#i was thinking about fringe last night i feel like a rewatch

[voidbeans]

omg etta bishop is 10 years old next month....

#september 15 2012... #i was thinking about fringe last night i feel like a rewatch #fringe #henrietta bishop #etta bishop

[eternally-writing]

tour troubles | jjk

genre: fluff, angst

rating: G (no swearing or sexual content)

pairing: Jungkook x reader

theme: idol!au, boyfriend!au, one-shot

word count: 1.8k

warnings: none

Synopsis: When surprising your boyfriend Jungkook on tour doesn’t quite go as you planned, it’s up to you now to help cheer him up.

banner by me!

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡--

After a grueling 6 months apart,  you were more than happy to be in MetLife Stadium watching your boyfriend live out his dreams on stage. The Map of the Soul Tour was no joke; Jungkook was practicing all day and performing all night, and combined with your final exam season passing by it left little time for you to talk to each other.

Finally wrapping up the school year, you got in touch with Jimin to see if he could help you plan a surprise visit for Jungkook on one of their final tour stops.

All of the members had become like family to you, but it's no secret that aside from Jungkook you are closest with Jimin. He was like the older brother you never had, and you always ran to him whenever you needed relationship advice or a good hug.

As you watched Jungkook on stage you noticed his smile falter sometimes as he would be slightly out of position or dance off beat. You could only pick this out because you had spent hours in the practice room dancing with Jungkook. 

You and Jungkook had come together because of your shared love for dance. He had first asked you out inside a very sweaty-scented Big Hit practice room, almost half of your dates ended with some form of dancing, and whenever one of you was frustrated you could always find the other teary-eyed, lying on the marley floor of a dance studio. You had always been there to whisper words of encouragement in his ear when he was feeling down, and you wished nothing more than for her voice to reach the stage at the moment.

Soon enough, the concert came to an end and you were flashing her pass to the backstage security guard to get to see the boys. Despite your  uneasy feeling watching the concert, you couldn't ease the butterflies in your stomach at seeing your boyfriend for the first time in months.

Ever since you had planned this, you spent your nights imagining exactly how Jungkook would react: whether he would hug and kiss you first, stay frozen on the spot in shock, or start crying right away. 

As you stepped into the Big Hit dressing room, you were instantly greeted with several smiling faces. 

I didn't take you long to do a head count and realize that there were only 6  boys standing in front of you, and that your boyfriend was nowhere to be found. 

Making eye contact with Jimin, you saw the softness in his eyes as he motioned for you to come closer so he could explain. 

“He’s not feeling well Y/N, and none of us can get him to talk about it. We’re so worried. I swear I’ve only gotten like 2 words out of him tonight, and I even tried to make a nutella sandwich for him to cheer him up. I’m sorry this isn’t what you had planned, but can you talk to him please? For us?” 

You took a deep breath before pulling back the curtain divider in the dressing room. Your nerves catching up to you, you considered just turning around and telling the boys you would surprise him at their next concert instead. 

You had dealt with Jungkook being troubled and frustrated more times than you could count, but you were worried you had lost her touch after being apart from him for months. 

Your mind also flew the other way. How many times has he felt like this after a concert and never told you? When he said "It was fun I'm just really tired now" after every concert was he truly feeling like this? 

With that, you pushed forward because you knew that you had to be there to support Jungkook today, even if you couldn't be there for all the other times. 

The sight that greeted you behind the curtain was not a pretty one. 

Jungkook was staring blankly at the monitor in front of him, dark fringes of his hair matted against his sweaty forehead, tour hoodie zipped up completely with the hood on, and worst of all, his eyes were clearly puffy and swollen, with tinges of red coming through from underneath his makeup. 

Jungkook barely even glanced your way as you sat down an ample distance away from Jungkook on the couch. It was clear from his lack of surprise at your appearance that one of the boys (probably Jimin) had probably told him about your surprise visit earlier in an effort to cheer him up after the concert, but even that could not get him out of this slump.

 Of all the scenarios you came up with for how Jungkook would react to your surprise, somehow this one never crossed your mind. 

You turned your focus to where Jungkook was staring - a TV monitor replaying video footage from tonight's concert. You watched as his eyebrows stayed furrowed as he glared disapprovingly at himself for making even the smallest of mistakes in the video, almost wincing as the TV monitor continued to play the footage.

"Do you want me to help point out things in the video?"

Jungkook didn’t even move a muscle.

You took the silence as a yes, and pulled a pen and the closest thing you could find to paper, a napkin, out of your purse to write on. 

Working as a dance teacher had taught you more than a couple tricks about how to give constructive feedback, and you were a firm believer in the "give 2 compliments and then 1 thing to work on" approach. However, you knew the issue with Jungkook wasn't that he was truly bad at dancing, but rather that he was way too hard on himself for the smallest details that the audience wouldn't even notice - so she threw in a few more compliments than usual. Unsure of how Jungkook would react to seeing the list, you still threw some of those very nit-picky details on there, knowing that if he was still frustrated he would throw the list out all together if he thought you were just coddling him. 

And so you both sat together in front of that grainy TV monitor, in complete silence aside from the sound of your pen scratching against the napkin.

June 10, 2020 MOTS:7 Tour Feedback Report for Jeon Jungkook ( by Y/N)

- match angle of arm placement in Black Swan Opening Choreo

- footwork on DNA ending choreo could be cleaned up 

- the ARMY at the corner of the screen during Euphoria had the biggest smile when you looked at her. I think she’s gonna remember that moment for the rest of her life. 

-  I like the way you wink at the camera during So What! Gave me butterflies babe. 

- could add more energy into the last Fake love chorus ( hot bod btw!!)

And the list kept going on and on as you diligently focused on the screen and writing notes, taking occasional glances at your silent boyfriend.

Upon glancing over your shoulder and seeing your list, Jungkook smiled at your thoughtful and sweet comments. 

All of sudden, a wave of consciousness and realization washed over him. 

He finally has the girl he loves in front of him again after months apart, and instead of cherishing his limited time with you he was spending it watching himself dance, which is what he had already spent the last 9 years of his life doing. Most of all, you never let your smile falter once in front of him, even though he knew you may be upset with his response to your surprise, and you went along with whatever he wanted to do - even if that meant watching a very very low-quality video of his performances on a loop. 

Grabbing the napkin gently out of her hands and placing it on the table, Jungkook cupped your face and looked gently into your eyes. 

"Thank you",  he said softly, as if not wanting to startle you with his sudden character change.

In your head there was absolutely no need for Jungkook to be thanking her for anything she was doing.  She knew dating an idol would have its challenges, and she made a promise to Jungkook that she would be by his side through it all, even if that included rewatching Euphoria on loop. 

It was now your turn to sigh. 

“There’s nothing to thank me for babe, it’s just me. I wanna be here for you when you’re like this - I didn’t just date you so I could be there to celebrate your Billboard #1s and daesang sweeps, I’m here for these moments too.”

Jungkook further eliminated the space between you both by wrapping his arms around you and pulling you into his chest. In that moment he realized that maybe all he needed was you. That all these hurdles he had been facing alone would have been much easier if he had just let you in on his problems.

“I just feel bad Y/N, I haven’t even seen you for months and the first time I see you I’m like this? I’m sorry.”

The gears started turning in your head. Batting your eyes overdramatically at your boyfriend, you smiled. 

“Okay how about we make a deal then babe?”

Jungkook looked at you curiously and let you carry on. 

“From now on, every time you feel like this you come to me okay? We can figure this out together, but I can’t help you if you don’t let me in,” you expressed, grabbing his hands in yours.

“Also, if you felt like making it up to me you could buy me some ice cream? It’s not the same when I eat it without you,” you joked.

Jungkook’s melodic laugh vibrated through the room. 

“Just ice cream? You’re selling yourself short babe. I’d buy the whole world for you, my love.”

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡-- 

As you emerged from behind the curtained section of the dressing room, hand in hand with a smiley Jungkook ( a stark comparison from how he was a mere hour early), you were greeted with Jimin jumping up and cheering loudly upon seeing the maknae.

Unable to contain his excitement, Jimin ran towards the two of you, chiming “you did it Y/N!! You brought back our maknae!”  

“Good to see you smiling, Jungkookie,”  beamed Jimin as he stepped forward to ruffle Jungkook’s hair. 

Jungkook chuckled and looked up at his hyungs. 

“I think I owe you all some ice cream. Ready to go? It’ll be treat.”

If his hyungs weren’t already excited to see Jungkook feeling like himself, now they were ecstatic. And you definitely felt the same way as well. ♡

--♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡-- 

If you liked this, please interact/follow! Thank you for reading ♡

- Emily

#bts #bts imagine #idol bts x reader #jungkook x reader #jungkook x you #jungkook imagine #bts fanfic #jungkook fanfic #bangtan boys #bangtan sonyeondan #bts fluff #bts angst #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #kpop fic #kpop imagine #bts fic #bts x reader #bts x you #bangtan #eternally-writing #bts scenario #jungkook scenario #bts sfw #sfw

[feelingofcontent]

DNP Rewatch: A VERY Sleepless Night With Phil

Date video was published: 11/20/2016 (X)

DNP Main Channel Rewatch: 329

The last solo-Phil video of 2016. Also the second Sleepless Night video of the year; the other one was back in February.

0:07 - Phil sounds like he has had too much sugar and/or caffeine

0:10 - never know whether to believe his timecodes in these, but this doesn’t seem that unreasonable

0:15 - DNP were in LA for the DAPGOOSE event there; they just got back on November 18 so he really is filming this shortly after that

0:42 - close-up eye. looks very green here

0:44 - definitely cold after being in LA

0:58 - so much leg rubbing 😳

1:18 - that amount of mess is giving me intense anxiety; I would have to clean it immediately or at least shove it out of sight

1:24 - I love a good cape-blanket

1:29 - the BONCAS 😭 will talk about more at the end of this post

1:42 - Phil wardrobe tour! 

1:55 - brief cut to shirtless Phil. back in the early days of YouTube he was literally shirtless on camera all the time

1:59 - I love that bird shirt SO MUCH. He and Dan had to coordinate with the shiny jackets though

2:15 - I like that one less. surprised at the black-and-white prints for Phil, actually, instead of color!

2:24 - the one he will go with indeed. feel like he had already fully decided before filming this

2:33 - that’s a look 😂

2:37 - Phil really loves an interesting shoe

2:51 - awww, he still doesn’t love dressing fancy or feel that confident about it 😕 his more recent suit looks are good though!

3:00 - so the pile in front of the wardrobe wasn’t even from his suitcase...I’m even more horrified now

3:08 - neither of them wore that wig in the anime video

3:17 - yeah better question is why did he keep the wicker bed for 5 years, yikes

3:23 - that wig is more disturbing than Phil’s old hair

3:30 - hmmmm, maybe but he certainly hasn’t seemed concerned about the noise to this point

3:44 - fox-mating interlude, lovely. glad Phil can tell us exactly what it sounded like...

3:54 - if true, there was over and hour between the foxes and this. yes, good book!

4:11 - “I look like a potato” 😂

4:15 - very self-aware about what most of the comments would be if he didn’t address this, haha

4:23 - mirrored view with fringe the other way always looks just slightly strange

4:30 - THE PHOTO BOOTH CHALLENGE shout-out!

4:40 - cute! had to clarify with that “I’m not a furry, I promise” though 👀

5:05 - these are getting progressively more disturbing...also “I’m licking myself” um. 😳

5:37 - he’s so proud of himself. This is exactly the kind of thing you get really proud of in the middle of the night on too little sleep

5:54 - that is a sad amount of cereal

6:21 - dipping cookies in tea is amazing and I don’t do it enough. actually I think he’s got milk here though

6:44 - he is in fully bored mode at this point

6:47 - Phil loves a festive theme

7:00 - that’s from when he filmed Sprite Advert way back in 2007

7:02 - this is quite the photo, lol

7:12 - he certainly had some interesting profile pictures. he is going to regret these being on the internet forever

7:30 - he is really sharing all of them huh 😂 I do love that he can laugh at himself

7:52 - it must have been annoying to have to go downstairs to go to the bathroom every time

7:59 - nice of the neighbor to tell that that 4+ years in...whoops

8:13 - Phil glasses! pretty sure those are the ones he wears most of the time after this

8:22 - referencing the last sleepless night video

8:45 - ahahaha, it’s the “raw chicken breast” crystal. I didn’t realize he had had that for so long

8:56 - he does not sound tired. The first timestamp he put in the video was 1:43 am and this last one is 6:26am, so a bit over 4.5 hours

9:05 - he sounds way too awake during this merch promo and outro to be ready to go to sleep immediately afterwards

9:47 - still doing TATINOF shows! They were in Dublin just a day after this was posted (1, 2), then Berlin a week later (1, 2, 3).

9:56 - how did he even manage to do that?! poor Phil. too much violent gesturing

10:58 - yes there is no escape

This is my favorite of the sleepless night videos! Just casual Phil updates and chats. 😊

Just a couple of days after this were the BONCAs, which Phil was trying on clothes for. DNP had coordinating shiny suits and won three awards. Also this happened when Phil won “creator of the year.” 😭😭😭 Here’s a whole compilation of DNP that night as well.

#dan and phil #dnp #dnpRewatch #amazingphil #phil lester #amazingphil videos #A VERY Sleepless Night With Phil

[beyond-the-birthday-massacre]

Good Night (#little-butterfly-writes contest submission)

Heyy! I wrote the most fluffy self-insert entry I could muster for the #little-butterfly-writes contest hosted by @little-butterfly-writes! I haven’t written for self-inserts for a long time and I’ve forgotten how fun it is to be self-indulgent :)) 10/10 highly recommend you to write one too! I named my MC Athena so I’ll use that name :)  

Fandom: MLQC - Gavin & Athena 

Genre: Fluff 

Word Count: 1473 

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At last, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

The entire company had dealt with the high workload for weeks in order to meet the strict deadlines. The heavy pressure was finally off my shoulders after wrapping up the filming and editing for the big project. 

