#my fav part was after neils play

[notafraidtodissapear]

dead poets society is so special to me

#on my 10000th rewatch #dead poets society #changed my brain chemistry #dps #my fav part was after neils play #-when he a todd ran away together to get married!!

[imeanwhynotbruv]

Stranger things/Black phone crossover Au

(Call me family)

Ok so I absolutely adore stranger things / the black phone crossover au fics. Like I actually can’t get over it or stop reading them, I can’t seem to find all that much on it but when I do I absolutely love itttttt!. Like it’s to the point I can’t get certain HCs out of my head so here we are!

So I think one of my fav plots (I’ve found like one) is of Vance & Billy being related and I can’t get enough! Or Vance being related to Hopper (especially as his son but that doesn’t work for this so Uncle Hop!).

Also I love the idea of them having cute nicknames! Eg

Billy for Vance : Pinhead, kiddo, little guy, terror

Vance for Billy: Billy Bee, bubba

Ok so hear me out. Vance and Billy are half brothers, Billy’s mum left when he was like two years old (bc that’s more convenient 👀) because Neil is an abusive ass who is also very unfaithful.

So like maybe a month later Neil gets with Layla Hopper (Jim Hoppers estranged little sister) who he was on again off again with, she gets pregnant and voila! You have Vance Hargrove!

While little Billy is sad that is mum is gone he’s happy to have a new baby brother (he’s not an ass yet that’s later)

it just so happens little Vance is absolutely obsessed with his big brother. Like he looks at him like he framed the sky just for him and he follows him around like a baby duck.🐥. Even the kids Billy hangs out with just accept that his Lil bro is probs coming too.

At this point Billy takes his big brother roles very seriously. He’s practilly the one raising Vance bc Neil sure as hell isn’t gonna do it, Layla is young, like grossly young for Neil but still legal, and she doesn’t know what she’s doing and while she’s not that bad she’s not the best and kinda just leaves the kids to it.

So it’s Billy doing all the things Like:

• When Neil is being a dick Billy will keep is lil bro distracted so he doesn’t piss Neil off

•if Neil is getting violent Billy will intensionally set him off if he’s worried he might go after Vance

•if his lil bro is having a nightmare he will put him back to bed and keep him company, with promises to watch incase the monster comes out from under then bed.

• he’ll walk Vance to the beach after he finishes School

• he’ll take him to get Icecream /make his meals

•teaches him how to properly insult people and how to make comebacks(just general life things)

Unlike what Billy’s like with Max, he absolutely insists that Vance is his little brother not half brother.like he’ll fight you to prove it cuz he totally would.

Also I can totally see Billy being the one who first takes Vance to an arcade and shows him pinball. Little Vance is absolutely fascinated and it Billy who teaches him how to play the game. They always compete against each other at the arcade, and Billy’s not the kind to just let you win (most of the time) so Vance spends ages practicing so he can win.

Then on the day Vance genuinely beats Billy, he gets a high five and an “about time Pinhead” and from that day in he is affectionately insulted with being called Pinhead and he wears it like a crown!

But no one else can call him Pinhead (cuz Billy won’t allow any disrespect (plus that’s his thing)) so people start calling him Pinball Vance!

Eventually Layla has enough of Neil’s abusive controlling ass and decides to leave him (good for her but my poor babies) and takes Vance who is like 8y/o at that point.

Lil Vance doesn’t want to leave his big brother, lil Billy is sad but he know Vance is probs better off (that doesn’t mean he wants him to go)

So the brothers part ways and promise to call each other all the time but sadly that’s impossible as Neil changes their number out of spite and Billy doesn’t really know where they ended up.

So Layla changes Vances name and he becomes Vance Hopper as a kind of middle finger to Neil.

She marries a guy called George Howle two years later when Vance is 10, this guy is basically Neil again but super manipulative and Layla is too tired to run away this time.

Neil married Susan a year later (he blames Layla leaving on never being married to her)and she moved in like immediately with Max who was 8 (she’s a Year younger than Vance and three years younger than Billy bc I say so)

Neil forbids billy from ever talking about Vance or Layla so Max knows next to nothing about him, barely knows he exists.

Billy is resentful because he feels like Max is trying to replace Vance (which is kinda what Neil is doing) but she’s not she just knows that Billy doesn’t like her so she decides she doesn’t like him. Neil continues to be an abusive asshole.

Billy becomes an ass because he’s a kid with anger issues, no outlet, and abusive dad, a stepmom who willingly looks away when things get bad, an annoying redhead who gets him into trouble and is constantly missing his little brother.

Vance becomes an ass and constantly picks fights due to the neglect of his mother, abuse of his stepfather, anger issues, missing his brother and at this point is practically a learned behaviour.

Ok side note, the grabber has already killed Billy and Griffin (sorry babies 😭)

The grabber kidnapped Vance (when he was 13 bc I need that age), the grabber has to keep Vance drugged bc he’s still pretty big and won’t stop throwing punches. The grabber gets cocky at not being found and Kidnaps Bruce, Robin & Finney (they’re not really in this but that could change depending). Does some of his awful shit to them, especially Vance, because he thinks he’s pretty and the grabber is creepy af.

The Bboys get their chance and kill the grabber escaping, Bruce has to literally carry Vance, Robins arm is broken, they’re all messed up and end up in hospital. Most end up in comas (for plot convienece)

When Layla was going to visit the hospital, she was speeding bc she realised how terrified she was for her son and desperately wants to see him, she gets into a car crash and dies before she ever reaches him.

George refuses to take Vance in because he’s a delinquent and is now traumatised so after they can finally track down Jim hopper (bc Layla had put him in her will as who would be Vances guardian and just never changed that) by the time Vance moved to Hawkins season 2 is ending and Season 3 is starting.

So like he vaguely remembers Jim but not enough to want to go live with him in the middle of butt fuck nowhere.

•••

This might just be referenced and not actually done bc like, it’s just the show mainly.

The Hargrove/Mayfield family move to Hawkins in 1984 (billy16,Max13, because plot and I say so) (season 2)

On the night when Billy is supposed to attack Steve, he gets attacked by a demo dog (not badly just enough to see it at maybe get a bit hurt) outside outside the Byers house. The kids come out and see Billy basically winning against this monster through the sheer will of not wanting to die.

Steve helps him kill it with the bat, Billy gets given all the details and after a minor breakdown and trying to not believe it finally goes along. (Part of him still hoping it’s just a dream). Eventually he joins the party when they go to the tunnels because someone needs to drive and apparently that’s Billy.

Demon dogs get torched. Basically the same ending just + Billy.

•••

End of season 2/ beginning of season three

Vance gets to Hawkins and the fun can begin

(This is getting long so imma stop)

(If you want my other stuff for this au is under the tag= Call me family au)

#stranger things #jim hopper #chief hopper #billy hargrove #brothers #vance hopper #the black phone #billy and max #hopper and el #crossover #au crossover #stranger things and black phone #billy Hargrove and Vance hopper are brothers #uncle Jim hopper #Call me family au

[vinca-majors]

Yangsze Choo in conversation - St. Louis 2/21/24

Yangsze Choo is one of my favorite authors (The Ghost Bride is one of my favorite books ever) and last week she came to STL for her The Fox Wife book tour! I wrote up a little summary of the things she said about herself and her novels for anyone interested.

Her name is pronounced Yong-shee

She was warm, humble, funny, gracious, relaxed, and genuinely kind

She is very petite (I'd be surprised if she clears 5') and has a lovely, precise British accent reminiscent of Julie Andrews because she attended British schools when growing up

While she currently lives in California, she is Malaysian and spent parts of her childhood in Germany and Japan

This was her first time visiting Missouri and she only had the kindest things to say about it (this was heartwarming to everyone in attendance since flyover states get no love)

She is a slow writer and her drafts always have an excessively large word count

She never uses outlines "because I don't think like that" and blames her slow writing on this; her husband says if she would use outlines maybe there would be "less howling and rolling on the floor"

"There are thousands of good books that people could be reading. I am honored that people choose to read mine."

The Ghost Bride

One of her favorite scenes is the first chapter

She wrote a trial scene in the Courts of Hell but it was cut for wordcount

Pre-publication, she figured only her "mother and her hairdresser" would read it

Her older sister's feedback on a draft was that there wasn't enough romance and that what there was "is creepy"; her father's feedback was that it didn't read like classic literature; "With a family like this, who needs critics?"

She wanted to be the audiobook reader because many of the Malaysian words in the book have a specific pronunciation; she had to audition to do it "because usually voice actors do this unless you're Neil Gaiman"; the audition was in a studio in New York the day after Neil himself had been there ("I was like 'Can I touch everything that he touched?'")

She was in Trader Joe's when she got the call from her agent that Netflix wanted to make a screen adaptation - "'Give it to them! Give it to them!'"

She wasn't interested in writing the screenplay for the Netflix adaptation - "Novel writing and screenwriting are very different things."

She didn't have a problem with the book's ugly villain being played by a handsome actor - "That's Hollywood"

The Night Tiger

Her audiobook recording was an Audie Award Finalist - "My publisher says I should tell people that more often."

The Fox Wife

It is a story about "others", "what's on the other side of the door", first love, and is "a love story for old people"

Her favorite Austen is Persuasion and that inspired the elements of "regret and do-overs"

She said most ancient Chinese myths about foxes are about the human men who subdue the beautiful, wily female foxes and bear sons by them who pass the Imperial Exams; she wanted a story from the fox's point of view

She wrote it practically in the order that it reads and wrote the two timelines concurrently

The margins are wide and include footnotes because ancient Chinese scrolls had margins for readers to write notes in, which were incorporated into rewrites of those scrolls; this was also a way for women to engage with other female readers in a time when only men could gather to discuss literature and philosophy

She loves the footnotes in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell and was inspired to include asides/short stories in the footnotes of her own novel

Her first draft was 240,000 words long - she had to cut the bulk of the footnotes, a whole character, an entire arc, and "another murder"

She calls herself 'an old auntie' and doesn't know who the hot Asian actors are today, but her fancast for Kuro is Toshiro Mifune

If she could spend the day as any of her characters she would be Snow because she's "always wanted to run along rooftops and along garden walls"

Her favorite scene is—(looking at my bookmark at the halfway point) "Well, I won't spoil it for you. I love the last scene."

