#i know i focused a lot on audrey in this post

[laurapalmerz]

i think we as a society should talk about audrey more. next to shelly and laura, she's one of the most mischaracterized throughout the entire show. an endlessly fascinating case of existing often just as ship material or stripped down to aesthetics instead of exploring the rather horrendous abuse that she and her brother have faced living in the horne household.

the fact that her father plays a pivotal role for a while in terms of her self worth is really depressing, especially given she doesn't receive much attention from him in the first place. her jealously of laura stealing the attention away from him at parties also foreshadows a lot of what she'll go on to experience as she gets older. it was unfounded, since it wasn't as though he was favoring laura as a "daughter" over audrey, but was attracted to her from that moment onward (as we find out in laura's diary when she's eventually hired at one eyed jacks). this lack of attention and care toward her might explain why she behaves the way she does and has a tendency to seek out comfort in the arms of older men (see her attraction to cooper and that one guy she eventually gets with, jack? i think his name is?). her family despises her. not a lot of people take her seriously. she's ignored and shoved off until she enters one eyed jacks and is used as leverage as blackmail against her father, who nearly has sex with her unknowingly. it breaks her further to know that her father had a relationship with laura, that it was potentially him that could've killed her (before her real killer is revealed) all because she was going to expose his secrets rightfully. there's layers of complexity to her that people blatantly ignore because "uwu aesthetic!! she's SO lana del ray coded". i cannot tell you how many times i've perused youtube edits or amv's of twin peaks and seen audrey set to songs by lana del ray (who is a known zionist and racist). one of which being "lolita" which just makes me wanna vomit because that song misses the ENTIRE point of the novel but that's a discussion for another day. she's not two-dimensional, her struggles are just as valid as laura's and she deserves to be respected as a character. she's not a sex symbol, she's not an aesthetic, she's a girl who just wanted to be loved by her father, but ended up in the margins as he sought power and relationships with underage girls at a business he and his brother ran off to the side illegally. no one loves her, and thus she acts out, even though she doesn't want to.

[inkdemonapologist]

What are your thoughts on joeys character in batdr and his redemption? If you ask me I like what they did with him. They gave him redemption without excusing some of the bad stuff he did. And I think memory joey could grow to be somewhat of his own character. But the redemption isn’t perfect though. Even though I said the it didn’t excuse some of the stuff he did it felt like they swept the bad stuff under the rug. But who knows. Maybe they’ll fix this in future.

But enough about what I think, what don you think?

I’ve talked about this before – the TL;DR of that post is that I think this is, conceptually, a promising way to portray Joey moving forward to be better for someone new, but in actual execution it fails to do that.

TBH I’d love to stop categorising this as “redemption”… I've grown to dislike this framing, debating whether it’s a Good Redemption or a Bad Redemption or whether Joey is Really Redeemed or Not, because it assumes that Redemption™ is even what’s happening in this story. BatDR is a story where we’re given reason to believe that Joey may have had a change of heart. That’s it! We can question and analyse his supposed change of heart, but it doesn’t have to REDEEM HIM to be real, and I think measuring things on the scale of REDEEMED VS NOT REDEEMED is not only gliding over some pretty complex ideas of What Does Redeemed Mean In The Context Of Fiction (it is the sort of concept that it is so, so easy for people to have vastly different unspoken definitions for, making discussions of “he was redeemed” “no he wasn’t” especially futile), but also not really useful here.

For one thing, this isn’t a story about Joey's change of heart. Tbh, he barely features – Memory Joey can have a change of heart and work to be better if you believe/headcanon that he has OG Joey’s attitude, worldview, and personality flaws (which I do), but he has no crimes to acknowledge or repent for other than MAYBE reluctance to get involved. You might as well ask a person to repent for the crimes of their kins!! We hear about the choices original Joey made, and we can judge those choices postmortem, but he’s not here to redeem himself through this story; he’s dead.

As to the actual spirit of your question: The big thing. The really really big thing. Is that the CYCLE IS STILL GOING. It’s still going and it’s still bad and everyone in it is still miserable!! He didn’t fix that!!! The only evidence we have of ANY attempt to make it nicer in there is that he added Allison Angel, which like, “i’ve created a new life to keep you company in the torture dimension, so it’s less bad” is NOT ACTUALLY BETTER.

It’s important because it’s the only thing Joey could still try to do. He clearly doesn’t have any money to give restitution to his victims or their families, and I’m not gonna be a cop about demanding that he return the ink machine to the corporation that’s even more evil than he was. There’s not a lot of tangible steps he could take to perform penance for what he’s done, beyond fessing up publicly to his crimes and turning himself in and definitely going to jail, and like, maybe that would be a good thing for him to do, but if we’re going to hold Joey to that standard we really should be making the same demands of, say, Thomas Connor, or Sammy Lawrence in every Escape AU.

He can’t go back and un-ruin the lives he ruined years ago. But he didn’t do anything about the cycle, and that’s something that’s still happening NOW.

That was his responsibility, sapient life that he created to suffer and should have felt a huge obligation to – yet, we have no evidence that Joey was like, trying to fix it (in fact, he seemed PRETTY FOCUSED on spending his limited time creating and then raising Audrey), so every assertion that he was a changed man falls a bit flat, because being a sweet, loving person to your family and friends while running an endlessly looping torture dimension in your basement is actually quite sinister! Even Memory Joey asserts that the only reason he can’t fix the cycle now is because he’s not really the OG Joey who made it – does that mean the OG Joey could? Audrey says she wants to make the cycle kinder; could Joey have done that? Why didn’t he? We know from Allison's appearance in the original BatIM that the hellish experience of the first game IS the version that came from Joey’s change of heart, and it’s not great for literally anyone!!

Joey was a better person to Audrey, his daughter, and I do believe he genuinely loved her. If it were just that, it would be pretty good – Joey disappears from public life and stops obsessing over Bendy and instead of barging into his past victims’ lives to demand forgiveness, he just wants to be a better man and a good father to this daughter he created. That’s a compelling story, and I think it’s probably the best direction that “Joey wants to be better” could go. But once we realise he was actively ignoring suffering that he both caused and was responsible for fixing, it’s hard to take that love in good faith anymore. Joey being good exclusively to people that he likes who are doing what he wants isn’t anything new; Joey’s delight in The One Who Came Out Right feels less like a change of heart when we see Memory Joey echo his complete lack of sympathy for The One Who Came Out Wrong.

The reason it feels like Joey’s wrongdoing was glossed over isn’t because Joey needed to record an audiolog saying “I acknowledge that my actions were without excuse, and I’m deeply sorry for the harm I’ve caused” or whatever… it’s because there was something he could’ve changed, or could’ve at least TRIED to change, and he didn’t do it -- and it feels like we, the audience, were not supposed to notice that, because the story didn’t notice, either. It'd be possible to address it; like, what if Joey's change of heart instead involved him trying to fix things for the people in the cycle, and Audrey was created accidentally in that process -- then his love for Audrey would also be a picture of how far he'd come, taking responsibility for this person he'd brought into being and seeing her as a beloved daughter instead of a mistake. Or even just an audiolog where Joey says some kind of “oh god I can’t end it, it’s just going to repeat forever, what have i done, what can i do,” and it might actually feel possible to believe in his change of heart, to believe that he really tried as hard as he could and just never succeeded. But this huge thing is barely acknowledged. It's fine. He put Allison in there, so now it's fine! Don't dwell on the past!!

Anyway, like I said in my first post, if all this were intentional, I would LOVE it, conceptually. The idea of Joey Drew being a good father to Audrey who really genuinely loved her, but also was not actually a better person in a lot of ways, was still the same guy who was uncomfortable with guilt and glossed over his wrongdoing in order to prematurely Move On from the things that made him feel like a failure and focus on the relationship with his daughter that made him feel like a success, is a compelling, difficult character! The way so many people fell in love with Memory Joey just seems like, how everyone in original Joey’s life must’ve felt about him, the way they all kept believing in him despite everything, the way they wanted so badly to believe him. Impose this lens upon the whole game, and it all fits in. But since there’s no sign it’s intentional – and, with the archive, actually some signs that it wasn’t – it sort of sits weirdly. Memory Joey isn’t framed as an unreliable narrator. The tone of his final scene clearly isn’t MEANT to be dissonant.

---

So, uh, that’s what I think. I think the concept of Joey having a genuine change of heart and being better for his daughter could be good; I think the concept of Joey presenting himself as a changed man when really he is Just The Same, He Just Likes You This Time, could also be good. But he was handled clumsily enough that I think we didn’t quite get either thing, and, as usual, you have to fill in the blanks with headcanons and inferences to get one of these stories -- so which story you get kinda depends on which way you decide to interpret everything. Nothing tells us for sure that Joey didn't try his hardest to fix everything, so if you want that story, you can simply headcanon that he tried his hardest. But my personal preference is definitely for the reading where Joey believes himself a changed man because he really does love his daughter, and that's genuinely sweet!! but he remained the same man he always was, dodging guilt and responsibility in favour of a narrative that made him feel good about himself. I'm still quite proud of the frustrated little indictment Memory Joey gives him in that one creationship comic I made:

[lurkinglurkerwholurks]

Breathing

First posted: May 28, 2018

Focuses on: Jason (and his family)

My favorite bookmark: "Jason Todd is sassy monster and Bruce has PTSD from this asshole dying. 🥺🤣"

My second favorite bookmark: "I CANT STOP CRYIIINNNG WTFFFU"

Tier: Pretty middle of the road in terms of metrics, but one of my personal favorites.

