#I enjoyed seeing you in my inbox

[ariadne-mouse]

I feel fandom would get along a lot better if there was mutual understanding that liking a character, agreeing with a character, and thinking the character is well constructed/executed are all separate (if often overlapping) positions, each with their separate tastes and subjectivities. Also: character portrayals are intended to make the audience feel things; this is separate from (if often overlapping with) analyzing/appreciating their actions and role in the story.

[laddertek]

etho said actually you _don't_ understand the intricacies of how tango is my boyfriend and bdubs is my ex

(and how tango and bdubs kiss too)

Scar: We went on that little adventure, you know! Etho: Yeah, yeah, we had our adventure, that's true, that's true. Scar: You disparaged your teammates. That's it, all right, no more spoilers. Etho: (laughs) Our team has -- our team has some weird dynamics this -- this season. Cleo: (overlapping) Really, Etho? Is there trouble in paradise? (pause) Who's third-wheeling with you, again? I can't remember. Etho: (laughs) Uhh. The -- Cleo: Genuinely can't remember. I know it's you and Bdubs. And...Tango? Tango. Tango. Etho: (loudly) Why -- Why is Tango the third wheel? Why -- why isn't Bdubs the third wheel? Cleo: Because it's you and Bdubs. I'm sorry. I understand how that relationship goes. Etho: (dissatisfied) Hmm.

[kandismon]

totally lore-accurate swanqueen screencap redraws 4/∞

they're on their first date :3c

[nixotinix]

I saw you were doing requests for DC Rogues and I would love to request Jervis!

I love that guy so much it’s becoming a problem lol

i understand you on a spiritual level catie. i saw the alice in wonderland ballet a month ago and have had jervis on the brain ever since.

there's a little surprise under the cut too!

behold. the consequences (rewards?) of posting about steph on your main so often. hope you enjoy :D

[bannock-freak]

"shipping saiki is aphobic because he's aroace!"

stares at you with my demiromantic asexual in a committed relationship eyes then looks at the camera like im in the office

[bennetsbonnet]

Hi, I was wondering if you could please expand on why you think Mr. Darcy wouldn't say to Elizabeth "you have bewitched me body and soul"? I'd never really considered it before. Thank you! :)

Certainly, thanks for asking! I love talking about these things :)

I think it's firstly important to point out the context in which the word 'bewitched' is used in the novel. It's in chapter ten, when Elizabeth is staying at Netherfield. It occurs just after Darcy & Elizabeth have argued about Bingley's disposition and after Darcy invited her to dance a reel, which yielded the lovely exchange where Elizabeth says:

'I have, therefore, made up my mind to tell you, that I do not want to dance a reel at all—and now despise me if you dare.'

To which Darcy replies:

'Indeed I do not dare.'

The passage containing 'bewitched' immediately follows:

Elizabeth, having rather expected to affront him, was amazed at his gallantry; but there was a mixture of sweetness and archness in her manner which made it difficult for her to affront anybody; and Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her. He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger.

Although the word 'bewitched' itself does not necessarily have any negative connotations, with the benefit of hindsight, and of knowing what we do about how Darcy deals with his infatuation with Elizabeth, I would argue that in his case, his state of being bewitched by her is not a positive thing.

To highlight my point I'm going to use the definition provided by the Cambridge English Dictionary, which is as follows:

to attract or interest someone a lot so that you have the power to influence them:

to put a magic spell on someone or something in order to control him, her, or it

To deal with the first one, Elizabeth obviously influences Mr Darcy into changing his ways, that is pretty much the whole point of the novel! But I think bewitched has a certain connotation of being under a spell, and perhaps behaving involuntarily. I mean, I think we've all done cringeworthy things for people we've had crushes on that we can look back and laugh at, or perhaps shelled out silly money for concert tickets or bought more copies of an album or another thing because we're so 'bewitched' by the artist. I think that's quite common. But I don't believe that it's an accurate portrayal of the way Darcy loves Elizabeth.

