#i really like just how polar opposite their first episodes were

[jellieland]

It's just like them, thinks Martyn, miserably, To want to make these things stick.

He's always been an "act first, weasel your way out of any potential consequences later," kind of guy, so immediate, painful and permanent consequences to his recklessness strike him as unfair, unwarranted, and quite possibly a personal attack.

But, well. Here he still is anyway. What's he going to do about it?

His ankle burns where the baby zombie clawed at it. His legs ache from the dripstone, and the dripstone, and, yes, the dripstone again, and also walking off Mumbo's house and perhaps slightly misjudging his landing.

His ear keeps ringing and most of his right side stings from the creeper that decided, quite rudely, to sneak up on him and then blow up directly in his face about half a second before he could raise his shield. And the gravel later on, that he'd seen falling but still not managed to avoid, hadn't helped with any of that either.

He can feel blood dripping down his back in no less then five separate places, along with his arm, his shoulder, and the side of his head—that last one bled a lot and got onto his bandanna which was pretty annoying, actually—all from his many encounters with what he thinks were probably, at a conservative estimate, about a billion skeletons.

He doesn't quite glare up at the Secret Keeper. The healing they'd given him had been too much of a relief for that; his vision had stopped swimming, that head wound had stopped bleeding so much, and it was significantly less painful to walk. But the look he gives them is certainly glare-adjacent.

"You do know injuries aren't supposed to stick around like this, don't you?" he mutters, bitterly. "I know you like twisting stuff, but this is ridiculous. It's unnatural, is what it is!"

Someone snorts behind him.

He turns, and he sees Cleo. Neat, meticulous stitches are visible across their skin. Martyn hasn't met many people with scars before, but she's one of them.

The only new one is what looks, ironically enough, like a zombie bite on their arm, entirely healed over.

"It's really not that hard to deal with if you're just patient," she says.

"Ah," he says. "Well. That's my problem right there, then, isn't it?"

"It certainly looks like it," they say, amused. They're laughing at him again. He can't even be mad, since all in all, he totally deserves it.

"Yeah, alright," he says, a bit indignant just for the sake of what remains of his pride. "No need to rub it in! I hope you realize that if healing just worked normally, I'd be doing really well, actually."

"Hmm. Right, you do tend to throw yourself off of cliffs, and then try and work out how you'll save yourself on the way down, don't you?" She gives him a knowing look. "But look on the bright side—when you do die, you'll get to be perfectly healthy again for... I give it ten seconds. After that, you'll start making decisions."

"Hey, I'll have you know I went to the Nether for ages, and got out without a scratch on me that I didn't have when I arrived!" he retorts.

"Oh, so you can be careful, you just choose not to be?" They raise a judgemental eyebrow.

"Well... I mean." He half-shrugs, then winces. "I mean. Yeah. Yes. You know this about me."

There is a brief pause. She gives him an unreadable look, eyes catching on the blood seeping through his shirt. "...Yeah. I guess I do."

He glances over at the Secret Keeper again, bold and unmoving against the unnaturally darkened sky.

When he looks back, Cleo is still watching him. "You didn't even bandage those, did you?" they ask, with a touch of what most people would think was disdain. "Let alone stitch them up."

"I mean, no? It's not like it'll do anything, is it?" he asks, taken aback. "The good old 'Powers That Be' want us to bleed, and they want us to keep bleeding! Who am I to argue?"

She narrows her eyes as though she doesn't quite understand his point. "I'm not saying that would fix it. I don't think any of us are going to live long enough for that method of healing to work." They shrug. "Would make it hurt less, though."

Now it's his turn to narrow his eyes. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," she says. "At least, so I've heard. For me, it's mostly about making sure I don't start physically falling apart, because it's really inconvenient when that does start happening."

He nods in acknowledgement. "Well, maybe I'll give it a go if I have the time." It all sounds a bit far-fetched to him. Much better to spend time working towards completing the next secret task he gets, or persuading people to give him the healing they have to spare, rather than losing hours on something that wouldn't actually help him in the long run.

(Maybe it's an echo, maybe it's just who he is, but Martyn's time is precious, and he is not giving it up for something so monotonous. Who would find that interesting?)

"Alright," they say. "If you're sure. But no one else is going to do it for you, you know."

He snorts. "Cleo," he says. "You're funny." She, of all people, should know he's already well aware of that.

"Right," they say, dryly. "Well, unless you want anything else I think I'm done here."

"Nah, not really." he says, then pauses. Frowns.

As unconvinced as he is, she really didn't have to say that to him. She deserves at least something in return.

"I will say," he says delicately, "if that advice really does help. You should probably keep it to yourself. You know. Death game, and all that."

All at once, their expression turns cold. "I think it's my business what I choose to give up, actually," she snaps.

Martyn's eyes briefly flick over to the Secret Keeper. "I mean..."

"No. I meant what I said." They cross their arms. "It's up to other people what they choose to do with it. But what I give them is up to me." She glances at the Secret Keeper, and then back to him. "No one's ever been able to tell me what I owe, or don't owe, to anyone." They smirk, and give him a piercing look. "You know this about me."

"...Yeah," he says. "I guess I do."

There is a short silence.

"Well!" He claps abruptly. "I won't keep you!"

"No, you won't," she says. "I'd best be off. This might come as a surprise, but I do actually have better things to do than hang out around Grian's creepy rock all day."

"Fair, fair." He chuckles, and raises a hand in farewell as they leave. "See you around."

Once she's out of sight, he goes back to staring at the Secret Keeper.

It's quiet.

"They're doing pretty well this time, huh?" he says. "If she keeps going like this, she probably won't get another happy ending, will she."

The air is very still, here. It's as though the place is trapped in night, even when he can see the sun in the sky.

The Secret Keeper does not answer him.

"I know you, though," he says. "You won't let it be all about being careful. That would be boring."

The thought nags at him that Cleo hasn't sounded as though they'd found any of this boring. Surely there had to be more to it than what she'd said? There had to be.

If there wasn't, then what was the point of all this pain?

He shifts, and his shoulder twinges, and he hisses quietly with frustration.

"Things already stuck," he says, unhappily. "They already stayed. I thought that was obvious."

The rock just stands there.

Judgemental. Impartial. It's impressive how it can manage to be both.

Martyn sighs heavily, and winces, and turns away. He looks towards his extremely small, entirely copied base, and a place where the sky is capable of letting in the light.

He pokes gingerly at his head wound. It's shallow, but painful.

"Maybe just this one," he mutters. "Could repurpose my bandanna. Although I guess I should probably wash it first. That would be smart." He wipes at his face. "If I don't then blood's going to start getting in my eyes. But not in a cool way, just in a way where I'll fall in a ravine by accident or something."

Nobody responds. That's ok. He hasn't exactly endeared himself to anyone, recently.

In a game that's even more about trust than usual, there's a part of him that doesn't mind being a lone wolf, as it were. At least for now. Harder to stab someone in the back if you don't let them get behind you, right?

He can make this work. He'll just have to adapt. He's good at that, usually! He just has to find the angle.

After all, he may not be patient, but he is persistent.

And he suspects being a liar will come in handy, for this one.

#secret life #secret life smp #martyn inthelittlewood #zombiecleo #my writing #i really like just how polar opposite their first episodes were #and how much it says about how they play these games. #and then there's the way that all damage sort of sticks #every heart you lose is a resource you will not get back. not really.

[redmyeyes]

Fellow Travelers sex scenes

I can't stop thinking about what Matt and Jonny keep repeating over and over again in interviews, regarding the FT sex scenes. That, in the writing and filming it was important that:

No two scenes were the same.

Every sex scene informed the story.

The characters were not the same before the scene as they were after. That they were changed by it.

So, let's talk about them.

"Pretend"

establishment of hawk's usual modus operandi -- brief fucks with strangers. he keeps a tight rein on his desires and won't allow himself to want more.

2. "Fold them."

establishing dynamics, hawk is in control, tim is being (happily) led. par for the course for hawk (or is it?)

3. "I'm your boy, right?"

tim can play, too. this dynamic is not one-way. the 'power' in this relationship definitely does not lie solely with hawk. you might even say this flips the power dynamic on its head. hawk is GONE.

4. "Do you like it this way? Your life, like this?"

not a sex scene, but one of the first slow, tender aftermaths. clear now that, for both of them, this goes much much deeper than just sex.

5. "I belong to Hawkins Fuller."

tim showing that he's willing to meet hawk on his level. the submission and dominance are so intertwined here they can't be separated. it's the willingness of that submission, the willingness of that Belonging, that changes everything.

and tim begging (through provocation) hawk to acknowledge him / what they have, out loud. "who do you belong to" = "i love you, i need you, tell me you need me too."

6. "It's your turn tonight."

a fucked-up goodbye, on hawk's part. he really thinks this might be the last time he's allowed to see tim, and he says 'i love you' the only way he knows how -- with his body, with service.