This is my "behind the scenes" series where I indulge myself frightfully by annotating my fics. Link to the fic itself above. Thoughts below the cut.

This fic was dedicated to @starknjarvis27 because she came up with the idea on one of our many BatFam discussions, and being a Megan Whalen Turner superfan, I couldn't not take on the idea.

For those unaware, this fic lifts the bones of an absolutely wonderful scene in The King of Attolia, the third (and best) book in the Queen's Thief series. I made sure you didn't need to know the series at all to enjoy "Breathing," but the girlies who know shriek more.

Jason was still breathing when Bruce found him.

Most of my fics, I may not totally know where they're going, but I know my first line. No exception here.

The voice of this one doesn't feel fully Bruce to me, which makes sense because it's so early on in my written works. Also I'm telling myself that's just young Bruce not sounding quite like his more mature self. Ah, the tales we tell ourselves sometimes. 💀

Jason’s chest, or what was left of it, rose again, the cavity of smashed ribs deepening as his lungs fought to work.

I don't know enough medical things to comfortably get too detailed on Jason's injuries (and I wasn't friends yet with Audrey to ask), but since this was Bruce's POV, I worked to make it adequately gruesome.

If those panicked, roving blue eyes with their black-blown pupils could see anything beyond his own fear.

And sometimes I make up words for fun.

He wanted to hold him. Wanted to scoop that broken body into his arms and shelter it with his own until the miracle he was praying for arrived. Bruce wanted to hold his boy. But his stupid, awful, useless brain hissed warnings of spinal injuries and paralysis, of the harm he could cause by giving into sentiment at just the wrong time.

Apparently I also knew how I wanted this section to end because I was deliberately writing toward

And, at last, Bruce held his son.

This.

Trying to figure out the setting of the second half was tough because I didn't care about where they were coming from. I wanted it to be vaguely comic cliche and hopefully not racist or otherwise offensive but that's all.

Also, ugh, staging. Staging. I hate staging. Trying to mark where everyone is and why and keep them all straight as they start to move. Bah.

Of course, now, looking back, hewing more closely to the original scenario where the main figure (Attolis, Jason) turns and smiles at the narrator just before disaster, that sure would have been something, wouldn't it.

But Jason. The odd man out. The wild card, for good or ill. The unpredictable ace up their sleeve. Their magnet for trouble, collector of odd experiences. Too cynical to be Dick, too rash to be Tim, too undisciplined to be Damian. Raised on the streets. Trained by a Bat and a Flying Grayson. Raised again by assassins. Comrade of drug dealers, mercenaries, and thieves. Their family stories always seemed to twist on a “but Jason.”

I like this bit a lot, personally.

He had never seen Jason kill like this. It was the blinding flash of blades, the blur of a tan leather jacket and dark curls, the splatter of red blood on grey stone. And then it was done.

BAMF JASON TODD!!!

At the weight of three sets of eyes landing on him, Jason turned only his head and met Dick’s gaze. His face was pale, almost green, and splattered with a fine mist of blood. It took Dick a moment to piece his coloring together with the slant of his jaw and the blaze in his eyes. He was angry. No, he was furious. But when his eyes met Dick’s, he smiled. All teeth. “Let’s not keep Daddy Dearest waiting, boys.”

Jason is scary and I love him. I think if I could pick an audio narrator for him, especially the way I wrote him in the beginning, I'd pick the guy who does the Raven Boys audiobook, specifically in the voice he uses for Ronan.

“I could use a hand on this next part,” Jason admitted, voice steady and cool. 

And my brain recites, oh gods, stairs.

“I’m dying, Dickie. My insides are on my outsides."

Direct. Hecking. Quote.

“I probably won’t even make it to the Batplane,” Jason moaned. “You’ll have to leave me here. They’ll make me a trail marker. Reach the skeleton with the sweet jacket and you’re halfway to the temple of doom.”

A nice little trail marker. So like a thief in a ditch, one might say.

Jason lay still on the narrow cot, conscious but boneless. Even the furious greenish tint of his skin had faded away into a bloodless pale. Alfred had pulled up his shirt to reveal the truth. Jason’s grip down the mountain hadn’t been only to stanch the bleeding, but to hold himself together. At some point in the blurred fight, a blade had snuck under his defenses and slit open his abdomen, nearly from hip to hip. The blood that had trickled through his shirt and over his hand had been nothing compared to the steady flow that had soaked unseen into his pants. Over Alfred’s shoulder, Jason opened his eyes and met Dick’s.

This is full-scale lifting, my obscene apologies to Megan Whalen Turner, I love your work.

Alfred’s back blocked most of Jason’s body from view. Dick could see Jason’s face and upper torso. Bruce, being taller, could probably see a little more. Damian and Tim, being shorter, could probably see a little less. Both boys stood further back as well, Tim just behind Bruce and Damian behind Dick.

friggin blocking, my foe. Just lining up the stupid little dominoes so they fall right in a minute.

Six people breathing. Five people breathing.

I'm a genius. Good job, me.

Jason erupted like a tiger caught in a snare. He clawed at the cot, trying to push himself up. Alfred cried out, warning of wounds and fresh blood and popped stitches as he tried to force Jason back down. Dick sprang forward and tried to grab his brother, but got a fist to the face for his troubles. He staggered back.

Againnnnnnnnnn I'm so sorry Megan Whalen Turner

Dick slowly unclenched his fingers, first releasing Jason’s hair, then his wrist. Violent red streaks branded Jason’s skin like a cuff

I am a clever little clog with my symbolism and because these fics are for me, I can be smug about it

At least a couple people have said this fic have pushed them to read Megan Whalen Turner which is all I could ever want or hope for.

[ender-shift]

Generating World... Joining World...

*Welcome to the word of Ender Shift. *Where monsters and humans encounter a new kind of soul. A soul that doesn't belong. A soul not from the overworld or underground, but a different dimension entirely. *Humans don't know what to do with someone who looks so monstrous.. so down below she fell. When they land in the underground, they're... confused. It finds itself in a place that is incredibly strange. *Follow Ciara on the journey of Ender Shift. Where they aren't alone in their journeys of the underground.

My name is Lucid and my pronouns are they/it! I've been in the Undertale fandom for a good while and this is probably the first AU/AT I've made and put full effort into to get it off the ground. Below is information and I apologise if it's too much to read. I have it sectioned up so hopefully things are a bit easier to read!

A bit of a content warning, though I doubt it's too much that the Undertale fandom can't handle. This blog will have blood, violence, substance usage(tobacco[cigarettes] and alcohol), mental disorders/disabilities, slight body mutilation(primarily to the face[eyes & mouth], not that much, probably only a few panels/frames), and swearing!

Posts will have TWs/CWs in the tag and comics will be put under a cut after written warnings. Viewer discretion is advised. Please take care of yourselves. 🤍

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This is an Undertale AU blog composed of comics, videos, and stories. The comics will be combinations of drawings and Gacha-based characters, poses, and such. If you do not like it, simply don't click.

This crosses over with Minecraft - specifically focused on End and Nether, but it also includes the Deep Dark and a custom dimension/customised take on a dimension. Though, most features outside of the End won't be added until later. (:3)

This is not a Sans, Papyrus, Frisk, Chara, or Asriel centric AU/AT(though they all do get sight touch-ups on their designs). This is an OC centric AU/AT. If that isn't your cup of tea, simply don't interact with this blog. This is not to say that the characters won't show face, but they are not the main centre focus of the AU/AT.

This rolls an ask blog, a comic blog, and a fanfic blog all into one. Characters to this AU will be listed below. Please avoid making ask blogs for the characters. Parody character accounts, fanart, etc will be permitted, but there are a few cases of AUs/ATs getting ask blogs made by people who aren't even the original creator.

As more things get made, links will be added. For the time being, though, please use the "search tag" feature of Tumblr on my profile! There will be tags for asks, the storyline features, character asks, incorrect quotes, side stories, and more.

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There are quite a few different things that will be explained when the story begins. In the first post of the story, I will add a cut to the post of Keep Reading for information. Please know that the AU/AT includes things that most people may or may not like - for example "gendered" Frisk(demiboy, he/they) & Chara(demigirl, she/they). There are a lot of things changed, altered, removed, and included. Look, a person's gotta take creative liberties to make something, okay?

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Characters in the AU are the usual - Flowey, Toriel, Napstablook, Sans, Papyrus, Monster Kid, Grillby, Undyne, Temmie, Alphys, Mettaton, Muffet, Asgore, Asriel, and Gaster[o_O]. There are also OC characters - Ciara, Lucian, Briar, Arial, Gabriel, Altair, Audrey, Cato, and Meyrul[Malachi]. There are also reference to Minecraft characters and mobs - Steve, Alex, Herobrine, Entity 303, Endermen[Named], Wither[Weston], Ender Dragons[Everleigh & Eastmund], and Warden[Walker].

Character designs and profiles will be coming soon! The canon characters of Undertale(besides F&C) and the human(oid) characters of Minecraft aren't going to have too much of a redesign and we all know the stats, abilities, and information of the Undertale characters.

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This will be updated as time goes on, so please check this post every now and again!

Comics will start roughly June 5th/6th. (Don't hold me to this, it's a rough estimate and hope.)

