#which i love but — you see the pov problem here right 😂

[hotmess-exe]

rearranged my entire bedroom to accommodate my pole, so now my bed is next to the window. which means my cat spends a shit ton of time in bed with me again. which means i am happy

i also got to watch some A+ improv last night — 4 hours worth 😆 and a good chunk of the night i also watched with that nb cutie who's been flirting 😚😚

[abubblingcandle]

Do you have any more from the extended cut from A Treatment Room Doors Moment? I saw a tumblr post from you where Keeley is trying to get Jamie to talk to Dr. Sharon, and he says he is already seeing a therapist named Lucy. I'd love to see more of that!

All your stories are so awesome, and I'm always looking forward to when you post. My favorites of your WIPs right now are Roll Call, Snap, ATRDM, Maybe Next Time He'll Think, and God Forbid You Leave Me. I'm also really excited for Dutch Sky Blue and Death Fruit. You're a really talented writer!!

Anon!!! This ask has had be grinning absolutely all day during a rough day of back at work. I would hug you if I could so here's a virtual hug 🫂I've been saving asks to add to my queue but this one couldn't wait because I loved it so much.

Thank you for sharing which fics you liked and bits you remembered me posting about!! Sharing fics you like is the best way to keep me motivated to actually write them 😂Out of those, God Forbid will be the next one you will see. I'm like two scenes off finishing Ch2 so it really shouldn't be long. And the next chapter of Maybe Next Time will be coming in whumptober! So keep your eyes peeled.

As for ATRDM and the extended cut, currently Keeley reflecting on her relationship with Jamie through the crux of Jamie having a therapist is the only extended scene I have so far. The extended cut is for scenes that I wanted to include but don't make sense in Roy POV which is a sacrifice for the narrative viewpoint that only Roy POV gives me. They will be posted when the chapter they go with is posted if that makes sense. So this scene is from Ch13 in the timeline but we get introduced to Lucy in Ch7!

Here's a little bit that comes later following that confrontation:

“Did you know Jamie had a therapist?” Keeley asked Roy as they ate curry in front of the TV that night. Phoebe had just been picked up by her mum and Chelsea were on the TV so she was in for an evening of sitting watching Roy say he didn’t care but getting increasingly worked up as the match went on. It was better entertainment than the match itself. But she was still thinking about Jamie. How did he do this? How did he, entirely without trying, manage to worm himself into your head and make a little nest there without your permission? “Yeah, Lucy. She seems great,” Roy frowned with a one shoulder shrug. “It seems to be helping. You know from how different he is now compared to before,” Keeley murmured. “I think he just needed people to listen when he had something real to say. Lucy does that for him,” Roy replied dismissively and didn’t that just twist the knife deeper. Keeley didn’t. He came to her with a problem as an olive branch of friendship and she had deemed it too much work and tried to offload him. They never really talked about anything real when they were dating. Jamie was too shallow and defensive for any real conversation to happen and Keeley just saw him as a sweet prop. She could admit that now, they weren’t good for each other a year ago but now, could she be this new real Jamie’s friend?

[crazykuroneko]

Rewind the Tape — IWTV S1E03 Rewatch

It's time to continue @iwtvfanevents Rewind the Tape with Episode 3. A disclaimer: this is my first time rewatching the show (excluding indirect watch through YouTube reactions), and it's purpose for me to refresh my mind and noticing things. So, I won't dwell on certain theories, but I'll take notes about it for myself. An extra disclaimer: I revoke my feminist card for Antoinette Brown.

Before that, this is my favorite shot of this episode:

• The music during the opening. It's a comedy show lol

• "I put you on this earth. Your purpose is to enjoy yourself." A bar. An extremely red flagging bar.

• "I know you don't believe that." This is entering a headcanon/personal theory zone, but I always suspect Lestat during this era has this "ideal life" he envisions for him and Louis. That vampires should be this or that, vampire family should be this or that etc. And he stubbornly holds to it which leads to him denying himself to be vulnerable and more communicative to Louis and Claudia. I wonder if we'll get some clue on this later. anyway, BACK TO THE MAIN PROGRAMMING

• "I desire *small voice* blood..." He is so cute

• ugh Louis' suit is Excellent. Carol Cutshall i worship you

• "Every one of them is capable of abomination, even the ones worthy of admiration" "Thrust them into circumstance,[...] and you'll see all kinds of depravity" Unfortunately, he is right.

• I, too, want to flirt with my spouse while talking about how to decide which human we'll kill.

• NOT THE CAT LOUIS 😭😭😭😭

• And with that, the theme of the episode is set: the consequence of Louis' eating disorder. Deeper exploration after establishing what he lost and not lost to vampirism in the previous episode.

• Antoinette is from Atlanta.

• "You're ashamed of what we are." Highlighting this for later.

• "Could you not use the word..." Louis 😂

• Louis has business in Clairborne. Google tells me it's dominated by Black population back then and has a lot of shops. (cmiiw ofc)

• "There it is". We're gonna back to this later.

• Not at Louis staring at Lestat staring at Antoinette. With Lestat already knew Morton will leave Louis soon, you know that his bad idea (he'd call it genius actually) of inciting Louis' jealousy and rage through Antoinette flashes in his little brain right there.

• Jolly Morton vs Lestat banter. what a moment 😂

• *Googles* Wolverine Blues was written in 1923.

• Okay, this is paraphrase, but Daniel said, "When you're still too close to it, the abused still loves the abuser. But you flipped it on its head" aka '70s Louis hated and trash talked Lestat, but now he romantisized him. Well, we'll definitely see the answer in S2. But I wonder if this raises a possibility of Louis meeting Lestat after the '70s interview? Or 2022 Louis believes Lestat is dead dead? You know, you could be forgiving after someone dies. Anyway, kind of fast forwarding here, but this and how Louis downplays Lestat's power in E01 and Louis' whole speech in E06 about "are we the sum of our worst moments?" establishes Louis' current POV actually softens Lestat. Beating that "Louis is lying to make Lestat look worse" allegations. (Unfortunately, he really loves that man guys 😞)

• It's so cute of Louis he really knows what page he has to read out loud when Daniel starting to question his story. Like, he's very aware there's accuracy problem to his memories.

• Louis looks so cute when he's happy (and what a good acting there from Jacob)

• I like that light blue vest on Lestat. Why do we only see it once (and with Antoinette on top of that)? 😭

• Lestat and Antoinette's gig is two weeks old by this time.

• "I understand the indulgence. I let it happen" Oh, Louis 😞

• Not at Lestat offering a threesome. And "I like burnished complexion". God, they should have killed this racist fake ass sooner. And woman even opens her dress herself 😭

• The editing during this scene is kinda jumpy though. But again, no male gaze on the naked woman body. I appreciate that.

