#or she had the perfect narrative to start her career

[supercool-here]

Ok my sins are keeping me up late at night so of course I'm going to post about ysblf. I am not a fic writer, actually I'm not a writer of any kind other than bad, but I really wish I could come up with a storyline in which Armando and Betty develop a somewhat healthy relationship, or at least one in which they get together without having gone through the ordeal of seducing/getting used. I will love reading your ideas, even fanfic recs if you know any. My own theory will be in the tags

#I THINK it could be possible for Betty and Armando to get together in a normal-ish way because #In the small period of time before Mario gets into Armando's head and convinces him he has to seduce Betty to keep the company safe #During that time Armando and Betty had something pretty sweet going on #Of course I think getting anywhere near romantic would've taken much longer than it does in the soap #But I think they could've eventually gotten there #BECAUSE Armando's and Betty's relationship was really nice #It was quite damped in inequalities tho #So I think in this alternative narrative the first step would be to get them to stand on the same grounds #Even the situation #So help Betty get more confidence and get the career she had always wanted #And help Armando break away from his unhealthy relationships and bad influences and help him be bold #Maybe then Armando starts to see Betty with longing eyes #And maybe Betty tries to go out with other people #To learn a lil about relationships and learn to stand up for herself MAYBE #And MAYBE then Armando realizes he feels jealous #Which he wouldn't want to admit not because Betty used to be an “uggo” but because he's always seen her as this sweet angel of a person #And MAYBE he goes on a personal quest to find himself because MAYBE he starts wondering wether he could ever be with someone like Betty #Could he ever be with someone so honest kind intelligent knowgeable innocent loyal yada yada basically so perfect when he is such a torment #That has been a cheater and what not #But then I need something to happen so he decides he wants to try to become the man Betty deserves #(which is what he does in the original story teehee) #And I don't know what that could be #But yeah I think so far we could get pretty cute scenes of them bonding #Armando being proud of Betty seeing her grow up and treat herself better #Scenes of Betty doing things she's scared of and then getting that reassurance knowing she's always been capable of those things #And our beloved scenes of tortured Armando #But then what is gonna push Armando to decide he wants to be good for Betty #I don't know if I want it to be jealousy #MAYBE it'll be some situation in which he realizes he has to fight for her or he'll loose her forever #Meanwhile for Betty

[starastrologyy]

Astrology Observations

Please do not plagiarize anything that I write or repost on any other social media platform 🤍

It’s so interesting because I know three couples who have Mars conjunct their composite Ascendant/ Mars in the composite 1st house. Their conflicts are often very public; as in people know when they are fighting or when they are not speaking. I thought this was interesting and very fitting. I will say that these couples have Aries or Scorpio on the composite ascendant which probably amplifies the drama(conflict). Thus, things may manifest differently in relationships that have ‘non-confrontational’ signs such as Pisces/Virgo/Capricorn on the ascendant.

Solar return years where your Solar Return Ascendant or Midheaven is in the same sign as your natal Midheaven or Ascendant, will likely be very pivotal years for you. With the Solar return Midheaven being in the same sign as your natal Midheaven, something major is likely to occur in your life in relation to your career or worldly status. By a change in ‘worldly status’ , I mean you may become a wife/husband, a mother/father, a doctor, a business owner, etc… something about your title is likely to change! You may even leave a job and start your own business, become unemployed, graduate college and so on! Major transitions and life changes are often indicated by a solar return ascendant or Midheaven being in the same sign as the natal ascendant or Midheaven.

People who have Uranus square Chiron in their birth charts often feel very isolated in the world. One of their major wounds often stems from the fact that they are different from most people, and thus they frequently feel like outsiders, or feel as if other people perceive them as being “weird”. This placement can make it difficult for a person to gain a real sense of community or belonging!

Jupiter transiting your 3rd house is very auspicious if you’re looking to get your drivers license! This can also be a very fruitful time, If you have some kind of online business/blog.

When someone’s Mars falls into your 8th house, you may feel a strong attraction to them, even if they are not your usual type. I’ve had clients who share this synastry with someone tell me that the Mars person was not their initial type, but after they were intimate their attraction towards mars skyrocketed!

If you have the ruler of your Ascendant or your IC (4th house cusp) placed in the 9th house, you will likely travel a lot or relocate throughout your life!

People with Taurus on the IC make good interior designers! These people often have a keen eye for decorating! Alternatively, I’ve also seen this placement manifesting as people thinking you come from an affluent/wealthy family even if you don’t!

A friend of mine fell pregnant when she had both her moon & mars in her solar return 5th house. What’s interesting is the north node was also transiting her natal 5th house that year!

Kylie Jenner is a perfect example of the positive way in which having a Scorpio moon can manifest; in relation to the Mother! People always say Scorpio moons tend to have “mommy issues” which can be true, but on the other end they can be exceptionally close with their mothers like Kylie and Kris! However, Kris Jenner is a Scorpio sun which may explain her bond with Kylie as they have a “sun moon conjunction” in their synastry. (She has admitted that Kylie is her favorite child) nevertheless, I’m essentially saying that having a Scorpio moon does not mean you’re automatically tied to the mommy wound narrative. It can actually be the exact opposite since Scorpio is the planet of extremes.

If you have Lilith in the 4th house, specifically if it’s conjunct your IC, you may have grown up feeling like the “black sheep” of your family.

One thing that I think a lot of people forget is the fact that there’s a duality that exists within most placements. For example, whilst Neptune in the 7th can suggest you attract partners who need saving, or perhaps you find yourself in relationships with people who have been victimized by life in some way, it is also possible that some of your partners perceive YOU to be this way. It’s not always cut and dry! Sometimes our placements (especially the ones in our relationship houses) can tell us how other people perceive us! Thus, most placements go both ways!

Click the link in my bio if you are interested in purchasing a chart reading!🤍

#astrology tumblr #synastry #astrology observations #astrologyposts #astro thoughts #astrology blog #astrology #astro tips #astrology content #astro notes #astro posts #explore #astro blog #astrology tips #astrologyreadings #aries #astrology community #astrology readings #sagittarius #spirituality

[cialovesklopp]

𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐔𝐄 ➺ k.mbappé

𝒔𝒖𝒎𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 — when your whole career is crashing down, one finds out that tequila and an unknown man become your best friends.

𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 — kylian mbappé x amara imani (oc)

𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒕 — 6.6k

mon amour — masterlist

where did it all go wrong? amara imani truly didn’t know. her life went from a fairy tale to a nightmare in the span of a few weeks, and now she was back where she started. nowhere.

how could she have gone from loving her life so much and being proud of the person she had become and all that she had achieved to having to hide herself within the four wall of her apartment and not being able to recognise her own reflection.

everyday another new version came out, the same story just with a different title and a little bit further from the truth than it was before. all about the same cheating scandal she witnessed unfold with her very own eyes. yet she never saw it coming.

some could say love made her blind. no, it didn’t. it made me stupid amara thought. now all that so-called love had left to offer her was a broken heart and a shattered reputation. and she cursed love with every fiber of her being for realizing that she had been played by an below average man for the last two years.

hiding in paris hadn’t actually been her original plan but after having to cancel her tour, she had thought that in the french city, people wouldn’t recognize her as much as they did in the usa. she had thought wrong. paparazzi in paris were just as ruthless as they had been in new york and los angeles. even in paris, she wasn’t able to hide her face and get a break from all the drama without being blinded by flashing lights everyday.

amara had been lucky that grace had some extended family in the french capital that had been nice enough to let the singer stay in their modest cottage apartment till the newspapers and celebrity magazines stopped twisting the narrative to make amara look like the villain in her own relationship.

was amara hurt by her boyfriend cheating? not really. she grew up in a third world country where there was a lot more to worry about than a boy breaking your heart. it was her dignity and ego that was screaming pain.

he could have done it privately, spare her the humiliation and stress of the whole world finding out at the same time as she did. she would have preferred finding their text or photos - it would have hurt less. but no, he wanted to leave a mark before he left.

he cheated on her with the same person he told her not to worry about. her insecurities and jealousy fits were all in vain as it was always about her. and left amara wishing she had listened to her gut.

nearly two years gone. text messages he had sent her were still saved in her phone even though she had blocked his number. the good moments were forgotten and only the bad ones remain.

at least in this little bar she had been offered her peace. the small vintage club was located a little bit more outside of paris, meaning only locals know about it. amara had instantly fallen in love with it as soon as it caught her eye. the flowery design and plants that decorated the outside along with comfy armchairs and small coffee tables made it perfect for amara’s much needed self-care day. what she loved the most about it though was how by night, the dreamy cafe turned into a night bar yet still was filled with comfy, modest glow. le claire de la lune always knew how to cheer her up.

she lost count of how many she had downed but it was clear that she had passed the tipsy stage. it was an average day, with clouds blocking the sun of paris, and yet even with the cool air hit her, she still felt a fuzzy type of warm due to all the alcohol flowing through her system.

the chances that someone recognized her in this small bar were low, yet she still refused to take any risks and opted to leave her sunglasses on. she gratefully reached for the drink she had ordered, flashing the waiter one of her famous red-carpet smiles. sipping on her drink, she went through her phone but stayed away from her social media. checking the time again, she looked on her phone for any new messages and yet everything looked the same as she had left it fifteen minutes ago.

are you still coming?

so sorry, don’t think i will be. it’s better if we don’t meet up now.

so you’re ditching me?

with everything that’s going on at the moment with you, i think it’s better if we hold our distance

don’t call me ever again

“asshole” she muttered, putting her phone away again. why couldn’t anything go to plan, she cursed, finishing her drink in one shot. the only thing that never disappointed her, tequila.

ordering another drink, she failed to notice the dark brown eyes that lingered on her. it was clear to everyone around her that she was past the normal stage of drunk. if she drank any more, she would pass out sure enough. but amara didn’t care anymore.

she used to. but now she couldn’t be asked. she was past the point of always carrying herself, her own image while evan got to do whatever he wanted because he was a millionaire heir. but she also didn’t see the point anymore in caring. everyday that went by, her reputation got dragged deeper into mud by every news article - everyone was making money off her, except herself.

she took her sunglasses off, dragging her hands down her face in frustration. she wanted to cry. but like ariana grande had said, there were no tears left to cry. she was drained. she had cried it all out after she found out her boyfriend cheated on her publicly. and the stress of having to cancel her tour because of a mental breakdown didn’t make it any better. she didn’t have tears anymore to cry.