The office became more quiet as the crew members left for the day. Currently, I was one of the last people there, Minor being the other. For the past few weeks, we had always been the last ones. I underestimated him and his work ethic. He would say the same phrase around sunset: “Hey, Athena! It’s getting pretty late. Think we should call it a day?”

Every day, I would encourage him to head out first and every day, he’d insist we both leave together. 

Minor watched me lock the front doors, shoving his hands in his pockets. “So! Any plans for tonight?” he asked.

Rattling the handle, I murmured, “Not really…” Suddenly rewatching my favourite shows didn’t seem as appealing as it did when I had been busy. The temptation of procrastination vanished when I needed it the most.

Minor glanced at his phone screen. “That’s great! I’ll see ya later, boss!” With that, he walked away.

“Huh?” I stared at his shrinking figure until he turned the corner of the block. He really zoned out, but I didn’t blame him. His expression held nothing but pride and relief that the project was finally over.

***

When I got home, I turned on my laptop. Although Minor never failed to get me out of the office, he couldn’t stop me from working here. Everything was done but revising some materials wouldn’t hurt. Plus, I should look over the reports that I needed to submit next week. 

Frankly, I wasn’t sure how much time passed when I got up to take a long shower. After drying off, I grabbed the first comfortable thing in the closet and realized it was Gavin’s white T-shirt.

Gavin had left for a mission a few weeks ago. The mission was highly classified so I decided not to bother him for the duration of the time. My workload started piling up then and I distracted myself as best as I could. Now that work was out of the way, Gavin’s gentle eyes were back in my mind. When I imagined him smiling, I couldn’t help but do so myself. If I couldn’t see him soon, at least I could meet him in my dreams.

I turned off the light and pulled the covers to my chest, staring at the balcony window as I waited to drift off. There were traces of clouds across the glowing moon and I couldn’t bear to turn away from the serene view. It felt like I was staring at it for eternity until a shadow suddenly appeared. His amber eyes shone against the moonlight and the night wind rippled at his STF jacket, sweeping his hood down.

Before I knew it, I was already opening the balcony door, letting the chilly breeze spill in. “Gavin! You’re back!”

He nodded. Despite the time of day, Gavin didn’t look tired. In fact, with his steady composure and uniform, he looked like he was ready for another day at the Special Task Force. “Mm. The mission finished just now. I wanted to see you,” he said matter-of-factly. 

No matter how long I hadn’t heard his voice, it was distinct and recognizable. I didn’t realize how much I missed him until I gave him a tight hug. It was then when I felt a sudden drop of temperature and I withdrew abruptly: “Geez, you’re freezing!”

Smiling, he tugged me close again, stroking my black hair. “Don’t worry, I’m fine. But you . . .” He furrowed his brow, noticing my loose-fitting ‘dress’. Even in the dim room, the familiar shade of red on his ears was evident. He shed his jacket and I tried to stop him, but he managed to wrap it around me.

“You need it more,” I insisted. “You’re gonna catch a cold.” 

“It’s alright. I have something better.”

His hand slipped into mine. I couldn’t help but hold it tighter in hopes of generating more warmth for him. I brought him to the bed and bundled the blanket around him.

“How long were you flying? You know it gets colder at night,” I scolded, embracing him as we laid over the pillows. He wasn’t shivering but I held him close, unwilling to let go.

He burrowed into my chest and I could feel his smile through the thin fabric. “I promise to be more careful next time.”

“You always say that! Especially about your injuries. Speaking of which, let me see them.” Before Gavin could react, I yanked the blanket away, inspecting his forearms and his torso. 

“Ahem, I’m-I’m okay, really,” he assured, his ears burning bright again when I pulled at his button up shirt. I only found old scars that had already been engraved into my memory. 

Gavin brought my restless hands to his face. His gaze towards me never wavered. “I’m telling you the truth,” he said earnestly and kissed the back of each hand. He wrapped the blanket around us, nuzzling into my chest again. 

Relief steadied my heartbeat until he looked up at me and spoke in a low tone: “Before I left for the mission, I swore I wouldn’t get injured.” He paused, pressing closer. “Do I get a reward for honouring this promise?” 

Whether he was intentionally giving me the subtle, big, ol’ puppy eyes or not, I couldn’t refuse. Brushing his soft, brown fringe back, I pecked his forehead. “There,” I said, a smile playing across my lips. “How’s that?”

He frowned and cleared his throat. “I also made sure not to skip any meals.”

I gave a peck on his cheek. 

“I kept my sleep schedule consistent too.”

“Eight hours?”

“Mm.” 

“Was it eight hours or not?”

He nuzzled deeper into the crook of my neck, hiding his expression. Gavin’s face seemed to have warmed up since his arrival. I started laughing when he playfully bit me.

“Okay, okay, I understand. Agent B-7 has a tight schedule and he works very hard. Here,” I leaned towards his mouth and he closed his eyes, waiting expectantly. His anticipation made my heart flutter, but I couldn’t resist messing with him. In the last second, I moved lower and pressed my lips to his own neck, nibbling it for good measure and for payback. 

His soft groan was barely audible before he pulled me back, pinning me down into the pillows. “I don’t think you’re being fair, Athena. Seems like you’ve forgotten about your own sleep schedule.”

I froze but I tried my best to keep my cool. “My sleep schedule is fine, thank you very much, Officer.”

Feigning doubt, he hummed. “I’m not sure. You’ve been working overtime ever since I left.” He narrowed his eyes, carefully examining mine for reaction. “If Minor hadn’t insisted any earlier, you’d be at the office until midnight every day.”

My eyes widened. “Minor?! Aw, why am I even surprised?” Now to think of it, Minor had started to work longer hours around the day of Gavin’s departure. All this time I was hoping it was because Minor had been engrossed with the Miracle Finder project, not because of a task assigned by Officer Gavin.

“It’s almost 1 am. I should’ve found you fast asleep by now. How do I know if this isn’t a bad habit of yours?” Gavin leaned in, his proximity repelled my fleeting thoughts. His blue and black uniform made him seem so much more intimidating. “So,” he murmured, “are you ready to confess?”

I hoped my face wasn’t as red as it felt, but his grin knocked down my wishful thinking. “Okay, okay. I lied. My schedule is terrible.”

“Mm.” Satisfied, he released his grip on my wrists. “Let me help you fix it. Is this okay?” He cradled me in his arms, snuggling close. “If not, I can count sheep with you again.”

I giggled, recalling that night with all the sheep. It felt like nothing yet everything had changed. Sighing contently, I leaned into his broad chest. His heartbeat was calm, lulling me to drowsiness. “I think it’s working,” I mumbled, “as always.”

Gavin chuckled as he tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. His steady gaze was genuine and pure. “I sleep better when I’m with you too.”

My eyelids grew heavy and with the last source of energy that I could gather, I lifted my head and kissed him. His lips were soft against mine and when his parted in shock, I deepened the kiss. I could hear his heartbeat racing as I slumped against him again. 

“There. For everything you’ve done for me.”

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Final notes: I hoped you like it! A lot of things have changed in the MLQC fandom, but I hope everyone is doing well! Reading/writing anything about comfort characters really helps me so I had fun writing this!

I also write for luciensgunsee in Instagram --- it’s mlqc x reader stuff so if you’re interested in that, do check it out! I might put the extended, uncut versions of those scenarios here in Tumblr?? If anyone is interested, please let me know :))

#little-butterfly-writes contest #mlqc #mlqc gavin #mlqc fluff #mlqc scenario #mr love queen's choice #evol x love #mlqc scenarios #fluff writing #love and producer #mr love gavin #me stuff :)) #my writing #my stuff #beyond-the-birthday-massacre

[shirtlesssammy]

4x10: Heaven and Hell

Then:

TFW needed a little work before they got it right

Now:

We start off right where we left off in the last episode. The angels are here for Anna. She has to die.

Uriel attacks Ruby and Dean tries to stop it. Cas starts walking towards Sam, and despite Sam’s pleas, he boops him into unconsciousness. Suddenly there’s lights and Uriel and Cas are zapped to places unknown. (Cas’s wings in the flash...emotion hearts). They find Anna with a ridiculously severe wrist wound and a mysterious sigil on the mirror written in her blood. She sent them away. 

They hide Anna away at Bobby’s. Dean and Ruby bond over hex bags. It’s almost cute.

Um, Bobby’s not home because he’s in the Dominican (and I just Googled “Hedonism and Dominican” ... probably shouldn’t have). Anyway, Sam’s got exposition on Anna. This bought of psychosis isn’t her first. When she was a toddler, she was convinced her real father was “very mad -- like wanted-to-kill-her mad.” Anna interrupts their little chat. 

Sam asks her why the angels want her. She has no clue. She’s upset that her parents are dead and her life has been turned upside-down. They need to find out what her deal is. 

Enter PAM! 

(I know I’m technically not supposed to like that bit of sexual harassment but her exchange with Sam is SO funny and cute. He’s so earnest and they play the victim card with her, but she ain’t having it and she’s going to have some fun at Sam’s expense.  And Dean’s smile at the end, JOY.) 

Pam introduces herself to Anna and sets to hypnotizing her. She asks about Anna’s father and Anna freaks out. Dean tries intervening and gets knocked out. Pam wakes her and Anna remembers who she is. “I’m an angel.” 

Pam and Ruby are side-eyeing this “friendly” angel. Turns out Anna was Cas and Uriel’s boss in angel-land. She disobeyed, which is the worst thing an angel can do (WEEPS for future Cas.) She ripped out her grace and fell to Earth. Now Heaven and Hell want her. She’s determined to get her grace back. 

“So you’e just going to take some devine bong hit, and shazam, you’re Roma Downey?” Ah, Dean, you do have a way with words (Also, dude loves pop culture SO much that Touched By an Angel is on his radar. BLESS THIS BOY.) 

Sam remembers reading about a meteor about 9 months before Anna was born and Ruby responds, “You’re pretty buff for a nerd.” Get a room, you two.) 

For Real Life Jesus They’re Cute Science:

Ruby apologizes for getting Sam involved with this war. She’s afraid of Alistair too. He’s no joke in Hell. She tells Sam he should send Alistair back to Hell, but he’s got to practice to do it. Sam refuses. 

Anna’s star gazing when Dean returns from taking Pamela home. Dean asks Anna why the angels saved him. Dean then asks why she would want to be human. He lists all the bad things about the human condition, and she lists all the good. 

Ultimately, it’s the emotions of being human that matter so much to her. Obedience and emotionless faith is overrated. Only 4 angels have ever laid eyes on God (Well...five now!) Anna complains about watching over Earth, waiting for order from a father who might never return, and Dean laughs and laughs. I really love how Anna’s story shifted to Cas. Dean and Anna give each other looks, but Sam, in all his glory, interrupts. He’s found something!

They head off for a tree in Kentucky that is probably the place where Anna’s grace fell. 

They get to the tree and Anna can sense that it’s not there anymore. Someone took it. 

Later, Anna’s listening to Angel Radio and hears the angels say that if the Winchesters don’t turn over Anna, they’ll throw Dean back in Hell. Dean is speechless, but Sam wants to know what kind of weapon works on an angel. Dean’s in freak out mode --they need to find an answer. 

Later, Dean’s reading a book by flashlight and Anna approaches him to thank him for all that they’ve done. He brushes her sentiment aside. She ponders the thought that she doesn’t deserve to be saved (AND I need to stop and talk about how this parallels Cas in Purgatory...he thanks Dean for everything, he believed he didn’t deserve to be saved. BLAF. And Dean and Anna are more canon than Dean and Cas? I think not.)

Dean lets slip that there’s something he deeply regrets as well, and Anna takes the opportunity to reveal that she knows what he did last summer - er, in Hell. He crumbles when she tells him to forgive himself. (Narrator voice: and then he spent ten more years failing to do exactly that.) 

“You are not alone,” she tells him and I remember why I like her (before a later plot twist scrubs her away). Anna MAKES A MOVE and kisses him. It IS their last night on Earth, after all. (I quietly eat the script pages for “Free to be you and me” while simultaneously high-fiving Anna for her excellent taste.) 

Cut to a montage of Impala sex which cuts out all the bits of sex in a car where you’re crammed in a corner awkwardly trying to get off your clothes without kicking the other person. Anna touches Castiel’s handprint, laying her own over the lines of his fingerprints. And I know that it was likely just a way to set up the Dean-is-connected-to-Heaven parallels in this brief shining moment when both boys actually had non-dead love interests at the same time. But MAN it sure cuts me open now. 

Ruby watches Sam sleep, then heads out to a crossroads. She burns her protective hex bag and Alistair appears. 

Ruby offers to give up Anna in return for her and the Winchesters’ safety. Alistair has another proposal…

Uriel greets Dean back in the barn. Dean looks confused for a moment before he realizes that Uriel has invaded his dream so they can have a little chat. Commander Cas isn’t around - “You see, he has this weakness. He likes you.” Uriel reveals that he has Anna’s grace. But nya nya nya he won’t give it back. 

We cut to Ruby, naked and strapped down as this show is wont to do with its demon women. Alistair tortures her with the demon knife. She refuses to tell him where Anna is...but she will show him.

Back in the barn during waking hours, Dean drinks his feelings until the doors burst open and Uriel and Castiel arrive.

Sam demands to know how the angels found them, and Castiel glances meaningfully at Dean. 

Anna realizes the deal that must have been brokered: herself in exchange for Sam’s safety. We experience many sad close-ups of Dean’s self-hatred and it HURTSSSS. Anna kisses Dean and assures him that he’s forgiven.

Anna’s ready to face the angels at last. Cas apologizes, but she brushes it aside. “You don’t know the feeling.” First of all, Anna, rude.

For This Town Ain’t Big Enough for the Both of Us Science:

Alistair shows up in the barn with his demon goons. The Winchesters, Anna, and Ruby skedaddle to the fringes of the barn, leaving the angels and demons to posture toxically at each other. 

Fisticuffs ensue! Alistair pins Cas, growling Latin at him until Dean whacks him in the head. Anna takes advantage of the fight to have her Ariel moment.

