#And I don't mark movies as seen which I've seen years ago with my Dad (probably in Italian)

[b-rainlet]

I watch like 100 movies each year and yet my letterboxd watchlists staunchly remain at '1% watched'

[ljsd]

10 TV shows to get to know me better!

1. Doctor Who

I used to be a massive fan of this show - and do still like it, I just haven’t watched it much recently. I once made a video which went semi-viral of all the times the title of the episode was said in the episode. My favourite Doctor used to be Jon Pertwee - it probably still is. I need to watch more of the Classic stuff again, and I need to catch up on some of Capaldi and Whittaker’s eras! 

2. Community 

Probably my favourite comedy, especially seasons 1-3. It's just extraordinary. I love the characters and the concept episodes are always really interesting while not being pretentious. I love it. Watch it. You'll love it too.

3. The Office (US)

I'll be honest, I tried watching the original UK Office years ago and never quite 'got' it. I should also admit that I've not seen all of the US Office - I stopped watching a few episodes after Michael left and skipped ahead to the finale - I will watch the rest at some point, promise! Definitely a big 'comfort show' for me.

4. Peep Show

OK, if you're not into British comedy, this is a weird one. Especially the first couple of seasons. But it's so worth it. You'll grow to love (& pity) Mark and Jez, as you see just how comically tragic their lives can get. It peaks in season 4 for me, but it's all great. And this one links to the next one, which is...

5. Succession

I put off watching this one for ages, because I was so attached to Peep Show, and this was created by one of Peep Show's co-creators. It felt almost wrong, for some reason. Anyway, I gave in and binged the whole thing immediately after the final episode came out, because I knew that at some point I'd come across spoilers, so I may as well watch it. Obviously, it's really really good. You should watch it if you haven't already. Very intense and emotional, and occasionally a bit bonkers.

6. Breaking Bad / Better Call Saul

Yeah, I'm including these as one. I think if you watch 1 of them, you pretty much have to watch the other. Again, no spoilers. It's one heck. of a ride, though. (Also, El Camino, the sequel movie.)

7. Red Dwarf

A British sitcom set in space. It's wonderful. Well, most of it. Particularly the first 5 seasons. But it's all at least pretty good, I think.

8. Yes Minister and Yes Prime Minister

A British political sitcom which changes its name halfway through, because - well, because the minister becomes Prime Minister. The word which comes to mind is 'quaint', in the best possible way. It's like Dad's Army meets The Thick Of It (2 other shows which I don't have space for here but I also love!)

9. Bojack Horseman

This will make you cry with laughter and cry with sadness. It's a beautiful show about celebrity culture and mental health, through the eyes of a troubled and flawed celebrity horse. It's bizarre. And brilliant.

10. The Boys

Left this one till last because while there are some others above which are not exactly family friendly, this one really isn't. It's not for everyone. If you're particularly squeamish, maybe give it a miss. But if you're up for the gore and adult content, this show is insanely brilliant. Very much looking forward to season 4 and the upcoming spin-off.

[imekitty]

If you still do the writing ask game.

9, 26 and 32. If you don’t want to answer all, you can just choose one! I saw an ask saying it was your birthday a few days ago, so happy late birthday!

First, thank you for the birthday wish! ^^

(Weird Questions for Writers)

Honestly, you could send me an ask for a writing ask game from three years ago and I would still very happily answer it!

9. Do you believe in ghosts?

That is the question to ask the whole DP fandom, isn't it lol. So I myself have never seen/felt anything supernatural, but my mom and sisters have seen/felt/heard ghosts, and their stories are too bizarre for me to just discount. I also know that they aren't liars, so I can only say that I don't know if I believe in ghosts, but I'd like to believe that they're real? I'd like to believe that there's some proof of something beyond death in our world.

I've also had a bizarre Disney movie moment where a psychic told me that the reason I'm blocked from using my clairvoyant gifts (because I've been told by several people that I have a clairvoyant aura...somehow) is because my great great grandmother (my mom's dad's mom's mom) has a hold on me due to some generational trauma and we have only one picture of this woman and she looks exactly like me lol.

So ghosts...maybe?

26. How do you get into your character’s head? How do you get out? Do you ever regret going in there in the first place?

There isn't a particular technique I do to get into a character's head. I am pretty naturally empathic, like I am able to discern how people are feeling or what they are thinking and I can often feel it in my own being. I'm also able to understand why people do the things they do, which is why I don't get too angry or impatient with people very often. I am also pretty good at talking people through their feelings or actions and helping them see other people or events in their lives from a new perspective.

My mom keeps saying I should be a therapist lol. But I think the closest I'll get to that is writing Ghost on the Couch.

