#unholy use of tv tropes

[pennyblossom-meta]

Yeah, fair.

[spidey-555]

They turned Narinder into the good guy by comparison.

That's what Unholy Alliance did. By confirming that Narinder was sealed because he was resurrecting his followers, thus making the other bishops jealous of his power, Jojo made Narinder into the victim and the bishops into the victimizers.

That's why TV Tropes entrys like this exist now.

"He used to be nice, but then his big bad siblings sealed him away, and now he's mean"

It's almost as if this was tailor-made to cater to Narinder woobifiers. I genuinely fear for the story's future.

[wolfgiselle]

Character Reaction Fanfictions (watching the show/movie or reading the books) -Recs -

One of my favorite tropes in fanfiction is characters being forced to watch/read/react to their own stories. Unfortunately, a good majority of these are crap. Readers looking for these stories often have to dig through a lot of coal to find just one diamond in the rough. Here's a list of the ones I’ve managed to find. Ones that aren’t just a written recreation of their source material.

Is This The Way It Ends Now? by Seastar98 (Death Note) (Finished) This is one of my favorite Death Note fanfictions for a reason. It doesn’t make us watch or read the dialogue or action of the show along with the characters; It assumes we’ve already seen it and focuses on the character’s reactions (what we’re actually here for) and gives more character development to some of its minor characters (Mello, Near, and Matt being clear examples. I was happy about this in particular since my favorite characters in Death Note are Matt and Matsuda). L and Light end up together, but romance is not the focus.

Hunter x Hunter / Assassination Classroom by EternalQuestForGoodFics (Finished) Basically, Killua ends up in the Assassination Classroom world. To go home, he must eventually allow his classmates to watch the HunterxHunter series to learn more about him and where he came from. These two fandoms are a great matchup, and Killua is one of the best characters to end up in the AssClass world. Seeing Killua bond and make a new friend out of Nagisa made it worth reading alone. Their reactions are part 2 of the series. 

MHA X Hunter by makifinity (My Hero Academia / Hunter x Hunter) (In progress) This is a good fanfiction where the My Hero Academia characters watch the HunterXHunter anime together instead of their own show. What makes ‘this’ great is how different the two worlds are and the morals that hold them together. I love that the villains are also involved in this viewing room since, in most My Hero reaction fics, the villains are left out of the experience and don’t get to have their own voices and opinions about what is happening on screen.

The Journey of the Unholy Trinity by Arremi (Code Geass) (In progress) If you’ve been in the Code Geass fandom long enough, you’ve probably seen a few of these stories. This one is the longest, most well-written, and most complete I’ve found.

Code Geass: The Blame Game: by AllHailThe99th (Code Geass) (In progress) One thing I like about this Code Geass reaction fic is the author’s obvious and stated hate of the character Suzaku. Suzaku is on my list of most hated characters; I like reading people judging and calling him out constantly on his shit. It’s a very therapeutic read. I recommend it to anyone who felt a similar rage when watching the show.

Appearances by McKinney_Wylis (Marvel / Avengers) (Finished) This story has the Avengers going to Asgard to check on Loki when they find a weird video clip online that scares them into believing Loki may have broken free. It turns out the video clip was from a different universe (our universe), and they suddenly had access to the Marvel movies that were available at that time. They watch the Thor movie and learn things about Loki, unknown before. The watching of Thor actually doesn’t take up the whole fic, but this story still counts. It takes place during the Thor: The Dark World storyline.

In terms of pairings…well, I’ll read any pairing if it’s written well enough. Even a story with Loki and Steve shacking up. I don’t like Steve, but I like how he was written in this fic. The way he and Loki interact is cute enough that I can look past it.

Part of the Journey is the end by hunkahulkaaburningfudge (Marvel / Avengers) This series starts with the characters watching Infinity War and has been going through the continuing movies and TV shows; with great writing and lots of material, this is definitely one of the best. I loved the Wanda and Loki reactions. And the ‘What if?” storylines were hilarious.

Avengers Watch Snippets by Ifihadatardis (Marvel / Avengers) As advertised, the characters watch little snippets of scenes of each other’s lives. Sometimes, these fics are preferable because the characters can learn about each other without going through their entire movies.

All the Days of Our Lives Series by ElrondScribe (Marvel / Avengers) This series has the characters react to Captain America, Iron Man 1, and Iron Man 2. It takes place after Civil War and has them watching the movies in Wakanda. I like the Tony Stark and Pepper focus in these fics, and I thought the writer did well with the other character voices, even for the ones I didn’t like.

School Watches Assassination Classroom by TheSteinsGateFormula (Assassination Classroom) (Finished) This is not just one of the best reaction fanfictions of all time but one of the best, period. The author not only had the original class and teachers watching the show but the entire school (baring the Principal, thank god) yet still managed to keep everyone in character and give everyone a distinctive voice when trying to keep up with so many people.

Attention is given to situations that were mostly glossed over without consequence in the actual show, like the students who came from abusive households. My favorite characters, Nagisa and the younger Asano, get a good amount of attention.

The only negative of this fic is how long it is. Over 700,000 words. It takes some serious reading time, but it’s worth it. Trust me. But once you start, you might not want to stop. Make sure you have the time to dedicate to it.

Lucifer Reacts to Supernatural by SilverWolf7 (Lucifer/Supernatural) As much as I love Supernatural and wish I had more good recs for it, this is one of the best options I can offer in this category. I haven’t seen the show Lucifer yet (I’ve been meaning to), but it didn’t take away from my enjoyment of this fic. Seeing Lucifer’s love of Sam’s character and hearing him rage about many of the things in the show that frustrated me or he thought were inaccurate were giant highlights of this story. Warning: If you’re a Dean fan, you might get defensive about how much Lucifer bashes him (I live for it, but that’s me). One of the other characters that he’s watching it with even rage-quits on him for how much he was dissing her favorite character. If that doesn’t bother you, this might be the fic for you.

Watching You, Watching Me, Watching You by trippedandfellintopurgatory (Supernatural) This is one of the only good Supernatural watching-the-show fics I’ve found. So, of course, it only has 19 chapters, sits at 30,000 words, and has a slow updating schedule.

Blank Disc by TheFallenArchangel (Supernatural) Another of the few good Supernatural watch-the-show fics. This one hasn’t been updated since 2014 and has only seven chapters. Dean and Sam are teenagers, and their father and Bobby watch with them.

The Void by iAnneart (Yugioh: Duel Monster/ Yugioh Abridged) This fanfiction was one that I used to love, and I hate that it still hasn’t been updated and doesn’t look like it ever will be. The characters of Yugioh react to their own abridged series to hilarious effect. This fic was the entire reason I watched the Abridged Series by LittleKuribo - still one of the funniest things I’ve ever seen, and admittedly much better than the actual show. Another fanfiction is more popular and has them watch more episodes. But this fic was much better written with only ten chapters.

Under a Watchful Eye by my secret thoughts (Harry Potter) A story where the Harry Potter characters read the books. It focuses on Harry and Sirius. There is no actual recitation of the books (thank god), but it’s written well enough to tell what they’re reacting to. So far, this is the only reaction fic like this in the Harry Potter fandom I’ve liked. It takes place during their 5th-year, and the other characters are mostly Order of the Phoenix members.

Truth Revealed by Lucifer swift (Full Metal Alchemist) One of the first reaction fanfictions I ever read. It's been reuploaded on fanfiction.net. In this reaction series, the characters are forced to relive the pain they witness themselves having on screen. Any of you who have seen Full Metal Alchemist know that is leading to an agonizing time.

No such thing as a painless lesson by RoseJennison (My Hero Academia) The best My Hero Academia fanfiction that’s actually still going and might eventually catch up with the episodes…maybe. The characters in this are also forced to suffer the pain they see themselves experiencing onscreen. Think about all the times Midoriya breaks himself and imagine him having to feel all that again continuously.

In the Grasp of Schadenfreude by ThoughtSpinner (My Hero Academia) The parents and teachers/heroes watch the show and find out what's been going on with their children and at school. Needless to say, these parents have a lot of thoughts. 

Reaction Ritual by PreshByPyre (Naruto) This is only six chapters, but I hope the author returns to it. It’s a good idea, and well-written Naruto reaction fics are rare.

A number of fragments by eliscool (Naruto) Exactly what the title suggests. Instead of watching Naruto episode by episode, the characters are watching random fragments of the show and have to try and put together what’s happening. This occurs when Naruto and the kids are still in the Academy - but before Itachi commits the massacre.

Old stories, new discoveries by Daniablazin (Discontinued) (Miraculous Ladybug) This is my favorite Miraculous Ladybug reaction fiction. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go past the first season. It’s been discontinued because the author said they didn’t like where the show was going. A real shame. The writing on this was amazing, and it had serious potential.

What are our children up to? by o0Lithium0o (Teen Wolf) The parents of Teen Wolf from earlier in the timeline get to see what their children are up to and their future. The kids aren't actually in the room with them. Probably for the best. They are so grounded for the foreseeable future once they all get back.

As Above is Below by kswriter (Shadowhunter Series)The characters of the Shadowhunter series (pretty much all of them) sit down to read the books. This goes by the book canon, not the show canon. I mainly love this series for the Mangus and Alec content. This is the only reaction fic I've seen with these characters. 

Reaction: Six of Crows by error_404_gender_not_found (Six of Crows) Characters from Six of Crows and Shadow and Bone reading the Six of Crows books. This ignores the TV show canon.

Honorable Mentions: 1.Watching Hunter x Hunter by catnip_riceball 2.HxH watches Hunter x Hunter by bb_bubblepopb33 3.I Have Regrets, but this Just Might be the Worst of Them Series by by IzuochaRay (My Hero Academia) 4.Cheat code central by orphan_account (My Hero Academia)(Villains react to the show) 5. Mansion Of Time: Watching Season 1 by Perez_K (My Hero Academia) 6. Watching as Hope is Lost by GeorgeFredSlytherin (Code Geass) 7. The Trials and Tribulations of Spider-Man, the People's Hero by ironfidus (Marvel/Spiderman) 8. Glee meets Glee By: babeitscoldoutside (Glee) 9. when the teacup shatters by SolusMormont (Hannibal)

[hadesoftheladies]

FEMALE MOVIE/TV RECS (PART 3 / SCI-FI)

got inspired from a recommendation post so decided to make a list of movies and shows with female-centric stories/female protagonists. since i can't post all of the genres in one post, i'll split it into multiple posts and y'all can save or add to the list as you wish. (disclaimer: i have watched most of these, but i only know about the existence of others. not every movie/show on these lists will be my recommendation. my recommendations will be beneath the list with reasons. also some of these are way better than others in terms of storytelling/performance--which is why i'll list my faves separately):

Common Themes in the Media Listed:

-Women and girls fighting against oppressive regimes

-Unholy discoveries about the secrets of the universe

-Protagonists fighting an enemy they don't understand

-Dystopias, sickness and disaster literally everywhere

-Survivalism, action and (occasionally) comedy

-Father/daughter and older daughter/younger kid protective relationships

-How does humanity die--aliens, robots, zombies or hubris?

WHAT I HAVEN'T WATCHED:

Silo (although my sister highly recommends it)

Vesper

Invasion

Fallout

Arrival

Prometheus

Aliens

Alita: Battle Angel

The Girl With All the Gifts

The Last of Us

I Am Mother

Colossal

Rebel Moon

What Happened to Monday

Ashoka

Prey

Moonhaven

Bumblebee

The 100

Ghost in the Shell

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED:

Foundation (10/10) (I cannot sing its praises enough)

Annihilation (8.5/10)

The Hunger Games (10/10)

Rogue One (7/10)

PERSONAL NOTES

Colossal is actually a sci-fi comedy, but ultimately a comedy first. So it's tonally different from most of these.