She orders everyone to close their eyes as her own fire consumes her. It blasts Alistair away, and Castiel gently pulls Uriel away as well. Everyone congratulates themselves for their excellent plan to pit the demons and angels against each other. 

Later, Sam and Dean recap their feelings at the Impala. 

For Rural Roads Science:

Dean brings up something Alistair said during the fight - that he “had promise.” I finally remember during this rewatch that Dean’s been denying what happened in Hell all along. Dean starts to talk. “It wasn’t four months,” he begins. “It was more like forty years. They sliced and carved and tore at me in ways that you-- Until there was nothing left. And then suddenly I would be whole again. Like magic. Alistair at the end of every day - every one - he would come over . He would make me an offer to take me off the rack if I put souls on. If I started to torture. And every day I told him to stick it where the sun shines. For thirty years, I told him. But then I couldn’t do it anymore, Sammy.”

“I got off that rack - god help me I got right off it - and I started ripping ‘em apart.” The weight of the torture he inflicted presses down on him. Sam tries to reassure him, but Dean continues to rip out our hearts and leave them cold and gathering refuse in the gutter. “How I feel? This inside me. I wish I couldn’t feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn’t feel a damn thing.”

Dean Quotechester Deserved Better:

Any chance I can dick over an angel, I'm taking it

What do they want me for? Why did they save me? 

Feelings are overrated, if you ask me

When you got Godzilla and Mothra on your ass, best to get out of their way and let them fight

I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing

 Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #cas #anna milton #uriel #ruby #spn 4x10 #heaven and hell #supernatural season 4

[uselesstimetraveler]

It's been over a week now since the AOS finale and I still haven't had the heart to rewatch it, so I'm just gonna share with you my opinions from that night (I wrote most of this the next day, just haven't posted yet lol)

It was next level excellent, overall, but I have A LOT to say, this is gonna be long

YES TO EVERYTHING DANIEL RELATED!!! The thing I loved the most was that they made him so useful, he wasn't just helping Daisy or doing whatever people told him to do, he actually had a great idea and executed it with Mack’s total support. He went to action and it gave me LIFE!

Another thing that gave me life was the philindaisy moment at the bar. I’m a sucker for them. When Daisy got there and hugged Coulson I was AAAAAAA and then she went to hug May and you see her stop, like, “oops, should I?” AND THEN MAY HUGS HER HERSELF!! Now, you can argue that May is an empath and felt Daisy’s emotions at that moment, but lemme tell y’all THAT WAS NOT JUST DAISY’S FEELINGS, THAT WAS MELINDA MAY'S GENUINE HAPPINESS FROM SEEING THAT HER DAUGHTER MADE IT BACK SAFELY!!! Try to convince otherwise and fail miserably. My family is just perfect like that.

The Fitzsimmons reunion scene I WAS SOBBING from the moment she realised the key was her ring!!! AND THEN FITZ JUST xkskdxkkm COMES BACK LIKE THAT kxsmkdsms I CAN’T djkskdsjsms I WILL NEVER EVER GET OVER THAT!!! That whole thing was genius, honestly. They were truly able to take a hard situation in which an important actor wouldn’t be able to be there for most of the season and used it amazingly to their advantage. And then Fitz HELPED HER REMEMBER BY TELLING THOSE STORIES = MORE TEARS. That whole scene was beautiful. AND WHEN SHE REMEMBERS ALYA OH MY GOD by that point I was screaming. Btw, I love how they chose their daughter’s name, it’s beautiful and has an even more beautiful meaning for them <3

Since I’m already talking about Fitzsimmons I’m just gonna go ahead and say that their ending was so well deserved. They suffered a lot, literally every season some shit would happen to them. I’m so glad they got their happy ending and are right now living their best life as a family <3 fitzsimmons family = everything to me. (are there any Fringe stans in here????? Did y’all notice that parallel at the end? If not, let me explain: aos: jemma sitting on the grass seeing fitz and alya playing together and smiling. Fringe: olivia sitting on the grass seeing peter and etta playing together and smiling. BOTH ON THE LAST EPISODE!! And both episodes were number 13. This is too much for my heart.)

About Deke: I really love that he was the one to “sacrifice” himself for the team. I’m not really a fan of Deke, but I was glad that he did what he always wanted, in a way; Contribute significantly to the team and be acknowledged as part of said team. It felt to me that by doing that he was doing what he often tried, but no one ever really took him seriously enough to allow him to do. I think he was selfless and then ended up finding his true place, after all. Nicely done, if you ask me.

On that note, and shifting back to Daniel once more: when he said he was gonna be the one to stay behind I was like “NO YOU’RE NOT! Don’t even think about it. You, buddy, are going with Daisy.” What was he thinking? (I know what, and I know it was brave and selfless of him, but just let me have my moment, okay?) 

Now the answer to ending the war was empathy?????????? GENIUS!!! Mojed, you went beyond terrific there. I love everything evolving May in that part of the finale, how she dropped from the ceiling calling herself The Calvary (talk about character development!!!) to philinda fighting together and exchanging looks, to her saving the freaking world with her empath abilities!!!! I have some serious goosies just remembering. 

Something else that was just genius to me was that they were the ones at the temple, THEY CARRIED MAY OUT OF THERE, I did NOT see that coming. WHAT?! 

OH! And what about what Piper asked for??? She asked for Davis!! That’s adorable! That had me crying too, I love their friendship.

Now Kora. I was a little bothered about how fast things happened for her and Daisy on the sister bonding thing. Like, don’t get me wrong, I like that her and Daisy ended up working on the same team for SHIELD and that they were in a good place in their relationship, but what I’m saying is that Kora hated Daisy’s guts on one scene and Daisy had literally said a couple episodes ago that she did have a sister, but it was Jemma, and then Daisy died, and I liked that Kora saved her, is just that I got a vibe off of them in that scene that seemed like they had the best kind of sister bond for ages. Was that just me? Maybe, but hey ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

That’s not really a problem, I'm just saying.

Btw, when Daisy died for, like, two seconds, I was out of my mind!!!! I couldn’t even scream, I just froze in place. Thank God or whomever that she was brought back to life. I wouldn't be able to continue without my baby.

Now back to philinda and probably the only "complaint" I have: Let us agree, despite wanting them to be together in the end, there was very little chance of that really happening, right? Because he’s a robot now. But I did have a lot of hope, those episodes >>gave me<< a lot of hope. Y’know, in episode 12 they had that moment talking in the hallway, the explosion happened, he protected Melinda... I was like, “that’s my couple right there, you guys”. Then at the fighting scene they exchanged some looks at the end that really left me “it’s coming, people. Their happy ending.” It didn’t come. I took another blow to the face. A blow that was expected, yes, but a blow nonetheless. 

I wasn’t all that excited about Coulson’s ending at first, you know, him just traveling the world, but I understand what they did and why. He’s still getting used to his new self and rediscovering his life, so it makes sense that he would need time to do that. That last scene with Lola was simply EVERYTHING TO ME tho!!!! 

But May’s ending… the thing is, I had a lot of expectations for how she would end up. Throughout the seasons something that was very clear to me was her desire to be a mother and I know that she built that relationship with the youngest agents on the team, but I kinda expected, aside from philinda endgame, more of that. But my biggest problem here isn’t even that, is that I really, REALLY don’t see Melinda May giving lectures????? Melinda May? The woman who now calls herself The Calvary, teaching theory or history or whatever???? I’m not saying she can’t, I’m just saying I never thought of that as a possibility for her, it sounds more like a Coulson thing to me. But then again, that’s all they showed us from her life. They gave us very little details about how she (and everyone else, honestly) is living and I think in a way I like that because it lets us imagine whatever we want. So she could very easily just be there at the academy for one lecture, she could be training (physically?) new agents instead? IDK. Also, Flint was there, they could have built a relationship. Mentor\mentee like hers with Daisy at first or even mother\son? I’d like that. I like the “found family” thing. 

I have two ideas of fanfiction out of the finale. The first one is a Dousy that I had already thought of and completely fits with one thing that Daisy said, and the other is basically a Philinda fix it because, well, I want to. I'm very lazy when it comes to my writing, but I really wanna do these two, let's see how that turns out.

#better late than never #aos #aos finale #marvel's agents of shield #agents of shield finale #agents of shield #agents of s.h.i.e.l.d. #daniel sousa #aos 7x12 #aos 7x13 #philindaisy #philinda #dousy #fitzsimmons #fitzsimmons family #alya fitzsimmons #daisy johnson #phil coulson #melinda may #flint #leo fitz #jemma simmons #daisysous #sousy

[patrickztump]

(Xfiles sister ask) gah I’m glad you were so happy about my last ask! I watch about five episodes a night while I work from home with a tablet on my desk and I didn’t even realize my sister (her desk is perpendicular to mine) had gotten invested in it until she told me not to watch without her while she was traveling for the week rofl. She’s a huge fan of Fringe so I don’t know how I didn’t see this coming. I’m up to S8 but she’s started S1 on her own now and she’s binging with our dad. I’ve been sick and while I’m contagious I’m staying away from common areas so I have to be brought everything and they made me wait til their Xfiles episode ended to bring me a glass of water >:(

it was very sweet! i think of the influence that’s been made upon me via those i follow (all positive!), that it completely slipped my mind that i could influence someone - luckily harmlessly like a tv show haha

and i feel you on the sibling coming in late to a binge watch. when i first watched it, my brother saw the last couple episodes of season 10 (before 11) and was like “hey, this is Interesting, let’s watch it.” so i rewatched 10 seasons again, back to back (same with him and bones, i finished, then here he comes showing interest lol). i’ve heard the comparison between the x files and fringe, but haven’t given it a watch. i only gave it a go because of revival hype back in 2016, and was hooked.

i hope you recover soon! (and they learn where the pause button is 🙈)

#ask #anonymous #xf

[otp-armada]

So, as of tonight, we're approaching the end. 

It seems as good a time as any for a bit of reflection.

I know what I've wanted to see for Bellarke for the longest time- the established couple route.

I wanted all the admissions of love. I wanted every kind of kiss imaginable. Each type of hug and cuddle. All the intimacy of a long, domestic life. Tackling issues as a couple. Coming home to each other at the end of a hard day's work. Date nights. An engagement. A wedding. Surprise pregnancy announcements. Delinquent hijinks throughout it all. Raising their four kids, watching them grow up. A perfect kind of chaos making up the Griffin-Blake household. Spoiling their sixteen grandkids. A peaceful life that allows for celebrating all their milestones and all their quiet moments, just because they can. Growing old together. 

I have wanted every lovely canon-compliant scenario our talented fanfic writers have dreamt. 

If I lived in a fantasy world where I could have a 24-episode Bellarke epilogue of a complete life filled to the brim with endless love and friendship and family and peace, I would treasure it with my whole damn heart. 

But we don't live in that fantasy world to have such a gift.

In the months since August 4th, I've reconciled my hopes with Jason's measured pacing. And I won't say there isn't value in the route Jason has opted for. I don't want the show to end. But if six seasons of war sound taxing to me, God knows how exhausting it feels for the characters who endured it. As bleak as the show can be, it's never been shrouded exclusively in doom and gloom. There have been bits of light peppered in. I hope for them to achieve a peaceful, fulfilling life. Though Jason may have put them through the wringer, I think he wants the same for them too. Because of what they've had to endure, not in spite of it. Maybe it's my wishful thinking. But I can't bring myself to care. I'm going into the final season with hope, and there's nothing anyone can say to stop me. It is the year 2020. We could use a good dose of hopefulness. 

So it's not that I'm not ready to see the story come to a close.

No, it's that I'm not ready to see Bellarke's love story end, particularly not without the illustrated details above.

But you know, who's to say I won't be satisfied with Jason's ending? With every fictional work lies the risk of a disappointing ending. But this show has made a habit of surprising me, as far back as early season one. 

I started The 100 back in late 2015, early 2016, sitting at my dining room table, casually Netflix surfing on my tablet for something to fill the time until my regular programming came back from hiatus. And I happened to catch a title sparking my memory of a CW tv spot promoting its upcoming third season. With nothing else inspiring interest, I quickly gave in to impulse. 

I may be one of the few viewers drawn in by the pilot episode. I mean, I knew what network I was watching. My entertainment selections at the time usually either revolved around teenage protagonists or appeal to the demographic of a younger audience, so The 100 was right up my alley. I expected- and didn't mind- a fair bit of cheesy campiness. 

I tend to appreciate levelheaded, kindhearted characters, so I immediately liked Clarke, Wells, and Abby. I liked Octavia, the newly-freed, spontaneous, loveable renegade. I liked Jasper and Monty, our young, quirky goofs. And I liked Finn. There. I admit it. A few exchanges with our beloved Ark princess and the epithet of the foolhardy, charming heartthrob slash alleged romantic bad boy hero hoodwinked me. By contrast, I fell into the narrative's trap of initially hating our seeming antagonists- Murphy, Kane, and *cries in shame* Bellamy. I enjoyed the moral quandaries brewing on the Ark among the adults- the struggle between Abby and Kane was of great intrigue to me. It was probably the best storyline of the episode. But when Jasper took a spear to the chest, and I responded with, "WTF?! WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN NOW?!?," I knew this show had reeled me in. No hesitation in letting the next episode play. Not a thought of stopping it there. 

Bellarke's transition, inching from political rivals to partners as their new world becomes increasingly more dangerous, as they recognize they need to rely on each other's strengths is *chef's kiss.* In six seasons, Day Trip remains one of the most masterfully done episodes this show has done, in my humble opinion. Taking the golden princess and the rebel king and peeling back the layers of both characters to expose their muddled greys. The meeting of two previous extremes slashing at each other's weak spots for superiority. Compromise derived from compassion and care. Strength in unity.  I started Day Trip as mostly indifferent to Bellamy and ended it loving him. 

When the characters turn light and dark and back again, throughout this winding story with its twists and turns, I've overturned previous impressions of almost every one many times for better and worse. It only became more prevalent when I began lurking in fandom and reading metas. If nothing else, the narrative has kept me on the edge of my seat, wondering what comes next. 

