#Merlin’s day isn’t going much better tbh

[vikingsong]

WIP Wednesday (8/16/23)

In which spy!Merlin attempts break the Crown Prince out of an interrogation room after accidentally kidnapping said Prince and dumping him, unconscious, in said interrogation room to begin with.

Shifting aside one of the lay-in ceiling panels, Merlin gripped the edges of the frame and flipped down into the room, landing on his feet, silent and catlike.

The Prince jerked back from the table. “Who are you?”

“I’m the one who’s going to get you out of here.”

“And where is here, exactly?” the Prince asked, folding his arms and glancing surreptitiously between the locked door and the open ceiling panel.

Merlin chose his words carefully, admitting to nothing as he trod the line between honesty and insinuation. “I think you already know. You saw some of their handiwork earlier this evening.”

Arthur nodded, just once, and leveled his gaze on Merlin. “That still doesn’t answer my first question. Who are you? More importantly, why should I trust you?”

Impulsively, Merlin threw back the cowl.

“You!” the Prince blurted, taking a step back. “But you did—! Earlier, I thought I saw…” The Prince made several nonsensical hand gestures, and Merlin soon tired of watching him flail.

“No, you weren’t hallucinating.” Merlin pinched the bridge of his nose. “Yes, I have magic—and, yes, magic is real…but I think you figured that part out already, what with the fireballs they were hurling at you.”

The Prince crossed his arms and raised an imperious eyebrow. “Those were rather hard to miss.”

“Rather.” Merlin cleared his throat pointedly and waved a hand at the ceiling. “We need to go.”

“But you have magic.”

“I thought we’d already established that.”

“You could be working with them.”

“I know you don’t trust me, alright?” Merlin grit out between clenched teeth. “But if you want to get out of here alive, you’re going to have to trust me for the next twenty-two minutes.”

“Twenty-two?”

“Twenty-two.”

“That’s oddly precise.”

“It took me sixteen to get in here; getting out will take quite a bit longer with you in tow.”

“I beg your pardon,” the Prince sniffed.

“Then beg.” He allowed himself a moment of satisfaction at the Prince’s shell-shocked stare. Merlin knew if Lance had heard that retort, he’d groan and tell Merlin to ‘touch grass,’ so Merlin simply wouldn’t tell him. Leaping up onto the table, Merlin grasped the edges of the metal ceiling grid on either side of the displaced tile and swung himself up through the gap.

“...You can’t speak to me like that,” the Prince sputtered belatedly.

Merlin stuck his head back through the ceiling to glare at the Prince upside down. “Well, I did. Are you coming or not, your Royal Pratness?”

“Fine,” the Prince snapped. He shrugged off his suit jacket—a jacket that Merlin knew cost more than Merlin’s rather generous salary—and tossed it carelessly over the hard metal chair before pocketing his patriotic cufflinks and rolling up his shirtsleeves. “I can’t believe I’m doing this,” he muttered as he climbed onto the table and hoisted himself through the ceiling gap after Merlin.

Merlin hid a sigh of relief as he slid the tile back into place and led the way into the ventilation shaft. His entire plan hinged on convincing the Prince to trust him, albeit grudgingly. He’d made it past that first hurdle; the rest of the plan should be just fine.

***

It was not fine, Merlin soon discovered. He’d pulled up the front of his dark cowl to cover his nose and mouth, held in place by a handy sticking-spell, as soon as he’d re-entered the air shaft because the Shadow Division desperately needed to have their ducts cleaned. The Prince had no such luxury. He also had a dust allergy.

“Brilliant,” Merlin muttered under his breath as the Prince sneezed for the fourth time in barely thirty seconds. The sound rebounded off the metal, multiplying the echoes through the ventilation system. Merlin glanced back over his shoulder and hissed, “Are you trying to get us caught?”

#wip wednesday #spy au #Arthur is NOT having a good day #Merlin’s day isn’t going much better tbh #it’s not a good day at the office when one accidentally kidnaps the Crown Prince #Fic: Agent Emrys #wip excerpt #shameless self promotion #humor #my stories #writing #bbc merlin #fanfic #writers on tumblr #wip

[achirding]

WIPtober 3: Adjectivizing Thee pt. 2

Summary: Sonic is impatient. Caliburn is annoyed. Lancelot is sleepy. They could do without all of these things. Actually, Lancelot is a lot more open and honest when he’s sleepy, so that can stay. Even if he is a little snootier because of it, heh. Rating: General! 

Note: This is a snippet! Or possibly a deleted scene! I like it a lot but it is hard to make it fit. Maybe. IDK what i’m doing with this tbh. :C

--------------

“Sir Lancelot!”

Lancelot startles at the sound of his name like he hasn’t been listening, pulling away from the tree to sit up straighter. His visor is pulled over his face, obscuring his expression again, and Sonic wonders if he had been spacing out. Or dozing?

Caliburn either does not notice or chooses not to notice, “Would you please remind Sir Sonic why we are here.”

“Gladly, Kingmaker,” Lancelot answers, voice slightly husky like maybe he had been on the verge of falling asleep, turning his face in Sonic’s direction, “My lady mother and the royal magician, through use of the reflection pool and other ancient magicks, ascertained this was the crossroad of the Lady of Rings.”

Lancelot does not immediately continue, even though Sonic and Caliburn are waiting for him to elaborate. He’s really not much of a conversationalist, huh?

“Cool, good for her,” Sonic says at length, moving his hand in impatient circles, “And why are we here?”

“The Lady of Rings is a powerful seer, rumored to have trained under Merlin himself,” There’s a weird intonation to the way Lancelot says Merlin, something negative, but it’s very subtle. Maybe Sonic just imagined it. “Upon winning her favor, she will tell you how to return to your homeland.”

This time, Caliburn jumps in where Lancelot leaves off, preemptively answering the unasked question, “The Lady of Rings is said to polish her rings at this crossroad on the day the sun blazes the hottest. It is said her eyes are so weak, she needs the brightest light to see if there are any imperfections on her rings.”

“Can’t think of how this day could get hotter!” Sonic agrees with a sigh, rolling onto his stomach and kicking his feet in the air. Not super comfortable, but it gives him something to do, at least, “You two sound pretty confident. Has she helped you before?”

“No,” Lancelot answers simply, leaning back against the tree.

“....That’s weird,” Sonic says, arching a brow at him, “Caliburn, I get- he’s swayed by titles and reputations and junk-“

“Epithets and reputations must be earned!” Caliburn interjects, hopping in place with outrage, “You would do well to remember that, Knave the Hedgehog!”

“Nope, no take backs!” Sonic was just going to ignore Caliburn, but that sword really knew what buttons to push, “My new ‘epithet’ that you gave me is ‘Sir Sonic, Knight of the Wind!’ And don’t you forget it!”

Caliburn looks like he is going to keep arguing, but let’s out an amused sound and smiles instead, “Indeed.”

Uh. Okay. “Cool,” Sonic wasn’t expecting his sword to agree with him so easily, and he isn’t sure what to say... so he turns back to Lancelot.

“Lance!”

Lancelot startles, again, turning his face in his direction, “Sir.”

“You don’t seem like the kind of guy who gives his trust out so easily,” Sonic rests his chin on his hands, still kicking his feet restlessly, “Why are you vouching for this lady?”

“You misunderstand,” Lancelot scoffs with a shake of his head, “I am not. I have never met her. I have no desire to vouch for her, her temperament, or her abilities.”

“...Okay,” Sonic answers after a moment, trying to figure out what Lancelot is trying to say. He’s getting better at it, but this one’s tricky, “Then... what’s got you so sure this lady is the real deal?”

“I trust my lady mother’s judgment and magicks,” Lancelot pointedly does not mention Merlina, obviously still a sore spot, “I trust my swordsmanship and instincts. I trust you and Caliburn to keep out of my way.”

Lancelot settles back against the tree with a shrug, still looking rather sleepy. He must have been just as bored, “I don’t know if she will be able to help you- but I will ensure you come back from this adventure hale and hearty. That is all I can promise.”

Aha, Sonic knew it! Nothing to do with this Lady of Rings or Sonic’s quest to go home, and everything to do with Lancelot’s combat abilities and skill. The black and red hedgehog certainly spoke down to him when they first met, so it’s good to see this side of him again. Not Lancelot’s most endearing trait, for sure, but much better than his more recent quiet and stiff formality.

Especially in the company of his fellow knights, it feels too much like Lancelot is on his best behavior around Sonic. Not fake, per say, but definitely not normal. Like he’s visiting his grandma or meeting with a dignitary. This? This is a lot more casual and honest.

Caliburn’s mouth quirks into a disapproving frown, obviously not pleased, but he doesn’t say anything. Weird.

“Heh,” Sonic chuckles, amused and pleased despite himself, “If you say so, Lance.”

#satbk #sonic and the black knight #satbk sir lancelot #sonic the hedgehog #satbk caliburn #writing #fanfic #snippet #shadow the hedgehog #WIPTOBER #achirding arts seasonally #UH. what do i tag this lmao #ANYWAY FUN FACTS: the lady of rings is longclaw. i made her up. there are a lot of random unnamed ladies in arthuriana i felt i could make a #convenient one up with weird habits too lol. lancelot is forever sleepy i will push lancelot is a heavy sleeper and a sleepy dude until it #becomes fanon i will!!!!! caliburn gets relegated to just a sword too often so i wanted to make something with his character in it. i don't #think his dynamic with sonic would change much tbh he'd still nag him lmao. anyway caliburn and sonics dynamic is so good and great!!1 i #love them!!! also i think his dynamic with lancelot would be interesting becuase this is the ultimate kngiht!! caliburn has a hero crush on #him and then he meets him and he's literally so bored he's falling asleep. never meet your heroes lmao

[ecoamerica]

Watch the 2024 American Climate Leadership Awards for High School Students now: https://youtu.be/5C-bb9PoRLc

The recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by student climate leaders! Join Aishah-Nyeta Brown & Jerome Foster II and be inspired by student climate leaders as we recognize the High School Student finalists. Watch now to find out which student received the $25,000 grand prize and top recognition!

#ACLA24 #ACLA24HighSchoolStudents #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental education #environmental justice #environmental protection #environmental health #high school students #high school #youth #youth of america #school

[redleavesinthewind]

hii, thanks for the tag @blue-eyed-cutiepatootie <3

rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to get to know better.

name: elliot

star sign: pisces

height: 165 cm

time: 11:30 am cet

birthday: 6th march

favourite bands/artists: ugh it changes all the time…. at the moment it’s fleetwood mac (though they’re kinda always up there), florence + the machine, the oh hellos, avatar, bear mccreary, barns courtney, john powell

last movie: i’m not a movie person, so i genuinely have no idea what the last thing is i watched. but i think it was ella enchanted

last show: i’m currently watching so many things at once it’s not even funny. rewatch of merlin (s1), black sails (s4), stranger things (s2) and i’ve started first kill

when did i create this blog: this one specifically? i genuinely don’t remember and i also don’t know how to check tbh

what i post: so much fandom stuff. sometimes i throw my writing in the mix. i also complain about uni a lot

last thing i googled: 33 degrees c to f because it’s fucking hot here and i got curious if this would get us into the 100s in fahrenheit (it doesn’t, it’s like 94)

other blogs: not really. i had a ted lasso sideblog but i barely use it, i prefer to stuff all my obsessions into one very chaotic and overfilled blog

do i get asks: sometimes! it’s mostly when i rb ask games, but sometimes i get some randomly. anyway, asks is one sure way of making me smile, my inbox is always open

following: 325. there was a time i tried to limit that number, but i’m in too many fandoms for that tbh

average hours of sleep: 7 or 8

instruments: learned to play the flute when i was a kid but hated it, so i switched over to piano. i haven’t actually played in a long time, but songs i was able to play include house of rising sun and nights in white satin

what i’m wearing: black joggers with my uni’s dance society’s logo on, a black stranger things shirt that my mom got me, my glasses (purple rims) and a purple bracelet/band that was a ticket to a party event a few days ago

dream job: i kinda just want to vibe and live in a house with my friends and write sometimes and raise a few children isn’t that enough?

dream trip: well it was the highlands, but i’ve been there, so now it’s norway

nationality: luxembourgish

favourite song: you want me to choose?? anyway, the chain by fleetwood mac, herzalarm by blümchen, the black sails theme, sinners by barns courtney, the only murders in the building intro, fast car by tracy chapman, talk by hozier, no light no light by florence + the machine, pompeii by bastille, caesar by the oh hellos, i could go on

last book i’ve read: solitaire by alice oseman

top 3 fictional universes i’d like to live in: hmmm this is hard actually…. the pjo universe maybe. there are monsters but who doesn’t wanna be a demigod, really. also whatever the umbrella academy universe has going on (when the world is not ending of course). it’s just kinda weird on its own already, i’m intrigued

okayy, that’s it! no pressure to the people i’m tagging <3

@kafkaguy @oliverbanks @romasubrosa @cardsharps @scoobydoo-ghoulschool @emeraldcas @marlborocas @faithdeans and whoever else wants to (i know i should have tagged more people but i had barely any sleep and my mind is empty of people i know)

#tag fun #pigeon coos

[electriclocean]

Pansy Parkinson x Female muggle! reader HC

This is my first time writing in Tumblr! English is not my first language, apologize for any grammatical errors.

Warning: my English, a few swear words 

Word count: 1.3k 

I kinda changed the timeline so it fits

- It was after the war. Pansy moved in with Draco, Blaise, and Theo in a 3 bedroom apartment in a small city near London. 

- The first week in the muggle world had been chaotic. They had a hard time adjusting. The four of them really tried to not use any magic at first, even in the apartment, but gave up after a few days. They agreed to use magic only in the apartment.

- The first few weeks were hard for them. Nightmares almost every night, they find it very hard to sleep some nights. They hardly went out, only going out to buy food or groceries.

- After 2 months not going out, Pansy was the first to start going out, she got tired of the boys bickering every time.

- She found a small coffee shop near the apartment, wondering how the hell did she not noticed it before. The place was small, but comfy. It’s not really crowded so she likes it.

- That’s where she met you. You are a part timer at the shop, working as the cashier. 

