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msfbgraves · 3 minutes
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To save the more delicate of the Italians from shock!
The default length of pasta is designed to fit on a supermarket shelf, not to be the best length for cooking/eating.
Feel free to break it to any length you want (don't let the Italians know I said this)
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msfbgraves · 3 hours
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Is it a thing in Knights/Pawns to get a portrait done when your omega is heavily pregnant or is that just a Terry thing lol? I can’t see private, brooding Kreese taking a picture of Betsy like that lol. Maybe Louie would like one, but Anoush seems so shy. I get the impression that Terry’s smug and possessive ass loves to show off what he’s done to Daniel, and has to have eternal proof of how he looked then. Does Daniel like taking the pictures, or does he hate them, considering he feels unattractive being so pregnant? Poor baby boy…lol. $1 says Terry can’t get enough of how he looks.
That is 100% a Terry thing. Daniel could have done without them, but he's come to enjoy them, not as a celebration of his pregnancy, but a celebration of his pups. A time in the sun for all of them before a new puppy will hog all the attention. He will have everybody scrubbed and shining for the baptism photos, but these are a little more informal and PRIVATE, Terry, Madonna mi, why are they on your desk when people are coming you're embarassing me!
They show strength, Danny boy!
Never when I'm there, this is between us or you're never taking another heat, I SWEAR to ALL THE SAINTS above -
Big smooch: OK, darlin' 😈
Anoush has grown into himself a lot with Louie, they're deeply in love, but no, Louie wouldn't have it. Perhaps he gets into photography and/or drawing himself to get even spicier pictures of his mate but no one gets to see those but him and his love.
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msfbgraves · 3 hours
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Well, the Netflix password sharing ban has reached the Netherlands. Quick survey says that there are several workarounds, but my mom is not tech savvy enough for that level of trickery, so I'll advise her to change her subscription to only one screen.
Count that as two near instances of screaming rage at corporations in two days.
And no, that's not about being unable to live without Netflix. It's the relentless trickle of shittery they keep pulling.
My bank raising its fees just because, and I would have switched but I am on this family arrangement so I can't.
My bank app deciding my phone is too old for it.
Another price hike in the supermarket.
The fees for my building's upkeep have been raised by €5 a month for shits and giggles.
A tax hike of €2 a month for my car and don't get me started on paying more than €2 for a litre of petrol.
An insurance price hike and I can't switch because of a misunderstanding with the building upkeep company. Seriously it's the only way of beating constant price hikes, constantly switching.
The ticket prices for the train have been raised.
On and on it goes. And my main problem is that this could easily all be outlawed. But it isn't. Because higher prices on everything also means more tax revenue, as that is a percentage of the total, not a flat fee.
The Netherlands have already protest voted the Nazis in, and the party that calls itself "New Social Contract" means by that, that the whole country should function like the Dutch Bible Belt: with strong solidarity among neighbours instead of state intervention and also trans people are evil. If the government does not try to further the wellbeing of all its citizens, against exploitative corporations, who tf is it for? Like, I know who it's for, it insanely favours capital, but shouldn't there at least be a pretense of something else?
I find it fascinating that government always goes "This is fine" until there are physical mobs outside of their gates. They don't do anything an hour before.
I don't really understand why they keep pushing people to the brink of that. Whom does it help? Nobody. Every revolution simply ushers in a new elite, only that first, a lot of people die - some rich, most poor. The poor mostly stay poor. I'm not saying don't riot, because the revolutions, if survived, often cause a minor uptick for the starving, but not half as well as a government that ensures a high standard of living for everyone.
And make no mistake. They're literally having people starve. Because they can. Either on no food, or on food that is so substandard it causes disease.
It only took 40 years.
Why are they so stupid? People may not understand nft's, or substandard loans swaps, or whatever they come up with next to cheat pension funds, but they do understand being able to afford heating your house, being able to afford to keep a roof over your head, or "I can't afford dinner."
But what do I know. I simply studied humanities.
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msfbgraves · 23 hours
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And it's such nonsense. I lived in a mixed dorm for four years and people definitely hooked up, so, it's not like the men didn't demonstrably find the women attractive. But this was our collective house, man. Have some manners. I've not heard of any of the girls getting harassed. One, the guys would lose their home, but two, it was beneath them. Like they couldn't find a girl to hook up with by being a gentleman (they took great store in growing into gentlemen). It was simply bad manners. Yeah, we all wore robes coming out of the showers and potentially the doors locked, but that would have deterred no one. People behaved themselves.
