#might be my last gifset in a while who knows

[scoobydoodean]

what’s your opinion on “lebanon”? as it actually is in the show and how fans/fic writers interpret/approach it.

cause i’ve been binge-reading “lebanon” fics and i’ve noticed two patterns: sam might argue with john or he stays calm but regardless he preaches to dean about what a terrible father john was, and dean always falls back into his performing and just keeps defending john. now i love all that angst, really i love it so much, these fics are phenomenally written… but i’m just wondering if i’m crazy to think that dean wouldn’t actually fall back into that role to such an extent, and whether the episode actually kinda got it right by having dean feel secure with his family as it is. iirc my issue with the episode is that neither dean nor sam got to express any issues with john in an honest but civil way (and that john is too nice) but that still i liked dean’s expression of security, but tbh it’s been awhile since i last watched it so maybe i’m missing/misremembering smth… thanks!

One of the strangest things I see in fandom is how many people's sense of how Sam views John versus how Dean views John is just flat out wrong. The idea that Dean is always defending John while Sam is always criticizing him the whole show is negated over and over and over in the actual show itself—extremely overtly.

There's two issues here in my mind that lend to this fandom problem.

The fandom accepting Sam and Dean's "John Narratives" at face value in the early episodes of season 1. For example, watching 1.08 "Bugs", where Dean claims to have no resentments toward John and says Sam also was a dick during Sam and John's fight, and going, "Well there we go. Dean has no resentments and refuses to criticize John but Sam will." At this point, we already know from 1.06 "Skin" that Dean does have resentments toward John for not appearing to care about him and for abandoning him, and we get further indications in 1.11, and 1.21 in this season alone. Another example is Sam and Dean's clashes in 1.10 "Asylum" and in 1.11 "Scarecrow", which are largely analyzed by the fandom as moments where Dean is blindly following orders when they have some other, better option Sam is pushing, and Dean is just refusing to go along with Sam's much better ideas because he's too focused on believing their dad knows best... when that is not actually what is happening at all. Sam's alternative plans in the beginning of 1.10 and 1.11 are absolutely stupid. In 1.10, he wants to call the FBI on John to find him. That's his big idea—instead of following the coordinates John just sent them and seeing if he's there. In 1.11, Sam's big bright idea on finding John is to abandon some people to die on a time-sensitive case so he can go search all of Sacramento for John with nothing but an area code. His plans are dumb, plain and simple—and while we do see Dean hiding his own resentments in these episodes too, that does not remain true—which brings me to the other issue here.

Fandom doesn't leave room for the brothers perspectives on John and their outward expressions of those perspectives to shift or mature over the series. This is particularly funny because their perspectives are literally swapping over the course of season 1, and have pretty much fully swapped by 2.02.

Sam's shifting season 1 perspective on John

What actually happens in season 1, is that Sam, who starts out burning with resentment and hurt toward John for disowning him and being a smothering drill sergeant and absent, binge-drinking dad, slowly begins empathizing him because he's now suffered a similar trauma and is having extreme difficulty coping with it himself! Sam's empathy for and understanding of John (and hell—even respect for John handling it as well as Sam thinks he was capable) is already beginning to show in 1.02—where Sam asks Dean "How does Dad do it?" (i.e., deal with the same burning rage and desperation for vengeance that is tearing Sam apart) (gifset). In 1.04, he learns John was bragging about Sam's accomplishments to other people (gifset). In 1.08, when Dean tells Sam that John was never actually disappointed in him—that he was scared Sam would get hurt if he wasn't around (gifset here) a lot of Sam's anger about the Stanford fight fades. He ends the episode saying "Dad did the best he could" (a repeated quote often misattributed as coming more from Dean) and saying he wants to find him to apologize to him for the things he said (gifset). John and Sam share a heartfelt, tearful hug in 1.16—at the end of which Sam begs John not to leave, and in 1.20, John himself apologizes and explains what was going on in his head when they fought, and it ends with them smiling and laughing as they acknowledge they understand each other and they're the same. I track Sam and John's relationship through the tag, #we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone because Sam says that during that conversation in 1.20 (gifset).

Dean's shifting season 1 perspective on John

At the same time this shift is happening in Sam, we see Dean going the exact opposite direction. He starts out believing John has their best interest at heart even if they don't understand his actions, but the resentment is there too (1.06). In 1.09 and in 1.12, Dean needs help desperately, and John doesn't answer. While Sam is learning that John actually cares about him, Dean is growing more and more concerned that John doesn't care about him (Dean) specifically. We see this resentment start to come out (season 1 compilation set here) in 1.20, when John says he wants to keep the boys safe and that's why he's ditching them, and Dean calls it "A bunch of crap". Dean begins standing up to John to his face from this episode onward—finishing 1.20 with a "Yeah well we saved your ass" in response to John saying they disobeyed him. In 1.21, John tries to get on his case, and Dean lays into him about not answering the phone and specifically about abandoning Dean when Dean needed him in 1.09 and 1.12. In 1.22, Sam tries to get his way by telling Dean that John wouldn't want them to bring The Colt to save him, and Dean yells "I don't care what Dad wants!" and then when Sam starts throwing the blame on him for everything, Dean says,

Well, you and Dad are a lot more alike than I thought, you know that? You both can’t wait to sacrifice yourself for this thing. But you know what? I’m gonna be the one to bury you. You’re selfish, you know that? You don’t care about anything but revenge.

Dean has compared Sam and John more than once during the series, and it has never ever been a compliment.

Sam and Dean in the rest of the series

Sam and Dean's interactions about John in rest of the series are... almost universally the opposite of what the fanfics you've picked up suggest. Their interactions almost always show Dean criticizing John and Sam keeping silent or defending him, or reiterating that John did what he had to/the best he could.

Gifset on Dean's whole season 2 "Fuck John Winchester" vibe here.

In 2.01, Dean shouts at John for (it appears) abandoning him to die:

DEAN Come on, Dad. You've gotta help me. I've gotta get better, I've gotta get back in there. I mean, you haven't called a soul for help. You haven't even tried. Aren't you going to do anything? Aren't you even going to say anything? I've done everything you have ever asked me. Everything. I have given everything I've ever had. And you're just going to sit there and you're going to watch me die? I mean, what the hell kind of father are you?

Sam and John have a horrible fight where John blames him for Dean's condition and Sam tells him to go to Hell only for him to make a demon deal and literally go to Hell that same day (gifset) and Sam tries to start another fight right before John dies but John refuses to engage (gifset). The result ends up being that Sam and Dean have fully swapped places on John by 2.02 with John's death as the catalyst. John's death leaves Sam with regrets that their last interaction was Sam trying to start a fight (2.02). He decides he wants to hunt in John's memory (2.02) (gifset1, gifset2) while a part of Dean desperately wants to quit the life altogether—he's clawing the walls but feels helplessly trapped (2.09, 2.10, 2.20).

Sam defends John while Dean suggests John lead them down the wrong path with a dogmatic rule book (2.03). He demands they go to Lawrence so he can place John's dog tags over Mary's grave (2.04). He spends the season regurgitating John's orders, pushing Dean to do what John told him to do (2.11, 2.14, 2.20) while Dean wants to quit the life (2.09, 2.10, 2.20) and burns with anger toward John. In 2.10, Dean says "I wish to god he'd never opened his mouth!" about John.

In 2.11 "Playthings":

SAM (shoving DEAN to face him) Dean! Dad told you to do it, you have to. DEAN Yeah, well, Dad's an ass! (SAM frowns in confusion) He never should have said anything! I mean, you don't do that, you don't, you don't lay that kind of crap on your kids! SAM No. He was right to say it! Who knows what I might become? Even now, everyone around me dies!

We see Dean seething with resentment while Sam defends John's orders and tries to enforce them on Dean, carrying the legacy of their father in more ways than one.

Over and over, we get indications that a part of John treated Dean as disposable while he sheltered Sam, and that Dean is increasingly aware of the impact that's difference has had on him—to the point he realizes his father's neglect and abuse is the reason he isn't fighting to save himself in 3.10 "Dream A Little Dream Of Me". Dean and John's relationship is intentionally paralleled with a physically abusive relationship between a father and son in this same episode (gifset, meta), and in this episode, Dean rejects his father as an "obsessed bastard", calls Bobby his father (gifset), and decides from this point forward, he's going to fight to save himself from his demon deal because fuck John Winchester.

DREAM DEAN Dad knew who you really were. A good soldier and nothing else. Daddy's blunt little instrument. Your own father didn't care whether you lived or died. Why should you? DEAN Son of a bitch! My father was an obsessed bastard! All that crap he dumped on me, about protecting Sam! That was his crap! He's the one who couldn't protect his family! He– who wasn't there for Sam! I always was! He wasn't fair! I didn't deserve what he put on me! And I don't deserve to go to Hell!

And yeah! Dean also still loves John! And more than that—he craves John's protection. We see this in 3.14 "Long Distance Call" when the Crocotta calls to Dean as John from beyond the grave, telling Dean exactly what Dean wants to hear: "I never wanted this. Never. You're my boy, I love you. I can't watch you to go to hell, Dean," and telling Dean he can save him. This is pure longing for the love and protection Dean has always desired from John but feels like he's never received. Instead, he's always felt disposable.

In season 4? Oh boy... we get this incredible bit in 4.10 between Dean and Anna:

ANNA I was stationed on earth 2,000 years. Just... watching... silent... invisible... out on the road... sick for home... waiting on orders from an unknowable father I can't begin to understand. So don't tell me that -- DEAN laughs. ANNA What is so funny? What? DEAN Nothing. Sorry. It's just...I can relate.

