#watch as i reblog this instantly with meta

[hongtiddiez]

my stand in ep 2 thoughts, feelings, etc.

alright i wanted to write this up nicely but it took me... two hours to get through the episode bc i kept stopping to write notes, so i'll do my best i guess.

weird thing about me is when i watch shows and write notes for these posts i always write the notes on napkins? i have like 5 different notebooks in arms reach at all times but i really like scribbling on a napkin for the true unhinged effect.

anyway blah blah reminder i'm just a silly dude on the internet, idk shit about dick, i just like to say shit, don't take me too seriously.

also please DO NOT leave novel spoilers in my reblogs, tags, or replies without some kind of warning label. please? it seems to happen with every show i write meta for and i LOVE that people get hyped but there's no way for me to avoid it when it's in my notifications like that.

some before the actual episode stuff; after learning last week that some of the kinnporsche people worked on this it really becomes apparent, especially in the style of the intro.

the music choices also seem a bit reminiscent of kinnporsche (and a little bit of not me) which i really enjoy. it feels kind of familiar and comforting.

immediately i loved how soft this episode started, the slight stubble on each of them, the way joe speaks so softly as if afraid to shatter their little bubble of peace, etc. i also love that the show doesn't skirt around the topic of sex and the fact that sometimes sex is awkward and clumsy, especially with a new partner and doubly so when it's your first queer partner.

and then the peace was shattered with ming kissing his back yet again. ouchies.

"will tong be at the set?" he's just not even trying to hide it. he basically said 'yeah ur great and all but tong????' but DAMN if poom isn't the absolute king of microexpressions.

at this point i can't really tell if tong is being a spoiled prince (derogatory) or if he's tired of acting in general? judgement withheld until a later date.

and then we jump into this actress being a parallel to ming and OOF OUCHIES MY ORGANS. she's a fan of tong but has to "settle" for joe - just like ming. and yet joe takes the time to be kind, to soothe her worries and put her at ease, because he has a heart of absolute gold. "it's her first movie but she was left to drown by the male lead." it's ming's first love and he has been left to drown in it.

mek's acting is really endearing. this is my first exposure to him (ive seen some of his social media and really like what he stands for as a person) and i'm instantly drawn to his performance. he also pulls off a great balance of adorable/sexy.

OOH THE SHOW SAID BISEXUAL OUT LOUD. A WIN FOR THE BI'S WE LOVE TO SEE IT.

i personally find ming's jealously hilarious. what a little caricature of toxicity.

anyway, it seems to me that if ming could get over his feelings and enjoy what he has in front of him he could be part of and enjoy a very sweet family, as it does seem tong IS giving him love, just not the exact flavor he craves.

the cut to joe's training made me laugh. little oat lore dump but my bio dad was actually a stunt man for movies (which is another part of why i was so excited for this show) and i can promise you nothing like this was part of it. what do i know, though, maybe things have changed since the early 2000s lol.

(no, they're probably not any movies you know, aside from maybe wild wild west [1999]. he mostly did westerns, historical docudramas, and historical fiction.)

ANYWAY AGAIN. with this little glimpse into ming's home life we get to see that he's very accustomed to doing what he wants and getting what he wants, which makes a lot of sense when applied to his almost obsessive behavior regarding tong - and now joe. i did absolutely LOVE linin and her sassy independence (minus the 'i can buy anything i need'.)

but... girl... did you just spray perfume in your mouth?

your actions are strange and unsettling. i like that in a woman.

ugh getting into ming venting his frustrations on joe's body. listen. liiiisten. while toxic without prior discussion... i'm into it. it may or may not be one of my favorite tropes in fanfic. toxic and unhealthy as fuck and i'm here for it.

AND THEN DAMN POOM THOSE NOISES. ACTING FOR YOUR LIFE BBY -- and the SNEEZE AT ORGASM LMAAAO oh i hope that's a running bit for some comedic relief.

because we then make a SHARP pivot into "then stop me" and there's so much potential for pain and self loathing there, for joe to think "i can't blame ming, i didn't stop any of it." i'm sat.

a little side bar, but i'm enjoying the fact that while there is discussion of topping and bottoming as a narrative device there really aren't any stereotypes here. i think on a surface level people would think "oh joe is the top" (pit babe style) and the show said no actually he isn't. love that for us.

"you can even move in haha jk" but the thing is, not jk, because joe would do that for ming - for anyone - bc that's the type of person he is.

[i had to stop and have a lil snack here]

hold up is this wut out drinking with them? OH SHIT IT IS. OKAY. it didn't give us much but at least it's a little connection to him finally. we knew joe knew him from his first life, just didn't really know how.

"i missed you" and when was the last time someone missed joe? not who he's replacing or the space he's filling, but HIM?

love ming's goofy ass locking the door and going inside just so he can make a dramatic ass appearance like he's 'the other woman' or some shit LMAO.

"what's in you to make me jealous?" quite possibly the worst dialogue tree choice ming could've picked.

[joe's emotional well being -45]

[everyone hated that]

"don't be so full of yourself" something joe has never been a day in his life. "you're just a stand-in." he knows. it's not something he ever forgets.

but after all that toxicity we have ming back home, seeking out joe's food for comfort, and we finally get to see him interact with his sister. i LOVE that she knows the importance of being a little silly as a treat, one of my biggest life mottos. we also get to see more of how ming is surrounded by love that he misses out on bc of his own wallowing and self sabotage.

oh, the homoeroticism of sparring with your bestie.

[everyone liked that]

oop- joe is wearing the shirt ming borrowed while sol is wearing a shirt with the word 'fantasy.' i'm good, i'm fine, gwenchana, gwenchana.

ough. sol with too many eyes on him and none of them sincere and joe with nothing but sincerity to offer but remains invisible. oof ouch.

enter ming with more religious imagery to match last week's cross scene. something something the sin of greed? confessing your sins? coveting - idk man, i don't have any religious trauma, my family let me just do my own thing.

but with ming knowing joe's true feeling every toxic thing he does is going to be 1000x more painful and i'm here for it. bring it you fucked up little guy.

"we can't mess with each other's privacy" don't mess with MY privacy. "you can't mess around with anyone else" emphasis on YOU, not we.

and then it's driven home what a romantic joe is, both with his workout heartbreak poetry and this little lady and the tramp noodle moment. this man, again much like pit babe, wants to be domesticated so bad.

and i know we all have hated on ming, that's the point, he's been a caricature of a toxic relationship spelled out in neon letters --

but when was the last time ming laughed with someone like this?

ok im exhausted, i'm falling into bed to read fanfic, but i'm absolutely in love with everything this is doing so far. i haven't written anything as in depth as this since last twilight (pre-betrayal) so it's really nice to feel insane again.

[backjustforberena]

undefined

Serena Campbell & Cameron Dunn in “Mother And Their Daughters”

[chocolate-cream-soldier]

Hi! I don’t know if you take asks but just in case.

I’m curious about your view on gentleman jack s02, and why you find it wasn’t as good as s01, and why you find it inconsistent : is it in comparison to what AL wrote in her diaries or just a general vibe of watching the show? Also, what do you find is inconsistent?

I hope you don’t find my question to be annoying, I’m curious because I don’t necessarily watch TV shows and analyse them, especially queer content (I’m just happy it exists).

Thanks!

Hi! I’m the anon who asked why you thought the 2nd season was inconsistent; saw your lasted reblog. Thanks for the beginning of that answer and take your time for the rest! If anything it’s making me more interested in your point of view, so thank you for taking the time to answer me. Cheers!

Hi

I apologize for taking a while before answering you, because I too anon don't do TV show analysis anymore, whatever I feel, I usually tag rant about it and reblog stuff from people who are better equipped and far more eloquent at breaking down and analysing scenes and episodes. I will have a go at it I guess since you asked and I do want to actually try and figure out what exactly kept bothering me through out this season.(it’s long and rambly so rest is under the cut)

I will not go episode by episode cause I am not up for a rewatch of s2. I did rewatch s1 but not recently so it's not exactly fresh in my mind but I do feel I have a good grasp on it because I did watch it several times after it aired, I was absolutely enthralled with Season 1. I feel It was beautifully written and masterfully executed and that's why I got instantly attached to the show and the characters. So whatever I speak off in this reply please understand I do have my biases and I am not doing an objective analysis . I am just giving my opinion.

Season 2 was very different from Season 1 and not in a good way tbh, at least for me. Personally I felt the pacing of this season to be very jarring. And that's a general vibe and not because of the diaries, because to be honest I have not deleved much in the source material myself, I have read the transcribed works in parts and have listened to talks from both the show's creator and crew and people who have done research on AL, but that's like a second hand account therefore obviously those are essentially interpretations and how someone reads it might differ from how I would interpret it if I was directly interacting with the source material.  For me the show is the source material with which I've directly interacted right…so I am solely trying to focus on the show and the storylines that gets explored by it.

So when I speak of inconsistency, it's obviously not just one thing, the inconsistency was there in the way the show was scripted for this season, the way it was directed , the editing, all of it just felt off. I have read some analysis from iredreamer and natglee and they both nailed it and I've reblogged those posts they are under my gj meta tag if you want to give those a read.

But borrowing their sentiments let's talk about the storylines first- I too didn't like the dry, clinical approach that they took this season. We see the characters talking about things but they don't really take any actions to resolve that. It's like a pressure cooker situation you know. There's build up with no pay off. Also because they don't expand on certain aspects ,be it the social hierarchy or the political opinions or the personal worldviews of the characters, most of the time you draw only negative inference.

I am going to use a food analogy cause that's what came to mind while I tried analysing it. So you have all these ingredients, now it needs to be properly measured and added together in a cohesive manner, marinated and rested before you can cook so as to have tasty food otherwise it will taste bland. This happened with the show, a multitude of things were brought up, be it the individual character insecurities, the social constraints, the obvious homophobia and the ostracization that follows, the class discrimination, add to that the central relationship between Anne and Ann also was fraught with so many issues that of financial and familial legacy, desire for children and needing it to solidfy a marriage(contextually), Anne's fear of the relationship falling apart in absence of it, Anne's infidelity, Ann's constant struggle with depression and anxiety compounded by internalized homophobia, and general sense of feeling powerless in face of a overbearing family.

So many threads and none got the breathing space or the nuanced exploration that they deserved. And it's baffling to me cause season 1 explored heavy topics and did it so well, it never felt like a cliff's note version, we were allowed to experience and empathize with the characters. That's what made them believeable and relatable despite it being a period drama(and in my case even geographically it's removed from my experience and yet it was relatable!)

Also the amount of dropped plotliness makes you feel like wtf was the point of wasting time on them if nothing was to come out of it?the Sowden storyline(well no complaints there but still!), The kids accidentally witnessing the Ann(e)s being intimate, The Priestley's appearance….that one random dude threatening Anne Lister during the townhall!!!?! Umm what is happening here!

Also storywise there was a lot of rehash of the same topics that we already saw them discuss in season 1 . One might say, well it's because of the influence of the diaries, but at the end of the day this is still a TV show and the narrative needs to move forward, going round and round doesn't really help in engaging me as the audience.

Also the chronology was confusing! I noticed it mostly in episode 6 where Ann speaks of not wanting to go back to that shop where she felt humiliated, but that incident happened actually in episode 7 instead. And even in episode 8 the entire emotinal back and forth between them felt weirdly off!

SJ said in an interview, I am paraphrasing here,- this season is about seeing Anne learning to love in a different way and we will fall in love with Ann Walker as she does too-(I am in love with Ann Walker from day 1 so let's put that aside) but for the characters did it really happen that way?I don't even know. It all was left quite ambiguous …atleast that's what it seemed to me(even tho I don't know why we need to explore the did she love her or not aspect cause season 1 already happened…she can have doubts about it, but from the get go going on and on about whether she is just fond of her or whether she is actually in love…my gods what is going on here?!)

I mean all through this season in almost all of their intimate scenes(barring a couple) the conversation was so weird, was it a way to show how incompatible they are or something?! what is happening?

I mean it started off well, the first fight they had in s2 and the following conversation felt genuine and touching to me and you see that they are communicating and trying to be open about their issues and not bottling it up but it stopped happening as we moved forward into the season. I don't know what was the catalyst for that…maybe it deteriorated after Anne's infidelity? I can't quite remember but yeah even if that's the case what I am trying to say is that in the finale it all doesn't come to head and yet they somehow reconciled…like they are telling me that they understand and accept each other with big fancy dialogues, but there's not much happening onscreen to support that resolution. Cause firstly it took almost 8 episodes for Ann Walker to finally confront Anne Lister and that too she deflected! And now suddenly Ann is back to being ok with it all?! what is HAPPENING?

Another thing that confused and irked me, the conversation of not having a child and Anne's declaration of them and their relationship mattering irrespective of that and it shouldn't have to hinge upon a piece of paper or a having a child to make it legitimate and yet in the finale apparently she has definitely changed her mind about it all so much so that she says as such to Vere, who is (much like me) so taken aback by what Anne's saying that it’s mindboggling! again WHAT IS HAPPENING?!

I seriously failed to grasp the motivations behind the characters and their actions in these regards. where is the exploration to show me how the characters are dealing with difficult situations and coming to their inferences whatever it might be, it’s not that the actors are not capable of pulling off those performances or that writing cannot accomodate for that, cause they did it fine in S1... instead of just telling me! Isn't that suppose to be the advantage of the visual medium?! 

I know the storybeats already and if I want to know more I can read up on the transcribed works if need be. What I wanted from the show was an exploration of those issues, of how they dealt with it, how it impacted them! Am I asking for too much? I don't think so!

The direction and editing too was off putting to me. We lost the intimate gaze, before the camera never felt like an intrusion, rather it felt like Anne's way of communicating and sharing her experiences, we were a part of the journey, not just mere observers. But now it feels voyeuristic again(like in most other shows). it's so harsh and removed and frankly sterile. Not something I would’ve expected coming right from season 1 and I don't believe in that class of thought where hard hitting reality needs to be depicted through these kind of detached direction/editing . Then they would not have managed to tackle issues of blatant homophobia, sexual abuse, physical assaults, mental illness etc. in season 1. But they did and it never felt like exploitation for the sake of drama.