I mean the chemistry majors almost set the kitchen on fire a few times. But other than that!
Men CAN behave perfectly well, and the vast majority does. This whole restroom talk is so idiotic! It could have happened everyday for four years and it didn't.
It's not men you have to be too afraid of, it is one person having too much power over another.
Inmates of whatever gender sexually harassing each other, consequently, is about inmate safety and recourse, not whatever the gender of what people living close together is. It's about making sure harassment is seen and the harasser quickly stopped. If harassment has very dire consequences, like potential homelessness for not one, but maybe many (if we couldn't behave we might have all lost our housing), it doesn't happen.
It's about a lack of consequences far more than gender. Ask disabled men being sexually abused by female caretakers. ask the prisoners in Magdalene Laundries about nuns. it's about priests being seen as nearly divine authorities.
It's not about how you identify.
the idea that restrooms, locker rooms, etc need to be single-sex spaces in order for women to be safe is patriarchy's way of signalling to men & boys that society doesn't expect them to behave themselves around women. it is directly antifeminist. it would be antifeminist even if trans people did not exist. a feminist society would demand that women should be safe in all spaces even when there are men there.
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msfbgraves · 1 day
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Smarts and spite
One of the reasons I love being on Tumblr is that though many of us don't have much regular power (no one here is wealthy), we have a ton of brainpower between us. We're like the stormtroopers designing extremely hostile Death Star architecture because fuck you, that's why. Especially when it comes to tech, fuck you, fuck the lot of you, I aint paying for that, here's a free photoshop alternative, wouldn't it be nice if we taught you how to pirate, support the writer's strike, go insane over Quincey Morris (who is Quincey Morris? You're gonna learn). I mean, why, yes,we do go insane over crabs, but if there's anything to fuck over the big guys, we're on it. If clothes become too terrible, there's several people on here with looms. Information on how to properly survive both heat waves and blizzards. And the reason why we're looking for alternatives is like, well we don't have money, but not having money would be so much worse without your collective wisdom. Seriously, every time I come across something and think: "That sounds needlessly exploitative", Tumblr has a workaround because people here know their stuff.
I love you guys 🥰
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msfbgraves · 2 days
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The only time Kreese was ever chivalrous was with Betsy, pretty much the only person he ever really cared about (from when we see him). Even Terry he's an asshole to--the moment Terry fails in KK3, he disregards their friendship and straight up leaves loyal Terry without a word for decades. He only comes back when he needs his help. Kreese is one of my favorite characters, but he's a massive, selfish asshole. He is not loyal in the slightest to people; only to ideals. He makes use of people and when they don't live up to his standards, he disposes of them. Perhaps he would have been different if Betsy had lived, considering how he loved her, but KK and CK Kreese sucks. Terry deserves better friendships, and Johnny a better father figure.
Pssst, Nonnie, could you send this to John, Josh and Hayden? Because they don't seem to know any of this, and keep writing him as The Sweetest Guy, resulting in almost no overlap between Kreese's memories and Kreese's actions as we see them. I've decided that Kreese's memories are how he sees himself and the rest of the scenes show him how he really is, but I feel the showrunners are not being ironic in the slightest. Kreese is a great character but he is also a rat bastard and that's OK.
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msfbgraves · 2 days
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I have been waiting all year to post this.
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msfbgraves · 2 days
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This is simply my own personal headcanon for Knights and Pawns unless proven otherwise but…
I imagine it is Daniel who dies first. Of course, only when he’s much, much older (I want them both to live long)—into his 80s, maybe 83ish. He simply feels himself getting weaker and weaker, and knows it will be soon. He is surrounded by his family, being so greatly loved, and he is also a great-great grandparent.
But the last moments are spent alone with him and Terry. Just the two of them as the end is upon Daniel. Maybe he even passes cuddled up in Terry’s arms like old times.
At least Terry won’t have to suffer long.
It's a joy and honour to know that people have headcanons for Knights and Pawns! And a great, great grandparent? Like, Luna is a grandmother? Very possibly, but I can't think that far ahead when it comes to the amount of people in this sprawling extended family.
