#so i started a nancy drew tumblr because why not

[papenniesandbentoboxes]

HAPY THIRD BIRTHDAY TO THIS BLOG!!!!!!! 🎂🥳🎉

With this blog I've had so much fun and have met so many fun internet friends and, honestly, I probably wouldn't be as happy as I am now with this blog. Thank you guys for following me and interacting with my posts and just being really fun in the Clue Crew.

I love you guys ❤️

[netscapenavigator-official]

Fuck all these James Bond remakes, I want an R-rated Nancy Drew movie.

[thegreymoon]

I am really not the target demographic for Red, White and Royal Blue and honestly, the entire premise sounds dumb af from where I'm sitting, but all the gifs that crossed my dash looked hilarious and that main actor is beyond gorgeous, so I am going to give it a shot tonight. My expectations are so low, that unless this movie gets a shovel and starts digging, there is no chance it cannot exceed them. I am so ready to eat my words, just give me some pretty people, mindless fluff and basic comedy and I will be happy, I swear!

***

TWO FUCKING HOURS?

You guys, I'm going to be honest here, I don't think I have it in me to sit through this 😭😭

***

LOL, only a younger brother 🤣🤣 They did not have the guts to go all in and make him the heir to the throne.

Also, lol @ "Prince of England's hearts" but even more so at "whom all the world adores" 🤣🤣 I cannot. I am absolutely not the target demographic for this and I don't think I have it in me to just go along with this, fictional British royal family or not. Who speaks like this? Who even believes it?

Anyway. Abolish the monarchy, Guillotine them all. Long live the glorious revolution!

***

LMFAO 🤣🤣

Well, at least he looks equally disgusted.

If we can't off the royal family, how about we just off this news announcer? Because I am getting so much second-hand embarrassment.

***

LMAO, OK, he gets ONE point 🤣🤣

OK, fine, two points, because he is stupid beautiful and the reason I sat down to watch this in the first place 😤

***

Yassss, girlfriend has great taste!

I'm two minutes in and so far, she's my favourite. I would totally watch a two-hour movie of her touring London and giving commentary on the yumminess of various guys she encounters.

***

LMAO, is he going to get hammered and smash the obscene 75-thousand-pound cake? 🤣🤣

Because why else would they mention that price point and also show the cake in all its humongous 8-tier glory 🤣🤣

Here for the diplomatic incident, ngl, I would totally read the shit out of that in the tabloids the next day 🤣🤣

***

NOOOOO, THE CAKE IS RIGHT BEHIND THEM!

THEY WILL TOTALLY TOPPLE THAT CAKE!

***

Okay, I am laughing 🤣🤣

***

SCREAMING 🤣🤣

I saw it coming from a mile away, but goddamn, it DELIVERED! 🤣🤣

***

I can't stop laughing 🤣🤣

Watching this was such a good decision 🤣🤣

***

LOL, if this was a real-life event, I would spend a week gleefully reblogging it on Tumblr, no lie 🤣🤣

Also, it is a 9-TIER CAKE, not 8 🤣🤣 The more, the messier!

***

LMFAO 🤣🤣

Also, OMG! Uma Thurman! 😍 It's been a hundred years since I watched her in anything!

***

"Sunshine of my heart" 🤣🤣

This movie is hilarious 🤣🤣

***

Wait, Sarah Shahi??

I loved her in Life! I also watched Fairly Legal for her and thought she was stunning in The L Word! I'm forever bitter we never got to see that Nancy Drew adaptation with her in the main role 😕

***

The thing that is the most difficult for me to suspend my disbelief for is the idea that these two overly privileged young men involved in their countries' respective politics are actually nice people.

I keep chanting to myself, "You are not here for realism! You are not here for realism! YOU ARE NOT HERE FOR REALISM!"

To varying levels of success 😕

***

Romantic comedies are so not my genre. And I am so not here for ex-boyfriends or whatever this guy is.

I need Alex and Henry to get back together ASAP and start smashing cakes again because I'm starting to get bored.

***

These are gutter-level jokes.

Seriously, they couldn't get more creative?

***

They have the most basic taste in literature ever. It doesn't even feel authentic, more like what a nineteen-year-old girl thinks good taste in literature should look like.

***

I feel like I am extremely uncharitable towards this movie (the cake thing was funny tho) but it is very hard to take their bland flirting, pedestrian romance and pathetic humour seriously when you're coming into this from 2ha 😕 The standards that have been set are on another planet compared to what we are being given here.

***

Please 😭

And smash another cake, otherwise I don't know how I'm going to make it through another hour-and-a-half of this 😭😭

***

The things I will watch for pretty people 😭

He truly is stupid beautiful and makes this thing infinitely more watchable every time he's on screen.

***

I'm with Henry on this one, this party is like something straight out of my worst nightmares and crushing on the tall, hot guy seems like the only tolerable thing in this whole hellscape.

***

Aww, baby, he is not having a good time.

He wants to kiss him for New Year's too!

***

LOL.

Well. That escalated 🤣🤣

***

NOOOOO, WHAT ARE YOU DOING JUST STARING AFTER HIM?

RUN AFTER HIM AND TELL HIM IT'S OK AND THAT YOU SHOULD CONTINUE SOMEWHERE BEHIND CLOSED DOORS!!

***

And some women! 👀

She's my favourite character in this thing, lol, followed closely by Sarah Shahi and Uma Thurman. And then Prince Henry 😅

***

This guy stands no chance to the level that it's embarrassing he still keeps trying.

I almost feel sorry for him, but I kinda have the feeling that he's going to be the one to out Alex and Henry, so my sympathy is very shallow. Just know when you've lost, my man, and MOVE ON.

[booklove22]

Last year, I took the day off for my birthday to start binging The Rookie because Tumblr convinced me to with all of the Chenford gifs. My favorite memory of that day: “Why is the Chen of Chenford dating Nathan Fillion’s character? Wait, are Chen and Bradford not the stars of this show???”

This year, its The Mentalist because the Nancy Drew fandom convinced me to and we’re all collectively mourning the end of that show and need something to ship. So here goes, S1, ep 1…

[missjoolee]

20 questions writer meme!

Tagged by @onlygenxhere, Thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 15 (I keep meaning to move tumblr fic over though)

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 62,690

3. What fandoms do you write for? Julie and the Phantoms like half Nancy Drew CW (it was a crossover)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

A JatP Untitled Goose Fic 🦢⚠

I Hit Back a Little Louder

Oh My God, They Were Gymmates

A Kitty on My Foot and I Want to Touch It

Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy-Up

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? Ehhhhhh unreliably. I want to but get anxiety. I've been working on it and have done a lot better on more recent fic than older ones.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Me? Angst? Psh. girl please. i only tease the angst at friends via ps i love you au (😘) but like. maybe ch 2 of Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy-Up or i've had some semi angst adjacent drabbles on tumblr. I guess. I'm not about that life.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? most are fairly open-ended but headed towards HEA. But i feel like maybe Live It Like It's Meow or Never because Reggie gets to be a cat and take a nap in the sun!

