#he was so absolutely perfect for that role and completely nailed it

[johnny-and-dora]

ALSO love love love afterparty season 2 so far but i miss ben schwartz so bad can we not just cut to yasper organising a musical number in jail as a treat for me

#ben really was the star of s1 on so many levels #he was so absolutely perfect for that role and completely nailed it #the afterparty #shut up sian #go start s2 and/or catch up on s1 if you haven’t already this show is a gem #and the s2 premiere really made me appreciate how funny sam richardson is

[batlovestomarry]

for the longest time i’ve wondered why and how people hate on this tom (from the half-blood prince) and i was thinking more on that a little today.

because have you even WATCHED the scenes he’s in? his voice? perfect. his mannerisms? absolutely chilling. he nails the role of a teenage tom, he’s creepy and unnerving and fits his character to a t.

and then i was pondering the things that people might not like about him, and i came to the conclusion that perhaps he’s too unsettling.

then i got rid of that previous thought because people who enjoy tom’s character have to be okay with some frightening behavior.

the only reason i can see why people who are tom riddle “enthusiasts” don’t like this tom’s general eerie-ness is that they don’t actually like tom riddle for tom riddle and only see him as this suave and sexy bad boy who is obviously only manipulative in a hot way.

the moment tom riddle isn’t a character they can blatantly sexualize (which isn’t a problem in itself but it’s necessary to the point i’m attempting to make) because he’s suddenly become too “weird” and “scary” (aka his CANON characterization) people freak out and act like this tom riddle portrayal is horrible and bad because, what do you mean their completely made up view of him where he isn’t seductive and suave and attractively toxic and is instead a clinical psychopath is the real deal????

this whole mischaracterization of tom is also why people are so quick to love tom riddle but not voldemort, who is the exact same person. yes, tom riddle could be and certainly was suave and charming when the situation needed it, but the point is that it was a ruse. it wasn’t his true self. voldemort is, above all, devoid of empathy, and it baffles me that people are surprised when he acts like it.

all in all, i absolutely ADORE the tom above and i think the hate on him (which i’ve mostly seen coming from tiktok, no surprise there) is unnecessary and forced. he’s the perfect tom riddle.

#this sorta turned into a rant but the two topics certainly are connected #this doesn’t mean i don’t enjoy ooc tom!! i dont Care if people mess around with his characterization #I’m all for allowing fiction to be just that : fiction #but the issue is when people hate on actors for being true to their character and switching up on a character when they’re not the idealized #version they had of them in their head #tom riddle #tom marvolo riddle #tmr #Voldemort #hp #Harry potter

[ecoamerica]

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

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#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[edelgarfield]

gods i haven't seen this parallel drawn before but it is something that drives me insane

everyone knows gortash was sold to raphael by his parents and one can only imagine the awful things he went through. and like i don't think it's too far of a stretch to think that abuse plays a heavy role in what led him to bane, how do you avoid being owned and used for other people's gain? by being the one with all the power and bringing them under your heel.

which is the exact same logic that drives astarion towards ascension. hells, the rite is a contract with mephistopheles, raphael's DAD.

imo gortash is a glimpse of exactly what lies in ascended astarion's future. he's the most powerful man in baldur's gate but he's completely alone. he's sold out and alienated every single person that ever cared about him, his power is the very thing that keeps him from ever being able to trust anyone else, all his allies are transactional and based on mutual gain, and one slip up means a knife in his back. durge, seemingly the one person he genuinely cared about, was taken from him because of the power they held. their affection for him put a target on both of their backs. he had all the power he could ever want and it did nothing to save the person he cared about most.

by the time you meet him, he is far far far too gone imo. i'm not even sure whether he cares about how isolated he is, or if he sees it for the weakness it is. if there was ever a time to convince him to choose another path, it is long gone, now he's too entrenched in his own schemes, that even if he WANTED to change (unlikely), it would spell his death.

if you don't ally with him, his isolation is the very thing that kills him; he believes he has no need of flesh and blood allies bc he has an army of tin soldiers to keep him safe. but once you take out the steel watch he's practically defenseless. he's the most powerful man in Baldur's gate, but you can literally just stroll up to his office and kill him on his own turf and no one comes to his aid. if you do ally with him, it's his ambition that puts the final nail in his coffin, his means to dominate the world turns on him and spells his doom.

and this is exactly what we begin to see happen with ascended astarion. his obsession with power and need for control makes him turn a genuine partnership based on love & mutual respect into one based on control. from party banter, we see pretty much all the companions immediately turn on him. these are people who genuinely cared for him & fought for his freedom, but after watching him ascend they wouldn't piss on him if he was on fire. and he doesn't even care! he's so entrenched in his own misanthropic worldview that he only sees the power he's gained & not everything it cost him. the cost of ascension isnt just 7000 souls, it's 7000 souls and the love of every single person who could have ever cared for him.

if astarion ascends how long until he bites off more than he can handle? how long until his enemies realize the best way to get to him is through you? how long until all his allies turn on him? (if you choose to control the absolute, the answer is somewhere between a few days and a few weeks). all the power in the world can't protect you from your own hubris and astarion has it in spades.

whether you view durgetash & durgestarion platonically or romantically I see it as two opposing narratives held together with Durge as the lynchpin. durgetash is abt being doomed by that narrative, two people who genuinely cared for each other but were the wrong people at the wrong time to save either of them. had they met earlier, if one of them had been slightly less entrenched in their roles, perhaps they could have been saved, they could have lived and had something real.

& durgestarion is the opposite, had they met any earlier, they would have brought each other to ruin. two doomed people, once beyond saving, meeting at the perfect time and finding the strength in each other to break their chains, to choose a path for themselves. where before durge failed to save gortash (& every person they ever cared for) they can save astarion now (& all their other companions).

& the real tragedy is by the very constraints of the narrative, you cannot save them both. if durgetash hasn't been the people they were, Astarion would never have his chance at freedom, he would've been consumed in cazador's ritual with no one to mourn him. but in order to orchestrate the events that allow astarion his chance at freedom, gortash is long past the point of no return. it takes MULTIPLE extremely unlikely events and literal divine intervention to free Durge from Bhaal's clutches. The chance of the same happening for Gortash is infinitesimally small.

it's abt the cruelty and chaos of the world, how fate, destiny, and chance intersect to either bind us or set us free. it's abt second chances, walking through the ruins of your past mistakes & choosing to build something from the rubble, it's abt how love & loss are two sides of the same coin, how sometimes the only choice available is to love, & that love won't save you, but it's there and it leaves its mark.

thank you for coming to my tedtalk.

#baldur's gate 3 #astarion #enver gortash #durgestarion #durgetash #bg3 spoilers

[skoulsons]

Talking about the sniper section bc it’s. My heart feels like that house.

First, BEAUTIFULLY DONE. absolutely perfect, every part of it. But rewatching, Joel never stops watching Ellie. Not for a second. He’s watching where she’s going and he’s watching behind her for infected. When she’s knocked to the ground after Joel shoots the one clicker, she spots an open window in a van. Joel is watching her and sees where she’s looking and knows exactly where she’s trying to go. You see his eyes move to the left to see the van. And she knows he’ll kill all of the infected in her way. Because she trusts him. And because he won’t let her die.

And once Ellie’s in the van, Joel’s fire ceases except for killing the ones behind it. He is only looking out for her. Anything gets close to that van, he’s there immediately. There’s a shot of him after the bloater surfaces of him just watching. Not firing, just observing the van. Watching for infected. Keeping her safe.

And then one comes up, a young girl in a BLUES CLUES SHIRT, and you see the panic immediately on his face. He goes from completely still to shaking. He fires and he misses. His reload even feels rushed. His breath is shaky, hitching even. His entire face is trembling. And then the clicker is in the car and he can’t see it anymore. He can’t protect her anymore. And it cuts again to him taking two quick, rushed, and paralyzing breaths. He adjusts his grip on the gun because his hands are sweating. And now he, much like she had to minutes prior, has to trust that she can and will get out of this, as much as he wants to be the one to save her from it

Then it cuts to Joel again when she’s outside the van.

