#i just wanted to make a gifset about all the times she's been at his competitions

[cerealbishh]

"Whoever put you on that bull screwed you over, you're better than that. Unless you've gotten a lot worse over the last five years."

"... I was surprised to see you there."

[clusterbuck]

just a boys’ game

7x04 coda (silly version) | based on my tags on this gifset by @whattarush

“Have you talked to your brother lately?” 

Maddie looks up from the tower of blocks she’s been building with Jee-Yun. Chimney’s leaning against the door way, gym bag slung over one shoulder and a hint of sweat still glistening on his skin.

She frowns. “Just the other day. Why?” 

“Did you know about the basketball?” 

“Oh, the part where he was jealous that Eddie and Tommy are spending time together doing something he doesn’t even like?” she asks.

Chimney points an accusatory finger at her. “So you did know! Why didn’t you warn me?” 

“Warn you about—” she looks at him again, at the gym bag bulging suspiciously. Much like it would if it contained, say, a basketball. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes,” Chimney says, finally walking all the way into the living room. He sits on the other side of the pile of blocks and leans back on his hands. “He used me, Maddie. As a basketball beard.” 

“Pretty sure that’s not a real thing,” she says, and Chimney sighs, dramatic and long-suffering.

“Basketball beard,” he says. “Noun. When you tell someone you want to play basketball with them, but you actually just want to use them as a cover to be where someone else is.” 

“Is that how words work?” Maddie asks, grinning, and Chimney looks affronted.

“Words work however I want them to work,” he says. “Just ask Shakespeare, he made half that shit up.” 

Maddie hums, a laugh nearly breaking through it. “Shakespeare, got it.”

“Oh, you should have seen it,” Chimney says, and accepts a block that Jee-Yun hands him. “Here? No?” he asks, and Jee-Yun sighs, just as dramatic as he had a moment ago, and takes the block back.

“That bad?” Maddie winces.

“I haven’t seen him act this embarrassing since—” Chimney narrows his eyes. “Since Eddie joined the 118.” 

Maddie snorts. “Well, that tracks.” 

“What do you—” Chimney’s eyes go wide. “Oh,” he says slowly. “Oh, I see.” 

“Right? I’m not just imagining this?” Maddie asks. “You should have heard him going on about Eddie and Tommy the other day. Has this been under our noses the whole time?” 

“I mean, it hasn’t been that long,” Chimney says. 

Maddie frowns. “What do you mean?” 

Chimney frowns, too. “What do you mean?” 

“Did something change recently?” Maddie asks. 

Chimney’s brows draw further together. “Okay, back up. Start from the beginning. What are you thinking?”

“Okay, so, Buck and Eddie and Tommy all met for the first time a couple of weeks ago when you went after Bobby and Athena,” Maddie says, counting it on a finger. “Eddie and Tommy started spending time together.” Another finger.

“With you so far,” Chimney says. “Honestly, makes sense they’d get along. Can’t believe I didn’t think of it before.”

Maddie holds up another finger. “The other day, Buck was sitting at our kitchen table talking my ear off about Tommy this and Tommy that and how even Christopher thinks Tommy is so cool.” 

“Still following,” Chimney confirms.

“Buck tricked you into going to a pickup basketball he’s been dodging for years, because Eddie would be there with Tommy.” 

“Yeah,” Chimney says. “Because he’s jealous.” 

“Exactly,” Maddie says. “Jealous of—”

“—Eddie,” Chimney fills in, just as Maddie finishes her sentence. 

“—Tommy.” 

Chimney blinks. “You think—”

“Well, I did,” Maddie says, “But actually—”

“No, no, I think you’re onto something,” Chimney says. “He and Eddie have always been weirdly attached at the hip.”

“But he has been talking about Tommy an awful lot,” Maddie says. “It’s suspicious. You know he went to tour the helicopters the other day?” 

“Bet on it?” Chimney asks.

Maddie grins. “You’re on.” 

[orionsangel86]

Death Appreciation Week!

With Dead Boy Detectives hitting our screens on the 25th April, and with our girl Death of the Endless making a guest appearance, it seemed only fitting that we should celebrate her in the run up to the show's release.

So I will be running a Death Appreciation Week from Thursday 18th April to Thursday 25th April which will be a celebration of all things Death of the Endless!

Participation is easy. You can go through the prompt list below, and choose to create in whichever way you feel most comfortable. I am keeping this event as flexible as possible so the prompts aren't tied to set days, you just go for whatever you feel most inspired by whenever you can make the time and ideally if you are able to complete a prompt of your choosing each day of the event well then you are a star and I love you!

Prompt List

Death and Family - Dysfunctional as they may be the Endless are a family unit, and their parents are even worse.

Death and Mortals - Some have won her favour, others have slipped through her grasp.

Death and Immortals - even the God's must meet her in the end.

Death and Relationships - Who doesn't flirt with Death on occassion?

Lessons Learned - Death's words of wit and wisdom.

Death the Fashionista - She's rocked many looks over the years, but she's always been a goth fashion icon.

A Day with Death - every 100 years she takes mortal form.

The Sound of Her Wings - lets not forget she has them!

"A Cold Stuck-Up Bitch" - It's a long endless lifetime - Death's early years and how she's changed.

Death Tarot - a symbol of transformation, of change, and even of hope?

Rules for Participation

All types of fanworks are permitted. Fanart, fanfics, gifsets, meta analysis, polls, even just sharing your fave comic panels or official artwork is fine. The goal is to celebrate this amazing character in all her forms.

For your work to qualify for submission to the event, it has to prominantly feature Death of the Endless as the primary focal point. Whilst I encourage exploring her relationships with other characters, the point is to highlight Death as the central character in the work.

the hashtag #Death Appreciation Week must be tagged in all works for the event.

Anything goes! I welcome all ships, all types of work, all themes and content. NSFW is absolutely fine if that's your jam. We don't kinkshame here either. So long as everything is clearly tagged you can literally create what you want.

The prompt list is just a guide for inspiration but literally any fanworks that focus on Death can be included. You don't have to follow prompts if you don't want to.

This is a love fest for Death - which means no hate, discrimination, exclusion, etc. Please also keep criticisms and complaints out of the event tag.

Death of the Author - this is my Neil Gaiman Keep Out sign. As much as I love the guy, this is a fan event and I do not consent to anyone tagging the author in my posts. If he somehow finds it on his own thats on him lol, but please don't tag him.

Most importantly HAVE FUN - and share this post. Signal Boost please!

If you have any questions about the event, the prompts, or anything, please send me an ask or a dm. I'm happy to answer anything and help as much as needed.

With love and thanks to @seiya-starsniper for the awesome banner, and @marlowe-zara and @tryan-a-bex for their ideas and support. <3

[saltpepperbeard]

Poison into Positivity: A List of What I Liked in OFMD S2

Hello hello everyone! Things have been a little rough around here. Even away from the more heated takes, I've still seen a few "down in the dumps" murmurs. To which, I'm giving y'all big hugs, but also offering up some little bits of warmth! I wanted to share quite a few bullets of the things I enjoyed about this season. Maybe it'll serve as a reminder, or maybe it'll just serve as a chaotic, silly little read as per usual PFFF.

But I invite you to read along, and even add some of your own points should you feel inclined! Also, this might not even be my full list; these are just the ones that came to me quickly/off the top of my head. Still, let's dive on down like a fantastical, dazzling goldfish, shall we?

All the callbacks/parallels. My goodness. When I tell you I'm a SLUT for metaphors/parallels/callbacks/etc etc. Seeing so many things and being able to just *Leonardo Dicaprio pointing meme.* I know people might not share that same opinion because some might view it to be excessive, but I personally LOVED being able to point at my screen and be like "oH EYYYYYYY!!!" Maybe because it makes for such immaculate gifset/meta material <3 SJKJDLHSK

The costuming and makeup. WHEN THEY TALKED AT ECCC ABOUT EVERYONE GETTING HOTTER, THEY WERE NOT KIDDING LMAO. EVERYONE LOOKED SO, SO GOOD. and listen, i am on my knees begging for them to give ed with his hair up back to us. i need Her back,,,ALSO, SOMETHING SOMETHING COMPLICATED EMOTIONS TOWARDS STEDE'S LATTER HALF LOOK, BUT ALSO...GOD DAMN, MR. DARBY,,,,,,

Speaking of Mr. Darby, the acting in this season. The ACTTTINNNGG. Everyone acted their ASSES off. Everyone put their entire piratussies into this season. Though, I'm PARTICULARLY impressed with Taika and Rhys, because again with their "oh we're comedians lol so idk drama can be Difficult Difficult Lemon Difficult." MMMM I THINK THE FUCK NOT, MY GUYS LMAO??? They both did SO well with all the drama and painful moments. The acting in episodes 2, 3, 6, and 7 in particular like...God. GOD!!!

I loved so many characters in this season, and I'll of course have to give two individual shoutouts to my two favorite new ladies, but man. LET'S GO FRENCHIE!!! ALWAYS A DELIGHT!!! FANG/KEVIN MY ABSOLUTE SWEETHEART. JIM SERVING ABSOLUTE FUCKING GENDER THIS SEASON. OLU OLU DARLING OLU. PETE NEVER MISSING WITH HIS ONELINERS. LUCIUS BEING SO THEATRICAL AHDJKSDK LIKE NATHAN PLEASE YOU KILL ME. ROACH MAKING ME LAUGH OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES AS HE DOES. WEE JOHN AND HIS KNITTING AND DRAG!!! AND THEN OF COURSE MY DEARLY BELOVEDS, ED AND STEDE. I JUST LOVE THEMMMMM!!! But okay okay okay-

Zheng my beloved. I just love this badass pirate queen with her sweet little pigtails and her IMMACULATE LINE DELIVERIES SDHJKSKL. A lot of my favorite deliveries from the entire season came from her quite honestly. Please see: "Girl, how ARE you?" and "Hiiiiiii. I KNOWWW it's been a day" and "I've killed mediocre men. I've killed exceptional men. But you're the worst kind: a mediocre man who thinks he's exceptional."

