#i miss helen tbh where is she

[myriam-draws]

everyone read impulse 1995 for The Guy

[riversofmars]

Hey ya,

I recently stumbled over your blog bc of my incredible adoration for Nicola Walker (well, tbh let’s just say I’m a sucker for everything she does) but I never got into the Big Finish Audio universe – well, until now! And it’s all bc of you. (I know I’m kinda late to this party…how could I've missed that?) Bc of your blog I started to ship Liv/Helen (I mean, omg, how can one not?!) although I only listened to Dark Eyes so far (and Helen is not even in it!). now I can’t just get enough of these audio plays – much to the disappointment of my bank account (of course I discovered this incredible universe of the 8th Doctor and Liv after the December sale of Liv’s audio plays). But well, Doom Coalition, here I come! I think I’ll never get out of that universe again. Haha.

So, thank you for bringing me here! I definitely need to dive into the whole Helen/Liv fanfic world as well. Do you have a good story to start with? Or a favourite one? (can definitely be one of yours)

OMG! That is just the best message to wake up to! Welcome to the club, you will not be disappointed!!! And you're quite right, this universe probably won't let you go again, that's certainly my experience. The whole range is just amazing, you're in for such a treat. Doom Coalition is just the best! Feel absolutely free - if you'd like to discuss the audio and or/scream about them XD - to DM me as well. Always love hearing first reactions to these amazing stories!!!

I would just point you towards some of the other wonderful Liv/Helen shippers on here if you don't follow them already!! @meluisart @might-be-a-zygon @morbidjazz @cactuswithacamera @pers-books @ceridwyn2 and many more!

And ohhhh the word of fanfiction... We have this big goal of one day reaching 1k of stories for them so they can be counted as one of the big DW ships! As it stands, they already have the most amount of any Big Finish pairing which is just amazing so there are an awful lot of outstanding stories to chose from! One thing I'd say is: Spoilers. A lot of mine would spoil many stories that you haven't listened to yet, though I suppose if you follow me and ship Liv/Helen as a result, you've already seen some of the biggest spoilers... sorry about that! So when if comes to suggesting something, I'm gonna just go with stories that are alternate universes or relate to Dark Eyes in particular! There is just so much amazing fic to chose from, I wouldn't know how else to pick XD

So here are a couple of mine that would suit!

"In the Absence of Moral Absolutes" - A Nixyce VII alternate universe in which Helen is one of the freedom fighters

"Shelter from the Storm" - Another "What If" Helen was on Nixyce VII with Liv

"Absolution" - Eight, Liv and Helen revisit Nixyce VII and Liv tells Helen what happened to her there

"The Time-Traveller's Wife" - Helen meets a future version of Liv before she actually meets Eight and Liv in The Red Lady. So technically pre-canon

I would also say visit @meluisart AO3 page for more amazing fic and particularly their Knight!Liv/Princess!Helen AU for something not-canon-related!!

But honestly, there is so much amazing work out there, I could carry on for hours but sadly, I need to get to work now XD

You're in for such a treat with this fandom/ship, so much wonderful content to get through, no need to rush! If you're interested, I could also send you an invite to the Rare Pair Doctor Who Discord Server where there is a Liv/Helen channel and many lovely people to discuss their story with!!

Feel free to message at any time about anything, it brings me so much joy to share my love obsession with them with others! Can't wait to hear what you think of the other audios. Yes it's an expensive hobby but so worth it XD

Thank you for absolutely making my morning with this message!

[undercoverpena]

honestly I've never seen anyone here write ghost as a cheater so i don't know where anon got that from.

I'm curious though, since you say ghost and helen are an end game, would they ever have children? or just adopt a dog hahah but considering what ghost went through i doubt he'd entertain the idea of being a father (dunno just me tbh)

also alsooo your writing of him is like one of a kind for me, like feels so him and in character. so Helen engraved herself into his heart and veins?? holy heck do i have so many thoughts on their dynamic. But i think it's fitting, like very and your description of destroying things and putting back together is exactly how i see it. ghost having someone who will put him back together and be his reason, purpose is poetic. For the end though, i wonder how the two of them are like on the field considering Helen isn't always called to be out on the lines, how do they work? I imagine there's alot of banter especially if they talk via radio hahah sorry cause this got long.

Also your writing of his character is most definitely not jarring! ^^

oh, that’s so sweet thank you. I’m glad he’s not jarring and he’s so well liked over here. ✨ that makes me a very happy bean.

so, it’s not that I don’t think they have a child, or want them, it’s just not something I’ve gotten to yet because in my personal life, I’m not sure if they’re on the cards and it’s still a bit raw? if that makes sense.

so for that reason, I think they’d adopt a dog first. like I have done. 😂

they’re aware of what their job demands. so when he goes away, it’s risky to talk so they don’t. she misses him, but she understands and silently worries until he comes back. he won’t risk radioing her unless necessary, like when she’s sent as medevac or when they’re arriving and need her to ready up. but it’s strictly business on the radio. when they’re both in the field, they both have jobs to do—important ones, at that. so, they only break from that straight-thinking in absolute worry. like when he ran across a fucking battlefield to power bomb her through a door to save her from being ambushed. and while it’s not been posted, but has been written, but mentioned, Helen takes a bullet for him. she doesn’t think, doesn’t consider what she’s doing, she just does it. and it’s in those moments people can piece together there’s something more, but they don’t necessarily say it.

they’re people who say a lot with their eyes and their soft actions. he’ll tap her twice when he comes back and he’s passing her, which means missed you. she’ll run her flat palm down the back of his arm to his forearm before lightly squeezing, meaning be safe. they’ve adapted to say a lot with less because they’re both people who want to enjoy this privately, not publicly.

the only difference is him calling her helen.

[archduchessofnowhere]

Hello. What do you know about the marriage Ferdinand, Duke of Alençon and Sophie Charlotte. Thank you.

Hello! Sorry it took me so long, I was taking a break from this blog since I've been busy with college (the post on Sophie's death anniversary was qued months ago), and then I got sick (F). But I feel much better now so let's talk about Sophie's marriage!

But first I'll start with the source though. The best source of information about Sophie is Christian Sepp's biography "Sophie Charlotte: Sisis leidenschaftliche Schwester", which is only available in German (and I think there's a Hungarian translation coming up soon). I haven't read it yet but it seems to me the most complete book written about her like, ever. Probably he goes into more detail about her engagement and marriage, so if you can get it you should check it out. I used to answer this mainly an Italian translation of Erika Bestenreiner's book Sisi und ihre Geschwister (of which I only read the chapters on Sophie), which I double crossed with some online articles about Sophie that Christian Sepp wrote. So I'm probably missing some details; I hope I can learn more and write about it in the future. Now without further delay, let's continue on the subject.

After the fiasco of her engagement with Ludwig II (truly a terrible moment for both of them tbh), Sophie was pretty heartbroken. For all the portrayals in media of Helene as the "rejected bride", Sophie was the one that actually got publicly rejected and humilliated. Her family was furious at Ludwig, even Elisabeth. But after the scandal passed, it was time to find her a match again.

All the sources I've read (aka Bestenreiner's chapters about Sophie and some other articles) point to Ludovika as the responsible for setting her up with Ferdinand, Duke of Alençon, who was a grandson of the last King of the French Louis Philippe. On him we have this quote from Bestenreiner's book: "Baroness von Redwitz described him as a man of chivalrous bearing, 'with a carefully studied hairstyle and polite manners', whose fluent French was listened to with delight. She added, most eloquently, that he possessed more the qualities of a saint than of a husband".

They met at the court of Dresde, where Sophie was visisiting her relatives from Saxony (the queen Amalie was her aunt), and they both left a good impression on each other. Sophie and Ferdinand got engaged on June 24 of 1868 and married three months later on September 28 at Possenhofen. There is an account of the wedding from one of the guests, the Prime Minister of Bavaria Prince Hohenlohe-Schilling:

The young Duke of Alençon is described by the prince as a 'handsome young man with a lively air. The bride was dressed in white silk with orange blossom trimmings and a hairstyle of orange blossom and tulle. The couple knelt in front of the altar, behind them on the left-hand side Prince Adalbert (best man), behind him the two ministers (the second best man Pfretzschner and myself) and then, behind us, the men of the House of Orleans. On the other side, the Duke of Nemours, the Duchess and all the princesses… Nobody was crying… The bride seemed imperturbable. Before the "yes", the groom congratulated his father and the bride, then her parents. The bride's "yes" seemed to say: "It's all right with me". But I don't want to say anything bad, it just seemed that way to me. After the wedding, I kissed the duchess' hand and wished her well. She seemed really happy and content"

Off to a great start, right?

