#you can leave them up year round Netflix

[terresdebrume]

You can tell we're getting closer to pride month when Netflix rolls out the "Queer shows" and "LGBTQ movies" category again

[hlficlibrary]

✤ Co-Workers Fics ✤

A series of posts with the top five fics of each category by kudos plus five more hidden gems from that category! Remember to leave kudos and a comment on the fics you enjoyed to show your appreciation! You can find our other recs here.

- Top 5 H/L Fics -

1️⃣ You Drive Me Round The Bend by TheCellarDoor / @donotdialnine {M, 77k}

In which Louis is a spoilt rich kid who’s always on the phone while he drives and Harry is a struggling musician making his way down the mountain. It’s just a matter of time before they crash and burn.

2️⃣ Have Love, Will Travel by @kingsofeverything {E, 97k}

Rather than spend the summer working at their desks, Louis and Harry are given the opportunity to crisscross the country together in a tiny camper, filming their adventures for a YouTube series.

It soon becomes obvious to their viewers that there’s something more than friendship between them. Eventually, they figure it out.

3️⃣ Looking Through You by @allwaswell16 {E, 41k}

Just as Louis and Liam were starting out in the music industry, writing and producing for up and coming artists, a fateful meeting with new pop singer Harry Styles changes everything. Four years later, just as Harry is set to embark on his next world tour, a drunken confession causes a rift between once inseparable friends. As Harry tries to make sense of his feelings for Louis, he begins writing his next album to express them as it may be the only way to break through the walls that Louis has built between them.

4️⃣ After Hours by thilia {E, 99k}

Liam is bored with his job at the law firm. Nothing exciting ever happens. That changes drastically when he agrees to mentor the boss’s sixteen year old son, who turns heads wherever he goes. Especially Liam’s colleague Louis seems unable to resist the boy’s charms. Liam never thought he’d get to see this much of both of them, or that mentoring would turn into an R-rated event or that it would suddenly make his own love life a whole lot more interesting…

5️⃣ Take Me Higher Than I've Ever Been by crimsontheory / @ireallysawanangel {E, 51k}

Harry is pretty simple. He goes to work everyday, comes home, then watches Netflix with his cat. And if he happens to have a tiny little crush on his coworker, then that’s just his own business.

[Or the one where Harry and Louis work together and Louis starts to notice Harry back. Featuring a wedding, a sassy cat, and first times.]

HIDDEN GEMS:

💎 you are my destiny (you are the reason that i still believe) by @alwaysxlarrie {M, 98k}

Being a new employee at a company means that you have to learn to brush off the shitty bosses, shitty coworkers, and not getting the credit you actually deserve for things. At least, that's been Harry Styles' experience. Coworkers who steal his ideas in pursuit of getting praise and a raise, and a boss who's indifferent at best and condescending at worst. Harry has learned to expect this reality for the foreseeable future. He's accepted it.

What he hadn't expected was for Louis Tomlinson to waltz into their company, and his life, and change around everything he thought he knew about fate. A Cinderella AU.

💎 You Ain’t Gotta Feel Fear Just Mingle by LadyLondonderry / @londonfoginacup {T, 32k}

Harry has been at his dream job for less than three months, and he knows two things for sure; first, his project manager doesn't know what he's doing, and second, someone in the office is apparently pure evil, and no one will tell Harry who it is.

Oh, and the guy who works in conservation at the other end of the building is the most beautiful man Harry's ever seen, even when wielding a hot iron as a weapon.

💎 what's left of my halo's black by LiveLaughLoveLarry / @loveislarryislove {E, 22k}

As Harry sucks lovebites into Louis’ neck, Louis hopes that one day those marks will cover the way he can still feel Alex’s handprints burned into his flesh.

As Harry’s nails drag scratches along Louis’ back, Louis hopes that one day the scabs on his heart will heal and drop away just like the scabs on his skin.

As Harry fucks him down into the mattress, the bed shaking with every thrust, Louis hopes that one day his mouth will forget the shape of Alex’s name, won’t trace it over and over as the heat builds inside him, won’t want to scream it when he comes. Maybe one day he’ll open his eyes, as he slowly floats down from his post-orgasm haze, and won’t expect to see Alex’s face smiling back at him.

But today is not that day.

A year after a devastating breakup, Louis is still trying to put himself back together - but getting over a breakup is hard when you work as a wedding planner. Thankfully, his coworker Harry is the most supportive friend Louis could ask for. But Harry has some secrets of his own, and they send Louis' world spinning off its axis all over again.

💎 You Tilted My Hand by @taggiecb {G, 12k}

Harry Styles arrives in Avonlea, Prince Edward Island for his first day of a coveted and prestigious summer internship at the Avonlea Chronicle. He's quick to realise that he's out of place in the little band of journalists as he's an art major and they didn't choose Harry to be part of the team!

Thankfully his new boss, Niall, wants to give him a chance. Unfortunately that will mean trying to keep up not only with the stress of the job, but PEI's golden boy Louis Tomlinson, who has a perpetual smile on his lips, and mischief in his eyes.

💎 Blame It On Christmas by Kikiberoski16 / @larrysballetslippers {E, 7k}

Life was good until a new coworker showed up. It’s a little insane but not even a little bit funny how much Harry instantly despised the new guy. He’s always late, but always shows up with the most charming smile so nobody can get mad. His desk is a mess and he doesn’t seem to have ever learned the words ‘thanks’ or ‘sorry.’ And as if a bad employee isn’t bad enough, this particular bad employee is none other than the CEO's nephew, Louis fucking Tomlinson.

Or, Harry is the six-time winner of the yearly Christmas sweater competition, but it all changes when a new coworker shakes up his whole world.

[watchmegetobsessed]

DATE NIGHT

A/N: some sweet soon-to-be-dad!harry content, bc is probably one of my absolute favs!!

WORD COUNT: 1.5k

SUMMARY: You're supposed to go on a date night, but when Harry comes home he finds you, his pregnant wife asleep, so he changes your plans for the evening.

MASTERLIST | SUPPORT ME!

Date nights are always Harry’s favorite. It doesn’t matter what you do, he just simply craves the alone time with you, whether you go out for dinner, catch a movie or go to a concert, it’s all about quality time spent with the person he loves the most.

He hasn’t had the chance to take you out anywhere these past months, his schedule has been hectic, he has to squeeze a lot into a short period of time since he is about to go on a massive break, taking on a role he’s been dreaming of his whole life.

He is going to become a dad in just about two months.

It’s also the reason why he is so excited about having a date night, he knows how little time you’ll have for romance once the baby arrives, so he wants to make the best out of the remaining of the time you have alone.

His last meeting of the day runs late so he heads home in a hurry, texting you from the car on his way, but he gets no response. The drive is about thirty minutes, he checks his phone every chance he has, double texting you, asking if everything is alright every time he stops at a red light. He can’t help but think of ways you could have fallen and hurt yourself or the baby, or maybe you’re stuck in the bathtub because you can’t push yourself up. The latter wouldn’t be the first time it happens. Your belly has been growing rapidly and moving around has become a challenge sometimes, though you’re handling the ups and downs of pregnancy like a true hero.

When Harry pulls up at your home you’ve been sharing for the last three years, his heart is hammering in his chest, afraid that something happened. Your car is parked in the garage and the lights are on in the house so he knows you’re home, but you still haven’t answered any of his texts.

“Babe?” he calls out, walking in, waiting for an answer, but nothing comes. He can hear the TV on in the living room, so he rounds the corner, following the voices, he picks up that it’s a rerun of that awful reality you’ve been obsessed with. He is just about to call out for you again, but then he sees you.

Curled up on the couch, a chunky blanket messily thrown over you, the TV illuminating your makeupless, sleeping face that’s squished into the pillow. The anxiousness quickly turns into warmth in his chest as he stops and admires the sight of you peacefully napping. An empty plate is set on the coffee table, you probably ate the leftovers from yesterday for lunch, there’s a half empty water bottle on the ground and an empty pack of your favorite snack next to the couch on the round. He can clearly see you snacking all afternoon, lounging on the couch, watching Netflix and having a chilling day while he works. He only has one more week of hustling before he can spend all his time with you and he can’t wait to be lazy with you.

Checking the time he sees that the two of you should be leaving to the restaurant in about twenty to make it there in time for the reservation. He knows you would want to do your hair and makeup nicely and that takes way more time. He also knows you won’t have the energy to leave the house judging from how you haven’t even moved since he arrived.

Kneeling down next to the couch he gently brushes your hair out of your face, pressing a kiss to your forehead.

“Baby,” he softly says, gently rubbing your shoulder. You stir in your sleep, burying your face deeper into the pillow that makes him smile. “Wake up, let me see those pretty eyes, I missed them so much all day.”

You hum and scrunch your nose before slowly blinking your eyes open. It takes a few moments to process what and who you see.

“Harry? You’re home already?”

“It’s past seven, babe,” he chuckles softly.

“Shit, I fell asleep,” you groan closing your eyes. “I was so tired, I couldn’t keep my eyes open!”

Harry’s not surprised, you’ve been extremely sleepy since the beginning of the pregnancy and he doesn’t blame you, growing a human must be quite tiring.

“It’s alright.”

“What time is it? Let me just get ready…” you start pushing yourself up and he helps you into a sitting position, but doesn’t let you stand. Instead, he sits beside you, placing a hand over your belly.

“Let’s ditch the restaurant,” he suggests, making it look like it’s his idea so you don’t have to tell him you don’t actually want to leave the house.

“But it’s our date night! I promise I will shake myself up.”

“Date night is to spend time together. Why don’t we do it at home this time? I can run us a nice bath, give you a massage and then cuddle.”

