#aaaaaand you know i planned to have much more characters like this at first... but i ended focusing too long on this one piece so i probabl
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autumn time to be gay and totally fine and not miserable at all
#i am coping you see#i love drawing autumn stuff.. and after producing hundrets pages of tma doodles in school it was time to. draw them properly#the ironic part is that it's raining ugly as im posting this. :[[#aaaaaand you know i planned to have much more characters like this at first... but i ended focusing too long on this one piece so i probabl#won't do other ones#(plus i have arcane to draw god. but i think i want the finale to come out first)#what can i even say. don't let me near blending layers it always ends up looking like this.#jon is my ugly clashing patterns grandma. you agree#(oh and martin is holding a notebook cause he goes to write poetry on autumn walks#if you're still here reading this have a nice day and a peaceful sleep kisses<33#mine#my art#the magnus archives#tma#jonathan sims#martin blackwood#melanie king#georgie barker#fanart#digital art
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hey susie! hope you're doing well! i've been a little down so i've been re-reading some of my favourite superbat fics of yours for comfort, and got to wondering how on earth do you plot out such long and complex stories? do you hit a word count target daily/weekly or do you just go a little crazy and write 20k over a week?
thanks for all the work you've shared!
Hey, anon! <333 I'm so sorry you've been feeling bleh, but fwiw I can't tell you how wonderful it is to hear that my fic is a bright spot for you when you need one. ;-;! (Obviously I also hope you now feel awesome, continue to feel awesome, and never need to revisit my fic again. :'D BUT IN THE MEANTIME, I appreciate it so much. <3!) And! The answer to your first question is: OUTLINING. It took me a while to figure out that outlining is really important to my process :'D but outlining is REALLY important to my process, and never more so than when I'm working on a long complicated AU of some kind! I do a lot of brainstorming/pre-planning, working out what exactly is going to happen (what the ripple effects of a canon divergence ought to be, what will change AND what won't; exactly how many different characters' POVs need to be in there, and what each of those characters is going to be doing; &c) and what order it's going to happen in ...
... and that process is what allows the answer to your second question to be: when it's time for me to actually start drafting, I ABSOLUTELY go hog-wild and write 20k in a week! Once I've got my outline squared away, when I'm feeling good about a fic and the idea is eating me alive, I top out at a little over 1k an hour. Aaaaaand when I'm not feeling like that, I don't write a single word. /o\
I have a wordcount-tracking spreadsheet that color-codes itself automatically, mostly for my own amusement, and under the cut is a cap of it for this year, January through the end of June.
TADA.
It's probably pretty easy to tell when I had a deadline approaching or a story to finish :'D and when I didn't, lol. (And you can also tell I tend to burn myself out a little, because after one or two of those purple 8k+ days, there's usually either some blank spaces or some very light green!) I'm trying to get better at writing more consistently instead of accordioning myself like this, but as you can see, a word-heavy May led to a pretty lackluster June, especially toward the end. :D WORK IN PROGRESS.
Anyway, yeah. If you want to know more about my actual process for working out the plot of something, just drop me another ask! <3 And thank you so much not only for the compliments, anon, but also for the excuse to natter on a little. :D <333!
#asks#asks:anonymous#susie is a work in progress#and also has a lot of works in progress#and for bonus points#is also absolutely godawful at actually working steadily#instead of just crunching like heck right in front of a deadline
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Rebels Rewatch: “Rise of the Old Masters“
Happy Father’s Day! Rather appropriately we are talking about a keystone Kanan-Ezra episode today. I swear I didn’t plan that, just how the timing worked out, lol.
Anyway...
I briefly mentioned this in my coverage of “Spark of Rebellion” but one of the reoccurring elements that tend to crop up in all my favorite characters (because I’m horribly predictable and have a Type) is:
“Has complicated yet ultimately heartwarming storgeic relationship with (surrogate) father figure.”
Soooooooo yeah, Kanan and Ezra pretty much hit me right in that particular button.
