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phanfictioncatalogue · 8 months

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30k-40k Words (3) Masterlist

part one, part two

baby can't you see? (i'm calling) (ao3) - danfanciesphil (thejigsawtimess)

Summary: Two years after Dan's ill-advised stint up a mountain, and Phil's escape from a Royal psychopath, their dramatic flying off into the horizon hasn't had such a steady landing. Phil is consumed by his new venture in giving back to the world, but Dan is receiving none of this graciousness. Their living situation remains unstable, and they're barely in the same room long enough to hold hands.

It's all about to break apart, when the pandemic hits them where it hurts. Once again, Dan and Phil find themselves thrown into isolation with one another, back up where it all began. The memories of The Secret of the Alps are both fond and traumatic; being there again, trapped and in a bitter feud, is worryingly familiar. Can they make it out together a second time around? Or is this cycle doomed to repeat itself forever, until one of them calls it quits?

clean the kitchen (ao3) - angelmichelangelo

Summary: after a tragedy destroys everything he had, dan finds himself living a life far from what he had once expected.

everything seems like a huge mess, and all he can do is do his best to clean it up, piece by piece, little by little.

Cold, Empty Mattresses and Falling Stars (ao3) - conshellation

Summary: 2009 au where phil and his family own a campground/cabins in an area that is known for stargazing and phil has lived his entire life there, therefore knowing a lot about stars. dan and his family come from the city to said campground because dan is a nerd and asked to come there for his birthday.

colors in the gray (ao3) - dizzy

Summary: In a different world living a different life, Dan works at Starbucks and is about to publish his first novel when Phil (literally) steals his way into Dan's life.

Just Like Magic (ao3) - waylesssad

Summary: There is a lot more to magic than waving your wand and saying a few funny words.

Learning Curves (ao3) - winstonlives

Summary: Dan, a youtuber, sees an old A levels teacher in a gay bar years after he left school. That same teacher is Phil Lester, the hunkiest teach Dan ever did see. He makes a plan to subtly bump into him and reintroduce himself as a successful adult. While the reintroduction doesn't go quite as planned, the two end up in bed together, much to Dan's delight. Phil on the other hand has some reservations about the whole thing, throwing a wrench into Dan's lustful plans.

Live Incidentally (ao3) - yikesola

Summary: At thirty-two, Phil’s fine with this lot in life— manager for Printzoid, a flat he rents on his own in a relatively nice part of London, friends he sees at least twice a month for board game nights, an ex-fiancé he’s trying damn hard to get over, and a brother who means well even if Martyn doesn’t understand why Phil insists there’s a distinction between their father’s artwork being creative and Martyn’s music being creative and Phil’s novelty t-shirts being... not-creative.

A fic about adulthood and opening up.

married at first sight (ao3) - nothingbutniall

Summary: Dan and Phil get matched together on the new season of Married At First Sight.

No Man Is An Island (ao3) - strawberrysunflower

Summary: While drunk and desperate to get away from the creatively-stifling hubbub of London, Dan rents a farmhouse on the Isle of Man for four weeks to finish writing his latest book. All he wants is silence. Peace. Solitude.

Then he meets Phil, the farm owners’ dorky, clumsy, stupidly handsome son.

Our Flaws Are Aligned (ao3) - phantasizeit

Summary: Dan and Phil are YouTubers, but they hate each other. Phil is reminded of this when he’s forced to interact with him at the Spain Creator’s Summit. Their situation isn’t helped by their complicated past when their firecracker relationship crashed and burned. When Stop, Speak, Support contacts Phil to be a headlining speaker in their tour across schools in the UK, he is more than excited, until he finds out he’ll working next to his YouTube enemy. Phil doesn’t expect their time planning the tour together to rekindle old feelings he thought he’d long since buried.

Practically Perfect In Every Way (ao3) - americanphancakes

Summary: Unhappily married father of two Phil Lester needs to hire a housekeeper-slash-babysitter when work gets crazy. The new babysitter, Dan, is kind, articulate, into video games, and absolutely gorgeous. Phil begins to doubt that it's worth trying to make his failing marriage work... and his kids agree.

RIFT (ao3) - A_Million_Regrets

Summary: Phil is just a mere eight-year-old naive child when his mom keenly introduces him to his new stepbrother, Dan. They become friends and start living together fairly quickly. As years slip by, Phil slowly realises three things: First, Dan looks at him with pain in his gaze. Second, an inexplicable rift is separating them. Third, what he feels for Dan is more than just brotherly love.

Seaspell (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: A kiss, a curse, a quest.

When Dan discovers that the prince of his kingdom and childhood best friend, Phil, has been been hidden away in the castle for years after his disappearance, he quickly understands why. A curse has been passed down through the Lester family for generations, marking Phil with magic and transforming him into a creature of the waves and sea, forcing him to hide from a kingdom that is afraid of the unknown. But curses are made to be broken, and Dan joins him on a journey across the ocean to find the Witch that cast the spell, as his own growing feelings and a hidden danger rise to the surface.

Siren Call (ao3) - natigail

Summary: Beware of the siren's call, they tell you.

Dan had heard enough horror stories about sirens to be thoroughly terrified. He never wanted to go near the water, but as fate would have it, Dan's father had to sign him up for on a merchant's ship bound for the siren's passage. Dan had a sinking feeling that he was not going to survive an encounter with one of the deadly predators. Those touched by the siren's kiss were bound to drown. Except... it doesn't go quite like that.

stardust trail leading back to you (ao3) - toffeelemon

Summary: Phil is a full time alien conspiracist, a PhD dropout using his extensive Astronomy knowledge to justify his quarter life crisis of running around London all day chasing so-called aliens.

Phil just desperately wants to believe that he is not alone in the universe.

Agent D is the best Men in Black agent that London has ever seen in the last decade, promptly forgotten, dismissed and excluded from human society. He likes it that way. An emotionally constipated galactic agent only has so much room in his heart for a handful of extraterrestrial immigrants.

Until a particularly persistent man keeps disrupting missions, and a permanent fixture by the name of rookie Agent P eventually carves a space into Dee’s lonely existence.

Super Experiment (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: What happens when someone who usually stays inside on the internet goes for a night out just for once and then gets dragged into a crazy scientist's weird experiment? It's a specific question but it's the question Dan and Phil have been asking themselves since they got dragged into this. Now while not accidentally killing themselves or others with new found powers from the experiment, Dan and Phil have to find out who is behind this and somehow stop them all badass and video game like. Or probably not.

the beast you've made of me (ao3) - azurephil (orphan_account)

Summary: Phil’s eccentric aunt lives hours away in the countryside and needs someone to house-sit while she goes on holiday during the summer. He expects it to be peaceful, albeit boring. Then he meets the gardener.

The Chariot (ao3) - throughtheirsnoses (det395)

Summary: Phil Lester is a psychic but a really bad one at that, with no luck at tarot cards or tea leaves or magic 8 balls, only muddled, incoherent nightmares to follow. In the middle of finishing his grad degree, losing and making friends, and transitioning into adulthood, it’s hard to keep protecting himself. Dan is the hardest part, the young and confused man who keeps dominating his most intense dreams.

the last act of the show (ao3) - vvelna

Summary: Phil has made a living from faking relationships for nearly a decade. His new client is an actor named Dan Howell.

The Lovers (VI) (ao3) - Tarredion

Summary: Dan, guardian of the forest, feels inadequate to love and of love. His best friend Phil loves him despite that.. but doesn't know quite what to do when Dan becomes a hypocrite- playing with both their feelings

The Path to Happiness (ao3) - nebulous_frog

Summary: Phil, Prince of Stratalary, has an arranged marriage with Daniel, Prince of Iridacia. He doesn't think he'll have any feelings for the prince, that is, until he meets him.

they don't know (about us) (ao3) - calvinahobbes

Summary: Dan and Phil in Jamaica, July 2010.

This Could be the End of Everything (ao3) - rainbowchristy

Summary: Dan’s finally starting university, the phase of his life he’s been waiting for since he was a small child. His first real chance at freedom, away from his parents. Unfortunately, the universe has other plans for him.

to let the light in (ao3) - cityofphanchester

Summary: Searching for a fresh start after a decade of dead ends in London, Dan becomes obsessed with a storytelling show on Rossendale Radio and a voice that hasn't been broadcast in years.

to roll with what comes (ao3) - symmetricdnp

Summary: But Phil had thought those were just stories. Stories that people would stumble upon online or hear from a friend, that’d make them think of how lucky they were that it didn’t happen to them.

Phil's comfortable yet decidedly average life gets turned upside down when he ends up bonded to a barista that he's exchanged about three sentences with.

Trying New Things (ao3) - orphan_account

Summary: The first thing to catch Dan’s interest is what he’s wearing, of course: a pair of weather inappropriate jeans and a red jacket, a pair of thick framed glasses balanced on his nose. He’s tall but not in the gangly, awkward way Dan is tall; not in the way that would suggest he hasn’t quite grown into his body. Dan’s new neighbour is confidently tall, like he has muscle hiding under that restrictive outfit.

***

In which Dan has a not-so-subtle crush on his new neighbour.

Virus (ao3) - Lackless

Summary: Set in a dystopian future, Dan is a super-smart, super-lonely hacker who discovers an old piece of tech and gets swept into an intrigue that will change his world...

when it rains, it's lemon cakes (ao3) - gogystyle

Summary: Sneaking around. Crushed pastries at the bottom of the tray. Kisses at dawn and the impending threat of an arranged marriage.

Phil meets a tall stranger on a late-night rendezvous through the castle. What happens when that stranger's smile and laugh fill an entire room, burrowing besides Phil's heart and refusing to leave?

Wifey (ao3) - transdimensional_void

Summary: Phil's known since she was young that she is Very, Very Gay.

She's known since about a month ago that the goddess of a makeup artist at the M•A•C store makes her knees weak.

Now, if she only knew how to ask her on a date...

with a bullet (ao3) - waveydnp

Summary: phil returns to his room after a party thrown by his housemates only to discover that there’s already someone in his bed

World's Greatest First Love: The Case of Daniel Howell (ao3) - yiffandquiff

Summary: Dan Howell wanted a clean break from his father’s publishing company. It was why he applied for a different company in London: to stop the ridicule of his coworkers for riding on his ‘daddy’s coat tails’. But he wasn’t expecting to suddenly be going from a literature editor, to a graphic novel editor. And he certainly wasn't expecting to come face first with his first love who broke his heart from when he was a teenager: who just happens to be his new editor-in-chief.

#phanfictioncatalogue #phanfic #phanfiction #phan #dan and phil #masterlists #30k #30k masterlist #40k #40k masterlist

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tuttocenere · 1 year

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What are the hallmarks of a "Cosi Fan Tutte" production by people who "just don't get it"? What do you think are the most typical mistakes that directors make?

So in Regietheater they like to translate stories in a certain way. Here we have Don Carlos, which appears to be about a terminally sentimental prince failing to escape the Spanish court with his bestie. Here we have Salome, which appears to be about a lady dancing to get a guy killed so she can make out with his corpse. Or here we have Lohengrin, which appears to be about an elf-lord traveling with a swan and making unreasonable demands. No, say opera directors, appearances are deceiving. All these stories are actually about bourgeois family dynamics.

Well, in the case of Così fan Tutte, we have to translate in the other direction; dig through the trivial relationship story down to the exciting bits. This story appears to be a farce about exchanging fiancees. But it really has a lot to say about love, about fidelity and friendship, about masculinity and femininity, even about foreigners and wars, and the question to what degree all these things are real and to what degree they are just pretense.

The basic idea of Così fan Tutte is that the characters learn true and real things about themselves through the contrivance of a masquerade, and end up hurt when the masquerade ends. There's a lot of potential in that. Maybe it's a reality TV show that Don Alfonso is running. Maybe it's just a coffee-house philosopher's personal project as in the text. Maybe it's a scientific experiment, maybe it's a party game. I personally really like the circular versions where the inciting incident is a production of Così fan Tutte. In any case, you have to come up with something. Just making Don Alfonso a sex enthusiast is not going to cut it, this is clearly not something he does every day.

Offenders:

Met 2013 (… nothing?),

Berlin 2021 (hippies),

Munich 2022 (sex dungeon)

Excellent examples:

ROH 2016 (theater),

Lausanne 2018 (reality show),

Paris 2022 (music)

And related to that is the concept of the costume itself. I'm always a big fan of opera characters seeing through every disguise. Especially in Così, where it is not likely that the sisters wouldn't recognize the men they've seen every day, whose portraits they are carrying around. But the idea of being disguised allows them to do things they would not normally dare. Things such as becoming soulmates with your sister's partner, or even just practising some free love.

So yes, strictly speaking you don't need the costumes at all, but if you're going to use costumes, they should be elevated from daily life. They might be attractive, or they might just have a dream-like quality that explains the disinhibition of both the men and the women. They should ideally not be orientalist, unless you have something really important to say about that aspect.

Offenders:

ROH 2010 (rockstars?),

Salzburg 2013 (kaftans and terrible wigs)

Salzburg 2020 (hawaii shirts)

Excellent examples:

Glyndebourne 2006, where it's pretty obvious why you'd fall for the disguised men,

Salzburg 2009, where they're covered in soil because things are getting real,

Madrid 2013, where there is practically no disguise because this is about the soul

Ultimately what makes this opera good is the music. So my other demand is that the production can't be too busy, it must give the music room to breathe. This has mostly been fine IME, I've only seen one production that felt the need to have a bunch of stuff going on during the big arias. But that production was so bad overall that it shall not be named lest someone be tempted to look it up.

