#Even the JP fans have heard about this drama that's how big it got. A few wished Katsu well which was nice.

[hestzhyen]

So, About That Drama...

After seeing the Kagurabachi community meltdown play out on Twitter, Discord, and Reddit, I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that the era of peace towards all is over. I'm so glad I put down roots here instead of the other places.

Whatever might have been true when the fandom just started out, the gen spaces are no longer safe for fujoshi/shippers.

Katsu, the biggest artist in the Western fandom -and someone I consider a friend-, was bullied out because of two individuals with personal vendettas and not enough resistance against them. Her final message is here:

https://x.com/Katsutacle_/status/1879888982886224206

I'm not going to write an in-depth essay about everything that happened. It's been less than a month since I got back from the hospital and the last thing I need in my life is stress over online "discourse". I've just been trying to help the main victim behind the scenes and speak up when I'm able. I so sincerely do not want to be involved in this bullshit... I just want my friend to be okay no matter what she decides to do in the future.

I usually don't get involved in fan spaces because I'm tired of trying to exist in places I'm not wanted. I don't expect everyone to enjoy things the same way I do. I just want to talk about them with the handful of other people who see things the same way... but it's so tiresome to be punched down on because I think it would be neat if two fictional guys fell in love.

I wanted to believe that Kagurabachi could be different. I did at the start, which helped me embrace the series wholeheartedly where I would normally hold back. And I don't regret letting this manga take over the precious few working brain cells I have. My only regret is believing the warmth and acceptance would last. As of now, the Kagurabachi fandom is far more interested in keeping a false peace that only benefits the usual suspects instead of making the space truly welcoming to all fans.

I won't stop posting about this manga and I won't write off everyone else- a lot of people sent well-wishes to Katsu and got their accounts banned on Avizie's Discord and subreddit to support her. I'm just putting expectations for the general fandom's behaviour back down to where they should have been all along.

I simply won't be telling people that it's worth joining the community any more or that it's wholesome compared to others. It's just more of the same with a thin veneer of acceptance over the same old tendency to belittle and ostracise. I'm glad I decided to keep to myself for the most part and only toss my thoughts out to the void instead of engaging on a deeper level. I should be sad or upset over this, but... I've been in fan spaces for long enough that it's just normal now. Not once have I ever felt at home in a main anime/manga space even if I didn't ship any characters from the series. Seems like I'll have to keep waiting for a place to belong.

And if anyone tries to cast this as a "ship war" because it involved the two most well-known shippers in the fandom and their "rival" ships, that's not it. That's misconstruing what actually happened to write it off as dumb fandom drama. Trying to cast the bullshit as a moral argument because Hakuri is 17 or because Katsu drew clearly labeled NSFW YuraChihi isn't the point- it's a deflection. Katsu was bullied out because Yuna (YunAris) and Avizie hated her guts despite her giving them every possible chance to act like decent people.

Avizie never liked her after she called him out for trying to get JJK-style leak culture in the fandom, and Yuna... I don't know her, but seeing how she stalked and harassed minors for weeks because they called Chiyuki and her art mid (without tagging her or anyone else!), then kicked off all this drama by pulling in Katsu and simbay who had nothing to do with it... she needs to get a grip on herself and grow up. Both of these individuals are adults, mind you. And both of them cannot stand Katsu for very personal and petty reasons.

So here we are.

It was never about the HakuHiro vs. Chiyuki nonsense, Hakuri's age, or anything else for Yuna and Avizie. All of it was merely an excuse to harass and slander Katsu until she was driven out. And good for them I guess because it worked. I hope they find the healing they obviously need to grow and become better people, but for now, I'm going to further distance myself from the fandom at large and be there for my friend.

Not much else to say really. If you have a choice, be kind.

[cujohcaps]

You wanted thoughts on the ToT debacle, here you go. For me, I'm not a fan. It's already alarming that the JP dub will only be accessible in card stories moving forward, since normally, decisions like that usually foreshadow a sever shutdown for mobile games. But as a player it also severely limits my enjoyment of the game, as I got used to the JP portrayal of the characters. I've listened to the other dubs, but I preferred the JP dub. The stellar voice acting cast was also something that caught my eye when I initially found out about the game, and I was excited for it. But without the voice casting, it makes the characters more flat for me, since the little intricacies of the Voice Actor performances brought them to life. Also, as someone who get distracted easily, listening to the voices also made the main story and personal stories easier to go through. I could sorta follow along with the JP dub- it felt like an audio drama podcast.

But I think the biggest impact for me is the gating of content behind a paywall, while simultaneously giving less to players. Trying to pull a single SSR is a herculean effort, as it requires 18,000 S-Chips (depending on luck, since it might not even be the SSR I want). But considering the amount of grinding time needed, I wonder if it really is worth it. There's less and less reason for me to come back to the game with the decrease in dubbed JP content. While I was starting to save for the Top Ups, I'm not sure that I'm willing to put money into Miyoho like this. Miyoho's other projects aren't being as scaled back as Themis is, and crucially, they still haven't added back Artem's JP dub to the Chapter 6 main story or to Chapter 3 of his Personal Story, after they had promised to. I don't know if the announcement means that they will not be adding back Artem's JP dub at all, but it's something to keep in mind. For me personally, it's cemented my decision to not spend any money on this game and to minimize my playtime on the game going forward. I really hope this isn't the beginning of the end, but only time will tell.

hiya anon! thank you so much for the response, it made me think about things i personally hadn't considered so i really appreciate it. firstly, i've never heard about the server shutdown thing - that is super concerning omg. though i can't imagine hoyoverse actually shutting down one of their games since they're such a big company but who am i to say that LMAO

and you're completely right about not being able to enjoy the story anymore without the JP voices, if you're a player who prefers that dub. each player has become attached to whatever dub they're used to (like me personally im used to CN dub) so to switch to something that's different to the portrayal of the character you have come to know must be really jarring. and im super glad that JP dub made it easier for you to go through the stories, it's just sad knowing you and many other players will no longer have that experience :(

and omg. your second paragraph hit the nail on the head. im surprised i didnt think of this before (i got distracted by the 15 tears we got in the mail and forgot hyv barely gives us anything anymore) this is something that's made me stop playing the game as much too. all the grinding we have to do for S-chips feels futile because of how much we need to save to guarantee the ssr we want. and hoyoverse keeps dropping banner after banner (even though it's literally messing up the timeline) whilst barely giving us time to save up. it's so frustrating. ive felt like this for a while now, but it feels even worse now that you've reminded me it's gating content behind a paywall (especially for JP dub users in this case)

your response really was amazing, it addressed so many concerns that im sure a lot of other players are worried about too, so thank you again! i hope that hyv rethinks their decision, and that you get to enjoy the game again too :'(

[chdarling]

Definitely feel free to ignore this and I know JKR has messed up a lot and it’s impt to critique that but I just. Feel like i am constantly hearing in the hp/marauders fandom how JKR did things “by accident” or just “didn’t notice” what she was creating and I have to say, I’ve never heard this get said about male writers. It just smacks of very ~how to suppress women’s writing vibes and belittle the genius of women authors. Like yes she’s problematique now but JKR revolutionized children’s and YA literature…HP did that. Idk it just really feels like misogynistic undertones to me how quickly the fandom is ready to dismiss the creativity, brilliance, and wonder of the series’ author in a way that i never see happen in any of my fandoms where it’s a male creator….just random thoughts that make me sad, don’t mean to stir fandom drama. Love TLE1 and 2, thanks for everything!

Oh, let me clarify: I definitely don’t think she created the Marauders by accident. At all. They are a hugely important backstory to the main plot line and, in my personal opinion, a lot of the heart and tragedy of the series. The interplay between characters, the doomed plot, the friendship…it’s my favorite thing about the stories and I think it’s incredible writing. My whole fanfic is firmly rooted in canon (or at least, I’m trying), so I have a lot of respect for the world she created and the talent that she used in creating it. I’m just piggybacking here.

That said, I do think James Potter’s development in particular was ignored in the canon, and I do think a lot of the James that has sprung up in fanon is, well, fanon that was definitely drawn from all the bits and pieces we get in the books, but never fully realized in the actual story. He just kind of gets the shaft in the books. That’s just my personal opinion, and not an indictment of the whole story. And honestly — he wasn’t a hugely important character to the main plot of the series, so I do understand why we didn’t get a whole book about JP’s exploits or Jily’s get-together. 😂

Look, I have really conflicted feelings about JKR. She was my childhood hero, HP was my escape as a queer kid in a hellishly homophobic environment, and frankly is still my escape as a stressed out adult. These books inspired me to write. I have a lot of love for the story. I also have a lot of hurt related to it — as I think a lot of fans do in 2021.

