#offscreen bffs

[karihighman]

Meleric for Chenford always ❤️

[twpsyn-who]

If not dating then why put them near each other in every goddamn frame?

[fastcardotmp3]

as much as I adore the widely accepted meta analysis that Robin is Like That in season 4 because she's flustered by Nancy because so true girlie Nancy Wheeler is awe inspiring, sometimes I think about it based on what we're actually given in text and get. so mad.

Robin's introduction in season 3 was as a cool-headed, cutting, self-possessed, polyglot genius who was queen of the deadpanned snark and genuinely cool no matter what various characters may have said about her being geeky. On screen she was highly intelligent and knew it.

But then the Duffers let Maya Hawke convince them to make her a lesbian (oh hell yeah! her coming out scene is one of the best on the whole damn show!!) but you know what that means? When season 4 rolls around they are no longer writing her as Cool Love Interest For Steve, they are writing her as Quirky Best Friend Comedy Hour.

Are there still scenes where we get to see her be smart or snarky? Yeah, sure, of course, but there's this clear delineation between seasons 3 and 4 Robin that makes me crazy because she has so clearly been relegated to filling the role of Awkward And Rambling And Easily Distracted; she has been given the blandest love interest of all time in a character we know nothing about, who exists offscreen and almost exclusively through word of mouth to the point where Robin spends more time entrenched in Steve's love life than her own; and she has lost that "just because everyone else thinks I'm an uncool band geek doesn't mean that I do" edge that made her so interesting in season 3.

We can (and will!) come up with whatever fun meta we want to explain the changes to her character in season 4 but. like.

It just sucks that the minute they decided to let Robin be a lesbian out loud on screen, they stopped being able to write her as anything other than the useless in love, kind of airheaded but still funny, bff.

give my girl her edge back, that's all I'm saying.

[c-rowlesdraws]

final very superficial appraisal of the live action one piece show:

👍:

-the set design was wonderful and had a cool sense of unreality to it (as in, the environments feel like built sets and it’s part of the fun), it was colorful and theatrical and captured the manga’s blend of piratey genre aesthetics (wooden boards, sailing ships, rolled-up old maps) and “modern” elements like t-shirts and neon signs in a really pleasing way

-the show clicks to the top of the first rollercoaster hill at the end of episode 3 and then goes at the start of ep 4 and it’s just one breathless ride to the finish. I didn’t want the show to end. I do not care about one piece and started watching kind of for the bit but now I’ll actually be really upset if it doesn’t get a second season. That’s how good the second half of this show is.

-I love how all of the characters with colorful hair have clearly-dyed hair where their roots are showing (as opposed to wigs), and in flashbacks to a few of them as children the child actors have the exact same sort of imperfect dye job. It’s wonderful. It adds to the theatrical energy of everything, like “we know you know this is artificial, but we trust you to suspend your disbelief and enjoy this fiction with us”.

-with very few exceptions, all of the actors’ performances are great. They are all cool and fun to watch and there are lots of sweet and funny and emotional moments that work because the writing is sincere. Nobody rolls their eyes for the audience’s benefit at how weeeeird their world is— they live here! I love that.

-the trap beat they did for Arlong’s theme music rules

-this story with its global ocean and seafaring/island-based societies is kind of like “what if Waterworld was like a big colorful carnival” and I love that

-the Snail Phones 🐌

Things I liked less below the cut - 👎:

-Zoro’s backstory bff being depressed because “a girl can beat a boy, but no woman can beat a man [in a swordfight]” was a disappointing line to hear two characters just… play straight in a world that up to that point had seemed pretty non-sexist? But this girl sincerely believes that, and this boy doesn’t push back at all. In this world of self-dismembering clowns and people with axes for arms, you’re telling me that there are no champion swordswomen for little kids to admire? Not one?? From skimming the wiki, it seems like in the manga Kuina’s views are influenced by her sexiest dad, but the show doesn’t include that context.

-Kuina dying offscreen in “an accident” was the only tragic thing in the show that didn’t land for me. It’s just so blatant and funny. You’ve got to get rid of her so she can motivate Zoro, because she’s dead in the manga and that’s how you motivate male main characters, with dead women, but… how? Doesn’t matter! There’s been an accident. Typical backstory girl bff behavior. Call that Fridge To Terabithia.

-Iñaki’s energy as Luffy didn’t always work for me. Some character behavior works in manga and anime, but seems awkward and jarring in real life. It’s very difficult to pull off wild limb-flailing anime exuberance in live-action— live-action Cowboy Bebop’s glimpse of Ed comes to mind. But also, I never really liked Luffy in the parts of the manga I read, either, so maybe I’m just not the target audience for a Luffy in any medium. Iñaki seems like a friendly and chill dude and he certainly gave this role 100%— and also Oda himself loved him for the role, so that says a lot.

-the whole thing with Arlong and his Fishman crew where they’re part of an oppressed and formerly-enslaved minority, so of course they have beef with humans (“but slavery’s been abolished!” shouts a human character), but they’re taking things too far and not just fighting for equality, but domination, which includes extorting, killing, and enslaving humans, starting with this poor little girl here. And since this group are clearly evil and have these big evil plans, it’s cool and great actually for the heroes, who are all humans/members of the majority, to kick their asses and kill a bunch of them. Like… I get there’s a whole thing here with Arlong being twisted by hatred into the very thing he says hates, and maybe we’ll meet more Fishmen later in the story who are just people and not bloodthirsty evildoers, but it’s not a great fictional look?

It takes me back to hbomberguy’s critique of RWBY’s portrayal of the Faunus, and the problems with making your bad guys out of an oppressed ethnic group who, the story says, might have a point, if they went about things peacefully, but are just taking things too far with this domestic terrorism stuff. The Faunus and Arlong should really be writing to their congresspeople instead!

