#they could have solved everything if they just kissed in season 1

[the-diary-of-a-moody-teenager]

Are they lovers?? WORSE

[all-pacas]

DIAGNOSTIC OLYMPICS, SEASON 1, EPISODES 15-END

part one, part two

Hi! I was curious about who on House (besides House) gets the most diagnoses right. Other folks have already run a tally (it's Chase), but I was curious how other factors would influence the tally — whose ideas get run with, who manages treatment, who screws up… So I thought I'd keep score.

1 point for getting the answer. This is almost always going to be House.

.5 points for Valuable Contribution — stuff that isn't the final answer, but either is thought to be the final answer or is valuable to the solving of the case. Stuff like "noticing something on the MRI" doesn't count; things like "figuring out how to treat" does.

-.5 to -1 for Mistakes — stuff that delays or prevents diagnoses, injuring or killing patients, etc.

HEAVY DIAGNOSES: Cushing’s

+1 House: Figures out it’s Cushing’s. Another episode more about Vogler than medicine.

+0 Chase: Is super gross and awful about the patient all episode, complains non-stop, and is in his Peak Rat Era, but he still works his ass off and doesn’t let it show when in the room with the patient. Probably because he's more worried about getting fired, but. Compare to Foreman in the Rabies episode, who dismissed and refused to look at the patient. It's not a high bar.

ROLE MODEL DIAGNOSES: Epstein-Barr

+1 House: everyone is super busy with drama, but House figures out the case in his spare time. COINCIDENCE STRIKES AGAIN: Chase, for the third time, accidentally says the right diagnosis immediately, only to be shot down because it made no sense at the time. This time he points out he got it right, but House is also right that when he said it it was dumb.

BABIES AND BATHWATER DIAGNOSES: Lung cancer

+1 Team: The patient is diagnosed very quickly; the conflict of the episode is much more about keeping both her and her baby alive. Which, uh. -5 Vogler: Crossing from interfering jerk into “actively killing people,” his stunt with the C-section killed the patient. He could have pulled her from the trial without stopping the delivery. Hope the husband sues!

KIDS DIAGNOSES: Pregnancy

+1 House: Realizes the patient is pregnant, and from there it all falls into place. +.5 Chase: Despite House doing his best to punish him all episode, he comes up with a way to scan the patient without a CT. This is also the second time he’s figured out how to do something with “old fashioned” tech — first x-raying the ham worms in the pilot, and now using an ultrasound to scan a brain. Did he go to med school in the 1950s?

LOVE HURTS DIAGNOSES: Infection under jaw

+1 House: Figures it out fairly quickly once he realizes the tic-tacs are a clue. -.5 Chase: Hiding his knowledge of the patient being into S&M was very much a good move when it comes to workplace bullying, but could have led to delays in treatment/diagnosis. Luckily, not five minutes later, the truth is revealed anyway. -5 COOL POINTS: Chase attempting to dom the patient was terrifying. Why do we give him shit for kissing the 9 year old when this is so much more cringe? +1 Annette: Cares about Harvey, does everything she can to help him, doesn't give up trying to help and support him. Nice to see her portrayed as a caring person and not just Sexy Dom Lady.

THREE STORIES DIAGNOSES: N/A. But also, -5 to House's backstory doctors.

HONEYMOON DIAGNOSES: Intermittent porphyria

+1 House: As is usual for season finales, it is not so much about the medicine. Mark Warner is sick, no one has any idea or good guesses, and the fellows mostly exist in the background for House’s development with Stacy.

FINAL S1 TALLY:

HOUSE: 16.5 TEAM: 4 FOREMAN: 1 CHASE: 2.5 CAMERON: 2.5

Foreman's low score surprised me, but he tends to swing from "being really brilliant" to "being very unprofessional." He does well, but also gets demerits for his mistakes. He gets the most focus and character development, and that's only going to continue next season; I'm pretty sure he's going to pull ahead of the pack at some point.

Cameron essentially tying for second surprised me, because I remember her pulling a lot of dramatic stunts (spoilers, she doesn't start S2 strong), but she actually doesn't make a lot of mistakes that pull her score down. Sort of a "slow and steady" approach. She also, so far, is the only one to come up with a diagnoses (Wilson's Disease) on her own (even if House was only a second behind her).

Chase managed to guess the right diagnoses three times. He doesn't get credit, because they were guesses and he didn't seriously try to prove or fight for them, but it is interesting accidental foreshadowing. I do think Foreman was originally intended to be "House's successor," but there really is a decent case to be made, even in S1, that Chase has a shot.

Not much to say about House; his score is always going to be the highest, particularly in episodes more focused on character drama than "solving the mystery."

[alianoralacanta]

Ahhh I want to kiss your brain. Thank you for that absolutely BRILLIANT analysis, I love your essays :) You are brilliant!

I hesitated in sending this ask because you've explained so much so well already, but you mentioned you're open to clarification 🫣 I hope you don't mind, I was wondering about this part, this especially caught my attention...

Mattia Binotto in 2022 had a problem. His plan was progressing faster than he’d anticipated. Ferrari was supposed to mount its title challenge in 2024, not 2022.

Mattia had not put all the systems in place to support the title bid that he had intended. Instead, he chose to stick to his plan. Keep building systems and manage down expectations.

There were times when it felt like he was favouring Carlos Sainz because his driving was closer to the plan. However, Charles Leclerc appeared to be convinced, from the beginning, that a title fight was on due to Ferrari’s performance level.

Forgive me this might very well be a stupid question but what do you mean by systems that he hadn't placed yet to support the title bid? I read up about the 2022 season around last year since I wasn't actually there to witness it (I became a fan mid-2023), clearly there is a lot more to the picture than I anticipated!

What other systems are there? Was he planning for new recruits to the team, or something different...?

Thank you once again! :)

Warning! Long post alert! (This time it is only a 2-parter) I am so happy that you enjoyed my essay :D The question is a sensible one. Section 1: Defining a system (eventually)

By "Mattia had not put all the systems in place to support the title bid", I meant that the organisation as a whole had still not coalesced into something that consistently gave the same, helpful response when encountering difficulties. The part of this we see most often expressed is in race strategies. When everything goes to plan, Ferrari could and still can execute a race strategy absolutely fine. However, it just takes one unplanned change to break the system. (This may also be why strategy fails happened to Charles Leclerc more often than Carlos Sainz in 2022, for Charles is the one most likely to have discovered something outside the pre-calculated strategic parameters - usually that discovery was good, sometimes it was bad, but the Ferrari strategic team seemed to be just as bad at handling it either way). This specific pattern is often a sign that the right people are in place, with a valid "Plan A" system, but don't yet have systems behind them to adapt. (This is also why Charles Leclerc defended Xavi Marcos Padros so much despite Xavi being linked with many of these errors. There is more detail in Section 9: China 2004 of the original essay about Charles accepting more fractious interaction as problem-solving than might be expected, and in addition both Charles and Xavi probably agreed there were systematic issues behind at least some of the problems we saw). Departments we see less may or may not have had the same problem, though it's realistic to believe they did. Mattia Binotto called Ferrari a "young" team in 2019 because many of its staff had not worked the positions they were in before and were still getting used to the processes and people in those new positions. So, what is a "system" in these contexts? It is how the actions taken within the team fit together to get particular things done. It considers: - the individual components involved - the goal(s) to which they are employed - the nature of the links - and the conditions that make these change When we are told that people have been hired into a team, that is part of the system, but only part. A person is (for the purpose we're considering) the smallest complete component of a system, but different parts of what someone thinks, says and does will interact with different systems in different ways. It is also necessary for a F1 team to do, at minimum, the following for these people: - teach them enough about their new team to let them buy themselves the time needed to do everything else in this list - help them work with their new colleagues - give them a worthwhile and useful task to aim towards - link that goal with the other goals needed to eventually win the title - plan everything out so that things happen in a sequence that makes sense to everyone. This may require putting in/removing intermediate steps, swapping round goals, exchanging less useful goals for better ones, figuring out the carrying capacity (amount of goals can be done simultaneously) of the team and its departments, deciding what counts as "good enough" and having some idea what needs to change if a given goal is at "good enough" rather than "ideal" - or indeed is missed. - making sure all the resources that are needed are in the right place at the right time. - monitoring the situation surrounding the team, its departments and people - knowing when and how to intervene in internal issues - protecting the team from negative external influences where possible - mitigating against harm done by issues from which protection could not be provided. It is not just F1 that is like this. Pretty much every large enterprise is the same way. There is an upper limit as to how many resources people can marshal effectively without this sort of planning, and even small companies often benefit from proportionate planning. I've emphasised "plan everything out" because I this is the part where Mattia Binotto's plan came unstuck.

[ladyvictory22]

I love you more than yesterday, but less than tomorrow

A disastrous race is sometimes not the one you'd like to remember the most, but it's remembered all the time. Christian could tell that he had a series of races in his repertoire during his 19 seasons in Formula 1. The memory of how he felt in those moments is now just that, a memory. However, when experiencing it in the moment, it's so terrible, it feels powerless.

That's what crossed Christian's mind in the pit wall as he watched the race, keeping an eye on his team, of course, on Sergio's fantastic driving. But at the same time, he watched the Mercedes, observed their performance, how it fluctuated, up and down... and at the same time, he was thinking about his husband, the different emotions he must be going through, the self-control to not hit a table or something.

At least when the race ended, he knew that the nightmare was over... partly. Then there was the internet and all the things that came with it, so that would be the other nightmare.

The team went to celebrate, and Christian stayed in the garage with the excuse of looking at paperwork because the job of a team principal never rests.

"Are you going to go get him, right?" Newey said, entering the office.

Christian sighed. "You caught me... but I know he doesn't feel well."

"I know, I think he needs you more than ever now," Adrian said. "Tell him he has to come back, he shouldn't let himself be defeated."

"I try, but it seems like I sometimes lose that battle... he's not believing in himself anymore," Christian said with fear. He didn't like seeing his husband like this.

Christian watched the interview on Sky, saw him so devastated that he knew he had to go to him somehow. He knew that the team meetings were probably over, that he might be alone in the office (as usual), poring over the data trying to find the error...

So, Christian slipped into the paddock and stealthily made his way to the Mercedes hospitality area, taking careful and soft steps, hoping no one would see him. Finally, he reached the door of the office. Upon cautiously opening the door, he found Toto standing with his back to the door, immersed in his task. The office was scattered with papers everywhere, like pieces of a messy puzzle he was trying to solve, trying to understand what had gone wrong.

Faced with the sight of Toto immersed in his work, Christian couldn't help but admire his husband. He observed the broad shoulders, the long back that gracefully extended to that slender waist. He approached quietly, feeling the nervousness and tension that filled the room. However, despite the worries and problems, Christian embraced him gently, like a refuge in the middle of the storm.

"What are you doing here?" Toto said softly.

"Being with you... through thick and thin," Christian replied.

Toto turned around. "You don't have to... I'm just ruining your celebrations."

"Darling," Christian said, planting a kiss on Toto's cheek, "there will be more celebrations... more things... but today, I'm here for you. Anything you need, I'm here for you. You remember I said that in Austin, right?"

"I do, but I was hoping it would be the last time we were like this," Toto said, and the familiarity of Christian's body made him feel comfortable enough for tears to well up in his eyes.

