#Whoever came up with the names for this season is at the top of my shit list

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

This is probably small in the grand scheme of things, but how did Emilie being noble play any impact in the story at all?

I mean, I'd get it if it was just a small detail to help deepen Emilie's character, but why nobility of all things? I don't know, from what I'm seeing so far, the whole "Emilie renounced her noble title" shtick just feels worthless if it's not going to impact the story or add depth to Emilie's character (like maybe upbringing or personal values?).

I don't know. Like everything else, the noble part just feels shallow and means nothing to the story, especially for a character like Emilie, who is the plot device for the whole show. Any detail about her, like her personality and life story, is supposed to influence the story and characters one way or another, namely Hawkmoth since she's his driving force.

So what was the point?

For context, this ask is about Félix's play which says that Emilie gave up her title to be with Gabriel. I'm gonna give a slightly larger section of the transcript of the play for full context, but the relevant but is at the end of the last paragraph:

Félix: The king and queen's twins grew up, each day as different in heart as they were similar in body. The firstborn, curious and brazen, despised life at court and escaped at every opportunity. The younger daughter, well-behaved and respectful, did everything she could to please her parents, and stayed quietly in the castle. Félix: (as Mr. Graham de Vanily) Oh, my queen. Did we entrust our legacy to the right princess? Kagami: (as Mrs. Graham de Vanily) She will fall in line, eventually. Félix: Confident that she would settle down as she matured, the king and queen allowed the curious princess to leave to study beyond the sea in another kingdom. There, she immediately found true love in a humble tailor. Félix: The tailor was making clothes so magnificent that they revealed the beauty of the soul of anyone who wore them. Although it made her parents furious, the curious princess gave up her rank, her wealth and her kingdom to live a bohemian life with the tailor.

Story wise, I have no idea why any of this was added since it adds nothing to canon. It's not like this finally explains why Gabriel and Emilie are poor while Amelie is wealthy. Along similar lines, it's not like Amelie's title has ever mattered. Prior to this play, I don't think that we even knew that she had a title or that she was the younger sister. The play is all about explaining things that we never had reasons to question in the first place.

My best guess as to why the writers wrote this pointless backstory is that they wanted to make Emilie seem even more pure and perfect so they went with the tired old trope of a rich girl giving up material things for the sake of love and art because good pure women don't care about material things! Only nasty, shallow women care about money. (Way to play into sexist tropes, guys.)

There may also be cultural elements at play here given that France doesn't have the greatest history with nobility, so giving up a noble title may be seen as good and pure to a French writer, but I don't know enough about French culture to say that with any certainty. If anyone who reads this blog is French and would like to chime in, then feel free!

While we're on the topic of the play, I wanted to point out that the above quoted passage is why I say that the Graham de Vanily parents can be as kind or as abusive as you'd like to make them. It's incredibly vague and you can read into it whatever you want to read into it. Were they good loving parents who were just upset about their daughter living in poverty or were they miserable controlling classist who Emilie fled England to get away from? It's up to you because you can get both reads from this. The play commits to almost nothing of value. Politicians could take lessons from this impressive level of noncommittal writing.

A better version of the play would have focused on things that actually matter to canon like the details of finding the miraculous and/or Emilie learning she's sick, but you could only have those details if they were coming from Nathalie or Gabriel. Félix is a terrible choice for a character to tell us the show's backstory because he knows so little of it, thus the play focusing on his largely pointless backstory.

[curiouspupsicle]

Good Omens Fan Fiction Friday (12/6/24) - Illustrated Stories

Whoever decided that adult books didn't need artwork? I enjoy reading 19th century stories with line art from when they had been serialized (Dickens, Doyle, etc.) And who doesn't love Howard Pyle's beautiful illustrations for Robin Hood and King Arthur? So today I'm pleased to share a few of my favorite fan fics (but not all; some I've shared previously) accompanied by illustrations or in comic form. Like many illustrated fics, Butterflies in a Bell Jar (T) came about when a Big Bang united a writer and an artist. Writer Still_Not_King and artist @wyvernquill tell the story of co-workers Crowley and Aziraphale who team up at karaoke night and feel a spark. But it turns out, the company's no-fraternization policy is specifically directed at them and no one else. A surprising story that flies under the radar despite being truly unique and quirky. Rain in Avalon (M) by @snowfilly1 is set in Wessex after the death of King Arthur. Heaven wants peace. Hell wants war. Aziraphale and Crowley make a plan to keep both happy and themselves out of trouble. Start of The Arrangement. Sadly, I can't make out the name of the artist of the beautiful kiss illustration at the end. But worth stopping by to check it out. The latest from @klikandtuna, Naked and Afraid: Jingle Hell (T), is a Human AU in which Crowley and Aziraphale are competitors on reality show Naked and Afraid. This one-shot has great banter. I laughed out loud. And the writer also created the illustrations. Bonus is that it's set over Christmas for those looking for new holiday reads. Fan favorite @mrghostrat, wrote and illustrated Big Name Feelings (E) in which Crowley is a big name fan fiction writer who invites artist Aziraphale to pretend to be his boyfriend at a fan convention. Love the story and the style of the illustrations. Stalwart sun, wily moon (M) is a long, twisty tale in which Crowley is an art thief at the top of his game and Aziraphale is the former art conservator swept up into his world. Can't give much away without spoiling this tense and engaging story. But the writer/artist @dustandhalos decided that both our heroes are serious clothes horses. And provided stunning illustrations of their amazing outfits in the form of magazine cover art. Loved it!

I adore the style of @dreamdust who has been releasing two illustrated stories on tumblr. The first is Six Thousand Years in Love (NR) in which we see the developing relationship of our favorite pair starting in Eden. Each story comprises about 6 parts before going to a new setting. If you liked the cold open of episode 3 of the first season of Good Omens, don't miss out on what it inspired in dreamdust. And the second is Charmed (and Witch) (NR). A beautiful femme depiction in which Crowley is a witch and Aziraphale is the maiden caught in her enchanted grove. It is a WIP updated regularly. Purrchance to Dream (M) is a lovely collaboration between writer Calico and artist @vavoom-sorted-art. It's a WIP on hiatus but absolutely worth reading and subscribing in hopes they're able to get back to it. Crowley is suffering since Aziraphale returned to heaven. But he finds himself being stalked by a fluffy white cat who won't leave him alone. The comic form of One Night in Bangor (and the World's Your Oyster) is by @anotherwellkeptsecret based on the original fic by Atalan (found here - rated E). Heaven and Hell hold their annual joint meeting. But this time, the demons have made a bet about which hellish employee will be first to bed an angel. Both versions are hilarious. Do you have any favorite illustrated fics? Bonus points if the writer is also the illustrator. Please leave them in the comments. And please follow if you want to keep up with my weekly recs based on a different theme each time.

[fleur-bbyy]

I WANNA FUCK YOU LIKE AN ANIMAL

rating: 18+, minors DNI. ageless blogs are blocked.

warnings: sex sex sex, porn!au, no quirks, fake stepcest, fake stuckage, afab reader, reader is described to have a big ass, sex work, only fans mentions, breeding kink, pet names, use of oniichan, daddy kink, lots of porn barely any plot, all characters are aged up to 21+

katsuki is an ass man and no one can convince me otherwise.

part two.

“hey! what’re you doing step-bro?”

you were trying your best to play up the horrible script you were given. especially since you were hungry and had been on this set for five fucking hours already and you’re just now getting to the fucking. after what felt like an eternity of makeup, wardrobe, and pictures taken for the cover you were just ready to put your tits back in your tiny tank top and stop with this corny-ass scenario. stepcest stuckage.

of fucking course.

you were coming up on a year in the porn industry after being scouted from amateur sites and quickly shooting up in popularity as a pro. you were one of the many amateurs who had become pro in the last year and shot up fast in rankings, being dubbed a member of the “golden eight.” you had shot multiple times with six of the other seven, even becoming good friends with most of them and doing side stuff on your onlyfans with the burly red-head that people seem to adore seeing you with. occasionally filming some with the pinkette girl, too.

this was your first time shooting with the last out of the other seven, katsuki bakugo. famously called ‘dynamight’ because of his explosive personality and his ability to give equally as explosive orgasms to men and women both.

“cut! luxe, arch your back more baby. really need’ta see that ass pop.” your director shouted as your coordinator came to position you in a way that pleased him. luxe was your stage name when you were still amateur, and it just always stuck around. nobody in your agency wanted to change your name as luxe was synonymous with the girl that had a ‘fat, peachy ass’ and could ‘squirt buckets.’ you rolled your eyes at the camera that was positioned in the front loading dryer you were “stuck” in. they insisted it’d be best to catch your reactions close up.

“dynamight! you still good back there?” the director shouted once again as the coordinator finished up her work.

“yeah, just hard as a fuckin’ rock and ready to get the fuck on with it.”

“wouldn’t expect any less from you!” you were graciously warned about the blonde’s brash personality, even going as far to meet up with him a time or two before the shoot just so you’d be aware. and boy, were they right. always shouting obscenities and such vulgarity that is made seasoned pornstars blush, but you both seemed to get along due to your shared hatred of corny, half-scripted shoots and directors who think they have the next big video. dynamight was known for being a rough dom. always keen to leaving bruises with how hard he’ll grip the hips of whoever he’s getting down with and extremely fond of hickies. unfortunately for the two of you, he wasn’t allowed to mark you up this time.

you huffed loudly as your director kept going on and on about how great this was gonna be and how amazing it is to have two of the top stars in his video.

“yeah, yeah, fantastic. now can we get on with it? his viagra’s gonna wear off before he gets any action and my pussy will dry up so fast the sahara will be envious.” you half-yelled so you were able to heard from the your confines in the dryer. you heard the blonde behind you laugh, lightly brushing one of his rough hands against the exposed skin on your ass, sending a shiver down your spine and into your aching core.

the camera-man finally started filming and you saw the red light of your camera that was catching your face light up as the director gave the thumbs up. you once again repeated your corny-ass mandatory lines and you finally felt his fingers push your soaked panties to the side. you relaxed a bit, knowing that everything from here was basically free reign for the two of you. only a few more required lines from him.

