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#I pictured Bea in this scene was like
cathnes · 2 years
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They’re living rent free in my head
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bumblingbabooshka · 1 year
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Change of Plans
#Autism guy - Panic guy#I will probably draw more of this bc this scene means everything to me#Tuvok#st voyager#st voyager art#Tuvok being upset to the point he almost throws up....has to do self soothing rituals to calm down.......pressure stimming#In my mind Tuvok eventually rationalizes that obeying his parents and going to Starfleet is essentially penance for his teenage years#So while he doesn't like it and is sort of miserable more often than not he tries not to complain (much)#Tuvok art#//self harm#It's so funny how Tuvok's parents are characterized in the novels they appear in#Like - in this one they apparently applied to Starfleet academy FOR him??? HEHEHE..HOW???#Did they forge a college essay??? Like what are you guys DOING??HEHEHE#can you imagine if you're like 'I can't wait to become a priest' and your parents say 'You're going to Yale. You're already accepted.'#T'Meni and Sunak are PRIMED for a college admissions scandal#bea art tag#autistic Tuvok#Picturing Tuvok who struggles with science and has no real interest in it but is still a science officer (misery hours)#This isn't how I characterize his mother acting...so in your mind please switch 'mother' to 'father' - then this scene is canon to me#<- Bc in the show he specifically says it's his father who disowned him and sent him to a Vulcan temple which seems more in line with this#Duality of a guy who is obviously struggling but also incredibly difficult to get along with + doesn't really /want/ to get along withanyone#Younger Tuvok is a bit more stubborn....brasher...gritting his teeth and trying his best to show his parents that he's a good son#but that ends up making his cadet/ensign years more like an endurance test than anything he can actually find enjoyable#THOUGH I do think his ensign years ARE more enjoyable than his cadet years...just you know. /More/ enjoyable doesn't mean enjoyable.#<- He likes actually being in action more than sitting around on campus studying science. This is where his interest in security comes in#He actually has people he considers friends in his ensign years~!!#me while drawing these and writing this out: IamcringebutIamfreeIamcringebutIamfreekillwhatcringeskillwhatcringes#uughhhimstill not very satisfied with thiss.....but! say la v.#I love Tuvok...old man's lived a lot of life hHEHE#I headcanon he's on good terms with his parents now but it was rocky as hell for a while there
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shallyouobeyme · 8 months
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Dream
Yandere!/Dark!Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch x reader
Summary: Left alone with nightmares and pictures of your loved ones dying when you close your eyes, you're trying your best to leave the woman you had secretly loved and who had turned into an evil witch and died behind you, but maybe - just maybe - she doesn't want to let you...
MINORS DO NOT INTERACT Warning: Dark content, mentions of previous murders, MoM Spoilers(?), Blood (Mentioned), Yandere, _This is all just fiction, I do not condone this!
Bea: Okay, so this is loosely based on a scene from a fanfiction I abandoned when I was like 15. It was honestly a giant cringe-fest, but this one scene never left my mind for long so I decided to recycle it into something my current messed-up self will enjoy. This is also day one of my writetober so check it out. Enjoy.
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Falling asleep had become a chore for you. Every time you closed your eyes you saw death. Either the death of Pietro back in Sokovia, the death of Vision and of so many other Avengers. Rrecently the death of the only person you had ever truly loved had joined the list. Wanda was gone and a part of you knew that it was better this way, that everything she had done to Stephen, to the people of the other universe, after what she had tried to do to America, you were well aware that she hadn’t been the woman you’d secretly been in love with for years now anymore. But that part was frighteningly tiny. Most of you still felt agonizing grief. You had decided to stay with Stephen and America, after all, they were the only ones who had been with you when you had seen that other universe. The only one on your trip that you had been sad to leave behind. A universe where you and Wanda had been happy together. In love. Married.
A universe that you had wished for for many years. One that Wanda destroyed in her attempt to get to America. You had seen with your own eyes how she had taken ahold of that Universes Wanda and ripped the heart right out of your universe-equivalent chest when she tried to talk some sense into who she thought to be her wive. That was probably the death that hunted you the most. Not because you had seen yourself die, but because you had realized then and there that this woman wasn’t Wanda anymore, that this woman was the Scarlet Witch and that she seemingly had no emotions left for the friendship you had once shared. America had known immediately what you were thinking because she took your hand and shook her head as if to tell you that it Wanda anymore, that it wasn’t Wanda who was trying to - who actually kind of had killed you. This understanding only increased when you finally opened up to her about your feelings for the witch, she encouraged Stephen to let you stay with them and did her very best to cheer you up every single day to get you to crawl out of the dark hole you had found yourself stuck in.
That doesn’t help with the sleeping issue though. Lately, you had resorted to letting Wong put a light sleeping spell on you that would keep you from experiencing any dream-like state and basically made you just fall asleep and immediately wake up about six hours later. Which is why you were especially confused when you woke up in a sunflower field. You immediately knew that you must be dreaming because this wasn’t just some random sunflower field, as you looked around you could see the little cabin beside a lake, the mountain range opposite it and the tree with the swing. Obviously, there were some biological reasons why this couldn’t exist in real life, but the more obvious factor was that you had seen this from a different perspective a hundred times. Every single time you had walked into your room in the Compley you had seen this landscape on your wall. Wanda and you had been lazily hanging out in your room one weekend back when everything was still okay (or as okay as it had ever been) when you had told her that you had been thinking of painting something on the wall to make the space more personal and she had immediately loved the idea. Two days (and 500$ of Tony’s money) later there was a definitely amature made, but exceptionally beautiful in your eyes with Wanda and your name intertwined in the corner. You had joked that one day you’d live in a cabin there and the people in the town nearby would think the two of you were an old married couple. Just that you hadn’t really joked, you had hoped. You had dreamt of it often back in the day, but ever since Thanos, it had turned into a nightmare sooner or later, the flowers rotting, the cabin burning, the lake filling with blood, etc. This is why you were doing your best to try and wake yourself up again, not mentally stable enough to live through another nightmare like that. Just that none of the tactics were working. You had to try something else, or at least you were planning to do so, but when you stood up to look around, suddenly something changed. You looked down at yourself where before there was your pyjamas, but now there was the exact outfit you had worn on a night out years ago before you had known Wanda and Vision had a thing going on where you had planned to confess your feelings to her but had chickened out. “Hello, Darling,” a voice called out from behind you. A voice you’d recognize anywhere. You turned around and saw her. She looked exactly as you remember, wearing that beautiful maroon dress that she had already worn that night. For a second it was like nothing had ever happened, but then reality caught up to you. This was a dream. She was dead.
Since you knew that this had to be a dream you tried to use whatever lucid dreaming tips you had heard in your life and clenched your eyes shut, repeating “This is all a Dream” again and again. “Love-” you hadn’t heard her coming closer, obviously, it was a dream no logic had to apply, but the hand that cupped your cheeks still startled you, “-please look at me.” Against all reasoning you obliged her and when you looked into her beautiful eyes you couldn’t help but want to kiss her, just to have one last sweet memory of her left. As if reading your mind she leaned forward and put her lips on yours. She pulled you towards her and stole your breath. You were melting into her and it felt so, so, very real that the fact that all of it was a dream became hazy. At least until you saw her kissing Vision in your head in what seemed to be a last-ditch attempt of your brain to make you wake up. You pulled away and shook your head frantically. “No, no, this isn’t right, you’re with vision, just because I love you doesn’t mean you love me too… Or loved me, I guess because you’re dead, I saw it-” “You’re wrong.” “-with my own eyes. You died and you didn’t love me.” “Princessa, you’re wrong,” Wanda raised her voice slightly and you turned to her automatically. “I saw you die, Wanda, you’re dead.” “That’s not the thing you’re wrong about,” she sighed and came closer to you again, you wanted to step back, but found yourself unable to. It was like your feet were cemented onto the earth below you, “I might have died, but I loved you, I always did, I just didn’t realize until I saw that woman in that parallel universe, their version of me married to their version of you, living the life I wanted, not only having my children but also the spouse of my dreams. It wasn’t vision, vision was what I thought I deserved because you were always so pure, so fantastic, too good for me. But that fake-me made me realize that it’s not about what I deserve, it’s about what you need, you need someone to properly love and protect you. You need me, so how fortunate that you love me already.” Not quite able to process what she was saying you tried your waking-up tactics again before this turned even more nightmarish. You were distracted though when Wanda took you into a dancing position, putting your head against her and your body suddenly started dancing in sync with her without any input of your own. “Too bad that Stephen was already after me, I knew that he wouldn’t let me keep you safe in peace. He was a threat. But he would stop as soon as he thought he’d been victorious. He had to think I died and so I did. For a while at least-” you would have grown stiff in shock and fear if your body had still been listening to you, instead, you kept slightly swinging through the flower field with Wanda, “-It cost me a lot of Magic, but it was worth it. I’ll recover and then I’ll be able to get you into an actual little cabin at a lake, just like we always talked about, until then I’ll still be able to be with you in your dreams, where it’s just us two. Maybe we can start on making you actually believe that I love you, hmm, once we manage that we can move on to helping you accept me as your protector, okay? For now, I’ll just keep the bad dreams away, just you and me and the sunflowers.” Your body stopped swinging and even though you felt the control returning to your limbs you wouldn’t be able to do anything, frozen in shock. Wanda kissed you one more time before you suddenly shot up in bed, drenched in cold sweat. It took you a few minutes to calm down your heart from the excessive fear that was still lingering. You decided not to go back to sleep and made a note to ask Wong if he had an idea why his spell didn’t work as you made your way into the library where you assumed Stephen was wasting the night away over books, trying to ignore the fact that you could still feel the kiss on your lip, feel the stiffness in your joints that you had only ever felt in the afterwards of Wanda controlling you and the fact that you still felt her presence in your subconscious.
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daphnethebanjolover · 15 days
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Thoughts on IF
Also known as "Ryan Reynolds Looking Hella Fine for 1 hour 44 minutes Straight"
You gotta watch this movie. Don't ask why. Just do it.
I've always wanted to know what Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends would look like in a live-action setting, and if John Krasinski has to be the one to bring that to life, then so be it.
I will admit, I was confused at the beginning as to why Bea was at the hospital when the mom was already dead.
Before I say anything else, the soundtrack. This is why music is in movies. The music always seemed to fit both the specific scene and the whimsical mood of the film as a whole.
Also, the CGI. All of the IFs fit seamlessly into the live-action scenery without being excessively photorealistic. I mean, there's one scene where Bea walks past Blue, and he casts a shadow on her. How do they do that?
Speaking of Blue, 10/10 casting. Steve Carell has the exact type of energy needed for Blue.
John Krasinski had to have heard of Foster's. I mean, come on. There's literally a character named Blue.
Blue: I'm Blue. Me: You're purple. Bea: You're purple. Me: (hits arm on armrest from laughing too hard)
We wear suspenders in this house.
The surprise I felt when I heard Steve Carell's voice coming out of that guy was exactly the same as when I realized Billy Crystal voiced Calcifer in Howl's Moving Castle.
I like that lil' freak who looks like the Faker from Jackbox, but he's gotta stop climbing onto people.
Also, that art mannequin guy looks kinda sexy. Is that just me?
That ghost guy just spent the whole time vibin'.
The Better Be Good to Me dance number has me convinced that this would make waves on Broadway. We just need the budget for Bea to re-imagine the house.
The underwater scene after Cal gets pushed in the pool was sick. This must be why people like that one Nirvana album cover.
I had a feeling that Blossom used to be Grandma's IF just from looking at Grandma's tutu in the picture. I didn't even notice her in the background.
The scene where Bea is by her dad's bed while he's sleeping makes me think this is the type of movie that would make my mom cry.
I know that the "picture was folded the whole time" trope has been done before, but that twist actually got me while also putting together so many pieces at the same time.
Seeing Ryan Reynolds in that dorky-ass clown outfit was simultaneously the most beautiful and the most hilarious moment in the entire movie.
Overall, 9/10. That 48 on Metacritic is wack.