I'm sure that Terry wouldn't suffer Daniel's loss for more than a few hours. He's 93, his mate is dead, he has like 26 guns, or maybe he would even use one of his darlings' daggers. Maybe he keeps it quiet for his pups and the second Daniel stops breathing, he takes something himself.
He's not letting Daniel go into death alone, not if he can't be an apparation at his deathbed to take his soul into his arms and into the beyond. He's not doing that. No way. Like Debbie Reynolds, who died a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher. Terry is not even doing three minutes. The second he's sure that Daniel is truly gone, he ends it right there.
He's made him promise, see, not to leave him, and he means it.
That's what happens if Daniel dies of old age first.
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msfbgraves · 2 days
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Terry is the hardest one for me to pinpoint in a Hogwarts House. I keep going back and forth between Slytherin and Ravenclaw, but I tend to lean Ravenclaw. Then again, I see Slytherin and Ravenclaw as complimentary of each other, just as I see Gryffindor and Hufflepuff being complimentary of each other. So who knows?
I don't like Daniel in Slytherin, he's a Gryffindor soul to me; he's hot-headed, acts firsts and thinks later, brave to the point of recklessness (though it has toned down from his younger days), and he's not hardworking enough to be a Hufflepuff. Though he's very kind and sincere and affectionate.
Kreese as a bad!Gryffindor is brilliant and I love it; he's not a Slytherin, he just comes off as one. I also love Chozen as a good!Slytherin.
Johnny is 100% a Gryffindor, he is too highly reckless and brazen for a Hufflepuff. Also red-blooded--act first, think later, face the consequences following almost always. Robby reminds me of Chozen, so another good!Slytherin. Miguel I have no idea, but definitely not Ravenclaw. Amanda is another good!Slytherin for sure, cunning, clever, ambitious, and cut-throat. If she wasn't, I'd also put her in Ravenclaw for her usual clearheadness and rationality. (Then again, I also see her as being the female, softer version of Terry so...)
Even in the books they acknowledge that the Sorting is far from absolute nor should it be. It's less about somebody's absolute traits than where someone's head is at the moment of Sorting. Harry, in the first year, almost being sorted into Slytherin, and going to Gryffindor at his own request is a prime example. It's completely possible then that people indeed fit into more houses than the one that they're placed at. So is Terry a Ravenclaw if he wants to be? Maybe! He seemed to have left that ambition pretty much behind when he was with Cheyenne, instead spending most of his time on intellectual and artistic pursuits. And sure, sure, we can sort Johnny in Gryffindor I don't think he's half as reckless, naturally, as Daniel is. There are other Gryffindor traits he does not show, and are supposedly part of what Gryffindors are known for: standing up to authority, which he doesn't do even when his life hangs in the balance. He lets Kreese take Cobra Kai without so much as a fight! When Kreese is choking him he tries to, as is customary in sports, submit to him, while he has every reason to know that Kreese will not listen to that. His first instinct still stays to follow the rules of a fight, not break them. He doensn't stand up to his sensei, not without help, we see this time and time again. And chivalry? No. Johnny isn't chivalrous. He does not try to help Miguel when he meets him, he has no problem taking on Anoush, who he knows is weaker than him and in no position to fight back, at work! Now Kreese also does not have a chivalrous bone in his body, but I feel that this might be an overreaction to what he thought, in Vietnam, chivalry would get him. He has saved Terry many a time, we've known this since the third film. To me it really reads as if all Johnny's recklessness was a learned behaviour in Kreese's image. Learned very well, I grant, but it's not consistent. It feels to me like this is something he has learnt he has to do to deal with problems, but not something he does if he gets to call the shots completely. Like no Gryffindor would let Daniel take on a whole hockey team by himself. That's not what they do.
Maybe I'm wrong and the whole chivalry angle is simply propaganda, but Johnny does not jump into action when the going gets hot outside of his control. Yeah, him going to Terry without any second thought on what he's dealing with, very Gryffindor. But that he has sought and thinks he can control. But when things get really, primally dangerous, he always bails. Can't care for Robby? Exits. Can't be there for Miguel? Exits. Sensei wants him to hurt Daniel? "Yes, sensei." Kreese steals his dojo? He runs. Daniel needs his help beating someone up? "Cool off, man."
So, I don't know, he might have fit in Gryffindor, too, but at his core I see a boy who is extremely loyal, kind of risk averse, (definitely emotionally) a hard worker, who likes his comforts - he's never happier than having a drink and some pizza together - and who needs someone to follow.
