#cannot recommend enough; it deserves the attention it's getting and more

[holylulusworld]

Valentine reloaded

Summary: Your fiancé breaks your heart on Valentine’s Day out of all days.

Pairing: Mafia!Bucky Barnes x fem!Reader, former!(any male character) x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, break-up, mentions/implied cheating, fluff, Bucky being the best, flirting

A different kind of Valentine

Bucky pulled the chair for you and whispered soothing words in your ear. He tried to help you forget about what happened earlier that day. “That’s my favorite restaurant, doll. I hope you like it.”

“Oh, I wanted to try it out for so long. But—” You sighed deeply and shook your head. “I like it already. The ambiance is nice, and I like the cute aprons the waitresses are wearing.”

“You have a good eye for details,” Bucky smirked at your flustered state. “Relax, doll. I won’t bite or eat you alive.”

“Maybe I’m into biting,” you retorted and mirrored his smirk. “You never know about people’s kinks until you end up in bed with them.”

Bucky laughed at your attitude. “I like you already.” He said and sat down to have a look at the menu. “What do you like?”

“I like it spicy, wild but with lots of kissing and gentle touches,” you grinned at Bucky. “OH! You meant the food.”

“You are something else,” Bucky snickered and dropped his eyes to the menu. He’d love to hear more about your preferences in the bedroom but decided against it. You were still hurting and tried to hide the pain another man caused with your cockiness. “I’d love to know everything about you.”

“I think you’d get bored, just like him if you knew everything about me,” you whispered. The light in your eyes and the smirk gone you tried to keep yourself together. “Sorry, I didn’t want to ruin your mood.”

“Doll, you are hurting,” Bucky grabbed your hand and squeezed it. “The man you loved broke your heart and left you for some other girl. You can be sad about it.”

“I don’t want to be sad,” suddenly aware that you are at a fancy restaurant, with a very attractive and nice man you shook your head. “He doesn’t deserve a single tear. Whatever we had, he ruined it and I’m not going to let him win. Let’s eat.”

“Let’s eat, Y/N,” Bucky nodded and squeezed your hand before turning his attention back toward the menu. “I’ll go for meat tonight.”

“I knew you were into some meat,” you winked at Bucky and smirked again. “I’ll go for pasta.”

Bucky nodded and called for the waiter. You ordered your food and released one last sigh. This night should’ve been special for you and your now ex-fiancé. All you wanted was to make him happy. And now you realize, it should’ve been him trying to make you happy for once.

“What do you want for dessert?” Bucky asked, watching you with concern. You were lost in thoughts, and he tried to bring you out of your intrusive thoughts. 

“Can you recommend anything?” You asked and looked at Bucky, taking your time to drink his features in. Just now you recognized his eyes, bluer than the ocean you longed to see again for the longest time.

“Doll, you can order whatever your heart desires. My treat,” he softly said. “What do you like? I like the awfully sweet stuff.”

“Sweet,” you giggled. “Really? I thought you were more into the manly kind of dessert.”

“I’m man enough to admit that I like sweet desserts and to caress a woman. All these testosterone-driven wanna-be men are fake. A real man can admit his feelings and make sweet love to a woman.”

“You are laying on thick, huh?” You smiled at Bucky. “I like a man who can manhandle me but make sweet love afterward. The perfect combination of roughness and softness.”

“Y/N, you are making it hard for me to be a gentleman,” Bucky cleared his throat and tried to ignore the desire growing in his pants. He’d love to get to know you better before devouring you. 

“Well, you started this, Sir,” you pointed your finger at Bucky. “You cannot talk about your qualities and expect me to not fall for you.”

He chuckled at your words. “I’m warning you, Y/N. If you want me to, I’ll make you fall for me so hard you’ll not even recognize that I put a ring on your finger before you are walking down the aisle.”

“A shotgun wedding then?” You challenge. “I bet you look even better in a smoking. Let me just get a nice dress and we can drive into the sunset.”

“What will you do if I kidnap you and make you my wife?”

You shrugged. “What’s the worst thing that could happen to me? If you wanted to hurt me, you had more than one chance to do so.”

“You are tempting me, doll,” he laughed and tried to play it cool. Bucky was mesmerized by you the moment you slapped him with your clutch. No one ever dared to lay hands on James Buchanan Barnes. Everyone fears the ruthless mobster. “I can still kidnap you after dinner.”

“Good plan, Sir,” you winked at Bucky, feeling a weight get lifted off of your chest. Somehow being around this stranger, you just met helped you forget about your ex-fiancé and his betrayal. “I’m starving and can’t marry a man on an empty stomach.”

“A very good plan, Y/N,” he smiled at you. “Let’s make this dinner worth your time, sweetness.”

Dinner was pleasant. You ate, drank, and chatted with Bucky. Honestly, you didn’t have so much fun for the longest time. 

You soon find out that Bucky is easy to talk to. He never judged you or made a face when you ordered the most expensive and delicious dessert you ever ate.

He simply enjoyed your presence and the fact that he made you smile more than once.

When it was time to pay, he refused to let you pay a single buck. It was his pleasure to invite you. 

Bucky helped you into your jacket and held the door open for you. You walked next to him, feeling hope bloom in your chest when he suddenly grabbed your hand to hold it.

“That okay?” He murmured. “If not, just say it. I don’t want to overstep.”

“I overstepped by slapping you, Bucky,” you stopped in your tracks to look at him. “You didn’t deserve the slap, or to get yelled at. I’m sorry.”

“Doll, I’ll give you reason in the future to yell at me. Believe me, I’m no saint,” he grinned and wrapped you in a hug. “But I make up for it in the bedroom.”

“Bucky,” you slapped his chest and giggled. “Can we…do this again?” You asked. “I pay next time. I mean…can we go out together or have coffee?”

“We sure will, Y/N,” Bucky said and slung one arm around your shoulder. “Or we could just get married tonight.”

“You’re not funny,” you teased but leaned your head against his shoulder. “Thank you for tonight. You don’t even know me but tried to cheer me up.”

“All for a pretty and sweet dame like you,” he simply said and walked you toward his car. “I’ll drive you home, and make sure you sleep well. I won’t leave you alone tonight.”

Bucky kept his promise and settled on your couch. He knows how hard it is to get your heart broken by the person who should love you the most.

Even though he just met you, Bucky felt responsible for you. That his heart was beating a little too fast close to you didn’t help.

“Fuck,” you sniffled while walking back out of the bedroom, rubbing your tired eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you.”

“Hey,” Bucky got up from the couch to wrap you in his arms when you started to cry again. “We agreed on not crying over that bastard. Didn’t we?”

You nodded against him. “Yeah.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Can you hold me for a while?” You hid your face in his chest. “Please.”

“Of course, doll.” He softly replied. Bucky wanted to tell you that he would hold you for all your life if you allowed him to do so. “Let’s get you to bed. I won’t leave your side.”

Best Valentine ever

Tags in reblog.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #mobster!bucky barnes #mafia au #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x y/n #Valentine reloaded

[love-toxin]

what about a fruity 4 x a plush size angelface?

muahahahaha!!!! i cannot be contained!!!!

(cws: f!plus size!angelface, fruity four, a lil size insecurity, the spice™️, breeding, facesitting, tribbing, fluff and smut.)

more of you to love! but for real though, you'll have a group of vultures to contend with. sometimes you wonder if there's anything that goes through Steve and Robin's heads other than ass ass boobs thighs tits ass. Eddie is at least a little more cultured about it, has a little more finesse--he often hits you with the "where'd a sexy, curvy girl like you come from, huh sweetheart? did heaven decide to bless me with an angel today?" rather than just ogling you like a hound (although he definitely does do some ogling). and Nancy's usually rolling her eyes at their antics, choosing instead to ensure you get enough compliments on your personality rather than just your figure. she doesn't wanna be lumped in with the rest of those little pervs you call your partners--although to say she doesn't enjoy the way you fit in some of the clothes she buys you is an understatement at least.

aside from the obvious physical attraction, though, they absolutely adore you as a person, and despite their love for you they aren't ignorant to your own insecurities and the ones that people like to push on you. they're like a group of guard dogs--always looking out for you and getting a kick out of being your protectors. you can be sure any hurtful comments will be met with proper retaliation, whether it's malicious or just ignorant. that includes family members too! Eddie's especially not afraid to make an enemy of any grammas or aunties or parents or snot-nosed siblings, if they start spewing a load of shit about his precious angel.

Steve and Robin were the first ones to really fall for you, the two of them looking forward to your visits to Family Video, when they would both try their best to appeal to you and quietly squabble between themselves as soon as you had left. Robin would argue that they should recommend a romance movie next time you're in, while Steve wants a very specific action-comedy with a dashing protagonist that he swears looks just like him. but those disagreements go from relatively benign chatter to something deeper very quickly, heading towards conversations like "do you think she likes girls?" and "maybe we could ask her out" and the ever-popular "god, if she thinks we're freaks, I'll have to find a new job and hide in a cave forever."

once your presence was made known to Eddie and Nancy, though, and they made a point to show up at the video store when the others knew you'd be there so they could meet you, it was practically love at first sight. you smile as soon as you see them, you know their names because you're such a good listener even when Robin's rambling off-topic, and you're so friendly and nice, you don't even flinch at standing face-to-face with Hawkin's most notorious freak. you compliment his jacket, tell Nancy she's even prettier than the other two described her, and they're just hooked. they watch you duck into the aisle to grab a new tape with Robin on your heels to give you recommendations, and the three of them bow their heads together to whisper amongst themselves. making plans, hopeful that they can snatch you up and make you theirs--because you deserve to be treated so well, and they want to be the ones to do that spoiling more than anything else.

you'd count yourself lucky that they tried so hard and didn't give up the fight to make you theirs, but honestly they wouldn't have ceased unless and until you made it clear you didn't want them at all. and you're so gentle and cuddly and sweet that they just couldn't not fall for you, you're such a babygirl and they spend so much time vying for your attention, sometimes you wonder whether you've got some kind of hormone radiating off of you that makes them stick to you like glue. which, of course, also translates to the intimate parts of your collective relationship.

Eddie's biggest love for you is your tummy rolls, god, the tummy rolls. so fucking cute when you bend over, when he can see them through your clothes or he gets a peek underneath if your shirt's especially baggy--and even cuter when he's bending your legs back and folding you in half, his hips meeting yours and nearly crushing you as his mind whites out with pleasure. if not for his promise to pull out, he'd probably forget, but it's almost better than cumming inside you when he pulls out and shoots his load off all over your belly, soft skin jerking as the heat splatters all over it and you sigh with pleasured relief at the feeling. absolutely glorious every single time, it never gets old.

Steve's heavily preoccupied with the thought of "dear god, that's a belly I wanna put a baby into." more often than not. whether you want to or not, or whether you can or not, it's not like that desire rests entirely on actually producing a baby--he just loves the thought of it, loves the idea of pressing you down into his bed and breeding you, of feeling your soft rolls against his fuzzy chest and thighs as he pounds you til your eyes roll back while folding you in a mating press. and when he's done there, he'll flip you over and do it all again from behind, your hair tugged back in his fist and your ass rippling with every hard thrust as he feels those words "I love you" bubbling up in his throat the closer he gets to spilling himself inside you again.

Robin just wants you to sit on her face, sit on her face please god just let her suffocate underneath you--no, there's no weight limit, and there's no need to worry about hurting her because she promises you'll have a way to communicate without using her words. when you do end up shyly straddling her head, folds all puffy and glistening from Robin dragging her fingers through them, she's sure there's never been a moment in her life she's been more overcome with anticipation. and when she finally pulls your hips down and hears that squeaky "ah!" when her tongue meets your slit, her life is pretty much complete as she goes to work on licking you out until you've totally drenched her just like she wanted.

Nancy has very specific tastes, herself. obviously she also wants a chance at being smothered between those legs, but she's also got other motivations--primarily the thought of laying you down and riding those beautiful hips into ecstasy, each of your clits grinding up against each other so she can watch that pretty face twist up in pleasured agony as she drags out your orgasms. she loves the feeling of your chubby thighs pressing against her on either side, the soft jiggle of your tits and your tummy as she rides you, it just highlights all your best features and makes it so easy to watch you cum when you can't take any more. and, of course, seeing you pout and whine when she denies you your end, getting you so close to cumming and making you so wet only to sit back and listen to you beg for her to finish. it's just perfection.

and regardless of what they love about you intimately, they love you so much more. they love your smile and your sweetness and your attitude, they melt when you're nice to them and end up kissing you when you're annoyed, because you're just too pretty to resist. you can get whatever you want if you ever dare to ask and you can calm them down when they're upset so easily. even if they're angry at you, you can just yank up your top and flash them and suddenly whatever they were mad about they just magically forget. they love to see you have confidence, but they're not disappointed or annoyed when it comes time to reassure you--they like to do it! because it's an opportunity for them to run through all the things they love about you and remind you that you're theirs, you're theirs and you're loved and it doesn't matter what anyone else says about them or you. if you love yourself, that's awesome, and if you don't like the way you look, that's okay, too. that means they just get a little extra challenge to make you believe it, and they'll be damned if they lose that battle.

#fruity four #fruity four x reader #eddie's angelface #steve harrington #eddie munson #nancy wheeler #robin buckley #steve harrington x reader #eddie munson x reader #nancy wheeler x reader #robin buckley x reader #spicy writing #st 4 #stranger things #ellie writes #anons

[softshrimpy]

How To Woo A Hot Principal

Step 14: Meet The Parents

Summary: Working at the Weathervane was exactly what you needed. The routine, the people, your co-workers. It certainly helped that a certain tall, blonde, fucking gorgeous woman happened to frequent the cafe. Now some may call hopelessly flirting with your customers inappropriate behavior.