Equally, did Darcy change solely due to his love of Elizabeth, or because she pointed out that he had come to embody so many things he loathed in others? I don't think that a man who spent as long sitting with his emotions and mending his ways as Darcy did, with pretty much zero expectation that he would ever see her again could have such behaviour being explained away as being 'bewitched.' She influenced him, yes, but he was compos mentis the entire time. He knew what he was doing, he did it willingly.

As for the second definition, I believe it's pretty undeniable that Elizabeth put a magic spell on Darcy. I mean, he was openly admiring her fine eyes fairly early on in their acquaintance. There was just something about her which attracted him. But he didn't truly know her as a person. He didn't even know her in Hunsford when he proposed. Darcy knew her so little that he thought she would be expecting such an offer, when in reality she disliked him.

It's almost as though, in his state of bewitchment, he dehumanised Elizabeth a little, and just saw her as the object of his desires, rather than as a living, breathing person with her own autonomy. He thought he loved her, but his emotions were not so deep as that. Darcy disliked so many things about her, including her family which she couldn't exactly change. I suppose, at that point, he loved the idea of her; he liked her wit and was attracted to her, but that isn't true love.

I think Darcy actually reflects on his past feelings towards her with this line, which I personally find infinitely more romantic, when he says at the start of chapter 60:

'I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look, or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.'

To me, this definitely sounds like he was saying that he was in some way infatuated with her, but it is quite a detailed and lovely speech. And Darcy is always very deliberate with his words, he doesn't say whatever is on his mind unlike some people (looking at you Mrs Bennet/Lydia). It also comes after they've spoken about their respective thoughts and emotions following the letter and Lady Catherine's visit to Longbourn. It's clear they've sorted out their emotions, come to a deeper understanding and harbour a lot of mutual respect for each other.

In short, I have such an issue with him saying she has 'bewitched' him at the end because, while Mr Darcy was bewitched by Elizabeth at the beginning, his attraction to her caused him to almost dehumanise her and not consider her feelings; after her rebuke of him during the first proposal, he went away and voluntarily—no longer under any sort of spell or illusion—realised how wrong he was and genuinely altered his ways, while his feelings for her deepened into respect and true love.

So, while I understand why they used that particular word in the film, since it does occur in the novel, it's important to understand how changing when you use it in the course of the story can alter things quite dramatically, especially for their respective character arcs. And I think that line from Darcy about being unable to fix on the hour etc. is one of the most romantic in the entire novel, the fact that it never gets used in adaptations is a CRIME!

Well this was an essay. I realise I'm being intensely pedantic but, hey, I care about the little details :') and I'm not here to bash 2005. You won't see me do that here. I have my preferences but I can absolutely see why people enjoy it. Personally, I just adore the novel and the characters so much that these seemingly trivial things matter to me.

Ultimately, I think Austen was very deliberate in her choice of words and even just altering the tiniest thing can change the weight of them.

[anxiousapplepie]

Hi!

I am a huge fan of your Swap aus and have been seeing them all over tumblr and, oh my gosh, it makes me wanna join in on the fun! Is it ok if I make an AU using your Swap concept? I wanted to ask just in case.

My buddy my pal my friend, I will do everything in my power to encourage and motivate and push you to make your own AU inspired by my roleswap concepts! PLEASE join the fun!!! we've got lots of chairs and we ALWAYS need more people making food!!! :D Seriously! No need for permission! Go nuts! Go to town! Have fun! The more the merrier! You don't need my blessing BUT BOY HOWDY I will bless anybody who wants to make their own roleswap inspired AUs! Gogogogogogo do it now DO IT BOOK IT GO-

[1nvictus]

Grown man btw.

Just putting that out there admits your recent posts.

(Like Full on ready for the retirement home type old)

I don’t judge, you could be older than Duncan for all the fucks I give.

