#this post got away from me

[betterwithbooksthanwithpeople]

“The Great Bookery” is truly THE Dragon Prince episode of all time. the main plot is going to a cursed library. Gren actually on screen for more than a few seconds. super booknerd Kazi. Bait both being used as a paperweight and thrown like a football in the same episode. Amaya’s apology and advice to Rayla that leads into tHE ARC ONE RAYLLUM MONTAGE. Rayla telling Callum about her parents?! Amaya picking Callum up when he won’t stop reading and Callum interpreting for Amaya. fighting shadow monsters. “I hope you know-” “I know”?! Zubea saving the day. “GO”?!? CORVUS SIGNING. so much season six setup. it even has Karim being an idiot. what’s not to love

[oliviasroses19]

Just thinking about how happy I am that we got a more complex, deeper friendship with show!polin. I did enjoy the book, don’t get me wrong. But at the start, book!polin was pretty one sided on Penelope’s part. We know she loves Colin literally from the first page, but Penelope was what feels like an afterthought for Colin. It’s only when he returns from his tour and spends more time with her that he starts seeing her as a friend. He said it himself, they were acquaintances, and only more recently does he consider them being friends. He went from liking her company to Colin “my wife” Bridgerton real quick (this form of Colin exists in both bridgerton universes, thank GOD). Their story feels more like acquaintances to lovers in my opinion.

What makes show!Polin so magical, and I’m sure is the true reason for the choke hold they have on us, is the fact that we got to see their history as childhood friends develop to best friends and then to lovers. We can see the love Pen has for Colin from the start, and while he hasn’t come to his senses yet, he clearly adores her in the beginning as well.

Then we have the letters. My dear, sweet, completely inappropriate letters (only in regard to the lack of propriety). Yet another contrast between show and book Polin. Their letters truly fortify their friendship to the viewer and add even more magic to their story. Penelope is eager to talk to the man she loves and she is elated that he wants to talk to her too. And Colin gets the space to be himself in these letters. Penelope has never once made him feel silly for his rambling about the places he’s visiting while his family doesn’t shy away from brushing him off or chastising him for talking about his travels. He knows that there is at least one person back home that is excited to hear from him. His heartache confusion over not hearing from her on his second tour only solidifies how dear her letters and friendship are to him. Penelope plays such a large part in his life, he spirals when he thinks he lost her friendship. “Is there something wrong, Pen? Between us, I mean” gets me every time 😭.

We see the yearning from Pen for two seasons, see her protect and love Colin in secret, and heartbreakingly see her give up hope that he will ever love her in that way. We also get to see Colin look for her at every social assembly, protect Pen multiple times, and when he FINALLY realizes his feelings aren’t completely platonic, we see his own yearning. This makes the entire journey all the more gratifying for the viewer.

I can’t believe it sometimes that we finally made it. We got our Polin endgame. It’s been a long few years but those years just made the reward all the more incredible. The boost of serotonin I get watching them finally end up together is truly unmatched and hasn’t diminished no matter the amount of rewatches/GIFs/fan edits I see.

It’s been 6 months and not a day has gone by that i haven’t thought about my babies finally getting their happily ever after. I cannot, will not, do not want to give up the choke hold these two have on me.

——————————————

This post ran away from me but are we really surprised? Thanks for letting me dump out the contents of my brain, y’all are real ones.

[worrynoodle]

🥧🍻Contains spoilers for Supernatural ending🍻🥧

I take what I said about the ending back. I've been rewatching and I agree that it wasn't right.

Throughout the entire series, we consistently see Sam and Dean encounter other hunters who usually represent two paths. In this life, you die or go insane ("You either die a hero or you live long enough to become a villain" -The Dark Knight). And of the two options, Sam and Dean seem to have decided that dying is at least better than potentially hurting someone. Neither of them actually believe that because they keep bringing each other back.

But this post is mostly about Dean's ending - death, in the line of duty, by rusty rebar.

During my first watchthrough, I could see - very surface level - that yeah, sure, Dean would want to die that way. Going out saving people, Sammy at his side.

But almost every other time (if not every time) Dean is faced with his own death, he decides he doesn't actually want that. He feels he must. He dies so others can live, that's his job, it's expected. But he would live if he could. When he made the demon deal to get Sam back, he confronts his nightmare self and says he doesn't want to die. He doesn't deserve to die. With the mark of Cain, in the confession booth he tells the priest that he knows he doesn't want to die and that he wants to live and experience life differently.

Dean wants to break away from the expectation that hunters die. Maybe he can't have a "normal" life. But he wants something other than what's expected of him. What God expected of him.

This was supposed to be Team Free Will. This was supposed to be about breaking away from God's Plan. Not dying like the little soldier daddy raised him to be but to become more than that. Break away from the narrative.