Anyway, this seems to apply to fictional characters as well. I feel that I'm able to just connect with them easily and understand not only what they do but why they do it.

And I never regret it. :) I appreciate how fiction can help me gain a new understanding of the people around me.

32. What is a line from a poem/novel/fanfic etc that you return to from time and time again? How did you find it? What does it mean to you?

One line that just kind of stuck in my head ever since I read it was from Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves. The plot of the novel is hard to explain succinctly, it's basically a horror metafiction about a house that has a big maze on the inside. It's not an easy read, the text starts going crazy in all directions because I think it's supposed to simulate the feeling of being in a labyrinth? I've only ever read it once and I don't actually want to read it ever again lol.

To give you an idea of why this book is difficult and frankly exhausting to read, here's a screenshot of the page with the line that I still think about:

I don't even remember what is going on at this point in the book but I remember the line "Picture that. In your dreams." Because there is just something so haunting about that line, something about how it's broken up by a period, not a comma, a full stop. That feeling of unease but also something so surreal, like twilight, the space between the administration of anesthesia and falling into dark unconsciousness.

It's just exactly the kind of atmosphere I try to create in my fics.

[korradoras]

TOP SHIPS OF ALL TIME:

this is in no order but it will be numbered for my sanity.

1. slexie - mark and lexie/greys anatomy

• i am so attached to this ship, i have never sobbed so hard an my life than when i first watched the season 8 finale/season 9 premiere of greys anatomy. i still rewatch only their seasons quite often.

2. catradora - catra and adora/SPOP

• ultimate comfort ship, i rewatch she ra whenever i am going through it. i first watched it when i was 15 and i still watch it for comfort. 15 is a nostalgic age for me, she ra reminds me of what it was like before anxiety. 😩

3. korrasami - korra and asami/LOK

• another comfort ship, comfort show, etc. lok and avatar are more shows i watched when i was 15, when the pandemic hit i was almost 16. i was locked up in my room, no school, no going out, no friends. i had a basement room with a couch and a huge tv, i spent MANY weeks watching netflix on that couch and the feeling was immaculate. i rewatch the atlau shows VERY often.

4. bellarke - bellamy and clarke/the 100

• once again another comfort show, i rewatch the 100 annually and have been watching it since season 4 came out. my dad started watching it, then my mom, then my sister. it became a show we watched all together, and i had a little ritual when it came to new seasons. i am an impatient person in some ways more than others, i do not have the patience to maintain interest when watching episodes weekly but i have no issue waiting for the whole season to be out. so every year as the episodes came out, i ignored them. when they all hit netflix, i would binge. however, for season 7 of the 100 i waited 2 years. i think i was procrastinating letting it end. bellarke was THE slowburn. i was so sure they would end up together, in a way im glad they didn't, but i loved them so much. i cannot describe the way that i feel when watching them and this show.

5. clexa - clarke and lexa/the 100

• GAY SLOWBURN. y'all i have so many fics i read consistently about clexa. i have like 3 on shuffle that i've read 10 times minimum. i cry like a bitch every time i rewatch s2-3 of the 100.

6. avatrice - ava and beatrice/warrior nun

• so i had heard a lot and seen a lot about this show before i actually watched it, which was actually in january of this year, several months after the 2nd (and final 🥲) season came out. i QUICKLY fell in love w both avatrice and ava/beatrice as individuals. i also read a lot of avatrice fics and cry thinking abt it being cancelled 😭

7. stydia - stiles and lydia/teen wolf

• BEST SLOWBURN OF ALL TIMEEE. it's weird to think teen wolf ended SIX years ago, this is another show i rewatch annually and what's funny is when i was 12 watching this show i did not care for stydia. i liked scott's relationships with allison and kira, never paid much attention to stiles and lydia until i was 16/17 and i rewatched and realized that they are AMAZING.

8. sameena - sam and deena/fear street

• MORE ANNUAL REWATCH SERIES. i LOVE LOVE LOVE these movies, and when i say sam and deena i am also including sarah and hannah. ex's/enemies to lovers in HORROR? forbidden love? sapphics? say less.

9. glaggie - glenn and maggie/twd

• so this was my first ship ever. started watching this when i was 11, i watched it over and over and over, i read the first 3 compendiums of the comics, then season 7 rolled around, i watched three first episode live then never watched another episode last season 6 again.

10. delena - damon and elena/tvd

• honestly they sort of give me the ick now but 12 year old me ATE that shit up, would also like to add they were my sexual awakening. i remember watching one of their spicy scenes and feeling a little funny 🥴

11. wayhaught - waverly and nicole/wynonna earp

• hottest ship ever. i fucking love them and i still need to watch the most reason season which is not that recent.

