#I’ve loved this movie since I was in elementary school and still love it so much today 💖

[veryblushyswitch]

THIS SCENE HAD A CHOKEHOLD ON ME WHEN I FIRST WATCHED THIS MOVIE!! 💖

⚠️WARNING FOR SPIDERS⚠️

This is what I was talking about earlier lol rhufhrjfhirhf

I watched the corpse bride and holy moly I loved it and that tk scene is TAKING OVER MY BRAINNNN

Victor is so honking cute cries

[fujoshimenacecw]

A conversation between Moto Hagio, Hideaki Anno, and Shimako Sato

In our first ever translation work we share a riveting conversation between Moto Hagio, Hideaki Anno, and Shimako Sato! Read on our wordpress or keep reading on tumblr under the readmore

For the 189th issue of the Magazine House publication Hato yo! published January 1st 2000, movie director and screenwriter Shimako Sato leads a three way conversation between herself and her acquaintances, the anime and live action movie director Hideaki Anno, and manga artist Moto Hagio. Together they discuss their respective admiration for each other’s work, Anno’s past statements on otaku, their takes on parent-child relations, how to escape puberty, and why Anno finds it scary to be around children. 

To Me, There is 5 Ways To End a Story

Hagio: I got really into Neon Genesis Evangelion after it finished airing (laughter). I had been told by an acquaintance that Eva was a work that had “fans who were looking forward to watching the series so enraged by the developments in the final episode that they broke their TVs” (laughter). I wondered what could a work that evokes such strong emotions be like? I was really interested, so I borrowed the VHS tapes from a friend of Shimako-san’s, then I started watching.

Anno: I’m a big fan of Hagio-san’s manga, so when Shimako-san first said she could introduce us and arrange this meeting I was truly happy. The fact that you took an interest in Eva is an honor but… When I first heard “to me, there are five ways to end a story” I thought “as expected; amazing!” So after several twists and turns I finally reached a conclusion

Sato: Anno-san, when did you first encounter Hagio-san’s work?

Anno: The first one I read was They Were 11! during its serialization. In elementary school I read it at the Ear-Nose-Throat Doctor. I generally read manga at the waiting room there or at the barbers, since I didn’t really get any manga to read at home. When I read They Were 11! back then I was blown away. After that I read Hyaku Oku no Hiru to Senoku no Yoru [trans: Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights, original story by Ryu Mitsuse]. My favorite work is Half-god [Hanshin]. The fact that such a meaningful story could be told in only 16 pages is amazing. I think Hagio-san is a genius storyteller, but her art is amazing as well. In middle school I thought that if I copied Hagio-san’s art I’d become better at drawing.

Sato: If you had also imitated her storytelling would that perhaps have changed Eva’s final episode? (laughter)

Saving the world, love and hatred

Anno: You know, I don’t have much interest in concluding a story.

Sato: Do you hate wrapping a furoshiki? [trans note: a traditional wrapping cloth]

Anno: No, it’s that I think you can do more with a furoshiki than tie it up pretty. Like break it or tear it to shreds, all kinds of things.

Sato: If we include all that, isn’t that still doing the act of wrapping?

Hagio: In your case Anno-san, I find your way of grasping the world unique.

Sato: For both Anno-san and Hagio-san, even with the differences between manga and anime you’re making a serialized work, right. When you make a long-form work, is the ending something that is already decided? Or is it something that changes?

Anno: For me it’s something like a live performance, and ends up gradually changing as I create the work.

Hagio: I’m a bit too careful, so I can’t draw if I haven’t thought of the ending. An exception is when I made Star Red. Otherworld Barbara which I made later also ended up becoming an exception 

Anno: Star Red’s ending was magnificent. I was also influenced by Star Red. Actually, I’ve written some dialogue similar to the one in Star Red’s ending 

Sato: Which of the characters do you like?

Anno: Well, the protagonist.

Sato: I like Elg. At first I thought he was a rather unreliable person, but he gradually came to play an active role. By the end he revived a dead planet through love.

Hagio: I also like characters like that!

Sato: When I watch Anno’s works like Eva I feel like you are more the kind of person who saves the world through hatred, what do you think?

Anno: I don’t know 

Hagio: That feeling of uncertainty becomes the foundation of your storytelling doesn’t it? I come to think that that feeling is something so overflowing you can’t tie it all together. 

Sato: It seems you have some differences when it comes to making a story, but I think one thing your stories have in common is perhaps parent-child relations?

Anno: That is true, Hagio-san. Your relationship with your mother appears in your work…

Hagio: When I was a child, my older sister was my mother’s favorite, I was always compared to her. It seemed my mother thought that compared to my sister I was unreliable so she always worried about me, even when I was into my thirties she’d tell me to quit making manga.

Sato: And that was during The Poe Clan’s heyday wasn’t it?

Hagio: (laughter) When I was watching Eva, something that really caught my attention was Shinji-kun worrying about whether or not he was useful to his father. Yet there was a distance between them. During that time I was very interested in, to put it into words, “broken relations.” 

Otaku Are Generally Uncool

Sato: Anno-san, in your work I think father-son relations is something that makes an appearance. Are there any real experiences behind that?

Anno: My family was normal. If I have a complex it would be that we were a poor family rather than a just normal one, and my father has only one leg. Regardless, I think stories about parents are the simplest to make, it’s easy. 

Sato: So since Eva is a parent-child story it ended up like that?

Anno: What makes it easy is that we have some preconceived assumptions about [parent-child relations], “have you argued with your parents?” and such.

Sato: What appears in your work isn’t those things, but your own internalized problems don’t you think.

Anno: That appears to be it. As for my family we truly were the archetypical lower middle class household. My father was a good person. A sensible man. When you’re under circumstances like my father was you have to live sensibly or else you’re excluded.

Sato: So in opposition to that, you became an otaku.

Anno: That might be it. Your most important model for what normalcy is is your family. But I have a younger sister and she is exceedingly normal. She doesn’t read manga, there is nothing twisted about her at all.

Sato: And by twisted you mean?

Anno: That she’s not an otaku.

Sato: Anno-san, you’ve said that you hate otaku, haven’t you.

Anno: It’s not hate. It’s just that I think otaku are uncool. To otherwise not notice that you’re uncool or purposefully suppressing that fact makes me feel disgusted.

Sato: What about The Matrix? Isn’t that a cool otaku movie?

Anno: That one is also uncool.

Hagio: Even though Keanu Reeves is cool.

Anno: Keanu is cool. Because he is not an otaku. The otaku are the Wachowskis. They can’t get out of the confinements of their otaku-ism. So for example, even if they make something cool, part of it will for certain be otaku-like Even though I say this I don’t hate it. If I truly did I’d quit being an otaku.

Sato: Hagio-san, would you say your family was normal or was it perhaps affluent?

Joh (Hagio’s manager): Hagio-san and her mother actually have a similar biorhythm. It was perhaps due to that fact that Hagio rebelled by pursuing the path of becoming a manga artist. 

Hagio: I might have been running away by drawing. But, if I had rebelled by becoming a delinquent I think it perhaps might’ve been more enriching to me as a person.

Anno: To become a creator is not something I think is a happy path to go down. In order to not be unhappy you have to work for dear life. At the very least create works as if you’re going back to zero [from the negatives].

Hagio: Is it a negative? Because you are an otaku?

Anno: Being an otaku is a huge negative. You make up for it either by relying on others or by producing creative works. With that said, I think my generation has it easier than yours, Hagio-san. This is an era where even old men read manga. My parents even now have no issues with my line of work. I appear in Asahi Shimbun, I appear on NHK, they have nothing to worry about. That is also why I will try not to ever refuse any coverage from my hometown newspapers.

Hagio: But don’t you think parents don’t truly understand? Even if I become famous, my parents will say; can’t you quit drawing manga? And just appear in the newspaper? (laughter)

Sato: But if you quit drawing manga you won’t appear in the newspaper. (laughter)

Hagio: In that context, a part of me still expects too much affirmation from my parents. Not externally but internally. Even if I appear in Asahi Shimbun I still end up thinking it’s not good enough.

Sato: The fact that you still worry so much about what your parents think at your age Hagio-san, it’s so strange.

Hagio: Yes, I think so too

Anno: Could it be that you have to become a parent to change that part of you that worries so much about what your parents think?

Sato: I don’t worry at all about what my parents think.

Anno: I also don’t care even a little bit. As far as I’m concerned, I’m bored if I get my parents’ approval. When I did Nadia: The Secret Of Blue Water for NHK I felt that feeling.

Sato: Do you have a replacement parent figure?

Anno: Well, a man without imaginary enemies is no good. For me right now, I think I want to make works that have Hayao Miyazaki beat.

Sato: Hagio-san, your worries might also be what gives birth to your works.

Hagio: That might be the case.

Sato: Anno-san, earlier, you said “you have to become a parent to change.” I personally don’t think if you don’t have children you can’t become an adult. I think that being an adult is being independent in everything you do. That’s why I think marriage or having children doesn’t change anything.

Anno: You can become a parent without being an adult. At 17 or 18 you could become a parent. To become a parent without even being an adult, that is the problem I think. 

Sato: Do you consider yourself to be an adult, Anno-san?

Anno: I guess I’m a child. 

Sato: I don’t consider my parents to be adults.

Hagio: I’m very discontent with the fact that my parents aren’t adults.

Anno: I’m not discontent.

Sato: For me realizing that my parents aren’t absolute adults was a relief during my middle school years. Until then I had played the role of an exemplary student, but when I realized that fact I stopped playing that role. 

Hagio: So you’re a child who didn’t fit into your parents’ expectations. I was also a child who didn’t fit into my parents’ expectations, but the fact that they didn’t shrug their shoulders and say “that’s fine,” filled me with anxiety. I thought that if I become an adult I’d lose that anxiety. But I want recognition from people. I continue to request affirmation. 

Sato: Anno-san, in Eva you portrayed children like this, but are you like this yourself?

Anno: The affirmation? Hmmm. That kind of thing changes with the project.

Hagio & Sato: ?

Anno: I don’t believe in the supremacy of the director of a work, but rather the work itself. What would be best for the work, I only base my judgment on the total. Although I won’t hand over the executive decisions.

Hagio: Manga is a one-man job, but with a movie there’s the director, the scriptwriter, the actors, etc. Each of them sees themselves as a leading part. Furthermore as living beings the things we do will sometimes diverge from the plan we made in our heads. The fun of living is discovering what those differences will be.

Is Eva The Rite of Passage That Will Get Us Through Puberty?

Sato: The movie Love & Pop that you directed Anno-san, the original creator Ryuu Murakami-san and yourself are both men, yet the story is about high school girls. I found that interesting.

