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suugarbabe · 7 months

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Forget Me Not (3)

[Chapter 3]

Pairing: Fred Weasley x reader

Word count: 2150

Warning: angst, fluff

an: the loooong awaited part 3! Sorry it took me so long, life got in the way and I was a little lost in my writers brain but i'm baaaack and it's gonna get juicier and better :)))))

Your body jolted, seemingly flinching at the action of Fred slamming his fist down on the table. You know he didn’t mean it on purpose, you knew this whole ordeal was harder on him than it was on any of you, but you couldn’t help feeling a little selfish at the fact that he still couldn’t remember anything significant about you.

After the intimate moment you had with him on the couch, holding him on your chest like you used to, tracing your fingers in his hair to help soothe him and calm him down that day, you thought that maybe he would start remembering. Maybe having a moment so similar to one you’ve had time and time again would trigger something in his brain.

However it seemed like the more time he spent with you the more frustrated he got. He got a headache everytime you were near him, every time you tried talking with him or tried to reminisce with George about the fun you guys had while at school. Fred could remember the exact scenario, remember everything he did and even George’s responses, but he couldn’t see you in any memory.

He said it was like there was a blurry figure when he tried to picture it, and then his chest started to feel tight and his head started to pound. You could tell when it started to happen. He would close his eyes, pinch the bridge of his nose and sigh deeply. Then he would slam his hand or fist down on the table, push his seat back harshly and leave the room.

It always left you feeling terrible. Terrible because you didn’t know how to help him. Terrible because you were the one causing him pain. Not on purpose, but it was clearly memories of you that were making him have these physical reactions. You wanted to comfort him, wanted to take him out into the garden like you’ve done hundreds of times and sit on the bench together, talking about everything frustrating and letting each other vent, it was your special spot. But you couldn’t. It would only cause things to get worse.

So when you heard Fred and George talking and your name get slipped into the conversation, you sat on the stairs, mouth covered by the sleeve of your jumper to help conceal your presence.

“I just don’t understand it, Georgie,” you heard the strain in Fred’s voice and you could feel your heart breaking. “Why can’t I remember her? Everyone keeps telling me how important she was to me. Merlin, she was apparently my bloody girlfriend! And if that’s true why hasn’t she told me that?”

You could hear George let out a sigh, “She is your girlfriend, Freddie, and you love her. So much, or at least you did. And she doesn’t want to make you feel like you have to be with her if you don’t remember.”

Tears brimmed your eyes, what George said holding truth. You were so desperately in love with Fred, but you were not going to force his hand if he couldn’t remember the love he had for you or all the times and intimate moments you shared together.

“It’s just, fucking bloody hell,” Fred slammed his fist against the table again, “Why does it physically fucking hurt when I think about her? Were we bad together Georgie? Was I terrible to her? Please tell me I wasn’t awful to her…she’s been so kind to me, even though I can’t remember a thing about her.

“She’s made me lunches, gotten me tea in the mornings, she even knows which jumpers are my favorite. What if I can’t remember anything about her because I was so terrible to her and I’m like, protecting myself from myself or something like that?” You could hear the wobble in Fred’s voice and you couldn’t stop the tears from silently falling down your cheeks.

“No, Freddie. No, no, you were amazing to her, so bloody good to her, and her you. Merlin you two had everything anyone would want, could almost finish each other’s sentences as well and me and you can. Honestly, Fred, you were talking about marrying her after the war was over…”

You bit the thick of your sleeve, trying to conceal the gasping sob that was threatening to escape as you listened to the plans you had no idea were being made. Fred was planning to ask you to marry him…and now he could barely remember anything about you, let alone the relationship you had built together.

You decided you’d heard enough, had hurt yourself enough eavesdropping, and tip-toed quietly to bed. You opened the door to Fred and George’s room as quietly as you could, hoping the sound of their own voices and the height you were at in the burrow was enough to conceal any creak the hinges might make.

When you closed the door, you finally allowed yourself to cry, collapsing onto Fred’s bed. He had been sleeping on the couch lately and you had taken home in his room in his place. You pulled back the quilt, sliding underneath before pulling it back up to your chin. You buried your face into his pillow, it still smelled like him; vanilla and cinnamon.

You must have fallen asleep while crying because the next thing you knew, the sun was peeking out from the curtains on the window. You stretched your arms out in front of you when you noticed something heavy slung around your waist. Your eyes shot open, seeing George completely zonked out in the bed across from you, meaning, “Freddie.”

His name came out in almost a silent whisper. His grip on your waist tightened, pulling your back impossibly closer to his chest. One of his long legs was slotted between yours, entangling your lower limbs as he subconsciously buried his face in the crook of your neck.

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t miss waking up like this, but it had been a while since you had done so and you were not about to move yet. You closed your eyes again, relishing in the feeling of Fred against you in a way that felt so much like home. His broad shoulders and larger figure meant that he essentially engulfed you in a heated cocoon of his body and you loved every second of it.

When you heard George stirring across from you, you allowed yourself to open your eyes again. He was sitting up on the edge of his bed, hands resting on the bed beside his legs while the largest smirk was plastered on his freckled face, “Well, well, ducky. Don’t you two look cozy.”

You held up your middle finger, whisper shouting at the twin across from you, “Sod off, will ya? I just don’t want to wake him yet, he seems to actually be sleeping peacefully for once.” George held up his hands in defense, “You’re gonna have to wake him soon, I can smell mum making breakfast and she’s probably wondering where he is anyway.”

You sighed, slowly turning around in Fred’s hold as George left the room. When you finally managed to face him, Fred buried his head into your chest and pulled you closer, grabbing hold of the back of your knee and pulling it over his hip. You gasped slightly at the action, but didn’t make a move to pull away.

Light scratches to his scalp and the sound of your voice are what eventually pull Fred from his slumber. “Freddie, you’ve got to get up. Your mum’s making breakfast.” He groans, too comfortable in his current position to want to move, but he eventually pulls away from you, albeit very slowly.

You expected him to shoot away from you once he noticed his position but instead he just leaned back slightly so he could properly look you in the eyes. His hand was at the curve of your lower back, your leg still hooked over his hip, “Good morning.” He greeted you with a voice thick of sleep and you swore you could melt on the spot.

Realizing he was fully awake and speaking you went to move your leg off of him, but his hand shoots to your thigh, stopping your actions, “P-please don’t move yet, I haven’t been this comfortable since I’ve gotten home.”

He looked at you with shy eyes as you cupped his face with your hand, thumb tracing the apple of cheek, “Okay, Freddie.” He closed his eyes at your touch and you couldn’t help but trace the scar that was now prominent above his brow. The scar that represented the spell that took your Fred away from you, that erased you from his memory and left you and Fred in an emotional purgatory.

You let yourself get lost in comfortability, lost in your emotions as you placed a gentle kiss to his forehead, right next to his scar. When you pulled back, his eyes fluttered open to meet yours. There was a silence between you, not uncomfortable but you could feel it getting thick. Fred’s eyes fell to your lips, then slowly trailed back up to meet your eyes.

You stared at each other, not sure if he was going to make the move you were so desperate for. Your faces were so close, his lips right there. He cupped your cheek, the pad of his thumb tracing your lower lip, dragging downwards slightly. Your breath hitches in your throat as you notice him leaning towards you. Your impatience got the best of you and you finished closing the gap between you, slotting your lips with a passion you had missed for months.

You weren’t sure if it was muscle memory, or if even in his forgetful state Fred was just as physically attracted to you but as soon as your lips met, it was like he couldn’t get your bodies close enough, his hand squeezing at the flesh of your thigh pulling you to straddle his lap as he turned to his back.

His other had found the back of your neck, holding your body flush to his as your hands found ground on the mattress on either side of his head. It had been so long since you kissed your boyfriend that it felt like a first kiss, your stomach in swirling butterflies, heart pounding against your chest.

Your lungs were burning but you didn’t want to pull away, the softness of his lips seemingly curing any emotional ailment you had been feeling the night before. When you finally pull away a slight whimper leaves Fred’s mouth, his hands settling on your hips as you sit on his lap.

“We’ve done that before, haven’t we?” Fred asks cheekily. You rake your teeth along your bottom lip, trying to suppress your smile, “Yes, Freddie. We’ve done that many times before.”

His hands ran idly up and down your thighs, “Well I think we should do it again, might jog my memory, yannow?”

You perked up a little, “Do you remember something, Freddie?” He shrugged his shoulders, “I remember that I really like kissing you, like love kissing you.” He laughed lightly, blocking your hand as you went to slap his chest, “C’mon, your mum’s making breakfast and we need to get down there. Any longer and she might think we’re doing dirty things.”

Fred wiggled his eyebrows, “Well we have done dirty things before, too, haven’t we?” This time you were successful in slapping his chest as you climbed off his lap. You smoothed out your pajamas and jumper as you answered him, “Yes, Freddie…we have done other things before. We’ve been…erm…were together for a long time.”

Fred frowned slightly at your correction, “We’re still together, as far as I know I never broke up with you.”

You shifted your weight on your feet, “Yeah, but you don’t exactly remember asking me out either.” Fred stood then, wrapping his arms around your shoulders and pulling you close, “Well maybe you can tell me all about it after breakfast, yeah?”

You opened your mouth to respond before jumping slightly at the sound of a ‘pop’ and George appearing in the room. “Seems like every time I see you two you get cozier and cozier.”

This time it was Fred who gave his brother the finger, “Don’t be jealous that you’re alone Georgie.” You had to cover your mouth to conceal your laughter, your heart soaring at your old Fred showing his joking nature.

George waved him off, opening the bedroom door and walking downstairs. Fred grabbed your hand as he followed his twin, “C’mon, love. After breakfast we’ll go sit by the garden and you can tell me all about us, yeah? Garden seems like a beautiful and peaceful place to talk, it can be like our special spot.”

Your heart was soaring, “Yeah, Freddie, our special spot.”

taglist: @words-are-cheap ; @l0ulistens ; @reallysparklychaos ; @df841 ; @rhahghbs ; @delfonicstheme-blog ; @marvelsbitch ; @slytherclaws ; @football1921

*if your name is bolded it would not let me tag you

#forget me not series #forget me not part 3 #fred weasley series #fred weasley fic #fred weasley #fred weasley x you #fred weasley x reader #fred weasley angst #fred weasley fluff #fred weasley x y/n #weasley twins #george weasley #golden era #harry potter

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whetstonefires · 4 months

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So re: Qin Su's death, one thing I'm absolutely certain of is that she did not just conveniently kill herself due to her high level of distress, at the exact moment most convenient to a person she was super mad at.