[fairypowerful]

The Ship That Was Endgame Since the Beginning (confirmed)

Narratively, Michaela and Zeke were always meant to find each other and be together.

Narratively, Jared and Mick were not meant to be.

From the very beginning – S01E01.

(Edit: The show’s creator, Jeff Rake, said this was always the ending, “just tightened up along the way.” You got that? Zekaela were planned since long before Matt Long got the role as Zeke – Matt said that his first phone call with Jeff in 2018 after getting the role was himself being told that Zekaela were soulmates! LMAO 😂 I didn’t need this double confirmation in order to know that, because in hindsight, the clues were there from the way everything led to them and when looking at their first two episodes together.)

The offscreen event that led to Mick being in a bad place mentally/emotionally (her BFF Evie’s death) had also led to her hesitation of Jared’s proposal, which led to her getting on Flight 828 because she didn’t wanna have to deal with that and her family pressuring her to accept. (“It’s not just about you. This family needs something to celebrate” / “And I know you love Jared” / “Why are you fighting this when all it’s gonna do is make you happy?”)

It was a domino effect. The plane disappearing led to Jared marrying Mick’s other BFF, Lourdes, four years later, and the plane reappeared a year after that.

Mick became the other woman in that marriage, which she deeply regretted; and she not only destroyed her now-ex BFF’s marriage, but also lost another lifelong friendship on top of being too wrought with guilt over Evie (which she forgives herself for in the final season). Jared didn’t really show any remorse, but Mick now had all of that weighing her down and didn’t want to continue with him. And Jared certainly didn’t make it easy on her.

Really, these two were not right for each other. Not to mention, Jared unnecessarily stirred up trouble and a lot of stress for Mick due to his possessiveness over her, and his immediate jealousy and rather extreme hostility towards Zeke upon first meeting. Very toxic. Just gross. Not right.

~~~

I think it’s important to remember, too, the original series order was 13 episodes – the “find her” Calling was in the tenth episode, Zeke appears in the twelfth episode, and the thirteenth ended with him and Mick in front of the petroglyph of two stick figures holding hands, outside under the stars.

Those episodes would’ve been written in cohesion with the preceding storylines, especially considering the nature of the show and its mythology needing to be mapped out instead of written on the spot – meaning that Zekaela was not shoehorned into the show. Keyword, “cohesion.”

Those episodes and the character would’ve been written long before the actor was even cast into the role. It was always planned.

🤭 It’s also confirmed.

Their soulmatism was sprinkled all over their story, starting in their first two episodes together.

“It’s all connected,” didn’t you know? 😉

The show’s been consistent about that.

Look at the acting choices in Season 1 from before Zeke’s introduction. In multiple scenes, Jared told Mick they were supposed to be together and she’d shake her head ‘no.’ Like her heart knew, but she consciously didn’t yet. When Jared told her she’s his soulmate, Mick said, “No, I’m not.”

Narratively, her heart always belonged elsewhere. After she met Zeke, she always chose him over Jared from that point onward. Everything that happened led her to him, including her conscious choices post-Pilot and pre-Vanishing Point, which basically worked in tandem with the universe. The cheating/ruining BFF’s marriage/losing her BFF was a major deciding factor for her in not getting back with Jared anytime soon … and then she finally meets Zeke whom the universe had also brought forward in time.

~~~

So, I want to put my thoughts to some of the things I’ve read by antis…

“The only thing Zeke and Mick had in common were the Callings”

That’s not true. You had to have watched the show with your eyes closed to come up with that.

A Calling brought them together, sure, but it didn’t make them connect and fall in love, or be happier around one another. A Calling isn’t a love potion or a magic spell.

Zekaela was a pretty peaceful relationship in a sea of turmoil (the government, the X-ers, the hatred and violence against 828ers), whereas Jachaela was an angsty teen drama amidst the external turmoil. 😶

I’m going to quote a character from a different story who chose his wife over someone else he had feelings with, because I think it applies very much with Mick choosing Zeke over and over again every single time. “Passion is … it’s fire. And fire is great, man. But we’re made of water. Water is how we keep living. Water is what we need to survive. My family was my water. I picked water. I’ll pick water every time.” And I’ll add another quote from the same character talking about his wife and what it was like in meeting her, replacing the name with Mick’s because it is very much in alignment with Zekaela’s story. “But when I met [Mick], it was something different altogether. She just … made the world make sense to me. She even made me like myself more. And there was a calmness to her that … nobody else had. It felt like when I was with her, I knew everything would be fine. It was like I was following the North Star.”

Mick being Zeke’s North Star is literally canon, by the way.