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scenteddelusion5 · 2 months
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"Two households, both unalike in dignity, In our unsightly hell, where we lay our scene," PART 5 (FINISHED)
Vox x gn reader (Alastor's child)
Note: LAST PART!!! Are you ready?!
Word count: 4074
Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5
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Y/n's eyes slowly opened. How long were they asleep? They slowly pushed themselves up. Familiar sheets covered them, it was theirs. Looking around they were on their room, only it looked to be a lot cleaner. All their dirty clothes had disappeared, their box stood newly organised in the bookcase and the dirty cup that usually stood on their nightstand was gone. In its stead stood a beautiful vase with their favourite flowers in it.
Their shoulder was patched up. It hadn't completely healed yet, it still hurt but not as much anymore. Y/n threw his legs out of bed, trying to stand up only to fall down again. They hadn't had any energy left, despite having slept for at least a few hours.
"Where's Vox?" Y/n whispered to themselves.
That's when it hit them, Vox had gotten hurt because of them. their adrenaline pumped up again, giving Y/n the strength to stand up again. They ran, or rather stumbled, out of the room.
"Vox!"
Alastor ran up from his eat when he heard noises coming from upstairs. His child was finally awake. He ran to the stairs and there they were.
"Careful, little fawn, you'll fall." Alastor held them up using his shadows.
"Vox! No, where's Vox?!" They tried to pull themselves away from the shadows. "I have to get to Vox."
"Your... 'boyfriend'... is fine." Alastor said with disgust. "He is coming by later in the afternoon. You should lay down again."
"You aren't going to hurt him?"
"As much as I dislike him, I now see that you two are truly in love." He held them by the arm and let them back to their room. "You've been asleep for two days, the angelic rope had drained a lot of your energy." He sat them down back on the bed. "That noisy picture box of yours had come by six times since he had awoken, even brought you flowers."
"He brought these." They mumbled, reaching for the flowers.
The Radio Demon looked at their child smiling at something as simple as a few flowers like they were the biggest treasure in the world.
"Little fawn, I'm sorry. I tried to protect you to the best of my ability but I almost lost you because of it." He pulled them into a hug. "Please forgive me."
Y/n hugged him back. "I forgive you."
"Now, what would you like to eat?" Alastor pulled back and patted their head. "You must be starving."
"Jambalaya sounds really good right now."
"Good old Jambalaya it is then." He stood up and was about to leave the room. "Oh, I almost forgot, he left you a gift. I put it on your desk." The door closed with a click and they were all alone again.
They stood up again and slowly made their way to the desk. A small unfamiliar, black box sat in the corner. Inside it sat a brand new VoxTech phone, a new phone case and a note:
I'm sorry love but after what happened I kept the tracker on. -Love Vox <3
Picking up the case, it had a cute drawing of a deer in the green woods on the back. Y/n turned on the phone, on it popped the same picture of Vox and them. He had transferred all their data and settings.
Y/n looked at their two contacts; Vox and Velvette. Their finger hovered over the calk button. Alastor said he would came by later anyway... But they really wanted to hear his voice, just to see if he is okay. They clicked.
It took Vox only two seconds to pick up. "Y/n? Are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm doing fine. I just woke up. How are you?"
"Now that I'm talking to you, better than ever doll." His voice deepened, trying to sound cooler. Y/n really loved this dork.
"Sir, the presentation is-" A squeaky voice could be heard through the call.
"Don't you see I'm on the phone." Vox dismissed him.
"If you're busy I can calk later."
"NO! Don't worry about it, I'm not busy, Vox said quickly, "you know what? I'm so not busy I will come over right away!"
"But sir-" The voice spoke again.
"Bye bea, I'll see you in a minute!"
Y/n could only imagine the panic on his worker's face when Vox sprinted out of that meeting. After speaking with him again, Y/n felt their energy recover even more and decided to head downstairs.
Alastor was working on his special Jambalaya in the kitchen. His little, deer tail swaying to the sound of jazz music coming from the radio. Hearing Y/n enter, he turned around.
"What are you doing out of bed?" He asked. "You should be resting more."
"I feel rested enough." Y/n stalked over to the stove. "It smells amazing."
"Of course it does, I made it. I also put in the 'secret ingredient'." He winked. "Even used your favourite."
A knock came from the front door.
"I'll get it!" They rushed to the front door. "Hey Vox!"
"Y/n!" He hugged his lover. "How are you healing up? Does it still hurt? Should I get tou some painkillers?"
Alastor rolled his eyes hearing the TV Demon at the door.
"No need, I'm doing fine."
The two walked back in through the hallway into the kitchen.
"More importantly, how is your wound?" They gently grabbed his arm to inspect the wound. "I'm sorry, I hurt you."
"You didn't do anything! I-I jumped in front of you! It's my fault." Vox slightly buffered as he was talking a mile a minute. "I'm just happy you're fine." He put on his adorable, dorky, little smile.
"Vox, I wasn't expecting you until 5 pm." Alastor's voice sounded irritated but his smile didn't falter.
"Well, Y/n called me. So I rushed over."
There definitely still was tension between the two, a lot of tension. But they weren't openly nor aggressively hostile towards each other. It was progress.
Alastor's smirk grew wider. "Then why don't you join us for lunch. I made Jambalaya." He put down the pot on the dining table.
Vox sat down next to Y/n, wrapping his arm around them. "Sure."
Vox regretted his decision as soon as Alastor pulled of the lid revealing the Jambalaya. A familiar smell reeked from it, there was demon meat inside it.
"You know what, I think I'll pass." Vox laughed nervously.
"I can't believe how rude your boyfriend is being Y/n. Not eating the food I so lovingly prepared." The Radio demon took a big scoop and put it on a plate. "At least take a bite."
"It's fine if you don't want it." Y/n pulled the plate away from him. "I'll finish it for you."
"What kind of man can't even finish his own plate?"
"Those are old-timey values, dad."
"Hmm." Alastor looked him up and down. "It's still disrespectful."
"Like we have ever had respect for each other, you old bastard," Vox said holding up his middle finger.
"See, that's not any way to talk to the father of your partner."
"Dad, stop it." Y/n scolded him. "You don't have to eat anything you don't want to."
Vox looked down to the Jambalaya and then back up to a smug looking Alastor. "I'll try it."
"Splendid!" Alastor grabbed two more plates and filled them up. "Bon appetite!"
Vox slowly used his fork to bring the Jambalaya to his mouth. He had eaten demon flesh before, this shouldn't be any different. Just bite through it.
The TV Demon swallowed as fast as possible. "Blur, that was... sure something."
"Aren't you going to finish your plate?" Alastor challenged him.
And so the lunch went on. Vox almost throwing up with every bite while Alastor was smirking at him every time.
"There, I finished it!" He yelled, victorious.
"Then would you like seconds?"
"Dad! Leave him alone. You've bullied him enough." Y/n was quite surprised by hoe civil the two still were but that didn't mean they had fully forgiven him. "Besides, you had hurt him pretty badly too during my 'rescue'. Don't you think he deserves an apology?" They knew they were pushing the Radio Demon's limits with that one and yet they still wanted to see if he actually would.
Alastor sighed, "Vox."
Was he actually going to?
"My sincerest apologies, I hadn't realized how weak you truly are and therefore used too much force."
"Oh fuck you."
"Now that that's out of the way, we have more important things to discuss." Alastor stood up and brought the dirty dishes to the sink. "You see, after my poor fawn had passed out and Vox decided to be dramatic, I captured the demon behind the attack. I still have him, Paris and the imp in my possession"
"Hmm, you know, I've always wondered what imp tastes like." Y/n cheekily suggested.
"As for Paris, I will have some fun with him and then hand him over to Rosie." Alastor had washed off the dishes and was putting them back in the cupboards. "He's her responsibility. The last Demon's fate is up to you, DEAR future son in law." The nickname was spat out like venom.
"So, who is the fucker that wanted them dead anyway?" Vox enquired.
"It seemed a certain colleague of yours had gotten jealous and decided to take my little fawn out."
"Val," Vox whispered. "I knew he was acting weird."
"How are you planning to deal with him?"
Vox looked at Y/n, their deer eyes staring back at him. He could have lost them forever, all because Valentino couldn't get over being dumped. He had to kill him. Not only to ensure Y/n's safety but also to prove himself to Alastor. To prove that nothing comes before them.
"Do you have angelic weapons here?"
Vox, Y/n and Alastor had wondered deep into the forest on the Radio Demon's territory. Nothing could be heard except for some hellbirds chirping.
"Doesn't this bring you back, little fawn?" Alastor lamented. "I still remember your first hit, we buried his leftovers next to that old tree. Haha, those were the days!"
"Yeah, I couldn't even finish a liver back then!" Y/n laughed.
As terrifying as their conversation was, it could not compare the what he was going to do. He knew Val had to go, for their sake, but he was still an old friend. One HE had to kill. He couldn't even discuss it with Velvette first!
Oh she was going to be so mad, with Valentino gone both their workloads would increase tenfold.
They stopped at a clearing. Vox held the gun in his sweaty hands. Alastor opened a pitch black portal. Out of it he pulled a tied up Val.
"Don't you know how shitty it is in there!" The overlord yelled. "Ah, Voxie baby, thanks for getting me out of there."
Vox held up the gun and pointed it straight at the man's head.
"Wowowow, what's all this about?" Valentino looked around seeing Alastor and Y/n glaring at him. "Are you seriously choosing them over me? You FUCKING need me! YOU NEED ME!!!" He started to approach Vox. "These two are going to get rid of you after me!"
"Goodbye Val." Vox pulled the trigger. An angelic bullet shot straight through the demon's head, killing him instantly. "So, what are we going to do with the body?"
"Don't worry, the animals will take care of it."
A month went by like a breeze. Vox had to find a new face for the V's 'film' department, in the meantime he had to take over as Velvette refused to take on more work.
"Fuck no!" She had yelled when he even brought up the possibility of taking over a little bit of paperwork.
So it all fell on him. This also meant he had less time to spend with Y/n, which they understood. And Alastor got to enjoy the chance to tell him how much of a terrible boyfriend he was for not spending enough time with them.
All and all, things went well.
As Vox's workload got smaller and smaller the couple started to spend more time together, which Alastor loathed. So the man took every chance he got to interrupt the two.
Going to the movies, suddenly there is a power outage. Having dinner at restaurant, Alastor invites himself along. Taking a walk through the forest, suddenly he NEEDS Y/n's help with something.
It became a sort if challenge between the two, who could keep Y/n's attention for the longest.
The couple were laying on the bed in their room Y/n reading a book while Vox was handling some more documents. Door wide upon as per Alastor's rules.
"I swear he is doing it on purpose!" Vox complained. "I mean, he straight up attacked me this time."
"He wants to see what you can do, train you." They turned over a page in their book. "It's his way of bonding. He already likes you a lot better, I swear!
He sighed, "if you say so, sweets. I sometimes just wished we could get along better, not just for my comfort but for yours." Vox set down his tablet on their nightstand and combed his fingers through their hair. "It must be exhausting to have us bicker all the time."
Before Y/n could answer, however, they got interrupted.
"My little fawn!" Alastor walked in. "I have to go to a meeting and I was wondering if you would come with me?"
"Oh." Y/n looked up at Vox. "I think I'm staying here. I haven't had the chance to hang out with Vox in quite some time."
"That's so unfortunate, you see." The overlord smirked. "It's quite the chance to build some steady connections for when it's time to climb up the ranks for you, but oh well!"
"If that's the case, why don't you take Vox with you?!"
"Pardon?"
"He is an overlord too, connections would be useful, right?" They looked the TV Demon in the eyes.
"Uhm well yes, bu-"
"Then this is your chance!" They jumped up from the bed and started pushing Alastor out of the room. "He'll be down in five."
For some strange reason or another, the Radio Demon didn't make a fuss about it. Just accepted that Vox would come with, strange... Very strange...
Alastor and Vox stood awkwardly next to each other right outside the front door.