• The laugh omg. I don't know, maybe i'm kinda sick in the head and could see how crazy Lestat's brain works, so since the beginning, even before knowing the "inappropriate laugh" explanation from the books, I saw it as like him going "are you really saying you're not enough? LOL" but that's still fucking rude from Louis' POV. That's like the closest Louis ever being vulnerable and saying "I love you" to Lestat, but alas. In E01, Louis himself says he doesn't like how his family judges him, and now he gets Lestat laughing at his sincerity, so OF COURSE he will become more closed-off.

• "There. I said this" And as I said, we're back to the beginning of this episode. This whole thing with Antoinette is Lestat's "clap back" to Louis' shame about their vampirism, which he sees as a personal slight to him because he's Louis' maker. He's deliberately doing this in away that it betrays his own words. So, Lestat is not being hypocritical here, he's being, "Look, how silly it is when we go along with your words of sparing them according to the standard that pleases us?" He's trying to make a point. This is not unlike when Lestat uses "my love" on Antoinette after Louis calling him "my love" while presenting him the poisoned blood that would kill him in E07. I mean, they're both so petty to each other, and unfortunately they're literally this Taylor Swift meme:

• And as we know, unfortunately Lestat will keep using Antoinette to push Louis' buttons until Louis is numb enough to feel hurt about it 😞

• "So, I can fuck whoever I want?" And since it's basically about making a point, Lestat of course has never considered a possibility of Louis fucking anyone else. Because he assumes Louis would be mad and drain Antoinette himself soon. He's that genius (sarcasm).

• "sanctioned infidelity" Louis really has a way with bis words 😂

• Ordinance 4118. Segregating Storyville.

• Lestat standing right in front of the stage while Antoinette is performing 🤮. They're so overtly public. Rubbing on something he can't do with Louis as a couple.

• Oh Jacob's acting during the game and talking to the Alderman. He looks hot as well 🧎‍♀️

• Ngl since I'm not American and I don't know much about American history, I opened Google for these lines.

• God, after the incident with Benny, there's definitely no contact between Louis and his family because he only knows it's the twins' birthday from Jonah.

• "Do you remember the old days?" Oh, Louis is giving that whole montage of their youth for Lestat. Something they don't have together as a couple. They're so nasty to each other woo!

• Oh Lestat takes umbridge because Louis is praising Jonah's uniform, later saying it's Louis' "type"

• I believe here Lestat is honest he stops the thing with Antoinette because he sees his "clap back" doesn't work like it should be. Tries to wave the white flag of surrender to Louis by offering a night out together the next day, but unfortunately Louis chooses to go to his family. Interesting though, 2022 Louis definitely notices Lestat's disappointment at that time, judging from that shot of Lestat freezing there. Again, this goes with my assumption that 2022 Louis tries to understand Lestat better.

• In hindsight, it's interesting Louis himself offers the opening for Daniel to question his recollection by saying the mud on Lestat's boots could come from anywhere, because later he knows for sure Lestat was there in the bayou watching. During my first watch, I thought Daniel catching his error, but maybe Louis deliberately wants Daniel to catch it? Which makes his words in S2 trailer "I want to remember" more sense. He's been prepping Daniel to see through his errors.

• The eye contact with Armand there. So brief, but what a clue. Is he lingering for Jonah's bit or for the testing memory bit?

• That transition to the girls calling him a ghost. So clever.

• Six months of no contact.

• And Lestat claps back to the Jonah thing by bringing those soldiers to their home. Again, he's genius like that.

• "I think Bricks is onto us". Ofc Bricks knows (because like Antoinette says, they talk gossips), but making Lestat notices this from her after weeks of Lestat and Antoinette being so public is interesting. Idk where I'm going with this, but interesting.

• I still really like with how they did Lestat's face during this big showing of power. Kudos for special effects team

• And I watch you drain the dog and eat rats" Yes yes, Lestat did this whole plan to drive Louis to kill in rage but it ends up with him so close to eat properly yet still draining animals. I believe he'd be less mad if Louis drinks from Jonah there. Anyway, first proof of anything Lestat has planned never ends well (except the Come to Me record in E06, but that's not a long game) and yet we have people saying he's like Hannibal 🤷‍♀️

• Louis really makes him speechless there. Kudos.

• I'm glad to see Lestat supporting Louis here in front of Fenwick and Anderson, and rejects Fenwick's suggestion to make him the face of Louis' business, because I was ready to slap him if he said yes during my first watch.

• And of course Lestat calls it a "hobby" because he never takes Louis' human business seriously and he is unable to understand why his bussiness is important to Louis. The scene where Louis' making the No Whites sign proves it.

• So, Louis' remaining business after this riot in Clairborne is hats and grocery stores. And like Louis says, the money isn't that much. That and the remaining Azalea money (if he saved them, exclusing the amount he's been giving to his family as deputy in charge of their trust) are what funding his life and Claudia during Lestat is away in E06 and their whole trip in Europe in S2. That, if those shops survives the Depression.

• The directing during the killing of Fenwick is so 🤌

• Hanging him at the St. Louis church is too on the nose, Louis, but like Lestat, I really appreciate the style. (I wonder how they got the permit to hang it there. I zoomed this shot a lot back then to identify the church, so I'm pretty sure that's the real church not a replica)

• That zoom in on Louis by the window 🤌

• I went to Google and apparently the Ordinance didn't get time to be applied because it's challanged immediately by a mixed raced Madam, and Storyville ended up being closed due to military pressure. Read here. In the show though, it's applied, so logically it makes the existing racial tension even worse, and there's a big possibility of a race riot to happen with or without Louis' action.

• He really says finding Claudia is a "before you and after you" type of moment 😭

• God, all the things Louis puts on the saving of Claudia. Azalea, Storyville, his people. *spoiler* It's no wonder unable to save Claudia in the end is very traumatic for him.

Summary:

So, we're here in episode 3 aka the essay of all consequences when Louis self-regulates too much. Side effects of his eating disorder we've seen in this episode: "barely energy to hold up a book", lacking libido, easier to become bitey when he is aroused (i mean, it took longer for Claudia in E04 but since she's way younger, she lost herself immediately unlike Louis), healing way later than it should be (a scar that should only take minutes to heal probably takes one good night sleep), unable to control rage hence he's prone to uncontrolled outburst.

If in the last episode, we see how bad Loustat handling a conflict, this time we see their ugly habit of "settling a score" when they're mad with each other instead of communicating like normal people. And when one of them let themselves vulnerable enough to communicate, the other doesn't respond well and instead worsen the other's insecurity (however, we can't blame Louis not noticing Lestat's moment vulnerability because unlike Louis who vocalize his insecurity and gets laughed at, Lestat conceals what he feels and why)

Anyway, can't wait to see this gets even worse 😂😭

[scoonsalicious]

Heya hey mother pookie🩷 So here’s my thoughts.

Can’t stress this enough and will keep on saying it that Lebron is just…

It’s sad u know? just… sad! Idk how to explain but it’s sad that’s not pity. The closest word I can think of is pathetic. She’s pathetic but not to the point I feel sorry for her.