AND ARCHIE MY BELOVED. She kills me because I remember seeing like, those ~*~audition tape whispers~*~ WAY back in the day, and subsequently thinking she was going to be quite a different character. Only for this silly goofy bubbly energetic darling to pop up and snag my heart. HER deliveries kill me also, like when she goes "Like...STEDE Stede?" and the whole "I was IN the fuckin' snake!" also hhngngngngnershkfhslkds tattooed ladies Hot :(

Speaking of which, the comedy. THE DELIVERIES. THE WAY I LAUGHED OUT LOUD NUMEROUS TIMES THROUGHOUT, EVEN WITH THE DEEP UNDERCURRENT OF DRAMA/ANGST. The whole bit where Stede is in hysterics over his cursed coat is just hsjkdhsklds; it will NEVER not make me wheeze. And then, like I said, almost EVERYTHING Pete says this season kills me; another thing that will never not make me laugh is "a doggie...?" weird little pirate show with weird little humor my beloved

The ROMANCE??? I genuinely was going into the season with the expectation of getting maybe like, one or two Gentlebeard kisses. Imagine my shock and utter delight when we ended up with FOUR, AS WELL AS AN INTIMATE SCENE, THE LETTER SCENES, AND THE LOVE PROFESSIONS. Like, one of them dropping a legitimate "I love you" felt like an unrealistic expectation--the HIGHEST dream tier really. And then wouldn't you know it. And that doesn't even account for all the rest of the couples either! The murder wives having their chaotic little moments of fucked up affection??? LUCIUS AND PETE GETTING ENGAGED AND THEN MARRIED??? HELLO??????

The sets! I know people have pointed out that the world felt a bit simplified this time around, due to budget restraints and what have you. But I still loved what they did with the world even with the various constraints. The market in episode 6 is a PARTICULAR favorite of mine; it's just so lush and colorful. I also love what they did with The Revenge during episode 6 too!

Also, this might be an unpopular opinion, but I really actually liked that they filmed on location. First of all, love that the Kiwis got to be right at home in Aotearoa. Love that they have an even more special connection to the show now. But second of all, I just like when scenery is...actually THERE? It feels way more TANGIBLE. Don't get me wrong; that hugeass wraparound screen that they use to film a lot of sets is a technological marvel. But I'm a sucker for practical.

The deeper and more complex dives into character motivations/trauma. Like, homie lol...When I tell you episodes 6 and 7 utterly set my brain alight in the best way possible. I was CHUGGING through thoughts. You know those gifs where someone is walking around and ranting/passionately talking,,, yeah. Yeah. Maybe because a lot of it "struck a chord" with me indeed, but I love love LOVE getting brain food like that.

Speaking of brain food, in PARTICULAR, the deeper dives into Ed's self-loathing and into Stede's troubles with confidence and masculinity. A lot of Stede's choices were fueled by those two things, and it was SO friggin fun to catch all of them, put them in a jar, and shake them around. I've seen a lot of people fearing his actions in the latter half were out of character, but to me, I don't see it that way. I just see a man who has been so spurned, so left behind, and SO deprived, a man who is stuck thinking he has to be someone else to mean something. And I think that plays a lot into even the EARLIEST developments we saw in season 1, so it was just so intriguing to watch everything messily play out.

THE INNKEEPER. THE INNKEEPER MY BELOVED. SO much about that episode absolutely has my heart. All the different developments, the stakes, the pacing, and the payoff at the end. Not to mention that I had a FEELING that mysterious figure in the trailers was Hornigold, so it was so SO validating to see him pop up PFFF. And also, all those dream/gravy basket sequences were so so good too. I don't know if it's the chemistry between Taika and Mark, or the deeper symbolism, or the lines that have become vocal stims for me SJKDLS (please see: ooOOoooO eddie eddie eddie...you're laying some heavy shit on me, bro), but man. MAN.

And this one gets its own bullet because of course it does: the fucking mermaid scene. Like, are we kidding. ARE WE KIDDING. THE ROMANCE OF IT ALL? THE FANTASTICAL-NESS INDEED?? THE WAY IT WAS ALL FUCKING PRACTICAL AND RHYS SWAM DOWN TO TAIKA AS A BEAUTIFUL LITTLE GOLDFISH AND THEY HAD TO THROW HEART EYES AT EACH OTHER UNDERWATER??? WHAT THE FUCK!!! And don't even get me started on Kate Bush lol. This Woman's Work might easily be one of my favorite songs, if not my FAVORITE song from the season. And man. Man. The whole meaning behind Ed seeing Stede as this beautiful, sparkly being, and not some hypermasculine/extraordinary thing. He fell in love with Stede for who Stede really is. And so I ADORE that acknowledgement.

Speaking of songs, the MUSIC!!! Absolute bangers all throughout. And I loved how there seemed to be even more intermixed within the episodes. Like God... "These are the kids..." 🗣️ HELLO MY LOVE I HEARD A KISS FROM YOU 🦗🦟🦗🦟🦗🦟 . And all the beautiful classic piano pieces and NINA SIMONE AND JUST HSJKDHSFJKLHSKD????

Okay, I've always had and STILL have complicated thoughts and opinions on Izzy, but man, seeing him interact with the Revenge Crew was really something. Seeing Stede's influence come over the lot of them like a warm blanket, extending its welcoming and familial hands...It was just lovely. I love seeing our little sea family care for each other so much. They've probably all hurt so so much in different ways, so to see them all being a collective heart is just so nice.

Speaking of which, the queerness of it all, the queer celebration of it all. The way the whole crew is just...a representation of queer people finding each other, and subsequently finding love and family in each other. Like, when the whole world wants to cast you out, you pull each other in. When no one else wants you, you take refuge in each other. And just...the joy, beauty, and wonder that can be found in that.

And speaking of which x2, the overall care that was put into the entire thing, the effort that was put into the entire thing. I know Max fucked us over with the budget, which subsequently fucked things like the intricacy, the amount of characters, and especially the pacing. But, I don't know; I personally could still tell everyone involved was trying so so hard to deliver for us. Based on the little details, the little callbacks, and the little moments that felt so catered to us, it just seemed so...gifted to us. Not to mention of course, the way they so deliberately chose to end on a hopeful note in case we never get a third season. They care about us. They've always cherished our excitement and passion, so it just...idk; it feels so special to have a bit more of an intimate connection like that. I've never been involved with a piece of media that so avidly SEES its audience, and celebrates along with us. So, despite everything, despite any sort of troubles, despite any sort of lows, that's a big part of what has me clutching all of this so closely to my chest. And I really hope they can still see that love, because I want nothing more than for them to see this beautiful story through.

Also, getting to enjoy this with everyone. Getting to ride the wave from the beginning of filming, all the way through the finale. Getting to see all the excitement, all the theories, all the art, all the fanfiction, all the gif sets, all the meta, and everything in between. It has carried me through some nastiness in my personal life, and has subsequently served as a very welcomed distraction. It's been such a pleasure getting to delight in this new content with you all, and I hope we get to do so into the future. <3

[peterman-spideyparker]

Half-Wrong (College!Matt Murdock x college!fem!Reader)

Author’s Note: Howdy folks, ya girl somehow caught Covid during the worst week possible! I have a 102 fever and I don't really remember writing this cuz I've been taking a lot of naps, so if it doesn't make sense and has errors I'm sorry. I saw that Owen Sleater gifset (iykyk) and rolled with it. Enjoy :)

Summary: You have been attracted to Matt Murdock ever since the pair of you met at the coffee shop on campus on move-in day, but you knew he'd never feel the same way about you - this became especially true once you got insight on his romantic life. So when you find him waiting for you after you come back from a date, you take a chance.

Warnings: Sweet platonic fluff, close friendship vibes, kissing, smut (oral - f!receiving, sexy oral m!condom put on, protected sex, p in v sex), swearing

Other Characters: Foggy Nelson, ofc (Cassie)

Word Count: 2,844

“C’mon, just a little more,” you huff as you move your run to a jog on the sidewalk. “A little bit more, and then we’ll be back at the dorms.”

“I don’t get why you think this is the best way to exercise,” Matt huffs as he puts his hands up in a T shape.

“You like boxing, I like a good run. Potato, potahto. The thing you should be thinking about is why you repeatedly agree and continue to go on runs with me,” you pant as you untie the tether that you use while you run—with Matt being unable to see and just how hard you imagine running with a cane would be, a tether to your waist to guide him and gently keep him out of the path of obstacles seemed like a good option.

“You know, I don’t think I’ve figured that part out yet, either. I mean, you do agree to box with me which is nice. But I think I just like spending time with you. Although, being tied with you does kind of make me feel like a dog.”

“Ah, but you’re such a kind, pretty dog with soft hair,” you smirk, ruffling his sweaty hair. “Such a good boy.”

“Alright, alright,” he chuckles, his cheeks flushing beyond the rosiness from the run. “Help me get to the cafe in the student union and I’ll buy us some waters.”

You press a kiss to his warm cheek and place his hand on your forearm. 

“Hey, are you still gonna join Foggy and I at Josie’s tonight?” he asks, his breathing sounding like it’s starting to return to normal as you both enter the nearby building.

“I thought that was tomorrow?” you return, navigating the pair of you through a small little self-serve concession area.

“No, tonight. You have plans?”

“Don’t sound too shocked.”

“I don’t mean it like that.”

“Okay. Then how did you mean it?”

“Well, just that you haven’t had plans in almost a year,” he exaggerates as he takes the waters you hand him.