“look how wet you fuckin’ get from your oniisan. only dirty fuckin’ sluts act like this.” he slapped your under-stimulated clit and gently moved his fingers up and down your soaked cunt. you moaned loudly. genuinely mewls and whines escaped your lips as he kneaded the fat of your famous ass. you couldn’t tell if you were just so needy or if your colleague behind you was just that fucking good.

it didn’t help that he was pretty fucking attractive, either. you were practically swimming in your juices the first time you met. ready to drop your pants and give it to him like you were on the casting couch.

you felt his cockhead circling your tight entrance as you whined for him. big, genuine whines. you had never been so eager to be fucked on camera, something about him enamored you. you felt the smallest little bit of his fat tip slip in your folds, but he stopped there.

“say it.”

“w-what?”

“say it. tell me you’re my little whore. oniichan’s personal slut. just using you to keep my dick wet.” he gripped your hips with his strong hands to keep you from throwing your hips back onto him, not like katsuki would mind. he thinks you’re pretty and sexy and has been waiting so long to sink his dick into your pretty folds. he’s fucked his right fist so many nights to your videos on your onlyfans, loving that you weren’t staged to do anything. that it was just you.

he’s also admitted multiple times on his social media that he is definitely an ass man and practically creamed his pants when he got the call that you were shooting together.

“fuck yes! i’m your whore, oniichan! please please please fuck me!” and with that he roughly slapped your ass and unceremoniously slammed his length into your cunt, resulting in a loud moan from you that could probably be heard from the main audio system. he let a rough growl escape from his throat and smirked when your pussy tightened around him. your walls were so warm and inviting, like his cock was made for you.

“fuck yes, baby. look at you taking your brother so, so good hah slutty pussy suckin’ me right in fuck. you wanted this didn’t you?” his movements were quick, rough, and calculated. the man inside you had turned animalistic as soon as his heavy, aching cock got a kiss of your sweet insides. almost immediately finding that spongy spot inside you that made you feel like you could let go already. he bullied his fat cock into your tight hole like he owned it. like you were his personal fucktoy.

“ohmygod yes… fuck please please please.” you babbled, not having to do much work to play your reactions up for your camera. he genuinely just felt so good, so perfect inside your warm cunt. it’d only been a few moments and you were already drunk off the way he slid in an out of you, fucking you like you’ve never been fucked before.

sweat was already slicking up katsuki’s body and sparse blonde hairs stuck to his now-shiny forehead. the sight of his thick cock disappearing inside the co-worker of his dream’s pussy had him feeling like he could bust his nut already. his ruby red eyes bore into you, watching the way your ass jiggled every time his pelvis met the area where you butt and thighs met. he wished he could see your little fucked-out face. he so desperately wanted to watch as your pretty mouth let out those whiny and desperate moans, just for him.

just for him.

he usually didn’t, but he was definitely watching this video once it’s out, so desperately wanting to know what your sweet face looked like as he fucked you like a feral man.

“atta girl, little minx aren’cha? i bet you got stuck here on purpose just so you could get your step-brother to fuck you senseless.” he fucked into your dripping pussy harder after the director gave the green light, he too looked like he could bust in his jeans just from the sight of two attractive people fucking before him. it filled katsuki’s already full ego even more.

“god yes daddy wanted you s’fuckin’ bad!” daddy. the five letter word replayed in his head over and over again. it filled him with such an animalistic possession to know that you did do some research of your own, how else would you have known he goes crazy over that little name?

“oh fuck, callin’ me daddy now, eh? you filthy fuckin’ girl- oh shit!” he had to throw his head back from the pleasure as you threw your ass back against him, fucking yourself on his cock. your mewls growing louder as you split yourself open on him and he felt your already-tight walls begin to clamp down harder, squeezing his dick just right. he used the hand that wasn’t pushing your thong to the side to reach around and rub circles on your swollen, neglected clit.

“please daddy… i need to cum fuck i need to cum!” you loudly moaned, almost at a pitch similar to screaming. katsuki’s shit-eating smirk only grew louder. the two of you were so engrossed in each other that you both didn’t notice the director yelling cut and the clapperboard being used to signal the end of a take. you didn’t even realize that you had strayed away from your directions.

“c’mon babygirl… cum on this cock fuck! wan’ you to make a mess of your oniichan. keep fuckin’ yourself back on me like that and daddy’ll paint your insides white ngh shit.” the mix of his thick dick, skilled fingers, and word choice making the fire burning in your belly to engulf your body in heat. clear liquid gushing from your pussy and warming katsuki’s pelvis and legs. he looked down just as the last bit of liquid shot out from your spent sex.

“oh god baby, YES,” he groaned deeply and continued thrusting into you, chasing his own release. he used your body ruthlessly, like an animal in desperate heat, “fuck baby… ‘m cummin’ ‘m cummin’ please god let me cum inside please please.”

you’d never heard the rough dom whimper before, but the sound was music to your still-ringing ears. you let out a “yes yes yes” to let him know it was okay to cum inside. with a few more sloppy, rough thrusts, he was spurting his white hot seed inside your perfect pussy. you were both out of breath, sweaty, and fucked out. he still wasn’t fucked out enough and managed to give your ass a few light slaps, still enamored with how it shook and jiggled. you collapsed inside the machine, legs drooping and letting your ass fall once he pulled out. you were trembling and so exhausted you could probably fall asleep inside this uncomfortable-ass dryer. ready to dream about the best dicking you’ve ever had in your goddamn life.

after you both got cleaned up and half-chewed out by the director for going off script and ‘ruining his shoot,’ it was time to finally relax and go home. your bathtub practically screaming your name from home. before that, though, you met katsuki in the stars only lounge.

he wore a muscle tank that showed off his beautiful body that he’d spent years sculpting in the gym and a pair of classic grey sweats that showed off the imprint of his half-chub, you assumed the viagra still hadn’t completely wore off.

“can you believe the fucker had the audacity to say we ruined his shitty video? if anything we made that half-assed shit better.” you could tell he was prideful of his work due to the emphasis he put on his words. you lightly laughed, watching him scroll on his phone to catch up with the world since you both weren’t allowed it for a few hours. you saw his strong hands tracing lazy circles on his thigh.

“we should’ve wrote that script, shown them how it’s really done. we’re the ones that know how to trend on the hub, anyways.” it was his turn to let out a laugh this time. you sat down next to him on the black couch, still eyeing his cock and fingers that you already wanted back inside you. your gawking not going unnoticed by the blonde.

“see somethin’ you like?” he looked at you through his eyelashes and smirked.

“hell yeah,” your eyes traced his body, admiring every curve and detail, “i think it’s quite unfair that you got to see this hot bod and all i got to see was the inside of a dryer.” he gave you an amused look and gestured down to his semi-hard cock.

“whaddya say about round two in my trailer?”

the company ended up using the video the two of you supposedly “ruined,” it was trending in the top ten for a month straight due to its ‘raw intensity’ and ‘believable passion.’

you and katsuki were now in high demand to work with each other, jobs that you never denied. :)

part two.

[ladylooch]

When We Met - [Nico x Lexi]

Vanilla, Nico thinks to himself. That is the other note to what he is smelling right now. 

Citrus, vanilla, and sweet roses- like the pink ones he got for his mother from the corner market earlier this season. 

For weeks, this same sweet, soft scent has lingered in the elevator on his way to practice. Sometimes it is there in the evening too, but mostly in the morning. Like whoever it belongs to just exited the elevator car before he got into it. Every day, Nico has been trying to pinpoint the notes of the perfume. He was pretty sure there was citrus and something floral. It took him days to nail down the rose connection. But the final note of sweetness wasn’t making sense to him.

Now he knows.

He stuffs his hands into his pockets, looking down at the elevator floor. Unexpectedly, a sadness drifts through his mind. He knows the scents, but not the girl they belong to. 

It doesn’t make much sense, but Nico wants to know her. She has excellent taste in perfume. What else does she have excellent taste in? He would like to know. He finds himself wondering about it at practice too. Once it happened during a game. Nico plays at too high of a level to be that distracted by perfume. Plus, this is a huge building and the chances of bumping into her are low. 

The elevator hits the bottom floor. Nico hooks a left towards the mail room, opening the door with his fob. He takes in the room of gray mailboxes, seeing he is alone. He walks over to his, sliding the key in and turning it open. He cringes when he sees the amount of mail stuffed inside. The box is almost full. Understandable considering that he can’t remember the last time he came down this way. Getting mail is a mundane task for Nico. Sure he walks by the mailroom every day when he gets home, but those extra few steps feel like too much effort after a grueling game or an OT loss. 

Carefully, he slides his hands on the top and bottom of the mailbox. He glides the big stack of paper out of his box, then curses when the package box key falls to the floor between his Nikes. Nico gets the papers the rest of the way out, tucking them against his chest before he crouches down to grab the key. 

As he does, the door swings open and quick foot steps speak inside. Nico keeps his gaze down, not wanting to take the chance of recognition. His fingers grasp the key in his hand and he slides it into the package box. He twists the lock open, grabbing a package out. It’s a sponsorship box he knew to expect. He shuts the door to the box then stiffens as he smells that same perfume from the elevator.

He shoots up like a bolt of lightning.

“It’s you!”

“OH MY GOD!” The brunette yells, tossing her mail into the air. “I didn’t know anyone was in here!” 

“Oh, I-I’m so sorry.” Nico mumbles. He tosses his mail onto the table in the center of the room, then rushes over to help her pick hers up.

Crouched down on the ground, Nico catches the gaze of the most stunning green eyes he has ever seen. They’re framed with long, curled eyelashes and a soft purple eye shadow that makes them pop. Her face is filled out with a full pink mouth and rounded cheeks that dust pink from their interaction. Long, brunette hair falls over her shoulder where it is held in a high pony tail. Holy smokes, his perfume queen is gorgeous.