4th novel

It's about plants because she loves plants - she regularly listens to the NPR gardening podcast

She has always thought that ginseng root looks like a human baby; this book will be about a ginseng root that is a fairy changeling

At heart it's about parenthood

#yangsze choo #the fox wife #the ghost bride #the night tiger #i almost cheered out loud when she said toshiro mifune bc he was specifically how i'd been imagining kuro

[nanatsuyu]

Top 5 vs Personal 5

List your top 5 fics ranked by kudos on AO3. are you surprised by what's most popular to your readers? then provide your ranking of your personal top 5 fics, and tag a few fellow writers!

oh boi these make me nervous but thank you @mostlymaudlin ;; (tagging: @skvaaader @jaywalkers @annawrites @marianjos @kevneildependant @takitalks)

i'll follow format cus this looks pretty and personal favs first feels nicer to share. (i havent posted a lot of fic so there's a bit of overlap)

that's just something people say (T), 119k, andreil || slowburn road trip au where neil steals andrew's car and andrew makes a deal to take neil west before they part ways again (haha...unless? 👀) this is my baby that i worked on for several months and posted every chapter in one day lmao it was my first chapter fic and my first major au. im still very proud of it <3

better safe than damned (E), 18k, andreil || a smuttier au of an au with demon!neil and witch!andrew and tentacles lol it sounds depraved, and the tags make it sound really depraved but half that word count is aftercare and exploring ones comfort zones and sexuality? so its personal and one of my best written smutfics imo

what a chatty creature (T), 14.7k, kandreil || 5 times neil goes nonverbal and the one time he finds his voice. i wrote this for my friend gull and had them give me 6 of their favourite words and included those in each part. i liked exploring communication with kandreil when in a slightly different font

messy (E), 10.3k, kandrew || au where kevin and trans!andrew are fwb (but more because feelings are fun) its another soft smut where andrew thinks too much, and hes a bit further in his healing, but reservations are still that. i like playing with their dynamic a whole lot. i was incredibly nervous to post this but im glad i did <3

taptaptap (T), 7.2k, kandreil || canon divergence kandreil where theyre a year or so removed from college and in love, but kevin and andrew never resolved The Incident after baltimore. this was my first big softie fic of them. i love kevin with my whole heart and i think he should be happy always so this one is close to me

taptaptap (T), 7.2k, kandreil || this one doesn't surprise me when it comes to popularity. its super soft and canon divergent and my first non exchange/gift fic!

that's just something people say (T), 119k, andreil || its a 100k+ slowburn andreil fic. it was bound to do numbers but its also very validating because i worked so hard ;;

like you swallowed a bone (T), 7.6k, gen twinyards and nicky || mixtape post canon fic exploring what happened with the twins and nicky's relationship years down the road. i think this got popular because of age and i still really like it, but im not sure what sparked this one for people lol

what a chatty creature (T), 14.7k, kandreil || this def got popular because fuzzy and kandreil and its relatively low stakes in drama (not that i write particularly dramatic things but yknow)

morning coffee (E), 9.8k, kandreil || post canon divergence smut with the boys before neil has an interview. kandreil smut speaks for itself in popularity lol i am still incredibly fond of this one and its gotten a lot of comments recently which has been nice. wrote it because i wanted to see more fic that felt like kandreil and not just andreil + kevin

im terrible at boosting my own stuff because i never feel like i explain myself well enough to sell my ideas or fics which is definitely reflected in my summaries that i have often been told "do not do the fic any justice" lol that and im horrified of people saying theyre silly but at least a few people think theyre pretty neat! :^)

#aftg fic rec #my writing #i gotta get better at being kind to myself and my works so here goesss

[hargrove-mayfields]

tag game, stranger things edition!

i was tagged by @thatgirlwithasquid and @intothedysphoria, thanks y’all, I really appreciate it! 💕

1. ride or die ship/otp : Hellcheergroveton! every combination in this ship is adorable and it has all my favs too ☺️

2. most annoying ship : m*leven. I am beyond tired of watching a young disabled girl be taken advantage of and have it be treated as romantic. El deserves to live partner free, and M*ke deserves to go in the whole garbage can.

3. second favorite ship : Hollogrove. Since it’s not part of the core hellcheergroveton relationship, I’ll branch out a little and bring in my girl Heather. I love her and Billy I’m a relationship and can totally see them spending the rest of their lives together ♥️

4. favorite platonic dynamic : Billy and Max, or Dustin and Steve. Or Steve and Gareth. Cause I headcanon Gareth as becoming Steve’s caregiver after the events of the show leave him with cognitive and physical disabilities

5. underrated ship : Hollogrove, Cunningway, Pompompineapple, Stonathan, Cheerscoops, Calicheer, Rockie, Stargyle, Cammy, Kegboys, Steather, Argilly, and so many more but I’ll stop there.

6. overrated ship : Any of the fruity four (it makes me wanna gag just typing it) ships. I haven’t looked in the fandom tags for a year because it’s oversaturated with passionless, factory produced, carbon-copy fanworks that look like Harringrove fics put through ai to be rewritten as St*ddie, or Buckleway into r*nance. I’m sick of it. It’s boring. I’ll come up with my own steddie content, thanks.

7. one thing to change in canon : Everything. Not even joking. I’m going blorbo shopping and bringing all my favs back to my dollie house to play fix-it.

8. something canon did right : Um. I guess letting actors put in feedback and details of their own. Like Millie choosing for El to touch Billy’s cheek, Dacre giving us backstory on Billy’s mom and also on Billy’s disability (BPD), both he and Joe Keery refusing the original scripts, Joe Quinn improvising Eddie’s crush on Chrissy, and so on. All of the actor choices are the only good things about the show at this point.

9. a thing I’m proud of creating for the fandom : @disabledbillyandsteveweek! There's more information about the event over on the blog, but basically it’s an event starting in about two weeks meant to highlight Billy and Steve as disabled characters, through all kinds of fan works and different ships!

10. a character who is perfect to me : Christine Renée-Beth Cunningham. Nobody compares to my cheer girl.

11. the most relatable character and why : Also Chrissy. She reminds me a lot of myself, especially how I was when I was still in highschool, being timid and struggling a lot with my mental health. I wish she could have grown and gotten help and felt better since I’m on my journey to doing so right now, but I’m forever grateful to have seen a character with an eating disorder and an abusive family on screen, portrayed in a heartfelt and generous way- all thanks to miss Grace Van Dien

12. character I hate most and why : Neil, Karen (actually just the Wheelers in general except little Holly), Brenner, Owens, the lady that shot Benny, literally so many of them. Anyone who intentionally and unabashedly hurts other characters without remorse.

13. something I’ve learned from the fandom : To be patient, because even when things seem tough or impossible, we can make it. Together, with friends who understand us, and who share our pain, we can fight and keep going! Especially because this community will always have folks who understand and have our backs, we just have to find them ❤️❤️

14. three tags I seek out on ao3 : I actually don’t read fic on ao3. The extreme amounts of severely triggering content hosted on that site is just too much for me and I can never seem to avoid it. I only post to ao3 because I know people find it easily accessible, but I had one too many mix-ups that led to me being in a terrible state of mind, so I discontinued using the site.

15. a song I strongly associate with otp and/or favorite character : I’ll never shut up about “Time in a Bottle” by Jim Croce. Conveniently off the same record as Hop has on Vinyl and Cassette, it’s my favorite song ever because it’s so tender and loving and even though it’s old people music yall should give it a listen. It applies to any ship, but especially packs a punch with Harringrove. Also “Magic” by Olivia Newton-John.

I’ll tag: @eddie-munsons-guitar86 @honey-tongued-devil @martianclown @hephaestn @jaylikesrainbowtigers @denkiddo1 @enchanted-day-dreams @stranger-themes-blog @ratbastardbilly @thinger-strang But there’s no pressure to do it! You absolutely don’t have to if you already have or if you just don’t feel like it! <3

#tag game! #billy hargrove fandom #not content #hey thanks again! it took me a few days but this was fun!! #love doing these things they’re always really positive and fun <3

[flower-zombie-rob]

@archivefullofyoutubers Did a thing and I keep seeing people filling this out for new community members so I thought I would do one too just for the hell of it

Preferred name: either robbie or flower. Neither are my real name because i value my internet privacy, but most default to robbie so im comfy with either :)

Preferred pronouns: i dont really care

When did you start watching JSE?: I started around 2016, but 2017 was when I really got into the fandom and started watching the whole channel addictively on the regular.

Why did you start watching JSE?: I had a (really toxic) ex friend who liked it and at the time I wasn't that fussed so i watched a few vids, fell in love with his personality, went down the ego rabbithole and ended up getting so connected with it that im still here to this day and its been a really positive thing for me. I don't think she's involved with the community anymore, but I still am and will be for the foreseeable future.

Favourite thing about the channel?: its between the sweet personality of the man running the channel and the wonderful community of amazing people who inhabit the fandom. I love the whole ego thing because I am a sucker for weird characters who are played by the same person. I love the amazingly kind community and the charity work that we help sean to do. I adore all of the spectacular people and friends that I've met along the way in this community and the absolute talent that lines every part of our niche intrests. I just love JSE as a whole.

Do you have a fav ego?: Its no secret that I among the very rare few whose favorite ego is Robbie the zombie(second place is marvin). He is non-cannon and was a community creation that came about after a thumbnail was made with him in it. From there, the creatives took him and made him a great custom character who is fully up to everyone's interpretation and usually he is the sweetest little cinnamon roll boi that I have ever seen. He also has an incredibly strong connection to me personally and my blogs branding throughout the years, and I could never forget how much, as a character, he has contributed to my persona online. And hes just as cute as a muffin, i wanna hug him and squish his cheeks and pat his head and hes my little blorbo now id die for him.

What kind of community member are you?: I am a very active member of the community and thoughni dont think my art is comendable i have to condsider myself(due to others perceptions) to be a community artist. I am not a theorist because I do not have the brains for that, but I do like to entertain theories and read them. I like to get very interactive with other members of the community and according to someone on a jse discord server I am a tumblr OG of this community (though I'm not sure how true that is...)

