#And have ideas for the Movie and Season 1

[john-does-whimpering]

every time i see someone who has just started malevolent on my recommended i giggle and giggle because oh brother you have no idea what's coming LMFAOOO

[feline-evil]

Dick or no dick confirmation Pickles was always going to be trans to me anyways; if he's swingin' somethin that's phallo babes, if he's not then his t-dick fat. What's not to get.

[nexus-nebulae]

every day i wish that Rats SMP was a cartoon bc it would make the greatest show ever i think

[athina-blaine]

i need to stop reblogging jjk art. what if it makes someone want to watch jjk

[nyxofdemons]

four years for this show...

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[girlhorrror]

i need to go back into the vampire show it looks like it’s going crazy in there again

[owoesies]

I JUST WATCHED WOLFWALKERS FOR THE FIRST TIME AND OH MYGOD. AU WHERE HUNTER IS ROBYN AND LUZ IS MEPH AND. AND. SIBLINGS

[mell0bee]

have had a very specific & extremely cheesy post canon toh fic idea for like a month now & after the finale it’s defs canon compliant & the idea Will Not Leave My Brain. the problem is that it’s gonna be like 20k-30k words and bestie i simply do not have the time to write that many words

[paintingpuff]

So with the terrible Minecraft movie trailer dropping,

I've seen a lot of people bringing up better stories in the world of Minecraft, like Story Mode or the books or the SMPs, but may I add another option that would be a way better use of your time and money than the Minecraft movie (esp cuz its free)?

Animation Vs. Minecraft

(Note: contains out of context spoilers for this series to give you a sneak peek of what's waiting for you)

There's a good chance you've seen the first video, since it's one of the most watched minecraft videos on youtube, made by the same guy who did Animation vs Animator.

But did you know that the stick figures pick the game back up and continue the series?

There are now three completed seasons packed with fun episodic content that naturally blossoms into a larger, engrossing story that amounts to /several hours of animated content/. It's got fun characters, gorgeous fight scenes, and even musical numbers, all told with next to no dialogue!

The whole thing is a love letter to Minecraft, with way more passion and knowledge of the game than WBS.

New episodes would show off the latest updates, like when the main characters explored the ancient cities and lush caves before they were officially released.

There are even homages to the Minecraft animation community, such as the episode featuring Monster School (my favorite part of this is the way they purposefully imitate the old janky animation in Herobrine's movements)

Not a fan of piglins always being villains? While there's certainly some bad piglins in this series (though I'd argue they're under duress), the main cast also befriends some, include this adorable piglin child.

Still not over Reuben's death from MSM? Well they've also got a pig (named Reuben by the community), and it both doesn't die, and occasionally does some badassery himself!

Speaking of the action, this series doesn't just reference minecraft's world and creatures: it expands on the mechanics and worldbuilding, creating avenues for some truly incredible action that can only be achieved within minecraft. It takes full advantage of the medium and world.

My personal favorite example of this is the team's expansion on the Lucky Blocks mod, exploring the idea of a "randomizer" power to its fullest extent.

The action scenes are the kind where you have to watch them five times over because each character is doing something completely unique and fun.

Here is all the episodes of season 1 compiled in one video to get you started, though there are also playlists out there:

All in all, this series is funny, gripping, and adorable, and is worth your attention far better than some corporate schlock.

[godsfavdarling]

kissing him

part of him (one-shot series), my masterlist

pairing: Spencer Reid x gn!reader summary: You and Spencer are taking things slow, and kissing him might be your favorite thing in the world. words: 700 warnings: kissing, anxious/sensitive reader, no y/n a/n: a quick little thing I wrote when I woke up! a little treat! I'm imagining early seasons Spence but you do you! I'm not gonna yuck anybody's yum!

You and Spencer had been dating for a while. Your relationship was built on cute dates, always doing something fun—museums, bookstores, parks, movies. Whenever he was home, he made sure to spend as much time with you as he could. 

You both took things very slowly because Spencer knew how anxious you were about being in a relationship. Sharing your days and yourself with someone else was overwhelming, so he never pushed or rushed you. 

Most people who saw the two of you might have thought you were just friends. 