Because, frankly, mxtx is not that shitty a writer. She doesn't sweat the details or logistics of things, characters are allowed to coincidentally turn up in the right place to make the plot work and so forth, but these novels are intensely concerned with character motive and internal life. Everyone does things for their own reasons.

People do what the plot requires, but a defining feature of her writing is that everyone is fashioned into the shape of the kind of person who would do that thing in this situation. Sometimes whole scenes or subplots exist mainly to put on display the underlying cognitive patterns that justify as individual choices the kinds of things stock characters routinely do in genre novels, for no reason than that they are The Type Of Character who Does That.

If Qin Su was going to commit suicide about the bad news, there would have been hints that this was the direction her thoughts were trending during the preceding scene, where we're introduced to her reactions. And there aren't.

Her primary reaction is anger. She's scared to death when her husband paralyzes her and puts her on his dismemberment table to interrogate later for the name of her informant. She is contemptuous of his caring almost exclusively about what all these horrors could do to their reputation.

There is nothing in the scene to suggest she would, given the opportunity to denounce him to the cultivation world, choose instead to escape by knife.

The interpretation of this sequence that says she Just Did That really annoys me, because it requires ignoring basically every single piece of information about the character other than the fact that Wei Wuxian always thought since they were kids that she wasn't very bright.

Furthermore, it would be out of character for Jin Guangyao to have knowingly arranged a situation likely to go so badly for him, and wildly unusual for him to get so lucky if he had. This man has shit luck normally.

The sensible thing for him to do, in a universe where Qin Su just conveniently opted for suicide instead of ratting on him, would have been to take the ten to twenty minutes of prep time he had to work with to disappear her the same way he did nmj's head.

This might have required killing her first, since we don't know where he put it, but while I'm sure he didn't want to do that I'm equally sure he was entirely capable. He had a convenient scapegoat handy to blame for her disappearance.

He had no reason to allow her to be visible and capable of independent action when his cavalcade of guests arrived. But there she was, dazed but unrestrained. And then...cursed knife time.

Super convenient! She's dead and can't blab, and lots of important people saw her do it and saw how horrified he was and are disposed to be sympathetic. Works out much better for him than the risk of being blamed if she disappears.

So Wei Wuxian's assumption that jgy set the suicide up and compelled her somehow is the most logical inference. Neither of their characters is really compatible with the other scenario.

If Jin Guangyao had actual mind control powers he definitely would have used them a lot, so the most straightforward version of what happened is he used some technique or drug that would confuse her and suppress her cognition, then deliberately put 'cursed dagger that preys on your negative feelings and makes you kill yourself' within reach just before everyone entered.

I'm sure if it hadn't worked, and she'd just kind of stared into the distance while he talked his way out of the unproveable allegations and weaponized Mo Xuanyu's bad reputation and so forth, he'd have been happy with that outcome too, since it would still have meant a lot of important people saw her alive and not freaking out, and then he'd still have been able to torture her for information later. (Again, something I'm sure he didn't want to do, but absolutely would have.)

But this worked out well and got rid of two exposure threats at once while buying him sympathy points.

Although considering his shit luck, I wouldn't rule out that his plan only went as far as sedating her so she couldn't make trouble and he could show everyone how not paralyzed on his murder table she was, and he'd forgotten he had an evil dagger that compelled you to kill yourself lying around in reach of a woman whose ability to exert force of will he'd just reduced to nothing.

And he wasn't expecting that result at all.

#hoc est meum #mdzs #jin guangyao #qin su #meta #character meta #suicide #arguably domestic violence

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luffyvace · 2 months

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HIHIHIHI TYSM FOR DOING MY REQUEST ^U^ I hope u Don't mind me dropping another one u :'))

Can I have kusuo reaction to Reader-chan being mostly know for her gore/angst/horror series but looks like nothing for a person to write this stuff (she looks absolutely innocent) yet having a (technically an old man) friend who is also anonymous writer for one of kusuo favorite series yet the said look absolutely opposite of it (the reader-chan and her friend are like Junji Ito and hayao miyazaki)

I'm sorry if u couldn't understand the request:')) my English isn't really the best-

HII DARLING! No problem at all! Of course I don’t mind! Request at any time as long as they say open <3

ohhh so she’s a horror writer :> OHHH I was confused at first but as soon as I searched them up and saw the memes I understood 😂💓

This is such a cute and funny topic! Enjoy your hcs anon 💖 ⚠️ Gore mentions⚠️

Kusuo isn’t easily scared.

there are very few things that actually do scare him, considering he can sense everything coming from a mile away

But shows and books are an exception (given he doesn’t stare at the pages to see through the book-)

he’s not normally into horror but your manga is actually very interesting to him!

seeing a bunch of mutilated corpses packed together is quite a gripping sight for him!

and honestly he is obbsessed likes normalcy but your case is a type of unique he doesn’t mind :)

it’s funny since you have this friendly and kind personality and your work is the exact opposite of that 🤗

it’s giving the cute core girlies!! (and guys!! <3) 💓💗💖🌸🌷💞🎀

he still gets the perk of reading the chapter before publish and giving small ideas for stuff

You once put his favorite character from another series in one of the manga panels and he when he noticed it he had a little smile on his face! 💗

he wasn’t excpecting you to do that at all and it was a pleasant surprise ;3

your introduced him to your friend and he also likes his work now!

Y’all are literal polar opposites- and ngl? He enjoys the balance!

like when he wants some exhilarating and goosebump-giving action he’ll pick up one of your mangas’

and when he’s feeling mellow while eating some coffee jelly on his bed his new (second) favorite author to read from is your friend!

His number one author is of course you ♥︎

would recommend his friends (specifically Kaido) one of your mangas to freak them out

they definitely won’t be expecting it seeing as though your such a cheerful person! 🌸🎀🌷

I feel like Torisuka would genuinely enjoy your manga as well!

he doesn’t get scared easily by creepy stuff for obvious reasons 😋

so you’ve got yourself another supporter !!

I have a feeling my girl boss Airua would get creeped out but 1) she wants to support you so she would probably buy and either never read or 2) read it anyway because it’s so interesting

like you captivated people with your work!

just as much as your friend does with more gentler topics

but in a different sense

You make your audience quite literally cover their eyes in fear yet still peak through they’re fingers with anticipation !

like that’s how good it is!

a “I can’t look away” type of thriller!

also you know that really talkative guy with the bob?

yeah he over analyzes your manga once he finds out about it

(which let me tell you- Kusuo tried his hardest to keep him away from it—but much to his luck- he got a hold of it anyway)

thankfully he likes it!

he’s scared- but once again- he just can’t look away :)

he comes to you and gives your extremely detailed compliments and (positive) feedback after each chapter is released and says he can’t wait for more

he also tells his expectations and predictions for the next one and hopes you’ll live up to them

so when your exceed them he’s more than thrilled (GET IT?? Ok..)

he’s practically able to predict every book or manga he reads because he analyzes everything

so when your able to surprise him he’s impressed!

after Kusuo he’s the first one to buy a copy

(cuz yk Kusuo gets those special you-get-the-first-copy-before-it’s-published-because-your-my-boyfriend-privileges)

LOL

the bob guy is low key jealous of him for getting it before it’s even PUBLISHED

tries to bargain you to get that too but it’s strictly reserved for Kuu ♡

okay I looked up bob guy’s name

it’s Akechi Touma (oops)

LOL “bob guy”

enjoy!! Pretty short but I think they’re a delight~

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callmearcturus · 1 year

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actually, one more, and this is important.

hey there. did you read that hit piece faux-expose and get very upset at RQ and even pulled your KS support, and now you feel kind of foolish?

listen. it's okay. i did the exact same shit with other similar situations in the past. when you read something that is literally phrased and crafted to be incendiary, and then you get incensed? that's okay.

I want to be clear that shit like this is meant to make you feel angry so it coasts past your better angels. that's literally the goal.

it is okay to have had a reaction to reading it, and then to go "oh maybe i was mistaken, the situation is more nuanced" after you calm down or people point out the suspicious stuff.

I would advise you to internalize this as a lesson in how information on the internet is used to stoke a reaction out of you. always be thoughtful about sources, about the intentions of the writer, and about things presenting themselves as journalism or journalism-adjacent that have too much of the writer's voice in them.

#tma

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elucubrare · 11 months

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i've read a few things recently where a lot of the set dressing felt like the author was looking at the reader and saying "you've seen movies set in places like the one i'm describing. that's what's happening here" and it's true, i did know, but i still want the writer to pretend I didn't.

and that made me think about scene types and cliché and plot development in general. i think most people who have read or watched a lot of fiction instinctively know that there aren't that many building blocks for an author to work with (insert exact numbers people have come up with here), and the trick is in the order of combination, the kind of connections between them, and the different disguises you can put on the shape of the block. (i love an extended metaphor, as you can see, but those "blocks" are what TV Tropes popularlized as "tropes".)

from my experience as a reader and a person who loves reading other people's reactions to media, it seems like what makes people say "that was cliché" or "oh wow, this again?" is when writers fail to hide which blocks they're using. We all kind of know that the soldier who says "I'm a day away from retirement" or the wise mentor who helps our young hero isn't going to make it to the end of the story, but when the soldier actually, in a contemporary work, says "I'm a day away from retirement," it's too obvious: i know what I'm being cued to feel and think, and if it plays out exactly as I expect, I'm going to be disappointed.

a work of fiction is a collaboration between the writer and reader; i need to meet the author halfway there. When they describe a French chateau, I need to add the scent of lavender and the warmth of the afternoon sun. But I do feel let down when they say "there was a French chateau." and expect me to fill the rest of the meaning from there.

#on reading & on writing

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andreal831 · 2 months

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TVDU needs a more diverse representation of feminine strength

Can we leave behind this idea that woman have to exhibit stereotypical masculine traits to be "badass"?

We see this with nearly ever female character in TVDU. While, yes, there are women who have these traits naturally, TVDU forces this idea that femininity is bad and every woman responds to trauma or grows as a character by adopting masculine traits. This is referred to as the "tomboy" trope. We often see the feminine characters portrayed as naïve or ditzy and the masculine characters as strong and brave.

We have these characters in the beginning of the show that are nice, gentle, caring, all these things that we associate with femininity. But when they "grow" as a character, the become cruel, harsh, and selfish. They become their male counterparts.

Again, this isn't saying that woman are not just as capable of these traits as the men, they are. It's also not saying that all men behave this way. And there is nothing wrong with mixing and matching traits and characters, however, we need to see more diversity shown in a positive light. I wanted to see the show glorify more strong "girly" female characters or even strong, feminine men. We see Stefan tend to exhibit more compassionate traits, but he is often mocked for it or it is shown as a reaction to his addiction, rather than a natural way for men to behave.

