promise to forget about all of this, he really tried but fate is a cruel mistress and a twisted one.

The silence was too long and Hope decided to speak again, she didn't wanted to make him feel bad and unwanted.

"It's nice to have you in my life mister detective, i find you a funny guy with a sense of humor."

"Sense of humor? I don't think that is true about me, of course i have many qualities but that isn't on the list."

Hope started to shake, it was indeed a beautiful view but it was getting cold and colder the breeze, it was also late.

"Have you ever thought that the SCP foundation is the problem here? This secret is just a brainwash, it should have been better if people knows about it, it's the only way to confront whatever will come in the future!"

"And then what will happen? They will become so afraid that even seeing their own shadow will scare them! Some things are better left alone in the dark, if you don't know it then it won't hurt you!"

"That is not how things works, Hope!"

"Have you forgot in what twisted universe we live in?

"And does getting yourself killed solves any problems?"

"So does that means you do care a little about me? I'm flattered mister detective, please don't make me blush more than i already am."

"Eh...Why do i even bother? It's clearly i'm fighting on a war that is already lost..."

"Mister detective Void let me say something nice too, you are like a sad fairytail with a happy ending."

"That doesn't makes much sense but i will take it and please drop the mister, i'm not that old!"

"Well you sure are the detective of my life!"

Hope gave a little smile, all those books and TV series about detectives and resolving crimes, made her want an adventure like that, maybe if she asked him, Hope might have a chance.

"Again what is with this obsession about detectives?"

"Not just any detective, if i might add."

Again silence, it was fun, they just sit there on the sand and talk about ordinary things, nothing much, but neither of them mind it.

"Are you tired?"

"Yes, sort of... Mind if i let my head rest on your shoulder? So warm, i like it, ten out of ten, you would make a great pillow, detective."

"Yeah, my next great career as a pillow, a detective pillow."

Just like that Hope gave a short laugh, she already could imagine the detective pillow, at day solve cases, at night giving everybody who needs it, a great night sleep, not bad at all.She buried her face a little deeper in the detective neck, a faint blush covering her cheek.

"Come on, i saw a motel near by, i am sure they have a room where you can stay..."

She didn't wanted to go back at the Site plus too tired and she barely drag her feet, the room Was cozy points to the detective fpr knowing such a nice place, once they were in the room the bed somehow winked at her, and Hope knew how tired she Was.

"Not bad, right Hope... Oh and here i have this two coupons With 50% Off at any dumplings order, their dumplings are one and only kind, you can have them... I am too busy sometimes i forget to even eat, it would be a shame to let this coupons waste..."

The detective turned his head only to see Hope already curled up into a ball, looked like she already Was fast asleep and did not heard him, but he couldn't blame her, after that he let her a message and slowly closed the door behind him.

The detective had a lot of things on his own agenda to do, just thinking about it made him almost skip sleep that night, but that could have wait at least one more day, he could feel that he was getting closer to the truth.

The end

[n-evermores]

“Besides, you’re still in love with your old girlfriend.”

Let’s talk about this trope. I see this often with older male characters, and my only question is why? It’s so tiring and honestly, a little silly. And this is not me trying to diminish real feelings that teenagers can have. Many people marry their high school sweethearts and live long happy lives together. But you also grow together and build a life with one another. It’s very different.

If my math is correct, Joy and Parker dated when they were 15/16 years old. They went their separate ways their junior year of high school so they were probably 16 when they broke up. Our brains don’t fully develop until we’re about 26. Parker and Joy, even at 21, would be very different people from who they were at 16, and even more so at 26. They’re like 60 now. It’s safe to say they are strangers at this point.

This trope is so unhealthy to me, and usually painted as romantic by writers. Him not able to have a healthy long lasting relationships with women because he’s still obsessed with his high school girlfriend is not romantic. One could argue it's toxic. Honestly he needs therapy because this has to be some form of trauma. Yet, the writers love using women for male pain, and this isn’t any different. You’ll never see them write a female character incapable of having an adult relationship because they can’t get over their old flame, because they don’t use men as plot devices like they do with women.

It’s like when ALL of Gibbs’ relationships and marriages failed because he couldn’t move past Shannon. I totally understand this for him because they built a life together and had a child, (but it’s still unhealthy) As we get older the way we love changes. We mature and so does the way we love and how we love matures with us. There’s no reason Viv had to compete with a ghost from his teenage years. It’s downright silly and kind of unrealistic if we’re being honest.