And sometimes I do feel defensive about it because there’s a lot of negative piling on to the HP fandom these days — I for one get super frustrated when I see those “actually HP was always bad and you’re dumb for liking it” posts, because imho that’s the coward’s way out, and it’s revisionist history. The stories were a genuine cultural phenomenon that got tons of kids to read AND ALSO the author has done some real shitty things. These things can both be true and in my opinion, the latter doesn’t erase the former. It complicates it. So my intention is never to act like HP is no good or happened by accident. I don’t believe that at all.

As far as the criticism being because she’s a woman — honestly I can definitely understand why you’d feel that way because I have definitely seen a lot of misogyny thrown in alongside genuine and important criticism. It sucks and it’s gross and it takes away from the genuine discussion of the harm that she’s doing.

But I am in general very critical of the things I love, which is mostly because the creators of the things I love have let me down a lot. I’m a big believer in never meet your heroes, but sadly all my heroes got Twitter. 🙄 I mostly talk about HP on this blog because that’s kind of my thing right now, but I promise I am just as critical of men. I adore pretty much all the shows in the OG whedon-verse (yeah, even dollhouse) and I will rip Joss Whedon to absolute shreds if given half a chance, for instance. Please hold for my ten page essay on how all the best bits of Buffy happened despite Joss’s best efforts…😤

Anyway, my post about James was just meant to be fairly flippant. 😅 I don’t generally wander into JKR discourse because I don’t have much to contribute other than: She wrote an amazing story with amazing characters that I will always love and will always be grateful to have grown up with and also she is doing active harm in the world that hurts me, hurts my friends, and (imho) goes against a lot of the messaging in her books. It sucks.

(Also, I am very much no JKR or any wildly successful published writer (obviously) but I have had people comment pointing out these really deep and beautiful connections between different scenes that I totally didn’t do on purpose. 😂 so I think it probably does happen sometimes where things writers don’t intend take on a life of their own. I doubt JKR ever imagined when she started writing that Harry’s dead dad would have his own fan base and a discord devoted exclusively to his romance with Harry’s dead mum but here we are.)

Lots of love ❤️

[senchoubutter]

Twisted Wonderland Guys As Kpop Songs I Listen To Too Much + Why

i’ma just say it now, i primarily listen to girl groups since I cover songs and they are in my range and i find them fun to cover most so expect a lot of those.

All songs are linked!!

Scarabia

Jamil

- Lucifer by SHINee || First and foremost I can see him performing this, easily. Aside from that, the song is tasty and classic. Jamil is a smart attractive man that is incredibly talented despite flying under the radar. People know of him but don’t take note until they know him, similarly to this song. It goes hard and you’ve probs heard it mentioned but you haven’t experienced until you played it at 3 am, screaming your heart out. Get to know Jamil and he ain’t just “some guy”

Kalim

- Um Oh Ah Yeh by MAMAMOO || This song reminds me of the 90s/2000s and there’s something about Kalim that also does that for me. Maybe it’s the not a care in the world disposition. I can see and feel in the second verse’s rap, Kalim’s warm smile. I can imagine him grabbing my hand, telling me to chin up. The choruses make me think of simpler times. Finally, Kalim seems like he’s always having a good time just like this song

Ignihyde

Ortho

- Candy Pop by TWICE (yes i know its jp) || This song always puts me in a good mood. It makes me feel warm inside and like everything will work out. When I see Ortho, I feel the need to protect him but also can’t help but feel like everything will be okay. Something about him brings a happy, warm peace to my heart that reminds me to just take a moment and find the good in life. The peppy beat of it just makes me think about how he almost always is smiling!

Idia

- Fairy of Shampoo by TOMORROW X TOGETHER || the song starts an I feel as if I’ve awoken floating in the deep sea, but i’m not scared. I feel at peace and as if I’ve been here before. The song tastes like iced tea and feels like nostalgia. When I look at Idia I see my past self and even present self. I’m afraid, I want to hide. The feelings the verses gives me reminds me of laying in bed, curled up in a jacket that hides my whole body, similarly to Idia’s. The song and Idia’s character call out to a nostalgic but soft side to a distant past I can’t recall. I want to stay with them until I can remember

Savanaclaw

Leona

- gogobebe by MAMAMOO || It’s got a lazy but sexy sound that Leona emboides. When the song picks up in the choruses it’s like it takes over your body, drowning the listener in an ocean of sensuality and playful teasing. It’s got a lil edge though too that caters to the gruff “fuck off” expression he has. I see the noise Hwasa makes at the end as the wanton but confused noise fans make as the man leaves, tail swinging after teasing them

Ruggie 

- BAAM by Momoland || BAAM has such a sassy hyped up beat that screams a bitch that gets shit done, owns who they are, and lives life having fun. And it embodies everything I feel upon seeing Ruggie's smug smile. Even the rap bit during the second chorus has the sass and done-ness of “Leona-san! Get up!!”

Jack

- Bomb by AleXa || This song kicks your ass and so does Jack. Don’t for four seconds think he won’t beat the shit outta ya for underestimating him, similarly to AleXa and her music. The energy and the “I’ll show you” vibes remind me of this big dweeb. I would fear this man but turn to love him much like how I felt about this song as it was this artist’s first song. How do I say they just embody each other in my opinion lol

Pomefiore

Vil

- DUN DUN by Everglow || The sass. This song screams THAT BITCH, just like Vil’s everything. The way he carries himself is personified in this song. The power the song holds reminds me of his unique magic and how intense it is. Finally, the slower bridge is mythical and light as if giving the listener a feeling like they are walking on air and plays to the softer and more feminine side of Vil

Rook

- FINGERTIP by GFriend || Everything about this song is exciting. It’s suspenseful and alluring. If this song was a person, I could clear as day see it winking, whispering “chase me.” And that is exactly Rook’s brand of teasing and games. He’s a hunter but he’s got a charming aura to him still. This song wraps both of those things into it. The dance break is Rook’s darker senses personified. Umji’s lil “OW!” is he’s cute lil remarks in french, throwing you off now and then. But by the end of the song, you’re used to them and adore them

Epel

- Crossroads by GFriend || This song feels like a long lost friend that visits you in dreams. You can practically reach out to them but just as you do, you wake up. But you’re determined. That alone reminds me of Epel’s character as a whole. He doesn’t let his cute appearance push aside his wants and needs to be this tough guy. He, like Yuju’s strong vocals at the last chorus, presses on, determined each time he gets knocked down

Diasomnia

Lilia

- Deja Vu by Dreamcatcher || Maybe I’m biased cause I’ve covered this but this song is breathtaking. The melody speaks of a long road and the fight to keep on which I feel rings true for Lilia. We don’t know his true age but it’s clear he’s been around for quite a wild and the pain he’s probably gone through is unspeakable. He has stories galore and so much experience in life. I feel this song encapsulates a lot of what can only be speculated about him

Silver

- Crème Brûlée by GFriend || the soft, sweet song is addictive and cutesy. I feel Silver gets written off or ignored often, similarly to this song on the album. Sure he may not be god or a bad bad bitch, but he has his own warmth to him. Like this song, Silver makes me wanna curl up under a tree on an August evening and just take in life, making sure to breathe for once, releasing unnecessary tension and stress.

Sebek

- Black Dress by CLC || Sebek is very interesting to me and when he blushes, my whole heart stops for a second. It’s similar to how when they build up to the chorus‘s first Black Dress and the music stops for like a split second. Sebek isn’t my favorite but isn’t my least favorite. I like him more than some though, I’d say. I’d say the same goes for this song. I love CLC, this isn’t my top song of theirs but I still like it a lot. There’s something uniform about the beat that resounds with Sebek as getting shit done in mind also. Sometimes a song just makes you think of a character and you can’t perfectly explain it

Malleus

- Pretty Savage by BLACKPINK || Yes i know t’s only recently come out as i post this, but this bad boy on replay. The beat isn’t crazy upbeat but it’s interesting. Malleus intidimates me in general cause of his aura, and while I love this song a lot rn, it was very intimidating at first. It still has some “don’t come near me” energy. The slower bridge bit calls to his stoic expression, melodic and pretty

Heartslabyul

Cater

- ICY by ITZY || I’ll be honest both Cater as well as this song were things I thought at first were just meh, okay. But as time went on both grew on me. Now that’s not the only reason though I associate this with him. The, no pun intended, ice shattering sound of the song gives me friendly popular girl that seems to be buds with 80% of the school. This is the very vibe Cater always gives me. He wants to just have a good, happy life. Also the song is a “so what? I’m hot. Get over it.” vibe like Cater