8. Do you get hate on fics? Nope.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I do not. I'm just starting to get comfortable writing slightly heated kissing 😅 (comfortable she says! HA! she had a mini panic attack writing the kiss in Justice, Over Easy)

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Remember that half Nancy Drew CW fandom i mentioned earlier? I did a JATPxND ficlet that went over surprisingly well.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? nope

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? nope. i currently have a hard enough time writing with myself lol

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? i'm assuming this means to write since it's a writers ask game. Juke, but if i bring alex into it much, willie is bound to follow (him anywhere)

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? I had a really intense juke dream about a month ago... 2 months ago. that i started writing a scene from because honestly it was a pretty cool premise. but the further i get away from that night, the more other wips are being prioritized. maybe i will just share the morning text ramble of it i did in the group chat because i really do want to share something. I just don't think it will be a written out ficlet.

16. What are your writing strengths? IDEAS. I can see a thing happen and be like "BUT WHAT IF JUKE" for days on end. in apparently very strange places too. I feel like i have rather unusual premise for what i end up writing sometimes.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? despite knowing what a good narrative can look like, i immediately cannot recall it once writing. It's not like it's bad but i feel like it lacks a bit and reflects my short time since starting to write. Also, if i write it the simple dumb way to get it out of my brain. Chances are, it will take me 4 months to go from reading it and saying "well i wrote the thought out. it's there. it's done" unable to write it any different or better, to my editor brain kicking in and figuring out how to really say it.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? Um. If it's necessary within the realms of the plot and characters it's fine? I'm not multilingual so anything i did would be google translated or asking a friend that speaks it, so i don't really mess around with it. as a reader, if a fic on ao3 says it's in english, i normally don't want half a chapter to be in another language even if it is a native tongue to multiple characters since I don't know what they are saying without using a translator or scrolling to the bottom a/n so /shrug. take that as you will.

19. First fandom you wrote for? jatp. no other fandom i've been a part of has made me go quite this feral.

20. Favorite fic you've written? Picking a favorite is impossible. But I'd say i'm probably currently most proud of Help! I've Fallen and I Can't Giddy Up as it was the first (and only) chaptered fic that i've finished and i challenged myself with each chapter. But honestly, i add new elements to each fic i post, whether its learning new html, learning how skins work on ao3, making a gif/picture to go with it, or just challenging myself within the writing like getting more confident with intimacy.

I think I'm supposed to tag people so, @tangledstarlight @story-courty @writerownstory no pressure though!

[thatiranianphantom]

Nancy Drew Rewatch 104: The Haunted Ring

(as always, thank you to my excellent rewatch partner, @middleagedresidentofriverdale)

Oh man this episode is RAW. Someone on this writing staff has lost a parent before, and it shows. It's brutally real.

This is also a character-driven episode in a way that feels completely different from the last one. Ostensibly, very little plot happens, but we unpack some things we've needed to since the pilot.

An incredibly Nick-light episode.

Look, if I start hearing the noises they are, I'm burning the place down, not investigating. Nancy Drew I will never be.

The jumpscares actually work for me in this show. I am a wimp, and they are ridiculously easy to anticipate.

Maybe it's just me, but I like seeing glimpses of Nancy's room. She's portrayed as so tough and guarded and her room is just very...pink and girly. It's an interesting contradiction.

I love the Ruth Bader Ginsburg art on her board though.

This episode really seems to lay out that no matter when you lose a parent, it's devastating. Nancy was 18, and it nearly wrecked her. Even when you're older, the death of a parent is shattering.

Laura Tandy. Another entry in the "I know Ace is dating her but I don't know why and I am not sure if I'm supposed to be rooting for this?"

Oh Ace, sweet baby. Subtle as a train wreck and adorably unable to lie.

"OH WOW! THIS IS RANDOM!"

Eventually babe, Nancy is going to rub off on you and you'll get a TOUCH more subtle.

@middleagedresidentofriverdale excellently pointed out that Tiffany Hudson is the Jason Blossom of Nancy Drew.

Oh thank GOD the American accent is gone, watching the British leak through all the time was so distracting.

"Just because family isn't that important to you" exFUCKINGscuse me?

Redacted not tumblr safe opinions.

EVERYONE LIES TO NANCY.

This scene at Kate's grave...sweetie. You just want to come through the screen and hug this poor girl.

Ace forgives WAY too easily. Beautiful scenery though.

Nancy and the beanie. I get that Kate knit the beanie, but if it's meant to hide the very distinctive hair I....don't think it's working?

Anyway, no Nace interactions in this episode but this was devastating even to me, a person with both parents still alive:

And Ace just looking his best here

To 105!

[actuallylorelaigilmore]

2023 Movie Journey #17: Elemental

elemental. i watched this one earlier this week with my family...and i'm finally caught up on movie reviews! which means i can now post new ones right after i see the movies. yay.

this movie's cast has some actors who i know, probably most notably a guy i enjoyed in jurassic world dominion. but much, much more importantly, the star of this movie is leah lewis, so even if i hadn't liked the movie overall i still would have had a great time watching it.

i fell immediately in love with leah lewis's portrayal of george when i started watching nancy drew this year. and i mean immediately--i was watching with somebody who loved bess the most, and i had seen so much ace on my tumblr dash that i knew i'd like him too, but george was still my favorite character by the time i finished the pilot. without even knowing how great and rewarding her season 1 arc would be, or how much depth she would eventually have beyond her introduction as 'grudge-holding black sheep nancy's boss,' i could just tell she was my type of fave.

and even after watching the whole first season of nancy drew, it wasn't until i was rewatching it to show it to @actuallylukedanes that i accidentally learned george was played by leah lewis...and that i already knew her! she was in the half of it! which i watched and reviewed in 2020, and loved so much that i've wanted to get other people to watch it ever since. i didn't connect her performances at all, but even my review back then raved about how she was what made the movie good.

so when i realized she was starring in this, i was thrilled. and what i love about her is that she's consistently the kind of actor who has a real presence: she makes her characters engaging and stands out in a big way for somebody still young (though she started acting as a kid, so i know she's not new just cuz she's newish to me). she's signed on to the matlock reboot with kathy bates and i don't expect to love that cbs show, but i am very excited to try it anyway.

as for the movie though: i couldn't help but spend the first half just hearing george, in all her lines. not in a distracting or bad way, but a nice familiar feeling. i suspect the goal with animated disney heroines is to not make them too distinctive, because there's kind of a 'friendly normal' sound to the modern ones regardless of the actress that means even when i can recognize who's speaking, they all sound a little more similar than i would ever say they do in live action work. (either that or it's just me not being able to differentiate as well in animation, which is certainly possible.)

anyway, i loved everything about her work in this; she was the reason i cried a few times. in my opinion that's always a mark of good work, making an impressive amount of connection with viewers using just your voice.

i also really liked her parents and wade, despite the movie's core conflict revolving around all of them--this movie did a good job of explaining who everybody was as things went along, in a more than superficial way, so that it was much easier to still like people when the Bad Times came because they made more sense and were more sympathetic. as family conflicts go, compared to encanto and turning red, this one was my favorite because of that. no matter how angry or disappointed her father got, or how much that affected ember, i could still sympathize with him too and believe that his love for her was more important than anything else.