I love Joy as a character and I love the actress. I feel like the writers need an excuse to prevent Parker from being happy just as they did with Gibbs. And I hate that. A part of me wishes they used Joy’s actress as Viv (I wasn’t too fond of the actress they used. Perhaps it was the way she was written or portrayed, but I’m not a fan), and just gave us a slow burn of him getting back with his ex wife of many years. I feel like that’s the direction they were originally going in until they retconned it with the Joy plot line.

And when Constance broke up with Parker, I felt sad for him, and then suddenly she hits us with the “you’re still in love with your old girlfriend” line, and I just eye rolled so hard. Like why? It’s so stupid. It pulled me out of the story and I love Parker, I do, but it kind of ruins his character for me just a little. It’s just weird. Like you were a child when you loved her, you haven’t seen her since you were 16. Move on, my guy. Move on. I just know a man wrote this into his story, that or I want to know who’s 14 year old child went into the writing room and suggested it. Because it’s silly.

Also just to reiterate that they usually don’t do this with women: Joy herself is a good example. When Parker asked if she was over him, we never saw her response. Clearly, that conversation didn't go in his favor because nothing came from it. Most likely, she rejected him. However they did allow Jimmy to fall in love again and be in a healthy happy relationship after his wife died, but Parker can't get over a girl he dated at 16? It's just a badly written plot and a trope that needs to die. It's not romantic, its not cute. I'm not sitting at my tv and going, “awww, he's stuck in his past which is preventing him from having healthy long lasting relationship, so sweet and romantic.” Yuck no.

Also please note this is not me hating on Parker. He is one of my favorite fictional characters ever. I adore him. This is just me complaining about NCIS writers. I love the show to pieces, but when it comes to characters like Parker and Gibbs, they love to throw these toxic tropes at us. One of those tropes being unbridled anger = masculinity (hello old wounds.) Anyway. Rant over ha ha.

TL;DR: Unless you have an unhealthy obsession, real people don't stay in love with the person they dated at 16, especially after 40-something years. That person would be so far from your mind. It's unrealistic and I wish writers would stop using this trope to prevent characters from happiness or having any healthy long-lasting relationships.

[threecheersforinking]

Drama Review: Reply 1988

**spoilers ahead**

*if you haven't seen the show, read my spoiler free WYSW post first!!*

This post will continue what I started with Boys Over Flowers (where I wrote a long unsolicited dump of all my thoughts on a show I really loved). And, needless to say, I really loved this show too. I honestly haven't cried this much at a tv show in a long time, and that's saying something because I cry very often. I think I teared up at least once every episode, and don't even get me started on the final episode because I'm pretty sure I was full on crying for at least 1 hour straight.

I guess the reason I was so attached to this show, and likely the reason this show is so popular, is because it's so relatable. Even if you haven't lived in that one particular alley in Ssangmun, most people can relate to growing apart from friends, moving out of their parents' house, leaving their childhood behind, etc. I felt like I watched this at a really appropriate time in my life, and maybe that's why I was especially emotionally impacted by it.

Characters

If you've ever read my blog before you'll know that I love a large cast of characters! So I was very pleased with all the characters and the different dynamics they had in this show. As an anime fan I'm used to teenagers/young people being the focus with adult characters being kind of an afterthought, but I really loved how developed and important all the adult characters were. The parents weren't there just to be parents, they had their own goals, lives, and struggles.

Sunwoo was probably my favorite character, but it was hard to pick a favorite because they were all so great. Funnily enough, Bora was originally my least favorite character (due to how cruel she was to her siblings at the start), but I'm happy to say she really grew on me. The development she went through due to her relationship with Sunwoo made me like her a lot more. The two of them were so cute together and I really enjoyed their secret dating era in 1989.

I also loved Taek and Sunwoo's blended family, I thought it was so nice how they became brothers after being friends for so many years. The way the show handled the two boys' reactions and adjustment to their parents dating was really well done as well.

The Romance Subplot

As I've said before, I like love triangles, and this show was no exception. Coming directly off of my watch of Boys Over Flowers (in which the love triangle lowkey had me ripping my hair out), this love triangle was a breath of fresh air. Honestly I have never been so conflicted as to which love interest I'm 'rooting for' before. I think I may have been subconsciously rooting for Junghwan because that 'fake confession' episode hit me right in the gut, but I loved both Taek and Junghwan so much I genuinely didn't even care.