Hagio: I thought that both of you wanted to be very similar to an archetypical girl. You said you wanted to see a part of puberty, and girlhood that you couldn’t control. After all, men aren’t just made up of boys. I believe that femininity and masculinity is something we have combined within us. Sort of androgynous.

Sato: The boys you create not having that vivid true-to-life quality to them I think is a representation of that. Anno-san, as a man, what do you think of the boys in Hagio-san’s manga? 

Anno: I think they have empathy. I think what I like the most is that all the characters are smart. Because they have such a high intelligence it feels good to read.

Hagio: Like a washing machine right at the peak of its cycle, I want to leave my characters on the verge of that kind of critical point [of merger]. To be honest, the idea that once you’re past 30 you’ve become an old lady, that sense is something we’ve left behind.

Sato: I’ve found that when men become old they lose their ability to be nihilistic in their work, is it the same as that?

Anno: In the case of men, as you age, the world view [of your fiction] rather than your characters come to reflect your nihilism. You don’t aspire to be nihilistic, you yourself are becoming nihilistic. Your world view is what gradually utilizes nihilism. Isao Takahata, for example, is a nihilistic person. Nothing is born from being nihilistic. As nihilism is Plus-Minus-Zero, eventually your heart can’t be moved.

Hagio: A world that doesn’t change, isn’t that comfortable? 

Sato: Even though in order to grow you have to fight. By asking like this, Anno-san, did you not experience puberty?

Anno: That might be it.

Hagio: I thought you were right in the middle of puberty.

Anno: I thought I’m losing it, but it might be puberty. Generally speaking, otaku don’t go through puberty.

Hagio: I thought otaku went through a prolonged chronic puberty.

Anno: It’s not what society ordinarily calls puberty.

Hagio: A never ending puberty, in this age, could it perhaps be because there are no more rites of passage? 

Anno: Sure enough, you have to bungee jump. (laughter)

Hagio: A ritual to let your childhood die and then replay it, such a thing doesn’t exist now. Taking entrance exams may be the closest to [a rite of passage].

Sato: Don’t you feel like lately that around age 30 is when the coming of age ceremony actually happens?

Hagio: For that part, that’s when the stories takes on that role I think.

Sato: As a ritual?

Hagio: It’s not a ritual, but perhaps more intuitive? A trial run on a mock life. By that definition, I noticed Eva is just like that. I had an acquaintance who is a teacher from the Kyoto Steiner school. They saw the Eva movie in theaters. At that time they found the reactions of the people watching to be more interesting than the story. They had thought, isn’t it like we’ve all come to see the rite of passage which we all failed? I thought so as well “that’s right, that is interesting.” The rite of passage to become an adult after entering puberty, be it Gundam or Eva those stories put people in a position where they are observing the world, observing themselves, experiencing war and such.

Sato: Anno-san, were you considering all this…

Anno: I didn’t make it like that. But when I was making the movie I was thinking of this a little. 

Hagio: When I watched Eva it ended up overlapping with the book Childhood [by Jan Myrdal]. It’s a book about a mother who can’t love her child. She thinks “I have to take care of this child”, but even so she can’t love him. I wonder what happens to children raised like this. Children learn from their parents. In truth there will be consequences for the parent, but the question on my mind was children who can’t find their place with the parent, where can they find their place instead? Although I thought you were such a person when you were making Eva, Anno-san. (laughter) 

Sato: Speaking of, the other day you were on a TV show teaching grade schoolers about anime, Anno-san. What do you think of children?

Anno: I was scared of being in contact with children. I don’t understand the appropriate distance to take. I believe even the most casual thing an adult says mustn’t traumatize them, I end up becoming oversensitive. In grade school during still drawing class, I’d draw roof tiles and other detailed things, but humans moved around and I found it annoying, so I never drew people. Because of that my teacher said “this isn’t a child’s drawing,” which deeply hurt me. In the end, from that experience I think it was a part of the reason why I decided on working with drawing. Even though I opposed standardized education, I really felt the difficulty of dealing with not having a basic manual.

By the way, how much longer until Zankoku na Kami ga Shihai Suru [trans: A Cruel God Reigns] ends? I made a mistake. I wanted to read it all at once, right, so I refrained from buying it but… when volume 6 came out I ended up buying all of them. 

Hagio: Oh yes, right. July next year I think. 

Anno: Understood. Then the final collected volume will be out in the fall of next year. Hmm well that means I can enjoy it for another year. Understood. 

Sato: Isn’t that great.

------------------------------

Translated by mod Juli, with assistance from two financially compensated native speakers.

A scan of the full interview raws has now been added to the wordpress version!

[beddybites]

Chop chop Hashira girl, i want the backstories of the 3, 30 episodes and 15 seasons for tomorrow (i love them so much sobs)

first of all , honored u see me as the hashira girl

the story is still very much in development but since ur interested ill at least tell u a bit about them!

im so sorry this took so long :,D none of my drafts about this post ever saved so i lost the strength

Huntwoe Hill is a dark fantasy story with central themes on family and relationships and the dark forces that can harm them— whether it be from outside the family, or inside

i recently had to make a comic page about them, so i’ll share that here!

the first novel focuses on Wren Bishop, a sensitive and witty 18 year old girl who struggles with depression and left home as a result of her family’s treatment of her. as the “black sheep” of the Belladonna family, she has a habit of being really hard on herself. she specializes in photography and poetry, and loves birds

her closest friend is her older cousin Russel Rook (23), an elementary school music teacher and the golden boy of the Belladonna family. he’s a very kind hearted man who has been by Wren’s side since she was born. he’s dating a woman named Daisy, and volunteered to help chaperone her students on a field trip

Russel, Daisy, and 28 children go missing during their stay on Huntwoe Hill, a giant mountain that hundreds and thousands of people have died or gone missing in. because of this, the teachers and their students are almost immediately deemed to have not survived the harsh conditions of the mountain. Wren senses something is wrong, and goes on a one-man search for them

along the way she encounters their Uncle Foggy, who she had not seen in over eight years, as he was kicked out of the Belladonna family for reasons she was never told about. he’s a jaded and silly thirty year old man who used to tell his nieces and nephews all sorts of stories about the mountain. estranged and distancing himself, he sought to protect his family and uncover a curse inflicted upon them

Uncle Foggy reveals to Wren that the mountain serves as a doorway for all kinds of creatures and ghouls, and he works for an organization that hunts them

Wren, of course, doesn’t believe him until she encounters these creatures first hand

i can go into more depth about them in the future! this story has been years in the making and it’s still heavy in development, and i dont typically talk about my own oc’s, so we’ll see …

there is a much much larger cast, i’ve only designed three of them though haha

main sources of inspiration for this story stem from Demon Slayer, Haunting of Hill House, Midnight Mass, Soul Eater and the Doctor Strange comics/movies from MARVEL

thank you for being interested in them ahhhh! apologies again for how long this took :,0

[la-guns]

An about me post that’s probably too long ♡ feat. my room ^^

I fully embrace my true love with the 80’s and its rock/metal music scene. I’ve always loved the decade and its music, but have jumped between interests that didn’t hold me for long for most of my life. But now I’m here, and it feels right. And I can thank my dad.

He’s a metalhead. He had the classic long, shaggy hairstyle in the 80’s. I always remember him blaring his favorite Metallica and Alice in Chains albums from the garage, where he worked on cars and occasional motorcycles. He still does that.

Every morning before elementary school, he’d have the huge box tv playing music videos. My favorites were AC/DC. And while I watched, I had Pop-Tarts, but little me never had the heart to tell my dad I didn’t like them toasted when he brought them to me 😅

Growing up, he introduced me to the best classic movies from the 80’s. Back to the Future, Spaceballs, the Goonies, Mannequin, Uncle Buck, the Lost Boys (my dad loved vampire stuff, and I do, too), National Lampoon, Princess Bride, so much more. I grew up pure classic. And I like staying that way. It’s a huge comfort.

Now, not much has changed. I prefer 70’s, 80’s, and VERY early 90’s music (like Hollywood Vampires. I can’t do the grunge stuff, sorry! 80’s metalhead heart ♡). I rarely listen to modern music, and when I do it’s mostly for the novel I’m writing to get in the zone. I love Vlad Dracula (the historical Vlad), and have been writing a historical novel about him, and using the real facts in my research from Romanian sources (on here, I love the user @/vladdocs for info about Vlad).

L.A. Guns…the love I have for them came out of nowhere, and that kind of love is usually the best in my experience. I love their style. I love what they brought to the music scene. Their songs gave a fresh alternative to the hard rock sounds of the time. They never remained within any limiting norms. I wish they got to reach stadium level like Mötley Crüe.

I love the “classic” lineup of L.A. Guns. Mick, Phil, Tracii, Kelly, Steve. Love each them to bits, and miss Steve. Kelly is my comfort person, I’d say. I share common interests with him, and from what I’ve watched and read about him, I love how goofy and true to himself he is. Like he embraces his inner child, and I love that. He’s a cutie pie for sure, but his personality is what gets me most. He’s not afraid to be bold with what he likes (like pirates! I LOVE pirates. My dad raised me on Pirates of the Caribbean, and I love the overall history of pirates). Sometimes I wish I could just talk to Kelly about graphic design. That’d be so cool. I’ve been dabbling in it since middle school, and went to college for it.

Late June of 2024 I had one of the coolest experiences concerning the 80’s rock and metal scene. Night Ranger and REO Speedwagon were in my city. I got to meet a guitar tech of Night Ranger. SUPER down to earth guy. British and named Darren. He’s close with Tracii Guns and worked for L.A. Guns in the early 90’s. He’s also been a roadie for Aerosmith and Def Leppard and so many others! I still have his number and ask him for stories from time to time. I got to chill in a bar with Night Ranger because of him and that was incredibly surreal. Love him for letting me be so close to the music scene I highly adore and get comfort from.

So, my room is my safe space and I like to really have it just scream me. It’s full of original stuff, down to the cassettes, magazines, ‘89 Mötley concert bandana, and magazine pinups. The only original thing I DON’T own is the 2 L.A. Guns shirts I have. Reprints. I love it all so much, and I’m still getting more. My favorite piece is the original Cocked & Loaded vinyl signed by the classic lineup ♡

The bands I love most are L.A. Guns, Mötley Crüe, Cinderella, Dokken, Danger Danger, Def Leppard, KISS, AC/DC, Icon, Billy Idol (got to see him in May ‘24!), Bulletboys, Poison, Van Halen, and so many more it’s a lot 😭 ♡

This definitely isn’t everything about me, but it’s a taste of the main stuff ♡

[sunflowergirl522]

She Moves in Her Own Way

Pairing: Rickstar!Eddie Munson x Reader

Summary: Eddie gets interviewed and he answers questions about his love life while reminiscing.