"Come here," Christian said, pulling him into a gentle embrace.

When they separated, their hands remained intertwined, and Toto's gaze looked so subdued.

"I don't know what to do," he said, his voice trembling. "I'm scared about next year, about not doing well... I..."

"Look, everything is unpredictable when our day is gray, everything turns gray... but we shouldn't take things for granted that we don't know," Christian said, squeezing their entwined hands. "Let's go to the hotel... talk... let out everything you need to let out," Christian insisted with determination.

However, Toto furrowed his brow and looked at the pile of papers on his desk with concern. "Christian, there's a lot of work I need to review. I need to find out what went wrong and fix it."

Christian sighed, understanding his husband's determination. But he wasn't willing to let Toto get lost in his world of worries, at least not tonight. "Toto, the work can wait a bit. Your well-being is the most important thing right now. You know we're always in this together. Let me be by your side and help you face any challenge."

Toto hesitated for a moment, looking at Christian with gratitude in his weary eyes. Finally, he nodded with a faint smile. "You're right. I need a break. Let's go to the hotel."

Christian returned the smile, tiptoed, and planted a tender kiss on Toto's forehead.

At the hotel, Christian witnessed different facets of Toto, watching him grapple with his own demons. The frustration on his husband's face was palpable, like a storm on the horizon threatening to unleash its fury at any moment. Toto was like a broken record, unable to stop talking about the same subject, reliving every moment of the race, examining every detail with an intensity that echoed through the room. Christian noticed that the accumulated tension was reflected in his voice and the way he clenched his hands into fists.

However, Christian knew there were things Toto couldn't mention, secrets of the team that had to remain in the dark. There were thoughts and words his husband longed to unleash, but his loyalty to his role as the head of the rival team forced him to remain silent, and that restraint weighed on him like a heavy burden.

In the midst of Toto's relentless monologue, Christian remained silent, paying close attention to every change in expression, every gesture of frustration. Sometimes, he would interject with questions to encourage Toto to keep talking, to release everything he held inside. Toto paced around the room like a caged lion, his words coming out with immense weight.

"FUCK, I WISH THIS YEAR WOULD END ALREADY!" Toto exclaimed, his voice filled with despair. At the end of his outburst, he collapsed heavily onto the bed, face down, next to his husband.

Christian, with an understanding smile, approached his side and began to gently stroke his hair, as if wanting to calm the storms raging in Toto's mind. His fingers traced the strands of hair with tender and comforting gestures.

"Well, that was a rollercoaster ride..." Christian sighed sincerely, "honestly, I also want this to be over."

Toto, still with his face buried in the sheets, responded with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "At least you'll be celebrating the championship."

"No, at least I'll be with you for longer," Christian said sweetly. He just wanted to be with his husband... waking up late, walking together, forgetting about their work for a while... although he was probably seeing things in a rosy light, unlike his husband.

"Well, maybe I'll be unbearable, and you'll get tired of me," Toto said, rolling over on the bed and looking at Christian. "I'll be repeating this same show I just did, with resentment lodged inside me."

"I'll gladly listen to you if it means you'll be by my side," Christian said.

Toto looked at his husband with astonishment and affection in his tired eyes. "Why are you so sweet...? What did I do to deserve this?" He whispered, a grateful glint in his gaze.

Christian, with a tender and passionate gesture, lay down to be face to face with Toto, bringing their faces close until their gazes intertwined. "Loving me," he whispered softly and passionately, "from day one, courting me endlessly, being by my side on good days and bad, choosing me to spend the rest of your life with."

Toto's eyes welled up with tears, and he felt so emotional and vulnerable that his husband's words struck deep into his heart... and then, if Christian was right, when our day is gray, everything appears gray...

"Oh, darling... I love you... always love you... remember... our vows... today I love you more than yesterday..." Christian began.

"But less than tomorrow," Toto concluded with a slight smile as Christian showered him with kisses on his cheek.

"Look at that smile... how handsome you are," Christian praised.

"Oh, please," Toto said, sounding sarcastic.

Both chuckled softly and smiled as they gazed at each other, and Toto had that look he had when they first met... Christian remembered that letter in which Toto told him he had fallen in love with him when he saw him in the paddock on his way to his garage while Toto was still an investor at Williams.

And Christian would lie if he said he didn't notice the discreet glances that this handsome Williams guy was sending his way. He wouldn't lie if he said he didn't get excited when he found out that Toto would be the official Team Principal of Mercedes, seeing him in his uniform made him feel things, excited him, and it excited him even more when, after a few letters here and there, delivered in the paddock, delivered to his house... came the famous box of chocolates to his house, and the rest is history... they are here, supporting each other, and talking about letters...

"You know, I brought you something," Christian said, getting up from the bed, leaving Toto curious.

He went to his bag to retrieve something he had prepared between Friday and Saturday after watching the Sprint. He knew his husband would need some motivation, so he took out an envelope, a letter. If his husband was going to spoil him with chocolates, he would do it with something he liked... letters... little details.

Then he returned to the bed, and Toto sat up. Christian extended his hand, giving him the envelope. "Here, take it... don't read it now, read it when you're ready... whenever you want to."

"Darling," Toto said, smiling as he looked at the envelope, "how long has it been since I've seen a letter?"

"Well... maybe we should pick up our conversations from there... that would be a good idea," the blonde suggested, remembering when they first started dating. "I'd love to receive a letter in Milton Keynes."

Toto chuckled. "There you are... my sweet husband," Christian thought, smiling.

"Maybe it's a good idea... although we have to buy some stationery," Toto said, looking at the letter and then at his husband.

That was something he enjoyed, writing. That's why they exchanged letters during their courtship, and that's why they left each other notes from time to time.

"Well, I already have the perfect Christmas gift," Christian joked, sitting on Toto's lap, and they both laughed.

Then the kisses appeared, sweet, tender kisses. They continued talking about the same topic; it was obvious that Toto needed to get everything off his chest to be able to sleep. He knew that the thought of retirement wouldn't go away; it would remain in the back of his mind. But at least for this moment, they would just be the Wolff-Horner couple.

Later that night, when they both decided it was time to sleep, Toto got out of bed, took the envelope from the nightstand, and went to the mini-bar to pour a drink. He looked at the bed, seeing Christian still asleep. He sat on the armchair, opened the envelope, and read:

Dear Toto,

It's Friday, and I can't help but think of you as I watch Mercedes' results on the track. The uncertainty of how you'll do on Sunday looms over everyone, as we thought they would be the direct rivals... and I know you're probably feeling the pressure. I want you to know that I'm here for you in every moment, in every race, regardless of the result.

You've proven to be one of the best team principals in this sport, and you know it. Your leadership, your strategic ability, and your dedication are unmatched. The challenges we face in Formula 1 are part of what makes this sport so exciting, and even though races can be tough at times, that doesn't define who you are.

I've resumed writing on Saturday, and I can only say this: don't let bad results discourage you, my love. Remember the victories, the moments when you made key decisions in the strategy and led the team to success. You're an exceptional leader, both on and off the track.

Life is full of ups and downs, and you know I love you deeply, and my unwavering support will always be yours.

So, in this nightmare of a weekend, remember that you're an exceptional team principal, a brave man, and my sweet love. Together, we'll face any challenge that comes our way, and I'm looking forward to hugging you, pampering you, and showing you how much I love you.

I love you more than yesterday... but less than tomorrow.

Christian.

The letter included a photo of them when they first started dating, and Toto smiled. He remembered how he was enchanted by his boyfriend back then, and he still blushed when thinking about his husband today.

Christian, who was still sleeping, felt arms wrap around his body and then soft kisses on his neck. He sighed.

"I love you... thank you," Toto whispered.

"I love you... my sweet rye bread," Christian said, turning to give him a kiss.

Both laughed, snuggled together... tomorrow is another day... Ups and downs exist, and although negative thoughts will still be there, the most important thing for Toto is that he has his beautiful but grumpy husband by his side... and that's enough to get up in the morning.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

I was listening to The Beatles and this came out (From Me To You)

This is a hug for everyone, not a very nice weekend, so we must console ourselves

@silvereds

[where-theres-smoak-2]

I keep seeing posts saying that the sylki kiss from 1x06 was retconned. Obviously I don't know for 100% certainty, the writers/show producers would have to confirm if anything was retconned or not for us to be certain. But I don't think anything was retconned. It is a bit confusing with all the time skipping etc, you've also got the fact that when Loki went back and spoke to OB in the past it changed things in the future. But when he went back in 2x06 to speak to Mobius and then Sylvie after those timelines dissolved away, so what's the difference? Well here's how I see it, and I am going to try my best to explain it using a metaphor and hope it makes sense. So Loki at the end transforms all the timelines into a tree, so lets run with that imagery and look at time like its a tree. You've got all your branches, that's the different timelines, then you've got your leaves on that branch which represents different moments in time. These moments/leaves exsist on multiple branches. Here is a diagram for you, I apologise for the crudeness, I was only able to put on coat of paint and it is not to scale:

I think we see Loki travel two different ways on this time tree I think when he goes back and speaks to OB he is jumping between different points on the same branch like this:

When he jumps back to speak to OB it kind of rearranges slightly the branch from that point forward, so now future OB remembers the conversation but everything else stays the same.

HWR says the way the loom works is that it deletes anything that isn't supposed to be there and just keeps the sacred timeline aka the events that HWR wants to happen. We know that the events of season 1 and 2 were what HWR wanted to happen, he says he paved the way, which is why I think after speaking to past Mobius in 2x06 the timeline dissolves. I think the way Loki is time-slipping in this episode where he is trying to find the right actions that will solve the problem and save the day is more like he is skipping between branches as opposed to the same branch, like this:

Only when he skips out of that the branch falls off and dies like after he spoke to Mobius and Sylvie.

When it comes to him repeating the same moment I see as him kind of bouncing from say his branch to that same moment on a different branch:

When it fails he slips back to that same moment and tries again. And its the same with the citadel. I suppose it would look more like this:

With that moment as a sort of fixed moment.

Actually another way of looking at it (and probably a simpler way if I am honest) is like every time Loki skips back after a failed attempt he's hitting the return to factory settings button, when you do that on a computer it erases everything you have added, everything you have done. In this case the factory settings are season 1 and season 2 up to 2x4.

So the sylki kiss and citadel moment weren't retconned or erased, neither was that first interview with Mobius in 1x01 because when Loki slipped back to the loom room for the last time he had hit the reset button. So the events of season 1 and 2 up to ep 4 stay, they are the in universe canon you could say. So the Sylvie we see talking to Mobius at the end is the same Sylvie who kissed Loki in 1x06, and went through all of season 1 and 2.

So what parts were retconned/ erased. Anything between the end of 2x4 and the end of 2x6. So sadly we have lost the bar scene from ep 5, we get to keep the kiss and the pie room scene though. The other scenes that got erased in this episode is Loki's conversation with Mobius where he asks how to choose who lives and dies. Also the conversation with Sylvie where he tells her he might have to kill her to stop her killing HWR is gone too. Though to note Loki still remembers it all.

Anyway that's my take on it, I hope it makes sense.

