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barren-heart · 6 months

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The Hidden Love Story of What We Do in the Shadows: How The Internet Fell in Love with Harvey Guillen’s Guillermo de la Cruz

I think it’s fair to call this show what it is: a comedy.

The actors have said it’s themselves: the show is 50% improv, 50% script. A lot of what we see is a brilliant collaboration of talent, writing, and the actors saying the funniest thing they can say about something in that moment.

According to Harvey Guillen, some scenes would last 30 minutes each if they didn’t cut it down. That improv is what makes the show what is it: the funniest show on television.

What’s interesting about this little Shit and Fart show (affectionate), is the heart of it all: Guillermo.

Originally the show was looking for an older man to play Nandor’s familiar. The character had worked for his master for 20 years, not 10 as we see in the pilot episode.

Harvey got an audition randomly. At a wine and cheese night of a friend’s, he was invited to audition for the part. It was random, but also, it was fate.

Let me explain.

Harvey Guillen auditioning for the role of Guillermo

(I actually have the full audition tape of Harvey’s if anyone’s interested.) Link below!

Harvey didn’t “fit the part” (Harvey’s words) whatsoever of this character and decided to dress himself to look older, putting on what he calls his Harry Potter glasses and parted his hair down the middle.

The Guillermo we see in the pilot was all Harvey’s idea of what that character should be and the costuming department just ran with it. It’s also fun to point out that to those who don’t know, Harvey created Guillermo’s last name even before he knew he’d play the show’s Vampire Slayer.

I mention this because I don’t think they (showrunner, producers,etc) expected Guillermo to become such a fan favorite. Which kinda explains why his character is the punching bag of season one and why it somewhat changes as seasons go by.

I mean, we don’t even see Guillermo in this season one poster (we don’t see Colin Robinson, either. But I feel like I could write an entirely other post about that character and why I think he’s genuinely the best and most consistently written character on the show. But I won’t right now).

I think they expected Guillermo to be a one-note side kick, which is fine. Many of Harvey’s previous roles were nearly background characters (think Benedict Pickwick in The Magicians).

But, Harvey’s take on the character coupled with his talent at being both comedic and dramatic really shined through. And I think that’s where you start to see that maybe they could do more with him than just being the funny guy in the background.

I also think that’s why you start to see some threading of a more serious plot when it comes to Guillermo’s storyline because of Harvey’s range.

Who would’ve known a funny bit like being a Van Helsing descent in a house full of vampires would get you compelling scenes like the familiar fight The Night Market, Nouveau Théâtre des Vampires, and the Nandor and Guillermo fight in The Portrait?

Harvey mentioned having to train for these and wanted to do his own stunts! And he does them well!

Did they imagine Guillermo being such a badass in the pilot? Probably not. But he is and people took to it. The serious fight scenes (even with bits of comedy filtered in) really stand out in their own as excellent action scenes.

Along with badass scenes, Harvey delivered compelling emotional scenes like Guillermo’s coming out (which Harvey actually cried in as well as other cast and crew, and they had to edit it to not make it too serious), the scene he left Nandor for Celeste, and many scenes in S5’s Exit Interview.

I also think they didn’t anticipate his chemistry with Kayvan Novak. It’s brought up a lot in interviews with them and everyone can tell that they genuinely are really good friends in real life, which makes acting together on screen that much better.

(Funny enough, he was supposed to do a chemistry read with Kayvan before shooting and wasn’t able to meet him until they were on set for the pilot. )

I think in some ways, even though the show wanted it to be a funny Gaston and Lefou type relationship, Kayvan and Harvey had undeniable chemistry you couldn’t deny.

And I think that began to grow with their character’s evolving relationship. From master and servant to friends to sometimes the show and network alluding to them being in a romance (Guillermo’s drunk love confession, Marwa liking what Nandor likes, the Network making videos about shipping Nandermo).

And even Paul Simms (the one who is being grilled for That’s His Boss quote), also said “Guillermo and Nandor is the greatest love story in modern television.”

So yeah, I think originally they started the show with the intention that it was supposed to be similar to the movie that shares its name. The Nandor/Guillermo drama of Shadows the TV show would be so out of place in the movie. The whole Guillermo vampire arc, if it was movie inspired, would not be as dramatic as they have made it in the show.

Looking back to the pilot, I can see that they really tried to make it as close to the source material as possible. But I think it took off in a direction that even the creators didn’t imagine it would go. Just a silly little comedy show about silly little vampires. And don’t get me wrong, it still definitely is.

But the show has evolved. And for better or worse, Nandor and Guillermo’s relationship will be one of the most compelling things about the show and I’m curious where they are going to take it now.

I guess this turned into a bit of an Harvey Guillen appreciation post and honestly, why not? Look at that adorable face.

#what we do in the shadows #WWDITS #guilermo de la cruz #harvey guillen #nandor the relentless #nandermo #the greatest love story in modern television #shadows fx #fx #wwdits fx

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13eyond13 · 3 months

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What headcannons do you have on B during his career (for a lack of a better word) as a serial killer? To me, he's like one of the funniest characters but also the most pathetic in the most poetic try-hard way. Why do you think he's such a try-hard? He's coping but what is he coping from?

OMG B!!! Haven't thought about my favourite stupid son B enough lately, so thank you for this ask....

So he's a try-hard because he is probably VERY INSECURE, to be blunt. He probably has very little sense of self-worth or a concrete sense of identity outside of trying to one-up L, and he takes that to the extreme in a highly comical way. He's also no doubt traumatized from his insane childhood as a shinigami hybrid who watched many people (including both his parents) die while knowing they were going to die / was also raised very weirdly and abusively/experimentally at Wammy's and made to feel like he was only worth something if he could be as smart and talented as the legendary L. In his mind he decided that creating his own destiny would be better and rebelled against that expectation by being like, "why be the next L when instead I could DEFEAT L by creating a brilliant crime that he can't possibly solve?"

ANYWAY there's a reason he is the most creepypasta villain / emo boi / dark academia darling of the fandom, and that highly melodramatic backstory is a huge part of it - which I DO love dearly in its own mid 2000s way, even though I also sometimes sigh at it because of the extra villainous cartoony edge it adds to L's backstory, and don't always want to take it very seriously as part of L's characterization in the manga plot...

So on my most recent re-read of the LABB novel, I feel I was a bit struck by just how... Not Good B's impression of L actually is? And this was kind of hilarious to me to think about. I feel like when I was younger and really into shipping LxB I read it just as "clearly B has a massive crush on L and is doing his best to imitate him perfectly because he hero worships him and sincerely wants to be him so bad!" HOWEVER this time around I remember thinking something along the lines of "wow, this feels almost like B just googled how to cosplay L and then lazily threw something together 5 minutes before crawling under the bed", hahaha. So he either just kinda sucks at imitating L (and maybe so, but he also managed to trick the families of the victims into letting him investigate the crime scenes, so he's probably not THAT bad at acting when he wants to be?) or maybe he's intentionally trying to make a mockery of L. It is ALSO FASCINATING from a psychological POV to imagine he's just being a troll about it all and trying to make fun of L with how he behaves! Like! Was he intentionally mocking L with his impression of him to somebody who would never even get the stupid joke in the first place? If that's the case, it's excruciatingly cringy to me that nobody even gets his joke the entire time, hahaha.... poor Naomi suffered more than Jesus at some points during that investigation, I swear...

B trying to do a scathing impression of L to somebody who has never even met him before:

ANYWAYS. I think that whatever the case, he PROBABLY hoped/expected L himself was going to show up to the crime scene to confront him, at any rate. And so therefore he probably initially dressed up as L not to genuinely pass to anybody as L, but maybe expecting to do some ominous dark mirror/ arch-nemesis big reveal shit to L?? Perhaps once he realized that Naomi was the only one coming / was working for L he just changed gears a bit and decided he'd just lead her through the clues as best he could while trying out this cosplay of the guy that he wants to offend most, but this is in my mind pretty much how it must have gone.

One of my fave headcanons about him is that he re-read that crossword puzzle he made / that the police threw out without solving SO MANY times while he was sweating off his makeup under the bed, as well... that's why he had to show it to Naomi as soon as he got out... he was like "I PUT A LOT OF WORK INTO THIS DAMMIT, and SOMEBODY is going to appreciate it" hahahaha. Ohhh, B....

#like i LOVE B #but i also think he sucks ass as a person #but i love that he's written kind of so melodramatically and cartoonishly that i can still just laugh at him and not feel too bad about it #even though his life is sad and clearly sucked ass #idk he's my 3rd fave just because he's such a funny sad shitty guy #and weirdly complex to contemplate despite how much of a creepypasta villain he also is #beyond birthday #p #death note

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nininikki · 1 year

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𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐒 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐊: j. kirschtein x fem!reader

✧ summary! — there’s nothing in the world that feels better than beating jean kirschtein. except maybe fucking him. (inspired by this request)

✧ warnings! — jean and reader are rivals, insults, fencing (🤺), reader’s kinda mean to jean but he’ll be fine, hate sex, somewhat rough, bit of nipple play, hair pulling, brief handjob, unprotected p in v (wrap it up), mirror sex, slight clit play, finger sucking, choking, degradation, name calling (slut), orgasm denial.

✧ author’s note! — first request ever, let’s go!! lmk if i missed anything in the warnings!

✧ word count! — 2.6k

“did you fucking see that? did you see that fucking look on his fucking face?”

the blood that normally rushed through your veins had been promptly replaced with triumph. triumph that evidently couldn’t be contained as you bounced up and off the floor of your dorm room.

sasha—your proud, but awfully concerned roommate—only sat gingerly at the edge of her bed. having just finished a family sized bag of bugle chips, she settled on congratulating you with soft claps of her crumb-covered hands. “that is, uh,” her face bounced between expressions before landing on a somewhat smile. “that’s amazing, (y/n), but—”

“i know, right. and, he had this, like, kicked puppy look, y’know?” you voice trailed off as you began searching through your drawers for a pair of pajama pants. “like pure defeat. it was fuckin’ incredible.”

just an hour or so ago, jean kirschtein had made the dire mistake of challenging you to a brief fencing match. a game of which you were only mildly skilled, so you’d feared you might end up in one of those rare predicaments where jean—fucking jean, of all people—managed to beat you.

“you are such a bad sport.” sasha chuckled from where she sat behind you. “he almost had you, though. it was neck and neck.”

you giddily pulled some pants from your drawer, turning in the direction of the shower with a smile. “now that, i can admit. see, i’m a great sport.”

***

eren was on his third peal of laughter in the past five minutes. the bridge of his nose pinched between his fingers as heaps of schoolgirl giggles whistled through his lips. “how’d you let her get away with that shit, man? i mean, you were, like,” eren combed a hand through his hair and pinched his fingers together so close they were almost touching. “right here.”