Then in after meeting Adam in 4.19, Sam and Dean have a fight about whether to bring Adam hunting with them or leave him to a normal life:

DEAN 'Hunting is life. You can't have connections.' Dad gave you that exact same speech, remember? It was just before you ditched us for Stanford. You hated Dad for saying that stuff, and now you're quoting him? SAM Yeah, well, turns out Dad was right. DEAN Since when? SAM Since always. Dean, when I look at Adam, you know what I see? DEAN A normal kid. SAM No. Meat. Because the demons and monsters out there, that's all he is. I hated Dad for a long time. I did. But now I think I understand. So we didn't have a dog and a white picket fence. So what? Dad did right by us. He taught us how to protect ourselves. Adam deserves the same. DEAN Listen to yourself, man. SAM You think I’m wrong? DEAN I think it's too late for us. This is our life. This is who we are, okay? And it's fine. I accept that. But with Adam, he's still got a chance, man. He can go to school. He could be a doctor.

Sam says John did right by them. Dean thinks he absolutely didn't, but they can't change who they are now—they can only keep others from falling down the same path.

At the end of the episode? Oh boy...

DEAN You know, I finally get why you and Dad butted heads so much. You two were practically the same person. SAM looks over. DEAN I mean, I worshipped the guy, you know? I dressed like him, I acted like him, I listen to the same music. But you were more like him than I will ever be. And I see that now. SAM I'll take that as a compliment. DEAN You take it any way you want.

It is NOT a compliment.

In 5.16, Dean is confronted with god's intentional absence, and burning with resentment, says to Joshua,

Forget it. Just another dead-beat dad with a bunch of excuses, right. I’m used to that. I’ll muddle through.

In 5.13, Sam takes the opportunity presented to him by young John's presence to defend their father and tell John that he forgives him (gifset).

JOHN Look, how long have you known about this...hunting stuff? SAM Pretty much forever. My dad raised me in it. JOHN You're serious? Who the hell does that to a kid? SAM Well, I mean, for the record, Mary's parents did. JOHN I don't care. You know, what kind of irresponsible bastard lets a child anywhere near—Y-you know, you could've been killed! SAM I, uh...came kind of close. SAM laughs. JOHN The number it must've done on your head...Your father was supposed to protect you. SAM He was trying. He died trying. Believe me. SAM sits down on the bench under a window. SAM I used to be mad at him. I—I mean, I used to... I used to hate the guy. But now I—I... I get it. He was...just doing the best he could. And he was trying to keep it together in—in—in this impossible situation. See... My mom, um... She was amazing, beautiful, and she was the love of his life. And she got killed. And...I think he would have gone crazy if he didn't do something. Truth is, um, my dad died before I got to tell him that I understand why he did what he did. And I forgive him for what it did to us. I do. And I just—I love him.

What Lebanon does is present Sam with the opportunity to reiterate his forgiveness toward a John who understands the context:

SAM Dad… for me? That fight… that was a lifetime ago. I don’t even remember what I said, and – I mean… yeah. You know what? You did some messed-up things. But I don’t… I mean, when I think about you… [voice breaks] and I think about you a lot… I don’t think about our – our fights. I think about you… I think about you on the floor of that hospital. And I think about how I never got to say goodbye. JOHN Sam. Son. I am so sorry. SAM I’m sorry, too. But you did your best, dad. You – you fought for us, and you loved us, and… that’s enough.

So yeah! The fanfic narrative here where Sam is Mr. "Dad was bad" and Dean is Mr. "Nooo dad did the best he could" IS ABSOLUTE NONSENSE!!!!!

#mail #multiseason #john #i dont deserve what he put on me #we probably have a lot more in common than just about anyone #the flannel business #14.13 #1.02 #1.06 #1.08 #1.11 #1.12 #1.09 #2.01 #2.02 #5.13 #5.16 #4.19 #4.10 #2.03 #2.04 #spn revisionisms

[cold-blooded-jelly-doughnut]

In December 1993, TK Strand was born. Now, almost 30 years later, it’s time for a fandom celebration!

DEADLINE EXTENSION!!

Window of submission is now: 07/11/23 - 01/12/23

Hi guys. I have decided to shift from a hard deadline to a window of submission instead. This, in large part, is so I might not miss my own fandom event! I’m also hoping it’s gonna allow people in similar situations time to finish anything they might have been hoping to post/share for the event. Happy creating to all you!

—

Let’s get creative to celebrate our favourite disaster magnet paramedic!

Any medium of work is acceptable, from fic to fanart, videos to gifsets, as long as there’s a focus on his birthday where possible. If that’s not possible and you just wanna make something out of appreciation for TK as a character, that’s great too! It still counts! Anything at all you’d like to create to mark the occasion of TK Strand’s 30th birthday. (Also any genre is fine. Give us birthday fluff. Give us gritty birthday angst. Give us birthday smut 👀)

Although TK’s birthday is canonically in December, I thought it might be nice to give ourselves three months to the day to work on our pieces, meaning they will be posted on November 7th, which in fact is Ronen Rubinstein’s 30th birthday! I thought this might be a nice little way to mark our appreciation for both Ronen and TK.

On November 7th, please tag all works with #tkstrandturns30 and I will put together a masterlist in due course.

Below the cut are 30 prompts for possible birthday related shenanigans. Please ensure that when November 7th arrives, all work is appropriately tagged so we can help each other stay safe and informed. Happy creating!

Carlos stresses over what to get TK for his birthday, TK bombarding him with constant guesses all the while.

On TK’s birthday, Carlos takes him somewhere they’ve never been before.

Flashback to a previous birthday.

On TK’s birthday, one of their plans goes terribly wrong.

Another pet is added to the mix.

TK is moved/overwhelmed/astounded by the beautiful toasts/speeches his friends and family make at his birthday party.

TK becomes aware that his father’s latest midlife crisis is a direct result of the prospect of having a 30 year old son.

Carlos and TK celebrate alone.

Carlos buys TK an “experience” of some kind for his birthday.

TK and Carlos spend TK’s 30th in New York.

Someone ends up in the emergency room.

TK has his last near death experience of his 20s.

TK and Carlos discuss what they want from the next decade of their lives together.

Carlos hides 30 small surprises in the loft.

TK’s friends plan a surprise party, which either goes remarkably well or astonishing badly.

On or around TK’s 30th birthday, someone from his past makes an unwelcome appearance.

TK’s 4th coma. Will he wake up in time to see his birthday?

TK and Carlos plan a trip, and get stranded on the way there.

Owen is an emotional drunk at TK’s party, causing an unusual amount of chaos.

TK gets a birthday text from an ex.

TK thinks Carlos has forgotten his birthday.

TK receives an unusual gift from one of his friends.

TK leaves his birthday party for a moment of quiet introspection.

Enzo sends TK a birthday gift: something that belonged to Gwyn.

Carlos brings the wrong cake home from the bakery.

Carlos dresses as a clown for the party, not realising Owen is afraid of them.

TK accidentally finds out what Carlos is planning for his birthday, and has to choose whether to tell him, or pretend not to know.

Carlos and TK do something new in the bedroom.

TK gets the PERFECT birthday gift from an unexpected source.

Lou II wears a party hat, but who on earth got it onto his head?

#tkstrandturns30 #tk strand #911 lone star #tarlos fic #tarlos

[jaskierx]

im not trying to start shit and be all "boo taika" but i guess i'm just curious as to your take in this article. i realize this might be a complicated thing to answer but idk when i read it i was like "well this isnt great"

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/509912/chelsea-winstanley-i-was-married-to-someone-who-was-on-their-own-buzz

hey anon!

fascinated (affectionate) to hear that i am someone whose opinions people are interested in lmao

i read this article yesterday and my overall feelings towards it are that this doesn't change anything for me and shouldn't change anything for most people

the gist of the article seems to be that taika got offered the thor ragnarok job and it came with a ridiculous paycheck and there was no way he was ever going to turn it down (valid). chelsea didn't want to put her own career on the backburner or uproot her kids to move to australia while he was directing it (also valid). this led to their relationship breaking down, which is totally understandable, because if you're in a couple it's really fucking difficult when you're forced to make a decision that is going to heavily favour one person.

he may or may not have cheated. if he did, he's not the first person to cheat, and he won't be the last. if he didn't, that doesn't mean the relationship was perfect and had nothing else going on.

i will happily sit here and call people out for spreading misinformation about taika when it's demonstrably false (clock my pinned post etc). but i've never engaged with any of the shit about 'he cheated on his wife' 'he abandoned his kids' 'he's a bad dad' etc because ultimately i don't know anywhere near enough about his family to make a judgement on that, it would be very weird if i did, and i don't care!

i don't know the guy! i'm never going to meet him! he's never going to directly impact my life or the lives of anybody i care about! i really enjoy his art, and one of my main hobbies is shitposting on this hellsite about a show that he's a lead actor in, and i appreciate an attractive gifset of him, but that's where it stops.

maybe he cheated on his wife. maybe he's a terrible father. it doesn't matter to me bc i'm not going to marry him and he's not my dad. he's a good director and a good actor and that's as far as i'm interested.

#asks #anon #taika waititi

[atiny-for-life]

Ateez's Full Storyline Explained - Part 21

Masterlist

Before we begin...

I'd like to shout out @xuseokgyu's gifset on the MATZ MV since I adore her analysis and I really do think it might just be the real-life message they meant to portray. It was also one of the contributing reasons for my initial belief that the unit MVs were unrelated to the storyline.

MATZ (A-World)

Initially, due to the announcement that this takes place in the A-World, I was going to propose the theory that this MV takes place prior to Fever Part 1 - a flashback to Hongjoong and Seonghwa performing as a rap duo before they met Yunho and the rest and became Ateez, but I just couldn't figure out how all the robed cult-like people fit into this narrative... and then it dawned on me:

Halazia.

We saw the bluebird at the end of Crazy Form and the shattered Cromer which means the Halazia-squad has been traveling between Worlds and may likely have ended up in the A-World along the way.

I'm not gonna lie: I first thought of this because of Hongjoong's fluffy hat which reminded me of the one he wore in Halazia but once I had it in my brain, I couldn't help but notice various other similarities.

The abandoned building?

Reminiscent of the abandoned mall we grew all too familiar with during that funky little livestream before the release of Halazia.