Ace

- Drama by TOMORROW X TOGETHER || Ace reminds me the guy you fall in love with in high school and you no it’s not going to last but you let yourself get taken away with. Drama feels like a soundtrack of every fun adventure Ace goes on, no matter the trouble that he may get on. It’s fun beat just brings me back to skipping school, running to my car and trying to sneak away without getting caught. The thought of Ace at my side, would shoot my adrenaline through the roof just like the high note of the song

Deuce

- God’s Menu by Stray Kids || Deuce is just ready to go swinging and that’s exactly what this song is. Elbows up and out, head down, swinging without a clue. The intensity and fire of it speaks to that fire in him. Meanwhile the prechoruses are soft and pleasant almost like it’s not the same song, alluding to that cute lil smile he has got

Trey

- REALLY REALLY by WINNER || Similarly to Ace, this song reminds me of a guy you fall for, but in college rather than high school. Everything about the song and Trey just feels right. The choruses hold your hand and fits perfectly in yours. They know what to say to make everything okay. It may not last, but you sure hope it does and will love them like it will. And while Trey isn’t my number one boy, those are the exact feelings I have about him too. Finally, the rap part reminds me of Trey’s more sadistic side, it bites and you may not think it fits entirely but the more familiar you get with them, the more both fit and you don’t mind it entirely

Riddle

- Wonderland by ATEEZ || The demanding nature of the song makes me think of Riddle immediately. It’s intense and doesn’t mess around; it wants what it wants. Riddle is a rule based person and this song is rather militaristic aesthetically. The bridge though, is so regal and breathtaking. It could stop time. Riddle, despite the kind of guy he is, is the same way. The power he holds is impressive and admirable. This description may seem kinda like I’m shitting on him and see him solely as a rule boy, but like this song, I have made respect for him and wouldn’t want to cross him

Octavinelle

Azul

- Love Battery by Hong Jin Young but performed by LOONA on Immortal Songs || This arrangement of the song has a certain magic to it that I melt in. At the very beginning as the build up singing ‘dangsineun’ i feel like I’m being submerged in a wave, reaching to shake Azul’s hand, signing a contract. The choruses remind me of his smile, how distant but inviting it is. Daring me to fall for him. The dance break bridge reminds me of the intense eyes behind those glasses

Jade

- Love Shot by EXO || This song and Jade are both things I am fearful of but greatly intrigued by. They share a scary beat and energy that says I fear you more when you’re smiling. Please stop slowly walking towards me, you’re scaring me. But at the very same time, the choruses keep me around like how pretty I find this twin. The combo of put together, intellectual friend but could kill easily and without remorse sends shivers down my spine if I think about it for too long. The chorus of this song make me shake my shoulders that suppress a shiver each time

Floyd

- WEE WOO by Pristin || I love both Floyd and WEE WOO. The song is the feeling you get going 85 down the highway. Both song and Floyd, get me excited. They feel like the weekend. That feeling of coming home Friday during high school, tossing your bookbag down, and getting ready to hang out with your best friend. It’s a relieving and exciting feeling. It’s a peppy beat that bites during the harmonies a bit. Just like Floyd. Peppy, fun, but ain’t afraid to take a lil nibble

[regrettablewritings]

Podcasts, Youtubes, and TV Shows to Distract Yourself With Because Why Not, and Also Because I Wanna Blab About Some of These

Since I can’t go to work and horrify my coworkers/make them realize I’m a mess and/or nerd by telling them about the type of media I’m into, I’m foisting my recommendations on all of y’all who choose to read this. I frankly do not care how many people have actually heard of these things because I’m also sure there’s plenty of people who, like me, are very slow and oblivious to entertainment, or who have heard of the property but were never that convinced.

Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts

Type: TV series

200 years after a mysterious yet earth-shattering event, much of humanity has taken to living beneath the surface in communities called burrows, wherein life goes on, if effected somewhat by the bizarre fauna that exists above them (referred to as “mutes”, short for “mutant”). One burrow girl, Kipo, founds her world turned almost literally inside-out when she finds herself not only separated from her father and the only world she’s ever known, but on the surface, no less. What ensues is her trying to find her way back home with the help of a stony-faced little girl with a massive chip on her shoulder; a music enthusiast and his literal gadfly friend; and some . . . unusual allies that only an oblivious optimist like Kipo could make. All to a kickass soundtrack, a beautiful backdrop of art, and a world where animals have basically evolved into gangs under a looming threat known as Scarlemagne. If you can’t already tell, I love this series to bits and now is the perfect time for people to get into it and encourage another season of it. Just . . . don’t think too hard that whatever happened to cause the Event in the show happened in October 2020 . . .

Available on: Netflix

My Dad Wrote a Porno

Type: Podcast

This should go without saying, but this podcast is definitely meant for more mature audiences. Or somebody with a strong stomach. Not that it’ll always be easy to tell with the type of content this series gives. When Jamie Morton’s father handed him his manuscripts for his self-published books, he had no idea he was being given a pinnacle of a polished turd: It was erotica. Really, really, really bad erotica. But the ear’s trash is the heart’s pleasure with this bad girl, as Jamie enlists the company of friends Alice and James to provide commentary on “Rocky Flintstone”’s series Belinda Blinked, a drama chronicling the sexcapades of Belinda Blumenthal as she climbs the ladders (and men and women) both in and out of the cut-throat world of pots and pans sales. What follows is a goldmine of awkward metaphors, strange bedmates, and just an overall stampede of whiplashing events that somehow exceed expectations. Listen in if you dare . . . And make sure you’re in good company for it. Fun Fact, though: Daisy Ridley, Ben Barnes, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Michael Sheen, Mara Wilson, Elijah Wood are but a few well-known fans of this series! Nobody is safe . . .

Available on: Wherever podcasts can be found

Lore

Type: Podcast

Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. And what better way to be reminded of that, then to have the dulcet tones of Aaron Mahnke tell you about the lighthouse incident that the 2016 movie The Lighthouse was loosely inspired by? Suffice to say, this podcast could also be interpreted with some advised discretion, but definitely in a way that’s different from My Dad Wrote a Porno. In the centuries humankind has existed, we’ve managed to create a menagerie of beasts, both fictional and in ourselves. Lore explores all the many different kinds of events and persons and creatures we have to offer. In any given episode, we could be talking about anything from the bizarre story of a lady who convinced 18th century physicians that she was giving birth to rabbits, to something more disturbing like the life of H.H. Holmes. Or something as relatively innocuous as the relationship between gremlins and flight. Regardless of the subject, however, you’ll definitely walk away knowing something new, if bizarre. And perhaps slightly terrifying.

Available on: Wherever podcasts can be found

The Amelia Project

Type: Podcast

Congratulations: You have been made aware of The Amelia Project. If you’re not interested in this, exit the page. Now. If you continue, there’s no unhearing it. Good choice! A new interest awaits. If you don’t enjoy it, please consider the whole thing a hoax. Okay but in all seriousness, there’s no way to do The Amelia Project justice in just a simple description. The plot sounds quite simple, really: People want to disappear and start a new life, The Amelia Project is there to help – with a price. And that’s if you can actually get a hold of them! What really makes the show, however, are the people and the writing, and I’m not just talking about the almost childlike Interviewer with an obsession for hot cocoa. I’m talking about the clientele: I’m talking about the macabre-obsessed theme park owner who’s out for revenge; the cult leader who’s in way over his head; a Santa impersonator stuck in a miserable marriage with his own manager; an actual podcast character trying to outrun his creators. And obviously this would all be nowhere without the spectacular writing! I really can explain this series without blabbing on and potentially spoiling things; The Amelia Project is an experience!

Available on: Wherever podcasts can be found

LegalEagle

Type: Youtube channel

To be frank, I just like learning for the sake of learning, even if I may not always necessarily understand the topic or have any plans to use it in the foreseeable future. The big difference here being that at least this channel makes learning about the law fun and breaks it down. Headed by a certified lawyer (because what an age we live in, where professionals actually take time out of their lives to teach us common folk), there’s a multitude of series D.J. Stone uses to help break down the complex world of law, from reviewing the realism of procedural favorites (Law & Order, The Good Wife, HTGAWM, etc), to analyzing real-life situations, to even watching childhood media that has nothing to do with the law and determining how much money, say, Willy Wonka would owe in a lawsuit. In short, it is one of my worst subjects done in one of my favorite ways to learn! Plus, Stone hates business students and is perfectly willing to poke fun at law students so it’s all fun, frankly.

Available on: Youtube

Nando v Movies

Type: Youtube channel

Sometimes, movies are bad. Sometimes, they’re good. And sometimes, they could use a few adjustments in hindsight. Especially the nerdier movies where the directors may or may not have tried way too hard or way too little. And that’s where Nando comes in: Whether it’s explaining why a different villain might have worked better for a hero’s origin story movie, or analyzing how one seemingly small adjustment could’ve potentially made more sense in explaining characterization, this channel is always providing a new perspective on a movie or show you’ve probably seen and maybe weren’t necessarily too pleased with. (Or maybe you were – I enjoyed Justice League okay but I love the version he rewrote more.) Oh, yeah: Sometimes he does rewrites of movies or even series. So if you’re anything like me and you’re way into that, this is a channel you don’t want to miss out on.