The Duke and Duchess moved to London (the Orléans had been living in exile on England since King Louis Philippe abdicated in 1848), where they were quite bussy receiving guests. However, soon after Sophie fell into a deep melancholy, and no one could figure out why she didn't feel better, not even after her first daughter's birth a year later on July. Although we can't diagnose her for sure, it seems likely she suffered from depression. The couple moved to Sicily with the hopes she would recover, and she actually did got better; but they have to depart abruptly because it was akward for the Savoyards that members of a branch of the House of Bourbon were staying in the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, which was ruled by the Bourbons until the kingdom was annexed to Italy in 1861. So Sophie's brother-in-law, the exiled King Francesco II of the Two Sicilies, invited them to stay over at Rome, and they agreed. Bestenreiner doesn't mention anything more on there time at Rome (although she does goes on a weird tangent about how the Wittelsbach sisters were depressed because they had too much free time??? That's not how mental illness works Erika), so I can't say anything else (if I find more I'll share it).

I ended up digressing a bit, but from what I could gather this marriage wasn't a love match, but a union between two people deemed adequate for each other (spoiler: they weren't).

[rainbowvamp]

merlin live thoughts - compiled for your convenience - ep 1

[added to give context.]

[narration begins]

kilgarha [not going to spell his name right don’t care] calls merlin a young man in the narrative intro and then switches to boy the next time. why is he a young boy in the little voice over?

[intro music plays. scenes playing over intro music] why don’t i recognize any of the scenes in this intro? has it been this long?

[back to Merlin hiking to camelot] saw merlin wanted it to be lancelot. was sad. usually i start with the lancelot eps but i am not. not today. [ :( ]

he smiles cute. what a dork. good for him.

[merlin walks into Camelot and doesn’t know they’re about to kill a guy] he’s so excited for the little horns blowing and then it’s like heart break. oh baby. baby. poor baby. what a terrible introduction

why does uther say his [own] name like that? i hate him.

what’s fair and just about killing a guy uther?

i want to have a mean nickname for uther but uther is already a bad name.

[after they kill the guy I am confused] what societal -ism is magic an allegory for in this damn show????

[angry mom yelling at uther from the place where her son’s just been killed] hammurabi’s code? okay girl ig.

[girl goes in a puff of smoke] best magic disappearance in the whole show. not used nearly enough. more people should disappear like the dead guys mom.

[merlin wanders around looking for gaius] he’s holding his little backpack straps the whole time and it makes him look so young. baby. baby. baby.

[first view of gaius office/chambers/whatever] i like the set for-

[pauses to obsess about weird set choices] wait i’m sorry. what the fuck is this

[description in alt text]

why do you have this? i’m cackling because there’s no explanation that i can think of that isn’t joyous or hilarious. is there an ao3 tag for Gaius’ weird rabbit mask? missed opportunity not to have this be the mask merlin wears in my enchanted fic [mercelot cinderella au]. fuck. that would’ve been hilarious. comedy rewrite of the enchanted fic where Lancelot falls in love with merlin while he’s wearing this.

okay. unpausing now.

[gaius falls over a railing that has probably been there for 20 years] how has this old man survived this long if that’s all it takes to make him fall the heck down his own stairs in his own house.

[gaius freaking out about Merlin’s magic and it triggers my daddy issues] gaius is very yelly. yells yells yells.

[Gaius says] who are you?? i love this line

[tbh I have no idea what this is a reaction to] gaius is funny in this episode. why isn’t he like this all the time?

gaius’ actor is so earnest when he says thank you. last time anyone will say that to merlin in this show. lol

merlin has his own room and a window. living large! all i can think about is lancleot standing by the window. but it’s fine.

collin is such a good actor. he’s so enthralled by camelot at night.

[voice over of hunith’s letter] gaius is charged with keeping merlin safe. forgot that.

also, “may god save you both” feels like it doesn’t fit.

[morgana’s telling uther killing the sorcerer sucked] i love morgana’s accent. is it in the rest of the show? if not we deserved more of it.

“the more brutal you are the more enemies you’ll create” including morgana. especially morgana. morgana was right.

[lady helen in her tent, but I couldn’t remember her name was lady helen] love the little mindless humming while the singing lady braids her hair. lady helen. good for her. she has a good smile.

also she missed some hair while she was braiding but we all make choices.

[knights protect lady helen and also dies] sometimes i forget there are knights other than the ones we like.

[lady helen killed by doll stabing] don’t see how having your son killed gives you the moral high ground to kill an innocent person. seems like this makes you the bad guy as well.

how does kilgaha [not changing it] know merlin’s name. i should know this shouldn’t i. idr. [I don’t remember. You’ll see this a lot if I keep doing these]

gaius just taking care of merlin is so cute.

he dropped the water on purpose. [so merlin would pause it with his magic like a little testy test]

[merlin grabs a mop for spilled water] what a good boy cleaning up without being asked.

“don’t do magic merlin” neither gaius nor merlin has any idea how to stop him from doing magic.

[gives the guy the medicine he’s not supposed to take all at once and doesn’t finish his warning ] merlin: stands there and watches him drunk the medicine all at once when he could’ve stopped him.

[arthur being an ass to that little boy with the wooden circle scene] arthur’s hair is kind of good in this scene and it makes me mad because this scene makes me want to claw his fucking eyes out.

who is that kid[with the wooden circle that Arthur throws knives at]?he deserved better.

[arthur says] “run” ugh i want to fucking hurt him. not in a fun way.

[merlin no arthur start to argue] i know they’re establishing that Arthur will grow and merlin has courage, but… ugh.

merlin is also sassy. “i could never have a friend who could be such an ass”

[merlin’s I could take you apart with less than that line] “don’t use magic” immediately intends to use magic to hurt the crown fucking prince. dummy. fails at it because has some sense. dummier

[merlin gets thrown in jail] also. jail? for what? attacking royalty? too high a sentence. unrealistic. [/j]

[fake lady helen enters to meet uther]lady helen’s dress is really weirdly designed. good hair though.

gross that uther kisses her hand. gross that uther.

[I forgot why-]merlin sleeping on a bed of straw? oh that’s right. jail.

gaius taking care of merlin again. [gets merlin out of prison. But there are conditons I remember the scene]

oh it’s the stocks!

gwen is coming!

gaius is laughing. what a jerk. who probably saved merlin from a. couple years in prison. so ig it’s fine.

i love that gwen is in camelot red. it’s so pretty on her and probably signifies who she’ll be later.

[gwen says Merlin’s not a big hero type] she’s so unintentionally mean and awkward. i love her.

“you don’t look like that.”

“i’m in disguise” [merlin’s smile is so cute]

he has such a cute smile.

[Gaius says]“you are a question that has never been posed before merlin.”!!!!

kilgarah :( trapped below. so sad. [kilgarah is calling merlin]

[merlin takes lady helen a potion for her voice] the preparation for lady helen’s voice looks nasty.

merlin is nosy. what the fuck bro. you can’t just do that.

okay plot, but wtf?

[lady helen discovers him in her room.]he looks so suspicious. he doesn’t even say what it is. he just hands her a suspicious bottle from his suspicious hand. don’t drink it girl!

[arthur and merlin meet on the street] god i fucking hate arthur. in this ep.

he [merlin] takes off his coat. they’re gonna throw down.

[arthur throws merlin a mace!] okay, but fighting a subject with a fucking mace? what the fuck “my lord”? [me quoting what merlin just said because I think I’m clever]

“how long have you been training to be a prat my lord” is one of the best lines in this show.

[they destroy various stalls while they fight] also, arthur better be paying for any wears that he is ruining with his little pissing contest.

love that arthur is being beaten up by inanimate objects. love less that he gets to win @ the end.

gaius is yelling again :/

[merlin while gaius is telling him he can’t use magic] “if i can’t use magic i might as well die” that’s a homosexual metaphor if i have ever heard one.

gaius is giving me whiplash with the yelling and then the caring. i cant process it. ik that’s probably how normal parents behave but that just isn’t vibing w/ me. [*]

uther is eating a strawberry and i hate him for it because i like strawberries.

he looks like the guy from buffy in this scene. hate that.

i am too emotionally basic for the complexity of these characters. help. [*this is me processing my inability to process gaius earlier]

merlin: hears a voice[kilgarah] and goes looking for it in the middle of the night.

merlin: this is a good idea.