So, yeah, lots of surprises in this show. Good ones, I think. And I expect, quite a few more in its final season.

The season 7 trailer was spectacular. One of the most eye-opening lines for me, "...the last war mankind will ever wage." Because that's the dream, right? For humanity to learn from its errors and do better. Is violence what they do, or is it who they are? Have they truly learned nothing after all this time? I guess we'll find out. But I'd like to think Jason hasn't taken his characters on this evolution for the moral of the story to be the latter. In all the excitement, I convinced myself to conduct my first series rewatch. I'm not embellishing when I say the instant I saw Clarke in the opening sequence, the nostalgia welled up in my eyes. 

Who would have thought a story of 100 teenagers dropped from the sky into hostile territory would evolve into this? Temporal anomalies? Wormholes? Other worlds spanning the universe? A chance to save Earth before the bombs, possibly? Incredible. Our babies have all grown up, and their stories have come full circle.

84 episodes down. Only 16 episodes to go before the show is off the air forever. I will be metaphorically chewing my nails to the nub for Bellamy and Clarke's fates, but, I don't know about anyone else, I want to enjoy every second we get before its gone.

I won't spiral into a panic each time Echo is in the vicinity of Bellamy. Or Bellarke is temporarily separated like in every previous season. Or Jason breathes or whatever other source that causes mass hysteria in this fandom. I exist on the fringes of this fandom, but I have stood here long enough to have ascertained that it is overpopulated with too many Chicken Littles. I've never been more grateful to not have to deal firsthand on the front lines with the antis. Because if there was ever a time to enjoy the show instead of agonizing over whatever new development fandom considers just cause for panic, that time is now. 

#the 100 #bellarke #the 100 season 7

[gimmesumsuga]

See you (M)

The one where Taehyung notices you at a concert, and can't help but want to see you again.

Pairing: Taehyung x reader

Word count: 4.5K

Warnings: Mild smut; kissing, fingering.

A/N: This is gratuitously self-indulgant piece; a daydream gone too far!! And yes, i know I've left it open for a second part.  No, I've got no idea when I might actually get around to it 😂

Part two

“Are you sure you want to bother with this?” Sarah asks, eyeing the seemingly never ending line the of people that stretches out before you with one doubtful eyebrow raised, disappearing above the blunt edge of her fringe.   

You can’t blame her for looking skeptical.  After yesterday’s debacle that had you standing for almost ten hours straight, your feet aren’t exactly in prime condition to go tackling yet another queue.  

“I got an invite,” you reply, shrugging your shoulders and pulling the shoulder strap of your bag back up into place as it threatens to slip down.  “I can’t just let it go to waste.  There’s like a thousand other girls here who’d tear my arm off for this.”  Gesturing to the sign above a set of glass double doors that reads ‘BTS Studio’, Sarah’s gaze follows the motion of your arm.  

“Alright,” she concedes, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and grimacing as she does so.  It’s all too easy to empathise with how she’s feeling; the balls of your feet are killing you, too, not to mention your lower back.  “At least we’re sitting tonight, I guess.”

“And I’ve got more painkillers, so we’ll be fine.”  Sarah nods and then follows alongside you as you make your way down to the back of the queue.  It’s a relief when you realise that it’s not actually as long as you’d originally thought; nowhere near as long as the lines for the actually concert, anyway.

“Ok, I’m gonna go to the loo so that’s gonna kill… like, an hour, at least, right?” your friend sighs, a wry smile stretched across her pretty face, “And then I guess I’ll just go hang out in Starbucks or something until you’re done?”

“Sure, ok.  I’ll text you when I’m out.”  

“Cool.  Have fun!”  She bids you a farewell wave that you return as you sidestep into the queue behind a small group of girls who’re practically bouncing with excitement already, chattering away in a European language that you can’t hope to understand.    

Luckily, once the doors actually open the queue moves fairly quickly.  Scrolling through tumblr on your phone and rewatching last night’s videos keep you amused for the most part; smiling like an idiot down at your screen as you go over the precious memories stored inside.  

You’re only thirty people or so from the front of the line when you suddenly get the feeling as though you’re being watched, looking up from your phone with curious eyes and glancing from side to side.  Sure enough, your gaze meets that of one of the attending staff - a young East Asian man with neatly styled hair and sharp cheekbones - and oddly enough, when he sees you looking he doesn’t seem too concerned about having been caught staring.  He looks you up and down quickly, eyes narrowed, and in under normal circumstances you might think he was checking you out but… for some reason it doesn’t quite feel that way. It feels more like a clinical inspection than anything else, but before you can even begin to figure out what his intentions might be he looks away and then he leaves; abandoning his post without a word to any of the other staff and striding away, leaving nothing but confusion in his wake.

“Well that was weird…” you murmur under your breath, and though you may be frowning as you lower your eyes back to your phone, the latest gifs of Jimin to grace your dash are more than enough to help you forget the odd little occurrence. 

It’s not until you reach the front of the line that you start to feel the first flutters of excitement in your chest.  You’ve seen the photos that have come out of the BTS studio booths before and always been really impressed with how convincing some of turn out.  Sure, it might not be the real BTS that you’re posing with, but a photograph with a virtual member is the best you’re ever gonna get, so you may as well make the most of it.

It’s with an eager smile that you show the member of security guarding the entrance your emailed admission pass, who then explains the process that you’ll need to go through once you’re inside; selecting your member, taking a seat to strike a pose and then waiting outside the booth for the photo to be printed.  

It doesn’t take long before it’s your turn to then enter, and as you step into the booth that’s no bigger than the size of your living room at home you feel your pulse rate start to steadily rise.  The security guard that had welcomed you shuts the door behind you as soon as you’ve stepped through it, and it very nearly makes you jump as it thuds firmly into place.

You’re not sure why you’re so jumpy.  Just over-excited, you guess. Your hands are a little shaky as you place your bag down by the door and head over to the touch screen that’s embedded into the wall to begin scrolling through the varying options and poses it presents, and very quickly you find one that you like; Namjoon sat with his chin rested on his hand and a broad smile on his face.  It makes your heart beat all the harder to see it, and once you’ve made your selection you quickly rush to the bench opposite the screen and sit down, watching your reflection as you twist and turn your body so as best to position yourself next to his virtual image.

It’s so weird, seeing yourself sat beside him.  Weird, but really cool!  If only it was the real Namjoon you were sat next to!  Not that you’d even know what to say, but -

“Hello.”  

Your head turns sharply to the left, a yelp of surprise bursting forth from your mouth as you search wildly for the source of the deep voice that you just heard.  Twisting your torso, you look over your shoulder and end up scrambling backwards to the very edge of the bench when you identify a familiar face poking out from behind the curtains that line the back of the booth.  

“Sorry!” Taehyung exclaims, stepping out further from his hiding place and holding both hands up, palms facing outward in apology as he comes to stand by the bench on which you’re still sat, gawking up at him with your mouth hanging open.  “Sorry,” he repeats, “Sorry to… scare.”

This can’t be real, right?  

This has to be some sort of prank.  This can’t be the real Kim Taehyung stood right here - right in front of you - in a snugly fitting pair of black trousers and mustard yellow shirt, looking completely and utterly flawless.  No. No way.  

“I just want to…” He hesitates, hands falling back down to his sides as he seemingly struggles for the right words to say in English, thick eyebrows creasing in frustration. “To say… hello… with you.”

You blink, dumbstruck, and so many seconds of silence pass by that Taehyung starts to fidget nervously with his hands, wringing them where they hang in front of his crotch.  

“Sorry.  My English not… good,” he laughs self-consciously, glancing down at the floor, “You understand?”  

“Yes!” you blurt out, not wanting to make him think for even a single second that he isn’t doing an amazing job at saying what he means, “I mean, yes, I understand but how are you… why are you…?” You trail off, hopelessly lost for words under the weight of his deep brown eyes staring back at you.  

He looks down at the empty space next to you on the bench.  

“I can sit?” he asks and when you quickly nod he’s just as swift to take a seat next to you, his knees turned towards yours.

Taehyung looks even more stunning up close than he did a few seconds ago stood above you; his skin impossibly clear and his features just as inconceivably sharp.  

“This is your second day, yes?  You here... last night?” he questions once he’s made himself comfortable next to you, and when you nod once again a broad smile appears on his face and steals your breath away with it.  

How does he know that you were here yesterday?  Could it really be that he’d noticed you as you’d so desperately hoped he would during the final moment’s on last night’s concert?  As the whole group had been saying their goodbyes to the crowd along the edges of the stage in those final precious moments at the end you’d sworn your eyes had met, but of course you could never be certain.  There were probably at least twenty girls around you who’d thought the same thing; impossible to tell for sure with all the lights and confetti and noise going on around you.

“I saw you,” he grins gleefully, “Saw you sing, and dancing.  All night.” He shimmies his shoulders playfully as he speaks, and as he does so you feel your cheeks filling with heat at the prospect of Taehyung having been witness to you flailing around like an idiot amongst the rest of the crowd.  Smiling embarrassedly down at your feet, you rub at your neck.

“Oh, yeah… then that was probably me.”  When you look back up Taehyung is still looking right back at you, his eyes practically twinkling in the stark lighting of the booth.  “Did I win some sort of competition, then? Is that why you’re here? I was like… the craziest fan, or something?”

He cocks his head adorably to the side, eyes narrowing in confusion, and you can’t help but wonder whether that might well be where Yeontan gets it from.  

“Competition?” he repeats slowly, clearly not quite comprehending your choice in words.  

“Um, I mean like… a prize.  This - a picture with you-” You gesture around the room and towards the camera, Taehyung’s gaze following the point of your finger. “-Is it a prize?”  Understanding dawns in Taehyung’s eyes, opening them up wide as he exclaims,

“Ohhhh!”  He shakes his head, shaking his bangs across his forehead. “No.  No prize. I just…” Taehyung pauses again, and you swear you see the faintest hint of a blush colour the deep caramel of his cheeks as he ducks his head slightly.  “I want - wanted - to see... you.”

“Me?”  You really must be dreaming.  Any moment now you’re going to wake up to the sound of your alarm and you’re going to roll over and tell Sarah all about the vivid dream you’ve had featuring the one and only Kim Taehyung.  “Why?” you ask bluntly - disbelievingly - and at that Taehyung takes a deep breath, his eyes looking this way and that as he figures out what it is he wants to say.

“London is… very beautiful,” he begins to explain slowly, his features open and expressive as he shuffles closer to you across the bench, gesturing with his hands as he speaks.  “The buildings. The art. All very beautiful. But you-” Taehyung pauses, his gaze flicking between each of your eyes,back and forth. “-You are more beautiful than all those things, I think.”  

Yep… this is definitely - definitely - dream worthy material.  

You pinch the side of your thigh as you stare back at him with your face flushed and your heart thumping, but no matter how hard you grab at your flesh you just can’t seem to wake up.  

“T-thank you,” you stutter out when you realise you’ve left him waiting for a reply for far longer than you should, but Taehyung just grins regardless of how flustered and ineloquent you’ve become.  

“Last night, you give kiss.”  As your brow furrows in confusion, Taehyung smacks a kiss against his palm and then blows it back at you to clarify what he means, and as you watch him do it you feel your face start to burn all the hotter.  You hadn’t been sure whether or not he’d seen that when you’d impulsively gone ahead and done it, but apparently he had… “Very cute,” he grins, scrunching his nose at you when you momentarily hide your scarlet face behind your hands.  “Your bias… is me?”

Crap.  

“Oh… uh... well,” you stammer haltingly, and you know the way you're suddenly refusing to meet Taehyung's eyes will likely have already given you away.  

If he'd have asked you the same question about 18 months ago you would've been able to easily give him an affirmative answer, but being a BTS stan is a tricky business!  How is a girl supposed to stay loyal with seven equally attractive and charming men to choose from?!

“No?” Thankfully, Taehyung starts to laugh as you pick your doleful gaze up off the floor to grin apologetically back at him.  He crosses his legs, holding onto his knee as he back at you with an appraising gaze, head tilting again. “Jimin?”

You shake your head ‘no’ and revel in how Taehyung's eyebrows jump with surprise.  

“Jungkook?”  he guesses again, laughing when you once again shake your head, grinning playfully.  “Who? You tell me.”

Leaning back slightly, you chose to show rather than tell.  With a guilty look and a bite of your lip, you straight out the shirt that you're wearing - the print of which was just hidden by the way you were sat.  

“Ah, hyung,” he nods in understanding when he takes in the images of Namjoon that you have printed across your chest. “That is… very good choice.”  

Do you detect just the slightest hint of disappointment in his voice, perhaps?

“I like all of you, though,” you hasten to tell him, instinctively shuffling closer across the bench. “You're all so talented.”  

“You think so?”

“Of course,” you confirm quickly, butterflies kicking up a storm inside your stomach as he gifts you with that famous boxy smile of his, so wide that his eyes briefly press shut.  

“I'm happy.”  Sweetly, he presses a hand to his heart, palm flat to his chest as he declares, “I like you, too.  Very much.”

“Really?” you ask, embarrassingly breathless already, and when he reaches out to take your hand in his, long fingers intertwined with yours as he pulls them into his lap, you stare dumbly down at them, so overwhelmed you could very nearly cry.  

“Really,” Taehyung nods. “I like your hair.” He reaches out to touch it with his free hand, brushing the strands with his fingertips. “I like your eye.”

God, it feels like a struggle to breathe when he looks at you this way; sat so close you can smell the clean scent of his aftershave.  

“I like... everything.”  His gaze flickers down to your lips, his tongue flicking out to wet his own before looking back into your eyes, his pupils dilating slightly as they meet.  

“Wow…” Ok, so now you're definitely breathless.  You feel Taehyung's fingers squeeze around yours and before you know it you're squeezing right back.  

“Last night, you give kiss.” Taehyung's voice seems to have dropped in pitch since he last spoke, quiet and husky.  Again he looks at your mouth, shifting over on the bench so there's no space left remaining between you; his thigh pressed to yours, elbows knocking.  “Today, I kiss you?” he asks, and you've barely even registered the question before your head begins to nod.