Available on: Youtube

DEATH BATTLE!

Type: Youtube channel

Does anyone remember Deadliest Warrior? No? . . . How about that one time during lunch where you and your friend got into it over who would win in a death match between Superman and Goku? Good news: A buncha geeks did the math for you and have come out with the results! Specifically, hosts Wiz and Boomstick have analyzed the weapons, armor, and skills of each combatant in every episode, resulting in an ongoing series of absolute nonsense and satiation of bloodshed. The description is admittedly nothing crazy, but the amount of detail applied is honestly where it’s at: From calculating how loud Black Canary’s screams are to approximating Scrooge McDuck’s speed (I’m not kidding you), there’s actual thought put into the characters being assembled and how they might fair with their respective combatant. And it all comes together for an actual fight, often animated but always amazing. So if you’ve ever wondered if Thor could beat Wonder Woman, or if McGruff the Crime Dog stands a chance against Smokey the Bear (I’m…I’m being honest), then this is the show for you!

Available on: Youtube

Sideways

Type: Youtube channel

If there is music in that movie or show, it will be analyzed to a degree that, unless you’ve been trained in music, you would’ve probably never thought about. There isn’t necessarily much rhyme or reason to Sideways’ videos in terms of themes beyond music, but really, must they? Is it not enough that this man is screaming to the internet these wack and awesome trends he’s noticed in certain pieces associated with movies and musicals and the genius behind them? Could life not just be him explaining the symbolism of the instruments associated with the Crystal Gems of Steven Universe, or breaking down the cultures explored by way of the Black Panther soundtrack? Also, here’s a fun drinking game: Take a shot every time he mentions leitmotifs or the Dies Irae.

Available on: Youtube

Craig of the Creek

Type: TV show

In the woods of suburban Maryland, there exists a kid’s utopia: A place where horse girls are free to roam the fields, where a boy can be a king of garbage, and where children travel the sewers completely unsupervised. That is, until the dinner horn rings; then they have to go home until the next time they can return to The Creek. The show focuses on one specific trio (Craig, JP, and Kelsey) as every day, The Creek (and their own childish naivete) brings them new hijinks to experience. There’s a blissful lightheartedness to the show, in addition to a lot of creativity that feels like it was ripped straight out of your own imagination as a child (robots made from cardboard boxes, building portals using lights, etc). But beneath it all, there’s something just plain wild brewing. I don’t want to spoil anything, but CotC has some G-rated GOT shit going on the further along the series goes and I can’t wait to see how it all unfolds!

Available on: CN app, wcostream.com

And that’s probably enough for now, I think. Lemme know if you want any other suggestions, or how you’re findin’ ‘em if you take any of them up! Stay safe, stay healthy my dudes!

[youarejesting]

BTS365 Prompt.week 26

[Full Masterlist] [Prompt Masterlist]

Beta: @jamaiskook @jung-hoseok-s-airplane

Please tag me in your work if you use my prompts. I want to see your work. Ever your Jester.

Tell me your birthday and I will tag you on your special day!

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       June 25th - July 1st

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Kim Seokjin - child to work

You smiled waking Seokjin up early, “Honey wake up and get dressed!” 

He blinked disorientated, “what’s going on?”

You dressed your husband and led him to the car where he promptly fell back asleep. 

You worked as an electrical engineer at a clean energy power plant and you smiled parking the car and guiding your sleeping husband inside. 

You brought him to the front entrance with a smile, “hello y/n,” the security officer smiled.

“Hello miss, can we see some ID?” a young child asked and Seokjin seemed to wake up confused as to where you were taking him and why there was a small child working at a security desk? 

“Here is my ID and this is my plus one,” you grinned cheekily.

“He is big, how old are you mister?” The child asked, handing over a small lanyard with smiley faces on it. 

You lead Seokjin away with a smile and he frowned “are we at your work?” He looked around excitedly and noticed many children.  

“Yes, we are,” you grinned.

“Why are there so many children?”

“They’re not children, they are just short, don't stare honey,” you bit your lip to keep from laughing as his head snapped forward. 

“The tour is about to begin?” You walked into the assembly hall where everyone was going to gather before split into groups and led on guided tours. Seokjin got a little bag and inside was a water bottle and hat with the company logo and a colouring book. Seokjin sat in the tiny chairs and looked around at all the children shaking hands with some and introducing himself and the PowerPoint began. 

“Welcome to ‘bring your children to work day’, I hope you are all excited—,” that was it, your husband's laughter was like the window cleaners on a Friday afternoon. He had turned bright red, his wide shoulders shaking but he was on board with the whole day smiling when they said there was free lunch. 

But when you got a moment alone he seemed mischievous, “I guess it’s time we make a child so you can bring them to work,” he kissed your lips firmly and sat you on your work desk. 

Min Yoongi - dog to work

Holly was happy, he didn’t understand why but today instead of Yoongi leaving him for hours, he picked up the leash and harness and walked him out the front door. Holly was nervous during car rides, laying his head on Yoongi’s lap waiting for the van to stop. Yoongi held Holly’s leash and walked him into a big building. They had treats, the area was cleared with a play pen and toys. Holly was feeding off of Yoongi's nervous energy, deciding to press his nose to the back of Yoongi’s knee in a comforting manner as if to say “I’m here”. 

Yoongi was a human and couldn’t understand him, but he would always be there for him because Yoongi was his owner. Once inside the comfort of the quiet elevator Yoongi relaxed even if there was a beautiful woman onboard. Holly wasn’t a stupid dog he could smell the pheromones between the two and took matters into his own hands circling around the woman so she was tangled in the leash. Looking up at his owner with an “Are you proud of me?” expression.

Jung Hoseok - chocolate pudding

What had he done to deserve this? Hoseok was such a nice guy, everyone in school liked him and as far as he knew he didn’t have any enemies. All he did was say ‘Hi’ and you threw your drink in his face in the middle of the school cafeteria. The whole room quietened significantly and you looked up at his mouth falling open in small shocked ‘o’.

“I am sorry for bothering you” Hoseok laughed trying to appear nonchalant in front of you, taking long strides out of the cafeteria all eyes following his escape and when he was out of sight they all turned to look at you. Feeling the jolt of the sneers at how evil you would have to be to hurt the happy go lucky ‘Hope’ of the school.

You grabbed your pudding from your tray and bag and raced from the lunch venue, “Hoseok!” the desperation in your voice to find him. Racing along the corridors and around the corner you saw him walking into the bathroom. With no thoughts of where you were going, you ran inside. 

“Hoseok wait I-OH MY GOD” you covered your eyes forgetting for a moment where you really were. You heard laughter and felt your body grow warm, your entire form turning red from the embarrassment”

“There is no one in here but me, and I am just drying my hair and face” His laughter didn’t ease “you can look” 

You peeked, hearing him running water, and when you opened your eyes he was rubbing a damp paper towel through his hair and over his uniform. He turned to the hand dryer and leaned under it, completely missing his hair. You stepped over guiding his head under the warm air and tousling it between your fingers, reaching into your bag for a brush and helping dry and style his hair once more.

“I am sorry, I didn’t know it was you. I thought it was those rude girls in our year who have been harassing me” You frowned “I was going to finally stand up for myself. I am sorry”

“Hey, don’t be sorry.” Hoseok gave a small smile. It was empathetic with a soft tone, his hand gently touching your arm to show you he was there for you. “I was shocked and honestly I always wondered what it felt like to have a girl throw their drink in my face like the movies but I never wanted to be rude to a girl to find out” 

He laughed and your hands went still in his hair. 

“Do you like chocolate pudding?’ you asked in a panic

“I do,” He laughed amused by your strange outburst, reaching into your pocket you handed him the small tub and spoon. 

“I am sorry”

Kim Namjoon - Helen Keller

You sat in your living room and listened to the radio as you did everyday, “Well, I am reading fan letters again and my assistant promises there are some good ones in here.” You crossed your fingers. Donut, your Labrador retriever laid his head on your lap. And you smiled holding the cup of tea in your hand, listening intently.

“This is from DonutBlind” He smiled 

Dear Namjoon,

I am writing for some advice, I feel alone, I never leave the house. I am too scared. I lost all my friends. They say your mid-twenties are the greatest moment of your life but honestly it feels more like the beginning of a long prison sentence. The only thing that gets me through is your voice, your advice and I hope Rapmon your  new puppy is doing okay, might I recommend the puppy school in the attached pamphlet they are super good and all the proceeds go towards the seeing eye dogs.