[starflungwaddledee]

[batsplat]

just so you know bc I don’t think enough people tell you this but every time I check your blog (a bit compulsively at this point? your compilations and opinions are very enlightening on the general psychology of those crazy motherfuckers and also the uhhhhhhhh other part) and see that you answered another ask I honestly break into the hugest grin and settle down at the next given opportunity to read the newest batssay (batsplat essay) like it’s an academic paper (it is to us sports scholars, I believe)… please never feel the need to cut short your thoughts on any subject. the longer the better! connect all the dots, bat! we are listening!!

thank youuuuu this is so sweet, I know this ask is a little older but trust whenever I get something kind in my inbox I very much read and appreciate it and it very much makes my day. and I love the term batssay. a lot

so I thought it'd be fun to do a follow up post to the casey/jorge/valentino one where I just dumped a bunch of photos with a wee bit of context... for the culture, y'know. and I'm doing this with just casey/valentino, mostly for 2007-09 but with one 2005 photo chucked in as. build-up. for flavour

we know from the #archives that the two of them did have like. a reasonably warm dynamic pre-casey's motogp debut. they'd talked... also at least one race where casey shows up to valentino's podium and chats to vale's crew chief and fellow aussie jb... I think about it often. what did it all mean

casey's first win!!! qatar 2007, very first race with ducati. he'd gotten very close to a win before - in his third ever premier class race at turkey, lost at the final chicane. casey's goals going into that first season with ducat had just been winning a few races... he notes that valentino congratulates him warmly, but reckons it's just because valentino didn't take him seriously as a threat, which. I don't think that quite stacks up with supplementary evidence from the time, but we'll allow it

one of my fave photos for a reason, idc it's sweet. I was trying to figure out when this photo was from through like, normal means of reverse image search, but then instead I had a horrifying moment of 'oh yeah I'm pretty sure I remember that specific presser backdrop is at mugello that year' and. I was right. which. god. anyway yeah mugello 2007 pre-event presser. by this point casey was 21 points clear in the championship standings

more mugello 2007!!! look at casey constantly sipping from his lil cup. this will have been after qualifying, where casey snagged pole. I'd forgotten valentino actually makes front row in qualifying because he makes a typically horrendous start. I'd also forgotten that this race is like. proper good. one of the best that year. slows down eventually but the first ten or so laps are some of the most exciting of the entire alien era

catalunya 2007, which unfortunately I also dated solely through the presser backdrop. idk I just like the vibes of this photo. anyway!! this race is ofc the one where casey won an all timer late race duel against valentino (+ dani). it is after this race that valentino said casey was, and I quote "riding like a god". a seminal moment

the championship is already extremely over by the time they get to estoril, but casey still needs to formally wrap it up: this is his first match point race. depicted here is valentino getting one of his few Ws that season. an account of this event: “valentino was playing table football in the yamaha hospitality and somebody spotted casey outside. so they invited him for a challenge. it was all good fun”

motegi 2007. valentino had managed to put off the inevitable the race before and temporarily stopped casey from sealing the title, taking his last win of the season (cool duel with dani in that one). but motegi... well honestly it's just a bit of a flop all round, nobody's bike is working the way they want it to, casey seals the title with his worst result all season of a sixth place (the horror) and in his autobiography he was kinda like 'well I was very happy but also. meh race' (I paraphrase). but really, who cares, he had his title

bit of a time skip!! after both of them have put their sketch early 2008's behind them, the pair of them had a proper fun fight at catalunya for p2. a continuation of the battle the year before with valentino once again coming from lower down the field, this time he gets the better of casey. still, things are finally looking up at ducati... and the post-catalunya test might be enough to put casey right back in title contention. the above photo is from donington, where casey confirms the progress ducati made by winning his first race of the season after the opener in qatar

still donington, both of them watching each other etc etc. valentino is in a much better place than the year before, given both casey's rough start to the season and how they're both now on the same tyres. but it's not a good sign if casey's hitting his stride... at assen, valentino makes his one mistake of the year and crashes on the first lap, remounting to finish eleventh (he still beats casey's teammate melandri). this puts dani in the championship lead - and with casey's second win in a row, he is now very much closing in

look at them chatting here!! cute imo. this is casey's third win in a row, at the rainy sachsenring. dani crashes out from a few miles in the lead - while casey had stayed sensible and brings it home for a pretty straightforward victory. valentino needed to fight his way through from further down the field and in the end he loses too much time to put any serious pressure on casey, but it's still damage limitation and he retakes the championship lead from dani (who will miss the next race due to an injury sustained in the crash). and yet, momentum really is firmly on casey's side now... and the rest of the calendar does looks like pretty casey-friendly territory. next up, they're headed to a race track where casey had won very comfortably the year before. would he seal his fourth consecutive win at laguna?

