#not me thinking about the arthur montage as i watched this

[nctsworld]

jaehyun + the prada sunglasses saga 🕶️

#jaehyun #jung jaehyun #nct #nct 127 #nctinc #nctcreations #itsnctsworld #jaehyungifs #nctgifs #cee.gifs #not me thinking about the arthur montage as i watched this #but also he looks so good in every pair wtf #i don't even like thinner frames but he looks so good with the glasses one #hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh #the orange ones were good too #he's just !!!

[drconstellation]

Once and Future Royalty

Just, stay with me on this one. I know its going to look crazy at the start, but trust me, I know where I'm going.

It all started with the 537AD scene in Wessex in the opening montage of "Hard Times," S1E3. Yeah, the one where Aziraphale is supposed to be a knight of the Round Table and Crowley is role-playing the Black Knight, and they are both so super-squeaky shiny clean - not a speck of dirt or mud on them. wtf! It looks out of place, unrealistic, and was bugging the crap out of me, like a stone in your shoe. It just didn't fit. I mean, why put a myth, a legend, into that sequence? Oh, OK, yeah, the preceding stories from the Bible, like the Garden of Eden and the Flood, aren't "myths" as well, you say? Hmm. In the context of the Good Omens AU, being a biblical based story, they belong there far more than the legend of King Arthur.

King Arthur, who supposedly united Britain under his rule during the late 5th century and early 6th century, was shown to have the divine right to rule by wielding the mighty sword Excalibur. Some stories tell of Arthur pulling Excalibur from a stone. Some tell of him receiving Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake. Either way, it was bestowed upon him by divine grace. Despite his triumph in battle, he left no heirs, as his queen, the fair Guinevere, was barren. She had a long-running love affair with the greatest knight of the court, Sir Lancelot, but despite this being an open secret in court Arthur would not put her aside. The knights of the Round Table in the court of Camelot were near-paragons of Christian virtue, and there are many tales of their search for the Holy Grail, the cup from the Last Supper of Jesus Christ.

In the end, mortally wounded in battle, Arthur was taken away for healing, and never seen again. It was said he would return when Britain was at it most direst hour to save the day once more. A "messianic" return.

The Once and Future King.

Now, I'm no Arthurian novice; I drank up all of T. H. White as a teenager, read the Dark is Rising multiple times, Marion Zimmer Bradley's interpretation and what ever else I could lay my hands on for a good couple of decades. And there is LOTS of King Arthur stuff around. You are not left wanting for anything new to read or consume. And I'll bet there are a fair few of you also out there who know a quite bit about the legend as well. Oh, and I can't tell you how many times I have watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I still walk around quoting it day-to-day, like the good little Gen-Xer I am, having grown up on that stuff. So I really should have listened to my intuition when bits of Monty Python kept popping up in my brain in response to other parts of GO I was thinking about. (Staaay, I said, stay with me here....)

I kept chewing away furiously on the Wessex problem, growling in feral frustration at it, but also kept reading and sorting out some other ideas and metas at the same time. Eventually I found the key in a tiny little post, about a small detail in the 1941 Blitz episode S2E4, of all places. I wanted to slap myself with how much was staring me in the face so obviously once the door opened. And the damn beauty of it is, that I already written about some it, out of context, without knowing the why.

OK. Where to start this journey...hmmm, back to Monty Python, because, guess what - the Wessex scene is actually riffing off one the more famous skits out the the Holy Grail. The scene is a masterpiece of political satire, from start to finish, but the relevant part here is this sequence:

In case you missed the salient points: Arthur claims he is king by divine providence, because he was given Excalibur by the Lady of the Lake. Dennis the peasant protests this waterlogged method of determination, mentioning ponds, watery tarts and a moistened... well, I hope you get the idea about where this is going.

Meanwhile, in 537AD, Wessex, as the mist swirls around them:

"It is a bit damp," complains a shiny silver Aziraphale.

Yes, Excalibur would be a bit damp after it emerged from the Lake. (vidavalor! Get your mind out of the gutter! I'm trying to have a serious discussion here! Please! And I wasn't even going to go anywhere near what the sword in the stone is really meant to be referring to...it's not even relevant to the discussion at hand, I swear! Well, there is going to be sexual relations mentioned but - oh, never mind...)

Right. Where were we. Lets leave those super-clean elite pretendy knights to swim off through the swirling mist back to their dry homes to write and file reports to head office, along with Patsy and the hired Igors, and Dennis can keep playing in his lovely muddy filth after he finishes protesting being repressed by the divinely-deluded Arthur. I've got a bit more to say about what Aziraphale and Crowley might represent here later but you need some more context first, so lets move on. I just needed to show you the first bit so you can see the Arthurian theme stretches across both S1 and S2, and will likely appear in S3 as well. More about that towards the end.

Ah, before I forget...another ref from the Holy Grail we need to cover:

This GIF, unfortunately, doesn't have the full exchange between the peasants, which is this:

P1: "Who's that then?" P2: "I don't know. Must be a king." P1: "How can you tell?" P2: "Because he doesn't have any shit on him."

Ah. Er. OH!

Have you made the connection?

Who have I been emphasizing as being unusually clean in their Arthurian setting? That's right, Aziraphale and Crowley.

What's this implying? That they are royalty. Celestial royalty. Maybe not kings, but how about princes? You know how we've been discussing whether Crowley was a once at least an Archangel, and there is even a hint that he was a fallen prince of Heaven given during the replay of Gabriel's trial? (Not the prince, but a prince - a seraphim) And that Aziraphale may have once been Raphael, and may be again in the future? Once and future royalty. To me it adds weight to the past discussion, and helps to explain the assumed authority expressed in these two scenes here: On the left, Aziraphale takes control inside the book shop as the angels and demons argue who is going to punish Gabriel and Beelzebub (finally found it after several months!) and on the right, Crowley is shouting at the assembling demons in the street that they are "out of order."

Onward, Patsy. (I hope you're still with me.)

1941, the Blitz part 2, minisode.

We've found Excalibur! On to Camelot!

[Edit note: I've added a few GIFs and screen shots into the sequence of parallels above because I was thinking over a few things since I posted and felt this actually sat better. To try and explain, as they don't exactly match as I would like, in the Holy Grail movie, King Arthur and the knights he has gathered rock up at the foot of Camelot and gaze up in awe at it. "Camelot!" Arthur declares to the party. "Camelot!" Galahad echoes in excitement. And a third "Camelot!" comes from Lancelot. What do we get in GO? Aziraphale leaps out of the Bentley (Crowley's black horse) and declares "The theater! Sophocles! Shakespeare!" I swear, if you put the two side by side, they would match. It's not just a reminder of how much time Aziraphale has seen pass by, or that we are seeing a tragedy play out. But damn it, I could so just see Aziraphale attending a Sophocles performance in Athens back in the day...]

Camelot was King Arthur's castle and home of his court. In S2 of GO the Windmill Theater is established as our court of Camelot where our 1941 Blitz-era Arthurian drama is to play out, involving Furfur and the zombies.

Yes, poor old Furfur. Two's company, three's a crowd, as they say. Now we know we're in Camelot, we need to be reminded of the central tragedy of the Arthurian story, that ultimately led to the golden kingdom's fall. Lady Guinevere, Arthur's queen, famously loved Sir Lancelot, and the two were passionate lovers. It was essentially a love-triangle at the top, with Arthur being jilted, but he wouldn't/couldn't discard his queen. Where do we see this playing out in 1941?

Furfur, pleased with himself for catching an angel and a demon in the act of consorting together (with the help of the zombies,) barges into the backstage dressing room, and confronts the lovers with their crime. But who is playing who in the Arthurian love triangle? I would say Furfur is clearly caught in the role of Arthur here. Consider the following exchange:

FURFUR: Hmm, well, well, well… What have we here? AZIRAPHALE: Sorry, have we met? FURFUR: Oh, no, you never had the pleasure, but… we have, haven't we? CROWLEY: Have we? FURFUR: What do you mean "have we?" You know we have. We were in the same legion. Just before the Fall. Doing dubious battle on the plains of Heaven. Remember? CROWLEY: I remember going into battle, I don't remember being there with you. Sorry. FURFUR: I was right next to you. We did loads together. You use to jump on me back, little monkey in the waistcoat. Anyway, whether you do or whether you don't, it doesn't matter. I'm here to inform you, as a representative of the Higher Powers of Hell, that you, Crowley, are in breach of the Infernal Code. Consulting and collaborating with an angel, Fell the Marvelous, aka… [opens book] Azirapalala. Azirapapap. Aziphapalala. AZIRAPHALE: [annoyed] Aziraphale

Furfur claims a past intimate relationship with Crowley, which Crowley spurns offhandedly. Crowley is playing Guinevere here, jilting Furfur/Arthur, which leaves the demon-smiting Aziraphale standing in for the handsome hero Lancelot (with his French connections, no less), and doesn't he make us weak at the knees when he drops his voice an octave in dominating disgust. (Is it suddenly getting hot in here...? Phew!)

Interestingly, looking back in S1 at 537AD Wessex, though, I would say that Crowley was Lancelot as the Black Knight, a role that Lancelot sometimes played in the legends, and Aziraphale would then be the fair maiden Guinevere. It certainly plays into Crowley's long term role of playing the knight who comes to the rescue of Aziraphale's princess in distress. Excalibur was no where in sight, perhaps still beneath the waters of the lake. Nor Arthur. Perhaps it was still too early in the story then...

I had originally suggested in my very first post that Furfur was given a stag as his demon avatar because he was wearing horns for being cuckolded by Crowley. But I wasn't quite thinking about it in context with the Arthurian legend! The stag is also often associated with royalty, plus while wandering around the medieval bestiary website that someone linked to, it interestingly notes that the enemy of the snake is the stag and the stork (Shax's avatar.) Ah ha!

So how can we extrapolate this knowledge into a possible appearance of the Arthurian theme in S3?

Will we see the love triangle of Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot come back into play and cause more chaos? I'm wondering if it might have something to do with the Fall.

Or will our lovers bring down a divinely-appointed ruler via their committed behind-the-back defiance of expected propriety?

Will Excalibur appear from beneath the waters, perhaps in another form, to declare a new king?

Could it even be a combination Jesus/Arthur, King of the World, returned? And they turn out to be a very naughty boy, disappearing into the night clubs of Times Square, New York, and that's how they lose him? (Social media viral sensation, anyone?)

I wouldn't be half-surprised if Greasy Johnson's name turns out to be Arthur, actually.

And no, I haven't forgotten that Adam's dad was named Arthur as well.

Bring on S3!

**Bonus**

If you've made it this far and you're thinking:

Let me leave you with this last connection.

In the back stage change room, remember Furfur delivers these lines:

FURFUR: What do you mean "have we?" You know we have. We were in the same legion. Just before the Fall. Doing dubious battle on the plains of Heaven. Remember?

On the first level, he is referring the Great War in the Good Omens AU.

On the second level, Furfur is paraphrasing Milton's Paradise Lost.

On a third level, I can (and will in a future meta) connect this back to the training initiative paintball fight at Tadfield Manor in S1.

And even deeper on a fourth level, if you do know the Holy Grail movie well, you'll remember there is an odd little subplot in it, that infers that the whole King Arthur and his knights thing is merely a full-on violent cosplay that is murderously rampaging across the countryside in the present day with the police in hot pursuit. It's a strange juxtaposition between reality and dream, and you aren't quite sure what it is real or not. The ending is bizarrely and abruptly surreal as the two story lines collide in the heat of battle, as the police turn up and arrest the combatants. A bit like this:

#good omens #good omens 2 #good omens meta #good omens analysis #aziraphale #crowley #king arthur #king of the who? #the return of king arthur #excalibur #the lady of the lake #watery tarts #monty python #monty python and the holy grail #run away #camelot #arthurian legend #ladies of camelot #guinevere #lancelot #the once and future king #once and future royalty #good omens 1941 #furfur #shax #dubious battle on the plains of heaven #tadfield manor

[stevenrogered]

I just finished one day and I’m a bit confused about one part- a lot of people are saying that the part where he ran back and kissed her on the stairs in that beautiful montage was what he imagined he did is that true or did he really kiss her then? because in the first episode they don’t show him doing that so it’s got me really confused also I really didn’t expect to cry so much it’s insane how well they did everything you really feel the absolute pain that Dex is experiencing :( I felt like I lost something with him AHHH I really wish the ending was different but one thing this book/series has really made me think about is the meaning of life and how short it actually can be in the grand scheme of things it held so many important messages that I will hold so dear to my heart

glad you watched! welcome to the one day circus we have coffee and buckets for your tears!

its not his imagination, it actually happened. its a continuation of the ending of episode 1- they just cut the scene in the first episode and then jumped back to it at the end of the last episode. its the same way in the book. the point is to show that he does turn back to kiss her, but we dont get to see the ending of the scene (or the scene with them climbing down arthur's seat when she says she doesnt want to be a footnote in his life) until we've seen their entire story play out :)

#ask #anonymous #odn asks

[late-to-the-magnus-archives]

Montage - a Malevolent fic

Kayne doesn't like happy scenes.

It's a good thing he does like his little sister.

Part of the Surrogate series. Written with @sepiabandensis.

AO3

--------

“This is cute, doll, but happy scenes make for good montages, not whole episodes.”

“Just a while longer, brother? Please?”

“Eh… all right. For you, doll. They get one month.”

“Thank you.”

“Who’s the best big brother in the world? I am!”

#

Parker found the section on Eldritch God Mating Practices on day three. He and Sunny immediately borrowed a dozen books.

Which they read.

Committed to memory.