Katherine is a great example of women taking on more "masculine" tendencies. While she may have started out exhibiting strong feminine qualities when she was human, her fighting to survive made her leave behind her feminine qualities and adopt more masculine ones. We also have to acknowledge how naïve they portrayed Katherine as a human. She was not only kind and compassionate, but easily manipulated by Klaus. We don't see the cunning woman that we see in present time. But this can make sense since she had five hundred years to harden. We don't see her go through it all, but the way she talks about her life, the audience can understand how she changed. The writers saw how much people loved Katherine and really just said copy/paste. All of the women go through so much that they just keep applying this same formula to each of them.

Elena essentially becomes Katherine for a few seasons. I love early seasons of Elena and then the very end when she turns human again. But as a vampire, she loses, ironically, so much of her humanity. The thing that made her character special. She was a caring person and her friends and family were her whole world. She wanted to be a doctor and save people and help those around her. She didn't want to harm anyone or be cruel. But as a vampire, she becomes so wrapped up in her personal life that she neglects everything else. She compromises her morals over and over again and you see her becoming Katherine at a much quicker rate. It's also worth noting how often Elena's autonomy is stripped away from her as a human versus the independence she can only seem to get by being a stereotypical vampire.

I know the writer's racism is the reason we didn't see Bonnie go down this path because they didn't want to give her a main storylines. If they had, they likely would have done the exact same thing, because it was all they knew how to do with women. But I love that Bonnie was always a caring person. Yes, it was frustrating to watch people take advantage of her, which they often do with caring characters. But it was refreshing to see her fight against the stereotype of needing to be a selfish, angry person in order to be a badass. She was an amazing, strong character and it was rooted in her compassion. Most of the women, in TVD specifically, have periods where I just don't like the characters, but Bonnie never does. And she isn't given enough credit for actually standing up for herself. But because she does it in a compassionate way, it is overlooked. Bonnie set healthy boundaries, rather than cutting people off or trying to kill them. She was the humanity of the entire show.

Bonnie and Cami to me play the same role in the show. They are the moral compass for the audience. They help remind the audience that the vampires are still the bad guys even if they are the main characters. While I understand Cami's vampire era, I hated that they made her go "dark." We've already seen this way of dealing with trauma. I would have loved to see someone handle their trauma in a healthy way. The show seemed to think the only way to handle life was to get angry and hard. They essentially try to push Cami to be more like Klaus. Whether this is because they felt like she needed to be more "badass" to be with Klaus or because they were attempting to turn the audience against her, I don't know. But they took a character who's strength came from her hope in humanity and twisted her to be just another angry vampire.

I also find it interesting that no one says Klaus or Vincent were trying to "change" Cami by reminding her of who she was before like they do with Stefan and Elijah. But that's another post.

A woman doesn't need to shed her femininity in order to be strong and independent. Masculine traits should not be the only ones we value. (I could write another post on how the men are seen as lesser when they exhibit more feminine traits)

We see bits of this with Rebekah in TO. We start seeing more of a compassionate side of her come out. But a lot of it is shown as her being naïve. They belittle her for still fighting for love after all of this time instead of showing the strength it takes to still be able to want to find love after being hurt so many times. She is vulnerable with Marcel and he uses it to figure out where her family is. Anytime she is respected by the other characters, and even the fandom, it's when she is ripping people' hearts out. We also can't talk about Rebekah without talking about how, when women turn into vampires, they are concerned about having children, but we don't see the same conversation with men.

And don't even get me started on the "crazy ex-girlfriend" trope that they reduce even the strongest women down to (Katherine, Qetsiyah, Rebekah, Aurora, Celeste, etc.)

Hayley is a little different because she is introduced in the show and "she's not like other girls." I think a bit of it is she is older and not into the "teen drama." But either way, she was introduced as a tomboy. I do like that they bring out her more feminine sides at times, but it is usually followed up with someone taking advantage of her. I've talked about it a lot, but her autonomy is constantly being stripped away. Anytime she shows any kind of vulnerability, she is immediately stripped of her own rights.

I haven't watched Legacies, but I did watch a few episodes of season 1. I thought they had done a better job of diverse femininity. Hope seems gentle and kind, Josie really plays into her femininity, while Lizzie was feminine but had strong "masculine" traits. But based on the edits/clips I've seen, Josie leaves the show and Lizzie and Hope both just become mini Klauses.

I would have loved to just see a strong woman who never had to compromise who they are and still survive. I really think Bonnie is the only one. This isn't to say there aren't problems with how Bonnie's character is depicted. There are many. The amount of times women in the show, specifically Bonnie, has to sacrifice their very lives for men to survive is ridiculous. I just love that she never had to adopt stereotypically masculine traits in order to survive or be seen as strong. She gained respect because of her love and compassion.

I also purposefully didn't talk about Caroline because I think she is a difficult character to nail down on what her underlying personality is. She is similar to Lizzie where she appears very feminine with strong "masculine" traits. I think a lot of this gets lost in the writing. She tends to be used as plot devises for the men, rather than being her own character in her own storylines. But just the fact that the fandom hates "insecure, human" Caroline and say it's a good thing Katherine killed her says enough about how the fandom views teenage girls and women.

#the tomboy trope #feminine women are just as strong #feminism isn't making everyone behave like men #I could talk forever about the issues of how feminism/femininity is depicted in tvdu #tvdu #the originals #the vampire diaries #tvd #women in tvdu #tvdu metas #metas

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nkjemisin · 1 year

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Things in my ask box #2

Got a new one for the “questions that might catch the poster some flak” bin. The poster asks, “What were you thinking when you wrote ‘The Ones Who Stay and Fight?’“ There was more to the question, but that’s what it boils down to (and I did clarify with the ask-er that this is what they wanted to know most).

I don’t generally like to discuss readers’ interpretations of my stories. Art is subjective, and what one person loves another might loathe, sometimes for the exact same reasons. Also, half the time I don’t even know what I’m doing; sometimes I don’t notice a theme in my work until years later when a reviewer mentions it, or I re-read it long after publication. My mind works in mysterious ways, even to me. But since you asked what I was thinking and not to confirm/deny a particular interpretation, I’ll try to explain.

(First, for those who haven’t read it, Ursula K. Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” is her most famous short story, and probably one of the most famous short stories in the world. There’s a whole subgenre of responses to it, because it provokes such powerful reactions in readers, and I’m no exception. [I’m a huge fan of Le Guin, if you didn’t know from me screaming about her to anyone who would listen for like 10 years now.] If you haven’t read the story, you should; it’s probably available somewhere online. There are a million ways to interpret the story, and if you poke around for reviews or lit crit analyses you’ll find feminist readings, anti-capitalist readings, mythopoeic/folklorist readings, and more. My story does not make sense if you haven’t read her story; it functions solely in conversation with Le Guin’s. Think of it as fanfic, if that helps.)

I’m not a literary scholar and I don’t pretend to be, but I’ve always leaned into the anti-capitalist reading of “Omelas.” Anybody who’s reading this in the developed world is already living in Omelas. Every time we buy a pair of Nikes, we’re contributing to sweatshops, child labor, migration crises, pollution... our own version of the abused child locked in a cellar. No ethical consumption under capitalism. Also, I lean anti-capitalist with “Omelas” because I think often of this quote by Le Guin:

“We live in capitalism. Its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings. Resistance and change often begin in art, and very often in our art, the art of words.”

Bad. Ass. I want to be her when I grow up.

That said, when I decided to respond to this as a writer -- by writing back to it -- I was more interested in anti-racist readings of Omelas. Those interpretations don’t seem to be as popular, but at the time I wrote my story, I was trying to process the absolute bombardment of open racism and every other kind of bigotry that seemed to be metastasizing in the wake of Trump’s election. I pondered the world that these people seemed to want: a world of war and endless suffering, doomed to end in extinction for us all (tho some believe Jesus or Jeff Bezos will whisk them away before things get too bad). I wondered what it would take to come back from that world, if we went down that path but managed to survive as a species. So to my mind, Omelas works well as a metaphor for conservatives’ (and fascists’) endless fantasies of the world that was, in which everything was wonderful before the “corruptions” of liberalism destroyed it -- corruptions like equality, diversity, intellectualism, religious freedom, and democracy. This is the “again” that the “make America great...” people embrace -- a “better” world that never existed. We all know that in the 1950s, there were plenty of kids in cellars, worse than today: BIPOC kids, queer kids, disabled kids, poor kids. If America’s wealthy and powerful get what they want, they will get to live in a utopian fantasy; the rest of us go in the cellar.

The society these people want is one that further-codifies the idea that some people are lesser. Some people aren’t as fully people, basically, and therefore don’t deserve rights, basic necessities, compassion, or life. Therefore I decided to make my “utopia” (scare quotes because, like Omelas, Um-Helat really isn’t) an anti-bigoted society, which has instead chosen to codify the idea that no one is lesser. Instead of its happiness depending on limited oppression, I wanted my “utopia” to depend on limited suppression of that insidious idea.

Suppression is no better than oppression, by the way. We’re used to oppression, so maybe it doesn’t seem so bad... to some. But both ways of maintaining these not-quite-utopias require harm to be done to some for the benefit of others. Omelas chose to limit the harm to a random child, and to a lesser degree to all its citizens, who must morally compromise themselves in order to enjoy their lives. Um-Helat chooses to limit the harm to those who’ve internalized some people are lesser -- the intolerant, per Karl Popper’s paradox of tolerance -- and to the “social workers,” who must morally compromise themselves in order for the other citizens of Um-Helat to thrive. I was also playing with the idea that there’s nowhere to walk away to. Imperialism and capitalism have made pretty much the whole world Omelas, in real life. So how does any society grapple with its own complicity with evil? Omelas is better off than our own world, and Um-Helat, because people can walk away, there.

It’s entirely possible that I failed to do what I tried to do with this story -- first because I tried to do so much. “Omelas” is a deceptively simple argument with deep, complex points being made; my attempt to answer had to cover a lot of territory. Second because Le Guin was a master of the short form, while I’m pretty much a dabbler, and third because this was also my first time trying pastiche, and it probably shows. But I believe in shooting my literary shot, hit or miss, and I’m glad that I did. It turned out better than I expected.

So that’s what I was thinking. ☺️

#damn it these always get so long #clearly I've missed longform blogging #answered asks #short fiction #the ones who stay and fight #the ones who walk away from omelas #Ursula K. Le Guin

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erikahenningsen · 4 months

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Thoughts on the movie? Spoilers welcome lol

MEAN GIRLS (2024) SPOILERS BELOW

Overall I really liked it! I had very low expectations, especially considering the track list showing that a lot of songs had been cut. That actually turned out not to be true, as there were some songs in the movie that weren't on the track list (Cautionary Tale, Someone Gets Hurt (Reprise), I See Stars). I expected a lot to be changed, but it actually followed the show fairly closely with some changes (they don't go to the mall, for example). A lot of the lines from the original movie and the Broadway show were kept but there's a lot of new stuff too that really made me laugh. Damian has some good one-liners.