12. (honorable mention) camren - camila and lauren/5h

• camren gets only an honorable mention bc i don't ship them anymore, but they were MY gay awakening. when i was 13 i discovered fifth harmony and, naturally, i discovered ✨camren fanfiction✨ i literally did not know i was gay until i started reading fics about them. it just clicked when i felt more reading than i ever had for real life boys. :) anyways i don't support shipping real people anymore at my ripe age of 18.

[ohsilverplease]

to do/updates/journal entry

This week marks a year at my job, and although no one at work acknowledged it I have been reconnecting with some people on LinkedIn; mostly other people who also left OldCompany and are thriving. I am still struggling a lot with the job, mostly with the inanity of some of the decision-making and the fact that I don't have enough to do, but I am really glad that I moved and branched out. And now that I'm past the year mark I will not feel (as) bad about starting to explore my options.

C and I went canoeing on Sunday, and although there were a couple tense moments where he forgot/I didn't communicate that my body moves very differently from his, it was a really pleasant trip. My right arm in particular was so sore afterwards that I thought I had nerve damage; I think the muscle must have just been tightening around the nerve or something? It's better now but it did reinforce the idea that I need to be doing some weight training.

This afternoon the HVAC man is coming to check out my vents, which I think may have mold. (I mean, I know there is mold in the bedroom vent but I'm hoping it isn't all the way through the system.) It's actually the same guy that installed the system 9 years ago, and I was a reference for him for several years so I'm hoping he'll cut me a break on whatever maintenance he actually has to do. But it's just part of being a homeowner I guess. Plus it's forced a quick clean-up of the house, which is always a good thing.

Then tonight I am going to see my mom, who I haven't seen since she went into the hospital (she was only in for a couple nights). I will work from my parents' house tomorrow, but I'm mostly there because my dad has to work and mom can't take the dog out in her condition, and they don't have a fenced in yard. It will be nice to spend a couple days at home again, and I think we'll try to plan our Cornwall trip and start booking everything because I need to use my flight credit from 2020 ASAP.

I've been really trying to not buy so much stuff, especially clothes, and it's going pretty well. I did just get another pair of leggings, and two pairs of tights, because I live in those in fall and winter. In a couple weeks I'm going to a plus-size clothing swap and I hope to mostly get rid of stuff rather than actually swap. My two goals right now:

Only have one bin of out-of-season clothes (instead of the three I have right now). Swim stuff doesn't count because it's in an under-bed bag that doesn't take up any space.

2) Everything I wear to work/fun/out goes in the closet. Jeans and sweaters can stay in the drawers, but otherwise the dresser is for workout clothes, lounge wear, pjs. And I also have a dresser for underthings (including camis, which I wear daily) and cosmetics/grooming stuff.

I ate some pan dulce from the Mexican bakery for breakfast, and I had a linkedin learning training video on for a couple hours this morning because if I can't motivate myself to WORK-work I can at least listen to something productive. I do have a thing to work on from home tomorrow as well. Today I am going to finish our newsletter (except for the chair's section), do a load of laundry, and run the dishwasher before I leave.

There was a good twitter thread on bad/mediocre movies with great soundtracks, and someone brought up About A Boy, which I thought was a fine movie (I think most movies are fine) but definitely a great soundtrack so I am listening to Badly Drawn Boy this afternoon.

That's it!

ETA:

The hvac system is fine, just needs a tune-up after 9 years (and probably every year) and I need to wipe off the registers. I am going to start saving up to finish encapsulating the crawl space next year.

I thought of a way to have more clothes and also more room: take a handful of things to my parents' house so I have basics there whenever I visit. I had done this a while back and I wear those leggings and/or sweater literally every time I am home so this is a Good Plan.

[landlordrecords]

FAVOURITE FILMS & TV

As previously said here, I generally concentrate so hard on music that film and TV gets left to the side a bit - I chase down anything I'm desperate to see, but otherwise just watch a variety of stuff with the missus and then have an occasional splurge. With the pandemic coinciding with the missus being on just about every streaming platform known to man, though, I have had an enormous catch-up in the last few years...not that that is necessarily much reflected in these lists, which are very honest and not very original lists of favourites rather than truly 'best' films & TV programmes, compiled quickly, based largely on what I've tagged up on the excellent Justwatch in the past few months. I also don't rewatch stuff very often, so some of these I saw once, many years ago...but that is something I will hopefully put right in the months ahead. Having said all that, I do now, finally, in my mid-forties, feel able to say that I've seen a good spread of stuff - plenty of classics yet to see (many of the Hitchcock, Kubrick, Peckinpah, Bergman ones etc), but many, many arthouse classics etc caught up with in the last few years...although probably not reflected below!!

