#so i /think/ they updated his conviction? idk

[drgnbld]

little bit of a wild rant in the tags. i’m honestly just SO shocked that i’m very much just [ laughs ] what the fuck     tw for murder / death.

[suburbonlegends]

I think 4x03 is genuinely one of my favorite episodes. Firstly, the color grading or whatever new cameras they got make everyone look STUNNING in a whole new way. And Idk what kind the directors were smoking when they filmed the phone call between Neal and Peter right before Peter goes over to Neal's to look at the gems, but goddamn Neal looked good in those close ups.

Secondly, Peter and Neal are just so giddy and eager to be around each other. Neal literally is at Peter's side every time he can find the chance to be there. He brings him take out TWICE, full French meals complete with fucking baguettes. Neal working so hard on Peter's cold case, learning everything about a 20 year case in what seems like one night? Him literally texting Peter every little update, and Peter waiting for the updates so intensely he overpours his coffee? And Peter's so excited to have Neal by his side again that he doesn't even say argue when Neal's like "When do I need keys?" Peter spends $90 on sweatpants just to go along with an idea of Neal's Also the banter in the episode, incredible. They're just so happy to be around each other again.

Also the WHOLE scene of Neal showing Peter how to like subconsciously prompt people. They're beautifully shot, and Peter's fucking ecstatic when he asks Neal to show him how he did that. Peter might hate Neal conning objectively, but damn does he love watching how smart and clever Neal can be.

Also the Mozzie reveal??? Neal standing there trying to not look absolutely overjoyed when Mozzie walks over. Mozzie breaking into FBI evidence and not like. rifling through it to his hearts content, no he spends the night CATALOGGING EVIDENCE. just for Peter. And the silly bald man WAITS in FBI TERRITORY just so he can do a sly little reveal to Peter. Him and Caffrey both love a dramatic exit.

Honorable mention: "Just a convict and an FBI agent watching TV."

[greenorangevioletgrass]

fever pitch (b.b.) - part one

previous part | series masterlist | next part

soundtrack: bewitched - laufeypairing: footballer!bradley x popstar!readersynopsis: you and Bradley find a secret garden and get acquainted... or maybe you already have?warnings: language, tension, fluff, angst but hypothetical?? idk, bradley is a dreamboat but what else is newnotes: the saga continues! i had a whole outline planned out, but then as i wrote it, it turned into a beast of its own and honestly, im just an employee here 🤷‍♀️ happy reading, and please let me know what you think in the comments, reblogs, and asks! i would love love loveeee to hear it from you <3

✨I do not have a taglist. Please follow @ficsbygreenorangevioletgrass and turn on the notification to get the latest update on my fics✨

“Are we even allowed in here?” 

You and Bradley turn a corner from the club area into a narrow hallway. There’s a door that leads outside, thanks to the little glass pane, you can see a little terrace situation outside. Bradley tries the doorknob… and it opens.

“I mean, there’s no sign that says we can’t…” Bradley shrugs, offering his hand to guide you in.

Like Alice in Wonderland, you step into a formal English garden in the heart of this complex of townhouses-turned-clubhouse. In the middle of the bricks and noises of the city, there are beds of roses and manicured hedges and ravines over a stone arch. It’s small, but very intentional even with the mosses growing on the edges of the fountain in the middle. A Dionysus statue sits atop the fountain, as if pouring wine instead of water. A nice touch to celebrate festivities.

“Wow. This is straight out of the old movies we talked about.” You marvel at your surroundings. “Like… The Sound of Music or something.”

He chuckles. “Yeah, exactly.”

Bradley starts humming My Favorite Things as you stroll your separate ways around the garden, marveling at the evergreen shrubs and colorful perennials. You eventually meet each other again right in front of the Dionysus statue. It feels like a sign from the universe for him, so he asks,

“May I have this dance?"

He can't be real, can he? "Like a 'dance' dance?"

"Absolutely." He says it with such conviction that it's easy to forget that the deafening, thumping electronic music from the club is completely shut out from your little pocket of a park. And the only semblance of music you can hear is the rustling of leaves, the trickling of water, and the fluttering memories of Bradley's velvety tone.

So you take his hand. He pulls you in and leads you into a slow dance. You were expecting to just sway, this is surreal enough as it is, but as you dance around the fountain, you slowly notice… the slow and simple rhythm, the unmistakable one-two-three, one-two-three count… This is a waltz step.

“You are full of surprises, aren’t you?”

“I try my best.” In a swift movement, he twirls you away and reels you back in with a spin. He just prays to God or whoever is listening that you can’t actually feel his racing heart as he holds your back flush against his chest.

(You can’t. You’re too busy calming your own.)

“So… you and your friends celebrating the success at Wembley?”

His voice tickles the back of your neck, and this sudden closeness is too much for you to bear. You strategically turn around so you’re facing him again. “Oh, no. This is just my night off. I still have… three shows left here.”

“So how long will you be in town for?”

“Another week.”

“And after that…?”

“Paris.”

“Right…” he nods. “And home is in… Los Angeles?”

The question catches you off-guard for some reason. You know he’s probably just asking where you live, but something about the way he asks it makes it sound like he’s asking about… ‘home’ home. “Technically, yes.”

He makes a face. That’s a strange answer… “What do you mean, technically? I’m sure you must have at least one home base somewhere, right?”

“I do, yeah.” You smile sheepishly.  “LA is my home base. But… it’s not like I have any emotional attachment to the city or anything.”

“Where’s that, then, if not LA?”

You give it a good thought… but you got nothing. “I don’t know. Ask me tomorrow.” Maybe it’s the romance of the setting—although his warm hazel eyes play a crucial role too— it makes you feel more inclined to be more honest than you usually do.

Bradley smiles. He’s so fascinated by you, but at the same time, he has an inkling that he might need to solve a few puzzles himself before you let him in. And he would gladly take his time to get there.

At the same time, slow-dancing to a hummed classic with this man away from a modern-day nightclub… It makes you wonder what kind of person he is. “And you? You’re an American in London. Where’s home for you?”

“Well, I think Virginia will always be home, but this place has really grown on me. I’ve been here for most of my adult life, and this city, the team, the people… I can’t imagine living anywhere else.”

“Virginia, huh?” you smirk—imagining him growing up near the water, a sunkissed teenage boy shooting the shit with his friends.

“Yes, ma’am. Born and raised.”

It’s only at this moment that Bradley is so much like this garden. Seemingly out of place, frozen in time while the world moves all too fast around it. But at the same time, perfectly placed, a calm in the eye of the storm. Just for this little pocket of a park.

Just for you.

“Are you normally this… Southern gentlemanly? With the suit and the sweet disposition and the waltz…”

“Honestly? Not really.” He admits bashfully. “But, I don’t know. I feel like I’m in another era with you right now.”

“Oh?”

Bradley doesn’t elaborate right away. Instead, he asks you, "Do you believe in past lives?"

Your face lights up, and he knows he just asked the right question. "I don’t know. Do you?”

"A little…" he nods, thoughtful. "Maybe not in a religious sense where you die, you get judged, and then come back as a... worm or whatever. But.. I kinda like the idea that... no one is ever really a stranger, you know? That our paths have crossed at some point."

"And you're saying we've met before?"

"Oh, yeah." Again with the conviction, this motherfucker. 

“Really?” You step away from him, entering a more cerebral dance than the one that you just swayed into. Your fingers barely touch the surface of the water on the fountain, and ripples it over as you walk by. "Where do you suppose we have met before?" 

He looks up at the sky, moving clouds and all, pondering his answer. "I was thinking the 40’s and 50's—you know, the Golden Age. But I think it's a little earlier than that, don't you think?" 

"Like... the Roaring Twenties?"

“Yes!”

His enthusiasm amuses and fascinates you endlessly, and you never needed much to fuel your active imagination anyway. "I like that. I can see you as... a former pilot who fought in World War I. And then went on to become a poet. Or a pianist."

"I think I'm better off as a pianist.” He’s not very good with words—he’s much better plunking the ivories to get the party going.

"Fair, fair. A jazz… pianist, maybe?"

"Ooh, interesting." Bradley smiles, picturing it in his head. "And what would you be?”

"I don't know. You tell me." You lean back against the stone arch, looking at him expectantly. His answer will determine how he sees you and thus, how you feel about him. And you want him desperately to have a good answer.

"I wanna say... the starlet, or the mysterious singer—" 

"Oh, come on. Even in my past life, I'm still a singer? Can't I be something else?” You groan in protest.

He chuckles, settling right across from you. "Okay, okay..." he looks at you deeply, pensively for a moment. "You're one of those socialites, who drank martinis and danced the Charleston until morning."

"Makes sense. I do love martini... and the Charleston." 

"Right? You'd be one of those girls who rebelled against daddy dearest and partied all night, maybe broke a few hearts along the way."

"Including yours?"

“I don't know. You tell me."

Now it's your turn to pause and take a good look at him. You try to picture it; how boisterous and bright he must be, getting the party going by playing ragtime or samba. And you try to picture toying with his feelings; those irresistible hazel eyes watching you longingly across the room as you give some random man time of day for no other reason but to spark his jealousy... 

"Nah. I think yours is the only one I didn't break. Not on purpose, at least,” you conclude definitively. The thought of leaning over the piano, sipping on cocktails while he croons out some love ditty—or sitting on his lap while he teaches you a Christmas tune at a holiday party seems way more appealing.

"What do you mean?”