But truly, when it came to Larissa Weems, who could blame you?

I'm simply a slut for comforting insecure Larissa, sue me. 🦐✨

Tags: @variant-2402 @the-bagel24 @eveymay @kimiinou @muffintopxs @h-doodles @bbykens @lilfartbox1 @bigolgay @winterfireblond @gela123 @i-like-reading @hopelessly-sapphic @alder-saan @im-a-carnivorous-plant

(pls let me know if you want to be tagged/ I missed you!)

Chapter 13

Cross Posted on AO3 Here

HWTAHP Masterlist

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

You had awoken the next morning to a rather lovely little vase of flowers and a handwritten note. The note smelled like Larissa (yes you sniffed it). The small bouquet contained white tulips, white orchids and some lilies of the valley. If you had been versed in the language of the flowers you would’ve known that they symbolized rebirth, sincere apology and forgiveness. However, since you knew absolutely fucking nothing about the language of flowers you simply thought they reminded you of her hair and general elegance.

Darling, I truly can’t thank you enough for your forgiveness and kindness. I will do everything I can to do right by you. I cannot express how much you mean to me

Yours LW

The heartfelt note had made you rather embarrassingly, giggle and kick your feet. You had all but skipped your way to your appointment with Vlad. He had taken one look at you all smiles and sunshine before rolling his eyes and snorting.

You had spent the morning being what Vlad called an ‘insufferable lovestruck puppy’ which you took as a compliment. You had been sitting in the quad reading a book Dr. Kinbott had recommended for you when Yoko appeared in front of you.

“So you live here now huh?” She remarks.

“I guess so, which means you’re stuck with me,” you joke, closing your book to give her your full attention.

“So… it’s parents weekend this weekend.” She says.

“Oh, that’s cool. Will your parents be attending?”

“My dad will be here yeah, and you’ll definitely meet him. That’s not what this is about.” She explains, “It’s Enid, her parents are weird about her not wolfing out and she’s going to need some like adult support.”

“I’m not certain I count as a proper adult-“

“And she looks up to you and Weems, probably because you’re the only adult queers she knows. And since you two have made up and are together again-“

“Hold on we’re not- I mean we did make up but it’s-it’s a bit more complicated tha-“

“So when her parents inevitably fuck up and make her upset I would really appreciate it if you two would just offer her some support.”

“I-well I mean I-I can see what I can d-“

“Perfect! Thanks queen,” she grinned before getting up and leaving you sitting there rather confused.

Of course, you would give Enid your full support, it was the least she deserved. But you weren’t sure what you and Larissa even were at the moment and didn’t really want to rush into anything. But you resolved that you would at least mention it to her when you saw her. Knowing her motherly care for the young werewolf she’d probably be down to help her out in any way she could.

The mention of parents had made you think of yours, despite your deep inner desire to ignore that rather large problem that needed to be sorted. You had so many questions. And frankly weren’t sure if you even wanted the answers. You knew at some point you’d have to talk to them, maybe even see them. You really would be much happier if you could simply…not do any of that. You already had your issues with them, never mind the fact that they definitely knew you were and vampire and almost definitely did something to make you appear more human.

You’re broken from that particularly fun little spiral of sadness when Larissa appears next to you, sitting down and handing you a cute lil sandwich. You quickly forget all about your crappy parental relationship and instead focus on having a nice time with Larissa.

——

Parents' weekend arrived faster than you expected.

You had shared lunch with Larissa almost every day, which was making you far more giddy than it should. You cherished every moment you got with her. She had been rather stressed out with the planning and organizing. But she met you every day for lunch, and you would chat about everything and nothing and you felt your heart healing bit by bit each day.

You were currently standing in the quad, watching as parents arrived and went to see their kids. It was really rather heartwarming, seeing so many kids (most of whom you knew on some level) chatting with their parents and actually being listened to. There were those who seemed rather pissed their parents were there or those who were sitting with friends and their families. You were keeping an eye on Enid, glancing over at her every now and again to make sure she was doing okay after Yoko’s ominous warning. She seemed alright for now but you could tell having her parents around was stressing her out a bit.

“Are you a part of the staff here?” A voice asked from your side.

You just about fell the fuck over out of fright, turning to see who had snuck up on you. It was a woman dressed in a figure-hugging black dress with long dark hair. The dark look was completed with almost plum-colored lipstick. Honestly, she pulled it off in a way you weren’t sure many could.

“Oh uh…no I’m not a teacher here.” You answered.

“Then I suppose you’re a parent…?”

“Oh uhm no, no I’m not a parent. It’s uh- well the story of my being here is rather complicated…”

Honestly, you had no idea how to explain to this woman why you were staying at Nevermore. You weren’t sure simply saying ‘I was attacked in the woods and brought back here to recover’ would make much sense or not be met with a thousand other questions. And honestly, you weren’t sure Larissa wanted you advertising why you were there either.

You’re saved from having to explain further when Larissa stepped up to the podium to make her welcoming speech. She’s truly mesmerizing when she speaks. And she looks fucking gorgeous as always. You’re almost certain you’re staring at her like a love-sick puppy, again. She finishes her speech (you didn’t take in one word from it) and glances at you, sending you a small smile. You send a small wave back, beaming and feeling your heart skip a beat.

“Ah…I see.” You hear from the woman next to you.

“Oh no I mean it’s-it’s not like that! I mean it. Well, it is but it’s- you know it’s complicated and-“ you try to explain, not wanting to start rumours or fuck up Larissa’s image.

“It’s alright dear,” she chuckles, reaching out and squeezing your arm, “I’m gla-“

She’s cut off as her head snaps back, her grip on your arm tightening slightly. She stays like that for a few seconds before she relaxes, her gaze coming back to you. You notice she’s now grinning at you and you can’t help but feel slightly uneasy.

“I-are you alright?” You ask.

“Absolutely fine dear,” she smiles, “and you and I have a lot to talk about, particularly regarding a certain white-haired principal.”

——

Larissa was stressed.

Parents' weekend was usually a tense affair, with the insane amounts of organizing needed to make sure it ran smoothly. Not to mention the countless meetings she ended up having with parents of families, varying from simple check-ins to rather difficult talks regarding the students' behaviour.

However, none of this caused half as much stress as seeing you standing with Morticia Addams. She was sure she was overreacting, Morticia had no way of knowing the two of you were…well whatever you two were. And even if she did it wasn’t like she would say anything that would intentionally harm your recovering relationship.

Unintentionally though…

Larissa had been swept into parent meetings since her opening speech. She had a meeting with the Addams next and was quite frankly dreading it. She slumped forward in her seat resting her head in her hands as she sighed. Wednesday on her own was a headache to deal with (she would never admit how deeply the girl had wormed her way into her heart). Now she would have to suggest not only to her but to her parents that they go for family counseling. God her work was cut out for her.

As her office doors opened she straightened up in her chair, squaring her shoulders and putting on her warmest smile. Her carefully crafted expression falters when she notices you being dragged in by Morticia who seems to be halfway through telling you something she prays isn’t about her.

When you glance up at her and shoot her a shy smile her heart flutters and her anxiety calms a little. She gestures for the family to sit, eye twitching when Morticia squeezes your shoulder and whispers something in your ear.

She’s further confused when Morticia asks you to stay, earning a rather loud sigh from Wednesday. You turn to Larissa, silently asking if you should go, looking just as confused as she feels. She nods, gesturing to an open chair against the wall.

The meeting goes about as smoothly as Larissa could’ve expected. Wednesday at least keeps her sarcastic, cutting remarks to a minimum. Morticia makes her usual teasing remarks, even going so far as to call her a ‘stately sequoia tree’. She swears she heard you muttering something about climbing her like a tree and nearly choked on her own breath, barely managing to keep her face from blushing bright red.

Eventually, the Addams leave. Not before Morticia comments over her shoulder something along the lines of ‘you two love birds enjoy yourselves.’ When her office doors finally shut she groans, covering her face with her hands.

You stand, quietly making your way behind her and resting your hands on her shoulders and pressing a kiss to her head. You gently massage her shoulders, face flushing at the bordering-on obscene moan she lets out.

“Long day?” You ask softly.

“Mmmm…” she hums, melting into your touch.

The two of you stay in silence for a while, with Larissa relaxing a bit more with each press of your thumbs into her shoulders. Eventually, she straightens up again, dropping her hands into her lap. You press one last kiss to the back of her neck, relishing in the way she shudders at the feeling. You then squeeze her shoulders one last time before moving to sit on the edge of her desk, smiling softly down at her. She fidgets with her bracelet, staring very intently down at her desk.

“Did you uhm…have an interesting chat with Morticia?” She asks gingerly.

“Mmm,” you hum, “she was regaling me with stories of your shared time at Nevermore.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah! She was quite nostalgic about it all. She was telling me about how you two shared a room and got up to ‘many daring activities’ as she put it.”

She groans, once again opting to cover her face with her hands.

“She did uhm…she did tell me you’re a shapeshifter.” You murmur.

Your heart breaks at the way she stiffens at that, still not looking anywhere near you. She clears her throat, going to say something before clenching her hands into fists on her lap.

“Is…is there someone you wish for me to change into?” She asks, in a voice that’s so small and hurt.

“I what? Why would I-” You stutter.

“I…most people when they find out about…about my abilities…they. Most people want me to turn into someone else…someone…better.”

She whispers the last part.

You blink at her. And then you blink again.

“…who….who in the fuck said that to you?” You ask, anger seeping into your voice.

She doesn’t say anything, simply shrugging and refusing to meet your eye. You have to take a moment to calm yourself down so you don’t take out your anger on Larissa. You take a deep breath and she starts to apologize in a watery voice when you stop her.

“Larissa I don’t know your middle name Weems,” you start, moving to sit on her lap and cradle her face in your hands, “there is absolutely no one on the face of this planet- no one in this goddamn universe who could ever be better than you. I-I can’t even begin to explain. You’re like…some fucking celestial being brought to earth to make it a better place. You’re-you’re brilliant Larissa. You’re - words can’t describe how utterly impeccable you are. I don’t understand- I could never want anyone but you, just as you are.”

You brush your thumbs over her cheeks, eyes lovingly tracing over her features. You notice her eyes welling up with tears, giving her a gentle, loving smile.

“I-I don’t understand…” she whispers.

“I know my one little speech won’t change your mind. Now when it sounds like so many fucking assholes-“ you cut yourself off, taking a breath to calm yourself. “And I know that-I know you and I are in a strange place right now but that doesn’t change the fact that you are far more than just enough, just as you are. And I will spend every moment I have by your side helping you see that. I-if you’ll let me.”

She stares up at you, tears staining her cheeks as she gapes up at you with wide eyes. You gently wipe her tears away. She wraps her arms around your waist, hands clutching at your back. You can feel the way she’s trembling, the subtle shake of her hands as they press into your back and pull you towards her. You press a kiss to her forehead, and then another to her nose before you lean down to hover with your lips practically touching hers.

You stay there, staring into her eyes and glancing down at her lips every so often. Your heart is pounding in your chest and you’re almost certain Larissa can feel it. It almost feels like the first time the two of you kissed all over again. You’re about to finally close the distance, finally kiss her-

And then Larissa’s office doors are being opened and none other than Morticia is walking through them. The two of you barely have enough time to lean apart from each other when Morticia smirks so fucking smugly at the sight of you two.

“Oh, how glad I am to see the two lovebirds back together.” She smiles, before promptly leaving the room just as quickly as she entered.

Silence permeates the room after the door clicks shut. You turn back to look at Larissa, a smile tugging at your lips upon seeing her flushed cheeks. When the two of you lock eyes you can’t help the giggle that rises in your throat. Larissa soon follows suit, the sound of your combined laughter filling the room. Eventually, you both calm down leaving you both smiling at each other.

“C'mon pretty lady,” you hum standing up from her lap and holding out your hands for her, “we should go make sure the school didn’t burn down while we were talking.”

“Don’t even joke about that. Anything is possible with this year's students.” She snorts, wiping her eyes one last time as she stands.

You take her hand in yours leading her to the door with a smile on your face. And so the two of you leave her office, hand in hand, ready to face whatever comes your way.

—-

Turns out what came your way was far more manageable than you had thought.

There was the entire debacle of Wednesday's father being arrested for a decades-old murder case. And then Wednesday and Morticia joined him in the town's jail for grave robbing. Larissa hadn’t found the whole thing half as funny as you had but had, reluctantly, agreed to badger Sheriff Galpin into letting Wednesday and Morticia go. Which in turn led to Gomez having his name cleared. So all in all a manageable affair.

Other than that the weekend had gone smoothly. Enid had come to you and Larissa on Sunday while you were having lunch in her office, a little teary-eyed and apologetic for interrupting you two. You both rushed to assure her she was never a bother and listened as she told you about how her mother kept pressuring her to ‘wolf out’ and suggested a werewolf-conversion therapy camp (you had honestly wanted to go fight the poor girl's mother, mayhaps even bite her for good measure.) But Enid had explained how she stood up for herself, earning much praise from both of you. She spent the rest of the lunch with you both, sharing the hot gossip that had been happening.

So really, all in all, the weekend had been quite a success. This was why you and Larissa were in town today, grabbing some celebratory hot cocoa from the Weathervane. You had just finished catching up with James (Tyler was strangely nowhere in sight when you arrived). You picked up both of your hot cocoas as you had decided to take them to go so that you could take a stroll around town.

You were walking arm in arm with Larissa, telling her about something James had told you when you heard your name being called from behind you. You stop dead in your tracks, your heart dropping into your stomach. Larissa turns to look over her shoulder, glancing at you as she does, concern marring her features.