At this point I am just disappointed, the more I try to analyse it, the more visible are the discrepancies and shortcomings in this season. It's very hard for me to criticize this show because it brought a lot of value to me, both personally and creatively.

I understand the difficult situations in which this season was made. I am in no way trying to demean people's hardwork. I myself work in the entertainment industry and when people criticizes the amount of hard work one puts into making a project like this it feels disheartening but at the same time we do read up on reviews and criticisms so that we can follow through and deliver quality content to the people. And I am not saying Season 2 was bad TV or anything, it was just not upto my expectations and if they get renewed I would hope that the coming seasons would fare better with their exploration and execution(fingers crossed).

Sorry if it’s confusing as I did went off on tangents and basically it’s a rant, so it might still lack clarity, anon. But maybe I am able to atleast address some of it and I hope you get some understanding as to where I am coming from, thanks for being so patient with me.

[phoenixrisesoncemore]

I want 8, the hand-kissing, because I am in some respects extremely predictable :D

(I am shocked. Shocked, I tell you.)

8. Laying a gentle kiss to the back of the other’s hand

In the polygon of morning sunlight on the floor of jingshi, Lan Wangji is three lines.

One is a headband: straight and steady, a wall of rules made of silk, pale and hard as ice; a horizon—a divider of things—Heaven above and Earth below.

One is a guqin string: the first finger of his right hand hovers over an A as it shimmers and evaporates like morning dew, passing from the “is” into the “was.” Such is a language that can speak to the dead.

And the third… The third only Wei Wuxian has seen.

Beneath five layers of white and a sun-shaped scar, a muscle beats steady and slow. He’d dug them out of the raw earth, carved talismans right into ribs, and seen them in their natural state, rotting inside scrimshaw cages. “Keep me alive that I may kill,” he had intoned, his mouth dry with terror and thirsty for revenge as bones popped and sinew creaked and muscles moved anew.

None ever beat, less so like this one. On a mountain of corpses turned to soil, none were solid ground. None raced to look at him or pulsed when he muttered a name.

“Lan Zhan?”

Lan Wangji keeps playing but meets his gaze without hesitation. Wei Wuxian realizes he has no statement or question to follow with; none was really intended, and he fails to contrive one instantly. The thrill of knowing that he can garner Lan Wangji’s full attention with such ease is still overwhelming, and were Lan Zhan really made of thin jade, the whole world, too, could see that muscle picking up speed.

‘May I have the honor of a glimpse from you?’ He had once asked.

It has been a string of hazy early mornings and quiet afternoons since he returned to The Cloud Recesses. Overly quiet. As if something was waiting to be said.

From Wangji rises gentle pops of color: a golden A, the soft green tincture of E, the purple query of G. Sometimes they are soft as rain, sometimes they are momentary fireworks.

There is no end of notes; they spring up like weeds.

But neither had there been an end of corpses.

It was at Nightless City that he had first seen the third, the line that runs from the right hand all the way to the heart, reaching at right angles against the other two down the face of a cliff to catch him, to anchor him to the world when he did not want to stay.

“Let me go, Lan Zhan” he had said.

Now it had reached across 16 years...

“Indulge me, Lan Zhan,” he says. He rises, crosses the room, and drapes himself closer, balanced on elbow and hip, back to the guqin on its low table, and punctuates with a single spin of Chenqing.

Lan Wangji’s hands do not miss a note. “For Wei Ying, always.”

Wei Wuxian purses his lips and worries Chenqing’s tassel, twisting it around his finger. “Shizhui told me something interesting the other day.” He pauses and lets the silence sit between them for a moment. “He said that when he was younger he used to hear you playing Inquiry late at night, and that’s why he asked you to teach him: because it was ‘the saddest and most beautiful thing he had ever heard.’” He spins Chenqing again, suddenly introspective. “I don’t think of Inquiry as beautiful, but then… I suppose that would depend on who’s doing the asking… what is being asked… who it is being asked to.”

He does not need to look: he can feel the sudden and subtle electric tension. “Lan Zhan, were you—by chance—playing for me?”

He had never answered when Wei Wuxian asked about burning money, but the guqin has gone silent, so Wei Wuxian waits, the thrill of expectation rising. Then Lan Wangji plucks a solitary note: E flat.

E flat?

Yes.

Ah, so this is our game!

Wei Wuxian rolls excitedly onto his stomach in front of the dias, beaming, his hands clasping Chenqing under his chin. Lan Wangji’s gaze is demurely downcast.

“Lan Zhan, tell me the truth: did you burn money for me?”

Yes.

Wei Wuxian practically giggles with delight. “When I left this last year, did you miss me when I was gone?”

Yes.

He’s going to hurt himself grinning like this. “Did you truly miss me when I was dead?”

Yes. But the note is plucked harder than it should be and it quavers.

“But you find me so boring! Really, how long would it take you to get tired of me?” He crawls up onto his knees and plops himself into a sitting position at the table, guqin between them.

“I know I don’t have much core to speak of,” he pats his abdomen gingerly, “and I’m working on that! But let’s say we both became immortals, would you get tired of me then? 16 years is one thing, but 160? 1600? 16,000 years? Imagine how boring, Lan Zhan!?”

Lan Wangji is silent.

“Lan Zhan?” Wei Wuxian leans in close and low, trying to catch his eyes under those lashes. “May I have the honor of a glimpse from you?” Lan Wangji looks up at him, and the gaze is so intense that Wei Wuxian feels suddenly vulnerable. “What on Earth did you want to ask me back then?”

Lan Wangji is quiet for long enough that Wei Wuxian starts to think he has no intention of answering, but then...

“If the lotus seeds were ripe. If you thought the day was pleasant. If you heard the birds singing near Cold Pond, and if their song reminded you of the past. If you could forgive me for having only bitter soup for dinner. If you could see the kind young man A-Yuan was becoming. If you could divide for me the black from the white. If you knew the name of the song. But now… Wei Ying, now I think you do; I no longer need to ask that. So I will ask something else.” He swallows suddenly and Wei Wuxian could swear he’s trembling. “May I make this Wei Ying’s home? Will Wei Ying bear the early mornings and quiet hours and bitter soup and cold winters? Will Wei Ying allow me 16,000 years of Inquiry?”

Wei Wuxian is struck dumb. He sits back, slack-jawed and broken open. What can he say? How can he say…? Did he really wake this morning or is he dreaming still? He feels sloppy, wholly inadequate; his lips are clumsy things, his limbs an awkward pile of angles. How can he be worthy of the look on Lan Zhan’s face? Tears well up and surely he will combust.

But there is no end of tears. Tears spring up like weeds.

And there will be no end of corpses. But he is not a corpse. They are not. No, far from it.

Wei Wuxian fumbles with Chenqing and raises it to his lips where he plays a messy and solitary E flat. In truth it is more than that: a polyphonic note in a contrapuntal song that he’s sure only Lan Wangji can hear.

Gently, he reaches for Lan Wangji’s right hand, the one that had reached for him 16 years ago. Pale as a lily, the nails kept long to pluck the strings of his instrument, he wraps it in his fingers as delicately as he has seen Wangji handle his rabbits and brings it to his lips, and if some of his tears mar that perfect skin he has a feeling Lan Wangji won’t mind. The kiss is soft but is not the tickle of joss paper waiting for the fire; it shudders with his breath but is not the brush of a moth’s wings. It’s tender and reverent and warm with the promise of days and kisses to come and is very much—so very much—alive.

“16,000 years of Inquiry… We should get started then.”

He lays the palm of the hand against his cheek. His smile erupts without warning, and to his delight, Lan Wangji is not prepared.

“My dearest Lan Zhan, what would you like to ask me?”

———

In January gifs and meta about The Untamed started rolling across my dash. As interesting as it looked, I was determined not to watch—just no time for that. And then I saw you posting meta about it, and well… you made it sound very good, and I figure you know what you’re talking about. Add to that one particular gif you reblogged: the moment in the opening scene when LWJ’s arm, clothed in bloody white, reaches across the frame towards WWX as he falls. That was the first image of this show that really seared itself into my brain. So, I offer this with thanks for inspiring me to watch this amazing show (and with endless congratulations)!

Notes:

OK, admittedly it’s not a sun-shaped branding iron in The Untamed, but I like the sun shape better.

E flat is what “yes” sounds like to me during Inquiry in the man-eating castle, but I’m also the last person anyone should consult about music.

Still incomplete associated fanart HERE (color illustration on right).

[update: finished fanart can now he found HERE]

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Soulmarks, Part 19

First part

Previous

~~~

He could hear her shifting around beside him. Then, she squeaked. He felt her hands cup his cheeks and slowly moved his arm away from his eyes. Her shoulders relaxed a little when she saw him move, but she was clearly still tense. “What happened? What’s all this blood from? Are you okay? Do you need the hospital--?”

“It’s not mine, don’t worry,” he said, bringing his hands up to rest over hers.

“You would absolutely lie about that.” She took a quick look around. “No one’s here. Detransform. I’m checking.”

He sighed lightly. Right. No one will ever believe anything he said aloud ever again. He’d have to try harder to not speak.

He detransformed and allowed her to check him over. He was more bruised than he’d thought he was going to be, but he was still right: he wasn’t bleeding.

This only seemed to marginally make her feel better. He could tell she wanted to ask him something, could guess what she wanted to know, but she ended up just offering him a hand up.

Tim gave a small smile and pulled himself to his feet.

She looked at the slowly rising sun and rubbed her eyes.

“How do you feel about skipping school for the day?”

~

“I did what?!” She whispered.

She barely pulled her face out of her hands to look around the batcave.

She buried her face in her hands again when it became clear that she wasn’t going to get an answer.

This was all great. Perfect, even.

Tim and Adrien were going to be mute for the rest of their lives, Lila was likely going to be interrogated and then thrown in jail, Alya would find herself unable to trust anyone. She’d made three people’s lives a million times harder, and she wouldn’t be surprised if Lila ended up dead.

Speaking of death: she’d killed two people! Cross that one off the bucket list. Sure, they were absolutely terrible and she’d wanted them dead, but that didn’t mean that they’d had to die like that. She’d wanted to use Cataclysm to get it done as quickly and painlessly as possible. What she’d done was just cruel.

And the cherry on top was that the entirety of Paris knew that she was Ladybug and that Master Fu had the miraculous box.

The past few hours had been damage control. Bruce had sent in a private jet to take her parents to Reims, France (it was relatively close by, but far enough that it was out of Hawkmoth’s control). Adrien had gone to the school nurse and they’d used the fox miraculous to have a fake Nathalie pick him up; they’d have him for a few hours before anyone noticed something was amiss. Finally, they’d brought Master Fu and the miraculous box to America with them so they could all think about their next move without fearing Hawkmoth would pop up out of nowhere to fight them.

She’d liked damage control. Not only was it a good way of keeping herself distracted, but she’d also been semi-blissfully unaware of what she’d done as an akuma.

She supposed that there was nothing really stopping her from avoiding her problems again… outside of recognizing that avoiding her problems was exactly what had gotten her to blow up in the first place.

Oh well.

Marinette managed to peel her hands away from herself and leaned into Barbara.

“Right. What can we fix?”

Master Fu hesitated. “I can transfer my guardianship onto someone else --.”

“Not it,” said Marinette instantly. Adrien held up an X with his arms to say he, too, didn’t want it.

The bats eyed each other. They were all more than a little cautious of people with powers -- or, as they called them, metas -- and, despite having gotten closer to Marinette and Adrien, they were still a bit wary of the idea.

Alfred cleared his throat and everyone looked at him.

“I do hope I’m not overstepping, but I’d be willing to take on the extra responsibility.”

~

Tim swung his legs boredly as they waited.

They’d all agreed that Adrien should be the one to try and get Hawkmoth’s pin off of him. Gabriel was his father, after all, and he still didn’t know that Adrien was Chat Noir. Besides, they doubted that he wore the pin to sleep. It had to be set down at some point, right?

Also, it would be pretty odd for Marinette and Tim to just walk in and ask about his accessories.

So, they’d told him to go inside and grab it while he was asleep. No confrontation allowed.

Of course, everyone knew that Adrien was going to confront his dad. They weren’t stupid.

And they probably would have let him if they didn’t fear that he’d get talked out of it. After all, Gabriel must need the wish for something, and he was Adrien’s father. He could probably spin what he was doing as for the best.

Marinette and Tim had both decided to give him five minutes to chew Gabriel out before they interfered.

He yawned and rubbed his eyes underneath his glasses.

Marinette shoved her Big Gulp cup of espresso into his hands without looking at him.

He wasn’t surprised. She hadn’t met his eyes since she’d found out what she’d done when akumatized. Hadn’t talked to him outside of necessity. He’d tried to tell her that he didn’t blame her, had even typed it out to make sure it wouldn’t be disbelieved automatically due to the curse, but he knew that she still blamed herself.

He took a few sips before checking his phone for the time.

He gave her a tiny poke on the arm to tell her it was time and she nodded grimly. She wrapped an arm around him and swung them in through one of Adrien’s windows.

Marinette let go and they slipped through the halls silently. It was completely dark in the Agreste house, and they had to squint to see, but neither of them were willing to use a light.

He slipped his hand into hers and let her lead him through the halls.

They were walking down the stairs in the entrance hall when they heard voices.

And, to their horror, they were getting closer.

She tugged harder on his hand and they hopped a railing. They ducked behind a statue and he fought the urge to hiss as the light was turned on.

“Come. You say you want to know why I have to do this, you can know,” said Gabriel as he ushered his son through the house.

They followed them from room to room, careful never to be in a room until they were sure that the Agrestes weren’t in there anymore.

And then they took too long in a room.

Tim and Marinette met each other’s eyes and gave each other confused looks before she cracked the door open.

And her mouth dropped.

He peeked through as well and watched as a hatch in the floor closed.

They waited a few seconds before stepping inside and going to where Gabriel and Adrien must have escaped through. They walked over to where the hatch was and Marinette ran her hand over the floor with a tiny frown.

“It’s seamless.” She punched the floor and then cursed and shook her hand out. “Nope, that’s not going to break, it’s just stone. Can you hack it?”

Tim nodded slightly and then pointed at his wrist to say it would take some time.

She winced. “Don’t have a lot of that. Hurry, please?”

He nodded and swiped Gabriel’s computer from his desk.

And then he got to work.

