#which is saying something

[mayasaura]

Harrow got so unbelievablely horny dreaming about Gideon's rolled up sleeves exposing her lean, taut muscle, a little dewy with sweat and steam but you know what.... thinking about it. Gideon does not disrobe basically ever, except in private to bathe. A tantalizing glimpse of forearm may legitimately be the most Harrow's imagination has to work with

[raayllum]

Carried away

[anti-judy]

Ranpoe will never NOT be funny because Poe is some rich bastard, meanwhile Ranpo spent a part of his childhood as a homeless orphan. Poe spends his money whimsically while Ranpo probably still has a stash of candy in his desk in case of emergencies that's like 6 years old

[bipbopdepmop]

basic weasel structure

[nico-di-genova]

wait so why wasnt alexander rossi allowed to drive in f1??

He was! He did 5 races total and then was unable to secure a seat in the following season due to the politics of the sport, and also I believe sponsorship issues. Because, you know, money is everything in F1 and talent is always second.

His tweet was in reference to Colton Herta, who VCarb (alphatauri at the time) was looking to sign in 2022. Colton was the youngest ever driver to win an indycar race at the time, he placed 3rd in the championship. Overall he was, and still is, a stellar driver. But he didn’t have the 40 required super license points to race in F1. I believe this is because it’s harder for indycar drivers to earn super license points. I think the way they’re handed out in Indy vs lower formula series is different, but don’t quote me on that. Point is Red Bull tried to appeal to the FIA to allow Colton in on merit, his drives in Indy had kind of spoken for themselves. But the FIA said, and I quote, “The FIA continuously reviews its regulations and procedures, including with respect to Super Licence eligibility, with the main factors being considered with respect to this topic being safety, experience and performance in the context of the pathway.” So they denied Colton for “safety” reasons. Which is the exact reason they implemented the age rule they are now seemingly overlooking. So it’s not really about safety at all, clearly.

This also isn’t the first time Alex has made his stance on the current state of the sport clear. This was his statement following the drama with Colton:

So the tweet wasn’t about himself at all, but rather a reference to the fact that the FIA denied Colton his super license for “safety” reasons, yet they are going against their own supposed morals and granting Kimi his.

TL;DR: Alex has raced in F1, he just has beef with the FIA and their consistent inconsistency when it comes to supposed “driver safety”.

[spreta-invidia]

It’s been a week and I haven’t stopped being disappointed about House Darry.

But that detail is just the thing my brain picked out to focus on as a fulcrum around which I could think out my big issues with HotD S2 (or rather post S1.08).

Why is the plot so different? Literally diametrically opposed from the book? I know adaptations have to make changes. And I actually LOVE the idea of Daemon being haunted at Harrenhal, even though it is, again, exactly the opposite. That phrasing in FAB (no weird things are reported as happening to Daemon while he was in the haunted castle) is mouthwatering for a writer, right? It doesn’t say it didn’t happen. So okay, work with that. What does a haunting look like, in the context of the Daemyra conflicts of the show and the stated events in the book? Daemon rallying lords, looting this castle for its wealth, haunted at night with dreams and visions of Rhaenyra, Laena, and maybe Viserys, while the Riverlords bicker amongst themselves. Maybe Lord Vance (of Wayfarer’s Rest, obvs) is unsure of a woman’s leadership while Lord Piper gets his badass line about still having his sword. Maybe Lord Darry gets in a fight with Lady Mallister because she objects to Jaehaerys’ death and he’s in camp “a son for a son”. And Daemon is trying to piece them into an army while he’s falling apart. Maybe the culmination of this is him telling Elmo Tully to kill his father and take his place, and then realizing he’s thinking about Viserys and damn does he hate and love his brother all at once (thus making the juxtaposition of Daemon’s lines in S2.03 and S2.04 mean something for his character.) This all accomplishes the same things (Daemon haunted and forced to learn lessons, Riverlords chaotic, creepy Alys, etc) with similar scenes as in the show and similar numbers of actors, without making huge changes from the source material.

