#thank you shelley

[inthedarktrees]

Shelley Duvall (1949 – 2024)

[tampire]

♪ Everyday, it's a-getting closer ♪

♪ Going faster than a rollercoaster ♪

♪ Love like yours will ♪

♪ Surely come my way ♪

♪ A-hey, a-hey-hey ♪

Gabriel and Beelzebub eventually survive the consequences of The Metatron and Satan

Bonus:

[hypo-critic-art]

Auntie Elizabeth and her peculiar nephew

@mightydyke

They share their love and appreciation for nature!

[destructo-range]

well? are you coming in or not? ꩜⋆.°⭑

sweater design inspired by @toothflowers

link to toothflower's post: https://www.tumblr.com/toothflowers/767798306930933760/another-completely-not-michael-distortion-inspired?source=share

amazing sweater btw and thank you for getting me out of art slump :D

image id in alt text

[mildcrow]

painkiller

[braedenhales]

"We missed our chance at love in this life. I can only hope that in the next one, we get it right."

[thetarttfuldickhead]

Premier League teams being approached to participate in an anti-bullying campaign and Jamie and Nate somewhat suprisingly volunteering to do a bit for Richmond together. And like that’s… nice?... but. Eh. Nate makes some sense, sure, even if his track record of treating others well has been – ahem – bumpy, but Jamie…

“Jamie bullied people,” Jan Maas is predictably the one to eventually point out while everyone else is thinking of how to bring that up. “Everybody knows that. I know that, and I wasn’t even on the team when it happened.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry, babe,” Keeley says apologetically. “It’s a really nice thought, but you do have a bit of a reputation and—“

“No, but that’s the point, babe,” Jamie says eagerly, not deterred in the slightest. “Nate and me, we know what it’s like being shit to others, yeah? So we figured, maybe we talk about that, like what made us start being shit, and what made us stop, and maybe it’ll help others figure out how to stop people from being shit? Or if you are a bully, how to fucking get your shit together and stop being a prick.”

“That’s right,” Nate agrees. He’s both very nervous and very keen. “We thought it might be a, a new perspective.” He and Jamie’s had some initially awkward but good conversations about that since Nate came back to Richmond (touching on how devastatingly easy it can be to slip from bullied to bully, the enabling silence or active support of the crowd, and learning new ways to feel big without making others feel small). Once they heard about the campaign they started talking about maybe taping such a conversation, put it out there, see if it can be of some use.

And Keeley asks them if they are sure (and Roy asks Jamie the same at some lenght) because that’s some pretty personal stuff they want to put out there, and there might be a backlash, but they’re both determined. “It’s taking responsibility, like,” Jamie notes. “Making amends, yeah?”

And of course there is some backlash, because when is there not in this loud and polyphonic world, but mostly their rather heartfelt and earnest talk is received very well.  

(This whole thing maybe also leads to Jamie and Sam actually talking about the stuff that went down when they both first came to Richmond, because for all that they’re great friends now, they haven’t ever really touched that. Hey, maybe Colin and Isaac do some soul-searching too! Lots of fun introspection for everyone!)

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

[amandasgeekblog]

[ID: A post by Ranger Shelley [verified] @ TheOneAndOnlyShelley. It reads, "Always hike with proper supplies and equipment. Remember, flippy floppies may lead to slippy sloppies.” / end ID]

on my lunch break, this one is for the ranger shelley fans out there

[happy-little-doorbell]

hm… no I don’t think Gertrude was feeling cold and uncaring when she sacrificed Michael. I don’t think she just dusted her hands off and walked away. I think she was used to risky plans and close calls, even used to an occasional casualty, but her blood ran cold when she realized she was choosing to send one to their death. not collateral damage — a sacrifice.

and I think she tried to be as numb as possible, calculating, deciding, even as she knew deep down that only one of her assistants would walk straight into hell on her word.

and I think she found him a bit annoying before that. the jaded resent the naive — it isn’t fair, but it’s true. but by the time he brought her tea the next day, in her mind, he was already dead. everyone looks better dead. optimism, trust, loyalty all become virtues where they were once liabilities.

I don’t think she didn’t feel the gravity of her choice. I think she did it anyway.

and she did not hesitate.

[lesbiradshaw]

the one time teen wolf catered to the sapphics.

[hacash]

Regarding the Nate of it all… His initially returning as assistant kitman kinda made sense to me: not only do I think Nate’s continuing to hold himself back (much as he did at Taste of Athens) as some form of repentance, but also Lloyd’s comment of ‘be successful, don’t be successful, just be happy’ struck me. All through the episode we saw Nate being happy, just delighted to be in the mix with the Greyhounds again, making craft boxes and prioritising having fun and rebuilding those relationships over achieving success in his career. Which is an important thing for his character to do for himself.