~~~

Next part

Did I set up some stuff for Mayura later on? Yes

Is this already way longer than I thought it was gonna be? Yes

So am I gonna do it? Nahhhh

Mayura doesn’t exist in this Au. Nathalie is still Gabriel’s assistant but she isn’t in love with him. Au where Nathalie has some fucking s t a n d a r d s

Taglist

@pawsitivelymiraculous @golden-promises @salty-fang @kitsunebell @sassakitty @octobitch @glastwime859 @miyla-lokidottir @onlyabatfan @ira-sairain @2confused-2doanything @ultimatetornshipper @ladybug-182 @laurcad123 @we-want-mini-mini @roguishredaxion @just-reblogs-by-h @futursworld @magic-miraculous @nathleigh @smolplantmum @vroomtaka  @emimar7 @toodaloo-kangaroo @charme-de-malchan @spicybelladonna @fusser90 @indecisive-mess-named-me @rosesgonerogue @celestialsiren @bluesimani @loysydark @trippingovermyfeet @goblinwhoships @kaithehero

[deadlyanddelicate]

I posted 6,235 times in 2021

378 posts created (6%)

5857 posts reblogged (94%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 15.5 posts.

I added 7,310 tags in 2021

#spn - 3371 posts

#dean winchester - 830 posts

#destiel - 705 posts

#castiel - 556 posts

#deancas - 439 posts

#spn cast - 398 posts

#art - 309 posts

#fanart - 261 posts

#jensen ackles - 224 posts

#ambra.txt - 217 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#prev tags it’s the ‘you are not you’ for me hands down. how do you know someone so intimately that at one glance at their soul you can tell

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I took the boys, said good-bye to Missouri, and got the hell out of Lawrence. If I never go back, it'll be too soon. Not for Dean, though. The first thing he wanted to know was when we would go home. But we don't have a home anymore, Dean. The sooner you get used to that, the better. We don't have a home until we find what killed your mother.

John Winchester’s diary, November 16th 1983

1017 notes • Posted 2021-01-14 12:17:08 GMT

#4

the gaslighting experience of being a supernatural fan includes being accused of being a conspiracy theorist for suggesting that the cw might be silencing the cast only for one of the main actors to reveal that THEE WARNER BROTHERS literally silenced him

1272 notes • Posted 2021-03-16 19:54:18 GMT

#3

“did you get fucked by a whole baseball team dean” is the new “did you fuck the michael sword castiel”. send post

2470 notes • Posted 2021-02-18 23:16:52 GMT

#2

so you're telling me that the moment castiel came back from the empty dean INSTANTLY turned from a miserable depressed bastard into little mr sunshine?? and you’re telling me that all it took was cas coming back to restore his faith and optimism in life and to even suddenly see jack as family?? asshole to nurturing parent in the blink of an eye??

and on a separate note: you’re telling me that the moment jack mentioned dodge city and dean got all excited it was castiel who locked eyes with him and immediately got a look of alarmed recognition that oh no dean has entered cowboy fetish mode?? castiel, and not sam who literally grew up with dean and should be infinitely more aware of his cowboy kink? just HOW many cowboy movies did dean force cas to watch?? was that their only downtime activity?? (as a result of that-- you’re telling me cas put on a silly little hat and then said the silly little line from dean’s silly little movie?? just like THAT?? just to make dean happy, which it visibly did???)

but hang on you’re also telling me that cas told jack not to wake dean up because somehow he knows dean’s an “angry sleeper” despite the fact that that’s not exactly established canon? and then made dean coffee?? and then waited patiently and penitently for dean to drink his coffee??

and wait let me just backtrack for a second you’re actually also telling me that dean told cas “welcome home” before wrapping him in his arms in the middle of a deserted road? and that when asked how long he was gone he only said “too damn long”?? and then went on to crow about what a big damn win it was to have cas back with such obnoxiously relentless cheer that even sam was baffled?? because this is embarrassing now. i am embarrassed for him. it is embarrassing to witness

3718 notes • Posted 2021-01-03 23:08:57 GMT

#1

anyway i just think it’s interesting that castiel’s possessed-by-an-archangel-and-trapped-in-his-own-mind contentment fantasy is hanging out in the winchesters’ kitchen and dean’s possessed-by-an-archangel-and-trapped-in-his-own-mind contentment fantasy is hanging out at his bar waiting for sam and cas to come home.

so, for dean, contentment is being in a place he calls his own, where he can shelter and feed the people he loves. for cas, contentment is being in the place dean calls his home, specifically the place where dean shelters and feeds the people he loves (we know he does the cooking at the bunker).

it’s worth noting that neither of these fantasies constitute a happy ending. they’re more a situation of stasis, of “bare minimum requirements” for contentment, as i mentioned in my 14x10 meta. cas is in the winchesters’ kitchen, but they themselves are not there. dean is waiting for sam and cas, but they never seem to arrive (until real life sam and cas show up). the common thread? they both want something they subconsciously think they can never have. 

specifically, dean wants to be somebody’s home, and wants people to come back to him and stay with him, and he’s willing to be that for somebody -- that’s what makes him feel content and at peace -- but on some level, he doesn’t believe people will ever choose to make a home in him. cas, on the other hand, wants to be invited into a home, wants to be part of dean’s (and sam’s, but mostly dean’s lbr) life, but he doesn’t really believe that that’s ever in the cards for him. we never really see him settle down in a room of his own in the bunker, so he hangs out in the kitchen, where a guest would stay.

and they’re always waiting for each other. and they don’t believe the other will meet them in the middle. but the distant, unspoken hope that they might is enough to create a place of contentment for them.

4371 notes • Posted 2021-01-12 12:14:08 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[austarus]

Harry Wells x Reader Crisis of Infinite Wells (Part 5 of 5)

**A/N: The picture/edit/gif does not belong to me. 

*It’s finally over! This took multiple showers to get it right even if I had everything planned out and outlined. But goodness is it over. I’m possibly going to take a break for a few weeks since my summer uni work is now killing on top of medical scribe classes. Yeah, my mental health is really being pulverized this summer. Trying to learn how to drive on the highway to the city too since I’m moving to the city. But ugh, I just don’t want to do anything other than watch Tik Tok, make fics, read fics/books, and sleep ;-; Big thanks to @natsukitakama​ for translating all the French that happened with Sherloque and a big thanks to @mintchipcupcake​ for letting me know her view on neural frequencies for Harry. Thanks to @crazythoughtsandlove​, @sarah-i-khel​​, @countlesswells​, and @multiwells​ for supporting me. I could not have done it without you guys!

I hope everyone has enjoyed this series and went down the lane of feels. Please remember to comment and reblog, it helps us content creators so much so we can keep on creating.

Part 1    Part 2    Part 3    Part 4    

Word Count: 5732

“Nn,” a tired noise left your throat. Clearing said throat, you licked your dry lips as a yawn escaped you. Instinctively, you covered your mouth with the back of your hand. You languidly moved your limbs to cuddle into a pillow even further. Your phone laid beside you on the bed in silent mode. Breathing in gently, your senses registered a certain kind of musk that usually clung to a particular person. A dull ache echoed through your body as every organ began to wake up for the day. Your eyelids remained shut as a brisk of sunlight filtered through the blinds. Everything felt so foggy, but goodness was the rest well deserved. After all, you hadn’t been sleeping well once you found out that your idea had been perfectly sane and in the works. And it did work. You blinked a few times, giving up on going back to sleep. Another yawn left you. You were still in the clothes that you had worn yesterday, locks in a tangly mess. Adjusting your body to lay on your back, your mind recognized that you were indeed not in your room or in your home. You frowned as you gazed up at the ceiling. What the hell? How did I get in Harry’s room? I thought-

“Allen, I didn’t ask for your help.”

Harry! Perking your head up at the familiar roughly-toned voice, your body drifted to the side a bit as dizziness coursed within your being since you had bolted upright on the bed. You failed to recognize how your legs had been tangled in the sheets from your deep slumber and fell off the bed when you got up with haste. The cold concrete floor greeted you mockingly in comparison to the softness of the bed you were just on. Your body further protested when it absorbed the impact. Groaning, you shuffled off the floor on wobbly legs heading out of the room on socked feet. You didn’t care if you looked like a chaotic mess or that you were in your socks. Only one thought rang in your mind as you grew close to the frustrated voices. He’s here!

“You said you needed someone to watch your back and I was the only one available.”

“Yes, watch my back from the coms, Allen. From the Labs. Not someone to speed around the entire property. It was a delicate instance that I could have handled myself! And what do you know, you triggered most of the sensors and traps set.”

“You looked like you were in a bind!”

“Help me, Barry. Save me, I can’t handle a little reconnaissance without your speedster abilities. Not.”

“How many times have I told you not to touch my stuff?”

“What are you talking about, Cisco?”

“You played with my tech again! What is it up with you Wells and tampering with my things?!”

You walked in with hurried steps right as Cisco had his outburst; the haze of sleep had left you all together when you had rounded the corner. The boys stopped when you entered the Cortex abruptly out of breath. Your eyes scanned around, head moving from side to side. But you only saw Barry and Cisco and Nash as you seemed to be frozen in place. Your heart dropped in your chest at the absence of Harry, eyes sparkling as you had casted your gaze downward. Grueling thoughts had swirled through your mind as the growing whole of doubt further widened in your chest. The voice you had heard came from Nash, not Harry. Reality had picked you up and thrown you into Central City’s lake of cold water. Harry’s not here. He’s- I- He’s not coming… Your pursed your lips, whispering a little apology for barging in on the three’s argument. Nash moved his gaze to his gloves fiddling with it when he saw the sadness flicker through your eyes. With a somber expression, turned around on the spot and collided with a very solid body with a very sturdy chest. Instantly, arms encased your being at the collision, a deep voice cut through the silence. A voice that thrilled your insides.

“I finally caught you, my love.”

Swallowing thickly, you slowly looked up to see those gentle baby blues that rested behind black-clear frames. The dark-haired man cupped your face gingerly as you gathered the strength to speak. “Harry?”

“I’m back.”

A tear trickled down from your eyes, cascading down your flushing cheek, no longer wanting to be bound within your glassy eyes. Harry softly smiled down at you with his own glimmering eyes, his thumb wiped the tear that fell, but his touch caused more to fall. A whimper escaped you as you pressed your head into his chest, sobbing quietly in relief with your arms tightly holding him. The taller man took in a breath, fighting his own tears before he placed a kiss to your forehead. Harry whispered soothing words while rubbing your back as you cried into him. These past couple of weeks had been rough for everyone, but rougher on you and him. Barry and Cisco elbowed each other that the King and Queen of the Underworld have finally reunited and of course made bets on who knows what. Nash rolled his eyes at the two. Jesse stood be the door, watching her dad and you reunite. Her dorky dad and his sweet as a button girlfriend. The young speedster had a pack of tissues at the ready with a wide smile on her face. Tilting to the side, she waved at Barry and Cisco and Nash. Jesse looked oddly at Nash, observing him eye you and her dad for a moment before turning his gaze to meet her eyes. The other Wells doppelganger nodded at her, briefly seeing all the things and qualities that Harry would ramble about regarding his daughter. Nash’s heart gripped in his chest, but truthfully there was a glimpse of happiness for you. He was learning to be content with your happiness. The boys made eye contact with Harry, who only nodded at them as they decided that it would be best to leave you and Harry and Jesse alone. Barry sped them out of the Cortex.

Pulling away, you rubbed your puffy red eyes only to see a tear fall from Harry as he watched you. His eyes ran over every detail of you as if he had been seeing you for the first time in his life. You gripped his face with both hands and pulled him close. He rested his forehead against yours as you wiped his single tear. The both of you closed your eyes and just relished in each other’s presence. Breathing gently with each other and calming any doubts the two of you had. He was here and you were in his arms. The pent-up anxiety that had been increasing since the Crisis had finally burst.

“You’re here.”

“I’m here,” Harry nodded at your stumbling voice from all the crying. “I’m not going anywhere.” The two of you collected yourselves, a lovestruck look crossing your eyes.

Jesse held a pack of tissues up to you when you and her dad had pulled away. You sheepishly smiled at the young Wells. “I decided to drop by as well, can’t miss out on the Hades and Persephone reunion.” You giggled at her while whipping your tears and blowing your nose, knowing Cisco had essentially looped her into shipping you and Harry with those names. The speedster pulled you into a huge hug, giggling with you.  

“I missed you too Ms. Jesse Quick,” you gave her a squeeze. Harry couldn’t keep the smile off his face. Both his girls were with him. His daughter and the love of his life. His heart felt utterly in bliss.

“Thank you for bringing him back,” Jesse whispered, pulling away with a smile. You knew that look in her eyes, the same emotion she had held when she had initially found out what Devoe had done to Harry. How he used Harry as a guinea pig and lost himself as a result. You returned the smile, feeling Harry’s large hand find your smaller one and holding it firmly. Glancing down, you intertwined your fingers with his before looking up brightly at him. The three of you glanced at each other as a wave a serenity passed over you three before Jesse bid you farewell as she headed to the break room because of her grumbling stomach. Thanks to her increased metabolism from being a speedster she’s due for speedster protein bar that Cisco’s come up with.

Walking through the corridor, Jesse entered the break room with furrowed eyebrows as her green eyes landed on an unfamiliar person. The dark-haired Hispanic was typing away on the couch when she looked up to see the young speedster. Papers and articles were plopped beside the young adult.