[merlin covered gaius with covers before he sneaks out] love that the magic is just stop motion of them moving the blanket up him. we love practical effects.

[in the dungeons] knights playing dice. ig we should be writing more about that now.

the dice keep moving and none of them are thinking “magic”. why?

i can’t even fault merlin for going to find kilgarah because i too would go somewhere potentially dangerous if i felt like i was wanted there.

cgi on this dragon is… well. it’s there.

[I decide I want to know how many times destiny is said in this series]

destiny count : 1, 2,

merlin: arthur is the worst. um, i kind of don’t want him to succeed. i would kill him myself if i could

destiny count : 3

i want merlin to escape his destiny, actually.

destiny count : 4

where is kilgarah even going? just away . perching where he can’t be seen to be mysterious.

[merlin going around the castle to give morgana a potion]a jaunty little jog up the stairs.

[morgana thinks merlin is Gwen and she starts to get undressed.] um… real sus not to announce you aren’t who she thinks you are merlin…

[arthur is such a jester] morgana is right about arthur. if someone hasn’t already saved arthurthejester as a url, they should. that’s a good one.

[gwen walks in while merlin is pretending to be gwen] gwen should be mad about this actually. if i were gwen i would simply stomp on merlin’s toes for being in the lady morgana’s room without permission while she was changing. that’s 2008 for you ig.

the weird arthur/morgana thing they almost did. i’m glad they didn’t do that.

[maid sees real lady helen in the mirror] lady helen kills a maid. not worker friendly. don’t approve.

i’m not mad she wants to kill arthur. im mad about all the other people she kills to kill arthur. do assassination normally girl. don’t kill commoners to get back a nobles.

[morgana walks into the feast in the red dress] i think morgana looks very nice. it’s gross that merlin says god have mercy. it’s also gross my most beloved demisexual merlin is looking at her with lust. not compliant with my headcanon. episode is bad now. [\j]

merlin and gwen interacting gives me life. i love them. i genuinely love them. i apologize for any fic i have ever written where they weren’t absolutely together.

they’re not flirting, but they’re flirting.

[re: men gwen would date] “obviously not you.” i love her. she’s so awkward. it makes my heart so happy.

[back in lady Helen’s room] i think the dead maid twitched! she lives! she just passed out! oh good :) stop killing servants 2k22

uthers crown looks stupid. i hate him.

he looks at her[lady helen] with gross eyes.

what language is she [lady helen]singing in? someone? anyone?

i am also entranced by pretty people singing pretty songs.

merlin is so smart covering his ears. baby. baby. baby.

why the cobwebs though?

if she was just gonna stab him [arthur] why didn’t she just sneak into his room disguised as one of his guards to do that? like… knights are noblemen, kill them if you want.

[when merlin saves arthur] i appreciate that we’re seeing merlin be a good person, but he should have simply let him die.

[uther makes merlin a manservant] “i will reward you by making you a servant and usurping you from whatever life you have to serve my terrible son.”

the only good thing about this is arthur also does not want merlin to be his manservant.

[gaius going> now you can keep the prince safe w/ magic] protect the prince with your magic? this could be queerer. this should be queerer :/

merlin being handed the magic book

[pause thought to] destiny count : 5

is like being shown that other gay people existed and thrived in the time before. it matters so much to see those real artifacts of queerness. i made magic queer again. i feel better.

final thoughts:

i love merlin, gwen, morgana

i wish lancelot was here

gaius is fine ig

arthur and uther make me want to commit real actual criminal murder.

stop killing common people to injure the nobility. this is wrong and unforgivable.

okay. ep 1! this was fun. i’ll post this eventually. maybe. if you’re reading this i posted it.

00:25 - june 30

[harleycao]

Smallville season 3, episode 2: Harley's Commentary

(and useless rambling)

(SPOILERS!!)

13:06 How tf does Clark plan to explain any of the stuff that just happened? Like!?!??!?

17:08: but what actually dod happen to lex? That's what I'm eager to know.

18:22 This Morgan Edge guy is definitely going to be a problem.

25:00why doesn't Clark just give him some body else's blood or something? Just give him a fake! Idiot! How tf would he know!?

And here's his next apology! I really don't know how he's going to get past this, tbh. He doesn't think he's gonna stay but he'll have to. It is called Smallville, after all.

20:30 I like Lex and Clark being friends! Gonna miss this when it ends :(

Like the "looking at/acknowledging our dark sides" parallel between the two of them

22:13 i honestly don't blame Chloe for keeping quiet about knowing where Clark was. If she'd said anything, he would've just run even further. He needed some time and space.

24:00 what did you do to/with Lionel, Lex?

24:15 WHAT DID YOU DO, EDGE!?

26:00Clark, you idiot! Just give him fake blood! He wouldn't know!! You fucking idiot! You didn't even have to let it get this far!!

28:00 oh fuck. Fuck, Clark. Who tf can help him now!?

28:30 damn, go, lana!

29:00 that's going to require a fuck ton of therapy but thank god for lana!

30:30 what's going on with lex? He's fucking confusing, tbh.

31:30 lmao, he's right, though! "If my father had wanted to kill me, he wouldn't've failed!"

33:00 you think he didn't expect this, helen?

Oh shit, she shot the pilot.

35:20 haha, fuck you, edge!

38:00 this is how lex goes dark... Not that i didn't already know that

39:10 also, fuck jor-el

39:40 lex bought the farm back for them!! Lex... He could've been so great...if only...

41:00 so now what are they going to do with clana? Idk how to feel about them, tbh. But it's whatever, imo. I know they won't last, so... And i just love clark & lois no matter what version.

[shittyness]

the tiktok is the funniest omfg XDDD yes def headcanoning that rn!!! XDDD

I haven't read the Iliad either but so far I wasn't super sold on song of Achillies bc a) I didn't like Achilles in the version that I read as a child b) he was one of the greeks and I kinda picked the Trojan's side c) the book seems a bit overhyped imo..? BUT I'm ready to be persuaded otherwise bc in the Hades game I'm currently playing Achilles is actually hot af sooo I am reconsidering my childhood choices rn XD So yeah feel free to send me some propaganda hahaha XD

My fav characters were Priamos and Hector ig? My fav parts is def the gods meddling XD Love their messing around and gossiping amongst each other XD Fav scene right on top of my head was Priamos going to the Greeks during one night to get back the dead body of his son (was it Hector? I don't remember that part tbh XD) for it gave me chills and ahHHH - hbu? ;3

Yes keep coming back I haven't been here in years and yes I do miss my other fandoms but also... as u mentioned there's just so much going on rn :OOO what a life :D

(also yes good omens marathon was me this weekend the brainrot is REAL)

tbh I didn’t like Achilles when I first read the Iliad, and the only reason I do now is cuz I read the song of Achilles (I like always end up consuming overhyped media cuz I wanna know why it’s so hyped up)

my book flipped between the Greeks, Trojans, and gods so I never got to pick a side lmao

My favorite part was a moment in my book where Helen was trying to decide what side she was on, and she considered going back to her og husband to stop the fighting but she did truly love her new one

that or the beginning how (I think it was Zeus) just threw the responsibility of picking the most beautiful goddess on some random ass kid

I’ve literally been staring at my book for days, I might just cave and reread it soon

[concoulor]

so in the version of this show that exists in my head starting after s2 ends:

-libby breaks it off with bill, telling him she knows about the affair. she takes a nice trip around the world to learn more about what she wants from life, leaving the kids with bill’s mom. bill denies it at first, but feels guilty about it and about denying it. I’d like to think he apologizes but I’m not sure he would tbh. she chews his ass out for being a shitty father and for having the affair and for not being present in their marriage-- all her feelings about it come out finally in a moment of catharsis

-ginny realizes it’s not so bad not having the kids--she misses them a lot but there’s a sense of relief also that she doesn’t have to run home/isn’t missing tucking them in etc. maybe she and george and his new wife spend some time together and she comes to see that they are better off (she’s not a very good mom lol so she should have an arc where she fully gives into that because obviously work is more important to her)

-the study is progressing everything goes well for a little while, they’re getting really into trying to fuck over the other study and ethan

-ginny finds out bill caused her to sign away the kids (not sure how but there has to be a way just trust me) which makes her push him away for a longer period. during this they both go through some serious self reflection (here’s where bill would apologize to libby; virginia would wobble in her stance that her children are better off, there’s big tension in the office at work. there’s a couple scenes of henry and tessa with virginia and it’s happy enough, but by having them less she can finally admit she kind of likes it when they aren’t there both for her own guilt, for their benefit, and so she can keep doing whatever she wants at all hours. and she fully accepts that she would rather hang out with bill than mother them which is her version of admitting love for him)

-bill apologizes to ginny about the kids/makes it clear he really didn’t mean to do that, the apology is not an explicit i love you but virginia understands what he’s trying to say (recalling how she’s able to anticipate bill’s needs)

-bill and ginny get together fully. imo it’s not a big event they just keep doing what they’re doing but bill gets to come to her house now.