You blink at him for a few moments and he already knows he won you over with his change of plans.

“Can we eat something in the tub too?”

“Of course,” he chuckles. “We still have some of that vegan lasagna, right? I’ll heat that up.”

“That sounds awesome,” you smile and leaning over you steal a quick kiss.

Harry takes care of everything while you go up and change out of your clothes, putting on your favorite fluffy robe. Sitting on the bed you reply to some texts you missed along with Harry’s.

“Bath is ready,” Harry appears in the room and he helps you up from the bed, the two of you walking into the bathroom hand in hand.

“H, this looks so good!” you gasp when you see that he has lit candles, the food is by the tub on a tray and he used your favorite bath salt, the water smells amazing.

“Then let’s get into it,” he kisses the side of your head.

You’re done with undressing pretty fast since you only have your robe on, so you sit on the edge of the tub, watching him strip out of his clothes.

“What?” he chuckles as he kicks his pants off, leaving him in nothing as he throws his clothes into the hamper.

“You look so hot, no wonder you knocked me up so easily,” you bite into your bottom lip seductively and you love how his cheeks turn slightly pink.

“Don’t think those two things are linked, but okay,” he mumbles with a shy smirk as he walks over to you and helps you into the water, making sure you don’t slip.

When you’re settled in the warm water, he climbs in behind you so you can lean back against his chest, his arms circling around you, settling on your belly. You eat and talk about your day, he tells you about his meetings while he gently massages your back, paying extra attention to the spots he knows hurt the most.

“I’m sorry we didn’t go out tonight,” you hum, your head lying on his shoulder, his hands wandering over your body, his fingers caressing the skin on your arms, chest and stomach as if he is mapping your body.

“Don’t be. I just wanted to spend time with you and that’s what I’m doing.”

“Isn’t it weird that soon it won’t be just the two of us?”

“Terrifying and exciting at the same time,” he admits with a small chuckle.

“I think we’re gonna be cool parents.”

“Yeah?”

“I mean, we are pretty cool now,” you point out. “When I’m not like a tired sloth,” you add chuckling.

“A sloth?” he laughs behind you, his chest rumbling underneath your back.

“That’s what I feel like,” you shrug smiling.

“Then you’re a cute, sexy, pregnant sloth.”

“I think that’s the first time anyone called a sloth sexy.” You poke his thigh next to you playfully.

You soak for a little longer until the water runs cold, then you get out and Harry insists helping you lotion your body, taking his sweet time with your belly. He dresses you in your softest pajama set and cleans up in the bathroom, not letting you move a finger. When you’re both in bed finally, you make yourself comfortable with your pregnancy pillow that’s been essential to your nights for the past few months. You felt bad when you couldn’t get comfortable snuggling to Harry anymore and you even cried when you first tried the pillow and knew you’d need it to have a good night sleep. Being the sweetest person alive, Harry was the one who tried to make you feel better about it, telling you it’s alright, he completely understands and he just wants you to feel good.

Harry makes himself comfortable next to you, one arm tucked under his pillow, the other one reaching over, his hand plastered to your belly, this is his usual pose and you love it too, because even though you can’t cuddle him, you still feel connected to him.

“Date night next weekend? I promise I won’t turn into a sloth,” you smile at him sleepily.

“Okay. But tonight was great too, I love being with you, no matter what we do,” he smiles back.

Humming you reach out and cup his face in your hand, smiling at how he snuggles into your touch before you drop your head and slowly fall asleep.

Thank you for reading, please like and reblog if you enjoyed and buy me a coffee if you want to support me!

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I think your analysis of the current BRF situation is SPOT ON.

However, as a Brit, I would like to add one further caveat. Whether the Sussexes become working royals is not down to the Sussexes, Charles, the Palace or anyone. It is down to the British public. The ENTIRE job of the British royal family is to bring a sprinkle of royal fairy dust and magic to an event or cause in a neutral, apolitical way that everyone can support. Be it the Duke of Gloucester popping into a local school initiative which is subsequently then reported in the local paper, or a glittering State banquet with many royals and tiaras garnering international headlines, that is what they do. In addition, a very few royals (currently William and Catherine, Charles and Camilla) have enough star power and magic (some combination of their titles and personal charisma - William has enough of both that he can bring people together on a global basis) that they can bring people together and CREATE events and initiatives (Earthshot, the Prince's Trust, the Early Years work, Queen Camilla's Lit Fest etc. etc.) but still it is the event, cause or initiative that is the important thing. Harry used to be in the latter camp, with his involvement and name being vital to creating things like Invictus or Sentebale but he has now thrown most of that goodwill away. Meghan has NEVER understood that she was supposed to be casting a spotlight on others, instead of making things all about her own celebrity (as is happening now with Invictus). Together they have created a Sussex brand that is so damaged and polarising that, rightly or wrongly, they would only bring negative publicity to whatever cause or event they were sent to support and people wouldn't want them there. The royal job only works if most people involved agree that royal attendance is a plus. These two have pissed off at least 75% of the British public. There is no way they can do the job, even if H&M, Charles, William and the Govt wanted them to, until their support is round 40-50% at least. That's why these polls happen. Yes, maybe they could embark on a long term rehabilitation process as has happened with Camilla and to a lesser extent the Edinburghs, but as you rightly point out, they a) don't have the patience b) would hate doing all the boring, small, bread & butter events that would entail c) are not getting any younger or more glamorous d) are being rapidly overtaken by the immense star power of the Wales kids. In fifteen years who would you rather attends your event? Bald Uncle Harry and his ageing sex kitten wife? Or young, beautiful Charlotte, Princess Royal?

Yep. It's the one thing universally understood: people in positions of power are only there by popular support. Doesn't matter whether it's soft power (eg celebrities, royal families, influencers, athletes) or hard power (eg governments, corporations, media).

There are also two ways to get popular support: by public consent (eg votes, likes, follower counts) or by leadership force (eg invasion, coups, control).

It looks like Harry and Meghan understand this, but they actually don't. They see Charles and William blocking their ascent to power via consent of the public, which leaves them no choice but to force their way to the top. It's is exactly what they've done: they're controlling press and media coverage (tell-alls about the horrors of the royal family while making sure there's only positive coverage of them), they've established a rival court, and they're securing allies (WME, Tyler Perry, Jamaica, veterans). All the signs are there: the Sussexes are launching a hostile takeover of the royal family. But where they keep fucking up is by not accounting for the British public.

They think if they just get rid of Charles and William, the public will love them. That's why all previous attempts of hostile takeovers (Oprah, Netflix, Spare) have failed; they don't realize that the British public is completely separate from the royal family.

Which is ironic because that's literally the lesson from Diana - the British public will support the people they like irrespective of what the royal family/monarchy tells them to do.

[shipposttt]

the Ship of the Day: Dreamling

As always, spoiler warning for The Sandman!

Names: Dream/Morpheus and Hob Gadling

Ship Name(s): Dreamling 

Original Content: The series adaptation of The Sandman graphic novels (debut 1988), The Sandman (2022) on Netflix

Ship info:

The Sandman is a Netflix series based on Neil Gaiman’s graphic novel series, following Morpheus (Dream), who is one of the Endless (much like Desire, Despair, Death, Delerium, etc, etc.) as he escapes captivity, recovers his symbols of power, rebuilds his realm -the dreaming-, rounds up the missing dreams and nightmares, and ends what mortals referred to as the sleeping sickness (where many humans couldn’t sleep and others were stuck in a coma for the course of his imprisonment).

We meet Hob Gadling is an immortal human that we meet through a series of flashbacks within episode 6, alongside one present day scene. The first of these flashbacks depicts how Hob gained his immortality, as Dream and his sister Death go to a tavern in 1389 and overhearing Hob loudly proclaiming that he would never die because he chooses not to. Dream convinces his sister to grant him immortality, convinced that Hob would beg for death if he did so. So as to monitor his experiment, he told hob to meet him at the same pub in a centuries time, with no explanation or introduction. Low and behold, Hob meets him there in 1489, asking whether he made a deal with the devil and who Dream was- though Dream does not give him his name, instead asking him if he still wishes to live, Hob responds “I have so much to live for”. This continues every century thereafter, up until the 19th century:

In 1589 Hob once again responds that he has so much to live for, explaining he had been knighted by the queen, got a wife and had a son with her- Dream leaves him at his table as he hears local poet William Shakespeare talking about his works, instead going to make a deal with him as Hob is left surrounded by the banquet he laid out for his mysterious acquaintance.

In 1689, Hob is starving and eating any food he can as he sits opposite dream, telling the story of how he lost it all- his wife, his son, his home, his money, and had spent the century starving without being able to die following his town attempting to drown him as a witch for his lack of aging. Despite this all, when Dream asks if he still wishes to live, he replies as usual “I still have so much to live for”.

