#(but i'm also trying to make it enjoyable and a challenge - not just a 'clearly Blue likes answer C and-' etc)

[bumblequinn]

Hi! Medium time listener (I followed after slarpg altered my brain chemistry), first timer asker! What is your process when it comes to composing for games? Is it any different when the subject changes (personal, commission, etc)?

hehehe, well i hope that alteration was a positive one! 😋

so i think there's kind of two sides to this: there's the creative process, and the collaborative process.

The Creative Process

my creative process is actually pretty similar whether i'm working on contract or for personal enjoyment.

first, i consider:

the needs of the prompt in front of me (is it a save menu or a boss battle? is it a tense scene is or a tender one?)

how it should fit into the bigger picture of the whole project (mood/tone, genre, leitmotifs, instrumentation, production style, etc)

what tools i will need to use (subtractive synth or sampler or soundfont or live recording?)

then, i typically write what i call a "skeleton:" just the barest bones of a piece of music. i almost always do this on piano, dividing the bass, harmony, and melody into very distinct registers. i do it this way for several reasons learned the hard way:

first, by dividing parts into clearly delineated registers, i'm saving myself a whole lot of trouble down the line. i have long had a bad habit of over-crowded arrangements, which besides being weaker from a composition standpoint, are also notoriously difficult to mix. and mixing is already hard enough as it is! so writing a strong and well balanced composition from the outset is the best way to go.

second: when you jump into arranging or mixing before the whole piece is written, it's much easier to get stuck. where should i take this track next? i dunno, guess i'll fiddle with the mix. suddenly a week's gone by and i'm still working on a half-written track. if i require myself to write the whole piece out first, then this bottleneck is almost always eliminated.

sometimes you can get really excited about an idea, get carried away with arranging and producing a whole track, get to feeling really attached to it—only for your collaborator to say it's just not the right direction. by limiting myself to one instrument, i don't put in a disproportionate amount of work before confirming whether or not the piece is actually a good fit. and bonus, if it's not a good fit then i have a piece of music written that can serve another project later (or another part of the current project, if i'm lucky)!

of course, i'm not always perfect about this. even very recently, i got really stoked about a track i was cooking up for susan taxpayer and went BANANAS with it—only for punkitt to say she loved it but it wasn't at all the right vibe. a hard but necessary reminder of why i try not to get carried away prematurely!

(don't worry, the one i made to replace it fit like a glove, and the first attempt is gonna be used elsewhere. love wins 😌)

once i do have confirmation that i'm headed in the right direction with an idea though, that's where i really get into it with choosing instruments, designing synths, figuring out the production style, etc. and there's where the real back-and-forth with my collaborator begins, to make sure things are staying on track every step of the way. that leads us to:

The Collaborative Process

for starters, and probably most obviously, different people are different to work with. everyone has different strengths and challenges both creatively and interpersonally, so i try to meet my collaborator where they're at and tune in to their specific needs, vision, and communication style. within reason, i try not to look at these things as being "better" or "worse" with one person versus another, just different!

i think the biggest differences for me as far as how much time and energy i invest into a project are A) whether it's paid or pro bono, and B) my own level of personal excitement about the project.

if i'm doing something purely for fun, it's pretty exclusively because i'm really hyped about the project. because, well, it wouldn't be fun if i weren't, right? and in that situation, i enjoy giving it my all! susan taxpayer falls firmly into this category, and i'm having a blast with it.

SLARPG started out pretty similarly, but as the scope of the project grew, it evolved into more of a pro bono arrangement; bobby and i drafted up a contract and negotiated on how we would split earnings from the game once it released, and that's where i've gotten the vast majority of my income this year. it remained a passion project til the end, but i could not in good conscience put that much of my life into a project of that size unpaid, no matter how much i loved it! (maybe one day, if we collectively defeat capitalism and i no longer have to worry about such things... 🥲)

things get a bit different when you get into strictly contract work, though. when it's something i'm doing for a client who's paying from the start and it's not for my own enrichment, i have more hard and fast boundaries on how much of myself i put into the project. i have specific rates, and offer only so many free revisions before charging additional fees. sure, i can be horribly particular and will revise something a bazillion times to get it "just right" if i'm working on a passion project, but i'm not about to do that for like. a corporate commercial or whatever lol

whether it's for fun or all business, though, i always try to make something i'm proud of. because i want whomever i collaborate with to have something they're happy with in the end, of course! plus i'm kind of allergic to phoning it in, i'm too extra for that 😜

________________

i'm sure i could go on, but i think i'll leave it at that! pardon the slow response, it took me some time to formulate my thoughts for this one. thanks for the question, and take care ^^ 🎵

[laurfilijames]

What’s your favorite chapter of breathe and why?🙂‍↔️ I’ll be very sad if you shy away from hyping yourself up in your response 🥹💗

Aww Ray I really love this ask! I know I've had it sitting in my inbox for a while but it's because I've been thinking really hard about my answer and trying to come up with one while in the midst of still writing chapters that I've been very excited for!

Picking just one chapter from Breathe is honestly so difficult! I love them all for various reasons as they all include so many different things, so bear with me as I ramble on podcast style all my thoughts as to why 🥂

I love parts 1-3 because of the newness of them. The sexual tension and blatant want between them always gets me. It's exciting and exhilarating and writing the beginnings of a relationship is one of my absolute favourite things to do.

Then in chapters 3-5 where it's just sex everywhere all the time and them falling hard and fast for each other while navigating through Will's issues was such a thrilling part in their timeline to explore. Seeing Will finally let his guard down and give in to trying to resist something he knew was there was 🫠🫠 and then the result of that with the hot, raunchy sex? Yeah. Big fan. Glad I did that 🤣

I'll give Part 5 a special shoutout as it was the chapter that brought me back to this world after having put it on the back burner for almost a year 🙈 and is the plot point that breathed (😉) new life and excitement into it for me.

Then comes Parts 6-8 😬. These were heavy hitting chapters. I've never written angst like that before and it really pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged me as a writer. It hurt to write some of those scenes, but oddly enough some of those were written the fastest and the words were just furiously typed out which surprised me! I felt so emotionally drained writing chapters 6 and 7 and remember feeling like I had just gone through a breakup 😅😭

Now although parts 9-11 never seem like they're very exciting or thick with plot to me, they are equally as meaningful and all hold their weight with building this relationship and fleshing out their life together. The smut scenes, especially in part 9 were a favourite of mine as I added in the layer of possessiveness after Cam made a reappearance and I loved showing that side of Will 🫠🥵

This portion of the story gives me all the warm and fuzzies and makes me kick my feet just thinking about how happy and in love they are and relieved that they made it through all the hurt and turmoil from earlier chapters. Will deserves all the love and calm and understanding life and a partner can offer and I think (and hope 😅) I've been able to portray and give him that here. The scenes with him getting the ring and then proposing live rent-free in my head and I'm just so in love with seeing them, and especially him, experience such happy moments.

Any chapter that included scenes between Will and Benny were also favourites of mine. Miller brother moments hold a special place in my heart and were always so easy and enjoyable to write (even when they were fighting) and it was like I could hear them in my head and their tone and see their expressions clearly.

Now that I've spewed out all of this and had a chance to go back and really reflect on everything, I think I've narrowed down one chapter that I feel as a whole really sums up everything this story is about and that is Part 7. So much happened in it!! They were still in the thick of their "breakup"

and trying to figure everything out.

She found out about his nightmare and finally began to understand what the hell had happened to cause all of this which then resulted in her showing up for him at base when he came home. I always do my best to show enough from both of their points of view and I think this chapter was full of what both of them were going through. We also had the introduction of Cam (heyyyy boyyyyy 😉🥵) just to add a little more drama to the already dramatic situation, but then everything wrapped up how it should by the end with their intimate and emotional reunion and as I just skimmed through it, I wanted to scream with how happy it makes me!

I've realized how many scenes of pure lovemaking are in this series and clearly I'm all about the intense intimate moments and Will Miller being a man head over heels in love 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️ sue me.

So do I have a favourite chapter? Kinda. They're all my favourite and I'm very happy to say that I've written a whole series that I actually enjoy reading for myself and there isn't one part that I am not proud of!

I'm sorry this got so out of hand haha but it's given me something to do on the 3 hour drive home from the cottage (I should be writing and working on the final chapter 🙈😅 but I'm stallllinggg because I don't want it to end 😭) I appreciate you asking this so so much and am forever grateful and in complete shock that you are so invested in this story and continue to give it so much love, attention, time and thought 🫂😘💗💗💗

[qqueenofhades]

hiii ❣ it's a bit random but do you have any advice for a beginner writer?

i want to write web series and while i'm going to write for my pleasure, i still would love my work to be good enough to have readers.

but while i read stuff and write fics, i don't think it's enough to help me write an original several episode work. + i want to write in english but i'm not a native english speaker.

do you have a textbook or any resource in mind that you'd reccomend to a beginner writer?