[landinrris]

do you know of any fics that explore their age gap? i always forget that they really are like 5 years apart, i feel like that dynamic is kinda interesting

Hey! I sometimes forget as well, and then it's like "oh yeah, okay cool 😭" I've gone through my bookmarks (which is by no means an exhaustive list) to try and pull some things together that touch on their age difference. Some of these are definitely more "in the spirit of" and touching on the gap in their experiences rather than "they are 5 years apart" The list got a bit long, so it's under the "read more." Feel free to add anything for the ones I inevitably missed or let me know if you'd like me to take your tag/work off the list!

"Canon"-based

⁘ and everything that i do is out of lovin' you by raikkonen (Rating: E)

Racing will always be his first love, but Lando is his second, and he doesn't want to imagine a life where he can't have both.

⁘ Free Practice- Romance Edition by f1princess (@f1princess) (Rating: E)

Lando drives cars at 300kph for a living. He got a hotly contested seat in the pinnacle of motorsport at the young age of nineteen. Experts call him the next British prodigy. Yes, Lando might be in his fourth season of Formula One but he still doesn’t know how kissing works, let alone other forms of intimacy. Cue Carlos, Lando’s best friend and former teammate who agrees to give him free practice sessions when it comes to romance. or: Lando and Carlos are friends with benefits but the benefit is experience and of course they are secretly in love with each other.

⁘ i don't ever wanna leave when you cry by peargasly (@peargcsly) (Rating: T)

the heady apprehension creeps through him like molasses – the sudden knowledge that something is wrong. lando half expects carlos to brush by him without a word and he starts reaching out before the prickling anxiety tells him to let this one go. but carlos’s eyes catch him in their snare and he’s always been hopeless under his stare. carlos’s name is on the tip of his tongue, but carlos is speaking before he can take a breath to say it. “think a little next time, i know you do not like to, but it could be us both if you do that again,” carlos says, voice low and biting. (or carlando post-brazil angst that is solved by the power of friendship and the looming presence of pierre gasly)

⁘ In the Wet by plastics (@shinyfakehard) (Rating: E; very E. pwp E)

How did you learn to get so good in the wet? ... These conditions are where the greats are recognized. - Carlos Sainz Jr. in Beyond the Grid, on how he won every British Formula 3 race in the rain.

⁘ like two ships that passed in the night - our story that gets told in many many years by palalabu (@palalabu) (Rating: T)

The long and intricate history of Lando and Carlos.

⁘ The life we built by formulacherry (@formulacherry) (Rating: T)

Lando is one race away from potentially being World Drivers Champion, Carlos and their kids go along to support him.

⁘ Until you came to me by phebes (@phebess) (Rating: NR)

Carlos Sainz, with the hair, the famous dad, the face - Carlos Sainz is going to be his teammate. In Formula 1. And Lando is supposed to just meet him in a marketing room at the MTC on a Tuesday like it's not something he's maybe thought about for 7 years. Lando really thinks he might shit himself. // Or: A fic based on these tweets from Lando in 2012. Title inspired by the song We Belong by Katie Herzig.

⁘ Yours by phebes (@phebess)(Rating: E)

Carlos watches Lando grow up. Carlos watches Lando explore. Carlos is not jealous.

⁘ You Crawled Inside My Head and Set a Fire by kolyarostov (Rating: M)

Falling in love with Carlos wasn’t an all-of-a-sudden thing, but it happens quicker than Lando would like to admit. One day while they’re eating lunch at the MTC during an off-week, just the two of them between meetings in mid-March, Lando looks up at Carlos laughing across from him, and just thinks: “Fuck." Or: This is how Lando and Carlos fall in love

Alternate Universes

⁘ best intentions by madlyiephasetwo (Rating: E)

And then Carlos asked, the tone of his voice one somewhere between amusement and curiosity, “And what about love?” *** Lando Norris does not wish to marry.

⁘ Dancing You Into a Lonely Night by kolyarostov (Rating: E)

The noise of someone yelling is probably just some stupid first-year who got locked out by a roommate who has headphones on. What greets Carlos instead is a boy about halfway down the hallway with a head full of unruly curls looking like he’s ready to go out. But he’s not out— he’s hammering and kicking at a door in a residence hall at 9:30 at night. A boy kicking and yelling— “Danny! You piece of shit, answer the door!” Or: Carlos has his night interrupted by a tetchy first-year, but maybe it's not all bad in the end

⁘ Every Minute Boy, Steady Rhythm Joy by kolyarostov (Rating: E)

It should be embarrassing that Carlos’ touch makes him shiver after being apart for less than twenty-four hours, even when the touch is above his hoodie. But Carlos sliding his hand around Lando’s waist and below his backpack does just that. Maybe it’s the subtle and blatant possessiveness of Carlos kissing his temple when he pulls Lando close, plain to see in front of Daniel. The press of Carlos’ lips still makes Lando’s knees weak. Before Carlos is able to tug Lando fully out of the room, Daniel calls back for them. Both of their heads turn, but Daniel’s look is inscrutable. He hums to himself and shakes his head. “Fucking of course.” It’s said mostly to himself, but Lando can’t help but grin to himself because Daniel’s right, in a way. The irony isn’t lost on Lando about who he’s ended up with. Or: Looks into Lando and Carlos' life after they decide to give their not-casual-one-night-stand thing a proper go

⁘ fall and fixture by heroics (@restacks) (Rating: E)

Lando’s already had a very poor time of it this morning. First there was no real milk in the break room refrigerator, so he had to put almond milk in his tea, disgusting. Then he caused a panic in the explosives lab by knocking over someone’s project. Now he’s faced with Carlos Sainz Jr., Foreign Operative #055.

⁘ God knows you're lonely souls by fox_this_lap (@redshoulderedblackbirds) (Rating: M)

Lando is an engineering student in Paris, celebrating graduation before he starts his career in motorsport, but there's more to the evening in the bar than he could ever had expected. Like the Universe meant for him to be there...

⁘ If the Love is Pure by loveleclerc (@holacarlando) (Rating: E; a/b/o)

After being attacked in the middle of the night by an unknown Alpha, Lando flees to Spain for protection from the Sainz Pack while his fathers search for a way to keep him safe in England. He never asked to be a male Omega, a designation rare beyond belief and sought after by Alphas around the world, but fleeing into the care of Carlos Sainz Jr. may just be the solution to all of his fears... and dreams.

⁘ i'll race you for pinks by cazio (@chubbydino) (Rating: M)

Heist!AU. Carlos Sainz Jr. is heading a heist operation based out of New York, following his father's footsteps as a criminal mastermind. Max Verstappen, the most feared mercenary in the business, is his second in command. Daniel Ricciardo is the deadly charmer that gets them whatever they need, from whoever they need it from. Lando Norris is the mystery. Carlos has never met him in person, but he knows Lando will be perfect for the job. But Lando is not exactly what Carlos envisioned a computer nerd to be. In fact, he is very, very hot.

⁘ Love is the Heritage (And Cousin to Death) by kolyarostov (Rating: E)

Carlos stays quiet, trailing Lando through the ornate halls that are simultaneously cold yet warm with their rugs and furniture. He watches the way Lando walks, the way the younger boy lets his shoulders fall the farther they get from the watchful eyes of his family. It looks like he’s shedding a coat, a mask specifically put into place for his family’s sake. The change is fascinating— there’s a story there that would explain all of Lando’s intricacies, and Carlos finds that he wants to know every single detail. The family had appeared to be perfectly amenable, so why is the change in Lando’s demeanour so painfully obvious? Or: Carlos travels to England to apprentice under Lando’s father for the summer and admittedly ends up falling in love along the way

⁘ ¡Revolución! by hibivrooms (@interlagosed) (Rating: E)

19-year-old Lando Norris, originally from the Kingdom of Anglosax, decides to pursue his undergraduate degree at the State University of Hiberia. There, he strikes up a relationship with a 25-year old Hiberian man, Carlos Sainz. Carlos is beautiful, kind, and deeply passionate about the Hiberian people and their struggles. Though Lando knows very little about he wants out of life, he knows one thing: he desperately wants Carlos. But against the backdrop of an increasingly tumultuous political situation in Hiberia, will Lando be brave enough to open his heart to all of Carlos?

⁘ the shadow of radiance by hibivrooms (@interlagosed) (Rating: E)

No one expected Galla, protector state of the Holy Principality of Seuloger, to turn heretic in such a violent way. After several years of Galla-stoked hostilities short of war, Anglosax and Hiberia set aside their differences in favor of a grand alliance to return Il Predestinato, Charles of House Leclerc, back to his rightful and Goddess-ordained throne. Years later, as a gesture of goodwill, Hiberia sends several of its squires to Fort Silverstone, where Anglosax's finest pages and squires learn to become fierce knights. Squire Lando of Norris, loyal to Anglosax beyond words, must contend with his own distrust of the leader of this Hiberian contingent - Prince Carlos the Younger of Sainz, a newly minted and already-decorated Knight of Hiberia. Prince Carlos is immensely talented, kind, suspiciously handsome, and seemingly dedicated to this alliance. But Lando isn't buying any of it - for the sake of Anglosax. Allegedly.

⁘ Señor Sainz by phebes (@phebess) (Rating: E)

Lando wants to die. Crawl in a hole, and die. His tombstone can read 'Here lies Lando, he did not speak Spanish.' Carlos repeats himself, looking at Lando with faint amusement in his eyes. Lando can feel his cheeks flush as his simply stares back, absolutely no clue what's being asked of him. // Or: University AU where Lando doesn't speak Spanish but ends up in an advanced class, and Carlos is a young professor determined to teach Lando Spanish.

⁘ What if we said goodbye to safe and sound? by tiredtiredsharl (@wolfiemcwolferson) (Rating: E)

Lando realizes as Carlos is telling them all about this job in London that maybe the feelings he's been carrying around aren't so straight or bro-pal-lad as he thought they were. It's really unfortunate that Carlos is set to move 5,478 miles away from him in just a few weeks. Told over a year and set directly after the end of our Piarles/Maxiel stories, we see Lando come to terms with his own feelings about Carlos, make a lot of mistakes along the way, attempt to get through the last year of his program with Alex, and realize that sometimes being the smartest person in the room isn't as valuable as he's always thought it would be.

[wickedsrest-rp]

As the days grow shorter and the weather gets colder, we could all use a little more warmth and holiday cheer, right? Wicked’s Rest has you covered this winter. While season 2 is slated to start in late Jan/early Feb, this event will last longer and run until March, so there’s plenty of time to enjoy!

Wicked’s Rest Frost Bites Festival is a town-wide event held on the Common every few years, where dozens of local vendors set up booths and you can warm up with a cup of hot cocoa as you browse and participate in numerous winter-themed activities. There are normal shops there. Really! Scarves, mittens, treats, candles, apple cider, ornaments – you can find whatever your snowy little heart desires. And if you ask the right people in the right way, they may have some additional goods they’d be happy to sell you, straight from Amity Road. But who wants to know about the stuff for normies, anyway? Here’s where some of the real fun is at:

The ugly sweater contest gets very competitive. With judging taking place on New Year’s Eve, people are already pulling out their ugliest, itchiest sweaters and trying to get in with the judges ahead of time. Anyone can enter! Post your sweater – photo, artwork, etc – on your character’s blog and send us the link in a ModMail by Friday 12/29. There might be some equally ugly prizes. Just watch out for Ms. Lawrence’s sweater. Last time there was a contest, it came to life and devoured everyone else’s sweaters. It won by default. UPDATE: See judging here!