“kiss my ass, jaeger.” jean only murmured, choosing to live in blissful amnesia about the whole thing. he’d opened the page of some random jane austen novel and began pretending to read.

this was, by far, his most humiliating defeat. not because of the fact that he lost, but how.

the sheer swiftness and grace with which your blade moved almost made it impossible for him to believe you were anything other than advanced. although, maybe this was what hardly remarkable looked like for you—those being the words you used to describe your fencing skills.

but still, where you were good, jean was always better. at least that’s what he told himself on the frequent—yes, very frequent—occasions that he bested you in something.

that thought could wait. for jean was too busy trying to stick his winning blow. except you moved with so much effortless agility he missed you by only the hair of an inch.

you were back on his heels with a cocky giggle pouring from your mouth. “oh, come on, kirschtein. do you want me or not?”

what a stupid question to ask. of course he wanted you. he’d wanted you since before he even knew what want was. since your eighth grade spelling bee where you managed to halt the match at a perfect tie. since every occurrence thereafter where the two of you had needed to beat one another more than you needed air.

so, yes. he fucking wanted you. how could he not? you were the most insufferably brilliant, wickedly talented, and oftentimes the funniest person he’d ever had the displeasure of knowing. and god help him if you weren’t beautiful as all hell too.

wait, huh?

in enough of the time it had taken him to form that thought, the blunted tip of your blade had jabbed directly into his chest, right above the rapid beating of his heart.

from then on, jean had taken the route of not thinking at all. because he knew that if he did, you’d be the only thing on his mind.

and seriously, how could he let a thought like that slip through the finely trained cracks and crevices of his own mind? you were, by all experiences and understandings, his rival. universally, anciently, eternally. you had been on opposing sides of some invisible thing for as long as he could remember.

so, why? why, why, why had such a sickening thought started to bloom—in the way fungus did, not flowers. totally not.—so suddenly through the concrete cracks of his brain?

well, that could only be possible if such a thought wasn’t so sudden at all

***

you were perhaps the only person who could still look good in fluorescent lighting. a fact jean guiltily registered when you pulled back the bathroom door and stood practically swathed in it. it flushed you bare, made you look naked and real and impossibly prettier. prettier. despite how well the description characterized you, jean still harbored his own habitual difficulty associating such a nice phrase—a compliment—with you.

“ugh.” you scoffed upon taking your eyes away from the mirror, a wand of lipstick halfway to your now frowning lips. “i’ll be out in a second. try not to piss yourself.” you barked over the blaring music.

as flushed as you made the skin behind his ears, you were still a pain in the ass. “i actually wanted to talk to you.” jean practically vomited the words, not yet used to speaking to you sans malice or insults.

“about?”

another bout of word vomit. “about what happened today.”

“you mean when i kicked your ass in fencing.”

“see, that’s the thing. i—i didn’t mean to lose.”

“yeah, no one really means to get their ass kicked.” your lips jumped into a contented smirk. “that’s what makes doing it so fun. especially when it’s you, right, kirschtein?”

“you’re a real class act, you know that?”

“glad you think so highly of me.” you dropped your lipstick into your purse and leaned against the counter. arms folded and one brow beautifully, interrogatively arched. “but c’mon, what about earlier today? what was so pressing that you had to follow me into the bathroom?”

“i don’t know, i…” jean blinked, trying to scrape some semblances of confidence together. “i’m sick of fighting with you.”

“are you this butthurt about earlier?” you scoffed, looking almost hurt and pursing your freshly lacquered lips together. “i mean, if that’s why—” you turned away from him and back into the mirror with an insultingly exasperated sigh. “if you came here to mope about what a loser you are, this isn’t the place.”

now it was jean’s turn to scoff. and that he did, kicking the bathroom door closed behind him and leaning his weight over on the narrow counter. the fury and disbelief jean felt must have been sheer on his face, because of your lackluster attempt at a turnaround. “look, i’m just saying i’m not exactly great with sympathy. or whatever it is you’re trying to do here.”

anger tunneled through his veins, as hot and passionate as those feelings he felt earlier. “you know what, fuck you.”

“yeah, as if i’d ever let a loser like you anywhere near m—” but you didn’t get to finish your sentence, because jean’s fingers were pulling you into him by the nape of your neck. in a split second in what you think was a kiss.

it was more an aggressive gnashing of teeth and tongue with frustrated groans of anger soundtracking it. you hardly even felt his lips, except for when he tried to break away and you pulled the bottom one between your teeth. which led to his hands finding the backs of your thighs so he could prop you onto the cold countertop.

he then took you in a more proper kiss. one that was certain to have your lips bruised by the end of it. one that sent the minute vibration of a whimper out of your mouth and over his. “i hate you,” jean murmured over you, arousal and anger pooling between your legs as he palmed your tits through your shirt. in that same moment you were wrapping your legs around his waist and pulling him closer as he rasped, “so fucking much.”

your hands strung fervently between the ashy blonde moss of his hair. “not more than i hate you.” you hissed as he pulled your shirt over your head. his lips dragged across your jaw, down your, over your collarbone—not stopping until he was at your chest, at which point he was haste in pulling the straps of your bra off your shoulders.

with your hardened nipples exposed to the brisk bathroom air, jean was free to wrap his lips around one and suck and pinch as he pleased. lidded eyes glazed with malice as he peered up at you, mouth wrapping eagerly around you. all while his hand toyed aimlessly with the button on your jeans.

“the hell are you waiting for?” you asked, unexpectedly breathless. tugging a little harder on his hair elicited exactly the reaction you were hoping for.

in an instant, your jaw was in his grip and he was pulling you close enough to his face that he could’ve—should’ve—kissed you, but he didn’t. “shut the fuck up.” he hoarsely demanded. “you don’t get to rush this.”

try me, you might as well have said. because in that same second your lips and hands were on him again. groping at his stiffened cock through his pants working a hickey into the smooth skin of his neck.

his dick sprung free from the confines of his underwear—shaded a blushing red, leaking a milky bead of precum from the head, and littered with pretty veins—you barely gave yourself a moment to think before you were wrapping an eager hand around it.

all the while, jean was struggling to pull your shorts over the curve of your ass. poorly contained shudders wracking his body with every stroke you dealt him. “c’mon, kirschtein. show me you’re not as useless as i think.”

and then you went from perched upon the counter to bent directly over it. a yelp sprouted from your parted mouth as jean all but yanked your shorts down your legs. from this view, you were staring at your hazy reflection in the bathroom mirror—eyes lidded and brimmed with untamed desire, the lipstick you’d originally ventured here to fix now smudged worse than before.

you steal a glance up at jean, whose hair sat mangled atop his head. hickies purpling his jaw and collarbones. chest heaving only slightly. when the two of you made eye contact through the mirror, you could feel jean hooking his fingers under the crotch of your underwear so he could slide them down your legs.

weak with anticipation, your vision grew bleary and unfocused. “hey, hey,” but jean had your jaw in his grasp again, directing your focus back to him. “keep your eyes on me, alright.”

you only meekly nodded, even though he was certainly telling more than asking.

his fingers ghosted over the engorged head of your clit, and even when you wanted to shut your eyes as shockwaves of pleasure rolled over you, jean’s grip on your jaw tightened every time you tried. “did you not hear what the fuck i said?” he’d grunt into your ear, neglecting your pussy by taking his fingers away from it. he’d instead stick those same fingers into your mouth, running the pads of them over your tongue and letting you suck the taste from them.

then finally, his hands were on your hips, and the tip of his cock was sliding through the sodden folds of your cunt. “what was that you said earlier?” jean asked as he dipped his head into your waiting heat. “‘as if i’d ever let a loser like you anywhere near me’”

truthfully, you didn’t regret saying that. if you hadn’t, you’d have gone back downstairs to that party and not been here receiving what might’ve been the best sex of your life. (although you’d never admit that to him.)

you didn’t have time to answer because jean was kissing you. his tongue was breathtakingly soft as it mulled around in your mouth. when he pulled away, leaving strings of saliva connecting your lips, you hardly had a chance to register it before he was sliding into you with a deep grunt.

you promptly died of infatuation at the feeling of having him inside you. growing dumber and dumber off the way the curve of his cock slid up into you at just the right angle. and it didn’t take long before he bottomed out, at which point you both sang sweet moans into the stuffy bathroom air. “i hate you.” you moaned into the reflection, but his thrusts only sped up. “i hate you, i fuckin’ hate you. i—ohmygod!”

jean snaked a hand around your throat, his relentless grip sending mixed waves of pleasure and pain through your body. “you hate me so much,” he panted into the crook of your neck, “but you’re letting me fuck you like this.” his grip tightened, and you could feel the slicked walls of your cunt clench in response. “nasty fuckin’ slut.”

it wasn’t long before the head of his dick was prodding that sweet spot inside you. “don’t stop. i’m so close.” wracking your body with the most debaucherous fixes of saccharine satisfaction and pushing you closer and closer to your release. “i’m gonna cum, don’t—”

mischief crawled over jean’s flushed gestures as he blushed, his thrusts coming to a subtle halt. “ask me nicely.”

you had no other choice but to die, because there was no way you’d be able to walk out of here from a half finished fuck with a neglected orgasm. but there was also even less way you’d be nice to jean kirschtein of all fucking people.

but then he leaned over and brought his lips to yours in a soft kiss. not nearly as rough as the previous ones had been and almost out of character for the two of you. “c’mon, i know how bad you want it.” jean murmured into your mouth, sending—dare i say—butterflies in fervent laps around your tummy. “be nice so i can give you what you need, yeah?”

normally, you’d have scolded him for just outright assuming he knew anything about you. but this wasn’t normally and this time, he was right. he kissed you again, and that’s when you uttered, “please,” under his lips. “please, don’t stop.”

jean kissed you again, but at the front of your cheek. a ghost of a smile appeared over his lips. “atta girl.”

slowly but surely, his thrusts resumed and you right where you left off: toeing the edge of an orgasm with every passing second. “oh,” you whimpered as you gazed into jean’s eyes through the mirror. his very sweet, very determined eyes. that sight coupled with the feeling of his cock piercing your very soul was what sent you over.

the orgasm practically poured out of you. a white hot flash of blinding pleasure that had left you shaking where you stood and surely sheathed his dick in the thick, creamy mess of your own cum. and jean wasn’t far behind, quickly pulling out of you and covering your back in warm streaks of his own spend.

you both needed a moment to recover. heavy breaths crushing your lungs and a post orgasmic-haze looming over your heads in a tangible cloud.

“here, don’t move.” jean unfurled a towel from a nearby closet and doused it with water before gently wiping down your back. “see, all better.”

“thanks, i guess.” you said, unsure of the proper thing to say to someone who just wiped their cum off your back.

when you were done shrugging your clothes over your body and making sure your makeup shed no discretion as to what you’d just been doing, you cautioned a small kiss to jean’s jaw. “tell anyone about this and i’ll kill you.”

he only smirked back at you with a roll of his eyes, but answered nonetheless. “wouldn’t dream of it.”

#nikki writes ✶#smut #attack on titan #jean kirschtein #jean kirschtein x reader #shingeki no kyoujin fanfiction #snk #shingeki no kyojin #aot #attack on titan fanfiction

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partywithponies · 1 year

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The ghosts ranked from least to most shippable with Alison (in my opinion):

(If you're going to ask "how" and you can't think of a way, just like. Imagine Alison died and became a ghost. It's a miravle she hasn't already)

11) Cap: The man is a homosexual. And even if he wanted to experiment he's too repressed to approach Alison for that.

10) Humphrey’s body: Alison's unhinged but she's a different flavour of unhinged to Fanny. I don't see this happening.

9) Pat: Pat and Alison don't interact that often, and I can't see them being each other's type. Still, under the right circumstances, maybe? I think it'd be an incredibly boring ship though. Where's the spice. Where's the flavour.

8) Thomas: Apologies to Thomas for ranking him so low but I think if Alison returned his feelings Thomas wouldn't actually enjoy dating her at all. He's too much into big and grand gestures, she's too casual, she'd be annoyed by him while he'd be frustrated by the lack of effort on her part, and I know Alison wouldn't be satisfied in bed by this man. I just know my girl is a freak in the sheets, and Thomas is the biggest virgin in the house.

7) Humphrey's head: It's cute! Weird, but cute. I could see this. Not the most exciting though. It's too cute. I want spice.

6) The plague ghosts: lumping them together because I have the same answer for all of them. I think they'd all happily sleep with her but nothing romantic would happen. They're shippable in a FWB way.

5) Kitty: Look in the show they're clearly going for the sisters angle at this point, but a lot of Kitty's behaviour toward Alison could easily be read as gay if you wanted to already. This one's just a given.

4) Mary: Go on Mary. Teach Alison what else Annie taught you. It's only fair.