All the chains randomly hanging from the ceiling?

Reminiscent of the ones they were dragging around in Halazia to chain up the orb.

All the people in robes willingly following them around to commit random crimes like robbing a small store?

Their version of the Black Pirates, aka the robed folks we already saw in Halazia.

Bro, they even brought back the purple lighting and specifically made fun of me personally because I'm too dumb to figure out the meaning behind these numbers.

(I'm kidding, of course, but it really isn't my fault I'm a dumbass.)

All this to say: these two are neither Hongjoong and Seonghwa from Ateez, nor the Black Pirates we've come to know and love, but rather the two we've only met briefly during one of the sickest goddamn MVs I've ever seen while they were performing the most spiritually and spacially transcendent songs I've ever head like holy shit, Halazia still slaps so fucking hard, how did they even come up with this.

Anywho - with this in mind, we can watch the video again and gather hints as to what they're up to in the A-World (besides committing minor felonies here and there).

We begin as follows:

They've ordered one of their people to fasten a tracker to the underside of a black car prior to their arrival on the scene.

Several black-cloaked figures then enter the car and drive away before we cut to the title card.

Matz exit the building and get into the car which is now no longer occupied by at least the two people in the front seats which means there's a small timeskip where we don't know what happened with the car's occupants. I'll get back to this in a moment.

We now see Matz take the front seats right before they get black bags pulled over their heads from the people hidden in the backseat. Clearly, they're not very surprised by this. They knew it would happen. It's part of the plan.

They get chained up and stuffed in the back and taken to a secondary location. (Take note of the blue-and-earthtone palette we've last seen in Halazia.)

Keep in mind that this is a vehicle their own people are able to track. This tells me it's not just the creeps who are after Matz - Matz are also after these creeps. Now, who would Matz have beef with in the A-World, a world they've never been to before?

That's right: Henry Jo, the leader of Skienslavar, aka A-World's Z whose straight up evilness has led to the brainwashing and mass-murder of a huge amount of people in Z-World and, most likely, also their own world (which we saw go up in smoke in Halazia).

Matz are currently on a mission to take down A-World's Skiensalvar before they can do as much damage as they did back in their own world. And it's this mission that then also leads them, and likely also the rest of their members, to Z-World at the end of Crazy Form.

Henry Jo last saw Ateez at the museum when they were trying to steal the Cromer to save Yeosang in the Fever Epilogue Diary Entries - hell, he even tried to straight up stab Wooyoung to get his hands on that thing. Naturally, he then also wouldn't shy away from kidnapping any of them to get the current location of the Cromer out of them.

This explains why they're tied to a chair and surrounded by cultists from all angles.

Right after this shot, we get to see yet another group with black hoods march up into the same building. However, unlike the ankle-length robes of the cultists, they're dressed in black pants and hoodies, leaning more toward techwear

They're the Black Pirates who've been tracking the black car they tagged at the beginning of the MV and they're here to free their two kidnapped leaders

Specifically, the Black Pirates head out the moment Seonghwa makes eye contact with one of the cultist's camera lenses, which I can only assume means that this messed-up cult is livestreaming their kidnapping of two young men in their mid-twenties

Likely because they're hoping either of them will say something that will reaffirm the cult's beliefs and thus validate them in the eyes of whatever audience they're trying to reach

Right after this moment, Matz break the chains binding their wrists and jump up from their chairs

We can then see them perform in the same location with some of the other Black Pirates - thus also utilizing the livestreaming equipment that was already set up to, presumably, try to undo whatever harm the preachings of the cult may have done to the current viewership

After leaving the area, Matz seem to teleport out of the premises which is indicated by a negative frame, followed by some skipped frames to create a nice flowy movement out of frame to the right that feels unnatural but seamless

Right after, we get another transitional frame from Matz in the outfits they've been wearing all along to just Seonghwa in a more fancy gold and fur get up

Along the way, we also get to see Matz run through an empty parking garage while some of the other Black Pirates are slowly wandering through a little music store

They're simply looking at all the CDs in the shelves - something they've never seen before after they've been denied access to music their entire lives back in their world

And then Matz arrive and start tearing up the place

But why? I think it might just be in their character

When we saw them in Halazia, they were burning the Black Pirates' uniforms and now we see them tearing up a store selling the music they themselves use as a form of rebellion

Like I theorized back with Halazia: I think they might be struggling with the legacy left behind by the Black Pirates; they might feel angry and abandoned and are now pissed off that, in this world, people have shelves upon shelves full of music while they themselves were denied any form of expression for at least a significant chunk of their lives

And now, they had to come in from another world to stop the same fate from happening to them and the people there will never know how much they did for them

We already know how different Ateez are from their Z-World counterparts - due to them growing up in A-World, they're more calculated, less provocative, less extreme (Inception vs Thanxx, Guerrilla vs Crazy Form)

Halazia-World's Ateez thus seem to be an even more extreme version of Z-World's Ateez - more volatile, maybe even more aggressive, certainly less open to making new friends from what we've seen so far

This is certainly also highlighted when we listen to the newscaster reporting on a case of two men who mysteriously disappeared after committing arson

Those two little shits legit set a fire and teleported out of there to not get caught - y'all, after all that fire in Halazia, I legit think these dudes are just serial arsonists hiding behind the guise of a revolutionary cause

In conclusion: I'm fairly confident in my theory and I think we'll be seeing these crazy guys again very soon; be that with another single or the next Korean mini or full album (though I would also very much appreciate a Japanese comeback tied into the main storyline - they're always underappreciated with any group, it seems).

#ateez #ateez lore #hongjoong #seonghwa #yunho #yeosang #san #mingi #wooyoung #jongho #will - the world ep fin #matz mv

[visualtaehyun]

9 People You'd Like To Get To Know Better

I've been up since like 3 am because of jetlag so I thought I might as well answer one of the thingies I've been tagged in, thank you @airenyah ✨️

3 ships

1) Scallisaac - Scott, Allison and Isaac (Teen Wolf)

A perfect triad that first opened my eyes to poly ships and triads in particular! I gotta rec this one fic here that's been percolating in my brain for, oh, just- you know, a decade 🙂

2) River/Doctor - River Song and the 11th doctor (Doctor Who), or as I used to tag them- OTP: Whoney I'm home :D

They were arguably my first major OTP after I first learned what that means lol I love a flirty dynamic, bickering, tragic fated lovers, and time travel! My time in the Doctor Who fandom was when I first taught myself how to gif and use photoshop (back when I still had it...) so there's a bunch of gifsets and edits still on my blog from around then, at least one of which I remember featuring this ship!

3) To no one's surprise, I gotta nod along to one of @airenyah 's choices: Destiel - Dean and Castiel (Supernatural)

The amount of fics I read...! I even still have a 9 year old inactive sideblog that I made, posted a lot on, and then abandoned all within the span of one year lmao

First ship

I honestly don't remember but since one of my earliest fandoms was W.i.t.c.h., I'm just gonna say it was one of the canon relationships, like Will x Matt or either of Cornelia's romances

Last song

Spotify tells me it's Blooming Just For You (꽃이 피는데 필요한 몇 가지) by NuNew and Paul Kim but that's kind of cheating since I've been using it as an alarm recently lol

So, checking my recently played, the next one down is จังหวะตกหลุมรัก (Magic Moment) by DIDIxDADA ✨️

Currently reading

I'm still reading เจ้าชายน้อย /jao chaai naawy/, The Little Prince in Thai, because I tend to read a chapter while marking unfamiliar words as I go but then the looking up of them all afterwards takes me forever so I'm kinda lazy about reading it 😂

Last movie

The Lost Lotteries, or in Thai: ปฏิบัติการกู้หวย (/bpa dti bat gaan guu huay/ = Operation Recovering Lotteries)

It's a Thai comedy from 2022 that's basically about a heist but since I know folks here love First Kanaphan, here's my tumblr pitch: he stars as a spoiled rich kid, has a neck tattoo, and is in all of two scenes lol Also- not related to First anymore but- the characters are all nicely color-coded 🌈

Currently craving

Sleep 🤓 No but for real, jetlag is a bitch and it always only hits me after traveling back west which, like- usually people find it to be worse when traveling east so what the fuck is up with my inner clock hm????

No pressure tags: @zimmbzon @thegalwhorants @twig-tea @rocketturtle4 @sunshinechay @khaostache @slayerkitty @bruisingknees @berestweys - if y'all've already played this tag, please do point me towards it 💕

#bella and the blorbos #tag game #if you're wondering why i'm so slow to react to notifs- hi! i'm on vacation!

[theheightofdishonor]

I have a couple more shows on my watchlist and once that's done i think i'll be taking a (probably brief) break from asian dramas to focus on some of the other dozen watchlists i have (anime maybe? i might skip jojo and try daiya no ace again- we'll see though)

I'm hitting the 300 dramas mark soon (that's 300 completed mind you, not counting movies, and not counting things i've dropped) so i'll probably write something later in the year too reflecting on both the shows that've come out this year and the ones i've watched

For now i thought i'd jot down a couple notes about the currently airing shows i'm keeping up with since i haven't had time to do that in a while. I'll be doing this in the order I watch them in.

Middleman's Love- ngl I'm solely watching this for King and Uea. I know some of you like this show but the main couple just don't work for me and the side couple are only mildly more interesting. I'll keep watching it to the end but it's a skim watch.

Twins- A great example of how silly is fine when it's enjoyable. I fucking adore this show right now. This has volleyball in it and I'm a haikyuu!! fan before i'm a person so of course i was going to watch this show no matter how dumb it is but it's great. I'm having a blast. I like the family dynamics, I like Sprite, I like how they're committing to the 'slow' part of 'slow burn', I like all the stupid hijinks, I like that I can watch this show and be like "oh he's a Setter, like Kageyama!", I just like it. Poor First though, doing all this work of unlearning his hatred for Zee for no damn good reason.