‘Tis the season for mistletoe. How many first kisses have that little plant to thank? The totally completely human people who run the festival got a little confused, though, and ordered missiletoe made of actual toes. It shoots them like missiles. Some of it is probably normal.

Some people are finding that they leave the festival with a newfound impulse for goodwill. Things just slide right off their back – they’re too cheery to be angry. And they just can’t do enough good deeds. It’s the season of giving and they are READY. Some spellcaster probably thought they were doing the town a favor here. It seems to be wearing off after a bit, but maybe some of you Grinches have a little more of a giving spirit after it runs its course.

Winter-themed fortunes sound like fun and games, especially when they’re from one of those old-timey mechanical fortune telling machines. This one activates by itself when someone comes near it, no coins required (though, weirdly, the sticker on it says it costs “1 hour of your life”. It doesn’t take an hour to hear the fortune. So what is that about?) Some of those bad fortunes seem to be coming true. There might not be any snow on the ground but you’ll fall in that snowbank nonetheless.

Some of the music played at the festival seems to be having a strange effect on people, making them break into song. Conversations turn to harmonies and you might be so desperate to do some caroling that you start a real-life musical. It’s not unusual to catch people humming along to music but it seems to be happening more than usual at the festival.

A lot of people want to warm up when they come in, so there’s a hot chocolate stand with free cocoa available. It’s unmanned, but the sign that says “take one!” is encouraging enough. Some get the pleasant little drink they were expecting… others end up with chocolate powers. Or curses. Like turning everything you touch into chocolate. The little marshmallows are cute though. And if enough things become chocolate, it could solve the reindeer problem! (What reindeer problem? Well…)

If you’ve always wanted to see some reindeer, now is your chance! About 200 of the fiends have trampled into town (or maybe appeared out of nowhere?) and they’re more annoying than the goo. They walk right up to people and expect you to feed them. If you don’t, they will break your shit. They will commit arson. They will teleport into your home and smash everything. Give carrots.

These probably aren’t normal reindeer? The regular ones don’t teleport around, right? These ones blink in and out of existence on a whim.

They especially like gathering on Prospect Street in Deersprings, where all of the houses turned into gingerbread. No surprise there, except for maybe the gingerbread thing. The reindeer really are ecstatic about it.

If you feed the reindeer they’ll leave you alone for a while without destroying all of your things, but they also know you’re a pushover now, and will be back. With more friends.

If you’re curious about whether or not they can fly (why? why are you curious about that?) you could try getting a harness on one of them… it’s not recommended, though. You might end up being teleported somewhere weird.

In a town full of cryptid enthusiasts, you better believe there’s an entire sport dedicated to finding Krampus each holiday season. Club Cryptid is on it. And… there seems to be something to the whole thing. Whether it’s actually Krampus or a demon having some fun with humanity, something is coming for the naughty and sparing the nice. There have been several sightings in town of a massive creature, with horns, hooves, and a long, blood red cloak. One Club Cryptid nerd said the creature even had a long list in his claws, presumably intending to strike all those names off soon. 

Have you been downright dreadful enough to make the cut? Those that have been marked for a visit may have already seen the signs, and if not, they’re about to: a lump of coal is given to the naughty. Expect punishment to follow.

Krampus (or “Krampus”) isn’t like most other monsters or creatures. He can’t just be destroyed, and there really might be something to that demon theory. But while Krampus may not be able to be killed, it might be possible to pacify him. How nice can you be?

While Krampus is often tied to the night of December 5th in folklore, this Krampus seems happy to stalk around all winter. Why not?

So far, the most common place to spot Krampus (other than inside your own home, hunched over your fireplace) seems to be a Christmas tree farm out in Gatlin Fields. The owner of the farm insists it’s not actually a Christmas tree farm; it’s just a forest. Now it’s not much of anything after the harvest – and the “owner” is actually a leshy now presiding over a lot of treepies. If you want to find Krampus in his home, you’re going to have to brave a pissed off fae and a bunch of evil trees.

Another option for finding the devil of December would be to do something bad enough to get yourself kidnapped… but there’s no telling where you’d end up or what state you’d be in… he seems to like to switch it up.

Thanks to a mysterious influence, snowmen, snowwomen, snowdogs, snowballs, and giant ice worms that people are building are being brought to life. That sounds like a child’s dream come true, but these snowmen aren’t anything like Frosty. Their teeth are icicles, their branch-arms are talons, and they want to freeze you in your tracks and gnaw on the cold meat of your body. Those who are privy to the supernatural might need to figure out what’s happening and how it can be stopped, before all that’s left of Wicked’s Rest’s population is red-stained snow.

Kill it with fire. They are still made of snow… but who carries around a blowtorch these days? Some people have tried to punch them, but it seems like they can easily reassemble themselves. And they get extra angry if the carrot falls off their face.

The reindeer have been found chasing after some of the snowmen. They want the carrots. Some people have taken to making bets on which one will win when a fight breaks out. They’re calling it the Reindeer Games.

Those who get too close to the animated snowmen might get a literal chill in your bones. No matter how warm your skin is and no matter how many blankets you burrow under, there’s no getting that cold out of you. If you can destroy the snow creature that did it to you, though…

While most of the snow creatures are more typical forms of snowy artistic expression, some are… not. A snow werewolf has been biting snowmen and making more snow werewolves. A giant worm made of ice is sliding around the woods (followed by a goggie who is in love with it). And perhaps worst of all, someone made a snow Shrek.

The snow creatures have the intelligence and instincts of whatever they’re based on. Sentience, too. If they have mouths that were constructed, they might even speak or growl. Are you really going to commit murder on things with human intelligence just because they want to turn you into a popsicle?

[abbatoirablaze]

Criminal Minds, Season 1, Chapter 13

Word  Count: 1.8k

Warnings: mentions of child abduction

Samantha Reid

“Hey...is everything alright?” he asked curiously, looking at you as he practically barrelled into your apartment, “I got your text, and I was-“

Aaron stopped speaking when you rushed him, your lips colliding with his in an instant.  His arms wrapped around your waist instinctively, and you pulled him as close as you possibly could, his suit jacket straining against your fingertips. 

You felt like if you let go of him then the whole world would shatter.

Your whole world. 

But as you pulled away from him, breathless from the kiss, his curiosity peaked once more, “Samantha...what’s going on?”

“Do-do you ever wonder what life would be like outside of the BAU?”

His brow furrowed, “did something happen, Samantha?”

“Our last case,” you admitted, thinking about the half-truth you were about to tell your boyfriend, “When we went overseas to help that diplomat who’s son was abducted...I-it threw me for a loop.”

“Yeah...” he admitted sadly, his mind wandering to the case they’d just solved about a little girl, “Billie Copeland...a little girl that was abducted from a park...we-we got to her in time...but we almost didn’t find her...it’s a scary world out there sometimes, Samantha...”

“But we fight the monsters lurking in the shadows.”

“We do!” he confirmed, “we make sure that there’s one less unsub on the streets every time we take cases...”

You nodded along, needing to hear the confirmation, “why does it feel like with every one of them that we take down, five more pop up in their place?”

“Because they do!” he frowned, “it’s just an unfortunate thing...unsubs devolving...new ones emerging.  Our jobs will never end, Samantha...but the thing that always helps me when I’m having a tough time is thinking about the lives that we save...Gideon taught me that.  Taught me that we need to cherish every person that we kept alive, and count the ones we stopped, instead of the ones still out there.”

You nodded once more, letting yourself absorb the information.  But you hadn’t realized the tears streaming down your cheeks until Aaron was softly swiping them away.

“Something about that case you were on really bugged you!” he acknowledged. 

You contemplated telling him everything.

Telling him about how the little boy clung to you. 

Telling him about how it made you reconsider everything you’d thought about having children and a future. 

Telling him about what Ana had told you, and her own secrets. 

“Children should grow up with both parents.”

“I’m not saying you’re wrong.” He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood, “where is this coming from though, Sam?”

“If something happened to you...Jack would have to grow up without a father.”

“Samantha...” he sighed, shaking his head, “people who have children can work in the BAU.”

“I-I’m not saying that they can’t,” you frowned.  Your thoughts felt too jumbled together, too hard to correlate aloud, “Aaron you’re missing what I’m trying to say.”

“Okay,” he said slowly, “try again...we can work through this...”

“I-I don’t know how,” you admitted, a few more tears streaming down your cheeks, “I just-I-“

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” he said softly.  He leaned forward and kissed your forehead, “let’s go over what we’ve talked about already...okay?”

“Okay...”

“You’re emotional,” he pointed out, “a little bit erratic...probably from the last case.  I can tell that it affected you.  But you’ve worked children’s abduction and murder cases before...so why this one?”

“I-I don’t know...I guess...“

“Shhh.  I think I get it,” he cooed, placing another kiss to your lips, “you’re asking me if I’ve considered positions outside of the BAU...and talking about children needing both parents...maybe the case affected you in a way that might be more...maternal?”

You sighed, nodding along, “I-all I could think of was Jack when we found the little boy...he was clinging to me, Aaron...he was begging me to stay with him and not to let go, and I just-he had the saddest brown eyes...and it made me think of Jack...what would happen if he’s older...and I just-“

“You’re afraid that if an abduction can happen to a child that’s a diplomat, someone with even the firmest of security, it could happen to a child like Jack,” he finished.  You nodded and he sighed, giving you a sad smile, “Unfortunately...it could.  That’s just a fact of life.  Abductions happen.  But it’s my job as his father to make sure that I protect him to the best of my abilities, and make sure that I show him how to be as safe as possible.”

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Terrified,” he admitted with his own chuckle, “I think about it every time we have an abduction case, or a case that involves a child.  Sometimes I look at profiles of killers and I worry that I’m not giving Jack a loving or supportive enough environment...I wonder if he’ll be traumatized because of Haley and I splitting up!  There’s a lot of things I think about when it comes to him.  There’s no end to how much I worry that I’ve messed up Jack’s chances in life...and he’s an infant.”

“And what about us?” you asked softly, pressing the matter a little further, “do-do you think that Jack would resent me in the future because we are together?”

He gave another heavy sigh, “Haley doesn’t resent you for our relationship.  And I know that I don’t resent the partner that she has.  We’ve discussed how we plan on co-parenting at length.  I don’t think Jack will ever feel any negative feelings towards you in the future...or whatever guy Haley decides to be with.”

“E-even if we had a child of our own one day?”

This time his brow lifted as he stared at you.

And it was like everything connected in place, and a bulb went off over his head, “Samantha...are-are you considering leaving the BAU?”

You nodded softly, “I-I don’t know if I can handle any more cases involving children, Aaron...not-not since I’ve started seeing children as an option that I might want with you one day.”

“You want a child with me?”

You nodded again, “I-I thought about it...a lot since we’d gotten back together...but I-especially since the last case...I’m not saying let’s have a kid immediately or anything, but I’m definitely open to it.”

You couldn’t miss how he began to tear up at your words. 

This time it was your turn to wipe at his cheeks, “Aaron-“

“I love you, Samantha,” he said softly, cutting you off, “and I love that you opened yourself up to the possibility of that type of a future between us...but you don’t have to leave the BAU because of it.”

“I actually received an offer from the state department...it was waiting on my desk when I got back from my last assignment.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah...I-I’d be working at the Pentagon...would have regular hours...could be home more in case I did want to seriously consider something like that in our future...i-if that’s something you’re open to.”