"Well, you said so yourself about daddy dearest. He wanted me to marry one of his business associates, an heir to a shipping company or something.” You cheekily stroll past him, down the little path towards the fountain again.

Bradley smiles knowingly, just a step behind you. "Ah. And I'm just a lowly little pianist. What chance did we have, huh?"

You halt your steps and turn around to face him, a mischievous smirk on your face. "Would you have fought for me?"

To your surprise, he meets your gaze with a soft, unwavering look. "Without a doubt. I would have stood up to your father and told him that we were meant to be together, come hell or high water."

The phrase echoes in your head. Come hell or high water. It’s so loud, it sends you reeling and you had to sit down on the edge of the fountain. Suddenly the image of a screaming match flashes so clearly in your mind. Bradley's hand gripping years for dear life. The shallow sobs under the suffocating constrict of your dress. The tears blurring the sight of him leaving…

“But it didn't work, did it…”

He doesn't hear a question in your words —it sounds like a statement. And Bradley, ever the hopeless romantic, wants to say no. Of course it worked out, it had to. Maybe you ran away with him and lived a life of simple means. But it wouldn't have mattered, because it would've been full of music and dancing and love.

But the heartbreak in your eyes is so palpable, so...real. For a moment, it felt like the two of you actually lived it. You were just retracing the forgotten steps now. 

"No.” He shakes his head softly, sitting next to you. "We tried. We fought, but... we lost.” 

You know that, but it hurts to hear it anyway. Still, you can't help but continue the story. "I think I ended up marrying the businessman, do the right thing for my family. And let you go... play your music in Paris or something. Chase your dreams."

The life he imagined. Of simple means and abundant music... just no you. "I would have written so many songs about you..." he chuckles wistfully. As painful as it would've been to keep picking at old wounds, at least he would still have you in his life.

"I think I would've found your record eventually,” You pipe up, partly in self-consolation. Sure, it might be a stretch, but you're way beyond caring. You needed a piece of him, too. "And I would put it on every time I missed you. Which was every night."

The night is so still, even the leaves seem to give you a moment of privacy. Your little fingers barely touch on the edge of the bench as you sit and grieve for a tragic love story that never happened. 

Eventually, though, you take a deep breath and break the silence. "Fuck. I could write a whole album based on that."

Bradley laughs at your sudden interruption, glad that you snapped him out of his reverie and brought him back to reality. "Yeah? I would be happy to help you brainstorm." 

You throw him a look. It feels weird to return to this point of acquaintance after feeling like you’ve gone through lifetimes with him. But you’re glad to start anew in this life. "Is that your roundabout way of saying you wanna keep seeing me?"

"Maybe. Is it working?"

"I don't know. I don’t do maybe’s. You should ask me for real.”

Holy fuck. He closes his eyes for a moment as his heart skips. You always seem to keep him on his toes, do you? "Alright. Can I see you again? Maybe take you out to dinner?" 

"I would like that. Does tomorrow night work for you?" 

"Perfect." he beams at you. Fuck playing it cool, he just won himself a date with you.

"We should swap numbers so we can figure out the details.” You reach into your purse to grab your phone. And then, something dawns on you, making you smirk devilishly at him, "You wanna put your number in, or would you rather give me that friendship bracelet I heard you made for me?"

Bradley stops dead in his tracks. Of course that public declaration was gonna bite him in the ass. He was doing so well, dancing and talking and making an actual connection with you...gosh, he must've looked stupid right now. "You knew about that?" He grimaces.

"Of course. I have eyes and ears everywhere, " you sling coyly, letting him punch his numbers into your phone with great embarrassment. "That, and Natasha might have sent me a post on Instagram.” 

He sighs in defeat as he hands your phone back. "Goddamn it, Natasha…"

[cannibal-walleye]

@a-plethora-of-peters’ So Much for Stardust au has had me in a chokehold the past few days, so... ART! Fic link below (READ IT I say) as well as me talking about things

Ft. aliens Zed, Tango, and Impulse (still tweaking Imp design) and a very traumatized human Skizz

Warnings! Blood, scars, but also hugs n comfort :')

Fic Link:

So Much For Stardust - Chapter 1 - Cringe_Is_Dead (A_Plethora_Of_Peters) - Hermitcraft SMP [Archive of Our Own]

Quick summary for context, it follows human Skizz after he was abducted from earth by the "Defectors" and essentially tortured and treated like an animal before being rescued by space cops. Team ZIT is a group of scientists whose job is to determine how intelligent alien species are, and they're tasked with figuring it out for Skizz in order to know what crime the Defectors will be convicted of (were they poaching & murdering animals or people?). But they don't speak English, so good luck with that. And Skizz has trauma. :]

Now excuse me while I wax eloquent on random things about the art and the fic itself:

I don't think it's difficult to tell, but my favs are Impulse and Skizz lol. I don't usually like drawing them all so differently from their minecraft skins (especially Tango, in this case), but decided to just go all out making them look a lil alien and I think I went too far for Imp. Might redo, give him more skin instead of scales. Also, his clothes r just grey bc I couldn't figure out what colors to give that wouldn't clash horribly lmao.

Also in case you couldn't tell, I ADORE the hurt/comfort this fic has, the concept is so fascinating and just PERFECT for this kinda thing, the angst is delectable. It's the kind of fic where the longer you consider the scenario that Skizz is in, the more tragic and heartbreaking it gets, for everyone involved. I tried drawing a couple other hug/comfort scenes but scrapped them bc I didn't like how they turned out, might retry later.

As for the fic itself, I'm very excited to see where it goes, hanging on the edge of my seat. I only learned about it like 5 days ago and I think I've read it 3 times (AND ITS OVER 100k WORDS???), not to mention how I reread my favorite scenes over and over (chapter 10 ESPECIALLY, I tried to draw like 7 times but it was all hot garbage lol). I'm slightly worried but also itching to get to the climax they mentioned in the last update. I have a couple theories/ things I kinda want to happen.

First, they've mentioned a few times that ZIT doesn't have the data on what the Defectors actually did to Skizz, even though they should have had it from the start. This hints at 2 VERY juicy things, one, that they're being sabotaged. It seems the Defectors are trying to prevent ZIT from determining Skizz's sapience, and in the absolute worst-case scenario, I can see this going so far as them trying to hurt/kidnap/kill Skizz while he's under their protection, which would be just... evil >:))) and traumatizing. and scary. it would just be so juicy if they got separated after all this bonding and healing and growing love they got for each other. Idk if that's where it's going but we'll see. Second, they're already so devastated every day (especially Zed) by Skizz's obvious trauma and scars, breakdowns, triggers, etc, and they don't even know what happened. But if/when they do get their hands on that information, well... I imagine it'd absolutely break all three of them, to the point where they wouldn't even know what to do with Skizz, they'd feel incredibly guilty, angry, heartbroken, everything over him-- not to mention them becoming overwhelmingly protective over Skizz, wanting to just get retribution on the defectors, maybe break some bones, spill some blood, ya know. (PROTECTIVE IMPULSE PLEASEEEE). Meanwhile Skizz is just tryna eat gapples without hurling and narrowly avoiding panic attacks every time he sees Tango.

I could talk for hours about this, but I think that's enough for now lol. I shall continue to spin them around in my head for the next month, and you should too, I highly recommend.

[tilebytiles]

this has probably already been talked about lol but i was trying to find the puppets website for funsies and instead came across this really odd rabbit hole??? full story under the cut so i don't clog the dash or anything

so for context i have the ecosia extension installed and when i typed in "the last shadow puppets" and nothing came up i was like Hmm ok sometimes the results can be 50/50. so i hit a recommended search at the bottom that threw in the word "website" and the first 2 results were wikipedia and the domino page but the third was theageoftheunderstatement.com.

the immediate thing that threw me off was that the first sentence on the page is "Like monthly car insurance site prudentplus.com these guys are different." What. there's like a whole description of the band (which is out of date now cause the page is from 2010) but then underneath it, there's a whole thing about fast food delivery insurance (???) and how to get it, what the best way is etc etc. the prudent plus comment does have a link that leads to the insurance company in question and from what i can tell it was still active as recently as last year.

at the veeery bottom of the taotu page is "search here for uk short term cover" which has another link that leads to another page on the site about car insurance for foreign drivers. this has another link like 3/4 of the way down the page that leads to a different site that from what i can tell hasn't been updated in over a decade (at the very bottom it says copyright 2006/13).

its worth noting that if we hop back to the main page there's a box on the left side with all the songs off of taotu listed as well as a link at the bottom that leads to a page about no deposit car insurance in the uk. every song leads to a different page on the site describing the storyline of the song (and mv, if it has one) as well as the sound of the song. most of the song pages lead to different insurance things. standing next to me leads to disqualified driver insurance, calm like you leads to lorry insurance, the chamber leads to builders / business property insurance, only the truth leads to architects / beautician liability insurance, black plant leads to convicted driver insurance, and the time has come again leads to personal liability insurance.

at the bottom of the home page is the name peter marsden. initially i just tried searching his name up but then i realized the answer was right in front of me and i searched it up with "prudent plus" slapped on the end. sure enough, a page on the prudent plus site came up introducing the staff, including a man named peter. at least at the time the "about us" page was set up (idk if its still updated) he was 71 and "has an obsession for creating images of cars, people, monsters and other strange objects and beings in unusual, and sometimes impossible, environments." very cool peter!

i didn't check all the links on the songs because i didn't think there'd be much there but my only guess for the website's existence is that the insurance people saw the popularity of taotu and decided to make a page about it while promoting their insurance stuff. outside of that i have no fucking clue. maybe they're just big tlsp fans. good on you peter

[dottores]

allow me to give u all my life update:

i got thru day 1 orientation today, it went rlly well actually!! everyone i met was super chill & i even met a girl whose worked in publishing for 5 years in my section AND we share the same bday like what are the chances of that?? but i got rlly good vibes from everyone i met. tho tomorrow is gonna start all of the hard stuff with the orientation classes🥲 am not looking forward to QM1.