"So, are we taking a car, or...?" Vox broke the silence.
"If we still lived in my time we would have just taken the trolly," the Radio Demon remarked, "But we aren't so get those legs moving. It's quite far."
The TV glared at the other walking away. "Where are we going, anyway?"
Alastor looked back at the man catching up to him. "Don't worry your ugly little head over it!"
"This 'ugly head' scored your child, motherfucker!" He retorted.
A shadowy tentacle shot out of Alastor's back. The appendage hit Vox right in the middle of his screen, almost cracking it.
"I didn't take you for a gambler," Vox said, staring at the buzzling casino the two were about to enter, "what would Y/n think of you?"
"I don't frequent establishments of this kind often but when I do, I don't plan on losing." Alastor made his way inside, the other following him. "This is your chance to show me what you're made of. Don't ruin it."
Vox followed the demon into the back where a familiar overlord was sitting at a poker table.
"Husker my old friend, I see you are at again!" He sat down at the table and as soon as he did, a few of the denizens that excused themselves. "How about a round? Even brought easy pickings."
"I'm not easy pickings!" Vox yelled whole sitting down, not willing to back of from this challenge.
"Vox, huh, didn't realise you became chummy with the Radio Demon." Husker looked him up and down. "Fine, you can join but remember, we're dealing in souls over here!"
As soon as Vox sat down, chips appeared before him. These chips, however, weren't your usual casino chips. No, these held a soul in them. He couldn't believe this was happening, gambling with souls was very risky and here Alastor, fucking Alastor, was willing to risk it against the overlord of gambling. Not only that, but the man had pulled him along too.
The cards were shuffled and everyone got their own deck. This was insane, losing even one game could mean losing his position as an overlord. Now that Vox was thinking about it, Alastor had planned to bring Y/n along for this.
He was willing to risk Y/n's power and soul for a stupid game! This didn't feel right, Alastor would never. Then maybe, just maybe, the Radio Demon had already secured the win before even starting the game.
Vox looked over at the man, and the face he saw confirmed it. The Radio Demon was smirking even wider than ever before. This was going to be Husk's last night as an overlord. For him this meant to protect his own souls at all costs and let Alastor handle the rest.
"Come on Husker, are you really going to back out now?" Alastor teased, "Maybe you'll win it all back in one last round!"
"I don't have more souls." Husker glared at the giant stack of chips in front of the other two.
"Well technically you do have one more... But I understand why you wouldn't gamble with it." The Radio Demon put on a fake disappointed face while still maintaining his signature smile. "I guess that's it for the gambling overlord."
The two other demons were about to stand up and leave before Husker spoke up, "Wait! One more round but keep in mind that I have only one souls to bet!"
"It's a deal then!" The Radio Demon immediately agreed. "I'll put in all my chips for your singular soul."
"I'm backing out." Vox took his chips and made them disappear. Knowing Alastor, the demon would've taken all his souls too this round if he didn't. Besides, he had even gained a few souls that night.
"Heads up, then?" Husker asked at which Alastor agreed.
It was a brutal sight. The horror in Husker's eyes after he realised he not only lost his position as an overlord but also lost his own soul, all in the same night.
"Well good friend, it's getting late and I have to prove to my little fawn I didn't kill their suiter!" Alastor made all his chips disappear. "Come on Vox, Y/n is waiting on us."
"Right..." Vox was still flabbergasted about what he witnessed that day.
Once outside, he gained the confidence to speak up. "What was that?"
"Just some dealings, shouldn't an overlord like you understand such a simple concept?" Alastor chided. "Or are you as incapable as I first guessed you were!"
"That's not what I meant! You were going to have Y/n gamble with souls?!" Vox stepped in front of him, blocking the way. "You know how risky that would be you lollipop looking FUCKER!!!"
"They would've been just fine," he shrugged, "besides, it's about time they gained more power. I can't always be there for them, especially when they go behind my back." He shot a glare at the other man.
"Then why were you fine with me coming?"
"Hmm, if they're going to be with you, I should make sure you can protect them."
The rest of the way back was silent. Vox mulling over the other's words.
Weeks went by and instead of fighting over Y/n's attention, Alastor started to pull Vox away from them for 'training sessions'. While Vox found them to be tortures, he couldn't deny they weren't useful.
It was Y/n's birthday, the house was decorated with banners and guests were coming over. Vox had already been there since morning, annoying their father. Rosie, Franklin, some other cannibals and even Velvette came over. Gifts stacked on the table, snacks were available next to the pile.
"Oh darling, it's good to see you." Rosie shook their hand. "And another happy birthday!"
"Thanks, Rosie!"
At some point Alastor pulled Vox away from the party into his study.
"I need to talk with you." The Radio Demon filled his cup with whatever was in the ceramic pitcher. "As you know I am quite the traditional man."
"I'm aware," Vox answered.
"Then I probably won't have to tell you this but I just want to make sure." He took a sip from his mug. "If I find out you two partook in any... Usual marital affairs before you two could wed, I will hunt you to the edges of hell and rip your soul apart." Alastor grew twice in size, his eyes turned into dials, and static and symbols appeared all around him. "G̸̟͉̍̃͒̐͝Ö̴͔̫̀T̸̻̹̆ ̶̺͉̻̫̝̯̈̉̅̏̑ ̸̠̞͌͋͛͑͛̉͝͝I̵̖̩̓̃̈͝Ṫ̷̨̧̥̺̤̗̳̹͒̐?!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Great!" In one second the Radio Demon was back to his usual self. "Now let's get back to the party, shall we?"
Guests came and went, until only Alastor and Vox were left.
"So, uhm, the night's almost over but I haven't given you my gift yet." Vox held a rectangle box in his nervous sweaty hands. "Here."
Y/n carefully pulled of the ribbon and the wrapping paper, revealing a box. It was a V-Reader.
"Thank you."
"I wasn't sure you would like it but it can hold of 5 million books, designed it myself!"
"It's perfect." Y/n kissed the screen right between his eyes where his nose would have been.
"Erhmehm," Alastor fake coughed while glaring at the other overlord, "You also haven't received my gift yet." He grabbed their hand, holding it tightly.
Before Y/n realised what he was about to do, pure power started running through their veins from their hand to the rest of their body.
"I got these souls recently and have no need for them. I figured you could use some more power."
"I see, thanks."
The rest of the night was spend with just the two lovebirds in their room, door open of course.
"Dad's been acting weird, don't you think?"
"He has been his some old annoying self as far as I've noticed." Vox ran his fingers through their hair. "Why do you think that?"
"He would've never given me souls if it wasn't for something important and instead of trying to pull me away, he has been 'training' you." Y/n laid their head on his chest, listening for his heartbeat. "He has also been very sentimental the last few days, looking back on childhood memories, cooking together, hunting together. It all feels off."
"Then we'll ask him about it tomorrow, I doubt he would want to worry you."
"If you say so."
They were never able to ask him, because when the two of them woke up without the father yelling at Vox to get out of their bed, the two knew there was something wrong. They looked around the house, Alastor, however, was nowhere to be found.
They went to Cannibal Town to ask around, but no one had seen him there either. Not even Rosie knew where he was. Y/n's worry grew and grew. It got so bad that Vox decided to use his camera's to look all over hell to look for a sign of the Radio Demon.
Nothing, absolute no sign of Alastor.
Months went by, still no sign. Y/n moved into Vox's apartment, for both safety and not to feel lonely in their old home where everything reminded them of their father.
Even after all this time, Y/n still held hope, however, after two years that hope dissolved too. Vox and them started taking over all of the Radio Demon's responsibility.
After a while the two of them even got engaged and Y/n had accepted the fact that their father likely would never come back.
Epilogue
Seven years went by and the love birds were extremely happy, until one day Vox was working in his office and one of his camera's that he had around the princes' new hotel picked up something.
"THAT FUCKER IS BACK!" Vox yelled, staring at the screen showing the Radio Demon casually hanging out at the Hazbin Hotel. "He didn't even tell Y/n. Oh, I'm going to make him suffer for their grieve. I'm going to make you wish you'd stayed gone!"
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And that's the end. My next long series is with Zestial, part 1 already out. But if you have any one-shot request for me check out my pinned post with all the characters I write about!
Masterlist/request guidelines
Taglist: @hxzbinwrites
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stagefoureddiediaz · 10 months
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RWRB costume/ colour meta!
Ok, lets do this!!
Man have I missed writing costume/colour meta, so its good to have something to write about again! This took me far far longer than it should have - I kept getting distracted by the film while I was working on this - I'd go looking for a clip or to grab a still and end up just watching the film again 😂😂😂 but I've finished it and I hope you all enjoy it! Grab a beverage of your choice because this thing is a beast coming in at over 7000 words - I totally understand if you want to skip, but I have ADHD and do not know how to be concise 😂😂😂
Red white and royal blue employs several fun and interesting costume and colour theories (also made use of in the set design) to help tell the story of Alex and Henry. I’m not going to write a detailed meta for each costume - I just don’t have the time - but I am going to look at some costume/ colour details in focus, especially for Henry and Alex as well as highlighting other interesting choices! I also do not have the picture limit (I need more than 30!!!) to include every image I would like to, so if you want to see what I'm talking about, you might have to go check out the relevant scenes (I'll try to give you timestamps where I can!) I’ve kind of tried to do things chronologically, but I’ve left Alex and Henry to the end so if I don’t talk about them very much in the rest of this meta - that is why! putting it under a cut because its so long!
The royal Wedding
There are a couple of key themes here, the wedding party (consisting Lady Martha, Bea and Henry) have a distinct colour palette - dusty blue, dusty pink and Ivory, with the exception of Prince Phillip who is in his red Dress uniform - they’ve used a red uniform to make him stand out, convey that he is more important than the bride (what with his being in line for the throne and all that jazz) and hint at power - red is a power colour. 
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I’m not sure what royal orders the collar and riband that Henry is wearing are supposed to represent as they don’t belong to a specific British order - if I had to take a punt I’d say his red collar is meant to be a AU version of a Knight Grand Cross of the order of the bath but the one he’s wearing certainly isn’t a real order in the UK (it isn’t meant to be an order of the garter as that is the highest ranking order and Henry would then also be wearing the light blue riband we see on Prince Phillip) the royal blue riband with the red edging is more i line with the night grand cross of the order of Victoria, although in real life that riband should be for in the opposite direction. My feeling is that they wanted a red collar on Henry to play into the red as a symbol of power theme they’ve used on Prince Phillip, placing Henry as having the ‘power’ in his conversation with Alex (as he is on home turf) and the royal blue sash is a deliberate choice that I will talk about later when I focus in on Henry and I think its actually pretty significant as a choice. essentially the order insignia he is wearing are not real orders which is totally fine as this is essentially and au royal family!
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We do have to talk about that wedding gown - not royal in the slightest - spaghetti straps and a low back would never be allowed for a royal bride, the dress is also too long on her (but that’s a different conversation about budgets and rental gowns so we’ll let it slide here!!) and her hair should also be fully up - not in the half up do she has going on! The colour is also wrong - she would have been tied to a very limited colour palette of white or ivory - no colour in a royal wedding gown, so the blush colour we see is a no go! I totally get why they did what they did with her gown in terms of colour and I’m fine with that choice (i’ll explain more in the next paragraph), I even get the fairytale princess look they were going for with that dress -  but when you’re trying to portray a family so stuck in tradition and history etc, I can’t help but feel that they missed a trick to show her as buttoned up, conforming to the crown etc, especially as we never see her again!
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At the reception we see pretty much everyone in colour of some description, with the exception on Alex and Nora who are both in black - this is why Lady Martha’s wedding dress is a pale blush pink colour rather than white. The only reason that the men aren’t in colour (if they’re not in dress uniform) is because they are wearing white tie for the formality of a royal wedding, otherwise I think we would’ve seen coloured ties or some such on them. This is intentional because the room has a general (muted) wash of colour which serves to highlight Alex and Nora, making them stand out and look like they don’t really belong. 
