#after some time in the theatre it's like. Oh all my otps need to just do a thematic duedan it would solve everything | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

allkinds-oftrash · 3 years

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Ya girl is watching the latest HSM series ep and Imma live blog it hshshs and will add my reactions under the cut so it doesn't end up a long post. Anyways, let's goo:

AHHHH THE MORNING SHOW WITH GINA AND EJ WE LOVE TO SEE IT

They really said we're gonna let life imitate art with Nini and Olivia huh

Ricky was SUPPORTIVE??? Damnn I really thought we gonna get a classic Ricky tantrum....

But also wow sir that sounds salty and should definitely talk to someone abt how you're feeling...A therapist maybe 👀

I know we needed to contextualise how Ricky felt abt the song but I really wanted to see Nini's interview in full!!

Sebby you're so cute I do wanna see yall do DEH

Shjshshs not the rights not being available for another 5 years 😭😭

I dunno how they're in great shape and closer to the Menkies Gold after not having a single proper rehearsal, but go off Miss Jenn

Omg honestly Kourt's costumes are always amazing and on point Imma excited to see it

Kourt is such a simp we love to see it

Carlos is so pissy this episode we love to see it shshhs

Also love the way Seb calms him down and keeps him nice it's such a funny dynamic

"We had 20 people make our Belle dress over 50 hours" Okay North High shut the fuck up

I'm calling it now the reason North High knows so much is cos Howie is the leak and Kourt has been unwittingly telling him. The way her phone keeps going off as they discuss how North High knows everything is really good foreshadowing if my prediction is right

Also like her phone went off just as Carlos said "How did they know that?" THAT'S PEAK FORESHADOWING

If Howie ain't in North High, I dunno what Tim is doing

GSJAGSHAH KOURTNEY MAKING ABS FOR EJ I CANNOT

"I have abs" We know sweetie

"I PADDED THE THUSH FOR YOU" "AWW THANKS KOURT I NEEDED THAT" THIS INTERACTION IS EVERYTHING THAT WAS SO FUNNY!! I love that it is now canon that EJ has abs but no butt love that for him

Okay but like damn these costumes are great!! North High can fuck right off with its high end ones I just wanna see lowkey homemade costumes by students; I'd watch a Broadway show if I wanted to see professional costumes okay

Damn Carlos has killer eyesight clocking in that mask in the trunk

GINA BBY DON'T SAY THAT AND HAHSGSH NINI NUDGING HER WAS SO FUNNY

Nini's little look over at Gina was like "Omg you guys my girlfriend is so cute and dumb" GINI STANS HOW WE FEELING?

Miss Jenn don't be that naive, your boyfriend probably put them up to it

That Insta page is prophetic with their timing tbh; all the info is a leak obviously looking at your Howie but like the timing of it all. Those kiddos don't know that they are discussing the stolen mask at this exact moment (Kourt has put down her phone after Carlos snapped at her so Howie doesn't know they are talking abt it rn)

"We don't dance with the enemy" *cuts to her dancing with Zackey later*

SEBBY WEARING THE TEACUP COSTUME OMG HE'S GOING MAKE SUCH A CUTE CHIP (yes I am still mad Seb/Joe was robbed but Imma fangirl over the costume anyway)

Wtf why does North High look so expensive - they are literally in the same district as East High right??? How did they get this much funding

North High is a very artsy and rich for a public school; they should have had Nini go here instead of YAC tbh (like this campus feels like what YAC should have been) NOW THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN AN INTERESTING STORYLINE

Seblos' dynamic IS ON POINT THIS EP I really love my bois so much and their back and forth is hilarious

Shhshs DIANE who loves volleyball and North High okay I totally believe it

WHY ARE RED AND ASHLYN SO KINKY EVERY DAMN EPISODE TIM THESE ARE UNDERAGED CHARACTERS STOP IT

Shshsh we love Gina knowing herself and practicing self control by volunteering to be the lookout

Omg yall listen to Carlos and stfu they are so lucky no one saw or heard them yelling Wildcats

Oh no no no no no Miss Jenn you gonna get sucked in; this is gonna be so messy

Omg I saw someone post about this scene before I watched the ep YALL ARE RIGHT THAT BOI HITTING ON GINA IS SO FINE Babes go for that one, not EJ

NOT THEM FAKE DATING UGH E W TIM STOP MAKING ROMANTIC PORTWELL A T H I N G I honestly do not understand how some of yall can ship it romantically knowing Sofia is a whole underaged babey and Matty is a whole ass grown man - like I get the appeal of the Wonderstudies getting together and they do have chemistry but the irl age gap is creepy and outweighs the appeal of shipping them romantically

As I always say; Portwell/Wonderstudies should be a BROTP not an OTP

Ugh Brotp Portwell would have clocked Lily right away; romantic Portwell making googly eyes at each other isn't helping anyone

Living for Nini getting the recognition she deserves - I really like her solo arc this season she's so much more interesting without Ricky tbh

Aww Kourt you simp I love her and I'm so happy she's happy I wanna be wrong about Howie being a North High kid

Where is the mask??

OHMYGOD THESE KIDS COMING IN LIKE A HORROR MOVIE

Lily really wishes she was Jesse St. James huh; you could never Lily so stop

Andrew Barth Feldman and his cute little French accent I love him so much

Hnng Miss Jenn gonna get manipulated by this hoe. Omg wowow Zackey really is a hoe, making out with another girl before the show THE AUDACITY OF HIM SAYING MISS JENN WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH I WILL THROW HANDS WITH THIS MOFO

Wait the kids didn't steal it BUT WHAT IF ZACKEY DID

Ssjsgfajhdfg I CANNOT WITH ANDREW'S ACCENT but I can't tell if its really bad or really good but I'm also confused why didn't they just cast a French person as Antonie shshhs Antoine is adorableee and a little shit the best type of character

Lily is so annoying b y e sis bye and Olivia Keegan is talented I just wish they didn't make her character such a cartoony villain type

"How about if we bop to the top" SEBBY I LOVE YOU AND NEVER STOP BEING SO CUTE I SWEAR and Awww Carlos called him Honey I am s o f t

Hnng why do these fools are really gonna give into North High calling them chickens

OHHH NO SHE DIDN'T JUST SAY THAT ABOUT ASHLYN FUCK A DANCE OFF I AM ABOUT TO THROW HANDS WITH A 16 YEAR OLD

"She told us not to dance with the enemy. She's better than this" No Sebby, she's not *cuts to her dancing with Zackey* AND OMG THE WAY I SAW THIS EDIT COMING BEFORE IT CAME

Ooooh I like this song wayyy more whatever the mess The Mob Song became (when I first heard it drop on Spotify yesterday) Around You is such a great song musically and lyrically very relevant to these two and gosh I love their voices together

They have so much chemistry damn, go home Mike (well he technically has oop) and Mr. Mazzara

YES YOU DO MISS JENN YOU ALWAYS HAD IT

Oh god this is the scene from the trailer; she's gonna make a move on Ricky isn't she?? Leave him alone Lily he doesn't need a 3rd girl to be confused about he needs a therapist

Lily shut the fuck up with quasi; STOP TRYING TO MAKE QUASI HAPPEN

"I love Nini's song" Sure, Jan.

...Okay yes you should have called him out but don't bait him LIKE THAT oop there's the scene from the trailer

Ohmygod is Andrew Barth Feldman gonna hit on Ashlyn

Okay this is so cute but also I am VERY annoyed with the way this show handles its characters like they aren't relevant or important unless they get into a relationship or a love triangle?? That's such a shitty way to give out screentime and arcs to characters. Is it not enough to develop the characters on their own and strengthen their friendship???

HUH TIM why you so obsessed with compulsory heterosexuality??(well also homosexuality for Seblos but they are the only ones I'm not annoyed with their relationship cos its a hella big step for Disney to have a gay couple and their relationship isn't in our faces or overshadows the plot and its just spinkles of cuteness every time they interact - they are honestly who Rini wishes they were; besties in love. They are a couple that Tim should be taking notes from; leave the relationship drama in the background, focus on the theatre and friendship aspect of everything)

My mini rant aside; this is a very adorable interaction between Ashlyn and Antoine.

"TOM HOLLAND ON STILTS" GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE WITH THAT COMPARISON I AM SCREAMING ANTOINE THAT'S SO FUNNY

This is so funny he keeps picking out the hottest guys of the group; as if he himself isn't the French version of Big Red they look super alike ngl shshsh

WHY YOU RUIN IT WITH THAT ANTOINE I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU

Drama between Antoine and Red is already spicing up shshsh I cannot

Why are you so dramatic with the shuffle Lily gtfo of here...also this doesn't make sense?? She wasn't even on a BATB playlist; what if a non BATB song came on ahahah

Good to know they aren't big fans of The Mob Song like I am Awww EJ you cutie, okay I will appreciate the OG Mob Song just for you

OH WAIT HE PROLLY LIKES IT COS ITS A GASTON LED SONG TIM GIMME THE EJ SOLO I DESERVE IN THIS NUMBER

I'm being robbed of Gaston for the last 7 eps I at least deserve an EJ solo for compensation

The way the set looks straight out of Broadway but also like omg the blue lighting and fancy stage gave me intense flashbacks to that Glee episode where Vocal Adrenaline sang Bohemian Rhapsody

RICKY STOP BEING SALTY AND ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR GIRLFRIEND LIKE A NORMAL PERSON

OMG THE SUBTITLES SAID ITS HOWIE SINGING AS THE BEAST I FUCKING CALLED IT

Howie you hoe you gonna break my girl Kourtney's heart

Yeah...still not a fan of Antoine's Dance Remix

Yall know Gina would kill the dance number if she wasn't wearing that fit

Okay but it's Gaston led song WHY DOES EVERYONE BUT EJ HAVE A SOLO IN THIS SONG??

First the Beasts led it (Howie sounded better than Ricky ngl), then the Lumieres (their voices worked hella well together; I always forget what a talented singer Frankie is THEY NEED TO GIVE HIM A SOLO SONG) and now the Belles are going at it (Ashlyn's voice is superior)

BIG RED BEING JEALOUS AND SALTY IS SO FUNNY ITS LIKE A PUPPY BEING ANGRY I CRI

...Did anyone really win, Lily??? STFU

CARLOS IS RIGHT AND HE SHOULD SAY IT

Oooh I did see someone talk about this when the Rose Song dropped last week, apparently its illegal to add songs to a musical you're doing for a school play; I really thought the show would brush past that irl rule but I guess they are playing into it

THE WAY EVERYONE TURNED TO EJ FOR THE SPORTS METAPHOR I AM D Y I N G AND HIS FACE WAS GOLDEN! ITS LIKE THAT LISA SIMPSON MEME SHHSHSH

Okay Nini is being a little pissy about leaving her song out of the show and its a little selfish to wanna keep it at the risk of being disqualified but I also understand why she's hurt

Everyone is dog piling on her right now being against her idea and it feels like they are being against her song and her herself instead of them not wanting to be disqualified. Also like she poured her heart and soul into the song after Miss Jenn lowkey rushed her to write it. So I can see why this feels like a rejection of her and her song and why she's so hurt rather than her seeing the big picture right now

It doesn't help that Ricky said the final blow causing her to walk off

Okay maybe Zackey gets some rights for being chill and wanting the kids to be peers

THIS MOTHERFUCKER I KNEW HE WAS SHADY Also the way I gasped even though I predicted he stole the mask halfway through this ep shshsh

Stab him Miss Jenn STAB HIM

Bitch why you so threatened by East High if yall have such a Broadway-esque show planned??? They honestly should have stuck to the Little Mermaid; I really wanted to see the aquarium

"It's just a song Ricky" "A song can mean everything" Do you get deja vu? Anyone else getting intense flashbacks to Jan when DL first dropped and all the drama happened 👀

YES PLEASE STAY CO ANCHORS Gosh I love them so much esp once you take the romantic connotations out of their interactions

ROUGE GRAND I'M SCREAMING

I love this long take of checking in with everyone's relationship status (still hate how romantically focused this show has become but still a cool shot)

I K N E W IT I WAS RIGHT

Okay but like looking at Kourtney's face I have never wanted to be wrong so bad GOD I HATE IT HERE I really think he likes her and I hope they work it out

Nini setting up her own music acc feels like when Olivia rebranded her whole IG to be just for her music stuff - love this for both of them

AHHHHH SHE'S NINA NOW YALL

I know everyone loves her as Nini but like I have always loved the name Nina and it really suits her to be honest also shows how she's growing up now and kind of leans into the lyric "I won't be confined to your point of view" from The Rose Song because Nini is the nickname Ricky gave her so it shows that she's outgrowing him too and I love that for her!

Overall thoughts; they really crammed all the North High drama into one ep huh. Personally would have liked it if all of this was spread out throughout the last few episodes; like different hijinks for every episode. I'm just a big fan of properly setting up the overall arc over the season instead of patching it together closer to the climax/end of the show. Cos now it lowkey feels like two different seasons - 2A felt like The Rini/Rina Show esp with YAC storyline and whatever was going on with Rina and now 2B is finally feeling like what this season should have been all this time

#hsmtmts season 2 #hsmtmts #hsmtmts spoilers #nina salazar roberts #gina porter #EJ Caswell #Ricky Bowen #Kourtney Green #Ashlyn Caswell #Seb Matthew Smith #carlos rodriguez #Big Red

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batsandbugs · 4 years

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Damian Wayne x Marinette Dupain-Cheng Playlist - Part 1

(As always the pictures aren’t mine!)

So I love music playlists, I have one for almost every OTP, holiday, or mood. When I found out we didn’t have a Daminette playlist post, I had to put one together. Starting out at pre established playlists for the two did little to help, because their universes are very different and they’re personalities do not lend to overlap within a song only about one or the other. But after some searching I found several that I thought fit well. These are only my opinions though. 😊

I would love if you left recommendations for a Part 2!

Can You Feel the Love Tonight - Pentatonix

I utterly fell in love with this song the second I heard it. I love most of their songs and covers because they’re such a creative group. I got into Daminette and this song just clicked for those two. This was actually the first song for the playlist!

Drama Club - Melanie Martinez

Okay so this is less a Daminette song and more of a salt song against The Class from Marinette’s perspective. But like since half of the Daminette stuff is salt in one form or another I feel justified putting it on here. Recommended to me by @tiny-goddess-of-chaos

Angel - Jack Johnson

I love Jack Johnson and could listen to his stuff for hours. This song is sweet, short, and I figure is a sappy inner monologue of Damian’s in the morning or something. It mentions angels, heroes, and soulmates - literally the perfect Daminette song.

Falling - Trevor Daniel

Another recommendation by @tiny-goddess-of-chaos this could be perfect from either Damian or Marinette’s perspective if either of them had been in a relationship before.

How Do You Talk To An Angel - The Heights

I think any song with angel in the lyrics or title is self explanatory for this pairing 😅 But I love the mood of this song; it fits Damian’s cluelessness at how to deal with a girl who’s not quite intimidated by him and at the same time totally able to keep up with him - how to talk to a angel indeed.

Taking Chances - Celine Dione (Glee Cover)

Okay so I found this song and I didn’t like the Céline Dion version, but I loved the Glee version. I know, Glee? Really? But hear me out, the song is perfect for Damian and Marinette; “don’t know much about your life, don’t know much about your world” and “what do you say to jumping off the edge, never knowing if there’s solid ground below, a hand to hold, or he’ll to pay” trust me it’s perfect! And Lea Michele does a great job singing and the chorus towards the end is too pretty for words! 🥰

I Choose - Alessia Cara

Okay this is another one from @tiny-goddess-of-chaos and oh my gosh it’s soooo PERFECT! You could just imagine Marinette singing it to Damian. It fits them so well!

Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding

This is just a good song from Marinette’s perspective and it’s a little darker than your average love song which just fits better.

Lucky Ones - Lana Del Rey

Oh my gosh this song is too perfect for these two. I saw the lyrics and was immediately sold and then I saw it was by Lana Del Rey which means that it had that beautiful haunting sound her songs have which is the perfect aesthetic for these two. The best line is “every now and then the stars align, boy and girl meet by the great design” and it just sends shivers down my spine.

Superheroes - The Script

I mean, pretty self explanatory, but still such a good song and the imagery really fits with Damian and Marinette. They really have to be stronger in order to be heroes and I feel like this song synthesizes that for these two.

When the Day Met the Night - Panic at the Disco

Everything about this song is perfect for Damian and Marinette; the lyrics, the imagery, the tune, the mood - just perfect. “Just hanging around and he fell in love, and he didn’t know how to get out.” Uh, if that’s not our poor assassin boy right there I don’t know what is. 😁

Angels or Devils - Dishwalla

Such a great song from Damian’s perspective. Perfect for imagining both of them going through a hard time and supporting each other through it. Plus the language is perfect imagery for them.

Lucky - Jason Mraz

One of the few duet songs I found for this pairing (I’ll need some more part two) Two lovers pining for each other across the sea? Daminette for sure 😊

Luck Be a Lady Tonight - Frank Sinatra

Classy and fancy, with such a perfect Marinette vibe. It makes me think of all the galas/balls/fundraisers in all the fics that I had to include it.

Can’t Help Falling In Love - Pentatonix Version

Have I mentioned that I love Pentatonix, because I really do. Their version of this song is so epic, and it just really fits these two.

Heroes (we could be) - Alesso

I think this song rally hits the superhero/vigilante side of their personalities even better than Superheroes by the Script. It really hits on the difficulties of being a hero and the call to be a hero - which is so big for both of them.

Lucky Strike - Maroon 5

Such a fun song to listen to and absolutely perfect for Marinette!

Angel - Aerosmith

Any good playlist should have some old fashioned rock and roll! 🎸 This song is beyond perfect lyrics wise for these two! I’m imagining all the Damian perspective songs are being passionately sung in his head while he only scoffs aloud. Any telepath in the room is going to hear a never ending stream of gush! 🥰

As Long As Your Mine - Wicked

The one other duet song on here, and the only one from musical theatre which is insane, so I’ll be combing for more for part two. This one was recommended to me by @salty-fang so thanks for that! It’s Wicked, so what more than I could say than its perfect!

Lovebug - Jonas Brothers

Oh my gosh I’m jumping all over the past several decades for material 😅 I actually really like some of the old Jonas brothers stuff and this song was too perfect not too add. It’s so sweet.

Safe and Sound - Capital Cities

Another recommendation from @tiny-goddess-of-chaos a really fun sing with a total Daminette vibe.

Stand by You - Rachel Platten

I love this song and as soon as I was putting together a playlist for these two it was inevitable that it ended up on there. It’s such a great song about standing together and get through hard times and the imagery is perfect for this couple.

Fools - Lauren Aquilina

I have the animatic in my head for this song because it’s just that perfect for Daminette. It’s haunting in that same way Lana Del Rey’s stuff is. Absolutely stunning!

Angel in Blue Jeans - Train

Okay, I love the beat and rythm in this song. And the lyrics are so perfect! I could also see this as a Jasonette song, but either way great fit for this fandom!