7. "Your Honor, I stand before you accused of being sweet."

crucially, not a sex scene. even more crucially, there is no sex at all in episode 5, where they separate for the first (and, they think, last) time. instead, we're shown what they're really giving up -- this too sweet (painfully sweet) domesticity.

8. "We don't have to do what we used to do."

the horribly empty aftermath. where they give in to "sex", of a sort, but it's dry and horrifically painful and NOT AT ALL what either of them want. because what they want is intimacy, not sex. and they're not allowed this.

9. "Stay with me."

the botched threesome, where craig is an afterthought, an excuse for hawk and tim to be together, and even then, horrifically painful in the way they LONG for each other and for what they can't have.

10. "I want you to fuck me."

a true surrender. again, hawk showing what he wants the only way he knows how -- through his body -- giving tim his willing submission, body, heart and soul.

11. "We'll be colleagues. We'll see each other every day."

not technically a sex scene, but the truest expression of them 'making love' that we ever get on screen. returning to #1, it's the polar opposite of what hawk had previously allowed himself, and it's what he really wants -- all the intimacy he'll shortly be sacrificing.

12. "That better?" "Oh yeah."

finally, finally, after all those years, a return to the true intimacy they were craving.

#can i just add how much i ADORE that they left 1957 for the end? #it's the clearest view we have of their missed potential -- of everything they COULD have had 😭 #fellow travelers #fellowtravelersedit #ft meta #*

[dat-physics-boi]

I gotta talk about Tensura

Before i explode, because it's hyperfixation time again apparently.

Brain has decided, i am powerless.

You know, this guy:

I absolutely adore this show, but if you only research it instead of watching, you might get the idea that it's your run of the mill gimmick isekai. And in terms of setting, i would completely agree with you. Even most of the characters are pure stereotypes to be honest, with one singular exception: The MC, Rimuru himself.

-First off. Adult. Not a teen, the dude was in his late 30s when he died. And that shit shows in the maturity of his decisions.

-Secondly, while he's op as fuck, a standard for an isekai really, that isn't the focus. No, that part is treated as the set dressing that it is. The actual story points? They're about diplomacy. About connecting with people. About grief, and how to move through it. About conflict, and how it can be resolved. And about how sometimes it has to be resolved by violence, but that that's never a good first response, only a fallback if all else fails. And about how to enjoy life despite it all, about never being too old to have fun with your friends.

-Third, while this is a headcanon, it's pretty easy to conclude from a couple lines in the first episodes: He's aromantic, though probably also bisexual? You don't tend to see that in media, ever. Or, at least, only if you want to make a character seem evil and heartless, which Rimuru is the polar opposite of.

-Fourth... Look again at this creature and try to tell me he isn't adorable and huggable.

Or look at him with his newly acquired sentient pet friend and humanoid form:

He was such an awakening for me in terms of being aromantic, and arguably also agender. Like, all i had seen before were aros who lamented not being able to feel romantic attraction, or who were called heartless and internalized it.

Or aromantics who argued that they could still have a partner, even if they didn't feel romantic attraction. Which, while true, isn't what I want from life.

Or agender people with really strong dysphoria, who needed to change their body asap. Which, again, while totally understandable, isn't the situation i find myself in.

On the agender part, Rimuru doesn't really mind all too much that his human form is sexless. Sure he makes a comment about it once, but he does have the option of shapeshifting into a different form if he wanted to. And he doesn't take it. I found that incredibly relatable.

Sorry, i know i'm rambling, but i just... needed to express that.

This show, this character, they've arguably changed my life.

This animation gave me a look at realistic optimism with the story it told, and in the same stroke a character i could relate to incredibly well.

#queer #aromantic #agender #that time i got reincarnated as a slime #tensura #rimuru tempest #rambling #you guys i don't think i can really properly explain what they mean to me #both the show as well as the character

[nastynobrainer]

Heyyy!! Could I request Ink and Error with a super calm, mature and introverted s/o? Thanks in advance!!!

Hello, I am fond of this request since I like the idea of Ink and an s/o being yin and yang, it's so cute. (Btw I'm not exactly engrossed in Ink and Error so I'm sorry if I got their personalities wrong. 😅) Also, no problem, it's my pleasure. <3

Ink!Sans:

-He can't understand you and your ability to not laugh much with him around. He thought of the two of you as yin and yang. (Basically polar opposites.)

-He was slightly disappointed when you didn't laugh or join in his childish antics and jokes. This made him 3 times more chaotic around you.

-He teases you far more often than he does with other people.

-He has made you laugh at a few of his severely immature jokes and knowing how mature you were, it really boosted his ego.

-He has set your kitchen on fire before, disguising it as 'trying to cook a meal for you', just to see you get mad, which you didn't. Instead you calmly put out the fire, cleared the kitchen and ensured he was safe..

-Sometimes life gets too chaotic, even for Ink. During those times, you're the only person he wants to go to. He would just sit and doodle with your calming and quiet nature. Even Ink needs a break sometimes.

Error!Sans:

-He was shocked by how serene you always were, even when he crashed in front of you for the first time or told you about how he destroyed AUs.

-His very first impression of you was extremely positive, which is very unlike him. 'Finally, an anomaly that makes sense.'

-You’re one of the lucky few 'anomalies' that he enjoys. Especially with how you were mature, a legendary sight for him.

-He tends to rant about Ink to you since you'd simply sit and listen, whilst inputting bits here and there. You chuckled a few times at his childish rants which surprised him, not that he was complaining.

-Every Friday night, he'd invite you to watch an episode of Undernovela with him. Although you only clapped or made small remarks about them, your presence was all he wanted.

-He enjoys knitting with you since you never questioned, judged or mocked him for it. In fact, you always intently watched him knit. He, shockingly, patiently taught you how to knit when you asked if he could teach you.

#undertale #sans au #error sans #ink sans #errortale #inktale #error sans x reader #ink sans x reader #headcanons

[napakmahal]

“ Did all this happen because I left?”

Pause girlies because this is actually kinda serious. I just got out of a depressive episode and just really wanted to give the depression girlies a lil treat. Remember: you need other people in your life when you have depression. Make friends not resources. I love y’all (angst)

How can something be so painful yet so numb at the same time? The human brain is one of the most complex systems in the universe, aside from the universe itself. How it can feel so many polar opposite things simoultaniouly, and in that creating an entire civil war within itself. How could the brain, the thing meant to be in charge with your care and wellbeing one day just decide to decrease its own activity and make you miserable? It was the worlds greatest betrayal.

You’d been lying in your bed for the past week, and you might have gotten up twice a day. Once to use the bathroom and the other to get some food and bring it right back to your bed. Everyone said it wasn’t a big deal because you were young and you were probably just in a bad mood because of your hormones. Hormones were evil enough to suction blood from your reproductive organs (usually) once a month, they couldn’t possibly be cruel enough for this.

On your overheated and whirling computer was an endless loop of lousy reality T.V shows you’d watched over and over. There’s been therapists that have said that in these times of depressive episodes, you should revert back to adding some life and movement back into your brain. Which meant doing things like crossword puzzles, working out, math games, and reading 200+ page books. All things that you could totally do and things you liked to do. But not right now. Now all you wanted was junk food and shitty TLC shows. Not some slow burn, or some huge mystery TV show that required you to remember tiny details from the beginning of the season. Reality TV was entertaining, effortless, and on loop but you’d be lying if you said everytime you heard the freaky eaters intro a little more of your brain died.

That’s the funny thing about depression. Because even though you can feel yourself slipping and drowning in total misery, there’s nothing anyone can do to save you. So you get stuck in this endless loop of self detructive behavior hoping that the pain you experience on the outside is enough to kill the thing on the inside.

You were clinically depressed, and nothing nobody did was ever going to change that. But these episodes weren’t always like this. For a while, episodes were bearable. Your ‘friend’ made them better.

You’d known Hiro for a while, meeting him on the downtown bus during sunset on a spring saturday. You thought he was cool, he thought you were pretty. But the whole girlfriend-boyfriend thing seemed uncomfortable and the labels meade things weird.

Granted you were each others first kiss. The two of you had tried to convince each other it was just because you got asked out to your eighth grade formal and you wanted to be prepared. It also didn’t help much that the more you described the dude that asked you out, the more Hiro wished he hadn’t skipped all those grades.

You never told anyone about that. Sure you could say it was a one time thing but it was hard to use that as a defense when you’d made out with him because you were bored under the dock near the beach during the summer carnival, and when you were just playing video games in his room, and when you were sitting on the steps of the museum of Japanese artifacts while sharing a soda, and the time you two were at the skatepark after it closed and you two were making out- only except that time he’d taken off his jacket.

Sure you were both fifteen but you watched people make out in the hallways at school everyday. Kissing didn’t seem like this massive thing. Hiro grew up isolated from the true highschool experience, he didn’t know. All he knew was that making out with you was cool and pretending he only did it because he was bored (and not because he would swear on his teen hormones that he loved you) was even cooler.

His aunt and brother had liked to tease you for it, but that’s all it was: teasing. The two of you would never live down the torment you’d likey face if they found out about your “I’m bored, let’s make out” sessions.