In the end, though, Dean is forced to have the death that everyone else planned for him. The self-sacrificing version of himself, other hunters, his dad, God. All the people we as the audience wanted Dean to be free of, to live in spite of - he dies like daddy's blunt little instrument. Cas sacrificed himself to the empty, finding peace in the face of never seeing the love of his existence again, in the face of literal eternal nothingness so that Dean could live and be more than [Dean] thought he could be. He was happy to sacrifice his happiness for Dean's. Just for Dean's life to be cut short the same way Cas died to avoid. (Death because of the work. Death like a soldier in battle.)

All of the times Dean and Sam (and Cas) die and come back to life, all of the people they find who live happily, the family they find together, the love they find, defeating literal God - it all felt like it was building to something more substantial. That they BOTH (*) were going to get something more than they expected - or, rather, resigned themselves to.

And on Sam's end - throughout the show, they show us, surface level and parallel to deans death, that him living a "normal" life without dean is what is expected. He left the life. He left Dad and Dean, went to college, had goals and aspirations, and had a serious girlfriend. His life was laid out for him. Just like death was laid out for Dean. But when push comes to shove, Sam doesn't want to live without Dean. Even when Sam thinks he can do it, like when Dean goes to purgatory, he comes the moment Dean calls and gets back into the life. When Dean dies from the mark, he says so. He was wrong, and he'll do anything to get Dean back. Everybody asks him why he would ever come back when was almost out and he tells them that he actually loves this life. That now he isn't forced into it but chooses it. He doesn't want a life without his brother in it. And that is what he was doomed to suffer. By the end of the series, I don't think Sam would have just let go like that.

Chuck said one brother had to kill the other. In other words, one lives, one dies. And that's what happened.

*I wasnt going to but now I am. Let's talk about Cas too! Through the show Cas dies again and again and again. God hates the disobedient angel with a crack in his chassis who fell in love with a man. God kills him. God wants him out of the picture but he won't go. He can't go. The story falls apart without him in it. Dean falls apart without him. But somehow his death is considered a good ending for him (good story telling wise, externally)? That confessing his love was enough? That dying in place of Dean was where he wanted to be? Sure, he was happy but it came at the price of that very happiness. It was had and taken in a moment. He was destined to die by God and that's what happened. (And we are supposed to believe that Dean just... lives on, cuddlin his dog and eatin' pie like he's not wrecked? That every other time Cas dies he falls apart but this time when Cas dies, they defeat God and true happiness is supposedly possible now - Dean would just give up? That he wouldn't try to get him back? Especially after a love confession? That just doesn't make sense to me.

My theory is that there's more to the ending than we know. That they did intentionally wrap it up there, that you can take it or leave it. But it leaves you wanting, leaves just enough questions unanswered that if they were to do a revival there's things they can do with the story.

Tl:dr: for a show about breaking away from the narrative, choosing free will, and not being held back by expectations, the ending really didn't fit well and let us down. IN MY PERSONAL OPINION

[afinestoutlove]

things i love about heartstopper 49/?

Okay this one is going to appeal to approximately zero other people in the fandom, but I don’t care, I’m embracing being an 80-year-old granny in a 40-year-old queer’s body. And this queer loves Midsomer Murders.

I love that Darcy’s gran is Fleur Perkins, the pathologist from Midsomer Murders. Yes, I know the actor is Annette Badland, but she is always going to be Fleur to me. She’s basically playing the same character anyway, let’s be honest, and that’s why she’s great. I’m a one-man Darcy’s Gran and Fleur Perkins Fanclub.

Related fun coincidence: Georgina Rich played the murderer in the episode 'Happy Families'.

And Rachael Stirling played her sister, whose husband was murdered, and who Georgina's character was trying to frame for it.

Extra fun fact, Fleur goes full psychopomp in this episode, it's very fun.

Bonus random fact: the person showing prospective students around Lambert is the giggling girl who jumps into the lake at the start of the episode ‘With Baited Breath’. Literally no one cares but I just needed you all to know that I know.

If you noticed any other Midsomer Murders cameos please tell me, it gives me a weird amount of joy to see them crossing over.

[ultravioletbrit]

i am asking for all the jealous james fics pls

I would love to yap about my Jealous James fics!! Thank you for the ask!! 💜💜

Mini summaries of some of the fics I have started:

• ‘i think he knows’ – not based on the Taylor song, but featuring several lines because they fit so well. Friends with benefits to lovers but obviously they’re both oblivious idiots about the whole thing. James gets visibly jealous once and Regulus goes absolutely feral for him and has a plan to make it happen again. He thinks James knows exactly what he’s doing… spoiler alert, James does not know. He misreads the situation and thinks Reg wants the person he’s using to make James jealous. Lighthearted angst, pining and more jealously ensue while these idiots figure their shit out.

• sad instead of sexy jealousy – this one has a choke hold on me like nothing else, but it’s angsty as fuck and features a very, very toxic Barty (which I’m scared to ever post). I basically took all the toxic parts of Barty and his and Reg's friendship and turned them up to 11. There’s a past relationship, Barty is still in love with Reg and extremely possessive in a ‘if I can’t have him no one can’ sort of way. It’s starts small with Barty just purposefully trying to make James jealous and antagonize him, but then it gets so much worse. He pushes James past the ‘hot and sexy’ jealousy and right into the ‘sad and insecure’ jealousy.   