Updates to the storyline may be infrequent, put on hold, or take longer to make. Please don't ask too often if Ender Shift is cancelled.

[escaping-thoughts-reviews]

Honestly seeing all the posts unironically celebrating a child possibly killing his father, is deeply disturbing.

Instead of focusing on how Adrien possibly learning Monarch’s identity in the end and then realise that, not only he was fighting his own father all along, but actually almost killed him (or possibly damaged him for life) and the trauma his character could go through because of that, these out-of-touch people that treat Gabriel like he’s a real person, are celebrating by saying stuff like: “Adrien deserves to kill his father” or “we deserve to see Gabriel die”.

It’s ghoulish and cruel (and makes them just as bad as Gabriel, if not worse, since he’s fictional, therefore his actions are not his own, and they are real people).

The dynamic Adrien and Gabriel have, always reminded me of Vader and Luke. Both are father and son, a villain and a hero, but when in one fandom Luke and Vader’s story is celebrated for it’s lesson in compassion, in the MLB fandom there is no such empathy. All you get is a bunch of people (mostly adults) that can’t distinguish fiction from reality (take Gabriel’s action personally), should probably step back from this kids show (especially if it causes them so many destructive emotions) and that warps even the tiniest thing Gabriel does into “abuse” (ex: Adrien having a balanced and healthy alimentation = “he’s starving him!”). [What he does as Hawkmonth doesn’t count because he doesn’t know CN is Adrien. Also there are multiple instances where Gabriel gives up his powers when his son is caught in the crossfire (ex: Stlyle Queen), showing he does love Adrien and wants him to be safe, even if it means letting Emilie go (returning to his villainous ways is part of his descent into madness, has nothing to do with his love for Adrien). And episodes like “Chat Blanc” and “Ephemeral” are out, not only because they are a “what if”, making them irrelevant, but because a lot of the cast acts completely out of character, including Gabriel (but let’s be fair this happens constantly in the show)]

Yes, Gabriel changed and became emotionally distant after Emilie “disappeared” and that constitutes a type of abuse (I’m not condoning his actions), but he’s not the horrible father parts of the fandom want him to be (Audrey is so much worse). What we are now seeing in season 5 is not the real Gabriel, it’s him loosing his mind and being corrupted by power: "You used to do this for the love for Emilie, now you just do it for madness" (he’s clearly not the man he was in season 1 nor before the events of the show). He was never “Monarch”, he became like that with time. It’s called character development (something that rarely happens in this show, so I’m not surprised if some people are taken aback by it).

Don’t get me wrong, I get it, some people don’t like Gabriel and it’s fair. I’m the first to criticise and make fun of the guy, even if I like his character (I wanted to reach into the screen and smack him after “Evolution”). But the vitriol aimed at this fictional character, who’s been written (even if badly) as a “desperate man fallen from grace and corrupted with power” (again, like Anakin), is really exaggerated, like most hatred other characters recieve (even Ozai, who’s so much worse than Gabriel, never recieved so much hatred). Also the actual hate and abuse these real people throw to other human beings for not agreeing with them about a fictional character is really heinous, and I know I’ll probably get a couple of these lunatics’s “opinions” in the replies. To them: look at what you’re doing with your life and rethink it. Stop. Get help.

These reactions really make me wonder if MLB is the first and only show these people have ever seen. There are way more worse characters out there, that did way worst (ex: Gendo Ikari, Shou Tucker, Ozai, Palpatine, just to name a few).  In the end Gabriel is not real, what he did never happened and the show clearly makes him out to be in the wrong (he’s the villain), so no child watching the show will ever look up to him (unlike other characters who’s bad actions are framed to be “right”). I think the people that hate Gabriel to such a caustic degree need some professional help because clearly something else is going on in their life and I wish them a healthy recovery.

-

And if people wonder why I like Gabriel’s character, it’s because he, alongside Nathalie, are the only characters with actual development in this series. Therefore they’re the most interesting and compelling. Get a random episode from each season, everyone is the exact same except them. This is why, objectively, they’re the best the show has to offer (despite the occasional character assassinations... looking at you “Chat Blanc”, you absolute trainwreck).

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Hello again M🕵🏻‍♀️,

I just read your answer to the 1950s film anon with the MUBI screenshots and got so very excited! 📽️😻🎞️

Your suggestions are in oh-so-excellent tastes! I had to come here to share my favs (okay some might be from the 60s…😳🫢)

🚬”Breathless” (Jean Seberg & Jan Paul Belmondo, need I say more?!)

🥲”Bonjour Tristesse” (again, Jean Seberg, and the novel by Françoise Sagan was an absolute banger too!)

📸 “Rear Window” (My fav Hitchcock. James Stewart is actually not annoying in this one.)

🌂”Mon Oncle” (Jacques Tati might be an acquired taste, esp. in America…but I love the minute details he obsess over in all his films that create the whole quirky-kitsh-odd, sometimes bizarre atmosphere)

💎”Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (🙄I know, cliche…but I just love Audrey Hepburn and George Peppard in this one, even with the despicable depiction of quasi Japonesque character Mr. Yunioshi played by Mickey Rooney. Funny how Peppard also went on to act in action films/shows later, just like Belmondo)

👑”Roman Holiday” (I’m partial to Gregory Peck in this one.)

⛵️”Plein Soleil” (Alain Delon is breathtaking in this one…)

Ohgosh~🫣there already are too many! Sorry! I’m just so excited for the transformation of your space where I can now find and talk about two of my odd varieties of obsessions (Bangtan & films)!

P.S. Much newer, but do you happen to like Wim Wenders films by any chance? What about Jim Jarmusch?

Your excitement is contagious, anon! This list takes me back to high school, each film has a different memory attached to it.

If you like Jean Seberg, I recommend listening to a series from the You Must Remember This podcast. Her career and life was discussed in detail in parallel with Jane Fonda. Look it up and you'll find it easily. The shooting for Bonjour Tristesse was a bit of a hell for Jean.

Your comment about James Stewart took me out because I understand the feeling. I'm not a fan, there's something about him that annoys me (maybe the way he talks?), but I can see that he was a good actor. I don't have anything serious to criticize.

Yes, Tati is an acquired taste. It never got to me to the point of wanting to watch a lot of his filmography, but he is one of a kind and an influence to those that came after him (Greta mentions him for the inspiration behind Barbie as well)

With Breakfast at Tiffany's, a cliche or not, does it matter? It's too iconic. Yes, it has a reputation and good material for specific tumblr/pinterest aesthetics, but for good reason. If we take all that aside, we're still left with something of value, given that it's also an adaption of a Capote novel.

There's so much to talk about Audrey Hepburn that it requires a separate post. I don't think Hollywood had another actress like her or even coming close to that kind of presence. She was a movie star in her own category. Anyway, I never became a fan of Gregory Peck (I didn't go and search his films) but damn the guy was hot. Can I have a Roman Holiday too? Just like that? 😄

Alain Delon in Plein Soleil is a sin. And a perfect summer film. With this guy, I have to manage to separate the actual person and his political beliefs from the star he was in the 60s. Same with Brigitte Bardot. Ignore and store that in the back of my head so I can enjoy the films.

As to your questions, I could never get into the Jarmusch vibe, although I did watch a few of his films. I don't have anything against him he's good and a true artist, but it doesn't match with my taste. With Wim Wenders, I know Wings of Desire, Paris, Texas, The American Friend, Pina. Again, it's the type of director that has his place in film history, but I never focused particularly on him.

[oceangirl24]

Hello! This is your chance to answer this ask with whatever you'd like to talk about right now! Whether that be a story you're working on, something you're excited or worried about, your current book/movie/binge-watch, or a cool bit of trivia you think the world should know.

Thanks so much, Anon!

I've been feeling frustrated a lot lately. I'm dealing with some of the worst focusing issues ever which has made it hard to sit down and write anything more than a few short bursts which aren't very productive. I'm so behind on responding to comments and I feel terrible about it. So many amazing comments and I want to respond and engage, but I just can't atm. Yet I worry people will think I'm ignoring them.

I've hit the point in Saudade where chapters are taking longer to get out because they require more attention to detail as the story moves into heavy emotional stuff. So, one chapter a month versus two. Plus, Birthday Wishes.

This has me stressed to due to that little voice of doubt planted by a former fandom friend who insisted no one will read Autumn in Philadelphia because of the length. Since I can't update weekly readers will have to reread which they won't do, among another things. Even though I know that person is wrong and has issues of their own, some days I can't shake their voice. I still have mild panic attacks when I see their name in the fandom and I hate that. Makes me angry with myself for allowing that to happen.

Anyway, a day ago I got the loveliest comment (which is saying something because I get so many incredible ones) that said they binged the story in a day and a half and are obsessed with it.

This and the other comments should be enough to silent the critic, but man, some days, she just screams louder at me and all those things she said rain down in a torrent. Depression and anxiety are hard to kick. (Also, if anyone struggles with this and needs an understanding shoulder to cry on, I'm your girl. I get it!)

The one benefit to struggling with words is that it usually means I can draw more. Which is good. I just wish I could do both at the same. lol

I'm hoping to spend today and tomorrow working on chapter 5 of Saudade during which I will bawl my eyes out no doubt. The chapter focuses on Shawn and Audrey. He's asked her to go with him to the motel Virna stayed at when she finally came back in the episode "Fishing for Virna". He's still struggling with abandonment issues and needs her to help him sort through his feelings on the "mothers" that came and went over his childhood, as well as to come to terms with who he believes his bio mother was. Shawn still carries a lot of resentment toward Virna and what she did to him.