“Yes.  Yes please,” you whisper, and before you can take even a single bracing breath to prepare yourself, Taehyung's smiling lips are pressing against your own.  

Warm and supple, they brush yours.  His kiss is sweet and tentative - his hand gentle when it reaches up to slip into your hair - and when you lean into him further, resting your weight on his thigh, Taehyung releases a deep groan of approval that rumbles in his chest.  

“Your name,” he murmurs between kisses, head tilting from one side and then to the other as your lips collide, press after press as he cradles your cheek in his palm, “What is your name?”  

Oh god, haven't you even told him that yet?  If this weren't Kim Taehyung that you were kissing, you'd judge yourself quite harshly for letting yourself getting so badly carried away.  

Your name is so muffled by his lips the first time you say it that you have to repeat it again, pulling away for just a second.  Taehyung's shapely lips look slightly puffy from the kisses you've shared; shiny and flushed a far deeper red than the pretty pink warming his cheeks.  

He releases your hand, smiling happy as he lets an echo of your name roll off his tongue and cradles your cheeks in both his palms.  

“That is beautiful too.”  

With each second that goes by that you're looking into Taehyung's deep and soulful eyes, you're starting to care less and less about whether or not this could ever be real.  Unlikely or not, now that you're here you intend to make the very most of it, and it's with a renewed sense of urgency that you grip onto the material of his trousers with both hands, pressing your fingertips into the meat of his thighs.  

“Taehyung, Tae, kiss me again,” you urge, already leaning in, and the beautiful boy sat next to you needs very little encouragement to meet you halfway.  He surges forward - mouths colliding - and every kiss is tinged with impatience, now; a heat unfurling in your lower abdomen as his hands slip into your hand and his grip tightens, holding you fast against him.  

His tongue swipes across your lips and then delves inside the moment that they part, rolling against yours with another deep groan of desire.  When you hook your knee over his thigh, Taehyung is quick to grab a hold of the back of it and uses it as leverage to pull you onto his lap, straddling his waist despite how difficult it may be given the tight denim of your skirt.  

His hand snakes up your thigh, kneading along your flesh onto it finds its resting place on your behind; squeezing firmly.  

“Oh fuck,” you gasp as an instinctive roll of your hips into his draws attention to how aroused the both of you are.  As your pelvises had pressed, the solidness of his erection had ground the material of your sullied panties against your core, coating them with the warm slick that's gathered so generously that the next time it happens it's a smooth slide of wet fabric against sopping wet skin.  

Taehyung groans your name, tugging on your ass to rock you against him again; harder this time.  

“I… can I?”  With his mind clouded by lust, Taehyung seems to be struggling with English more than ever as he mumbles out words between kisses fervent kisses, his hand leaving your hair to come rest on the top of your thigh.  “My hand? Yes?”

“Yes, yes,” you chant enthusiastically, already scrambling to pull your skirt up higher for him and grant Taehyung better access to your ruined underwear.  

You've wasted so many hours just imagining his long and graceful fingers doing exactly as they are now - slipping between your legs to seek out your aching heat - that you can hardly believe this is real.  

It must be, though.  Never before has your imagination so vivid and visceral as this; the lightest brush of his fingertips against your panties making you gasp and shiver in his arms.  

“Oh please,” you whimper as he toys with the seam, having abandoned your lips in favour of laying kiss upon kiss along the slant of your jaw and further below, grazing his mouth against the sensitive flesh of your neck.  

“Shhhh,” Taehyung hushes, his breath hot against your throat, and it's only thanks to the way you sink your teeth into your bottom lip that you don't then cry out when he shifts the crotch of your panties aside and the pads of his index and middle finger slip between your dripping folds.  

He doesn't push them inside right away, not at first.  To begin with, he simply lets them slip and slide amongst your wetness, gathering your slick on his fingertips ready to then press them to the swollen nub of your clitoris.  Round and round he circles it, gently stimulating you to the point that you're softly whining and rocking against the heel of his hand and gripping at his shoulders, so consumed with desire that you're practically burning from the inside out.  

Mouthing at the base of your neck, you let out a strangled moan when Taehyung sucks rhythmically at your skin.  He doesn't stop until it's starting to hurt, and you can tell from the ache that's left behind in his wake that he'll have left a mark; claiming you as his own.  

The thought of it arouses you beyond belief and now, more than ever, you know you need to feel him inside.  Reaching down to grab a hold of his forearm you try to force his touch lower - away from your clit to your centre instead - and when Taehyung finally looks up from his assault of your throat his sinful tongue is prodding at the corner of his parted lips, breathing hard.  

He flashes you a smirk so salacious that it makes your pelvic floor clench, and you’d start pleading for him again if it weren't for him seizing your lips once more, taking everything you're willing to give.  

Taehyung murmurs something in Korean, rubbing hard against your clit until your thighs start to clench either side of him, and it isn't until your whole body has started to shake that he slips his fingers lower and pushes them inside; two knuckles wide and deep.  

“Yes,” he groans in approval when your silken walls squeeze around him - a cry catching in your throat - and Taehyung gives you no time to get used to the stretch before he's already moving them inside you.   He thrusts them in and out so fast that the room fills with the sound of his palm slapping against you, and when he tires of that and begins to rapid ‘come hither’ motions to press at your g-spot, you can hear every wet curl of his fingers inside.

Desperate to smother some of the broken moans that are spilling out of you, you press your face to his shoulder, hiding amongst the creases of his shirt.  

“Fuck,” you whine helplessly, hips twisting on his lap because he just won't let up, dragging his fingertips against your most sensitive parts again and again and again, determined to make you fall apart.  More Korean uttered into your hair - more kisses to your scalp - and you can feel yourself getting close, squeezing even tighter around his fingers, so wet that it must surely be dripping down onto his palm.  

“Good girl,” he praises, his accent thicker than ever; the sexiest two words you've ever heard in your life.  They send you hurtling towards your end at almost breakneck speed, and suddenly every motion of Taehyung's fingers feels even more intense than they did just a moment before; a fire roaring to life deep in your pelvis that threatens to consume you whole.  

“Tae… I… Oh god, I-” you cry as you cling onto him, fingers fisted in his shirt, and it takes barely a moment before you're cumming wildly on his fingers.  Every inch of your body goes rigid as it hits and then quickly begins to tremble as you choke out his name against his lips when they find yours, tenderly kissing you back down to Earth.  

“Ok?” Taehyung asks as you rest your forehead on his, eyes closed and catching your breath, gasping with oversensitivity when he gently slips his fingers out of you.  He must wipe them on his trousers or something, because when he takes your face in his hands and tilts your chin up they're already dry; a contented smile on his face when you open up your eyes.  “Good?”

“Yeah,” you sigh happily, sitting up straighter in his lap, “Yeah, really, really good.”  

“Good,” he echoes, smile widening.  “Pretty,” he admires, brushing his thumbs over your blushing cheeks.  You glance down, embarrassed to be on the receiving end of such rapt attention from someone you admire so much, and as you do you notice the problem that Taehyung still appears to be suffering from; rock hard underneath the zipper of his trousers.  

Bravely, you slip your hand down the length of his chest and press your palm over it, squeezing lightly and smiling at the way his breath hitches, his eyebrows furrowing.  Taehyung looks pained as he takes a hold of your wrist and moves your touch away, sadly shaking his head.  

“What about you?” you ask regretfully.  You've been so lucky.  Never in your wildest dreams would you have imagined you'd be on the receiving end of Taehyung's attentions; the least you can do is return the favour.  

“Too long,” he husks, glancing at the door behind you, and it's with widened eyes and a deepening blush that you suddenly remember where it is you are.  “ARMY… they are waiting too much.”  

He probably has a point.  You've no idea how long the two of you have been in here, but it's probably far longer than you ever had to wait.  

Ever so carefully, Taehyung helps you up off his lap and pats your butt affectionately once you've pulled your skirt back into place.  He looks thoughtful once you sit back down, and suddenly you don't quite know what to say.

‘Thanks for the orgasm, I'll see you at the show?’  

“I want…” He stops, clucking his tongue against teeth as he clasps his hand in his lap. “Would like… hope... to see you again.”

“Me too,” you admit, meaning it more desperately than you've ever meant anything in your life.  

“Can I… trust?” Taehyung gestures between the two of you. “Secret?”  

“Of course!” you answer instantly.  For one thing, you doubt anyone would ever believe you if you told them.  Not only that, but you'd rather not risk getting sued by BigHit themselves for creating any kind of scandal, either.  

“Ok,” he smiles and then reaches into his pocket, pulling out a small slip of paper that he hands to you, pointing at its contents when you turn it over.  “This is hotel.  This is my name.  Today, after show you come?”  

“Yeah,” you agree, folding it up and slipping it into your phone case for safe keeping; your most treasured possession.  “Yeah, I definitely will.”  

“Yay,” he grins adorably, screwing his hands into fists with excitement where they rest atop his thighs.  

You'd never guess the things he'd just done to you given how sweet and innocent he looks now - how cutely his fringe dangles over his scrunched up eyes.

“Taehyung-ssi!” a voice calls from behind the curtain from which he'd emerged earlier, and Taehyung straightens in his seat, his eyes pinging open.  

“Oh,” he says quickly, rising to his feet, “I must-”

“You need to go, I know.  It's ok.”  You get up as well, standing toe to toe with him with a consoling smile tugging at your lips.  

There's an odd feeling in the centre of your chest; a sadness despite knowing that you're supposed to be meeting again later.  You don't want him to leave…

As if reading the mournful look in your eyes, Taehyung smiles sweetly and takes your face in his hands to steal your breath away with one last sweet kiss.  

“Thank you,” you sigh into his lips, only re-opening your eyes once he steps away and releases you.  

“Tonight,” he promises, walking backwards towards the curtain with a wave of his hand and a wink of one eye that has your stomach doing flips on the inside.  “See you.”

“See you,” you reply, and then he disappears behind the curtain and out of your sight; at least until tonight.  

#bts #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #kim Taehyung #v #bts smut #bts fluff #ttaehyung smut #taehyung fluff #v fluff #v smut #bts reader insert #taehyung x reader #taehyung/reader #v x reader #v/reader #bts oneshot

[wingedflight]

Quarantine Q&A

Tagged by @rthstewart!

Are you staying home from work/school?

Yup! In an odd coincidence, I actually worked from home three days of the week prior to things getting taken seriously here in Canada (because of a back injury), then went in for a single day only to learn we were starting official Work From Home the next Monday. Which is good timing I guess from the standpoint of allowing my back to heal up without forcing myself back to the office too soon, but also I think I started going stir crazy a little sooner than others...

If you’re staying home, who’s with you?

Just me, myself, and I. Coping by phoning at least one person a day. This afternoon I FaceTimed my sister as she did homework and I messed with a spreadsheet.

Are you a homebody?

Pretty much, yup.

What movies have you watched recently?

Watched Stardust the other night, which is exactly the fun feel-good movie I needed. And Onward on the weekend, which made me cry because it’s Pixar. I keep thinking I need to put on Clue because that’s another fun one.

What shows are you watching?

I’ve been steadily making my way through Fringe again-been a few years since the last time I watched it. When I need something lighter, I’ve been rewatching semi-random Doctor Who episodes (went through all of 9, watched a scattering of 10, and finally hit Eleventh Hour the other night). And every couple of days, I’ve been watching a few episodes of Steven Universe with my youngest sis (my first time through, and I’m loving it!).

Did an event that you were looking forward to get cancelled?

Oh yeah. The theatre shut down FOUR DAYS before I was going to see Hamilton. Also I had to cancel my Easter trip home, which is a Real Bummer. I’m coping by Not Thinking About It.

What music are you listening to?

Eh, the usual, but not as much as usual. Some alt-rock, some musicals. I’ve had Bubblegum K.K. in my head ever since starting Animal Crossing up.

What are you reading?

Also not reading as much as usual! Too tired for the reading lately, tbh. :( I’ve been working my way through Marie Lu’s The Kingdom of Back which so far is just beautifully evocative but it’s taking me way longer than it normally would. I also keep starting and dropping a number of other books that I’ve read before.

What are you doing for self care?

Like I said, calling at least one person a day. Making sure to connect with a variety of people and friend groups. Consuming the comforting stories, whether those are actual warm-fuzzy ones or just those that I’ve loved for years and are therefore warm to me. Playing a hell of a lot of Animal Crossing, which could not have chosen a better time to come out. Reminding myself that it’s natural to feel abnormal right now. Making sure I keep the apartment at least a base-level clean.

...Was also thinking maybe I’d have a hot bath to relax tonight until I got too tired, so I may treat myself with that sometime over the weekend.

Tag someone else!

OH NO IM BAD AT TAGGING UM @thatgirlnevershutsup @recklesslyangelic

#q+a #self quarantine #i did this on my phone and what a mistake bc the posting interface for tumblr mobile is so difficult eurg

[geneshaven]

Arrow, Season 6 (Threads of Discord)

The following breakdown of Season 6 has been churning around in my addled brain since 623 ended two weeks ago, and today I felt compelled to bring it out into the light of day.  I am not agreeing or disagreeing with anybody else’s take on the season. I’m only putting it down in black and white, because quite frankly, it’s a way for me to make sense of what was served up to us this season. I was left with some discombobulated thoughts and feelings when 623 was over, so much so that the next night I felt an immediate need to write a fic, (The Distance Between Two Hearts, *plug, plug*) to give everything  a happy ending and to help it all go down smoother. So, here is my final take on the Season as a whole.

When Lian Yu blew up at the end of Season 5, the writers of Arrow left a few storylines up in the air; mainly, Oliver and Felicity and their momentum of getting back together. A lot of fans just assumed it was a done deal. They kissed. They hugged. They made a promise to one another that after the smoke cleared; they would talk about being in each other’s lives again. (I’ve thought recently that the visual of Lian Yu exploding into larger fireballs could be a great summation of Season 6.)

