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destourtereaux · 2 years

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you have a beautiful smile - draco malfoy x fem!reader

summary: Y/N is sunlight in human form, an absolute angel to be around. she’s always available to help out and treats everyone with kindness. draco malfoy should hate her, but he finds himself feeling quite the opposite.

taglist - add yourself here | warnings: none | wc: 1.5k

a/n: haven't written in a while, and this is my first draco fic, so please bear w me! lemme know what you think :) also my motivation to write draco is all bc of ms melli (@mellifluousart) who writes him wonderfully :)

Draco was eleven when he first saw Y/N. He had been so stupidly excited for Hogwarts that he had crashed his cart into hers on the platform. He immediately started to apologize, but Y/N beat him to it. And when he glanced up and met her eyes for the first time, he realized he wouldn’t have been able to say anything at that moment anyway.

Five years had passed since that first meeting, and Draco was preparing for his sixth year at school. He’d never forgotten you, but there hadn’t been many opportunities to even approach you. He’d heard of you around the school, of course. How could he not have? You were beloved, by teachers and students alike. Y/N L/N, prefect, outstanding student, and an avid volunteer around the school. Little did he know, you knew him too.

Draco had built quite the reputation for himself. He was the Slytherin prince, calculating, cold, and altogether untouchable. If you asked anyone, they would tell you that the two of you were on complete opposite ends of the spectrum.

Of course, none of this mattered to Professor Slughorn. In the first potions class of the year, a mixed group of Hufflepuffs and Slytherins, he managed to seat you right next to Draco. He would be your partner for projects until the end of the year.

“So, do you speak now?” you poke with a laugh, referring to your first meeting as you sit down next to him.

“Yeah,” he responds briefly, before returning to his notes. To be honest, he didn’t trust his own voice well enough to say anything more - you still had the same effect on him more than half a decade later.

—

Draco did not believe in perfection. He kept trying to catch you being fake, as if your kindness and constant positivity was a facade that he might one day spot slipping. But as you continued to work hard with him on projects, joking to lighten the mood, and displaying the same amount of compassion despite his cold responses, he just couldn’t spot a single flaw. And one day, you caught him off guard.

“Godric, Professor Slughorn’s hair looks like his namesake today…” you mutter, as you copy furiously from the blackboard. You hadn’t meant for anyone to hear it, but then you caught the boy next to you let out a snort. Your eyes widened; there was no way Draco Malfoy had just laughed?

You whip your head around, and Draco averts his eyes.

“You just laughed,” you state, a smile forming on your lips. “You just laughed at my joke.”

“Did not,” the boy denies, “I was just shocked that sunshine in human form could say something like that,” then he turns away so you can’t catch the smile that threatens to appear.

Your cheeks redden, and you scoff. “It wasn’t even mean!” you protest, “I find it rather fits him.”

From that day on, the two of you developed a more natural dynamic. Your conversations were no longer one-sided, and you found yourself growing to enjoy Draco’s sarcastic sense of humour and wit. You even got to know Blaise and Pansy, who were very eager to share some of Draco’s most embarrassing moments with you. Little did you know, these two had an ulterior motive.

–

“So, Y/N, huh?” Pansy prompts, glancing up at Draco with an act of nonchalance.

Blaise smirks, catching the tinge of pink that appeared on his friend’s cheeks.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Pans, and she doesn’t either. You and Blaise need to shut it and stop poking your ugly heads into this.”

“Alright, alright. But just so you know, she likes you too,” Blaise replies, before striding to the staircase and heading up to his room.

Pansy nods, “She does, but I have no idea why… You’re utterly unlikeable!” she finishes with a cackle, and practically sprints to the girls dormitories, where she knows the blond boy can’t touch her.

And so, Draco was left all alone with his thoughts and a pounding heart, at 10pm in the Slytherin common room.

—

The upcoming week was Hogsmeade week. Draco and you had made plans to get some extra quills and ingredients you were missing for the latest potions assignment.

“So, how many first years did you scare today?” you greet him with a giggle, “Do I have any 11 year olds I need to comfort?”

Draco scowled, but his eyes crinkled, belying his happiness at seeing you. “Yeah right, it’s their own fault for standing in huge groups in the middle of the corridors. You think it’d kill them to walk on their own.”

You laugh openly, loud enough for a few scattered students to turn and look. And Draco can’t blame them, because he knows just as well how easily you catch the eye.

After making all the necessary stops, you spot an adorable new pop-up near Madam Puddifoot’s.

“Oh my GOD. A Build-A-Bear Workshop!” you squealed, and Draco makes a show of cringing and plugging in his ears.

You roll your eyes, smiling. “I haven’t made one of these in years. We absolutely HAVE to try it.”

Draco stops plugging his ears and his expression develops into one of horror. “No. No way in hell am I doing that. I have a reputation, Y/N. You are out of your min–”

You yank on his sleeve, pulling him along, not paying attention to a word of his rant.

“OW! How are you this strong, midget?! Fine!” the boy finally complies begrudgingly.

An hour later, the two of you exit the shop, you having made a bear with platinum blond fur and a slytherin uniform. Whenever you pressed its stomach, the bear would squeal out “do you know who I am?!” sending you into bouts of laughter at its resemblance to your friend.

Draco did not find this nearly as amusing as you did, but he was quite proud of his own bear. A brown one modelled after his favourite quidditch player.

“Admit it! You had lots of fun in there,” you confront, as you spot him fixing the collar of his bear’s robes.

The boy shakes his head, and immediately gives his stuffie to you, “yeah, if I were three years old… now you carry it. I can’t be seen carrying a stuffed bear.”

You roll your eyes, but gladly take the plush. It smells just like Draco.

—

Before you know it, February sneaks up on the Hogwarts students. You start spotting floating hearts and angels everywhere, courtesy of the professors.

However, you had yet to receive a single Valentine, which you found quite bizarre. Not that you were overly confident, but you had always received at least a few in past years. You decided not to dwell on it, however, not when the NEWTs were approaching.

Little did you know, several Valentines had been trying to make their way to you, but each had been stopped on their journey by a certain Slytherin boy. Whenever he spotted one with your name on it zipping along in the halls, he simply hexed it, and it would disintegrate. He also glared at anyone who looked at you, lower years and upper years alike. Eventually, people gave up; there was no use trying to compete with Draco Malfoy.

—

Then on the very last day of the week, February 14th itself, you were working on a potions project, when your partner suddenly walked in.

Draco looked nervous, almost. At least as close to nervous as you’d ever seen the Slytherin prince get… but then he pulled out a little velvet box with a satin ribbon on it, motioning for you to open it.

“Now, don’t make this weird, okay? I just saw this in the store and thought you’d like it,” he mumbles, lowering his head.

Carefully, you undid the ribbon and opened the box. Inside, there was an absolutely adorable necklace with a tiny silver bear. Your face lit up, and you hugged the tall boy. “It’s perfect,” you exclaimed.

Draco was absolutely flabbergasted, but he awkwardly returned the hug, patting your hair. “Want me to put it on?”

After he clasped the necklace, he held your shoulders and turned you around to face him. Almost unconsciously, Draco began to smile. A genuine smile that made him look like a 17-year-old boy instead of his ice-cold persona.

You marvelled at how happiness transformed your boy’s face, and you stared up at him for a long time, long enough for Draco to tilt his head in curiosity.

“Is there something on my face?” he inquires.

You shake your head. “No. No, I just… you have a beautiful smile. I think you should do that more. Smile, I mean,” you stumble over your words.

Draco chuckles, as a blush spreads over his face, painting his pale complexion. He leans in again, but instead of a hug this time, he quickly pecks your forehead. “Maybe. No promises though,” he whispers.