“Excuse me, I have plans,” you say as you take the waters back and scan them, Matt rooting around in his shorts for his student ID.

“No, you have plans with your other friends semi-regularly. You never have date plans,” he clarifies as he swipes his ID to pay.

“I’m sorry all of us can’t be you with a new companion every few weeks.”

“I don’t have a ‘new companion’ every few weeks.”

“Oh, come on, Matt, don’t deny it,” you say as you drink your water. “Right now, it’s that girl from that IP law class, before that it was a dental student, then I think an international relations major? But let’s not forget about contract law girl, estate planning—.”

“Okay, fine, I’ve had a lot of short-term relationships.”

“Well, that’s great for you, but that’s not what I’m looking for,” you tell him. “I mean, I don’t expect anything right now to last forever, but, I don’t want it to be a four-week thing and then be done with it. If I’m gonna make plans with someone, it’s because I think I still might be making plans with them in five months.”

Matt nods and drinks some of his own water as you move back outside and in the direction of our dorms. “So, what’s this guy like? Where’d you meet?”

“Cassie actually set us up,” you say. “She said that he seemed like my type, like a really good guy.”

“Well, then, I’m happy you have plans tonight. I hope it goes well.”

“Thanks, Matt. I do, too. I mean, I have no reason to think they won’t. Just tell Foggy I’m sorry I’m gonna miss him tonight.”

“Of course.”

“Do I see a wild (Y/N) in one of her natural habitats?” you hear Foggy call from across the quad.

“Speak of the Nelson, and he shall appear!” you smile as he comes to wrap you in a hug. 

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“(Y/N) has a date tonight,” Matt says with a devilish grin.

“Matthew!” you say, giving him a swift whack. “This is exactly why I don’t tell you things.”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I’m happy for you, really.”

“I am, too!” Foggy chimes in. “I’m bummed that it means you’ll miss drinks at Josie’s, but, it’s about time you get dicked down.”

“I need to hang out with more friends that are girls,” you sigh, taking a look at your watch. “I gotta go now if I want to take an everything shower.” Kissing each of their cheeks, you wave goodbye and run off to your dorm to get ready.

“I just don’t see it going anywhere,” you sigh as you enter the main lobby of your dorm building.

“Really?” Cassie asks over the phone.

“We work on paper, but there wasn’t any spark.”

“Maybe the spark is gonna take some time.”

“A spark shouldn’t take time, Cass. It should be right there I didn’t feel anything.”

“You can’t pin every guy against Matt, you know.”

“I’m not comparing everyone against Matt,” you scoff incredulously. 

“Yes, you are. Ever since you met. I bet you felt a spark with him.”

“So what if I did? It’s clear he didn’t with me, but . . .” You sigh and shake the thought out of your head. “I’m not an option for him. He’s a good person, but more importantly, he’s my friend. I’m not gonna spend my time fantasizing about something that’s never gonna happen.”

“HA.”

“You are so mean.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just a funny concept—you, not fantasizing.”

“Rude.”

“I’m your oldest friend, it’s my job.”

“I appreciate it. Listen, I just got to my door, I’m gonna call it a night.”

“Okay, (Y/N). Sleep well.”

“You too.”

Hanging up, you sigh as you put your phone back into your bag, hiking the strap up over your shoulder, slipping out your keys and undoing the old locks. You toss your purse on the nearby table, but freeze in your tracks when you see someone sitting on your bed. Not any someone. Matt.

“You shouldn’t be in here this late,” you breathe.

“I shouldn’t be in here at all,” he says softly, folding his glasses and putting them on your nightstand. “But why do something half-wrong?”

You slowly start to close the gap between where he sits and where you stand. “Matt . . .”

“If you want me to go, I will. Just say the word.”

“. . . Why now?”

“I don’t know. I just . . . I realized tonight when I was at Josie’s with Foggy that if you’re going to be kissing anyone, I want it to be me.”

You don’t care what you just told Cassie. Honestly, you don’t care about anything or how this could complicate your friendship or any of the consequences. Instead, you move to your bed, climb into his lap, and kiss him. That spark you first felt with Matt when you met is a full-blown lightning bolt now, every last bit of you tingling with electricity; you know Matt feels it too from the way his hands slide up your back and how his fingers card through your hair. Matt leans back on the mattress, letting you take the lead as you make out. His kisses gradually grow more aggressive—the clashing of teeth, nipping, squeezing, and grinding. Matt rolls your bodies over on the bed, eagerly but carefully pulling off your shirt.

“Please tell me you were anticipating this and have condoms on you,” you pant as he peppers kisses all over your torso.

“Mmm,” he hums into my body. Oh my God, I think I just came. “Four.”

“We’re using all of them.” You feel how his lips curl into a smile against your body, making you writhe before you scream out when he starts to suck on the sweet spot on your neck.

“Ambitious,” he hums, licking and kissing at the stinging spot on my neck.

“Oh, well, you know me,” you grunt, your fingertips scratching his scalp. “I love to go above and beyond.”

“Let’s shoot for two,” he says into your collarbone.

“Don’t think I can handle using them all?”

He lifts his face up to be level with yours. “I’m saying that you won’t be walking straight after one. If we use more than two, I’ll be carrying you around campus for a week.”

“Sound like a challenge.”

“It’s a guarantee.”

You both smile brightly before you kiss, and you bunch up the cotton of his shirt exposing his soft skin and toned muscles something out of a romance novel.

“Like what you see?” he smirks.

“You’re too cocky for your own good,” you sigh as you run a hand down his exposed body. “But as a matter of fact, I really, really do.”

“Well, if you’re thinking of doing what I think you are, angel . . . Tonight is about you, and treating you right. How I should’ve treated you a long time ago.” He leans down and kisses your lips before moving the embraces along your cheek to just below your ear. “Sit back and relax, sweetheart. I’m gonna take good care of you.”

You sigh as he presses kisses down your chest, nipping at your cleavage and soothing the sting of any bite with his lips. You pant in excitement under his touch as his hands wrap around my back, unclasping your bra and sliding it painfully slow off of your body. You let out a sigh and toss your head to the side as his lips wrap around your nipple, one of his hands on your free breast while the other hand holds onto yours. Matt takes his time as if he’s trying to map out your body in his mind with his lips. Gazing down, you catch a glimpse of how happy Matt looks as he drags his lips further down your torso, pressing a long kiss on your belly button before unbuttoning your pants to shimmy them off your legs. Tossing them to the floor, he kisses all the way up your legs before spreading them apart to nestle his face against your covered core. You whine at his careful and deliberate movements, lifting your hips to help him slide the fabric off. Matt’s fingers gently spread you open, exposing yourself completely to him.

“Oh, fuck, you’re gonna be the death of me,” he breathes. “So perfect for me.”

Carefully, he lets out a soft breath on your pussy before leaning forward and wrapping his lips around your clit.

“Oh!” you cry out. “Fuck . . .”

Your toes curl as Matt works his magic, and your eyes flutter shut as you let your mind get caught up in all the things that Matt is making you feel. If you had known he could make you feel like this—if you knew he even felt an inkling of the same way toward your, you would’ve done something to let him know that you care about him more more than a friend.

“Matty,” you breathe, running your fingers through his hair. “Oh, Matt, just like that. So good.”

You watch as Matt tries to lift his gaze upward to meet yours, his beautiful hazel eyes sparkling with delight as he eats you out. You swallow hard, throwing your head back as you feel your orgasm quickly approach. You cry out when you feel him slide two fingers into you, curling them just right to throw you over the edge. Your body arches off of the mattress as you cry out, your thighs clenching around his head. Matt’s tongue cleans up every last drop of your arousal before kissing all the way back up your body.

“You taste so good, angel,” he murmurs into your lips. “You ready for me?”

“Please,” you breathe, kissing him deeply. “I need you.”

He grins, kissing you again before leaning back and undoing his pants, shimmying them down enough to free his cock from the fabric before he reaches in his pocket to grab a condom. He is absolutely huge—delightfully so, and I feel the space between my legs instantly flood at the sight of him. Now what he said about not walking straight makes total sense, and not Matt just being cocky.

“All the way off,” you demand with a smile.

“Your wish is my command, sweetheart.”

You bite your lip in excitement as he gets completely naked while you tear open the little foil package.

“C’mere,” you grin as you drink him in as he kneels on your bed, completely and utterly bare.

Matt licks his lips, doing as you ask, folding his arms behind his head. Fuck, he has to know what he’s doing when he rests like that. Carefully, you crawl over to him, putting the tip of the condom in your mouth before you wrap your hand around his base and bring your head down his length. Your jaw hurts as you go down his thick cock, but you manage to get it all the way down. When you get back up, you see how lust-blown Matt’s expression is, how flushed his cheeks and chest are.

“That was so fucking hot,” he hums. “Get over here, angel.”

With a smile, you move to meet him in a kiss, a new passion in the embrace that hand’t been there before.

“You ready for me?” he breathes.

“Yeah,” you nod eagerly as you dip down for a kiss.

With firm hands on your hips, he guides you down on his cock. You moan in harmony as he gets deeper and deeper in you, and it feels like you’re going to get split in two the further he goes. When you’re all the way down, he pulls you in for a deep kiss.

“Are you okay?” he breathes when your lips part.

“I’m okay,” you assure him. “You’re big."

“And you’re tight,” he smirks. “You good for me to move?”

“Oh, fuck, please.”

“Such good manners.”

With another kiss and a smile, Matt wraps his arms around you so your back is on the mattress and he’s hovering above you. You feel the sweet sting from the drag of his cock as he pulls out before pushing back in, testing and stretching you slowly as he starts to establish a rhythm. Your lips part as you feel more pleasure with each of Matt’s thrusts, one of your hands moving to his bicep and creating little crescent moons in his soft skin as he moves faster and faster.

“Right there,” you breathe. “Shit . . . Matt, yes, right there.”