And absolutely laughed themselves silly.

#

“Tabby,” the Keeper said softly, after the humans had gone to bed. “I need to be extremely normal for a few minutes.”

“Oh boy,” Tabby said, sitting up from where she’d been dozing in an armchair.

“He’s so little,” the Keeper squealed, rocking back and forth with her delight. “Hastur told me he was small, but he’s so—he’s so small!”

“I can’t see him, Keeps,” Tabby said, frowning. “How small we talkin’?”

“Cup your hands,” the Keeper said, and then promptly reached over and began shaping Tabby’s fingers. “Smaller—there! He’d be snug, right in there!”

“Oh, fuck,” said Tabby, eyes huge. “...Liddol.”

“Liddol,” agreed the Keeper, and they giggled into the night.

#

Arthur began to fear he’d forget how to walk.

Well, he was walking sometimes. Biological necessity and stubborn insistence granted him time on his own two feet. But other than that, he was carried, pressed close.

He hated the fact that he did not hate it.

Magic was weird. Gods were weird. All of this was ridiculous. If Hastur actually fucking spoke once in a while, Arthur might have put up a fuss. But Hastur did not, and so Arthur allowed himself to be… how did Tabby put it?

Woobied.

That word, Arthur was fairly sure, did not exist, but for the life of him, he couldn’t think of one better.

He just kept talking to the quiet god. “Let’s try that show the Keeper talked about. Baking for charity, right? Have you ever baked?”

Nothing.

“I think we should watch it,” Arthur said.

Silent, Hastur willed the screen to show them a bake-off.

#

The world outside might not have moved. Time may not have passed. But in here, everyone knew Faroe’s birthday was tomorrow, and ten was a big deal.

It was the first time Hastur had spoken in a week and a half. He did so to Faroe, holding Arthur (who looked so fucking patient) against his side. “What do you wish for your birthday, precious one?”

She didn’t know how to answer that.

She wanted everything to be all right.

She wanted Kayne to die in a fire.

She wanted to be so strong she could protect them all.

She wanted her dad. “Can we go somewhere? You and me? A special trip?”

“When we leave this place? Yes. We can.”

She threw herself into his arms, into his tentacles, in full rejoicing that she’d never be too big to play this game.

Arthur turned his face toward Hastur. “Knew you were still in there.”

Hastur just held Arthur tighter.

#

Parker expected some level of eyes on them. The Keeper (or Keeps, as that girl with the funny hair kept calling her) was a god of knowledge, and this was her house; it made sense he’d feel some eyes here and there.

He didn’t expect the eyes to belong to just people—the acolytes or scribes or whatever they were.

In the privacy of their room (graciously granted by the Keeper) he and Sunny discussed it. There didn’t seem to be any threat involved. They really didn’t want to leave Arthur alone without backup, either. So together, they chose to spy back.

Sunny cast a spell to listen in on the ones watching. Then, casually, Parker headed into the public area with some tea and a book on the challenge of mapmaking in the Dreamlands.

“It certainly corroborates the stories we’re hearing from the field,” said a human some distance away, voice hushed. Her eyes darted their way, as if confirming they were too far to hear. “A forgotten one makes sense.”

Uh-oh.

“He doesn’t really fit the standard, but I think you’re right,” agreed her companion, moving a stack of scrolls off of a table and onto a rolling cart. His fins, short and newly grown, glistened in the light. “No one has seen a forgotten one with this level of symbiosis in at least a thousand years, much less two from the same god… but only one’s host is getting stories written about him.”

Stories? Eh?

Parker turned a page for appearance’s sake.

“I see where ‘the Golden Tongue’ came from,” the woman said. “It’s blink and you’ll miss it quick, but shows in little flashes. I’m more surprised at the content of the stories, given their progenitor. The King in Yellow is not known for, uh. Charity work.”

“Well, we humans tend to have a way of eliciting change—including affecting the nature of Forgotten Ones.” The finned man laughed, low. “Who knows? Maybe the Golden Tongue going home even motivated the King to make a few changes of his own. So where are we filing these, again?”

The two scribes walked off, still chattering in their hushed tones, and Parker was deeply confused. “Was that really about us?” he whispered.

It was, but I don’t… I don’t understand it. Maybe… maybe that’s why Larson got so weird about calling you Saint. Maybe these stories are… something.

“Huh,” said Parker, who hadn’t thought they’d done enough to be known in a fancy place like this. “Weird.”

Yeah. Weird, said Sunny like he didn’t think “weird” was a beautiful enough word, but then he let it go.

#

Tabby made Faroe a cake. It was yellow with asymmetrical pink florets, and proclaimed in uneven lowercase writing, you are a ten years old.

Faroe found it hilarious.

Arthur, when told, found it hilarious.

Parker sniggered like a big kid.

Hastur absolutely did not get it, but allowed the humans their fun.

It tasted great, and even Hastur joined in singing her happy birthday.

There were presents. She got a runed wooden dagger that matched hers, a box of chocolates. a fluffy sweater with little goats and yellow signs on it, a set of books about someone called Nancy Drew, and a promise of a song written with Arthur for her on harp once they got back home.

Faroe decided not to tell her dad that she preferred private parties just like this.

#

“It ain’t good to sit all day,” Parker told some of the researchers over tea a couple of weeks in. “Your body gets used to whatever you’re doing, see? So you wanna be strong and fast, you gotta work at being strong and fast. Hey. You guys… uh. You collect knowledge, right? You could study, uh. How long it takes you to get stronger and faster. Right? You wanna join me?”

And that was how he ended up leading a whole string of wide-eyed researchers, like baby ducklings, through a series of mild cardio and strength workouts.

#

Faroe had never encountered jeans before.

Tabby had suggested she try them. Faroe had never encountered anyone like Tabby before either, but the jeans at least gave her something to focus on. The sizing, for one, was all wrong, but Tabby was (presumably) twice her age and had loaned her the pair, showing her how to properly fold the waistband so it wouldn’t pinch on application with a belt, and how to cuff the pant legs (which, to Tabby’s great displeasure, only needed to be minorly adjusted).

“Hell yeah. Now you just need a shirt, and you’ll be the coolest ten-year-old this side of the Dreamlands,” Tabby said. She found one, of course. It had a goose on it, and the goose held a knife in its beak, and beneath it the text proclaimed, Peace was never an option.

Faroe loved it.

She felt a bit silly in an oversized shirt and oversized pants, but Tabby gave her a thumbs-up, and Faroe decided that she did look very cool.

Parker thought she just looked like a person, not a queen, and that was trippy as hell.

Arthur demanded increasingly detailed description from John for a solid twenty minutes before he was satisfied.

#

Arthur had almost died. Not here, in the Scriptorium. In the mines of Addison, beneath the Larson estate, and John had sewn the gaping wound in Arthur’s stomach up with a fucking fish hook and some thread, and Arthur had almost died, and John was not okay.

He remembered sobbing, remembered begging Arthur not to say something, remembered dragging their limp body to the bag, remembered—

The Keeper hadn’t expected John to remember. She said so, after Arthur had fallen asleep, and checked in on him with a gentleness that John had neither expected nor wanted.

He told her to fuck off. She did.

Hastur hadn’t even scolded him for it. Hastur hadn’t made a single fucking sound.

So John yelled at Hastur next, and cried, and Hastur said nothing at all, and John was not okay.

John wanted to talk to Arthur, but Arthur would only ramble about John saving him, and that made John feel worse because he didn’t remember doing it, and past John was a hero, but he was someone else.

John wanted to talk to Hastur, but Hastur wasn’t saying anything, and John was scared that they’d broken him, and if the King in Yellow could be broken, what did that mean for John?

John wanted to talk to Sunny, but getting him alone was impossible without Hastur right now (woobification), and besides, something weird had happened with Sunny at the end, though John hadn’t really paid attention at the time (busy drowning in the memory that Arthur nearly died) but Parker had gone pale and shaky and disappeared and hadn’t reappeared until the following morning, so who the hell knew what was going on there?

More than anything else, John wanted to go home, and knew he couldn’t, and so instead just kept his hand pressed flat against Arthur’s chest to feel his heartbeat and tried not to be sick about the scar that lay a few inches below.

#

The Scriptorium was different.

Initially Faroe believed it must be the power differential; the Keeper did not need to abide by most sensible forms of protection because she was an Outer God. She did not need to restrict access to her attention because no one would be so foolish as to risk her wrath by wasting her time.

Or maybe, Faroe thought, it was because she could be like that, but wasn’t. The Keeper was… so nice. Seemed to be so nice. Was obviously terrifying, as all gods were, but… so nice?

So Faroe felt until a rude asshole showed up on day twenty-three, causing a fuss, demanding things from her researchers, and ignored three increasingly stern warnings.

Then he got turned into a book.

Into. A book. With screaming. Begging. Bargaining. Blood.

Faroe had grown up in the court of a Great Old One and been long accustomed to all manner of violence and gore, but this… this was disturbing.

The Keeper was an Outer God, and this was her domain, and she’d been merciful and patient… but this guy threatened her people. Faroe thought she understood that. Threatning a god’s people was just a bad idea.

She began to consider just what kind of queen she’d have to someday be, if she were going to keep whoever her people were safe.

#

It had been twenty-nine days. Hastur sat in front of the Keeper’s media setup, silent as humans from some alternate universe sang and danced.

Out there, there's a world outside of Yonkers

Way out there beyond this hick town, Barnaby!

A world outside. Well. There sure was one.

He sighed slowly. His plan—complex, branching, outrageous—had suffered some serious pruning over the last month. Wisdom, he’d taught Faroe, was knowing your own limits. Hastur rarely ran into his; well, he had here.

Discovering hesitation in himself alone was cause for concern. His reaction to all of this was cause for concern. Arthur’s mortality was cause for concern.

He had to talk to the Keeper. He hadn’t, all month.

He knew he had to thank her, and he really didn’t want to. He knew he had to trust her, and he really was afraid to. He knew he had to ensure she’d continue helping them after he was gone, and that, he had to do.

She kept reassuring him he’d paid for all this extra… extra, but that was a dangerous idea to accept. What else did he have to give, though? Certainly nothing of equal value. He’d keep sneaking her books, for certain. Leaving them with a researcher, if she kept trying to sneak them back.

He could… offer her the Librarian’s services. Her assistants were nice, but the Librarian would blow them all away.

Might be dangerous to dangle that, though. The Librarian would be crucial in helping John and Arthur and Faroe moving forward. He couldn’t risk her deciding to take it.

And then there were Sunny and Parker. What to do about them?

Placing Sunny in the court’s eye was… a complicated idea. Sunny had not been introduced at all. Hastur was already in the middle of altering public perception and memory. He’d already pushed it with John and Arthur. So Sunny and Parker could not be brought in as if they were already involved.

He’d have to bring them in separately. Not as replacements, but as support.

Assuming they’d allow it. Parker still just wanted to go, and Sunny was dead set on being absorbed. The key to Parker was Sunny. Therefore, dealing with that was step one.

We'll see the shows at Delmonicos

And we'll close the town in a whirl

And we won't come home until we've kissed a girl!

“You in there?” said Arthur, who checked once in a while.

You’re supposed to be asleep, John groused.

“Yes,” said Hastur, who hadn’t answered before.

Arthur gasped. “Hi!”

This idiot. “Greetings,” Hastur said back.

“You’ve been so damn quiet,” said Arthur.

“It is time to return to the world,” said Hastur.

Arthur stiffened. “Now, wait just a damn minute—”

Hey! Not yet. You’re fucked up. What are you gonna do, sit in court and stare at people until they go away?

And inspiration struck. Struck like lightning, struck in a flash, illuminating the path forward. “No,” said Hastur. “I am going to teach you to lead Carcosa.”

Arthur made the most glorious faces. Hastur committed them to memory. “Uh,” said the human.

Who? Me? said John.

“Yes,” said Hastur. “This month has given me time to think.”

“About what?” said Arthur.

Hastur stood. “Let us go see the rest of our family, shall we?”

What the fuck are you up to? said John.

“I’m just glad he’s talking,” Arthur muttered.

“I had a lot to think about,” Hastur said mildly, and floated from the room.

Behind him, Dolly sang.

Dressed like a dream

Your spirits seem to turn around

That Sunday shine is a certain sign

That you feel as fine as you look!

#

He found Faroe practicing her mental magic, hovering a little longboat through the air and making it move as if in a storm.

He found Parker coaching researchers through pushups, Sunny cheering them on, sweating from his own exertions.

He found the Keeper waiting for him, because of course, she already knew.

He brought his family together, and told them it was time to go back.

“Already?” said Faroe.

Yes.

So soon, Sunny said.

Parker nodded. He knew.

John had protests. You’re still not stable! It’s rushed! Arthur’s heart isn’t okay yet! No!

“John, calm down,” said Arthur (expected), which did exactly the opposite of that (also expected).

Fuck you!

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” said Arthur, and they began to argue.

Good. While they shouted, Hastur took advantage. “Keeper,” he said softly.

“Hastur,” she said.

“Whatever you may claim, I sincerely doubt I’ve paid enough for a month of succor,” said Hastur.

“Not quite a month,” she said, a smile in her voice. “As always, I am forced to remind you that I am the one who sets the payment; and I’ll have you know it’s been paid in full.”

“We never discussed housing, feeding, and assorted entertainment, especially not for Yang and Sunny, so I fail to see how it could have been paid for. I don’t care for outstanding debts—- especially my own.” Hastur’s voice was low.

You’re not taking this seriously!

“You’re not taking this like an adult! We can’t keep hiding here. Just because we’re going to leave without drama—” Arthur said.

