#and i've responded (late) with a gifset

[mickeysclubhouse]

lyrics to the rare unreleased demo version of the sign off song "Hot Dog!" from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, which can be heard here

[wren-of-the-woods]

I've been seeing a lot of posts lately talking about how no one comments/reblogs/replies/etc anymore, and, as someone who comments regularly on a lot of fanworks, it sometimes makes me wonder if my efforts are worth anything. Then I remember how much happiness I get from comments on my own work/posts and how much the community of fandom can matter, and I remember the power that can be found in spreading joy instead of disappointment.

So -- to everyone who comments on fanfiction: thank you. You make the writing process worthwhile and so very rewarding. You make people happy every day.

To all the people who reblog art and gifsets and meta and anything else with enthusiastic tags: thank you. You make people smile and promote interesting conversations and make being on Tumblr so much more fun.

To anyone who sends people asks about their works, whether it's unprompted or part of an ask game: thank you. You give people reasons to talk about things they love and feel like a part of a community.

To the people who makes reclists: thank you. You give us more to read while showing the author how much their work is loved and appreciated, benefitting so many people.

To everyone who organizes events and groups and blogs and dedicated to fandom: thank you. You build community and love and excitement so effectively and it's wonderful.

To all the authors and artists who respond to comments and build community: thank you. You make people smile with your work and then again with your response.

To everyone who contributes to fandom and community in all the other beautiful, varied ways that I can't even begin to list: thank you. You are why we're here.

And, finally, to every writer, visual artist, gifmaker, cosplayer, maker of edits, writer of meta, or creator of art in any other form: thank you. Your work is wonderful and you make fandom what it is, regardless of who sees your art or how much response you recieve.

Keep going, everyone. You are a part of something beautiful.

[thestalwartheart]

short fic: another round

Hi friends!

This is a follow-up to this poem and gifset I posted the other day. I just could not let it go. Also, I've been writing a lot of angst lately, so it was time to soothe myself with something a bit more lighthearted.

I'd recommend reading the poem first, but if you hate poetry, you can just check out the gifset and consider this a little alternate meet story.

Read it on AO3 or under the cut.

Enjoy! ❤️

another round.

In another place, on a typically overcast London day outside the National Gallery, two people meet. It’s not the first time or the last they’ll come across each other, but something in the vast galaxy of time sighs nevertheless. The persistence of a constant is always so terrifically satisfying.

A man — let’s call him Jonathan — is looking down at his phone when he hits a wall of solid muscle. The wall in front of him grunts, and Jonathan looks up at the sound, right into a pair of startlingly blue eyes. He rushes to apologise. He would have done it anyway, but something about the man’s impassive expression has him wanting to do it quicker.

“I’m so sorry. Christ, I’ve become one of those people, haven’t I?” He gestures vaguely at the square around them and pockets his mobile. “The twats who can’t even cross the road without looking at their phones. I’ll book myself in for an intervention later. I really am terribly sorry.”

“It’s all right,” Mr Blue Eyes says, evidently entertained at Jonathan’s floundering tirade. His smile is exceptionally fetching, and he’s wearing the world’s most expensive, well-tailored and well-pressed suit. All in all, the effect of him is wholly overwhelming. Jonathan tries not to broadcast that too obviously, lest he embarrass himself even further.

“Well, you have my thanks for being uncommonly understanding. I—”

His phone dings, interrupting them. The stranger smiles and nods towards Jonathan’s pocket.

“I’d suggest staying stationary this time.”

The responding quip on Jonathan’s tongue dies as he reads the message. “Oh, fucking brilliant. I’ve been stood up.”

Not that his date had been a particularly fascinating man, but it had taken Jonathan an hour longer than usual to get here with the ongoing works on the Northern Line. Moreover, he’s dressed very nicely for the occasion and left his cats home alone, though it was the last thing he wanted to do.

“That’s unfortunate. I’m sure it’s their loss.”

If Jonathan’s not mistaken — and he rarely is — there’s a glimmer of interest in the man’s eye. Thirty years as a gay man has taught him a few lessons about when he’s being ever so subtly flirted with. Not many, admittedly, but enough to know when he might be in for a stroke of good luck.

“You know, I think it might be too. I know quite a bit about the paintings in there. In another life, I might have made a fantastic tour guide.”

“Really? I don’t know much about art. Why don’t you teach me?”

The interest is blatant now, burning so strongly Jonathan thinks he might blush from the stranger’s gaze alone. He gets lost in it for a slightly too-long beat of time. People bustle around them, tutting impatiently at the two men taking up an awkwardly large corner of the gallery’s stairs.