So why all these changes? I mean, I don’t know the end of the season (though I’ve read some speculation and possible leaks ofc), but at some point, don’t we have to start wondering, to quote David Benioff of all people, “What the hell is this plot?” What does it show that they’ve twisted the book story to accommodate their narrative of Daemon’s complete failure at the expense of his wife and queen and their kids? (Personally I think it shows their bias and judgements.)

Or, being generous, what does it show that they’ve twisted Daemon’s book storyline to accommodate him learning about his flaws at the expense of his wife and kids? I actually think it’s hugely important to show the results of the toxicity of the patriarchy on men, but I’m not sure it’s helpful if that’s at the expense of the storylines of the women around them.

Maybe Rhaenyra is going to ride into Harrenhal in episode 8 with Syrax and the Riverlords will fall to their knees when she gives them an epic speech. I don’t know. Her arc this season seems to be learning about not being passive and indecisive (traits she had either grown past or did not have until S1.08 and her reconciliation with Alicent), so I do think it’s likely her arc will culminate in taking control of her Riverlands or northern army. But I think it’s important to note that in FAB, the Riverlords didn’t rise for Rhaenyra’s husband. Daemon was like, “hey, wanna go to war for our queen?” and they overwhelmingly said YES, not because of a male figurehead but because of oaths and memories of a princess. (Though I’m sure the presence of a dragon-riding prince helped.) You can still have conflict within that “yes”, but it’s important that the support was THERE. That’s important to Rhaenyra’s arc. I would argue it’s key to it, but they’ve largely voided it in the show.

At a certain point, having Daemon constantly screw up and having everyone HATE him does two things: makes Daemon look incompetent and frankly idiotic and makes him a wholly unsuitable consort, and it makes the story of the Blacks hugely about him. Rhaenyra’s on thin ice with her council in large part because of Daemon. The Riverlands are chaotic and not rallying largely because of Daemon. Rhaena’s feelings of inferiority over not being able to claim a dragon are largely because of Daemon. Etc.

I get the idea that Daemon has to work out all his feelings about Rhaenyra being more powerful than him out in order to rise to the occasion. I don’t think that’s a terrible character idea. Some of the stuff the show did with him was very interesting early on, but I’m also expected to believe that his character is the exact same person he was in episode one, and that all Rhaenyra has learned is how to be a carbon copy of her father, vis a vis her dealings with Daemon, when fifteen year old Rhaenyra knew better? (I know the stress of Viserys’ death was an earth shattering moment for them, and they came apart then while book!Daemyra didn’t, but I can’t believe neither of these characters changed or grew at ALL, especially after their unity in S1.08.)

I also think this largely spoils the end of their arc. Daemon is going to die in maybe ten episodes? They’ve spent five episodes having him work through this phase of going against his queen, and I’m sure it’s going to continue til S2.07. Only his ultimate act, his climactic moment, is… going against his queen. I get the right reason vs wrong reason thing (also I truly believe Daemon never turned against Rhaenyra even as he disobeyed her, but that’s beside the point). If Daemon weren’t dying in maybe ten episodes, I might think this was compelling. I love that thing Emma said about them being too proud to be vulnerable to one another and I think it would have been very powerful in season three after the war had cracked their foundations.

Ultimately who knows what the show is going to do? They’ve literally reversed so much of the stuff from the book, maybe Daemon will survive Gods Eye and become the Three-Eyed Raven and also the Shrouded Lord. Maybe the battle will have nothing to do with Rhaenyra’s letter or Daemon’s choices. But if they follow the book storyline…?

Their conflict is too late to be formative and too early to be climactic. It’s just there. It’s just Daemon being a chaotic liability and Rhaenyra being Viserys 2.0. And the biggest issue: if they solve these problems, it will be just in time for the same thing to happen again. (Again, unless Daemon is the Shrouded Lord or something.)

And really, couldn’t they have just let House Darry love the Targaryens? Asking for a friend. (That friend is Lord Darry.)

[hyunjining]

i’ve been busy all day and i come home to minsung hard launch????