Sorry this is long, I tried to cut it down as much as possible, but this is my second favorite opera in the world.

#cosi fan tutte #long post #ask me things #i tried to give good productions as good examples and bad ones as bad examples #but most of the bad ones have some redeeming features and most of the good ones have some flaws #and my number one favorite production doesn't really fit this scheme so it's not mentioned here

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ppenguinpperson · 6 months

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The Admission of RT002-465

Zh. I. Alferov National Institute of Anomalous Research LOG: XXXXXX Written by Dr. Gabriela Kozlova (EN. XXXXX) 23. 08. 2009 Authorized by Dr. Gabriela Kozlova (EN XXXXXX) 23. 08. 2009 Regarding Anastasia Komarova (Lacking ID)

BASIC INFORMATION Subject is 13 years old (F). It came to the facility on 21. 08. 2009. We have not been able to reach the subject’s legal guardians. It is presumed they are avoiding contact with us/law enforcement. Subject voluntarily gives information on itself, but it is not clear whether it’s telling the truth. The information it’s given us, and information that has been brought to our attention by observing it, goes as follows:

First name: Anastasia Last name: Komarova Mother: Anna Komarova Father: Anatoliy Komar Date of birth: 01. 09. 1995 Place of birth: XXXXX, XXXXXX Address: XXXXXXXX, XXX, XXXXX/XX Disabilities, allergies: — Appearance: 158 cm, 62 kg – Eyes are blue. Skin is white. Hair is long and ginger. At the time of capture, the subject was wearing a school uniform (white shirt, black skirt, black shoes) with its hair in 2 braids. No scars, no piercings, no birthmarks. Subject’s appearance holds no abnormality. Extra information:

It is presumed the subject is mentally unstable. It cries at random times with no fixed schedule. It yells at staff if displeased. It refuses to eat the food and wear the clothes we provide it with. It only calms if it deems it has been treated fairly.

It is presumed the subject’s homelife was unhealthy. See above. The subject claims both legal guardians were aware of its anomalous nature and chose not to report it.

The subject’s mutation has regenerative qualities (read for more information).

The subject’s capture is unusual. I wish to document it for future reference. All parties were interviewed separately, but recounted the events in a near identical manner. The event prescribed here took place 21. 08. 2009, ~10:15-11:00. The security guards (EN XXXXXX, EN XXXXXX), posted at the entrance of block A. claim the subject approached them ~10:15 AM. They claim it requested to be let inside the institute, and declared itself a mutant. Neither of the guards have the ability to detect anomalies, and due to the subject’s human appearance, neither believed it was telling the truth. Both claim it grew distressed upon being repeatedly denied access. XXXXXX claims he panicked when it approached him. He then raised his gun at the subject (Note: At the time, he was not aware he was in contact with an anomaly), in what he claims to be self defense. XXXXXX claims he had no intention of shooting the anomaly. From my office in block A, I heard 2 gunshots ~10:20. Dr. XXXXXX (EN XXXXXX) and Dr. XXXXXXX (EN XXXXXX) can confirm. XXXXXX shot the subject in the chest, in its left lung. He claims he missed the second shot (This is true: a bullet was found in the grass where the incident took place). He shot it with the Glock 22, which has bullets 10 mm diameter. Both guards claim nothing happened between ~10:20 and ~10:30 while they were alone with the subject. After ~10 minutes of the subject being injured, XXXXXX called for help. Dr. XXXXX, Dr. XXXXXX, and I rushed it to the 2A operating room. (Note: This is NOT something we should practice in the future. I agree the situation was difficult , but we CANNOT afford to operate on people when we don’t have clearance to, especially CHILDREN. Had the subject turned out to be a human, it would not only have died, but we would have been liable. Do NOT do this again.) The subject should have been in critical condition, but it was only moderate. The subject managed to speak short coherent sentences (It repeatedly said “Help me” and “Don’t shoot me”). The subject was exhibiting abnormal behavior during preparation (ex: not bleeding as much as expected, not coughing up blood, not passing out from blood loss). It turned unconscious when Dr. XXXXXX administered anesthesia. We successfully managed to reach the bullet located in the left lung, only to find an anomaly. The lung tissue had already begun to grow over it and fixed the bullet in place. The bullet was successfully removed with minimal damage done to the subject’s lung. Halfway during the operation,~10:40, the subject woke up. It should have been unconscious for another few hours. No more anesthesia was administered so as to not risk its health. Subject was restrained for the rest of the operation. The operation ended ~10:50 when the subject was deemed stable. Subject later confirms the events prior to administration of anesthesia. It only claims it was not ‘distressed’, as the guards and I claim, and instead says it was perfectly calm. It is presumed it is lying about this to appear more mature.

REQUESTS Written Dr. Gabriela Kozlova (E.N. XXXXX) 23. 08. 2009 Authorized by Dr. XXXX XXXXXXXX (E.N. XXXXXX) 25. 08. 2009 Regarding Anastasia Komarova (Lacking ID)

Request to give the subject proper ID. Request it to be categorized as Regenerative Type. Request for the third digit of the ID to be 2. Request for the last three digits of the ID to be standard (Ex: RT002-XYZ – I do not know how many Regenerative Types we’ve had.) Request for minimized contact with other subjects. Request to be primary handler of the subject. Request to get different clothing for the subject.

REASONS: Reason for Type: Subject is breathing well despite being shot in the lung. Dr. XXXXX and Dr. XXXXXX can confirm the visuals of tissue growing over its wound. Subject agrees that this Typing would be accurate. If my request for Typing is denied, I request more tests to confirm my theory. Reason for Class: Subject has not yet shown traits that would deem it deserving of 01 treatment. Subject has not yet shown violent tendencies and claims its Anomalous nature holds no dangerous properties, which I am inclined to believe. Undeserving of 04 treatment. Subject is very eager to help and has repeatedly stated, I quote, “I love you”. Classing it as 03 could discourage it from cooperation. It is deserving of 02 classing. Request for Other:

Primary Handler: Multiple times, it has expressed gratitude to me for ‘saving it’, and has requested me multiple times for unimportant reasons, such as ‘feeling lonely’. In any other case, I would request to be as little involved with the subject as possible, but because this one has spent its life disguised as a human I suspect it’s important for it to build an attachment to the institute. I will keep the relationship strictly professional. I will not pursue this request if it is denied.

Clothes: Subject refuses to wear what has been picked out for it. It claims that ‘(it) didn’t come here to be treated like a little kid’. It will be easier giving it the clothing that it wants. This would provide comfort and build trust.

RESPONSE: Written by Dr. XXXX XXXXXXXX (EN XXXXXX) 25. 08. 2009 Authorized by Dr. XXXX XXXXXXXX (EN XXXXXX) 25. 08. 2009

ID: APPROVED (Subject will receive ID) Type: DISAPPROVED (It is too early for Typing) – APPROVED request for more tests (On the requirement that there are results) Class: APPROVED (On the requirement subject will be demoted to 03 if it shows signs of aggression, or to 04 if it shows signs of desire to leave) Other:

Primary Handler: TBD (02 Class subjects do not usually get PHs. I was planning to let group AA get control of it, but it’s true it’d be useful to create an attachment early on. Many factors to consider here.)

Clothing: APPROVED (Don’t push it, it’s not getting new clothes. There’s a bunch of old clothes that should be the subject’s size in block C. Give it those.)

CONCLUSION: Written by Dr. XXXXX XXXXXX (EN XXXXXX) 02. 09. 2009 Authorized by Dr. Gabriela Kozlova (EN XXXXXX) 02. 09. 2009 Regarding RT002-465 (Anastasia Komarova)

ID: RT002-456 Primary Handler: Dr. Gabriela Kozlova (EN XXXXXX) and team AA Extra Information: RT will have no contact with other subjects for a minimum of a month. This includes giving it its own room for the time being. RT’s legal guardians have agreed to pay child support until the subject turns 18 years old. RT will receive a psych. evaluation. RT’s antics will not be tolerated. RT will receive checkups by its PH twice a week for the next month. The PH will then monitor it as he/she sees fit. RT’s mutation is still a mystery. Take care to keep it alive during experiments.

#probs not gonna post this on ao3 #<- UM that was a lie. posting it there #nastyart #gabriela kozlova #fanfic #kinda ..

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ufonaut · 2 years

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here’s the ranking nobody asked for, done purely from memory (which means there may be half a dozen outfits that escape me at the present moment). my favourite alan scott civilian outfits:

10. captain of a sinking ship

you may be thinking. well, it’s just a black suit. but the fact of the matter is that -- as the entries below will prove -- it used to be that you couldn’t pay alan to wear black so this sharp look takes a particular significance when you know it comes from all-star comics 1976 #64 when gbc goes resolutely bankrupt and the last of alan’s sanity takes a dive out the window. it’s a great suit! a real classic!

9. relaxing at home :)

every other good alan outfit comes immediately before an all out mental breakdown and this one’s no different! direct from comic cavalcade 1942 #19, artist paul reinman gives us a deliciously cozy little outfit: pyjama pants & dressing gown after a hard night of crime-fighting. the ascot just makes it for me!

8. lonesome cowboy

alan’s vacation outfits are famously unbeatable (you’ll see what i mean in just a moment) but this fringe jacket & cowboy hat look from all-american comics 1939 #99 is a real early one and a personal favourite. alan goes on a fishing day trip upstate with streak the wonder dog and makes sure to dress for the occasion!

7. cool & casual

post-bankruptcy and whilst living in jay garrick’s guest room, alan started dressing a lot more casually now that he wasn’t busy playing ceo all day long. i love this look so much, the sports jacket with the turtleneck underneath is simply fantastic and the bright colours are immensely in character. a real winner from green lantern 1960 #109!

6. cool & casual (continued)

i always enjoy alan’s personal style when he’s off the clock and this specific outfit from solomon grundy 2009 #7 feels like a nice little continuation of the above, it denotes a genuine preference for these jackets even if the colour palette is reversed. ranking-wise, places could be switched in either direction with these two but i’m a big fan of the red!

5. something to hide

back in the nineties when alan had regained his youth via the starheart and ended up looking as young as his children, he’d spent most of his time as sentinel and there had been very little seen of him at gbc for various reasons. chase 1998 #8 dares to break that pattern and proposes that when attending events as the head of gotham broadcasting, alan would take certain steps to try and hide his unnatural youth -- note the unnecessary glasses, the never-before-seen slicked back hair. i love the details and boy do i love that manic grin!

4. short shorts

i mean. really. what is there to say? alan’s wearing short shorts while on a cruise with the rest of the gang in justice society of america 1992 #6. it speaks for itself!

3. mr ceo

paul smith’s leyendecker-style alan scott in the golden age 1993 #1 is perhaps the greatest representation of Mr. GBC CEO -- one of the most vital aspects of who alan is as a person. it’s a fantastic outfit, clearly tailored, and in milder tones than he’d generally wear. this one’s all business and up there with the alan designs & looks of all time!

2. cool and collected

two things alan has never been but this outfit might have you believing otherwise! this is utterly magnificent to me. the sunglasses, the shirt & blazer, the undercover bruce wayne flinching in the background -- it’s all there. detective comics 1937 #786 gives us one of the best off-duty alan looks and i’ll stand by that forever and ever!