Love,

DonutBlind

“Well you seem to be very isolated, I want you to take the time to take a walk outside, might I recommend the C park by the river. I go there all the time with Rapmon, he enjoys it.” His mellow voice coming though softly and sending tingles down your spine. “You use me for your happiness and I ask that you please continue to do so, I am happy that my presence can bring you some solace. I will go to the puppy school you recommended so I can learn some skills to care for him effectively. It reminds me of a quote by Helen Keller, ‘The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched - they must be felt with the heart.’”

Any minute Jungkook, your carer who had helped you write the letter, would be over to help you dress for your guest appearance at the puppy school and part of you hoped he could attend so as to hear his voice in person.

Park Jimin - two halves @chickennoodlesoupfortae

Jimin had arrived at the party, he stood in front of two doors with curtains hanging over them, with a sign between them reading the board with instructions. “This is a lock and key party. Upon entering the women will select a lock and the men select a key” Jimin giggled quietly at the euphemism, stepping into the ‘Key’ door. Behind the curtain was a table on either side of the room, one held keys and the other masks. Jimin assumed the other room mirrored this one but with locks instead of key. Looking down at the table Jimin began inspecting the keys. 

There were new modern keys and old antique keys. Jimin spotted a key tied with a soft lace ribbon, he assumed the guys didn’t want to wear it because it looked feminine but Jimin thought it looked aesthetic as hell. He took the old style golden key, placing it around his neck.

He peered back at the instructions “Throughout the night you have the chance to try to find your perfect match. Like kind Ladies and Gentlemen you must respect a person’s choice if they refuse to try the key and locks.” 

Jimin had a small smile on his face, the anticipation made him bounce on his toes as he turned to the second table finding a matching mask in gold with a soft lace trimming. He fastened the piece over his eyes. He looked at the sign above this table. 

“Once you have found your other half you may move to the seated booths and continue your evening, with or without your masks it is your choice.” He squared his shoulders ready to take on the party he truly believed could change his life.

Kim Taehyung - meteor (based on If the world was ending - Julia Michaels, JP Saxe)

Taehyung was in the tour bus stuck in traffic when his phone gave an alert to an earthquake. He didn’t feel it but it was all over the radio and the news when his phone gave a second alert. There was a meteor about to hit earth and it was unlikely anyone would survive. It was chaotic but in that moment as he stared at the other boys, you popped up in his mind.

Jeon Jungkook - watch

Jungkook was mesmerized by your acting skills; he owned everything you worked on. When he wasn’t working at the corner convenience store, he was watching your latest dramas and movies.Three shelves in his dvd case were dedicated to your work. He knew every line and every word, and he would always pretend to play the male lead saying their lines. He was your biggest fan, and one day he would be able to meet you and tell you how much you meant to him. You were happy with your friends having coffee and he was happy to just sit in the park and watch.

[fortisfiliae]

Against the Odds - Part 3 [James Potter x reader]

Prompt: College AU ❃ Jocks are disgusting. Too good looking, too aware of it, too drunk and too dumb. Or so you thought. This is the third part for @marvelcapsicle‘s writing challenge.

A/n:  Since tumblr doesn’t show posts with links in the tags anymore, you can find previous parts on my masterlist, linked in my bio.   If you need to zoom in on the texts just click on the picture to do so. GIF is not mine.

Warnings: Swearing, sexual themes, fluff and a curly devil that will hunt your dreams

Word count: 3.2k

Part 3 - You up?

Thursday:

Half past nine in the evening, you had just typed the last word of your essay for English class and had clicked on the save-symbol when Louise entered your room, along with her boyfriend Mike. He was a frat guy. Jockish as hell. Maybe one of the reasons you hadn’t liked those type of guys.

You weren't sure why they had decided to come to your and Louise’s room – it was certainly too small to miss anything the other person said or did and Louise had told you countless times how lucky Mike was to have a room for himself at the frat. 

Anyway, you weren't going to ask them because they had decided to watch a movie on Louise's laptop and after arguing for twenty minutes, had finally picked something out. 

You were on your phone, texting with Remus, who had just started telling you things about his personal life and that he would go to the cinema with Sirius in a bit when you suddenly heard suspicious huffing from across the room. You turned over and caught Louise and Mike kissing. Vigorously. Not only that, but things were moving underneath their blanket and it didn't look like they were folding their hands to pray.

“Guys,” you said. “You know I can hear and see you from here.”

No answer. They just ignored you.

“Louise! What the fuck are you doing?”

She tore herself away from her boyfriend and took a breath before answering: “Sorry, Y/N. But you must know, I've just gotten off my period and we haven't-”

“Oh my god. Shut up, please. You can't be serious. Why don't you-”

Before you could finish your sentence, her mouth was on his again and now it seemed that she was climbing onto him.

“Hello?”

They ignored you again and now you heard something unzipping.

“That's it,” you said as you got up. “I'm leaving. And fuck you both. Or don't. Whatever.”

You rushed out the room and stood in the hallway, already typing a text to Remus, trying to ask him if he could help you out. Wait. He was going out with Sirius. So that wasn't an option. Shit. You walked over to the common room and sat down on one of the mouldy couches. Looking across the area you stared at the microwave for a minute, contemplating if sleeping here was the only alternative you had. Oh please no. It was gross and cold and people would notice. There was someone else you knew. Not that you preferred that. But it was worth a try, wasn't it?

So, yeah. Awkward.  

Oh god. Stupid. No one would believe that. Was there a way to unsend texts?

Okay, okay. Okay! Keep calm. You took a deep breath, smelling even more of the gunk that had built up on the kitchen counter, and stood up. Everything was better than spending the night between the remnants of pizza and hot pockets. You caught yourself walking in circles and finally brought up the courage to leave the dorm.

It was chilly outside, but you enjoyed the cool breeze as you stood on the pavement and pressed the front of your shoe into the concrete until it hurt. A car turned up on the far end of the street. Blinding headlights came closer with the engine revving until it slowed down and stopped right in front of you. A black and sleek Audi whatever-model. Rich parents – what else had you expected?

Last chance to run back in. He could still be a serial killer, right? But he had brought you a sandwich yesterday. Were you really just using food as refutation?  

The window rolled down and James' curly head poked out. “You coming?”

Well, curly hair and a sub would do as refutation for tonight.

You got in, closed the door and belted up before you finally looked over.

“Hi,” you said hesitantly.

“Hey. So... Drama at the dorm?”

“Yeah. And I’m sorry. That I asked you for this, you know.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I was at the bar and wanted to go home anyway. Actually, I'm glad you did.”

He put in the gear, started driving and looked like he wanted to say something but didn’t. There was a tiny smile on his lips that could only make you guess what he was thinking before you put your eyes on the road.

“So um... Who’s your roommate then? Do I know her boyfriend?” James asked after a while.

“Her name’s Louise. Her boyfriend is Mike. Mike um, Broogler or something? A frat guy, I’m sure you know him.”

“Brockler, yeah I know him. A frat guy, huh?” he grinned.

“He is a guy and part of the fraternity. Frat guy.”

“The way you say it makes it sound like that’s something bad.”

He was obviously joking, the tone of his voice still light and cheery, but there could have been a bit of truth behind his words.

“I didn’t mean it that way. Sorry if I hurt your feelings,” you said. “Frat guy.”

He chuckled as he backed into a parking space in front of the fraternity. “Frat guy is saving your ass tonight, so a bit more respect please.”

“Sorry mister frat guy, sir. I apologize.”

You followed James into the house, which had all the lights off and was empty, contrary to your prior beliefs.

“Boys are all out at the bar. Except for Mike,” he quipped.

The house looked completely different than it had when you were at the party. Classy and strict, a lot of old dark wood embellished the floors and furniture.  You peeked into the living room and it was actually quite cosy without the beer pong table and blaring music.

James walked up to the wide staircase on the end of the hallway and turned around. “Rooms are upstairs.”

“Uh yeah, I figured.”

So there it was. The moment you had to tell him that you hadn’t intended the same thing he maybe had thought of. There was a nasty lump in your throat. How should you bring it up? Maybe he wasn’t even thinking about it and you would just burst in with the unasked-for info that you didn’t want to sleep with him tonight.

“Hey um,” James began. “Just so you know, I won’t try anything. I can sleep in the living room if you want.”

God bless.  

“Thanks,” you said and felt a wave of heat on your cheeks. Where has your confidence gone? Get a grip.  

“Okay, let me show you my room then,” James said and offered his hand.

He led you up to the first floor that had doors to the bedrooms all around. They all had the initials of their names on the doors. His one was the third in line. JP in gold with a little lightning bolt next to it.

You pointed at it and asked: “What does that stand for?”

