Thanks for playing, dear! ^-^

Shadowhunters:

the character i least understand: Maryse, her characterization was so inconsistent, I don’t understand how you go from the neglective-bordering-abusive, homophobic, racist, cold-hearted ice-queen to the hugging, happy, sunshine mom in like a month, that was something that even years of stretched-out, actual character development would have struggled explaining but this show just went “she is nice and supportive now” and like what that’s not how a redemption arc works, you can’t just slap “redeemed” on their forehead and be done with it

interactions i enjoyed the most: what little scraps of platonic dynamics we got - Jace-Alec, Luke-Clary, Jace-Simon, Magnus-Raphael, Magnus-Catarina

the character who scares me the most: I don’t think any of them are really... scary, not even Valentine, he’s disgusting, but not scary, to me

the character who is mostly like me: Simon, maybe, but then I doubt I’m even half as pure of heart as him, but the rambling, the freak outs, the lost in this whole mess? That’d be me

hottest looks character: Depends. Generally, y’all know I am screaming Jace very loudly. Personally though, to me, Imogen, Jia and Maryse, judge me all you want, this show has quality MILFs

one thing i dislike about my fave character: he’s a push-over. I love Jace, I love him to bits and pieces, but he is such a push-over, he just blindly follows all that Clary says or suggests even if it’s the most obvious suicide mission, when his grandma suggests “hey it’d be a good idea to chip Downworlders!” he is too intimidated by the idea of losing her that he actually pulls through with that bullshit instead of speaking up, he lets people walk all over him because he is so desperate to please them

one thing i like about my hated character: her face. I mean, come on, Nicola Correia-Damude is ridiculously gorgeous

a quote or scene that haunts me: every time Jace tries to kill himself. Hits too close to home, I am not good at handling suicidal storylines and I am disgusted by just how much this show brushed the severity of it all off and how the other characters just didn’t give a damn

a death that left me indifferent: most? Like? I mean, who died? Alaric and Gretel, who we never really explored as characters, Valentine, which YAY and because he died twice DOUBLE YAY, Jocelyn, which YAY, Dot had me “she dead now?” like three times to the point that I am still not sure if she ACTUALLY died in the end or if she’s around still after all like what was that I just what, Jace immediately got better after dying, so did Simon, Sebastian’s was just way too rushed, the only one that really fucked with me was Imogen

a character i wish died but didn’t: listen, the Lightwoods should be orphans, potentially should have been for a while, maybe things woulda played out differently

my ship that never sailed: I’m not big on my ships having to be canon, I genuinely don’t need Magnus/Jace to be endgame, but there is one ship I wish had been canon and that’s Luke/Catarina, I genuinely think those two would be a great fit, it’d have been so easy to work off it after they met at the hospital, the cop and the nurse, the Downworlder power couple, Magnus as a matchmaker, this could have been a great canon ship

Buffy:

the character i least understand: each character has their moments/storylines where I don’d understand where they come from, but I guess the one I least understand is Dawn, she is so selfish it drives me up the wall, like I get she’s a teenager but ffs she can’t cut anyone some slack, she’s not a little child and she supposedly grew up with this... I just have zero tolerance or understanding for her selfishness, never had, never will

interactions i enjoyed the most: scoobies, especially the OG three - Buffy-Willow-Xander with each other, but also each time a new member slots in and how they adjust to it, how they interact with each of the scoobies and get established, definitely Giles-Buffy because he is the father she deserves, I have a particular soft-spot for Willow-Spike too

the character who scares me the most: Syd but like. I know he’s a good guy and all but he is a moving, talking, walking puppet and I have an inherent fear of puppets. Every time I rewatch, I forget that he is a good guy because the fact that he is a creepy, creepy puppet overrides it

the character who is mostly like me: Tara probably? She is shy, awkward, doesn’t know her place in the group, can get bright and loud and excited about the things she likes but when she notices everyone looks at her weirdly for her outburst she goes silent and averts her eyes and pretends she’s not there

hottest looks character: SPIKE AND BUFFY. preferably together

one thing i dislike about my fave character: Seeing Red

one thing i like about my hated character: listen, I hate her, but I do love the way Dawn’s character elevates others; be that how it gives Tillow the chance to be adorable lesbian moms, or having Spuffy co-parent her