“it’s not fair,” she muttered drunkenly. the bartender watched her helplessly, not really sure what to do with her. at her request of filling her glass, he complied, preferring to just do his job and not meddle into his customer’s life.

“can i help you?”

amara jumped slightly which caused her to lose her balance and grab the stranger’s arm to find stability. she truly could not hold her drinking sometime. she let go of the unknown man’s arm, mustering him strangely. he was handsome, that could be said.

“if you can give me back my self-esteem and my reputation then yes, but since i doubt. no you can’t.”

she stood up swiftly in a rash movement but this time her legs did not obey, with the amount of alcohol she had drunk and gave out under her. to her luck, the man had put his arms around her waist, catching her quickly before she could land on the cold floor.

“i’m kylian,” he introduced himself, placing her carefully on the chair next to him. “and i really doubt i could help you with that but my mother always told me, sometimes even only listening is helpful.”

amara’s eyebrows furrowed, confusion appearing on her face. who was this man? and why was he so nice to her? she thought about leaving but some of her dignity was still left — and losing it in front of a stranger was not in her plans so she sat quietly next to him.

“i heard what you said earlier. about something not being fair. do you want to talk about it?”

she rolled her eyes, not even bothering to acknowledge him. she couldn’t lie, he was attractive and handsome, but the alcohol was clouding all her judgment. if she still had her reputation, she would have probably asked him out or flirted with him, but right now — honestly, all she could feel was annoyance and tiredness.

“don’t you have anything else to do instead of bothering me?”

he chuckled, shrugging carelessly. “well, i was here with my friend but he kind of dumped me because he found someone more entertaining than my company.” he pointed with his finger to a black man, currently flirting — that’s what it seemed like in amara’s perspective — with a brunette woman. amara had seen her here when she had come in.

she laughed and held out her hand, waiting for him to grab it. he seemed surprised at her swift mood changement but nevertheless, accepted her handshake. “welcome to the club of being dumped. i got dumped twice in the span of two weeks.”

her last sentence must have probably lit a light in kylian’s head, seeing his expression change. it must have been dark from her side perspective and the moment she had turned to his, the light fell down completely on her, making her immediately recognizable.

“je suis désolé pour ce qui c’est passé.” the footballer replied solemnly, falling back into his native language. but that didn’t bother amara — it had been too long since she had spoken french, a part of het missed speaking it. “ you didn’t deserve that.” — i am sorry for what happened

his words seemed sincere. a change from all the things that she had heard or been spoken to. she had to watch all the people, who she had considered friends, drop her as quick as she could count just because they deemed their images more important than her. it had truly been a stab in the back.

he didn’t have to say it out loud for them to know what he was referring too. after all, one would have to live behind the moon to not have heard from the whole imani-henderson scandal. one, that seemed to get worse from day to day. “guess you kinda caught me. yes, it’s me, amara imani hiding from the world and getting black-out drunk. what’s there to save anyway.” she exclaimed desperately, shrugging her shoulders, "everybody's talking and talking behind my back. they have no idea how i feel at the moment... a few months ago he acted like he planned on proposing and the moment i go on tour our couple falls and he cheats on me with that brunette nepo-baby that probably never had to work for anything in her life. and to top it all off, they have the audacity to destroy the very thing i hold closest. it’s not fair.”

her voice broke down and she probably sounded a bit watery but as said, she had no tears to cry anymore. pain and hurt outweighed sadness and anger. her reflex made her want to grab her glass but she remembered she had already finished it. she stared at her reflection, lifeless, black eyes staring back at her.

kylian had been in many situations but dealing with a fellow a-list celebrity who was drunk had never been one. as much as he wanted to help, he did not know what to do. especially because he knew that if it was him in that situation, he would have probably wanted to be left alone. but he also couldn’t get himself to leave her like this here -- he preferred to stay.

“why is being a celebrity so hard? it used to be my dream, inspiring people like me that the world is open to them. and look where i am now?” she questioned rhetorically, “ i’m the one who got cheated on. i deserve to be the scorned woman but instead i’m turned into an animal at the zoo, the paparazzi will turn their flashlight on at any chance they get. i’m human too.”

she sighed heavily but for some reason it felt good. ranting to someone about her life -- to someone she didn’t know and who didn’t hold any expectations on her. except for her mother, no one really knew how she felt, no matter how many people tried to put themselves into her situation.

“it’s crazy how much i understand you.” he revealed after a moment of silence, “sometimes the media put things about me in the press, i didn’t even know about myself. i remember how hard it was after i chose to stay in paris. they were literally tearing me apart.”

“but i’m sure you didn’t run away and hide from the world till your pr-manager tells you it's safe again, did you? that route is only reserved for amara imani because she apparently destroyed a relationship.” amara commented dryly. a lump formed in her throat, her stomach feeling heavy because of their topic. she swiftly ordered another drink although she had promised herself to stop the drinking. she was way past drunk.

his body hesitated but he still placed his hand on hers. she relaxed immediately at the sensation — his hand extended warmth and the feeling of heat spread instantly through her body. “i can assure you it’s not the end of it. you will shine again.” he tried to lift her up and removed his hand, amara’s hand still vibrating from the contact.

a soft smile spread on her lips, probably the first since days; a true genuine smile and it was to a stranger she had known for about twenty to thirty minutes. again, she finished her drink in one big sip and placed the glass down before starting to collect her things.

“it was very nice talking to you but i need to leave.” she murmured melancholy. tiredness was also an effect alcohol had on her. instead of making her all energetic and giddy, even the strongest vodka only made her tired. emotions would be running through her body on their highest, with very sensible hormones to the point it tired her out and she passed out from sleep. “i don’t know what I’m still doing here.”

“you are way too drunk to leave now. you can’t even manage to stand up alone.” he objected, raising his eyebrow. it was true, the only reason she had even been able to stand up and call the waiter, was due to her gripping the marble counter with her hand firmly.

“i will be fine. you don’t have to worry.”

“i don’t think my conscience could sleep if i let you home like that.”

“like i said, you don’t have to worry about me.” she reassured him, letting out a chuckle that came out more like a yawn. if she didn’t leave any minute, her body would not hold out on her. “at worst case, if something should happen to me, you’ll read about it first thing in the morning because it will be plastered everywhere.”

laughing lightly at her own joke, amara’s heart lightened as she saw kylian’s face turning from creased with concern to graced with a bright smile as he laughed at her. she scanned his face, taking in every detail of his face, memorising it all as if she was about to take a test on it. she was truly scared, she would forget it all tomorrow.

she immediately noticed the two small dips on either of his face that connected to his smile. amara didn’t know whether they were dimples or not but she couldn’t care less in this moment. all that mattered at the moment was that he was smiling which made her face loosen as a smile fought its way onto her lips too.

he stood up from his stool and reached forward to take amara’s purse. “come on, i’ll bring you home.”

“firstly, you don’t have to and secondly you don’t even know where i live.”

he waved dismissively at her, “two problems with a very easy solution. so how about you tell me your address so i can actually bring you home and sleep at my home with a good conscience that a drunk woman made it back safely?”

“for all i know, you might as well be some creep called kylian who just wants a good picture for the next scandalous issue. i heard they’re paying good for everything that futures me.”

“ouch, and i thought we had bonded,” the french attacker joked, putting a hand on his chest to show his false heartbreak. “but if you want a whole resume of me, then so be it.”

“my name is kylian mbappé, famous star football player and also a celebrity. and i am not out to get a picture of you for your next scandal. wouldn’t serve me anything.” he stated, typing his name into his phone to show it as further proof.

“that’s what they all say.”

“if you need extra reassurance, my driver would gladly be your witness, in any case”, he argued, trying to reassure her. tiredness was practically written on amara’s face and he didn’t know how long she would still last. “just give me your address. i promise, i won’t sell you out to the press.”

another yawn escaped amara’s lips. “well, as much as i would like to give you my address i can’t.”

if he was frustrated, he didn’t show which amara admired him for. evan had hated her stubbornness. “well, what do we have to solve this time? i told you three time already that i don’t plan on doing anything. i have some dignity.”

“i can’t give it to you because i don’t know it myself. my phone is dead and i can’t remember it anymore. i have only lived there for—,” she yawned, “two and a half weeks. and my head is starting to spin.”

“how did you even plan on getting home in the first place?”

she seemed to be thinking about his question, but her eyelids also fell rapidly and kylian noticed that whenever she blinked, her eyelids would stay closed for an extra second. he knew that feeling just all too well.

“you could sleep at mine,” the words left his mouth before he even had time to think about their weight. he was just as surprised about his offer as amara but he didn’t show it. “i have an extra bedroom, you could always sleep there. it’s cheaper than checking into a hotel right now.”

as much as she hated feeling like a burden, she knew he was right. it was well past midnight and she doubted that any hotel right now would open their doors just for her. in addition to that, every muscle of her body yearned for sleep.

he held out his hand, which amara grabbed thankfully, knowing she wouldn’t have the balance to stand upright. as they walked through the club, heading for the backdoor where kylian’s driver would wait for them so they wouldn’t catch any unwanted attention, amara started to snuggle up a bit into his side. by the time the driver arrived, she was already completely on his side, her head laying on his shoulder.

he helped her, holding her hand as they got into the car. he greeted his driver with a nod, mouthing a silent apology for waking him up at that hour. he didn’t say anything about amara, which kylian was thankful for, not wanting the singer to feel like a burden.

it wasn’t a very long ride, but long enough for amara to fall asleep and claim the back seats as her bed, extending her legs over the seats.

what exactly he found so endearing about watching a person sleep was still a mystery to him and yet he couldn’t keep himself from smiling at her completely enamored. seeing her breathe so calmly as she slept, put a smile on his face. after hearing just how horrible the past few weeks had been for her, all he wanted was for her to be able to finally catch a break.

he knew just how many sleepless nights she must have had, staring at the ceiling or turning around in the bed because fatigue just refused to take over your body. flashbacks of the past days would reminisce in the brain and especially the painful emotions were at their highest during these times. having gone through all this, he was happy that she was sleeping so soundly.

kylian had been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn’t noticed they had arrived already. he was brought out of his thoughts by his chauffeur, tipping his shoulder to get his attention and asking him what to do with the woman sleeping on the backseats.