• Reg doesn’t know he’s hot / James doesn’t know he’s flirting – this is just a short, fluffy, funny fic where they’re both extremely jealous. James unintentionally ‘flirts’ with a bartender, Reg wears a chop top, and chaos erupts when their jealousy boils over.

• Another where they're both jealous, featuring background Bartylily – James is jealous of Barty. Reg is jealous of Lily. Little do they know that Lily and Barty are fucking behind everyone’s back.

• Stupid games – this is another bingo fic prompt. I did post a very short version of this for jegulus bingo with established Jeggy doing a sort of jealousy role play thing but of course, James can’t help but get jealous for real even though he knows who Reg is going home with. I have a longer version that really explores this game and their rules and their kinks and how jealousy is a turn on for both of them for different reasons.

• Pouty Jealousy – I don’t have a story for this one yet, or I guess I don’t have a plot. I basically just have several moments of James being pouty because Regulus is giving his attention to other people. Sirius thinks it’s annoying, Barty thinks it’s pathetic, but Reg can’t help but think it’s adorable. (because pouty, needy James is adorable)

[darkanachronism]

Hot BG3 Take of the Day, if you romance Astarion, post ritual if he doesn't Ascend he should keep saying he's all pointy ears. And also he should bring back "Ah, my favorite Travelling companion," and "What can I do for you my friend." As greetings. I miss hearing that I am his friend, and his favorite Travelling companion. And frankly, I think being friends with your partner is important. He can say both. Also, second hot take. Spawn should get a kiss similar to the one where Gale goes in for a cheek smooch and and Tav grabs them. Except it is Tav going in for a chaste little cheek smooch and him grabbing them.

Third hot take. Tav should be able to give all the companions a quick little peck on the cheek when dating them. There should me more cute little affection options that aren't full on snogging. There should be a compliment button. Let me tell my friends they were good in that fight. That I appreciate them being around. That I respect them, and they make me happy. Why is it always kissing!

[watermelonsloth]

“Queer Coding” in Naruto

(Disclaimer: I’m putting queer coding in air quotes because I don’t think Kishimoto intended anything in Naruto to be read as queer. A more accurate title for what I’m talking about is “my personal experience and opinions on reading queerness into the Naruto text through both individual characters and ships”. But that’s way too long. Also, despite using the umbrella term “queer”, I don’t really talk about heacanoning trans identities into characters. I originally was going to, but the post got longer than initially planned and it isn’t directly relevant what I want to talk about. I may make a future post or reblog to talk about trans identities, since that’s just as important a conversation to have.)

I had a post that has since been deleted off my blog about my headcanons about the sexualities of the Konoha 12. This is the only post I have deleted even though it’s not the only post I no longer agree with. I deleted it for two reasons: 1. I wasn’t being completely honest in it and I don’t want to keep purposely dishonest posts on my blog and 2. It made me uncomfortable with my own opinions. It made me ask myself, “What am I basing these headcanons on?” To cut a not so long story short, I didn’t want to risk feeding into stereotypes anymore than I already did and deleted the post.

I bring this up because I’ve recently watched a video about Tim Drake coming out as bisexual and it made me revisit the topic. Specifically, it made me wonder why so many people, including myself, read Tim as being bi despite not necessarily being queer coded. At least not in the traditional, stereotypical way. Inevitably this made me think about that post of mine and some of my Naruto headcanons.

As I implied in my disclaimer, I think there are two main ways queerness is read into a text (in my experience): headcanoning that a character has a queer gender identity or sexual orientation and headcanoning a relationship between two or more characters to be queer (usually through reading romance subtext into what would otherwise be a platonic relationship). An important note is that you can have one without the other. You can headcanon that Sasuke is gay without shipping him with any men and you can ship SakuHina without having an opinion on their sexualities one way or another. (There are more ways to read queerness into text but these are what I’m focusing on.)

When it comes to reading into the sexuality and relationships of characters as queer, it’s usually based on your answer to a very subjective and deceitfully simple question: “What’s the difference between a romantic and platonic relationship?”

I can’t answer this question for you and my answer likely won’t align with yours, but my personal answer is the level of intimacy (emotional, casual, and sexual) and vulnerability in the relationship. I have three headcanons surrounding the sexualities of Naruto characters—Naruto is bisexual, Sasuke is demisexual, and Shino is asexual—and all of them come back to this idea.

Naruto gets incredibly attached to and has close relationships with both women and men, Sakura, Sasuke, and Gaara specifically. These relationships involve Naruto not only being a good friend who will go to great lengths for them, but also him being emotionally vulnerable with them in a way that encourages them to become more vulnerable people (Sakura embraces her more tomboyish/less acceptable side, Sasuke cries, admits defeat, and starts introspecting, and Gaara opens himself up to others again because of his influence). Sasuke is shown to take a while to warm up to the people in his life—it wasn’t until the chunin exams that he showed open respect to Naruto and Sakura and took until the fight with Killer B for him to really warm up to Team Taka. Basically all of Shippuden was also about Sasuke eventually returning Naruto and Sakura’s feelings (however you choose to interpret those feelings) and letting them into his life. Shino is the only member of the Konoha 12 who never has a love interest of any kind, implied or explicit feelings for anyone, or a moment of meaningful emotional vulnerability.

