#matthew's really ticking me off this season

[pellaaearien]

Hey so here’s a really mean Sandman thought I had...

I just finished reading The Kindly Ones for the first time. (Yeah.) And I must say, it was a very interesting experience from the perspective of someone who both watched the show first and has also been hanging around deeply into fandom enough that I’ve absorbed spoilers/meta/whatever else surrounding the end of the comics before reading them to draw my own conclusions.

Now I have. And I think I’ve come to some interesting ones.

First off, naturally, Neil Gaiman has written the ultimate tragedy. Everything comes full circle, every decision made with the best possible intentions has the worst possible outcome, and it was always going to be this way. It’s a masterstroke, and as I read I was less sad than admiring at the completeness of it, the way everything slots into place so neatly.

Ever since I spoiled myself for the ending (which I’m glad I did,) I’ve read quite a bit of Kindly Ones meta. Many words have been spilled around the subject of “if someone had just SEEN what was wrong...” but MANY people did! Fiddler’s Green. Matthew. Nuala. And, of course, Hob, who Dream walks out on - again - because he’s being too perceptive. Again.

I was also reading the book with the foreknowledge that this is all an elaborate suicide plot on the part of Dream. After all, as Death says at the end, “the only reason you got yourself into this mess is because this is where you wanted to be.” And, later, when Dream says he has made all the preparations necessary, “You’ve been making them for ages. You just didn’t let yourself know that was what you were doing.” To which Dream replies, “if you say so.”

So we have lots of people saying lots of things about Dream, but what do Dream’s actions say for themselves? Because I must admit, reading the book knowing how it was going to end threw a lot of those assumptions into a new light.

Let’s go back to the conversation with Death. Dream says: “I did not plan this, my sister. I had imagined that I would be able to keep events here in check. I intended to play a waiting game, in which, ultimately, no harm was done.”

This I believe. One of the things that never sat right with me was Dream sitting back and letting his creations suffer, if his intention all along was to destroy himself. I don’t believe that’s in character for Dream in any incarnation.

What was Dream’s motivation? Dream is tired. He says so himself. He’s been tired for a long time, probably even before his imprisonment and having to basically remake the Dreaming and since then he hasn’t had a moment’s peace, what with Season of Mists and Orpheus and everything else. I think meeting Daniel planted the seed in his mind, that there was an out. As Death says, “...the stuff you do. Where you do it, and you won’t even admit to yourself it’s what you’re doing.” 

Meeting Daniel was that moment for Dream. Someone who could take over his responsibilities in the Dreaming. He can’t just walk away, like Destruction and Lucifer. That’s not who he is. I think Dream’s plan was to wait for Daniel to grow up some, and then... something. ??? profit. Maybe he would’ve gone to the Fates himself and taken their punishment for Orpheus. (Because he does, as Nuala astutely points out, want to be punished for Orpheus).

BUT, Daniel gets stolen while he’s still a baby. So Dream sends Matthew and the newly-remade Corinthian after him. Lyta, meanwhile, instigates the Furies, so now they’re on a ticking clock.

(I don’t, personally, think that Dream freed Loki with the intention of setting all this in motion, but that’s up to reader interpretation.)

Dream makes preparations. It certainly seems like he’s making peace with the fact of his death. He visits Nada (a small boy in Hong Kong), does a census of the Dreaming, acknowledges his servants, feeds pigeons, examines his properties in the waking world, and reviews various treaties and agreements to which the Dreaming is subject. He is responsible. He’s getting his affairs in order in case things don’t fall the way he expects them to.

When his Griffin is killed, Dream tells Furies: “I can create another, who would not even know that it had ever died.” Cold, perhaps, but very in keeping with the type of backwards kindness we’ve seen from Dream throughout the series. He also says: “This is my world, ladies. I control it, I am responsible for it. You with neither destroy it nor will you destroy me.”

The last part, as we know, is simply true. The Dreaming can be restored endlessly, and even if the facet known as Morpheus is destroyed, Dream will continue. But it’s the first part that’s significant. I control it, I am responsible for it. That part says to me that he would not allow his creations to suffer. He is responsible for them. And yes, he could restore them with a thought, but why bother? If he’s trying to get himself killed, why doesn’t the story just end here and now? With the Furies and Dream alone in his throne room?

Clearly, he’s waiting for Daniel. He can’t allow himself to be removed without a successor in place. Once the Furies leave, he immediately calls Matthew for an update. Matthew comments on how cold Dream sounds - he’s feeling the pressure.

Fiddler’s Green is killed. Does Dream say “I can create another?” No. He immediately goes in search of Lyta, to hopefully negate the wrath of the Furies. A stopgap, as the Furies would find another avatar in time, but Dream is taking action. He is not passively letting his doom collapse around his ears.

He’s foiled by Thessaly (all my homies hate Thessaly). While they are estranged exes, Thessaly admits that protecting Lyta from Dream was “not entirely” to hurt him: she struck a deal with the Three for a bit more life. Hurting Dream was an added bonus. She knows Dream well enough that he won’t break the rules in order to kill Lyta.

Dream is visibly upset by this. He won’t break the rules, but Thessaly’s actions (and his own, by extension) mean that more destruction will be wrought in the Dreaming. Lucien takes him to task for it:

Lucien asks why he isn’t restoring the things the Furies destroyed, but it makes sense to halt the source of the destruction first, rather than needing to fix things over and over again. Dream is at a loss. His plan was foiled and now he has no way to hold off the Furies. And Daniel is still missing. He could summon his sister right now (as he says, “by his own hand or another’s”) but that would leave the Dreaming in disarray, and he won’t do that.

Now to add Nuala’s summons into the mix. While Death will later point out that yes, Dream could have rejected the summons, I think it’s important to remember that he does actually try, at first:

“I must most earnestly beseech you...” That is begging. That is literal begging from Dream of the Endless, and it doesn’t stop there.  “You do me a disservice, Nuala,” Dream says, after Nuala quotes his promise back to him. He tries to get out of it! But Nuala won’t let him, throws his words in his face, and thereby seals his fate. Because Dream of the Endless, if nothing else, keeps his word, follows the rules. As he says later: “If we did otherwise, we would not be ourselves.” 

He can’t just leave his realm like Destruction. He can’t ignore the rules and kill Lyta anyway. He can’t go back on his word and reject Nuala’s summons. If he did that, he would no longer be Dream.

So, he sets Daniel up in his new role as best as he can with the time he has left, and then he takes his sister’s hand to prevent any further damage to the Dreaming. Death accuses him of planning the whole thing, and perhaps that’s true. Perhaps he saw where the pieces were laid on the board and manipulated them to his advantage. I certainly don’t deny that ever since Orpheus he had intended to take himself out of the picture, one way or another. But I truly don’t think he meant for it to happen like this. I don’t see him as a cold-hearted chessmaster, forcing himself into a corner until he has no way out, with his creations’ existences hanging in the balance. I think he had a plan, and tried to stick to the plan as best he could, as the true tragedy spun into place around him: it was always going to happen like this.

Are y’all ready for the mean thought?

Because thinking about it this way, if truly all he wanted was a way out, he could have expedited the process at any point. As I hope I have shown here, to the contrary, his behaviour reads to me as someone who held out until the absolute bitter end, until he literally had no other choice. What are we to make of this? On the one hand, we have Death’s accusation about  “...the stuff you do. Where you do it, and you won’t even admit to yourself it’s what you’re doing.” Maybe that’s true. Death knows Dream, and knows what she’s talking about.

On the other hand, we have a scene, way back at the beginning, with Hob. (Hob who, incidentally, doesn’t seem all that surprised to see Dream outside the confines of their century meetings, given that he thought their toast during Season of Mists was a dream, but I digress.) (Dream also goes to see Hob the instant there’s any inkling of trouble, again, as he does in Season of Mists, but I digress a second time.) And Hob is, as in 1889, too perceptive by half. As Dream is walking away, Hob says:

“You take care of yourself.”

What if Dream went to Hob, knowing his friend, being perceptive, would guess that something was up?

What if he just wanted to be reminded that someone cared whether or not something happened to him?

He gave Hob a promise that he would take care of himself. And so he did, in the face of overwhelming odds. (Odds that he may or may not have set in motion himself, true, but that just makes it more extraordinary.) Until he couldn’t any more. Until taking care of the Dreaming took precedence over taking care of the aspect, Morpheus.

Because Dream of the Endless always keeps his word.

#the sandman meta #the kindly ones #dreamling

[bropunzeling]

12, 18, 19 for the writer's meme? 😌

12. If a genie offered you three writing wishes, what would they be? Btw if you wish for more wishes the genie turns all your current WIPs into Lorem Ipsum, I don’t make the rules

(1) that i would know the right title right away every time instead of staring down the ao3 posting form (2) that the things i think of when falling asleep would automatically show up in my notes app so i don't forget them (3) that the editing would just happen with no effort from me whatsoever

18. Choose a passage from your writing. Tell me about the backstory of this moment. How you came up with it, how it changed from start to end. Spicy addition: Questioner provides the passage.

here is a bit from contact high:

In the night, they’ve shifted. Leon is pressed along Matthew’s side, one arm curled over Matthew’s stomach. His chin rests in the divot between Matthew’s shoulder and neck. With every deep, slow breath Matthew takes, Leon can feel his chest rise and fall under his hand. The barest amount of light filters through the gap in the curtains, catching on their silhouettes.

It had been like this in March. Lying together in Matthew’s bed as the clock ticked past Leon’s curfew, even though he knew he should head back to the hotel. Their last game of the regular season looming as tomorrow came closer and closer. They hadn’t even flipped on a light switch, had fumbled through kissing and fucking all in the dark. It didn’t matter. Leon had still known Matthew’s body, what Matthew wanted, and Matthew had known him.

It was dark, and Leon was seconds away from falling asleep in Matthew’s bed the way he had never let himself before, when Matthew had broken the silence. Had said, in a voice scratchy with sleep, “It’ll be different, next year.”

Leon froze in place, suddenly wide awake. Hadn’t trusted himself to speak, to do anything more than make a noise.

Matthew heard his unspoken question. Said, again in that soft, rough voice, “I’ve been thinking about leaving Calgary.” A long pause as Leon lay there, perfectly still. “I don’t know. I’m just ready for a change, you know?” A sigh. “It’s going to feel really fucking good. Leaving all this shit behind.” And then, finally: “Don’t tell anyone, yeah?”

Leon had nodded. Lay there for five long seconds, but couldn’t get warm. Gave up, told Matthew he’d be heading back to the hotel, waved off the offer of a ride.

when i first started this fic, i was simply like wow, sex pollen sounds fun for them! i love making matthew and leon have dubious sex! and then maybe 2k in i went for a walk and was like you know what this needs. this needs leon feeling deeply, deeply abandoned by the trade and both of them being fucked up about it. and the whole tenor of the fic changed! i started dropping in more hints about previous feelings, about perceived unevenness in their relationship. but by the time i finished the horny shit i had to settle on what actually happened, and that was when i worked on this little flashback segment. and it took SO long to figure out exactly what matthew would've said that could hit the exact right note of matthew's feelings about calgary and how leon could perceive that as matthew's feelings about him (because they haven't talked about anything they're doing!) and how it could lead to this rupture between them that neither of them really know how to bridge. that is, until the plant life of florida gets involved.

also i really like the imagery in this sequence! the use of lighting and shadow, how the last time they were together they didn't even need to look at each other. i find the kind of familiarity you can have, to be able to know each others bodies so well that you don't even need the lights on, to be really compelling. and, of course, leon almost staying the night the last time, before the trade, and then deciding in this moment that he is going to stay the night even if it hurts :)

19. Tell me a story about your writing journey. When did you start? Why did you start? Were there bumps along the way? Where are you now and where are you going?

i started writing as a little tween obsessed with x-men comics and bad shounen manga and didn't know how to stop! i've always told a lot of stories and been a voracious reader and as soon as i had regular access to a semi-private way to get on the internet i found ff.net and had to read more stories, and then learned i could write those stories. the amount i write has ebbed and flowed a lot, including a long, long down stretch in my late twenties, but i've been really happy coming back to writing in the past two years. i forgot how much i really loved it and it's been so fun stretching myself and figuring out how to sustain a story arc and set up subplots and foreshadowing and all that jazz! my hopes for this year are to keep going, but at a pace that is sustainable for me, and that is coming from a place of joy and excitement. and to FINALLY write a fucking slow burn.

#ask meme

[itachi86]

i like those table lights in ransome’s bar

#a discovery of witches #3x03 #random things #those are cool #i like ransome #i think marcus should lead t #he scion #matthew's really ticking me off this season #actually he's kinda been ticking me off since mid thru last season

[radiant-reid]

S.R Masterlist !

I adore every person reading this. I want you to know you’re loved, I support you, and my messages are always open if you want to chat.

Also, thank, thank, thank you from the bottom of my heart, I genuinely don’t know what I’d do without this blog, and the support I receive keeps me going. 

Requests: open/closed

All my fics are in order of newest to oldest. They’re also all Spencer x Y/n

Smut (18+) 

Santa Tell Me 

Spencer’s a really good gift giver, but you have some surprises up your sleeve too.

BAU Boys

Staying late at Rossi’s with your favorite colleagues really pays off. Spencer Reid x Derek Morgan x Aaron Hotchner x Reader

Birthday Morning

Spencer’s birthday is always a big deal with his 

THE KINK LIST

A whole list of fics separated by different kinks

To Need Someone

The very complicated dynamic of two BAU agents changes dramatically over two months, as they figure out if there’s an emotion besides hatred that they feel for each other

Unconventional

Spencer’s first one night stand ends up having a lot of strings when he sees her again at work.

Pretty in Purple II

An interruption to some private time Spencer is trying to share with his girlfriend unintentionally winds up advancing their sex life and where Spencer’s dirty little secret meets the team while he struggled to keep his hands off her. Dom!Spencer

Call me

Spencer gets a surprise phone call which leads to a happy ending

Take Two

Spencer finds an old adult entertainment film starring his girlfriend and her ex and decides they better make their own.

Dom!Spencer

Parents-to-be

Spencer and his wife have some giggly sex as they try to conceive a baby. 

New and Exciting

Spencer x reader smut where it’s Spencer’s first time?

Sub!Spencer, Virgin!Spencer

Spencer Reid NSFW Alphabet

A comparison between Sub!Spencer (season 1 era) and Dom!Spencer (season 15 era)

(In your ocean) Swim

The time until Frenemies with Benefits eventually fall in love is always a ticking time bomb Rough!Dom!Spencer

The Unknown

After getting flirted with, Y/n shows Spencer he has nothing to be insecure about. Sub!Spencer

Under the covers

Friends with benefits never works out, but, this time, the switch to becoming a couple, was an accident, unbeknownst to Spencer and Y/n until the team pointed it out Dom!Spencer

Mirror Mirror on the wall

Upon overhearing a conversation between her boyfriend and his friend, Y/n's beyond upset but Spencer quickly fixes it. SoftDom!Spencer

Houston, we do not have a problem

Spencer is determined to make Y/n’s conference call hard. Literally. Dom!Spencer

MGG Smut 

Filming a movie

Matthew and Y/n decide to make a movie of the adult variety

Fluff

Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

Spencer’s gone for Christmas, and you and the twins wish he wasn’t.

A Perfectly Imperfect New Year’s Eve

Spencer’s got something he needs to get done before the New Year starts. Unfortunately, things get in the way of his plan, but it’s perfect anyway

The Gingerbread Competition

A gingerbread competition gets serious at the Reids

Let It Snow

Apparently, getting stuck in a cabin with Spencer isn’t too bad

What Christmas Means To Me

The Reids discuss all the things that are Christmas-y and important to them while being really in love with each other.

Little Angels

A little snippet of the perfect life you and Spencer have created

Worry Free

After the issues of Spencer’s past year, JJ is worried for him, until she finds out an incredibly interesting piece of information about his romantic life

Trick or Treat or Surprise

Halloween at the BAU is a big deal. Apparently, makeup mishaps also are.

Baby Reid

Little Touches

Just a few moments where Spencer learns how much he loves touches

Rays of Sunshine

Just a relaxing morning in the Reid house with the couple’s baby

4+1 Cuddling

The four times they cuddled before becoming a couple and the one time they cuddled afterward

Nickname

Nicknames are important in the Reid house, sacred and a problem when they come from the wrong person

How everyone found out

a little blurb about how each of the team members found out about a secret BAU relationship

A little (major) crush

Spencer's coldness is interpreted as hate for a very long time until a little admission leads to him accepting the truth

A dream come true

After a long few years of trying to have a baby, the Reids give up, until nothing short of a miracle happens at an inconvenient time.

Teaching and Learning

After some true bragging happens about Spencer at the hands of his daughter, her teacher is determined to find out how amazing he really is.

The guaranteed way to get to sleep

Spencer is the only one who can recognize the signs of needing someone in the new agent * this is not an informative article about how to sleep

What’s in a name? II

Spencer accidentally gets misidentified by a little kid whose mom means the world to him

Teenage Heartbreak and Impromptu Parenting

Spencer had to bluff his way around helping his daughter through her first heartbreak.

Clumsy

Spencer tripping and tumbling leads him to fall for a nurse.

One and Done

The stories of how four Reid children came to alter the one-child plan their parents had intended since their first baby.