“I’m very much open to a child with you, Samantha...but is this what you would want?” he asked, “I don’t want you to think that you have to feel obligated to have a child with me because I want a big family...nor do I want you thinking that you have to leave the behavioral analysis unit because it would be a better option for us...I know that you spent your whole life trying to get into the BAU.”

“I want this, Aaron,” you said softly, nodding your head, “I-I put a lot of thought into it, and the last case combined with what means the most to me in this world...it makes sense.”

“If it’s what you want...then I support it fully.”

Vanessa Jareau

“I’m telling you, the junior G man is interested in you,” your best friend, and fellow tech analyst, Penelope Garcia giggled, “Spencer Reid is into you!”

“Pen, come on...he’s just being friendly!”

“Ohh, you are so into him too!” she laughed, pointing her fluffy pen at you, “I can see it in your face.  You-“

“I am not,” you rebuked.  Penelope’s brow lifted and you gasped, “I-I’m not.  If I’m into someone I do a deep-dive on them.  I haven’t looked up anything on Doctor Reid.”

“Well, it’s not too late,” she purred, typing a few things into her computer.  Your eyes widened as you realized that she was pulling up his file, one deep-dive on Doctor Spencer Reid, coming up!”

“PEN!”

But you froze when a picture of a mild-mannered, very attractive man came up on her screen. 

A blush rose to your cheeks as you put a name to the voice. 

And you smiled.

“Awww, Nessa’s got a real crush, especially now that she knows what he looks like, doesn’t she!”

“Penelope, stop!”

She laughed even more, as your half aggressive tone wavered.

“Well...just so you do know, he is single.”

You rolled your eyes, trying to ignore her comments, “I-I’m not-we-he’s an agent, Penelope.  And I’m a tech.  It-it’s not proper.”

“Oh, like that matters!” she scoffed.

“Nessa.  Garcia.  I-“

“It’s just me, junior G Man,” Penelope smiled, holding a finger up to you as a signal to stay quiet so you could see just how Spencer was acting, “what did you need?”

“Oh...”

“Reid!” she laughed, scoffing at the agent, “you do realize that I’m your tech analyst, right?”

“No...yeah.  I mean, I understand that,” he said quickly, tripping over his words, “I just-I know that Nessa has been hanging out with you a lot lately, and sometimes when I call you two are in each other’s offices, and-“

“Reid...Reid, it’s okay!” Penelope laughed. 

You couldn’t hold back your own giggle as the cute agent on the other end of the call continued to stumble over his words. 

“I-is that Nessa laughing?” he asked suddenly, stopping his diatribe.

Penelope looked over at you, giving you a very pleased, ‘I told you so,’ look. 

“Hello Dr. Reid,” you grinned, unable to hold the smile off your face, “I just got into Penelope’s office...what info did you need for the case?”

“Oh.  OH!” he said quickly.  You continued to giggle, “I-uh-uh...nothing.  I-never mind.”

Your brows furrowed and you looked at Penelope who had stopped laughing.

“Reid just hung up!”

“What?”

“I think you fried the good doctor’s brain, Vanessa!”

A blush rose to your cheeks, “I-I didn’t mean to...I-“

The line rang again and the two of you looked at it.

“Do you want to take the call?” she teased. 

Your blush darkened.

“Oh, never mind,” she smiled, pointing at the caller ID with her pen before picking up the call, “good afternoon my gorgeous bar of chocolate, my hunky, dreamy, mcsteamy-“

“Alright baby girl, calm down.  You’re on speaker phone,” Agent Derek Morgan laughed over the line, “what did you say to Reid?”

“Why?  What happened?”

“Oh, I get it!” He chuckled, after hearing your voice, “hey baby Jareau.”

“Agent Morgan.”

“What happened to Reid?” Garcia asked.

“Boy genius over here was supposed to call and have you look something up, but he was so frazzled he hung up,” Morgan laughed, “but now I know why.  Baby girl, why are you letting the other tech analyst fry up his circuit board like that?”

“God, I love it when you talk tech to me,” Garcia teased, “do it again!”

Morgan laughed once more, “we need info on a trace, Garcia...think you can stop playing with Reid long enough to do it for me?”

“I can sure as sin try!” she smiled, “back in a flash!”

S1, E14

[lesbianrobin]

Do you have any TV show recommendations

my #1 tv show recommendation is to watch the challenge. i literally never cared about competition reality shows besides antm and now i am Obsessed because the challenge is perhaps the greatest show of our generation. i beg of you to watch this compilation video it captures the overall spirit of the show So well and it's also hilarious.

if you want recommendations on which season to start with PLEASE send me another ask, or ask sarah @steveharrington she's the expert.

ok now other shows ❤️ i'm not gonna mention shows like succession that are super big on tumblr or well-known prestige television like breaking bad or the sopranos because i'm sure you've already seen plenty of people recommending those yknow? so yeah.

cowboy bebop (anime). the live action does not exist to me. anyway. cowboy bebop is sci-fi. it's western. it's jazz. it's comedy. it's tragedy. it's about love and identity and bounty hunting and a little corgi. there's a reason why it's often called one of the greatest anime of all time. this kinda violates my no reccing super popular shows rule but i think people who don't watch much anime may not be familiar with cowboy bebop so i figured i have a duty to the people.

the get down. i wholeheartedly believe that the get down is the greatest thing netflix has ever produced and it's a goddamn tragedy that it was canceled, but what does exist is just. incredible. it's about the rise of rap and hip-hop, the death of disco, and struggling to figure out identity and the meaning of success in the bronx in the 1970s. created & produced by baz lurhmann, the show incorporates archival footage of new york and real people with fictional narratives in a truly masterful way. it's absolutely gorgeous. the music is fucking fantastic. it's So worth watching and i wish that it had gotten the same hype as other netflix shows like st, oitnb, etc.

speaking of netflix. american vandal. if the get down is the best thing netflix has ever produced, american vandal is a very close second, and i could honestly be persuaded to swap their places, but ANYWAY. it's a mockumentary wherein a kid named peter and his best friend sam attempt to solve the mystery of who spray-painted twenty-seven dicks on twenty-seven cars in the staff parking lot at their high school. it's one of the funniest shows i've ever seen, and also the only show i've ever found to be accurate to the contemporary teenage experience. it's also like... insanely accurate as a parody and critique of real true crime documentaries. also if you're following me you're probably an st fan, and eduardo franco (argyle!!) is in american vandal as well, if that motivates you any more.

xena: warrior princess. it's the best show of all time and also the worst show of all time. everything that people say about shows like supernatural and glee and riverdale? xena did that shit back in the 90s, they did it better, and they did it with lesbians. they did it with swords. they did it with aphrodite. they did it with leather and whips and clones and reincarnation and true love's kiss. please watch xena.

community. if you haven't watched community idk what you're doing with your life to be quite honest. just watch it already.

GLOW. attention all tumblrinas who like messy complicated stupid mean scheming sexy women. you will fucking love glow. sorry i'm recommending so many netflix shows but i can't Not mention glow on here it would be a betrayal of my lesbianism. it is about sexy women wrestling. it's got blood. it's got tits. it's got storytelling. it's got 80s music. it's got fucking your best friend's husband as a means of feeling closer to her. yellowjackets fans i'm looking at you. watch glow.

ghosts (bbc). not cbs. dear god not cbs. bbc. but yeah ghosts is a sitcom about a young couple who suddenly inherit an old home (manor? thing? man i don't fuckin know english aristocracy stuff) full of ghosts. it's a fun, simple premise, and some parts of the show can be corny, but the actors sell it so well that it's just a pleasure to watch. if you're into sitcoms, i think it's worth giving ghosts a shot!

that's it for now i don't want this to get super long ❤️ thank u for asking!! also sorry if this wasn't what you expected from me lmao. OH ALSO watch the muppet show. like the OG 1970s muppet show. shit slaps.

[wanderingandfound]

Went with my coworkers to watch the Barbie movie. Mega spoilers below. What I can say without spoilers is that this is a movie you should watch with friends/acquaintances, but a full theater could substitute. I had fun.

The good:

I was laughing so much and so was our teen intern and a lot of other people in the theater.

The props and costumes!

Margo Robbie!!!!!

The... disappointing? The negative criticisms:

So many truths were dropped as jokes and it was funny and well-paced but for a movie that is constantly talking about how bad the patriarchy is... it doesn't grapple with it or seem to have anything to say? Which isn't surprising because I knew going into it it was basically an ad for a toyline, but I didn't expect so many explicit call outs of systemic and structural misogyny, which is why I'm left wishing there had been a point the film was trying to make. It's like everything was lampshaded and never analyzed.

The set up, given by a voice-of-god narrator, is that in Barbieland the Barbies think misogyny is solved in the real world because of them. And then the ending has the protagonist, Stereotypical Barbie, saying she wants to be one of the people shaping the ideas, not one of the dolls shaped by those ideas. It turns out Gloria had been shaping her, by dreaming up Cellulite Barbie and Constantly Thinking About Death Barbie (I forget the exact phrase the movie used) and Sad Barbie. You would think this would be the plot of the movie. This is what caused Stereotypical Barbie's malfunctioning, what ignited the call to adventure. This is what Barbie's last big decision was about. You would be wrong (we'll get there). Maybe I'm just spoiled by Discworld (and something else did this too... ugh I can't remember) but like, the interplay of belief between humans and their gods? How they both shape and form each other? That is my absolute jam and they could have done so much with it and they seemed like they were going to! And they technically did something with it but like, I dunno, to me it felt like the something they did do was deserving of a 22 minute episode in a 26 episode season, not a full theatrical movie with a star-studded cast. Oh no, in the real world the toys got weird. The plot in the toy world wasn't even caused directly by human beliefs but rather by a toy's belief.

Okay there's nothing in the movie to contradict asexual!Barbie so that's great but uh, now that it's out I don't want to keep seeing ace!Ken jokes/implications that this is actual real representation because uh...

...the plot is that Ken is an incel.

Seriously.

He has a song about how it sucks to be in the Friendzone.

He brings patriarchy to Barbieland and brainwashes all the other Barbies to be subservient to Kens because he loved that in the real world he was finally given the time of day.

For a bit I was worried that the movie would try and pull a "misandry is just as bad as misogyny" thing because he did kinda have 1 valid complaint in the beginning, but thankfully it didn't.

Anyways I know there are ace people who genuinely like kissing, but I don't think a character who makes multiple unwanted advances to the same character is like, innately representation. Even if he does lack genitalia.

On a related note, with spoilers for the very last moment pre-credits, I don't know how I feel about the only action we see Barbie take as a human rather than a doll is attending a gynecologist appointment. Like on one hand it was funny, and gynecologists are treated as women's doctors by society. On the other hand, the implication that being a Real Woman means having a vagina is bad. Like yes one of the Barbies is played by a trans actress, but I didn't catch anything in the movie to imply that she's a trans Barbie, you know? Like if I was watching this unaware of the internet hullabaloo, nothing in the movie would have clued me into the creators knowing that gender isn't something fixed and predetermined. Which I feel is relevant when they made a move all about gender, the patriarchy, and how humans imagine and conceptualize the world!