“laisse, je vais m’en occuper,” he had responded to his driver. — leave it, i’ll take care of it

after countless attempts to wake her, kylian gave up and just let her sleep and deep down he was content with himself for his decision. who would dare to wake her after she had finally managed to get some sleep, knowing just how many sleepless nights she must have been through with all the drama?

so instead, the french striker put her carefully, with the help of his driver, into his arms and chose to carry her to bed instead of waking her. she was light, not as light as a feather as some like to say but she wasn’t heavier than other people he had already carried.

he is definitely grateful, the media weren’t able to catch a glance of them because he did not know how to explain to his pr-manager how he managed to be pictured with a drunk, passed out amara imani in his arms.

arriving in the luxurious yet comfy apartment that his mother decorated for him, he headed directly for his bedroom. he laid her softly on the bed, making sure she didn’t wake up though it seemed to him that she was sleeping like the dead at the moment. even the apocalypse happening probably wouldn’t wake her.

kylian was unsure whether he should change her or leave her in her clothes. her outfit was not too uncomfortable that he would feel the need to change her but he knew that skinny jeans and a short crop top weren’t exactly the definition of comfy. he took off her heels softly and decided to leave her like this, scared of stepping over boundaries.

with a last glance over her to make sure everything was okay, he left his room and got ready for the guest room. why he didn’t think of putting her there didn’t even cross his mind, for him it was an obviousness. it felt natural for him even though they had never met in real life before.

with a gentle smile on his face, he finally found sleep after spending thirty minutes thinking about his day and how it turned out.

it was the scent of breakfast that woke amara up from her deep slumber. the moment she left her state of reduced mental activity and her body got control of her conscience, her head began pounding, throbbing with high frequency.

she turned around, trying to extend her comfort but it turned out to be useless with a big headache preventing her. her eyelids opened slowly and closed in the same tempo once they made contact with the bright sun shining through the windows. the curtains which were drawn in front of it barely made an attempt to stop the powerful sun from shining through.

again, the scent of breakfast made its way into amara’s nose, a loud grumble of her stomach following next yet she had no desire to leave the bed. her body snuggled against the big, cloudy duvet that she covered it with and her head felt like paradise, laying on the comfortable big pillow.

as she felt another sharp pain in her head, she decided to stand up and realised she was not in her new parisian apartment she had recently rented, looking at her surroundings. instead of her usual marble nightstand, where a candle and a box of tissues were located, she was met with a white night stand that contained her purse and phone.

instantly, memories of the previous night rushed through her mind at the sight of the black hermes clutch she remembered having worn yesterday. amara also noticed that she still wore yesterday’s clothes which filled her body with relief. she had excluded the scenario of having slept with someone -- for that her left bedside was way too tidy and she had slept too messily -- but was grateful, she hadn’t done anything stupid last night.

removing the big, white sheets from her body, amara stood up, incapable of calming her desire for food down anymore. especially when it smelled like pancakes and waffles, her typical hangover food. she tip-toed through the room, spotting her high heels next to the bed as she looked for a place where she could charge her phone. she found success in the corner next to the nightstand and plugged her phone in before leaving it like that. either way, amara was sure that it would collapse again from all the messages that would be flooding her notification centre.

she followed the smell of food that brought her to the kitchen finding the man that had been kind of enough to let her stay. he was standing behind the stove, moving to the music in his airpods, as he flipped the pancakes. amara remembered only bits of him last night, the strongest information being his smile.

kylian looked up and greeted the singer, standing at the dining table in the kitchen with a smile. he reached for his phone next to him and stopped the music playing in his headphones to give her all his attention. “bonjour madame dormir,” he joked, and amara immediately noticed the two small dips that formed around his smile that were so attractive to her last night. and still were.

“bonjour ky-,” she started, embarrassment visible on her face as she failed to remember the name of the man that had been more than kind to her. she searched her mind for any memory or hint of his name but came up empty which kylian found highly amusing.

“it’s kylian,” he replied, amusement clearly visible on his face.

amara slapped a hand on her mouth to stop herself from laughing but only managed to hide the small chuckles that left her lips. “i am so sorry,” she mumbled, apologizing.

he waved dismissively, not caring about her failed attempt to remember his name. truthfully, he hadn’t expected her to remember anything, after all he had seen the amount she had drunk yesterday.

“don’t worry about it,” he assured her, grabbing a glass and filling it with water. along with two painkiller pills, he handed it to her which she took gratefully but couldn’t contain the surprise at his behavior. she finished the glass of water in one big gulp, her head immediately feeling relieved after the intake of medicine and took place at the big kitchen counter.

“so, i didn’t really know what you would like for breakfast but I guess, you can’t go wrong with pancakes and waffles, right?” he chatted, his good mood clear in his voice as he handed Amara a plate of pancakes with fruits as side. she hesitantly accepted the plate, not because she was wary of the food but more because she wasn’t used to this treatment.

In nearly two years of relationship they had had, evan had never acted the way kylian did. whenever she would come home from a night out with friends or family, he would watch her suffer in silence and continue on with his day. not that she expected him to do so but it would have been nice to know your boyfriend cared after seeing his girlfriend hungover with a headache.

she hadn’t been very subtle with her reluctance to take the place as kylian asked her after it. she shook her head dismissively, soft smile gracing her lips. “it’s just, I’m not used to this. ev- he never did this for me. I would have to do everything.”

“he’s an idiot,” kylian commented dryly. “he doesn’t know what he’s missing.” he added before finally starting to eat.

it wasn’t an awkward silence between them. they were comfortably eating in each other’s presence after such an eventful night. amara enjoyed her breakfast to the fullest as well as this uncomplicated time. she knew the moment she stepped into out of this apartment, she would clash with reality again and brought back to her current life.

looking at the time, amara was shocked to see that it was already half past twelve. she wasn’t in a hurry but also didn’t want to extend her stay. she couldn’t avoid reality forever.

“you didn’t tell me what exactly made you think paris could be your escape place,” kylian began, trying to start a conversation. amara groaned, knowing she would embarrass herself again with her answer.

“well, i was on tour like i said before all this happened. and my next show should have been in Nice — actually it was in Nice. so we went there, i performed and then i had a mental breakdown and couldn’t perform anymore. i had to stop my performance and later then stop my tour because the media was destroying me. but grace, my pr-manager and best friend, thought i couldn’t stay in nice so she placed me in paris, organized everything and practically send me there. i’m just trying to make the most out of my situation at the moment.” she explained, somehow embarrassed about the way she sounded. “or maybe, that’s even the end of my musical career.”

“you shouldn’t say stuff like this, people might think you believe that,” kylian advised softly, “if i said stuff like that after every loss, i would be fresh meat for the wolves. you need to carry yourself, be confident. the mind is as important as your own image.”

“easier said than done.”

finishing her food, she stood up and headed for the bedroom in which she had spent the previous night in. she passed several pictures, hung up in the hallway that her eyes lingered on. she envied the smile he was pictured with, lifting the world cup. or the way the twinkle in his eyes shined through the picture as he held the ligue 1 cup he had won with his team. she remembered the way it used to be her.

the girl who couldn’t believe her dream had become true. they had called her the next beyonce, the upcoming queen of pop/ rnb because she liked to mix both styles in her song. back then it had been everything to her. she had poured everything into her first album and it had won her a grammy. she had carried that spark into her relationship but a year into it and it had extinct.

she had to admit to herself that the critics were right about her second album. it was mediocre in comparison to her first one. the songs were not dull but they also didn’t bring out the usual effect that was normally carried through her songs. it hadn’t flopped but it also hadn’t been what she had imagined. she had disappointed herself and that always hurt more.

amara picked up her charger and purse and put on her high heels, ready to leave. as she walked through the floor, she stopped again in front of the picture that had instantly caught her attention when she had walked through the hallway the first time.

just the way he seemed so happy, pure happiness radiating from the picture. it was nearly embarrassing that she couldn’t remember anymore when she had been this happy. he had a firm grip around the trophy, the golden medal around his neck overshadowed by it. she felt the way her face loosened, a fond smile appearing slowly on her lips.

“beautiful right?”

she flinched, turning around swiftly to find kylian leaning at the door, arms crossed loosely. he had a smirk on his face, amara didn’t know whether it was because he surprised her or because he caught her staring. “we had actually won the ligue four games before but it’s always another feeling actually holding the trophy. c’est un sentiment extraordinaire.” -- it’s an incredible feeling

“i remember holding my first award.” amara told him, smiling just at the thought of that night. “i was so nervous and it was a bit heavy so it actually fell out of my hands. it was just so surreal.” the sound of her laughter reminded kylian of music. he didn’t know if it was a singer thing that your laugh had to be melodic but he didn’t care. if he could, he would listen to the sound of her laughter everyday.

they walked back to the living room and amara took place on one of the small armchairs that was seated next to a big plant. she looked out of the big window, in awe with the view. for the amount of money he must have paid for this apartment, the view was certainly worth it. from her location, she was able to see the most beautiful things that made paris the so-called city of love. amara recognized the eiffel tower in all its beauty, rising magically into the sky.

“so… how long do you plan on staying?” kylian asked, taking place next to her. he was dragging out her stay while amara was reluctant to extend her stay. although they had only known for a couple of hours, there was chemistry between them.

but he wasn’t the only one not wanting to leave. not when he felt so warm, his apartment felt like home. she felt a sense of belonging even if she had only spent one night.

“don’t really know. a month, a week -- it all depends on how long the media are gonna paint me as a whore and homewrecker.” she replied emotionless, “i mean, i’m not even on social media and i still know what people are saying about me.”

a hint of bitterness followed her voice as she spoke, the resentment against the negative terms she had said were clear in her voice. she swallowed the lump in her throat, not wanting to seem emotional again in front of him.