Word count: 1932

Eddie Masterlist

“So Eddie,” the interviewer says, crossing her leg over the other where she sits across from the rockstar, “people are dying to know what your mystery girl is like. You’re rarely pictured with her and no one can seem to get you to say who she is.”

Eddie sits up straighter in his seat as you become the topic of conversation. He had been starting to get a little bored, slumping a bit. He didn’t even want to do this interview for some teen magazine he’s never even heard of. He only agreed to it because when he brought it up to you you got all excited because apparently you used to read them throughout high school.

“Yeah, I like to keep her to myself. I don’t want to see a bunch of lies about her in the media, y'know? I’ve seen it happen to enough people in my line of work.”

“Do you think you could tell us what about her caught your eye?” Eddie wants to laugh at the question, he figured this was what whoever was interviewing him would want to talk about, his love life. Why else would he be getting interviewed, surely teen girls don’t care about what got him into music and why it means so much to him. But then again you did, you always did.

“She started as my best friend back in high school. She was always sticking with me and up for me even after she graduated and I failed.” Eddie gets a goofy grin on his face as he starts talking about you. “One thing led to another and she’s been my everything since.”

You and Eddie had been acquaintances in elementary and middle school and became closer in high school when you got paired up for a project freshman year. You claimed him as your best friend after he punched an older kid for making fun of you. You’ve even returned the favor before by getting into a fight with the girl who first started calling Eddie a freak. He had to be the one to break up the fight by pulling you off of her.

You’ve always supported him too both with the club and when he started his band back up with Jeff, Gareth, and Adam. Even though with practices, meetings, and your college classes after you started them the two of your schedules almost never matched up to hang out. You still made it to each and every one of his shows most of the time just to talk to him afterward.

“So you’ve been together since high school?”

“No, it wasn’t until she was almost done with her major that I finally worked up the nerve to say anything. She was helping me get ready to leave for the band's first small tour and I had a feeling of it’s now or never. And then she made me wait until we got back to give me an answer.”

The urge that he had to ask you now before anyone could scoop you up while he’s gone came while he watched you laugh at something Gareth had said while you were saying bye to everyone. The last thing he wanted to happen was that boy from your English class getting to see you laugh like that and falling in love and next thing Eddie knows he’s being invited to your wedding.

“I can’t believe you’re choosing school over us Sweetheart.” He teased while wrapping you up in his arms causing you to laugh.

“Maybe if it was just a week Eds, but I don’t think my teachers will like me being out for a month. I’ll miss you though, it’s gonna be weird not having you around.” You buried your head in his chest squeezing him tighter.

“You’ll get along just fine without me distractin’ you from all your studies. I’ll miss you too though.” He just held you to him for a while before speaking again. “You wanna go out to a movie or get a nice dinner or something when I get back?” You pulled away just enough to look at him and give him a playful smile.

“Edward Munson, are you asking me out?”

“Uh yeah, yeah I am.”

“Well it’s about time.”

“Is that a yes?” Eddie quirked an eyebrow smiling down at you. You hummed and tapped your chin in mock contemplacey.

“Hmm, I’ll let you know when you get back. You gotta go or you’ll be late.” You reached up to kiss his cheek before stepping away completely. “Bye Eds, love ya!” And you waved as Jeff called his name and he had to climb into the bus.

“What’s she like? If you don’t mind me asking, that is.” Eddie smiles at her words every other interviewer that has tried asking about you just basically demanded the information and he had immediately shut them down without thinking twice. 

Even if they had asked like this he would’ve said no because he was never sure what you would think of having the world know stuff about you but this time he knew you didn’t care. When he was contemplating doing the interview and you got excited he complained about how the questions would probably mainly be about his love life. You had just shrugged and told him to do it anyway and that you didn’t care about everyone finding out about you as long as he didn’t care.

He did care but this time he was asked so nicely that he would give as much information as he could without giving away any details that would lead people to figure out who you are.

“I love her because she moves in her own way. Her fashion sense is god awful because she dresses like a muppet. Almost all she listens to is disco and she has the most bizarre movies memorized. And she’s probably the kindest person I’ve ever met who’s always watching out for the ones she cares about.” Especially the kids in your life. When you met Dustin and the gang you had immediately hopped into older sister mode and had them imprinting on you like ducklings. 

And you’re one of the best teachers Eddie’s ever seen. He was lucky that you agreed to tutor him that last senior year even though you had your own classes to focus on because without you he probably would’ve failed again and he honestly would’ve just dropped out at that point. And you’re constantly helping the kids with their school work when they need it. When Will and El moved back to Hawkins you had helped catch them up with what was being taught there because their school in Cali had been behind. 

Watching you interact and help El is something else really. You’re so patient with her and constantly helping her catch up to kids her own age since she’s so behind because of being stuck in the lab her whole childhood. She’s made amazing progress thanks to your help. 

And he’s seen how you interact with your students at Hawkins middle school. Each one gets a special form of special treatment and you almost always make yourself easily accessible during school hours, staying late in your classroom during the after school activities in case one of them needs you. Dustin compared you to his old teacher Mr. Clarke and your face lit up like the fourth of July before saying thanks and told him all about how he became your mentor since you started teaching.

“She sounds wonderful! What was it that made you realize you were in love with her?”

“I think I was for a while before I said anything to her. But I realized it myself after a couple months of us dating. Our schedules weren’t really lining up because she was having to study and go to class and at that point the band had started really picking up some traction. So she would come to the shows just to hear about my day or week depending on how long it had been since we were able to see each other.” The goofy smile Eddie’s had the whole time he’s been talking about you gets bigger as he thinks about how he’d see you in the crowd waving at him with a big smile on your face. It makes him want to finally get home to you because even though he’s only been away for a few hours for this interview, it’s a Saturday and he should be enjoying your day off with you. “I’m sorry, is this interview about done?” He didn’t care much if it came out as rude.

“Yeah, thank you for your time and answers today Eddie.”

“Yep, you’re welcome.” He waited as she gathered her things and held the door open for her before rushing out of the building because that was the polite thing to do. But then he was speeding home to you.

A week later the magazine with his interview hit shelves and you came rushing home from the store with it in your hand.

“Eddie, you made the front page!” He looks up at you from his spot on the couch as you excitedly wave it around.

���Cool, do you need help with the groceries?” He starts to get up and you physically pause suddenly remembering why you had been there in the first place.

“No, I forgot about those when I saw this. Whoops. But look at this!” You basically shove the magazine in his face causing him to laugh and take it from you before sitting down and pulling you onto his lap. 

“Alright, let’s see what this is all about.” He holds the magazine out for the two of you to see the front. “Rockstar Eddie Munson opens up to us about his lovely mystery girl. God people actually read this crap?” You giggle at the bewildered look on his face and nod. “Who cares?”

“The entire female population probably. You’re a total babe, babe. Now go to your interview. I wanna read it.” He rolls his eyes but goes to it nonetheless, handing you the mag and resting his chin on your shoulder. “There’s some questions about how you got into music Ed’s what are you complaining about? It’s not all about your love life.”

“They were basically the same questions I’m always asked. I was so bored.”

“Yeah I see that in the notes here. Eddie had begun looking bored until I started asking him about his girlfriend when he sat up straighter and started getting into it.” You read it out loud, eyeing him. You’ve talked to him about faking interest in the past. About how these people are just doing their jobs and asking the questions probably provided to them. Before he can defend himself you read another part out loud. 

“Sorry to say it ladies but the one and only Eddie Munson is so much in love with his girl that you can see it in his eyes when he talks about her. The thought of how he probably looks at her has me swooning and I haven’t even seen it.” You put the mag down before turning so you’re straddling him, his hands wrapping around your back. “You hear that, she’s swooning. I’m shocked you actually answered the questions about me this time.”

“Well she asked so nicely compared to anyone else who asked. And you’re my favorite topic of conversation baby.”

“I love you Eds.” You smile and rest your forehead against his. 

“I love you too Princess.”

Eddie Taglist(Closed): @sadbitchfangirl @notbeforelong @munsonswhore86 @navs-bhat @emotionaldreamer @magicalchocolatecheesecake @awesome-badass-cafeteria-sauce @fangirling-4-ever  @gaysludge @audhd-dragonaut @eddiethesexy​ @mazerunnerrose @tvserie-s-world @midnightsgetawaycar  @goldylions  @spacedoutdaydreamer @livslifeonline @mushroomelephant @hb8301 @ginnupp @saramelaniemoon @kaylshunter @nojamsonmytoast @vintagehellfire​ @esoltis280​ @cole22ann @spikedhe4rt​ @let-love-bleeds-red​ @siriuslysmoking​ @ladybug0095​ @toobsessedsstuff​ @3rriberri​ @alana4610​ @gretavanfleas​ @sparkletash​ @herejustforjj​ @aactuaaltraash​ @gloryekaterina​ @quixscentsposts​ @wormm-mom​ @eddiemuns0nl0ver​ @spookyemorockbabe​

Everything Taglist: @bejeweledmastermind @matchamunson @bubsonnobx @practicalghost @katsukis1wife @crustyowos @yourfavdummy @protecteddiemunson4vr 

[your-unfriendlyghost]

How'd you end up discovering your art style?

Well, it wasn’t much of a discovery- it’s just how I draw, I guess! It evolves over time and changes based on what artists I’m looking up to and what styles I’m into

But I can give ya a (recent-ish) evolution of my style/a break-down on all its influences over the past two years if ya wanna see how it all happened!

-

Some stuff from July-October of 2022

Two-three-ish years ago, for instance, it was more classical painting inspired. I was real into Over the Garden Wall and also just…general American history back then don’t judge I was coming off of my first American history class since elementary school and I thought it was so cool So my art had more of like…that going on yk? It wasn’t as good as my stuff now at all, because I’ve since improved my anatomy skills, learned how to draw fabric folds (sorta), and learned a bit of color theory lol. But they’re ok for what they are, I guess.

I think my main problem back then was the fact that I did not fully know how to use references- and a lotta my references were like. Cartoons. And stuff that was very much not meant to be painted in the amount of detail I aimed for at the time.