(These top three all collectively get bonus points for being the funniest possible ships by vitue of the fact they're the ships that would most cause Thomas to absolutely lose his goddamn mind if Alison became a ghost but then chose to date/sleep with one of these people instead of him. I think he would practically have a ghost-aneurysm and it'd be very funny. Then maybe Thomas would finally get his act together and go after someone more suited to him. Like Kitty, or Mike.)

3) Robin: As I just said, mostly only ranked this high because of how much it'd make Thomas flip his lid. Imagine the woman you've been pining over is finally physically able to touch you but she choses to bang a caveman instead. Brilliant. That said Robin and Alison do already have a great friendship, and I think they'd treat each other right. Plus I strongly believe they're both polyamorous so it'd leave them both with their options open.

2) Fanny: Don't you dare judge me for putting her in second place. I am not immune to mommy kink.

1) Julian: Delicious, finally some spice. Falling for the person you tried to kill once? You know that's my jam. Plus they already have so much in common. They'd commit so many crimes together and have such good sex. 10/10

#they're none of them actually blood related it's fine #bbc ghosts

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sitp-recs · 2 years

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Hidden Gems by @moonflower-rose

September has been crazy, all those Christmas sex babies driving me up the wall but hello yes, here’s another bday gift this time for one of the coolest people in this fandom, Rosie Josephine Moonflower! Reading fics for this post was the easiest thing ever because I’ll never get enough of her fab writing, always bold and on point, full of wit, charm,brilliant characterization, hilarious dialogue and a lush take on sexy romance with all the feels. Rosie delivers my favourite combo of tropes with excellence every time, it’s really a crime that these fics don’t have as many kudos or comments as they deserve but I’m here to make things right!

For those who recognize her username from LJ, Rosie has been around for ages and we’re lucky to have her coming back to share new treats with us. She’s not only super talented but also has a fantastic grasp of Drarry flirting erm banter which is one of my favourite things in fic. I get so excited whenever I see a new story of hers, because I know it will be a fun ride mixing the best crack, angst, smut and romance we could ask for, satisfaction guaranteed. Imo her most delicious trademark is that unbeatable sense of humor, so charming it makes every fic become your new favourite thing with organic dynamics and cool, relatable characters. Her take on Ginny is especially dear to my heart as I came to admire and enjoy her presence in fics over the years.

Once you get to know Rosie it’s easy to see why her stories are so lovely and compelling - her cheerful, witty and no-nonsense personality is a delight to be around. Thank you Rosie for being a wonder and for gifting us with so many incredible fics! I can’t wait to see what comes next. I hope you have an incredible day!!! 🎉🎉

Counterparts (2005, Mature, 1k) - a brilliant and tender look into their life together, full of fun and small intimacies as we learn about this fabulously messy Draco through Harry’s smitten eyes. “Draco is demanding, but Harry is accommodating” is one of my favourite lines ever and I can’t stop thinking about it. What a treat!

Draco hogs the bed. Harry loves it.

Receipts (2022, Mature, 2k) - hands down one of the funniest, most charming short fics I’ve read this year, creative, sexy, with brOTP goals and Drarry + Ginsy combo! I adore the witty dialogue and sweet Harry making Draco blush. This is a perfect showcase of Rosie’s talent at short form, superb humor and characterization, you won’t be able to stop laughing your ass off :D

Pansy and Ginny have made a stupid wager and Draco may be the one who comes away a winner.

Breakfast (2006, Explicit, 3k) - never thought the idea of a naked Draco learning how to make Harry breakfast would get me all emo but here we are. Yet another delicious portrait of sexy, fun and tender domesticity, so lush and full of happy feels I can’t stop smiling! Come and feast 🥘

Breakfast is Harry's favorite part of the day.

The World of Management (Or, Harry Potter and the Office Romance) (2012, Explicit, 15k) - fabulous office romance with A+ push-pull banter and a chaotic smooth flirt Harry driving Draco mad with want and exasperation, what’s not to love? This is a must read for all those who enjoy Drarry & politics, light and fun, scorching hot and very sweet with a charming and confident tea lover Harry + competent bossy Draco, just as we like it. Can’t have enough of “oh, have a day off”/ “how dare you!”.

Draco Malfoy is the heart and soul of the Department of Magical Games and Sport. The only thing standing in the way of professional bliss is his boss. And Harry Potter.

In Dreams (2011, Explicit, 38k) - I’ll never stop screaming about Rosie’s opus, one of the most brilliant and intriguing case fics I’ve read with a breathtaking opening and superb character development and Drarry dynamics. Please please PLEASE read this today and come scream with me about your new favourite fic. You can check the rec I did for it here.

Harry wasn't expecting to ever see Draco Malfoy again. He also wasn't expecting to walk into a political conspiracy that morning either, but apparently that's exactly what the day has in store for him.

#happy bday Rosie 🎉🎉#hidden gems s2

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cindermetalheadgw2 · 1 year

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have 8, 9, 11, and 13 from the gw2 asks for whoever you most feel like talking about at the moment! :) @kerra-and-company

Ok I'll answer for the new characters Blaze and Boxx :)

8. How willing are they to bend/break the rules for their cause (be it selfless or otherwise)?

Blaze- VERY willing to break rules. Blaze doesn't respect any authority but their own moral code. Unless the rules are in place for a damn good reason like keeping people safe. But they're ONLY cooperating this time because it's the right thing to do. Otherwise they do what they want. Okay FINE they'll also listen to gunhilde when it's ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY... sometimes.... maybe...

Boxx- boxx is the complete opposite of Blaze. He LOVES rules and formality and etiquette and hierarchy so much. He enjoys systems to manipulate in his favor, social and intellectual traps to lure enemies into. That being said, he has no attachment to following the rules when bending or breaking them would benefit him. And when he does, he doesn't leave any witnesses

9. What's an au for them you think could be fun to explore?

Blaze- COMMANDER AU!!! Blaze was originally meant to be my canon commander before I came up with Cyll, but I felt like I didn't want to have the commander be someone in the metal warband. I still think of them as the commander sometimes out of habit though. Also they and trahearne would be so cute together 💕

Boxx- catholic pope au lmao

11. How accurate is their reputation/image compared to how they really are?

Blaze- about 50% accurate maybe? Their vocals and stage presence are so powerful and intense it's like they can control the very air pressure in a room with body language alone. Warriors who have faced powerful foes say Blaze was the first person to ever make them feel genuinely intimidated. A lot of people know them from seeing the band and think they're badass and kinda scary. But anyone who's met them or heard their normal speaking voice at all knows they're 100% so quiet and gentle and nice. An absolute sweetheart. (The part about the intimidation is based on an actual concert experience i had seeing beartooth once. Caleb stared down the crowd and then stomped, i don't want to say threateningly, but definitely powerfully, and I felt like all the breath was punched out of me from across the room. I was in awe. How did he do that)

Boxx- usually very inaccurate. This guy is straight up a cult leader, very good at maintaining a certain public image and controlling how other people see him. He promotes himself as a brilliant, if charmingly eccentric, scientist leading an innovative team of researchers to unlock the secrets of cubes. In reality he's manipulative, obsessive, and the experiments he runs are less actual science than just doing fucked up shit in a lab with no real hypothesis and interpreting the results through vague and broadly applicable yet profound-sounding language, similar to astrology

13. What is the worst/funniest/dumbest article that could be written about them in tyria's trashiest gossip mag?

Blaze- Metal Warband's Fire Breathing Vocalist Secret Revealed? Steal Their Trick In One Easy Step!

Boxx- College of the Cube Councillor's Top Ten Sexiest Experiments Gone Wrong! How He Looks So Good While Being So Bad (featuring personally quiz to see if you're compatible!) *photoshopped image of boxx posing seductively in front of krewe members being killed horrifically by tortured mists cube entity escaping containment*

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nellie-elizabeth · 11 months

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Barry: a nice meal (4x07)

This is one of the funnier episodes of Barry that we've gotten in a while, which is always so weird to say when you think about the literal events going on here.

Cons:

Again, I think the times in this show when they go for the obvious meta stuff, like Gene saying "Barry is a complicated and sympathetic figure" and then the undercover actor agent guy being like "but he killed people though" is kinda like... yeah, okay, I get your point. I don't know. Usually when this show barrels down the camera and says the quiet part out loud, I like it. But every once in a while I wish they'd let us get there on our own, I suppose.

I also still think Jim is the character who makes the least amount of sense to me? That's probably okay, as far as things go, but I thought I'd mention it.

Pros:

I cannot believe that next week is the finale. Holy shit, this is gonna wreck me in all the best ways. So much to talk about, I'll try and be quick!

First off, you've got Sally and John in LA, trying to get in touch with Cousineau in order to find Barry. I love that Sally has this single-minded determination. If she can just get to Barry and abdicate responsibility back to him, it will all be okay. I think the most haunting moment was John asking what they'll do next, and Sally saying they'll just keep doing what they've been doing. It was chillingly bleak, the very thought of this "family" continuing to do what it's been doing. Yikes.

Barry spends the episode first being tortured by Jim, shown images and given drugs to make him hallucinate, I think? It's a little unclear what's happening there but I don't really mind that, I like that it adds a sense of unreality to events. Eventually Jim learns about the money that Barry gave to Gene, and he goes off to set a trap to lure him in, leaving Barry unattended in his house.

Gene, as we might have guessed, doesn't stick to his guns for long about not wanting a movie to be made about Barry and him and Janice, once someone calls and claims that Daniel Day Lewis and Mark Wahlberg want to be attached to the project. Despite everything he said about not wanting to elevate Barry or dishonor Janice's memory, he can't resist the shiny allure of a successful Hollywood career, even after all this time. That's part of the tragedy of this whole show, this depressing sense that maybe people can't really change. That hint of connection between Gene and his son seems to be out the window, as it now seems that Jim, Leo, and law enforcement suspect Gene of having something to do with Barry's crimes, including Janice's death. Why else did Barry hand over $250,000 of Chechen drug money to him?

And then in the funniest but also most intense/violent section of the episode, we've got Hank vs. Fuches. Hank sends a bunch of super assassins after Fuches and his men, and receives boxes with their severed heads delivered to the office. The bit where Hank was opening the boxes had me laughing out loud at how gruesome and ridiculous it was. And then adding to the hilarity, Fuches and his men brainstorm how to make things go better for Fuches's new girlfriend and "daughter" figure, who were there to witness the horrible violence. Hank tries to blow the house up from afar, but misses, and then his driver is killed as he runs away into the hedges, with Fuches's men shooting after him.

So then of course Hank pivots. Time to help Fuches find and kill Barry, instead of trying to do away with him. How? Well, kidnap Cousineau of course. Funny thing, though. Sally, having called Cousineau earlier asking for help, was directed to go to his house. Cousineau isn't there, off being questioned by the FBI after falling for the seduction of an amazing opportunity for a movie based on his life. So when Hank's men show up, it's to find Sally and John at Gene's place.

It's just such a brilliant piece of plotting, everybody coming together for this final showdown, I guess you could say, between Hank and Barry, but with everybody else's ultimate fates also left up in the air. I wonder what Fuches is going to say when he finds out what Hank is up to. I wonder who walks out of next week's finale alive...

9.5/10

#review #barry #barry review

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luxwritesfanfic · 3 years

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Don’t Take The Money

Poor reader thought it would end up being a normal Sunday but that must’ve been the mix of bleach and Pinesol fumes getting to their head. Or, the one where reader finds out they have more in common with the other woman in Sherlock’s life than they thought and Sherlock has an aneurysm at the revelation. Thanks for reading!

Sherlock Holmes/Reader

You were just waking up when Sherlock was moving around the bedroom trying to pack his overnight bag. You groaned at the noise of drawers being opened and hangers jostled and rolled over onto your stomach, propping yourself up on your elbows. “Sherlock? You’re leaving?”

He stopped in his tracks back towards the closet and moved to sit on the edge of the bed next to you. He looked down at you with fondness that so many people thought he was incapable of feeling and as always, it made your heart swell. Brushing a lock of hair behind your ear, you relished in his undivided attention.