Thanks again, Anon. I needed a vent post, and I wouldn't have done it without your ask. Hope you have a great weekend. ❤

[pynkhues]

I think Timothee’s Oscar nomination was a fluke . He got lucky about that year not being so competitive in the male category and that the Oscar’s love a “upcoming actor” revelation once in a while but his performance in CMBYN pales in comparison to the people he was nominated with. He got incredible lucky.

I agree Tom Holland is a better actor but doesn’t seem to have a good agent. And Hollywood wants to make Timothee a thing so bad. But when I heard Tom Holland was also in the running for Wonka I was confused because doesn’t he has dancing background and he seems to do better with charismatic roles. He seemed like the better option altogether.

And another thing, Timothee’s hype should’ve been given to Jharrel Jerome or Lucas Hedges, two actors that were having their breakthrough that same year but barely got any hype for their performance. And mind you, Jerome is an Emmy winner which breakthrough role was in Moonlight, but he hasn’t been able to get the roles Timothee gets offered and he is the superior actor. But we know Hollywood so.

(x)

I definitely agree in terms of 2017 being a weak year for lead actors (gosh, while I think Daniel Kaluuya in Get Out was hands down one of the best performerances of the year, the Academy hates horror, and the fact that he got a [deserved!!] nom for that role lowkey shows what a weak year it was outside of genre cinema tbqh), but I don't know if I think Timothee's nomination was a fluke per se.

I actually don't particularly like Call Me By Your Name as a movie - I thought it was wildly overrated seeing it upon its release, and have rewatched it since and just - - never especially understood the hype, but I do think Luca Guadagnino had established himself as a director the Academy was Aware Of after I Am Love's nomination in '09, and I think there's a particular softness in terms of voters for an 'American falling in love in Italy' film dating back at the very least to Audrey Hepburn's 1953 Roman Holiday and more importantly to me specifically, haha, Katharine Hepburn's sublime turn in the 1955 Summertime.

I think that particular softness directly paired up with Hollywood's realisation that there were no young male stars to pin their hopes onto, and as a result Timothee probably felt dropped into their hands as a well-connected young actor in a prestige indie by an Academy-watched director that was a minority-focused, sun-soaked Europe coming of age story. That's catnip for The Academy, not a fluke, although yeah, I do think there was quite a lot of luck involved there too, haha.

I agree that Hollywood's committed to making him happen, but I think a huge part of that is because there hasn't really been an alternative up until this year. There have been so many failed male star attempts in the last decade (Dane DeHaan, Logan Lerman, Taylor Kitsch, Miles Teller and Alden Ehrenreich all spring to mind, and yeah, they all still have varying degrees of decent careers, but their 'movie star potential' seems shot [I also even like some of these dudes!]) and he's the one that's stuck the most, so I can't really blame the industry for trying to make him Leo 2.0.

And yeah, Tom Holland's agent... Look, I'm a controversial person always in this convo because I love The Devil All the Time, haha, and think he was genuinely so good in it, but I'm baffled by the seeming expectations around that movie as a launching pad for him professionally mid-MCU as Southern Gothic is - - y'know. Pretty niche as a genre overall! His team just doesn't really seem to know what to do with him though, and keep thrusting him back into roles that are both too young for him (Chaos Walking), and do nothing with his actual talent (Unchartered).

I do think he would've been better in Wonka than Timothee, but I'm also kind of glad he's not set up to fail with another soulless and bloated Disney film that could just further reduce his options. I said it in the last post, but I am genuinely so curious as to how he goes in the Fred Astaire bio pic, especially given it has the same director as Wonka (Paul King), and two writers who between them have written Billy Elliot, Rocketman, Jessica Jones and Mrs. America. I'm also less precious than others about Fred Astaire not wanting a bio pic about himself, so y'know, I have that too, haha, but I do wonder if that discourse will come into play when the movie actually comes out.

And agreed re: Jharrel Jerome on all fronts, but it's so nice to see him have such success this year with I'm a Virgo (planning on binging that when my office closes next week!). Hopefully he's the one with the richer career longterm, and Lucas Hedges - - man, he's a wild case to me, because I do think he's talented, and he also has so much nepotism on his side (his dad is THE Peter Hedges!! He arguably launched Leonardo DiCaprio's career!), so I tend to think he's just in a bit of a slump, but who knows.

[litgwritersroom]

I posted 197 times in 2022

That's 197 more posts than 2021!

175 posts created (89%)

22 posts reblogged (11%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@litgwritersroom

@whatisreggieshortfor

@0shewrites0

@aislinnstanaka

@noahsthottie

I tagged 194 of my posts in 2022

Only 2% of my posts had no tags

#litg - 171 posts

#litg writers room - 165 posts

#writers room - 157 posts

#litg fanfic - 138 posts

#love island the game - 102 posts

#prompt - 65 posts

#litg season 2 - 60 posts

#ask - 41 posts

#litg bobby - 34 posts

#character spotlight - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 62 characters

#anons like these are the reason we don’t turn off anon posting

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Hello! I want to request for a Suresh fic. I'm just a miserable mess about what's going on with him. May you please write a one-shot about the fall-out between him and MC (especially the one that he's been flirting for months to the other girl and they had a big fight, he slept with the girl and MC found out about the girl with the tattoo) then up to you what happened to them onwards. I'm such a sucker for angst and hurt fics. Thank you! 💞💞

See the full post

138 notes - Posted August 24, 2022

#4

So usually in UK LI, there's a challenge along the lines of the mean tweets one, but with news headlines (they do both in most seasons). Any season, any point in time, doesn't have to be focused on a particular character or MC, just generalised based on the events of the season + the drama afterwards.

Read It & Tweet

S5 | 3900+ words | @i-boop-you

A mash up of Mean Tweets and the Headlines challenge. Season Five is in full swing, and it's about to be in sull swill, too. As the Islanders play their newest challenge, drinks go flying, and after everything she's been though, Saira isn't going to let this opportunity go without some justice.

Thank you to Kellee, Iris, Audrey, Natalie, and Suzi for letting me use their usernames in this fic! And to Chrys for giving it a look over for me🥰

See the full post

157 notes - Posted October 25, 2022

#3

is it too soon for suresh smut? 👀

Baby (One More Time)

S5 | Suresh/MC | 3700+ words | i-boop-you

It's night one in the Villa, and how will exes Suresh and Bonnie cope having to share a bed together with all that bad blood still in the way? NSFW.

See the full post

172 notes - Posted August 4, 2022

#2

Hey guys! So my idea that I can’t get out of my head, can be wrote as you prefer but what if MC did leave instead of Meera? I know a lot of us players would have preferred to see that instead of how things turned out. I wanted to see what would be the aftermath of MC leaving because specially Suresh picking Arlo to make MC jealous how would he feel knowing MC left because he decided to go with someone else, or even Eddie… I’m curious. ☺️

I hope this inspire you guys in some way and thank you for all you do and if you do decide to answer this ❣️

look what you made me do

S5 | 2300+ words | @ellegreenwxy

MC is booted from the Villa in a 'shocking' turn of events. Time for some tearful hug's goodbye ... right?

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183 notes - Posted October 5, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

You guys are doing wonders to my brain lol love you guys soooo much!

Could I ask for a completely warranted Finn and MC smut after the whole Kat and Alfie thing? Pretty pretty please!

FINNOCENT

S5 | Finn/MC | 3200+ | @mrsbsmooth

Everyone in the villa treats Erin like dirt. Alfie & Kat are the final straw. It's not fair, and Finn's fucking had enough. NSFW

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209 notes - Posted October 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[marylinmangu]

First tumblr post 🕺🏼

Almost 24, and this year I am focusing on trying to honor my inner child and all their personal styles & inner multitudes. Just like Amu from Shugo Chara (who as a kid I wanted to dress like SO BAD).

If you were in Shugo Chara , how many eggs would you have, and what would they be like?

I think I’d have a lot, Probably at the very least (5) 😭

When Sylvia Plath said “I can never read all the books I want, I can never be all the people I want, and live all the lives I want” I felt that. My eggs would be :

- a cute/baddie rebellious trouble maker egg (like utau) who likes kawaii, gyaru, coconut girl, bad boy, mcbling or baddie aesthetics. Very sporty and can dance. Doesn’t care for or proioritize rules. Has fun with or without people. Likes being mischievous or making people / themselves laugh. Loves to party

- A sweet egg who likes classic/sweet/romantic styles. Likes to dress like a prince, or Audrey Hepburn. Very kind and good at talents that can help people, support them and put a smile on their face. Like Amu’s Su. Loves putting their heart into cooking or making people things

- A dark egg who likes goth/punk styles. Very cool and able to transmute negative emotions into artistic creativity. A nerd at heart who makes creative things that reference their interests. Thinks abstractly, likes people but likes time alone the most. Loves to read their favorite books and consume countless video games, movies, and shows

- a futuristic egg that likes cyberpunk or grunge styles. Very good with technology and can make things with it. Thinks very logical & calculated but also very imaginative. Thinks of ways to make peoples lives better or easier. Like Jeremy from Code Lyoko. Loves to come up with ideas for inventions and see how possible it is. A coder and an engineer

- a sun god/dess egg Loves growing and raising, like plants or animals. Wears a lot of whites, brown, cremes and everything natural. Wakes up very early and is never scared of bugs, and they know how to swim. Very graceful. Speaks every language ever, and can identify any plant or animal. Is a doctor/healer and makes medicines

First of all, it seems unrealistic to have a closet like that 😭 and to have all these talents & qualities I am enamored with and want to encapsulate all these “eggs” always… the ship has sailed on a lot.