“Good girl,” he hums. “So good taking my cock like that.”

“K-Kiss me,” you stutter, feeling your second orgasm approaching.

Looking at you tenderly, he leans down and kisses you long and slow, staying lower to keep little space between our bodies.

“You’re perfect,” he breathes, kissing your cheek. “So perfect.”

“Matt, ‘m close,” you whimper.

“Whenever you’re ready.” His hand cradles the side of your face, kissing you once more.

You bite your lip, stifling your moan as you come around Matt, your body clinging to his as he continues to move his hips, his skin flushing as he grunts, approaching his own release, spilling into the condom. He kisses you all over as your breathing steadies, pulling out and tossing the condom into the trash before wrapping you in his arms and kissing your wherever his lips can find skin.

“Matt,” you chuckle softly as he sucks marks into your collarbone.

“Shh,” he hums, kissing the marks to soothe them.

“Matt, it tickles!”

You feel his lips curl into a smile as he presses kisses up your neck. “I’ve always loved your laugh. This is just another way I can hear it.”

“And it’s another way I can see your smile.” You lean in, pressing a soft kiss to his lips. “You know, I bet if you give me enough time in between, we can use up all the condoms.”

“You think?”

“Nothing saying we can’t try.”

“Ambitious girl,” he smiles.

“It’s part of my charm. Why you like me. Why we work well together.”

“One of the reasons, yeah. There’s plenty of others, though.”

“Oh?”

“Mm.” He kisses your forehead. “I’ve got a whole list.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

You giggle at the silence and look at him. “Are you gonna tell me any?”

Matt’s fingers trace aimless patterns on your skin. “I think you already know them, angel. But I’ll tell you one every day. Today, it’s your ambition. Tomorrow . . .” He lets out a breath. “It’ll be whatever feels right for me to point out.”

“Well, I’ve got a list, too. And right at the top is how safe you make me feel. How special you make me feel. How loved." You kiss his chest. "Tomorrow’s something might have to do with your nose.”

Matt’s expression is filled with tenderness, closing the gap between you once more, holding onto you and letting you rest right above his heart.

Permanent Taglist: @majesticavenger​ @steampowerednightvaler​ @themusingsofmany @just-the-hiddles​ @toozmanykids​ @dangertoozmanykids101 @clints-worldavengers @theburningbookshop​ @itwasthereaminuteago​ @peter1ismybrother@hellskitchens-whore​​ @dpaccione​ @catnip987​

Matt Murdock Taglist: @two-unbeatable-beaters

[strrwbrrryjam]

i always wondered what it was that endeared the younger of the gang members to arthur.

i mean, arthur is an intimidating man, he's large, he's tall, he's covered in scars and most importantly, he's not just loyal to the gang, but protective also (and picky about who they work with, if you consider arthurs first meeting with seamus) so of course he's going to do his best to intimidate any new members to join.

but he has a very good relationship with each one of the younger gang members.

with john its obvious, i mean, its one of the most talked about relationships in the rdr2 fandom, as despite not being biologically related to one another, with the way they act together, whether it be picking fights, picking on, with the way they argue, or how even though they spend so much time at each others throats, there is still genuine care shared between the two of them

with lenny they're able to have a drink together and drink to excess, he's comfortable making a fool of himself, he invites himself on jobs with lenny, whether to get a piece of the cut, wanting to spend time with him, or making sure that lenny is okay. lenny is comfortable coming to arthur about his troubles (his talk with arthur about what happened in strawberry comes to mind), in a way he isn't exactly comfortable coming to dutch, lest he is accused of doubting him, arthur also tells him outright that its fun spending time with lenny, that he enjoys it

with sean, he isn't afraid of "making fun" of arthur, or joking around with him, he's comfortable enough to do so, whether because he knows arthur wont attack a gang member in the presence of the rest of the old guard (dutch and hosea and susan), or he knows that it just isn't in arthurs nature to come after you for making a joke out of him, and he apologizes when he knows he's gone too far (seans party, when he said strauss was having more fun at the party than arthur was, and once arthur replies, he apologizes soon after) he wants to spend time with arthur, coming on jobs uninvited and when he does come on jobs, he's generally happy about it, having fun. he's tells arthur he loves him, in a joking way or otherwise

with javier its very much the same, in fact, all of the younger gang members arent afraid to quip about arthur, he's excited to invite arthur along on jobs (whether it be actual jobs or otherwise, like fishing), he offers to go out of his way to make things for arthur (if of course arthur gets the resources he needs to make things for arthur), he's comfortable enough to share his frustrations with arthur, whether small, such as his relatable irritation with the english language, or the direction of with the gang is going

with the girls, its been established in the fandom that he's one of them, that arthur morgan is one of the girls, and its true, he is! arthur isn't afraid of being vulnerable with them, often giving him good advice and reassuring him that his actions are not him, that he can, and has done better, and that he is a good man, they invite him in on conversations that most men back then wouldn't be the most comfortable with (such as their discussion of the future of women's rights) and they, like the men, are comfortable making quips about arthur (he's also seen to be very gentleman like, I'm recalling the gifset of arthur being a gentleman and most of the gifs involving arthur and the girls (and albert))

with mary beth, they both share a love of writing, whether fictional, in the case of mary beth, or nonfiction, in the case of arthur (though if someone were to actually read some of the parts of arthurs journal, you'd think he'd be writing fiction, with the case of the vampire for example) and both share their relatable frustrations of writing, their insecurities about the topic and what they write, arthur is protective of her and whose she's around, gang member or not (arthur inviting himself on a job with sean because he doesn't think sean will be able to make sure mary beth is safe), he doesn't mind dancing with marybeth, and has fun doing so

with tilly, he's known her most of her life, she came in young after a very traumatic experience in her life, and her, like john, have grown up viewing arthur as some sort of older sibling, she likes to share her frustrations about some of the older gang members, like susan, and is comfortable joking around with him, where arthur returns those jokes back to her, they share a love of playing games together, and likes to go on jobs with him and she knows that no matter what, arthur will be there to protect her and not out of duty or anything like that, but because he generally cares about her

(and we cant forget to mention that out of all the gang members, she was the one who had her own goodbye for arthur, one where she got so emotional she couldn't get the words out, yet, arthur knew, arthur always knew)

with karen, out of all the girls she is the most likely to call the men, especially arthur out on their bullshit, shes confident enough to argue back against arthur, she likes to sing and spends time with him, and by the fact that she knows arthur is an incredibly messy drunk, i don't think its too far to say that she and arthur have shared some misadventures like lenny and arthur did, and despite all the snark she can give arthur, she out of all of them knows that he can do better, that in his heart he is a good man, a kind man

and with abigail, he has proven time and time again that he only wants the best for her and young jack, to the point where he's even had the thought of marrying her himself, just to make sure she gets by, she isn't afraid to tell him her thoughts on things that are taboo, such as mary or dutch, and she knows that despite his reluctance in the beginning, that she can rely on him, she, like the rest of them, can also have a laugh at arthurs expense in jest, she, like tilly, also enjoys to play games with him and knows that jack cannot be safer with anyone else than he is with arthur

i mean, even with molly, a person arthur doesn't spend so much time with, he is always polite to her, holds sympathy for her and even she knows that if she wishes to discuss something that cant be said in public, she knows that out of all the members in the gang, arthur is probably the safest option to go to

out of all the members in the gang, arthurs least problematic relationships are usually with those who are younger, either because they know that they can rely on him, and they know that they are safe with him, and it doesn't usually come with a whole heap of complications than it does with some of the older gang members, specifically dutch

[hotvintagepoll]

Welcome to the HOT AND VINTAGE MOVIE STARS tournament! We are currently on a break between tournaments, having just finished the Hot & Vintage Movie Man Tournament last week. The Hot & Vintage Movie Women Tournament starts next week on February 29th (Leap Year Day) MARCH 2ND. The submission form for the ladies is now closed.

All polls—including ongoing polls, previous rounds, old tournaments, the various shadow brackets, and fun mini polls—can be found in the #hotvintagepoll tag. Every poll in the Hot & Vintage Women Tournament will be tagged with the hot woman in it if you need to search for a hot woman in particular. There have been around 400+ submissions, so Round 1 will probably be posted over the course of a few days.

FAQs:

“I have propaganda for the hot women!” Great! Please don't send or tag me in any hot women propaganda until the poll including that hot lady is posted.

"....but you're posting gifsets of hot ladies?" Yes. As a special treat to myself I get to post a little additional propaganda of my own between tournaments. (Once the tournament begins I am sworn to neutrality and only post the propaganda sent to me.) The gifsets I reblog are not representative of my own views—ie I reblog both my secret favorites and other hot ladies who were submitted numerous times—and are intended just to get us in the Hot Lady spirit™.

“How do I send in hot women propaganda once the tournament starts?” Send me an ask, or reblog the poll and add your propaganda to it. I don’t boost all the propaganda I see or receive, but I try to boost the best of the best.

If you’re submitting propaganda for your hot lady, I don’t accept propaganda that’s from beyond the end of this tournament’s era (ie don’t send me pics of them from after 1970). I also don’t accept them acting in TV shows unless it’s clearly a cameo where they’re playing themselves (ie, no I Love Lucy or Catwoman appearances). I'm more likely to post your propaganda if it's not extremely long.

I don’t post or boost negative propaganda about any hot woman. If you really hate that a certain hot woman is winning, send me positive propaganda for their hot opponent. If you think a hot woman shouldn’t even be included in the tournaments because of scummy things she did in her lifetime, please read my take on it here.