Unfortunately, I don't have one single one-size-fits-all resource or silver-bullet magical writing improvement tool that I can recommend, as everyone learns/practices in different ways and some people swear by things that don't work for other people. I can't speak to the value of Grammarly or any other online tool that promises to make you a better writer, as they can often be used to feed your work into AI, make bizarre and/or flatly incorrect suggestions, or otherwise be confusing and unhelpful for a newbie writer, especially someone whose first language isn't English. If you work better within an interactive framework or just want to see if it does seem useful, then by all means do check it out, but don't feel like you HAVE to use it (or anything else) if it doesn't offer much to your process.

As ever, and unhelpfully, my advice for becoming a better writer is to write a lot and read a lot, in all kinds of genres. There's really no get-good-at-writing-quick hack to suddenly get you where you want to be overnight, but you CAN get there by dint of steady and sustained progress. You say that you already read things and write fics -- which is great! You clearly already have some practice with the overall concept, and you are not starting from total scratch. While a lot of writers have a goal of something they really want to do (i.e. in your case, write a web series) and feel like the first one they write has to be The Real and Good One that they only launch into after appropriate years of practice, that's not the case. You can start writing the series now, if you want to. You'll have to also share it with people who you trust to give you helpful and honest feedback (the mortifying ordeal of being known, etc) while also respecting the skill level that you're currently at and not tearing it down for being up to professional standards or something else that doesn't accurately reflect where you are and what you need feedback on. But yes, you will have to write steadily, share your writing with others, and challenge yourself to read and write in different kinds of texts -- i.e. not just fic or amateur fan content, but literature, nonfiction, genre fiction, academia, special interest subjects, and so forth. Writing by professionally published authors is not necessarily always better, but it does give you a sense as to what is deemed marketable, what the general skill level and standard is, and what you might like to emulate or try to do with your own projects.

Also, as a side note, I think that plenty of amateur or fan-written content on the internet is not necessarily outstandingly good, technically speaking. This doesn't mean it's bad -- plenty of people read and enjoy it anyway, and aren't coming in expecting it to be an award-winning piece of fine literature. Standards for what is good, enjoyable, or well-written vary dramatically by genre, medium, what your audience is expecting and/or paying for, and so forth. Some people also have high and/or picky standards for what they will read or what they find enjoyable to read, while others will just go along with the story and don't care as much about the format or technical prowess or so forth. So it is very much a subjective measurement, and if you get to a place where you enjoy reading your own stuff and find it engaging -- regardless of what arbitrary skill level you feel yourself to be on -- chances are that other people will too.

[south-of-heaven]

Sonya deville x reader

Reader is sonyas makeup artist and Sonya keeps flirting with reader to distract her and despite the fact it’s obviously working on reader she asked something like “what am I distracting you or something” to reader and it makes reader nervous

Distracted || Sonya Deville x Reader

Summary: Sonya loves to distract you while you do her makeup.

As Sonya Deville's makeup artist, you always enjoyed working with her. She was not only incredibly talented and beautiful but also had a playful and flirtatious nature that never failed to make you blush. Today was no different as you sat in front of her, carefully applying makeup for her upcoming event.

Sonya flashed you a mischievous grin as she noticed the slight flustered expression on your face. "What's got you blushing, huh?" she teased, her voice low and playful.

You tried to focus on your task, but Sonya's teasing made it challenging to concentrate. Her captivating blue eyes locked with yours in the mirror, making your heart race. "You know I'm easily flustered when you flirt like that," you mumbled, trying to keep a steady hand despite the distraction.

Sonya chuckled softly, tilting her head to give you a better view. "Is that so?" she said, her voice dripping with amusement. "Well, maybe I should stop then. Don't want you messing up my makeup."

But it was too late; you had already smudged her eye makeup slightly. You groaned inwardly, feeling embarrassed that you let her playful banter get the best of you.

Sonya laughed, not bothered at all by the minor makeup mishap. "No worries," she said, reaching out to gently touch your hand. "It's not a big deal. Besides, it just means I get to spend more time with you."

You blushed even more at her comment, but you couldn't help but smile at her charm. "You're terrible," you teased back, trying to regain your focus on her makeup.

"Guilty as charged," she replied with a wink.

As you continued to work on her makeup, Sonya kept up her playful banter, making you laugh and shake your head. Despite the distractions, you managed to complete her makeup flawlessly.

Once you finished, Sonya admired herself in the mirror, clearly pleased with the result. "You're amazing," she complimented, turning her chair to face you directly. "I always feel like a million bucks after you work your magic."

You couldn't help but blush at her words. "Thank you," you replied, feeling a mix of pride and flattery.

Sonya leaned closer, her lips dangerously close to your ear. "You know," she whispered, her voice sending shivers down your spine, "I may be the one getting the makeup, but you're the one who leaves me breathless."

Your heart skipped a beat as you felt her warm breath against your skin. Sonya's flirting was relentless, but it also made your heart race with excitement.

Before you could respond, she pulled back, giving you a playful wink. "Alright, I should go get ready for the event," she said, getting up from the chair. "But I'll see you later, right?"

You nodded, still feeling a bit flustered by her words. "Yes, I'll be there," you replied, trying to compose yourself.

Sonya smiled, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Great. I'll make sure to flirt with you some more," she said with a wink before leaving the room.

As you watched her go, you couldn't help but smile. Working with Sonya was always an adventure, and her playful flirting made the job even more enjoyable. You knew that no matter how much she teased you, you wouldn't have it any other way.

[blackbird-brewster]

How about Alex/Emily and Summer Treats combined with Sensation Play???

I had already done Sensation Play, so this went into a different prompt. Thanks for the request!

Make You Melt

Emily/Alex || Rated: T || WC: 730 Fills: Teasing (for @cmkinkbingo2024) and Summer Treats (for @storiesofsvu bday bingo)

[Read on AO3] || || [Kink Bingo Masterlist]

Emily frantically licked the side of her ice cream cone to prevent it from getting all over her hand, but it was clearly a losing battle.

Alex watched her with an affectionate smile. "How's that working out for you?"

Emily realised how ridiculous she must look, practically making out with her double scoop. She wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Not great, if I'm being honest."

"I told you to get it in a cup," Alex replied, lifting her own in the air.

"The cone is the best part."

Alex raised an eyebrow as another perfectly timed drip of Emily's melting scoops ran down her hand before falling onto her shirt.

"Shit!" Emily licked around the cone to try and stave off anymore accidents as she tried to clean her shirt. She awkwardly juggled her cone and a napkin while Alex sat across from her laughing. "Stop laughing. This is brand new!"

Alex licked the corner of a clean napkin and reached over the blot the stain in the middle of her shirt, her fingers lingered a moment, softly rubbing Emily's breast through the fabric. Her eyes flicked up to meet Emily's again, "Good to see all these years later, you're still such a dirty girl."

Just like that, Emily was melting quicker than the ice cream in her hand. "Alex."

"Yes, Emily?" Alex asked innocently.

"That was a one time thing."

Alex took another bite, making a show of tonguing ever bit of ice cream from her spoon. "If you say so."

Emily lowered her voice. "We can't."

"Who says?"

"Me! I say!" Emily argued. "It's not the same now, back then I was just visiting. It was a one night stand. Now, I'm the Unit Chief, I can't go around sleeping with BAU team members anymore."

The corners of Alex's lips turned upwards ever-so-slightly. "I'm not even with the bureau anymore, Chief."

Emily rolled her eyes. "You know what I meant."

"How long has it been since you got laid?" Alex replied without missing a beat.

"I-- I, well --"

"That's what I thought," Alex chuckled.

"That's not the point!"

"Isn't it?"

"No!" Emily snapped. "This," she gestured back and forth between them, "isn't going to happen."

Alex leaned back in her chair casually, basically undressing Emily with her eyes as the slowly moved up her body until they met her gaze again. "Whatever you say."

They stared at each other intently as a silent challenge of power simmered between them. Emily refused to even blink, she was not going to yield to this argument, not this time. Sure, the one night stand they had years ago was enjoyable, or rather it was amazing, but it couldn't happen again. Emily had only moved back and taken up UC a month ago, last thing she needed was to create a scandal.

In her determination to win their little staring contest, Emily had completely forgotten about the ice cream in her hand. Alex, however, had not. She'd been watching the entire time as it melted down Emily's hand and arm.

"Well, alright, since you're so sure." Alex shrugged and stood up, seemingly giving up on her invitation. She tossed her trash in the bin behind Emily and used the proximity to lean into her ear, "But, five-bucks says your cunt is dripping just as much your arm right now."

The timbre of her voice made the hairs on the back of Emily's neck bristle as an undeniable wave of arousal settled between her legs. The reminder also finally brought her attention to the disaster in her hand. She threw the cone and remaining ice cream in the trash. She tried to use her already dirty napkin in an attempt to clean herself up, to little success.

She groaned and looked back up to Alex, who was still waiting expectantly. "Dammit, at this point I just need a shower."

"You already know from experience that mine is big enough for two," Alex grinned.