“Do I know you?” She murmurs as they stand back up. Nico hands her mail in his hands over, but not before sneaking a peak at her name: Alexis.

His perfume queen, Alexis.

“Uh… I don’t think so.” Nico shakes his head.

“So what did you mean when you said 'it’s you'?”

“Oh! Um…” Nico pauses. How is he gonna say this and sound normal. “I recognize you from your perfume.”

Her thin eyebrows furrow together. 

Shit, that wasn’t it.

“I smell it every day.” He tries agin. She looks to the side, taking a slight step away from him.

Also not it.

“Okay.” She nods, looking down at her mail. She flips it over so the address is facing down. 

“What brand is it?” He asks, shoving his hands into his pockets so he looks less intimidating. An amused smile pulls up one corner of her mouth. Then she sucks her cheeks in, looking down at her shoes. She is wearing black and white Nikes too, but more athletic, paired with light blue scrubs. A name badge is clipped to her pants that says Lexi, not Alexis. 

“It’s YSL, flowers and flames.” She finally responds, hiking her bag over her shoulder.

“Nice. Maybe I can spray some on my pillow.” He tries to joke.

It doesn’t land.

He mutters a Swiss explicative under his breath as she purses her lips together. Her green eyes widen and she inhales a deep breath.

“Sephora has a sale right now.” She offers up. Red streaks into Nico’s pale cheeks. He turns, clearing his throat and heading back to his pile of mail.

“Good to know. Sorry about your mail.”

“Thanks for helping me…?” She murmurs back to him, ending with a question like she isn’t sure what to call him.

“Nico.”

“Thank you, Nico.”

“Least I could do.” He says as he gathers his mail back into his arms.

“I’m Lexi.” She tells him as she holds the mail room door open for him. He shuffles out with his arms loaded down. “Are you going up?” She motions to the elevator.

“Ah, no. Well, yes.” He closes his eyes at his stammering. Damn, is today his first day speaking English? “I am going up, but I’m going to take the stairs. Didn’t get my steps in yet.”

She pauses, like she might say something, then nods.

“Have a good day. Nice meeting you.”

“You too.” He shouts after her before dipping into the stairwell. He looks up at all the flights of stairs he has to climb, then gets to it before he can talk himself into getting back in the elevator with Lexi. As much as he wants to, he thinks he’s freaked her out enough today. 

By the time Nico gets to his floor, he is huffing and puffing. He may be in peak condition right now for hockey, but skating is no match for the strength it takes to climbs that many stairs. Sweat spills from his hairline, beading down his neck and shoulders to collect at the small of his back in a puddle. He struggles to pull the keys to his place out, dropping mail with each movement. He gets the door open, collecting the envelopes then letting the door slam behind him after he gets into his place.

“Fuck me.” He mutters, going directly to the table to drop it all off. 

A quiet knock hits his front door. Nico looks towards it with narrowed eyes then stalks over to the door, annoyed by everything that has occurred in the last ten minutes. He flings the door open, expecting to see one of his teammates who also lives in the building.

Instead it’s Lexi. 

Nico softens his face, seeing her holding an envelope addressed to him in front of her coy face.

“You dropped this.”

“Oh. Thanks.” He smiles sheepishly, grabbing the envelope from her hand. “I swear I’m not normally that weird. I’m very normal.” A smile stretches her perfect, pink lips apart. Lips that Nico wants to feel brushing against his, that perfume he is obsessed with melting into his skin from her body heat meeting his. 

What is wrong with him? He just told her he is normal and now he’s picturing her kissing him and grinding into his-

“Good to know this is what my perfume turns you into… bye Nico.”

Nico’s heart flutters in his chest. Did she just… flirt with him? His brown eyes raise over her head for a second, then come back to her face.

“See you around?”

“Yeah.”

“Say hi when you do.” She offers as she walks backwards.

Nico’s lips part in surprise and awe, unable to move his mouth to speak anything else to her. 

An easy wave is lifted over to him as she heads back into the elevator. 

The strangest giggle comes out of Nico’s mouth as he walks back into his apartment. He catches his reflection in the windows across the room. He looks like all seven of the dwarves wrapped up into one person. 

He may have just met her, but Nico Hischier is hooked on more than just Lexi’s perfume.

Read more Nico and Lexi here.

[puckpocketed]

ok the stick story is this

according to The Hockey Media, who as we know do not actually follow any teams closely so know NOTHING, ovechkin was finally hit by father time. he's finally slowing down. he's a shell of his old self. he has old man syndrome. blah blah blah

as a caps fan, i know that this is false, because our russian machine never break. he's a freak. who btw had like 13 goals disallowed or something crazy like that in the first half of last season but i digress

gee i wonder why ovechkin's goals went down? is it because his longtime center and future hall of famer nicklas backstrom retired in all but name? is it because our other top 6 center in evgeny kuznetsov had by far the worst season of his career (from point a game to not even half a point a game) and then went into the player's assistance program before being traded to the canes and then bolting for the KHL?

actually, as it turns out: no.

i mean probably those were factors, but there was another factor. a factor that many caps fans are very aware of but almost no one reported on for some reason (probably because they were too busy writing about how SiDneY CrOsBy was having SuCh an AmaZiNg season for a 36 year old despite ovechkin literally having just as a good a season the year prior at the *checks notes* age of 36. also this is a reminder that one of those two actually led their team to a playoff berth and it wasn't crosby)

ovechkin is, among other things, an elite shooter. like many elite shooters, he is EXTREMELY picky about his sticks. he has been using the same CCM model for the last 7 seasons...and prior to this season they discontinued it.

the first half of the season (roughly), ovi was constantly trying out new sticks from CCM, from Bauer, whoever. he tried quite a few different sticks. results: 8 goals in 43 games.

then, ovechkin found an independent supplier. apparently (i can't remember where this info came out, maybe 32 thoughts?), these guys have an "ovi pro curve" model based on his old stick with CCM and he bought it and tried it out. curve was identical, and it felt right to him. started using those. results: 23 goals in 36 games.

am i saying that he is going to continue on that pace this coming season? probably not. do i think that the rumors of his demise as a goal scorer are greatly exaggerated and almost surely mistaken? yes. am i optimistic that with some stability in our center depth and stability in stick choice, ovechkin will have a 40 goal season again and possibly break wayne gretzky's all time goals record? YES.

what this means for PLD our beloved failhorse wife: he's not getting some washed up old man former great on his wing. he's getting the greatest fucking goal scorer in the history of the sport. and i, for one, am excited to see what they can do together.

link i thought about this all morning during baking and while i was out!! thank you for the stick explanation and all the sources i LOVE citations i am eating them up like theyre cakes at teatime....! more under the cut but heres what i was thinking about when i read this:

thinking about how,, particular some players get about their equipment, how superstitious, it's crazy to me that a manufacturer can just do all that. if it were me and MYE special stick got discontinued id be suing for damages

i was super interested in what actually changed in the second half of the season because i saw ovechkin was back to scoring basically at-will again, so really thank you for explaining.. the bond between a hockey and their stick is so beaugtiful <3

cr-sby is my babygirl-in-law and i fear i will always be fond of him because of this, so i shall tread carefully here (pens friends look away) it DOES suck that they're not recognising your old man for his achievements while that old man gets hyped. is it like, weird anti-russian sentiment? or a more general anti-caps bias? every team fan space i dip into feels unfairly maligned one way or another - which, yeah! clenching my fist of rage.......

you spin such a tale and im VERY excited to see how next szn shakes out in light of all this and also . grabbing dubois by the scruff of his neck like i will stan either way but PLEASE dont embarrass me in front of my cool new friends kjlasdklasdkl....

thank you so much for stopping by and for the warmest welcome ever <3

[brotrustmeicanwrite]

if you're struggling with lore and world-building and everything you come up with sounds stupid let me tell you something: even the most ridiculous ideas can work if justified properly

i present to you

✨cocaine spiders of ikea✨

this idea first started when a friend of mine was taking a biology exam about the nervous system, reflexes, and learned behaviors. it described an experiment where spiders were fed caffeine to see how the shape of their webs would change. unfortunately, he read cocaine instead of caffeine and couldn't stop laughing for so long that he had to be given extra time. him being a DnD dungeon master and me being one of the players, we of course started playing with that idea once I asked him about what he kept randomly giggling about all day. somehow ikea became part of the idea, badminton had something to do with it, I think, and eventually, what started as the brainstorming version of a top-tier shit-post between two nerds became a proper concept and a canon part of my character's backstory:

cocaine spiders (we never found a proper name) are essentially nanobots my DnD character Levia (an ancient angel) created millions of years ago that work just like Hiro's bots from Big Hero 6 to help him with his experiments of creating artificial souls. they are pure white and so small that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a pile of them and some flour without a good microscope. then the world almost ended, adam kadmon the creator god vanished, and Levia was sent on a mission to wander the earth and record history to report back to adam so he would be up to date on everything just in case he ever came back. but adam never returned. Levia wandered the earth for so long that his mind reached the limits of its capacity and he started forgetting his past and the things he had created. as a result, the cocaine spiders too were forgotten and had to survive on their own from then on. their source of energy had always been Levia's magic but that wasn't an option anymore. their hunger combined with their natural drive to seek out souls resulted in them developing the strategy of crawling into the lungs of any and all living beings they could find and eating them from the inside out. but that didn't even come close to fulfilling their nutritional needs if they actively hunted. a human body compared to an angel's magic is truly a pathetic difference in energy. so they copied mimics, went into hibernation, and took on the forms of pure white trinkets and furniture to wait for their victims to come to them. as society progressed and developed modern drugs, the spiders realized that they could avoid even the struggle of their victims trying to fight them off as they crawled into their lungs by simply lining up right next to the lines their victims had put on the table when no one was looking. no one who had the misfortune of coming into contact with them ever survived the encounter and it is believed that the people who vanished simply pissed off whoever they bought their drugs from and were "taken care of".

that DM friend later on used the cocaine spiders in another campaign with his friends from uni. the looks those people gave me when we first met and they realised the cocaine spiders are mostly my fault... seasoned players with years of horror campaign experience and apparently the cocaine spiders were the most horrifying encounter they've ever had in all their time playing.