Generally I liked the musical numbers, although I found Angourie kind of lacking when it came to performing during songs, although that's not entirely her fault. They changed Stupid With Love to be slowed way down and just like generally low-key and lines like "I am filled with calculust" just don't hit the same when you're singing it softly with no expression on your face lol. I've never been a big fan of Stop but I do wish Jaquel had had some song of his own. He just has Cady's part in Apex Predator now. The new opening song for Cady (What Ifs) was... fine, but I've never been super in love with Wildlife or It Roars so whatever. It seems like the writers never really could settle on what they wanted for that song since it had a lot of changes for the tour as well. They did totally remove Cady's dad's existence with no explanation which was kind of funny. (My new headcanon is that he was eaten by a lion.)

Definitely cannot go without mentioning that Janis is canonically gay and takes a girl to spring fling, and even Damian has a date he dances with! Regina does also tell Cady she likes her although I think they were going for platonic (could go either way). Cady had the exact same reaction to seeing Regina for the first time as Aaron, which was very funny to me. Obviously I didn't expect them to make everyone explicitly gay so I appreciate the little things they did add. (We know the truth.) I was worried they would completely remove the storyline about Janis's sexuality since the trailer showed the burn book saying "pyro freak," but it's still there. They also made Norbury and Duvall a canon couple which was cute.

I think they did go a little too hard on the gen Z culture aspect; I found some of the language was little cringy at times and felt like a cariacture, but I'm also not a teenager, so maybe it is authentic ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (any teens reading this please report back to me).

In summary I had a really good time and I have some minor gripes but the bar was really on the ground for me and I'm excited to go back! I'm bringing a coworker this week who didn't know me during MG on Broadway and has never seen or listened to this musical so that should be wild.

#mean girls 2024 #mean girls 2024 spoilers #ask #anonymous

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starseneyes · 1 year

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Chenford - Lucy Chen / Tim Bradford - The Rookie - Season 5 - Ep 14

Death Sentence AKA "To Key Or Not to Key..."

SPOILER ALERT: It's about to get real, y'all. So, if you're the kind of person who finds spoilers disturbing, disgusting, or disinteresting (yes, I made up a word), run. This is a Spoiler Zone, and I'll be spoiling the entire episode and possibly everything that came before.

Everyone briefed on the way this works? Fantastic! Let's dive in.

Tim the Boot

Tim's standing in his cargo pants (but not shorts. Sorry first date restaurant) in Lucy's kitchen trying to make coffee in the dark.

And... Oh, I can't go any further. Tim is all domestic at Lucy's! Like, they're not just sleeping together there. I mean, we all knew this relationship was all in from the jump, but here he is making his coffee, getting dressed, and I'm struggling to keep it together because holy shit.

Tim and Lucy have been together maybe two months. They only started sleeping together about three weeks into that.

Back with N*cy was a thing, Lucy didn't want to leave anything at Nolan's. She'd rather go home every morning to keep things casual. Here she is with the love of her life, Tim Bradford... And everything is completely natural.

They have seamlessly made this transition. Yes, Tim does have a go-bag, which we could argue might have clothes in there. But I get the feeling Lucy Chen has cleared out a drawer or two for her man since he shows up later sans-bag. It's conjecture, sure, but it's sexy conjecture, damnit!

And that tumbler looks like the exact one Lucy had when they were brainstorming how to save a kidnapped Angela (after their "almost" night together at Tim's). So... was it Lucy's that she brought home from work to his place that night? Is it Tim's and it's just never gone back to his place? It looks like the same one Lucy had when talking to him at his Desk Job last episode.

Either way, I don't care, because they are sharing a tumbler and it's adorable.

Tim opens a cabinet, maybe looking for a mug for Lucy (it's unclear what his motivation is beyond the gag because he never pulls anything out) but out fall baby Boots. Classic callback to when he moved up to Sergeant.

Tim has been trying so hard to be quiet and not wake anyone. And Lucy planted a noise-maker. There's something so Tim and Lucy about that.

"Did I miss it?" "It's cute."

Awww. This is like them talking about their baby rolling over for the first time and one of them missed it. Also, I love that Lucy likely let him fall asleep, then crept out of bed to set that gag up knowing he needed something out of that cabinet, just so she could prank him.

The Prank energy of Chenford remains! Look, I've seen shows butcher the characters when they get together. For some reason, it's like the ship becomes all that they are and the characters we loved so much disappear into an angry mesh of angst and confusing, unnecessary drama.

Lucy and Tim are still Lucy and Tim. More than any kiss, shirtless scene, or domestic crumb, that is the Writers' greatest gift to us. They haven't sacrificed the two characters we love to serve a story-line that makes little to no sense.

Instead, Tim and Lucy are given the opportunity to thrive separate of one another, but still lean into the relationship they've been developing since Season 1. And we see shades of their phases of relationship throughout their journey in this new one, and that's bloody beautiful.

Seriously, folks. These Writers are crushing it, and I'm so thankful.

"Why are you up so early? I was gonna get a photo of your reaction."

See what I mean!? Think Lucy might've gotten them printed on T-shirts? Or made them her lock screen? Who knows what she would've done, but I love all of it because this is so them!

Photos of her at Midnight. Photos of him with his award. Photos of all the stuff Kojo destroyed. Photos of Tim with his retro radio.

I've heard of photos being a love language, before, but not quite like this. And I love that. This has always been Tim and Lucy's thing. And it still is.

Their wedding slideshow is gonna just be one cringe photo after another, and I low key love that for them.

"The newbie. The Boot." "I'm a sergeant." "Mmm-mmm. You're still a Boot in my book."

I gotta be honest with you, I was never a big fan of the thought of "Boot" being an affectionate name for Tim to call Lucy. Simply because we knew he'd say it to others (like he did with Celina last episode) and it just felt off to me.

But Lucy using it as her pet name for Tim? Love it. There's something so sexy and powerful with her turning that name on him, and us knowing that nobody else could ever get away with that.

She reaches for his jacket (we can barely see it, but that's totally what's happening) to pull her man down to her. And can I say, I love that this is a Lucy thing.

"Did I interrupt something?"

Yes. Yes, you did. AGAIN. Tamara, I swear, we need to put bells on you so we can hear you coming down the hall. Like I know you live here, but can't you see we were about to get new kissage to GIF?

And, Lucy, a sock on the doorknob is not that hard to remember. Gee wiz, people! We need affection, damnit!

Of course, I'm being ridiculous (we don't need physical affection each episode, and it'd be super weird, to me, after whole seasons of them barely touching for it to become the "Chenford Kiss Cam Show"), but it's fun to poke fun at Tamara.

Until it isn't... keep reading to see why.

And I've rewatched this a few times (because I'm psychotic, but also because I'm obsessed with accuracy) and while there's a kissy sound, there's no lip touch from what I can tell. Gosh, that is the weirdest sentence I've ever written.

So, I'm not entirely sure what happened there. I even checked the subtitles to see if I'd missed a "smooches" the first time through watching it live, and it's not. "Door Opens" is, but not "smooches".

So, based on what I can see, I'm going to go with Tamara interrupting them pre-kiss, again, with both of them looking to the door in surprise... again. (They're even turning their heads the same way despite being in a different location in the room).

"You're gonna be great today. Knock 'em dead."

You're knocking me dead with that encouragement! Ahhhh. Tim Bradford is finally with a woman who supports his profession, understands his talent, and encourages him with every ounce of her energy.

And Lucy Chen is finally with someone who supports her profession, understands her talent, and appreciates her with every ounce of his energy.

Finally, Tim and Lucy have their person. My husband is that person for me. When I worked full time at a brick-and-mortar, had toddler twins, and we were trying for another kid, I told him I wanted to go to grad school. His response? "Go."

After 13 months of coursework, one complicated delivery of a brilliant baby girl, and the thesis professor from hell... I graduated with a 4.0 and no debt thanks to a host of scholarships and grants. But none of it would have been possible without my person.

And I can't tell you how stoked I am that Tim and Lucy have found theirs.

Tim says goodbye, but as he's pulling the door closed, he's looking back at Lucy with a small smile that's just for her. Lucy giggles in response. I love her giggle.

And Tamara is giving her a look that Tim can't see as he closes the door that is cracking me up.

"Good morning." "Whatever." "He is!"

This cracked me up so much because it definitely has "Family" energy. Tamara knows how absolutely over-the-top Lucy is being compared to anyone else in her life—but Tamara doesn't know how much Tim truly needs someone to believe in him.

He still has doubts about himself. Not when he's in motion as a cop, but as a man. He's still trying hard not to become the only example he ever had of manhood—an alcoholic father with a wicked right hook and no remorse.

Lucy is the only person besides his sister, perhaps, who truly understands all these facets of Tim. But Tamara has to poke fun a little, because from an outside perspective, it really does feel like a Mom giving her kid that little bit of extra encouragement before the first day at a new school.

"Bradford, this isn't Patrol. This is Metro. Major crimes, terrorism, barricades, hostages. We are an elite unit. Your form's gotta be perfect, man."

The Lieutenant seems solid on him, but the team is definitely giving him crap.

"Don't worry. Happens to everyone. Metro takes some getting used to. You'll get it."

I really like Lieutenant Pine. She's a hard-ass, but she's a smart hard-ass. And I truly believe she means it.

Tim hasn't been on the outside in a very long time, if ever.

Think about it. When you join the Military, you typically have to go through Boot Camp with other new recruits, right? If you Enlist, I mean. So, Tim was at the bottom of the food chain, but he wasn't alone there. He had others on the same level.

Same with being a Rookie in the Police Force. You go to the Training Academy with others who become Rookies, and then you move up. For all we know, Tim's never left his first Station.

This is the first time he's coming into an established team of folks that he's expected to lead and build an instant bond with. This is intimidating shit.

And now he can't even do one simple thing that he's done a million times? He's on edge. Because, work has been the one place he's always been secure in life. And now that he's finally secure in love and friendship, that's the thing that feels unsteady. It's a new feeling, and it's tough for Tim to swallow.

"Lucy Chen, fist of justice." "What are you doing?" "Hi!"

Watch Eric Winter's face in the background of this scene as he approaches. Yes, I'm aware he's Tim Bradford when the camera's rolling, but this is a master actor reacting.