What else do you enjoy?: In terms of content: I like sander sides, I like markiplier, I like the owl house, im obsessed with all things neil gaiman, im head over heels for good omens and the sandman, i love my own ocs even if i rarely draw them, and id like to dabble and try out cosplay because its an intrest of mine among other things. As most people do, I like music and films and I am actually a grade 3 vocalist doing a filmaking course(no way! I have a life outside tumblr!?😱)

Are you open to nice messages and new friends?: Oh yeah, 100%. Please! I absolutely love interacting with people and I get so many really kind and supportive people interacting with me! I love all of you so much!!! In terms of making online friends, I don't tend to give away much about myself personally or my information outside of what I share on my blog (like my age or my real name or my face most of the time or anything), but i have been branching out more with that, having met some of you at comic con this year. So sure! im open to friendships that dont push my boundaries :)

Thanks to the og creator for the questions and I'm glad to introduce myself to some new members of this community or migrators from Twitter

💜

#jacksepticeye #jse fandom #jse community

[yeahdontcreamyourpants]

stranger things 4 thoughts

i’ll add to this later too

in no particular order, literally just word vomit honestly

this is mostly about volume 2 but as i rewatch i’ll probs add more as i think of things

obvi hated eddie’s death???? he was my fav character so that makes sense but on top of me just liking him, it was entirely unsatisfying. it was basically pointless. like yeah he thought it would help and he was finally being a hero but it ultimately ended up being unnecessary. the fact that we didn’t see any of the aftermath outside of dustin holding him and then telling uncle wayne. what about robin, steve, and nancy? on top of missing their own reactions, what about their reactions to finding dustin with him? they didn’t even have a funeral or memorial? even if they did leave his body in the upside down??? probably my number one issue with his death though is that they never cleared his name. he didn’t get redemption. everyone in hawkins still thinks he killed everyone and he’s this terrible person when he’s the opposite. there was literally nothing good that came from his death.

max???? literally why??? i’m honestly undecided on how i feel about this whole thing other than it was TRAUMATIC

since when can el bring back people from the dead also?

the time skip, bruh for WHAT. missed out on everything i mentioned about eddie’s death but also so much more. el coming back after fighting vecna? everyone coming out of the upside down only to realize everything vecna showed nancy was happening (i imagine that would rock her world)? the people of hawkins reacting to the “earthquake” which was really hell on earth opening up? what happened in the soviet union? lazy writing to me

what happened to enzo, yuri, and murray?

loved the moment with jonathan and will

where is dr. owens

i’m obsessed with the scene where they steal the rv. everyone’s acting in that? iconic. the music? iconic. just a nice bit of comedic relief.

also would have LOVED to hear more about eddie’s childhood, him talking about his dad teaching him how to hotwire was interesting. i feel like this is more of something they’d put in one of the stranger things official novels though so i hope we get one on eddie (similar to runaway max and rebel robin if y’all know what i’m talking about)

fuck jason they shoulda blamed it all on him, he died anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

can we talk about how fucked it was when the guy tackled erica??? an ELEVEN YEAR OLD??? that was sus but i did love when she rocked his shit

robin calling steve’s name immediately when the vines got her 🥺 I LOVE THEM I WANT PALS LIKE THAT

also the duffer brothers saying they “didn’t see the chemistry” between eddie and chrissy until everyone watched the show and pointed it out is so fake. hellooooo??? eddie literally dedicates master of puppets to her?? are they BLIND

speaking of master of puppets, maybe my fav part of the whole season. obvi loved seeing eddie play especially knowing joe actually learned it but i also loved the use of it as max is running from vecna and everything else happening in that moment. it just seemed different but still really effective. i feel like normally they’d go for something more dramatic and i guess maybe less upbeat? idk a metal song just seemed different and i really liked it.

what happened to neil? obvi he’s not in the picture anymore but did he just fuck off outta hawkins after billy died? what even happened after billy died? i need more explanation on the mall fire excuse. for EVERYONE, not just billy

where is max’s mom during all the vecna stuff? what happened when max went into the hospital?

MAX’S L E T T E R S

why did karen have her own poster?

i’ll stop here for now but feel free to pop in my inbox so we can discuss

idk why the spacing is weird

#stranger things #eddie munson #stranger things spoilers #stranger things 4 #thoughts #max mayfield #lucas sinclair #erica sinclair #eddie x chrissy #will byers

[podcastsaremyjam]

Podcast Recs!

Sometimes it can be difficult to find new fiction podcasts through the jungle of nonfiction ones. I LOVE finding new podcasts through other people’s recommendation’s, so I figured I’d take advantage of tumblr’s “pin a post” feature to pin a list of my favorite podcasts to the top of my page! Be sure to check out the tags on this post too—I try to be pretty consistent with tagging on this account. I’ll keep updating as I find new podcasts!

Fantasy

The Adventure Zone

If you’re into D&D, you’ve probably at least heard of this one, but it’s definitely worth the hype! TAZ was created by the McElroy brothers who, along with their dad Clint, play D&D together. The whole thing is INCREDIBLY hilarious, but each story really gets more complex and interesting as it goes along. The first “season,” TAZ: Balance is my favorite—classic D&D setting following Magnus, Taako, and Merle as they adventure and a larger mystery slowly unfolds. #adventure #dnd #found family

Unseen

A collection of stories set in the same magical universe by the team who created Wolf359. Each episode has been really interesting, and the worldbuilding is really great! #magic #lgbtq+ rep #mental health

The Two Princes

Rupert and Amir are princes of two kindgoms at war who decide to take destiny into their own hands by pursuing the cause of the curse plaguing their kingdoms. To do so, they will have to create an uneasy truce as they forge deeper into the enchanted forest. This podcast is so lovely. The characters growth is just *chef’s kiss* I just found out that seasons 2 & 3 were released exclusively on Spotify, so guess who’s “to listen” list just got longer? #princes #lgbtq+ rep #prophecy #enemies to lovers

Sci-Fi

Girl in Space

Our narrator (who’s name has not been revealed as of the end of season 1) is a young scientist who’s parents have died, leaving her as the sole living inhabitant of the research station Cavatica. Space seems so vast when you only have yourself to talk to...until it isn’t. One of my all time favs—there is so much depth in the story and characters! #space #research #mental health #grief #space station

Directive

Y’all, this one made me cry the first time I listened to it! The story (in season 1) follows Frank as he works as a caretaker watching over the cryogeniclly stored bodies of people on their way to a space colony. It’s such a poginant exploration of the social bonds we take for granted. #space #mental health

Wolf 359

Told through the audio logs of Communications Officer Doug Eiffel , Wolf 359 follows the crew of the Hephaestus as they monitor the star Wolf 359. If I could only recommend 5 podcasts to someone, this one would definitely make the cut. Each of the characters is so well flashed out as the podcast progresses, and the conversations it has about mental illness are handled so well! #space #mental health #space station

Moonbase Theta Out

Ugh, this podcast is so good! The first season follows the researchers and workers on Moonbase Theta as they prepare for base shutdown. However, with political issues threatening the safety of family planetside and those in charge being suspiciously unwilling to provide information on certain topics, our narrator pushes for answers before he goes into cryogenic stasis. Note—the narrator of season one and his husband are sappy and adorable. I love them so muchhhh. #space #politics #lgbtq+ rep #space station

The Orphans

If you love sci-fi, this is the podcast for you! The Orphans tells the story of a universe full of future technologies and humanity continuing to push forward into unknowns. Each season tells a different story arc set in the same universe, interconnecting and building on past seasons. #technology #space #survival

Burst

An adorable anti-capitalist comedy set in space! #space #aliens #lgbtq+ rep #space station

EOS 10

OMG This podcast always makes me laugh so hard! It follows two doctors, a nurse, and a hypochondriac alien patient as they navigate medical appoinments and daily life on the station EOS 10. Shenagains ensue. #space #medical #lgbtq+ rep #aliens #space station

The Strange Case of the Starship Iris

Hooooo boy! Bring on the found family adventures in space we all deserve! Something here about the Each character is just beautifully written, layered in complexities that start to peel away as we get to know them. #aliens #space #found family #lgbtq+ rep

The Bright Sessions

Therapy session recordings of Dr. Bright’s patients. Only, her patients aren’t there for help with anxiety or depression. They’re there because they’re “atypicals,” people with incredible abilities. I love each of the characters in this podcast, and learning more and more as the plot unfolds!

Horror/Supernatural

The Magnus Archives

I don’t normally listen to horror, but I started listening in the middle of the pandemic and HOO BOY. It did not disappoint! The story follows Jonathan Sims working in the archives at the Magnus Institute, an institute dedicated to gathering information about strange and unusual occurances. Each episode is Jon recording himself reading statements people have given in order to better organize the Archives. Starts off a little slow in terms of Jon’s interaction with other characters, but that aspect starts picking up halfway through season 1. #horror #supernatural #lgbtq+ rep

King Falls AM

Though not as terrifying as the other shows in this section, King Falls AM can definitely be unsettling. The show follows Sammy Stevens and Ben Arnold as they host a late night radio show in the not-so-sleepy town of King Falls. Though newcomer Sammy is skeptical of the town’s reputation for supernatural events, there is definitely more to the town and its inhabitants than meets the eye. #supernatural #mental health #lgbtq+ rep

Welcome to Nightvale

My first ever podcast! You’ve probably already decided if Nightvale is your cup of tea if you’re on my blog, but basically WtNV is a radio show covering events that happen in a town where glowing clouds rain dead animals, a country of tiny people exosts under a bowling lane, and librarians will must not escape the library. Vaguely creepy and definitely weird! #supernatural #lgbtq+ rep

Other

Levar Burton Reads

If you love short stories, definitely check this one out! As the title suggests, the immensely talented Levar Burton selects a different short story for each episode and reads it. His selections span lots of genres, and he’s read stories from some of my favorite authors like Neil Gaiman and Nnedi Okorafor!

Me & AU

This podcast is sooooo cute! It follows Kate as she hyperfocuses on a new show called Selkirk and becomes friends with a fellow Selkirk fan named Ella.

Under Pressure

Follows a doctor of literature aboard a deep sea research station three miles underwater.

36 Questions

A musical three part mini-series about the relationship fallout between a husband and wife after the husband discovers that his wife isn’t who she says she is.