Its a way of creating a them and us vibe and helps to establish the rivalry between Alex and Henry - we have a British scene, full of colourful clothing and the only identified foreigners are in black and white. We actually only see a black and white colour palette for the clothing of the Americans until Alex returns from his PR fix it trip to London after cakegate, while nearly all the Brits all were colour of some description - we can see this clearly in the hospital - all the children in colour, Henry in blues and - Henrys security in coloured ties while Amy is there totally in black.
Alex himself does wear navy blue but its a dark navy and that jacket is actually two tone - black and navy and its paired with black trousers in this scene - we see it again later - paired with taupe trousers which really helps to establish this idea of colour entering Alex's world once Henry is in it.
Sets
I’m going to pause on clothing here to quickly talk about the sets in the film and their colour palettes because they fall into three distinct categories;
We have the sage dusty greens, gold and bright reds of the British spaces - they have a regency and victorian air to them, all very traditional, opulent and royal in feel - they are the definition of a gilded cage and are ostentatious and Henry’s bedroom even fits into this mould (its very telling that we only see very limited physical intimacy between the two of them in this space - because its a space that neither of them truly fit or belong in) with its sagely green walls that echo the green walls of the state room the big royal family showdown occurs in. 
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Then we have the creams, taupes and beiges (with a bit of minty green for the walls of oval office) of the America spaces combined with the very intentional colour choice of that rusty orange (there is also the red room but that is a whole other conversation - I’ll go into it later).
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The Rusty orange is such a colour choice, its rich and eye-catching. All colours have meanings associated with them - these can vary wildly depending on where and how they are used and have both positive and negative connotations.
Generally speaking, orange is an attention grabber - its energetic and stimulating, but it also conveys transformation and endurance. This orange has brown undertones which means we should also reference brown colour meanings when thinking about what the colour means on screen - brown is a safe colour and it is also strong and reliable, but it can also portray a sense of loneliness - that is something I think is a really interesting concept - we see Henry in Alex’s world (through the text chats as well as in the first blowjob scene) on the rusty orange sofas and one of the underlying major parts of who Henry is, he is enduring like the orange (and his royal status make him an attention grabber without needing to try) but there is that underlying sense of loneliness - yes he might’ve had a crush on Alex since the climate conference, but as soon as the air had been cleared between them during the PR trip Henry reached out and pursued Alex because he was lonely and wanted a friend - not knowing if it could ever be more than a friendship.
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Then, finally we have the spaces Henry and Alex occupy - spaces which are just theirs to occupy - spaces when they are themselves - these are predominately yellow and blue spaces, with some deep colours such as the teal we see on the walls of Alex’s room and the red room.
I’ll go into more detail about all the yellow and blue in this film a bit later on in this meta, but to provide a comment on the red room - red is a colour of passion and love, but this shade of red they’ve chosen maintains that orange undertone we see in the rest of the American spaces.
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I wrote a post on the choice of red calla lilies and how they are both a symbol of love and commitment, as well as a phallic symbol of sexuality, and I know Alexander Hamilton was on the wall in the book, but he is there not only because he was very likely bi, but also because he was the subject of what is known as the first political sex scandal - something our boys are essentially also themselves going to end up becoming!
Once Alex does return stateside we start to see colour begin to fill his world. This is a really interesting thematic choice - think how the wizard of Oz (a film very much associated with gay culture - ‘a friend of Dorothy’ was a slang code used by gay men to identify one another and there is obviously the rainbow connotation) begins in black and white and then transitions to colour as soon as Dorothy wakes up in Oz. This film is playing on that same trope/ concept - this is a story essentially told from Alex’s perspective, so Henry and his world is already in colour - its only when Alex enters that world and becomes entwined with it that colour starts to seep into his life - its done in a much more subtle way, but it is there - even during the text bantering they have going one while he is watching a film with Nora - it is a black and white film (‘Some Like it Hot’ - its self a film that helped open conversations about queer identity and the queer community at a time when the Hays code was still in operation and when Sodomy laws still existed in the US, but that is a whole other conversation and lots has been written about it before, its one of my favourite films and if you want to know more then head to your search engine of choice or hit up my inbox! It’s also a film our director Matthew Lopez adapted for the stage which is possibly partly why it was chosen for this scene- as a nod to his other work!)and they are both wearing grey while Henry is in colour (cream and blue - playing into the queer coded yellow blue theming) and sits on the bright orange sofa.
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I cannot tell you how much I am in love with the Koi carp on Alex’s dressing room wall because the symbolism - the symbolism!!!!! Koi are seen as a symbol of strength, patience, perseverance, love and bravery they symbolise success through courage. Koi are known to swim against the current and overcome great obstacles - there is a Japanese proverb ‘Koi no Takinobori’ which translates as 'koi swim up waterfalls' and as the word Koi in Japanese also translates to mean love the proverb therefore means that love can go against the current and overcome great obstacles and if that isn’t the perfect metaphor for Alex and Henry’s relationship then I don’t know what is!!
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I am obsessed and I adore the set designer for including that wallpaper in general, but especially in their text banter flirty developing relationship - the writing is essentially on the wall for where their relationship is going and how its going to unfold - they are literally Koi swimming agains the current and overcoming great obstacles to be together!!
Back to the costuming!
As I said previously - when Alex returns from the PR trip we start to see increasing amounts of colour and it starts with blue - Oscar is wearing a blue shirt - a colour we only see him in for that scene and then again at the end of the film - during election night. Its an important choice - Henry's colour is blue - its the colour we nearly always see him in some form of blue so for this to essentially be the first colour that appears in the clothing in Alex's world is telling in its own way - it is the beginning of the slow saturation of Henry in the world of Alex. Oscar is always in tan colour-ways apart from those two scenes and generally speaking we see him wearing Mexican tribal and geometric prints/patterns and cowboy boots - playing into his Mexican heritage, but also establishing him as Texan.
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Miguel is clearly set out as the baddie to us all - head to toe  in black all the time expect at the PM dinner - when he has to wear a white shirt because its etiquette - but they do make sure to give him black buttons on that shirt - which separates him from everyone else in dinner dress very clearly and keeps the undertone of untrustworthiness going.
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The other thing to note is the grey fuzzy jacket he wears when being interviewed on the news. I’ve spoken before in my 911 meta’s about how the use of the grey fuzzy patterning is symbolic of confusion or obfuscation and that holds true here - Miguel is called out as being the one who hacked and leaked the emails by the presenter and he tries to bluff his way out - to obfuscate the truth.
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We see the idea of green and jealousy play out a couple of times in the film - the flirty girl that tries to commandeer Alex and kisses him at the NYE party is wearing a very blatantly iridescent green dress which sets her apart from the rest of the crowd and then when the crowd drops low we also get the green lights on the DJ desk - while the scene is a play on the I saw you across a crowded room idea, there is also that undercurrent of jealousy - Henry is Jealous of Alex’s ease and that he cannot have him loudly and in the way he wants - highlighting that jealousy helps to build into Henrys later actions when he throws caution to the wind and kisses him under the tree. 
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Ellen Claremont has a narrow colour palette as well - we only see her in black in that first scene and in the ‘new Texas strategy’ arguement with Alex, after that her dominant colour is cream and we also see plenty of red which is a power choice - she wears it in scenes when she needs to convey power and status such as at the PM dinner or when she is shutting down his Texas strategy. The cream is the base colour for her - its a colour of elegance, sophistication, it is also a neutral colour - playing into her position as POTUS, but also when she wears it in one on one scenes with Alex, it is a sign of her being a mother rather than the POTUS.
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Zahra tends to wear blacks with one blue/grey cashmere jumper and when we do get colour on her they are jewel tones - purple and teal. We also get some more grey fuzzy patterning - again playing into my previous statements - here it is very much about confusion rather than obfuscation - she only wears the fuzzy grey when she finds out about Alex and Henry and has her mind blown by the knowledge. Its a perfect costuming choice for this scene as it conveys so much about where her brain is - that her mind has been blown by this huge thing she as just become privy to and it helps make her facial expressions even louder!
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Nora wears a full spectrum of colours, the stand ones are obviously the red bodice and trousers she wears for new years and the pink shirt she wears in the office when Alex is having a mini bi panic and figuring himself and his attraction to Henry out. Generally speaking a characters costumes are meant to be about them and their own character, however with a film like this, everything is a driving point for the two main characters and so, other characters costumes will, at key points be less about the character wearing them and more about driving the story of the mains forward - this is very much the case with Nora’s red outfit (and we have already talked about the green of the flirty girl at new years representing jealousy).The red is very very red, it is meant to stand out and is a nod to romance - for both herself with Pez and for Alex and Henry, but Red is also a colour associated with passion and sexuality as well as fire and heat - essentially it is a marker that things are about to kick into action on the romance scale - we are heading from friends to lovers.
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The pink shirt plays into the same theme - its a continuation, but a cooling down - less about the heat and passion of a sexual encounter, and more about the concept of romance and relationships - because that is what the conversation is ultimately about in this scene. We have the bi flag background helping to visually tell us what the conversation is about, but we also need to have that subtle reminder that this is not about fire and passion it is about the potential for romance - for love - because if Alex is going to hook up with Henry, it isn’t going to be a hook up, it going to be real. We do of course see things heat back up in the red room (as they should), but ultimately that is the last of the fiery heat we see - from then on anything connected with Alex and Henrys relationship is much more steadfast - the blues and yellows I will talk about in a minute!
Lets talk signet rings!! We see them worn on the male members of the royal family - so King James, Phillip and Henry - as well as Alex when Henry gives him his ring. their use is telling and significant. James and Phillip both wear their signet ring on the little finger of the right hand, while Henry (and Alex) wears his on the little finger of the left hand. in a general sense one would usually wear a signet ring on the little ringer of the non dominant hand - so if you’re a lefty you wear it on the right hand and vice versa if your right handed. This is not what is being portrayed here - all three of them are naturally right handed (yes I did spend far too much time on google to find this out!!) which would in theory mean all of them should have their rings on the left little finger and yet only Henry does.
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There is however another explanation -  a ring worn on the right hand is symbolic of tradition conformity and rigidity and royalty (traditionally the monarch would wear a ring on the right hand and this was offered to subjects to kiss), wearing it on the dominant hand as a sign of power/ dominance. Henry and then Alex wear Henry’s ring on the left hand - the traditional hand that wedding bands are worn - because of the concept of the main artery running from the heart down the left arm and into the left hand, it is a symbol of love and life and connection to another person and is where the concept of the red string of fate comes from (which ties in nicely with Alex referring to the rope in his chest pulling him towards Henry). This all gains greater significance when Henry gives his ring to Alex and that he choses to also wear it on the left hand, its essentially a symbol of engagement and eternity - it is a sort of pre engagement I guess - and is a low key statement from Henry he is giving Henry Fox to someone for eternity - to Alex. 
Right, shall we talk about the yellow and blue theming that I keep mentioning. This specific theming, tends to be seen more in sets and lighting than costumes - although we do see it used in costuming too (looking at you Bea!!). For those not aware, there is a tendency to use yellow and blue colour-ways for queer story arcs - if you look at Heartstopper (esp s1) they have been using it to great effect , and it can be seen in other shows and films with queer character arcs to such as 911 (and Lonestar), as well as plenty of other mainstream media if you’re looking for it. I don’t know when or how it became a colour way associated with queer relationships - especially mlm relationships - I’ve not had the time to deep dive into that particular research spiral - but suffice to say we see it put to very very great effect here in Red White and Royal Blue - we only ever see it used as a colour way when it is regarding Alex and Henry and their romantic relationshipI’ve included some of the blue and yellow we see (couldn’t fit it all in - 30 pictures is apparently not enough!!!) surrounding Alex and Henry and there is plenty of it. The first time we see this yellow/blue theming come into play is at the turning point - when Henry opens up the lines of communication with his text message. Alex is in his room - the first time we’re seeing into his room - a room painted dark blue and full of yellow accents - the lamp on his desk and the unit to the side of the sofa, as well as the very yellow and blue painting we see above his bed (which was commissioned for the film and so the colour choice was very much deliberate). Just to show how prolific the yellow/blue colour way is here is a list of most of the occurrences - I've tried to include as many of them in the pictures as I can as well.