NO LONGER DOING TAGLISTS AFTER THIS FIC. FOLLOW @lovebirdupdates AND TURN ON NOTIFS INSTEAD!

taglist: @fallin-4-ya @mrs-brekker15 @izzyyy-1 @maybanksslut @iwritesiriusly @cory-was-hexed @slytherclawbitch @wwandavision @mrzweasley @1-800-amortentia @amelialupin-black @bolaurel @theincredibledeadlyviper @simp027 @myalupinblack @emma67 @riddikulusweasleys @amortentiaaaa @cloudywitchh @peachybaes @poony-madfoot @arianagreyy @teddy-cheol @calaryssia @potters-heart @1dpjohoohp @retvenkos @berrnuu @theoreticslut @kimsescapefromreality @jodibullock1 @the-romanian-is-bae @fandomhideout @ur-local-simp @sanctimoniousslytherpuff @what-am-i-doing10 @sunshinee-nana @nevillelongbottomlover-blog @annemagus @toffeetoast @fairysums @amordesiempre7-blog @justfritz @valentines-massacre13 @neilgf @plutooryectors @jorja-cameron @thatsthat @notfeelingsogoofy

#draco malfoy #draco malfoy imagine #draco malfoy imagines #draco malfoy fic #draco malfoy fics #draco malfoy oneshot #draco malfoy oneshots #draco malfoy reader insert #draco malfoy fluff #draco malfoy smut #draco malfoy x reader #draco malfoy x fem!reader #draco malfoy x you #draco malfoy x female reader #draco malfoy x y/n #fic #writing #wizarding world

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mediumgayitalian · 15 days

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fic rec friday 10

hi!! welcome to fic rec friday. every week, i pick five fics i have bookmarked and rec them with a little review. check them out!

something borrowed by @rosyredlipstick

In the Solace Wedding Planning agenda, on the fifth page into their summer schedule, there are carefully scrawled out notes reading this: Bride and Groom - Hazel Levesque & Frank Zhang Best Man & Maid of Honor - Percy Jackson & Piper McLean Wedding Court - Annabeth Chase & Jason Grace Mellie & Gleeson Hedge Reyna Ramírez-Arellano & Leo Valdez Ring-bearer - Chuck Hedge Flower-boy - Nico di Angelo - Will plans wedding and now, apparently, Nico stars in one. Except...sometimes there's a bit more confusion on that last part. AKA the AU where Will plans weddings and thinks Hazel and Frank are going to have to cutest, gap-toothed ten year throwing flowers down the aisle, all while wondering why this 'Neeks' guy is always hanging around, and what business he has looking that good.

yes i am back on my rosyredlipstick (dude she's GOOD okay). however this one is my favourite i think. this is the kinda story you could use to explain to people what dramatic irony is bc LORD i wanted to SHAKE THEM 😭😭 will falling like deeply in love with nico and being intensely stressed about everything the whole time is so real and on brand. i love him and i love the fond exasperation that just bleeds from this fic its GREAT

2. Rental Love by @rosyredlipstick

*Read Terms & Conditions - Male/22/Long Island N.Y.C. Tired of showing up stag at holiday events? Want your family to stop thinking there’s something wrong with you? Just want some arm candy for a work event? Look no further. Your solution is here! I will attend holiday events with you as your paid date. Accepting all genders as applicants. Email [email protected] if interested. Interview & application will be set up there. - Nico di Angelo has been telling Hazel Levesque about his boyfriend for weeks. The bad part? Nico doesn’t have a boyfriend, the holidays are coming up, and not all of Jason’s ideas are horrible. They’re all a bit surprised about the last one.

THE LEVEL OF STUPID THAT THEY ARE...😭😭 kills me fr. like this whole fic is just a manifestation of truly one of the best tropes of all time…..like what if we took a hallmark movie and made it gay as all hell. iconique indeed

3. A Match in the Making by @coconutcranberries-blog

“You’re a morning person,” Nico muttered, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palms. He ran a hand through his black hair, which stuck up in disarray, the same way it did every morning. He was a mess, and Will Solace looked annoyingly put together, and Nico didn’t even care, really, he didn’t.

friendship is the core of romance!! it is!! every time!!! and it's such a core in this fic....which is fucking??? ten years old??? im just realising?? jesus christ??? anyways. "Nico had the sudden, warm feeling that Will Solace had never bought his act." i YELLED

4. Perception by scorchedtrees

In which everyone thinks Nico and Will are together.

i love this trope i love it SO BAD. both ways. when your love is so obvious that no one misses it.....love to see it truly. and will can have one second of beingn smooth and not a dweeby loser. as a treat

5. the world is brighter than the sun now that you're here by @finalizer

It was hard, Nico eventually concluded, to maintain one’s air of spooky otherworldly detachment with a blinding ray of sunshine trailing one step behind him every minute of every day.

grouchy nico my beloved truly. honestly hes such a bitch i love him like "Seriously, give the guy a perm and a few cats and he’d be that weird aunt that everybody avoided around the holiday season." why does he ALWAYS have something vile to say 😭😭 hes a mood fr

thank you for joining me this saturday friday!! happy reading!!

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confundida25 · 2 days

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Fanfic that i´m not gonna writte but i can´t stop thinking about it

So, i have this Clanleadership Au in my head that is so overly complicated and that i have no the time, energy or capacity to writte.

Ok, hear me out lovely people on tumblr is a kind of Pride and Prejudice Au, especific undercut because is gonna be long.

First Irida is Lizzy because of course, Palina must be Jane and Akari is a combination of all younger sisters, she is kind of the odd. Gaeric is their father and he is a widow.

Is a kind of Pride and Prejudice Au not a literal thing.

Mister Gaeric still have the problem of only daugherts no real heir in the family so he must do his best to married their daughters. The problem is different than in the original because he think all men in the world are not enought for any of his totally perfect daughters specialy if we talk about Irida wich create a lot of problems with society because he tend to talk without mesuaring his words.

So the DIamonds arrive. Adaman and Iscan comes visit town and they are super rich and in the haunt for good wives, Melli comes with them because we need someone winy enought to be the bitchy sister. So, Iscan and Palina fall in love but Irida and Adaman bump heads, Irida has the impression that Adaman is just too acelerate, always running and never serius down classic Irida and Adaman things, also he is too flirty with every damsel that cross his way.

In some point Iscan invite Palina to his house but Gaeric refuse the invitation because how he dare, but Palina goes anyways and get catch by a rain and get sick. Irida visit the Diamond mansion in order to see her beloved sister and the result is in more fun shananigans betwen Adaman and her. At the end Gaeric go and return his daughters home. Everything goes so well and Irida and Palina are sure than Iscan would propose soon. But sorprise sorprise the Diamonds leave town without a word and Palina is hearthbroken.

Along with all that fun plot the Army comes to town and we cast Volo as Wickan because who else?? He and Irida kind of talk and became aquantance and trash talk Adaman so much because something happend betwen the two long time ago. Also Also Volo and Akari also form a frienship, but is only in the background for now.

So Irida is decide to found out what the hell happen and why that guy reject her sister so she travel to the city with the excuse of studing, she studing herbs and medicine with The old Cabba and she offer her a travel.

In the city she found the diamonds including Adaman sister Mai and they become really good friends, and Mai tell her that Adaman is a good man, for example he saved his friend from a bad marriage, said so he broke Palina and Iscan.

Irida is piss by this and confront Adaman who because this is a PaP Au confess his love and get reject soooo hard. Irida reclaim everything to him, incluing his disagrament with Volo even when she have no idea of what the hell happend betwen the two. This fic in my mind is just an excuse for writte this scene by the way.

So, that happend, Irida comes back to her little town and recive a letter from Adaman explaining why he acted the way he acted. Classic missundersteand concerning Palina and Iscan relathionship and the hole Volo situation. Result that he and Volo were childhood freinds, he was a merchand and Adamans Father a lord but after the father died it became abuntaly clear that Volo is a conman, a burglar, a thieft, and over years and years to stole from Adamans family he lead one of his cousins (Rei) to a life of crime. Adaman get to save his little cousin at time and forgive Volo with the condition that he must go and join the army and do something of his life.