While I found Mortal Engines and The 5th Wave entertaining, I can also say that they are objectively not that good. You can only enjoy Mortal Engines if you enjoy spectacle, don't mind cliches, and don't know anything about physics (or care).

I don't remember much of The Rise of Skywalker because by the time I was watching it, I had only watched Star Wars 3 out of the whole series so I was pretty lost. But I remember enjoying the fight scenes.

Please watch Foundation! Like, if you claim to love sci-fi you have to do it. Two of the three main characters are women, Gaal Dornick and Salvor Hardin. Gaal is a mathematical genius and Salvor is just . . . chef's KISS! Also, both are women of color! Like! If you wish there was some kind of grand-scale sci-fi like Dune with a female lead, Foundation is it! It's based on the books by Isaac Asimov (who was a rancid misogynist), and it is unfaithful to his work in the best ways! (Gaal and Salvor were not women in the books.) The only "issue" is it focuses more on American type-heroism rather than the sociological focus of the book (the point of the books was literally about how individualism does about fuckall in determining the future and it's easier to predict human behaviour on a large scale but much harder the smaller your data size). But it still makes for fantastic storytelling.

Alita: Battle Angel may be said to have the born-sexy-yesterday trope, but I'm not sure she's overtly sexualized in the movie. I looked at her designs and they look tasteful. Might be some stories issues.

If you haven't watched The Hunger Games, idk what to tell you except you should be doing that right now. If you claim to like movies in general. It's so good, I cannot begin to break down precisely why it's so good. Suzanne Collins is a genius!

[wherethehellismysupersuit]

EP - 12 review

Let me just say that at this point, 25 21 is just a series of memes of baek yijin looking shocked with his hand on his mouth lmaoo-

Am i late? i can’t tell. i was just impressed at heedo’s fluent french, just like yijin.

So. I may or may not have been guilty of the same reaction through this entire episode. 

Where do i even begin? The argument between heedo and her mum was realistic and hilarious af. one moment u guys are happily holding hands, the next u are bickering. it stayed true to their characters without being overly sappy.

Ji Seungwan is a freakin’ queen. I have never admired nor crushed on someone so hard before.( i lied. I’m crushing hard on all the characters in this series) I’m glad this ep gives her the spotlight she rightfully deserves.

Corporal punishment, although banned, still continues to prevail in a lot of countries. Idk about the western ones, but i can safely vouch for the asian ones. My blood was boiling the entire time i saw the teacher. The harsh reality is, not everyone is like Seungwan. Some people who are toppers, usually use their status as a way to get away with literally anything, all because of a set of numbers on their paper. That’s fucked up. The entire system of judging someone by numbers is fucked up imo, although we have no other choice.

Although i did feel like the scene between her and her mother was slightly unrealistic; cause if i did something like that my mom would’ve screamed at me, locked herself in a room, thought about it, grudgingly agreed, and then comfort me. i liked the fact that the mum didn’t just agree and tell her that her decision was brave like a game npc. Unfortunately, the real world is harsh, and you’re not always able to uphold your beliefs. Partly that’s why i admire seungwan- because i know i would’ve bent unlike her, who broke. her mom reading the teachers at Taeyang High to filth had me whooping at my screen. Like mother, like daughter.

The fencer Yeji struggling also got to me. The feeling when something u used to love, is now something you’ve grown tired of, is heartbreaking. imo, the coach was giving her an out; a chance to reevaluate her determination. Maybe i’m biased, cause i love coach yang.

yurim and heedo were peak besties. we love to see it.

yijin and heedo doing coupley things like making excuses to walk under an umbrella had me squealing and dying of cuteness. oh, if i knew what was yet to come.

Jiwoong and Seungwan have the most natural friendship i’ve seen in kdrama history. that easiness of confession, and the comfort in hanging out makes me wistful, ngl. Also, we get the male crying? and the female comforting? and it’s purely platonic? we love it. (although i would not be opposed to a friends since diapers -to- lovers trope if u know what i mean ;] )

And now the most important part. excuse my aggressiveness.

THE FUCKING KISS? IN A DIMLY LIT ROOM, SOFT TV BLARING IN THE BACKGROUND, THE ANTICIPATION IN HEEDO’S FACE AS SHE COUNTS DOWN THE SECONDS, YIJIN’S SUDDEN AWARENESS OF THE CLOSE PROXIMITY OH MY GOD I’M ACTUALLY DEAD-

And there’s that. I must say that the next preview makes me anxious. as it always does. and i have to wait a week for it. boo.

also, if i don’t post on the next weekends, please feel free to assume that my family has called the exorcist on the account of thinking that i am possessed due to the amount of unholy noises i make when watching this drama. i’m truly sad to think that this will soon end and then what am i supposed to do with my life?

stan seungwan’s perm.

signed, your resident psychoanalyser. 

[rivero-piv]

Top 5 tropes in literature, movies, comics, or TV shows? You can look up any of them on https://tvtropes.org/, they've got practically everything. Including villain tropes, oho.

Thanks for the website! I actually needed this since I don't research tropes at all 😅.

Unholy Matrimony; Villain in relationships, a match made in hell!

Beyond Redemption; When the hero finally gives up on attempting to turn the villain good — if they ever attempted so in the first place — and decides the villain is, you guessed it, beyond redemption. Possibly born out of my personal loathing for redemption tropes 😭.

Big, Screwed Up Family; An unusually functional family with a long and bloody history. Out-of-the-norm and possibly bordering on physical harm is an everyday thing in this household, and will showcase this if somebody hurts a member of their family.

Magic Music; Magical powers via songs and instruments! Plus points if it's in the hands of a villain; using music against the very good nature it came from brings a whole new element to it.

Common Law Marriage which falls under the Cohabitation Trope; Basically they're "married" but not legally, and in this specific case, they're putting up a facade so both of them can stay in a home they share.

put “top 5” anything in my ask and i will answer ok go

[dame-lazarus]

10 fanfiction questions

Tagged by @albatrossisland 💕💕 thank you!

1. what’s your favorite genre to write? I love black comedy most of all (my favorite shows on TV right now are Barry and Killing Eve) and everything I write tends toward this. Soul-crushing angst with humor smattered throughout.

2. do you pull inspiration from real life, or do you pull things from other books/fanfiction you’ve read? A really unholy mix. I often get nuggets of ideas that I like from documentaries or other nonfiction that I roll around until I find where to put them. See Lost and Found, which took a lot from the many true crime and cult documentaries and books I consume, both in structure and in content. I do find real life stuff sneaking in, even in small ways. For instance, I just got back from Japan when I started The Red Thread, so Volantis there is like a sweaty Kyoto. I honestly think fiction writing is always a form of fanfiction of your life in some way.

3. do you tend to write one-shots, short stories, or longer things? the short story is my medium of choice and so with fic I prefer one-shots and work on the shorter side.

4. do you prefer to write description or dialogue? Dialogue all the way. I wanted to be a journalist in my youth and also have been documenting humorous quotes from friends and family for years and years in journals, blogs, and now social media. Consequently, I think I have an affinity for dialogue, and have a lot of fun thinking of it too.

5. favorite fic/book of all time?

My favorite fics take deep dives into the wider universe of the canon while balancing this with an exploration of how this affects relationships (romantic and otherwise.)

My all-time favorite fic is Phoenix Burning by Yahtzee. It’s a Buffy canon divergence from the season 5 finale where Buffy is resurrected not a few months down the road but 350 years in the future in a dystopian vampire-ridden London, alongside several other previous slayers. (Would be scarier if her immortal vampire-with-a-soul ex wasn’t still around and kicking.)

In this fandom: Stay Gold by Renega, doing all the gen/shipper balance that I love; A Great Fountain by @kiraziwrites for the same reason;

Though Our Paths Diverge by @robotsdance;

It’s Like Weather by @oneangryshot for its galaxy brain, funny, super meta premise

Non-fic favorites: The Power by Naomi Alderman is my current favorite book.

6. favorite trope? I love hurt/comfort and reunions after a long angsty time spent apart. J/B has a plentiful amount of opportunities for this. Jaime’s arrival to Winterfell in @dreadwulf’s A Man for All Seasons, for instance, was just like pour-this-into-my-veins content in this regard.

7. are you the kind of person to work on more than one WIP? I prefer one at a time, especially because I get lots of ideas and I find that if I work on them as they come I never finish anything. Sometimes it happens, though, especially when I get involved with challenges or contests.

8. how long have you been writing for? Years! I’ve always been making up stories. I wrote fic in high school and middle school, and worked on original writing at the same time. I tapered off with fic in college but still wrote original fiction and poetry sometimes. Tried writing but never really finished fic and original stuff in my post-college years. (I have some epic outlines though.) This past year (2019), I decided to give writing a serious go. At the time I meant original writing, which I am still doing, but I also turned back to fic too. The community and the (way) less competitive, open craft discussions in fandom have been so lovely.

9. do you tend to write more during the morning, afternoon, or evening? I usually write in the evenings after dinner and continue late into the night if I am really into it. My partner goes to bed before me a lot so I often use that window to write. I also like to write on weekend mornings if I can. (Can you tell I have no kids? Ha.) Sometimes in the Before Times I’d have a good idea on my morning subway commute and write it out, but it tends to ruin my focus to work on non-writing things during the day when I do that.

10. do you prefer to post and update your WIP chapter by chapter, or do you prefer to wait until your WIP is 100% finished before sharing it? I’m incredibly impatient, and this is a problem with regards to original writing, as you can’t tweak lit mag submissions after you post them like you can on AO3 😂. So I am trying to work on that with my one-shots—take some time away from it and do a last read-through before posting. I don’t use betas currently because I am not in a position bandwith-wise to pay it forward, and thus I feel bad. I don’t have a problem posting chapters of WIPs before the whole fic is finished (at least, the one time I wrote a multi-chap fic I didn’t!) but I have to have it fully planned out and outlined before I can start publishing.

Tagging: @samirant @pretty--thief @seethemflying @angel-deux-writes @agirlnamedkeith @scoundrels-in-love

[evilblot]

King Francis Petty here. Tell me more about your Self Insert.

Last time I've replied to a similar ask, I went with vague yet overly specific one liners, this time allow me to use one of the most abused and uncreative stratagems to describe a character, that iiiiiiis..... ✨TV Tropes✨!

Despite the general overuse though, I have to admit the site actually forces you to critically think about and ultimately deconstruct your OC at their basic core, so it's not completely useless. It also took me way longer than I want to admit, but at least I've had the opportunity to define a couple of things that have remained idle for too long. Also it allowed me to describe my son's without having to contextualize everything, because if I actually tried to I'd still be here writing synopsis after synopsis completely missing the point of the ask lol.

Anyway without any further ado ~

Main/Canon - Silvia Garzetta: Literally me. More Deadly Than the Male. Whale Egg (good luck with this lol). Co-owner of your typical Bad-Guy bar. ACAB despite her father being a former one. The Dragon. The Nose Knows. Undying Loyalty. Occasional Friendly Enemy. Acrofatic. The Snark Knight. Bilingual Bonus. Darker and Edgier.

🍆 As the story arc progresses, she evolves from  Insecure Love Interest to the Violently Protective Girlfriend within the Outlaw Couple dynamic. Meaning she has yet to get kinky with the man.

Darkenblot - “...”: Same as main but worse, meaning if the OG is darker, this one is straight up Bloodier and Gorier. Almost Spurned into Suicide. Bitch in sheep’s clothes. Torture Technician. Murder the Hypotenuse / Removing the Rival.

Wizards of Mickey - Griselda “Gris” Thaar / Murias: She has the most complete story arc and in-depth lore, and still she doesn’t have an official design yet. Anti-Villain. The Dragon with an Agenda. Phlebotinum Rebel. Power Degeneration. While Rome Burns. Driven to Villainy. Appearance Angst. Secret Legacy. Fatal Flaw. Sealed Evil in a Can. Guinea Pig Family.