This is panic. Fear. This is not knowing what’s coming out of that van. If that clicker ate a hole in her neck and it’s the one escaping. The fear of not knowing her fate and if he just lost her again. Of not being able to protect her because he can’t see her through the windows of the van. The fear of so many uncertainties.

And this is relief. His shoulders have even fallen back slightly, relaxing. When he sees she’s out and closed the door on the clicker. That she’s, in a weird, twisted way, safe again. Because he can protect her again. Because he can, and will, kill every infected in her path.

And then she’s on the ground and they can see each other again. Ellie looks over to Henry and Sam and sees them struggling under the car. She can’t leave them. She reaches for her shiv and she looks to Joel in the house.

She’s determined. And he knows it. He can’t see them under the car, but he can guess what she’s saying. What she wants to do. What she’s asking him to do. To continue to protect her (like he’d ever stop), as dangerous and heart attack inducing as it will be for him to see her do this. And he makes a face that Pedro seems to make in every role he plays.

This face. This face, to me, means a plethora of different things depending on his role. But in this context, it’s more of a ‘fine, I’ll do it. I’ve got you’ one. He even nods slightly. Really slightly. Deep down, he wants them safe, too. It’s dangerous down there. It’s full of infected. And he’d like nothing more than to get out of there with her in one piece. But Ellie has a big heart. She cares about Henry and Sam. And Joel knows that. He’s seen how she’s been with Sam. Laughing with him, reading with him, signing with him, playing soccer with him. How long has it been since she’s been able to do this with another kid? But Ellie’s asks him just a little more. I need to get to them. Protect me.

And he does, of course he does. He kills five(?) clickers that touch her or get in her path. And he’s no longer shaking. He’s as stable as ever in firing. He nails every single shot, killing every clicker in her way. Ellie gets to Henry and Sam, killing the clicker on Henry and stabbing the one on Sam while Joel finishes it off. And he watches for any more that come their way. And once he sees they’re in the clear, he leaves and meets up with them immediately

Main point being - protective dad Joel <3

#those two Joel screenshots? the ones of panic and fear? those are like a second apart. maybe less. #it’s all in his eyebrows and forehead. his forehead is creased and there’s lines at the beginning of that shot #but when he relaxes they immediately soften #I hope this is coherent because it is very late and my thoughts are RACING #I made a list of six things I want to write about-so expect those this week if they all end up happening :) #this came out very long but don’t expect any future ones to get any shorter #the last of us hbo #tlou spoilers #joel miller #ellie williams

[weebsinstash]

Just when I was chugging my Batfamily juice and was trying to nail down an idea for that, here comes season 2 of Invincible, "hey you wanna see an alternate universe version of Mark who turns evil like his father and when Eve rebels against him he literally PRACTICES AND PERFECTS how to non-lethally PERMANANTLY PARALYZE HER so he can stop her without killing her"

Like genuinely the actual psychotic yandere adjacent behavior and he's also gaslighting her the entire fucking time, like genuinely one of my favorite but most infuriating tropes of the "unwilling hero x infatuated villain" dynamic is when the villain is like psychologically manipulating their intended conquest with the whole, "I didn't kill your friends, YOU killed your friends when you recruited them to stop me/run away/save your planet whatever. sweetie i hate seeing you upset so why did you make me break your toys"

I know the clip is about Mark but I can just see Nolan and a human/hero darling and you're desperately trying to run away from him, break up with him, literally run away and disappear, and you've got all your friends and coworkers helping you literally like, leave the country, maybe even leave the planet, and here comes Nolan crashing in, reducing all of your friends to just PASTE and you're sitting there mourning and screaming and horrified and here's Nolan just tut-tutting at you, "why would you make me do something like that? You think I WANT to make you cry like this? You got a little scared and got your friends involved on some little scheme and now look what happened! Honey can't you see why I'm worried about leaving you alone? You need me"

It's like. It's like in Don't Worry Darling where the boyfriend would rather keep her completely helpless in an unfulfilling mediocre life when before she actually used to have significantly more agency and played a role in society but he thinks THIS is what's best for her, and inherently implying being his wife is all she needs. You could be like a molecular scientist or some shit and Nolan will think you're so cute and smart but it's in an "oh look at you and your little human tech, that's so cute, not anything like MY species though" infantalizing way. You could've been a scientist on the cutting edge of technology furthering your species and Nolan is just like, "but it's just human stuff" and thinks it doesn't matter because. I mean. He loves you but your lifespan is NOTHING like his, and your planet is already going to be conquered and Viltrum doesn't really need your work, so, just, settle into being his complacent little mate ok? Just focus on being his companion and, if you're able, he'd like to start on making a family--

I think it would be absolutely horrifying to find out you're pregnant and be trying to run away from this man with the baby because like. Fuck off if you think he'll let that happen. And in another twist, could you even imagine if you turned out to be a viltrumite hybrid or some kind of powered mutant too. Imagine being absolutely terrified and running to get an abortion and they can't even sedate you because suddenly your skin can't be pierced by a needle. Like actually on a conceptual level just, brine in the concept of not even having abortion as an option, knowing there is some inhuman hybrid growing inside of you that has now completely taken your body for itself, cannot be removed, holding you hostage like a malicious little parasite. Meanwhile Nolan is OVERJOYED because this is going to be his first baby ever and, obviously, the first baby the two of you are having together. The first of many, he hopes

I also think it'd be like. So fucked up if this is some twisted "something unrelated and unfortunate happened to Debbie" scenario where Nolan is raising Mark on Earth already as a single father and THEN Nolan falls for you because like. Imagine technically being not that much older than his son and the second these yandere aliens attach themselves to you, you've got a husband who you don't even know how old he is and a "son/brother" who's like. Maybe not even 5 years younger than you. Like can you imagine making friends with Mark and you're like hanging out and playing video games and suddenly it's just "Oh hey dude your father's been acting kind of weird around me, and-- wait what? What do you MEAN you guys want me to live here. What do you MEAN I could be like a big sister to you, bro we were just playing Xbox--"

You think of Mark as a buddy and friend and you eventually find out he and his father are straight up stalking you and starting to dig their fingers into your life and your business. You're at work running back and forth not knowing the figure floating and watching from however many hundreds of yards away amd scowling as you're worked to the bone. You grab a drink with a coworker and they kiss you at the door of your apartment and the next day they got into an accident that sent their car off the road, killing them. You vent personal private feelings to Mark because he's a good friend in your relative age group and he's running off, "DAD LISTEN--" "oh so That's why they've been like that. Huh. Good work, son." like the actual fucking levels of SCHEMING

And just when you think maybe you've gotten away and shaken them off, then you've got some third motherfucker suddenly showing up at the secret hideaway in another country you poured the rest of your money to. An old man with white hair and an unamused expression introducing himself only as Cecil as he not so subtly threatens you that he has Nolan on speed-dial and that the American government has an especially vested interest in you returning home, maybe or maybe not to pacify the not one but TWO extremely irreplaceable alien protectors of the planet, and then you've got Seal Team Six already shoving you in a duffle bag and dropping you off on the Grayson doorstep just in time for dinner

#yandere Invincible #yandere x reader #jeez this series has potential to be DARK DARK #sinprompts

[froggibus]

Jason Todd (any version) x reader (preferably female) where Jason helps reader through an anxiety attack? Or a panic attack, if that's easier for you. And with as much fluff as possible, please?

Chilling Out - Jason Todd

Pairing: Jason Todd x reader

Genre: fluff, hurt/comfort

Word Count: 1.5k

Summary: during a party at Wayne manor, you have a panic attack, but Jason knows just how to help you

CW: panic/anxiety attacks, tight spaces (but no claustrophobia), crying, general anxiety (O7), hurt/comfort, mentions of past trauma & triggers, soft!Jason, they get ice cream, i promise it ends very wholesome. lmk if i missed anything

i haven't wrote DC in a hot minute but this request was too cute not to write. im so soft for soft Jason!! also shoutout to my trog for helping me come up w a title bcs i am dumb today. anyways hope you enjoy <3

————

Jason knows very little about your past. Or at least, the bad parts of your past. You were always hesitant to share that part of your life with anyone, and Jason was never one to pry. 

Even if he didn’t recognize the trigger, he recognizes what comes next. 