In 1789 Hob bounces back, having gotten involved in the shipping business and the slave trade. Dream advises against such actions, stating that is it a poor thing for one man to enslave another (foreshadowing anyone?). Though he clearly disagrees with Hob’s actions of that century, he restates that the choice is Hob’s, “but would you take that choice away from others”, resulting in Hob saying he will consider his advice. Moving on from this, Hob tries to steer the conversation away from that subject, asking after William Shakespeare and what deal Dream made with him- “What kind of deal? His soul?” “Nothing so crude”, following up by asking Dream for his name and who he is truly since he still knew very little of him despite knowing one another for 400 years. Unfortunately, their meeting is interrupted by Lady Johanna Constantine, who had heard of the meetings of the Devil and the Wandering Jew every century in the tavern, showing them pictures drawn of the pair’s meeting from the prior century and threatening that her mercenaries will slit their throats if they move. She invites Dream to share his gifts of immortality with her, though the pair decline, stating they are no devil and that Hob is not Jewish, and Hob swiftly protects Dream- taking out the two mercenaries with his extensive history of war and battles during his own mercenary life gone past. When Constantine then draws her blade on Hob in turn, Dream blows sand (one of his symbols of power) into her face, showing her her old ghosts, essentially sending her into a nightmare.  This is the first time Hob sees any of Dream’s powers (other than immortality of course). They smile at each other!! (Trust me that is very important because in all honesty Dream looks like a kicked puppy the rest of the time in this show and we see him smile most often with Hob. Though of course this could just be due to their long-term friendship.) Dream reiterates that Hob should remain cautious, even if he cannot die, he can still be harmed or captured (once again, foreshadowing anyone?).

In 1889 they meet once again, with Hob being shown another element of Dream’s powers as Dream is able to know Lushing Lou’s name and some of her traumatising past. Hob admits that he doesn’t believe they still meet up to see if Hob still seeks death, as he doesn’t think he ever will, he instead believes that they continue to do so because Dream is lonely and is there for friendship. Spoiler alert: Dream doesn’t take kindly to this. “You dare… you dare suggest one such as i might need your companionship” “yes, yes I do.” “Then I shall take my leave of you and prove you wrong” ”I’ll tell you what, I’ll be here in 100 years time, if you’re here then too then it’ll be because we’re friends, no other reason, right? … fuck.”. We love the drama, and by we I mean me, I love the drama.

1989… so things didn’t leave off too well the previous century huh… despite it all, Hob still went to their meeting spot, only for Dream to never show. Whilst there, he finds that the building is due to be sold so as to be torn down, with Hob leaving graffiti pointing to “The New Inn”, going back every day in case Dream showed up. Now how dare Dream not turn up!! I cannot believe he truly didn’t believe them friends after 5 centuries!! Yeah, so about that… Do you guys remember the foreshadowing?  And the description of the series following him as he escapes confinement? Between the 19th and 20th centuries’ meetings, Dream was captured and imprisoned by Roderick Burgess, physically unable to leave his fishbowl in the basement (from 1916 to 1988).

In the present day, when he finally breaks free, Dream tracks Hob down to the New Inn:

“You’re late”- Hob       “It seems I owe you an apology, I’ve always heard it impolite to keep one’s friends waiting”- Dream

The scene then cuts to Dream’s sibling, Desire, their statues heart thumping.

Type of Ship: Queer read

Now, though they do not label themselves friends for much of their association (only officially doing so in some of the final scenes of them) and definitely don’t refer to one another as romantic partners throughout the series, fans have consumed this media through a queer lens, shipping the two together. This could be for many reasons. For instance, as previously stated, Dream looks like a sad kicked puppy for the majority of the season, he lights up around Hob, showing more positive emotions, smiling, chuckling, making jokes and just all around acting more human instead of the endless being her truly is- this has been interpreted by fans as him feeling safe with showing the vulnerabilities associated with humanity and mortals when around Hob, which is an intensely intimate feeling to convey. Despite this he is also shown to feel safe showing that he is not human, comfortable in using his sand and showing off a bit in 1889 before the argument. Feelings of intense safety are usually reserved within media for shows of love: familial, platonic or romantic. Now of course it is not familial love that they have so it left fans choosing between the latter choices. Further reasons for fans viewing them as queer is due to them protecting one another, encouraging one another’s safety and literally waiting a whole century visiting a specific inn in hopes that the other would show up. Of course, we cannot forget about Desire, the timing of the scene cutting to them has left many fans seeking a connection between Dream seeing Hob again for the first time and then Desire immediately thereafter knowing that Dream had escaped his imprisonment. This has been interpreted to mean that Desire could feel Dream’s desire to see Hob or perhaps a burst of desire for him when he does see him. Though it is unknown whether this is true or not, and if so whether said desire was platonic or romantic in nature, it was left open ending enough for fans to jump to their own conclusions. Considering Neil Gaiman’s acts surrounding the Good Omens series (book and tv, which I have spoken about in a previous post), fans know he is not hung up on traditional portrayals of love, both in the sense that he is willing to visibly have queer characters and queer love stories prominent in his works and that he is willing to portray romance in a more in depth and complex way than outright confessions of love and kissing behind the bleachers. As such, they are able to confident read characters as queer without fearing it being turned into queer bait, allowing for portrayals such as Hob and Dreams relationship (platonic or otherwise, though im personally hoping it will one day be the otherwise). Of course, all relations between the two could be construed as platonic, with them using terms such as ‘friend’ quite clearly to refer to one another, but fans such as myself are completely free to interpret it romantically. Either way, we can all agree that Hob served spectacularly to humanise the Sandman, Dream of the Endless.

Thanks for reading!! I’ve watched the series a few times and have recently started reading the graphic novels/comics so im looking forward to exploring how the pair are explored within that in comparison to the show!

Admin🦇

[orionsangel86]

Subtext Glorious Subtext! A Dreamling on Netflix analysis in The Sandman - Part 7

1989

You've given me shattered dreams, but I know you'll come back to me...

Here's where we step into unchartered territory - what is a show to do when its source material ends 33 years too soon? Apparantly lean fully into the angst, pining, and misunderstandings tropes that all good fandom ships thrive on!

After the disastrous break up of 1889, Hob is clearly nervous about whether or not Dream will show up to the next meeting. In both comic and show, he calls out that he will still be there in a hundred years, and if Dream is too then its because they are friends. Dream doesn't answer leaving Hob to wonder whether he pushed Dream too far.

In the comic though, Dream escapes from his imprisonment in time, and is able to reunite with Hob, having spent 70 odd years contemplating his past behaviours and actions in his solitude, and evidentally makes the decision to meet Hob and accept his offer of friendship:

In the comic, they reunite with Dream reassuring Hob that they are in fact friends, and it ends there. The next time they meet in Season of Mists Hob states how surprised he is to see Dream before their next meeting. There is no hint in the comics that they had changed their once-a-century date to be more frequent.

But the show changes all of this. Dream doesn't escape until 2022 so he misses his date with Hob. Instead we get to see Hob grow more and more concerned as he waits all day for Dream.

Whilst Hob waits, they show the passage of time by playing a mix of popular 80s songs, and although I know the fandom talked about this a lot when the show first aired, I can't not bring it up here because it such a hugely important part of the 1989 scene. Song choices in media are always carefully picked out. Nothing is unintentional. Producers have to apply for the rights to use songs in their shows and get those songs signed off and it isn't always an easy process, so song choices are always significant. ALWAYS. They are one of the principle ways we can analyse media and theorise about what the creators are trying to tell us. Every song choice has meaning.

For example, in Stranger Things both Kate Bush's Running Up That Hill and Journey's Worlds Apart are important song choices which reflect the emotional conflicts and journeys of the characters in season 4.

Our Flag Means Death also uses modern songs in an exceptional way to support the story and the emotional journeys of the characters. Using Fleetwood Mac's The Chain at the emotional climax for the characters in episode 8 was a work of genius.

Whilst songs specifically about love, romance, and break ups aren't always used for romantic character arcs, using three break up songs in a row for what should be interpreted as a falling out/misunderstanding between platonic friends is... unusual. Outside of comedy where the song choice could specifically be used in a humorous way (for example an overly emotional lovers break up song used for friendships in comedy could be a commentary on how ridiculous and overdramatic the two friends are being, with them acting like dramatic lovers being part of the joke.) But the scene in 1989 isn't a comedic one. Hob is genuinely hurting and Dream at this point is imprisoned. The song choices are therefore sincere. The message in the song choices should be taken at face value.

So please dear reader. Tell me what you think the following is supposed to be telling us?

Song 1: She Drives Me Crazy by Fine Young Cannibals

I can't stop the way I feel Things you do don't seem real Tell me what you've got in mind 'Cause we're running out of time Won't you ever set me free? This waiting 'round's killing me

She drives me crazy Like no one else She drives me crazy And I can't help myself

I can't get any rest People say I'm obsessed Everything you say is lies But to me there's no surprise What I had for you was true Things go wrong, they always do

She drives me crazy Like no one else She drives me crazy And I can't help myself

I won't make it on my own No one likes to be alone

Song 2:Shattered Dreams by Johnny Hates Jazz

So much for your promises They died the day you let me go Caught up in a web of lies But it was just too late to know

I thought it was you Who would stand by my side

And now you've given me, given me Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams Feel like I could run away, run away From this empty heart You said you'd die for me

Woke up to reality And found the future not so bright I dreamt the impossible That maybe things could work out right

I thought it was you Who would do me no wrong

But now you've given me, given me Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams Feel like I could run away, run away From this empty heart

You've given me, given me Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams Feel like I could run away, run away From this empty heart

From this empty heart

I thought it was you Who said they'd die for love

And now you've given me, given me Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams Feel like I could run away, run away From this empty heart

You've given me, given me Nothing but shattered dreams, shattered dreams Feel like I could run away, run away From this empty heart

Oh, no, no, no You said you'd die for me Oh, for Die for me So much for your promises So much for your promises

Song 3: Keep on Movin' by Soul II Soul

Keep on moving Don't stop, like the hands of time Click-clock, find your own way to stay The time will come one day

Why do people choose to live their lives (lives)

This way?