-antics ensue when bill is forced to spend time with virginia’s children (maybe he can think back to the fight with libby about their kids and make a very small effort with them for once, or maybe not.)

-lester and barbara keep doing what theyre doing with their weird little dynamic

-there was never a brother because i thought that was stupid and shoehorned in there

-artemis iasip’s character (flo?) makes austin a wealthy man until he ends up chasing the next pretty skirt but they leave it on good terms

-betty and helen have a shot or two of them as a couple just as the show is ending to wrap it up (i thought it was implied they were together again in s2 we just didn’t see it so that would confirm it)

-the study is on the cusp of new breakthroughs and it’s going really well but the show ends before we see what happens with it (because we don’t need to know really)

[emma-what-son]

I wrote down my thought and observations while watching the Harry Potter reunion special. I hid it in order not to spoil anything for those who haven't watched it yet.

-The first person we see is, of course, Emma... in a bookstore. Really?

-Emma's the first one shown at the trainstation and the first one to enter the hall. Not Daniel! Nope. It's not as if Harry was the main character or anything. I'm guessing Rupert couldn't film any of this since he was in Toronto at the time.

-Aaand here is the now infamous Dramione moment. This opening would've been a lot more magical if I hadn't watched the behind-the-scenes video.

-Where's Daniel???

-Okay he's getting his own intro. Could've been a bit more special than him creeping around Diagon Alley in the dark, but I'll take it. Top marks for adding that bookquote. It never fails to make me emotional whenever I read or hear it.

-Did HBOMax seriously make the mistake of using Emma Robert's toddler pic thinking it's Emma? Bad look HBO.

-Asshdhdjdjjsjs of course Tom mentions Emma when talking about auditioning for the part.

-Yep, they added footage from a Rowling interview from 2019 where she talks about not being able to find the perfect Harry.

-10 minutes in and we've had a walk through memory lane and getting our first clip of the 3 sitting together in the common room.

-Tom, Alfie and Matt get their own little sit down in Gringott's bank. It's fun to get their perspectives also from working on HP since we've already heard about the main trio's experience. It's pretty short though.

-20 minutes in and it feels more like a documentary than a reunion. There's some talking, but there are more behind-the-scenes clips with info that I, for the most part, already know.

-Aaww sweet moment of Dan getting a bit choked up because of Columbus' comment of him being a good actor in reference to the "I'm not going home, not really" scene.

-Yeessss. Give me some Weasley content!

-So cute to see Mark Williams sitting at the table with Bonnie and James and Oliver Phelps. I miss Julie Walters.

-I'm glad Toby Jones was asked to join. I bet that a lot of people don't know that he voiced Dobby.

-Jason Isaacs being his funny and charming self.

- I never knew Richard Harris thought that the phoenix was real hahaha

-Was Gary Oldman just petting Pettigrew in that behind the scenes clip lmao

-Alfonso Cuaron looks gooooood!

-Great moment between Gary and Daniel talking about Alan Rickman.

- I never knew Mike Newill cracked a rib while showing the twins how to wrestle in gof hahaha

-Emma talking about Dan during gof: "we had that older brother, younger sister thing." REeaLly? Mind looking into the camera while saying that? It's like she's avoiding eye contact lol

-I love the Rupert, James and Oliver friendship!

"Emma and I have always loved each other, really." You're not even trying to be subtle anymore Tom.

-Oh god Dramione make it stop

-So the I love him quote was literally taken from the reunion. Looks like Dailymail wasn't sucking anything out of their thumbs.

-Emma stresses at the end that nothing romantic ever, ever, ever, ever happened between them. They just love each other, she says with a sneaky smile and finishing with "that's all I can say about that". She could've just stopped talking with the first sentence tbh. Now she just looks like she's lying.

-Ralph Fiennes!!!

-The Dan and Helena segment is the most fun by far! I don't care if anything, like the letter, was planned. They make it all so natural and sweet!

-So they bring up the fact that Emma didn't want to continue filming. There were a few reasons given. That she was lonely, that the fame thing finally hit home, but no mention about her education.

-WE ACTUALLY GET A HINNY SEGMENT??

-Okay, that was short.

-They're acknowledging the actors that have passed. Starting with Richard Harris. Very touching. Tom genuinely getting emotional about Helen McCrory. And they, of course, talk about Alan as well. They also acknowledge some lesser known actors.

-Oh god, not Emma mentioning that hamster again. Dan doesn't remember most of that.

-Emma brings up the dance scene from DH. I'm tuning that out.

-Jason calls Draco a hero. I mean... sure?

-Yes Romione!!! They're talking about the kiss lol

-Some cute clips of tiny Emma, Dan and Rupert. Probably from the first day.

-Sweet moment between Rupert and Emma. You can tell it's genuine. Rupert usually isn't this open with his emotions.

-Nearing the end and getting a bit emotional.

Some things that I noticed:

-No scenes with Daniel and Emma or Daniel and Rupert.

-Very little Ian Hart.

-Most of it was old footage that we've all seen before.

-After watching it: I don't think enough time has passed to warrant a reunion. It would've felt more special after a few more years.

[magnus-the-maqnificent]

what are the things you don't like about the new season of killing eve? (just wanting to see if we have the same opinion😅)

Okay first of all - it feels like there’s a big chunk missing between the ending of season 3 and the beginning of season 4??? Like the last few episodes of s3 had a LOT of sweet and tender scenes between Villaneve, had them working together and being on the same page kinda and don’t even get me started on that last scene on the bridge?? And then the beginning of s4, it feels like none of that even happened and their dynamic seems so different like… wtf happened? :((( it feels like there’s a lot that happened in the few months (??) between s3 and s4 and we’re seeing none of it.

And secondly Eve’s character arc? Like I absolutely can’t figure out what her motivations are and why she’s doing what she’s doing. Why she’s going after the twelve, her relationships with Yusuf, Helene and Villanelle, and ESPECIALLY Villanelle. Like why did she get Villanelle arrested?? No one in the fucking fandom knows. Some posts pointed out that it might be intentional, that Eve herself might not know what she wants to do, in which case she has like… two episodes to figure things out.

That’s another problem btw. The pacing and plot kinda? Like there’s a LOT going on and there’s no telling where it might go??? A lot of other posts did a better job at explaining this but um yeah. Like we have Pam and Konstantin’s arc, Carolyn’s arc, Eve and Yusuf’s arc, the whole Twelfth shiz, a newly introduced assassin (who’s just gonna be around for the last two episodes??) and the whole Villaneve mess. Right now Villanelle is on some island and Eve is going back to Yusuf’s place I believe? When the fuck are they going to meet again? When are they going to TALK? When will they fucking COMMUNICATE??? *cries*

Also, Villanelle’s character arc too. Like, season 3 established that she wants to leave the 12th, which is great ofc, but then they took a sharp left turn into Villanelle trying to change herself, AND to prove to Eve in particular that she can change when Eve showed no previous indication that she wants that? In s3, Eve acknowledges the darkness in Villanelle and in herself and she’s like… fine with it, so where did that come from? Like I said earlier, it’s like there’s something missing between s3 and s4 :((( this line of story did give us the scenes between Villanelle and Carolyn, which I loved ofc, followed by Villanelle finding her footing by killing abusers, but I just wish they’d explain where Villanelle’s desire to change even came from. (Unless there’s like, something in s3 which I’m forgetting in which case ignore this skkks)

That’s mostly it tbh. Lemme know what you think about season 4! 👀

[softcallofdutyimagines]

The squad with a curly haired gf

Adler

Can you say, iconic hair duo?