Look, I know the phrase "acting is reacting" can seem cliché, but it's absolutely accurate. I used to call it "listening".

In 2003, I had to go see a play as part of my theater appreciation course at University. The first Act was fine, but the second was so dull I was aching for something to break through. Then, I saw this man out of the corner of my eye. There were 20 people on that stage, but he was the only one listening. Then, he stood and opened his mouth. I remember thinking, "Finally, there's an actor on this stage."

When I went home that night, my Dad asked for my review. I gave it and told him there was one actor who really blew me away. Someone I didn't know I'd nearly met several times in the year before... who I'd nearly meet a few more times before the next month when I would finally meet him... the man I married.

So, Matthew, if you ever read these bloody things, remember that I spotted you as a tremendous actor before we even knew one another. You're just that bloody good, loveyby.

*ahem* Back to Tim. Lucy. Aaron... and an imaginary action figure.

Because Aaron saw her boyfriend coming and instead of warning her he just thought, "Nah, I'm gonna let this play out". Sunshine met Grumpy as she turned around to face Tim, his sole box of work possessions in-hand.

And special shout-out to The Rookie's socials for posting a nice shot of EW carrying the box. We can clearly see his scissors (I love that style. Yes, I'm office-supply obsessed, why do you ask?), a framed certificate, pencils (look like Ticonderoga from here), a baseball glove/baseball (hell, yeah, Little League Co-Coach), and a few other framed items.

That's it. Years and Years at the Station, and he's such a minimalist. I mean, it matches his house. Tim is not a hoarder. Meanwhile, it took four trips to empty me out of my last brick-and-mortar because I had to bring in every bulletin board from home, every clipboard, every lamp, and every post-it-note. The fun of working for a humanitarian nonprofit! Loved what I did. Hated the office supply budget.

"I'm working on my side hustle. Oh, what's on your head?"

She is trying so hard not to touch it. She really just wants to affectionately wipe it off of his head. But he really doesn't want that.

This is his first day and he's annoyed that he's died over and over and over (like poor Judy Hopps in Zootopia—"You're dead fluffy bunny!"). He's been at the top of his game for so long, and now he really is the "Boot" at the bottom of the chain.

And he doesn't want her to know. It reminds me of 5x05 when he was in the hospital and didn't want her to know he was paralyzed. Then, he didn't want her to worry. Same thing, now, just a different angle.

She has so much faith and belief in him, and he doesn't want to let her down.

"It's nothing."

"Nothing" is never "nothing" with Tim. It wasn't nothing when he told Lucy nothing was going on with him. It wasn't nothing when he told Nolan he wasn't doing anything the night before.

And Lucy knows it. Watch her face as he breezes by. She can see that something's up with him, but she's not going to call him out on it in front of Aaron.

"Metro-Police Liaison, best of both worlds."

I love how Lucy leans right alongside the wall at his door, like a high school girl who isn't ready to watch her boyfriend walk into his next class when hers is down the hall.

Tim pushes in, first, but Lucy is quick behind him to get a look at their new hook up space his new office. The generic motivational posters are killing me.

"Well, at least it won't take too long to move in." "No." *giggle*

Tim kicks her out, but she sidles up to the window to get a good view.

Tim in Metro gear is objectively a good view. Like, I'm a demisexual, so I might not feel sexual attraction like some of y'all, but I do feel like Michelangelo might have picked a different model for David if Eric Winter had been around back then.

Aaron and Lucy give the most awkward thumbs up—perhaps their personal call back to Tim's ridiculous habit of doing that in awkward situations—and he gives a patented fake smile before closing the blinds. He looks right at Lucy as they go down.

And Lucy's indignation is sending me. Tim and Lucy are still Tim and Lucy.

Lucy playing Mom to Aaron, then Tamara Calls

Lucy is a bit of a Mother Hen. She can't help it. Caring is built into her personality, and if she sees someone flailing, she's going to throw out the life preserver to help. Some of them take it. Some of them don't, but it's in her personality to want to help.

And Tamara calling makes me so happy. Because, back in the day, Tamara wasn't sure she could count on Lucy. But, now, Lucy is her first call when something is off. That trust is beautiful, and earned, and it's been a really special relationship to watch throughout the series.

"I'm taking a poll. How old were you when you did your first load of laundry?"

This makes me laugh so much. In the early seasons, Jackson, Lucy and Nolan were the OT3. They were Rookies banding together. But by the time they all moved up to P2 and then Jackson died, they didn't have as much reason to be together all the time. They moved on.

But Lucy doesn't let connections go with people she cares about. They are still friends. And I bet she bloody radio'd everyone to ask their ages, which has me screaming because they had to be so awkward for Aaron, and I am here for it.

"Yeah, Bradford, nice!" *Applause* "

You can see Tim sigh with relief as the bell sounds off.

"Well, clearly you've got the goods to be here. And now that you're one of us, you get the company ink."

Look, I was a little confused at the top of this scene with the call for ink. That seems a little... cult-ish. Forcing people to get the same tattoo (and Tim totally called it out). But I can totally roll with the unicorn stickers. My kids all put stickers all over me as kids, so Tim might as well get used to this before he and Lucy extend their family.

Why do I say "extend"? Well, Tim and Lucy already have a family. Their Found Family. And Tamara is a part of it. This little family will grow... someday.

"They're testing you, seeing how far you'll bend. " Yeah, I saw the same kind of thing when I was in the military." "Not about how many stripes on your sleeves with this crew." "It's all good. Team building." "If you're gonna lead this team, they need to know who you are. Show them the Tim Bradford that was tapped to join Metro in the first place."

I really love Lt. Pine. She's letting her Team be who they are, but she's coming in to give Tim the translations after. So, they don't have to break the rhythm they have, but she's giving him the beat so he can find his way into the music.

But Tim's pensive. Being on the outside sucks. And we already talked about how long it's been since Tim's truly been on the outside, if ever. He needs the opportunity to show them who he is, but sometimes even Tim is unsure.

Even during the exercise, they were talking about personal lives. Well, Tim keeps personal out of professional. He has boxes that he keeps everything in, and personal life is checked at the door. But these folks are so tightly woven together that all those crisp, hard lines to which Tim clings start to blur within this team.

It's not going to be easy for Tim. He was so excited about coming over, and I think he still is. But the realities of being on the outside can be tough, even for someone as closed off as Tim Bradford.

"I'm, like, really good friends with the cops here... You can call me, whenever you want, even if it's just to talk, got it?"

Tamara is a really great person. Look, she has made some interesting choices in the past (selling Lucy's car), but she is an incredible person, and I feel like she's passing on the compassion she learned from Lucy.

Lucy's gonna be such a great Mom someday.

And I'm not trying to rush a Chenford baby. But, if we look at Tamara as Lucy's older, first child... we know those younger kids will be just fine whenever they come along.

Lucy and Angela working together

One thing I'm loving about what they're doing this season is changing up who works with whom, so we get a different dynamic with the same characters we love. I adore that it's three powerful women in this scene.

Angela is my #3 of the show behind Tim and Lucy (and Lucy's a strong second). She's showing (again) that an expectant Mom can still be a badass at work.

And as someone who sucks at Stay-at-home-Momming (briefly tried it during maternity leave... I'm not built for it), I'm grateful. I love working. And I'm capable, whether or not I'm pregnant.

"And you're working the night shift somewhere... this morning you were not coming home from a party, not dressed like that. You were coming home from a job. What's going on with you? You need money or something?" "I gotta get that first month, last month and security deposit."

The shock on Lucy's face. She put together that something was up, but I know she didn't expect this.

And the music saying, "Now you're leaving"?! Oh, someone planted that to break my heart a little.

"It's not like I can stay here forever." "Why would you say that? Of course you can." "How's that gonna work? You, me, and Tim?"

How little was Chris spending the night? Like, seriously. Because they were together a lot longer than Tim and Lucy have been, thus far, and Chenford have only been making the two-headed beast for a few weeks, now.

Just a few weeks ago Tamara was offering to blare her music and clear out. But now she's ready to move?! How loud are Tim and Lucy!? Like, I'm sure Lucy can invest in a pair of noise-canceling headphones for you that are higher quality.

I also wonder if the end of the Chris era plays into this. Chris wanted Lucy to move, but he was willing to take Tamara with them.

Maybe the thought of being that third wheel was really unsettling to her, and she was secretly glad when Chris was out of the picture, and she got back to her status quo with her bitchin' cop roommate....

Only for Lucy and Tim to get serious fast. Yes, they took it slow physically (because everyone's definition of "slow" varies), but they dove headfirst into the emotional commitment to one another.

There was never any doubt in either of their minds that this is it for both of them.

So, settling in has been easy for them. They've gotten to skip a lot of the "early dating" tropes because they know one another so well, they know that this is forever, and they know a lot of each other's likes and dislikes.

And I've seen folks complaining that they're not climbing all over each other. If Tamara hadn't walked in, we certainly would've seen some deep kissing from our kimono-clad-queen. Sure. But this isn't the Tim and Lucy show.

I can't remember seeing Wopez climbing all over each other all the time, or Jayla, or even Nolan and Bailey. Like, this isn't that kind of show. That's why we have the beauty of fan-fiction.

Tim and Lucy are in a mature relationship, so they're not going to make out under a blanket on the couch while watching a movie with friends (yes, teenage Rachel did this... do not recommend.). They will be sexy on their own time, and temper it down when around others. They don't need to kiss every time they see one another, and they are secure in their relationship.

Look, I have a lot of Ship Trauma, but I think what we're being given in near-perfect, folks. It's beautiful. It's layered. It's steamy sometimes. Sweet sometimes. Supportive sometimes. To borrow a line from the Musical Quilt, "there are many different kinds of love."

Matthew and I have been together almost 20 years (come August). There are times we are mad passionate, times we are sweet as sugar, times we're frustrated with one another, times we're united in grief, times we cuddle cutely...

Love looks different in every situation, but it's no less love. And what Tim and Lucy have is love.

EDIT: A lot of y'all are convinced there's a Key and one of you might've convinced me in the comments (@noblog2023 pointed out Tim would never leave the door unlocked when he left early in the morning... SOLD!).

So, here's the significance of the key:

First off, I don't believe Lucy's ever given anyone else a key to her apartment. Chris was only in there once without Tamara or Lucy, and that was when Rosalind dropped him off. And we know that psycho bitch knew how to pick a damn lock.

Lucy and Tim haven't been dating that long, and she's given him a key to get into her and Tamara's home.

Because the last person who got a key here was Tamara... and it's been a long time since anyone else had access like that. This was "their" place with the occasional bed-guest. But Tim is not a guest. He's quickly becoming family.

He has even put in the effort to have movie night with his girls.