Speaking of, your mom didn’t really know you and Hiro were like that. She was only partly sure you liked him and you only thought that because one day after she caught you being particularly smiley that night after having him over to stream a new song she came into your room, played with your hair and said: “So you and Hiro are friends? That’s nice, he’s seems nice. Just, make sure he doesn’t make it worse.”

That was also kind of a silly depression thing: People and their influence could make it worse for you, others, and even themselves. Bad influence already makes bad people, but bad influence on people with depression tends to make them miserable, desperate, and self loathing.

But contrary to what your mom had said, Hiro didn’t make it worse. He made it better and she would soon figure that out after you’d tried texting him multiple times despite knowing he was at an expo outside the city. And he’d respond as fast as he could with the best messages, but when he’d go dead silent for almost ten hours each day it just dampened your mood. You’d kept reminding yourself not to be selfish, that your lack of ability to be happy shouldn’t stop people from living their lives. But from the hours of 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. you were left with no friend and a fat headache.

——————————————————————————

The intro to a show you couldn’t remember the name of played for the tenth time that day, drying out your eyes and causing an endless headache. You were surprised you hadn’t at least gotten a stomach ache from all the Tylenol you’d been taking. Someone knocked at your closed bedroom door before gently opening it.

“Y/n,” Your mom squinted through the darkness of your closed blinds and at the glowing computer screen. “There’s someone here to see you.”

With your back faced to her you couldn’t say anything other than a low, “Oh.”

She left for a bit as you continued to lay there, helpless almost dead. Thinking about death is something everyone does up to a certain extent. Questions like: How will I die? What comes next? Are ghosts real? All normal.

But when you and people like you thought about death it wasn’t like when other people thought about death.

Suddenly, your door creaked open and you didn’t even have the energy to look back but you just knew. Hiro had looked around at your depression room and sighed. He hadn’t even been around you for more than thirty seconds and he already wanted to cry. This was bad- so bad. The boy gently crept up to your bed and sat down. You felt the dent of his body in your mattress and still didn’t move.

“How are you?” His voice was quiet.

You responded barely above a whisper, “Fine.”

“When’s the last time you left this room?”

You didn’t even reply. At that moment, breathing was too much work. Having to think about the air going through your lungs and exhaling it out was a chore.

Hiro leaned over your body and shut the laptop closed before moving it off your head and placing his body in it’s spot. You two were now face to face, laying on your bed like the lovers of valdaro. It was bad this time and everyone knew it. Guilt had been eating him alive since he read the shift in your texts. How could he enjoy himself at this expo while you were there suffering?

“Did all of this happen because I wasn’t here?” He whispered.

You grabbed onto his hand. “No. I’ve always been like this.”

“Do you promise?”

“I swear it.”

“But it’s never been this bad before. If I was here then-”

“You couldn’t have done anything.” You cut him off. “Hiro I’ve been like this all my life. And you shouldn’t feel obligated to hold yourself back because I’m not normal.”

Once while playing around at the park at midnight you told Hiro that a therapist you had said these episodes will wax and wane. In the good there will be bad and in the bad there will be good. But there would never be moment where it would just be good. You’d be this way for the rest of your life, sad, in pain, and left with a feeling of mania and worthlessness. And there was nothing he could do about it.

“Do-” Hiro’s voice started to shake and a tear from my eye scurred across his face. “Do I at least make it any better?’

The thought of making it better by being there would in turn make him feel a little less guilty about not being able to be with you all the time.

For the first time in a week, you gave him a weak smile. No teeth, just lips. Before you leaned forward and gave him a prolonged kiss. In return, he brushed your hair from your face and started petting your head.

“Yes,” You whispered. “You do.”

#baymax #big hero 6 #big hero six #hiro hamada #tadashi hamada #bh6 x reader #disney #fanfic #hiro hamada x reader #napakmahal

[thebibutterflyao3]

Day 3 - Prompt: Smile @pandalilymicrofics

February Daily Series - 508 words

<<<Previous Part OR Start Here

Pandora whipped out her mobile to text Regulus that she was on her way, then switched to her last conversation with Sirius. He’d given her his number for Regulus-adjacent emergencies ages ago, but Pandora was too curious about him to leave it at that. Besides, he’d drunk texted her twice in the first month to inform her that she was a twat for keeping Reg in London.

🐼: Tell me about Lily.

🐾: How do you even know about her?

🐼: 3 guesses, the first 2 don’t count.

🐾: You stalked my Instagram again?

🐼: Obviously.

🐾: Apparently everyone does. 🙄

🐾: You’re really coming for winter hols?

🐼: I had enough big brother bonding for a lifetime in the first 3 days.

🐾: Can’t relate. I’m a wonderful big brother.

🐼: I’ll bet he’s sick of you.

🐾: Never!

Pandora’s smile widened. She liked Sirius, for the most part. He was clever, blunt, and completely random, just like her. It surprised her how much they had in common when she first met him, but it shouldn’t have. Regulus was a creature of habit, so it tracked that he would seek out someone like her.

Beyond those similarities, they were polar opposites. As a result, their arbitrary text conversations spiralled into heated debates over extremely niche topics, but she needed to keep this one on track.

🐼: Anywaffles, Lily? I need info.

🐾: Hold on, “anywaffles?”

🐼: You read that correctly. Well done.👍

🐾: Cunt

🐼: Prick

🐾: Great, now that greetings are out of the way, what do you want to know?

🐼: Queer?

🐾: Very

🐼: Single?

🐾: As of yesterday? Yes.

🐼: Anything else I should know?

🐾: Remus says she likes: Taylor Swift, French poetry, fat orange tabbies, and dancing.

🐼: Remus is your beau?

🐾: Don’t start.

🐼: What happened to “single until I die?”

🐾: He quoted Chandler, Pandora. I had no choice.

🐼: Fair.

When Pandora met Sirius for the first time in Heathrow Airport, he blurted, “You’re Phoebe Buffay!” before squeezing the stuffing out of her. Phoebe then became her hyperfixation for the next two weeks as she binge-watched every episode. Apparently, Friends was one of Sirius’s hyperfixations as a child.

She continued to quiz Sirius, and Remus by extension, about Lily. By the time Pandora’s train reached Cardiff, she’d learned that her full name was Lily Jane Evans, she was twenty-five, had a Botany degree, worked in a bookshop owned by Remus’s father, intended to move to London (which had to be a sign), and her favourite food was soup in any form. None of which explained why James specifically mentioned her when Regulus referred to a “group of girls.”

What am I missing? There has to be something else.

It had occurred to her that “Lily” was simply the first name to enter his mind, but she didn’t believe in coincidences. There had to be a reason that this woman was taking up a majority of her thoughts before they’d even met.

She was special, obviously, but why?

Next Part>>>

#lily x pandora #pandalily #pandolily #pandora lovegood x lily evans #lily evans #pandora rosier #pandora lovegood #the marauders #marauders #sirius black

[sylvies-chen]

after seeing a tweet about season 2 coming out I thought now would be a good time start The Bear to fulfill my need to have seen every single show in existence! I’ve only seen the first 5 episodes so far but here are my thoughts:

it seems everyone in this show except marcus (he’s just in the corner perfecting his lil donuts!! leave him in peace!!) teeters so beautifully on being absolutely detestable. some *cough cough richie cough cough* do venture into unlikeable territory but then when they do, the writers bring in a scene that instantly gives them an extra layer and shifts you towards empathy. it’s a really delicate balance but so far it’s working for me!

this is, at its core, a show about how to go about taking pieces of something broken and turning them into something better and beautiful, revamping it without discarding its true nature— and this is true in both the inwards sense, relating to carmy’s (and sugar’s and richie’s) grief and mental health in learning how to move on from a tragic loss but not forget your past pain, and then in the outwards sense as well regarding to the restaurant and the Chicago community, how to make a successful restaurant without forgetting the people they serve, how to not be a gunslingin’ dive but also not a gentrifying posh joint.

speaking of that internal turmoil though, I’m absolutely lovinggggg the bear motif and it fits perfectly with this idea! it’s like carmy has so much bottled up inside him, both good and bad, like his passion to change the restaurant mikey left him but also his pain and grief and sorrow, and him trying to let the bear out of the cage and slowly tame it or control it in his dreams is very reminiscent of someone trying to get a hold on their own psyche. but it’s like. no dude. you gotta let it all out, let it go wild! both the pain and the ambition! it will let you be more loving, be healed, and be a better leader! gosh, it’s so so good.