✨cocaine spiders of ikea✨

[biggestsimponhere]

‘Tis the damn season - Scott Barringer x f!reader

Warnings - Slight angst, this should be a full angst only angst fic but i can’t handle that rn 😭 Also sorry it’s not gender neutral i try to keep most of my fics gender neutral but Horizon only has boy/girl cabins 🙁

Christmas at horizon has always been the same. They take all the kids to see the lights in town on Christmas Eve, then everyone comes back and we drink Hot Chocolate (One of the only special things allowed) and watch a christmas movie. On Christmas day everyone opens whatever their parents sent them and if they didn’t get anything from their parents then Peter and Hannah would make sure they had something. You’ve been here several years. Three to be exact but that doesn’t matter. This year a new kid joined. You didn’t know who it was because you had been off on a trip with another group when he came.

You were sitting on the bench next to the window looking out at the snow, admiring it, then he walked in. The new kid. Scott barringer. You glanced up them back out the window before doing a double take. “Scott?” You said moving away from the window. Scott looked up at the sound of his name. You were right. That’s scott. Your Scott. Your childhood best friend and love of your life. “Y/n?” He said as he moved towards you. Tears formed in your eyes as he wrapped you in a hug. You breathed him in, holding him close. “What’re you doing here?” It only takes you a moment to register that he must be the new kid. “Scott, why are you here? What happened?” You said pulling away to look him in the eye.

The rest of the cliffhangers stood slightly behind you two, all of them looking confused as they’d never seen either of you so happy. “I got into trouble back home, drugs, so dad made me come here” He said smiling softly. “If you wanted to see me so bad you could have just visited y’know?” You say teasing him. He laughs before pulling you back into his arms. You two stood there for another minute before Peter walked in. “What’re you two doing?” He said laughing. “Hugging, whatre you doing?” You said pulling away from Scott. “Wondering why you’re hugging him if you don’t know him?” Peter said looking between the two of you. “I’ve known Scott since we were like four” You say looking back at Scott who’s smiling, content, looking at you.

“What do you mean?” A voice came from behind you all. Juliette. “What? Was the sentence not clear enough?” Shelby said nudging jules. “We grew up together” Scott says turning to jules. Juliette stops speaking after that. You and Scott move to the window and continue talking about all you missed. You talk long into the night, you smile as you realize peter must have told the others to just leave you two. You looked around the cozy room, your gaze stopping on the lit fire place. You were about to speak again when you noticed someone at the top of the stairs. You tapped scott and motioned with your eyes towards the stairs.

He followed your gaze towards the stairs but whoever was there left. “Who do you think it was?” Scott asked when you told him what happened. “I don’t know, how close are you with jules?” You ask quietly. He pauses clearly thinking of an answer. A few minutes go by before he speaks. “We’ve kissed… a few times” He says softly. You nod, slowly pulling your hand away from where it was resting on his knee in between yours. “We should get to sleep” You say standing up quickly. “Why?” He says reaching a hand out towards yours. You pull away. You don’t mean to it just happens. “Peter. He’s a real stickler for the rules and he’ll be by to make sure everyone’s asleep soon” The lie slips past your lips before you can stop it.

Scott nods and watches as you turn away. You put out the fire, tears silently streaming down your face. You brush past Scott quickly and head back to your cabin. When you got there the only person awake was Grace. “Hey” She said as you walked in. “Hey” Your voice comes out wobbly. Grace quickly looked up from her book. “Come here” She said setting her book to the side. “What’s wrong?” She says as you climb into her arms. “Scott” is all you manage to breathe out between sobs. “Your best friend scott? What happened?” She said stroking your hair, trying to calm you down. “He’s kissed jules, and it’s not even like it’s his fault, we’ve never had something, it’s not his fault i’m in love with him” You say curling further into a ball.

“I’m sorry, why don’t you get some rest?” She said softly. You smile slightly and return to your bed. You fall asleep rather quickly after losing all your energy to crying. You wake up the next day and turn over to face the clock on your bedside. You then realize you’ve slept in for half the day. You quickly get up and get dressed. You walk into the main cabin and the cliffhangers turn to look at you, your eyes drift to Scott who’s sitting next to Juliette and you quickly avert your gaze and move to your group. “There she is, good morning sleepyhead” Peter said as he looked up from where he was helping another student. “Good morning peter” You say quietly.

He quickly picks up on your bad mood and offers to go find Hannah. The two of them had basically been family since you’ve been here. You shake your head slowly. “I’m okay peter” You say leaning against Grace who was currently coloring next to you. “It’s not like you’d say if you weren’t” Daisy said from your other side. “Come talk, please” Peter said moving over to you. You let peter lead you towards his office and ignoring scott’s eyes trailing after you. You talk with peter for a solid half an hour before finally being able to go back to group. “Can we talk?” Scott says approaching you. Before you can say anything Grace cuts in. “I think you’ve done enough haven’t you?” She says sharply. “It’s okay grace, promise” You say standing up.

You follow Scott out into the snow, he leads you slightly into the woods so you two can sit on the bench peter set up. “What did i do? Please tell me, i didn’t mean to hurt you” He says quickly. “It’s nothing Scott really” You move to stand but he reaches out and holds you in place. “That’s not true” He says firmly, “I did something and i want to fix it” He says softer than before. “I’ve been in love with you scott, for years. You’ve never shown any interest in me and to hear you kissed jules it hurt” You say, tears falling down your face again. He wipes them away, slowly, softly, as if you were made of glass. “I’m sorry, i’m so sorry, i never meant to make you feel that way, i mean you had to know i love you” He said quietly.

You smile softly at him. “Really? Y-you love me?” You say, trying to figure out if this was real. “Yes” That’s all you needed to hear. You bring your hand up to his cheek and pull him into a kiss. The two of you spend the rest of the day doing things together, Snow angels, hot chocolate. “Come on we gotta get back to the cabin, it’s time for christmas lights” You say pulling scott off the ground. The two of you quickly run back to where everyone was loading into the cars. Peter smiles at you seeing the light practically radiating off of you. The two do you load into the cars and hold hands secretly as you drive through the mountains and back to town. “The lights are so pretty this year” You say smiling.

“Not as pretty as you” He whispers softly. You grin at him and nudge him. “You’re cheesy” You say laughing. “Only for you” He says reaching for your hand. The two of you walk around the cold, snow covered town, smiling like two idiots. “I love you” He says brightly. “I love you too” You say wrapping your arms around him. You hold him close under the glittering christmas lights of town and you finally feel at home. Peter and Hannah watch you two from a distance, smiling broadly. “Aren’t we supposed to be stopping this” Hannah says laughing. “Maybe, but they’re happy” Peter says back. They stand close together as they watch the love continue to blossom between you two beneath the bright moonlight cascading down to the christmas lights.

[frangipanilove]

The Green(e) Route Revisited

This is not really a theory, it’s more like wild speculation bordering on outright fan fiction. I’m bringing it up because it sort of ties into my previous couple of theories on pilgrimage and Santiago de Compostela (here and here). Additionally, if the rumors about possible filming in Spain for season 3 prove to be right, this could potentially come into play.

Back in the ancient days of Early TD, one of my favorite theories was the one that combined some of the writings on Morgan’s wall from clear, namely the “green route” seen on the wall behind Rick in the pic above, with the "green route" seen on the terminus map below.

TD latched on to the “green route” from Morgan’s wall as a potential way of bringing Beth back after her “death” in 5x8 Coda. Back then, we were all open to the idea that Morgan would somehow be involved, seeing as he featured so prominently in the coda after 5x8 Coda. And it was easy to think of the “green route” reference from 3x12 Clear as a reference to Beth, whose last name is “Greene”.

I talked about how Morgan had all these pilgrim vibes about him when we saw him in season 5 here. When I researched the pilgrim symbolism around Morgan the first time around, some time after 5x8 Coda, I came across evidence that the northern way to Santiago de Compostela is sometimes referred to as the “green way”, or the “green route”. This is apparently due to the vibrant colors of the landscape and vegetation along the northern Spanish Atlantic coast, and because of the discussions around the “green route” in TD at the time, this tickled my TD senses immensely.

This was also when I was starting to research the Sirius and North Star symbolism, as well as other astronomical references such as the Venus symbolism. It seemed like a pretty convenient coincidence that the name “Santiago de Compostela” refers to the “way under the field of stars” under which the pilgrims traveled to reach their destination. And on top of that, the “green way/green route” is literally “the Northern Way” which potentially could be a tie in with the “North symbolism" we’ve seen around Beth so much.

However, the pilgrim symbolism in TWDU didn’t really go anywhere… until it suddenly did. A St. Christopher medallion, which had been central to my initial theories on Morgan as a pilgrim, showed up if FTWD 6x2:

And now, after TWDDD 1x6 Home, we’ve had the first explicit mention of Santiago de Compostela, in that Losang, leader of The Nest, first came into contact with Laurent and the nuns after returning from a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela:

And obviously, we now have all these rumors that Daryl might be going to Spain for season 3.

In the original “green route “ theory from back in the days, @bluesandbeth theorized that the “green route” mentioned on Morgan’s wall was a reference to the green route on the terminus map, which ultimately ended up by the coast, offering a potential way for Beth to make her way to Alexandria Safe Zone by boat. Of course, it didn’t turn out like that, but I always loved the theory, it was well researched and plausible. And while it didn’t happen the way we first thought, I don’t think the “green route” symbolism has been fulfilled in any way, so as far as I’m concerned, it’s still very much in play.