Honestly, if she wasn’t a bit cray2, delusional, obsessive, manipulative, a pick me, I would’ve actually feel bad for her but then she’s not

She’s a whole red flag and if Buckybaby doesn’t see that in the future, RIP his eyes and sanity but as said by Mother Pookie before, this Bucky is better and so I have faith in him. It’s just that his action might be later on than now bcs he always thought of Lebron as his friend only. Before he never been interested so hard in a dame before but now that he’s actually starting to fall in love with Major, he’s going to notice her delusionalism (this word doesn’t exist btw)

Btw Leechoney… what do you expect😭😫 Like… what? Ofc he’s going to lie to you bcs of your attitude. She’s acting as if Bucky is her boyfriend (i bet in her mind she thinks that). She’s going to confront Bucky the next day I tell ya. She’s not the type to back down too. I can imagine the shrill of her voice right now and it’s making me cringe. I bet she gunna stomp her feet like a child demanding Buckybaby to explain why he lie to her and who’s he with. She’s the type to use the ‘but I’m your bestfriend’ reason too, which is hella annoying. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes so hard it refuse to come back down, but it had too bcs I need to read the upcoming part.

Personally, it’s fun to read Lenovo’s POV. Imagine if Jade had one?! That would be cruel yet interesting😂 Reading the antagonist view has a different vibe because there will be a time where we don’t understand why they’re acting the way they are and in a sense of way, we’re psychologically interpreting/discussing their behaviour which is fun. I lurve it!!

Lastly, as usual, great writing, Happy mother’s day to your mama Pookie and others as well andd ofcc as usual, love you Mother Pookie🩷🩷🩷

PS// One of my cat is sick rn. Please pray that he’ll be better tomorrow (He’s not meowing as usual, wobbly wobbly too, these past few days the weather has been unexpected, changing between heavy rains then scorching hot in seconds, and i hope it’s not affecting him. This is why we need an actual cat as a doctor, like a cat doctor, not human doctor just so they could take care of other cats ASAP)

I feel like it's easy to put deLulu in the crazy bucket, but she's definitely motivated more by selfishness than by any kind of mental illness. She could have easily asked Bucky out at any point over the last four years. Who knows-- he might have said yes. She just kind of expected him to fall for her, so don't feel bad for her. She's been manipulating his relationships for a long time now.

She's definitely put Bucky in this quasi-boyfriend role, where she treats him like a bf and expects him to treat her like a gf, just minus the sexual/romantic element... for now (in her mind). She's used to being the only girl of significance in his life, and it's going to hit her hard when that changes. And it changes very, very soon.

Bucky will start seeing problems with the way she acts, but he won't necessarily put two and two together right away. Because, to him, the idea of a romantic relationship between him and her is just... so far out there. She is a friend; he's never, ever seen her as anything else. The idea has never crossed his mind. So, when trying to come up with motives for her behavior, jealousy will not be the first one to come to mind.

I think I would have been too terrified to have ever written a Jade POV. It would have been so scary in that head, lol.

[withgreatpowercomesmyfuckingdick]

GENESIS CHAPTER!!! YESSSSSSS MY BOYY

Genesis is a hate-reader 🍷 Canon to me. I'm also glad you give him time to shine as a strategist, like, he IS a caster and one of the most proficient SOLDIERs in existence 💅stands to reason he does have to think things through on the battlefield and this isn't addressed nearly enough imo.

Zack "I'm not traumatized 😀" Fair is breaking my heart here. Both Cloud and Zack get to miraculously be together after losing the other, but the fear is fresh in Zack's mind. And unfortunately due to the rapidly developing situation (SCREAMS) he doesn't really have time to process and address it, and that's assuming he isn't avoiding doing so like the plague because Cloud's alive so everything's fine now right? 😀 Except it's super not and now Zack is the only one who really knows how not fine it is 💔

Speaking of not addressing emotions lol Angeal is in full repression mode and Sephiroth is isolatinggg 😬 I know how easy it is to withdraw when you're used to not having anyone there for you, when you have to figure out and manage everything yourself regardless of how unequipped you are for the task, but I also feel for Genesis here because it really does take a lot of work to gently coax people out of that over and over again. I like how you're addressing this in general, but especially from this pov! I really feel Genesis' frustration here. He knows it would get better if Seph just came home 😥

I really enjoyed the intel gathering scene with Bolin 👌👌👌 You're really serving up top shelf Genesis in this chapter and it's delightful to watch! But Camp 28 is stressing me tf out agagshshshshs Zack is somewhat reassured for now but even Kenny is worried about Cloud's lack of self preservation (physically and emotionally damn) and he doesn't even know how bad of a situation they're walking into! Though no one really knows and that's kind of the problem, but I love Kenny and I want him to survive this 😭 He needs to survive so he can be brave and trust Juvie with the kids!

Speaking of kids, CLAUDIA IS SO PRECIOUS I CANT 💕 I'm as bad as Vincent at this point. Claudia deserves the world (and she doesn't even exist anymore.. I will never be ok again 🫠)

I'm a little worried about whatever Genesis has planned to address the Camp 28 situation, because, well, it's Genesis lol but at the same time I love his constant rebellion against being told "no" 💅

Thanks for the amazing chapter!!!! Time to reread the whole thing again to distract myself from the incredible suspense of what's to come 😁🍿

HI HI HI THANKS FOR LEAVING ME THIS TO WAKE UP TO!!!

Genesis being a strategist just makes sense to me. Like. The man led a rebellion against Shinra that turned into a straight up war, waged it for a decent amount of time, and managed to not immediately get eradicated. That in itself says the man’s got SOME brains on him lol

Yeahhh Zack’s still in the “just happy Spike’s here” stage and honestly doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. The weight of carrying Cloud’s secret is kinda trumping his own emotions in importance, which miiiiiight not be good :/

It’s kind of sad when, to an extent, Genesis is being the most emotionally intelligent among them. I mean. Seriously. Genesis? Same guy that thought talking Sephiroth into insanity would make the dude help heal him? Yeah if he’s the smartest emotionally everyone needs some DIRE help.

But also guess what conflict is going to be resolved next chapter because I like making Seph suffer but not THAT damn much? Angeal’s repression might take a bit longer but gimme a second there’s five character arcs going on at once 😂

Camp 28 is, if you guys didn’t notice, another parade situation, except I’m dragging it out for effect LMAO. It obviously isn’t exactly the same but…well, you’ll see ;) Kenny’s just trying to look out for a buddy :( Cloud’s doing the same thing, just like…way more risky and possibly self destructive. Immortality went RIGHT to his head IMMEDIATELY

Cloud says it’s his daughter but that’s OUR DAUGHTER!!!