(fontaine spoilers) i also got back to my appt and finished the archon quests 😎 i have a lot to say ab it, not all good but not all bad. i don’t rlly like the way they took the fontaine plot or some of their world building for it 😭 but in their defense, my expectations were thru the roof. i was rlly hoping for some 1700s french rev type stuff and i do love focalors but i wish they made her a bit more like ?? menacing 😭 like girl fail, yes, but a girl fail that ppl are scared of bc she’s unstable and conviction-happy. idk, i rlly wanted fontaine to feel more like darker & oppressive i suppose, ppl hanging around but with like a heavy gloom of anxiety over them. and i wish the overall plot would have been a political upheaval/reformation instead of the prophecy — ig inazuma kind of did. this but it was poorly executed imo.

but on a lighter note. i rlly love neuvillette and navia, they were my favorite introduced characters of 4.0 i think. i wish it would’ve been focalors but i’m just so 🥲 over how i pictured her vs how she was. clorinde’s cutscene was SICK and i’m so bummed i have to skip her. but the real star of the show 4 me was childe 🥹 i missed him sm, his final cutscene was done so in well in the court house. altho i am very worried bc some of the comments made were rlly foreboding 🥲 i think that’s all childe > navia & neuvillette > everyone else. ALSO THE TWO NPCS WITH NAVIA!!! i loved them

spoilers over but anyway now i have a fever 🥲 and tomorrow is the first big big day so i’m bummed. 🥲 but i had to update u before i passed out

[dullahandyke]

Ok hi I'm back playing dgs for the second half of the first trial

I meant to say before but I rlly enjoy how pivotal the setting is to this trial!! Obvi they didnt jusr pick it for shits and giggles but I'm liking the tension that the British presence provides

Also seeing susato so quiet in all these opening bits is so strange... susato toss :(?

AW YEAH ASOUGI GRABBING HIS SWORD W SAMURAI ON A MISSION PLAYING !!!! love this guy hope nothing bad ever happens to him

Love how auchi is trying to guilt ryuu over anglo-japanese relations and asougis just like lollllll fuck em... anti-british king

YESSS RYUU YOU GET HIM TOO!!! Fuck the government <3

NOOOO I JUST LOST A BUNCH OF LIVEBLOG BCOS MY PHONE GUCKED UP... anyway I'm up to the handbag thing

God they really pull out the 2-4 despair sprite any opportunity they can huh

'Asougis dream of going to Britain is fucked if we lose this' bro I thought itd b fine as long as he wasnt the lawyer. Was all that shit for nothjng

Yesss ryuu objecting just before the verdict... love him

Love ryuus little thinking face... + his hand guard thing... hes so the thinker

Love how as the trial progresses ryuu gets more sprites .. hes hardly even bug eyed anymore

Boooo brett we hate youuu why'd you even study in Japan if you're just gonna b racist abt every part of it

Also tbh idk where we're going with this train of thinking but its fun

My God is it poison and she kristoph gavins her way into a conviction... kristoph gavinning is when u make glib comments about details of a case that lead to your conviction btw

'I'm sure you've noticed this student doesnt miss much' asougi is showing off ryuus talents like a little pony thay can do a canter and tbh awesime

Help me one of her rebuttals is 'your flys been down this whole time' ❓❓❓ ryuu..... 'why didnt you tell me asougi' why do YOU assume asougis looking at your dick ryuu. 🤨

Shes pulling out the 'your brains are smaller than Europeans' shit my God.... can we like kill her kill her

Ok I think Brett poisoned Wilson and then stole the glass to cover her tracks before shooting him to pin ryuu... we r gonna update her autopsy report

No hang on wait that's such a stupid fucking plan. What if hosonaga noticed Wilson was dead. What if ryuu DIDNT notice the gun. If Wilson's wrist was burned on the plate then surely it was set in front of him but part of the beef is eaten so Brett must have had some. I guess thatd probably be better for alibi shit by having it look like h3 was in the middle of eating when shot instead of before being served but like. Was she leaning over the table stretching w a knife and fork to cut off a bit of steak. Girls gotta eat ig

Love that theres an exchange where ryuu goes 'this is great auchi agrees that the police r fucked' and asougi goes 'no ryuu hes clout chasing to impress a European woman. Hes just like bisexual obama'

Asougi picking up his sword as he prepares to 'pursue' hosonaga's statement... asougi r u going to kill this man

Hosonaga that is illegal

'What does this French writing say asougi' 'idk go to France and ask' hes such a bit of a bitch I love it <3

Also I'm looking at the back of hosonaga's pants when it does the panning shot and why r they so baggy at the ankles... bro hes tall as shit does he shop at the slenderman store

SUSATOOOOOOOOO SUSATO IS HERE@!!!! AW YISS LETS GO

Oh my God another fucking to be continued? I thought this was the last part bro enenensjs so I'm gonna take a break for a bit and then go back to killing jezaille brett dead

[ghostlyhamburger]

Husband Watches Miraculous: NY Special

[does this one have an actual name idk]

OK this is definitely after season 3 because of the box.

Why did they do a Marvel version of the theme? you can't tell me that's not inspired by Marvel.

Okay so they store the powerups inside the thing?

They really tried to go all out with the updated animations didn't they?

Her hair is actually black this time! it looks really good.

Okay that's the first thing that I saw that's super out of character.

Some of these things are textured really well but some are just not. Look you can see texture on her clothes, on the bricks, on the ground, and then BRIGHT GREEN TRASH CAN. It just makes no sense.

This is gonna be a long hour.

Why did they increase Marinette's bust size?

What the fuck was with the way that beard was moving? It's like they didn't want to move the anchor point on the bottom. They anchored it to his shirt is how they modeled it.

Why do they keep changing Marinette's hair color? Why is it darker in the school lighting?

I think I know why this seems so hard to place in the timeline. Its production seems to start at the beginning of season 3 but they definitely got the bible. So they just didn't see all the development Marinette had in getting over her obsession with Adrien over the season.

This whole little bit about Marinette's obsession doesn't need to be here if you've seen the series. Its purpose is only for those who haven't seen the series, which is unneeded because who's gonna watch just for this? It's not a movie. if I skipped the next fifteen seconds nothing would be missed.

When has New York ever been considered romantic? I guess if they watch a lot of American Hallmark movies? But New York is dirtier and dingier than Paris.

They actually made Gabriel look good in this. Like I get how he's supposed to be a silver fox type. He's got a bit too much Justin Bieber face for me, but the hair works for him. I can see how he'd become a celebrity in Paris.

"I'll be keeping an eye on him." If Adrien was a sentimonster under his control, he wouldn't need to keep an eye on him. He could just keep track of him with the miraculous. Like, Mayura was able to track Feast.

Also why is Nathalie in the bed? didn't they fix the peacock? Oh wait she was still super weak and life force isn't easy to regenerate once it's been drained like that.

Oh they've got best girl here.

I think I already see where the entire plot of this special is going. She's gonna be upset at Chat because he's not gonna be there when a sentimonster attacks and she's gonna be upset and debate giving up her miraculous because that's been the theme of the episodes lately and the American heroes are going to somehow be bitches.

[We're only 10 minutes in.]

Gorilla doesn't like planes.

All right so it's not going to work because it's not a sentimonster alert.

How is the eagle going to help you beat Ladybug and Chat?

Marinette, just know when to stop talking, please.

Again, a nice little moment that would be really good.

5 seconds on the plane and she's basically assaulted someone.

Nice use of symmetry and mirroring each other.

Marinette is not having a good day.

Why did they give her such an ass in that shot?

That's actually a pretty good moment.

No. Alya no.

I do like how they call out their weird animation quirks of like. Marinette arms. It's fun.

A convict with a jet engine?

So normal magical and villain type things exist already.

Okay that is just Superman. That's just Superman outfit and Superman theme.

Another thing I don't like is all the infodump. There's a better way they could've introduced Uncanny Valley than Alya's random exposition. She was answering the question of the audience without being prompted to. And it throws me off.

"It's time to show these American heroes how French heroes do it!" NO. NO.

He's not a superhero. That was his entire bit. Also what's he gonna do, endanger everyone by opening up the emergency hatch? You have no superpowers, you have no gadgets, what possibly are you going to do here?

As an introduction, I like this.

It's like they wanted three teachers, one to be nice, one to be crazy, one to be strict, and then they shoved two of them into one character. It doesn't work.

Hot Dog Dan? So he's ... a hot dog vendor?

All right, the dancing is a cute little callback.

Okay I like the new animation style, the very American comic book. but can no one just leave Marinette and Adrien alone? Let them just be awkward together!

Can we get to the catastrophic failure that will lead into the less lovey-dovey shit?

So they're trying to say Lafayette was a holder?

Is that one of the self driving Tsurugi cars?

Wait we've seen the akuma butterflies phase. Why is there no consistency in the rules?

"There's artifacts left by people who unveiled the statue" So there's a miracle box there, right?