That vacant, scared look on your face. The rapid, shallow rise and fall of your chest. He notices the way you’re almost shaking, the way your eyes dart around the room looking for an escape. 

You lose more and more air with every breath. The manor is absolutely packed with guests for Bruce’s most recent gala, and having so many people in so little space is overwhelming. You dig your nails into your palms. I have to get out. 

Jason is frozen across the room from you. He’s torn—stuck between running to you and wrapping you in his arms and never letting go, or letting you be and giving you the space you need to calm down. He knows if the roles were reversed, he’d want to be left alone. He’d go and hide in a comforting space and try to regain control of his thoughts. But you’re not him. 

He blinks and you’re gone, tearing away from the main foyer and escaping into the safety of the house. 

You collapse in the closet of a random room. The darkness accepts you into his arms, surrounding you like a blanket. You squeeze your eyes shut and contract all of your muscles, trying to force air back into your system.  

Jason doesn’t realize he’s following you until the cold air of the grand entrance hits him. You’re completely out of his sight now, having disappeared into one of the many rooms of Wayne manor. He pinches the bridge of his nose—where could you possibly be?

He starts searching the rooms on the ground floor, careful not to be too loud and accidentally startle you. After none of the rooms on the ground floor turn up anything, he starts to climb the stairs. He only makes it two steps before he hears a sob that sounds a little too familiar.

He backs up, eyes locked on the closet that Bruce keeps winter coats in. It’s tucked just out of the way of any prying eyes, at the end of a hallway near Bruce’s study. It’s quiet, enclosed and of course, dark. The perfect spot to hide in. 

“Y/n?” He keeps his voice soft and even, kneeling just outside of the closet. 

You sniffle in response, strained gasps echoing off the walls of the closet. How did he find you? How did he know?

He slowly pulls open the door, giving you enough time to hide your face or protest if you need to. A sliver of light from the hallway breaks through the darkness of the closet and illuminates your face. Jason’s heart breaks at the sight.

Poor thing. All teary eyed and wet cheeked, shaking like a leaf at the bottom of an old closet. He shakes his head. This won’t do.

 “Hey, hey,” he says, “it’s safe here. It’s just us. Just you and I.”

You hear his words but it’s hard to register anything in your panicked state. Your breathing stays erratic, your heart beats so hard you’re scared it will burst. You can see Jason through the black spots and tears, but just barely. He looks more like a broken mirror than a person right now, but it’s Jason.

“Are you okay if I touch you?”

As soon as you nod, Jason is pulling you into his lap and shutting the closet door to return you to darkness. Strong arms hold you close to his chest and his scent surrounds you. 

“Close your eyes, okay? Focus on your breathing, focus on what you feel, not what you think.”

You try to follow his instructions, managing to relax enough to shut your eyes. You can feel the warmth radiating off of him, the steady bump of his heartbeat, his hands resting above your belly button. You can smell his cologne, the familiar scent filling your nostrils and reminding you that he’s really there. 

Jason keeps himself sturdy. He keeps his breathing steady and his hands still. You need stability right now, and Jason is going to be the one to give it to you. He doesn’t care if he has to hold you for an hour, or even the entire night. All he cares about is you.

Your breathing starts to steady and the burning in your chest fades. You try not to push yourself—taking slow, gentle breaths. 

“Feeling better?” He asks, and suddenly you’re painfully aware that you’re sitting in his lap, in his arms, in a dark closet.

“Y-yeah,” you say, “I think so.”

He nods. “Great to hear.”

Jason awkwardly adjusts so that he can stand, opening the closet door. He reaches a hand out to you. “How about we ditch this thing? We get rid of these stuffy clothes, take a ride on my bike and get some ice cream?”

Jason almost bursts at the genuine smile that fills your face. It’s like clouds parting to let the sun rays through—a reward after seeing you break down in his arms.

“That sounds great,” you accept his hand and let him tug you to your feet. “I’ll go get changed.”

Ten minutes later and Jason is waiting at your door, having traded his suit for jeans and a t-shirt. “Ready to go?”

He takes your hand in his and leads you downstairs, out of the backdoor and to the garage where he parked his motorcycle. He helps you do up your chin strap, calloused hands gently rubbing the sensitive skin of your neck. 

You mount the back of the bike, your feet barely scraping the ground. Jason puts on his own helmet and climbs in front of you. He revs the bike, “you should hold on.”

You lean forwards awkwardly and wrap your arms loosely around his waist. Jason seems satisfied with this and takes off. As soon as the bike lurches into motion, your grip tightens around him. You swear you hear him laugh.

The cool night air feels nice on your once clammy skin, the familiar smell of the city surrounding you. Jason drives carefully, or at least, more carefully than he usually does. You can tell he’s making a great effort to keep you comfortable.

You relax into him, feeling the curves of the bike as you make your way into the city. The streets of Gotham fly by, amber streetlights casting the whole street in a soft glow.

You feel almost disoriented when he brings the bike to a stop in a parking stall next to the ice cream parlor. The sudden cease of motion leaves you feeling like you’re still moving, and you have to wait a minute to get your bearings.

Jason puts down the kickstand and climbs off of the bike, hanging his shiny black helmet from the handlebars. “Here,” he offers you a hand and helps you down.

Your knees shake slightly but you find your balance. You take off the helmet and set it on the seat of the bike where you just were.

“So, what’s your go-to flavor?”

You smile. Jason has never been one for small talk, and he’s definitely never been as gentle as he’s being now. You melt at the idea of him being extra careful with you.

“It’s so hard to decide, honestly,” you admit. “I usually get the same thing every time, but sometimes I want to switch it up, you know?”

He nods, “I’m usually a mint chocolate chip or rocky road guy myself, but I like to mix it up sometimes.”

You spend almost five minutes discussing ice cream flavors with Jason. It doesn’t help that this particular place boasts over 100 flavors, and all of them sound equally delicious. Finally, you manage to decide and step up to the counter to order.

You order your ice cream, but before you can pay, Jason steps up behind you and places his order with yours. You go to protest, but the man is already tapping his card.

“Thank you,” you say sheepishly.

“Hey, if I invite you out for ice cream, don’t expect to pay.”

You get your ice cream and settle down at one of the picnic benches in the parking lot. It’s a nice, warm night, and there’s not very many people around. Usually you’d be afraid to be out this late in Gotham but having Jason around just settles your nerves.

“Thank you for tonight, Jay. It—it really means a lot to me that you helped me.”

You swear his cheeks tinge red. He looks at you seriously, “anytime. Seriously, if you ever need me, no matter what, just call me, okay? I’ll be there for you in a heartbeat.”

His words almost have you tearing up again. Seeing Jason so soft, so kind and caring—it just makes your heart flutter. He reaches across the table and squeezes your hand reassuringly. 

A peaceful silence falls over the table as you finish your ice cream. Jason never takes his hand away from yours, and you’re not quite sure you want him to. If you could live like this, with him, in this moment forever, you’re sure you’d never have another panic attack again.

#jason todd #jason todd x reader #jason todd x you #red hood x you #red hood x reader #red hood #red hood fluff #jason todd fluff #Jason Todd hurt/comfort #hurt/comfort #dc #batfam #arkham knight

[hallowpen]

The plan was to start watching The Sign by divvying up the series into two episodes per day until I could finish. Well…that plan went completely out the window and I ended up binge watching the entire thing in one go. So, as I try to gather my thoughts, I wanted to sort of get my feelings out there on what I thought was an incredible show before I finally unfilter the tags (as to avoid any outside influence on my opinion).

Let me preface this by saying that this is going to be an incredibly bias opinion given my cultural upbringing and background (I'm half-Thai and I've spent almost half of my life living in Thailand), so please take that into account before reading any further. I metaphorically removed my western-lensed glasses while watching this series and preferred to watch as a Thai viewer, which probably made the more confusing or difficult parts of the show a lot easier to swallow. So, yes, I will admit that the show was not perfect by any means, but I was able to overlook a lot of its shortcomings given the parts that had been done so well and what this series could mean for Thai QL media going forward.