Chaos and Calm

Spencer has a bit of a chaotic day being a dad, but his wife is always there at the end to provide some calming kisses

Impromptu 

Spencer gets taken on a surprise, unplanned trip with his two favorite people trying to cheer him up.

Unwell

Instead of getting looked after, Spencer is the one doing the looking after when he realizes his girlfriend is sick and trying to hide it when he comes home from a rough case

The Brilliant Doctor Daddy Unit Chief Reid

Spencer gets a visit from his wife and daughters on his first day at his new job

The Pact

Years have passed between the time Spencer and Y/n broke up, but it doesn't stop them from jumping back in head first when given a little prompt

Tying the knot

About the day that Y/n becomes a Reid

A memorable hero

Y/n jumps into the arms of a random FBI agent when she unknowingly talks to a creepy unsub.

Darling, you’re the one I want

The history of Spencer and Y/n’s relationship as told by Paper rings by Taylor Swift

Unbelievable but Verified

The BAU's newest member comes prepared to join the team with a tiny crush on the man who wrote her three favorite thesis papers.

Smells Fishy

Out of place perfume and cologne give away a secret relationship of the BAU.

Secure

Spencer and Y/n both struggle with the challenges that come with being parents, but take away each others insecurities

The Cutest You

Adorable drunk Spencer being in love with his girlfriend

An Ironic Position ♡ R16

“6x04, the wife won’t talk to morgan and rossi, spence talks to her bc he isn’t a threat? A fic of that then him walking out of the house, smirking, knowing the “not an alpha male” thing is an act & emily catches on.”

(My) Lover Based off Lover by Taylor Swift <3  A whole lot of fluff about Y/n and Spencer’s moving into their new apartment and celebrating with the team. 

Just Friends

One too many people flirt with Y/n’s not-boyfriend boyfriend

One lie, two truths

Spencer’s concern when his girlfriend appears to be flirting with someone else in the bar is resolved when she assures him, twice over, that he’s the only one for her.

Spencer Reid 2.0

Spencer meets his clone and could not be more thrilled about it.

Ouch

After getting injured in the field, Y/n is looked after by Spencer.

Venus

"i promised myself i would never fall in love with you. but it was 4am, and we were laughing way too hard, and i felt happy for the first time in a long time, and i knew i was screwed."

Lie Detector

One polygraph test reveals how two best friends really feel about each other.

Crying in my prom dress

Y/n and Spencer, best friends of many years, figure out there’s something else going on 

Soulmates

The BAU team knew Y/n and Spencer would be the perfect couple, it was just a shame he left the BAU before she joined. 

Jump then fall

The song Y/n dedicated to Spencer was a secret but when he figures out what it is, he takes a calculated leap of faith

Swooping in

Accidentally and unknowingly, Spencer takes the girl Morgan's trying to take home

Just between me and you

Spencer's hesitancy to take a dare troubles Y/n. Until it doesn't.

All stitched up

Spencer's unexpected arrival at Y/n's work worries her. 

The girl in the bar 

None of the team can understand why Y/n isn't into Morgan or Emily so they're shocked when she kisses Spencer. 

The world’s worst hairstylist

Although her hair is similar to Spencer’s, he’s very unhelpful when it comes to helping style Y/n’s new haircut. 

Just my type 

Spencer is definitely the pretty girl in the bars type

Neverland

Just a Halloween fic about babysitting Henry

Please don’t ever become a stranger Based on the song New Year’s Day by Taylor Swift One last farewell party stirs up some hidden feelings

Merry and Bright

Complete Christmas fluff

Wherever I’m going, I’m happy you’re coming

For the prettiest boy (based on the song Pretty boy by the Neighbourhood)

Betting Game ✰

The teams' bets on whether Y/n and Spencer are dating come to a head

Geniuses at work ✰

Y/n and Spencer find a creative way to get out of their week of blind dates 

Under the weather

Y/n refuses to admit she isn’t feeling well until she falls asleep at her desk and Spencer takes her home

Comfortable

Just a warm, fluffy day with everyone’s favorite Doctor

All grown up

12 years passed since Y/n went on a date she didn’t realize was a date with Spencer. Now, they’re older and the truth comes out

Spill the beans

After a forced kiss with someone who isn’t his wife, Spencer feels terrible. But Y/n has some news that cheers him up

Caught in a lie 

Y/n’s choice to lie to her FBI profiler boyfriend somehow pays off 

Til forever falls apart Based on the song by FINNEAS and Ashe An old injury and some strong pain killers make Spencer confess some deep feelings

The problem with probability 

The statistical probability of divorce freaks Y/n out a little, good time Spencer knows more statistics 

Lipstick ✰

Maybe, the secret to putting a murderer away is kissing someone you dislike

Take a look at my girlfriend ✰ Based on the song by Supertramp Spencer Reid’s always more than willing to brag about his girlfriend

Profilers profiled 

Cat Adams exposes a secret relationship

Warm on a cold night Based on the song by HONNE Spencer and Y/n stargaze

Gorgeous

Based on the incredible Taylor Swift song Y/n a little infatuated with a certain genius  

Secret’s out ✰

So far, Spencer and Y/n have managed to keep their relationship a secret... until a fumble in their morning routine 

Date night

Picnic park date with Y/n’s official boyfriend, Spencer Reid

Sweater

On a case in Montana, Y/n’s only coat gets ruined. Luckily, Spencer had a hoodie

Babysitters

JJ accidentally calls in her babysitter and her best friend to watch Henry and it works out well for them

Gorgeous

Spencer shyly explains the golden ratio and how Y/n fits it

Perfection

The newest member of the Reid family is the literal definition of the word perfect

Never have I ever ♡

When the team get bored on the jet, with some vodka, they play a fun game of never have I ever

Get ready with me ♡

Spencer and Y/n almost miss dinner at Rossi’s while they mess around getting ready

Gift giving ♡

It’s the day of Y/n and Spencer’s 2nd anniversary and they exchange gifts.

Goodmorning 

Spencer isn’t there in the morning when Y/n wakes up, but she’s very excited when he returns

Cuddles

A cuddle with his son is just the thing Spencer needs when he gets home from a hard case

Set up 

Morgan gets sick of working with two idiots who are clearly in love with each other, so he takes matters into his own hands

Touch starved ✰

Spencer’s working far too hard on the current case and Y/n knows she’s got to provide him with some comfort.

Bittersweet but mostly sweet

When Spencer got phone calls from Y/n while he was working, he worried. But this one was good. 

Tough Day ✰

Some cases are harder than the rest but Y/n’s always there for Spencer.

Genius on paper

As someone with an IQ of 187, Spencer should be able to cook his girlfriend breakfast. Should

Tuesday Trip 

No one’s excited when the BAU team are forced to go to the CIA, but Spencer’s mood improves when he meets Y/n

Angst

Eleventh Hour

Spencer’s about to move across the country, until his ex-girlfriend gives him some news

Christmas Lights

based on my favorite christmas song ever: Christmas Lights by Coldplay

Familiar

Spencer’s secret way to sleep is revealed in a moment of upset

Enduring

Spencer’s wife gives birth almost as soon as he’s back after getting shot in Texas, and he’s very grateful.

Three

Three wishes, three requests, three things to say, and three people. 

Back to You

Spencer never thought she would love him the way he loves her, but he also never thought she would come back from the dead

Wish you were sober

Being in love with Spencer is exhausting when he only admits to his feelings for you when he’s drunk

From the dining table

Based on the Harry Styles song, Spencer struggles dealing with a breakup that he's at fault for with all the guilt, sadness and anger.

Spaces between us

Spencer's time after prison starts to affect his marriage and it takes his wife leaving for him to realize what he wants

A way home

An out of the blue call to Spencer makes him question whether he wants to go on without his ex-wife in his life

Something New

When his friend with benefits needs a date, Spencer agrees to play along before their relationship dramatically changes when she needs him emotionally.

Breaking Point

The Reids' are on the brink of divorcing, with the need to figure out whether or not the other is worth it. Requested here

All your you

Spencer struggles to juggle his family-life and work-life after Gideon dies, but Y/n assures him it’s okay

Not close enough

Spencer has a girlfriend and they are engaged and reader loves him and he finds out and is very upset and he's like "you can't come to my wedding" but in the end he loves her.

Out of the blue

Spencer's not thrilled about having a new addition to the Reid family, until Y/n gets hurt and he works out what was bothering him.

Unexpected Twist

Going back to Las Vegas stirs up some well kept secrets involving Spencer for the second time in a year

Crushed

Being in love with the girl one of your best friends is hooking up with was a feeling Spencer never thought would go away.

Baiting the hook

An undercover operation goes wrong, but not in the way everyone expected, causing the team to frantically try to find Y/n.

Liar Liar

Y/n gets put in JJ's position after Emily dies, and Spencer, her boyfriend, isn't happy about it.

Reunion 

As much as they tried, Spencer and Y/n couldn’t salvage their relationship, until Y/n turns up at his place, fulfilling a promise years later.

The sacrifice of love

Knowing everything was coming to an end, with Y/n forced to think she was taking her last few breaths, she confesses her love for Spencer.

The only way home

Mad at her boyfriend, Y/n has a little too much to drink and Spencer takes her home.

I'm watching

Spencer and Y/n come so close to becoming a couple, but someone else gets in the way.

Reading between the lines

Spencer panics when he misinterprets a relationship term to mean something terrible.

Enough

Almost ending their engagement, Y/n learns not wanting to have children isn’t a deal-breaker to Spencer

Parallel universe

Right person, wrong time in this universe’s timeline anyway

all is fair in love and war

Can the team convince two arch-enemies that they’re in love with each other?

Their end

The day the clock finally runs out 

One Final Chance

Time is running out for Spencer to confess his love 

Broken Pieces 

Things have got bad between Y/n and Spencer, can they fix it?

Renegade

Based on the song by Big Red Machine feat. Taylor Swift. Spencer’s struggle with Emily coming back from the dead

First day back

Mom Y/n and Dad Spencer struggle to deal with how they feel after having a baby

Risky Move

When a narcissistic bank robber decides he wants a member of the BAU to hold hostage, Spence decides he’s the least important so he should go.

Never again

Spencer’s a little reckless, walking in to stop an unsub without a vest or gun. Y/n’s a little mad about it

Kids

While they’re out of a case, Spencer and Y/n get the job of looking after the victim’s children. So they do so, over breakfast

Dance Recital

Nora Reid, Spencer and Y/n’s daughter, gets very mad when her daddy misses her dance performance

Lost time

Spencer wanted to protect Y/n, but the only way to do that was to break her heart. Finally, when the stalker is caught, he wants to get back together.

Last day

Based on what happens when Spencer goes home, after seeing his best friend, Morgan, for the last time as a BAU agent

Not so good phone call

Usually, phone calls from Spencer are good but not one about him being shot.

First one’s always the hardest

It’s not fair that Y/n’s first case with the BAU is a bad one but Spencer is there to provide some comfort

Series/ Multiparts

Right Person + Right Time

A right person, wrong time fic until it’s the right time

Winter Wonderland

Masterlist for my Christmas and winter inspired fics this year, some are based on songs, others aren’t

Beyond Breaking- complete

Series Masterlist

A story about a married couple, boarding on divorce and trying to figure out whether to part ways or make it work, filled with heartbreak, dad!spencer, awkward silences, friendship, lies, passion, miscommunications, questionable decision-making, and love.

Changes + 

Growing up and leaving to college is difficult enough without the love of your life going to their dream school across the country

Take me back- ongoing

Series Masterlist

I don't know what I'm supposed to do Haunted by the ghost of you Oh, take me back to the night we met

The heart-aching aftermath of falling far too quickly into far too passionate love with Spencer Reid

Valentine’s Day Celebration- complete

Three different fics that can be read as standalones or a series Surprise me - the wait for a proposal comes to a grinding halt when Spencer surprises his girlfriend… and himself Impress me  - Spencer really can’t cook, but he doesn’t let it stop him from being the absolute best, most thoughtful boyfriend ever. Remember me (18+) - Spencer remembers lots of things but he manages to forget the day of love. However, he has a great way of making it up to his girlfriend.

Secret Life and The Private Side of a Secret Life (18+) - complete

The team accidentally stumbles upon Spencer, a mystery woman, a mystery girl, and a decade-long secret and after the ladies of the BAU take Spencer’s mystery wife out and learn some… new things about their colleague, the Reids get to work on making their fantasy a reality.

The Public Eye and The Private Eye with t.e.i.c. part i, part ii- complete Famous!Y/n AU 

Spencer gets closer to a famous actress, discovering they're incredibly similar and she really likes him and they go on their first date

Old Wives Tales and Sherlock Holmes Titles - complete

The soon-to-be parents place a bet on whether they'll be having a boy or a girl and they find out the shocking news confirming who was right

The Antithesis of Loss and Gain - ongoing

With Spencer in prison, Y/n struggles to cope because how much she loves him until he's finally out and they can go on their first date.

Parent trap- complete

1   2

What happened in Vegas- complete

1 2 3 * 4 5

Spencer and Y/n’s questionable, drunk, cliché decisions leads them to a sober decision which leads them to have to face some consequences which leads them to work things out.

Found blood- complete

Lost and Found | Blood and Water

Odette Reid’s kidnapping leads to her recognizing Y/n as a parent, which she eventually becomes. 

Love/Hate Island- ongoing

Series Masterlist

Spencer Reid’s decision to conceal the breakup with his girlfriend of two years becomes a problem when Rossi orders him to bring her to his new Long Island mansion on a week-long vacation with the team. Can their relationship be fixed? Do they want it to be?

Break my heart- complete ♡

Part 1 Part 2

Spencer just needed some stress relief after being released from prison, how was he meant to know Y/n would take their friends-with-benefits relationship to mean something more?

Faking it- complete ♡ ✰

Chapter 1  Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 (smut) Chapter 7  Chapter 8 (smut)  Chapter 9 Epilogue

When Y/n Y/l/n needs a date for 4th of July weekend, lonely Spencer Reid comes to the rescue. 

High society- Hiatus

Chapter 1 

The BAU’s current case involves the kidnapping of a rich socialite, one of the friends in that group is Y/n Y/l/n. 

Up- complete 

Breakup Makeup

Spencer and Y/n broke up when Y/n realised JJ was in love with him. 12 years later, Y/n is back and Spencer now knows she was right.

Night out- Complete

Part 1 Part 2

Spencer gets absolutely wasted, a rarity and confesses his true feelings towards Y/n

Compromised- Hiatus ♡

Part 1

Y/n Y/l/n and Spencer Reid are the only two BAU agents who hate each other with a passion. When the BAU is being stalked, the stalker steps things up a notch and Y/n and Spencer have to be taken into protective custody. Too bad they hate each other.

Undercover- Complete ♡

Part 1 Part 2 

To lure out an unsub, Spencer and Y/n must go undercover as a couple.

Misc

Instagram povs: 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8

An in depth analysis about where Spencer lives

What a wedding with Spencer would be like

Blurbs

Headcannons

because i love to have an opinion

Sean Hotchner when Hotch was in WITSEC

Spencer naming his kid after gideon   after penelope   after emily

Diana’s Alzheimer’s

Spencer being unable to cook

Spencer and trust issues

Spencer really in love

Spencer being clingy after sex

Spencer x Pregnant!Reader and again

Spencer and Valentine’s Day

Spencer as a dad and more 

with adopted kids 

with adopted teen kids 

when his daughter gets a boyfriend

Spencer and a day out shopping

Spencer being jealous

Spencer and reader on her period

TW: Spencer helping reader with their drug addiction

Spencer going on a road trip

What Spencer smells like

Spencer x sibling!reader

Spencer owning a dog

Spencer taking a nap with reader

Spencer getting silent treatment

Spencer x latina!reader  with her family  calling him papi plus another and another 

Spencer and reader suffering from depression

CANE ERA SPENCER

Spencer’s song analysis and this one  my list of 10 songs I associate with Spencer

Spencer’s halloween cookie cutters

Spencer when he’s sick

Spencer when reader is hungover

Spencer’s petname for you, by season 

Spencer after he got shot

Spencer x popstar!reader

Kissing Spencer in the middle of an argument 

Spencer x Model!Reader

Spencer x singer!reader 

#spencer reid masterlist #spencer reid x original female character #spencer reid x oc #spencer reid x y/n #spencer reid self insert #spencer x y/n #spencer reid fluff #mgg x y/n #spencer reid blurb #mgg #spencer x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid x reader #criminal minds #criminal minds fandom #mgg smut #criminal minds fanfiction #spencerreid #derek morgan #emily prentiss #criminal minds fluff #bau team #david rossi #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid smut #spencer reid fic #spencer reid series #spencer reid x you

[gunterfan1992]

Episode Review: ‘Together Again’ (Distant Lands, Ep. 3)

Airdate: May 20, 2021

Story by: Jack Pendarvis, Kate Tsang, Hanna K. Nyström, Christina Catucci, Jesse Moynihan, Adam Muto

Storyboarded by: Hanna K. Nyström, Anna Syvertsson, Iggy Craig, Maya Petersen, Serena Wu

Directed by: Miki Brewster (supervising), Sandra Lee (art)

Across Adventure Time’s ten season run, the show explored a bevy of “mature” themes and story ideas—topics, like love, sexuality, depression, and grieving. The show also touched upon death, but the emphasis was usually placed on the emotional toll of a loved one dying, not really what happens when you die. We knew there were Dead Worlds and Death. We knew that there was reincarnation. But how does it all fit together? What does it mean? How does it work?