Related to the second bullet, Gloria has a proto-goth daughter (who unfortunately does get pinkafied) and it is absolutely clear said daughter gets some of her rage at the unfairness of the world from Gloria. And Gloria has been drawing all these Sad Barbies, which Sasha thinks is actually cool and dark. But when Sasha pushes Gloria to present her ideas to her boss, what comes out it Ordinary Barbie, who could or could not be a mom and could or could not be the president. Like I get that the point is that sadness, overwhelming thoughts of death, and cellulite are all normal, but the way Ordinary Barbie was pitched makes it really easy for the doll to be identical to Stereotypical Barbie as a toy.

They didn't deal with death at all! Like, they acknowledged that humans die and barbies don't but this was all undermined by having a human ghost in multiple emotional scenes! They dealt neither with actual death, nor how unfounded fears of others' death can make people scared and sad (huge root of my depression) or how fears of one's own death can make someone obsessed with legacy and leaving a mark (seems rather relevant for a Barbie movie with many explicit call backs to the entire history of Barbie, and for a movie that says it's about imagination and conceptualization).

I don't really know what the Executives were supposed to bring to the movie. Like, soon enough the pacing absolutely removed them from feeling like an actual threat. And they were.... cartoonish is the wrong word. They felt like they were from Barbieland, not from the Real World. I feel like they were useful for one joke about how lol, Barbie is about girlpower but all the people in charge are cis white men.

The movie makes gay men the butt of jokes and nothing more, and absolutely nothing indicated to me that they know gay women exist.

This should be higher up but like starting a few weeks (months?) ago the press for the movie made me worry that it was going to be too much about Ken and like, yeah, I was right. The plot isn't Barbie vs. The Real World. The plot is Barbie vs. Ken.

Well this wasn't supposed to get so long and I fell asleep while writing it but uh, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, yeah. This movie is like the opposite of Nope in the way that when I left that theater with my siblings and dad and cousins we were analyzing nonstop about what things meant and symbolized and all that, and then the next day we had even more to say. Since then I think the only other movie I've seen in theaters has been SM:AtSV with my dad and siblings and like, okay we didn't leave the theaters theorizing but we did leave talking about how good it was (and then my siblings started talking about MCU's Spider-Man and Doctor Strange and I kinda tuned out). Vs when I left the theaters with four of my coworkers, we clearly had fun but like, there wasn't much more to say.

Like I watched Nimona by myself the other week, yeah? (Well okay, my parents came home three quarters of the way through but even though my mom was in the living room she wasn't watching the movie.) And I think that was a good use of my time and I enjoyed it, as evidenced by going through the tags on Tumblr and reblogging art and analysis. But if I had watched the Barbie movie by myself, and not in a half-full theater eager to laugh with my coworkers including one making a bunch of comments to me and some guy behind me making a bunch of comments to his friend, I think I might have felt a little emoty at the end. Like, the experience was fun but I don't think I got anything from the movie. Metaphorical potato chips/sugar candy if you will, where it tastes nice in your mouth but doesn't fuel you in either the short term or the long term.

I did have fun! But if you were expecting something more than an ad and a laugh, this is not it.

[loki-is-my-kink-awakening]

For the WIP ask game: “Glitching” and “it all started with that hug” either or both 🥺💚🤎

Oh, I started these two so long ago now and yet the new season is coming up upon us and I am no further forward (yet).

Anyway, both of these ideas came from the D23 trailer.

Glitching

Originally meant to be a 5+1 idea where Loki only gets to see Mobius (his Mobius) in small segments because he keeps glitching back to that other TVA. I've not written much more than this, sadly.

"Hello? Mobius?"

Loki crept slowly into what had been Ravonna's room, holding a dagger in each hand in case this wasn't the right timeline.

The glitching, whatever was causing it, was playing havoc with his ability to defeat Kang, to make any concrete plans, and, most importantly, it was preventing him from being with his Mobius.

"You probably don't have enough time to be sneaking around. Get on in here," Mobius said, stepping out from behind the door and into Loki's eyeline.

He smiled, his eyes twinkling as they fell on him, making Loki shiver.

Seeing Mobius made him feel ten times lighter. He let out a long breath, vanishing his daggers and running towards him to clutch at his jacket, making sure he was real.

They breathed in each other's air for a second until Loki could resist no longer, leaning down and brushing his lips against Mobius'.

He felt hands wrap around his waist, pulling them closer together as if they alone would keep him firmly in place.

If only they could.

Loki wanted to kiss Mobius forever, make up for all the lost time between them, but despite his protests when Mobius pushed him back, he eventually gave in and instead pressed their foreheads together.

"How are you?" Mobius asked, his eyes still looking at Loki's lips.

"Starved," he answered truthfully. "I don't know how much longer I can do this."

Mobius hummed, bringing a hand up into Loki's hair. He pulled Loki back down into another kiss: soft, tender and devouring.

A tug on his hair made Loki gasp, and that's when he felt it. The first jolt; his skin vibrating.

"No," he breathed, feeling Mobius slip from his fingers while the world spun around him.

For a brief second, it stopped and Loki twisted, seeing that he now stood across the room from Mobius.

With the next one, he would be gone, back to that other TVA.

"It's okay," Mobius reassured, a soft sad smile on his face. "For all time."

"Always," Loki confirmed. Then Mobius and the room disappeared and he landed back at square one.

It Started With That Hug

An angsty look at Loki living in another TVA, realising they are non binary, realising how much they love Mobius, and not being aware that they are glitching back to their Mobius occasionally.

There's, uh, 8.7k already and Loki has only just realised they are talking to their Mobius (thanks to Sylvie).

Here's a bit from just before Loki meets their Mobius, when they find Sylvie.

If the answer wasn't in the files or in asking this Mobius questions, where could they find it?

Could they steal a TemPad and see where it took them? Would that even be a good idea when this TVA knew nothing about Lokis and he was free to wander the halls?

It was deeply puzzling and Loki had always been good with puzzles. They shouldn't be letting their emotions stop them solving this one.

Getting back to Mobius was objective number one on their list. They would keep trying to get the information they needed as long as they remained free enough to find it.

Looking like a dejected puppy seemed to have worked. They really should count their blessings.

A small sob left their throat. They wanted to sink into Mobius' embrace like they had on the hill. They wanted to feel safe and secure and like they belonged.

Being taunted by someone who looked like him, who was him but with different experiences, it was difficult at best.

"I need you," Loki whispered into the wooden desk. If they could, they would move the heavens themselves.

It was then that they felt that strange feeling again, like everything shifting. Nausea crept up their throat as their stomach lurched. They jerked their head up and saw the room move, or was it them moving? Everything moved. They were there, then here, then further away, and it was frightening.

It's the madness in me, Loki thought. I'm losing my mind.

When it finally stopped, Loki collapsed onto the floor, trying to breathe. They closed their eyes, but snapped them open again when a familiar voice called their name.

"Loki?"

"Sylvie," they gasped, looking up at her. She sat in a small office, but instead of paper lining every surface, there were knives and switchblades.

Another one dropped onto the desk as Sylvie pushed herself up and out of her chair.

"You look like Hel."

[michellemisfit]

TAG GAME: FANDOM EDITION

Tagged by the wonderful @energievie, thank you my love!

Your Name: Michelle (Mys for short)

Your Age: Just turned 38 🤟

Your First Fandom(s): Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Your Current Fandom(s): Shameless is my current active fandom, but like, you never really leave a fandom, you just get distracted by a new shiny thing. There’s still Merlin (2008) and Shadowhunters (2015) fic open on my phone right this minute. And I go back and read some of my favourite fic from much older fandoms on a semi regular basis. I have hundreds of them saved in word. Because if you love something… don’t let it go! Save the ever-loving shit out of it and keep it on your current laptop as well as on multiple external hard drives for back up!!

How did you first get into fandom? I was looking for someone to talk to, and that wasn’t going to happen in real life. So instead I found myself on a German Buffy Forum, which led me to discover fandom, online friends, and fanfic… all of which changed my life forever.

How long have you been engaging with fandom spaces? Probably since 1998? It was during Buffy Season 1, but when it aired on German TV, so 98/99 sounds about right. I DEFINITELY lied to the ‘are you over 18?’ ticky boxes!!

How often do you read fanfics? Daily. I used to be that kid that would walk to and from school with her nose in a book. Now I’m that adult that walks to and from school reading fanfic on her phone.

Top 3 characters from your current fandom(s): Mickey Milkovich. Ian Gallagher. Lip Gallagher.

Have you ever written a fic for a fandom? if so, shout it out! I have. I’m not primarily a writer, but about once a year I get the urge. Here’s my AO3. Also, if you search very hard you may be able to find some German Buffy/Spike fic out there somewhere, from when I was a child, proof read by my mother, whose main comment was ‘Oh my. You could have a career in erotica…’ (They barely kissed! Sheesh!)

Have you ever drawn fanart for a fandom? Yep. Back in the day I did the full range: Drawings, Icons. Wallpapers. Manips. Fic Banners. Fic Awards. Now I mostly stick with traditional art, and then once a year pumpkins haha Some of my recent stuff is on AO3. You can also find a lot of my art on my RedBubble Page or my Instagram.

Share a personal headcanon that you feel very strongly about: For Shameless? The Gallaghers visited Ian and Mickey in prison. Yes, they are busy, but they love their brother, and by extension they love the person their brother loves! And there is loads of them!! If they visited on rotation, it would only really “cost” them one day a month each. Not a hardship, is it? Also, Lip went more often than everyone else. Send tweet.

You’re trying to convince a friend to get into your current fandom(s) with you. what episode, clip, or scene are you showing them? Depends a little bit on the friend and on what aspect of a show I feel they’d vibe with best. 01x03 Aunt Ginger is a pretty good one. It’s got the full family working together to solve a problem. And it introduces Mandy and the itty bitty murder floof, which is a great bonus!!

And finally, what does fandom mean to you? Absolutely everything. You know Penny Lane’s speech in Almost Famous? “If you never take it seriosuly, you never get hurt, you never get hurt, you always have fun, and if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.”? I followed bands around for about half a decade, and that, and Oasis’ “Please don’t put your life in the hands, of a rock and roll band, who'll throw it all away” were things I tried to live by. But fandom doesn’t work that way. Fandom is all about emotionally investing. Caring too much is basically a requirement. And what makes it safe is the fact that we are all in this together. <3

~

My word that was fun!

Tagging @malec-crazed-author, @ohfreckle, @rutherinahobbit, @deedala, @rereadanon, @toughpaperround, @teawithjelly, @faejilly, @industrious-ian, @orca122, @poemsfromthealley, @allmyfantasiesarethirdperson, @darknutmeg, @glorious-spoon, @hellofavillain, @howlinchickhowl, @katspace, @lynne-monstr, @captainjowl, @crossmydna, @vintagelacerosette, @beatperfume, @nanf1c

[tealenko]

TV Show Brainrot Tag

Errmm... Get ready for this one XD And thanks again to the lovely @sillyliterature for the tag :D

This is gonna be loooooooong (I may have a problem with TV series upsss~~)

There's no precise order (I love them all)

The Queen's Gambit: My current obsession. Seen it many times. I still giggle whenever Benny opens his mouth. Just finished reading the book a week ago (and tons of fics right after)

An now, presenting my favorite section: I don't actually like that much crime procedural dramas but I'm a sucker for the "my consultant is a _" fill the blank trope.