Saying yes might be an awful idea. The man standing before him is about as different to Jonathan as anyone could be. He’s broad and muscular, older than Jonathan would usually go for, and evidently a man with a taste for luxury. Given he knows how to proposition someone he’s only just met, Jonathan thinks he’s probably the sort of risk-taker that jumps into things a hair too fast. Still, the invitation hadn’t been crass or overly lecherous. Jonathan could walk away now and be almost certain there would be no hard feelings.

But, well. What a way to get over a no-show. And let it not be said that Jonathan can’t take a few risks of his own.

“Yes. Why not? So long as you don’t make me sit in front of one of the Turner paintings. They always make me feel far too melancholy.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want that,” comes the amused reply. As they climb the stairs, the man’s hand hovers over Jonathan’s lower back. “We’ll stick to something a bit more bacchanalian, shall we?”

Jonathan laughs. “As you like, Mr…”

“Bond, James Bond.”

[myfaveisnormal]

I posted 12,546 times in 2022

That's 10,295 more posts than 2021!

187 posts created (1%)

12,359 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@ fullmetal-alcremist

@ vampireautism

@ m0kush1r0ku

@ aromanticreigen

@ seafoam-blues

I tagged 4,151 of my posts in 2022

#star trek - 997 posts

#no id - 610 posts

#aa - 413 posts

#aes - 251 posts

#cosmic descriptions - 232 posts

#video - 231 posts

#cosmic queue - 217 posts

#cosmic thoughts - 128 posts

#gifset - 89 posts

#psa - 84 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#like i have a special interest in neurological disorders (mainly pds but sometimes other stuff too) and sometimes whn talking about them as

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

DO NOT INTERACT IF:

- youre the fastest thing ive ever seen

- that strike of lightning i just saw was you

- dont stop

- weve gotta keep it going all night

28 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

#4

Thank you for tagging me, @ angomay! The rule is to tag nine people, but feel free not to babes ;)

Favourite colour: Ohh I find it hard to pick favourite things like that, but lots of my things have been pink and red lately

Currently reading: I'm planning on getting Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka next week, as per my philosophy teacher's request

Last song I've listened to: Master and Servant by Depeche Mode!!! I love that song :)

Last series I've watched: I've watched a few episodes of Invisible City. I had to stop because I was stimming too much though fhekfhsjfh

Last movie I watched: I haven't watched any movies in a while, but think it was Sense and Sensibility.

Cravings: Sleep. And peace

Currently working on: A school play! I have so much to dooo...

Tagging: @ khonshufan @ minecraft-java @ r4np0e @ trans-hunter @ mortonscastle @ donaldtheduckdad @ shineyfish @ mntcoronet @ vampireautism and anyone who wants to do this! Feel free to tag me if you do :)

38 notes - Posted June 2, 2022

#3

[Video description: Recording of an audio titled "Chekov In Pain". When played, a voice calls out "Chekov!", to which he responds by screaming in pain. The voice calls out again, and this time Chekov screams for longer. End VD]

fuck it. chekov in pain chewsday

45 notes - Posted November 3, 2022

#2

See the full post

207 notes - Posted November 7, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

[ID: The "these hoes tryna distract me" meme, drawn over to show Benjamin Sisko studying while Gul Dukat lifts his shirt to show his breasts. Sisko is captioned "Me tryna maintain my federation ideals", and Dukat, " These hoes tryna distract me 🤦🏿‍♂️". End ID]

was looking for ways to procrastinate hw and remembered a post by @ tuvokswag . god help me

344 notes - Posted October 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[dingyuxi]

z anon again also i agree w yamh!! it's always so refreshing to see no love triangles!!!! also DID YOU SEEEEEE YUMI'S CELLS 2 IS GETTING RELEASEDDDD IN JUNEEEEEEEE. like i was emo over why her being released late but to think that two of my most anticipated dramas are going to be airing the same time *melts* also plus and minus is the first taiwanese bl ive seen but im soooo in love w it!! i swear good bls keep coming out, maybe it's because i'm watching based on what i see you rb/create hehe. also sooo tru, kinnporsche is full of eye candy but i also enjoy the banter and action scenes. like i think it's my favorite thai drama overall so far, altho i'm not too exposed to thai media!! also thank u for validating that i dont need to finish it because it is... definitely not worth it imo. like the more i sit w the fact that they used the slur sm the more i'm like :/// not for me....also i don't mind xu kai but a mutual literally hates him so going into falling into your smile i was expecting like full blown terrible 발연기 but it wasn't bad at all kdgjnkjn. shooting stars is v mediocre which is a shame, and since i'm part black the problematic elements of the drama have caused me to drop it. the only reason i'll watch the drama r cameos since ik we're getting a find me in your memory cameo/reunion!!!!! i hated our blues tbh but i'm enjoying the highschoolers' plot and look forward to han jimin and kim woobin. i feel like han jimin can do no wrong, she could be a murderer for a role and i'd be like "ykno, maybe they deserved it..." also thank u!! i will add these to my watchlist for more dramas! this week and next are my wrapping up as well so it is hectic but then we have summer to relax!! at least i do since i'm not doing an internship this yr!! hang in there and i hope you receive the grades you desire!! also i've been seeing your gifsets for going to you at 493km/h and I LOVE THIS DRAMA SM!!! i think the two leads have great chem and are really underrated actors so hopefully the ratings get better :( also jo hanchul always delivers w whichever role he chooses!! ALSO since my last message i've been watching miss crow and mr lizard and i'm alr on ep 18.. IT'S SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! - z