My Dear Gangster Oppa- This one used to be first on my list but after the dumb breakup last week, it's dropped down. I hate the noble idiocy trope as @lurkingshan calls it. It's stupid, it's annoying and I don't think this week's episode made up for it. Shame really, I was quite enjoying this show at first. The chemistry's good and cliches are fine when they're enjoyable. If it wasn't ending next week, I would drop it.

Last Twilight- Saving the best for last because a) it's a heavier show with more to think about than any of the above and b) youtube's interface annoys me.Tbh I only started watching this in the hopes that it might rewrite my current reflex of wincing everytime I see Jimmy's face in a gifset but it's such an excellent show. Aof's directing and storytelling is excellent as usual and he really does deserve credit for how handles his actors. Watching JimmySea in this and then vv is like whiplash.

ps. Pit Babe- i'm not invested in keeping up with this show and my desire to do so depends on factors such as the amount of free time I have and how reluctant I am to use youtube to watch Last Twilight. It seems to have inklings of an interesting plot + obviously it's fandom history cuz of the a/b/o but the way they only half lean into the omegaverse aspects of it without explaining anything makes me wonder what people who aren't familiar with the concept of omegaverse think about this show and how they understand it. Like it has to be confusing without context, right? Mostly, i'm just watching for Nut Supanut and Nut Supanut only though it remains to be seen whether my affection for him will eventually be worn down by how annoying his character is. I swear, if it were played by anyone else or if I cared about the main characters to any extent, I'd find Way insufferable. But so far, i'm supporting all his wrongs. Especially when he looks so damn pretty doing it.

#middleman's love #my dear gangster oppa #last twilight the series #pit babe the series #twins the series #i;m not watching cooking crush #thai comedy isnt really my style and the only person id watch it for is nanon #cherry magic started today but i'll put it off til it either finishes airing or i find myself having some free time when gangster oppa ends #re: noble idiocy ive gotten to the point where it's a make or break tbh #like i havent seen a half decent execution of it in so long #the only sufferable examples off the top of my head #is in simr when phob leaves for like an hour and then ends up coming back #and word of honor where it has consequences #and zzs almost dies + gets genuinely pissed off about it #that whole scene was so cathartic tbh #ik there's over a dozen other currently airing shows but those im shoving off to binge #i only have so much free time lmao

[the-force-awakens]

Had this thought and thought you might understand it. I know Poe Dameron is played by Oscar Isaac, but when I see Poe, I don't see Oscar, I just see Poe. Like, they look the same, but also they don't. I see Poe as his own separate person.

Or, I could just be crazy.....

Nope, nope you're definitely not crazy, I talk about this all the time with my friends. Oscar is one of those rare actors that just kind of disappears into his roles — and no two characters even physically look the same, and it's not just because of hair or stubble ratio or whatever, there's just something different about him every time.

It really properly struck me last year (though I noticed while working through his filmography in 2021 that I also never thought about Poe watching any of his other movies) when I happened to have, I think, a Marc header on my blog and then one afternoon my top post was a gifset of Poe — and the difference was so staggering i sat there and stared between the two for a long time because even though i know 100% it's the same actor, im like. that's two entirely different people who just kind of look alike.

I also like tossing Santiago out as an example for this because man:

it blows my goddamned mind that Triple Frontier came out the same year as the Rise of Skywalker, because again, that is NOT the same man. But yet also it is!!!! This man is Talented, goddamn.

#i-belong-to-the-stars #ask box #that's not even getting into roles where he physically looks a lot different too #but I've only seen two of those (the card counter and dune) #(but I'll admit I did think about Poe a lot watching Dune. you can't have him be a pilot and Not expect me to think about my husband) #I think besides THAT the only time I think about his other roles is when the character he's playing is pretty underdeveloped #(kane and....I forget that he doesn't have a canonical name. outcome 3) #(aka my friend Jordan's boy) #oscar isaac #....sometimes I forget I have a spin in Oscar's filmography as well whoops

[ruanbaijie]

Thank you so much for The Spirealm post each time😍 Look forward everyday for new update hehe😁 Can I ask a few things that I don't quite get it? The drama didn't explain about the ring, kaleidoscope and there's light in you. Can you share a little bit if there's explanation about this in the book?

Already watch the last ep. The ending kind of confusing😵‍💫

hello! thank you to you too ^^ (I really am spamming the gifsets at this point, I have so many more waiting in my drafts 😅) here are my thoughts on those points!

the ring: yeah I think the drama left it open to interpretation, but in the novel rnz gives lqs a ruby earstud - I read the novel a while back, so I can't for the life of me remember if there's some practical purpose behind that earstud (e.g. whether he can feel his feelings through it) or if rnz also kept the other earstud (I might be confusing this with another danmei I love). so I think the ring in the drama might just symbolise that part in the novel

kaleidoscopes: in the drama I think they explained this in passing - gao dawei (lqs's friend who supposedly created this game) put in so many kaleidoscopes in their on purpose to "remind" lqs that this game is actually about him, since it's mentioned that lqs really loved kaleidoscopes when he was a child. I also noticed that the door area (yknow that dark blue "room" with the church-like painted glass before they enter each door) looks kinda like a kaleidoscope with the doors all facing one another (resembling the cross-section of a kaleidoscope) and the painted glass (resembling the colours of a kaleidoscope) vs. in the book, iirc it's mentioned the doors are a long corridor instead of facing one another. tbh, I think they just included all these kaleidoscopes in just as a nod to the original novel name (kaleidoscope of death)

light in you: this is an actual novel quote! in the novel there's a line that rnz says: “身上光越明亮，受到门的影响越小，你是我见过的，光最明亮的那一个，所以，你非常适合门。” ("the brighter the light on someone shines, the less affected they are by the doors. among all the people I've seen, you are the who has the brightest light. so, you are extremely suitable for the doors.") also! another quote I really love that's also from the novel is the one where rnz goes "I will protect you for a lifetime, whether it's for your lifetime, or for mine."

ending: man...... I don't even know where to begin with this. *spoiler alert for the novel ending below!* the novel ends with the revelation that rnz was the "door god" of the 12th and final door - what really happened was lqs had gone through doors 1-11 all by himself and founded and headed the obsidian group all by himself, there was no such person as rnz in real life. but in door 12, rnz the door god saw him, fell in love with him, and wanted to spend more time with lqs, so in the novel, door 12 was lqs redoing all of doors 1-11, except with rnz in the story now (i.e. the novel is entirely about door 12 pretending to be doors 1-11). the show's ending is kinda similar to that in the sense that rnz was part of the "game" (it's not a game in the novel, the "origin story" of the doors is very different) all along, but that's where the similarities end. the show kinda took that happy ending in the novel and twisted it into this bittersweet painful angsty ending where rnz is the code that "purifies" the distorted game. but the twist that I have even more trouble (i.e. pain) getting over is how it's kinda implied that the whole thing was in lqs's mind in the first place, like how when he re-emerged from that final door it turns out he's been in the same car accident from episode 1 and no one has any recollection of the game and his friend gao dawei didn't even invent the game. I say implied because it's never really specified if the games really happened or not, but I'm a pessimist (even though it is kinda strange that lqs would have managed to "dream" the personalities and appearances of so many different people he would later meet in real life after coming out from the final door). did the game really happen and everyone just conveniently forgot about everything and history somehow got rewritten after rnz purified the game? or was it all lqs dreaming it all up in his head after he got into a car accident and in the split second he almost died? they do seem to imply it's the latter, which is *painful* because it means rnz never existed in the first place, and even if they ended episode 78 with them meeting again after 50 years, that rnz wouldn't be the same rnz that lqs had supposedly dreamed up; he would just be a copy that lqs had programmed to be that way based on that one wild dream he had after an accident _(:3 」∠)_

ANYWAY angsty depressing thoughts aside, I hope this helps clear up some things about the show!

#*replies #the spirealm

[frodo-with-glasses]

So, what’s next?

We’ve reached the end of the book, but the fun is just getting started! Here’s what to expect going forward.

Phase One: Reblog Marathon

First things first, I’m taking a short break from the daily doodles. For a couple weeks, this blog will be all reblogs of meta posts and gifsets; I’ve been storing them up for the past year and a half, and I’m taking the opportunity to share them all now!

At the same time, I’ll be running a BRAND NEW ASK GAME that I’m calling the “Artist Commentary Game”! Keep an eye out in about three hours for a post explaining it!

Phase Two: The Epilogue

This phase will be much slower-paced than the previous ones. This past year and a half has really helped me hone my ability to keep a schedule and be creative on demand (without burning out, amazingly!), but there’s only so much time in the day; and I want to focus those skills primarily on my original writing for a little while.

But that doesn’t mean I’m abandoning this blog! I’ll try to have something new posted here at least once a week, including:

A review of the epilogue found in The End of the Third Age (this one’s for you, @lady-merian!)

Any art inspired by that epilogue (watch me try not to draw the whole chapter haha)

Some bonus “after the war” comics (mostly featuring my two favorite families, Sam’s and Beregond’s, to nobody’s surprise)

Some Magnolia AU stuff

More lyric comics set to Hamilton songs

And more!

I still have a few of the Word Asks left over, so I might answer those as well. (To the anon who sent me a bunch of words for Frodo and Sam: I love you, I haven’t forgotten you, and I’m just saving the best for last ;-3)

Phase Three: The Digital Age

This one will run congruently with Phase Two, but it might outlast it.

As many of you know, I plan to set up a Redbubble store (by popular demand), and part of that process is turning my doodles into digital art in full color. As each of those new digital pieces is finished, you’ll see them posted here! I’ll try to have at least one published every week as well.

Phase Four: Deja Vu

At some point—perhaps September 22nd, because Important Dates—I want to start the book over again. There’s a lot of things I’d want to draw for, say, the Mines of Moria that I feel I could do a lot better now that my art has grown.

Again, I don’t know when this will start—between my original writing and setting up the store I already have a LOT of work on my plate—but I intend to do it at some point!