Alright I’d love to hear what y’all think! Please leave any recommendations you think would fit for these two!!

😇♥️😈

#damian x marinette #maribat #maridami #ml x dc #mlb crossover #moodboard #playlist #damimari #marinnette dupain cheng x damian wayne #daminette

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alice-beaumont-ravenclaw · 4 years

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A Wonderful Surprise

A/N #1: This is fic #2 of the Brazil series. It was inpired by the ! prompt of the 30 days OTP alphabet challenge as well as Prompt #2 of Fictober 2020 by @hphm-fictober . You can find Alice’s outfit HERE, and the suggested music HERE. (Here are Part 1 & Part 2 of the first fic of the series.)

“Alanza told me she would join us here.”

Alice and her friends were standing near the bronze statue of Floriano Peixoto, the second Brazilian president, in the neighbourhood known as Cinelândia. They were surrounded by buildings built in the Beaux-Arts architectural style, which gave the area a certain European cachet with their columns, symmetry, and highly decorative façades.

“Are you sure about the time?” asked Diego.

“Noon seems like an odd time to meet up,” said Penny, who was wearing a large sunhat.

“That’s what she told me. She said she knew of this place where we could eat lunch close to here, and that it would be simpler to visit the area after,” explained Alice, fanning herself with her map of Rio.

“Olá!” they heard from behind them.

“Alanza!” they exclaimed, running to her.

“How are you? I hope you didn’t wait too long,” she said beaming.

“No, not at all,” said Barnaby, blushing.

“Long enough for us to overheat,” mumbled Tonks and Tulip.

“Oh! I’m so sorry! Come, come. Let’s go and eat. I know this boteco that’s been around since 1921.”

“What kind of food do they serve?” asked Alice.

“Various stuff. You can get pizza, fish, churrasco, feijoada…”

“What are the last two things?” asked Penny.

“Well, churrasco is basically meat barbecued on skewers, while feijoada has black beans, some pork or beef product, and at least two types of smoked sausage and jerked beef,” explained Alanza.

“Black beans, you say?” said Alice. “Well, as I do not want to spend the afternoon passing wind, and that I don’t want to eat something too heavy, I think I’ll stick to pizza.”

“The meat on skewers sounds great,” said Barnaby as they sat at a table under the yellow awning.

After a hearty meal, they headed to the Theatro Municipal, a theatre that borrowed from the Parisian Opéra Garnier’s architectural style. The roof was a vibrant shade of turquoise, and the central dome was adorned with a majestic golden eagle.

“Can we go inside?” asked Andre, using his hand to shade his eyes from the sun.

“Unfortunately, no. We can only go in to see a performance or if we are part of a tour, which were all full when I checked,” replied Alanza.

“Too bad. It looks really nice from the outside, would have loved to see the inside,” said Alice.

“Oh, I doubt it compares to the Paris Opera,” said Alanza.

“I wouldn’t know. I’ve never been inside the Opéra Garnier.”

“What? But don’t you have family in Paris?” asked Tulip.

“I do, but it’s not like the law mandates us to go inside the Opera every time we’re in town. I walked past it when I’ve been to the Galeries as a kid, but until last summer, I hadn’t been to Paris after Jacob’s disappearance.”

“I wonder if this one has a ghost, like the one in Paris,” said Penny.

“A ghost?” asked Barnaby and Charlie as they started to walk past the theatre.

“A phantom, actually. This French author wrote a story at the beginning of the century about a Phantom haunting the Opéra. It turns out that the Phantom is a deformed man named Erik. An excellent musical was made based on this story. I honestly could listen to the soundtrack over and over again,” said Alice, softly sighing.

“So, where are we heading next?” asked Tonks as they strolled through Largo da Carioca.

“Igreja São Francisco de Penitência. It’s a church. The interior is really impressive,” said Alanza.

“Where is it?” asked Diego.

“Right there,” replied Alanza, pointing to a building up a small hill.

“Doesn’t look super impressive from the outside,” said Andre.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover, Andre,” said Alice, nudging her friend on the shoulder.

“Oh, sweetheart, everyone judges books by their cover. Why do you think I put so much importance in my outfits, as well as yours?”

“Believe me, the exterior doesn’t do justice to the interior,” said their Carioca friend as they made their way up the stairs to reach the church.

When they finally made it inside the church, they were greeted by exquisite gilded carvings on the walls and altars, as well as magnificent paintings on the ceiling depicting the glorification of Saint Francis in a Baroque illusionist style.

“Wow,” simply said Andre, his mouth ajar.

“So much gold,” said Tulip.

“Good thing we didn’t bring Jae. He’d be salivating,” said Tonks.

“He’d probably try to take something to sell it,” said Penny as she removed her hat.

“Come on. He’s not that bad,” said Alice as she looked at the ceiling.

“Are you so sure of that?” asked Charlie, raising an eyebrow as he glanced at Alice.

“Well… Ok, maybe not, but he mostly deals in magical contraband, so I don’t think he would see anything here worth selling,” admitted Alice.

“I wouldn’t put it past him to still try and make a quick buck from something here,” whispered Diego.

“Is it common for Muggle churches to be covered in gold?” asked Barnaby.

“Can’t say I’ve ever seen a Catholic church with so much gold. Russian Orthodox churches have their fair share, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen this amount of gold in a church,” said Alice, looking around.

“How do you know so much about churches?” asked Diego.

“I’ve seen some when I travelled with my parents when I was a kid. Even if you aren’t religious, churches can be of cultural interest, as artists were often commissioned to paint and decorate them to show how grand and powerful the Church was,” explained Alice.

“And if you didn’t already know, Alice is in Ravenclaw,” said Tonks, Alice sticking out her tongue at her.

“Hey, where did Charlie go?” asked Andre.

“He’s right…” started saying Alice as she looked beside her, only to see no one was standing there. She turned on herself trying to spot her boyfriend, to no avail.

“Hum, I think he went outside,” said Diego. “He found it stuffy in here.”

“Why didn’t he tell me? I should go with him,” said Alice.

Before she could turn around, Diego wrapped an arm around her shoulders and guided her further inside the church. “Come on; I’m sure he wouldn’t want you to miss all the art in here.”

Alice gave Diego a suspicious look, furrowing her brows, before glancing behind her. She figured that if Charlie had wanted her to be with him, he would have told her. She shook Diego’s arms off of her shoulders and joined the girls at the altar, where Tulip was busy imagining Dennis getting married to the love of his life. Once they were done visiting the church, they went back outside, where Charlie was waiting for them in the shade.

“Are you ok?” asked Alice as she ran up to him.

“What do you mean?”

“Diego told us you went out because you felt it was stuffy in the church…”

“Oh! Yeah, I just needed some air, but I’m perfectly fine now.”

“Glad to hear you’re feeling better, mate,” said Andre as they made their way down the stairs.

“Ok, next up is a sweet treat: pastéis de nata. And it will give us the chance to relax a bit and step away from the heat,” said Alanza.

“Hum, actually, you guys can go ahead. We’ll join you later. There’s something I want to show Alice,” said Charlie, taking Alice’s hand.

She looked up at him, her cheeks turning pink.

“Ok, you two have fun!” said Diego as he guided the rest of the group away from the couple.

“We’ll be at the Confeitaria Colombo!” shouted Alanza as Alice and Charlie walked away.

They left the street they were on, taking a narrow road to lead them to the larger Rua Sete de Setembro.

“Where are you taking me?” asked Alice as she let Charlie lead the way.

“You’ll see,” simply replied Charlie.

“Is it what you and Diego were talking about yesterday?” asked Alice.

Charlie stopped in his tracks and looked at her. “What are you talking about?”

“Diego was looking for you yesterday before lunch, and he went straight to talk to you when I told him where you were. Also, you two looked like you were cooking up some plan last night at dinner,” said Alice as they started walking again.

“I have no idea what you are talking about,” replied Charlie, avoiding Alice’s gaze.

“Ah! I knew it! You were planning something with Diego!” said Alice as they turned into a small deserted street next to an old theatre. “Seriously, where are you taking me?” she said, looking worriedly around.

They crossed a plaza and stopped in front of a building built in limestone that looked like a church. Four statues were on the façade: one on each side of the building, and the other two were on each side of the door. Before she had time to read what was written at the top of the building, Charlie took both of her hands and made her look at him.

“Close your eyes,” he said, smiling.

Alice looked at him, skeptically.

“Please,” he pleaded.

She furrowed her brows, smiling lightly as she closed her eyes after removing her sunglasses. He waved a hand in front of her closed eyes to make sure she wasn’t looking. He gently took her hand and guided her inside the building.

“You can open your eyes now,” said Charlie as he stood behind her.

Alice opened her eyes and what she saw rendered her speechless. Three floors of walls covered in books. A magnificent chandelier dangled from the ceiling, which also had a skylight in iron structure. The intricate details of the wooden frame of the library’s galleries were sublime. Alice felt like she was in a dream. Sure, Hogwarts’ library was big, but it was dark, a little gloomy, and unwelcoming; Madam Pince having a lot to do with that last impression. This library was luminous. The blue walls contrasting with the wood’s darkness and the touches of gold on the wood contributed to Alice’s warm feeling as she stood in this great library.

“Oh, Charlie,” whispered Alice, turning around, the skirt of her dress twirling as she did so.

“You like it?” asked Charlie as Alice wrapped her arms around his neck.

“Like it? I love it!” she said before kissing him on the lips, her straw hat falling backward.

Charlie placed his hands on her waist, closing his eyes as he leaned into the kiss until he realized something. He opened his eyes and cleared his throat.

“What?” asked Alice as she took a step back.

“Hum… there are people around…” whispered Charlie, looking around the room.

Alice turned her head, noticing some people looking at them as her face grew hot.

“Sorry,” she mouthed before looking back at Charlie. “Let’s take a look around,” she whispered as she grabbed her hat from the floor.

They walked around the bookcases on the ground floor, looking at all the old books’ spines. They didn’t dare touch any, as they felt the gaze of the librarian on their back.

“I guess every library comes with a Madam Pince,” whispered Alice.

“I guess kissing in a library won’t get you on the librarian’s good books,” said Charlie, looking behind him. “Anyway, it’s not like we can read anything here. Everything seems to be in Portuguese. We should go back to the others… Alice! What are you doing?”

Alice held a book in her hand while holding her wand over a page with the other. “Shhh, be quiet. It’s just this book had ‘Contos de fadas brasileiros’ written on it.”

“But it’s in Portuguese! And your wand…”

“I need it to use a translation spell Rowan taught me.”

“Taught you? When?”

“Well, she didn’t actually teach it to me in person. I just found it on a note in a book she read,” explained Alice as she read the page her wand was hovering over.

“Quick,” said Charlie, as he looked behind them, “the librarian is coming.”

Alice closed the book and promptly replaced it on the shelf as she surreptitiously slid her wand back into her crossbody handbag. “Obrigada,” said Alice, turning to face the librarian with a sweet smile, her angelic face seemingly calming any worries the librarian had as the couple swiftly left the library.

“That was a close call,” said Charlie once they were outside. “Anyway, what did you say to the librarian?”

“I simply said ‘thank you.’”

“Why?”

“Because it’s polite and one of the few things I can say in Portuguese,” explained Alice as they made their way back to the Rua Sete de Setembro. “Figured something polite, and my sweet face would get her off our backs.”

They leisurely made their way to the Confeitaria Colombo, holding hands and talking about their vacation so far. As they approached it, they saw their friends leaving the restaurant.

“Here are the two lovebirds!” exclaimed Tulip.

“We got some custard tarts to go when we figured you wouldn’t be back in time,” said Penny, holding up a small plastic bag.

“They were delicious!” said Barnaby, rubbing his stomach as he smiled.

“Mate, you have some coloured lip balm on your lips,” pointed out Andre, smirking.

“So I guess Alice liked her surprise,” said Diego, grinning.

Charlie used the back of his hand to wipe off the lip balm as he and Alice blushed.

“Wait, did you two abandon us just to make out somewhere?” asked Tonks.

“What? No! We visited a library!” exclaimed Alice.

“A library? Why would you visit a library instead of eating custard tarts? Are you trying to cover up for the fact that you did spend all that time making out?” asked Tulip, her face inches from Alice’s as she looked at her suspiciously.

“No, they did go to a library: The Real Gabinete Português de Leitura, or Royal Portuguese Reading Room,” explained Diego, making Alanza wince at his Portuguese pronunciation. “The two Argentinian girls I spoke to yesterday said it was a really nice place to see, so I told Charlie he should take Alice there.”

“Wait, when you left the church…” started saying Alanza.

“I went to locate the library, make sure I had the right directions,” completed Charlie.

“Aw, all that for Alice… Makes me sick,” said Tonks, sticking out her tongue in fake disgust.

“Jealous,” said Alice, lightly nudging her friend.

“You wish,” replied Tonks, linking her arm with her friend’s. “Now, come on. We’re supposed to go see a royal palace.”

“Actually, it is the Imperial Palace,” explained Alanza as they made their way down the street. “It became the prince regent of Portugal’s residence when he moved here with his family to escape Napoleon’s invasion of Portugal. It is at that time that Rio became the royal seat of power.”

“Bloody French,” said Tonks, smirking as she glanced at Alice.

“He wasn’t French, he was Corsican, and his ancestors were Italian,” said Alice.

“But he was the emperor of France, no?”

“For, like, ten years.”

“His army was French?”

“Yes…”

“Therefore, I reiterate what I said: Bloody French,” said Tonks, sticking out her tongue.

“Stop bickering, you two,” said Andre. “As long as I get to see a palace, I’m happy.”

“We are not bickering. We are having a friendly conversation,” said Tonks and Alice in unison, making Alanza raise her eyebrows and look around in confusion.

“Don’t ask. That’s how they are,” explained Penny to Alanza, rolling her eyes.

When they finally arrived at the Imperial Palace, what stood in front of them was a white three-storey building in a simple baroque style with a tiled roof.

“That’s it?” asked Tulip.

“Well, it has its charms,” said Alice.

“There are some details around the windows,” said Penny.

“It is not what Europeans think of when they hear ‘Imperial Palace,’” pointed out Alanza.

“Thank Merlin, you see it too! I mean, it’s lovely, sure, but it’s no Versaille or Buckingham. Please tell me it’s like that golden church, and the interior is grand,” said Andre with pleading eyes.

“Unfortunately, no. It was stripped at the end of the 19th century and became a central mail office. It mostly serves as a cultural center nowadays, with temporary art exhibitions.”

“Then why is it called the Imperial Palace?” asked Barnaby.

“Because when Brasil became independent, it became the Império do Brasil, or Empire of Brasil,” explained Alanza. “When it was the Portuguese royal family’s residence, it was known as the Royal Palace. Before that, it was the house of the Governor.”

“How come you know so much?” asked Tulip.

“She’s from around here,” said Diego.

“Alice, you live in London. Do you know who first lived in Buckingham Palace?”

“Hum, no?”

“See! I live in London as well, and I don’t know the history of any buildings, except the Tower of London because executions,” pointed out Tulip.

“Alright, when Alice told me you wanted to visit the historic part of Centro, I may have studied up on my Trouxa history. The map I have with me is full of my notes,” she said, showing the scribbles on her map.

“Trouxa?” asked Barnaby.

“People who can’t do magic.”

“Ah! We call them Muggles,” said Charlie.

“So, as much as standing in the sun learning about cultural differences is fun, what is next?” asked Penny.

“Well, that’s pretty much it. Next up for you is to head back to the hotel to relax, so you are ready for tomorrow’s hike,” said Alanza.

“Hike?!” said Alice and Penny.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have any outfits that are intended for nature,” said Andre.

“I was actually planning to go to the National History Museum tomorrow, since it’s free on Sundays,” said Alice.

“Says the rich girl,” said Tonks.

“Rich people are notoriously cheap,” replied Alice.

“But I don’t want to go to a stuffy museum,” complained Tulip.

“We can separate for the day. You guys can go hike in nature, while Penny, Andre, and I go to the museum.”

“Will there be dragons on that hike?” asked Charlie.

“Charlie. Always asking the important questions,” said Diego.

“Hum, no, sorry,” replied Alanza.

“Meh, then I’ll go to the museum with Alice.”

“Are you sure? There won’t be any dragons in the museum either,” said Alice.

“No, but you’ll be there,” replied Charlie, making Alice blush.

“Ok! I think this is our cue to head back to the hotel before those two start snogging in front of the palace,” said Tulip as she ran towards the street to hail two cabs.

“Well, see you tomorrow then! Tchau!” said Alanza waiving to the group as they joined Tulip.

A/N #2: Hope you enjoyed it! Next up: the museum, where I will describe every single exhibit they see... Joking. Anyway, just wanted to let you know something regarding the Imperial Palace. So, in the fic, Alanza said they interior is rather ordinary, it’s mostly based on pictures of the interior. According to Culture Trip, “in 1980 it was restored to its former glory with the interior replicated to how it was in the 19th century.” Unfortunately couldn’t find any information regarding the current state of the interior.

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margridarnauds · 3 years

Note

margrid arnaud das music-i mean marie antoinette das musical for that ask meme

LET’S GO

Top 5 favourite characters: Margrid, Orléans, Louis, Marie, Fersen

Other characters you like: Lamballe, the kids, Robespierre, Danton, Immortal Marat

Least favourite characters: Hébert, Bertin, Hébert, Leonard, Jacques Réne Hébert, Drouet, Hébert...

Otps: Margrid/Orléans, Marie/Louis....I COULD ship Margrid/Lamballe and Margrid/La Motte but let’s be real I’m not going to, Marie/Orléans in a very specific way (namely Bitter Ex Friends)

Notps: Hébert/Margrid, Fersen/Margrid, Hébert/Orléans

Favourite friendships: Fersen & Margrid, Lamballe & Antoinette, Orléans & Lamballe (not canon to the musical, but was a historical Thing), Orléans & Margrid when I’m not actively shipping them.

Favourite family: Marie’s family, especially her dynamic with Margrid (LET ! MARGRID ! BE ! THE WEIRD! AUNT!) and Louis’ odd dynamic with Orléans. Really, MA is just the story of one very, very dysfunctional family.

Favourite season/book/movie: 2018 Toho Production.

Favourite quotes: .....showing myself for the Orléans Stan I am: “Oh, cowards, tremble and sleep!” Mitsuo Yoshihara’s delivery SELLS it. Honorable mention: “Just the smallest of sparks is sufficient to set dry grass into an inferno - I just need to promise them a new world where they can live in.”

That and the from the final song, the entire cast: “Can we change the world for ourselves? What can we do to break the chains of violence? What is equality? When will people finally learn from the past? Will revenge ever end? That answer can only be yielded by ourselves!”