With “Together Again,” we finally have many of the answers.

This special opens with a marvelous fake-out episode simply called “Finn & Jake,” that sees the two steal a magical cartoon of 50-flavor ice cream before rescuing Turtle Princess and LSP from the clutches of the villainous Ice King. This is all deliberately anachronistic and over the top. Ice King is back to his season one ways, Finn has both arms, and he is still wielding his golden sword that he lost in season two’s “The Real You.” There’s lolrandom dialogue and silly monsters; it’s like a parody of seasons 1-2. But then, this adventure starts to get all wonky, and in time Finn realizes that he is in a some sort of trance or illusion: one that ends with Jake being buried in the ground. Suddenly, Finn awakens from his reverie. He’s an old man. And he’s dead. We’re then presented with a new title card that lets us know the episode is actually called “Finn & Jake Are Dead.”

Holy Glob! They actually went there.

Turns out Jake died years before Finn, so naturally Finn is super excited to see his best bud. But something’s wrong—he cannot find Jake!! They planned to spend eternity together. But all that Finn can find is his very own psychopomp, Mr. Fox (voiced by Tom Herpich, whose purposefully stilted line readings are the epitome of delightful). Finn rightfully assumes that Jake is in a different Dead World, and so, being the ball of spunk and energy that he is, he demands to meet with Death, only to discover that there’s a New Death in town (voiced by Chris Fleming). The episode eventually explains that New Death was the son of Death and Life, and after New Death killed his father, he became the sovereign of the afterlife. New Death hates his job and decides to just blow up all the Dead Worlds so he doesn’t have to deal with it all. (I won’t get too much into the details here, because there would be a lot of story to parse out.)

Finn soon learns that Jake has reached nirvana in the 50th Dead World, where there is nothing but peace and serenity. Finn nevertheless tracks down Jake, pulls him from paradise, but in doing so, accidentally lets New Death in, who promptly obliterates Elysium, sending all the enlightened souls—including those from different levels of the afterlife—to the 1st Dead World. This gronks up the afterlife, temporarily halting the reincarnation process.

Well, Finn and Jake are rightfully ticked, and so they haunt the material plane looking for Princess Bubblegum. She’s not home (more on that later), but Peppermint Butler is! After Ghost Finn and Ghost Jake explain the situation, Peppermint Butler tells them what to do: They need to find Life and explain the situation. The duo manage just that, and Life is rightfully angry that her kid has stopped the transmigration of souls. After Life gives Finn a McGuffin sword that can hurt Death, Finn and Jake return to his abode. A brawl ensues wherein we learn that New Death has been possessed… by none other than that spirit of the Lich.

That’s right, it’s the Lich! He’s back, and boy is he evil.

The Lich explains that by possessing Death, he can destroy the afterlife, thereby destroying a key aspect of reality. Naturally, Finn and Jake are not cool with this, and they engage in combat. After Mr. Fox grabs the McGuffin sword and uses it to annihilate the Lich and New Death, he is proclaimed the New New Death and sets everything right. Finn is slated to be reincarnated, and Jake is slated to return to the 50th Dead World where he and Finn will one day be reunited. As Finn is pulled into the wheel of souls, Jake suddenly decides to go back with Finn, too, “Just for fun.” The episode ends with a card letting us know that the episode is neither called “Finn & Jake” nor “Finn & Jake Are Dead.” Instead, it is “Finn and Jake Are Together Again.”

As they say, “And there wasn’t a dry eye in the place.”

If you were to tell me several years ago that the last episode to star Finn and Jake would revolve around them dying, I think I would’ve been upset. Not simply sad, but rather frustrated because “they all died” can feel like a cheap ending. But with “Together Again,” it all works. And a large reason that it works is because the show goes all in with their ideas. Finn and Jake don’t magically leap back into their old life (no, no, they very much do bite the dust). Instead, the special emphasizes the cyclical nature of life through the transmigration of souls. The episode ends with a beautiful scene of Finn and Jake, bound together as soul-brothers, being reborn into a new, mysterious (possibly Ooo 1000+?) world. It’s both aesthetically and emotionally pleasing; it doesn’t feel off the way over finales might. This is right. This is the way life works. “Round and round as nature goes,” and all that jazz.

I loved the series explanation of how death works. It seems that souls land in a specific Dead World, where they ‘marinate’ for a bit, presumably being rewarded or punished based on their life in our meat reality. After a time, they are then reborn. This process repeats, with each soul reaching higher and higher levels of enlightenment until they hit nirvana, which is the 50th Dead World. So in a sense, Adventure Time has a roughly Buddhist cosmology with a dash of Greco-Roman mythos thrown in for flavor. (As to what happens after a soul stays in the 50th Dead World for a long period is anyone’s guess, but I’d speculate that when all the souls in the multiverse have been purified and land in the 50th Dead World, they will all collapse into one another and form one perfect Monad. Perhaps this is the sphere of perfection that the beings who merged into Matthew thought they were connecting to? Who knows! It’s anyone’s guess!) I was a little disappointed that we didn’t get to see who Death, Prismo, Life, etc.’s boss was, but perhaps that’s a mystery better left up to the imagination!

One minor thing that I loved about this special was the number of characters who made cameos as well as all the callbacks that were made to previous episodes. Regarding the former: Finn and Jake’s canine family show up (including the oft-forgotten Jermaine!), as do Tree Trunks and her myriad husbands. Tiffany plays a major role in all these shenanigans as a “death cop” of all things. There is a delightful rogues gallery stuck in the 1st Dead World (including, among others, Maja, Sharon from “The Gut Grinder,” and Wyatt). In the 50th we find Ghost Princess and Clarence happily at peace next to Booshy, the weird spirit mentioned in the Pen Ward classic “High Strangeness.” As far as callbacks go, perhaps my favorite is the clap (from “James Baxter the Horse”) that Jake taught to Finn in case they ever do get separated in the afterlife. And of course, there are myriad references made to “Death in Bloom,” the episode that planted the seed for what this would grow into.

Going into the special suspecting that it would involve Death, I was curious how they were going to handle Miguel Ferrer’s character. (In case a reader is not aware, Ferrer played Death in episodes like “Death in Bloom” and “Betty,” but he sadly passed away a few years ago). The producers’ choice to feature him in a non-speaking cameo—despite playing a relatively significant role in the story—was wise; I’m not sure if I can articulate the exact reasons, but something about his role felt appropriate and not gross, as some post-mortem memorials can be. Speaking of which, the wonderful, lovely Polly Lou Livingston was featured for the last time in this episode as Tree Trunks, happily in heaven with her literal harem of husbands. It was funny, it really was, and I’m sure that Polly Lou would’ve gotten a kick out of seeing it on screen. (Also, this is a pro-Tree Trunks safe space. Any Tree Trunks haters will be chucked into the 1st Dead World with Wyatt.)

The biggest mystery in this whole thing, for me at least, is the question of Princess Bubblegum and Marceline. Several years ago, I wrote an essay about what could’ve happened to them in the Ooo 1000+ universe. I speculated that they peaced out and left Ooo behind. In this special, neither Bubblegum nor Marceline are to be found in the Candy Kingdom—Peppermint Butler seems to be the one in charge, given that he is now wearing Bubblegum’s crown. Likewise, the duo aren’t anywhere in the Dead Worlds either. Maybe the two of them skipped town and got a duplex in the Nightosphere? Who knows… I just want my favorite gals to be OK!

All things considered, “Together Again” was a marvel: An episode that managed to feel like a series finale even more than “Come Along with Me” already did without taking away from the series itself. An episode that managed to make the idea of dying funny. An episode that brought back the Lich in a way that wasn’t forced. An episode that made Mr. Fox the New New Death. An episode that gave us a beautiful ending to Finn and Jake’s story… as well as the beautiful beginning to a new one. I said it on Twitter, and I’ll say it again here: “Together Again” was the end of a sentence in a book with infinite pages. Truly, the fun will never end.

Mushroom War evidence: Everything takes place in the Dead Worlds, so not really. Perhaps a more eagle-eyed viewer can inform us...

Final Grade: That’s right, I’m gonna do it...

Post-script, I actually messaged Jesse Moynihan to ask about his writing credit. He told me that it was for an unused story idea that he had developed. I’m not certain, but I’ll bet it was a part of the cancelled TV movie they were trying to make during season 5, since that would’ve seen Finn and Orgalorg journey to the various Dead Worlds.

#adventure time #adventuretime #atimers #at #atdl #distant lands #adventure time distant lands #finn the human #jake the dog #together again #togetheragain #dead worlds #hanna k. nyström #Hanna K #adam muto #jack pendarvis

[spaceorphan18]

have you ever read a detailed post about the glee cast’s singing voices? like all about their technique and stuff? reading your reaction to the ‘vocal coach reacts to glee’ video makes me want to know more!

Hmmmm, not really! Not from a professional vocalist POV, I don’t think.  (That I’m aware of.  This does remind me there was one vocal coach in fandom, and she hated Blaine, and I wasn’t too fond of her, or her analysis, so I won’t point you in that direction.) 

My background is in music, but not in vocal performance.  But I can give you a quick rundown of cast’s musical abilities if you like, though they won’t be huge on the technical side of it.  

ETA: I started this a while ago before I started doing the music retrospective - I’ll probably try to explore a little more as I do those.   If you guys want more conversation about one person in particular, let me know! 

But for now... 

*

Matthew Morrison: Is a classically trained musician with a very good voice.  It’s a shame Will was such a tool, because Matthew Morrison was very talented, had the ability to do a lot of great things with his voice.  People joke about his rapping -- but I think this stemmed from the issue that his background is in musical theater -- which teaches you a cleaner and more traditional way of singing -- opposed to a pop or rap style.  He doesn’t have the grit that rap often has, which makes it a little too much like a Kid’s Bop version of something.  When singing musical theater, though, he really shined. 

A number that showcases ability: Make ‘Um Laugh

A number that isn’t so great: Ice Ice Baby

*

Lea Michele: Lea does have a very good and solid voice.  She’s also been classically trained.  The one drawback is that it hinders her a bit on pop music, she lacks some of the grittiness often needed on a lot of the pop songs.  She also starts to lose some of her classic training as the show goes on (which I think is a shame) so that she can get some of the shine off her voice to make a transition to pop music.  

She has one vocal tick that drives me crazy, though -- she has a tendency to slide into her notes instead of hitting them dead on, which gets worse as the show goes on, and it makes her sound a little screech-y at times.  But for the most part -- she is really good. 

A number that showcases ability: Don’t Rain on My Parade

A number that isn’t so great: Ooops...I Did It Again

*

Amber Riley: The cool thing about Amber is that you get to hear her grow as a musician as the show goes on.  She had already started to get vocal lessons before the show started, but at the beginning, she was still a bit raw and unrefined in her technique.  But you can tell she did practice, and her voice is developed beautifully as the show goes on.  She was one of the best, well rounded vocalists on the show.  She had a good handle on pop and R&B music, but she could sing musical theater rather clearly, too.  She has great breath support - and can belt numbers out while still retaining the quality.  Can’t say enough good thing about Amber’s voice. 

A number that showcases ability: Someday We’ll Be Together

A number that isn’t so great: Sweet Transvestite (It’s not bad - but it’s my least favorite Mercedes solo.) 

*

Cory Monteith: Cory wasn’t a vocalist.  And, to be completely honest, I thought it was some kind of joke when they introduced him as some kind of hidden musical gem when Will hears him singing the showers.  He did really well with classic rock that’s allows not only for a weaker voice - but is often not as technically hard.  And I have to wonder if Cory got lessons, because he did get a lot better as the show went on, and I think his season 4 work is great! 

I will say that sometimes they pushed his voice a little too far.  A lot of times songs were either too high for his range and he often sounded like he was straining.  (The most notable of which is A House is Not a Home - which is far too high for him.)  That said - I think he did reasonably well along side Lea - mostly because often sang pop duets.  

A number that showcases ability: I’ve Gotta Be Me

A number that isn’t so great: Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore

*

Chris Colfer: Chris is such an interesting study due to the uniqueness of his voice.  He’s got a huge range both in terms of genre and literal range of voice.  He can sing quite a few octaves.  He’s got a great, clear sound, too, which is why he’s great with theater numbers.  Interestingly, Chris’s voice did drop over the years, and while I know people love his higher range, he has a gorgeous lower range that wasn’t used as often (and is often my favorite.) 

The one (nitpicky) issue was that Chris’s voice ended up getting pigeon-holed.  I know singing Diva-Broadway songs was his schtick - but it would have been nice to hear him sing a bigger variety of songs.  He wasn’t the strongest on non-ballad pop music, but they also didn’t give him that very often.  

There’s also the fascinating unusualness in that, Chris could really sing duets very well with people -- but in group numbers, his voice sticks out like a sore thumb, and he was often left out of some of the more general songs because of it.  His voice just doesn’t texture very well - which is why I get why they did what they did.  

A number that showcases ability: Being Alive

A number that isn’t so great: I’ll Remember

*

Kevin McHale: I feel like people are often surprised when they sit down and think about it, but Kevin has a great voice.  He has a solid range, and he’s able to do pop music very well (I believe it helps that he was in a professional boy band for years.)  Not sure if people noticed - but he’s often the lead on group numbers that don’t need to be related to specific story or character points.  Which is a bummer for Artie’s story - but if you’re a fan of Kevin’s voice, you get a lot to choose from.  

Kevin was also able to handle a lot of the musical demands that I think some of the other males weren’t? He’s a much better singer than Cory - and could handle leading a full number.  His voice isn’t as unique as Chris’s and can texture really well.  In addition he was fairly versatile.  He might have been the best rapper the show had, lol. 

A number that showcases ability: For Once In My Life

A number that isn’t so great: Addicted to Love (personal taste choice - I just don’t like the song.) 

*

Jenna Ushkowitz: Jenna is another one who is classically trained.  She has a strong, solid voice, which was unfortunately not showcased all that well on the show, and because of that, I’m not sure how she does on a wide variety of music.  I do think she sounds a little generic - but not helping is lack of being featured.  

A number that showcases ability: I Don’t Know How To Love Him

A number that isn’t so great: Gangum Style (She does fine - but the fact that they made her do it in the first place...) 

*

Dianna Agron: The interesting thing about Dianna is that she has a really nice low female voice.  The fact that they never gave her any punk or harder rock was really a shame, because I think she would have done really well with that.  The funny thing is that, more so in the beginning, they show tried to make her sing songs that fit her character - but weren’t necessarily great for her voice.  I feel like it wasn’t until late season 2 did they start really using her voice for the better.  

A number that showcases ability: Never Can Say Goodbye

A number that isn’t so great: It’s A Man’s, Man’s, Man’s World

*

Mark Salling: Mark had a really solid voice - that often lent itself well to folk and acoustic really well.  He was good with softer pop and classic rock, and the show showcased that pretty well.  I think, in general, Mark was a much better vocalist than actor, and the show often picked good music for him to sing - which helped with his character.  I don’t have a whole lot to say, only that I think he was underrated as a vocalist, but I get it - with all the other baggage that comes with talking about Mark. 

A number that showcases ability: No Surrender 

A number that isn’t so great: Fight For Your Right (to Party) (I don’t think it’s bad - I just hate this song.) 

*

Naya Rivera: Naya is a little tricky.  I think she has a good, smoky sound to her voice that makes her excellent at things like pop and R and B.  (Shame she didn’t have a good jazz number to do on the show - she would have been great at that.)  I think she was really versatile, though, and handled her Broadway numbers really well.  I do think she was somewhat pinched and nasal at times - and while I do think this was a stylistic choice, to me it’s not my favorite type of vocal sound.  But I do think she was really good at the numbers she was given, and was one of the most talented female vocalists on the show. 

A number that showcases ability: Back to Black

A number that isn’t so great: Alfie (I think I may dislike the song more than her singing on it.) 

*

Heather Morris: Heather wasn’t a singer, and I do think it showed at times.  She often had to have her voice autotuned more than anyone else on the show.  That said - she did do Britney Spears really well, and I think she deserves credit for that.  

A number that showcases ability: I’m a Slave 4 U

A number that isn’t so great: Dinosaur

*

Chord Overstreet: Chord’s background is in country - and that shows a bit through his singing - he’s got a bit of twang in his voice, but it’s not necessarily a bad thing.  He’s a fun singer.  I don’t think the show knew exactly what to do with him (voice or character) but there’s a lightness to his singing that makes him easily adaptable to pretty much anything you throw at him. 

A number that showcases ability: Red Solo Cup (You think I’m joking - but I think this is the most fun Chord has singing a song.) 

A number that isn’t so great: Girls on Film (I think just by default of me liking everything else better.) 

*

Darren Criss: Ah, Darren, where to even start.  The thing about Darren is that he may not be the strongest singer, his voice is a little wobbly at times, and his range is somewhat limited, but his showmanship is just completely beyond nearly everyone else.  Darren has the unique ability to draw you in with his singing and hold you captive.  There are technically better singers on the show - but Darren just has this amazing ability to really sell a performance.  And I do love his voice, even if there are some limitations to it.  I really could gush about Darren’s performance abilities, but I’ll refrain... 