One of my favorite scenes in the show is how after Sunwoo explains to Taek that you can tell how someone feels about a person by how they look at them, the episode ends with Taek noticing how Junghwan is looking at Deoksun. It's a great dialogue-less moment and really sets the tone for their dynamic for the rest of the show.

While I liked this love triangle, I do think the implications of the time jump put me off a bit. As I said, I was kind of rooting for Junghwan, and the episode where he realized he lost Deoksun to Taek was heart wrenching. But as Junghwan said himself, what exactly had he been doing for the past 5 years? It was a bit hard to pity him when he had so many opportunities to ask her out and beat Taek to the punch.

Other Stuff

Honestly, I didn't love the 2015 flash-forwards too much, they were too few and far between and took me out of the immersion of the 80s/90s setting. I think the first one was ok, the others felt a little less necessary, and then it went so many episodes without a single 2015 scene that I almost forgot they were a thing. I enjoyed the 2015 scenes in the last episode after we knew who got married to who, but it still felt like the show could've done without those scenes. The most important/emotional moments in the series happened in Ssangmun anyway.

The time skip from 1989 to 1994 had me kind of displeased at first, and I didn't know why, because I've watched tons of shows with a time skip before and had no problems with it. I think it was in part because the first 17 episodes of the show took place over the span of less than a year, and then all of a sudden in the last 20 minutes of the 17th episode it jumped ahead 5 years without a warning.

But to be honest, I think my dislike of the time skip came from the fact that I really enjoyed these characters' daily lives and the regular pace the show had been going at that such a far jump ahead was making the end of the series feel more imminent.

I'm really glad I gave Reply 1988 a chance, especially because I barely knew anything about it before watching. I'm really enjoying kdramas so far and glad I've been trying to watch more of them.

Thanks for reading!

-threecheersforinking

[stormxpadme]

Fanfic Writer Asks:

5, 10, 17, 29

"I’m Bored and Anxious So I Slapped Together a List of Fan Fic Writer Asks"

5 - What’s a fic idea you’ve had that you will never write?

I'm notoriously not a huge fan of Mr. Sinister because it's just one of these things Marvel Comics has done to death, and guy's hopelessly overpowered. So aside from like 2 short oneshots, I never utilized him in my X-Men stories and my X-Men main verse.

But lately I've been thinking about a very meta kind of oneshot which arose from an Alternative Universe story for my X-Men verse that I did a while ago. A oneshot that included - and those scenes were very much part of my canon and not AU - some flashbacks of when movieverse!Scott was Essex' lab rat as a kid. That story also elaborated on how Essex has kept on meddling subtly, telepathically with Scott's life in the course of the years. In that official X-Men verse of mine, Essex has been put on ice deep under the ocean by Charles and Emma shortly before Scott came to Charles as a teenager and is mostly rendered powerless. But I like to think, very subtly, even at what is basically a coma, Essex still has a bit of influence on the real world. And of course he's never given up on the plan of creating his mutant super race and that perfect fabricated mutant child for his own uses. Since he did know somehow though, that his plan would never work as intended with Scott and Jean - cue Destiny coming in, in some way ... Bear with me, this whole thing is not finished beign plotted -, Essex decided to give Logan and Jean as his favorite parents a shot since those would be just an equally powerful combination of genes. Long story short - literally -, this would be basically the reason of why my whole version of the old X-Men movieverse happened in the end, with Essex' subtle manipulations making sure, Scott and Jean gave up on their relationship after Liberty Island because of several issues and because of Jean's attraction to Logan, not least by making sure, Scott had someone else he was attracted to and was basically out of the way of Jean's and Logan's spawn in the making. This oneshot would basically be nothing but a legitimation for writing my verse that I don't need because everything Marvel is multiverse and everything's possible and legit. So I don't really think I'm ever gonna write this, not least because I'm just not interested in doing anything longer with Essex. And I don't want to undermine what Scott and his wifey and Jean and Logan have in that verse by retconning it into something manipulated by an outsider. But the simple idea of Essex literally throwing in the face of Scott's partner for decades at this point, that she's nothing but a badly fabricated plot device? Ouch, here comes the pain. Maybe I'll do something like a vague nightmare about that thing at some point as part of a bigger story but really writing it out? Nah. I'm only that masochistic by proxy for my characters.

10 - Is there a fic that got a different response than you were expecting?

Honestly with how silent fandom has become in terms of feedback, it's mostly surprise these days that there's hardly any response at all (the person sending this ask being one of the few exceptions to regularly save my day). Because every now and then I do write popular themes and somewhat popular characters and think, well, this should get some response at least. Alas. I also was slightly taken aback by the reaction of a reader to one of the rare torture/non con scenes I wrote and published lately because it felt a bit like victim blaming. Which like. Just no.