now, i know this movie got mixed reviews (or possibly worse? i only saw vague headlines) but i'm not really sure why! the metaphor they used to tell the story about immigration and a diverse society was maybe more blunt than usual, but i don't think that's a bad thing. and while it did center on themes that disney movies cover a lot (family expectations, parental disappointment, feeling like a failure, being an outsider, etc)...there are reasons those themes pop up so much!

especially when pixar movies are trying to appeal to both kids and adult audiences, i think it makes total sense to keep coming back to the 'classics.' again, there were a lot of thematic similarities between encanto and turning red and this movie (despite their differences in the details) and i watched those other two--encanto more than once--but still cried just as easily when ember confessed to her dad that she was a bad daughter, and when they bowed to each other before she left. the wounds between us and our parents never really heal, i think, at least not for everybody. so this movie tugged at me by just representing those feelings well, and making me care about the characters.

and when it comes to caring about the characters, probably my favorite thing about the movie besides the cast was the way the plot genuinely surprised me. i expected a happy ending, because it's a disney movie. but based on the trailer, i didn't know what to expect between ember and wade beyond 'they meet and things happen.' and the movie does such a good job of setting up the world they live in and the rules they live by that i believed them.

so in the beginning, i figured they were going to become unexpected friends, and navigating that alone would be a challenge. in that story, presumably the happy ending would've been something like, she learns that wade is right and she doesn't have to stay with fire people and never interact with the rest of the world, and they get to have further adventures.

but then! it turns out that this movie is going for romance. weirdly, i don't expect that from disney movies--you'd think i would when they're the home of princess culture and everything, but i wasn't a 'princess meets her prince for a happy ending' kid. i grew up with disney classics but didn't imprint on any of them.

instead, i was a don bluth kid! singing music from an american tail is literally one of my earliest memories, and my animated love story growing up was anastasia. if i squint, i can kind of see overlap between that animated romcom and this one, in terms of traumatic family history and a guarded, feisty female lead who gets what she thought she wanted all along just as she's also fallen in love with someone whose difference threatens her new fulfilled goal.

i'm not saying the two movies are very alike, lol...a zombie sorcerer belongs nowhere in elemental, obviously. but they both treat their romances with less sentimental sweetness, more sparkage and sincerity. the flirting in this is cute, and i loved them more the further along we went.

but of course, there's still that pesky plot-established problem that makes them a doomed romance. so once it was clear that their dynamic was about falling in love, not just befriending the 'other'...then i honestly expected a bittersweet ending where friends is all they can be. because this is disney, not pushing daisies, and in a world where nobody seems to have invented the elemental version of saran wrap for characters to safely kiss through, what kind of future could they have?

i did not expect them to give us this story where the characters are all believable in how firmly they believe (or don't, in wade's case) that different elements can't mix, and then for the story to show us those differences being overcome. i mean, that theme isn't exactly a new one, love conquering all, but the differences were so much more concrete here--it was life or death for them! when the parental disapproval alone was almost enough to ruin their chances!

i suppose you could flip my reaction to this movie and look at it the opposite way, and complain that their ability in the end to do what the story all along told us couldn't be done made it a waste of time, like the stakes were fake even if they didn't know that. maybe if you predicted the ending from the beginning, it could have felt that way.

but i didn't have expectations for the ending. so while i was really hoping ember and wade could be together, i was prepared for the alternative, a more modest 'crossing the aisles' journey of discovery for them both that opened her world and future and allowed him into her life from a safe distance going forward. instead, their whole story was wonderful and i love them and i'm so glad that they get to be the odd couple they are in a very divided world.

one last fun (if also slightly vexing) thing about this movie is that while it does end, it leaves a lot open, too. and i wanted to get to see ember start her internship; i wanted to learn about their new life and if it goes well for them once they're out in the broader world. i guess i wasn't ready to say goodbye to them, really, is all.

but that was fun at least on the level of seeing this with my family--it meant that after it ended, we were discussing what a sequel could be about, and that segued into a discussion about whether ember and wade could have kids or if they'd have to adopt--and how cool it would be if them having kids would create new elements or something. i love that idea a lot.

and i enjoyed this movie a lot. it was super pretty, i liked most of the characters, and it was unexpected romcom fun. i'm officially rooting for pixar to make more love stories now.

[thereigning-lorelai]

Happy Birthday! I hope you have a lovely day! (Also, your Nancy Drew gifs are STUNNING and I think they're a big reason why I started watching the show, and now I love love love it. So thank you for your gifs!)

first of all, THANK YOUUU! ♥️ i did have a great day and still have with tumblr's boop feature. 🐾

and wow, i think i've never had someone actually start a show because of me or my gifs and i am so, so happy to hear that (and that you love the show!!!)! thank you for this, it makes me so happy. 😍♥️

[catty-words]

it’s that time again! time for the -

2022 fic writing roundup

Total 2022 Word Count: 36,969 published words, but 132,549 words logged for the year Total 2022 Hits: 17,797 Other 2022 AO3 Stats: Kudos: 1,910; Comment threads: 111; Bookmarks: 259; Subscriptions: 20.

Total 2021 Word Count: 129,809 published words, but 183,981 words written for the year   Total 2021 Hits: 49,663 Other 2021 AO3 Stats: Kudos: 4,883; Comment threads: 437; Bookmarks:   742; Subscriptions: 18.

links and titles to 2022 works

[never have i ever] hold my spine, twist til it breaks (2,949 words, only about 700 of which were written this year) - wisdom teeth removal fic that i started in 2021 and randomly got the inspiration to finish when i read it again early in the year.

[never have i ever] if there’s a right time, darling, it’s never been now (1,939 words) - d/b senior year nonsense, a tumblr prompt that got unrulier than the average tumblr prompt

[never have i ever] meet me where you are (on top of the world) (632 words) - cross-posted tumblr prompt that features kamala/mr.k and devi & kamala

[never have i ever] wit without a conscious equipped (500 words) - cross-posted tumblr prompt, d/b + debate!

[crazy ex girlfriend] sing your little song, sing for all your friends (724 words) - cross-posted tumblr prompt, featuring heather and nathaniel and rebecca all being cute together!

[never have i ever] and if you got something that you need to say (612 words) - cross-posted tumblr prompt that’s perfectly wistful graduation day d/b, if i do say so myself

[crazy ex girlfriend] the soul no longer tries (402 words) - cross-posted heather and nathaniel snark

[crazy ex girlfriend] fervid as a flame (575 words) - cross-posted, r/n being domestic around rebecca’s song writing is something that can be so personal

[sex education] til the little cricket on the hearth stops chirping (544 words) - cross-posted, maeve has feelings about little women

[never have i ever] are you sure you want to delete this photo? (421 words) - cross-posted and honestly makes me want to write more daxton because it turned out so stinkin’ cute

[never have i ever] ice breaker (1,977 words) - a tumblr prompt that was actually not cross-posted, just exclusively published on ao3 because it got out of hand. d/b college tour feat. nalini’s affection for ben gross

[cw’s nancy drew] hollering hollow folk know how to play (4,354 words) - here’s how masturbation could have solved everything!

[cw’s nancy drew] try to follow your calling, but your reception is appalling (3,502 words) - texting fic!!