(S01E13 and S04E18).

~~~

“The only reason why Zeke and Mick got together was due to the time travel and the Callings”

Yeah, that’s how storytelling works.

Crying about this is like complaining that the only reason the Doctor regenerates is because he’s an alien from Gallifrey and the Doctor Who writers in 1966 came up with a way to replace the leading actor without getting rid of the main character. Or rather, it’s like complaining that the only reason Mary Margaret and David fell in love despite the Dark Curse amnesia is because they were Snow White and Charming in the Enchanted Forest.

Trying to belittle Mick and Zeke’s love by attacking the narrative, that’s pathetic.

“But it’s forced”

No, it’s not. The little things the writers added years later, like Afterlife!Zeke telling Mick about them having moments in their lives where they almost met, is not forced, because the audience (who don’t have blinders on during their story) already knew they were soulmates and it’s literally how storytelling works.

Heaven forbid TV writers foreshadow, expand, and give callbacks to scenes from previous seasons ever again! Heaven forbid we ever get flashbacks in later seasons! Heaven forbid you ever watch another TV show with more than 1 season because “they added this years later, so it’s forced”!

“But Mick and Jared knew each other the longest”

So? That doesn’t matter. Do you actually believe length is an indicator of whether or not someone is the love of your life? Just…wow! Heaven forbid anybody not get back together with an ex simply because they knew them longer. Heaven forbid anybody leave behind a former or current longterm relationship without getting told, “But it’s been years, so you belong with him forever/were meant to be with him.”

Mick wanted Zeke. She chose Zeke. I think that’s a good indicator of whom the love of her life is.

In S01E13, Mick tells him that she wished she could redo her re-entry into 2018 but wasn’t sure what she would’ve done to change the way her situation at home turned out.

In S02E01, Zeke tells Mick he wished he’d met her some other way in some other time. (Edit: With Jeff implicitly saying he always knew how he wanted the story to end, and explicitly confirming that Zekaela was always the plan from the very beginning, along with Matt implicitly saying they were written as soulmates since before he got the role, Zeke’s line is now major foreshadowing).

In S04E19, Mick tells Ben she doesn’t regret taking a later flight because it led her to Zeke.

It’s very telling. Ben’s heart belongs with Grace, and Mick’s heart belongs with Zeke.

“She would’ve married Jared if Flight 828 landed in its proper timeline in the Pilot episode”

There’d be no show to watch if the plane landed in 2013, for one thing.

Those 5 years gave Mick an experience where she learned what and whom she really wanted, without the enormous pressure of immediately accepting a proposal, and she also got the opportunity to meet her real soulmate. It’s okay to not want the same thing you wanted a few years ago. It’s called growth.

~~~

“Mick only stayed married to Zeke, after he survived his Death Date, out of pity and duty (because he survived, and she expected him to die)”

I remember seeing a remark like this, and you must dislike or hate Mick if you think she’s like that. Even as a joke, that’s just cruel.

Mick was so happy and relieved when Zeke survived his Death Date. She loves Zeke, or did you just close your eyes to their whole love story?

She told him she’d continue to choose him even if he had one day left, or ten thousand left. And with or without empath powers, Zeke knew she loved him too.

“But she still had feelings for Jared”

Okay, and? Even if the situation were reverse, she’d also still have feelings for Zeke. It works both ways.

And as Mick told him, she chose him instead of Jared. Sure, she loved Jared, but as Zeke told Mick in S04E02, her huge heart has room enough for anyone who’s lucky to be loved by her. Loving Zeke doesn’t mean she has to stop loving anyone else in her life. Love isn’t limited.

It’s canon that the only way she could choose Jared is if Zeke is dead. He didn’t look happy at all when he saw Zeke survived.

Just because you love someone doesn’t mean they’re the one for you. She chose Zeke.

~~~

“The writers only made Drea pregnant to put her and Jared together”

Do I need to be petty and remind y’all that pregnancy happens when two people regularly have sex, and protection isn’t always a 100% guarantee? 😶

Jared and Drea match really well, that was quite clear when they first got together. Their relationship grew organically. Just take off your blinders. Even Mick could see that Drea is perfect for him.

It helped Mick to see that Jared was compromising his happiness by being with her. She didn’t want children, and she was confronted with the fact that they could never have a full life together, not without compromising her vision for her own life.

By the way, that breakup post-reset was made before she remembered Zeke telling her about one of their almost-meetups where he was a cab driver at the airport on the night Flight 828 was supposed to land. So, it was fully her choice to end things with Jared going forward and starting anew; Zeke didn’t even need to be alive for her to choose that for herself. But she was so happy when she remembered. If you truly like the character, her choice makes complete sense narratively and character-wise.

~~~

“But Jared and Mick have more chemistry”

If arguing and fighting is chemistry, then yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I do think JR and Melissa have chemistry outside of angst and volatile tension, but if you think “more chemistry” is a reason why a fictional couple should be endgame, you have a juvenile view of an adult romance. This ain’t a teen drama. So, congrats, what a way to reveal you don’t care about the story or a cohesive narrative! 👀

Zekaela have a calmer romantic chemistry, and their sweet love story is so much better than Jachaela’s constant tension-filled drama where Jared put on tantrums when she wouldn’t give in to him. Their story up until Season 4 was volatile in a bad way, which only went away when Jared stopped chasing after her and let her live peacefully married to Zeke. I’m glad his character got better, thank goodness!

~

And don’t even get me started with “We won in real-life because JR (Jared) and Melissa (Mick) are together,” because we’re here for the TV show, not real-life. It’s entertainment, so chill out.

~~~

I think that 2013-Jared calling off his proposal to Mick, because it was for the wrong reason (“to help you get past [Evie’s death]”), isn’t forced/lazy writing.

Consider for a minute that, in 2013, he’s not the character you were introduced to in Season 1 (the now-former 2018 timeline). He’s not unhealthily obsessed with her like the Joker is with Batman, or Eobard Thawne is with The Flash. And he never got the trauma from losing someone in a perceived airplane accident. As for his breakup, he got time to think, and ultimately he didn’t want to take advantage of her in a vulnerable state.

And consider for a moment, at the time, 2013-Mick was grieving and didn’t believe she deserved happiness – and it’s been a year since Evie’s death. I don’t imagine there were many smiles and laughter for the past year in their relationship, meaning it was dying. So, Jared not being heartbroken over 2024-Mick’s breakup kinda makes sense.

To him, Mick broke up with him because she wasn’t gonna heal any time soon, and wanted him to move on with someone who can give him what she can’t.

But to her, Mick grew in those 5 years since getting on Flight 828 the first time, and the life she thought she wanted back then isn’t the same anymore (and that’s okay, we’re not the same person we were half a decade ago) and she got to meet the real love of her life whom she can be with now. Zeke.

I don’t believe love is a choice, because you can’t force yourself to love or not to love someone. But I believe happiness is a choice, you can choose to walk towards it or away from it. Mick walked towards happiness by choosing Zeke. It’s really beautiful.