JON BERNTHAL IS IN THIS?? Oh wait I think I vaguely remember @levijeanqueen watching this show just to see Jon Bernthal on her screen. sky babe this is me formally saying that I should have followed in your footsteps sooner omg I love this

richie gives me whiplash because he starts crying about his kid and I wanna give him a hug and tell him he’s a good dad but then he yells at syd and I get filled with rage and then he calls the cops on the mobsters when someone else solves the problem he couldn’t because he can’t stand not being needed and then anti-hero by taylor swift starts playing in my head because it’s him hi he’s the problem and what do you mean he accidentally drugged children with xanex i-

sydney is my GIRL y’all!! she has such a passionate, eager spirit about her that she can’t hold in and yet she also lacks confidence in a lot of ways and like. she is me!! I am her!! I kin this woman so hard. (that’s actually my first time using that word I hope I did it right lol). I’m so obsessed with everything she does, I can’t wait to see her grow and evolve as a chef, and to gain more confidence! also I need to learn more about her backstory right tf now like what was that catering business?? what’s her family like??

I don’t know where people are shipwise with this show?? it’s not a show that offers a lot of substantial material on that front but shipping is so much more fun when you have zero expectations and can kind of just go with the flow and take your own creative liberties so I like having fun with it. anyways I definitely feel a certain vibe with carmy and sydney but also marcus is so outwardly sweet to her when no one else is so I’m not mad about that either.

I think carmy and syd are like… two side of the same coin? they’re not the most alike but they’re not polar opposites either, they’re very much foils of each other and they each are the parts of the other that the other wishes they were. like sydney very openly wants to be skilled like carmy (she’s skilled on her own ways though might I add) and be a fearless chef and innovator, and carmy I think less-openly wishes he was like sydney: new, fresh, eager, not beaten down by the verbal degradation of high-end culinary culture, hopeful about the world and creative. I really like that sort of connection between two characters, it kind of alludes to a deeper idea that this bond was meant to be in a way? their chemistry is fucking fire too like wow

but then there’s marcus and sydney, which I think is cute because marcus has that sort of fun experimental eager green energy that sydney has and that many others (like tina and richie) have discarded or snuffed out, so I think he could be like a nice bright spot for sydney. idk. I need to know like a million more things about her character as well, she deserves all the screentime in the world. but in the meantime I’m just chilling, enjoying the little itty bitty crumbs that let me have my fun lol

anyways I’m sorry if that was too long for you lovely folks but I hope it was a worthy interruption to your regularly scheduled tumblr scrolling because I really love this show and I can’t wait to finish these last two episodes before moving on to this new season!!

#the bear #the bear fx #carmy the bear #carmen berzatto #sydney adamu #richie jerimovich

[therealvinelle]

i've seen you answer a few questions about tvd so i thought i might ask, what are your thoughts on the main love triangle? and klaus/stefan?

As a caveat: I did not watch much further than the first few episodes of season 4, in fact I ragequit when one of the writers revealed we wouldn't be seeing Elijah on screen again until 4x20 at which point I thought, "Well I simply won't watch until 4x20 then".

And then 4x20 was a backdoor pilot to the spinoff The Originals and I simply watched that show instead.

All this to say, I was 100% a gung ho Vampire Diaries fan and you can tell by how closely I was following it, sadly the only TVD I know of would be the first three seasons. Same actually goes for The Originals, as I for reasons I don't remember wasn't able to access episodes post-season 3 so I wound up not knowing what happens after Hayley drives off with the entire family hibernating in her truck either.

Another disclaimer: it's been more than ten years since I watched this show and my memory may fail me at times.

With that:

The main love triangle

Having only seen the first three seasons, I think that Damon wishes quite badly he was a different man, and he is unable to take responsibility for his life and relationships being what they are. He would rather blame his failings on Stefan, and, whenever Stefan fails or falls short in some ways, it's immensely validating to Damon because who's the bad brother now?

His love for Katherine is not only about Katherine, but about being chosen by someone over Stefan. Because, as Damon will try to tell himself, just because she was sleeping with both of them and decided to turn them both, doesn't mean she didn't prefer Damon (after all, she had to compell Stefan, while Damon slept with her willingly. Victory for Damon!), and also- look, don't question Damon on this. It's fine and he's a well adjusted man, and once he has rescued his lady love from her tomb she'll tell him how much better he is than Stefan.

Enter Elena, who looks exactly like Katherine, is living in Mystic Falls just the same as Katherine, and who has drawn Stefan's interest.

Damon, eternally pulling Stefan's pigtails and being a goddamn creep, starts creeping on Elena, this does not work. Instead, however, he learns that Katherine faked her entombment, and has in fact been living her best life for the past 150 years. Worse, Damon and Stefan were never more than boytoys to her.

Cut to Elena, who is just as beautiful (in a very literal sense of the term), only she is kind, genuinely loves Stefan, the polar opposite of Katherine in every way.

Damon transfers his emotions from Doppelganger B to Doppelganger C.

Stefan, meanwhile, seems to... fall in with Elena, for lack of a better way to put it. They meet, he is confused about the resemblance to Katherine for long enough to get to know her, by which time he's into it, and Elena sees a very handsome and pleasant man who is easy to fall for.

The trouble with Stefan is I don't really have a grip on his character, he is... there, for three seasons, and he has his character moments and his speeches, I can tell you things about his personality except I can't.

He is one of those people you can know for years but never actually know who, having killed his father and become the Ripper for so many years, seems to be that he is running away from himself. That is the only way I can interpret his strange nothingness, as well as bizarre decisions like coming to live with his nephew Zach and attend high school.

I think Stefan wants to surround himself with people, form relationships with them, and through that find a sense of identity that he can enjoy. Which is where loving Elena comes in, as she is kind, generous, mature, vulnerable, and fun- the type of person you can lose yourself in, and have those simple moments of happiness Florence Welch sings about.

In other words, while my real ship here is Elejah, Stelena trumps Delena any day.

Klaus and Stefan

Klaus is a deeply sad person who is only interested in dating two people, and they are his sister Rebekah and his brother Elijah. At the time he met Stefan Elijah wasn't around, so Stefan became replacement Elijah.

(The proof of the Elijah projection lies in the fact that Klaus was fine with Stefan sleeping with Rebekah. He is historically not fine with outsiders doing this, you have to be family for Klaus to accept these things.)

"Look, Elijah," Klaus would imagine himself saying to Elijah, "I have a new brother now and he is hotter, cooler, and not a total bore like you! Stefan loves me more anyway," and then Elijah would sit and cry and give Klaus so much attention and it would be great.

As for Stefan, I think he just liked partying.

They probably did fuck, but Klaus is too embarrassing for Stefan to ever admit as much.

#klaus #stefan salvatore #damon salvatore #elena gilbert #elijah #rebekah #klaus/stefan #elijah/klaus #klaus/rebekah #elena/stefan #damon/elena #the vampire diaries #the vampire diaries headcanons #the vampire diaries meta

[alpaca-clouds]

My personal Digimon season ranking

Given August is Digimon month, I cannot help but do one of these. Because, oh boy. I have not made one of those in a long, long while.

Now, let me tell you one thing clear: I have been in the Digimon fandom since Adventure started airing 2000 in Germany. I still vividly remember getting into the show and what the first episodes I watched were. I have obsessed about this show for so long...

But I also have unpopular opinions when it comes to the seasons. So let me get to those.

And please note: I will not list Digimon Adventure: (2020), as I only watched the first 22 episodes and then just dropped it. But I will list Digimon Adventure tri., though it is not quite a season.

#1 Digimon Tamers

My number one Digimon season is and will probably always be Digimon Tamers. This show really has no right to be as good as it is. Like, holy shit. This show went so hard in so many regards.

It really is the only season of Digimon that has something like a proper pacing. With only a couple of episodes being actual filler, while most do progress either story or character arcs. And those character arcs are so fucking good.

When I was a kid, I got so hooked on Ruki, because she was just such a good female character. But by now I do appreciate them all. (Well, Ryou maybe less, but that is a story for another day. Because he is one of those examples where I also grew up on those games and I love game!Ryou...)

Also, the amount of amazing background characters is kinda hilarious. Like, background figures like Janyuu, Yamaki or Shibumi are so well written.

Not to mention: For a 2001 merchandise TV show with 51 episodes, the animation has no business being as good as it is. How is it, that this series still has better animation than some of the later series?!

So, yeah, all around great show. Love it. Will rewatch most certainly a couple more times.

#2 Digimon Universe Applimonsters

And while a lot of people will absolutely understand, why I put Tamers in first place, pretty much most people will not get, why I would put Appmon in second place. Because other than Tamers this has a ton of filler episodes.

But to me none of that really matters, based on the fact that I just love the freaking character writing in this show, all the references to computer history and also... The fact that this show is gay as fuck. I mean, holy fuck, the entire Haru/Yuujin thing? Yeah, it warms my little queer heart so much!

But other than that it is another series where I really just love all the characters a ton. Haru is probably the goggle boy I relate to most out of all of Digimon. But I also really loved the other characters in this series, including the Digimon partners and what not.

So, yeah, to me this is my second favorite Digimon show.

#3 Digimon Savers

Masaru in a way is the polar opposite character to Haru, isn't he? While Haru is this soft spoken, introverted guy, Masaru is just this pure hardcore masculinity! GAAAAR! So, while I do like him less as a character than I like Takato or Haru, I did enjoy the writing in this show quite a lot. There were a ton of personal stakes to the story, that the others seasons did not bring in as much as this show did. And that was something I really enjoyed.