Because, yeah lol

Russell is the rare example of a man who won’t give you shit for taking extra time to get ready to go out

Primarily because he also requires extra time to get ready to go out

It’s not that he makes a big deal of trying to ensure every last strand of hair is perfectly in place, mind you

More so that there’s a lot of steps in between when his hair is freshly washed, and when it’s ready to go, all gelled up and styled like it is

The cabinet under your shared sink is divided right down the middle with yours and his hair products

Of course, you would have no problem sharing, and you do in fact share certain things that you can

But your hair simply has different needs moisture and support wise, so you get all your own stuff

However, you have put some curling gel in his hair at least once, just to see how he'd look

It was not a very good look, but you both had fun trying it

Hudson

The exact opposite of Adler lol

While you and Adler would draw appreciative looks, you and Hudson get more like bewildered stares

It makes a bit of sense, considering just the powerful contrast between your glorious mane and his stark baldness

Hudson doesn't mind however

In fact, if anything, he finds it quite amusing

However, he could live without you draping your hair over his head now and then to "see what he'd look like"

Regardless, he does love your hair

It's so different from what he's use to, namely his lonesome bald himself, that is

He likes the soft texture between his fingers and against his stubble, and the fruity, flowery scent it always carries

Hudson has about zero skill with hair care, but if you're patient and willing, nothing would make him happier then learning how to help

This may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but he really is glad to do it...

As long as you can keep his secret safe ;)

Lazar

As an ethnic Jew, I think Lazar would have a lot more experience with luscious, curly hair then you'd think

He is undoubtedly a master braider and knows exactly what kind of protective styles would look good on you

Additionally, he loves doing this for you!

His mom has basically been preparing him for this all his life, so he's excited to flex his skills

And, while he doesn't necissarily use them himself, he has great recommendations for what kinds of creams, oils, and gels you should try

Personally, I suspect Lazar also has naturally curly hair, he just brushes and gels it to match the current style

However, if you encouraged him to go natural, he totally would

You'd be kind of like the sign he's been waiting for to do it lol

With a little shape up and some care, he looks amazing with his little floof top

From them on, the two of you strut around as the epitome of curly haired couple goals

And yes, you both do take great joy in telling people this is your natural hair when they ask where you got your perms from

Mason

Mason, sort of like Hudson, is a big of the unique smell and texture of your locs then anything else

He finds it comforting, and before long he starts to identify the most prominent smell from all your creams and oils as the smell of home

It's hard to explain, and he's afraid you might think he's strange for it, but...

Something about the reminder of you brings him to a safe place in his mind

The kind of place he didn't even think he had up there anymore

However, you don't find it wierd at all, quite the opposite in fact

You're glad that something as silly as the smell of your hair makes him feel at home, both physically and mentally

So, you makes sure to keep that particular product in your rotation whenever you can

Alex is not very good with hair care/styling however

He will try to learn if you want to teach him, but it just doesn't seem to click

So try not to expect much more then him helping you administer product and brush it through

This plays to his advantage though, as he's able to learn what it is that makes that smell he so adores

I say advantageous, because when he has to be away for longer periods, he buys one for himself, just to have

When he particularly misses you, he puts a dab of it in his own hair, just to have the smell follow him around

And why not? If nothing else, his justification is that it keeps his hair just as nice and silky too

Park

She's. In. LOVE

I hope you're ready to have your own personal stylist, because that's exactly what you'll be getting with Helen

Growing up, she was a big fan of playing dress up and princesses with her dolls

Now imagine how she'd feel as an adult with such a gorgeous head of curls in front of her

Unfortunately, doll hair and human hair care are quite different, and while she's easily able to grasp this of course...

She will need a bit of guidance on your hair care needs

But no matter how complex, she's game

It's very hard for her to pick out one thing she loves about your hair tbh

But, if she had to choose, she enjoys braiding it the most

It's also quite nice because, while her own hair is rather low maintenance, she does pick up a few useful tips and tricks from you on hair care

Of course, she does also appreciate that you don't mind returning the favor and giving her hair a bit of love

Before long the two of you would be walking around with absolutely perfect, hydrated and glowing locs

The effort may be a bit time consuming, but all that time together, and particularly the result it has, are so worth it

Weaver

He thinks your hair is the most gorgeous thing he's ever seen

If you two wanted to/were able to have kids, he'd be the type to pray all the kids get your hair

That's not to say he dislikes his natural, smooth and straight hair, that is

Just that he'd feel like quite the proud dad to have his beautiful little floofy haired family running around

But for now, he's more then happy to dote on you and your hair

He can manage a very basic braid, which might come as a shock to you, but if you want him to do anything more complex, he's going to need a minute or three

Also, he's quick to be proud of your hair on your behalf when someone compliments it

Considering perms were all the rage in the 80s, you basically get worshiped and for your curls and asked where you got them done a lot

It's funny at first, but a little tiring after a while

However, Weaver never seems to get tired of bragging on you

After a while, he's pretty quick to be the one saying "It's all natural" to those who inquire

You find it a little funny, but it does feel good to be appreciated so

Woods

Of all the others, he'd be the one to tease you a bit

Nothing all that mean or rude of course, more like in an endearing way

He nicknames you "Curls" almost immediately

At first it runs you the wrong way, and so he has to dedicate some effort to prove that he doesn't mean it like that

But in the end, he does manage to pull it off, and his teasing becomes something of an inside joke to you two

Only he is allowed to make jokes like that though, anyone else who tries it, even in a friendly way, gets snapped at

You do wish he'd ease up a little about it, but he can't help but be protective of you

Frank is a total lost cause when it comes to styling your hair

Honestly, you're lucky to convince him to even consider doing up your hair, but that's another story

He's one of those where if he can't get it right the first or second try, he gets to frustrated to keep going

With a little encouragement, he might be able to manage a basic braid

It does not look very good at all, but he tried

At first, he's a bit pissy over all the "girly" smells from your products overwhelming his living space

As well as the amount of time it takes for you to get ready in the morning

But he grows accustomed to it after a while and it doesn't bother him anymore

In fact, he goes down a similar route as Mason, and starts to identify the smells with a feeling of security

Woods would never go so far as to put scented anything in his hair, even as a token reminder of you, but...

He has been known to swipe one if your conditioners before a deployment, just to bask in the comforting smell now and then

It's probably stupid, but he likes to think it brings him luck, having that tiny piece of you with him out in the field

Just a little something to remind him to come home safe <3

[in-tua-deep]

20 for Vanya?

20. What-ifs/Alternate Timelines

I have a lot of what-ifs and alternate timelines for Vanya lmao, especially ones that prevent the apocalypse because I’m a sucker for a happy ending tbh

What if Vanya was included? Why not? Klaus’s powers weren’t useful for missions, Allison’s story for Claire was literally like “yeah Klaus got distracted by ghosts in the background lol” so it’s not like a kid without offensive powers couldn’t do it

you have rebellious Vanya aus, where she decides, like some neglected children do, so act out. If her father isn’t going to acknowledge anything good about her, she’s going to make him acknowledge the bad. Punishment might be the only time he pays attention to her, after all.

(let’s call this an au where the pills suppress her powers but not so much her emotions)

So you have an au where she sneaks out and joins the missions. She breaks into the mausoleum and picks Klaus up and stares her father down with a challenge in her eyes. 