No-oh-oh (Keep on moving) (Keep on moving) Keep on moving yeah, yeah (Keep on moving, don't stop, no) (Keep on moving)

It's our time, time today The right time is here to stay Stay in my life, my life always Yellow is the color of sun rays

I hide myself, from no-one I know the time will surely come when You'll be in my life, my life always Yellow is the color of sun rays

Keep on moving (Keep on moving) Don't stop! (Keep on moving don't stop, no) Like the hands of time (Keep on moving) Click-clock, find your own way (Keep on moving) To stay (The time will come one day)

No-o-oh (Keep on moving) Hey-ey-ey (Keep on moving) (Keep on moving, don't stop, no) (Keep on moving) Oh!

I know the time, time today Walking alone in my own way Extremely cold and rainy day Friends and I have fun along the way Yes we do!

I hide myself from no one I know the time will really come when You'll be in my life, my life always Yellow is the color of sun rays

Keep on moving (Keep on moving) Don't stop (Keep on moving, don't stop, no) Like the hands of time (Keep on moving) Click-clock (Keep on moving) Find your own way to stay, yeah (The time will come one day) Yes!

Oh! (Keep on moving, don't stop, no) (Keep on moving) Ah-hey! (Keep on moving) Keep moving along, moving along (The time will come one day) Hey-yeah!

Keep movin', don't stop, no (Don't stop, like the hands of time) Hey-yeah! (Click-clock, find your own way to stay) Find your own way to stay (The time will come one day) (Why do people choose to live their lives this way?) Oh-woh-oh Oh, why do they choose to live this way?

Yeah! Ah-hey! (Keep on moving) Keep on moving (Keep on moving, don't stop, no) No-woh-oh (Keep on moving) No! (Keep on moving) Keep on moving in my own way I know the time will come today (The time will come one day) Ah-hey! Yeah! (Keep on moving) Yeah-hey Keep on moving, don't stop, no) Don't stop Keep on moving) Ah-hey-ey (Keep on moving) Hey-yeah! (The time will come one day) The time will surely come one day!

Hey-yeah! (Keep on moving, don't stop, no) No-oh-oh! (Keep on moving) Oh-woh-oh (Keep on moving) Hey-yeah!

I mean... *gestures at all of this*

The way I interpret these songs is a very linear emotional journey. It's a narrative in itself of Hob's state of mind as day turns to night and he waits and realises that his date isn't going to show.

First he contemplates how he can't help the way he feels. The waiting around is killing him, he's being driven crazy by his feelings, he's obsessed. But his feelings are true, and he won't make it on his own without [Dream].

Next comes the heartbreak. He dreamt that things might work out, but his dreams have been shattered. He feels like he wants to run away from his empty heart.

Finally, he realises that life goes on, he's gotta keep on moving, because he has hope that the time will come when [Dream] will be in his life again and this time [Dream] will stay.

I don't think I even need to attempt to make this any clearer! All these songs are about love, either obsessive love, heartbreak, or hope for future love. This is the kind of shit Johnlock and Destiel fans would have eaten up back in the day. At this point in Dream and Hob's relationship, at this point in this half hour sequence of television, I am not sure how else to interpret this, which is why the conversation Hob has with the bartender comes across so bizarre.

Bartender: You waiting for someone?

Hob: I think I've been stood up. We had a fight, last time we were here, but it was my fault. wish I could say I was drunk at the time, but I was just an idiot.

Bartender: I've seen plenty of friends get into fights in pubs, even more of them laugh about later.

Hob: *chuckling* maybe in another hundred years.

We all agree how bloody bizarre this is right? I have to praise this bartender for not jumping to conclusions but it would have been far more natural for him to assume Hob was stood up by a date, a woman (this is 1989 after all) and instead given his apologies and said something like "Don't worry mate, just send her some flowers and be honest with her. She'll come around."

Why does he assume they are just friends? Being "stood up" is commonly used to indicate a failed romantic date. It just isn't a natural assumption for someone to make based on the information Hob gave him. Hob cleverly keeps his explanation gender neutral, so the bartender does too, but even with gender neutral language the immediate conclusion should be that Hob was abandoned by a romantic date.

But the natural conclusion would have prompted a clarification. A definitive from Hob on the nature of his and Dream's relationship, and for whatever reason, the writers decided they didn't want there to be a definitive clarification here. Just like how they removed all the references to canon queer characters in 1589 to avoid distinguishing them from Hob and Dream, here they made sure that Hob was unable to refute or deny any implication that he and Dream may be more than platonic friends. Instead they chose to go with clunky language that doesn't really make sense, all to avoid having to make clarifications. Sorry y'all, but thats some SPN writer levels of ambiguity layering and I ain't buying it *side eyes Neil Gaiman suspiciously*. What are those writers up too eh?

I did read an interesting meta on this that the bartender could have assumed that Hob was talking about a man, clocked him as queer, and spoken in safe language to avoid an accidental outing (1989 was a difficult time for the LGBTQ+ community) but I couldn't find it or remember who wrote it to link it here. I found that interpretation to be really interesting and certainly worth considering, even if it's not my initial reading of the scene.

The other explanation is that maybe it was an attempt to "no homo" what otherwise comes across as a failed romantic date. But if that was what they were going for, it was very sloppily done and in fact only called further attention to the very romantic implications of the whole scene at least from Hob's side of things. If they really wanted to "no homo" the scene, why not just have Hob tell the bartender that he was supposed to be meeting his friend?

Then in a totally new decision made for the show, Hob finds out that the White Horse Tavern is closing its doors for good. This adds a further layer of angst and drama to Dream and Hob's relationship that the comics do not have. The worry that should Dream ever decide to return, how would he find Hob if the tavern is closed? It's once again pretty tropey in that its yet another external force keeping our boys apart. Anymore of this and we start falling dangerously close to star crossed territory.

The 1989 scene ends with a distressed and sad looking Hob, with a hint of determination, leaving the audience expecting him to do something about this.

Then we get that final glorious transition, from the whiskey glass to the glass sphere holding Dream, reminding us all that no, Dream did not stand Hob up, he was in fact stuck in his prison. Dream looks stoic as always, but the glance upwards indicates that he too remembers the date, and is regretting his inability to be there to make things right.

That look then transitions seemlessly into the modern day, as Dream stares sadly at the ruins of the White Horse tavern. Which is where we leave this chapter.

Check out Part 8 for my analysis of the glorious reunion!

[bullet-prooflove]

Choices!Series Part Two: Compromise - Vostanik Sabatino x Reader

Tagging: @kmc1989 @novamariestark @words-and-seeds @thiashazzywriting @whateversomethingbruh @a-noni-love @reneejett4

Choices!Series

Part One: Diamonds - An undercover op makes Nik ask a question.

You’ve forgotten how good Sabatino is at playing a role. Tonight he's the rich, doting husband. Possessive over his woman, willing to give her whatever she desires. His thumb chases across your lower back, tracing over your bare skin and it sends a flush of heat chasing through your body. It’s an intimate gesture, one that makes it very clear to everyone else in the room exactly who you belong to.

You lose him in the raid, one minute he’s beside you, securing the suspect and the next both him and the painting have vanished. You wish you could have expected something different. It’s not the first time he’s pulled something like this. You guess the painting will go back into circulation; GPS tagged so they can track the next round of terrorist funding.  

When you return to the office you find the matching wedding band that he was wearing, sitting upon your desk.

You know you won’t be seeing him tonight, that he needs the space to lick his wounds.

As you study the platinum ring between your fingers you wonder if this is the choice that Sam was talking about.

“There comes a time when you just can’t bend any further, there’s no more flexibility. You and Sabatino are going to get to that point and when you do one of you will have to make a decision. It’ll be make or break.”

You’re there right now, you can feel it in your heart. Marriage is the one thing that you can’t compromise on and now he knows it.

***

Sabatino goes back to his hotel room that night, the one the CIA hire out for him whenever he’s in LA. He hasn’t told them that the two of you are living together, they don’t even know that he’s in a relationship because if they did, you’d be seen as leverage.

He lies down on the bed, still clad in his suit and he thinks about that moment, the one when he slipped the ring onto your finger. He didn’t realise how much he wanted it until then, how much it meant to him.

If he does this, if he choses a future with you then he has to be done with the CIA and that comes with stipulations, ones that he has to fulfil if he wants them to cut him loose.

“I think your job allows you to have one foot out the door.” You had told him.

He understands that’s what it must look like to you, that he’d not entirely invested, that he’s always ready to leave but the truth is he’s scared. He knows his value as an operative, that The Agency won’t want to release him. He’s terrified of what they might do if they find out that you’re the reason he’s putting in his papers.

His thumb plays over the empty space on his ring finger, the one where up until a few hours ago a platinum wedding band resided. He’d liked the feel of it, of belonging to you, of other people knowing that. You were right when you said there’s a security in being married.

The problem is the stability. He wants to be around more, to be involved in your life but his job prevents that. You can go months at a time without seeing each other, barely communicating if he’s in deep cover.

He wants to be there in your day to day, to hold your hand on the way to brunch, to get up at crazy o’clock to go running, to cuddle up on the couch scaring yourselves silly on the latest Netflix documentary. He wants a life with you, a whole one, not the one he’s been living for the past four years.

There’s only one person who knows what he’s going through, who can shed some light on his next steps and that’s Michelle Hanna. He resolves to visit her the next morning.

Maybe between the two of them they can figure something out.

Love Nik? Don’t miss any of his stories by joining the taglist here.

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Like My Work? - Why Not Buy Me A Coffee

[shiftingdiariesofophelia]

okay i need to talk about it somewhere because i’m losing my mind.

niche dr has taken over my every waking thought but it’s the most adorable one ever omg. so, it’s a Lost In Space DR. for those of you who’ve never seen it, basically (the Netflix version) revolves around a broken family of five navigating their place in a space-colonist mission gone awry by the introduction of evil alien robots.