- After the third time, you were quick to remember Pansy’s order. It’s always the same order.

- “The usual, right? Hot mocha latte?”

- You saw her almost everyday after that. Pansy stayed for an hour or so. Sometimes looking around the shop (she’s looking at you), sometimes she brought a book with her.

- Thus she started making small talks with you every time she orders. A simple “how are you today?”, “how’s your day?”, “how’s your drink?”.

- The small talks turn into a new friendship, if the store isn’t really crowded, you would sit with her. Other times, you ask her to meet you after work so you two can talk more freely.

- Pansy becomes more fond of you. She tried to not fall for you, but she did anyway.

- The new feeling made her panic. “I can’t fall for her. What if she thinks I’m weird?”

- “Who thinks you’re weird?”

- Draco was the first to notice. He noticed she stopped going out and sometimes zoning out. He’s the one who heard about it.

- “There’s a girl, and I think- I think I fancy her.” “Well, what’re you waiting for? Go for it.”

- She explained many reasons why she shouldn’t fancy her. “She can’t! What will people think about dating a girl? What if she realizes that I’m not good? What if she hates me?”

- Draco didn’t listen and ended up dragging her to the coffee shop where you work. “Talk to her, for Merlin’s sake!”

- You saw Pansy coming in with someone. A boy. A handsome one, really. But you weren’t interested in the boy. After talking to Pansy, you realize that you like her, but not as a friend. 

- So when Pansy steps in with that blonde boy beside her, holding her hand, your heart shattered. Obviously she’s not interested in girls.

- “What can I get you?” Your voice was cold, very different than the usual cheery voice.

- Pansy noticed it too. After telling hers and Draco’s order, she decided to ask. “Are you alright?”

- “Fine.” “Really? You know you can talk to me, Y/N-”

- “Of course I’m not fine! The girl I like is standing in front of me with her rich looking blonde handsome boyfriend!” You cut her off without thinking. After saying it, you quickly close your mouth, cursing in your head.

- Pansy standing there, eyes wide, not really believing what she just heard. “You- you like me-?” 

- You just nod. Draco was the first to break off the silence, laughing.

- “Go on! Tell her, Pans. I am so gonna tell this to the other, the Pansy Parkinson froze like a deer caught in headlights-”

- “I like you too, Y/N. A lot actually.” She was smiling shyly, her usual confident self was nowhere to be seen. 

- After that, the two of you started dating. Pansy would wait until your shift is over.

- Pansy sleeping over your place. You teach her how to cook, or make coffee.

- The first time you saw her dark mark was when she lent you her hoodie.

- "Pans, what is that?" She tried to explain it, but ended up having a panic attack.

- You didn't want to invade her privacy, so you just help her calm down and change the topic.

- Next day, she asks you to stay over at her place, "the boys are annoying. They keep asking me to bring you."

- It's really noisy when the two of you enter the apartment. Theo was yelling curses at Draco, Draco asking Blaise for backup, while Blaise just sips his tea, watching them.

- "Merlin's beard, what the fuck is going on here?"

- "Malfoy here said I cheat! I never cheat!" "So the card just changed the color itself!?" They were playing UNO. Which was supposed to be a friendly game (lies.)

- The boys haven't noticed your presence. Theo takes out his wand, the cards in Draco's hand change colors, "revelio! See I didn't cheat! You were the one who cheated!"

- "Nott, you dumbass!" followed by Pansy' purse on Theo's head.

- That's when they realized you were there. Watching Theo use his wand.

- "Y/N this is-" "Is that real!?"

- Pansy nod, closing her eyes. Now here's the part where you will leave her because you probably think they're all crazy people or into some cult.

- "Do it again." "What?" "Please, I wanna see it," you gave them the best puppy eyes you could give.

- "You don't think we're crazy?" "Why the hell would I think that? Just do it again, please?"

- To say you were shocked was an understatement. But they didn't expect you to be this enthusiastic. You were clapping like a child, asking Theo to do more spells, while the others stared at you, shocked by your response.

- After some time, you felt someone tug your jumper. Pansy was staring at you with puppy eyes, "you won't leave me, right?"

- "Oh, darling why would I do that?" "I didn't tell you anything about this-" 

- You assure her you won’t leave her. Lots of light kisses on her face.

- The boys adored you, loving your reaction when they use magic around you. (we can talk about the boys next time, now it's pansy’ time)

- Lots of cuddles with Pansy. Watching movies together, cuddling, with a blanket draped over the two of you. Sometimes you’re the big spoon, sometimes Pansy is. 

- Good morning kisses! Pansy loves kissing your face, your nose, your eyes, your cheeks, everywhere!

- Pansy still get nightmares from the war, sometimes nightmares that you left her after knowing her past. 

- You reassure her everything is fine. You only know that there was a war in their world, but you didn’t know the details. 

- Making hot chocolates when she had a nightmare. Then cuddling again. Sometimes you sing lullabies.

- Pansy told you all about her past one night, even though you insist that you don’t need to know. 

- You hug her tightly, kissing her dark mark, “this doesn’t change anything between us. It’s all in the past, what matters is you changed into a better person now. I still and will always love you.” 

- After that, the two of you become more inseparable. 

- “Parkinson, can you not stare at me as if I’m gonna steal your girlfriend?” “Shut up Nott, go search another girl, or boy, whichever you prefer.”

- This girl spoils you rotten. Seriously. “That jumper is cute,” the next day that jumper will be yours. Dinner date every weekend. At a fancy restaurant. Pansy buying you dresses, jewelry. 

- She told you not to worry about money, since she’s the heiress of one of the sacred 28 families.  “Is it wrong to spoil your own girlfriend?” “No, but this is too expensive, you know-” “Do you not like it?” “I love it, but you shouldn’t spend too much money on me. Who knows we need it in the future.”

- Yeah, she doesn’t listen to you. Still bring you gifts, taking you to fancy dinners.

- She’s definitely top in bed. It’s obvious tbh. (I can’t write smut, I only read lol)

- Just imagine dating the Slytherin princess. (ms pansy pls date me)

#pansy parkinson x reader #pansy parkinson #pansy x reader #hp x reader #pansy parkinson x you #pansy parkinson pls date me #hp girls #harry potter #hp imagine

[bular]

Welcome to Live Commentary

I had no one to talk to while watching the movie and I hate being alone with my thoughts so I wrote everything down in my notes app. It's not coherent! Enjoy!

Aw yeah 1.5 seconds of Bular that is all I needed! Might as well stop now I've seen my boy I'm satisfied.

Why is there a nearly 4 minute recap as if I haven't watched the show at least 50 times. I should be the one giving the recap.

The beginning felt a bit forced to me but maybe that's just me? Like they just tried to squeeze too many things into a small timeframe without any buildup, it just didn't really work. Congrats on the engagement! This is my OTP so I'm very happy! But it came out of nowhere.

Nari in Douxies body is so wrong and I love it and hate it at the same time (positive)

Eli is BIG. I knew he was gonna be tall but I was not prepared for that chiseled face. Or the fact that he stepped off the ship without glasses? I wear glasses and I would not choose to step off a spaceship blind.

OkAY who had mpreg on their bingo card?

AAARRRGGHH actually said a full sentence 🥺 there is no heterosexual explanation for this scene and I'm here for it

Arcadia being the center of the universe really does make a lot of sense. I hate how much sense it makes. Despise it.

Strickler in a Christmas sweater is something i didn't know I needed. Jim's jacket too but that's just adorable, Jim's adorable. Oh sweet baby you're about to get fucked over so bad.

Love seeing Barbara actively participating in battle too. Good for her! Power family!!

Where are the kids tho? Is NotEnrique babysitting? Either that or they hired the girl from the Incredibles movie.

Nomura is so talented I love seeing her fighting on the good side. I can't explain it but I love digitigrade legs they're just so pretty?? Aesthetically pleasing??? Fuck yeah, legg! I could watch Nomura run around and be badass all day.

WAIT NO OH SHIT HOW DARE YOU FUCK

STRICKLER DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE NOT YOU TOO THAT'S TOO FUCKING RUDE DON'T DO THIS TO ME

THERE'S NO WAY HE'S DEAD RIGHT WE SAW NO BODY

Barbara does not deserve this I refuse to accept it. He's fine he'll be back they wouldn't kill two Changelings at once. Also Nomura is with Draal now I take no criticism.

So my favorite characters were Bular, Draal, Gunmar and Angor. And before this movie I always half-joked that everyone I love dies, how I still like Strickler and Nomura but apart from them all of my faves were killed in the very order of favoritism. AND NOW LOOK AT THIS. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I LOVE A CHARACTER. MY LOVE IS TOXIC.

OKAY I LOVE GUN RO- WAIT NO I DON'T LOVE HIM FUCK ABORT ABORT

It's great tho omg

I didn't realize it was Gun Robot when I saw it in the trailer this is amazing

Okay but imagine you're chilling in your trollmarket minding your own business when some misfit group of strangers waltzes in, steals your favorite shiny and celebrates your death before running off

"I AM GUN ROBOT" IS THE HORN LMAOOO

Nana better show up at some point to reunite with her boytoy, I'll cancel this entire franchise otherwise

Something bad is going to happen to Toby isn't it. He's getting too much screentime

Jim's hand got DEEP FRIED

ARCHIE NO

We can play Scrabble okay if they don't free them (which they must) I want an after credits scene of them playing scrabble

Douxie and Nari's bond 🥺🥺🥺

Nari pls just say what you fuckin mean the world is ending

Oh god is she going to remember killing Nomura oh nooo

Claire don't make the portal you will die again. Your hair gon be white all over

EVERYONE AVOIDING THE SCHOOL JUST RIGHT THERE LMAO RIP

I love how Darci is just with the school bus. Civilian girlfriend. But also love how the world is ending and Coach is like "fuck that I'm gonna teach these kids"

Does he know his son is pregnant

"Going back to the city where it's safe" buddy have you been to that city

Whatever happens, Nari has the coolest looking titan. Giant four legged gremlin. I'd adopt him.

WAIT SHE CAN FEEL THE PAIN?

Me: oh i love that titan

The titan 5 seconds later:

Did Nari just fucking die what the FUCK

Oh of COURSE the pages are stuck together RIGHT THERE

Seriously tho how do you not notice an entire nougat nummy in a book

Wait so Arcadia has another heartstone? Or OH SO IT'S ALIVE. OKAY GREAT. GUNMAR COULDN'T EVEN DO THAT RIGHT HUH

Love how the Heartstone has been dormant/dead for months and apparently heard Blinky say it's alive and decided to wake up RIGHT THEN

Finally they're evacuating the city. This is like, the third apocalypse there. About time.

Okay so you can't pull Excalibur from the rock, but you CAN carve out the stone. Couldn't you just carve it off the sword as close as possible and like. Use that? Just swing the whole damn rock around?

God i can NOT get over Steve's pants. I mean I read a spoiler he was gonna be pregnant but I thought it was a prank or shitpost. I did not see this coming and I am never going to be over it. I love how he and Aja just roll with it and nobody else even cares. They've seen weirder stuff. So he's pregnant now. Whatever.

Jim's hand is bandaged and his ribs still hurt. I love that they're actually consistent with his injuries. I mean sucks for him but hell yeah for hero that doesn't always win!

Okayyy here comes the heartstone. Why not!

IS HE IN LABOR

So if you kiss an Akiridion 7 times you will have 3-5 babies in a few hours. How are they not overpopulated?? Also Aja couldn't have WARNED STEVE BEFOREHAND?

Eli is so supportive omfg

So uh where are the babies gonna come out of? I'm not into mpreg how does this usually work

OH STEVE THANKS FOR ASKING MY QUESTION

Oh good thing he happens to have 8 friends still alive. Otherwise this would've never worked. Nomura had to die otherwise there would've been 10 of them.

Why is everyone bowing to Jim? Did they rehearse this?

Stuart if you hadn't taken a bathroom break you would've thrown off the math and doomed the world. That was a poop of fate my man

Ahhh the signature quote. Where did Douxie and the Akiridions learn it? Did they rehearse this too? It's really cliché but I do like it tbh

If Strickler were dead we'd see more Barbara right?

WOOO BLINKY DRIVING

Ah Jim just used she/her for Bellroc! Finally we're learning some pronouns. I've been wondering this whole time.

MY VIRGIN EYES. WHAT IS GOING O N

How are they not dying with all this lava?

She really just yeeted Varvatos

Did Claire just tell AAARRRGGHH to jump off the titan and he did it without question

I want to say I like Stuart and want him to have more screentime, but I won't say it because I don't want him to die

Jim's poor ribs

Toby can drive yoooo

Tobyyy you're scaring meeeee

So did they really need the different stone or was the amulet just waiting for Jim to choose death over giving up

I saw the armor before but it looks VERY COOL

Also I didn't mention this before but I love that they cut Merlin's name from the incantation. Good for them.

Toby you lost your helmet noooo

For real tho I'm terrified for Toby rn. I saw a comment somewhere earlier that just said "Toby no" with no context and I am AFRAID

So do Bellroc's eyes work after all? I thought she was blinded back in Wizards in the past.

DID SHE JUST FUCKING STAB MY BOY

TOBY YOU SHOULD NOT BE THERE GET OUT THE TRUCK

Bellroc maybe screaming "i'm powerless" in front of your enemy isn't the best idea

She sploosh

DID JIM SURVIVE THAT FALL AND ALSO IS THE TACO TRUCK OKAY

How is he lifting Claire like that buddy you have bruised ribs and just got stabbed

ELI HI CAN WE SEE THE KIDS

SEVEN KIDS! AND ELI JR I LOVE IT

This show really loves to give people more than the recommended amount of babies with no warning huh

She immediately knows which one is Eli Jr 🥺 okay listen I'm not the biggest fan of comic relief sideplot surprise babies, but I have to admit they're cute. Cute couple. Throuple. Eli is in on this. He even has a Junior.