Emily shook her head with an affection sigh. She fished out $5 from her wallet and handed it over to Alex. "It's not fair how hot you are when you're so fucking smug."

"It's my special talent," Alex said, tucking the money into her bra. She offered her arm for Emily to take with her clean side. As soon as she'd accepted the gesture, Alex pressed a kiss to her temple. "Good girl."

[malka-lisitsa]

Well look at that it's 2024, and my new years resolution is to stay an unbothered icon queen, and hope the hater's die mad. But I also thought I'd take a second to shout out to the people who make the shit show of a year 2023 bearable, and even enjoyable in some cases.

As trash as the rpc has a tendency to be there are still a lot of you that make this place more than worth it. I clearly cant shout out to all 900 something followers but I can highlight some of you. If you're not listed don't worry I still appreciate you immensely for being here, these are just the people that have really impacted my time here so far.

@unsettledspirits / @zoomingupthathill what can i say that I already haven't. There's 3 months worth of daily reasons to love you. You built the one ship that beat Steferine with me, honestly it was a surprise to everyone. Happy to see you back on Max ruling over your ST kingdom.

@hybrid-royalty-main Damon you piece of shit, I hate you the absolute most, and I'm so glad youre here with all the boys tbh. You bring such a unique quality to each one of them. Especially were-jer, it has been an absolute HOOT watching you take on the challenges of a teenaged were pup.

@baby-royalty My sired child with loyalty so unwavering you make the sire bond in the show look tame lmfao. The universe pulled us together the second I stepped foot into this hellsite again and I have enjoyed watching you grow into the person and writer that you are now. I'm proud of you.

@klaeus Kiki I adore you sm, you and your knock off brand doppelganger and scruffy mutt hybrid (affectionate) I love talking about the show and dynamics and honestly just about everything with you. You try, and thats more than most people do for me. Plus your grafics are just chefs kiss.

@multi-royalty Maddie this is like 3 years we've been besties, the caroline to my Elena. I've loved watching you branch out into new circles of friends and grow as a writer. You're absolutely killing it.

@ofcrossrcads Cribby, my darling I adore you. You are simply the sweetest, and keeping you here aggressively as my friend was one of the best things ive done in my life. I am always right here if you need me for anything <3

@hargrove JT WTF. How are you so talented? Honestly youre the bees knees and I am SO HAPPY to have reached out to write with you bc I wasn't expecting Katherine and Billy but here they are and tbh im here for it. Tho everything you write is top notch, you're just flawless with every reply. And for that reason katherine said, you can go ahead and keep your halfbreed in the dog house. LMFAO. But for real I am so happy to have met you.

@petrovawitch Kenz, Katherine says fuck you for bringing her pain in the ass sister back- but im really glad you did. We adore you both even if we're spicy at times bc you know were brats hehe

@havvkinsqueen / @stanfordprepped My fellow digidestins, I am so happy to have met you. Both of you are just pure goodness spun into a little ball of sunshine. Honestly the most supportive people ever, the RPC needs you desperately. Just please remember that I have your back just as much as you have mine. We digidestin gotta stick together. <3

Ok ok ok I cant shout out to literally everyone individually so these people also are super important to me and have made my experience here this year amazing, thank you for all you do-

@langdhon@ravenskeeper@salvatoraes@sarcasticsnackpack@sithdestined@nexusvcrti@ofvalor@imundus@brokenbrxther@loyaltylanced@spellsigns@ruinedmyself@ravmalakh@touchedbydestiny

[hurlumerlu]

Extending the same level of courtesy: 9, 12 and 22 for dragon age

Sorry about the delay, I started to think about my answers and promptly went insane. Then the trailers for DA4 droped and despite having 150 grievances and 236 fears - or maybe because -I went insane some more. I did get a few somewhat coherent thoughts out, though !

9. worst part of canon

So I typed like half a LibreOffice page on why the way Inquisition deals with the mage/templar conflict was an incredible example of setting things up for almost no payoff, and then I went on a tangent about my frustrations with how Orlais in general is written, and then half another LibreOffice page on the fact that so much of canon is in supplementary material and how that does negatively impact my enjoyement of the games, with a long parenthesis on how Alistair being a half-elf makes the lore actively worse, all the while taking numerous breaks because I was not being normal about all of this and I wanted to be normal about all this, but clearly I cannot be normal, about any of this. Anyway, worst part of canon is still the use of the term Tranquil Solution in DA2. Pretty sure we already talked about that but it's just. It's so bad. Why.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

Well, as you pointed out this fandom is big enough and discoursey enough for pretty much all characters to have their ardant defensers - which is actually a good thing I think. I also think that the nature of the games necessarily means that a playthrough can never cover every aspect of a character and that you might easily miss an interaction that could nuance or improve your opinion of them. Vivienne is kind, warm and extremely straightforward with her goals if you take the time to befriend her. I didn't like Blackwall in my first playthrough, and never brought him anywhere, but his romance turned out to be my favourite of all Inquisition. It's pretty obvious Fenris and Sebastian don't fear all mages if you have Bethany in your party. If you don't blame Aveline for your mother's death, she gives you a speech on grief that I personaly find deeply touching. Sten often approves having his views challenged. Oghren is not just a walking crude joke, if you try to view his character with just a bit more grace, etc. So rather than pick one character people should like more I'll just say that if someone ever replays the games, they should try to put aside everything that annoyed them about whichever character they dislike the most and spend some time interracting with them with fresh eyes. It's often worth it. (I did write a love letter to Aveline, though)

22. your favorite par of canon that everyone else ignores

DWARVEN SOCIETIES. okay, i'm exagerating a bit. Idk that it's my absolute favrite part, and I know the dwarven lore is enjoyed by at least 20 people worldwide. But the fandom as a whole does not seem to care about the dwarves, except to ask if Varric is fuckable (no judgement, I get it). But there is so much there! Their rigid cast system and conservatism that are fucking everyone up, their disconect from the fade/lack of dream (and yet they can be made to dream, as shown by a dwarven warden or inquisitor), how that helps them handling lyrium but only to a point, their especially high resistance to the taint because of their proximity with the Darkspawn, their proximity with the Darkspawn, THE LEGION OF THE DEAD, the paragons and the Stone, the Titans, Sandal? And surface dwarves are also deeply compelling. Cut from their roots, otherized by what everyone else around them insist on calling "their people". When Varric tells a story of his brother blowing up at him for breaking a plate and ends with something like "that plate was the whole city of Orzammar to him", does that get to no one else? just me?

Chose violence ask game (I did not particularly chose violence)

[ben-talks-art]

What I want in a romance Vs. What I don't want in a romance

A few months ago I did a post talking about Trapped and Dreaming Freedom in which I mentioned how much I liked both series.

I mentioned how I enjoyed the idea of seeing these female leads stuck in a very uncomfortable situation with their respective "crazy yandere boyfriends" and how it was exciting and thrilling to follow them and try to find out how/if they are gonna get away from them.

And I still stand by it. That's basically the appeal of a thriller, literally the "thrill" of wanting to see if your favorite character will get out of a very dangerous situation okay. That was the charm of both stories to me.

So I was really surprised to see many readers in the comment sections of both series equally enjoying the stories, but not for the thrill and the sense of danger, but because they actually rooted for the characters who were clearly in depictions of very unhealthy relationships to actually find a happy ending together...

Now... There are several possible reasons for that.

Maybe the audience in the comments is just too young and hopeful to know better, or maybe they're just playing along with the mood of the story, or maybe they are just tired of seeing the same types of romances over and over and want something more exciting to read and are glad to finally have it, or maybe they're confusing enjoying a character with rooting for a character...

Or maybe that's just what they're into, who knows, I'm not gonna kink shame. But this is just not my thing.

But then that got me thinking... What is my thing? What do I look for in a romance? And why don't these types of stories work for me? Let's try to think about that for a little bit.

Let's talk about love!

To me, personally, enjoyable romance in a story can be defined as "wanting to be responsible for someone's happiness while wanting someone to be responsible for your happiness."

The kind of romance I like to read about is when characters feel joy in making another character happy and when that same character also feels joy in making the first character happy. I like when you put two people in the same room and they become brighter, more cheerful, happier versions of themselves.

I like to see them hanging out, talking, interacting, learning more about each other, spending time together, and I also like to see them challenging one another.

I like when a character is about to make a mistake and the love interest shows up to stop them because it shows that 1 - they care, and 2 - they understand the person well enough to know what they need and how to help them.

Some people might think that being supportive means always being on your side, but I view being supportive as wanting to help you be the best version of yourself that you can be, and then taking the effort to help you get there, even if it means stopping you and calling you out in your nonsense.

I like to see how these people affect one another and how they improve one another. How they open each other's minds to new possibilities and experience things that may be good for them that they never considered and grow from it.

But I also don't want them to be just each other's personal "self-improvement coach."

I also want to see the two characters being goofballs together, enjoying not just each other but the things they do. Playing around, getting into trouble, solving problems, laughing at stupid things.