It wasn't until you found yourselves in a larger crowd that Spencer would strategically place himself behind you—1) to not lose you, and 2) to make you feel safer. He’d place his hand on your back, barely touching it, but you could feel it, and it made your stomach do cartwheels. 

You hated how sensitive you were. You wished you could be the opposite—bold enough to throw yourself at him and have a hot and heavy make-out session. But you weren’t. You needed time, and he wanted you to feel good with him.

The light touches gradually transformed into soft hugs and holding hands. If it was too hot outside, you’d hook your pinky around his, which he loved. It always made him smile, even though he tried to hide how giddy it made him feel. 

On the metro, you’d always hold hands, not just to avoid losing each other, but because Spencer knew how much you hated fast-moving crowds and the creeps who sometimes occupied the trains. So, he’d squeeze your hand whenever he sensed you feeling uneasy.

Your first kiss was something you still weren’t sure who initiated. Was it you, looking at his lips as you said goodbye after a movie date? Or was it him, noticing how you were looking at him and slowly closing the distance between your faces? Maybe it was both. In the end, it didn’t matter. The kiss was soft and sweet, just like you had imagined it. 

The moment his lips touched yours, you felt him shudder and inhale deeply, which made you somehow cling to him even closer. You often forgot that Spencer was as inexperienced as you were. 

Suddenly, his hands were on your waist, holding you gently, and your hands were on his cheeks. Then he slowly pulled away and looked at you. Oh god, the way he looked at you—as if you were the most divine creature in the universe. And he probably saw how you looked at him, dumbfounded, trying to process what had just happened. He smiled, kissed your cheek, and said goodnight with a promise to call tomorrow.

The kisses grew more casual and soon became a normal occurrence. Kissing Spencer became as natural as holding his hand (or hooking pinkies).

It took months for the two of you to have a proper make-out session. You were on his couch, and it might have been your fault—you couldn’t stop thinking about him, about kissing him. He even wandered into your dreams.

The movie was on, but you had no idea what it was because you kept glancing over at him, your heart racing. You tried to focus and just enjoy the evening, but you couldn't. He looked so pretty sitting next to you, completely absorbed in the movie with his brows furrowed. You were in such awe that you were startled when he turned and asked, "Why are you staring like that? Do I have something on my face?"

"No, no you don’t. Your face is... just... pretty," you replied.

He blushed and said, "Your face is pretty."

You didn’t know what came over you, but right then, as he said that, you pressed your lips against his. Before you knew it, your hands were in his hair, his hands were on your hips, and you pulled him onto you as you both fell back on the couch. He opened his mouth, letting your tongue in. 

He tasted so good, so sweet. 

You loved kissing Spencer. You had always wondered what kissing someone like that felt like. What was all the buzz about? It’s just kissing, and if you thought about it too much, it was frankly kind of gross, but now, with Spencer, you understood the buzz. This was your favorite place to be.

[ahsokaismyqueen]

Steve Harrington x HendersonSister!Reader Masterlist

Welcome to the Steve x HendersonSister! Universe! I have so many ideas for these two, and will probably never go through them all, but I wanted to keep them in one place! They will not be posted in chronological order, but I will list them here that way. Hope you enjoy!

Idiotic Decisions - Working on a project with douchebag Steve Harrington was not something you were looking forward to doing. However, you’re surprised to find that maybe he’s just a little less of a jerk than you thought. (Season 1)

Disappointed Revelations - After working on a school project together, you had actually started to believe that there was more to Steve Harrington than meets the eye. All of that changes after an interaction with Jonathan Byers. (Season 1)

The Evolution of Friendship - After Steve is attacked by Billy Hargrove, you’re shocked to find the guy still attempting to protect you as you two go into the hub to try and buy Eleven some more time. It makes you wonder. Are you and Steve Harrington actually … friends? (Season 2)

Hold Me Tight - Ever since Prom, Steve and you had been growing closer to crossing that line from friendship to something more. During a hot summer day, a little more of that line gets crossed. (Before Season 3)

Conversations On Top of an Elevator - Well, your brother has gotten you and Steve into another mess, this time on top of a Russian elevator. While Steve stresses out, you reassure him that you’ve gotten out of this shit before, you can do it again. (Season 3)