You know that voice. You had fucking hoped you’d never hear that voice again in your life if you were particularly lucky. You take a deep shuddering breath, taking a moment to center yourself before turning around. And there he stands. The man you’d hoped to fuck would just leave you the fuck alone.

“Hi dad.”

#htwahp #larissa weems #larissa weems x reader #larissa x reader #principal weems

[losthavenmine]

do you have a favorite film of logan marshall green's?

Upgrade! Upgrade Upgrade Upgrade! I LOVE that film. It is genuinely one of my favourite sci-fi films ever - amazing direction by Leigh Whannell, beautiful cinematography (like, this film is GORGEOUS to look at), stunning camera work that works beautifully with insanely impressive fight choreography, set design, sound design, score, everything in this film screams creative passion and I live for that in films. And, of course, amazing acting from everyone. I cannot recommend this movie enough it is a gem that deserves far more attention than it gets.

#asks #anon #logan marshall green #Upgrade #thanks for the ask Nonny! :)

[mooremars]

Camelot 2023 Act 2 ramblings about the music and book and also the visuals again because turns out one post wasn't enough.

I still cannot possibly recommend anyone actually read this because it is so absurdly, comically long but I still needed to get even more feelings out.

Act 2, Scene 1: The castle courtyard one year later:

• "We shouldn't be alone together" like girl

• I love how she's almost exasperated by it

• When she fantasized about this all-consuming high-stakes love she probably didn't think about how exhausting it would be to actually live with it all the time

• Like having this conversation every single month does sound exhausting

• The way she's actively trying to drive him out of Camelot, Genny is so much and I respect it

• She's really doing her best in a way that involves truly torturing Lance, he should really do some soul searching about why he loves someone who treats him this way

• "I've trained dogs to chase you"/"And those dogs were fast.. the expression his bark is worse than his bite that wasn't my experience"

• Sorkin slightly breaking the tension of this scene which is so needed

• "You're not English"/"Neither are you"/"I think that changed when I became queen of England"

• I also feel like there is a lot to unpack in this exchange

• "And when would I do that Genny?"

• The angst in that delivery

• If Ever I Should Leave You is so gorgeous

• I think it was Sorkin who basically said that the show doesn't need magic because the songs provide enough magic on their own and this is the perfect example

• Jordan Donica is tremendous

• I knew him from Charmed and it took me a bit to place him but holy shit

• I may have actually seen him before, I'd have to check but regardless I need to be paying attention to literally any theater he does because I want to go

• This applies to all of them, who am I kidding

• Anyway, he's amazing here and I am probably underselling him in this post because I only saw him half the times and so my memories are much less clear

• And my reference is closing which was not him by this point

• And the outro music (? sorry I know nothing about music) is absolutely stunning

• This song is so romantic but also very shallow

• They're fulfilling a version of love that is all big gestures and big feelings but not necessarily substance

• Because they're trying to fill a void in themselves using the other and when you do that, you can't see the person as an actual person

• Just an extension of your unmet need

• Which is too bad because I think if they weren't, they might actually like each other

• But fuck is this song so romantic

• Every lyric is good, the way they're sung, I think I may for the first time have use of the phrase swoon worthy

• Specifically the end

• "I have a thrilling engagement. I'm giving prizes at the potato show. I'm eager to find out what the qualities of a prize winning potato are"/"I'll be at your side Ma'am"/"Thank goodness for that, those potatoes can be dangerous"

• The lines are so funny and her delivery is so heartbreaking, I am suffering

• I do just love Genny so much and she deserves happiness dammit

• "So the rumors are true, the chain of wedlock is so heavy in Camelot it takes three to carry it"

• Mordred coming out with the one liners immediately

• "He's willing to make any old man a knight I see"

• Pelli immediately threatening violence, beautiful

• The whininess of "I shall be busy tomorrow afternoon" and slapping the bench

• Fourteen year old edgelord Mordred

• Very interesting to have him be a year younger than Arthur was when he became king, really underscoring how young he was

• "I was raising by a mother with a fatally broken heart. Makes for a dark childhood"

• Like do we think Mordred is just trying to drum up Arthur's sympathies or is this actually true?

• "And when you speak to the king, you should remember you're speaking to the king"

• Arthur literally never insists on any manner of kingly respect but his son is a little shit that he hates, so he will

• Love that

• "Dispatch to the court, the king has a child he fathered out of wedlock. Problem solved."

• The blackmail just instantly failing is very funny

• Also would love to know how the conversation about this between Genny and Arthur went

• "I'm not ashamed of you. You don't embarass me though it's not for lack of trying."

• That's too generous, Mordred is embarrassing

• "It's always been my wish that you and your mother stay here where I can take care of you both"/"Stay where, in the servants' quarters?"/"In any quarters you like"/"Except the queen's"

• I wonder if Mordred is the one who feels this way or if he's just parroting back what Morgan has said

• "I was a boy when I met your mother"/"And my mother turned you into a man"/"A man named Merlyn turned me into a man"/"That's a new bit of palace gossip"/"No you idiot, he was my teacher"

• Obviously sarcastic Arthur is always a treat and specifically the facial expression and tone of no you idiot

• But just so curious about Morgan and Arthur because Arthur gets pissed at that whole turned into a man bit

• And he has been pretty chill with Mordred being terrible for this whole scene

• He's very much not comfortable with what Mordred is saying and this is the only moment where Mordred gets under his skin and like that is very interesting

• "In this place the law applies equally to everyone"/"Even the king and queen?"/"Especially the king and queen"

• You are literally watching the light bulb pop over Mordred's head and it's played perfectly

• Everyone in this cast is perfect

• The Seven Deadly Virtues has no right to be this funny

• "Making my Beelzebubble burst" is my favorite but really this entire song is great

• It's such a petulant performance and it's perfect

Act 2, Scene 2: The King's study

• Another amazing bit of scene change music

• The intimacy of them spending their evening playing chess together and talking

• Presumably this is just what they do on a lot of nights and I love it

• I feel like there's definitely potential in a their relationship through chess fic

• Someone please

• I firmly believe they are at like a full 50-50 split in terms of who wins

• "Are you really reading while you're chasing me around the board?"/"Sorry I didn't hear you, I was reading and chasing you around the board"

• And his okay in the middle like he knows he set himself up to get mocked

• Making fun of each other is one of my favorite love languages

• Also same structure as Arthur telling her it will seem that she's rooting for Lancelot to lose and she says that's because she is rooting for Lancelot to lose

• It's just a fun little dialouge thing that I enjoy Genny doing

• Makes her lines feel hers

• I love that Arthur has Merlyn's final warning on his mind so naturally he consults Genny

• And then it devolving into a philosophical discussion about what is and is not possible

• "I was 10,000th person to try, how do you explain that?"/"9,999 people loosened it"

• A perfect and funny line that becomes sweet and profound later on, I will never not love that

• "We have greatness in our grasp, humanity does, but for some reason every time we see it we assign the responsibility to some supernatural force. Or to god."

• You would think given the structure of the love triangle that Arthur would be set up to scoff at the idea that god has responsibility for human greatness in contrast to Lance being extremely devout

• And like I do think Arthur and Genny are actually on the same page but I enjoy that she gets to voice that thought

• This is the woman who first ran away and then threw prayer on top after as a little afterthought so yeah perhaps Genny is not the best catholic

• "Perhaps when he died, his soul transmogrified-"/"What did I just say?"

• Arthur immediately needling her and doing that stupid little hand motion on transmogrified

• They're adorable

• "I enjoy seeing you get riled up"

• This is what you say to a woman you're about to call your business partner? In that way?

• I don't know who to blame because I can't tell if the line or delivery is more of the culprit

• No it's the delivery, I have literally put in the audio as proof

• The audacity, I'm obsessed

• He's got it so bad

• Could've had this Genny

• Like Mr. Purity of Soul who thinks women can't possibly understand politics has absolutely never considered the concept of female pleasure, for sure has never heard of foreplay, and definitely believes the clit and g-spot are both myths

• I love Lance but proposition: there's no way that man is good in bed

• Everything else mean I've said about Lance has been out of love but I love Genny and she doesn't deserve mediocre dick

• And yet he's playing by Jordan Donica so it is also valid and understandable

• Sorry, I digress but gotta find the humor in the whole none of them get to be happy business

• But actually I really appreciate that even in this tragic narrative with big ideas and a lot of angst, they get to have fun and be fun

• Even as their relationship is about to hit its breaking point, you can still tell they're not just torturedly in love but they actually like each other so much

• "And while you're enjoying it, let me ask you this... how often do you write to her?"

• Genny is attempting to play it cool but boy is she not

• The little pause between often and write and then to her, oof

• It's so soft but like the hint is there

• The silence while Arthur makes his move on the board, ugh

• "I send a letter a week"/"Every week?"/"Yes"/"For how long?"/"Mordred's fourteen, he came to me when he was ten so four years"/"That's 208 letters"/"I have a responsibility there, I'm trying to do-"/"Do the chivalrous thing"/"Yes"

• It's so painful to hear their deliveries and realize they're having two separate conversations where they're both upset and they don't understand the other person is feeling the same

• Like Genny getting alarmed at 208 letters, Arthur getting frustrated and defensive about it and cutting Genny's last line off, and then Genny delivery of do the chivalrous thing like she's so tired

• It is so besides the point but how exactly was Arthur expecting the fucking soap opera and/or sitcom situation he's trying to create going

• Like his piece of shit kid, his ex who hates him, his wife that he loves whose feelings for him he doesn't have a handle on, and his bestie whose feelings for his wife Arthur definitely does know

• I know castles are very big but I don't think they're big enough to make that situation good for anyone

• "You've never asked me her name"/"Is it Morgan Le Fay?"/"How did you know that?"/"And she's a scientist"

• Genny has been holding this in for a whole year and she's finally ready to use it

• She says it like she's caught Arthur in some kind of lie which obviously she hasn't but I do wonder if she's had this conversation in her head enough times that she's already thinking the worst

• "He blames me for her condition. All the more reason why I want them both to be here at the castle. She needs care."

• That long pause before condition and the way he says it like maybe Arthur also blames himself

• And they're still playing chess throughout this whole thing as if they can pretend that this conversation isn't causing them both pain

• The sound of the pieces getting moved on the board while during the tense silences, yes

• And now we get to me being emotionally destroyed

• This scene is a roller coaster and the writing and acting of it is perfect in every way

• "We're more than king and queen, you and I. Don't you think?"

• He's so unsure, he's always so unsure it is torture

• The emphasis on you

• But also he does in some way recognize that she's upset about Morgan and he gets so close but spectacularly fails

• Genny is so hopeful on the "Yes, yes I do"

• Him stammering out and Genny trying one more yes to get him to come up with something

• And then that something is business partners

• In my brain I am screaming

• I have done nothing but make fun of Arthur for business partners (and friends) since I first saw this show and I will continue to do it now

• However I do think that for him, in the context of his experience being thrust into royalty, he is actually expressing a very romantic sentiment

• He meets Genny and tells her about Camelot and she doesn't think she's worthy of that

• But here he's affirming that she is, that she's his partner in this and he recognizes her worth

• They talk in the second scene and she mentions that as a princess she doesn't have friends

• And here he's telling her that they are friends, that she isn't alone

• And we see how uncomfortable Arthur is being treated as the king

• And he's trying to tell Genny that he cares for her as a person and not just the queen he traded for in a treaty

• He wants her to see him that way because if she sees him as just Arthur and not the king, then maybe he can tell her how he feels

• But also maybe it you are a man and your confession of love to a woman contains the words "I know this is an unusual thing for a man to say about a woman but" you have turned down the wrong path

• "Yes. Friends. And business partners"

• Her delivery is so ice cold, it's perfect

• The fact that she says this and even Arthur picks up on her tone and knows he fucked up

• Arthur trying to fix things and being interrupted

• His frustration with himself is so heartbreaking

• I am still screaming in my brain just louder now

• Pelli is great but also he is the cause of so many of Arthur and Genny's resentments and miscommunications, the man's a magnet for drama

• He's so funny in this scene trying to complain to Arthur and Arthur already knowing all of Mordred's bullshit

• And yelling dammit so many times in the most perfect way like me with every person who has ever annoyed me

• "Because England doesn't have a law against limericks"

• The fact that even though they're in the middle of this weird emotional mess, Arthur looks to Genny when he's talking about how Pelli's question is complicated

• His thinking buddy

• And business partner

• Also the idea that Arthur is so chill with the fact that he doesn't have the answer, that he's laying groundwork for future progress instead of assuming it will be accomplished by him

• Which is just inherently a concept I think I struggle with, that the world will not change in all the ways it should in my lifetime but the work now still has to be done

• So I like to see it

• Not going to write out another good Sorkin speech about ideas but I love this one too rest assured

• And we've had a nice little break, now we're back to chess and Arthur trying to force out something coherent and me screaming in my brain again

• I still can't get over the way they're still playing chess I'm sorry

• Genny saying "you're in check" with a different delivery every time to convey her emotional state

• The range

• Arthur just trying so hard to come up with anything again, I am personally suffering

• "What I feel-"/"I thought it was right on the money"/"Oh you do?"