1. variations on a theme

at the end of the day, paul reinman’s variations on alan’s every day outfits throughout his run on comic cavalcade 1942 are completely unbeatable to me! the characteristically bright colours, era-appropriate semi-formal looks, the preference for the green suit (his best suit!) sometimes worn with its matching trousers and sometimes not, details like the bracelet in the bottom middle panel or the ever-changing ties... this is the absolute height of alan’s non-lantern outfits!

thank you & goodnight

#alan scott #green lantern #doiby dickles (who is sometimes present)#paul reinman #(who features more than anybody)#u can reblog #NOBODY ASKED FOR THIS BUT I HAD FUN AND THATS WHAT MATTERS #'does alan dress gay' - the greatest thread in the history of the jsa locked by a moderator after 12568 pages of heated debate

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bocabolts · 2 days

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okay this has been bothering me for a long while now, so time to go on a rant about it:

i absolutely adore the artists who have drawn artemis in recent works, anyone who knows and follows me knows i absolutely adore their art. but as a fashion designer, what i absolutely cannot stand is the fashion - or more, the serious lack of it. you want me to believe an amazon, who literally dresses up like a goddess in bana, goes to man's world and chooses to go around in a plain white t-shirt and leggings? not even an earring or bracelet on sight? from a character that fought in huge hoop earrings back in the 90's (ik i'm the n° 1 hater of deodato's over sexualized requiem suit but it was cunty design wise)

i really like rhato, but in the same comic book we have her go from dressing like this:

to literally dressing like this on the daily:

it makes no sense, no one can convince me she would dress like a gym rat on the daily. of course, she's not going to wear cute bows and frilly dresses (that's more my department lol), but to me, this lacks complete personality and kind of alienates her character from her costumed version, at least to me. i'm not talking about her costumes, they're great, top tier even, both rebirth and different versions of requiem, only her day-to-day outfits. although the examples i gave here are from rhato, this issue also extends to the webtoon comic. i know it's hard for artists with timelines and so many details on backgrounds and other stuff, so it's easier to keep it simple, but there are ways to keep some character around. it's all in the details, enter example #1:

see how artemis is dressed in just a white tank top and a pair of jeans, and yet it gives more style than all the others? the belt, the necklace, even the bracelets. small yet simple details that can make the outfit. styling works wonders. now, enter example #2:

now, i absolutely LOOOVE this look. simple but effective. very elegant, very stylish, and very on trend, yet still artemis. i know, we also got the amazing date night look in rhato, with the little black dress, which was absolutely stunning too, along with the black suit a few issues later, but even that was one in a million, as we never got to see her in anything like that again (except at the very end of rhato, where she goes to the iceberg lounge with jason, but even that was a plain version of the date dress with her hair up in a ponytail and minus the earrings). of course, i don't expect characters to be all dressed up when they're at home, we real humans don't either, but with artemis' characters, it's anytime she's out of costume it seems.

now enter some examples of artemis' clothing in other appearances as a mere amazon, in bana-mighdall. certainty, a woman that dresses and fights like this everyday doesn't trade it all in man's world (where fashion is literally unlimited) for a mere piece of fabric. she has an ariana grande ponytail for style purposes only, for god's sake! if that doesn't say anything, i don't know what will. she doesn't blend in, she never will, and every amazon knows it, so own it. stand out from the crowd!

there are many more examples, but sadly i cannot add more images. even the dcamu was able to capture this well. hell, in wonder woman (2009), while every other amazon has some sort of feather on their helmets, artemis has a hole for her ponytail. i think it speaks for itself at this point.

honestly, i think the title of outlaw is what played a great role in this loss of personal style. sure, she doesn't have diana's colorful morals, she's operating in gotham city now, she's ruthless and stands more in a gray area, along with her teammates, and i think that's what's holding artists back from giving her a bolder style. femininity isn't just pink and cute things, it comes in a very wide range of ways. even wearing pants and wielding an obnoxiously huge axe, artemis can still be feminine (throwback to the tantrum some dumbass threw back when the webtoon came out because artemis had a slight nude eyeshadow and "she wasn't feminine to wear it"). there's a lot you can do, and i feel like people are stuck on a limbo of "if i put her in a frilly dress it doesn't match the character, so basic is our only other option". again, there's nothing wrong with sportswear or basic, but it doesn't seem to match artemis.

although this specific rant is about artemis, i feel like the decline of fashion in comics is an overall issue across many - if not all - characters in recent years. the charm from the 80's and 90's is no longer there. i get it, on one side, costumes have also become more detailed as years went on (some good and some bad, but that has been a rollercoaster ever since day one of comic books), but the spark of regular day-to-day outfits has been long lost.

this said, they could hire someone from fashion to create lookbook reports for characters on different occasions, kinda like artists already do for their hero costumes (dc comics hire me). just kidding, but if they decide it is actually a good idea, i'm not kidding anymore lmao.

(anyways, in all of these fashion crimes, the fashion police aka me has created a secret pinterest board with some vibes of what i imagine artemis would wear on different occasions, and although i have lost my ability to draw actual art, i very much can still draw fashion illustrations. so, i will draw a lookbook for her myself, for different occasions, the way i imagine artemis style could be, even as an outlaw)

#artemis grace #artemis of bana mighdall #dc comics #you want me to believe an amazon has no sense of fashion?#i said what i said #and what i said is more than valid because i have a masters in fashion design #and i have style lol #anyways jk #amazons #bana mighdall #fashion in comics

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pransiss · 7 days

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Exploring the Hustle: Companies Overview

Technopreneurship Blogs Week 3-4 | Sept 16 - 23 | 2024

When you think of local businesses, it’s easy to envision small, family-owned ventures quietly working behind the scenes. But sometimes, these businesses are hidden gems, offering unique products and services that deserve recognition. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at some standout businesses that have been making waves in their respective fields—from souvenirs and leather crafts to baby skincare and sporting goods.

1. Transfer It: Personalized Printing and Souvenirs

Since its opening in January 2009, Transfer It has grown from a small printing service to a well-known brand with multiple branches worldwide. Specializing in rush printing of t-shirts via heat transfer, they’ve carved a niche for themselves by offering high-quality, affordable products. With over 20 outlets scattered throughout the Philippines, their services are easily accessible, particularly in major shopping malls.

But Transfer It isn’t just about t-shirts. They’ve expanded their offerings to include embroidery, silk screening, and full-bleed sublimation for custom-made polo shirts, sportswear, mugs, pillows, and more. Whether you're looking for a personalized tote bag or a custom-printed mouse pad, they’ve got you covered. Their business model thrives on the idea of giving customers the tools to create something truly unique—combining prints and letters to craft one-of-a-kind designs.

With their specialization in heat transfer printing, using high-quality transfers from the USA and locally made t-shirts, Transfer It continues to be a go-to for those looking to create personalized souvenirs or apparel in a rush.

2. Papelemento: Crafting Creativity into Every Piece

Papelemento prides itself on offering extraordinary designs and unmatched craftsmanship. Their expertise extends across a wide array of gifts, such as awards, plaques, trophies, figurines, and even intricate bas-relief sculptures. With multiple branches across Mindanao, their main base in Butuan City stands as a testament to their commitment to quality.

Papelemento collaborates closely with various industries—from marketing and event planning to government and non-profit sectors—ensuring every project is personalized to meet the client’s needs.

Their transparency, with no hidden fees and free personalization, has built a reputation for service quality and flexibility. Whether it's a corporate award or a handcrafted souvenir, Papelemento delivers artistry that speaks volumes.

3. Mugna Leather Arts: Where Heritage Meets Craft

Cebuano for “create,” MUGNA is more than just a brand—it’s a cultural legacy. Since its inception in 2004, Mugna Leather Arts has been one of the leading businesses for handcrafted leather goods in Bukidnon. Family-run by Mrs. Evelyn V. Pagaling and her sons, Christopher and Japhet, the business offers a range of customizable products, from wallets and pouches to laptop cases and sandals.

What makes Mugna stand out is its commitment to preserving local craftsmanship while providing employment opportunities to the community.

Their workshop, nestled in Violeta, Malaybalay City, not only produces high-quality leather goods but also supports the livelihood of the townspeople. If you're looking for a handcrafted leather heirloom, Mugna Leather Arts is the place to go.

4. Mustela: Gentle Skincare for the Whole Family

Founded in 1950, Mustela is a French family brand known for its clean, expert skincare products designed for babies and families. With a B Corp certification, Mustela has a commitment to sustainability and natural ingredients. Their products are manufactured with 95% natural ingredients, providing solutions to parents worldwide who seek gentle, effective skincare for their little ones.

From cleansing milk that soothes sensitive baby skin to sunscreens for summer protection, Mustela’s range of products covers a variety of skin concerns. Whether it’s a baby’s diaper rash or an adult’s dry skin, Mustela’s products aim to provide comfort and relief for the whole family. And with most of their production happening in France, you can trust that quality is never compromised.

5. Dal Arms Sports House: Carrying on a Legacy

Located at the corner of Lapasan in Cagayan de Oro, Dal Arms Sports House has been a well-known fixture in the city since the 1990s. The current owner took over the business after the original owner passed away, choosing to keep the store’s name and legacy alive.

Dal Arms offers a variety of firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories, maintaining a strong presence in the local market.

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cindyclaireb · 10 days

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Company Interviews — Week 3-4

For part two of our Technopreneurship project, we continued our journey of interviewing local businesses to gain further insights into the challenges and successes they face. After speaking with five companies in the first week, we progressed to SM Downtown Mall and the stores along Osmeña Street to learn more about the lives and experiences of business owners and employees. My group mates are Annriza Lam, Francis Padero, and Honey Rhose Petil, who I collaborated with for this project.

After the first round of interviews that we did, we felt slightly more prepared for the next phase. We had more of an idea on what to expect and we had a better grasp of the kind of information and documentation needed for our blogs. Furthermore, we refined our questions to ensure that both the interviewers and interviewees could conduct the interviews more efficiently. Walking around and taking the time to truly appreciate these businesses, getting to know the people behind them and how they operate, has been an experience. To gather the information that we needed, we printed out a questionnaire that contained separate questions for owners, employees, and general questions about the business. This serves as our guide. We also used our phones to record their responses and capture photos of the interview and the business, if ever the interviewees were comfortable with it.

1. Transfer It

With one of its branches located in the 4th floor of the SM Downtown Mall, this business opened in January of 2009 and primarily offers printing services and customized souvenirs. Specifically, they specialize in rush printing of t-shirts via heat transfer at affordable prices. Offer embroidery, silk screen, full bleed sublimation, made-to-order polo shirts, sports wear, mugs, pillows, UV direct ballpen, flash drives, powerbank, clock, and for other items.

Frelly Sacabin was our first interviewee for today. When we asked her about her experience as an employee, she emphasized how this company helped her develop the skills that she needed to carry out the business’ goals, as well as to serve customers. She praised the business for treating its employees well, offering multiple benefits, and fostering a positive, non-toxic workplace culture. In relation to that, when asked about the factors that need to be present to keep the business running smoothly, she mentioned the importance of teamwork and open communication. Frelly also said that a major challenge that they face involves customers complaints and difficult requests, but noted that it’s important to hear their side and offer the best service possible for all their customers.

2. Papelemento

As we continued along the 4th floor, we managed to get to know the company Papelemento, which specializes in extraordinary designs and craftsmanship. Aside from this mall, they have multiple branches in Mindanao, with Butuan being the main branch. Their crafts include a wide range of gifts, spanning from awards, plaques, trophies, souvenirs, figurines, and crafts to exquisite bas relief sculpture. They also work hand in hand with organizations across diverse industries, including marketing, event planning, theater, retail display, government, and non-profit sectors.

For our interview, we spoke with an employee who preferred to remain anonymous. She explained that, as a fresh graduate in Education, she was eager to explore a different career path beyond the classroom. One of the first challenges she faced involved managing rush orders and dealing with demanding customers who wanted their products completed quickly. She shared how adapting to these various customer needs was an obstacle, but she has grown more attentive to detail and felt more adaptable in similar situations since. When asked about the skills necessary to succeed in her role, she emphasized the importance of critical thinking and being able to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment. As for the business itself, she shared that to ensure that customers remain satisfied with their products, they would always serve their clients well and ask them for feedback in order to improve their services further.

3. Mugna Leather Arts

Mugna Leather Arts started in 2004 as a culturally influenced heirloom craft, and is a family business operated by the Pagaling family. They offer a range of leather products, including customizable wallets, pouches, hand purses, bags, laptop cases, sandals, and more. They also offer free name engravings in addition to that. Mugna is a Cebuano term for create or to bring into existence, and they continue to do just that in their workshop in Violeta, Malaybalay City.

Within the same mall, we interviewed Cherry Mae Sab, a saleslady working there. Her experience with the company started when the spot happened to be vacant, and also shared that it was difficult at first as she had to learn how to engrave and memorize all the items. She shared that her role has evolved by adapting to different work environments and colleagues. When asked about the skills necessary for her position, she stressed the importance of working hard to attract customers in order to make sales and stay employed. Good customer service and attention to detail, such as neat engravings, help maintain customer satisfaction. Lastly, Cherry noted daily challenges like rude clients who are in a rush, but they handle it by staying professional and reassuring them about their product’s quality.

4. Mustela

On the ground floor of SM Downtown, we came across a Mustela branch here in the form of a kiosk. This company began in 1950 when Paul Berthomé partnered with pharmacist Claude Guillon to create the first cleansing milk specifically designed for babies' skin. Mustela offers clean, expert skincare products of natural origin for babies and the whole family. Since 1957, 95% of their products have been produced in their Epernon facility in Eure-et-Loir, France.

We interviewed saleslady Crisanta Sajulga, who, within her first week, was already entrusted with managing responsibilities which showed her dedication to improve her customer service skills. Because of the position, she also shared that she has become more focused and careful. As for running the business, she also emphasized the importance of good customer service and entertaining their needs. Crisanta went on to ensure that customers do remain satisfied with what Mustela has to offer because the products are effective. When asked about the challenges she faces within the company, she explained that the main focus is on selling and making a profit, and how being careful with transactions like giving change, receiving cash, and handing out items to avoid any mistakes is important.

5. Dal Arms Sports House

For a short walk from SM Downtown and along Osmena St., one can find themselves in Dal Arms Sports House just like we did. This business started when the current owner was employed by the original owner, whose headquarters were in Manila. After the original owner passed away and his children were unable to continue the business, the current owner decided to carry on the store under the original owner's name. Being a well-known location since the 90s, this store mainly offers firearms, ammunition, and firearm accessories.