a quote or scene that haunts me: In a negative manner, the above mentioned Seeing Red. Look up which episode that is and you know what scene I am talking about. In a “it kills me internally” manner, when Buffy sings “I think I was in heaven” because Sarah Michelle puts so much emotion in there and I am a sucker for a public reveal of fears and horrors and how this was put out in the open, man, that gets me every time

a death that left me indifferent: none aside from villain deaths, I guess? I mean, Tara and Jocelyn and even Jenny in how it was executed and what it did to the other characters and yes even Jesse, I am also still hung up on how Willow and Xander lost their best friend in the first storyline and I do think that it should have had more of an effect on them and would have been a good way to introduce their inner workings by showing their grief, but on the pure base of me knowing this would have had said unexecuted effect, it works on me too, like, he was the first person Buffy lost in Sunnydale, the first she couldn’t save

a character i wish died but didn’t: Dawn and no not the way you think, just because I hate her, but because I still think the “Dawn is the key, she was made of mystical energy and she, her whole being is the key” somehow translating to “well, since the monks made her human, we conveniently don’t need the whole Dawn, only her blood and that runs in Buffy’s veins too so we can kill Buffy off”, that just makes very little, very twisted sense because all of Dawn was the mystical energy, not just her blood and why would the mystical energy quality transfer onto Buffy? It was a cheap cop-out and I think Dawn should have died instead of Buffy because she was the key and for all intends and purposes, Buffy dying in her stead shouldn’t have worked because the key was never supposed to be HUMAN, it was never supposed to have blood, so why did the whole thing hinge on a blood-ritual, like the monks coulda turned the key into an actual physical metal key and that wouldn’t have had blood so what did Glory want to bleed out then? This twist was only clever at first glance but the more you think about the less sense it makes so yes, this is the one big plothole and I think Dawn should have died instead of Buffy so there would not be a plothole

my ship that never sailed:GILES/JOYCE. I will die on this hill. He should have become Buffy’s stepdad, he should have NEVER LEFT HER alone there, those two, it was teased, it should have actually sailed (* I consider Spuffy sailed. It has sailed. They are together)

Inspired by Jace in Wonderland Series.

Hi there!!

YES, I was fortunate enough to see a very early screening of it with the cast & Greta back in October, and I will say it again - it’s honestly the best film I’ve seen this year. Greta manages to find the core of the March sisters - their ambitions and anger and hope and love for each other and frustrations - and make them real and relevant and punk, and reminds us just how rarely women have been able to tell their own stories...and Florence Pugh you guys, FLORENCE PUGH, just give her her Oscar already.

But, okay, to answer your question...well, it’s complicated. And slightly spoilery so turn back NOW if you want to go into the film without knowing anything

(SERIOUSLY I AM GOING INTO DETAIL ABOUT THE JO/LAURIE and AMY/LAURIE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE NEW LITTLE WOMEN FILM)

Okay, so, the short answer is, yes and no.  Because yes, you’re going to ship Jo & Laurie (and not just because Saoirse and Timothee have such great chemistry together) - BUT!!!!!!!! Here’s the thing - and where Greta’s version is genius and brilliant and omg chef’s kiss - what this version ALSO shows is how Jo & Laurie really aren’t very good for each other, because they don’t - or aren’t capable - of forcing the other one to GROW.  Yes, their lives are enriched by being around each other and yes, they have this beautiful bond, but the film is pretty clear about how Jo can’t force Laurie to grow the fuck up and Laurie can’t force Jo to get out there and live her best life.

And the other genius thing about this version (and seriously, I love Greta SO much for this) is that the film shows all of the ways that Amy DOES force Laurie into being a better person and taking responsibility for himself and his actions (and Meg too - honestly, one of my favorite scenes of the film is between Meg & Laurie), and how Laurie helps Amy step out from behind Jo’s shadow and into the light as her own person.  The film spends time letting that relationship grow, and giving it space and time, so that when Amy & Laurie get together, it feels natural. (And also, Florence & Timothee do such a brilliant job - and also have great chemistry!) (Although, let’s be real, Timothee would have great chemistry with an actual rock :D)

But it also is very good about showing the messiness of the entire situation, and it’s handled beautifully.