And like you said lmao—

Sephiroth: Genesis, no

Genesis: is that a fucking challenge

Nah seriously like, Genesis and ‘letting that slide’ don’t go in a sentence together. it’s just

Genesis, squinting at Camp 28: I don’t know what the fuck’s going on but TRUST you will be dealt with

Feel AWFUL for leaving this answer to you in my drafts for like…for fucking ever 😭 But thanks for leaving me this lovely!!! Always encouraging to read a lil smth from you 🖤🖤🖤

[sammysamstuff]

Ok but couldn’t Hannibal just love Will for he was? Why did he do the therapy and kept trying to force Will to kill and to become? Will’s becoming Hannibal kept trying to make him a killer why couldn’t he just love and accept Will for who he was? Why could he only love Will if Will killed with him abd became his murder husband or whatever

Hiya. With all due respect, there’s a few incorrect assumptions on your end. Let me try and clarify - I’ll provide canon examples further down:

1) Hannibal never turned Will into a killer - Will was already a killer, and enjoyed the sensations that it brought him. Hannibal simply helps him understand and accept that. With that understanding came Will’s change, his own acceptance of his dark nature.

Canon makes Will’s killing instinct and darkness very clear in various instances and to other characters also, not just Hannibal: for example, the FBI turned down Will’s application due to his unstable nature, he didn’t pass the psychological tests needed to become an agent. Alana had never felt comfortable being alone in a room with Will, she knew something was going on with him. Freddie Lounds was right about Will literally from day 1 - she’s annoying as hell, but she was right.

There was always something off with Will’s mind and personality and it was obvious to others too, not just Hannibal.

2) Hannibal absolutely loves and worships Will for who he is. The only thing is, Will Graham was faking a whole persona for a long time, wearing a mask until he met Hannibal and started therapy. It’s with Hannibal that Will finally drops the person suit and fully reveals his true self: a cold-blooded killer. So it’s not that Hannibal didn’t love the “Episode 1 Will Graham”, he did! Like Mads Mikkelsen said so himself, it was love at first sight for Hannibal. The only problem is,“Episode 1 Will Graham” is not the real Will Graham. It’s a mask, a person suit.

Here’s 4 examples that come to mind where we see the unveiling of the “true Will Graham”:

1st meeting at Jack’s office

When Hannibal meets Will for the 1st time in Jack’s office, it’s quite clear to him from a psychiatric POV that Will Graham is a) not comfortable in his own skin; b) is incorporating a persona “autistic-like, hostile, introverted, avoiding eye contact” to keep people away and to keep his own dark nature hidden; c) Will Graham lives in fear, he’s afraid of his own empathy- like Hannibal said Will’s mind is “shocked at the associations”. Upon meeting Will only once, Hannibal immediately understands that Will is ACTIVELY hiding his true self behind a façade - Hannibal detects a killer, a wolf in sheep’s clothing, Will just doesn’t know it yet, or doesn’t accept it yet. Hannibal read him like a book, which angered Will and made him storm out of Jack’s office “you won’t like it when I’m psychoanalysed”.

2nd meeting - breakfast at the motel/Will kills Hobbs

Sparked by love and curiosity, Hannibal pursued Will by bringing him breakfast and volunteering to go with him to investigate the Shrike case, which leads to Hobbs’ being killed by Will (all in a day’s work 😂). Upon meeting Will only a 2nd time, Hannibal promptly stated that he sees Will’s true nature: “you’re the mongoose I want under the house when the snake slithers by”. Criticise Hannibal however you like, but he’s a damn good shrink: again Will is caught off guard by the accuracy of Hannibal’s statement about him. Shortly after, when they meet Hobbs, Will brutally kills him. Later in therapy, Will tells Hannibal “I don’t consider Hobbs my victim, I consider him dead” and “I liked killing Hobbs”. So it’s with Hannibal that Will feels comfortable enough, for the 1st time in his life, to start openly unveiling his true personality and how he really feels about killing people.

Killing Randall Tier

When Hannibal is bandaging his hands after killing Randall Tier, Will confessed to him: “I’ve never felt as alive as I did when I was killing him”. It doesn’t get any more honest than this.

Dinner with Chiyoh at Lecter Castle

During dinner with Chiyoh and upon meeting her for the 1st time too, which is so interesting, Will is very clear and honest about his relationship with Hannibal and his own self-awareness: “I’ve never known myself, as well as I know myself, when I’m with him”. Will is confessing that before meeting Hannibal, he’s never known himself. Ever. How powerful and absolutely beautiful is that confession??? In his 30-something years of life, Will Graham has never known who he really was. He does now. It was Hannibal presence in his life that allowed that self-knowledge.

Conclusion:

Throughout the show, we start learning that Will is indeed a killer, that’s his true nature, he likes the power that comes with it and the violence, but he’s conflicted about it. Hannibal’s goal is simply to help Will embrace who he really is, not turn him into something he’s not. Will also corroborates that Hannibal is the one who fully understands him and the person who allowed his own self-knowledge.

Hannibal loves the real Will Graham, in all his glory, he’s only ever wanted to love the real person, not the person suit, not the mask. That’s the difference. The same way that Will Graham loves Hannibal Lecter the Chesapeake Ripper, not Dr Lecter, the person suit.

[hydrogenandhelium]

Oh reading update I should have given you guys a couple of days ago!!!

Wow this ended up being longer than I expected. Preview of what I talk about below the cut so I don’t take over everyone’s homepage if you’re only here for cosmemes: Priory of the Orange Tree (Samantha Shannon), The Slow Regard of Silent Things (Patrick Rothfuss), Kings of the Wyld (Nicholas Eames), The Broken Eye (Brent Weeks)

I finished priory of the orange tree. I loved it, but I felt like the last 300 pages or so dragged until I got to the ending. It could just be me though, the changes at work really cut into my reading time so I spent more days reading that book than I’d planned. Definitely recommend, it’s got dragons and politics and court intrigue and queer rep and spies and secret sects and all sorts of things.

Then I read the slow regard of silent things in one night. It was cute and weird and a lot of fun. I wouldn’t consider it essential reading for kingkiller chronicles, but it IS Auri’s pov and she’s definitely my favorite character so I could t skip it. Another highly recommended, and it’s spoiler free so if you just want to read a week in the life of a quirky girl with maybe OCD and definitely anxiety living in the tunnels under a city, I’d recommend it. The tunnels are cool, not icky, there’s an abandoned ballroom down there!

Now I’m reading Kings of the Wyld. I’ve seen it described as the A-team reunited and someone’s wild dnd campaign. I’m only on page 70 but I’m already comfortable saying those people are wrong. This is a 70s rock band trying to hold a reunion tour in 2010 when emo reigns. I’m really enjoying the campy humor especially after priory of the orange tree, which was so so so serious.

I’m also about halfway through book 3 of lightbringer (the broken eye) too on my audiobook. I’m liking that series a lot. Brent Weeks isn’t great with characterizing women and I’ll never argue with that but I think people overstate how bad he is. The women of Night Angel seriously needed some personality but the women in lightbringer actually have agency and a lot of depth. They’re not perfect and Karris is more motivated by men than she probably should be, but she still makes decisions for herself. And Teia might be my favorite female character he’s written. So it’s not all bad, just depends on how sensitive your meter is for unintentional sexism. For me, I tend to be more forgiving of older books than newer books, especially when you can see the author is making an effort to improve.