Irida is shock by this revelations, but continue with her life, regreting some of her behavior toward Adaman. Maybe by this point Palina is out of town, the Pearls obviusly leaves in a little town on the mountains and Palina for some reason travels to the beach.

As a friend of Irida, Mai invites her to her birthday, so Irida travels to that even were she encounter Adaman again and sparks fly around them, Irida is having lovely feelins but when things seems promise she recive the news that her little sister Akari run away with Volo.

Gaeric runs to get his daughter back but Irida is frithing becuase well... Volo is a soldier and Gaeric is an old widow, so the family is in complete chaos but out of nowere the police catch Volo, and Akari and Gaeric comes back home safetely.

Everyone is happy, and more when the Diamonds return and Iscan propose to Palina. Adaman also is there but Irida is sure that he must hate her now.

But but but in the final revelation Akari tell Gaeric that it was Adaman who find Volo before the police and save her, but make her promise to never said nothing to her oldest sisters, so Gaeric realized that Adaman and Irida are in love and give her the pep talk.

Irida then runs dramatically to Adaman and confess her feelings and they kiss and live happily ever after. THE END.

#Clanleadershipping #adaman x irida #clan leader adaman #clan leader irida #PaP au #fanfiction #pokemon #pla

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haknom · 1 year

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if your moots were playing the protagonist in your favourite romance movies, which idol would you pair them with as the love interest?

heads up before we start, i’m literally obsessed with dramas and these were definitely let downs 💀 i honestly have no motivation to write anything and it was kinda difficult since i don’t know my mutuals as well as they know themselves!! pls correct me if anything’s wrong bc i reallly wanna know more abt everyone 💔💔💔

true beauty with park sunghoon

@vlkyriesverse in true beauty with sunghoon! let’s take suho and jugyeongs relationship for instance. they would be enemies to lovers hands down (idkkk from stories i’ve read/how i see sunghoon i just think he’d have an enemies to lovers trope 😭😭😭) also because flo is like the type to be “enemies” with someone but in a friendly way but his and sunghoon’s enemy relationship is def something LMAOO

our beloved summer with lee mark

@yv17 can you tell that enemies to lovers is my fave trope yet LMAOOO…. anyways enemies to lovers to exes to lovers would definitely suit mark (imo ofc). mark is a trouble maker and laughs at anything johnny says so i feel like he’d be attached to whoever he was with previously (for example how attached he is with johnny and other nct members) and would want to be with them again. (but idkk that’s just how i see it) and nora is someone who you could def be attached to (me saying this bc i got attachment issues) she’s so sweet and rlly fun to hangout with so i wouldn’t blame mark tbh 🤷🏾‍♀️

falling into your smile with huening kai

@ox1-lovesick TBH I HAVE NO CLUE IF MIA PLAYS VIDEO GAMES LMAOO 😭😭😭😭 but i’m still doing falling into your smile! one of my favorite cdramas tbh and once again it’s enemies to lovers 💀 in the drama they meet as enemies in like an esports team! and as for kai i feel like he’s emotionally attached to the members of txt so if one of them were to get injured and had to leave the esports team he would rlly be sad and try not to communicate with the new member of the team bc he liked the first set up better. but for mia i think they’d constantly try and communicate with kai just bc it would be awkward if they weren’t friends while being on the same team yk?

abyss with sim jake

@lov3niki ABYSS ABYSS ABYSS I LOVE ABYSS SM! OKAY SO JAKE OFC AS CHA MIN they’re both smart but also kinda slow sometimes LMAOOO and kim seems like a very smart person in murder mystery situations or like the mafia game etc 💀 makes no sense IK but wtv! they would make a rlly good partner in crime duo and be able to work together rlly well when trying to solve the possible crime that’s happening in the show and while doing so they’d most likely get close etc???? I SUCK AT THESE THINGS ALR! 😭😭😭😭

live on with kwon soonyoung

@floweryjihoon MELLI!!! never forgetting her 😁 okay so there’s reasons to why i chose live on specifically and hoshi ! in live on there’s ofc a broadcasting club and the male lead (Also forgot his name) is trying to get the female lead to participate in this event or wtv and she keeps refusing. so like if the task was really concerning or not specified i think it would take a lot of convincing to get melli to agree and that’s what results into hoshi being frustrated and trying to figure out ways to convince her to join/do wtv the event or task was

#k’s chats #🎧 mutuals #i could’ve done better tbh 💀#sorry abt that 💔#asks ❔

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manchasama · 2 years

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so i found out about your winged twins AU last night and then read through it all today and i am very 👀

like i'm a sucker for wing AUs (i have several on a roleplay blog for an unrelated character) and oh gosh i see you fellow ffix enjoyer. i see you