• Then I think he says "oh okay" but I don't even know

• They were so close this is the worst

• Still chess

• "Do you regret being born a princess?"/"I'm confident that most people would gladly trade their problems for mine"/"But you're not talking to them right now"

• Firstly the show does an amazing job recontexualizing What Do the Simple Folk Do and everything around it so A+ for that

• But also Arthur is so empathetic in this moment

• "I know you're sad sometimes. That you miss whatever life you were searching for the night you ran from the carriage. The simple joys of maidenhood you called it. You do a good job of hiding it from the court but when you feel sad you-"/"can talk to my business partner?"/"Well I think I might be good at cheering you up"

• The delivery is so sincere

• He sees her pain and he cares so much

• He feels responsible for the life that she missed out on by marrying him

• And he wants to help

• In many ways, he is terrible at expressing his feelings but again in some small respects, he does absolutely knock it out of the park

• Even if Genny can't see it

• "If there was a tournament for cheering you up, I think I'd win"/"Oh as long as there wasn't a bird nearby"/"It wasn't just any bird, it was a white tailed eagle both times"

• The way they move from emotional conversations and annoyed miscommunications back to humor with such ease

• Arthur's bird obsession continues to be one of the best bits of characterization ever

• Genny making fun of Arthur's various words for peasants

• I love What Do the Simple Folk Do so much

• It's just perfectly constructed and the rhymes are pretty genius

• I love every single lyric

• And I love that this song gives Arthur and Genny a chance to be charming and reconnect after the second half of act 1 and the beginning of act 2 were so focused on Genny and Lance

• And then this scene has so much going on that it reminds you why they're the couple of the show

• I didn't need reminding because I'm trash for them but other people might

• All of the little jokes between the lyrics are so funny

• The delivery of "the very last thing you should have is encouragement" is so much funnier than on the cast recording

• Like what is this? So charming

• "My father used to say I sang like an angel who'd been blessed with a particularly pretty singing voice"

• I'm so glad this is at least on the cast recording

• She plays it so straight, it's so good

• This may be my favorite of the songs

• And the dance, they're so cute, the squeeling kills me

• I can't adequately express how much I need to find a bootleg so I can witness this again, the whole scene really but mostly this

• I cannot handle the way they say "Genny"/"Your Majesty"

• Fuuuuck

• The groan in the audience at "a letter from my mother", the pure expression of fuck Mordred

• "He's been waiting a long time."/"Yes"/"My mother was his first, you know"/"I had that sense, yes"/"They say you never fully get over your first love"

• Genny hates Mordred so much and she's right

• He's hitting her exactly where it hurts but Arthur can't even tell

• Also fascinating that Mordred can actually see the dynamic between Genny and Arthur and Lance so much more clearly than the people involved

• "You think you might possibly be spending the night?"

• Like her deliveries were getting more panicked but then this one

• Like she can't even believe what she's hearing and he doesn't even get it

• The long silence after Mordred says Lance has the queen's protection detail

• As people make mmms in the audience

• And then their last little exchange

• Ouch

• Genny telling Arthur what she herself actually needs to be told and Arthur having no clue

• "His queen's in danger"

• Mordred is the absolute worst and it's perfect

• The reprise of the Simple Joys of Maidenhood, so sad and I can't handle it

• I think this is her moment of just fully sitting in the idea that her husband doesn't love her and sees her so completely separate from that that he doesn't even understand why she's so upset to see him dash away overnight to see another woman

• And that he therefore doesn't and won't love her in the way she's singing about

• And thinking that she has the knight pining for her but it isn't enough and sets up her trying to make it enough

• She's grown so much since she first sang the song but she still can't fill the void of wanting this kind of love

• But also knowing that kind of love isn't enough

• I love her

Act 2, Scene 3: The home of Morgan Le Fey/Guenevere's Chamber/ Castle corridor - on that evening

• The into music to Morgan is gorgeous, perhaps my favorite

• It's hard to introduce an important character this late into the show and make them so memorable, even if they've been hanging over the narrative for a while now

• And still have them knock it out of the park but once again, this show is perfectly cast

• The tension of this whole scene is everything

• Morgan's laugh and then "Jesus christ it's the king of England"

• Immediately sets her up perfectly

• And we get something totally different out of Arthur

• I love their dialouge which I am once again trying not to just fully write out, I love their chemistry, I love how quickly their friendliness breaks down

• He does sound genuinely happy to see her at the beginning but as soon as he asks if she's feeling well, they start to cool

• I can't even pick specific lines because everything is such a vibe

• You feel the history and complication and the years apart where everything has changed for both of them and the way that she's the one person who knew him as just Arthur

• "I know exactly who you are"

• Like of course this one was gonna have a line reading that lends itself to multiple things but that's always good and I like it

• Genny ranting to Lance about the number of letters Arthur wrote to Morgan

• She finally gets to be pissed and Phillipa Soo plays it so well

• "Don't review my arithmetic in your head, it's 208"

• Even at her most angry, she still must make sure Lance knows she's right, very relatable

• "I questioned the king, we've all questioned the king"

• This adaptation has built in the knights discontent so well that it's believable that they've just been growing more resentful over time

• "Because one cannot legislate goodness Pellinore, which at the end of the day, is the mission of the round table"/"And what say you Sagramore?"/"Well tell me, when we're all equal will peasants live like knights or will knights live like peasants?"

• Their entire speech is amazing

• The knights growing angrier as they realize they're all on the same page

• The way that it all fits seamlessly into the story we see on the stage but there's also no denying it's about the time we're living in right now

• But again, not in a way where it feels out of nowhere or too heavy handed

• "I throw away the letters, I give away the money"

• I love the way she delivers her lines so dismissively

• I wonder how much of it is her feelings and how much of it is trying to hurt Arthur as much as he's hurt her

• "That part gets left out of the legend" I think is the first moment where Arthur gets under Morgan's skin just a bit

• Like I'm not sure what she wants/wanted from Arthur but maybe it was just that she doesn't like being erased from the story

• "What wife could possibly object?"

• I love her bitterness mounting leading up to this line and actually hearing her call herself Arthur's wife which is I don't think is something she does before

• "I admire the king's commitment to doing the right thing no matter what. That's what a man does, and god knows it should be what a king does."

• I love watching Genny justify her anger because on one level she knows it isn't fair to be angry

• That she really does admire Arthur's goodness and believes he's doing the right thing

• That it's not that he's going to see Morgan, that he wants to bring her to the castle, it's about his actions with Genny

• Or I suppose the lack of consideration of her feelings in maybe the most hurtful way where there was nothing deliberate, it just didn't even occur to him

• She's so hurt

• Everyone in this scene gets to be extremely mad and I love it

• "When he ran out of here, he didn't think it would trouble me at all. He didn't think the letters would mean anything to me. Or staying overnight. Mordred said his mother was his first true love. Business partner. He said it right in front of me as if I wouldn't mind"/"Do you?"/"No, of course not. It's just that it was the first time that it's been demonstrated to me that-"/"Your husband doesn't think of you as his wife"/"Yes"

• Everything is on her face and in her voice

• She's so hurt, so angry, so tired of not being loved

• And when she says of course it doesn't bother her, when she pulls back her feelings in front of Lance

• And her delivery of yes like something clicks in her brain, probably their entire relationship is flashing in her brain and she's building up evidence that it's true

• Lance has articulated exactly what she didn't know she was feeling

• And the music under it underscores each emotion perfectly

• Again Phillipa Soo is just emotionally devastating in this scene

• But also gotta go back to "Your husband doesn't think of you as his wife"

• Like right now I'm just thinking back to Arthur referring to Genny as French to Lance when they first meet and again when he asks her to tell Lance he's being invested

• While Genny in that scene and in the first scene of act 2 keeps referring to her country as England while Lance claims her as French like him

• I wonder if that distinction is one of the things that feeds into her (and Lance?) feeling like Arthur doesn't think of her as his wife

• That she's trying to keep proclaiming her loyalty and he keeps putting a border between them

• At least in her point of view

• While he's as always trying to show her that he sees and respects her as an autonomous individual and not a thing he owns

• Am I reading too far into this? Probably

• (You're not my homeland anymore, so what am I defending now - honestly that it took me this long to make a Taylor Swift reference is a marvel)

• Anyway back to this tremendous scene

• Part of me does wonder if Lance really doesn't know how Arthur feels or if he's in denial because it's easier for him if Arthur doesn't think of Genny as his wife

• Like he does make a point to tell Arthur in the last scene that he and Genny aren't together

• He's gotta realize in this scene how Genny feels about Arthur but curious about the other way around

• Or ya know, maybe he doesn't, maybe he's just as emotionally inept as everyone else in this show

• Don't really have a point, it's just an interesting thought

• How do so many versions cut Fie on Goodness?

• Like not only is it an amazing song but also it's sort of the whole damn point

• If you cut it, the ideals of Camelot are barely even a plot, it's all love triangle

• Also just want to take a moment to appreciate how gross the lyrics to this one are

• This is for sure my favorite sequence

• The intro speech to the song is perfect

• Them just getting worked up about how England is special, it is better, that they're the ones who should be listened to

• "Don't dare question our loyalty to the king"/"A king who encourages debate"

• Again I just love the knights' conflicted feelings about Arthur

• So it's easiest to shift all the blame to Genny and Lance

• This song is so good, this cast is so good

• "That day that I became king, my cousin gave me his tutor, a man named Merlyn. And Merlyn spoke to me of a great cause that I could lead. But I would have to stay unmarried until a young princess in France came of age"/"And you left me unmarriable, a woman with a child"/"I didn't know about the child until he came and introduced himself"/"You raise your voice to me? Have I displeased you your majesty?"/"Stop calling me that"/"I know all about the French princess-"/"The queen"/"and the grand cause-"/"great cause"/"I don't give a damn"

• This is a stupid amount of text that I've typed out but I love their back and forth here

• Arthur trying to justify himself and not wanting to take responsibility and them both getting angry at each other

• Morgan and her relationship with Arthur have been changed pretty drastically to the point that she's not even the same character and I like it and her so much

• I do wonder what the intent was here because I feel like you could read a lot of different things into their dynamic

• And to what that means about Arthur

• I mean I get the sense that she's maybe always been maybe a bit of an outsider, maybe always was a little more world-weary (or maybe not, maybe getting left pregnant while he became king hardened her)

• And maybe their power dynamic has been completely flipped but also maybe Arthur still has a hard time not letting it flip back

• Because like there's no doubt for me that for whatever reason, she was the one holding the cards originally and he doesn't know how to deal with her now

• Like I don't know if she's older or Arthur was always bad at love so she would have just been the more confident person but there's something there

• She obviously has a completely different point of view than anyone else in the show which I love

• And she gets under Arthur's skin so easily

• I guess because she's the one casuality of his great cause, the one wrong he can't right

• Also "stop calling me that" is so petulant teen

• And he was that when he knew her so of course it comes out

• "You seem quick to betray the king"/"I would die before I betrayed King Arthur"/"Yet here you are"/"I can't rise above being a man, a human man. I can't transcend it no matter how hard I try"

• My favorite Lance line

• Ugh it's perfect

• He's so tortured and so good at conveying that in his delivery

• He's getting some character growth

• Genny being both not wrong but also putting it on him so she doesn't have to think about her own behavior

• "My duty is to god, King Arthur, and the round table. I can best serve all three with my absence. It's a small price for one person to pay for a greater good"

• Ooh the self-loathing hits so good

• And Genny panicking because she's about to get left for the second time tonight

• The playing of If Ever I Would Leave You

• Because he is, or he's at least trying to

• To do the right thing

• Genny and Lance speaking French together, always good even thought I can't understand shit

• "No more talking"

• And the bed just being pulled out of the scene

• I just love how the song is interspersed with these scenes, this sequence is truly brilliant and the energy of it in the theater is truly unmatched

• "All the letters that followed-"/"All the letters that followed offered me room and board along with the cash. Imagine how moved I was by the chivalry"

• Ah mocking chivalry, a family pastime

• Again, I just love the way she goes in on Arthur's attempts to do the right thing over and over

• And again I don't know if it's because he wouldn't give her what she actually wanted or pure vengence

• "Guilty and alive once more" is probably my favorite line from the song

• "Let me ask you this question and I'm entitled to the truth. If there hadn't been a cause, a great case, would you have married me? No."/"I was fifteen years old that night and the next day I was king. I was anointed by the archbishop of Canterbury in York and those men think they put me in direct contact with the divine. There was a cause."

• Clearly in her mind he was never going to marry her but we know from Pelli that when he met Arthur when he was already king, he was still very much in love with Morgan

• More than 10 years (plus then a year that's passed in story) before this could be lots of different amounts of time but it could have been up to a few years into Arthur being king which is a long while

• So the answer was probably yes

• But he doesn't say any of that because his feelings don't matter, he's too focused on justifying his cause, that it was important enough to make up for her life

• And ya know Camelot is what's important now, Camelot is what he and Genny have devoted their lives to, he can't fail

• This is the scene where I just conspiracy board Genny and Arthur's relationship

• This is fine, I'm normal about this show, that's why I wrote all of this

• Either way I think it must really bother Athur that Morgan might think he's not a good man

• We saw it with Genny and the courtesans thing too

• Like obviously part of that was being in love with her but also I think it fucks with his self-image as a person who does the right thing which is his entire life

• And Morgan's the biggest crack in that in his mind which is why he gets angry pretty much constantly in this scene

• At least that's my theory

• I love that we get see him cracking a bit under the strain of being good and trying to rise above being a human being just like everyone else in this scene

• He's got a lot more moral fortitude than the rest of the characters so it just manifests as him getting to be angry and express it to another person for once but still

• He makes excuses, he gets mad, he won't accept that Morgan's version of events is also true and he can't force her to be okay with it

• I don't know, there's something nice about narrative not saying that making the choices of the knights or Genny and Lance is inevitable, Arthur does make the right choices but he still isn't perfect here

• "And I won't live in a spare room in a castle and be the used and discarded former mistress of a king... but I will be the mother of one"

• So like how much of Mordred's plans are Mordred and how much is Morgan?