We interviewed Rikkia Eve Baguio, the daughter of the business owner, who shared that one of the challenges when starting the store was overcoming the barriers to entry, which were the numerous requirements for acquiring and selling firearms. A significant capital investment was also needed, alongside meeting regulatory demands. Rikkia explained that their strategy for attracting customers relied on returning clients from the previous store owner. She advised that when starting a business, it’s crucial to choose something you’re interested in, knowledgeable about, and confident in pursuing. When asked what keeps their business running smoothly, she emphasized the importance of having employees who are good at handling customers, maintaining strong relationships with them, and efficiently processing orders. A unique challenge they face with their business is navigating gun bans, which vary in duration and significantly impact sales. These usually happen during the end of the year, when a week-long gun ban is enforced to stop accidents related to fireworks and explosives during the holidays. Also, gun bans are present during elections, with the duration depending on if it’s local or national. During these times, customers cannot order firearms, although law enforcement still can. Because of this, sales drop to nearly half of their usual volume. To address this, they focus on pushing sales to local government units (LGUs) and government agencies that continue to need supplies during these times.

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imaredshirt · 5 months

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A random question: top 5 star trek eps from any franchise

Gonna be super honest with you, I WAS gonna say that my top 5 eps are solely based on how much I love McCoy in them, but I figured it'd make more sense to base my list on each episode's watchability - meaning can I watch this episode over and over and not get tired of it too soon? If the answer is an immediate yes, then onto the list it goes!

(Actually most of them have McCoy play pretty important roles, so)

(Also, I've only really watched a portion of TOS and a few episodes here and there of the others - but! I'm finally, slowly making my way through every episode. Gotta refresh my Trekness)

So! Top 5 Star Trek Episodes According to Me:

1: The Man Trap. First episode I watched cause I was trying to become familiar with the characters before the 2009 movie came out and was immediately hooked (was also trying to figure out what was so great about this one guy called Spock who my mom was in love with) So much McCoy goodness here - Plum, agonizing over killing the salt creature that's wearing the face of his old flame, the blACK SHIRT--

2: The Trouble with Tribbles. LOVE this ep. Honestly it's like a feel-good ep, will watch it when in need of some comfort. It's like a tribble itself.

3: By Any Other Name. God the amount of times I've rewatched this one - just love how hopeless it almost feels, with McSpirkotty (Kirk and Spock and McCoy and Scotty - listen idk what the four of them together are called so I smushed the names together, tho I guess I coulda just listed their names like I just did there but ANYWAY-) the only ones not turned into those little chalk blocks and the Andromedeans are like, super powerful assholes, until the foursome end up being the badasses they are and tricking the Andromedeans - faves have got to be McCoy and Scotty with their assigned Andromedeans. Also it's got that scene where Spock goes into a trance and falls and McCoy reacts with That Face to hurriedly catch him and just hold him - it feeds my hunger for Spones

4: Friday's Child. Cannot get enough of the costumes in this ep. And Bones and the baby. Spock annoyed with his humans at the end. Love, love, love.

5: FOR THE WORLD IS HOLLOW AND I HAVE TOUCHED THE SKY. Hurt McCoy, Worried Spirk, Wooed McCoy, McSpirk Feels- honestly the ep speaks for itself.

Of course there are a ton of other episode I love (special mentions Mirror, Mirror, Bread and Circuses, the Galileo Seven, All Our Yesterdays) but yeah, at least at the moment, these are my top five.

#sorry it took me so long to answer this!#also sorry for all the rambling but i've been feeling chatty lately #st #st tos #thank you for the question!

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uomo-accattivante · 4 years

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Fantastic (but long) article about Theater of War’s recent productions, including Oedipus the King and Antigone in Ferguson, featuring Oscar Isaac. The following are excerpts. The full article is viewable via the source link below:

Excerpt:

“Children of Thebes, why are you here?” Oscar Isaac asked. His face filled the monitor on my dining table. (It was my partner’s turn to use the desk.) We were a couple of months into lockdown, just past seven in the evening, and a few straggling cheers for essential workers came in through the window. Isaac was looking smoldery with a quarantine beard, a gold chain, an Airpod, and a black T-shirt. His display name was set to “Oedipus.”

Isaac was one of several famous actors performing Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” from their homes, in the first virtual performance by Theater of War Productions: a group that got its start in 2008, staging Sophocles’ “Ajax” and “Philoctetes” for U.S. military audiences and, beginning in 2009, on military installations around the world, including in Kuwait, Qatar, and Guantánamo Bay, with a focus on combat trauma. After each dramatic reading, a panel made up of people in active service, veterans, military spouses, and/or psychiatrists would describe how the play resonated with their experiences of war, before opening up the discussion to the audience. Since its founding, Theater of War Productions has addressed different kinds of trauma. It has produced Euripides’ “The Bacchae” in rural communities affected by the opioid crisis, “The Madness of Heracles” in neighborhoods afflicted by gun violence and gang wars, and Aeschylus’ “Prometheus Bound” in prisons. “Antigone in Ferguson,” which focusses on crises between communities and law enforcement, was motivated by an analogy between Oedipus’ son’s unburied body and that of Michael Brown, left on the street for roughly four hours after Brown was killed by police; it was originally performed at Michael Brown’s high school.

Now, with trauma roving the globe more contagiously than ever, Theater of War Productions had traded its site-specific approach for Zoom. The app was configured in a way I hadn’t seen before. There were no buttons to change between gallery and speaker view, which alternated seemingly by themselves. You were in a “meeting,” but one you were powerless to control, proceeding by itself, with the inexorability of fate. There was no way to view the other audience members, and not even the group’s founder and director, Bryan Doerries, knew how numerous they were. Later, Zoom told him that it had been fifteen thousand. This is roughly the seating capacity of the theatre of Dionysus, where “Oedipus the King” is believed to have premièred, around 429 B.C. Those viewers, like us, were in the middle of a pandemic: in their case, the Plague of Athens.

The original audience would have known Oedipus’ story from Greek mythology: how an oracle had predicted that Laius, the king of Thebes, would be killed by his own son, who would then sleep with his mother; how the queen, Jocasta, gave birth to a boy, and Laius pierced and bound the child’s ankles, and ordered a shepherd to leave him on a mountainside. The shepherd took pity on the maimed baby, Oedipus (“swollen foot”), and gave him to a Corinthian servant, who handed him off to the king and queen of Corinth, who raised him as their son. Years later, Oedipus killed Laius at a crossroads, without knowing who he was. Then he saved Thebes from a Sphinx, became the king of Thebes, had four children with Jocasta, and lived happily for many years.

That’s where Sophocles picks up the story. Everyone would have known where things were headed—the truth would come out, and Oedipus would blind himself—but not how they would get there. How Sophocles got there was by drawing on contemporary events, on something that was in everyone’s mind, though it doesn’t appear in the original myth: a plague.

In the opening scene, Thebes is in the grip of a terrible epidemic. Oedipus’ subjects come to the palace, imploring him to save the city, describing the scene of pestilence and panic, the screaming and the corpses in the street. Something about the way Isaac voiced Oedipus’ response—“Children. I am sorry. I know”—made me feel a kind of longing. It was a degree of compassion conspicuous by its absence in the current Administration. I never think of myself as someone who wants or needs “leadership,” yet I found myself thinking, We would be better off with Oedipus. “I would be a weak leader if I did not follow the gods’ orders,” Isaac continued, subverting the masculine norm of never asking for advice. He had already sent for the best information out there, from the Delphic Oracle.

Soon, Oedipus’ brother-in-law, Creon—John Turturro, in a book-lined study—was doing his best to soft-pedal some weird news from Delphi. Apparently, the oracle said that the plague wouldn’t end until the people of Thebes expelled Laius’ killer: a person who was somehow still in the city, even though Laius had died many years earlier on an out-of-town trip. Oedipus called in the blind prophet, Tiresias, played by Jeffrey Wright, whose eyes were invisible behind a circular glare in his eyeglasses.

Reading “Oedipus” in the past, I had always been exasperated by Tiresias, by his cryptic lamentations—“I will never reveal the riddles within me, or the evil in you”—and the way he seemed incapable of transmitting useful information. Spoken by a Black actor in America in 2020, the line made a sickening kind of sense. How do you tell the voice of power that the problem is in him, really baked in there, going back generations? “Feel free to spew all of your vitriol and rage in my direction,” Tiresias said, like someone who knew he was in for a tweetstorm.

Oedipus accused Tiresias of treachery, calling out his disability. He cast suspicion on foreigners, and touted his own “wealth, power, unsurpassed skill.” He decried fake news: “It’s all a scam—you know nothing about interpreting birds.” He elaborated a deep-state scenario: Creon had “hatched a secret plan to expel me from office,” eliciting slanderous prophecies from supposedly disinterested agencies. It was, in short, a coup, designed to subvert the democratic will of the people of Thebes.

Frances McDormand appeared next, in the role of Jocasta. Wearing no visible makeup, speaking from what looked like a cabin somewhere with wood-panelled walls, she resembled the ghost of some frontierswoman. I realized, when I saw her, that I had never tried to picture Jocasta: not her appearance, or her attitude. What was her deal? How had she felt about Laius maiming their baby? How had she felt about being offered as a bride to whomever defeated the Sphinx? What did she think of Oedipus when she met him? Did it never seem weird to her that he was her son’s age, and had horrible scars on his ankles? How did they get along, those two?

When you’re reading the play, you don’t have to answer such questions. You can entertain multiple possibilities without settling on one. But actors have to make decisions and stick to them. One decision that had been made in this case: Oedipus really liked her. “Since I have more respect for you, my dear, than anyone else in the world,” Isaac said, with such warmth in “my dear.” I was reminded of the fact that Euripides wrote a version of “Oedipus”—lost to posterity, like the majority of Greek tragedies—that some scholars suggest foregrounds the loving relationshipbetween Oedipus and Jocasta.

Jocasta’s immediate task was to defuse the potentially murderous argument between her husband and her brother. She took one of the few rhetorical angles available to a woman: why, such grown men ought to be ashamed of themselves, carrying on so when there was a plague going on. And yet, listening to the lines that McDormand chose to emphasize, it was clear that, in the guise of adult rationality and spreading peace, what she was actually doing was silencing and trivializing. “Come inside,” she said, “and we’ll settle this thing in private. And both of you quit making something out of nothing.” It was the voice of denial, and, through the play, you could hear it spread from character to character.

By this point in the performance, I found myself spinning into a kind of cognitive overdrive, toggling between the text and the performance, between the historical context, the current context, and the “universal” themes. No matter how many times you see it pulled off, the magic trick is always a surprise: how a text that is hundreds or thousands of years old turns out to be about the thing that’s happening to you, however modern and unprecedented you thought it was.

Excerpt:

The riddle of the Sphinx plays out in the plot of “Oedipus,” particularly in a scene near the end where the truth finally comes out. Two key figures from Oedipus’ infancy are brought in for questioning: the Theban shepherd, who was supposed to kill baby Oedipus but didn’t; and the Corinthian messenger to whom he handed off the maimed child. The Theban shepherd is walking proof that the Sphinx’s riddle is hard, because that man can’t recognize anyone: not the Corinthian, whom he last saw as a young man, and certainly not Oedipus, a baby with whom he’d had a passing acquaintance decades earlier. “It all took place so long ago,” he grumbles. “Why on earth would you ask me?”

“Because,” the Corinthian (David Strathairn) explained genially on Zoom, “this man whom you are now looking at was once that child.”

This, for me, was the scene with the catharsis in it. At a certain point, the shepherd (Frankie Faison) clearly understood everything, but would not or could not admit it. Oedipus, now determined to learn the truth at all costs, resorted to enhanced interrogation. “Bend back his arms until they snap,” Isaac said icily; in another window, Faison screamed in highly realistic agony. Faison was a personification of psychological resistance: the mechanism a mind develops to protect itself from an unbearable truth. Those invisible guardsmen had to nearly kill him before he would admit who had given him the baby: “It was Laius’s child, or so people said. Your wife could tell you more.”

Tears glinted in Isaac’s eyes as he delivered the next line, which I suddenly understood to be the most devastating in the whole play: “Did . . . she . . . give it to you?” How had I never fully realized, never felt, how painful it would have been for Oedipus to realize that his parents hadn’t loved him?

Excerpt:

If we borrow the terms of Greek drama, 2020 might be viewed as the year of anagnorisis: tragic recognition. On August 9th, the sixth anniversary of the shooting of Michael Brown, I watched the Theater of War Productions put on a Zoom production of “Antigone in Ferguson”: an adaptation of Sophocles’ “Oedipus” narrative sequel, with the chorus represented by a demographically and ideologically diverse gospel choir. Oscar Isaac was back, this time as Creon, Oedipus’ successor as king. He started out as a bullying inquisitor (“I will have your extremities removed one by one until you reveal the criminal’s name”), ordering Antigone (Tracie Thoms) to be buried alive, insulting everyone who criticized him, and accusing Tiresias of corruption. But then Tiresias, with the help of the chorus, persuaded Creon to reconsider. In a sustained gospel number, the Thebans, armed with picks and shovels, led by their king, rushed to free Antigone.

“Antigone” being a tragedy, they got there too late, resulting in multiple deaths, and in Isaac’s once again totally losing his shit. It was almost the same performance he gave in “Oedipus,” and yet, where Oedipus begins the play written into a corner, between walls that keep closing in, Creon seems to have just a little more room to maneuver. His misfortune—like that of Antigone and her brother—feels less irreversible. I first saw “Antigone in Ferguson” live, last year, and, in the discussion afterward, the subject of fate—inevitably—came up. I remember how Doerries gently led the audience to view “Antigone” as an illustration of how easily everything might happen differently, and how people’s minds can change. I remember the energy that spread through the room that night, in talk about prison reform and the urgency of collective change.