“You’re Allegra, right?” Jesse quired, hands in her jacket pockets.

“Yeah, who-”

“Great, I’m Jesse Wells. You’re just the person I was looking for.” Allegra’s frown deepened but deemed that this was the Jesse Wells you had mentioned to her. Harry’s daughter. Two irreplaceable members of Team Flash. The UV meta figured that the speedster was no harm, especially since Jesse seemed to be around her own age. “We need to talk. I know this great bar we could go to.”

“Wait, what-”

Allegra wasn’t able to finish her sentence as Jesse had sped them away to a bar in a torrent of yellow-green lightning.

***

Harry had ushered you back to his room and away from prying eyes because he knew that if Cisco and Barry came around you and the scientist would not hear the end of it. Plus, as much as Harry was balanced now, he currently preferred to capture your full attention inside the bedroom rather than outside. Especially with Nash still around the labs.

The two of you found yourselves cuddling into each other on the bed. Harry’s head rested close to yours while you slipped off his glasses and kissed his nose before threading your fingers through his hair. The Wells doppelganger let out a content sigh at the simple gesture of affection, but one he deeply enjoyed, while shutting his eyes for the moment. His arms rested comfortably around your waist; your figure pressed close to his as if he was afraid you were an illusion that would escape him. He had already discarded his black jacket, leaving him just in his classic black short sleeve shirt and dark wash jeans. Reopening his baby blue eyes, Harry plucked his glasses out of your hand to twist his body over to the side and tossing them onto the counter. Turning fully to you with a lovestruck smile and half-lidded eyes, he slowly leaned in with every intention of kissing you till your lips were red and swollen.

“Wait you can’t kiss me yet!” You moved your head back slightly to which Harry frowned irritably because he’s been holding back from kissing you silly in the Cortex. … Amongst doing other shamelessly pleasurable things to show you just how much he missed you.

“Why not?”

You simply took out the vanilla bean flavored chapstick from your pocket and apply it to your lips. Harry watched you smack them a few times and wondered if you were either tempting him even more or testing his patience or both. “Now you can kiss me.” Harry had quirked an amused eyebrow at you. “What? I wanted it to be perfect. Plus, you know I bite my lips when I get too wori-” You pouted at your boyfriend, who instantly shut you up with needy kiss. Without words, the kiss showed you just how much he had missed you and that his patience was running thin.

Your brain froze for a second before responding. His lips smacked against yours before Harry pushed his tongue into your mouth, yearning for your taste. You gasped, fighting him for a bit before giving in. His fingers had crawled up under your shirt, rubbing soothing circles on the skin. Your hands had rested on his face, pulling him impossibly closer as the smooches continued to heat up. The air in the room felt as if on fire but you wouldn’t have it any other way. Nipping on his bottom lip, you kissed Harry with just enough passion as your body moved to lay on top of his. His hands retreated from under your shirt to fold themselves on your lower back. Your hips pressed down against his own, feeling every part of his body meld with yours. Ragged breathes left the both of you as you continued to make out, biting and licking and sucking at each other. Harry’s hand snuck down to smack your ass causing a yelp to fall off your lips. You pulled away for air, your lungs exhausted and your head was spinning. You were met with a cheeky smirk while you pouted at your boyfriend with a frown. He licked his lips wickedly once more before leaning up to kiss your swollen lips while you adorned a flushed expression. A sight he took great pleasure in seeing on your face. And only he can elicit that kind of reaction from you. His lips tingled delightfully from the sweet chapstick on your lips.

“When did you even get here?” You asked once you regained control of your breathing, fixing your hair to the side as the two of you laid back. Harry resting on his back while your snuggled beside him, your head pressed to his chest as you listened to his racing heartbeat. You shifted your gaze to eye him with one hand against his chiseled chest. Harry sighed, collected his thoughts before tucking a piece of stray hair behind your ear as he spoke up. His arm was firmly wrapped around you.

“Last night. Jesse and I found you asleep on Sherloque’s lap.”

“How-…What’s with look?”

“What look? I don’t have a look.” Harry spoke quickly as if he’d been caught red-handed.

“Harry, yes you do! You have a look for almost everything. Everyone does.” You teased him a bit before turning to the more serious thoughts that had kept you up. And it showed. Harry can see it clear as day on your face. You had not been sleeping well without him. He couldn’t sleep either without you. “Anyway, what took you so long?”

“I- We… When I woke up Jesse had been monitoring my vitals, keeping me hooking up to a life support system. She was crying, wouldn’t let me go and saying how she was scared to death. Scared that she lost me for a second time. Every single day she would check on my vitals and try to talk to me. Jesse wouldn’t leave my side, going over all my vitals as my consciousness fully set into my body. We had collaborated everything, but…”

“But?”

“I was feeling weak when she took me off the life support. So, she quickly synthesized a blood sample to do a blood transfusion, just like you showed her, to flush out anything that had been hiding in my body from the Crisis and the neural separation. My vitals and cells returned to normal. It worked fast; I won’t deny that. Speedster blood and everything. Once I was feeling moderately better, we tried the last session.” Harry pointed to his head with a free hand, baby blue eyes twinkling with such knowledge and intellect that was rightfully his. “I’ve got it all back. Everything.”

You grinned up at him, “I told you, if anything Jesse would be the one to figure it out.”

“My pride and joy.”

“So, what went wrong? I-I mean, why didn’t it work the first time 2 years ago.”

“Well, Jesse had profusely voiced her irritation that Marlize had done a sloppy job after she looking over the blueprints and all the notes, but Marlize had also neglected the fact that I’m from another Earth- or in this case dimension. My neural frequency is at a different interval in comparison to everyone on Earth-1. A unique signature for each Earth, if you will. That’s why I was able to retain basic functions, but not reach my full potential regarding intelligence and neuron firing. And it’s a good think the dark matter didn’t leave any neural scars or that could have been a complication since the brain doesn’t do well with regeneration.”

“Look at you talking all science-y again. It worked; Jesse fixed you.”

Harry pulled up one of your hands, kissing the knuckles. “You’re the one that figured out how to bring me back. Back to my daughter, back to you, back to my family.”

You dropped your gaze, feeling the heat rise in your cheeks from his intense and adoring gaze. A bashful smile returning to your lips as your eyes met his. “I told you so.” You pressed your lips against him in triumph. Harry hummed against your lips before you pulled away.

“You’re not going to let it go, are you?”

“Nope,” you deadpanned with a cheeky grin. “Now I can admire you while you ramble on about physics and math that I’m totally clueless to and tend to tune out just to hear your voice.”

“Wait, you don’t actually listen to me explaining things?”

“… A little.” You sheepishly responded to which Harry retaliated by running his fingers over your sides. Your fiendish sides that always betrayed you. A giggled bubbled from your throat. “Harry, don’t you-” But the scientist paid no mind to you as he continued his carefully planned assault on your sides. Snorts and little laughs flood out of your lips as cringed and attempted to move your body away from his hands. A toothy grin crossed his features at your shrieks, his fingers ran over every ticklish area on you. Flopping onto your back, Harry’s tickle attack subsided as his heart flipped many times over. He watched your chest rise and fall as your giggles gradually quieted. You gazed up at him with stars in your eyes, his own were full of adoration and love but… with a certain other emotion hidden behind us. A thought struck you.

“By the way, where’s Sherloque?”

“Babe, he left. Said he had some business to take care of on his Earth- well, dimension actually.”

“Oh, I hope everything’s ok on his end. …I heard about Renee and everything.”

“He’ll be fine. Sherloque just needs his mind to mull over a few things.”

“I hope he finds what he’s looking for…” you whispered, to which Harry oddly looked at you, wondering if you knew, before the look behind his eyes shifted. You caught onto the sudden, but subtle change.

A particular glint sparkled in Harry’s eyes as you trailed off, one that had you hypnotized. One that you knew all too well as he towered over you on the bed. Those lust-filled eyes that pulled you in like a riptide. Harry licked his lips, leaning down with half-lidded eyes. Then a pesky thought hit you causing you to push against his leaning chest which had Harry inwardly grumbling.

“Wait, Harry, I haven’t washed up!”

“I figured, I had Jesse go out and buy you a few things. Those skin care products and face wash you idolize so much. She probably set them in the bathroom already.”

“The avocado and cucumber facewash? And the hydrating facial cleansers? With the pomegranate-berry face cream?”

Harry nodded, but kept you firmly beneath him, “If you can stand to hug me after I came back from Gorilla City- after all the shit they did and threw at me, then I think I can stand being around you in the clothes you’ve worn from yesterday and unfreshened up.”

“Yeah, not your best moments.” You teased him and slithered from underneath his grasp, hopping off the bed.

“Hey!”

He watched you step into the bathroom. God, I love you. Harry went on his phone, staring at the picture you and he took on New Year’s as the water ran in the bathroom. Maybe now wouldn’t be the best time no matter how many times Jesse’s been pestering me about it. Coming back, you dove right into his side and cuddled him close with a jubilee smile on your face. Harry swears his heart melted for the 100th time that day.

“If you want to… do stuff later, we’d have to do that back at my apartment after I shower and everything,” you traced patterns with your finger over his chest. “And so, no one interrupts and…. Yeah…”

“Definitely want to ‘do stuff’ later.” You blushed at his wink and how he wiggled his eyebrows. Babe, you’re going to need to shower after that too. Leaning in Harry caught your ear between his teeth before whispering all the dirty things and positions he wants to put you in. “I’m going to make sure my name is the only thing you remember tomorrow morning, my sweet, sweet Persephone.” Covering your face, you resisted the urge to scream in frustration at this man’s level of teasing. Knowing he had impeccable patience for the nightly activities to come later. Harry knew the exact effect he had on you, how he can make your body scream in ecstasy as he’d show you just how capable he is in loving you. Blow out a puff of air, you calmed yourself and hormones. Your thirsty side would need to wait until you two went home.

“Harry?”

“Hm?” He blinked out of his thoughts and gave you a quizzical look.

“Do me a favor and flex.”

Harry blinked at you for a moment before sitting up and flexing. You won’t deny that your thirsty thoughts took over for a bit again when you reached up to run your fingers over the toned muscles. Before you could do anything else Harry’s strong arms wrapped around you as he snuggled his head into your chest. Soft. Your cheeks turned a rosy color as you felt him kiss your exposed chest from all the rolling around in bed.

“I don’t think I’m needed anywhere else today,” you mused, ruffling his chaotically messy locks. He breathed you in like a man taking a huge breath of air before diving into the depths of water.

“Perfect, because for the record, I wasn’t going to let you out of my arms all day.”

You chuckled and kissed his forehead, “Neither will I.” Shutting your eyes, the both of you slowly drifted off in each other’s embrace.

***

Sherloque sighed to himself as he stepped out of the dimensional portal into his home. The detective adjusted his coat around him. It was cold and empty again, but at least he had arrived safely again. Everything was still in place. His mind could not help, but to wander before he left you in the hands of Harry and his daughter.

(Flashback)

“Eh bien il était temps,” Sherloque remarked with a confident smirk. Harry and Jesse strolled closer to the detective with Harry rolling his eyes at him. Sherloque’s eyes landed onto Jesse, who only smiled at him politely. Jesse’s dealt with HR before so she likes to think she can handle another of her father’s doppelgangers. But she won’t lie, she’s a bit curious on what her doppelgangers are like. “You must be Jesse Quick.”

“That I am, nice to meet you…”

“Sherloque. And likewise, your father ‘as talked so much about you. ‘ave-” Her father had sent the detective a hard and threatening look, meaning that Sherloque should likely think twice before deciding to psychoanalyze and deduce Jesse. The Wells doppelganger chose his next words carefully, “-’ow was it?”

“I got it all back, minor headaches, but nothing else out of the ordinary,” Harry shrugged, knowing what Sherloque had been referring to and rubbed his temple as his eyes fell to your slumbering form. Your chest rose and fell with each relaxed breath.

“Right, well it was nice meeting you, Sherlock,” Jesse unfurled her arms, mentally plotting something vengeful.

“Sherloque, it’s French.”

“Yeah, cool, whatever,” She shrugged, not really caring before speeding off to scare Team Flash in their respective homes that she’s back. Especially Cisco and Barry, who Harry’s told her to get back at them good.

“She’s finally asleep.” Harry moves to pick you up from the couch and Sherloque’s lap. His arm hooked under your legs while the other held you around your lower back. Your head lulled into Harry’s neck, unconsciously breathing in his scent. He had already decided that a bed would be much more comfortable than a couch.

“You should zhank Nash for zhat,” Sherloque stood up, following the Harry to leave the Speed lab. The chaotically dark-haired Wells spared his counterpart a glance as a snort left his lips. “After all he’s zhe one zhat slipped a sleeping agent into ‘er drink. I called it drugging, ‘e ‘ad opposing zhoughts to zhat, as you can imagine.”

Harry remained silent, knowing he would have to thank Nash eventually for watching out for you these past couple of weeks in his absence. Especially when you had been sacrificing every moment of sleep to ensure everything had gone according to plan. Entering the familiar layout of his old room, Harry gently placed you on the bed and pulled up the thick blankets to keep you warm. Your boyfriend took a seat beside you, but across your sleeping form, leaning down to kiss the crown of your head. Sherloque smiled fondly at you and his doppelganger as he stood beside the end of the bed. Tout comme Hades et Perséphone des mythes grecs.

“Will you be sticking around? We can use all the help we can get with Bloodwork and Eva,” Harry asked, turning his head to the detective, a hand was in his lap while the other had linked his pinky with your own.

Sherloque blew a puff of air, his eyes glancing around before looking to you and Harry. He pressed his lips into a hard line before speaking up, “Actually, I must return ‘ome, zhere are… a few zhings zhat I need to take care of. Somezhing zhat your petit fleur ‘ad said to me.”

Harry raised an eyebrow but left it alone, it had been a matter between you and Sherloque. The two nodded before Sherloque used his extrapolator to leave Earth-Prime, throwing once last look to this Earth’s ironic ‘reincarnation’ of Persephone and Hades.