I think that’s all I’ve got. Based on how fast I’m going through kings of the wyld in the rare opportunity I do get to crack it open, I’ll go through it pretty fast, so I’m already starting to think about what I’ll be reading next. I’ve got a few things standing out on my bookshelf to me right now but we’ll see how I feel when it’s time for the next one. Mood reader problems I guess 😂

[shrinkthisviolet]

fic authors self rec! when you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. let’s spread the self-love 💗 -ambi

ps. i just realized i’m not following you???? sorry 😭

Not a problem at all! Glad you're following me now 💗

This ask was also sent in by @dearestpartnerofgreatness @phoomwhoosh @goldheartedchaoticdisaster and @northerngoshawk! Thank you all, sorry my July's been hectic af 😅

So, my 5 favorite self-written fics (in no particular order):

1. so many walls up (i can't break through) - the first fic of the s1 arc of the Morgan AU! My first multichap in the AU too...which I don't usually write a lot of, so that made it extra special. It's also where we see the beginnings of Barry & Morgan, aka one of my favorite relationships in this whole AU (and if you love them too, take comfort in knowing that there's gonna be a lot more of them to come). And some insight into Morgan & Thawne's complicated father-daughter dynamic...which is the relationship referred to in the title. And Morgan herself is so wonderful and I love her...which goes hand in hand with me wanting to give her the biggest, tightest hug 💞

2. one tries to fly away (and the other watches close) - also part of the Morgan Wells AU, and also expanding on Morgan & Thawne as a relationship. It was a nice change to step into Eowells's head and see how he feels about Morgan...we spend so much time in her shoes that I think it's important to show that Eowells does indeed love Morgan, he just doesn't know how to love her in a healthy way, so he ends up hurting her. Love can be complicated like that.

3. i hate to look at your face (and know that you're feeling different) - so this is pretty recent, but I love it! I love Izumi & Zuko, and I've always wanted to write something about them, but...the ATLA muse these days is fickle, so I wasn't sure where to start. But I figured "ooh what's more angsty than Izumi finding out about her dad's scar at 13?" and I'm proud of the results 💞 having a deadline helped too

4. come in, the water is(n't) fine - this is one I think I'll be proud of for a while. It was my first go at Sith Luke, but during the Sequels era from the POV of Rey. I've always wanted more from Rey & Luke than what we got in the movies, and this was my chance to sorta explore that...albeit with some differences. I think the backstory was the trickiest part to get right here - it's an AU but I didn't wanna go full OOC, so I had to figure out how Luke could plausibly fall. And I think I did pretty well! And bonus...I actually didn't hate Kylo Ren in this 😂

5. i hear it calling (i feel it in my soul) - can't make a list like this without a Lucy AU fic ofc! And it had to be this one. This very well might change to my ESB fic (since that movie's my favorite), but for now, it's this one. I really loved writing this, inserting Lucy and changing a few minor things here and there to kick the emotion up a notch (and to erase that brief Luke and Leia romance because...wtf)...and the sibling bonds between the triplets were so wonderful to write too! And Lucy herself is so dear to me ofc 💞

...also I'm cheating and adding a 6th because I feel like it:

6. main gehra tamas tu sunehra savera (main tera) - the Maiko/Hasaisha fic! Can't make this list without that too...this fic will forever be one of my proudest ones. Maiko is such a dear ship to me, and Hasaisha were so cute in Ms. Marvel...and I gave myself a challenge that I didn't know if I could meet, but I wanted to try. And I'm so glad I did, because I think it's one of the best things I've ever written.

[hees-mine]

I just wanted to say i’m sorry if i was one of the pt.2/continuation ppl,,, i never mean it in a harmful way and now i see how it’s in a writers pov. I just wanna say i love ur writing and u as a person and i understsnd your decision and will wait for a hopeful comeback in the future? Again i’m sorry

As I mentioned before it wasn’t just on one person it was the consistency in which I was being asked to make a part 2 most of the time I take part 2 as a compliment but after a while it just became so constant that it felt more like an insult

Like I said it was bad from the beginning even when I posted the first part of playtime but I continued cause I was excited that people wanted more but when I posted last time it just kept getting worse and people were even being rude

Which is ridiculous cause I ended that story with a sad ending and even stated that it was the end but since people couldn’t stop asking I figured why not make a few more parts so everyone could be happy with the ending

In hindsight I shouldn’t have done that but fuck me for trying to give the people what they want am I right? 😂

I just answered about having a comeback and I think it’s highly unlikely given the circumstances in which I’m leaving (that sounds rude but I’m not trying to be)

I thank you for taking time and understanding what the problem is and I do sincerely hope in the future this can stop or maybe me leaving will just at least teach one person the consequences of treating writers like robots

Apologies accepted and again thank you for being one of the few people here that care 🩵

[kategorema]

One of the things i love most about Hometown Cha Cha Cha is the way they subvert gender roles in the characters. Once again, this is the pov of an avid romance consumer and thats the way im approaching this

To start, sikhye, to me, feels a lot like the grumpy one with the sunshine one trope (thats what i call it in my head i dont know if it has an actual name 😂). Now, in the romance genre, this trope is often combined with the small town setting we see in the drama but 90% of the time, no matter the gender of the city person, the woman is the sunshine and the man is the grump. In small town romances where the female character is the city person moving in town the man is the town grump whom she helps connect with his fellow citizens, when the male character is the city person moving in town the woman is the town sunshine that helps him embrace life and have fun .

Now, the way i see it, Hye-jin is the grumpy one and Du-sik the sunshine one, which i think is the biggest way this series subverts gender roles. Du-sik is the one everyone knows and loves in town, Du-sik is the fun-loving social butterfly that lightens the atmosphere, Du-sik is the one that offers a helping hand to everybody when usually, while it's not unusual for him to be that giving, as the grump, the man's generosity is meant to be discovered by the female lead later on. In Hometown Cha Cha Cha Du-sik's giving nature is evident from the start and it's one of the things that most endear him to us as an audience.

Hye-jin, on the other hand, is a lot more reserved, which again is usually a male characteristic, she's not used to this way of life she doesn't understand why everyone's in her business and finds it annoying and is not hesitant to say so. As a result, she comes across as judgy and snobby to the residents or even the audience (she didnt come off that way to me but it wouldn't surprise me if someone else thought otherwise) and Du-sik is the one that tells her to be a little more open, that she might have to compromise in order to gain the residents' trust. So, once again we see him in a role that is mainly assigned to the female character in a romance.

Now, i realise i make this seem really unfair to the sunshine one (aka the woman, usually) but i promise you it isn't. Here's the deal with these sunshine characters; they don't know how to be anything else. What i mean by that is a sunshine won't talk to anyone about their personal problems in order not to compromise the happy image they project to the world out of fear they won't be liked otherwise.