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The copy of People is yellow and blue, the Jacket Alex wears for new year has gold and blue embroidery. The PM’s dinner has blue lighting with gold curtains and there are a lot of blue and yellow dresses being worn in the crowd when Alex is watching Henry. The cushion on the sofa behind Alex is yellow and blue. Then we get to the French hotel room and the Eiffel Tower - it is literally all yellow and blue - everything - even down to the blue (extra safe) condom packets. the New York hotel room is dark blue and gold another is a blue bottle of lube on the side (the condoms and lube are very much a deliberate colour choice - there are a million different colours you can buy both in so if the colour wasn’t important they could’ve chosen any, esp as fuchsia and red is the most common colour for both in the durex brand in the UK).
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In England - Henry mostly occupies green spaces - in keeping with the royal theme I wrote about earlier - however the room he is most himself and most comfortable in is the music room/ library which is yellow and any time we see him in that space, he is wearing blue. It is telling that when the emails between Henry and Alex are hacked, his sanctuary is full of ‘old white men in suits’ and Henry cannot go in there - symbolic that who he is - his true self - has been violated and he is being forced into ‘royal coded’ spaces - back into his box as it were!
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Back to costumes and he two blue hoodies. I’m gonna get a bit of hate for this, but the blue hoodie is actually two different hoodies! - they are slightly different shades of pale blue - Alex’s is much more dusty blue, while Henry’s is much more baby blue, they are also different cuts - Alex’s a traditional sleeve cut while Henry’s has a raglan sleeve cut (think baseball tee). There is the idea with these two hoodies that they are at different points in their journeys, but still connected and i love that we see them in them at really key points of crisis - they are a comfort blanket in a way - Alex wears his during is bi crisis and again when he's watching Miguel on the news and figures out who the hack was, while Henry wears his when he lets Alex in - when he opens up and unspokenly confesses his love for Alex, when he agreed to take the step and be brave - both are wearing these hoodies in moments when they need/want comfort the fact that they are wearing such similar hoodies speaks to the fact that in it is the other they want that comfort from (even if Alex doesn't actually realise it during his min bi crisis).
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And now to our two mains - lets start with Henry.
Henry
The bulk of Henry’s wardrobe is double breasted suits - a key theme for the members of the royal family - not one else where’s them - its a fun costuming choice, cease generally speaking the double breasted suit isn’t in fashion at the moment - the film fit single breasted suits we see on the rest of the characters is. It's a very clear choice to create a them and us concept in a visual and telling way. the other thing to note about these db suits is that only Henry wears plain fabric - the ones we see on Phillip and James are pinstripe or woven stripe. I want to quickly mention the tie King James is wearing because of its very obvious pattern. it is the only loudly patterned tie in the entire film - all others are either, plain , striped or spotted. In the book Henry says that patterned ties are considered too political (i'm paraphrasing and can't find the actual quote!!) and here we have a king playing with politics wearing a patterned tie - I love tiny nods like this to the original source material that only those of us who love the book will pick up on - its just a tie to the ga!
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Henry himself wears pinstripes - when he is at his most royal - so for example when he is taking part in the PR exercise post cakegate. His ties also fit into this theming - he almost exclusively wears striped ties excepting at a couple of key moments - when he’s undertaking skulduggery and the yellow one he wears for the election. at all other times he has stripes on his tie. the stripes get wider or skinnier depending on the situation - the wide ones tend to be for royal events while the skinnier stripes tend to be connected to Alex.
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Another thing to note with Henry is the lack of black he wears - the only time is at the most royal of occasions - the wedding - all the rest of his suits are varying shades of blue or grey (and cream) even the tux he wears to the PM dinner is a dark navy with black lapel rather than black - it differentiates him from everyone else in the room (esp Miguel) and shows him as the object of Alex’s gaze. I also want to mention the royal blue theme we see on him - something I love Keith Madden for doing - Henry nearly always has something blue on him and a lot of the time (especially connected to times when he is doing something connected to his status as a royal) we see him wearing something royal blue - its why his riband at the wedding is royal blue rather than the lighter blue of the order of the garter - but we also see it in the royal blue socks we see him in several times, the royal blue pyjamas when the hack/leak comes to light and the blue shorts in Texas when he’s lying on the bed before he leaves to return to England. We also see him in a lot of blue shirts keeping that blue theme connected to him.
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Then there is my most beloved check theory - (its a theory connected to 911 for those who don’t know my costume metas already) Check is connected to foreshadowing of trouble - Henry wears a check/plaid pattern at a couple of very very key moments - at the bar in Texas - when we see Alex realise his love is the forever kind, when he is back in England having broken his own heart in a misguided attempt to save Alex (gingham shirts in pink and blue) and then the suit he wears when he choses himself over the crown and steps out onto the balcony with Alex to greet the crowds has a subtle check pattern (not sure if you can see it its the pictures but if you watch the scene you should be able to) all of these are moments which foreshadow the upcoming or current trouble in his life.
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Yellow roses - symbol of Texas being flipped - from Mexican to independent (and eventually becoming part of US) - symbol of the fact Texas is about to flip blue from red. Yellow roses are also a symbol of good luck more generally and the yellow tie is a great choice to suggest neutrality in the election scenes (at this point in time Henry still has royal status). We see Henry in a grey suit with this yellow tie - this only further highlights his escape from royal life - when he is un the US we do not see him wearing the navy blue suits we see him in in England - the only exception is the dark navy dinner jacket he wears to the PM dinner . In the US he wears either a grey suit or the cream/light blue suit we see him in when he visits the lake house and the light blue linen jacket we see him on his light back to the UK is the only single breasted jacket we ever see him in - I would have loved to have seen the grey suit at the end also have been single breasted, but I'm guessing budget constraints prevented that from happening, as it really would've highlighted the difference between Henry George Edward James Hanover-Stuart Fox and Henry Fox!
At the lake house we get a piece of costuming that I love - the slightly differing short lengths we see on Henry and Alex - it Alex’s shorts are always shorter than Henry’s - it maintains that sense of Henry be more closeted and buttoned up - the overhead shot of them on the pontoon shows it really clearly - the two of them have similar leg lengths which serves me well here to show this point - the shorts Henry is wearing are at least 3 inches longer (possibly more) than Alex's - it isn't just that one pair of shorts - all 3 pairs of Henry's shorts are longer - its a costuming choice thats s perfectly in keeping with their respective characters.
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The final thing to talk bout is Henry’s rainbow turtle swim shorts - a cute nod to his being gay - especially as Alex is is his purple bi swim shorts. But there is also the fact that they are turtles. Turtles are a symbol of steadfastness, longevity, perseverance and transformation. they can also be seen as a symbol of everlasting love. there is also the concept of carrying the weight of the world - which is seen in its most explicit way in Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels - where a giant turtle carries the world on its back. All of these metaphors and symbols perfectly fit Henry and his relationship with Alex - it is a symbol of the enduring nature of their love for each other, the perseverance we will see for them to overcome the obstacles thrown at them, the steadfastness of their love, as well the transformation we are seeing Henry go through - from closeted gay thinking he has to conform to the very rigid and dated ideals of his family - to the freer Henry we see in the US - the real Henry and the version of himself he so desperately wants to be but thinks he can’t - he has the weight of the world on his shoulders at that moment a la the disc world turtle.
Alex
Alex, obviously has the largest number of costumes, as well as the largest colour palette, but even that is pretty limited. In the same way we see Henry’s wardrobe go through a subtle transformation, we also see the same for Alex, almost in the opposite direction - while Henry’s wardrobe becomes freer, Alex’s becomes more grown up - more mature and conveys his growth as a person - becoming more certain in who he is. I’ve already written a fair amount throughs this meta about Alex’s costumes, so this section is a little shorter than Henry’s for that reason! 
We get rebellious Alex to begin with - the leather jacket easily conveys this to us, its almost a universal symbol or rebellion in costuming speak at this point and one of the reasons I like its use here is that it very quickly sets him apart from everyone else in the film - yes its early on, but he is the most casually dressed character by a long way - and this jacket it the antithesis of the buttoned up penguin suit from the wedding - it emphasises how uncomfortable Alex was in that environment and as a result gives the heavy drinking we saw before the cake went flying purpose and visually sets him up as the lead and as a rule/ convention breaker. The same is true of the greyscale with leopard print Hawaiian shirt which is meant to contrast him dramatically with Henry, who is still stuck in that stuffy double breasted suit prison of convention and expectation to behave a certain way - the costuming does a big chunk of the work in giving us rebel v prince in those opening scenes. I actually like that they brought the leather jacket back for the drive to the lake house - it sets up Alex’s falling in love arc nicely - in that it allows the idea of rebellion to continue flowing through the story - Alex wanting to be outing proud in Austin and not grasping that that isn’t an option Henry at this moment in time and is a nod to his not really understanding the different places he and Henry are in when it comes to what being out means for them respectively.
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I’ve already written about the black and white colour way we see him in until his PR stint when we start see colour appearing in his wardrobe. I’ve put the pictures roughly in chronological order because it helps to show his progression, but it also shows the increasing amount of blue in his wardrobe, especially in moments connected with Henry.
To pick out some of my favourites - the Mexican pattern shirt with the red cardigan is wonderful - we have the shirt hinting at Alex’s heritage - in blue with the chunky knit red cardigan - I’ve written above about the use offered as a colour of passion and how that passion ebbs and flows - this cardigan also plays into that idea - it is the first time their texting becomes flirty - even the text message is in a red bubble on screen. This idea carries on with the orange red tee he is wearing during the turkey conversation - I made a post about that outfit being the same colour way as the turkey in question and how to talk turkey means to talk honestly and openly with someone - the very thing we see in that scene. 
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I adore the subtle yellow and blue jacquard embroidered New years jacket - the moment our boys connect and we move further into the lovers part of the enemies-friends-lovers trope and it keeps the yellow/blue theming an active part of the storyline. - the contrast with Henry’s orange tie is a choice - while there is a lot of colour at the NYE party Alex blends into the background while Henry is quite literally tied into the orange theme we’ve already seen in the furniture and sets - orange stands out and now we the audience are being drawn into unconsciously making the same connection that Alex is making - Henry is lonely, but he is an enduring and attention grabbing part of Alex’s life - it only further reenforces the direction of Alex’s gaze - green wearing flirty girl who??
We have a fair amount of Alex and the bi colour ways and we subtly see it coming into play from more or less the moment they start messaging - the light purple tee and purple message boxes, flowing through to the women sufferage wall and the fact he is wearing blue and purple in that scene with Nora in pink to round out the there colours. then we have the blue and purple colour ways he wears at the lake house - bolder and brighter - contrasting with the more muted shades from before - showing that he has recognised and accepted that part of who he is - he’ now out and proud and his parent know about him. I’ve used the old subtle a lot, but this is yet another example of transformation and growth for a character done subtly through colour. We also see him bathed in bi lighting at the bar when he has his 'OH I feel forever about him' moment at the Texas bar - he is the only one in that whole scene lit in that way - Henry is blue lit, while there is a more general lighting scheme that is blue/red dominant for the bar as a whole.
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On to Alex’s suits and ties - he seems to have 5 suits and a jacket (not including the formal wear - tux and tails) a black one, 2 navy blue ones (one with a woven pinstripe that he wears in Paris) a bright bluish grey one and a grey one along with the black and blue waffle jacket we see him wear both on the PR trip and at the Polo match. I am obsessed with the fact that when he is in England he wears the navy suits and jackets whereas in the US he wears the other colour s suits - in the same way we see Henry less buttoned up and wearing grey and lighter blues in the US, here we see Alex fitting into Henry’s world and the navy blue suit uniform of the Royal family - its a wonderful piece of costuming that tells so much of how each of them are fitting into the others worlds, especially wen the black and navy waffle one is only worn early on - it is the cross over garment!