###

Again, the full article is accessible via the source link below:

#oscar isaac #theater of war #oedipus the king #antigone in ferguson #creon #frances mcdormand #john turturro #jeffrey wright #david strathairn #frankie faison #bryan doerries #sophocles #zoom #the oedipus project

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thewatsonbeekeepers · 3 years

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Chapter 12: Three Men in a Boat [TFP 2/3]

[This was completely missing from my tumblr, via every search function and everything! So I’ve reuploaded - thanks anon for letting me know!!]

This section of the meta is going to deal with the events at Sherrinford – I’ve broken TFP up into three sections to try and get the most out of it. This isn’t just a read through like the first part of the meta, it has a specific structure, much like Eurus’s trials for the boys, so it’s really important to take this bit in one chapter. My hypothesis is thus – that each episode of s4 has been a different obstacle to be broken through in Sherlock’s mind, and that each of them is represented by one of the different Sherrinford tasks. It’s essentially an illumination of Sherlock’s progress through his mind – but it’s set up by Eurus, who is Sherlock’s mental barrier, so these are going to represent Sherlock’s darkest fears about each of the obstacles. Ready? Let’s go.

We take up the episode at the pirate hijacking, which is quite BAMF, but also illuminates a couple of things that we should bear in mind going into this episode. The first is that the transition from a blown up Baker Street to Sherlock and John hijacking a boat without a scratch on them is absolutely bizarre and leaves SO many questions – it’s dream-jumping of the most obvious kind. The second is that water has played a long role as a metaphor through the show, particularly in the EMP sequence, and it’s climaxing now – we are in the deepest waters of Sherlock’s mind.

Mycroft and John working together in the disguise sequence is metaphorically lovely – in the Oscar Wilde scene of the last part we saw Sherlock’s brain and heart finally coming together, and here for the first time they’re working together to give Sherlock the ability to go and confront Eurus. This is what makes Mycroft’s line so powerful. He says:

Say thank you to Doctor Watson. […] He talked me out of Lady Bracknell – this could have been very different.

Comic throwaway? Maybe. But given what we know about Lady Bracknell from the first part, this also has a more powerful meaning – heart!John finally stopped brain!Mycroft from being an obstructive force in Sherlock’s psyche, and they started working together instead to save him. This could have been very different is far more loaded than it sounds. All this whilst creating an image of Mark Gatiss as a Victorian aunt – wonderful.

When we first meet Eurus proper, her similarity to Sherlock is striking. She plays the violin – this isn’t a Holmes thing, because Mycroft doesn’t – it’s Sherlock’s motif throughout. Her hair is like a feminine Sherlock, her pallor and cheekbones match Cumberbatch. For reference, this is a picture of Sian Brooke and Benedict Cumberbatch together in real life.

I’ve done a section on why I think Eurus is the most repressed part of Sherlock’s psyche, and his traumatic barrier to love and life – I sometimes glibly refer to this as gay trauma, but that’s its essence. The similarity between Brooke and Cumberbatch in this scene is really compelling, looking the same but lit and dressed in opposite colours. Similarity and difference both highlighted. Even nicer, the white of Sherlock’s shirt is the same notable brightness as Eurus’s uniform, but it’s hidden under his jacket – a visual metaphor for her being hidden inside him.

Eurus gives Sherlock a Stradivarius as a gift. This should set alarm bells ringing for anybody who has seen TPLoSH. If you haven’t seen The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, please do so immediately because my God you are missing out, but TLDR – a Russian ballerina offers Holmes a Stradivarius to have sex with her so she can have a brainy child, and he declines because he’s gay. (This is not just my interpretation, this is genuinely what happens, just to be clear.) Eurus giving Sherlock a Stradivarius is a deliberate callback to the film which Mofftiss cite as their biggest inspiration; just like the ballerina tempted Holmes to feign heterosexuality, so does Eurus – and both make clear that it’s not without its rewards, which is unfortunately true for real life as well. This moment in Sherlock’s psyche also recalls the desperate unrequitedness of Holmes’s love for Watson in TPLoSH, a reference to our Sherlock’s deepest fear at the moment – he has realised his importance but not John’s romantic/sexual love for him, as we’ll see. So here, trauma!Eurus isn’t just referencing closetedness, but is actively drawing on a history of character repression with which to torment Sherlock – metafictionality at its finest.

The Stradivarius is specifically associated with closetedness, but violins more generally in the show are used to show expressions of love that can’t be voiced out loud – think of John and Mary’s wedding, or the desperate bowing of ASiB. So Eurus, gay trauma that she is, telling Sherlock that she taught him to play is a moment of distinct pain – she is the reason he can’t speak his love aloud, but instead has to speak in signs.

When Sherlock plays ‘him’, rather than Bach, to Eurus (he has a big Bach thing with Moriarty in s2, take from that what you will because I don’t know!), he’s playing Irene Adler’s theme. As a fandom, we’ve generally agreed on associating Irene’s theme with sexual love, which ties in nicely with Eurus’s question – has Sherlock had sex? It’s unanswered. At the end of ASiB, Irene calls Sherlock the virgin, suggesting that he hasn’t.

My favourite moment in s4 without a doubt is Jim dancing to I Want To Break Free. I know it’s the most boring thing to say, but my two greatest loves are Andrew Scott and Freddie Mercury, so it was like Christmas. Here it is also Christmas, but there are two possible timelines. I hypothesise that this refers to Christmas 2010, but it’s absolutely conceivable that it could be Christmas 2009. If we acknowledge that Sherlock is in a coma in 2014, then five years ago is Christmas 2009; however, given that we’ve jumped to 2015 in dream time, I’m going to make the guess that Jim’s visit to Sherrinford is supposed to take place in 2010. This ties up with the idea that this is when Moriarty first started taking an interest in Sherlock, who had never heard of him before ASiP, particularly as this is all in the EMP.

I firmly believe that Jim represents the fear that John is in danger – I highlight this in the chapter on HLV, where you’ll recall we first encounter Jim in the EMP and he sends Sherlock on his journey through the EMP with the words John Watson is definitely in danger – a pretty big sign. Even without this, though, his biggest threat to Sherlock has always been hurting John, whether in TRF or with the idea of burning the heart out of him with Semtex. It’s not unreasonable then to assume that MP!Jim first getting inside Sherlock’s subconscious to represent this fear happens in 2010, when he first meets John. He slips in and stays there, and he melds with Eurus. We see this in the powerful visual of the two of them dancing in front of the glass as Jim’s image slowly becomes Eurus’s reflection – the fear of John dying embeds itself into the gay trauma that Sherlock has stored up, even without him realising it. This ties in nicely with the choice of I Want to Break Free, which is famous for its use of drag in the music video – Jim melding into Eurus is the dark side of queer genderbending that we hate to see. It’s also a pretty fitting song name for an intensifying of repressed gay trauma, even without the association with queer king Mercury.

[A side note to all of this – there were wonderful TEH metas about trains in tunnels being sexual, which isn’t just a tjlc thing but is a well-established idea in cinema – Moriarty’s consistent train noises here seem like a horrifyingly inverted version of that sexual longing.]

Task 1 – The Six Thatchers

The governor is set up as a mirror for John in this task, which provides some helpful context for the episode as a whole. Heart!John makes this comparison himself, by drawing out the similarity between the situation with the governor’s wife and his with Mary, though in this case the governor does kill himself because of his wife – or so it seems. The suicidal instinct matches with everything we’ve learned about John in s4, but I want to hypothesise, perhaps tenuously, that he’s more connected with Eurus than we might think. We know that Eurus has had control of the governor for quite some time, and one of the things we hear her saying to the governor in the background of the interrogations is that he shouldn’t trust his wife. This is an odd thing to pepper into the background when he’s about to commit suicide for her, and perhaps suggests that he’s more of Eurus’s pawn than he lets on, though I grant this may be spurious.

The idea that he distrusts his wife because of Eurus is important, however, because we’ve already seen John engage with Eurus in various forms, but this seems like an extension of E; Eurus, aka Sherlock’s hidden self, has been making John doubt Mary, even before she shoots Sherlock. John cannot know she’s a spy at this point, so it’s unlikely he’s doubting her goodwill; he’s simply doubting her.

Before we look at how the actual task impacts the governor and how that illustrates what’s really going on in TST, it’s worth pointing out that it is the governor’s engagement with Eurus which prompts the entire shutdown of Sherrinford and forces Sherlock (with brain!Mycroft and heart!John ever at his side, of course) to engage once and for all with Eurus. This points to everything that s4 has been telling us – that Sherlock’s understanding of the relationship between him and John, including his power to save him (we’re going to see the governor play the foil here) is what sends his brain into stay-alive-overdrive. Sherrinford is the peak of this.

Summary of the task, for those who hate TFP: Sherlock is given a gun and told he can pick either John or Mycroft to kill the governor, otherwise the governor’s wife will be killed by Eurus. As I’ve written about in its chapters, TST is about Sherlock trying to get to the bottom of Mary and why she tried to kill him – and, of course, the impact this will have on John. In brief, by displacing the shot onto Mary in his mind, he’s discounting his own importance and instead thinking about what it will mean for John to lose Mary. His greatest fear is that losing Mary will break John, and it isn’t until the end of TLD that he recognises that the return of John’s suicidal ideation isn’t over Mary, but over him. TFP presents the horror version, the version of TST that Sherlock’s trauma wants him to believe but which he has to overcome. In this case, Mycroft and John resolve to keep the governor alive in their passivity, but that passivity – Sherlock’s coma – is not enough to keep the governor from killing himself over Mary. This is the most feared outcome from Mary’s death that Sherlock can think of – his fear of losing John combined with John’s love of Mary, which in TST Sherlock is still taking as read.

Double naming in this show should never be neglected, and in this case we learn shortly before the governor dies that his name is David. Again, the dramatic manner in which we learn this (on the moment of execution) draws our attention to it – we know another David in this show.

Yup – Mary's ex who’s still in love with her from TSoT. So even though Sherlock is experiencing the panic of John killing himself for loss of Mary, his subconscious is still pointing out to him that that’s not what’s happening here. This mirror version of John that he has set up, who is broken by the loss of Mary as Sherlock fears in TST, is actually the other man in Mary’s life – even with Eurus forcing the worst possible scenario onto him, this still can’t quite fit John’s character. And so we move onto the second task.

Task 2 – The Lying Detective

This section of the Sherrinford saga is the three Garridebs, the closest thing that the fandom has ever got to a collective trauma. I do think, however, that it’s fully reclaimable for tjlc and means the same as we always wanted it to; I also think that it’s possibly the most gutting part of Eurus’s metatfictional power play.

If you haven’t read The Adventure of the Three Garridebs, it’s quite short and the most johnlocky of the Holmes canon, so I’d thoroughly recommend. For the purposes of mapping bbc!verse onto acd!verse, however, here’s the incredibly short version. A man called Evans wants to burgle Nathan Garrideb, so he calls himself John Garrideb and writes an advertisement from a man called Alexander Hamilton Garrideb (make of that what you will, hamilstans) declaring that he wants to bequeath his fortune to three Garridebs. “John” gets someone to pretend to be a Howard Garrideb to get Nathan out of the house to meet him – he comes to burgle the house but Holmes and Watson are lying in wait. He shoots Watson, and Holmes thinks Watson is seriously injured and so we have this wonderful section:

“You’re not hurt, Watson? For God’s sake, say you are not hurt!”

It was worth a wound–it was worth many wounds–to know the depth of loyalty and love which lay behind that cold mask. The clear, hard eyes were dimmed for a moment, and the firm lips were shaking. For the one and only time I caught a glimpse of a great heart as well as of a great brain. All my years of humble but single-minded service culminated in that moment of revelation.

“It’s nothing, Holmes. It’s a mere scratch.”

He had ripped up my trousers with his pocket-knife.

“You are right,” he cried with an immense sigh of relief. “It is quite superficial.” His face set like flint as he glared at our prisoner, who was sitting up with a dazed face. “By the Lord, it is as well for you. If you had killed Watson, you would not have got out of this room alive. Now, sir, what have you to say for yourself?”

Mofftiss have referenced this moment as being the greatest in the Holmes canon for them, the moment when we see the depth of Holmes’s affection for Watson, and so it seems odd to waste it on such a tiny moment in TFP. Many fans, myself included, were really upset to see Eurus drop all three Garridebs into the sea, the implication being that tjlc would never be real, and it was that moment that caused many (including me) to walk away. I came back, obviously, but I completely understand why you wouldn’t. However, I want to map one Garridebs story onto the other to show how they might match up.

The Garridebs that Eurus presents us with are not the three Garridebs from the story. In the story, there are three physically present Garridebs – Nathan, John and Howard – although admittedly only Nathan is an actual Garrideb. Alexander was completely invented by John and existed only in a newspaper advertisement. Evans, alias John Garrideb, is the criminal in the Garridebs story; Alexander is an invention.