Saving Steve - Steve Harrington has already saved your life, so it’s time to return the favor. Little did you know that would feel a little less like an action movie and more like taking care of rowdy toddlers. (Season 3)

You Feel the Same? - The tension that’s been rising between you and Steve all summer has finally been set to boiling after spending time trapped in Russian elevators together and overhearing his confession to Robin about the new girl he likes who sounds suspiciously like you. After everything, you don’t care if it ends up burning you anymore. You just know you can’t waste another second not being with him. (Season 3)

Those Three Little Words - 18+ ONLY. Steve gets upset when he finds a letter on your table from Indiana University, and it forces the two of you to confess something you’ve been trying to say for a while now. (Before Season 4)

Reunions and Future Plans - For the first time in a long time, you and Steve haven’t seen each other in three weeks since you started college. So he decides to surprise you. (Before Season 4)

Holding You to That - Steve Request. You go to get your boyfriend Steve from Family Video when Robin tells you you’re a distraction, and of course you’re not! Okay, maybe a little. (Before Season 4)

A Not So Good Day - It’s Spring Break in Hawkins, and you can already tell that it’s going to be a great, relaxing time. Well, until you find out that your best friend might be dead and the gate to the Upside Down might not be as closed as you thought. (Season 4)

Finding Eddie - After a long day of trying to find Eddie, you, Steve, your brother, Robin and Max all find your way to Reefer Rick’s house where the time finally comes to tell the truth to your ex-best friend. (Season 4)

Watergate - Dustin has a theory that there’s a new gate, and Nancy has a suspicion of where it might be. The best swimmer needs to go to the bottom of Lover’s Lake and check it out. Unfortunately, much to Steve’s displeasure, that happens to be you. (Season 4)

Travelin' Man - Well, you didn’t love Eddie’s plan, but you also didn’t see many other options. (Season 4)

Saving the World or Not - Steve’s gone off to fight Vecna while you’ve stayed behind to distract the bats. What could possibly go wrong? (Season 4)

[norrisainz33]

Besties || OP81

☆ summary: reader and her tv show bestie are big fans of f1 and just happen to be dating the two papaya teammates

☆ pairing: oscar piastri x famous!reader

☆ fc & warnings: chloe rose robertson & none

☆ requested: yes!! thank you so much for taking the time to request 🤍

☆ a/n: y/c/n = your characters name

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ

vogue has made a post

liked by ynuser, maiareficco, formula1, yourbff, francisca.gomes, iamrebeccad, landonorris and 765,132 others

vogue: we had the chance to sit down with two of the hottest stars at the moment, y/n y/l/n and maia reficco. we talked about fame, their style icons, formula 1 and the new season of pretty little liars original sin! make sure to read the full article on our website!

view all 657 comments

user1: further proof that my theory is correct and that y/n is dating lando norris

user6: girl what???

user16: ain’t no way

user44: you might actually be on to something here user1

user2: insane crossover - had no idea my favorite show and favorite sport were connected

ynuser: thank you so much vogue!! this was a dream come true 🥹

vogue: thanks for stopping by!

user3: hot girls do watch f1 she’s so right

iamrebeccad: congrats ynuser - this is amazing!

ynuser: thank you rebecca 🤍

user1: taking note of rebecca being here mhm just noticing things

formula1: maiareficco ynuser you’re welcome at a race any time!

maiareficco: ynuser 👀

user4: what is f1 and why are all of the drivers gorgeous??? i’m suddenly obsessed

user7: oh user4 welcome , you’re in for a heck of a ride

ynuser has made a post

liked by oscarpiastri, landonorris, vogue, maiareficco, baileemadison, yourbff, and 745,234 others

ynuser: soaking up the last bits of summer 🤍

view all 346 comments

user4: are you gonna tell us soon when your new movie comes out or ????

user1: this could easily just be maia and y/n at the beach but also could be a soft launch

rudypankow: top tier beach content

maiareficco: who’s this diva 💜

oscarpiastri: 🤭

landonorris: 👀

maiareficco: 😫

ynuser: 🤨

user1: you guys are killing me

user4: user1 imma need you to break down ur theory bc ur always always at the scene of the crime

user1: ON OT

user23: love seeing you happy ms girl

user64: the way the newest episode had my jaw on the floor!!!