(End Flashback)

Sherloque only tipped his head lower before your words echoing in his already distracted mind as his feet carried him out of his home and to his Earth’s Central City’s precinct. The rain lightly cascaded down onto the city, a rough breeze howling past.

-“You deserve better. You really do, Sherloque. Love will find you.”

“Easy for you to say.” Sherloque snorted, blowing on his tea.

“Hey, head up,” You found yourself sitting beside the now cynical man as you wrapped your arms around him in a comforting hug. “It could even literally run right into you one day when you least expect it.”-

Il est facile pour vous de dire, petite fleur. Sherloque sighed. Je souhaite secrètement qu’il avait été avec vous. Quelles sont les chances que je puisse rencontrer un bel esprit comme vous dans ma dimension?Sur ma terre?

The detective was relieved that the Earth-1 Renee had had mercy on his being and not demanded money from the detective, instead wishing to go back and to never see him again. Typical, yet unlike his other ex-wives that have been milking him for any penny that he owns. Why he always chased after the same women was always a question that his mind and heart clashed with his desires on it. Sherloque’s eyes blurred slightly then refocused, he was still lost in his mind as his feet picked up the pace. His shoes tapped against the cold, wet surface of the concrete path. The taller man quickly collided with a shorter body, his chest lightly stung from the impact as he took a step back and ready to scold the other person. Sherloque’s eyes widened as he felt his world stop. Lo and behold your doppelganger had crashed right into him. The detective blinked a few times, speechless.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” You picked up his fallen hat, patting off the water that had gotten onto it from its fall into a shallow puddle. You rambled, “I can’t believe I did that. I’m such a ditz, I promise- If only I was paying more attention to where I was walking and not my phone- and honestly I can be really oblivious-”

Sherloque processed only half of the words that came out of your mouth while his mind went into its deductive phase. Your eyes were red and puffy from crying, hair knotted, possibly from rushing to work this morning. The detective faintly smelled dimethyl disulfide, ketones, toluene, and other chemical compounds that are used on cadavers. You worked with dead organisms, particularly humans. He deduced that your rumpled lab coat that stained with old blood and chemical burns and sagged shoulders from the weight of your bag. You had been fired from a research facility belonging to a medical institute. Picking up on the clues, you had been framed. A scapegoat to the recently missing human cadavers from your long nights at the labs. Long nights spent on carefully analyzing tissues and cells that have not yet degenerated. A means to collecting and keeping those samples viable for regeneration of the spine, brain, and heart. Organs that scarcely regenerate themselves after scarring or attack from autoimmune diseases.

“-What’s your name?”

“(Y/N) (L/N), I’m a biomedical scientist. I uh- sorry, I don’t know any French, I think that was it?”

“Oui, it was.”

Peut-être... L’amour n’a pas besoin d’être avec une Renée.Peut-être qu’il peut venir de quelqu’un d’autre- quelqu’un de précieux qui peut rendre la pareille à l’amour que j’aspire.Cela peut prendre soin de moi comme je le ferais pour eux. Your doppelganger stood worriedly in front of him. For some reason, the dark-haired Frenchman look vaguely familiar. Sherloque saw that there was nothing but kind intentions behind those glimmering eyes. A spark of light illuminated within your doppelganger’s eyes when yours met his. The similarities between your Earth-Prime self and the one that stood in front of him were impeccable, as were the differences… He could read your personality, little details that indicate the kind of person that you are. But he voiced none of his deductions. It was then that Sherloque had made his decision.

The tall Frenchman picked up the umbrella you had dropped from the force of the collision. He ensured that it was not broken before handing it to you. Taking his fedora, Sherloque smiled keenly at you as he gestured with his head for you to follow. “Come along, petit fleur, I require your expertise for a crucial case. Lives depend on it.”

“But I’m-”

“Currently free since you’re now out of work judging by your sullen eyes. Yet zhey twinkle wizh zhe desire for somezhing… more than the basic lab life.”

You directed your gaze back up at him with guilty, but curious eyes at his deduction. “That’s amazing, how…?”

Sherloque tilted his head at you before he held a hand out to you. For some odd reason Sherloque felt that this time would be different. Things would be different. The way you made his heart thrum warmly in his chest. C’est ce que ressentent Nash, Wolfgang et Harry? Quand vous les regardez avec ces yeux pétillants d’intellect et de générosité? “Come, our clients await.” He watched you hesitate before wordlessly setting your hand in his with curiosity filling your mind. The detective observed you as he placed a gentle kiss on your knuckles then tugged you along with him.

L’amour est une chose mystérieuse. La petite fleur pour laquelle j’avais une étincelle de sentiments avant d’être aveuglée par une autre Renée... Cette fois, je serai prudent avec mon cœur.Cette fois, j’apprendrai à aimer cette petite fleur qui m’a déjà intrigué.Cette fois, je vais poursuivre le bonheur et le changement avec un autre qui n’est pas Renée.Cette fois sera différente

French Translation:

Tout comme Hades et Perséphone des mythes grecs - Just like Hades and Persephone from the Greek myths

Il est facile pour vous de dire, petite fleur - It is easy for you to say, little flower -

Je souhaite secrètement qu’il avait été avec vous. Quelles sont les chances que je puisse rencontrer un bel esprit comme vous dans ma dimension?Sur ma terre? - I secretly wish that it had been with you. What are the chances that I can meet a beautiful spirit such as you in my dimension? On my Earth?

Peut-être... L’amour n’a pas besoin d’être avec une Renée.Peut-être qu’il peut venir de quelqu’un d’autre- quelqu’un de précieux qui peut rendre la pareille à l’amour que j’aspire.Cela peut prendre soin de moi comme je le ferais pour eux. - Maybe… Love doesn’t have to be with a Renee. Maybe it can come from someone else- someone precious that can reciprocate the love that I yearn for. That can take care of me as I would for them

C’est ce que ressentent Nash, Wolfgang et Harry? Quand vous les regardez avec ces yeux pétillants d’intellect et de générosité? - Is this what Nash and Wolfgang and Harry feel? When you look up at them with those sparkling eyes of intellect and generosity?

L’amour est une chose mystérieuse. La petite fleur pour laquelle j’avais une étincelle de sentiments avant d’être aveuglée par une autre Renée... Cette fois, je serai prudent avec mon cœur.Cette fois, j’apprendrai à aimer cette petite fleur qui m’a déjà intrigué.Cette fois, je vais poursuivre le bonheur et le changement avec un autre qui n’est pas Renée.Cette fois sera différente - Love is a mysterious thing. The little flower that I had a spark of feelings for before being blinded by another Renee… This time, I will be careful with my heart. This time, I will learn how to love this little flower who has already intrigued me. This time, I will pursue happiness and change with another that is not Renee. This time will be different.

[eugeniedanglars]

can u explain the homophobic destiel tag?? i stopped watching spn religiously way back after s5 but have caught up stop and start over the years, and just finally caught up to 15x18 and i feel 14 again lmfao but i NEED TO KNOW MORE. lol.

okay, so it started because when 15x18 dropped it instantly became a meme among former supernatural fans that the confession scene was somehow both gay and homophobic at the same time because, like, of course supernatural would finally make destiel kind of canon after 12 years and then instantly bury their gays.

i was posting about it a lot and didn’t want to annoy my followers who didn’t expect me to reblog 12000 posts about destiel in the year 2020, so i started tagging posts about the episode/the general chaos of november 5th as “canon homophobic destiel for ts” so people could blacklist it.

then i started reading posts from actual fans of the show to find out how it actually got to that point and what might happen next and started to feel like “oh, okay, there’s a possibility the show is actually doing something cool here.”*

so now i’m basically just..... actually blogging about the show supernatural. but i don’t want to admit to myself that i’m actually blogging about the show supernatural like i’m 16 again, especially since if the finale goes badly this thursday i will once again stop caring/posting about the show, so i’m still using the jokey “canon homophobic destiel” tag to maintain some illusion of ironic detachment.

*tangential, but i thought of this joke earlier today and am taking this as an excuse to post it:

the case for supernatural subverting the bury your gays trope and having a good, satisfying ending: the writers actually planned out this season for once rather than just making shit up as they went, there’s apparently been a ton of meta storytelling about the characters defying god/the writers so they can be free to be who they actually want to be (with the implication that the fans know better than the writers), the penultimate episode wrapped up basically every plot thread except for anything to do with cas or sam’s love interest eileen, misha collins is still contracted for one more episode, a character literally said earlier this season that an ending without cas would suck

the case against supernatural subverting the bury your gays trope and having a good, satisfying ending: it’s supernatural

equally compelling arguments on both sides, i gotta say

[angrycowboy]

A couple weeks ago, I decided that for my birthday, I was going to attempt to put together some of my favorite things this fandom has created. I say *some* because this is an incomplete list. There are so many wonderful and talented creators in this fandom that this list would go on forever otherwise. If I have I ever reblogged something of yours, flailed in the tags, reached out to via DM or sent you a message, talked on discord or even Twitter, know that I love and adore not only the things you’ve created, but you yourself as part of this fandom.

And now, without further ado…

FIC

memento by @nielrian

I was obsessed with the idea of coming up with the backstory to the photo we see Michael look at in 1x02. When was it taken? Does Alex have a copy? Did Alex bring his with him to the other side of the world? How often do you think Michael looked at his own copy? And Nicki took a little prompt of mine, and wrote an achingly gorgeous piece about one photograph, and it’s significance to Malex in less than 700 words.

a little something to make me sweeter by @partsofthesamecosmicbeing

Camluca + D.E.B.S. is like a recipe for the perfect fic. I freaking love the movie, and when I saw this fic pop up on tumblr one day? I couldn’t even contain my excitement (seriously, the tags on my reblog were just me flailing wildly because it felt like Ly had reached into my brain and written something I wanted to read before I even knew it myself). Casting Alex as Scud and including Malex in the mix just made me love this fic even more.

And the Sun Rose Red by @michaels-blackhat

A Miluca Kissing Kate Barlow AU? SIGN. ME. UP. I adore Christi, and I adore her writing. One day she was like, “miluca kissing kate barlow au?” and the only appropriate answer to that is HECK YES. Michael/Maria is also a dynamic that just works for this AU, given their canon relationship, and Michael’s penchant for fixing things and Maria’s desire to have someone just be there for her. *runs off to re-read fic*

something broken in this town by @irolltwenties

Okay so, Meagn is one of my favorite people in this fandom. We kinda ramble at each other, and one day this happened where she started talking about the parents. About the relationship Jesse, Jim, and Mimi had as kids, as teenagers, as young adults. How they got sucked into aliens and government conspiracies. How they became the people we see and hear about in S1. If you’ve ever had the privilege of talking with Meagn, you know how amazing her mind is, how she takes these characters and the mere scraps we’ve been given in canon with some of them, and creates entire lives for them, and it’s beautiful.

open up my eager eyes by @haloud

It took me a while to get into Mylex, but apparently it was just because I hadn’t read Hal’s series yet. I’m usually terrible about multi-shipping, but once I find a writer that nails the characters down, I could probably read anything they write. And Hal writes all three of them perfectly. (I mean, Hal is just a phenomenal writer in general, but I digress.)

META

Michael’s bisexuality by @chasingshhadows

There’s been a lot said in the fandom about Michael’s bisexuality and how it’s been portrayed. While the show was airing, I was having trouble finding people who felt the same way I did about how it was being shown - that it wasn’t problematic, but that it was good and accurate. Not to mention that it made me feel seen. I tried writing out what I was feeling but nothing sounded right - until Chasing wrote this piece. It was everything I’d been trying to find the words to express, and it remains one of my absolutely favorite pieces of her writing.

Semiotics of Roswell by @hannah-writes

Hannah did this amazing thing where she took the camera work of RNM and analyzed the shit out of it. And in some moments of doubt, where I was still worried about Malex because of the direction the show had been taking, Hannah’s semiotics (or better known as “Why Malex is Endgame”) pointed out how the camerawork for Malex and Echo is very similar, not to mention deliberate as fuck.

Maria Can’t Catch a Break by @ober-affen-geil

I adore Maria Deluca. She has gotten such a bad rap in the fandom because of the “love triangle” business. But fandom in general has done her dirty in that without removing the shipper goggles it is very hard to see that the show has established Maria as a character in her own right, just as much as it has with Kyle and Alex. And that’s why I love Riley’s meta about everything that Maria is dealing with, what she’s going through, and what it’s been like for her to be the one left behind 10 years ago.

GIFSETS/EDITS

i would know him in death, at the end of the world by @vlamito

I don’t even remember now who told me I had to read The Song of Achilles - it was pre-RNM hyperfixation, but I absolutely loved it (I definitely cried while reading it). And then I saw this gifset, oh mah gawd. Mich just has this ability to find quotes from other media and fit them seemlessly into Malex. And the moments she chooses for her gifsets are utter perfection. I think everyone has probably seen this now, but it’s a gifset I just keep going back to over and over again.

Are you okay? by @maxortecho

So I adore Echo. There is something about their softness, the way they look at each other, the way they act around each other that is just beautiful. Mo made this set, and pointed out in the tags that Liz pushes her arms underneath Max like she’s going to hug him, and it broke me. Like, I thought that scene in the finale was heartbreaking enough, but pointing that out? It hurts and I loved it.

Leading Ladies Appreciation by @lsobelevans

Lucie does some amazing things with color that truly make her edits stand out, and stick out in your mind. And it’s one of the things I love about her gif sets especially - it makes them uniquely hers, her own signature if you will. And this edit is no different - the splashes of color, the texture used for the background, the highlighting of the leading ladies is stunning work. 

Same page/Different book by @bisexualalienblast

Let’s just say that picking ONE gifset of Amanda’s is an impossibility for me, okay? Amanda’s sets are the reason I wanted to learn how to gif - her gifs are beautifully colored, they’re crisp, she always picks the best fonts, they’re smooth, and her ideas are stellar. Anyway, she more recently made this set, which just so perfectly illustrates Malex’s issue IN TWO GIFS. That’s it. Their entire problem in S1, right there. Beautiful.