Yeah, they’d be at it a while longer. Hastur waited.

“On the contrary; your marked graciously provided me with a rather insightful memory, which paid for the month of respite you’ve since needed. As he was the one to request my involvement, I feel it is a fitting payment.”

Well, that was… possible. Hastur couldn’t deny that happened. He hadn’t been part of it. “May I ask what memory?”

“Arthur? May I?”

“And you aren’t the only one who—pardon, what? Oh. Sure. Tell him anything.”

John growled. Not anything, Arthur!

“He shared the memory which brought you to us,” said the Keeper, “which consisted of his near-death experience in the mines beneath Addison, and of the creature who brought him to such a state.” Her voice was so pleasant, as if even just the memory hadn’t brought Arthur to the brink of death. “I assure you, he and I discussed the possibility of what he may feel before we undertook it. I received his full consent.”

“That much was clear.” And it had been weaponized. Hastur had no doubts about Arthur’s involvement in that little scheme. It was probably his idea. “Very well. I accept this settling of our debt.”

We shouldn’t go anywhere! You probably aren’t even aging in here! John declared.

Arthur sighed. “John. We’ll solve it. It’s going to work out.”

But if we go back out there…

“What? What, John?”

John’s mutter was too loud. Everyone will see he’s fucked up.

“I doubt it,” said Arthur. “He’s too good a liar.”

“He is not fucked up!” Faroe declared. “You take that back, John!”

That reinforced Hastur’s new idea so well, it was like he’d written the script himself. “Come, my family. It is time.”

“Hey,” said Parker, putting his hands on Arthur and Faroe’s shoulders. “You good?”

“Yes,” said Arthur.

John was silent.

Faroe scowled.

I… I think maybe we should work the rest out on our own without an audience, don’t you? said Sunny absolutely innocently.

John gasped. Fuck. Yes. Fuck.

“Let’s go.” Arthur took John’s hand. “I’m ready.”

More suitable than John. Hastur was glad he had no facial expressions to give him away.

Faroe leaned against Hastur. “Do I still have to have a public celebration?”

“Yes. They can be more for our people than for you, if you prefer,” said Hastur.

She looked up. “What does that mean?”

“What’s the difference between the galas and the jubilees?” said Hastur.

Her eyes widened. “One is for your people, and the other is for you. It’s about where the praise and focus land.”

“Yes. This can be for them, more than you.”

“I’d like that.”

“How’s that work, exactly?” said Parker, who hadn’t attended either.

“I’ll explain,” said Arthur, “when we’re home.”

Hastur looked at the Keeper. “Should we return at the usual time next week?”

“I believe that would be wise. After all, Arthur and I have hardly had a chance to talk.” Her gaze lingered on the human in Hastur’s arms. “I have yet to solve your conundrum, Hastur.”

Tabby came around the corner and hopped onto the nearest table, combat boots swinging. “Your friends wanna go home now, Keeps. Quit stalling.”

Faroe smiled and waggled her fingers at Tabby.

Tabby blew Faroe a kiss.

The Keeper sighed at her. “I am not stalling. I am answering questions. That is my job.”

Tabby gave her an incredibly exaggerated look of doubt.

“You are free to go, Hastur. All of you. As I told you, your debt is paid; and, if nothing else, I am glad you’re feeling more yourself. But…”

Tabby sighed. “Keeps.”

“I also implore you to remember, Hastur,” the Keeper said evenly, placing one hand directly on top of Tabby’s head and using it to push her onto her side, “that my door is always open.”

Tabby gave her a look.

Hastur saw his opening and dove. “To them. Not only to me.”

“Would you like the door I loaned your people to become a permanent fixture?” Her voice was sweet, curious.

“Yes.” Hastur didn’t hesitate at all.

“You may want to move it, then. A third floor supply closet is an odd place for a door to a library.” She laughed, airy, fond. “A drop of blood on the knob will make it permanent, then. I’ll know to keep it open on my side.”

“I will ensure its placement. Thank you.” His bow was graceful, all tentacles curling as if posed for a portrait of horror and beauty, crown glinting just so.

John was so suspicious. Why does he want that?

“It’s a good thing,” Arthur whispered back.

“And you will linger to speak with me after Arthur’s next visit,” the Keeper said, friendly and kind but firm. “I rather missed seeing you last time, you know.”

Tabby turned to stare at the Keeper.

Faroe turned to stare at the Keeper.

Parker glanced between the Keeper and Hastur.

“As you wish, great one,” Hastur said, still bowed, sounded completely calm about this—which, coming on the heels of a month of silence, was moderately concerning.

Why the fuck? Said John.

Later, Sunny soothed.

Hastur held Arthur and Faroe close (and Parker did not come near enough to be grabbed).

“Parker?” said Faroe.

“Yeah, kid?”

“Will you come back to meals?”

Sunny made a small noise of surprise.

“I won’t let him do it again,” she added.

Hastur stroked her hair. “Nor shall I.”

Faroe looked at her father with adoration, then at Parker with hope.

“Almost seems like an apology, eh, Sunny?” Parker said.

Sunny sighed dramatically. I think I can put aside my feelings, just this once. For her.

“We’ll come, kid.”

Faroe beamed as though given an extra present.

“It is settled,” said Hastur like some dark deal had been made, and flew for the portal out.

#

Larson was having a pretty good day.

It was true the King in Yellow had disappeared an hour ago, but he likely had good reason. All the others were gone, too, and that made it so nice to walk these halls.

To walk, and sneer, and nod knowingly at those he passed. He was one of them now, the elite, the approved. Perhaps he’d step forward today in court, make himself more known, more seen—

“You have both done well,” he heard, froze, and peeked over the balcony rail.

There was the King. The damn goat danced around his feet like he’d been gone for a month, not an hour, pressing one of its faces into Faroe’s hands. The King held Arthur (and Faroe, and that close, there was no doubt of relation), and was talking to…

No. No!

Parker eyed the King with disrespect, with defiance, with that squint-eyed insouciance that so marked every conversation with this Saint. “Didn’t do much.”

“I disagree. Sunny, your wisdom… shone. We will speak more of this later.” And Hastur left, carrying his Lesters like dolls, Nibbles prancing at his feet and bleating annoyingly.

Parker watched him go, frowning. “Huh.”

I don’t like that, ‘Sunny’ said quietly.

“How come, sunshine?”

Yes. How come, you pitiful little shred?

He’s up to something again, said Sunny, who then sighed. I don’t know that he actually… processed much of what we were trying to say. We’ll have to keep an eye on him.

The Saint sighed (like it was a burden—like the King in Yellow, a Great Old One of impossible age and power—was something he had to deal with). “I think you’re right. Dunno what switch got flipped… though he’s not wrong about you.” Parker began walking away.

Oh, stop, the Scrap said, low and embarrassed.

“Nope. Just true. Even that guy sees it. You are something special,” he said (that lickspittle), and they were around the corner and gone.

Larson turned away, leaning against the wall and clutching at the cold marble. Why? Why did this have to happen? He’d made such progress! Why?

That piece of shit. That Saint. It wasn’t enough that he was a thief. Wasn’t enough he didn’t know his fucking place, didn’t know deference, hadn’t learned his lesson. He had to try to take the King away, too.

Parker and the scrap’s shared laugh floated back around the corner.

Someday, the Saint would pay, and it would be brutal, and it would be cruel, and Larson would take great pleasure in doing it himself. So much pleasure.

Someday.

Larson stormed to court, teeth bared, and almost forgot to give knowing nods to his fellow accepted elite.

#

“That was lovely.”

“Montages, huh?” said Tabby. “Eye of the Tiger, or whatever?”

“Heh, heh, heh. Sometimes, just sometimes, I like how you think. That’s reeeaally not good for you.”

“Kayne.”

“Don’t worry, sis. She’s yours. I won’t touch her.” The sound of stretching, a back cracking, bones popping like some orthopedic nightmare. “Back to our regularly scheduled program. Good luck to the contestants, eh?”

“Yes,” the Keeper agreed, quiet and serious. “Good luck to them, indeed.”

#malevolent #malevolent fic #surrogate series #surrogate fic #surrogate malevolent #arthur lester #faroe lester #john malevolent #parker yang #sunny | yellow malevolent

[fill-me-with-your-memes-daddy]

Watching the Rise of the Titans movie and I'll be documenting all of my thoughts/reactions here. [Spoiler Warning]

So instead of reblogging every new update, I'm just going to have this post up on my phone as I watch and type my reactions in a bullet list format.

Nari's human disguise is so cute. As someone who does have a cottagecore aesthetic, I want to cosplay her so bad

Are Skrael and/or Belroc non-binary coded? Regardless, I'm also obsessed and I want to fuck Skrael and be Belroc.

STEVE CARING ABOUT JIM BEING HURT YESSSS!!! My god his redemption has probably been one of the greatest there is because he doesn't just suddenly go from being a bully to a completely good person. You can see the gradual shift in learning better throughout the shows which is awesome.

IN NEW YOOOOOOORRRRRRRK!!!!!! CONCRETE JUNGLE WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE OFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!

The mugshot montage reminded me of season 1 of trollhunters when toby and Jim were arrested at the museum.

STRICKLER PUT A RING ON IT??? HE'S THE ONLY DILF IVE EVER ACTUALLY AGREED WAS HOT WYM I CAN'T HAVE HIM??? well I'm still really happy about his arc over the series probably one of my favorite character growths.

Eli my guy got his growth spurt!!! As an 18 year old who is still 5'0", I'm happy but envious for him

So I went into this movie without watching any trailers or promo, but I doubt anything could have prepared me for the existence of mpreg. In fact, I wasn't going to document my reactions until I saw that.

NAMURA!!!!!!!!! MY BELOVED!!!!!! I CAN STILL THIRST FOR YOU WITHOUT GUILT

The coach teacher just called the kids zoomers so I have to dock one point from my final rating just because of that. Unforgivable

Those husky animation models suck lmao

Oh fuck the titans got power ranger zords!!

God why did they include the mpreg??? This movie would have been perfect without it.... After that plot point being revisited only one time I'm already beyond done with it

Like it's bringing me back to the v*ltron days where they're was a suspiciously high amount of klance omegaverse and mpreg fics and art created and it physically hurts because Steve and Keith's voice actor is the same person meaning this is especially cursed to me since I was unfortunately in the v*ltron fandom and remember all of that

But like on another note, how old are these characters again??? I haven't checked any wikis because of spoilers but is Steve an adult??? I know aja might be technically a lot older than 18 because alien but is whatever age she is equivalent to an adult as far as emotionally and physically in Akaridion development??? IS THIS A TEEN (M)PREGNANCY IN A KIDS SHOW????

Like bruh I saw a singular post on here before going into the movie that was like "rott spoilers without context" and there was a pregnant belly but I was absolutely not expecting the actual context of it. I'll find the post after I finish and edit this post to tag the creator right here: @makoden

This entire post is just gonna be me ranting about mpreg huh

Anyway I love the whole roundtable allusion to the legends of king arthur (not the toa version but the one he's based off)

THERE'S 3 TO 5 BABIES????? I need to take a break bruh this is just too much

Alright I've taken a 30 minute break got some food and did some things i love (decompressed by tactile stimming with some owl plushies and watched some videos on my favorite owl, Garu. He lives in Japan with his owner and is a domesticated eagle owl who basically just acts like a sky cat. If anyone else needs some eye bleach, here is their YouTube channel)

Blinky and ARRRGHHH!!! saying their "if one of us doesn't make it" talk my god one of them is going to die I can see it and I will be utterly crushed. Jim can't lose another father figure and Toby can't lose his wingman again I will riot if this happens

On a similar but unrelated to the movie note, can we just talk about how toa started with Jim having 0 dads and (if strickler and blinky live to the end) will end with 2 dads? Like I just really feel happy for him that he has two dads who actually figured out how to put the past behind them to not have any infighting between them so that both of them are healthy father figures. Jim has already been through literal hell and back losing his actual humanity in the process so if he loses one of them, I'm going to be really pissed because at this point, this is just Jim torture porn. Y'all know how as SpongeBob SquarePants went on, the show just became Squidward torture porn? It's starting to feel that way for toa and I really hope they cut the shit by the ending

Jlaire is such a good ship but like I feel like it's too perfect they never disagree with each other

YESSSSSSS Someone finally doesn't treat toby like a fat waste of space who messes stuff up!!! I think out of all the characters that would have been most deserving of a rewrite, it's Toby. Sometimes I just feel he's only comic relief and any heartfelt moments he's had in the series was also born of stupidity (ie his flour baby project being unharmed was seen by him as divine intervention from his parents but was actually just Eli and Steve behind the scenes).

Ohhhhh yesssssss Archie's father!!! I was hoping I'd see him again because we got so little of him last

Ooooooooooh Asian trollmarket!!!!!

Oh never mind slavery trollmarket

Bruh titanic camelot

I feel like we're not seeing enough of the villains because I completely forgot about the power ranger zord things

NAMORA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY LAST CRUSHHHH

STRICKLER NO NOT YOU TOO PLEASE

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE ONLY TWO CHARACTERS I SIMP FOR ON THIS SHOW DIED WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF EACH OTHER

THAT WHOLE ASS RANT I WROTE IS COMING TRUE FUCK THIS MOVIE THIS SERIES IS JUST JIM TORTURE PORN

WAIT JIM'S SPERM DONOR INFO?