So – what happens if we substitute John for Alex in bbc!verse, as in canon they are the same person? This is interesting, because double-naming means that John becomes the killer. Whilst it’s true that John Garrideb is known as Killer Evans for his murder of a counterfeiter back in America, in canon he is done for attempted murder – of John Watson, of course. Here we have a situation where a John is set up killing John. This is exacerbated by the victim in bbc!verse being called Evans; Roger Prescott, the counterfeiter, would have been a much more canonical nod to the books, so we can assume that the choice of Evans is therefore significant. It should be noted that Evans and John/Alex Garrideb are the same person in acd!canon - so killing Evans is a representation of suicide. But, in case we weren’t there yet, the reason that Evans took the name ‘John’ is acd!canon is very likely to be because Evan is Welsh for John – so whatever way you look at this situation, you have Sherlock deducing John killing John.

This is, of course, exactly what Sherlock deduces at the end of TLD, far too slow, when we see Eurus shoot John in an exact mirror of the shot from TST – I explained in a previous chapter why this means that John is suicidal without Sherlock. However, much like the passivity of Sherlock, John and Mycroft in the first task, here we see that Sherlock’s act of deduction is good, but can’t actually save anyone; Eurus kills off our Garridebs moment as Sherlock is left to watch, and it’s notable that heart!John is the most distressed about this. Remember, in the first task Eurus left Sherlock with an image of a John who was suicidally devoted to Mary, and although the Garridebs moment is one which metafictionally highlights the relationship between Sherlock and John, she’s still presenting him with a Garridebs moment in which he is fundamentally unable to save John. This is a direct result of the Redbeard trauma that Sherlock has experienced – helplessness is key to that, and this is what Eurus has come to represent in his psyche. But – Eurus isn’t real, Eurus is testing Sherlock, trauma trying to bring him down, and Sherlock’s job in TFP is to break through the walls that his consciousness has set up for him.

The power in Sherlock saying I condemn Alex Garrideb is heartbreaking, then, because it is Sherlock recognising that he is the reason that John is going to die. Eurus is there to make him confront that reality, which she explicitly makes him do. We get the split-second moment where he thinks he’s saved Alex, and then he’s plunged into the sea – but remember, this is Eurus taunting Sherlock, presenting him with worst-possible-scenarios. TFP is set up as a game for a reason – it is a series of hypotheses cast in Sherlock’s mind by his trauma that he has to break through one by one. Remember, although she’s ostensibly trying to hurt Sherlock, Eurus’s ‘extra’ murders in the first two tasks are aimed at hurting John, which wouldn’t make sense if he weren’t the mp version of Sherlock’s heart.

Task 3 – The Final Problem

Pretty much straight after this episode aired, people were pointing out that Molly is a clear John mirror and that pretty much all of the deductions Sherlock makes here could be about John. Again, we’re seeing Sherlock’s emotions being resolved in a heterosexual context – the presence of Eurus means that he’s unable to process them in their real, queer form. However, if we take Molly to be a stand-in for John in this scene, it may tell us what TFP is about – and the scenario that Eurus presents will be the worst one, the thing that is causing Sherlock the most pain.

TLD/the previous task have shown us that John is in imminent danger, so the transition to Molly Hooper’s flat being rigged with bombs is not a difficult one; we must assume this to be the suicidal ideation that we’ve just deduced. The time limit suggests that Sherlock is running out of time to save him (fucking right he fell into a coma SIX YEARS AGO). Putting Molly in a bad mood isn’t really necessary for this scene – they make her seem a lot more depressed than she would necessarily need to be, and they emphasise her aloneness and her ability to push people away, which isn’t something we know Molly to do. These traits are all much more important in the context of a suicidal John – they paint a much clearer picture of someone who is depressed and alone than we really need for this scene, where it’s not relevant to the surface plot.

Sherlock and the audience believe he has won this task, but of course he hasn’t - there were never any explosives rigged up in Molly’s flat, and it was a ruse to destroy his relationship with Molly. This is what he fears then – what if he’s wrong? What if coming back to life because he loves John won’t save him – it will destroy him and their relationship? The problem to be wrestled with is how to save John – according to the symmetry of these tasks, that is the final problem. We know that the scenario Eurus has presented isn’t real, but Sherlock doesn’t; he is being held up by his inability to cope with interpersonal relationships, and to get to the bottom of that we’re going to need to understand what he’s been repressing – part 3 of this meta.

There’s a wonderful shot just as Sherlock is destroying Molly’s coffin which zooms up and out through a ceiling window, all the way above Sherrinford, as though to emphasise not how remote Sherrinford is but just how deep inside it Sherlock is. Given what we know about the height metaphor as well as the water metaphor, this shot is a pretty clear way of telling us – this is as deep inside Sherlock’s mind as we go, this is the nub. But Sherlock smashing up the coffin has another powerful connotation – he's refusing death. In terms of metaphor, he’s refusing John’s death – there will be no small coffin, because he will not let it happen – but the visual of him smashing the coffin also suggests that he is rejecting his own death. The two are, of course, inextricably linked. Our boys’ lives are tied together.

Epilogue: The Hunger Games

I can’t watch this without thinking of The Hunger Games, I just can’t! But regardless of how much Sherlock seems like Katniss in this section, let’s press on. I don’t count this as one of the typical tasks, because this isn’t Eurus presenting a ‘haha I tricked you scenario’ - far from it. This is Sherlock’s way into unlocking his repression. The key takeaway from this scene, as we’ll see is that trauma has hurt Sherlock, and it’s going to try pretty hard here to mutilate him – but it can’t kill him.

We get a great line from Sherlock at the beginning of this, where he tells John that the way Eurus is treating him isn’t torture, it’s vivisection. Because it’s an experiment? Perhaps. But the more logical way to phrase this would be that it isn’t vivisection, it’s torture. Torture is much more emotionally charged than vivisection as a phrase – from a writer’s perspective, this phrasing is strange because it seems to negate rather than intensify the pain our characters are undergoing. Why, then, would vivisection be more important than torture? Well, put simply, vivisection is the act of cutting someone open and seeing what’s inside – and that’s what we’re doing. This isn’t just an analogy for experimenting on people, it’s an analogy for going literally inside somebody. In EMP world, then, these words are well chosen.

Sherlock is offered the choice – John or Mycroft? Heart or brain? We might initially think that this is Eurus pressuring Sherlock into death, but that’s not the case at all – we know from the early series that Sherlock has survived before (although very unhappily) with just one of these two dominating the other. It has taken his EMP journey to unite them into a functioning entity, and Eurus is bent on destroying that, mutilating either his emotional capacity or his reasoning, the two parts that make him human. This is a good sign, as well, that trauma has been acting on Sherlock through the first three series, when his psyche was dominated by brain!Mycroft - Eurus is keen to revert to that state, when trauma had control. It is touching, then, that brain!Mycroft is willing to relinquish that control and leave Sherlock with his heart, perhaps because this new unity allows him to recognise how damaged the Sherlock he created was. We should also note that this diminishing of Sherlock’s heart is compared to his Lady Bracknell, which we know to be his repression of all Sherlock’s romantic/sexual impulses – except this time it’s less convincing, because his brain doesn’t believe it anymore. What is also devastating is heart!John’s lack of self-esteem or knowledge, the sense that he isn’t useful to Sherlock, which of course will be proven wrong.

[if anyone has thoughts on the white rectangle on the floor, do let me know. It’s bugging me!]

Mycroft says that he acknowledges there is a heart somewhere inside of him – again, this is emotionally powerful in the context of the brain/heart wrangling that we’ve seen inside the EMP. Just as Sherlock’s psyche has tried to compartmentalise them all this time and they’re finally working together, now there’s an acknowledgement that the compartmentalisation into personae is maybe inaccurate as well – brain!Mycroft’s pretence to be emotionally detached is not in fact correct, as we’ve been suspecting for a long time.

Brain!Mycroft also states that it’s his fault that this has all happened because he let Eurus converse with Jim. If you spend any time thinking about the Eurus + Jim meeting, like many elements of this show it doesn’t make sense. There isn’t a feasible way this could have been planned, recorded etc in five minutes, and although it’s true that Jim could have come back to shoot the videos under the governor’s supervision, it’s not clear why he’s so important. Unless he takes on the metaphorical significance that we’ve assigned him, letting Jim see Eurus seems pretty unimportant – he is only the garnishing on Eurus’s plan. Instead, Mycroft is at fault for letting John be in danger – not only did Sherlock misdeduce Mary (although we can lay the blame for that at the feet of heart!John - see meta on TST), his reasoning was blinded and so he missed John’s suicidal urges and the danger to his life. Brain!Mycroft holds himself responsible – all of these EMP deductions are way late, comprised of things Sherlock should have noticed when his brain wasn’t letting his heart in.

Five minutes. It took her five minutes to do this to all of us.

The lighting is dramatic, so I can’t properly gauge Ben’s expression at this moment, but his eyes look crinkled in confusion, just like they are at the moments when a sense of unreality starts to set in in TAB. Indeed, these aren’t very appropriate words for when you’re about to kill your brother; it’s like he’s being distracted, like there’s something important that he’s missing. Mofftiss are drawing attention to the sheer impossibility of the situation – and Sherlock’s nearly there. His Katniss Everdeen move, threatening to kill himself, is the recognition that his trauma doesn’t have that power – it can hurt him and deform him by twisting his psyche into unbalance, like it has before and like Eurus is trying to here, but it cannot kill him. We can see that Sherlock has risen above the one-sided dominance that he began the entire show with when Eurus shouts at him that he doesn’t know about Redbeard yet – that’s not going to change his mind today, but it’s a direct throwback to the days when it would have, in ASiP with the cabbie. Character development, folks.

The shot of Sherlock falling backwards into the dark water links to two aspects of the EMP. One is the continued metaphor of water to represent sinking into the depths of his mind. The water is so dark it looks oily – it could be argued that this is the oil that is corrupting the waters of his mind as we finally cut to the repressed memories. I quite like this reading, though I have little other oil imagery to link it to in the show. The other notable point is the slow-motion fall backwards – instead of showing Sherlock, John and Mycroft all falling, we cut to Sherlock falling backwards exactly like he did in HLV when he was shot by Mary. This is a really clear visual callback. Even though we’re going deeper, we’re linking back to the original shooting, back in reality, suggesting that this depth is paradoxically going to lead us back to the start. To go back to the oil imagery, don’t forget that oil floats on water – although it looks like we’re sinking, there’s a real sense that these repressed memories are actually pulling us to the surface of Sherlock’s subconscious, quite unlike the deep zoom out we saw when Sherlock was destroying the coffin.

And that’s it for part 2 of the TFP meta! Part 3/3 will deal with such highlights as John not being able to recognise bones and presumably getting his feet pulled off by chains. Good thing this is just a dream. See you then!

#meta #emp theory #tjlc

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tarredion · 4 years

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2020 fic roundup

hiii! i was going to do this earlier but,, um,, i posted three fics in the final two hours of 2020 year (for me) so :D here is finally my fic roundup - in order from newest to oldest

i’ll be using the original summaries, wordcounts n ratings etc, some of the tags, link to the tumblr post and the ao3 link, and maybe add a note or two if i feel that’s not enough

this’ll be a long post so read below the cut

(or go directly to my ao3 here especially in case you don’t want spoilers)

Fireworks up above

g, 341

NYE, established relationship, husbands, tooth-rotting fluff, kissing

Husbands Dan and Phil and their placeholder-apartment share a final NYE moment (aka 2020 NYE)

ao3 // tumblr

Quiet morning

g, 304

tooth-rotting fluff, lazy mornings, sleepy cuddles, established relationship, husbands, forever home

Dan wakes up in the forever home, Phil breathing softly next to him…

ao3 // tumblr

Shadows / nocturne / parting clouds

g, 2.7k

hurt/comfort, migraine, arguing, angst with a fluffy ending, established relationship, ii tour fic, alternating and outsider pov

Phil wakes up with a migraine, causing him to snap at Dan. Throughout the day, while visiting a city for the ii tour, Cornelia observes the tension, and eventually, the two of them console

ao3 // tumblr

A tub fit for two

t, 853

dnp, forever home, established relationship, husbands, fluff, bathing/washing, and more

there are certain perks that come with building your own (forever) house

ao3 // tumblr

Signals

m, 1.6k

texting, established relationship, food, domestic fluff, very light angst, sexual content

excerpts of dan and phil’s texts throughout the years

ao3 // tumblr

At the turn of a page

g, 1.2k

liveshow, 2020-ish, fluff, established relationship, forever home

Phil’s had his reasons for not continuing liveshows during lockdown, but they’re ready for a comeback—a domestic one, at that

ao3 // tumblr

Prickle on the skin, ache in the heart

t, 1.4k

2014, closeted relationship, bbc party, alcohol, vomiting, self confidence issues, jealousy, angst then fluff, happy ending

phil smiles wider, brighter. every day. every day, dan falls in love again. he can’t help but be a little jealous, not being able to say

ao3 // tumblr

It’s home

t, 2.2k

au ice-cream parlor, established relationship, pure fluff, slice of life

A day in the life of Dan and his smitten ice-cream vendor boyfriend Phil, living on the coast of Connemara, Ireland

ao3 // tumblr

Whisper of the heart

g, 976

established relationship, headaches & migraines, hurt/comfort, fluff, piano

Phil has a headache. Dan plays the piano and comforts him.

ao3 // tumblr

Slice of cake

e, 2.7k

established relationship, bday sex, 2016, face-sitting, rimming

Dan’s promised to celebrate Phil with nothing but the best this year.