Set in the late 2040s, Estranged Patriarch John Robinson- a soldier who’d neglected his family in favor of service, now with them aboard the Resolute, a huge, long-distance space travel vessel with technology that can transport humans over four light years (currently 70k+ years away with modern technology) away in just around 3 months. Matriarch and honestly the family’s primary parent for the first half of season one, Maureen Robinson- a hyper-intelligent engineer who designed the personal spaceships (called Jupiters) that the colonists on board the Resolute call home. Oldest daughter Judy Robinson- a doctor, despite only being 18 years old as of season one, who enjoys running and harbors a bit of resentment towards her adoptive father John for leaving the family for service. Middle child Penny Robinson- often the “worst” of the family, but ultimately proves her worth time and time again by thinking up creative ways to solve hard problems, she is emotional and compassionate, while ultimately being less nerdy and know-it-all than the rest of her family, and she also enjoys writing and authors a book based off of their travels. And, youngest and only son, Will Robinson. A child with issues regulating his anxiety, with a heart maybe too big for his body, he rescues and befriends an 8 foot tall killer robot that he tames and helps learn the intricacies of humanity and friendship. Additionally to the family there are three additional main characters. Robot, Will’s best friend- who attacked the Resolute and resulted in the family getting “Lost In Space,” who changes his ways and does anything to protect his friend and newly found family. Dr. Smith, real name June Harris, a criminal stowaway who’s running from her past and will do anything to keep herself ahead, but ultimately has a heart and learns to do the right thing when it comes down to it. And, finally, mechanic Don West, a former orphan who’s made several routine trips to the colony on Alpha Centauri, the planet the Resolute was headed towards when it got attacked, but he abandons his post to save himself when the initial attack happens- though, he has a heart of gold and serves as a bit of comedic relief throughout- as he adopts a pet chicken he affectionately names Debbie that he holds very near and dear.

They’re all so unique and interesting just in CANON, let alone seeing them as rounded actual people in a dr. I’m scripting myself still as a teenager as a sort of maintenance/crew member on the Resolute who befriends the Robinson children (Namely Penny) and adventures with them through deep space. It’s honestly fun and lighthearted and i absolutely adore space. Also, Adoptive Father Don West <3 because i love him more than words. Honestly a space exploration dr is kind of the best idea ever personally and I didn’t want to do it alone, so this universe makes perfect sense for me and i’m falling more and more in love with it all the time.

[mortalkombatconceptions]

Im Edd Boon.

Based on this post, https://www.tumblr.com/mortalkombatconceptions/750618267740160000/mortal-kombat-versus-injustice-r18-so-im-trying?source=share I decided to speculate: what if in another timeline I am Edd Boone. So I'm Edd Boon, I'm already old and tired of my brainchild called Mortal Kombat. Mortal Kombat 3 is coming (well, I be releasing Mortal Kombat until I’m 100 years old?) I want to adequately complete the series of fighting games and I love my Mortal Kombat, and therefore I want my fighting game to be remembered even after me when I’m on God’s trial… Therefore, when I turn on the latest Mortal Kombat is Mortal Kombat 3, there should be a maximum roster, remember how it was in Mortal Kombat Armageddon? But since I understand that the developers are still mortal people who need to sleep, there is the complexity of the new graphics, then let the initial roster without DLC be made up of 40 full-fledged fighters (of course, kameos do not count, as kameos you can leave 20 characters, idiots like Meat or Shu Hao or God forbid, of course, Kronika, Cole Young is better than her). As for tower 1. I called them that because I don’t know what my towers would be called, but tower 1 is available in the original game. Tower 2 appears with the release of a full-fledged story DLC like a Aftermatch (I don’t count DLC packs) and, accordingly, the Antagonist of the story add-on is the final Boss of this tower. The sketch says it all, look at each step - this is DLC story mode. The Dragon Tower may have a name with a biblical meaning. You understand what kind of tower this is. Is it too much to ask for my brainchild? No, if I love my project, then this is not much, this is a worthy conclusion to the series… (After Final Mortal Kombat I can simply release a surprise edition in the form of a remake of UMK and move away from my brainchild, Mortal Kombat).What modes would I bring back from previous parts of the game? Answer: Chess Kombat, Team Kombat, Puzzle Kombat and Unlockable ( Unlockable, when you buy the coolest and latest version of the game where all the DLC with open characters, you don’t even know that Shang Tsung or Shinnok were unlockable, then either let them be also closed or in Unlockable you can see a picture with the character where it will be written Congratulations Geras has been Unlocked! Or Kameo Motaro has been Unlocked! Which character would I make unlockable? Answer: I wouldn’t have known at that time, it would have to be a unique character, but I know for sure that it would be Geras, Geras survived all the time lines, he knows more than the one who created him (Liu Kang just made him kind), so that he to open it would be necessary to collect all the relics of the Mortal Kombat participants, like in Armageddon, remember? Geras is the Guardian of Multiverse Information, of course he is unique… Well, that’s the kind of Edd Boon I am, judge for yourself. @netherrealmstudios

@mortalkombatdaily @gamer-guff

@mortalkombatshrine @warnerbrosentertainment

@fightinggamer

P.S. About Final Boss: In the last boss let it be 13999.666 units of life energy and damage from a light blow let it be 2000. At the player let them give + 10000 life energy and to hit nothing added, this is good because the player will have to think with his head and come up with huge combos to win. This will make it a master combo, when two masters meet it is epic. First the player will spit and then take it, making him a master and a second SonicFox. Electro Healer: All endings in which the character participates are the version in which he defeated the final boss.

Reward: version multivselennik (play this version for the second time which you defeated the last boss, this version has 10000 life energy and 1560 damage to any blow + automatic brutality and the round is reduced to one…. + armour *but only BEFORE the final boss)

@mortalkombatdaily

@netherrealmstudios

@netflix

@warnerbrosentertainment

@subzer026 @johnycage

[internetgremlin-writes]

The Twelve Drivers of Christmas: Day Two

Movie night had been a long-standing affair between yourself and George.  You couldn’t remember exactly when it had started, after a bad race at Williams when he was still just a rookie with big shiny eyes and the world at his feet.  When crashing felt like the end of the world and seeking comfort was deeply embarrassing.

You’d found him curled up in his driver’s room and after virtually carrying him through the most painful round of interviews you’d had to sit through since you’d started your job several years ago as a PR girl he’d slunk off back to the hotel.  Something about the way those blue eyes seemed to swim with heartbreak mellowed something inside of you and before you knew it you were knocking on the door of his hotel room at midnight and barging your way in.  Maybe you couldn’t remember the date but you remembered forcing him to watch Legally Blonde, because he had no idea what a ‘comfort movie’ even was.

After that, movie night became a bit of an unspoken tradition.  After a particularly tough day George would appear at your hotel room door with a bag of popcorn and eyes you couldn’t refuse and you’d let him pick out a film and snuggle down in your bed and forget the brutal world he came from for a few hours.

You moved to Mercedes for him, your job role morphing from his media manager to personal assistant.  You both grew up, grew into the world you’d entered so young.  Bad races no longer felt like the end of the world, but you were both so used to the routine that you never questioned it when he still turned up and he never missed an opportunity.

It was in Abu Dhabi, for the final race of the season where everything changed.  George was ending his best season yet, and still riding high off the rush of his first ever win just a week prior.  Everyone was out celebrating, and you were in your hotel room putting on the finishing touches of your makeup before you went out to join them when an unexpected knock at the door made you jump.  

“Aren’t you supposed to be out?”

“Hello to you, too,”  George looked only mildly put out at your greeting, but when you’ve just beaten your 7-time World Champion teammate to overall 4th place in the driver’s championship, you can’t look too sad about anything.  “Can I come in?”  You left the door open and retreated back to where you were sat in response.  You heard the door click shut behind you and the quiet shuffle of George removing his shoes told you he’d followed you in.

“You look great,”  You sent him a closed-eyes smile over your shoulder.

“Thanks,”  He was sitting on the egde of your bed, hands folded neatly in his lap as he watched you swipe a layer of shiny gloss across your lips and make a playful kissy face at yourself in the mirror before finally turning to face him.

“Did you wanna head down together?”  You asked, head cocked slightly to the side.  George didn’t usually attend parties with you, even team events you tended to just find each other there.  He shook his head at you.

“C’mon, last one of the season?”

“Georgie boy, you’re aware everyone else has been partying for several hours already?”

“Pick a short one then,”  He’d shuffled back so he was propped up against your pillows, leaving you to crawl over and mimic his body language until you collapsed next to him.  He handed over the remote control to the TV with flamboyant circumstance and let you flick through the aimless pages of Netflix until something cheesy and terrible caught your eye.

“It’s November,”  You reasoned at his raised eyebrow in response to the movie splashed across the screen.  George simply rolled his eyes and nodded, gesturing for you to press play as he settled down besides you.

An hour into a cheesy brainrot Christmas film you’d already forgotten the name of and you were starting to feel the error of your choice.  After being steadily single for the last two years the gaudy couple finally getting together on screen were not as soothing as the bend-and-snap scene always felt.

“What?” 

“What?”  George was looking down at you, somewhere between confusion and amusement written across his pristine features.

“You’re sighing,” 

“Am not,”

“You are,”

“These people make me sick,”

“They’re characters,”  He reasoned, a grin starting to tug at the corner of his lips.

“So?  They’re making me think about another year with every Aunt, Uncle and random Cousin asking me where my new boyfriend is.  My family are obsessed,”  George made a noise at the back of his throat that you hoped was at least somewhat deep in thought.