Phase Five: Bilbo-With-Glasses

Depending on the workload of Phase Four, I might run this one at the same time; but in any case, one day I will create a separate blog giving the patented Lady Glasses treatment to The Hobbit!

In conclusion…

This past year and a half has been really fun, and the future of the blog looks bright! I’m excited, and I hope you are too. ^-^ See you there!

#blog maintenance #lady glasses speaks

[lucy-sky]

Skulls and Roses (tattoo master!Griff x f!Reader)

Filthy Friday prompts: porn without plot (or with minor plot idk); hookup; rough

Getting your tattoo dedicated to your ex replaced by a new one can be extremely liberating.

Warnings: casual sex (protected!) - I don’t need to explain you that having sex with someone you don’t really know can be dangerous, right? Please be careful in real life :)

Words: 1936; gif by me (from an older gifset when I didn’t use the watermark)

AO3 link if you prefer reading there

“Don’t get me wrong, sweetheart, customer’s always right… but why not simply remove that shit?”

“Because I don’t want to just get rid of it. I want to have something beautiful instead,” you explain, turning the pages of the album filled with tattoo design options. “And please, don’t call me sweetheart. Ever.”

The story is as old as the world. You were in love, he was an asshole. You thought it’s gonna last, but it didn’t. The love is gone, and the only reminder of a man who broke your heart are these stupid fancy letters - his initials, tattooed on your forearm. At first you wanted to leave this evidence of your stupidity as a warning to not repeat your mistakes again, but you simply couldn’t bear seeing them any longer. You want to move on after all. That’s what brought you here, to a place down the street called “Griff’s Tattoos”.

“Alright, alright easy there,” the master raises his hands at your aggressive tone. “Told ya, the customer’s always right. But you see, I ain’t got no… butterflies, or flowers, or unicorns or something like that in here, I’m afraid.”

“Who says I want butterflies or unicorns?” you huffed, rolling your eyes. “I might not look super hardcore, but you don’t know me, mister…”

“It’s Griff, you can just call me that,” the man gestures at the “Griff’s Tattoos” sign on the wall. “And yeah, you’re right, I don’t-”

“Hey, how about that?” you interrupted him as you finally found something of your taste.

“Really? You want that?” Griff raises his eyebrows as you point at the picture. There’s a skull with three red roses, seemingly growing out of it.

“Yeah, I think this one is great. The skull means that the old love is dead, and the roses mean that something beautiful can still grow in its place,” you reply with a shrug.

“Okay, uh… That makes sense, I guess. Didn’t think of any of this while drawing it though,” he lets out a chuckle.

“You could think of a meaning for some of your tattoo designs to sell them to the customers.”

“Yeah, maybe. My own tattoos don’t have much meaning at all, I just make up different stories ‘bout ‘em to impress the girls,” he laughs.

“Nice,” you sigh under your breath, trying not to roll your eyes again. Yet another asshole in your life, apparently. Thank god you’re only his customer, and nothing more than that.

“So, if you made up your mind, let’s get to it,” he smiles, gesturing at his workplace.

“Yep, let’s get to it.”

Maybe that Griff really is an asshole, who knows? But in fact, he manages to make you laugh a few times while he’s working, and you really appreciate that. Conversation distracts you from the pain, plus this man… You have to admit there’s something attractive about him, despite anything. You watch his focused face while he’s working, the crease of his eyebrows, and in a way he looks quite intimidating, but when he smiles, he suddenly looks so different. As if his features soften, and those wrinkles at the corners of his eyes are kind of… Cute? And his gruff voice and deep dark eyes… Damn, you can’t be serious, thinking of him like that. On the other hand - you’re a single woman now, free from a long and actually pretty toxic relationship. You don’t have to jump into another one, but a bit of flirting never hurt nobody. Flirting makes you feel confident, and for the first time in what feels like ages you’re simply enjoying it without feeling any sort of guilt. And honestly? You love this feeling.

“There ya go,” he says proudly when the work is finished. “You like it?”

“Yeah, that’s… Really good!” your reply is honest - you really think the new tattoo is great. The goddamn initials are now perfectly covered with a fresh layer of ink, and even if the tattoo is a bit too bigger than you intended to get at first, you still are satisfied. “I love it.”

“Good to know,” Griff nods, his fingers brushing against your arm with unexpected gentleness. “Did my best to save the girl in trouble.”

“Please!” you scoff, “I think you’re flattering yourself.”

“Modesty’s not my thing,” he grins. “Can I uh… Ask you a personal question?”

“Try it.”

“What happened to you and that guy?” He gestures at the tattoo. “I mean if that’s a guy, ‘cause it could be a girl too, I-”

“That’s a guy. And well, there’s nothing much to talk about, really. I was dumb enough to think he’s the love of my life, and then I found out the dickhead’s been cheating on me for months. Which is actually pretty funny, ‘cause he’s always been extremely jealous and made me feel guilty every time I looked at another man.”

You’re not quite sure why you told it to him. Apparently sometimes it’s just easier to tell something this personal to a stranger.

“Damn. That’s fucked up.”

“Fuck him. His ego is way bigger than his dick, to be honest, so I don’t regret it’s over,” you shrug.

“You know what? If I were him, I’d definitely treat you way better.”

For some reason the way Griff says it, and the way his dark eyes look at you cause a slight shiver run down your spine.

“Oh yeah?” you say, and it comes out a bit more flirty than you intended.

“Yeah. My ego’s big, but no one ever complained about my dick either,” he smirks. Unconsciously, you lower your gaze to his crotch at these words, and instantly hate yourself for that because he obviously noticed, you can tell it from the way his grin got wider.

“See something you like,” he winks, and you hate yourself once again, because even at this moment you find him attractive, with all his stupid tattoos, and smile, and beard, smug face and mischievous eyes.

“Look, Griff. I wanna make it clear for you, okay? I’m not looking for a relationship. I’ve had enough for now.”

He steps closer, invading your space, leaning towards you, his lips impossibly close to your ear as he speaks, so close you can feel the warmth of his breathing.

“Who’s talking about relationships, sweetheart? It’s just that… If you want me to make you forget ‘bout that son of bitch for a while, I’m happy to oblige.”

Oh gosh, the audacity this man has!..

“I told you not to call me sweetheart, remember?” you say as you turn your face to meet his gaze, and then, all of a sudden, following some strange impulse, you press your lips to his.

Griff is quick to respond to your actions, kissing you back with furious determination. Your kiss was timid, but his tongue invades your mouth with no shame at all, his hand reaching to the back of your head to pull you closer, it skims to the side of your neck and frames your jaw as he kisses you, humming against your mouth, and you probably lost your mind, because you don’t push him away. Instead, your own tongue darts to meet his. Matching his wild energy, you nip on his bottom lip, earning a low groan from him, your fingers sinking into his hair to give it a tug.

It’s crazy. Totally fucking insane. You don’t even know this man.

“Fine,” you hear yourself saying, chest heaving as you’re trying to catch a breath. “Make me forget.”

“Customer’s always right,” Griff chuckles, his hands roaming down your body, kneading your butt as he kisses you once again with the same fire and passion. “Just wait a second.”

He pulls back and walks towards the door. He turns over the “open” sign, changing it into a “closed” one, and returns to you.

“Don’t want anyone to disturb us”, he explains, seizing your hips and urging you to sit on the desk behind you. “Still wanna do it, darlin’?”

“I might change my mind if you ask too many questions.”

“Got it.”

He buries his face into your neck, kissing, sucking and nibbling at the tender flesh there, big warm hands sliding up your thighs and under the skirt of your dress. You let out a quiet moan when he reaches your already embarrassingly damp underwear.

“Shit, you sound so good. Can you moan a lil louder for me?” He murmurs into your neck, his fingers pressing harder between your thighs, causing your hips to buck in anticipation.

“Want me to moan - make me.”

You have no idea where you got this boldness from, but that’s the new you, and fuck it - you’re actually enjoying yourself.

Griff doesn’t need to be told twice. He swiftly tugs your panties down your legs, cursing at your shoelaces as he unties and pulls off your boots to get the underwear out of the way. Once he manages to do it, he pushes your legs open and dips his fingers between your slick folds. You whimper, gripping onto his shoulders, as he curls them inside of you, touching exactly the right spot over and over. It feels amazing, mind blowing, but you still need more.

“You got condoms, do you?” you ask breathlessly.

“Who do you think I am, swee- darlin’?” he grins, reaching to fish it out of his back pocket. At this point you don’t even give a shit what he calls you any longer. With shaky fingers you undo his jeans as he opens the wrapper with his teeth and throws it away.

He enters you with a hard thrust of his hips, setting a pretty rough pace, but that’s exactly what you want. He promised to make you forget, and he keeps his promise, fucking you as if he wants fuck any single thought out of your brain until your head is empty and light. Your moans and gasps and his grunts and muffled curses become louder and louder as you’re both getting closer to climax. You come first, throwing your head back as your walls flutter and clench around him, your whole body shuddering as pleasure hits you wave after delicious wave. Griff manages to catch your mouth in a messy, sloppy kiss before he follows you, groaning like a wild animal. Then he stays still for a while, panting, face buried into the crook of your neck.

Getting down from your high, you let your fingers caress the back of his neck absentmindedly, enjoying that pleasant post-orgasmic buzz coursing through your body. How can sex with someone you barely know feel so good? You always thought really good sex must involve feelings. Not that you want to repeat this experience, but right now, at this stage of your life it didn’t feel dirty or embarrassing. It felt kinda liberating.

“You okay?” Griff asks hoarsely as he pulls away and reaches somewhere behind you to grab a roll of paper towels.

“Yeah, I’m good,” you nod.

Your hand is already on the doorknob when Griff stops you.

“Wait, almost forgot,” he tears a page out of his album and hands it to you. “Here. I don’t repeat the tattoos, so…”

“Oh. Course,” you smile as you take the paper and look at the skull with roses once again. “Alright. Thanks again, um… Good night!”