And while it got ridiculous at times, I also liked how Masaru was a bit more involved in the battles by punching stuff. Though I kinda am sad that they did not go with that original concept where all the characters would've been able to punch stuff.

I also enjoyed that the characters were a bit older in this, though ironically my favorite characters from the season are Chika and Ikuto.

#4 Digimon Ghost Game

There might be some bias here based on the fact alone that it is the most recent season of the franchise. But even though it was basically 100% episodic, I did enjoy almost every one of those episodes. Basically the show is 100% vibes for me, but oh boy, do I love those vibes.

I find this season kinda weird in terms of how it kinda pushed for two Digimon/human ships, with Ruli/Angoramon clearly being coded into the text, while it is also fairly clear that Jellymon is romantically interested in Kiyo. I mean, there always were seasons where you could definitely go for Digimon/human ships....... but it was never like this. But then again: All power to the monster fuckers, right? xD

And yeah... Being a fan of the horror genre, I absolutely adored how many episodes were based around classical horror stories from all around the world. That was so freaking fun! :D

#5 Digimon Adventure 02

Okay, let me make one thing clear: Digimon Adventure 02 is not a good series. It is not. Knowing what I know about how chaotic it was behind the scenes, aka how chaotic and cursed this production was, this is also not a big surprise. I disliked the show for this for quite long. I mean, there is tons of filler and the animation is soooooo bad in soooo many episodes. I mean, there is a ton of fan animation that is better than this series. But...

It also is kinda charming.

See, the thing about this show is, that I kinda still do like how the characters develop over the show and how... positive a lot of it is. The characters are sweet with each other and even with their enemies. And a huge chunk of the show is also dedicated to the characters outright trying to rebuild the digital world.

Also, this show has Ken, who to this day is one of my favorite Digimon characters. So, fuck it. I actually still kinda like it.

#6 Digimon Frontier

Fun Fact: I grew up with the Japanese dub of Digimon, but Digimon Frontier is the one season, where I actually kinda liked the US Dub, just based on the US soundtrack for this show. I really kinda liked the vibe it had.

In a way I do feel that this show had in fact the strongest character designs out of all of Digimon. The characters just have the right level of detail. They do not look overdesigned, but also not too simple. I really digged that. And yes, as a kid I cosplayed Takuya a lot.

To me the series just mostly suffers when it comes to the pacing. Not because of the fillers really (I am fine with fillers, as long as the fillers are fun), but rather in terms of the Cherubimon-arc being sooooo long and everything happening after it feeling kind of like an afterthought.

But I still very much like the characters. I just wished they did not make Junpei a glutton. One fat character who isn't a glutton. Is that so much to ask?

#7 Digimon Xros Hunters

For anyone now going like: "But this is not even a series on its own!" I will kindly ask you: "Shut up, this is my list." Because those couple of episodes from Xros Wars that were clearly just meant to fill the timeslot for a couple more weeks, do have a very different vibes from the rest of the show.

Now, this also is basically just filler + then the crossover event. But... At times this was kinda sweet. I liked the vibes this show had at times and some of the characters were kinda likeable.

And I really liked the opening.

It was not good. Definitely wasn't. But there was stuff about it I liked.

#8 Digimon Adventure

Yeah, let's get to my most controversial Digimon opinion: I do not like Digimon Adventure a lot. I really don't. Some of the characters are fine, yes, but... I do not like a lot more of this show. Mostly because I fucking hate the crest system and how morally simplistic the show is, with the bad guys just all being bad guys with not much depth. Meanwhile most of the characters are horribly underwritten and have their entire character arcs rushed through within like two episodes.

And I just hate Yamato and how the show just tries to excuse all of his bullshit. There. I said it. I think he is a horrible character. A horrible brother. And a horrible friend. So, yeah, fuck him.

And Nishizono, the showrunner, had no plan where he was going when he started writing. Not entirely his fault, given that he inherited a production that two other writing teams already had abandoned. But maaaaaan, it shows.

#9 Digimon Xros Wars

What is there to say?

Digimon Xros Wars sucked. It sucked. And to this day I wonder what the drama behind the scenes was. We know there was drama (given the showrunner abandoned the production half-way through!) but details are sparse even ten years later.

But, yeah. Taiki is a fucking Gary Stu and the plot just shifts around him. The story is a whole mess. The female characters get sexualized to no end. Everyone who is not Taiki gets sidelined constantly. The animation is inconsistent. And what not.

And the really sad fact: The manga is so fucking good.

I am fairly certain that most issues are because of production drama. And one day I am gonna find out what that drama was.

#10 Digimon Adventure tri.

Digimon Adventure tri. is one of the things that by themselves are not good, but get really bad once you consider the universe it is set in. It is one of those things put into an existing canon without honoring the existing canon at all.

It just ignores basically everything happening in 02. The character developments from anything that has happened before. The 02 characters are just not there. The "original chosen children" exist and yet the OVA does not give them the attention they deserve. And Meiko is just... Oh boy. Meiko is just a horrible character for so many reasons.

It is just fucking sad that this exists. So fucking sad. Just why?!

Also, for OVAs the animation is so bad. Soooooo bad.

#digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digimon tamers #digimon frontier #digimon savers #digimon xros wars #digimon universe appli monsters #appmon #digimon adventure tri #unpopular opinion

[brokenmusicboxwolfe]

You know I’m a Doctor Who fan, and have been for a loooong time, but I am really feeling a side of fandom for the first time.

I mean, I knew it was there. Look at the reaction to the Whittaker era. I was no fan of Chibnall’s writing tastes (good ideas, but….), yet I mostly kept quiet for fear of being lumped in with the ones freaking out only because it didn’t fit the gender and race up they were used to. As someone delighted with the increased diversity with the Doc and friends, but crushingly disappointed by the actual episodes, it was awkward. Like, “Look, I’m not enjoying it but NOT for those reasons” calls for something other than the polar opposition understanding so common online (and the real world?)

Anyway, so it’s a “new” era. Surely it would be safe to wade into fandom opinions again, especially because the RTD/10/Donna era had been so popular. Nostalgia would win out, at the very least for this short little 60th revisiting….

Yeah.

So let me say that if your criticism of an episode starts off with the word “woke” or is based on whether it did what rumors had you hoping for (actual ex. What? No Susan?!??) I am soooo not listening!

And, TBH, I’m a bit baffled how a show about a non-human character that gets periodic full body reboots while wandering through all of time and space, offering theoretically infinite possibilities of people and adventures, could possibly be upset by such tiny things like someone being trans or the skin color of a historical figure***. It’s like we have been watching a different series!

(Thank goodness I never watch “opinion” videos in Youtube. Or “watch alongs”.** Have you seen the stuff they keep recommending to Doctor Who fans? Ewwww!)

**I don’t get that BTW, watching someone watching something rather than just watching the thing yourself and having your own opinions. Someone connected to it, someone bursting with info about it, like the best audio commentaries, yeah, I get. But some guy you don’t know? I mean, I see people going “George watched it and loved it!” like it proves something about the quality, and I go “Um, who is George and why do you need someone else’s validation?”

But then I don’t get watching someone else do anything I can do myself. Believe me, I was bored senseless ever damn time my brother wanted us to watch him play video games. Come on, give ME a turn for once! Playing soccer with me family (until the broken bones! LOL) was fun, but you would have to pay me to get me to sit and watch a game. My initials are “SAW”, but I kinda prefer to do.

*** The Doctor Who universe can’t be our own anyway. Heck, every time the Earth gets invades or the Doctor has an adventure with someone famous it moves one more step away. This is kinda great. It just means anything is possible

#doctor who #doctor who 60th anniversary #my day #rambles

[lewishamil10n]

Do you ever think about how Valtteri and Lewis are polar opposites from each other, yet still like each other so much. Do you ever think about how they complement each other. Do you ever think about how they're literally like fire and ice and somehow still make it work.

Do you ever think about how Lewis can be challenge and excitement and glamor and goofiness for Valtteri and Valtteri can be honesty and rest and calmness and trust for Lewis.

Do you ever think about how not being teammates anymore has made them appreciate each other's presence even more and how they are actively seeking each other out, finding comfort and smiles in each other, without any expectations or conditions, how it's just easy and familar and good between them...