A number that showcases ability: Teenage Dream (Both Versions) 

A number that isn’t so great: Piano Man (Which isn’t bad - I just think the show had done it better, and it’s a rare time that felt like Darren was kind of phoning it in.) 

*

A quick run down of others, but first a quick aside - as they started adding people in, vocal ability starts being a factor.  I think a lot of the newer characters could sing better than they could act, which was both helpful and a hinderance.  I think we began to get more solid musical numbers as the show went on, but sometimes acting wasn’t always top notch - and across the board, old and new, hitting a combo of acting and singing ability didn’t always happen.  

Harry Shum Jr.: Not really a singer - but the show often played to his strengths, and his few songs played off the fact that he wasn’t a great singer to great aplomb.  

Jane Lynch: Can hold a tune, even if her voice isn’t the best - is really great at musical comedy. 

Jayma Mays: She has more singing ability than the show allowed to showcase, however, she’s another one whose voice was really unique, and doesn’t texture very well.  

Damien McGinty: Is actually a very good singer.  However, he’s very generic, too - which makes him a little on the bland side. 

Sam Larsen: I think he was fine - I don’t think he sang enough on the show for me to make much of an impression one way or the other. 

Alex Newel: Fucking Fantastic! Alex might be one of the strongest vocalists on the show - has great range, energy, and vocal control.  

Melissa Benoist: Her voice tends to lean on the pop-ier side, but it’s a solid voice, and her work on the show was pretty good.  

Jacob Artist: Has a strong voice, and could sing genres that weren’t often featured on the show (like hip-hop and R&B).  

Blake Jenner: His voice is fine, but like Damien McGinty, it’s generic and a little bland. 

Becca Tobin: She has a very quirky voice that brings in a different and unique sound.  They didn’t use her much, though, so it’s hard to comment. 

Noah Guthrie: An amazing singer, has a really unique sound, but is able to do blend in well with others.  

Samantha Ware: Another amazing singer.  She’s in full control and can do really great things with it. 

Billy Lewis Jr: Has a good, solid voice.  Not as strong as Guthrie, or some of the other guys, but he’s a lot of fun to watch. 

Laura Dreyfuss: Like Becca Tobin - has a uniqueness to her vocal quality that makes it stand out a little, but she’s still a solid singer. 

Marshall Williams: His vocal ability is okay.  It’s better than his acting ability.  I’m slightly confused how this dude got cast, tbh.  

#Anonymous #if you guys want to me to elaborate on someone - please let me know! #it's hard to do everyone since there are so many #this post took forever to write up #that's how s.o. sees it

[so-writing]

Sugar, Honey, Ice and Tea - Matthew Tkachuk (23)

all parts

The season was officially over for the Calgary Flames. 

They hadn’t been able to secure a playoff spot and it was safe to say that no one was in high spirits about how the season had ended. A few weeks had passed since your date, if you could call it that, with Matt and you hadn’t really talked to him much since. You were busy with wrap up stuff for the season and he was just as caught up in work as you were.

That didn’t stop the clock from ticking. 

Matthew would be heading home to St. Louis to be with his family for the offseason and the Flyers wanted an answer from you sooner rather than later. 

“Hey,” a soft knock at your door and the sound of his voice pulled your gaze from your laptop screen, “you have a minute to talk?” 

“Sure, but only a minute. I’m fucking swamped with stuff to do.” 

The season might be over for the players, but it definitely wasn’t over for anyone else.

“I’m going home in a few days.”

“Oh, well I’m glad for you. You need to some time to decompress and be around your family.”

“Yeah, I’m pretty excited about it.” 

“Good.” 

That awkward silence that you hated so much hung between the two of you once again but you honestly didn’t know what to say to him. Plenty of time had passed for both of you to initiate another attempt at a date but neither of you did. Despite your busy schedules, you probably could’ve made something work, maybe because you lived in the same damn building. The lack of communication between the two of you was telling, and you knew you needed to get ahead of whatever was about to happen. 

Matt still lingered in the doorway, his hands shoved into the pockets of his sweats as his eyes searched the room, looking anywhere but in your direction.

You might as well tell him.

“I’m taking the job with the Flyers. I’m moving to Philly in two weeks.” 

“Oh, well, congratulations.” 

*

Two weeks. She was leaving in two weeks and the last time they had a serious conversation he finally realized how terribly he’d treated her. She’d been there for two years, under his nose the whole time and now that he knew her and wanted to take things to the next step, she was being ripped away from him. 

Two weeks and she would be gone. She would get along great with the staff and players in the Flyers organization, because of course she would. She would leave Calgary and the Flames and him behind and she wouldn’t look back. She wouldn’t need to. 

“I should let you finish up here, lots to do before you leave us probably.”

“Yeah, there are actually a bunch of loose ends I need to tie up before I leave. I guess I’m more important here than I thought I was.”

He knew she meant it as a joke. He very much knew it and it would be easier to just laugh it off and leave but he wasn’t about to do that. He wasn’t going to let her go that easily.

“I know you’re making a joke but holy fuck, do you not see how serious what you just said is?”

She didn’t respond, but that was good, because he wasn’t done.

“You’re important here, more important than you know. To the NHL, to the Flames, but most of all, to me. You’re important to me and I don’t want you to go, ever.”

“We haven’t spoken in weeks, Matt. I don’t know what you want from me. We’re obviously not going to ever make anything other than mutual distaste work between us. What is the point of trying to move forward?” 

Matthew Tkachuk wasn’t the type to bare his soul to the world, to lay his whole heart on the floor at risk of it being stomped on. He kept his emotions carefully guarded behind mile high walls topped with electric fencing but there was nowhere else to go from here. He had to just fucking go for it.

“Maybe us trying to move forward would make more sense if I told you that I’m fucking head over heels for you. I know it sounds crazy,” he stepped into her small office and closed the door behind him, “and I can’t honestly pinpoint the exact moment it happened, but it did. I don’t want you to leave Calgary. It’s selfish, I know, but I don’t care. I love you.”

*

“It’s selfish, I know, but I don’t care. I love you.”

Holy fucking shit.

No fucking way.

There was no fucking way Matthew Tkachuk was standing in your closet sized office confessing his love for you only minutes after you had told him you were leaving the country for work. That was absolutely not happening. 

Except, it was. 

He was leaning against the wall with his hands still in his pockets but the emotion in his eyes was enough to rival a category 5 hurricane. He meant every word and you knew it. His confession had your heart dropping into your stomach because you had suspected his feelings for a little while but had been too scared to face them. 

It was much easier to brush him off as some asshole hockey player because of the simplicity of it all, but that was not who he was anymore. He was no longer your enemy, he hadn’t been for a while, and you were so fucking tired of pretending he still was. 

“You mean that? You really mean it?”

Your voice was full of emotion and vulnerability but you didn’t care. You needed to know.

“Yeah, every word.”

“Honestly?”

“Honestly.” 

You were out of your uncomfortable desk chair and throwing your body against his in seconds. Matt happily welcomed the intrusion and wrapped his arms around your waist, letting you grab both sides of his head in your hands as you pressed your lips against his. 

Anyone could have walked in on the intense groping session happening between the two of you against your thin office wall but, luckily, no one did and when you pulled away from him, you both were breathing heavily. 

“Fuck,” he sighed dropping his head against your shoulder and placing soft kisses on your neck, “we need to get out of here.”

“As much as I want that, I still have so much shit to do.”

#Matthew Tkachuk #Matthew Tkachuk imagine #flames imagine #nhl imagine

[toomanyfandoms02]

Thoughts - Part 1 // Matthew Gray Gubler x Reader

This timeline is set around 2006 because that's when the actually 2nd season of Criminal Minds was going on. So Matthew is about 26.

Summary - Soulmate AU! Once you turn 18, you can hear some of your soulmates thoughts. And when you meet, your thoughts go silent for 30 seconds. Readers soulmate is quite the character. (Anything you see in bold is the other persons thought.)

Word count : 2.1k

This is kind of experimental lmao, lemme know if you like it :)))

"What was your first soulmate thought y/n?" I got this question often, everyone did. This time it was asked by a new friend of mine, we met in our cinematography class this semester at LAFS ( Los Angeles Film School ).

"I think my story is one of the more fun ones."

"I bet mines better." Her eyes held promise, but I wasn't sure she could beat me.

*It was currently 1:15 pm, and I was waiting patiently for my first soulmate thought. I was with my best friend Marley, we sat in the cafeteria of my college, mind you, surrounded by other people.*

*"What time were you born again?" She had asked the question so many times this hour, by the way she was bouncing, you would think that we were waiting for hers.*

*"1:19 pm for the last time Marley." I giggled, nudging her shoulder. I took a bite of the cupcake she had bought me for my birthday. It took no time for the clock to hit 1:19, I anxiously waited to hear something, anything.*

"Now disclaimer." I told my friend, who I now knew as Alex. "I knew that some people had reported that their first soulmate thoughts were kind of, *loud*. But I can tell you that I was severely unprepared."

*Only 30 seconds after my watch ticked past 1:19, I heard a near deafening screech in my head.*

***"What the fuck?!"** The thought was so obnoxious and loud that I spit the fluffy pastry from my mouth and directly onto the back of another person, holding tightly to my ears, this did not help.*

*"What's going on? What did they say?" Marley leaned over to me, rubbing my back with a horrified look. Not long after, the man I had spit on turned around with a furious look.*

*"Hey I'm so sorry." I choked out, waving a hand at the man. "My soulmate thought was painful." The man rolled his eyes with an angry huff, taking his cardigan off and turning back to his table.*

*"What did they say y/n?!" There she went again, bouncing like a dodgeball.*

*"What the fuck." My eyes darted to hers, narrowed slightly. She furrowed her brows at me. "He literally thought, what the fuck, so loudly."*

Alex was on the floor giggling like a fiend, she held her stomache as if her guts would spill out with so much joy.

"Nope, you're right." She could barely speak between laughter. "I can't beat that." She promptly wiped the tears from her eyes, composing herself. "So you haven't met him yet?" She let out a final sigh.

"Nope. When I meet him, I kinda wanna slap him." A sly smile made it's way onto my lips. "The little shit thinks the weirdest things! I have had to deal with his thoughts for 4 years, and I'm ready for the complete silent bliss when I meet him." I laid my head back on the couch.

**I would really like a fruit roll up right now.**

"Speak of the idiot, he really wants a fruit roll up right now." Alex shook her head at me.

"Maybe he will be funny?"

"We'll see about that. What was your first soulmate thought?"

-

Tonight was Marley and I's 'introduction night.' Similar to a movie night, we have a night every two weeks where we either introduce the other to a new show or movie, alternating turns.

"I think you'll like this one." She plopped onto the loveseat, nearly throwing and spilling the hot popcorn on me while grabbing the remote. "It's a crime show, just started last year so after this season we can just keep up with it. If you like it of course." The show was flipped onto the first episode, it was a man talking about an unsub, or unidentified subject. Then a younger guy walked in, interrupting him.

"Who is that guy?" The words flew from my mouth before I could even think them.

"Spencer Reid-"

"No, I mean his *real* name. He looks *so* familiar." It felt like my brain was eating itself alive, why did he look so familiar.

"I think his name is Matthew Gray Gubler." Marley shrugged, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Has he been in anything else but this?"

"He models a lot. That's probably where you saw him." She pushed some magazines around on her coffee table and threw one at me. "He's on page 16, Hilfiger Jean's." I flipped to the page, seeing his face again.

"Wow, he is something else. I must have just unknowingly saw him in a magazine somewhere."

"I know! Once I saw him on here, I knew you would think he was cute too. Plus, he's a genius. I figured this would be another Peter Parker situation again." She teased, poking at my giant crush on Spiderman AKA Toby Maguire a few years ago.

"Shut up!" I snickered, throwing a pillow at her head. My own thoughts were interrupted by one that was not my own.

**I wish Halloween would come faster.**

"Its literally May." I whispered to myself, earning a weird look from Marley. This is the typical weird thought, Halloween is big on his mind.

I of course ended up loving the show. ~~And may or may not have had a huge crush on Spencer Reid already.~~

I informed Marley that we would most certainly be catching up on the show regularly, making that out new weekly thing for a while.

Though I could truly not get that Matthew guy out of my head, and I had a weird feeling it wasn't just because I thought he was super hot.

Matthew

**Who is Matthew Gray Gubler?**

The thought nearly made me spit out my coffee as I walked through the set. I knew for sure that wasn't my thought.

*No shit sherlock.*

Now *that* was my thought.

The question swirled around in my head, I really wanted to just think,

*I'm Matthew Gray Gubler!*

Just to make this whole process easier. Who knows if she could even actually *hear* it if I did answer her, or that she would believe me.

So lost in my train of thoughts, pun intended, I ran right into a punch cart.

"Holy shit!" The punch came spilling down right onto my khaki pants. I rested my forehead on the rim of my coffee mug. "I'm so sorry Terry, I was really caught up in my head."

"It's alright." He pulled a towel from his back pocket, throwing it onto the puddle that was forming on the wood floor. "Thinkin' about a girl?"

"Yes actually, thinking about my soulmate. Let me help you with that." I kneeled down on the floor, wiping up the spill. "Sorry again."

"It's all good Matthew." He dragged the cart to the opposite side of the room.

**Why can I not focus damnit?! This trip is suppose to be fun. Focus y/n. Focus!**

Y/n! I've never heard her name before. Maybe shes getting closer to me.

I set my coffee on the table of the reading room, pulling my script out and sitting next to AJ.

"You seem out of it today, are you feeling okay?" She tapped my shoulder. "I saw you run directly into the lunch cart." She clearly tried to suppress a giggle.

"How did you meet Nathan? How did you do it?" My script was not slammed onto the table, my hands pressed firmly on top of it.

"Are you worried about soulmates again? Matthew, she will come to you-"

"She said my name!!" My hands flailed wilding in the air. "I heard her think it! This sucks." I laughed a bit at the end, feeling ridiculous and vulnerable. Ask phone buzzed on the table, interrupting my dilemma.

"Well I hate to stop you in the middle of this debacle, but we have a film class coming in to observe, I guess sit was suppose to be a surprise." AJ shrugged with a pity smile, which is my least favorite version of a smile. I dramatically slammed my head on the back of my rolling chair, groaning like a child.

"Come on Gubler, we don't even have to do anything, we just have to act normal so they can observe. Let's go educate some college kids." She stood above me, patting my head and dragging my seat from the table a few inches. I reluctantly stood up and left the reading room.

To be clear, if it were any other day than the day that I found out my soulmates name, I would be totally in the game. I love teaching people, I love being an inspiration, but all I could think about was how close yet how far I was from meeting the love of my life. I shook it all off, physically and mentally, while heading to the set.

*Time to get my head in the game.*

I hope my soulmate heard that and started thinking of highschool musical.

-

"Action!" I held my prop gun in my hand while following Shermar, he proceeded to kick a door down that had a camera on the other side to capture it. The class that was observing sat on the other side of the door, seeing all of the behind the scenes that goes on during filming.

To avoid making direct eye contact with the camera, I often look right past it. So instead of making eye contact with the camera, I made it with a girl.

Then it was silent.

I stopped in the doorway, leading AJ to slam right into me on her way through the door.

"What the hell are you doing Matthew?"

"Cut!"

**You have got to be fucking kidding me.**

We did not break our stare, her eyes wide now with the realization.

*Wow.*

The girl sitting next to her was shaking her shoulder violently, but she sat unfazed.

"Can you excuse me for a second?" Bobby Roth, our director for the day looked at me like I was dumb, inevitably giving in.

"Whatever, take 5 guys."

I immediately waltzed past the cameraman and over to, who I could only assume, was my soulmate. The girl next to her was promptly slapping her arm and squealing like a pig, but she was giving her quite the death stare.

*She's my kind of girl already.*

Right as I thought that, she looke duo at me with a large grin and a tilt of the head.

*Shit.*

**Damn, even cuter in person.**

"Thank you." I couldn't suppress the automatic pep in my step meeting her. "I'm Matthew, you must be y/n?" It came out as a question because I was worried I would be wrong, and embarrass myself.

Which I've done, many times.

"You know my name?"

"I uh, I heard you think it." I pointed to my head, nodding awkwardly.

"You are so weird." She laughed, which made my face reddened more 3x more than I'm sure it already was.

"What?" I managed to murmur out.

"Well, you just think about weird stuff, mostly Halloween though." She was slowly smiling more as she spoke of me, which made my heart skip a few beats. She was so much more beautiful than I had pictured her. Her eyes held every intelligent thought that I had ever heard from her, and I knew right then that the eyes were the door to the soul. "Now that I'm here," she finally stood to my level, poking at my chest. "Do you wanna do a couples costume? This year?" She did a cute half shrug, as if I would say no.

"Oh my God, you really are my soulmate." I pulled her into a hug, a tight one, never wanting to let her go now that I'd found her.

"Alright guys! Let's go!" Bobby motioned everyone back to the set.

"Yeah, get out there *Spencer*." She patted her hand on my cheek. I didn't know if I hoped that she *did* see or *didn't* see how much I already liked her on my face, but I could feel the admiration spilling from my features.