"Can I still submit propaganda for the hot men?" You can, I guess, but it's a bit pointless because there's no tournament for the hot men going on right now, and I won't post it. Toshiro Mifune was crowned winner and every other nominated hot man was sent to the shadow realm. "I'm catching up on the brackets now! How do I find out more about the Hot Men tournament?" You can do a tag search for a specific hot man if you want to see if he was included and all his propaganda, or you can just go into the #hotvintagepoll tag in my archive and dig through the old posts to see everything. I've turned most of the rounds into featured tags in the archive to make it easy to follow the tournament (#round 1, #round 2, etc).

If I see repetitive, trolling, and/or bigoted remarks in the comments, I may block you from this bracket. If you want to point out a hot woman’s flaws or misdemeanors, that’s fine, but if I see consistent bad-faith trolling, you will be blocked.

On that note—if you have an issue with a poll, don't be a dick and I'll try to solve it. If you hate a poll pic, complain AND send me something I could use instead. I'm not going to go hunting for new photos on my own. In general I try to keep this poll fun but I will block if I see thoughtless bitching.

“I KNOW THEY'RE ALL IN THE SHADOW REALM BUT I want to see all the hot men who competed in one place!!” You can find all the round 1 matchups here (thank you @markwatnae!).

“My FAQ isn’t on here :(” send me an ask! I love hearing from you guys—just please check these basics first.

Thank you for being here! Enjoy the tournament.

[sweaterkittensahoy]

help the buckbuckymarge gifset is making me think about the fact that they're all so incredibly stupid (affectionate). gale and marge are like "hello we love you so much please let us keep you forever" and bucky is like "who are you talking to" lmaooooooooo

You gotta understand, it's that Marge and Buck are IN LOVE with Bucky, but he's always been a gigantic slut (affectionate), and they don't want to scare him with the fact that they want him forever.

But also, Bucky adores them both and wants to run away and be ONLY with them, but also, they are SO IN LOVE with each other, and he doesn't wanna make it weird. Watching them love each other makes him want to be with them and just them.

And they all LOVE EACH OTHER SO MUCH so just being together is wonderful and fun and perfect, and if they could all live in the same house in the same bed? Perfect. Wonderful. No notes ever.

But you can't just SAY THAT to your best friend. So, you know. Um. Marge, what if we set him up with someone? But, like, in the most half-assed way ever so we can PRETEND like we're not being possessive but are actually being possessive.

And Bucky, what if you always go out with them whenever possible and maybe you actually sneak a few hints of Marge's perfume off her letters by reading over Buck's shoulder??? What then???

And then what if Marge finds out Bucky's not getting letters in the Stalag and that's it. She snaps. By fucking god she will write the letters herself, raised eyebrows from anyone be fucking damned. She gets green paper for John, but she scents it with her same perfume.

On one of their many meanders around the camp, Bucky says, "What the fuck, Buck."

"We want you to come home to us," Buck says. "We've always wanted that, but we didn't know how to tell you. So, now you know."

"You fucking asshole," Bucky hisses, wishing he could tackle Buck, but he can't. "You use your fucking words, Buck."

"Oh? Is that what you were doing all this time, Buck? Using your words? Because it seems your problem isn't that MY GIRL is writing you love letters but that she hasn't been doing it BEFORE."

And Bucky deflates because, that's fair. But also. "What if the boys ask?"

"Make something up. Or tell them the truth. I don't fucking care."

Bucky asks Marge what to say. She suggests that he just tell the boys she found him a Marge of his own. Which. Bucky and Buck swap letters, and Marge writes him a little differently. It's all her, but her tone with Bucky is a bit different. It's really nice. So, that's what he goes with. Until Brady goes, "Uh-huh. And they have the same handwriting. What a find."

And Bucky kicks him out of his chair, and everyone laughs.

And Bucky greets Buck via air traffic control, then drives alongside him, then meets him by the plane, and then when it's the two of them alone again says, "So, I should warn you. Marge proposed to me."

"Did she now?"

"Said if I was gonna be your best man, you should be mine."

"Seems all right."

[melfinawins]

I originally posted this in a reblog to @melonatures, but I'ma post it here.

Since you posted this, I haven't been able to forget it. I love it, but it took a little bit to figure out why these two gifs are particularly great.

I love your gifset. Let me explain all the ways:

"No, no, no. Fak's not my best friend."

I love how Carmy's face is turned away from the camera for a moment. And he hesitates and looks towards his front door where Syd just left. But then he agrees that Neil is his best friend. Which is totally fine! But I wonder if he was pressed by say, Nat or Richie he'd say the same thing. Fak is best friends to everyone, but is he Carmy's? I dare say Carmy's best friend is Syd, considering we're shown in the show how they are quietly and steadily laying the groundwork for a long, strong and substantial partnership. A partnership that is also a relationship.

We know that Carmy is working with Syd to reach her goal of a Michelin star, stars he thinks are bullshit. This is her goal but he's more than happy to help her reach it, to the point that he's willing to give her hands-on training on how to perfect a dish. Perfection requires fine tuning and precise decisions. Syd is an amazing chef early in her career, and has the makings of a wunderkind on the food scene if she can harness her natural abilities and training. I think Carmy sees that in her and admires it. I think he's attracted to her love of food and by spending time with her on the menu and just hanging out, it's reminding him that, even if he became a chef to spite Mikey, he actually loves it, he just didn't want to do it alone.

In working together to make the menu for The Bear, which will also help Syd get the star she covets, they've gotten close (more close than sitting behind the shop and commiserating), even if it's how they each come to their ideas about menus. In Honeydew, Luca tells Marcus that he experiences life and that's a part of what makes him a better chef. Sydney already does this. We see in Sundae how Syd gets inspiration for dishes, as well as her getting ideas in dreams (shortrib and risotto). Carmy is by the book, but I think he likes the way Syd thinks. That man would have never put chips on Nat's omelette! But I think Syd craves his wealth of knowledge and experience and ability to edit himself. We see in an episode where she realizes she's doing too much to a dish with Tina. Carmy helps her by hearing the ingredients and giving advice; I love Tina and everybody else, but only Carmy can provide that for her. They really do compliment each other, and learn about each other through their cooking.

"I fe- sorry, I feel like I should have known that, or, or- something--"

Makes sense that Carmy was mistaken! I think he's gotten to know aspects of Syd over a short period of time and in this scene he's maybe noticing that Syd holds things close to her chest. Omission plays a big role in her psyche. He can't just assume that she's okay or that she's an open book, because she's not.

Like mentioned above, I think Carmy is learning a lot about Syd through their menu creating. He's listening to her stories and anectdotes, laughing at her humor and learning about what she values through the food she creates. They have such symmetry through food, he assumed (incorrectly) that he knew more about her than he did. Because Syd is bringing back his love of food and the two of them really do communicate their desires through food. Syd loves taking care of people. But so does Carmy! They both don't want to use tweezers on food they don't care about. They want to use tweezers to show how much they love people lol

I love his stuttering in this gif because this man lost the plot and thought he could substitute communicating through food with actual communication. Example: Bro really was confused when Syd wasn't happy about the wall being torn down. By his logic, he tore the wall down for her, like he's working on the menu for her, so what's the big deal? (Someone save this man.) He's very action oriented, so it flew right by him that making a menu with Claire for Syd wasn't it, because he thought doing this action was what she wanted--like he said in that particular scene. But Syd wants communication and hands-on training (😏😏😏), because they're doing this together and if he just wants to put a menu together without her, she can just go somewhere else and make bullshit no-love tweezer dishes. They're supposed to be doing this for the love of food, not to just make money.

And even though they talk to each other via food, it doesn't make up for the other way they can and should communicate: straight up talking.

But The Table ™️ scene shows, in my opinion, that he's learning that. "Say more, please."

Anyway! I love this gifset melonatures. Sorry if this broke any Tumblr edicate. I loved your gifset. Thanks for making it! ❤️

[markantonys]

The amount of damage Lanfear did to Rand is astronomical and it makes me so sad for him

i know!!!!!!!! the whole scene with the fade and their convo after, all the attention was on lanfear giving the performance of a lifetime, but we have to talk about rand in that scene too! he absolutely shattered me!! i've been wanting to gif that scene but i might not end up doing it because i wouldn't know where to start, the scene is so long yet i wouldn't want to cut out any of it yet i couldn't fit the whole thing in one gifset, and even if i did, gifs wouldn't capture the way rand's voice sounds as he's saying all his heartbreaking lines! (also the scene's dark as fuck and it probably would look like shit in gif form haha)

and the way lanfear went about manipulating him there! she doesn't react with immediate acceptance and comfort, oh no, that would be too suspicious. instead, she puts on an act of a normal horrified reaction to learning your boytoy is a man who can channel, and just as she's broken rand down to his lowest and most self-hating point, she subtly steers the conversation around until suddenly she's positioned herself as The Only Person who can pull rand up from that point and offer him love and acceptance. and of course he's desperate to take it. it's so heartbreaking!!! man, randfear was all fun and games when it was no strings attached but once he admitted he actually has come to love her, i gasped, i was so taken aback by it and so devastated for him!

and then of course there's the whole "got tied up in bed by my girlfriend and then watched her be killed right on top of me by my mentor who then told me she's actually one of the most evil beings in the world" thing, which is like. we don't have time to unpack ALL that jkjdfg

[sixth-light]

WoT 2x08 thoughts

WoT s2 really, I haven't got to blog the season like I would have wanted because (checks notes) everybody in this household has been sick for a month and counting (do not recommend). No order here, just things as I think of them, full series book spoilers possible:

They really did stick the landing on this season for me, as well as line everything up so neatly for next season. I think S2 is really going to reward a rewatch.

Particularly re:Lanfear. I literally choked when she walked up to Bayle Domon and started talking about the pieces of cuendillar she'd sold him. I know the Dark Prophecy is probably still legit because we flashed back to Ishamael reciting it as he released her BUT ALSO I am now imagining her lying on her bed surrounded by screwed-up drafts as she tries to make it sufficiently ominous.