“so… what are your plans?”

she shrugged, chuckling at her own reaction. “music, music and maybe if i have a bit time left, more music.

“remember to write a song about me okay?” he suggested in a snickering tone.

she was about to answer but her phone screen lit up, notifying her that grace had called her several times last night and had just tried again to reach her. she sighed, knowing what this would be about. at kylian’s questionable glance, she turned towards, sighing again. “probably a call to tell me there has been new press. maybe this time they’re saying that I deliberately destroyed their couple? who knows at this point.”

amara stood up, grabbing her purse as she got ready to leave. by now it was surely past two. “i really need to leave now. i’ve already extended my stay by long now.” she said kindly.

he wanted to protest but who was he in her life to stop her? he had only known her for a few hours, he wasn’t in any position to beg her to stay. so against his will, he accompanied her to the door, he was surprised at himself, it had never been this hard to let a person go. not even the one night stands he had actually felt a connection with. she was different.

she would have probably stood there forever, staring into his eyes. even though they were dark, amara was able to separate the black of his pupil from his dark brown irises. the sound of her phone vibrating again, brought her out of her trance.

“well, i guess i really need to leave now. thank you so much for letting me stay here again, you really saved me yesterday. would have been really difficult for me. and breakfast was amazing.” she thanked him, taking him into her arms for a quick hug.

“it was nothing, don’t worry.” he retorted dismissively but amara shook her head firmly, contradicting him.

“no, it’s not nothing,” she objected, “you took me, a stranger, who was drunk, in and let me add, you let me sleep at yours and made me breakfast in the morning. that’s not nothing kylian. i’m very thankful for this.”

she was about to turn and press the door handle, to leave the apartment but she decided against.

“you know, i could always give you my number,” amara suggested slyly, grinning brightly, “that way, we can arrange for part two of this.”

“i also think you should give me your number. after all, i have to reach you somehow in case to remind you about my impending song.” he replied, smiling at her and amara found herself falling again for it. the way his smile and the two small dips that formed around his cheeks always were always able to make her swoon, should be studied.

the singer grabbed the first thing she saw in her view that she was able to write with and grabbed the striker’s arm, writing her number along with her name on his forearm. amara

he looked at his arm, amused at the black ink and smiled even brighter when he noticed the little heart next to her name. amara reached forward and pressed a soft kiss on kylian’s cheek, inhaling the smell of his cologne as her skin made contact with his.

“i hope you call,” amara added. the smile that graced her lips was mesmerizing. kylian was used to see it on tv, maybe even on the red carpet but he would have never expected that it would happen here, in the hallway of his apartment. that he would receive her hundred million dollar smile right here.

“i promise i will.”

with a last wave, she left his apartment to go handle the chaos in her own life.

he hated watching her go and just wished that she would stay. he walked back to his bedroom and let himself fall on the bed. opening his phone, he quickly realised that his phone would probably become his best friend in the coming days with her number still written on his arm.

he typed her number into his phone and saved her contact under amara, adding the small heart as she had done on his arm. somehow looking at her profile picture on messenger or stalking her page in instagram filled his heart with a sense of innocent amore.

was he attracted to her? yes. but was that the reason that kylian was so taken to her? no. she was nothing short of perfect (even if she would wholeheartedly disagree). and kylian couldn’t fathom for his life how someone so angelic ended up with a sleaze bag like evan henderson.

he knew it was a long shot but he was going to do everything in his power to make sure that she was his at the end of the day. that all her songs from now on would be about him, and they would never be sad or heartbroken, because she would always be happy with him.

kylian was determined that all his goals would be dedicated to her, that they would be each other's safe space, home bestfriend and lover. and that he would never hurt her like evan did. maybe she hadn’t been as lovestruck as he had been, but he would wait for her, he would be patient. because she was worth all the time in the world.

kylian:

hey

amara:

hi

you actually texted

kylian

je le t’avais promis, n’est-ce pas?

amara:

well, the official rule is to wait three days after a date before you text

kylian:

three hours, three days, its all the same

so when am i getting that song?

#kylian mbappe #kylian mbappe fluff #kylian mbappe x reader #kylian mbappe fanfic #kylian mbappe x you #kylian mbappe imagine #kylian imagines #kylian x oc #kylian #kylian mbappe one shot #kylian mbappé fanfiction #kylian mbappé x reader #kylian mbappé imagine #psg #kylian mbappé x oc #mbappe x oc #mbappe fanfic #mon amour #mon amour series #footballer x oc #footballer series #beyonce #cialovessirlewis

[klonnieshippersclub]

If Bonnie had the opportunity to pursue something unrelated to Mystic Falls and magic, what would it have been? Would she have went to an HBCU? Continued cheerleading?

A question about Bonnie’s hobbies? Perfect. Based on the few things we’ve seen Bonnie do. Taking pictures at the Founder’s Day Celebration I can see her into photography. When Bonnie at Abby’s house she tended to her garden. So another hobby outside of magic.

It’s mentioned in season 3, that she and Matt were lifeguards at the pool for a summer. He actually buried the whistle from that summer during season5.

In season 6, Bonnie mentions she missed being around people so I could see her choosing jobs or hobbies that aids in that community value that she craves. In season 8, we see her jogging to Caroline’s house. In a deleted scene post-Enzo’s death she was jogging and intended to avoid Stefan. Our girl has a diverse physical skillset, she does triathlons for sure.

As for cheerleading a 100% yes. Kat Graham is a trained dancer and not allowing Bonnie to be showcased dancing more was a crime! They could’ve made her the caption of the cheer squad? I’ve seen that behind the scenes video of Kat and Candice dancing that’s all I’m going to say there. Hear me out what about majorette Bonnie? That would be great too. Bonnie’s probably tired of being the only black woman in town. She’d love an HBCU. She deserves friends outside the MFG more than anybody else.

Taking a moment here everyone else got to include their IRL hobbies or a piece of themselves in their characters but Kat. Nina wanted her Bulgarian roots in there? Katherine and Elena has that. Candice King used to be a singer? We get moments of Caroline singing. Paul/Ian want to be the bad guy some more. Silas is created and Damon has these back and forth evil moments. Michael Malarkey has a music career? Enzo teaches Bonnie how to play the guitar. There’s so many moments where Bonnie and Kat were sidelined we’d be here all day if we started listening them. TVDU fans continue to pretend that characters like Vicki, or Caroline, or Katherine, The Mikaelson’s or whomever suffered as heavily as Bonnie did in the narrative. When that is simply false.

As a Bonnie fan first and foremost this is why most Bonnie fans stick with each other. TVDU fans like to minimize the racism that Kat faced and how that plays into Bonnie, while claiming that Bonnie fans only label people racist. Arguing that Bonnie fans are irrational for calling out the show and how that racism perpetrated in TVDU. When they simply cannot mentally handle that their favorite show or character benefits of of the mistreatment of a black actress/character. Racism is not just an opinion as much as these fans believe it is.

Your asks sounds like a potential college AU for Bonnie/Klonnie. Please tell me you’re writing this! I’d be honored to read it and so would other Klonnie fans.

#klonnie #bonnie bennett #klaus mikaelson #Bonnie x Klaus #Klaus x Bonnie #the vampire diaries #rikkisinbox #anon ask #tvd

[transmutationisms]

do you have any take in how connor's and shiv's interaction with politics differs? when connor gets into politics he runs himself, when shiv does she approaches it as a behind the scenes job where she gains power without being in the limelight and being less tied to a specific politician. shiv's thing I see as her trying to replicate the way her father influences politics i am not sure if connor's is the same?

heavily agree with your reading of shiv. i think her political career is one of her most loganish tendencies—like you said, it's all about exerting power behind the scenes and imposing her will on the world. it's funny that logan sees politics as the end product ("politics is what comes out the asshole") and thinks his media mogul antics are at the front end ("wouldn't you rather be feeding the horse"), because shiv sees it the other way around: she gets to help select the candidates and determine who's actually in power before people like her father get involved. of course they're both right in some ways (it's a dialectical process or whatever), but the point is they both engage with politics because they have similar goals and desires.

connor does politics differently because he has, frankly, a very unsophisticated understanding of how power works. remember he had that line to willa about wanting to start a podcast on napoleonic history—to me that line, and his general napoleon fixation, signal that he basically buys into 'great man history', a 19th-century approach that explains world history as being made by the heroic, genius actions of a few extraordinary individuals. it's a top-down approach that excludes any marginalised, working, or ordinary people from the narrative, and emphasises eg kings, generals, presidents, etc. no one serious does history this way anymore (literally this is exactly what leo tolstoy was criticising in the historical commentary chapters of 'war and peace') and it's a perfect way of showing how stupid connor's napoleon fetish is.

so connor wants to run for president both because he wants the ego-stroke of 300mil people kneeling and saluting to him, and because he genuinely does think that as president, he would be a big powerful genius man who could do whatever he wanted and change the world forever and seal his legacy in stone. like, it's terrifying obviously, but also honestly just hilarious. literally the politics understanding of a child.

#the spilling of good seed

[bi-naesala]

Lizzy the Owl's Book Club

(@nagamas 's pinch hit for denpring on AO3!)

Lysithea tries out Youtube.

(Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Youtubers AU, Vtubers AU, Pre-Relationship, Crushes,Identity Reveal)

AO3 link

(Fic under the cut)

To tell the truth, Youtube wasn’t exactly a career Lysithea would’ve ever considered - even now she is unsure on how long she’ll keep it up - but for now, she’s pretty content with it.

The only reason she started to make these videos is that she needed to voice her opinions about all the books she read, and she needed to voice them to someone who would listen to her, and even engage in a discussion about themes, tropes and narrative exploits, something that she was unable to do because, well... she’s never had many friends.

In her first videos, she would put images on the screen related to what she was talking about, not wanting to show her face to hundreds - if not more, if her videos were successful - of people, but then, as she was browsing her Youtube recommended page and looked at some thumbnails, she had an idea: a virtual avatar! Yes, that was perfect for her: she could’ve kept her audience engaged by giving them something interesting to look at, while still being able to hide her identity.