“Mine are the same,”

“Ugh,”  He nudged you playfully.

“Ugh indeed,”

*****

It wasn’t until two weeks later you were reminded of the mid-movie conversation by George. 

I have an idea.

Four words had never frightened and intrigued you so much.  You met him at a cafe the next week.  He was wearing a cream jumper and sipping on a coffee like he owned the place.

“Go on then,”  You started, only once a gingerbread latte was situated in front of you, accompanied by an obnoxiously sweet pastry.  “What’s your grand idea?”

“Me and you,”  You raised an eyebrow at him, not following why he looked so pleased with himself over something that had been long, long established.  “Okay, listen, I’ve thought about it a lot and it makes sense.  What if I come with you to your Christmas and you come with me to mine?  We’ve worked together for so long, it’s not hard to imagine us stretching to dating is it?  I trust you, I like hanging out with you, what’s the harm in letting the annoying aunts and uncles believing there’s a bit more to it?”

For starters, you could name several harmful things that could hatch from George’s plan.  But he was looking at you with ocean eyes and batting those lashes you couldn’t pay to get close to and you already knew you were going to cave and give in, because, you could be honest, who wouldn’t want to walk into Christmas day with 6’1 of drop dead gorgeous Formula One driver draped over you?

And that’s how you found yourself over a month later, George’s fingers intertwined with yours and resting on your thigh, a gesture that had become alarmingly familiar over the last few weeks.  You were currently attending your fifth and final family event as a ‘couple’.  It was a New Years Day party, something only a family like the Russels would hold.  You were perfectly content to sit in your hangover and feel deep, deep shame for whatever things you’d gotten up to the night before under the influence of tequila shots, but no.  George’s family were up at 9am, you’d already been out on an intensive dog walk that involved nothing short of scaling the side of a hill.  George had taken your jacket (you were sweating too much to be able to wear it, even if it was two degrees) and then had virtually carried you up the final few meters to save face at the top.  You’d giggled and twisted in his arms and called him ‘babe’ and all the things you were supposed to do.

You’d had a large dinner and to wash it down the family were sat around the fire sipping whiskey and slowly getting louder and looser.  The weight of George’s hand on your lap was grounding you, bringing you back to reality as you were passed another drink, a gin for the ladies.  He squeezed gently as you thanked his great-aunt Gretel for the tipple and that sudden, shameful feeling snuck back into the pit of your stomach. 

You’d noticed it creeping up more and more frequently over the month.  It was almost predictable, because it always happened when George did something so natural you forgot for a moment you weren’t dating and your mind leapt to the possibility of it being real and tangible.  You’d never felt anything like that for him before, and you still weren’t sure you did.  But you couldn’t deny the way your stomach would swoop when he touched the small of your back as you walked ahead of him, when his eyes found yours through a crowded room just to check you were okay, when you caught him chatting to your mum as if they were old friends. 

The fire was dying, you were exhasuted, two weeks of rich food and strong drinks finally catching up with you.  Most people had gone to bed, and it was just George and a handful of people left, they were speculating over the testing for the next season.  It was all talk you’d heard a million times before and you were happy to let the words wash over you, the fire and a labrador’s head on your feet leaving you feeling fuzzy and content in a home that wasn’t yours.  You allowed your head to drop onto George’s shoulder, the material of his jumper soft against your cheek.

You felt him turn to glance at you, before letting out a low chuckle and wrapping his free arm around your waist, allowing you to relax further into his body as he continued to talk.  

The physical contact was a new thing too.  You wondered if it would have always felt so good to have him so close?  Had you missed out on years of cuddling against him during movie night, always separated by the invisible barrier of friendship?  He was a good sleeper, too.  That had been an awkward obstacle at first, there’s a certain expectation that when you bring your partner home that you’ll be sharing a bed, especially during the visiting season.  The first night George had tried to sleep in the armchair in your room, but when you’d woken up at one o’clock to see him still awake you’d invited him in.  It had started off normal enough, backs facing each other and just ignoring the warm weight of another person right besides you.  You’d woken up with George’s face buried in your neck, his arms wrapped around you and holding you tight against his chest.  You didn’t talk about it, but the pair of you just got into bed together, and you let him spoon you from the start.

“Hey,”  He nudged you gently, just enough to stir you from the cozy half-sleep you’d been in. 

“Hi,”

“Come on, we’re the last ones up, let’s go to bed,”  You nodded sleepily, standing up and stretching lazily, letting the sleeves of his jumper flop back over your hands.  They never stayed rolled up for long on your anyway.  The dog at your feet rose and stretched in time with you, you gave her a scratch on her head before she quietly padded over and flopped into the bed by the fire, which George had quietly put out. 

You followed him up the wooden staircase, trying not to giggle too much at the creeks. 

“It’s a good job they put the deaf ones by the stairs,”  he whispered, head titled in the direction of the spare room a set of his grandparents were currently staying in.  George had a big family, and you loved it.  Yours wasn’t big, but it was close.  It was nice to feel surrounded by people who loved him so dearly, and by extension, you.

You nearly walked into George, who’d stopped in the small patch of landing at the top of the stairs.  

“What are you doing?”

“Look,”  He pointed upwards.  Hanging off the lights was a wizened bunch of mistletoe.  “Mum always forgets to take one down,” 

George’s mum was obsessed with mistletoe.  You’d learnt that the hard way, and many (far too many for your liking) cheek kisses had been placed for the explicit entertainment of distant relatives.

“If you drool on my cheek again I’ll punch you in the stomach,”  you warned him, referencing the last kiss, that had been encouraged by milky-eyed Greta.  It was a good job she was losing her sight because George had thought himself funny enough to end the kiss by licking a stripe along your cheek. 

You hadn’t payed attention to the way his arms had snaked around your wasit.

“What are you doing?”  He was too close, it was triggering that swooping feeling again.  You could hardly make out his eyes in the dimly lit gloom of the darkened house.

“Would it be so bad if I kissed you?”

You couldn’t answer even if you’d wanted to.  George was fogging your mind and he was leaning closer and closer and the only thing you wanted was to taste him. 

“No,”  You whispered, so close your lips were already brushing as you gave him the word.  His arms tightened around you, pulling you closer as he kissed you properly.

It was sweet, chaste almost.  It felt revered and special and not at all how kissing your best friend should feel, you thought as your eyes fluttered shut and the swooping intensified into a surge and your whole mind and body ached for him.  He pulled away too soon, wet eyes and dopey smile giving him away.

He didn’t kiss you again until you were settled in bed, facing each other for the first time.  He let you shuffle as close as you could get, brushing a hand through his hair as he rubbed patterns along your hip.

“I’ve got an idea,”  he whispered against your lips.

“No more ideas, George,”

“You’ll like this one,”  he held your cheek so tenderly it made you want to cry.

“Tell me,”  you told him between ineffectuate pecks at his lips.

“What if it’s real, you and me?”

“I think it has been a bit real,”  it’s funny how the dark lets you admit things you’d never normally.

“What if it carries on, being real, after Christmas?  After the break?”  He was kissing your cheeks, your nose, anywhere he could reach on your face.

“I think I’d like that,”

You fell asleep against his mouth.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay I never thought I'd be into George but this was so much fun to write and fake dating warms my s o u l

it's pretty late so i'm gonna leave you guys with this and pop in tomorrow to edit and check in

Mr Pierre Gasly is next up on Tuesday 06/12!

[dizzyduck44]

All Is Not Well At Alpine

So I think it’s time we talk about the French Elephant in the paddock. Alpine/Renault

It can no longer be ignored. Something is terminally wrong at that team and has been for a while.

I’m old enough to remember the Renault team the first time round and their questionable antics, however either rightly or wrongly I have always laid the blame for that era at the feet of Flávio Briatore. However the writing has been on the wall since 2016 and finally we are out of excuses.

Let’s start with the revolving drivers. Palmer, then Sainz, then Hulkenberg, then Ricciardo, then Ocon, now Alonso and Piastri. If you have been a fan of any of those drivers you will probably feel that the team treated them poorly, threw them off at the first opportunity, or if a “better” option appeared. Netflix caught it perfectly, the toxic production line the team had going. And how many times have we excused them for it, “oh he’s under performing” “well of course you would take that driver if he became available”. It still breaks my heart thinking of Carlos being binned off and just looking broken having given up his Red Bull ties for Renault to be booted out a year later. They were literally playing God with people’s F1 career.

As an engine supplier. The split with Red Bull was messy and public. The signing of Daniel Ricciardo felt more like a middle finger to Christian Horner than actually looking to Daniel’s best interests. Isn’t that evident that after a single year, he was on his way out of there through choice? I remember Paul Di Resta saying in 2020, “when Daniel leaves the team I hope he tells you what he’s done for that team, because it’s unbelievable”. As far as I know, we never found out.

Then the partnership with McLaren. Everyone seems to place the switch to Mercedes engines with Seidl, but as I recall at the time, with McLaren beating them in the championship engines had started to be a little slow in delivery or mid season, amazingly, couldn’t be saved or fixed for the papaya team meaning grid penalties. Again we all smiled and chalked it up to gamesmanship.

To sabotage your competitors is one thing but then we discover that Esteban has mechanics he really doesn’t get along with. Now each to their own on Esteban as a character, I’m not going to tell you what to think*, but to sabotage your own driver in such a way. I can’t think of a single reason why you would do that.

Then 2021, the big money star driver is off to your rival and then out of nowhere bye bye Cyril. That was probably the first WTF are they playing at moment.