Oh thank God I don't want to know anything about that person

For the record, I call that man Jim's sperm donor because he has no business being called a father to him. All he did was donate some swimmers to the creation of him and give him abandonment issues

Oh another blind troll elder???? This fucker is just if vendel was a bad guy

Bruh I was grieving

PACIFIC RIM WITH GUN ROBOT VEX AND THE BELROCZORD? I've never seen that movie but I know the reference

Bruh Blinky doesn't read horoscopes? Does he realize conspiracy theories are just the manly version of horoscopes?

NO DON'T KILL VEX STOP KO-ING FOUND FAMILY MEMBERS

Oh thank God he's okay

NO NOT ARCHIE AND CHARLEMAGNE OH MY GOD

oh never mind they're just gonna coup de tat I believe in them :))

But I want to see him again

But I'm glad to see vex

Yay they're in arcadia!

But yeah I wondered why the trolls and Merlin didn't keep the whole "daylight doesn't hurt trolls" feature from the eternal night but now Guillermo del Toro I see you were playing the long con in that just to kill my girl Namora :(((

Oooooh I love the animation of the Narizord over Chihuahua!! It looks very good and realistic (if only they could have put some of that into those huskies from before smh)

Bruh the character designs of the arcane order are so good I want to be them

Nari making sure the Skraelzord doesn't crush the bus

DAMN DOUBLE HOMICIDE

Bruh I'm just glad we finally have an answer on why arcadia had everything going on as opposed to literally anywhere else!! I always found that as a weird coincidence for plot convince.

BRUH WERE BACK TO THE MPREG IM SO JEALOUS I FORGOT ABOUT THAT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS GRIEVING THE LOSS OF MY LOVELIES.

Oh that's real convenient that the ninth configuration meant all of them. Way to not decide which character gets more attention. Though it probably was a smart way to not have any infighting in the fandom between each character's stan group.

Bruh I just realized where is Barbera did they just ditch her on the Camelot ship???

And where are the other trolls that migrated at the end of trollhunters s3? They said something about new jersey but obviously Jim and the other main characters got on Camelot instead.... This feels like a plot hole

And we never learned the process of how changelings are made and bonded to humans and stuff. We just know it's super painful but I'm curious ffs!!!!

THE DONT THINK BECOME HERO SPEECH ALL SAID TOGETHER!!!

BRUH THEY REALLY HAD TO SHOW HIM GIVING BIRTH??????? WAS THAT AN ABSOLUTE MUST??????

Plus the main audience for this series is little children (the rating for the movie is literally TV-Y7) so even though my adult ass is not in the target audience, I STILL DONT UNDERSTAND WHY WOULD MPREG AND ANAL BIRTH WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT THING TO 7 YEAR OLDS???? THIS IS A LITERAL FETISH HIDDEN IN KIDS CONTENT ITS ELSAGATE ALL OVER AGAIN Y'ALL 😭😭😭😭😭

Though it's probably hypocritical of me to think fetishes don't belong in kids tv when I've openly admitted to thirsting for strickler and namora

HUZZAH

NEW AMULET WAZ GOOD????

STAB THAT BITCH JIM

WAIT NO I SAID STAB NOT GET STABBED

Alright good job just missed the directions at first but you fixed it

SEVEN KIDS?????????

T O B Y ????????????

W A I T NO

N O

IS HE ACTUALLY

OH MY GOD THERE'S HOPE

NO THERE ISN'T

F U C K THIS SHIT THEY REALLY JUST HAD HIM TO BE BULLIED THEN KILLED

Y'ALL IM ACTUALLY CRYING THIS NEVER HAPPENS

I NEVER ACTUALLY GET SO EMOTIONAL OVER MEDIA THAT I CRY IT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE AT THE END OF VOLTRON BUT AHHHHHHHH

W A I T

HE'S GONNA BE BROUGHT BACK?????

HOLD UP THEY'RE JUST GONNA BRING ALL THOSE DEAD PEOPLE BACK??????

WAIT IS HE

BLINKY CALLED HIM A SON

HOLD ON IS THIS GOING TO BE A CLIFFHANGER???????????

BRUH THEY REALLY JUST CAN'T END THE SERIES WITHOUT CLIFFHANGERS like there's always an open ending

TROLLHUNTER TOBY????? You know what forget the whole rants I had on how toby was written they just redeemed it all

And that's all! I'd rate it a 6.5/10 because it's definitely the weakest of all the sequels but still had amazing animation and some good plot points. It's just really hard to look over the bad stuff enough to rate it any higher.

#tales of arcadia #rise of the titans #trollhunters #rott #rise of the titans spoilers #rott spoilers #toa #3 below #athena's own original post! #jim lake jr #claire nuñez #toby domzalski

[reddeadreference]

Blog Progress Update (Travel Blog Style 😎#7)

Alrighty then

The rat is back in camp… I'm sorry everyone. But this means I finally got photos of Baylock which means I have all of the damn horse photos which means I can post that post about the horses.

But damn that man is a kiss ass. Not back 5 minutes and he's trying to kiss up to Dutch about Evelyn Miller. However Dutch is clear enough in the head to understand he's acting that way because he wants something. Chapter 2 Dutch was more aware of this man's lil game than he is later on.

As soon as I get a photo of some other outfit from this ratman I'll be able to FINALLY post the post about chapter two outfits… maybe. (I should probably finish the chapter to make sure I don't miss anything. I'm close anyway)

Went fishing with Jack and omfg this child is the cutest I always forget how adorable he is. Making a flower chain for his mother, #1 son right there... Being bored by fishing, precious. (Also I feel like his voice is higher pitched in camp greeting lines than in this mission… I dunno maybe just me)

We already had a book so as soon as we could Jack got a new book and Arthur got some chocolate.

Went to Micah's lil camp near Strawberry…

Hey, Micah, buddy, pal, friend, amigo, why you got a bounty poster of Dutch? Huh? Something you wanna tell us? Buddy chum pal friend buddy pal chum bud friend fella bruther amigo pal buddy friend chummy chum chum pal i don't mean to be rude my friend pal home slice bread slice dawg but i gotta warn ya if u take one more diddly darn step right there im going to have to diddly darn snap ur neck and wowza wouldn't that be a crummy juncture, huh? do yuo want that? do wish upon yourself to come into physical experience with a crummy juncture? because friend buddy chum friend chum pally pal chum friend if you keep this up well gosh diddly darn i just might have to get not so friendly with u my friendly friend friend pal friend buddy chum pally friend chum buddy…

(That's a copypasta I didn't come up with all that..)

Robbed a train with John, Charles, and Sean (watching these cutscenes after so long and seeing the lil smiles and faces Arthur gives certain members of the gang… he really does think of Sean as an annoying lil bro. He acts a big game but he loves his family 😭)

Trying to find a panther south of Braithwaite's place and Arthur found Raiders with a lawman tied up. Saved him.

Little while later, still trying to find a panther, Raiders had some other guy. Saved him.

Saw two men trying to dynamite open a safe… waited for the boom… "I'll spend this in your honor" Arthur please..

Got enough stuff for the valuables satchel (which I gotta say is probably my favorite).

I just need a Panther pelt and an Elk pelt then whatever the Legend one needs.

Cue the hunting montage.

. . .

Needed a wolf pelt and couldn't for the life of me find a spawn. Went to the Timber Appleseed apple cider it's going down I'm yelling timber company (I… it's 6am, idk) and they needed me to get rid of wolves for them. Bam! Wolf pelt.

Bam!

Legend of the East satchel Bay-Bee!~

Biggest pockets in the East!

Also the only story mission I have is that stupid "LS" … and oddly enough… the game isn't forcing me to do it. Every other playthrough I've had Strauss come up to me and ask about it then the game forces me to go there… just hasn't happened.

I can finally complete the outfit post cause I've FINALLY gotten a photo of Sean's sleep outfit and both versions of Micah's. (But I will be doing that tomorrow... Later as it is 6:30am)

#blog progress update #i made myself laugh way too hard at that timber company thing im sorry

[cattles-bians]

exes au part 14

post directory

obsetress:

obsetress: viola

em: holy shit

em: i think viola could hold a truly ridiculous number of things in her hands

em: danis like i have a little fanny pack right here- and violas like (turns up nose) absolutely not

obsetress: pre therapy viola during her relationship w dani: buys dani a birkin too, is like "here baby, so you don't have to use that fanny pack"

obsetress: dani's like "oh. i, um. like my fanny pack"

obsetress: viola therapy era after her relationship with dani: buys her a hermes fanny pack instead

obsetress: jamie rolls her eyes but dani is literally

em: i think a lot abt viola offering solutions completely unprompted n then being really offended when ppl dont take her up on it

em: pre therapy obvs

obsetress: SAME

obsetress: oh link is gross

obsetress: cost is grosser

obsetress: but viola lloyd dropping $2550 on a fanny pack for her ex gf? chefs kiss

---

obsetress: ok just remembered viola slouching or leaning or w/e n like

obsetress: brain practically applying that to exes au and imagining when and where she'd slouch n everyone's reactions to htat

obsetress: bc like she has perfect posture but when she chooses to do it it's a power move

obsetress: and i. hm

em: yeah

obsetress: viola sitting up stock straight when they first get to brunch and as soon as she's ordered her bloody mary shes pulling off her sunglasses and dropping them on the table and just sinking back

em: how to phrase this w/o sounding too much like a whore

em: actually no way to say this but like i feel v strongly abt the way we make women take up less space wrt to knees together calves touching type deal and i think maybe

em: maybe viola can manspread a bit as a treat

em: hate that term but i cant think of a better one

obsetress: nah she does n it's hot

obsetress: just had this image pre divorce of viola and arthur at marriage counseling on opp ends of the couch n arthur's sitting v tight close and vi is just

obsetress: leaning and spreading a lil

obsetress: the first time jamie sees her do it she's so taken aback

obsetress: because she's NOT expecting it

em: jamies like ah ok late in life lesbian deal and then jokes on her viola is fluent in dyke slouch

obsetress: jamie immediately trying to suss out just how long viola has been fucking women

obsetress: she says to dani later "i thought she was all proper like" and dani's like "she is" and jamie's like "so wot was that then" and dani's like "well, people are gay, jamie,"

em: ghfjhgljkJFDASJKKJFGA

em: jamies like so wait how long HAS viola been

obsetress: jamie: so you were vi's first serious girlfriend right? dani: dani: jamie: right???????

em: violas been fucking women longer than jamie has lbr

em: i mean shes clearly only 35, jamie,

obsetress: jamie: so... vi... viola: hm? jamie: you're, uh, gay, right? viola: obviously jamie: right. well dani told me you've been dating women since–– viola: since i was 15, yes jamie: but you married a man

em: violas like u went to jail everyone does stupid shit occasionally

em: jamie: so how long have you been dating women viola: since i was 15 jamie: no i meant like. in years viola raises her eyebrows and jamies just like haha nevermind fuck

obsetress: she tried!

obsetress: she tried

em: jamie on her 35th birthday pencilling 'many happy returns' into violas ????th 35th birthday card

em: yknow i think

em: i think something's afoot

obsetress: jamie, giving up on the direct approach

obsetress: slipping in next to rebecca at the wine bar

obsetress: "becca"

obsetress: "hi, jamie" "hi. how old is your girlfriend"

em: am fucking losing it thinking abt jamie like. realising how much gay energy viola has

em: like taken ABACK

obsetress: fksljfLKSDJFLJ

obsetress: just like

obsetress: why are jamies reactions to viola so funny

obsetress: montage of jamie realizing how much gay energy viola has

obsetress: jamie watching viola sitting

obsetress: jamie watching viola pick up a variety of glasses and mugs

obsetress: jamie watching viola compare hand sizes with dani, jamie's girlfriend and viola's ex girlfriend who she dated for literal years and whose hand size she definitely already knows

em: NOT THE HAND SZIES

em: they go for a walk and viola immediately complains about the sun and jamie's like

em: i have a spare hat but ur not gonna like it

em: its a snapback that says daddy or smthn in gold, owen got it for jamie for her bday, jamie Loathes it

obsetress: BYE

obsetress: viola looks better in it than jamie does

em: jamie has that

em: am i attracted to viola? moment

em: it passses

em: she has already compartmentalised the weird psychosexual power play

em: queen of compartmentalising

obsetress: jamie: had another one of those moments today dani: what moments? jamie: where i thought i might be attracted to vi dani: well, you did let her fuck you... what was it, four? times in one night, so

em: jamie; yeah but like that aside

em: jamie 'thats neither here nor there' taylor

obsetress: she is the queen of compartmentalizing tho

em: i was gonna be like. 'jamies like wait i dont remember saying four' but. i think she would tell dani

em: because the flip of that is dani callin up vi n i dont think she would necessarily

obsetress: i think she would and dani would make her anyway

obsetress: well make her is harsh but

obsetress: dani would very curiously ask in very convincing ways

em: lovingly coax it out of her

em: dani: what if i fucked you four times in o

obsetress: dani: let me do five

em: viola probably wears so many rings jamie doesn’t even clock the ever present thumb ring

obsetress: jamie just. writes it all off

em: am laughing abt like. viola v meticulously taking off every single ring and putting it in its proper location before...

obsetress: there is something. so hot about that

obsetress: im gonna scream i think

em: i was just meming and now im thinking abt it and

em: truly played myself

em: actually this is me refusing to unpack whatever the hell theo crain gloves made me feel

obsetress: sdkfmsldjfa

obsetress: fair

em: sublimate it into rings

obsetress: i just like um

obsetress: thinkin about when she and dani are together and like

obsetress: it's intentional and everything has its place but vi also makes a show out of it

obsetress: and like

obsetress: she's SO painstaking about it and definitely makes dani wait a little bit and

em: helps dani outta her big ass earrings

em: i mean dani doesnt even Need the help

em: viola meticulous lloyd

em: i mean she just wears so much goddamn jewellry

obsetress: she can tell when dani's getting impatient and goes even slower

em: viola has like

em: viola is one of thos ppl thats really into expensive watches

obsetress: !!!!!!

obsetress: yeah

obsetress: nice lil canon nod too

em: she drags dani to antique auctions n danis like i cant. actually tell the difference between the real and the forgery and violas like (passionately explains it for like 30 minutes) and dani is

em: like shes mentally checked out but also v intensely watching violas hands as she points to the parts of the watch

em: rebecca gets it tho

em: rebecca Gets It

obsetress: dani shoving vi into the bathroom at the auction house and tugging vi's hand between her legs v rebecca grabbing her own auction paddle and bidding against viola for the same watch

obsetress: (rebecca n vi fuck in the car on the ride home)

em: dani grabs a paddle n mimes spanking viola n then the auctioneer is like '$250 to 201' and danis like aw Fcuk

em: violas like i cant take u Anywhere

obsetress: dani gives her the 🥺😌and viola's immediately over it and pulling out $250

obsetress: dani: i didn't even want it, i was just–– vi: i know dani: what am i even gonna do with a–– vi: i'll sell it for $500 at a private auction next week dani: so technically i'm making you money dani, grinning: it's like i'm your employee dani: do you have any more assignments for me, boss? vi: dani get your hand out of my pocket i need to focu––

#dj khaled voice another one #the dani jamie viola rebecca exes au

[shima-draws]

Tell us abt the story, Shima. I would D I E for your stories (also, an ATS game would make my entire LIFE I would be so broke on it)

[[Anonymous said: hey- hey shima.... what;s ur new story about?]]

uwu

So this is based off of Arthurian lore and has some elements of it but it’s mostly (?) original!