Now they say Hufflepuffs and Slytherins get on very well, which you can see in Johnny being Amanda's bestie! When Amanda says, "Johnny, let the grownups do the talking", he sits back without a single moment's protest. And he gets on very well with Chozen too! It's far easier for him being friends with them than with Daniel.
But who knows, maybe being around Gryffindors would have made him a little more chivalrous, and then he would have fit that house. Still, he stays back quite easily, while Daniel can't stop himself Getting Into Situations. The second he can, still beat from two days before, he needles all the Cobras. Johnny didn't start that. Instead of just leaving him be, he exposes Chozen's trickery. He almost kills himself trying out a new karate move. Terry reappears and he's like a pissed off chihuahua, the first time he sees Mike Barnes after about 40 years he's like "Hey! And another thing!" as if they'd been fighting seconds ago.
I just love my Hufflepuff!Johnny trying to mimic a Gryffindor too much to let him go, Nonnie 😍
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msfbgraves · 3 days
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Why does Terry think (lowkey believe?) that the Don “touched” Daniel? The fact that Terry lashed out and said that makes me think this has been at the back of his mind for a while. Yeah, the Don’s…a little too close and too cuddly with his boy, but we all know nothing happened. Maybe Daniel’s just too precious for his own good 😆 Terry almost comes off as being…a little insecure? Jealous too, of their relationship. Then again, Terry comes off as one of those deeply possessive Alphas who can’t stand when their omega even smiles at someone—especially another Alpha, even if they’re family! In another verse, Terry would lowkey be jealous of his own kids cuddling up with Daniel lmao.
The Watsonian explanation for that is simply that they're so close, so freely affectionate with each other, that Terry is:
absolutely jealous, it wasn't like that with his Daddy
he's obsessed with loyalty, how can Daniel's not be absolute to him?
He's an Alpha, and he knows from experience the effect omegas can have. Still he wasn't like that with Mandy (is that even true? These two are very, very close, if they are siblings).
I feel that, however determined I am about omegas especially being absolutely capable of having loving relationships with all genders, I would be lying if there wasn't something unique about the relationships between Alphas and omegas. It isn't as strong with Daniel and his two eldest siblings - they grew up with him as a kid brother who got sticky and wanted their toys and who they had to watch out for. But the Don did not grow up with omega family, by and large. And he's besotted with his youngest, in a way that you know you shouldn't play favourites, but he loves him and the boy is so affectionate and there's this hunger for tenderness inside most Alphas, and especially the Don because his life has been so tough. So now to have this sweet, kind, lovely, beautiful darling omega pup that wants nothing more than cuddles and piggyback rides and hugs and kisses, it nourished something inside him he didn't even know he needed. Is that all? Yes, because the Don is a man of great discipline who would never let it be anything other than that. Is that really all, though? No one's ever asked, of course, that would get them filleted, but yes, that is all because that is all the Don would ever allow it to be. Basta. That's his pup, how dare people.
Terry of course has heard many a sordid tale of "kitties" being "touched" by their Alpha parents, or family members, so he would be suspicious about that. Also the idea drives him half frantic, the Don somehow having that over him as well.
Daniel knows nothing like that ever happened, he's never feared it from his Pop, and it really pisses him off that Terry would be thinking something like that about his father, whom Daniel admires and loves so much, as if he wanted to come between them. Daniel is married to him and wears his mark, what more does Terry need?!
The Doylist reason is no, I did not put that in there on purpose, but people kept remarking on it and it is true that there is a lot of footage of De Niro playing Ralph Macchio's Dad, but that is nothing if not suggestive. And then, of course, there are pictures of De Niro with Ralph doing press, and there is still something there between them - great affection from Bobby's side, hero worship from Ralphie's side, and I get a sense that De Niro was trying to contain himself a little around Ralph. He's very ambivalent. Very, very close, in body language, but always turned away - he really never looks Ralph in the eye directly on photos when not in character. People say that is simply Bob being Bob, and sure, he's well known for that, but something about those pictures raises the same questions people have about the Don and Daniel: why the tension between them? I think it simply bled into the story.
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msfbgraves · 3 days
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Jesi
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msfbgraves · 3 days
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I write for an infinitesmally small fandom - Cuba and His Teddy Bear- for which there are 6 fics on Ao3. I wrote one of them, and though I have had very sweet comments during posting and a few lovely asks, months go by without any interaction at all.