🍆 A little spoiler maybe, but she’s the only one of the bunch to have unlocked the achievement Unholy Matrimony. Also, she fucks 😏.

Resident Evil AU - Doc. Morana Galvani: She means no harm but she won’t hesitate, bitch. The Chain of Harm. Distress Call. Raising the Steaks. Maker of Monsters. False Innocence Trick. Gross-Up Close-Up. Once Is Not Enough. Trapped in Containment. Staking the Loved One. Came Back Wrong.

🍆 She fucks as well, but has an actual relationship with another character before the events with the Blot. I can’t tell you who they're, but they're a canon character too and you def don't expect them playing this role so the answer will shook you lol.

Monstersona: God, I wish that were me. Animalistic abomination. Voluntary Shapeshifting. Quizzical Tilt. Fully-Embraced F(r)iend. Occasional The Mind Is a Plaything of the Body. Phlegmings. Contextual Transformation Horror. Signature Roar, although I've yet to flesh it out. A nice combo of both Super-Persistent Predator & Suspiciously Stealthy Predator. Tribute to Fido, but we don’t talk about this.

🍆 She too fucks, but not solely with who you’re thinking of 😏.  

Of course the list is in no way set in stone since I'm still working on most of them, so take it as it is, but be aware that changes may eventually happen, especially in the name department.

Thanks again Fran for your ask, love how you force me to stop procrastinating about my S/Is and finally pull myself together to share my flights of fancy, I legit owe u my production efficiency lmao 💜💜💜

[takaraphoenix]

Dr who for the ask game

Thanks for playing! This is also a big, fun one! :O (I do love that the majority of these asks hit target on my own biggest obsessions x3 We checked off like all the live action shows at this point, I think, the only things left are anime/animated xDDD)

Again with a cut due to the sheer size. ^^°°°

Top 5 favourite characters: CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS, Martha Jones, Donna Noble, The Doctor, Yasmin Kahn

Other characters you like: Rory Williams Pond, Graham O’Brien, Mickey Smith, Bill Potts, Sarah Jane Smith, Craig Owens

Least favourite characters: Rose Tyler by a landslide

Otps: not realy any actual OTPs but ships I guess I’m fond of would be Vasta/Jenny and Rory/Amy

Notps: every ship involving the Doctor, because I just honestly find it weird and uncomfortable to look at the Doctor as a romantic or even worse yet sexual being, but most of all Doctor/Rose and Doctor/River, also Jack/Ianto

Favourite friendships: I am living for the current team dynamic, 13-Yaz-Graham-Ryan are really good but my forever favorite is the Doctor and Jack, also the best team-up was the Doctor with Donna and Martha, that was perfect

Favourite family: THE FAM! 13′s team

Favourite episodes:oooh mmh, I do have multiple favorites, so let’s do this!

Blink: it is such a good episode, there was a time I just popped that one in when I had 40 minutes to waste

Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords: for me personally, this is where Doctor Who peaked. My absolute favorite storyline and episodes and team-up - my favorite Doctor with BOTH my favorite companions in an episode with my favorite Master as the enemy. Amazing. There was a time when I would regularly rewatch this, just these three

Turn Left/The Stolen Earth/Journey’s End:Suuuch a satisfying conclusion for a four series plotline, all of the companions coming together like that? It was so good

The Lodger & Closing Time: I love Craig and I love how these two episodes switch things up!

Favourite season/book/movie: Rather obviously, series 3 - the return of Jack, the series where Martha is the companion, a series with my favorite Doctor and four of my favorite episodes in it!

Favourite quotes:THE ANGELS HAVE THE PHONE BOX! xD And the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff! I got that one on a necklace even! *laughs*

Best musical moment: uuurgh the soundtrack of this show is actually so good? I listened to it on a loop for years. Series 3 and 4 being my favorites, they make you feel things, man.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: Just this series when Jack returned. And let me elaborate to just convey how hard I fangirled at that, because it wasn’t just “oh a fave!”.

You see, Jack is... kind of why I’m here? I watched the first series with my mother back when it started airing in Germany. But they kind of... stopped dubbing it and it stopped airing in Germany and eh, I was okay with it because this show seemed weird like they just switched out the actor of the MAIN CHARACTER who does that what the fuck and I really liked Jack but he was gone now too so oh well.

However, then I read online about how Jack was in series 3. So... I went online and Doctor Who is genuinely the first TV show I ever watched in English, because I wanted to see Jack but there was no dub.

Then series 3 ended and both Jack and Martha left and I was very meh because I remembered that this is the show that constantly replaces its whole cast.

You can probably guess what happened next, but Jack was in the finale of series 4. So I went back into Doctor Who, rewatched what there has been so far all the way up to the series 4 finale - and that was when I was sold, because holy shit even with the switching of companions, they just bring them back! They just brought them all back! That was such a good pay-off.

Ironically, that was when I actually stuck around and started watching the show in real time instead of waiting for the next Jack appearance to bring me back from hibernation. Ironically because - well, that was the last we saw of anyone. (Aside from 10 in the 50 year special.)

That hard, hard cut from 10 to 11, no return of any companions...

Needless to say that when 12 came and went with no care for anything pre-11, I kind of... came to accept that this was it. Especially when they announced yet another hard cut - as in Moffat would finally be replaced and with the new era, both a new Doctor and new companions - I was so sure we’d never get to see anyone from the old crew again.

So when, after literally ten years, Jack Harkness returned and was so... so... Jack, I made the loudest, most unholy sound and the excitement of them actually acknowledging that he would be back for more and he would be there when the Doctor needs him? Tears of joy.

(but aso pls #LetMarthaMeet13 okay? Okay)

When it really disappointed you:YOU’RE MAKING A 50 YEAR ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL. YOU HAVE SOOO MANY GOOD COMPANIONS. BUT. BUT YOU BRING NONE OF THEM BACK. ONLY ROSE TYLER’S FACE. OF ALL OF THE FACES. OF EVERYONE I COULD HAVE SEEN AGAIN IN THAT SPECIAL, IT HAD TO BE BILLIE PIPER’S MEDIOCRE ACTING. REALLY? REALLY??

Saddest moment: When 10 regenerated

Most well done character death: Surprisingly enough, this show makes me care even about the one episode characters to the degree that I find their deaths frustrating. It’s pretty good at character deaths overall

Favourite guest star: Does Craig Owens count? Because he only had two appearances in total. And the second one was genuinely a surprise to me; I was sure that The Lodger would be a stand-alone, never to be seen again kind of deal

Favourite cast member: John Barrowman! David Tennant! Freema Agyeman! I love all three of them and seeing them in other things always makes me really happy!

Character you wish was still alive: I mean, Bill. Can you imagine if the lesbian companion had gotten to meet 13?? Death :D

One thing you hope really happens: Martha. I mean, come on. Jack is back, Jack warned the Doctor, promised to be there when needed. There’s no way Jack lost contact with Martha and Mickey, even with those two off in space fighting aliens alone. I’d love for this... very, very big plotline that is currently happening to include the Doctor’s old friends coming back once more to help.

Most shocking twist: I mean... I mean it’s gotta be this series’ Surprise Origin Story. Like, I still can’t quite comprehend that one.

When did you start watching/reading?: As mentioned above, when it first started airing in Germany

Best animal/creature: Does the TARDIS count as a creature? Because then Sexy wins!

Favourite location: THE TARDIS. I wish they’d show it more often just casually. I wanna see the companions hang out in there, I wanna see their rooms, see that indoor pool and stuff

Trope you wish they would stop using: "OH NO THE DALEKS ARE STILL ALIVE AFTER THE LAST TIME I TRIED GENOCIDE ON THEM *gasp*”... Like. The very first time they brought them “back from the dead”, it was really cool because as a newbie you never met them before but you get they are important. Then they were wiped out. And then they returned again. And okay, sure. So they were wiped out again. And miraculously survied again.

Look, I get it. Doctor Who has three recurring entities in the villain gallery who are like... obligatory - the Master, the Daleks and the Cybermen. But for the love of everything, stop trying to show it as a “surprise twist” that the bad guy is a Dalek like we all knew they’re coming they’re the cockroaches of the universe, they ALWAYS surprise, stop acting like we should be shocked that they’re back again.

Every time, the Doctor goes Pikachu meme but with sad eyes and like just... have the Doctor groan, kick a Dalek and go “not you again”, instead of “how did you POSSIBLY survive THIS? :O” because after the sixth miracuous survival of a genocide, it stops being a surprise twist... -_-

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: Clearly something, because it has me come back for more like a masochist despite me being a character-driven viewer - me, abandoning the show after the first series was very in character, because I’m attached to characters and if you routinely replace all the characters, that’s... not really my thing. Somehow, this show defies the odds there

Funniest moments: JACK FLIRTING WITH PEOPLE AND THE DOCTOR GOING “NO STOP THAT!” xDDD

Couple you would like to see: NONE. NO ROMANCE. KEEP THAT SHIT OUT OF MY DW!!! Urgh. Just give me fun found family space adventures. I swear ever since the cast announcement I have had a twitchy eyebrow waiting if they’ll push for Ryan/Yaz and so far I am sooo glad they are NOT. I just... want friendship and space adventures, no fucking romance. At all. Not with the Doctor, not between companions. No drama

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: ...to stay in character, I have to say Dominic Sherwood. Partially because I am obsessed with him, but also because I WANNA HEAR HIS BRITISH ACCENT FOR A WHOLE ASS SERIES PLEASE

I would also like to see the return of James Marsters though. Time Heist teased by showing his face and acknowledging his existence in Doctor Who (it’s not like DW has acknowledged a whole lot of Torchwood canon so far, considering the catastrophic events TW has dealt with without the Doctor...), so that had me kind of hopeful he may at least cameo for an episode...

Favourite outfit: I looove Martha’s red leather jacket and Jack’s coat

Favourite item: The chameleon device

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: *clears throat awkwardly* ...Yes?

a metro card holder thingy with the TARDIS on it,

an I pin I have on my pencil case,

a necklace with a miniature TARDIS,

a necklace with the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey quote in a swirl on it,

a necklace with a Weeping Angel pendant,

a mug with the 10th Doctor as a cat on it,

a lanyard with Police Call Box written all over and a miniature TARDIS dangling on it

a TARDIS dress,

a whoosh-sound making door opening TARDIS with size-fitting figures of the 10th Doctor, Jack, Martha, K9, Idris, 11, Rory and John Hart (it’s James Marsters’ pretty face, okay?),

a Funko Pop 10th Doctor,

another TARDIS but this one is smaller and can’t open,

a larger TARDIS that can open (and is the right size for my Doctor Whooves),

a Doctor Whooves (if that counts since he’s technically My Little Pony but also he’s the Doctor so like...),

a TARDIS-blue stuffed owl with Police Owl written on it,

the first four series on DVD,

a poster from the 50th Anniversary with the War Doctor walking away from an explosion and 10 and 11 on either side of him,

a pocket watch that is the chameleon device

What house/team/group/friendship group/family/race etc would you be in?: Mmmh I would like to be on the current team the most, I think? Generally speaking, their adventures were less intense than most others and I dig the family vibe

Most boring plotline: Boring, huh? There are always a couple stinkers, at least one in each series, but a really boring plotline was... Clara’s post-Impossible-Girl one. I LOVED her as the Impossible Girl, she was so interesting and I think that after she went into the Doctor’s timeline, the character should have been retired. Have her, I don’t know, dissolve there, since she is spread out through time. But that she stuck around was... not good, for her character? Her love drama with Danny was incredibly boring and not fun to watch (especially when she tried to kill the Doctor :D)

Most laughably bad moment: THAT FUCKING MOON EPISODE. THE FUCKING EPISODE WHERE THE FUCKING MOON TURNED INTO A FUCKING EGG AND AN ALIEN HATCHED TO THEN LAY A NEW MOON EGG IMMEDIATELY AFTER BEING BORN AND HUMANS JUST FUCKING SHRUGGED THAT SHIT OFF. Urgh. There are a lot of cringey things happening on this show, but this takes by far the crown. It was so stupid, so dumb, so ridiculous

Best flashback/flashfoward if any: Every time we learn more about the Doctor’s past *^*

Most layered character: I... I mean the Doctor. So many layers, so many lives, so many years

Most one dimensional character:Mh, this is harder... Among the not one-episode-off characters? I guess Nardole. Like, sure, good guy, but... not really all that deep that one

Scariest moment: Blink with the Weeping Angels. They lost A LOT of their scariness the more they were used - Moffat really overused them, in my opinion; they would have done better only appearing very rarely. But that first episode with them was just daaamn

Grossest moment: Cassandra?? Woman only made of skin?