[ennaih]

Not Every Film I Watch In 2024

51. Immaculate (2024)

[thencomethecherryblossoms]

English translation of the maxton hall book series when

[ghost-bxrd]

ik everyone is jokingly “upset” with you but as a massive angst-with-unhappy-endings fan i wanna say i am PUMPED for the fic tmrw. VIBRATING with excitement. it’s not like ill complain if you write more but as it is im soooo hyped for the TEARS AND PAIN AND BLOOD HAHAHA. HEEHEHEEHEH. make them suffer

Heheh I hope I can live up to the expectation of a painful ending 🫣💚✨

[ernmark]

As an extension of your post about epithets, I'm wondering if you can help me pin down what it is about the use of phrases like "those eyes" or "that mouth" that have started to just drive me bonkers when I read some fanfic. At times I come across it and it feels completely natural, and other times it feels like a somewhat lazy shorthand for expressing a character's admiration. Thank you!

I can't speak with certainty, because this isn't a problem that's come up enough in my own fandoms for me to really analyze it in context, but I'll give it my best guess.

Phrases like "those eyes" and "that mouth" work most effectively for me when they're a reference back to a previous description. Maybe those eyes are really exceptional. For instance, Sir Damien in The Penumbra Podcast goes on at length about Lord Arum's violet eyes to the point that "those violet eyes..." are already a recurring motif inside the work, so the fics that use the phrase are all calling back to that.

Sometimes, though, you'll get writers refer to features that don't make any sense in the situation. I've seen lots of complaints brought up about prose describing a character's "plush lips" and "fine ass" when the actor portraying that character very decidedly has neither of those things-- often completely ignoring the qualities that the character actually does have in favor of the generic "sexy" ones.

Often, "that [body part]" carries a very strong sexual connotation, particularly about what the POV character would very much like to be doing to "that mouth/those thighs/those arms/that neck/whatever". They tend to work best in my opinion when the point-of-view character has very specific fantasies/memories that are described, or at least implied, on the page. But sometimes you'll get that phrasing from a character where it doesn't make sense for them to be thinking of the other person in those terms. Maybe they're sexually inexperienced in a way where specific fantasies seem out of character, or their preferences within the narration veer very sharply in one direction but the designated body part implies otherwise (for example, the writer's gone on at length about them exclusively liking to bottom but describing the other person as if their intention is to top them-- not out of irony or subtext, but because that's a generic "attractive feature").

I think it also ought to be said that which features are emphasized, and the adjectives used to emphasize them, work best when they're deliberately chosen to build a specific effect-- is the other person's vibe elegant, or brutal, or delicate, or whatever? Picking qualities and features that reinforce that vibe can be super evocative and feel much more personal than sticking to the standards. In a recent fandom I'm in, one character is singled out as being exceptionally strong in the canon, and specifically noteworthy to the character that he's frequently shipped with. Consequently, a lot is done with his love interest thirsting over the breadth and power of the character's shoulders. Shoulders weren't sexy before, but they sure as hell are now.

TL;DR: if I had to guess at what makes that phrase fall flat, it would be a lack of specificity to the actual character, or an inconsistency with the way the people in the scene are characterized.

[walkthebass]

"Might've been. I have no memory of it." <- Stede about most of Izzy's existence tbh.

[souriz-e]

thinking about ace attorney aus is so heartwarming to me, no matter what reality it is. whichever professional world miles is pushed towards in his childhood changes the entire trajectory of the series because phoenix would have followed him anywhere. if he had been adopted by an evil ballet instructor then phoenix would have read about him rigging competitions or taking steroids or something in the news and changed his major to dance dammit.

(this is double heartwarming once you remember that this is absolutely in character for phoenix because it means that he wouldve pursued anything, even if it was something like sports where you need to have been talented at it for YEARS if you want to make it onto the professional scene. hes really that shaped and molded by and trusting in the people around him that he would be unconventionally good at anything through sheer willpower.)

[averagemrfox]

I am severely sorry for flooding your activity tab by reblogging almost every single RWBY related post you've made this year lmao

LMFAO you’re good no worries!

[raayllum]

Brought down to his knees