And as we saw at Taste of Athens, Nate doesn’t need to be in a high paying job to kill it; he’s a genius whether he’s devising tactics or folding laundry and plying customers with nuts. (It wasn’t that he ever seemed to be unhappy being a kitman in season 1, but being a bullied, ignored, overlooked kitman, certainly. And we know that isn’t going to happen again.)

However, crucially, he does seem to become a member of the coaching staff again in the flash-forward/dream montage after Roy becomes the new manager of Richmond. With Ted gone there’s another space on the coaching team, and given that Nate’s Oscar Decoy won them the whole dang match, I think it’s pretty clear who would take it. (Also from a prosaic admin perspective: Richmond are currently working on a 3-coach system. It would make a lot more sense to hire Nate as kitman for a week or two, then slot Roy into Ted’s place and Nate into Roy’s place: rather than sort out a new hierarchy and more expensive salary for those couple of weeks.)

Roy’s always made it clear that Nate knows how to do the bits of the job that he doesn’t, and I think Roy would have leapt at the chance to get Nate back in as a coach. He was being set up to return as a coach in 3x11 and it looks like that’s what he did, he just took care of some unfinished business first.

[blasphemous-lies-and-deceit]

8. "You should eat something" GerryMichael? Your writing is incredibly nice to read through, thank you for taking time out of your day to write and post so many cool fics! Take care of yourself <3

"You should eat something."

"Can't," Michael answered bruskly, turning on his heel to pace the other direction. "My stomach's in knots. I'll probably just get sick on him."

"Bet that won't be the worst thing Bouchard's gotten on him," Gerry tried to joke, but Michael just whined and kept pacing. It was one thing to virulantly hate his boss and fantasize about killing him from a distance, but he was terribly anxious about being face to face and alone with him. Usually it was Gertrude's job to give the Head of the Institute a report about the Archive's activities, but she was off in America and sending very sparce updates, and left him behind to deal with Elias. He'd been dreading their scheduled meeting for days, and would continue to dread for the next twenty-five minutes until it was finally time to face him. He didn't know if he wanted the time to pass faster or slower, so he could get it over already, or keep from ever having to see him. It was awful.

Gerry caught his hand as Michael swung by again, pulling him gently down into the seat opposite him. "Eat," he ordered, holding a fruity granola bar to Michael's lips. "Please." Michael obliged him, leaning forward to take a bite and giving him a sassy eyebrow raise.

"Happy?"

"Not in the slightest," Gerry sighed, his free hand came to rest on Michael's jittering knee, squeezing and rubbing it soothingly. "I'd be much happier if I went with you, or you didn't have to do this at all."

"Same." Michael took another bite, forcing his dry throat to swallow the mouthful of grains and fake fruit. He did want Gerry with him, but there was no way they could get away with it, since Gerry wasn't an employee, and could barely considered a freelancer for the Institute. "He's probably up in his office getting off on how anxious and worried we are."

Gerry's face screwed up in exaggerated disgusted agony. "Please don't ever mention Elias and getting off in the same sentence again," he groaned theatrically.

Despite his worries, Michael managed to smile at his reaction. "If Gertrude is right, and he is connected to the Eye like we are, he'll probably notice if I try to imagine him in his underwear too," he giggled.

"That's horrific," Gerry snapped mildly, peeling away the remaining wrapper of the bar. "That's the worst image you've ever put in my head. How dare you."

"If I have to suffer then so do you." Michael took the last bite and leaned forward in his seat, inclining towards Gerry. Gerry leaned in as well, and they met in the middle, foreheads pressed together. Michael closed his eyes, soaking in the familiar smell of Gerry, the comfort of his presence. It was everything to him, the love he felt for Gerry, and felt in return. Enough to distract him from his dread.

"You've got this," Gerry assured him, taking his hands and entwining their fingers together. "You'll do just fine up there. It's not like you can be fired from this place."

"But he could do a lot worse than that," Michael pointed out grimly, and watched Gerry hold back a wince.

"That won't happen," Gerry swore. "You'll tell him what he wants to hear and then you'll come back here and we'll call it a day. We'll go get some sushi and eat it in our pants on your sofa and we'll forget about how stressed we've been for the past few weeks." Still holding Michael's hands, he framed his face and ducked in for a kiss, lingering and sweet. "So get up there and give that old bastard hell."