Best musical moment: There are some REALLY good moments in this musical - Margrid calling the wrath of God down on the aristocrats during “Blinded by the Light of a Thousand Candles”, the reprise of “Blinded” when the poor join in with Margrid, the entirety of “I Am The Best”, the key change in the Korean version of “Kill the Snakes”, the part during the March to Versailles when the other women join in for the first time to tell Margrid they aren’t going, Fersen’s low note during his first love song with Antoinette, the bit during “The Only Thing I ever Did Right” when Fersen comes in for the first time and he and Antoinette duet, the bit during The Jacobin Club when the entire Jacobin Club steps out together and swears to bring down Antoinette, the bit during “Eyes of Hatred” when Margrid and Antoinette’s voices blend PERFECTLY, the bit during the trial when the crowd begins to apply pressure to Antoinette while Margrid realizes how fucked up things have gotten.

Moment that made you fangirl/boy the hardest: I was trying to not be predictable.....but look. I lose my shit every time we get to “I Am The Best”. Because they really DID give Orléans the single best song in the musical and expected us NOT to stan. That and when he takes his final bow, because he gets a reprise of the song WITH electric guitars because, yes, he’s an extra bitch.

When it really disappointed you: The 2021 Toho. I could devote an entire post to how that production disappointed me, even outside of my personal ships, but like. It was a disappointment from beginning to end and I’m actually happy that it’s out of Tokyo now.

Saddest moment: Margrid sobbing after Antoinette’s death and then having to wipe the tears off her face to meet the tribunal. And then the look on her face at the end....

Most well done character death: Marie’s - Literally the entire musical has been leading up to this and the scene itself makes a wonderful use of callbacks and musical cues to give it this sense of TENSION throughout the entire thing, which builds off of that earlier scene where Hébert confronts Margrid. We know that Antoinette is going to die - There’s no way of avoiding it, but we still are wondering what’s going to happen. What’s Margrid going to do? Is she going to risk a life of security for the sake of the woman she’s started to feel sympathy for? Are these two women ever going to come to terms with one another, with the answer being yes as Antoinette by calls Margrid by her name instead of “the girl” and Margrid gives that last, dangerous bow.

Favourite cast member: I’m not generally big on following individual cast members, but PROBABLY Sonim?

Character you wish was still alive: I. Might have toyed with a few ways of keeping Marie alive in the past.

One thing you hope really happens: Really, really hoping the upcoming Korean production is good. Like, that’s the extent of my ambition after the last Toho.

Most shocking twist: Lamballe’s Death. I have NEVER seen anyone come in prepared for it in over 2 years of streaming. *I* was shocked when I saw it because I literally never expected a Japanese depiction of Marie Antoinette to get into the September Massacres, especially do THAT extent. And it really is the point where, suddenly, you realize that NO ONE is safe. Up until this point, no one’s died. The Royal Family’s imprisoned, but there’s a certain romanticism you can find in the situation, the idea that, hey, now they’re a happy, nuclear family. Then, the show distracts you with that discussion between Marie and Margrid so that they it can SLAM the knife into your back. And, from that point, no one’s safe. Literally anyone in the cast can die, to the point where people do, genuinely fear for Margrid’s safety by the end. It’s probably one of the single best twists I’ve seen in musical theatre, because it sets the stage for the last twenty minutes brilliantly.

When did you start watching/reading?: You know? It had to have been back in 2013. A subber that I liked had JUST finished Rebecca das Musical and had moved on to Marie Antoinette, and I thought “Well! Kunze and Levay came out with a Mar’ie Antoinette musical? I’ve got to see this, it’s going to be good!”

Spoiler alert: It was not good. I made it twenty minutes in, got to the brothel scene, and never looked back. Which means that, actually, I only BARELY missed Orléans’ song.

Favourite location: Antoinette’s bedroom - Those crazy sons of bitches REALLY replicated Antoinette’s ACTUAL BED to use.

Trope you wish they would stop using: Stop trying to make Fersen/Margrid happen, it’s not going to happen. In general, there’s this idea that Margrid MUST be totally, absolutely loveless, and I don’t really see it. I’ll be the last to say she hasn’t had a hard life, but there’s this need to ISOLATE her that I just don’t really vibe with. I’m not even saying in an inherently romantic sense (in canon...I wouldn’t actually WANT to see, say, her and Orléans making out on-stage), but just in terms of having genuine connections.

One thing this show/book/film does better than others: It really does a wonderful job as far as developing two separate female characters - Which shouldn’t be THAT HARD, given you have plenty of musicals about multiple guys all the time, and yet SOMEHOW....

Also, Margrid in particular is phenomenal, as a character. It’s definitely not uncommon for people to go in for Marie and end up really, really attached to Margrid and her development.

Funniest moments: Hébert nearly getting hit with a door, Margrid peaking under her ball gown while it’s on the rack and Orléans dragging her away, the Stars and Stripes Gown....

Couple you would like to see: .....Orléans/Margrid. I know that I say I don’t want them to actually be CANON canon but also I would NOT complain if they did. Especially after the 2021 Toho production, it’s what I deserve.

Actor/Actress you want to join the cast: Park Hye Na as Korean!Margrid would kill me, I know it.

Favourite outfit: Besides Orléans’ 2018 coat (4ever in our hearts), special props to Antoinette’s golden gown in the opening. WHAT a character introduction.

Favourite item: Margrid’s little knapsack she keeps on her.

Do you own anything related to this show/book/film?: I own a ballpoint pen and a program from the 2021 Toho run - One of these days, I keep meaning to buy the German libretto so that I can translate it.

Most boring plotline: BERTIN AND LEONARD. (But, in all fairness........look, they’re annoying, but also, when they’re gone, you do miss them, because that’s when shit gets fucked.)

Most laughably bad moment: The entire 2006 Toho Cast exists just to be one very long laughably bad moment. That and, tbh, the German. Special props to the Brothel Scene.

Most layered character: Margrid. Marie is ALSO a very layered, complex character, but Margrid gets special props because, off the top of my head, I can’t REALLY think of another female protagonist, in a musical, like her. Not saying they don’t EXIST, but I’m saying I haven’t personally seen them.

Most one dimensional character: ...2006 Orléans. He Who We Don’t Discuss.

Scariest moment: See above for Lamballe.

Grossest moment: Hébert's final confrontation scene with Margrid.

Best looking male: Kim Jun Hyun’s Orléans. *Wow*.

Best looking female: Jang Eun Ah’s Margrid. Once again. *Wow.*

Who you’re crushing on (if any): ...both Orléans and Margrid. Predictably.

Favourite cast moment: Furukawa Yuta pranking Mitsuo Yoshihara by giving him “poisonous” things for his birthday, because “You are Duke d’Orleans and I am Fersen. You are poisonous and I am passive aggressive.”

Most beautiful scene (scenery/shot wise): The ball at Versailles. One of the most STUNNING scenes I’ve ever seen. Whoever did the lighting deserves all the accolades in the world for creating a scene that’s surreal, seductive, and gorgeous

Unanswered question/continuity issue/plot error that bugs you: Not an ERROR, but I’m really, really interested in the story of Jeanette Arnaud, because this woman really haunts Margrid’s entire life but there’s so LITTLE we know about her and Margrid’s feelings about her. How long did her affair with the Emperor last? Did she always know he was the emperor during their affair, or did they meet under different circumstances? Fersen was clearly able to figure out that she was a mistress of his, so how public was the affair? And, if it was that public, does it mean that she was a servant, or was she, at the very least, middle class? How did he find out her mother’s identity? Why didn’t Orléans double-check himself? Does Margrid have any living grandparents or uncles/aunts? How old was Margrid when she died? Did she die before or after Margrid was kicked out by the nuns? (In the German, it’s very clearly the former, but who knows?)

I feel like there’s a really, really dark, tragic tale underneath all this about a young woman who ended up paying the ultimate price for falling in love with someone above her station, but it’s one that’s kept to literally only a few sentences.

At what point did you fall in love with this show/book: Probably about.....five or ten minutes into the Toho, with the Palais Royal scene. I knew, from the time I saw Furukawa Yuta on stage as Fersen, that they’d changed things around, and then seeing the changes that were made, I was able to go “Oh! It’s good now!” I feel like the moment where I REALLY fell in love was “I Am The Best” because that had been a scene I’d been REALLY concerned about from the German and then Mitsuo Yoshihara casually came in there and owned it.

#lochley

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smolbeandrabbles · 4 years

Text

Still - Director Keller x OC (Captain Marvel)

Out Of Nowhere Girl (For Reference): Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3

Author’s Note: I wrote this as soon as I got out of the theatre when I saw Endgame... As the eventual ending to ‘Out Of Nowhere Girl’... Anyway, basically I spent so long talking about these two to @mendelskrull and this fic was basically finished anyway, that I decided to put it out! 😁

UGH. I love them. They must be my second OTP after Lorennic... Now they need a name...

I also realise that he’s referred to as Keller for the majority of this story... 🤔 We’ll just roll with that.

Keller’s astronomy ring is like this.

Disclaimer: We’re going to pretend that timelines don’t exist. / MCU characters/plots/events not mine / lyrics not mine

Premise: When Thanos snaps away half the universe, Maliyah loses everything. It’s a long and difficult 5 years, but now the battle is won...

Words: 1830

Warnings: N/A. I mean we talk about stuff that happened in Infinity War and Endgame, so, a little bit of angst.

_____

Remember when I told you you were mine, all mine I couldn't get you, baby, off my mind Me and you we were the real thing You didn't know but I had butterflies 'Cause I knew then, leaning in Baby I was never looking back again Every day changes but it doesn't change The way you make me smile when you say my name And when you laugh, it makes me laugh And when you cry, it makes me cry Yeah like it did back then When we were just beginning And girl it always will I want you, I need you, still And I don't care how many times that story is told Cover to cover, it never gets old Like a fairy tale, gets better and better Boy meets girl and spends forever together Yeah and, oh my God You are my whole world And we're spinnin' When you look my way Everything stops And time stands still

---

The Snap

Maliyah had barely been able to face Keller’s family.

His parents had lost their only son, and their grand-daughter. His sister had lost her best friend, and her niece. Maliyah had tried to make sure they hadn’t lost her too. Turning up on their doorstep two days after their worlds had been utterly devastated, it was nothing more than constant hugging and crying. She should have been there for them before then, but for those first few days she was in too much pain – it was beyond unbearable. The bond between their DNA was very suddenly ripped apart, the brightly lit patterns that used to cross her body were now solid black lines. She’d told him once that was never something she wanted to happen; and now Maliyah had failed to protect him, so these marks of shame were his. Maliyah wanted to stay with what family she had left on Earth, but there was so much to help Carol take care of around the Universe – that was before adding on trying to settle whatever was left of the Xandarian’s. Her home destroyed by Thanos even before he’d done the unthinkable. Maliyah was their Supernova – it was her duty to help them rebuild what they could. It kept her preoccupied, a fact for which she was glad. There was so much pain that those two names bought her she wasn’t able to return to Keller’s family easily. Maliyah knew she shouldn’t, but she wanted to face this alone. There were many memorials around the world to the victims of what Earth was calling ‘the Blip’, but this one was her favourite. If that was even the right way to talk about it. Maliyah touched his name gently, but her lip quivered and pretty soon she found herself with her forehead pressed against the letters and her tears wetting the stone. Why? Why had they taken him from her? Why had they taken their daughter? This wasn’t right. Maliyah’s name should be on this, not theirs. She knew she didn’t deserve to live on, not instead of them. Talia was nothing but innocent, and Keller, he’d pretty much single handily raised her. He was a good man - a better husband and father than Maliyah would ever be mother. And yet she lived... She had never deserved anything less in all her life.

She remembered her final conversation with him. Thanos had taken her home from her, Xandar was no more. And he was coming for Earth for the infinity stones, and then god knows what would happen if he succeeded. “You’ll get him. Maliyah. You’ll stop him.” “What if I can’t? Even with help, what if it just doesn’t happen? What if he wins? With those stones-” “If. IF he gets them, Mali... then you can reverse it. I know you can. I know you will. But it’s a big if.” And that smile he’d give her, of assurance. Keller was always so sure. “And I know it won’t come to that.” But it had, and it had taken her family away from her. Maliyah had watched too many turn to dust with shock on that initial battlefield before pain shot through her. At first she thought that she was dying too, but Maliyah hadn’t been that lucky; curled up in pain and screaming as her body warned her that he was in trouble. Just like that Keller was gone, wiped away so unnaturally that her body still didn’t know how to react. Panic for her daughter had eventually spurred her to the house – still too young to be able to fend for herself alone. Maliyah had found nothing but an empty home. And all she’d felt was empty ever since. It had been hard to walk around with the silence hanging the way it was. Uncomfortably loud. The only real indications that anyone had just disappeared was the computer system was still on, pages of notes with a word half written… drawings and crayons on the floor – too peculiar to look like two people had just left in a hurry. Keller’s astronomy ring sat on his desk in open position – that wasn’t insignificant. He knew what was happening, he’d have left it for her. Maliyah picked it up delicately, closing it back to a single gold band: an unusual choice of wedding ring. She’d worn it on a chain around her neck ever since. It had been 5 years, and some had simply accepted and moved on. Maliyah was one of the few that couldn’t – he’d told her not to give up, and she never would no matter how long it took. She refused to believe that Keller was gone forever. And with the help of the assembled team, constantly in contact over video link, she would get him back; everything would be as it should. Maliyah could afford to wait for eternity…. But his family couldn’t. They needed closure and answers: she vowed to help them.

*** The Aftermath.

Maliyah and Carol arrived on the battlefield together, Earth bound shooting stars. They were used to teaming up by now – and with the Universe corrected, there was only one thing left to do. Win the battle and the war. She knew before the battle was even won: the energy and serenity that suddenly flowed through her could only have one source. How, despite him being a few thousand miles away, Keller’s colours ignited over her skin as she fought. Time to show them what a real Supernova could do… The funeral of Tony Stark was a quiet affair, even if it was well attended. She stood respectfully back, nearer to Carol and Nick than the rest of the group. They were probably her closest friends here, standing slightly forward for Peter Quill – he’d been missing for the past five years too. Maliyah had too much to catch up on. There was a lot of quiet contemplation between the groups. A lot of where to next. For Maliyah there was only ever one answer to that question. Before she jetted off to the stars, or helped anyone with anything. “Maliyah... won’t you stay??” She shook her head at Nick with a small smile, “What’s left of the S.H.I.E.L.D organisation could really use you...!” Carol scoffed, arms folded, “No! She needs to come with me!” She gave Maliyah a soft wink, “What do you say? Marvel and Supernova saving the universe?” Maliyah couldn’t help but laugh, “If you wait for me Carol, I’ll take you up on that... but right now I’ve got somewhere else to be...” “... Right. Of course, Maliyah Keller has somewhere else to be!” She turned from Carol’s big smile and grinned across to Nick Fury with a nod, knowing how perfectly he understood, “You’re damn right!”

***

Flying halfway across America was not what was sending Maliyah crazy. Her palms were sweaty and her heart was beating so fast as she landed herself softly in front of the country home. Surrounded by acres and acres of land, it was in the middle of nowhere for so many reasons... It reminded her so much of his parents.

The breeze tousled her hair as it played through the trees. It had been 5 long years - or short - but it felt to her like a lifetime. Every time she read those two names on the mural she broke down in tears. It only served to shatter her heart into more pieces. But all that was reversed now... The door opened, and Maliyah didn’t think her heart had the ability to beat as quick as it did. She couldn’t breathe. He was standing in a three-piece suit. Sans jacket. Sleeves rolled up, he placed both hands in his pockets. The sun hit his face, his hair, his eyes; that gorgeous blue she hadn’t seen in 5 lifetimes... and he smiled taking the two steps down to the driveway, she illuminated in blue and white - brighter than she ever had before. His emotion hit her full force and she could feel herself start to cry. She wanted so badly to sprint to him, but he engulfed her. Her senses were overwhelmed by Keller. Something they had yearned for for 5 years.

It didn’t matter, because Jonathan sprinted to her, and suddenly she was in his arms. She couldn’t grab enough of him close to her; and he couldn’t either. “You did it, you did it... I knew you would.” Keller’s voice was soft as he held her to him, breathing her in as much as she was him. He’d woken up in the same place he’d watched their daughter disappear into thin air. The same place he’d done exactly the same thing - but years after... he’d known life without Maliyah for maybe a month. She had been without him far longer. She laughed through her tears, “I think my input was minimal!” He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. Her colours burning a new level of bright. “We’re back. Because of you.” There was nothing she could say back, it was hardly true but Keller wasn’t about to let her argue with him – she knew that, pushing up on her toes to press her forehead against his, Maliyah slipped the chain from her neck, taking his hand to reunite him with the ring. “I knew you’d have taken it with you.” “I needed you.” “You didn’t give up. Not that I expected you to, Supernova.” Keller pulled her back to him, capturing her lips. “MOMMY!!” Maliyah left Keller’s arms, kiss cut short, to see her daughter now sprinting down the same steps. “Tali!” She ran, skidding to her knees. She was still 6; still her baby. Maliyah had missed to much already, she was glad she wouldn’t miss anything else. She placed her head gently against her daughters, Keller watched with a smile as they both lit up in the same amalgamation of purples, pinks and soft blues. There was a communication there he would never understand, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know what it meant.

Maliyah stood, gathering Talia in her arms, and Keller wandered to them, taking them both in his own arms. His girls were both okay. And they were both here. Talia wrapped her arms tightly around Maliyah’s neck and entwined her tiny fingers with his. Keller kissed her again. A real kiss, one she savoured with her eyes closed; gentle, nice and slow. “Stay...” He breathed it. “This time, please stay.” She knew Jonathan wanted nothing more than for her to be here. For them to finally be a family. For Maliyah it had been 11 years: for 6 she’d been unprepared to be a mother, for the last 5 she hadn’t had a choice. Those five years put the three of them into real perspective. She smiled; as if she really had a choice? “I’ll stay.” Maliyah took his hand, “I’m going to stay.”

---

Thank you for reading! 😅

#My little Space Girl deserves her OG story #But I don't feel like I'm at OG level yet I really do #There's much work to be done yet.#Director Keller #Maliyah x Keller #Maliyah #Captain Marvel #183 #Note: His sister knows that she's from Space but his parents don't.#Not that that makes an overall difference to the story - buuut!#It's been sitting in my notes too long and I just kinda want it gone so we're going to get it gone.#I wish I could do these two better justice than this... Buuuuut #They're certainly not my forte #Linzi writes #Smol Bean Drabbles #we'll bury this and move on.#Wont tag Mendo this time

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theimpossiblescheme · 4 years

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You know I gotta throw forward either Cyrano de Bergerac or Gus the Theatre Cat for you

... I was going to do both, but I ended up typing a small essay on Cyrano (it’s practically my Brand by now) so I’ll go with him for right now and do Gus in a separate post and tag you in it!