Also, in 5x6 Consumed, we saw a very prominent green arrow, quite literally seconds before Carol and Daryl ran into Noah, which ultimately led them to Beth. It really feels like the green arrow, or the “green route”, is something that foreshadows a “destination” where Beth Greene is to be found. I don’t remember who first discovered that particular connection, I just know it wasn’t me. Whoever it was, it’s a great observation! (ETA; it was @galadrieljones)

(Thanks for the screenshots @wdway)

And for what it’s worth, the green arrow in Consumed pointed to a “skybridge”. I’ve recently talked a lot about bridges, ladders, stairwells and elevator shafts as metaphorical passages through which the characters can travel, and this is a perfect example of that. The green arrow (green route) pointed to the skybridge (metaphorical passage between the realm of the dead and the realm of the living), meaning it led to Daryl and Carol finding Beth. She went from being metaphorically trapped in the "realm of the dead" to being found alive in the "realm of the living". And it happened after meeting Noah on a skybridge.

Noah...

..who was wearing a t-shirt with a stylized version of the blue heron last seen in 4x12 Still:

I’ve talked about the symbolism around the heron in many posts. It was Noah’s t-shirt that foreshadowed the episode where we saw the second blue heron painting, in an episode that foreshadowed Rick’s “death” and “resurrection”. And the blue bird symbolism is still going strong in TWDU. It lead Daryl to Beth once, I believe it will do it again eventually.

So, if the rumors about filming in Spain are true, could the “green way/green route” to Santiago de Compostela be key to a reunion between Daryl and Beth once again? The Northern Way starts in San Sebastián, just south of the French border, and interestingly, in TWDDD 1x1, we actually see Daryl move his finger across a map, from Marseille, France, where he washed up on the shore, to….

…literally San Sebastián, Spain. I’m not exaggerating, San Sebastián, starting point for the Northern Way, the Green Way, the Green Route to Santiago de Compostela, is LITERALLY right under his finger in this screenshot.

Could be a coincidence, sure. But it’s a very compelling one.

The filming in Spain hasn’t yet been officially confirmed as far as I’m aware, which is why I initially said that that this was more fan fiction than actual theorizing. There’s not really a whole lot of tangible evidence to support these speculations at this point. However, the stuff I wrote about in the pilgrim posts, such as the St. Christopher medallion and the reference to Santiago de Compostela, they are all canonically confirmed in the show. And so are the references to the “green route” from Morgan’s wall from 3x12 Clear, it exists in the canon of the show.

The symbolism around the green route hasn’t been fulfilled yet, and it is a fact that the Northern Way of the Camino de Santiago starts in San Sebastián, it is a fact that it goes through “Green Spain”, and if that’s not enough, there has always been an absolute abundance of “north” references around Beth.

And coincidence or not, Daryl did put his finger directly above San Sebastián on the map from 1x1….

[poindexters-labratory]

Could you explain the premise (or anything else you'd like to share) of The Abyss to me, to the perspective of one who knows basically nothing about creepypasta? ;-; like I know the names of the more known characters and that's it lol. it sounds cool and I'd like to know a little more though, if you feel ok with that :0

Of course!!

Creepypasta is an Internet term that's similar to copypasta, copypasta being a wall of text that would copy and pasted to troll or meme people. A creepypasta is the same premise, but it's a horror story. A lot of memorable characters came out these stories for better or for worse. Characters like The Slenderman, Jeff the Killer, The Rake, etc.

Then there's Marble Hornets, which is a web-series inspired by The Slenderman, and it's really awesome, I would recommend it to those who haven't watched it. I most recently was able to finish up all the seasons and it really is amazing to watch.

So, I was a fandom creepypasta kid in middle school, so I was very attached to the softer interpretations of these characters. There was more comedy to the short narratives that were told with them, I also found them to be used more as vigilante characters.

There was an aspect that I really feel spoke to a lot of younger people, which was that someone was coming for them, to help them and take them from the situation that was out of their control. I know that was true for me, even though I didn't necessarily need saving, I knew that there were people who needed help. Help that at eleven years old, I couldn't provide. As a helpless and outcasted kid, these characters, however silly it may seem, helped with feeling seen and understood.

Anyway, that's sort of what The Abyss takes inspiration from, added on top that I think I can make a story out of anything. I started working on it at the peak of the pandemic, so I probably also felt helpless in that situation as well, not to mention that's when my tics got to the point where it was debilitating.

Anway, context aside, I'll explain what The Abyss has going on at this point in time (the story has been changed so many times, that's why I say that).

So, it's mainly taking the big creepypasta fandom idea that all the creepypastas live together in a mansion with The Slenderman and expanding on it. For The Abyss, it's turned the mansion into whole another dimension. This dimension has been dubbed The Abyss (you can see where the title comes from).

It's a place for nature's freaks and society's rejects. They're used for the agenda of nature's biggest freak and mystery, The Tall Man, The Slenderman, The Boss, The Operator, whatever It's called. Most of the individuals who seek refuge under It don't know It like the people that work directly under It. Most of the people there can be compared to being in military reserves. They will be called upon if they are needed.

So far, the characters that get called on (mostly by Briar) from the reserves are Ben (BENDrowned), Cody (X-Virus), Anthony (OC), and Jeffrey (Jeff the Killer) (but Jeff just kinda joined on his own accord).

There are other characters that were pulled out of the reserves by The Slenderman are OCs and a few other canonical characters, such as Kagekao, Bloody Painter, Laughing Jack, and more once I start actual progress on plot and such.

Then there are the people who work directly under the command of The Slenderman. These are the Proxies. They communicate with It telepathically in the form of visions and nightmares and do whatever job It needs done. They get a brand in the shape of the 'No Eyes'/Operator symbol from Marble Hornets somewhere on their body and are forever at the mercy of The Tall Man.

These characters shown here are Roque (Rocky), Briar-Rose (Briar), and Toby (Firecracker) (I'll explain why he's not Ticci Toby some other time).

Other characters that are Proxies include characters like Natalie (Clockwork), and whoever else I'll put in that category.

Then there are the characters who exist outside of The Abyss, like Eyeless Jack.

That would be Homicidal Lui, Jane the Killer, Nina the Killer, and most importantly Tim Wright.

The plot starting out will be a crossover/continuation of Marble Hornets, following Tim as he goes cross country getting hunted down and stalked by members of The Abyss. Tim was a very important asset for The Slenderman because of his ability to spread The Sickness. Too important to lose. It has been tracking him down for however many years and now it's gotten to the point where It has to start using Its Proxies and Reserves to get this one guy.

If anyone would like to learn about the characters as individuals, just send an ask and I'll be more than happy to talk about them :3!!

[thedamsorce2]

Earlier today, my best friend (@dragonwars2601 ) messaged me with some information about Good Omens that led to a crack theory about Uriel.

This information was that in the bible, Uriel is the angel of prophecy (and also wisdom, but “mainly for this prophecy”). In season 1, Uriel said that, quote “Don’t think your boyfriend in the dark glasses will get you special treatment in hell”. This means that Uriel believes that Aziraphale and Crowley are dating. This could be because literally everyone else knows that they’re in love with each other, or the wild idea that I came up with.

This idea is that Uriel has funky memory. Like, they don’t make memories, but when they were created it was almost as if they had already lived through all of eternity until their destruction. This would mean that they know for a fact that Azi and Crowley get together at some point, Uriel just doesn’t know when. They thought that Azi and Crowley were dating in the bookshop scene at the end of season 2 and thought that they were already together because the next time that Uriel has a personal conversation with them/sees them in the same room next, they are dating.

It also explains why Uriel was kind of useless for most of the show - they already know how it’s going to end.

However, this theory kind of falls to shit when you realise that this would mean they knew that Jim was Gabriel. In response, I offer you this: Uriel’s memory has degraded. Over the Millenia they’ve been around, their ‘memories’ of the future have become blurred and fuzzy. With the miracle on top of that, Uriel likely wouldn’t be able to remember.

The more cracks elements of this headcanon are Uriel going up to Gabriel (probably centuries or even a couple of millennia before the apoca-not) and telling him that he will need to tell them what to get Gabriel and Bee as a wedding present and Gabriel just goes “????”. Then when he starts going out in dates with Beelzebub and suddenly just goes “… OH. THIS IS WHAT THEY MEANT?”. Uriel would also probably show Supreme Archangel Aziraphale the best way to sneak out of heaven.

Another crack element is Uriel have ‘The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch’ with the ‘Agnes Nutter, Witch’ crossed out with ‘Archangel Uriel, Angel’. And in this book they have everything that they think will be important, but they couldn’t get to the ‘ Gabriel loses his memory and there’s a miracle so he’s unrecognisable’ part before they forget about the miracle, leading to Uriel not being able to identify Jim. (Also, just imagine Uriel frantically scribbling down information in the book in a corner of heaven, and slamming it shut every time someone comes close, leading to a competition to steal the book and a betting pool about what’s in it)

This theory would also explain why Uriel doesn’t really react to anything - it could be just regular prophecies, or it could be written in ‘The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Archangel Uriel, Angel’.

Another fun thing about this headcanon could be Uriel training or being friends with Agnes, and offhandedly mentioning ‘The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Archangel Uriel, Angel’, and then Agnes just went… nice name. It’s mine now. And then wrote ‘The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch’. It could also have been how they passed the book down between generations - Uriel might appear to them (like, meet them on the street, help them, visit them is a dream, etc) and then whoever has the book just goes ‘yup, thanks who’s getting the book next’.