But from Tamara's side, this is the first person Lucy's let into her world to this degree. This is serious and Tamara can see that. And she's a little spooked that with Lucy's new family, she's not going to want her weirdo roommate hanging around.

Tim and Lucy can build a nuclear family together. The kind of family Tamara once had. And that damn key is a big reminder to Tamara of that truth.

She remembers the security and love of a mother and father and child. So, once Lucy and Tim go that route, where does Tamara fit in?

So of course as she tells Lucy there's no room for her, Tim walks in using his damn key. It's almost like, "see? I told you."

For Tim and Lucy, this level of trust is easy. It's simple. It's second-nature. They are all in, so keys are only necessary to keep the monsters out—not each other.

Tim carrying around a key to her place also means that wherever he goes, he has a piece of her with him. No, it's not the same as when he carried around her ring, but it's still a symbol of connection between them. They now hold twin keys, like twin pieces of their hearts.

And who ever heart of triplet pieces of a heart? No, Tamara's key starts to feel heavy and unfamiliar, because she's missed that she is a part of Lucy's heart.

Tim does know that. If Curried Chris was able to spot that, we know That Tim knows. For goodness sake, he was there when Tamara and Lucy met. He's been there for many of the big moments between them by fate's design.

And there's no way in hell Tim's going to separate the love of his life from her best girl.

"Hi. Sorry I'm late..." "I think I'm gonna crash."

I have been so conflicted with this one, because I voted the kissy sounds out because there was no visual confirmation, but can I do that with the key!?

Just like with the kiss, there's no "keys jangle" on the subtitles. Just "Door Opens".

Like, no, Lucy and Tamara wouldn't just leave the place unlocked. So, it totally tracks that they'd have it locked, and if Tim needed a way in, it'd be because he has his own keys.

And after embiggening on my laptop and staring at Hulu in slow-motion like a madwoman—there's no key. It's an invisible key. Because when Tamara came in, she had a key in her hand. Tim opens the door with his right and closes with his left—no key.

So, a foley artist somewhere is playing with my emotions. I want to get so excited about the prospect of Tim having a key. Before I could see it on Hulu (after watching it live and it going so fast), I did a whole write-up on the significance of Tim having a key.

But there's no key. Remember, I try to write these based on what I can see. Yes, there are time I pick up on things that aren't subtitled ("you're so strong" in DOD, for example), but I don't see a key.

And, look, the creators and showrunner can come in and say, "Yes, there is a key" and then my eyes don't matter. My ears don't matter. Because, it has been declared by TPTB as canon.

I want there to be a key. But if I discarded the kiss at the top because it was heard but not seen, I feel like I need to be consistent. *braces to be murdered in the comment section this week*

"Hey. Sorry. I'm late. Ready for the movie?"

I love how he directs that to his step-daughter. Like, right away, he wants to make sure that she knows she's included, and that this is all of heir thing. He's committed to that, and Tamra just isn't in the headspace to see it.

And Tim liking classic movies is just so on-brand. I love that about him (and I realized this movie is missing in my personal viewing, so I need to fix that ASAP because it sounds amazing).

"Well, I guess it's just us. Popcorn?" "Yeah, sure."

Tim didn't hear the conversation before he came in, so he doesn't know how that "just us" cuts into Lucy a little. Tim isn't good at reading everyone. It reminds me of his line in 5x08 to Nyla, "You're the detective". He lacks Lucy's perception and sensitivity, too.

These aren't character flaws. Simply aspects of his personality that lead to him missing the tension in his girlfriend's roommate.

Also, Tim is making the popcorn.

This is Lucy's place, but Tim knows where enough things are that he can navigate his way around the kitchen, and that's so bloody domestic it makes my heart sing.

Lucy and Tamara

Lucy is making breakfast for the two of them, setting it out and trying to show Tamara that they are a family. Tamara starts asking Lucy questions that normally she would easily answer. But since Tamara has a connection with the family, she's trying to keep it close to the vest.

"Tamara? I'll be parked outside, okay?"

Tamara's not a puppy anymore. She's a grown woman and she's making her own calls. When a kid grows up, that's all you can do. So, Lucy lets her know that she's going to have her back. It's another demonstration of love. Lucy's there for her.

"Thank you. I know I volunteered us for the most boring detail ever." "Of course. You're worried about Tamara. I get it."

I like that Aaron's wordlessly riding along with Lucy. Like, we didn't have to have a conversation or assignment. It's just great to see these two hanging and working together. Aaron has had a nice front-seat to Chenford via riding with Tim, and now he gets to keep up with the gossip by riding with Lucy.

And Tamara learned a lot from Lucy. Now, we're lucky that Deon wasn't violent with Tamara. That could have gone very badly.

Tim Running the Op

He's got a good mix of our folks. Detectives. Officers. Metro. It's great to do this for us as an audience—we're seeing Tim in his new role, getting to know the new folks a bit better, and them getting to see how badass he is, plus keeping our favorites in the action.

It's a really well thought-out scene and episode to get us to this point. We've seen Tim on the outside with the new team. We've seen his unease. We've seen Lucy, Aaron, and Angela covering this from the other side. Now everyone's coming together to save an Innocent. F'ing gorgeous.

"Detective Lopez will be our spotter. She'll provide overwatch." "Why not let Metro provide overwatch?"

It's the first time Tim's being challenged in the field, and that's where Tim's completely secure in who he is and what needs to be done.

"Because we need all our boots on the ground, and there's no one I'd rather have on my six than La Adelita."

Fuck, yeah! Now, from what I understand, there was a real life Adelita during the Mexican Revolution, but the term was used to honor all the women who took up arms to help protect and defend their homes. True Warrior Goddesses. And Angela definitely is one.

That's all it takes for Metro division to stand at attention. Angela's a damn legend. So, maybe Tim does know what he's talking about, eh? Let's take this new team out to see how we do.

Metro Style Camera Work

I love the way this was shot. The way it was directed. The way it was edited. This whole sequence is just gorgeous.

While I was watching the first time, my mind immediately when to how clean-cut the sequence was a few weeks ago with Tim and Lucy rescuing that family. Nothing against how that was shot. It fit the need.

And this sequence is fitting the need of introducing us fully to Metro as its own entity. Yes, Metro has been a part of ops on the show before, but this is the first time we're riding shotgun with Metro, and it's amazing.

Through a combination of tight shots, wide shots, steady-cam that's not-so-steady and drone shots, we're dropped into the action. It reminds me of active combat films and television shows I've watched over the years. Yes, I have eclectic tastes.

Yes, I know this is a Chenford Meta... but this is a part of Tim's story. His first time out with Metro and he gets to do it with his girl? That's what I'm talking about.

Tim just CONKING out the Guy

That made me laugh. I was having Princess Bride flashbacks. Like, yes, it's badass. But I also watch too many shows/movies.

But Tim Bradford is finally getting to show them who he is. On-the-job, he is locked in. It's going to take him a little longer to develop relationship bonds with this group. He's spent a long time surviving in isolation and convincing himself it was enough.

Now he has a family off-the-job and he needs to find a way to connect with his new team on the job. He'll get there, but it's going to be a process.

"Come on. Just take one step."

I love this. Yes, the bad guy could've overheard Tim and it could've been bad for all. But, in the safety of television, I loved that little insight to his head. He's calculating. He's making decisions in real-time. He's protecting their innocent. He's the real fucking deal.

"It's okay. You're safe, now."

And that is who he is, too.

Starting out this episode, Tim was a little unsteady. We've never seen him that way. But by the end he was completely confident in himself, in his team, and in the chain of command.

Tim is getting to excel in a new arena that takes the best of all his training and experience. It's really a culmination of everything that's come before. This is the job he's been training for all his life. And he's the right person for the job.

There's just a learning curve. There's an on-ramp. And that's gonna be tough for Tim for a bit. The tension and angst isn't coming because he's not good enough. It's because naturally connecting with people isn't his thing. He keeps things in nice boxes, but these folks have to form a camaraderie to help them get through the worst of it day-in and day-out.

Tim's days of pulling over drunk tricyclists are long over. It's going to be great, but first he has to get through the bits that are not-so-simple.

Lucy Spreadsheets Poverty

So, you and I know that it's not poverty, but Aaron's got a warped view of life, God bless his heart. But I loved Lucy pulling an Ames from Brooklyn 99 and getting that spreadsheet whipped out.

Amy was my fictional bestie on that show, and Lucy is on this one, so it makes me unreasonably happy to see both armed with spreadsheets. I warned ya I was into office supplies!

"Hey, Bradford. Good job out there today." "Thanks." "They're a good bunch once you get to know 'em." "Yeah, I'll take your word for it." "Nothing against Patrol, but Metro is a different beast. We get called in situations that are already at a boiling point. That kind of stress creates a special bond."

He really looked at them and tried to shimmy away before they noticed him. But Lt. Pine is being a good leader. She's reaching out to the newbie. She knows the skills he has and the potential he has to be a real strong member of this team. But, he has to reach back. And that's not Tim's specialty.

"And I'm on the outside of that" And every single one of them was, too, at some point. Give it a little time." "Okay."

Golly, I feel this. How many times I was on the outside. I mean, I'm a weirdo, so I was never on the "inside." I thought after high school, it would be different, but in every brick-and-mortar job I've had... I was always the oddball who didn't quite fit in.

Right until the end, that is. My humanitarian nonprofit team was really solid, there, and we watched out for each other. But the first few weeks there were an absolute nightmare.

So, Tim, I totally get it. This group reminds me of the PAs at the newsroom I worked at right out of college as a Web Producer. They had so many in-jokes, and connections, and even though I tried to go to the parties and hang out... it just never clicked. Hopefully, Tim has an easier time with Metro, if he gives it the chance.

"You wanna grab a beer with us?" "Do I have a choice? It's tradition. New guy buys a round."

And that was a genuine Tim smile. Gives me hope for the kid.

"Yes, I'm happy to send over my references. And I can start whenever you need me"

How much do I love we switched from Tim to his wife and kid? There've been a lot of episodes ending with Tim and Lucy lately, so we knew that brief trend had to end (it's not the Tim and Lucy show), but I really loved that.

"I just don't want to be a burden." "You're not. Tamara, look, I get it. Your whole life you've been displaced from one home to another, but that's over now. Girl, we're family. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

Tamara needs to hear this. Since her parents died, there's been nobody she could really count on. From Swiping to couch surfing to unreliable family members... Tamara's always been the one cast out, the one that didn't belong, that one that was told she was a burden.

Tamara, my dear, you are no burden. You are a beautiful, talented, strong, bad-ass young woman who somehow didn't give up on herself even when the world gave up on you.