Naturally, he buys himself a new skirt - but it’s not just to wear.

ao3 // tumblr

Supple thirty-two

this is a chaptered wip !! it’ll continue in 2021 (the update note is currently inaccurate)

3/32

t, 4k so far

slow burn, friends to lovers, love letters, secret admirer, fluff and angst, internalized homophobia, outing, coming out, queer themes, happy ending

A secret admirer sends flowers and letters to Dan over the years

ao3 // tumblr

Tenderhearted

g, 1k

2009, comfort/angst, sad but sweet, sleepy cuddles, separation anxiety

Phil doesn’t want Dan to go home. Dan agrees. Quite strongly, actually.

Feeling properly loved for the first time causes serious separation anxiety.

ao3 // tumblr

I’d marry you (with paper rings)

m, 4k

established relationship, fluff, domestic, proposal, sexual content

Maybe learning calligraphy was of greater importance to Phil, and them, than Dan first thought

ao3 // tumblr

Blue can be kind, too

this is my favourite fic of the ones i’ve written !! so far. it’s from the pov of kid dan so very tender and mostly very childish / undeveloped in the language, as if actually told from his brain (even though it’s third person)

g, 4k

kid!fic, dan and phil are kids, kindergarten, developing friendship, past violence and bullying, referenced homophobia, fluff and angst, sad and happy, happy ending

A tale of being scared, starting fresh, and making your first ever friends after experiencing violent bullying.

Or rather, four-year-old Dan’s first day at his new kindergarten.

ao3 // tumblr

Ablaze

e, 4k

established relationship, spanking, daddy kink, oral, aftercare

Phil’s trying to work; Dan’s being a brat. Things get heated, but not in a bad way.

ao3 // tumblr

The brightest shade of sun (I had ever seen)

g, 3.9k

friends to lovers, getting together, only one bed

one dawn on the isle of man can be enough to unite two craving hearts, even if a lot of heartbreaking thoughts are revealed along the way

ao3 // tumblr

Tracing constellations

t, 1.3k

established relationship, sleepy cuddles, fluff, banter, kissing

Two 6-foot men cuddling in a single armchair doesn’t sound like a good idea.

It isn’t, but dan and phil do almost anything for intimacy…

ao3 // tumblr

Between the seams

g, 999

established relationship, cuddling, fluff, fear, hurt/comfort

Bone-tired lovers meet thundering downpour, rediscovering the best way to confront fear in the meantime

ao3 // tumblr

Fjäll med stjärnor

this one is also a chaptered wip !! it’ll also be continuing in 2021, and probably beyond bcs it might be even longer than that

2/?

g, 9k so far

fantasy, magic, kinda historical fantasy, dan’s a dragon, and Phil’s human (at first), strangers to friends to lovers (eventually), fluff and angst, lots of descriptions

a human’s and a dragon’s paths crossing is unusual, but in this case it was in alignment with the stars and a decision as old as time itself

ao3 // tumblr

It’s not a date?

chaptered wip to continue into 2021 too

2/4

t, 4.6k so far

there’s only one bed, bodyswap, didn’t know they were dating, friends to lovers, getting together, idiots in love, tatinof

On one hand, it should all go flawlessly. When Phil goes on tour with his boyfriend of six years, Dan, he books them rooms with only one bed. He’s not deterred by their quiet and nonsexual (monogamous) lovelife. They do things ‘normal’ couples do, just maybe not as often or intimately. He supposes Dan’s just taking it slow, trying to come to terms with his sexuality and so on. It’s okay.

On the other… Dan doesn’t know they are dating. He has a longtime crush on Phil that he thinks is unrequited, despite their mutual rather romantic and domestic behavior.

ao3 // tumblr

Fur-ever

g, 3.5k

tooth-rotting fluff, dog owners/dads, dog wedding, established relationship, alternate universe - different first meeting, howells and lesters

Dog dads Dan and Phil marry their dogs, in preparation for their own big day

ao3 // tumblr

The maestro and his muse

chaptered but completed!

4/4

e, 5.5k

friends to lovers, mutual pining, body painting, teasing, sexual content

Phil is a professional artist. He’s always wanted to try body painting, and now he gets to, for a naked photoshoot. Unfortunately, his good friend, muse, and crush Dan Howell is his model of choice. What could go wrong?

ao3 // tumblr

Lightyear groovin’

t, 4.6k

star wars setting, dj Phil, waiter Dan, mutual pining, friends to lovers

In a galaxy far, far away, there’s an abundance of 70s clubs. On Krithoo, local party freak Dan Howell works as a waiter at an often overcrowded cantina, Virgo Volans. And maybe, just maybe, he has an infatuation with the extraterrestrial dj frequenting their stage…

ao3 // tumblr

A theism in evolution

g, 5.9k

gods au, enemies to friends to lovers, getting together, fluff and angst, emotional h/c, written entirely in letters, 1st person pov

The sungod, Phil, sends letters to Mother Gaia. He puts all his worries into words… even when he himself can’t see right through them

ao3 // tumblr

Little comfort card

g, 932

separation anxiety, established relationship, business trip, vidcon, fluff and angst, homesickness, comfort, post-coming out videos

Phil goes to VidCon alone. Cue separation anxiety, something Dan seems to have accounted for..

"The whole room felt too airy, and lacked that simple, aesthetic Dan-touch. It wasn’t quite home, so to speak."

ao3

Your hoodies (come wrapped around me)

g, 869

york hoodie, clothes sharing, fluff, moving, house cleaning

Unpacking for their move into bigger quarters, Dan finds an ancient treasure in the back of their conjoined closet.

ao3 // tumblr

Awestruck

g, 996

barista dan, youtuber phil, fanboy dan, crushes, getting together, strangers to lovers

Dan might meet his best customer at the end of his worst day, and get a little more

ao3 // tumblr

Rainbow, proud

g, 513

post-coming out videos, established relationship, domestic boyfriends, fluff, shopping

Phil really wants the corgi shirt, but Dan thinks he has enough already

ao3 // tumblr

A prickly considerate gift

it’s the piranha plant bouquet !!

g, 1k

2014, established relationship, Valentines day fluff, gift giving, flowers and language of flowers, brief depression mention, domestic fluff, nerdiness

Phil finds a substitute for real Valentine’s day flowers

ao3 // tumblr

Cherish the smile

g, 783

husbands, honeymoon, established relationship, fluff

Phil wakes on the first morning of their honeymoon; a new day to cherish Dan’s gorgeous, excited, smile

ao3 // tumblr

“Seriously?”

t, 3k

strangers to lovers, enemies to lovers sort of, getting together, angst with a happy ending, co-workers, non-youtuber au, and lots of other tags lmao

Prompt: Dan and Phil meet while candle shopping and one of them can't help but comment on how obnoxious/boring/etc the scents the other one is picking out are the time Phil met a totally-not-handsome stranger and only sort-of wished they'd never meet again. Tough luck?

ao3

The lovers (VI)

chaptered, completed !

14/14

m, 31k

friends to lovers, magical realism au, lots of angst but also fluff, happy ending (more important tags on ao3)

Dan, guardian of the forest, feels inadequate to love and of love. His best friend Phil loves him despite that.. but doesn’t know quite what to do when Dan becomes a hypocrite- playing with both their feelings

ao3 // tumblr

Colour me rosé

another chaptered wip !! though this one may not be finished in 2021, because i have so much on my plate then - enjoy what’s here though !

9/?

m, 13k so far

sugar daddy Phil, sugar baby Dan, phil is rich, eventually domestic, strangers to lovers, developing relationship and friendship, sexual content, fluff, a little angst, and like a lot lot more tags

nineteen-year-old Dan Howell is looking for a sugar daddy to help him achieve the dream of luxury and romantic affirmations. Phil Lester, newly 24 and very rich, is searching for a romantic and sexual relationship. When stumbling upon the other on the internet, similar interests and all, have they found their match?

ao3 // tumblr

Archaic Allure (sonnet)

so as it turns out, writing a fic idea can really help you out with your grade (and yes, this is actually a sonnet)

g, 104

poetry, reminiscing, fluff, Dan’s pov

Dan reminisces his love for Phil - sonnet version

ao3 // tumblr

Something in your name

t, 3.2k

implied sexual content, fanfic about fanfic, emotional hurt/comfort, separation anxiety, established relationship; and more

phil reads a y/n fic ; guess who wrote it

ao3 // tumblr

Ellie enchanted

g, 986

fluff and angst, happy ending, parent!phan, new child, adoption, established relationship, self-doubt, implied homophobia

Dan and Phil pick up their adopted child

ao3 // tumblr

Chocolate swirls

g, 3.3k

parent!phan, snapshots, bday surprises, baking, fluff and angst, cake

Dan tries to surprise Phil for his 33rd. He fails, as humans do, but ten years later he has luckily got two adorable little helpers at his side. And maybe that makes everything just a little better.

ao3 // tumblr

Dan or Da?

on ao3 this fic is just called Da, so beware of that

t, 9k

parent!phan, friends to lovers, pretend relationship (not what you think), misunderstanding, getting together, implied sexual content, marriage, canon divergence, pov alternating

One day can change your life forever. For Phil, his daughter Mel, and Dan, who’d have guessed that day would be one when all they’ve planned is doing ordinary shopping together.

ao3 // tumblr

and that’s it!! thank you for reading this sweetums, and be sure to check out any of the fics

#my fic #my fics #me #mine #phanfic #phanfiction #phandom #phan #dnp #d&p #dan and phil #masterlist #masterpost #2020 #2020 roundup #fic roundup

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salvatoreschool · 4 years

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Vampire Diaries Universe: The 25 Best Characters, Ranked

For the first time since 2009, we’re entering a fall season devoid of any new offerings from the Vampire Diaries universe. And like Stefan Salvatore without his daily diet of forest friends, we’re insatiable.

Like so many longtime TVD enthusiasts (those of us to whom the word “thesmatos” really means something!), we’ve spent much of quarantine revisiting the weird, wonderful universe — from Mystic Falls to New Orleans and back again. We’re suddenly spending a lot of time with characters we haven’t seen in years. And we’re having a lot of feelings about them.

In celebration of the franchise’s 11th anniversary, TVLine has assembled another totally non-controversial ranking, this time of the 25 best characters from the Vampire Diaries universe — a category that also includes familiar faces from The Originals and Legacies. (In Legacies‘ defense, the franchise’s latest offshoot hasn’t been around as long to endear itself to us, but that didn’t stop four Salvatore School students from making their way onto our list.)

In lieu of new content from the TVD universe this fall, TVLine is looking back at our 25 favorite characters from the entire franchise, including stand-out favorites from its two spinoffs.

SPOILER ALERT: This ranking discusses major plot points from all three shows. If you haven’t finished The Vampire Diaries (Season 1-8), The Originals (Season 1-5) or Legacies (Season 1-2), proceed at your own risk. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

25. VINCENT GRIFFITH

Thanks to the magic of body swapping, the Mikaelson siblings have inhabited multiple physical vessels throughout the years, but none have remained in the family’s orbit quite like this Southern gentleman. Powerful, thoughtful and downright Shakespearean in his delivery (Yusuf Gatewood, ladies and gentlemen!), Vincent always has the greater good in mind. And as we learned in The Originals’ series finale, he helped Freya and Keelan pass that good along to the next generation.

24. LANDON KIRBY

Even though we’re still getting to know him, there’s already so much to like about this pure-hearted Mystic Falls townie. Not only is he the franchise’s first-ever phoenix, but he also looks like he could pass for Damon and Elena’s offspring — and that’s never a bad thing. We could tell he had a long future in this universe the moment he danced with Hope in The Originals’ final season. (So far, so good!)

23. JENNA SOMMERS

Like so many paved paradises, we didn’t fully appreciate what we had with Jenna until she was gone. Her death marked the end of Elena’s innocence — which is saying a lot, considering she was still mourning her own parents when The Vampire Diaries began. And if we’re being honest, Jenna was the ghost we were most excited to see again in the series finale. (For the record, Joseph Morgan has apologized on Klaus’ behalf for killing Jenna several times.)

22. TYLER LOCKWOOD

The First Son of Mystic Falls was kind of a jerk when we met him in The Vampire Diaries‘ first season. He was arrogant, aggressive and reckless — so it actually made perfect sense when he was revealed to be a werewolf. Fortunately, Michael Trevino’s character developed a little more nuance from that point on, especially via his Romeo and Juliet romance with Caroline. (After everything that’s happened since 2013, can you believe that they were once in a love triangle with Klaus?)

21. JEREMY GILBERT

Elena’s little brother (er, cousin?) went through a number of different, wonderful phases during his tenure in Mystic Falls. We loved him in The Vampire Diaries’ earlier seasons as the human embodiment of all things emo (he literally dated a ghost!), and we… um… appreciated his unexpected evolution into a shirt-ripping, wood-chopping vampire hunter.

20. CAMILLE ‘CAMI’ O’CONNELL

The Clarice Starling to Klaus’ Hannibal Lecter, this brave bartender was able to tap into the show’s darkest, most complicated character’s psyche in ways that no one named Mikaelson (or even Forbes) ever could. She helped him conquer a number of his demons in the few short years they spent together on The Originals, and like most people who play a significant role in Klaus’ life, she suffered the consequences. (Side note: Are we the only ones who really dug Cami as a vampire? Justice for that short-lived story arc.)