Solitude is just Mr. Pigeon!

Doc Ock. Huh. With replication abilities.

Door powers are actually pretty cool.

Now it's finally getting good! Can always count on Hawkmoth to interfere in the right way.

So why is Hawkmoth going after the sabre when the claw thing is very clearly the Miraculous?

Ahh. That's why.

They're still being quite efficient even though they're pissed at each other.

[Aeon is cataclysmed] You have a miracle bomb! It can literally reset people!

That is the smart decision. They don't know each other's identities. Also the American heroes don't have the authority to do that!

I dunno I feel like the reset should have gone through to the other area. When villains have changed in the middle of the episode the reset still works. And when there was the copycat Ladybug she used that one's lucky charm to do a reset bomb. So I call bullshit on that. Also I don't think Paris is still destroyed when we come back to it. So...

"If Uncanny Valley hadn't been a robot I would've caused irreparable harm." Except people have literally died, disintegrated into nothing, converted into energy, and brought back with no issues. So no, it's not irreparable harm. And this is so heavy handed!

The emotional flip flopping here is not great.

[hearing Liiri's ability] That's an incredibly busted ability. Her power is literally limit break.

Why are they having this argument right next to the French students? That just seems stupid.

Let's just steal a bike! oh, safety first

"Adrien I love you" Okay that's just cruel to the people who were watching this.

Yep that's actually what I was expecting.

WHY ARE THERE SO MANY GUNS? Oh right America.

I really like Jess and Aeon's characterization.

Okay I like the skateboard.

This should've just been a movie. It would've been better with time to do all the stuff going on.

Okay that's a neat little trick.

Why does this one hour episode have more musical types than the entirety of the game that came out?

[Ladybug hugs Chat] Okay that was a really cute moment.

Oh is he just gonna launch nukes at everything?

Trading cards, really?

Yeah see Paris is repaired already

"At least let me see what's inside the safe!" It's a miracle box. it's gotta be, right?

I like [Eagle's] outfit.

Was she gonna toss a piano at a pigeon? [Haven't you wanted to do that?] Yeah...

To the sun? To the sun.

Throwing things to the sun is also a Superman reference.

Why do you need more Miraculous? You only need two, and they're not going to help you, you don't have anyone to give them to!

Paris was not like that when they were visiting.

Okay. This should've just been a three part special episode. It tried to shove so much in so little timeframe and over half the thing was just pointless grandstanding about the stupid will they won't they. And I bet that while people loved that Adrien I love you moment, he couldn't fucking hear it and that's the only thing we're gonna get 'cause fuck these producers.

If the pacing was the same throughout, it would've been really good, but it came out of nowhere to the point where they turned up the speed of people speaking to fit it in. A lot of things got super rushed through and I really wanted to see more of it but I know I'm never going to because the producer of Zag sucks!

[alteredphoenix]

An Unexpected Joyride (The Veleanor Modern AU #7)

A/N: While I'm thinking of which Celia/Michelle WIP I'm going to pull from the USB Drive and work on next (and given the month we're in, it'll probably something holiday-themed), I decided to open this guy up since it's last update in June 23 (to which it was created in May 23 of this year) after I received a lovely ask from an Anon last night about the Veleanor Modern AU series.

I had been thinking about this WIP on and off again since the last time I touched it, and I figure now would be a pretty good time to dust it off and work on this while (1) I am browsing my WIP list and (2) it's still on my mind before the brain decides To Go Brrrr and plunks it back into the far recesses of the thoughtful nether where all things belong and go to.

This is also the fic where Magilou makes her first actual appearance! But the WIP so far hasn't gotten to that point yet (but it's almost there!), so this little snippet will do for now.

Part of the summary goes as such: "(Or: Magilou has a busted muffler and it needs to be fixed last month, so Velvet, being the good convict that she is, decides to drive the damn car to the auto shop herself. As always, Magilou makes for...interesting company.

There are less than one-hundred ten hours to go.)" (I honestly might change this up as I go along idk, I kind of want to try fitting the countdown into the titles somehow)

(At the moment, the doc is sitting at 2.1k words. I get the feeling it might turn into a longfic, or close to it, so I foresee this maybe reaching around the 10k mark. Even if it doesn't, it's a good idea to set a tentative goalpost - Just To Be On The Safe Side.)

-

The first thing that Velvet notices that today is not going to be like any other normal day in this corner of hell upon waking up at six in the morning is there’s a distinct lack of music playing somewhere from the next block over. Only the fan churning quietly in the corner and the distant early morning traffic that would surely get drowned out by a higher setting could be heard.

Why the fuck...? is the first thing she thinks of after listening to the world, and then she frowns and glares up at the ceiling. No. It’s nothing. Quit being fucking paranoid all the time. With a grunt she pushes herself up onto her elbows and swings her legs off to the side of the bed. Just as she’s about to stand, she stops, and glances behind her, mattress creaking with the motion.

On his back, with his paws up in the air, Doodle snores gently, his smile eternal.

Velvet slowly shakes her head, gets up, and starts the day.

The sun is just peeking over the horizon when she’s refreshed, alert, and wondering once more how she’s going to spend her day off. The tiled floor on her bare feet say it’s cool, but one glance out the door into the world beyond the houses with their manicured lawns and the vehicles parked on the sidewalk next to their trash and recycle bins and then the street that’s plunging away down the decline and deeper into Pendrago proper and Velvet can already feel the heat is going to be a motherfucker.

This is the second thing that crosses her mind when she goes back into the kitchen to open up the fridge and crack open an ice-cold bottle of canned coffee that Eizen loves to call Aifread’s finest espresso on this side of the equator, grown and brewed straight from the coastal towns of Shining Blue: hot weather makes for a hot girl in all the wrong ways, and working in the garden, in all her pasty-ass white girl glory, makes for being hot in all the wrong places. At this rate, she’d welcome the rain. She’d even welcome snow, lack of shovels and snowblowers and extreme winter weather survival gear be damned.

Her hand is slick with the gathering condensation. Velvet sighs and halfheartedly knocks it back.

(It’s not the worse coffee she’s ever had. It could be whatever black magic the Katz Gang throws together in their labs, nicked off the boats and the warehouses in their raids from nearby Hellawes to distant Fennmont and Sapstrath in Rashugal – but knowing Eizen, and knowing Eizen’s luck, he’s probably had it and then some. The Reaper’s Curse as he calls it, and Velvet’s not sure if it’s from his time rolling with the Van Eltia Family before he got involved in her bullshit that made him miss death every single time or, as Edna puts it, is ungodly, recklessly stupid enough to somehow avoid going to an early grave by sheer circumstance every single time, without fail.

Velvet likes to think it’s the latter.)

She plugs in the toaster, jams in two cold Pharia cinnamon waffles from the freezer into the slots, and watches them slide out of sight as soon as she primes the lever down and mucks around with the settings (just enough to make it brown; she’d have to be out of her goddamned mind like Rokurou and Eizen are for wanting to have her grains black as sin). Then, after a pause, she walks across the island and turns the TV on. As always, it’s tuned to the news, the necessary evil in her life among the sea of reality shows, game shows spanning back forty years, and other programs that pad the airwaves for the stay-at-home parents, the retired elderly, and people that don’t have anything better to do with their lives.

Thankfully, it’s not about the weather (and anybody with a brain that’s lived in Pendrago, even just Hyland by itself, or the westbound border of Rolance, for more than a month would know that the forecast is almost going to be warm and dry as hell ninety percent of the time), so Velvet more or less ignores it in favor of getting her plate out of the cupboard and preparing the rest of the meal. The toaster hums away.

[aishterukii]

Clavis Main Story route (avatar challenge, HSS, etc.)

Just compiling some of the differences between Clavis’s normal and premium avatar stories, and some input on His Side Stories. Placing this under a cut because of spoilers. if you’re a bit tight on dias and keys then hopefully, this can help you decide which stories you want to go for ^^

spoiler warning!

AVATAR STORIES

CHAPTER 4

In the Premium version, Clavis teases Emma, wanting her to admit that she loves him more than books. they have a Stare Off... and then Emma headbutts him. the rest is the same as the normal version.

CHAPTER 10

Clavis asks Emma to be his lap pillow in the Premium version, and that’s pretty much it. He sort of admits that he wants to experience how a lap pillow feels like. reveals that his real reason for asking emma to be his lap pillow is so that emma doesn’t leave him while he sleeps

CHAPTER 14

(to be updated)

CHAPTER 19

haven’t read the normal version yet but if it’s anything similar to JP then...in the Premium ver. Clavis teases Emma into believing he’s going to kiss her and Emma doesn’t actually stop him which surprises Clavis. and then Emma blushes really hard

CHAPTER 24 (ROMANTIC)

again, haven’t read the normal version, so I’m basing it on JP. they added some more explicit moments, but other than that, not much really(?). Still, their confession is pretty nice to reread from time to time :> 

CHAPTER24 (DRAMATIC)

(to be updated)

HIS SIDE STORIES

((this is still mostly incomplete))

Chapter 6

it shows you a different side of Clavis, a peak into the past of his 'mistake' and you can clearly feel his regret and frustration. He finds himself wondering if Emma, as Belle who has a pure and beautiful heart, would think of his actions as evil. the flashbacks overlap really well with the present time as you listen to him describe his convictions.