In Lucy, you found something you thought you'd lost forever when your parents died—family. And if you ever doubted Lucy saw it that way, too, well, time to stop doubting. You are loved, my dear.

"Thanks. But I will get my own place, eventually. I don't plan to be the weirdo roommate when you and Tim start having babies."

Did you hear Lucy suck in that breath? Because I sure did. *phew* She is not ready to talk about the immediacy of babies.

Let's be clear, Lucy Chen wants Tim Bradford's babies. But she still has a lot to do in her career before starting her family, and then more to do after she does. She and Tim can try to plan out what works for them, and there's no rush on that, yet (especially if she did take up Mama Chen's offer to freeze her eggs).

But can I point out that I love that the Moonstone Ring makes an appearance for this scene where we're talking about Chenford babies?

It can't be in every scene (that'd get super weird and kinda kill its magic), so I wasn't even looking for it, but the light caught it at one point, so I had to rewind. A welcome little Easter egg.

"That's a long way off, but I don't know, maybe it could work out. I hear you're a really good babysitter." "You can't afford my rate." "It's like that." "It is."

I get it. Family doesn't always want to take your kids, and that's perfectly fine, too. I had twins, and most people just couldn't deal with the "multiple babies at once" thing.

But can we talk about the fact that both Lucy and Tamara now have certainty that Tim and Lucy are going to have kids? Like, a few weeks ago, Tamara was asking if they were going to break up because of their work situation, and now she's talking about their babies.

Lucy has never been this serious about any of her on-camera love interests. We don't know what came before, but this is the first time she's used the "g-word" and they were both ready to switch jobs, and they are upending their lives because it's worth it!?

They are worth it. And, golly, I love being along for the ride.

As ever, thanks for reading. I have a few requests in, and one I'm working on. But, as I'm doing much better on the back and life's picking up a lot IRL, I might be a bit slower getting to them.

Have a beautiful rest of your week.

#Chenford #Lucy Chen #Tim Bradford #Melissa O'Neil #Eric Winter #Meta #The Rookie #Lucy x Tim #Tim x Lucy

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supercalime · 1 day

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I always think some of these buddie shippers never had any friends or a best friend. They say they have been in love all this time but there were really no signs. They point at moments (often vulnerable ones) where they look at each other with “hearth eyes”. Like of course they are flattered to hear reassuring words from each other. They are best friends, they love each other platonically. Buck has the same reaction when maddie or bobby say those things to him. If they actually were in love this whole time, there would’ve been so much more signs. Of course they love each other and maybe they’re even platonic soulmates but they’ve never been IN love whith each other. Not once where they bothered or jealous when the other one had a girlfriend. They don’t touch or hug each other weirdly often and if they do touch each other it’s clearly the exact same way every friends would do. Never longer than necessary or weird or underlying sexual or romantic. Some stans are so deep into this, that they turn every clearly platonic moment between them into something kind of secret love confession. They watch their scenes with glued on buddie shipper goggles. Saying eddie looked disappointed after buck tells him about his date with tommy or buck looked disappointed after eddie tells him that nothing is gonna change between them, is actually insane crazy. All I’ve seen were two very best friends who support each other unconditionally. Eddie even told buck to call tommy. Not once but twice. He looked happy for him.

You said it all anon!

I don’t think the writers had any intention to place eddie and buck together romantically at least so far. I tend to keep my ships in canon, so this whole discourse between buddie and bucktommy is very strange to me.

Like, I totally understand shipping characters that aren’t canon, heck, I have my own weird little ships too, so wanting to two characters to get together and thinking fondly of them as couple through wishful thinking and fanfic is really cool!

But the second an entire piece of the fandom decides to bring that OUTSIDE the fandom space, that’s where the problem lies.

Could we, bucktommy shippers, be very wrong about the interactions between buck and eddie meaning only friendship?

Yes, even though I don’t enjoy the story going on that direction. It could be a big plan that’s been brewing for years to have the ship become canon.

However, I feel like b*ddie shippers are being disrespectful on how they are approaching this entire situation, as, like I said, the shipping thing left the fandom space and now infects those on the inside (actors, network, writers, etc). So now we are in this strange blend of what’s on our side and what’s on the show’s side. There’s no wall separating the creators and the fans, and while that can have a lot of positives, it also taints the side that’s doing the creative part.

In fact, writers and actors are advised to not engage with fanfic and fan theories because it can affect the original work, even in a subconscious way. Of course actors can have head canons for the characters they are playing to help with the motivation, but that is also not canon, so it shouldn’t be taken at face value as well.

This whole situation is very tiring because there’s no real win here. If tommy and buck become endgame, the b*ddie shippers will say that it was rushed and made no sense because he had more chemistry with eddie, blah blah blah. If b*ddie does become canon, they will say they were always right and will most likely think that they got their ship to be canon because of their behavior on social media.

Shipping is such a harmless thing. It should be “I think these two would make a cute couple, I’ll explore that by writing about it on my own little story”, not “these two have to be together because like them together and if it’s not that way there’s something wrong being done by the creators”.

#I keep talking a lot but hey that’s where we are at right now and it sucks #im not gonna be a clown for this fandom too so im not gonna put my hand on fire on any of the two ships despite my clear preference for #the canon one #I wish we could just enjoy our ships in peace without fighting #Lety rambles #911 #ask

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idealisticrealism · 24 days

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TCL 3x05 thoughts

The main things:

This ep starts literally immediately after last ep ended, and then takes place over 2 full days

Looks like Thony and Jorge swapped numbers at some point lol; I guess Dante got tired of being the go-between haha. But for a guy that was so concerned yesterday about Thony missing her interview, he sure seems chill about pulling her away today… only to have nothing for her but an unintentionally murdered guy and an uncomfortable fight with his sister lol. That’s a bit embarrassing for you there, Jorge! I like that he later ended the business call about Nadia’s payout to be able to answer her, and then followed through on her request to talk to Ramona on her behalf. And then she shows up at his office– did she google him or did he actually tell her where to find him??-- and tries to convince him to nullify the Amber Alert, and ngl I enjoy the fact that much of their dynamic so far is basically Thony either ordering or begging him to do something, and him being like “No” and making some mocking remark to her about it… and then later doing exactly what she asked/suggested lol. Thony (and especially the potent combination of Thony and Luca) really does have some kind of magic power over the men of this family… though Arman seemed to accept it far more quickly and eagerly than Jorge, who’s still half-heartedly trying to resist haha. But then again, the man still showed up at her court hearing and not only provided the exact thing she asked for, but he also stayed to see the outcome and her reaction?? Like I’m absolutely hearing Nadia’s words to Arman rn: “You love the way she looks at you when you do these things for her. When you are her hero”... Jorge got his first real taste of that during the last ep, and looks like he already wants more haha

Thony and Ramona are clashing more and more which is potentially going to be very problematic for Thony when they lose Arman and she is no longer shielded by her connection to him… but I guess that’s when Jorge’s growing regard for her is going to come into play, and create an interesting divide with the siblings…

Poor Thony reliving the trauma of losing Luca, only even more terrifying this time because instead of Marco (who sucked but was at least relatively safe), he could be with someone who intends to hurt him. “We’ve been down this road before” yeah in more ways than one

“You and Armando will work together, so when I’m gone…(etc)” okay this is a very odd statement for a 50-something to make??? And she later says something about bringing Arman home ‘while there’s still time’-- time for him, or her?? Like is Ramona secretly dying and that’s why she’s so determined to get Arman back, so Jorge will still have family watching over him? Surely the writers wouldn’t use a plotline like that though, not given how we lost Adan…….?

Okay let’s all pretend that we believe that a 6 year old kid, who had barely experienced the world outside his own bedroom before a few months ago, managed to navigate the streets of a major city on foot to a location that’s a 10 minute drive away, and then also somehow snuck into a large public facility undetected and didn't raise red flags as an unaccompanied kid hanging there for hours lol

Ugh so much love for the courtroom scene and the fam all giving their testimony. I love that they were all clearly ready to commit perjury if needed (eg by covering up Thony’s shady activities if asked about it) and that they also said such beautiful, heartfelt things, because god did Thony need to hear those things. After everything she has gone through, and everything that her actions to protect Luca put the rest of the family through, she’d clearly started to question (like we saw in the kitchen earlier with Fi) whether she is actually truly good– a good mother, a good family member, and a good person in general– or if she only brings pain to those around her. The forgiveness and support of her family doesn’t erase what she’s done, but it is going to be a huge part of how she moves forward and grows as a person, and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of that journey.

I also loved that the people trying to take Luca away were two crusty old guys, while Thony’s lawyer (who looked like she was trying not to cry when Thony did her big speech), and the judge, and of course Susan (who, while on the CPS side, is actually fairly impartial and in some ways shows a lot of regard for Thony, and didn’t raise an objection even though she could have) are all women. It feels like a subtle nod to the themes of both motherhood and women supporting other women in this show, and that’s really cool.

Other stuff:

Congrats to Fi for finally getting to have her own Traumatised Showering Scene haha, I think Thony has had at least 2 or 3 by this point. But I did feel for Fi and Chris that they barely even got to begin to unpack what happened to them because things were just immediately about Luca. Also ngl that music/voiceover combo right at the start with the abrupt fadeout was a bit weird lol

“Sometimes I wish I was a turtle, so I could hide in my shell” #relatable

Love the sweet JD/Fi stuff, though this dude needs to recognise his place in the family hierarchy and not make calls that aren’t his to make lol. Leave the dealing with big important stuff to the women, buddy, you’re out of your depth!

Speaking of dudes messing things up… seriously Dante? Accidentally killing the best lead your bosses have to getting their relative back? That’s embarrassingly amateurish. Unless there’s actually more going on here than we realise, and he did it deliberately to keep the guy from talking??

Ok seriously how many doors lead outside from Luca’s room?? I know it’s a converted sun-room and not a proper bedroom, but still, they should at least be locked if not also securely barricaded. Geez.

Ah the many facets of Jorge, comfortable in a homeless camp and while torturing a guy in a warehouse, but also in a courtroom and a fancy corner office, and also while kneeling in a kitchen doorway to earnestly accept a gift of a cupcake from a 5 year old lol

Thony always tells Luca she’s never going to let anything bad happen to him… but uhhh, a little too late there, don’t you think Thony? Poor kid has been through more ‘bad things’ than most adults, and most of them have happened within the last 6 months lol

Lol at Thony trying to tell the officer to drop the charges against Dante and he’s just like ‘nope’ haha. I bet she really misses her surgeon days when she could just give orders and people would follow them without question

No Nadia this week! Honestly it felt weird not to see her; it really feels like she is part of the family now, and I’m looking forward to more of her and Thony working together

Goddamn I really gotta learn Spanish.