(Even here, you can tell I was dissatisfied, because they all look pretty different from each other yk?) (and you can see how hardly any of the fabric has folds and how little I understood lighting 😭)

-

January-March ‘23

Anyhow, after this, in uhh early 2023, I had a 80s-90s comic book/pop art phase, which was a pretty drastic swing in the opposite direction. I still rendered things sometimes, but things were less soft/warm. BUT I was starting to use real photos as references which was vital

I was also watching a lotta tmnt with my kid brother, which is what I blame for why the proportions got so stylized- folks in the 2012 version of that show were just kinda built funny, which I think subconsciously impacted my art. My posing did get a bit stronger in this time as I practiced more, and I think things got less stiff

-

June-August ‘23

Next, as the summer months came, I had a lotta changes in inspo and also just in life lol. I had temporarily moved to my neighbor’s place, and I didn’t have a car yet/any friends who I liked enough to hang around with, so all summer long I rewatched a lotta 80s movies, fell in love with the first season of Stranger Things (not the others as much tho 😭), skateboarded, and watched a lotta art tutorials online. (I specifically remember Jackie Droujko’s yt shorts saving my assss- I loved her stuff so much. Definitely check ‘em out she explains things real well)

I improved slowly, but I DID IMPROVE a HELLUVA LOT. I focused a lot on trying to draw people who looked recognizably like themselves, but also stylized because realism (usually) bores me. I also got better at coloring- the first two here ain’t great in terms of colors, but I was learning. Plus, back then I was very into oddly saturated color schemes. (I mean it is a solid vibe. I may not do this a ton anymore but I can dig it still)

-

October-November ‘23

As autumn came, I was pretty enamored with all the like…✨fall vibes✨ that time around. My life was goin’ well, so I had a lotta optimism and a re-ignited love for nature, forests, and fantasy. Plus I was dating this girl who was really into vintage-y Wes Anderson stuff so I think some of that uhhh twee-ness rubbed off on me lol

My influences here were mainly old storybooks, a hint of Lord of the Rings (as you can probably tell by the hobbit), and a decent amount of Fantastic Mr. Fox. And for faces I was mainly using the Laurenillusrated Brushpack at the time I think? I don’t use the “Sketchy” brush in it as often anymore as I did then, but I should. It’s a great brush, and I actually am really liking all the little sketchy lines. It adds a nice touch.

also don’t look at my goddamn long hair in that self portrait on the left. I hated it on me then and I hate it now too. I cannot believe I ever let it get that long it was really bad

-

December ‘23-April ‘24

I honestly did like a total of like. Seven drawings in these four months. As opposed to my usual…uhhh I wanna say 25 every four months. Idk what was up- art just wasn’t fun at the time. I mean, it was also just a lousy few months in general, so I’m sure that’s a part of it lol, but yk. This style is pretty close to my current one- my inspiration just came from x-files-ish sci-fi and American gothic stories/images as opposed to nowadays’ Beat generation and greaser inspo.

May-Now (October) ‘24

The Outsiders kinda dragged me back into enjoying drawing again honestly. I’d read and loved it back in 2023, but upon rereading it/watching the movie in February of 2024, it just sorta…entered my headspace and stayed this time. (Still, I didn’t really draw any Outsiders/greaser-y things till May)

Lately, I take artistic inspiration in 2d animated films, like the ones by Disney with the real nicely drawn fabric folds. And also just a lotta inspo from real life. I also do a lot of black and white comics, because I find that I generally have a “Go big or go home” mentality about most things- which can be a LOT of pressure! By allowing myself to draw simpler doodle-y things, I’ve regained that love for drawing. I think for a while it just felt like work, but in letting myself take it easy, art’s become a good time again :))

[yuurei20]

Trey Info Compilation part 1: Family and Glasses

Trey has a younger brother and sister. He says he used to play with them often back when he lived at home, baking them cakes on their birthdays, sewing their Halloween costumes and buying tickets to a Spelldrive game for his little brother with his own allowance money.

He says that as his parents were too busy with their cake business to cook meals for the family he would make dinners for his younger siblings as well, and their favorite of his dishes was hamburger steak.

When Jamil does not want Najma to join the group during the Firelit Sky event Trey says that Jamil might just be embarrassed about them seeing how he acts when he is around his family, and “I’ve got siblings, so I know ALL about that.”

Trey has been helping his family stock up on ingredients for their cake shop and make pastries since he was little, but says that he still “can’t hold a candle to (his) parents; they’re professional bakers.”

Trey says that his parents love trying out new ingredients. We do not hear many details about them, but it seems that his father also wears glasses. 

Trey has a voice line about possibly trying contacts one day, but in a vignette we learn why he hasn’t yet: he says he has had bad eyesight ever since he was a child and has been wearing glasses since elementary school.

Trey says that he gets the most compliments with rounded Wellington or oval frame glasses, while “more quirky cat-eye or rimless frames don’t tend to go over well.”

He says he has tried half-run glasses like Azul’s but his mother and sister would complain that he looked angry, while his dad and brother thought they looked cool, “like a movie villain.”

Trey says that his sister is against him wearing contacts because he looks sinister without his glasses. Azul says that his sharp gaze makes him look aloof and gives him an air of intensity that he normally doesn’t have; “a certain extra bit of intimidation.”

Trey says that if that’s the impression Azul gets, he will stick with his glasses.

Trey will occasional share information about the culture of the Queendom of Roses, like drinking tea and not having any traditions about ancestors.

[cosmickiszka]

Bubbles.

Josh Kiszka x Reader

WARNING: mention of nudity, alcohol ..

Heavily inspired by “Morning Song” written and sung by The Lumineers. Give it a listen while you read. ☀️

A/N: Hello! Happy Valentine’s Day! Consider this a gift from me to you. :) I apologize if the spacing is a little aggravating, I’m still learning to use this app. Also, this fic is the first I’ve ever posted to a public platform so I ask you to *please* be nice! Hope you enjoy! 💟

You take a deep breath, welcoming the cool air of the night to invade your lungs. Exhaling, it being momentarily preserved in a visible puff that lingers not far from your lips, just to fall and disappear behind you as your feet carry you up the familiar front steps and to the dark wooden door.

Fumbling with the items in your hands, you balance your belongings into one of your palms and use your empty one to scope the space of your pockets, searching for your keys. Amongst the empty candy wrappers and crumbled receipts from earlier on in the day, you come across the ridged metal buried underneath them. Smiling to yourself, you bring it out and up to the slot in which it fit perfectly, turning it to the side and pushing it in.

The house is dark as you step inside. Your shoulder presses up against the wall beside the entrance and flips the light switch like you’d done nights prior to this, using your heel to shut the door behind you. Almost immediately your eyes scan the expanse of the living room, brow raised as your soul tries to detect the difference in the atmosphere. Your mind can feel it, your heart knows it, but your vision is unable to find it.

Setting your things down on the nearby coffee table, removing your shoes, you continue to look around before deciding to take the next step — quite literally, walking away from the hardness of the wooden flooring to the transition of plush carpet. The closer you get to the flight of stairs, the more visible the red spots become.. easier it is to figure out what they belong to. There’s a mixture of white and red rose petals leading a messily beautiful trail upwards. Shaking your head, your own personal shade of red dusts your cheeks.

Of course, you would’ve been foolish had you considered him to not do anything today. After all, it was Valentine’s Day. The holiday of love, and who to love harder than your boyfriend, Josh? Your boyfriend, Josh, the man you had spent the majority of your life with rather than without. From the day you moved next door into the warmth of the brick house that roomed closeby to the one his family occupied, you were inseparable.

Since the day your wide eyes full of youthful light met his cheery browns, the second you gathered the courage to approach and ask if he’d like to be friends. From play dates that turned into high school “will yous?” which varied from after school study hangouts to seeking out newly released movies in the theater.

Chaste kisses to the cheek to him being your first real one, how you cherished the electric feeling you felt when his lips planted yours for that first time. It was after a showing of The Notebook, in which you shed heavy tears that he wiped away from your face.

He was so gentle in the way he cared for you. Hardly pressing his thumbs to your cheeks as he collected the large salty drops that ran down your features. It was at that moment that he looked at you for longer than usual and before you knew it, you were having your first kiss with the boy you had been in love with since elementary.

As the sweet moment flooded your mind and made you feel light, like a feather drifting through the wind, you ascended the stairs and found yourself on the second floor of the house you bought together. It took a lot of convincing from your part to get Josh to finally commit to purchasing the piece of property, yourself tired of constantly moving and renting places, desiring a place to finally refer to as home.

Even though that was anywhere you traveled with Josh, you had bigger plans for the future; ones that included building a family, and you wanted to make sure you had a permanent spot to ensure where that could happen, where it could grow.

After searching and scheduling multiple appointments in different areas, you finally found the one and you both agreed without words. The moment you stepped past the door, you exchanged all knowing looks and locked arms, following the realtor as they showed you the rest of the place.. despite you two already being sold.

Now, after almost a whole year, the house was no longer empty and instead, filled with knick knacks from all over the world—per tours and your own personal travel—and other miscellaneous items that showed off your differing personalities. You made it a space that felt welcoming, that you looked forward to returning to.

The lighting upstairs was dimmed to a comforting level, dark enough to relax but bright enough to where you could make out where you were going. Soft music pulled you into your shared bedroom, the smooth voice of Nat King Cole deepening the lovesick trance flooding your mental state.

Behind the instrumental, you could hear him humming along to the song, singing the words like he hadn’t heard you come in.. which, it seemed like he did not from the way he remained kneeled by the tub. His extended fingers swiped under the faucet to check the temperature of the running water, assuming it was warm enough from the content facial expression he wore on his face. Not wanting to startle him but transfixed on the scene, you stayed by the doorframe of the bathroom, leaning against it with your arms loosely crossed over your chest.

“Ever plan on making yourself known, mama?”

Josh spoke up first yet didn’t turn his focus away from the tub he was dressing, only standing up to reach the bubbles that were on the metal shelving below the shower head. He popped the cork off the glass bottle and poured the liquid towards the stream, bubbles forming on the top of the setting water soon after.

“I don’t think so. I’m actually pretty fine with just staying silent and watching you like this.. so domestic. Cute. You make me feel loved without having to speak any words.”

Taking a few steps forward, you were finally in the bathroom with him, closer as you’d like to be but still a little ways from him. Near the sink, you hoisted yourself up onto the marble counter, careful to avoid the candles he had set up so nicely around the otherwise clear space.

Sitting from this new perspective, you could take in even more of the details he had clearly put a lot of thought towards. Tealight candles were placed along the sides of the tub, adjacent to where the faucet was, two long glasses that were not yet filled with the still closed bottle of wine that sat by the bottom of the tub. He had bought a heart shaped box of chocolate too, just to stay somewhat traditional.

“I couldn’t not do something for you, you know. This was bound to happen whether we agreed or not. I need to take every opportunity there is to show you what you mean to me.. to spoil you, to simply love you.”

While he spoke, the track switched over to another soft melody without lyrics. Josh finally took that moment to fully stand up and turn around to face you. His rosy cheeks were full as he smiled at you and his eyes gleamed without the effect of upper lights, it was all from the inside. It was all sparkle from the love he felt for you. God, did he love you. You consumed his every waking thought and without you, he wouldn’t be living—would not feel alive—he would not exist. Your love, what love he had for you fueled him more than anything else. That was his oxygen.