Best looking male: CAPTAIN JACK HARKNESS

Best looking female: MARTHA JONES

Who you’re crushing on (if any): Martha Jones

Favourite cast moment: John and David being cute behind the scenes is always amazing, but the bes moment is definitely the 500 Miles video!

Favourite transportation: The TARDIS, that’s not even a question!

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): Whenever we get to see (not destroyed) Gallifrey? It’s so gorgeous??

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you:SO MANY AFTER THAT LAST SERIES. But also things like: Where did Clara fuck off to in her flying diner? What exactly is Jack doing now that there is no Torchwood anymore? How in the world did Torchwood ever even work like how was the Doctor just never around during these gigantic problems?? WHO WAS THE DOCTOR’S FIRST WIFE? And what was the Doctor’s child like? Because the only one ever even mentioned is the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan, but a granddaughter implies one more generation between. WHERE IS JENNY? Since she is also the Doctor’s daughter but also just fucked off into space and like why is she not trying to track her parent down??

Best promo: I mean, it clearly works when they show me Jack’s face so that’d be it for me :D”

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: At the series 4 finale, as above more elaborately explained

IN DEPTH FANDOM QUESTIONS

[seidanguard]

Trope x4 c'mon lazy now you have work to do here

Send me ‘trope’ and I will give a TV trope to my muse. || Open

[[Wow Sofi wow take FIVE. Because I accidentally did five because I can’t count.]]

 Everything’s Better with Samurai

The tendency of some writers to just throw in a samurai for the heck of it, even in modern urban Japan or a western world without a Japanese Counterpart Culture. And also the fact that people tend to dig the samurai. Who doesn’t dig Sanger? 

Knight Templar 

Sometimes, the Forces of Light and Goodness get a little bit too hardcore. In a deadly combination of Well-Intentioned Extremist, The Fundamentalist, Moral Guardians, and sometimes He Who Fights Monsters, they get blinded by themselves and their ideals, and this extreme becomes tyrannical sociopathy. It’s not the Forces of Darkness’ fault, but they are laughing their asses off and feel so satisfied knowing that they were right. 

White Hair, Black Heart

In many works, especially anime and video games, white hair quite frequently indicates a villain or, at the very least, someone to watch out for. Especially in characters typically too young to have white hair.

Light Is Not Good

In one of those instances where you should Beware the Nice Ones, the Light isn’t always what it appears to be. Sometimes, a battle with an obviously Light-wielding character will not result in Defeat Meaning Friendship or an Epiphany Therapy, but will just end with a laser-scorched corpse and the shiny happy killer skipping off to continue using their sunshine-fueled powers to wreak decidedly unholy havoc. There is a reason why the word Lucifer in Latin, literally means “Light Bringer,”.

Well-Intentioned Extremist

A villain who has an overall goal which the heroes can appreciate in principle, but whose methods of pursuing said goal (such as mass murder) are problematic; despite any sympathy they may have with their cause, the heroes have no choice but to stop them. Taken to extremes, they may fully believe that Utopia Justifies the Means. Such an idealistic extremist is likely to be either a Totalitarian Utilitarian or a Principles Zealot, depending on whether they’re aiming For Happiness or For Great Justice. The most well-written examples of this trope are the kind that the reader/viewer stops just short of agreeing with.

[novastarlyght]

NOVA SCREAMS ABOUT ENTER THE FLORPUS

In six words:  "Children sing. People rejoice. Fatalities minimal."

In much more than six words and featuring a BUTT LOAD OF SPOILERS, continue on....

Biggest takeaway: Membrane is a badass DILF 10/10 would marry especially to have Dib and Gaz as stepchildren.... even if he is the poster boy for the Flat Earth Atheist trope (ALSO HE SQUISHY NOW!!!!!)

okay thirst joking aside THIS WAS WORTH WAITING 17 YEARS FOR!!! I MEAN IT!!!!!! IT'S EVERYTHING I COULD'VE WANTED AND MORE FROM AN IZ REVIVAL and honestly an IZ movie in general??? like the fandom used to talk about the whole “Invader Dib” TV movie idea thing the crew tossed around back during the show's run, if it ever ran for so long that a TV movie could happen, but I don't know if it would've been or felt as satisfying as this. Maybe that's just due to again, this being the first animated IZ related thing in SEVENTEEN YEARS but you can just feel how much Jhonen went all out with this, probably because it has been so long. I feel how much love went into this, how much Jhonen and crew and put that same love that fans have had for IZ for the past nearly 2 decades back into this. He wanted to give us something really truly special, something to thank us for loving his show for so long despite how short lived it was, and I don't think he could've succeeded more. This was his gift to the fans and I wish I could tell him how grateful I am for it in person. Maybe I'll get to someday. ;u; Regardless, thank you Jhonen for giving all of us who loved your show all these years this wonderful thing that's everything we loved, and still do love, about IZ and more ❤︎

Gosh all the things from little fanservice moments to answering questions and addressing things fans have wondered about for years... Dib and Gaz confirmed to have Membrane as their last names, Gaz's full name being Gazlene, Dib established as being 12 years old, Tak's ship playing a big part, DIB'S ENTIRE ARC WITH MEMBRANE and of course “What would happen if Zim actually thought the Tallest didn't respect him?” And the answer is, of course, continuing to never give up and do whatever it takes to try and win their admiration because Zim is the ultimate determinator and will literally never accept failure ever. Even though failing is all he does. And that's why we love him Though apparently he was legitimately depressed before Dib told him about the Membracelets which is like... oh no.... baby.... my heart......... ;~;

SPEAKING OF HEART SHATTERING, THESE LINES!!!! JUST THESE LINES!!!!!!:

“Son, you don't have to prove anything. I'm always proud of you.”

IZ has never had anything resembling a genuinely heartfelt moment before which made it pack even more of a punch. The fact that, unlike the original series, this movie wasn’t afraid to take itself just seriously enough to be able to have a moment like this, is what really drove it home to me as not only a faithful return but an evolution - the series modernized and grown up, as though it matured along with its audience. And it’s a reward to all of us who genuinely love and care about these characters. It knows how beloved IZ is and not only celebrates that but also gives us something new and special that wasn’t in the original. That is what makes a perfect reboot.

AND DUDE THE ANIMATION WAS INCREDIBLE?????? just... so unbelievably gorgeous I was floored by every frame.... the original IZ series was, and to my knowledge still is/was, the most expensive show Nick ever produced so I can't even IMAGINE, even with how much technology has advanced since '01-'02, how much money Nick must've thrown at this. And it's ALL on the screen. ESPECIALLY THE FLORPUS SEQUENCE ITSELF SWEET UNHOLY CTHULHU I AM GONNA HAVE TO GO BACK AND WATCH IT FRAME BY FRAME FOR EVERY SINGLE LAST PIECE OF MIND-BLOWING AMAZINGNESS THAT SEQUENCE WAS MAN just... legitimately, phenomenally astounding.

Enter the Florpus is flawless. Or as close to flawless as something can probably be, since I genuinely can’t think of anything in this movie that didn’t work spectacularly or that I didn’t irrevocably adore. The only thing that maybe, possibly could have made it better was having some more of the minor characters make a return or appearance, like Tak herself or the Resisty, but I can understand not having them since that wouldn't have exactly fit into the story all that well. And I prefer a solid story over just seeing something cool or fanservicey for coolness/fanservice's sake. This movie had everything it needed to have and that's what made it so great. I couldn't be happier. And now I’m going to go rewatch the entire original series again for the 777th billion time. And then watch the movie again right after. And then cry. A lot.

[fortunatelylori]

Nightfort revisited?

I’ve been watching the official trailer again and the thought occurred to me that we might be revisiting the Nightfort castle in season 8. 

So, firstly, let’s go over what the Nightfort is: 

The Nightfort is one of the abandoned castles of the Night's Watch along the Wall, the only one whose steps up the side of the Wall were carved into the ice. It sits between Icemark to the west and Deep Lake to the east.[1] The Nightfort figures in some of Old Nan's scariest stories.

(source)

The reason why I say we’ll be revisiting this location is because we were first introduced to it in season 3, when Bran passed through the castle to go beyond the wall. This is significant because the Nightfort is by far the most magical castle on the Wall, with steps carved into the ice and this crazy, weird element that didn’t actually make it into the TV show: 

The magical Black Gate is a hidden subterranean gate that allows passage to the other side of the Wall and is as old as the Wall itself. It is set deep in a wall of the well at the center of the kitchens and is made of white weirwood with a face on it. The face is old, pale, shrunken, and wrinkled with white eyes. The door glows.

When someone approaches the Black Gate, the eyes open. They are white and blind, and then the door asks, "Who are you?" A man of the Night's Watch must repeat a part of his vow, "I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn, the horn that wakes the sleepers. I am the shield that guards the realms of men." The door will open then, saying, "Then pass." The door's lips open wider and wider still until nothing remains but a great gaping mouth in a ring of wrinkles.

(source)

The Nightfort is also the oldest of the Wall castles, parts of which could possibly date back to the creation of the Wall. It’s also the largest and, quite frankly, the spookiest, with  broken towers and a maze of tunnels connecting its vaults and tunnels which would make for some pretty spectacular visuals. 

But the real significance of the Nightfort links back to Old Nan’s stories in the books, in particular this one: 

According to legend, Night's King lived during the Age of Heroes, not long after the Wall was complete. He was a fearless warrior named the thirteenth Lord Commander of the Night's Watch. Later, he fell in love with a woman "with skin as white as the moon and eyes like blue stars". He chased her and loved her though "her skin was cold as ice", and when he gave his seed to her he gave his soul as well. Night's King brought her back to the Nightfort and after the unholy union, he declared himself king and her his queen, and ruled the Nightfort as his own castle for thirteen years.[1]

During the dark years of his reign, horrific atrocities were committed, of which tales are still told in the north. It was not until Brandon the Breaker, the King of Winter, and Joramun, the King-Beyond-the-Wall, joined forces that Night's King was brought down and the Night's Watch freed.[2]After his fall, when it was discovered that Night's King had been making sacrifices to the Others, all records of him were destroyed and his very name was forbidden and forgotten.

(source)

It would make sense to revisit this location as season 8 must bring clarity to the origins, purpose and goals of the Night King and the White Walkers. 

A while back, I wrote a meta on the possible connection between the White Walkers and the Starks that was mainly informed by this story. The main gist of that meta was that Old Nan confirms that the 13th Lord Commander who went on to become the Night’s King was in fact a Stark, the brother of Brandon the Breaker and, since he was sacrificing his children to the White Walkers, it’s not outside the realms of possibilities that at least some of the White Walkers have Stark blood. 

It would also be rather strange for the writers of the show to bring this extremely significant location into the narrative in season 3 if it wasn’t going to pay off later on. 