ynuser has posted a story

view all story replies

user1: taking note of the orange colored font 📝 could that be papaya?

yourbff: a smoke show if i’ve ever seen one

ynuser: thank you darling 💋

oscarpiastri: my god i’m so fcking lucky

ynuser: 🥹🥹 babbyyyyyy

oscarpiastri: that’s me 😍

ynuser: i love you so much oscar. i’m so glad i get to spend the next couple weeks with you 🤍

oscarpiastri: i love you more than anything gorgeous 🧡

maiareficco: you are stunning

ynuser: says you 😭

user7: hope they treat you right 😔

jackhughes: who’s the lucky person?

ynuser: a certain formula 1 driver 🥹

jackhughes: should’ve been a hockey player 😉

ynuser: HA jacky no

user9: i’m so jealous of whoever is getting to take you out

landonorris: osc couldn’t stop talking about how excited he is for this date

ynuser: stopppp he’s so cute 😭🫶🏻

user10: the one time i’m hoping the paparazzi get pics bc i wanna know who the heck this person is

ynuser has posted a story

view all story replies

user34: MONACO?! what are you and maia doing in monaco

user1: both papayas live in monaco ☝🏻

alexandrasaintmleux: was sooo lovely meeting you today 🤍

ynuser: omg it was such a pleasure!! thanks to you and charles for having us out on the boat 🫶🏻

mclarenf1: you’re come to a gp when?

ynuser: you tell me admin

mclarenf1: you known if it was up to me you’d already have been to one

oscarpiastri: noticing how nice white looks on you 🤭

ynuser: oscar you can’t just say things like that 🤨

oscarpiastri: oops 🤷🏻‍♂️

yourbff: my invite must have been lost in the post

user12: about to go feral over how gorgeous you look

ynuser has made a post

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ynuser: spoiled 😘

view all 655 comments

user4: you’re so beautiful

zendaya: stunning as always 😘

ynuser: thank you 🥹🫶🏻

user5: you deserve to be spoiled 😭

maiareficco: my best friend i love you 🤍

ynuser: i love you more mwah 💋

user8: mama there’s a man behind you

user1: y/n is that who i think it is?????

user16: the leg is giving more oscar than lando

user1: ughhh maybe??? both of them are in the likes but i swear she’s more of a lando girl and i think maia is with oscar

yourbff: ugh i can’t believe im losing my girl 😭

ynuser: shhh you’ll never lose me!!

user7: a soft launch?! at a time like this?!

user14: if it’s true lando is a lucky lucky man

user12: i promise i could treat you better just give me one chance

maiareficco has made a post

liked by ynuser, formula1, vogue, mtv, prettylittleliars, baileemadison, landonorris, oscarpiastri and 324,123 others

maiareficco: we’re both spoiled 😉🧡

[tagged: ynuser]

view all 321 comments

prettylittleliars: as our girls should be 🤍

user1: taking note 📝 of the orange heart used here maia… did a certain oscar piastri buy you those flowers?

ynuser: yes we are 🤭

maiareficco: might be the luckiest girls ever 🤍 [liked by oscarpiastri and landonorris]

user3: not lando and oscar both liking maia’s comment…. they’re not helping figure this out huh

user16: A DOUBLE SOFT LAUNCH???? my heart can’t take this

f1gossip: we have been summoned

yourbff: hehehe 🤭

user2: what do you know ?! spill the beans

user8: guys dw they’re in love with each other not men

oscarpiastri had made a post

liked by landonorris, ynuser, mclarenf1, maiareficco, formula1, yourbff and 765,245 others

oscarpiastri: feeling well rested and ready to go again in austin after a few weeks away with my princess 🤍

view all 999 comments

user2: i’m in utter shock

user4: someone check on user1

user1: thank you for summoning me. i am confused to say the least - i really thought y/n and lando were together

ynuser: you were close user1! ms maia is lando’s girl 😉

user1: WAHTTTTTTTTTT OH MY GOD LOSING MY MIND

landonorris: can confirm user1

user1: i think im hallucinating

maiareficco: my favorite favorite cutie pies

oscarpiastri: 🫶🏻

ynuser: you’re my favorite my maia

ynuser: had the time of my life with you 🤍

oscarpiastri: lets go on vacation again

ynuser: after brazil? 🤭

oscarpiastri: say no more

user6: do you hear me screaming

landonorris: my best friends are dating 🫶🏻

ynuser: and my best friends are also dating 😍

user7: will you ever iron your shirts king

user81: can’t wait to see you back on track oscar!!!