• And you know used and discarded former mistress of a king is killing Arthur

• "And he didn't"/"What?"/"Put you in direct contact with the divine"/"That is made clear to me every day"

• Morgan did a good job of pretending indifference at the beginning but the more she lays into Arthur, the more hostile things get between them, it's so clear that if the opposite of love is indifference then they haven't managed to get over loving each other

• It's just soured and rotted but won't die

• More so for Morgan because she paid the price, she couldn't move on in the way he could

• "And I wouldn't want to see your face when you realize it didn't make a difference. There'll be greed and injustice and hate and horror. You can change the stuff but people stay exactly the same. No one whose opponent was human nature has ever won a fight. Human nature responds to-"/"Inspiration"/"Fear. And that's it"

• It's so cruel but also a great illustration of the ways that they're fundamental opposites

• "I don't forget anything"

• Another extremely loaded line delivery

• (Don't make an All Too Well reference, don't make an All Too Well reference, don't)

• The panic and realization of "he's not stupid" and the music that builds to it and Morgan's laugh ugh perfect

• The intro music to I Loved You Once in Silence is gorgeous

• Lance and Genny in white feeling guilty as hell is a good visual

• So much regret

• Just instantly

• I feel like the moment they've actually acted on their feelings, they know that it's not only a mistake but also that their feelings aren't actually what they thought

• Well maybe Lance doesn't quite have it yet in this scene but he gets there

• Not to repeat what I said about the first scene in act 2 but

• My take is that they intentionally deepened Arthur and Genny's relationship and Lance's character but not Lance and Genny's relationship

• They intentionally left it shallow

• That these are two people who are missing something and the easiest way for them to get that is to frame what they have as love

• I mean for Genny it's sort of obvious, she's married to a man she's in love with but that she thinks doesn't love her

• Lance makes her feel certain about his feelings for her and that's validating

• But Lance, I feel like I have thoughts but I'm not sure

• Lance has never been forced to reckon with temptation before

• And instead of facing that in himself

• He just makes Genny part of the list of things that define him

• A goddess on earth and a god above

• Along with the table

• And he can worship them all to avoid having to figure out who he actually is

• It's not him admitting he has a human weakness, it's a grand tragic love story that he can suffer for

• And suffering, well that's what lets him cope with whatever about himself he feels is so terrible that he needs to punish himself for it

• He's so terrified to look inward, so afraid of something in himself that he just finds his identity in other people and institutions

• And he can't hide behind that anymore because he's betrayed it all, every single thing

• I feel like this makes it sound like I don't like Lance and I very much do

• He's just particularly flawed because he's the only one who doesn't start the show knowing that about himself

• They all make choices out of self-loathing and fear of unworthiness but I do think Lance thinks consciously he's above that for most of the show even if subconsciously he knows he isn't

• He's the only one of the main three to not really finish his character journey within the confines of this narrative

• Arguably he only starts right now and finally realizes he's not the man he thought he was

• Again fic potential somone???

• Well that was a tangent

• Jordan Donica's performance of I Loved You Once in Silence is so heartbreaking

• "Lance I made a mistake. I'm sorry but you're a good man and I should have been nicer to you."

• I love that, I love that she takes her responsibility (even if she's already trying to cover up what happened)

• But also it's just the clearst indication that acting on her feelings killed them

• She doesn't need to push Lance away anymore to stop herself from doing anything

• I love that Lance tries to surrender peacefully

• He's willing to take responsibility not for his noble suffering anymore but because he is a good man and he knows he's done what he's been accused of

• And he only attacks because he has to

• Mordred's evil laugh

• Lance being slightly disheveled and grabbing Mordred's sword to fight off the guards and escape

• I don't have any kind of intellectual take, this is just a personal problem for me

• My jaw was on the floor when Lance started yelling back about coming for her if he survives

• Such a tense ramp up into Guenevere

Act 2, Scene 4: The trial/The Battle

• Guenevere has such amazing lyrics

• The entire "more than love met its doom"/"came the sundown of a dream" verse destroys me

• And I love every word of added dialouge, so correct to put it on the cast recording

• I feel I must explain my love for the staging of this song some more because it is so simple and I understand that some people are not into it but I so much am

• I love the way they close off the back of the stage for I think the only time in the whole show and it becomes claustrophobic all of the sudden

• Now Arthur is stuck in this little box in front of the audience while everything falls apart for him and that's what you have to look at so there's no getting away from how devastating it is

• We just get some full force Andrew Burnap acting and I love it, I think by now it should be clear that I would

• In other versions that I've seen, there's a lot more happening and we see Genny

• And we see Arthur see her tied to the stake and Lancelot show up to rescue her

• Which I do like in theory

• But we don't really see Genny have any actual role or even seeming to have any particular feelings about what she's done or what's about to happen

• Like she's about to die and I've yet to see a version where I have any idea if she's got a single emotion about that

• Despite the name of the song, I think this show decided this scene isn't about Genny, it's about Arthur

• It's about the consequences of his laws

• It's about the beginning of his new war

• Arthur screaming "Pelli I know" like we see him start to crack

• Oh to know who told Arthur and how he took it

• "Well do something"/"She's under arrest. She's been accused of treason"/"Arthur I understand that you're angry but"/"She's been accused of breaking the law. She has to be judged"

• The delivery of that last line, ugh

• He keeps it impersonal, it isn't about what she did to him or his pain, it's about the law

• The law they lovingly crafted together

• "What a magnificent dilemma: let her die and you're a monster, let her live and you're a fraud. Which will it be? Do you kill the queen or the law?"

• Fuck

• The delivery is so good

• Mordred is having the time of his life shrieking about Arthur's pain

• The killing the queen or the law bit seems to be mostly unchanged and it's maybe the best single line from the original book

• Although it went from kill the queen and your life is over to you're a monster

• Mordred has to know Arthur is in love with Genny, right?

• Maybe he just can't imagine Arthur could love a person more than he loves his ideals which I guess would make sense given Morgan and Arthur's relationship

• Arthur drawing his sword on Mordred!!!

• "Ooh careful your majesty, you wouldn't want to be barbaric"

• The fact that Mordred thinks that's going to work, that he can continue to poke at Arthur and he won't respond, he really does believe in Arthur's goodness doesn't he?

• "You are exiled from this court. Return and I will show you what barbaric looks like"

• Arthur screaming at Mordred with his hand around his throat is so intense

• It's so good

• Another gasp out loud in the theater moment

• Arthur is fully unraveling and I'm obsessed

• "I know my way out"

• It's such a teenage delivery and like Mordred is just a kid who feels abandoned by his father

• And as much as this is a tragedy for the three main characters, it's no less a tragedy for Mordred

• Aging down Mordred, also a great choice

• And again, just another stellar performance

• Every single person in this cast just knocked it out of the park in a way I never could have anticipated

• "Arthur please, I'm an old man and I know I'm ridiculous but for the love of god, it's Genny. She made a mistake, she knows that."

• I love that Pelli loves her too

• That he isn't judging her

• "She broke the law Pellinore. A law signed by the king. So say the people"

• He starts trying to be calm but then the fact that it's his law brings up the anger and then he breaks on so say the people

• He's written his own destruction

• And empowered others to take the decision out of his hands

• I love the dialouge in this scene so damn much

• "Neither you nor I nor god himself can stop this terrible thing that's been put in motion"/"What are you waiting for?"/"I'm waiting for what's inevitably coming next"

• The delivery of coming next...

• Like obviously he wants Lance to save Genny but he knows that no matter what

• No matter if she lives or dies, peace is over and the round table has been destroyed

• And he needs to prepare

• Also the way he frames what's happening

• It's not what Genny and Lance or even Mordred caused

• It's just what's been set into motion by all these tiny and giant choices throughout the show that have bubbled over into the death of Camelot

• "That's Lancelot du Lac out there and he's brought a battalion. Double the guard, triple the guard, those guards are going to die tonight"

• How many times can I just copy a bunch of text and write the delivery

• Because yup

• The lack of hope from Arthur is chilling

• Arthur getting dragged back into the war he worked so hard to end

• Just every line delivery in this scene is perfect

• Every lyric of the song

• Every acting choice

• And I love to see it visually

• Preparing for war isn't an exciting spectacle, it's tragic

Act 2, Scene 5: Outside Joyous Gard - on the eve of war

• The way they fade in on the eve of war just broke my heart every time

• I would love to know how much communication there was between Arthur and Lance and how

• Like how much of a role did Arthur play in the whole Genny not getting burned business?

• And the fact that his first question is whether they've been injured

• Even after everything, he's a good man who cares

• And Genny and Lance too, being willing to come back and die

• They're all good people who made mistakes but still good people

• "I assure you, if I thought it would end all this, I would light the fire myself"

• Absolutely brutal but like after he lays out all the death and rebellion that have already happened I guess brutal is fair

• Ya know, if I thought he meant it even a little

• "Lance, come morning some of your countrymen are going to be at the end of my sword. It's not personal, it's just my job. Stay safe Lance."/"I can't do that. And neither can you. Godspeed your majesty."

• I just love the idea of Lance and Arthur as these two people who love each other spearheading this war neither of them believe in

• It's so tragic

• Their goodbye is so understated which for Lance is like truly a great bit of contrast

• They've had enough big declarations, these few sentences just distill everything perfectly

• And then we come to Genny and Arthur, fuck fuck fuck

• The first time I saw this I spent like all of intermission and act 2 with a loop in my brain of but they love each other, right?

• I am unrepentant trash for them in this version as though that wasn't abundantly clear

• And Aaron Sorkin delivered for me so hard in this scene

• "Please let me die, Arthur"

• The pause before his name

• And now we get to the part where I start to get like teary-eyed in the theater

• "Two very powerful men did this to you... not Mordred and Lance, your father and me"

• That long pause before and me

• I love his whole speech, I almost typed it all out

• And they allow so much silence during it

• And the way he's like trying to hold it together but he can't by the end

• "You were treated like a queen but you were my hostage Genny, what the hell did we think was going to happen?"

• That he recognizes and actually admits the ways that his choices have harmed Genny, the unfairness in the entire situation he's put her through

• That he can see even through his own hurt and the enormity of what has been set into motion, his own responsibility for what's happened

• Like he's not right but he's also not wrong

• "And for it's worth, I've been in love with you this whole time"

• Not even looking at her so we have to see it instead ugh

• And then watch that long silence while Genny just like rearranges her entire view of their relationship

• "For what it's worth? Did you just say for what it's worth?"/"Well I thought maybe you'd like to know that. But I wasn't sure."

• Just smashing my heart into tiny little pieces

• After everything they've been to each other, after all they built together, he still doesn't even know if his feelings will matter to her

• While Genny is getting ready to lose her mind after for what it's worth

• They're so absolutely emotionally inept

• "You weren't sure? Why didn't you ever tell me before?"/"It doesn't matter"/"Why?"/"How could I? I'm the king of England. You'd have been forced to pretend you felt the same way"

• Again they are delivering lines in a way that is continuing to smash the little pieces of my heart into complete dust

• Like Arthur is again not wrong but not right

• His life is so lonely because of this crown he didn't want and his desire to actually be responsible with that power

• And even now he tries to get out of explaining that to her

• I love him so much is the problem

• And then her mmm like all the pieces are coming together in her brain that they've both been suffering for nothing and she is pissed

• I love her so much which is also the problem

• Incidentally, both of these things are also their problem so very relatable

• "Out of curiousity, if I had told you, what would you have said?"/"That I loved you from the moment I saw you, from the moment you spoke, from the moment you sang me that stupid song about the weather"/"It's not about the weather it's a metaphor"/"I know it's a metaphor"

• The way Genny overlaps him asking, she can't even wait for him to finish

• The way she says stupid song

• The way that she's like, I did fall in love with you over that song but also I still hate it and think it's dumb

• She says it with such contempt

• Icon

• Even standing before the wreckage of their lives, they still can't stop bickering about the song, I'm obsessed

• "I prayed every night that one day you would see me the way I saw you. And then you told me I was your business partner. Yes I was and I am in love with you"/"Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse"

• She prayed every night???

• For two years???

• That he would return her feelings???

• Fuck

• Like I don't know if I can convey how much them being in love with each other and thinking it's unrequited for two whole years ping pongs around my brain and just lights up all the synapses

• "Do you really think 10,000 people loosened that sword for me?"/"I do"/"So do I. That's a nice thought isn't it?"

• It is a nice thought

• I love the philosophy of this show, I love that there's no convoluted Arthur is actually the son of the last king so he was destined to be special

• These are just two people who though birth or circumstance ended up in this position of power and chose to do good with it

• Genny begging for just a little more time like the only reason I kept anything together was being in a theater but if feel confident that if I ever get my hands on footage of this show, I would have already been sobbing by this point

• "They won't let me let Lance save you twice so you have to go Princess Guenevere"

• Hearing him call her by her name is so deeply distressing

• Literally not once before in the show does it happen and it hurts

• And then they're playing Before I Gaze at You Again what an amazing choice

• Turning a love song she sang about Lance into this romantic moment for her and Arthur because theirs was the love story the whole time like brilliant

• That they chose the show's first love song and brought it back for Genny and Arthur being unable to leave each other without that hug and that kiss

• Like this song that is originally about the pain of unfulfilled love for the wrong person and then flipping it to the pain of fulfilled love with the right one

• I am so not okay

• Also people did very loudly applaud at closing when they kissed and I was so glad because truly in my head I was doing it every time

• "I love you"/"I love you too"/"God save the king"

• I mean these are some good last words to say to each other, I'll give them that

• The thing about the original version of the musical is that the ending was already a perfect concept

• Here it just feels more meaningful because they lay that groundwork about inspiring the next generation throughout

• Tom trying to con Arthur about his age is very funny

• This kid is so good and adorable

• "You're speaking to a king"/"I'm twelve years old"

• Like his comedic delivery, very impressive

• "And when did you decide upon this nonexistent career?"