I TOLD YOU WHERE'S THE DAMN TACO TRUCK NANA WILL NEVER FORGIVE YOU AND NEITHER WILL I

Oh yea he better fuckin be alive I will commit murder

HE BETTER FUCKIN BE ALIVE BITCH

FUCK YOU

THAT'S A WHOLE ASS CHILD HE ISN'T ALLOWED TO DIE IT'S ILLEGAL

JIM IS GONNA LOOK DOWN AT THE GREEN GLOWING BITCH AAARRRGGHH CONVENIENTLY THREW THERE AND SEE HIM ALIVE OR SOMETHING

YEAH USE THE SWORD TO UNDEAD HIM! THAT'S HOW YOU USE SWORDS!

Unbecoming Part 2

So is Jim just gonna Groundhog Day it until everyone is fine? There's only 13 minutes left we're gonna need a bigger movie

Also I screamed so much about everyone's death and now everyone reading this after they already saw the whole thing is gonna shame me for clowning huh

The scene where Blinky is giving his goodbye speech, there are no babies and Steve has a round belly? Did he reabsorb them?? I mean I know Jim is about to un-birth them but he hasn't started yet

JUST HOW FAR BACK IS HE PLANNING TO GO

WAIT HOLD UP EXCUSE ME WHAT

Oh they did NOT just do that. I though he was just gonna go back to like, the start of the movie maybe. Not all the way

Imagine being in your early twenties with as much trauma as this kid has and having to pretend you're 16 again

Somewhere Unkar is complaining because "oh sure NOW it's a good idea"

I know Jim is wondering where Toby is because he was there before. But before, he made an entire meatloaf AND did his homework before leaving the house, so honey maybe wait a minute

For a second I thought Toby wasn't gonna be there and Jim would return to the right time. But there he is!

Alright so they're in school now, did they take the canal and just didn't mention the amulet on screen or did they pass it as if the Unbecoming episode hadn't been that traumatizing? Jim you know what happens when you ignore it

Jim maybe you're being too obvious here lmao

Soooo. Anyway. These whole past years I've rewatched this show over and over and over again are cancelled now?

OKAY AT LEAST WE SAW NANA FOR A SPLIT SECOND THAT'S IRONIC TIMING

So we get the quote again. And Trollhunter Tobias is nice. Cool. Cool AU I mean, but I don't know. I don't knowwww. I've been way too invested in everything to just accept that it never happened?? So uh. Hm. How about this.

Strickler survived because fuck you, and Toby also survived and just has scars now. Maybe a wheelchair but he's fine, also he can use the Warhammer for super speed and make it awesome once he's used to it. Archie and Charlie get freed once they rebuild the bridge (and they were playing scrabble to pass the time). Nomura is still dead because she died on screen and I can't really deny that but she's with Draal so it's okay. Everyone is traumatized but they'll be fine. NotEnrique is still babysitting 500 babies and Steve is about to bring 7 more.

In summary, I reject Groundhog Day ending but everything else was great, as long as it actually happened. It was a good movie. But you can't just cancel years of passion. Having the prospect of a million "canon AUs" sounds great for writing but at the same time nooo you can't do that he didn't have to go back THAT far HHHHH

I liked the movie. It was a great watch and a satisfying end to a franchise, but I gotta say I do not fancy the ending of it so I will from now on be in denial. I honestly feel kind of betrayed that this show was my whole life for so long, I learned every smallest fact, and they basically deleted it from existence. I know what they were going for, I think, but no thank you I will be going with my own opinion. Still gonna rewatch it a few dozen times though ✌🏻

And that concludes my live commentary that was supposed to be a small handful of notes. Feel free to shame me for my opinions. See ya!

#rott spoilers #trollhunters #tales of arcadia #this got a LOT longer than expected #i'd be surprised if anyone actually read the whole thing but oh well #i just. have a LOT of opinions #i started out so optimistic too #mpreg mention #can't believe i have to use that tag on a post about canon

[gavillain]

witch hazel, aurora, neverland mermaids, and magic mirror

Witch Hazel:

First impression - I always thought she was a lot fun and one of my favorite parts of Mickey's House of Villains. Her whole segment is really fun classic Disney Halloween vibes, and I was always here for it.

Impression now - I feel the same way today, and I'm nostalgic for her. I wish Disney had used her more, tbh. She was such a wacky and entertaining character who would have made a great reoccurring character in the Mickey Mouseverse.

Favorite moment - When she's standing over her cauldron calling out ingredients for Huey, Dewey, and Louie to add to the pot and quoting Macbeth. There's just something so fun to me about a witch at her cauldron.

Idea for a story - Witch Hazel comes back next Halloween to make sure Donald isn't being stingy. Donald, wanting to avoid any repeat incidents, tricks her into going after Uncle Scrooge instead. Wacky hijinks with Witch Hazel and Uncle Scrooge ensue as sort of a marrying ground of the Trick or Treat Cartoon and the Mickey's Christmas Carol cartoon. Of course it ends with Donald getting some spooky comeuppance eventually after she gets done with Scrooge.

Unpopular opinion - I don't think there are any truly unpopular opinions to be had. But one opinion I have that I haven't seen anyone else say is that I don't like it when witches have buckles on their hats. It looks too "pilgrim-y" for my tastes, and I think her design would be better without it.

Favorite relationship - Her friendship with Huey, Dewey, and Louie is adorable, and I love how mischievous they all are together.

Favorite headcanon - She herself isn't evil or a villain, but she likes to hang out with villains for fun because they get her sense of mischief better. She and Mad Madam Mim are friends.

Aurora:

First impression - I always liked her and thought she was a beautiful princess, and her movie was always my favorite. She wasn't ever a favorite of mine, but I always liked her.

Impression now - You've actually opened my eyes to how special and great of a character she is. I always knew she was lovely, but you've made her come alive to me like never before! I wasn't ever above a little sneering at her during the era when Disney Princess discourse was a thing, but now I would never even think of looking down on this beautiful character :)

Favorite moment - I love that first scene in the cottage where Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather have to try to get her out of the house so that they can plan her birthday surprise. I love the sly looks that show that she knows that they're planning something, but she still indulges them anyway. It's sweet.

Idea for a story - I love the story idea of Merlin popping in at the good fairies' request to tutor Aurora when she was younger. Him teaching her and helping her to grow into the princess she becomes is just perfect.

Unpopular opinion - She's always in the top tier of Disney princesses. She tends to get some of the most side eye from critics, and I just don't think any of that is worth bunk. She's amazing and everything a Disney Princess should be.

Favorite relationship - Her and Phillip have a beautiful fairytale romance that I absolutely melt for every time. I also love her familial relationship with the Three Good Fairies too!

Favorite headcanon - I'm coming around to being quite fond of the idea that because Maleficent's curse said that she will be "beloved by all who know her," Maleficent actually does have feelings of love towards Aurora, albeit her twisted version of love. I think if they spent any time together after the film, Maleficent couldn't help but develop a fondness for the princess per her own incantation.

Neverland Mermaids:

First impression - I thought they were pretty and well animated, but I never really have give them a whole lot of though, tbh.

Impression now - They're one of the fun fantasy elements that make Neverland feel like such a vibrant and wonderful place.

Favorite moment - The one thing I always remember about them is the one mermaid saying "we were only trying to drown her" so innocently XD

Idea for a story - I feel like there has to be a whole beautiful underwater world in Neverland, and I'd love to see Peter Pan getting some magic that would let him breathe underwater so that they could bring him to their magical world and have an adventure down there to see what other magical creatures live in Neverland's waters.

Unpopular opinion - I don't really have much of an opinion on them tbh.

Favorite relationship - Again, not really anything relationship wise that I can think of.

Favorite headcanon - See my above idea of a beautiful underwater world that they live in.

The Spirit of the Magic Mirror:

First impression - I thought he was so cool and mysterious and such a fun part of the movie and its whole aesthetic. He was one of my favorite characters as a kid, actually.

Impression now - One of my favorite Disney Villain Henchmen. He's got such a spooky and ethereal vibe to him that he tickles my fancy. I also have loved him in the various supplemental Disney materials like the DVD menus and theme park attractions. He's just one of those characters who makes my imagination soar.

Favorite moment - When Grimhilde first summons him from the farthest space and he appears from within flames. There's something so mystical and cool about that whole effect :D

Idea for a story - I like the idea of one day he frees himself from the mirror and regains corporeal form, seeking to get revenge on Grimhilde for imprisoning him. And she must contend with facing him, and possibly having to turn to her enemies for help.

Unpopular opinion - I'm just gonna use this for all the Disney henchmen: he's better and more interesting than Kronk. Would much rather watch him than Kronk's antics any day.

Favorite relationship - I love the idea of him having a romance with Madame Leota from the Haunted Mansion. Two disembodied spirit heads manifesting in enchanted glass objects who can see all. They're practically made for each other!

Favorite headcanon - He is the spirit of Grimhilde's father sealed away inside of a mirror by her after she overcame his abusive hold over her. He's enchanted to obey her every whim now, letting her finally have the power in their relationship.

#Witch Hazel #Princess Aurora #Mermaid Lagoon #Magic Mirror #Disney

[ecoamerica]

Watch the American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 now: https://youtu.be/bWiW4Rp8vF0?feature=shared

The American Climate Leadership Awards 2024 broadcast recording is now available on ecoAmerica's YouTube channel for viewers to be inspired by active climate leaders. Watch to find out which finalist received the $50,000 grand prize! Hosted by Vanessa Hauc and featuring Bill McKibben and Katharine Hayhoe!

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[chronicallylatetotheparty]

Watching (the Adventures of) Merlin season one on Netflix

Episode One: The Dragon's Call

. . . I feel like going to the capital of the kingdom indiscriminately slaughtering magic users wasn't the best idea.

Why? Well, that guy did just get executed.

And now his mom is mad. You tell that sorry excuse for a king, witch lady.

I don't like Uther, in case it was unclear.

Wait... if you could teleport why not just grab your son and ditch before he loses his head? Literally.

Oh, wow. Arthur is a dick.

Morgana. We have no choice but to stan tbh.

Dragon, you're really rubbing me the wrong way.

That's right Merlin! We need more than Because Destiny Says So!

Where did the spiderwebs come from? That sleeping spell gives me Sleeping Beauty vibes.

Ah, yes. The old drop-the- chandelier-on-the-villain trick. :(

If she went after Uther instead of Arthur I would have no complaints.

Manservant? You call that a reward for saving your son?

Episode Two: Valiant

Snake!Shield

Oh, he's gonna- Yup, dead. That's what happens when you deal with knights who cheat.

Where did that guy even get a magic shield in the first place?

Is there a thriving magic black market or something?

I love Guin.

. . . I feel like Sir Valiant didn't think this through. If bite marks are visible.

Ugh, you're the worst Uther.

It's only the second episode! Did you forget who saved your son already?

Stop being a jerk Arthur.

Lol. Merlin bringing a dog statue to life in order to practice for the Snake!Shield.

Bye Valiant!

Episode Three: The Mark of Nimueh

Whatcha up to with that egg, new witch lady?

You gonna poison the water of all of Camelot? Seems like a jerk move.

Dang that's a lot of dead bodies...

No, I like Guin's dad!

Yes! Cure him Merlin!

No! Stop arresting Guin, Uther!

You tell him, Morgana!

That plague monster that hatched from witch lady's egg is creepy.

Dead monster!

Arthur is kinda oblivious to Merlin's magic ngl.

Yay! Guin's free!

What do you know about witch lady Nimueh, Uther? Hmm? Why she want you dead? Besides the obvious reasons.

Episode Four: The Poisoned Chalice

Wow, Nimueh really doesn't like Merlin saving the day.

Wow, Nimueh really orchestrated an entire diplomatic incident in order to kill Merlin while also ensuring Camelot is destroyed by its neighbor. Impressive.

I really like Merlin and Guin's friendship.

Dang. Merlin really drank poison in order to save Arthur.

Merlin saved Arthur's life, Uther! Let him return the favor!

Oh, wow. Arthur really disobeyed his father in order to save Merlin's life.

I didn't know Merlin could cast spells while deathly delirious. And several miles away from him too.

Uther you b****! The antidote is right there! Let Arthur save his friend!

Putting your own son in a cell is such a jerk move.

At least Arthur and Guin manage to sneak the antidote to Merlin.

Quick aside: Internet spoilers say Uther needs to die for Arthur to complete his himbofication- I mean character development. So, if you could get on with that? Thanks!

Episode Five: Lancelot

Wow, that's a very CGI griffin.

Lancelot is so precious- Uh, I mean effective! Saving Merlin and all.

I know, Guin. I know.

Always thought it was a stupid rule to only let nobles be knights.

You're really going to commit magical forgery for someone you just met, Merlin?

I mean, Lancelot is earnest, hardworking, modest, kind despite his tragic backstory and it's his childhood dream to be a knight...

Yeah, I'd commit magical forgery too.

Lol, knocked you on your ass didn't he Arthur? (The second time at least)

I don't remember griffins being man-eaters!

Uther stop arresting people! Ugh, you're such a classist.

Let Lancelot help fight the griffin, Arthur! You need all the help you can get!

Well okay letting him go was nice of you.

Lancelot-Merlin tag team!

Wow. Lancelot really strode in with Camelot's singular braincell by figuring out Merlin has magic.

(The bar is low, okay.)

No, don't take away the braincell! Stay! The griffin was a team effort!

Okay, Lancelot's lawful good tendencies are a little annoying but, hey, nobody's perfect.

Episode Six: A Remedy to Cure All Ills

Edwin, no. Leave Morgana alone.

Oh, beetles! Curse beetles! That's not creepy at all.

Gaius how do you know Edwin?

What diabolical plot are you hatching Edwin? Oh, you're replacing Gaius in the royal court. That's kinda rude.

Merlin's so happy meeting another magic user that isn't trying to kill him (yet).

Le gasp! Uther's purge killed Edwin's parents? WhO cOuLd HaVe fOreSeEn tHis!?

But seriously. No wonder Edwin wants Uther dead.

I know Edwin blackmailed Gaius with exposing Merlin but he also wants to kill Uther!

That gives him a pass in my book.

Gaius no. Let Uther die.

Edwin stop trying to kill Gaius! You're going to-

Yup, here comes Merlin and-

Edwin's dead :(

Well he was trying to overthrow the kingdom. That's... bad... I guess.