anyway as you may have guessed based on the icon, i am, in fact, a Melli fan XD i also roleplay him but uhhhhhhhhhhh. lemme just. see what comes out, okay? i hope this is okay. i just wish i had a single Ingo braincell beyond train puns. unfortunately i only have this asshole (affectionate) to offer

~~~

When Melli had gone out that night, he hadn't expected, well, that. It was entirely unbecoming of his fellow Warden, and he did not approve. The wings had been a startle to see, of course, but the state of them was something Melli could not, would not abide.

So, after helping Ingo to his feet and sending him on his way (he wasn't heartless, he simply liked to project a certain image, though alone in the highlands, they needed to work together somewhat) Melli decided to do some research. It wasn't as if he didn't have resources, and Sabi could be just as cryptic as he was when he felt the need. More so, even. Needless to say, he had practice talking with her, and she wasn't prone to letting secrets loose if he accidentally got too close to the truth. Not that he planned to, of course. It wasn't anyone's business what went on in the highlands so long as no one got hurt.

So it was that a few days later, Melli announced his presence at the entrance to the dwelling of his fellow highlands Warden, carrying a pack of supplies. "Take off your jacket, I'm not letting you bring down the view of this mountain with your poor grooming. The fact that your jacket is in tatters is bad enough."

I swear every time someone brings me such lovely gifts just because they like my idea, I get all emotional. This is fanTAStic<3

First off, glad you found and enjoyed the AU! One day I will actually write ha ha haaaaa (spoons where are you :<). Still, people have been living for it, and have been adding their own great takes on things! I hope you perused my Pokemon writing page and saw all the gift stuff, because CONTENT!

Yes hi hello i love ffix it is my second fav? tho my top three are pretty dang equal. 6, 7, 9 my beloveds. (Fun fact, the first time I beat 9 and went through the ending bit, the moment Zidane did his matrix freeze frame, a full fic bloomed in my brain. One day I might go back to that, because I did love the idea, but it was full of OCs. Now that I am older and wiser, I feel zero shame for this :p)

Do not apologize for your muse!! I co-write a FF7 fic with my bestie, and Cloud is definitely my muse, while Sephiroth is hers, and we suffer trying to write for each other's characters lol.

As for your asshole (affectionate) can I just say yesss, this is exactly my thinking for the scene. Melli probably fought and lost the battle against doing anything with the coat, but this at least he can bully Ingo over. Also having Melli go to Sabi instead of trying to figure out why Ingo would is perfect! I love when things slot into place like that lol~

But the highlander solidarity, the "it's no one's business" mentality... *thumbs up* I love that, so much. He may be an asshole (affectionate), but he's not a snitch! :>

#fun times ahead #pokemon #submas #submas wing!au #not my writing #*vibrates* could my body give me one good day please #so i can gift people actual content rather than just thoughts #i want to shower presents on everyone who loves this au aaaaa #thank you so much

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smallestapplin · 2 years

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On the subject of boops. I would like to boop Melli! Preferably with ink or something on my hand so it leaves a mark on his nose! I feel like as soon as he realises itll be like that tiktok where a deadpool cosplayer stole a captain america cosplayers shield and is running for his life being chased by captain america all while scream singing about consequences. -♡

Thank you for this.

Imagine you’re walking back to your home from the coastlands, a fight with an Octillery left you covered in ink.

Luckily you cleaned up most of from yourself, but you keep finding spots.

You wiped your neck and got some on your fingers.

Back at the village, Melli was there with Adaman.

He wasn’t waiting for you! He didn’t tag along just to see you!….it’s just been a while.

“There you are! Honestly those missions of yours take forever, it’s not giving you time to bask in my beauty.”

You were on your way to grab some extra extra clothes and go to the bathhouse.

But that can wait now.

As your beloved continues talking, you take your ink covered finger and lightly tap his nose.

“Boop!”

He’s stunned into silence, his face is bright red while he tries to hide it with his hair.

“You’re adorable, anyways I gotta get cleaned up, see ya in a bit!”

You grin and run off, not wanting to stick around for what’s about to happen.

Cleaned up? The tall warden looks confused for a moment before he notices a shiny wet black spot on his nose.

Then he notices he got the ink in his hair when he covered his face with it.

Yes it was adorable! Yes he wants you to do it again! But come on!

#heart anon #pokemon melli #pokemon #pokemon imagines #pokemon x reader #pokemon melli x reader #pokemon fluff

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operationtimeguard · 2 years

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some idv ships i like ^^ rambles below the cut

demijose

half the reason i drew this cus me and my friend main them and thus started talking about them

absolutely adore them they’re my beloveds i love them both sm!! also happy bday jose

also the part in joses 2nd letter where he mentioned the bourbon signature sent me down a rabbit hole... id love if they knew eachother in someway even if its more likely to be sam who jose knew

anyway i like the idea of fueling agent listening to pirate radios broadcast in her car and smiling and vice versa ^^

lucamelly

funnily enough my friends got me into this back in 2020 and i liked it so much i decided to trial melly which turned into me buying her and thus spiraled into her becoming my main/favourite

anyway winter cicada and sophia came to mind while drawing this and i thought it’d be cute if they rode the train together

demimartha

look the fury essence fueled me they got married you cant tell me otherwise

plus the dynamic between them in the manor is unrivaled! the angst potential with demi wanting the truth from martha and martha being unable to shed her lies and reveal her true self

marthamelly

same as above martha keeps getting all the ladies in essences even if they got divorced here good for her

sway and daturas dynamic is so good theyre so in love im ignoring chapter 5 and tuberose here for a second

but also outside of that they’re both two of my favourite idv women and i think they’d be cute together ^^

#identity v #demi bourbon #jose baden #melly plinius #luca balsa #martha behamfil #idv #demijose #lucamelly #demimartha #marthamelly #idv barmaid #idv first officer #idv entomologist #idv prisoner #idv coordinator #fanart #my art #this was very selfindulgent but no regrets

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melaschnie · 2 years

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it’s time for pride reading challenge update #2! two bingos, let’s go!

listening to audiobooks whenever possible alongside reading the books truly did wonders for my reading speed lmao. here are the additions to my challenge reads since the last post, the short opinions on all books (in chronological order of when i read them) are below the cut :)

original post || my storygraph (tell me if you add me so i know to add you back!)

#ownvoices

Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas

down with cis

The Passing Playbook - Isaac Fitzsimons

historical seeting (aka public universal friend and sappho are dancing on your grave)

A Marvellous Light - Freya Marske

sword wlw

Motor Crush Vol. 1 - Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart

epically queer

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

old queers

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune

Never Been Kissed - Timothy Janovsky

i really enjoyed this one, and i certainly did not expect to tear up while reading it but i sure did. there are a few places where you notice that this is the author’s debut novel but imo the characters make up for it mateo beloved

The Heartbreak Bakery - A.R. Capetta

this was a very light-hearted read, and it really felt like an ode to underrepresented identities (in a good way, i’d say). sometimes confusing, but oh well that happens and is more a me thing than a book thing lmao. i think i would’ve liked it even better if it was less teen-y and with a little more focus on the magic itself, but that wasn’t what i was signing up for so it’s perfectly fine

The Charm Offensive - Alison Cochrun

so. damn. sweet. honestly, this book was so good to read. i liked the setting, i liked the characters, and the awkwardness in this is so lovable. 10/10 would read again

Cemetery Boys - Aiden Thomas

every time i leave a book with a favourite character they are the same. this book made me realise that i am predictable af. anyway, this book should really not have made me cry my eyes out (because nothing super surprising happened and also *takes a deep breath* melli, these are fictional characters. not that my one (1) braincell would truly comprehend that but yk) and that’s all i’m gonna say about that.

The Passing Playbook - Isaac Fitzsimons

i am torn about this book. i think i would have enjoyed it a lot when i was around 13/14 but there are simply so many things that annoyed me in this book now, i can’t really just ignore them. it was still a good read and stories like this are important, but i feel like there were so many plot points opened that didn’t get wrapped up? to me it felt like too many issues that the author wanted to include, but not enough space (or plot, idk) to pay each the attention it would’ve deserved.

A Marvellous Light - Freya Marske

what a joy to have read this. the main characters are lovely and the setting was very cute as well. i think this might’ve been the first book in a while where my brain was somewhat on the backseat and i was able to enjoy it just based on the vibes. definitely looking forward to the sequel!