Why I like them: Honestly, what’s not to like? One of my favorite character types has always been “feral warrior poet who gives exactly zero f*cks”, and there’s no better example than Cyrano--he can run rings around anybody, and it never feels like bragging because he can actually back it up. And yet there’s still a human heart under all of it--he’s unfailingly kind to so many of the ordinary people in the play, the kinds of people high society would look down upon, and there’s a selflessness and sensitivity to him that feels genuine, not just Rostand trying to trick you into liking him. You feel all of his insecurities. You feel it when Cyrano wonders if he’s just going to end up alone for the rest of his life... while he’s talking to his best friend. We’ve all been there--we get it.

Why I don’t: That said, I’m not gonna pretend he’s perfect (and he shouldn’t be! He’s so much more human and relatable if he isn’t!). He’s still capable of being a petty asshole who holds grudges like it’s his job and consistently throws away any chance he has of being happy Because Reasons. If I ever met him in person, I’d probably sock him in the jaw and then give him a hug (and then promptly end up as mincemeat, but it’d be worth it!).

Favorite episode (scene if movie): Oh, God, the balcony scene. I know that’s a cliche, but dear God, a well-done balcony scene with a good Cyrano actor will psychologically destroy me in the best way. I have not been the same since watching Kevin Kline’s rendition.

Favorite season/movie: Of all the adaptations of the play, I gotta go to bat for the 1950 movie being my favorite. It was the movie that brought me to the dance in the first place, and José Ferrer will always be the standard against whom I grade all other Cyrano actors. He was born to play that role.

Favorite line: “Your name is a golden bell hung in my heart...” I tell you what, if somebody said that to me IRL, I might die right there on the spot.

Favorite outfit: I always imagine Kevin Kline’s outfit with the blue doublet from the Broadway revival, so I guess that one. And if that hat ever goes missing, they know where to look. XD

OTP: Cyrano/Roxanne/Christian for the win. I don’t even think I need to elaborate--it’s just the only natural outcome.

Brotp: Cyrano and Le Bret--I never see enough content for their friendship, but I live for Le Bret being Cyrano’s rock and the only person who can keep him from completely spiraling, and Cyrano depends on him so much almost in spite of himself. It’s such a beautiful dynamic.

Headcanon: There have been two Cyranos I can think of who were guitar players (José Ferrer and Douglas Hodge), and I’ve always loved that idea. He is supposed to be a musician among his many talents, after all!

Unpopular opinion: I keep seeing this take (especially on TV Tropes, for some reason) that Cyrano isn’t a good person, and I can’t say I agree at all. I’ll concede that he isn’t a very nice person, but there’s a big distinction between nice and good.

A wish: I want to see more actors of color play the role! I mean, for pity’s sake, Ferrer was only the first Latin-American actor to ever win an Oscar and quite literally the first actor to ever win a Tony, all for playing Cyrano, so there is no reason whatsoever to keep casting only white guys. There is a massive pool of new diverse acting talent out there, and nobody ever looks hard enough for it.

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Stop trying to modernize the character and/or make him into a Nice Guy (TM). I don’t know how how people look at a character who literally concocts an entire scheme to be sure the woman he loves can be happy, even if it’s with another man, and see something like Sierra Burgess (yeah, I’m still mad at that movie).

5 words to best describe them: Infuriating, clever, indomitable, selfless, noble

My nickname for them: ...I’ve called him a dumbass multiple times on my blog, so I guess that counts. Honestly, if you can’t affectionately call your favorite character a dumbass, are they really your favorite? XD

#When I talk about this play being roughly ten percent of my personality at this point I am not at all exaggerating. XD #I love this ridiculous man and I will never stop talking about him. <3 #asked and answered #cyrano de bergerac #ride-a-dromedary

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i-am-vpelno · 4 years

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Review of Love Never Dies (aka Phantom of the Opera 2):

I’m no theatre expert so I assume the reason it takes a while to start is so people can get to their seats but yeah it takes a minute to actually start the show. First song is one of my favorite though the giant ass picture of Christine is awkward.

I’m sorry but I hate the clowns in this entire thing it’s just too much and I don’t like their songs. Aside from the main three, who are tolerable and kinda have unique characters. Costumes and sets are beautiful. The sets are quite sparse however, I think a few more walls and little pieces of furniture could’ve added to everything.

The previous performance explains that they are now in Coney Island America instead of Paris and explains some of the acts. This makes it weird for Meg’s performance to also explain the performance rather than show off a unique song. At the same time, I still like this performance because it shows how non-special she is. Also I’m going to assume the lethargic dancing was a purposeful decision to show that Meg just isn’t that good. I really like the actress’s voice and acting tho.

I love love love the introduction to the new De Chagny family and how they’re not used to this American brashness that the actors play up. Raoul has a complete character shift that, while its an amazing performance, I don’t understand it compared to the ‘Charming Prince’ he was in Phantom. I like Christine’s comforting song to Gustav but I feel like it was just put in to enforce the “LOOK, LOOK HOW MUCH I LOVE MY SON” thing. Also, if the events of Phantom were so traumatic that Raoul can’t stand music and Christine gets PTSD flashbacks from that familiar tune, I’d just leave. 1 point to Raoul for recognizing that this isn’t a great situation.

Fucking, best song goes to Beneath A Moonless Sky. Like, I feel that, I believe that, I’m in that tension like UGH THE CHEMISTRY!!!!! Like if Lloyd put in a weird on stage no nudity sex scene I’d be there for it honestly. THE WAY ERIC GRIPS HIS THIGHS AND THEN SHE CARESSES HIS HEAD I BELIEVE THEY SEXED. Like she even stares at his lips as he gets closer and they just get closer as they specifically recount the sexing. It’s just UGH it’s all there, the song, the body language, the emotion in their voices. Seriously though this is super believable and I even imagined this happening before I saw this but, and this can be said for the entire show, it’s just stuff shoed in for a second story.

Once Upon Another Time is weird and shouldn’t be there because Christine is obviously done with the Phantom so it’s weird that she sings a whole diddy about love and stuff. The only part I like is that when she drops the “no choice” bit the Phantom seems to realize she’s not happy with Raoul, or so I assume. Then Phantom starts being psycho again and Christine is like 👁👄👁 shock. Like you knew he been bad wtf you on Christine???

I like the reprisals, though I feel they’re too squished together, they’re put in places where it’s like “uh oh, the phantom’s acting up again, remember this tune?” Or to exacerbate the mood. Also something I forgot to mention, this time around the Phantom has object inventions such as a self driving carriage and ?electric? Toys to show he’s improved as an engineer/inventor.

I also fucking love the reunion between the Madame, Meg, Christine and Raoul. Though Raoul and Madame aren’t old friends?? But the spicy tension here is amazing for interactions not with the Phantom! Again though, the Phantom is a criminal and Raoul is a “famous” viscount. The move should be grab your wife and kid then go to the police. Also, I have started shipping Meg/Raoul lol.

Remember the creepy kids from Nightmare Before Christmas? Yeah, that’s the three clowns...making the Phantom Oogey Boogy lol. Okay, I specifically hate singing children, I always have but have not specific reason. “He plays like me 😲” I hate the way he says this JFC along with “I want to know what you think 😯” But the “10 Years OLD😫” is amazing tbh.

THE BEAUTY UNDERNEATH SUCKS ITS A MAURY STYLE QUESTIONNAIRE PUT IN A SONG DAMN IT!!!! It’s just an excuse to be weird!! Also is this glorifying freak shows or something? Something about how the “not so bad” guy is associated with the “freaks” makes me feel some type of way that I can’t define. It’s a weird translation but the Phantom’s face is supposed to be so horrible he looks like a corpse so I didn’t get why the kid was scared of Ben Lewis but I forget that he’s not supposed to be that hot lmao, also PHANTOM CRY LIKE A BITCH, *comforting head grab*. Christine out here being a dumbass, HE TOLD YOU TO LEAVE seriously just go! But no Christine has to let his music be heard.

Okay I like that Madame Gerie is getting more stuff to do but I don’t get how “everything” will go to Gustav. Didnt she hear that they leaving? I don’t get it.

OKAY okay I’m dying laughing as it’s apparently almost morning in this bar, then “the morning shift” comes in AND SO DOES THIS CHIPPER FUCK WHO JUST TIPS HIS HAT AND STRUTS IN. I really don’t like Raoul’s “I’ve always been empty and dark, etc.” Like, come on bro, not true. Suddenly it’s dawn after his wallowing song, and in comes Meg and HOLY SHIT JUST KISS.

“I’m not afraid of him!” 🙃😨 I loved that moment. Devil Take the Hindmost is 3rd place for best songs, it really shows off...sorry I’m distracted by Ben Lewis’ tall slender figure AHEM instead of straight up fighting it shows off Raoul’s cowardice and basic bitchness “You’re ugly” whirl the Phantom out here like “Are you sure the kid’s yours and OH YEAH IM A MURDERER” like his insults are written to cut on a deeper level. Okay I see now, the Phantom wants to keep Christine and the boy of course, but he knows she intends to sing.

ExuSe Me? SWIM SUIT BOYS THROWING IT BACK??? Bathing Beauty is adorable but slowly making me realize I haven’t seen a single scene between her and the Phantom and this is making me question what her deal is with him. Also, just made me realize she has an American accent?? I wish it was more about Meg and the Phantom, I need to know more!

I like seeing Christine being silly. Okay “single red rose” line is weird. Ew Raoul crawling back just so he doesn’t lose. First time Raoul looks hot tho but it’s just another ploy dammit! I do like this direct choice though unlike the first one, despite what Raoul knows, Christine thinks there’s no danger and that she’s merely doing Eric one last favor. This leaves her mind pretty clear on what she wants without the pressure of death at least. Okay scratch that, the necklace being placed and then the Phantom guiding her head makes me think Lloyd is trying to imply the Phantom still has an almost psychic control over her. UGH THE REPRISE WITH BOTH THEIR VOICES THIS TIME UGGHGGGGGGGHHHHHH SO GOOD.

Who will keep an eye on this well dressed little French boy lmao. Again, did Meg and Eric shabang? Devil Take the Hindmost reprise is good but a little on the nose with Gustav’s part. I absolutely love that the stage is used as an in universe stage btw, especially during Love Never Dies. Those earrings don’t go with that necklace hon. God I love this song and the message but only in this context! I can’t listen to it outside this musical! Does anyone else get the feeling that she’s singing to Raoul in the context that yes she’s singing for the Phantom but she’s choosing to stay with Raoul??? Especially from that reaction of discomfort when he grabs her. Like they’re my OTP here but she doesn’t seem decided honestly despite it being obviously implied by the kiss.

I like seeing the Phantom freak out about Gustav tbh. It seems like honest care and worry not peacocking or triumphing over winning Christine from Raoul. The kidnapping just makes Meg’s story seem more weird because why kidnap the boy if she’s not going to hurt him??? Not saying this whole confrontation is fucked up and I feel her pain, I just don’t feel like I know everything. THEN FUCK! What a bullshit way to die. Would you trust this man with your child, honestly! That awkward shimmy he has to do to get closer tho 😂 THE EW FACE ERIC DOES AS HE LEAVES AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 THE REAL TEARS THE SON ACKNOWLEDGING THE FATHER awkward face touch END.

Overall, beautiful disaster piece with great music that I’m glad exists even though it shouldn’t!

#love never dies #the phantom of the opera #christine daae #raoul de chagny #Ben Lewis #madame giry #andrew lloyd webber #musical

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rallamajoop · 4 years

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Inception: A Fannish Retrospective

For a while now I’ve found myself craving a fic of a particular hard-to-define quality – something with a bit of grit and maturity – not graphic or grim, but perhaps the kind of seedy underworld setting you might find in the better parts of Tarantino or Guy Richie’s oeuvre. The kind of fic that lets me believe that if the author toned down the slash and published it as a mainstream crime or espionage thriller, I’d still be enthused about reading it. Cord Smithee’s work is a particularly good example, for the UNCLE fans out there, but you can only reread those fics so many times, and fic of that quality has been especially sparse in the last few fandoms I’ve drifted through, and so the craving lingered.

Then it hit me: hey, you know what fandom used to be really good for that kind of fic? Inception.

And after all this time in Venom fandom, it was hardly a big jump to more Tom Hardy, so.

Maybe the bigger wonder is that nearly ten years on, most of the fic is still just as good as I remember it being. Mirabella’s Towards Zero remains one of the most satisfying things I’ve ever read in any fandom, and delires’ chav!Eames AU is better than any idea that cracked has any goddamn right to be, and (at least as long as you’re into the juggernaut ship that is Arthur/Eames) you are spoilt for choice for more.

But revisiting a fandom this much later and binging this much fic, you notice things. We’ll start with…

The Film

Still holds up on rewatching today. It will never be nearly as smart a film as I’ve seen some claim: totems, for one, make no fucking sense (they’re objects with details known only to you, but if Cobb can unintentionally bring a carbon copy of his wife into a dream, why not a top that falls over when spun? And why does it keep spinning indefinitely in dreams, anyway?), and for all the exposition on ‘kicks’, why the kicks need to be synchronised to work under sedation is woefully under-explained, to the point I’m always by distracted trying to make sense of it in the middle of the third act. (Do not even get me started on the ‘it’s actually about filmmaking!’ theory – the mental gymnastics required to explain how Yusuf or Mal fits in or why we’re so fixated on the importance of the set designer, of all roles, is laughable. Some of the parallels are moderately entertaining, but don’t try to tell me you’ve unlocked the secret meaning of the film – Inception is not a movie that makes you work that hard to find its main themes.)

But the film works despite its plotholes because it’s not, ultimately, a story driven by its mechanics: the endlessly spinning top may make no sense, but film is a visual medium, and it’s such a good visual gimmick it’s gets a pass. The practical stunts are still as impressive ever, but what really lifts Inception so far beyond your typical action/heist film – for me, at least – are the characters, and the huge emotional payoffs at the end. Fischer’s reconciliation with his father is no less moving for its falseness, “We did grow old together” has gotten a sniffle out of me time and again, and the final “We’ll be young men together” scene is wonderful in so many ways I could only dream there was the Cobb/Saito fic to live up to. It’s not for nothing I’ve got Inception mentally filed in my very short list of humanist action movies along with Mad Max: Fury Road, Terminator II, and precious few others.

And then there’s…

The Fandom

Film fandoms are always an interesting beast, peaking as they do when the film is still in theatres, when most folks writing fic are working off imperfect memories of having seen an hour or two’s worth of canon maybe once or twice at most. Fanon can go feral in far less conducive environments, is my point here – inevitably, there’ll be the details that get analysed to death or flanderised to the point of parody, and the details that get altogether forgotten. Here’s just one example that hit me on a rewatch: I have lately read god knows how many different theories on just what it means that Arthur knew Eames was in Mombasa – none of them the least bothered by how everything in Cobb’s behaviour in that scene suggests he already knows exactly where he’s going, and may even be right now leaving to catch his flight. We could talk about the artefacts of clunky exposition being shoehorned into the dialogue, or the actual intent of that exchange, but shipper-goggles give you some powerful tunnel-vision (and I say this as someone who ships it like burning).

Binge as much fic as fast as I have in the last few months, and you begin to notice trends. Common themes and popular fanon that have ascended to gospel, and facets of the original film I’d love to see explored that fandom seems to have collectively missed altogether (and the sad lack of decent Cobb/Saito is only one). Below, in no particular order, are some of those observations.

Since most of these come across as critical, I want to emphasise that I have had a ball revisiting the fic in this fandom, and there are probably multiple fics guilty of everything I touch on below which I have loved to bits. It’s only the repetition that really starts to make you sit up and notice.

1. The Cobb-bashing, oh my god the Cobb-bashing! I had forgotten just how much this fandom hates Cobb. In the film, Cobb’s plan is the only reason Arthur and Eames ever end up in the same room at all – yet in fanfic, Cobb has been recast as the only thing keeping them apart. I’m not kidding there – fic with that exact premise is almost its own genre. In Inception fanon, Cobb is crazy and cares only about himself, and Arthur has wasted years of misplaced loyalty keeping him alive. Fanon!Eames hates Cobb for monopolising Arthur’s attention (in the film, Eames seems underwhelmed to learn Cobb is still working with Arthur at all). Fanon!Eames only works with Cobb at all because it’s an excuse to work with Arthur (in the film, they’re barely capable of having a civil conversation). Fanon!Eames never forgives Cobb for concealing the level of sedation they were under Inception job, and nor does Arthur (in the film, no-one even mentions Cobb’s deception after they leave the first level, and Eames’ main disappointment at the end is that he won’t get to see the Fischers’ big reconciliation, but why let that douse a good hateboner?) Meanwhile, Yusuf’s corresponding betrayal and Arthur’s equally-disastrous research-fail are rarely referenced. It’s not every fic, but the base level of Cobb-hate around these parts is pretty astounding. There’s nothing new about fans bashing the main character for having the gall to take screentime away from their OTP, and I’d be the last to play down Cobb’s real failings. But when one finds oneself tempted to leave enthusiastic comments on decade-old fic, praising the author for giving Cobb a minor scene or two where he gets to be a total bro to Arthur for a change… I promise you, it’s not me, it’s this fandom.

2. For all that Eames is basically the single biggest reason I’m reading in this fandom, his fanon characterisation leaves something to be desired. I do get the appeal of flirty!Eames or pining!Eames – it’s just that once in a while, you find yourself longing for fic about the guy who was actually in the movie – y’know, the one who’s first response to Arthur’s name was, “Arthur? Are you still working with that stick-in-the-mud?” I am totally down with the idea he was feigning indifference– maybe for Cobb’s benefit, maybe he’s actively in denial himself, whatevs. But fanon!Eames characterisation typically ranges from “hopelessly in love with Arthur from the moment they met” to “a walking sexual harassment lawsuit in action,” and neither of those guys could convincingly feign indifference to save their lives. It’s also a shame we don’t see more of the side of Eames that got so genuinely, unashamedly invested in what they were doing for Fischer – quite beyond the money and the prestige, Eames loves that they get to fix Fischer’s relationship with his father and reveal Browning as the rat that he is, and it’s a wonderfully humanising side to such a shady character. There should be so much scope in there to cast Eames was a guy with a real idealistic streak, or more conscience than he’d usually admit to, or just an abiding love for melodrama – the possibilities go on and on (and if you can’t think of a dozen ways to tie any of those in as fuel for his rivalry with Arthur for bonus shippy fodder, you aren’t even trying). But that part of Eames never does seem to have found a place in the fandom’s collective headcanon, because hell if I can find any exploration of it in fic, le sigh. (Cynically, I have to wonder if it’s because it clashes with the fanon where Eames spent the Inception job furiously hating Cobb and focused on Arthur, but even that seems somewhat lacking as an answer. Who even knows?)