"Thanks, love," Michael sighed, taking another kiss for courage before standing up. He wrapped up Gerry in a hug for good measure, wishing he could stay there for as long as possible. Anything to avoid Elias.

"Is this drama necessary?"

Michael and Gerry sprang apart in shock. Gertrude was standing in the doorway, looking frazzled and exhausted, but she was there, and Michael could honestly say for once he was happy to see her.

"Not anymore!" he said cheerfully, smiling brilliantly. "Now you can report to Elias instead of me."

Gertrude gave him the most exhausted and unimpressed look he'd ever seen from her, and that was saying something. "I'd truly rather not," she sighed, dropping her luggage by the door. "But I do have information to impart on him, so I will accompany you."

"Wait," Gerry snapped, pulling open a drawer in the desk that he'd more or less claimed as his. He pulled out a Polaroid and considered it, silently comparing the Gertrude before them to the Gertrude on the picture. He held it to Michael to take a look, and he nodded. "You do seem to be the real Gertrude Robinson," he conceeded. "You had me worried for a moment, being so kind and considering to us."

"I'm simply overjoyed to be back," Gertrude deadpanned, the faintest hint of a smile on her lips. "You should come along as well, Gerard, I'd rather not explain this twice.

Gerry exchanged a look with Michael as they followed her out of the Archives, and Michael took his hand to squeeze it. Her return didn't solve all of their problems, and came with its own anxieties, but at least he wouldn't have to face Elias alone now.

[britneyshakespeare]

You versus the guy she tells you not to worry about

[dvasva]

Tbh? I think the radiant emperor duology deserves more critique than it gets in its tag, so after stewing it over for a couple weeks and also discussing it with my friend, I have decided to do it myself.

So. Spoilers for She Who Became the Sun and He Who Drowned The World ahead.

First off, so nobody accuses me of hating the series, I liked the series. I'd say I'd give the first book a 4.5/5, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I like both books. I truthfully skipped the fisting scene, it triggered some dysphoria that I wasn't comfortable with personally but I don't have problem with it existing in the book, it's good where it is, no changes.

No, my critiques come mostly from the second book, hwdts. Which sucks because I absolutely loved Baoxiang in it, it's a well known fact that my ideal type is pretty, really mean, characters. ('What about Madam Zhang?!!!???!? Shes mean and pretty!!' I hear you ask. Give it a second cause i will get to my beloved madam zhang) So, my critiques are mostly organized as 'The first part I didn't like in Hwdtw that signals the thing that became my biggest issue, the bits in the middle that i did like along with the bits that I felt didn't really work well, and Act 3 which is where my issues really were exacerbated.'

By the end of book one, I had a general annoyance but acceptance that Ma Xiuying was a bit of a weak character, and not weak as in 'dang shes a woman and cant fight' or any other sexist way you may interpret that, but weak as in structurally, she didn't really have as much depth as other characters. I thought she didn't have as much time put into her character as others. And yeah you could have a million character analysis essays over Ma and her place in the story and etc, but for me, her setup for the next book as potentially having conflict with Zhu or her own morals was the most interesting part of Ma. In general I think a lot of people tend to overlook this flaw partly because Ma is a cis lesbian character and the main 'love interest' in a book that is usually marketed to people as sapphic, which yeah there is certainly a sapphic relationship in the book but I think saying it's a major part of the book is really giving the relationship a load bearing wall ot isn't strong enough to carry. The Radiant Emperor Duology is not a romance, first and foremost. To describe it as a wlw romance is gonna leave people who read ot specifically for that reason kinda dissappointed by the end of book 2.

My big critiques didn't start until book two, and a particular scene, though. Ma, at the start of book two, was generally filling the niche of 'nagging wife' to zhu, which yknow, is a fine place to start from. I was a little disappointed there was no further discussion of Ma's disapproval of the morality of Zhu's actions, and in fact the dead child was pretty much entirely forgotten by Ma in favor of being Zhu's wife. Which, yknow, sure.

The Scene I had issue with happened (Spoilers once again) after Zhu finally captures Ouyang and imprisons him at her base of operations. Ma, dressed in her empressly regalia enters his room with the intention of being the bigger person. She walks in, looks at the stripped down and humiliated general who killed her father and famously is also really a women hater, and tells him she forgives him for killing her father. And then she gets upset and cries when the prideful general who hates women gives her a dressing down and taunts her and is like 'I'm glad I killed your father'? She nearly cries because Ouyang was mean to her (notably only cause he was mean to her and didn't gracefully accept her forgiveness, not because he killed ehr father) and runs off to Zhu. And Zhu responds with 'Wow, he's just a weirdo, everyone likes you and everyone in existance immediately knows you're a good person and you change people.' Which, my friend suggested before she finished the book, was a case of Zhu placating Ma and dismissing her feelings which would be an interesting dynamic.