"I- I'll talk to you after this!" I stumbled backwards from her, going back to the set and awkwardly running my back into the cameraman.

"Can't wait!" She waved with a flushed face, sitting back down next to her friend who was now shaking both of her shoulders violently.

*This is the best day of my life.*

**Same.**

---------

I've got a few more Soulmat AU ideas if you want more! I just don't know if theres any demand, so LEMME KNOW.

#mgg #criminal minds #spencer reid #dr spencer reid #mgg fanfiction #mgg x reader #mgg fic #mgg imagine #MGG #matthew gray gubler #matthewgraygubler

[deathwis-arc]

@the-kings-cavalry wished » for the expert thing: mat etn obviously but also joey! ( fictional character expert // still accepting! )

aaah thank you so much !! i'm always really tickled to see people claim i'm an expert at any etn character, genuinely. it's nice to know that me watching that niche show religiously has paid off at all! i've spent so many hours rewatching etn ... jotting down random notes, taking screenshots, and recording tiny moments where they're showing some sort of personal mannerism/tick! i'm just very much attached to the casts of etn and i've put a lot of love and passion forward when it comes to nailing down the characters. when you love something so much, you want to do right by it! and that's very much the case for me when it comes to characters like matthew & joey! they're my beloveds and are so complex to me? like, they're very layered in terms of personality and motivations and trauma ... so it's nice to see all my blood, sweat, and tears get some recognition!

i've been told a lot that the detective is very much my character, and that nobody could portray him the way i do - that my interpretation is very in line with canon. and it warms my heart each time! especially since matthew gets such a bad rap in the overall fandom and amongst most fans. you know how he's shown by most ; boy scout with a heart of gold, always right, morally superior, etc etc. it pains me to see and i'm glad my very different takes on him resonates well with my dear friends like you! that he's the version you prefer over that persona. is it weird to say that compliments like these makes me feel thankful? when it comes to characters & my views on how they are as people, i've always been one to harbor the most unpopular opinions imaginable. i'm the kinda writer that breaks the mold and actively rejects headcanons that the majority claim to be actual canon. and with mat, it was no different! i started to share my stories and takes on him out of spite, really, even though i was scared of the backlash i'd get ... and i've gotten some backlash! but i've changed some minds about him as well, and have found people who adore my take. which is ... nice! it's always nice and thanks so much for being one of those people. i'll admit, i let it get to my head a lot. me being the owner of the detective ,,, i'd totally be one of those people who would say “this is my oc!” if he wasn't done so well by canon haha. ahem, point is, it means a lot you think that. the obviously part made me chuckle because, ah, is it obvious? i assume so, even if that's still such a crazy concept to me! glad to know my detective propaganda can be enjoyed by my friends <3 seriously, seriously!

and, can i just say, i'm surprised about being labeled a joey expert? i've had someone else say this to me recently and it's shocking another shares the sentiment! i've always fawned over the savant and i'm one of his biggest defenders, like - the amount of times i've gone to bat for this twink is insane! but i never really thought i was amazing at handling his character. he's complex like matthew is, which is what drew me in, but joey comes with a shit load of history & dynamics ; since he's in every season of the show! it's not an easy feat to explore all those factors, or to weigh them in when it comes to how he views the world and why he makes the choices he does. so it feels like i'm handling this very delicate statue, kinda? you have to observe the savant with lots of care, otherwise it's so easy to fall into characterizations that just don't feel right. or you feel like you've missed something! and it's not easy to do, since joey ( while the protagonist ) is a very mysterious type of character. he never says what's on his chest a lot, not even in his confessionals ... it's very rare to hear joey being vulnerable! which makes it all the more harder to pin him down and understand why he works the way he does. oh, and don't get me started on how he's a walking contradiction! joey's not bad, but he's not good - he's the victim, he's the bad guy. he's been used and he has used. matthew is a more linear character because he's condensed into one and a half seasons, and he follows a very obvious character arc! while joey is ... everywhere, all the time. as someone who likes knowing all the inner workings of every relationship with my muse and them in general, he's just ... very troubling! takes lots of work, this guy!

i will say that writing jmn ( my post s3 / pre s4 fic ) in his pov has really helped me find my footing in how i desire to write him. which just goes to show that sometimes, writing a random fanfic or oneshot or whatever can really help you get a feel for a character. as much as i love rping, i probably wouldn't have done this good of a job with my etn muses if i hadn't obsessively written random, unfinished works with them first. so you can thank jmn for my joey portrayal! but ah, i also want to extend my own praise! i think you, captain, write the savant really well yourself! i actually re-read your sole joey response on waxrot a lot, and get lost in the utter poetry of it and how he views himself. how he views the detective and their isolating revivals. it was such a good response and one of these days ill reply to it, but regardless ; just know i read it a lot. you did an amazing job with toeing the line between death and life when it came to the savant, which is such a huge part of his character! so even if i'm the expert on him, you're an advisor! as is pan, who also writes joey and does a phenomenal job at it as well. they masterfully capture his petty, kinda bitchy nature in s3 as well as glimpses of his life before the shows events ... which is something i don't even do! it's very mesmerizing to witness and get lost in, the pure humanity and love they write the savant once having ... and their tyjoey has easily become such a foundation for their take on his character, so much so that i've kinda stole it for my take too! again, you guys are advisors of his character for sure. i'll graciously accept the crown from you both but only if you take credit as well!

okay, i got a little carried away with this. explaining my journeys with mat & joey as well as other miscellaneous stuff but ... once more, thanks for the opinions! i love knowing what muses i write well and knowing i might be someone who others turn to when it comes to writing a specific character. it's very touching to me! and it's all i aim to achieve when it comes to writing! so thanks, it means more to me then you'll ever know probably! i'm beyond happy to accept authority over these two muses ❤️

#◆ ASKS ﹎ ghastly hands reach out #◆ OOC ﹎ ramblings of a fevered spirit #&& the-kings-cavalry #ily captain ! means the world you gave your two cents on this !! #ill keep this close to my chest whenever i write these two walking corpses haha #and you have my eternal graditiude if you read all this and dismissed any spelling errors #since i am not proof reading this adhsjdks #but um yeah !!! thanks sm i care you greatly !!

[rachelbethhines]

Tangled Salt Marathon - You're Kidding Me

So we’ve finally come to the last of season two’s filler episodes. Let’s see if we can knock this one out real quick. 

Summary: The front door of the mysterious seashell estate vanishes, trapping the group. They try to find another way out but find a spinning top whose magic regresses Cassandra and Lance into toddlers and Shorty into a baby.  They’ve only have an hour to find the top and reverse the effects or the changes become permanent. Unfortunately neither of Rapunzel’s or Eugene’s parenting methods keep their now childish friends on task. 

So Why Did No One Stand Watch Last Night?

They were all sleeping right next to the entrance, and after the run in with the mirror monsters, you would think that they would have taken turns standing watch. 

But nope, the front door vanishes when no one was looking cause they don't have any foresight. 

A Low Budget Doesn’t Excuse Filler

Like most of season two, this is yet another episode that adds very little to the overall story. It’s slightly better than the Return of Quaid or Curses, but not by much. I put it on the same level as The Forest of No Return, as I do like the mains’ development, but there’s really no reason why such episodes exist to begin with. 

The meta reason for staying in certain places for three episodes, instead of only one or two, is because of budgetary reasons. The crew have to build new sets and models for every new location or person the cast comes across. This costs money to make, so the higher ups wanted to reuse assets. Which is understandable, but not an excuse for utilizing them poorly.  

If you need to stay in one area or have characters reappear, then you need to give story reasons for that. Ones that tie back to the overall narrative and/or the mains’ character arcs. 

The shell house and Matthews should be more important than what they are as they both have connections to the ultimate big bad of the series.Adria shouldn’t be wasted for a whole episode when she’s the only one driving the plot in season two and has limited appearances. Vardaros and its people shouldn’t be a one and done thing if you’re going to spend so much time setting them up. And there’s still one off episodes, locations, and characters who aren’t brought back and add nothing 

Not only does this make for a weaker story, it also undermines the cost saving measures that you tried to implement to begin with.  

This Isn’t Representation! 

Get it?! 

She’s a top! 

She’s totally gay, but like not really, cause this can also be interpreted as a dominatrix joke, and there’s no other real indication of her orientation outside her like smiling at her best friend/crush/sister sometimes and keeping that rose her creepy ex-boyfriend gave her. 

And don't give me any bullshit excuses about Disney not letting the crew make Cassandra canonly gay/bi. 

The Owl House aired just this year, the same year as Tangled’s final season. Also Globby and Carl from Big Hero Six were both confirmed to be a couple on screen a month after this episode came out. Both shows would have been in development at the same time as Tangled was. Both would have been subject to the same regulations and restrictions while writing their stories. 

It isn’t “Disney” that stopped the storyboard artists from having Cass be a confirmed lesbian, it’s Chris and Ben, the head writers themselves, who failed to write it into the story properly, if at all. 

Chris is the one who made Raps and Cass “sisters”. Chris is the one who wouldn’t tell the crew about his ‘twists’. Chris is the one who had Cass crush on Andrew, even after he tried to kill her. Chris is the one who made Cassandra ‘straight’ and has since used gay baiting to keep her fanbase in his pocket. 

Like I am really damn sick and tired of Casspunzel stans defending Chris on twitter, when he’s the very one who sunk thier ship to begin with. I’m also really fed up with certain fans trying to bully others for not accepting their “Cass is a lesbian” headcanons as fact because what the storyboarders say on twitter after the show is over with isn’t gospel and isn’t real rep. 

I don’t care if you ship Cass with Raps or headcanon her as being gay. Ships and headcanons are great and can be a lot of fun. But fuck you if you ever try to shame people for not sharing your ships/headcanons. Not only is it biophobic and acephobic to insist that there’s only ever a binary option when it comes to orientation and shipping, but it also reinforces harmful stereotypes and tropes about people in the queer community. 

Like, yes, I personally may be an introverted angry bitch who’s an LBGTQA member and activist, but that doesn’t mean that every introverted bitchy woman in media is a lesbian. What kind of message does that send people when that’s the only character archetype that’s given representation or is loudly proclaimed as ‘gay’ by the wider audience? Fuck that noise! 

I Know Humor is Subjective but...WHY?

Why did we give the baby a beard? How does that logically work? Did anyone outside of the crew actually find this funny? 

TTS has like this one out of touch dude throwing out jokes that don’t really land with the target audience. Fans have called it ‘boomer humor’ but it’s actually ‘Gen-X’ humor. Not only because Chris and Ben are Gen Xers but because this is the type of crap my older brother would find hilarious. 

Gen Xers are between Boomers and Millennials and so their humor is this weird blend of gross out shock humor, ironic nihilism, and out of date stereotypes that are only mildly better than those of the previous generation before them. They’re the generation who gave us Beavis and Butthead, South Park, and Clerks. 

That’s not a criticism of Gen X as a generation, but rather just an acknowledgment that they’re worlds away from the neo-dada absurdism, more socially conscious, and globalized humor of Gen Z.    

So Why Is the Bad Guy Telling the Heroes How to Foil His Plans? 

Like he not only tells them how to fix their problem and how long they got in order to do so, but he also informs them how it happened in the first place. This goes directly against his plans. Had he simply said nothing and stayed out sight, then Raps and Eugene would have been lost for the full hour and most likely not have saved everyone on time. 

I like to headcanon that Mathews is just “that asshole” that loves to taunt and tease but in a that manner that gives him plausible deniability. He also may just be bored, since he’s a ghost trapped in one place all the time. Yet that still doesn’t change the fact that he shot himself in the foot here. 

Raps and Young Cass’s Relationship Is the Same as Raps and Adult Cass’s, and That Is a Problem. 

Condescending, manipulative, hypocritical, and bossy is the way Rapunzel treats everyone. She doesn’t understand the actual difference between a child and an adult. She only understands who she who she can and can’t boss  around. And those people that she can’t place under her thumb are labeled antagonists by the show. 

Nor does she actually care about what either kid Lance or kid Cass has to say. She’s just being proformative, and young Cass can see through that BS, which why her methods do not work. It’s not because she’s not ‘strict’ enough; it’s because she’s not being honest. 

Meanwhile Child Cassandra is just as combative, rude, bullying, and entitled as Adult Cassandra. In season three she regresses even further and becomes more violent than before.

Unlike Rapunzel, Cassandra wasn’t trapped in a tower for 18 years with zero human contact outside of her abuser. She escaped that fate and was raised in a loving home. That doesn’t mean that there won't be scars, but I still expect her to be more mature than her seven year old self. Just because she’s whining about not being special enough at 24 instead of screaming about the floor being lava doesn’t mean that she’s still not throwing a temper tantrum.  

Like I should not be seeing a replay/foreshadowing of their main conflict here. They aren’t children. They’re dynamic isn’t that of a mother and child. It’s not even a big sister looking out for a little sister type relationship. Its two immature women dragging innocent victims into their bitchy cat fight for dominance over the other.  

If you want me to take their issues seriously then give them real stakes to disagree over, mature behavior that I can root for, and a resolvement that doesn’t reverse any potential development that they could have had.    

Matthews Plan Makes Zero Sense

For starters, half the group being kids isn’t enough of a reason for Rapunzel to stay at the shell house. Even if the effects of the time top became permanent, then Raps and Eugene could just leave and take the kids with them. Either to finish the road trip, or go straight back to Corona. Not that there’s any real reason to get the Dark Kingdom anyways, nor is there a ticking clock stopping Raps from trying again later if she chose to. 

Rapunzel also is not obligated to become anyone’s mother. If she took them back to Corona than Cap would undoubtedly raise Cassandra all over again, and Lance and Shorty could be adopted by someone else. Any of the pub thugs might take them or even perhaps the King and Queen since they missed out on raising their actual daughter. Though for my money I’d get Monty or Xavier to take them in. They seem the most mature and both are shown to be good with kids. 

Then again Rapunzel has been shown twice now to not give a damn about abandoning orphans, so even the ‘dump them at an orphanage’ or ‘leave them alone in the woods to fend for themselves’ isn’t entirely off the table either. I wish I was joking, but I’m not. Sadly, only Eugene’s love for Lance might be the one thing to stop her from doing just so, and even that’s iffy. 

As for the missing door from earlier, if that was all that was stopping them from leaving then the time top shenanigans were fully unnecessary altogether. 

I Actually Like Eugene and Rapunzel’s Conflict Here; I Just Wish It Was In a Better Episode. 

Each of their viewpoints stem from their upbringing. 

Rapunzel is unique in that she was simultaneously emotionally abused and neglected while being physically spoiled. Especially once she found out that she was princess, where she was then handed nearly anything and everything she wanted. She doesn’t recognize that getting your every possible whim come true can be damaging. Nor does she have any comprehension of what living in poverty is like and how this many toys is wasteful to someone like Eugene who had so very little and stole to survive. 

She does however associate limits, boundaries, and orders with abusive behavior because she’s been denied autonomy and respect her whole life. She’s never seen what healthy parenting looks like and how rules can be applied correctly.     

To Rapunzel no orders is ‘freeing’ and ‘validation’ is all that is needed to get a child to listen to you. Which doesn’t work for her because she doesn’t understand that real communication is more than just giving a compliment now and then. 

Meanwhile Eugene lacked any sort of anchor at all. He was left to his own devices at a young age and had no one to rely on for emotional needs and, after leaving the orphanage, no one to provide physical needs either. 

It’s telling that he and Lance latched onto Quaid as the only authority figure in their life, despite Quaid never out right adopting them. He was the only sense of stability that they had who they could trust wouldn’t hurt them, despite being strict with them. 

And now that Eugene has gotten older and is reformed, he can probably understand why Quaid was so harsh on him and Lance. Quaid probably did more to try and help them turn from a life crime than even Rapunzel did. Like meeting Rapunzel was the inciting incident that inspired Eugene to make that leap, but the groundwork was already laid out for him to do so elsewhere. Things like his good communication skills, respect and empathy of others, and understanding of boundaries had to be learned from somewhere, and if not from the Sheriff of Vardaros than who? 

What I’m getting at is that, while Rapunzel rejects her parents methods but then fails to break her learned habits from them anyways, Eugene is the reverse. He’s come to embrace his mentor’s teachings, but he fails to implement them correctly because he’s not Quaid. Being authoritative isn’t his strong suit. It goes against his usual nature as the easy going person that he is and so any attempts to come across as forceful fail as they’re hollow. 

Kids know authenticity and genuineness when they see it. The children reject Rapunzel because she’s not being real with them, yet they also reject Eugene cause he’s not being honest with himself. 

It’s a complex and mature conflict. Neither person is fully right nor wrong, and only by learning from each other and adopting both methods can they achieve their goal. 

TTS can be deep when it wants to be. There’s a good foundation here for mature themes and complex characterization. It’s just the series doesn’t ever commit to it. 

Whatever personal drama going on here about two young adults trying to cope with their past traumas and how that affects their current life and future goals is completely lost in the magical goofy antics and low stakes situation. Even the stuff about Eugene and his relationship with Quaid is reduced to nothing but a one off joke rather than being genuinely explored as a point of development.  