This also applies to what I ship and, incidentally, what relationships I see as queer coded. Naruto and Sasuke’s relationship revolves around them learning to be vulnerable with each other, so I read it as having a lot of romantic subtext. Meanwhile, I never really got into InoSaku because—despite it being very similar to NaruSasu on the surface and the two being close friends—they never really shared the vulnerability or emotional/casual intimacy that would’ve actually convinced me their relationship was anything but platonic. This is also why I was never sold on NaruHina. There was plenty of admiration and unconditional support between the two of them, but they never had a moment where they connected over something deeply personal or important to them nor a moment where they fully dropped their walls for each other. The closest they got was the “proud failure” moment during the chunin exams.

Is my answer to the question actually good at determining whether or not a relationship is romantic and does my measurement—for lack of a better word—work at identifying people’s sexualities in the real world? No. Platonic relationships can be incredibly close and romantic relationships can come across as emotionally distant from an outsiders perspective. A person being more comfortable with one gender over others isn’t indicative of sexual orientation and people on the asexual spectrum aren’t guaranteed to have trust issues or problems being vulnerable. Nonetheless, this is a bias I have and thus it’s a bias I read into the media I consume.

When it comes to the larger conversation of why certain characters read as queer despite not being queer coded and why certain relationships read as more romantic than others, I don’t think this idea explains all of it but I think this is a larger part of it. Or at least it’s a more specific foundation/explanation than “vibes.”

[smiley-mcdoggington]

Does Ford get to have cuddles with his unfrozen pocket Stans.... it must be weird for them for a guy they just met (from their perspective) to be so emotionally dependent on them. How would they react to the knowledge that Ford was carrying them around in his pocket for 30 years?

Well first they have to comprehend that they're the same age as Ford, which is difficult, but a bit easier with Knucklehead there because Knucklehead got his brother to say a few vague things about how Bill's a dream demon that hurts him in his sleep and yeah Knucklehead thought it was a mental break or something but then he slowly died surrounded by corpses of himself so maybe Ford wasn't bullshitting about the gateway and the horrors on the other side because Holy Fuck. Mr Pines is kinda letting Knucklehead take the lead because he's vulnerable by default with his kid but Knucklehead still accepts all the weird shit going on faster than Mr Pines because he's never comprehended any of this being one of his future life problems when he was kinda tackling together a life plan for the sake of his kid. Ford explains they're only defrosted because Bill is dead and no longer able to maintain them, even though its very obvious something happened at that point that Ford is deeply bothered by, neither of them have the mass to press him.

Ford picks them up and they both freak out because Heights which is new because Ford's been picking them up for 30 years, so Ford puts them back down and tries to remember not to do that again, but of course the next day he tries to function outside the basement with the Stanleys still down on his desk getting to know eachother and talks to his brother and. His brother is still having trouble remembering him. And Ford doesn't have any reassuring cold against his chest when Stan was given a picture of the two of them working on their boat and asked if they were Ford's kids because they looked a hell of a lot like him. Ford ended up excusing himself and rushing downstairs to kinda just awkwardly watch Knucklehead and Mr Pines, very clearly on the verge of a panic attack and Mr Pines picks up on it. Mr Pines walks closer to him and Ford very quietly asks if he can hold him for a second, he promises he won't drop him, he just... But Mr Pines just hands his kid to Knucklehead with a very stern warning glare before making the 'uppies' gesture with a very resigned look on his face. Ford picks him up about as carefully as he had any other poker chip on the table all those years ago, holding him to the same spot on his chest except this time he's warm and it's new but it's grounding and Mr Pines is kinda awkwardly patting his chest like 'you're alright, big guy' because you know what if getting cuddled like the family hamster gets him a sweet gig with the giant nice old man version of his brother so be it, it's not like he's big enough to get baby formula from the grocery store but Ford made his own for him, seems like his good side is the place to be. Mr Pines becomes the one Ford goes to for physical affection when he's panicking and Mr Pines kinda enjoys it, how own Ford would probably be starting a bitch fit about him doing something wrong but not this Ford, this Ford is not only completely over the science fair but also this Ford listens to him and is honest with him and maybe Mr Pines resting against a warm, solid chest listening to Ford's heart does things to him.