So, hiatus came upon us in the summer of 2017 and the writers tried to pull a fast one, leaving all our beloved characters fates up in the air via a lame cliffhanger. Oliver saved William from Chase’s clutches. Samantha was killed, giving life to one of the plot lines for Season 6. Thea was caught in the explosions, blasted into a coma; a colossal waste of her character and of Willa’s acting abilities. John was injured, setting up yet another ill-conceived plot line for Dig. The Newbies---well, they survived, but a lot of fans might have wished they were blown up. Quentin survived, only to be killed off after stringing him and us along with a lunatic fringe thing with Black Siren---another waste of a good character and actor. And Felicity? Of course she would survive. But how did she survive? A really great potential scene was wasted by the writers not having Oliver searching for and finding the love of his life safe and in need of a hug. She was last seen running for cover; then after five months of hiatus, she reappeared at the Bunker with food orders from Big Belly Burger for the guys. There was a brief scene with her and Oliver alone in the Bunker, with UST hovering over them like an image of the salmon ladder calling out to them. Instead, they danced around each other and gave us an ever briefer talk about William, how they had agreed to stay apart in order for the boy to adjust to his new life. “Not tonight, another night,” Felicity promised Oliver. Had that been going on for five months? Were cold showers to be the norm for them in the unforeseeable future?

It was not to be, and plot took the lead over character for the bulk of the season. As a result, the stories were paper thin and patience thin.

To be fair, not all the episodes were terrible. There were a handful that had glimmers of promise. 603 and Olicity finally coming back together with one big kiss was pretty okay. 604 is a front-runner for me, coming in as a favorite episode. It was a rare example of character over plot, which is why it worked so well. Having Oliver and Felicity switch places, (due to another plot driven story line of Oliver giving up being the Green Arrow and passing the torch on to John) with Felicity out in the field and Oliver taking up the Overwatch mantle---it was inspired writing. Yet, having John in the Green Arrow suit and leading the charge, as well as turning him into a drug addict; it was so out of tune, sending the fandom into a tail-spin. And the Newbies? Didn’t they get blown up?

So after 604, we got some filler episodes, giving the writers more time to strengthen their plots. Slade Wilson and his mission to save his son, and dragging Oliver along with him was not a good idea, story wise. I always liked Slade Wilson’s character; the good and the bad. But the writers missed another chance to send him out with a good and final story.

We got a very brief look at Oliver getting arrested in 607, on Thanksgiving no less. It would come back to haunt everybody in 623.

The Crossover. Nazi’s. Doppelgangers. Evil Oliver as the Fuhrer. Supergirl as Eva Braun. Felicity as a victimized Jew. Quentin as the Gestapo.  The WestAllen wedding ceremony and the destruction it suffered. Whoever paid for the event probably felt the economic hurt more than the invasion. It would have been more believable than the racist crap MG and AK came up with.

Then at the end, it was a shout-out to Oliver telling Barry guys like them don’t get the girl. They were married to their loves, side by side in an impromptu ceremony. Okay, because I am an Olicity shipper, it was good to see them happy and all in with their love for one another. No rings, no wedding apparel and no vows. Just a beautiful fall day by a lake. It worked for some and was a travesty for others.

Olicity’s reception in 609 took some of the sting away from their unconceivable double wedding. We got a lot of pretty, (Oliver and Felicity dressing up) an ill-advised toast from Rene, (Rene, really? If I were John, I would have been pissed by that demotion) music and dancing, cake-cutting and bouquet-throwing---and god help us; the Hoffman’s.

So 610, to the end of the season, was nothing short of the worst writing to ever find its way onto the show. It was a flight of fancy and preference for Marc and Wendy. The whole civil war thing between OTA and NTA---how could they think that would be entertaining? And killing off Cayden James, who had the potential of being a good villain and replacing him with Ricardo Diaz---it was the writers shooting themselves in the foot and the fans in the back. Rene shooting at Felicity and taking an axe to Oliver, Curtis intentionally hurting John to get intel and Dinah just generally pissed at everyone---it was all a swirling, nauseating mess of WTF.

Then John and Oliver throwing each other around the Bunker like kids in a schoolyard? John brings out some pent-up resentments and disapprovals over Oliver’s leadership abilities. Really? It was just more piling on on Oliver to keep the plot going. Oliver is now a husband and a father, and maybe even a role model. He has earned all that makes his life full, through blood, sweat and tears. He has virtually erased the angry, violent juggernaut we all met in Season 1. He doesn’t deserve to be blamed for everyone else’s short-comings and issues. It was just backwards writing all around.

Diaz. One big yawn. A non-threatening blow-hard who’s only real menace was being a big whiner and killing you with annoyance. I’m still shaking my head that he is coming back for Season 7.

About Season 7. Marc, Wendy and a large part of their toxic writing staff are gone. A new showrunner (Beth) is in place, along with a new, mostly female writer’s room. Do we get more character and less plot? Can they do enough damage control to salvage the mess they inherited? I hope so. Will Diaz meet an early demise; say in the first act of 701? Will Oliver be released from prison by some lawyerly trickery? Will the Newbies get blown up? Okay, I didn’t want to push things too far.

Thea and Lance are gone (insert tears here.) But Roy is coming back, and there are rumors of an Olicity baby. The Big Bad? Well, a litter of kittens would be scarier than Dias. And cuter too.

Five months. Damn. Maybe I will rewatch Season 6, you know, to pass the time.

Just kidding. I’m not into self-torture.  

@it-was-a-red-heeler @memcjo @almondblossomme @hope-for-olicity @wordslovedreams @olicityinmyheart @olicityotp-always @swordandarrow @cruzrogue @ruwithmeguys @gabriellamarie97 @bandanab310 @dmichellewrites @wanhani @1106angel

#season 6 #we all survived it #hiatus

[whatifsandspheres]

Today I reminisce about my conflicted feelings and recurring dread confused with anticipation and hope for the crises that were being talked about back when I was in High School and freshly graduated from. The most eye-grabbing headlines and the most ridiculed and caricatured fringe conspiracy theories.

Last night I rewatched the SG-1 episode with the Aschen. After the SGC received the warning from the future. And at the end of it I thought what I thought before, at the end of the one where they sent the warning back in time.

Would it really be so bad?

Back in High School I read about all the Bill and Melinda Gates stuff, the conspiracy theories surrounding all of that noise. And I came to the conclusions that the truth is neither here nor there. Those who ridicule the "conspiracy theorists," and simplify them in order to mock, end up looking the worst. It ages so poorly to see how the truth shows it's closer to the spirit of the warnings from the paranoid fringe, as inaccurate as they may be, they have more of an attention span and question their reality much more than the egoist consumers bumbling around. Their hearts are mostly in the right place, which is more than I can say for the majority. Even the racist conservatives are looking out for their narrow-minded bigoted kin much more cautiously than the majority of society is tending to the flame of humanity! Those gun-toting and usually scientifically illiterate blowhards! The Real ID act became normalized as airport body scanners, the fears of being microchipped and tracked became ubiquitous GPS and anti-privacy technologies. And so many other back room talks that actually happened and some of which were written down or passed into or through the halls of government, were amended and enacted, de-jure or de-facto. Even talks about societal, environmental, and infrastructural collapse have been mostly dismissed by the mainstream because "well, it's not happening here, not to me, and not the way the conspiracy nuts believed!" Yeah, I know. Complex systems can be that... Complex. Difficult to predict with high precision. But I can assure you that while you were turning up your air conditioner and complaining about the massive oil companies, that associated disaster was displaced and redirected elsewhere, but never fully dissociating from your belief that everything you're doing and perpetuating is justifiable and more good than bad. Ever open up a refrigerator door and stand next to it only to see the effect reflected in the energy bill and the temperature of the rest of the room or house as the machine works more to keep up with the changes?

By the time Obama was about to be president, I had said something that some people around me would have dismissed as possibly even racist. I called him a token. Which I still say he was, bought and paid for by corporate sponsors which also directed his policy. I said at best, if he had character, he would be a lame-duck president, but that in that case I would respect him. He chose a Science Czar, John P. Holdren, who co-authored "Ecoscience" decades prior.

We've seen time and time again how the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other allegedly humanitarian aid stunts have failed. Miserably. GMO mosquitoes gone rogue, crops worsening mass health, poverty and hunger. Increasing dependence...

Would it really be so bad?

Think about how mass sterility would change the world.

Remember that one movie "Children of Men?"

I think people would understand that they never really valued what they claimed to. Maybe they never questioned it enough. Orphans and refugees might stand to be treated better.

The problem is the ethics of the issue.

Like with the mosquito experiments, Gates discovered that the species genetics will work around the modifications and even potentially become worse disease vectors and more prolific.

The same conflicts of interest and volatility of misinformation or lack of understanding enter as when the issue of eugenics is ever entertained. But I realize the burden is made easier in the perspective of seeing how an ongoing collection of genocides and eugenics is already occurring with everyone sharing responsibility but ignoring and even outright denying accountability. Deferring, deflecting, abdicating. When the scales are calibrated to view how much humanity really exists in so many people, the old train-track ethical dilemma thought experiment becomes different. The greater the capacity to choose freely people have when they choose to do the wrong thing for humanity-- it weighs heavier than coerced or sincerely ignorant harms and evils.

Would it really be so bad?

Maybe it would allow enough of humanity to regenerate and fill in the souls of all these stumbling undead bodies.

#personal #txt

[theragamuffininitiative]

Tagged!

@dearponty tagged me in this one, thanks friend! ^_^

@notatypicaldimension, @thisbibliomaniac, @crazytwist09, @party-with-books, @enchantedblackforest, @mariposamonarch (if you wonderful peoples want to. And even if I didn’t tag you, feel free! That’s a constant rule on this blog. :) )

— what was your last…

1. drink: orange juice

2. phone call: My mom or my grandmother.

3. text message: My sister-in-law.

4. song you listened to: "He’s Not Here!” from !Hero

5. time you cried: It’s been a little while. I’ve gotten teary over a lot of beautiful things especially over Easter, and I got pretty upset over something dumb that made me want to cry in anger, but I haven’t actually cried in a bit.

— have you ever…

6. dated someone twice: Nope

7. kissed someone and regretted it: Nada

8. been cheated on: Negatory

9. lost someone special: Yes.

10. been depressed: Yup.

11. gotten drunk and thrown up: Nope-aroo.

— fave colours

12. Purple

13. Navy + assorted blues

14. Peach/Coral <<same as Ponty

— in the last year have you…

15. made new friends: Yesss. Love them. ^_^

16. fallen out of love: You have to first be in love for this one, right? XD

17. laughed until you cried: Yeahhh lol

18. found out someone was talking about you: Yes but so far not in a bad way?

19. met someone who changed you: I think everyone you meet changes you, but yeah I can think of a good few.

20. found out who your friends are: I love how this assumes we all constantly get ourselves embroiled in toxic relationships we have to discover aren’t true. Like, I am way too cautious in initiating relationships for that. It may happen, but not yet. I’ve got good friends and I love them.

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list: Ew. No.

— general

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl: Most all of them, but most of them not very well.

23. do you have any pets: I MISS MY PUPPER AND MY KITTEHS. Technically I have a godchild cat...or niece cat...something like that. She’s a percentage mine. XD

24. do you want to change your name: Nah.

25. what did you do for your last birthday: I spent time with family, spread out over a couple days and tbh I kinda don’t remember a whole lot. I think I watched a movie, my fam made me dinner and there were sweet cards and gifts. ^_^

26. what time did you wake up today: 9 am. I stayed up late last night. XD

27. what were you doing at midnight last night: Watching !Hero: the Rock Opera, and also getting distracted not watching !Hero.

28. what is something you can’t wait for: This askjdlgs episode of Supergirl - alternatively, “Jeremy Jordan returning to Broadway.” Also, getting to see The Lion King in about a month. !!!

30. what are you listening to right now: Traffic outside my apartment. Birds in the courtyard. Occasionally my neighbor moving around upstairs.

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom: Yup. A couple Thomases, and I worked with a Tom previously, and work with a much nicer Tom now.

32. something that’s getting on your nerves: Supergirl’s deeply flawed existence is a constant mood, and I’m having frustrations with a relationship that I don’t know how to solve. :/

33. most visited website: Youtube and Tumblr are probably about equal.

34. hair colour: Hehe wouldn’t you like to know. <<I second Ponty. ;) ;)

35. long or short hair: Longish. Thinking about getting it cut, but idk how short.

36. do you have a crush on someone: I get friend crushes a lot. Like I fall hopelessly in love with somebody, but not in a romantic way, just in a “I want to hang out with you and do dumb fun stuff together because you seem so cool” sort of way.

37. what do you like about yourself: I always seem to answer these the same way, but whatever? I like my (semi dormant?? ha) creativity, and that I’m usually a pretty patient, forgiving person. That might sound weird, or bragging, but it’s not something that comes without practice, so I think it’s okay for me to like/be proud of that.

38. want any piercings: I’ve been saying I should get my ears pierced for like ten years now.

39. blood type: I honestly have no idea, why don’t they give you this information when you get a copy of your birth certificate, or have a check-up? Seems kinda important. XD

40. nicknames: Here? “Rags” and many variations thereof. I also have a lot of nicknames irl but a lot of them have kind of petered out of usage.

41. relationship status: Single pringleeeeee.

42. sign: Aquarius I think but it has no relevance so.

43. pronouns: she/her

44. fave tv show: Fringe or White Collar or Psych maybe.

45. tattoos: I don’t have any, but if I ever got one, it’d be Needtobreathe lyrics.

46. right or left handed: Right. Which is funny because in the artistic circles I run in, I’ve often been the odd one out. XD

47. ever had surgery: I split my head open once. That explains a lot. ;)

48. piercings: Noooone

49. sport: BASEBALL

50. vacation: NYC (literally just to see shows) or the mountains somewhere or Europe, particularly Edinburgh and London. And anywhere honestly on the East coast of this country, because it’s so rich in history.

51. trainers: Shoes, right? Or people who have trained me?? I’m confused. I buy from Payless. I like Converse but who can afford them. XD I’d rather wear something sensible but stylish anyway, and the one shoe I actually care about is Oxfords. I want me a pair of Oxfords.