now with my sincere apologies to casey stoner, every photo that came out of laguna 2008 is objectively pretty funny. I have limited myself to a mere two podium photos, but lbr there's a full collection. casey had already rejected valentino's handshake in parc fermé - which some might have taken as a social cue to give him some space. whereas valentino, local dickhead, just will not stop yapping at casey on the podium. this is quite possibly as genuinely delighted as he gets after a race, and it's simply a beautiful contrast with casey who is not quite rude enough to actually tell valentino to shut the fuck up - but may be fantasising about pushing valentino off the podium. this, to me. is art

gather around body language experts, we need to have a conversation. this is at the pre-event presser of the race immediately after laguna, aka brno. by this point, casey's less than flattering remarks about valentino's riding at laguna had already been distributed near and far... everyone's been talking about them, people have Opinions. the captions for these photos are all something along the lines of 'stoner extends olive branch to rossi to apologise for his post-race comments after losing laguna'. now, I don't know if he literally is apologising in these actual photos - though of course he did publicly walk back his comments, saying all riders can react badly to losses and that he'd overreacted when he'd said he'd lost respect for valentino. he has since walked back his walking back, doubling down on his criticisms of valentino's comportment at laguna

still, for all the talk that the feud properly started after laguna, it's kind of fun to have the presser immediately after it showing... well, it does look like casey is actively engaging valentino in conversation, right? whether he's apologising or not - this isn't just valentino yapping at him, if anything it's the reverse. laguna had been right before the summer break, so casey had been given a month to cool off... and also be viciously criticised by the press. brutal, isn't it? it's not just the loss that sucks, it's also being excoriated by the press and fans for having the audacity to get mad over it. is all of this just him being forced into pretending to play nice to get the press to leave him alone? were there any genuine regrets over his laguna comments? what ARE the vibes between them like at this time? what story do these photos tell us

casey went on to crash out of this race from the lead, the first time he had done so in the premier class and his first dnf with ducati after their one and a half seasons together. when he crashed, he'd had a fairly comfortable lead over valentino - though valentino was steadily closing in, and the commentators were already rubbing their hands in anticipation of another laguna

the next race is at misano - and casey is struggling with an old hand injury, see the bandages in the photo. the previous year had been the first time valentino had gotten the chance to race at this circuit, so close to his home... but he'd suffered a mechanical dnf, not his first or last in a frustrating season. this year, everything is different - and casey once again crashes out of the lead as valentino takes victory in front of his worshipful home fans

another trip to america, this time for indy: their first time racing at the track. after the double whammy of brno and misano, casey's title charge is essentially over... but you never know, right? indy kinda gives off the vibe of being a good casey track

in the end, the race is extremely wet and very, very windy and is eventually red-flagged. because of how many laps they still have to go, it is initially unclear whether they would restart... at which point first valentino (who was leading), then casey (in fourth) go to dorna ceo ezpeleta to tell him they have less than zero interest in going out in that weather again. a beautiful moment of solidarity - long live the power of unionising, capable of overcoming even the bitterest of feuds. blast the internationale over the footage, I've seen enough. the race is called off and valentino wins his fourth consecutive race

by the time they get to phillip island, valentino has already won the title, courtesy of his fifth consecutive win at motegi - the same circuit casey had won the title at the year before and the home race of valentino's old enemies at honda. a couple of nice photos of jorge congratulating his teammate and casey spraying vale with champagne here. casey, known phillip island goat, would of course finally end valentino's win streak at that circuit, which is where the photos are from. idk they're fun to me, like this is still not that long after laguna. I'm aware being able to chat normally with your coworkers and share a smile with them isn't normally that high a bar, but canonically valentino has been known to completely blank some of his rivals. it's not like casey is particularly cold towards valentino either, eh

case in point. this is from sepang 2008. #TheEstablishment does not want you to know casey and valentino canonically still regularly yapped in pressers post laguna. they won't silence me. sepang was valentino's last win of this season, after a good scrap with dani - and the season is rounded off with a casey victory at valencia