Just Valewis thoughts. 🥺❤️

anon sorry im late answering this it was lost in my inbox somewhere but. i showed this to @milflewis and @effervescentdragon and they immediately said SUN AND MOON PAIRING and. im about to go insane sorry not sorry.

u know after the entire shitshow that was the Nico Years TM and especially 2016, it was so obvious how tired lewis was. like not of racing, but of this entire teammate situation. gods sake his first ever teammate in the sport was fernando alonso there was no way that was ever going to go well. he got along well enough with heikki and jenson, but then he moved to mercedes, where his teammate was nico. and. well. the less said about that the better.

so by the time valtteri joined, i think lewis was sort of really wary about the whole thing. like if his childhood friend could do that to him over a championship, then how could he expect any better from anyone else? and it was probably smarter, in his head, to just not even try, really, to be anything other than professional. and then. and then there's valtteri, who'd gotten a couple of podiums with williams but nothing more, who's so desperate to prove himself and win. it would've been easy, i think, for him if he'd chosen to do what everyone else did. if he'd chosen to play games and be ruthless and do whatever it took. but he's not like that, he's not like that at all. he worked hard and he did his best and whatever he had to prove, he did on track.

u know that video in 2017 (i think?) when someone asked lewis if jenson was a better teammate or valtteri and he just said "i don't care" in this tired tone. and then that video at the end of 2017 when it's lewis n valtteri on that rooftop in abu dhabi talking. and lewis asks "were you ever really angry with me?" and valtteri says "yeah. when you beat me" and there's this moment. lewis just kind of goes still. and you can tell that he's instantly on edge because. this is exactly the sort of thing that ruined his relationships with prev teammates. they couldn't stand that he was better, than he won. and there was this moment, like. is valtteri going to be like that too? is this just another reiteration of that same old dynamic? and then valtteri clarifies "at video games" and lewis just kind of. relaxes. laughs it off. but that moment is THERE. and it just sort of goes to show where lewis's head was at in 2017 re: teammates.

and then they just sort of grew on each other? somehow? because valtteri never tried to play any games. when he saw lewis winning, when he wanted to compete, he didn't want to do it by dirty tricks or psychological warfare. he wanted to do it by being a better driver. and he did beat lewis a few times! but it never went sour between them. i know everyone likes to call valtteri a pushover (and other much more unkind terms) but i really don't think he is. if you listen to his episode on the beyond the grid podcast it really gives you some insight into his mentality, into how he approaches racing and who he is as a person. and it really struck me how unique his mindset is. he comes across as one of the only people on the grid who is content with who he is and where he's at. yes of course they're all competitive. every person on that grid is there to try to win. but val is one of the few that puts the team first. he's said as much in the podcast. he knew what the environment at merc was like when he joined. he knew that the last thing they needed was another such rivalry, another person causing problems. and yes, toto had his ways of ensuring valtteri would not try to challenge lewis too much (the one year contracts, for instance). and valtteri is well within his rights to be bitter about it. god we're all well aware of the "valtteri it's james" jokes. his anger and frustration over that is absolutely justifiable and no one would blame him if he hated merc/toto/lewis. but he genuinely does not seem like he does. he's still on such good terms with lewis (and even toto). they still travel together and hang out. because for him, it was about the team, and that never affected his relationship with lewis, even after he left.

sorry that sort of became a love letter to valtteri MOVING ON TO YOUR ASK

i fucking love their dynamic. like i FUCKING. LOVE IT. on the surface they seem like they have barely anything in common. lewis is this bright, bold guy, all sunshine and smiles, and val is so much more introverted, kinda lowkey. their personalities are so different, their approach to racing is so different. but somehow it WORKS. have you seen how fucking FOND valtteri looks when he's looking at lewis or talking to him. like come on. literally the fucking heart eyes emoji. like come on WHAT IS THAT. and lewis is just as bad!!! god how does one even survive having lewis hamilton smile at them like that! and! the look on valtteri's face when he hears lewis singing! please!!! i'm going to scream.

[insert montage of them being... Like That]

(via merc insta, they look like literal personification of the sun n moon here)

(via @wejustvibing (first pic) and @vro0m (second pic))

(from this photoset by @electric-arc)

(can't remember the source of this pic sorry it's from my camera roll)

(this entire photoset by @effervescentdragon)

(via @l8tof1)

(via @gianniisantetokounmpo)

and like. the way valtteri can make lewis laugh. the way he's automatically smiling and laughing too, when he's with lewis. the banter. the way lewis is so comfortable with valtteri in his personal space. the way he squeezes into valtteri's. the casual touching! god there's like five years of just watching them get closer and closer, until "i don't care" becomes "he's the best teammate in the sport" and "you're greater than you know" and "for the first time i had a teammate with whom i really communicated ... without hiding anything from each other" and just. i'm going a little insane okay. do you know how BIG that is. lewis finally having a teammate he could trust NOT to stab him in the back. "he wants to win on his own merit, not by playing games, not by winning the team over" and this is 2017! right after nico! who famously played mind games and was manipulative and who divided the team. who did anything and everything he could to win, and didn't care that that meant actively screwing his childhood best friend over. and then there's valtteri! who's not just lewis's favorite teammate but "the best teammate in the sport" like ever! EVER! 70 yrs of rivalries and teammates and as far as lewis is concerned, there's no one better than valtteri viktor bottas. that's a whole ass fucking love letter in this sport!!!!!

its the love. the fucking acceptance. valtteri telling lewis he's the better driver. admitting it was hard for him to accept. lewis telling valtteri "you're greater than you know" ON MAIN. do you know how insane that quote makes me. do you!!! valtteri saying "when i can't win the title, i want lewis to win it" and "it felt like i was the one who lost" after ad21. checking in with lewis after it all. the way they ran to each other when they saw each other in the beginning of this season. so many people tried to get valtteri to slander lewis and merc and valtteri didn't give them a single fucking crumb. nothing but repetition of how much he respects lewis and how fucking good lewis is. the way they still seek each other out! the silly little insta exchanges! "valtteri didn't look too worried" "i just knew you'd be okay" and "never stop dancing mate" and god. the whole thing in monaco. what the FUCK. lewis called val's nude "the best picture i've seen" and val just. straight up gave him a print. framed. IN FRONT OF THE WORLD. "not that i don't have enough things to remember you by" LEWIS. also. don't think i don't remember how when the interviewer asked lewis if he'd seen the naked pic of val, lewis went "oh is that the one with me in it?" um. excuse me? EXCUUUUUUUUUUSE ME?

(i could write essays abt monaco 22 but i'll try to keep it short this is already becoming quite long.)

(OH also the sequel to monaco 22, aka singapore 22. only good thing abt this weekend was lewis saying he's got val's nude in his home, guanyu saying he wouldn't do that he'd put it somewhere private, and val being like "next time i could do a flipped one" like ok. ok val. offer him dick pics on main. Normal. i cannot believe these are real events that really occurred in real life.)

look. at the end of the day it's about the mutual love and respect. it's about a professional relationship becoming "best duo in the sport." it's about THAT progressing into close friendship. nico can go on and on as much as he likes about how he still Knows and Understands lewis but valtteri is the one that actually does. he doesn't need to keep harping on about lewis to prove he knows him; he just does. he knows how to make lewis laugh and how to approach him when he's angry or tired or upset. he knows without having to ask what lewis is thinking, what he's feeling. they may not be teammates anymore but they're "still mates." they look for each other and are always so fucking happy to be with each other, and they travel together whenever they can. pls every other team on the grid WISHES they had what lewis and valtteri do. dream team for sure. god i could go on and on about them i love them and their relationship SO. FUCKING. MUCH!!!

ok im done now. until someone else comes along and sets me off.

#asks #anonymous #valtteri bottas #lewis hamilton #valewis #f1 #long post #(under the cut) #sorry i went a little batshit anon. but in my defense. how was i supposed to react? u know i cant ever shut up abt valewis #and yes theres links n sources. im fucking ACADEMIC abt this ok

[chrisodonline]

Kraina and I have been chatting, not surprisingly, about Sallen since last night. (Well, last night my time. Later her time.)

I told her that I feel like Callen's relationship with Sam is such a bigger (and truer) indicator of his growth than his romantic one.

The finale seems to be acknowledging how important their relationship is/was, and I was just reading Chris O'Donnell's interview with TV Insider, and he seems to realize how important the duo is, too:

What is your favorite moment from NCIS LA that is really representative of your character?

Chris O’Donnell: Hard to pick one moment, but I know it would be a scene with LL [Cool J]. Our relationship/chemistry was really what made this thing work. It was that way from the first episode, and I enjoyed every day we spent together. 

For all the important moments and journey(s) Callen has had over the years, even the man who brought him to life for 14 years feels that Sam would be involved somehow in the ones dearest to him.

At the end of the day, this relationship is what the show pivoted to after the conception (as reiterated by Gemmill in a recent interview) that sold stakeholders on it.

Oops, this turned into a novel, so here's a Read More:

I remember getting to read the script for the first part of the backdoor pilot before it aired thanks to a friend with some connections. Some things were changed from the script, including that Sam was originally doing the Renko undercover role. I'm guessing they knew they couldn't just hide LL Cool J's role with OSP so they changed it. But Shane Brennan also recalled how they were about to shoot the first scene with Chris and Todd, and they were talking in the van. No one knew if it would work or not, and so everyone on the other side of the camera held their breath and then "Action." And it worked instantly.