Imagine how much more powerful things would have been if Angry and Red were brought along on the trip. If this argument was over them and whether or not they should adopt the two girls themselves or consider other options. That would be something with real weight. Something with a choice that had actual consequences attached to it. Something that would permanently affect all involved parties. Something that wouldn’t make the two leads look like outright dicks for abandoning two children for a second damn time in a row.    

You Have 70 Feet of Magical, Indestructible Hair! Why Are You Afraid of a Bunch of Dogs!?

You’ve fought off giant monsters, killer robots, and supernatural beings with magical powers. What do you mean you can’t hold off a pack of guard dogs while busting down a stuck door? Why is Eugene the shield for everyone and not the actual unbreakable hair that you use as a shield all the damn time? And Why did we have to rely on Shorty again to be the deus ex machina of the episode? 

At this point the writers should have just made him Demantius instead of the monkey.   

What Happened To This New Dream? Where Did It Go In Season Three?

Most fans who do enjoy season two happen to be big New Dream fans as this is by far and away the best season for them. I’ll admit that the series, up to this point, had me actively liking them together, despite being originally lukewarm to the pairing in the movie. 

Their conflicts were for the the most part mature and real. They learned from one another equally and had open communication when it didn't involve ‘marriage is a trap’ BS. Things, like compromising on differentiating future goals, honesty and communication, and making time for one another and extending effort into a relationship while being true to yourself are all relatable issues. 

Even today's episode featured the topic of having kids and parenting. Which is a discussion you absolutely need to have with your prospective spouse before entering into any long term commitments and signing any legal contracts. For real, I’ve seen marriages fall apart because they didn’t agree on whether or not they wanted children. 

I don’t know what went down between writing season two and season three, but things quickly took a sharp turn away from this dynamic and nosedived into a pit of uncomfortable bullying and gross sexist implications here after. 

Matthews Plan Goes Against Zhan Tiri’s Plan 

Yeah so Matthews is one of Zhan Tiri’s disciples, but he apparently doesn’t know of her goals/plans, cause she needs Rapunzel and company to reach the moonstone, not stay stuck here. 

The meta reason for this that the Zhan Tiri’s story was altered at the last minute and the writers failed to make sure there was any sort of consistency between what they already set up and where they actually wound to actually taking the plot.  

The in universe reason is that Zhan Tiri is an impotent moron, but that’s not what the writers were going for so it’s a fail. 

Conclusion  

I like the New Dream stuff, and Matthews is at least entertaining despite being incompetent. Everything else about the episode is ‘meh’ tho. 

#tangled #rapunzel's tangled adventure #tangled the series #anti-tangled #anti-rapunzel #anti-cassandra #eugene

[disneytva]

August 2020 Synopsis Highlights

Saturday, Aug. 1

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “Friend Con/Flimflammed”

(8:00-8:22 P.M. EDT)

“Friend Con” – When the Greens attend Farm Con, Bill and Chip Whistler become friends.

*Darin De Paul (“Overwatch”) guest stars as Good Ol’ Joe, and Paul Scheer (“The League”) and Cheri Oteri (“Saturday Night Live”) return as Chip Whistler and Gwendolyn Zapp, respectively.

“Flimflammed” – Cricket stumbles into $100 and is persuaded to invest it.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Season Two Premiere on Disney Channel

Amphibia “Quarreler’s Pass/Toadcatcher”

(8:22-8:44 P.M. EDT)

“Quarreler’s Pass” – Hop Pop drops Sprig and Polly off at an obstacle-filled mountain trail designed to help them get along.

“Toadcatcher” – Sasha and Grime must reconcile their differences to escape Newtopia’s most skilled warrior, General Yunnan.

*Zehra Fazal (“Voltron: Legendary Defender”) guest stars as General Yunnan. Anna Akana (“Youth & Consequences”) returns as Sasha, Matt Jones (“Breaking Bad”) returns as Percy, and Troy Baker (“Young Justice”) returns as Grime.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

The Owl House “Really Small Problems”

(8:44-9:06 P.M. EDT)

King confides in a carnival fortuneteller who makes his dream come true, but it comes at a cost.

*Parvesh Cheena (“Outsourced”) returns as Tibbles.

TV-Y7 FV

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Saturday August 8

The Owl House “Understanding Willow”

(9:06-9:28 P.M. EDT)

Luz, Willow and Amity take a trip down memory lane.

*Rachael MacFarlane (“American Dad!”) guest stars as Mrs. Blight, Amity’s mom.

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “Greens’ Acres/Dolled Up”

(8:00-8:22 P.M. EDT)

“Greens’ Acres” – Young Bill will do whatever it takes to keep the family farm in business.

*Andre Robinson (“The Loud House”) guest stars as Young Bill, Candace Kozak (Disney Channel’s “Just Roll with It”) guest stars as Young Nancy, and Jason Maybaum (Disney Channel’s “Raven’s Home”) guest stars as Young Keys.

“Dolled Up” – When Tilly and Nancy celebrate Saxon’s birthday at a fancy doll store, they set their sights on a seat next to Cantaloupe Sinclair, the tea party’s posh VIP.

*Melissa Fumero (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”) guest stars as Cantaloupe Sinclair. Wendi McLendon-Covey (“The Goldbergs”) returns as Nancy Green.

TV-Y7

Amphibia “Swamp and Sensibility/Wax Museum”

(8:22-8:44 P.M. EDT)

“Swamp and Sensibility” – When Anne discovers an old friend who has been living a double life, she becomes fixated on helping him be his true self.

*Kermit the Frog guest stars as Crumpet the Frog and Hugh Bonneville (“Downton Abbey”) guest stars as Wigbert.

“Wax Museum” – The family visits a mysterious roadside oddities museum where every treasure comes with a price.

*Alex Hirsch (Disney’s “Gravity Falls”) guest stars as The Curator and Frog Soos.

TV-Y7

Friday, Aug. 14

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Puppy Dog Pals “Pups in the Apple/Won’t You Be My Puppy”

(9:30-10:00 A.M. EDT)

“Pups in the Apple” – On the morning of the Playcare bake sale, Bob is devastated when he can’t make his “Big Apple” pie because he’s out of apples.

“Won’t You Be My Puppy” – Bingo and Rolly go on a mission to find their favorite television host’s special sweater in time for his show.

*Malcolm-Jamal Warner (“The Resident”) guest stars as Floyd, a dog, and Chi McBride (“Hawaii Five-0”) returns as Mr. Kimble, a television host.

TV-Y

Saturday August 15

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

The Owl House “Enchanting Grom Fright”

(8:44-9:06 P.M. EDT)

Luz experiences Grom, Hexside’s version of Prom, and it’s not what she expects.

TV-Y7 FV

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “Gabriella’s Fella/Cheap Show”

(8:00-8:22 P.M. EDT)

“Gabriella’s Fella” – When Cricket’s crush, Gabriella, returns, Remy seizes the opportunity to help push Cricket out of his comfort zone.

*Jenna Ortega (“You”) and Betsy Sodaro (“Duncanville”) return as Gabriella and Community Sue, respectively.

“Cheap Show” – The family wants to visit a street fair, but Bill wants to stay home to save money.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Amphibia “Marcy at the Gates”

(8:22-8:44 P.M. EDT)

The family must defeat an entire ant army before they enter Newtopia.

*Haley Tju (“Bella and the Bulldogs”) guest stars as Marcy, Michelle Dockery (“Downton Abbey”) guest stars as Lady Olivia, and Keith David (“The Princess and the Frog”) guest stars as King Andrias.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Saturday August 22

The Owl House “Wing it Like Witches”

(8:44-9:06 P.M. EDT)

Not your average underdog story.

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Big City Greens “Green Mirror/Cricket’s Tickets”

(8:00-8:22 P.M. EDT)

“Green Mirror” – When the Greens visit BigTech, Tilly jumps at the chance to test Gwendolyn Zapp’s new technology, which promises to make them the “perfect family.”

“Cricket’s Tickets” – Cricket wins tickets to a show and must decide whether to bring Tilly or Remy.

*Lucy Lawless (“Xena: Warrior Princess”) and Tim Robinson (“Saturday Night Live”) guest star as Mimi O’Malley and Gregly, respectively.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Season Two Premiere on Disney Channel

Amphibia “Scavenger Hunt/The Plantars Check In”

(8:22-8:44 P.M. EDT)

“Scavenger Hunt” – Anne, Sprig and Marcy receive a mysterious message from the king of Newtopia that sends them on a puzzle-solving mission.

*Nicole Byer (“Loosely Exactly Nicole”) guest stars as Gertie. Haley Tju (“Bella and the Bulldogs”) returns as Marcy.

“The Plantars Check In” – Anne finally meets with King Andrias and tries to enlist his help in getting back home.

*Kristen Schaal (“Disney’s “Gravity Falls”) guest stars as Bella the Bellhop. Keith David (“The Princess and the Frog”) returns as King Andrias.

TV-Y7

Saturday August 29

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

The Owl House “Agony of a Witch”

(8:44-9:06 P.M. EDT)

On a school field trip to the mysterious Emperor’s Castle, Luz strays from the group and into danger.

Original Series – 

The Owl House “Young Blood, Old Souls”  Season One Finale on Disney Channel

(8:44-9:06 P.M. EDT)

Luz’s skills as a witch are put to the test when she attempts the impossible.

*Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”) guest stars as Emperor Belos alongside series cast members Wendie Malick (“Just Shoot Me!”), Sarah-Nicole Robles (“Star Darlings”) and Alex Hirsh (“Gravity Falls”) as Eda, Luz and King, respectively.  Season One Finale on Disney Channel

TV-Y7 FV

Big City Greens “Times Circle/Super Gramma”

(8:00-8:22 P.M. EDT)

“Times Circle” – Tilly and Remy put on a sidewalk play while Cricket and Bill meet their favorite costumed superheroes.

“Super Gramma” – Cricket and Tilly try to keep Gramma at home while she recovers from eye surgery.

*Sandy Martin (“Ray Donovan”) guest stars as Gertie.

TV-Y7

Original Series – Season Two Premiere on Disney Channel

Amphibia “Lost in Newtopia/Sprig Gets Schooled”

(8:22-8:44 P.M. EDT)

“Lost in Newtopia” – Anne and Polly vow to experience the city like locals but end up on a wild ride through the streets of Newtopia.

“Sprig Gets Schooled” – Sprig is offered a spot at Newtopia University.

Sunday, Aug. 30

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior

Fancy Nancy “Trois Cheers for Mrs. Devine/Escar-No!”

(12:00–12:30 P.M. EDT)

“Trois Cheers for Mrs. Devine” – When Mrs. Devine gets the blues, Nancy becomes determined to cheer her up.

*Christine Baranski (“The Good Fight”) returns as Ms. Devine.

“Escar-No! ” – Nancy questions her love of all things French when she encounters French food for the first time

Friday, Aug. 28

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Channel

Mira, Royal Detective “The Mystery of the Secret Room/The Mystery of the Magnificent Musicians”

(8:30-9:00 A.M. EDT)

“The Mystery of the Secret Room” – When Mira and her friends get stuck in a hidden room in the palace, it’s up to her to find a way out.

“The Mystery of the Magnificent Musicians” – When some of the townspeople’s musical instruments go missing before a big music jam, Mira must find out what happened.

*Danny Pudi (“DuckTales”), Parvesh Cheena (“Outsourced”) and Sonal Shah (“Scrubs”) return as Sanjeev, Manish and Poonam, respectively.

TV-Y

Sunday, Aug. 23

Original Series – Episode Premiere on Disney Junior

Elena of Avalor “Coronation Day”

(7:00-8:30 P.M. EDT)

As plans for Elena’s coronation are underway, Esteban’s team of villains unleash legendary spirit misfits, the Four Shades of Awesome. In order to save her kingdom, her family and her friends, Elena must journey to the Spirit World and back and face the ultimate test of her courage and character before becoming queen.

*Jenny Slate (“Muppet Babies”), Mark Hamill (“Star Wars” franchise), Fred Armisen (“Saturday Night Live”) and Andy Garcia (“Ocean’s Eleven”) guest star as the Four Shades of Awesome, and Patrick Warburton (“The Tick”) voices Grand Macaw, ruler of the dark side of the Spirit World.

TV-Y

#Amphibia #The Owl House #Owl House #Big City Greens #BCG #Puppy Dog Pals #Puppy Dog Tails #Elena Of Avalor #Mira Royal Detective #Fancy Nancy #Disney's Fancy Nancy #Disney Channel #Disney Junior #Disney Jr

[gaitwae]

Beyond Words, Darling •||• 5

Summary: With what started as a dream, Mary Crawley realizes just in the nick of time that her new love is the last person she expected. (canon defiant season 5 afterwards)

+-+-

“My help? My dear, with what?” Violet made her way down the staircase. “What is wrong?”

“Oh, Granny… it’s just… Tom,” Mary managed, taking a deep breath in. She relaxed her shoulders and dabbed at her eyes. She looked up helplessly at the Dowager Countess.

“Branson?” Violet should have suspected something had been happening when Tom Branson’s whole manner changed at dinner a week ago. She had thought nothing of it at first, just that someone may have brought up an upsetting topic, but looking back, Tom and Mary sat rather closely. “What about him?”

“He’s leaving, and the party is tonight. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him!” She started to break down again.

Violet sat down, grabbing Mary by the hand. “Do you know where?” She pursed her lips in thought. The Dowager Countess was finding it so hard to accept. Branson, leaving? Why? 

“No, we were… I cut him off before he could say anything.” Mary was keeping something to herself, and Violet didn’t push. After all, this was something Violet hadn’t seen in Mary before. 

It was different from despair, and nowhere near the usual misery Mary had wallowed in for all but a few years. It wasn’t selfish in her granddaughter’s usual style, either. Mary didn’t pout, she didn’t grumble. She looked grief-stricken like she heard a dear friend had been taken up to Heaven. 

Oh, that Violet could distinguish. 

In all her years, she had seen death’s solemn face, and in her age, sensed it creeping (though still slowly). She had seen wailing mothers, mourning sisters. The face was plain to her. What confused her, however, was that Mary just didn’t handle death that way. In fact, Violet didn’t settle on what it was until Mary was looking down at her hands, unsure of what to do.

Mary was lost without Tom. Or rather, it would have been like losing a spouse. It was certainly strange to come to terms with, but not impossible.

Violet sucked her teeth, saying only this: “That boy better not leave. I am surprised at him , but more at what he’s done to you.”

Mary’s jaw went slack. She furrowed her brow, sitting up straight. Ah. Back to her senses so soon. “Done to me? Granny, he has not done anything to me!”

Violet only offered a judgemental look. “Hasn’t he?” She set a hand in her granddaughter’s lap. “You’re going to be late to Rose’s party; I’m sure you’ll get it fixed up.”

Mary was shocked, to say the least, on top of heartbroken. First, Tom was leaving her. Second, Granny sees her shattered, torn to shreds, and says to go to Rose’s party? Was she mad? 

Did she not see how hurt Mary was? She didn’t want to see Tom enjoy himself with other women, or see him smile and joke along with the rest of the family like he hadn’t been planning on abandoning them. She didn’t want to see his handsome face. She didn’t want anything to do with him at the moment. She just wanted to run away from him. Granny must have gone mad if she thought Mary was going to get through pain like that.

Granny’s been mad since before I was born , she reminded herself gently. She still wanted to wail and cry, to hide away from the hurt, but something occurred to her like wood surfacing in the water. Tom wasn’t leaving yet. She could still see him one last time. That made Mary’s whole chest pound with… not anticipation, no, but something like it. A mix between dread and excitement.

“I better get ready,” she whispered to herself, fixing her eyes gently. She stood from where she was, and found her way back to her room with swift and determined steps. She was going to make sure that Tom knew how important he was to her or she would embarrass herself trying.

+-+--

“Okay, Tom, do you remember your instructions?” Rose asked, beaming with her child-like excitement. The room they cleared out was big enough for dancing and wine and champagne, with space for whatever jazz band Rose decided to employ. Tom was impressed… he always was. But a heavy stone sat in his stomach as he looked around the room.

He was really doing this?

“I remember my instructions,” he told her, smiling kindly. “Dance with Mary the entire time until my queue. I got it, Rose.”

“No! Those aren’t your instructions,” Rose announced with a smirk that Satan was envious of. The stone dropped farther — at this point, Tom didn’t know if he was disappointed or relieved he didn’t have to be dancing with Mary. At this point, he felt like Rose could see right through him, that everyone could see through him, and he was nothing but a sad, lovesick fool who didn’t know how to even hint at his own feelings.

“What?”

“You’re going to dance with Cousin Mary the entire time. Cousin Robert told me everything!” She grinned from ear to ear. The stone in Tom’s belly became a timed bomb, ticking and causing his body to tremble. 

“Lord Grantham told you…?” His breath became short, eyes wide. No, no, no! He had promised! What if Mary found out? What would she think? Would her opinion of him change? He stumbled backward, falling into a chair. “Oh, my God… ”

Rose noticed Tom’s panic. “Don’t worry; your secret is safe with me. Oh! Before you get upset with him, I made him tell me after I overheard a little bit.”

“How much did you overhear, Rose?”