Really my hangups with this scene come from multiple parts.

1. Ma' few character traits including being observant and reading people really well (a thing she's praised for in book 1) and having good social intuition are completely thrown out by her thinking being alone with ouyang and forgiving him would be a good idea and then her being shocked and upset when he spat on her forgiveness. And

2. Zhu's response is never once treated by the text as her dismissing Ma and placating her, and Zhu's statement despite never being shown to be true before and that moment being the first time it's ever mentioned, ends up becoming Chekov's moral purity by the end of the book, where the plot hinges on Ma being able to magically heal a damaged character's mind enough for Zhu to win in the end. Which I will get back to. There's a lot of other stuff happening between here and the end.

So, before I get back to Ma and her role in the story, I'll address some other bits from after this scene. Both problems and things I enjoyed generally.

Madam Zhang and her parallels to Baoxiang and her being the absolute queen of dissociating really was interesting (before act 3). She was a very compelling character who I completely understood and felt positively about. She had a way more interesting relationship with gender imo than Ma did, especially in book 2. I didn't really like that she was overwhelmingly shown having sexual villence done to her, that felt weirdly like a punishment. But, I did like her a whole bunch, and I liked the look we got into her head. She was probably my second, maybe third, favorite character in the whole book until Act 3.

I really, really liked Ouyangs dynamic and relationship with Zhu. The weird sexual tension between them, their weird kinda nonsexual but also kinda very sexual S&M relationship. It was somehow the most sensual, sexual part of a book that featured Madam Zhang having sex with multiple people, and Zhu going down on Ma, and a lot of other mentions of sex or scenes involving sex. Tbh I feel like, in a way, Ma was left to the sidelines for most of the book because Ouyang became the primary 'love' interest for a hot second there and the only reason Ma could get her spot back was Ouyang and Zbu's separation. Also, from what I've seen when people talk about this book, they always kinda try to express Zhu and Ouyang's dynamic as very nonsexual and nonromantic, as platonic mostly. And there is no inherent superiority of romantic over platonic, but I think to insist that it is only platonic, and not a strange swirl of romantic, platonic, sexual, frustration and relief, and a swirl of familiarity and vulnerability all wrapped into one, is doing the dynamic a bit of a disservice. And ther is, imo, very clearly a subtle hint of romantic intent and interest on Ouyang's part before he realizes Zhu has a body he hates.

Which is also another point I didn't like. Ouyang and Zhu's relationship end felt off. The entire bit with the pirates felt off, but especially how Ouyang found out about Zbu's body, and how Zhu reacted. I think Ouyang finding out second hand, from a combination of being suspicious and from Jiang saying it, was a poor way for that to be revealed. I think there was a better way for that to happen that woyld have felt more like a betrayl to zhu than this did. The fact that Zhu and Ouyang were so in tune and could see each other perfectly, but this one thing was a blind spot for both of them because of how unaffected by gender Zhu was compared to how overaffected by gender Ouyang was is a really interesting thing to explore, an interesting disconnect between two character's whose entire basis for their relationship is 'like recognizes like'. I think Zhu seeing it as a betrayl would have been more impactful if she had presented this informatuon to Ouyang herself and been rejected than how it went down. And, I think her not realizing Ouyang would be disgusted that he felt connected and felt a sameness to someone with a body he found grotesque and that he feared would have been more interesting for zhu, who views herself outside of womanhood and didnt really think that other people would not see her outside of womanhood, if she was the one who told ouyang herself.

Also, less importantly, think going into Ouyangs annoyance that zhu kept moving his target further away was a good move but it wasn't expanded on as much for my taste. I also really liked it when (spoiler) Xu Da dies, and that entire part despite some minir bits, was extremely good in that Zhu finally has tasted loss. She had, up until that point, been riding a wave of positivity, she was the underdog who won over and over again despite all the odds and despite her own reckless choices. So I did appreciate that everything went wrong for her at least once. that would have been, imo if other things were changed, a good place to end a book two in a three book series. Which will make sense as to why I mention it im a bit.

I also didn't like how Ma was nonexistant unless the plot was like 'ok we need to remind people that Ma exists.'

And there's of course other stuff but those are the main points of acts 1 and 2 that i wasn't fond of or that i liked.

Act 3 is a wholely different behemoth which can be encapsulated with 'I wish it was longer but also different' (courtesy of the convo my friend and I had).