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ

a/n: thank you for reading!! likes and reblogs appreciated 🤍

ﾟ. ✿ ୨❤︎୧⠀✿ . ﾟ

disclaimer: pictures are not mine and everything i write is fiction

© norrisainz33 || please do not rewrite, translate, or copy any of my works posted here on to any other platform

[lc-holy]

Thomas Astruc and Sébastien Thibaudeau were interviewed on Catboat's Twitch channel. A 5-hour interview in which they talk about their careers, the 5 seasons of miraculous and a little about the seasons to come. (There are no spoilers about season 6, only a few teasers).

The interview will probably be available with English subtitles.

In the meantime, here's a summary of what was said in the interview about season 6 and other Miraculous projects.

Thomas has always loved SAMG's work, and it was he who strongly suggested working with them on the series. But unfortunately, they will no longer be able to work with SAMG for future seasons of Miraculous. Episode production has changed and is no longer compatible with SAMG. However, he remains open to working with them on other projects.

Miraculous will be produced entirely in France from season 6 onwards.

The interviewer asked Thomas if an OVA project with Toei was still planned. But Thomas didn't want to answer the question.

Sébastien explains that they always plan the scenarios well in advance. For example, what happens in season 6 was already planned when season 3 was written. They've already written two pages of ideas for the Season 7 finale.

Thomas says they have ideas to go to a season 12 but it will all depend on the success of the series.

It's impossible for them to have one season too many, because their work is very emotionally demanding, and if they feel that what they're doing is no longer interesting, they stop.

Sébastien hopes that Season 6 will appeal to new viewers as well as those who have been following the series since the beginning.

Miraculous will never evolve into an adult series, it will remain a children's series. But they will always try to satisfy the fans who have been following the series for years.

They also wrote the series to appeal to parents who watch Miraculous with their children.

Sebastien teased us that there will be a song in season 6.

Thomas sincerely believes that season 6 is better than season 5, which was off to a bad start because he wondered how they were going to do better than season 5.

They had a lot of fun writing this new season, and the new writers who joined the series brought a lot of good ideas.

As season 6 begins a new arc, they consider it a season 1.

And with the new animation style, season 6 will bring a lot of new storytelling. It will be different. The stories won't be like the other seasons.

Some people will probably complain that it's different, that it's not like before. It's a question of adaptation.

Sebastien says we'll appreciate season 6 even more when season 7 comes out.

They don't know yet whether the theme song will change. Thomas would like to change, but he knows the fans love the theme song so they don't know yet.

Thomas hints that he didn't write the Shadybug and Claw noir universe to exploit it in a single special. But he remains very vague.

Thomas explains that there are many details in previous seasons that fans didn't understand, but which will make sense in later seasons.

There's a reason why Lila is a mythomaniac, and they'll tell it one day in the series. Thomas even says they've already told it in the series, but we haven't figured it out yet.

Thomas says that Chloe will remain an important character in the coming seasons, as she has always been in the series.

They have clarified that the new animation for the new seasons will have nothing in common with that of the Miraculous movie. Because the movie and the series are not linked.

They will soon be meeting to decide whether Miraculous will be made into a live-action series or not. It will be different from the series. Thomas mentions kwamis in particular, which are complicated to integrate into live action. Thomas has already written the concept. For the series to see the light of day, it will mainly be a question of budget.

[bylerween]

Announcing the daily themes for BYLERWEEN 2024! 🎃🦇👻

Each day has three themes: a Halloween theme, a show theme, and a one-word theme. Feel free to use inspiration from just one, two, or all three themes for each day!