1: "my consultant is a former con artist that used to fake he was a psychic "

The mentalist: PERFECTION. 10/10. Forever in love with Patrick Jane. Lisbon is a badass. Cho is just amazing. Love every single season and almost every character to death. *chef's kiss*

Gif de simonbakeralbum

2: "my consultant is a fake psychic that's lies to avoid going to jail"

Psych: I'll explain myself with the best dialogue ever in TV history:

Gus: What can you possibly ask to that girl that the police already haven't? //fades to black Shawn, already talking to her : Want to split a pineapple? *while holding a pineapple, of course*

*dies* XDDDDDDDDDDDD

3: "my consultant is THE DEVIL"

Lucifer: Hell to the yeah! This has been an obsession of mine since uni (and still is), but I mean... Tom Ellis, what could go wrong? Of course I'm in love with this shit. It got a bit too angsty at the end for me (but still... it was amazing)

4: "I AM WE ARE THE MF CONSULTANTS"

Sherlock: OOOOMMMFFFGGGGGGGGGG!! BEST SHIT EVER! That's it.

And to close this section:

5: "I'm gonna consult whether you like me or not, plus my partner is... A severed hand?"

I know, it's a stretch, but they're solving crimes too.

Wednesday: Decided to check it out while I was waiting for my train... Ended up watching the entire thing in a day XDDD Can't wait for season 2

All that done XD Here's one you won't know about...

Gran Hotel: OOOOOMMMMMYYYYYY I didn't want to include spanish things into this list, but this one is A MUST!!! sorry #notsorry To sum it up quickly it's a Dowton Abbey + Murder mistery (But in this one *spoiler warning* they do not kill the main guy in a christmas special T-T #yeahimstillmadaboutthat) btw the main ship is AMAAAAAZING (I mean, poor guy falls in love with rich woman never disappoints, am I right?)

MASH: My parents grew up watching this, bought it in DVD, and show it to us when we were kid... I fell in love. I'm still in love. I can quote almost every episode from memory, love all the characters and love how the show started as goofy and funny and grew little by little into cynical and critical. The caracters were flawed, which made them realistic and (considering when this air on TV) way ahead of their time.

Community: There's a before and after after the pool episode in season one. What an amazing show. Love it to death. #andamovie

Romance is a Bonus Book: I've seen a lot of kdramas, this one takes the win. Has everything they never want to give you in TV: main ship is friend from childhood, constant appreciation for books, they do not break up for stupid reasons once they are together, mega happy ending, no one has amnesia, no one gets kidnaped, you actually get to see them as a couple instead of getting together in the last chapter... and I could keep going, but I'll stop here. Well, and the main guy is drop-dead gorgeous (with kinda helps too XDDDDD)

And last, but not least:

Wizards of Waverly Place: This is my childhood... And also my present, let's be honest. Love the show, love Selena Gomez, LOOOOVE her as Alex. Still obsessed to this day, I mean, I rewatched it last month lol.

I should stop here... @sillyliterature see what happens when you ask?? XDDDDD And I could keep going ehehehehe

[winderlylandchime]

1/2We are on 4x08 and he is sitting with his fingers crossed and repeating to himself ‘not cancer, not cancer, not cancer’. ‘BRIAN IS BACK AT BABYLON! SEE! It was just a scare. Where’s Blondie? Go find him- VIC?! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? Vic, i miss you baby. I miss you so much. What’s with the old guys? Oh fuck. I don’t like the sight of Brian in a hospital bed. Horrible’ ‘is Ben still a bitch because Rage might become a movie? Grow up man.’ Deb is shopping for the gravestone ‘promise me, you wont pull some type of shit like that. Just give me a little stone and write ‘well fuck’ on it and that will be perfect.’ ‘BRIAN IS BACK! He looks like shit, poor baby. *jumps up and screams* HE HAS TO GET TO CLASS! HE WENT BACK TO SCHOOL! HE LISTENED! Of course Brian wants to drive him. (Cuts to britin in the car) LOOK AT THEM! Brian, you gotta come clean. HE MISSED HIM! HE FUCKING MISSED HIM! The man who was willing to do anything to get rid of him in season 1, just casually said “i missed you”. I AM NOT OKAY. (Brian tries to prove justin he missed him with a kiss) oh just suck his dick! (Justin keeps saying he’s not convinced and brian laughs) THAT RIGHT THERE IS SOME BIG DICK ENERGY. He has that man wrapped around his finger. Good for you Blondie. (brian takes his shades off) oh poor baby, he looks exhausted.’ ‘I don’t know what this lindsay and the painter bullshit is. But i need it gone because it is taking air time away from Brian’ the Justin/Mikey/Keller scene is up ‘oh is this the producer or whatever? Why does he looks familiar? I have a very soft spot for Justin calling Brian his boyfriend.’ ‘Aww look at Brian listening to Justin. Unlike some other boyfriend. How is he planning to hide the surgery from Justin? HE DOES LOOK TIRED! Brian just tell him. Does he plan on not having sex for a whole month or? (Justin is about to hear the voicemail) oh no. SHIT. OH SO THATS HOW HES GONNA FIND OUT?’ Justin is now confronting Mikey ‘oh poor baby, he looks so sad. He looks like he cried. Wait? He’s gonna tell Mike? Dude, go to Brian! WHY IS NO ONE TALKING TO EACH OTHER IN THIS FUCKING SHOW? It wouldve made more sense to go to Ted than Mike. Or Cynthia! Mike is gonna blow this out of proportion like i would. NO HE CANT HAVE CANCER! Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do fellas. Mikey you keep your mouth shut. Justin, you go to Brian and have a talk with him and I will continue to freak out’ and now we are at Brian in the office scene ‘you can hear it in his voice that he isn’t okay. Baby, please tell Justin. He looks and sounds like shit. Ted looks worried as fuck. THIS FUCKING SUCKS. All of it. He cant catch a break. Why didn’t he tell Ted? That would make sense.’ Deb has a breakdown in the diner: ‘oh my poor sweet Deb. This is gonna be me though if something happens to Brian, just so we’re all clear on that’ He is now groaning because of Linds and Sam ‘I don’t like this. He grabbed her ass. He suggested a threesome. She calls him a pig or whatever and now we’re friends? Weird and i hate it’ and we are now at babylon ‘Justin is trying to be sweet and caring and Brian is trying to be the Brian Kinney that Justin knows. If only this could be solved by, oh I don’t know…TALKING. (mikey tackles Brian) is he fucking stupid? Be honest? I swear he’s dumb. WHAT DID I SAY, he’s worse than me. He shouldve gone to Ted. Or Emmett. EXACTLY JUSTIN TELL MIKE HES BEING STUPID. I don’t like this producer dude, but that could be just because i don’t trust hollywood people. Ben really is a piece of shit. This is some shit Brian would pull in season 1 not mister Buddha.’ And we are at Britin scene ‘aw Justin’s not feeling well. ALL IT TOOK WAS CAN YOU COME WITH ME AND BAM BRIAN DROPS EVERYONE AND EVERYTHING FOR HIM! Although why is he peacocking? He clearly cant fuck right now so who is he trying to impress with these dudes?’

BRIAN DROPPING HIM OFF AT SCHOOL IS EVERYTHING. It's such an incredible scene.

Sam! That's the fucker's name! Ugh what a terrible arc.

And yes, the failure to communicate about the cancer... so frustrating.

[0carkki0]

If only we could enter Joon’s Manor in the Living World... 

Now I’m obsessing over TaiViv again, so... Now I shall ask bunch of questions, and then press shuffle on iTunes. The songs are the answers. I decided that the songs have to have lyrics. Otherwise they are ignored. ^^

It’s kind ofa  way let the fate decide what the NPC thinks, since I can’t ask the ArenaNet directly. They don’t know my Commander. He’s one of the thousands and thousands of Commanders. ^^ 

Little brackground for those who don’t know: in my mind Taimi is a reincarnation of Vivs’ progeny sweetheart who died when they both were 7 years old. She was born again in that same year by the prayers of Dwayna’s Priests, and yes, Vivs went to ask for them to help. First he asked the Grenth’s Priests to bring her back to life, but they refused. So, the Priests of Dwayna offered their help, and since Dwayna is more about healing and life, instead of being brought back as an undead, she was reincarnated. 

Anyway... Let’s start... 

What did Taimi think of Vividatt before the Personal Story? Hold On by Imperia

At Personal Story? The Brave/Agony Applause by Deadlock

What did Taimi think of Vividatt in the season 2? We Had Everything by Delain

Heart of Thorns? Nights of Ecstasy by Acting Lovers

Season 3? Where the Light is Bleeding by Sleeping Romance

Path of Fire? Beautiful With You by Halestorm 

Season 4? Bobby Bodybuilder by Acting Lovers

Icebrook Saga? Vampire’s Kiss by Acting Lovers

End of Dragons? Dehumanized by Disturbed

Hmm... There is a lot of song from Acting Lovers... ^^; Well then... Let’s try to break it down... 

I did already ask wat did Taimi think of Vivs at the time they met. The song was Burn to Cinder by Epica. 

Taimi 11 years old. Vividatt 18 years old. Before the Personal Story the song would make sense only if Taimi actually knew the Commander already. But why would she? Did she just happen to see him and get the feeling she had seen him somewhere before. Did she actually start supporting him from the shadows after Vivs got out of prison? Maybe she saw Vivs when she was still a small kid, and Vivs was a teenager? Perhaps she has caught Vivs hesitating in committing a suicide. But along the way got really interested in Scarlet after hearing what all she had done in this time. 

Personal Story: Taimi was 12 years old. Vividatt was 19. Taimi heard the stories about the Commander, and somehow knew that Vivs more like just went along with the happenings, although he was clearly not alright. 

Season 1: Taimi was 13 years old etc... I asked earlier already this question, and the answer was Burn to Cinder by Epica. I think when Taimi met the Commander now face to face, the strong nostalgia hit her again. This was one of the motivations to join the group of the Commander. Other reasons were that, she realized she could never reach out to Scarlet by herself. But this group clearly wanted to stop and fight her and was going after her, so Taimi thought it my increase the chances of getting closer to Scarlet if she joined them. And she could probably also learn more about this Commander that seemed so familiar to her. 

Since Braham was closer to her age, she made friends with him, instead of the Commander. 

Season 2: Taimi probably acknowledging her crush on the Commander, and feeling a bit upset (teen crushes on older people is quite normal (it’s another story if the adult responses which I assure you, Vivs did not, not in that way anyway.) by it as well, since she didn’t show interest in him earlier, perhaps he would have taken her under his wing, instead of Zojja. Not that Taimi’s wasn’t grateful to Zojja for that... And the Commander’s and hers age gap is quite big. And now they have to also concentrate on the strangely acting sylvari, magic Ley-Lines, Thorny Vines, Phlunts and Dragons. Not that Taimi wasn’t excited and interested in it all (except Phlunts), but now they were going to be super busy in solving this Elder Dragon mystery. How dare Phlunt humiliate her in front of everyone, let alone steal legally her invention?! 

Heart of Thorns: Of course seven years age gap doesn’t matter, if they were both grown ups, and Taimi like everyone else was growing up. How about meanwhile prove to the Commander how invaluable she was for the group? And show what her mind could do. Problem was how people still treated her like a progeny... Did Taimi just catch the Commander watching her and then suddenly turning his head? YES! ... Hormones... amiright?