Also, I’ve been updating Dragon on this as I’ve been writing, and they just sent me this I response to Uriel hiding in a corner, leading to attempted theft and betting pools:

And this about the wedding presents:

And this one about Uriel’s out of pocket advice that they totally give:

[shokuto]

So we'll probably have to agree to disagree on a Gwiles ship (for a number of reasons, but in no dimension or version do I think Gwen should be Miles' main or only option for a romantic interest or relationship) :). But I appreciate your insights, and loved your response to the question "what makes Miles compelling as Spider-Man?" from a few weeks ago. I am kinda trying to figure out what Marvel is doing exactly? Between using just Miles' name instead of Spider-Man for the upcoming Strange Academy release, and Ziglar basically minimizing Miles in his own comic during this latest run in order to feature characters Ziglar seems to be enamored with, all while having characters constantly call Miles "boy" (see Mr. Morales who apparently has entered a black exploitation film), "kid" (practically every character being forced into the run is calling Miles this right now, which is funny given ATSV's take rightfully pushing back on that), "newbie" (Stark in the latest issue…meanwhile Civil War was a thing), basically everything but his name or Spider-Man…it's frustrating. Like, is Miles getting too popular for them or something? No offense to Ziglar, but I'm currently just sticking to reading and buying Bendis and Ahmed's comics going forward. Ziglar just doesn't seem to know how to write for Miles and his supporting cast, which is fine. They should put him back on Spider Punk since he said that he's wrote for that comic based on his time in a punk band. On top of that he hasn't done anything original so far? He's acknowledged Rabble is basically a reskin of Tinkerer from the Playstation game, he's obviously a fan of the Flash tv show given the electric sword (the idea of Miles' venom powers continuing to evolve in more novel and powerful ways is great though), plus the new character Hightale who = the Flash. And Misty Knight was just going over super basic things Aaron already taught his nephew. Also, Miles as any kind of detective was setup better by Bendis when he was toying with the idea of turning him into an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D (and that kinda came out of no where). If they extend Ziglar's time, it sounds like his plan is to constantly keep doing crossovers of other characters as "mentors", and given how he's handled that so far, I would not be to happy buying this run. :( Do you have a writer or writers in mind that you would like to see on Miles' comic? To be honest, I don't think there needs to be a ton of angst, I like that he has a great group of people in his life who know about him and have his and each others back against all odds (you can't tell me that comic Ganke wouldn't have tried to fight Miguel in ATSV even though he would lose, and Tiana would have 100% tried to pick Miguel up and drop him from the train if she saw him treating and talking to Miles like he did XD), it's one of the things that adds to Miles' uniqueness. But your analysis of Miles gets things about his character that the current run/Ziglar seems to be missing. On the plus side, the artwork is pretty good! And maybe the run will get better?

Eesh. I checked out of Ziglar’s run a while back, seems my criticisms with him minimizing Miles as Spider-Man in his own run hasn’t gotten any better, I probably made the right choice. Makes me sad though. I dislike Ahmed’s run a lot, but he at least had Miles on equal footing with the more seasoned guest stars like Captain America.

The disconnect is that Ziglar thinks Miles’ appeal lies in his youth. He thinks he’s a rookie, far out of his depth and in desperate need of guidance (from people he’s accomplished more than and with basic things he’s been doing since 2015 at minimum). I appreciate the callback to his origin from 2011, but it’s like he stopped reading that samw. Whoever I’d pick to write him moving forward would obviously be more up to speed on his history and the things that actually make him unique, but I honestly don’t trust that from anyone besides Phil Lord/Chris Miller, or Bendis. I always get the impression that everyone else either sees him as a blank slate, someone they need to reinvent or “fix”, if they simply don’t get it at all.

But besides that, if I could, I’d have his stories once again set in the Ultimate universe. Pulling him out erased one of his most prominent conflicts as someone bearing a legacy that makes him a target, that jeopardizes his future, and altered his relationship with his parents, which is why his comics were immediately made more lightheartedly and silly when he crossed over even with Bendis at the pen, because not only was Peter Parker alive and well, Miles was now one of four Spider-Men.

We’ll also have to agree to disagree on there not needing to be a ton of angst, I enjoy that Miles can inspire hope as much as the next guy, and I wish they’d let him do stupid fun teen shit without having to learn some sort of lesson at the end, but in the same vein that light without shadow is blinding, hope without tragedy is hollow. And as someone who’s been reading since Spider-Man cost him his uncle and [redacted until a mutual finishes the second volume], his stories have felt hollow to me for a very long time.

The artwork is good, but I don’t have faith that the writing’ll get better. I already held out hope that his comics would suddenly recapture that spark for eight years now.

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (446): Tue 6th Jun 2023

Up fairly early this morning as I had to take my bike over to BDS in North Shields for it's annual six month servicing. This is the kind of stuff automobile owners normally consider an inconvenience but I don't mind it because it gets me out of the house and I like pottering around North Shields while I wait for the work to be done. For someone who loves to people watch so much having a bike is ideal because you can have a little wander and try to find new and interesting places then not have to worry about getting trains or buses when you've had enough. I might start picking a random location (within a reasonable distance from my home) then looking for local cafes nearby and spending the afternoon there in order to get out there and expand my horizons a bit. I dropped off the bike and headed into town, stopping off at a cafe to read more of my book Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin. I've been hearing the name Ian Rankin for a while but this is the first book of his that I've ever read. I'll be honest, the fact that every single charity shop you go into there are normally about three or four Ian Rankin books has always led me to believe that the books aren't that good or else why would so many people be giving them away? Unfortunately by skepticism prove d to be well founded because this book is quite boring and I found myself skim reading before long. My main takeaway was how shockingly bad the dialogue is in this book. Here are a few examples: Rebus: People keep calling him my friend Siobhan: He’s not? Rebus: Take away the r and you’re getting close Siobhan: The evidence is pretty thin isn’t it? Rebus: Thin? You could use it as a pizza topping This is the kind of dialogue I'd expect to find in the 1960's Batman TV show not a crime novel from 2005. I'll press on but I'm already looking forward to finishing this one as fast as I can and moving on to the next one. While I was sat in a pub with a non-alcoholic Koperburg I got a call from BDS saying that the bike was sorted an hour ahead of schedule so I headed back. After I'd thanked the guy for his work he told me that whoever had fitted my new chain had done it wrong because the rear tire was completely out of line with the front tire. Typical, just when I think I've befriended someone who knows their shit and can help me out when I'm in a jam it turns out that he can't even fit a tire back on. Well anyway at least it's fixed now and should be good to go until at least September for it's next servicing. Once I got home I chilled and (skim) read my book for a while before showering and picking out an outfit as I had a gig tonight in the form of KISS! I saw these legends in 2017 but that gig was somewhat marred by the fact that I had to  travel five hours down to London in a fucking heatwave to see them. Luckily this time they were kind enough to put on a gig at an arena only a few miles from my home so I couldn't exactly pass on the chance to bid farewell to them. I wanted to wear my red leather jacket but it's been a while since I've taken it out of the wardrobe and it appears to have been ravaged by moths (interesting band name) so I had to wear a different leather jacket as well. The good news being that this jacket is normally too small for me to fit into but this time around it fit just fine meaning that this diet has actually worked. The doors opened at half 7 but they were being supported by a couple of local bands and I didn't want to spend an hour politely applauding a bunch of chancers so I went to Five Guys for a veggie sandwich while I listened to Chris Jericho talk to the producers of Dark Side of the Ring about the upcoming season. After I finished my food I headed off to the arena, took to my seat and was delighted to see that I had arrived just after the support acts had ended and the real show was about to start. The lights dimmed, the big KISS Army logos on the curtains were illuminated and a booming voice came over the speakers proclaiming "Newcastle: You wanted the best? You got the best! The hottest band in the world: KISS!". I joined my fellow Geordie Kiss Army members in welcoming them to the North East one last time and over the next two hours was treated to some of my favourite KISS songs including Detroit Rock City, Shout It Out Loud, Lick It Up, God Of Thunder, I Was Made For Loving You & Rock And Roll All Nite. As happy as I was to be in the presence of one of the most iconic bands of all time for one last hurrah I was aware that there seemed to be a bit of lip synching and possibly even "instrument synching" going on because throughout the show the singers lips (especially Gene's) weren't correlating with the lyrics and it didn't look like Paul Stanley's fingers were anywhere near the guitar. Also Paul Stanley's singing voice sounded the same here as it did back in the 70s. How's that even possible? He's seventy one years old for Christ's sake. Even though there may have been some foul play and trickery going on I didn't let it bother me because just the fact that I was seeing them was enough for me. I really wish I’d gotten into KISS when I was a kid rather than my late teens because my childhood would have been a lot more fun but better late than never right? I know that in many ways KISS are a ridiculous band but when they first emerged the idea of a band being about more than just the music was unheard of then. Before KISS a musician was someone who stood still on a stage strumming a guitar and singing song after song. KISS were some of the first to adopt on stage characters and have their performances be accompanied by effects and pyrotechnics. I know these are seen as gimmicks by music snobs but I think it's a case of a band wanting to give the audience their money's worth and make that band seem larger than life. This was an amazing gig and as the band belted out Rock N Roll All Nite one last time while confetti emptied from the ceiling I joined them in singing until my vocal chords hurt but it was worth it in order to thank the band for all they've contributed to my life and to music in general. This gig was a little bittersweet because although I was having a blast in the back of my mind I was constantly aware this was the final time I would be rocking out with the hottest band in the world. As the band left the stage for the final time I felt sad but also happy that I got to see them in my neck of the woods. RIP KISS. 1973 - 2023 (or until one of them gets a big tax bill they need to pay off)

[fancysasquatch]

Update #1, having now watched up through season 1 episode 6 (Dipper vs Manliness).

I haven't discovered any new codes or secrets yet, still just the same secret messages shifted back three letters at the end of the credits. The first two are just references to the plots of the episodes.

Episode 3's message reads "He's still in the vents" referring to the fact the sentient head of the Larry King wax figure is still in the vents

Episode 4's message reads Carla, why wont [sic] you call me?" referring to a freeze frame gag from a commercial the characters watched in the episode.

Episode 5 is where things get interesting. Using the same shifting code I've been using so far, the first word translates to "onwards" but the second word is "aoshima" which seems like garbage text. I tried running it through both "drvklpd" and "aoshima" through reverse alphabet and transliteration ciphers, but nothing came up. I tried out every other alphabet shift, with and without reverse alphabet shifting, and tried transliterating anything that seems like it was an anagram of a real word, but still got no results. If no other code or combination of code works, then maybe the code wasn't the problem, and the problem is that I just don't understand what "aoshima" is meant to mean. That'll be something else I keep an eye out for moving forward.