“I love you, Joshua.”

Tears brimmed your eyes, threatening to fall from the overwhelming emotion that now possessed the room. You were in love with him. What you had with him was only pictured in love stories, what you felt for him seemed almost impossible to reach had it been with anyone other than him. This was unique, a one of a kind type of thing.

“Oh, sunshine. C’mere.”

Like a magnet, you ended up pressed against his chest, his muscular arms wrapped securely around your frame. His soft lips tenderly kissed over your flushed face as you cried. Josh took care of you like he always did, in the best way he could, as much as possible. Pulling back from you, his large hands laid over the expanse of your back, still keeping you close.

“Feel better? Wanna join me for a bath, baby?”

You managed a nod through your pitiful sniffles. In that moment, you felt the level of importance he held you to and in that same second, you also feared this love. This overpowering love that you always thought could be taken away from you before you got the chance to grip onto it. Your mind was a maze of possibilities that weren’t far fetched but as they came to the surface, Josh was there to pull you away from them. He was there to reassure you they’d never come true, that he would stick by you through the thick and thin.. which he proved time and time again. You weren’t the easiest to love but he made it feel otherwise.

“I’ll help you get out of these clothes, okay? Just want you to relax tonight, spend a little time with me. Does that sound nice?”

He leaned in and kissed the very tip of your nose, his eyelashes fluttering against yours. Another way he showed his affection, with sneaky butterfly kisses. You giggled and he smiled wider, realizing his attempt to get you to crack had worked in his favor. Josh made your personal space his own as he placed more kisses away from your nose and down your flushed cheek, trailing to your chin then back up to the side of your face. All while shedding you from your day clothes; working to pull off your—his jacket, letting it fall to the floor. Kissing over to your ear, he earned light laughter out of you, his fingers tucked under the hem of your shirt.

“I’m going to marry you—gonna make you my bride. Then, we’re going to have as many kids as you want.. two, if I remember correctly. We’ll grow old together. I’ll kiss you until I take my final breath.”

Soft promises he spoke, his cheek now pressed to yours, fingers working with the clasp of your bra. An ever growing pile of fabric now existed on the tiles next to your feet.

“I’ll search for you in every lifetime after this one just to experience this kind of love again.”

Peppering kisses down your chin, the middle of your throat, over your collarbones, down your chest, tummy.. his hands placed on your hips, him kneeled on the ground, looking up at you with those full brown eyes. He kissed the button of your jeans before undoing it, pulling the zipper down, ridding you of your pants and undergarments. You stepped out of them and he rose, taking your hand in his, leading you over to the tub now filled plenty with the sweet aroma of lavender and bubbles. You looked back at him; he smiled.

“Don’t worry, I’m going to join you. Just let me get undressed too.. unless you want me clothed?”

Giggling, you shook your head.

“No, let me see you. You’re so beautiful. I need to see you.”

He nodded, watching you step into the bath and slowly descend into the water. Likewise to how he assisted you, Josh undressed himself and kicked his clothing to join yours.

“Oh! The candles. I can’t forget about those, they’ll make the experience even more enjoyable.”

Your arms rested on the side of the tub, folded on top of each other as you watched your living Greek god pace the floor of the bathroom and resurrect a dancing flame to each portion of wax. Vanilla joined lavender, a delightful mix of light scents filling the air. You sighed and closed your eyes, feeling Josh step into the water beside you. Bringing you into his embrace, your back laid against his chest, his chin resting on your shoulder.

Time passed slowly as you basked in the warmth emitting from the man behind you and the water you bathed in, not a single negative thought daring to cross your mind, no nerve threatening to ruin this experience. You were in Heaven and Josh, the angel sent to present you peace.

“Want some wine? S’white, bought it this morning just for you.”

He muttered into the crook of your neck, adjusting just enough to reach the bottle that was dunked in a bucket of ice beside the tub. Removing the twist cap, he let it fall past his fingers. Each glass was poured to about half, him presenting you with yours before fixing his own. When they were both ready, he gently clinked his to yours.

“To now.. and however long the cosmos allow us to stick together, my love.”

You craned your neck to look at him. Josh kissed your forehead. He took a sip of his wine. You looked down at yours. Bubbles formed at the top, popping as you tilted the glass, the liquid slipping past your lips.

Tart and sweet.

—

Bitter.

Staring down at your drink, ice bobbed up and down in the dark liquor. You don’t know what you ordered from the bar, just that you requested something strong enough to make the night go by quicker. Something to distract you from the feelings eating away at your heart and the thoughts clouding your mind.

From across the room, you could hear the faint sound of laughter. One was more prominent than the rest and instead of swimming towards it like you often used to do, you let it pull you under and drown you under the waves. Where it went wrong, you don’t know. You don’t even know if it went at all. Just that one night you were in love and the next.. the next, he hit the road and you were nothing but an afterthought. Another lover left in the dust with remnants of a one-sided romance.

You heard she was pretty. A friend of a friend. Her eyes were brighter than yours, teeth straighter. She had talent. He wanted more.

He wanted more and you gave him more, but it didn’t hold to the same standard as the music. The music was a priority. You were not.

At this point, you can’t remember if she was an actual person or if she was something you came up with to make yourself feel better in some sort of sick way. If you had a reason why he left, that would make it more bearable. You could understand it. You could understand if he met another and decided they were better in every way there is to be.

You took another swig of the dark liquor and let the empty class clank against the surface of the bar.

It was easier to play pretend than it was to face this reality that you were stuck in. A reality where you no longer had him. A reality where the universe suddenly decided that the time you had spent together was enough. You often thought about if it were easy for him. How easy it was for him. You couldn’t get away from his name in this city. You saw him when you tried to avoid the public by looking at your screen. He was here, there, everywhere that you sought. You ordered another drink. He’s laughing again. A tear runs down your cheek.

It’s a shame that it ends this way.

[bananaactivity]

i saw the "ask me abt my descendants au" ask button and so i simply HAD to ask about your au--carlos is my fave, with harry being my second favorite (while morgie is my favorite from RoR), so i guess, if anything, i wanna ask abt carlos. whats he like in your au? what exactly happens--and do his cousins exist? love the way you draw him op!!

and abt your morgie and james verse--i'm curious, do harriet and cj exist ? does harry remember morgie at all? does hook ever even talk about him?

sorry if this was a lot!

Naw it’s all good, I’ve been waiting on an ask for forever 🙃 I will say I only consumed the movies back in elementary school (WILD IM SAYING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND NOW IM 18 LIKE TIME GOES BY SO FAST) The only books I read was Mals spell book. Not to say I don’t like reading, I read Ever After high books and The School for Good and Evil, I could just never get my hands on the Descendents ones. And I watched one episode of wicked world… and said fuc no never again.

All that to say I just found out three weeks ago that Harry had siblings, and that Carlos had any hench men or other stuff not specifically in the main movies. I had already figured out a lot of James and Harry’s story and suddenly the timeline was fucked because there was no way for Harriet or Cj or Jane Darling to exist in context. Harry is born as an accident in Neverland and Hook has to return home so he can grow and his mother is a random someone who wasn’t going to come back to take care of her son. Her existence is already shaky but then adding Harriet she’d have to be born first with Jane Darling who I didn’t account for in the slightest either. She’s Wendy’s daughter so now a lot more time will have to pass so she can grow up and come to neverland, which is gross and not in a campy Disney way… and I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it 🥲

That was until I gave Hook a younger brother who can get with Jane at an appropriate age 😈 He’s unarmed rn but he’s a Hook so Harriet and Cj will be Harry’s cousins who he’s estranged from until some events happen…

Harry does NOT remember Morgie especially not with him looking so scary and tryna kill his Stylist and sparing partner. ( Carlos and Jay) Hook only talks about him to Maleficent and Uliana ( Hades still thinks he’s a spoiled rich boy, and Hook still thinks it was dumb for a “god” to attend a four year University with mortals, also At this time Maleficent and Hades are in that bad argue stage right before a divorce) He was okay leaving them all because time is different in Neverland, even tho from his side he’s been gone 12 years, Morgie only missed him for one year and time melds together on Neverland since you don’t age so it was basically nothing. ( that’s why Peter Pan is so unhinged, he’s been there forever and he refuses to keep track) Morgies in the same time zone as them so he’s been gone a good ten years, Harry and his friends are 14-12 now,So everyone is feeling the effects, and Camelot is on lockdown due to Morgie terrorizing them so Hook can’t check up on him. ( I dunno if I mentioned on tumblr but in my au Auradon is the place that’s locked up so the poor and Villians can’t come in on their “superior” society, the rest of the world is made up of lands from other Fairy tales and Folklore) So Hook is worried but he keeps on and Harry’s memory of Morgie comes back after a month of getting used to him being back.

Sad part but I have to share, Morgie and Hook never officially unionize… Morgie knows he’ll outlive Hook by a VERY long time (till the end of time) and he can’t bring himself to finalize anything, his grief about Hooks mortality is slowly consuming him🫠 (also Hook has issues with living forever due to his trauma from Neverland and won’t entertain any sort of immortality shenanigans)

On another note Carlos is also my favorite! I’ve had him down in my notes (before I could brave the internet) as soon as the inspiration from the 1996 101 Dalmatians live action film staring Glenn Close hit me I knew what had to be done. ( and descendents of the sparrow inspired me 😙) Carlos is a very smart man, he’s the analyst, ranged weapons specialist, stylist and bestest member of my Core four. (Jay is a wreck, Mal is a wreck, and Evie is still slay but she has to get wrapped up in Mals mess because she loves her 🙄 damn you Evies demi-god/dragon gf ) but I’d say my Carlos is a little more disciplined then the Og. He hates gross things and hates getting dirty or messy. Hes dorm mates with Chad now because the fairy god mother doesn’t want the four to conspire together so easily ( like they do in the movies 😅) He threatens Chads and his forest friends a lot because Carlos also hates any animal that he isn’t wearing. He grows out of that eventually, but it takes the longest out of all of his flaws because… like did you see him in that tiger skin outfit!?? How could he give up furs?!?