The Forsaken shenanigans this season have just smashed it out of the park and we only had two of them. I presume we're going to highlight one or two a season for practical purposes (and ofc TSR/TFoH are the Moghedien-Nynaeve books) so I reckon next season we mostly get Moghedien and...I guess Asmodean if we're doing that plotline at all?

Man I so liked my "evil Seanchan/less evil Seanchan" theory but the way they ruthlessly killed off every named Seanchan character this episode (yes we didn't see Suroth and Alwhin's bodies, but that seemed pretty fatal, they explicitly did NOT show any ships getting away) says to me that they want to put that plotline on ice until the Corenne and Tuon arrive. It could still work but we'd have to introduce more Seanchan nobles to make it happen...or...they could make the whole Extremely Dysfunctional Imperial Family dynamic real by having one or more of Tuon's siblings tag along. That was a very tell-not-show element of the books and then rendered irrelevant by Semirhage murdering all of them at once.

Extremely out-there theory: the way they're focusing on Moghedien being 'insane' and having Lanfear refer to the rest of the Forsaken as 'the boys' and being visibly wary of Moggy...what if they merge Moghedien and Semirhage? After all, Moggy goes after the Sad Bracelets first even if Semirhage is the one who uses them...

THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIP as that gifset going around demonstrates, this really was the theme of the season. I continue to love how much these kids love each other (and the lingering fear the show has planted that it won't matter, because look where Lews Therin and Ishamael and Lanfear ended up...). Totally bought that they would all just roll with running into each other like that when there was a clear and present threat.

Rand is still so much in his 'just trying to protect my friends' era, poor kiddo, we're going to see that get more and more worn away as the Pattern forces him into bigger and bigger confrontations.

MAT, goddamn, his story took a bit of time to get moving but looking back all the pieces are there. Everything about the knife-on-a-stick sequences was just. fjlkfsdjklfsadjlkfsd. Amazing foreshadowing AND a funny and effective piece of storytelling in the moment. Particularly enjoyed the use of the dagger to open the box with the Horn.

Re: Min's vision: I'm thinking that at some point next season someone will report back to her what actually happened and we're going to see an arc with her learning about her own power and realising that her visions can be partial or metaphorical.

Man I hope Egwene gets lots of nice things next season because this one has been (not unexpectedly) brutal. Completely on board with her killing Renna. I wonder if they're getting rid of the 'sparker/learner' distinction in the show, given what she said to Renna about sul'dam just being very weak in the Power. I also wonder what 'very weak' actually means coming from Egwene, who canonically in the show can hold up against a Forsaken for some length of time (another change I am fine with).

Fascinating to think about Perrin in 2x08, straight-up killing Geofram Bornhald for killing Hopper, vs Perrin in 1x08 deliberately choosing pacifism. I don't actually mind that they gave him some unquestionable culpability here; in the books it was always SO obvious he wasn't in the wrong that it felt silly.

Relatedly, I think what's going on with Nynaeve (to the extent that anything is, she certainly didn't suffer for screentime this season) is that like Perrin her PERSONAL plot actually stalls out around book 8-9 - they're slowburning her block storyline for the same reasons they're slowburning his Wolfbrother one, I reckon. I wouldn't be surprised if she doesn't heal stilling until much later in the show than the equivalent of book 6.

I didn't even notice that we left all the White Tower-related plotlines behind entirely this episode until I got to writing this post. FASCINATED to see where we pick up with Verin, Alanna, Siuan, et al next season...not to mention Liandrin

I haven't even talked about Aviendha! She hasn't had a lot to do beyond be introduced/introduce the concept of the Maidens and the Car'a'carn but it was solid set-up for next season and in line with how much she actually had to do in TDR.

My one big lingering question for this season is whether Ingtar isn't a Darkfriend on the show or whether he IS and they decided that his verbal confession wouldn't happen/work in the show and left it as a subtextual easter egg for book readers. I think both positions are arguable from the text, I'm curious what the intent was.

[nataliescatorccio]

🎊 NEW YEARS CLEAN-UP 🎊

rules: unburden yourself from the abandoned WIPS collecting dust in your folder and share 5 gifs, then tag five people.

thank you so much riya (@thebookluvrr1816) for tagging me!

so what's maybe different about my giffing process is that i actually rarely abandon gifsets. like if i start making it, i'm locked in, i have to finish and get the idea out my brain. on the rare occasion i don't finish a set, then i'll readapt any gifs i made for another set (but i could actually only find one instance of a set that i had abandoned this year, and i'd adapted it for another set instead). so this is a selection of gifs that i either cut from a set as i had to narrow down choices, or an 'original' look at a gif before i changed it. because of that, i'm going to link the set it was made alongside or was adapted into for comparison!

this gif became altered for this kanej week + book to screen gifset. it originally started off as just a quote gifset. i started making this just after s2 dropped, but i think a mutual posted a set of kanej + this quote around the same time and i didn't want to be copying it so i ended up never finishing the set. when kanej week rolled around i ended up reusing the two gifs i made (this one + the one that became 'never stop fighting'), but damn, i did love this blue, and looking at it now i actually think this one came out better

2. an early version of my kanej week quotes set. i did several for this set with a gif inside the font, but i just really hated the way it looked overall, and at the last minute changed it. i still reused all the gifs i'd made though - you can see the two here in the second panel!

3. the original take on the third gif in this inej eps set. i ultimately changed it because i didn't like the blend, particularly that you couldn't see the knife being played with which is a moment i really wanted to include. but i do adore the yellow light shining on her as she's praying, there's something almost saintly about it, and wish i'd been able to incorporate it as i wanted to (please ignore the line it's just there because i gave up and never fixed it!)

4. a gif from this 'la vie en rose' ed and stede gifset. i thought the way they looked at each other with stede tilting his head was so cute, but ultimately i found blending the scenes a little messy and it didn't really match the other gifs/the lyrics so i cut it.

5. cut from this choni set, i basically cut this because there was a lot of movement in the scene and i wasn't happy with the colouring - they lean in to kiss and that meant there were a lot of issues with colouring layers overlapping skin and at that point i'd done a lot of frame-by-frame colouring and was feeling too lazy to do this one too.

there we go! this gives a bit of an insight into my giffing process too, it's always interesting how gifsets change as you continue to work on them to find what works, so hopefully this also provides a bit of before and after!

tagging some talented mutuals (but no pressure as always!): @ughmerlin, @crowley-anthony, @seance, @saws2004, @taiturner, @natscatorrcio, @morgana-pendragon, @singularities, @khaotunqs

[twoidiotwriters1]

The Curse of Oenone (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: To the creator of the gifset I will never thank you enough -Danny Words: 2,241 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter // Next Chapter Listen to: 'The Wreck of Our Hearts' -by Sleeping Wolf

XXXVI: There's a HORSE Loose in the HOSPITAL

"So what's Frank's color? Does it match Hazel's?" Leo follows her around while Ara secures the ballistae. "Is he bright pink?"

"They're lavender, not pink," she has a vague smile on while she explains, not minding his interrogatory. "Percy and Annabeth are scarlet."

"What's ours?" He stands in her way. "You never told me."

Ara moves him out of the way and continues her chore. "It's golden."

His body lights up instantly. "Golden looks great on you! Do I look good?"

Ara laughs. "You could see it for yourself, you know?" 

"What? For real?" He gets excited. "How?"

"Light yourself on fire, it won't be that different."

"Funny. Seriously, I bet we all look god-like in your eyes," Leo's smile dies. "Do gods have soul lights?"

Ara's never thought of that before. "I don't know, they glow all the time regardless of how they feel. I don't even know if gods have souls, they're entities, right? Their bodies aren't vessels, just a form they take."

Leo hums, tinkering with the object he's been making since the night prior. "What about Chiron? And the nymphs and—"

"Mythical creatures don't have soul lights. I don't know why," she frowns. "They experience life differently."

"Can't wait to tell Jason you can see when he's horny," he snickers.

"Ew!" Ara makes a face. "First of all, I don't see sexual attraction, if anything, I only see when he's fawning over Piper."

"Same thing," Leo rolls his eyes. "If you're in love you want the person in every way."

Ara tries not to think of what that implies about his relationship with her. "There are people that don't feel romantic attraction—Or aren't interested in sexual stuff. Soul lights tell you about a person's interests, and what they love most in the world. In other words—"

"Weaknesses. You called them that, I think that's not accurate, but whatever," Leo leans against the ballista smiling at her adoringly. "I still love you even when you're wrong."

Ara stares at him with amusement and annoyance. He treats their situation like it makes him the luckiest guy in the world, which is insane. Leo jokes about being crazy, and she jokes about it too, but there are limits to how delulu you can pretend to be before it gets dangerous.

She hasn't been able to forget the way he freaked out at first, and she wants to ask him if he also conveniently forgot that thing about being an ill match after knowing about their soul lights, or if he's pretending to be happy for her sake.

"Done," Ara sighs, patting the ballista.

"Why are you securing them?" The boy asks. "They don't need maintenance."

"So they don't go off if we crash against them."

Leo frowns. "Crash?"

Ara whistles and Nico jumps from the topmast, landing next to her quietly and swiftly. The girl turns Almighty into a sword. "It's normal to lose your footing while training."

Leo steps back in alarm, eyes widening and darting between Nico and her. "You're training here? Near my valuables?"

Nico snorts. "I can't fight Ara, we can't afford to lose any limbs at the moment."

The girl tosses the sword at Leo and he catches it on instinct. "You got this, Firecracker." 

Nico unsheathes his sword and Leo looks over his shoulder nervously, eyes on the stairs. Ara clicks her tongue. 

"You can't outrun us and you know it. C'mon, stand your ground!"

"I don't like swords!" He complains. "And why are you teaming up all of a sudden?"

"He's doing me a favor."