#podcast reccomendation #podcasts #podcast recs #podcast #fiction podcasts #audio drama #taz #taz balance #unseen #the two princes #girl in space #directive #wolf359 #mto #the orphans #burstpod #eos10 #tscosi #tbs #tma #kfam #wtnv #levar burton reads #me & au pod #under pressure #36 questions

[braveveth]

Do you mind sharing your fav aftg fics? :)

i do not mind at all!! i hope you're still around anon, i saw your message while at work and i had to wait until now to actually get around to answering it.

just a heads up: i haven't really read any recent aftg fics, these are all a little older, ones that i keep coming back to after every reread (or just when the aftg feels strike me, apparently). also, they're all quite long! have fun

to know a man by moonix/@annawrites so to start with the one that started everything this time: this is a coffee shop au but in a canon divergence kind of way? neil joins the foxhole coffee shop as part of his witness protection program. one particularly important thing to me personally is that andrew wears glasses in this fic and this is noted multiple times by neil. just lovely. it also features a jellyfish named josephine. all in all just really big on the found family and cosy vibes and still really true to neil and andrew (and the rest of the foxes).

light fires at night (to push back the void) by inthesea it's such a classic but it feels ridiculous not to mention it because it's one of my ultimate favourites. how can it not be? it's beautiful, it makes my heart ache, i love the concept of andrew playing with all these words in his head. it's so plausible and fits his character so well.

right side of rock bottom by allyasavedtheday/@littlespooneven i feel like i just follow ciara as she moves through fandoms (and for good reason) a wonderful canon post-canon fic. for me personally a very necessary read every time i finish the series and just want to stay in that Feeling a little longer. it details andrew and neil's relationship throughout the year (? i think) that follows.

and while we're here also and we'll be running, also by ciara i'm quite particular about au's i feel and so this one is a little wild, but oh do i love it. it's a band au! it features one particular small moment i revisit in my mind again and again where neil draws on andrew's hand to distract him while they're flying somewhere. it's just such a good little detail.

on the impossibility of reality by defractum hear me out. this is a fic in a niche. BUT it is also my exact niche. it's an inception au. i just fucking love it, i don't know what else to say. i have no idea how readable it is if you haven't seen the movie (watch it). i can't really say anything else it's just so great.

we might be hollow (but we're brave) by stttmsbwa/@clubbingattheclub another classic featuring so many cats. so many. so good. au where neil and andrew end up as neighbours and neil's cat keeps sneaking into andrew's place. it's very much about recovery and processing. the setting is just really... idk. nice? it's a good contrast to the pretty heavy thoughts they're both working through. i just really love it.

there are a couple more in my bookmarks on ao3 that you can check out if you want! i haven't reread those recently and don't think i can write a proper little bit about them rn but i trust past-me's opinion!

hope you have a good time with these anon and if you do let me know!!

#aftg #q&a #anon #fic rec #i actually worked kinda hard on this sdfgauhjdklfsj but it was such a good time #really got me excited to read them all again

[neonponders]

Thank you for tagging me, @lovebillyhargrove !! And for giving us a new head canon game ~~~

This got long, so I’ll put it below the cut, but I’ll tag you back 💋 🌹

1. Do they get together BEFORE MF possessing Billy or AFTER shit goes down? (Or maybe DURING😲)

I’m available for all of these scenarios haha but I’ve never seen a fic/let where they get together DURING Billy being flayed 😥. Goodness, Steve would really be his angel, then.

2. Who kisses who first?

Steve makes the moves. That boy has no chill. Plus he is miles ahead of Billy in terms of emotional awareness and maturity, so he’s wearing the pants in the relationship for a while lol

3. Where do they have their first sex? (Location) (HJs and BJs count)

As a former teenager with experience living in a small town *cough*. Their cars. You have to make your own private areas, and your parents’ houses are just. Not. It. lol You park your car in a field, a park, somewhere with a lot of trees or other parked cars, and hope to god that nobody gets curious lol

4. Who says 💖 I LOVE YOU 💖 first?

Billy. Steve’s been burned before, right? He’ll do literally everything else to display how much he cares, but he’ll wait for Billy to lay that card on the table first.

5. I believe this fandom is way past having hard feelings about it, so

Bottom!Steve or Bottom!Billy?

Yes to all. I think they have different needs at different times, and are capable of indulging each other / taking care of one another in both ways.

6. Do they give gifts to each other?

I’m always available for a lot of gift giving (sugar boo tropes, eat my ass out). Both of them are so emotionally stunted that I just want them both showered in affection and Stuff™

7. Where do they end up living? California, Chicago, Hawkins... Idk .. Alaska??)))) Any other location?

I see Billy being very attached to California, and both of them being very scarred by Hawkins, but I don’t necessarily think they’d end up in California. Maybe a new part of California, in between sunny southside for Billy, and the foresty north for Steve. I do always write about them living in Chicago/New York, though haha I think the city is a fun reset for both of them.

8. What are their future jobs?

Outside of a mobster lol, I tend to write Billy as a chiropractor / physical therapist. (I want to live vicariously through Steve as his husband cracks his bones like a stale pretzel). I’ve given Steve a lot of different jobs but art therapist for kids is my favorite.

9. Who's a better cook?

They both cook but make different things. The more fire involved, it’s Billy (grilling, southeast Asian cuisine). If it’s breakfast, it’s Steve. Literally any kind of breakfast, whether it’s bacon and eggs, to cheese and broccoli soufflés. Billy does the dangerous cooking and Steve does the tedious cooking.

10. Steve Hargrove or Billy Harrington?

Steven Hargrove or William Harrington. This breaks my brain.

11. What's Max's reaction when she hears they're together?

Depends on whether or not Neil’s in the picture. If he is, then she’s asking Will if he has any more narcotic syringes, because Steve survived Billy enough to be on his way to marrying him, but he won’t survive Neil Hargrove. Hopper will sooner clean up Max’s homicide than put her in prison, though.

If Neil isn’t an issue, she’s fully committed to her sisterly job of being disgusted yet supportive haha

12. Describe in ONE SENTENCE Hopper's reaction when he hears the names Hargrove and Harrington mentioned together? The Q is inspired by this genius post by @freyrapollo (their post is here).

*long, absorbing silence* And then, “Okay, nobody patrol the quarry after 9pm.”

13. Does Robin like Billy OR does Robin hate Billy?

Robin clocks Billy that first moment he walks through the parking lot ignoring literally every straight girl ogling him. I think she mostly feels sorry for him. It’s not easy being queer in Nowhere, Indiana. I think if they managed to interact on an open playing field, they’d get along fine. But in their canon universe, I don’t know. There’s a lot of baggage and layers around Billy; all of his interactions are kind of unfair.

14. What about Dustin?

Robin is fascinated by Dustin. He’s a smaller Steve who is uniquely smarter yet just as clueless lol It’s pretty clear that Dustin helps Steve just be Steve, so yeah: Robin likes him.

15. Fav Harringrove AU?

I’m an omegaverse creep. I’m a slut for mob au’s. Sugar boo au’s. I’m weak for soul mate tropes. s1 Steve and older Billy. I refuse to settle on one.

16. Billy+Camaro=...??? (Not strictly Harringrove, but I can't not to ..)

I want to see him in a Jeep Wrangler lol I think that’d be a good alternate car for him. He’d be one of those No Doors, rag top gone kind of Jeep drivers the moment it’s warm outside.

#harringrove #tag game #lovebillyhargrove #neonponders #thank you so much love!!! #this got a little spicy haha #this is one of those things #where i read everyone else's answers #and think 'dang. they're right' #like i forget so many good things in my answers haha

[liaisun]

I am begging u tell me more about the streamer bfs au

HELLO KICKS :D thank u 4 asking <3 i ended up scrolling back thru a gazillion messages but it was absolutely worth it. please allow me 2 present the babes

streamer bfs is a very self indulgent kandreil au, pure fluff absolutely 0 plot in here. they live in a Streamer Content House™ with the other foxes. kandrew r dating and neil is in a queer platonic relationship w them !! there's two parts of it right now, the first being just streaming shenanigans and interactions and then further actual relationship development with neil :]

SO BACKSTORY !! we have andrew: a complete weirdo but likeable abt it? just a chill dude doing his own thing while gaming. sometimes he codes too (here is a beloved fic with absolutely feral robot maker/youtuber!drew). his channel name is nyandrew, it never gets Big big but its stable enough that andrew can do it for fun. he has The Cat Ear Headphones which he never acknowledges the existence of but still wears every single stream. king knocked over his camera once and that 10 second clip became his channel trailer forevermore

there's always someone in the back of his streams just . sleeping?  it's kinda hard to see, no one knows who it is and andrew never addresses it so everyone just accepts it as another quirk of his lives... until one day andrew streams earlier than normal and halfway through the door creaks open and they hear "...babe? i couldn't-- oh. can i come in" cue absolute CHAOS within the chat bc WHO IS THIS !!!!

this person is the one and only kevin day. he's a college student but lives at the house and usually pops up in the other's vids. he was helping dan (who started this whole operation) with moving in. that day he hung out with the foxes, who convinced him to stay for their first day sleepover celebration and then he never left :]

neil is a faceless streamer and a generally funky dude . he started out with silent walkthroughs/speedruns of puzzle games, and now he plays whatever while keeping up the most bizarre and unrelated commentary. he also runs the foxes' podcast. his 'quiplash/jackbox with friends' vids (prompt game where everyone votes on their fav answer) are his most popular because he always has the most brutal and funny answers and he's in top 3 every single time

he only shows up on camera in the other's streams as a hand or legs but once a week MINIMUM the mysterious neil comes into andrew's room and says "release the roombas" and then u hear meowing (this is also where the channel trailer comes from)

kev's always sleeping on lives because andrew streams at 2am (insomnia things)... kev has night terrors and sleeps better with someone else in the room, but andrew can't really sleep with another person on the bed so this system works 4 them

there's this mythical clip of neil coming in and like collapsing on top of kevin sleeping on the floor. they say something 2 each other and neil laughs and then leaves AND IT HAS TORN THE INTERNET APART FOR YEARRSSSSS nyandrew's biggest career drama is nobody knows what's happening between them

andrew is also generally such a gremlin about answering questions u will never get a straight answer from this man ever . and on this topic he is the Worst. (referring 2 kevin) "who's ur friend?" he's not my friend.   "okay. what's the name of the man in the room with you?" very funny guys. that prank won't work there is no one behind me . "u said u were an only child" i never said that. i said i grew up an only child    and so on

people make compilations like "andrew minyard (nyandrew) holding his bf for 10 mins straight (ft. neil)" [in which neil also holds said bf and chat exploded] "andrew ignoring chat for 5 mins straight" "5 minutes of nyandrew lifting anything but weights (ft. his bf)"

there's also my personal fav "nyandrew (ñandrew) cursing in spanish for 2 mins straight" yes andrew speaks spanish. the clips are from a stream he did with nicky and when nicky tries 2 mention an embarrassing moment andrew says "ah tienes cojones... él tiene cojones sí mi gente" (you have some balls.. he's got balls right guys) and nicky goes quiet SO QUICK KSJSKDKF. andrew's not Family Friendly but he definitely doesn't curse in english/express himself like he will in spanish (2nd language emotional things<3) and chat is FLOORED

this vid at (6:50-7:50) is drunk kev professing his love then saying "okay let's go :]" trying 2 get them all 2 cuddle and andreil are like  . Kevin We Are On Live Right Now. + from 3:00-6:50 is them describing each fox in one word and trying 2 match answers but kevneil start arguing about their answers and andrew purposefully says different ones to rile them up

when neil actually sticks around in a live - he's wearing a hoodie with the strings taut so it covers his face mostly. kev's passed out on andrew, andreil r bantering and flirting. andrew's like "i gotta go to the bathroom" and he just. hoists kevin up and puts him in neil's lap instead and NONE OF THEM BLINK and kev just curls a hand in neil's hoodie, looks up at him and hes like *squints* "ur hiding?" in a sleepy tone and neil's like ":] u don't like the look?" when andrew comes back he brushes neil's neck and all 3 of them keep casually talking LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED and chat is literally unreadable. it is going insane

in regards 2 ur post about lap sitting these 3 are EXACTLY like this tiktok. *caresses head* "can u stay for one game..." like !!!!!!!!!!!! i am gone i am deceased... it is them. kevin is the main lap stealer between them (imagining kev's 6'1 self curling into a ball 2 fit in the chair with either of them. sparks joy) and he is super clingy while andreil have little gestures like neil slinging his legs over andrew's on the couch. he sits upside down and andrew steadies him when neil starts to slide off. neil tries to go for a run at like 5am after staying up all night and andrew catches him in the kitchen, all bleary after a live and shoves him into a beanbag. (if he sits on top of him to make him stay and they have an intense mental conversation with unwavering eye contact then nobody's around to prove it)

at the end of the day (night? morning? what is time to them) they're tired and the walls and online personas are down. they stay up talking or sitting in silence, all squished together on a mattress or sprawled around the tv or listening to low music in the car.