jerez 2009, where valentino gets past casey with a block pass at the final corner on his way to victory. unlike in 2005, he actually manages to not barrel into his rival. this is just a fantastic photo... I don't even have much to say about it. a+ vibes

a lot of the photos from this season were already included in the jorge/valentino/casey post, which reflects how casey wasn't consistently a factor in the same way the other two were. this one's from assen, the race right after catalunya when all three of them were tied on 106 points. very good side eye here, excellent job casey. unfortunately, casey is now in mystery illness territory - and he can't really compete with the two frontrunners in this stretch of the season

this is the first race after casey's return to competition - valentino goes up to casey after qualifying at estoril to congratulate him for his front row grid position. casey would win an early race scrap with valentino in the race itself, eventually finishing second behind jorge and swiftly silencing all the people who had declared him mentally weak and done for in his absence. a race that brought back suspense to that year's championship

phillip island 2009, another important moment in the canon where I've limited myself to just the one photo. casey wins just his second race back - and he also hugs vale pretty warmly in parc fermé. jorge was kind enough to crash in the opening lap, meaning valentino can very much be pleased with a second place here

and at sepang, valentino seals the title, while casey wins another race. casey ended up crashing in the warm-up lap of valencia, apparently due to an issue with the tyre warming? just kinda... the general vibe of his 2009, really. valentino closes off the season with another podium at his least favourite track, while dani takes the win

anyway after that they spent three years getting into increasingly. dumb arguments. like. so dumb. by the end of 2012 you feel you're killing your brain cells by even engaging with this stuff. it's beyond undignified. there's zero competitive justification, but they just couldn't shut up about each other. that being said, they're still capable of doing a small talk with each other even during the dark years, so that's something. maybe one day they'll finally be able to get that dinner and talk about all the good times

[valyrfia]

i'm like n1 lecfosa but i have to say some of the anons i've seen in other people's inboxes because they think that charles could've driven better today or that carlos deserved the win....have not been it. if you have an opinion to say, please just post it on your own blog and put your own name to it rather than going to terrorise and spit on someone who doesn't agree with you while retaining the luxury of hiding behind an anonymous icon. or even better, if you're upset, stick to the blogs that you know share your opinions.

[nixotinix]

Hello! I saw that ur open to requests— how abt an Oliver queen? And/or Dinah :3

both. both is good.

thank you for the request!! DC character requests are still open :3

[meetmeatthecoda]

Halcyon by meetmeatthecoda Fandoms: The Blacklist (US TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Chapters: 7/7 (complete) Words: 117,335 Tags: No Archive Warnings Apply, Elizabeth Keen/Raymond Reddington, Elizabeth Keen, Raymond Reddington, Agnes Keen, Dembe Zuma, Harold Cooper, Charlene Cooper, Alina Park, Donald Ressler, Aram Mojtabai, various OCs, Lizzington - Freeform, Agnesgate, AU, post-8.22, Fix-it fic, Drama, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Angst, Lots of Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Suicidal Thoughts, briefly, in the start of chapter 3, and an equally brief discussion of them in chapter 5, some sexual content, Nothing too explicit, and last but not least, no Redarina, no relation at all ever between red & liz, obviously

Summary:

Halcyon - adjective:

denoting a period of time in the past that was idyllically happy and peaceful.

noun:

a tropical Asian and African kingfisher with brightly colored plumage.

a mythical bird said by ancient writers to breed in a nest floating at sea at the winter solstice, charming the wind and waves into calm.

origin:

from Greek alkuōn ‘kingfisher’ (also halkuōn, by association with hals ‘sea’ and kuōn ‘conceiving’).

An AU post-8.22 fix-it fic, wherein Liz survives her shooting - unbeknownst to everyone - & flees the country in an effort to protect those dear to her, living a solitary, lonely existence on a loch in Scotland & coping with the only outlet she has, a hobby begun as a coping mechanism during a traumatic childhood & kept since then as a closely-guarded secret: art.

“As with all things in her life, it was born from fire.”