Episode Seven: The Gates of Avalon

That title is misleading. It's more of a natural portal/magic lake type thing.

Arthur saves a father and daughter from bandits (Which they hired but shhh)

And they immediately try to put a love spell on Arthur

For human sacrifice purposes of course

Idk why the Sidhe want a human prince's soul -look at him, you don't know where he's been- but that's the price for readmission

I wonder how the dad killed one of his own kind? Was it an accident or...?

Exiling the daughter too makes me suspicious of Avalon's justice system

Evil laugh is a bit out of place for someone who is trying to restore his daughter's immortality

(They are so whiny about being mortal. Hey, we put up with it all the time!)

The fairy-like Sidhe moving in accelerated time so they just look like tiny orbs of light was an interesting touch. The blue faces and razor sharp teeth is not a good look for them, lol

They make Arthur ask to be married ('cause it takes a while for the love spell to go into full blown mind control or something)

Prompting Uther to threaten to kill both of them

(I feel like they didn't think this through)

Morgana admonishes Uther for being the worst

He replies that first love rarely lasts and that Arthur is inexperienced in such things. Plus that Arthur only met the girl yesterday

... I can't believe Uther is the voice of reason this episode

He doesn't get any points though. Due to the whole "threatening to execution his son's 'crush' " thing

The daughter is having second thoughts about using Arthur as a human sacrifice

Dear old dad puts those to rest and they try drowning Arthur in the lake that is/is the portal to, Avalon

Merlin's really leaning into the whole "Cool motive. Still murder.", thing huh?

Like, he did NOT hesitate to blow up both of them

Episode Eight: The Beginning of the End

Why do magic users keep going to Camelot!? The king is trying to KILL YOU!

Wow, this grown ass man is threatened by a literal child... I hate Uther so much

Morgana is the MVP of this episode. I love her

Protect that druid kid!

I feel like you're being paranoid Uther

You tell him Morgana!

Dragon, no. Stop prophesying death and destruction.

Wow, this grown ass dragon is threatened by a literal child...

Aaaand Morgana got caught sneaking the kid out of the city :(

Uther she is your adopted daughter! Stop putting people in cells!

Arthur is gonna sneak him out now?

While Morgana distracts the king?

Yes, excellent. What could possibly-

Merlin stop listening to that destiny dragon! Hearing his voice in your head is no basis for trust!

Cutting it close... Yay! They made it!

Mordred!? MORDRED!?

THAT little boy is Mordred!?

... Okay, I'm more inclined to believe the destiny dragon now

Still think letting him die would be a dick move

Episode Nine: Excalibur

What're you up to with that tomb Nimueh?

Oh! It's some kind of undead knight. Yes.

Throwing down the gauntlet. Pfft! Always thought that was a stupid idea.

Also: that Black Knight literally crashed your party!

Ugh, knights.

Nimueh if you can just teleport into the heart of Camelot while Uther is alone why don't you just stab him? Grab one of those pointy things he likes so much and stab him in the back. Easy peasy!

Stealing this joke but Don't do evil magic kids. It fries your brain cells.

Wait, the Black Knight is Uther's brother-in-law!?

Arthur's mother died in childbirth!?

Uther asked Nimueh to use her magic so he could have Arthur!?

Equivalent Exchange!?

Uther went on a genocidal rampage because he didn't bother with the instruction manual of ancient and powerful magic!?

Actually, that last one is not surprising at all.

I can't believe they're using the Wife in the Fridge trope. That appliance hasn't even been invented yet!

Ooh, Merlin's going to use his magic to destroy the Black Knight so Arthur doesn't have to fight him

As he's killed two knights already

Aaaaand, yup, he's still there. His cloak didn't even catch fire...

Arthur stop being a bastard. It doesn't suit you

Dragon forged sword! DRAGON FORGED SWORD!

Only Arthur can wield it. Yup, got it. How could this possibly go wrong?

Uther drugged Arthur and took his place in the fight... I have mixed feelings about this.

Wait, the dragon was very specific about only Arthur using that super special sword! Oh, snap.

Well at least the Black Knight is dead. Again.

Oh, dragon is not happy.

I know the dragon said "where no mortal soul could find it" but are you sure you wanna throw it into Avalon, Merlin?

Those people were gonna suck Arthur's soul out of his body

Episode Ten: The Moment of Truth

The way this episode title just lies to your face like that...

Oh, you're Merlin's mother! Thought we had an anime protagonists type thing going on

I... would like to say Uther is being unreasonable when he decides not to cross borders to get rid of some bandits. But I can totally see everyone hating him so that's a no go.

Lady, you were in a whole different kingdom. Why for the love of Merlin did you send him to Camelot!?

We're off to save the village! Morgana and Guin are coming too!

A wild Arthur appears!

Morgana better at swordplay than Arthur confirmed!

Merlin! I didn't know you had friends!

Granted he's a bit rough around the edges but

Okay. If it were literally anyone else besides Arthur. I'd say he was right about lords and knights being useless snobs.

Actually. He's right about lords and knights being useless snobs. Ah, that felt great.

Wow, the homosexual subtext is strong with this one.

The girls can tell Arthur came for Merlin.

But get your foot out of his face! I don't care how royal it is!

Look at Guin over here calling out Arthur for being a dick

And talking him into letting the women fight. She's on a roll

Aw, Merlin's friend died. :(

And he took credit for Merlin's tornado (so Arthur wouldn't find out about Merlin's magic)

Episode Eleven: The Labyrinth of Gedref

Lol, that unicorn could use a haircut.

No, Arthur. I said a haircut not an arrow to the chest!

Bad things? What kind of bad things Gaius?

Uther what's the point of having an expert in magical lore if you're not going to listen to him!

And all the crops are dead. Fantastic.

I know it's a magic thing but stating outright that the blight only targets edible plants is still really unsettling.

And the water's turned to sand. Great.

Who're you and how come Merlin is the only magic user that can't teleport?

What kind of tests mister Keeper of the Unicorns, sir?

Arthur I know you don't want to believe it's your fault... But it's totally your fault.

Uther no. People are starving.

You tell him Arthur.

Oh, the "theif" was a test!

Aaaaand he failed the second one. :(

Merlin's got a lot of faith in Arthur.

It's interesting how the Keeper can only direct the curse caused by the unicorn's death. Or rather the trials surrounding the curse, but can't break it himself.

Unicorns have some powerful magic.

The Labyrinth was barely on screen for five minutes! Surely something with Unicorn in the title would be more appropriate?

Arthur drinking a poisoned cup so Merlin could live?

That's some strong parallels right there.

The Keeper of the Unicorns is such a troll! Sleeping potion, hah!

The day is saved, Arthur lies to Uther's face about killing the Keeper and the unicorn resurrects itself.

Still needs a haircut though.

Episode Twelve: To Kill the King

Whatcha up to Guin's dad?

Oh that guy isn't suspicious at all.

You didn't think it was shady when he asked to meet in the middle of the night!?

Philosopher's Stone!?

Wow, the guards found him quickly.

What- No! Don't arrest Guin's dad!

Uther, he's a blacksmith! Stop being paranoid!

Will you stop executing people!? That inn keeper didn't know that guy was a dangerous sorcerer!

No, nononononono! He surrendered! Why did you do that!? Guin's father was important to Morgana!

That's why she gave him the key!

Dragon has his priorities straight.

Shut up, Merlin. You literally blew up a father and daughter for trying to kill one(1) person. (No really, you could see their hands flying off.)

Morgana deserves a little murder. As a treat.

Yes! Get him! Kill the bastard!

No! Why would you make GUIN say that!? Who are you and what have you done with Guin!?🔪🔪

UGH, he literally committed genocide!

The "that would make me as bad as he is" DOES NOT APPLY!

What- Oh, he still has the fairy's staff.

No. Stop it! Let Uther die!

Oh, God, Uther is such an abusive piece of GARBAGE!

Stop! Don't fall for it Morgana!

*sees dagger being pushed closer to Uther's "heart"* Yes! Yes! YES!

*Morgana saves him* NO!

NO!

NOOOOOO!

*inarticulate ranting in the background*

Episode Thirteen:

Okay, the cgi might be getting a little better 'cause the Questing Beast is freaky

Old religion? What is that? And how come it's conveniently absent from the previous episodes?

Dang, they really here just casually gaslighting Morgana like that 😡

Merlin you know Morgana has visions! You couldn't have been a little more careful? She warned you. Now look at Arthur, he's got the heroic death disease

Granted that thing does seem like a handful

Why do you only act like a father when it's a matter of life and death? Why can't you be a father literally any other time!?

"The old religion is the magic of the Earth itself."

Well that sounds fascinating, dragon. Are you going to elaborate? No? Later then?

Soooooo, is the old religion actually a religion or is it a magic? It's really unclear...

"You will be a better king than your father could ever hope to be." Guin, you're back!

I expected a place called the Isle of the Blessed to be less... creepy

Nimueh! Whatcha up to girl? Plotting the demise of a kingdom? Not today it seems

Oh there some Equivalent Exchange type nonsense going on is there?

Arthur you were supposed to be in a coma not listening to Guin!

Oh. Oh, no.

Merlin saying goodbye as he prepares to trade his life for his mother's is 😢😭

Wow, that dragon really knew Nimueh would give Merlin's mother the curse and didn't say anything. The little b*****!

No wonder Merlin's mad at him. Stop breathing fire at him! It's your own fault!

Gaius, no! Not the dead mentor trope!

"You stood by and watched as our friends died." Damn, Nimueh isn't pulling her punches.

Merlin vs Nimueh! Ready? Fight!

Anime protagonist power up! Dang, Nimueh's dead... I feel like that wasn't supposed to happen.

At least no one else is dying. Since Nimueh's death appeased the Equivalent Exchange laws of the old religion.

#bbc merlin #bbc arthur #bbc uther #bbc morgana #bbc's merlin

[writesowhatnext]

war… what is it good for? // sirius black

Summary: Slytherin!reader puts Sirius in a tailspin - the brink of war isn’t the best timing (based on this – i.e. my favourite thing ever)

Request: just my heart tbh

A/N: I love love love Slytherin!reader x Sirius like it just.... boy especially bc go to Slytherin!reader anthem is ‘you should see me in a crown’ - billie eilish

Reader: female, Slytherin, pureblood

Warnings: none.. I think?

Sirius Black hadn’t thought about you in years.

The last, and only, other interaction you’d had with him had been when you were eight years-old at a Black family party. Almost ten years-ago now. He’d liked you then, actually. He’d noticed the way you’d muffled your laughter into your pumpkin juice when his aunt Druella sat on one of the mini quiches he may-or-may-not have placed there. He’d also noticed your perfectly confused expression when his Mother had asked you whether you’d seen her son.

“Which one?” You’d asked, knowing full well he was hidden under the table behind you.

“Sirius.” His Mother had answered, polite but agitated.

“Oh no,” you’d replied, only eight years-old and already a brilliant liar. “I haven’t seen him today.”

He’d always remembered the way he’d caught your eye later that night. He was crawling out from under the table and you were now across the room, stood next to your Father like the perfect pure-blood princess. You’d winked at him just as his Mother spotted him across the room.

The last time he’d thought of that moment was at the sorting ceremony. He’d been disappointed when you were placed in Slytherin. Unsurprised, though, he supposed. Even when he’d seen you in the corridors, he barely thought of you as anything but another uptight, pure-blood Slytherin; a death-eater in waiting. Especially after he ran away in fourth-year, he wanted nothing more to do with anything or anyone that reminded him of the family he so hated.

You were the last person he expected to see when running away from the Slytherin dungeon hours after curfew. He could hear his heartbeat in his ears and made no attempt to hide the smile on his face. They’d all split up after the fireworks went off, already waking up half the castle; he had to go the long way but Sirius was sure he’d lost Filch a few minutes ago. He was still running, excited to get back to their dorm and recount the night. They hadn’t pulled a prank like that in a while; it didn’t seem right with a war brewing. But, Merlin, Sirius just couldn’t wipe the grin from his lips. That was until he was shoved rather harshly into an empty wall around the corner from the Fat Lady’s portrait. The sound of the breath leaving him echoed down the corridor. Half expecting to see Filch’s ugly sneer and that buggering cat, he was beyond startled to see you, your wand pointed as his neck. You rolled your eyes at his bewildered expression.

“What the-“

“Listen,” you said softly, inching closer to him and gripping his robes in your hand tighter as you pushed him further into the wall, your wand further into his throat. “You’re part of the Order, yes?”

“What?”

Sirius was still getting to grips with the situation; mentally and physically winded. He watched the way you huffed, frowning at your exasperation.

“The Order of the Phoenix.” You insisted, letting go of his robe but not daring to move your wand. Your patience was wearing thin as it was. “Are you part of it?”

“What do you care, Slytherin?” he sneered, remembering himself, remembering who you were and where you’d both come from. Where you still were. Your frown hardened at his words; he felt your wand under his jaw.

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

Without looking away from his face, you pulled a piece of tatty parchment from your robe, holding it between two fingers.

“This is a list of every Slytherin intending to get the dark mark.”

Sirius opened his mouth. No words came out. He didn’t know what to say; the thought of it made him feel sick. You ignored his silence. You understood it. Your only response: pressing the paper into his palm. He looked down as his hand curled around it. His eyes followed your fingers up to your face. He frowned. He opened his mouth, so many questions dancing on his tongue. Shouting echoed from down the corridor, a soft meowing following the sound of footsteps. Sirius’ eyebrows shot into his hairline, panicking slightly. But then he saw your dry look; a raised eyebrow. Were you amused?

“’S your doing, I suppose.”

It wasn’t question.

Before Sirius could respond, you had disappeared in the opposite direction. He stood for a moment, feeling the soft paper in his hand as if it were the most important thing in the world. Then, he looked down and say Mrs. Norris, her angry eyes punctuated by odd footsteps. Sirius’ eyes widened before he sprinted to the Fat Lady’s portrait, hissing the password and clambering into the common room. When he reached the dorm, he slammed the door behind him, leaning back on it. James lay on the floor, laughing with Remus who had his legs crossed on his bed. Peter was in the corner, changing.