But I will definitely find a way to get closer to all these ideals or accepting / embracing these parts of myself, even if I can’t be all these things, I’d love to get back to at least one, which would be artistic creativity. Drawing/designing, maybe even writing again 🤔

[25daysofvoyager]

Posting this fic directly to the blog per @windwillow69-blog 's request!

Audrey's Choice - belated contribution for Day 6

December 23, 2396

Bloomington, Indiana

Something was wrong; Kathryn could sense it. Even after all these years, her Captain's instinct had not dulled much. But this time it wasn't anything to do with Voyager, or Starfleet. It was something far more personal. 

From her vantage point on the window seat, where she was bundled up in a robe and slippers with an afghan around her legs and a mug of hot coffee in her hands (she'd never been able to stick with tea) she regarded the lithe dark-haired young woman currently pacing around the tree in an emerald green robe. There was the faintest tension behind her brown eyes as she spaced out the ornaments with precision that reminded Kathryn so much of herself at that age.  

Audrey nicked her lower lip slightly, probably completely unaware she was doing it, as she moved a sparkly red and gold ball slightly to the left in a perfect position to reflect the yellow light nearby. Her dark eyes, so like her father's, reflected the colored lights of the tree as she moved around it like a cat.  To a casual observer, she looked to be simply focused on the task at hand, but to her mother she was like an open book. Audrey thought she was good at hiding her emotions, and to most people maybe she did it well. But she could almost never get past her mother. Kathryn knew it frustrated her daughter, and this is why she had waited for three days after her Audrey's return from the Academy for the holidays before deciding to finally address it.  She wanted her child to settle, relax, and enjoy being home for a bit. The Academy was enough work on its own. 

Audrey sighed faintly, and she paused. The expression on her face reminded Kathryn of Chakotay in his pensive moments; it never ceased to strike her right in the heart. This young woman was the best of both of them. Probably the best thing Kathryn had ever done with her life – which almost pained her to acknowledge, considering how she treasured her time as Captain of the Voyager, and all of the crew who were still like family to her even while scattered all over the galaxy.  But there she was, Audrey Sekaya. The pride Kathryn felt for her daughter was immense, impossible to put into words. 

"Almost done?" she said, blowing gently across the hot black liquid in her #1 Mom mug, a Christmas gift from her daughter years ago. The dark burgundy writing was so faded it was almost illegible. But it was Kathryn's favorite. "You've been at it for over an hour. I thought your dad and I did a fine job with it." 

There was slight side eye from Audrey and the faintest smirk as she curled a stray lock of dark brown hair behind her ear. But there was still something behind her expression. "Yeah, you get points for effort," she said. "A few points. When did Dad say he'd be back?" 

Kathryn noted the shift in Audrey's voice as she turned away from the tree, hands sliding into the pockets of her robe. She looked uncharacteristically vulnerable for a split second, and then straightened her back. Kathryn checked her watch. "Not too long," she said. "He's probably held up with the snow, and I imagine there are a lot of people out there doing last minute shopping." Then she moved her legs off the cushion, readjusted the afghan, and patted the seat next to her. "Come on, sit with me and watch the snow." 

"Mom, I've seen snow. It's Indiana in December." But Audrey took a few steps forward, and her eyes lifted toward the window. She relaxed a bit. She'd loved the snow as a young girl, and could often be found building snowmen and designing snow forts with her father, and sometimes with Uncle Tom and Uncle Harry when they came to visit.  The two old friends were due to have Christmas Eve dinner and exchange gifts with them tomorrow night, along with their wives and children. Kathryn was looking forward to it with great enthusiasm. 

"I know," Kathryn smiled lightly. "Just humor me. Do you want some coffee?" 

Audrey rolled her eyes. "Mom. You know I drink tea," she said. "When are you going to give up that fight? But no thanks, I'm good. I had a cup earlier, with Dad." 

"Oh yes, of course." Kathryn smiled as she swallowed her coffee. Every morning when she was home, Audrey and her father had quality time over tea and English Muffins in the kitchen in the early hours while Kathryn lounged in bed. What they talked about Kathryn never knew; it was their private time. It wasn't that she didn't want to know, but she respected their need for their own little bubble. Audrey was like most 17 year-olds in many ways; she liked boys, and music, and hanging out with her friends, but her willingness to get out of bed before 7:00 a.m. on her winter vacation to have tea with her father set her apart.  It wasn't that Audrey did it out of a sense of obligation. She genuinely enjoyed it. She and her father had a special bond, almost spiritual. 

Audrey's pockets bulged for a moment, and Kathryn knew she'd clenched and unclenched her fists. Then she exhaled deeply. "Okay," she said. Then she strode over to sit next to her mom, leaning into Kathryn's left arm. Kathryn put her lips just above her daughter's head, and lightly inhaled. Honey shampoo. God, she loved this kid. 

"So," she said, lightly kissing Audrey's head, "what's up, Bug? You've been distracted since you got back." 

Audrey shrank a bit. Kathryn sensed her annoyance.  "How do you always know?" she said, but not in a defensive way. She sounded resigned. She pulled away from Kathryn; the older woman felt the loss almost acutely. "Yeah, there's something I need to tell you, and I've been dreading it for weeks." 

"Weeks?" Kathryn set her coffee down on a side table. This revelation had genuinely surprised her, although she supposed it would be harder for her to pick up on emotional cues from her daughter when they communicated mainly via video chat. "Is something going on at the Academy? Are you having a hard time?" 

This seemed unlikely, since all Kathryn had heard from the instructors was what a delight her daughter was to have in class; she was sharp as a tack, focused, bright, and always full of questions. She was breezing through her first semester. Kathryn hadn't told Audrey that she was in communication with her instructors, because she knew her daughter wouldn't like that. It had to be hard being the offspring of two Starfleet legends. But she couldn't help herself.  Every one of them had already said Audrey would make Captain someday. She was that good. 

Audrey sighed. "No, not in that way. I mean, the classes are fine - some are very interesting, actually - and I've made a few friends. Of course Miral is there, and I really like San Francisco…." 

"But…? What is it?" 

"I'd wanted to wait until you and Dad were both here." Audrey wrapped the sash of her robe around her right hand, and released it. "And until after Christmas," she added in a slightly lower voice. 

The snow was falling steadily, as it had been for hours. Chakotay had gone out a little over an hour ago under the pretense of picking up necessities for tomorrow's dinner. It was the night before Christmas Eve; he would be gone a while. Kathryn sensed something else was afoot with her husband, as he was not that good at concealing his true motives when it came to her. But she dismissed that thought now, her concern for her daughter taking center stage. 

She touched Audrey's hair. "He probably won't be back for a while. Tell me what's wrong." 

"Okay. I may as well come out with it." Audrey turned to face her mother. The fierce determination in her expression momentarily took Kathryn's breath away. The set of her jaw was identical to her father. "Mom, I want to leave the Academy." 

The words hung in the air for a long moment. Kathryn felt rocked; glad she'd decided to set down her mug, because she probably would have dropped it.  She swallowed, and took a deep breath. Then she reached for her daughter's right hand, and held it firmly in both of hers. "Audrey. Tell me the truth. Did something happen? Did someone hurt you?" Her eyes flashed, and she felt fire burning in her chest. 

"What? No, of course not. It's nothing like that. I have met someone, but…no, that's not the reason." Her cheeks flushed, and it wasn't from the warmth of the fire crackling in the fireplace. 

"You've met someone?"  Another blow.  Kathryn knew her daughter was not obligated to share every moment of her life with her, but something like this felt too big not to…?  Kathryn's head was full of questions. Who was this boy? How did they meet? How on earth had she not picked up on this before? But she shook the questions away.  "Audrey, what's going on? Why do you want to leave?" 

"It's just not what I want to do, that's all. I'm not happy. I mean, I'm doing well; it's not that I necessarily dislike it. I just don't like it as much as I should. Of course I love having Miral there with me. And like I said, I enjoy San Francisco; it's a great city. But I don't feel fulfilled. I want something more." Audrey looked at her with eyes almost pleading for her to understand, to be empathetic, to not be angry. 

Kathryn still didn't know what she truly felt. This was not something she could have planned for. From the moment Audrey was born, she and Chakotay had assumed Starfleet was in her future. They'd promised not to push her, to let her choose her own path, but as time went on she'd seemed excited about the idea, from listening to tales from Tom and Harry, her father's "bedtime stories" about Voyager, and talking to her 'cousins'. She and Miral were particularly close, almost like sisters, and Miral was in her second year of the Academy. So when she'd been accepted, it was a joyous, exciting time. She'd seemed thrilled to go. She was a brilliant child, and Starfleet felt like the perfect choice for her. 

Could she really have been hiding this from her parents all this time? "What do you want, Bug?" Kathryn squeezed Audrey's hand, drawing her gaze from her daughter's confused face, to their intertwined fingers.  