Episode 6's message is the juiciest by far. It translates to "Mr. Caesarian will be out next week. Mr Atbash will substitute." While I was working through the message, my first thought was that Mr. Caesarian was one of the manly minotaurs from the episode, because Caesarian sort of fit in with their naming scheme. The name Atbash threw me for a loop, and I was worried it would be another "aoshima" situation. But then when I got to the last word things clicked into place.

Caeser cipher is another name for an alphabet shifting cipher, which as I mentioned before is a sort of substitution cipher. So next week, instead of the substitution cipher being a caeser cipher, it will be an atbash cipher. I don't know what an atbash cipher is off the top of my head, and I'm hesitant to google it in case I'm wrong about all this and whatever/whoever atbash is winds up being a major spoiler. But, by the looks of things, it seems like next episode I'll get a chance to crack a new code.

That's all the endings of the episodes. Back at the beginning, the intro still seems to be the same, but now I've got a little more information to work with. Specifically, now I understand two more of the symbols in the circle around Bill Cipher. The pentagram represents Li'l Gideon, and the llama is on another of Mabel's sweaters. It's still unclear what the ice bag, heart, or sunglasses represent.

Oh yeah I almost forgot something. In the episode with the wax figures, Grunkle Stan seems scared to see a wax doll of him at first. I'm assuming that's forshadowing for when they reveal he has a clone or twin or whatever.

I've decided to watch Gravity Falls, and I want to see if I can figure out the various mysteries without looking up any answers. I'm going to catalog my efforts to do that here on tumblr.

Going into this I've only seen two episodes back in like 2013 (the pilot and one where there's a pig) but I'm not totally in the dark about the show because there's a few things I've gleaned from cultural osmosis on tumblr. Namely, the bad guy is a pyramid man named Bill Cypher and also Grunkle Stan either has a twin or a clone, I'm unclear which.

I'm currently two episodes in and I've already discovered and cracked one secret code, and am keeping my eye on a couple other things. During the credits of episode one I noticed a string of garbage text, pictured below

Knowing this show's reputations I figured this might be a coded message, probably either a substitution or transposition cipher (since this was a code meant for children and those are "Baby's first cryptography" material). I put it in an anagram finder and got back 48 results that all contained the word "fjord" but none seemed like an actual message, so it probably wasn't a transposition cipher.

If it was a substitution cypher then there were three options that seemed the most likely to me. It was either a shifted alphabet (each letter in the message is shifted a certain amount up or down the alphabet, so A becomes B becomes C, or A becomes C and B becomes D, et cetera), a reverse alphabet (every letter is mirrored back to front, so ABC becomes ZYX) or a keyed alphabet (where every letter's replacement is randomly determined by a secret key).

If it was a keyed alphabet then I was out of luck for now, I would have to wait until either they reveal the key or I collected enough messages to brute force it. I tried a reverse alphabet first but it was still garbage text. So it was down to being one of 25 different shifted alphabet keys (unless it was multiple codes, like a reverse alphabet and a transposition, but I'd finish dealing with single codes first).

I could have tried each of the 25 possible shifts first, but that's a lot of work, so instead I focused on the two letter word. One of those two letters has to be a vowel, and there's only six vowels so that means 12 possible options. Only two of the options were real words. Shifting back two letters turned "wr" into "up" but the rest of the message was nonsense. Shifting it back three letters turned "wr" into "to," and applying that to the whole message made it read "Welcome to Gravity Falls."

With that code cracked, I moved on to episode 2. I hadn't paid much attention to the intro during the first episode but this time I paid closer attention, and noticed a few things (and then went back and confirmed they were the same in the first episode's intro).

In Dipper's title card there's some symbols on the wall that look like runes, but the only real rune is the third symbol. The others don't seem to appear in any actual runic or pseudo-runic alphabets I can find online. I'm going to be writing this off as purely decorative for now, but I'll keep an eye out in case these keep popping up as a symbolic alphabet, like the alien alphabet from Futurama.

At the very end of the intro this pops up for a split second. That guy in the middle is Bill Cypher, I already know he turns up later. I recognize several of the symbols surrounding him as being from the show. The shooting star is on Mabel's sweater, the handprint is on the cover of the book, the tree is on Dipper's hat, the lobster claw is on Grunkle Stan's hat, and the question mark is on Soos' shirt.

To the right there's a string of text which, when translated using the same alphabet shift code from above, reads "Stan is not what he seems." It also has the Konami code, which I'm just taking as an easter egg.

On the left there's a few possible number codes. In red it looks like something in binary but it's doesn't actually mean anything in binary. But if you convert it to morse code it could be either "sror" or "oksk." Using the same -3 shift, "sror" becomes "polo," which means nothing for now. Reverse alphabet shifting does nothing, I used an online tool to test every other alphabet shift but nothing came up. I don't even know where to begin working on the other two possible number codes.

The credits for the second episode had another hidden message. Using the -3 shift, it becomes "Next week: return to Butt Island."

[words-4u]

little rockstar - d.r

➩ read part 2: here

pairing: daniel ricciardo x singer!reader

wc: 1.8k

warnings: none

a/n: THANK YOU TO WHOEVER REQUESTED THIS! I HAD SOOOO MUCH FUN WRITING!!!

formula 1 masterlist

[not my gif!!!]

the best part of being an artist is touring, hands down. there is something so euphoric about singing songs that you poured your heart and soul into to large crowds of people who then sing it back to you. the passion they have is incredible and you've never felt more loved than when you were on tour meeting all your fans. that is until daniel ricciardo entered your life.

daniel was unexpected in so many ways. you two met in a dingy bar in austin, texas where you were booked to play at a festival. that night was open mic night and your friends thought it would be hilarious to sign you up for it. when the mc called your name you made your way to the small stage. daniel was sitting in the front at a small table with his friends when you started to sing ‘what a time’ by julia micheals. at the time, your debut album had come out and was topping charts and gaining lots of attention due to your public breakup with a beloved actress whom most of your songs were about.

the second you got on stage, daniel's attention was on you and it never left. he was awe-struck. he was a regular here and he knew that open mic night was mostly for amateurs but no, the way you were singing he knew you were experienced. the second you were done, he broke out in huge applause that made you blush, earning whoops and laughter from your friends in the back.

later that night, he found you by the bar and introduced himself. you weren’t familiar with motorsports so f1 was lost on you, but the way he spoke about it and his passion for racing, you were intrigued. you told him all about your singing career even showing him your ep on spotify and sharing earbuds cause he wanted to listen to it. you two were so enamoured by each other, you hadn’t noticed your friends leave. it was the moment everything clicked for you. he made you smile and laugh the whole night. being in his company was like being bathed in sunlight and it still felt like that 8 months later.

today was your last day of tour and you were ending it in your favourite city, london. emotions were running high as it was the last night of the europe leg of the tour but also daniel was going to be in the crowd watching tonight. due to the hectic f1 season, he didn’t have time to go to any of your other shows but this date lined up perfectly on the tuesday after the silverstone grand prix.

you and daniel made a conscious effort to keep your relationship private just because it was easier not to have outside noise or other people's perceptions of who you should be with or vice versa. you weren’t necessarily hiding each other but you weren’t flaunting it either. your fans had an inkling you were seeing someone again because of the cryptic tweets and photos you’d take, they just didn’t know who. f1 fans, on the there hand, were quick to notice that you two were suddenly following each other on all your social platforms and were sometimes leaving inside jokes as comments under each other posts. you two were always goofing around with each other so they were many.

what most people don’t know about daniel is that he has a musical ear, he doesn’t take it seriously but he can write some pretty good stuff some of which actually ended up being used in your new ep giving him full writing credit.

there was one song that you kept off on your ep because you wanted to release it as a single and you were gonna play it for him and the london audience tonight.

daniel snuck into your green room beforehand to wish you luck. “last show of the tour, how are you feeling?” he came up behind you as you stood at the massive vanity. you let your head rest on his chest as you made eye contact in the mirror.

“it’s bittersweet... i mean you know i how much i love performing and getting to see my beautiful little fans has been a dream and i'm gonna miss them so so much but on the other hand i can’t wait to have time off to support you at grand prixs.”

daniel laid a soft kiss on your head. “i’m extremely proud of you, you know that right?” he mumbled into your hair.

chuckling, you responded, “i do and it means so much to me that you made it tonight.”

“i wouldn’t have missed it for the world. you’re my little rockstar.”

closing your eyes, you let yourself be showered in your boyfriend's love and admiration. how did you get so lucky?

after a few moments, you turned in his arms to stroke his bearded face. “i have a surprise for you.”

“enchanté,” he smirked pulling you closer which made you squeal and giggle.

“not like that… but i’m not saying anymore, you’ll just have to wait and see.”

his response was at the tip of his tongue but was cut off by rapid knocks on your door.

“y/n, it’s showtime.”

“got it! thank you!” you acknowledged. still holding hands you took a step back and asked, “okay how do I look?”

you wanted something cute yet comfortable so you decided on a monochromatic moment consisting of a white corset top and matching white faux leather pants.

he looked you up and down and couldn’t hold back his trademark smile. “like i wish you didn’t have to go on stage in 5 minutes so i could have my way with you.”

“ha! well dan, it’s my last night so we’ll have plenty of time for that.”

daniel kissed your temple and left the room to go find your friends and lando who he invited last minute. you took a couple moments to gather yourself before heading out.

the second you appeared on stage, screams erupted. you were instantly energized ready to give this show your absolute all and you did. there’s this bit you do at the end of your shows, where you head off stage and the fans yell “encore” over and over again until you come out again and perform one final song. today’s song was gonna be different.

“you want one more song?” you asked the crowd.

they all screamed “yes” so you delivered.