“Night,” he says simply. “Come over if you need some more ink, or… You know.”

“I don’t think so,” you reply honestly. “But who knows, maybe one day I’ll change my mind.”

He nods with a soft yet smug chuckle on his face.

“Customer’s always right.”

Thank you for reading!

Tattoo inspo

#bernthirstpalooza #griff x reader #tattoo master au #baby driver #jon bernthal fanfiction #lucy tries to write #darlingshane

[andoqin]

List of dramas that I am watching or want to watch, just for personal record reasons:

Cdramas:

The ingenious one (36/36): this drama has blown me away so far with its incredibly nuanced and sharp writing, its love stories between all the major couples and the absolutely magnificent cinematography. FINISHED verdict: HIGHLIGHT drama of the year for me so far. Smart, engaging, complicated, peak romance of all sorts, just what the doctor ordered tbh (overly long review can be found in my tags). 9.5

Chang Feng Du (40/40): I did not realise how close to the end I was. This drama is very pleasant and I adore our mains, but sadly except for a few highlights (the early beating gjs put on himself, the destruction of the gu family and the aftermath, the battle for wangdu) the writing hasn’t been able to keep the narrative tension up which is sad. FINSHED verdict: Very pretty and engaging in the beginning kinda loses me in the second half and then fizzles out emotionally, doesn't crash and burn but doesn't exactly stick the landing either 6.5

Gone with the rain (10/30): adore the gremlin4gremlin couple and from the spoilers I’ve seen not gonna adore much else

An ancient love song (1/16): incredible first episode and with only 30 min per ep and 16 eps in total this is gonna be a short fun ride I hope ( with lots of angst and tears naturally).

Here we meet again (18/32): started this for Wu Qian playing to type and Zhang BinBin being pretty but oh boy I’m struggling I just don’t care about the conflicts and in s surprising twist, I like the flashbacks to high school much much more, which is very funny if you think about the fact that the reason I started liking wu qian in the first place was because of her show stealing performance in the flashbacks of My Sunshine. I’ve been promised kisses in the near future so I’m gonna hold out till then but this might end up another drop.

Hidden Love (5/25): this one promises to be v sweet and kinda short but oh my god I have so many dramas on my plate rn so this might end up the first drop.

Till the end of the moon (22/40): I think I watched ep 1 when it started but then I got busy and now I am just staring at gifsets and crying, it’s definitely on the list to watch tho.

Heroes (6?/38): I started this a while ago, was really into it and then got busy… dammit. I might just rewatch the beginning so I can remember most of the set up for sure but man the visuals on this were so good, aaaa liu yuning.

Blood of youth (0/40): the last 12 months really have spoiled us with interesting looking wuxia dramas and this one is definitely on the list, I have been gifbaited once again.

Ray of light (0/30): usually hs dramas are something I avoid, but because I will not be watching the longest promise, for reasons, and bc @storge is a gifmaking temptress, this has made it on the list.

The legend of anle (0/39): Lmao trust YOUKU to screw up the release with bad subs only 1 ep even for vips and no released schedule… but at least I can put this on the backburner for now. Lmao should have known not to trust a youku dilreba drama, the tl has soundingly spoken and I'm gonna avoid this.

Ancient Detective (0/24): I was recced this by a friend when I mentioned my love for wuxia dramas, and since it’s almost shockingly short for a cdrama it’s on the list. EDIT: this got @purplehanfus seal of approval so it is def going up the list and since it's complete I'll probably at least watch it before the ongoing ones.

Butterflied love (0/22): see I barely made this post and already forgot about the screencap that got me started on writing it, the screencapa look great, but the drama is on mango, so who knows when I’ll truly be able to watch this

When I fly towards you (0/24): Well, I wasn't interested bc modern youth drama, but then I heard it described as "updated It Started with a Kiss" and... I'm weak? ISWAK was pretty much my crack gateway into asian dramas and while IDK if i could rewatch it today, something in me will always love this kind of story. Maybe it's like a quick palate cleanser in between since apparently eps are only about 30 mins.

Mysterious Lotus Casebook(0/40): CHENG YIIIII, in a possibly bromantic role? Or maybe het romance, I'll take it all. Plus I've already seen he's bleeding copious amounts as per his contract, so that's most of the checklist done.

Lost You Forever (0/??): because nature abhors a vacuum I apparently must have?? A minimum to watch pile and this actually and genuinely looks good??? A Yang Zi drama in 2023??? The mind boggles. Anyway I've been reading the recaps with delight, and am def going to watch this when part two airs in a couple of months but until then I have a thankful reprieve...

Kdramas:

See you in my 19th life (4/12): since kdramas release so slowly this is on the backburner but it does have some great gifsets that keep enticing meee

King the land (2/16): I am watching this for junho but it is kinda hard bc I have so much else on my plate and while I don’t mind a classic romcom type story I feel I need a bit more of an emotional hook

Story of the nine-tailed 1938 (0/16): so so many gorgeous and hilarious gifsets so little time. I loved season one so so much and the fact that this focuses on the brotherly relationship?? Extremely smart writing decisions were made!

The red sleeve (0/16): I blame @dangermousie for this she keeps reblogging angsts junho on my dash and I am but god’s weakest warrior.

Love tractor (0/8): gay himbo farmboy falls in love?? You bet this is on the list

Lady durian (0/?): ok this is only on the list for crack reasons but, daughter in law is in love with mother in law and both women are like 40+ truly kdramas have entered a new era and I kinda wanna be here for that

EDIT: Revenant (0/12): Kim Tae Ri in a spooky drama? POSSIBLY POSSESSED KIM TAE RI??? how could i forget to put her on this list, plus it was written by the Kingdom writer and I adore that drama plus it's only 12 eps which is smart in this case so... let's hope i get to it at some point D:

My dearest (2/20): I checked this out because it's got pretty much everything going for it from a production standpoint and boy did the first two eps deliver. This has got 2 seasons though so I'll probably wait until the second season is airing, since it won't be too long till season 2 or so the internet tells me.

My lovely liar (0/16): minhyun learned to act and I wanna see it happen!!

Jdramas:

Our dining table (2/10): ok this category is gonna be a bit shorter bc I haven’t watched too much drama recently but omg the gifs for this I am just crying thinking about it they look so cute??

Jack o‘frost (0/6): people have recced it and it’s short so here it is.

Utsukushii kare s2 (0/4): Season 1 was an unexpected delight so I hope s2 works just as well.

She loves to cook and she loves to eat (0/10): the manga for this is amazing (and hungry making) so I hope this adaptation holds up.

Ok this list is in no way exhaustive (well except for me being exhausted just trying toward this down) and probably subject to change ( I haven’t even looked at thaidramas or twdramas I gotta stop for now) but hopefully this will keep me on the ball and maybe I can add to it whenever a new tempting gifset crosses my dash…

#cdrama #jdrama #kdrama #the legend of anle #see you in my 19th life #ancient detective #King the land #Story of the nine tailed 1938 #the red sleeve #love tractor #Lady durian #the ingenious one #chang feng du #gone with the rain #an ancient love song #here we meet again #till the end of the moon #heroes #the blood of youth #ray of light #our dining table #jack o‘frost #utsukushii kare #she loves to cook and she loves to eat #to watch #too much to watch oh my god #butterflied love #revenant #when i fly towards you #mysterious lotus casebook

[tarisilmarwen]

Rebels Rewatch: “Rise of the Old Masters“

Happy Father’s Day!  Rather appropriately we are talking about a keystone Kanan-Ezra episode today.  I swear I didn’t plan that, just how the timing worked out, lol.

Anyway...

I briefly mentioned this in my coverage of “Spark of Rebellion” but one of the reoccurring elements that tend to crop up in all my favorite characters (because I’m horribly predictable and have a Type) is:

“Has complicated yet ultimately heartwarming storgeic relationship with (surrogate) father figure.”

Soooooooo yeah, Kanan and Ezra pretty much hit me right in that particular button.

Poor Kanan fumbling with the lessons that came so instinctively to him. XD

“Actually that one always confused me too.”  Love that Kanan can admit it.

Kanan’s approach is almost adorable in how inept it is, he’s just kind of throwing things against the wall hoping something will stick.  In perhaps the worst environment to do any of this.

(Seriously Kanan, on top of the Ghost, while it’s in midair?!  Disaster was inevitable.)

Hhhngl, look how Ezra’s eyes light up when Kanan offers him the lightsaber, he’s so eager for this.

Another quick instance of Ezra flinching as if anticipating being hit, watch close and you can see he ducks his head as well as squeezes his eyes closed briefly.

Kanan forgot to teach good weapons safety lol.

Ezra actually gets a few cartons when he peeks. :)

Aaaaaand down he goes, certain unmentioned uncharitable portions of fandom will not let up on Kanan about this particular series of mistakes.

Is practicing on top of the Ghost irresponsible child endangerment?  Yes but... that’s literally the point?????  Kanan has no idea what he’s doing and makes horrible mistakes left and right?????  That’s why he’s so afraid and reluctant to teach Ezra?????  That’s his whole motivation for wanting to go get Luminara?????

Oh but if characters do not relate to each other absolutely perfectly without any friction or conflict or mistakes whatsoever that’s horrible and toxic.

Said at least one Maul stan without a hint of irony.

Okay, done salting, let’s enjoy this moment of Ezra trying to play it cool in front of Sabine despite being in eminent danger of falling to his death.

“What, no, this is nothing.  I’m fine.” XD

Fun fact: Pretty sure a gifset of this moment was one of the first Rebels-related posts I ever saw on my dashboard.

Hera looks very concerned here, lol.

And our first glimpse of what a Loth-cat looks like.  Cutest addition to the Star Wars menagerie ever.

Ezra’s theme is piping in here, fragmented and quiet.

*resists the urge to go into another ranting paragraph about how uncharitable parties in fandom use this scene to argue that the Ghost crew are actually terrible towards Ezra and don’t care about him properly*

Once again, everything in the eyes.  So much is unspoken but conveyed with just a look.