The show was about the things that shape your identity, and who you are, with the exploration of how the roles we play in different parts of our lives impact that. G Callen could not have had a more polar opposite partner in that area alone. G never felt like he could settle into being someone without knowing his past, and he always felt like something was missing. He was incomplete and broken. His undercover work only benefitted from that: a blank canvas not committed to anything really, who also probably tried out different traits when he was in character.

Enter Sam Hanna: a man who couldn't be more self-assured and aware of who he is. He's confident with great strength of character. Who you see when you meet Sam Hanna is exactly who Sam Hanna is. He's a mountain of morals, honor, and duty. In a way, yes, his service and career are a big part of who he is, especially since he was raised by a father who was also in service. But it's less that that life gave him those character traits and more that they fit so well into them. Sam never faltered on undercover work, but it was, for obvious reasons, not an obvious choice for him. It created a natural challenge, and at that point in his career, Sam needed one. He never likes to go without a challenge for too long because you should always keep growing.

They made for a great pair to complement each other at work. G had a tendency to go too far in and lone wolf into danger, and he was allowed to do it because he got results. But Sam Hanna's job was to be a partner and get the job done. And he was not about to let G go too far in. There was a balance of pulling each other that was so organic it couldn't help but creep into their personal lives, as well. G needed to learn to let someone in, and Sam Hanna was persistent with a huge heart. Sam had been surrounded with people with traits similar to him for so long, that it didn't hurt to mix it up and even created a challenge -- which we know Sam loves and is always up for. They challenged each other. They helped each other. And they cared for each other.

For a show that was no stranger to "testosterone undertone," toxic masculinity territory is always a danger. Most of the characters on this show definitely have bases in tropes, especially network procedural tropes. However, the people they cast have helped make them so much more. What follows is an opinion, but I stand by it. (Also, while I'm talking about Callen and Sam specifically here, this extends to other characters on this show, especially the male ones.) They ended up with Chris and Todd, two men who are extremely frank about feelings and emotions in real life, and who aren't afraid to hug and say they love each other in interviews. Often the Sallen banter just rang so true to conversations Chris and Todd had probably been overheard having on set, so it makes even more sense that their offscreen traits and relationship made their way into the show, as well. I seriously doubt we would've ended up with so many casual "I love you's," hugs, and HAND HOLDING between two grown men in this career if they had different actors.

I cannot overstate how important it is that this relationship not only existed, but existed for 14 years on a network channel, specifically the one with some of the most traditional overall values in their shows.

And there endeth the essay I didn't expect to write today.

#ncis la #z rambles on #sallen #g callen #sam hanna #Chris o'donnell #ll cool j

[theowritesfiction]

Okay, so I have been watching The Bear, and I eventually got into the show over the course of S1, but now watching S2, it’s really pissing me off, I think it’s one of the most disappointing sophomore seasons in the history of TV, and I want to rant about it.

But first I wanted to address the rave reviews this show is getting on RT, especially the glowing audience reviews (I don’t give a rat’s ass about the critic reviews, there’s too much group think, peer pressure, conformism and paid shilling going on there that it’s not worth looking at). I looked at the audience reviews in more detail and immediately realized that the ‘people’ giving this show 5-star reviews all follow the same naming convention like Adam F, Christina V, Sam R, etc. In short – almost all of them are bots posting AI generated tripe. The 93% audience review aggregate is a complete sham.

Anyway, why do I hate S2? Well, I found this web article 10 Unpopular Opinions About the Bear and figured I’d look at them to see whether I agree or disagree. So, here we go.

10. The Bear Should Have Continued With The Beef, Not Gone Fine Dining

Yes, fuck yes. The chaotic atmosphere of a greasy spoon/rundown sandwich shop was what made the show. Transitioning to fine dining creates this immediate pretentious vibe that’s completely at odds with S1 mood/themes. And while shows always need to keep evolving, I feel like this was way too radical shift from one end of the spectrum to the very opposite end. Also, I haven’t been to Chicago and don’t know too much about the city, but I have a pair of eyes that still work, and they tell me that this is not a fucking fine dining location, like, it’s just not.

9. The Bear Should Have Stopped After Season 1

Why? Just make a season that doesn’t suck.

8. The Bear Symbolism Is Too On The Nose

I don’t care about the symbolism. It’s handled so ham-fistedly that it literally adds nothing to the show.

7. Ayo Edebiri Is Not A Good Sydney

Disagree. I know Sydney is a polarizing character (although if you want to find out actual valid reasons why someone might not like her, do expect that you’ll have to wade through a disturbing amount of hatred for ambitious black women), but her ‘problematic’ jerk moments are interesting to me, and I think are well acted.

6. Marcus Was Right to Keep Working on his Donuts

Obviously not, Marcus is a part of a brigade, work shift is no time for his pet projects. That said, the episode of Marcus in Copenhagen is the most boring episode in recent TV history. 35 minutes on basically telling me that he leveled up his cooking skill. That could have been an e-mail.

Also, this is why I hate fine dining. Instead of making delicious donuts, this guy spent months training how to prepare pretentious desserts that only the rich 1% will be able to afford. Good job, Marcus, you’re now ready to lick the boots of the rich elites.

5. Richie Was The Real Victim Of The Bear Season 1, Episode 7

No, and triple fuck Richie, the worst character of past decade in TV history. I remember reading one of the anti-Sydney threads on reddit hellhole, and people were posting in masses about how ‘well at least Richie isn’t as bad as Sydney’ and ‘at least Richie gets his redemption’. I’m now at S2E7 and I’m still waiting for this asshole to show any redeeming qualities. I don’t know, maybe I’ve had one too many toxic coworkers like Richie, but I hate this guy an unreasonable amount, I want to stick ice picks in his eye sockets and leave him to bleed out as a service to humankind.

4. The Bear Season 2 Was A Letdown

Yeah, no shit.

3. (ignored as it deals with S2 finale spoilers)

2. People Should Ship Sydney & Marcus, Not Syd & Carmy

Hard disagree. People can ship who they want, but both of these pairings will be dysfunctional. As someone who’s all about shipping, I will be the first to say that this show shouldn’t be about ships. All of these people are completely toxic workaholic assholes who have no time for relationships and should never consider entering one. Syd/Marcus and Syd/Carmy is essentially marrying your job for the second time.

1.      Claire's Story In The Bear Season 2 Didn't Work

Again, no shit, and what I’m going to say shouldn’t be taken as an insult to Claire, I have nothing against her character, but rather to the way she was used. Claire is pretty much used to show that Carmy is unable to have normal healthy romantic relationships. But I already knew that from everything the show told us about Carmy before introducing Claire, so I feel like the show is treating me like a child by talking down to me and repeatedly pointing out the obvious. In the end, Claire is reduced to being a completely unnecessary story vehicle to tell us something we already knew, with no agenda of her own.

So yeah, as you can tell, it’s been a very rough watch. I definitely do NOT recommend The Bear to anyone. Do yourself a favor and stay well away.

#the bear #anti the bear #flaming anti bear rant #which sucks because bear is my spirit animal #but this show is irredeemable #bear critical

[mistyheartrbs]

in a faberry post you said to ask about your quinn thoughts. so i’m asking. because as a character and an individual, quinn’s fucked and beyond interesting. so please; your favourite quinn thoughts. maybe something you’ve been pondering/holding onto that you’ve never had quite a good enough opportunity to talk about until now. something you’ve said 50 times over that you want to say again. rattle them all off in dot points. spend an hour writing a mini essay on two. what ever you like. what ever makes things easiest/most entertaining for you

YES...YES.........thank you dearly for this anon

so the thing about quinn is like. she is deeply deeply sad. and she is so gay. and she and rachel are both deeply unpleasant people, neither of whom would really be considered "good" by real-life standards and sometimes they even push it by glee standards (though people are a lot harder on rachel but that's a different essay) and quinn has the extra difficulty of essentially being glee's narrative punching bag. she gets pregnant she gets kicked out of her house her boyfriend pretty openly cheats on her she keeps getting dumped she tries to form a relationship with the baby she gave up only for the adoptive mother to outright refuse this and so she tries to steal the baby but this fails too her best friend who she is in love with almost gets married to her ex she's paralyzed for several months. the culmination of her arc isn't her getting what she wants, it's her giving up prom queen to rachel. and through it all we're told over and over again that she's selfish, she's horrible, she's the queen bee evil bitch even when what we're seeing onscreen is the polar opposite.

and i think one of the things that's interesting about her is how performative everything about her is, which lends itself to this sense that we're never even seeing the whole picture. we get these cracks in the glass - her confession that she's afraid of the future to rachel in 2x20, "i just want somebody to love me" in 2x22 - but by and large she has this veneer up. this manufactured self. we find out in s2 that she literally created a new identity for herself after she left middle school. lots of weird gender stuff going on there.

but despite all this she's still The Queen Bee Bitch. and however much glee deviates from/plays on high school tropes in other ways, she's still locked into the narrative culmination that that demands, which is to say, success for the protagonist at the expense of her own happiness. prom queen is a hollow title and she grows to learn that, but it's one she spent a lifetime working towards. and she gives it to rachel, because she loves her, and we never really see her get a fully realized happy ending beyond that (i kind of wish they'd just written her off completely so i could imagine she was being her best gay self at yale, or at least written her off after the quinntana sex episode) - she can't get the girl. that's not how this story goes. she's doomed by the narrative to never shine as bright as rachel. she was doomed the second she appeared onscreen in the pilot - hailed by rachel, no less - but god, she still loves so, so hard.

bringing faberry back into the conversation, she and rachel understand each other on this bone-deep level that nobody else in the show really manages. and it's remarkable. and it's so so compelling to watch, and a big part of why the latter seasons fail so badly is that we lose that complex relationship when we lose quinn - though, then, it makes sense that we would, since the watered-down version of rachel we see in latter glee would never have the same relationship the one we loved in the first half of the show does with quinn.

i have more quinn thoughts (i will always have quinn thoughts) but these are the main ones. girls when they're doomed by the narrative. girls when queerbaiting reveals a previously unforeseen depth to a relationship that would not be present were they straightforwardly canon. girls when dianna agron puts everything into playing a character who, on paper, could have just been a cautionary tale/one-note villain. and those girls? quinn fabray.