"I don't know!" Audrey blurted, and her voice broke. Kathryn looked up, startled by the tears welling in her daughter's eyes.  It made her feel utterly at a loss, unmoored, to see her child struggling like this. Audrey had always been so self assured and confident. "I mean, I think I might want to move to San Francisco. But as for what to do there, I have no idea. All I do know, is it's not Starfleet. I'm so sorry, Mom, I know how much this means to you and Dad. I thought I wanted to follow in your footsteps, and those of Uncle Tom, Uncle Harry, Aunt B'Elanna… and I admire all of you so much, you don't even know…But being at the Academy these past few months has made me think a lot about that kind of commitment. It's for life. I'd want to be all in for something like that; Starfleet deserves that from me. But I can't promise I'd be all in. I just can't." 

"Oh Bug," Kathryn sighed. She cupped her hand against her daughter's face, following the line of her cheekbone with the tip of her thumb. Her thoughts were whirling. She couldn't remember a time since Voyager when she'd been this blindsided. And the emotional impact was so much deeper. She leaned forward and kissed Audrey's hair, holding her lips there for a few seconds, not wanting to let go. She could almost feel her dreams for her daughter evaporating, which stung, but strangely, she also felt a sense of possibility. It wasn't really about her dreams for her daughter, it was about what Audrey dreamed for herself. Audrey's body sank into hers the way she used to as a child when she needed her mama. Kathryn held her close and started to slowly rock her back and forth. 

Kathryn had never dreamed about being a mother until she fell in love with Chakotay, and even then it had seemed unlikely given their circumstances (and her age, at the time Voyager finally returned). She'd satisfied herself being Aunt Kathryn to Miral, whom she loved almost like a daughter. But then, suddenly six months later she found herself pregnant. The odds were against her, but with advanced medical technology and Chakotay's unwavering support, they'd been gifted with Audrey Sekaya, named partially for her father's sister. From the moment she first gazed upon her daughter's face, Kathryn wanted the world for her. Nothing was too great or too hard.  Audrey would have whatever she wanted. (Well, within reason, of course.) 

And it wasn't Starfleet. 

"It's going to be okay," she said. "You know that your father and I only want you to be happy, and to live your best life." 

"I wanted to like it at the Academy, I really did. I wanted to make you guys proud of me." 

"Audrey, your dad and I are already so incredibly proud of you." Kathryn's voice was starting to break, and her body seemed like it would simply melt away. She vaguely heard the pop of the fire in the fireplace, and the whistle of wind in the trees. Her wandering thoughts gradually moved back to the present, and the warm, solid feeling of her daughter in her arms. 

Audrey exhaled like she was relieving herself of a huge weight. "Thank you, Mom." Then she shifted and looked up, with the hint of worry again crossing her face. "Do you think Dad will be okay?" 

"Yes, I do." Kathryn touched her daughter's forehead, lightly moving away her hair. She kissed the tip of her nose, and Audrey smiled again. "We'll figure this out together." She paused. "Now, tell me about this special someone you met."

Audrey blushed. "Well…"  

[alaffy]

Gossip Girl, Ep2x07 – Dress me Up! Dress me down! (Spoilers)

Before I go into the episode, I would like to discuss one relationship that I haven’t really discussed; Max and Luna.  I want to say how much I appreciate their friendship; that they really have this best friend vibe going on.  They get each other in ways that I don’t think anyone else gets them (at least, not yet).  It’s just a very loving and supportive friendship.  As for the episode itself….

Seriously writers, you have got to stop having all the story arcs climax at the same time and in the same location.  This is getting stupid.  Yes, plots continue from episode to episode, but…how do I put this?  So many thing that are introduced in an episode are dealt with in that episode.  Or, on the rare occasions that they last more than one episode, they don’t last two.  Sure there may be fallout from those events, but it also feels like so many events don’t matter.  Like Julien’s story with Graham.  Or storylines could be made stronger by letting them play out longer. Like with Zoya’s and Monet’s story in this episode.  

This episode’s big event is a luncheon where people are getting awards and Kiki is showing off her new fashion collection (look, the more they talked about this luncheon, the less it made sense).  Of course Kiki is excited as this is a big step forward after, well, everything that’s happened.  Of course, we find out that Audrey hasn’t told her mother that Audrey’s father and Kiki’s ex-assistant are back in town and that Audrey is going to see them.  

I’ll be perfectly honest, this post is going to be less of a recap (although there will be some) and more my thoughts on the outcome of said events.  I should note that Shan is not in this episode.  Nick is in this episode, although briefly.  Aki is here, but there isn’t a story that focuses on him. Max does have a bit of a plot as he’s trying to impress Audrey’s dad.  But that ends when he realizes how much of an asshole the dad is (although I really did like how Max was able to call out exactly what was wrong with the dad).

There seems to be a possible romance in Luna’s future.  Also, I want to say how much Luna has grown on me over the two seasons.  At first, she was just a minion who’s name I couldn’t remember.  But now…honestly, things would be a lot less messy if they would just listen to Luna’s advice.  It’s kind of funny, but honestly I think Luna has the most power on the show as she can easily make or break a person.

With Obie, we have him trying to figure out a way to tell the world that his mother was the one who paid the expert to lie.  This time, he goes to his sister.  Obie points out to her that this isn’t like the other times that he’s gone against his mother; as, well, the mother always crosses the line but this time she did a long jump over it. At first, it doesn’t seem like the sister will help.  However, she lets Obie know how the mother was able to pay the expert and gives him the documents to prove it.  Obie sends this to GG and tells her to post it during the event, as his mother is getting an award.  And it has to be before the mother leaves for the airport, otherwise the mother will never come back to the US and Germany won’t extradite her. Sure.  Of course, GG is dealing with her own stuff (get to that in a minute) and it isn’t posted.  Obie sister tells him he can never do anything right and threatens that he’d better not tell anyone that she helped him.    

Meanwhile, Georgina now has access to GG and, if Kate doesn’t show she has what it takes to create chaos, Georgina will lock Kate out of the account and run GG herself.  Look this whole part of this episode is stupid (well, not Georgina, I really do like her).  But they basically get Georgina to go away by making GG boring for her by posting a picture of Kate and Jordan kissing and saying they’re having an affair. A kiss that makes Kate realize that she has feeling for Jordan.  Which Kate ends up not telling him because she finds out that Georgina pretended to be someone else and slept with Jordan.  And I guess that, in the world of teen drama, this is a big thing. However, Kate has come to the realization that Georgina has awoken something in her; that she doesn’t want to focus on the small stuff anymore.  Which almost makes it sound like she’s going after the parents (well, the last couple of episodes have given us enough shitty parents to work with, soo…).

Zoya, once again, is used as a pawn.  In this case, Camille invites Zoya to this event under the guise of wanting to get to know Zoya better and possible helping Zoya make connections that will help her further in life.  Zoya agrees to go, but it’s made very clear that Zoya doesn’t completely believe Camille. She does understand that there is quite possibly an ulterior motive under all of this.  Still, she also knows that she’s basing her thoughts about Camille based on what she’s heard from other sources, not by her own experiences.  So, Zoya goes into this with the belief that she should give Camille a chance, but also very aware this is probably not what it seems.

And, of course, it isn’t what it seems.  It turns out that Camille is using Zoya to punish Monet.  See, the ticket Zoya has was originally Monet’s until she turned it down.  And, instead of being an adult and talking to her daughter, Camille takes Zoya in Monet’s place; knowing full well this would cause Monet to sneak into the event. Camille tells Zoya exactly what she is doing and, as soon as she sees Monet, gives Zoya a big hug; treating Zoya like a daughter in front of her actual daughter.  And I have so many thoughts about this scene and what happens next.

First off, let’s be clear that Camille is mentally and emotionally abusive toward her daughter. We’ve seen more then enough evidence before this episode, but this....No kind of stable parent would create this as a punishment for their child, especially over turning down a ticket.  At least, my mother wouldn’t have.  Of course, my mother respected me enough as a human being at that age that she would have asked me if I wanted to go.  But it’s very clear that Camille wants to browbeat her daughter into whatever she wants Monet to be, then gets pissed off at Monet when it doesn’t go to plan (as if Monet didn’t learn a lot of her shitty behavior from her mother).

I will also say that this part of the plot should have gone on for more then one episode, especially considering Monet’s response.  Monet knows why her mother is doing this, she even tells Zoya beforehand.  What would have been a surprise to Monet is if Camille kept using Zoya as this “surrogate daughter” even after the event.  Like, instead of even inviting Monet to things, she’d invite Zoya. Maybe even does a few “mother/daughter” activities with Zoya.  If that had happened then maybe, maybe I could see Monet being desperate enough to get rid of Zoya by any means necessary that she sends that post into Gossip Girl.

And let’s talk about that post.  To be clear, it doesn’t matter if it happened like it did in the show or the way I suggested; Monet would always be in the wrong.  Not only is she slut shaming Zoya; she is one of the few people that knows the tape was not consensual.  So, I don’t have a problem with GG calling her out for this behavior.  That being said, I do feel slightly for Monet that the whole story isn’t out there.  That it seems like she randomly shamed Zoya out of the blue.  Again, not saying she shouldn’t have been called out but….