My friend and I both agreed that we liked this kind of courtly drama game it was playing. My friend doesn't tend to like the structure or writing style of a lot of the chinese wuxia, danmei, or courtly drama translated books i read, so it was nice to know that the genre content isn't the issue for her there.

The biggest problems I had with the ending though was 1. I think Baoxiang and Ma had an interesting dynamic despite it being really rushed and how distasteful I found the entire concept of Ma being such a good wholesome goody good good person that she could change Baoxiang, quiet his demons and fix him in some way. That was annoying in an otherwise interesting dynamic. And 2. I think Madam Zhang's character traits and cleverness and all that were wiped away to make her inexplicably jealous of Ma in a way that I don't think fit her character and just served to fit a trope of jealous empress who hates the favored concubine.

So, here's my major proposed changes.

1. Ma gets sent to Khanbaliq extremely early on. Like, act one maybe after ouyang is captured early. This serves three purposes. A. Ma has something to do and is more present in the story. this could be a good xhance to let her actually feel frustrated or upset at Zhu in some tangible way that needs to be resolved or talked thru eventually. B. she gets more time to build a relationship with Baoxiang, whose entire defeat hinges on him having a strong connection with her. and C. Her absence in the other parts of the book feel less like she's being ignored or forgotten. It makes Zhu's lack of haste more than just a way to annoy Ouyang, and turns it into an interesting moral choice. Should she rush to Khanbaliq to save Ma or trust that Ma will be ok in favor of gaining power? Her lack of haste means Ouyang leaves, depressed, and she loses Xu Da, all while she doesn't even have the assurance that Ma is ok, she is truly at her lowest point with nobody with her. If Ma is in Khanbaliq and that's explored, then Zhu and Ouyang can also explore their dynamic without Ma feeling a bit like she is battling for Zhu's attention.

2. Madam Zhang is suspicious of Ma, or feels actually tangibly threatened by Ma. In act 3, Madam Zhang's anger towards Ma feels really out of place. She got exactly what she wants, she is empress, her emperor isn't interested in removing her from her position and her position isn't threatened by anyone. Baoxiang won't get rid of her, he won't demote her, he has shown zero sign of ever even considering it. So, why is Madam Zhang jealous of Ma? Imo, especially since she very clearly has dissociated into oblivion and has no love or affection for anyone anymore, and no real desire or motivation to secure her position further aside from maybe producing an heir to make sure shes taken care of after Baoxiang dies, there's no reason for her to be inextricably jealous of Ma. It kinda just erases all of Madam Zhang's political savvy and cunning into jealous, petty woman, and that sucks. If she was suspicious of Ma's intention, or Baoxiang genuinely expressed spmething that actively threatened her position, her hatred of Ma would make sense, but instead she hates Ma cause Ma is ugly and spends every night with Baoxiang. She hated rice buckets concubine cause that concubine used a lot of funds and competition genuinely made her position less stable. She needs better motivation for hating Ma.

3. As I mentioned earlier, Zhu needs to be the one to tell Ouyang that she does not have a dick. That's just all around better, it feels more like a betrayl to bare your secrets and be rejected, etc etc.

4. The duology should have been a trilogy, with book 3 starting when Zhu is at her lowest, ouyang is dead, ma is in khanbaliq, Xu Da is dead, a new guy is the emperor. This is where a book three should have started. in a series that has so many important characters, i feel like it needs more space. she's in a 10 gallon tank when really she needs a 30 gallon tank. Lots of it, especially towards the end of book 2, felt rushed and the extra book will absolutely push that back a bit and make it less rushed.

Anyways that's my critique of The Radiant emperor duology. Once Again, I liked the series, its one of my favorites i've read all year. I don't dislike it, and having a critique or opinion about something doesnt mean I didn't like the book or understand the book (because obviously if i understood it i would understand why its flawless). I liked it, there are things I wish were different, that's it.

[elijah-loyal]

can we also have a quiet moment for Adam from Frankenstein?

Like, I understand that his actions are irrevocably immoral and cruel, but at the same time was it not cruel for him to constantly witness love and devotion, only for him to be hit and hurt and shunned when he begged for that same love? That since he could not have love, he would have fear and hate, and then went to exact his revenge on the one person, the ONE person, he thought would understand him and possibly love him, only for that person to prove his inner thoughts of "I AM a monster," by reacting with the same horror and fear of when he was created?

The fact that when that person, who then dedicated his life to hunting this creature after Adam murdered his dearest ones, died, the creature mourned over his loss and felt regret???? The way that he felt the deep cut and disgustingness of his actions, but could not change them??

That shit fucks, man