~~~

Credit for most of the Manifest screenshots and tweets go to @gracestone

[fluffyquill]

When Rue first found out about the goblet/bugglebear/feychild, I imagine that they were pretty anxious, regarding how to tell Hob, and worrying over conflicts between courts. So, they do what Hob does: confide in the most faithful of steeds. (Who will later spill the tea to his BFF Mucky.)

Description below the cut!

More of the Goblet Mini-Series! The Pack of Pixies learn about Goblets Tiny Hob Fable and Grabalba get the news Grabalba explains, and How Hob Found Out

[Description: an inked comic sketch

Panel 1: Rue anxiously wrings their paws in front of a fenced pen, where Wrackingspelt the war horse calmly watches them pace back and forth. There is no text, but Rue seems to be talking at length about the discovery of the new baby and its upcoming arrival, how to break the news to Hob, and worrying about conflicts from other courts.

Panel 2: With a sigh, Wrackingspelt plunks his head on top of Rue's, effectively stopping their snowballing anxiety. Rue freezes, looking surprised. The thought bubbles evaporate in a puff of smoke.

Panel 3: Now calm, Rue nuzzles Wrackingspelt's face.

Panel 4: Rue walks away offscreen, presumably to go tell Hob the good news, and Wrackingspelt watches them go.

Panel 5: A dust cloud appears as Wrackingspelt tears off in the opposite direction, yelling, "MUCKY, YOU WILL NOT BELIEVE WHAT JUST HAPPENED!!"

End description]

[andiover]

Ted Lasso Wish List for S3E9-E12

(In no particular order)

Phoebe: I’ll be happy to see her again at all, but I want her adopt Jamie as her new cousin. We all know he would absolutely slay at Princess and Dragon.

Dump Jane, Coach!: For good. Even if it’s offscreen and mentioned in passing.

Trent Crimm’s Daughter: Now, please. I need to see AFC Richmond turning into a bunch of softies like they do for Henry.

Colin and Isaac BFFs: I am still beside myself over E8. If they break up as friends for good, I will have no faith left in humanity. My darling fashion-challenged boys, get your shit together and fix this.

Jamie’s Mum: I don’t even need to see her on screen - just assure me she did everything she could to kick James Sr to the curb, keep her kid as far away from him as she was legally allowed, and tell me her fate.

More Bumbercatch: That chaotic little gremlin has said the wildest shit in passing this season and I never want it to end.

Roy’s Sister.: Even if it’s just once, to make a cheeky joke at Roy’s expense, I need to meet her.

Dump Jack, Keeley!: She treats Keeley like a pet or a novelty, not a partner or a person. She doesn’t even trust Keeley to hire her own office staff or write her own PR statement.

A Full Pack of Diamond Dogs: Ted, Beard, Higgins, Trent, and Roy, not just occasionally swearing from his office, but talking about his actual feeling.

Will someone please tell Jamie why he was really sent back to Man City?: They don’t even need to be specific - just let that poor boy know his coaches/dads really did want him around and it wasn’t his fault.

Rebecca gets to be a mum.: I don’t care if Sassy dies and she ends up with Nora or she hooks up with Ted and becomes Henry’s bonus mum or adopts an orphan or just figures out she already has a couple dozen very sweet, very dim sons - give my girl her one true wish.

Dump Dr Jacob, Michelle!: I don’t care that she’s got a boyfriend, but I very much care he was her ex-therapist. Your man is deeply unethical at best and creepy and malicious at worst.

The Family Higgins!: Even if it’s just Julie that makes a return, I’ll be happy to see any and all of their lovely faces.

Miscellaneous Himbo Shenanigans: All specific himbo-related requests are listed above. I just want as much of our sweet summer children being good friends and ridiculous humans as we can get.

And, the one which absolutely will not happen, but God I’d love it:

Bex gets West Ham in the divorce.: Series ends with her redecorating Rupert’s office just like Rebecca did is S1E1.

[myocdump]

Mod talk:

So i didn't do a drawing for the booping event, as payback i will make a ref post for 1 of my OCs in the coming days, and you guys can choose

Woohoo, first poll

[idololivine]

Thoughts on Olivine and his relationships with the other clan? Shipping or platonic wise?

inch resting :3c lemme think

Aster: We don't see them interacting much (I think? there's a lot of events I haven't seen) but they seem to get along well. In Silver Miracle Aster drags Olivine away from the creamy hot pot to a different one, so they're on good enough terms for that to happen. Friendly but nothing special seems to be the vibe.

Morvay: I absolutely think they're BFFs. There's something very sweet about a priest and an incubus being the best of friends, and honestly they're about the same level of horny. They go to 'medicinal herb' (aphrodisiac) shops together and probably swap book recommendations.

Ship-wise: definitely friendship only and zero romance. I think they're prooobably not sexually compatible, unless it's a threesome and they're sandwiching one top between them. They both crave cock in them too much.

Yakumo: They're very very sweet and uncomplicated (or, well, they were uncomplicated until CoD. let's ignore that for a sec.) Olivine's gentle demeanour gets on very well with Yakumo's nervousness. Their dynamic is such that they don't challenge each other or push each other out of their respective comfort zones, and sometimes, that's exactly what you need in a relationship.

CoD complicates this. They both had protective/self-sacrificial streaks to begin with, and now they both feel guilty about what went down with the cult. Let's be honest, the game probably won't touch on this, but there really should be some complicated emotions between them.