My goddess, where do I even start…

I'm a sucker for the reincarnated/fated lovers trope, so the show had me before it even started. What I absolutely loved the most about the romance and the A+ chemistry was that it didn't dominate or singularly drive the story, which was refreshing to see. It gave room to explore the fantasy/mythological elements of the show, the investigatory plotlines (which we'll get to later), and the relationships of the characters surrounding the "main leads".

Episode 3, my beloved, was what solidified my trust in this series and served as the foundation for the personalized experience I curated in my continued viewing. First off (and a bit of a side note), seeing Yoshi show up as Sand just made my heart super happy. I've been following her off and on since 2018, and she was one of the only things I actually liked about หมอ มือ ใหม่… but I digress. Behind the main story (and maybe even because of it), this episode was, for all intents and purposes, a love letter to Thai culture and its religious mythology. Which, when you consider how much international draw a BL series can hold, is truly momentous. International viewers got to experience the Bang Fai Phayanak (the naga fireball festival) that occurs every Wan Ok Phansa (the last day of what is considered Buddhist Lent) and the significance it holds over Thai history and culture. Using this as the stepping stone to establish the importance of the series' reliance on naga folklore…brilliant! The episode was also the viewers' introduction to the Buddhist idea of the cyclical intermingling of karmic fates. How the implications of an interdependence on one fate more than the others would later define the relationship between Phaya, Tharn, and Chalothorn…genius! All of this!? In one episode…of a BL!? I was overwhelmed by a sense of cultural gratitude and pride, that I still can't quite shake. I think Saint knew exactly what he was doing when he chose to adapt this series and I love him even more for it.

Aside from the cultural dependency and relevance, the show delivered so much beyond that as well. The production quality sailed high above previous BL standards and, in turn, lent itself to beautiful visuals and cinematography.

The casting! Billy and Babe's chemistry was just so *chef's kiss*. I knew Billy would absolutely smash it in the role of Phaya, but I often forgot that this was Babe's first ever acting role. It was an undertaking, that you could tell, he did not take lightly. Heng!? Wow! What a performance! He's been a staple in every Idol Factory series thus far, but he really nailed the purely villainous role of Chalothorn. Gap as Yai? No notes. He was able to flesh out what could have been a very one-dimensional character. Tack and Poom as Khem and Thongtai were a welcome levity inbetween, what was otherwise, a more weighty plot.

If I had to address any gripes I had with the series, there were only two that really stood out:

1) I wish the moments/conversations between Tharn and Chalothorn that eventually led to Tharn's return hadn't happened off-screen. There was a lot left to be resolved that could have been explored in that instance. But using my own inference based on Tharn as a character, his relationship with Chalothorn, and the core of his personality, I could kind of piece together how that ending came to be.

2)The lesser intriguing elements of the investigation storylines were shaky, at best. (If you were looking for the show to have a firm western-influenced ACAB agenda, then I'm sorry to say you were setting yourself up for disappointment. As much as I selfishly wanted it to be, this series was never going to be that show, it's a Thai drama.) From a Thai perspective, it made sense that the "copaganda" aspect of the series focused on the incompetency and inefficiency of a police force where justice is often informed by wealth and greed. I got an idea of what the show's stance on the matter was supposed to be but the overall plot and its consistency got lost somewhere within the final execution.

Other than that, I was left feeling satisfyingly content with where the series landed and I will continue to highly recommend it. It's easily one on my top five favorite Thai BL dramas and just Thai dramas in general! And…

There is such a rich history of mythology and folklore left for the show to still sink its teeth into: the garuda of it all, the pre-existing feud between the naga and garuda and why that is… Aside from a few minor specificities that were missing from naga folklore (their exclusion didn't really detract from anything, but it could have served to benefit non-Thai viewers), all of that could be addressed in a second season. Which, at this point, seems pretty likely 🤞🏾🤞🏾🤞🏾 and would be HUGE in the BL world.

PLEASE, LET IT HAPPEN! 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾

#the sign #the sign the series #thai culture #thai mythology #thai bl #i've had a very productive unproductive 12 hrs #i need sleep #i need to catch up on work #i formally apologize to my followers who are about to be flooded with 'the sign' content #i'm excited to finally get to see all the fan creations and gifs #😊😊😊 #koda watches bl

[slexenskee]

JJK Recs

Got a comment on this and figured I'd turn it into a post. Here are some of my favorite Gojo-centric JJK recs that basically live rent-free in my head and also very much so helped me form my own characterization for Gojo. Most of these are GoYuu bc I'm a shameless fan.

I keep the warmest truth - dehawny: Gojo/Yuuji | just adore this ace!Gojo headcanon. lowkey so torn on Gojo's sexuality bc I absolutely can see him being asexual and maybe even a bit touch-averse with the whole Infinity thing, but I also can see him being a total slut lol. This is one of my favorites and the only ace!Gojo I've found I think? The tags are just perfect and very much so aligned with my own personal Gojo heacanon 😂 "Gojou is confident about everything and that includes his sexuality", "he's also good at everything except maybe communicating"

A Duty and Responsibility - googlehome: Gojo/Sukuna this fic definitely pushed my 'bottom Gojo agenda' idk I can see this man with any sexuality I swear. Another great characterization of Gojo, and also Sukuna. I adore very serious fics with a splash of humor in the narrative. I can't imagine Gojo as a person who takes himself entirely seriously, no matter how much responsibility he accepts, or how many burdens he carries for others, or what kind of nonsense gay crisis he ends up in, so I just love his voice in this.

Countdown - Rizna: Gojo/Yuuji a fandom classic as far as I'm concerned. This is such an excellent role reversal AU - if you're into S2 teenage brat Gojo, this delivers. I love all versions of Gojo, including mouthy teenage twink Gojo deeply obsessed with his adult sensei who's Trying His Best™ to be the adult in the relationship.

Enough (A Cinderalla Story) - athena_crikey: Gojo/Yuuji in an absolutely fucking hilarious twist of irony, I actually didn't read this story for a long time because it was a rockstar AU and when I first got into this fandom I was desperate for canon stuff. Meanwhile I then go on to bust out 400k+ words of my own rockstar!Gojo AU, so I guess I'm just a fucking clown.

Heart Laid Bare - athena_crikey: Gojo/Namami incredible introspection on how Gojo handles (or rather, doesn't handle) the burden of being invincible and the strongest told in Nanami's POV. I could wax poetic about this fic and the way Gojo comes across so multi-faceted as both a man who can do everything and also a man who can't even remember to adequately feed himself. I drew a lot of the inspiration for Gojo's cursed technique in my fic from this, how Infinity is both his blessing and his curse and the parallels to his overuse of RCT being a kind of toxic spiral.

Shared Infinity - athena_crikey: Gojo & Yuuji - read the tags on this one it deals with some heavy stuff (not with Gojo) I love the way this fic showcases Gojo as a mature adult deeply protective over his students while still maintaining his kind of flippant/uncaring outer persona we see in the show. Just completely love fics that really naile the dichotomy of Gojo being both caring and yet rather unkind.

Take Two - athena_crikey: Gojo/Yuuji - specifically love how this AU fic deals with the idea of Gojo's own fame being his shield between himself in the world around him where his Infinity technique doesn't exist. I love how Gojo is handled in this one, so jagged around the edges, and just his own worst enemy when it comes to his own feelings. Also love me a Gojo who can own up to his own mistakes, look at our baby go, showing emotional maturity and everything!!