I want to be convinced that a situation would be improved and that I as an audience would be having more fun if I were to see it being dealt by them doing it together instead of just one of them doing it. Make me want to see these two in the same room doing things-

(Wait that sounds bad...)

Make me want to see them dealing with or experiencing situations together. Make me feel like they have chemistry and that when one of them is missing from a scene I will go "God, I wish the other person was here too."

And finally, if they are age-appropriate, show them exploring the concept of intimacy together.

Show them learning about boundaries, about consent, about how far one should go, how far one should hold back. When it's the time to say "yes", when it's the time to say "no", what it means to say "yes", the consequences of not thinking about what the other person wants or what they might not be ready for.

Teach people who don't know about relationships the weight of what it means to be in a relationship, and like I said, the weight of being responsible for someone's happiness.

I remember when I wrote my web novel I had two characters once talking about what love was and I basically had someone respond "It's when you want to kiss your best friend," and I still kinda stand by that.

Have a reason for these characters to actually be a couple and not just two really good friends who have really good chemistry. If they're a couple, have them do couple things.

What's fun about romance is that you can have characters doing things as a couple that they can't usually do when they are just friends. So take advantage of the fact that they're a couple.

So to summarize, what I want in romances is:

Show that the characters are happier when they are with their partners

Show that they are fun and entertaining to watch when they are together

And show why they work better as a couple than as just friends

___

___

Now let's talk about the kind of "romance" I really do not like... The obsessive types of romance.

For some reason, especially in webtoons, "loving someone" is usually a translation for "wanting to have someone."

It's all about viewing that person as an object that you need to obtain, that you need to keep other people from touching, that you need to conquer so they won't leave you, and about treating them as some sort of universal medicine that you need to have otherwise you're gonna die or go insane.

A lot of times the focus is in portraying a character who's depressed, empty inside, lonely, broken, cold, grumpy, or something like that, someone who basically needs to be "fixed" or "rescued" and the person of interest is the one that will fix them.

It creates some sort of savior, or idol relationship where they view their love interest not as a person but as something to rid them of all their problems as some sort of miracle beacon of hope that they must obtain.

In these cases, the focus isn't on making sure that the other person is happy, it isn't exploring how well you get along with each other, or about discovering each other's limits together.

The focus is all about obtaining that person. About conquering them, about wearing them down, about following them around until they get used to you, about promoting someone's insistent pursuit as a good thing, about making them realize they need you just as much as you need them.

It's about satisfying the notion of "I want you in my life" or in worse cases "I must have you in my life."

What was meant to be about two people possibly exploring how well they work together turns instead into a game of a predator making sure they have succeeded in capturing their prey.

"Making so that the characters are even happier together" turns into doing everything they can to make sure they are completely miserable when they are apart so that they'll need each other

"Showing that they have entertaining chemistry" becomes instead about watching them magically solving each other's personal problems with the power of plot convenience while having the driest interactions imaginable

And "exploring their potential as a couple" instead turns into wondering if they'll manage to hold themselves back or will abandon any form of restraint and just surrender themselves to their desires like a beast and use their partner to calm down their urges

The focus in these types of stories isn't so much "they want to be together" but "they have to be together, or something bad will happen" as if you're being threatened into being a couple.

I once read this series called "Exchange Student" where the female lead had to interact and get along with the male lead because she needs his money to pay for her mother's treatment or she might die.

Another series called "Can I Take It Back" about a girl who was forced to hang out with a godawful boy who keeps stalking her and ignoring her rejections, but because of several misunderstandings they're forced to hang out until she gets used to him after he helps her with her bullying problem.

Another called "A Chance At Last" where the female lead needs to be saved from her crazy sister who's trying to kill her and her awful family that treats her like garbage, and of course she's saved with the help of the male lead.

And you can't help but wonder, is it really "love" if these guys are the only options these girls have when being in these terrible situations? If you're hanging from a cliff and there's only one hand in front of you offering to pull you up, is that person instantly your soulmate?

The idea isn't in showing that these people are good together, but that they HAVE to be together, and they do that, not by making the character look appealing, but by making every other alternative a worse option. It's a "accept him or you'll be miserable" situation.

The author is telling the character who they should choose instead of letting them choose.

And again, this works well to create tension, drama, and thrill. You're stuck with someone who views you as nothing but an object to attend to their satisfaction and now you need to find out how to handle the situation the best way you can.

There is this manga called "My Girlfriend Gives Me Goosebumps!" which is about a boy who wants to be stalked because his heart has a low beat rate so he gets himself a yandere girlfriend to excite his life.

Another one is a manhwa called "Once It Was Love" about a woman who found out her husband was having an affair so she took revenge on him with the help of her stalker.

Another webtoon called "It's Mine" about two boys who are in some sort of messed up game of stalker vs stalker over a high school girl, who eventually gets so used to their nonsense that she starts falling for one of them.

These are not good as romances but they are good as anything else. They are good at making you go "This is so messed up, where is this going? I can't stop reading! I'm so curious!"

The focus in these stories isn't on promoting obsession as a good thing, but on showing how the targeted characters handle the obsession once they are aware of it.

You can make a good story out of this... Just not a good romantic story, at least in my opinion.

Obsession can be used to create good characters as long as you point out that being obsessed isn't a good thing, and so many stories surprisingly miss that. So many try to paint obsession in a good light as if making a single person the center of your universe is a healthy mentality to have.

I keep trying to get into webtoons or mangas about straight female protagonists exploring their love lives, but so often the potential love interests for them seem to fall into these two positions:

For every ten series in this genre that I read, eight or nine of them end up giving me these same two guys.

They either want the female lead so much that they're ready to basically become their eternal butler, or they want them so much that they're ready to do anything in their power to make her believe she needs them in her life.

And I don't know if I'm just having the sh*ttiest luck when trying to find good romances with female leads or what, but the way these stories write male characters usually really doesn't fit what I'm looking for.

That's not to say that there aren't also depictions of obsessed female characters, but they usually tend to be more obvious about how bad and toxic being obsessed is, while on the other hand, obsessive guys are usually portrayed as something one should aim for.

Obsessive girls are usually meant to make you go "Ha, ha! Look at how crazy she looks, lol!" while obsessive guys are most of the time about making you go "Oh, no, he's hot!"

I guess the appeal of obsession comes from how it's the most extreme way to make someone look desirable. Like, you're so charming, so attractive, or so likable that you can make someone go crazy over you.

In a certain way, that is great to boost someone's ego.

But what many writers fail to consider is that being desirable and being loved are not the same thing.

It doesn't make the desired person look better, it just makes the obsessed person look desperate like their life is so messed up that one person is all it takes to make them lose their minds.

It also kinda makes it look like they're taking advantage of someone's misery to make their move and make themselves look like the answer they need, kind of feeling like they're exploiting a person while they are down in a vulnerable state.

Just because someone desires you doesn't mean that they're gonna make you happy. Heck, there's a chance that they don't even want you to be happy, just so you can keep relying on them.

It's a very delicate thing where people struggle to draw the difference between "I want to be desired" and "I want to be loved."

And if it sounds like I'm dunking too much on female leads for having too many stories about obsessed male love interests to portray their wish for being desired, don't worry, male protagonists suck too when it comes to that. Just look at the bazillion stories about a single male lead who ends up gaining a harem of women who are crazy about him.

Many people have a weakness in wanting to express how their character is wanted, loved, understood, and appreciated.

Several stories have a main lead that starts with nothing and by the end, they are adored by everyone around them, and I don't blame anyone for wanting to write these kinds of stories. (I'm guilty of that as well.)

It's just that sometimes I feel we don't fully capture the full package and stop just at "wanted" and forget the rest.

So, to sum it all up, what I don't want in a romance:

I don't like it when the love interest is some magical solution to all the problems of a character to justify why they need to be together

I don't like it when they act like being desired and wanted is the only part that matters in a relationship

And I don't like it when the goal isn't portraying how two people look good together but about how one person must be conquered at all costs as if your person of interest was some trophy you need to earn or some opponent you need to beat

---

---

So, yeah... I don't like obsession portrayed as a good thing in romances.

I have a certain aversion towards stories that illustrate "wanting to have someone" as the most important, most crucial, and sometimes only meaningful part of a romantic relationship, and ignore all that other stuff I enjoy.

I like it when it's to create suspense and drama, not so much to portray affection.

I do understand that there are many who do enjoy that. There are times when you just want someone to want you, and there is no shame in that.

The whole point of this is to show why this kind of romance is not what I personally seek in a story and where I'm coming from with my preferences.

I still like Dreaming Freedom and Trapped as dramatic thrillers, but I just can't view either of the two as love stories. I kinda view them more as very elaborate hostage situations.

If you want to enjoy a story about someone wanting someone, by all means, enjoy it. It's just not my ideal representation of what romance is, and I hope I managed to make it clear why I feel that way.

[becomingkatie]

Saturday morning at 10am I was stomping around like "the weekend is half over and I haven't gotten anything done yet!" Clearly I was feeling more than a little stressed about maximizing the weekend, lol.