“Pads?” James asked, frowning at his friend’s face.

“You won’t believe what just happened.”

He was right, actually. Being right was no victory given the situation. They spent the night talking about the list, the Order, you. Even the sunrise didn’t stop them. Peter had fallen asleep on the floor just after 2am but Remus, James and Sirius had never faltered.

“Why give you the list?” James mused. “You don’t know each other, do you? Some old pureblood elitist family thing?”

“Last time we talked we were eight, Prongs.”

As they dressed for breakfast, Remus noticed Sirius’ faraway look.

“Regulus wasn’t on there.” He said softly, tightening his tie scruffily. Sirius only exhaled.

“That’s good, right?” Peter added, hope written all over his face.

“He’s not gone dark.” James watched his best friend warily.

“Not yet.” Sirius sighed, running his hands through his hair.

They left to get breakfast in silence.

It wasn’t until they were met with the glares of a few dozen Slytherins that they remembered their prank. Sirius didn’t care, though. He was focused on only one Slytherin. He hadn’t said anything since they’d got to the Great Hall, ignoring James’ flirting with Lily and Remus and Peter’s in-depth discussion of whether Peter could write two metres of parchment in an hour. You were talking to your friends. Well, your friends were talking; you didn’t seem to be paying that much attention either. It was when your friend let out a shriek of laughter that echoed around the room when he finally snapped. By the time he got to the Hufflepuff table, people started to pay attention to Sirius Black striding over to Slytherin, of all tables.

You didn’t seem surprised to see him at all. Maybe that was just in comparison to your friends’ shock-horror reactions when he demanded they get lost. The entire Great Hall was watching you now. Sirius was dishevelled. He clearly hadn’t slept. The bags under his eyes were almost as dramatic as the frantic look in his eyes. Neither of you spoke first but the Slytherins around you were eagerly waiting. It must’ve been a few minutes of silence now, the whole room quiet. You put your toast down, sucking butter from the pad of your thumb.

“Hello, Black.”

It was at that point, your eyes staring into his dangerously, that Sirius realised he had no plan. How very Gryffindor of him. You looked unfazed but he could see the way you were staring at him, somewhere between daring him and begging him not to say anything.

“Can I help you?” You folded your arms and tilted your head mockingly. “Or did you want some toast?”

A wave of snickers filtered through the room. Sirius didn’t care. Confused and frustrated, he stood up, hands flat on the table. And then he fled. You returned to your breakfast, indifferent to the whispers erupting around you.

Sirius had been out of it all day: he’d knocked over his cauldron in Potions (too busy staring in your general direction), went to Divination twice (he was sure his next class was with the Slytherins) and he’d managed to turn his goblet in Transfiguration into a snake, not the cookery book required. He was relieved when the end of Potions came and he was free to go to bed and ignore the wreckage of the day. Fate had better ideas, though. Once again caught off guard, he was pulled into a broom closet, the door slammed shut behind him and an angry Slytherin glaring at him.

“If you ever pull anything like that again, I will kill you.”

“Oh, did I threaten your precious pureblood reputation?”

He didn’t mean what he said, not really. But he put all the venom he could into his words, moody and desperate.

“Do you think that He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named gave me that list himself?” You asked, eyes alight and voice sharp. “That I asked him for a member’s list and he just owled one right over?”

He leant back against the door to the closet.

“Foolish.” You muttered under your breath, reaching for the door handle past Sirius. He couldn’t tell who you were talking about. Regardless, he held the door shut. When you looked at him, you saw the hard edges and the grey skies; the face of a Black.

“What about Regulus?”

“What about him?”

“He’s my brother.”

You blinked. “I know that.”

“He’s not on the list.”

“And?”

“So, he’s not a- not a Death Eater?” The way he gulped gave away how much he actually cared.

“Black-“

“Please.” His voice broke slightly. You screwed your eyes shut and huffed.

“Black, we are not friends. You and me? We’re not anything. I don’t like you. You made my life difficult this morning. I don’t need that. I gave you the list; now we’re even. Let me out.”

He knew he wouldn’t win this one. He let go, leaning against the wall rather than the door. As you opened the door, he frowned, stopping it with his foot. The look you shot him was nothing short of murderous.

“Even? What have I done for you?”

You let out a short, humourless laugh, letting the door close slightly. You looked down, rolling your eyes at the memory.

“In 3rd year, our parents were arranging our engagement. The plans fell through in 4th year. Walburga-“ he flinched at her name. “Wouldn’t say why. I saw you getting on the train with Potter’s parents the next year, though. It’s not hard to connect those dots.”

He didn’t say anything as you left; you didn’t spare him a second glance. He just stood there, musing on that this was the second time in as many days you’d left him speechless with his back against a wall.

#Sirius Black imagine #sirius black x reader #Harry Potter imagine #harry potter #marauders #marauders imagine #imagine #writing #sirius black

[percyjacksonfan3]

For the salty asks: numbers one, five, six, and twenty through twenty-three please 😇

I live for the chaos so pls just... go off my dude

Ah Tay, reason #187893467 that I love you is that you indulge me in my rants <3

Salty asks are from this post!

K this got LONG so here's a read more!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?

Honestly even though I don't multi-ship often I DO usually get the appeal behind ships so this is a really short list. This will probably get me some hate but I still to this day can't get behind c/ex@ from the show that will not be named. But then again I do get the appeal of two super attractive women with chemistry and the whole ruler/ girl who makes the ruler change their ways thing. So I guess I get it even if I don't like it?

Also, and this is not to hate on Hinny, but Harry and Ginny from HP are not my cup of tea. I like what fandom has done for them but the actual content we get for them in the books (and movies, but I prefer the books) isn't enough for me to love them. Same with Mal and Alina from S & B/ Grishaverse, they're so bland to me in the books but the show is doing far better with them and actually making Mal ya know. Likeable. Again, I don't ship it, but best friends to lovers is top tier so I get it.

Oh! I also don't really get Dwalin/Ori from The Hobbit, but that is probably in large part because I'm a Dwalin/Nori shipper. Again though, all of the secondary characters' relationships in The Hobbit rely on fans to extrapolate HARD and wear extreme shipper goggles, and ik there's that scene where Dwalin helps Ori out of the river so like.. maybe that's where it's from? I don't hate it or anything but it's always something that's made me go ??? cause I have no idea where the heck it came from.

Apart from that... I can't think of any rn? I feel like I understand where all the PJO ships come from, even if I don't ship them. There are a couple that I don't understand how they can be someone's OTP, just because I find them super boring (no offense to those who ship C@leo or J@siper but I just don't love how Rick handled those relationships). In TSC I think fandom mainly vibes with the same pairings and that's true for most of my book fandoms. With the shows I watch I don't think fans majorly ship anything too out there for me. Maybe I don't interact enough with fandoms to tell. So this is all I got.

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?

Oh my god, oh my god, this is a can of worms, my lord. A pairing I'm not so sure about, but characters? Abso-fucking-lutely. I took a break from PJO fandom for exactly that reason and the list of characters is endless honestly, for multiple fandoms.

I won't say fandom ruined Bell@rke for me cause I still ship it, but I definitely lost enthusiasm with how toxic the shows fandom was and then that was made even worse when the show completely destroyed itself with the worst writing and plots ever in the latter seasons.

Also I have a feeling that G@me of Thrones/ @soiaf ruined one for me but I can't remember this very second. Maybe not, and again that's probably cause I don't interact with fandoms en masse, usually just through fic and following a few people I vibe with in each.

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?

Yes, quite a few! I used to dislike Drarry (for obvious reasons I feel) and Romione (as a kid I wanted Hermione to be with Harry and even when I grew out of that I really didn't like she was with Ron) but fandom changed that for sure. And same with Darklina now, I was upset cause I felt like the books really underutilized their relationship and fell short of what could have been a super awesome pairing if better explored, but the show fandom is taking it in so many different ways that I'm starting to really love them despite the reasons I shouldn't.

And I won't say I hated Hayffie in THG, but definitely the only reason I ship them is from reading @ellanainthetardis's fic Have a Drink Sweetheart and then all the others written for them. That portrayal of Hayffie and the characters have become my own headcanons now because I've been reading them for so long and they're so good.

Fandom made me ship Leon and Morgana from Merlin too, though that's very lowkey. I never hated them, I just never thought of them as a pairing until reading fic.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

Percabeth. I don't care which fandom, it's Percabeth. Growing up together, going from enemies to friends to best friends to lovers? The establishment of them being best friends and the way Rick wrote that friendship was so pure, and they are a couple with no internal problems, all external, and you just know they're gonna be together through everything, fighting at each other's side, cause that's the way they are. There's a reason they're my OTP and it's cause they are the most well-established, ride or die couple I can think of. They're just so solid.

21. What are your thoughts on crack ships?

Love em for fandom but personally I very rarely get behind crackships just because I usually need a lot of build up, scenes, good dialogue and chemistry, etc. to ship something, so most of my ships aren't crack ships. The only one I can really think of that I actively root for and ship and would read fic for is Billy/ Owen from 911 Lonestar which is just... something.

Like idk if Barduil from The Hobbit is crack because ik it's quite popular... what makes a ship a crack ship anyway? Lack of canon reference? Is it cause they two characters would be so random together because they barely ever interact? Or because it's SO unrealistic you know for sure it will never happen but want it to anyway? Or is it lack of popularity in fandom? I need someone to define this so I have a better answer :D if it's the second option then I have MANY

I love seeing fandom stuff for crack ships though, cause seriously, it's fiction, ship who you want. If you ship two characters just cause you think they're pretty side by side then that's enough for me. Make all of the fan art and fic you like.

22. Popular character you hate?

Oof. Jason from HOO. And Leo in everything after The Lost Hero. I hated Piper in The Lost Hero and Mark of Athena but like her after those. I don't like any of the book characters from S & B except Nikolai, but I like everyone in the show (except David? Why did they make him so weird? Like he's not even awkward, he's straight up rude imo, but anyway). In @soiaf I don't like Jon Snow, I think he's boring. And I despise Jorah Mormont cause I think he's creepy for having a crush on Dany.

Didn't love Stefan in TVD, too much of a goody-two-shoes. I liked dark Stefan but it felt like a totally different character. Honestly most of the characters I don't like cause they're boring or too by-the-book.

OH! A big one in M@rvel is Captain America. Can't stand him honestly, I like him as a character to have in the story, but I like never agree with him on anything. I like a couple of his one-liners but that's it really. I also don't like Gale in THG, idk if that's controversial. Or Lex@ from the show that will not be named because I think she's manipulative and not good for any of the characters i DO love.

Is Ron popular? I think so. I like fandom Ron but not canon Ron and idk why. I think I'm growing out of it but I read those books when I was like 7 initially so I thought it was awful of Ron to stop being friends with Harry because he was jealous and I never really got over that.

There are so many but I'm gonna stop now.

23. Unpopular character you love?

Again, tons. I love anyone whose got kind of a tortured backstory because it makes them more interesting to me.

I love Movieverse Hawkeye! I think Clint is great and while I wish his deafness was canon in Marvel and I don't love J Remmer, I do love Hawkeye a lot. He was honestly one of the only Marvel characters that felt consistent and in-character throughout the movies.

I like President Snow from THG just cause I think he was a fantastic villain. And Effie and Haymitch aren't unpopular, but they're probably my favourites, again because of the fics mentioned above.

Leon from Merlin!! I don't actually think he's unpopular, but he's like... my fourth favourite character in the show which I know IS considered high for most people.

Sandor Clegane from ASOIAF. Not the show, just the books. His book character is phenomenal and I am so excited for GrrM to finish the goddamn series so I know what happens to him.

The Stolls and Katie Gardner from PJO cause fandom created Tratie and sucked me in at a young age.

Bellatrix Lestrange? Is she unpopular? I don't think so but she's another one I think is a fantastic villain. I'm almost more interested in her than Voldemort tbh.

That's probably it!

Thanks so much for the ask Tay, this was tons of fun! Anyone else who's interested can feel free to fill my inbox!

#taylor tag #ask games #look it's me! #now I'm just thinking of all the ships I hate and want to go off #i won't #but tay maybe you've awakened something in me that you will feel the brunt of later

[oohlook-thevoid]

Ranking Rating the Merlin ships

I’m bored and procrastinating doing more productive things plus I was already doing this in my head so I guess I’ll share and you can all tell me how wrong I am or whatever,,, jk please don't. Also to note these may not be all ships, they’re just ones I have seen on past perusals of ao3 or on here basically. 

Merthur

7/10 - this is like the main ship of the fandom and I get it, y’know they almost died for each other several times and so on but like, canonically, it really is not the best ship. Like, we’ve got to admit these two did not have the healthiest relationship - Merlin was basically obsessed with saving Arthur because of the prophecy and did so at the expense of helping magic eventually and then Arthur was just kind of a dick sometimes because he’s emotionally repressed and all that. But I mean it does still have a lot going for it, mainly the mass of great fics that make it all a bit more even and healthier, so it gets a 7. 

Arwen

7/10 - even though this is one of the only canon ships, I feel it’s a bit underappreciated in a way because of the merthur love out there. Anyway, arwen is an equally good ship and Arthur and Gwen were just really cute together; when I was watching s5 most of the scenes they were in (Edit: I’ve just remembered I specifically mean the scene when they’re de-mind-controlling Gwen at that lake cauldron thing or whatever, they were very cute there), I was just like they’re a really good couple, they work. I mean there are certainly downfalls which is largely the writing and treatment of Gwen in those later seasons but overall they really were a good couple who deserve better.

Merlance

9999999999/10 - PERFECTION. Like, Lancelot knew about Merlin’s magic and still cared about him greatly and this was the one relationship in which Merlin could be entirely honest and himself and Lancelot was just so so good about it. And also when Lancelot said “I look at you and wonder about myself, would I ever knowingly give my life for something.” and Merlin said “You have to have a reason. Something you care about. Something that’s more important than anything.” and then Lancelot sacrificed himself being the only one who knew Merlin was going to thus giving his life for Merlin. Just these were two amazing dudes who deserved better and by better I mean each other because they were in love your honour. 