• We get a solid 60 seconds of cynical Arthur and that's about it

• The entire concept of this kid being inspired by the stories of Camelot is just deeply moving and beautiful

• And just the entirety of Andrew Burnap's performance of that realization hitting Arthur

• I love a story that's about the power of stories

• People also applauded at the last show when Arthur says the stories were all true which I also just deeply love

• Arthur's I know exactly how you feel when Tom says he's not ready to be a knight and putting his arm around him, so cute

• "And you will return to your home alive"

• The way he says alive

• Like I think Arthur knows that he's not making it out of this

• Even if he would manage to survive the battle and Mordred, he knows his time is done

• But the the future is still there

• And there is about to be so much death

• Some of it from his sword or his orders

• And the rest of it of his men

• But at least this kid, he's going to live

• The reprise of Camelot... I just love it so much

• "I've won my battle, here's my victory"

• Not a new line but just such a gorgeous one

• The entire idea of the story of Camelot as a tragedy but a hopeful one just gets me

• It's such a beautiful conclusion that this version sets up so so well

• I love that we end on a speech again, just like act 1

• Also that last bit of music as they walk off, stunning

• I have attempted to track down as many older productions of this show as I can including the movie which was good but I am biased and I do sort of think Sorkin and Bartlett Sher and the actors and everyone else involved had the more interesting take on the themes and characters

• A Broadway musical is best when it has simple but impactful themes and big emotions

• And that's exactly what this version gave us

• The highest compliment I can give this show is that not only have I not stopped thinking about it, not only did I tell everyone I know to see it, not only did I want to see the show again (and again and...), but it also just made me feel inspired to see more theater in a way I haven't in a serious while

• I just love this show so much and I'm so glad there are some people here who can't get over it either

• This is what I have to offer, the longest possible unhinged rant and bad quality closing audio, that is all

#it is bad that i wrote all of this #but it's worse that I had to learn I vomited out more words than tumblr even allows #this is what Camelot has done to me #this and made me see just so much more theater than I have ever #still riding the high of watching this cast live apparently #This Barbie can't shut up about Camelot #maybe three is enough unhinged long rants about this show #I wouldn't put money on it but we can all hope #I think the only thing that can sate my soul is a proshot #or sate my soul like 50% with a bootleg #and 50% by casting everyone in this show in good new stuff #preferably produced by my friend's boss so I can maybe get a free ticket #I'm waiting for the most crucial moment to be that annoying friend who asks for a perk #Camelot Musical #the freedom I feel having this note off my phone though

[thatgirlonstage]

Because yet another YouTube channel I love is getting screwed over by YouTube’s total disinterest in human moderation and frankly disgusting lack of consideration for all but the biggest and clickbatiest of channels, here is my plea and my pitch for you to check out this now-shadowbanned video in specific and the Ask a Mortician channel in general.

If you like history and are at all interested in learning more about death—as process, as culture, as a societal force—I really cannot recommend this channel enough. Caitlin’s videos are thoroughly, painstakingly researched, and presented with the utmost care and compassion for their subjects both living and dead. She does important advocacy and educational work around people’s rights and options regarding their bodies after death (my queer siblings, if you don’t have a death plan, please check out her “Protecting Trans Bodies in Death” video; similarly, if you are fat, she has a video about your funeral options to be sure you are treated with dignity). She works to break down the stigma of discussing death and dead bodies, to bring attention to the lack of diversity in funeral homes and death care, and wants people to know they and their loved ones deserve to be treated well after death. NONE of it is done with the intent to shock or get cheap clickbait; all of it is presented with the goal of making people more comfortable with death and corpses, with thinking about and discussing them and confronting them.

As with the video above, she frequently does videos on much lesser known historical events and places and brings light to history that risks being forgotten. Some of it is tragedy, as with the Eastland disaster, but some of it is also just fun, like her video on spirit photography.

Tl;dr this channel is wonderful, educational, compassionate, and deserves support and so much better than the bs it’s catching from YouTube right now. Please consider watching any of the videos linked above, and throw this post a reblog to help spread the word if you can.

#ask a mortician #Youtube

[elle-thinks]

Wendell and Wild Commentary - Tim Burton vs. Black People

About a month ago, I watched Wendell and Wild on Netflix. I know it's been a minute, but I had to sit on my thoughts for a while. You see clay-mation horror films contain a feeling of nostalgia for me, considering the popularity of classics like The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline. Wendell and Wild, being directed by the same master of clay animation, Henry Selick, seemed to purposefully contrast the image of Tim Burton's family horror genre in its capacity to include people of color. This purposeful and creative insertion of Black people, Black culture, and contemporary issues made me question the validity of my nostalgic memories and assess the messaging behind the film.

Tim Burton has occasionally alluded to Black people and characters not fitting the aesthetic of his films, when asked about his primarily White casting. That, folks, is a can of worms if I've ever seen one. Without getting into the psychology of his statements, they were very controversial remarks that served as a talking point within the Black community. Additionally, Selick's continued partnership with Burton gave Selick much creative freedom but resulted in primarily Burton's acclaim. Ultimately, Selick does not share the same views about Blackness in horror media, and he decided to reach out to the iconic Key and Peele with an idea for a new project.

Whether it was purposeful or not, (likely it was, due to Peele's progress in the Black horror genre) the trio would create a counterargument of a film to challenge the concerns of Burton. Though most would likely agree that style, artistic expression, and various aesthetics are raceless and genderless, a contemporary example is always helpful. In Wendell and Wild, we are presented with a Black, goth girl as our protagonist who certainly doesn't hold back when it comes to teenage angst and supernatural surprises. We are also shown a compassionate, transgender character who was pleasantly multi-dimensional in both the plot and in personality. The dialogue is filled with AAV, Afro-centric subliminal messages, and some hilarious, Black-inspired one-liners. There is also some educational commentary on the school-to-prison pipeline which largely affects Black and Latin demographics, and you can read more about it here.

The artistic style of the film and the animation quality was top tier. I would recommend watching the film just to see what an amazing production the film actually is for the eye. Additionally, there were interesting interpretations of various environments, like hell being an amusement park or a manifestation of consciousness being a neon green, internal landscape. There was a lot of creativity in this film, resulting in a whacky whimsicalness that children are sure to love. The new take also held my attention as an adult viewer, because I was curious about the world-building aspects.

While I personally enjoyed watching the film, I don't find it to be particularly memorable. Perhaps I cannot compare it to the emotions I felt while viewing the other aforementioned films because I no longer have the lens of a child. I worry the film did not gain the popularity it deserved in relation to other hits like Paranorman and Corpse Bride. Obviously, the Wendell and Wild is fundamentally different from the other films in many ways, but something about the tropes in the plot or the incorporation of progressive modernism grounded the fictional movie in too much reality. It felt very much as if I was watching a television special rather than a children's feature film. Though many new concepts were introduced, it was predictable enough to leave little room for imagination of the viewer.

Ultimately the film proves that Black writers, actors, characters, and other marginalized groups, are more than worthy of being in the horror animation space. As a Black viewer, I actually had a lot of joy watching the film and could relate well to some of the characters. Though I don't see the film establishing quite the same legacy as some of Selick's other works, I hope it serves as a pioneer for others to follow in its niche.

#stop #motion #stop motion #animation #movie #commentary #media commentary #horror #film #claymation #stop motion animation #keegan michael key #key #jordan peele #peele #henry selick #wendell and wild #netflix #scary #halloween #supernatural #black #race and ethnicity #tim burton

[oceangirl24]

BMW FanFic Rec List: Updated 02/17/24

I felt it was time to put together a list of my favorite BMW stories. These are the hidden gems that I feel deserve more love.

All these rec can be found in my AO3 collection and is often updated first.

If you check any of these out, I'm sure the authors would love to hear your thoughts.

*NEW

In for three, hold for three, out for three by Thalia_the_tree_girl

Shawn has a panic attack in class, Mr. Turner comforts him.

George and Lila's Walk in the Park by @fandoms4lifesblog

George and Lila walk into the park to discuss their future

In between Bee True and State of Unions episodes

Valentine's Day- George and Lila by @fandoms4lifesblog

A one shot story of a first valentine's day with George and Lila

More BMW gems below the cut:

The Proposal by @fandoms4lifesblog

Missing scene of The Proposal of George and Lila

Topanga Meets The World by osced

There are just not enough Topanga-focused fics out there. This one takes a look what was going on with Topanga and her family when she wasn't with Cory.

Murphy's Fool by darkblueau- This is an incredible look at all the continuity and character inconsistencies we saw in BMW through Eric's eyes.

Very clever.

Boy Meets Family by Myfavoritefoodissoftpretzels

The boy in this story is Shawn and it takes a closer look at his life with Chet and Virna post "Fishing for Virna". The thing that makes this story so unique is that it keeps the sitcom vibe of the show while dealing with more serious issues. It's rare to see someone follow the show's formula.

Complete with Cory and Shawn antics, this WIP is worth checking out.

How Can You Blame Me? Growing Up Is Chaotic by @winterlovesong1 - I'm linking to her entire profile because there is just too much Shawn/Angela goodness to pick just one story. Her character study of Shawn is perfection. Her writing has an ethereal quality which make her stories feel like a dream.

For Those Who Would Wish In Happily Ever Afters by @justanotherpersonwhowrites - this is a WIP that is very much worth checking out. It's a fresh look at Jon and Shawn's relationship post "Cult Fiction". Shawn is spiraling after Virna's letter turns his life upside down. With nowhere left to go, he ends up back at apartment 8.

Aside from the plot itself being engaging, there is an OC introduced who is new to Shawn but not to Jon. If you like Audrey, you'll like Sarah.

They Say Ignorance Is Bliss by @justanotherpersonwhowrites

Beautiful take on Cory and Shawn's friendship from Cory's POV. Canon inconsistencies are mentioned and given a twist that makes sense. Pre-show set up for this iconic friendship.

My Own Boy Meets World Reboot by @obscureobsidiandraws - I cannot recommend this one enough and it deserves more attention than it's getting. I can't find a complaint that BMW fans have had over the years that isn't addressed and corrected. While changes have been made to character backgrounds and it's no longer the 90s the heart and humor of the show shines through.

If you like early seasons Eric, you'll definitely want to look into this. Those wanting Jonathan Turner to adopt Shawn will be happy too. Audrey is also a part of the cast, although with a bit of change to her as well. It's been a lot of fun discovering this new version of her.

The series is written in script format, but I encourage you not to skip past it because of that. These scripts are detailed and make me feel like I'm watching the show as I read.

For an idea of what the series will be like, learn about it here and here.

Let's Get All the Mirrors at the Bottom of the Well by Veillee- set before the show begins, this one shot takes a look at Shawn's life with Stacy and Eddie.

A Test of Time by The Rising Phoenix- Shawn is struggling with losing Angela so his best friends step in with a distraction that takes him on a journey through NYC.

I love this one for the concept.

Although unfinished on AO3 it is complete on FFN.

#boy meets world fanfiction #boy meets world fic #boy meets world #jonathan turner #shawn hunter #chet hunter #angela moore #boy meets world fanfiction recs #ao3 recs #reading list #reblog to boost #new addition #updated #fanfiction recommendation #fanfiction rec list #george feeny #lila bolander #topanga lawrence

[ed-recovery-affirmations]

i literally can't stop purging what should i do

Oh man, I'm sorry to hear you're struggling so badly.

If you really find that nothing works even in terms of harm reduction or baby steps, what I'm going to suggest may be terrifying, but I'd suggest you seek professional help if you can. Inpatient, if you can get access to it. It really sucks to have to stay in a controlled setting, but they have staff at those facilities to make sure you do not purge. They also have people who are trained in helping you through the urges.

If you cannot access these resources, here's what I suggest you do:

Make a list of reasons you deserve to enjoy the benefits of good health. It's okay if you don't believe it quite yet, but you have to at least try, and tell yourself these things until it gets easier and easier to believe. (You may find that believing positive things about yourself is not linear in how easily it comes to you. This is okay.) Really research the long-term harm that purging can do to your body. Not to scare yourself, but for the purposes of having a talk with yourself. Treat yourself gently and positively. Tell yourself that you don't deserve these health problems. That you do not have to damage yourself. That you are here to take care of yourself.

The next time you are planning upcoming meal prep, make a process of it. Take time to be present with yourself during the lengthy steps of putting something nice together. Listen to music or a podcast while you do it. (TV can work too, but I think ideally it'd be something that keeps you a little more present with yourself so that you can process your experiences and learn to experience food as a positive thing. Then, take the time to sit and eat the meal. Eat enough, but don't overfill yourself. Eat nice and slow. Pay attention to how each bite tastes as you chew slowly. Think about the energy you invested in yourself by taking the time to prepare a nice meal like this for yourself. Think about how you are nourishing your body.

When your body is telling you it is full, take a breath. You may have had to resist the urge to rush the meal so you could go purge. When you finish, you will definitely be feeling the urge. Do not try to suppress that feeling. Don't give in to it, but don't force it to go away, either. Let yourself feel it. What is it telling you? What are you afraid of? When you hate being full of food, what are you hating for yourself? Why do you think you do not deserve to keep this nourishment? Take the time to do something that will help you process these feelings. Writing is good, or drawing, or any medium for creation. Just get your feelings out in a way that helps you make sense of them. What do you need to hear in order to love yourself as you are? What do you need to hear in order to feel better about being well and nourished?