Motor Crush Vol. 1 - Brenden Fletcher, Babs Tarr, Cameron Stewart

i’ve never been very into comics until i read heartstopper earlier this year, but once again i did enjoy the format here! i think all the racing isn’t exactly my Thing(tm) so i won’t be reading the other volumes/issues but it was nice regardless of that.

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller

to be honest, this book was pretty underwhelming. i went in not knowing much about the actual story behind it and still what happened in the end didn’t come as a surprise to me. it was very predictable in my opinion, and i don’t quite get the hype surrounding it.

The House in the Cerulean Sea - TJ Klune

omg. omfg. this man do be writing good books and he’s well on his way to become my favourite author of the year. this one in particular was such a joy to read. the kids are absolutely amazing and a delight, would 10/10 befriend if they were older. pure joy, i cannot emphasise that enough.

#studyblr w/knives reading challenge #pride reading challenge #reading #books #bookblr #literature #library #deichmanske bibliotek #knife gang #cemetery boys #the passing playbook #a marvellous light #motor crush vol. 1 #the song of achilles #the house in the cerulean sea

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feitanswife · 1 year

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I had a dream on Christmas about a video game that was so cool I want to make it but all I remember was the very basic premise and 2 sentences spoken by a character.

The basic premise was that the character who I was seeing through was engaged to the king except there were multiple kings and she kind of could pick any of them and it wouldn’t really matter.

And there was this guy who sort of looked like Marvel Loki except not but that’s the best reference my brain can pull (long black hair, prominent nose, going on thirty probably (or just really stressed))but his personality was more like a cross between Melli from Pokémon legends and Berdley from Deltarune but he was just attractive enough that it was only irritating instead of downright awful

And all I remember was him leaning over the character and saying “with the way things are going, you and I will be ruling together.”

(The implication of which is that if she married the other king, she’ll still have to deal with his ass cause they’re all running the kingdom together)

And followed a few sentences later with “oh please, your lust for me is so painfully obvious.”

Which made the character want to punch him but me (I had separate thoughts to the character, hence why I think it was supposed to be a video game) I was like KISD HIM DO IT KISS HIM THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU YANK HIM DOWN BY THE COLLAR AND AGGRESSIVELY MAKE OUT WITH HIM” but she didn’t and I was upset.

Anyway

I’ve been thinking about it all day and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a dating sim about a group of 7 brothers who were born to a queen and now as adults collectively rule the kingdom, and the way marriages work is that they can only get married when an Oracle foretells it.

And a royal wedding was foretold and the person identified, but it was never specified who they were supposed to marry so they have a certain amount of time to choose a king to marry, and each guy is themed after a color and only through playing every route do you get the full picture of their family dynamic and how their story goes, cause each character has different info and biases.

And so far I have three characters set:

- the Ultramarine King, the one everyone expects the player to marry. He’s a himbo, the oldest brother, and beloved by the kingdom,

…and was a twin who’s other twin died right after birth because both babies needed a dose of a rare and powerful medicine, but only one dose was available. This has left him depressed and feeling inadequate, he doesn’t feel like he deserved to be the one who lived. Several years (and two stepfathers) later, an oracle foretold the birth of the twin reborn, which everyone thought impossible because the former king left the castle, disgraced. But it turns out the queen ran into him at a ball and rekindled old feelings, and slept with him despite remarrying.

His storyline deals with invisible burdens and survivors guilt, as well as learning to recognize when you overwork yourself.

This brings us to The Sky King, the youngest. He’s the technically illegitimate son of the disgraced former king, but due to the prophecy of the lost twin being reincarnated, he is especially loved by the populace, and his older brother. However he is also infantilized constantly for his autism… and the fact that he’s short. He thinks his older brother is baby of him when the brother only wants to protect the one he believes to be his lost twin.

The sky king has animals as a special interest and collects figurines, toys, and stuffed animals of any species that catches his interest, and his storyline revolves around him gaining the confidence to express that around others, which allows him to make connections with his family. The lead is the first person to take him seriously.

The Pines King is the green guy, and my favorite. I’m thinking about naming him Atticus. He’s the second oldest, and spect just entire childhood being outshined by the Ultramarine king. This has led him to showboat around and just to make sure his accomplishments are acknowledged at all. He pushes people away with a cold exterior due to not knowing how yo connect. he’s an oxymoron; he’s got a big ego, but low self esteem. He thinks he’s the smartest of the group, but thinks no one cares about his work.

His main interests are with ecology and environmental protection, and he has a soft spot for wild creatures great and small, which eventually leads him to developing a close bond with the Sky King. His storyline starts with him as an antagonist, constantly getting into arguments with the other kings and putting himself on a pedestal. The lead and him get into dozens of arguments until all the emotions boil over all at once, and then you get to see him in a vulnerable state where he finally opens up.

There’s also going to be red, orange, yellow, and purple themed characters but I don’t have the slightest idea what to do with them.

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cadence-talle · 2 years

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every day i doubt my calendar and my past self but then it turns out correct and i’m like okay <3

anyway HAPPY BDAY LYNN BELOVED YOURE QUITE LITERALLY THE SWEETEST PERSON IK LIKE UR A BRIGHT SPOT ON MY DASH IM LIKE OMG <3 ITS LYNN <3 EVERY TIME I SEE U POST I LOVE POSTING INCREDIBLY LONG COMMENTS TO MAKE U HAPPY AND SEEING U AND MELLIE MESS AROUND ITS SO FUN AND I HOPE U HAVE A WONFERFUL AMAZING DAY!!!!

u have my birthday in your calendar???? hi i love u so much

THANK U BABE!!!! you are so so wonderful and i'm so glad i know u <333 also im glad mellie + my stupid little jokes amuse u that's what they're for!!!!!!! i hope your day is sunny but not too hot and that u are drinking water i love u to the moon and back

#EESHA I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!!!#messages from above #lynn was born day

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randomwriteronline · 2 years

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Melli forgot to be rude and obnoxious sometimes.

He didn’t mean to - it was an honest mistake, when he said ‘good morning’ like a normal person instead of huffing or making it a big deal of meeting the new day if he even managed to, busy as he was combing the fur of his Skuntank until it was of the consistency of silk.

These lapses were common for the Diamond Clan, by now; the poor folks lived with him after all. Jubilife Village or the Pearl Cland just didn’t see him enough to get those.

As a result, Ingo didn’t know; so when Melli stretched his arm out in the golden camellia pink rising sun bathing the Highlands whilst he grumbled, and answered his fellow warden’s ‘good morning’ with an almost amiable wave of his hand and a still sleepy greeting of his own, the man misplaced in time and space shortcircuited for a moment and got the wrong idea.

Oh dear, not really the wrong idea. Ingo wasn’t the kind of guy to easily get the wrong idea.

He did have the misfortune of starting to think about things.

And he thought about them long and good, in his free time, when his brain was wrecked from thinking of other things and decided to focus on something easier, as a fun exercise, ignoring completely the shrieks of his ever so slightly darkening cheeks and tips of his ears which would have very much preferred not being subjected to that backstabbing heat boiling them like sausages.

Plus, Melli kept getting lapses when around him.

So very slowly, Ingo was getting the wrong idea.

Arezu cleared the situation one night in Jubilife, honestly sort of mortified that he had gotten so misled by such a silly thing. She patted his shoulder as he deflated - no doubt in relief - apologizing for the confusion.

But the thing about wrong ideas, very much like with bad ideas, is that sometimes they keep lingering.

So while now enlightened, Ingo’s brain kept churning.

And churning.

Not helped in the slightest by the fact that Melli -- Sinnoh help the poor foreigner -- kept forgetting to be his usual pompous self longer and longer, and especially when in his presence.

Possibly worse were Electrode’s warden’s brand new and even more enygmatic quirks! Out of nowhere he seemed to have taken a habit of stroking and playing with his own lavender hair when talking or simply being around Ingo (a situation the chances of which happening had suddenly increased vertiginously from what seemed like one day to the other as the Diamond Clan member seemed to constantly seek the other warden out), and of leaning slightly closer to him in some capacity, to the point were, if he had smelled of anything, Sneasler’s chosen would have probably been drenched in the scent. He had grown strangely comfortable offering or asking Ingo for help without hostility in his tone, and almost gave the impression that he... Enjoyed? Being in his general vicinity without anything else happening or being required? Indulging into minimal but not in the slightest aggressive physical contact with the other man, like a quick pat on his arm to bring his attention elsewhere or a slight adjustment of his hat if it seemed a little askew? Talking to him? Looking at him? Maybe?