Consequently, and here's why i love this whole opposites-attract-sunshine-grump situation, they feel free to talk about their issues with the grumpy ones mainly because usually their sunshiny disposition gets on their nerves so what do they have to lose anyway, right?

That is exactly what we see in episode 10 when Du-sik talks to Hye-jin about feeling responsible for his grandfather's death. It's the first time we see him open up to anyone and it is fucking beautiful, no? Which brings me to the way Hometown Cha Cha Cha subverts gender roles that makes me the happiest. Du-sik is in therapy 🎊🥳🤧🎉🥰. I imagine for most of you this series is not your first kdrama and so you know this is extremely rare, especially for a man. As we all know, women are supposed to be more in tune with their emotions and a lot more open to processing them and yet Du-sik is the one we see working through them.

Now, the only way i come in contact with the Korean culture is through kdramas and kpop so im not going to comment on that. I am Greek, however, and therapy has not been completely accepted yet in my culture (it's certainly better than before but it hasn't been exactly normalised), especially for men. So, i can say with 100% sincerity, i am absolutely delighted to see him work on himself in that way and it makes me love his character that much more. How self-aware must he be to be able to realise he needs help to work through his mental issues? (This is totally a me thing btw i just value self-awareness a lot 😅).

While i love our main couple an extraordinary amount, i do have something to say about our secondary one in a post like this. I absolutely love Mi-seon as a character, i love her friendship with Hye-jin (which deserves a separate post btw) and i love whatever she has going on with Eun-chul mainly because it's another opposites attract situation. Mi-seon is confident, she's sassy, she's extroverted while Eun-chul is low-key, he's introverted, a little traditional. I dont know about you but i rarely see female characters be so open about relationships in kdramas. Usually, they are portrayed as demure and innocent and those words describe Eun-chul better than Mi-seon. I love the fact that Mi-seon is the one who confessed her feelings and Eun-chul is the one that basically asked her to take it slow. I'm not saying one is better than the other i just find it really refreshing.

Anyway, this post got away from me and barely makes sense anymore😅 please feel free to add anything or to correct me if you need to.

[perfectarmony]

Sorry, not sure if this went through (having computer problems), so am resending: Looking forward to your TLC review. Not to be a downer but the ep was a bit of a snoozer for me. The Armony reunion was lackluster - they came across as casual business partners IMO. I feel like they are regressing Armony without much explanation. Arman asks how Thony and Luca are doing and that's about it - kind of flat. Hopefully their new biz venture will create some interesting dynamics but of course Nadia is the middle of it. Messy isn't always interesting. The Nadia and Arman dynamic is just weird, without much insight into their relationship. She gets jealous of Thony, makes snarky comments and Arman looks uncomfortable. I thought Nadia was more interesting last season - more complex and unpredictable. Arman seems all in on his marriage - again, what changed from S1? The Garret storyline is getting tired too - how many times is he going to blackmail Thony to spy for him? I like NA but could care less about his relationship with Nadia except for how it impacts Armony. How do you like the pacing so far? Did you like the ep? Tx.

Hey Anon! 😏

There's a lot going on right now - they have to lay the foundation for the new storylines/characters and that could be one of the reasons why something feels a bit off.

They did an amazing job in S1, making it so easy to appreciate and understand characters, almost as if we had already known them for a season prior to that, and at times, it feels like they may have trouble finding their footing now with all these changes?

For me, 2.03 was a solid episode, a bit all over the place but solid nonetheless!

To avoid losing myself, I'll rely on the points you made 😉

Again, the following is just my opinion, don't throw anything at me 😏

------

Armony

I appreciated their scenes but I agree, I'm sure everyone expected more from their reunion. They didn't really know what to do when they were face to face and free of their movements - which I found cute but a bit awkward too hehe. Not much more to say from a ''romantic'' pov but in the situation they are in - Thony having once again to deal with her son's health issues and Arman giving up everything with no guarantee that he'll get it back - I can't really blame them, it just wasn't the right time.

Now I hear you, I'm also a die-hard Armony shipper, and sure I would have loved to see Arman get worried and show more when Thony reminded him that Luca is still only able to survive with those meds - but honestly, Arman has been way more anxious and has a lot on his mind since the premiere so this could explain that.

BUT Arman said Bosco wouldn't risk getting the meds across but he still managed to convince him, and after hearing Bosco's comment ''that's what happens when you got the ladies running you around'', I wish we would have heard their conversation - I'd like to think that it was Arman's worries and a note of urgency in his voice that made Bosco agree rather than just him doing his friend a favor.

One thing that struck me and that keeps running in my mind - Arman said he didn't want to get involved in this business with Thony because he didn't know anything about it...I might be stretching things here and seeing things that don't exist - but if you extent that to Armony, maybe their distance is here to show him being scared of ''losing control'' with her, scared of not being able to give her what she needs - so he sticks to what he knows for now...which is Nadia...does it make sense or is all of that just my head messing with me? 😂

Nadia has always felt threatened by Thony, and she knows that without her help Arman couldn't have gotten out of jail, and now she is once again ''saving him'' - if you take it from this side, I think Nadia's reaction is understandable. Arman had to get her involved in their business - but Thony stood her ground and proved herself in their office and Nadia almost seemed to be impressed by her, so maybe things will get a bit easier now between the two? But yes, Arman was definitely uncomfortable in that scene.

I'm not sure Arman is all-in on his marriage. For some reason, he didn't respond when Nadia told him she loved him and he was quick to shrug off her accusations after helping Thony. As I already said a couple times, they care about each other - and like you said, not knowing about their story as a couple makes it harder to understand their relationship.

Robert/Nadia

To be honest, as much as Robert freaks me out through his calm and charming way of threatening people, I like him and I'm always open for more backstories (yes even when it concerns Garrett 🙈 I AM A SUCKER FOR BACKSTORIES I can't help it). The problem I have here though, is that we still haven't heard Nadia's story - and I'd hate to only hear about it because it is tied to Robert's - or worse...only hear about their past romance..not that I don't want to hear that story, but hers is much overdue.

I'm all over the place...but (so far) the connection Hayak had with Arman made him a more interesting character. I expected Robert and Arman to have a history too, but we actually got to witness their first encounter - so Nadia is the only one linking us to his character...okay Maya also is (and the new FBI Agent probably too) but we don't know her yet so it doesn't count..

Garrett

From a storyline point of view, I can understand them having Garrett use Thony to get to Maya because without that scene..well the only thing we had was Garrett getting into his former office and stealing evidence. Now I know most (if not all) of you don't care about all of that - but we didn't get to see him watch Maya, notice her black eye, probably getting upset, maybe feeling responsible - all of those things leading up to him reaching out to Thony...and forcing her hand. Seeing those scenes still wouldn't make his behavior okay, but they could have helped to not have him appear like a total ass. Again they are trying to build this Cortez storyline, and are slowly creating a link with Thony to tie everything together, so I get why this had to happen but completely agree with you - it could have been done differently.