VIDEO

Juice | Women of Roswell by @isakvaltersnake

Katie is a wizard with the video editing. She’s going to be a force when we’ve got more than one season of footage to play around with. And this video is fun and hot and LOOK AT THE WOMEN. They are smart, they are kind, they are flirty, they have agency, and they’re all hella sexy.

Weird Science | Liz & Michael - Science Bros by @soberqueerinthewild

Hands down, this is one of my favorite videos from the fandom, and definitely one of my favorite things Christina has made (though I basically love everything she does). It’s silly and ridiculous and 100% fun. She found every bit of footage in S1 and matched it to the song perfectly. It’s impossible to watch this video and not smile and laugh - it will instantly brighten your day.

MISC

RNM Texts From Last Night by @audreyblanche

I am slightly biased here, because while Irena came up with the idea, I encouraged her to actually go through with it, promising her that the fandom would enjoy it. So because of that it’s next to impossible for me to pick a favorite out of all the ones she’s done for this series (though the one where we settled on the Camluca ship name, as well as one I specifically requested for Malex come close), and I’m hoping that with the new season (and when she returns from hiatus), she can pick this up again.

[bitofthisandthat]

// Is it possible that Negaduck could turn into his own version of Darkwarrior Duck if something bad happened to Nega!Gosalyn, like if she disappeared with no trace similar to how Gosalyn did in "Time and Punishment"? Or would he either just give up on life entirely, or become an even worse version of himself? Oh, and good luck with setting up the blog again and tidying up your muses and pages! I haven't tried all the links yet, but everything's working good on my end so far.

PREPARE FOR A META DUMP...of EPIC PROPORTIONS:

👉 ( Do NOT reblog. ) 👈

It’s implied in the 2016 comic arc of DWD, that Neg’s Gosalyn is already gone; whether she is indeed, still with the “Friendly Four,” or simply ran away for good. Or....maybe, the worse has happened and he failed---she’s dead. But I don’t think she’s dead so much as just abandoned him, rejecting his dictatorship, because of the “Morgana Factor” which I’ll get to in a second...

In order for me to explain how Negaduck’s grief works over a possible Gosalyn loss, we have to look at how he already dealt with losing his Morgana. 

In earlier issues, where Morgana was sucked into the nether-realm, during that battle it’s already implied heavily HIS Morgana is gone. The Paddywack demon possesses him because he’s the “easiest” choice. Paddywack sees fear in everyone’s heart, and feasts on it. NB: I think this is a “Pennywise” nod, as Paddywack is also a killer clown/inter-dimensional demon that eats fear. Anyway, he choses Negaduck to posses over Darkwing, and even Magica, because NEGADUCK is the one so filled with hidden fear and regret whenever he sees Darkwing’s Morgana, that I feel that also implies he already knows she’s set to be sacrificed in DWD’s world too. 

Because when you look at the “multiverse/Paddywack” arc in the comics, with all the “infinite Darkwings,” the one thing they all had in common was that they ALL LOST their Gosalyn, because they either didn’t have a Morgana present to sacrifice herself, or, she was there and didn’t sacrifice herself for whatever reason. ( Gotta love infinite possibilities and wormholes!  ) THAT WAS KEY in how Darkwing “Prime” was able to keep his Gosalyn: Morgana threw herself on the sword in Gos’s place, so she wouldn’t die or be sucked into the Netherworld, because Morgana knew Drake would never be able to go on living without his daughter.

So, I think Negaduck lost his Morgana because she got sucked into the nether-realm in HIS verse for a similar reason, as the Negaverse is 100% parallel to Darkwing’s world. I’m going to say: THAT is what lead him to discovering a way to “dimension hop” into DWD’s world...he was looking for HIS Morgana, or at least, another version of “her” to bring back with him. And seeing how devastated and catatonic Drake “Prime” was when he lost Morgana in that battle with Paddywack, I’d say Negaduck went over the deep end his own way because of losing his Morgana. ( Drake won’t even address Morgana’s disappearance in 2016 arcs, and LP had to change the subject instantly with the Muddlefoots when they asked where “she went” because Drake was visibly upset on the mere mention of her...SO. You try to tell me Morgana isn’t loved deeply and LP knows this, and that they’re ALL family. ) ANYWAY.

As we saw in “Life, Negaverse and Everything”, that Gos was present, but Morgana was not. ( I know, I know it’s impossible to show everyone in the cast at once but...) 

Perhaps that’s why Nega! Gosalyn is on lockdown in his suburban hideout; he’s keeping her barred up from another close call, which makes him an obsessive and over-the-top jailer, not a father. As we know, Negaduck does not do subtleties. Keeping her constantly on lockdown and on 24-watch by Nega! LP and the Nega! Muddlefoots WOULD look like abuse to Darkwing and the Friendly Four. His abject fright over the idea of almost losing Gosalyn warped his fatherly bond, and became more of a warden/prisoner relationship for her. Dumping toys on her every day is probably an order he gave to N!LP to compensate for her surroundings. ( Whereas Drake “Prime” is notoriously frugal and uses good parenting over spoiling his Gosalyn ) And that kind of craziness why she broke free to live with the FF at the end of the episode. I don’t think she hates Negaduck, but those conditions are unlivable! She IS still a Gosalyn, and they must all have that survivor streak in them.

I think he’s meant to be a forever villain, and was always one, but with each loss he gets madder and more chaotic, as Darkwing got more heroic the more he suffered a loss. But as we know, you go too far, you eventually circle back to the opposite side. 

I think Negaduck can only go 2 ways if he actually lost his Gosalyn to death.

He goes full on merciless death-lord, and expands his terrorizing past ruling over St. Canard, and becomes a world-wide known monster like any comic book super villain. Pick a franchise.

He breaks completely down, and holes away, maybe deciding he’s DONE with he whole crime/chaos mode and slowly becomes an anti-hero to prevent that kind of loss for anyone else. Lots of horrific villains that have been known monsters for years have had a shaky redemption arc, and sometimes it works, like with Xena: Warrior Princess. Her whole story was that she was a bandit and a warlord, and loved overpowering the innocent, until Hercules showed mercy on her when everyone else wanted her executed. So something that drastic as losing Gosalyn to death COULD be the factor that tips Negaduck that way, seeing is how a HERO, in Darkwing became more like Negaduck when he lost his Gosalyn.

[darlingpetao3]

Primrose Path (Harry Wells x Reader, Chapter 1)

Rating: Explicit

Summary: When you, a lovely florist, move to Central City to open your flower shop, you had no idea you’d fall for such a complicated and dangerous man who deals in a less-than-legal business. Harrison Wells - a major player and powerhouse within the underground mafia world of the region - sweeps you off your feet as you quickly become his greatest weakness.

Warnings: Explicit Sexual Content, Mentions of War, Coarse Language, Blood and Violence, Minor Character Deaths

Tag List: @aryasnape @cursedfaechild  @jadedragon1903 @disneyoncerlover815 @child-of-winter-1215 (please check to see if your Tumblr settings are set to receive mentions from us for future tag related purposes!)

A/N: Well, here we are. After four months over our labour of love, @central-city-meta-pocalypse @letyourimaginationrun and I would like to present our baby, Primrose Path. We will each alternate in posting the chapters, kind of like how they did the Crisis on Earth X crossover - each posting a part of the whole product. For example, next week I will reblog Chapter 2 from C-C-M-P so that everyone has had a chance to read it (if you don’t already follow each of us). Please keep in mind this is an AU - Alternate Universe - so not everything will be canon. We’ve made plenty of changes to fit our story. And so, after writing +100,000 words of a story full of fluff, angst, drama, sex, heartbreak, and so much love, we are extremely happy to finally be able to share this with all of you. Thank you for being patient and without further ado, here’s Chapter 1!

Primrose Path.

Phrase: the pursuit of pleasure, especially when it is seen to bring disastrous consequences...

You had heard about Central City and their metahuman phenomenon, but seeing a person’s abilities with your own two eyes is the most amazing thing you’ve ever witnessed.

When you'd watched the reports on the news before moving here, they only ever showed the dangers of metahumans and the ones who decided to try and bring this city to its knees.

But your first encounter is nothing like that.

You almost drench your poor flower pot stationed outside your flower shop, Primrose Path, when you see your first metahuman. The man is rugged and dirty with tattered clothes. You assume he’s homeless, and offer a kind smile. He returns it, then takes notice of the begonia display drooping - a cause of the relentless summer sun. The man reaches for a petal, and instantly at the contact, the flower blooms back to life in full colour. You stand there mesmerized. It's an utterly incredible gift, the power of restoration, right there at this man's fingertips.

“My goodness, thank you, Sir-”

“-Stand back, Miss!” hollers an authoritative voice. When you turn, you see a tall, blond, and well-groomed police officer who is taking cautious steps towards the man, acting as though he's just threatened your life rather than give assistance to your flowers. His hand is readily on his gun in his holster. You start to panic.

“No, no, really officer! I’m fine, he-”

“Get inside to safety, now!” he shouts. You drop your watering can and the contents spill all across the sidewalk. There’s no reason to be afraid, but the tone of the officer’s words themselves is what’s most frightening. You heed his orders and run into your flower shop. The very second you close the door, the officer clamps a pair of rather heavy duty handcuffs on the man, who is now hanging his head, and reads him his rights.

But even though muffled behind the glass, it sounds as if this metahuman, this man who did no wrong, has none.

***

Harry ends his call, sighing heavily as he sinks back down at his desk. Papers litter the glass plane, all regarding new projects and current ones to be approved for Scientific and Technological Advanced Research Laboratories - or S.T.A.R. Labs - utilization.

Tossing his own phone aside, his hand smooths over one of the documents in front of him. He presses his lips into a thin line, anger culminating inside him from the phone call. He takes a small gadget from the corner of his desk and hurls it to the other side of the room. The device shatters when it smashes against the wall.

Frustrated, that's what he is. Annoyed, about to go ballistic - a volcano preparing to erupt and spread fiery lava at any second.

There’s a brief, firm knock at his office door.

"What?" he snaps, one hand rubbing his temple while his other hand grips the arm of his chair. The door opens and a man puts his head around it, looking a little anxious at the tone of his boss' voice.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, Sir, but we've just had news that one of the vacant shops has been occupied by someone no one seems to have heard of. Apparently they’re from out of town. It's only two blocks away and... Well, we thought you should know."

Harry's eyes narrow at the lower-rank man, adjusting his posture so that an elbow is propped on the armrest of his chair while his chin sits in the middle of his palm. He looks at the timid employee for a few seconds, with a dangerous storm brewing in his glare. The younger man swallows, palms sweaty as he avoids doing any sort of action to piss off the dark-haired scientist.

"I'll deal with it," Harry grumbles through gritted teeth, bitter rage still boiling within him from the previous and unsuccessful phone conversation. The blond goon senses that his boss is feeling extremely prickly at the moment and simply moves forward, placing a piece of paper with the address of the new tenant on the edge of the desk. Turning, he leaves in a hurry without any further words so as to not poke the bear.

Two blocks away? That was awfully close. Somewhere for someone new to get near to him, threaten him in his own territory.

Harry stands, walking over to the large window which overlooks the city below him. This is his city, and he'll be damned if someone tries to make a move to change that. He grabs his gun and strides through the company building, holding an antagonistic expression and glaring at anyone who dares look him in the eye.

Outside, the sun is up in the middle of the vast blue sky, signalling that it’s midday. The city bustles with noise as people chatter through the streets and birds chirp from tree to tree. If anything, the city-life only fuels Harry’s bellicose mood as the world around him seems to experience ecstasy and bliss while he has to address a current complication on his territory.

Harry continues his war-path through the populous streets, weaving through the gaps in the crowds to arrive at the now occupied property. His hand instinctively touches the cool metal of his concealed gun behind him, slender fingers at the ready to pull out the firearm if necessary.

Danger, an anomaly, or another bastard seeking to do away with his work - Harry’s prepared to show whoever the hell set foot on his property just who owns Central City.

What Harry doesn’t expect is coming face to face with… potted plants? An array of flowers that sit within tiny, terracotta pots… He blinks, reading the sign above, Primrose Path, thinking this is some sort of prank or front.

Is this really a floral shop?

Outside the quaint business sit several baskets of brightly coloured flowers, leading up to the door where beyond it, lay more and more crates of blooms all over the interior of the shop. And that's when Harry first hears your voice come from just inside the door.

"Six pink roses and a selection of white flowers to fill it out, wasn’t it? Oh, I’m sure that’ll make a wonderful display. Your mother is going to love it!"

Maybe Harry wasn’t as prepared as he thought.

The tenderness of your voice was definitely something he didn't expect. In fact, it rather takes him aback. Harry ducks and steps out of the way of the window so he wouldn’t be spotted, casting a glance at this new ‘resident’. Oddly enough though, when he catches sight of you, his fingers go limp from clutching his weapon. A weird, warm feeling courses through him as his eyes scan what they can from where he currently stands. It must be his gut warning him of something. With eyebrows knitting together, Harry figures he should go about this with caution.

He observes you with the customer, who had supposedly said something humorous because Harry hears you giggle and sees you covering your mouth. Your eyes crinkle in this adorable way that makes his stomach flip.

“Damn... she’s cute,” he mutters while hiding behind a hanging plant, peeking in through the window once more. He watches you for a few minutes, interacting with the customer and arranging a recent delivery of stock in your new premises. Your bright smile is utterly captivating and Harry finds the corner of his mouth turn up in a tiny smile as he looks at you. You couldn't be a threat, surely? No one that sweet would be trying to challenge him.

You let out another radiant laugh before Harry decides it’s time to leave. At the moment, he doesn’t consider you a risk or even a potential enemy in the future. Sometimes the property he owned was just a prime piece of real estate for someone to open a business. He has a hard time remembering that not everyone in this world has it in for him.