“A case was brought to my attention. I won’t be gone for long, it’s a few towns over.” He insists, trying to ease your worries before they arise.

Although you’d miss him, it never did anyone any good when Sherlock was bored. He needed something to keep him occupied and you needed time to clean up the drywall shrapnel that constantly covered the couch due to the boredness. It would give you the opportunity to deep clean the flat and the idea wasn’t so bad.

“Is John going too?” Sherlock nodded. You don’t know why you asked, they always worked together.

You turned your head to kiss his palm and sat up to get out of bed. “Okay. I’ll make you breakfast before you guys leave. Nobody likes train food anyway.”

Sherlock moved to help you stand, one of the smiles he reserved just for you gracing his lips. “You take excellent care of me. But you should know, you don’t have to be useful for this to mean something to me.”

He caught you off guard, but he usually did when he read you like a book. Your whole life you’d made yourself useful and you weren’t sure if people liked you for you or for the fact that there’s nothing you wouldn’t do for them. You would do anything and everything for Sherlock and it didn’t have anything to do with being useful, honestly. You loved him dearly and you couldn’t imagine treating him like you felt anything less than that. You couldn’t help but kiss him.

“Omelettes or pancakes?”

—

Your shirt was soaked from washing the dishes and you smelled like a mixture of bleach and formaldehyde from scrubbing the fridge clean and removing the severed head that took up the space where your coffee creamer should be. You had done more loads of laundry than you could count, bleached the bloodstained tub from Sherlock’s latest pig quest, the entire flat smelled like Bahama breeze and you couldn’t be more content. The boys weren’t due back for a day or two so you figured you’d spend some time with Mrs. Hudson when you were done and see if you could meet up with Bucky and Greg for lunch. When you passed the kitchen on your way to your bedroom to change, you decided that this may be the only chance you ever get to clear off the dining room table. Sherlock’s science equipment had overrun it and you figured it wouldn’t hurt if you straightened it up just a bit.

You were in the midst of cleaning out Sherlock’s beakers when you heard the knock on the door. Figuring that John would have posted on his blog that they weren’t currently taking clients because they were on a case, you expected to see Mrs. Hudson and the mop she was letting you borrow. You cracked the door just enough to see who was on the other side and was surprised to see an older woman holding a plate of baked goods who wasn’t Mrs. Hudson.

“Hi... how can I help you?”

The woman in question’s eyes lit up at the sight of you and you weren’t sure why. She smiled and gestured to the platter in her hands. “Is Sherlock Holmes here?”

She must be a client, you thought. Shaking your head, you responded, “No, sorry! The boys off on a case. I’m a friend of theirs. Is there something I can help you with?”

She was looking past you into the flat and you weren’t sure what she was looking for. “Do you mind if I come in? I could really use a cup of tea. And I wanted to drop these cookies I made for Sherlock off.”

You looked at what she was holding and decided it wouldn’t really hurt to let her in, and the cookies looked amazing. Sherlock must have helped her in some way.

“Sure, come on in. Sorry about my clothes... I’ve been doing some spring cleaning.” You stepped aside and let her in. “So, are you a client of his?”

She went to place the platter on the table and you were excited that it was already worth cleaning off the table. “Not quite. I’ve known him his whole life and have loved him even longer.” She turned and smiled at you, seeing through you in a way that seemed eerily close to Sherlock.

You hummed, taking in her answer. Sherlock didn’t talk much about his friends, so you weren’t surprised that you never heard of her.

“Just a minute, I’m gonna change.”

You excused yourself to the bedroom where your phone was charging on the bed. After sending Sherlock a quick text that someone who wasn’t a client was here for him, you dug around in the closet for something clean and more appropriate.

The lady didn’t really seem like a threat and you were sure if it came down to it, you’d be able to protect yourself. You could chuck the skull on the mantle if need be, it was a hard hitter.

When you returned, she was wandering around the flat and looking at all of the pictures of you, Sherlock, and John that you’d recently framed and put out.

“You and Sherlock, you’re close, yes? Tell me about him. It’s been so long.” She was holding a picture that you took of you two in the back of a taxi. Sherlock was on his phone but you thought his hair looked extra good and the golden hour light made him look like an angel so you had to take the picture.

“Yeah, I mean. He’s a seriously great person. A brilliant detective, he’s so smart. He helps all these people for free, and he never complains if they don’t offer him anything. He hates when I tell him he’s a godsend but who else would do that? Um... he’s really funny, probably one of the funniest people I know. You just have to keep up with his humor. It can be kind of dry, but it’s there. He’s one of the most loyal people there is and he’d do anything for the people he cares about.”

It was so easy for you to speak so highly of him. It was like second nature.

“He can be stubborn sometimes, and he can be a little more blunt than he needs to be but... he’s amazing. There’s no other way to explain him, really. He’s got a light that comes from him that rivals the sun and I don’t think it could ever be dimmed.”

She turned back to you and slowly broke out into one of the biggest grins you’d ever seen someone wear. “You really love my son.”

“Your son?” You blinked, unsure of what was going on. You really started to look at the woman in front of you and you realized Sherlock had her eyes. A complete copy and paste. “Oh my God, you’re Sherlock’s mom. I never even introduced myself. I’m Y/N, a friend of-”

“You’re not his friend, dear, and I’m not blind. Old age takes a lot from you, but I could never miss the way my son shines. And you... you see it too.” She walked up to you, still holding the picture frame in her hands. “You love my son in a way that no one else has. Let me tell you all about him.”

—

You couldn’t stop laughing.

Sherlock’s mom had brought over tons of scrapbooks and old pictures that she had acquired over the years, and you had a feeling she knew you were here alone before she even knocked on the door. Mycroft, probably. You spent the whole day getting to know each other and taking a stroll down memory lane with her telling you all about Sherlock as a kid and how it was growing up with two geniuses as sons. She even gave you a copy of one of Sherlock’s high school pictures that you were going to cherish forever. She seemed so happy to have someone to talk to and assured you that spending time with you was the closest she had felt to Sherlock in a long time.

You insisted that she stay and let you make dinner, but she was as equally stubborn as Sherlock and ordered you takeaway as her treat. You tried to argue but she was having none of it. “My God, you scrubbed this whole flat clean. I’m not going to let you dirty your dishes. How does Chinese sound?”

—

Sherlock barreled up the steps with all the force he could muster in his legs and rushed in to see you, perfectly fine and all in one piece, having dinner with his mother.

“Sherlock!” You both exclaimed, his mother full of excitement and you full of worry.

“What’s wrong?” You ask, standing up from your end of the couch. “I thought you were on a case? Is everything okay?”

“I’ve been texting and calling you all day! You’re that daft that you couldn’t text back once all this time?” He’s still out of breath and he can feel his heartbeat in his ears. His tone is exasperated and you could hear the mix of anxiety and relief in his voice as he’d yet to acknowledge his mother. She seemed perfectly content to sit back and watch the situation unfold, amusement at her son’s unusual outburst gracing her features.

“My phone was dead! And then I put it on the charger and I forgot about it once your mom came, by the way!” You went to the bedroom and retrieved your phone to find a dozen missed texts and calls.

Probably just a client. SH

11:07 AM

Are you sure it’s not a client? SH

11:43 AM

Are they still there? SH

1:00 PM

Missed Call

1:17 PM

Missed Call

2:03 PM

Call me back. SH

3:26 PM

Y/N, I’m on a case. Call me back. SH

3:44 PM

Missed Call

4:13 PM

Is everything alright? SH

4:52 PM

Missed Call

5:08 PM

Missed Call

5:10 PM

Missed Call

5:12 PM

I’m boarding the train now and I’ll be there soon. Don’t worry. SH

5:21 PM

Sherlock followed after you, still without ever acknowledging his mother, and shut the door after himself. With his palms braced against the wooden door, he tried to ease the tension out of his bones through a deep breath as he watched you check your phone. He wasn’t worried about the case at all. It was mostly solved and what little was left John could do with ease. He felt the weight of the missed calls in his stomach like lead and the three hour train ride that he couldn’t curse to defy time any quicker. He had plenty of enemies and you had virtually none, so there would be no reason to think you’d hesitate to assist anyone who came to his door, especially if it was in the name of helping him. He thought he’d walk into a crime scene and he couldn’t shake those images out of his head.

You got up from the bed and walked over to him, reaching to wrap one arm around his neck and to take his hand in yours in the other. You pressed a kiss to his jaw, and then to his chin, over his eyelids, his nose, and then lastly you met his lips, murmuring “I’m sorry” in between every kiss. He didn’t usually voice it, but you had known him long enough to know when he was upset. He relaxed into your touch as he always did and you pulled away from him long enough to pull on the ends of his scarf. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. Let me help. We got takeaway for your mom and I but we can share mine. I got what you like anyway.”

He let you pull his scarf and jacket off and you were delighted to see he wasn’t really mad with you. You hang his jacket on the closet door and by the time you turn back to face him, he’s already making his way back out to the living room. Following after him, you see his mother gesturing him to come over.

“What are you doing here? I thought I told Mycroft to tell you I was away on business.” He was messing with the cuffs on his sleeves but his question was directed at his mother with unmistakable intent. She tsked at him, and you began to see even more similarities in their mannerisms.

“That’s no way to talk to your mother, William. I was spending some time with your darling partner here and I don’t even get a kiss or a hug?” She began gathering her belongings and threw her purse over her shoulder. You weren’t happy to see her go.

You did peak up at the name. “William? Your name is William?”

Sherlock groaned, ignoring you completely. You swore you could see a blush dusting his cheeks. In no time he was at the door, holding it open for his mother. “It’s getting rather late, don’t you agree? Father must be wondering where you are. Be sure to pay Mycroft a visit the next time you’re in town. I assure you, he always has time for family.”

She turned to you and blew you a kiss. “I had a great time with you today, I hope you’ll manage to bring Sherlock home more.”

Walking over to Sherlock, she paused to kiss his cheek and whisper in his ear, “I know you know what you could lose here. So be sure you don’t, Sherlock.”

Before she totally stepped out of the flat, she turned around one last time. “Promise me you’ll come home soon. Your father and I miss you dearly.”

“I heard you the first ten times. Goodnight and safe travels, mother.” Sherlock shut the door before his mother could get another word and your shoulders slumped.

“Hey, that was your mom! She’s really nice. We had a good day.” You started to clean up the coffee table and take the dishes into the kitchen. You couldn’t understand Sherlock’s relationship with his family but you were sure there was a lot of things you didn’t know. Still, it was nice to have a chance to bond with your (maybe one day) future family. It was then that you realized that Sherlock never said anything when his mother mentioned you being his partner. You two never really officially defined what you were, so to see him not object to an actual title made you feel all warm inside.

“No, you had a good day. I was trying to work a case and clear a man’s name while trying to figure out if I’d come home to you kidnapped or dead.” Sherlock rolled his eyes, watching you from the doorway. You looked back at him as you dropped the dishes into the sink and let out a sigh. You hated the fact that you let him down.

“I have to go back tomorrow to tie some loose ends with John. If you come with me, I have a feeling I’ll get over it a lot quicker.” His voice was quiet but full of mirth. He won’t hold this over your head, and you both know this, but if it makes him feel better you’ll follow him. You’d follow him to the ends of the Earth and off the edge if he lead you.

Sherlock pushed himself off of the doorway and walked towards the bedroom, unbuttoning his shirt as he went.

“So, you’re staying home tonight?” You swung around the kitchen doorway and called out to the hall. You hadn’t even thought about Sherlock having to go back, and you couldn’t help but be excited that he would be there for you to fall asleep next to tonight.

“You didn’t expect me to make the trip back at this hour, did you? Besides, I sleep better with you and it’s obvious that I don’t focus well if you’re not around, Which is why I need you to come with me tomorrow. It seems you owe me, anyway.” Sherlock takes a step back so you can see him in the bedroom doorway, and you can feel your heart in your throat.