Ship-wise: they're not the whirlwind romance Hallmark movie type, but they're the cute domestic type where they go shopping and then make dinner together. Also the sex is fantastic because Yakumo can be overwhelming and Olivine loves being overwhelmed.

Edmond: They're friendly, but earlier on in the event timeline, I also got the sense that out of all the clan members, Edmond is the one that places the most importance on Olivine's priesthood. That's a point of conflict, because Olivine's whole deal is learning to be An Actual Person outside of his job. As long as Edmond sees him as Father Olivine The Priest and not just Olivine, there's going to be some amount of distance between them.

I think they must have figured this out offscreen at some point, because in CoD Edmond drops the 'Father' title and just calls Olivine by name. So there's an unspecified stretch of time where they have the awkwardness I talk about above, but where we currently are in the event timeline, I think they're good friends. There's interesting places to explore in regards to how they both feel bound by duty and both (used to) struggle with feeling ashamed for having sexual desires.

Ship-wise: I've talked about olimond a lot these past few days. I still love the idea of them having the most chaste regency romance slowburn. Sexually, Edmond might be the only man Olivine will be a Dom(ish) top for, but Eiden has to get them started because Olivine doesn't know what to make of Edmond's CNC thing.

Quincy: Also very uncomplicated. Quincy likes that he's quiet and polite, and Olivine just generally likes people. They simply get along well.

Ship-wise: I'll be honest, I don't find romantic quinoli to be that much better than other romantic Olivine/clan member ships, at least when it comes to canon and canon-adjacent settings. They're sweet, but there's not a huge amount of depth to their dynamic. AUs are different because you can change up their circumstances to add that depth; AU romantic quinoli has the capacity to be super good. See: Pages and Priests by Zerenovation.

Regardless of whether they're romantically involved, the sex is really hot. Quincy is very straightforwardly, physically dominant and Olivine would love being manhandled. If you've ever peeped my ao3 profile you'll know I'm unfortunately an omegaverse enjoyer and these two would be the quintessential alpha/omega pair. (Quincy putting Olivine in a mating press... now there's a thought.)

Kuya: Oh Boy. tl;dr - the most complicated Olivine-clan relationship by far, which makes it very interesting.

Here's the kuyoli tag on my blog. I think requiodile says it better than I can, but to paraphrase my favourite parts: they're uniquely positioned to challenge one another in ways that they just don't get from anyone else.

They both have a thing about being seen for their station (priest/powerful yokai) before they're seen for themselves, and they both don't really care about each other's station. Kuya doesn't give a shit about the church or its priests. Olivine respects other cultures and respects that Kuya is held in high regard among the yokai, but ultimately, Kuya is just another one of God's creatures. We see all the way back in Kuya's introduction chapter that Olivine doesn't seem intimidated by him, just kind of annoyed.

There's a few angles their dynamic could take, depending on circumstance.

Kuya intentionally tries to piss off Olivine just to see how much Olivine is willing to take. Olivine is very accomodating, and knowing that Kuya is trying to get a reaction means he would try to stay calm, but even he has his limits.

Kuya, on account of being old as balls and a yokai, has a sense of morality that can seem incomprehensible and callous to humans. Olivine might try for something along the lines of "I know there's cultural differences, but I still find your actions unacceptable", which Kuya would hate.

In either case: we'd get Olivine being genuinely angry. Not just "I was worried for your safety" angry, but genuine "you are such an asshole and I can't do anything about it" angry. I think it'd be neat to see a new side of him. NuCa events being NuCa events, they'd resolve the conflict soon enough, but they're never going to be buddy-buddy. The potential Kuya-Olivine dynamic of "we respect each other but don't like each other" is still a very unique one for Olivine.

If you just wanted PWP, Kuya is absolutely capable of straight up bullying Olivine so hard that he gets flustered and submits before there's even anything for him to be mad about. They're very sexually compatible, being the most sadistic top and the neediest masochist bottom. I think Kuya would find it a fascinating challenge to have a sub that'll take anything he can give and still beg for more.

Garu and Karu: I really don't know what to make of their relationship. Olivine comments in Forest Carnival that he can't help but want to watch over Garu and Karu, so it's... kind of a parental vibe? But that's a really fucking weird vibe to have when they're all having sex with the same guy. I dunno. I'm unsure of what to make of Garu and Karu in general, and given what I know of their writing in events and intimacy rooms, I don't think the devs know what to make of them either.

Blade: I think they're cute! Olivine is a master of social cues and Blade doesn't know what a social cue is. They'd have a lot to learn from each other. I'm going to plug another Zerenovation fic here.

Much like Kuya, Blade also doesn't especially care that Olivine's a priest, but it comes from a place of not knowing what a priest is and not from antagonism. I think that'd be somewhat strange but also nice for Olivine.

Dante: I find it hard to get a read on how Dante generally interacts with the other clan members. Dante and Olivine interact in Festive Glimmer, but miraheze doesn't have the transcript for me to remind myself of how that went. I think they'd be polite and friendly, but not especially close. They might have something to explore in terms of Dante also being very defined by his duty - probably not the sort of thing that'll ever be touched on in canon, but could be interesting in fic.

Ship-wise: I think it'd be funny to see how Dante tries to figure out topping Olivine. He's so used to dealing with Eiden's bratting, and Olivine is... distinctly not a brat. Romantically, there's currently not enough depth in canon for me to be interested, but if a fic existed I'd give it a shot.

Rei: We really haven't seen enough of Rei at all for me to get any sort of read on him. Olivine might have something to say about Rei chipping fragments off the water elemental gemstone?