Friiiiiiick his expression here breaks my heart.

Casually referencing the events of last episode which should have been fandom’s first clue that it was more narratively tied into things than they thought and also introducing a new story element that plays out later.  I don’t remember what I thought about Gall Trayvis the first time around, I’m pretty sure I found it weird and fishy though.

Ha ha ha the casual Fridge Horror of the Imperial broadcaster talking about a “planetary liberation” via Base Delta Zero protocol.

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MIGHT NOT KNOW: Base Delta Zero is basically code for “Have a bunch of Star Destroyers systematically incinerate everything on a planet’s surface from orbit.”

Soooooo yeah, there’s probably not much left of that particular “liberated” world.

Kind of interesting that Ezra chooses to confide in Chopper about his fears here.

I do like the nice cloud effects.

Kanan is in a very serious mood here, one we haven’t seen from him yet.  Speaks to the depths of how badly he wants this to succeed.

Badass Stormtrooper takedown immediately ruined by feral gremlin child. <3

Aaaaaand yet another instance of Ezra flinching like he expects Kanan to hit him.  Just what exactly caused such a pronounced startle effect, exactly?

Don’t think about bby Ezra growing up on the streets, don’t think about bby Ezra growing up on the streets--

Ezra looks so crestfallen here ow ow ow ow. :(

Hera shivers as if it’s cold, which could be taken straightforwardly but also I like to think she senses the bad vibes about the place.

Oh hey, now’s a good time to remind people of the horrible headcanon theory someone sent me about why Kanan can still sense Luminara even though she’s dead.

You’re welcome.

LOOK AT THIS TIRED FATHER AND HIS THREE HORRIBLE CHILDREN.  Love how Zeb and Sabine openly roast him while he’s right there, terrible influences on Ezra the both of you. XD

Snrk, the one Stormtrooper getting his helmet caught in the lift doors lololol.

The music has been periodically sparse throughout this episode, the quiet parts giving all focus to dialogue, but it’s picked up quite a bit here.

I hear the Force Theme strings prelude of course.

It is physically painful how much Ezra already hero-worships Kanan and looks up to him.  He didn’t want to learn how to be a Jedi from just anyone, he wanted to learn from Kanan specifically because thinks Kanan is so cool and amazing.  Ezra is constantly in awe of him this episode.

But, I mean, is it any wonder that an emotionally vulnerable teenage boy with deeply-seated abandonment issues would latch onto the first available and positive adult male influence in his life?

The Force theme coming in more fully here to trick us right before the horrible reveal, though the way it sours on the end note is a little five-second musical foreshadowing.

Hi Grand, bringing the Imperial March with you I see.

And then his theme breaks in after the commercial break cut and lemme just appreciate it again, it’s so nicely dark and foreboding.  That tiny little snatch of Force Theme on the trumpet can barely be heard through it, it’s too overpowering.

Grand refrains from going for an easy kill several times this fight.  He likes to play with his food, apparently.  Even toying with Kanan he’s waaaaaay outclassing him, very neat and precise fencing strokes here.

Kanan’s heavy flailing is actually very at odds with his supposed preferred form, Soresu, Form 3, a primarily reflective and defensive form, which makes Grand’s comment about him being a poor student sting a bit more.

Lololol my man doesn’t even flinch at Ezra’s slingshot bolts.

Hngl the smoke element is fantastic here.  Watch it waft around Kanan and Ezra as they run through it.  This is not the kind of effect work you usually get on CGI kids cartoon shows.

Kanan’s form actually improves a bit after the cutaway, his footing is more solid and he’s expending less effort, making his blocking stances more effective at turning back Grand’s blade.  So that jibe from Grand apparently kicked Kanan’s brain into focus.

Oh yep, all those troopers are dead, that is not a survivable explosion.

Kanan’s managing the spinny Jedi flips now; he’s untensing and likely falling back into muscle memory and connection to the Force.  I love how Star Wars tends to depict Jedi survivors getting back into practice after they haven’t picked up their sabers or connected to the Force in a long while, awkward at first but slowly getting the hang of it again, remembering their training, moving through basics into more complex moves until they’re comfortable again.  I know A New Dawn also depicts Kanan tapping into the Force as straining a muscle that hasn’t been used in a while, nice consistency across the board there.

“He is unfocused and undisciplined.”  “Well then we’re perfect for each other!”

And one of my favorite Papa Wolf Kanan moments right here when Kanan slams Grand up against the ceiling. :)

The Force Theme is finally louder and more confident here and Grand’s has taken a pause.

Buuuuuuut it’s soon back in force lol.

I dunno what it is but I really love the animation in Grand’s unflinching run through the closing doors here, even when he has to leap over them he doesn’t even break stride.

Ezra’s slicing and lockpicking skills kind of fall by the wayside as he focuses more on Jedi training, which is kind of a shame, I liked that he was a bit tech-savvy in ways Sabine wasn’t.

Why I like to include little moments here and there in my fics where he still gets to use his talents.

Can I appreciate this little moment of Sabine reaching for him in concern?

Of course I can, who’s going to stop me?

And one of my favorite master-padawan moments right here, Kanan finally giving some solid instruction (”Picture the locking mechanism in your mind.”), doing it with him, and it’s something easy that Ezra can already do albeit on a bigger scale.

A very victorious Force Theme to mark the occasion. :)

Something Rebels does when it needs to emphasize Kanan and Ezra’s connection is basically have them mirror each other’s pose, this is one of the first examples.  Ezra’s straining a little bit more in his expression but they’re perfectly in sync and mirror-matched limb for limb.

WHICH DOESN’T NECESSARILY MAKE THE PARALLELED IMAGERY IN THE FINALE HURT MORE BUT IT ADDS A LAYER.

Ohhhhhhh hang on, does anyone wonder if Hera leading the tibedees here was inspiration for the eventual purrgil surprise?

It’s on theme at least, lol.

I hear the “Rebels Shenanigans” leitmotif here, bit more dramatic than normal, lovely.

Ezra’s theme coming in as we return to Lothal and man, there’s really nothing I could say about this scene that hasn’t already been said, this is one of fandom’s favorites, we can all spill ink about Ezra’s fear of abandonment and Kanan’s sense of inadequacy and how the Force tends to bring together pairs that teach and grow each other.

How Kanan finally figures out and understands what Yoda’s “Do or do not” line means, how it’s all about your mental state, you can’t give up before you’ve started, you have to be all in and fully committed.

How he’s realizing he has to commit to this and not half-ass it and that leads him to adjust his strategy and go much slower and more meticulously in this lovely little last scene which has the distinct look and feel of a father and son playing catch in the yard. ^_^

Our first real “plot-heavy“ episode of the series, heavy on the drama and interpersonal character conflict.  Can see why it’s the episode that convinced a lot of people to stay on board.  It delves much more deeply into Kanan and Ezra’s master-padawan connection, the Found Family aspects of which are, of course, widely loved.  Their relationship was always one of the show’s strengths.  Like Ezra and Zeb’s friendship it starts off rocky but there’s an extra emotional and personal element in that Kanan is the teacher, the “parent”, and they’re both connected to the Force, something no one else can teach Ezra about.  Kanan has to be the one to guide Ezra through that learning process because he’s the only one who understands it, who can bring that aspect out of Ezra and make him truly who he is.

Kanan really starts to step up after this.  He’s still got a LOT of fears and worries and insecurities, as he’ll tell Yoda later, but he’s over his initial mental block now.  All the better for Ezra, for helping him feel wanted and safe. :)

Ahhhh I love this episode, the character growth from this point to the end is just *chef kiss*.  More worried spacedad Kanan up next week, hopefully I’ll have that post up quicker than this one.

Coming in last minute like my newborn last month oy.

#star wars #star wars rebels #ezra bridger #space dad and his precious pumpkin child #rebels rewatch #liveblog

[randomingoftherandomness]

that gifset you reblogged... shangjue is gripping on the last crumbs of his sanity, trying to suppress carnal desire so hard. that's indeed normal gege-didi pastime.

LITERALLY. ((but also can we just. sit here and appreciate the gift that is @valarinde because fam ❤️))

My thought process went a little like this:-

Shangjue catches on to the little furrow between Yuanzhi's brows that comes and goes like a flash; one moment there like a visible marker of how much the medication must sting going on his skin, the next only a careful hint of discomfort.

Quite possibly the only sign of how much all this must be affecting his Didi.

His fingers itch to touch.

To prod and map every edge and puckered skin of the wound that mars Yuanzhi's pale, otherwise unblemished skin. On some level, Shangjue feels a burn of anger in the pit of his stomach that someone would dare touch someone who is his, and yet...

Yet, on a louder, different part of his mind that he cannot silence, Shangjue can't help but wonder how his Didi will look when consenting to be hurt.

Perhaps his wrists would chafe under the silk ropes he keeps in the lacquered chest for the eventual day they both feel safe enough to explore this as they've talked about. Or if Shangjue is really, very lucky, he'd be able to know just how hot his skin would run after a count of swats by Shangjue's hand.

Maybe Yuanzhi might even like it when Shangjue shows him how to use the collection of jade eggs he'd once received from a minister in the Imperial Court. The man had smiled and told him that his pretty wife would find much use with this for their games in the boudoir.

Shangjue hadn't had a plan for a pretty little wife. He doesn't have one still.

Not when he had a beautiful didi who was most certainly poisonous to the touch of anyone else but him.

He tenderly lifts the collar of Yuanzhi's robe, not leaving any space between them other than what was necessary for Yuanzhi to slowly right his clothes. In a different life, Shangjue would have possibly pushed him onto his back, taken his pleasure and wrung exquisite delight out of his didi in the same turn.

Shangjue would have been Yuanzhi's hero. Kissed away the pain, took away his breath and allowed him to forget everything but the taste of Shangjue's name on his lips.

But all he can do now is stand by him while they lick their wounds and regain their energy to fight back. So, that's what he will do.