“I’m fast,” he said and smiled smugly. “Everyone in the team gets a nickname.”

“And yours is Bolt?” you asked as he opened the door.

“Flash,” he winked. “Excuse the mess.”

James went to pick up a bunch of dirty clothes from the floor. “I wasn’t expecting visitors.”

“No big deal, it’s not so bad.”

It really wasn’t so bad. The room was probably the same size as your shared one was, but with a private bathroom. The dream. His bed stood in the corner of the room - white sheets, very chic. On the opposite side was a sideboard with a medium sized TV on it, next to it was the door to the bathroom. His desk stood right by the window, a wardrobe to its left, a small fridge to its right. He’d hung lots of little photos of him and his friends and football fan articles on the walls. It was a bit messy, but it had character.

“Your room is really nice,” you said as you walked around and looked at the pictures.

“Thanks! Make yourself at home. I’m just putting the clothes away and I’m gonna take a shower real quick, I still smell like bar.”

“Sure.”

He closed the door to the bathroom behind himself and left you alone in his room. High level of trust. As you heard him turn on the water you walked over to the other side slowly, letting your fingers run over the sheets of the bed when you went by.

On the sideboard with the TV was his football helmet, freshly cleaned and shiny as a new penny. You noticed a small ball lying right beside it. The one he had gotten at the blood drive yesterday. It still had dents from his fingernails all over it. Looked like he had been more nervous than you’d thought. You smiled and dug your own finger into it, leaving one additional notch, before trying to switch on the TV. It would be nice to have some background sounds and avoid awkward silence later, but the remote was nowhere to be seen.

After looking at the sideboard, his desk and bed you went for the nightstand. Intrusive? Probably, but maybe it was in there.

You sat down on the bed and opened the drawer. No remote. But some other things. A small notebook and a nibbled off pen, as well as a framed picture of two people. They looked like husband and wife - both had grey hair, were probably in their seventies and smiled kindly into the camera. His grandparents? Well, since it was in there and not on the wall, he probably didn't want to talk about it.

You closed the drawer and swung your legs up onto the bed. Sitting, waiting, wishing. Wishing for confidence and poise and that your palms wouldn't start sweating every time James looked at you. Right now it felt like his whole room was staring you down. Like it was eating you up. But not in a bad way, it was a welcoming feeling to sit there and gaze over the bits and bobs of his belongings.

When you noticed that the water had stopped running you took out your phone to try and look like you hadn't been spying. A few moments later James returned in a plain white shirt and grey sweatpants. Quite the look on him admittedly. His hair was still wet, some drops of water running down the side of his face to his jawline and even further down to his chin. God damn, you couldn't take your eyes off him. He must have done this on purpose.

“You good here?” he asked as he ran his hand through the wet mess on his head.

“Uh-huh, I am. Was trying to find the remote, but didn't.”

“Oh um. I think I know where it is,” James said and threw himself onto the bed, half lying, half crawling and stuck his arm under the pillow. “There we go.”

He turned on the TV and switched channels for a while until he stopped on the news. The news?! You both sat in silence pretending to be interested in whatever the reporter was talking about. Note to self: There can be awkward silence even if you have background sound.

Trying to think of something to say turned out to be harder than you'd thought. What do you talk about with a guy that had taken you home because you had asked him to, while he lay next to you, smelling like a pinewood full of sunshine and fairies? The fact that there was an inch of skin showing between his shirt and pants wasn’t helping either.

“So-” - “Do you-”

After minutes of silence, you had both decided to start talking in the same second. Both of you laughed at your mutual awkwardness and James sat up straight.

“Sorry, what did you want to say?” he asked.

“Nothing really,” you admitted. “I was just... I don't know. Go on, please.”

He grinned like he was glad that you were more nervous than him. Looked like it gave him a confidence boost. As if he needed one.

“I wanted to say that I can give you clothes to sleep in. You didn’t bring anything in your handbag, did you?”

“No, I didn't really have time to pack when I was running from the fucking in my room. But it's fine, you don't -”

“Oh, come on,” he said. “You don't want to sleep in jeans. No one wants that.”

“Yeah, I guess I don't.”

He crawled off from the bed and walked over to the wardrobe. “I'm afraid I don't have anything sexy,” he joked. “But a frat shirt will do I think.”

He laid it down next to you before sitting on the bed again.

“Thanks, James. I'm gonna go change in the bathroom.”

“Sure. I put out a toothbrush too if you want to brush your teeth.”

What a mom.

The bathroom was small but still better than one on the hallway. You took off your clothes and put on the shirt James had given you. It looked huge on you. Dark red with the fraternity name Kappa Delta Rho on it, it reached almost down to your knees, like a really unflattering dress. It was soft and smelled nice though. Not like pine wood and fairies, but sweeter. Clean, fresh cotton with a hint of washed out cologne. 

The toothbrush he had been talking about laid next to the sink, still unpacked and new. Did a stock of dental hygiene products mean he had people here often?

After you were done in the bathroom you went back to James' room, where he was lying on his bed again, watching TV with one hand behind his head, the other one tucked into his waistband. This time, it seemed he couldn’t take his eyes off you. A dumbfounded expression on his face as you walked towards him and the way he eyed you up and down made you instantly feel better about yourself. There was your confidence boost and you had very much needed it.

He cleared his throat when you sat down on the bed. “Well. If you want to sleep now I can go downstairs and -”

“No,” you interrupted him, maybe a bit too eagerly.

“Sorry?”

“I… I think you can stay. If you want. I mean, it’s your room. That wouldn’t be fair, to invite myself over and send you down to sleep on the couch.”

“Oh.” He looked more confused now, his hand wandered to the back of his neck. “I mean yeah. I’m glad to stay if you want that.”

You smiled, lifted the blanket to crawl underneath it and lay down sideways to face him. “I think that’s what I want, yes.”

He got under the blanket as well and said: “We can watch a movie if you want.”

Half an hour into “Baby Driver”, you had caught James looking at you twice. But the only reason you caught him was that you had looked over as well. It was absurd really, how every move he made got your heart rate up to 180. Every time he breathed in deeply or stretched out his legs you thought he would reach over and hold your hand. And suddenly, after checking his phone, he did. You were so focused on coming off relaxed that you didn’t even grip it back. It must have felt like you were dead until you remembered that you weren’t. You held his palm tighter and felt his thumb running over the side of your index finger, which made your stomach tingle.

“James?” you asked.

“Yes?”

“You’re really nice. I mean really,” you said even though you didn’t know where those words were coming from. “You know at first I thought you were just this guy, screaming with a beer keg on his shoulder. And I thought you were cocky, which… You are when I think about it.”

He laughed lowly. “That started as a compliment and ended as an insult.”

“I know, sorry” you bantered. “But you’ve been a real gentleman, very sweet and respectful and I didn’t expect that. Thank you for that.”

“You’re welcome,” he said, wearing a smile that showed he was really full of himself right then, but that didn’t matter because his face neared yours now.

A kiss so sweet, it would have literally swept you off your feet if you hadn’t been lying down already. His lips, soft and mellow, skimmed over your own and it felt like listening to music; easy and pleasant as you found your rhythm and moved to the imaginary beat. His damp hair tickled your forehead until a simple peck brought your song to an end and a foolish grin seemed to refine it.

“How does it feel?” he asked after some seconds of silence.

“What do you mean?”

“Being in a frat, wearing a frat-shirt, kissing a frat guy in his frat-bed?”

“Oh shut up,” you laughed pushed him off by his shoulder.

He countered and started tickling you, to which you started screaming, turned around and kicked his legs.

“Whoa, easy Rambo,” James chortled and held you tight.

“No mercy for a tickler,” you answered and let your hand rest on his arm. “You’re a fool, James. I like you.”

The next time you opened your eyes was when a ray of sunshine beamed right into your face. You tried to shift but couldn’t until you noticed that James’ arm was still around your waist and held onto you even in his sleep. His breaths were slow and deep, his skin soft on yours and you could have easily spent the rest of your day in this position.

That was until you took your phone from the nightstand and checked the time. 9:17! Shit. You had forgotten to set an alarm last night and your first class started at 10. You had to leave right now, or you wouldn’t make it on time. So you shuffled away from his grip, got up, put your clothes on and went out the door.