hiiii this is very late but here I am!! Finally responding 💕💕💕I SAW THE POSTERS YES. i admit I didn’t watch season one but jinyoung is lead this time so!! i might just have to watch now. what’s your other most anticipated drama? the BLs are really stepping up their game recently. it’s great to see. i can’t wait for to my star 2 to drop because we need that natural chemistry back in our screens again and hwang da seul beloved we can always trust her to deliver. I’ve still only gotten a chance to watch the first ep of plus and minus but!!! i really like their dynamic so I’ll probably just binge it eventually. “maybe it’s because I’m watching based on what you rb/create” 🥺🥺 now the pressure is on! hopefully I don’t lead you astray fjsks. LOLLL why does she hate xukai spill the tea. i don’t really have any opinion on him except he had that one set is photos and I was like oh? He’s kinda hot here. I’ll be honest I dropped shooting stars I watched the first episode and then never continued it just didn’t grab me enough I guess. oof yeah I can see how that would hit too close to home, I support you dropping it, you gotta do what’s best for you! i also dropped our blues lmfaoo it was too depressing and also the women keep getting the short end of the stick. i was watching mostly for the high schoolers too but even then the writers chose the messiest plot lines I swear. also the anti-abortion propaganda was going full force. LAP is cute, ngl I was getting a little annoyed at everyone being as*es to taeyang tho and the continuous circling around the big “secret” but at least this week we got some progression in the right direction! MISS CROW AND MR LIZRAD!! Ugh I loved the otp there sm (the ending was annoyingly rushed tho 😔 but other than that! loved them) I’ve been in the mood for crime/investigation dramas recently so that’s what I’ve been watching most recently. Congrats on finishing your semester and I hope you get to spend a really fun a relaxing summer vacation! You deserve it ^^

[dandified-doe]

When you get this respond with five things that make you happy!!! Then send to the last ten people you got notifications from. (p.s. hope you're having a nice day <3)

hi annalise!

aahhh! i'm back!! seeing your constant kind messages in my inbox, as silly as it sounds, has been helping me through really hard times. if nobody got me i know my fellow horror coquette-y girlies / ghesties got me :')

5 things that are making me happy right now!

autumn on campus! i live in a city and i get to buy my silly little 7 dollar coffee and walk around to look at the leaves after class!

horror movies! rewatching all the old favourites, observant summer-studiers can tell which ones im watching based on the gifsets i reblog lol!

candles! i've moved from an incense to a candle girl since i can't open the window in my little sublet space since it's too chilly, there are SO many weird candle flavours? vampire blood my beloved

academic validation! sorry for abandoning answering my inbox / updating writing stuff but i'm getting positive attention for schoolwork and it's been really, really, REALLY keeping me going

THE FACT I HAVE GLASSES! i didn't realise how bad i needed them until i own them, so expect a stark decline in typos from me ;)

that's all! thank you for everyone who's been checking up on me even though i've been pretty in the dark lately. love you mutuals, and for people who unfollowed me because they thought i abandoned you im back with the milk baybee!! <33

[random-fandom-whump]

I really wanted to tell you how much I've been enjoying your insightful and humorous blogs. I'm new to Tumblr and have never being tech savvy so I'm still learning my way around and how it all works. I'm not a writer but I've always enjoyed reading fan-written material and have an embarrassing amount of 'zines I've picked up at cons over the years. I've been a closet whump-lover for as long as I can remember (and I just put my 50's in the rear-view) and was ecstatic to find a large like-minded community! I originally stumbled on to Tumblr looking for GIFs of my favorite series Hawaii 5-0 and found so much more! I do have a question in my rambling, have you ever seen a Five-0 GIF of Danny's whuming in season three's episode, In a Time Past? I've found some really great stuff and as great as that whumping is it seems like it'd be out there but so far no such luck.