Merwaine

10/10 - I mean come on first of all “help a friend” “Arthur’s lucky to have us” “not Arthur” like, Merlin understand that this beautiful chaotic man loves you. Like it is undeniable that Gwaine is brought into this all because of the fact he cares about Merlin, like that’s what brings him into all this. In fact it’s so undeniable that even when I’m reading merthur fics there’s a magic reveal and Arthur’s all like “begone foul demon” waving his sword about all threatening like whilst Gwaine is there like “wow I don’t give a shit because it’s Merlin and I love him end of discussion”. And sometimes it’s even like Arthur attacks Merlin and Gwaine stops him which like,,,,,, it is very clear that we can all see Gwaine is a fucking perfect man for Merlin and someone just needs to tell the dipstick warlock this so they can date. 

Perelyan

5/10 - tbh this could probably be higher but my awareness of Percival and Elyan is shamefully minimal. Like I’ve seen the show, they were there but I can’t say I remember that much. Still, from what  I do recall, they seem to have a good friendship going on so y’know if they ended up in a relationship I wouldn’t be opposed. Could be nice.

Perelyaine

6/10 - basically same as above but Gwaine’s here too now so I have to give an extra point.

Perwaine

6/10 - I mean the scene in Diamond of the Day where Morgana’s torturing Gwaine and he screams and then Percival just fucking hulks out from where he’s tied up and breaks free to get to Gwaine like,,,,, get you a man who can do that. 

Mergana

0/10 - Morgana is a lesbian. Thank you for coming to my TED talk. 

Merdred

-2/10 - I just simply do not vibe with this ship in the slightest. I mean firstly there’s the matter of Merlin just hating Mordred (wrongfully so imo but still). And then just, Merlin was like basically adult and Mordred was small child the first time they met so like I just can’t say I vibe with it. Mordred is the child of the group and he shouldn’t be dating anyone, that’s it basically. 

Freylin

6/10 - I can almost guarantee they’d score higher if someone had been allowed to live longer but alas the writer’s ain’t shit. They are the peak of deserved better though.

Morgwen

9/10 -  ah recall the earlier seasons when these two where just in love and everything was incredible. “Something to cheer you up, I know you’re not sleeping well” “You cheer me up.” That’s love bitch. Anyway these two could have had it all as shown by every early season interaction the had but no once again the writers had to fuck it up. So anyway thanks to them a point has had to be deducted off of perfection because it isn’t cool to torture and brainwash Gwen in the dark tower Morgana (also because of that stupid queen jealousy shit where Morgana was like Gwen can’t be on the throne like can it girl we know you you used to want to share that throne with her).  

Gwencelot

5/10 - I think what they had was sweet but I also think that, at the end of the day, they both at other people out there who they work better with than with each other. Still, I love them both and if they wanted to be happy together then I’m rooting for them. 

Mergwen

3/10 - but only if we’re talking romantically. Platonically their friendship is like  ∞/10. They deserved more screen-time together in later seasons but regardless earlier seasons tell us that their friendship is unmatched and I can live with that.

Merlin x Gwen x Arthur

8/10 - I don’t know the actual ship name for this but I know I’ve see it somewhere. Anyway, fuck love triangles, polyamory saves lives. (this sentiment can also go for any other love triangle or even love square on this show that you can think of)

Leon x anyone

-7/10 - yes, this isn’t a real specific ship. yes, I’m aware of that fact. But I had to say, given I’ve seen various ships with Leon, that overall no. Leon is long-suffering and tired of everyone’s bullshit. If Leon is going to date someone, it will be someone nice and sensible who he deserves and who doesn’t add to the chaos going on around him. 

On that note, I’m done, you’re welcome. 

#merthur #arwen #merlance #merwaine #perelyan #perelyaine #perwaine #mergana #merdred #freylin #morgwen #gwencelot #mergwen #merlin bbc

[learnednothing]

wow! so i don’t know if i’ve ever done one of these — but there’s a first time for everything! it’s 4 am and i can’t sleep, and i just discovered i breeched another milestone! so i figured i’d whip up a quick one of these! if i forgot you — i’m so sorry sdgskdgk. the bottom two lists are alphabetized (mostly. rip my abc-ing in the middle of the night lsdgdsg). i may be editing this later in the day when my brain isn’t so foggy but HERE WE GO. ♡

❛  I LITERALLY WOULD NOT BE HERE WITHOUT YOU !   ❜

@suspectedalways​  /   gobs  .  .  .  i had to write this last, despite you being at the top of the list because tbh, i have no clue where to start. our friendship means the world to me. you came into my life when i needed you most, and you never stop validating and supporting me through whatever i need. murfoy is so special to me, but it has less to do with draco and more to do with just... your portrayal of him and the your whole existence. you are irreplaceable. you took me by storm and i just. ugh. i just love you so fucking much. our phone calls, our little lamps, our craaaazy similarities. you’re my soulmate, my best friend, my kismet. stay forever. i love you. 💖😚

@shesdaylight​ ( & @sororanimarum​ )   /   lissa — the light of my whole damn life!!! you are the kindest, most beautiful and welcoming soul i have ever met in the rpc — across all my years! you radiate literal sunshine and embody rapunzel’s entire essence tbh. if we hadn’t hit it off right away on john’s old blog, i’m not sure i ever would have become so attached to him as a muse. i love murphpunzel, i love writing with you, i love seeing you on my dash, i love our bazillion verses, i love spamming you with photosets and getting all your snaps (even though i suck at sending them rip). i can’t wait for rona to be over so i can come to LI for a proper visit 🥺stay gold. ilysm!!

@rippaers​ ( & @phosphaenes​ )   /   rissaaa!1!1! FIRST OF ALL ??? how dare you have the best portrayal of stefan in the whole world and steal my whole heart by our accidental ship. i wouldn’t trade our dumb boys for anything. thank you for tolerating all the angst i put you through and being patient while i was on & off hiatus last year. you are truly a gem and you have altered my tumblr rpc experience for the absolute better. i adore you to the moon and back and i’d like you to stay forever kthx. i love youu!! 💞

@itwcntsurviveme​ ( & @lifecrumblesdown​ )   /   jenn ! what can i even put here? god damn you’ve been with me since the BEGINNING. OVER TEN YEARS DUDE. through all our ups and downs, we pull through stronger than ever and i love you so much. our friendship means the world to me and i can’t wait for more california shenanigans once its safe to travel again. thank you for being patient with me as a flaky writing partner lksdglksg, thank you for introducing me to the 100 (and merlin... and glee... the list goes on) and for convincing me to write murphy in the first place and for just — being you. you are so talented and wonderful and don’t let anyone change you. 🥰

❛   I LOVE TALKING & INTERACTING WITH YOU XOXO STAY FOREVER !   ❜

@astralsparks , @aniimus , @capitolkept , @coalitioned , @damnbrain , @damnbird , @damnfoxed , @damnstory , @dngerclose , @earthsplita , @emorality , @faitholy , @gonpleiga , @gracefallen , @guiltey , @headsaves , @headstrongblake , @iswarholy , @lightborrowcd​ , @luminee , @maelindas , @mercyburned , @natshana , @omenbrought , @pyrrhicmessiah , @rebellmade , @saeance , @securcity , @shenomaly , @skysplita , @softsurvivor , @sounset , @speispy , @stonedgilbert , @sunpathos , @tentakilled , @thrillor , @tragedyhymns , @triquetrae , @trustedsecond , @veradeir , @victeur , @waldenborn , @youthblamed

❛   I ADORE YOU ON MY DASH SO LET’S BREAK THE ICE !   ❜

@aigonakru​ , @allfairydust , @azgedaspy​ , @bloodiva​ , @casanovarogue​ , @chemicalcasualty​, @clearwatrs , @commandied​ , @connectere , @damnanger​ , @damntender​ , @deathes​ , @deathlye​ , @deathstroyed​ , @denieddeath , @diversestimulation , @drmslst , @eclipseloved , @eiightisgreat , @ekouing​, @endbrother , @geneticassassin​ , @grawpish , @graunblida​, @guardraised​ , @heartsaves​ , @herbaelogist,  @heromiones , @impulsivitytm​ , @inkfated , @insecurites , @intelwon , @irreparabiles , @klarkes​ , @legatium​ , @lchnss​ , @lightbringer , @markedwrath , @martyir , @newbrn , @oceanforged , @ourstories​ , @petrovanity​ , @preytend​ , @prlman​ , @pumpcursed​ , @redemptioninterlude​ , @seesgood​ , @sheassassin​ , @vandbaerer​, @valucble​ , @voteno , @warstroyed​ , @wearycrown​ , @wickeid 

❛   THE MORE MURPHIES (SP?) , THE MERRIER !   ❜

@heroach , @hevives , [ tf should i change my url to match your guys’ somehow like the iconic trio we are 🥺] , & @survivormoves​

❛   ROLEPLEIKRU !   ❜

if i forgot any members of the server — sldgkjsldg i’m the worst rip. thank you guys for making it such a special place, for making us an ohana in this little rpc. you guys are all treasured so very much! ♡ if you’re a fan of the 100 and you like making new friends — come join our little social server here! we’d love to have you!

#[ ✖︎ ] promos . #[ ✖︎ ] follow forever . #[ ❥ ] positivity .

[3000isthenewinfinitynow]

So yet another post on my dash about how arthur treated merlin 'badly' & thus people agreeing on how arthur deserves to die over that. You know what? Ok, first of all, yes, what he did isn’t always right. There you go.

But Here's the thing, we aren’t talking about this righteous century. We are talking about medieval times. And this was still relatively early in their friendship, and at that point, Arthur still acted according to he was expected to act (mind you: medieval times) towards his servent in front of public.

But obviously we all know, he gave up that pretense aka princely behaviour towards his servents prettttty soon to the point where Merlin could joke about killing Arthur and the knights will laugh with him.

And some of you would also want to kill me l guess, but tbh, in so, so many ways, Arthur was actually benevolent to Merlin based on his perspective and time period.

He was a better master than Most. And Gaius even said that one time, it was something like this,... Merlin, You have to understand, not everyone is as kind to their servants as Arthur is to you.

But you know, Merlin laughed at it, and obviously we laughed at it too, because we, as audience, have Merlin's perspective, we have this special access to see everything Merlin goes through to save Arthur, and naturally we want Merlin to be respected all the time, and we don't approve anything less than that coming from Arthur. But if you were given Arthur's perspective from his time period, you would know Gaius's words were true.

Prattish all he might be, he actually hold & rouse Merlin so high respect wise, that everyone didn’t even think twice when enchanted Merlin tried to kill Arthur. Time and time again, Arthur went against every possible rule of their time to save Merlin (and Mordred too). Arthur drinked poison for Merlin.

Arthur kept count just how many days Merlin haven’t smiled...

Took Merlin's advise on court rulings, trusted Merlin so much didn’t think twice before drinking the death potion thus Literally putting his life on Merlin's hands, his servents friend's hands, hands he trusted more than life itself.

Even though from Arthur's perspective Merlin's hands were quite clumsy because, unlike the audience, he didn’t know Merlin had power, all he knew was Merlin's an idiot, but at the end of the day, Merlin was his idiot and regardless of everything he trusted him all the same.

Since joining this fandom, l have seen so much hatred towards Arthur. And little by little, I'm learning to accept no matter what he did some of you will find a reason to hate him anyway. Not all, but some. Like Morgana & Mordred. Some of yall joking about turning a Mordred, but may l add Mordred was alive to kill arthur because Arthur actively chose not to kill him. He even gave Kara second chance despite committing treason that she, herself refused. If Mordred isn’t the epitome of traitor... And What was Morgana's reason to kill Arthur? For simply being Uther's son? Then what about her being his daughter? She didn’t even tried to show Arthur magic can be good too, all she ever did was proving otherwise. At the end of the day, it was all for the throne, not about rightful place of Magic.

Ok, but like you said, yes, l think Arthur deserved to die, because death itself is kinder than some of you. It's not a traitor like mordred, nor filled with hatred & jealousy like morgana. Death sometimes is indeed a more peaceful choice. In sibbe gerest.

#merlin emrys #bbc merlin #bbc arthur #not sorry #arthur pendragon #once and future king

[wellhalesbells]

as i no longer sleep (apparently), let’s do this awesome thing @yodas-yo-yo tagged me on!!  thank you!!

Rules: Tag 9 people who you want to know better/catch up with and then answer these questions.

3 SHIPS

i’m going with not necessarily my all-time favorite ships but the ones i’ve been reading like crazy lately

stiles and derek, as i’m sure we’re all well aware.  those’re my boys.  the dynamic they have just cannot be beat; it’s all shades of gray and built rather than plopped down without foundation.  derek, who has been betrayed and abandoned and is neglected at every turn by every other character in this universe, and stiles, who - importantly - doesn’t have pity for him but pragmatism: ‘you’re a useful dude, and so i am going to use you regardless of how everyone else would just like to write you off.’  it’s not an immediate, ‘ah, you’re perfect for each other,’ moment, it’s kind of a, ‘shit, dude, that is not a guy you should use because he’s suffered that too many times already and this is bad.’  but only through that does it become less about using derek and more about relying on each other, trusting each other’s judgments, and being the first call rather than the last.  i’m so emotionally tied to it because it’s freaking earned and no one is... pure.  stiles’ motives aren’t pure, derek’s actions aren’t pure, no one is a one-dimensional hero who can abide by a concept as infantile as good vs evil, they’re more real because of it and i’m more attached to them because of it.

okay, weirdly, lately..... clark and lex (and after i was just talking about one-dimensional good vs evil characters, lol), preferably with the smallville backstory of once being besties.  it’s just like the best of the best when it comes to tropes that do it for me.  they’re baked in and, unless it’s an au, unavoidable.  epic pining, best friends turned enemies turned lovers (or some variation thereof), a betrayed character (love when that’s lex and it’s post-belle reve), a morally gray manipulative genius who if they are depicted as not having ulterior motives is considered WILDLY out of character, a fucking canonical son made from both their dna, parallel universes in canon, not to mention there’s sex pollen in canon as well with red kryptonite in the mix.  (there’s nothing better than fics where clark is dosed so he’ll finally kill lex luthor only to fuck him practically down to his soul instead.)  i never even finished smallville and while i was always a fan of the ship, it was sort of more of a ‘ships in the night’ kind of ship, like: oh yeah, i know you *waves as you cross my dash* and nothing more.  then i read (and read and re-read and read some more) reconcilable differences and.... there is not enough fic for them out there, friends.  there just isn’t, and i’m sad.

merlin and arthur from bbc merlin.  again, i really like what’s often baked into this pairing: a scenario that comes up with some regularity is a betrayed or banished!merlin and arthur realizing too late what merlin means to him and having to go after him and prove himself.  i live for that shit, okay?  i live for the character who seemingly has everything realizing they have nothing without this other person (especially if said person is often mistreated or sidelined in canon - thank you, fix-it fanon!!!!).  i never was big into merlin fanfic UNTIL ao3 came up with the ‘exclude’ part of the search function.  i don’t want modern merlin pretty much ever and somehow that fandom is about 50% modern aus????  so i never read fic for it because it was so hard to find what i was looking for.  literally the day i saw the exclude option, i started reading merthur fanfic.  i wish there were more percival/merlin fics (i am SO FUCKING INTO size difference lately and i do noooot have a pair that i LOVE that has that, some that i casually read like jaskier/geralt but none that i can’t live without yet and i NEED IT), especially ones featuring a jealous arthur that endgames into merthur but that’s, er, a bit specific?  haha, and i have less than zero desire to write for either this fandom or the one above it sadly.