3. As a corollary to the above, remarkably few fics make any attempt to deal with the fact that Arthur and Eames a) basically hate each other, b) for reasons that do not entirely revolve around how Arthur won’t put out. Obviously, this is a ‘hate’ that covers a much deeper well of underlying respect, but these are two guys who only stop taking potshots at each other when they’re being shot at for real, and to me that is 95% of the fun of the pairing – why does no-one even seem to try to recreate that dynamic in fic? Even 99% of Eames’ infamous ‘flirting’ would be better described as him pulling Arthur’s pigtails. Yet virtually no-one seems to want to tackle their antipathy head-on – even fic that acknowledges it as a past phase of their relationship isn’t set during that phase. I’m all for seeing them eventually end up friendlier, but you’ve got to show me how they get there first – that’s the good bit! Why does everyone skip over it? :((((

4. This fandom has SUCH a thing for underage!Arthur. Fics will go on and on about how young he looks, or theorise that he was actually underaged when he first got into dreamshare, or at least looked it. Seriously, the idea of Eames having mistaken Arthur for a teen when they first met is, like, the accepted pan-fandom headcanon as to why they don’t get on (unless we’re in military-backstory land, in which case it’s that Arthur had to deal with Eames hitting on him during the time of DADT). Then there are the many (MANY) AUs where Arthur really is a teen, hitting on the much-older Eames – there’s that one semi-parody where even twenty-something!Arthur gets cockblocked by his own looks, and there’s even at least one that flips things so that Eames the one who was underage when they met, just for variety.

It’s a real Thing, and I only wish I understood where it comes from, since (to me) Arthur has always looked like the 29yo man JGL legitimately was back when Inception hit screens – I don’t think he’d even passed as a Hollywood!teen for a solid half a decade at that point. So… are there really that many people who thought JGL looked that young when the film came out, or is this just one of those fannish meme things? I may never know.

5. No-one (by which I mean almost no-one) gets how limbo works. Fic after fic treats it as basically just a garden-variety coma, and colleagues can spend days or months moving the victim, gathering a team and planning a complex rescue. Rarely is it ever remembered the whole point of limbo is that you can age and die trapped in your own mind in no more than hours in the real world. When Eames talks about being ‘trapped in limbo until our brains turn to scrambled egg’, I think it’s safe to assume he’s being pretty literal. Basically, if you’re not treating limbo as the temporal equivalent of the Total Perspective Vortex, you’re probably doing it wrong.

6. No-one does anything interesting with Ariadne. This, I have some sympathy for: it’s hard to know where to go with someone who ends the film where she does – her push-pull relationship with the world of illegal dreamshare is not a contradiction that can be easily resolved in a subplot, if at all. But the Ariadne who so quickly had Cobb picked as a loose canon never seems to appear in fic either, and nor does the Ariadne with the guts to sneak into his dream to find answers, or the prodigy whose last-minute moment of inspiration saved the whole job. No, Inception fic is more likely to give you an Ariadne who giggles and drags her teammates out partying than any of that, which is absurd to the point of being genuinely offensive. Seriously, that is some A-grade “all we remembered about her is that she’s female”-bullshit. Even when she’s not saddled with OOC giggle fits, fic!Ariadne also remains frustrating static: years after the film, she’ll still be doing extractions with the Inception team, despite seeming no more at home in their world. Where’s the Ariadne who embraces the underworld wholeheartedly and reaches Arthur or Cobb levels of badassery? The Ariadne whose natural gifts and overconfidence get her into Cobb-levels of trouble? Who takes the Inception job as inspiration to go into therapeutic uses of dreams? Who finds legitimate dream-related work through Miles or Saito, but still lets the old team drag her back into extractions every once in a while (because she’s easily one of the most reliable architects in the whole shady business, and there’s a part of her that still kind of loves it)? WHERE?

The obvious rejoinder to all this is that it’s hardly surprising Ariadne doesn’t get much play when you’re mostly reading Arthur/Eames fic. So (because the land of fic is still terrible at cataloguing character-specific gen) I had a dig through some Arthur/Ariadne fic for comparison – only to run into much the same frustrations all over again. No-one takes her character anywhere very interesting.

So you can imagine my surprised delight when I tried a couple of Arthur/Ariadne/Eames fics on a whim, and almost immediately found not one but two different stories willing to dive headfirst into the questions surrounding Ariadne’s future in the world of illegal dreamshare (plus multiple stories which made a very convincing case that Ariadne should absolutely celebrate their successful Inception by having a threesome with her colleagues, I mean, damn).

I have absolutely no idea what it says about fandom that I had to go looking at threesome fic to find real character development, but at this point, I’ll take it.

7. So, I get why everyone reads Eames as queer (duh), but having discovered two quite excellent straight!Eames fic (which is to say, fic which utterly sells the idea that Eames considers himself straight or had no experience with men until long after meeting Arthur), the fact no equivalent seems to exist for Arthur baffles me. Sure, there’s one or two stories where one smile from Eames is about all it takes to make him change his mind, and one great kink meme fill that might have been just what I was looking for if it had ever been finished. But otherwise, the idea that Arthur (a guy who snogs Ariadne and is given no other obvious sexuality) -- the same Arthur whom every other fic portrays as seriously emotionally repressed – the idea this guy might not be experienced and comfortable dating men just… doesn’t seem to have occurred to anyone. Which is so weird.

Is there not enough RL evidence that Tom Hardy can and does make straight guys reconsider their preferences? Is the idea of an Arthur who’s repressed that side of his own sexuality not a juicy enough explanation for the tension between them? How on earth did we wind up with a fandom where Eames is more likely to be the designated “straight” one at the start of the story than Arthur? The mind boggles.

Holy shit, you’re still reading? Damn! Have some more recs as thanks for listening to me ramble at so much length.

Recs!

Here’s those two from the top again, because I really do love them that much

We Can Do This Until We Pass Out by delires Disturbing London, baby, we about to branch out. (The one where Eames is a chav)

Towards Zero by Mirabella Five levels down, and five to dig yourself back out. Arthur met Eames' projection long before he met Eames.

Where the Dead Live also by Mirabella There's a monster in Arthur's basement. Maybe he shouldn't have invited it in. It’s the vampire!Apocalypse, and this one is intense. Utterly brilliant, but equally unapologetic about the implications of its premise. So, for a somewhat-lighter take on monster!Eames, I will also throw in:

Cthonical’s demon!Eames verse Unfinished -- arguably never even properly started, just a series of ficlets from a ‘verse that never quite got written, but they are scorching hot and still well worth a look.

That’s a lot of darker fic though, probably time to lighten the mood a little.

Anal [Inception] aka Not Now Cobb We're Doing BGs also by cthonical Arthur and Eames both play WoW. They kick ass at Warsong Gulch, and when they team up they’re nigh on unstoppable.They don’t know they’re playing with each other.

Champion Sound by pyrimidine Prompt: Arthur is a DJ, Eames is a bartender.

London Bridge by sorrynotsorry Arthur loves whiskey, and maybe strippers.

My two favourite Arthur/Eames/Ariadne fics

How to Cure Insomnia by wonderfulwrites When she called Arthur for advice on how to deal with the unexpected insomnia - okay, fine, on the pretense of asking for advice – she hadn’t expected to have to wade through a sea of bodies to see him. But then, she also hadn’t expected Eames’s cheerful but surprising, Just come, Ariadne. You can sleep when you’re dead. Or Eames, at all, really. The Wind on the Mountain by Starlingthefool Something in her rebels against this casual, passive seduction. God knows why, but she’s sitting up in the water, taking her foot back from Eames and dislodging Arthur’s hands from her back. She stands, wet underwear clinging ridiculously to her, and says to Arthur, “All right. Your turn.”

Aaand let’s have a few more straight Arthur/Eames to round it out.

Untitled and Untitled, redux by Helenish -- two variants on a theme, and do not let the lack of proper titles put you off, they’re both great.

Unexpected Plot Twist by ethrosdemon Post-Inception -- long and (as promised) twisty, and a very solid read.

Four Corners by Mithrigil In Eames’ line of work, a first impression means nearly everything. It’s always a pity when he doesn’t get off on the right foot.

Kiss With A Fist by cmonkatiekatie Because apparently, to find real Arthur/Eames antagonism, I have to go looking for hate sex. (Not complaining, this is some amazing hate sex.)

And also basically Everything by Wiltling There’s a darker vibe to their work, but it rarely gets oppressive -- just generally a lot of great fic.

#Inception #meta #fic recs

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thesmalltowngal · 5 years

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Snowbaz 15- Romeo and John

Otp Prompt #15: Simon and Baz are both cast in Romeo & Juliet, but the roles they get are… interesting. (Prompt idea credit to @yellow-car)

Sorry I didn’t post yesterday or the day before! I went to a football game (and got home super late), and then I had a birthday party to go to, and I just got super behind on writing. This one is extra long, just because I really felt the inspiration with this one. 😂 Enjoy!

Somehow, Agatha convinced me to sign up for the Watford school play. (There’s only one every four years because we don’t often have time for extracurriculars at a magicks school). This year’s play is Romeo and Juliet (I’ve read this book once- didn’t understand a word). Agatha told me that I was a shoe-in for Romeo and she (of course) was going to be Juliet. It would work out perfectly. I suppose I would have been perfect for Romeo (other than my utter lack of coordination and my terrible singing voice) if bloody Baz of all people hadn’t decided to audition as well.

When we first got to auditions, everything was fine. Totally alright. We got in groups and practised our auditions songs (both Baz and Agatha said I sounded like a dying cat) and acted out scenes. By the end of the day, I was thoroughly beat. Exhausted on all accounts and ready to go home, even if it was with Baz. Of course he was flawless at singing, acting, and dancing. His voice sounded smooth and sweet. His feet moved like someone was moving them perfectly for him, and he acted as if someone else had entirely possessed him.

So the day after (today), everyone comes back to the theatre (a run down old thing- falling apart at the seams) to be given their roles. The theatre teacher starts listing off names one by one, stating recommended role and a secondary role that they could be considered for under certain circumstances. Of course Baz gets the role of Romeo with the secondary role of… Romeo. Literally the only role they would like him to play since he’s so bloody perfect. Figures. He looks over at me and flashes me a smug smile.

Agatha would be the last to be given her role since she’s toward the end, and I’m right before her. When the teacher finally gets to me, she says simply, “Simon Snow: Villager #3…” She hesitates before saying, “Or Juliet.” I nearly choke on my own spit, and when I look over at Baz he’s doubled over in laughter. Tears spill out of the corners of his eyes and he’s holding his stomach. His laugh his big and bellowy, and for some reason, part of me feels… satisfaction? At the fact that I made him smile for real and laugh so hard. Granted, it’s at my expense. Agatha’s eyes bulge out of her head and she turns a bright red. (Embarrassed to be dating a male Juliet, I suppose).

“Um, er- Madame? Pardon, but what exactly made you consider me for the role of Juliet?” I’m sure my face is bright red from embarrassment as I stumble over my words. Baz looks like he’s about to combust or pop a vein.

“Well, Mr. Snow, you have certain… qualities… that might make you a good candidate. Also, we thought perhaps more LGBT representation among the Watford theatre programme may be good,” Baz is practically choking on his own spit and his shoulders shake with laughter. He is just loving this. “In fact, you were our first choice, but we assumed you wouldn’t be interested, so we gave it to…” She glances at her list before looking back up at me. “To Agatha Wellbelove. If you want the role it’s yours, but-” I look over at Baz (who has abruptly replaced his laughter with a smug smirk) and Agatha who are looking at each other. Agatha looks excited, and Baz looks thoroughly satisfied at the fact that he would be getting to snog my girlfriend. Well, I’m not about to bloody well let that happen.

“Crowley, I’ll take it. I’ll be Juliet- but can we maybe change the name to something a… tad more masculine?” Agatha has whipped her head toward me so fast and hard that I’m not sure it didn’t give her whiplash. She glares at me and I can feel waves of angry magic rolling off of her. (Usually it’s me who overflows with angry magic). Baz has schooled his expression into one of surprise and curiosity.

The professor claps her hands together excitedly. “Wonderful! Perfect. You can be… John, yes?” I nod my head and she continues, turning to Agatha. “Agatha darling, you’ll be a perfect fit for Rosaline, the girl that rejects Romeo. Get ready everyone- we officially have all roles! Rehearsal for Romeo and John starts tomorrow!” She dismisses everyone and I immediately turn to Agatha. She looks bloody pissed. I suppose I’ll have to kiss Baz now (a fact that makes my insides churn), but better me than my girlfriend.

“How could you, Simon?! You get a lead role even when it’s supposed to be a girl and I’m the one who talked you into this in the first place and you knew that I wanted to be Juliet?” She’s turning red, but she has to understand where I’m coming from. The only reason I did it was so that Baz and Agatha wouldn’t kiss. I’m too worried that they’ll end up together if that happens.

“Aggie, I only did it so you wouldn’t snog my enemy!”

“Oh and it’s much better if you do?”

“Yes, yes it is!” Now I’m getting angry at her, and I can feel the magic rising to my skin- Agatha doesn’t seem to notice (or maybe she just doesn’t care).

“Aleister Crowley, Simon! You two have more bloody chemistry than he and I do!” What in the bloody hell is she on about? She throws her hands up in defeat. “That’s it, Simon, I need a break.”

“A break?” A break from what? From the play? From Baz? I support all of those things.

“A break from us, Si. I just… I need some space.” Everything goes momentarily red before I feel a strong, calloused hand clamp down on my shoulder and drag me out of the building, pushing and shoving me farther away from campus. When the person spins me around, I’m face to face with Baz. I lunge for him, but he ducks away. (Just as graceful as ever, the prat.)

“Calm down, Snow! You were about to go off! Crowley, you’re lucky I saved your bloody arse when I did. As much as I was enjoying the show, didn’t want you to blow us all up.” He sneers at me and I growl at him, but I can feel myself calming down. “Just breathe, Snow.” I take in deep breaths and close my eyes, trying to think about happy things. When I finally open my eyes, completely cooled down and ready to thank Baz, he’s gone. I look around, but I can’t see him anywhere. I suppose we’ll just pretend that never happened.

…

When I finally went back to our room last night after my near-meltdown, Baz was already in bed and asleep. (Or so he acted like he was- he acts like he’s asleep a lot, but I know when he’s really asleep. His breathing is different). This morning, he acted like him comforting me had never even happened, and everything went back to normal. He sneered at me all day, and I growled at him in turn. Name calling. Truth be told, it all just feels routine now. Like I’m just going through all of the emotions of despising him… but I’m not totally sure that I do. Not after last night. Even though it would have been hilarious for him to see me go off yesterday, (he would think it was funny because he knows that I subconsciously protect him when I go off. I can’t even help it) he helped me calm down. In fact, he even stopped me from making a huge mistake by yelling at Agatha, which isn’t like him at all.

So now I’m here at rehearsal, trying not to stare at my arch-rival. Agatha went through with her promise of being on a break, but if I’m being honest, I’m not all that mad. I think I’ve been thinking (well, as much as it’s possible for me to think) about breaking it off with her for a long bloody time. I just… kind of filed it away under the things I’m not supposed to think about. As with my hatred of Baz, I just feel like we were just going through the motions of dating. I love Agatha, but I don’t quite think I’m in love with her. I suppose Penny was right. Right now, Agatha is ignoring me completely while we learn stage directions. There aren’t many songs to sing, but there is a party in which people are supposed to dance together- I have to dance with Baz. But for now, we’re learning the very beginning of the play, and we aren’t quite ready to learn the dances yet.

The whole rehearsal, Baz and I are separated, because our two characters don’t meet yet- we’re in completely different scenes. Romeo and Juliet (or Romeo and John, I suppose) seems like a silly concept. The whole bloody forbidden love thing doesn’t seem very realistic; if you love someone that much, it’s not going to be horrible, yeah? I mean, Crowley, if a romance was really forbidden in the real world, surely the ‘main characters’ would be like ‘screw this, this is absurd’ and then they would ride off into the sunset. But these two both end up dying. Over love. What a cliche. (I don’t know how Agatha talked me into this). But anyway, Baz and I don’t see each other for nearly the whole rehearsal, except for at the very end when we’re all seated around the professor.

We’re going over every act and every scene in our scripts, reading the lines all out loud. The only problem is that the professor has Baz and I standing in the middle of the circle for ‘practise acting together’. The good news is that no one seems to be looking at us- everyone is just staring down at their scripts.

In a few scenes we have to change pronouns since the lead (me) is now a male, but they’re easy fixes. When we get to the party part in the script, Baz looks up at me, but keeps saying his lines. (Of course the twat already has lines memorized). Our characters just talk to each other for a while (I fumble on a few lines because bloody hell Baz is staring me down) before dancing. We skip that part because we haven’t learned it yet. When we get to the first kissing scene, I feel myself blush for some reason. Just the fact that I have to kiss my nemesis is weird. But if I have to do it for the play, I suppose I will. But not now. We won’t do the kiss until opening night- the professor said so.

I don’t know how Baz is so good at playing this love sick character when he’s never been with anyone, as far as I know. In this scene, the two characters are falling in love with each other. Baz delivers every line with love and lust, portraying this forbidden love thing far better than I am. We make eye contact as he delivers a line. “Prodigious birth of love is it to me that I must love a loathed enemy…” He sounds so genuinely said that for a second, I nearly forget that it’s just the character that he’s playing, and not Baz himself. Baz would never stand to pine someone- he’s just not that kind of person.

Throughout the whole rehearsal, it was weird to see Baz interacting with people. Actually laughing. It’s like he really comes alive when we’re all working for the same thing. In fact, he’s actually tolerable. He cracks jokes himself, and I even caught him laughing at a few of mine. It’s so unlike him that it’s slightly disorienting. In fact, when we’re finally done with rehearsal, he doesn’t speed up out of the door to get ahead of me. He walks with me. Well, maybe not with me, but a few feet beside me.

“You sound like a robot, Snow,” I look over, expecting to see a sneer, but instead I see a small smile. “Work on sounding more love sick.” He says it like it’s so easily- then again, everything seems to be easy for him.

“I don’t even know how to do that,” He raises a curious eyebrow at me, and I walk a little closer to him so we don’t have to yell across the whole bloody field.

“Didn’t you and Wellbelove just break up?”

“Well, yeah, but-”

“Well you must be hurting then, Snow. Tap into that. Acting is just… drawing upon experiences and feelings, no matter how deep down they may be. Crowley, just work on putting some emotion into your lines!” He shoves me (but with no aggression… which I don’t know what to make of) and I realize that for him to draw up those emotions, he must have some love sickness for himself.

“So then… how do you draw up love?” He scoffs and rolls his eyes, like he thinks I’m taking a stab at him. “No, really. What do you draw from?” He looks at me funny for a moment before changing his expression into his usual one that he saves especially for me- a sneer and venom in his voice.

“We’re not friends, Snow,” He spits out my name, and I just want him to go back to how he was acting before. Actually pleasant for once. “That is none of your bloody business, you twat.” He speeds up, passing me and jogging toward Mummers House. I make a feeble attempt at trying to call out to him, but I suppose having fun with him was only meant to last a moment.