[cw’s nancy drew] like flowers growing through the concrete (1,937 words) - pre-canon, ace’s smoke break

[cw’s nancy drew] balance (1,088 words) - cross-posted tumblr prompt featuring the drew crew and a quiet ace/nancy moment

[never have i ever] (i can take it) if you need to take this out on someone (7,247 words) - ben sees devi through the stages of her breakup grief

[never have i ever] eager, young (and abandoning) (5,995 words) - it’s not a complete year without smut written for rose’s birthday! aka, ben and devi boink

[never have i ever] no voice to sing, nothing to bloom (1,571 words) - angsty 3.03 re-imagining

Favorite Fic: it’s the nancy drew texting fic, hands down. that one was joyful fun from start to finish and i’m kinda sad writing it didn’t last longer.

Hardest Fic: the as-yet-unpublished ‘a lie away from getting you into the mood’ (aka the second installment of the bitty spark ‘verse). i posted recently about how action is by far the hardest thing for me to write and be happy with, which is why i’m only halfway through this fic despite spending a solid third of my efforts this year chipping away at it.

i’ve started chapter four, like, five different times now it’s driving me up a wall.

Do You Plan to Take Prompts in 2023? i love prompt games as fun, low-stakes exercises so. yes. absolutely.

What was the best thing about 2022? the answer to this question is also ‘a lie away from getting you into the mood’. the fic is my friend, i take it with me everywhere (that is, i have the google docs app open on my phone literally all the time).

What was the worst thing about 2022? co-running a small business is demanding and often exhausting and i did not get to invest the time and energy into writing that i would have liked to.

Any last thoughts for 2022? one of my goals for the year was to write every day, and i accomplished that! didn’t miss a single day out of the year!

and, while it’s exciting for me to be able to say i did that, i will not attempt to do it again. there were definitely days i forced myself to write just to say that i did and it was clear my brain needed some guilt-free time away from any/all of my wips. so, going into 2023, i’ll be relieved to take those days when i need them.

Goals for 2023

finish either the ‘bitty spark’ fic OR devi the vampire slayer

continue keeping track of my daily writing

break 150,000 words (my goal for this past year was to make it to 200,000 and i simply did not have the time or energy so. we’re making the goal to write a little more than this year, but with reasonable expectations about my capacity)

[daniclaytcn]

AFIKQUWXY

A — answered here!

F — What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

the 911 fandom for sure! i don't think i've ever stuck around in a fandom as long as this one and continued to make content for it as well :)

I — Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

the marvel fandom...not that i ever even liked it to begin with, but the terrible media literacy, bigotry, etc finally caused me to break and call it quits

K — What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

eddie diaz from 911, and also emma swan from ouat

Q — A fandom you’ve abandoned and why

i feel like i kinda abandoned the nancy drew fandom 😔 i was disappointed with some of the stuff they did in s4 and i haven't gotten around to finishing the rest of the season yet

U — Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites.

eddie diaz from 911 — he's had one of the best character arcs i've ever seen and there are so many interesting layers to him angela lopez from the rookie — she's soo. badass and interesting and so underrated emma swan from ouat — she's the original blorbo for me tbh, she's suffered more than jesus and she deserved to go evil. as a treat. no character has deserved to break and commit war crimes more than her

W — A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom.

i don't know if you would call it a trope but i really hate it when in fanfics the main pair gets together and the other characters 'threaten' or try to give the shovel talk to one half of the ship. it's such an old and tired trope and the 911 fandom is particularly bad with it imo

X — A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom.

i love a good childhood friends AU!

Y — What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)?

merlin! though it might not be secondhand for long because everyday i am more tempted to start the show

ship/character/trope ask game

[voidsteffy]

I posted 16,791 times in 2022

That's 13,564 more posts than 2021!

617 posts created (4%)

16,174 posts reblogged (96%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@karinaisloud

@nnon-but-cwnancydrew

@infp-obsessing-over-everything

@bisexualalienss

@voidsteffy

I tagged 1,631 of my posts in 2022

#asks - 104 posts

#nancy drew cw - 76 posts

#rrr - 76 posts

#spotify - 52 posts

#desiblr - 52 posts

#nace - 51 posts

#tagged - 45 posts

#nancy drew cbs - 45 posts

#manu answers - 40 posts

#nancy drew finale - 35 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i need the rain shots....the shot of them meeting for the first time and then them *meeting for the first time*.... all the funny ones.....

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Why am I noticing right now that Ram also takes parts of the spiked whip in his hand.... so Bheem is not the only one bleeding

......kill me why don't you

144 notes - Posted May 7, 2022

#4

third time watching hill house and i just noticed some things:

luke's "treehouse" wall has the number plates of all the important cars: the plate of the funeral home van that brings back nell's body, nell's car in la and steve's car and so on

the Tall Man came into Luke and Nell's room because he was "checking up on his kids after they fell asleep" and then he found the hat

the names of the actors show up in the start credits only when their respective statue shows up. like, carla, victoria and everyone has a specific statue when their name appears and that statue is linked to their characters

the Tall Man and Poppy Hill had met in a mental institution and Luke and Joey met in a rehab

When mom was sad, she made the sky hail, and what if one of the siblings had made it rain the day that lady's husband died in the ravine?

steve protests in the two storms episode that "why do i need protection from the truth" while he represents Denial that is technically a mechanism of protection from the truth

Nell sees Vance at the bottom of the staircase before she dies, just like Hugh sees Liv wake up from the dead as a ghost and walk away thinking it's all a dream. the bottom of the staircase, after all the spirals of life, might be where your loved ones stand, waiting for you

I'm—

145 notes - Posted July 22, 2022

#3

I—

148 notes - Posted May 22, 2022

#2

What I loved about this moment was not just Ace literally risking his life because he trusted Nancy and wanted to eventually bring justice...

But that Nancy stayed rooted to her place while everyone else jumped in various degrees of shock.

Like, "Oh shit this adorable himbo that I thought was tagging along with me... He actually trusts me? AND HE WOULD HAVE DIED IF THAT WAS POISON!"

Her widened eyes say it all.

Beyond horrified at what Ace did, she's also spellbound by his trust. She felt responsible for him in a new way. That guy would be stupid enough to run into a dilapidated poisoner-housing building to be with her. That guy would be stupid enough to drink poison because they might share the same drive for justice and facts.

For me, that's when Nancy actually knew she could trust him too.

Of course Maybe she liked him before that but this is when she knew.

SHE KNEW.

183 notes - Posted January 25, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Friday without Nancy Drew be like

212 notes - Posted February 4, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[chrissmou]

August Reads

In the country I am from August is about holidays and trips, so while I have a little time for work it was a month I didn’t read much, only 8 books, 7 of which I will review here and the other is a Greek book so I would leave it out, but it was an emotional month with two series I love very much ending. The first was Riverdale, which was why I started my Ao3 and my Tumblr; the second was Nancy Drew, my comfort series for the past 4 years. Also, ships in both of these would always be on my top ships list.

As for the books, this month was full of romance short stories and a book about facts that I like very much. So let’s see them together, as always you can find them all in Goodreads:

All Inn Thyme (Erin Branscom): A good book about a gardener and a mechanic who became housemates with their dog and the gardener’s child. I love all of the Freedom Valley they are cute, and sexy, and have complicated characters with lives and reasons to make you emotional. I liked this one because the story was intriguing too.