Now, I mentioned that the thought occurred to me while watching the trailer and that’s because of three shots that have intrigued me from the moment the trailer came out. 

Firstly there’s the shot of Beric, Tormund and Ed (who I will refer to as the wall gang from now on): 

Considering we left the Wall gang under a ton of ice at the end of season 7, there’s only a few places where they could reasonably be in this shot: 

1. Winterfell - since the gang is actually opening the doors and Beric is using his sword to light the way, this place is likely uninhabited/abandoned which rules Winterfell out. 

2. Last Hearth or Karhold - this would make more sense than Winterfell because these two castles are closer to the wall so likelier to be reached by people that are probably injured and most certainly on foot. However, we’re still left with the uninhabited/abandoned issue which isn’t the case with Karhold and Last Hearth. 

3. Castle Black - the Wall Gang was attacked at Eastwatch so Castle Black is presumably still up. However what would the narrative import be to send characters there again? 

Which leads me to: 

4. The Nightfort - of course there are 19 castles all along the Wall so they could go to any of them really but, in reality, only 3 of them have been mentioned in narrative. Also, as you can see from the map below, the Nightfort is actually further away than Castle Black which would make it likelier that it wasn’t affected in the NK attack: 

The reason why I mention all of this is because, at this time, I believe that at some point between episode 1 and episode 3 (most likely in episode 2) Jon will lead an expedition away from Winterfell to rescue the Wall gang. This was sparked in part because of this picture of D*ny: 

She seems to be seated in the middle and she’s alone, which leads me to believe that Jon leaves Winterfell at some point, leaving D*ny to assume the role of leader (because of course she would). 

It would make sense for Jon to leave because otherwise how could the Wall gang make it out alive (which they should since the show didn’t kill them off in season 7)? Also the D*ny/Starks conflict needs to be exacerbated and eliminating Jon from the picture works because his presence would force D*ny to play nice with his family. On top of that there’s the parentage reveal and Jon having to leave would give him some time away to ponder the enormity of his situation. 

That being said, there’s also these two shots from the trailer: 

In the first Jon is running towards something. In the second soldiers are seen ready to enter some sort of castle. It would be strange if this was Winterfell because, at Winterfell, the tropes would be defending the castle and, as such, would have the castle at their backs. They wouldn’t try to gain access to it. Also those walls look very similar to the walls in the Wall gang shot. 

I think it’s very likely we will be returning to the Nightfort this season and, in doing so, we might actually have some light shed on why the Children of the Forest chose the man we see in the flashbacks to become the Night King and answer the question of whether or not he’s a Stark. 

Only 12 days to go, guys!

PS: I apologize to everyone whose sent me an ask I haven’t responded to yet. I’ve been swamped at work and haven’t had the time to sit down and go through them. Hopefully I’ll get to them starting tomorrow. 

[pinksh00tingstars]

K Drama Recommendations

So recently I've been watching wayyy too many K-dramas and let me list some of the best that I've watched.

1. Goblin (9/10)

Oh damn if this one didn't hurt me. It is so good. It's got bromance, it's got humour, it's got fated romances, it's got a God who will cockblock everything that you will ship, it's got heartbreak and it's beautiful and worth it. It's kind of a stereotypical choice to put on a K-drama recommendation list, but it was pretty good.

Goblin is the story of a goblin who has waited over 900 years to die but can only die by his bride's hand. Having waited so long, he is skeptical that the girl who claims to be his bride is really his bride.

P. S. Descendants of the Sun was written by the same woman and directed by the same guy and they running a hit factory out here if you ask me.

2. Tomorrow with You (10/10)

Oh unholy hell the feelings that this one gave me. There's time travel, there's character development, there's incredibly beautiful cinematography and it's got such a heartfelt romance at the center of it. It's gonna hit you where it hurts but what is really stunning is how the plot knits itself together at the end. It's very well written. The chemistry between the leads is stunning. If you watch nothing else on Korean TV this year, watch this. It ticks me off so much this one's so underrated.

Tomorrow with you is the story of a selfish man who can travel through time and sees himself die. He is convinced that a woman can change his fate and so he tries everything he can to stop his death from coming to be. Somewhere along the way, his motivations change.

P. S. Shin Min Ah is fucking radiant on here. She is so pretty omfg.

3. Strong woman Do Bong Soon (7.75/10)

This is a pretty fun drama and a light-hearted watch that isn't exactly a masterpiece but not bad at all. It's filled with comedic tropes, and typical K-drama romance with the classic love triangle and everything. I doubt it'll induce second lead syndrome though.

Strong woman do bong soon is the story of a woman who has the superpower of strength and wants to become a game designer. Featuring a young, rich and good looking CEO, a handsome cop who doesn't notice the girl until far too late and a girl who is born with powers she cannot use evil.

4. Suspicious Partner (8/10)

This is yet another light hearted drama but it has really meaningful moments between the leads. There's a bromance in here that I really enjoyed and overall the leads play really well off of each other. There's no "annoying characters" per se. A pretty fun watch.

Suspicious Partner is the story of a woman wrongfully accused of murder and the prosecutor who let her go at the cost of his career. Later in life they meet again and start working at the same law firm and hijinks ensue.

5. The smile has left your eyes (10/10)

This. Show. It killed me so softly. The post drama syndrome was so, so real. The characters in here are so real. You can see them grow and hurt and love and it's so good. The chemistry between the leads is so intense, it's unreal. It has flawed characters who are just trying their best and it really works out so well. There's no exaggerated comedic moments. It feels very startlingly real. This is really undeserving of being as underrated as it is and it's incredible.

The smile has left your eyes is the Korean remake of a Japanese show and for the most part it stays true to the original. Watch. It.

Overall, I might be a little biased to TvN shows but they be owning it. These ones are really, really good. Enjoy them at your leisure!

[ineffablecolors]

I'm sending you 42. and 80. (because this gotta be funnnn) for the trope mash-up, but only as long as you don't forget that you also kinda promised to write the pregnant-neighbor-comes-begging-for-food thing. Because I won't forget about it. :)

The lovely @laschatzi is talking about this post. I cheated a little bit but I hope you’d like how because now we have

Hungry pregnant neighbour + The Big Damn Kiss + Green-Eyed Epiphany 

Family Recipe;  ~ 5, 500 words; FF.NET || AO3

previous: wilderness/survival + I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On &Detective AU  + Awful First Meeting

Killian is somewhatashamed to admit that he has become something of a take-out guy.

It’s just… it’s one ofthose things he never got back into after losing his hand. Like volleyball. Orplaying the guitar. Or arm wrestling Will. Or the black nail polish. Or goingto the beach. Or hitting on that cute girl at the bakery around the corner. Orgirls,period. Or basically anyone he didn’t already know before the accident.

But anyway. Cooking.He never got back into cooking. He was never all that good at it to begin withbut it gave him a funny sort of pride and he enjoyed it.

He enjoyed having togo to three different stores to manage to collect all the herbs and spices fora proper curry. And lying all his products out – basically filling everyavailable space and then having to push stuff around to have somewhere toactually cook. And chopping histomatoes really fine – concasse, was it? – and his onions not quite because hedid not enjoy crying over their massacred corpses. And – never to be revealedto another living soul – making a mini forest around his chopping board withthe broccoli and the cauliflower. And the whole kitchen smelling for two daysafter. And basically making a mess of every horizontal surface – and thevertical ones that one time when he was learning how to spin pizza dough.

Yeah, he enjoyed that.And then he didn’t. Couldn’t. Didn’t.

And now here he is,sipping his beer and scrolling down his take-out app as if he doesn’t knowhe’ll get the Chinese because he had pizza twice during the week and they’vetotally ruined the Mexican place and Liam says he is a masochist but he is nota ‘take-out sushi’ level of masochist.

He looks outside.Checks his watch. At least two more hours of solid daylight. He wasn’t evenhungry yet. He could get some tortilla chips to snack on while trying to see ifhis oven still works.

Really… what couldhappen?

///

Mrs Lucas has spoilther.

It is the only reasonEmma is even contemplating this. That and the fact that it smells really good.

And look here, Emma isnot one of those girls that needs to always get what she wants. She iscertainly not used to getting whatshe wants. It’s just… her baby doesn’t seem to have followed in her footsteps.

It might havesomething to do with said baby not even having feet to walk with yet. Or… shethinks – tries to remember what she’s been readying semi-obsessively and thenthrowing under the bed as if the books are judging her for her singleness andbrokenness and the general dinginess of her apartment – maybe it has feetalready?

They’re definitelyforming but definitely not usable hence no following in any footsteps anytimesoon. There. She’s leaving it at that. Maybe she’ll dig out that last book fromunder her bed tonight. After she has some dinner.

Which brings her rightback to the problem at hand.

She is pretty surethat 5C is one of those bachelors that live on beer, pizza and whatever elseyou can get delivered to your door; has a football or poker night with the guysevery month – see the football she is sure about ‘cause those walls are fuckingthin and those boys are fucking loud but she likes to imagine the pokeras well ever since she saw the guy in this super slick vest that she is sureonly people who can actually step into a casino and somehow manage to not look sleazy own; occasionally blaststoo loud music but not often enough to warrant a complaint; puts Netflix on loud enough and regularly enough that her brokeass is hoping she can keep up with the new season of Stranger Things simply bymoving her couch next to the wall his TV sits against; never brings girls backto his place.

Honestly, Emma is notjudging (or stalking – the walls are thin).She’d probably be giving 5C a run for his money on the easy single living, ifshe wasn’t pregnant and broke and grumpy half the time and hungry the otherhalf – which also makes her grumpy, and generally disillusioned with humanityand the world and the idea that one might actually be able to enjoy life andnot struggle through it at every step and did she mention broke? She is brokeand constantly hungry and constantly trying to fool her baby into thinking thathe likes overcooked pasta and whatever fruits are on sale this week.

He doesn’t. He likeswhatever 5C is cooking.

///

This was a disastrousidea. The kind of disastrous idea he hasn’t had since he was 4 years old andthought that if he puts snails on Liam’s bed they’d stay there and not like…make their way all over the room that Killianshared with Liam.

This is worse thansnails. This is a dozen utensils in the sink already – because of course hetosses a spoon in the sink the second after he has used it once, of course, why put it to the side and use it again when hehas to stir his unholy concoction, and half a dozen plates – one of those inpieces in a trash bag by the door because your one hand being a slippery one isnot the situation in which you want to be handling porcelain.

He has a sizeable cuton his big toe where he stepped on one of the pieces and his t-shirt issticking to his back from the effort of grinding bloody vegetable – Jesus, heused to run miles without breaking a sweat and now blasted carrots are gettingthe best of him, and all he has to show for all his work is what he hopes is apassable mince.

Now for the mash. Hestill has three limbs and 14 uninjured digits to go…

///

Look, Emma doesn’thave much but she has her pride, ok? And this kid growing inside her has madeher relinquish her hold on that enough to knock on Mrs Lucas’s door and ask herwhat it was she put in her cookies because apparently Emma – or someone else, was addicted to it nowand it was not cinnamon. And that hadtransitioned into Emma becoming almost a firm fixture at Granny’s on weekendsand then into Emma busting tables for a month until Granny gave her a nononsense look and told her she won’t be doing this in a few more months, andafter a week of asking and listening and string pulling and cookie bribing, shegot her a job at August’s bookstore even though he still grumbles that he doesn’tlike anyone else ordering his books.

And, yes, this allworked out pretty well but Mrs Lucas was the one that came to her door on her first week in thebuilding with a plate of those cookies that by this point Emma can barely lookat.