Saturday morning I baked a loaf that I'd mixed up Thursday night and shaped and popped in the fridge Friday morning. It's got fish peppers from my garden and cheddar cheese in it - a nod to a jalapeno cheddar loaf, but I didn't have jalapenos. The fish peppers are SPICY. Like, I cut a slice of bread and my hands tingle and then I scrub them with soap and then if I rub my eyes it still burns them. Soooo, maybe not the best? If you've ever wanted to sweat and cough from eating spicy bread, I have succeeded in making the spicy loaf for you.

Saturday night I made marry me chicken gnocchi soup. I'd say it's medium. Good enough to happily eat the leftovers of, but probably not so tasty that I'll make it again. Well, I say that, but Ken has been saying, "Next time I think I'd (insert small change here)" so I think he actually really enjoyed it and might want it again. Anyway, it's gone well with a slice of toast on the side.

We had a big finances talk Saturday, too, since even over 2 years of marriage the only joint finances we have is a credit card I got where he's an authorized user so we can have a "joint" card. We're going to be moving to a fully (or at least mostly) joined approach (with some separate savings and investments) so we are getting ready for that.

Sunday morning I was in a MUCH better mood and we went for an "easy" gravel ride where I cried on the side of the road and nearly puked in someone's driveway because it was such a challenge. I haven't been riding much, and I haven't been challenging myself much either. Combine that with having covid a few weeks ago, and it was a shock to me how hard this ride was. Ken signed us up for a "mini" 25-mile gravel ride in about 6 weeks, so I have some work to do to make that an enjoyable experience and not a sufferfest. I've done a 40-mile gravel grinder ride a few times and loved it - it just makes me really sad to be in such worse shape now than I used to be. At least I genuinely enjoy cycling so the climb back to where I want to be is something I can have fun with.

After the ride we got bagel sandwiches in the town near the start/stop point. Mine had sausage, egg, cheese, and apple butter. I'm a sweet+savory gal so it was AMAZING. And then we showered and I napped on the living room floor for half a football game. ("Ken, can you put on the football channel so I can take a nap?") After dinner I made a blueberry muffin recipe that uses sourdough discard. I'd been meaning to make them for ages and finally had discard in the fridge and time to whip them up. It said to divide into 12 muffins... I am not sure that was the right move. But they taste great.

It's going to be a busy week. Plenty of work, a vet neurologist appointment for Theo, both individual and couple's therapy on Tuesday (I hate double-therapy days ugh), and trying to stay up late and push hard to finish editing this book so I can publish it before the end of the month. This weekend we want to bike again, and I want to do some training stationary bike workouts during the week, and we also both need to make sure we have clothes (or, more likely, get some clothes) for the two October weddings we have coming up. So I am Stressed but it'll be a good time if I can manage to enjoy myself through all the busy. And people add kids on top of this??? Howwww???

[evilwriter37]

Hi! This is for the Nsft/Whump prompts

You could choose between #19 for Vigcup or #13 for this weird ship of mine; Vigstrid 😅✌

Thank you for requesting! I chose to go with Vigstrid, given that there's hardly anything out there for it and I wanted to challenge myself. You're making me ship it, anon.

---

Rated: explicit

Warnings: none

Pairings: Viggo/Astrid

Word Count: 855

Summary: Astrid has sex with Viggo for the first time and is surprised by how good the experience is.

Ao3 Link

"I never thought you could make such sweet noises," Astrid breathed as she rode her partner's cock, in absolute awe of everything that was happening. For one, she was having sex. And for two, she was having sex with Viggo Grimborn.

"Me neither." Viggo's voice was just as breathy, and he took her by the hips gently. This man could be gentle, this man who had led the Dragon Hunters in business and battle for years, this man who had hurt and killed, and...

He was being gentle. Viggo was very different now, after having been burned chasing the one thing that had mattered to him: the Dragon Eye. He'd realized how shallow his life and his ambitions had been without having care for others.

That care now extended to her and the other Riders. Though, his care for her was very different from his care for them.

And Astrid had only heard threats out of him before, but now she was hearing sweet moans and sighs. She'd never once thought that something like this would ever happen.

"I-I'm sorry," Viggo said after some time, clearly in thought.

"What?"

"For everything I did before."

"Don't you dare try to apologize while I'm having sex with you," Astrid scolded. "This isn't apology sex. It's just sex."

Viggo smirked at her. "Whatever you say, my dear."

Astrid placed her hands on Viggo's broad, naked chest, riding him slowly, given that he was rather large, and sex was new to her. It hurt a bit, but she liked it. She liked it so much. Despite being intimidated by the sheer size of him everywhere, she'd wanted to be on top and take control. That was just how she was.

And Viggo seemed to be fine with that. He didn't roll them over or use his grip on her hips to make her go harder or faster than she wanted to. He just let her do this and pleasure the both of them.

"Are you close?" Astrid asked, voice low with lust in a way she'd never heard before.

Viggo ran his hands up over her back, the touch so good it made her shiver. "Not quite, darling."

Astrid arched into him, tilting her head back, humming with her eyes closed. "Oh. I am."

"Feeling your end would be splendid." Viggo's voice was also low with lust: a rumble.

Astrid had never thought she would like slow sex, had thought that her enjoyment would more align with something fast and hard and almost vicious. Maybe next time, but now, this was what she wanted, what she needed. Her orgasm was riding up on her, tensing her muscles in all the right places, increasing her pleasure to a burning she felt in her extremities.

Astrid's mouth dropped open in a loud gasp when she came, followed suit by a long moan. Her walls clenching around Viggo felt so good, and her body was burning and buzzing. Though she was rather good at pleasuring herself, she'd never had an orgasm this good before. She'd never felt so connected with someone before either. She swore she could feel Viggo's soul in her.

Viggo said nothing as she rode him through her climax. He just gripped her hips, let her dig her nails into his chest.

Astrid didn't know what to do when it was over. She was oversensitive, the feeling of Viggo's cock in her now too much. But, she hadn't gotten him off, and she wanted to.

"You do not have to continue if you do not wish to," Viggo said. "I can finish myself."

"I want to help," Astrid said. She climbed off of him, moaning as he came out of her. She took another look at his cock, and was utterly astonished that that had been in her.

She laid beside him, snuggling close, and reached her hand down. Her touch elicited a small gasp from Viggo, and a big arm wrapped around her, pulling her so tight against him he was almost crushing her.

But he was still gentle, even as he neared climax and his muscles tightened. She could feel his cock throb under her fingers.

He came with a sigh and a moan, hardly giving any warning, but Astrid hadn't needed any--being so close to him, she'd known that it was going to happen. She almost laughed at the way cum spurted from his slit. She'd known what a man's orgasm was like, but had never witnessed one personally, or been the cause of it.

She stroked him through it, and he laid a big hand on hers when he was finished, when it became too much. She pulled her hand away.

For a while, they just laid there in silence, breathing together, Astrid's breaths more even, Viggo's more like panting. Once his breathing had slowed, he looked at her and gave her a smile. She was on his right side so that he could see her. He was blind in his left eye now from his injury.

"That was wonderful, Astrid, my dear."

Astrid smiled, pecked him on the lips. "Yes. Yes it was."

[anemia-rp]

"What?" she puffed out her cheek with a playful pout. "It's better than making you keep your tail hidden away the whole time." her cheeks flushed a soft pink once more as she gave a small nod. "Well shouldn't it be special? Isn't it more enjoyable to see someone naked when it's special? Really?" she looked at him curiously.

"Really? I bet that's a really nice ability to have." She looked at him with a smile. "There are some fairies that have that ability, not me though. It could be really useful for those people that don't like to share what's bothering them." She knew a few people that she would like to have that ability for, then she would be able to help them when they weren't feeling okay. "I think hamsters are cute! I had one before and he was so sweet. A bunny? You think so?" she thought about it for a moment before giving a small nod. "Hmm maybe. They can be sassy too when they don't get their way too. Have you seen them stomp their little feet when they're upset?"

"I know..." she mumbled quietly, her face heating up more. Talking about her self pleasure was hardly something she talked about on a regular basis, which naturally was something that made her more shy. "Yeah, I suppose that is true." she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, your clothes would probably still be big on me if I wore it. Sometimes S sizes are still big on me. I usually wear XS sizes, but if I want something that fits more looser then I will wear a S size." she said with a small shrug and smiled cutely at him when he changed his voice.

"Okay but you will have to take care of me in the morning when I'm all whiny and hung over." she challenged him playfully. "Also if my wings come out. Sometimes I forget to keep them hidden."

"I feel like problems don't become so big if you try to see it from both sides." she said casually. "Sometimes it's good to be vulnerable."

She bit her lip as looked up at him with her big brown eyes as a small shiver ran down her spine. Maybe he was right, maybe she was a little bunny. She was vulnerable and small in his embrace right now, his hand around her neck.

"That's the best even", he approved. "If you show your naked body to everyone it becomes meaningless. Just like telling everyone everything about yourself. So be picky with the things you give to others. I'll for sure don't show my dick to just anyone. Or wanna share with just anyone the intimacy that sex is."