While on your way to the dorm you took the time to shoot James a message:

Feedback & comments are always highly appreciated. Let me know if you want to be tagged/untagged :)

Permanent tags:  @geeksareunique @ren-ela @marauderskeeper @way-obsessed5 @oreofrappiewithblueberry @draqcnheartstrinq @dogfatherpads @whatisthisthingcalledlife @obscurilicious @maralisa124 @theseuscmander @siriuslyimmoony @theboywhocriedlupin @igotmadskills @emi-loser @diggorysghost @jamcspotters @thisismysecrethappyplace @vulpecula-minor @snarledblack @swellwriting @fandomtravels @heartbeats-wildly @maraudersmyloves 

Against The Odds tags:  @lolingggatu @sly-vixen-up2nogood @axielle-suson @sweetlyshinylady @igotmadskills @harrypotterimmaginaa @yourhufflepufftrash @eastcoasthaven @tired-eyes-fairylights @reducto-bitch  @portkeys-and-prose

[buzzybluepenguin]

All of Jamie’s interviews at the What’s On Stage Awards last night, as transcripts:

Did we? (re getting there early well)

JP: ‘It’d be nice if I could actually apparate between the theatre and here’ (points to Thorne) Well he did the bulk of the work :P

Hewis: Tell us about when you were both first approached about this job, were you ever apprehensive about it…

JP: (gesturing to Thorne) Well it was longer ago for you than it was for me

JT: I remember his first audition, I remember us sitting there and he wasn’t there, it had to be videoed for us, er because he was, because you were doing Sky…

JP: yeah, I was in Birmingham doing Guys and Dolls which is a completely different prospect

JT: And er, I just remember that moment when we all turned to each other and went ‘ohh, thank the Lord’, we’ve found, we’ve found our Harry because it is such a ridiculously hard part to play and to have someone of his (gestures to JP) calibre and brilliance doing it is absolutely extraordinary

JP: It’s made a lot easier when you’ve got somebody who, ye know, when the material’s in safe hands and you’ve got scenes that have their own trajectory and momentum, and then you’re really just, ye know. It sounds glib but it’s true, if you just turn up and let the play take care of itself because it’s a play that you trust, then you can do it. To be honest, if I hadn’t thought that that was apparent in the writing, even in the early drafts that we had then I wouldn’t have put myself in the position *thinking it was a* possibility, er you, and Jack’s one of our best, and why wouldn’t you trust him, so

Lucie: I was gonna say, it must have been sucha  responsibility, one with the casting and two being on stage every night in front of really loyal fans – me being one, abosltely loved it (JP: Good), I’m obsessed with it, maybe a little bit too much- there must have been quite a responsibility, you must have felt that from the very beginning, with this production

JT: yeah, no, it was absolutely terrifying, and er um, the first moment John talked to me about it, it was the weirdest moment of just being like the most exciting and the most terrifying thought you’ve ever had in your life, it’s kind of like your stomach fell out, like ‘Really, you think I (L: OK I’ll do it!). It’s one of those things where you go, ‘I don’t really want anyone else to do it, but I’m very scared of doing it myself’

L: and how about you Jamie? How did it go in rehearsals, were there ever moments when you did go, kinda thought ‘ourgh’

JP:  the last thing I expected was for it to be as as easy and intimate and collaborative as it has, as it has been, um, if not the most collaborative job I’ve ever had, um, ye know, it, er, you hear ‘Harry Potter on stage’ , I think everybody when they first heard that had perhaps certain ideas about what a big scary ol’ thing it was go-ina be, and, ye know, so you’re steeling yourself for a fairly industrial experience, and and the last thing I was expecting was to turn up and just feel like you’re working on a nice new play at the Royal Court or something like that, ye know, something like that!?! Just occasionally you pull out a wand and and shout spells and you go ‘OH we’re doing a really BIG PLAY’ but at heart it’s a relationship drama, its in good hands with some of the best creative teams that we’ve got in world theatre, and, ye know, to be honest I would’ve gone into the, erm, into a rehearsal room on an unknown project with this team just to get the chance to work with them, but the fact that we’ve got, we’re at What’s On Stage Awards and this is the audience award and we’ve got this audience that is so hungry and so desperate to, to listen to this coda, to this, to this ye know sprawling but rather ancient myth, erm, is erh, it’s only wind in our sails, they’re willing us to succeed from the very beginning of the play. (red carpet interview)

******

“  I’m not tall enough for the mic! Thank you What’s on Stage, um, I’ve never done this before this is terrifying. This of course has to be shared with a lot of people, the other nominees of course, exemplars every single one of them and as a group with a combined expertise er in the field of pretending to be a wizard which frankly dwarfs my own so thank you. To Jo, of course, who was very helpful in writing seven epoch-making volumes of backstory for us to build on, er Sonia Friedman, Colin Callendar for putting together Jack, John, Stephen and the rest of this fantasy creative dream team and their associates, along with a cast, crew, wigs, wardrobe, stage management, company management who are not only world class in what they do, but as generous and collaborative and naughty um as you could possibly hope for. Claire and the gang at Independent of course, you’re never less than brilliant, and Deb and my wonderful family who erh-er despite my lingering flaws persist in the work of teaching my how to love and so give me something of a good cribsheet to work for work from on this play, and uh finally of course to the audience who voted for it, um uh (looks at award in his hand) GOD this is terrifying. Um er thank YOU for being the kind of good folk who can consistently turn up to the theatre in groups of fourteen hundred for five hours’ worth of theatre and not let a single phone go off once during the show you have no idea how amazing that is, thank you very much.  ” (Jamie’s acceptance speech for the What’s on Stage Best Actor in a Play Award)

******

I’ve never done this before, and it’s really scary, erh a lot scarier than you might have thought it is but now this one is the one that really does count because obviously it’s the audience… I can’t help feeling it’s a little bit of an unfair advantage when you crop up in the gig that’s got a supersize following already in place (interview after receiving the award)

******

I wanted to say thank you, most of all, to you guys, for being – as far as I’m concerned – living proof that the story of darkness and trauma endured as a rite of passage endured into a more mature, wiser and more evolved state, isn’t escape as fantasy merely but it’s one of the oldest and most vital most perceptive and humane myths, and it’s your championing of Harry in the way that you do, which lends a lot of hope that however dark things might get there are countless millions all over the world who prize that myth most of all and who are determined to keep its spirit alive and that’s what I’d like to say thank you to you for. (Jamie’s special recorded message for the audience)

[dougmalloch-blog]

Tampa Bay Weekend

OY Veh! Blue Jays open the first week of the season 1-5. Uncle Ted told me not to worry because the best is yet to come. No use getting too excited over the first six games of the season, let’s see how much the record improves after the next six games.... which are against the Mighty Milwaukee Three Brewers (2 games)  and then comes the four game acid test against Baltimore.....

In the meantime here is a summary of the Lost Weekend in Tampa

Game 1   Kendrys  Morales hits a Grand Slam. Marcus Stroman 6.1 innings strong innings. 5Ks 2 walks. Final Score 5-2 Toronto, Blue Jays First Win of the Season.  

Game 2   GAS CAN FRIDAY at the TROP   Francisco Liriano leaves his velocity in Dunedin gets hammered for 5 runs in 1/3 (one third ) of an inning. Liriano's early exit earns him a 135.0 ERA. One wonders why Russell Martin is not catching Liriano Friday night, Jarrod Saltalamacchia is. Let's be clear, I am not a Saltalamacchia fan. Maybe The Braintrust don't want Salt catching Aaron Sanchez on Saturday. Liriano is a veteran he should be able to throw to Saltalamacchia..... Media types all raise this non issue. Reality is Manager John Gibbons wants to get his bench players playing time in the first six games and Friday night is Saltalamacchia Night. No Big Deal.  Now back to the Friday night roller coaster...

Jays down 6-2 after two innings...and battle their way back to 6-5 after 5 innings. In the T6 they walk their way to a 7-6 lead thanks to back to back bases loaded walks off unknown Rays reliever Xavier Cedeno. The Jays bounce back!. Awesome stuff. The game could be blown wide open if the next batter is not named Justin Smoak. Smoakless kills the rally as swings at a 2-0 pitch and lines out, leaving three runners stranded.  This hurts....Collecting meaningful RBI's is not in Smoak's DNA.

In the B6 Ryan Tepera gives up a leadoff walk and Gibby decides that Tepera has done enough shutting down the Rays for two scoreless innings. Manager John Gibbons goes to the pen and brings in the red bearded gas can JP Howell. Unfortunately for the Blue Jays faithful Howell rips a page from the "Liariano Tropicana Playbook" and gives up a double, a four pitch walk and double and a walk. The 7-6 lead is gone and the Jays trail 8-7. Still No One Out and Howell leaves the game  with the bases loaded in the B6! Howell's ERA sits at 54.0 ....Manager John Gibbons realizes he picked the wrong guy to replace Tepera, he wanders out to the mound and  brings on Joe Smith (His Real Name) to face Evan Longoria. Strikeout. Smith allows a base hit and one more run scores but that's it. 9-7 going to the 7th. Gas Can Friday lives up to its hype.... The 12,842 fans get bonus Gas Can entertainment as Manager John Gibbons brings in Cool Hand Loup into the game to pitch the seventh...Loup does not disappoint. He gives up a run run in the 7th and one in the 8th. Surprisingly Cool Hand strikes out 5 of his six outs. Go figure. Jays go on to lose 11-7 in Tampa and are 1-3. The record is of no concern because it's just four games in to the season and as Uncle Ted Rogers told us "The Best is Yet to Come".  This game hurts. Bats rally to save Liriano and the lefties (Howell and Loup) wipe it all away.  