(It’s what she does.She falls in love with peanut butter and then eats so many PBJ sandwiches thatnow she almost gets sick at the mere sight of a jar on the counter. And shehears the The Kooks coming from 5C’s wall and goes on to listen to them onrepeat for two weeks. Mind you, not even everything but just Junk of the Heartbecause she is mental like that. And she starts Modern Family, when she stillhad a freaking Netflix account, and binges the whole damn thing in a couple ofweekends and a few late week nights.)

So, yeah, Emma mighthave some addictive tendencies – the legal kind, and some impulse controlissues.

But Emma would neveractually go to someone’s door – someone she has never exchanged a single wordwith despite sometimes hearing their voice float through her wall – and, yeah,he has a pretty voice but what’s that gonna do for her? shitty people can havegreat voices, she is sure – to ask them forthe love of all that is good and holy, what they are cooking because it smellsso fucking good and she has to know and she has to have something that at leastcomes close to it.

She’d never.

///

It’s in the oven. It’sover. Well, all he has to do now is make sure he doesn’t burn the damn thing toa crisp. But if he managed to put it together in the first place, for the firsttime tonight, Killian thinks he can maybe pull this off.

///

It got worse. Worse asin better. Fuck, it got so much better. And now her stomach is grumbling andshe has made for the door three times in the last five minutes and for thefirst time tonight Emma is coming to the horrible realization that she probablywon’t be able to survive this day with her dignity intact.

///

He is just about todig into his plate – fancy plate set and fancy napkins that he didn’t even knowhe owned and the second episode of American Gods queued up and-

There’s a knock on hisdoor.

Killian freezes withhis fork in the air, eyebrows bunching together. Who on earth? He knows hehasn’t invited any of the guys over and Liam knows better than to just drop infor an unexpected ‘we are going out and getting you someone to go home with’visit by this point.

He waits. Nothing.Maybe he imagined it?

///

“There, happy?”

Emma glances down ather slightly rounded stomach and tries on her best ‘mom look’. She thinksshe’ll definitely need to work on that one before the baby comes out because heis already too stubborn for her owngood.

She glances at thedoor with 5C on it one more time, raises her hand and then drops it again.

No. She knocked. Thisis a sign. For once the universe is sparing her the embarrassment and-

“Yes?”

No, of course, not.Why would the universe ever spare her anything?

///

She must be the onethat knocked. 5B. His sweatpants neighbour.

Killian tries not tofeel bad about the nickname. They’ve never been properly introduced and… well,he has mostly seen her back disappearing inside her apartment or her back goingdown the stairs with laundry or her back rushing below his window on a jog. Sohe’s never seen her in anything but sweatpants. He’s not judging. It’s just…the only thing he had to go on.

She is in sweatpantsnow as well but as he looks at her to ask what she needs, he is taken aback byher green eyes. He is taken aback by the sudden realization that his neighbouris this young and very pretty woman and her eyes are the kind of eyes you can’thelp but notice.

It’s… interesting. Hehas heard the soundtrack of her daily life through the wall they share for afew months now but somehow he never imagined the face and body that must gowith those sounds.

As he thinks his gazeslides down almost involuntary and he doesn’t know what catches his attentionmore: the fact that she is a few months pregnant or the fact that she came overbarefoot.

The latter is trulyendearing, the former a tad disheartening for some reason.

Not that he hasanything against kids. Or pregnant women. It’s just… it’s not every day yourealize your neighbour is a pretty girl about your age and currently standingat your doorstep. But he shouldn’t have just assumed and anyway he doesn’treally… that is… is she ever gonna say something?

///

“Lass?”

Emma shakes her head alittle and wants to slap herself back into reality. You know that space andtime continuum where she is not attaching thisman to every sound she has ever heard come through their wall.

(She is convinced heplays air guitar when blasting Bon Jovi hits and that his eyes blaze reallybright when he is swearing at something about “bloody this” and “bloody that”.)

“Umm, hi. Sorry. I…”

He raises an eyebrow.She doesn’t really appreciate the mix of amusement and expectation. Then again,she is standing on his doorstep. He probably has some right to expect anexplanation. Why on earth didn’t she rehearse what she’ll say if he opened thedoor?

“Did you needsomething?”

Fuck.

“I just… ummm, am I botheringyou?”

“Not at all, lass. But,to be frank, I’ll probably be more capable of answering truthfully, if you toldme what you are here for.”

The hell? Was hetalking like that on purpose?

“I-“

Come on, Emma, like aband aid, nowhere to go now unless you wanna be the weirdo asking for a cup offlour.

“What you arecooking?’

///

“Oh.”

Oh. Bloody hell.

Killian can feel hischeeks heating up and focuses half his attention on keeping his hand at hisside and not scratching his damn ear.

“I apologize. I didn’tconsider the smell might bother some-“

“No. No, no, no. Ilike it! So… I was wondering what it was.”

She likes it? Thattimid feeling of pride he felt when he took his dinner out of the over and it wasn’t burn to a crisp grows threetimes.

“It’s just ashepherd’s pie. Slightly altered recipe. My mum’s. Supposedly, probably muckedit up along the way and it’s twice altered now but yeah… Shepherd’s pie.”

“Oh.”

///

Great. She was hopingfor something along the lines of a lasagna. Then maaaybe she could’ve boughtsome frozen crappy version from the supermarket and tried to cheat her bodyinto thinking it was the real thing.

But no, of course,not. It had to be shepherd’s pie. Family recipe edition. Just her damn luck.

“Well, thanks. Andsorry! I was just… curious. Sorry to bother you.”

///

She turns to go andthis might have been the most bizarre conversation he’s had this month.Including that guy on the underground with the orange hair.

Did she just want toknow what the smell invading her home was? She did say she liked it. Maybe-

She is already half toher door so Killian just thinks to hell with it.

“Would you like some?”

He sees her stop deadin her tracks and cringes, hoping he isn’t now the biggest weirdo of her month.And not in a good way.

The blonde turnsaround and he knows the second he sees her face that she would indeed likesome. But Killian likes to think of himself as at least moderately intelligentso he keeps his smile to himself and instead prepares for the distrust in hereyes that is obviously warring with her appetite.

“Do you usually offerfood to unknown women who come knocking on your door?”

“I can’t say, you arethe first.”

He doesn’t actuallysee her cheeks change colour but then again he thinks it might be because shehas been blushing this entire time.

“I didn’t mean tobother-“

“It’s no bother, love.Truly. Now that I feel knowledgeable enough about your intensions to say so.”

She rolls her prettygreen eyes in a way that has his pulse speeding up a bit.

“Plus I just made adish more people share with a family of four. For myself. I think I can sparewhatever you can eat.”

It’s a gamble thatpays off when he sees her eyes blaze up and let’s himself grin at herteasingly.

“I’m sorry, was that achallenge to how much I can eat?”

He steps aside andwaves her in.

She only hesitates fora second.

///

OK, first of all, hisapartment is waaay better than hers like, both bigger and with more naturallight coming in but also simply more tidy and colour-coordinated. Also, ifpossible, it smells even better inside and Emma’s eyes immediately zero in onthe dish on the kitchen counter.

She hears 5C chucklebehind her and tries not to feel even more embarrassed. Her capacity for itmust be running out by this point. Thankfully, he doesn’t make a comment butjust moves around his kitchen island and takes out a plastic food container.IKEA guy. Cute.

It probably takes hera bit longer than it should – what with her still mostly trying to pretend sheis not hustling her nice and pretty neighbour for food – but eventually Emmanotices the peculiar way he moves around his kitchen and operates only with hisright hand. A quick inspection proves that it is because he simply has no leftone to assist him.

“No shit!”

The guy startles ather words and turns around and probably follows her gaze because in the nextmoment the limb is tucked slightly behind him and he is giving her a tensesmile.

“Shit, I’m afraid.”

She honest to Godcovers her mouth. Better late than never. Or not.

“Shit. I mean, sorry!Sorry. I wasn’t- I was just- you cook?!”

5C frowns at her as ifher person skills are something that would only befit a visiting alien. He’sgot her there.

“Sorry. Again. But,like, I can’t cook for shit even with two hands.”

To be fair, the crapproducts she can afford probably have something to do with it but Emma is gonnabe a single mom pretty soon and she is pretty sure that “to be fair”s won’t cutit when she has to cook for her kid.

But makes-food-that-smells-illegally-good-single-handedlyneighbour seems to relax a little.

Foot – partially outof mouth.

///

Killian tries to unbunchthe muscles in his neck and not keep his right side weirdly angled towards her.It’s fine. Really, it’s fine. She was bound to notice eventually.

“To be honest, this ismy first try in quite some time.”

“Seriously?”

“Indeed. So if you getfood poisoning or something, I’m not to be held accountable.”

The thought gives himpause and he turns to her with his eyebrows all drawn together and almostreluctant to hand her the container in his hand.

“Actually, are youallergic to anything? I mean… I don’t think there’s anything too weird in itand everything I used was fresh but-“

He can’t help butglance down at her stomach. Gods, she ispregnant, right? This will be just the kind of thing-

But the blonde’s handcomes up to her stomach and she smiles at him almost shyly and Killian breathesout a quiet sigh of relief.

“I’m sure it will befine. I mean, the things I’ve been feeding myself… I’m pretty sure someonemight get a bit of a shock from the home-cooked food but definitely not the badkind.”

He tries not tooveranalyze the “feeding myself” part and instead nods and finally hands thecontainer with half of his shepherd’s pie inside.

“Whoa. You really arechallenging me.”

He laughs and dips hishead to the side to admire the way her eyes widen a little.

“It should keep for acouple of days if you put it in the fridge. And you can always just feed it toSmee.”

“Smee?”

“Oh.”

His cold ring grazeshis earlobe and dammit, he forgot to watch out for the damn tick.

“I named the cat thatalways hangs around behind the building.”

“Oooh, ok. And hellno.”

She hugs the food toher chest almost protectively and Killian laughs again and bloody hell, is hecoming across too giggly or something? What else can he say? He-

“Well, I shouldprobably let you finally eat your dinner. Whatever you have left,” she beatshim to it and juts her thumb at the door and he can’t really do anything butnod.

///

She is alreadystepping outside, teeth embedded in her lip and what do you say to the cute neighbour that fed you dinner but not inthe date sense?

“Oh. I’m Emma, by theway. Emma Swan.”

His eyes light up andEmma finally gets to put a mark in the ‘didn’t fuck it up’ column.

“Pleasure to meet you,Swan. Killian Jones. Always at your service, though I must warn you, myculinary repertoire is quite limited.”

Killian Jones with thefancy words and delicious food. Fuck.

///

She uses her employeediscount on something other than baby books for the first time.

He finds the bookwaiting for him outside his door. The post-it note says “This is why peoplelike home-cooked food. Who knew.” And the book is Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things and it takes him a momentto connect the dots and remember that he was watching Amarican Gods the othernight and, yeah, maybe it makes him feel kinda good that Emma Swan noticed andremembered that.

///

He tries some Mexicannext and it’s 100% because his favourite place has gone to crap and not at allbecause he once saw their delivery guy in front of 5B.

She opens the door andhis face is half-obscured by an IKEA container and he says it’s just a not sosubtle reminder that she hasn’t returned the other one yet and she pretends tobelieve him.

///

She reasons that youcan’t return food containers empty so she tries to bake muffins because muffinsare supposed to be easy.

He hears the firealarm and five second later he is banging on her door and having a veryflustered Emma Swan dragging him inside and pointing at her oven or what can beseen of it behind the cloud of smoke and explaining how it’s all his fault.

///

He’s been looking fora not food-related reason to knock on her door for a week and coming up emptyand he is damn rusty when it comes to talking to pretty girls but then againshe is pregnant and the fact that he didn’t see a naked man in the middle ofher kitchen the one time he was there for 10 minutes doesn’t mean anything somaybe that’s for the best.

She knocks on his doora day after Stranger Things comes out with three bags of popcorn, explainingthat only one of them is for him, obviously.