17 - What’s something you’ve learned about while doing research for a fic?

After writing my fictional season of American Idol, I know more about the TV and casting show business (especially about how many celebs can't even get out of bed without their first line of coke in the morning) than I ever wanted to know.

29 - Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic.

I'll cheat a bit here and take that fic I mentioned above because I'm never gonna post it on AO3; as of now, it's only in our German archive. The reason for that is that I got exactly one single active reader there, and that reader fell in love with a romance in my X-Men verse that got hardly any to zero response on AO3. And since that oneshot is an Alternative Universe version to my X-Men verse, spawning from the AU idea of that romance getting a happy instead of a horrible ending, meaning, something that I wrote only for said reader for her to be happy, it wouldn't make sense, translating it and putting it on AO3. I still very much like the parts I mentioned though that are canon for my regular verse too, because sometimes I really need a bit of Scott childhood drama in my life.

Just as a preface for understanding: Avery is an OC of mine, an old childhood friend-turned-enemy of Scott's with whom he's lived together on the streets as a teenager for a while. In this scene, Emma is taking Scott and Avery together into some shared memories in their heads because they're looking for a mental signature to follow, to go where Essex has been buried who is about to wake from his coma.

“What …? How …?” “I guess that's what we're here to find out.” Emma squeezed Avery's shoulder once more and then pointed back to the lab area, where a heavy double door opened after the clicking of several locks and the beeping of a code access entered. Even though neither of them really cared to see these particular memories … They had to find out. Otherwise, all this shit would soon be a reality all over the world. With his fists clenched hard, Avery looked at the white-skinned guy, even taller than Scott and himself, who entered the room with a cheerful whistle - some French classic - on his lips, pushing a trolley with various instruments in front of him, the sight of which promptly had Avery's stomach turn again. Instinctively, his fingertips wandered back to the fresh burn on his neck, that characteristic scar which he saw reflected in blood-red on that asshole's forehead right now. Indeed, a more than clear branding as the new property of this psycho. As if. Only in the bastard's wet dreams. By now, Avery didn't even have the strength to tell himself that he didn't care that the defenseless body on that stretcher had begun to tremble noticeably since Essex's memory image had entered the room, or that he was already choking with nausea again himself when that psycho made short work of the only piece of clothing on his victim's body with an impatient telekinetic touch. “Hm.” A discontented-sounding grumble came from the stranger, from a voice about as pleasant as nails on a slate, as he looked at a few numbers on a monitor belonging to the stretcher, obviously spitting out the various results of freshly measured vital signs. “Low potassium and blood pressure again. What did I tell you, Scott? With how tall you're growing recently, I can't have you being a picky eater. If you keep starving yourself, we can solve this very quickly with a feeding tube. I don't want to have to repeat myself. Or do you want me to have to track down Alex and lock him up here instead of you just because you're being so difficult? I don't want that because your mutation is much more promising, but if you don't finally learn how to behave, you'll leave me no choice. Understood?” As there was no response from his young victim, Essex tapped the tip of a scalpel demonstratively against a spot directly on the right hip bone, which was already adorned with a huge Band-aid, with a theatrical sigh. “Yes, sir.” The tonelessness in this choked reply had Avery inevitably take a step back against the wall, away from this alienating scene. No prisoner, no matter which age, who had been subjected to such treatment for only a few days would be talking like that.

[bluedalahorse]

Two options for the character breakdown game: Sara (because you haven't done her yet, and we can't leave her out) and Claudia

You know what? I’m going to do both.

Claudia

How I feel about this character: TV CLAUDIA IS THE ABSOLUTE GREATEST. I’ll be honest, book!Claudia kind of weirded me out conceptually, especially the part where she and Louis are kind of in love but she still looked like a little kid? I also read Interview with the Vampire at the age when I was just… not great at loving female characters, and when I sort of wanted to ship mlm ships exclusively. But show Claudia is incredible. I mean, there’s the part where she’s extremely badass, and one of her first acts as a vampire is to just. Straight up eat a cop. But I love that we start from that badass, highly emotional teenage space but then go deeper with her, and I love how unapologetically herself she is. I love that she dreams about the idea of finding vampire community. I love that she stands up for herself. I love that she and Lestat are so alike and they fight about it. I love that she refuses to let her truth be erased by the way she records everything in her diary. Claudia deserves the world and I cannot say that enough.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: CLAUDELEINE OBVIOUSLY. They deserved more happiness together than they got.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: If there were a universe where Claudia and Daniel could have existed at the same time and become friends, they would have been unstoppable, and they would have adored one another, and everyone else would have suffered for it. Hilariously.