Ingo did not want to get the wrong idea.

Honest.

It was getting very hard not to, though.

But how do you bring up something like that?

And besides, if he said the wrong thing, wouldn’t Melli’s wounded pride incinerate him instantly?

This was hell.

Melli looked at him one day - while holding his hand out for him to grab, so that he could help him up a rocky wall - and had a sort of realization in his eyes.

“Have I been flirting with you?”

Ingo froze halfway through gripping the other man’s palm and nearly crushed it.

What?

“What.”

“I have been flirting with you, right? You just never responded.”

Was he supposed to know?

Didn’t Arezu tell him Melli just forgot to be mean from time to time?

“Should I take it you don’t like me, then?”

What?

Ingo fumbled a moment, mouth opening and closing a few times like a beached Quillfish struggling to keep its body inflated.

“I did not want to get the wrong idea,” he replied finally.

Melli blinked. He sat on his knees from his elevated standing point, grabbed the collar of the other warden with both hands, lifted him up by force with surprising strength, and planted his mouth on deadly pale lips so vehemently he near broke the long straight nose.

When he let go Ingo stumbled on his own feet for a moment, legs weak and face positively ablaze.

“Does this clear your mind a little?” he heard the other ask, annoyed.

He nodded as if he were drunk, and the Diamond warden dragged him up to stand beside him.

Ingo apologized profusely after he excused himself to very quickly puke the human equivalent of a small furball, assuring Melli that the reaction had not been been caused by the act of kissing and/or specifically of kissing him itself and moreso due to the surprise, to which Melli thankfully just replied that he would have had to wash his mouth if he wanted a second one because sure he fancied him, but he wasn’t going to shove his tongue somewhere caked in vomit.

What Ingo had not anticipated was that as soon as he had rinsed his mouth with water Melli would have all but hurled the both of them to the ground where they stood and gotten him senseless with fluster and several other less implicit things in a matter of a few seconds.

Not that he had anything to complain about that.

#pokémon #pokemon legends arceus #submas ingo #pokemon melli #highlandsshipping #random writing #this is very rushed and dumb but i could Not write for the chapter the whole morning #anyways! aroace submas twins will always be my most beloved headcanon but hughlandsshipping is so funny i cant resist it #i genuinely like it! manwhore extraordinaire positively smitten with tormented muppet #melli as he finally gets ingo to recognize he was flirting for the past 2 months: FINALLY. YOURE GETTING DICKED DOWN NOW #ingo: wait whaOH DAMN OK ALRIGHT HOLD ONTO THE HANDRAILS #vomit tw #in ingos defense.... everybody thought melli was just having a weirdly long line of polite days #i always imagine ingoo as overly polite and quiet when it comes to relationships bc hes always like if i overstep a boundary i WILL die #which is hilarious bc hes always frowning and screaming and making huge gestures so he looks like hed be an asshole with no regards #BUT INSTEAD HE WORRIES ABOUT OTHER PEOPLES OPINIONS AND COMFORT SO MUCH #HE JUST CANT HELP BEING THE SHOUTY SUBWAY CLOWN #anyways i wrote a Way Better fic of this same pairing go check that one out instead of this one

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legofemme · 2 years

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i dont have to even ask you, i know your glup shitto is ingo

Blorbo- yknow i . Actually think its leon atm. Hes such a good gd character despite swsh flaws

Scrunkly- steven stone i will not elaborate

Scrimblo- i mean like most pokemon characters are underrated to an extent ? Anyway its hau. Hau my beloved

Glup shitto- nailed it in one yeah its ingo

Meow meow- melli is so pathetic i love him for it. But i also have a soft spot for volo and lysandre. Lyandres so fucking lame ❤

Plinko- im not THAT attached to any characters that way... but also like. Piers. Just cuz itd be funny. I feel like bad things would happen and hed just lay down and accept it

Eeby deeby- i think its good that colress killed ghetsis . he should kill ghetsis again. Its ghetsis.

#vani verbals

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pass-the-bechdel · 5 years

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Dollhouse full series review

How many episodes pass the Bechdel test?

96.15% (twenty-five of twenty-six).

What is the average percentage of female characters with names and lines for the full series?

45.89%

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 40% female?

Twenty.

How many episodes have a cast that is at least 50% female?

Twelve.

How many episodes have a cast that is less than 20% female?

Zero.

Positive Content Status:

Very poor - this is exactly why we don’t just rely on passing the Bechdel and having a large number of female characters in the cast as ‘guarantees’ that we’re watching feminist content. If all those female characters exist to be punished, objectified, and abused by the story’s creator as an expression of his misogynistic rage, that is not a good thing (average rating of 2.76).

Which season had the best representation statistics overall?

They’re about the same, really. The one Bechdel fail was in the first season, but season two had less female character presence overall, but it was also more balanced insofar as it scored more episodes with 40% or more on the cast. Both scored equally badly on content quality, though my feeling is that perhaps season one’s sins were the worse of the two. On the other hand, season one had more guest female characters AND it used its supporting female cast more prominently, whereas season two was more male-heavy not just in numbers but in screen time and narrative attention. At the end of the day, I’m not sure it matters which you consider to be worse.

Which season had the worst representation statistics overall?

See above. I cannot recommend this show for feminist content.

Overall Series Quality:

For a first-time viewer, there’s probably still solid potential for enjoyment, and at least some of the twists should be genuinely enjoyable. The majority of the cast is very excellent, and the idea of the show is compelling. However, the quality of the series as it turned out is negligible, full of flash and little substance, the bad apples in the cast spoil the batch while the good grapple with bad writing and the woeful underuse of their skills, and the whole thing remains far better as a thought than it is in execution. And then there’s the misogynistic rage thing. That’s a problem that really messes with the overall product, to put it lightly.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) under the cut:

For the record: I believe, sincerely and completely, that Joss Whedon hates women. Not that he doesn’t know how to relate to them or he misses ‘the old days’ or any other such placid disdain; I think he deeply and violently hates women, and I think the evidence is written all up and down his work - all of his work, but perhaps never more clearly than in this show. He can claim to be a feminist all he wants, he can put women at the forefront of his shows and talk big game about what he believes they’re capable of, but so long as the women in his stories continue to be mistreated at every turn, beaten, raped, and constantly belittled and devalued within the text, I will not be convinced that the man doesn’t resent the Hell out of women for existing - and particularly, for existing with potential for sexuality. The misogyny of the Whedonverse is rampant, unchecked, often participated in by his ‘heroes’ as much as his villains, and treated as largely incidental, rarely acknowledged and even then, gleefully delivered as ‘just the way things are’. Characters might shake their heads about how that’s unfortunate (and Whedon pats himself on the back for making such an insightful feminist statement), but the verbal denouncement doesn’t detract from the indulgent inclusion of that misogyny, the platform provided for it to roam uninhibited, and be showcased and vicariously enjoyed. For someone who claims to be a feminist, Whedon sure does seem to be fetishistically obsessed with making women suffer, and when I compare the content of his work to that of the other creators whose shows have appeared on this blog, the result is most unflattering.

As easy as it would be to while away this post explicating the details of Whedon’s reprehensible worldview, however, I shall refrain; for one, it would be boring as Hell, it’s not a complicated reality and the truth really is in the pudding for all to see, you don’t need me for that, and for two: I already promised to at last talk about the characters and their arcs (such as they are), since that is one subject I often neglected in the posts on this show, and arguably the only subject upon which the show could hang any virtues. Naturally, we will begin at the beginning, with the much-maligned lead character: Echo.