Adding this to the voice changer she already implemented would’ve made for the perfect combination for her to feel safe while still being able to voice her opinions, so she immediately commissioned an avatar.

She’s decided to go with an anthropomorphic white owl, because she felt it represented her best - she always liked the animal.

It got her accused of being a furry by her few fans - which had the unfortunate result of making Lysithea discover what a furry is - but overall it had been a welcomed change, which made her happy - she wasn’t going to change her avatar no matter what, but she was still relieved that she wouldn’t have had to fight people about it.

Eventually her fans - she couldn’t believe she was growing an actual fanbase - asked, or better, demanded that she gave the owl a name, but the best she was able to come up with was “Lizzy” - she was never that great when it came to come up with new things.

Still, her fans loved it, and thus Lizzy the Owl was born.

Lysithea yawns, rubbing her eyes as she steps inside her local library, the best place she could ever ask for when it comes to finding interesting books - old and new - to read.

It’s early, much early, but she still has pushed through her sleepiness to get there in time, because usually, at this hour, the library is mostly empty, which means that there are fewer people likely to annoy her with their chitchat - don’t they know they’re not supposed to disturb others? This is a library, and libraries have rules!

She says hi to the librarian - they know each other well by now - and makes her way to the historical section, carefully scanning each book in search of something that might pique her interest.

It’s been a while since she reviewed an historical book, she misses it... Oh! This one looks promising: “Those Who Slither in the Dark: The Secret History of Fódlan”.

The title makes it sound like one of those wild conspiracy theories that sicken her, but she recognizes the name of the author: she’s a pretty famous historian, and the summary of the books hints at this being about recent archaeological discoveries and not anything that would make her roll her eyes.

She can already tell the video she’ll make about it won’t be as successful as the others, but she doesn’t care: she picks what interests her, without following any kind of trend, even if this means that fewer people will watch, because the ones who will engage with it will have something actually meaningful to say.

She makes her way to a reading table, so she can start before she has to leave for classes, when she spots an - unfortunately - familiar face. Ugh, why is he here? And how did he manage to arrive even earlier than her?! It’s so annoying!

He’s just... he’s not even that bad, as a person, but since he and Lysithea are basically the only ones to come to the library daily, he’s made his life’s mission to bother her - for what end, she doesn’t know.

“What are you reading?”, “Oh, I read that too, pretty interesting!”, “What do you think about this?”, these are just some of the things he says to her. If she had wanted to make conversation, she wouldn’t have gone to a library, so why does he bother?

It’s true that he has pretty strong opinions about what he reads, and it’s also true that the whispered discussions they have are pretty interesting, and it’s especially true that he’s kind of cute... B-But anyway! He should still learn not to disturb others while they’re reading, sheesh!

The worst thing of all is that she doesn’t even know his name.

She could ask him, but she feels that doing so would mean admitting that he’s more important than he actually is, and for the sake of her peace of mind, she doesn’t want to do that.

She has half a mind to turn around and leave, but just as she’s about to move he raises his gaze, which lands, unfortunately, on her.

A small mischievous smile appears on his face - the sort of smile that has made Lysithea blush a couple of times in the past - and he waves his hand at her. It must be her lucky day, because at least he doesn’t say anything.

Ugh, she can’t really go back, now, can’t she? No, that would make him understand she’s trying to avoid him, and she doesn’t want him to get on her case because of it, so she smiles - or tries to - and waves backs, although awkwardly, and takes place not exactly in front of him, but close enough.

Weirdly enough, it takes him longer than usual to actually start talking to her. He does it, in fact, only when she closes her book, having gone through enough for that morning - she might continue in the afternoon if she has time.

He eyes the cover of the book, before saying:

“Oh, I haven’t read that yet. Is it good?”

Here we go.

“I’ve just started it,” she replies. “But so far... It’s interesting.”

“Do you really believe in all that stuff? About the remains of an ancient civilization suddenly popping up for us to find?”

“Why not? That’s how archeology works: you search somewhere that hasn’t been searched before, you work hard, and then your work bears fruit and you make new discoveries.” Lysithea scoffs. “Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who believe in conspiracies...”

At that, the guy huffs a laugh. “Please, don’t mistake me for one of those fools. I was just trying to understand what you thought about it.”

Then why didn’t he ask directly, instead of poking her like that? See? He is annoying!

She doesn’t deign him of an answer, getting her bag instead and starting to get up, before he speaks again, asking her a question that catches her by surprise:

“Hey, how about we get something together? A coffee, perhaps?”

Oh, that’s a first. Nobody has ever asked her out... wait.

Is he really asking her out?

No, it can’t be! She must be misunderstanding! This is surely a joke at her expense, nothing more!

A small part of her - a very small part, let that be clear - even wants to say yes, but what if this is really just a joke? She wouldn’t be able to handle it.

Besides, she has classes to attend to.

“I’m sorry... Maybe another time...”

This is her favorite part of the day, she thinks: when she’s back home, teacup in hand, and is discussing her latest finds on stream.

Just like making videos, streaming wasn’t something she initially considered doing, but she has to say she doesn’t mind it, especially considering that thanks to her avatar and voice changer she gets to keep her anonymity, which is nice. Her audience is nice too; yes, sometimes she gets stupid comments, but she’s done a good job filtering out the idiots, she feels like.

Today, she’s joined by a special guest as well, one that, if she may be so bold, she could even call a friend: he simply goes by Claude, and he too makes videos. Unlike her, however, he doesn’t only make book reviews, but often talks about history and philosophy; his channel is very interesting, one of her favorites in fact!

They started interacting after Lysithea had found the courage to leave a comment under one of his videos, and from then, they’ve started doing collaborations and streams together.

When she’s with him - metaphorically, of course - she almost forgets about the audience, dedicating her whole attention to him and his words. Too bad that he too has a digital avatar, so that’s all she gets to stare at, but she doesn’t mind, and respects his desire for privacy, just like he respects hers: they’ve never talked about their life outside Youtube, they’ve never demanded to see each other in person. They just know they live more or less in the same area, and that’s only because of small hints they’ve given each other, nothing more.

As she watches the masked figure that is Claude’s avatar move as he speaks, Lysithea can’t help but to wish there was more...

I-It’s just that it would be fun, meeting in person! That’s it! She has no ulterior motives, she swears!

She doesn’t really have many friends, and she feels a connection between her and Claude, so maybe... Maybe she can try asking, and if he says no, well, at least she can say she tried.

She does it after they end their stream - of course she waits for them to be alone, or else the audience would’ve gone crazy, and Claude might’ve felt pressured to agree.

They’re still talking, even though they’ve turned off the stream more or less half an hour ago already, as it often happens: they never seem to run out of topics to cover.

It’s then, that Lysithea finally gathers the courage to make her move.

“Hey, Claude. If I were to ask you if we could meet, one day... Would you be mad?”

There’s a moment of pause, before Claude replies:

“Really?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“Really, really? You’re not joking?”

“I wouldn’t joke about something like that...” she points out. Shouldn’t he know already? They’ve been talking for months, he definitely should!

“Sorry, you just caught me off guard,” Claude replies, sounding a bit sheepish. “Anyway, yeah, I wouldn’t mind meeting up.”

Now it’s her turn to be surprised: she wasn’t expecting him to agree to it so easily. Maybe he’s been thinking about it too? It’s possible, but she doesn’t want to get her hopes up.

“Oh? That’s great! Um, so... When are you free?”

They decide to meet this Saturday afternoon.

Lysithea can’t wait.

One would say that she needs to “dress up for the occasion”, but she refuses, not because this isn’t important to her, but because that would make her appear over-eager, and she doesn’t want that.

Besides, Claude said that he was going to wear a yellow hoodie - at least she’ll be able to recognize him - so she too should pick something simpler, and that’s exactly what she does: a purple dress, a pair of leggings, and she’s good to go.

She can’t help but to wonder what Claude looks like, what she’ll see once she gets to the coffee shop they’ve decided to set their meeting at, but as soon as she realizes she’s started doing that, she stops, shaking her head. Now it’s not the time to lose herself in stupid fantasies.

She’ll find out soon enough.

She gets there perfectly in time, as she always does, and as soon as she steps inside, she immediately begins scanning the place, looking for a bright yellow hoodie, wondering if he’s already arrived, or if she’s beaten him to it.

It turns out, he’s already there, because she catches a glimpse of yellow and, as she steps closer, she discovers... Oh no, this has to be a joke: the person wearing the hoodie is the same guy who constantly bothers her at the library! Can he and Claude really be the same person?

He raises his gaze and meets hers, and he too seems surprised.

“Oh, hi!” he says. “What a fun coincidence to find you here! Unfortunately, I’m waiting for someone else today, so--”

“Are you Claude?” Lysithea cuts him off. She needs to know.

At that, the other guy falls silent, before finally answering:

“And you’re... Lizzy?”

Lysithea takes the chair in front of Claude and sits on it - she’s starting not to feel her legs anymore - still processing what she’s just discovered.

“Um...”

“Yeah, uh...”

Neither of them knows what to say.

The atmosphere has gotten chilly, when Claude bursts into laughter, with Lysithea following soon with a quiet chuckle of her own. Okay, she has to admit that this is a little funny.It lasts maybe more than it should’ve, but neither of them care.

Once he’s calmed down, Claude stretches a hand towards Lysithea.

“Khalid,” he says.

She shakes his hand.

“Lysithea.”

A smile appears on his face as she speaks. “Finally got your name, and your company too.”

She doesn’t blush at his words, not even a bit, nuh-uh.

“Y-Yeah... I guess you got what you wanted after all... Anyway, shouldn’t we get something? I’m starving!”

It’s still hard to believe that this is really happening, that she actually knew Khalid way before she got to know him. Life can be weird like that, sometimes.

Still, she’s not as mad about it as she should. Actually, she feels like maybe, if she’s lucky, something good might come from this encounter.

Yes, deep inside herself, she has a good feeling about this...