Ship-wise: Rei might be the only person who can make Olivine a sub top. Like, pin down or tie up Olivine and ride him kind of thing. But again, I don't really know enough about Rei to be confident yet.

[mariana-oconnor]

The Silver Blaze pt 1

Blazin' time.

Like I said on my commentary for Wisteria Lodge, I do remember this one. I will try not to give anything away. Although, again, I don't remember whodunnit, just whatwasdun and various assorted clues, which will probably mean that I will realise whodunnit as we go.

I also don't remember if the culprits die offscreen in a random shipwreck. Has anyone done a statistical analysis of the bad guys comeuppances in the Holmes stories? Probably. I feel like 'death by convenient shipwreck' is going to be up there.

“I am afraid, Watson, that I shall have to go,” said Holmes, as we sat down together to our breakfast one morning.

Woop, in media res this time. No commentary about how this is in the few months following Watson's wedding. Just BANG Holmes g2g.

When, therefore, he suddenly announced his intention of setting out for the scene of the drama it was only what I had both expected and hoped for. “I should be most happy to go down with you if I should not be in the way,” said I.

I think we underestimate what a relentless gossip fiend Watson is. He wants the tea, but he's far too respectable to just go over there and find out for himself, so he's been sitting there hoping that his bff will give him an excuse to go be nosy. And being an excellent bff, Holmes is doing just that.

We're going on a horse hunt, we're going to maybe catch a famous one... And we are going to judge literally everyone involved, because that is the Watson way.

Watson this time doesn't even mention his patients - or his wife - ACD has clearly decided not to bother trying to fit this into the continuity. How very fanfic of him. I support this choice.

“Our rate at present is fifty-three and a half miles an hour.” “I have not observed the quarter-mile posts,” said I. “Nor have I. But the telegraph posts upon this line are sixty yards apart, and the calculation is a simple one."

I was about to make a commentary about why Holmes was doing this, but then I remembered that I used to do pretty much the same thing on the motorway when I was a kid. Not with telegraph poles, but with the little markers for the emergency phones. So I really do not have a single leg to stand on. The only thing I can mock here is that he knows how far apart telegraph poles are and honestly I find that kind of a reasonable thing to know.

Yay maths!

"I presume that you have looked into this matter of the murder of John Straker and the disappearance of Silver Blaze?”

I did not remember the murder. I did remember the horse. I guess that tells you what 10yo me's priorities were. Although I never quite made it as a true horse girl.

"On Tuesday evening I received telegrams from both Colonel Ross, the owner of the horse..."

Another colonel. There are so many colonels. Far too many colonels. Other ranks are available.

"...Mapleton, which belongs to Lord Backwater..."

Lord Backwater? Really? Were you just not trying with names at this point Holmes? Lord Backwater who lives in the middle of nowhere? According to Google he also appeared in The Noble Bachelor, so maybe I should have noticed this then, but still.

Lord Backwater, who is probably good friends with Sir Yonder, Her Grace the Duchess of Inthastix, and Col. Rustical.

I'm going to stop now.

We do have the return of the 'gypsies', so I'm anticipating at least one person suggesting that they had something to do with it, because of course someone will. But they won't be the actual thieves, I'm pretty sure, just another red herring based on prejudice.

"She took no liquid, as there was a water-tap in the stables, and it was the rule that the lad on duty should drink nothing else."

Well that's a way to stop people from getting drunk on duty, I suppose. Although if they wanted to, they could just hide booze in the stable. Is it also intended to prevent them from being drugged? That's pretty extreme, considering their food is coming from the house anyway.

"As he stepped into the circle of yellow light thrown by the lantern she saw that he was a person of gentlemanly bearing, dressed in a gray suit of tweeds, with a cloth cap. He wore gaiters, and carried a heavy stick with a knob to it."

I will not make the joke. I will not make the joke. I will not make the joke.

A wizard's staff has a knob on the end.

...that was not the joke I was intending to make, but sure. Let's go with that. Enter stage left: A wizard with a knob on the end of his staff.

“‘Oh, indeed! What a stroke of luck!’ he cried. ‘I understand that a stable-boy sleeps there alone every night. Perhaps that is his supper which you are carrying to him. Now I am sure that you would not be too proud to earn the price of a new dress, would you?’ He took a piece of white paper folded up out of his waistcoat pocket. ‘See that the boy has this to-night, and you shall have the prettiest frock that money can buy.’"

If this guy isn't a deliberate plant, he is the worst at this. 'I understand that a stable-boy sleeps there alone every night.' How tf do you understand that if you came upon this place by accident. Also, creepy thing to say. Also 'I got lost on the moor, but I just happen to have this piece of paper in my coat for the stable-boy who is guarding the stable tonight, purely by accident.'

And that's not even getting into the creepy condescension of the 'you shall have the prettiest frock' bullshit. He's got to be doing this on purpose, right. You don't just walk up to someone and start throwing red flags at them while wearing a hat saying 'I'm totally trustworthy, wink'.

“‘Good-evening,’ said he, looking through the window. ‘I wanted to have a word with you.’"

Woman literally ran away from you rather than speak to him, and he's just like, 'I should keep going'. Read the room, or the...stableyard, I guess. But still, this man must be putting this on. I cannot believe anyone is this bad at anything. He's a deliberate decoy made of red flags.

"The girl fled away to the house, but as she ran she looked back and saw that the stranger was leaning through the window."

Right, so he left the message with Ned Hunter, then. Who may or may not be an accomplice in this.

"The door was open; inside, huddled together upon a chair, Hunter was sunk in a state of absolute stupor, the favorite's stall was empty, and there were no signs of his trainer."