Still, More Firsts - hngr4fngr: Gojo/Yuuji man do I adore this whole series. Great porn with ridiculously excellent plot/characterizations lol like I came here for the bottom!Gojo and left with way too many feelings about how Gojo deals with his trauma and how that would effect his sex life. Also has a super interesting take on how Infinity works!

little lamb to the slaughter - voxofthevoid: Gojo/Yuuji still obsessed with the astoundingly incredible smut, just absolutely shook by how god-tier this writing is, it is so hard to write good smut, just pacing, flow, word choice... this could be a masterclass on how to write really great smut that can actually pull a visceral reaction out of a reader. I think a great deal of that ability comes from a mastery of the tone of voice of the characters, too. Gojo is just incredible in this Yuuji POV, the way he describes Gojo is just utter perfection. On a related note, in general Yuuji's voice is so fucking funny in a way that doesn't detract at all from the mood of the story. In fact I think this would be too heavy without his hilarious occasional inputs.

there is no try (but it's still going to take a while) - juurensha: Gojo/Geto I love me a star wars AU jfc. I'm not even a fan of SatoSugu but this is just *chefs kiss* Jedi Master Gojo is such a mood.

anchor - valleykey: Gojo/Geto I love this one mainly for the Suguru characterization, which I truly never thought I'd say bc I'm just not normally a fan of his character/relationship with Gojo. He's just perfect in this fic though - it just makes so much more sense for his characterization, and idk, pulls it altogether in a way I think it falls flat in canon. That isn't to say Gojo's not great in this, he's just really not the main character at all. But it deals well with Gojo's loyalty to those he deems worthy of it (even if the recipient isn't considered 'proper' by jujutsu society) and just offers a good take on supportive (and smitten) Gojo

#slex recs #jujutsu kaisen fanfics #fanfic recs

[thebroccolination]

Ossan's Love Returns…TO MY SOUL

I really have to make a whole giant post about my unironic, sincere love for Ossan's Love because Ossan's Love Returns has only had two episodes so far but holy fuck do I adore it.

Also, like, episode one got past 1.5 million views in under a week. On Viu, I think it was? The hashtag on Twitter is massively active, and all the talk I've seen is meta about the story, praise for the actors, reactions about the episodes, or phenomenal fanart. SO MUCH PHENOMENAL FANART. It's predominantly a Japanese fandom, so it's not the most accessible thing for a lot of people to follow, but after how cruel and vindictive the international fandom of Thai BL series has become over the years, I really needed a return to Japanese fandom etiquette. it's nice to have a peaceful fandom again where people are just, y'know, enjoying a story together. :''')

Also I love Maki so much. I cannot overemphasize my adoration for Maki as a character. And his complexity exists in large part thanks to Kento, who is such an incredible actor and he's just nailing all the nuances of this role in a whole new way. He was 25 when the first OL aired, and he's 31 now, and even though he was fantastic then, he's even better now. And of course Kei is Kei, brilliant as always. I keep saying this over the years, but Haruta in anyone else's hands could have been a disaster. Tanaka Kei just strikes this perfect balance between sincere and goofy.

In the first episode, what Haruta wishes for is world peace, and he's completely sincere when he tells Maki. And instead of tease him for it, Maki just says, "That's the most important thing."

AND EPISODE TWO. I can't even make words about it yet. Just…perfect. Absolutely everything I never thought we'd have after they made the plane show in 2019.

I love this goofy show with my whole soul. :')

#ossan's love #ossan's love returns #maki ryota #haruta soichi #makiharu

[lexiloos-currentobsession]

BCS season 5 roundup!

Magic Man

-Saul Goodman is ~official~

-Ziiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeegler

-I ADORE the magic man montage

-The scene where Kim refuses Jimmy’s plan for convincing her client to take a plea deal and then does it herself anyway reminded me of when Jimmy told her to beat Howard to Mesa Verde and she initially declined but ended up sprinting through HHM

50% Off

-Nacho’s face when he sees his father in the restaurant 💔

-I don’t know why I’m so obsessed with context but I geeked out over Lalo giving Domingo the nick name Ocho Loco since we know him as Krazy 8 but no one has called him that in BSC yet

-This early still-Jimmy-at-heart phase of Saul Goodman is so fun to watch. Confidently strolling through the court house in ridiculous outfits dropping so many great phrases:

-Into every life a little rain must fall

-Life’s a rich pageant who are we to judge

The Guy for This

-HANK and GOMEY!!! What a perfect reveal

-I’d honestly forgotten that in Breaking Bad Hank said Krazy 8 was an informant but now it seems so obvious that we’d see how that came to be

-I’ll say it again, I love watching Kim Wexler yell

-A Suzuki Esteem, it’s an import

-Acker accuses Kim of saying anything to get what she wants and it seems to really affect her. I don’t think it gets to her because she believes it to be true of herself, but because she KNOWS that’s true of JIMMY

Namaste

-Me during the opening scene:

-Jimmy does the ole bang on the interview room door to make it seem like you’re walking away from the negotiating table trick that Hank JUST did to him to the criminals he’s meeting with

-My friends still call me Jimmy, you can too

Dedicado A Max

-Jimmy squeezing into the construction meeting 💀

-An all-time great Mcwexler scene: Kim role playing as Kevin

-The Acker scam is probably my favorite so far

-He’s claiming our prime contractor is an escaped felon lolol

-There’s a moment when Kim is confirming to Jimmy she wants to go after Kevin personally where she says “ok” and Jimmy replies “ok” while extending a beer her direction. She smirks. THIS is true Mcwexler happiness.

-Jimmy and Kim really make schemin and drinkin beers look so damn enjoyable

-Kim makes a hilarious face when Jimmy is on the phone with Mike and says “this is not like that other thing”

Wexler v Goodman

-I just feel like if just we get out there and we hustle we can do it!

-Jimmy is having FUN giving acting instructions. The whole shooting the commercial montage makes Jimmy so lovable

-The shot of Nacho and his car in that warehouse with missing windows is so sick

-Jonathan Banks plays Mike playing a sweet innocent old man so well

-No Cliff my hookers were taller than these

-Ofc Kim proposed to Jimmy

JMM

-Jimmy asks who the hell is Jorge de Guzman right when the opening credit for Tony Dalton pops up on screen

-They absolutely nailed the whole consummating the marriage scene because Jimmy is honest with Kim which showed way more intimacy than the actual act

-LIGHTNING BOLTS SHOOT FROM MY FINGERTIPS!!! I love that this specific language was included in the rant because now we know what Jimmy is thinking when he does the lil finger waggle to make something happen

Bagman

-One of the coolest things about this show is how it influences the way you view Breaking Bad on a rewatch, and this episode is a prime example. Seeing what Mike and Jimmy go through in Bagman completely recontextualizes their relationship for me. The closest feeling I can relate it to is when after you’ve known two people for a while you find out that they also know each other.

-Did Mike and Jimmy think they would be able to steal the car of the guy they baited and sniped???

Bad Choice Road

-Jimmy in the tub scene 👀

-Kim is the queen of impulsive decisiveness

-Ok Lalo IS Spider-Man. First the roof thing at Travel Wire and now him jumping off a ravine onto the esteem

-Jimmy pestering Kim with that ”pro bono means no money” argument is rich considering she held him down when his license was suspended

-When Lalo presses Jimmy for more about what happened in the desert Jimmy throws in the detail about drinking his pee, which was the same thing he did when Kim tried to get him to open up about what happened

Something Unforgiveable

-Kim snorting in laughter at Howard’s accusations of Jimmy made that scene

-There are a myriad of reasons why Kim turns on Howard and one I don’t see mentioned enough is TIMING!! Consider this, Jimmy tries to break up with Kim on the same day Howard approached her about Jimmy being unhinged. She brings this up to Jimmy that night almost as a way to distract from the heavy shit they’ve been experiencing. They spend the evening lightheartedly brainstorming schemes against Howard, then it becomes serious for Kim when she thinks going through with a plan will keep Jimmy in the relationship

-Jimmy leaves the mint chip off his room service sundae. I don’t exactly know why but it feels significant

-I’m trying to imagine how Jimmy felt when Kim did the finger guns at him. I imagine whatever he felt in that moment is what he was trying to convey to Kim when he did them to her in Saul Gone

#better call saul #bcs #jimmy mcgill #mcwexler #saul goodman #brbabcs #kim wexler

[dekaydk]

Oh No! Here Comes Trouble ep 12

Completely satisfied with this show and definitely expect to watch it again.

Okay, spoilers for the series follow so don't read if you haven't watched the whole thing.

The good

Script, story, characters, acting, comedy, direction, cinematography. Basically everything.

Unclear/didn't understand

I didn't get the bit with the security guard and his accuser. I thought it was setting up another obsession but it just happened, then they went back to it with a repeat of the action. Will rewatch to see if I missed something (was interrupted several times (grumble) so this very well could just be me).