Love Inn Books (Erin Branscom): I love books about bookshops or literary types and this wasn’t the only one I read this month. Even though it has the typical plot of the enemies to lovers. It is about a lawyer and his new secretary, the aspired book owner in this one. Their pets are adorable too, a dog and a raccoon. I liked the pranks around the office and also, the chemistry between them.

Beach Read (Emily Henry): I loved this book for many reasons the characters are wonderful and complex which I loved. They had history but they were both writers in different genres one in nonfiction and the other in romantic comedy. The plot was amazing and it had a cult in it which I didn’t expect.

Book Lovers (Emily Henry): Another book about books, this time about editors in a small town famous because of the book they talked about in their first meeting years ago. Now their lives have changed and they have started to spend a lot of time together in this town. We see them in their problems and their families something that could bring them closer.

Start Us Up (Lexi Blake): I love this one as I am starting a career in tech it has much of the world and it is a romance about an idea and the start of the company, and an adorable grandmother and the friendship of three different women. The romance is good but it is not as sizzling as the previous ones.

Parker Pyne Investigates (Agatha Christie): A collection of short about a detective who solves problems of the heart. It is very funny and has a charming protagonist with an affinity for a good life and statistics.

All About the History of British Royals (DK Publications): It was a good entertaining book for William the Conquer to Elizabeth II. I was really good and had many facts, and biographies and the romances of the royal family.

[stranger-chichka]

The reason Will and Barbara being taken into the Upside Down by the demogorogon is their feelings?

Something about @aemiron-art mentioning only Will and Barbara were taken to the Upside Down by the demogorgon drew my attention, so I started to look for more Will/Barb parallels. Here is what I’ve found (idk if anyone already wrote about it). They're followed with my thoughts and theories, be free to share yours because that's what Tumblr and this show are for!

Vanishing of Will/Barb

The scenes of their vanishings are identical - both hear growls behind, turn around and see a demogorgon. Then there’s something wrong with the electricity and after a moment - no sign of Will/Barb.

Will is taken by the demogorgon after saying “it was a 7” to Mike and having no response from him. What if it symbolises he told Mike how he feels about him? He couldn't lie to him although Lucas said it's okay. What if it was a kind of love confession and Mike ignored it (not on purpose of course. We see the moments of miscommunication between these two every season), so Will is taken into the Upside Down (=experiences internalized homophobia. Now, Barb. What if she was also in love with her best friend? What if the reason the demogorgon took her into the Upside Down too was her realisation that her feelings would never be reciprocated and they would never be together.

So, metaphorically, everything connected to the Upside Down represents how a person feels when their feelings aren’t reciprocated/when they’re rejected. Recently, I was thinking about Dart and how he may represent Mike and Will’s feelings, but now I feel like Dart represents Mike’s feelings in particular to Will (he’s growing throughout the whole s2 and we see Mike’s feelings toward Will become stronger, but then El closes the gate and he’s dead = Mike tries to bury his feelings toward Will in s3, but we see that demogorgons are alive in Russia). So, if Dart represents Mike’s love toward Will then the demogorgon that took Will and Barb represents their repressed love towards Mike and Nancy. They’re feeling awful and ashamed about themselves, a mistake. That feeling consumes them, takes them to the Upside Down.

Pizza scenes

Now I want you to look at this parallel. This is the first time we see Nancy in s1 and she’s talking with Barb about Steve. Dustin wants to treat her pizza, but she refuses. Who else refuses to eat pizza in s4, but then tries and likes it? Mike. Nancy doesn’t eat pizza, because she doesn’t love Barb romantically, but Mike does love Will that way.

Nancy & Barbara talking

“You’re better still hang out with me, that's what I’m saying” and “Can we play D&D now?”

Another two parallels are actually Nancy/Mike parallels, but it’s connected to Barb, so I added them. Both Nancy and Mike are acting weird and pretending to be someone else while dating Steve/El.

knockoff/nack (shoutout to @mikesbreathcatches for this one) = fake.

In this parallel Mike is paralleled to Steve and El - to Nancy. However initially, Nancy doesn’t want to change in front of Steve and asks for some privacy, but then changes her mind, and El starts undressing in front of the boys, but Mike stops her and tells her to go to the bathroom for some privacy.

Nancy & Barb in the car before Steve's party

In this scene Barb drives Nancy to Steve and we see she doesn’t want to go to that party. She calls the situation stupid and stupid=love, because “only love makes you that crazy and that’s stupid”, so she basically tells Nancy that she loves her and that is why she doesn’t want to be there with her, because she’s going to be with Steve and it would hurt Barb. But Nancy reminds Barb about the promise (“promise” has platonic connotations in the show and is associated with Mike/El and Hopper/El) and that this is going to be fun. After this Barb says Nancy that the reason Steve actually invited her to his home is he only wants to sleep with her and that Nancy is not that stupid (=Nancy doesn’t love Barb romantically). Nancy once again asks Barb to come with her so she wouldn’t do anything stupid (=so she wouldn’t fall in love).

We know what happened. Nancy stays at Steve’s and lets Barb go home alone and her heart is broken because of it. Mike lets Will go home alone and his heart is broken because Mike didn’t get the message, the confession.

If you’re still with me then you’ve already read the posts of incredible @kaypeace21 I added above. Her theories inspired me to look deeper in the show and i with she continued analysing it :c So, she also wrote a post on the “Rebel Robin” book and there is this quote where Barb is mentioned:

“Barb is like me…” And we know that Robin is a lesbian from s3 (and yes, I know that the information from these books isn’t official information and we can’t trust it 100%, but still).

My final thought - I do believe it’s not a coincidence Barbara and Will were taken into the Upside Down by the demogorgon. I think the reason Barbara died and Will stayed alive is because Will’s love was mutual - Mike loved him back romantically, not platonically. Unfortunately, Nancy loved Barb only as a friend and we know, she tried so hard to save her, she just couldn’t, because her love was different.

As I already said, I do believe to defeat Vecna and to destroy the Upside Down Mike and Will should confess to each other and stop to be ashamed of their feelings, they should accept themselves. These two, as a couple, will play a key role in the final battle. As Matthew Modine posted on Twitter: “All you need is love.”

[ynscrazylife]

Heyo my fav tumblr fic writer, could I pls request a fic where younger sister reader is arguing with Yelena over something small like an outfit, or a party, or something sisterly and Yelena says something meaner than she shouldve, but then the blip happens, Yelena dusts, reader is really going through it all at once, so I understand if it’s hard to write this fic but I wouldn’t ask anyone else :)) tyyy

The Party That Went Wrong

Summary: Yelena and Y/N get into an argument where Yelena says something she doesn’t mean. What will Y/N do when she disappears in the blip?

Authors Note: Thanks for requesting!