Season 3: I think here Taimi learns more about Vividatt’s dark little secrets, simply because Vivs at times forgot that he was carrying a communicator and wasn’t being careful of what he was saying or doing. So, at one time Taimi was hearing yelling, threats and then fighting sounds. After all that, some questionable sounds were heard. Taimi, even if her golem was still not entirely fixed, went to investigate, and found an Inquest Lab full of asura body parts and the Commander doing something unmentionable to an armless, legless and headless body on top of a stairs. When he heard Taimi mentioning his name, he got shocked too, that Taimi had to see that side of him. Taimi decided to escape, but Vivs went after her. Gladly Vivs had already come to his senses so they ended up just talking, and he told her his unfortunate past. And now, even if Taimi knew about this, when she had made the overlooks on the Dragon destruction research she felt like she had done even worse, since this wasn’t just about one evil group, but about the entire world. One mistake can cause world destruction. To her surprise, though, the Commander just told her that he wasn’t upset by the overlook, but more like what could have happened if they proceeded with the plan of making two Elder Dragons fight each other. 

At this point, Vivs has already started to grow feelings for her. The only reason he didn’t even hint anything to her was that she was still under-aged. But... she was going to be a grown up one day... 

I personally view the season 3 as the season where the Commander and Taimi get a bit closer. I mean, Taimi is all the time supporting them via the Communicator, and at the end of the season it’s only Taimi and the Commander of Dragon’s Watch trying to do something about the coming up problem. Braham was making his own guild and was angry at Commander, for who knows what reason. Rox was with him. Caithe has always walked her own path... I’m not even sure if she was a member yet... Rytlock was dealing with his people about the Mists incident. Marjory was injured and Kasmeer had a meltdown. So... it was just Taimi and the Commander. Of course, there does join the Queen’s advisor and her... friend. But they are not in Dragon’s Watch guild... 

Path of Fire: No matter how crappy Taimi felt about herself, the Commander always had made her feel good. And she felt useful, even if the Commander was far away and the Communicator didn’t work well. Vivs found the high areas to talk to her when he could and listen to her take of the situation. Also, in my head they almost kiss at the end after the night the group meeting again face to face. 

Again, in my mind, Taimi and Vivs actually do kiss at the night of new years, even if Taimi is STILL under-aged. Vividatt just happens to be very drunk already, and when he sees Taimi just sipping out of her drink, he decides to go and drink it from her mouth. Afterwards Vivs feel really guilty of it, when he remembers it. Of course Taimi doesn’t say anything to anyone. 

Season 4: Taimi probably did notice Vivs starting to workout and take more care of his appearance. This is simply because of the parasite minion died in his pants and didn’t satisfy him anymore. He have had it since he was 15, and it ate anything Vivs let out of his system. But because pooping and peeing happen only once in a while, the minion began to keep Vivs’ thing ready to... shoot out ‘milk’ whenever it was hungry. In return Vivs got more power. But because in Path of Fire he was killed, the minion died as well, but didn’t return when Vivs did. Instead, now Vivs suffers from priapism. He has to satisfy himself now, which has lead to him to try to look attractive to lure people to him to have little fun with him. And he needs it to keep the psycho side, that earlier took out the whole Inquest Lab full of Inquestians, under control. 

Now Taimi was 18, and Vivs didn’t have any excuses anymore to keep his hands to himself. 

‘...looks sexy in his thong.’ XD 

Icebrood Saga: After going to the areas that rarely had any sun there, Vivs lost his tan and became again very greenish pale. Taimi could tell that Vivs was in his element, while dealing with creepy stuff at the snowy dark areas. 

At the beginning, when Taimi was writing her thesis about the Elder Dragons, Vivs was dealing with the strange happenings in the far Shiverpeaks. He thought that he could concentrate into dealing with the problems better now that Taimi was safe back in Rata Sum, but no. Vivs noticed himself missing her, and his mind wasn’t fully in the battle present, which probably lead to him being shot with a bow that was created to battle the Elder Dragons. Vivs could concentrate 100% again, when Taimi was in sight (or in earshot, even if vie communicator) again. 

Taimi herself was just glad she could concentrate in peace to her writings, not having anyone disturbing her line of thought. ^^ Well, till she got it done and especially when the Elder Dragon minions began to appear in Rata Sum. She gladly called the others to where she was... And thought to give piece if her mind about the happenings to the Commander. Let’s say Vivs didn’t mind being lectured by her. To him it was like hetero male getting a half naked woman dancing in front him. XP 

End of Dragons: Taimi can sense Vivs feeling bad for having to kill Ankka, that was clearly suffering from a deep depression, and the mother of all Elder Dragons, especially because of Aurene. Also, Taimi feel a bit bad herself, not just for the same reason, but her acting at the beginning probably did hurt Vivs a bit. She also saw that Vivs was already giving up at the fight against the void creatures. Taimi feared that Vivs actually did die, but Aurene brought him back. Taimi was VERY relieved. 

Now: I asked this also earlier (what would Taimi think of him now that it was all over) and the result was Poet and the Pendulum by Nightwish. I take that like Taimi knows Vivs suffers from depression, which is caused by guilt, which was caused by his psycho side doing horrible things to innocent people, which was caused by this Professor messing with his mind when he was still a toddler, and later his mind being messed with by the parasite minion. And yet, he keeps on fighting and in the heat of the battle and exploration has this need to save people. As much as possible. Taimi wants to support and help as much as she could and can. 

What Taimi respects in Vivs: Remedy by Waldo’s People. With this song, I think that is what Taimi really respects about Vivs, is that instead of putting his head under the dirt, he decides to go and help people, even if it was just for the reason to ease his guilt. Taimi knows that Vivs knows that if no one did anything, they all were going to die. So, they should at least try to fight back, or die trying. Because if they didn’t do anything, they would die anyway.

That he was being this guide to people to get them to fight together, despite his own personal struggles. 

I think that Taimi thinks that without the Commander, they all most likely would have died. 

Vivs himself thinks that anyone could have easily taken his place. Someone like Caithe, for example. 

Overall in my head Taimi and Vivs are pretty much in love with each other. But being asura, they easily cast aside tender feelings, and tend to think more logically. Taimi’s current state is uncertain, so she doesn’t really care to get involved with family life. Vividatt would not mind that, but he wouldn’t mind just being with her either. They do it at times, but they often think that it’s just to keep Vivs’ psycho side in control, although, their feelings get involved with it very much. They will never admit it, though. 

Also, Taimi getting jealous over Gorrik also raised Vivs’ eyebrow, although Taimi has all the reasons and right to feel how she feels. Especially since Vivs himself tends to sleep around, even if it is to not let out his dangerous side. 

Relationships are complicated. 

[nowmemoriees]

ok i think i need to say this now bc this 'war' between bylers and milevens is just stupid. there's a lot of facts both sides are misunderstanding just to defend their fav shipps, so let's review them.

in seasons 1-2, Mike DID love Eleven. bylers can not deny it. but it was a kids love, specially protective. it wasn't "first sight love" either. at first Mike's priority was finding Will, and he saw a way to find him in El, while she saw a way to be safe from the "bad guys" in Mike.

But they did care a lot about each other, too much maybe, together, they learned what love was. but, being honest, el wasn't ready for a relationship. i mean, cmon, she could barely talk.

through seasons 2-4 she needed to find herself. to find out about her identity, her family and abilities. Max helped a lot on season 3. and it's here where everything changes.

Will is definitely in love with Mike in seasons 3-4. it's not a crush, he loves him. he wants Mike to be happy even if that means sacrificing his own feelings (as we saw in the van scene, where he used his real feelings on El's behalf to encourage Mike)

I think seasons 1-2 are also the starting point for byler development, but in a 'friends to lovers' way, unlike mileven, that was shown as a 'first sight love'

Mike really cared about Will in the first two seasons. In season one, his priority was to find and save him. In the second one, protect him. (Will was already falling in love at this point)

S1= Mike spent his time protecting El, while he was thinking/worrying about Will

S2= Mike spent his time protecting Will, while he was thinking/worrying about El.

And it's all about this. For Mike it has always been one or the other.

And this is why everything changes in season 3.

They were all together now, so Mike had to choose who spend his time with. His friends, or his girlfriend. Will started to complain about this, bc mike didn't necessarily have to choose between one or the other, but he did. He pushed Will away even knowing he was the reason for everything they have been through the last two years.

On this season Mike had conflicts with both El and Will. He really tried to solve both of them, but it was way easier for him to apologize to Will first. He realised then, that he didn't fully know El, she did not even fully know herself until she dumped Mike. Meanwhile, he had known Will basically all his life.

This caused some confusion, but it was paused because the group had bigger problems to solve.

After the battle, many things had to change. Will and El were moving to California together, they were going to be siblings now.

During the farewell scene, Mike's confusion was so noticeable.

When El told Mike she loved him too, and then kissed him, he didn't even answer or close his eyes, he just stayed like this 🕴

But, when Will told him he wasn't going to join another party, he seemed really happy about it, even knowing it was a really sad moment for both of them.

After this, he went back home and... this parallel happened. In both scenes he thought he had lost (or was losing) Will.

What an interesting season finale.

Then we finally got s4, fkn god i just love this season.

We have :

Will definitely and obviously still in love with Mike, but hopeless.

Eleven back on her way to find herself, but still dating Mike.

Will, Jonathan and El being now 'siblings'

When Mike arrives to California, we saw how he rejected will's hug. It was weird, because they were supposed to be in 'good terms'.

Mike gave all of his attention to Eleven, but he never said 'I love you' to her, even when El was begging for him to say it. The only person that could get mike to tell eleven that he loves her was Will.

But, we also had a Byler discussion at the rink-o-mania, where Mike complains about Will being a douche and distant. So, Will also complains to Mike saying that he only called him a couple of times.

In episode 8, we discovered Mike did try to call, but the phone line was always busy. Will wasn't ignoring his calls, and Mike didn't forget about Will. But they both misunderstood the situation.

They didn't communicate their feelings very well. That's why their relationship was so awkward.

We also discovered Mike likes being a protector, he likes to be needed, and that's the main (and maybe the only) reason he keeps dating El.

Will gave his painting to Mike. The painting he has worked on for months, the painting he didn't want to show Eleven. He used that painting to save Mike and El's relationship. Even with Mike's monologue (impulsed by Will), it wasn't enough for El. Both El and Mike knew it was not the same anymore.

After the lost battle, Eleven didn't talk to Mike even after he told her what she wanted to hear.

I don't wanna talk so much about s4 because its the main topic on social media rn so i think its unnecesary to remark al the byler development we had this season, but we have to remark these important aspects and clues to have into account for s5.

Mike still hasn't realised Will's painting wasn't El's idea.

This two scenes were PERFECTLY planned and scripted by the duffer brothers. (Last scene took a whole day to be recorded because the details had to be perfect)

i want to say my conclussion anyways.

Byler has a big chance of being endgame, even if the public doesn't like this idea. It is not a forced couple, it has been slowly developing since season 1.

Eleven deserves to find herself, be in peace and be happy, without worrying about being loved by a boy or fighting a monster.

So does Will.

Byler IS not just a great 'plot twist', it has been planned to be like this since the beggining of the show.