Let’s talk the young drivers academy. They had collected a wealth of young drivers into their academy to fight for an F1 seat. To date, have they placed any one other than Romain Grosjean? Zhou left and went to Alfa as there was no way in, Lundgaard went to Indy same reason, Piastri has walked away from them now. If you look at what happened with Max Fewtrell, what as an academy did they do to support their drivers following the death of Hubert? I think at this point the Alpine Academy is a failure and a huge waste of money. At least Red Bull and McLaren have their juniors and “finds” dominating the grid. Even Ferrari legitimately have placed 2 drivers. It kind of breaks my heart that is where Abi Pulling is, as I think she is young enough and talented enough to punch through, but sadly is at the wrong team.

Then we need to discuss Alain Prost. Not only to leave the team, but do so with such scathing criticism of the organisation. Alain is respected up and down the paddock and if there was any doubts left something was very wrong, this was the tipping point.

So then we arrive at what has transpired over the last two months. Alonso saying that the threat of Oscar taking his seat was constantly being used, Oscar believing there was no seat for him. I don’t think he’s even got to do the two FP1s he was promised.

Don’t get me wrong, I have never been Fernando’s biggest fan. The damage he did at McLaren in 2007 and then the unnecessary public outbursts during 2017 are still raw, but he is clearly one of the top 3 drivers in the sport at the moment with Lewis and Max. Charles, George, Lando they can’t cope with him yet. So why make him think his seat was ever in doubt? Open the cheque book and ask how much for how long. It’s not hard!

Then to allow Otmar to go out there (and I honestly believe he believed what the team told him) and belittle Oscar’s integrity, for us then to find out Alpine had no legally binding contract with Oscar at all, has to be the final nail in the coffin.

There are no more excuses. This is a team that has been free falling for a while. They treat everyone connected to them appallingly and when you step back and look at it, people have been fleeing that team for a number of years now. Including press officers!

As much as I want Gasly to get a real shot outside the Red Bull programme, if I were a fan of his I’d be screaming “no, don’t do it” every time a move to Alpine is mentioned. I really don’t want Daniel to go back there. The fact he paused for so long before saying yes he would go back speaks volumes.

I’m sorry Alpine. No more free passes, no more excuses. We see you for what you are.

*For the record, I personally have no issues whatsoever with Esteban.

[the-greatadventures]

Ocean Blue Eyes - Isaac Lahey

Isaac Lahey x OC (Erizabeth Whittemore)

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Erisa’s p.o.v.

Isaac Lahey, where to start?

Maybe I could start with his hair, his curly blonde hair that I wish I could run my hands through. Or his eyes, which were as blue as the ocean and ones that I could look into for hours and still be entranced by them. Or his smile, which seemed to get brighter every time he looked at me.

I had fallen hard for Isaac Lahey, and didn’t even realise it until my best friend, Lydia Martin pointed it out.

“Hey, Isa, are you even listening to me at this point,” Lydia said to me as she snapped her fingers in front of my face.

I turned to face her from where I was looking at Scott, Isaac and Stiles as they talked to each other, probably about lacrosse or something supernatural related.

“I am Lyds, I kind of just zoned out,” I replied sheepishly as I looked down at my tray.

Lydia eyed me, and smirked, “So… when are you going to tell him, I know you like him.”

I stared wide-eyed at her, “I don’t know what you mean,” I denied, “I definitely don’t like Isaac with his golden hair and ocean-blue eyes.”

Lydia let out a short laugh at that, “Sure you don’t Erisa, I see the way you look at each other, and it’s the way Jackson used to look at me, with love in his eyes,” she whispered the last part to herself.

“I really don’t want to know the way my brother looked at you, it’s bad enough knowing that you two were having sex in the room next to me,” I said.

I heard a cough behind Lydia, and looked up into some sparkling blue eyes.

“Hey Lydia, hey Risa, can I sit here,” Isaac said.

“Yeah, sure. I was just leaving anyway, you can have my seat,” Lydia said to me. As she was leaving the lunch room she turned back around and winked at me.

“So…” Isaac began, “I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me.”

My eyes widened, “I haven’t been looking at you, I mean not in a bad way, you just look so nice all the time… oh god I should just stop talking,” I rambled.

Isaac let out a laugh, and I swear my heart skipped several beats in my chest and I just hoped that Isaac didn’t hear it.

“Hey, don’t worry Risa, I like it when you ramble, and,” he leaned in closer to me, “I didn’t initially hear your heart skip a beat, but when you said that I definitely remember hearing it.”

I cursed under my breath, “Look Isaac, what do you want? I don’t believe you just came here to laugh at me, so what do you want?”

Isaac looked down at the table, and I could see a slight blush come up on his cheeks, “Erm, I just wanted to say that you look really nice today, not that you don’t look nice every day,” he rambled, as he scratched the back of his neck, “I actually wanted to ask you on a date, we’ve known each other for so long, and you’ve always been there with open arms when everything happened with my dad, that I wanted to ask you on a date, cause I like you more than a friend.”

I sat there in stunned silence for a while, until I felt my cheeks heat up, Isaac Lahey, the guy I’ve been crushing on for about 4 years likes me back, “Sure Isaac, I’ll go on a date with you.”

He smiled and stood up, “I’ll pick you up on Friday at 7 pm, wear something smart but not too smart,” he said. He rounded the table and kissed me on the cheek, “I’ll see you after school for our usual study session, right?”

All I could do was nod.

“See ya then,” he waved at me as he passed by Scott and Stiles’ table they congratulated him.

‘So that’s what they must have been talking about earlier’ I thought.

I sat there in stunned silence as the lunch bell rang, and I had to quickly grab my stuff and basically run to class.

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Taglist:

@dashkana @coco25 @padfootsworld @cece-lives-here @books-netflix-and-pizza @withered-poppies @rogershoe @of-all-things-crazy11 @princessmarsofearth @psychichologramgalaxy @afuckingdisasterreally @spoooyxxqueen @linkpk88 @fandomstuffff @thesewordsareallihavetogive @chennyetomlinson

[penniesfortheferryman]

GET TO KNOW THE MUN.

what made you pick up the current muse(s) you have?

I have written muses from shows I hyper fixated on over the years. Supernatural, The Walking Dead, BBC Sherlock, and a few others. Kharon was my first big break away from canon TV show / movie muses, and he's the one that never really leaves me. Even if I take breaks from him, I could never truly abandon my boy. He started out as just a mean spooky boy and flourished into a true rounded muse. I just always liked Charon from the Greek Mythos, and he was written about the least so I could really flesh him out a bit more.

is there anything you don’t like to write?

I don't like writing anything involving SA, or p*edo stuff It's fine if it's part of your muses canon story ( current or back ) as Kharon has been SA'd in his cannon backstory, so if it's mentioned or spoken about it is fine. But I won't write out either of those things. I also won't write out detailed animal harm as it upsets me greatly.

is there anything you really enjoy writing?

I like writing everything honestly, fluff, horror, mystery, adventures, sad stuff. Slice of life, doom and gloom, smutt.

how do you come up with headcanons? 

Normally I just go about life and Kharon screams at me when something really resonates with him. Sometimes I try those muse sheets to try and think of different ideas or aspects of his personality or life. But normally I just see something and I'm like "Yeah, that's my boy."

do you write in silence or do you play music? 

Sometimes I listen to music, but mostly I just have YouTube playing in the background. I can't write in silence.

do you plan your replies or wing them?

I wing everything. I like just throwing Kharon into situations or conversations and seeing what he does. Though I am okay with plotting threads, if the other person has some ideas.

do you enjoy shipping? 

Yes. Kharon is a lover of people and monsters.

what’s your alias/name? 

Lola or Bonbon.

age?

30.

birthday? 

Dec. 17.

favorite color?

Black/Green/Orange/ Yellow/Blue

favorite song? 

To many to list.

last movie you watched?

The 8th Night ( according to Netflix ) I don't watch many movies.

last show you watched?

The Silent Sea ( according to Netflix ) Same for shows.

last song you listened to?

Five Finger Death Punch - Digging My Own Grave.

favorite food? 

I have a lot.

favorite season?

Winter/Fall

do you have a tumblr best friend?

My babe @carriageofaerietails

tagged by: @malumxsubest tagging: ( anyone who sees this and wants to do this, just take it from me and tag me so I can read it! )

[luvrmomo]

thank you, mommy

synopsis: just another thursday night with your best friend

pairings: best friend! yeojin x afab gender neutral reader

contains: oral, overstimulation, pet name ‘bunny’, reader is called ‘mommy’, squirting, porn (kinda) without plot

a/n: my first time writing smut for a female idol pls be gentle with me

“look at yourself, baby.” you coo down at yeojin, a playful grin plastered across your lips as you watch her eyes become heavy. “you’re only on your third orgasm and you’re already so tuckered out.” you tsk your teeth, shaking your head teasingly as you lean down and start nibbling on the side of her neck, leaving small marks that you plan on enlarging later into the night. “can’t have that happening now, can we?”

never in a million years did yeojin think she’d be in this situation with you, her best friend of all people. but here you both were in your lonely studio apartment on a thursday night, the noise of yeojin’s whimpers and squelching juices bouncing off the walls sounding like music to your ears. for the past fifteen minutes, you had been pumping your fingers in and out of your best friends pussy with one hand as the other held a vibrator up to her sensitive clit. all it took was one sex scene from a random netflix film and a confession of recent frustrations in the sex department from yeojin to have you both in this position.

getting down on your knees so you are now eye level with her clit, you slowly remove your three fingers from her dripping hole and insert one into your own mouth for a tasting. she did nothing but look at you in awe through heavy eyelids before feeling two fingers press against her lips, automatically opening up to allow them to press against her tongue.