☕️ Buy Me a Coffee ☕️

🎶 Playlist below the cut! 🎶

Meant To Be by Ber & Charlie Oriain

Rockland by Gracie Abrams

Walking On The Moon by Ruelle

graves by Purity Ring

32 Floors by Lapsley

Rolling Like a Ball by Ludovico Einaudi

Brush Fire by Gracie Abrams

Much Too Much by Lennon Stella

You Hold Me Up by The Bones of J.R. Jones

As The World Caves In by Matt Maltese (cover by Sarah Cothran)

Men On The Moon by Chelsea Cutler

you broke me first by Tate McRae

Games by Lennon Stella

Save Us by Lennon Stella

Takeaway by The Chainsmokers, ILLENIUM feat. Lennon Stella

Best by Gracie Abrams

Where do we go now? by Gracie Abrams

Amelie by Gracie Abrams

85mm by Ludovico Einaudi

ceilings by Lizzy McAlpine

Through the Eyes of a Child by AURORA

Edge of the Dark by Emmit Fenn

Blinded by Emmit Fenn

Memories by Emmit Fenn

Spectrum by Andrew Belle

I Can’t Believe I Had You by Emmit Fenn

Far from Here by Emmit Fenn

In Between Breaths by SYML

Two people by Gracie Abrams

[etherealspacejelly]

I watched two more episodes of Star Trek as part of movie night and now I fear that I'm in The Hole.

AND I COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND THE SHIPPING NOW. The first time Bones and Kirk showed up on screen my romance-repulsed aromantic brain actually went 'Woah there!' like WHAT. That HAD to be intentional on SOME level. WHAT!

And then they started talking with Spock together and I realised that they really are in a polycule because who acts like that around their friends. Come on. Come on. My literal monkey brain went 'ooga booga they have feelings that I don't like' like come ON.

Anyways yes that's all. May redraw a screenshot because I so miss the era of television where they'd use all the differently coloured lights that they owned at once

JSBRJWIWHBW YESSSS YESSSS❗️❗️❗️❗️ A NEW MCSPIRK TRUTHER❗️❗️❗️❗️

join the fucking club bud they drive me insane lmaooo

the hole only gets deeper from here babygirl you're gonna love it

man im so excited yippee wahoo yippeeee

[windydrawallday]

NECK KI-- that's Not a Kiss

For sure he learned it from [Swindle] x'D

[novafire-is-thinking]

Some Makeshift cuz that Shifter deserves more attention(Just. Him)

Soundwave and Makeshift not only being spooky cryptids but also pranksters xD iImagine when Megs was out in space(3 or 4 years?) Starscream was having a no good very bad time with those two

Also With Soundshift that Wheeljack versus Soundwave moment much more personal as Jackie being the reason Shift gone and if it weren't for Laserbeak being in danger Sounders would've definitely done much worse

Good night/day o/

I’ve never thought of Soundwave as much of a prankster. Sure, he makes sarcastic quips (the novels) and once shot Bumblebee with his hand and dragged Starscream along when attempting to retrieve it.

But at the end of the day, Soundwave is all about utility. A prank taken too far could result in a crucial mission going wrong or even just an annoyance that disrupts the streamlined runnings of the Nemesis and its crew.

Soundwave has better things to do; he’s not the type to play pranks just for the heck of it. Instead, his kind of “prank” would be the type that deeply inconveniences Starscream while redirecting any interrupted responsibilities or setbacks to himself or others who can handle them. In other words: messing with Starscream while ensuring there’s still someone (probably himself) who can keep an eye on the fallout and keep things running.

Meanwhile, Makeshift is 100% the kind of person to pull pranks just because. He would be a thorn in both Starscream’s and Soundwave’s side, but for different reasons. Soundwave would be torn between being angry at the unnecessary disruptions and amused because they make Starscream’s life miserable.

I could see Soundwave pulling Makeshift aside and presenting a compromise: Makeshift continues his pranks, but gives Soundwave a heads up beforehand and/or lets Soundwave make changes to the prank so that it doesn’t get in the way of operations. Makeshift probably wouldn’t be happy about it because he’d feel restricted, but after some trial and error and a few tense arguments, perhaps he’d come around and learn to appreciate the value of an elaborate, targeted prank just as Soundwave might learn to appreciate the entertainment of a random, careless one.