Knucklehead is a bit slower to come around because he disassociates whenever Ford picks him up and doesn't come back for hours, so it's hard to be emotionally invested. He does get what's going on better and takes being completely powerless a little too easy but he's not like popsicle Stan, he doesn't have a fawn response, he's just kinda meh abt it. He does get close with Mr Pine pretty fast though because Mr Pine is annoying

They both are pretty curious about their old self, Knucklehead never thought he would grow old and Mr Pine already feels old so theyre both a little fascinated seeing him when Ford drags Stan down to meet them. Stan can barely remember his own name so the transition to having two tiny young versions of himself and a tiny baby are a lot smoother because Yeah this is probably just something that's always been but I forgot

Stan shows them Dipper and Mabel his grandkids - sorry - grandniblings because he's really proud of them, they both immediately freak out and get so excited, Mr Pines already loves them and is asking about their school and their lives and kinda studying how they were parented for reference but also because he's so fucking excited to have more family. Knucklehead doesn't understand why people keep letting children near him but then Mabel makes them a proper bed instead of the tissue box and Dipper reminds Ford of the grow crystals so maybe they're alright

[whereismymonsterlover]

This is so fucking brain rot dont give gen z media from the 70s they will ruin it

The Artillery Man from Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds (voiced by David Essex) would absolutely be a tumblr sexy man. It's the trauma and delusional himbo optimism, as well as Essex's lovely accent. Listen to the track Brave New World. More than the tumblr sexy man of it all, its also just a brilliantly lovely and human moment in the musical. Two men running from martians, who saw each others' supposed deaths, reunite in saftety and the narrator listens to the artillary man's grand ideas in quiet amusement and pity - and then they play games, an activity the narrator admits in the tone of someone who knows the ludicrousy of such a thing in their ongoing apocolypse.

[blu3birdprince]

Rewatching Soul Eater and honestly I forgot how long season 1 is. 51 episodes. 51! This wasn't even uncommon back then. The original FMA did the same thing. Shows used to be longer, they used to take their time. Both the audience and the characters got regular breaks from the plot to just relax and bond. That's a big reason a lot of those older shows are still so well-loved. We had time to get attached. We got to see them in fun scenarios that wouldn't happen otherwise. Everyone got a break from the plot to just exist in universe. If these shows just sped run through the plot, we wouldn't get great characters like Excalibur. Who does nothing to serve the plot, but instead we get to see how the most annoying little man who ever existed pisses everyone off differently. We wouldn't get the pickup basketball games and see how Maka slowly learns how to play. We wouldn't get to see how the students and teachers interact with each other. We wouldn't get to see Spirit try and fail to be a good father. We wouldn't see his struggles. All of these things are what help make the show so amazing. I miss the beach episodes, the school trips, and learning fun random facts about the characters that only serve to make them more rounded.

[firthbetterorfirthworse]

hi! I got a hyperfixation over colin firth the last few days and I've been watching his movies but I'm at that moment where all I want to see is him kissing another woman (I don't mind if it's a man honestly) 👁👄👁 and I came across your blog and your master post BUT I can see it's focused on how wet he got SO i wanted to ask you if you could give me a list of the movies I can watch based on what I told you before. (dw, the really good movies are on a list but I think you get what I mean). thank you and sorry for my english, it's not my first language 🫠

Oooh I'm honored you came to me!

Kissing movies with Colin Firth

He's probably best known for the Bridget Jones series or Love Actually. They're honestly not my favorite, but I gift you this gif

because I'm not blind to the appeal! Instead I've arbitrarily ranked a bunch of them for you

Tier 1

I think my top is honestly Then She Found Me (2007) He and Helen Hunt have both been hurt before and know how messy love can be - but how much the risk can be worth it!

The Importance of Being Earnest (2002) doesn't have a lot of kissing, but it's so so cute. I love farce anyway, and I could rewatch this story a thousand times.

Supernova (2020) is a beautiful, beautiful movie. He and Stanley Tucci are perfect together. But you will also cry.

Same with A Single Man (2009). Romance features heavily, but it's memories of a lost love. This movie is gorgeous and wonderful but you will cry through all of it. I include it only because of how beautiful it is

Tier 2

These are some pretty standard rom-coms that I enjoyed overall but didn't change my life:

Fever Pitch (1997) He's a bit of a loser teacher who falls for the new teacher, he's football obsessed and she doesn't get it.

Hope Springs (2003) - He ends up in the small town of Hope Springs after his fiancé leaves him, and meets someone new

The Secret Laughter of Women (1999) - he is a comic book writer who meets a young boy and his mother. Cultural differences as well as some other twists work against them

A Summer in Genoa (2008) - mourning the loss of his wife, he finds comfort in the arms of an old friend. This one is a bit more family focused, he's a father, but it worked for me

Magic in the Moonlight (2014) - He is a skeptic, Emma Stone is claiming to be psychic. Not a lot of kissing that I remember, but there's a wonderfully terrible proposal and a happy ending.

Period Pieces

Valmont (1989) - Firth plays someone willing to sleep with anyone who looks at him longer than 2 seconds. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, even though there were moments that made me uncomfortable

Camille (1984) - Baby Firth falls in love with a courtesan and makes me feel like an inappropriate cougar

Girl With a Pearl Earring (2003) - all yearning, no kissing, but I figured I'd include it.