Small fandom, of course, I get it - but here I was scrolling the tag on Tumblr only to find people asking for more Cuba and His Teddy Bear fanfiction on Ao3. Dudes. I am one of only four people in the English speaking world doing that! I know the other three! Still, three people seemed to agree with that post, none of whose usernames I recognised from comments or kudos. It's insane this fanfiction exists at all. We all knew that when writing it. How likely is it that we are going to spend more time on that past an initial surge of insanity, especially when the chances of interaction are so slim? Nobody is that weird. If you want more and won't let us know, especially what you appreciated, there is absolutely no incentive to go on with it. I already see people look at me like I am insane when I tell them I spent months writing a crossover between The Karate Kid III, a widely panned 80's movie, and a Broadway play that almost nobody has seen in the past two decades if you didn't happen to be in either Venice or Chicago at just the right time. Could there be a sequel? Maybe. Will there be one? What do you think? I am this close to being deemed insane as it is for writing the first one.
I know art should be allowed to be pointless but however could we justify continuing this even to ourselves without feedback? The only thing that tells us is that everyone is right and this fandom is an extreme waste of time.
I don't think it is, but you cannot expect this level of insanity from every fandom creator.
We're mad. Obsessed.
We're not beyond cause and effect.
You do something no one asks for or reacts to? 99.8% of people stop the behaviour, because obviously the behaviour is unwanted.
If it somehow isn't, beyond all probability or logic, you have to let people know.
No one reblogs on tumblr anymore.
No one leaves comments on Ao3 anymore.
Seriously people the lack of fandom interaction these days makes me genuinely depressed, it never used to be like this, makes me wonder what's the point of coming online to do anything anymore.
Reblog a post so other people can see it.
Leave a comment so the author doesn't feel like giving up.
Fandom cannot live on Likes or Kudos alone.
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msfbgraves · 3 days
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Daniel would probably remarry out of necessity if Terry got himself killed. (Don’t, Terry!!) But would Terry remarry if Daniel died? Someone has to help him with all those pups I suppose. Since there’s apparently a Terry McCain in this verse, why not a…Teddy Cuba?
If Terry hadn't met Daniel, yes, he would have built a life with Teddy. But Teddy is a fragile boy, at least at first, and though he'd love two or three puppies to the end of the world, seven to nine would be too much. He needs a lot of tlc himself, which Terry would have in abundance. Daniel's slightly more independent.
Honestly I don't think Terry would make it.
Both Terries, McCain and Silver, in their canon, do not move on. Not from Daniel, not from his female lookalike Anna. If Daniel were to die, Terry would know that the pups could grow up with their grandparents, and that huge extended family. He'd either self immolate in an act of revenge or a strategic suicide mission. Depending on their ages, he'd do his best to establish Samantha first, if she were too little, he'd do something strategic to help John Kreese take over the Irish mob. Wether or not Samantha, or any of his pups succeed him directly, I don't think he could get himself to care enough. His death would have to be tactically useful, and it could be years in the making, but he'd rather go out first or in epic revenge. His pups will be well taken care of, but that - that he can't survive and I think he knows it.
And here it's so crucial that Daniel is a mob baby who was taught by the Don and of course learnt from Terry. He knows the game well enough to smell an assassination attempt, and, would someone kill him, not only Terry, but also Michael would go murderous on someone's ass. People know. It's not worth the risk.
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msfbgraves · 3 days
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What Hogwarts Houses would you sort Daniel, Johnny, Terry and Kreese into? Someone on Reddit had this theory of Daniel being a good Slytherin, and Kreese a bad Gryffindor which I found fascinating. Someone mentioned they liked Daniel as a Hufflepuffy too, since he’s hardworking, kind, and loyal. Or maybe Daniel is a Gryffindor, Johnny too…Kreese a Slytherin, and Terry a Ravenclaw.
Let's start with Johnny, who I find hardest to pin down. You would say Gryffindor because of the bravado, and he is daring, but if you see Kreese as a bad Gryffindor, which, applause, that's excellent, you could say these qualities were beaten and drilled into him, because that boy is a Hufflepuff! His most defining trait is loyalty. He's literally ride or die for Tommy and the Cobras, the strongest burst of strength he gets is when he does something for somebody else, when Daniel shows up on his doorstep ranting like anything, this doesn't motivate him into action, his reaction is always: "You need to calm. Down!" Johnny is very hardworking, too, if you ask me, moreso than Daniel in fact. And before anyone says anything about brains, I think Miguel is a Hufflepuff too.