Request to be on a taglist (or multiple) here!  (Taglists are at the end of the fic)

MCU Masterlist #1 | MCU Masterlist #2 |  Main Masterlist 

PSA: Do NOT copy, steal, translate, plagiarize, republish, etc any of my works on Tumblr or any other platform. Also, do NOT claim any of my works as your own. All of these works are either requests I’ve gotten that people have wanted me to write or original ideas I’ve had for works. If you happen to take inspiration from anything I’ve written and want to write something inspired by that, please a) ask me first and b) IF I say yes, credit me as inspo in your post by tagging me and link whatever work of mine that inspired you. Thanks.

header c @/marvelocks

“Will you tell me why you’re so grumpy instead of sulking around and ignoring me?” Y/N finally asked, letting the words that had bubbled up in her chest out. Ever since they had returned from a party they went to the previous night, Yelena had been giving her dirty looks and refusing to talk to her, and Y/N was determined to go Nancy Drew and figure out why.

Yelena, who had been sitting across her with a pout on her face and was twirling her spoon in her oatmeal, suddenly dropped the utensil. It clattered against the bowl and tipped into the oatmeal like an ingredient in a brewing potion. Her chair screeched against the floorboards as she pushed it back and stood up to leave.

Y/N huffed, annoyed at her older sister’s behavior. “Yelena!” She cried.

This stopped the blonde in her tracks and she spun around on her heels, shocking Y/N with the intense flare in her eyes. “You want to know why I’m ‘sulking around and ignoring you’?” She exclaimed, imitating her.

Y/N’s lips pulled together tightly. “Yes,” she hissed through grit teeth, cheeks reddening.

“Because when we got back from the party last night, guess who got yelled at by Melina? ME, not you!” She cried, breathing heavily.

Y/N leapt forward in her seat. “How are you blaming that on me? I don’t control what Melina does!” She retorted.

Yelena bit her lip. “Because you’re the youngest and you have some sort of talent that— I mean, with your puppy dog eyes and—!” She started.

Y/N threw her hands up in the air. “Are you kidding me?! I’m not a witch,” she bit back.

“Well you might as well be, because somehow you manage to get out of everything!” Yelena said.

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows. “What are you talking about?” She asked.

“When Natasha and I went into the Red Room, you got out of it because you were ‘too young’! You know nothing about what we went through!” She yelled.

Y/N stood up. “Would you rather me have gone through the Red Room?” She yelled back.

This quieted Yelena. She didn’t say anything for a moment, too angry too, and that was almost scarier than her actually speaking. “Of course not. I wouldn’t want anything to go through that. But I was young, too. Natasha was young. But you ran away. You evaded them. Somehow, you knew what to do to avoid it!” She said in a low voice.

Y/N glared. “When I saw them carry you and Natasha away, unconscious — of course I ran! I was five and I was terrified!” She said, and then paused for a moment before continuing, speaking in a low voice to match Yelena. “But if you knew anything about me, you’d know that I did not simply ‘get out of the Red Room’.”

She turned around, not bothering to wait for Yelena’s reaction, and walked right out of the house through the back door. As soon as she stepped outside, the sun was shining on her and the autumn air filled her nose. This started the process of calming the anger fueling her and she decided to go on a walk, digging her feet into the grass as she did, soaking it all in.

-------------------------

About half an hour later, when happiness replaced her anger, she decided to start walking back. It took her around ten minutes, as she did walk quite far, but she knew the way. She always did love walking around outside the house, especially when it was autumn. The red and orange leaves were just gorgeous.

Turning the handle and stepping inside, the quietness sent a chill down her spine, one she couldn’t explain. It wasn’t like the house to be this quiet. There was always a sound to hear. Whether it be Alexei boasting about his good ole days with Captain America or Yelena showing off her new vest, Y/N couldn’t count the amount of times she had wished for just a moment of silence.

Now, she wished for anything but silence.

Y/N first reminder herself that nothing was wrong. Nothing could be wrong. But as she navigated the house, it became quiet clear that despite the house being filled with three people when she left and the signs of it being lived in there, it was deserted. Empty. They were gone.

Where had they went?

Unable to whip up a sensical explanation, she slipped her phone out of her pocket and scrolled through her contacts. Just as she was about to tap on Yelena’s, the T.V — which had previously been showing its unusual nonsense that Y/N had gained the ability to block out — switched dramatically, catching her attention.

“Breaking news!” A man’s voice thundered.

Y/N turned around and became enchanted by it, having a sinking feeling that perhaps this could be related to her family . . .

“Reports from all over the world are claiming that people, animals, any living being have been disappearing into dust for the past couple minutes!” Y/N’s eyes widened at this and she felt faint. Whatever this was - it couldn’t be happening. People don’t just disappear.

“There have been a handful of videos uploaded to social media showcasing this,” the man continued before the screen switched to show one of those videos. A shaky camera was recording as all around them, in the park, people - just like the man had said - were disintegrating into dust all over.

Vomit wormed its way up her throat as she realized that her family were now reduced to piles of dust, too. They were gone.

The sound of her cell phone ringing snapped her attention away from the television and she looked down, shocked for a moment to see her eldest sister as the Caller ID. She couldn’t deny the massive sigh of relief she took, though, because that meant that Natasha was alive.

“Nat?”

Her voice came out smaller than she intended and in it the sound of her holding back tears was evident. The weight of this situation was falling onto her and, as the minutes ticked by, she realized that this wasn’t a cruel trick.

“Y/N. Thank god. Is—?”

Y/N knew the question that she was about to ask and, with the tears pooling in her eyes, didn’t think she could answer it. So she interrupted it with a question of her own.

“What happened?”

There was a noticeable pause before Natasha spoke, her voice quieted as she wrestled with it to remain in control. “We were fighting against this monster named Thanos who wanted to eliminate half of the population. We did our best but — he succeed,” she said, disappointed.

Y/N didn’t respond. She forced herself to turn away from the television as more videos of people disappearing were being shown.

“Are Yelena and—?” Natasha began to ask.

“Gone.”

Y/N stared ahead blankly at the wall, trembling as she was just about managing to prevent herself from collapsing on the ground. Any second now and her tears would rush out. She knew it.

This time, Natasha’s pause was longer. So long that at some point, Y/N wasn’t even sure that she was still on the phone, but kept a tight grip on her phone nonetheless, almost as if had she let go, the redhead would disappear, too.

“I’m coming to Russia,” was Natasha’s final statement.

-------------------------

Sure enough, Natasha held true to her word. When she walked through the door, Y/N practically feel into her arms, sobs racking her body. Through her sniffs, she managed to get out, “Y-Yelena and I argued. She said that I had gotten out of the Red Room. Now she and Alexei and Melina are all . . . they’re all gone. She’s gone and she h-hates me!” 

Natasha held her as her cries grew louder, desperately trying to prevent her own tears from coming. She had cried enough in the past couple days. Now she had to be strong for her younger sister. 

“Shh, shh. Yelena didn’t hate you,” Natasha comforted softly, but still firmly. 

Y/N pulled away and showed her puffy red guys and wrangled hair. “You didn't hear her. You didn’t see her,” she argued. 

Natasha just pulled her into another hug, shaking her head. “I know,” she agreed. “But trust me, no one like us can ever hate their sister.” 

------------------------- 

“Y/N?!” 

That voice struck Y/N to her place, effectively ending the train of thought that had been stringing its way in her head. She knew the Avengers had won, she had seen Iron Man sacrifice himself with her own eyes, but this still didn’t feel real. Like a dream. And now it was. Her voice brought it all to light. 