…

Baz ignores me whenever he can. He ignores me often, but it’s different this time. He always takes a chance to make fun of me and poke me until I go off. Maybe brag about stealing my girlfriend. But now he’s not saying anything. I’ve tried provoking him, just to get something from him, but it hasn’t worked. He just ignores me, not even throwing the occasional sneer my way. Yesterday at rehearsal, our characters still hadn’t met, so we didn’t interact much. He was perfectly fine with everyone else- joking around (as far as joking goes for him, anyway) and laughing. It felt odd, feeling a bit sad when he would stop smiling when he looked at me. Like my face made him sad.

Tonight at rehearsal, it’s time for everyone to learn the dance for a party scene. Everyone partners up- including Baz and I. The choreographer teaches us the basic steps, and I’m certain that I’ll trip over my feet and piss Baz off even more. But we set up nonetheless. I’ve never been a good dancer, and I’ve certainly never danced with a bloke. But it seems like Baz has done this before, because he takes control. He grabs one of my hands, lifting it up (he has very rough hands, but they’re oddly soothing) and wraps one arm under my armpit and sets his hand on my back. I follow his lead and rest my arm on his, letting my hand settle on his upper back as well. He doesn’t look at me once while we set up. Crowley it’s weird to be this close with Baz. I can feel his breath, and smell his overwhelming scent of cedar and bergamot.

Looking up at him (he’s always been taller than me by at least three inches- and he never lets me forget it, either), I see that he looks tired. He has bags under his eyes, and his hair is falling from it’s usual slicked back state. His eyes are a stormy grey (bastard always had better eyes than me, too). As soon as the music starts, he begins to move his feet all around. He has the perfect posture while gliding around the floor, and I can only just follow his lead. He’s so graceful. His back is strong (and oddly tense) under my hand, but the hand that I’m holding is loose while it holds mine. In the scene, we’re never supposed to break eye contact, but he seems to be looking anywhere but at me as we dance. He spins me around many times, but we’re only halfway through the dance (it’s killing me- I don’t know how Baz is still breathing normally) when the music stops, as well as the other students.

The professor walks up to us, clicking her heels and stops right in front of Baz. She leans in to whisper something in his ear, and then promptly turns on her heel back to her spot in the audience when he nods. He rolls his eyes as she walks away, but he readies to dance again as the music starts. This time, he’s looking right at me. In the play, his character should be looking at me as though he was falling in love with me, but Baz looks like the exact opposite of that. He just looks… bored.

I lean forward until my lips graze his jaw as I whisper, “I know you hate me Baz, but Romeo is supposed to be falling in love with John… act.” When I pull away, I see that his face has changed to (a very real looking) fake smile, and his eyes have softened. I don’t know how he manages to fill his eyes with love (I didn’t even know what that would look like- now I know that it looks like this), but he does. He really looks as though he’s falling in love. We glide across the floor with minimal tripping as we finally get to the end of the song. When it ends, Baz springs away from me and sneers. Oh how quickly things change.

…

The next rehearsal is the kiss scene. Baz and I take our places (we’ve been assigned to memorize these lines- I wanted to practise with him, but he laughed in my face) facing each other. He begins, standing right in front of me, eyes pleading, taking one of my hands with his. (The text was altered to make more sense in modern times, so we can actually understand what the other is saying).

“Your hand is like a holy place that my hand is unworthy to visit. If you’re offended by the touch of my hand, my two lips are standing here like blushing pilgrims, ready to make things better with a kiss…”

“Good pilgrim, you don’t give your hand enough credit. By holding my hand you show polite devotion. After all, pilgrims touch the hands of statues of saints. Holding one palm against another is like a kiss.” I say in turn, pulling him a little closer to me. (It’s not in the script, but it feels right for this scene).

“Don’t saints and pilgrims have lips too?” “Yes, pilgrim—they have lips that they’re supposed to pray with.”

“Well then, saint, let lips do what hands do. I’m praying for you to kiss me. Please grant my prayer so my faith doesn’t turn to despair.” I’m so lost in my head (thinking about Baz saying he wants me to kiss him, even though it’s just his character), that Baz has to squeeze my hand to remind me that we’re still in the scene.

I shake out of my stupor and reply, “Saints don’t move, even when the grant prayers.”

“Then don’t move while I act out my prayer,” He responds, leaning in. I stay stone still while he presses his lips to my cheek (for the real showing we’ll do a real kiss, but we’re marking it for now with cheek kisses. Saving the real one for the showings was Baz’s idea- marking it with a cheek kiss was mine). His lips are cold and soft, and after he pulls away, I forget for a moment that we’re not alone in the classroom. I look around to see everyone staring at us. I’m red from head to toe. “Now my sin has been taken from my lips by yours.” He smiles as he says this, gazing into my eyes.

“Then do my lips now have the sin they took from yours?” I smirk at him, mostly because that’s what my character would probably do. I try to push any love that I have inside me to me eyes, showing the fact that I’m falling in love (in the play).

“Sin from my lips? You encourage crime with your sweetness. Give me my sin back.” It sounds like such a Baz thing to say that I’m caught off guard (for the tenth time today) for a moment.

I lean forward and put my hands on the back of his neck, pulling him to me (because he’s too tall for me to just reach forward) and placing a kiss on his cheek. It lasts a bit longer than the first one, and people start catcalling. I roll my eyes and blush as I spring away from Baz. The move felt so natural. Like I had taken him by the neck before- but I haven’t. Not even to get in a good punch, to my recollection.

I spend the rest of the night thinking about his lips on my cheek.

…

It’s been months since our first rehearsal for Romeo and John, and tomorrow morning is the first showing. Over the months, Baz has gotten less defensive, and we’re mainly back to normal. But for four hours of every day, we have to act like we’re falling hopelessly in love, which I suppose isn’t normal. Tonight was our last rehearsal, and we ran the whole thing through twice… except for the kisses. We have the dancing and acting down no problem, but I’m worried about the first kiss. Not just because I have to snog my enemy of all people, but because it’s a huge climactic part of the play- the moment where they’ve realized that they’re falling in love. Baz and I have fought for the past seven and a half years- how the bloody hell are we supposed to snog like we’re falling madly in love? Crowley, I’m nervous about it.

So nervous, in fact, that I sit bolt upright in bed and spell the lights on. I swing my legs over the side of my bed, turning toward Baz (I know he’s up- he’s breathing his awake and thinking breathing) and say, “Baz, get up.” He groans, but sits up nonetheless. He doesn’t look tired, exactly, but his sneer falls flat when he tried to throw one at me.

“Aleister Crowley, what is so important, Snow?”

“I’m nervous about the kiss tomorrow.” He rolls his eyes and runs a hand over his face.

“For Christs’ sake, if you don’t want to do it that much, Snow, we’ll do a kiss on the cheek.” He turns slightly pink, like this conversation is making him uncomfortable. (He must’ve just eaten).

“It’s not that I don’t want to,” He quirks an eyebrow at me, but I continue on. “It’s just that we’ve never actually done it before, and I’m bloody worried that it won’t be good enough.”

“So what would put your dimwitted little mind to rest?” I think for a moment, and I think I know exactly what will make me feel better about it.

“We need to pratise- just once to make sure it will be good enough for the stage.”

“You’ve gone right loony, Snow.” He shakes his head and sneers at me. (A real one this time, not one that falls flat).

“Please, Baz? We’ll be doing it for the next week anyway. What’s one more?” He rolls his eyes, but stand up anyway. I stand up too, so we’re facing each other now, close enough that I can see flecks of blue in his grey eyes.

“Fine, Simon. One time.” He looks annoyed, but I’m thrown by his choice of words. Simon? My heart flutters with something that I don’t quite recognize, but I’m startled from my thoughts when he snaps three times in front of my face and raises an eyebrow.

“Okay, so… how do we do it? Do we start by saying some of our lines, or just-” I’m cut off when Baz’s face turns soft for a moment before he cups my face and presses his lips to mine. I gasp and then sigh against his mouth, running my hands in his hair and on his stomach. My mouth opens to let him in, and his does do. We’re breathing heavily and I can barely even think. His mouth is cold but in a wonderful way. Even though he’s a bloke (and my enemy), this might just be the best kiss I’ve ever had.

It feels like fireworks. Like one of those kisses in the movies where the camera does a circle around them and zooms out and in while they just grab at each other. He grabs a fistful of my hair and I can’t help but sigh against his mouth. Our noses bump together, and it’s just so desperate. He’s my enemy and I’m supposed to hate this… hate him. This kiss is magic. This kiss is… forbidden. Now I understand what Romeo and Juliet is about.

When he finally pulls away, we’re both breathing heavily and he simply says, “Good enough for the stage, Snow?” I just stand there, mouth open and eyes trained on him as he lays down in bed and spells the lights off. I stand there, slowly nodding, for what feels like hours before I eventually find my way to bed.

I am screwed.

…

It’s opening night tonight. This morning, Baz just went about sneering at me as per usual, but I couldn’t bring myself to growl back. Because that kiss just kept replaying itself in my mind over and over again. The way we clawed at each other… the desperation that I’m sure we both felt at that moment. This morning, Agatha told me she was ready to get back together, but I couldn’t let it happen. I just don’t love her like I thought I did. And after that kiss… nothing feels the same. Not for me, anyway.

All through the first act, everything goes smoothly. I can’t stop staring at Baz. When we get to the dancing scene, it feels like everyone else just melted away and it was just him and I… floating across the stage. I kept staring at his lips, and in his eyes. I never wanted to stop. That kiss had to mean something to him. It meant everything to me.

When we get to the kissing scene, there aren’t bloody butterflies in my stomach- there are birds. I try to deliver all of my lines without my voice hitching. When he first kisses me, it’s not open-mouthed; it’s not supposed to be. But for the second one, when we both lean in to kiss each other… it can be as desperate as we want it to be. As soon as his lips touch mine, I’m consumed by him. Everything just melts away and it’s just Baz and his bloody mouth. We claw at each other, and I can barely even hear the applause from the audience- it all just seems so far away. It’s the end of Act 1, so the curtains close, calling for the end of the scene; and the kiss. But I don’t want to stop. We stay like that for two full minutes after the curtains close until eventually Agatha comes to rip me from him. As I walk off stage left, I look behind me and see Baz looking at me, looking as confused as I feel.

“What the hell was that, Simon?!” She’s raging in my face, but I can barely focus on her. I’m ready for the next kiss scene.

“What was what?” I ask like I don’t know. I know exactly what she’s talking about. What was that kiss with your mortal enemy?

“You and Baz basically devouring each other in front of everyone! It was so irre-” She’s cut off by the professor coming around clapping and shrieking like a banshee.

“So spectacular! That was wonderful! You could see the love- the longing! Brilliant! In all of my years of teaching drama, I’ve never seen such great actors with such feigned chemistry. Bloody amazing!” She keeps on about what amazing acting it was… but I’m not so sure that it is just acting anymore.

…

The rest of the play goes by without a hitch, and every scene I have with Baz is magic. I can feel the electricity when we kiss, and I can see the sparks when we just talk. It feels so forbidden, and I suddenly have a newfound respect for this play. At the end, Baz and I walk onto the stage together, hand in hand, bowing for the audience as they cheer and throw flowers at us. (There’s no way they actually brought the flowers- not many grow around here, so they must’ve just spelled them). Even as we exit the stage, I don’t let go of Baz’s hand. We walk back out with the rest of the cast and do the bows. The audience goes crazy, but all I’m focused on is the feeling of Baz’s hand in mine.

As the curtain finally closes, everyone is cheering, and the cast on the stage is brimming with joy and excitement. I turn to Baz, grinning as I see that he’s smiling, too. “We did great, Baz!” He looks at me as though he’s still in character- with love in his eyes. I look back up at him (with love in my eyes too, I’m sure- there’s a lot to draw from at the moment), but I don’t have to act when I smile at him; it’s genuine.

In the middle of all the chaos, there we are. Baz and I. Romeo and John. Tyrannus Basilton Grimm-Pitch and Simon Snow- what have you. In the middle of everything, here we are, two boys with conflicting feelings, being told that we can’t be together. Being told by our friends and family that we were destined to kill each other.

Everything goes quiet as the Love Story of Baz and Simon comes to a riveting conclusion (or maybe beginning), when I pull him closer and kiss him like there’s no tomorrow. Everyone is silent, but when we finally break apart, looking at the cast, everyone erupts in cheers. I laugh for just a moment before I’m pulled back into Baz. Suddenly I know how I managed to draw up the emotions of love in order to act…

Because in the middle of everything- all of the chaos, drama and heartbreak…

I have Baz. And that’s all I need to feel all of the love in the world.

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intothewickedwood · 4 years

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Once Upon A Time Rewatch: 3x10 The New Neverland

Yay! A nice Snowing centric!

Back to Storybrooke!

Weeee! Nothing to see here. Just a flying pirate ship.

Aww. Granny and Grumpy hugging Henry!

So many hugs!

Snow and Ariel reunited!

Oh snap! I forgot that wasn’t the real Henry!

Aw, Wendy reunited with her bros! I wonder if they stayed in Storybrooke as they’re originally from the Land Without Magic. Her little brothers are now physically older than her! That must be weird!

Oh they are going home. But is there home still there’s? They parents must unfortunately be dead by now.

Oh man, poor Henry trapped in that box all alone. If I was him I’d have thought I was trapped forever but he probably had enough faith to believe otherwise. It’s so lucky they released him. They were so close to just inadvertently abandoning him forever. I wonder what it’s like in that box. Is it like a genie lamp or bigger?

I wish Hook and Bae would stop fighting over Emma’s affections. Just let her choose if she wants to be with any of them.

Regina: “Give Tink her wings back.” The Blue Fairy: “In case you forgot, I don’t take orders from you.” Blue isn’t playing no games wid you, girl!

Blue is stone cold, man.

Snowing are being such cuties on their honeymoon. Look at them!

Nice try Snow! Charming ain’t no fool!

But what if Medusa’s just chillin?

Wait, why was that picture of Snow and Charming agreeing to go find Medusa just before the picture of Hansel and Gretel in the book? Hansel and Gretel retrieve the apple used for Snow’s sleeping curse in that story, which is of course before their honeymoon. Unless the stories in the book are not in order? Or it’s another Hansel and Gretel story?

How does Pan know about Regina’s vault? He seems to somehow know a lot about their histories. He must have spies everywhere or maybe he possesses some kind of clairvoyance, maybe even precognition. Or maybe he just read about it in the book.

Woah! Uh oh! He can just summon the shadow?! They didn’t count on that!

Well at least they’re not killing Medusa but still! Girl’s just chillin.

Snow not being able to put Regina out of her mind reminds me so much of Harry’s obsession with Draco in the Half-Blood Prince! I love how complex Snow and Regina’s relationship is. But of course I don’t blame her for not being able to put her out of her mind after a threat like that.

I love Charming’s blue outfit! It’s one of my favourite outfits!

What’s for din dins Snowing? David looks like he’s got some kinda pasta.

Oh! It’s Lasagna! Storybrooke’s citizens really love there Lasagna, huh?

Yay! David’s gonna be okay! Thanks Mr. Gold for saving my boy!

“Oh, if life were made of moments, Even now and then a bad one! But if life were only moments, Then you’d never know you had one” David’s an into the woods fan! Me too David, me too! I can definitely see David being into musical theatre. And we all know Zelena saw Wicked several times in New York! They both force the Charming-Mills family to see a musical once a month. You cannot convince me otherwise.

Emma, “I don’t know, keeping me away from Hook.” David, “You think I’m interested in Hook? Emma, I’m a married man.” Mlm David confirmed! And we all know Hook’s interested in you, David. I saw that flirting in Neverland! Look I like to delve into the wonderous world of Captain Charming every now and again, especially with Wish Hook. Snowing are forever my otp though!

Tink and Hook definitely had a thing in Neverland.

Ow! Poor Blue! That must have hurt!

‘Henry’ so evil. I love it! I needed more Pan!Henry or just evil Henry!

Look down! Don’t look Medusa in the eye!

Oh, snap!

Medusa used to scare the hell outta me! She’s still creeping me out though.

David, close your eyes!!

Noooooooo! Charming!!!

That’s petrifying! (See what I did there?)

I always think that when someone is turned to stone, the best thing you can do is lay them somewhere, because if they’re standing up, they can fall over and crumble! Just a life tip there.

Come on Snow! Freeze that bitch!

Charming! You’re okay!!

Charming: “Now I know what Frederick felt like.” Nice callback!

Can’t ‘Pan’ just step over the town line and regain his magic?

Oh yeah, the gun might stop him from doing that.

Lol. Regina’s just watching ‘Henry’ stare at magical objects evilly. Not suspicious at all!

Regina wanted to believe it was Henry so bad.

The Summer Palace is so beautiful, especially with those flowers.

My Snowing heart!! Forever melting because of these two! I love them so much.

They’re gonna have a bubby!!

I would have liked to have seen what Pan’s curse would look like. I know he was planning to kill the Charming’s etc. But if he didn’t kill them it could have been fun to see how things would have played out. I guess Pan was desperate for people to control. His lost boys had abandoned him and he needs to be in control at all times.

I really like this episode, more so than I remembered! It balances romance, character development, connecting the past story with the present one (I love it when they parallel Snow and Emma. They are more alike than they know), family, adventure and the threat of danger so well! I loved the Medusa scenes especially. They had me on edge!

#ouat 3x10 #3x10 the new neverland #ouat #once upon a time #snowing #mary margaret blanchard #david nolan #ouat rewatch #ouat rewatch 2019

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lumiereswig · 5 years

Note

Do you have any crossovers with/AUs inspired by "Moulin Rouge!"? I know there's a fics list page but my wifi is so stupid slow it never loads so I can never tell.

nope! srry

since u can’t load the fics page im gonna give it all to you right here boo

Lumiere discovers something new, post-curse: Matches

Plumette/Lumiere, pre-curse. Plumette growing up and Lumiere growing close. Lit By The Sun

Plumette/Lumiere, immediately after being cursed: Fire and Feathers

Lumiere meets the prince for the first time: A Showman Through and Through

Plumette/Lumiere as college kids: Modern AU that is not super great but eh i tried

plumiere in love: it’s right here for now (at least until I edit it and make it better)

here’s Scotland

“a maid that has a crush on Lumiere faking being Plumette and trying to seduce him”: hahaha this one still makes me laugh

abandoned ‘kidnapped’ fic—here

lumiere finding out plumette is pregnant: Here.

lumiere sees the baby for the first time: Here. Aww.

“a one shot in which plumette and lumiere go on a romantic tryst about the castle in the days following their wedding 💕”: poor cogsworth

Lumiere is the sexiest sandwich in the palace. Here.

Plumette gets sick, it’s really sad: Right over here, pal.

More plumiere falling in love here.

Tale as old as time, older than that guy, Beauty and Maurice.

garderenza backstory? here it is

So, like: what if Mulan showed up.

“can i please have a crack-shippy fic where everybody is in love with the wrong people.” Here.

figuring out how to be human again. here

lumiere/plumette body swap HERE.