LAST SONG I LISTENED TO

clairo - sofia, i love how hard my radio station is fangirling over clairo, she has such a nostalgia-inducing sound for me.

CURRENTLY WATCHING

okay, well, i actually just finished the shows i was watching: prodigal son, which was like a less avant garde, less horny, less gay, less people-eating version of hannibal.  instead of a guy who was too unstable to qualify to be an actual fbi agent and who has a loose relationship with reality and mental health, and maybe also a darker side, and a cannibal who definitely does, both of whom badly want to bang each other, it’s a serial killer father who has a darker side and a guy who was fired from the fbi for being too unstable, who maybe has one of his own, in addition to a loose relationship with reality and mental health.  i mostly enjoyed it.  i really liked the actors, the morbid and understated humor was hilarious (seriously, some of those one liners, both the delivery by the actors and the offhandedness inherent to them were just perfection), but.... they fridged the love interest (very VERY predictably) and they’re clearly shoving together the only unattached (”normal”) vagina and penis on the show because HETERONORMATIVITY!!!!!  (i expect more of you, greg berlanti, tsk.)  i’m hoping for more edrisa in the future because she is a fucking GEM (and it’s just SO NICE to see lane on my screen again!!!!), more jessica who might have the best sense of self and humor in the whole dang show, more michael sheen (because i just love the man in anything and everything), and about that finale (even though i saw it coming WELL in advance) i’ll just say: AINSLEY, MY GIRLLLLLLLL!!!!

the other i finished was the crown, season four.  this show never really wows me tbh.  i watch it mostly for a) the performances and b) my mom and dad, who love it immensely and love to talk about it with me.  if not for them i could easily zone out for an entire episode without even realizing it, with all the quietness and sweeping landscape shots, there’s just nothing grabby in there for me.  it’s very uppercrust british, y’know?  haha.  where a comment about your lilac drapes is really a dig about how you’re bringing down the entire commonwealth, which i love to read but watching?  it doesn’t really pull me in.  the high point of this season for me was gillian anderson’s portrayal of margaret thatcher, just the way she would contort her face was amazing to me, and the episode with fagan because hey, i totally knew about that already (which never happens, lol) and i love that actor from preacher and it was just really well-written and acted.  but, overall, pretty much i spent the whole season wanting a violent and bloody and embarrassing death to befall charles, that entitled and cruel little piss-ant, while knowing it wasn’t going to happen.  it’s one of those shows i watch where i’m glad i watched it, but i won’t remember any details about it in a week’s time.

and as for what i soon will be currently watching: i’m starting the great tomorrow!

okay, tagging: @livthelion, @ohlookagaydraco, @grimmypuff, @clotpolesonly, @midnightisquiet, @urban-barbarian, @callunavulgari, @hrast-ika and @i-sveikata!!

#meme answers #meme #uh oh i've found the keyboard again

[rigelmejo]

Idk if anyone’s studying French but googling Merlin saison 1, buffy contre les vampires saison 1, dailymotion will be there for u with the whole show dubbed (which is good listening practice for my ass that can read ok but barely follow listening)

Also any French show recs? Particularly modern fantasy or sci fi? Or detective/mystery?

—

On the Listening Reading Method front i have HIT A SWEET SPOT. FINALLY. Months of trying and I found a way to do it more conveniently and in a way much more doable if you like me cannot fucking focus for long periods.

Step 1: read the chapter in a language you fully understand (or some chapters ahead so you don’t have to do this as much later, or the whole book). Aka read in your native language (or a language you understand well) to get context. This is L1 language. You don’t have to do this if it’s a book you already read once and remember well, and you don’t have to do this right before you do the rest (if you can remember the overall context you’re good even if there’s a month between this and the other steps etc).

This is obviously tolerant of breaks - read however you like, just get some context.

Step 2: listen to target language (L2) audiobook, while following target language (L2) text.

Ideally, this is where you might read it in the target language if you can keep up with the audio. If you are reading digitally then a quick popup dictionary will benefit you (if you want to comprehend what text you’re following along and need the dictionary). Alternatively if you have a parallel text next to each other - that also helps if you want to look up a word. But word lookup isn’t necessary.

I’ve been doing this either in Pleco - just clicking a word as desired, or by looking at an online parallel text (bilinguis.com works amazing). Both of these options work very easily IF YOU GET AUDIO THAT MATCHES TEXT. The key here is FIND MATCHING AUDIO AND TEXT.

I can’t emphasize how much easier Listening Reading Method is when the text and audio MATCH. Mine FINALLY match and it makes my life so much fucking easier.

Ideally if these match you will find this much easier: audio starts and ends at same time chapter text starts and ends (seriously this is the biggest thing). The audio ideally does not shorten/omit sections of text (however you can adapt if it’s only small changes like a few missing sentences/changed phrases in a while chapter). The text is the same as the audio generally (not edited text - I tried to use the print text guardian with the audiobook based on the webnovel and wayyy too many sections were different it was too hard to follow). If you can find a source where everything (except maybe a few sentences/phrases) are the same, it will be much easier. It will be so easy you can start and pause whenever you want - breaking L R into 5-10 minute chunks if you like me can’t fucking do something too long without breaks. If the text and audio match very well, it is much easier to just pause the audio, notice the place u left the text, and come back to it.

Step 3: follow along with your L1 text (native language/language you understand) while trying to understand the L2 target language audio.

How to make this easier: if you have Pleco, simply click the dictate text button. It will popup every definition as it reads it. I actually find I practice LISTENING skills more when during this step I don’t look at the Chinese text much (because when I look at the Chinese I start tuning out the audio more). I have noticed I can often predict what the word means before I actually see a definition. Also in Pleco since it’s word by word, you don’t spend time figuring out the place in the English text the audio corresponds to - the audio dictation tool highlights the Chinese it’s reading constantly. For me, constantly following along to the Chinese text (or French if doing it for french) makes this step much easier. Alternately: use a parallel text, and glance at L2 target language text whenever you get lost/it gets hard to follow where you’re at. Simply having the target language L2 to refer to makes it so much easier to NOT get lost when listening.

Tools that make L R easier:

Literally look up on YouTube “audio target-language” and “target-language text.” Do it. Make your life easier! There’s a lot of them on YouTube that have for example both Chinese and English text on screen, Chinese audio. All of the work is done for you - you don’t have to keep your place in a text, you can pause and continue whenever! Even if you can just find target language audio-text, makes life much easier that someone else set it up for you.

Also japanese audiobooks sometimes have auto captions which are decent enough.

If you’re doing a Chinese book, get on ximayala app you might find well a matching audiobook. Youtube may also have a decent audiobook (also try bilibili i just found an unofficial 天涯客 audiobook - also tbh sometimes with Chinese the unofficial audiobooks will match chapter beginning/ends better than official ones but it depends).

For text, try bilinguis.com. While the selection of stories is small, they have very convienient parallel texts (which makes keeping yourself from getting lost easier). I was easily able to find audiobooks on YouTube or ximayala that would match the bilinguis texts.

Bidireader, a tool I linked the other day, can generate parallel texts if you can copy paste the texts in. Again, makes it so much easier to not have to focus so hard if you have a parallel text and can glance at the target language to keep yourself from getting lost.

Screen Reader tools - if you have a phone/computer, you may have a screen reader tool to read audio on screen aloud. Not ideal, but will work if you just want some audio practice with text you see and can’t get an audiobook to match it! Also Idiom app can read text aloud.

I mentioned above - I just use Pleco app dictation to do step 3, so that’s my step 3 audio. It’s not as good as the audiobook! But for quickly giving me a chance to match audio to definition, it works fine. Sort of like using a textbook with very stilted audio/just a pronunciation guide (Pleco), and a natural audiobook. It works fine. If you can find a parallel text, you can technically just do some computer generated audio (Idiom app, Pleco, Screen Reader, etc) and look at the L1 language for step 3 (if you absolutely can’t find an audiobook that you like that matches and want to use that text).

—

Notes:

Native audiobooks do sound so much better than generated audio, so if you CAN use them, do. At least for step 2 I think (target language audio with target language text).

Bilinguis.com has nice free parallel texts, YouTube has some perfect premade videos to do L R, Pleco can do step 3 in a pinch (if you can’t find a parallel text). Bidireader tool allows you to make parallel texts.

I find I actually find step 2 THEN step 3, as originally intended, helps me most? I’ve tried it both orders.

When I do step 2 first I practice extensive reading since I don’t look words up generally, I practice listening to audio in the bg so I can skim ahead and skim backwards (so training myself to pay partial attention to listening). I get an overall context for the story (I pick up most of what’s going on), I work on speeding up my reading speed (I need to keep up with audio, and often I’ll read a little ahead of the audio). I like it a lot - it’s like regular extensive reading, but I get some sound reinforcement. And I can look up a handful of words if I want. And I’m forced to CONTINUE so I don’t read too slow. (However - regular extensive reading has its place, I have more time in regular extensive reading to figure out new Hanzi and sayings and remember them).

When I do step 3 LAST I find that because I already know most of the chapter (since in step 2 I followed almost everything), I can focus all of my attention into listening. I really hear what words are being said (especially since I just practiced listening once before in step 2). Especially doing it in Pleco, where the English popup definitions show up and disappear so FAST, I really rely on my ears most. Especially when I barely look at the Chinese - because the English shows up so fast and isn’t always the best definition, so I mostly am following based on my listening skills. Also it means in step 3 since I’m comfortable with the main plot, and sound, I can focus my attention on really looking at the new words I want to learn. 插 缩 宿舍楼 权利 were some words I could focus on last time, actually listening to their pronunciation better. Etc. So I do think... for me doing it as actual step 3 when doing it this specific way seems to help more. That way step 2 is mostly reading and sentence flow when listening, and step 3 is more time for new word focus and listening skills in general. Also I find the word-reinforcement I get in the next chapters step 2 anyway.

I’ve done 5 chapters of Guardian in 2 days (so yeah I’d say this way of L R is easier for me to do lol!). 1 chapter of Alice in wonderland in chinese (again bilinguis with a good audio from ximayala worked perfect), 1 chapter from a YouTube premade video. I do think in some ways step 2 actually helps me the most (reading wise, and maybe even over all?). I find there’s definitely value in me doing step 2 on its own, even if I don’t do any of the other steps.

I find the L R combo steps have already helped my listening skills this small amount I’ve done. Which is kinda shocking to me tbh. When I did the Alice in wonderland chinese chapter, first I just listened to the audio in the background. I could follow all of it about Alice’s sister reading, her following a rabbit and falling, her picking up a jar and setting it on another shelf as she fell, without any text to look at. I think part of it is simply Alice in wonderland has more short words I know and less descriptive words I do Not know compared to Guardian. And I have prior context for what happens in the chapter. Still. I found it much easier to catch some details since last time I tried. So I’m going to keep doing L R while I feel like it, see if it helps any more.

#rant #may #may progress #l r method #listening reading method #lol you know what I find funny? #I really will come up with a whole ass study plan #then my brain will go... nah... we wanna do something else... #and bam I am not even doing what I planned ToT

[oveliagirlhaditright]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/25092943/chapters/60786085

SoKai Week Day 1. Prompt: One Heart.

So… Sora and Kairi’s entire conversation at the start of this is based on one that Buffy and Angel had in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, that I felt was too perfect to pass up for this.

Enjoy!

Also… it should hopefully be clear in the story, but Kairi—who is the PoV here—is definitely being an unreliable narrator in this fic, and being WAY too hard on herself.

Have Heart

It was a hideous day outside: rain was falling in torrents, the wind was howling, and there was an eclipse keeping anyone from seeing the sun.

But even though the weather conditions were bleak, the past hours hadn't been a complete loss for the Guardians of Light. While Ava had, unfortunately, gone back to the Master of Master's side after he'd told her how he loved her like a dad would, they'd gotten Aced to their side when they'd explained to him that even they thought he'd had good intentions—even if his father and siblings couldn’t see that—but had just gone about things the wrong way…

And maybe that was why Kairi and Sora were having a heart-to-heart themselves right now, in Merlin's Study, while everyone else was outside trying to fix Radiant Garden’s claymores...

"I saw you on the day you became the most popular girl at school, y'know,” Sora said now, as he held onto Kairi’s hand and looked earnestly into her eyes. “It was a beautiful day, where the sun was actually shining unlike now... and you had a lollipop in your mouth, and walked down the stairs to the courtyard… and I fell in love with you then.”

"Why?" Kairi couldn't keep herself from asking. Because it was beyond her how Sora had ever cared for the weak girl who had led to his death, let alone cared for the horrible creature she’d been even before that.