Game 3 Saturday Night Early Bird at the Trop.  Aaron Sanchez vs Chris Archer at 6:10pm This game begins at 6:10pm ...Six Ten PM. Never heard of that  start time for a MLB game. !!! Concessions must have an Early Bird Special going tonight. Come to find out that it's Kevin Kiermaier bobblehead night! That and the early start gets 21,838 to the TROP.

The early start is good for the pitchers who both dazzle thru 6 innings. In the T8 the Jays break a 1-1 tie with a Josh Donaldson base hit scoring Russell Martin who walked. B8 Joe Biagini gives up a run and it's 2-2 going to the 9th No decision for Chris Archer or Aaron Sanchez who both pitch well.  Final line for Sanchez: 7ip, 4h, 1r/er, 3bb, 6K. 101p/59 strikes. Final Line for Chris Archer 7.2 IP / 5H/ 2ER/ 3BB/  8K.

Just because the game starts early it does not mean it ends early...2-2 goes to extra innings at 9:15pm...Just at 10:00pm the Rays get a bases loaded walk and win 3-2.  The Early Bird Game goes 11 innings and takes 3 hours and 55 minutes to play.  Jays are 1-4 in the first week of the season. No worries eh? it's just 5 games.... Oy Veh!

Game 4 Sunday April 9  Marco Estrada Hat Trick Jays score 2 in the first inning and nothing else all afternoon....highlight of the day may have been a benches clearing meeting at second base as Troy Tulowitzki has words with Steven Souza Jr Tulo unhappy with late slide at second base. In his next at bat Souza jr hit a three run HR off Estrada who gives up the long ball THREE times in five innings of work. That’s a Hat Trick ..... Josh Donaldson leaves the game with right calf tightness...tonight Blue Jays say he is day to day.  Not a good day and not a good first week of the season.........

Other Notables from the weekend

On Friday the Baltimores acquired ex Blue Jay  righty Miguel Castro from the Rockies, per a club announcement. A player to be named or cash will head back in return.​ Interesting, wonder why the Braintrust did not go after the 22 year old Castro....unless his arm is not salvageable....

The Rays released Cory Rasmus, (the little Hillbilly)​. Colby Rasmus,  The Hillbilly, did not appear in the Jays Series. Both boys are on the DL , likely making Moonshine for Daddy Rasmus.  Rays looked good without The Hillbilly, they may not be in a rush to get him off the 10 day Injured list. Cory is likely going to the minors

​Saturday Night Warning...Ex- Blue Jay Prospect Kendall Graveman -who was in the Josh Donaldson trade, was toying with a no hitter  through  6.2 innings. Mike Napoli hit a two out home run in the 7th to end the drama. Even if Graveman throws a no hitter the Blue Jays still win the Josh Donaldson  trade.....  

Rowdy Tellez...Hit a Monster HR at Olympic Stadium last Saturday vs the Pirates and hit two HRs in Buffalo's Home Opener. I am starting to understand why Edwin was expendable.....

​​The Blue Jays ​called up ​Casey Lawrence and moved right-hander Bo Schultz from the 10-day disabled list to the 60-day DL​ on Friday​.  Lawrence, ​29, ​has been with the Jays organization since signing as an undrafted free agent in 2010​. I never heard much about him until this weekend. He is likely headed back to Buffalo Monday or whenever the Jays need to make a roster move.  Schultz is done for the season

​Hot Prospects  ​Japanese superstar Shohei Otani​ was featured on 60 Minutes tonight. The 22 year old Japanese player pitches like Yu Darvish and hits like Bryce Harper. He is touted as the Japanese Babe Ruth. Lots of articles about him on line. Speculation is Otani will sign with a MLB club later this year and play in North America in the 2018 season. He wants to hit and pitch. This could be interesting.... ​

​Terrible Endings....​Jeremy Guthrie. now 38, was blasted for 10 earned runs in the first inning ​Friday night when my Washington Nationals / Expos were in Philadelphia . Guthrie ​last appeared in the big leagues in 2015, when he struggled with the Royals. He pitched in the Marlins and Padres farm systems last season and struggled, posting a 6.60 ERA or higher at each stop. Nonetheless, the Nationals signed him to a minor-league deal, and he posted a 2.41 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 18 2/3 innings this spring.​ ​Guthrie got the hook​ after giving up 10 earned runs after 2/3 of an inning, that happened to be the first inning Friday night. ​Guthrie is one of 11 starters in baseball history to allow 10 or more runs in one inning or less. He has done it twice. It also happened against the Yankees in May 2015, when he pitched with the Royals.​ ​Embarrassing for Guthrie and for the Nationals for thinking that this guy could actually help them. It gets better, Sunday night there are reports that Washington is now going to re-sign 42 year old washed up closer Joe Nathan to a minor league contract....Talk about no depth in your minor league system  

Enough for now. Home Opener Tuesday at 7:07pm. Welcome week #2 and good riddance to Week #1

More Later 

[buzzybluepenguin]

Ok so whilst I sit and sob with joy...

... here is a transcript of Jamie's interview with Jack Thorne on the red carpet. Bear in mind that as I was typing this the notification came up that he'd won! JP: ‘It’d be nice if I could actually apparate between the theatre and here’ (points to Thorne) Well he did the bulk of the work 😛 Hewis: Tell us about when you were both first approached about this job, were you ever apprehensive about it… JP: (gesturing to Thorne) Well it was longer ago for you than it was for me JT: I remember his first audition, I remember us sitting there and he wasn’t there, it had to be videoed for us, er because he was, because you were doing Sky… JP: yeah, I was in Birmingham doing Guys and Dolls which is a completely different prospect JT: And er, I just remember that moment when we all turned to each other and went ‘ohh, thank the Lord’, we’ve found, we’ve found our Harry because it is such a ridiculously hard part to play and to have someone of his (gestures to JP) calibre and brilliance doing it is absolutely extraordinary JP: It’s made a lot easier when you’ve got somebody who, ye know, when the material’s in safe hands and you’ve got scenes that have their own trajectory and momentum, and then you’re really just, ye know. It sounds glib but it’s true, if you just turn up and let the play take care of itself because it’s a play that you trust, then you can do it. To be honest, if I hadn’t thought that that was apparent in the writing, even in the early drafts that we had then I wouldn’t have put myself in the position *thinking it was a* possibility, er you, and Jack’s one of our best, and why wouldn’t you trust him, so Lucie: I was gonna say, it must have been sucha responsibility, one with the casting and two being on stage every night in front of really loyal fans – me being one, abosltely loved it (JP: Good), I’m obsessed with it, maybe a little bit too much- there must have been quite a responsibility, you must have felt that from the very beginning, with this production JT: yeah, no, it was absolutely terrifying, and er um, the first moment John talked to me about it, it was the weirdest moment of just being like the most exciting and the most terrifying thought you’ve ever had in your life, it’s kind of like your stomach fell out, like ‘Really, you think I (L: OK I’ll do it!). It’s one of those things where you go, ‘I don’t really want anyone else to do it, but I’m very scared of doing it myself’ L: and how about you Jamie? How did it go in rehearsals, were there ever moments when you did go, kinda thought ‘ourgh’ JP: the last thing I expected was for it to be as as easy and intimate and collaborative as it has, as it has been, um, if not the most collaborative job I’ve ever had, um, ye know, it, er, you hear ‘Harry Potter on stage’ , I think everybody when they first heard that had perhaps certain ideas about what a big scary ol’ thing it was go-ina be, and, ye know, so you’re steeling yourself for a fairly industrial experience, and and the last thing I was expecting was to turn up and just feel like you’re working on a nice new play at the Royal Court or something like that, ye know, something like that!?! Just occasionally you pull out a wand and and shout spells and you go ‘OH we’re doing a really BIG PLAY’ but at heart it’s a relationship drama, its in good hands with some of the best creative teams that we’ve got in world theatre, and, ye know, to be honest I would’ve gone into the, erm, into a rehearsal room on an unknown project with this team just to get the chance to work with them, but the fact that we’ve got, we’re at What’s On Stage Awards and this is the audience award and we’ve got this audience that is so hungry and so desperate to, to listen to this coda, to this, to this ye know sprawling but rather ancient myth, erm, is erh, it’s only wind in our sails, they’re willing us to succeed from the very beginning of the play.