Could've been better

CGI was pretty good in general though the closeup paper bits landing were a little, oh, procedural vs. natural. The big plane crash (the full scene) wasn't quite as convincing as I would have liked but I get that budget isn't infinite and this kind of work is expensive. (Heck, big budget movies often have less convincing CGI than this series.)

Subtitles often were a bit fleeting (the English ones) especially when there was a short line. Dear subtitle team: love your work but please remember that we are switching between watching the action and reading so we have to spend time on both; it's not the same as listening to dialog and watching simultaneously. I had to rewind quite a few times because I wasnn't sure what had been said because I took my eyes off the titles for a moment and missed something.

Things I loved

The writing was terrific. Not one of the obsessions played out like you might have expected. Twists every time!

Every. single. one. of the actors were good. Every one of the minor roles was done well. The actor playing the OLD WOMAN was brilliant, made more effective by a great costume, hair, the smoking (lighting a wet butt was a genius touch). Traffic boulder man was perfectly menacing.

Guang Yan's reaction to being pulled away from Yi Yong by Li Song was devastating and perfect; Cian You nailed it.

The scene where Yi Yong and Bao Sheng are talking in the hospital after Yi Yong wakes up was economically written and acted. Scenes like this are often overloaded with exposition or overdone by the actors/directors. They didn't even say that Ren Xiu had died; the acting did it all. Cheryl Yang seemed effortless in all her parts, whether doing comedy or badassery.

Another example of beautiful spareness in writing and directing was when Yi Yong went to the (graveyard? mausoleum?). We don't know where he's going in the taxi, the taxi driver just gets out (sensitive!) and Yi Yong's sobbing is perhaps all the more heartbreaking because it was shot from outside the taxi.

The first balcony scene with Ren Xiu and Yi Yong was another example of terrific writing. We got introduced to Ren Xiu's character and the real nature of his relationship with his son in such a short time, yet you learned enough to care about him. The second balcony scene was beautifully acted by both men, and the necessary tonal shifts were slow and delicate enough to keep the viewer in the moment.

Loved the ending. Wake up, hear yet another plea for help, roll eyes, roll credits. That said, Yi Yong losing another couple of years to a coma? UNFAIR.

Side notes

Jing Hua actually spent time to learn calligraphy in more depth. I assume (as someone who doesn't read it) that he had to be convincing enough to make Chinese viewers believe in his expertise. Role reversal: in one of the behind the scenes videos, Cian You gives Jing Hua a cartoon of him that he said that he had drawn.

Conclusion: 🎖️ Absolutely recommended. Run, do not walk to your preferred IQIYI access.

Going to re-watch and think about this some more.

#oh no! here comes trouble #不良執念清除師 #taiwanese drama #twdrama #lin kuan hui #tseng jing hua #vivian sung #peng cian you #cheryl yang

[ecoamerica]

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#ACLA24 #ACLA24Leaders #youtube #youtube video #climate leaders #climate solutions #climate action #climate and environment #climate #climate change #climate and health #climate blog #climate justice #climate news #weather and climate #environmental news #environment #environmental awareness #environment and health #environmental #environmental issues #environmental justice #environment protection #environmental health #Youtube

[lindleland]

God, that was. A lot.

I'm struggling to think of a piece of fiction that is more of a mixed bag than this.

For everything this game does that should make it far and away the high watermark of the series, it does something else that would make it the worst game in the series to balance it out.

3-1 and 3-5 are easily two of the best trials in the series with 3-4 not far behind, but 3-2 and 3-3 don't really have a huge amount going for them (with the latter squandering so much potential that the entire game suffers for it), and 3-6 is just a complete clusterfuck.

When it nails its character arcs down it does so with some of the best writing the series has had. The bond between the trio of Kaito, Shuichi, and Maki is earnest and believable in a way the series rarely accomplishes. Kaede's journey throughout the first chapter, her eventual tragic loss, and how she helps Shuichi come into his own were absolutely pitch-perfect (it does suck that she had to be fridged for manpain but the execution is incredible nonetheless). Kokichi was an incredible villain who manages to be completely distinct from the previous games' Evil Bastards, and despite him being completely despicable he has a very believable internal logic to him - he even had a good point on occasion when dragging the rest of the cast. And Gonta was such a sweet character and had such distinct dynamics with most of the cast, and I am still incredibly sad about how he went out.

But then there's everyone else.

I think the biggest problem with 3-2 and 3-3 is that in the other games, the second and third chapters are where the characters all get fleshed out and build chemistry with one another, and that just... doesn't happen here. Having Ryota and Kirumi's goals contrast both each other's and Shuichi's overarching journey was a good move, but linking it into having a theme in common rather than personal conflict robs the chapter of its emotional core. The reason the previous second cases hit so hard is because they lean into a tragic bond (Taka/Mondo and Peko/Fuyuhiko respectively), while also laying most of the character groundwork going forward - DR1 sets up Byakuya and Toko's roles in the game, gives Chihiro a solid characterization, and establishes Hifumi and Celestia's simp/simpee dynamic, and DR2 builds a solid connection between Mahiru and Hiyoko, develops a connection between around a third of the cast by way of Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, and also gradually weans Chiaki into the role of sidekick for this game. Here? We don't get anything close to that. The most that case 2 does is establish Kaito as a sidekick and lay the grounds for Kokichi manipulating Gonta.

But chapter 3 is the worst offender here by far. Angie and Tenko getting attached to Himiko never feels earned and neither one of them have any chemistry with her and both of them are totally one-dimensional characters, and it feels like they set that up for the sole purpose of plot, and then that plot had the audacity to make the twist that it all had nothing to do with any of their arcs and that Korekiyo's out-of-fucking-nowhere motive was the cause behind everything. It's like you wasted a quarter of your cast on a needlessly convoluted non-sequitur.

Miu and Keebo's relationship was a good idea that they did almost nothing with, and ultimately Miu comes off as more one-note than any of her similar characters in previous titles (I still like her tho, just not as much). Whereas the plot takes Keebo into some interesting places but he never ends up being that interesting as a character. Rantaro was a really interesting character for what he was, and I can't fault them for not doing more with him given his role in the story.

But then there's Tsumugi. God, what a waste of a character. She does NOTHING prior to her reveal as the mastermind. She's conspicuous purely by way of her having no other reason to exist. I can see what they were going for - they probably didn't want to undermine a likeable character by having her be the mastermind. The problem is that she basically isn't even a character until then. And they could easily have leant into her fangirl personality throughout the game by making her fangirl over more things- that way it wouldn't have felt like a completely unearned twist and would make her less of an underwhelming Big Bad.

Of course, once the twist starts getting incredibly meta it's kind of a stroke of genius? The satire against its own status as a pointless sequel was pinpoint accurate, and rings even truer given how many plot beats in this game are rehashed from previous ones (albeit with better execution), and as far up its own ass as it was for doing it the casting of Danganronpa's fandom as the main antagonist through Keebo was an inspired choice, right down to the specific fandom complaints being used throughout the Argument Armament.

But it all comes at the cost of undermining not only everything that came before it by turning it all into a farce, but also by turning the rest of the series up to this point into nothing but a series within the fictional universe of DRV3.

And yet it still uses that as a springboard to deliver an incredibly thematically strong and coherent cap to Shuichi's character arc.

In some ways it completely spits in the face of everything that happened beforehand, and in other ways it's the perfect culmination of it.

Overall it's a completely insane game made by an insane person and for its sheer ambition alone I hold it in high esteem. I think I prefer it to DR1 although it never quite reaches the relative perfection of DR2 (relative in that Danganronpa's approach to game design is kuckoofuckingbananas in general and if it ever approached "perfection" it would not be recognizably Danganronpa in any way).

#danganronpa #danganronpa v3: killing harmony #danganronpa spoilers #lind plays drv3

[sailtomarina]

10-minute Surprise

“Professor, if I may have a moment of your time?” 

Hermione swept past his Potions students where they leaned over cauldrons and diligently chopped ingredients in the no-nonsense manner she’d perfected from a young age. Like him, she wore her teaching robes, having recently finished with her Ancient Runes class of 6th years.

Draco raised a curious eyebrow at her request but said nothing. He merely stood with a very Severus-like sweep of cloth to follow her into his office. The students paid them no attention, having become accustomed to the two professors taking private meetings during class.