AW thank you, I’m glad! <3

Shipping tends to be okay! I’m in europe too and it wasn’t that bad (especially if you don’t order every other week), plus you can save on the teas with coupons and points and stuff.

Tbh I don’t know of a way to do that, but maybe I just missed it? I can have a look again, though!

Or maybe someone on here knows…?

Dear god, do I hear you. I've been working so fucking hard to stay positive until the show ends, but I'm *this* close to not having any more fucks to give. (Especially since I just tried to reblog a Magnus gif set and realised I'd been blocked by someone I've never in my life interacted with, despite all my efforts to never crap over anyone else's ship.)

Here it is! I swear I have things in my drafts that are not trashy porn - some of them from this very meme - but for now, this is all I’ve got. ;D Loosely rated M. Hope you enjoy it! ^^

“You are the worst,” Alec abruptly cuthimself off when Jace’s fingers tangled even further in his hair andconsequently pressed his parabatai’s lips against his throat again, “the worst undercover partner I’ve ever,”another pause, this time for a kiss, “had to deal with.”

“I’m your only undercover partner.” They’d only ever worked with each otheron those types of things, after all, and this was one of their first realmissions among actual mundanes.

“That’s not an excuse.” Alec’s biting kisshad turned into actual biting downthe side of Jace’s throat, making him hiss and arch his back to get closer andget more room between them at the same time – just enough to start unbuttoningAlec’s shirt right before his hands were slapped out of the way.

“Not here.”

It wasn’t the best place, Jace had toadmit. The enormous garden of the mansion they’d visited – supposedly for afundraiser but in reality to figure out the strange magic trace plaguing theplace – was still full of all the other guests of the event. Jace didn’t doubtthat they hadn’t been the only ones to stumble into the nearest half-hiddenspot to do exactly what they were doing, but he couldn’t help but wonderwhether it had been as unplanned for everyone else – or if they were nearly asfurious as Alec seemed to be.

Thenlet’s go home, he would have offered, but hecouldn’t bring himself to do it. Once his parabatai cooled off, he wouldimmediately put a stop to this and right now, that was the last thing Jacewanted. Instead, he abandoned his efforts with the buttons and cupped Alec’sface in his hands again, pulling him in for a kiss before he could say anotherword.

~.~

His parabatai had the right to be angry, ofcourse, just as much as it Jace had the right to argue that it wasn’t his faultthat Alec couldn’t improvise to save his life. They’d had a very solid plan. Jace’spart of the research had gone towards what type of fundraiser they wereattending exactly and he hadn’t really figured it out apart from the fact thatit’d be acceptable to come together as a couple. Two people arriving togetherand then splitting to the two corners of the room to search the furniture wouldhave been much more attention-drawing than sticking together, they’d beenreliably informed, so they’d done the exact same thing while smiling at eachother periodically and holding onto each other’s hands hard enough for Jace tolose feeling in his fingertips while he scanned for any hint of magical objectshidden into the main hall.

It had all come crashing down when the hostof the event – and their main suspect – had spotted them and had come over fora chat. It had not been part of theplan, but they’d gone with it – Alec had excused himself and had disappearedinto the first door he’d seen that led into the rest of the house while Jacehung around to distract the man and had soon regretted that the roles hadn’tbeen reversed. Mundanes were difficultto talk to and there was so much that they didn’t understand, the parabataibond most of all, so he hadn’t even tried and had called Alec his husbandinstead.

“Such an important decision to make soyoung!” Their host had said, somewhat charmed despite the exclamation.

Alec had had the time to arrive back by hisside by the time Jace had waved him off with a, “Oh, we made it years ago.” He’d leant in – to kiss hischeek, Jace supposed, or at least make it look like he would, but instead therehad been a hissed, “Mundanes don’t do that so early, Jace.”

Looking back at it, that had probably been the point of no return.

The man’s smile had gained an edge ofconfusion. “And your parents allowed it?”

“Our parents...” Oh, no. Jace didn’t haveto be able to read Alec’s mind to know that whatever his script for this conversationhad been, it had come to a screeching halt; it was obvious with one lookthrough their bond. “If you’ll excuse us.”