------

We're only 3 episodes in and they have a lot on their plates...they did great last season, so let's keep our hopes up - I'm sure we just have to give them a little more time and once everything is set into motion, we should have superb episodes that will hopefully satisfy the entire fandom 😏

Geez why do I feel like this post is just full of complains when I love this show to death? Can I make myself feel better by saying that it's constructive cristicism? 😭

[zenyteehee]

WIP Tag Game

Tagged by the lovely @darlingandmreames thank you! 😄 i love doing these

Rules: List all your WIP titles, all meaning even the ones that are vague or nonsensical. Tag as many people as there are WIPs.

Hehe lol I don’t think I know that many people

Futuro - this is my angsty Encanto fic where I take all my problems out on very convenient characters. It also happens to be the work I’m most proud of and have had the most fun writing.

La Cosa Nostra - my gay Vincenzo fic that’s also about not romanticizing the mob and talking about family (found and blood.) And also extreme amounts of angst and trauma

How Do You Measure Seven Years - part 2 of my Kingdom series where I map out what happened in the seven year timeskip at the end of season 2. Basically an excuse to write more Changshin

Memory - the Fiery Priest, Sweet Music from Hae-il’s POV because I always wanted to write through his eyes and also had a lot I wanted to see play out but couldn’t put it in Sweet Music because Seong-kyu didn’t see it and Hae-il sure as fuck didn’t tell him. I’ve got a couple other ideas for this series too cuz if one thing will always be true, it’s that I’ll never stop having opinions about this show

Sinister Secrets of the House of Finwë - trashy niche fic for the Silmarillion. Mpreg. Enough said.

Snapshots of a Family - trashy niche fic for The Originals. I used to have a lot of opinions about it. Now I just need to rewatch the show and also rewrite the whole series cuz my writing changed so much. Mpreg.

“The star wars one” - dinluke. Luke in the battle of mos eisley cuz I wanted to talk about him having trauma from fighting the rancor the first time and also wanted him to confirm that grogu knows mando’a. Mpreg. Because I can. Kind of an AU for certain events in my other star wars series

It Wasn’t Love - Matteo/Luca Changretta from the Peaky Blinders cuz the line “even you, Matteo?” at the end of season 4 wouldn’t leave me the fuck alone. Also an excuse to talk about first generation immigrants, language barriers, and being a part of two worlds but a member of none

Oh, Where Do We Begin? - obikin for my star wars series. I majorly fuck up canon. Also mpreg. Who tf do you think you’re talking to here 😂 also an excuse to talk about trauma. See previous sentence

“OHHHHH STAr wars” - “Ahsoka visits luke, right? yeah no, it’s bout time we talked about anakin. In my series” and that’s everything I have in my notes for it.

“Another idea for designated survivor” - in which everyone falls in love with Park Mujin because everyone did in the show. Seriously, look at how they look at him.

“Along with the Gods pt. 2” - a continuation of pt. 1. An excuse to write more smut

“Aguni/Takeru” - Alice in Borderland. You were thinking it too.

The Wrong Choices for the Right Reasons - part of my star wars series. In which Han Solo gets a chance to defend and explain himself

There Was No Child - Gotham. An excuse to write about trauma and other terrible things. This is my coping mechanism

“Of Faults and Sins” - Stranger Things. Something bad happens to Billy Hargrove and Hopper’s the only one who cares. More terrible things

“It Used to Be True” and “For the Job” - parts of my Blue Bloods series that I’ll probably never finish cuz my opinion on police has drastically changed since I first watched the show and wrote this, and now acab. But again. More terrible things

Pay the Price for Foolishness - Silmarillion mpreg. Mairon’s got a kid. I haven’t touched this since 2015 and probably still won’t.

Colic - star wars. Grogu gets colicky

And a note called “Fanfiction/Fiction ideas” that has another 34 half baked shit from 2012 and on, most of which I’ll probably never get to cuz it’s in fandoms I’m long out of

Lol, and all my encanto readers have lost all respect for me now 😂 then again I did make a disney movie into a story about major trauma so…🤷🏻‍♀️

Oh boy….let’s see, I’ll tag @xraiyax @cityofperpetualgloom @cookiedoei aaaaaand anyone else who wants to play! I think that’s fair enough, and unlimited number of people matched my unlimited number of ideas

[bookofmirth]

You just said what I always thought about Elain and her "family" on that ask about Elain going out of NC. And yes I do very think that Feyre and Nesta look more like each other than they like to admit. It's pretty obvious to me how Elain seems to be the only one off-kilter among her sisters. I do really love Feyre and kinda like Nesta, but I can also see how the two of them just belittle Elain. Nestha and Feyre always was willing to fight for something, always assume something that sometimes isn't even correct, they are proud of themselves, they are in some points so full of themselves that can't see for another angle and just gonna do what they want/like to do.

Look, people need to understand that characters have flaws, this causes identification and makes us (readers) cling to them, this brings them closer to reality and perhaps a reality that we belong to. As someone with a degree in psychology I usually do - most of the time unintentionally - an analysis of the character of the character and how it might affect me, or what kinds of triggers certain scenes will affect me.

As such, Azriel is one of the characters, which although I like him, I don't think would be right for Elain. And I'm not even talking about romance and relationships here, like you've been said between Elain and the NC/IC he would choose them without question, and we see that on his POV, even though he rebelled against Rhys's order about staying away from Elain in the end he ended up doing exactly what he was told.

I think that if Elain was too meaningful for him he would fight with Rhys for her. I have so so so many Remarks I made about him as a character I can't even count. Anyway, I just love what you said and I completely agree with that.

Sorry if I sound redundant, english is not my first language and I can make some mistakes on my grammar and write, I hope you understand what I'm trying to say 😂 and I'm really sorry for the long ask 😅

Nestha and Feyre always was willing to fight for something, always assume something that sometimes isn't even correct, they are proud of themselves, they are in some points so full of themselves that can't see for another angle and just gonna do what they want/like to do.

EXACTLY.

And honestly, Elain needs a bit of that. So far, she has been passive, and sometimes that suits her because it allows her to settle into a place, whether or not she truly belongs there. Is anyone going to argue that their little hovel in the woods was a great place to live? No. But did Elain make it work for herself? As much as she could. But right now, that acceptance is really, really not suiting her.

As someone with a degree in psychology I usually do - most of the time unintentionally - an analysis of the character of the character and how it might affect me, or what kinds of triggers certain scenes will affect me.