The ties have  a similar story to tell - we see him wearing 4 ties - a yellow one we see in the beginning in the news reel and never see him in again and then we get the lighter blue striped one at the polo match - the one most similar to the striped ones we see Henry wear - suggesting he is trying to fit into this new world - Henry’s world - that he’s been invited into - its somewhat jarring for his character and plays on the idea of trying too hard - its therefore telling we don’t see it happen again - we only see hi in a striped tie again at he end during election night and accompanied by the black suit we saw him in a couple of times on the campaign trail in Texas. the blue tie is the only other tie we see him wear and it nicely connects all the key moments he has while in his suit - key political moments - his speech at the DNC followed by his speech to the press after the email hack and when he is at Buckingham Palace facing up to the King.
The final ting to talk about is the khaki green shirt jacket - I cannot tell you how happy I was with this costuming choice (and not because it was screaming Eddie Diaz from 911 vibes) khaki is so associated with military - with the army - anti is the most perfect choice for this scene - army are about war - they go somewhere to fight - to storm the palace etc so to have Alex - who has never worn anything remotely like this before rock up to KP to fight for his relationship - for his love - is the perfect choice, its a subtle yet clever way of emphasising the Alex has chosen to fight for what he wants - for his relationship with Henry and what makes it more telling is that we only see him change out of it once Henry has explicitly stated that he will try to be brave and that he wants history to include his love for Alex. It is why we see Alex in the yellow and blue Mexican patterned jacket - he no longer needs fight for his love because he has won - this yellow/blue jacket is a piece of costume tied into pivotal moments - we see the jacket twice - when he wins his bid to get the Claremont campaign to focus on Texas and Ellen tells him he’s going to Texas, and again when he has won the day with Henry and they are back together - in some ways that makes this his victory jacket - victory in his own personal battles - battles that are central to who he is and his development and I think that’s petty neat!
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Hopefully you've enjoyed this deep dive into the sets and costumes of the film - I've loved writing it and I can only hope its coherent! Feel free to hit me up with any questions or comments and likes and reblogs are love ❤️🤍💙 thank you for reading and until next time...
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kingdomofred · 2 months
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Burn & Burn Again (Male Yandere!Writer x GN!Reader)
feat. Sun Vasileiou Nevrakis
♡ pt.1, approx. 1.2k words | prev. | next.
♡ post-specific warnings: reader is slightly self-depreciating, very short innuendos, mentions of cannibalism, mentions of people going missing | series warnings: yandere themes, reader is a horrendous flirt
♡ a/n: this is purely a work of fiction. yandere behaviour in real life is a cause of concern. unedited, not proofread.
♡♡♡
Eventually, you did ask him what little questions you remembered after being rendered speechless by his attractiveness for a while. You talked for hours, actually; he'd warmed up to you, and you'd finally managed to stop making a fool of yourself, for the most part. At one point, you even managed to bring up a topic that had been the centre of many online discussions.
His love life.
If you said you were surprised to hear he didn't have one, well, that would be an understatement. In hindsight, the way you'd gawked at him at his reply was a little unnecessary and overly dramatic. It's not like every conventially attractive person on earth had a partner, or didn't struggle to find one. Hell, some people weren't even interested in love, attractive or not. You were so stupid, honestly.
In any case, Sun had timidly admitted that he was single and had always been. To which you dumbly said you could change. You actually slapped yourself physically when you let those words slip. Luckily, it seemed to humour him more than creep him out.
He'd said that he'd never really felt romantically attracted to anyone before, even though there had been no shortage of people asking him out. At one point, he mused, he entertained the idea that he was strictly platonic, but came to terms with the fact that he actually really wanted to go on cute bookstore dates and visit cafés with someone that would make his heart flutter. Well, he certainly made your heart flutter.
He concluded that he just hadn't met the right person yet, and you decided to shoot your shot before he could finish his sentence. You'd give him butterflies and birds. That didn't paint the most desirable picture, but he agreed nonetheless, red to his neck.
You were so overjoyed, you almost left without actually getting his contact details, and Sun grabbed your sleeve hastily to stop you. You thought the way he scrambled to let you go, stuttering an apology and flushing from embarrassment was positively endearing. He pulled his phone from his pocket and that was how you managed to get his number and a date scheduled for the weekend.
You grinned happily as you thought about it all, rolling over in your bed and opening your messaging app. There were a few texts from Bea, who you were just dying to spill the beans to. Although, however much it hurt you to keep secrets from her, Sun had wanted to keep things as private as possible. It was understandable given his popularity and the lengths that certain people went to get any information on him. For now, you just had to pretend that you didn't have anything going on behind the scenes, and if you did get together sometime in the future, Bea would be the first to know. You promised yourself that.
After sending her a few memes you'd found funny, you were clicking on Sun's contact, fingers hovering over your keyboard without any idea what to text him. You'd exchanged greetings and decided a date, but that was about it. What you really wanted was to break some of the ice now. You were decidedly less of a bumbling idiot when you were behind a screen and could filter your words.
You: It's pretty warm today, huh?
You hit send, fairly satisfied with how smooth that sounded in your head. A reply came a few minutes later.
Sun: it's minus thirteen degrees?
Sun: there's snow.
Your self-contented smile dropped at that. Ugh, you were so uncool. It was the middle of winter. How could you forget?
You: Ahahaha. No, I meant I'm pretty warm today.
You cringed at yourself, typing out another message to try and come back from the disaster your thought-to-text filter was.
You: Hot.
You: I'm hot.
You: Because of you.
Sun's typing bubble popped up on your screen, and you were just about ready to scream. Why did it sound like you were trying to make a move on him?! To be honest, you were. But that was in general, not right now!
Sun: ???
For how long he was typing, those three question marks did not suffice. Clearly, he was at just as much of a loss of words as you were, and he was a writer. You had so blown it.
Sun: you must be nervous again
Sun: relax. take your time. it's only me.
Yes, the whole issue was that it was only him and he was literally perfect. Still, he was giving you a chance to redeem yourself. Oh, he was almost as sweet as Bea.
You: Sorry, sorry.
You: I just wanted to ask how you are.
You: I don't know what's wrong with me.
You nibbled on your nails, waiting for him.
Sun: haha, it's okay.
Sun: you asked in the end, right?
Sun: i'm okay, hbu?
Shit. Shit, how were you supposed to respond to that. You quickly switched to your browser and searched suave replies to people asking how you are. Trusty internet.
You: I'm okay too.
You: Just sitting around.
You: Ahaha.
Oh no, that last bit wasn't a part of the article you skipped through. Y/N, why did you have to do the stupid awkward-laugh-thing over text now, too? Actually, you did it a few messages ago as well. You were hopeless.
Sun: then
Sun: wanna go out w/ me?
Sun: there's a place i wanna visit for writing inspo
Your face lit up. He was totally asking you on a date! Maybe you'd managed to charm him with your oddness, and he couldn't wait until the weekend to meet you again. Regardless of the reason, you were quick to send an affirmative reply and get up to rifle through your wardrobe for a flattering outfit to wear.
♡♡♡
"So..." you gulped, "an abandoned circus, huh?"
"Yeah." Sun turned his head to you, beaming as though he hadn't just invited you to explore a crime scene with him. "This was the grounds of the travelling circus where patrons began going missing in 1997. None of the people have been found to this day."
You shuddered visibly. You'd watched a documentary on this place a few years ago with Bea. Apparently, it was suspected to be the base of operations for a cannibalistic organisation. All the police and relevant forces who'd been dispatched to the field all went missing, too, so investigations had to be suspended. The entire area had been abandoned shortly after news had gotten out about the incidents and hadn't been used since. Your gut was telling you this wasn't a good idea — you really didn't want to die.
Taking a deep breath, you started on your excuse. "Y'know, I just remembered-"
"Let's hold hands, 'kay?" Sun cut you off, intertwining his long fingers with yours and effectively causing your brain to short-circuit from the close contact. He was so warm. "It's okay to be scared, but I'll protect you." He smiled at you, squeezing your palm firmly and leaning down to whisper, "all these muscles aren't just for show, after all."
You choked on the saliva that had gathered at the back of your throat, glad that you at least saved some face by not drooling at the sliver of skin exposed to you from his low-neck shirt. That, in itself, was a miracle. "Okay." You relented easily, all caution thrown to the wind like a fart dissipating. Now that it had been brought to your attention, Sun was tall and looked very strong. It would be fine.
What's the worst that could happen?
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simplykorra · 9 months
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Do you have any tips for aspiring fanfic writers? <3
it's going to take time to get your fics to the place you want them to be. writing is just like anything else, you have to keep at it and eventually you'll learn and grow and get better.
don't be afraid to take chances either - write crazy ideas, write fun things, write things super outlandish and see if you can fit it into the characters - the most fun i have, especially with ava and bea, is creating weird scenarios and then seeing if i can make it still feel like them.
take what you read and apply it to your own stuff. structure and styles, flow choices and pacing. the best way to learn is to soak in all the good stuff out there and add it to your tool belt.
make sure your structure is proper, with quotations and new paragraphs when someone new starts speaking. i picture line breaks like camera cuts in a movie - if the camera would cut during a scene, even with no dialogue, i break to a new line (i hope this one makes sense lol
don't be afraid to use character names every single time. unless the narrating character doesn't know someone's name, they should always use another person's name to describe them. not 'the blonde one' not 'the brown eyed girl' or 'the florist' or 'the barista' - names always.
do it for yourself. write stories you want to read. i get asked a lot if i read my own stuff and i absolutely do, because every story i've written was written for me - the plot, the choices, the endings, they are the way they are because they're what i wanted
lastly, remember it's all about having fun. we don't make money doing this, we do it because we enjoy it and because we love these characters and want to spend more time with them. it's supposed to be fun.
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violivs · 2 months
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NMTDaily: Football Antics Part One
- I’m just cracking up at how nervous Beatrice is! The nervous babbling! And it is definitely because, since she hasn’t started school yet, this football game is the first time she’s seen Benedick since moving to Auckland- since they were 14, really. (I don’t think she was there when Ursula filmed his part of Vox Pops, or at least she was better able to avoid him then. No avoiding being seen here though!)
- Bea may be in denial, but her “holy shit my crush-that-got-away is Right Over There In Person” energy is radiating! Which is perfect adaptation work for Miss Starts The Play By Oh-So-Casually Asking About Benedick And Playing It Off With Insults.
- “We’re here to support Leo, we’re here to Support The Boys, we’re here to see Pedro, and Definitely No One Else, At All, Promise” 👀 I see you Beatrice
- “I’m sure he’ll be wonderful, and so will-“ *Extremely Long, Pointed Pause* “-everyone, really.” Hero knows what’s up!!! And Bea just assumes she’s talking about Claudio, which, yeah, but the way Hero looks really intently at Bea on this line and says it with such intention- she is teasing Bea about Ben here for sure.
- Bea and Hero are having a sass-off complete with impressions of each other and Ursula is all “just keep taking pictures, they’ll get tired eventually”. Ursula is a treasure.
- The sass-off is also great! I love that Hero, as nice as she is, can still hold her own against Beatrice here. It’s a good thing, because making fun of people is kind of a love language for Beatrice.
- Starting in on Meg again (poor Meg), as a way to seed some backstory that will matter later! (Robbie got kicked off the team, hmmmm.)
- And Bea immediately pivots to bring up Claudio. The fast forward through Hero’s gushing is so funny and cute. She was definitely trying to say Robert Pattinson reminds her of Claudio, which, I can see it. 2014 is calling again though, right at the end of the Twilight era. If this series were set much earlier we would definitely have heard Bea hating on Twilight, lol.
- “He’s nice!” being the only thing she can say, says a lot. And Ursula being the one who gets Hero to admit she thinks he’s cute, awww. The hiding behind the hair! The oohing over Hero’s crush is majorly bringing me back to what it was like to be a teenager, it’s adorable. Poor Hero lol
- Ah yes, “Leo says we can’t film the match” AKA the in-world explanation for not being able to make an actual football scene realistic. I say that with zero judgement. The workaround of Leo saying no is cleverly done, and makes sense since the only plot-relevant stuff goes on on the sidelines anyway.