He’s so beautiful, you think, all alabaster skin and lean muscle. He’s pulling a t-shirt over his head and you wonder if you could manifest a photographic memory long enough to commit him to memory. Of course he notices you staring, and you almost want to mention all the times you catch him staring at you but he changes the subject and opens the blankets for you and you shut up and follow him. You follow him and you love him and you wake up in the morning at the crack of dawn to run downstairs and order coffee from the shop next door before your train leaves, being sure to get them to write “William” on the cup. Sherlock doesn’t find this funny at all, but he still lets you fall asleep on his arm on the train ride there and doesn’t complain when his arm falls asleep right along with you.

He thinks that if this is the life his mother wished for him as a child, that would be one thing he could take off of his list of things she eventually needs to answer for. Because mothers know best, and when it came to you, she could have never been more right.

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infinitelytheheartexpands · 2 years

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so @sorryiwasdrunk1 recently saw their first opera (Ariadne auf Naxos) live in HD from the Met and asked me for more recommendations. ergo, here are some operas that I think would be great:

first up, not because it’s the greatest opera for a beginner but (partly) because it’s next on the Met HD series (March 26 at 11:55 AM EST!) is Verdi’s Don Carlos. it’s a looooooooooooong work (about 3.5 hours not counting intermissions) but I promise that it will be so worth it: the cast is great, the production looks cool, the music and story are *chef’s kiss*, there’s personal drama, political drama, and pretty much everyone in this opera is queer (trust me, it’s true, just look in the subtext, and also not subtext).

(Honestly, I may be biased because Verdi is my favorite opera composer, but just about any Verdi opera is a good one to check out. For first-timers, I’d recommend Nabucco, Rigoletto, or La traviata, although sadly none of them have as strong Queer Vibes TM as Don Carlos. But they all have music you will likely recognize, great stories, and great characters, and plus there are plenty of great performances of each on the Internet, which cannot be said for all Verdi operas, sadly.)

Some other general good-for-first-timers:

Rossini’s Il barbiere di Siviglia and Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro: A package deal here: even though the Mozart was written first, the Rossini opera takes place first. They share characters, they’re both iconic, and many of the characters give off Heavy Bi Vibes. Both among the best operatic comedies ever written.

For Mozart: Don Giovanni is also really great. Die Zauberflöte has great tunes but the plot is…something.

You cannot go wrong with just about any Rossini comedy: La cenerentola is a witty take on the Cinderella story, Il viaggio a Reims is both utterly brilliant and utterly stupid, Le Comte Ory is one of the most delightful things you will ever see. Guillaume Tell is more serious and also LONG but the music is iconic and the whole thing is just so good.

Speaking of Cinderella, Jules Massenet’s Cendrillon is “you didn’t think Cinderella could be GAY, could you? well you’re wrong” because the Prince is sung by a woman. Go check out the Met 2018 production, which is absolute magic.

(Massenet in general was very good at writing a) marvelous roles for women and b) gay. His opera Chérubin—quite an obscure piece—was a sequel to Le nozze di Figaro.)

Bizet’s Carmen is iconic. That is all.

Puccini is great for first-timers, but you have to choose carefully: La bohème is a sweet sentimental tragedy, Tosca is a thriller (more women shanking their would-be r*pists please), Il trittico is 3 one-act operas (a violent gritty thriller, a mystical tearjerker about redemption, and one of the funniest comedies in all opera) put together. It is a TREAT. The other Puccini ones are best saved for later IMO.

Speaking of which, do not slack on the one-act operas of any kind. They are amazing. Also the operettas: Johann Strauss (not the one who composed Ariadne auf Naxos), Lehar, Offenbach, and Gilbert and Sullivan are all great choices.

Since you seemed to really like Ariadne auf Naxos, Richard Strauss seems to be a good direction to go into: you’d probably like Der Rosenkavalier, which is long and has some highly problematic elements (a woman in her early 30s is having an affair with a 17-year-old, although she eventually gives him up), but the romance between the two younger people (Octavian and Sophie) is so adorable. Also it’s supposed to be broadcast Live in HD next April with Lise Davidsen and Isabel Leonard (Ariadne and the Composer from this HD) as the Marschallin and Octavian.

You’d also probably really like Arabella (romantic complications revolving around two sisters, one of whom has been raised as a boy) and Capriccio (a poet and a composer are both in love with a Countess. it’s supposed to be a metaphor for opera).

Baroque operas are long and can get repetitive. The upside: a) they bop and b) they are gay as fuck. Seriously. The amount of gender-bending is amazing (and to discuss more on this, I will pass you along to my friends @solointhesand and @monotonous-minutia).

Other miscellaneous things in no real order:

-check out anything by Gaetano Donizetti. comedies, tragedies, this guy could do it all.

-Vincenzo Bellini’s Norma is another gay as fuck opera. Seriously. (I’m not a huge Bellini fan, but this one can stay and also that is just my opinion. It is not The Law.)

-so is Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann (will once again pass you on to @monotonous-minutia).

-I LOVE Tchaikovsky. You’d probably love Eugene Onegin…the sheer YEARNING in that.

-especially from the 20th century, there are a LOT of English-language operas. three I’d recommend are Stravinsky’s The Rake’s Progress (passing you on to @madmozarteanfelinefantasy), Floyd’s Susannah (Susanna and the Elders with an Appalachian, much darker bent), and Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which is great and also obviously very gay.

-people are going to try to get you into Wagner very early. go as you are comfortable. Wagner is great but also very intimidating. my first Wagner was Lohengrin, which was a good choice. I’ll pass you on to a couple of my huge Wagnerian friends @dichterfuerstin and @beckmessering for more in-depth thoughts on this subject.

That’s just to start—I’ll ask my opera friends on here to add their own opinions about good operas to explore, particularly ones with Gay Vibes, because operablr is really a very diverse community and I am only a small part of it. Welcome! Make yourself at home. ❤️

#opera #opera tag #gay opera #first time operas

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c-optimistic · 3 years

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Prompt: Fave SC meet cute or you haven't tried yet 😉

Kara was a little bit too...well, jaded to believe in things like fate.

Or maybe jaded wasn’t the right word. Perhaps it was more stubbornness. Because look, if fate was real—if people and events were destined to be—then losing everything she’d ever known, every one she’d ever loved, was all part of a greater plan.

And quite frankly, that was the stupidest thing she could imagine.

(It wasn’t fate that destroyed her planet, but greed and selfishness and inaction. It wasn’t destiny that spared her and her cousin, just sheer dumb luck and a great deal of power afforded to her parents.

If things were meant to be, then the universe—the multiverse—was full of shit, and she wanted nothing to do with any of it.

Not that she’d ever say that aloud. Or even admit to thinking it.)

Kara chose to believe, every single day, that it was choices that mattered. Individual, ordinary choices. Choices to offer a smile instead of a dark look, choices to be patient rather than let loose one’s temper, choices to be kind or generous or to admit you’ve been wrong and change direction.

Choices. It came down to choices.

Choices, with everything it turned out, except Lena. Or rather, it was a little bit of both. Because loving Lena, being with Lena...it was an active choice, but Kara didn’t doubt for one moment that meeting Lena the way she did was just always meant to be.

She came to this rather world-shattering conclusion after their marriage, nearly a decade after they met for the first time, because Lena casually mentioned that the first time they met wasn’t actually the first time they met, and wasn’t that the funniest thing?

(The conversation went a little like this:

“Ugh, I can’t believe I used to wear fanny packs everywhere I went as a preteen.”

“Oh, I remember that.”

“Why are you laughing, and how do you remember that? It was more than a decade before I met you.”

“We vacationed outside Midvale every summer, I ran into you a few times.”

“That’s not possible, I would definitely have noticed you.”

“Oh, Kara, don’t worry. At that age, I wasn’t paying much attention to anyone but Lex. Besides, we also went to the same parties in college, and neither one of us noticed the other, so it’s fine.”

“Wait. What?”)

Again and again, she’d eventually learn. She and Lena would be in the same place, at the same time, and yet their paths would just barely not cross. Kara would enter a coffee shop just as Lena left it; Lena would go to a party that Kara had been invited to but felt too overwhelmed to go to; they’d both be walking down the same street, but in opposite directions—one of them preoccupied with their phone, the other rolling their eyes at the newest silly thing Sam had gotten caught up in.

Again and again, she’d find out. Again and again, she and Lena would not meet because one looked down while the other looked up. Seconds and inches had separated them; moments that couldn’t possibly have been engineered by anything other than a universe that was ridiculously preoccupied with ensuring they met on one particular day, at one particular time, in one particular place.

Fate, Kara thought. Fate, that she would walk past a girl sitting on a park bench, looking terribly distressed. Fate, that Kara would happen to have an extra pastry from the coffee cart (the vendor sneaking her a free one because he knew she had a bit of a sweet tooth and she’d seemed a little down the other day).

And a choice. A choice, that Kara would stop, offer the distressed girl her most brilliant smile, ask her if she wanted a pastry, and lend an ear to whatever problem the girl was having.

(And Lena, the scientist, clever as always, suggested an alternative take that Kara was quite partial to:

They were tied together, destined to always be in each other’s orbit, and all the missed opportunities to meet only temporarily delayed the inevitable moment they chose each other.)

#supercorp #fanfic #genuinely super impressed I've finished so many prompts in the past week #am I learning to write again???#also anon thanks so much I hope my cop out answer to your prompt is okay #what's my fave meet cute? all of them #all of the infinite possibilities lolll

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thevindicativevordan · 3 years

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On Kong Kenan/Super-Man

It should've been him. He should've been the Superman of 5G/Future State/right now not Jon, and he should be the one getting an HBO Max series not Val. Hell he should be getting a movie!

God this dude is literally the best legacy character Superman has ever gotten, wholly his own person with his own lore and status quo while still building on the idea of "Superman". I am so pissed at DC for essentially just dropping him after his ongoing ended, what the hell Lee? You keep trying to make the Wildstorm characters happen, I need you to get my man Yang another Kenan book.

Have to admit I was a bit nervous at first about whether or not Kenan would be a worthwhile character. Yang's New 52 Superman run had been a disappointment to me overall, with only the the arc where Superman has underground wrestling matches against forgotten gods really sticking with me. Now he was introducing a brand new Superman? Didn't feel like he had "earned" that yet. But from the first issue I was hooked on this new character.

Kenan was unlike any other member of the Superfamily. He wasn't kind or sweet, he was an asshole! He was a bully! He was fantastic! Right from the start Kenan was set up to undergo a very different kind of character journey than the other members of the Superfamily. Empathy, humility, respect for people weaker than himself, these are all traits most heroes wearing the S-shield already posses by the time they first don the crest, but not Kenan.

Like all bullies he was even a bit of a coward himself at first, trying to bail on the experiment meant to give him Superman's powers right as it begins. After "saving" Lixin (the kid he bullies and steals lunch from every day) from Blue Condor he demands all the money Lixin has on him as payment. He's not courageous or selfless either at the start, Kenan is as much of an opposite of Superman as you can get short of being Bizarro. Learning the appeal of these traits formed the basis for his growth over the course of his series.

Seeing Yang bring in a lot of recognizable "Superman" elements in the series, but with a twist, was also great. Kenan is the one who bullies "Luo Lixin" rather than the traditional Clark/Lex friendship of Pre-Crisis and Birthright. Initially Kenan develops a crush on intrepid reporter for Primetime Shanghai, Laney Lan, but she dismisses him as too young and Kenan eventually ends up pursuing Avery Ho (Flash) instead. Baxi the Bat-Man of China has a similar relationship with Kenan as the traditional Superman/Batman in terms of being vitriolic best buds, however Baxi is the one who has the most respect for authority while Kenan is the rebel. Kenan is a part of the "Justice League of China" which does not meet with the approval of the already established Chinese superheroes, the Great Ten. That contrasts nicely with the good relationship the Justice Society and Justice League have, as well as seeing Yang lampshade the "Chinese copy" trope and incorporate that into his storytelling.