I guess the 'you can only drink from the stable tap' rule didn't work, then. Who could have seen that coming? I guess Sus Wizard could have drugged Ned's food through the window. But that doesn't explain how he could have opened the stable, though. I'm inclined to think that Ned was in on it, but then I am a naturally suspicious person, and this feels like an inside job. I know earlier in the story it says that all of the stable boys are of excellent character, but that's hardly evidence. Locked stable - someone got in and got away? Inside job seems the most likely. Then drug yourself to say 'who, me? couldn't have been!'

"...he was wounded on the thigh, where there was a long, clean cut, inflicted evidently by some very sharp instrument. It was clear, however, that Straker had defended himself vigorously against his assailants, for in his right hand he held a small knife, which was clotted with blood up to the handle"

Or... he cut himself with his own knife.

"But from that morning he has disappeared, and although a large reward has been offered, and all the gypsies of Dartmoor are on the alert, no news has come of him."

Oh, hey. So no one is blaming the travellers. I stand corrected. Cool cool.

"He did not attempt to deny that he had acted as described upon the evening before, but declared that he had no sinister designs, and had simply wished to obtain first-hand information."

Is the sus wizard just an incompetent creepy buffoon? Is he really not involved at all? If so, wow. Guy needs to work on just... everything. Absolutely everything.

“Is in not possible,” I suggested, “that the incised wound upon Straker may have been caused by his own knife in the convulsive struggles which follow any brain injury?” “It is more than possible; it is probable,”

Yep. Glad we're all agreed on that. This would be a lot easier to clear up with DNA, but alas you are trapped in the Victorian era still.

"Two gentlemen were awaiting us in the station—the one a tall, fair man with lion-like hair and beard and curiously penetrating light blue eyes; the other a small, alert person, very neat and dapper, in a frock-coat and gaiters, with trim little side-whiskers and an eye-glass. The latter was Colonel Ross, the well-known sportsman; the other, Inspector Gregory, a man who was rapidly making his name in the English detective service."

At first I thought the animal description was of the colonel, but no, obviously it is of Inspector Gregory (not to be confused with Inspector Gregson, who is the bulldog). Lion is a little more generous a description than 'ferret'. Poor Lestrade.

"At the same time I recognize that the evidence is purely circumstantial, and that some new development may upset it.”

Holy shit! Someone is acknowledging that evidence is circumstantial! This is huge. Congratulations Inspector Gregory you win a sticker for achieving competency level 1. Woo!

“We have quite come to the conclusion that he wounded himself in his fall.” “My friend Dr. Watson made that suggestion to me as we came down. If so, it would tell against this man Simpson.”

Aw, Holmes giving Watson the credit for figuring that bit out, even though he'd already worked it out himself. That's sweet.

“Why should he take the horse out of the stable? If he wished to injure it why could he not do it there?"

Alright, interesting question. Who would want to steal the horse, rather than injure it. People who care about horses for reasons other than money. This again points to people in the stable, or people who work with horses (Also just... reasonable people, because hurting an animal like that is pretty horrible, but we're looking for plot relevant reasons). So someone from this stable, or someone from the nearby Lord Backwater's stable (where they conveniently have the second favourite, who presumably would win if Silver Blaze was out of the way).

"Above all, where could he, a stranger to the district, hide a horse, and such a horse as this?"

I have an idea about that. But I won't say because I think I am remembering things now, and I won't give it away.

Has anyone seen the film Charade? You should, it's pretty good. Also relevant here for reasons that I won't say because spoilers.

“We have found traces which show that a party of gypsies encamped on Monday night within a mile of the spot where the murder took place. On Tuesday they were gone. Now, presuming that there was some understanding between Simpson and these gypsies, might he not have been leading the horse to them when he was overtaken, and may they not have him now?”

...

And you were doing so well.

Apparently there's no connection to the other stables, although there has to be a connection to something somewhere. So far we have three places the horse might be: wandering the moor, with the travellers, or in the other stables. I suppose he could also be being hidden in the same stable as before for some sort of insurance grab. What was insurance like in Victorian times?

Wandering on the moor is a possibility, if he escaped his horsenappers, I'm pretty sure the travellers are, like I said before, a racist red herring to play on readers' prejudices, so that leaves one of the stables. Given that the stable Silver Blaze was taken from only has four horses max, it would be really difficult to hide a horse in it without someone noticing. That leaves the other stables. OR... a fifth option that we haven't been introduced to yet. Maybe he's pulling the carriage that they rolled up in? That'd be a funny ending.

[karihighman]

[tolkien-feels]

I was reading this post you made, and it just made me think “oh thank god it’s probable that Galadriel at that age never met Andreth because she would put her foot in her mouth and Andreth is not the type to take that lying down.”

Like I think lotr Galadriel would consider Andreth her in law in spirit, but first she Galadriel would have been like “yeah he probably did leave you because your mortal, it’s just practical,” not really thinking about her feelings or even Aegnor really or the complexities of the situation while Finrod just sits there like “😨” like again, don’t think Galadriel doesn’t grow out of this view and by the time of lotr she would utterly cringe at her thought process and think it’s needlessly cringe and like I’d Andreth showed up tomorrow she be fighting Finrod to schedule the wedding but I think first age Galadriel and Andreth would hate each other.

I hope this doesn’t come off as rude or anything. It’s just been a feeling I’ve had for a while. And I do love imaging Andreth with her in-laws. I’d like to think Finarfin would worry he offend her because he’s never interacted much with humans in a domestic setting only a military one. I think he go full “we can’t let them know we SIT” while earwen is like totally not afraid she says as she is like “Finrod what does she like? Does she like these or those? I AM CALM?!” They wanna be the cool in laws so bad.