Day 1: Sunday, October 27:

Horror AU

Demo Creatures

Summon

Day 2: Monday, October 28:

Masquerade

Turn it Upside Down

Spell

Day 3: Tuesday, October 29:

Graveyard & Zombies

Young Byler & Old Byler

Haunt

Day 4: Wednesday, October 30:

Pumpkins & Skeletons

The Party

Transform

Day 5: Thursday, October 31:

Costume Contest

Trick or Treat, Freak (2x02)

Sweet

Day 6: Friday, November 1:

Movie Night

Hawkins Lab

Fire

Day 7: Saturday, November 2:

Fortune Telling

Season 5 Era

Shiver

🎃🦇👻

Extra prompts and ideas for these themes are under the Read More cut!

amazing art by @magentamee!!!

Here are some additional ideas that you can use as inspiration for each day's themes! You don't need to follow these prompts at all, but feel free to jump off of these ideas.

Day 1: Sunday, October 27:

Horror AU: Make an AU of your favorite horror movie, show, video game, or book. Feature Mike and Will as the villains, or as the final ones standing.

Demo Creatures: Demogorgans, Demodogs, and Demobats, oh my! Revisit our favorite creatures from the Upside Down. Will Dustin’s beloved D’Artagnan make a reappearance? Or create a brand new kind of Demo Creature!

Summon: Will the Wise and the brave paladin Michael are summoned to complete a quest! Or maybe at a spooky sleepover, Mike and Will accidentally summon a demon.

Day 2: Monday, October 28:

Masquerade: Will kisses someone handsome at the masquerade ball, but they had a mask on - was it Mike or someone else? The party shows up to the ball to have a good time, but are surrounded by enemies in masks. Hidden identities, lots of dancing, and a raucous good time!

Turn it Upside Down: Explore the Upside Down, whatever that means to you! Will and Mike go through a gate into the Upside Down, or flip the whole ship on its head: Willow and Michelle around Halloween, underexplored AU’s, flipped ship dynamics. Go crazy with it.

Spell: Enchantments, curses, and magic. Has Hawkins been placed under a spell this Halloween? Will the Wise casts a spell, or has to undo one.

Day 3: Tuesday, October 29:

Graveyard & Zombies: Buried bodies, graveyard shifts, and ghosts. Will and Mike work at the graveyard and have to stop an undead army from rising, or maybe that’s just where they share their first kiss. The “Zombie Boy” nickname still stings Will when it’s thrown around at school, or maybe not so much after Mike fights their bullies.

Young Byler & Old Byler: What did Mike and Will get up to on their first, second, third Halloween together? How do Mike and Will celebrate Halloween once in college, or in their 20s, 30s, 40s, or 50s? How are they spending Halloween in 2024?

Haunt: What still haunts Mike and Will all these years later? Mike searches for Will who is haunting him while still stuck in the Upside Down. Mike and Will bravely face the Hawkins Haunted House, or move into an actual haunted house as adults.

Day 4: Wednesday, October 30:

Pumpkins & Skeletons: Will and Mike carve pumpkins together, make a pumpkin pie, or investigate the mystery of the rotten pumpkin fields in Hawkins. The party fights against skeletons come to life, or a mystery in Hawkins begins when an unlikely skeleton is found.

The Party: Any and all Party Halloween shenanigans! Explore party dynamics during the spooky season, from pranks to trick or treating. What was the party’s first Halloween together like? The party attends or hosts a Halloween party.

Transform: Transformations of any kind! Werewolves, vampires, Frankenstein, or just the kind of transformation that happens when you are stuck in the Upside Down for a week.

Day 5: Thursday, October 31:

Costume Contest: The party is going all out for costumes this year! Or is it just an AU? Dress Mike and Will up in historical clothes, clothes from your other favorite fandom, or anything else! No matter what, Mike and Will are dressed to impress this year.

Trick or Treat, Freak: A perfect day to appreciate our beloved season 2 Halloween episode. Ghostbusters, Max Mayfield has joined the party, Will sees a shadow in the sky. Crazy together.

Sweet: What’s Halloween without candy? Mike and Will share their favorite candies, or maybe they’re just being extra sweet to each other this Halloween.