Bonus - Not a romance, BUT

Apartment Zero (1988) - written in a time where you could not come out and say anything more than "they were roomates" so there is zero kissing but you know there stuff going down offscreen. It's less about the romance and more about the mystery of what the heck is going on, but oh boy was it a ride

Before I Go To Sleep (2014) - a movie all about mindfuckery - and a good one at that! - but Firth is there as the husband

Playmaker (1994) - another mindfuck movie that is not about romance, but there are some sexy moments with Firth

St Trinians (2007) - I honestly don't know how to classify this movie. It's objectively a mess, but it's super fun

Nanny McPhee (2005) - More of a family film, but the romance of Firth is pretty plot-centric. It's cute, but tame

Technically a romance/You can if you want

The Accidental Husband (2008) - Colin Firth starts the movie as the supportive, wonderful fiance, so of course things go wrong for him

Circle of Friends (1995) - Firth plays a bit of a sleaze, but he definitely romances someone and there is kissing involved

Deep Blue Sea (1994) - Firth is living with someone but they have major problems, one of which is her husband. Not a lot of kissing

Dutch Girls (1985) - Baby Firth travels with his team to Holland, where they are all trying to get laid but he falls for a specific girl instead (again, not really any kissing)

The English Patient (1996) - Firth is in Egypt with his new wife, but Ralph Fiennes is there too. There is definitely kissing, but Firth isn't the only one doing it.

Femme Fatale (1991) - Firth is newly married when she disappears, and he finds out nothing is as he thought it was. Probably not as much kissing as you're looking for.

Fourplay/Londinium (2001) - This movie exists. And it is a kissing movie. But oh boy... I don't know that I have anything good to say aobut it hahaha

Out of the Blue (1991) - Firth charms the more inexperienced Catherine Zeta-Jones

Wings of Fame (1990) - In this weird movie, Firth is in a hotel that is the afterlife. But he does meet a woman and they get it on

[conquerthenight]

I’ve been thinking nonstop about the time someone on ao3 mentioned that Maxim took on some of Rebecca’s worst traits as a way to cope with (or that some of his own worst traits were exacerbated by) the abuse he endured by Rebecca’s hand. And that honestly makes so much sense.

None of this an excuse for how he behaves, but I think it could be an explanation.

I mean, think about it. We know he has quite the horrible temper. In the musical Beatrice states that he was “the same way as a child” meaning that his anger issues have always existed in some way. Of course that is most likely true, but take that and add in years of emotional abuse and it’s certainly a recipe for disaster. What used to be an ordinary bad temper became something border lining on volatile over the years. We see that in those moments Maxim snaps at his second wife. In the musical, during the first boathouse scene, Maxim rushes after his wife who had run offstage in terror, as if he was about to hit her before ultimately realizing what he was about to do and stopping himself in his tracks.

We know that Maxim can be quite cold and distant when he wants to be. At times he is also super patronizing and mocking. In the musical it’s a bit less so (but even that has the “you react like a child” line) but in the book he’s constantly talking down to his wife. Perhaps he does so because Rebecca did the same to him? Of course, Rebecca definitely didn’t compare him to a child as Maxim did to his second wife, but she could have mocked him with his insecurities (his obsession with holding up his family’s reputation, his intense desire to be seen as a strong figure and the toxic level of pressure he puts on himself as a result).

And of course, we can’t talk about Maxim or Rebecca’s worst traits without mentioning manipulation and the abuse of power dynamics. And what’s more is that both of them are fully aware that they are manipulating the situation. Rebecca sought to control Maxim by holding her affairs, Manderley’s standing, etc. over his head knowing full well he either wouldn’t or couldn’t (or a combination of the two) divorce her. See the lyric in “Kein Lächeln war je so Kalt”: “Divorce was taboo for the de Winter family. The family honor was worth more to me than my pride, and she relished in her triumph”.

Likewise, Maxim knows full well that his second wife came from basically nothing. He knows she’s financially dependent on him and that should their marriage fail in some way, she would have nowhere to go and no one to turn to. He even outright admits to her that he “did a selfish thing” marrying his second wife and that he “should have waited and let [his wife] marry a boy of [her] own age”. He knows that he has (and arguably still is) manipulating the dynamics in his own favor until the very moment he confesses to Rebecca’s murder and the power shifts from Maxim to his young wife.

Both Maxim and Rebecca know that they are absolute monsters. But it’s important to also note where they differ. While Rebecca revels in her absolute assholery and abusiveness, Maxim’s situation is the opposite. He hates himself for his own assholery and has basically condemned himself to a suffering of his own making.

Ironically, Mrs. Danvers said it best: “He’s made his own hell, and he has no one but himself to thank for it”. Was Mrs. Danvers just trying to get under the new Mrs. de Winter’s skin and hit her where it would hurt most? Yes. Was it said out of bitterness over Rebecca being replaced? Yes. But was she correct in her assumption? Also yes.