He didn't know a lot about hamsters or bunnies, but he was quite fond of the way Reno described them. Somehow everything got a cute touch when she spoke about it, he couldn't tell why this was the case, but it was undeniable. "True. Will you stomp your foot too when you're upset? I can imagine this actually." He smirked. "And I can imagine it's not really intimidating actually, sorry. Bunny rage." It amused him truly.

Fuji usually didn't talk about how he masturbated and to what imaginations either so he could understand that it made her bashful; it was funny to tease her with it though. "As long as you've got fun and it satisfies you…", he hummed and smiled. "What's for sure is that my clothes would fit really long on you since I'm lanky. You're just like a tiny doll with tiny clothes, I find this fucking adorable. It actually lifts my mood like crazy."

An amused snort erupted him. "Okay, I'll try my best to take care of you then, but I can't promise I'm a care taking expert. I gotta practice, but guess you'll give me several opportunities, huh? If you can tell me clearly what you need we'll both benefit from it."

"True. To avoid misunderstandings and endless unnecessary worries", he admitted. "But being vulnerable can be so fucking scary. Or better said: Appearing vulnerable. It a form of being naked as well I guess."

Fuji was so touched by her reaction to his caressings. For some while he let his hand where it was, around her neck, enjoying the moment, the connection and the emotions and the look in her face, but then he pulled his hand away. For now this was enough affection because he wanted her to desire him and his touches, and he was sure that you only could desire something very much if you didn't get it too easily. There wasn't a space for yearning something if it was too accessible.

[fictionz]

New Fiction 2024 - January

"Osee" ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

I can't go back to check what Osee was on about. All you need to know about this phase of the bible is guys were prophesying, and pretty much every prophecy is about how the Hebrew people were fuckin' it up. This all feels like items in what should have been the appendix, but since I'm reading a Catholic bible it's all just filler until JC shows up. (And we're just under 70% after two solid years of gettin' through it.)

"Joel" ed. Richard Challoner (1752)

Another dull prophet.

This Gray Spirit by Heather Jarman (2002)

I want to love every DS9 book. It's a struggle to not enjoy them. But there's a trend here in the Mission Gamma series of trying to do Too Much. The last book was very long, but also very focused, and the premise of taking the Defiant out into the Gamma quadrant sounds fine until they do it again... and again... and again. And it gets to the point where I just don't care what they're doing. I want DS9--the setting--and its beloved cast of characters to do their thing there. I'll read on but this one really should have been two books instead of this A plot-B plot structure.

Divided We Fall by John J. Ordover, David Mack, Andrew Currie, Michael Collins, Richard Bennett, David Roach, John Nyberg, Jenna Garcia, WildStorm FX, Alex Sinclair, Jeff Mariotte (2001)

This one contrasted nicely against Revenant by Alex White. Both stories focus on Dax and how the Trill symbiont managers are real bad at transparency. The more I learn about this world, the more it sounds like a pretty clear caste system that should get them booted from the Federation. But then, I suffer the flaw of binary judgement, and there's probably some nuance there to consider.

Gargoyles the Movie Game dev. Buena Vista Home Video (1995)

Wow, this was the most broken version of Chutes and Ladders I've ever played. I recommend a house rule of doubling each number on the spinner if you want any chance at winning. The event cards are just so punishing and the strict time limit makes it a steep uphill battle.

Gargoyles Remastered dev. Walt Disney Computer Software & Empty Clip Studios (1995, 2023)

I had a problem with input lag in the original version that ruined my initial impression, but that was on me. Playing the remaster with no input lag and the extra features like updated art, music, and the rewind all added up to a more enjoyable, if short, experience. It's otherwise an interesting artifact from that transition out of 2D platformers and into chunky polygons and pre-rendered 3D visuals.

Gargoyles: Night Flight dev. Tiger Electronics (1995)

I've played a few of these mid-90s Tiger handhelds and it's fine for a car ride, which is where I always imagine these things were played at the time. It's so overly simple that I can't say it's worth playing, unlike the classic Game & Watch titles that had real challenge and replayability to them.

The Color Purple dir. Bazawule (2023)

I never caught the original movie or book, but this musical was great. And those events are some real fucked up trauma.

The Iron Claw dir. Sean Durkin (2023)

As period biopics go, this one's fine. Not too wild or revelatory, other than its highlighting a segment of the wrestling scene which I had no idea about. The performances were all solid and Ephron clearly committed to the role. The story is from that period of simpler costumes and narratives before my friends and I came aboard in the later 80s and 90s, so it was neat to understand a fictionalized buildup to the more familiar stories.

Poor Things dir. Yorgos Lanthimos (2023)

It was great, stylized, and I suppose does have an act structure but it feels a little loose with it, which I'm all for. It just doesn't match up to the amazing work in The Favorite.

Night Swim dir. Bryce McGuire (2024)

A snoozer, I'm afraid. The seed of it is interesting but it doesn't quite grow enough to make it compelling.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom dir. James Wan (2023)

Another snoozer. It's not as fun as the first one, and if these superhero things aren't fun then what're we doing here?

The Beekeeper dir. David Ayer (2024)

Yeah this was a rough stretch. Another action snoozer that maybe could have highlighted something interesting about exploitation of elders but just uses that as an excuse for Statham to go around punching dudes in a boring way.

I.S.S. dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite (2023)

There's this particular subgenre of space movie where people are just out there in their tin cans, then they're stuck or screwed, and the drama plays out amid a desperate race to get out of that sitch. Hell, I will myself to sleep by conjuring a little scene I've developed where I'm out in my little space tug boat and need to shut down systems and go to sleep for the cycle. Gravity, Interstellar, and Life are all recent examples of this kind of movie that come to mind, and now we can add I.S.S. to that list. And I love these. I love space trouble. I ran into a bunch of these stories in my recent watch of The Outer Limits (1995), and I really can't get enough. I.S.S. has this uncomfortable angle on what if Earth annihilates itself, huh, smart guy? (Art reflecting reality, etc.) And that's a bummer to consider. But the story that plays out onboard the station is still neat and I would definitely watch this again.

Mean Girls dir. Samantha Jayne & Arturo Perez Jr. (2024)

Dug it! Maybe more than I did the original. Mostly because the musical sequences are great.

American Fiction dir. Cord Jefferson (2024)

Stories about writers can be a little too navel-gazey for me to handle, but I'm glad I caught this.

The Book of Clarence dir. Jeymes Samuel (2024)

It comes from the angle of true belief, so you have to buy into that going in, but the questions it raises and the general production all make it worth the watch. Plus, they tackle the question of why even is Jesus a white guy (well, we know why), so that makes it extra fun.

Battlestar Galactica - "Saga of a Star World" (1978)

Doofy? That's the word. Definitely of its time, but I'm gonna get through it all later this year.

The Twilight Zone - "Shatterday" (1985)

Ey Bruce Willis being moody before that was his brand. I watched the 60s version and now I feel obligated to see what issues of the day were popping up for 80s TV people.

Stargate SG-1 - "Children of the Gods" (1997)

Oh, okay, I didn't realize they were angling for the Showtime adult crowd with this. I was so used to the sanitized Saturday afternoon syndication version of the episodes. In any case, still a good start. Another show to watch in full later on.

Farscape - "Premiere" (1999)

Hm, more white guys as leads/captains isn't as appealing, but the puppety goodness of Henson aliens compels me to continue.

Fringe - "Pilot" (2008)

Holy shit, those first five minutes! I knew immediately I'd enjoy this show, whatever it's going to be. I heard enough good things that I figured I gotta.

Yellowstone - "Daybreak" (2018)

My mom wouldn't stop talking about this show so now I'll have to see what's what. So far it's Kevin Costner as an old asshole who raised his kids to also be assholes?

[millimononym]

Reblogging AGAIN (mutuals im sorry) because this reminded me of something

So, at the start of the school year we had to read Catcher In The Rye for our native language/literature class. We had around a month to read it along with usual stressful school duties.

Needless to say, i did not like it or undestand it at all at the time. Me and my friends thought that it was a worthless, boring book that only became a classic because the guy who murdered one of the Beatles had it in his pocket.

When it came time to answer questions and discuss the book with our prof. for our grade, i straight up said that i didn't really like the book. When asked why, i said that i thought Holden was way too much of a whiny jerk and that just because he had problems didn't excuse him acting like that. My professor wasn't one of those shit ass teachers that put down every opinion other than their own, so me saying that opinion was fine. He then said something that i forgot the exact words of, but basically that maybe there should be more sympathy for the character of Holden.

so what I'm basically trying to say here is-

a couple of months ago i had an opinion similar to this goodreads reviewer that i expressed publicly. And i have been REGRETTING IT ever since. See, for some reason this book wouldn't leave my mind. I'm the type of person to look up opinions and content about anything i think about. So then i saw actual analysis and thought about the book for more than a day. And WOW!!! when you see other people's views and think about something critically, it really changes your view and makes you actually..,yknow, GET something out of the experience because you thought about it for longer. So i like "Catcher In The Rye" now and think it's well written

And then i realized. Maybe the reason no one likes these books that are seemingly adored classics (or, "important novels") is because besides the fact that we're forced to read them(and no one likes being forced to do something), we are also given a strict deadline by which we have to read it and get an opinion about it because we'll get a bad grade otherwise. We are given the stress of a deadline during an already stressful time in our life, making getting enjoyment out of it or analyzing it in a meaningful way very hard. I'm a very slow reader too, so by the time i finish a book, i have even less time to think about it.