It starts out in a normal high school setting, centered around these two kids named Elin and Niro. Niro’s had a life of total misfortune—his parents died when he was little and there was nobody else to take him in, so he was forced into foster care, and has switched schools so often that he never really got to make any permanent friendships. He’s a quiet guy, sort of weighed down by all of the loss he’s experienced, so that sort of makes him a mysterious and attractive sort of person, which gains him immediate popularity as the school’s handsome new kid. (He’s in his senior year, now, and has been at this school for almost the full year.) Despite his withdrawn personality Niro actually gets along well with his peers, but mostly because he’s a very agreeable sort of person that just goes along with what he’s told to do to fit in. He’s just going through the motions at this point, trying to survive and figure out what he wants to do in life. It isn’t really working out too well because Niro has major depression so every day is a struggle, but his current “guardian” at the foster home he’s staying in helps a lot with that, and Niro views her as sort of a mother figure to him, and it’s soft :’)

Elin, on the other hand, is the school’s laughingstock, and gets picked on a LOT by his classmates. He never fights back and tries to stay out of everybody’s way, so people think him even weirder because of it. He rarely talks and is always found with his nose stuck in a book, which has also labeled him as a major geek, so you can bet he gets targeted a lot because of this;;

Unfortunately, the kids that Niro’s friends with are the group that picks on Elin the most, and it always makes Niro uncomfortable but he’s too hesitant to really speak up about it, especially since Elin just. Sort of takes it and never outwardly complains. It’s basically just Niro making excuses to himself, and whenever he DOES try to talk his buddies out of it they’re like come on man we’re just joking around it’s not a big deal. So that sucks. One day when Niro’s walking to school he notices he’s being followed by a weirdly dressed girl. Eventually she corners him and she’s like “Merlin’s been taking too long to find you so I took things into my own hands since we’re running out of time” and Niro’s like ???? Excuse me? But she doesn’t explain and literally yanks him into a portal and that’s that. LMAO

When they emerge, the girl introduces herself as Lunete, and reveals that she’s taken Niro to the world of Avilion, in the kingdom of starlight called Inlustria. Niro’s still processing that he’s been pulled into another world entirely when Lunete begins to escort him to the castle, and pretty much dumps the world’s lore and his Destiny™️ on him on the way.

Rest is under the cut to save space because it is loooong lol

Lunete explains that there have always been two central figures in Inlustria, for many centuries across many generations. Those figures are Merlin, the wizard, and Arthur, the king meant to wield the holy sword and unify the five kingdoms on the continent together. Currently there are two Merlins, with the second being younger and newer to the position, still in training. However, she adds that this particular Merlin is the most powerful they’ve ever seen in the long history of Merlins to exist, and that he’s basically a child prodigy. It is Merlin’s task to watch over, guide and protect Arthur, so that peace can remain and the cycle can continue anew. The current Arthur is sadly old and very ill, practically on his deathbed, so the process of choosing a new Arthur to replace him had to be rushed.

Lunete then tells Niro that the Arthurs are chosen by fate before birth and are always humans from the other world. Arthurs are always loyal, confident and kindhearted, so there’s never a chance of an Arthur going astray (unless their Merlin purposefully leads them down that path). Niro’s like why are you telling me all this and Lunete goes well isn’t it obvious? Why else would I be telling you. And then Niro realizes that he has been chosen as the new Arthur, and immediately goes into panic mode. Lunete apologizes for the abrupt introduction and Avilion crash course lol but she says that usually it’s the Merlin’s job to remain in the human world, scout out the new Arthur, and bring them to Avilion, since they’re naturally drawn to them by their magic. But this Merlin is particularly stubborn and wants nothing to do with Arthur or his born duty to essentially serve the king, so he’s been stalling on locating him out of sheer spite.

Lunete and Niro arrive at the castle and she leads him into the grand library, where Merlins usually spend most of their time. Niro is shocked to find out that Elin is Merlin, and Elin immediately goes “You have GOT to be kidding me” when he realizes that the new Arthur—who he has to spend the rest of his life with btw—is Niro.

Niro’s even more shocked to find out that Elin is a completely different person than how he is at school. Elin is witty, arrogant and very sassy, and constantly throws shade at Niro for doing nothing while he was being bullied. (Niro then accuses Elin for not standing up for himself when he’s CLEARLY capable of it with both his silver tongue and his knack for magic, but Elin explains that it’s a rule for Merlins not to make a big presence of themselves in the human world. Then Niro feels very guilty.) Elin swears off of accepting Niro as the new Arthur and says he can protect the kingdom all on his own.

Naturally Niro is very reluctant to take on the position of Arthur and become the ruler of an entire kingdom, but Lunete tells him he doesn’t really have a choice, and that all Arthurs fall into the role eventually, so it will be something he’ll automatically adapt to because he’s The Chosen One and it’s meant to be. Niro continuously tries to reach out to Merlin, but he’s notoriously stubborn and refuses to acknowledge Niro.

Eventually Lunete lets slip that Merlin had a complicated history with another human in his childhood that ended...not so well (and no it’s not Esca lol), hence his general distaste towards the other world and humans in general. Ofc that’s not all Merlin is hiding, there’s another enormous secret he doesn’t want coming into the light. And you bet Niro’s going to discover them all ;)

So yeah there’s obviously a lot more that goes on after that—Niro trains to fit into the Arthur role (with a lot of sexy swordfighting training montages), Merlin eventually accepts him and they grow closer (yes. In that way ;D), Merlin shows off how skilled he is with his magic and Niro goes oh no I think I might be in love with him, there’s trouble with the northern kingdom they’re trying to deal with involving a new villain that’s popped up, Niro gets to meet a king from the southern kingdom who sort of becomes his father figure/mentor so that’s cool? Niro finds out exactly what sins Merlin committed in the past, and that past sadly catches up with him and nearly ruins everything so that’s fun. Niro finds out some shit and almost abandons his role as Arthur but eventually returns to Inlustria and obtains Excalibur to save Merlin’s ass, etc. etc. I think after the “main” story ends I’m going to send them out to sea so they can go on an epic magic pirate adventure, because when Niro was a kid he was super into pirates and treasure hunting and the ocean, he was never really a “magic and kingdoms” type of guy which is super ironic. Merlin’s excited about traveling but it turns out he’s really seasick and it’s hilarious. Somewhere down the line they’ll probably find out why there’s always been a “Merlin” and “Arthur” role in their kingdom as well. So LOTS of fun stuff is in store! And my brain hasn’t been shutting up about lore and worldbuilding for this story ever since I came up with it >;)

#I STILL DON'T HAVE A NAME FOR THIS YET SO. #And now you guys can send me asks about this ;)))))) #Shima answers questions #Long post #Shima's OCs #Anyway yeah there's a LOT going into this but that's just the basic plot #Esca is involved in a big way but I won't say how yet ;)

[scrappedtogether]

Thoughts on Sword and the Scoob:

***Spoilers under the cut***

The Positives:

I thought this movie was better than Happy Halloween

Daphne dancing was cute. I also loved that Fred pretty much immediately joined in and then Shaggy and Scooby did too.

Liked the “I love your hair” joke

Daphne&Fred + “Knight in Shining Armor” moment = adorable

Fred’s knight outfit was easily my fav

I loved the montage of them all taking selfies. Super cute!

I actually really enjoyed King Arthur. I love the Gang, of course, but I’m also a sucker for a good ole sixth addition. His camaraderie with Shaggy was sweet. I also like the change-up that comes with the dynamics whenever the Gang befriends someone who isn’t as nice as they are.

Daphne’s A+ fighting, jousting, and archery was a pleasure to watch

Scooby saying that Fred was also his knight in shining armor 👌

Fred saying that he’s an artist when talking about how good he is at making traps

“Velma’s usually right about these things” 👏 Fred

Shaggy drinking respect women juice and saying women can do whatever they want and also that some are scary 😤👍 my boy

Velma letting Daphne be Ariel and sit where she wanted on the Dragon 🥺

Scooby refusing to eat while Shaggy was in danger

Shaggy and Scooby dancing and celebrating together when they think Morgan’s been defeated

Fred touching Shaggy’s face a bunch when he first sees the Castle

^Also Scooby licking Shaggy’s face after they found him

Shaggy being asked if he’s alright by the Gang and responding “I am now that you guys are here.” 😭

Daphne calling the Gang “Dudes”

Norville being a family name

Shaggy not wanting to own land because people invested in real estate tend to be kinda evil 😂

King Arthur’s cute little reflection about whether Shaggy was his mate or not and then saying he was at least the closest thing he ever had to one. I KNOW IT WASNT REAL GUYS BUT IT WAS IN MY HEAAART

I enjoyed the callbacks to all the previous media with the sleep gas fog

The Gang holding hands in a circle while falling toward the ground (though, I don’t understand how they went from being in the air to then landing safely on the ground — was the flying through the air thing a dream? they would have still been moved though, right?)

I thought the picture disappearing thing was actually cool and a neat way to raise the stakes. It’s nothing that hasn’t been done before but I wasn’t expecting them to implement it and I liked how it worked to move the plot forward in a way that felt natural. (Also Daph had it as her lockscreen, I’m 🥺)

Mystery machine wagon was cool

I thought the gag with Arthur being happy Lancelot got beaten up was pretty good

Sidenote: Jason Isaacs killed it

Fred giving Daphne his ascot

SIR FRED SIR DAPHNE

Fred slapping the plate of food out of Shaggy’s hands was probably the best joke of the whole movie

A Few Negatives:

This movie along with the last few has been a bit over saturated I think??? I can’t tell if it’s me or my monitor or what but I feel like the colors have been turned up a bit lately. I thought this film wasn’t as bad as Happy Halloween (which had really bright greens, pinks, and oranges that were too much for my eyes) but still a little intense

Budget constraints in general mean the animation’s a little lower in quality but nothing that detracts from the viewing experience

Gaslight was not something I ever expected to hear in a Scooby movie. Writers were clearly not using the word in the same context as it’s most used nowadays but it still threw me for a sec

Really didn’t like Velma saying she only watched Thundarr for the abs. Seemed very un-Velma 😬 Also initially thought she was going to have cute bonding over books with the librarian lady but nope, definitely not where that went

Some of the dialogue was hard to follow, just a couple scene where the exchanges were a bit quick/oddly-paced. Also some of the jokes didn’t land for me but that’s nothing unusual, especially since this movie is FULL of humor so a few not doing it for me is expected, and mostly to taste. I have no doubt the film will make you laugh at least once if not multiple times (like it did for me) so 😉

Wish they’d handled the joke about Fred’s susceptibility just a little differently.

(Not a negative just a related note) But everything he said about his Dad. 😧 Very Concerned for my son

Forgetting to charge the phone was a little contrived but ultimately necessary and forgivable

I guess airline ticket prices were the real monster are along....

#Fred Jones #Daphne Blake #Sword and the Scoob #sword and the scoob spoilers #I’m going to wait a few more days before reblogging any Sword and the Scoob posts to give everyone the best possible chance of avoiding #spoilers and when I do start to reblog SatS posts I’ll be tagging them ‘sword and the scoob spoilers’ so please blacklist if you’ll #be avoiding spoilers past Fri because that’s when I’ll start reblogging spoilery posts #overall happy with this film. excited for the next. :) #Scooby Doo #Shaggy Rogers #Velma Dinkley

[hayleysstark]

a comprehensive list of everything i flat-out forgot and/or straight-up didn’t process about Trollhunters because the first time i watched it, i binged it in a weekend while i was high out of my damn mind and now i’m finally rewatching it and losing my shit 

“my friends call me Walt.” “what do your enemies call you?”

Vendel’s entire existence

“HE REWROTE SHAKESPEARE” 

“put your hand in the Soothscryer.” “um, I’m going to get it back, right?”

Coach Lawrence deadass has a coffee cup that says “#1 Butt Snack” on it

Blinky just eats whipped cream directly out of the can. this man fears no god.