One of the funniest differences is how Kenan chooses to immediately reveal his identity as Super-Man to the world by taking off the compliance visor he was forced to wear, contrasting with Clark's choice to hide his identity. He was so eager to impress people that he never gave any thought to the danger he could put himself or his family in by revealing his identity until it was too late, something Clark is well aware of and has taken great pains to keep his identity secret. Was a missed opportunity for DC to have Kenan comment on Clark copying him for once when he outed himself under Bendis.

But one of the most poignant differences between Clark and Kenan is the gulf in separation between their relationship with their parents. Clark has a loving relationship with Ma and Pa Kent, trying to live up to their lessons as best he can. In contrast Kenan's mom was believed to have died in an airplane crash when he was just a child, and he never really knew her. His father was distant from him after that and the two weren't really close despite Kenan's attempts to impress him. So Kenan lacks that strong connection while still clearly loving both of them.

Pa Kent's death is one of the most tragic examples of Clark's love for his parents, and I've always been a fan of takes where Clark promises his father to fight for the powerless on Pa's deathbed. Kenan gets a similar scene at the start of his career, his dad "dies" (after being exposed as Flying General Dragon, a pro-democracy "supervillain" from the Chinese authorities perspective) and wants Kenan to promise he'll fight for Truth, Justice, and Democracy. But because Kenan's dad never really bonded with him, Kenan doesn't know what those mean, and can only promise that he never wants to see people die, something his father takes comfort in at least. In classic comic book fashion it's revealed that Dr. Omen, Kenan's "boss" and the one who gave him his powers, saved Kenan's father, because she is Kenan's mother! Kenan's relationship with his parents forms a lot of the crux of his character arc, and seeing how Yang utilizes the classic Superman concept of family kept the storytelling exciting.

Yang's brilliant exploration of the concept of "Superman" through the prism of Chinese culture was a great way to differentiate Kenan as well.

I absolutely freaking love how he tied to the concept of Qi to the S-shield in particular. Connecting the shape of the shield with the way Kenan has acquired his powers along the path of the Bagua (eight trigrams used in Taoism that represent the fundamental principles of reality), with his octagon S-shield outline representing all eight principles together, was mindblowing! So was the idea of restricting Kenan's access to his powers unless he was actually acting in a Superman manner, that tied his character growth to his power growth in an entertaining manner. There were so many characters and concepts that meshed Chinese and DC lore together, like how Emperor Super-Man was Kenan's "Doomsday", they even recreated that iconic dual kill shot! The Chinese Wonder Woman Peng Deilan, being based on the Chinese Legend of the White Snake! There was even some Korean mythology referenced with the Aqua-Man member of the JLC "Dragonson".

Yang also managed to do a Superman Blue/Superman Red story with Super-Man Yin/Super-Man Yang!

Shameful that it took me a while to realize what Gene Yang was doing but once I caught on I was touched. You can tell how much Yang loved Superman and his mythology, and how he was excited to incorporate as much from Clark as he could, while still using it in a way that was solidly Kenan's. And not just Superman's mythology, but the history and lore of the entire DC Universe. I-Ching got to be brought in, fleshed out, and used as Kenan's mentor! The "Yellow Peril" villain from Detective Comics #1, the comic DC gets its name from was brought in and revamped as I-Ching's twin brother All-Yang! Hats off to Yang for taking a racist caricature and attempting to make him into something more.

This series was a beautiful attempt by Gene Yang to build a space for Asian heroes and villains where they could be more than stereotypes, Kenan himself being a defiant mold-breaker in every regard as the complete opposite of most Asian characters in Western media (a jock, a bully, loves his dad but not on great terms with him, a powerhouse as a hero, etc). So much thought and hard work was poured into this by Yang and his team of artist collaborators.

Especially the costumes, man Kenan had so many great looks. From his starting outfit (which is my favorite Superman variant not worn by Clark himself), to the one with the Yin/Yang shield he acquired later on, to his Super-Man Yin & Super-Man Yang outfits, Kenan looked damn cool. Part of me is bummed they didn't go with the Chinese character shield they toyed around with, but I loved how Yang used the "s-shield" as a plot point, so I'm not too broken up over it.

All that great work Yang did to build that space up has been more or less forgotten sadly. It was nice to see Kenan in the DC Asian Month Celebration issue. Avery is going to be in Justice Incarnate at least (unsurprising considering she was created by Williamson). So fucking bummed that Superman Family Adventures cartoon didn't happen, they were going to have Kenan and John Henry Irons in it! Would've been a dream come true for me to see Irons in animation again, and Kenan making the jump to outside media! Maybe that would've encouraged DC to let Yang keep writing New Super-Man, or at least encouraged them to use him elsewhere instead of allowing him fall into Limbo.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what the future holds for Kenan. Jon is being pushed as Clark's replacement in the comics, with DC keeping all the other contenders such as Kon benched. Calvin is leading the Justice Incarnate team likely due to the upcoming Coates reboot that will make Clark black. Val will probably get something once Taylor leaves Jon's book or once they officially announce the HBO Max show is happening. So where does that leave Kenan, my new favorite PoC legacy hero? Currently my only hope is that Yang is working on something for DC involving him. Yang left Batman/Superman, where I was hoping to see a Baxi/Kenan team up, to go work on "exciting other opportunities" per his Twitter. So fingers crossed that there's something in the works for Kenan!

One day I hope he gets his day in the sun again.

#kenan kong #new super man #gene yang #justice league of china #superman #dc comics

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tmmyhug · 3 years

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Would you be okay with making a rec list of some of those fanfics that deserve more attention? I'm always on the hunt for more and there are some incredible stories out there in niche fandoms.

sure! off the top of my head here are some of my favorites :) I keep my standards pretty high so sorry if they’re already well known. and these are just the ones that come to mind atm - there are so many more out there.

1. young god by @chrysalizzm (132k word series, sequel unfinished)

with utter sincerity: if any fic deserves to blow up so much that it gets read by ccs like heat waves did, it’s this one (with the author’s permission ofc). this is my favorite fic in this fandom right now. I want this printed and bound and illustrated and in my bookshelf. perfectly encapsulates so much of what makes dream smp dream smp. gorgeously fleshed out character relationships, doesn’t skimp out on the smaller creators, some of the most brilliant worldbuilding I’ve ever seen. practically poetry. an absolute MUST read no matter which characters are your favorites. if you need more convincing, this is the comment I left on it.

2. everything by blue000jay, but specifically:

previously, on other people’s heartache: 25k pov study of tubbo, niki, and eret in the manberg-pogtopia days. absolutely gorgeous. as someone who never really got into niki or eret’s characters, this fic made me fall in love with their perspectives. if you’re nostalgic for the old dream smp days, this’ll do it for you. really highlights some of the overlooked aspects of that point in the story.

antarctic adage: 50k antarctic empire sbi. pinnacle of the sbi ae aesthetic. does a genius job of laying the groundwork of their little found family, with all their strengths and flaws and love for each other, and ends by transitioning into the beginning of the dsmp storyline. I consider this personal canon.

battery city: 70k words of zombies!! sbi classic zombie apoc au. dystopia found family for the soul. some of the best philza I’ve ever read. so much clingy duo. surprise appearances by the dream team and a buncha others I won’t spoil. the ending will make you all gooey in the inside. series; part 2 unfinished.

3. it is just the way of the world by anetherealmelody: 71k unfinished PLATONIC SOULMATES SBI HECK YEA. techno pov. the plot is awesome. the way the author weaves relationships together and drops little hints and clues throughout the chapters - mwah. so much fun to read. some of the funniest sbi banter. everything else by them is golden as well.

4. if i’m found, i’ll end up lost by @transandor: 14k of pure poetry. this was the first fic in this fandom that really got me in the gut. if there’s any way to describe it, it’s just, quite frankly, beautiful. the way he writes emotion makes me want to cry. the way he describes scenery makes me want to fly. part 1 is one of my all time favorite clingy duo fics. part 2 (dream-centric) is what I reread at 3 am when I want to be put through the emotional equivalent of a dryer and come out all warm and fuzzy.

5. eros ≠ storge by idyllSunset: 12k sbi mcc4 oneshot. funny, angsty, adorable - the whole package. and man, this author?? this author could describe paint drying and I would read it. one of the best grasps of communicating emotion through imagery I’ve ever seen. this goes for everything by them - I haven’t read it all but when I do, it leaves me feeling like I should have cried but also deeply, wholly content for reasons I can’t quite name. wholly recommend all their sbi stuff.

hoo boy, this is getting long, okay one more -

6. everything by meridies (can’t speak for the dnf, haven’t read it, but) especially these:

no place like home: I think most folks know this one. 41k words of classic sbi foster family, featuring brand new argumentative baby brother tommy, edgy problem child wilbur, jealous bookish techno, and an exhausted phil who gets attached too quickly and just wants to keep the three of them from ripping each other apart. doesn’t skip the clingy duo either. meridies, my beloved.

how fast the evening passes: 37k, classic sbi foster family part 2 electric boogaloo: everyone’s grown up and hates each other for different reasons now! just kidding, they all love each other very much but suck at communicating. heavy on the angst but leaves you with a wonderful sense of optimism and hope. best author when it comes to digging up sbi’s nitty gritty lil flaws, finding scenarios that make them worse, turning them against each other, and then shoving them all in a car and sending it headlong down the bumpy road to healing. meridies my BELOVED.

7. I know I said one more but I just remembered - @fensandmarshes. oh goodness. I haven’t read everything by them but what I have? absolute brilliance. I’ll make it quick, but shoutout to these in particular:

when our hearts beat slow together (feels like i'm home): 8k sbi wingfic, crimebois centric. want fluff? look no further. softest series you’ll ever read, guaranteed. it’s a giant fluffy blanket and I want to curl up in it and go to sleep.

rent free: 8k of feel good irl sbi but with ~telepathy~. slightly cracky, very sweet and funny. excellent characterization. also I didn’t know there was a part 2 when did that show up oh gosh I have to read it immediately-

we all got to the modern era through different varieties of time bullshit and now we're a family again pog: 13k sbi immortal/time travel/reincarnation/god au. or something. idk, they’re all immortal one way or another. will have you bawling one chapter and clutching your stomach with laughter the next. so creative. excellent phil pov. and the tommy pov sequel is a GEM.

and a lot of what I’ve recommended is long so here are some short ones - their two oneshots of a c!tommy c!wilbur afterlife reunion - lay down your dying breath, too heavy to rise (2.7k, good big bro wilbur!) and asphodel (4.8k, watch out wilbur’s evil oh god). both are incredible.

#sorrrry this is long #ask #anonymous #vee recs fics #vee rambles

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wistfulrat · 3 years

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this week’s fics! feat. bakeries, bookshops, bisexual awakenings of the angsty and fluffy sort, wolfstar goddads being tender as hell, desi harry reconnecting with his culture, domestic drarry, a lap dance set to akon’s smack that, and more!

But That’s History by @ebbet - 54k - T Harry Potter starts his first year as Muggle Studies Professor only to find that Draco Malfoy has been hired to teach History of Magic.

listen to me. this is one of the funniest drarry fics i've ever read. i was cackling in my bed at 2am because harry’s internal monologues throughout this fic are unhinged. insanely quotable. “what was he, a lothario” and “you were crushing me with your muscular thighs!” are lines that live rent free in my empty head. harry has never played anything cool a day in his life. there’s a faculty meeting where the teachers are planning the yule ball and debating the merits of a DJ when harry decides he must defend his muggle-music-loving honor by dancing seductively to akon’s smack that while a blushing draco loses his mind. i fucking screamed. and the best part is that in between the comedic scenes threading the overall story, you have extremely tender moments of like, padma patil helping harry become a more rooted desi by sharing their cultural traditions, harry proudly donning his sherwani. draco wrestling with his past, going to harry’s lgbtq+ club for students, being sheepish with ron and hermione. ugh, comedic writers with emotional depth are clever and talented as hell!!