Carlos story intertwines with Harry’s a lot, in a brotherly love way. I was having Carlos love his mom in my first posts about Carlos but since then I’ve changed it. Cruella Hates Hook and Carlos hates his mom for being abusive, so he makes Harry swear that Carlos can style him when he’s older to get back at his mom. It becomes more than that and now Carlos gets even more clients, enough to move out on his own but he ends up staying with Mal and Co. This separates him a little from Harry, Uma, and Gil who he grew close with because Harry’s home was his safe place from his mother. She not only hated Hook but also the sea and its smells and the hustle of the costal territory present on that side of the isle. He still sees them when he goes for meetings with Harry, to Mals agitation. Mal Hates Uma and is kinda scared of Harry. ( Maleficent, Uliana and Hook think they accidentally bestied to close to the sun and made their kids and niece hate each other on accident)

Jay is jealous of Carlos due to his obsession with beating Harry and stuff. I’m not a hundred percent sure if I wanna go Huma or Jarry for this one… leaning towards Huma as Jerry is really toxic and I already have a bunch of other toxic couples I don’t want a million of them fr. For Carlos I’m thinking Aro/Ace like bro just wants to chill and design cool shit. I could see people having him be with Chad based on the context of my au, close proximity/enemie’s to lovers/hhimbo and smart guy, but I’m just not feeling it and Jaylos felt forced during the movies so I don’t want that 🫠

I have more but this is basically a fic chapter all on its own, if you have anymore askes I’ll gladly answer them!! I don’t mind spoiling my story like this, I find my fic interests in the specific conversations characters have and details. So this isn’t something I’m against doing…

Edit: I’m also having trouble on what I want the themes of these fics to be. I want a little bit more then “cool alternative universe!!!” I’m love this au but I’m also using this story to help warm me up for developing a story with my own characters that I’ve had swimming in my mind for years 😭

[mando-abs]

Do y’all want to see something that got past Disney’s censors (particularly Disney+’s censors)???? Honestly I’m surprised I’m just now finding this out. Just stick with me here, I promise it’s worth it. Go down to the second picture to read the actual scandal. The rest before it is otherwise fun facts

Okay so y’all might be aware that my first ever love was Inspector Gadget and the 90’s tie-in movie. Well, in a montage, they show a bunch of newspapers and magazines showing Gadget’s rise in popularity. But in the first newspaper, it’s full of references.

I’ve highlighted the important bits but I’ll write them down here too:

- “for trouble with a capital T, and that rhymes with C, and that letter’s in “school.” This is a reference to the song “Ya Got Trouble” from the musical The Music Man. Disney made their own version of the musical starring Matthew Broderick a few years after his stint in this movie. (And in my opinion, is the better movie version of the musical, but please still see it live, it’s not THAT good). Interesting they already had him in mind like 4 years before…

- “With apologies to Meredith Wilson, whose most famous musical is now in rehearsal…” Right below the first Easter egg is the half of the name of the writer and composer for The Music Man. Very sweet

- “the entire mood of both the students and faculty at Riverton Elementary has changed significantly since the days of Hall Monitor Bob, whose alcoholic antics amused many” this isn’t a reference but wtf lol😂😂😂

- “his studly sensitivity and charming clumsiness have the campus Heathers sighing and heaving their tight blouses” This is a reference to the movie “Heathers”

- “Not since Ferris Bueller himself has there been such school-wide kudos.” Broderick’s most memorable character from the 80’s

OKAY but the REAL Easter egg here is the cursing that got past their censors. I blew the picture up and highlighted it

the first letter of each row in this column spells out “fuck Disney” And yes, I checked for you and you could potentially see for yourself on Disney+ as of the date I posted this, May 20th 2024

Well played Disney employee youre my hero

[sxnii]

Hello I think your matchups are so cute and would be honored if you could do one for me!! I would like a matchup please! Post timeskip, haikyuu and long!!

Name: Averie

Zodiac: Cancer 🦀

MBTI: INFJ, the advocate

Likes: reading, video games, legos, cute stationary, Taylor Swift, Barbie, pink, glitter, tea, dogs, tan lines, the beach, strawberries, anything strawberry flavored

Dislikes: black licorice, super spicy food, horror movies, thunder storms (beyond terrified of them), cold/winter (I’m always cold), grape flavored anything

Hobbies: reading (I mostly read romance novels and mystery books)

Video games (I’ve been into animal crossing, stardew valley and legend of Zelda)

Legos

Swimming

Skin care/nails/journal/yoga (all stuff I sweep under self care)

Ideal traits: love languages:

Giving: words of affirmation and acts of service

Receiving: words of affirmation and quality time

Personality: someone who is sweet, and thoughtful, but not afraid to break me out of my shell sometimes. They would need to be patient with me because I am the type to overthink. I can be a ball of anxiety sometimes so someone who is patient and understanding with that would be great! Someone who’s funny and isn’t afraid to be silly sometimes, but also knows when to be serious. I would also love someone who’s also a hopeless romantic, but tends to keep the romantic gestures more private, I’m not big on pda due to worrying about making others uncomfortable, most I’ll do is a kiss on the cheek or holding hands.

Height: I don’t mind!! I love a short king, and I also love tall guys too, as long as they love me I’m cool with it yknow??

Other: also I love when people are like wow the way he just looks at you, that’s how you know he loves you. I want a guy that looks at me like I hung the moon. A soulmate if you will LOL

Personality: I have been told when you first meet me I come across either super nice or really disinterested. I have the worlds worst rbf and the most deadpan voice, but most times I’m trying very hard to come across nice! Once you get to know me I think I am very sweet and thoughtful, I try to remember little things about all my friends like favorite candies and snacks for gifts. I also am going to school to be an elementary school teacher, and currently work at a daycare! Due to working with kids, I like to think I’m pretty patient and don’t get angry very easily. Though I tend to thrive on routines and lists, and love cleaning and keeping myself extremely organized. I also am a very hard worker, despite working full time I still manage to maintain all As in grad school, and have and still would work myself to the point past burnout if someone does not make me take a break. I am caring, kind and empathetic, and try my best to stay positive in all situations!

Preference: male please!

I appreciate you if you’re able to do this!! Matchups are my favorite thing ever, I think the people who do them are so talented frfr 😚🙏

omg when i read what your future occupation was gonna be one i just knew who it i am actually geeking over it rn😭🙏 BUT I GOTCHU!!

Your matchup is: Sugawara Koushi!!

Bro like its actually so perfect i cant rn😭 No cause i legit searched on google the compatibility of cancers and geminis(suga is a gemini btw) and it said geminis bring cancers out of their shells!! its a match made in heaven i cant😭

Suga is also an infj and two infjs in a relationship w each other will make an insightful relationship which is stable. since you both are infjs you will be able to understand each other on an emotional level!!

and when i read that you were going to school to be an elem teacher i was like “its perfect how.” cause suga is also an elem teacher😭

i can imagine that would be how the two of you met and i think its really cute!! because like he would be nice and easy to approach and you guys would just compliment eachother so well i cant anymore🙏

imagine playing stardew w suga😋 thats actually so cute

sugas love languages are definately words of affirmation and quality time because i think he would love to spend his weekend afternoons alone at his house with his partner just spending time together!!

since suga is on the more caring type i think he would also know how to make you take breaks from overworking yourself!!

And since he is an infj he would know that you are trying your best to seem nice and as smn who is also like that(pls send me a suga irl i need it) its really refreshing to have smn who understands that you are not trying to be rude or look rude its just that you cant help it!!

——

Thats all i hope you enjoyed ur matchup!!

pics of suga btw!! (hes so cute😭🙏)

[easypeasylindyvesey]

was tagged by the lovely @chriskreider so here’s a little bit about me🤗

last song: i actually can’t remember bc i was skipping through my liked songs LOL but if i had to pick 2 songs that i’m loving right now, they would be “stay a little longer” by rosé & “nothing’s gonna hurt you baby” by cigarettes after sex.

last movie: i saw “wicked” with my friends almost 2 weeks ago, and i thought it was good! it’s funny though because i’m not a huge fan of musicals. regardless, it was a lot of fun to be with my friends. it was even more fun to not get back home until 2am.

currently watching: the rags game LOL. but in terms of tv shows, i mainly watch “9-1-1” and “9-1-1: lone star”, along with “abbott elementary” and “hell’s kitchen.” i also like watching “my lottery dream home”, but i haven’t watched it in forever. i miss it.

currently reading: so funny story. i’ve actually had the same 2 books on my nightstand since the summer, and it’s mainly because of school where i barely gave myself time to read. but i’m finishing “funny story” by emily henry & “maybe in another life” by taylor jenkins reid. i’m hoping to get them done before christmas so i can go to the library & pick out another one. i’ve always been an avid reader, and it’s a hobby i haven’t fully committed to lately, but now that i’m finished with the semester (minus still having to submit a paper), i hope to give myself more time to read!

current obsession: oh jeez. it’s obviously hockey, and music, and, well, yeah that’s pretty much it LOL. my obsessions are pretty much the things that have remained with me for most of my life. but if you wanna talk about my middle school crushes, that was peak obsession for me.

[arcielee]

Interview With a Writer

Here is part 3 of my Interview With a Writer series. You can go to this post to review the other amazing authors I have spoken with ♥ Just a BTS of some of the talented minds on Tumblr and ao3.

Name: inthedayswhenlandswerefew

Story: North to the Future

Paring: modern Aegon Targaryen x Reader

Rating/Warning: Sexual themes, substance abuse, acts of violence, and there is a serial killer, so murder.

So when did you start writing?  I can remember working on pieces of stories as far back as elementary school, but I never thought of myself as wanting to be a writer. Then in 2010, when I was 15, I got my first vivid, all-consuming, lightning bolt of an idea. It took over my life in the best possible way and I wrote a novel over 9 months. 

Now, to be clear, the novel was very bad. But you have to read a lot and write a lot before you start getting good at it, and that experience was absolutely transformative for me. 

I had a lot of chaotic life situations and a bit of a crisis of confidence, and I wrote only sporadically during college and for several years afterwards. Then in 2018, I saw Bohemian Rhapsody and it became my only personality trait for a while. 

As I was reblogging a million gifsets on Tumblr, I stumbled across fanfiction for the first time, and I was like…wait…other people make up self-insert stories every time they get obsessed with a movie/show too?! It was so exciting, I finally felt like I had an outlet to put my ideas and characters out into the world. I’ve been writing pretty consistently since February 2019, and I would consider that the point when I really became a writer.

I think it is safe to say every writer has that first, all-consuming novel. Does it still exist? Oh yeah, it definitely still exists! I have a Word Doc, and also a paper copy that I had printed and bound at Staples back in the day. It’s a dystopian story about a man who has to pretend to be a true believer in an oppressive regime in order to rise to the top and change it from within, but by the end of the journey he’s become sort of genuinely evil. I keep the paper copy in a box under my bed. Poor quality notwithstanding, it has a lot of sentimental value.

Okay, where did the plot for North to the Future come from? What inspired the story? Towards the end of writing my Aemond fic—Have You No Idea That You’re In Deep?—I started feeling this fascination with Aegon as a character, and I could kind of sense that there was a story about him ready to be excavated from wherever ideas wait to be discovered. 