His hands bury into his pants pockets, still unable to wipe his smile away. He walks back to his company with the bell-like sound of your voice replaying in his head. The image of yourself has been burned into his mind.

"I'll come back and deal with this later," he whispers to himself, now registering how dry his throat had become.

He’ll deal with it... just not in the way he initially thought.

***

Ding ding!

You can’t stop the little gasp that escapes you when you see who it is walking through your door.

Since the event with the cop and the metahuman outside your shop, you’d been researching the creation and rise of the metahumans, and all of your reading seemed to culminate around the man now standing at the counter in your inconsequential little shop; one of the most famous, or maybe infamous, people in the city.

Doctor Harrison Wells.

From what you’d read, the man was a mystery, wrapped up in an enigma, wrapped up in a suit. A rather gorgeous, designer suit at that.

Several articles you’d found linked back to the War of the Americas and Harrison Wells’ name was prominently featured within them. He’d been discharged at the end of the war with a commendation and an award for bravery, though you hadn’t been able to find what it had been an award for. But now he seems to be seen more as a war-hero-turned-mad-scientist who had seen fit to turn this city upside down for his own gain as no one in Central City seemed to know what he and his team were working on in the high-rise S.T.A.R Labs building.

But despite much of this mockery and antagonism towards him, he had never been challenged to stop his work. He was a force to be reckoned with, and woe betides anyone who got in his way.

The rumours surrounding him seemed to go from the sublime to the ridiculous and you could not work out which, if any, were actually true. People said that since the war, there was a dark, underworld-type nature of most of his business that no one particularly wanted to talk about. He seemed to exude an aura of fear to the people of this city.

He apparently owned property in virtually every block, knew how to pay off the right people to get him what he needed and had a reputation of being able to… effectively deal with those who refused. The gossip all said that he dealt in the shadows, manipulating those small gangs in the criminal underworld to create the biggest empire the city had ever seen. Which, despite the mayor and elected officials, left Harrison Wells as the undisputed king of all of it.

But you couldn’t bring yourself to believe any of it. A man awarded such an honour during his service surely wouldn’t then come home to terrorize his own city. He was just another businessman, trying to make his way in a corporate world and people wanted to demonize him for his success.

Which brings you to the current hitch in your breath as the rumoured secret King of Central City lays a small bundle of bright blue flowers on your counter. His dark hair is messy, like he’s been running his hands through it, nothing like the styled pictures on the covers of magazines you’d seen. You notice his piercing blue eyes study you as you watch him. It’s hard not to be captivated by his handsome features but you force yourself to be professional again when he speaks.

“Hi there,” he says.

“H-hello,” you reply timidly. “Is this everything for you, today?”

“It is, thank you.” You ring in the bundle and tell him the cost. Harrison Wells slides a few bills across the flat surface to you, which you then place into the cash register. “Have a nice day...”

You offer your name at his hesitation and notice a slight tug in the upper corner of his mouth.

“(Y/N)... beautiful name.” You can’t hold back an uncontrollable, bright smile at his compliment. He doesn’t seem so scary. Harrison Wells turns to leave, but without his purchase.

“Uh, Sir? You forgot your flowers.”

“I didn’t forget,” the man says with a wink, leaving the shop as the door jingles when he exits. You pick up the pretty blue bundle of flowers and finally process their name.

Forget-Me-Nots.

[Chapter 2]

[haynr]

all blog info below the cut, 

apologies now to my mobile users 

RULES 

Before we interact you must…

have a properly displayed muse

have easily accessible posted information regarding your muse in a section or page

have easily accessible posted rules / guidelines in a section or page 

for AU’s, you must have posted information regarding your muse within the fandom universe in its own section or page

make sure I am following you

cut threads

I Won’t

roleplay sex, generally. there may be a few exceptions, but keep the standard that i probably won’t. sexual content, perhaps, if all muns involved are over 18. If we do, it is with the understanding muses involved will be aged up appropriately. 

tolerate any sexual advances toward myself ooc

roleplay inserts

always follow back, nor will I follow personals

tolerate pressuring, be it to rp in general or consistent pestering to answer threads

answer everything in my inbox. It’s not often I ignore asks, but I won’t answer something if it violates my rules. If I have difficulty answering something, I will privately message senders or make public inquires about anonymous messages. 

follow everyone back / interact with everyone, even if you technically follow all my rules. i’m selective. 

Please Don’t:

reblog meme asks. I don’t mind this so much, but it keeps things cleaner when they’re moved to a new post. 

reblog inbox answers for non starter memes. examples would be mun opinions and the like but extend to headcanons and other writing. violators will be asked to delete the post and may be blocked. 

reblog threads you are not a part of. warnings will be given to violating rp blogs, but personals will be instantly blocked. 

reblog personal posts, especial images of myself. violators will be instantly blocked. this means anything tagged ooc. 

force ships with me. I am a p easy going shipper, but I will be a bit more restrictive with Hayner. most of it has to do with his muse in general. he’s not thinking about romance atm. if it comes up in plot, great. if it doesn’t, you’re more than welcome to put it forward, but please do not expect me to go along with it. on that note, don’t expect me to always agree with your interpretations of my muse in ships. ideas and suggestions are fine, your own take is fine, but i cannot stress enough, please do not push hcs. 

I am open to

multiple threads

duplicates of other muses (i do not rp duplicates of my own muse, but I usually have other muses in the fandom which I will be more than happy to interact with there, no twins etc) 

shipping, though I will be highly selective, possibly exclusive. I will not instant ship, but I don’t mind developing our muses’ relationship privately over DMs. 

mutli verse and/or polyshipping as befits all the muses and muns involved

rping toxic relationships of any sort, will be tagged accordingly and placed under cuts.

angst and/or triggering threads, though I would prefer to discuss  the thread and tagging beforehand

crack threads

select AUs

ask/tagged initiated threads/starters but I ask for some warning if they are not from a meme or other prompt

responses of any length, so long as it is enough to reasonably work with for the pace of our thread

group threads

generally questionable plots. regardless of whether or not I approve of such practices ooc isn’t usually relevant. this is fictional, exploration of an idea– not a real-world execution of that idea. Feel free to DM for details.  

Please Also Note:

I do not require length to be matched and may not always match partner’s length. I will respond as much as I feel I am able to or that I feel is necessary. 

If my response is inadequate, difficult to respond to, or otherwise distasteful, FEEL FREE to ask me to redo my response.

Understand that my selectivity will depend on my comfort level and that I am not obligated to explain myself.

I tag all my threads as “thread”

I tag my partner’s url

if partner’s url changes, I will tag both old and new urls for the first response then only the new url going forward.

I generally tag triggers as “trigger tw”. same with general cw’s. i’m not the best with tagging, so let me know if I should watch for stuff in particular

my activity is generally a joke, but I’m constantly lurking, so feel free to drop a message

I am incredibly anxious. It doesn’t matter if we have late night conversations for like a month straight i will still be afraid to talk to you every. single. time. so always feel free to come whack me on the head or smth

while I can be very laid back / crack-ish, I do prefer to explore darker themes and my thread responses are much more serious than I come off as. 

Blacklisted / Ask to Tag:

food

nsfw (for general safe scrolling, just let me know what your tag is since t simply wont show not safe for wombats content anymore) 

“little space” related

“daddy,” “mommy,” etc

literally anything in this vein. in the vaguest, most removed sense. idc what you tag it. either let me know or just tag it “jade don’t look” whatever.

in fact feel free to tag any and all of these as just “jade don’t look” or some variant.

a/o/b related 

anything pregnancy related

vivid depiction of sensory / memory alteration (particularly in images, but not excluded to)

unreality (also especially, but not limited to, images)

Of course I can’t require people tag these, but I will most likely not follow you if your post these regularly and do not have some warning which will be picked up by blacklist applications.

In regards to the sensory alteration, I mean things like seeing/hearing/etc things that aren’t there, mis-remembering or outright tampering with memory, etc. It’s kind of situation to situation on what gets me, but when it does it tends to hit me pretty hard. If you have any questions about it, fire away! [ example text post ]

On unreality, this somewhat relates to the above, I use this as a catch all phrase for images, vivid descriptions, and most especially videos/gifs of things that basically don’t behave or seem to behave as they should. Sometimes, I’ve seen these things tagged as “trippy” and the like, but they those posts tend to be too…idk how to put it. Extra? What tends to get me is when things are going fairly linear and then suddenly go for a loop. That’s not the greatest description, but here’s a few posts that have triggered me the worst that I’ve slowly gotten used to.  There are also things which should seem fine or normal but aren’t. If anyone has a better description for this, by all means let me know! example posts [ one ] / [ two ] /  [ three ] + a weird image that also gets me for some reason. hmvent is actually a blog I use to store things that trigger me so I can slowly get used to them or try and figure out what it is / why these things get to me.

META 

Hayner is a young lad who resides in the sleepy Twilight Town. He is described as “impulsive and determined, and is always looking for a new adventure. He is bold to the point of recklessness…He gets bored easily during uneventful times… also easily angered/irked…thirsts for some kind of recognition…” During the events of KHII, he is 15, the same as Roxas/Sora. He has deep brown eyes, dirty blond hair and is a bit tall and, while still skinny, muscular for his age. He is the leader of his quartet trio including Pence, Olette and Roxas himself.

While he does have parents, he’s rather distant from them. While he does receive support from his folks, they were just never really there. Because of this, his loyalties lie greatly with his chosen family, his friends. He considers it his duty to help, lead and, if needed, protect them, even if he’d never admit as much even to himself. If any of his actions or ideas end up hurting someone he cares about, he takes it very much to heart, often beating himself up about it for weeks and weeks after.

Hayner, despite his hotheadedness and brashness, is a very observant leader. His tough guy act, while not entirely based on this, is partially to build himself up, make other less inclined to pick fights with him and his friends. Whether or not this works out, however, is certainly debatable. He also does his best to incorporate his friends’ wants and needs– or at least what he perceives these as– into his plans.

As oblivious as he may seem, he is quite mindful of the people around him. Whether it’s picking out the shady figure on that street corner or this one, or noticing some random kid’s not having a good day - he sees a lot of it, but often it doesn’t strike as a huge priority. He thinks things through a lot more than he’s credited for, but unfortunately, he doesn’t go through the whole process before starting his plan of action.

Hayner also isn’t exactly the most social person. He is outgoing and nice to people out of politeness and giving people the benefit of the doubt, but as a whole he’d much rather just stick with his friends. The only exception to this has been Sora, as he feels a “familiar vibe” about him, and therefore is also open to his circle of friends.

A couple more misc hcs below:

Is a very exceptional swordsman (at least with the training swords). However, his skills do not seem as outstanding compared to that of Roxas and other more major characters.

As much as he hates school, his best subject science. And although one would think he’d be a good athlete because he is competitive, he actually doesn’t have good PE grades because he doesn’t try if he doesn’t have to. The only way to get him to really participate is to make it a competition.

MORE WILL BE ADDED MARCH, 2019 TO INCLUDE SPOILERS FOR KH3

AU Info will be added shortly. 

[sunlitroom]

For the fandom meme you just posted, which seems to have no name, would you please do D, F, G, I, M, Q, and/or V?

I will - thank-you for asking :)

D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t.

Hmm.  I suppose I wish I could like Barbara and Tabitha more.  They’ve had a couple of moments where it seemed genuine and like something you could root for - Tabitha’s genuine happiness when Barbara ‘came home’, and Barbara’s acceptance/support of Tabitha’s seemingly carrying on a relationship with Butch as well as her in the first part of season three - but they’ve since made them both so dislikeable and flat.  There’s also always the vague implication that it’s convenient for both of them - but if Jim or Butch reappeared, they’d ditch the whole venture.

F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom?

I first watched Twin Peaks when I was eleven (when it first aired) - if there’d been online fandom in the same way, then I would have been involved - so that’s the hypothetical longest.  Since then, in terms of more active involvement than just watching, it’s probably neck and neck between Hannibal and Gotham - so five years-ish?

G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it?

So, so many OTPs.  Gobblepot, Clex, Dan/Herbert, Kylux, FredSquared.... I seem to recall not so much shipping Audrey and Cooper, as passionately disliking Annie.  Mulder and Scully, maybe?

I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why?

It’s given me a very different experience of fandom - due to both the nature of the site and the changing nature of fandom.  Back on LiveJournal - which was my first real foray into fandom - you could tailor your experience much more: you chose which blogs you wanted to follow, and didn’t ever really have to see anything you weren’t interested in.  You never really, unless you were unlucky, had the experience of seeing something completely uncongenial to your taste.

It was also geared much more towards discussion and meta.  Arguments might still happen - but people accepted things like differences of opinion, because that’s how discussion works.  Lord knows wank still happened, but I think the nature of the site and of fandom meant it was easier to have a fairly positive impression of fandom (generally speaking).

With Tumblr, you see everything.  Being selective tends to mean blocking tags as opposed to following them, which instantly feels like a more defensive experience.  The format doesn’t really lend itself to discussion either: it takes effort to keep track of replies and respond in a coherent way - especially if lots of people are reblogging/replying to the same post.  

Aside from that - discussion in fandom has changed, I think. Meta and critique seems to be sometimes perceived as ‘hate’ or negativity - and avoided.  There also seems to be an increasing tendency towards dogmatism, with the result that people are so afraid to be perceived as saying the wrong thing that they duck discussion altogether.

As a result - yes, I’ve probably had more negative experiences of fandom on Tumblr - but some of it has to do with the reasons I discussed.  If I’m to be specific, I’ve wound up blocking a couple of Gotham tags which had become exhausting and were starting to drain the joy out of it.

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

With my sensible hat on, Lucius Fox - who is kind and clever and gentle.  With my less sensible hat on, Oswald - because he is a genuinely loving and caring person, but the fits of murderousness would be a bit terrifying.  Smallville Lex Luthor is fantastically erudite and would be fascinating to listen to - and is also terribly in need of a friend.  Selina Kyle is steadfast.

Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why.