Hello and happily met, fellow whumper! I apologize for having taken so long to respond to your ask. Real-life has been kicking me in the butt lately.

I have to admit, getting asks like this is the highlight of my Tumblr experience. I just adore hearing about how people stumble onto this community and realize there are so many other like-minded people out there. I'm really excited you found us and that you reached out. I hope you enjoy your time here.

In regards to your question, I was able to find you one gifset of the scene I believe you're talking about HERE. If you'd like something more, let me know and I'd be happy to make you a gifset.

Happy Whumping!

[utilitycaster]

[image description: a screenshot of a reply from @tanely which reads "I also think because of the video nature of this, the intent or lack there of, can be read as something different. it builds this weird disconnect because like. yes that facial expression COULD mean something or that tone COULD mean something. but....is it in character? is it not? it's such a fine line that can be used to account for anyone's headcanons/opinions if you try hard enough."]

(this was in reply to this post about how I like not just disproving theories that I think are wrong but also trying to figure out similarities and motivations)

(also everyone be warned this is a sideblog and xkit's one-click reply has been broken for a long time due to the major update last year so if you don't want me mentioning you when I respond to replies just let me know and I'll take it out)

This is a really good point and one I've been thinking about a lot lately. I think the fandoms for podcast actual play are, if not smaller, at least quieter, and the fandoms for scripted podcasts are a lot more justified in making wild theories because the works are scripted and deliberate. The fact that Critical Role is usually livestreamed or live-to-tape vs. edited, and that it all takes place in the same material plane (vs. TAZ or NADDPod which have not reused the same main setting), probably also contributes in that we see basically everything and there is a chance, however faint/unlikely/bad storytelling it may be, that everything really is connected.

Anyway, you're right. For every Taliesin or Liam quietly reacting when their PC's mortal enemy shows up, there's a hundred glances that literally just are just like...people making eye contact because they are speaking to each other, that someone has interpreted to be evidence for their pet theories. I've mentioned this before in passing but there are ships I stopped being able to enjoy and this was a major factor; it made me genuinely uncomfortable that someone's friendly facial expressions were being so widely interpreted as explicitly romantic (and, referencing the post this came from, the implications were that theory to be true were also not great). And it just so happens that obviously while I don't have a huge sample size, when I started avoiding people who were into the more nonsensical/baseless other theories suddenly I was getting far fewer of those "but the microexpressions" arguments/gifsets as well. In a way that was what really got me into starting to (very informally and entirely in my head) track poorly thought-out theories.

Which is to say that reading into things a little too much can be fun! When the implications aren't as troubling and hypocritical as "someone making a vaguely positive expression towards someone else must always be explicitly romantic unless I don't ship it in which case it's not" I don't mind it! But it needs to be weighted accordingly when we're talking about actual evidence for the theories vs just like, correlations that might not be causative.

This makes me want to look at current NADDPod and TAZ theories though if I can find them and see how people back up their wishful thinking there, because I think the desire to have evidence for the things you want, even if it doesn't really exist in canon, would still be a thing for fans of an audio-only medium - they just wouldn't have that particular source to work with.

[addictedtostorytelling]

Hi AJ!

I hope you're doing good.

First, I see that you're receiving a lot of questions lately and that's really great. I suppose it's a hard work for you, but you're doing it very well and your explanations are always very satifing to read, and inspiring - too bad I don't have enogh time to write all the ideas that cross my mind...

That said, I have a question for you. :D

I was working on a gifset on Primum non nocere, ep 2.16, and it hit me again the moment, in the lab, where Grissom wonders what Victoris's secret is and Sara replies "Beauty, Grissom. Remember?"

I am of the idea that she refers to the moment, at the beginning of the episode, when Grissom and Sara are in the ice stadium and Grissom tells Sara he has been interested in beauty since he met her.

In the lab, when Sara recalls that moment, Grissom raises his eyes and shot her with such a look - he seems astonished, and scared and a little angry that she rub that moment in his face, kind of "how you dare" look - or, at least that seems to me...

Have you already written anything about that particular moment? If not, could you tell us something about what you think of it?

May thanks for your time and dedication to GSR.

Take care and be careful.