Try not to panic about physical symptoms. If you've been purging every time you eat, your body may struggle to adjust on the occasion that you do not do it. This may be scary and may feel like a sign that you have to keep purging, but that's not true. Healing your body is a hard process. Sit with yourself and breathe, reassure and comfort yourself, and slowly sip peppermint tea (making yourself any favorite tea can be therapeutic actually, but mint and ginger are best for aiding digestion!) If you have been using laxatives to purge, I'd recommend you don't go off them cold turkey, as your body will have adjusted to their use and you may experience severe constipation when you stop. Taper down on using them, with supervision from a doctor if you have access to that medical support, and prepare yourself for a gastrointestinal adjustment period. Breathe through it, remind yourself that you are here for yourself through this struggle, and that you are doing this for yourself because you are worth the health and healing that comes after. (If your doctor has suggestions for a good probiotic, you might REALLY benefit from taking one regularly. If you've been using laxatives frequently, your GI biome might really benefit from the regulation of added positive gut bacteria.)

Do you binge before you purge? If so, this will be where you need to really focus. The binge is the trigger point. Rapid eating can lead to gut discomfort and overfilling, which makes you feel uncomfortable and worsens the urge to binge. If you can learn to fully enjoy your meals, not use food as a reward and/or punishment system, and not restrict or force yourself to go hungry (this can cause you to want to binge later), you are already re-wiring your mind in regards to the eating process and focusing on nourishing yourself. However, if you catch yourself bingeing, try resisting the urge to purge and just sitting with yourself. Maybe you feel ashamed, overfull, or defeated. Resist the urge to further the cycle by "fixing" it with purging. Instead, examine how you feel, and be gentle with yourself when you do. Look at your negative feelings objectively. (Instead of saying "I'm a failure" say "I feel like a failure. This feeling is caused by...)

Be gentle with yourself if you lapse. This shit's hard, and healing does not happen overnight.

Best of luck anon, I really hope this helps!

#bulimia #purging cw #long post #mia recovery #ed recovery #ed cw #advice #mia cw

[writerlyhabits]

Do you have any Bucky fics that are inspiring u rn? Or catching your attention? I love what you write and am all caught up, so loved to hear if anything has stood out to you!

OKAY it took me so long to answer because I went digging through my drafts and my archive to find a very specific fic, and I found it. This is the first time I've done a list of fic recs like this? So just bear with me 💛

fruitful by @bubblebuckys

If you're wanting something similar to the Blue is for Ben fic I just posted, I cannot recommend this one enough. Dilf Bucky Barnes, little six-year-old Becca has my heart, and the smut?? It's hot. That's all I'm gonna say about that

one in a trillion by @softlybarnes

This is another one you might like if you enjoyed Blue is for Ben (I've got to come up with a cool acronym) I went through all of the emotions in my arsenal, and then found some more. It's a pregnancy story, and if that's your thing, I'm gonna warn you right now... After I was done reading this I felt empty because I didn't have my baby to hold to my chest once she was born, beautiful writing 💛

looped by @softlybarnes

I mean this with the greatest possible respect; take 50 first dates, remove adam sandler, replace him with a Bucky Barnes who is so in love he can't see straight. You'll get something like this fic, but not quite because it's truly a masterpiece. I laughed, I cried, I want to experience reading it for the first time all over again its so wonderful.

for the love of the game series by @pellucid-constellations

this one sat in my reading list for a while, and I wish I had read it sooner. I never knew I needed baseball Bucky but good god yes I did. It reads like your favorite illustrated cover book from book-tok, goes through all the emotions, and the final relationship that comes out of it is just gorgeous 💛 And please don't gloss over the chapters she has after the plot of the series, they're absolutely wonderful too and have inspired the way I want to form my series' masterlists

I think that's all I'm gonna say for now... obviously, there are so so so many wonderful Bucky fics out there, I've got a few on my reading list that I still have to get to, and many more that I come back to read over and over again. I hope these bring you joy!

Come back and bug me if you need more fic recs, this was fun, and I always love giving the spotlight to well-deserving fics and their authors 💛

#kam speaks #fic recs #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x reader smut #bucky barnes #kam answers #anonymous #inbox fun #fill my inbox #inbox response

[quietly-by-myself]

Shadow By My Fireplace - Chapter 25

Masterlist

Thank you to @darkthingshappen for really pushing me to make this story even better.

This is inspired by @whumpsday latest chapter of K&J. I hope you enjoy the letter format :) This is important set-up, so I recommend you read all of it.

CW: human trafficking, missing person, emotional whump

===

Dear Senator Gasly,

I apologize for writing this in typeface. I’m afraid that if I wrote it by hand, my tears would stain the page.

My name is Clementine Matisse and I am the mother of Sacha Matisse. My son disappeared two months ago during a storm. He was out on the water with his friends. His friends all survived thanks to the lifeboats onboard. The lifeboat my son rode in was recovered, but his body was not.

Recovery efforts for my son ceased only a couple days past his disappearance. My family has found no peace. We do not know if our son is dead or alive. Without his body, we have not been able to bury him. Instead, every day, I am left to fear the worst: he is out there somewhere, sold and traded across the border like so many from our area.

I am from a small fishing village. I understand that we are a very small and somewhat insignificant part of your district, with the city being half of it. I understand that we are water people who don’t matter much in the modern days. 

However, I write to you with a simple plea: help me find my son.

I am only human. I can only take so much heartbreak. Since my son has disappeared, this community has never been the same. My son’s friends don’t laugh as much. His girlfriend cries herself to sleep every night. The whole village has been eerily silent since my son disappeared. He was the life of this village. Without him, laughter doesn’t ring as loudly.

All I ask for is more crews. More dogs. We need to find his body. It cannot simply be left as an unexplained disappearance. I understand that my son isn’t some nice-looking young woman tragically taken from her home, but he deserves your attention all the same.

Thank you for your time. I hope that you take my words into consideration.

Signed,

Clementine Matisse.

—

Dear Representative Rochehart,

My name is Pierre. My last name isn’t important. Sacha Matisse was my closest friend. It’s been three months since his disappearance. Where are you?

My mother told me that this letter needed to be well-worded and polite. I don’t think that people who sit idly by when people disappear deserve that level of respect.

Frankly, where the hell are you? The crews came for a week last month, searched the lake, declared that his body wasn't there, and left!

What are you doing?

My best friend is missing and all you can do is send a crew for one week and then leave? Without so much as even publishing a missing persons report on him?

What if his body is in the forest? What if he’s been kidnapped? I know that at three months, there’s little hope of finding him alive.

You should see Sacha’s mother. She used to be the kindest woman. Happy, cheerful. Now she cries when she sees a son with his mother. His mother has been through enough. You know it took her fourteen tries to have Sacha? And that after Sacha she tried three more times, with no success?

Sacha was her life. 

Now, I’ve had to celebrate the birth of my nephew without him. He didn’t get to see me get accepted into university. I would never have even applied to university without him encouraging me after my gap year.

I had a bet with him. $50 for whoever became a father first.

I’ll always win that bet now. Sacha is gone and you don’t give a fuck.

Respectfully,

Pierre

—

Dear Senator Gasly, 

My name is Antonio Matisse. I am Sacha Matisse’s father.

We are deeply thankful for the crews that came with the dogs to search the forest for his body. However, we cannot accept the explanation that he ran away. Sacha had a whole life ahead of him. He had a family that loved him, a girlfriend that wanted to marry him, and a group of friends that would’ve died for him. None of us know where he went off to.

I humbly request that you register Sacha as a missing person. We understand that he is not vulnerable the way that you ascribe it. However, Sacha had no reason to leave. Please, for the love of all things Holy and the oath you took to protect the citizens of your district, find my son.

With my deepest respect,

Antonio Matisse

—

Dear Representative Rochehart,

I am writing on behalf of Acadia LeBlanc, the girlfriend of Sacha Matisse. 

My sister had been stricken with grief, but she wanted you to know that she is deeply thankful that Sacha’s missing persons status has been sent up to the FBI. If there is any hope of finding him, we now know that the full force of the United States government is the way that we will.

We are forever indebted to you for your work in ensuring that Sacha is brought home in whatever way possible. 

I hope that one day my baby sister can move on. Sacha was a good man. He treated my sister well. I could’ve seen them getting married. I hope that we find an end to Sacha’s story, whether that be him dead or alive, for all of our sakes. Thank you for understanding how much this means to our small community. Thank you for still caring about us water folk. Thank you for understanding our need for peace.

We all hope that Sacha isn’t being passed around. It’s been a problem in our communities, people disappearing and being sold around. We elected you to help take care of that problem.

I hope you’re considering human trafficking in your investigation. All we want is peace. We don’t want to continue on thinking that Sacha could be out there, somewhere, in the hands of some sick fuck.

With deep gratitude and thanks,

Gabriel LeBlanc

===

Taglist: @whumpsday, @i-can-even-burn-salad, @pigeonwhumps, @darkthingshappen, @pumpkin-spice-whump, @darlingwhump, @maracujatangerine, @just-a-whumping-racoon-with-wifi, @flowersarefreetherapy, 33-sdtr-45, @octopus-reactivated, @quietshae, @whump-blog, @inkkswhumpandstuff, @whumpycries, @whumpkinz

#shadow by my fireplace #whump #whump writing #whumpblr #cw are above #whump fic #whump community

[27-royal-teas]

hiii toby!! I just followed you recently and decided to look thru your ao3 account and your bookmarked fics and ended up reading that fic called "just to seal my fate". and it was soooo good. like the writing was great, it was funny, the story was cute, I just loved it. I was wondering if you had any recommendations for anything in a similar sort of style/vibe or a similar story? I haven't read any fanfic at all in quite a while and I'd forgotten how absolutely delightful it is.... nothing like rotating those characters around in your mind in silly little situations is there haha

ANON OH MY GOD ANON I AM KISSING U ON THE MOUTH WIRH PASSION,,,, JUST TO SEAL MY FATE IS LITERALLY ONE OF MY FAVORITE FICS IN THE WORLD. you cannot COMPREHEND my delight at receiving this ask, I love you to DEATH

ok so everything by the author of that fic — jalex_barakarth3012– is absolutely FANTASTIC and it all has that melancholic smoky dramatic vibe, which is something I really really like and strive to recreate in my writing (which you can probably tell if youve read Burn It Up All Night). I’ve recommended this to LITERALLY EVERYONE but my favorite fic in the whole entire universe is also by that author and it is called erode. erode has the same type of vibe and it’s extremely fucking long but the pacing is amazing and the storytelling is incredible and I adore it so, so much, I have left so many comments on it that I think the author probably despises me now lol. so basically if you haven’t yet please read everything by that author and give them ur support because they are so underrated and I love them so much. they have three other DELIGHTFUL fics and I never ever get tired of their writing. if it’s more ATL fic you’re looking for, unfortunately there isn’t too much with the same kind of writing style— believe me, I’ve looked. a large majority of ATL fic is smut and I have no problem w that it’s just nice to get a balance sometimes, yk? anyway the first author that I really love in the ATL fandom is probably bellawritess— or, on here, @clumsyclifford. she excels in tooth-rotting fluff and I believe she’s got 70 or so incredible oneshots in that fandom. she’s good at keeping a story feeling light and funny and in-character, and I basically lived off of her fics all of last year. also, she has friends who also have written fic in the same fandom, which is really nice. specifically, her cruel summer series is the most in the vibe you’re looking for.

ok, so if you want more vibes— idk what fandom you’re looking for but you’ve probably noticed im a big fan of the dark, melancholic, neon kind of vibe, with writing AND with reading. scarredsodeep (@shark-myths) and earlgreytea68 (@earlgreytea68) both write some of the BEST peterick out there if you’re in the fob fandom (I assume you probably are at least a little if ur on my blog). I adore their writing and they’re both also really huge inspirations for my writing style and YEAH, THEYRE JUST REALLY GOOD.

hmm ok I’m also gonna tag a couple of my other writer friends on this blog — @spirallingstarcases, @setting-in-a-honeymoon both write FANTASTIC fic and have their ao3 posted on their blog, I believe. they’re also super nice people and very cool and I’m very lucky to even get to know them slightly!!

ok this was a lot longer of an answer than I anticipated giving, I apologize— if you check my bookmarks, the fics on there I can’t rave about ENOUGH. the authors are all so fucking talented. give them some attention, because they deserve it!! they are lovely writers and even better people!!

I THINK IM DONE NOW. THANK YOU FOR THIS ASK

#toby speaks #Toby’s asks #I think that’s my favorite ask I’ve ever gotten lol #anon u are so sweet I love you to bits I adore you oml #fic recs #rpf #ANY PERSON WHO APPRECIATES JALEX_BARAKARTH’S WRITING IS A FRIEND OF MINE #THEY ARE SO UNDERRATED LIKE HOLY SHIT #im so glad you liked the fic and it’s so sweet of you to go through my ao3 :)) I guess I knew people would do that but it’s nice to hear #it confirmed :))) #also I just posted a new ATL fic recently sooooo shameless self promo ig???

[love-toxin]

Okay, please bear with me ellie, I love you so but I sincerely want your reaction to this because I made it just for you, it's a very special present! It is almost 11:00 p.m., I am off the shits because I am sleep deprived as heck, and I cannot keep my eyes open. So I am hoping that this will not be terrible, and that you will like it, and that you will maybe, just maybe, think that it is decent writing? I am a very much in love with your stalker Eddie series, and I very much love your ass in which you got yandere Steve and yandere both like soft yandere double teaming you, so this is kind of based on that soft stalker Eddie just entered my brain and would not let me go, so now this is yours.