You want a good Slytherin? You need someone smart, good at reading people, who is very strategic: Terry is a poster child for Slytherin gone bad, but first, I give you Chozen: he always plans his attacks meticulously, is very ambitious, can hold himself back if he needs to, is good at undercover work, a quick thinker. Another good Slytherin is Robby. The first thing we see him do is trick a customer. He does well with the Miyagi-Do style, that lends itself to strategy. Which is the first thing he does when he joins Cobra Kai: "If you want to defeat the enemy, you need to know the enemy's playbook!"
Daniel takes to Cobra Kai so quickly because "Strike first, strike hard" actually suits him! Who started that first fight: Daniel! He always runs into fights he has no idea he can win or not. He is very loyal, and he is very kind, but he's not very ambitious and though he has worked very hard in the past, he's seen coasting several times in his dealership and doesn't want to go to college because it's frankly too much work. He has to feel passionate about something to put the work in, and when that goes, he drops it. But he is very daring, proud, and he stands up for the little guy, see him saving Yuna and caring for the dog. We don't see too much else of that because often he is the little guy. He'd do well in Hufflepuff but he tends to get stuck in dangerous situations they'd avoid and Daniel and grunt work? Meh! He does it, but he complains plenty! And he just loooves to shine in a fight.
Terry, again, smart, manipulative, ambitious as all hell, games so long they can take decades. Poster boy Slytherin. I think Aisha is Ravenclaw. Much as she likes Cobra Kai, she was being very cerebral about applying its lessons. She's not a hothead and she's also not into playing people and she really enjoys learning for its own sake. Miyagi is Ravenclaw too! He's brave, but very conflict avoidant, and clever about it. Has a very original way about teaching karate, he's very witty. He's very upfront though, doesn't play with people's heads, but he will trick them.
Kreese as Gryffindor gone bad, chef's kiss, no notes!
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msfbgraves · 3 days
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Dude you need to check out Ken Loach's filmography
Yes one of them has Cilian Murphy in it but that's not his fault nobody knew who he was back then
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msfbgraves · 4 days
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I was about to suggest that Daniel could simply marry Amanda (Terry would be rolling in his grave in horror), but then I remembered she's already married in this fic XD Maybe Daniel can hook up with Johnny (Terry would be Big Mad from Beyond) lmao
That's one of the reasons why I don't want to do this in the story, Amanda would have lost every member of her small family then. She'd only have her mate and her puppies, and Daniel's pups.
Daniel would definitely have some drunken hugs and tearful kisses with Johnny, and if that pisses you off, Terry, fuck you for dying on me!! 😭😟😭
Still, this fic is subtitled "Scenes from a marriage", not "The widower". But of course it crosses their minds when they worry about each other.
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msfbgraves · 4 days
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Saw this video about why the Brits are so much more sociable to strangers than the Germans.
The Brits are pushing down years of carefully repressed emotions. If they don't keep things disgustingly pleasant something will errupt. "How lovely to see you!" If I don't pretend things are 1000x times better than they are, somebody wil lose it right here. Might be me, might be the other person, but something will detonate. Best not, ey?
Germans like misery. Makes them feel like a good person. If you're being too cheerful, there's something you're not taking seriously, aka you're a bad citizen. But that means there's no reason to repress the misery. It's not dangerous, it's good. They'll go on tirades about public services and other people's rudeness as a bonding ritual. If things are actually bad, they'll scale back the self imposed misery. A traffic jam is a catastrophe, an ALS diagnosis is "unexpected".
Also you don't talk to strangers. You exist near them for three plus months to sniff out any sudden movements, after which you're adopted, obviously.
Really, looking miserable around strangers is them doing their civic duty in taking the world seriously. That Brit who says it's lovely to meet you may barely remember who you are next time. They say that shit to everyone to keep functioning. If a German says that, something tremendous has happened between you and one of their loved ones and they are now your sworn swords.
That Brit will make you feel welcome and at ease, and mean it, and then slowly see how to take it from there. A German will ignore you, then talk your ear off about the state of the world, and then go stupendously out of their way for you, because they don't do small favours.
Different ways of showing love, if you can recognise them.
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