Well, it’s kind of been the message of this season starting with Mike.  There’s no point in going after the little stuff, if the big stuff that’s causing this is being ignored.  In the case of Monet, we’ve seen her called out several times in this season for her behavior; which she should be.  However, what we have not seen is anyone calling out Camille De Haan’s treatment of her daughter.  If Camille was removed from her daughter’s life, or if someone where able to show Monet how much she has been abused by her mother, I wonder how much of Monet would change.  And maybe if GG would out Camille’s behavior….

But I am also wondering where this will go between Zoya and Monet.   Zoya’s face, when she saw the GG message, was a mix of feelings.  There was anger, sure, but I feel like there was almost a sense of pity.  Like, if I were Zoya I would probably be angry that Monet put that out there; but I would probably be more angry at Camille as it was clear this was an act of desperation on Monet’s part to get her mother’s approval.

As for Julien and Audrey, I’m going to skip the recap and deal with their behaviors.  So, there are several things that caused Audrey to tell Julien to stay away from her.  And let’s be clear, this isn’t an issue where one person is right and one is wrong. Also, there are outside factors that have to be taken into account.

Audrey is right that Julien puts herself in places that she shouldn’t.  Now I disagree that she does it because she wants attention.  Or rather, I think Julien does it because she wants to help; but she doesn’t know how to help without getting personally involved, which ends up putting her at the center of attention.  Julien also doesn’t seem to understand is that, sometimes, the best way to help is not to do anything at all.  For instance, when Audrey became angry with Julien over the fake emails (and the lies Julien did tell to GG), Luna advised Julien to just give Audrey space and that Audrey would come around.  Instead, Julien tried to be proactive and agreed to put Jessica on “Stop the Story” (not sure why she thought that would work, but still).  And, in the end, it did make everything worse as Jessica was able to create a fake video making it look like Julien was covering for Kiki.  If Julien would have listened to Luna’s advice, that video wouldn’t have been made. 

Also, Julien was so worried about what Audrey felt about Julien in that moment, she didn’t consider what Audrey was going through.  Audrey was dealing with her father’s sudden engagement and afraid that everything going on, especially if it didn’t go well, would be a setback to her mother’s health.  Now, did Audrey unfairly accuse Julien of some things during this episode?  Yes, which we will get to in a moment.  But it wouldn’t have hurt Julien to, again, take a step back; let Audrey deal with her mother and her father; and then, in a quieter moment, discuss with Audrey about how Julien felt that Audrey just believed that GG was telling the truth.  

As for Audrey, yes it should be taken into account everything that she was going through in that moment.  That is a lot for a teenager to deal with.  Still, that doesn’t mean that, at some point, someone shouldn’t point out to her that her behavior wasn’t exactly acceptable either.  First off, Audrey talks about how Julien only considers herself, but the same can be said about Audrey. Let’s go to the breakfast with her dad and the way Audrey spoke to Julien.  Yes, maybe Julien should have toned it down a bit, but she didn’t really start saying anything until Audrey’s dad kept bringing up Julien’s personal life; something Julien was clearly uncomfortable about.  Julien may have been there for Audrey; but that doesn’t mean that Julien should have been subject to this and Audrey really should have tried to shut that line of conversation down.    

Second, Audrey was totally out of line about the emails (just the emails, not about what Julien sent to GG).  Julien is right that they have been friends long enough for Audrey to know that Julien wouldn’t have done such a thing.  Also, common sense should have told  Audrey that it was weird GG just so happened to get that email just when her father and Jessica showed up.  Again, some allowance for what Audrey was going through, but she does need to own the fact that she was out of line in this moment.

Third, the dress reveal was not Julien’s fault.  And I’m not talking about how the dress was revealed (that’s on both girls), I’m talking about the fact that Jessica straight up told Kiki that she was able to steal her dress ideas because she was able to get into Kiki’s accounts.  In other words, even if Julien hadn’t done the video with Jessica; Jessica still could of shown up in a dress that Kiki was going to show and accuse Kiki of stealing her ideas (although the video makes her case stronger).  The fact is, Jessica and Audrey’s father were there to harm Kiki and Audrey needed to address them and their behavior; not pin it on Julien.  

Anyway, at the end of the episode, Julien and Obie leave the event together.  They go back to his apartment (which is his again) and reconnect. They both acknowledge that they did things that helped to end their relationship and, sure enough, they get back together.  Later, while Julien is asleep, Obie gets a text from GG.  GG says that she’s ready to work with Obie.  Obie agrees but only on the condition that it stays between them.

[strongwomenunited]

I posted 1,449 times in 2022

101 posts created (7%)

1,348 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@supercorpppp

@spaceman-earthgirl

@swallowedabug

@gay4katiemcgrath

@aflawedfashion

I tagged 1,010 of my posts in 2022

Only 30% of my posts had no tags

#warrior nun - 433 posts

#avatrice - 259 posts

#sister beatrice - 225 posts

#ava silva - 208 posts

#lena luthor - 70 posts

#supercorp - 55 posts

#bess till - 50 posts

#kara danvers - 50 posts

#miss audrey - 49 posts

#kristina tonteri young - 49 posts

Longest Tag: 129 characters

#i literally deleted one of my wips from ao3 because i was getting tired of people complaining that it wasn’t being updated enough

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I'm working on a wallpaper of 'Ava's Fall' in 2x05 when I came across this screencap. If you had no knowledge of this moment, I think we'd all be thinking the same thing.

106 notes - Posted December 10, 2022

#4

So I was a fan of Ava and Sister Beatrice in season 1 but I didn’t realize how much until I watched Season 2. The slow burn is real in season 2 but it’s so good. Normally when a show adds a male character in, the LGBT storyline kind of takes the way side, but not in this one. It’s made clear right from the start that Ava likes Beatrice and Beatrice likes Ava but the two of them are so focused on protecting each other, they don’t stop to experience what’s happening. That is until Ava goes into a fight she is expecting to die from. Then it all comes out. Wow. I can’t think of a single storyline that’s like this one. I absolutely loved it. So much so that I’m about 3,100, words into writing a post season 2 storyline because if you watched past the couple credits, you saw that it was clear Ava came back. You don’t see it, but you know it.

118 notes - Posted November 13, 2022

#3

In episode 2x04 before the church fight, I love how Ava and Beatrice got into that church via different means. Ava played along with the whole “I want to be saved by Adriel” by accepting him, and Beatrice chose violence, literally throwing the man into the church. Ava was just like “Si, Si, yes, awesome.” And Beatrice probably got asked the question, and immediately punched him in the face.

142 notes - Posted November 28, 2022

#2

I think one of the best behind the scenes things about Season 2 of Warrior Nun is that they wrote it before Season 1 even aired. So they had full intentions to make Avatrice canon, and have them hanging out in Switzerland for two months, getting closer day by day, living in an apartment, sleeping on one bed, Ava falling from a hotel, then falling love, all of it. They didn’t write it knowing that there were people that loved the fandom, they did it because that was the plan all along. So… now knowing how much of a following there is for Avatrice, I really want a season 3 to see just how far they take it. How do you write a season knowing that your ship, that you had created, actually is well loved among a lot of people? Im very curious.

Keep watching Warrior Nun. I don’t even know what playthrough I’m on now, but don’t stop.

177 notes - Posted November 30, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Next to Beatrice being tranquilized in 2x03, one of the most interesting parts of that episode was that Father Vincent had no clue what Ava and Beatrice were doing in Switzerland. So much so that when he caught them in Madrid, he immediately tranq’ed Beatrice thinking that would be enough to capture Ava. But what he didn’t realize was that Beatrice had been training Ava, so she was just as powerful of a fighter as Beatrice is.

In most things, video games, tv, whatever, you try to subdue the one that will cause you problems. In this situation, Father Vincent assumed Beatrice was the power player here, which she definitely is, but he wasn’t expecting Ava to actually have more of a grip on her halo powers. Had he gone after Ava first, he might have captured her… but I suspect not because as previously stated, there is a reason he went after Beatrice first. He knows he probably couldn’t beat her in a fight.

Basically, what I love most about this show is that there are so many angles to everything. You could look at a moment in a bunch of different ways, and still find it so interesting. At least that’s what I’m finding in all of my rewatches.

265 notes - Posted November 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[ellie-e-marcovitz]

April 1999 - Romania and Home

5 April 1999

Romanian Ministry of Magic

I was getting sick of meeting the floor like this. No doubt, I’d be a collection of bruises by the time I returned to Britain.

Picking myself up, I glanced at my watch, squinting to read the numbers. Fifteen after six. Maybe. The dim lighting made it difficult to tell. There appeared to be only maybe one or two people, at most, around. Hell, I wasn’t even sure what day it was; my brain was so scrambled from the extreme time shifts over the past few days.

I grabbed my bags, looking for a chair. Part of me, a rather large part at that, wanted to just leave. My magic was hinted that it would’ve been a very bad idea.

Finding a seat at the edge of the room, I tried to wrap my head back around the time shift. The lights brightened as my watch sluggishly moved past seven. It would have to be repaired, once I got up to the reserve.

I rubbed my eyes. Several more people had joined the others at the desks, clearly in the process of getting things together. It was another half-hour before someone noticed me and approached.

“Vin sau plec?” she asked, giving something of a berth.

“Excuse me?” I asked, not immediately recognising what she asked. What little Romanian I did know was exceedingly limited.

“Erm,” the assistant blushed, before switching to an accented English. “Are you arriving here, or leaving here?”