and lastly, first kiss things:

#terrorizing aftg tag with my long post about bf headcanons #i rlly hope u like kandreil bc if not this is gonna b awkward. JKSDJFSKF #aftg #all for the game #kandreil #asks #skunked-up-kicks #streamer bfs au #andrew minyard #kevin day #neil josten #luniaisun

[samnyangie]

Personal reviews on RSL filmography

Rsl, iI thought it’d be a good idea to record my thought on each films rsl was in, it was something I always wanted to do...

Rsl in total, was starred in (excluding tv series etc) 27-ish films, to be honest, considering his years as an actor(approximately more than 30 years) he wasn’t starred in that many. We all know why lol

Just saying I’m not a film expert, therefore the list is very subjective.

The reviews with trigger warning (r*pe, g*re etc): Tape, Killer: Journal of Murder, A glimpse of hell. Tho in the writing I’ve censored them with * since I don’t feel comfortable saying them here

There isn’t particular spoilers except for dps, tape, and ground control

The favourites (literally my life time films)

Dead Poets Society

I assume many would agree, and as many would have, it was my first ever rsl film, like I was on the plane and it was one of the films they offered, and I was like, oh I think i heard of this, so I watched and instantly loved it. The message is very relevant to this day, the cinematography is very beautiful and somehow nostalgic. I was horrified with Neil’s death. Tbh now I’ve seen too many memes and all kind of things from the fandom (which I’m grateful for!) I thought the heartfelt I once had would deluded a bit, however when I watched it again last April with my family at the cinema and it still moved me very deeply.

The age of Innocence

Okay, unpopular opinion here, I love this so much. It’s my all time favourite rsl film. It even outruns dps tiny winy bit haha. Aside from how he had tiny winy screen time, appearing at the end but the fact that he played quite an important role and him being gorgeous in it just<33 I couldn’t help but smiling! It just the whole film was so much of my cup of tea? The melodrama and the hypocrisy hidden by elegance among the upper social classes in 19th century is just what I needed. The more I watch it, the more I understand the characters and their emotions, it’s one of those films you should keep visit to discover the things you weren’t aware of before. I watched it again this morning and i couldn’t stop thinking about it. However, I know some people find it boring and I understand why, my sister is one of them lol(except for a bit where rsl was in) but i think it’s more complex than what it appears to be at a first glance haha. In conclusion, it became one of my comfort film to watch time to time. 

The ones I like<33

Swing kids

At first viewing, I didn’t expected much because it had underwhelming reviews but when I actually saw it, I thought it was quite decent and more and more I watched it, I felt like it was underrated. Yes, I think some directing choices were bit old fashioned and cheesy especially the ending, I’m not saying it was a perfect masterpiece but it deserves more recognition than it has now. Also in spite that there’re some parts being too simplified, it touched on something other films about ww2 normally don’t. It was interesting to see the German perspective on it than Jewish or the allies perspective like many of them does, but of course the latter perspectives matter, it could be argued that they more valid than the former, which partly was where sk criticised for, however, the portrayal of the varied reactions of the German people (in this one particular the teenagers) has its value in their on way. Anyway along side with it, the music and the dance scenes were great, without exaggeration, though Swing kids isn’t my fav, peter’s solo dance scene is my favourite scene in any movies I’ve ever watched. I mean that scene had both visuals and meaning as it demonstrated Peter’s determination as well as resentment with a hitch of unsureness. Rsl acting in that scene was just phenomenal, it’s not about showing off the dancing skills but he portrayed every mixed emotions peter has from his expression and the moves, I just can’t talk about this enough especially this scene was the reason I started fallen for him. lol

Much ado about nothing

Much ado is something I never seen anything like so it was a refreshing exprience. I barely watched Shakespeare on screen kind of thing. Though I felt there were some bits too cheesy for me but they are also the charms in the same time, and the cinematography was pretty also Claudio aka rsl, it was like an official announcement of declaring my worship on this man. Especially it was after SWING KIDSSSS so I couldn’t help it now everyone knows how I fallen for him but no one can blame meeeeee Anyway, it’s a really good film to watch when you want be relaxed with cup of tea maybe hehe

In the gloaming

I heard about it before I watched it, that it’s a heart wrenching, tearful piece, though I didn’t managed to cry, it’s just.... painful and in a way heartfelt. I liked that story telling was calm and collected rather than forcing you to join the sob party, just showing the characters to carry on. And thanks to the great acting from the cast, the characters could be emphasised and understood, personally the older sister was the most relatable character for me, well, eldest complex lol. In short I liked it but it’s not something I would watch it often.

Last days of Disco

As a person who looks at aesthetic in films, I simply enjoyed this for that tbh. I don’t know, I just liked the feeling. But I don’t think it’d be everyone’s cup of tea. I love the day time clothes the girls wore in the film. Tbh I love the music too, I think I love all the films of rsl with music in it. Speaking about rsl, oh rsl, he’s.... His character might be bit unlikable but he was just.... This is why I can’t unlove his characters even the debatable ones<33

They were decent! (I would recommend it)

Married to it

This is the first and last ever attempt of rsl of romcomssss The film itself is cliche to be frank it’s like love actually but it’s about marriage life + it’s not christmas but I like heartfelt cliche stories like this, if anyone also loves this type of story, it’s really worth watching, it’s one of my comfort films, also, rsl is so pretty I mean he always is but to see him being a office man with a baby face made me go awww my baby grew up heheh I wish he did another romcom like this or more preferably, melodramatic romance, I’d have made a shrine of it and worship it every morning lol

The boys next door

I kind of smiled while watching it throughout, if you want something that is heartfelt and touch on some serious topic about social workers and the people with mental disorder, Rsl plays a character who has (I think it was) Schizophrenia and troubled relationship with his father(Deja vu I know) but general atmosphere tend to be quite humourous. I don’t get me wrong, though it’s light hearted, it doesn’t mean they treat the topic in the same way. There’s a scene where the protagonist imagining the one of the characters with the disorder talking eloquently and honourably at the court on the rights and the dignity of the people with mental disorders deserve to/should have and they’re just the same people as the people without mental disorders. It was a powerful scene.

My two loves

Rsl’s first ever screen debut film! Hehe it’s about a woman who is discovering her sexual identity and the conflicts within I personally thought it was fairly sensible depiction but I can’t say for sure whether it was accurate or else, since I don’t think it’s my place to say it:) But if you’re interested, it’s on YouTube, you can just search for it or go to this post I made. Fun fact: since it was his debut film, it credits him as he’s real name, Robert L. Leonard, I just find it amusing haha

Tape

It’s another type of film I don’t encounter that often, I enjoyed it, especially with Neil and Todd’s reunion lol. Rsl mentioned how he enjoyed it because it felt like doing a play, my first impression was that the structure is like a play, though the camera work made me quite dizzy haha. But the dialogues, the acting, I think it was quite spot on. Especially the human contradictions and hypocrisy side of it. The most people assume the baddie in the film is Jon the character rsl played and has a distaste for him. I mean how can anyone love a character who is accused of r*pe but to be honest, Vincent for me seemed just as problematic, both of them are hypocrites for sure in their own different ways but in the end we can’t be sure what’s really the truth or not. It’s about the vagueness, and phychology and the uncertainty from the audience on who to believe(well, myself included, most would trust on Amy’s claims since she’s the victim in the accusation, but by her denying the claims, making everything way unclear,) so I don’t know. I don’t really have an opinion haha tho I don’t believe nothing happened because Amy denied so, even Umma Thurman who played her, said that her interpretation was that Amy lied. I felt it’s endless rabbit hole this film. Sorry I couldn’t worded it better.

My best friend is a Vampire

It’s cringey and weird but there’re odd charm to it. Vampire rsl’s so cute as well.... and I think it’s the only film, he acted kind of flirty ? So for that itself I’d like to appreciate itttt And it’s so 80s/90s, like it has general odd nostalgia like all films from that age has. I saw a Korean blog about rsl films and this was mentioned, that- they said- it’s a bible of rsl’s adorableness and I think that sum up the film perfectly.

Mr&Mrs Bridge

Before this was in ‘I mean it was fine” category, but I watched it again and now I want to retract my statement lol Still isn’t my fav but I noticed how delicately depicted each characters are, Mr and Mrs Bridge in particular. This film is alternatively about the changes in the young generation regarding liberty, feminism, free expression especially on sex. It’s in the perspective of the bridges, the mother and father who is old fashioned and conservative (as it was normal in their previous generation) and the children who are the young generation, and the misunderstanding and conflicts between them. After all it all happened not only because of the difference but also the lack of communication, which rsl emphasised in his interviews. I found it interesting that they made it seems like the Bridges truly existed with the video footage and (with the ending) describing what happened to each family member in text with photos. When I watched it at first I was really confused if it was based on a real life. I think what they wanted to suggest was that the Bridges every typical American family at the time. It was something everyone was going through. I said previously I didn’t get why Rsl’s character (the youngest in the Bridges) treated his mother so coldly. Honestly I do get why, but I guess I felt so bad so the mother haha

I mean it was fine

The safe passage

It was okay but to be honest it didn’t stood out to me. It was okay. The story, the characters weren’t that interesting. I wish they extended it longer to go depth with their family relationship or something.