Day 6: Friday, November 1:

Movie Night: Whether it’s the whole party or just Will and Mike, at the movie theater or just hanging out in the basement: Byler is cozied up and watching their favorite Halloween movie. Or, what if the party is making an amateur horror flick?

Hawkins Lab: What goes on there, and how are Will and Mike involved? Mad scientists, dangerous experiments, and kids with powers.

Fire: Bonfires to keep our boys warm on a chilly October night, the fire under a wizard’s cauldron, Will the Wise casts Fireball, or a dark night lit only by candlelight.

Day 7: Saturday, November 2:

Fortune Telling: Look into the crystal ball and tell me what you see! Will or Mike get their fortune read and things go awry! Horoscopes, tarot reading, palm reading, tea leaves: does knowing the future make things easier, or so much worse?

Season 5 Era: Time to daydream about our season 5 era! Speculate about what spooky things will happen based on the behind the scenes pictures. What does the next Halloween after season 4 look like for Mike and Will? Is there still time to trick or treat when the world is ending?

Shiver: “He’s right behind me, isn’t he?” What has Mike and Will shivering with fright: a supernatural creature, something ancient and mysterious, or a strange deadly virus that has the whole town shivering? Mike and Will get trapped somewhere cold. Will insists that “he likes it cold.” Or maybe there’s just a chill in the air - it is autumn after all.

[physalian]

Pacing your Story (Or, How to Avoid the "Suddenly...!")

Arguably *the* most important lesson all writers need to learn, even for those who don’t give a damn about themes and motifs and a moral soap box: How your story is paced, whether it’s a comic book, a children’s chapter book, a doorstopper, a mini series, a movie, or a full-length season of TV (old school style), pacing is everything.

Pacing determines how long the story *feels* regardless of how long it actually is. It can make a 2 hour movie feel like 90 mins or double the time you’re trapped in your seat.

There’s very little I can say about pacing that hasn’t been said before, but I’m here to condense all that’s out there into a less intimidating mouthful to chew.

So: What is pacing?

Pacing is how a story flows, how quickly or slowly the creator moves through and between scenes, how long they spend on setting, narration, conversation, arguments, internal monologues, fight scenes, journey scenes. It’s also how smoothly tone transitions throughout the story. A fantasy adventure jumping around sporadically between meandering boredom, high-octane combat, humor, grief, and romance is exhausting to read, no matter how much effort you put into your characters.

Anyone who says the following is wrong:

Good pacing is always fast/bad pacing is always slow

Pacing means you are 100% consistent throughout the entire story

It doesn’t matter as much so long as you have a compelling story/characters/lore/etc

Now let me explain why in conveniently numbered points:

1. Pacing is not about consistency, it’s about giving the right amount of time to the right pieces of your story

This is not intuitive and it takes a long time to learn. So let’s look at some examples:

Lord of the Rings: The movies trimmed a *lot* from the books that just weren’t adaptable to screen, namely all the tedious details and quite a bit of the worldbuilding that wasn’t critical to the journey of the Fellowship. That said, with some exceptions, the battles are as long as they need to be, along with every monologue, every battle speech. When Helm’s Deep is raging on, we cut away to Merry and Pippin with the Ents to let ourselves breathe, then dive right back in just before it gets boring.

The Hobbit Trilogy: The exact opposite from LotR, stretching one kids book into 3 massive films, stuffing it full of filler, meandering side quests, pointless exposition, drawing out battles and conflicts to silly extremes, then rushing through the actual desolation of Smaug for… some reason.

Die Hard (cause it’s the Holidays y’all!): The actiony-est of action movies with lots of fisticuffs and guns and explosions still leaves time for our hero to breathe, lick his wounds, and build a relationship with the cop on the ground. We constantly cut between the hero and the villains, all sharing the same radio frequency, constantly antsy about what they know and when they’ll find out the rest, and when they’ll discover the hero’s kryptonite.