Chapter 8 (2nd read)

Already talked about it a bit here. But yeah majority of this HSS features young Clavis and young Chev. It shows how they were first introduced to each other and how Clavis started to want to beat Chev. Also shows what he was thinking as he caught Emma asking Chev about him. He's fine with her wanting to know more about him, he just didn't want her asking Chevalier, aka the person who has probably seen him at his worst, and knows all of his darkest secrets.

Chapter 13

Clavis doesn't appear for the majority of this chapter in the main story, so we get to see what actually happened behind the scenes. His side story shows what Clavis's been up to and what he's like when he doesn't need to wear his mask of a smile. Also shows what he was truly feeling while he was doing what Gilbert threatened asked him to do. He thinks about how Emma would be disappointed in him if she knew what he was up to. This is also when we see him get the idea of testing Emma even further, to see if she would break and lose her love for him.

Chapter 15 (bond)

(still stuck at bond level 15 rip)

Chapter 18 (2nd read)

(to be updated)

Chapter 21 (Romantic)

If you’re a fan of Gilbert, this one features him heavily. gives more insight into his and Clavis’s relationship as well as their encounter with each other on bloodstained rose day. Also shows why Emma only woke up after they were already in the cell.

Chapter 25 (Romantic)

Clavis recalls the happenings during Emma’s first day as belle. briefly shows a flashback of Leticia. Clavis thinks about how Emma was the first person he truly loved. shows his inner conflict with believing and accepting Emma’s love because of his trauma.

Chapter 21 (Dramatic)

(to be updated)

Chapter 25 (dramatic)

(to be updated)

just mindless ramblings after reading his route:

- they translated おっと to ‘Oopsie’ and idk how to feel about that lmao

- and 恋人殿 to “my lovely lover”

- Cyran... I still keep calling him Cyril in my head

- Cyran, Hugo and Kai... must protecc :’) I’m really excited for the more love with the beast event to come to EN. their banter and dynamic together with Clavis is so cute

- the amount of times Cyran made me laugh. cybird im begging you, give him a model, I can’t live off of “he has red hair”

- HSS chapter 6 was a really good read, so was 13... actually all of them so far are. Chapter 10 avatar tugged on my heartstrings again. Chapter 23 (romantic) was the chapter I was most excited about and it didn’t disappoint. Chapter 24 as well had me in tears again.

- is it just me or did they slightly change the very last part of his romantic epilogue? I remember the JP one being a bit different, mostly with Emma’s lines. I’ll have to reread it.

[randomidiocyncrazies]

Appmon 47

so due to my carelessness and nosiness, i know that this episode is when Shit Hits the Fan. i’m liveblogging on twitter and will compile + add on to my reactions of this ep under the cut. rn i’m still in the middle of it, so i’ll keep updating it until the episode is over!

EDIT: tumblr ate the rest of it so here’s Part 2.

oh boy what a title! surely everything will be just fine, and Yuujin’s glowing red eyes way back in ep 1 is totally innocuous! (just let me stay in denial for a bit longer...)

okay, it’s interesting that Rei didn’t tell Hajime of his suspicions about Yuujin—if he really thinks Yuujin is a threat, having Yuujin play such a vital role in the operation seems dangerous. That said, he has no convincing reason to not let Yuujin take point on the mission (due to his familiarity with the terrain), and at least Yuujin’s partner is someone who he confided to about his suspicions.

It’s also interesting hat Haru does take Rei’s warning seriously, also suspecting Yuujin (though he probably feels guilty about it)—personally i think Yuujin’s behavior at the meteor shower had put Haru on alert, and he wouldn’t have taken Rei’s words so seriously if he hadn’t seen Yuujin break character (as a cool, calm, confident person) in front of him the previous episode.

again, I know the narrative justifies Rei violating Yuujin’s privacy, but without knowing WHY he was suspicious of Yuujin in the first place it just makes me so uncomfortable? with the context of Yuujin being an artificial human, there’s the implication that it’s okay for Rei to indulge in his curiosity and walk all over Yuujin’s personal records, because he’s just a thing—the fact that this behavior is justified by the narrative because Yuujin really is a(n unknowing) traitor, and it’s a good thing that Rei violated those boundaries to gain useful information, makes me really... sad, i guess? Yuujin’s ‘human’ persona doesn’t seem aware of his nature as an android on Leviathan’s side. it’s not hard to realize those subtle alterations are probably Leviathan or his handler manipulating his memories, so that Yuujin’s human persona can continue to function without gaining awareness of what he is.

(i understand my strong reaction is due to my own biases: i really hate mind-manipulation and mind-control in fiction; to me, it’s a serious and unforgivable violation of someone’s autonomy—it makes people into tools, or as a means to an end. It’s dehumanizing and objectifying. The combination of the implication of Yuujin’s memories being manipulated AND Rei’s violation of his privacy—which is validated by the narrative—just makes my hackles rise in a way that’s probably not intended by the creators? idk)

you tell him, Haru! (OW OW OW OW OW)

it’s cool that Haru is clearly angry with Rei in the first pic, but his default reaction is to smile at him and try to explain it in a way that Rei could understand. Haru’s greatest strength is his gentleness/kindness, and it shows. (also? bringing Hajime into the conversation is a masterstroke. Rei will be hard-pressed to make objections now, because Haru was willing to hear him out way back in ep 12, and his bond with Hajime is something he understands on a visceral level.)

Haru’s argument is so effective that Rei doesn’t attempt to stop Yuujin from being part of the team to capture Bootmon—it’s the only reason why he’d allow this to happen, given how suspicious he is of Yuujin before. Regardless of his distrust of Yuujin, Rei has decided to trust Haru’s conviction in his best friend (which is the ‘wrong’ choice in this case), due to his own bond with Hajime.

more talks about the future! it’s increasingly obvious that Yuujin has no thoughts about it, because he’s not designed to exist beyond the fight with Leviathan—Leviathan (and Minerva, given her demand of “laying down his life to save a friend”) clearly meant for Yuujin-the-human to disappear once his function is over.

(also, i just want to say having camera follow their feet during the conversation is so eerie? good use of camera angles to create atmosphere)

...i do admire the show for casting doubts as to whether Yuujin is aware of his non-human nature. Previous behavior indicates he’s unaware, but these last few eps throws that into doubt. My belief at this time is that his Yuujin-the-human persona is genuinely unaware (but is understandably freaked out by the fact that he can’t think of any future plans or things he wants to do), and there’s a ‘master program’ that is able to take control (but is usually dormant when the ‘human’ persona is active).

and then, in a scene that exists purely to TWIST THE KNIFE and MAKE ME CRY LATER, Yuujin reaffirms their bond with each other:

it’s important that Yuujin is the one to initiate this interaction: Haru has always seen Yuujin as the confident friend who’s warm, friendly, popular, and reliable—he’s the guy who has his shit together and helps his friends out. For the most part, Yuujin caters to the image Haru has of him: in the present time he tends to hide his insecurities in front of Haru, choosing to put on a brave face or try to deal with problems alone. The fact that he’s reaffirming their friendship right now, on the heels of their talk about the future, indicates he’s seeking comfort from Haru—in light of his unsettling inability to have concrete plans about the future, he needs reassurance from Haru that he can rely on Haru’s friendship and kindness (which is something he specifically admires about Haru).

there’s also the fact that the writers are trying really hard to make the audience (me) doubt Yuujin’s sincerity/innocence of his involvement with Leviathan, so this scene could arguably be seen as Yuujin trying to manipulate Haru in order to break him further later on.

[infinitelycynical]

my opinions on getting an adaptation

okay, i have a lot of feelings on this because i’m opinionated and have a lot of thoughts. 

a) WHAT THE FUCK WE’RE GETTING ANOTHER LIVE ACTION?? NETFLIX SAW THAT THE FIRST ONE FAILED, HOW COULD WE BE GETTING ANOTHER ONE. THE MUSICAL WAS A GOOD ADAPTATION, AND AREN’T WE ALREADY GETTING A SHITTY SEQUEL TO THE 2017 ONE (WHICH I’M DREADING EVEN MORE TBH)??? STOP WITH THE FUCKING LIVE ACTIONS

b) If I’m being honest, I am absolutely not paying to see it in cinema (if it’s even showing) and I refuse to pay for it anywhere. If I can pirate it, I absolutely will. It’s like Morbius, I saw that shit in cinema and severely regretted it because it was a shit fucking movie. At least I spent my parents’ money and not mine. I refuse to pay for a movie that I don’t even know if it’ll turn out good. 

c) I’m curious to see whether we’ll get a more American take or a Japanese take on the characters and on the justice system itself. There would be different flaws in Light’s views - in America, people of colour are arrested in higher numbers than white people and experience discrimination abundantly. In Japan, conviction rates are at I think 99% because conviction is seen as very important so there are innocent people who will confess to get rid of the pain, etc. Would Light consider racial and socioeconomic discrimination in the justice system before performing his kills when he first starts out? And is this movie set in the early 00s like the original or in the 10s?

d) I hope L and Light have at least one scene where they make out. Seriously. We need it. I need them to be enemies but to know one another better than anyone else, I need them to despise one another but to also be all they think about. I need a death note page filled with furiously scribbles Ls, perhaps even a scene similar to that one with Matsuda and Ide where Ide admits he was once in love or whatever (i can’t find the panel I’ll edit it in later) (update: found it)

this one! his dialogue here, where he’s like “of course i’ve been in love before... but it wasn’t much of a romance.” i think this could be potentially like in light’s thoughts about L during a conversation about misa with the task force members or something of the sort. idk lawlight gives me serotonin shhhh

--

tldr: i hate the idea of another live action, but i’m intrigued to discuss the possibilities.