A painted house

I find it likeable, it has a chill, old folk story vibe, but same as previous one. it didn’t really stand out except for shirtless rsl, do close ups you cowards

Bluffing it

I was really fond of the premise of this film and I think it has great intention. It was specifically made to promote the awareness of illiteracy and how to get support. However, I don’t get the reason of Jack the protagonist’s illiteracy. Unless, it was common occurrence in America at the time, I feel like it’d have been more convincing if he was in poor family hood, so there was no time to learn at school due to working at young age...? I mean, just finding it hard to believe he passed the high school just like that, I mean the teachers or anyone should have noticed it, maybe I’m missing something here but it seemed unlikely to me.

Ground control

Again, I liked the message, as it depicted how frightening and difficult job the ground controller is, by one mistake could take away the lives of hundreds, especially as someone who goes on planes a lot... But it was quite cliche throughout, I just couldn’t get engaged to it. But I do admit at the end when the protagonist runs off to the landing zone see the pilot who he had just saved, they acknowledged each other and have eye contacts was truly wholesome. Rsl as cocky, bad boy was such a icing on the cake, I loved it so much. Chewing gum in every scene lol I hope he plays these sort of characters more often. I saw someone criticising him saying he has narrow spectrum of just playing nice boy roles like Neil but I really wanted to debunk the narrative and this could be one of the examples! 

Chelsea walls

I knew that this has split reviews but nonetheless I think worth to watch it, 1. Ethan and rsl re union, 2. Ethan is the directer of the film and rsl sing in it. But I have to say, it’s one of those hard to follow art indie film so I couldn’t finish it on one go. I feel like I have to devour it over and over again. Maybe later on I grow fond of it more lol But his character, I loved him so much. He’s just has everyone don’t touch me, I’m a cocky artist vibe, there’s a scene where his annoying friend annoying him and he looks up and says: ‘Fck off’. Absolute golddddd not to mention he sings and plays guitar so beautifully<333

Well... it’s not my cup of tea

The Manhattan project

I don’t think the film it self was that bad, it’s about high school boy who find out the existence of some nuclear energy research lab and stole the energy to make his own nuclear bomb. I just don’t get the thinking process of the protagonist. It really frustrated me. He seemed apathetic and unlikable I disliked him throughout and that’s why I didn’t really enjoyed it. I mean it has humour and ridiculous storyline might be humorous to some. But more importantly there was such little screen time for rsl!! LIKE WHY? WHY PEOPLE?? HE LOOKS LIKE A FRESH HUMAN MOCHI!!! It makes me soooo mad to think about it

Killer: Journal of Murder

Well, first of all, it had a lot of graphic things than I imagined, brutally murd*red bodies, execution, and r*pe scene, gosh I was strucken by it when I saw that, I had to skipped that scene. It’s based on a real event and a real criminal called Carl Panzram, so if you’re aware of it, it might be more intriguiging to see. But personally for me... meh, I don’t think directing was good as it failed to portray it enough for me to comprehend fully.

A Glimpse of Hell

This is also based on a true event of a tragic accident in the us battleship in Iowa in 1989. They shows tragedy lin a blunt, brutal way by showing horribly damaged bodies of the soldiers torn into pieces, all the horrid things directly so be warned about that. I was quite alarmed because i didn’t expect to see it haha there’s no much to say. The film quality was so so for me. I feel their approach wasn’t appropriate, they were clearly trying to make it dramatic which is fine but in a melodramatic emotional way. It didn’t work because first, there aren’t enough portrayal of the characters for me to get attached, secondly it added the unnecessary exaggeration it prevented me from being emotionally involved or even to think about it. In my opinion, I think it’d have been better if they made it more restrained, dry, focus on the accuracy. For example like 1987 or Zodiac, I mean both of them has dramatic elements since they’re not a documentary but they were not overdone, in a contrary added emphasis to their message/conclusion. I know it’s easier said than done but it was something I consistently felt during it.

Sir.... I’m sorry but-

Standoff

Haha... it’s very peculiar... the directing is off and it just weird. I knew it was bad already but I watched it because rsl as a cop with gunssssssss just... so rare and just.... something else. There’s no way of me missing that seriously. Tbh him doing an action stunt isn’t what I imagine when it comes to him and there’s really any actions scenes anyway but it really was something. Like the character he played here really became my soft spot Hehehehe he was pretty and plus, tbh it’s kind of film I’d make fun of while watching so everything was (alomst) forgivable. There is a recent thing I think about, since this is about a cult, I kind of hope he’d at some day play a role like Eli Sunday from There will be blood: a manipulative, deceitful and maddened priest with twisted faith. Though Paul Dano did a grand job, the idea was in my head the whole time. Well, it’s a shame he wasn’t any of those here lol

Driven

From what I seen, the majority of people seem to unanimously hate this film, and after watching it I became one of those ppl. At least Standoff could be make fun of and rsl held gunssss but this...... I want to say so many things... I feel like they should have chose either fancy, fast paced, thrilling racing film or detailed depiction of emotions/relationships with the racers and people involved in it, I know both can be done, but I think that was outside of their ability, but since they tried to do that at once, it became a mess that doesn’t go either way. And the characters, any of them, including rsl’s are narrow or impossible to understand. I mean rsl did great himself, it was not about acting, the problem lies on the script and editing in my opinion. Also there were so many unnecessary characters made me question of their existence. Luckily rsl’s character isn’t one of them, however because of them, he had to squeeze in and unable to elaborate, which is a shame as he was an interesting character and someone rsl rarely plays; a arrogant and opportunist agent/brother of the protagonist, who would do anything for success... ha.... whyyyyy

This is it. If I watch other stuff I might add to it in the future. Overall, I know I’m biased but I do like His filmography, I do have appreciations in every one of them in different way to the good ones to bad. He may have disagree, but I love his acting on screen, well, I barely seen him on stage (crying)

Edit: as some of you could see, I’ve edited this over and over again haha elaborating on thing or the contrary. I can say with a glimpse of hell I practically managed to watch every rsl films out there lol except for the i inside and the short film he did called a dog race in Alaska. But with the former I’m not interested and already know the storyline, and the latter is just impossible to find, trust me I did my best;; 

So to sum up: I HAVE MASTERED THE RSL FILMOGRAPHY!

#robert sean leonard #rsl #films #filmography #personal #thoughts

[person-personified]

✨ Tag 9 people to learn more about their interests!

i was tagged by the lovely kay @holyshit <3

MUSIC

fav genre? alternative rock, some indie, a bit of pop punk...a bit of pop. these days I go by artist rather than a genre since I don't actively search out new music anymore. so. anything that plays in a show and then stuff I know I'd like by an artist I like.

fav artist? taylor swift. I haven't listened to any other artist as constantly as her.

fav song? don't let it break your heart by louis tomlinson is my go to comfort song so that?

most listened song recently? cowboy like me by taylor swift for swaying in the kitchen reasons.

song currently stuck in your head? stockholm syndrome by one direction, specifically harry doing the echo

5 fav lyrics? these are current because I'm so far from a headspace to have a fav anything rn

and let all your damage damage me/ and carry your baggage up my street/ and make me your future history - renegade ft. taylor swift by big red machine

wondering headshake/ tired eyes are the death of me - sunflower vol 6 by harry styles

and there will come a time, you'll see/ with no more tears/ and love will not break your heart, but dismiss your fears/get over your hill and see what you find there/ with grace in your heart and flowers in your hair - after the storm by mumford and sons

don't want no other shade of blue/ but you / no other sadness in the world would do - hoax by taylor swift

meray yaar, meray log/ meri kainat madhosh/ sab kho gaye hain kahan/ meray log - meray log by noori

radio or your own playlist | solo artists or bands (I'm refusing to choose okay)| pop or indie | loud or silent volume I slow or fast songs | music video or lyrics video | speakers or headset | riding a bus in silence or while listening to music | driving in silence or with radio on (I can't drive actually but I love to quietly daydream when someone else is driving)

BOOKS

fav book genre? I think usually character driven books.kinda tender discussing the human condition while also being slice of life-y. I also like chicklits and a lot of ya for coming of age-y reasons. Like I'm definitely not a target audience but I feel like i have a lot of coming of age to do yet.

fav writer? no one, I'm a bit all over the place so

fav book? aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe

fav book series? percy jackson and the olympians

comfort book? aristotle and dante discover the secrets of the universe.

perfect book to read on a rainy day? the song of achilles so the rain can mask your tears.

fav characters? percy jackson (percy jackson and the olympians), adam parrish (the raven cycle), lily evans (harry potter)

5 quotes from your fav book that you know by heart? (This is a mix of by heart and just favourites)

okay this poem by robert frost in the outsiders is the quote I know by heart : Nature’s first green is gold/Her hardest hue to hold/Her early leaf’s a flower/But only so an hour/Then leaf subsides to leaf/So Eden sank to grief/So dawn goes down to day/Nothing gold can stay.

neil's blazing speech to riko in the all for the game: you know, I get. being raised as a superstar must be really, really difficult for you. always a commodity, never a human being, not a single person in your family thinking you’re worth a damn off the court— yeah, sounds rough. kevin and I talk about your intricate and endless daddy issues all the time.

demon pox oh demon pox just how is it acquired? one goes down to the bad part of town until one is very tired (from the infernal devices series from my teenage days)

that bit in the raven cycle when blue says 'i don't want to hurt you' and adam says 'i'm already all hurt up'

okay this one is big time cheating but ' 'here is my hand' he said/but that was long ago/'here is my hand that will not harm you' from a poem by louise gluck. it's a quote, it's probably in a book, I remember it by heart so thats 3/4.

hardcover or paperback | buy or rent | standalone novels or book series (I'm not as young as I once was 😂) | ebook or physical copy | reading at night or during the day | reading at home or in nature | listening to music while reading or reading in silence | reading in order or reading the ending first (who reads the ending first??!) | reliable or unreliable narrator | realism or fantasy | one or multiple POVS | judging by the covers or by the summary | rereading or reading just once

TV AND MOVIES

fav tv/movie genre? drama/slice of life/ coming of age. are those even genres?

fav movie? I love the testament of youth.

comfort movie? clueless or legally blonde.

movie you watch every year? it used to be tangled. but none for the past couple of years.

fav tv show? I thought anne with an e was done amazingly well. cinnamontography, story arcs everything was off the charts. rip to s4 though.

comfort tv show? criminal minds. I like the fact that it's methodical in figuring out the minds of the criminals😌 but to be fair I don't really comfort myself..I just suffer.

most rewatched tv show? I don't really rewatch properly. But I watch random merlin episodes so that.

ultimate otp? I don't think I have an ultimate but currently it's buddie from 9-1-1 (not canon as of the most recent season </3 pray for me guys)

5 fav characters? kay I'm you but the tv/movies category😂it's a struggle. so: spencer reid (criminal minds), aimee (sex education), maddie buckley (9-1-1), buck (9-1-1), anne shirley cuthbert (anne with an e)

tv shows or movies | short seasons (8-13 episodes) or full seasons (22 episodes or more) | one episode a week or binging | one season or multiple seasons | one part or saga | half hour or one hour long episodes | subtitles on or off | rewatching or watching just once | downloads or watches online

now let's see if I can manage to tag 9 people

@throughthecurtains @absoloutenonsense @sunsmile-lou @zouisbreakup @zouis-exes-to-lovers @whaleharry @bus2 @nouisgf if you guys want to :)

#i think i got pretty close to 9 so im counting this as a success story #tbh I can't keep track of if someone's a mutual or not ( #or if i just really like their blog #this was a lot of fun though. i had to scrape into the back of my mind for when i consumed so many media..rip to current reeba #tag games #my post #mine #about me

[reachexceedinggrasp]

What are the conspiracy theories about their motives?