Eliza Dushku is not a terrible actor. But her range is pretty limited, she plays variations on the same archetype almost exclusively, and that’s a terrible fit for a show where the central caveat is supposed to be that she can take on any personality and be a complete and whole different person week by week. No one should ever expect to be able to float that idea with a lead who is so very obviously not up to the task, and while I don’t think she’s responsible for the failure of the show (all of its other flaws would have soundly sunk it even if Dushku was a crown jewel of talent), it certainly does not help that she’s easily the blandest and least compelling player in the whole sorry mess. It’s a cringe every time she utters some silly line about how powerful and badass she is, because there’s nothing convincing about it, and if the creative team really believed (and believed their audience would believe) that Echo is THAT great, they wouldn’t feel the need to have her showily declare it. When season two hits and Echo’s ‘character development’ fast-tracks to full sentience, she becomes even less dynamic: all of the things which could have provided legitimate engagement with the character’s struggle are skipped over, her process of self-actualisation (anyone who read my Farscape reviews knows my love for hard self-actualisation narratives), her navigation of her role as a developing entity in a world hostile to such things (touched on occasionally in season one, thrown to the wind in season two), anything to do with her cognitive evolution is scrapped in favour of ‘she just remembers it all now’, and there’s no arc to it. I invoked the concept of the Mary Sue in one episode post, and that is exactly the problem we end up with: a ‘perfect’ character who can do everything and anything and be ~the best~ at it, who is beloved and desired by all who meet her, except for her (mustache-twirling cliche villain) enemies, who fear her awesome powers. There is no personality in Echo, no conflict, no meaning. Wild as it may sound, you could actually remove her from the show completely and easily adapt the other characters (the ones who have personality, conflict, and meaning) to fill the space, and not only would it work, but the show would be infinitely the better for it. That’s the absolute opposite of what you want from a lead character.

The other BIG mistake in the casting for this show is Tahmoh Penikett as Paul Ballard, who plays his part with all the verve and charisma of a piece of wood with eyes drawn on (ever watch Ed, Edd, and Eddy? Plank has more dynamic personality than our boy Ballard). I’m not sure how much of it is Penikett’s fault - it has been many years since I watched Battlestar Galactica, and while I don’t remember being particular impressed by him, I don’t remember being frustrated by his inability to walk in a straight line without making it look weird, either - but whether he’s handicapped by his own acting non-prowess or not, he’s certainly fighting a losing battle with an unfocused mess of a character, and if the writing couldn’t decide what Ballard’s deal was to start with, I’m not shocked that Penikett had a hard time conveying it. Is Ballard a morally righteous hero (on a show with no moral centre for him to relate to)? Is he flawed and secretly-dark, and if he is, who recognises that, is it deliberate? Is he losing control, or is that just supposed to be ‘normal person’ behaviour? Again, who notices, does he know? How much of his interiority is a white-knight cliche, and how much is supposed to be genuine, and is any of it supposed to be subversive? I honestly can’t tell, one episode from the next. In season one, he’s garbage at his job, and some characters mention it, but then Ballard himself appears to be under the impression that he’s fighting the good fight and the tone of the show seems to agree with him rather than acknowledging his self-delusion. In season two, he joins the Dollhouse at the same time as openly declaring himself to be still against it, the plot conveniently pretends he never raped Mellie so that we can uphold the idea that he IS righteous, after all, and has no dark impulses, other characters at the Dollhouse put up with him being an obvious liability for no discernible reason, and then eventually he gets rendered brain-dead, reconstructed as a doll version of himself, and then dies a few episodes later anyway. Big whoop. It feels an awful lot like they had no long-term plan for what to do with the character, so they just focused on giving him a romance with Echo and then threw some contrived death stuff on top of that for flavour. Speaking of the romance thing: eek. Again, in season one it seemed they couldn’t decide whether or not his mounting obsession with his damsel-in-distress vision of Caroline was creepy as Hell (pro tip: it absolutely was), but then in season two it all became very simple: Ballard wants Echo, but doesn’t really believe she’s a real person (for some reason this is not a deal-breaker to her), and they dance around each other for a bit but never get together and somehow we’re supposed to interpret this as the development of a wonderful love story with a bittersweet tragic end when he dies, twice but also not really because then she downloads him into her brain anyway so they live happily ever after, sort of. It’s a fucking mess, y’all, and they don’t earn it, and the utter soup that is Ballard’s personality and motivation goes un-examined. The fact that season two tips heavily in favour of Echo/Ballard scenes is something very significantly to its detriment, because it’s the worst and most shakily-developed non-relationship of the series. Ok, that, and whatever the fuck Topher/Bennett was supposed to be.

Speaking of Topher...actually, I don’t have much to say about him. Breaking pattern with the rest of the characters, Topher shows no real sign of a personal story in season one, so it’s season two which attempts to give him some function as an individual outside of being the comic-relief tech guy. It’s not particularly successful, since the attempted character development revolves around 1) moral compunctions (which, as noted ad nauseum, this show left itself incapable of engaging with in any meaningful way back when it pretended sexual slavery was a morally grey issue), and 2) throwing a love interest at him: zero actual relationship-building ensues and it’s awkward and chemistry free and then she dies (so glad Bennett could exist to tick off a bunch of Whedon’s favourite suffering-woman tropes and then die for shock value, yay). At the end of the day, Topher was just a handful of affectations, fun to watch, but hardly amounting to more of a ‘whole person’ than the paper-thin personalities of the sex-fantasy cliches he imprinted into the dolls.

If Topher is the character who suffers most from a lack of development in season one, Boyd is the hardest hit in season two, easily. As Echo’s handler in season one, Boyd was pleasant, mild-mannered, protective, and he had an ethos which governed his choices (imagine such a thing!). His former career as a cop was referenced variously, and it seemed clear that we should expect one day to learn how he came to leave the force and wind up as a bodyguard working for a secret organisation. Season two? Forget about it. Forget about it because of the idiotic ‘twist’ that turned Boyd into Rossum’s cuckoo founder and thereby unraveled his entire personality as a sham in one fell swoop, obviously, but forget about his character having even the appearance of development in the meantime, also. Removing Boyd from his position as Echo’s handler was a grave error, as it downgraded his importance and effectively stifled the natural bond he had developed with his charge which represented a nice, uncomplicated character dynamic (one far more welcome than that clusterfuck replacement which was Ballard as Echo’s handler, euch). Additionally, this led to Boyd being largely backgrounded for the entirety of season two, given no meaningful stories to engage with, and certainly not expanded upon or explored as a character. As noted, any such expansion would have been irrelevant anyway once the dumbass ‘big reveal’ happened, but that’s all the more reason to bemoan the loss of Boyd’s character, which essentially occurred a full season before he actually donned his suicide vest and exploded in the Rossum building. If you have to dump a character just to service your twist, don’t. Dump the twist instead. Like pretty much every other actor on this show, Harry Lennix deserved better.

And then there’s DeWitt...I largely covered the DeWitt issue back in the episode posts, really; she starts out an intriguing character (and I credit Olivia Williams with much of this, she created dynamism out of an oft-lacking script, in every case), but season two really did a number on her when it came to leaping wildly about different plot ideas that jerked DeWitt’s characterisation from one extreme to another with very little connective tissue to sell the change. If Ballard was the character whom the narrative couldn’t decide how to handle in season one, DeWitt takes up that odious mantle in season two; is she losing her grasp? Is she playing the game? Is she an evil, pragmatic genius? Is she foolish and deluded by an idealism that plainly has no basis in reality? Is she an alcoholic who spontaneously gets her shit together after a couple of other characters tell her off? Damn, that was easy. As with Ballard, the problem is not just that the story seems to change tone and purpose for DeWitt’s character from one episode to the next; it also robs her of the opportunity to be defined through consistent interaction with others - she has no one to bounce off in a manner which would create a baseline for her behaviour and how it is outwardly perceived (and thus, how the audience is intended to interpret it).

I’m gonna talk about Sierra and Victor together, because frankly, that’s both the way the show packages them, and there’s not much to say outside of it. For the millionth time ever on this blog, I will complain that all shows ever would be improved by being ensembles; in this case, Sierra and Victor both would have benefited from a framework which allowed either one of them to take greater precedence more often, instead of having their own narratives distilled down to a single Personal Episode each in season two. I do enjoy both, and their relationship has legitimate chemistry and charm while also following a sensible plot concept through - the idea that strong emotional connections and bonds can transcend the mind wipe. Unfortunately, the show has little functional purpose for either character outside of their relationship, to the extent that it even sidelines them almost entirely in the climax of the series (pre-flashforward). Victor/Anthony is given the least plot purpose in the show proper, which is just a criminal misuse of Enver Gjokaj - Anthony is a soldier and that’s essentially his entire personality right there, and the only thing that gives them an excuse to make him do Manly Fighter Stuff in the latter stages of season two. Sierra/Priya gets more to do, but the bad news is, it’s all about being raped, and that’s her whole story - horrible possessive misogynists abusing her so that she can embody Whedon’s favourite Broken Bird trope, with the added misfortune of changing the nature of her relationship with Victor to make it a little bit about him ‘rescuing’ her with the love of a good man. Both of these actors are so good, and their characters had such potential, I can’t believe the show fucked around and wasted them like it did.