FAVOURITE FILMS

The Elephant Man (have finally seen all the Lynch now, but this does remain my favourite. Ebert said this was overly sentimental or something - I thought he normally went for all that sort of thing! Bible reading scene really gets me)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (something of a throwback to teen years. I think I watched it about six times back then, and not now for ages, although I've hammered the soundtrack over the years. Not into the theatrical joining-in thing, but a real blast of a musical)

West Side Story (original, although I enjoyed the new one as well. Stellar)

Citizen Kane (this is one I really need to rewatch, but pretty blown away when I saw it decades ago)

Casablanca (onto three viewings now. As classic as they say)

The Conversation (another I need to rewatch. Remarkable sound)

The Godfather 1 & 2 (I only saw these in company years ago, so definitely need a rewatch, but obviously excellent)

GoodFellas (plenty of great Scorsese ones, but this remains my favourite)

Star Wars (sorta the first one, but also the whole lot - we are a couple of things behind now, they've rinsed it so much in recent times, but just ripsnorting nonsense)

The Night of the Hunter (another one that could really do with a rewatch)

Special mention: The Story of Film (Mark Cousins docs - some laughable elements to his narration and inserts, but the sheer breadth and insight is astonishing).

FAVOURITE TV

Fawlty Towers (impeccable, precise, just the right amount)

The Prisoner (finally saw this recently, well worth the wait, some really mindbending episodes and a tremendously well thought out situation)

Star Trek (the original, and to some extent the Next Gen, which I enjoyed a lot at the time but can't imagine stands up that well now. Too soap operay after that. This is a family thing really, major fave with my Dad - not a bad thing to be brought up on, philosophical throughout)

The Wire (maybe dipped a little towards the end, but as good as people say)

The Up series (7 Up etc - I think I was too young to be interested, then away from home without a telly, so it took ages before I came across this properly. Remarkable undertaking, filming a group of people as children and then every seven years into old age. Very moving - and funny)

Twin Peaks (originals and new, peaking I suppose on that extraordinary atomic age episode. Didn't pick up on how much it was modelled after melodramatic soaps til I finally watched em all when the new one came out - the music in particular suits that, yet also subtly helps move it somewhere else entirely)

102 Minutes That Changed America (I was struggling to remember what this was called but I'm pretty certain this is the one - minute by minute documentary about September 11th, made out of home movie footage etc. Incredible film. That Falling Man one also very very good, but I think got a cinema release)

David Attenborough (I haven't by any means seen all of his, and have largely ignored him between living at home as a child and recently, when you can get an extraordinary amount of it via the iPlayer, but what a body of work - someone who will really be able to say he has made an impact at the end of his life)

Boardwalk Empire (slightly underrated maybe, evocative, brutal, 20s Atlantic City-set gangster series, with superb ensemble cast)

The Sopranos (was about 20 years late on this, but pretty undeniable)

[tinysushimark]

Best Part (MK)

Fluff, 1.3k words

"You were cute." You giggled as you turned the page to the album.

"What do you mean were?"  Mark scoffed at you. "You're hot now."

You giggled, a small blush spread across his face and he looked away. "Don't say that." He said and took out another photo album from the drawer near his bedside.

You looked through his baby pictures and smiled. "Your brother was cute too." You said cooing at the pictures. "I definitely would've played with you if i met you as a baby."

"You're younger than me though." Mark looked at you, eyes wide. "Can you just let me have it?" He nodded his head and stared down at the pictures too.

"This one is my first day at kindergarten, and this is my first time at church." Mark pointed at pictures and smiled.

The first time you had visited Canada two years ago, he didn't let you meet his parents. He was with you the entire time and he took you out to see tourist spots in Vancouver. You thought he wasn't ready to tell his parents about your Relationship, so you didn't push it either, he'd take you to them when he wanted to, willingly.

This time round he was totally different when he got to know that you'll go to Vancouver. He was excited because even he had gotten a break and he really wanted to see his parents.

"My mom makes the best food." His eyes sparkled when he told you about his childhood bedroom, the church he used to visit, the small vegetable garden his mom had behind the kitchen and many more things that you could listen to for hours. He talked about his childhood for the first time in the so many years that you had known him. Of course you knew the basics of his childhood, where he grew up, small anecdotes which he'd tell you time to time, but he had never spoken about how he grew up in such detail before.

He was telling you about the first time he read a verse in church and then stopped in between, "It's boring, isn't it?"