Best

hi, @buildinggsr!

i hope you're doing well, too. ❤

it's certainly a lot of fun to have so many people to talk csi/gsr shop with. i always enjoy answering questions even if i've been slow at it lately because i've had so many papers to grade.

with regards to your question:

i fully agree with you that sara's "beauty, grissom. remember?" quip is her way of bringing up what grissom says about her at the ice rink again after the fact.

in the moment when he first tells her that he has only begun to care about beauty since meeting her, she is too stunned to respond to him, and especially not before he continues the conversation, bringing it back firmly into the realm of the professional.

as soon as she realizes she's missed her chance to react to his effusion and that he seemingly has no intention to follow up on what he’s said himself, she starts kicking herself, thinking that she may have just missed the chance to plumb the depths of his feelings for her.

consequently, going forward, she searches for any opportunity to circle back to the topic and see if she can get him to say—or, better yet, do—more; to actually make something of his revelation.

of course, she knows better than to ask him about the statement outright; she’s just looking for an opening to “test the waters” and see if she can maybe coax him into saying or doing anything even slightly more telling.

such an opportunity presents itself to her in the scene in question.

all it takes is her and grissom being alone in the layout room together and him saying something even somewhat adjacent to their previous topic of conversation and she is in the game, dropping a saucy quip in the hopes of provoking a response from him.

unfortunately for her, grissom doesn't respond to what she says with words.

he just gives her the look we see in your (gorgeous) gif.

he reacts to her quip about the same way she reacted to his (i.e., by short-circuiting in the brain).

i'll put more discussion of what i think his look means after the "keep reading," if you're interested.

______

so, first off, the way i interpret this scene has a lot to do with the gsr timeline surrounding it.

to my mind, it's really important that the episode before this one is episode 02x15 "burden of proof," which ends with grissom arriving at the conclusion that he needs to be more attentive to and even affectionate with sara or else risk losing her (both romantically and as an employee).

it's also important that in the episodes directly following this one (including, notably, episodes 02x17 "felonious monk," 02x21 "anatomy of a lye," and 02x23 "the hunger artist"), whenever grissom works with sara, he acts highly comfortable around and is oftentimes flirtatious with her, with no hint of awkwardness in her presence; he still very much seems to be in the business of attempting to fulfill his mission from episode 02x15 "burden of proof" (which is basically straight up just to woo her).

given that grissom is in "i need to win her back" mode going into the events of episode 02x16 "primum non nocere" and that he seemingly remains in that same mode after said events take place, as well, i tend to think that nothing sara says or does within the episode really throws him off of his game or upsets him all that much.

so, then, to talk about the content of the actual episode:

grissom himself is the one to get the ball rolling.

his desire to prove to sara that he actually does care about her influences him to say the "since i met you" line in the first place.

he's been thinking about how important sara is to him so much over the last few weeks (since he sent her the green plant) that he just can't help but blurt out how she literally changes his whole worldview; the words leave his mouth in an instant of unguardedness, both unpremeditated and unselfconscious on his part.

—but the "unselfconsciousness" lasts only for a moment.

because, as is typical with grissom, the second he says something revealing, he immediately feels fear and starts to second-guess himself, wondering if he has just crossed a line.

consequently, he then quickly covers his admission so as not to make it too much of a thing™ and does so by continuing to discuss the case.

while he very much wants sara to hear what he says (in the sense that he does desire for her to know that he cares about and admires her), he also doesn't want either one of them to have to act on his words or make anything of them, particularly to the extent that the status quo of their current relationship would have to change.

hence why he washes down one of the most emotionally revealing, honest, bare confessions he's ever made in his whole life with a chaser of "business as usual"—to make sure that there's no room for any kind of response to what he says; to keep things in the realm of ideas as opposed to actions.

his tactic works, as sara is too stunned by what he says to initially respond and then quickly loses her chance to do so even once she returns to sensibility because by then he has already moved on, continuing to talk shop as if nothing had happened.

as stated above, sara goes away from this moment as eager to return to the topic of what grissom said as he is to avoid doing so.

and that brings us to the scene in question, when sara drops her "beauty, grissom. remember?" quip, directly invoking the word that has been hovering between them, unspoken but tangibly present, ever since their discussion about baseball.

if i haven't done so already, i'll show my cards up front:

i don't think grissom's expression after sara says her "beauty, grissom. remember?" line so much communicates anger or a sense of "how dare you?" as it does pure shock on his part.

here he is, thinking he successfully "got away with" dropping a shakespearean-level line on her without having to reckon with the implications of what said line means.

he's processing evidence, innocently musing about a brand name, no longer on his guard whatsoever (because, after all, by now, hours have passed since he actually dropped the line itself).

then, all of a sudden sara is bringing up said line in all of its incredibly forward, incredibly revealing glory and fixing him with this flirtatious, challenging look that says your move, cowboy.

to say that her doing so stuns the socks off of him would be an understatement.

she's getting dangerously close to breaking their "unwritten rules."