My unpopular opinion about this character: Occasionally I see book only fans argue that the tragedy of Claudia is ruined when she’s turned as a teenager rather than a little kid. This is something I very much disagree with. Teens are just as tragic as little kids, first of all, but people do have a weird bias against teenagers and actually feeling for teenagers, and I wish they wouldn’t. Also, since Claudia looks like someone in between childhood and adulthood, the age that people in-universe read her as is like… entirely determined by what they want to read her as to control her. Sometimes people infantilize her and make her play Baby Lu. Sometimes they subject her to very adult forms of abuse. Claudia is still tragic no matter what, okay?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wish she and Madeleine could have lived in that cute cottage forever. (Gosh if only Armand hadn’t been stuck behind the baby gate…)

Sara

How I feel about this character: MY WONDERFUL DAUGHTER WHO HAS NEVER DONE ANYTHING WRONG IN HER LIFE. But, while we’re talking about teenage girls, she’s one of the best teenage girls ever written on TV, ever. Sara reached out through the screen and grabbed me by the heart. Her care for others, her willingness to look past the obvious of a situation, her curiosity about who she is and what she values… when she said “no one likes me when I’m me” my sixteen year old self felt seen. I am consistently floored that all my favorite YouTubers who talk about autism and ADHD rep in television have weirdly never talked about her. I almost avoided joining YR tumblr fandom because the abundance of “Sara is on thin ice” posts I saw while lurking made me hesitant and disappointed. Most of my fandom hiatuses were caused in part by people being shitty about her. Sara has one of the best damn arcs in Young Royals, hands down.

All the people I ship romantically with this character: Well, obviously August, controversial as that opinion is. I think their relationship ended up in the right place by the finale, but I can’t resist their chemistry along the way. And as I was saying to @heliza24 earlier, there’s just something about characters who perceive themselves as unlovable finding love with one another. Now, I want to have other Sara ships, but… I don’t know if I do, really? I might read Sara as a little arospec, like gray aro or something, and it actually means a lot to me that she chooses friends and family over romance in the end. But if you get back to me a few months from now maybe I’ll feel differently, who knows.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: potentially weird turn but like, Wilhelm? Specifically in Heart and Homeland where they end up in a kind of disability solidarity queerplatonic partnership. I don’t know if I feel that as much in canon. As far as canon goes, Felice first and Simon second.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I’m going to make this an extension of my August Unpopular Opinion on my August post, because I’m vibrating on a higher sargust frequency than usual this week due to anxiety about travel and I kinda just want to talk about sargust because it’s a comfort pairing. And that is… Sara’s feelings for August are something we can enjoy fannishly, too. They are something we can write fic about and come up with AUs for and make gifsets and fanmixes of. The AU stuff especially—I feel like sargust still could have happened in an alternate universe, or in a universe where Simon didn’t end up at Hillerska, or whatever else. Sara and August have a relationship in their own right and while they are a superb foil to wilmon they are not only a foil to wilmon. There is a level of Weird Teen Girl Horniness represented onscreen in the portrayal of Sara’s crush on August that just feels like, refreshing and authentic. The yearning with the picture of him in 1.5, like girl his hair is terrible in that picture and yet you are there for it! The grinding in 2.2! The dumb little arm punch in 2.3 before they just give up and make out! Seeing a lot of people who’d previously said only negative things about Sara suddenly decide they like her after season 3 when she dumped August was… not as comforting as I’d hoped it would be. Like again, to be clear, I do think their relationship ended in the right place and I want Sara away from him, obligatory “August did terrible things that I do not condone” disclaimer that I’m very bored of typing by now etc etc, I get why this is not everyone’s cup of tea, and so on and so forth. But I just… like them together, okay. And I wonder about all the other people who liked them together who ended up leaving the fandom because there wasn’t as much of a place to express that.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Sara’s arc is pretty perfect. I have one thing I maybe wanted to say about S3 but I’ll hold back for now. EDIT: I wanted her and Wilhelm to have more interaction in season 3. What was the lack of that about?

One thing’s for sure, after typing all that I really want Sara and Claudia to be friends, and to be able to play with horses together.