Slowly, she turned around, and there she was met with the sight she had longed to see for the past five years. Yelena, standing in front of her, just as how she remembered her. The same clothes, the same hairstyle, everything. 

Y/N, not thinking, bounded into her arms with such a force that it knocked the blonde back. Nonetheless she regained her footing and steadied herself, wrapping an arm around her younger sister. Immediately, the memories whizzed back, all falling onto one another and mixing until she thought clearly. 

“Oh my god - Y/N. I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry for what I said. I take it all back. I - you must hate me. And you have every right to, I mean, I-”

Y/N pulled back and, to Yelena’s shock, wore a big smile. “I don’t hate you. No one like us can ever hate their sister,” she recited, thrilled to have Yelena back. 

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[thehobbitwithstickyuppyhair]

Fanfic ask game, tagged by @abnerskrill​ !!

How many works do you have on AO3?

Okay so my Ao3 account is relatively new, I only got it in 2019 and started posting more regularly in 2020-21. I only have 12 on AO3 but I have written many more that I have not posted, and on my ancient, abandoned ff dot net account which will remain unnamed and unlinked I had posted around 30 I think? So many uncompleted and unposted or completed but not posted for one reason or another though lol.

What’s your total AO3 word count?

AO3 - 15,233. I tend to write short fics because any long writing I have the brain attention for ends up being my original fiction haha.

Because I was curious though I also did the math on my old ff dot net account and - 89,604. And I know there were 3 novel length fics I never got around to posting from back in the ff dot net days because I was going to post a chapter a week and then... forgot lol.

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Oh boy. Um. So many. So the first book I started to write was a self-insert Scooby-Doo fanfic where I was a member of Mystery Inc. We were going to take on The Bubblegum Phantom, a phantom haunting a bubblegum factory. I wrote one and a half pages on yellow cardstock, and also drew a cover and back I was very proud of. I think it's still in a bin somewhere in my parent's house. 

Okay fandoms I wrote in once I was older than um, like 8 xD

Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, How to Train Your Dragon, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Sherlock (so. much. sherlock.), Once Upon A Time, MCU Thor (2011) (so. much. loki. I still write thor and loki lol) The Hunger Games, MCU Avengers, RWBY, Disney's Tangled/Tangled: The Series/Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, Star Wars: Rebels, Marvel Comics Loki (Agent of Asgard), and Critical Role (C1/TLOVM mostly)

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Shot In The Dark - Star Wars: Rebels (185 kudos)

By Any Other Name - Tangled (149 kudos)

Scars of Various Kinds - Star Wars (Original Trilogy) (70 kudos)

Everything I Ever Thought I Knew - Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (66 kudos) (unfinished and abandoned, I am sorry x’D)

More Than Anything - Critical Role (Campaign 1) (50 kudos)

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I wrote SO MUCH angsty Sherlock fic back in the day... most angsty would be the one where I killed off John Watson. I made all my friends cry. I was not sorry.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? 

Most of what I write is short fic that tends to either be hurt/comfort, bittersweet or pure fluff so I’m finding this one harder to answer? I guess happiest ending would be the one where I did not kill off Ezra Bridger? XD Above mentioned Shot in the Dark.

Do you write crossovers? If so, what is the craziest one you’ve written? 

I had a full out Hunger Games x every other fandom I was in at the time where I - you guessed it - took two characters from each fandom and threw them into the Hunger Games. I never did finish it but I think that definitely wins for craziest. XD also did a bit of Wholock and though that's not crazy by tumblr standards I got super into obsessively making it fit with the timelines XD

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? 

maybe yeah but I’m not brave enough to share it

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

yes!! at the very least to say thank you or to respond to something the commenter said.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

thankfully, no! 

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

if I have, I sure don't know XD I don't think I'm popular enough lol

Have you ever had a fic translated?

no, but I would absolutely love it if anyone ever wanted to!

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have!! Mainly in RP format with a friend and then I edited it into a postable fic. (with the support and permission of the friend of course!!) This was back in the Sherlock days though and I am not sharing it lol.

What’s your all-time favorite ship?

ngghh. Okay. So. I refuse to pick just one. Sorry. Deal with it.

Vax x Keyleth (Critical Role), Kanan x Hera (Star Wars: Rebels), and Rapunzel x Eugene (Tangled) are my top three.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

so many (cries) Probably the above mentioned Everything I Ever Thought I Knew which was supposed to make the Dark Prince twist at the end of RTA Season 2 make more sense to me. I really enjoyed the bits I wrote, and for a while I was writing and posting it every morning on the bus on my way to work... but that was the beginning of March 2020 so.... stuff happened and killed my motivation streak and was in a super bad headspace for a while, and I honestly don't think I will ever go back to it which makes me :( </3

What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue, word choice, characterization/characters, emotion. I was once told by someone who reads my writing that I have a good instinct for wording and flow, and that I tend towards layered, emotionally vivid lines, like my content is higher than average per word count, and that has lived rent free in my brain as being one of the best compliments I have ever gotten.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Length. I under-write when it comes to my original fiction and in revision and rewriting have to build things up to an actual novel length, and when it comes to fics and short stories I write in spurts and bits and pieces scattered every where that have to then be reassembled into something that's an actual readable length and not a paragraph of dialogue I wrote in the notes section of my phone because I was thinking about my blorbos. Also setting the scene/describing locations and action is also hard for me.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

If the characters speak multiple languages then it would be silly not to include it! I didn't use to have a preference whether it was in italics or not, but it was recently pointed out to me that can be rather "othering" and I think that's important to keep in mind. 

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Well Scooby-Doo, as mentioned above XD but the first fandom I posted for was How to Train Your Dragon. I had a full three ring binder of my How to Train Your Dragon sequel series timelines, plots, outlines, character profiles, etc after the first movie and before even the first HTTYD show came out, long before the second or third movie XD

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

I... don't know?? I've been trying to think, but I don't think I can choose. I think they have all been what I needed in that moment of writing them. So I am going to be unhelpful and not answer this one lol.

tagging @simuran and anyone who wants to do this!!

[heroesandlovers]

Nancy Drew 1x01 "The Pilot"

OK guys here goes. I don't know if anyone will read these or find them interesting but...I enjoyed writing these episode recaps and analyses when doing my rewatch so...posting them for myself and anyone else who finds them interesting. I am still figuring out Tumblr bear with me.

These are generally structured as a play by play episode synopsis with my commentary interspersed. At the end are some more in-depth relationship breakdowns.

I should warn there are spoilers in these reviews since I have already seen through Season 3 when I am writing these so I sometimes draw parallels to later scenes.

Opening scene- We see a happy Nancy Drew with her high school friends. It would appear Nancy was the Sea Queen and part of the tradition was to put her crown on the grave of Lucy Sable, a local legend as someone who disappeared? Into the ocean 19 years ago. While there she sees the ghost of Lucy Sable (although she doesn’t know it quite yet).

We see a series of flashbacks summarizing Nancy’s life until now. When she was very young, she sees her parents burying something in the backyard- a memory that has clearly never left her. We also see flashback of Nancy finding Rose Turnbull, a missing child when she was a preteen. This was apparently her first mystery and what led to a hobby that she stuck with for many years. It sounds like this is the Nancy Drew of the books. But the Nancy we are meeting now is a slightly older, more tragic figure who has lost her mother, feels distant from her father, and is working as a waitress rather than attending College.