“Oh. Um, arriving.” I folded the large flour bag and stuffed it into my pocket. I manoeuvred my bags and followed the petite assistant over to the desk.

Paperwork sorted, I left the portkey office.

First stop, owl post the portkeys back to Paris and find Charlie. After finding my way out of the building.

Finding an apparition point, I focused on a nearby park. A gentle twist, the feeling of being pulled through a tube, and I appeared.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too busy. I pulled out my phone, and turned it back on. Hopefully it had survived with only minimal battery loss.

It was able to turn on, but only long enough to trade texts with Charlie. Meet me at the train station.

Another twist and I arrived with a small ‘pop,’ just loud enough to grab his attention.

“Hey!” he cheered, enveloping me in a hug, and I took in the smell of honeysuckle and grass.

“Hey yourself,” I grinned in return, feeling the warmth blossom from where he’d snuck a kiss. “How’s everyone?”

Most of the Weasleys had decided to visit for Easter, enjoying a low-key celebration. I still had some of the chocolate egg Mrs Weasley had sent, though it had been tough keeping my family from snacking on most of it in the first place.

He laughed, as we exited the station. “Everyone’s good. They’re leaving this afternoon, though the twins left late last night to open the store for today.”

“Understandable,” I noted, as we reached the edge of the parking lot. “Though not a bad day for inventorying. So who all came?”

“Mum, dad, Fred and George, Percy, Audrey came for a couple days, Ron and Harry came as well.” I raised eyebrows at the last person.

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Heck of a time jump, even if it’s a couple hours.”

“Worked though.” A mischievous smirk played on his face. “Ready to go?”

I took a deep breath. “Yep.” I pulled my luggage close and took his hand.

Another twist, a very tight tube, and we appeared in front of an intricately carved gate, including several hidden dragons. He held up his wand.

“La ordinal dragonilor!” he called out, and the gates creaked open, revealing the reserve. It was still a suitably dramatic welcome, despite the years since I’d seen it.

“Follow me,” he said, voice dropping back to normal. He, very kindly, carried my suitcase as we traipsed our way over to the cabins. I noticed that he seemed a little jumpy, and making sure I was close.

Granted, we were at the edge of a dragon habitat, one of the small enclaves of huts on the reserve, but I wasn’t much in the mood to wander off at the moment. So it seemed really odd.

Reaching the cabin at the end of the row, we made our way up to the porch.

Entering, we were besieged by the remaining Weasleys, and I was wrapped in a variety of hugs, ranging from an all-encompassing bear hug (Mrs Weasley) to an awkward side hug (Percy). Audrey’s was particularly enthusiastic, considering we hadn’t been able to meet up in the weeks since my birthday.

I also caught a glimmer from a certain piece of jewellery.

We settled into spots at the table, enjoying the warm conviviality as Mrs Weasley set a plate down in front of me. I silently ate as much as I could, though I passed the still half full plate to Charlie. I was still mentally in New Zealand.

There was a flurry of activity after everyone finished eating. Items gathered, bags packed, clothing fussed over. Audrey and I chatted some, while she and Percy finished up their packing.

Hugs exchanged, Charlie had one last surprise before his parents left. He pulled out a very familiar deep blue velvet box that I’d seen quite a bit over my childhood, and marvelled at the moonstone studded ring sitting inside of it.

I felt myself tearing up in surprise. Maybe it was the shock, maybe it was the time zone jumping I’d been doing. Either way, I barely felt Audrey helping me into the nearest chair.

“How-?” was all I managed to breathe out. He gave a smirk.

“Eleanor Marcovitz,” he started, his voice formal. “Will you marry me?”

That was all he needed to ask. All I could do was nod furiously, trying to keep the tears from spilling over.

“Of course,” I managed, sticking my hand out. Ring placed, we collided in a kiss as cheers filled my ears.

The rest of the day, really the rest of the week, was a blur. We helped the other Weasleys on their way back to Bucharest, before I settled in for the rest of the week.

Which was its own blur: a mix of relaxing in the sun, exploring the capital, finishing up grading the last of the lab reports, and dancing, if you will.

I suspected Mrs Weasley was already starting to plan another wedding, alongside Percy and Audrey’s, for us. I silently hoped that theirs was occupying her enough so she wasn’t, just yet.

How Charlie had gotten the ring also came out during the week. Apparently, he’d been plotting this for a better part of a year, ever since we visited New Zealand, if not before then. Mum had owled him the ring at Christmas.

Lab reports graded, classes planned and a handful of notes for the final later, it was time to return to Britain.

I had owled the portkeys back to France, complete with a note of thanks, and leaving the date of return to me. Not that I wanted to try and appariate back to Britain, but short of an unauthorised portkey, I saw no other option.

The ring box ended up coming in handy, to where I didn’t have to directly deal with the Romanian Ministry again.

+

London, 10 April

It did, however, mean I portkeyed to the British Ministry, though allowing me to see some of the changes implemented since the end of the war.

And directly into Percy’s new department, the Department of Magical Transportation. Much to Percy’s annoyance and all the hoops that he could possibly make me jump through.

I suspected this was some kind of test on his part. Not that I blamed him. It had to be one of the oddest things to go through.

Finally able to escape from the ministry, I made my way back to Leicester by late evening, where I was greeted by Jane, Stephan and Rachel, all ecstatic about the news from Audrey.

Yes, this was going to be quite the adventure.

[fieldsofbone]

rewatching the bear and sydney’s anxiety and frustration and indignation and impatience bubbling barely under the surface in 1.03 and her continuing to depress it with “i’m fine yes it’s fine no i don’t need help yes i’m fucking serious i don’t need help” when she very clearly does and growing increasingly agitated when people continue to push… i didn’t need to be seen like that!

[jennagrinsoverml]

Do you have any recs for the reversed lovesquare? So like Ladybug likes Chat, Adrien likes Mari?

I honestly don't tend to read a lot of reverse love square. I'm not a fan of the life-swap and personality-swap tropes I often see if paired with, so I steer clear of those. I have come across a few amazing fics, however, so without further ado:

Cards Against Ladybug's Identity by @coffeebanana

A game of Cards Against Humanity and a little too much vodka on her eighteenth birthday results in Marinette spilling a few too many secrets. And maybe Adrien has a couple confessions of his own if he can work up the nerve.

Season 4 spoilers (Mostly Gang of Secrets, Optigami).

One-shot. This is one where they've fallen for the other sides of each other. Also, it's HILARIOUS. From the moment Alya plays her card, I was cracking up, and I didn't stop as it got more and more ridiculous lmao. They're all (except Alya really lol) just so dumb and it's fantastic and amazing and there's an identity reveal and just read it!

be your july by Reiaji

Two years after leaving home, Adrien has a room, a loving found family, and a thankless job with Audrey Bourgeois, the only figure in fashion with enough clout to bypass his father’s blacklisting.

He also has a zero percent success rate when it comes to courting Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Audrey’s relentlessly brilliant protégé.

With two miraculouses in the mix, it all gets a little complicated.

Multi-chapter. This fic is a canon divergence where Marinette went to New York in Style Queen and Adrien leaves home/Gabriel when he's legally able. This is after she's returned and they're both adults here. The love square has always been reversed, and each chapter focuses on a different side of the new square, showing how these changes have impacted the different dynamics. It's absolutely gorgeous, and the way Adrien is so earnest and heartbreakingly insecure shapes the story and hurts in the best way. Also the identity hijinks asdfghjkl

tell me something i don't know by @carpisuns​

Do you think it still means something? To love someone, even if the universe said you had to?

The odds of having a soulmate are about negative one billion (or something like that). But somehow, like they always have, Marinette and Chat Noir find themselves together. They’re ready to finally tell each other everything, but it turns out that even soulmates have to keep secrets, and they can only be together if they vow never to touch.

Multichapter. Warning: this is a WIP! But it’s SO GOOD and SO CLOSE to being finished. This is set an indeterminate amount of time in the future, and though it focuses on Marinette’s feelings for Chat, and Adrien’s feelings for Marinette, it’s more of an expansion of the love square than a true reversal, and it hits on all of the different dynamics. I’m obsessed with this one and try to read the updates as soon as they’re posted.

I Would Give You Some Violets by @mikauzoran

She loves me a little...a lot...madly...not at all. Chat can never be sure with Marinette, and while she says she has a crush on someone else, there are times when he can't help but believe that she returns his feelings. If only he could gather the courage to reach out...

A series of interconnected Marichat drabbles.

Multi-chapter. So my absolute, absolute favourite trope of all time is mutual pining. And this fic has AMAZING mutual pining. I felt like I was going to explode as I was reading it, which is something I look for in a fic lol Aside from the delicious tension between them, there's also really great explorations of parental relationships, especially Adrien's relationship with Sabine.

balancing act by @fictionalinfinity

“Besides, being Ladybug always came first. It came before school, friends, and sometimes even family. Now it had to come before her health. Marinette had a duty to Paris. She wouldn’t let them down.”

Or, being both Ladybug and the Guardian starts to take its toll on Marinette.

-

the epilepsy au literally no one asked for

Multi-chapter. Oooh boy. A fic where Marinette has epilepsy and the symptoms are woven into the existing canon in such a believable and organic way. The characterizations are AMAZING, and the conflict is just so completely believable and absolutely heart-wrenching. This starts out with traditional love square post-season 3, and then we slowly get to watch the reversal happen.