"I think it'll be funny to watch you panic until you get it right," Nico admits with a smirk.

"Hazel!" Leo shouts. "Zhang!"

Ara raises a brow. "Both of them want you to train as much as I do. And Frank won't save you."

"For all the wrong reasons," Nico nods. 

Leo tries to appeal to her by being cute. "Doll, c'mon, I forge you weapons—"

"Oh, right!" Ara presses the hair tie around her wrist and once it becomes a shield she tosses it to Leo, who struggles to catch it now that he's holding her sword. "Now you're ready!"

"Where did you get that?" Nico eyes the shield with interest.

"Leo made it! It was my birthday present."

"I can make one to match your killer aesthetic, man," Leo offers. "Just put the blade of eternal damnation down..."

Nico ponders, worrying Ara for a second, then he shakes his head and lifts his sword slashing the air. "Nah."

He vaults at Leo, and the boy yelps and jumps out of his way, his dark curls burst into flames. "Jason, help!"

"No one's going to help you!" Ara raises her voice. "We all want you to get better! Who knows what my prophecy could bring? You want to help, right?"

He glares at her while Nico corners him against the mast. "Not fair, Ara!"

She shrugs, not even remotely sorry. "Neither is the curse."

Nico tries to hit Leo's head with the butt of his sword and Leo dodges him, but Nico trips him and Leo falls, dropping the shield and her sword.

"Fast reflexes, weak stance," Nico lowers his sword and offers a hand to pick him up.

"Fine," Leo makes a face, taking Nico's hand and getting up. He picks up the sword and the shield. "Just stay away from my fingers, I need them."

"Make sure I don't get close then," Nico replies, jabbing at him effortlessly.

Leo does his best to stop him with Ara's shield and strikes back, though poorly. It makes her proud anyway, he's trying and it brings her hope.

When Jason almost falls to his death while handling a hoard of Venti, he asks them to hold a meeting. He recounts his vision of Lily, Grover, and Rachel talking to Octavian and Reyna about the note Annabeth sent them.

"She's alive," Leo's arms are covered in the cuts he got during training. He's in no pain, Ara mended each wound with special care, and the boy loved every second of it. "Thank the gods and pass the hot sauce."

"What does that mean?" Frank makes a face.

"It means pass the hot sauce, Zhang. I'm still hungry." Leo rolls his eyes, shirt full of crumbs.

"I can't believe Reyna would try to find us," Frank continues, handing over the bottle to Leo. "It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"If she lives," Hazel adds. "It was hard enough for us to make it this far with seven demigods, the daughter of Olympus, and a warship."

"And me." Hedge says proudly. "Don't forget, cupcake, you got the satyr advantage."

"How's Lily?" Ara asks.

Jason gives her a look. "She was close to stabbing Octavian, but Rachel kept her at a proper distance—apart from that she looks okay."

Ara watches Leo and cleans the corner of his lips with her thumb. "Lily hates being in charge..." she sighs heavily. "I've failed her."

"C'mon, Ara, you're doing all you can," Piper soothes her.

"It's not enough!" She complains. Leo clears his throat and Ara corrects herself. "Lily can't work like that, the closer she is to the action, the harder it is to see the whole picture. Reyna will have it worse, though, Romans work in teams exclusively and to be forced to travel alone..."

"Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt," Jason agrees. "But I'd never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will."

"Well, I'd love to see Reyna again," Piper says politely. "But how is she supposed to find us?"

"Can't you just send her an Iris-message?" Frank suggests.

"They're not working very well," Hedge sighs. "Horrible reception. Every night, I swear, I could kick that rainbow goddess..."

Everyone falls silent. Leo's voice turns playful. "Coach? Who have you been calling every night, you old goat?"

"No one! Nothing! I just meant—"

"He means we've already tried," Hazel interrupts him. Ara remembers Coach used to have a girlfriend back home, a nymph they met during their first quest. "Some magic is interfering... maybe Gaea. Contacting the Romans is even harder. I think they're shielding themselves."

"I don't suppose Reyna has a cell phone...? Nah. Never mind. She'd probably have bad reception on a pegasus flying over the Atlantic." Frank grumbles.

"She'll find us," Jason assures them. "She mentioned something in the dream—she's expecting me to go to a certain place on our way to the House of Hades. I—I'd forgotten about it, actually, but she's right. It's a place I need to visit."

"And where is this place?" Piper asks.

Jason's soul light suddenly flashes across the table, a dark blue that envelops his body and grows in intensity the more he looks at Piper. "A... uh, a town called Split."

Ara elbows Leo discretely but with urgency, he looks up in confusion and she gestures at Jason, a look of amusement on her face as she does. Leo watches the blond boy for a moment and snorts, understanding what she's exposing.

"Um, yeah." Jason blinks, trying to gather his thoughts. "In fact, we should be getting close. Leo?"

Leo nods with a shit-eating grin still on his face, then he presses the intercom. "How's it going up there, buddy?" Festus responds with a couple of clicks. "He says maybe ten minutes to the harbor—Though I still don't get why you want to go to Croatia, especially a town called Split. I mean, you name your city Split, you gotta figure it's a warning to, you know, split. Kind of like naming your city Get Out!"

"It could be called Care Bear Island and I would still not feel safe," she brushes the crumbs off his shirt. "And slow down with the chips, dude, look at yourself..."

"Wait," Hazel frowns. "Why are we going to Croatia?"

"Well, technically we've been in Croatian territory for the past day or so," Leo leans closer to Ara while she fixes his appearance. "All that coastline we've been sailing past is it, but I guess back in the Roman times it was called... what'd you say, Jason? Bodacious?"

"Dalmatia," Nico corrects him and Jason gives a start. Ara has a hard time not laughing and Nico tries just as hard not to make eye contact with her. "Croatia used to be Dalmatia, a major Roman province. You want to visit Diocletian's Palace, don't you?"

"Whose palace?" Hedge asks with alarm. "And is Dalmatia where those Dalmatian dogs come from? That 101 Dalmatians movie—I still have nightmares."

"Why would you have nightmares about that?" Frank questions.

"Nico is right," Jason interrupts before Hedge can respond. "I need to go to Diocletian's Palace. It's where Reyna will go first, because she knows I would go there."

"And why would Reyna think that? Because you've always had a mad fascination with Croatian culture?" Piper questions.

"Reyna and I used to talk about Diocletian," he explains. "We both kind of idolized the guy as a leader. We talked about how we'd like to visit Diocletian's Palace. Of course we knew that was impossible. No one could travel to the ancient lands. But still, we made this pact that if we ever did, that's where we'd go."

"Diocletian..." Leo tilts his head. "I got nothing. Why was he so important?"

"He was the last great pagan emperor!" Frank exclaims.

"Why am I not surprised you know that, Zhang?"

"Why wouldn't I? He was the last one who worshipped the Olympian gods, before Constantine came along and adopted Christianity."

"I remember something about that," Hazel ponders. "The nuns at St. Agnes taught us that Diocletian was a huge villain, right along with Nero and Caligula." She scowls at Jason. "Why would you idolize him?"

"He wasn't a total villain," Jason replies. "Yeah, he persecuted Christians, but otherwise he was a good ruler. He worked his way up from nothing by joining the legion. His parents were former slaves... or at least his mom was. Demigods know he was a son of Jupiter—the last demigod to rule Rome. He was also the first emperor ever to retire, like, peacefully, and give up his power. He was from Dalmatia, so he moved back there and built a retirement palace. The town of Split grew up around..."

Jason's gaze locks on Leo, who's pretending to write on his palm. "Go on, Professor Grace! I wanna get an A on the test."

"Shut up, Leo."

Ara laughs and Leo smiles at her reaction proudly, dragging his chair closer to her. He has been flirting at every opportunity and in front of everyone like he hasn't done in months, and she can tell he's overdoing it to make her forget their problem. She tries to resist it, but as usual, it's no use.

Piper brings them back to the subject. "So why is Diocletian's Palace so special?"

Nico grabs a grape and pops it in his mouth. "It's said to be haunted by the ghost of Diocletian."

"Who was a son of Jupiter, like me," Jason nods. "His tomb was destroyed centuries ago, but Reyna and I used to wonder if we could find Diocletian's ghost and ask where he was buried... well, according to the legends, his scepter was buried with him."

Nico smiles slightly. "Ah... that legend."

"What legend?" Hazel questions.

"Supposedly Diocletian's scepter could summon the ghosts of the Roman legions, any of them who worshipped the old gods."

"Okay, now I'm interested," Leo whistles lowly, his eyebrows raised. "Be nice to have a booty-kicking army of pagan zombies on our side when we enter the House of Hades."

"Not sure I would've put it that way," Jason sighs, "but yeah."

"We don't have much time," Frank reminds them. "It's already July ninth. We have to get to Epirus, close the Doors of Death—"

"Which are guarded," Hazel points out, "by a smoky giant and a sorceress who wants... Well, I'm not sure. But according to Pluto, she plans to 'rebuild her domain.' Whatever that means, it's bad enough that my dad felt like warning me personally."

"And if we survive all that, we still have to find out where the giants are waking Gaea and get there before the first of August," Frank groans. "Besides, the longer Percy and Annabeth are in Tartarus—"

"I know," Jason eases him. "We won't take long in Split. But looking for the scepter is worth a try. While we're at the palace, I can leave a message for Reyna, letting her know the route we're taking for Epirus."

"The scepter of Diocletian could make a huge difference," Nico concedes. "You'll need my help."

"Hey, sounds fun," Piper tries to step in. "I'll go, too."

"You can't, Piper," Nico reasons. "It should only be Jason and me. Diocletian's ghost might appear for a son of Jupiter, but any other demigods would most likely... ah, spook him. And I'm the only one who can talk to his spirit. Even Hazel won't be able to do that."