///

She lives to binge andyet here she is trying to stretch an 8-episode season over more than a week.

He honestly debatescalling Netflix and begging them to somehow somehowrelease more episodes of their damn show.

///

He has been thisscared exactly once in his entire life and that situation included headlightscoming straight at him.

She has a freakingstomach ache, probably from too much popcorn, and she is almost as embarrassedwhen she comes out of the doctor’s office as she was that first night sheknocked on his door but Killian doesn’t really seem to care how she is ok as long as she is.

///

She is scrollingthrough her Instagram at work and she is so bored and distracted that shealmost misses it but then she goes back and blinks and then goes to the accountto check this is not some sort of ridiculous surveillance thing or she doesn’teven know what – but sure enough, there – on @cutestparentstobe, is a pictureof her very pregnant self, eating ice-cream on the beach with one KillianJones.

He doesn’t know how heworms his way into a doctor’s appointment, he just knows that when the nursecalls him “daddy” Emma kinda sputters but doesn’t say anything to contradicther and he sure as hell keeps his trap shut and just smiles and nods when theygive him an ultrasound picture all for himself.

///

They’ve been doingwhatever they are doing for 4 freaking months and within the first couple ofweeks they were already using like only 30% of his couch for the both of themand in a month they started venturing outside the bubble of their apartmentsand Emma never thought she’d be thehand-holding type but yeah, they kinda hold hands all the time and they hug,like, every day and they text all the freaking time while they are at work andshe meets Liam when she is 7 months pregnant and convinced that he is gonnahate her on sight for saddling his little brother with herself and he doesn’treally but he also doesn’t seem to love her on sight and Killian is verypointedly unamused by the lukewarm reception but honestly, Emma is just glad tobe given a chance here, and he goes shopping for baby stuff she can barelyafford with her and then he goes shopping for baby stuff by himself and shegets kinda angry and they kinda break up or whatever at least twice, basicallyeach time Emma decides that this is ridiculous and he can’t just date a girlthat is having another guy’s baby and that’s twice the size she should be andthat he’s only known for a few months and one night Killian lines up fourfreaking shepherd’s pies outside her door and if she even keeps her door closedto that then she must be dead inthere and one night he lets it slip about these therapy sessions that he issupposed to go to but doesn’t and she basically makes an appointment for himand drags him out of the door and maybe threatens him with not coming to herdoctor’s appointments anymore, if he doesn’t go to his.

And through all that and then some, they never actuallykiss.

Sure he kisses hercheek when he wishes her goodnight and she kisses his head when he falls asleepon her during Lord of the Rings and he kisses her hand placatingly every timehe tries to dissuade her from helping him with dinner and she kisses hisforearm in the park that one time he freaks out on her because she is on hisleft side and goes to hold his arm and he kisses her stomach the first time shegrabs his hand and lets him feel the baby kicking but-

They’ve never properly kiss and it’s this lastfrontier and maybe he is waiting for her to cross it but she just can’t seem to.

And then she is givingbirth and he is there when she is givingbirth and they haven’t even kissed.

And then there’s Henryand they both kiss him plenty but-

///

they don’t kiss whenKillian refuses to hold her baby and she is hurt and offended and so confusedand kinda angry and then he says he can’t, he can’t hold him with one hand andshe is just sad and, yeah, maybe still kinda angry but also eerily calm as shebents Killian’s elbow and gives him the kind of look that makes him shut hismouth audibly and places her son in his arms

they don’t kiss whenKillian barges in on her breastfeeding and twirls around on the spot, slappinga hand over his face and sputtering apologies while all she can do is laugh andlaugh and tell him to stop acting like her tits are a big deal and make her acup of that crappy decaf coffee and he does and he also makes sure to look herdirectly in the eyes and then wink very poorly when he says that her tits are a big deal

they don’t kiss when Henrystarts teething and Emma is up at all hours of the night and she looks likefucking hell and Killian tells her so in no uncertain terms and basically,somehow, taking advantage of her sleep-deprived brain, manages to rope her intoa teeth-sharing plan which basically includes her passing half of her insomniaonto him and Emma can’t forgive him and at the same time can’t love him enoughand yeah, she loves him now and they’ve known each other for a year and they haven’t fucking kissed and what ever

///

they don’t kiss whenshe asks him if he thinks maybe, possibly Liam would like to meet Henry and allKillian can do is nod and swallow and start planning the kind of lecture he’llgive his brother, if he dares to voice any of his doubts about the soundness of the situation, but Liamseems to think that if his brother is spending half his day around a certainbaby – no matter whose it is – it probably isn’t a terrible idea for him tomeet said baby and Liam Jones may be a military man and he may have nevergotten over the fact that he didn’t manage to protect his little brother fromall the evils of the world and he may have been determined to give Emma Swan ahard time for even the slightest hint of her using Killian but he is also puttyin the hands of Henry Swan within 10 minutes

they don’t kiss thefirst time she uses the key to his apartment and sneaks into his bedroom in themiddle of the night – baby in her arms and her hair into the messiest bun thathas ever been twisted and her damn sweatpants and her eyes all puffy and herwhispered worries all about not being able to do it and being all alone and notbeing good enough and he just folds himself around both of them and tries tostart the process of getting each ridiculous notion out of her head

they don’t kiss when shetells Henry to spot throwing his food all over daddy and Killian just standsthere – carrot puree all over his t-shirt, and watches as she continueswhipping the eggs in front of her as if she didn’t just- and he loves them bothtoo damn much to point it out and risk having her take it back and bloody hell,he loves her now and they’ve been together for all intents and purposes forover a year now and they haven’t bloodykissed and good lord

///

She comes back fromthe store and heads directly to Killian’s apartment and tries to calculate ifshe and Henry are spending more time at her place or at his at this point. Butas soon as she opens the door and the smell hits her, her calculations are leftoutside in the cold and it’s all she can do not to moan out loud. Turns out itwasn’t just the little guy growing inside her that made her love Killian’spies.

She hears the lowmurmur of Killian’s voice and decides to tiptoe into the kitchen as quietly aspossible. She wants to look at them without giving her presence away just yet,when it’s just them.

And sure enough Henryis tucked into Killian’s left arm, his little fist twisted into the hair at theback of her boyfriend’s neck (god, he is not her freaking boyfriend, along withHenry in his arms he is her entire fucking universe).

She knows what theyare making already but she narrows her eyes as she realizes that she has neveractually seen Killian make his shepherd’spie.

“This is the only wayI can make your mom eat these, Henry.”

He twirls a broccoliin front of her son’s little nose and Emma rolls her eyes. Partially because it’strue and partially because the broccoli version is not her most favourite.

“When you are oldenough I’m gonna teach you how to make it on your own but for now I’ll justshow you how to make yourself a little forest.”

She honestly doesn’tknow if it’s the implication of years tocome in his promise, the fact that he says it so confidently, so easily,without any doubt, without any caveat of “if we are still together”, withoutany alternative in his mind. Or if it’s the fucking forest of broccoli that heis arranging around his chopping board like the most precious human being thathe is.

Emma honestly doesn’tknow. But she does drop the bag she is carrying on the floor and she crossesthe space between them in the time it takes Killian to turn around and open himmouth to greet her. And then she finally finallyfeels his lips under her own.

He tastes even betterthan his damn pie.

[metalandmagi]

December End of the Year Media Madness!

It’s a new month and a new year! And what a crazy month it was what with Tumblr imploding and all. But I’ll still throw this on here just because I’ll be on this site until it literally boots me out. But I do have a twitter now…@metalandmagi where I’m also barely active at all.

Anyway, why make top 10 lists for the entire year when I can just ramble about all the media I consumed this month? There’s only a marginal amount of holiday things on here by my standards!

November media

Movies!

Give me some credit there’s only four Christmas movies on here.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?: A documentary about Mr. Rogers starting with the birth of the television show to his death. This is the fluffiest most heartwarming thing I could have possibly picked to watch on Christmas, and I encourage everyone, even people who hate documentaries and/or never grew up with Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, to watch it. There’s a lot of important messages about acceptance, dealing with tragedy, and mental health that people can learn from and feel good about. Not to mention how he completely revolutionized children’s television. So yeah, he was awesome.10/10

Spider-man Into the Spider-verse: When a rip between dimensions is opened, a bunch of different spider themed superheroes from every comic fan’s wet dreams all get together to close it. Guys I’m not that big of a Spider-man fan, but dang this movie was a ton of fun. I came for the amazing visual effects and stayed for the amazing...everything else. The music, the performances, and the story were all top notch. Also I now have a new favorite Nick Cage role. If you thought the trailer made the animation look interesting, it was just the tip of the iceberg because it is the most visually interesting movie I’ve seen in the last three years. I strongly suggest any fan of animation...or even any fan of great stories and movies in general go see it even if you’re not that big on Spider-Man. Now I’m demanding a Spider-verse Aunt May movie because I have so many questions! And the post credits scene was the best out of any Marvel movie. Period. 10,000/10

The Wiz (2015 musical): I should start making a section for musicals or plays instead of just lumping it in with the movies. It’s the Wizard of Oz...but cool. I’ve never seen any iteration of The Wiz and it seems like I’m constantly hearing about it. So I watched the 2015 version of the 1975 Broadway musical that NBC aired. And yeah it’s good. There were some great performances. But I wasn’t very impressed with the songs themselves, and it’s not really the same without a dog along for the ride, but whatever. 7.5/10

Jumanji Welcome to the Jungle: The surprisingly fun reboot/sequel thing of Jumanji where four teenagers get stuck in a video game that follows every “stuck in a video game” trope you can imagine but actually does it well. It’s a sweet, funny romp through the jungle with some great comedic performances. I really don’t have much to say about it except that this movie is better than it has any right to be. 8/10

The Christmas Chronicles: Two children stow away on Kurt Russell’s, I mean Santa’s sleigh and go on a dangerous, balls to the wall adventure throughout Chicago trying to save Christmas or something. After everyone started talking about how crazy this Netflix movie is I had to watch it to verify if it is indeed as wild as they said. And yes...yes it is. It is so laughably ridiculous and questionable that it’s impossible to actually hate. The elves are some unholy mixture of minions and gremlins, one of the children is a literal felon that no one is concerned about, and Kurt Russell is super into the role but has some sort of thing about fat-shaming Santa. I just...have so many questions! But it was certainly a trip, so I’d have to recommend it just so you too can witness the insanity. -10 “savvy, straight-talking St. Nicks”/10

Arthur Christmas: No, it’s not a Christmas special related to the aardvark cartoon! This is the 2011 animated movie that no one remembers exists. Santa’s clumsy but enthusiastic son Arthur must deliver a forgotten present in less than two hours while the rest of his family deals with some Arrested Development style family drama. This is by far the most underrated Christmas movie of all time; even I didn’t realize it was actually good until I watched it for the first time in 2016! The fun road-trip style plot and the entertaining characters were victims of bad marketing. Arthur is hilariously endearing, and there was so much heart and effort put into it that I can find new things to notice every time I watch it. Not to mention the amazingly animated opening spy sequence! And also Mrs. Claus is secretly a total badass and Bryony the elf is the coolest female character in a Christmas movie ever. The movie’s message of old vs new is nothing we haven’t seen before, but I really don’t care because at the heart of it all, it’s about making people happy on Christmas. If you’re like me and just assumed this movie would suck...or didn’t know it exists, please give it a chance. It’s not perfect, but it’s worth seeing. 9/10

Neo Yokio Pink Christmas: Yes, it’s the Christmas special for Neo Yokio. No I cannot accurately describe it with mere words. There’s a rich bachelor gift exchange, demon possession, and pompous French aunts slinging insults at each other. It is unironically my favorite holiday episode of a show ever, and to me it’s the best Christmas special ever made. I thought I was prepared for the absolute bat-shit ride I would go on, but no...I wasn’t even close. At this point I don’t know if it’s written like this on purpose or if some divine twist of fate made the executives believe this is truly brilliant television. Either way, it is a masterpiece in its own right. There’s even a somewhat intriguing plot and a message about gift giving and capitalism under all the crazy! If you haven’t jumped down the rabbit hole yet, I implore you to watch the insanity that is Neo Yokio and follow it up with Pink Christmas because it will truly make your holiday season. 100,000 demon DNA drugs out of 100,000!