“lick them clean for round four baby, maybe then i’ll let you get some sleep tonight.” you say with a small kitten lick to her folds, your other hand lowering the vibration level to the first one as to not stimulate her too much.

yeojin whimpers at licks and tastes of herself, swirling her tongue between the fingers as to lick up every last bit of herself. if you had a dick, you swore you’d have a boner by now. you just couldn’t get enough of your best friend, and you’re just hoping she was feeling the same as well to an extent. little did you know, even with being overly stimulated, she was loving every second of it. her cunt had never been this abused before but to say she hated it would be the biggest lie, and to have it be by you was the cherry on top.

feeling the absence of your fingers from her mouth, you notice a small pout followed by an annoyed yet tired huff. you cock your head at her as you trail your newly wet fingers down her bare chest, fingers grazing her skin ever so lightly until they reach her left thigh to further spread her legs for further access. “use your words, bunny.”

“i-i miss being stuffed.” yeojin admits, her words slurred as she stares at you with loving eyes.

you nod at her confession, pecking small kisses to her inner thigh as you reach into the bottom drawer of the nightstand to pull out your glass dildo with a pink heart at the end. pulling it out of its container and inspecting it quickly under the lighting, you line it up with yeojin’s entrance and gradually slide it inside of her. the yelp that leaves her lips makes you subconsciously press on the second level of the vibrator, earning a stringing moan from your best friend. you watch her bite down on her bottom lip to suppress any loud screams, letting out a low chuckle at her actions.

“scream for me, let everyone know how good you’re being treated.” you bring your lips from her thighs to her folds, sucking on them as you stare up at her with lustful, dark eyes. you pull away briefly, some of yeojin’s juices being spread across your chin. “let them know my name, bunny.” you start pumping into her faster, her moans becoming higher in pitch as you skip from level two to level four in an instant. “what’s my name?”

“m-mommy, oh my god. mommy!” yeojin screams, her head throw back onto the pillow as her legs start twitching close.

you shake your head as you dive back into her folds, eyes never leaving her face to watch to contort with pleasure. using your elbows to spread her legs back open, you press the final level of the vibrator and start pumping as fast as you could to bring your best friend to her final orgasm of the night. before you could even say anything, you’re met with a squirting yeojin releasing all over your face with her hands gripping the bed sheets under her as she attempted to stutter out a warning.

you pull out the dildo from her hole, replacing it with your tongue to lick up anything dripping onto the carpet. yeojin let’s out little sighs of pleasure, her eyes shut as she allows you to enjoy yourself with her taste. after a solid minute, she feels the vibrator turn off and your lips kiss up from her thighs to her waist, eventually making way to her neck and landing on her lips. your best friend hums against your lips with a tired smile, her hands finding way to behind your neck to push your lips closer so she could get a taste of herself.

lifting yeojin bridal style off the bed without breaking the kiss, you hold her closely to your body and pull away with a final peck on her lips as you walk towards your bathroom. “you were such a good bunny. let’s get you cleaned up tonight, okay?”

she nods, her head laying against your chest as her arms are draped around your neck. “thank you, mommy.”

[beardedmrbean]

Wait the first ATLA would be worse how the fu-

Oooooooh right…Shamalyan is Indian…and ATLA used his culture ideologies and concepts…in a western digestible way…need to be careful so the ATLA fans won’t lynch me. So he had a good gasp on what ATLA

Also about the Netflix ATLA tv show and what their doing

My brother in Christ we are living in a world where a Disney marvel spoon feed shit Black Panther pointing out the the villain was wrong is considered right to college educated people

And like the stuff I hear about how they are toning down Sokka sexism and not having “detours” like Aang did. While sokka sexism is because he was a immature TEENAGER who later develop-

😳

Okay ATLA is a great show with great characters arcs, but at the end of the day it was a Y7 cartoon with Karens breathing down kids networks necks, HAD to be able to be syndicate with other Nicktoons stuff like SpongeBob.

And at the end of the day the main cast…act like middle class American kids most of them time. Obviously it not bad or anything as that what the original target demographic was. But it very obvious if you go into more eastern fantasy stuff with their handling of kids. They were still good characters

But….Holy Fucking Shit

Showrunners…understand…the importance of…character development….right? I myself is very different from the mess I was from 9-13 and more mentally mature and such.

Unless…Hollywood and liberal circles-Oh what the hell we have 30 years old on fucking tumblr that think the genocide of men is a good thing

No wonder character development is shit in modern western media. Where certain characters ( I ain’t naming who but leave hints) get more development than MCs who have significant more screentime than them.

When did the whole “I have no idea what actual growth is?!” Started become so popular among liberals Gen x and millennials creators?

The Shamalyn ATLA thing was because he was a fan of the show and did his best to make it good, this looks like a more recent interview.

Looking round at stuff comparing the two now the big thing I'm seeing can be summed up with the saying that 'netflix one will be as diverse as the shyamalan one wasn't'

Which just tells me there's no reason to watch it, not because I have issues with diversity mind you, but if that's your selling point you've lost my interest before you had a chance to gain it.

Not that I was interested to begin with, never watched the show so eh, but screaming it's diverse as a big selling point is a no starter for me.

Hearing what they've "fixed" for the movie it sounds like they've whitewashed over everything in order to sanitize it instead of allowing for the character development as you said.

Bad guys can't become good guys, the best shot they have is in becoming a antihero, but you're still held down by who you were.

It's stupid and only feeds into the purity culture that's gotta be one of the leading causes of mental health issues these days.

[thewickedkat]

i have been tagged

@vcaudley tagged me and i am just now getting round to this, apologies!

A scent you love: - sandalwood. i could be in the saltiest, shittiest, most tin-foil-chewing mood and upon smelling this, i would relax from grievous homicide to involuntary manslaughter. which is a very tortured metaphor but it's a weird day for me. suffice to say i love sandalwood.

What's something you're looking forward to this week? - i would dearly love to write this weekend. been wanting to actually get something actualised before the weather starts thinking of hoodies and pumpkin spice lattes. also i need to go to the library because i need new music; mine's getting rather stale.

What's a book you're currently reading? - i am so very sorry to say that i have not read an actual book in *mumblemumble* amount of time. a few years back i had sort of run dry on books that i was enjoying, and my tastes changed; i dove into fanfic and haven't really looked back since. it is still scratching that itch that i can't really describe. to be quite honest i think the last book-book i read was the latest Dresden Files instalment--and before anyone comes for me, yes, i am quite aware of Butcher's...uh. writing tells, let's call them. man's become a pastiche of himself, tell the truth.

What's a game you're currently playing? - The Outer Worlds, for, like, the fifth time. love Parvati; that woman can do no wrong in my eyes. tried doing a Board-bootlicker run a while back and then she looked at me all disappointed and my contrition knew no end. and i adore Felix wholeheartedly because that Labrador of a boy is the purest of heart and dumbest of ass and he makes me smile. ...also, i'm just killing time until next week when i can get my narsty little gremlin hands on Baldur's Gate 3.

What's the most recent movie you watched? - Nimona. if you haven't seen it, drop what you're doing and watch it immediately. now. go. why are you still sitting there? go watch it! okay, no, seriously--why aren't more films made like this? it doesn't talk down to kids or families (or anyone else for that matter), it is wholly unashamed of its emotions and finds joy in showing them (even the messier ones), the art is beautiful and vibrant and isn't half-arsed and crap CGI stitched with hand-drawn; it has a fantastic message, and when Ballister said 'I see you, Nimona,' i sat here and fucking bawled.

Are you watching anything on TV or listening to any shows? - i recently finished S3 of The Witcher on Netflix, and...well, i think i'd have to watch again to really start to pick at it and why it didn't particularly vibe for me (the nonsense with Radovid and Jaskier aside; i mean...Radovid? really? blech). i haven't read the books but i am familiar with the lore, but the writing seems to be so uncertain of itself this season, all over the place and muddled. and with production on pause (not just for TWN, obviously), i'm more than a little uncertain of Liam Hemsworth's stepping into the very big boots Cavill's leaving behind. the bar has been set pretty high; i'd say this of any actor, frankly. as for podcasts, i am sooooooo far behind on listening that i think i would have to start many over. i had been listening to Bahumia Two: Electric Boogaloo on NADDPod but that was months ago. my problem is that i have to be in the mindset to listen to pods (side effect of the ADHD), and right now the mindset is 'put on youtube vids or Japanese lo-fi and read fic in your downtime.' how long this will last is anyone's guess.

Favourite season? - autumn, by far. and i don't mean the soft Pinterest moodboard aesthetic type; i mean the frost upon the windowpane when you wake up in the morning but you don't turn the heat on yet because by noon it'll have warmed up enough kind. i mean the mixing of baking bread, strong coffee, herbal tea and the faintest whiff of cigarette smoke. the knowledge that the wind is just on the edge of turning biting and that its teeth will only grow sharper in a month; when you swap out your summer clothes for woolen blankets and soft pants; when you dig out the thicker yarns and the puzzles and rearrange your spooky house bric-a-brac to take pride of place. that kind of autumn.

What's something you've learned recently? - i have learnt factoids and things that would serve me well at pub trivia, but nothing that would serve to make an interesting infodump. not really. all the stuff i infodump about lately is fandom-adjacent and makes my husband's eyes glaze over.

Have you had any water lately? - yes! i drink water on the regular, interspersed with Baja Blast since summer is hanging on by a thread.

i'll support anyone who wants to do this but specifically tag @gadzooie @deacons-wig @totally-not-deacon @wildwildwasteland but no pressure if this isn't your bag!