ARTHUR-SAN 

“where IS that contact lens???”

apparently there was an undead assassin named Angor Rot and the entire fandom collectively thought he was very sexy???? 

no no i canNOT stress this enough. the man is literally a pile of bones. he looks like a deformed ram. he wears nothing but a loincloth. and y’all were STILL horny for this man???

literally i went into the AO3 tag and there was just wall-to-wall Angor/Gunmar smut??? sometimes the occasional, slightly classier Angor/Strickler or Angor/Morgana but iT WAS ALL ANGOR ROT SMUT

in conclusion: y’all need jesus

remember that episode when the amulet starts randomly producing clones of Jim and they’re all different aspects of his personality and they’re all in color-coded jackets??? because i sure didn’t

to atone for this, here are some true highlights, in no particular order:    

when NotEnrique sees all the Jim clones fighting in Claire’s bedroom and says, out loud, “I’m not dealing with this” and just fucks off out the window again

“THAT MOVE’S NOT LEGAL!” 

“[through tears] they overcharged you on your cable bill??”

 “YO YO YO HOLLA!” 

“what crime have i committed but from yearnings of the heart?” “unsanctioned use of troll magic, hindering a Trollhunter in his duties, and altogether wussiness” 

okay okay i’m done i’m normal again  

“girls don’t pee! they conspire!!” 

when the undead assassin named Angor Rot coats his knife in poison and then licks the blade. that’s really not a good habit to get into, buddy

“if EVERYONE believes it, then it MUST be a conspiracy!!!” 

everybody calls Morgana “eldritch queen” which is hands-down the funniest fucking name i have ever heard in my entire life, i would literally be so flattered if someone said that to me??? call me an eldritch queen. tell me i’m the most eldritch queen you’ve ever seen

Gunmar’s voice is really just Like That huh

Blinky was a human for a little while???

when all the teachers accidentally drink the Changeling dust coffee and Jim calls Strickler in a panic and asks what to do only he lies and says it’s Toby’s cat that got into the dust and so Strickler tells him “just put the cat down” and Jim is like “wELL WE CAN’T DO THAT--” 

and then Strickler comes into the school and sees Ms. Janeth eating out of the garbage and he’s not even angry with Jim he’s just like mildly disappointed. you can literally hear him thinking “wow i am really hedging my bets that this idiot is going to defeat Gunmar okay wow” 

when Jim and Toby get arrested for breaking into the museum and there’s that montage of all their mugshots and Toby is just having the time of his short teenage life and then it flashes to Jim, who just looks miserable and humiliated   

Gnome Chompsky asking the plastic doll to marry him (you know what??? i ship it)

“i told you, i don’t care about my dad!” “you do now”

when Jim gets shrunken down to like two inches tall to go after that gnome but then it doesn’t wear off so he spends the night at Toby’s house and when he falls asleep, Toby really just deadass puts him in the dollhouse

Senor Uhl 

Toby’s weird obsession with the mole???

“birthing day” 

“wait, you ate cat food????” “and i LIKED it!!”  

when Toby gets arrested and shoved into the cop car but when the officer steps out for one (1) second, Toby jumps into the front seat and drives off with the car and then he calls Jim in a panic and screams “I’M IN A HIGH-SPEED CHASE” but when it zooms out he’s literally just going like 2 mph 

that whole episode where Barbara says she’ll be at the hospital all weekend so Jim, Strickler, and Draal decide to set all those traps for Angor Rot but then Barbara comes back early and pepper sprays Jim and Draal

when Steve and Eli have to raise that sack of flour together

when all the kids are stuck in Saturday detention together and that girl with the glasses (Shannon??) talks about how they should all be kinder to each other and Claire goes “what are you in for, anyway” and the girl says “embezzlement” 

when Toby pretends to be Vendel to steal the Heartstone staff and even though he fucks up spectacularly, he still gets away with it

“keep it ✨ crispy ✨”

when Blinky’s human and he comes to the school and overhears all the kids calling Jim a wuss. and he AGREES with them 

when Claire gets possessed by Morgana in the middle of her double date with Jim and Toby and Darci and she is literally trying to murder Jim with a steak knife but Toby insists it’s just because she’s totally into Jim. and Jim believes him.

when they’re searching for Merlin’s tomb, and Jim and Draal are being chased by Gunmar, the Gumm-Gumm king, and Angor Rot, the deadliest assassin known to trollkind, and they are in a cave that is collapsing around them, and Jim and Draal deadass look at each other and go “race you”. chaotic stupid. 

“hey, guys, i taught myself bass guitar in the band room. this one goes out to my Juliet--” 

Blinky is really just out here hating Merlin for no reason and Merlin is really just out here not even giving a fuck. iconic. 

“our Trollhunter is fearless, gallant, courageous--” “BLINKY THERE’S THIS CRAZY TROLL TRYING TO KILL ME AND I’M TERRIFIED” 

in conclusion i’m sorry that i wasted my first watch of Trollhunters on post-op prescription painkillers

but i still don’t understand why everybody wants to fuck Angor Rot. y’all please read a Bible.

#trollhunters #i heard they were coming out with a movie soon and i didn't remember anything abt Trollhunters so i decided to watch it again

[weclassybouquetfun]

It’s here! It’s here! The SnyderCut is here!

Now can people stop talking about it?

Minor thoughts on ZACK SNYDER’S JUSTICE LEAGUE. 

*Spoilers*.

I had forgotten nearly everything about JUSTICE LEAGUE so I watched key parts to see how it differs from Snyder’s realized vision.  Remember, Snyder was largely finished with the film so reportedly only 15 to 20% of what ended up in the initial release was directed by Whedon, then he took the hatchet to a lot of Snyder’s footage. The SnyderCut is a mix of piecing back discarded footage and a few new scenes. 

I am curious how long Snyder’s theatrical release would have been because there is no way WB would have let him leave it at 4 hours and 2 minutes film (with 3 hours and 53 minutes of it actually being film and the rest end credits - no tag at the end.). The new footage - or what I discern to be new - only amounts to perhaps 10 minutes. 

What changes did I notice?

- Thank Rao they fixed (for the most part) Henry Cavill’s face due to mustache-gate.

Then

Now

- The Wonder Woman rescue scene in the beginning was much longer in the SnyderCut. Whedon cut out her talk with the little girl (which granted is a bit too on the nose), and instead added a scene at the end with Diana and kids showing how inspirational she is.  Whedon’s version also left out Snyder Cut’s implication that Diana killed the bad guy. 

- In the Whedon version Diana is wearing a red dress as she, Bruce and Alfred tours the eventual Hall of Justice (but felt more like the Justice Society headquarters). In the SnyderCut they changed her dress to black or a deep, dark purple.

- The re-institution of Barry’s rescue of Iris. It’s a nice introduction to Barry and Iris as Kiersey Clemons reprises her role in The Flash standalone. 

-Gone is Whedon’s comic-y bit where Barry draws on an agro dude’s face when he goes to visit his father. I don’t miss the scene, but I appreciated it because the Clerk who handles sign ins is Marc McClure who played Jimmy Olsen in the Christopher Reeves Superman films.  Though, on re-watch it appears McClure was brought back as the cop who pulls his gun out when Superman returns.

-The SnyderCut Bruce and Arthur scene is a smidge longer. Whedon’s version tried to cut to the chase about the Mother Boxes so there’s a mural that Bruce wants Arthur to explain, whereas the SnyderCut it’s just Bruce slyly letting Arthur know he knows his secret and recruit him.

Also - gone is the, “I heard you talk to fishes.” line.

- I feel we get more of Connie Nielsen’s Queen Hippolyta in this than in “Wonder Woman” and “Wonder Woman 1984″ combined. 

I’d bow before her anytime. 

-Extended scene between Barry and his dad when Barry tells him about getting a gig at a crime lab. It’s abbreviated in Whedon’s cut so I’m glad Snyder restored it because it is a sweet scene and really displays why Barry is fighting so hard for his dad. It makes it even more of a shame that Billy Crudup will not be in The Flash standalone as there’s a filming conflict. I would really like to see more of them together. 

- Maybe I missed it in the original release, but the introduction of Ryan Choi!!

- Much more Cyborg! I really loved the scenes focused on he and his mother and his relationship with Cyrus, as well as Cyborg’s wall of exposition that creatively places him in the locations he’s talking about. 

-Explanation of this tagline. 

MARTIAN MANHUNTER! I wasn’t surprised because Harry Lennix has discussed his MAN OF STEEL character General Swanwick being Martin Manhunter, but seeing how it was executed was really nice. Especially the scene with Martian Manhunter as Martha Kent. It touched me because my favorite Martian Manhunter story is a short set in the Golden Age about MM, in his human form, watching over Superboy. He introduces himself to the Kents and they quickly deduce he’s an alien and asks him if he’s come to take Clark from them. It was a story about the care Kal-El had on two fronts. So I really responded to this scene where MM is still caring for Clark by way of making sure Lois deals with her grief. 

- Knocked up Lois. I wasn’t even sure if she was actually pregnant or not but at the end when Bruce and Clark are walking to the Kent Farm Bruce tells him “Congratulations” whereas in the Whedon release they’re jabbering about something else. 

-Additional scenes of the dystopic future in the aftermath of Superman going rogue. Jared Leto’s brief scene makes up for how much he was cut out of THE SUCIDE SQUAD.  And it’s a continuance of the dance Batman and The Joker has done in the comics and in THE DARK KNIGHT. Two people who just can’t quit each other. 

- Snyder showing actors what directors think of their ideas. Jared Leto conviced Sndyer to let him improvise the “We live in a society” line that every went mad over on Twitter, but it’s not in the final cut. 

- I loved Snyder’s Nolan-esque end montage. Gone is the Lois Lane narration, replaced by Joe Morton’s Cyrus Stone in a message to Victor. This works better because five of six of our heroes have parental issues : Victor and his dad, Clark and Jor-El and an overprotective Jonathan, Bruce’s dead parents, Aquaman’s absent mother and Barry’s dead mom and jailed father. So ending it with some peace for Victor and Arthur leaving Mera and Vulko but at least now he has a connection to the Atlantean world and new beginnings for the rest was a better choice.

#the justice league #zack snyder #the snyder cut #Ezra Miller #kiersey clemons #ben affleck #henry cavill #Gal Gadot #dceu #dceu films #dcu #jla #justice league #zack snyder's justice league #Jason Momoa #comic book films

[thepandragons]

Rant: Merlin’s The Dragon’s Call

Hi everyone. It’s been a while since I’ve posted any original content on this blog and the only explanation I can offer is that I have a debilitating time management issue :’). But anyways I have fully watched Merlin so I’ve decided as my coming-back (coming out? hahahahah- I’m sorry) post that I should start from the very beginning of this emotionally tormenting show. It’s all downhill from here folks :’)

Ok for starter’s in Netflix’s description of this episode Merlin is described as a “country boy” I don’t know about you but the way that the description frames the show I’m expecting this to be a hallmark movie about a coming of age. And as we know a common trope in Hallmark movies is poor people ending up with princes...coincidence? Nah fam. 

Quick side note: It would be illegal of me not to notice how small our boy Merlin looks. Like, you have to love him :)

Anyways, after the small little montage of Merlin looking at Camelot with wide-eyed wonder, we are taken out of that moment abruptly. As an audience we see Uther is sentencing someone to death for magic and condemning magic. Merlin is clearly horrified. We are not aware he has magic yet but most people know that the name Merlin is associated with a sorcerer so....we been knew. While we don’t know Merlin yet we have been told he has a great destiny by a mysterious voice over so this just further grabs our attention.

 For fans of the show, it just goes to show how brave and selfless Merlin is. Merlin wasn’t just a brave magician gallivanting around saving people, who then realized that magic was illegal later on and was too attached to Camelot to stop helping out. No, Merlin was brave from the get-go. One (or Gaius) would even say stupidly brave. Merlin could’ve easily been so scared off by this initial encounter that he decided to keep his magic to himself. Instead we see Merlin become deeply moved by this display of ignorance and be further moved by the outburst of the mother of the man who has been executed (before it took a creepy turn). And while this may not be the gay light hearted Hallmark story you clicked on this rant for, these experiences will shape Merlin and his relationships with those around him (*cough,cough* and Arthur)

Mary being the mother of the accused who got executed takes on Helen’s appearance. Helen is an opera singer set to perform for a royal party. While the show presents a magical protagonist, the show also shows how magic can be used for evil. No doubt this is going to be a moral dillema that Merlin has to face in future episodes. 

But let’s get to one of the gayest parts of the episode! Merlin’s first meeting with Arthur can hardly be called romantic. They meet when Merlin comes across Arthur using a servant for target pracice. So things are not looking too hot right now. Our brave boy Merlin decides to speak up because being used as target pracitce is not in the servant’s job description as far as I’m concerned. Unfortunately, Merlin doesn’t know he’s talking to the prince. Or fortunately, because this is the first step to Arthur’s character development in viewing all classes equally. But most importantly for the entertainment value of this post it leads to some sexual tension :’). What an eventful first episode. 

Now although Arthur and Merlin are clearly irritated Arthur is laughing in a way which makes me think he is somewhat entertained by it. Dare I say...attracted? We can safely assume no one has ever talked to Arthur in this way before so it is a new and (sexually) confusing situation. Like the boy says “Do you know how to walk on your knees” this is some Shakespeare level sexual tension. He said “Would you like help” I can’t ya’ll. 

However, Merlin throws a punch and Arthur says he’ll have him thrown in jail. Merlin, our brave but very reckless boy says “Who do you think you are, the king.” and Arthur reveals he’s the king’s son. The sexual tension is dead and it replaced by shock and anger. Arthur is making a suprised Pikachu face because he is shocked that someone he threatened physically would attempt to fight him. 