Don't tell anyone you have a degree, they'll start to accuse you of throwing it in their faces 🙄🤣

But for real, I totally understand the impulse to do that. There are lots of reasons we do or don't identify with a character, or react in certain ways to their behavior. And I've said lots of times that part of the reason I don't see those two working out is because of my own experience and because it's one of my personal squicks. And those impressions are both based on who Erica and Aaron are as individuals, their personalities, their goals, their values, the way they react to problems, the way they interact with their families. None of it aligns, and I wouldn't realize that, I don't think, if it weren't for my own experiences.

between Elain and the NC/IC he would choose them without question

It was the anon who said this, but I agree! If Az isn't loyal to Rhys and the Night Court above all else, then we know nothing about his character. Whoever he ends up with needs to also be deeply entrenched in the Night Court, and to share that goal with him. It shouldn't be someone who has to change their whole lives in order to share that goal.

[onwriting-hrarby]

Hi hope you’re doing well !

Dear lord I just finished the chapter and when I tell u that nothing, not even the fact that I’m in my exams period was gonna stop me from enjoying that masterpiece of a chapter

I literally just wrote a long comment on ao3 but still felt like it was not enough , so much things happened so many things to process , let me just reassure you that the chapter being long was not a problem whatsoever plus U did a great job separating it into paragraphs it might help some readers , I had to take breaks through it tho not because it was long but because I was going feral over the smallest things , u really got me giggling , blushing , feeling sad than happy it was a roller coaster of emotions .

I love the way you write the characters , the way they interact with each other , especially eren and mikasa’s interactions , how you go through different POV’s , shifting from past to present, it was great that we were able to have a glance through eren’s mind and understand more about him and about why he acts the way he does , also how you write about topics such as racism and privileges i would love to talk more about that but English not being my first language it’s kinda hard for me to find the words and to delve deeper into said topics , you’re an amazing writer nonetheless

about the last part , it really took me of guard 😂 when I tell u that I was not expecting that , god when I found out that it was not a dream I literally screamed earning me disapproving looks form my sister , come on how do u expect me to keep calm after that cliff hanger , but when I tell that I’m so excited for what’s coming next u have no idea.

I can’t thank you enough for writing this amazing story you’re such a blessing, it’s been a journey this far it’s too early to say but I don’t know what I’m gonna do with myself when it ends lol ,again take care of yourself and good luck for the rest , have an amazing day Hera 💜💜

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for this and for the comment in AO3!!!!

There's a lot to say in here and I don't know if I'll find the words. First, I'm so happy that you could read it through, despite the heaviness and length!! Thank you for the trust, and I'm happy I could keep you hooked until the end!

Eren's mind is incredibly complicated, you're right! I feel like in the present he's simpler, the turmoil he had in his adolescence is mostly gone—while, in the present, I believe Mikasa is the complicated one, which we will see in part two! I am happy that you liked the way I talk about systemic issues: it's one of the main focus of my efforts, since I want to get it right.

THE ENDING yes I know... You know when you were watching this sitcoms from the 90s and they would leave you hanging after the season finale? Back then there wasn't anything but TV so we would have to wait a year for that... I got inspired hhehe but it's only two weeks (hopefully!). I hope what comes next doesn't disappoint you.

Thank you very very much for your comment <3 I'm going to answer to you in AO3 quite soon, too!

[lizzybeth1986]

OMG I loved this WAY more than I imagined I would. You can’t deny…Drake and Olivia have a fantastic dynamic as frenemies, and clear potential as a future couple. And I really really think you did justice to that dynamic here. These are the things that stood out to me as what really worked in this fic:

The title: Haha this has nothing to do with the fact that my favourite band Queen has a song of the same name 😂😂 The meaning seems obvious as first: Olivia demanding that Drake put out his cigarette and then using it as an excuse to ruin his clothes so she can get him to wear a good suit instead. (but, as Drake himself protests: “you didn’t even put out the fire!”) But on another level, whether you read into it or not, there IS a spark going on between them. They’re definitely two people who, if they didn’t have the difficult history that they did together, would probably have found these very traits stimulating about each other. In that sense ‘put out the fire’ is pretty darn fitting.

On many levels, esp because of that line about Olivia having a spark, I feel the title also refers largely to her alone.

Drake: Drake and Olivia can both be really fascinating to explore when they’re done right, and I believe that’s what happened here. You bring out his insecurities and his issues with the nobilty in a biting, sarcastic manner that’s very characteristically Drake, and that doesn’t make him so whiny that you stop relating to him. His observations are tinged with equal amounts of humour and belligerence (“what, do nobles now have a monopoly on fresh air too”?). I like how you have the main conflict between Drake and Olivia expand from this: that he won’t wear the suit Liam gave him because it’s already bad enough being a commoner who is a prince’s best friend and who can (and probably has) face accusations of using him. He won’t have that problem with Olivia because who the hell would even believe him if he DID tell them! I like how you show a hint of understanding between them towards the end, and how naturally it emerges from their exchange.

Olivia: I really like her here. Very determined, very demanding, very go-getter. Typical canon Olivia who lets nothing stand in her way once she has set her mind on something. You see this especially when she smiles at Drake’s throwaway suggestion that she make him get out of the suit and she smiles because she knows she’s utterly, completely capable of doing it. I love how she also never denies that dumping her drink on him was fun for her too, besides being a more effective way of ensuring that he wore the suit she got tailor-made for him. This story is from Drake’s PoV, and you never completely let us in to what Olivia is thinking, which works because it keeps the mystery in her character alive and keeps us guessing. Esp love that final line about how there is a spark in her no tragedy can dim.

Liam: Liam doesn’t feature here at all, but I really love how he is this fine thread of connection between the two - the link that makes this whole interaction possible. Drake doesn’t want people to think he is taking advantage of Liam’s friendship by wearing the suit he gave him, and Olivia insists that she’s doing this so Liam wouldn’t be humiliated by his best friend at his own party. She reiterates, several times, that she’s doing this for Liam, yet you keep the dynamic between the main characters interesting enough that there could be more to that too.

All in all, I really loved this fic. It’s simple in its premise but explores plenty!!

Put Out the Fire (Drake x Olivia, The Royal Romance)

Notes. I’m not entirely fond of either Drake or Olivia but I live for moments when they roast each other in the latest chapters haha! Also this idea wouldn’t leave me alone so here we go.

Do I ship them? Not sure yet, but I feel I can be easily convinced lmao.

===================================

In which sixteen-year-old Olivia catches Drake smoking. Drake actually isn’t, but who says he has to explain himself to anyone, least of all the Duchess of Lythikos?

Takes place several years before the beginning of the series. Humor/Friendship. Romance if you squint. 1.3k words. One-shot.

===================================

Olivia wrinkles her nose as she steps out into the balcony, holding a glass of drink in her hand. “Drake – urgh – it smells like cigarette smoke in here.”

Eighteen-year-old Drake rolls his eyes, wondering to what stars above he owed this unwelcome visit. “You know I don’t smoke, Olivia,” he points out.

“You’re holding a lit cigarette in your hand, commoner,” she retorts, although she makes no attempt to walk away. Instead she glowers at the offending cigarette before raising her gaze to glare at him. “Care to explain yourself?”

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