And that's exactly why these "1 book a day" type challenges mean absolutely nothing. You are practically forcing yourself to read as little meaningful literature as possible,and get as little thinking done as possible too. And that's insane to me!!!! Why would you do that ?! this woman is clearly an adult out of school, and most adults don't have a deadline for book reading. So why the hell would you do that. You now have the time and ability to read as much as you want and get the best possible, most meaningful experience out of it. And you choose not to.

And for what? To SEEM smarter? Because you managed to read a lot? That doesn't mean anything. Reading more doesn't make you smarter. A lot of people can read, it doesn't make you better than anyone else. What would actually make a person smarter, in my opinion, is being able to use their reading skills to analyze and get something meaningful out of these books as the authors most likely intended. Anti-intellectualism is as much of a war on intellect as a whole and ART as well. Writing is as much of an art as painting or music. And there is currently an ongoing war on art, on artists and people who support them, who want something meaningful in the things they spend their free time on. Then there's people like this goodreads reviewer, who seek instant gratification over meaning. It's not just them, or the booktokkers. There's the sinister stuff like ai "art" and chatgpt which more and more people use, which make me wonder if a dystopian future is a little closer than we thought.

Anyway my mind wandered a bit, basically just use critical thinking when engaging with (most) media. Obviously you don't have to read heavy stuff 24/7 but for the love of god if you intend on only reading YA do not make reviews like this for other types of books. By engaging with media purely on a surface level of "can i relate to this" or "do i only have fun reading this", you are not only doing a disservice to yourself, but the authors as well.

goodreads reviewers aren't human

[nighttimepixels]

I was wondering (because I love games that play like this as I try to go through with my true answers and opinions to see who would honestly like me 💖) if there will be any settings in there in which multiple characters are able to observe your answers/reactions ^~^ It seems like an easy way for the boys themselves to determine who likes/dislikes/loves particular answers without having them all ask individually as some other games do~

do you mean as in:

you’re talking to Red, you answer in a way Red likes, but Black is there/nearby, and he doesn’t like your answer, thereby affecting how both think of you?

if so, yes!

… to a reasonable degree, that is X) there’s in-game reasons for why not everything you say will affect all of them (not to mention logistical because that many interdependent variables would probably be the death of me), but yes there is more than one scenario where how you interact with multiple of them - and who you choose to interact with - will affect what they think of you.

if you mean:

you’re talking to Sans, and Blue overhears that you like Sour candy over Chocolate, he’ll remember that?

if so, maybe. ish.

see, the thing with YMHaT is that it’s not an immediate dogpile of they’re instantly wanting to date you. they’re interested in knowing you, yes (and again, pardon my vagueness, but i’m trying to keep a few major things secret up until the end, heh). the thing is, i also want it to feel rewarding & worth it because you, the player, are also putting in the work to show interest in them.

so sure, they may flirt (or etc) upon interacting with you, but just as naturally - if you don’t show interest/pursue in return, that won’t stick as much.

i hope this answers your question - if not, feel free to send in another X)

and @kiwispaz - bless you, oh geez, i’m so excited to hear that! considerably ;)c

[cybertronian-cupid]

I'm feeling really uneasy having to spend the holiday season with my family, so, if that's not a problem, could I request some fluff with TFP decepticons? Like,, comforting their s/o, making sure they feel safe and happy?

You didn't specify which ones you'd like best, so *rubs back of neck* what happened was a bit of a fluff surprise story. Hopefully it makes you smile Anon, and makes the holidays atleast a little more bearable.

*squints* though I think we should have the comfort styles of the Cons written somewhere... Keep an eye out, they'll be posted as soon as they get pieced together in some semblance of sense. ~Gregoria🏩

We hope you like it, Anon, and we hope this holiday season treats you well. You deserve nothing but happiness~Mila 💟

Holiday Surprise Fluff: Poly!Reader x TFP Decepticons (sfw)

(Yes. All of them. That includes the troops.)

............ ............ ............ ............ ............ ............

Being partners with Steve had its perks. Sure, there were some drawbacks as well, but considering how close all Vehicons were, that just meant the human suddenly had a whole lot of love and support, when one of these aliens decided to zoom into their life.

And well, when Breakdown met them and saw just how close the other guys are with them, and how nice they are treated by this fleshie, who's to blame the poor mech for falling for them too?

Knockout flirted with them once, and caught feelings when they laughed and flirted right back at him.

The rest of the ship caught feelings for the little organic faster than the cosmic rust, with the High Command being the most confused and vary over trying to express their feelings about it.

After all, their human isn't just a partner of one Steve.

They are a partner of all Steves, and soon of the Insecticon troops as well, with officers falling prey to their charms one after the other. In a sense, they have the whole ship wrapped around their tiny fingers, and soon they earn the affection of the Communications officer, Second in command and the Lord of Decepticons as well.

With ALOT of compromising and weekly reminders amongst the top three, that their human loves everyone aboard the Nemesis. The whole Nemesis.

How they manage that, remains a mystery to everyone aboard and yet, the morale has never been higher, so who is going to look a gift horse in the mouth? Noone, that's who.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

Steve drives them through the groundbridge straight into the command center.

Sondwave greets them with a merry tune, Lazerbeak chirping happily as they are swooped up into familiar well maintained servos.

"Here you are, " Knockout kisses their face all over, before glaring at Steve. "If I remember correctly, today was MY turn to pick OUR lovely fleshie up"

"But you just did sir," Steve answers prompting a groan out of Knockout, before rushing off towards the barracks laughing.

"So, what ARE you guys planning?"

"We can't tell you just yet," Dreadwing smiles at them. Skyquake is leaning against his twin, nodding.

"It would ruin the surprise."

They pout and look at the ceiling.

"Not even an itsy-bitsy clue? Come onnnn, you guys have been driving me crazy for long enough."

Airachnid giggles, skittering off her perch and extending a welcoming servo for them to step on. She holds them close to her spark, heels clicking as she walks.

"Not even that. Orders from the Second in Command."

"I thought you were ALSO Second in command."

"Who isn't at this point," Shockwave points out when the femme places them in his servo, pressing a quick kiss before dragging the two warriors with her, off to who-knows-where. Being carried and placed from servo to servo was a thing that took some time to get used to, and yet, they are always handled with such care and love they can't really stay mad at their partners for too long.

They gaze up into the red optic staring at them.

"Shockyyyyy,"

"No,"

"Shockerrrrs,"

"The answer is still no," his voice is firm and unyielding, but his finials are wiggling in amusement.

Whatever the others are preparing is clearly going to be good.

"Come on, can't you just tell me? " they try again, genuine laughter from the Warlord snapping their attention to the entrance. Disappointment setting in when he is not actually standing there.

>>Patience, little one,<< the recording echoes from Soundwave, who steps through the groundbridge a moment later, with parting words of

"And enjoy the show."

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

And what a show it was. Almost an hour of all fliers, spinning and looping around each other, acrobatics of transforming mid-flight to blow them a kiss, before transforming again and resuming what has clearly been practiced time and time again with how perfect their forms were.

They couldn't look away even if they tried, each segment of them all dancing in the air grander than the last, topped off by Predaking creating rings of fire for them all to fly through.

It was a spectacle of the kind they have never seen.

Their excitement has them almost jumping in place when all commanders return to the bridge, optics twinkling with glee at their s/o and their clear enjoyment and pride.

"That was just the start," Starscream smirks knowingly, with Breakdown presenting them with a thick coat.

"Just wait till you see what our Liege has in store for you,".

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

They honestly expected a gladiator match. Hardshell, Dreadwing and Skyquake against Megatron and Soundwave. Or perhaps some sort of a firing range, or anything that would indicate a show of strength, or precision and cunning. They wouldn't be surprised if the Warlord somehow decided to do it all inside of an ice cave just for the extra challenge.

They didn't expect to be taken to one of the empty mines.

They did not expect there to be decorations put up, a mix of what they know to be Cybertronian designs with different Earth influences mixing into them all and still looking stunning in their own way.

And they did not expect every grounder of the Nemesis to be present.

"What is all this?" they ask, their eyes roaming over everyone. Their frames polished, their engines humming in sync, as they all break into a song.

A song about them.

They caught a glimpse of the title one night, when Megatron forgot to put that particular datapad away.

"Oh it's nothing," he waved their question off, settling them down in their bed above his berth.

"Megs, what are you planning?"

His grin and a tilt of his helm had them laughing, the expression on their face earning them a chuckle of his own, and yet no answer beyond the teasing "You'll see".