as i talk about in this post,

sometimes grissom decides it is all right for him and sara to be touch-y or couple-y when they’re alone together (see episode 02x21 “anatomy of a lye”), and when he does so, sara is supposed to go along with his actions without asking questions or betraying any explicit emotional reaction to what he is doing. she can’t act too surprised or too pleased or make any sort of overt comment on what is happening. her job is to passively accept his affections and understand that they represent the “best she’s going to get,” given her and grissom’s current situation.

likewise, sometimes grissom decides to be verbally affectionate with sara when they’re alone together (“since i met you,” “i don’t need one; i have you”), and, again, sara must accept these overtures from him without either comment or explicit reaction. the implicit contract in place is that if she wants these moments to keep happening even just occasionally, then she must play things cool and not do anything to spook grissom or make him regret his effusions...

sara typically is not allowed to initiate affectionate exchanges between herself and grissom, except on very rare occasions. when she does so, they must be alone, and she mustn’t specifically label what she is doing as romantic (see, for example, when she “wipes the chalk off of grissom’s face” in episode 02x05 “scuba doobie-doo”).

on the few occasions when sara does assert herself, acknowledge anything beyond what grissom is comfortable with, and/or explicitly mention feelings and/or her and grissom’s relationship history, grissom becomes visibly disconcerted, reacting as if he has been smacked in the face (see episodes 01x16 “too tough to die,” 02x15 “burden of proof,” and 03x22 “play with fire”). it’s very clear in these instances that sara is “breaking the rules,” and grissom barely knows how to respond to her brazenness. most often, he simply retreats.

to my mind, sara bringing up grissom's effusively affectionate statement from earlier comes close to breaking these rules, as

her doing so involves her making while not necessarily an overt comment on grissom's previous verbal pda, certainly an oblique one, enough to intimate to him that she is actively responding to his behavior; and

her doing so represents her asserting herself, bringing up a topic of conversation grissom had previously closed and trying to entice him to interact with it.

however, while in making her quip, sara comes close to breaking the rules, i ultimately don't think she actually does so, as she doesn't come right out and ask, "grissom, when you told me you only started caring about beauty after you met me, what did you mean?" and instead only insinuates some kind of meaning along those lines, leaving it to him to either acknowledge her reference or ignore it as he will.

her leaving him that wiggle room is key, as it means that the choice of whether or not to engage in an honest discussion about his admission remains his.

even though she's pushing up against his boundaries, trying to see if there's any give, she's still ultimately respecting them.

respecting him.

seeing if he's up to continue playing the game without forcing him to do so.

had she been more straightforward or adamant, then i think grissom would have been more on guard.

however, as is, my read on his reaction is that while he is momentarily flustered, he quickly comes to understand that she's not confronting him but rather just bantering—trying to see if he's willing to engage with what he previously said but doing so in a way that doesn't have stakes.

you can see his brain literally go

"did she really just say what i think she said?!?!" in the moment as he scrambles to explain himself and account for his previous behavior but do so in a way that won't fundamentally alter the fabric of his and sara's relationship.

however, that panic lasts only for a second, as a) sara immediately looks away from him, indicating that she doesn't necessarily expect him to respond*, and, b) he quickly discovers the toenail in the sheets, which moves the conversation along without further need for him to comment on her innuendo.

* on her end of things, i think that as soon as she says her quip and sees that startled look in grissom's eyes, she recognizes that he's not going to take the bait and so she withdraws, knowing better than to press.

she's not pushing him to say more than he's comfortable saying, and she's certainly not seeking to change the basis of their relationship.

the exchange is a harmless one, and for that reason, he doesn't allow himself to get too flustered—even when sara follows up one brazen quip with another and ~casually mentions~ how she wishes that she were having more sex, *cough, cough, ahem, ahem, gilbert*.

that he continues to work with sara in close proximity—and even fit in a couple of classic gsr personal space violations as he does so—suggests that this is a no harm, no foul situation as far as he is concerned, and especially considering that, as stated above, his behavior toward sara remains warm and comfortable throughout the rest of the season (only changing come s3, when he learns that sara is dating hank).

over all, i think he is actually pretty pleased with the outcome of the situation, as he manages to say something that indicates to sara that he cares about her and receives confirmation from her in return that not only did she catch his meaning but she also welcomes it; however, this whole exchange generally does little to "rock their boat," meaning that they can continue working together without risking making any kind of changes to their dynamic.

in his mind, that's a win-win-win scenario:

☑ he's wooed the girl; ☑ the girl knows he's wooed her and is receptive to him having done so; ☑ however, no one else has to know and nothing about their working relationship has to change.

so despite initially being a little bit startled, i think he leaves that exchange feeling pretty okay—like, yes, he wore his heart on his sleeve, but at least no harm came of it.

he got the message across loud and clear, but sara's not going to push him to act on that message unless he's ready.

had she been any more aggressive than she is in that scene, then i think the whole exchange would have gone down very differently, and he would have completely freaked out. but as is, she reads him well enough to know just how far she can push without crossing that line. it really is a testament to how well she knows him.

anyway, that's my take—though i certainly acknowledge that my read is not the only one possible.

thanks for the question! please feel welcome to send another any time, friend.