“I was going to ask you about the party, and I had passed Mary in the hallway.” She sat down next to him at a clothed table. “I almost opened the door and I heard Cousin Robert ask you something about you ‘truly being in love with Mary,’ and” — she sighed with a dreamy expression — “I just couldn’t help myself. I’m sorry.”

Tom’s head buzzed with air. It felt empty, just buzzing. Somehow, he ended up staring at the tongues of his shoes. “I suppose I should expect more people asking if I want to marry her, too…” He pinched his eyes closed, trying to relax his shoulders. “Rose, please, please, please, don’t say anything else to anyone. I want Mary to find out on my own terms.” He lifted his head and looked up at her.

“I’ll try my best not to say anything; I promise.” She set her hand on Tom’s knee. “This will end right. True love always wins.”

Tom chuckled sadly. “If true love always wins, I never would have had the chance to fall in love with Mary, and Mary would never have opened up to me.” He sighed. “Sybil was my everything. I would have moved mountains and killed villains for her. Sybil was my partner, and I was hers. We were evenly matched in every way. But Mary… I don’t feel like a hero with Mary. I don’t feel like I could do anything… Mary just makes me feel like we’re two sides of the same coin.

“I don’t believe everyone has a soulmate. I believe everyone has a soul they share, and souls they were meant to touch. Sybil and I didn’t share a soul. She was everything that made my whole spirit soar. Mary may not even share one with me. Maybe she’s the one, maybe she’s not; but Mary knows how to be my challenge and my comfort. I would have lived happily ever after with Sybil. I loved her beyond my imagination. I also know that I love Mary to the brim, beyond that. I don’t know a word strong enough to describe my love for her.”

Rose didn’t say anything for a little while. The buzzing in Tom’s head only became fuzzier. It felt so nice to get that out into the open… 

“Tom,” Rose started quietly. “That’s beautiful.”

“I know her better than I ever knew Sybil. I don’t want to replace Sybil; I don’t want to replace Matthew. I just want to love her,” he whispered. 

“If you don’t try your hardest to tell her, Tom, you might lose her… I already invited Lord Gillingham.” Rose winced. Tom sighed. 

“Let’s get the party started, shall we?”

#Gaitwae writes #Brary #Tom Branson #Mary Crawley #Downton Abbey #Rare pair

[thorne93]

Inside The Criminal Mind (Part 24)

Prompt: You’re married to Dr. Spencer Reid of the BAU, and are a distinguished doctor yourself on the team. You’re sent down to Miami, Florida for teaching and as a side request from the FBI, to investigate a string of missing persons. When you think you’ve figured out who the unsub is, your life becomes more complicated than you ever could’ve imagined.

Word Count: 2441

Warnings: (throughout the fic –>) death, blood, gore, killings, language, disturbing mental notions, mentions of rapes/murder/etc (You know, Dexter and Criminal Minds related business)

Notes: Thank you so much to @arrow-guy​​​​​​, @carryonmyswansong​​​​​​, and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​​​​​​ - without each of you, I couldn’t have finished, written, or properly navigated this story. Each of you helped me fish out details that were incredibly important to me. Beta’d by @carryonmyswansong​​​​​​ and @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​​​​​​… Aesthetic by @mrs-dragneel-stark-solo​​​​​​

This is a crossover of Criminal Minds x Dexter. First time writing Dexter.

Also, the timeline is after Season 1 of Dexter, but during season 14-ish of Criminal minds into Season 15. Enjoy!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Alright, crime fighters,” Garcia began as she stood before the screen. “This one is a doozy. Bring your sunscreen because thirty bodies were discovered in the ocean in Florida. And none of them were in one piece.”

“Did fish get to them?” Luke asked. 

“No, they were found in bags. The, uh, nature of the mutilation was done by the unsub.” 

“Where is this at in Florida?” Tara wondered. 

“Bay Harbor, Miami. Hence the icky name of Bay Harbor Butcher,” she explained. 

She went through the pictures on the screen as you were drinking. You didn’t pay much mind to the things being said until she said that and you choked on your water. Coughing. 

Your blood ran icy hot. Your veins had been replaced with white hot rods of steel, your legs replaced with jello. 

Jesus fucking christ this wasn’t happening. 

Spencer glanced at you and patted your back. 

“Sorry. I’m sorry. Miami?” you asked once you got through coughing and everyone was done staring at you. 

“Yes, and it appears that some of them may be the eighteen cases you were looking at before you went down,” Garcia explained. “So, guess you’ve got some more to help you with the profile. If there is a bright side at all to this.”

“And on the not so bright side, we have another case in Oregon. Which means we need to split up. Reid, Y/N, Rossi, and Luke go down to Miami. Y/N since you know most of the victimology, catch everyone up on the jet. Matt, Tara, JJ, and I will go to Oregon.” 

The team was dismissed and everyone started to head for the bullpen before Spencer grabbed your sleeve and kept you in the conference room. 

“Hey, are these his?” he whispered, sure that everyone was out of hearing range. “Are they Dexter’s?” 

You nodded, a look of apology in your eyes. 

“Are any of them yours?” he asked even quieter. 

“Possibly,” you said. 

His face morphed into upset. “Alright. Call him and see what he’s doing to handle this. Tell him we’re on our way. I’ll go get our overnight bags out of the car.” 

You nodded again, trying to keep your composure. Jeez, lying was getting easier with Dexter, but when you were faced with scrutiny, it was earth shattering for you. 

You took out your phone and went into Derek’s old office where no one had been using it for years. You shut the door and turned the blinds so no one could see you. You called Dexter and paced, your heart hammering. 

“Hey,” he greeted, his tone serious. 

“Hey, so we just got a case for Miami, Florida. For dismembered bodies in bags on the ocean floor!” you whisper-yelled. “When the hell were you going to tell me?” 

“Look, I’ve got it under control.” 

“Really? Then why is my team being called in?” 

“That’s Captain Matthews. It’s a political move. Your team does the work, he gets the credit.” 

“Do you have any plan on how to fix this? Were you ever going to tell me?” 

“I’m working on it. I didn’t have time. They found the bodies last night and I’ve been up all night trying to think of a way to get ahead of it.” 

“You need to work faster.” You glanced up at the clock. “Shit, I gotta go. I’ll be down there in a few hours.” 

“Looking forward to it,” he sarcastically responded before you rolled your eyes and hung up. 

You exited the room where you saw Spencer with his back turned towards you. 

“Hey,” you greeted as you walked up. 

“What’d he say?” 

“Not much. We’ll talk more when we get there.”

With that, you two took off to the air strip and boarded the jet. Once everyone got settled and in the air, the victimology took off. 

“Alright, Y/N, catch us up,” Rossi directed. 

You cleared your throat, trying to keep your nerves steady as you looked around your teammates, trying to do your best to hide every minute facial expression, tick, inflection in voice, change of speech pattern. Lying to the beat cops was one thing. Lying to your husband was hard, emotionally. Lying to a team of the best profilers and cold case crackers - that would be a miracle. 

Not to mention you had to be sure not to include any details that weren’t found in the files sitting right in front of you.

But you had to do it. Your life, Dexter’s life, even Spencer’s life depended on it. You had to be cool, calm, controlled. Dexter had tested it out on you once or twice, lying, being interrogated, but it was hard with him. It was a killer interrogating a killer. 

“So when I was studying this, I narrowed it down that most of them had a run in with the Miami PD before going missing. Now though, that doesn’t fit. Not everyone had a run in with the law. In fact, some of them led model lives. That’s where I got stumped.” 

“Did you interview all the detectives and everyone that had come in contact with the ones that did go through the Miami PD?” Luke asked.

“Just about everyone on their payroll. Everyone admitted to interacting with some of them, to some degree.”

“Alright so we know the unsub chose an underwater grave, why?” 

“Forensic countermeasure?” Spencer offered and you tried not to smile at him, a sign that you knew he was trying to help you and Dexter. 

“But if that’s the case, why put them in bags? Wouldn’t you just dump the body parts by themselves, let the fish take care of the rest?” 

“The unsub might worry about the parts floating, or washing to shore. This way, if the bag is weighed down by something, it’s at least going to stay put on the ocean floor,” Spence countered and you wanted to thank him for thinking quick on his toes. 

“Did you get anything out of the victims’ families?” Rossi questioned.

“A little. Some said the ones that had run ins with the law wouldn’t be surprised if they left, others were still in hock that they left the house without their cell phone.” 

“Was there anything to tie them to the others? Maybe a past they didn’t show on paper. Did Garcia find anything?” 

“Not that I could see,” you admitted, trying not to sweat bullets. “I didn’t get a chance to get all of my info over to Garcia though. I had so little go to on. I checked into some of the cleaner ones pasts but came up empty,” you explained. That wasn’t a lie. Dexter had found out most of the dirty secrets and told you once you confronted him. 

“Alright. Luke, question the victim’s families again. Now that they’ve been found, I want to see if they’ll share anything else. I’ll go with the Reids to the PD. Hopefully a familiar face will set them at ease.” 

I hope something puts me at ease, you thought before looking to Spencer who gave you a face you couldn’t quite pinpoint. 

Before you knew it, and before you were ready, you were landing in Miami, and at the police department. 

“Ah, Dr. Reid, good to see you again,” Captain Matthews greeted, shaking your hand. 

“Likewise. Captain, this is my husband, Special Agent Dr. Reid, Special Agent Tara Lewis, Matt immons, and my boss David Rossi.” 

“So good to have you all here. You can set up in our conference room and I’ll gather my men,” he said. 

“Thank you,” Rossi replied with a nod. “Ah, so you left everyone with a good impression of the Bureau I see,” he teased and you smiled.

“Let’s hope so.” 

All of you entered the conference room and began setting up, when it was only an hour later that cops and the Captain started to file into the room. Dexter and his sister were some of the last to come in. You made eye contact and for the life of you, you couldn’t be mad. 

Well, okay, you were pissed, panicking, under tremendous pressure. 

But Dexter was on the line here too. No, when you saw him, you just saw… a friend. Dexter was smart, cunning. He had the help of his cop father to lead him out of this, and with you and Spencer on the inside, you could hopefully pin this on someone who deserved to be the unsub. 

When you saw Dexter and he gave you the tiniest of side grins, you felt… better somehow. 

Matthews spewed off some bullshit about working together and then everyone was let loose. Your team worked on the case some more, until it was 10 oclock at night. They hadn’t gotten very far. You all had to wait on forensics. It looked like most of them matched the files, but nothing had been confirmed except about five, and four of them were criminals. 

When everyone went their separate ways for the night, you and Spence headed to Dexter’s small workspace in the back. You knocked on his door and he  looked up. 

“Hey, got time for some company?” you asked with a smile. 

“Sure. Let me just put these up and I'll meet you downstairs okay?” 

You nodded before the two of you turned and walked out of the bullpen.

“Are we just supposed to go drinking with him now? Be friendly?” Spencer asked, the irritation clear in his voice. 

“I don’t have to pretend. He is my friend,” you reminded. You two had stepped into the elevator. “This is a chance to catch all of us up on what happened.” 

Spencer nodded, putting his head back against the wall. “I can’t believe this is happening,” he said. 

“I know. I’m so sorry to put you through this. You don’t deserve this part. I never thought you’d have to cover up for me like this.” 

“It’ll be tricky, but we’ll make it work,” he promised, looking down at you with a promising smile. The two of you got off the elevator and waited for Dex, who arrived in just minutes. 

“So, your place or mine?” he asked with a grin. 

“Yours,” you answered. You rode with him to his apartment. As soon as the door was shut, Spencer laid into him, something you weren’t expecting. 

“How could you let this happen?” he demanded, getting close to Dexter. 

“I didn’t let anything happen. I was scrupulous. I was careful, painfully so.” 

“Right,” Spence said sarcastically, his face made of stone as he stared Dexter down. “So careful that your victims were found by a fishing expedition.” 

“Look,  I made sure there was no trace evidence, fiber, DNA. Nothing can trace back to me,” he assured him calmly. 

“And what about Y/N? Can any of it trace back to her?” 

“No, I disposed of her bodies myself.” 

“And look at just how careful that turned out,” Spencer retalitated. 

“Hey!” you demanded. “Knock it off. Both of you. Dex, is there any cause for alarm right now?” 

“You tell me, you’re on the special task force assigned to this. What do you have? What have you given them?”

“Not much of anything. Since we are waiting on confirmation, we’re just reviewing missing persons cases.” 

“Then all we can do is wait. I can’t be proactive about something that shouldn’t even be happening. Nothing points to me, nothing points to Y/N. So can we all relax a little bit, please?” he asked, begging in his tone. 

“Relax? You want me to relax? Because of your negligence, my wife’s life hangs in the balance. If they trace anything back to her--”

“They won’t,” Dexter assured firmly, darkness encasing his face and tone. “As for your wife, she approached me, remember? She didn’t have to go rogue. That was her doing. Don’t blame me for her crimes. I’m just as exposed as her. Most of the bodies are mine, if anything, it’ll all be pinned on me.” 

“That sounds just fine to me,” Spencer snapped with a coolness.

“Hey,” you interjected. Both men were staring each other down before you sighed. “Arguing won’t help right now. Dexter’s right. We can’t fight something that hasn’t happened yet. We know they’ll look at victimology. All that will tell them is that they’re criminals and they have a vigilante.”

“And that most of them came through Miami PD,” Spencer reminded. 

“That wasn’t all though. We still have a few that won’t show up on those radars.”

“With Garcia? She’ll dig up all kinds of dirt.” 

“Yeah but maybe we can point her in someone else’s direction,” you offered.

“You want to pin this on someone innocent?” Spencer asked.

“For once, I agree with your husband. We aren’t doing that.” 

You balked. “Are you serious?”

“That’s taking an innocent life,” he reminded. “I can’t do that.”

“Okay, so how do we defer blame from us?” you inquired. 

“Sabotage the evidence,” Dexter realized, hope in his voice.

Spencer frowned. “Evidence? What evidence? All you have right now are the bodies.”

“Exactly. If we can decompose them quicker, they won’t be able to see the injection sites or pick up as much forensic evidence.” 

You questioned, “So what do you suggest? A giant body snatching?” 

“Not the worst idea,” Dexter commented. 

“We’re not hauling off tons of slimey dead bodies from a forensic lab,” Spencer argued. 

“Well, they’re being contained in that state of the art warehouse. Is there a way you could mess with the AC? Maybe swap samples? Anything?” 

“We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves here, guys,” Spencer suddenly said.

“What do you mean?” 

“Well, right now, the BAU has no leads. Like we said, even if we identify all the bodies, all they have is a pattern that vaguely leads to a vigilante. At best, we’ll profile a cop, someone within the police department, that will point to a dozen people. I think for now we should just see if it blows over. Maybe we won’t get any solid leads. But if someone sees one of us tampering with evidence, questions will begin to spark.”

You looked to Dexter. “It’s not a bad call. You don’t have a plan of action anyway. Best we can do right now is lay low, see what they dig up.”

“You mean what you dig up?” Dexter replied. “It’s your team on this. I’m trusting you to keep their eyes diverted.” 

“I’ll do my best but our team has solved nearly every case we’ve come across.” 

“Make this one of the ones you don’t solve,” he ordered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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#inside the criminal mind #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fic #spencer reid #dexter #dexter morgan #dexter morgan fic #dexter fic

[bastillewolf]

The Grand Tranquility Hotel (II)

Pairing: Alex Turner/Reader

Summary: An eccentric hotel owner and an inquisitive writer find solace in each other when they both seemed to be at the edge of rock bottom.

Notes: Most chapter titles are indeed going to be the song titles from TBHC. Hope you enjoy!

Let me know if you’d like to be added to the tag list.

Chapter II - She Looks Like Fun

She’d picked out a darker dress with a wavy skirt. Something comfortable, yet still classy. She could almost imagine her mother squealing with joy, because up until a few months ago she would’ve never worn anything like this.

Her mother used to reprimand her for it, because she’d always said that her legs were far too nice to be covered up by trousers or any of the sort. And if she was being honest, her legs did look rather nice. She’d actually shaved, while it was still the cold season. A season where shaving legs was not necessary. She felt a sense of pride. It quickly simmered down.

She hated the fact she couldn’t tell her mother these things anymore. She supposed that wearing skirts and dresses was her own way of dealing with things. Trying to rid of the guilt of having been gone for so long to find work in all sorts of places. Not calling enough. Skipping holidays and family meetings. She was grieving, and though there was probably some psychological explanation for everything she was doing, she really didn’t care enough to find out.

She was still adorned with her grandmother’s watch, possibly the most valuable family heirloom in her possession. Perhaps not so much in price, because the gold needed a good polish and there were enough scratches and dents to tell a tale of a lifetime or two, but it sure meant a lot to her emotionally. It was the only thing she had left of her mother. And any time she felt a wave of anxiety or couldn’t catch a night’s sleep, she listened to the soft ticking of the seconds hand. It reminded her of where she was, what she was doing, and that everything would be fine. As she now didn’t feel the anxiety anymore of dining all by herself. Because in a way, her mother was with her.

While exiting the room, she didn’t stop to think about the sinister half-opened door at the end of the hallway and quickly made her way downstairs. It was a bit before seven o’clock.

The dining room was really something else. It was a grand open space adorned with golden chandeliers and tables with pristine white napkins on shining plates. It was a symmetrically satisfying sight to behold, and she felt out of place to take a seat on any of the luxurious furniture. She wondered if they were actually expecting a grand feast soon or simply out of their minds. She presumed it was the latter.