Five vanishes, and Vanya gets worse. She plays her violin at 2 in the morning. She refuses to eat her broccoli. she teams up with diego to see who can piss dad off the most

(her and Diego actually get along very well in this sort of au, honestly)

Vanya gets out and plays the violin and gets angry. She plays with fury and fire and gets second chair, because Helen is actually really very good. But she makes Helen work for it. Helen isn’t secure in her position, she always knows that Vanya is a step away from taking it from her

and maybe that should make them enemies, but it doesn’t. They’re rivals. Helen respects the hell out of Vanya, and Vanya can’t help but admire the woman who makes the most difficult pieces look effortless

(RIVALS TO LOVERS: VIOLIN EDITION)

Vanya writes her book. Except she kicks down Diego’s boiler room door and is like “DIEGO”

“WHAT”

“I WANT TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT HOW MUCH DAD FUCKING SUCKS”

“I’LL BE RIGHT THERE”

as one of the rebel kids, Vanya actually got along well with Klaus as well since she helped him sneak out and 100% also smoked at least some weed with him because it would piss off Reggie tbh though she didn’t get into the harder drugs like he did

(showing up absolutely plastered to breakfast when they were sixteen was hilarious even if the laps they had to run around the block were not)

anyway Klaus crashes at her apartment sometimes, with supervision, because she loves Klaus but he has a problem and has stolen from her before but he’s still her brother but regardless

Klaus-Diego-Vanya sleepovers where they brainstorm the book to shit talk their father. Honestly it’s kind of a blast. They all get super wine drunk and end up watching Mary Poppins together with some Very Loud Opinions about nannies in general tbh

klaus throwing popcorn at the screen: BOO WHY WAS OUR CHILDHOOD NOT A MUSICAL???

diego: idk if you can have cheery musicals about child soldiers

vanya: i mean if they can have a musical about child labor in factories and the starvation of the workers in oliver twist you could do something with child superheroes

klaus: EXACTLY thank you vanya

they publish the book (luther is uNHAPPY, vanya dedicates her book to ‘all my siblings who survived the Reginald Regime but especially those who didn’t’, and she gifts Reggie a copy that says “fuck you lol” and is signed by her, diego, and klaus), they continue living, they go to the funeral when reggie kicks the bucket

and then five shows up, feral and aching

and five tells vanya about the apocalypse, and vanya thinks about their father saying time travel messed with the mind, and then she thinks - fuck the old man he was wrong about her (ordinary, fuck that, she’s Vanya Fucking Hargreeves) and he was probably wrong about Five, too

and Five is wholeheartedly believed

“Let me call Diego,” Vanya says when Five tells her about the eye, “I bet he could totally wear a police uniform and get info about the eye. And if not, I’m absolutely sure Klaus could improvise a solution. He’s good at that.”

“Klaus??” Five asks, vaguely suspicious.

“We don’t talk about the Sleepover of 2012.” Vanya intones solemnly, and refuses to answer any further questions on the topic.

Harold Jenkins comes to the apartment and tries to woo Vanya or whatever, and Vanya is kind of like... “Look, Leonard. I can be your teacher for violin. It’s my job. But I am in a relationship. And also like, super gay. If you have a problem with that then I am not the teacher for you.”

Actually scratch Diego and Klaus getting called, which they do, Vanya looks at them and her thirteen year old brother and is like “wait. actually i know someone infinitely better to crack this case wide open.”

“Who?” Five, Klaus, and Diego all ask

“My girlfriend.” Vanya says proudly, called Helen up.

And Helen walks into the building like she’s at fucking war and has such demanding confidence that they just give her the information she seeks and apologize for inconveniencing her.

“Hey Vanya are we still on for date night tomorrow?” Helen casually asks after, and Five kind of wants to be her when he grows up honestly after watching her verbally eviscerate Lance or whatever the fuck his name is

“Yeah.” Vanya confirms, “Unless there’s other apocalypse stuff to do?”

“You take all the time you need, honey.” Helen says warmly, “After all the more time you take the less you have to practice.”

“I’m gonna destroy the concert piece and you know it.” Vanya threatens.

Helen sniffs, “Okay, whatever you say second chair.”

and then they kiss and Helen ditches and the others just kind of look at Vanya judgingly

“In fairness, she’s very hot and very talented.” Vanya defends herself.

Klaus nods sagely. Vanya nods back. He gets it. 

“Concert piece?” Diego asks, because he has priorities.

“Yeah, I’ve already asked for tickets for all of you and you will be attending Diego.” Vanya smiles prettily with all her teeth.

“When is it?” Five asks

“April 1st.” Vanya tells him, “And no that isn’t an April Fools joke. You will attend and you will marvel at my skill. And maybe run interference between Helen and Allison because I’m kind of afraid they’re going to rip each others throats out to establish dominance.”

“That’s the day of the apocalypse.” Five informs her.

“Not on my goddamn watch.” Vanya says, because her family will attend her fucking concert and they will make awkward small talk with her girlfriend and the fucking apocalypse has better lay down and get over itself because nothing can stop Vanya’s goddamn plans

“I can investigate Meritech more.” Diego offers, because Lance-or-whatever-his-name-is is clearly shady as shit, “I have police contacts I could go through. Hey Vanya, your concert tickets include a plus one?”

“They can.” Vanya shrugs.

“Sweet, let me see if Patch can come.”

“She’s way too good for you, bro.”

“Shut your goddamn mouth.”

Anyway the point is they all go home, and Diego goes to talk to his police contacts and Five is definitely at home for when Hazel and Cha-Cha attack the mansion, oops. 

“Whomst the FUCK.” Vanya yells, kicking Hazel in the crotch because she’s Vanya Fucking Hargreeves she knows self defense thank you very much

“Ah.” Five says. “Hazel. How’s it going.”

“Just peachy.” Hazel wheezes, “Why’d you betray the Commission?”

“Well, you know. They cut the dental. That was really the last straw.” Five says, sarcastically.

“The dental.” Hazel echoes back, nodding very seriously, “I fucking know. You know physical therapy isn’t even covered anymore?”

“No shit?” Five says, “I mean you’d think with a job as physical as ours...”

“I know.” Hazel howls, vindicated. 

“Five.” Vanya says, rolling her eyes, “The house?”

“Oh, right.” Five frowns, looking at Hazel, “I mean. Can you like, leave? And not come back?”

“‘Fraid not.” Hazel actually sounds somewhat apologetic, “You know what the Commission is like. They’re really gunning for you.”

Five nods, because really what did he expect, “Can you leave like, temporarily? I mean you’d pretty clearly outnumbered. I don’t even know where Cha-Cha is, but judging by the furious yelling she probably met our sister and brother and Luther is hard to kill. Trust me, if he wasn’t we would have killed him when we were like, eight. But for real, can you get out of our house? I mean. Storming the den? Seriously? What kind of information did they even give you?”

“They didn’t give us any information.” Hazel responds back, sounding appropriately outraged, “They didn’t even tell us you could teleport.”

“Well that’s just rude. You’d think they wanted you dead or something.” Five muses, “But seriously, get out of my house.”

“Yeah, that’s fair.” Hazel admits, and leaves, because honestly Hazel is chill like that and knows when he’s lost. And Hazel also has a lot to think about. Like the fact that the Commission sucks and doesn’t even have dental, and how pretty the donut lady is. 

and Vanya is just like... okay. Weird. Is that going to happen again? Probably? I mean. Okay, this day has already been so goddamn weird. This week, honestly.

And they keep getting attacked by the Commission. And Vanya finds out someone broke into her apartment and stole her meds. What the fuck. 

“Did your shitty assassin friends do this?” Vanya asks, waving an empty pill bottle.

“Why would they?” Five asks, honestly confused.

“Because they’re assholes?” Vanya says, honestly outraged.

“You got me there.” Five admits.

The combined forces of Diego-and-Patch (because Patch is actually thrilled that Diego is asking for help regarding an actual fucking crime) figure out that the eyeballs are being sold illegally

Klaus is not kidnapped so he’s fine, just tagging along and living his best life, however this also means that Klaus does not steal the briefcase and Hazel and Cha-Cha are fine

Vanya keeps Five close at hand because frankly she doesn’t want him to leave again and she did really miss him. Also if she does save the world she can lord it over Helen’s head forever. 

And so Five is around when Vanya’s powers manifest, probably because they just got targeted by commission goons again because they’re trying real hard to kill five and separate Vanya

“Holy SHIT.” Five says, very intelligently, “You have POWERS.”

“Wow. Gonna have to write a fucking sequel to the shit-talking-dad book.” Vanya says, honestly a little light headed.

And then Vanya finds out her powers are sound based.

“Oh no.” Vanya says, “Where the fuck are my pills. I am not relearning how to play the violin with-powers a few days before the big concert Five, what the fuck.”

“But you need to learn to control them!” Five protests, “They’re your powers!”

“They’re a goddamn inconvenience is what they are.” Vanya states, “I mean, what am I going to do with them? Stop a bank robbery with the Umbrella Academy? Yeah, no thanks, that ship has sailed and sunk to the bottom of the ocean Titanic style. I’ll figure them out when I’m not in danger of blasting the audience halfway across the continent.”

“Yeah.” Five admits, “That’s fair.”

“Besides, if I’ve been on that shit as long as I have, and it’s been a long time, I cannot even IMAGINE what quitting cold turkey will do.” Vanya points out, very sensibly, like a siblings who has watched Klaus go through withdrawal symptoms more than once.

“Maybe there’s extra at the manor?” Five suggests, “Pogo probably knows.”