[spidey-sophie]

Hello everyone :))

I've been fairly offline lately and I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm okay (no one asked haha). I have started a new very time consuming job (but much better than the previous one), am in the ~process~ of moving out (not to jinx it, still very early stages of looking for apartments) and overall spending as much time offline with friends and family as I can. So all that + my unfortunate loss of ability to write have led to me taking this unplanned hiatus.

Anywaysss - sorry to everyone I haven't responded to your dms (or did but a few days later) or left asks unanswered. I will try to log in at least once or twice a week, to check news and reblog a gifset/fic or two. Idk how long this 'hiatus' will last, but it is not definite and soon I will be wandering around here again.

If you want to reach me, dm me or ask for my discord :D I will answer for sure once I see them <3

[beautifulpaxiel]

I posted 572 times in 2021

7 posts created (1%)

565 posts reblogged (99%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 80.7 posts.

I added 683 tags in 2021

#thg - 146 posts

#everlark - 140 posts

#fan art - 92 posts

#gifsets - 78 posts

#cf - 70 posts

#beautiful things - 45 posts

#peeta mellark - 38 posts

#coarse language tw - 27 posts

#self care - 26 posts

#beach scene - 21 posts

Longest Tag: 85 characters

#i spent ages reading through all this so i'm doing the decent thing and reblogging it

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I’m so tired of...

...seeing those posts that try to tell you that if you don’t reblog, you are a bad person. No. You are not a bad person.

Please don’t ever feel like you have to reblog a post because someone tells you to. It’s wrong, it’s guilt-trippy and it’s incredibly manipulative.

4 notes • Posted 2021-01-25 07:11:13 GMT

#4

Feel free to keep scrolling if you see this, but I just wanted to make this post because I want this blogger to see it.

*fistbumps @rosegardeninwinter*

Thank you for appreciating my work, Cate. :-)

5 notes • Posted 2021-09-08 06:01:03 GMT

#3

I'm taking a break.

To all my beautiful followers both on this blog and my book blog, @beautifulpaxielreads (I'll be reblogging this there too):

Some of you may have noticed that I have been posting much less frequently on Tumblr of late.

Much of my reasoning for this is personal and I'd rather not share it, but the gist of it is: I'm just not having fun anymore, and it's not good for my mental health.

With that in mind, I have made the decision to cut down on my Tumblr usage, starting from tomorrow (Thursday, June 3 Australian time). I should stress that I WILL NOT be deleting my accounts, just I will be less active for a little while - don't ask me when I'll come back at full strength, I'm honestly not sure yet. Feel free to continue reblogging and liking as usual, but don't tag me in your posts and send me messages as I will not respond.

To have to cut down my usage is slightly upsetting to me as I have had some incredible experiences since I first signed up to Tumblr way back in 2012 (!) and discovered the joy that came with being a part of the Hunger Games (and more specifically, Everlark) fandom during the euphoria of the film franchise years, fangirling over the actors, analysing trailers and clips, and later on after the hype train died down, rewatching the movies and rereading the books. I also had some incredible conversations as part of that fandom, which I will treasure always.

For my book bloggers over at @beautifulpaxielreads, I will still be posting my monthly wrap-ups and will probably still occasionally post the odd photograph for prompts, but this will be very infrequent. I haven't been on Book!Tumblr as long as I have been on Hunger Games!Tumblr, but I want you all to know I am truly appreciative of you, and would like to express my continued amazement that so many of you have thought my humble book blog one worth following. Special thanks also to those who I've had chats with online - I enjoyed making those connections. I will still be available on StoryGraph if you want to follow me there - my username is beautifulpaxielreads, same as here.

Stay safe and well in these challenging times, and for my bookish followers, happy reading!

Goodbye for now, not forever. See you soon. :)

20 notes • Posted 2021-06-02 06:49:09 GMT

#2

I'm back...

Kinda.

It's partly COVID's fault, and partly because I find it difficult to stay away. I know, I know...🙄

I'm still going to limit my use of Tumblr though - to keep my mental health in check - and to that end, I will only use it in desktop mode and not on mobile, so I won't be checking my dashboard obsessively. Feel free to include me in tags and messages again, just know I may take longer to respond.

Fair warning - I will be a bit ruthless in curating the content I see (again, mental health), so if I do unfollow you, please don't take it too personally.