That’s about it! I’ll reblog later if I have more feelings on it. Talk to me about what you’re hoping from this adaptation/what you’d like from it, please feel free !!!

[big-tiddie-squad]

Spilled Tea

What's up guys! I have been... very very much non existent lately but I was feeling a bit motivated and found some time to start what I may make into a small series!

Maybe idk. Don't expect regular updates cause I'm a terrible person and again writing is not my forte.

1.3k words

Bangchan!/female!reader

Suggestive/fluff/flirting/friends with no filters/we all have them/ this person knows who they are 😂/ mentions of nswf terms/ swearing

"I just don't know how to be single anymore, it's weird now." You look at your friend, hoping for some solid advice.

Your friend looks you dead in the eyes and with conviction states,

"Be a hoe."

You almost spit out your drink, looking around self consciously, hoping no one heard her. "Wtf man, we're in a cafe?!" You whisper furiously, "Anyways... I don't think I can just go out and be a hoe."

"Pfft. I'd be a hoe for the right people." She says matter-of-factly. "Annnnd I'm sure if the right person that gets you hot and bothered told you to, you'd be bent over the nearest table in a heartbeat. I know you. I've read your fanfics before girl, you can not say some of those kinks aren't yours." Her eyebrow raises accusing.

You stare at her with an open mouth before checking to see if anyone is paying attention. There IS a guy two tables away that could've overheard, but you doubted... wait. Is he SMIRKING?! OH GOD DID HE HEAR!?? No, no, no. "NO... I-... those are just... I- I couldn't be a hoe! I definitely am NOT into any of those kinks or exhibitionism or anything."

Your friend starts gawking at you,"Bangchan is your bias and as of late you've been simping so damn hard for him... you're telling me you wouldn't fuck him if given the chance? You wouldn't let him bend you over a table right now and ruin you?" Her eyes look into your very soul daring you to lie and say you wouldn't. She knows you well... you'd be on your knees for that man in .01 seconds. He wouldn't want for anything.

"I-well-um..." You fumbled for something to say, your face burning bright red, embarrassed to be discussing this in public. You love your friend but damn does this bitch need a damn filter when you're both out in public.

The man snorts and tries to hide his grin. OK. Wait.... this guy is totally listening to your convo. What kind of person listens in on someone's conversation? Especially once they hear any part of the perverse shit coming out of your friends mouth?

He sits in the chair sipping on what appears to be a frozen orange juice. Who drinks an orange juice... slushie... thing in a cafe? Or is it a smoothie? It's a smoothie right? Technically? And why is he wearing sunglasses? It's 6pm and the shop faces away from the setting sun. You study hum a but longer. He has a prominent nose, a nice set of lips, and though he's sitting you can bet he's definitely taller than you. His black jean jacket on a white supreme t-shirt and black jeans look crisp and brand new. He was also wearing a clean pair of black boots and a ball cap. Honestly, he almost looked famous.

God, that'd be my luck to have someone famous looking at me. A stranger is one thing but someone famous? I won't be able to leave my home for months. And thats when you feel it.. like he's staring at you.

"Y/N?... hellooooo... Y/N" gingers snap in front of your face. "Are you even listening to me?" Your friend pouts.

"Oh, um...no, I'm sorry." You apologize still looking at the man, trying to decide if he's looking at you or not.

He holds up his hand, his pretty lips stretch into a grin and wiggles his fingers at you.

Oh.

My.

FUCKING.

GOD!

He chuckles at your panicked expression before standing and making his way towards you.

Your friend notices your eyes getting big and turns to see the handsome man approach, turning around and whispering quickly ,"I THOUGHT YOU SAID YOU COULDNT BE A HOE?! WERE YOU EYE FUCKING THAT GUY THIS WHOLE TIME??!!" You jolt slightly at how loud she is still even when whispering. (Oh of course NOW she tries to whisper.) Your quick movement knocks the tea to your left and spills it all over the table. It quickly makes its way over the edge as you stand to try to avoid it all and you wind up with tea on both your yellow blouse and blue jeans.

"Shit!" You exclaim before someone hands you a handkerchief. ...what? Who carries a handkerchief these days?

"Here you go. You should be more careful. If that had been hot you could've burned yourself." A delicious Australian accent flows from the person. It seems familiar. You look up slowly and the glasses slide down his nose revealing pretty and expressive brown eyes.

Oh no. Please God no. Who hates you? What did you do to deserve this kind of embarrassment?

Your friend sucks in a deep breath her eyes look between you and CHRISTOPHER FUCKING BANG! THE Bangchan! The very one she said you'd let bend you over a table. THE ONE THAT HEARD HER SAY IT AND LAUGHED.

"We... we were just joking earlier!" You blurt out knowing damn well you face was 50 shades of red and you look down to avoid his humorous gaze to your shirt and begin wiping furiously at the tea stain.

He smiles and his eyes crinkle slightly, clearly amused at how flustered you are.

Meanwhile, your friend has still yet to pick up her jaw, looking like a fish out of water, instead of helping you explain. You hand him his handkerchief back and mutter more excuses for the conversation he overhead.

His fingers find your chin and tilts your head up, forcing you to make eye contact. OK. OK. What was the next book? 50 shades brighter or something? Sweet baby rays bbq, this man is handsome. Your head begins to feel fuzzy. "That's too bad." His voice is quiet and sultry, even a little teasing. A heat sparks in you core. God what would it be like to be like to-

He smirks, seeing how your eyes are hooded in lust, pupils dilating, the subtle parting of your soft lips. They looked so ready to be consumed by his. To be sucked, to be bitten. "If your like we can talk more about, how that conversation was actually a joke. I'd love to hear the next excuse to rush past those lips. Hopefully, I can make your skin flush so beautifully again in the future, hm?" With that he pulls out a napkin, (he had a napkin this whole time? Why didn't he give me that to use for the tea spill), and slid it into your now stilled hands.

He walks away with a smile and pushes his glasses back up to hide his smiling eyes. Pulling his cap down, he exits the cafe.

Your friend blurts out emphatically, "WHY DID HAVE A HANDKERCHIEF WHO CARRIES THOSE AROUND STILL?! ALSO WHAT THE FUCK. DID HE JUST FLIRT WITH YOU? NORMAL ME IS TRYING TO SAY HE JUST TEASING YOU BUT HOE ME IS SCREAMING HE WANTS TO FU-"

you snap out of your stupor just in time to slap a hand over your friends mouth before she could finish that sentence. People are now staring, and some are not too pleased with her volume and even less so with what she's saying. "Sorry! She's not from around here." You apologize to those around you. You begin to reach for her hand to drag her out and away from the cafe before remembering the napkin in your hand. You look at it seeing letters and numbers... a name.... and a... PHONE NUMBER?!

THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! DID YOU JUST WHEN THE FATE LOTTERY OR IS KARMA LOOKING TO ALSO BEND YOU OVER THE NEAREST TABLE.

"What... why are you looking like a dog who heard the word 'treat'?" Your friend now having calmed down enough to have a volume of a decent level asks.

"He... he gave me his number." You were really getting tired of blushing lately. Surely the blood in your system is exhausted by the constant rushing to and from your face. "Are you gonna call him?" She asks.

What a good question, do you call him?

[spurgie-cousin]

You know that meme of the kid with the veins popping out of his head like he wants to talk but can’t? That’s me when my mom starts talking to me about fundie stuff because she doesn’t know I lurk fundie blogs on a daily basis so I’m always thinking ‘if only you knew the half of it’ 😂 I literally just texted her ‘josh duggar was found guilty’ but idk what context she has of the trial or not. She only gets updates from WOACB videos when they pop up on her youtube recommendations

SAME I had someone casually text me like "did you see that Duggar guy got convicted" and the first thing I thought of was that meme 😂😂 they're just an acquaintance so I had to try my hardest to be casual like "yea, so crazy!!" and not immediately info dump

Also try to get your mom hooked on literally anyone else (I know its hard bc there aren't a lot of people who talk about fundies and update as frequently) WOACB sucks.

[artificiallyimplantedmemories]

[ ooc: FINALLY got around to this, after the foible this morning with it, so this is try number 2 at ep5 liveblog/commentary... under the cut as always ]

this has a speedrun/summary version of impressions the first third of it because I’d already watched all of that before tumblr ate the post so I might miss stuff idk. and then after that it’s my typical sporadic livebloggy madness. this got SUPER long oops

We have a lot of motifs in this episode, including the bloodied shield, the use of the shield as essentially a giant blunt blade rather than a shield, the conflict between different people’s interpretations of what ‘fighting because one has to’ means.

Walker is running from himself at the beginning, but where does one run to when the war is in your head? Particularly poignant for me (because I know that in the comics he joins the army to emulate his deceased brother) is how deeply the loss of a brother-in-arms cuts, but even more so how much the thought that he’s disappointed Lamar hurts. I think that in some ways, Lamar may have been a part of John’s moral compass, and his sustained belief in him has always helped him. It’s a reversed parallel to Steve and Bucky, actually, and I could elaborate on that but it might turn into an essay.