- The little moment of Hero narrating the game! I love that. She’s so into it that she forgets she’s not supposed to mention Ben in front of Bea, and then she starts worrying about Claudio which is also very cute.
- (My brain instinctively: Ooh! Ben mention! First Ben mention by name in a Hero and Bea vlog!!!! Milestone!)
- Enter Meg! (and Robbie). “I’m going to be the real star, you just don’t know it yet!” An icon.
- Robbie throwing out a Game of Thrones reference, it’s like a signal that he’s sort of part of the group for now, but his energy is Off. Dark colors, never really looking at anyone but Meg. Bad vibes.
- And Meg and Robbie as a visual sign of Bea’s discomfort with relationships, her idea that they’re all PDA and no boundaries. That in Bea’s and to some degree Hero’s eyes, Meg chooses Robbie over their friendships, over homework, almost over her own self, and Bea does not want that imbalance for herself at all. But she doesn’t know how to express her discomfort and concern in any other way but scorn for Meg. So much character work for so many different characters in one episode at once, I love it.
- I love Ursula sticking up for Meg, even if it’s never particularly fun watching other people make out. This is an Ursula Appreciation Liveblog, and I’m also still loving her tumblr, btw.
- Part Two next and it’s time for the I Know You Of Old scene! Ahhh!
- BUT FIRST: another video I didn’t know was posted so early, and get ready, because I’m about to be insufferable in this next one. I will not be able to help myself. My boy is about to enter the scene! My beautiful cringe-y boy! How I’ve missed him!!! Next liveblog post coming soon, I hope. 😊
💖🦩🥭
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enigmasandepiphanies · 8 months
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listen I was just telling my friend that so many parts of miss Americana and the Heartbreak Prince are so Alex and Henry
1. the title of the song duh
2. You know I adore you, I'm crazier for you fhan I was at 16, lost in a film scene, waving homecoming queens, marching band playing ~ henry literally in love with Alex for years
3. no cameras catch my pageant smile, I counted days, I counted miles to see you there, to see you there ~ the whole scenes of them trying to see each other, keeping their relationship under wraps
4. It's been a long time coming, but it's you and me, that's my whole world ~ very end speech coded and also the whole bea and alex scene on I will love him on purpose, alex asking henry that he'll only leave if he tells him too, the dance in v and a scene, karaoke scene SO MUCH AAH
5. you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes ~ entire polo scene, like their competitiveness which is so canon
6. We're so sad, we paint the town blue, voted most likely to run away with you ~ do i need to elaborate the times they have run towards each other
7. leave with my head hung, you are the only one who seems to care ~ henry caring about Alex's family problems, the moment when he got vulnerable (also the turkey scene lowkey cause only henry listened to the whinings of Alex)
8. And now the storm is coming, but It's you and me, that's my whole world ~ them fighting together against media when elevator pictures got leaked, faking it but they are in it together
9. And I don't want you to (go), I don't really wanna (fight)
'Cause nobody's gonna (win), I think you should come home
And I don't want you to (go), I don't really wanna (fight)
'Cause nobody's gonna (win), I think you should come home
And I don't want you to (go), I don't really wanna (fight)
'Cause nobody's gonna (win), just thought you should know
And I'll never let you (go) 'cause I know this is a (fight)
That someday we're gonna (win)~ DO I NEED TO EXPLAIN THE BRIDGE
10. It's you and me, that's my whole world They whisper in the hallway, "She's a bad, bad girl" She's a bad, bad girl ~ they are both bad girl coded, cause the banter but ughhh it's kinda alex for me
BUT PLEASE SCREAM WITH ME THANK YOU SO MUCH
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mp3minded · 1 month
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note: this was written before volume 12's release.
The Liam Route Experience, in Casa Amor.
Going back to the beginning of Casa Amor for a Liam redo, I knew I'd experience the worst of his behavior again. Which, on the one hand, really put my quest for him to the test, to say the least. (Here are all the times where I let my MC keep her backbone, and Liam in check 💀)
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(And for the record, he was lying about Bea here 🤡 but MC couldn't know that then, realistically 😭)
On the other hand.. I'd also say it was worth the trip back. 👀 It was funny to see everyone look at MC crazy, whenever she expressed interest in Liam;
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And uwu there was a number of things that jumped out at me this time 'round, now that I only had my attention on all things Liam. Despite how much he initially banged on about Bea, he did nothing with her on the 1st night of Casa, even though she was open to bedtime kisses by then, one can assume;
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And, speaking of The Liam List.. he put Claudia below "Emel" (the interchangeable other OG girl) because she'd of been more "difficult" to win over. And, MC was below Claudia. It can be easily argued that, he knew he couldn't gameplay his way to MC, which was why he didn't bother in the first place. He just avoided his own opinion on her, by talking about what he thinks she thought of him instead—classic deflection. Why was that only done for MC? 👁☕️
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Not mention something else I connected the dots on, which I think is a huge revelation.. Liam infamously flopped the Mr. and Mrs. Challenge with Bea, since he basically zoned out during his entire date with her. But MC? He's got quite an opinion on her situation with the OG!LI, to where he wanted to plant a seed of doubt with them—and why would he want to do that? 👁 I think it's a shady/sabotaging form of grafting.
In any case, this moment here showed me that yes, he was keeping tabs on MC, more than he normally lets on 👁☕️
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Even though he never really verbally reciprocated MC's flirts with him.. he did always say "thank you, MC" whenever she did, and. I don't know why, I found that kinda cute uwu and i like imagining him say my name in an earnest way too OKAY SHUSH 😭💀
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When him and MC do share 'lil moments together, it's so innocent? 🥺 like I think the best example of this was during the one-on-one you can have with him at the Casa pool.
At first, I didn't expose his gameplaying to Bea because I thought something would come out of that choice, but it just made the scene shorter to the point of boredom, and through exposing him instead, I got the chance to then apologize;
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And this is from taking the high ground, instead of pushing him into the pool (which I did do the last time, so I haven't seen this before 😭);
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And, oh my god. This next moment (from the same scene) below, tore me up so bad, that I kept revisiting it in my photo gallery in-between my breaks from replay, and my imagination would just run on overtime, everytime. If there was ever, a screencap picture that could say a thousand words on its own, it'd be this one;
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THE IMPLICATIONS!!!! FROM SO EARLY ON!!!! WHY is he giving me those puppy eyes!? 😭🥺
At first, I thought we could've only seen GLIMPSES of what can be learned during later interactions with him in the villa—that he doesn't find MC as ineligible for him, as he lied about in Casa. So yeah, when I saw this, I.. well. I think I'd rather save those first impressions for fic writing, I found it that thought provoking 🥺
Like, why did Liam want MC to stay? 🥺
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it's got me so emo like—GOD. I have to see his route through now, come hell or high water.
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netflixandchilis · 10 months
Text
My thoughts on the Red, White, & Royal Blue movie (as someone who has read the book four times)
I was so excited when I heard that this book was being adapted into a film. As time went on, my anticipation continued to grow. When the casting announcement came out I was elated, and then trepidatious, but I kept my hopes high. I think it is important to remember that, above all else, this film is a rom-com. With that said, my thoughts:
(*Spoilers Ahead*)
1. Alex and Henry
Let's start with the biggest element here, the stars. When I saw the casting announcement my first thought was "wow I can't believe my favorite characters are going to be on-screen". My second was, "aren't they a little old to be playing Alex and Henry". I kept this thought until I watched it and I have to say they make total sense in the context of the film. Aging them up was a great decision in my mind, it made me feel like the characters were at a point in their life where their romance wasn't a fling before growing up, but a conscious decision to have their established lives intertwine. In the book, McQuistion has 400 pages to let us see into the minds of these characters, which doesn't translate well on screen. I also think having a fun queer rom-com for people in their mid-20s is rare.
2. June not being in the film
I missed the "White House Trio" immensely but I think that if June had been in the film she would have been lost. Everything I loved about her wouldn't have made the final cut, I saw this even with Nora and Pez. However, this meant that the found family trope was not included and that was my favorite part of the book.
3. The Richards Campaign
I was disappointed that the Richards campaign and Senator Luna weren't the crux of the third act, I think that made the book so riveting and added a layer of political intrigue to Alex's side. Henry is seen as the one who would face any backlash but the Richards scandal showed that American politics can be just as messy and controlling. The film didn't show this and instead, it is implied that Alex's former hookup leaked the emails. I hated this, but I understand that they couldn't include the original antagonist. I also think this sends the message that a queer person's greatest enemy is their own community or even themselves. At the end of the day, Alex was outed by a jealous ex and Henry was shown that he was the only one preventing himself from living the life he wanted. He didn't have to give the monarchy an ultimatum backed up by his mother and family, he just chose to not listen.
4. Princess Bea
I wish so badly they would have included or even alluded to Bea's substance abuse. Learning that made me sympathize with her character and love how she was there for Henry. In the film, I feel like she is ambivalent about the control the monarchy has. She is very caring of Henry but I feel that not including how her life has been shaped by rigidity made her lack the depth she had in the book.
5. The Karaoke Scene
My favorite scene in the book is the karaoke scene, which was changed in the film. The karaoke scene is the first time we see the prince fully let loose and be himself. It's a scene where Henry allows himself to be flamboyant and unrestricted and that didn't happen in the movie. Instead, it was in a podunk country bar in Texas. I think the scene could have had the same vibe as the book at least. The characters were in Austin, they could have at least gone to a gay bar. I found the lack of silk kimonos devastating.
+1 Things that I wish made it to the film
Ellen's powerpoint
Alex outside the palace before the love confession
Henry talking about having to join the army
The vase!!!!!
Hall & Oates
Henry playing Your Song
Cornetto scene (which I KNOW they filmed)
Prince Henry's sass (+Nora introducing him to Drag Race)
"I'm taking a picture of a national gay landmark... and also a statue"
Henry's philanthropy and refusal to use royal funds
Final thoughts
I have seen the film twice fully through now and I have rewatched some of my favorite clips, overall I love the film. I think I, as well as any hardcore fans of the book, would have loved to see more. I've seen a lot of people say they wish this would have been made into a series, but I think that would never work. Don't get me wrong I would love it and watch it endlessly, but that isn't what this book was about. At the end of the day, the book is about the Prince of England and the First son falling in love, and that is what made it into the movie. Do I think it deserves an Oscar, no, but I also have seen The Proposal over fifty times and I don't think that's a groundbreaking film either. This is a very well-done rom-com that I will rewatch when I want to feel happy and wholesome. And when I want to see political betrayal, silk kimonos, developing friendships, and vulnerable conversations over ice cream, I will reread the book, the same way I have been for the past three years.
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vintagetvstars · 2 months
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Submissions and Bracket Update!
Hello everyone! It has officially been one week since launching this blog and opening submissions for our first hot vintage tv stars tournament, the hot vintage tv women's bracket! We are currently sitting at 118 total submissions! With at least 79 hot vintage TV ladies submitted. So far I've managed to sort through about half of them. Because we have a decent number of submissions I am currently planning on closing submissions on Friday, April 5th. This will give everyone a few more days to get in submissions before we start our tournament. Submission have slowly been winding down each day so it seemed like giving everyone a few more days to submit their favs and then getting to work setting up the bracket would be ideal. Though, if enough people feel like we should gather more submissions first and give everyone a little more time then I'm happy to push this proposed date back. But right now with almost 80+ submissions I think that's enough to give us a satisfying and fun bracket. After Submissions close I'll take some time to finish organizing everything before polls go up for round 1. There will probably be some housekeeping things after submissions close so stay tuned. As of right now I am shooting to start round 1 sometime between April 8th - 12th depending on how long I need to get things set up behind the scenes. So stay tuned for an announcement on the exact date! One housekeeping thing before the list of current hot vintage tv lady contestants. It seems there might have been a bit of confusion on how to fill out the submission form.
The place for the contestants name is where you put the name of the hot vintage tv lady you are submitting for the bracket.