"Because... I could see your heart,” Sora assured her with a smile, as he ran a hand through her hair. And Kairi supposed he must have been serious about this… since Sora always took matters of the heart so seriously. It made her feel even more in love, even if she wasn’t sure she deserved it. "…And I was worried that your heart would be bruised or broken. And more than anything else in the world, I wanted to warm it with my own."

Kairi hugged Sora for these words—as how could she not? Especially since she wanted to revel in this feeling a little while longer, if  she was going to selflessly give it up… if she couldn’t change—and replied, "That's so sweet, Sora." And it was.

But for some reason, Kairi also couldn't help thinking of their blood pumping organs being pushed together, instead of their figurative hearts that Sora had really been speaking about, "Or, taken literally… really gross." (1)

“Y’know… I was just thinking the same thing,” Sora muttered, seeming suddenly ashamed of himself if the tone in his voice was anything to go by.

And Kairi laughed uproariously, as she pulled away from Sora and smiled at him widely… and then he was grinning at her, too, before he was twirling her around and they were dancing in the midst of their ridiculous life.

And Kairi held onto the moment, in thinking that it could be her last moment with Sora… for so many reasons.

...

In the end… Kairi was selfish. She always had been, and knew this well. Wasn’t this why she’d always wanted Sora to stay home with her, rather than go on his quests? …Or why she’d forced herself into battles she wasn’t ready for—endangering everyone that way—just so she could stay by Sora’s side? And then… after Sora had died, she’d become the worst possible version of herself. That old popular girl with the bad attitude again, but also someone who’d been grieving for trauma that had happened to her on one, two, three fronts… and she’d been so cold to Riku because of it… someone who was Sora’s best friend.

And after everything they’d been through… maybe she should have just let Sora and herself be together, like they so desperately wanted, but after Sora’s heartfelt declaration the other day—where he’d told her he’d loved her when she’d only been at the first stage of unlovable—she couldn’t help thinking he deserved so much better than her.

But Kairi was too awful to let Sora go completely… So she stopped touching him or being around him if she could help it, without explaining anything, as she tried to become a better (or lesser?) version of herself, so she could hopefully be comfortable in his arms again, sooner rather than later?

Where her enemies were concerned… Kairi stopped talking to them—in not being able to get over just how annoying she was when she spoke—but she also hated that she was doing this… because it reminded her of the girl who hadn’t gotten to speak to her abuser until he was already dead, and she couldn’t get much relief that way, and it was causing the Foretellers to just think she was the simple girlfriend of Sora again, and nothing more.

But if it somehow made Kairi’s heart… truer, she would continue on this path.

So when Ursula's family were making a big deal of her being in love with George from the Jungle, when Kairi was helping out in that world, she said nothing... She also didn't even question why Alice seemed older than she should have been, when she went to Wonderland herself for the first time, and why it seemed different than Sora described it as... She even ignored telling her new friends who she thought framed Roger Rabbit, when she'd figured the answer out herself. And even when it was revealed to her that Master Ava was somehow her grandmother… Kairi didn’t react. But that was more from shock than anything else.

But it was after that had transpired, that Sora seemed to have enough of the silent treatment and began questioning her. "Kairi... I thought you wanted to be more active on our journeys… so why are you being less so now? Are you okay?"

They were back home on Destiny Islands now, after having defeated the Master of Master’s plans and most of the Foretellers, unfortunately. And Kairi had decided to just deal with all of her grief here, and not ruin the party that was going on outside, but she should have known that Sora would never leave her alone when her heart was clearly in distress… that was what she loved about him.

The Kairi of old, who had been pretty good at bottling up her emotions, wouldn't have told Sora the truth here… But the one who remembered how doing such a thing had destroyed Terra, Ventus, and Aqua’s friendship for a while, knew that she had to finally speak.

"...What's wrong is that I'm supposed to be Light, Sora…. But you're kinder and truer than I could ever be… and I’m not saying that to insult you or anything… I just find that no matter what I do, I’m a mean girl—even though I'm trying to fight some of that now… and be less me—so what can you possibly see in me? And what did the universe see, in order to gift me with this power?"

And Kairi assumed that Sora would give her some massive speech here… perhaps something like his “my friends are my power” speech, or when he’d told Riku he didn’t have a conscience… or something along the lines of what he’d said to get her to want to stay in Traverse Town so many years ago…

But instead, Sora just admitted with much simplicity and heart: "Kairi, I love you because you're you... for all the times you've saved me, and how you poke fun at me, and how we've grown up together. How could I not? So stop trying to be anyone other than yourself. And, I mean, Mister Arrogant over here isn't exactly perfect. Our flaws make us good for each other, too, believe it or not."

And Kairi wanted to argue this, she really did. Because how could the hero of the worlds be comparing himself to her?

But if Kairi was being honest with herself, she loved Sora for pretty similar reasons to what he’d just said about her, didn't she? Even when she was put off by how conceited he could be, for example, in thinking he could just magically go to the next school year—despite his grades—just because his teachers loved him so much.

And Kairi held Sora in her arms again… probably something she should’ve been doing every second and every day since he’d first spilled his guts to her, instead of pushing him away, and Kairi asked Sora the question that perhaps the universe had laid on her mind to try and comfort her. "I guess I really do need you to warm my heart, huh?"

And the words "you bet" were whispered against Kairi's head, as Sora kissed her forehead and brought her even closer to him.

Author’s Note: (1) I struggled with whether I wanted to give Kairi this Buffy line or not. On one hand… I didn’t want to, because Sora was spilling his heart out to Kairi here, and it didn’t seem like she would somewhat shoot that in the foot by saying this. But at the same time… I want Kairi to have her personality, tbh… The snarky one that we really saw in KHI and KHII, that allowed her to banter with Sora: as I think that’s one of the reasons they’re good and fun together and have chemistry. So, in the end, I decided to keep it for that reason. And perhaps Kairi later thought of her saying that, and it’s part of the reason she’s hating on herself in this story. -shrugs-

#Sokai week #sokai #SoKai Week day 1 #one heart #day 1 #mine #my work #Shanna writes #my writing #fanfiction #oneshot #canon #future fic #canon compliant #Buffy inspired #long post #out from under

[hedgefairy]

Well hello there. While I'm waiting for that breeches video I've been talking about to finally upload, here's

Bridgerton, Episode 4

Phew, half time!

If you've missed the other ones, the tag is Bridgerbore, btw.

Okay, so we start of with Dukey who's going home-ish because drama and heartbreak in the last episode. Stop pretending, nobody takes your pouting seriously! We all know it's twu wuv!

Erm. So, I know, I'm white and this is a delicate matter, but I gotta say I'm not super happy about the whole POC-justifying explanation here. I'd much rather have no explanation at all, it worked perfectly well in Merlin, and this is just as much historically inspired fantasy just with less magic, which I'm honestly quite upset about. I'd be far more okayer with the costumes and overall ugh-ness if there was magic.

But honestly, I'm not a fan of shoehorning that explanation in (it doesn't seem to come up in the books, either, where everyone is basically a baguette in terms of whiteness). The fact that the implications aren't discussed any further makes it even worse. We're talking about the British empire here, and while POC are apparently part of the society (but with more pressure, which... no, this is not how nobility works) the wealth and luxury of this age still stems from the exploitation of POC everywhere else. How isn't there a revolution going on? How is this not talked about? From all I see, Bridgerton is a fluffy, pastel, nice alternate version of the 1800s, and I don't get why anyone would put politics in there instead of just doing what TV tropes refers to as "colourblind casting" and be done with it. Either you do the alternate history thing thoroughly, or you just cast people for being pretty (and maybe good actors) instead of the idea the audience might have about a character's skin colour and have weird costumes and just roll with it.

Also the Queen's marriage seems to suck. I would have liked a deeper, more heartbreaking connection between George III and her, especially because I saw how my Grandmother suffered when she gradually lost my Grandfather to dementia, and it would have been a scene where we could see Charlotte as a person rather than a weird plot device in tafetta and bling, but no, she just seems as annoyed and bored and snappish as ever.

This is getting far too serious. Where's the snark?

We get some Tchaikovsky in the background, which is weird, tbh. Yes, I'm perfectly fine with them covering Top 40s hits and using waltzes from the 1950s, but I draw the line at something from the second half of the 19th century! It's not right! It screams its time of origin all over the place, and even worse, most of the characters would probably actually get to hear it later in their lives, it's not a decent anachronism, it just feels like bad research! This is serious business!

No really, where's the snark?

Oooh, I get it now. That was when I was really, really done with bingeing this show. Yes, I tried to get through as much of it as possible in one sitting. The notes read, in very shaky handwriting

I cannot possibly take more than that

in one day

, so let's continue a few days later when I felt like I could muster the courage to face it again.

So yes, I'm pretty sure this waltz is to young for this show.

Aww, look at that, flirting over cheese! I also like that one of the Featherington girls (I can't really tell the non-Pennys apart) has a suitor, they deserve nice things, too.

The musicians are a mood.

WTF with the hair and the strass. We don't like the strass. Make it go away.

I love Prince Freddy. The poor boy. It's doomed from the start!

Ah, Dukey (also at the ball, even though he was whining about things earlier) gets a heartbeat in the background, because twu wuv.

Middle Bridgerbro goes and meets with the Bohéme. I want more of that! That's finally interesting! That's my people! There's a cool bohemian lady with a pretty dress! People look interesting! Aaaah!

There's a random 18th century burlesque singer at this Regency ball, we need to talk about this. Oooh, it's Opera Girl! Cue Lord B turning into even more of an idiot while Ma Bridgerton tries to hook him up otherwise.

Of course Philippa (that's one of the Featherington Girls) can't possibly have anything nice. Thanks, Dad. You don't get to marry someone you like, that's the people across the street's thing! (by which I of course mean the Bridgertons, just in case anyone forgot the location layout here.)

Eloise is being weird to the housekeeper.

"Are you not supposed to be the smart one", the housekeeper retorts and I'm feeling it, followed by a "WTH, hero" about how servants are too busy to be Gossip Girl, you privileged prat. I think I actually snorted.

Penny gossips with Ducktail Colin, but he's more interested in Cousin, whose dress looks like it was made from the cheap curtains my ex best friend had in his first semester at uni, and God, I hate Daphne's kerchief.

Poor Prince Freddie is trying to propose to Protagonis Girl but of course there's Dukey in the background so she simply must run outside as dramatically as possible where he can find her as she equally dramatically rips the necklace Freddie gave her from her milky white throat. P&P-ish banter ensues. Yawn.

Dukey: * broods *

Daphne: * dramatically exits *

Dukey: * romantically follows her*, and oooh, snogging ensues, oooooh, instant second base, but Bridgerbro the Eldest (known also as Lord B) intervenes.

Lord B: "Marry her!"

Dukey: "I can't!"

Lord B: "Bitch!"

Dukey: "I can't!"

Lord B: "I want satisfaction!"

Me: "Don't we all"

Daphne: "You'd rather die than marry me?!"

(the fuck with her hair)

Middle Bridgerbro is still at the Bohéme-party, and still draws (naked people!). Gay vibes ensue, it's cute. This is Netflix after all, and it took four episodes to get some LGBTQ+ representation!

The Featherington's housekeeper looks a lot like O'Brien from Downton.

Cousin tells Penny about what a cutie Ducktail Colin is, also Penny's "night gown" is really cute (it's not a night gown. She's still wearing stays. It's also the only thing in the whole series that fits her well so far). Penny is super upset but gets interrupted by a hyperfocused Eloise. They fight, and Penny goes on about being mature and not being a "pretty Bridgerton", and that Eloise wouldn't understand. I get her, though, and really, having a perfect family and a "bad" family is such lazy writing.

Somber blah blah between Lord B and Daphne happens and Middle Bridgerbro gets dragged into it. He's informed that his life is pretty much over either way (either way being Lord B dying or being exiled for killing Dukey in the scheduled duel) because his oder bro basically just wants out of his duties. Sucks to be him.

Boxing Bro has to host a frustrated, possibly blueballed Dukey and offers himself up as a second for the duel.

Lord B goes and pleads with Opera Girl to get back with him (doooooon't) because of his little duelling plot and of course intercourse ensues. Girl, where's your self-respect?

Lord F comes into his dark study (we haven't seen much of him yet overall, he probably was too busy gambling) and hark, there's Lady F like the mafia boss I feel she should be, wo berates him about said gambling and that they're broke and how much he sucks. He starts crying, thumbs up for male vulnerability!, but it's kinda played for laughs via her awkward patting of him. Because of course (and I bet the late Daddy Bridgerton would never have lost his composure like that, but he didn't gamble, either, and these are the Featheringtons)

Lord B leaves Opera Girl for THE DUEL (I feel like this almost deserves a ™ by now).

We get gallopping horses! The drama! The panache! Daphne asks Ducktail Colin where it's going down because she wants to stop them, insert pandering feminist ranting about her choosing her own life but I don't really feel it and I wonde where her bangs go when she sleeps because her hair looks so different all of a sudden.

Lord B makes Middle Bridgerbro promise to care for Opera Girl in case he dies.

More gallopping horses! Daphne and her billowing cloak are pretty epic, to be honest, and there's Ducktail Colin on her heels. It's basically a family outing now!

Ugh, I like the seconds in this duel so much more. They should just off and go for a pint or something and leave Lord B and Dukey to their misery.

Duelling protocol ensues. Ten steps, blah blah, nice camera work, though.

Daphne full on rides into her brother's bullet, but she's fine (it would have been so dramatic, can you imagine? It would have been interesting!).

Oh no, they were seen (by her romantic rival, back when they had the dramatic make-outery in the park at the ball after the botched proposal. Sorry, Cressida is such a much better name than Daaaaphneeee. I have a RPG character called Cressida, I might be biased.), she's ruined if they don't marry!. and so she is basically emotionally blackmailing him into marrying her. But he can "never give [her] children!", and goes on how she deserves a household full of love like her family home because the Bridgertons are such a perfect family. God, they all annoy me so much.

Daphne ends the duel by saying that the Duke and her are to be married, with a pained facial expression, no less. I think I just wanna throw a pie in her face or something.

And that concludes Episode 4. That was a long one! Only four more to go! So this is

To be Continued!

Thank you for making it this far with me!