Something scalding pokes Ara in the back, like the red-hot pointy end of a spear, and she bolts forward. Her palms slam down on the table and everyone looks at her.

"Ara?" Hazel eyes her with concern. "All good?"

There is a presence in the room, and it wants her to join Jason and Nico. "I'm going with the boys."

Nico frowns. "Ara, I just said—"

"I know," the presence isn't talking but it feels like it's pushing down on, bending her back. "I'm not saying I'm a modern version of the Emperors but I'm the daughter of Olympus, so—"

"You're the leader of both camps," Jason finishes for her, understanding her point right away. "Greeks and Romans answer to you, yeah I see what you mean."

"So far that hasn't helped much," Nico mentions.

Ara glares at him."I think I hear hooves."

His face shifts, that's what they used to say to let each other know they were being heard. Usually, the code was used while talking about Connor and Lily, and the hooves referred to satyrs and nymphs, they like gossip a bit too much. Or Chiron, so they could run away before he could catch them in one of their childish competitions.

Festus rings the ship's bell and speaks through the loudspeaker in his usual machine language, distracting everyone from the weird stuff Ara just said.

"We've arrived," Leo announces. "Time to Split."

Frank makes a noise of annoyance and looks at Ara. "Can we leave Valdez in Croatia?"

"No," she smiles, getting up from her seat.

"'Cause you can't live without me?" Leo catches her wrist before she can go away and kisses her hand.

"You already know the answer."

Next Chapter –>

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @asnyox-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris @obxstiles @ellipsisspelled @thepixiechicksh @ebony-reine-vibes

[btr-rewatch]

BTR REWATCH MINI POST

Big Time Rush Season 1, Episode 8: “Big Time Break”

While I will not be covering this episode in full (I do have some gifsets from it, though), I do wish to ramble a bit about Kendall and Katie, because they've got some great moments together in it.

So. Shows that portray close and healthy sibling dynamics. Makes me insane, right? Right. Siblings who love and look out for each other. When each one manages to be The Protector of the other in some way, regardless of age difference. Brilliant stuff.

And for a show that so often relies on absurdity and just plain off-the-walls humor, it manages to have depth as well, if you're looking for it. Which I am. Why else would I have created this blog but to analyze this delightful series?

Kendall and Katie may possibly be one of my favorite fictional siblings. From the very first episode, there's such a strongly established bond that you can sense even though they really don't interact that much. You see it in the way that Kendall immediately (happily) complies with Katie's request to hear the "Giant Turd" song and when Katie is going on about how often Kendall sings—including when she can't sleep at night.

I won't go into all my thoughts and feelings on the Knight family situation and how a lot of who Kendall is was likely forced upon him when he became "man of the house," but...those thoughts are there. Might explore them at a later date in another post or in a fic, but anyway! As you make your way through the first season, their relationship solidifies more, and you see the warmth. The way that they look out for each other, and the fierceness with which they love each other. Katie is an independent, tough cookie, but she's still a little kid who sees her big brother as a role model and needs his guidance. And Kendall, being the guy who always tries to be there for others and set a good example, does a wonderful job of looking after her while also knowing when to step back. In a lot of ways, he's a combination of brother, father-figure, and friend, which I have OTHER thoughts about (because that is a lot of weight to carry around at 16).

Focusing in on "Big Time Break" though, Kendall's storyline deals with him still wanting to get to know and befriend Jo, even though she has a boyfriend. At one point, Katie overhears Jo on the phone and discovers that Jo doesn't have a boyfriend at all; she's been pretending to have one for fear of romantic pursuits interfering with her career. Perfectly understandable to want to prioritize in life, of course, but Katie is not happy to hear of the deception.

Jo has been LYING to her dear big brother?? Now, she could just sit back and not get involved. After all, Kendall and Jo are older and have their own confusing, teenage lives. It'd be okay if she wanted to shrug and let them figure it out themselves. It doesn't have to be her business.

But Katie Knight can't do that. She goes right over and pulls Kendall from his conversation in a way so very fitting of her character.

This is another aspect of their dynamic that I really like: Katie's complete lack of fear to take charge when needed. Kendall isn't listening to her? She just rolls her eyes and drags him by his ear. Katie Knight, expert on gettin' things done.

She then lets Kendall know that he's been getting played "like a fiddle." Not wanting Jo to be suspicious of their conversation, she cleverly advises Kendall to turn and give Jo the "my little sister is crazy gesture," to which I must include another gif because I love Kendall's execution. He's got the best expressions.

They end the conversation with Katie essentially challenging Kendall to do the right thing, which, in her mind, is to confront Jo and get the truth out of her.

And I love this for two reasons. 1. Katie's vaguely threatening reminder that she looks up to him and 2. They have an adorable handshake! When did they come up with this?? It's so sweet, and I love them.

Lol, so much for a "mini post," but oh well. Kendall and Katie are wonderful siblings, and it delights me. I'm glad they didn't go the route of them being the type of siblings who are always bickering with each other or who ignore each other/generally just don't care. Give me siblings who love each other, who get invested in each other's lives, and who have silly little secret handshakes.

[kalinara]

It’s interesting to me how many Nate-haters in the Ted Lasso fandom seem to also be big fans of Rebecca Welton, or “Tedbecca” as a ship.

Disclaimer: this is not an attack on either character or ship.  I like the idea of Tedbecca, and I love Rebecca as a character.  I am also not saying ALL Tedbecca/Rebecca fans hate Nate.  Many people actually have taste.  :-)

But it’s very interesting.

I had an old post reblogged recently by someone who just HAD to add tags about how they wanted Nate to be redeemed, but thought he shouldn’t be able to come back to Richmond afterward.  He’d done too much.

On that person’s tumblr was another post, of a gifset from the most recent episode, talking about how much they wanted to see Rebecca tear Nate a new one.

I am not, for one moment, trying to excuse what Nate did.  But there is no objective standard where Nate’s actions are worse than Rebecca Welton’s.

Rebecca spent an entire season trying to destroy Richmond.  She very nearly succeeded.  If Ted Lasso the show were just a hair more realistic, or Ted Lasso the character just a hair less magical, then Richmond the team wouldn’t have stayed together during their demotion.  The more talented players would have jumped ship to greener pastures.

That is, assuming they were recognized for their talents.  Rebecca’s sabotage was long-term, and it made the entire team a laughing-stock.  They have the advantage of performing very well during their Champion League year, but they still have the stigma of season one to get past.  She might well have done irreparable damage to more than one career.

The funny/sad thing about Rebecca’s plot this season is that her humiliation and fear of ridicule isn’t due to Rupert’s actions, but her own.  

Rebecca can’t even claim the moral high ground when it comes to Ted himself.  She was sympathetic to his panic attacks, sure.  But that was after she’d already been softened by half a season of sincere friendship, plus the emotional catharsis of her reunion/reconciliation with Sassy.  This is also the woman who tried very hard to get Keeley and Ted exposed for an affair that never existed, remember.  And she’d had no idea at the time that Ted and Michelle’s marriage was on the rocks anyway.  She could have destroyed his (and Keeley’s) life if she hadn’t belatedly realized it could be traced back to her.

And bullying?  Sure, Nate was a dick to Colin (who had been a dick to him first, remember?) but Rebecca spent a whole year making Leslie Higgins miserable.  Did she have a legitimate reason to be angry with him?  Sure.  But that’s when you fire someone.  You don’t spend a year torturing them.  

I am not saying this to attack Rebecca.  I’m just pointing out that if Nate’s actions caused enough harm that he can’t possibly return to Richmond (assuming he’d want to), then why isn’t that true for Rebecca, who has caused far more harm to far more people?  

I think maybe it might come from the idea that Ted forgiving Rebecca is a cornerstone moment of the ship, and that it’s somehow less impactful if Ted extends that same forgiveness to someone else.  

There are other, less generous interpretations, of course...

[lydiaas]

sorry for the stupid question but what do u mean all the things he throws a kie in 3x04 came from his dad? what am i missing? whats the connection between these 2 scenes in the gifset? 👀

No stupid questions about my tags because they are often nonsensical, one single braincell bouncing around up there. You're talking about my tags on this gifset?

So much of the way JJ reacts to Kie getting close to him in 3x04 is down to the damage done to him by his dad. I suppose my tags weren't just talking about that scene in 2x08 specifically but also considering all the other scenes we see with Luke where he makes JJ feel worthless. But what I love about that parallel between 3x04 and 2x08 is that it shows how defeatist JJ is about his own life, ("it'll all work out" "no it's not, but maybe in the next life".) and then how that manifests with Kie ("it would all blow up anyway"). You could also draw a line between the way JJ is once again being left behind by someone who is supposed to love him. He can't start anything with Kie because she will eventually leave, just like everyone else.

When he says in 2x08 "I hadn't exactly been perfect either" (as though there is any way he could have acted to prevent from being abused) and then in 3x04 "I'm just some loser" it drives home again how low of an opinion he has of himself. Incapable of seeing that he is a victim, that he doesn't have to be perfect to be worthy of unconditional love and care. That the way he see's himself is not how others do.

And of course, the way his mask just breaks in both of those scenes. Both times he lets his wall down just a little bit rather than repressing everything. It is as though he is breaking under the weight of being given affection he so desperately craves. Luke is a piece of shit, always will be, but in that moment he gives JJ something he probably wanted his whole life. A dad that acknowledges his own failures (barely) and tells him everything is going to be okay. A dad who holds him without hurting him. And in 3x04 Kie doesn't let him off the hook and demands to be heard. For just a second, he succumbs to the idea that the people he loves care about him as much as he does them. That she could love him completely. Eventually the wall goes back up but for that 2-3 seconds he is so vulnerable.

I'm sure Sabrina (@brizzlovesyou) and Laura (@erinchristmaselvis) have their thoughts on this since those two menaces are the ones who brought that gifset into existence.