Any questions directed at others about what they think could be in the works, were met with the same grin and chuckles of "You'll see, it's a surprise."

Arms wrap around them from behind.

"Happy holidays," Steve says, nuzzling his helm against their head.

"Care for a dance?"

Dating Steve had many perks. Dating the whole Nemesis, has around a million more. And they have all night to count them all, as they dance and laugh with their wretched, evil, horrible, no good Decepticons.

At a house somewhere on the planet, there stands a very, very irked Makeshift, currently tangled in strings of lights, reminding himself that he is a vital part of the operation "Our Human Will Have The Best Holiday Celebration". He's been bossed around this way and that, without much rhyme or reason for a week now, and at this point, he would much prefer to listen to a certain Seeker screaming his voicebox raw, than to be listening to yet another round of 'All I want for Christmas'.

He will have someones spark if he isn't the one that gets to cuddle with The Spark of Nemesis for at least a week after his mission is complete. He knows those will be well deserved after the madness he's being put through.

[omegas-spaghettios]

Ranking MCU Captain America figures

Before I begin, I want to clarify this is about my enjoyment of these characters and NOT who i think are the best morality or power wise. I specify because I think my first two entries will upset some people and I want to say, this list is NOT in order of how much I agree with these characters' values. I have a heavy favoritism towards theme and character interaction and that is where a lot of my enjoyment from media comes from. So, let's begin.

6. Captain America: CW, IW, and Endgame

I'm separating Steve into two because around CW he starts making decisions that really frustrate me.

Now I do think there is a lot to like still! His conviction to his morals during the Accords and continuing arc about government distrust is great, his stand against Thanos in IW is amazing, he is a lot of fun to watch during the New York part of the time heist, and lifting Mjolnir was legit my best theater moment ever and i will NEVER forget it.

However, in CW he starts making some awful decisions. In CW, he kisses Sharon like, days after Peggy's funeral. While on it's own it's already kinda creepy, Endgame retroactively makes this even worse. It goes on to also have grave consequence because he and Sam asked Sharon to break the law for them and never followed through to help her, which was pretty awful of them. At least Sam tries to make it right in TFATWS, but since Steve left that wrong on Sharon never gets reconciled from him.

I also think that his decision to keep Bucky and Howard's history a secret from Tony was really, really stupid. While I side with him during the fight, the fact that Steve "doesn't like when his teammates withhold information" Rogers didn't tell Tony this then walked into a Winter Soldier facility with Bucky and Tony during the most strained time of their relationship was just begging for that conflict.

He is barely in IW and while his stand against Thanos is a great moment, his decision to not let Vision kill himself is very frustrating. "We don't trade lives" then he goes to Wakanda to let thousands of soldiers die while they try and get the stone out, really dude?

I don't think going back in time in Endgame was inherently a bad ending but things he does to make it happen really frustrates me. He shows no signs of mourning Bucky or Sam at all. And then for the sake of surprise for the audience, he never tells Sam what he's doing and that is so awful. Sam dedicates 4 years of his life helping Steve with a good portion of it being on the run. Sam was with Steve more during the present than ANYONE else. Then Steve just leaves without telling him and shows back up to drop a ton of responsibility on Sam that he didn't ask for. Now Sam is an amazing Cap but it's frustrating to see that a lot of TFATWS is fallout of Steve's bad decisions in these three movies.

5. Captain America: John Walker

Now hold on, I hate this man. I think he does some awful things, so why is he above anyone else? Just because he isn't frustrating to me, he fits thematically and has good interactions with others in TFATWS.

His character really adds to the themes and discussions of white privilege, Supremacy, as well as how the US military treats their soldiers like shit, and I think he is an interesting character to watch as he starts out edging the line of evil and by the end of episode 4 crosses it. While I think Bucky was overall a bit too chummy with him in 6, I think it was all mostly in character for them. Sam and Bucky were up against 6 super soldiers and Batroc in a highly crowded city with lots of important people, it makes sense to me that they take his help in this scenario. They also never leave him alone which indicates distrust.

I also really like the moment where he drops the shield to help the truck. He is a shitty person but he is shown as a person who at least wants to do good, even though any challenge to that he goes off the rails. It is such a black and white scenario, help the truck of innocents, and I like that he does it. It also adds to the hatred of him as a person because it shows he clearly knows better but chooses to ignore it, which makes him even more despicable.

I think it is very important that a man like him bore the title of Captain America because it reminds us all that yes, it is very easy that a man like him represents America as it is and that we need to do better than him.

I like watching him and that's why he's above CW on Steve because he isn't making aggravatingly out of character decisions all of the time and he works very well within the themes of the show.

With me loving him in the context of TFATWS, in later appearances he does have a lot of potential to drop to last pretty easily, but as of now when he just is in that show, I appreciate his character a lot.

4. Red Guardian

I kinda like this character and idk how to feel about it

He doesn't fit Black Widow very much so he is kinda low but I mean, he's just kinda fun. His story about Captain America and the USSR is pretty non-related to the others and rather undeveloped which is frustrating, and he does very little plot significant things. He leads Nat and Yelena to Melina and that's about it. He distracts Taskmaster for a while but he kinda is just getting tossed around until Melina shows up. He isn't very important.

But I do like what I see and do hope we see more of him. They never pretend he's a great person and I do appreciate that he gets called on it constantly. His knuckles having Karl Marx on them kills me and overall he's pretty humorous and fun to watch. He also has a few great moments thematically that I love. When he comforts Yelena after the dinner scene and sings her favorite song as a kid? So heartwarming. When he took Taskmaster's shield when fleeing the Red Room I laughed at his ridiculousness but it lead to a pretty great moment, when he throws the shield through the windshield without hesitation to save Melina. It's a great moment to show how he's letting go of his past and obsessions to be there for his family.

I hope we see more of him, his overall lack of importance and stereotypical behavior kinda holds him back but I see so much potential in him.

3. Agent Carter

As of today she has been in exactly one 30 minute episode, but what I see I really like. Her laughter of surprise when she takes the tesseract is really endearing, her sword and muscles and height make my wlw heart patter, and I do like the difference in her relationship with Steve in this universe, where they both are of incredible capabilities but neither are given any respect for how they were born. We get that in TFA too but I really like that it is a constant theme in this iteration while in TFA it gets dropped a bit after Steve receives the serum.

There is very little of her so I can't really put her higher yet, but given more time she very well may rise up on this list but she had an excellent first showing.

2. Pre-CW Captain America: Steve Rogers

This man is a joy.

He is such an endearing scrappy little guy in the beginning of TFA and I love his commitment to doing the right thing. He still very much acts like a guy who just gained 120 pounds of muscle during that movie and it's endearing. The way he grows into his own skin in TWS is amazing as we see him really step in to what he can accomplish physically as well as his authority and leadership.

His Whedonisms in the first two Avengers films kinda bug me, they treat him like an old man when he isn't. Biologically he's like, early 30's at most here. He grew up as a fighter in Brooklyn then served in the military, he wouldn't care if his teammates swear, but overall it's tolerable.

I LOVE this man's commitment to transparency. He struggles when allies are not transparent and he shows nothing but transparency and I love that that is a constant for him (which is why I separate him from CW on)

Everyone loves this guy and over 90% of criticisms I see for him come after AoU, and that's for good reason, this guy is so loveable.

1. Captain America: Sam Wilson

He's so good, guys

I want to talk about Sam before the suit because he is amazing before it. He runs counseling for veterans, a profession very becoming of a superhero and it speaks to his incredible empathy and compassion that is on full display. I also think the fact that he dedicated 2 years to finding Bucky is not appreciated enough. Sure he was following Steve but he still spent 2 years trying to find Bucky, a person who tried to murder him. Yet he understands it isn't Bucky's fault and tries to help him anyway. I also really like that he is the first to speak out against the Accords. He doesn't wait for Steve or anyone else, he sees red flags and he is out and I really, really love that about him.

Then I love how long it takes for him to choose to become Cap and how much he contemplates it. He has to contemplate the legacy of Steve, if he wants to wear the symbol of this country, the pressures of being a black man as Cap, the legacy that John added to it, the pressures from Bucky and the pressures from Isaiah, and also his own legacy he carved for himself as the Falcon. It's a huge decision with a lot of weight and so many people pressuring him but he takes his time and chooses what is right for him, and I really love that about him. These other characters are all Caps from near the start but he transitions into one after years of knowing him as the Falcon and I love that he doesn't take this decision lightly.

Also as Cap he's just really cool. His decisions to not take the serum as well as try like hell to get Karli to step down speak to his humility and compassion. And while many describe his speech as bland it's still uniquely him. Yes the speech doesn't solve any problems but that isn't what he's doing, he's asking America and the world to get to actually solving them and that is an aspect of him we don't see much since Steve's propaganda days, his direct relation to the public.

Also his suit and wings are just awesome, I argue his action is the most fun to watch out of any of these characters.

Anyway yeah that's the list, I know people won't agree with me so let's try and keep discussion civil, alright?