Ted and Marshall are their self-inserts (that’s not speculation, that’s something they’ve talked about), they made a lot of kinda excessive comments about falling in love with Cobie Smulders during the first season, and their original vision of Barney was as a ‘Jack Black type’ much older than the rest of the cast who is purely gross and pathetic.

So the fandom speculated that a) going back on the entire point of Robin and the foundational twist from the pilot (aka that she is not the girl) was unplanned and possibly in large part because they (mainly Bays) wanted to vicariously date her. When I watched the show (after it had finished, so I knew about the finale already), I immediately noticed that the first two or three episodes very much suggest Ted and Robin were never intended to date seriously. There’s a very abrupt track change and some clumsy retcons to create the thread which will eventually lead to them having a relationship. Which makes sense, because narratively this big Ted/Robin build up is largely pointless, redundant, and unappealing and we already know it won’t work out- no one is going to ship that. They were created to be incompatible and they are.

b) Bays and Thomas (especially Bays) really, really resented that the audience latched on to Barney and not only made him the face of the show but loved him best and wanted to root for him. They were angry that Ted wasn’t anyone’s fav but theirs and that as far as the audience was concerned Barney/Robin was the big will-they-won’t-they couple, overshadowing Ted’s quest for The One.

Bays ‘blames’ Neil Patrick Harris for this and their writing for the character in the context of their interviews makes it not totally implausible to believe there was an aspect of punishing him for being everyone’s favourite. And that’s really the main conspiracy theory I’m referring to and the one I joked about in my post comparing HIMYM with tros- that you treat a character you created so badly it feels like you have a vendetta against the actor for making the part more rich than you imagined.

Because it feels very clear to me that part of the problem with the writing is that the showrunners, unlike the rest of the writers and the audience, never saw Barney in any other way than their original idea of a creepy, unattractive joke with no depth. They never, ever intended him to be seen as a romantic option for anyone and never anticipated the audience wanting to root for him as a romantic lead.

If you imagine Jack Black doing schtick instead of NPH, his whole concept reads differently; that Barney would have been a sad clown, just a buffoon. He thinks he's awesome but is definitively a loser, and no one is too mad at him or too sorry for him because no one takes him that seriously. He's irredeemably gross, totally not threatening, and any pathos he might have is tongue in cheek. The plays are pathetic but harmless, he isn't actually successful but he's so determined everything be awesome that in hindsight it sort of is (the early episode Sweet Taste of Liberty is totally like this), just because it makes for a funny story for Hero Ted to tell about his wacky friend. And that idea lingers throughout the show even after the direct remnants have gone (remnants like: there’s an early episode where everyone acts incredulous with Barney’s plan to dance with girls at a club- because who would want to lol?? Barney, who is NPH in a fitted dress shirt), because sometimes both the writers and the other characters treat Barney like he's a cartoon even in the more dramatic storylines- they don't take him seriously as a character, his motivations and feelings aren't important. There are moments when everyone is legit awful to him in a non-comedy way but it doesn't matter, he doesn't hold it against them and the audience isn't expected to either.  And there’s things like his total absence from Robin's fertility drama when just logically, just from momentum he should be a huge part of it. It becomes confusing when they suddenly take his silly actions seriously and dramatically condemn him for being terrible when the story never treated his worst behaviour as having any basis in reality and yet have given weight to his sympathetic moments before then ignoring them. And this is where it makes sense that Bays 'blames' NPH; it is fundamentally his casting which changed how the writing played and thus changed the way they wrote the character. He is too good-looking and obviously adroit to play the standard harmlessly sleazy, delusional wannabe-womaniser that they imagined, the audience won't react the same way. This instantly complicates the character: Why would a fit, rich, sociable guy capable of being actually charming need elaborate pick up strategies? If he's just a shallow douche why would he latch on to someone like Ted instead of hanging out with other douches? He wouldn't. So why is he like this? His abject loserness becomes interesting instead of self-explanatory and that makes all his glimpses of depth read less 'pitiful clown' and more 'tragic character who can be redeemed'.

We were always supposed to like him- exactly the way Ted likes him in S1, as a sort of spectator sport which we don't for a second approve of and who you only sort of root for because he's so pathetic that any success he has is all part of the comedy. But then they cast someone who is too believable, people root for him unironically, and the show gets sort of weird about How We Feel About Barney and whether he's cool or not. The characters never stop thinking he's disgusting, but they also still encourage him even as he becomes more and more actually successful until his personal mythology is barely a delusion. Him being a successful womaniser who genuinely IS most of the things he claims to be throws his sadness and dissatisfaction with his life into a completely different light, now his pathos is real. After that, seeing his dorkiness and his many esoteric skills is less 'haha embarrassing for the lame wannabe' and more endearing.

Basically they accidentally a really compelling arc and were mad the audience was more interested in this incredibly dynamic, charismatic character who had tonnes of room to grow and change instead of the Dogged Good Guy protagonist who is obligated to be fairly static.

#And also they spent seasons explaining how he and Robin were perfect for each other and then were mad people shipped them. #there was no reason for them to break up either time because they just work so well #so you get this ridiculous bullshit out of nowhere about getting ugly and lack of wifi #the other writers obviously had no inkling of any of these shenanigans because #they literally spend an entire season on how Ted and Robin make each other miserable and shouldn't be together #and constantly contrast how Ted doesn't actually like Robin as a person but only his ideal of her #where Barney appreciates all the things about her Ted wants to change #and there's all this foreshadowing with Ted's divorced parents vs his mum with her new husband etc. etc. #them trying desperately to puppeteer the characters into place for the finale was SO PAINFUL AND AWKWARD #it's just LIES #like either WRITE TOWARDS THE FINALE YOU WANT #or ALLOW ORGANIC DEVELOPMENT #I mean the finale would never have worked at any point because the pilot precludes it #but they didn't even TRY #himym

[hargrove-mayfields]

Harringrove tag game! by @lovebillyhargrove

I was tagged by @mrsblackruby! tysm!! <3

1. Do they get together BEFORE MF possessing Billy or AFTER shit goes down? (Or maybe DURING😲)

Typically I say before, like at around Christmas time in ‘84. I think anybody in a small town puts aside character prejudices around the holidays and tries to make those connections with everyone, so I’ve always felt, especially since the fight was literally only a month before, that Steve would reach out to Billy the night of the Snowball and things would, well, snowball from there.

2. Who kisses who first?

Definitely Steve. I firmly stand by the hc that Billy’s never kissed a boy before Steve, and maybe Steve hasn’t either, but he’s the romantic, no way is he going to let Billy kiss him first.

3. Where do they have their first sex? (Location) (HJs and BJs count)

I don’t really have a solid answer for this? But definitely somewhere very spur of the moment, maybe somebody’s couch or the locker rooms?

4. Who says 💖 I LOVE YOU 💖 first?

Imma say Billy. Opposite of my last answer, I don’t feel like either of them would say they love each other on accident or like, in the moment. I think their first I love you’d would be very very controlled. I also think Billy has less experience with actually being in love, so when the time comes that he’s actually mustered up the courage to say it to Steve, I think he’s super nervous and practices the perfect scenario in his head a dozen times. It’s definitely not blurted out.

5. I believe this fandom is way past having hard feelings about it, so

BottomSteve! or BottomBilly?

I don’t have a strong opinion either way, but typically, I prefer bottom!Steve. No particular reason, that’s just the way I tend to read things!

6. Do they give gifts to each other?

Absolutely! Billy doesn’t have the disposable income to run out and buy Steve new things every time he wants to give him something, so I think he does a really cheesy like, giving him a kiss as a present and making a big deal out of it.

Steve is sort of the same way, in that he doesn’t like to give Billy material things, because he doesn’t want him to think he’s being pretentious or trying to hold his wealth over Billy’s head like he’s his mom or something, so he only gives Billy personal things. Old pilled t-shirts to wear to bed and a blanket to keep on the couch in his room that smells like him. Things like that.

They also try to make eachother things as presents, like food or little knick knacks in art class, but they always fail miserably and think it’s really funny when all they have to show is a smoking mess.

7. Where do they end up living? California, Chicago, Hawkins... Idk .. Alaska??)))) Any other location?

I honestly think they stay in Hawkins. I don’t think after everything Billy would be able to leave Max behind, and I also think that Steve would like having a connection to where he grew up, even if bad things happened there. If they did leave though, I see them going down south, maybe tourist trap Tennessee?

8. What are their future jobs?

In my mind that very much depends on if we’re following canon and this is post Starcourt or like, if it’s a whole new AU. Because after that I don’t think Billy would actually ever be physically well enough to work again. I know it’s a pretty unpopular opinion, bc the general hc is that he bounces back within a year or so with some scars (which is cool! I’m not knocking that I’m just sayin) but I think he'd be permanently disabled, on oxygen support 24/7, and just with all sorts of health complications from, you know, literally having a gaping hole in his chest, that would make it impossible for him to work. In that sort of scenario I usually think of Steve as a being teacher or an artist, something that he doesn’t have very long work hours or can do from home so he can be there to take care of Billy.

If we’re going with like, a no upside down or a Billy is never hurt au, I think he stays in Hawkins and just works in some sort of a mom and pop until he’s the new manager, like at an antique store maybe?

(p.s. stay tuned for an upcoming fic about Billy working in a fix-it shop!!)

As for Steve, I feel like he wouldn’t ever be able to settle on one career when he didn’t have limitations. I don’t really know what he’d eventually decide is his calling, maybe design of some sort? Jewelry making?

This is a hard question, I don’t really see them as being tied down to one career indefinitely, but I do know I don’t see either of them ever working desk jobs.