And of course, the key difference between Rebecca and Maxim is that all important shift in power. Rebecca held the power for almost the entirety of their relationship, and Maxim sought to take that power back through any means necessary resulting in Rebecca’s murder. When Maxim eventually confesses to said murder, it serves as an act of giving up that power he had claimed by killing Rebecca. He can no longer hold the weight of it because he knows he is damned and thus power transferred itself to his second wife. Where he was previously codependent on Rebecca, his second wife became codependent on him upon their marriage, and ultimately he became codependent on his wife upon his confession.

This is where the adaptation of Rebecca’s traits begins to fade. Maxim becomes basically a shell of himself, barely keeping it together through the rest of the story if not for the influence of his wife. He becomes as reliant on her as she had previously been reliant on him. This toxic cycle is only truly broken with the burning of Manderley. Only then are they equals. Only then do they begin to truly grow.

Rebecca, on the other hand, never got that chance. It was taken from her by the very man she had ill used. She knew that her “pregnancy” was a lie. She knew that her cancer diagnoses would damn her to a slow and painful death. Did that stop her from perpetuating the cycle of abuse? No. Instead she continued with it until her last breath, passing the torch to Maxim in the process.

Maxim certainly was no innocent. He perpetuated this toxic cycle as well. The only difference was that the person he passed it onto ended up not only breaking the cycle, but also gave him the opportunity to heal from it. He knows he isn’t worthy of it. We as the reader/viewer somewhat know that too. And yet the second Mrs. de Winter unknowingly grants him this post Manderley fire. Maxim has the opportunity to redeem himself where Rebecca did not.

Whether he takes the opportunity or ultimately succumbs to his inner demons (figuratively or literally) is completely up to the one consuming the story.

Personally my opinion is ever changing. While the optimistic part of me believes that he does work to better himself and ultimately succeeds in doing so, the realistic part of me wonders whether that’s the case. Of course, when I am of the realistic opinion I don’t think he reverts back to the traits he took on from Rebecca and those that were made worse during his relationship with Rebecca, but rather he wallows in a state of being that is just numb to it all. He is stagnant in his recovery because he believes, he knows, that he is beyond help. Things don’t get worse, but they certainly don’t get better either.

Ultimately Maxim de Winter is a character that foretells the tragedy of abuse and how the cycle of abuse can continue in ways that those trapped within it don’t comprehend until it’s too late. He is and isn’t a victim. He is and isn’t a perpetrator. We root for his relationship with his second wife on our most hopeful days and yet we don’t on our most cynical. He is an asshole. He is a dick. He isn’t exactly the best of men. And yet he is also broken. He is lonely. He is lost.

He finds what he is looking for in the end to an extent. A love that, while not exactly the healthiest, sets him on a path to becoming a better person. The relationship between Maxim and his second wife is in a way just like the drive leading to Manderley itself. Constant twisting and turning, plenty of bumps in the road, obstacles that temporarily prevent them from moving forward. And the beauty of it is that they do, in their own twisted way. They move on from the cycle of abuse they started in, however irreparably damaged and emotionally numb Maxim may be by the end.

“Love that liberates”. I’ve seen plenty of debate over whether that signature line from the musical is applicable to the story of Rebecca and the journey the de Winters take. My two cents is that it is, although the love itself isn’t what liberates the de Winters, Maxim in particular. Maxim may delude himself into believe that the love his second wife shows him despite his crimes is what liberates him, but while it certainly sets the foundation for their liberation from the cycle, in the end it is he who must crawl out of the hell he created for himself. No one can pull him out of it but himself.

[bergamotz]

if either I don't end up getting paid or if the gig I have coming up falls thru 4 some reason, that wld b bad. if both happen u can tune in2 the tv news 2 c me stone faced setting myself on fire in town square in what used 2 b a fenced off area w a monument 2 a guy who was #cancelled and is now a patch ov mulch while playing something maximally violent 2 the sensibilities ov the ppl who come here 2 shop at the boutiques that have sprung up in past 5 years. something by aesha erotica or msi or something as loud as I possibly have the means 2. while, again, staring straight ahead, emotionless, and setting myself on fire.

[sniffanimal]

framing things people do as wokely as possible:

oh you're a man and prefer to shave your face? so you participate in a gender-affirming activity to provide for your sensory needs?

you're not Irish nor Catholic but you went to the Irish pub themed sports bar today? You patronized a local small business while you participated in a cross cultural religious activity?

you tapped your fingers along to Old Town Road in the Uber you took home from the bar? You supported (tipped heavily because you threw up in it) a single mother (the Uber driver) and enjoyed music by a queer man of color while doing your part to help the environment and your community (not drunk driving and crashing into a tree)

[cabbage-rat]

Ranpoe Wedding Idea

So I had this concept for Ranpoe’s wedding. 

I feel like they would go off on a normal case and one day they come back with matching rings. No one really notices except for Yosano. When the three of them are alone, she asks about the new jewelry and they tell her that they’re engaged. Poe would be generally happy/shy/giddy about it while Ranpo would be like “It was bound to happen, it’s no big deal” but also he’s really happy and proud. 