#gong shangjue x gong yuanzhi #shangzhi #juezhi #gong shangjue #gong yuanzhi #my journey to you #my journey to you fic #this one's a soft spiced lemon drink on a summer's day y'know? #gab writes stuff #LISTEN. I HAVE BEEN PERCOLATING WHILE I WAS TRAVELLING

[therealvikingstrash]

Hvitserk and "I do not see, I do not hear"

I want to note that this might make some people sad. It made me sad noticing it. You've been warned. This is just my assumption and in no way canon, so if you disagree with me, that's fine. (meta below the cut)

When I made this gifset (tw flashing gif) the other day, I noticed something that Hvitserk did and remembered that he had done it before. In season 5 episode 10, we see Hvitserk tightly close his eyes and scream the moment he was sure Ubbe was about to strike him with his sword.

Then we see him do the same thing in season 6 episode 6 again, when he assumes- in his delirious state- that he was about to kill Ivar (who turned out to be Lagertha but that's not important).

It's the same expression, the same defense mechanism- probably emotionally.

Anyway, I think Hvitserk closed his eyes that first time because he was afraid. Not of dying because we see him fight and ready to die many times and he doesn't do it then, but at the mere prospect of seeing Ubbe kill him. Of perhaps noticing something like enjoyment or heavy regret in his brothers eyes. He didn't want to see his brother like that, not Ubbe who was a constant in his life and whose love he never had to question and whose decisions left no room for doubt ever since they were little. He also screamed as loud as he could to tune the sounds surrounding him out, possibly even whatever Ubbe might say/shout. If his last words to Hvitserk were unkind, he didn't want to know.

And the second time he does it, it's not exactly a different reason even though it's under different circumstances. When he assumes he is about to stab Ivar, he also closes his eyes to block out what he's doing, because I'm convinced he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he saw the look of betrayal on Ivar's face and he's again screaming to not have to hear anything that came from Ivar- no sounds of distress or begging to stop would reach him if he just screamed loud enough.

He was so afraid what kind of truth would unravel in either moment, that he rather not see or hear any of it. And my best guess is, that that stems from the moment he witnessed Ivar killing Sigurd. He remembers that Ivar regretted killing their brother, but also how angry Ivar had been while throwing the ax. And he remembers seeing Sigurd die.

Many people interpret Hvitserk sitting there and watching as passive or uncaring, but I think he was in shock and couldn't believe this actually happened. We did see him cast an angry look at Ivar later, so it wasn't like he was unfazed or felt nothing about his death, he was just taking longer to react.

I'm sure he carried all those thoughts and feelings with him, which led to his decision that he doesn't want to either see a brother of his killing another or how one of his brothers dies- especially not at his own hand.

If you made it thise far, there are tissues near the exit, feel free to grab some on your way out.

#vikings #hvitserk #hvitserk ragnarsson #ubbe #ivar #sigurd #vtrash meta #vtrash gifs #vikings meta #vikings HC #flashing gif

[aadmelioraa]

PLEASE tell me the context of the line, "If this fails and there is no escape for you, please tell me you'll find a man you trust to kill you softly." that is THE most intense line of dialogue i've ever ready holy shit i need to watch this show??

AHHHHHHHHH Beth it is literally SO intense, like…ok, so…Uhtred, the main character and guy who says that line, is at this point in a relationship with Aethelflaed, the woman in the gifset. I very decidedly do not ship them together, I resent how often her character is sidelined to prop him up, among other things…the historical Aethelflaed is an incredibly impressive figure, but a lot of her achievements are given to the fictional Uhtred in the show…I will stop there, just…I really really do not ship them for a variety of reasons and that is a big one lol.

I do, however, ship Aethelflaed with the bowlcut dude, aka Aldhelm, our favorite morally flexible Mercian who at this point is ride-or-die for Aethelflaed. Their storyline makes me feral, which you know at this point given my unhinged posts. But like…Aldhelm is canonically in love with her and has been for a while (he confesses it during the s3 finale while bleeding out in Aethelflaed's room, having been stabbed by her abusive and nefarious husband for siding with Aethelflaed's leadership tactics over his, after he'd spent many years being loyal to the husband, scheming on his behalf, etc).

It's a GREAT scene, his s3 arc is just him slowly shifting to her side entirely and it is so FUN, the actor (James Northcote) is excellent and provides so much depth to what, in s2, had been a fairly straightforward characterization (though still very fun, I loved him in s2 also). Anyway, Aethelflaed never reciprocates Aldhelm's affections (which I personally think is a great writing choice) BUT they are like…functionally a team, very much operating as partners, he is supportive of her and she can rely on him fully in her function as a leader but also in a personal capacity. 

So the thing with that find a man to kill you softly moment: they're about to fight in a huge battle with the odds stacked against them and there is a risk that Aethelflaed, as Lady of Mercia, might be taken as a political prisoner and be tortured, used as collateral, etc. Uhtred, her love interest, tells her to be sure she won't be taken alive, and then Aethelflaed reveals SHE ALREADY PICKED SOMEONE TO KILL HER SOFTLY and that THAT MAN IS ALDHELM because OF COURSE IT IS!! BUT THE ACTUAL THING IS when it comes down to it…ALDHELM CAN'T KILL HER. HE HAS A KNIFE TO HER THROAT AND THEY'RE SURROUNDED AND SHE'S LOST HER SWORD AND HE'S WAITING TIL THE LAST SECOND but HE CAN'T KILL HER!! LOOK AT HIS FUCKING FACE WHEN HE REALIZES IT!!

They're only saved by the last minute archery intervention from her brother, their ally, who shows up with his army in the nick of time. This is a mere season and a half (though this does include significant time jumps, tbf) after Aldhelm suggested to Aethelflaed's husband that he HAVE HER ASSASSINATED. And a season after ALDHELM WAS SENT TO BE THE ONE TO ASSASSINATE HER! He has a knife to her throat there too, though he doesn't intend to actually kill her, he's just a lowkey dramatic bitch. There is so much fucking knife kink in their storyline, I swear to GOD. 

Also, back to the original question (sorry)…the writers made the choice to have Aethelflaed be in a battle couple with Aldhelm during this ep, not Uhtred (her canonical love interest), and it FUCKS. The whole sequence is just FLAWLESS. I have my issues with that season (season 4 out of 5 total) as it relates to her storyline, but the ship moments are so good. I can't recommend watching the show on the basis that it's good but I can recommend watching it on the basis that those two have burrowed into my brain and live there permanently. I have never written so much fic for a ship as I have for those two, they make me insane, I love them. The show is very much not about either of them (they both appear in s2, also), but they have a really satisfying joint arc for the most part. It's the perfect recipe for shipfic, for me: I am dissatisfied with enough that I have plenty of canon-based ideas, and that pairing has an extremely compelling relationship that's never consummated. Plus it hits all of my kinks: loyal advisor/queen, enemies to lovers, pining, angst, repression, and there is sooo much fic potential for secret relationships, and of course my beloved sexy paperwork feat competency kink as they tackle administrative duties together.

Thank you for letting me yell at you about them, I hope this answers your question hahaha.

#kat replies #bettsfic #they give me so much life for real #aethelflaed x aldhelm #the last kingdom #long post #[incoherent screaming] #anti uhtred #anti aethelflaed x uhtred

[raiderlucy]

So I’ve kinda been in shock for about a week or two since hitting this milestone... mainly because it happened way way wayyyy quicker than I anticipated, I was only doing my 2.5k a celebration a little over 2 months ago (for the record the time between my 2k celebration and my 2.5k celebration was like a year...so yeah wtf!?!) I know it’s partly due to the twitter migration, and i also know there’s probably still some bots lurking that i haven’t blocked, but hey ho.

So as per usual I wanna take the opportunity to thank my followers new and old, thanks for sticking with me during my hyper fixations that either last a week or forever (you know the ones i hyper fixate over the most by now i’m sure lol), thanks to everyone who interacts we me and like the gifs i make, it really does motivate me to continue creating, and thanks for somehow keeping up with my multi-fandom mess of a blog.

So for the celebration I’m going to be doing some gif requests again (which are always open btw i just never talk about it 😅) So i’ve spent some time thinking about some new ideas, but it’s mostly gonna be the usual requests i think, maybe by my next celebration i’ll be organised enough to get you guys to vote on something, who knows?

So if you wanna take part send me somethings (you’re not limited to one btw I always need inspiration for gif making):

🌈 + a colour palette + character/ship/show/whatever i post about (ex: here & here)

🎨 + 2 colours + character/ship/show/whatever i post about (ex: here & here)

🌵 + 2 things and make me choose between them - mix it up doesn’t have to be characters, could be outfits etc. (ex: here & here)

⏰ + show ep/movie and i’ll blindly pick scene from them for a gifset (ex: here)

🎵 + a character/ship/show/whatever + some some lyrics or a quote, or you can pick a song from my gif inspo playlist (ex: here & here)

✨ + other general gif requests maybe? something specific or some parallels or general character gifsets? idk i’m running out of ideas here lol

want some ideas? here’s some old celebration stuff here and here

gonna tag some mutuals new and old in no particular order under the cut, you should definitely check them out if you haven’t already, they have awesome gifs, writing and all that good stuff (if i missed anyone i’m sorry, there’s certain mutuals i’m always either to nervous to tag in or it’s me being a complete scatter brain or it might even be because i haven't seen ya on my dash in a while, or all of the above or any number of reasons... sorry i’m rambling now... i’m gonna go crawl back into my hole in the ground now )😘💜😎🖤

@himbohohoharringtxn @ne8ula @lengthofropes @achingly-shy @emziess @reysorigins @deanncastiel @aubrcy-plaza @greatcometcas @ofalltheginjoints @sam-ried @stevieclaus @finalgalnancy @santasteve @padme-amidala @heroeddiemunson @mistletoesteve @robiin-buckley @alivedean @babygirlspector @achillestiel @bebecas @babyboymunson 

#aimz talks #aimz3k