Realities, Unfurling by @ebbet - 45k - M Draco Malfoy is released from Azkaban into a changed world.

incredible collage-fic told from multiple povs. 8yrs post-war and everything’s changed. the current state of the magical world unfolds via slice-of-life snapshots from a truly stunning cast. non-binary harry whom is running a non-prof org dedicated to building tolerance and establishing equality for marginalized identities. post-prison-release draco whose life will be changed by the internet. neville’s tender relationship with blaise. andromeda’s fiercely protective mothering. remus and sirius being alive and very hot and just, the tender goddads harry deserved. cho chang being brilliant. baker pansy’s softened edges. found families abound. harry being flustered by their crush on draco and making personalized playlists on an iPod nano.

that all might sound narratively cluttered but the author more than pulls this off. glorious, start to finish.

Knead by @jovialobservationanchor (an @hd-erised fic) - 83k - E This is not a story about Harry renovating Grimmauld Place. This is a story about coffee shops and brewpubs, about Ginny and Luna on a farm with creatures, about magical Oregon, coastal road trips, flying, friendship, and Draco Malfoy's lean arms.

cinematic. a love letter to oregon’s expansive landscapes and lively cities. it’s harry finding home in unexpected places and people. in the vast silence of rolling fields, endless coasts, and starry night skies big enough to feel like you’re adrift in space. and it’s also the lingering, intimate quiet of early mornings in a bakery, sitting on a park bench overlooking the city as you eat ice cream next to your crush. it’s harry watching ginny and luna dance and work around each other like bees. it’s the slow unfolding of harry and draco’s relationship as they fill each other’s quiet. finishing this fic is like waking from a good dream. transporting, immersive, lovely.

Harry Potter and the Bisexual Awakening by @writcraft - 20k - E Harry is perfectly content being single, heterosexual and living in Godric's Hollow with his very clingy rescue dog, Snitch. When Draco Malfoy turns up on Harry's doorstep demanding that Harry teach him how to drive, things quickly become a lot more complicated.

first of all, i feel very seen by draco being a gay-who-can’t-drive. it’s called representation. but mostly i love the ease of harry and draco’s banter, a flustered harry discovering his sexuality, and the way this fic addresses biphobia. also very emo over this exchange: “I think I might be scared of you, but probably not for the reasons you think.” “Yes.” Draco stares at Harry. “I think I might be scared of you too.”

Forged through flowing water by @tedahfromtayla (an @hd-erised fic) - 40k - E When Hermione sets up a diplomatic mission to begin repairing the damage British colonisation did to Indian magical communities Harry isn’t going to pass on the opportunity to visit and help his family’s home country. Maybe he should have asked a few more questions about the personnel she had recruited for it before signing on because Malfoy surely has an ulterior motive to be there.

so much to love about this fic. the beautiful settings, from kolkata to mumbai, to the holi festival and colorful lively streets, to remote cave settlements and old intricate temples. it’s harry in the homeland, reconnecting to his family’s heritage and confronting the weight of imperialism in his history. it’s nipping the white savior complex in the bud. this part: That is what England left behind. That is what it still stands for, despite whatever mask of respectability and honour it presents. . .You don't get to step aside and let someone else deal with the mess. You have to listen and learn and then act, Malfoy, you need to learn how to fix your own mess. This is why we're here. my indigenous ass cheered. HP certainly sells the british fantasy but HP fanfic?? fuck jkr, fuck the crown. i love that this fic doesn’t romanticize england’s history. i love that we get to see the vast resilience and beauty of post-colonial india.

Purity Control by yrfrndfrnkly - 28k - T In which Harry tries to ignore his trauma with fantasy Quidditch but Malfoy's Thereness™ is distracting and all his classmates want to talk about are unicorns, virginity, and Muggle music.

tender 8th year fics where they go from bristly as fuck to understanding and soft 100% guaranteed to make me emo as hell. all the teens have traumas and no one wants to talk about it but eventually Things are Talked About. it’s good of the adults to finally notice. everyone just wants someone to hold their hand. and this part: “You’re the only person around here who’s a bigger mess than I am.” “I thought maybe we could be a mess together,” pls don’t look at me as i weep over their gentle empathy.

Advent, a comic by dustmouth - WIP - T It's Harry and Draco's first Christmas together and Draco is determined to live his full yuletide fantasy, come hell or high water.

dustmouth, patron saint of whimsical drarry. whose illustrations singlehandedly reinvented wizarding fashion. whose cheeky and tender comics are like a soothing balm to the utter depravity of this carnal world. harry and draco being domestic, draco’s xmas spirit brand being “traditional unhinged”!! extremely my shit. we’ll absolutely be reading this all december.

Little Spaces by @dracoladon and @lazywonderlvnd - WIP - E Draco's back from France and working on the spell damage ward at St Mungo's with Hermione, who invites him over for dinner. Without telling Harry. This is a roleplay, which means Harry is written by one author (lazywonderland) and Draco by another (dracoladon).

the switch in distinct character voices works so well for this fic!! tonally i feel like i'm watching an episode of the office. i personally love harry and draco being Pissed Off at how much they want to bone each other. the battle of the tapenade was the most riveting dinner scene i've read in a minute. clever, hilarious, emotionally tense. can’t wait until that inevitable moment post hate-sex when they’re gonna be like “oh noooo it’s a Heart Boner as well!! >:((” hell ya we’re subscribing for chapter updates.

Dragons Don’t Know Paradise by @teacup-tai - WIP - E In 2004, when Remus spends two scary weeks in the ITU due to complications of pneumonia and his HIV condition, Sirius walks around the house like a ghost and Harry finds comfort and strength in Draco through a chat in an online LGBT forum. Harry falls for him, but Draco has a lot of secrets and, before long, will need to come clean—even if he believes that no one is able to understand a dragon.

non-magical bookshop AU. remus and sirius’ relationship is a marvel. the ease of their affection with harry makes me so emo. draco’s friends being insistently present even as he tries to isolate himself. this is a story about acceptance, found families, and falling in love at a distance. the intimacy, the longing, the tenderness. what a fic!! i keep coming back to this part:...he looks at ease, inside his body, a body he needed to fight for. He’d made peace with his struggles and his scars. And Draco realises he wants that. He wants to be at ease inside his body, the body that now carries a virus. He wants to be at peace with his own existence. you hurt for draco so deeply but you get moments like these where he affords himself a kindness that feels foreign and it’s just!! the boys navigating grief and learning to be vulnerable. so good.

#drarry fic rec #drarry #we live and die for desi harry aka hari poddar bc fuq jkr #a lot of soft drarrys this week but in my defense ive been reading hella angst and my depression was not finding that cute #weekly drarrys

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variousqueerthings · 3 years

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Tom Hardy Movies rated least to most queer

I made a list of some Tom Hardy movies and I rated them based on my own, non-specific criteria about what makes a movie queer. Results below the cut.

(Some films not included, because I haven’t watched them yet, because Mr Hardy’s only in them for a few minutes, because the subject matter doesn’t lend itself to this list, or because I just don’t want’em here. TV series also not included. The list is organised into both groups and ratings, because I’m doing The Most.)

Movies are divided into four groups and rated from 0 – 10 on the Queer-Scale, scroll down to the bottom if you want the ratings without the commentary.

Disclaimer: This list is subjective. Don’t come at me because I didn’t rate Inception higher, Nolan himself is as queer as cargo shorts.

1. This movie would make more sense if it were queer

If this movie were queer it… might not become a perfect film all of a sudden, but it’d make a hell of a lot more sense than what’s actually going on. With an occasional dose of “are the cis-straights okay?”

This Means War (2012): So Chris Pine and Tom Hardy are ostensibly both in love with Reese Witherspoon, but say “I love you” to each other pretty much constantly throughout the movie and their friendship is often presented as a domestic partnership. Cool, cool, cooool.

Queer Rating: 2 out of 10. This movie hate-crimed me by having Tom Hardy literally spell out his relationship with Chris Pine, only for the script to then have him say… “can you imagine all that… but with a woman…” Later on the movie explicitly denies polyamory is possible. Fuck this film.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012): Batman movies should always be queer. Mr. Hardy’s the only one who acceptably camps it up, despite Nolan’s best attempts to make him “acceptably gruff.” No matter what you do, Bane is a massive daddy in a mask and thanks to Mr Hardy’s honestly iconic fucking speech pattern in this film, it goes from pretty atrociously straight to just queer enough to imagine a future where Robert Pattinson plays batman and maybe adopts a bunch of kids.

(the only truly decent mask in this franchise tbh)

Queer Rating: 3 out of 10. Mr Hardy’s back is the one that’s actually broken carrying any semblance of fun in this overly long movie all on his own.

Lawless (2012): Wow, this really was the year of the not-queer-enough, wasn’t it? Look, it’s “based on a real story,” but it’s also a movie and movies don’t need to stick to the truth, and this one certainly doesn’t. Was the guy queer in real life? I don’t know. But that doesn’t matter, what matters is that it’s just kind of an eh movie and maybe being queer would add something to it. One of those “but why make someone queer? because it’s always more interesting to do so,” movies.

Queer Rating: 3 out of 10. It’s just not queer. But Tom Hardy wears cardigans and described his character as a “mother figure,” which adds an interesting dynamic to him.

2. Actually Queer but in a homophobic way

Tom Hardy plays a canonically queer character, yaaay. The whole movie contains a strange sense of the director being too not-queer to actually engage with that and everything around him is almost aggressively straight, noooo.

RocknRolla (2008): Honestly this movie has the funniest coming out scene ever + that familiar undertone of “all these manly men secretly want to fuck each other” is only heightened by one of them actually being gay and in love with his best friend. It’s such a fucking… it’s such a movie. Personally I find Mark Strong, Idris Elba, Thandie Newton, and, of course, Tom Hardy to be really hot in it, so that’s a plus. There’s a scene in which Strong’s character teaches another gangster how to do a proper backhand. It’s really gay of him. Also slow-dancing at a gay club. Butler’s character needs to get himself together, you really don’t think 2008 Tom Hardy is hot? Mate.

(left to right: functional queer, disaster queer, distinguished queer)

Queer Rating: 6 out of 10, for having an actual gay character who is played by Tom Hardy doing a sexy phonecall voice to another guy, but then there’s that feeling you can’t shake that the whole movie is vaguely uncomfortable about it, like a family member awkwardly patting you on the shoulder after they found out you were queer second-hand, but they’ve still got 50 years of bias to unlearn. Also Thandie Newton is killed, fuck that noise.

Legend (2015): If I had a nickle for the amount of times Tom Hardy’s played a gay gangster, I’d have two nickles. Which isn’t a lot, but weird that it happened twice (looks at Peaky Blinders and thinks it ought to be three times). I’ve watched Legend three times and every time it just… loses me. And because this is a biased list, I’ll only specifically mention that it fails to make Ron’s queerness anything but a way for him to shock others. Gangsters could be gay? Gasp! On the upside Tom Hardy has so much sexual tension with everyone in this movie, including himself (why would you do that? Asks Ron, bemused. Because I can’t kill you, no matter how much I fucking want to, hisses a blood-soaked Reggie right into his ear. It’s hot).

Queer rating: 5 out of 10 because the film is just not very queer for a movie with several queer men in it.

3. Straight as a forced family dinner

It’s straight.

Locke (2013): He’s a married man who had an affair and trying to deal with the fallout of it. This isn’t a spoiler for most of the movie, it’s a pretty neat movie where we look at Tom Hardy having a bit of a mental breakdown and taking lots of phonecalls (my personal hell). Is it queer? Not in the slightest.