“okay, the last song of the night and of this tour is actually different than what i usually do because it’s an unreleased song…” you said as excited chatter arose from the crowd.

“yeah, i purposefully held back this song so it could be released as a single because it’s very dear to me and it deserves it's own moment, you know? so i wrote this about someone very special to me not even a month after meeting him but i recorded it recently so i could surprise you with it tonight. everyone, this is song is called ‘breathing’.”

as soon as the instrumentals begin and your fans cheered but as you sang it died down as no one knew the lyrics.

I don't really know about you, but something has started

'Cause deep inside don't feel good whenever we're parted

I don't ever wanna go backtrack, broken-hearted

daniel was in the vip balcony of the venue with lando and your friends. they were having the best time and lando was so excited to see you perform live for the first time. daniel was enjoying himself immensely and was in awe of how you sang. he leaned over and nudged your best friend, “this song is about me right?”

“no shit, sherlock.” she replied, already used to his dumb ass.

“‘kay, just checking,” his eyes never leaving you.

I feel like I hit my head 'cause now there are stars

More stars in my eyes than there is in the sky, babe

I'm sitting in the seat of your car

Your hand on my thigh, yes, I think I'm alright, babe

And now you're here, don't ever go far

you couldn’t help but look up into the balcony catching daniels eyes and singing the chorus directly to him.

I think I'm in love, I think I can feel it

Way back when I was young

I heard about love and never believed it

And then you changed my mind

In world record time

You said hello and I said: "Baby, don't tell me goodbye"

'Cause now I'm in love, can you believe it

That being in love is just as easy as breathing

in that moment, it was like only you two existed. everything and everyone faded away. fans were starting to notice your unwavering attention to a certain tall curly-headed guy up on the balcony that they started to take pics of y/n y/l/n’s new man.

daniel couldn’t stop smiling. he was finally watching you in your element and you were singing about how you’d never known love until him and that made his heart warm. he isn’t someone that opens up to others easily but you changed that. from your first interaction, he wanted you to know him and he wanted to know everything about you.

as the song ended, you were almost deafened at the sound of applause and cheers that erupted from your fans.

“thank you! thank you. so that was ‘breathing’ and like i said it’s coming out very soon so keep an eye out for that.” you spoke into the mic.

“is your special person here?!” yelled a young fan from the front row.

“is that obvious?” you chuckled as the crowd laughed along. “but to answer your question, yes he is and i’m beyond happy that he could come out to the last show of the tour.”

thanking your fans once more, you made your way off stage. daniel was the first to make his way to you wrapping you in a hug and lifting you off the ground. “you were incredible, absolutely incredible. and i loved your surprise very much,” he kissed you.

“can i say hi before you suck her face?” lando cheekily asked from behind him.

daniel let go so you could embrace his mclaren teammate. “i can’t believe this is the first time we’re meeting! daniel talks about you so much that i feel like i already know you.”

“i could say the same to you,” he patted you on the back before stepping back. “you were great! we had an amazing time.”

“aw, i’m really glad to hear it!’

“so... does that final song mean you two are going public?”

you looked back at daniel. “well, i tried to be subtle about him being in the crowd but failed miserably so i guess so.”

daniel took ahold of your hand. “thank god, i can finally tell the world that you’re mine. i’ve told a few of my mates back home and they actually don’t believe me.”

a mischievous grin grew on your face. “so let’s give them something to believe in then,” pulling out your phone you scrolled to the most recent picture in your camera roll. it was a picture your best friend took of you and daniel the night before where you were cozied up to him and he had an arm around you. throwing together a sweet little caption, you pressed ‘post’.

[theluckiestlb]

I was doing some geographic research of Paris for my fic and came across their official site for tourists.

They have a whole page dedicated to the show and???? It’s so adorably detailed?? They talk about various locations that were showcased, but also reference specific episodes. Not just season one either—   

A significant moment in the series takes place in Place du Châtelet, at the Fontaine des Victoires (also known as Fontaine du Châtelet and Fontaine des Palmiers). Ladybug kisses Cat Noir in front of this fountain, commissioned by Napoleon in 1806 to provide free drinking water to all Parisians. It is pillar shaped and adorned with sculpted palm leaves, with four sphinxes at its base. The gilded bronze Victory statue on top holding up a laurel crown in either hand was sculpted by Louis-Simon Boizot. 

The original statue is now housed in the Musée Carnavalet – maybe because of the damage Guitar Villain inflicted on the fountain when he played his ‘Shocking Riff’ against Cat Noir?

Fontaine des Victoires – place du Châtelet, Paris 1st

The Tour Montparnasse inspired an episode as action-packed as any Hollywood thriller. Adrien’s bodyguard, who has been akumatized into Gorizilla, chases Cat Noir and Ladybug to the top of the 210-metre-high tower offering a spectacular 360° view over Paris. The skyscraper was built on the site of the former Montparnasse station and inaugurated in 1973. Its weight rests on 56 reinforced concrete pillars, buried 70 metres underground.

Tour Montparnasse – rue de l’Arrivée, Paris 15th

Ladybug foils off attacks by three akumas inside the Louvre – Jalil Kubdel, who has transformed into The Pharaoh; The Mime, and Volpina, who creates amazing illusions. The world’s biggest museum was originally a castle built to protect Paris from Norman attacks. Today, it extends over an area of 243,000 m² and displays some 35,000 works. It has 403 rooms, 14.5 km of corridors and 10,000 steps. Stroll around soaking up more than 800 years of history, and do admire the glass and metal pyramid designed by I.M. Pei, where another of Ladybug’s adventures takes place.

Musée du Louvre -Pyramide du Louvre, Paris 1st

The park near the Dupain-Cheng’s bakery was inspired by the Place des Vosges. In the series, the park has a statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir sculpted by the fictional artist Théo Barbot. The real Place des Vosges – the oldest square in Paris – is in the Marais district. It was built in 1605 on the site of a royal palace, the Palais des Tournelles, and indeed initially named Place Royale. It is surrounded by 36 pavilions, all identical except the king’s own pavilion at the southern end and the queen’s at the northern end, both intentionally higher.

Place des Vosges, Paris 4th

When she isn’t busy catching evil akumas sent out by Hawk Moth, Marinette likes meeting up with her friends Alya, Adrien and Nino at ‘Troca’, where she also finds inspiration to design her new outfits. Facing the Eiffel Tower across the river, Trocadéro boasts gardens, ponds and some fine buildings. Start on Place du Trocadéro across from the Palais de Chaillot. From here, you will enjoy one of the loveliest vistas of Paris, and a breathtaking view of the Eiffel Tower.

Le Trocadéro – place du Trocadéro, Paris 16th

Ok, but?? Referencing Nino and Alya too?? Whoever writes/updates the page clearly loves the show. You can read more here.

[alternative27angel]

Chengyao Spy x Family AU

Just getting this out of my head because it’s seriously interfering with my actual WIP that I haven’t touched in months and would love to get back to actually

AU where Jin Guangyao is a seasoned spy that has to create a fake family

The father - Jin Guangyao (Professional spy. Codename: Lianfang-zun)

The child - Jin Ling (Telepath)

The mother step-father - Jiang Cheng (Professional assassin. Codename: Wanyin)

The mission - Infiltrate Cloud Recesses Academy in order to get close to Wen Ruohan, whose only grandson is the first Wen in decades to enroll at the school

The idea is relatively basic in set up, just having Chengyao and Jin Ling in the titular Spy x Family roles, as it’s almost like playing Spot The Difference. JGY canonically is a social chameleon with an eidetic memory and experience in espionage. JC has a ridiculous amount of strength, stamina, and will power, only matched by his ridiculously low self-esteem and astronomically high loyalty to his people. These two are Jin Ling’s parental figures.

This is just forcing them into a scenario where they know absolutely nothing about each other and have it in their best interests act like normal human beings and communicate for once in their lives. Imagine the surprise that this actually works for them.

As no one else fit quite so neatly, everyone else’s roles got tweaked and the plot changed as a result. Other casting choices are under the cut:

Lan Qiren as Henry Henderson - Seeing as I shamelessly replaced Eden Academy with Cloud Recesses, this was both the easiest and admittedly funniest character choice I could make. I’m not entirely convinced this isn’t the same character.

With that in mind, all the Lans are now employed as teachers at CRA, except for Lan Jingyi, whom is instead a dorm student in Jin Ling’s class and replaces the obnoxious twins whose names I can’t bother to remember.

Jin Ling’s only friend is Ouyang Zizhen, whom firmly believes Jin Ling’s family runs a secret business as peace-keeping superheroes. Jin Ling is okay with this assumption, though he’s not sure how Zizhen came to that conclusion.

The target is Wen Yuan, the son of Wen Xu and Wen Ruohan’s only grandson. Yes, I put Lan Sizhui in Damien’s role. Instead of being a classic rich boy tsundere, Wen Yuan is a good boy that’s just so overwhelmed by his crush filter that his brain automatically error codes and he does one of two things: either 1) he runs away at the speed of light, screaming at the top of his lungs or 2) he does random, absolutely dumb things like take his food tray and just dump it on the floor, himself, or whoever’s nearest.

Meanwhile, on the adult side of things: Jiang Cheng has been operating as Wanyin for most of his life, since his parents’ passing when he was fifteen. He grew up with Wei Wuxian, whom is oblivious to his double life, and Jiang Yanli, whom passed in a horrible accident some years back. I’m sure that’s not important.

Wei Wuxian is the Yuri Briar stand-in, only mildly less creepy because there are no obsessive incest vibes to be had, but extra creepy because he’s involved in mad scientist experiments alongside operating as a counter-intelligence operative. Jiang Cheng is blissfully unaware of any of this.

Nie Huaisang is, of course, Jin Guangyao’s lazy but brilliant informant that he’s known for years. His brother works in private security and has known JGY just as long (but does not know JGY and NHS’s actual jobs), and he continuously tries to convince Huaisang to go into the family business. NHS spends most of his off-time dodging Nie Mingjue whenever he comes calling.