#quinn fabray #glee #faberry #anonymous #natsuki's terrible disco pants #THANK YOU for this i had a great time

[ohanny]

another friday, another cutie pie episode! so here are my thoughts while watching the second episode:

kuea is absolutely not me because i would never check my email first thing in the morning, notifs be damned

also even if i did get good news, i would not have the energy to throw a full "blackpink in your area" on top of my bed

kuea: oh yes, i am a bit... sore lian: ¬‿¬

ugh, why can't you just talk to this man who just happens to be a supportive, relatively mentally stable, functioning adult who dresses nice, cooks you food, pulls out your chair and YOU ACT LIKE THE RETURNING HIDE AND SEEK CHAMPION OF 2022

lian: if you need help, you can always tell me me: IF ONLY

nonetheless, i've had a boyfriend for a decade and i feel as single as the last crushed pringle at the bottom of the tube of doom when zee looks at nunew

kuea, a lying liar who lies: kon diao texted me lian: i love you me: KUEA DO YOU FEEL EVEN A LIL BAD???

i love the mission impossible theme tune

nong diao squared ready to cover up crimes

yi can smell bullshit a mile away but unfortunately for him, he's also a weak victorian bitch who gets flustered by a cheek touch from a twink he (alledgedly) fucked in his car just last week

JUST SHOW ME PERTH YOU COWARDS chapter 2

diao is a good friend with a good brain cell. we all need a diao.

kuea: i have a lot to think about. me: you also have a lo to TALK about goddammit

meanwhile poor lian is just trying to plan his barbie dream wedding, oh dear

yi is here to be the best man but also to watch the world burn.

kon diao loves lists. kon diao is me.

the world does not deserve diao. this show certainly doesnt. if he was running it, again, it would be 5 minutes long. well, maybe 15. he would keep all the spicy bits.

this beauty clinic is totally not the sponsor of this series.

the totally not sponsoring intensifies

"how do i look?" EXACTLY THE SAME AS YOU DID 30 SECONDS AGO YOU BABY SKINNED MOCHI OF PERFECTION

i will never not mishear this as "cosmic-exo entertainment" and i am not sorry

uh-oh, their barbie dream weddings are NOT the same

lsakjfkasljfafj a nuer x syn intermission! and nuer has a less questionable shirt on!

you two (ಥ﹏ಥ)

but props to syn never hiding his intentions and props to nuer respecting his choices even if they make him a sad boy. SOME PEOPLE could never

hia yi is eternal suffering personified even at a cake tasting and quickly becoming my favourite.

foei: oh is it too crowded? do we need more room? the gays: *offended*

salaldkjf i am catching vibes. pls tell me they will grey's anatomy this and diao and yi will end up getting married in the barbie dream wedding horror show while kuea and lian elope in korea

"you can make the final decision" says lian, not having any idea they like the polar opposite things.

he is a smooth bastard though. "ah yes, my favourite wedding singer will be too busy being my husband"

"oh no, how will our suits match if we cannot see them?" you dumbo, you have kon diao, the wedding planner extraordinaire. he has a list for that.

diao has been calling out bullshit since birth at this point.

yi: ah yes, they are so compatible. diao: dude, they can't agree on anything. yi: which is not my problem.

yi really be like "pfffft, let them talk it out between them" as if we have time to be here for the next ten years. he really couldn't give less fucks, lol

DIAO LEGIT IS LIKE IZZIE PLANNING MERDER'S WEDDING

how can he answer cosmic-exo in that suit. go change.

oh, the straights are at it again

lian: thank you yi: oh, you already picked a suit? lian: yes yi: wow, i am so helpful. you are blessed to have me tolerate you.

i love how nunew's voice gets so much deeper when he switches to english

IF ONLY YOU WERE THAT EXCITED ABOUT YOUR OWN WEDDING

kuea: what should i do? me screaming at my tv: TALK TO YOUR MAN

diao is seriously like baby yoda and syn doesn't need to become a monk. he just needs to hang out with diao more for some deep wisdom and then keep living in sin.

nuer is a sweet understanding angel and syn is a pouty baby and i could watch these two forever

"it's our wedding, not just mine." except you have NO IDEA you're not getting your wedding but an industrial scale keerati legacy production

yi: see? they're totally on the same page diao: ...

who is this random laxatives lady and why does she look like she's about to place a curse on kuea?

lian: you pick kuea: i am fine with everything narrator: he was not, in fact, fine with anything

diao turn of the tap for fucks sake, it is very obvious you are not paying your own bills in this economy

diao: my dog is so smart yi: your dog is literally an idiot

oh god here we have hia yi talk about marriage and kasdjflkafj they might kiss and i can't believe i am about to say this but at this point diao needs to worry about me cooking that cockblocking dog :D

WE HAVE A STAIRCASE WITH A HAND RAIL? IN A BL?!?!?!

lian: *trying* kuea: cosmic-exo is calling, byeee

look at his sad eyes, he KNOWS

"why am i talking to a doll?" BECAUSE IT IS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE AN ACTUAL CONVERSATION WITH YOU. you deserve better, boo.

lian: aren't you kirin already kuea: but i could be cosmic-exo kirin in korea. lian: okay. kuea: ... wait what?

OH FUCK SCREW THE WEDDING WAS THAT PERTH I JUST SAW?!?!?!?

#cutie pie the series #cutie pie 2 you #episode recap reaction whatever #lian x kuea #yi x diao #the gays are at it again: wedding edition

[jesssssssssica]

you belong with me c.p

i’m worried this sounds a bit creepy, like joe goldberg vibes so yeahhh 

you’re on the phone with your girlfriend.

i know that by taking one look at your face, all twisted together and shrivelled by hearing her shrill voice droning on about absolutely nothing.

it’s just a normal tuesday night filled with homework, new girl episodes and dancing to all the music that she doesn’t like. a tuesday that you know she would never like.

me and her are two different people.

polar opposite’s.

and she hates everything he likes, whilst i like most of the things he likes.

his humour. his fashion. his everything.

yet she’s the one that gets the guy.

of course she does she’s cheer captain! whilst i’m the one thats standing on the bleachers screaming from the top of my lungs to support him. she however, does not. and she gets the guy.

i'm waiting for the day he finally sees what’s been right in front of him this whole time.

we sit at our windows, phones in hand saying all our thoughts. everything ranging from how mrs ‘what’s her face’ had a big fat hairy moustache to how jenna lard was possibly pregnant and that the baby daddy was someone other than her boyfriend.

i loved this time of day.

a time when we would just laugh until we were out of breath and he would get to be free from the she-devil.

we walk down the streets with you in your worn-out jeans and all i can think is that this is how it should be, this feeling intensifying when we’re laughing on that park bench outside our house, with your smile that lights up the whole town that’s made it’s first appearance since when she first came into his life although you seem to claim that your fine.

i know that’s not true and all i have to ask is “what you doing with a girl like that?”

i’m just dreaming about the day when you finally wake up and find, that what you're looking for has been right here the whole time, if only you could see that i'm the one who really understands you and that i’ve been here all this time so why can’t you see that you belong with me?

i’ve been the one that you could back on whenever she hurts you and yet all this time you’ve been clueless to how you haven’t noticed how my heart only beats for you.

and i remember you driving to my house at god-knows-what time at night, tears gathering at your waterline and i feel helpless, that all i can do is try and make you laugh or just talk.

so we talk, we talk all night, the conversation ranging from his favourite songs to the dreams we had had in the past week and yet my selfish mind is only thinking about how he can’t see that i’m the one who understands him and that i’ve been here all along, so why can’t you see? 

i’ve been standing by and waiting at your backdoor this whole time so how could you not know?  

and one day he does see, and he says to me,

“you belong with me”

#christian pulisic #christian pulisic imagine #christian pulisic fluff #christian pulisic x reader #christian pulisic angst