When Nick thought enough time had passed for her to take in the spectacular view, he cleared his throat. It made her jump and though it amused him greatly, he quickly apologized. “I’m very sorry ma’am, but I’m afraid all the tables are reserved for our other guests.”

She grinned at him. “Ah, I see. That’s very unfortunate. I suppose I’ll just sit on the floor, then.” When she moved to swat some imaginary dirt away from the varnished wooden surface and was about to sink through her knees, Nick hurriedly stopped her. “Actually, I just got a message through that a reservation has been cancelled. No need to sit on the floor. Now, if you’ll follow me, miss,” he politely sputtered. She could see the relief washing over him when she stood again, and she only now figured it probably would have been a sight to see a guest sitting on the floor because a waiter had jokingly told them all the tables were reserved.

“What a shame they had to cancel their reservation, this table has such a good view,” she told Nick, as he held a chair out for her. He’d seated her beside the central window, overlooking the great view of the well-kept gardens. She spotted Matthew in front of a big fountain, who was struggling to control a rearing horse and she swore she heard Nick sigh and mutter “idiot” under his breath. She decided not to comment on it.

A figure appearing beside Nick made her turn back. “I think I’ll take it from here,” he said, offering a smile to Nick and then to her. Nick nodded, his eyes not leaving the unruly horse. “If you need me, I’ll be right outside,” he muttered, before taking off.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, miss. My name is Jamie, and I’ll be your chef for the time you’ll be staying with us,” he told her. He was adorned in a black kitchen uniform, not a crease or spot to be seen, with a leather apron tied around his waist. His hair was slicked back, in a similar fashion to Matt’s, styled to the sides and back from where his hair parted. He had a kind twinkle in his eyes yet seemed a bit on the awkward side judging from the way he fumbled his hands a bit much. “It’s nice to meet you too, Jamie,” she replied kindly, “I was wondering what the menu is like for today? I fully understand if it’s a limited one, seeing as I’m presumably the only one staying for dinner tonight.”

Jamie’s eyes widened, almost as if he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He quickly sprinted off and was back in almost the blink of an eye, in his hands a neat menu card. “My apologies. I’m not used to serving people,” he explained, “I used to only be at work in the kitchens and send my own servers out with plates, but since we had to make quite a few cuts…”

She had been intently and quietly listening as to not snap him out of his ramble out of her own pure curiosity to know more about the hotel, but unfortunately, he caught wind of what he was saying out loud and paused mid-sentence. “Anyways,” he cleared his throat, “I can make you anything you’d like. Even if it’s not on the menu.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to bother you with that,” she told him, “I’ll see what the menu has to offer.” “Miss, you could never be a bother,” he replied, a slight blush dusting his cheeks. Her lips quirked up.

“Alright, how outrageous would it be if I asked you to make me a cheeseburger?” He laughed, “That would probably be the least outrageous request I’ve ever gotten from a guest, miss. I’d be happy to.”

As he was about to turn, she continued, “Have you had dinner yet, Jamie?” He furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “No, miss. I usually eat after all the guests are done along with the other staff.”

“Will you and the rest of the staff join me, then?” She wondered. “I don’t think that’d be very appropriate, miss,” he replied shyly. “I insist. I feel like an idiot eating dinner all by myself in this huge room. Please?” She added and tried her best to look as miserable as possible. Jamie looked inflicted, his eyes darting to the entrance of the dining room for a moment as if he was checking to see if no one had heard him when he agreed.

It didn’t take that long for Matt and Nick to show up and take a seat at the table, and though they looked as if the horse had given them more trouble, their frowns quickly turned upside down when they heard Jamie was making cheeseburgers. “I’m starting to like you more and more by the minute,” Matt told the smiling woman. “Thank god, I wouldn’t want you to spend dinner while thinking of me as bad company,” she replied. “Like I already told you, miss,” Jamie said as he set plates of cheeseburgers and chips on the table, “You could never be a bother.”

Conversation was made considerably easy given the fact that she was talking to staff she had only just met, but she was glad they felt comfortable enough to let their guard down around her. “So, what do you do, if I may ask, miss?” Jamie asked. “Enough with the ‘miss’, Jamie. You can call me by my name,” she answered, “and I’m a writer. At least, I try to be.” Nick, who was chowing down a burger, looked up in interest. “Really? Written anything I know?” Matt smacked him across the head. “Speak with your mouth empty, you’re talking to a lady here.”

She laughed, “That’s quite alright. I really haven’t published anything yet except for the article here and there, but I think I’ve recently stumbled across an idea for a book.” “That’s great!” Matt commented, “What’s it gunna be about?”

She hesitated a moment before answering. “I was hoping to write about the hotel, actually.”

They all froze in the spot. She’d expected this response when she’d formed the plan to invite them to dinner and was about to elaborate when she realized it wasn’t just what she’d said that was the cause for their sudden discomfort.

“What’s going on in here? Having a tea party, I see?” A deep voice grumbled from behind her.

Turning around, she was faced with the sharp features of none other than Alexander Turner.

When she had read about him in the papers, she’d always imagined a much older man who was going to retire soon now that his hotel was bankrupt, trying to save his last bit of pocket money. The person in front of her, was the complete opposite of what she’d expected. A young, lean man dressed in an expensive-looking blue three-piece suit was staring at her with striking chocolate brown eyes. His hair was slicked back and his face clean shaven, defining his jawline and cheekbones in an impeccable way. He was an intimidating figure to say the least, and it seemed as though everyone at the table, save for Matt, had shrunken into themselves a bit.

“Miss asked us to join her for dinner,” Matt responded coldly, his hard gaze unwavering. She had to admit that she admired his boldness in this moment. This was not the same Matt who had given her a ride and had been dining with her just now.

“Ah, of course,” mister Turner replied smoothly, “allow me to introduce myself, my name is Alex Turner. I���m the owner of this establishment.” His hand took hers. “It’s nice to finally meet you, miss.” And he kissed it courteously, making her skin tingle. “And you can call me Alexander.” His eyes shot up to lock with hers and she was completely entranced.

“Nice to meet you as well, Alexander,” she managed to reply, as he slowly dropped her hand. “I was just asking your staff more about the hotel. I’m rather interested in writing a piece about it.”

“Ah, a writer then,” he said as his sharp gaze flickered over said staff. “I hope they haven’t told you too much about the hotel. Wouldn’t want to share our best kept secrets, now would we?” The underline of his tone was threatening, and she was almost worried she’d gotten the guys into trouble, when Matt spoke up, “Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that, mister Turner. I’m sure those secrets will unravel themselves when the time comes.”

The silence that followed could’ve been cut with a knife as Alex’ eyes turned cold. “I’d like to have a word with you when you’re done, Matthew.” It was all he said before storming out.

Matt sighed. “I’ll best be going, then.” And quickly followed after him.

“What was that about?” she questioned. Nick shook his head, “They’re always this dramatic.”

In the small office behind the entrance desk, Matt leaned against the doorpost as Alex filed through some paperwork. “I don’t tolerate backtalk in front of our guests, Matthew. You know this,” he said, not bothering to look up from the unorganized mess of files.

“She’s our only guest, Alex. You should take it easy for a little while. You know, come and stay with us.”

Alex rolled his eyes at the remark.

“But really though, what did you think of her?” Matt continued.

Alex looked at him and Matt saw a familiar twinkle in his eyes, one he hadn’t seen for a long time. “She looks like fun,” he simply responded.

#Arctic Monkeys #Alex Turner #Nick O'Malley #Matt Helders #Jamie Cook #Miles Kane #TBHC #Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino #AM #Alex Turner x Reader #Fanfiction #Romance #Mystery

[mr-barrow]

Thank you to @waistcoat35​ for tagging me!

Downton Abbey fans!

Let’s get to know each other in these trying times. 

Tag others to fill this in or fill it in yourself - enjoy!

1. When did you start watching Downton Abbey?

Ha, I started watching it August 2019. My grandma’s a really big, long-time fan, and the movie premiered right around her birthday, so we were planning to take her. I watched the whole series in three weeks, I think? Roller-coaster of emotions, that was. 

2. Favourite series?

I actually don’t know for sure; I like a lot of elements of all the seasons. I’d probably say series two. My fascination with WWI predates my love for Downton Abbey by about a decade. Watching that series, a very large part of me wished hard that the show would magically become a war drama. I hope the lot of you have read Soldier’s Heart. Because that fic? That was exactly what my soul longed for. 

3. Team Upstairs or Team Downstairs?

Downstairs. I have nothing specific against the upstairs, it’s just that a lot of their drama is pretty self-inflicted. Also, Downstairs has Thomas. 

4. Favourite Downstairs character and why? 

Thomas :) he’s the only character that I find consistently interesting, even when he sucked as a person. I also like Andy a whole lot. He’s a good kid. 

5. Least favourite Downstairs character and why? 

Alright, let’s think about this for a sec. I’m very judgey, so there’s a lot that ticks me off about the downstairs lot. The Bateses are self-righteous bitches, and even though there were times when I thought the best of both of them, I think when they were on my bad side, I was madder at them than I was at anyone else. And I do mean them as a couple; it was rare that either Anna or John alone got under my skin as much as They did, together. 

Also, Ethel. Not for any prudish reason. She was just...such an idiot. 

6. Favourite Upstairs character and why?

Matthew, probably. A little too buttoned-up when it came to jazz music, but other than that I was a big fan. I’d have liked to see him rise to take over; I do believe he’d have made a truly good Lord Grantham, someday. (I have nothing against Henry, mind you--I think he provides an interesting contrast to Mary in his own way. But I did love Matthew).

Also I really like Bertie :)

7. Least favourite Upstairs character and why?

I’m sure I’ll get hate from some of this.

Isobel has her moments. Her hearts in the right place but she’s just too overbearing, and that’s something that I can’t stand in anybody. I’m glad she got a happy ending and I can appreciate the sheer willpower she brings with her, but holy hell. 

Also. Cora. She’s good and sweet and all, but I can’t get over the fact that she was too dumb to catch on to O’Brien’s awful, scheming nature. I can’t quite believe that no one--not her husband, nor any of her daughters--never said anything to her. That means that she had to have defended that bitch at least once. As a character, as well, she doesn’t have much going on. Another reason Downton Abbey should’ve been a war drama. 

8. Do you ship anyone?

Ahem. 

this man if perfect and I’m so glad he’s here for my boy

9. Favourite quote? 

If I must pick one, I’ll just use this exchange, which I’ve used more than once to demonstrate to my friends why I adore Thomas’ dry snark:

“She’s got a fancy man, I’m telling you.”

“Mrs. Patmore?”

“Why not? She’s a woman, isn’t she?”

“Only technically.”

10. Scene that made you cry?

Matthew’s death. As I said, I really liked him :( Not Sybil’s but ONLY because I remember way back when it happened, I had friends who freaked out over it--though why I didn’t know about Matthew for the same reasons, I couldn’t tell you.

Also, the end of 6x6, both when Carson gives Thomas that dressing-down and then when Thomas is crying alone in the dark by the fireplace. If I may take a quick moment to brag, I guessed Thomas was going to commit suicide in series two (which is...an awful thing to be right about, and I seriously freaked out my mom, who knew what was coming; she told me after I’d finished) and when I saw this episode I was like ‘yep, shit, this is it.’

Tagging @panicsheerbloodypanic​, @froggieteef​, @bumblebarrow​, @ishouldbedoingalright​, and @herladyshipsnope​. Sorry if you’ve already been tagged! 

#ask meme #downton abbey #favorites #getting to know you questions

[hockeybabestars]

New Year, Same Us - Auston Matthews - One

a/n: here it is guys! i am so excited for yall to finally read this! short and sweet to start! i hope yall enjoy!

October 12, 2016

“So,” Steph had started, “You and Matt’s huh?”

I quirked a brow, confused as to what she meant. 5 minutes into Auston’s first game as a Leaf and I was already getting probed by girlfriends. Nice. “What do you mean?” I glanced at her nonchalantly but my heart rate picked up, and it didn’t help that I was trying to listen and watch Auston at the same time.

Steph was nice enough. I met her before the season started, which was good because I felt a little less alone after having moved to Toronto right out of highschool. She was easy to get along with, and was always a hoot when we went out, but we had been friends for a few months at this point. And she had never mentioned anything like this before. “You guys are the cutest couple! Give me all the details!! I didn’t want to be too forward before, but I feel like I know you a little better now and can ask these things.”

“Oh uh, we’re not dating?” I said awkwardly, shrugging as I turned back towards the ice. It was nice to know she felt comfortable enough around me to be able to ask anything though. 

“You’re not? Mitch swore to me up and down that you guys were a thing. I mean from the looks of it you're super close.”

I sighed, “He’s my best friend. We do everything together, we’ve practically been glued at the hip since kindergarten.”

“But, you like, moved to Toronto with him? I don’t know about you but that screams girlfriend to me.” Why couldn’t two friends move to a new city together? “So no double dates?” She joked when I didn’t respond to her line of questioning and I laughed but I really didn’t want to explain why I ended up there or why we aren’t a couple or why we look like one. Especially with Ema Matthews a few rows in front of me in the box. Thankfully I didn’t have to because Auston scored his 1st NHL goal.

“OH MY GOD GO MATTS!!” I was ecstatic, grabbing onto Steph as we both cheered for the boy I would do anything for.

Soon enough Auston had scored again and I was jumping up and down in my seat. After my conversation with Steph, I deemed it best to sit with Ema instead, just so we could gush about her son together.

“(Y/N) you don’t know how glad I am that you’re in Toronto with him. As a mother I don’t think I’m ever at peace after leaving him in another place, let alone country. It’s not the same as being there myself, but I can rest easy knowing you guys have each other to fall back on.” 

I smiled, grateful to the woman who became a second mother to me long ago, “my mom says the same thing. She freaks out when I drive down the street at home. I was a little nervous at first, but now that we’ve been there for a while it’s getting easier. I'm just glad you’re here. I know you wouldn’t miss this for the world, but I’m glad to have a little taste of home... and I’m thankful that you let me tag along.” 

“Oh honey are you kidding? Thank you but, you’re not just tagging along. You’re like one of my own, and if you weren’t here I think my son would spontaneously combust. You’re more important to him than he lets on.” I blushed at the sincerity of her words, realizing the second period was slowly ticking away and Morgan had the puck. He sent a pass to Auston, and Ema and I clasped hands, fingers interlocking tightly. He already had two goals but a hat trick? That would be amazing. We jumped out of our seats as he buried the puck easily, hats falling onto the ice from Leafs fans who had made the trip to Ottawa. Ema hugged me tight and we both freaked out a little.

I excused myself to go to the bathroom but when I came back there was only a minute left on the clock. I quickly sat down in my seat next to Ema, heart racing from what felt like adrenaline. I honestly couldn’t believe the sight before my eyes. I was already so proud of him. 

And as he netted the fourth goal with 3 seconds left in the second I lost it. Ema was on the verge of tears as the Jumbotron zoomed in on her. I tried to stay out of the way, but she grabbed me tightly, the shock of it all was too much, and I could see Auston looking up at the screen with a smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile too.

-

Auston’s POV

“Auston!” Mitch called as I headed out of the locker room. Even though we lost in over time, I felt like I was on cloud 9, and I was so excited that my mom and (Y/N) were here to witness a night like this. 

Mitch caught up to me easily. “Congrats buddy, that was… intense.” He clapped me on the back and I just laughed, gearing up for interviews in what was going to be chaos. 

“Thanks man.” I couldn’t stop smiling.

After the interviews I headed out in my street clothes, and I was blind sided by someone running up and hugging me. I looked down to see my mom, pride swelling in her eyes as she gripped me tightly.

“I’m so proud of you.” 

“Thanks mom.” 

“I’m going to let you two have a moment.” She smiled secretively and I rolled my eyes as she walked away. But the moment they landed on (Y/N) in my jersey, beaming like the Arizona sun? I was a mess inside.

She was smiling as she ran up to me, and all I could do was hold my arms out for her. She jumped, wrapping herself around me easily and I buried my face into her neck, holding on tight. My heart was on fire.

“You’re one hell of a player Auston. I’m so proud of you.” I held on a little tighter, not willing to let her see the blush that spread over my cheeks. “Can’t wait to see all that talent back in Toronto.” I set her down gently.

“Thanks (Y/N). And thank you for being here, I needed you tonight. I need you every night. You're my good luck charm.” Every game she’s been to of mine, I’m never off my game.

She stepped back, but her eyes didn’t leave mine, “Who said anything about a good luck charm? As far as I’m concerned you make your own luck.” Her confidence in me made me yearn for more out of the next game, and it made me realize just how far along in the ride she had come. She was always there. Since day one. And she wasn’t leaving anytime soon. Her hand tugged on mine, “C’mon, we’re meeting your mom for dinner.” 

“I’m only going because I’m being dragged.” I smartassed, and she scoffed.

“You’re going 

because Mama Matt��s would have your head on a stick if you didn’t.”

“Touché.” 

#auston matthews #toronto maple leafs #nysu fic #hockeybabestars #new year same us #hbsimagine #auston matthews imagine #friends to lovers