I kept picturing him in an unassuming little bar filled with Christmas lights as snow fell outside: sad, drunk, wearing all black. But I didn’t have a story yet, just a vision. And the songs I kept hearing when I thought about this tortured modern Aegon were 90s songs: Everlong, A Long December, Drive. 

Then one day out of nowhere, the plot showed up. 

The first real idea I get for a story is always the very end, and I saw Aegon and the protagonist barreling down the Pacific Coast Highway in a red convertible. I knew that Aegon was sober and going back home to face some terrible past, and that the girl he loved was experiencing California for the first time, and that they were both finally free of demons they’d been running from their whole lives. Once I knew the ending, the rest of the details started falling into place, and within a few days I had an outline and chapter list.

Explain your interpretation of Aegon. What drives him? Why is he the way he is in NttF? Aegon is a talented and intuitive person, but he’s clearly not suited for running a venture capital empire or corporate work in general. So his earliest, most formative memories are of his parents (and grandfather) being disappointed in him. He experienced abuse, both emotional and physical, and developed extremely harmful coping mechanisms that at a certain point he no longer knew how to function without. He was suicidal in part because of his self-loathing and the futility of his situation, but also because the only time he received even vague compassion from his parents was after he had swallowed a bottle of pills or stabbed himself with four of his mother’s EpiPens. 

Of course what Aegon overlooked was that he did have people back in Miami who cared about and wanted to help him, although they were too young to effectively communicate it: Aemond, Helaena, and Daeron.

After the accident that claimed Aemond’s eye and three innocent lives, Aegon can’t cope with reminders of what he’s done because he’s fundamentally not someone who ever wants to hurt others. He directs his destructiveness inwards, not outwards, and even when striking out in self-defense he runs away as soon as the opportunity presents itself. That’s the real difference between Aegon and Jesse. When Dadtini talks about Jesse, he mentions bruises and kicked down doors. That’s not Aegon. Jesse gives bruises, Aegon gets them.

Was there anything in specific that inspired your Reader portrayal? I didn’t consciously have anyone in mind when I was writing Appletini, but most of my Readers tend to be snarky, studious, and guarded (yet reluctantly hopeful), so that’s probably my own personality bleeding into the characters! I envisioned someone who was well-intentioned and ostensibly responsible, yet under the surface struggling in a way that she felt she couldn’t share with anybody else. I think most people have felt like that at some point in their lives, so it’s just a matter of being able to take the essence of that feeling and shape it to fit with the story’s narrative. Honestly, the most difficult part of writing Appletini was her relationship with her extremely supportive and functional parents, as that’s not something I have much experience with. I was really relieved when people connected with Momtini and Dadtini as characters because I wasn’t sure if I was doing them justice. In what ways do you feel your Reader compliments Aegon? The defining characteristic of the Aegon/Appletini relationship is that she wants him to become the best version of himself, and truly believes that he has the capacity to if he’ll work for it. She knows he’s brilliant, she knows he’s a genuinely good person under all of his issues and mistakes, she knows he’s fine af, and she knows she loves him. But none of that is enough if he’s not sober.

Someone like Heather or Joyce wouldn’t see value in Aegon, and someone like Kimmie wouldn’t push him to change. The story is in the war that Appletini fights to prove that Aegon can and should conquer his demons. Similarly, Aegon wants Appletini to break free of her suffocating obligations in Juneau, and it causes him genuine pain to see her not living the life she wants. They really want the best for each other, even in their worst moments.

Was there another character (OC or canon) in your story you enjoyed portraying? (And why?) Firstly, I really enjoyed writing Kimmie because she’s a twist on the trope of the attractive, overtly-sexual, not terribly intellectual girl always getting killed in horror movies. Kimmie is the “hot friend” and she loves to party, but she’s also deeply loyal and affectionate, and she notices certain things that other people don’t. I wanted the readers to underestimate her, and then hate her, and then come back to realizing that she wasn’t a villain after all. She could use a better sense of boundaries, but she’s a good person. I feel like by the end of NTTF, it’s clear why Heather, Joyce, and Appletini are friends with Kimmie despite all her…peculiarities.

Secondly, Trent was a super fun character to write, because he’s unnerving without being completely unrealistic. He reminds me of a lot of the frat boys I went to college with…superficially pleasant yet entitled, less malicious than willfully ignorant about anything that doesn’t fit with what he wants in life. He’s a product of the “boys will be boys” era that he grew up in, especially with Alaska being more old-fashioned than the rest of the country, so the 1990s there feel like the 1960s or 70s in some ways. Also, I can’t lie, I loved all the dumb horse boi jokes.

Finally, I absolutely adored Aemond as a character and I was just as impatient as the readers were for him to finally show up in Chapter 11. He’s so stoic and fierce, but he has a tremendous amount of love for Aegon and this blind faith in his ability to change for the better. Aemond’s personality is a lot like Appletini’s, which is why they end up having this tacit respect for each other. I think they end up as close friends eventually, probably even closer than Aemond and Aegon.

Was there an OC character that reflects the author? Out of all the NTTF characters, I am definitely the most like Heather! I’m that friend who is snarky and judgmental on the surface, but also ferociously protective…which can be tough when you’re watching your friends make questionable decisions, like our poor beloved Heather was forced to throughout the series. I know she was thrilled to see that everyone ended up happy. That’s all we really want, us Heathers of the world.

You mentioned your retirement from fan fiction, so what is next? What’s next is writing a novel, which I am super excited about! I’ve had the plot figured out for a few years now and have written bits and pieces of it already, but now I’m determined to dive in without any creative detours and get it written, hopefully within a year. 

I do have some trepidation about the project—What if the idea isn’t good? What if I can’t do it justice? What if I can’t keep to a schedule now that I don’t have an amazingly wonderful audience expecting weekly updates?—but I’ve come to realize that if I never try to be a “real” writer, I’m going to regret it my whole life. I’m trying to be logical about it and tell myself that even if my first book isn’t perfect, I can always write others, so it’s not like my whole future is contingent upon this one project. I’ve had the idea for so long that the characters feel real to me, and I just want to tell their story well.

[weerd1]

It’s Been a Long Road: Two decades after “Star Trek: Enterprise” I still have Faith of the Heart.

After the click, there are 2300 words of me doing a deep dive on my love for "Star Trek: Enterprise." You have been warned.

When I was in elementary school, I was a year younger than my peers. My mom had decided I didn’t need to go to Kindergarten as I was already reading ahead of my level, so she insisted I be placed at age 5 directly into 1st Grade. In ways she was right; I completed the reading and phonics program in my little Arizona school for the entire first grade before Christmas. To this day though, I am clumsy with scissors, paste, and all the “kindergarten skills” and I spent the rest of my school career smaller, weaker, and less coordinated than everyone in my class. 

This probably all worked out in the end; sure, I couldn’t play sports, but to avoid bullies and getting picked on, I got funny, and that’s worked out pretty well for me. But in those days when I would play a sport such as baseball, the opposing team would step a little closer, the coaches would advise me to take the walk; I was not as good as my peers, so allowances were made for my performance.

That is exactly how I looked at “Star Trek: Enterprise” for years. It was only four seasons, while its powerhouse predecessors all had seven. It wasn’t set in a utopian far future, but rather not too far from now meaning more modern and vernacular language. The science seemed a little spurious, with writers seeming to think the term “Rigel” was just some made-up word from older Trek series rather than older Trek series using actual star names for locations. The knowledge of Trek seemed a little lacking as well, with the first episode citing “Klingon Warbirds” and basing the hero ship on a design introduced in a then recent movie…that was set 200 years later. 

I watched though, as we were coming off of there being CONSTANT Trek on television for the previous 15 years, and this was what we had.

I groused then, a lot. The lack of continuity, the trivia gaffes, the over-sexualization of women characters (ok, that WAS more than a bit overdone, and I still grouse that point).

The theme song. Oh my lord, the theme song.

But eventually, this show won me over, almost in spite of itself. Then there was a major shift in tone for the third season, and it got to be pretty solid, and the FOURTH season was…STAR TREK! Like its predecessors, the show had taken some time to find its footing (c’mon, admit how uneven the first couple of seasons of TNG were), but had pulled itself together, and the show’s future looked bright in 2005!

And then there was a truly terrible last episode and ENT was cancelled and gone. 

Twenty years later, here I am, and though the absence of new Trek only lasted about four years—until JJ Abrams 2009 movie—I felt that absence keenly then. I am glad to report there has been Trek I really enjoy since then…and some marginal entries, but that’s not new either honestly. But with all this new material, I still find myself going back to revisit Archer and his crew. I’ve rewatched maybe two TNG episodes in the last 15 years. Maybe two or three Voyager episodes. But TOS, DS9, and ENT I hit regularly. Why does ENT keep forcing itself to the front of my Trek consciousness?

From the beginning, ENT suffered from some external pressures that weren’t helpful to its development. There was a tension between doing more of the same, successful formula Trek had been delivering since “Encounter at Farpoint” (the TNG pilot episode from 1987) and doing something experimental and new. Viewer fatigue was setting in a bit, but fans were vociferous in what THEY thought Trek meant. Anything that strayed too far would take a beating on the internet message boards. 

DS9 had just finished off their wartime storyline, and though there were adamant Niners, it was only just beginning to truly find its audience with the advent of home video allowing one to actually watch the whole thing. Meanwhile, the less arc-oriented VOY had added the character Seven. There had been a ratings increase, which the producers took to mean any new show needed an attractive woman in a catsuit. Remember also, we were in the midst of the Star Wars Prequel trilogy, so going BACK to a time when the story could be a little looser was floating in the zeitgeist. 

But it was also 2001, and though the visual continuity of the then modern Treks had maintained a history inclusive and accepting of TOS, putting a starship on screen that would look like a century’s LESS development than Matt Jefferies’ design from the mid-1960s was going to be problematic. 

I don’t know this is true, but I also suspect that since the previous shows had a British man, a Black man, and a Woman as captains, someone in Production wanted to make sure there was a white, American man back in the center seat. Maybe I’m wrong, but that’s my gut.

So all of this goes into the show, and honestly it kicks off as a bit of a hot mess. So much seems to be playing it safe. Some fairly cliched storylines that occasionally try something a little new. A few things it does try new are not quite there: That aforementioned over-sexualization of the women in the crew*. Cringy comments about relations with aliens. Archer watching water polo.

There are a lot of forgettable episodes, contradictions. And yet, I kept watching. Yeah, I was on message boards complaining about the tech looking too advanced. I’d gripe about how un-Vulcan the Vulcans seemed. I’d gripe about every violation of what I accepted as canon, that was often really just things the fandom had settled on in the 70s and had no basis on the show. And I was just a complete tool online when the first cloaking device showed up. 

And the theme song, oh my lord, the theme song.