— more general

52. eating: I am so hungry. I’m going to swing by a cafe and eat because I have a freebie there. But generally, I love pasta and pizza and eggs and toast for breakfast. And fruit.

53. drinking: Water, tea, orange juice, Pepsi.

54. I’m about to watch: I have a bunch of things in my Youtube “watch later” list, including some talks by Jason Robert Brown. Oh! I’m going to rewatch Doctor Strange with some of my favorite peeps tonight. ^_^

55. waiting for: “Schott Through the Heart” and Lion King again. Also, the lunch rush to pass before I go to the cafe.

56. want: Actual furniture in my bedroom. It’s beginning to bother me. I just want a little desk, a little shelf, and a little nightstand like thing. I can wait longer for a proper bed.

57. get married: Maybe someday. I’m not seeking it out right now. :)

58. career: I’ve just started my first job in a theater, and though it’s not with the production process itself, I am loving it, and hoping to move backstage sometime soon. I want to have a career in theater, probably as a writer or at least writing scripts/novels on the side.

— which is better

59. hugs or kisses: hugs

60. lips or eyes: eyes

61. shorter or taller: shorter?

62. older or younger: older?

63. nice arms or stomach: ?? what kind of a. Smile. Nice smile is 100% the most attractive thing.

64. hookup or relationships: relationships. 100%. <<amen

65. troublemaker or hesitant: In a relationship?? Hesitant, I guess, if it means they/you are being careful and serious.

— have you ever

66. kissed a stranger: Nope

67. drank hard liquor: No why would i put myself through that miserable experience lol <<<saaaaame

68. turned someone down: A couple of times.

69. sex on first date: no

70: broken someone’s heart: Doubtful.

71. had your heart broken: Nope.

72. been arrested: Ha. No.

73. cried when someone died: Yes.

74. fallen for a friend: Again, no. Although idealistically that’s a cool way to go. :)

— do you believe in

75. yourself: To a healthy extent, I think. I believe in other things more, but I definitely believe in what I ought to be doing and how I have to work to do. I’ve gained a lot of self-confidence in the past four years, kind of a totally different person now - thank heaven.

76. miracles: I see them all the time.

77. love at first sight: Ish? Appreciation/attraction/clicking immediately can happen, and that can grow into love.

78. santa claus: He exists in every way that counts.

79. angels: Yes.

— misc

80. eye colour: Wouldn’t you like to knoooooow. ;) Idk, it’s probably in another tag/ask post I’ve done on here somewhere lol.

81. best friend’s name: I don’t know that I have one exact best friend rn. There are a handful of individuals I am super close to, and people I know I can tell anything to, and people I just love to hang out with, and I always want to make them happy. <3

82. favourite movie: Newsies Live. It counts, and I know for a fact I have watched it more than any other movie so there.

83. favourite actor: Jeremy Jordan. (woooooowwwww shooockkkerrrrrr)

84. favourite cartoon: Tangled: the Series, and Trollhunters. (Those count, right?) I didn’t watch a lot of traditional cartoons growing up. Just Disney movies.

85. favourite teacher’s name: If I say anyone other than my amazing mother who homeschooled me and my siblings, I’d have to say: Clint. He taught me how to play guitar, and he was pretty fantastic as a role model too. I loved being his student, even if I was too withdrawn at the time to properly take advantage of it or show my appreciation for him.

#thanks for the tag! #ponty friend #about me

[ettadunham]

Day 18 - Liberty

It’s already day 18 of Fringe September so apparently time to discuss the penultimate episode of the show.

This is one of those thought posts that I’m actually writing barely awake and alive at the night, so I apologize if it’s barely intelligible or super short. Also, I’m writing this preclude before actually writing the post, so who knows. Maybe it’ll be a 5k rant for all I know.

Anyway, so... Liberty. I’m tempted to say that Liberty is in many ways more of a Part 1 episode for the series finale, a sort of prelude to that, but isn’t the entirety of season 5 is sort of just a build up to the finale? This short season has been written with the knowledge and purpose to get us to that last episode, chock full of callbacks and emotional beats... So in that sense, Liberty aint so special.

It IS though. Because the callbacks and closures are a lot more intense here, and you can definitely sense that there’s a preparation going on to take us to the finish line. Well, okay, that’s mostly just September’s parts I guess, who’s literally putting together their Doomsday/Anti-Doomsday device..

But let’s sum up the biggest callbacks: THE UNIVERSE WINDOW IS USED. Honestly, what a blast.

WE FINALLY SEE WHERE THE ALT!VERSE IS IN THIS TIMELINE! That was really cool, obviously.

CORTEXIPHAN OVERDOSE!!! It was painful to watch for Olivia, but I love it so much that we’re bringing this back. Cortexiphan kids are saving the universe with their powers after all, just in the way Walter and Bell imagined at the time.

Also, can we just... talk about Olivia Dunham? I don’t know if any of you recall or met this, but there’s a famous sort-of-but-bit-really-math problem that teachers often give kids. It’s as simple as drawing a couple of lines through 9 dots in a certain way, but the solution requires the kids to go OUTSIDE of the area that these dots seemingly encompass, to literally think outside the box. And the fact that most kids in schools have a hard time coming up with this solution, is often used as a way to point out the obvious limitations of our educational systems.

Anyways, I’m telling you this because Olivia Dunham obviously has no problem thinking or going outside of the box. In fact, she goes outside of the box, crosses into another universe, goes back to the box, crosses back to the original universe, crosses over once again, steps outside of the box, and then crosses universes again.

Somehow I feel like math teachers everywhere would have a field day with her problem solving algorithms.

Anyway, like I said, this is a short rant only, but suffice to say that I love Liberty. A lot.

BULLET POINTS!!!

Windmark and team goes absolutely nowhere interrogating Michael because the kid is just superior to them. Suck it baldies.

We do get to see a glimpse of the 27th century though as Windmark is reporting there. And I’m still so confused about the fact that no one mentions the paradox of the Observers invading and destroying the same planet they will reside in 6 centuries later.

BROYLES IS BUSTED AT THE END OF THE EPISODE!!! RUN PHILLIP RUN!!!!!!

Lmao, Michael probably saw all this happen and just did it so Olivia would be re-Cortexiphaned for the finish? He seems a bit worried sometimes though.

We learn that Walternate retired from the DoD 20 years ago, but we don’t necessarily get told what position Altlivia occupies now. I think it’s probably a safe bet that she’s the head of the Fringe Division, judging from that nice big office alone.

Also Chelsea Clinton apparently just won the elections over there in 2036.

We see Olivia manipulating the electricity a bit aside from the universe crossing during this outing.

SHE HALLUCINATES YOUNG ETTA AT SOME POINT IT’S FINE.

When they’re putting up the universe window, Astrid totally tells Walter not to electrocute himself at some point (which he does anyway). Because Astrid is better than all of you dammit.

In an incredible subtle hint when September goes to visit December to ask for his help, his room number turns out to be 513. MY HEART TOTALLY STARTED BEATING THAT MUCH FASTER SEEING THAT, EVEN THOUGH I’M NOT REWATCHING EPISODES IN A LINEAR ORDER FOR THIS LIST.

Walter: ‘if you experience any of the side effects I’m mentioning right now IT’S VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU COME BACK IMMEDIATELY, THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER.’

Olivia: ‘haha, sure thing, I’m totally not gonna go over this entire mission despite experiencing literally all of these side effects, is that the kind of person you know me to be?’

#fringe talk

[tianamulan]

So I really really really love podcast and I thought I would make this masterpost of podcast recommendations!! There’s a little bit of everything, and I’ve organised it all, so I’m sure you’ll find something you’ll like! I mention possible content warnings, episode lengths and amounts, good places to start, etc. I will update this post as I find more podcasts! Enjoy~

Fictional Podcasts

Limetown: 6 episodes, 30-40 min each. Crime Investigation of a town whose residents all mysteriously disappeared one night. Has sci-fi elements. Possible content warning for animal abuse/testing in episode 3, and deaths throughout. End of episode 2 is also potentially disturbing. 

[Website] [Soundcloud] and in iTunes store.

The Message: 8 episodes, ~15 min each with a 30 min finale. A message from space needs to be translated, and our main character Nicky is podcasting the whole time. Obviously very sci-fi. Diverse cast, including a non-binary person! It’s pretty intense, and because the narrator talks directly to you which includes warnings it could be a little distressing but it’s 100% fictional. Content warning for hospital situations and characters on their deathbeds.

[Website] and in iTunes store.

Life After: 10 episodes, ~30 mins each. This is made by the same team as The Message. Ross works for the FBI, and has lost his wife recently. He’s obsessed with listening to audioposts that she made on a audio-social media site. Content warning for cults and hacking.

Available in iTunes store.

Steal the Stars: Currently airing, as of Aug 2017 they have 4 episodes out. It’s about government officials who are guarding and studying an alien who crash landed on earth years ago. There’s also a love story.

[Website] and available in iTunes store.

The Truth: Every episode is different! Often very dark, but some are more light hearted. Very very visual. My favourites include Starbursts, The One about the Dead Dog, and It’s Your Funeral (Pt1 & Pt 2).

[Website] [Soundcloud] and in iTunes store.

D&D Podcasts

Okay just hear me out before you scroll past this section. I have never played dungeons and dragons in my life, I’m not even a fan of fantasy. But I really love these podcasts. It takes time to understand the rules, but it’s so worth it. The stories told are so original cuz everything can change by the role of a dice, and the characters have free will and don’t have to listen to the narrator. The people in these podcasts are so passionate too. But if you are sure that it’s not your cup of tea then you can move on now.

The Adventure Zone: 3 brothers play D&D with their dad. They’ve just finished their first Campaign as of Aug 2017, so you’ll have a completed story if you start now. There’s 69 episodes, each around an hour or so long, so it’s a lot of content to get through. They’re goofy as all hell. It takes some time to recognise the voices if you don’t know the McElroy brothers (they make other podcasts I mention later). Merle is a dwarf cleric (essentially a priest), Magnus is a human fighter, and Taako is an elven wizard. The Dungeon Master (DM, person who tells the story of the world and plays all the non-main characters) is super talented, lots of great voices. The fantasy in this is very non-traditional, so not like medieval britain, so there’s things like trains and space travel and a costco. Hilarious, very original, and emotional. Also the music is sooo good here’s the soundcloud for just the music. also there’s a pretty active fandom if that’s important to you.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Sneak Attack!: 4 player game with 5 friends (including a married couple). As of Aug 2017 they have over 100 episodes, and bonus eps, all about an hour long. Sherwood is a gnome druid (basically a forest wizard) who is antisocial to everyone but animals and plants. Greaek is a dwarf fighter who introduces himself to everyone he meets he’s a good boy. Brenna is a half-elf bard (musician) who plays the banjo and bagpipes and gets into lots of arguments with Greaek, who is her irl husband. She’s the voice of reason in the group. Akio is a human wizard who dreams of owning a noodle shop, and owns a chicken named Alfredo. Also he’s a necromancer. The DM is amazing, and the whole group is just really nice and wholesome? 

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Science & Culture

Radiolab: Beautifully edited, usually about science/tech but mostly about telling a good story. Most episodes are about 40 mins to an hour, and there’s also shorter mini episodes. Good episodes to start with is Colors, Laughter, and Escape!. My favourites include What’s Up, Doc?, The Living Room (content warning for death and illness), Debateable, On the Edge, and Cities.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Reply All: Podcast about “the internet”, but it’s much more than that. Their content is all over the place. Episodes are typically 35 mins long, with the occasional longer ep. This is a podcast I would start from the beginning to get used to the format. Today’s The Day and Hello? are two of my favourite audio pieces ever, they make me so emotional, but I don’t think you’ll get this feeling unless you’ve listened to their ‘normal’ podcasts and gotten to know the hosts. This podcast is very good about content warnings for episodes, both at the start and when they’re about to discuss the content.

[Website] [Soundcloud] and in iTunes Store.

Flash Forward: Used to be called Meanwhile in the Future. Each episode focuses on a possible or not-so-possible future, first starting with a dramatisation of what that future would be like (usually news report kinda stuff), and then an in depth discussion with real experts about how possible that future is. In the first season the episodes were about 15 mins but now they’re up to 40 mins long. A good place to start with would be from the start! All the episodes are great in my opinion, but for examples of the range of topics discussed, you can try Sunward Bound and Don’t Lie to Me.

[Website] [Soundcloud] and in iTunes Store.

Imaginary Worlds: About fictional universes and our relationship to them. Episodes usually between 20-30 mins, and often topical to a recent event. My favourites are The Year Without a Summer (about Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein, and volcanoes), Rolling the Twenty Sided Dice (about D&D, would highly recommend if you are unsure about the aforementioned D&D podcast), and In Defence of Captain Hook (about Peter Pan, the last 5 mins of this podcast is amazing).

[Website] [Soundcloud] and in iTunes Store.

Invisibilia: This podcast is about human behaviour/psychology. Episodes are an hour long. I would recommend The Personality Myth to start (but also starting at episode 1 is good). They are usually good about content warning but obviously they often talk about mental health so do with that what you want. As of August 2017 they have just finished their 3rd season.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

This American Life: The most annoying thing about this podcast is there’s only ever the last 4 episodes they’ve aired available at a time, but you can “save” the episode you like on iTunes. It’s about american culture and stories and stuff, sometimes a little hit or miss for me but I’m also not American but there’s still a lot of great episodes. The episode that just came out in August 2017 “We are in the Future” is Amazing, about afrofuturism.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Sawbones: This podcast describes itself as “a marital tour of misguided medicine”. Dr. Sydnee and Justin (not a Dr.) McElroy talk about the history of medicine and all the weird stuff we did in the past to try to cure people. Sydnee has the most knowledge in this pair and Justin is mostly there to ask questions and make jokes. Very fun tone throughout usually but obviously they take time to talk about more serious stuff. My favourite thing about it is just how much this couple love each other.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Oh No Ross and Carrie: Two friends go out to investigate fringe-science stuff so you don’t have to. They have joined cults including Scientology, have their pets get psychic readings, and try juice cleanses and soylent. I’d recommend any episode that covers something that you’re interested in! Episodes are typically 40-60 mins.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Comedy

My Brother My Brother and Me (MBMBAM): The same 3 brothers from the Adventure Zone. Justin, Travis, and Griffin have been making this podcast since 2010 and they give “advice” but mostly just laugh at their own jokes. They answer a lot of Yahoo questions, you know the type. Here’s a taster for their type of humor. They also have a new TV show, and the first episode is available for free, which can help you put a face to the name/voice. They’re never rude or mean but can be very dirty boys so don’t listen w/out headphones. Also probably in public with headphones cuz u will laugh out loud for SURE.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Dynamic Banter: Two dudes talk who also mostly just laugh at their own jokes. They like movies a lot. Here’s a 8 min clip where they talk about alternate titles for Tom Hanks’s classic film Big. Episodes are usually about an hour long. 