Yosano asks about what kind of wedding they were planning on. And they realize, they really never thought about the actual wedding bit. Without hesitation, Yosano brings out a big’ol book that has “Celebrations” on it. On the off chance anyone in the agency were to get married or have a life changing event in need of celebration, she and Kunikida set up a variety of potential plans for the occasion. From weddings to funerals, this book has it all.

Ranpo is A-ok with this as he doesn’t really want to go through the hassle of sitting down to plan a wedding. Poe is initially a bit overwhelmed by the concept, but is flattered by the thought being put into it. Still, he’s a bit hesitant saying that it could be alot and for Yauno to not worry about it too much. She insists it’s fine and the plans begin. 

Kunikida is in charge of the various bookings as well as the event schedule, Atsushi and Tanizaki are in charge of the guest list, Kenji and Kyouka are in charge of flower arrangements and decorations, Dasai and Yosano are in charge of food, and Ranpo and Poe can make any alterations as they see fit. 

Each agent had a little adventure with their tasks (Atsushi and Tanizaki getting into trouble trying to see if any of the guild members could come, Dasai not only thinking of poisoning the food but messing with Kunikida’s scheduling, as always, Kenji and Kyouka trying not to pick flowers that symbolize bad luck, lost love, death, or any bad omens in flower language, etc.), but ultimately had a lot of fun in the process.

Poe, a bit overwhelmed by it all, asked if he could be in charge of the outfits, specifically the ones he and Ranpoe would wear. Yosano had no objections and a little life seemed to return to Poe.

As everyone is running around trying to get this wedding together, coming up and asking Ranpo and Poe for inputs for themes, cakes, music, etc., It's becoming more and more noticeable to Ranpo that Poe is becoming uncomfortable, overwhelmed, and withdrawn. But Poe insists he’s alright and that he’s glad everyone’s having fun. 

Their wedding is to take place in the evening, a sunset wedding. The day of, Poe still seems off but is happy to give Ranpo his outfit. It’s so last minute because Poe kept making something, redoing it, redesigning something, adjusting something else, just wanting it to be perfect for his fiancé. He even made a little tie for Karl.

They get dressed in separate rooms, but they do meet one more time before they meet everyone who is waiting for them in another room.  When they see each other they are caught off guard by how beautiful the other looks. 

As Poe gazes at Ranpo, his nerves finally catch up to him. Ranpo asks if he’s ok and Poe finally relents and explains how all of this seemed a bit much and happened so quick and how he’s happy that everyone was supportive and kind and put in so much effort for their wedding, but he feels guilty for not wanting to go through with it, not that he doesn’t want to get married, it’s just..

At this point he has to prop himself up on the nearest desk to keep his legs from giving out.

Ranpo sighs, crosses his hands behind his head, and smiles. He walks past Poe saying “Did you know, all it takes to be married is to sign a few papers? Who even likes going to stuffy weddings.”

Poe looks at Ranpo. 

After a brief pause Ranpo continues, “I say we skip to the good part and find where they hid the cake.”

“But they did so much planning..”

“And they had fun planning. But it is our wedding…” Ranpo picks up Karl from nearby and puts him on Poe’s head with a soft smile. “And I say that makes us in charge!”

Poe slowly relaxes and begins to smile remembering how happy everyone was doing their tasks. 

With a deep breath, Poe agrees,“O-Ok.”

Yosano’s not even angry they didn’t show up to their own wedding, but it did tick off Kunikida. The rest of the agency was a bit concerned and went searching for the grooms. They later found the two eating the cake, slightly covered in it as they had smashed each other's face in the cake already.

--------------ALLL OF THIS TO SAY-----------------

I drew some Ranpoe based on this fic idea I have no energy to fully write.

[stoney-baloney-with-cheese]

Okay so this thought hit me out of nowhere but.

Isn't there something so painfully human about all the fairytales, myths, and legends that start with someone rescuing a baby?

Kaguya, Oedipus, Cú Chulainn, the list goes on across the entire planet.

And when you think about it, it makes sense, doesn't it? A baby is a tiny, helpless thing. We all know instinctually that a baby on its own doesn't have a sliver of a chance. None of the people in these stories needed to take the babies home, few of them get commanded to by a deity or have a vision of some kind, but they did.

Because how could you do anything else? Imagine you're a woodcutter or a farmer or a hunter or something, it doesn't really matter, but you are a person whose job is to go out into nature and do stuff. You go out on a perfectly normal day, doing your thing, and then in the distance, you hear a strange noise. A noise that you really shouldn't be hearing.

A baby crying.

"What the fuck is that?" You think to yourself, and consider just going back to what you were doing. After all, it could be a fae, a demon, or (if you live in mountain lion territory) a big angry cat. Maybe its parents are nearby and just can't calm it down.

But what if they aren't?

What if it is a baby? Alone? You can't just leave a helpless baby out here in the woods.

And that's not even mentioning characters like the messenger from Oedipus Rex, who was ordered by the Queen of his city to take a baby into the mountains and kill it. But how could he do that? He's just a baby. A tiny, fragile, innocent child.

How could he leave a baby to die?

Humans have been caring for children not their own the whole time. And there's something deeply moving to me about that.