But I kept watching. And before I knew it, I started to appreciate something about this show. I had to make a choice between griping that this modern show that I was actually enjoying didn’t adhere to a single line of dialog written (then) 40 years before for a show that wasn’t expected to last a year. I, a staunch Trek gatekeeper, was having an awakening about continuity and canon, and I had to figure out why. Finally it hit me. 

These characters, these performers, they were more than they should be. These characters were making me love them, even when the stories were mediocre or cliche or counter to what I believed was canon. 

Take Jonathan Archer, played with almost megaton-levels of earnestness by Scott Bakula. Archer’s earnest, do-gooder nature is so extreme…you know how a show like “Family Guy,” does a joke, and it’s ok, and then it keeps going way too long, and you get sick of it. And then it keeps going still, and somehow, this only kinda-funny joke goes so long or so far that it actually manages to somehow loop back around to being not just funny, but hilarious. That’s Archer’s earnestness, his naiveté.  His “oh gosh” nature is interesting and fun compared to Kirk’s bravado. Then, after he oh goshes his way into losing ANOTHER fight, he’s simply grating. THEN you start to think he’s just devastatingly boring. But if you keep watching, then it comes around to this unironic serving of safe-guy that doesn’t blink in how GOLLY he is as a hero and you smile when he all but winks at the camera. And then, in later seasons when he’s faced with some pretty devastating moral dilemmas, you FEEL it!

T’Pol, played by Jolene Blalock: she’s so attractive it almost hurts to look at her, but you realize soon after that while she somehow seems to keep ending up getting rubbed down in decon Jolene is BRINGING the performance. That her delivery, her tone; the micro-expressions which betray her stoic facade for the Vulcan emotions at a full boil underneath…you buy it. You realize her performance is wonderful, and she’s one of the best Vulcans in the entire franchise.

Connor Trinneer as the character I recently described as “Florida Man in Space,” Trip Tucker. He’s a walking cliche, his accent making “warp-field plasma conduits” sound like something you’d serve up with sweet tea and grits. He’s got Himbo energy that rivals the output of his anti-matter reactor, and still it works. His “I don’t really know much about anything, but I’m willing to learn…oh God I’m pregnant” (actual episode) speaks so beautifully to humans DISCOVERING things for the first time, screwing it up, but learning from their mistakes and going back for more! 

I could easily go on about Travis Mayweather, the kid who grew up in space and is both completely knowledgeable and blissfully ignorant of anything that goes on out there. Malcolm Reed, the British tactical officer who if his upper lip was any stiffer, he could use it as a weapon. Hoshi Sato who starts out completely out of her depth, and ends up loving it all. Dr. Phlox, your over-friendly, polyamorous uncle who brandishes optimism like a flame thrower and plays with eels. 

They are all just…TOO. Too this, too that, and in doing so, somehow all circle back to being absolutely perfect. Because as flawed as ENT is in its storytelling at times, and how mired it is in attitudes before #metoo, the IDEA of the show is a great one: How does humanity get from the mess we are now to the icons of TOS or TNG? Enterprise shows us it wasn’t a switch, but a road.  A long road, getting from there to here.

Yes, even the damn theme song, hokey and way too on the nose is EXACTLY RIGHT for what this show means.  

Somewhere along the line, we all knew we had to move in a little closer when ENT comes up to bat, but we all started wishing, hoping, that maybe it would get a home run.

And sometimes, just sometimes, these characters that are great in spite of themselves, and this design, that’s too good for what it should be**, and this show that’s just not on the level of its predecessors does exactly that and knocks one into the stands. Suddenly it’s season four, and Enterprise manages to sum up the humanity Star Trek has been serving up since 1966 better than any show before or since:

Vulcan Ambassador Soval: We don't know what to do about Humans. Of all the species we've made contact with, yours is the only one we can't define. You have the arrogance of Andorians, the stubborn pride of Tellarites. One moment, you're as driven by your emotions as Klingons, and the next, you confound us by suddenly embracing logic.

Admiral Maxwell Forrest: I'm sure those qualities are found in every species.

Vulcan Ambassador Soval: Not in such confusing abundance.

We’re not perfect, we’re not utopian, but we are AMAZING when we give ourselves the chance, and for me, Enterprise takes that idea and runs with it. It often swings and misses, but when it connects, we can smile and clap and let it take its run around the bases, because it makes us feel good. And if it weren’t for Enterprise teaching me how these lessons, these characters are more important that visual continuity or strict adherence to arcane canon, I wouldn’t have accepted the Kelvin timeline. The DISCO Klingons. The Strange New Worlds uniforms, sets, and character interpretations. Because as much as I love what Star Trek means, all of that deeper meaning is nothing if it isn’t entertaining. And Enterprise taught me how important that was. 

I could go on about how much better the show got when Berman and Braga took a back seat to Manny Coto, though there are certainly strong arguments that he got a little too fan-servicey. But in the end, the point is CBS took over and closed down Enterprise just as it found its footing. I hope the wave of nostalgia we’re seeing applied (perhaps TOO applied in shows like “Picard”) to modern Trek means we get more than a passing Lower Decks reference to the show. And if not, well, I’ve got my copies, and my fan fic, and my Tumblr memes. 

Most importantly though, I’ve got (I’ve got, I’ve got) Faith of the Heart.

*I will give the show credit at least that it was pretty willing to flaunt shirtless men as well, and biceps-a-plenty. 

**In regard to things looking more advanced, I will give credit to Brannon Braga for dropping a hint in an interview at the end of season 1 that the Enterprise-E coming back in “First Contact” had subtly altered the timeline, making things a little more advanced. Fans—and I regret to include myself—railed against that online, and it wasn’t really mentioned again. Recently, Strange New Worlds has revisited and canonized the idea that the timeline, even though it is the Prime timeline, DOES go through shifts and changes due to temporal incursions, evidenced wonderfully in the episode “Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow” when a Romulan time traveler admits to altering time so the rise of Khan happens not at the 1992 date that Spock gave us in the original series “Space Seed” to now to him still being a child 30 years later. It’s in-story shorthand for the fact that when a show goes for six decades some continuity has to change and THAT IS OK. I wasn’t ready to accept it then, but am glad it’s now part of Trek. 

[dxrkvibez]

Random Og Cobras headcanons that I have that I’ve come up with while talking to other people, writing, or role playing (:

if you have any others pleaseeee give them to me. i love hearing them

Johnny:

-definitely the smoothest with the girls. Not always something that he particularly likes though

-when his mom and step dad are fighting, he’ll drive somewhere peaceful and lay on top of his firebird and just enjoy the silence. Also keeps beer in his car for this reason, but if anyone asks he’ll tell them its for spur of the moment parties

Dutch:

-actually has huge claustrophobia. Will not let anyone know about it though

-showed signs of being ‘messed up’ when he was younger. He was the type of kid that would like to kill smaller animals (Reptiles, Fish, Squirrels, etc) in different ways to see what would happen with each way he killed them.

-has a huge soft side. Especially with his partners. Definitely the little spoon when it comes to cuddling.

Bobby:

-likes old shows and movies. Anything from the 20’s to the 60’s

-closeted nerd. Blames the fact that he knows random Star Wars, Marvel, and dc facts on his parents or other friends (outside of the cobras)

-had a younger sister who died, and he blamed himself for the death of her. He was supposed to be babysitting her, but she had just gotten surgery, and was on painkillers, and he left the medication on the table where she could get it, so he could get back to what he was doing, and she took the rest of the bottle so she could ‘get better faster’ without telling bobby about it, and he hadn’t been paying attention. To this day he still blames himself and is almost sure his parents have never forgiven him either. They were 8 years apart in age. She was 6 when she died.

Tommy:

-undiagnosed adhd. He doens’t mean to say the things he does, or do half the things he does, but sometimes his brain just feels like it’s going a mile a minute and he doesn’t know how to stop it

Jimmy:

-The caretaker of the group.

-Struggles with a huge anxiety problem (although he always swears he’s fine and its definitely not because of his home life or because of cobra kai. Those don’t make it worse at all)

-youngest of the group

Group:

-have been friends basically their whole lives

-Johnny and Bobby met when they were around 5 or 6 years old

-Dutch became friends with Johnny in early elementary school and despite Bobby not agreeing with everything that Dutch did, the boy became part of their friend group

-Tommy joined around late elementary school. Johnny wasn’t a huge fan of him at first, since Tommys personality threatened Johnnys ‘leadership’ position in the group, but they actually became really close later on

-Jimmy is someones cousin which is why he’s apart of the group. Most likely Johnnys or Bobbys.

-They basically all have bad parents in one way or another, which is why they confide in each other

-all questioned their sexuality at one point (don’t even get me started on my cobra ships)

[beatsboy]

8.4.24 / 6 weeks of romanticizing my life until i love myself again

(day 42)

and today came and went like most days do as of late when it’s 88 degrees and only 8 degrees cooler in your apartment it rushed by, too quickly, not enough time to breathe, to pause, to take a moment and make sure: have we covered everything yet?

i saw friends i hadn’t seen in quite a long time, one of whom was my best friend from elementary school who i reconnected with in the last year after discovering her sister lived in la (i should hang out with her sister more) and her mom came and my mom came and my mom was dreadfully late due to some collision related traffic en route from orange county (an hour and forty drive) and of course i absorbed so much anxiety about this because my mom was anxious, because it was hot, because what else am i to focus on when this is my life in this moment, waiting for you to arrive to brunch? and of course, i was late too, rushing from my apartment after waiting for sweet pea to eat (he didn’t)

but those are not the things we remember, hopefully, if we are people who are at peace in the world we are patient and understanding and forgetful of the things that bothered us so greatly in the moment and have long since passed the way i think back on complaining about the heat to myself when Kingston wanted to be outside on a beautiful day it’s interesting how inflexible we can become when we spend a lot of time just with ourselves i’m still working on it

after brunch with old friends, the friends departed and my mom and i went to the grove to meet af at the movies. we saw sing sing, which was not the plan (we were supposed to see either harold and the purple crayon or didi but there weren’t seats for didi and my mom said the reviews for harold looked not so good, which, fair), so we ended up seeing a last-minute showing of sing sing, a film that came out in 2023 and is now in theaters, featuring a wrongly incarcerated man who finds solace in a prison theater group, based on a true story and including actual members from the program.

the film was beautiful, tears slowly crawled down my cheeks throughout the whole movie, at times from sadness or hurt, and other times, merely joy it was the most beautiful piece of art i’ve consumed in such a long time, though it feels insincere to call it art, or to call that which receives it consumption; it didn’t feel like art so much as it just felt like life as i’m reading, though, in music: a subversive history, there is no art without the creature, when we sing, we are only grasping at what it means to speak back to the earth, who has, since the dawn of time, been singing to us.