“Oh yeah I bet Pogo knows something.” Vanya mutters maybe a little bitterly.

They go back to the mansion and the Commission is honestly pulling their hair out tbh, and they ask Pogo who kind of pales and is like “UHHHH YES I CAN GET VANYA EXTRA PILLS” and goes to get them from whatever stash

“Fucking sweet.” Vanya whispers, entirely done with this situation, “The only adult male role model I had and he hid my powers from me and betrayed me. Love that for us.”

Five shrugs, “I mean, you’re right. All of our adult role models were all kinds of fucked up.”

“You vanished when we were 13.” Vanya says, “Didn’t you find like, any other adults ever?”

“Oh let me tell you about the Handler.” Five says, and proceeds to do just that. Because let’s be real, the Handler was the only human interaction Five had after forty odd years alone it was pretty damn important

Vanya, on the other hand, has strong plans to eviscerate the Handler should the two ever meet because Five deserved way better than to be forcibly made into an assassin?? honestly fuck that woman

that’s it that’s the au

Vanya finds out she has powers and is like “i have a LIFE i don’t want to interrupt it with bullshit POWERS,,, also going cold turkey off my meds seems like a bad idea if I don’t want to deal with withdrawal symptoms during my concert for fucks sake, my gf would never let me live it down if i skipped”

so vanya takes her meds, does NOT destroy the world, makes every one of her siblings go to the concert and even invites Hazel and Agnes after Hazel betrays Cha-Cha to join team No-Apocalypse. 

and then introduces them all to her girlfriend

“Holy shit Vanya.” Helen deadpans, “Your family is all kinds of fucked up.”

“I know.” Vanya says, aggrieved, “It’s been a long fucking week. Want to go camping and help me figure out my cool sound based powers? Bet they’ll make me a better violin player than you.”

“I think the fuck not.” Helen hisses, always up for a challenge, “Let’s do this. Me and my violin vs. you and your dumb baby powers. You’re on.”

“FAMILY CAMPING TRIP.” Klaus hollers, with all the enthusiasm in his little heart.

“Holy shit this is going to be such a disaster, I just know it.” Diego mutters.

“Shut up, it’ll be nice.” Allison says, elbowing Diego with her pointy pointy elbows.

“It’s going to be a shitshow.” Vanya says serenely, because it is. That’s just who their family is. 

Wouldn’t have it any other way, though

[lit-in-thy-heart]

you know what, what's the point of being on this platform if you don't get to bellow into the void about your interests in the hope of finding someone with the same interest?

in light of this, let me inflict a lowdown of the victorian literature (mostly novels because poetry is difficult to collate) that i've read for my module this year upon my mutuals

i'll do a separate one for vampire novels and reblog with the link

because what are the victorians without vampires? straight

bleak house (dickens): what a ride that was! yes, it was nearly a thousand pages and, yes, some chapters i was like can we move on please, but that's dickens for you. honestly, i loved it. if you're looking for thinly-veiled lesbianism, this is the book for you (esda all the way, if they even have a ship name). unfortunately i already knew one of the plot twists due to watching dickensian five years before, but there are plenty more to go around! if you can get through the first chapter describing nothing but fog and the law courts, you're in for one hell of a treat -- just don't google anything about it until you've finished because you will get spoiled (or don't share a house with me, where i'll tell you the entire plot as i'm reading it). definitely recommend, but marking it down for the heteronormativity with allan. (9.5/10)

villette (c. brontë): where to fucking start. i, quite frankly, do not care for charlotte brontë, and when reading the earlier novel agnes grey by anne, i could see some more things that charlotte has filched for this travesty. no victorian novel is going to be without problems, but this one was xenophobic, ableist and, of course, racist. the protagonist doesn't really give anything away, which is meant to make her more mysterious, but it just renders her an empty vessel. oh, and she tells you stuff that she's figured out waaaaaay after she says she's figured it out, a bit like she's allowing you to feel smart for making a connection before going 'oh yeah i knew that like twelve chapters ago, keep up'. some of the passages are really striking and there's maybe one character who's likeable but that's about it. i'd say it's more a story of omission than repression tbh. (4/10)

janet's repentance (eliot): wait, have i even finished this? no, no, i have not. it's fine, i wasn't going to tell you the ending anyway. i did get hooked eventually, there were just a LOT of names thrown around in the first few chapters, and a word that i didn't know was used frequently (turns out it was a name for the followers of this guy). i did get strong hester prynne/arthur dimmesdale vibes from some of the main characters, but janet is a very sympathetic character which, after reading villette, was nice. slightly depressing in some places, but a good enough read if you're not cramming it in the day before your tutorial, because it is mildly dense. (7/10)

the wonderful adventures of mrs seacole in many lands (seacole): not what i'd been expecting to read on my module, what with it being a biography, but enjoyable nonetheless. horrible histories lied to me, though, she was in her 40s/50s when she treated people in the crimean war, not in her 20s, but that's minor. it was actually quite funny??? like she was very reluctant to give away to give away her age and almost slipped up a couple of times, and also made some very biting remarks about people who were passing comment on her skin colour. for a biography, it wasn't hugely biographical, in that she was married for what seemed all of five minutes before her husband died, when in fact they were married for several years, but if you want an in-depth depiction of war, this is for you. not what i'd usually read, but some of the descriptions are so vivid that it does read like a novel in places, though sometimes the descriptions were so detailed that i did tune out at odd intervals. (9/10)

the happy prince and other stories (wilde): if you're feeling low, don't read these. don't. especially not 'the nightingale and the rose', because that was honestly heartbreaking. really well-written, some passages were just beautiful, i just wasn't in the right headspace to fully appreciate it. it also has a lot of death, i should probably explicitly say that. (8/10)

agnes grey (a. brontë): chef's kiss, honestly. if i'd read this last year then i think it definitely would have hit a lot harder, what with agnes moving away from home for the first time and struggling with loneliness around people who she is different from. beautifully written, i'm irritated at myself for not reading it sooner, even though i've owned a copy for about four years or so. agnes does come across as a bit wet sometimes, but those moments are rare and far between, she's overall a resilient character who is trying to make her own way in the world. seeing as i managed to get through the whole thing and didn't lose focus on what i was reading, i rate it higher than jane eyre (which is a rip-off of this anyway). we stan anne. though i am marking it down for the underdeveloped romantic relationship that just pops up (9.5/10)

now for some old classics that weren't taught on my module, but i can't not mention them

a tale of two cities (dickens): this was my first dickens book and oh my word what a book. yeah, okay, lucie is a bit of a wet dishcloth and has basically no personality, but there is definitely something there between her and her maid. sydney is my baby and oh so gorgeously dramatic ("you have kindled me, heap of ashes that i am, into fire"), which was perfect for the pangs of unrequited love. the plot is slightly confusing, and you don't really understand everything until right near the end, but i loved finding parallels in the chapters set in france with the chapters set in britain. oh and the showdown between miss pross and madame defarge is wonderful. i had a tradition of reading it on the run-up to christmas, just because that was the period when i read it for the first time, but i haven't done that for the past two years just because of exams and stuff. now, bleak house just pips it at the post, but i still love it dearly. (9/10)

wuthering heights (e. brontë): i couldn't review victorian literature and not include this. there are very strong similarities between this and villette (seems charlotte really drew on her sisters' work), particularly in terms of me not liking a single one of the characters except hareton. everyone is called cathy. literally. and heathcliff/cathy one is a toxic ship that should not be boarded. it is obsession, not love. the second volume is basically a repeat of the first one, thus showing that humanity will never move past its vices and will be caught in a vicious cycle of self-destruction for the rest of time. again, though, beautifully and vividly written. the characters are the type that you love to hate. (8/10)

the tenant of wildfell hall (a. brontë): what. a. book. this was a book that was simultaneously loved and condemned as scandalous when it came out. there's mystery, there's a woman escaping a horrible situation and making her own living, and there's a well-developed relationship! and the characters are likeable (i love rose, she's great, completely goes off at her brother when she has to do things for him all the time), which always puts it onto a winner. there's one chapter with gilbert that i have to skip just because i hate what he does in it. there are quite a lot of religious references, with redemption playing a huge part in the novel, but even the religious views brontë expresses went against a lot of the teachings of the anglican church at the time. do i even need to say that it's beautifully written if it's anne? marking it down for gilbert's behaviour and arguable control of helen's narrative. (9.5/10)

far from the madding crowd (hardy): i love this book. a little more uplifting than tess but still with the drama and murder you'd expect from hardy. maybe my review is influenced by my tiny crush on bathsheba: she's not the best role model but damn what a woman. gabriel isn't quite bae but i love him all the same, i'm so glad he's happy in the end. (9/10)

[akkpipitphattana]

Where do you think Philip and Lukas are now four years on? 🥺

Oh 🥺🥺🥺 this is such a cute ask, hold on

I don’t think the show ever specified whether they were in their junior or senior year? But because of Lukas’s missed sponsorship opportunity, I’m gonna assume it was their senior year, which would mean that if either of them went to college, they’d be out of it by now. Which, I’m positive Philip did go to college, if only to appease Helen because as supportive as she is of his photography, I just know she was always telling him he needs to have a backup plan.