"No baby, it's interesting." He looked into your eyes again for clarification. "All Passengers boarding to Vancouver, Boarding starts." The voice boomed through the speaker and Mark looked at you, "Then i fell from the stairs while walking down after reading it."

You laughed in his face, "You what?"

"Yeah, i fell." He said and laughed with you.

You laid down on his childhood bed, soaking all the wood in, his family was probably obsessed with wood, there was a wooden flooring and even the wall against Mark's bed somehow seemed to be made out of wood.

"What are you looking at?" Mark laid down next to you.

"You have those little glowy things on the roof." You said pointing to the roof, "You can't sleep with pillows, but there's a bunch of pillows." You said pulling the pillow he had under his head to yourself.

"There's a lot of wood in your home." You turned to him and he shrugged.

"Dad likes wood works."

You nodded slowly, letting it all sink in.

"You grew up here?"

"Uh huh."

"What's your mom making?"

"I dont really know, probably all my favourites."

He smiled at you.

"Mark, what if your mom hates me already?"

"You just said hi and i took you upstairs to see my room, what is there to hate?"

A sigh escaped your lips, you knew you were overthinking, Mark's mom was pretty welcoming and she had smiled at you a very warm smile, asking how the flight was and then going on about how much she hates the turbulence before telling Mark to show you around.

"The fact that i stole her son even though he's always with me anyways?"

Mark sighed, "I'm here for another month. Plus i told her a lot about you."

"I think we should help her in the kitchen." You sat up and looked at him, his face scrunched.

"She doesn't like anyone in her kitchen, just like you. Here, look at my baby pictures." Mark handed you the album which was placed on his bedside.

"What did you want to do when you came back to your childhood bedroom?" You asked him, he was still looking down at the album and he smiled ear to ear at a picture before he processed what you asked.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Like, something you wanna show me here or something you wanna do?"

"I wanna make out with you in my childhood bedroom." He said eyes boring into yours and unwilling you slapped him. "You dirty minded boy. Your parents are downstairs and i can see the cross to your childhood church from here." You snickered at him and a smirk broke across his face. "I wasn't joking."

"Yeah, shut up."

"Ok but in all seriousness, i want you to see this." He went inside his closet and got a guitar case and your eyes sparkled, "Is this your first guitar?"

"Yes." He pulled it out of it's cover and placed it own his lap, the strings seemed like they had been changed recently and he smiled, "Mom takes care of my guitar." He played some chords and then played a song you both sung together.

click here💖 💫

You don't know, babe

When you hold me

And kiss me slowly

It's the sweetest thing

And it don't change

If I had it my way

You would know that you are

You sung, your eyes closing, the guitar was definitely old. You could feel it's age through the way its tune came out so raw and clear. It moulded into his arms like the guitar was made just for him to hold and you couldn't help but smile when he sang with you. His eyes were closed too, letting himself get lost in the music.

You're my water when I'm stuck in the desert

You're the Tylenol I take when my head hurts

You're the sunshine on my life

I just wanna see how beautiful you are

You know that I see it

I know you're a star

Where you go I follow

No matter how far

If life is a movie

Then you're the best part, oh oh oh

You're the best part, oh oh oh

Best part

You both were so lost in the tunes that you didn't notice when Mark's mom came and leaned against the door frame watching you two sing. When the song ended Mark's eyes searched for yours. "I love you." He said  staring deeply into your eyes.

"I love you too." You smiled at him. He meant it, everytime he said it, he meant it and more so from the last time he uttered those words.

You were reassured that he loves you everytime he said he loves you, a satisfaction spread across your chest, knowing that he'll fight for you and your happiness. His smiles healed you through and through, and you could watch his eyes crinkle and sparkle each day and you'd still be as fond as you were the moment your eyes fell upon him.

His mother coughed to make her presence known. She walked in slowly, hands wiping at her apron, she sat down on Mark's bed and smiled. You could see where he got his infamous smile from.

"I see you've found your guitar." Mark nodded and smiled back at her.

"That was beautiful, i didn't want you two to stop but lunch is ready."

When Mark's mom asked him to go ahead and set the plates, Mark couldnt say no. She sat where Mark first sat and her hands slowly held yours.

"I believe I can trust only you with my boy's heart." She smiled at you and caressed your hand.

"I've never heard him sing in such a beautiful harmony before."

Her smile grew wider and she caressed your cheek. "You've been in this house for one hour and I have already seen my son smile the most he has in the past 5 years."

"Welcome to the family." She smiled and held your hand leading you down to the kitchen.

Read More: Masterlist

look at this picture of mark when he was a baby ㅠ.ㅠ