The next scene is Nick and Nancy literally banging in bed (more on this later). Nancy and Nick don’t seem to know much about each other. This opening scene makes it look like Nick would be all in for more but Nancy wants to keep it casual. She “likes the way he makes her feel”. She is using sex with Nick as an escape mechanism.

And then we’re introduced one by one to the Drew Crew. Ah…there’s my boy. You should know this is primarily an Ace "no last name" fan blog. Ace “no last name that I know of”. <They really stuck with that>. They introduce Ace as a bit of a stoner? Zen dude, dishwasher. I know I’m taking crumbs here but…

“At least he doesn’t judge me for tanking my grades last year and bailing on my college applications”- LOOK AT THIS. We already have the contrast of what she has shared with Nick and what she has shared with Ace. We’re introduced to Bess and George here too. George was a girl that had a “reputation” in high school while Nancy was one of the popular girls (but notably none of those friends seem to be around now). Bess is new to town but seems to come from a high-class background. They seem like a pretty disparate group- who all have very little in common, and aren’t close. The Season 1 mystery was really SO good and the pilot really did set it up SO WELL. Ryan Hudson comes in to the diner with some of his business associates. Weirdly, his wife waits outside. No one seems to think this is weird. The next series of events are repeated and referred to MULTIPLE times throughout Season 1 so I won’t hone in on every detail suffice it is so say that Nancy finds Tiffany Hudson dead in the parking lot. The cops show up almost immediately (we later find out Tiffany called 911).. Do we ever find out WHY Tiffany called 911? Ace has an alibi because he was serving the food at the time but the other 4 are taken into the police station as initial suspects. We see that Nancy is well known to the police from her detective days…they apparently weren’t fans. The police let them know where they stand: Town screw-up (George), ex-con (Nick), city girl (Bess), and Nancy Drew. After the police station, we meet Carson Drew and see more of Nancy’s state of mind from her interactions with her Dad. We know she quit trying at school, she’s now working as a waitress at The Claw rather than pursuing her dream of going to Columbia. At the cafe, Nancy starts to get caught up in breaking down theories of Tiffany's death to the others, but reminds herself that she doesn’t do this anymore. Yet, later that night she breaks into Ryan Hudson’s house. Nick apparently follows her and they get in a bit of an argument when she brings up the ex-con thing and Nick accuses Nancy of being closed off..implying he didn't share things with her because she hadn't shared things with him. They sort of make up though and Nick says “Hey, whenever you’re ready”. He’s saying the right words but I think it’s obvious to the audience and to Nancy that he’s putting more pressure on than Nancy is ready for. Again I can’t help but contrast this to Ace. We don’t see the conversation where she told him about her grades but it was clear she didn’t feel judged by him. Bess “You stole Tiffany’s jewelry?”- FORESHADOWING Bess, George, and Nancy go to a Medium, led there by an address revealed as a hidden message inside a locket that Nancy found in a hidden dresser of Tiffany’s when she broke into the Hudson’s house. Instead of talking to Tiffany like they thought, they seem to have contacted Dead Lucy. Nancy walks in on Carson and Karen (local cop) making out. I think this was meant to be as shocking to the audience as it was to Nancy. Within this same episode, we had been informed that Karen was a good friend of Nancy’s Mom and seemed to be someone she trusted. So the last person she has to trust is…. Nick. She goes to Nick and has a vulnerable moment with him. She sounds defeated. “The only thing making it any better, is you”. Nancy feels like everything else in her life is gone. She’s lost both her parents in her mind, and I think she has lost her sense of identity. Nick is a good distraction in some way. Maybe she can find something new here? <Since the S3 finale is fresh in my mind when watching this- It’s easy to compare this love scene with Nick with the one with Ace. Nancy seems to be the one who takes control here. With Ace, she gave that control to him.> After being dropped off back home after spending the night with Nick, Carson tells her she should stay away from Nick. Having the Dad that you are already mad at and feel betrayed by tell you to stay away from a boy���seems like a sure-fire way to drive you straight back to that boy. So…she tells Nick that she is

fine waiting for him to tell her why he was sent to prison. Then 10 minutes later she breaks into her Dad’s files. Where she finds out that Nick was convicted of manslaughter and… has a connection to Tiffany that gives him a motive for killing Tiffany. She was the one whose testimony got him convicted. And…the show ends with suspicion being shed on literally everyone (except Ace and Nancy) as a potential suspect. We learn that George and Ryan are having an affair…giving both of them potential motive. And we learn about this through Ace…who is spying on them because he is working with the police? This would presumably put Ace in the clear for the murder but, raises a lot of other questions. We see Bess with Tiffany’s missing ring…that puts her pretty high on my list. And Nick was already a suspect but now we see him find a book in Nancy’s car. Did he know it was there? Is that why he offered to help her with the car? And Nancy is led up into the attic where she finds some VERY suspicious writing under the wallpaper about Lucy Sable. And then she sees the chest that she remembers seeing her parents bury in the yard and it has….a bloody dress. WHAT IS GOING ON?! Now she’s adding her parents to the suspect list. And the ghost flashes in the background…seriously that was so creepy. I am not one who is very into “supernatural” or “gotcha” scary stuff so…all that stuff in Season 1 was honestly hard for me but I got used to it. Very well done to be honest. Nick and Nancy

It’s literally part of the opening sequence to have Nancy and Nick banging in bed.

I should disclose that I have never read the Nancy Drew books. Other than knowing she was a teenage girl who solved mysteries I know literally nothing about the source material. After watching this show I spent about 5 minutes on Wikipedia so I know that in the books Ned Nickerson is one of her main love interests. I don’t know what the writer’s original plan was but I have to assume it was not for Nick to be her endgame. Maybe I am wrong but…are there any epic ships or even ANY epic love story where they are already banging in their first scene together? Or maybe my preference for slowburn love stories is biasing me. I can't think of any epic ships where the couple started off together? Audiences WANT to watch the characters fall in love in order to become invested. Perhaps they could have done something with flashbacks if they had ended up going that route but...mostly a no from me.

I guess there is some mystery in this early relationship that may have been appealing to the audience? They have good chemistry. But they don’t know anything about each other?

I am a sucker for the “good on paper but not the one” tropes and I think that’s what Nancy and Nick are. In Season 1 they are arguably the two most flushed out characters so it would be natural to put them together. But ultimately, I think they don’t work because they are too alike. Nick and Nancy are both people who “take the weight of the world on their shoulders”. As we later will see play out in Nick and George’s relationship too, Nick LIKES to save people. I don’t think it’s a flaw. But it’s not what Nancy needed.

Random observations-

I think they intentionally cast an actress for her Mom that looked so much like Kennedy as a misdirect

The most painful part about this rewatch is now I am going to be forced to remember that Ryan and George were a thing.

“I’m growin on her?” “Like a fungus, Ace”. Ah the irony.

It’s so weird to hear Bess talk in an American accent.

I don’t remember all the first person exposition…did that last past Season 1? When did they stop that?

The scene where Ace asks THREE TIMES IN A ROW if he can come with and they all say no. Don’t worry Ace one day you will be the glue of this found family.