2. Make every scene you write do at least two things at once

This is also tricky. Making every scene pull double duty should be left to after you’ve written the first draft, otherwise you’ll never write that first draft. Pulling double duty means that if you’re giving exposition, the scene should also reveal something about the character saying it. If you absolutely must write the boring trip from A to B, give some foreshadowing, some thoughtful insight from one of your characters, a little anecdote along the way.

Develop at least two of the following:

The plot

The backstory

The romance/friendships

The lore

The exposition

The setting

The goals of the cast

Doing this extremely well means your readers won’t have any idea you’re doing it until they go back and read it again. If you have two characters sitting and talking exposition at a table, and then those same two characters doing some important task with filler dialogue to break up the narrative… try combining those two scenes and see what happens.

**This is going to be incredibly difficult if you struggle with making your stories longer. I do not. I constantly need to compress my stories. **

3. Not every scene needs to be crucial to the plot, but every scene must say something

I distinguish plot from story like a square vs a rectangle. Plot is just a piece of the tale you want to tell, and some scenes exist just to be funny, or romantic, or mysterious, plot be damned.

What if you’re writing a character study with very little plot? How do you make sure your story isn’t too slow if 60% of the narrative is introspection?

Avoid repeating information the audience already has, unless a reminder is crucial to understanding the scene

This isn’t 1860 anymore. Every detail must serve a purpose. Keep character and setting descriptions down to absolute need-to-know and spread it out like icing on a cake – enough to coat, but not give you a mouthful of whipped sugar and zero cake.

Avoid describing generic daily routines, unless the existence of said routine is out of ordinary for the character, or will be rudely interrupted by chaos. No one cares about them brushing their teeth and doing their hair.

Make sure your characters move, but not too much. E.g. two characters sitting and talking – do humans just stare at each other with their arms lifeless and bodies utterly motionless during conversation? No? Then neither should your characters. Make them gesture, wave, frown, laugh, cross their legs, their arms, shift around to get comfortable, pound the table, roll their eyes, point, shrug, touch their face, their hair, wring their hands, pick at their nails, yawn, stretch, pout, sneer, smirk, click their tongue, clear their throat, sniff/sniffle, tap their fingers/drum, bounce their feet, doodle, fiddle with buttons or jewelry, scratch an itch, touch their weapons/gadgets/phones, check the time, get up and sit back down, move from chair to table top – the list goes on. Bonus points if these are tics that serve to develop your character, like a nervous fiddler, or if one moves a lot and the other doesn’t – what does that say about the both of them? This is where “show don’t tell” really comes into play.

4. Your entire work should not be paced exactly the same

Just like a paragraph should not be filled with sentences of all the same length and syntax. Some beats deserve more or less time than others. Unfortunately, this is unique to every single story and there is no one size fits all.

General guidelines are as follows:

Action scenes should have short paragraphs and lots of movement. Cut all setting details and descriptors, internal monologues, and the like, unless they service the scene.

Journey/travel scenes must pull double or even triple duty. There’s a reason very few movies are marketed as “single take” and those that are don’t waste time on stuff that doesn’t matter. See 1917.

Romantic scenes are entirely up to you. Make it a thousand words, make it ten thousand, but you must advance either the romantic tension, actual movement of the characters, conversation, or intimacy of the relationship.

Don’t let your conversations run wild. If they start to veer off course, stop, boil it down to its essentials, and cut the rest.

When transitioning between slow to faster pacing and back again, it’s also not one size fits all. Maybe it being jarring is the point – it’s as sudden for the characters as it is for the reader. With that said, try to keep the “suddenly”s to a minimum.

5. Pacing and tone go hand in hand

This means that, generally speaking, the tone of your scene changes with the speed of the narrative. As stated above, a jarring tonal shift usually brings with it a jarring pacing shift.

A character might get in a car crash while speeding away from an abusive relationship. A character who thinks they’re safe from a pursuer might be rudely and terrifyingly proven wrong. An exhausting chase might finally relent when sanctuary is found. A quiet dinner might quickly turn romantic with a look, or confession. Someone casually cleaning up might discover evidence of a lie, a theft, an intruder and begin to panic.

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Whatever the case may be, a narrative that is all action all the time suffers from lack of meaningful character moments. A narrative that meanders through the character drama often forgets there is a plot they’re supposed to be following.