Die Hard: Nothing says Christmas like terrorists taking over a skyscraper and Bruce Willis having to take them all down by himself. Yeah...so I’ve never seen Die Hard before, but this is one of those movies that is so famous that I felt like I’d already absorbed everything important through cultural osmosis. And even though it’s pretty good, I would have liked it better if I didn’t know what was going to happen. My only real complaint is that I think it goes on way too long. More than anything it just made me sad to remember that Alan Rickman is gone. And it bothers me so much that John McClane goes through this building that’s under construction WITHOUT SHOES! 8/10

Books!

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis: The 4th/6th book in the Chronicles of Narnia, in which Eustace Scrubb and his classmate Jill Pole go to the underworld to find King Caspian’s long lost son. Even though my children- the Pevensies aren’t in it, I actually think this book is my favorite of the series so far. Jill and Eustace are both sassy enough to play off each other, Puddleglum absolutely hilarious, and the book actually has a clear cut plot! It reads much more like a Greek myth than a children’s fairy tale since there aren’t nearly as many of Lewis’s trademark author interjections, and you know...it’s a literal journey to the underworld. And can I just say that it’s super refreshing to have an author write two main characters WITH ZERO ROMANTIC INTENTIONS! Especially since they’re freaking children! Now I just wish Disney had continued the movies even more! 9/10

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare: I’m going to do this with only minor spoilers. It’s the final book in The Dark Artifices trilogy. Will Emma and Julian break the parabatai bond? Will the reflection of the modern day American government- I mean the Cohort/ the Clave fuck up the relationships between Shadowhunters and Downworlders forever? You’ll have to suffer like the rest of us to find out! In my opinion, 99% of this book is amazing, but in the last 50 pages there are some...bullshit ways of solving problems. Like everything that went down with the Cohort in Idris. Not to mention we’ve been so invested in the parabatai curse and how Julian and Emma’s bond would go down and...let’s just say the resolution was way too easy. And if you thought Clare’s other finales were jam packed, you ain't seen nothin’ yet. My copy is 880 pages and there was still more stuff that I wanted to happen...like any sort of scene between Dru and Ash...or an ending between Kit and Ty that doesn’t make me want to cry (the Wicked Powers is going to be brutal). But the rest of that 99% is mind-blowing! There’s so much good I can say that it mostly outranks anything I didn’t like...I mean we finally got a Malec wedding and a proper polyamorous relationship for the Angel’s sake! It may be my least favorite of her finales by default but it was still a fun ride! 9/10

TV shows!

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018): An elite soldier finds a sword that can transform her into a super buff magical girl who helps princesses take down the forces of evil. It’s a reboot of the 1980s cartoon, and holy crap it’s AMAZING! I have a whole new group of children to adopt, each episode is entertaining in its own way, and there’s so...many...good...ships! And it gives Steven Universe a run for its money with the care that went into making every character a different kind of warrior, which I love because the cast is 99% female. My only real complaint is that I never warmed up to Catra because she wasn’t particularly sympathetic to me from the beginning. But I understand why some people love her. If you love well crafted adventurous character driven cartoons and haven’t watched it yet WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?  10/10

Nailed It Holiday: Yes, my favorite baking show (and by that I mean the only baking show I watch) has a holiday season out on Netflix, in which newbie bakers are tasked with making incredibly professional desserts with a very short time limit. And whoever makes the best treat gets 10,000 dollars. I’ve talked about this show before in my June media madness, and I don’t know what it is but I’m so addicted to it. 10/10

Brooklyn nine-nine (season 5): Come on we all know the cop sitcom. It’s the best sitcom. Just in general it’s the best. Great characters that subvert expectations, great humor, and a lot of heart. I’ve known that this show is supposed to be amazing for years, but I only started watching it a few months ago. And since I couldn’t find season 5 anywhere...I got a Hulu subscription just to watch it before season 6 comes out. That’s how good this show is. 10/10

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 2): Our favorite underdog comedian is back, and she’s slowly gaining popularity and doing...stuff. Like going on tour. And hanging out with Zachary Levi. Yes, this season is great, but my problem with this series is that every character aside from Midge and Susie are the fucking worst, especially the parents. Midge’s parents suck, Joel’s parents suck, Midge and Joel are appropriately neglectful parents for the time period...I could go on. And it’s not even in a funny way; like it’s just disgusting to watch these power dynamics. Not to mention how old the comedic bits for the parents get (how many times can we hear about Joel needing to date or Midge needing to get married?!) Yes, I realize that we’re supposed to be annoyed AND YES I realize that this is a product of culture and how society was, but none of the parents have any redeeming qualities. In episode one, we’re led to believe that Midge’s parents will grow and change through the season and they never do! At least there are moments where Joel can kind of be redeeming and expand on his actual character before he reverts back to being an asshole. Anyway, my thoughts are pretty much the same as the first season. It’s funny and interesting to watch, but it can be ridiculously frustrating when you hate almost all the characters!  8/10

Fuller House (season 4): Yes I do watch the ridiculous Netflix reboot of Full House. And yes, it is absolutely terrible! I really really hate it! But will I stop watching it? Let’s just say you can pry this pile of garbage from my cold dead hands. I don’t know if I’d call this a guilty pleasure or a hate watch type of show... it’s certainly not so bad it’s good territory like Neo Yokio...but Full House was pretty much my entire childhood. And yes, the original show is also not great. I loved it as a kid, and it was my first real exposure to a non-traditional family in live action, but yeah it doesn’t age well. What I’m trying to say is...I have no good reason for watching this.

I don’t mean to say that there’s nothing good about it, especially this season. They really back off on the more cringe-worthy catch phrases, Stephanie being aware of how stupid the writing is and constantly pointing it out is actually funny, their Christmas episode was surprisingly genuine, and they impressed me by actually make two female characters try and work through their difficulties instead of pitting them against each other for laughs. It has its moments, just like the original but definitely not enough to make up for the worst of it. Maybe this generation of children will like it the way lots of my generation used to like Full House...but yeah it’s awful, I hate it so much. -1 missing Tanner child out of 3

Voltron Legendary Defender (season 8) SPOILERS: It’s the final season of Netflix’s Voltron, and boy it was...something. I didn’t want to make this a big rant/defense of the show...but I feel like I have to highlight some things because this fandom is a shithole that refuses to see the good in anything.

There is so much good and so much...not good I can say about it, so here’s a couple things. I know this show didn’t go the direction anyone wanted, but that doesn’t make it bad. In addition to the stunning fight scenes and music, the performances this season were just amazing! I literally wanted to cry every other episode even though sometimes I didn’t know why the fuck something was happening. I don’t know how I feel about Honerva’s plan. I understand her motivation, but I was constantly questioning how we got from point A to point B... so yeah the plot and writing could be...weird at times. Also everyone seemed to have super pointy chins this season...

Spoiler alert: Not many of us wanted Lance and Allura to happen, but I truly believe it wasn’t done in a half assed way. At the very least, I appreciate that they had a genuine bond that developed over so many seasons. BECAUSE YES IT DID! Anyone who says they had no development or that it felt forced never paid attention. I wanted it to stay platonic; I wanted Klance to happen, but...I can’t be too mad at the writers because they at least tried. I still believe that Klance was endgame and the creators were forced to change the outcome of the show later on. AND YES LANCE DID GET A CHARACTER ARC! It may not have been the one we wanted to see, but I’m baffled that people think Lance living with his family, surrounded by people he loves-which is what he wanted all along- is not a happy ending. I just wish his relationship with Keith wasn’t pretty much ignored all season. But I believe Allura is his past that taught him to genuinely love and Keith is his future who will make Lance his “first choice”. And I’m not even gonna try to explain how I feel about Shiro and Allura’s endings because everything I feel is so complicated and layered. There is good and there is bad.

TLDR: This show teaches us that we’re stronger together, and I think the “fandom” completely missed the point because they do nothing but tear others down and refuse to look at things from other perspectives. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO NOT LIKE IT, BUT YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO TAKE AWAY OTHER PEOPLE’S ENJOYMENT AND BE A DICK ABOUT IT. It may not have been everything I wanted, but I’m glad I went on this ride. Besides, there are canonically infinite realities so there’s got to be a reality where all your dreams for the show come true. As a season, I’d say it’s a 7.5/10.

Honorable Mentions

I watched Avengers: Infinity War again. And yes it’s still great.

I’m watching Superstore because when another sitcom comes on before The Good Place, why not? Also since I finished season 5 of Brooklyn 99 I had to use my Hulu subscription for something.

Camp Camp has a holiday episode...so naturally I watched it...several times. Please watch Camp Camp.

Hellsing Ultimate Abridged finally ended, and I feel obligated to shout this out because, hey when you put out one episode a year it’s a big accomplishment to finish it!

Super Smash Bros Ultimate is finally here!!!!!!!!!!!

ALL THE WINTER ANIME IS ENDING!!! They were all so amazing! So shout out to Iroduku-The world in colors, Bloom into You, Hinomaru Sumo, Dakaichi, Banana Fish, Jingai no Yomen, Golden Kamuy, Skull-faced Bookseller Honda-san, Tsurune, AND RUN WITH THE WIND even though they’re not finished yet.

[ragethewriter]

10 question tag!

heyyy it came around again: write 10 questions, tag 10 people! Thanks @sandydragon1 for tagging me! <3

1. What is your favorite trope?

Gimme that sweet, sweet slow-burn romance.

2. Do you prefer happy endings, sad endings, or bittersweet endings?

Happy endings in books.  In movies/TV it depends on how attached I am to the characters.

3. Have you ever had anything published before?

If small-time submission stuff counts then yup.

4. Who is your favorite author?

MMMM that’s a tough one... I don’t think I can pick just one favorite lit author, but in other media I do really like writing from the Nolan brothers.

5. What is your favorite story you have ever written?

The one that I have that’s not finished 😅 all the others can perish.

6. What are you absolutely sick of seeing happen in books? 

I got two for this one: I hate when either the metaplot goes off the rails and results in anticlimactic nonsense (*cough cough Max Ride*), or when a main-couple-OTP suddently develops relationship issues in a sequel for no other reason than cheap drama.

7. What is the strangest thing you have gotten inspiration from?

A class unit in neurological processes that led to me down a Boltzmann Brain rabbit hole.

8. What is your least favorite genre?

Historical fiction.

9. What is your favorite time of day to write?

The unholy void of time in the middle of the night.

10. What topic do you think you’ll never feel comfortable writing about?

Autism (personal reasons) ~ ~ ~

AIGHT I’m tagging  @forlornraven, @trickster-writes, @writebruh, @desperatlytryingtowriteabook , @writings-of-a-tired-ravenclaw, @thechalkgodwrites, @lady-redshield-writes, @rosecorcoranwrites, @sleepy-and-anxious, @blueisawriter2k18

And here are my questions!

1)  What's your favorite type of character to write?

2)  What’s one of the themes in your WIP?

3)  Who is your most physically unique character?

4)  What sort of public places inspire you to write?

5)  Have you shared your writing with family or friends?

6)  Favorite book-to-movie adaptation (if you have one)?

7)  What’s your favorite villain trope?

8)  Give us an out-of-context spoiler for one of your stories? (optional ofc)

9)  Who is your least favorite character to write?

10)  What is one of your famous-author-fantasies?