Later, Merlin walk through town and passes Arthur and his crew and Arthur provokes him. When Merlin retaliates Arthur’s best comeback is “I could take you apart with one blow” Yes I know that it wasn’t intended to be dirty but that doesn’t make it any less entertaining given modern language. Once again Merlin’s bravery is asserted in a fight with a dubious vicotry. Arthur stops guards from arresting Merlin saying “There’s something about you Merlin, I can’t quite put my finger on it.” could it be Merlin’s magic? I highly doubt it, Arthur is fooled by magic people all the time in the series. I believe Arthur is perceiving the weird chemistry that comes from meeting someone who is brave enough to disregard their rank in comparison to his. The chemistry of meeting someone whose destiny is intertwined with his. Plus the sexual tension.   

The next event of importance to this analysis is Merlin meeting Kilgarrah, the dragon imprisoned in the castle. Merlin is told by Kilgrarrah that Arthur needs Merlin to succeed in uniting Albion and that Merlin’s destiny is to help him. Merlin says “But I'm serious! If anyone wants to go and kill him, they can go ahead. In fact, I'll give them a hand.” and for anyone who has watched at least five minutes of the show that statement is laughable. Merlin calls Arthur an idiot and Kilgarrah says maybe its his destiny to change that. Kilgarrah is telling Merlin that Arthur needs him and his help. He needs him to help him unite Albion and make him a better person. This shows how intertwined their destinies are, which gives them a completely different dynamic that they can’t replicate with anyone else. This is what intrigues viewers about the ship.

The epsiode ends with Merlin saving Arthur from dying due to the hands of the woman posing as Helen the opera singer. The same man who said he would help someone kill Arthur saves his life and is “rewarded” with the postion as Arthur’s manservant. With seemingly no reason to like Arthur this shows how Merlin is a good person. It also demonstrates that the words told to him about destiny hold more weight to him than he lets on. 

#merthur #merlin #Arthur Pendragon #Arthurian legend #merlin emrys #bbc's merlin #colin morgan #bradley james #kilgarrah #destiny #netflix #bbc #thepandragon's rants

[coinofstone]

1x08 The Beginning of the End

I've got a cat sleeping on top of me so we're just going to power through another ep.

Young Asa! Fun fact: during a previous rewatch (which I did not live blog) I watched this episode just after watching the first episode of Sex Education S2, which includes a (spoiler alert) montage of (the now young adult) Asa jerking off! So immediately seeing this itty bitty baby Asa after watching that made me kind of sick.

I love the druids. The telepathic conversations are awesome.

Merlin "I'm always careful" yea ok Mister i-revealed-my-magic-to-two-brand-new-dudes-I've-never-seen-before-two-episodes-in-a-row

Honestly I think we can all learn a thing or two from the way these sets are dressed with curtains and screens blocking off little enclaves to make better use of an open space

Why is this show so obsessed with women fetching water

"You have many names!" Really? Like what? Merlin, Emrys, ... um... Arthur's husb-servant! I said servant

I know Uther is a monster but the threat of him executing this child is just SO MUCH it seems almost hard to believe.

Love Merlin holding a mirror to Gaius' hypocrisy.

Keys on a wire, top tier comedy.

Costuming note: I love that this red jacket was in storage for a year after being dirtied at a feast, and now Arthur's wearing it on any random Tuesday and also has a new one in brown.

If anyone's wondering, the cat has left but I'm committed to the episode because I don't trust tumblr to actually save my drafts.

Leave it to a white woman to snitch on a woman sneaking a child out of the castle to avoid execution.

I don't often side with Arthur but really it was stupid of Morgana and Merlin to think Arthur would condone the boy's execution. Things would've gone much smoother if they'd involved him from the beginning.

Bradley has such tiny little baby ears compared to Tony and Colin lol

"If my father asks where I am, I've gone on a hunting trip"

Merlin: Arthur's gone on a hunting trip, and he hasn't been home in a few days

Wait no

Commentary with Angel, Katie, Colin and Jeremy. All natural accents and confusing 😂

I can't believe the boots were an actual person in green tights! That's actually really clever.

Katie keeps going on about her eyebrow and I'm watching this in 1080p and I still can't see what the eff she's talking about. But apparently they were told to stop plucking their eyebrows for authenticity.

Katie: you guys know I'm magical but yet you leave me, so it's really your fault that I become evil

Me: she's not wrong

I KNEW THOSE KEYS WERE ON A FISHING POLE

It's really weird that they have Angel on this commentary when she's barely in the episode and I don't think she says very much on the track either. It's a little hard for me to tell.

"They always seem to have Bradley strip in scenes, it's quite bizarre" yes. Bizarre. Definitely.

They did point out a great little look that Asa gives Merlin when he says he had trouble getting out of the castle, like 'you fuckin liar', which I'd never noticed before. Listening to them all fawning over Asa and knowing he's gone on to do great things since this, it's kinda nice. I like that they clap at the end too😂

#bbc merlin #merlin #bbc merlin spoilers #merlin spoilers #merthur #1x08 #bbc merlin 1x08 #merlin 1x08 #the beginning of the end #onceandfuturerewatch

[backdraft-bimbo]

s15 review (ish)

Just messily throwing my thoughts out here. I got some pros, and I got some cons. It’s not all negative fyi, and before I dive into this I’m gonna rate s15 like a 6.5/10 overall. 

For starters: the usage of Carry On My Wayward Son in 15x20 completely screws the show’s morals in the end. “There’ll be peace when you are done”? Oh let me tell you, the stone-cold irony. 

That song is about hope. Supernatural, of all shows, chose a song revolving around the concept that one day, the suffering will end, and there will be a light at the end of the tunnel–peace. 

Dean thought he might have a chance at peace when Chuck got demoted, he hoped Sam could live on with a clear grief-free mind, and he wanted to have Castiel in the end. He thought, and we all thought so too, but the show writers decided, nah, tragic shock factor overrules seasons of character development and the entire fandom loudly demanding a happy ending for these characters we’ve adored for years. The writers brushed aside the discomfort and disapproval of the stars of Supernatural themselves as well. And I’m curious as to why. Why is the dynamic of the actors and fans so starkly different from those who had a say in writing 15x20? (The actors and fandom are more in tune with each other, while the writers have become detached and unaware of their own storytelling.) But that’s for another time, and I digress. 

My main point here, and one of my biggest bones to pick with the finale is the unnecessary death. Tragic endings only work well if done right. 

If death has a legitimate purpose in the story, by all means, utilize it. If it’s only there to make the audience turn their heads in shock, maybe reconsider. Death can be used in a variety of ways: to stir up empathy, bring an arc full-circle, a catalyst for another character’s arc, consideration of morality, et cetera, et cetera. But it should never be a last minute decision. It should at least have been foreshadowed if Dean was going to die, like in the earlier seasons when he made the deal for Sam’s life. As tragic as his death was then, we understood why it was done, instead of with the finale which left us wondering why the Hell would they do that? with a nasty taste in our mouths. 

Let me throw out an example of a well-written tragedy: Merlin. Even though (spoiler alert) one of the main characters died at the end, it was not to send the message that death is the superior of all storytelling, which is what Supernatural would have us believe in the finale. Merlin does it well because the entire show essentially builds up to the tragic death/destiny of King Arthur via ominous foreshadowing, but it redeems his character along the way to show that death is not the “ultimate redeemer.” Merlin has a theme of inescapable destiny (i.e. Arthur’s death), and yet by the end of the show you still love the characters and plot because they hold meaning. That’s one of the reasons its fandom is still so active–it ended tragically, but there is hope in the end, hope that Arthur will one day return to Merlin when the need for him is greatest. 

Supernatural, Voltron, and GOT all used death immaturely, especially in their last seasons. All because of bad storytelling and misuse of tragedy. There wasn’t peace in Dean’s horrifically anti-climatic death, which means there wasn’t peace for Sam, even though he made a family later on. He grieved his big brother for his entire life (or our two minutes of poorly put together montage feat. pop cover of Kansas) until he made it to Heaven after Dean’s five minute joyride in the Impala. So the message the CW is really sending out here is, “there’ll be peace when you are done, but only after you die.” Honestly, what a joke. It seems more like laziness which led to the finale; laziness regarding plot and characters and everything that made us like the show initially. 

It felt more like a punch in the face to the fans/actors rather than a thank you. And maybe the CW intended it to be that way. Maybe they just got sick of people’s critiques and decided to go out with a sadistic smile and a big ol’ middle finger.

For us, peace is only attainable when the show is over, because the writers aren’t in control anymore. They can’t make anymore colossal mistakes.

On the other hand, Supernatural used tragedy right as well in s15. The reason Castiel’s death in 15x18 had less controversy than Sam and Dean’s deaths in 15x20 is because Castiel had a long, drawn-out build up with his Empty deal. It loomed over the plot of all the following seasons. We all knew it was going to come back, that Cas was going to be taken one way or another. 

When the Empty got Cas, I wasn’t left with resentful questions or dissatisfaction. He went out with a bang–tears, a beautiful monologue, and I love you. I’m gonna trash the finale the rest of my life, but I will never hold back the respect I have for Cas’ s15 character arc (and Misha’s acting!). Brushing aside his impact in the finale of the show was a very bad move, but we’ve got canon queer Castiel, and essentially Destiel as well, and having that, I feel satisfaction probably equal to the distaste I have for the finale. So they kind of cancel each other out for me, personally (now that I’ve had a chance to reflect on the show as a whole and take a breather).

With COVID, it just astounds me how much time the CW had to think this over and settle on something so poorly written and inconsistent with the rest of s15. Kripke himself chose that ending, said it was right for the characters, which should really just make all our jaws drop, because that only solidifies the fact that the amount of care the fandom and actors put into these characters is tremendous in superiority to the actual show creators. It really makes me want to know now: How much of Supernatural’s genius was a mistake? 

How many details were unintentional, and how many scenes were made deeper simply by accident? Was it us, with our essays and theories and blogs dedicated to unravelling the secrets of the show, who made it more beautiful in the end? Because I guarantee, if I hadn’t read posts about Supernatural having deeper meanings early on, I probably wouldn’t have watched it. I wouldn’t have seen all the parallels between characters, and I couldn’t have pieced together the unintended puzzle that is Supernatural. 

Supernatural would have been way less enjoyable without the fans giving it so much meaning, and of course, without the actors’ performances. While they were done dirty in the finale, I’ve gotten to the point where I can still love the stars and their roles in the story in the long run. And whether you loved or hated the finale, it’s fun to just scream about stuff with people who are equally as invested in something as I am. 

So, I guess... thanks, Supernatural. But I will be dividing my thanks out to the folks who deserve it most: the fandom, the actors, and only specific writers who remain in my graces. 

#rant #supernatural #mine #review #s15 #15x20 #castiel #dean winchester #sam winchester

[doof-doofblog]

"I Just Feel Sorry For You!"

Friday 4th December 2020

Good evening everyone! Hope you all had a brilliant weekend, I unfortunately have been working all through the weekend and it looks to be another busy week ahead for me! This is the episode I've been eager to be blogging about, it's the one that the majority of us all were waiting for, I feel like I'm so late to the party and I apologise that this is late!

But oh my goodness, what an absolutely fantastic episode!!!!!! THAT ENDING!!!! WOW, WOW, WOW! I will come to that a little later on, but boy, what a jam packed episode it was, I love how everything and everyone has/had some form of scenario of who could be Ian's attacker!

The first thing I kind I noticed when the episode started was the birds eye view of the Square, and how it call came down to seeing the man at the centre of the stage, Ian, walking down the Square. We know this is going to be a gripping episode as we know there are a lot of people who are going to be out for their revenge! Ian has hurt so many people in recent weeks/days, it was only a matter of time before someone was pushed over the edge and felt their need to get their own back on him.

Before we come to the juicy part, there are 2 or 3 main things I want to mention first about this episode, one being that Ian got arrested for mortgage fraud. Before he is even arrested though, Ben approaches him regarding his knowledge about his brother reporting him to the police, he is absolutely seething with his brother, almost to the point where he wants to go for him. Callum fights to keep Ben off his brother, Ian remains silent but keeps his distance from Ben, that is until the police turn up. Ben instantly assumes that they have come for him and puts his hands out ready to be handcuffed, however when they asked for Ian Beale, Ben steps to one side and is almost thrilled to see the police arrest his brother for something he's completely unaware of. I guess the most thrilling part of this, is that Ian is seen getting arrested by the majority of the community, some look happy, some look surprised, some just don't have a clue what's going on! But the one main person who's thrilled to see Ian getting arrested, is Tina - as she was the one who reported him in the first place!