9. Who's a better cook?

Neither of them. Billy wasn’t allowed in the kitchen growing up because Neil said it’s a woman's place, and Steve is just god awful at following directions, like, can’t tell the difference between a teaspoon and a tablespoon or preheat the oven awful. They just eat takeout and like, cold sandwiches literally all the time until someone (Joyce) notices and teaches them how to cook on the weekends.

10. Steve Hargrove or Billy Harrington?

Billy Harrington. I don’t see him wanting to be a Hargrove anymore. He has no positive ties to the name with his mom leaving and his dad being his dad, so I think he’d want to take Steve’s last name. Also this is kinda weird but I am VERY particular about my middle name hcs (I think it’s an ocd thing? idk) and I have an alliterative name for Steve that wouldn’t work if he was a Hargrove instead of a Harrington, so that’s also part of the reason.

11. What's Max's reaction when she hears they're together?

I think probably just like, confusion. Not over Billy being with a boy, but over that boy being Steve. Like, she doesn’t know Steve well, but she knows he’s the responsible big brother to Dustin, and that’s the exact opposite of what her brother is like, so it catches her off guard. She’s definitely a little gossip though, wanting all the not-gross details about Steve from her brother. She’s basically just a little sister about it, I guess.

12. Describe in ONE SENTENCE Hopper's reaction when he hears the names Hargrove and Harrington mentioned together?

Not again.

13. Does Robin like Billy OR does Robin hate Billy?

I think she likes him. I have a little hc that she and him were together in an underground pre-gsa kinda thing in high school. She pretends she can’t stand him, but the two of them are quick best friends. (this might just be me but I think the two of them together would give statler and waldorf vibes)

14. What about Dustin?

Dustin I think actually thinks Billy is really cool. Like, he’s like a little double agent, hearing from Max all the annoying things about Billy, and from Steve the good things. He’ll gag if Steve gets too mushy over him and he’ll definitely join in with Max in calling Billy gross, and he also absolutely gives Billy a (very non-intimidating. he’s too soft) shovel talk, but I think he really likes and looks up to Billy as like, his other big brother.

15. Fav Harringrove AU?

Oh gosh, I can’t even pick. I think I like childhood friends aus best? They’re really fun to play with and it always ends up being super sweet. I’m a big fan of soulmates too for kind of the same reasons. I like mushy stuff.

16. Billy+Camaro=...??? (Not strictly Harringrove, but I can't not to ..)

I honestly don’t think Billy cares about the camaro that much. He’d be sad when it gets totaled because that was his only way of getting around and also his first car, but I don’t think the car itself has that much value to him. I mean, he treats it with absolutely zero respect, jumping curbs and driving too fast and slamming on those breaks. The camaro is just a car. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I’ll tag: @lifegaurd-hargrove85! @deardmvz! and @strangebrainrot! no pressure! and as usual, if anybody else sees this and wants to participate, feel free!

#tag game!! #long post #harringrove #billy hargrove #steve harrington #ej writer

[bedeliainwonderland]

I understand disliking a character..but you realize anything that happens to bedelia in context of the show is driven by hannibal, right? the man you ship her with? the stinger, her fear, all that necessitates her self preservation is instigated by hannibal. the show frequently did a disservice to its female chars, but hannibal was the tool they used to do it. denying that and then shipping him w/ your fav only to turn it around on another char seems...hypocritical.

Ahh yes, some good ol’ anon hate, I missed that. Honestly, perfect timing, I am having the worst of times and getting to talk about my favs literally saved my day. So thanks!

First of all, Bedelia and Hannibal are a canon ship, whether you like it or not, so let’s get that out of the way (as opposite to certain other ship but that is a whole other thing). I merely fill in the blanks of what the show failed to provide because, for some inexplicable reason, the show named “Hannibal” was centered on a character named Will and every other character (especially the female characters) served only to further his “man pain”. But I digress, that is surely not why you chose to hide behind that grey square.

I don’t know whether you follow me or just saw that one reblog (which ironically weren’t even my words but I stand fully behind everything said), but I have already spoken about this extensively. Every day, really. I find it hard to understand how something is hypocritical when it is based on canon information. I am not denying anything. So here we go, under the cut, because I have a LOT to say:

The stinger- oh god, you all know how much I hate it. First of all, there is no proof that Hannibal is involved, we don’t know who is involved, that is kinda the point of a cliff hanger. We don’t even know if it’s real. But it’s absolutely pointless and makes no sense! It was quite literally Fuller wanting to do something “shocking” to finish off the series without any regard to continuity or characterisation. It was supposed to be shocking and look aesthetically pleasing, that’s it, no logic. It is as if he looked at the character list and thought “hmm, which female character is yet to be hurt? Oh right, Bedelia!” The so called “punishing Bedelia” as the fandom loved so very much is mere misogyny. Why can’t a female character do something morally questionable or even plain evil and get away with it? Because Will didn’t that is why. If she were a man, no one would scream for “she has it coming”, no, he would be uwu baby.

Having Hannibal involved in that would be completely out of character and contradictory to all their previous interactions/ their relationship. So let’s expand, shall we?

When we first see Bedelia and Hannibal, it is mentioned that she has been his psychiatrist for 7 years. 7 YEARS, let that sink in. No one, NO ONE, has been in Hannibal’s life for such a long time. It is clear she means a lot to him. If she didn’t, he had plenty of chances to kill her. It is established she is a loner, so it would so easy for Hannibal to dispose of her and claim “she left to UK” or something, like he did with his secretary. But he didn’t because he cares for her and she is important to him. He literally says he feels protective of her. Every session, you can see how much he needs her approval and how he hangs on her every word. How hurt he was when she said she wasn’t his friend (and yet he did nothing). How enamoured he is with her. When he comes to bring her dinner in Savoureaux, the dish included roses! Such a romantic.

Hannibal knew Bedelia was similar to him that is why he set up the whole Neil incident; he wanted to make sure she is. Do note that Bedelia wasn’t ever in danger, since Hannibal was there to step in if needed. But here is what I’ve found interesting; Bedelia killed someone, proving Hannibal’s hunch right, but she refused to fully acknowledge that part of herself. And Hannibal let her withdraw, doing nothing (as in not killing her, as I’m sure he had done many times with unsuccessful “candidates”) merely securing her continuous therapy. Because she was more than just another experiment to him.

And Bedelia isn’t so innocent in other aspects as well. She knows, yet she purposely evades the truth while talking to the FBI (“Will could use friends like Hannibal” ha!) under the cover of patient/ doctor confidentiality and even warns Hannibal directly (“they are starting to see your pattern). I have had my fair share of “Bedelia doesn’t care for Hannibal” posts and nothing could be further from the truth. If she hadn’t cared, she would not have done any of that.

But then of course, Hannibal’s game goes one step too far and he gives her the written permission to discuss him with the FBI. This is bad for Bedelia because it puts her under the scrutiny as well and that is not where she wants to be. Bedelia’s self-preservation always comes first (both Bedelia and Hannibal are egocentric by nature). Yet, she still comes to say goodbye to him and he lets her go! The script described Hannibal’s reaction to her words as “imperceivable wound”. “But he then went to kill her!” I hear you say? *Thor’s gif* Did he though? If he wanted to kill her, he would have done it then and there. No, he went to check if she were really gone (again, script) and whether she betrayed him. That was his only concern (betrayal is a big thing with Hannibal), but she didn’t. She even left him a memento. It said it was a memento of friendship, I think it was a “see you later” card.

This is getting super long, so let’s quickly skip to Florence. Bedelia left with Hannibal, knowing exactly who he was. Unlike other (all of them, actually) characters, she did not reject him/ was scared of him. “You let them see you/ I let them see enough” exchange says it all. She is not surprised by him or shocked by what he is; she is merely stating the facts. She has long accepted him in full. They lived together in Florence, openly behind the so called veil, as fake husband and wife, but the wedding rings remained intact even at home (showing how important it was to them, not just a front), displaying a ridiculous amount of domesticity and intimacy. This deserves a whole separate post but I am trying to be brief(er). “But she was scared!” you might shout again, except that she wasn’t. Even if Antipasto purposely played with the ambiguity of her situation for suspense purposes, the following episodes made it clear she was exactly where she wanted to be, from the very start, on her own terms as Hannibal’s equal. We were obviously misled by the promos, they promised us a Bedelia and Hannibal show and what we got was, well, you know… And that is yet another post altogether.

Now to the glorious farewell, boy, do I love to talk about that. Bedelia packs Hannibal’s bags and tells him to leave, and he does! What more, he promises to tell her story. HER STORY. Now, that is a major thing, because Hannibal has never ever done that for anyone. He always turns other people’s stories into his own, manipulating and adjusting accordingly. But with Bedelia, he simply agrees to do it, on her own terms. Not only that, he is visibly impressed and enamoured by her. Again, if he wanted to kill her, he could have just killed her then. He was going to get caught anyway, what is one more murder? All this “he waited until he could eat her” story makes no sense at all, since as it was already mentioned, he knew her for almost a decade, plenty of time to eat her if he wanted to. He lets her go because he wants to. Because he cares for her.

The point I have made several times is that Bedelia is the only person that Hannibal treats as, well, a person! Everyone else is beneath him, meat only if you will, but not her. Even the ever so special (apparently) Will and Abigail aren’t treated as “people”. Bedelia is the only person that Hannibal respects; that is what makes her so special. Not love (even though he obviously loves her), because respect is rarer for Hannibal than love. Sure, he “loves” Will, the same way you love your favourite book. You want to have it and you don’t want anyone else to have it, but you don’t expect the book to return your feelings. Bedelia is Hannibal’s only equal.

The Red Dragon arc was a mess of epic proportions so I don’t even want to get into that. But I do appreciate the acknowledgement of Bedelia’s darker side and now she has become comfortable with it since Florence. Let’s make a few notes so it doesn’t look as if I am purposely omitting things: Hannibal’s letters to Bedelia? Clearly a part of his “telling her story” and helping her cover, plus he was not able to send her proper letters, so that is his way of telling her he thinks of her. Sessions with Will? You can’t really take everything she told him at face value, she is obfuscating after all. Why would she be honest with Will? She wouldn’t be, she was just continuing what Hannibal has started with much better results (slightly too good actually, as proven by Will’s stupid plan). Bedelia wasn’t afraid Hannibal would come after her, because she had no reasons to be. NONE. She was protected by him.

So there you have it, the great many reasons why I am so unapologetic in my shipping. Because it is all there. Thank you for reminding me why I love these two so much! Have a great day, maybe next time you can message me off anon.

(And thanks to all who got to the end of this almost dissertation, this is my testament, I love you all fellow bedannibal fans!)

#bedannibal #bedelia du maurier #hannibal lecter #anonymous #asks #anon hate is great sometimes #reference for future anons