“Movie night at the castle!” As you wish.

a bunch of other maids have a crush on lumiere and try to get his attention: a short fic about trapezes

“A group of poor motherless ducklings imprint on Plumette” QUACK QUACK.

“please expand on that night when Plumette and co. got drunk because of Chapeau’s brandy + wine idea…” I don’t know why I like writing drunk!staff so much but i DO

1991, MEET 2017!

What happened to Gaston? The only Gaston fic I’ll ever write, probably. Here.

He is nineteen. She is younger. Lumiere tells Plumette a fairytale. Lit by the Moon.

“How about a fic were the staff play light as a feather stiff as a board with Plumette as the board.“ what the fuck even is this game i am still confused but on y va, i guess

ATTRACTIVE FARMER MAN AND HIS TWO WIVES

Plumette’s last seconds before the curse takes hold. Laughing Still.

Forgotten. [Ongoing]

Plumiere in the rain. Quick mini-fic. I’ve Seen Fire and Rain

“quick question : how often does lumiere get sick?” Here.

“What if the day the curse was broken the staff go batshit crazy over being able to eat again so they eat until their stomachs hurt. Then Chip starts a food fight by throwing a bread roll at Cogsworth.” THIS HAPPENED?

“A dragon comes to try and eat Plumette” Lumiere is a fire-bender

“crack fic where they somehow discover theyre fictional” this one was so fun to write, lumiere picks up ewan’s scottish accent and hates it

“What about a really cute fic were Lumiere and Plumette fake being sick so they don’t have to work and get to spend the whole day together” poor cogsworth part 2

“Who gets the weird nightmares and who consoles the other at two in the morning because they’re in tears.” Me, because I just want my OTP to have nice things. Here.

”coffeeshop au but its still set in the 18th century“ BUT WHAT DO YOU THINK OF ROUSSEAU, THO??

“Can you write about Lumiere throwing Plumette a surprise birthday party for her?” hey

“Chip wants to be maître d’ someday and follows Lumière around the castle as his little protégé” he’s going to be a better one than lumiere here

“don’t think about how painful the transformation must have been for the servants" do i ever think of anything else. [the answer is no]

“*Whispers in your ear* AMNESIAC LUMIERE” FUCK. HOW’D YOU KNOW I LOVE AMNESIA FICS?? FUCK. ultimately one of my favorite fics. holy fuck

“*Whispers in your ear* AMNESIAC LUMIERE” part TWO, motherfuckers

“Maybe one during the curse where they can suddenly hear the soundtrack around them?“ poor cadenza

“What if somebody after the curse was broken just out of nowhere started playing the Aria. I NEED FEELS” have you thought about horrible things yet today

“The castle has to order in pizza” adam would like to register a complaint.

“Ewan McGregor and Lumiere switching universes" here

”A water balloon fight that gets out of hand?“ SPLASH.

Les Miserabeauty and the Beast. Here.

“Can you do where everyone is turn into a baby” ANGST

STANFOU ROMANCE

“Nutcracker AU?!” aw fuck here

“I Never Really Knew You”—Cadenza & Adam

“He Must Loathe Me”—Chapeau & Plumette

“The Sound of Her Weeping”—Garderobe & Lumiere

“Her Little Satin Slippers”—Cogsworth & Plumette

“Home”—Mrs. Potts & Plumette

“Chapeau’s Charade”—Belle & Chapeau

“Lullaby”—Garderobe & Plumette

“Cake in the Sun”—Lumiere & Stanley

“Like You Used To”—Adam & Garderobe

“Why The Beast Eats Like….That”—Chip & The Beast

“The Boy’s Hand”—Chip & Adam

“The Pink Vest”—Garderobe & Cogsworth

“Draw”—Maurice & Adam

“They’ll Never Meet Again”—Plumette & Garderobe.

“Her Beautiful Maman”—Garderobe & Plumette, in the parents AU. Also: Lumiere & Frou-Frou. Woof.

“have Belle and Adam watch batb 2017?” sure.

“I would love to see their reaction to singing in the rain! It’s my all time favorite movies!! ❤️❤️" 🌧🌧🌧🌧SAME 🌧🌧🌧🌧

“consider the coconut” MOANA CRACK.

“Plumiere goes to Paris?” Prequel fic! [oh là là]

“thy crackest crack of all - batb but adam/belle and lumiere/plumette swap places” lumiere turns into a dragon

“so. um. amnesiac adam?“ FUCK. FUCK.FUCK.

”Mary Poppins would be practically perfect in every way!” Feed the fucking birds

“I should have told you a long time ago.” Plumette wakes up, after their first night together. Fits into the “Lit by the Sun” story.

“This is why we can’t have nice things/you don’t see me”—right after the curse, Plumiere cope with their new forms. Angst?

“Prove It/You’re Drunk.” Lumiere had….a night of it. Poor Cogsworth, the Continuing Saga

“great comet” fic: the candle in the mirror

“I’ve been waiting a long time.” finally a happy!cogsworth fic. Tic toc.

“Batb and Frozen crossover pls“—it’s garbage

The whole palace body swaps. here

“What happens when Lumiere’s family wakes up and realizes they have a son at the palace?” well SHIT ! there’s a prompt

“Chapeau having to relearn and figure out how to play the violin once he’s turned into a coatrack.” Shh.

a cuisinier fic! this fandom doesn’t deserve him

“Batb and Robin Hood crossover!!!!!” fuck

“how about the castle residents plays a giant game of live clue.” Adam would like to register another complaint

Lit by the Stars. Plumette and Lumiere meet for the first time.

“belle catches a cold?” i’m allergic to fluff

“how about amnesiac belle this time?” FUCK

w o w this one’s about plumette & belle sharing plague stories

“Can you do where Lumiere and Plumette babysit Chip while Mrs. Potts is working” cute? ??

Wedding Cake: it’s huge

“lightly read fanfiction.” RIGHT?!

“You should let them watch the classic movie Beauty and the Beast” here

“ plumette x lumière modern spies AU” here.

“cogsworth angst” YOU GOT IT dude

“Hi, could you do some fluff and angst headcanons for Madame de Garderobe and Cadenza please xx” the honeymooners

“Shalalalalala my oh my, looks like the boy’s too shy, ain’t gonna kiss the girl” has lumiere ever been shy in his life ?

“Would you care to write a drabble of the castle redoing Mrs. and Mr. Potts’s wedding because Chip found his mother’s wedding dress and was bummed that he missed it?“ oh hey unrelated: i never dated a christmas ornament

“imagine plumiere first met AFTER they were turned into objects” um: FUCK YES.

“Batb characters in the titanic” too soon, people. too soon.

“Plumiere prompt: A whole new world! new fantastic point of view. No one to tell us no. Or where to go. Or say we’re only dreaming.” ok

“a touring theatre group comes to perform at the castle” this is more like a headcanon but it’s long as fuck so it ended up here

“cogsworth discovers he can fly” this is so wrong, this is so right

“Card Tricks”—Lumiere & Chip

“Coffee & Tea”—Lefou & Mrs. Potts

“Lion’s Mane”—Cuisiner & Plumette & Adam

“the characters read some of your fics and their reactions” o fuck. crack.

“Ok, but what about someone slipping Lumiere a love potion meant for Plumette??” kisses

Plumette stargazes; Lumiere dates someone else. Veronique

“ding dong we need more cogsworth- can we have something with him and mrs. potts bonding over all of their dumb kids” ding dong yes yes yes we do!

the villagers get cursed. a trash fic!!!![[[[ongoing]]]

Seating Arrangementsare! important! here.

“cogsworth sharing plumette’s first dance with her at her wedding, and…” I don’t dance.

poly garderenza/belle. i love this bullshit. i ship this

“Bonjour you wrote a fic about Luimere taking care of Plumette when she’s sick, can you write one about Plumette taking care of Lumiere? 💛💛” cough!

The First Untethered Hot Air Balloon Flight: oh, fuck.

garderenza content FEELS

“amnesiac belle?” COMPLETED, BITCHES. fucking ga w w d

“Can we have cogsworth headcanons?? Pretty please mon ami??” Dulce et decorum est.

“Eclipse”—Lumiere & Chip

what if the servants came awake again, in modern days? Here

‘do you remember when we were human?’ Plumiere shit.

A history lesson w/Cogs and Lums. Beware the dust. Album.

GARDERENZA HIGH SCHOOL AU !!!

“Woof”— Belle & Frou-Frou

“Fireworks”—Adam & Plumette

“Amnesiac Mrs. Potts?” Eh.

“a midsummer night’s dream au?” welcome to CRACK CITY [x]

“Plumette has a tragic, existential moment.” Pouf-pouf.

“a touring theatre group comes to perform at the castle. like some kind of magic, they can perform shows that don’t even exist yet” [x]

“I would love if you wrote when Plumette and Lumiere came up with Be Our Guest” BE! OUR! GUEST

“The castle adopts a pet? but not like a cat or anything, like they get a pet komodo dragon or something” welcome to the zoo

garderenza’s glory [x]

“Flicker In, Flicker Out.” The curse takes its toll.

“Who would be into divination? the Supernatural? Spooky Shit™?” HEY THERE DEMONS, IT’S YA BOI.

“If each of the servants could write a book, what would they be about?” The Villeneuve Catalog of Literature, fresh off the presses. [x]

“Cogsworth + Lumiere switch personalities?” i fuckin love a good crack prompt. showgirls!

“Socks”—Pere Robert & Mrs. Potts

adam and belle meet as tiny kids

COLLEGE FACULTY AU FIC

sad maurice fic: :)))))))))

“What do the servants do when they can’t sleep?” Shhhh.

Chip being in town when the curse strikes, here [ongoing!]

Belle gets used to the staff being, well.….human again. “New.”

“Have you ever done a role-swap where Belle was the princess and Adam was the boy from the village?“ CHIP. DON’T FUCK WITH THE TIME TRAVEL. Here.

The useless energy of haunted things. “Freaks of Furniture.” Thanks, JSTOR.

@batbobsession collab w/me called “One Moment”—their part is here, my part is there. The servants and the staff take a minute, right before the battle, to face what they’ve become.

“spooky prompt: What If the castle was haunted the year after belle breaks the spell…sadder prompt: What If the ghost was Adams mom…Worse prompt: or his father” THIS IS NOT THE FUN GHOST-HUNTING I ASKED FOR.

“Everyone says that Adam was under the spell ages, so what if the spell went on for 300+ years or whatever, and a woman hiking through the woods kind of went through what Maurice did with the tree being knocked over…” Fucking!!!! Granola bars!!!!!!!!!!!![x] [Ongoing.]

How desperate I became. To erase. To unmake my mouth, my pulse. / To unlive. “The Writing-Desk.”

“So Very Different”—Cuisinier & Garderobe

“how would the staff and Belle and Adam react to some little kids from the village showing up trick-or-treating?“ Something like this, I imagine.

“Amnesiac Cadenza?” i do fucking love an amnesia ask

“During the curse, Adam begins to see ghostly apparitions of the servants’ human forms.” Dead men walking.

“Spooky prompt: A haunted house in Villeneuve.” i just want to talk to the demons!

“These Two Need More Love”—Chapeau & Cuisinier

“A piece inspired by the song, “A Shoulder to Cry On,” aka, ‘80S MUSIC FICS

“Adam, Belle + staff go to pick out/chop down their own Christmas tree……” Yule fic by me + other people! ho ho ho.

way down in hadestown

The fandom-spanning fic, involving Star Wars, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Doctor Who, and Tulio and Miguel.

“Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said.” Evermore. Thanks Ray Bradbury.

“idk how she got there but Garderobe rules the world.” ❤️

“Oh! How about a story or headcannons of Shane and Ryan doing a Buzzfeed Unsolved Video at the enchanted castle in BatB?” [wheeze] (a FAVE)

“Words”—Garderobe & LeFou.

“what if someone confused the servants with the royals, cuz they dress better than adam and belle?” This happens regularly.

“Pere Robert somehow comes across a Time Turner” ⏳tick-tock⌛️

“Crackfic prompt: Belle is messing around with magic books (AGAIN) and somehow summons dinosaurs.” that’s , uh, that’s chaos theory

plumiere SNUGGLING FOR WARMTH TROPE????

“The BATB characters stumble into The Great Comet” EVERYBODY RAISE A GLASS

“So I’m reading the Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater…..” Here.

“Please give me more singing hair brush!” the fucking hairbrush. Here.

“Please can I have a bunch of adorable hcs where Garderenza are prepping Bassette for their first concert with her singing in it too” that is a hairbrush

arrrrGGHHHH, mateys, that thar be a magical pirates fic, shiver me timbers

“lumiere gets a sunburn” ouCh

“for adelle: maybe the Official Proposal?” Here.

“ what if. an amnesia fic. where they. ALL. Got. A m n e s I a“ —MY BRAND~

“Headcanons for Belle and Adam being the world’s greatest grandparents?” also known as “be a bear, grandpa!”

“Garderenza prompt: ‘You saved my life!’” oh how divine

belle keeps playing with magic and getting everybody fucked

this collab fic with @theteaisaddictive is done! “agathe gets amnesia”

“Whisky and Red Wine”—Lumiere and Belle have a night in.

“AU idea: As belle is leaving the second time, something stops her and she turns and whispers ‘I love you’ before running off.” Can you say “two idiots”?

“ have you ever done any asks about what you think maurice/belle’s mum’s life was like before they had belle???” I AM ALWAYS HERE FOR THE MAURICE SAD!FICS [x]

“something sweet with adam and the plumiere child.” sweet as stolen breakfasts.

“Belle messing with magic again finds one that puts the universe into reverse” this one is straight crack i hope you like it

chip is the middle man for some major lumiworth action

“A traveller stops by for directions […] by coincidence, he’s one of Belle’s *very favorite* authors.” Wow I wonder if the world’s biggest book nerd is going to handle this in a responsible manner [x]

“a man attending a ball at the palace spots plumette, and falls in love with her beauty. she receives an anonymous present of heart-shaped chocolates on her bedside the next day, and assuming they are a present from her dear lover, eats them without a thought. moments later…..” Not exactly this trope but uhhhh it’s a love potion fic babyyyyyyy

#PLEASE REBLOG THIS POST #beauty and the beast #batb #batb 2017 #it's shorter than the other rlly long one #but also uhhhhh h u h looks like i wrote 2 many fics #ooOOps #fire hands candle hands trashdelabra stans #its lumiereswig b i t c h

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archangelsunited · 5 years

Note

otp questions: 1-13, only if that's okay olaf & kit pls

Alright, Kitlaf. I can’t currently find the original post, so I am using past prompt fills to do this. Please let me know if there is something else you wanted. I am also splitting up the questions so there is not a super long post.

1.) Who kisses the other on the nose and the one recieving the kiss blushes?

Kit is, in my head, semi awkward in her relationship with Dewey. However, she was very smooth with Olaf. She would often find him sleeping or relaxed or angry and kiss his nose. Olaf would blush and be suddenly very awake.

2.) Who sits on their partner’s lap as they wrap their arms around their partner’s neck?

Olaf. Kit doesn’t like to be approached from the back, so if Olaf needed her attention he would make a loud noise and then dramatically fall over her lap like he was in a soap opera and had just been told a relative had mysteriously died. Kit would respond with an equally dramatic gesture.

She would either put a hand on her heart and the back of the other hand on her forehead before throwing her head back and making a wounded noise. THe other option is she treats Olaf like he is fainting. She grabs the back of his neck and puts the other hand on his cheek. This generally accompanies dramatic wailing and a swift fall from the seat. Bertrand would, for years after, describe some particularly dramatic theatre performances as “Basic Kit and Olaf”.

3.) Who kisses the inside of their partner’s palm before reassuring them everything is going to be okay?

Olaf. He doesn’t use words to reassure, just the kiss. It’s his way of showing he cares the other person is hurting, even if he doesn’t particularly care or understand. Jacques was often injured and Lemony has faked his death many times.

4.) Who initiates the forehead touch™?

I really think this is a sibling thing for the Snickets. I also think that the rest of the generation sort of adopted it as a comforting mechanism. Olaf has initiated with Kit, often to calm anxiety attacks and help her breathing. She’s done it back when he is injured, or that night at the Opera.

5.) Where do they first say, “I Love You?”

Olaf was sent on a mission he wasn’t supposed to come back from. He was, kinda quickly, identified as a person who would burn the world down if it hurt him. To be fair, VFD was correct. But, oh, he was young, barely nineteen, if that. This is actually one of the events that leads to the Snickets, Baudelaires, Quagmires and Fernald generation’s break from VFD conditioning. Which they all did at one point or another. He was sent with a malcontent, who was at most 22, but much bigger and stronger. The entire organization knew what was happening. Worse, Olaf knew what was happening, and he was young enough to be betrayed and not to know how to fight back. Kit caught him right before he left the headquarters through the tunnels. She hugged him until he was pulled away, whispering “I love you, I love you, I love you” He didn’t say it back, until he was in an infirmary bed with a broken leg and smashed cheekbone. She was curled up next to him, head on his chest. He whispered it back when he thought she was asleep.

6.) Who wraps their arms around their partner who is cooking.

Olaf doesn’t come up behind Kit. He’s punched people for doing it. Anyway, they are either dining out or picking up food. They have less than a percent of cooking experience between them. Where and what to eat was a huge contention between the two of them.

#asoue #a series of unfortunate events #kit snicket #count olaf #kitlaf #kit/olaf #otp prompts #1-6 #VFD

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jennathearcher · 5 years

Text

@pnienor @flagsmoone @gellavonhamster

OKAY TIME FOR ME TO SCREAM ABOUT AQUAMAN

OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD.

- If this movie doesn’t get the Oscar for Best Special Effects I will RIOT this movie literally has the BEST greenscreening and CGI I have EVER SEEN IN ANY MOVIE EVER

- All of the fight sequences are STELLAR

- I love Mera so much she is a QUEEN and her dynamic with Arthur was everything I wanted in life after that one scene between them in Justice League??? Just the continually sniping at each other but also saving each other and being vulnerable with each other and gradually falling in love that is THE GOOD SHIT I might have a new DC OTP which is saying something considering Rick/June exists

- TOM AND ATLANNA. I DIDN’T NEED MY HEART ANYWAY.

- C R E A T U R E S. I KNEW JAMES WAN WOULD NOT FUCKING DISAPPOINT

- I ALREADY MADE A POST ABOUT THIS BUT THE SCORE AND SOUNDTRACK. ICONIC.