#nagamas #lysiclaude #lysithea von ordelia #claude von riegan #fire emblem #fe #fodlan #fe16 #fire emblem three hourse #fe3h #my fics #mine

[princess-of-the-corner]

I started seeing Maribat crossover here and there and i was like "oh?? interesting" cause i love crossovers and they usually were like "oh i was inspired by [user]" who might have had the idea originally which is normal in things like that. And then large influx of fics started popping up with basically the same summary and "miracuclass salt" tags and i was like what the hell is happening?? I tried reading some of them cause I wanted to see what was happening but eventually i specifically had to filter out Miraculous cause it was just a lot of bashing. It shows up in the top ten listed under fandom filters for a lot of Batman related tags. Even then it's not perfect cause there's no unified way of tagging it, it might just be tagged as Maribat, Bruce Wayne is Marinette's Biological parent + its variations, or not at all (the tags list on the userscript i use to autohide fics with certain tags is only as long as it is because I've had to add so many variations of the same tags or various marinett/[insert batfam member here]) doesn't get filtered out. On top of that but since they're written from people who aren't part of the DC fandom (not saying it's inherently a bad thing) but especially if the fics are by people who just wanna write salt with Marinette being the most badass bitch in the universe, a fair amount of them have the DC heroes being impressed with just like, the bare minimum? The worst offenders are like, she'd a civilian and she punches a mugger or acts sassy towards Batman or some super scary Gotham Rogue (have these writers met the batkids? apparently not) and they're throwing themselves at her feet.

Sorry this turned into a rant but yeah the idea of ML/DC crossovers is genuinely interesting but it's just so saturated with salt that i lost interest and it's just unfortunate.

lol YEAH

Those fics are a combination of character bashing on every ML character other than Mari, combined with a very Mary Sue fantasy. All the rest of the class(except for a chosen few on occasion) are awful horrific people. Marinette is sad. But she's so perfect in every way and can totally take down a literal trained assassin barehanded with her year and a half of superheroing while magic boosted.

Double points on the salt for the narrative of "It's okay Damian I forgive the fact that you've killed people before. You were basically brainwashed into it and you feel bad about it now! Oh but my former friends who were gaslit into thinking I was a bully and decided to 'get revenge' through petty namecalling and pranks and have now realized what they done and feel awful? Fuck them they're horrible people who don't deserve shit. Oh Dami honey won't you use your father's money and influence to get them blacklisted from every career path they've ever wanted?"

[yourmybluebanisters]

i’m really tired of people using the edited audio clip, recorded by Johnny of Amber saying "I didn't punch you. I was hitting you, it was not punching you". People use this clip as a way to claim that amber was the abuser which is completely false.

Over years of abuse victims usually change the way they react when trying to survive abuse. Depp would always profusely apologize to Amber after he assaulted her. Johnny writes: "Once again I find myself in a place of shame and regret. Of course, I am sorry. I really don't know why, or what happened. But I will never do it again ...... My illness somehow crept up and grabbed me. I must get better. And I will. For us both. Starting today. I love you. Again, I am so sorry. So sorry." Amber explained that she tried many ways to diffuse the arguments, but the cycle of outbursts then apologies then more outbursts continued no matter what she did. "In these fights, I would try to stand up for myself. By December 2014, I was pushing back, I'd push him off me, I tried to hit his hands away. I tried to always get back up, which would almost always made it worse, always seemed to provoke him. But I tried. I would yell at him, scream at him. I'd call him ugly names. So ashamed of the names we'd call each other. It was awful. And we both got into that pattern. I felt so angry that this was happening to me, and it just felt so unfair. Nothing I did made him stop hitting me. Nothing. I tried for over a year, maybe two, of just not responding physically, not responding verbally, just staring at him. I tried to freeze, I tried going to a different place. I would try then lashing out verbally. I would try to threaten that if he hit me again that I would call the police. I tried to do everything. I even threatened to leave him - tried to leave him. Nothing was working. And I think by this point in our relationship, we're both saying awful things to each other, screaming at each other and, unfortunately, when Johnny would start hitting me, he'd just win." This struggle Amber had with dealing with his violence matches with what their marriage counselor, Dr. Lauren Anderson, said. Anderson testified that Amber told her "she felt she had to hit him back if he hit her so she always did.". Amber was fighting back in that relationship. Do you really believe that 22-year-old amber an unknown actress at the time had any control over 44-year-old Depp with a long well-established career and greater influence/wealth/fame/ fanbase? It is impossible for her to be the one in control in a relationship with someone clearly so much more powerful. It is also notable that in these recordings in which she admits to hitting him, she owns up to her acts and apologizes to him, while he continues to call her names and gaslights her. Her admitting to resorting to violence in self-defense, about having screaming fights and saying horrible things, shows her honesty and makes her sound more credible and trustworthy. In contrast, Johnny claims to be a perfect person who never ever hit any woman, not once, not even in self-defense. This is actually one of the characteristics of DARVO, namely" denying abuse completely". Someone who uses DARVO often also goes on to say that their victim was the "real abuser" and they were the "real victim". The acts of self-defense by their victims are used by abusers to make the abused look like the abuser. Johnny released these edited audio tapes through his minion Adam Waldman to the media and used a bot network to create the narrative that Amber is the abuser. Experts have expressed concerns that this trial is offering abusers a way to exert their power over victims. Amber was the victim. And if you can not admit to that there is something wrong with you.

#amber heard #johnny depp #anti johnny depp #justice for amber heard #i stand with amber heard

[mydarlinginej]

read my full review of will they or won’t they by ava wilder here.

On screen, they’re in love. Off screen, they can’t stand each other. Two co-stars with a complex history reunite to film the final season of a beloved paranormal drama in this tension-filled will they won’t they romance from the author of How to Fake It in Hollywood.

Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are madly in love— at least, their characters are. As the stars of the hit paranormal TV show Intangible, they spent years pining for each other on-screen… until Lilah ditched the show at the end of season five in hopes of becoming a film star. With no such luck, she’s back to film the much-hyped ninth and final season, in which their characters will get together at last.

But coming back means facing one of the biggest reasons she left: Shane. Ever since their secret behind-the-scenes fling imploded at the end of the first season, the two of them have despised each other.

Now back on set together for the first time in years, with the world’s eyes on them and their post-show careers on the line, they’ll have to grit their teeth and play nice. But under pressure to give Intangible’s fans the happy ending they’ve been waiting for, Lilah and Shane are forced to get closer than ever. And if they’re not careful, they just might get blindsided by one final twist: a real-life happy ending of their own.

my review:

While I didn’t find this author’s debut to be for me personally, I still really enjoyed her writing and was intrigued by the premise to pick up her sophomore novel. And thank goodness that I did because I fell so hard for this book! With great chemistry and a hell of a slow burn, Will They or Won’t They follows two co-stars who reunite for the final season of their popular show—except they hate each other behind the scenes.

Lilah Hunter and Shane McCarthy are known for playing the lead characters of Intangible, especially for their chemistry. However, ever since their disastrous falling out after season one, they can’t stand each other off-screen. It doesn’t help that Lilah left the show after season five to pursue a film career…and failing, so she ultimately returns to the show for the final season. Both she and Shane fall back into their old habits, but as they are forced to spend more time with each other, they gradually start remembering what they liked about the other person — and realizing that maybe it’s their time after all.

This book is so addictive; I was hooked by the second chapter! I had to force myself to put it down so I could sleep. Lilah and Shane’s chemistry shines off the page, both in their respective narratives and in their conversations. And the tension…truly chef’s kiss! I think this book was the perfect amount of slow burn; the pacing was great too, with just enough flashbacks at the right time to set the context.

read my full review here.

#will they or won't they #ava wilder #reviews #book reviews #booklr #mine #link #q

[dekusleftsock]

Mina Ashido is probably one of the most interesting in 1-A (aside from the mc’s and ochako) and she’s often glossed over for it. Like I don’t mean her as a person is glossed over, definitely not, this fandom fucking LOVES her but not for the reasons I’m thinking of.

So let’s talk Mina Ashido

From the start we’re repeatedly shown that Mina is an outgoing, bubbly person that helps drive the pot along (horikoshi’s words, not mine) as he likes using her to get the class to actually do things. Deku is a bit timid to actually drive the plot sometimes which is why ochako and Mina are often there.

Now, Mina is a beacon for general character growth. She’s used in kirishimas story as someone he looked up to and thought he could never pass. Repeatedly showing her popularity and likeness to other people, which he never had. He saw how brave she was and was mad at himself for never being able to be in the same situations she was. And when he got to UA her and him have kinda kept their distance mostly. Probably because Mina wants to keep kirishimas hair secret lol. She is generally a very positive person in a lot of peoples lives.

Now here comes in the elephant in the room: izuocha. I almost feel like her being so obsessed with them is born out of jealousy. She wishes she could be in the same spot as ochako, but ochako isn’t even IN THAT SPOT! Or rather she wasn’t until Mina pushed that! And notice Mina asking “who is it??? Iida or midoriya??” And Ochakos thoughts go to deku. But this isn’t love. It never was, from day one it was pure admiration. And she only really had these “feelings” when deku ended up acting very heroic and cool. So, when she’s handed a label by someone who’s her friend, she puts two and two together.