Thanks to all those who wished me well, and I look forward to interacting with you all again.

29 notes • Posted 2021-07-01 07:06:11 GMT

#1

I know this might be an unpopular opinion on Aussie Tumblr...

...but as an Australian, I am tired of the sniping and bitching going on between the states. Not only among state premiers, but among the population too. I get we're in a horrible and often frustrating situation and it feels good to vent, but this behaviour helps nobody.

If you must blame anyone for this, blame the Feds - I do. I firmly believe that if it wasn't for their utter incompetence in managing the vaccine rollout, we wouldn't be in this situation in the first place.

I'm sorry for the rant, but I am just frustrated beyond belief.

33 notes • Posted 2021-07-16 06:46:09 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[dottie-wan-kenobi]

hey! i've recently started watching 911 and fallen in love with buck and eddie, and i'm now throwing myself into the fandom. as i'm very new i'm just saying hi to a few people who seem really cool, i hope that's okay!

at this point i'm not sure how i found your blog but i think it's awesome, i love the stuff you share and will probably end up reblogging you a lot. i also love your thoughts and headcanons about the show and the characters - it's great to see people interacting with things in that way, and interesting to see the different ways people interpret the same relationships and behaviours and plot

anyway, hope you're having a wonderful day/night, and i'll come back and talk to you again soon if you're interested :)

hi anon! sorry I'm so late replying to this, the past few days have just been really busy so I didn't have time to sit and actually reply lol. it's definitely okay to say hi! I am... really bad at responding usually so I'm sorry about that but yeah def okay :D

well thank you 😂❤️ I agree!! I love seeing metas especially, but headcanons are so fun too. some of the gifsets people in this fandom have made of parallels I didn't even see at first have really opened my eyes!! (one that immediately comes to mind is the theory of Ana being a "detour")

thank you 🥺 I hope you enjoy your stay <333

[soonhoonsol]

Ahhhh no don't be sorry it's fine....I'm sorry for replying so late aiojslk at this rate I feel like all we do is apologize to each other sometimes lol <3

Yeah I've still been completing it I just got a whole room redone completely and hoping to take a break for a day or two....I'm actually about to go to bed right now at 4 am but really wanted to respond to you first <3

Yeah I completely agree you can kind of tell the writers don't have many new ideas or directions for the show anymore....which is a sign flash is basically dead .....I know I miss old team flash so much and I agree it's tempting not to watch but then what if something good happens lol

I'm ok with it as well...not the best and not the worst....as long as they don't make it feel forced and it gets a bit more natural maybe it'll grow on me but yeah until then I don't really know how I feel about Zari and John as a couple haha

He is such a sweet character though <3 I miss him and Ray they had such a funny bro relationship aiejkom.....I know!!! I only realized it after the episode and I was like she wasn't there???? like at all???? idk if she's in the new one or not yet though I haven't gotten the chance to see it....

Yeah I did I'm too weak lol .......omg I love X-Men one of my fave if not my fave marvel franchise

hey shay! i was rushing the anniversary gifset yesterday and i forgot to reply till now 😭😭

is it bad that i wanna apologize again :((

OMG 4AM!!! shay please :(( your rest is more important, love! i'm so glad you finished a room already! take pics hehehe :))

i totally get you omg >< i'm just holding out hope for something good to happen. i haven't seen yesterday's episode yet but i saw the promo for next week's episode and i'm not looking forward to it :(

Zari and John... idk if you've seen Ep4 yet but let's just say the writers completely forgot about their relationship in their episode... all good to me but also.. weird 🤔

i hope they bring Ray back one day but i doubt they will :(( but Astra!! i think the writers realized her presence was gone and now they're gonna give her a whole episode to herself. i'm kinda excited of how she and Spooner will hit it off... i feel they'll probably wanna kill each other but ah well

speaking of, how do you like Spooner's character? i'm starting to like her more :))

oooh who's your favourite X-men?

[untame]

i'm worried because we're mutuals and i've sent you multiple messages over the past month but you haven't messaged me back and i'm just ??? are you okay??? are you just ignoring me??? did i say or do something wrong???

omg i’m sorry for answering this so late !!!! i’m so bad at answering messages, i promise anyone i haven’t responded to in a while that it’s not your fault !!! i oftentimes read messages with the intention of answering later and then totally forget about them !! as you can tell i’m awful at seeing/answering these inbox messages too evidently. please don’t feel shy with sending me more messages or poking me, i’m totally not offended or anything by them . xox (:

i’m not often on this blog to respond to messages or anything, just hop on every few days whenever i want to post a gifset or queue some stuff up, so that’s part of the reason too. so sorry for not getting to your messages though, it’s totally my fault !!!