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

It Feels Like the First Time: Three guys are watching Lost, the 2004-2010 TV show about people who crashes on a ~weird island~. If were planning to watch/rewatch Lost and want to listen to more than 1 hour of three guys making jokes about the show then you should listen to this podcast. As of August 2017 they’re halfway through the final season, so there’s plenty of content for you to catch up on. This podcast comes out weekly and talk about 2 episodes of the show at a time. 

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

The Mortified Podcast: People read their childhood/teenage diaries outloud in front of a crowd. It’s embarrassing and cringe-y and hilarious and relatable and will make you more empathetic to your younger self and the kids and teens in your life because it’s hard out there. Episodes are about 25-35 mins long, usually featuring 2 different diary reads on a similar topic, like Prom or Summer Vacation.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Miscellaneous 

Terrible, Thanks for Asking: Nora McInerny is the host of this podcast. It’s about how terrible things are sometimes in life. Nora and guests just talk about the horrible things that have happened to them, like death of loved ones, abuse, mental illness, etc. Obviously, it’s not a casual, feel good listen, it is not for everyone and I would advise some people to not listen to this ever, but it’s emotional and raw and important. The episodes are 40ish minutes long.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Nancy: This is a relatively new podcast, as of August 2017 there are 19 episodes. It’s about the LGBTQ+ community and issues, hosted by Kathy Tu and Tobin Low. The first episode, for example, is about Kathy’s coming out story, and how she needs to constantly come out to her mother who isn’t listening to her. These two hosts are really fun, and so are their guests, and i’m sure that LGBTQ+ listeners will relate to their conversations.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Strangers: Podcast host Lea Thau tells stories about strangers. Or at least they’re strangers to you. It’s not as depressing as “Terrible Thanks for Asking”... usually. Episodes are anywhere between 20 and 50 minutes. Her “Love Hurts” series might be a good place to start, although it isn’t her typical episode structure, but it’s all about her interviewing exes about why they didn’t work out. This podcast is usually good about content warnings.

[Website] [Soundcloud] and in iTunes Store.

Mystery Show: Podcast host Starlee Kine solves weird mysteries like what is Jake Gyllenhaal’s real height, or a video rental store that disappeared in 1 day, or the owner of a really really cool belt buckle found on the ground years ago. There’s only 6 episodes, and there won’t be more. They’re between 25 and 70 minutes long.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

Harry Potter and the Sacred Text: The tagline for this is “What if we read the books we love as if they were sacred texts?”. Hosts Vanessa Zoltan and Casper ter Kuile discuss one chapter of Harry Potter per episode, and analyse it using techniques usually reserved for religious texts. The hosts are Religious and Divinity scholars. Episodes are half an hour long, and as of June 2017 they are about halfway through the Prisoner of Azkaban.

[Website] and in iTunes Store.

#podcast #masterpost #podcasts #mine: personal #mine: other #i'm sorry for mobile users that need to scroll through all of this lmao

[eirinizp-blog]

The Best Movies of 2019 (So Far)

The cinematic dry season (post–awards season, but before the good spring months have arrived) has officially ended, and the summer blockbusters are upon us. Will we remember any of them by the end of the year? Hard to say, but we can point to a few gems among the more conventional genre releases of 2019 so far: a politicized zombie slasher, a documentary about two nights at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church, a Mary Kay Place vehicle, two Swintons for the price of one. Here are the best movies of the year that Vulture has reviewed, according to critics David Edelstein and Emily Yoshida, and frequent contributor Bilge Ebiri.

Arctic

Enjoyable and excruciating. In Joe Penna’s survival drama, the riveting Mads Mikkelsen plays a man whose plane has gone down in the frozen wilderness. That’s all we know about him and all we really need to — it’s what he does and keeps doing that defines him. Thrown together with a grievously wounded, non–compos mentis woman, he tugs her well-swaddled form on a sled into the unknown, trudging and grunting and falling and trudging and heeeaving and trudging and heeeaving — and just when we think it can’t get more horrible, we realize that up until then he’d had it easy. The movie really takes your mind off your own troubles. —D.E.

Birds of Passage Set in the north of Colombia among the indigenous Wayuu, Ciro Guerra and Cristina Gallego’s knockout film is part ethnographic documentary, part The Godfather. Over 20 years (from 1960 to 1980), people whose ways first seem strange metamorphose into a familiar breed of narcos, moving tons of marijuana and become avid materialists. As in Guerra’s last film, Embrace of the Serpent, the disjunction between ancient ways and modern, ephemeral fashions and technology, is not just jarring but toxic, a shock to the system that will almost certainly kill the host. The drive toward revenge kills the characters long before anyone dies — it kills their souls. —D.E.

Escape Room Escape Room didn’t need to be good, and its release during the very first week of the year seemed destined to make it a 2019 B-movie footnote. But the ensemble thriller from Insidious and Paranormal Activity vet Adam Robitel is a whole lot of fun, throwing a group of strangers together into a hyperbolically lethal version of the titular team-building game. It’s much more of a puzzler than it is a horror film, and Robitel doesn’t need gore or jump scares to keep the whole thing tightly wound. The grand finale is so audacious that you’ll be ready to buy a ticket for the sequel before the lights come up. —E.Y.

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Fighting With My Family The unlikely collaboration between writer-director Stephen Merchant and executive producer the Rock is an unexpected joy — a true story that skips along its inspirational sports-movie template while finding real pathos and tough truths under all that sparkly spandex. As WWE champion Paige, Florence Pugh is equal parts ferocious and tender, a misfit struggling to find the right way to share her talents with the world. It’s a WWE production, but if it’s propaganda for the sport, it’s the kind you’ll gladly let win you over to the joyful absurdities of the sport. —E.Y.

Transit Director Christian Petzold (Barbara, Phoenix) changes the time of Anna Seghers’s 1944 novel, in which refugees from the Nazis stuck in Lyons wait for ships to North America: It’s still Lyons, but the period trappings are gone and they’re now fleeing all-purpose “fascists.” At the heart of the story is a slow-motion mistaken-identity farce in which a concentration-camp escapee, Georg (the charismatic Franz Rogowski, who bears a resemblance to Joaquin Phoenix), assumes the identity of a famous writer whom only Georg knows committed suicide — and then falls madly for the writer’s discombobulated wife (Paula Beer). The physical, temporal, and emotional geography is very confusing, but the film is still potent. Petzold is part acrid realist, part romantic: His protagonists lose everything but their passion, emotion being the last refuge. 

Climax It’s Step Up crossed with Battle Royale, a house-music Suspiria, and exactly as fun and harrowing as that description would suggest. French adulte terrible Gaspar Noé (Enter the Void, Love) brings together a vibrant ensemble of dancers led by dynamo Sofia Boutella for a party gone horribly awry thanks to some no-good sangria. In what feels like more or less real time, we watch a cohesive, unified group of very-much-alive young people devolve into screaming, hallucinatory chaos, all set to an incredible disco-techno soundtrack. Noé’s desire to shock is still ever-present, and all trigger warnings still apply. But the dizzying, acrobatic camerawork and the impressive physical and emotional work of Boutella and the rest of the cast make this his most crowd-pleasing — dare I say, even sentimental? — work yet.

Diane A stunning platform for Mary Kay Place as a compulsive do-gooder out to expiate her sins as everyone around her is either dying (a first cousin with end-stage cervical cancer) or on the brink (her addict son and a slew of elderly friends and relatives). Kent Jones’s drama—mostly naturalistic, but with the odd expressionist flourish — is generally regarded as one of the most depressing ever made, but once you accept its un-transcendent, death-centric baseline the movie is strangely exhilarating. In between scenes are shots through a windshield of rural landscapes passing in every season, with soft, haunting music by Jeremiah Bornfield, the film’s protagonist (like all of us) going from someplace to someplace on the road to who-knows-where. In its mundane way, Diane shows you glimmers of the sublime. —D.E.

The Brink Alison Klayman’s On the Road With Steve Bannon doc is essential, sad to say, given that Bannon is not a fringe hate-monger but a man with the ears of protofascist, xenophobic movement leaders in the U.S., France, Belgium, Hungary, Germany, and the U.K., as well as sundry billionaires. Why would Bannon let Klayman be a fly on his wall — or in his ointment? He has faith in his message. He already has “a solid enough minority that’s immoveable.” He just needs to sway an increasingly susceptible 15 percent of the rest, and he’s excellent at making people feel as if they’re being marginalized by a dark (in all senses) cabal — while he denies and denies and denies that he’s saying what he in fact is. Klayman doesn’t have to editorialize to make the point that Bannon is one of the most dangerous people alive.

Ash Is Purest White Jia Zhangke’s epic revisits many of the themes he’s explored throughout his past few films (Mountains May Depart, A Touch of Sin) particularly the near-absurdities of a rapidly changing modern China, and its as profoundly wrought as ever. With Ash, however, there’s a genre twist; a sort of pulp gangster romance shot through Jia’s patient, wide lens. A deceptively steely Zhao Tao stars as a woman separated from the man who, for better or worse, is the love of her life, and sets out to find her way back to him over two and half decades. It’s as much a story of a country rebuilding itself as it is of one woman doing the same, and by its gutting resolution you’ll feel as if you’ve walked those miles and years in Zhao’s shoes. 

Us A politicized zombie-slasher film in which subterranean doppelgängers — separate but mystically “tethered” to their aboveground analogs — swarm our world with scissors and the message, “We exist.” Once you get over the disappointment that Jordan Peele’s second feature isn’t as trim or impish in its satire as his marvelous debut, Get Out, you can settle back and salute what it is: the most inspiring kind of miss. It’s what you want an artist of Peele’s sensibility and stature to attempt — to broaden his canvas, deepen his psychological insight, and add new cinematic tools to his kit. Fans will rewatch the film to savor the fillips, the purposeful echoes, and the “Easter eggs,” as well as a dual performance by Lupita Nyong’o that’s otherworldly in its brilliance. As the double, “Red,” her voice is the whistle of someone whose throat has been cut, with a gap between the start of a word in the diaphragm and its finish in the head. It’s like a rush of acrid air from a tomb.

Amazing Grace Over two nights in 1972, Aretha Franklin, then at the height of her fame, came to Los Angeles’s New Temple Missionary Baptist Church to record a selection of gospel classics. The resulting album, Amazing Grace, was one of the most acclaimed of her career. Director Sydney Pollack documented both nights with a small array of 16 mm cameras, but the footage languished for decades until producer Alan Elliott bought it and put together this concert documentary, which was then further delayed by Franklin’s own, somewhat surprising refusal to let it be shown. But now it’s here, and it is transcendent. Resplendent in her caftans but otherwise humble, Franklin gives off no diva or rock-star airs. But as soon as she starts singing, she’s in — eyes closed, head up, half-grins turning into flights of ecstatic joy. So is her audience, shouting their support, cheering her along, dancing in the aisles. And so are we. The movie itself feels like a church service, and it’s enough to make you get religion. —Bilge Ebiri

The Man Who Killed Don Quixote Terry Gilliam’s notorious film maudit, three decades in the unmaking and already the subject of a 17-year-old documentary about the collapse of its production, is, uh, here. And it’s surprisingly light on its feet. The story follows a slick commercial director (played by Adam Driver, an inspired choice) who returns to the Spanish village where he made his thesis film ten years ago, an adaptation of Cervantes’s Don Quixote, and discovers that the lives there were ruined by his production. Reuniting with the aging cobbler who played his Quixote (Jonathan Pryce), he discovers that the man still imagines himself to be the 17th-century knight-errant. Their ensuing journey mixes medieval gallantry, contemporary topicality, and typically Gilliamesque chaos — a swirling vortex of disguises, dream visions, broad humor, and a delightfully disorienting look at both the creative and destructive power of imagination. —B.E.

Trial by Fire Murderously hard to sit through, which is not something you’ll see on top of an ad. Maybe that’s why the film had been a commercial bust. But this portrait of Cameron Todd Willingham (Jack O’Connell), a Texas ne’er-do-well executed for burning his three little girls to death, is painstakingly well-made and important. The director, Ed Zwick, isn’t cynical about the motives of the investigators who allegedly screwed up so badly in interpreting the evidence. The lie of most police dramas isn’t that they’re on the side of the angels — it’s that they’re always competent at what they do and that there are fail-safe mechanisms to keep innocent people from the death chamber. Laura Dern plays the divorced mother who volunteers to be a pen pal to someone on death row and gets sucked in when she reads the trial transcript. Dern is a great detective actress — she externalizes thought. 

Souvenir A coolly intelligent autobiographical film by the British writer-director Joanna Hogg, who doesn’t often give you your narrative bearings — and spoils you for over-shapers, the spoon-feeders. Her protagonist (Honor Swinton Byrne, daughter of Tilda, who plays her mother onscreen) is a well-off, socially conscious 24-year-old film student who wants to make a movie about a boy growing up by the grotty docks near Newcastle but is thrown off course by her foppish, madly pretentious, and (as it turns out) heroin-addicted boyfriend (Tom Burke). At times the film seems too distanced, but it’s never obvious or banal. Hogg convinces you that incoherence is the only honest way to tell a story with any emotional complexity. 

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