- You don’t need to have seen any of the other DCEU movies to watch and enjoy Aquaman and it’s also a great introduction to the character just in case you go in not knowing anything about him or his origins

Slightly more spoilery thoughts under the cut:

- “I don’t play well with others” SAYS THE MAN WHO LITERALLY JUST SPENT AN ENTIRE MOVIE WORKING WITH 4-5 OTHER PEOPLE ARTHUR YOU’RE SO FULL OF SHIT

- THE TRENCH SEQUENCE JESUS CHRIST. I knew James Wan was gonna throw some horror elements into this movie and BOY DID HE EVER COME THROUGH IN THAT REGARD

- Atlanna is such a badass and I love EVERYTHING ABOUT HER

- Mera using the wine as a weapon was so fucking hardcore I nearly screamed “YEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS SLAAAAAAAAAAAAY” in the theatre

- I really like what the did with Orm as a character honestly??? He’s such an effective villain and yet I like how they left things with him; plus I really want to know more about what his and Mera’s childhood was like

- The entire Sicily sequence just every single detail was perfection from the massive battle to Mera discovering more and more surface things that was so cute and reminded me of The Little Mermaid in the BEST WAY

- MEEEEEEEEERPEOPLE 8D

- I love the Princess of the Fishermen so fucking much protect her at all costs

- Atlantis being so technologically advanced like a huge underwater city was SO COOL

- I absolutely adored seeing all the different underwater kingdoms and the sheer diversity of it all 8D And SURPRISE JOHN RHYS-DAVIES

- BLACK MANTA. YES BITCH. He was incredible I love what they did with him and the moral dilemma it presented Arthur with it was handled SO WELL

- MERA PLAYING THE FLUTE ON THE BOAT WAS AMAZING AND ADORABLE

- The entire last quarter of the movie was so thrilling I legit got chills

- AQUAMAN TAMED CTHULU

- ARTHUR AND MERA HAD THE SINGLE MOST EPIC AND ICONIC ONSCREEN KISS IN SUPERHERO MOVIE HISTORY SORRY RICK AND JUNE YOU’VE OFFICIALLY BEEN TOPPED HOLY FUCKING SHIT NO KISS WILL EVER COMPARE AGAIN

- The little forehead kiss Arthur gave Mera at the end was the cutest thing ever like when will your faves ever

- THE FINAL SHOT IS THE MOST AMAZING THING EVER LIKE FRAME THAT SHIT IN THE LOUVRE THE DCEU IS BACK BABY LONG MAY IT REIGN

#ooc #aquaman spoilers

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winteriron-trash · 6 years

Note

Ok, so that fanfic questions ask meme? You wanna do ALL OF THEM?!

YES, LET’S DO IT, HERE WE GO, PREPARE YOURSELF I’m copy and pasting answers I’ve already done just so I don’t have to retype them and there’s a break because god this got long. I might link this on my About Me post, cause holy shit I spent time on this

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Actual fandom? Probably DC. That’s when I started reading fanfiction and really poked my head around online communities dedicated to media and all.

2. What is your latest fandom?

I don’t know, probably Marvel? Maybe Riverdale, but I was a fan of the comics before so

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

If I’m assuming this question is about the actual fandom and not the source material and the people in the fandom and its community as a whole? Probably the Percy Jackson fandom. Not really into it anymore so I don’t know the state of it now, but it was a pretty wholesome and positive community. Any community that calls it’s creator “Uncle Rick” has gotta be pretty dope.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

Oh lord save my soul for admitting I like this, but definitely Five Nights at Freddy’s. The indie gaming, creepypasta, underground subculture as a whole is something I regret getting into. Don’t get me wrong, I usually love the source material, but the fandom is just so bad. You probably know what I’m talking about, the fangirls who insist they’re insane and are in love with Slenderman or something.

But specifically on FNaF, lord, I don’t even know what the fandom is anymore. It’s a meme, a fetish, and a hellspace all at once. And I’m not gonna fucking lie, I’ve been in this hellhole long before any of that. Like, I can’t even try to escape it, I’m in it for the long haul. I was just someone who joined for the lore and now we’re here with fucking casual bongos and trash gang and fuck I didn’t ask for this. I can’t escape. I know so fucking much about the franchise it hurts my fucking soul. I remember when the FNaF 2 trailer came out and we were all micro-analyzing London Bridge Is Falling Down. I remember when Springtrap didn’t have a name and we called that fucking Spring Bonnie or Golden Bonnie. I survived that era and I have PTSD from it, trust me. I remember when we were naive enough to think FNaF 3 was the last game. I know what channels were born and what channels died because of that series. I know it all.

I’m sorry, I got off topic. BUT I DON’T GET TO FUCKING RANT ABOUT IT ENOUGH, FUCKING FUCKSHIT

Oh, and a lot of bandoms I was in too. I went through an alt phase where I’d only listen to shit like BVB, BMTH, MCR, PTV, SWS, and so on. Once again, that sort of fandom was the same as the indie/creepypasta in being ‘different’ and ‘insane’ and all that and I was no different. I was a weird fucking kid when I was like 13. I regret all of it.

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

Marvel, DC, and a couple Riverdale.

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Not in many fandoms but

Marvel - WinterIronDC - SuperbatStar Trek Voyager - Captain Janeway/Seven of NinePercy Jackson - Solangelo

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Marvel - Stucky, Stuckony, Romanogers, Clintasha, any incest ones, (save me for admitting this) SpideypoolDC - Any batboys shipped together, Bruce/Talia

And I don’t really have NOTPs for my other fandoms? Marvel and DC are really the only two things I’m invested in the fandom of. I guess you could count Wincest as well for Supernatural.

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

What even is my latest fandom? Um, we’ll just say Marvel because I’m really not into joining fandoms much anymore. Honestly, I was a big DC fan who felt the need to hate Marvel because no shit. Eventually, I just got sick of the absolute shit movies DC had and I decided I had nothing to lose by just watching Iron Man. When I watched it I realized “wow, superhero movies can actually be good???” and I just binged the entire MCU in one month and was ready to see the next movie in theatres and I think I’ve seen every single MCU movie in theatres since Civil War? Definitely since Homecoming. I gave up on DC movies. The new Aquaman looks like shit, I’m so fucking pissed they redid Mera’s look when she looked perfectly fucking fine before and now she’s oversexualized and it’s gross. I’m excited for the new DC Batwoman TV show because I HAVE BEEN WAITING TO SEE A LIVE ACTION BATWOMAN SINCE THE DAWN OF FUCKING TIME

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

Probably the Tony Stark Defense Squad. As a collective whole, I think the Defense Squad is one of the sweetest, nicest corners of the fandom. We’re incredibly kind to each other, write great meta and fic, and it’s just a great community. Of course, there are assholes, but you know.

I might get flamed for saying this, but also the HYDRA Trash Party corner of the fandom is actually really nice? Like, they understand consent and abuse aftermath and all the real shit better than the rest of the fandom, not gonna lie. Like, for as dark as the fic is you’d expect the people to be fucking nasties, but I have never met a rude HTP enthusiast. Or even one who’s unaware of how consent and whump work. They’re all very aware and kind. It’s bizarre, considering the source material. They get an awful rep though.

10. Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Literally any fandom I’m in besides Marvel and DC. I think I wrote like 2 Riverdale fics. Getting into reading fanfic and getting into writing fanfic are two entirely different ballparks. I don’t really read that much fanfic anyway, especially not anymore. I read Marvel and DC, but even then. I think it’s hard because sometimes you can’t switch off the whole ‘reading like a writer’ thing. That’s why I enjoy classic literature. I’m a slut for some good ass prose and symbolism.

11. Who is your current OTP?

WinterIron, of ducking course.

12. Who is your current OT3?

I’m not really a fan of OT3s, to be honest, I find I’m personally pretty weak with writing poly relationships and I don’t really enjoy reading them because one character is usually focused on a lot more than the other two. But if I had to pick, I would say T’Challa/M’Baku/Bucky only because I am solely responsible for the creation of that abomination and you have no idea how much people begged me for a series after the first one, it astounded me.

13. Any NoTPs?

As before listed, Stucky, Stuckony, Spideypool, Clintasha, Romanogers

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

IronWidow is my top BroTP, but I also like WinterWidow as a BroTP. Stucky is good as a BroTP too, as well as Tony & Rhodey.

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

Literally any ship I have. Yall I’ve been here since WinterIron was obscure. But to name a specific one I’m just gonna go with Pietro/Tony. I don’t know, I just had an idea I was writing for them and I was thinking about how much missed out potential there was between them. And with Pietro as a whole, but you know. Marvel has to kill off the only good Maximoff they had.

Oh, Natasha/Pepper too, but they aren’t as obscure, I guess.

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Stucky, clearly.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Stony, and no. They fell apart for me, at least MCU-wise.

18. What ship have you written the most about?

By now, WinterIron, I believe. I recently passed my count of fics for Superbat.

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

Pepperony, probably. I think it’s actually a cute and sweet ship and I like their in-canon moments, but I just can’t get behind reading fanfic of them? It never works out for me, I don’t really get it. It sucks because I do enjoy seeing their cute moments.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

I’ll do a different answer I thought of besides the first time I answered this. But Thruce was a big shocker for me. I didn’t even think about it during Ragnorak but then I saw an incorrect quote for it and I was like? Oh? This? This is a good, pure ship right here. The funny thing is, I actually wrote a fic with them as a side ship long before they hit it big so like, I was shocked when they came out of nowhere. But hey, I’m fucking here for it. I’ll probably never write it, but I’m here for it.

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Goodnight, My Angel. It was a Superbat fic and really sad, but I still love it.

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Probably... You Deserve Love And You’ll Get It. No, I won’t link it because I hate it that much. I’m not even gonna talk about it. It’s my most popular fic too why

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Super dorky, but The (Un)Wanted Kiss. It’s my first finished chapter fic, and the first chaptered fic I did on Tumblr and it just brings me a lot of nostalgia. It reminds me of where I was as a writer when I started it and it was an entire fic spawned from people wanting more of a simple 500-word prompt and that just blows my mind. It reminds me of the power of fans and how much love and support I got from it. It really kicked me off as a “serious fanfic writer” I think.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

All You Are Is All I Need. That is a hot fucking mess. Probably The Red Halo too.

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

*sigh* You Deserve Love And You’ll Get It

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

I bullshit my way through them. My most recent fics have actually followed a trend of being named after songs.

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Summaries. I always make them so fucking corny, I hate it.

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

One Foot In Front Of The Other, probably. Just because I want more fem!WinterIron fanart. I can’t say what scene because spoilers but.... yeah, anything from that would be great, really.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

Sort of. I make some of my friends like Pizza read over my shit before I post it, but that’s not often, only when I think I need it. I don’t just because I write a lot and I’d feel bad for constantly annoying someone with making them read everything I write. I hate inconveniencing people.

30. What inspires you to write?

The better question is what doesn’t. I never stop thinking like a writer. My brain forgot how to turn off that feature.

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

Ummmm, I can’t think of an exact thing? I get so many beyond sweet comments and messages, it’s hard to pin down one comment. I think if I had to pick, I once got a message from someone on Tumblr who was old enough to be my mother complimenting me and telling me I didn’t write like a teenager and I think that was really sweet.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Yes, yes, yes, yes. And honestly, any genre. I listen to everything. Everything. But specifically, Emilie Autumn has inspired a lot ideas/fics I’ve written.

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

All of the above.

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

Around 23k, I think?

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

Yes, and whatever I get prompted for, really.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

For fanfiction, I guess romance? I mean, that’s really all my fanfiction is. Otherwise, I’ll write quite literally any genre I feel like. I go wherever an idea takes me. I’m character based, not genre or plot based.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Third. I fucking despise 1st person. I just do. That’s an entire rant we ain’t here for today.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

Usually canon characters. I only use an OC when I absolutely have to, to make the plot do the plot stuff.

39. What is you greatest strength as a writer?

Nothing. My writing sucks. All of it is shit.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Everything. I screech the most about pacing and sentence structures though.

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

Most of these are actually on my to-read list but whatever.

Winter's End by ali_aliska Winter is Coming (aka Fifty First Avengers Dates) by 27dragons, tisfan My Love is Vengeance by seikaitsukimizu The caged Hawk by asamandra Fertile Ground by 27dragons, tisfan

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

27dragons tisfanChiaki_Hamano arianapeterson19 thepartyresponsible

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Not really? I’m not knocking any of the other ‘big names’ in the Marvel fandom, but I don’t really draw inspiration from other fanfic writers. Not for plot, and definitely not for writing style. I get inspiration from fanart I see sometimes, but it’s never one main artist who I stalk to be inspired, just whatever I happen across online.

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

WinterIron, duh. I will not rest until WinterIron is the biggest ship in the Marvel fandom.

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

I’ve mentioned this fic before and honestly, it hasn’t been topped yet, but In the Company of Monsters by Chiaki_Hamano. It’s not even a Marvel fic, and it’s not even a ship I like, but god, I fucking adore it. I’d love to write something like it, but with WinterIron if I had the time, I think the entire world and setting would fit WinterIron beautifully.

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

Well, that all depends on what they’re looking for in my fanfiction. If they’re looking for WinterIron, I’d probably tell them to start with The (Un)Wanted Kiss just because that’s one of my most loved fics and I think I did really well with it. But if they just want a general fic, A Great Connection is one I’m really proud of and I still get gushing feedback about.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

For just writing fanfic, Ao3. Tumblr can be a pain in the ass, and I don’t even use ff.net.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

Yes. But only if 1, I really, really loved it or 2, I don’t think the fic has enough attention. It also helps if the writer responds to comments. I don’t see the significance of saying “I loved this!” if the fic has dozens of other comments saying the same thing. As a writer, I know what comments writers prefer. Longer ones, deep comments pointing out what things they liked, and so on. However if I write a comment that long, I like to get a response because you know, I love seeing the writer talking about the elements of the story I liked.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

Not really, to be perfectly honest. Yes, I love and cherish every kudos and note I get, and the sweet comments make me want to die of joy. But I write for me. Even when I take prompts, in the end, I write because it makes me happy. Yes, I love the validation. But even without it, I would still write. I do not write fanfiction for you, I share fanfiction with you. There’s a difference. Writing makes me happy. If I only cared about the validation, I wouldn’t have a folder reserved of fics I’ll never post but I wrote just because I wanted to. I write to write. The moment I start writing for validation, I might as well stop writing, because it’s not worth it.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

Ummmm I think I was just curious? I was new to internet culture, I saw fanart of Superbat and I discovered Ao3 and was like “wow, this stuff exists??? Words for free????? About my favourite characters being happy and dating each other??????????” and it was a downward spiral. I was like, 11 when I read my first fanfiction. I was obsessed with Superbat fanart, and I thought, what would it hurt to try actually reading it? Like, that was so taboo to me. And now we’re here. Tadaaaaaah

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Oh, a chance to ramble. Yay. I’m gonna rant because I’m a rant-y person.

I think something that annoys me about fanfiction is not necessarily a probably within fanfiction, but rather the outward view of it. Fanfic has an awful rep within the real world. The one-time fanfiction really took centre stage was when Fifty Shades came out, which only hurt the platform by furthering the stereotype that it’s all porn made for horny freaks who just want to get off.

I should not be ashamed to say I write fanfiction. I should not feel childish saying it to myself. No one should. At least half of my ‘fans’ are nearly a decade or more older than me. It’s clearly not something that’s immature or silly. Of course, it can be, but any hobby can be dumbed down to a kiddy version.

But fanfiction at its core is ignored for what it really is. When adults talk about fanfiction they belittle it and only see a tiny subsection of it, ignoring what it’s supposed to be about. It’s about creating transformative works for media you’re passionate about.

Fanfiction gets a worse rep than other transformative works such as fanart or whatever. Writing as a whole does. Fanfic is painted as this utter trash.

I’ve read fanfiction that made me cry, laugh, feel shit. I’ve read fanfiction that tackled heavy topics. Even on a sexual standpoint, I’ve read fanfiction that was willing to write erotica that published authors wouldn’t fucking touch. Both in a kink sense, but also in terms of how the relationship functions. I’ve read shitty fanfictions, sure. But I’ve read fanfictions that were better than 90% of the published books I’ve read. Even fanfics I didn’t like.

To put fanfiction into perspective, the average YA novel (the age group fanfiction is generally but not always aimed at) is 70k words. I’ve read fanfiction that blows that word count out of the water. And it takes fucking skill to write something that long. It’s not just writing a bunch of porn or cute scenes, that takes serious world building and character arcs.

Fanfiction kills so many tropes that are common in YA and literature in general. I read a YA after reading nothing but fanfiction for a long time and I was fucking appalled? It was a popular YA too. I won’t name what one because you could literally imagine anyone and it’d probably fit. The characters were flat, the romance was outright manipulative and toxic, the plot was dull, even the writing itself was bland. This was the type of book years ago I would’ve loved. But compared to most (of course, not all. Shit exists, but I think in fanfiction, we’re able to better filter out the shit) fanfictions, it was fucking trash.

When I started reading fanfiction, I assumed it’d lower my standards. The first time I picked up an actual novel I was relieved, excited to not have to deal with the problems that are in unpublished writings. But I quickly realized it was the complete opposite. Fanfiction threw my expectations through the roof. I expect fiction to include representation, fresh plots, interesting characters, thrilling romances, and decent fucking sex scenes if they’re there. But it just wasn’t there. It all fell flat. As someone seriously into the writing and reading community I hear so often that it’s hard for plots to be original and you shouldn’t judge on originality, but then I read fanfiction written by fucking teenagers that’s fucking mind-blowing with plot twists and original ideas, and I have to wonder is it really that hard? It’s clearly doable, you just have to take away the fanfiction part.

I have YA novels sitting on my sheld I know I’ll never read and enjoy because fanfiction just made my expectations too high. Which is good in a sense because I pray some of these amazing writers, when they get older will go on to write mind-blowing original novels and I hope that this generation of writers will put out great literature in ten to fifteen years, but for now I’m just… underwhelmed. I think it’s why I read a lot of classic literature too. Shit was better back then.

And yet despite all that, fanfiction is still made to look like shit in the modern media. It sucks so badly for fanfiction writers not to look like serious writers. I could publish one book, have it get the amount of attention my biggest fanfic got and be considered a serious author. My biggest fanfiction currently has 40k notes on Tumblr. Imagine if that were a published short story. It’d be a fucking hit. And there are others that make my numbers look small. And yet it’s brushed aside as unimpactful.

I think a lot of that stems from the fact that fanfic writers do generally start out younger. I’m 16. Others either are or were my age. But age does not equate to skill in writing. Sure, that is a factor, but it is not the entire story. I know a 14 yr old who writes some of the best prose I have ever seen. And even if younger fic writers aren’t on level yet, fanfiction is what’s helping them grow as a writer. But because we’re teenagers, we’re turned away just because of that. Even more specifically because we’re teenage girls (for the most part, I’m not saying other genders and/or age groups aren’t writing/reading fanfic) and we all know how society feels about them. It’s just a fucking shame that fanfiction can’t be respected for the legitimate form of writing it is because of the stigma. I’ve seen fanfic writers say they aren’t real writers because of the stigma, it’s awful. We feel the need to tear ourselves down for an admirable hobby. I can’t say my favourite book is a fanfiction I read, when I has every right to be a valid answer.

We’ll cut this ramble off here because wow I really went on didn’t I.

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