John tries to walk away from the fight at first, partly because he has other priorities, and partly because I think he does genuinely recognize that Bucky and Sam are good people. Of course there’s also the layer that he thinks of them as the original Cap’s sidekicks and therefore as the new Cap shouldn’t fight them, but… anyway the fight sequence is interesting to watch because it does show John as fairly well matched with them despite the fact that MCU Bucky has the serum. Part of this might be their reluctance to kill him while John has given up the façade and is now willing to do that in order to further his own plans as long as he doesn’t get caught. He cannot lose the title he’s given or he’ll be lost, now that he doesn’t have his best friend.

“Don’t go down that road. Believe me, it doesn’t end well.” “I’m not like you.” The difference is that Bucky was brainwashed. Yes, he’s still ruthless even after he’s broken free of it, but he’s taking conscious steps to be better. And thus the determination behind the “Yeah we do.” The shield deserves better than being in John’s care.

I paused to write and stopped on this face I’m laughing

The “why are you making me do this?” is obviously coming from a place of delusion but also speaks to how John’s personal motives are super unclear. Why did he take on the mantle of Captain America when it was established from the very beginning that he wasn’t completely comfortable with it? Was it, as he told Lamar, because he wanted a chance to be good? (In which case, obviously he’s having a breakdown about not achieving that?) Was it for his ego? Because he was commanded to? Having a John muse makes this a very interesting thing to explore.

Seeing Bucky’s arm get electrified and him knocking out because that’s directly tied to his neural implants was not any easier the second time around oof

“This isn’t you, John.” Further proof that Sam Wilson has more heart than legit anyone else, he’s still trying to believe that John is good.

I find it interesting that they have John remove the cowl in order to growl “I am Captain America.” It speaks to a rejection of what the old Cap was (though the cowl is the US Agent / updated Cap one) and his insistence that his version of Captain America is valid. (It’s not.)

Also because my literary obsessed reads way too much into tiny things that the show runners probably didn’t really care about as metaphors, I definitely saw the ripping of Sam’s wing as a reference to the restriction of freedoms by the US government lol just ignore me on that.

Bucky and Sam repeatedly saving each other’s asses is my jam. Also Sam using the power from the wing pack keeps reminding me from my observation back at the beginning that he’d do so well with full out repulsors. Tony totally would have set him up with that if MCU hadn’t killed him alas.

More of me finding parallels where there shouldn’t be any: they broke Walker’s left arm, just like they took away Bucky’s left.

I took a screenshot of this image when I watched it in the previous round, and it’s still going to haunt me. There’s something so tired and haunted and defeated here.

Bucky gives Sam the shield, because there’s nobody who deserves it more. The look on Sam’s face when he takes it and tries to clean the blood off of it (physically and symbolically of course) is heartbreaking. It’s a man who regrets his decision not to take it on originally but also now has to deal with the implications of both taking on that responsibility (in a country that doesn’t treat him fairly) and whether people will approve of anyone carrying the shield after John has fucked it up so badly.

A note that carries over from my first watch: people don’t usually refer to their enemies by first name. It’s done in comic books and movies with some frequency to remind people who is who, and in this case may also be a bit of humanization for Karli, a reminder that she is a sympathetic character despite the vicious way she does things sometimes. I also appreciate them reminding the audience that she’s competent and has a lot of support.

ALSO TORRES MY DARLING I’VE MISSED YOU. I wonder if Sam letting him keep the wings will actually develop into something (a la comics) or if they’re leaving that open ended. Also his smile is literal sunshine I’m not even joking about this, please give me all the Joaquín content thank you. Just look at him!!

I think by this point most viewers are fairly convinced that John Walker is Not A Good Man, but I think that his rant about always having done what he was told and done it well is purposeful and poignant here. His motives have always been to serve, but the matter of who he’s serving (or more importantly what - the military machine, the government that simply gives orders without thinking of the personal ramifications for those who carry them out) is put in contrast to Sam and Bucky, who are also veterans. I can’t help but draw parallels to the Nuremberg trials, people who did heinous things under orders and try to use that as an excuse for their innocence. It’s a reminder that a person doesn’t have to be visibly part of an evil group in order to do evil things. I won’t outline everything here but at least as far as the US Military goes, more info can be found at https://www.thebalancecareers.com/military-orders-3332819 about how and when it is defensible for people in the military to disobey orders.

You can hear John’s voice break during his rant, the conviction that he was doing what he was supposed to. He could have gotten away with more if he hadn’t been such a public figure, but an “other than honorable discharge” lmao what a diplomatic way to tell him how badly he fucked up xD

Also hey it’s Olivia. Most people forgot that John has a wife. (I’m glad she’s telling him to visit Lemar’s parents, they deserve that.) Also is this Valentina or is this a Skrull? Only time will tell.  (She’s probably not a Skrull, FATWS is too short for that, but on the other hand I’m not sure how I feel about the implications otherwise. Is she a SHIELD infiltrator? Is she manipulating him on SHIELD’s behalf? Did they steal the name and get rid of her backstory?)

The resignation on Zemo’s face during his encounter with Bucky (especially with a gun to his face) is unnerving. Zemo calling Bucky “James” made Natasha outright glare though. Her priorities are a little odd. But I’m glad Bucky didn’t kill him, I’m glad he’s not allowing him to be a victim of his conditioning. The Dora Milaje are taking him to the Raft… oh wait there might be Skrulls after all.

“If you ain’t bitter, you’re blind.” I feel that. I feel that hard. But I also understand the misplaced blame, the tendency for people who have been Through It seeing anyone outside their minority as their oppressor.

For someone who has dealt with the immensity of the trauma that Isaiah has, including the experimentation, the social isolation, the experience of being in the jail system for so long, it’s no surprise at all that he would be quick to assign blame. Add to that the risk of being killed for being part of an experiment that you didn’t agree to partake in early on, followed by extensive experimentation after? There are so many factors at play: violation of self, lack of agency, lack of safety… D: and the physical reminders of them are everywhere. look at the scarring D: D: D:

The range of emotion in this is so good, the acting is so good, I’m just overwhelmed with how honest this feels. 

“They erased me. My history. But they’ve been doing that for 500 years.” OOF

The crease in Sam’s brow when he’s told that no self-respecting black man would wanna be Captain America, there’s such righteous indignation there, but he has to temper it in the face of Isaiah’s grief. Over and over he proves himself capable of putting compassion first and foremost.

This sibling dynamic has been really nice to see. There’s tension, there’s individual struggles, there’s support (not always in the ways it needs to be, but they’re trying), but more obviously there’s a depth of love there. Seeing it is so rewarding.

LOOK AT THE WHOLE COMMUNITY SHOWING UP!! Oh man so this gets me, because I grew up in a neighborhood where we supported each other and threw block parties and everyone trooped into our backyard to play on the swingset that had been left behind by the previous owner. It wasn’t family, sure, but we took care of each other. In India, it was even more so, and even now when I go there, I crash at my next door neighbors’ place instead of my family’s house most of the time. I miss having that sense of community, that closeness to people because we all had each other’s backs. Where I live now, I don’t even know most of my neighbors’ names. It sucks.

Ahh, there’s the part that I’ve seen the gifs of, with Bucky showing up at the boat. I like the idea that Bucky has slowly come to think of his metal arm as more of a normal part of him despite the ache and heaviness of it. Of course in MCU, he has the serum so maybe he doesn’t notice as much, but I can’t imagine he wouldn’t experience phantom pain in it until at least he internalized it as his own body part, and even then the shoulder joint would probably ache. Still, perhaps it’s more akin to an old injury than a foreign object now, and therefore Bucky still does what he would do naturally, using his dominant hand instead of the ‘enhanced’ one.

I have Feelings about Bucky saying “I’m Bucky” with a smile okay I HAVE FEELINGS

Bucky must have worked the docks a lot way back in the 40s. His level of competence is one of natural instinct, he’s just used to it. I wonder if he worked extra to help pay for medication for Steve after Sarah passed away… oh, more feels :(

Meanwhile Sam is over here doing his human best and I love that. He calls in the crew to help, relies on people, but it never stops him from being a part of it. He’s not taking a managerial role, he’s another tooth on the gear.

“They don’t care if you wear small tee shirts or have six toes or your mom’s your aunt” lmao my brain went ‘You don’t happen to have six toes on your right foot, do you?’ ‘Do you start all of your conversations this way?’ But also look how happy they look here!!!

“Don’t flirt with my sister. Because if you do I’ll have Carlos cut you up, feed you to the fish.” SAM YOU’RE SO RIDICULOUS. But also the way Bucky goes a little pouty after. <3

Lemar’s family! Okay so Walker is straight up lying to them about who it was that killed him, but given the circumstances, I don’t expect anything different. And perhaps part of that is to assuage the family about the fact that there’s ‘justice’ done, but part of it also has to be a slight ego play, and you can see on his face that when they talk about him resting easier, his jaw sets. He’s going to go after who actually did it, whether he has the jurisdiction to or not. He does seem genuinely regretful and I will reiterate the brother-in-arms bit above. Walker needed Lamar as a support system, a confidante, and a nudge in the right direction.