Speaking of Helen and Gabe, they never officially adopted Philip, and Philip still refers to both of them as their names. It doesn’t change the impact either have had on him, though, and he still 100% considers them parental figures and his family. He and Lukas even still go to Tivoli every weekend to have dinner with them and Bo.

Which, Bo has gotten so much better by this point. Maybe this is purely self-indulgent, but I truly believe that talking to Gabe and nearly losing Lukas was a fucking wake up call. It took a while, and he slipped up a lot in the process, and he even still does sometimes, but he loves Lukas, and has even grown to love Philip as a son, too. He’s trying, and that’s the most important thing.

Now onto the shit you really asked about, our boys ❤️❤️ They’re engaged.

Allow me to expand further. It’s a more recent development, because like I said Philip went to college and I totally picture him being the type to focus more on his studies, as much as he loves Lukas. So, while it wasn’t long after the “one month later” sequence that they realized they were it for each other, and they started really talking about a future together at the end of their senior year, they agreed not to get engaged until Philip had graduated.

Hear me out: Lukas proposed. After all the shit that went down, Phillip (rightfully so) always had a sort of lingering insecurity that he was in it more than Lukas was. He was always somewhat scared that Lukas was gonna hurt him again.

And Lukas isn’t stupid, he knows he fucked up so much, and he did everything he could to make that up to Philip, starting with the party in Redhook where he kissed him in front of everybody. He even specifically told Philip one day that he’d spend the rest of his life making it up to him, showing him how much he loves him, trying to be better than he was.

Slowly Philip started to believe it, to trust Lukas more than he ever had trusted anyone, to believe in the love he felt for Philip.

Lukas, though, never thought it was enough. His therapist (because they both started seeing one after Ryan Kane died, they’d both needed it for a long time and just even more so after witnessing a triple homicide) worked on his guilt with him a lot, but there was just always that gnawing feeling for Lukas, that he’d hurt the person he loved the most. It’s also just the case that he believes that Philip deserves the world, so spoiling him and showing him the love he has for him was always gonna be the outcome either way.

So, at Philip’s graduation, Lukas proposed. Not in front of the whole class, because Philip would kill him for that, but at dinner, later that night, with Helen and Gabe and Bo present.

Of course Philip said yes, he didn’t even let Lukas finish the question before he was kissing the shit out of him and then nodding against his shoulder as he hugged him.

They haven’t set a date yet, but they have put down a few ideas and talked about it quite a few times. It doesn’t matter so much to them the when at the moment, just the confirmation that it’s going to happen is enough for them.

They live together, too, but that’s not a new development. They moved into an apartment in the city while Philip was about two years into college, closer to where Philip was going, but also not too far from Tivoli. Their parents had to help them for the first few months while they got on their feet, but they did eventually figure everything out.

Lukas, by the way, got another chance with Trevvy Tools. They decided to sponsor him nearly immediately after his graduation, and it really kicked off his career. It keeps him busy, and he has to travel a lot, but he does everything he can to make sure it doesn’t affect his relationship with Philip, because that’s the most important thing to him.

Which, honestly? Philip didn’t pursue photography. I know, I know, I know!!! But like I said, he started getting his degree because Helen was on him about it, but he became very aware of the fact that he wanted to pursue a career as a history teacher. He hasn’t found a permanent position yet, but he works as a sub at a nearby high school and he also helps out with the photography club there.

They also have a cat. They both originally wanted to get a big dog, but their apartment doesn’t allow for that, and they definitely didn’t wanna get a smaller dog because they both find them annoying, so they went for a cat. She’s a cute little calico named Annie (yes, that’s close to Anne for a reason. Philip thought of his mother immediately, but calling her just Anne didn’t really fit, and he knew it would be too hard to name her just Anne.) and she’s about two years old, but they only got her a year ago.

Tbh I didn’t realize how many thoughts I had about all this until I got this ask, but here ya go skdjdkfj

[dontcrywrite]

Hello! Here’s my underwing question and I’m sorry if I missed this somehow in your posts! But I was wondering if female knights were a common thing in the area of the Lucent Sea or if that would be a conflict Sir Helen would come across. Either way it would be fantastically interesting!

Also as a side note, my mom’s dog is named Whiskey so her horse has a great name!

Hi!!! I actually haven't talked about this in depth before, but female knights are a common thing in Arla and the surrounding Lucent Sea area! The head knight is a woman as well! There's a healthy mix of male, female and nonbinary knights :))

I personally don't like writing stories (especially fantasy stories) where the characters have to deal with homophobia or racism or misogyny or anything like that on top of the plot. I see enough of that in the real world, and I don't want to write about it! (Not that there's anything wrong with stories that grapple with these issues!! It's just a me thing lol) Though tbh the exception to this is corrupt governments, because there is just something so cathartic about characters curb stomping politicians njvfbhfvh

oh thats so cool!! what kind of dog does she have?? whiskey is one of my favorite names for a pet :))

thank you so much for the ask!! <3

[kashuan]

I’ve fallen HARD into the Helenus hyperfixation, so what are your favorite headcanons/Just general things about him? Or you can ramble about him if you want, I’m not picky.

• Second oldest of Priam’s sons (I don’t think it’s ever specifically stated but I hc it Hector > Helenus > Deiphobus > Paris) • Mama’s boy (takes after her in all ways) • There’s a lot of versions for how he and Cass got their prophetic powers; my version is when Cass got hers first around age 11~, Helenus saw how much positive attention that (initially ):) got her, and as her twin and a boy he felt slighted/jealous of it and asked Apollo to give him the ability too...Hubris Punished when that came with seeing his city being destroyed, along with how in the future the Greeks would use that ability of his to help accomplish that.  • Isn’t cursed like Cassandra but may as well be for how much his family listens to him (this is p much canon) • The long suffering straight man of the family tbh, surrounded by a lot of Extra personalities • Was well respected among his people but definitely was in Hector’s shadow, though Hector always treated him as an equal • Didn’t know how much Hector felt that way though until he named his son after him (Scamandrius was in some versions Helenus’ real name, and he was renamed Helenus after he got his prophecy powers.) Story of his life tho that the population decides to call the boy Astyanax instead • Popular with women but only has eyes for Andromache  • Met Andromache as a boy when he was visiting Thebes with Hector but was too shy to talk to her where Hector wasn’t. Regrets the Could Have Been but also supports Hector/Andromache with how obviously good they are for each other so that never turned into true jealousy, just some understandable envy • Chryseis had a crush on him (took that one from this v good book series) and if he wasn’t hung up on Andromache it would have been mutual • Good fighter but excels more academically; extensively studied history, foreign languages, etc. Would make for an especially good emissary and wanted to be the one to go to Sparta but Priam was like no, let’s send my new favorite son who has no training whatsoever and is a known womanizer. Helenus looks into the camera. • Out of all his brothers was closest with Deiphobus, who I hc as being rough around the edges but not an outright Dick until later in the war; after he forcefully married Helen that was one of the main things that made Helenus leave Troy • That and Paris desecrating the alter of Apollo. Miss me on that version he helped the Greeks because he was jealous Helen didn’t marry him (I hc he rather tried to get her back to Menelaus, like she was canonly Asking For at that point, but Deiphobus stopped him). • The most hc of hcs but I have a big lengthy story about him and Menelaus becoming friends starting with when he was a captive of the Greeks and maybe someday I’ll make a comic about it :^) • He ends up helping the Greeks with the understanding that less of his family and people will die if the war ends sooner than later (Results May Vary) • Did not sign up to be Pyrrhus’ friend or father figure, Pyrrhus considers him a friend and father figure (also another good hc I’d already thought of but that book series fleshed out really well)