But Mina is projecting her fantasies of a high school crush onto her. Ochako doesn’t have a crush for anyone just as much as Mina doesn’t. They are parallels, that’s why both of their “themes” are pink. A lot of people think Mina is on the aroace spectrum, and while I love that hc I don’t know. Maybe she is, Cupioromantic people (like myself) can definitely be that way. But I feel like narratively, she isn’t. I think she just simply doesn’t have anyone in her class to feel that way about. She has a career and a war to fight. She doesn’t have time

She is the perfect side character. That’s it. She’s awesome. I love her so so so much and space girls as a ship is one of my favorite urakaka ships (aside from togachako lol)

#minachako #mina mha #mina ashido #mha analysis #bkdk #bkdk brainrot #togachako #class 1 a

[lolexjpg]

dts s2 e3-5

e3: -i love this episode because i've always said that carlos & daniel's careers are parallels. their journey's could've easily been swapped based on luck and chance. as will buxton points out if things had gone differently it could've ended carlos' career. so much chance is involved in this sport, more than we're usually comfortable with acknowledging!! -daniel backing into dany is 23japan checo pitstop level of absurdity. love it -i hope cyril was fucking him silly. tbh -"where's the fucking boot?" top 10 dts quotes -i miss the orange/blue racesuits So Much btw

e4: -so so so excited for this one -flashback sequence abt mercedes rise to power makes me emotional. v motivated to go back and watch those years -also is somehow comforting in the midst of the rb domination era. mercedes were SO dominant at this time it felt impossible to overcome, and if they could fall off so could red bull, so could anyone, its all constantly changing and thats good! -"be a bit more intelligent today than normal" obsessed. gunther v toto german-off is iconic -lewis casually talking abt having a ONE HUNDRED AND FOUR DEGREE FEVER and still coming to work is insane to me. there should be more safety standards regarding illness fr -the side effect of me watching s4 first for the first time ever is that max v lewis is wired into my brain anytime they're mentioned or seen next to eachother, on track or off i go INSANE all the connections in my brain go haywire -long pit stops are always legitimately PAINFUL to watch. not that i could do better in a high pressure situation like that, but i'm just wincing the whole time waiting for it to be over

ep5: -love how this episode starts with christian horner being choked out by his child -hope whichever daughter of his who said her favorite driver was lewis knows how iconic she was for that -loved max's smize in that photoshoot. he's a natural, i was not insane when i wrote that model!max au -pierre is SO little. i'm so glad he stopped shaving that mustache it is SUCH a better look -pierre's narrative is a) classic red bull chew em up spit em out but b) also highlights how EXPECTED both nyck & logan's struggle was last year. it is NORMAL to struggle when you first get in an new car when you're in your first or second year. anyway so glad my baby (logan) is in a team that doesnt take a red bull approach!!! -geri insisting she works harder than christian is so iconic AND shes right -pierre getting lapped by max -> daniel getting lapped by lando in s4 are cinematic parallels btw -this is another NARRATIVELY well done episode!! obviously i already know whats going to happen, but even if i didn't the episode creates this sense of increasing dread as it goes on, where you can maybe guess where its going but gets you to hope so strongly it doesnt. the peeling off of all of pierre's stickers is just the final blow and the PERFECT choice to end the arc

#dtsrewatch #she speaks #next episode is alex episode babey!!!

[navree]

Have you watched Rome (HBO)? If yes what's your opinion on it?

I've watched some of it, but to be honest I didn't really like it. They got things like how society operated in that time, and I think Ciaran Hinds is an incredible actor and did his best with the material he had, and if you just want a good drama and don't know anything about the period and the actual history that went on, you'll probably like it. Plus, James Purefoy was genuinely perfect casting. It's why I wish that the show was better than it was.

Problem is, I do know the history. I know the history quite well, because the general fall of the Republic and rise of the Empire is an incredibly interesting time and Augustus is one of my favorite people to read about, from a historical perspective he's fascinating. And the show bungles a lot in that regard. I've never been a particular fan of "we're going to invent these fictitious characters and make them important to the historical narrative" type things, and the combining of characters caused some major problems for me personally (combining Atia Balba with Fulvia to create the show's version of Atia was very annoying to me personally, considering how at odds it is to the historical Atia Balba), and just in general a lot of the characters felt very shallow and like they were crafted more out of a pop culture understanding of who these people were rather than actually examining them historically. Like, ooh Cleopatra is a sexually voracious and seductive minx and Octavian is a monstrous little viper, how incredibly novel, never been done before. Not like the reality of Cleopatra as someone who wasn't very attractive but was so intelligent and charismatic that she seemed leagues better than any other woman, but still prideful and stubborn enough to let it be her downfall is more interesting than cokewhore but make it Hellenistic. Not like Octavian as an incredibly smart person and brilliant politician whose complicated family life created a situation that had him latch onto Caesar as a father figure (and Caesar himself having lost a child shortly before they started getting close allowing that latching to be entirely mutual) and who started his journey to power as a personal revenge quest and whose litany of personal tragedies at a young age created the circumstances that allowed him to make colder and colder decisions for the betterment of himself and his family and his country is more interesting than wimpy deviant who can't fight. IDK, they made Livia marginally more two-dimensional than most other pop culture portrayals of her (I, Claudius your sins are numerous and shan't be forgiven), but that's about it. From someone who's read a lot about all of these people and has consistently found that who they actually were is leagues more interesting and creatively inspiring than anything anyone could actually make up, the show being composed entirely of preconceived notions with some sprinkling of "this is what I remember from Shakespeare's Roman plays" just did not do it for me at all.

Also, Agrippa/Octavia is a fucking cop out and anyone who writes it is a genuine coward. Like, you cannot tell me that out of the two siblings, the relationship you find the most interesting is the one he had with Octavia, when Agrippa and Octavian were friends since they were twelve and were completely and reciprocally so incredibly devoted to each other that it almost defies description and beggars belief. Agrippa never once tried to grab power even though he absolutely could have and was perfectly happy being nothing more than Octavian's right hand man until the day he died. Octavian's first ever political act, the thing that kickstarted his entire career, was asking Caesar of his own volition to not kill Agrippa's brother (it's complicated) and Caesar saying yes entirely because it was Octavian who asked, not only showing how loyal Octavian was to his friends but also essentially binding the two of them together for life. It was a forty year relationship of the most insanely codependent friendship of all time, either get with the program and make it homoerotic or just admit you have no talent and wanna hetify it.

#personal #answered #immortalthunderstorm #i do also acknowledge that the show got cancelled before they were able to do everything they wanted #which is why the second season is so rushed #from my understanding i think they wanted to end it with jesus which would have been cool #but yeah the julio claudians are kinda my roman forte #so this show is uhhhhhhhhhhhh not my favorite #as i meant for this response to be significantly shorter than it was before i started ranting #there's a reason why i have ideas in my head about a period drama prestige tv show for this era #it can be Really Good if you just let it and don't rely on your pop culture understanding of these people

[unchataparis]

A 'DO I SHIP IT?' template made by XStephTheHedgehogX on DeviantArt.

Before I get immortalised as that one Liladrien person who writes a lot of stories about them and seems to genuinely ship them: yes, I do ship them. I think they're both interesting and aesthetic people, underutilised by the plot with a lot of dynamite potential together.

BUT, I also do not think Lila and Adrien should not end up together in the permanent, romantic sense because their psyche just cannot aligned. Even in a future where Lila is redeemed and a morally good person, their outlook on life and general stance regarding hobbies and careers are simply too mismatching. I can see the two of them dating, having fun and respecting each other, but settling down for the long term? Adrien is the 'white picket fence' and 'two-and-a-half children' person. Lila is the 'growing old elegantly in a private mansion surrounded by fourteen cats' kind of gal.

NOTP: So, although Lila and Adrien is my favourite Miraculous pairing, it's purely because they're my favourite Miraculous characters. I want to see them in a relationship together, but I don't think they'll work out quite so well in the long-term.

I SHIP IT: One hundred percent. I feel like Adrien and Lila's arc went tremendously unexplored. I wonder how their meeting would've gone if Marinette never interrupted them in Volpina, if Adrien and Lila could've formed an actual friendship, and how Adrien would've reacted to Lila's lies from there. I feel like Adrien needs someone like Lila in his life, someone like Félix, whose appears to care about him but is also willing to feed him the facts bluntly.

underrated/why not?: Again, stemming from the points above, there is so much potential for how a relationship between Lila and Adrien could've went. I really don't like how in Season 5, Adrien started standing up to/exposing Lila for Marinette. I felt like he could've done it for a more independent reason.

would read a fic about it/reads fics about it: Absolutely! In fact, I take it one step further and writes fics about it.

the sexiest pair: I should mention at this point that when I write about Lila and Adrien, they're either late teenagers or early adults. I'm not fond of writing about adolescents getting it on. From an aesthetic standpoint, Adrien and Lila mesh together perfectly. Old money and high luxury, glittery baddie and designer purses. Think about yacht parties and mansion photoshoot scenes, red carpet dates and clandestine late-night rendezvous. I made a post way earlier about what Adrien and Lila's aesthetic would be, and you can see what I'm envisioning, right?

i'm curious, can i know more?: We don't know anything about Lila. In fact, we don't even know her real name. Is she Cerise? Or some other vixen in the hiding? I'm not entirely sold on this Lila/Cerise/Iris mash-up yet, because it seems to come out of nowhere to me. Lila already has a massive 'plot-twist' in that she's actually a liar and a huge arc of Miraculous had been devoted to her exposé and the class' subsequent reaction. The next step in the narrative would be how Lila moves on/takes revenge. Instead, we, the audience, learn that Lila has another trick up her sleeve, she forged her whole identity! I'm very excited to watch Season 6, because, new powers, new outfits, and new Butterfly villain aside, I also really want to find out what's up with Lila.

Fun fact: It was pretty hard to find sources on this, but did you know that some ship names develop based on who the dominant partner is? I couldn't find who originally coined the term Liladrien, but if they're not making a perfect combination of both of their names, then they believe that in a romantic relationship between Lila and Adrien, Lila would be topping. Sounds about right.

#miraculous #adrien agreste #lila rossi #liladrien

[badedramay]

sorry to keep coming back here lmaojgkdflhf but i started rewatching (bits and pieces of) mann mayal this past week and like. what a phenomenon. was the plot horrible. yes. did it drive all of us crazy with the melodrama. absolutely. is the fact that it was the note ayesha khan decided to end her career on kind of hysterical. i certainly think so. but something about it was nonetheless so enrapturing. the direction and music production definitely contribute to that but i also think for whatever all of the mess was on top i really was transfixed by mannu's narrative arc. like it was powerful! obv it was easy to get caught up in all of the fine details and chastise mannu for her brashness or stupidity but the point was that she had always had decisions taken for her her entire life. to see a female character so stubborn and possessive about her right to make her own decisions regardless of whatever anyone else with "sense" had to say about them bc her agency was that important to her in a societal context of women's oppression.. it was incredibly liberating! and i hate to bring the fairy tale comparisons back but i think esp in contrast to the latter it was empowering bc post time skip salahuddin was in every aspect The Ideal Guy. he cared about mannu, he bantered with her, he protected her, he was eager to guide her, etc. but that was precisely the problem, bc everything was about his protectiveness over her rather than a respect for her ability to make her own decisions and chart her own life path. to see her refuse to succumb to his will to the very end, the very end! the fact that he had to accept that he could not make her decisions for her and that to be let back into her life again she would have to be absolutely convinced he would respect her agency and desires! just, wow. that final scene in the last episode truly takes my breath away. sameera fazal makes me want to bash my head into a wall with how ridiculous her plots are but i can't lie that i do love the undercurrent themes in a lot of them. it makes me wonder what she'd do with a story if creating melodrama to get views wasn't such a necessity

I've been saying this for YEARS that Mannu was a far stronger character than people gave her credit for. I do blame the direction for literally bahaoing all of Mannu's strengths in the oceans of tears that she was made to shed in every fucking episode. beneath it all, Mannu as a person was just so staunchly protective of her OWN agency that really she can give many characters a masterclass in how to own their destiny. yeah sure, a deeper conversation about whether an agency that is purely masochist an agency worth celebrating can be held here. but there's no denying that Mannu's agency EXISTS. we cannot say the same about so many of the female protagonists. #MannuProtectionSquad!!