What is Bucky thinking about when he sees the kids playing with the shield? Is he remembering his own childhood? Is he thinking about a future where the shield will be valued and honored and carried right again? Is he thinking about what it’s like to have a family, and missing his own? I need to know these things -_- -> WAIT I THINK IT GOT ANSWERED DURING THE TRAINING MONTAGE. Oh it’s even more than I thought augh. The closest thing he’s got left to a family is the shield because Steve was as much a part of it as it was a part of Captain America dfsjhdgfsd

Sarah telling the boys off! Good for you, girl. (Also I’m laughing at “she’s a very mean person” and “there’s a prowess that goes into my madness” pfft Sam)

“You gotta stop looking to other people to tell you who you are.” is SUCH AN IMPORTANT SENTIMENT. And “You want to climb out of the hell you’re in, do the work.” As someone who deals with a lot of mental illness bullshit, this is the TRUEST statement. Yeah, you might need help. It might be therapy, it might be meds, it might be other coping skills and distractions, but if you don’t want to be better and do better for yourself and face the rawest and most uncomfortable parts of your psyche, you don’t improve. You stay complacent, stay stuck in that rut, doing the same things that didn’t work before. I need to say it doubly because you know some people are going to say that Sam’s not giving Bucky the support he needs to climb out. IT’S NOT HIS JOB. He will choose to give support when Bucky asks/needs because he’s a compassionate person, but this speech right here is compassion, it is exactly the tough love he says it is. Bucky needed to be called out on not coping and I’m glad that it happened.

….also now kiss, thank you.

“We’re partners.” “Co-workers.” “But we’re also a couple of guys with a mutual friend.” “Friend’s now gone.” “So we’re a couple guys.” XD -cue vine- two guys chilling on a boat and…- wait that’s not how it goes.

“This is our history. We can’t lose this fight.”

“But what would be the point of all this pain and sacrifice if I wasn’t willing to stand up and keep fighting?”

Training montage! I hope he doesn’t slice his fingers off on that shield yeesh. Also my Clint muse is watching those flips like oooooh the dude’s got moves on the ground too now, oh no.

Okay we get that the Flag Smashers are going for intimidation but the trope of the red lighting makes me laugh every time. Nobody is going to turn out the lights and then turn on a different set of conveniently red lights that probably weren’t normally installed in that building. Even emergency lighting wouldn’t look like that. It’s just funny, I dunno. And of course we get a cliffhanger ending.

Post-credits we get John’s new shield being built, and all I can say is 1) if he’s able to pound that out, clearly his new shield isn’t vibranium, and 2) LEARN HOW TO WELD NEATLY AUGH THAT WAS AWFUL XD

Overall thoughts: Good episode! Not a huge amount of plot furthering, aside from the very last bit, but good insight into characterization and believably building the relationship between Sam and Bucky while also reading into motivations and differing views from people who come from similar circumstances. I’m really enjoying the compare & contrast I’m getting to do between Isaiah and Bucky and Sam, because there are so many overlaps and stark differences between them. The first half also gave us some great headway into understanding John as a person, though it’s possible some of that is me overanalyzing because I have a muse for him.

[en-theheights]

All the problems with HSMTMTS:

I keep getting asked question on what happened in the fandom, and what is going on against all of the s*xual assault allegations against J*shua and T*m. This is going to be the post where I lay out all that I know of and inform the tumblr fandom on it because not all of you are on Twitter, and Tumblr is literally the heaven amongst fandoms. After this post, I’m DONE talking about this show and being apart of this toxic group. Along with talking about the s*xual assault allegations, I will also be addressing the issues during the BLM movement and other crap that not only the cast and crew have been a part of, but also the fandom itself. Let’s dig in.

Sidenote: I really don’t want any hate, I’m just trying to be open with you guys and inform you all. Also, I’m doing my best to remember everything, so if there is something that you want to know more on then please just message me personally cause I’m seriously SICK of discussing it publicly.

Not eveything in the fandom is due to JUST the cast and crew. This fandom is FULL of very toxic and creepy people.

A few months ago, someone (a grown women) who was overly obsessed with Olivia hacked into her grandfather’s account to turn it into a fan page to get undercover information on Olivia, as well as getting information on where Olivia lived. This grown women has also done some other seriously inappropriate things. If you want to learn more about the sketchy things that this women has done than you can go to Twitter and look it up.

There are always ship wars in fandoms, but this one takes it WAY too seriously. I’ve seen people get attack on their looks just for being a part of a ship. The ones that are heavily abusive are Rina vs Rini, Seblos vs CJ, and redlyn vs Redky. It has cause people to leave the fandom due to how bad the attacking got. On Tumblr, everyone’s pretty open about ships, but on twitter it is a literal battle field.

Disgraceful people still continue to ship the actors instead of the characters. J*livia and J*fia is what I’m going to talk more closely about. (First, josh is a grown adult and both Sofia and Olivia are minors, please unfollow me if you don’t see anything wrong with that). Sofia had to delete a few of her tik toks after one with Joshua went viral and people wouldn’t stop shipping her and him in her comments. Like one video she did, the caption was “I want a boyfriend” and people assumed they were dating and wouldn’t stop tagging him in her videos. As for Olivia, people have been shipping them since the beginning of the show. Fan accounts on all platforms have dedicated their time to this. I don’t necessarily remember if Sofia or Olivia came out saying that they were uncomfortable when they got shipped with their cast mates, but it started causing drifts between the actors because of this and Joshua wasn’t featured in any of Sofia’s videos after that and Olivia didn’t post as much as she use to with him. It goes to show that shipping actors makes things awkward and strained within their personal relationships. DONT DO THIS!

A person stating that they were friend’s with Olivia came out to expose Joshua of being a bad boyfriend after she tells everyone that Olivia and Joshua has been secretly dating during the press tour of HSMTMTS. There was clever evidence that showed they were dating and the girl came out with multiple receipts, and even went so far as to go on Instagram live to speak on the matter. But she then came out stating that it was false and she only wanted some attention. Apparently she was a j*livia stan. I can’t find anything on twitter about it anymore, since I’m pretty sure eveything was deleted. This can ruin people’s careers and I don’t know why anyone could think it’s okay. 

There are genuinely a lot of creepy adults that roam around in the HSM fandom. On twitter, there would be grown adults writing in detail how the kissing scene between Joshua and Olivia made them feel. People continue to post the gif of Nini and Ricky kissing and write out why it’s so important to them. People have taken that kissing scene and literally turned it into nasty and inappropriate sm*t on AO3 and Wattpad. Note once again that these characters are minors and it’s NEVER okay to write inappropriate stories about children. Grown adults need to be held accountable for their actions if this is how they’re acting.

Some parts of the fandom genuinely hate on both Sofia and Olivia for literally nothing. Just jealousy between their ships, and because of it, they think it’s okay to to personally attack the actresses on their looks and where they are in there careers. People continuously pin Olivia and Sofia against each other, like for example people bashing Olivia for not being as successful as Sofia, or Sofia being bashed because she doesn’t have the same singing career as Olivia. It’s once again, DISGUSTING!

This one is more about Disney and then not doing their part. Disney cut out the majority of Seblos’ scenes, which caused a lot of turmoil within the fandom and why Seblos felt unattached and awkward while they were together in all of their scenes after the dance episode. People called out Disney and said they they shouldn’t have put Seblos in if they weren’t going to go full out with it.

Onto the cast and the crew:

Kate (miss Jenn) got a lot of hate for exposing that Frankie (Carlos) and Joe(Seb) are in an actual real life relationship without asking them for their consent to tell the world. Don’t know whether they had spoken about them being in a relationship or not, but Kate didn’t speak on it after that either.

A video came out a few days ago of the cast taking cast pictures during their tour, and Mark (Mr. Mazzara) was standing beside Sofia in which it looks like his hand was rubbing Sofia’s lower back, and she seemed uncomfortable. I’m not sure if it’s a stretch or not because the video is super blurry and it’s hard to kind of see their faces, but you can clearly see his hand go behind her back. Personally for me, I didn’t notice anything too alarming, but you’d have to see for youself. I won’t be posting that and instead you can dm me personally and I’ll send you the link to the video.

A past comment of Joshua’s was exposed in which he is saying the F slur. #joshuabassettisoverparty was trending world wide on Twitter, with people wanting him off the show. He has apologized for it since then, but not many ever forgave him and it was just really his young girl audience that came to his defense, even though it wasn’t their apology to forgive. People that only stan him because he is a cute cis white male didn’t see the problem in what he had said, and kept saying that he was young and that it’s not a reason for us to hate on him, but he was only 17 when he said that, and it’s no excuse. Personally to me, his apology was super bland and he didn’t address it personally on his Twitter, but instead replied to a post saying he’d do better. Here’s what he had said:

Here is his apology on this:

Joshua also went on a live in which he said “boys, gals, or whatever” People accused him of being transphobic and enbyphobic. Others think that his words were being blown out of proportion. Here is that video:

I found it to be very ridiculous and rude that he doesn’t follow anybody on twitter or tik tok. On a live video, Julia said something about him not following her, and he just says that he doesn’t follow anybody and she shouldn’t take it personally. Honestly not that big of a deal, but it’s still shows pitifullness and arrogancy. Don’t know what his contract looks like with whatever agency he’s with, but maybe they’re just strict on that, but idk.

People hate on Matt (EJ) for being republican. He hasn’t done anything problematic or said anything out of offense, so for me he’s good. UPDATE: Turns out, Matt is friends with Benjamin Lawson Adams, a convicted pedophile. Here’s a brief statement in what happened:

He worked for the Weinstein company, so no surprise there. His arrest happened in May 2016, and his license was suspended to practice Law in July of 2018. If Matt knew what was best for him, he would stop having any and all associations with this dude.

That’s all I can think of on situations not regarding the s*xual assault allegations or the BLM movement. But there’s probably so much I’m missing. I’m going to make a part 2, cause the next half is too long to post here as well. I’ll label it #exposinghsmtmts so others are able to see it.