And the suggested poll pic is for you to place a link to a picture of your hot vintage tv lady that I can use to represent them in the polls.
If you filled out the form incorrectly previously, no problem, please feel free to resubmit your fav with the form properly filled out this time. I can't use submissions that are submitted incorrectly, I simply don't have enough time to try and figure out what was intended from limited information. I've updated the form to clarify these things. Finally bellow is the current list of submitted hot vintage tv ladies for the bracket! Please keep in mind that this list is subject to change as I have only gone through about half of the submissions so far. It's possible there might be people on this list that will be disqualified later for not meeting our criteria.
If your fav isn't on the list, then they aren't in the bracket, so please feel free to submit them while submissions remain open!
Nichelle Nichols
Mary Tyler Moore
Bea Arthur
Diana Rigg
Gillian Anderson
Carol Burnett
Loretta Swit
Marlo Thomas
Lynda Carter
Betty White
Rue McClanahan
Barbara Feldon
Fran Drescher
Carolyn Jones
Claudia Black
Lisa Bonet / Lilakoi Moon
Sarah Michelle Gellar
Sarah Jessica Parker
Elizabeth Montgomery
Kathryn Leigh Scott
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Miranda Richardson
Melissa Joan Hart
Mariska Hargitay
Lisa Robin Kelly
Elisabeth Sladen
Leighton Meester
Barbara Stanwyck
Kellye Nakahara
Shannen Doherty
Carol Cleveland
Aimi MacDonald
Catherine Bach
Valerie Harper
Jane Krakowski
Amanda Tapping
Penelope Keith
Kylie Minogue
Jonelle Allen
Rachel Bilson
Terry Farrell
Joanna Lumley
Siân Phillips
Karyn Parsons
Courteney Cox
Sherilyn Fenn
Eliza Dushku
Debbie Allen
Lucy Lawless
Jane Seymour
Jan Smithers
Carole André
Nana Visitor
Jackée Harry
Janet Hubert
Yvonne Craig
Peggy Lipton
Lisa Hartman
Julie Newmar
Anne Francis
Barbara Eden
Vivica A Fox
Grayson Hall
Joan Bennet
Julia Duffy
Mag Ruffman
Gina Torres
Mira Furlan
Tina Louise
Lara Parker
Eartha Kitt
Deidre Hall
Dawn French
Dawn Wells
Lalla Ward
Kat Graham
Joan Chen
Eva Gabor
Eve Arden
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rockyroadkylers · 5 months
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2023 Writing Roundup
@hgejfmw-hgejhsf tagged me to do this, and @inexplicablymine actually did, too, a while back, so here we go!
i haven't written much this year- well, no, okay, that's a lie, in terms of word count i've written quite a lot, but in terms of how many fics i've posted, i don't have that many to share, here. but i'm pretty dang proud of what i do have!
May
I Will Soften Every Edge (I'll Do Better) - MCU, 6.6k, T
Tony Stark is unexpectedly thrust into parenthood when he discovers that Spider-Man is not only fourteen years old, but also his son. He's unsure how to proceed from there, until the Vulture destroys a ferry full of people and Tony learns something about his son that makes him reevaluate his own behavior. Gift for hold_our_destiny from my Fic Raffle on Tumblr.
October
It's Nice to Have a Friend - RWRB, 59k, 11 chapters, T
Two boys meet on a beach, build a sand castle, write letters, and fall in love.
November
After Everything, I Must Confess I Need You - RWRB, 5.8k, T
“Fuck,” he gasps, tears springing to his eyes and mixing with the rainwater on his face. He’s not sure if the tears are from the asphalt biting into his palms, or if it’s a release of the emotions he’s been trying to shove down deep ever since he woke up to an empty top bunk at the lake house. Wait. Asphalt. Over the pounding rain, Alex hears the shrill sound of a horn honking, and looks up just in time to be blinded by a pair of headlights coming straight at him. OR: When Alex dares Henry to tell him to leave, Henry actually does. Neither of them could have predicted what happens next.
Upcoming in 2024:
i picked the petals, he loves me not
canon divergence starting from the day Alex and Henry met in Rio, following an AU where Alex develops Hanahaki Disease from Henry asking Shaan to get rid of him.
currently untitled sequel to It's Nice to Have a Friend
Picking up where chapter ten left off (Alex and Henry finally getting together), the sequel will follow the boys as they navigate their new relationship through the ups and downs of long distance, therapy, school, and Ellen's 2016 presidential campaign.
This Love is Worth the Fight
a surprisingly highly-requested sequel to After Everything, I Must Confess I Need You. It will likely be another longfic, due to the amount of ideas I've made notes of, but I don't have anything concrete, yet.
1/124th of a second (credit to Beas for the genius title)
Actor!Henry, Photographer!Alex AU. Sort of an enemies to lovers premise. I won't actually be able to write this one until Mary and George comes out, I don't think, because the premise of it is Alex taking a job as the photographer taking pictures of Henry to promote his role as George Villiers in Mary and George, and he watches the show to prepare for the job, so I might need to be able to actually reference some of the scenes in order to write about Alex watching the show, lol. Other than that, this fic is entirely outlined, so it should be easy to write... once I have access to clips of the show for reference, pfft.
this has been fun to do! so much of the writing i've done this year has taken place over the last four months, that sometimes i forget i did any writing before the month of September 😂 but i did! and it's good writing, too, as hard as that is for me to remember, sometimes.
tagging: @matherines, @firenati0n, @affectionatelyrs, @anincompletelist, @littlemisskittentoes, @read-and-write-, @happiness-of-the-pursuit, @songliili, @wordsofhoneydew
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queenretcon · 10 months
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I have slept on it, so here is a mostly unorganized list of every thought currently in my head on the blue beetle movie. lots of spoilers. this is really long.
SHE WASNT BEAS DAUGHTER. I WAS STRESSED.
That was straight up Ted’s origin story. Why did a Jaime movie include Pago island or carapax at all. You could’ve made a movie about one of Jaime’s stories and you literally just adapted Wein Beetle?
(Despite my frustration at it being included in a Jaime led movie, it was a good adaption of that source material. but again, why make it the source material?????)
I don’t know why DC doesn’t believe the best legacy character of all time can stand on his own two feet and why they don’t understand the magic of the three beetles all bringing something radically different to the legacy but it was my biggest frustration.
Despite that, I thought it was a really good movie, and in the end most of the things that frustrated me won’t matter to the kids getting to see themselves reflected for the first time. And people in my theatre definitely enjoyed it. Jenny & Jaime’s kiss got like. A lot of claps. I am not with them in that space but it was nice the movie got applause.
He was a perfect Jaime. I knew he would be, but goddamn. In general, it was a really well-directed and acted movie with great visual design with a script that was very weak at points.
(people clowned on the ‘family makes me strong’ cliche stuff in the trailers and it was very cliche and on the nose in how the script incorporated it.)
I am probably going to see it again soon now that I’m not sleep deprived and sick with anxiety over the whole thing fdjdjjsksk
okay into specific shit I keep thinking about: Bro was that Jarvis’s skull or Dan’s they crushed. that shit is haunting me.
Victoria sucks. Jenny is generic and doesn’t make sense to me but not offensive. I liked Rudy by the end.
I think most of Jenny’s screen time would have been better spent on setting Khaji Da up as a character rather than a resource. That “KHAJI DA” moment was fucking electric when it happened in the comics for the first time and the movie totally mishandled it. Khaji should be a huge presence in a Jaime movie I feel.
On that note, the “Khaji, I need you” was probably one of my fave moments. More of that would’ve made me happy.
The first scene with the transformation was pure fucking joy. They captured perfectly the terror and horror of Hamner’s art in those first few issues when Jaime doesn’t have control yet and the suit looked SO good. I didn’t think it looked bad by any means in previews but even after seeing all those previews I literally gasped seeing it because it looked so much better on the big screen. Seeing the picture perfect recreation of the lights at the fingertips was like a transcendent experience I’m different now
In general the fight scenes were great. I still hate Khaji’s voice and how much the movie version seems modeled after iron man shit but seeing the reach alphabet on screen was like. A level of joy I didn’t expect it to be fjdksksks and the moments of khaji just pulling out toy after toy to an increasingly into it jaime was really fun
I was nervous about grown up milagro because I just personally have a very firm concept of grown up milagro she’s important to my future jli ideas but um. mouthy goth in stompy boots with fishnets who punches hard and calls women hot is actually literally exactly who she is to me so. big fan of that adaption.
They did Bianca DIRTY. I liked that she influenced Khaji to start speaking Spanish (I love that khaji started speaking Spanish) but she felt like a totally different, worse character than comics Bianca who fucking rules. leaving out entirely that she was a doctor frustrated me and could’ve made the Alberto heart attack scene much better. A lot of more interesting character was lost to “streamlining” that wouldn’t have been necessary if they focused Jaime’s movie on Jaime’s supporting cast instead of ted kord fanfic
Killing Alberto was a fucking mistake and focusing a JAIME REYES story on anger and revenge was frustrating. So much of what makes him special was ignored I felt and they tried to make him a more generic superhero type when Jaime was a new kind of hero who influenced a lot of legacies that came after him.
Which leads me to Dan! The decision to make Dan’s connection to Khaji the same as Jaime’s sucked. Jaime is special BECAUSE he can utilize the scarab in a way neither of his predecessors could. They undercut THE PROTAGONIST to make some old white guys look better. It made me very frustrated.
No dentist reference :( pre-law instead :(
Nana being a former revolutionary was delightful, but her using a ted-designed Gatling gun to mow people down completely ruined any attempts to have Jenny stopping kord industries from making weapons matter. That SHOULD have been a good plot point, but the movie couldn’t stand by it.
Here is the section where, despite complaining the movie focused on Ted too much, I focus on Ted too much:
Listen he’s bad at having a secret identity but not “scarab tile mosaic over the secret entrance to his lab” bad
I understand the narrative & social reasons to have Jenny’s mom be what inspired Ted to be a better person than his family but as a Ted fan it did irk me to imply his compassion for the little guy was something he had to learn rather than something he always had that set him at odds with his family. Like I understand why and I don’t have an issue with it being included in this version of the story but I am required to point out it isn’t true of the comics character
I wanted to hate the extended focus on teds lab but omg that’s my friends teds houseeeeee. I loved the suit and the video game console and the fact it was my friends teds houseeeee in a movieeeeee
I lost my goddamn mind at ‘like Batman but with ADHD’ like yes! you correctly boiled him down to his essence!
when Jaime went to put on some of Ted’s clothes I was like ‘lol they’re not putting him in anything Ted would wear’ and then he walked out in a matching silk tracksuit in beetle colors so like yeah movie you got me there he would own that
BUG AS MECHA. I was BESIDE MYSELF.
Like I can NOT stop thinking about that scene. With the bug crawling over the wall while some Ted-as-hell 80s music blared with three of my favorite little comic people inside. I am also different now after this scene. I will probably see this movie in theaters several more times just for this scene.
“Kickstart my heart” being the song tho Ted you are so annoying and I love you
me for most of the movie: SHUT UP ABOUT TED SHUT UPPPPP
me at the after credits scene: if I don’t hear everything about ted right now I will die
I find ‘trapped in a computer’ stories really compelling and unsettling. The chances of me writing movie verse fic with fucked up weird tech horror is high. I love tech horror.
Mike Norton is related to a family friend and from the area and I happened to go to the movie with my family bc I was visiting for my moms birthday and so we did all lose our minds at somebody we’ve met being thanked in a movie credits fjdjdjsksk
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Forman Family Photos
Love how they kept the original photos from the living room, I think I remember hearing Debra Jo Rupp had them. Seeing the photo with Betty White so clearly in scene of That ‘90s Show really tugged at my heart, even if Bea wasn’t the nicest Betty White was a National treasure and played her wonderfully!
Also I absolutely adore that they put a picture of just Red and Kitty on the shelves too, looks like it could be from ‘First Date’ maybe clothes looks similar..either way I love the detail and the frame 💛
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