The instant the door clicked shut, Hermione cast a quick succession of locking and silencing spells. She grasped the front of his robes and shoved him back against the large oak desk.

“Merlin, that’s hot,” he muttered, before any further comments were inhaled by her lips on his. As if on command, his hands landed on the plush hips hidden from view. Her wandless, non-verbal magic turned him on almost as much as when she took charge like this, like she couldn’t get enough of him.

Draco grunted in surprise when she pulled away with a stinging bite to his lower lip. Whatever she was up to couldn’t be anything harmless with the way her lips curled up, mischief sparkling in her normally warm gaze.

Any questions he might have asked were silenced when Hermione dropped to her knees in front of him, hands already working to part his robes and access the prize beneath.

“Granger, love, are you sure—”

He groaned as she gave him a warning squeeze. “That’s Professor Granger-Malfoy to you.”

He was one lucky wizard.

“Professor Granger-Malfoy, are you sure we have time for this?” His hand hovered over her curls.

“Do you doubt my abilities? We have, what, 10 minutes left until the end of class?”

“That’s right—oh, fuck!”

She’d continued her quest uninterrupted while they’d talked, and engulfed him in one luxurious glide of her lips at just that moment. This time, he didn’t stop his hand from fisting her curls. She moaned at the tightening of his fingers, eyes lifting up to meet his own in appreciation.

“You’re so pretty wrapped around me like this.” Praises fell from his lips as she bobbed her head along his length, agile tongue swirling around him and sucking as if she could drain his life force straight out of him.

Normally, they only engaged in a bit of snogging, or on a particularly desperate day, he’d get her off on his fingers or along his thigh as he ground against her. Anything more seemed too risky. Draco wasn’t opposed to acts of debauchery, but he knew Hermione held herself back out of respect for their professional roles.

What changed?

Hermione chose that moment to press down onto him until he hit the back of her throat and then she moaned.

The universe converged onto that point of union, Draco releasing an uncontrolled whine he might have otherwise considered embarrassing. He didn’t care what he sounded like now. Both hands grasped her head, keeping her in place as he proceeded to fuck her throat. She pressed the tips of her nails into his thighs, signaling her approval despite the gagging sounds she emitted. Tears ran down from her clenched eyes.

“Just like that, baby, you take me so well.” 

She was a dream come true, gagging on his cock with spit and tears running across her face detracting absolutely nothing from the sight. Here they were, completely clothed, his indecency concealed deep in her mouth for only her to see and taste. He was hers, and hers only.

The telltale tightening in his balls warned him of just how close he was to coming. As appetizing as the idea of letting go and sending ropes of spend down her throat, there was somewhere else he’d rather be.

Her eyes opened as he released his grip on her, and he wiped thumbs across the tear tracks on her cheeks. A quick glance at the clock on the wall showed he only had five more minutes.

“Come up here, love.”

She obeyed at once, and he spun them around so now she was the one pinned against the table.

“I have a little surprise for you.” Her voice came out low and hoarse. The sound of her, still sore from his length, was like music to his ears.

“Yeah? And what’s that?” He quickly parted her robes and reached down to yank up the length of her skirt. His palm slid up the smooth skin of her thigh, marveling at the softness, before he realized she wore nothing else underneath.

His forehead dropped to rest in the crook of her shoulder. “Merlin. Have you been naked like this all day?”

Her chuckle shook them both. “Yes, but that’s not the surprise I’m talking about.” She stuttered at the end as he rubbed circles around her with his thumb and threaded one digit into her slick channel.

“Mmm, it isn’t?” He concentrated on her bundle of nerves while he stretched her with a second finger. She was already soaked from her earlier excitement, but he wanted to make sure she received equal satisfaction.

Deeming her more than ready, he lined up at her entrance and, with one smooth thrust, buried himself deeply in her cunt.

“Uhhhhhnnnnnnnn.”

“Fuckkkkkkkkkkkk.”

They might not be eloquent, but they sure as hell shared their appreciation.

Keeping one hand at her clit, he used his other hand to maneuver one leg over his shoulder, bending her nearly in half as he rutted into her. He’d thought himself close before, but now it took everything he had to prevent himself from spilling into her maddening heat. Draco concentrated on her pleasure all while his own heartbeat and her mewling pants filled his ears and made it impossible to think of anything else.

“I—I—” She couldn’t get the words out, instead throwing her head back as the encroaching wave lapped at the edges of her consciousness. She was surrounded by Draco, drowning in his scent and touch, tasting him still on her tongue—

“I’m pregnant!”

Her cry came with a releasing flood that swept over them both, the crashing waves dragging Draco along with her. His euphoric shout preceded both of his hands coming up to wrap around and cradle the back of her head as he pressed her into the hard surface of his table and consumed her in a kiss.

They didn’t part until they were nearly breathless, and the smile that stretched across her face nearly took away what little air he had left.

She was pregnant.

The clock on the wall dinged as their break came to an end, and they stared at one another for one more second—silver and gold, coolness and warmth. They completed one another in every way, and now they’d created something, someone, new.

“We’re going to be parents.”

She nodded at his whisper, before winking and giving him a wicked grin. “Hopefully we’ll be better at parenting than teaching.”

They shared a giggle, foreheads pressed together in delight of what the future promised.

After they cleaned themselves up and Professors Malfoy and Granger-Malfoy put on twin expressions of solemnity before re-entering the classroom, not a single student was fooled by their act. Their professors thought themselves so sneaky with their show of cool professionalism, their attempts at maintaining separation during school hours.

There was no hiding the affection in their eyes, or the not-so-subtle touches when they thought no one was looking.

Hermione and Draco were as oblivious to the ineffectiveness of their acting as any student sneaking about after-hours. The walls of Hogwarts had eyes, every footstep that passed through its halls accounted for, professors included. The castle didn’t begrudge them their secrets, choosing instead to welcome them in an embrace that had gone on for generations before and would continue to do so for many more to come.

WC 1329

DHRMonth Week 1 - Hogwarts, September 3 - Professors

You didn't think I'd skip out on smut this fest, did you?

Cross posted on AO3

#dramionemonth #dramione #dhr fanfiction #harry potter fanfiction #draco malfoy x hermione granger #hermione granger #draco malfoy #dramione month

[hannahwashington]

Ok here is an official Ice Age ranking

Rankings + Explanations under the cut, starting from best going to worst. As always, this is all my own opinion, and you are free to disagree.

1. Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs

This is heavily biased but also I think Ice Age 3 has the perfect balance between completely wacky and actual heartfelt moments in an Ice Age movie. It didn't go totally overboard, and Buck is a wonderful addition to the series. Who can forget the story about how he lost his eye? Simon Pegg absolutely chewed this role up, and he really makes the movie what it is.

Ellie isn't sidelined because she's pregnant, she's allowed to be badass, and Manny learns some important lessons about not always being the protector. One thing that sticks with me is that Manny misses the moment Peaches is born (only Diego is there). I know that can be, like, a huge thing for some people, but even so, he sees his kid and feels nothing but love and relief. He doesn't feel emasculated by having his best friend there instead of him or resentment for missing that moment or some other petty bullshit. It didn't matter to him, what mattered was that his family was safe. That fucking gets me, y'know? I think that's the perfect encapsulation of what he had to learn - like I said, that he can't always be the protector, but also that he can rely on others when the going gets tough and he can't be there or can't do anything. It's important to show that, I think. D'you get me? You get me.

As much as Scratte's existence is, like, a meme, her and Scrat's sideplot was great, too. The tango? The fucking tango? Hello? I love the tango. The tango is great. And so is the "Alone Again" sequence, it leaves me in stitches. Having the acorn be like an actual character was a great choice in this case.

Finally, it's very visually distinct to the other movies thanks to its new setting, and it actually goes out of its way to give us really cool shots sometimes (see Buck's story). It really sets itself apart from the other movies. Also, how can you beat fucking dinosaurs!? Living under the ice!? Still the coolest shit. AND, the cover of Walk the Dinosaur is STILL the best credits song in the series.

2. Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

This one is simply a treat. It's an amazing follow-up to the first movie - it's got higher stakes, more energy, and more funny moments, and rounds out the herd with Ellie and the possums. Queen Latifah does her job voicing Ellie perfectly, and she's a GREAT character. Beyond that, it absolutely nails the emotional moments, too. Goodnight Sweet Possums is just... it's such a great scene, scored wonderfully. Hell, this is probably the most iconic Ice Age movie. Food Glorious Food? Sid's Sing-A-Long? Hell yeah. And... God, that scene at the end, with all the mammoths? Chills. Chills every time. Even so, I feel like it doesn't quite hit that line of greatness 3 did. I'm blaming Crash and Eddie. I don't really like Crash and Eddie. Also, this a total aside, but the ending sequence with Scrat in heaven haunts me to this day. It's the worst I feel for him. Anyway.

3. Ice Age

I could never hate this movie. It's unique in the series for being the most serious of them all. And, it gave Blue Sky its big break (RIP, hope Disney dies now and forever). Really, its biggest crime is that it's just boring in comparison to the sequels. There are gags and hijinks and the whole dodo sequence, but everyone is way more serious. The plot is way more serious. I mean, the saber-tooth tigers wanted to kill the baby! That's fucked up! And it's different to the monsters in 2 and the dinos in 3 because they were thinking, plotting, all of that jazz. Also, it gives very solid foundations for all of the characters, which I think helps make the next couple of sequels so strong. Overall, not that much to say! It's Ice Age 1. The opening travel music is a total bop, and, of course, everyone knows Send Me On My Way. It's just a solid movie.

4. Ice Age 5: Collision Course

I went into this one expecting it to be absolute dogshit, given it's the last numbered sequel in the series. But it's... actually pretty good? My biggest gripe is that the feathered dinosaur side plot didn't really add anything substantial and could've been done away with. Like 3, it really embraced how ridiculous the plot was and did it pretty well, imo. Buck is back! Peaches' fiancée is GREAT, and bringing back everything to focus heavily on the actual herd and its dynamics was a very smart move. The pop culture references date the movie, though. Also there is a Jessie J sloth. Who is also a GILF. Scrat's plot turns into straight up hody horror at some moments. The song at the end of the movie is pretty good, though. Anyway, sure, it's obviously not the best movie ever, and it's totally ridiculous, but I'm glad I gave it shot.

5. Ice Age 4: Continental Drift

I just... ugh. I'm gonna be honest, when I was younger I watched this one over and over, and I don't know if I made myself sick of it, or if I wisened up when I got older, but this just... sucks. Separating the herd was a horrible choice. The plot on the mainland with Ellie and Peaches is TERRIBLE, which sucks because you go in excited to meet Peaches properly. Sidelining Ellie to begin with was a horrible idea, since we KNOW she's a badass, and having her in on the pirate plot could've ruled. Also, jumping from baby Peaches in 3 to teenage Peaches in 4 was a bad move. I think an adventure with a younger Peaches could've worked better. Generally, separating the mammoth family was really not a good idea.

Well, I can give this movie one thing. It gave us Diego and Sid kissing. And they LIKED IT.

Speaking of mammoths! Every single mammoth celebrity voice actor seemed to be chosen exclusively for the song at the end of the movie. Which would've been fine if the song didn't suck with all of them included, it's like a cacophany of chaos. The version with just Keke Palmer is so much better. That's just me though. Also Josh Gad was a fucking rat and I hated his incel ass, so glad he wasn't in 5. AND, the plotline involving the other mammoths sucked sucked sucked sucked SUUUUCKED. I don't know how exactly we'd do a plotline about Peaches wanting to fit in (then realising she and her wacky family is fine just the way it is), but this was NOT it. This would have been a better story to do after a movie has been made with a younger Peaches, after we become very familiar with her dynamic with everyone in the herd, especially Manny and Ellie. Generally having a movie like that between 3 and 4 would have prevented a lot of the issues - such as separating the mammoth family.

Overall, the pirate plotline should have been the main focus, especially because that way we could have gotten more Peter Dinklage. The pirates were sorely underutilised, which is such a shame, because they were a very interesting addition to the story.

If you'e gotten this far, thanks for reading my ramblings on this series!

#ice age #If you want to know any specific thoughts on something from this series lmk LOL

[joshlmbrt]

Patrick Wilson is truly one of the most underrated actors ever. He’s so good in everything he does. Can do horror, comedy, romance. Someone said he’s the most un-famous actor ever on twitter and he replied something like goals idk exactly what it was but it was so funny 😆

I think he has it perfect he makes great movies but has a normal family life with his wife and kids.

this!!!! what this anon said!!!!

you are completely right - patrick wilson is VERY talented and more people should give him more praise (i know there is probably a good amount that do, i just haven’t seen as much)!! comedy, horror, drama - you name it, cast patrick wilson to do the part. warnings; he will completely nail the role !!!

and like i’ve said - i haven’t watched many movies of his yet, but from trailers and scenes that i have watched, he’s criminally talented.

and that person was so right. he is the most ‘un-famous famous person’ - you’ll know him if you see him!

and he does seem like such a normal, caring, and sweet guy and family man !! absolutely love that for him !!

not to mention - he can SING ??

we love patrick wilson.

(( ooou went on an absolute RANT !!!! i apologize 😭😭😭 ))

#cherry answers ·˚ ༘ #sweet anons ⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

[coffee-with-mint-syrup]

I finally finished watching the first episode of the atla, took me 2 hours.

So you can already see where the show lacks and where it is just great.

I'd say that the visuals are totally not the strongest feature of the series. Locations are mostly great but the costumes are surely not - colours are just a little bit too bright, ornaments are too large and could definitely use more detailing. They kinda look cartoonish and a little bit cheap. Appa's cgi...did not look great.

Acting, sadly, is not great either. It's not terrible and does not affext the viewing experience for me, kids are quite talented, you can see that here and there, but they idk feel kinda inexperienced? (Although it's not like they are actual newbies in acting). I hope they are learning on set and are getting better and better as the series progresses. They really need to figure out what to do with those hands while talking.

And the saddest of it all - like 50% of what characters are saying feels completely unnatural and kinda flat. Which is also not the worst thing, just kinda...not good. Also - where's that iconic "You're just a child - well, you're just a teenager" exchange? You can't change the iconic stuff!

But as I said previously - all the other stuff is pretty great.

I love the work they did with restructuring of the beginning. The beginning with the airbenders was absolutely perfect (at least for me) except for aang's monologue. I love that they made the tone of the show more mature and serious and didn't break it with more jokes for funzies.

I was afraid that they would make Katara excellent bender from the start just for girlbossification (which she absolutely does not need) and I'm really glad they didn't and showed her struggling at least a little bit at least at the beginning.

As I previously stated I love what they did to Sokka. Yes, he's not quite like Sokka we know and love but it doesn't feel like character assassination, rather, they decided to emphasize different side of his personality and arc. I kinda love his new dynamic with Katara - I feel like this version of her relies onto her older brother much more and it feels natural.

I love how camera sometimes tilts a little bit during tense moments.

The scene in prison cell with uncle Iroh and Aang? It's actually perfect. The way Iroh introduces himself, the way Aang asks why did the fire nation attack - this kid nailed his "child in distress" performance in this scene - and the way Iroh starts with some philosophy...It's just perfect.

Zuko is also great although now I'm a little bit worried that they switched his "honor" with "glory".

And many other little things.

Although there is some really weird stuff and it's, well, Katara. It feels like they toned down her motherly nature and leaned more into her warrior side. I really hope they did not change her "mother in the group" role in order for her to be less traditionally feminine and more badass girlboss type. There could be one more reason - they decided to cut out all the Kataang so there are fewer moments between them with this loving and caring mood, and about this one I feel pretty conflicted about. I'm not a fan of Kataang and I would definitely hate for it to happen on screen with those two actual kids - but I feel like Aang's crush on Katara is kinda essential for the plot and his arc? Like something that he would have to overcome and let go of? Idk. Like I said - I feel pretty conflicted about it.

#I definitely won't be posting such long opinions on every episode and every little detail #it really takes a lot of time that I'd better spend actually watching the series #plus I think all the stuff I listed probably applies to the rest of series #atla #netflix atla #avatar the last airbender