Stalker Eddie actually trying to be a bit of a wholesome stalker. Like, he says nice things over the phone to you late at night when he calls you because he can see you've had a bad day and didn't get a good grade on the pop quiz that Miss O'Donnell assigned, or he leaves you notes in typed out paper (to hide his trail) saying that you look good in a certain outfit. He can tell that your parents are a little bit neglectful, okay scratch that a lot neglectful, and he can't see why anyone would neglect such an angel... that just means it's up to him to give the Angel the worship that they deserve. But alas, Eddie the Banished is a rapscallion, nay, a hellion, among the unsuspecting populace of Hawkins, and the Angel would only shy away from his presence! So Eddie the banished must roll for stealth, and carefully Infiltrate The Domain of the Angel to lay his offerings upon the altar of her sanctuary!

Ok... maybe he's got a crush. A small one! But he knows the minute that he's even seen or found talking to them, he'll never be allowed to be around them again, and everyone will poison the poor little Angel's mind with so many terrible things said about him, and then the angel will hate him and he'll be destroyed. So rolling for stealth it is.

On the one hand, you clearly have a stalker who not only knows you but sees you around school every day, knows your house well enough to break in even when all of the doors and windows are locked, and knows your daily routine down to your beauty products and what class schedule you have and when your extracurriculars are.

But on the other hand...

The mysterious voice you hear over the phone gives you so much emotional validation that you want to hear more, that you're left yearning for more emotional validation, the mysterious voice comforting you telling you it's going to be all right, that you didn't make it this time; that's okay because you're strong enough and smart enough and brave enough to do it the next time and you'll do it better than anyone else. You wake up to little notes on your desk table, suggesting outfits you should wear that totally "make you look hot" according to the person who sends them, and the thing is? You actually can tell that they're kind of right.... you do garner more attention in the outfits that the note sender recommends. On occasions before big tests or exams, you even wake up to your favorite muffins and even one time, a small cupcake left in a small package on your bedroom floor near where you would step in to get to your closet. You're left yearning, because no matter how much you've tried and attempted to figure out who the mysterious stalker is, you just can't seem to find out. They cover their tracks so well that short of putting up security cameras, which your family either A; can't afford to do, or B; won't do because they insist that you're "being silly" and "it's all in your head, darling" as they tell you to head off to school. You're left yearning for a small gesture from your mystery admirer or stalker as your parents once again dismiss your concerns for your safety as they tell you that they're going to be heading out to work as you go to school. You're left wondering and watching if this is the day that you finally go missing, if this is the day your parents will finally pay attention to you; if only to see a picture of you on the evening news as the news airs the segment about the missing child.

Your day at school is not good. Everything feels like it's too much, like your skin is too stretched tight. You end up skipping your study hall period and going to the bench in the clearing near the school parking lot, trying to clear your head. To your surprise, on the bench is a wrapped present, with the tag on it having your name. You reach for it warily, but nothing explodes, so you open it. Inside is a cassette mix, and having your Walkman with you, you slot in the cassette mix to see what's inside it.

It's beautiful.

It's a full-length cassette mix of the mysterious voice giving you emotional validation, telling you that you're beautiful, you're strong, and that they're so proud of you for being as strong as you have. It's the mysterious voice telling you that they left you muffins after a hard test, it's the mysterious voice asking you if you still liked blueberry muffins or if you like banana muffins better, it's just that voice. And you're lost in your own little world listening at that picnic table, your brain fuzzing out as you listen and listen to all the things you wish your parents had said to you, it's all these things that someone who you don't even know is saying to you and meaning with the amount of emotion that you can hear in their voice, it's someone taking an interest in you for something other than your status, or your looks, it's someone who's talking about you like you've hung the Moon....

Maybe your stalker is in the trees right now, watching you listen.....

He is. And he's so proud. Maybe one day, he can be worthy of having you, being seen with you, but until then....

He remains in the shadows, ever your present comforter.

UM EXCUSE ME? UNFAIR???? UR MAKING ME FALL IN LOVE IM-I-I-

unfair. this is rotting my teeth. MY FLESH. WAAAAAAAAHHHH I WANT!!!!! THIS IS SO SWEET 🥺🥺🥺

#sobs uncontrollably #chaoticlovingdreamer #eddie munson #eddie munson x reader #perv!eddie munson #st 4 #stranger things #anons

[pokemonshelterstories]

(Anon who asked for Acaraine advice earleir) My growlithe is my only pokemon at the moment and I battle with him. I dedicate everything to him and to making sure he has good care. However your message made me realise that even though I would likly be able to exercise him enough, I cannot in good faith say I have enough money to feed a pokemon that large. I will wait another couple of years/months and consider evoloving him then. Thank you, your advice likely saved me and my pokemons relationship

sometimes it's more a matter of lifestyle than it is a matter of quality of care. it sounds like you care very deeply for your growlithe! but caring for a large, active pokemon is often too much for the average person to handle.

honestly, right now almost all of my time when i'm not at work or school is dedicated to taking care of my roaring moon. i have to plan things really carefully to make sure all of my pokemon get proper care and the attention they deserve. i don't really have hobbies right now. any spare time i have is spent with remus. and i'm one of the lucky ones, because i get regular help from naranja-uva academy. they help pay for its food in exchange for data, and remus now spends a good portion of its mondays at the academy for research, which gives me just enough free time to visit the school aviary. and for me that's fine! i love pokemon and i've dedicated my life to them. but it's not the kind of life i would recommend to most people.

#charlietalks #pkmn irl #pokemon irl #pokemon welfare

[hajimesbestdefender]

i saw this essay while i was trying to find kmhn and i have so many thoughts..

if you want to read my thoughts i recommend reading them as you read the sections because thats how i wrote it

okay i'll go chapter by chapter (there are 5 chapters)

chapter 1: faqs

faq #1: the blatant homophobia towards the women youre trying to "protect" in this is very ironic to me. your point here is just plainly incorrect. how on earth does wlw ships further the ideology that women only want men for sex? and what is with the shaming women for not being virgins? there is nothing inherently wrong with having sex, having a sexual past, or anything of the sort. you sexualized these women. miu & sonia have done nothing wrong, and deserve the equal opportunity to be in a relationship and be loved.

faq #2: it *is* simply a matter of preference. there is nothing wrong w preferring makoto/byakuya, hajime/nagito, or kokichi/suichi. yes, those characters (kyoko, chiaki, and kaede) were written to be the protagonists respective love intrest. however, when has a fandom *not* shipped a character with someone who wasnt their love intrest? i can give several examples. it is not down to gender. people can see themselves represented through these relationships, they can hold the belief that those ships work better for the characters, or they can plain like the dynamic better. it does not matter.

faq #3: ...what? that makes no sense. the whole question doesnt make sense. im just not gunna adress it, but it is there.

faq #4: those crushes could be arguable. however, there was a slight hesitation from nagito when he said it, leading many people to believe that. i dont know enough about v3 to speak on that other part.

chapter 2: nagami

once again, it comes down to preference. you cannot controls someones preference. if they like naegami? fine! if they like naegiri? fine! it does not *matter*. at the end of the day, these two ships are perfectly resonable, and do no harm. therefore, both should equally be resepcted. the reason why naegami has more fics on ao3 because people prefer it more. simple as that.

also, this exact senario has happened before in another fandom. in the hp fandom, hinny (harry/ginny, his current wife) is less popular than drarry (draco/harry, his rival). and yk what? they have damn near the same dynamic as naegami. the simple thing is: people prefer the dynamic more. it is not misogynistic to prefer a dynamic. (i could go into a whole ass tangent on how similiar draco and byakuya are, but i digress)

chapter 3: komahina

i could ramble day in and day out abt this ship, but i dont feel like retyping all of it so ima just ss my original ramble to my friends in discord.

(apologies for going off track for a little, PLS IGNORE THE PFP 😭)

moving on, you mentioned nagito lied about having cancer. he didnt. he said he had stage 4 malignant lymphoma and front mental dementia. both of which were never implied to be lies.

"chiaki died for him and the rest of the class"

oh, do you mean in the real world, where she was brutality murdered so class 77 could become brainwashed, and how hajime was already too far gone at that point? or do you mean in the simulation, where they had zero chance of getting out without leaving chiaki behind because she was ai and apart of the system? or the time she had to be executed to save the rest of the group? thats not an act of romance, it was quite literally life or death. in 2 of those situations, it makes no logical sense for chiaki to live and have the rest of the group die. shes a team player, through and through.

chapter 4: saiouma

it comes down to prefrence. there is no misogyny here. it is just people preferring one ship over the other. nothing more, nothing less. this is getting embarrassing atp.

chapter 5: stats

chiriho: ...you missed their entire story arc!! not suprising you dont actually pay attention to stuff. ALSO!! the transmisogny!! and, to top it all off: youre a terf. whos fucking suprised. chiriho hid under the cover as a woman because they were afraid. thats it. they wanted to become stronger and braver. thats their arc. you red far too into it to come to the conclusions you came to. (using they/them on chiriho bcs i felt like it)

sonia: youre promoting purity culture. women do not need so save their virginity for anyone. nor does anyone. virginity is something given up when that person is ready. sonia was ready. so she gave it up. shouldnt that be a symbol of women empowerment? (note: i hate the concept of virginity as a whole, literally just have sex nobody gives a fuck.)

miu: "she doesnt deserve to be called a woman because of how preverted she acts." you wrote this whole essay as a callout for what you precieve as misogyny. however, throughout the entire damn thing you promoted misogynistic take after take. you basically just said in fujisaki's section that women shouldnt be pushed into a box, and yet,,, youre here telling women they cant be sexual beings? that they have to be pure, clean, and submit to men? miu didnt do anything wrong. she expressed herself in the way she saw fit, and YOURE mad that the way she did so didnt fit your standards? get the fuck out of here, weirdo.

final thoughts:

op has been continuously misogynistic, homophobic, and transphobic throughout this entire read. it is disgusting. now, this can be a blatant troll, but at the same time this is still perpetuating a very disgusting view on women and what they should be. as an afab, i'm disgusted. this is appaling. you disregard so many women writing this. queer women, women who didnt save themselves for marriage (because god forbid women do what they want to do.), or any woman that doesnt fit in your little box. you say youre against misogyny, but this is the most apparent example ive ever seen of a woman with internalized misogyny. if youre being serious? i truly hope you recieve the help you need, and do some interal work trying to combat this. writing 2,643 words worth of fictional parings you dont like when you can simply ignore it and walk outside is just sad. if youre a troll? fuck you.

(also, before you question that "writing 2,643..." line, i wouldve, but i happened to see it whilst on a 2 hour car ride to thanksgiving and i was bored as shit. sue me.)

#yeah idk how the fuck to tag this #hajime hinata #chiaki nanami #nagito komaeda #makoto naegi #byakuya togami #kyoko kirigiri #shuichi saihara #kaede akamatsu #kokichi ouma

[cherrykamado]

"what's on your mind?"

a smooth melody of a calm voice you know very well, plus the gentle touch of a palm against the side of your head gets you out of your trance; you blink, turning to your husband and those gorgeous wine colored eyes that give you that warming, pleasant sensation that make you feel that you're home.

"nothing... nothing," you outline a smile, just out of reflex, but then a sigh escapes your lips. "i'm just... thinking."

"were you thinking?" he echoes, but judging the way your gaze averts from his own and drops, as so do the corners of your lips, give him the hint that today might not be a good day for you.

of course, his expression drops, his eyebrows knit together as his expression contorts into a frown. when he takes a closer look to you when he's sitting down on the couch in the sunbathed room, he notices your sun-kissed, puffy lids.

you've been crying, he concludes. his heart cannot but wrench in his ribcage, aching with the pain and the desire to take that pain, that burden that troubles you and instead endure it himself. in his eyes, you always deserve to wear that beautiful smile of yours: toothy, wide enough to make your eyes wrinkle up to the point that your orbs barely peak from in between your lids, to the point that your corners stretch and make one feel like they're gonna touch your ears.

you don't deserve this pain, and all the struggle. that's for sure.

but then tanjiro remembers — you also adore the scars that litter his hands, hands tainted with hard work and suffering. he was afraid once to touch you with them, with such a rough surface of skin against one as delicate as your own.

but you kissed his so considered imperfections (in his eyes), and told him those were what made him perfect.

the love you have for him, is the same that he shows you every day. at your best and at your worst. whenever you're not loving yourself, whenever you've forgotten that you're human and are allowed to be at your worst sometimes, just to raise back to your feet and shine brighter than before.

but that's what love is all about, right? a look, a gentle touch of hand to hand; the kind of touch that reminds you that he'll be there to pick up your pieces and help you stand up once again. you're his love, his bunny.

his sun, moon and stars.

he's patient. after all, both sun and moon fall just to rise back again and shine once more. after all, the sun dies every day to let the moon breathe, and helps her shine with his own light.

and that light is the one he shows you when, with a brush of his thumb, he gathers your attention and makes you turn back to him. that's when his other hand drops from the side of your hair, to your cheek. his look completely softened, he outlines a smile that could make the very same heavens crumble down by just the utter tenderness it irradiates.

it makes you lower your guard, and allow the tightness in your throat to ease itself, at least. it might pain him to see how your irises dampen and tears begin to swell, but you're letting it out; all and all, until you rest in his arms, completely vulnerable before the only person you trust your whole self, beautifully imperfect. whole, or in pieces.

so he encloses his arms around you, like gathering your pieces together, not worried about fixing you or anything.

that can wait, because he knows he can do that on your own.

"shhh," he coos, resting his cheek against the top of your head, eventually turning to plant a kiss on it. "it'll be okay. it'll be okay, bunny." he reassures.

and that's one of the many, many reasons he's in love with you.

CHERRYKAMADO © 2022 — all rights reserved. do not repost or recommend any platform. plagiarism will not be tolerated.

#🍒 — works #tanjiro.💚 #loml.💍❣️ #oh dont mind me its just a bit of good ol vent writing<3 #i just missed him and i was having a not so good day (but it's gonna get better soon<3)