#The Cleaning Lady #TCL recaps #TCL spoilers #The cleaning lady spoilers #ngl I liked the ep fine #but I felt weird and empty after watching it #or maybe it was more after watching next week's promo #I think I'm just not ready for the distractions of the Fi & Chris plot and the Luca plot to be over #and to have to face what happens next with Arman #sigh there's gonna be a lot of tears next week I just know it

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heartofspells · 10 days

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tags, @brandileigh2003 @tracingpatternswrites & @mycupofrum!

Username: heartofspells

1. How many works do you have on A03?

96, all of them HP except for one lonesome Supernatural fic

2. What’s your total Ao3 word count?

1,685,584

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Harry Potter, though I've dabbled in a few others, only one fic of which is still available for Supernatural

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

At the Healing Edge of Broken

Prick the Craving, Watch it Seep

Multiplying Parents

How to Succeed in Business

The Tying of Canines

5. Do you respond to comments?

I used to. Hardly ever anymore, and unfortunately, I've got solid reasons for that. I will respond to them if someone asks a question that legitimately needs answering or similar. And while I maybe don't respond to them anymore, I do read every single one multiple times. I love comments, and I'm so grateful for everyone who takes time out of their lives to leave them for me <3

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ah...heh. That's really not an easy question to answer for me. I guess, coming from a personal stance, knowing everything I put into it and the build up that led to then ending, I'd have to say Wasteland. That's the one that's still lingering with me to this day.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That's also hard to answer, because as much as I love flooding my fics with angst, I have a lot that end very happy or hopeful. Narrowing it down to longer fics with more character arc throughout, I'd probably say This Way We Fall because it leaves them on such a high note after all the struggle.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Unfortunately, yes, but that's part of it, I guess. I've become better at ignoring it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do, but at the end of the day, it's mostly just typical smut when I look at it, though I do have a few kinkier ones scattered in there (ceiling smut, er...inter-species stuff). There's also the...not entirely nice stuff when it comes to smut as well simply because I like exploring all aspects of most everything.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Haven't so far. Doubt I ever will, but you never know.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I'm aware of. I hope not.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! I co-wrote Family on the Mend with @tracingpatternswrites and it was so much fun! I'd love to co-write more fics in the future!

14. What’s your all time favorite ship?

It's gonna have to be Wolfstar just because that's where my heart has rested for years, but there are others that run as close seconds.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Oh god. YOU. It's not posted anywhere, still only exists in my docs, but I'm convinced that fic will haunt the rest of my life.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I always struggle with questions like this, but that also means I've spent a lot of time thinking about it over the years. I think, mostly based on reactions I've had and what other people have said, that I'm quite good at capturing heavy and deep emotions, hopefully enough to not only grip a reader, but to plunge them into the heart of a scene and make them feel those emotions as well.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Details? There are times I think I'm terrible at this, and not just in fiction writing. It's in everything. Something might exist in my head, and I sometimes manage to forget that not everyone can see my exact thoughts and know what I'm thinking, so I leave important bits and pieces out of things and explanations that only end up confusing people - or worse, makes me seem not so great in general simply because I forgot the inclusion of a very important point when it mattered most.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I'm not against it, though it's not something I generally do because I don't know any other languages and that's a risky game to play. I'll only include it if I've spoken to someone who speaks that language fluently and has agreed to translate for me. But having other languages in a fic is a wonderful thing, especially if you're trying to include other cultures, though speaking as someone who has to rely on things like Google Translate that aren't always accurate, included translations are always appreciated.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Harry Potter

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This changes constantly for me. I'm not sure how it couldn't. I love most of the fics I've written, and it's like choosing a favorite child sometimes. However, I think right now I'd have to say it's a toss up between CRuSH (i'm just so proud of this one) and Multiplying Parents (also very proud, and this one was so much fun and makes me grin every time i think about it).

Open tag! Because I'm very late to this and I've got the feeling most everyone has done this by now.

#20 questions #tag game

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empyreanromantic · 1 year

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Suuuper long rant about The Cleaning Lady and armony because I'm sorry, but I'm just really disappointed with the energy this season had. But hey, if you enjoyed season 2, then that's amazing! I'm genuinely happy for you and I hope you can continue to enjoy the show!! These are just my thoughts:

So I haven't watch episodes 2x10-12 because 1) I wanted to focus on finals, and 2) after 2x09 I just wasn't feeling it anymore. And after seeing the mixed reactions to the finale, I'm not sure I want to catch up on the show after all. I tried to enjoy this season, I really did. I normally hate love triangles with a passion but I thought hey, if the writers are having a fun back-and-forth seesaw motion with it as they put it, maybe I can have fun with it too.

The thing about season 1 that really got me hooked was that it was SO DIFFERENT. The story, the characters, the entire atmosphere and aesthetic was so unique compared to other shows I had seen. And most of all, it had SPICE to it. A mother who will risk it all for her son and a gangster who learns to open up his heart and falls hard for this woman. Incredible concept. Classic beauty and the beast story and enemies-to-lovers trope that I will never get tired of.

Thony and Arman's chemistry was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. There was a passion and fire there since the very beginning, and the fact that these two went through all those different stages of "please don't kill me" to "maybe you're not so bad" to "you're not the man I thought you were" to "how could you betray me" to "I trust you with my life" and finally "we're in this together" was just ugh. It was so good!!

I rewatched armony scenes from season 1 so many times, I listened to Thony singing "Someone to Watch Over Me" on repeat. I'm sure it was the same for a lot of viewers as well. I loved the soundtrack composed by Mark Isham.

I loved the progression of looks Arman gave Thony throughout the season. I loved their teamwork. I loved them finessing the FBI. I loved that Arman cried in 1x05 because he thought Thony betrayed him and in 1x06 when he cried FOR her. I loved that 1x07 opened with a freaking musical number. I never expected that from this kind of show and it surprised me in the best way! I loved the vulnerable and earnest dance scene in 1x08. I loved Arman tapping out the numbers in 1x10. The tension was palpable. This show had me hooked. It made me feel things and I was so happy to have found something new to obsess over. I LOVED season 1.

And went it comes to sequels, of course it's never going to be the exact same because the writers have had a lot more time to work on the first installment, to really polish it up and make it the best version it can be before it even gets pitched to a company who will invest in their idea. So I understand that for season 2, the showrunners didn't have as much time to develop it. That being said, it is no excuse for the mediocrity that was season 2.

Whereas season 1 was unique and fresh and spicy and heartfelt, season 2 was monotonous at best and downright stressful at worst. The fast-pacing was them trying something different. I get it. But I stopped enjoying it because it got real old real fast.

I've seen a lot of criticisms that the passion between Thony and Arman doesn't seem to be there anymore, and I agree to some extent. I wasn't expecting them to kiss and have sex or confess their love for each other, because there were still a lot of obstacles in their way and that's realistic! But the pacing of their relationship was so odd that at times I was wondering why they even tolerated each other's presence. There were moments where you could still sense the chemistry, but those moments were few and far in between. Where did all of that magic from season 1 go?

I liked that Thony and Arman didn't get together at the end of season 1, because even when you put the whole infidelity part aside (which never bothered me because come on this is fiction), despite the chemistry, attraction and tension between the two of them, there was still a power imbalance there. Arman was Thony's boss, and Thony was very much dependent on him, most obviously financially. Their conversations were mostly about money and Luca. I feel that 1x02 and 1x03 did the best job in exploring Arman's past and his relationship with Thony as a man rather than as her savior. And yes Arman came to rely on Thony and trust her as well, but I never got the sense that they were truly equals until the end of the season.

Season 2 came around, and Arman was at his lowest point, working for Kamdar who treated him like dirt, and he was more and more ashamed of who he was becoming. I thought, "ah I can see where they're going with this! Arman and Thony are now on the same level and they're going to build each other back up!" But no. They just end up running drugs and spend the entire season trying to pay off Kamdar. Maybe I was just interpreting it all wrong and was picking up on the wrong things, but hey, the viewers picked up on the concept back in season 1 that maybe Nadia and Arman never truly loved each other, which would have been really interesting to explore and we could see how their marriage starts to fall apart. But it turns out they do love each other and they have problems because... *squints at smudged writing on hand* Nadia's possessive ex suddenly wants her back??

And despite the showrunners insisting that Arman and Thony's relationship is never going to be a full on romance, I call bullshit. You cannot deny that people were watching the show for the romance, filled with all the angst and sexual tension. Whenever I see the showrunners talking about how armony is platonic or that their bond is deeper than love, I cannot help but think that they feel bitter that people are not watching their show for anything else besides armony. Like Jesus Christ it's okay that people started watching because of the romance. It means you were doing at least one thing right, you should take it as a compliment.

I'm getting way too heated about this lol, but if this show ends up getting greenlit for season 3, I'm not even worried about Thony and Arman getting together at this point. I don't think I even care anymore. Who knows if the writers are actually going for a slow burn, because they seem to have a different idea of their relationship than the viewers do.

What I'm worried about is the writers getting into their heads thinking that their storytelling is amazing and the choices they made in season 2 were justified, therefore they're on the right track for a third season. Because honestly that is the impression I'm getting from them. I have only read snippets from interviews that people have been posting online, because I personally don't care to read interviews. If the writers need to explain OUTSIDE THE SHOW the decisions they made, that's a big red flag to me. I've seen it before too many times from my favorite media. I really hoped The Cleaning Lady showrunners would be different.

And it just boggles my mind that they're patting themselves on the back and thinking they've delivered the most mind-blowing season with all their twists and turns and high stakes, because they haven't. Season 1 to me was mind-blowing. Season 2 turned into your average crime drama with drug trafficking and using the same plot elements over and over again. Every week I just ended up rolling my eyes thinking "oh boy, Luca is in trouble AGAIN. Thony is asking Arman for help AGAIN. Marriage problems AGAIN. Working with the FBI AGAIN."

Naveen Andrews and Eva De Dominici were both really charismatic and brought a lot of fun energy to the season, and I'm happy that Eva De Dominici got more screen time because Nadia is just a really fun and interesting character. No hate to Elodie Yung and Adan Canto in the slightest. But only a few episodes into the season and I ended up watching the show for Nadia and for Kamdar. How can that be? When in season 1 I was on the edge my seat, glued to the screen, watching the show solely for the two main leads? I'm sorry but I'm just not feeling it anymore.

Again, if you liked this season, I am super happy for you that you were able to get joy out of it! I sincerely hope you will continue to feel that joy if they announce season 3. Maybe my opinion will change over time, maybe the writers will get back on track. In the meantime, I'll probably just stick to rewatching season 1 and make up my own story of what happens after in my head.

#the cleaning lady #armony

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