Ok, one more before I go. I know he was never a member of the central cast, but we gotta talk about Laurence Dominic, because he was deceptively essential to the show, important to what made it work for the brief time when it could be said to work, and he was altogether the best character on the show insofar as he was the most cohesive, consistent, and logical player in the piece. I said as much when he made his welcome return in ‘The Attic’ (the best episode of season two...coincidence?), and as I noted then, it may be that Dominic’s early exit from the show was to his benefit in that he avoided being jostled across season two having all semblance of coherence torn to pieces along the way. I’m fairly certain the writer’s had no idea how valuable Dominic was to the story when they axed him (not least because they clearly had no idea how important it is to create some kind of moral framework to support a story that is inherently morally dubious), but consider the most obvious changes to the show format and the other character’s stories once Dominic was out of the picture: Boyd takes over as Head of Security, to his detriment as a character, and to the detriment of his relationship with Echo, leaving her wasting time with that dolt Ballard instead and putting audiences everywhere to sleep. And DeWitt? DeWitt loses her sounding board, the right-hand man who - for most of the first season - anchored her character by giving her someone to talk and plot and, at times, disagree with, creating that behavioural baseline that she lacked when she was being dragged all over season two. Dominic’s role was a structural pillar on the show, he held the roof up so that the rest of the characters could interact and interrelate - with each other, and with him - he had distinct relationship dynamics with pretty much all of them - and he was exactly the kind of character that you want around being a stable, unobtrusive presence. They could even have kept the idea of him being an NSA spy, just keep him working undercover, the audience knows the truth but the other characters don’t, it creates tension! Sure, it’d probably mean letting Ivy be sent to the attic under false charges, and that wouldn’t help this show’s abysmal abuse-of-women record, but considering the show did nothing of consequence with Ivy in the end anyway and she just existed to be belittled by Topher while he sent her to fetch him snacks...yeah, anyway. I could talk a lot about why Dominic was the best character on this stinking show, but it’s ultimately beside the point: the point is that nothing in this show really worked, and that had a lot to do with major conceptual issues (moral grounding is not optional! Misogyny is not tasty plot flavouring! Joss Whedon is an abomination!), and keeping Dominic around long-term would no more save the show than if Eliza Dushku possessed a modicum of acting range. It’s frustrating because there are so many good pieces there, excellent actors, intriguing character set-ups, fantastic plot possibilities, and heady existential implications. It’s just that some moron decided the best thing to do with that would be to play nasty sexual wish-fulfillment games and leave the rest to rot. I’m pretty sure the version of this show I enjoyed once was largely the version I made in my head, because the reality is a wasteful disaster. And misogynistic as Hell, too. We, the viewers, deserved better.

#Dollhouse #full series review #Bechdel Test #female representation

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thedenfantasyleague · 4 years

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Week 10 Den League Recap... Ya Bastards

Boys & Scott,

Due to the fact that our esteemed commissioner was too busy bird-dogging chicks in the Big Apple all weekend to watch football like the rest of us, Debbie Rowe has been called into action for the recap. Sorry in advance.

Wilmore Cinderella vs. Debbie Rowe

We’ll go ahead and get this one out of the way first and foremost. Jp said it best; he pretty much lost any shot he had at winning when my running backs started scoring touchdowns. Sure, he put up a fight with decent games from Famous Jameis and Mikey Thomas, but despite a weak showing from my QB pickup, Phil Rivers, who was probably just worn out from all the sex, my squad did just enough to coast to another victory. Moving forward, JP finds himself in a weird position where he technically is still in the playoff hunt but may have an equal shot at Cabana boy for a second straight year. On the other hand, I’m just trying to stay humble and hungry, praying to the fantasy gods and Pope Francis that my team can stay healthy heading into the postseason.

POV vs. Perfect Ten

Micro v. Macro. Min v. Max. This gamer duel came down to an NFC West Monday night showdown, whereas we all know, ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN! Unfortunately for our new stepdad, POV, nothing happened on MNF. Russ Wilson, perhaps the best gamer of his generation, couldn’t get the job done against the new legion of boom: the Niners D. E stayed Golden with the law office of Murray, Ekeler and Hill, while Dyl was undone by Charles Saquon Barkley and Marlon Mackille O’Neal. There is hope for POV and his Brownies moving forward, however, as the Juice got loose for a second straight week and the Browns got a much-needed victory against the Bills. This was also a huge game for E to put some distance between himself and Al in the Cabana Boy race!

Timshel vs. Mardukas

Have we ever really figured out why Mike’s team is called Timshel? I’m not even positive that I pronounce it properly tbh. Anyway, here was another game that came down to needing a MNF miracle. Timshel was looking to ride Breida to victory but ran into technical difficulties in Silicon Valley. Meanwhile, Hank used big games from the Cookie monster and Lamar Michael Jackson to moonwalk to another easy victory. Mike’s silver linings playbook comes in the form of Smelly Melly busting loose for a big game finally after his multiple week hold out to start the year. Could this momentum help propel him out of the middle of the pack and into a top 3 playoff seed? Also, fug Scott’s bench.

VP vs. Lupin

Don’t look now but team VP is talking that SHIII and backing it up over the past month. It must have been a full moon this weekend because Lupin (a known werewolf) was killed by a Steeler bullet. Outside of the Steelers D and Hollywood Brown, Vinny’s team didn’t do too much to jump out at you, however, Gabe’s D was the only thing that stuck out on an otherwise flaccid roster. Vinny, like E, gets a huge victory this week to separate himself from Al Minshew at the bottom of the Todd heap. Meanwhile, James John Conner needs to terminate his injury and get back on the field if Lupin wants to stay near the front of the pack.

Kalabar vs. Young Robbie Gets Rubbed Hard by New Stepdad

What more can we say about Rob’s season? This week his team suffered yet another setback as Devonta Freeman exited early with an injury that will likely keep him sidelined for several weeks. I’m too lazy to look it up, but this seems like what, the 50th straight week that Rob has failed to break 65 points? Honestly, we may need to look into an exorcism because this seems like a Kurse much stronger than anything we’ve seen to this point. I don’t need to say much about G because he said a lot to himself on Sunday, but credit where it’s due for the big Baltimore D and Kyle Rudolph pickups. Very timely indeed. Almost makes you wonder, did Kalabar forget to set his clocks back this year, because this was a vintage October performance from the Kursed One. If he keeps this up we can forget Halloweentown, this season it’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.

MinMax Gardeners vs. El Commish

Mr. Commissioner may have taken the week off, but his team certainly did not! In what has to be a tough blow for MinMax, Josh Allen and Christian Kirk Cameron almost Left Jarn Behind, but negative points from David Johnson screwed him in the end (that’s a sodomy joke). For El Commish, it was Derrick Henry Rowe who outweighed the competition along with Travis Scott Kelce who went sicko mode in Nashville. As Jarn was in NYC this weekend for an annual commissioner’s meeting at the league office, it was only fitting that we received new info regarding the Cabana boy punishment. And could there have been a more apt matchup for this news? We now know, Mr. Commissioner will be conducting a Hot Ones style league recap with the Cabana boy, who let’s face it, is looking more and more like Al every week. Many people are wondering, can Al take the heat?

UPDATE:

Whoa. Jarn holds on by the skin of his world-famous tamales. I wrote this recap early in the second half thinking all was safe, and then out of the clear blue, Al’s kicker almost ruined the Commissioner’s big, fat New York weekend. Cabana boy status still intact.

******

Cabana Boy Clinch:

Magic Number: CLINCHED: Debbie Rowe CLINCHED: Hank Mardukas CLINCHED: Kalabar’s Revenge 2: Team Timshel 2: Fire Jarn 2: Professor Lupin 2: El Commish 3: Wilmore Cinderellas 3: Stick With Us PVO 3: The Perfect Ten 3: VP Virg. Gardening Minmaxers: 2-8

****** It’s late in the season and there are playoff positions up for grabs. I suggest everyone strap in and strap on for these last three weeks. Things are about to get a little wild.

That said, it’s been my pleasure filling in for our beloved Commish this week. Thanks for bearing with.

Debbie Rowe aka Jane

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