I don’t think I have.  There’s always one or two comfort reading fics I’ll go back to, at the very least.  I don’t think I’ve made the conscious decision to give up on something for a reason.

V - Which character do you relate to most?

In my unfailing loyalty to Oswald, probably Eyepatch Guy.  I’m also pretty soft - so maybe Lucius, who - as yet - has not demonstrated much in the way of violence.  In my hopes for unexpected pizza, Victor Zsasz.  

Thank-you again for asking! :)

[gallavichthings]

Blog anniversary

In February of 2013, I started watching Shameless and got instantly hooked. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love with the relationship between the sweet and loving Ian and the rough-around-the-edges but secretly caring Mickey. I then discovered their ship name, Gallavich, and, on May 5th 2018, created this blog.

It’s been five years of nearly daily posts (even when I traveled, I tried to always keep the queue running, but there have been a few occasions when I had to take a forced break). Five years of reblogging fics, fanart, graphics, videos, meta, anything and everything Gallavich. I like to call myself a curator of Gallavich content, and over these five years this blog has amounted to quite a collection. 

It has’t always been easy, it has often been tiring, but it’s always been rewarding. I want to thank everyone who is or has at some point been part of this fandom for so generously providing us with such great content, many times even better than the source material. I also want to thank everyone who follows this blog (or who used to, you’re part of this history too). And I mostly want to thank the people who constantly like and reblog the posts. It’s for the fandom that I keep this Tumblr, and it’s the fandom that keeps me motivated to continue it.

So again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for these amazing five years.

[tentoxa]

got tagged by @tsukishima-tadashi for a thing!

1. What are some fandoms you never really reblog/talk about?

ive mentioned it a couple times but ape escape!!!! i love ape escape so so fucking much but basically nobody knows about it so i never get a chance to talk about it lmao! im also massively into spyro and borderlands i just dont really follow many people who also blog about it so shrug

2. For any of your fandoms, are there any minor characters you like more than the main cast?

uuuuhhh skdjffdjss not.. really...? like i love the minor oso characters but probably not more than the Boys bc uh. im a thirsty bitch. iyami could get it tho

3. What are some rarepairs you enjoy? 

ohohohoooo okay. OKAY. get ready for some real self indulgent bullshit: tendou and yama. hmmmmmmmm. mind you ive never gone looking but i’ll bet good money theres gonna be fuckin NOTHING for that ship

also i love ichitoto and ichinyaa but theres way more content for those 

4. Do you have a favorite breed of cat/dog? 

BOXERS!!!!! BOXERS ARE THE BEST DOG BREED HANDS DOWN!!!!!! ALL THE BULLY BREEDS ARE SO GOOD AND SO PRECIOUS!!!!!

for cats i like the fat fluffy ones like persians and ragdolls :3c

5. Are there any unpopular/hated characters you really like? 

hummmmmm i guess perhaps.... kylo? like i know he has plenty of fans/stans but they feel like a minority. and sonic underground isnt very well known bc of how old and admittedly shitty it is but manic is my fuckin uhhh boyfriend

6. Do you have any anime/manga you’d recommend to me? 

panyo panyo di gi charat!! its sickeningly sweet but very simple and cute and the episodes are only like 5 minutes i think? i think it was the first anime i (properly) watched. it holds a very dear place in my heart i rec it to everyone regardless of taste lol

7. Convince me why I should ship your OTP. Or, if you’re up for it, why I shouldn’t ship your NOTP. 

we have a lot of the same opinions on ships actually!! im not really one for Meta on characters and relationships i just kinda gesture to them and make weird noises

8. Are there any qualities all of your favorite characters share? Basically, do you have a type when it comes to characters you stan?

honestly i couldnt personally tell you i feel like im all over the place... i certainly have my biases but i’ll also go for characters that are the complete opposite. its wild im just along for the ride

9. What’s the pettiest reason you’ve ever unfollowed someone for?

skdfjkjkdsg i dont know omg uh... i unfollowed someone not that long ago for breaking mutuals but honestly they were on thin ice for a host of other reasons already soo

or maybe that one person ages ago who posted ships i didnt like bc i couldnt blacklist at the time

10. Are there any minor details that can completely ruin an otherwise promising fanfic for you? Conflicting headcanons and such. (Example: I instantly exit any fanfic that mentions Yamaguchi being bad at baking because it conflicts so heavily with my image of him.)

theres probably plenty but oh man i havent read fanfic for months i just dont have the attention span for it anymore

im not taggin anyone bc im a lazy bitch lol ╰(・∇・╰)

[brilliantorinsane]

The Speckled Band (1931): a.k.a. Sherlock Wilde

Note: For this meta I tagged everyone who reblogged earlier posts in the series. However, as I certainly don’t want to shove my work at anyone who isn’t interested, from this point forward I will only only tag individuals who have shown continued interest by reblogging multiple posts, or who have specifically asked to be tagged. Thank you to anyone who has been or continues to be interested in any part of this series <3

Guys, I did it. I found the Gayest Holmes. Not the best Holmes, nor the best adaptation by any stretch of the imagination; but most definitely the gayest. Well, okay, the most stereotypically gay, and one of the most nearly confirmed as such in the explicit text of the film—a fact which has me reeling given that this film was released in 1931.

This is the third installment of my series on obscure Holmes adaptations and their depiction of our beloved duo both individually and in relation to each other. For the first two installments, see below:

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Stoll Pitures, 1921–1923)

The Speckled Band on Stage: Yep, Still Gay

Production and Reception:

[Spoilers ahead. But unless you want to avoid spoiling the ACD cannon story The Speckled Band or his play of the same name, I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s really nothing worth spoiling in this film]

This adaptation, released the year after Doyle’s death, is derived less from the cannon story of the same name than from a stage adaptation also written by Doyle. The play is wonderful, featuring a genuinely chilling villain, well-realized side characters, laugh-out-loud humor, the best Holmes and Watson, and allllll the gay subtext. You can read the script here, and my discussion of the play is linked above.

Unfortunately, the filmmakers’ 5 step adaptation plan appears to have been the following:

1. Keep the bare bones of the play, including some of the name changes, the emphasis on the Rylott household, etc.

2. Take the play’s uncomfortable undertone of Orientalism and make it the film’s prevailing atmosphere, then add casual pro-slavery rhetoric, just ‘cause.

3. Remove approximately 3/4s of what made Doyle’s script so good, then creatively undermine, dilute, and/or convolute the remaining 1/4.

4. Hire a promising actor to play Holmes, and then give him minimal interesting content.

5. Hire the actor who played Rylott in the stage play, because it can’t hurt to have one good thing.

Yeah … I’m exaggerating, but its not good. Which is disappointing on many levels, because it would have been fascinating to know how a flagrantly gay Holmes would have fared in the early 1930s. But as it is, this adaptation fails on so many levels that it seems impossible to theorize whether homophobia played a significant role in the fact that it made scarcely any impact in its day and has been entirely forgotten now. Sure, homophobia might have aided the process of erasure, but this film didn’t need any help sinking into oblivion.

Nevertheless, although the blaring racism makes it difficult to fully appreciate the filmmaker’s courage in not abandoning the play’s subtext, it is still worth being aware that filmmakers were paying attention to and actively portraying the ACD cannon subtext as early as 1931.

Raymond Massey as Sherlock Holmes

It really is a pity that this film didn’t give Raymond Massey the chance to show what he could have done with Sherlock Holmes. In his book Sherlock Holmes on Screen, Alan Barns argues that Massey might have created a Holmes to rival all his contemporaries, and whenever he appeared I paid close attention, always feeling as if he were about to get interesting. Unfortunately, he never quite did.

Massey’s Holmes spends the majority of the film in a deeply lethargic state. Depressive moods are as much a part of Sherlock’s character as his boundless curiosity, and I would have found it a rather interesting portrayal if he had ever woken up from his stupor. But although he has flashes of intensity, in the end he lounges about the crime scene as listlessly as he does 221B. Further, because we know too little about this Holmes to understand his lethargy, he never quite solidifies into a concrete or compelling individual.

In dearth of anything else, the most interesting thing about this Holmes is that he is definitely, definitively, flagrantly gay. To Massey’s credit, this is instantly apparent—my initial impression that, “wow, this Holmes is kinda a lazy dick,” was paralleled with a rather flabbergasted, “wait … is he playing him as gay???”

If I’d seen Massey’s Holmes without context, I may well have thought I was watching a film about Oscar Wilde—the stereotypical epitome of Victorian homosexuality. Even Barns, who has excellent things to say about Holmes adaptations but seems vaguely allergic to discussing the detective’s sexuality, describes Massey’s Holmes as an “aesthete” and speaks of his “almost Oscar Wilde approach” (266). And all of that registers before Holmes starts examining his fingernails, resting his hand on Watson’s leg a good few inches above his knee, and talking about marriage. But we will return to that last point shortly.

Athole Stewart as John Watson

Stewart as Watson in this film is … fine. Even good, comparatively speaking—Stewart’s Watson is hearty and kind and is not portrayed as an idiot, which really is an anomaly at this stage of Holmes adaptations. This is probably due in large part to his excellent role in Doyle’s stage play. Unfortunately, the film consistently sets up Watson’s strengths only to erase them.

Watson in the film is kind to Helen—that’s the one good quality that doesn’t get undermined. So, yay. But while in the play Watson stands up against Rylott’s tyrannical demands when he is summoned to examine the body of the first murdered sister, the film begins to replicate that scene only to have Watson give in after his initial protest. In both the play and film he initially appears to be a decidedly intelligent man who guesses exactly what is going on in the the Rylott household, but in the film this is undermined by his subsequent conversation with Holmes, in which it appears that he was entirely clueless and took everything at face value after all. The film makes an interesting but half-hearted attempt at introducing modern technology into 221B, and most of this has been installed by Watson; but Holmes finds it essentially useless for his work and relies on different tools entirely. In the play Watson himself kills the snake; in the film he … shines a light so Holmes can attack it.

In short, Stewart’s Watson goes through the motions of being a partner, but he is never quite allowed to do anything useful.

So … What About Johnlock?

Eh. I guess?

By all rights an adaptation with a gay Holmes ought to at least have one-sided unrequited Johnlock. But while its clear that Holmes is gay, it is not clear that he is in love with Watson.

Beyond the character’s aestheticism, mannerisms, and thigh grab, evidence of Holmes’s sexuality is blatantly but clumsily contained in two brief exchanges with Watson regarding Helen’s marriage to her fiancee. The first comes at the end of Holmes’s first scene, when he abruptly asks Watson to inform him when Helen becomes engaged, with an intensity which demonstrates some emotional investment in the event.

My initial (annoyed) assumption was that they were going to make Holmes out to be in love with Helen. But when Helen comes to Holmes for help two years later, it is clear that they have never met. Nor is there anything in Holmes’s treatment of her to imply some creepy at-a-distance infatuation. And yet we are definitely supposed to pay attention to his preoccupation with the wedding, because the final scene consists of Watson announcing Helen’s engagement to Glen Sternum, to which Holmes responds: “I was afraid that might happen.” Then when Watson, taking Holmes’s response for generalized cynicism, leaves the room with the amused assertion that “we all come to it [i.e. marriage],” Holmes waits until he is gone to respond with a melancholy, “not all, my dear Watson. Not all.” And that, apart from a final line about filing away the details of the case, is the end.

So what are we to make of Holmes’s sorrowful preoccupation with Helen’s marriage? Honestly, I’ve been unable to work it out. Is it is meant to refer to a generalized inability to attach a girl? But there’s no hint of that in the plot; and besides, why then would he be so concerned with this particular marriage? No, it makes more sense to suppose that Holmes’s queer-coded mannerisms are fully intentional, and he knows he will never marry because society will not allow him to marry a man. So was he afraid that Watson, a good friend of the family, might marry her? But then why is he still so sorry when she marries someone else? Is he secretly in love with the man she married (who, fun fact, is a slave-owner)??? Weirdly enough, that is my only theory which doesn’t directly contradict any of the facts, although it would make for incredibly vague and sloppy storytelling.

Just to complicate this further, Doyle’s play also contains a subplot about Holmes being sorrowful about a marriage (although the sorrow is a bit more subtextual)—but in the play it is Watson’s marriage. So basically … the filmmakers appear to have gotten the “Holmes is upset about Watson’s marriage because Holmes is in love with him but cannot marry a man because Homophobia” subtext, but—perhaps because showing Holmes being openly sorrowful over Watson’s marriage felt too obvious?—they clumsily redirected Holmes’s sorrow to a different marriage with which he textually has no connection.

As for Watson, there’s not much to say. There is an odd line in which Holmes asks Watson whether the housekeeper was good-looking and Watson answers “no” before pausing and, with an air of surprise, amending, “yes.” This could be seen as indicating that he is uninterested in the attractiveness of women. (This would make him out to be gay and not bi, which I suppose makes sense for the time). But it could just as easily be put down to the film’s sloppy writing, and if Watson is gay his cheery assurance that he and Holmes both will come round to marriage in the end indicates that he is entirely unaware of it, so … *shrugs.*

In conclusion: this film was probably made by people who Knew, at least about Holmes, but instead of creating Johnlock they gave us a Holmes who is almost definitely gay but only maybe in love with Watson; he could just as easily be in love with a slave-owner he never sees during the film or be sad about not being able to marry a man in general. Then they tossed in a narratively irrelevant Watson who might maybe possibly be gay but he definitely doesn’t know it.

It’s a mess.

Conclusion: Should You Watch It?

I mean … you could. A decent-ish recording is available on YouTube here. But while I feel like we ought to be aware of this first (as far I know) stumbling attempt at subtext, I’m not trying to talk anyone into watching it. If you’re interested in Raymond Massey’s portrayal of Holmes I suggest just skipping to his scenes, which add up to slightly over half of the 50min film. In particular I recommend his first scene, from 7.15–12.35, and the final scene, which begins at 47.30. And if you find a more coherent means of interpreting Holmes’s lines about marriage, please do let me know!

Well then. Yep. That is a thing. Which exists. 

The End

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