The second thing I want to talk about is how such a fantastic actress Tanya Franks is! I absolutely love her, she nearly brought me to tears in this episode. Devastatingly, Stuart informs his wife, by giving her a document silently, that Keegan and Tiffany have changed their minds in regards to being her surrogate. She, at first, refuses to believe it and informs her husband to force the young couple to sign the document. But later on in the Square, Rainie sees the young couple walking away down the street, she runs towards them and begs them to change their mind. Even falling to her knees, in floods of tears, begging Tiffany to change her mind, she promises to be the best Mum she can be. You can see she's absolutely heartbroken to have such a treasured thing be taken away from her, it's as if her unborn baby has simply been snatched right out of her hands. To be honest, as Rainie is pleading on her knees and trying to reassure them that she'd do her best to be a good Mum, I'm sure neither of them doubt her for a second - she would make a good Mum, regardless of her past - being a Mum is all she's ever wanted, and she would live for her child! Tiffany kneels to Rainie's level, even though she is completely and utterly heartbroken, Tiffany deeply apologies for changing her mind and explains the reason has nothing to do with Stuart or Rainie, but the simple fact is that she's just not ready. At such a young age, it's hard for her to commit to such a huge agreement, she physically, emotionally and mentally can't do it. It's a devastating, heart wrenching blow for poor Rainie as she sobs and watches Tiffany and Keegan walk away. Tanya Franks was absolutely incredible in this scene, I almost felt I was going to cry myself, I feel for Rainie, I really do and I just hope, as Stuart says, they will find another way to have a child - even if they ask someone else to be their surrogate. Later on, as the heartbroken couple sit on Arthur's bench in the gardens, they see Ian walking towards them, Rainie can't help herself and blames Ian for talking to Whitney, as - to her realisation - she has convinced Tiffany not to go ahead and help them have a baby, it's then that Ian makes an awful insult to the couple and basically - in not so many words, say that they don't deserve a baby! Honestly, how cruel can someone get?!

The third thing I want to focus on is the Lucy Beale charity money, we all know that Ian stole the money from his deceased daughter's charity fund and transferred it into Max's account. However, to begin with Max was completely unaware where Ian got the money from, as far as he was concerned, Ian had simply paid an instalment of the money he owes him, it was later on that Ian revealed to him, after Linda won the Lucy Beale Award, where the money had come from - informing him that he'd simply framed him. In this episode, Max is in a blind panic as he visits Linda and informs her about the winning cheque. She is completely stunned to hear what Ian has done, but after he caught them kissing, it doesn't surprise her - she knew he would be up to something and make them know that they wouldn't get away with it. The interesting thing is, when Linda is told about the money, she takes it upon herself to inform the Beale brothers, simply stating that she can't cash in the cheque as the money has been stolen, from their own Dad and transferred into Max's account. I do feel sorry for Bobby at this point, Peter doesn't seem at all surprised as he knows that all their Dad cares about is money, but when Bobby checks the laptop, he devastatingly notices that all the money that had been raised has simply gone. As Linda leaves the young lads to it, she warns them that they need to stop their Dad from doing something he may regret. Once they're left alone, Bobby is seen counting on his fingers again and counting how many times he taps the laptop down, whilst he's doing this, Peter is informing him how he and Lucy grew up with their Dad making terrible decisions and watching him care about other things than them, but Bobby was too young to see and went to prison at such a young age, for a complete accident. He points out that Bobby was too young to understand, even mentioning that Ian doesn't care about how much he's tried to better himself since being released from prison and especially how the day in hand was meant to be one for their sister, but Ian managed to make it all about him. As Peter continues, Bobby can't seem to take anymore and smashes the laptop in a rage, to which Peter is finally happy to see his brother taking his anger out on their Father, it's then he says that Lucy shouldn't be the one who's dead, but Ian instead!  

Later on Tina informs her brother that she was the one who got Ian nicked by the police, she informs him excitedly that they be able to get the pub back. However, this is where Mick turns nasty once again to another one of his family members. He turns around and starts to insult his sister, telling her that getting the Queen Vic back in their name, is not going to help what is going on inside his head. This is where I begin to feel sorry for Tina, she's been trying so hard to cheer her brother up after seeing him so low over the past few weeks, of course she was only trying to be nice in getting the pub back for him. However, Mick insults her, telling her she's pathetic, how not only she, but no else understands what's going on inside his head and how getting the Vic back is not going to help, not even close. Tina is teary as her brother tells her leave, as she does - I've come to notice that she is the final person, in Mick's close family circle, that he has finally pushed away. First it was his Mum, Shirley, then his wife, Linda and now his sister, Tina. I do think that now Mick is going to find himself with no one, and he'll end up turning to Katy - which may be the most terrible idea! As Tina returns to the Square, she stares as the Queen Vic pub through tears, Ian watches her and approaches her from behind. It seems that he's discovered that she was the one who reported him to the police after Kathy drunkenly revealed the truth to her. Through angry, gritted teeth Tina informs Ian that the Vic doesn't belong to him and should belong to someone who deserves it, like Mick! But Ian laughs at her response and ironically says that they can have the Vic back - over his dead body! It's then she runs after him and informs him that everyone on the Square absolutely despises him and one day there is going to be a queue of people waiting to dance on his grave, and she will be the first in line! Ian doesn't seemed phased by her outburst, he simply shrugs and says he doesn't hate her, just feels sorry for her - suddenly Tina is enraged and barges into his house and shuts the door with an almighty BANG!

Then silence, blackness! It's night time - the camera draws in onto the Queen Vic, out of the dark shadows we see the silhouette of Ian, lying face-down on the Queen Vic floor, a visible wound to his head, and then - the montage begins! All of sudden we're seeing different characters with different scenarios, leaving the Vic, hiding in the darkness, covered in blood - all of whom have a motive of wanting Ian dead. This piece of film and editing was absolutely incredible! This is definitely EastEnders at it's absolute best!!! A classic WhoDunIt? Let's take a look at the suspects EastEnders have lined up:-

Who Attacked Ian?!

Tina Carter

Rainie Highway

Ben Mitchell

Stuart Highway

Peter Beale

Suki Panesar

Bobby Beale

Max Branning

I don't know about you guys, but I am completely and utterly excited to see this story continue, it's going to be so gripping to see how each one of these character's story play out in the next few episodes. I have a feeling that maybe over the next few episodes, or maybe even within the next few weeks - we'll see each and every one of those character's mentioned above, their story of that night in question! I for one, am so excited to see how each one unfolds! But could there be more suspects that we're unaware of? Could it actually be someone who's not in this list? What do you guys think?! Were you on the edge of your seat as much as I was?! Please feel free to leave me any comments or opinions, I'd love to hear your thoughts, on this episode especially! I'll always reply! Thanks a lot everyone! I'll be back very soon! Love you all xXx

#eastenders #ianbeale #bobbybeale #peterbeale #tinacarter #mickcarter #lindacarter #maxbranning #rainiecross #rainie highway #stuarthighway #benmitchell #callumhighway #ballum #suki panesar #keeganbaker #tiffanybutcher #kathybeale

[justalittlelitnerd]

What If It’s Us by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera

“I don’t know if we’re a love story or a story about love. But I know whatever we are that it’s great because we kept jumping through the hoops in the first place.”

I didn’t think this story could possibly be cuter than I expected to be but it was. It far surpassed my expectations with it’s quirky, insecure ensemble of characters and the story was written in a way that convinced me to accept such an open ending when usually that’s my biggest pet peeve.

Overall, this story is just a fun take on a whirlwind summer romance because it pulls in all the weird, slightly crazy aspects of modern dating like missed connections and the ease of internet stalking. It was exactly what I needed as a counterbalance to the dumpster fire that is 2020 and if you’re looking for that brief escape into a wholesome, awkward romance and story about first loves and second chances and the complexity of dating and friendships than I would highly recommend!  

My only semi-complaint were the issues within Arthur, Jessie, and Ethan’s friendship could’ve been fleshed out more to do justice to the time the authors took to flesh out the side characters and their relationships with the main characters. I felt like that fight didn’t balance out the fight Ben had with Dylan because it was clear how that disagreement was building over the course of the summer. Also it felt too obvious that Jessie and Ethan were secretly dating and I was confused and unsatisfied by Ethan’s explanation that he didn’t text Arthur back the whole summer simply because it felt like lying and didn’t think twice about how ignoring Arthur (especially right after he came out) would make him feel. Also the whole time it made it seem like Arthur and Jessie were slightly closer and she had no qualms texting him and lying to him all summer and let’s just say I’m not as forgiving as Arthur was.

Let me know your thoughts!

Keep reading for some fun quotes I saved!

Normally, being an intern is more boring than terrible, but today’s uniquely shitty. You know that kind of day where the printer runs out of paper, and there’s none in the supply room, so you try to steal some from the copier, but you can’t get the drawer open, and then you push some wrong button and the copier starts beeping? And you’re standing there thinking that whoever invented copy machines is this close to getting their ass kicked? By you? By a five-foot-six Jewish kid with ADHD and the rage of a tornado? That kind of day? Yeah.

I believe in love at first sight. Fate, the universe, all of it. But not how you’re thinking. I don’t mean it in the our souls were split and you’re my other half forever and ever sort of way. I just think you’re meant to meet some people. I think the universe nudges them into your path.

Ex-boyfriend. Which means Box Boy dates guys. And okay. Wow. This doesn’t happen to me. It just doesn’t. But maybe the universe works differently in New York. Box Boy dates guys. I’M A GUY.

It’s weird—now I want to prove it. I want some gay ID card to whip out like a cop badge. Or I could demonstrate in other ways. God. I would happily demonstrate.

“On the sad scale, how are you feeling today?” Dylan asks. “Opening-montage-of-Up sad? Or Nemo’s-mom-dying sad?” “Whoa, no. Definitely not opening-montage-of-Up sad. That shit was devastating. I’d guess I’m somewhere in between, like last-five-minutes-of-Toy-Story-3 sad. I just need time to bounce back.”

“Let’s talk about why you really didn’t mail the breakup box,” Dylan says, like he’s going to bill me for this conversation. “Only if you drop the therapist voice,” I say. “Maybe we can begin with why my tone bothers you. Do I remind you of an authority figure?”

I’m certain that I’m 100 percent gay because if I was even 1 percent bisexual I would be crushing hard on Samantha for looks and high energy alone. Dylan watches Samantha as if she were glowing, and I wonder when I went dim for Hudson. If I ever really glowed for him at all.

“I would love to start my own app games. I have this one idea. It’s like Frogger, but instead of heavy-traffic streets, it takes place on the sidewalks of New York. You die if you get hit with someone’s shopping cart and you lose points if you cross a tourist’s path while they’re taking photos.

Emotional blue balls. That’s what it feels like. It’s being handed everything you’ve ever longed for, only for it to slip through your fingers. And there’s no way to fix it. Nothing you can do but slink toward the kitchen counter in a full-body mope.

"You’re not being fair to yourself,” Dylan says. “Maybe not. But I’m being honest.”

It’s this strangling fear that we’ll be sitting there and we’ll run out of something to say and I’ll be able to witness the exact moment someone falls out of love with me because I don’t have enough substance to keep a conversation alive over a meal. Why would you want to talk to me for the rest of your life?

But no. Not even close. Instead, it’s me bleeding out all my neuroses, looking for answers to questions I have no right to be asking. But I don’t know how to make myself stop asking them. People like me should come with a mute button.

I have only said one word on this call—a call I made—and I’m already ready to settle into another few hours of Arthur rambling. It’s better than my favorite Lorde and Lana Del Rey songs.

“You can sing a different song next time,” I say. I like that we’ll have a next time. That even though things have gone wrong, we’ve tried to make it right. “So I was nervous to admit this at karaoke, but—” “Please don’t tell me you’re actually a bunch of rats wearing a cute boy as a disguise.” “Worse.” I take a deep, dramatic breath. “I haven’t listened to Hamilton.” He doesn’t say anything. Then the line goes dead.

I tell him how I want to write Hamilton and Harry Potter crossover fanfiction and call it The Great American Fantasy Novel and stage all those duels in the dueling club and what houses I would sort everyone in.

“All history should be taught through rap by Lin-Manuel Miranda.”

“How lucky we are to be alive right now, right?” “Oh my god, you’re speaking Hamilton—I’m just so into you. I’m helpless.” I’m so into him too.

“For the most part, I think. But every city has its assholes.” I want to hug him, but he doesn’t want to be touched right now. Like any affection is going to become a target sign on our backs. Like we’ll get punished because our hearts are different.

But it’s just like the old posts on Instagram that I can’t get myself to just delete. Like Hudson never happened. Like he’s someone to be ashamed of. And throwing away the good memories feels like a slap in the face to our history. It has nothing to do with the future.

When the song ends, I’m ready to apologize. But Arthur takes my phone and looks up a cover of “Only Us” from Dear Evan Hansen, and he comes closer to me as he sings the words “So what if it’s us, what if it’s us, and only us.” This song is so beautiful. What it feels like to be wanted by someone who sees you for who you are. How the world—the business of Times Square—can feel like it’s falling away when you’re with the right person.

But maybe this isn’t how life works. Maybe it’s all about people coming into your life for a little while and you take what they give you and use it on your next friendship or relationship. And if you’re lucky, maybe some people pop back in after you thought they were gone for good.

Maybe I’m feeling masochistic. Or maybe I’ve unlocked the secret, and this is how people focus. All you have to do is have a cute boy rip your heart out, then let your best friends stomp all over it, and if it’s still beating even a little bit, finish the job yourself. Say the worst things and yell your voice raw and destroy everything you love until, lo and behold, the monotony of work is a relief.

I don’t know how to tell Hudson that I want to throw away a box of things that used to mean everything to me. But that fucking box. I can’t keep treating it like something that belongs in a museum’s exhibit specializing in one guy’s history of breaking hearts.

“Do not ask any what-if questions about you and Hudson dating again. That would probably end in literal heartbreak at the hands of someone pretty familiar with the law because of his summer internship but too reckless to care.”

It’s hard to be a fully functioning Arthur when your heart lives in four envelopes.

I can’t lose you forever. You can’t be someone I just knew for one summer. I have to know you every summer.

#what if it's us #Becky Albertalli #adam silvera #ya #young adult #summer romance #mlm #nyc #coming of age #friendship #books #book quotes #book blog #booklr #quotes #just some softbois falling in love during a summer in nyc #lots of hamilton references