Queer Rating: 2 out of 10 for Hardy’s face being in almost every shot.

The Revenant (2015): Yeah, yeah, DeCaprio’s and Hardy’s characters are obsessed with each other, yeah it’s a man’s world where the only women are dead wife, kidnapped sexually assaulted native princess, or background whore, yeah, they fight each other and there’s a ton of grunting, but also… I just fucking don’t like this movie. The thin line where a storyline like this one becomes queer might be crossed for others, but not for me. Fuck these guys and their stupid bear fights.

Queer rating: 3 out of 10 for it being about dirty men in the middle of nowhere (but you could just watch Brokeback Mountain or The Lighthouse or God’s Own Country or any Mad Max, or, or, or…)

4. Queer? Queer. Queer? … Queer…

The plots, aesthetics and/or characters played by Tom Hardy lend themselves to a queer reading, even if there is no overt intention towards queerness. Often this is because of a deliberate lack of heterosexual and/or cisgender writing, which in this day and age is still pretty uncommon not to include within a plot.

Inception (2010): Okay, I don’t even need to write about the added “darling,” or the “go to sleep Mr Eames.” I don’t need to go on about the absolutely bonkers amount of fanfiction written for Eames and Arthur, based on a few minutes of film and a boatload of chemistry. It’s queer.

Queer Rating: 7 out of 10, because the actual plot of the film isn’t very queer, but between the Arthur/Eames dynamic and Elliot Page, Nolan was really given a gift he didn’t deserve.

Warrior (2011): Okay, so first off, this might be my favourite Tom Hardy film, at least some part of my brain is fixated on it at almost all times and I’m considering watching it for the third time in two weeks. I don’t only consider it queer based on Mr. Hardy’s character, although he has no romantic or sexual interest and could be read as aroace, but because of the themes, especially those surrounding said character, who is coded as a caregiver to women and through close emotional connections to men. It’s got possibly unintentional deconstructions of masculinity and two men (brothers) who need to forgive each other and can only do so through the catharsis of violence. It speaks to me as a transmasc with several cis brothers, struggling with my own masculinity. It’s not at all written for me, but I find myself all over it. I could talk about this movie forever.

Queer Rating: 8 out of 10. I’m not allowed to say any more or I’ll never stop writing about it. I love you Tommy…

The Drop (2014): Bob’s lack of sexual and/or romantic interest in Naomi is so strange to her that she doesn’t know what he would want from her otherwise. Bob really just wants to raise a dog with her (and also forgiveness for past sins). Bob is such a rare ace and possibly aro coded character, it really throws me every time I watch this film how obvious it is. Bonus points for also being autistic-coded and not in the stereotypical ways.

(Tom Hardy’s most challenging role: pretending he doesn’t know dogs)

Queer Rating: 9 out of 10 because it’s so fucking rare to see ace and aro coded characters that aren’t, you know…. serial killers. Also Tom Hardy adopts a puppy and has a very cute, kinda lispy voice. How often does Tom Hardy play softer men like this?

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015): Very deliberately no sexual or romantic writing included in Max’s and Furiosa’s relationship. Sure, there’s not a lot of time for that in the post-apocalyptic wasteland, but it was also done with a purpose! “It was always going to be two warriors on par, starting off with very little respect for each other and ending up with a massive respect for each other.” - Charlize Theron. “So of course they meet, of course there’s a relationship, an unspoken understanding. A recognition.” - Tom Hardy.

Queer Rating: 9 out of 10. It’s not just the characters, but the world and it’s apocalyptic BDSM leather scene, the questions it asks about sustainability and about people as tools, and the found family. It’s about overcoming violence through multiple kinds of love. And it’s about watching a guy playing flame-thrower guitar. What could be queerer?

Venom (2018): Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same… No, but Eddie is queer. The only question is whether the sequel will acknowledge that aspect or not, but even if not. Even if it manages to straightly bypass the reality of a symbiotic relationship with a genderless? genderfluid? being from another world that is linked to you down to your very cells and understands you more intimately than any other person possibly could… even if all that: Eddie is queer. Venom and Eddie are in a relationship. Any relationship Eddie ever enters into will automatically become a thrupple. He makes out with Venom in the movie! Eddie is queer.

(aw yeah that tongue is going down his throat)

Queer Rating: 9.5 out of 10, because it’s still coded by the creators in the language of bromance (hey, bro, is it gay if we’re physically and emotionally closer than any other people on earth?), but the movie is so, so camp and Mr Hardy’s acting choices are beautiful – the screaming? The lispy soft voice and lack of taking up space? The lobster tank? The only people who don’t know how queer this is are the people making it apparently. Fingers crossed for that sequel!

Hon. mentions:

Star Trek: Nemesis (2002): Star Trek – even at it’s worst (especially at its worst?) – is camp af + Hardy is a straight-up baby in this film.

Bronson (2008): It’s about a real person who’s still alive, so I won’t comment on the actual man. However the film seems to code the character Bronson along an ace line and also has genderqueering Vaudeville. Someone let Tom Hardy do more of whatever was going on in those stage-bits.

(this right here: this the good shit)

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Another ensemble piece not massively about Hardy’s character, but it’s a movie that centers around queerness in a strange, depressing way. Tom Hardy’s character isn’t queer. Colin Firth and Mark Strong are though. The book makes me cry.

Peaky Blinders (2013-): Because it’s a TV series I left it out. There’s a lot of straight nonsense going on there, but Alfie Solomens is gay. There’s nothing in the series that disputes that and plenty that lends itself to the reading.

Dunkirk (2017): Tom Hardy plays an RAF pilot in a deep emotional connection with the other main RAF pilot. That’s immediately gay. However he’s not in the movie much because of the way it’s constructed, so I left it off.

Queer Ratings (least to most)

No queer to be found here traveller:

This Means War: 2 out of 10 - illegal movie, Tom Hardy swore he wouldn’t do another rom-com after

Locke: 2 out of 10 - straight Welshman and his straight problems. He pretty though

Lawless: 3 out of 10 - cardigan-Hardy being a mother-hen, but very straight for all that

The Dark Knight Rises: 3 out of 10 - a superhero movie that doesn’t deserve Mr Hardy’s camp talents (unlike Venom)

The Revenant: 3 out of 10 - doesn’t give me what I want out of a movie full of dirty, bearded men

Queer but we deserve more:

Legend: 5 out of 10 - timid homosexuality, considering the source material.

RocknRolla: 6 out of 10 - hey bro, is it gay if we kill the only female lead in our massive ensemble cast

The queerest of Hardy’s:

Inception: 7 out of 10 - Elliot Page and JGL kissing was an all-around terrible choice that made no sense, we know the truth, Nolan

Warrior: 8 out of 10 - I’m still crying, Edgerton’s crying, Hardy’s crying, we’re all crying, and I think that’s really emotionally healthy and queer of us

Mad Max: Fury Road: 9 out of 10 - non-romantic love in the time of BDSM post-apocalyptic wastelands is something that can actually be so personal

The Drop: 9 out of 10 - “Fucking punk. Go out to dinner dressed like you're still in you living room! You wear those big hippity-hoppity clown shoes! You speak to women terribly! You treat them despicably! You hurt harmless dogs that can't defend themselves! I'm tired of you man. I'm tired of you. You embarrass me!”

Venom: 9.5 out of 10 - Sometimes a relationship is an anxious reporter, the sentient goo inhabiting his body, his kinda-ex-girlfriend and her new doctor boyfriend, and I think that’s beautiful

#tom hardy #mad max: fury road #venom 2018 #inception #rocknrolla #warrior 2011 #legend 2015 #the drop 2014 #the revenant #the dark knight rises #lawless 2012 #locke #this means war

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the-gc-record-club-blog · 3 years

Text

HEAUX TALES (JAZMINE SULLIVAN)

Selected by V Nasty

OBELLA’S TAKE

Favorite Song: On It ft. Ari Lennox

Spit Yo' Game/Talk Yo' Shit: My honorable mention is Ari’s Tale because that skit is actually one of the funniest things I’ve ever heard. God, I would die for Ari Lennox. But that is neither here nor there. Jazmine did that with her brilliant display of the diversity of femininity and womanhood, powerful female vocalists behind the insane vocals Ms. Sullivan already has going for her, and a selection of songs that give us grief, confusion, insecurity, empowerment, and self-love all wrapped in one. It has bangers but also has ballads and it never felt like too much of either. A very well balanced R&B hit album if I do say so myself... and I do... say so myself that is

Lit-mus Test: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

VANESSA’S TAKE

Favorite Song: Put It Down Spit Yo' Game/Talk Yo' Shit: I really enjoyed Reality Show, the album before this one (and I recently got the shock of my life in remembering that it came out in 2015!!), but somehow Heaux Tales is even better. Jazmine Sullivan has been a consistent presence for years but doesn't get nearly enough credit for being one of the greatest vocalists in the game - and improving on the model with each new release. "Put It Down" gives me everything I could want in an R&B song and she's singing/spittin from *within the gd fibres* of her bag; the call/response/harmony segment at 00:20-00:28 sounds so perfect to my ears that it literally gives me goosebumps. I'm weary of skits on albums as they rarely do enough to convince me that the album wouldn't be better without them, that's the only reason why this didn't get a 5-flame rating. But Jazmine is at her zenith on Heaux Tales - she found the perfect mix of bangers and ballads, and I'm struggling to find better words to describe this but her attitude/swagger on this album is off the charts. As such, I'd be remiss if I didn't write in an honourable mention for "Pick Up Your Feelings" because wheeeeew get out the way!

Lit-mus Test: 🔥🔥🔥🔥

OCHIENG’S TAKE

Favorite Song: Bodies - Intro

Spit Yo' Game/Talk Yo' Shit: I thought Jazmine's career was much older than it actually was, seeing as though most of my experience with Jazmine is through her singles from her debut album. It's actually crazy to think about but Jazmine is actually younger than J Cole, who has been around for a while but I hardly consider him a veteran. I think the reason I thought Jazmine's career had a much longer run than it actually did is because her biggest hits are dated so clearly by their sound. This isn't a bad thing by any means, but it worried me going in. You often see when people relied on a certain sound during their prime they try to recreate that magic by using a completely different sound that's not suitable to their strengths in an attempt to adapt. I think Eminem and Nas are recent examples of this. However, Jazmine came through in full effect and delivered an amazing project. From the opening track she had me hooked and now I need to go through her discography in full! Lit-mus Test: 🔥🔥🔥(and a half for good measure)

CALVIN’S TAKE

Favorite Song: Girl Like Me (feat. H.E.R.)

Spit Yo' Game/Talk Yo' Shit: For better or worse, one of the first things I'll do these days when I look at any piece of content is: how long is this? In a noisy world (some of y'all need to pipe down for real), you kind of have no choice but to be good, be brief, and be gone if you're going to break through. Enter "Heauxtales" - thank you Jazmine Sullivan. What I love about this album so much is not just that it's 30 minutes long - it's the clarity of the concept, and how quickly Jazmine pulls us into it. By track four (seven minutes in) we know: Jazmine's grown. But she seems to be going through it. She needs to get it together. Is she too grown to be going through it and not have it together? Antoine is going through it too. Ari, we hear you. Men ain't shit but: can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em! It would seem that people (but Jazmine is specifically doing this one for the ladies)...have needs and contain multitudes.

None of this would have connected without the power of the vocal performances on the project. It's almost scary that the power to belt out a hook like on "Pick Up Your Feelings" can exist inside a human that isn't 50 feet tall or lives on top of a mountain ruling over their subjects. It's a vulnerable album that's presented very confidently, because Jazmine seems so accepting and present within herself, her feelings, and the contradictions within them. That willingness to lay it all out makes it (to me) sound fresh, without chasing trends.

Lit-mus Test: 🔥🔥🔥🔥 (and a half for good measure)

#jazmine sullivan #jazmine #heaux tales #the gc record club #music #music reviews

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