Oh, look, I don't have to hunt the post because you've already done it for me! Thanks anon! You know exactly how disorganized I am and I appreciate that :D

This isn't a rude ask at all (or at least I don't think it is??) and I think Galadriel is a fascinating character because she grows so much, but almost all of it happens offscreen so we don't know exactly how it happened. So it's always fun to think of scenarios where her reaction would be very different depending on the timeline.

I've thought about Andreth and Galadriel before and the impression I get is that they're equally proud and headstrong, but it outwardly looks very different: Andreth looks fiery while Galadriel looks icy. I don't necessarily headcanon them fighting because I think both of them would know how to avoid each other instead, but I can't imagine them becoming BFFs in the First Age. Even after Arda is remade, I think they'll be the last people to in the family to warm up to each other, simply because they're too similar and not in a way that necessarily invites friendship. I can see them becoming ride or die for each other in time, but they'd need time in order to get there. (Though I also think when they do finally become close friends, they'd be a force to be reckoned with, and ironically, would understand each other better than either of them understands Aegnor.)

I also have a whole headcanon about Galadriel actually growing a lot watching the Aegnor/Andreth story happen (I handwave how she knows about it), and ultimately that plays a huge role in how supportive she is of Aragorn and Arwen.

Now Finarfin and Earwen I keep imagining as getting along with Boromir and his unnamed wife but not quite knowing how to relate to Andreth herself, not even because she's a mortal, but simply because even among elves who love so deeply, Aegnor loves her, and they are so anxious to do everything right that they're treating the whole thing like a test that they have to pass instead of an opportunity to get to know a person

[nooomagnus]

dale cooper-coded dyke. my pleasures are simple: a satisfying cup of coffee each day. a slice of diner cherry pie. a sharp suit. an offscreen bff to whom i dictate all the random shit that happens to me. a mysterious femme fatale with her own agenda who shoots me in the stomach, leaving me to solve my own attempted murder that eventually leads me to the twisted, ambiguous truth i've been seeking all along and with it, the inhuman manifestation of my very human fallibility. fantastic trees

[unknown-terrain]

Just saw the photos from Lena's wedding in Italy. Surprised Nikolaj wasn't there, given that a lot of the main GoT cast was present — even the actress who played Catelyn. Also, based on past interviews, I was under the impression Lena and Maise were close so I was surprised she wasn't there either.

She got married again?

IDK about Maisie but I'm not surprised Michelle Fairley was there because they've been really good friends for a long time. As for Lena and Nikolaj, I never had the impression they were super close offscreen tbh. Like for example, there's been plenty of mentions and sightings of Lena hanging out with other members of the GoT cast outside of work like Peter Dinklage who is known as her bff, Michelle Fairley as mentioned, Hannah Waddingham, the actor who played Varys, and at one point Pedro Pascal. Never heard of her hanging out with Nik outside of a paying gig. When GoT S8 ended and he posted that goodbye post to her on instagram with the S8 bts selfies of them....it's because it really was a goodbye for them since they don't hang out outside of the show which reminds me how some delusional af Twincest shippers were using that to prove that Gwen and Nik's friendship was fake lol. Even though Emilia Clarke, Sophie Turner, and Maisie didn't make goodbye posts to their close GoT pals because there was no need since they were always still gonna be in contact and it was the same for Nik and Gwen who have been spotted together in London several times since the show ended. Ok looks like I kinda veered off topic lol sorry anon.

[3rddimension]

The "sibling energy" comments have always been weird, but how are people STILL saying it about Courtney and Shayne when they def give off "bffs in a relationship" vibes, especially in vlogs? The minion ride/Universal Studios one, Shayne literally carries around (and drinks from) Courtney's minion water bottle like, ya know, a boyfriend would. If they were #sibling goals, Spencer would've been hefting it around offscreen because no way would anyone's brother agree to. Or the big hide-and-seek vlog they did? The tour vlog from when they were in Australia? The Mythicon vlog on Courtney's channel? I don't understand how people can watch them act so close to the point that Shayne feeds Courtney a bite of his food, and then still think "BROTHER AND SISTER." It's so weird!!! Keith and Olivia have sibling vibes. Damien and Courtney have sibling vibes. Angela and Chanse have sibling vibes. Courtney and Shayne definitely have "we kiss when we're not at work" vibes.

FYI in the minion vlog, S also carry her backpack after some ride too. There's a little bit of glimpse of that in the vlog!

The Mythicon vlog vibe is definitely not sibling energy at all and more of BF/GF adventure energy and I loved this one so much! I probably watched like 10++ times now. lmao

Yeah people sometimes suck and all I can say that just ignore those people.

[sextonsharpwinhalstead]

Right lkke they had such good set up and I know we needed that time jump to move on from nics death but it fucked up their dynamic and they became close offscreen and then again btw s5 and 6 they became "bffs" and we saw nothing of it like you said its a lot of tell and very little show but also hilariously they skipped concade getting together like no first kiss no nothing their first kiss on screen was SPECIFICALLY with billie looking at them I would clawing at the walls if I shipped them although they dont have many fans bc why would they. Imma still need that 23 eps s7 to get that conradbillie relationship with a wedding in the finale please and thank you

Yeah it's missing all kinds of intimacy it's slapped together and it's going to feel like a hollow payoff when Conrad and Billie get together because it's unearned...sigh. Let's hope they fill in the gaps if not The Resident might be my next fic...

But yeah its missing it for Concade too. We never saw that moment when he crossed over from friends to lovers and it would've been interesting given the fact that Cade and Billie had that conversation at the bar and Billie used the words "not yet" to Cade about her relationship with Conrad and then Cade went home with Conrad after saying there was nothing between them. ����🤡🤡

🤞🏾🤞🏾 for a HEA for Billie x Conrad hopefully next season they will get what they deserve after this season.