19. SHERIFF ELIZABETH FORBES

Of The Vampire Diaries’ many maternal figures, none put us through the emotional ringer quite like Caroline’s mother. We weren’t her biggest fans in the show’s early seasons, given her penchant for hunting the undead (including her own daughter), but hey, what was this show if not an endless series of redemption arcs? Also, if you don’t get a little choked up when Caroline felt her mom’s presence in the series finale, you don’t have a soul.

18. FREYA MIKAELSON

The long-lost fifth Mikaelson sibling was a little rough around the edges when we first encountered her on The Originals, but the poor woman was in the midst of escaping a centuries-long imprisonment, so we cut her a little slack. And we’re glad we did, because Freya has since become one of the strongest, most inspiring and all-around likable characters in the Vampire Diaries canon. #FreelinForever

17. MARCEL GERARD

While it’s easy to get swept up in Marcel’s charm and swagger (we were robbed of a second karaoke number, by the way!), it’s important to remember just how far back his time with the Mikaelson family goes. When you consider that Klaus literally freed Marcel from slavery and raised him to lead New Orleans as his right-hand vampire, it adds a whole other layer of tension to their passionate power struggle on The Originals. Though he’s treated like an unofficial Mikaelson sibling, Marcel often feels like more of a Mikaelson than Kol — and definitely more than Finn.

16. REBEKAH MIKAELSON

Arguably the funniest (and most glamorous) member of the Mikaelson family, the woman Damon once referred to as “Barbie Klaus” never fai to tell it exactly like it was, beginning with her thoughts on then-lovebirds Stefan and Elena. (“Honestly, I don’t get you two as a couple.”) And Bex only became more complex as the years went on, from her desperate desire for humanity to her undeniable love for Marcel. Just don’t call her insane — she prefers “spontaneous.”

15. ALARIC SALTZMAN

In hindsight, Alaric’s journey from hot history teacher to hot headmaster of a supernatural school makes perfect sense. Still, it was impossible to predict back in The Vampire Diaries’ first season just how much of an impact the man formerly known as Warner Huntington III would have on this franchise. A drinking buddy to some, a father figure to others and a literal father to a lucky pair, Alaric has truly woven himself into the fabric of this universe like few others. (That said, we still wouldn’t recommend dating him if you value your life.)

14. SHERIFF MATT DONOVAN

Only one full-blooded human survived all eight seasons of The Vampire Diaries, and you’re looking at him. The pinnacle of mortal goodness, this blue-eyed patriot hasn’t always been on the same page as his vampire brethren, but that’s only because he didn’t want to see any more his friends and family get eaten. And we can sympathize with that!

12-13. LIZZIE AND JOSIE SALTZMAN

Asking us to choose between Jo (by way of Caroline) and Alaric’s daughters is an impossible task, which is ironic, considering the Gemini twins are literally destined for a fight to the death on their 22nd birthday. Besides, these sisters have always felt like a package deal, from the moment we witnessed their birth on The Vampire Diaries to the day we reunited with them as teenagers on Legacies. (They also popped up in The Originals’ penultimate episode, putting them in the prestigious category of characters who have appeared in all three series.) Despite their inherent connection, Lizzie and Josie really have grown into two very different people, a journey we hope will continue for years (and shows) to come.

11. MALACHAI ‘KAI’ PARKER

The fact that this remorseless, pork rind-loving psychopath ranks so high on our list speaks volumes about actor Chris Wood, who brought a refreshingly sassy vibe to The Vampire Diaries’ sixth season. The guy was so likable, fans were even ‘shipping him with Bonnie… as if that poor girl hadn’t been through enough already! You also have to give Kai points for longevity — even after his head got knocked off, he managed to make two encore appearances on TVD (Season 8) and Legacies (Season 2).

10. HOPE MIKAELSON

As we mentioned with Lizzie and Josie earlier, we feel like we’ve watched Hope grow up before our eyes… because we have. Given the epic circumstances surrounding her conception, birth and upbringing, an adult version of this character had a lot of hype to live up to, and Danielle Rose Russell has proven herself more than up to the challenge. Imbued with her parents’ best qualities, Hope’s power and passion make her both a formidable foe and an invaluable ally. Besides, Legacies showed us what the world would be like without Hope, and it was not a good place.

9. HAYLEY MARSHALL

We can’t even think about this fierce, fearless mama wolf without shedding a single tear. Hayley’s story was basically one long tragedy, from her complicated marriage with Jackson to her tumultuous relationship with Elijah. And then there was her untimely demise in The Originals’ final season, which… actually, let’s not talk about that. From the moment she gave birth, Hayley’s heart belonged to Hope, and it was in her most extreme maternal moments that Hayley’s true strength was on display. That’s how we’ll remember her.

8. ELIJAH MIKAELSON

Suits? Pressed. Hair? Immaculate. Vocabulary? Thicc. With his smooth moves and cunning intellect, Klaus’ extremely respectful brother could do it all — well, except keep the people he loved from meeting horrific ends. (Seriously, this guy’s track record for dead lovers is right up there with Alaric’s.)

7. BONNIE BENNETT

Simply put, this is the witch you want in your corner when things go south. Endlessly powerful and selfless to a fault, Kat Graham’s character spent eight agonizing seasons sacrificing herself — often literally, hence her multiple deaths — in order to keep her friends and family safe. No amount of bloody noses or dead boyfriends could stop this badass from crushing her enemies.

6. CAROLINE FORBES

Getting smothered to death was honestly the best thing that could have happened to Caroline, who evolved from a basic, boy-crazy cheerleader into a bad-ass vampire overnight. And that was just the first phase of her franchise-long evolution into the empowered, globe-trotting mother of two she is today. She’s also responsible for all of The Vampire Diaries’ memorable musical moments, from her sweet song for Matt to her devastating performance at Sheriff Forbes’ funeral. (Now if only she’d pay her old pals at Legacies a visit…)

5. ELENA SALVATORE

She may not have Katherine’s chaotic flare, but Elena deserves credit for carrying much of The Vampire Diaries’ dramatic and romantic weight for six years. And for that pink hair she experimented with in Season 4. On top of that, Elena also rolled with the punches better than almost anyone. (You’re vampires? I’m a doppelgänger? Now I’m a vampire? Now I’m human again? Now I’m in a coma? Sure, let’s do this.)

3-4. DAMON AND STEFAN SALVATORE

Two sides of the same brooding coin, these brothers were as proficient at breaking hearts as they were at breaking necks. And while their love triangle with Elena will remain the stuff of TV legend, their relationship as brothers was revealed to be the real heart of The Vampire Diaries in its final two seasons. Honestly, it’s too hard to choose between them, so we’re not going to.

2. KATHERINE PIERCE

Come on, when were you not excited to see this leather-clad lunatic on your screen? Deliciously twisted and infinitely more interesting than her human doppelgänger, Katherine was behind many of The Vampire Diaries’ most jaw-dropping twists, from her iconic encounter with John(’s bloody fingers) to her long-awaited return in the series finale. Honestly, putting Katherine on hell’s throne in Season 8 was merely a formality — she was always a queen.

1. KLAUS MIKAELSON

The man, the myth, the legend. To think that the monster who slaughtered poor, defenseless Aunt Jenna on The Vampire Diaries is the same person who gave it all up to save his daughter on The Originals… well, there isn’t a clap slow enough to commend that kind of growth. (Again, Joseph Morgan is very sorry about the whole Jenna thing!) By the time Klaus evaporated on the streets of New Orleans, it felt like we had explored every conceivable nook and cranny of his existence, from his traumatic childhood to his fatal romances — and we relished every second of it.

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mcrmadness · 4 years

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A Masterpost: ALL MY OLD die ärzte (aka Bela&Farin) COMICS (from 2010-2011)

I’ve lately been talking about my art, especially comics, here a lot but I have never posted my OLD old dä comics here! That’s about to change now. The old ones happened in 2010-2011 when I was 19-20 years old, so they are a bit cringy now :D The scans are my old ones so don’t mind about cat hair or something like that in some of the scans. And I know: my hand writing hasn’t really changed in the past 10-15 years at all :DD

And a slash warning (do I really need that with this fandom tho..?) because I used to draw just very fluffy Bela/Farin comics and they barely have any good plots even. There’s just 4 overall in this post and they all are quite short. But at least for me it’s fun to see how far I have come and how I’ve gotten better at drawing!

Anyway, without further ado, this is where it all started:

Bela&Farin - “Du willst mich küssen”

Simply the idea came from the fact I noticed that on the “Du willst mich küssen” single there’s only one additional song: “Die Antwort bist du”, and that one out of all the potential other songs from the studio album. (Now I’m wondering if I should try to redraw this some day to see my progress? :DD)

The rest under the cut because they get very cringy but if you want to read B/F fluff comics and facepalm at my idiotic humour, go ahead and click the read more link.

Bela&Farin - Bela will ein Baby

(eng. Bela wants to have a baby)

This one was the first I did in German and I traumatized myself. I had just started learning German and totally failed everything and an (old) online friend, native German, wrote something that indicated laughing and I felt so insecure about my German after that that even today I have a fear of saying/writing even simple German words in front of native Germans. She anyway “beta read” the plot and corrected every faulty phrase (aka every phrase) and this is what she suggested that I’d write, and that’s what I did.

The plot shortly: Bela just wants to have a baby but he wants it with Farin obviously, so Farin says they’re both men and can’t reproduce together but Bela found a solution: he found them a surrogate mother. Problem solved.

***

Bela&Farin - “Beer Belly”

Prepare yourself for a cringe overload :)) I’m so sorry that you have to suffer through this.

With this the idea came from the live videos I was watching back then - lots of live videos from 2007-2009 and I noticed that Bela just kept growing and losing his belly all the time. (OMG HELP I’m crying because “SQUEAK SQUEAK” XDDDDDD)

Also the ending is... I don’t know what is it. I guess I just wanted Rod ot make an appearance and didn’t come up anything better than this ::D My peak of humour is right there btw: anything that happens at the background. That shit just never gets old for me. So I find that still funny in this comic but I have no clue how a bass can be pregnant.

Also hey, I have started drawing shadows :DD

And yes, Bela actually did have a cow t-shirt like that in some of the videos and I just had to draw it! And btw, the reason for the fluff is probably because the concerts where those videos were from? It was extremely slashy, Bela and Farin barely could keep their hands off of each other so you really can’t blame me for all this. The ship just sails itself.

***

Bela&Farin - “Zucker”

(eng. “Sugar” - this one was again in German because it wouldn’t work in English. This time I think I did all the language stuff myself but I can’t remember for sure so maybe I got help, maybe I didn’t... This is the last one of these old comics and my personal favorite. You can see that my style somehow went through some major changes but I don’t know what even happened there. I can’t remember.)

I can’t get over Farin’s hair in the last panel, I drew it so perfectly and I still don’t know how to recreate that lol. And now I’m losing it at that tiny “XD” in the grin panel because I found it so stupid looking - the first time I had even drawn a grin for him lmao. Also ignore Farin’s arm that has suddenly lost all its color. (Aka: someone forgot to color it.)

THE IDEA for this comic is simply in the name of brown sugar. At least in Finnish that is called as “fariinisokeri”, which always amuses me still after 12 years because I am a bit simple sometimes, and I figured that it can also be called “Farinzucker” in German so of course I needed to make a Bela/Farin comic about it.

The dialog for those who don’t speak German (too well) yet - Bela just goes to Farin to ask for “Farin sugar” and Farin first is like “nope” but then “jk” and they lived happily ever after. Or something.

***

BONUS:

Something I drew with a ballpoint pen once when I was visiting my aunt and cousin and was bored and doodled this. I like drawing repeated patterns like brick walls or apparently also flowers.

And I have no idea where did I draw this - maybe it was something to do with one course through the employment agency as I tend to doodle when in any kind of class. I feel like I had been watching “Die band, die sie Pferd nannten” prior to this, based on Bela’s looks.

And it was back in 2010, I didn’t have a smart phone yet so no internet to use for reference photos :D

***

So, back to the comics - I only made these 4 back then but before this I did draw other stuff and comics too. I drew several of them as horses when I still didn’t know how to draw humans, and I also have one of them as rats too. The rat one might work as a redrawn human comic, tho... Anyway, at some point I got annoyed because I didn’t like drawing them as horses or rats and wanted to invent a “human style” so then one night, this happened:

The texts are mainly just me chanting how I’m dying from laughter etc. That is actually what I do when I am very insecure of what I do and then I just start openly laughing at everything and myself, that way things don’t feel as bad failures than what they actually are :D (And yeah I know the article is wrong at some point, let’s just say I hadn’t memorized all the article stuff from German yet :D I don’t know if I had even started learning German yet at that point.)

But yeah, then I did find the style and these are the next sketches from my sketchbook:

The bottom left says “facial experessions” - and oh my god I was so damn cringe whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy---

but anyway, those were what I ended up with eventually and the rest is history. I think I’m still gonna make one post with stuff I drew in 2018 and that I haven’t posted here yet as there’s still a few of those, too.

#mcrmadness draws #my dä comics #my fub comics #my old drawings #dä fanart #die ärzte #belafarin

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