I do think Samira Fazal would make a much better short drama writer. Her basic plots are always fun. she just tends to lose the plot when she has to write 30+ episodes of it. which is what happened with Mann Mayal. which is what happens to ANY of her dramas. do you know Shukk? uska bhi yehi haal hua tha. i really enjoyed that drama in its first half and then toh phir toh too much hi hogaya.

Mann Mayal aired at the perfect time which is why the show enjoyed the blockbuster popularity it did. I am thankful it didn't air at the time when armchair "critics" were running their mouths mindlessly criticizing every project on air just to churn out an hour worth of content twice a week. social media trolled and celebrated the drama. Hamza Ali Abbasi was THE darling of the awaam and Maya got to enjoy a peak with Mannu that I am afraid she won't get to enjoy again in any other character. despite all the rubbishness..the show just worked. it didn't bother with giving any social message or sensationalizing for the sake of having a shock value. it was a melodrama, plain and simple, and fully committed itself to the genre. however, years later, the show still contains some moments of sheer brilliance that have not been tainted by time. in fact, I think now is a very good time to go back and watch Mann Mayal with an open mind. with no trolling to distract us or the long wait of a week between episodes to exhaust, and the entirety of the plot easily available on wikipedia to read..Mann Mayal becomes a show that should be watched to appreciate the technical finesse with which it handled some of the show's pivotal moments as well as to finely study the characterization of its very grey protagonists, flaws and virtues all at once.

#mann mayal #for a show that i complained about a lot..i have turned out to be its biggest defender xD

[pynkhues]

you're caught up! Tell me all your thoughts on Hacks S2 so far!

I have! Mmm, mixed feelings? What I've loved, I've really loved (especially 2.06!), but what I haven't loved, I really, really haven't.

I think overall I've found the season to be unbalanced and lacking in the clear focus it had in season one, which has in turn lessened the stakes and the emotional impact of not just Deb and Ava's relationship and character arcs, but the ensemble moments that I think defined the first season. Deb and DJ's relationship, Ava's with her ex and with her parents, and Marcus' struggle with his identity and life outside of his career were pivotal to making the world of Hacks feel realised and full to me, and allowed for a really clear thematic exploration of partnership, career, parenthood, and independence vs isolation, and the relationships all of that had with each other.

Having the really clear external conflict of Deb's residency being at risk of cancellation was this perfect way to contain all of that as it allowed itself to be this catalyst in so many different ways - her residency was at risk and so she had to mix it up and so she hired Ava and so Marcus felt threatened and so and so and so. It was all clear cause and effect which had real and varied emotional ramifications within a specific context.

Season two has felt pretty sprawling, and not in a way that I think has elevated the stakes and conflicts, but rather detracted from it. Deb's on tour! Great! But what's at stake? A maybe-residency somewhere off the strip which we haven't seen and have no context for? Her reputation? Her brand deals? Who knows! She's doing drop ins, so it doesn't seem to really matter if she misses one, her shows doing badly don't seem to impact audience attendance at other shows, and while it's having an emotional impact on Deb, it's not an emotional impact that's really having any effect on the narrative overall.

God, we don't even know how DJ feels about having so much of her life and addiction and trauma being shared with half the country!

It's not just Deb either - there's a real aimlessness to Ava and Marcus' arcs this season too, which to me leaves the season feeling saggy, a particular contrast to how tight s1 was - and again, without clear stakes. Ava having no career options outside of Deb and having a father who was dying, and Marcus feeling pushed out in s1 gave them real emotional resonance, but their arcs this season have felt superficial to me. Ava feels guilty about the email and is being sued by Deb, but that's effectively a punchline and offers no source of narrative tension, and Marcus is lost without Deb, which, again, we knew that already, so I don't know what we're supposed to be learning.

That said! I did think the last two episodes were a lot better, in particular because the show finally started using the tour itself as a source of narrative conflict, in particular Deb running into Susan and that becoming a vehicle to look at the sacrifices these women have made between them - one for her career, and one of her career - and in Deb finally having a breakthrough that recaptures, I think, some of the joy of the show, but also establishing some new stakes and goals that have been so sorely needed in such an aimless season.

So yeah! I still like the show a lot, but I guess I'd describe this season as loose and lacking in authentic tension, which is a real bummer given how tight and ripe with genuine conflict s1 felt. I'm hoping it sticks the landing and can reground itself in an s3, but we'll see!

#that's not even touching on the lesbian cruise ep where i completely agree with you #it was wildly offensive tbh and i can't believe that was where they chose to go #hbo hacks #hacks spoilers #kind of? #welcome to my ama

[hamliet]

Hey!

I've got a question for you if you could've had any storylines on qaf for the characters that we didn't get what would you pick?

My choices would be

Deep dive into Brian's addiction issues

More exploration of Justin and his art, showing him at college and the process. The consequences on himself post his trauma affecting his dream career choice. Seeing him make actual proper art instead of fleeting shots here and there

Emmett getting to have either a family member/or friend from his past introduced I'm sure he was the only one who never got one which is a hate crime

Keeping Michael's friend from Season 1 around a bit longer counteracting Brian's all straight people are evil narrative, especially after she came around after Brian outed Michael and was a good friend to him. It would've been funny to see how Brian would've coped with him having a straight female friend hanging around plus showing not to judge all people the same there are ones who are willing to learn and be allies.

What a great ask!! Thank you!

JUSTIN AND MOLLY JUSTIN AND MOLLY JUSTIN AND MOLLY--

Ahem. First of all, honestly, I love all your suggestions.

The idea of Tracy continuing to pop up post season 3 is great, and I'd have liked to see more of her friendship with Michael. Emmett’s family situation being explored also had potential (like, my assumption is that they’re all dead or he’s estranged, but it’d be interesting to explore that). I would also have loved the idea of Brian’s addiction issues being addressed—Ted’s arc, and Blake's, explored addiction well, so you don't need to tumble Brian down a spiral so much as you could have increased the foiling between them to give Brian a bit of a challenge/wake up call.

As for Justin’s art--yes. 100%. Especially since art is symbolic of his life (like, Justin literally points out he's been drawing practically since birth, because art is his life), I'd have liked to see his career given more focus!

In general, as for what I'd change in addition to yours... well, most changes I would make would be to further flesh some of the already-existing plot lines out because they could have worked far better than they did (such as fleshing out Justin’s PTSD/dealing with PTSD throughout the series, which would make the Pink Posse arc fit much better).

I would also replace the... lesbian cheating and custody battle with a new story that served the same thematic and character purpose, but without the repetitive nature and the icky subtext. I’d build Lindsay towards making a final confrontation of her desire to have the perfect image and Melanie confronting her own insecurities about never being enough for Lindsay through a plot line involving Melanie’s professional life post-pregnancy. I don’t think we got any relatives of Melanie’s either, just like Emmett, actually, so exploring Mel's family is another option. But since Mel's so focused on her career, and her focus is part of the stereotype she turns out to be so much more than, I would have to say fleshing out her career and making that a central part of her arc would be awesome.

Some other ideas:

Deb and Rodney bond more after Vic’s death.

Bring Reverend Tom back at some point. Kinda vague, but I'd have liked this.

But the main one?

FLESH OUT JUSTIN’s SISTER. It’s a crime we only see Molly a handful of times in season 1 and the very start of season 2. A crime, I tell you. 

Why? Because Molly so clearly adores Justin. Even when she’s annoying him, she does so by imitating him. He comments that after he’s gone she’ll have “appropriated my coolest stuff” and post-bashing, Craig mentions that Molly gives him updates on Justin’s health and well-being. In other words, Molly loves Justin (unlike Craig), and seeing him bond with her as part of both of them growing up would have been a gift. 

You could then explore Molly as Justin’s inner child, especially once she’s a little older and in middle school (seasons 4 and 5) and thereby capable of being her own character. You could also use a plot line of Justin and Molly bonding to further develop Debbie and Vic even, especially if you set it post-Vic’s death. There’s a lot you could do with this to foil Brian and Justin, too, as all major plot lines and relationships tended to do (because their love story embodied each and every central theme).

Like, Justin mimics Brian at times, especially when he is more immature, but grows to love him and be loved as his own self. Molly mimics Justin. Even though clearly a brother/sister relationship isn't the same as romance, love is still a tie between them. Justin choosing to appreciate Molly's imitation as the admiration it is, while encouraging her to be her own person... like Brian did for him.

You could also have Molly and Justin foil Brian and Claire. Molly is about the same age as Claire’s kids, too, so you could even have them meet at school or whatever and have a conflict there and Justin give her advice and support. Not gonna lie, I'd also have loved to see Jennifer learn a little more about Brian's family, if only to see her rage.

There’s so much potential for Molly and Justin's relationship benefitting the series as a whole, and I’d have loved to see it delved into. 

#ask hamliet #qaf #queer as folk #qaf us 2000 #justin taylor #brian kinney #debbie novotny #melinds #melanie marcus #lindsay peterson #britin #jennifer taylor #vic grassi #molly taylor #queer as folk us 2000