They’d been outside before anyone had hadthe chance to protest, just as Jace had expected – Alec was Maryse’s son, afterall, and wasn’t entirely familiar with the idea of actually waiting to beexcused before leaving the premises – and his parabatai had turned on him assoon as they had found themselves outside of the building.

“What happened to sticking to the mission?”

“I couldn’t just ignore him!” It was technically an option, if not onethat would help them blend in.

“Just— don’t talk too much or they’llfigure out something’s wrong.” Alec glanced back at the mansion over hisshoulder, looking for all the world as if he was bracing himself for battle.“We need to focus.”

In the meantime, that had apparently becomeimpossible. It seemed that their host had shared the bits and pieces ofinformation he’d been given with someone, because everyone knew and they all wanted to tell them how ‘sweet’ and ‘inspiring’it was that they’d found each other and now wanted to help reform theneighbourhood’s LGBT centre so they could help others as well and Jace really hadn’t done his research wellenough for this. If the way Alec had kept glaring daggers at him through hissmiles was anything to go by, he hadn’t understood even half of this either andJace had tried to up the physical contact just enough to make peopleuncomfortable to linger around them for too long. It hadn’t helped as much ashe would have liked, but it would have to do – if there was one thing they wereusually good at, it was being invisible, but that would include full bodyglamour and a failed mission. Not that said mission had looked like it’d be asuccess at this point but, Jace had thought as he’d gripped Alec’s hand eventighter and had let himself be dragged into yet another corner, maybe they’dstill manage to salvage something out of it.

It hadn’t worked out quite like that in the end, but then again, when had it ever?

Still, the mission and the attention they’dbeen given at the party were the last things on Jace’s mind now. He hadn’tmeant to overdo it, but Alec hadn’t stopped him and as the night had wore on,it had felt more and more real – the supposedly staged touches had turned intosomething he purposefully sought out, the performative kisses morphing into insistentgestures that he couldn’t really refrain from, especially after some alcoholhad been added to the mix. The heated looks that Alec had responded with were not helping and by the time theevent had started winding down bit by bit, they had both seemed to be on thesame page.

10. Favorite historical novel

Funnily enough, I’m not too big on historical novels... When I was a kid, I really enjoyed Christian Jacq’s 5 tomes series on Ramses II (The Son of Light, The Temple of a Million Years, The Battle of Kadesh, The Lady of Abu Simbel & Under the Western Acacia) but apparently they’re not the most accurate ever lol. Still made for a very pleasant reading though. 

Also all the historical murder mysteries starring Brother Cadfael and written by Ellis Peters! It’s set in medieval England during the civil war between King Stephen and Empress Maud (12th century).

Also, I’m not one to read a lot of romance overall, but I really enjoyed Mary, Queen of France by Jean Plaidy, which is about the love story between Mary Tudor (sister of Henry VIII) and Charles Brandon. Really sweet <3

11. Favorite nonfiction history book

I can’t pick just one lol. I’ll try to do one per historical era (according to my tagging system anyway):

Alexander of Macedon by Peter Green, the ultimate Alexander the Great biography (and yeah okay, not Hephaestion-friendly, but I have another book for that)

Pourquoi Byzance? by Michel Kaplan (the specialist of Byzance history in France), an introduction to Byzance history that’s really interesting, although a bit dry. For references in English, I would suggest asking @mmedemaintenon who knows the topic a lot better than I do <3

La seconde gloire de Rome by Jean Delumeau which about the second “golden” age of Rome between 1450 and 1660. A fascinating read for sure (but once again, I would suggest asking @mmedemaintenon for recs in English... also @janiedean might have some references on the topic too)

Le divan d’Istanbul by Alessandro Barbero, an introduction to the history of the Ottoman empire (original written in Italian and translated in French). Very interesting. If you want English recs, @sansaregina would be a good pick...

Isabella of Castile by Giles Tremlett but I’ve been told it has some inaccuracies in it so... (his biography of Katherine of Aragon is fire though, and I hope he’ll write one of Mary I)

For books recs about the Tudors, if you’re interested, I’ll do a specific rec post because this is getting too long already lol

Simone Bertière’s series on the Queens of France since the Renaissance up to the French Revolution, it’s fire, period. 

Le chagrin et le venin by Pierre Laborie, a look at the memory of WWII in France. Intense.