Poor Kanan fumbling with the lessons that came so instinctively to him. XD
“Actually that one always confused me too.” Love that Kanan can admit it.
Kanan’s approach is almost adorable in how inept it is, he’s just kind of throwing things against the wall hoping something will stick. In perhaps the worst environment to do any of this.
(Seriously Kanan, on top of the Ghost, while it’s in midair?! Disaster was inevitable.)
Hhhngl, look how Ezra’s eyes light up when Kanan offers him the lightsaber, he’s so eager for this.
Another quick instance of Ezra flinching as if anticipating being hit, watch close and you can see he ducks his head as well as squeezes his eyes closed briefly.
Kanan forgot to teach good weapons safety lol.
Ezra actually gets a few cartons when he peeks. :)
Aaaaaand down he goes, certain unmentioned uncharitable portions of fandom will not let up on Kanan about this particular series of mistakes.
Is practicing on top of the Ghost irresponsible child endangerment? Yes but... that’s literally the point????? Kanan has no idea what he’s doing and makes horrible mistakes left and right????? That’s why he’s so afraid and reluctant to teach Ezra????? That’s his whole motivation for wanting to go get Luminara?????
Oh but if characters do not relate to each other absolutely perfectly without any friction or conflict or mistakes whatsoever that’s horrible and toxic.
Said at least one Maul stan without a hint of irony.
Okay, done salting, let’s enjoy this moment of Ezra trying to play it cool in front of Sabine despite being in eminent danger of falling to his death.
“What, no, this is nothing. I’m fine.” XD
Fun fact: Pretty sure a gifset of this moment was one of the first Rebels-related posts I ever saw on my dashboard.
Hera looks very concerned here, lol.
And our first glimpse of what a Loth-cat looks like. Cutest addition to the Star Wars menagerie ever.
Ezra’s theme is piping in here, fragmented and quiet.
*resists the urge to go into another ranting paragraph about how uncharitable parties in fandom use this scene to argue that the Ghost crew are actually terrible towards Ezra and don’t care about him properly*
Once again, everything in the eyes. So much is unspoken but conveyed with just a look.
Friiiiiiick his expression here breaks my heart.
Casually referencing the events of last episode which should have been fandom’s first clue that it was more narratively tied into things than they thought and also introducing a new story element that plays out later. I don’t remember what I thought about Gall Trayvis the first time around, I’m pretty sure I found it weird and fishy though.
Ha ha ha the casual Fridge Horror of the Imperial broadcaster talking about a “planetary liberation” via Base Delta Zero protocol.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO MIGHT NOT KNOW: Base Delta Zero is basically code for “Have a bunch of Star Destroyers systematically incinerate everything on a planet’s surface from orbit.”
Soooooo yeah, there’s probably not much left of that particular “liberated” world.
Kind of interesting that Ezra chooses to confide in Chopper about his fears here.
I do like the nice cloud effects.
Kanan is in a very serious mood here, one we haven’t seen from him yet. Speaks to the depths of how badly he wants this to succeed.
Badass Stormtrooper takedown immediately ruined by feral gremlin child. <3
Aaaaaand yet another instance of Ezra flinching like he expects Kanan to hit him. Just what exactly caused such a pronounced startle effect, exactly?
Don’t think about bby Ezra growing up on the streets, don’t think about bby Ezra growing up on the streets--
Ezra looks so crestfallen here ow ow ow ow. :(
Hera shivers as if it’s cold, which could be taken straightforwardly but also I like to think she senses the bad vibes about the place.
Oh hey, now’s a good time to remind people of the horrible headcanon theory someone sent me about why Kanan can still sense Luminara even though she’s dead.
You’re welcome.
LOOK AT THIS TIRED FATHER AND HIS THREE HORRIBLE CHILDREN. Love how Zeb and Sabine openly roast him while he’s right there, terrible influences on Ezra the both of you. XD
Snrk, the one Stormtrooper getting his helmet caught in the lift doors lololol.
The music has been periodically sparse throughout this episode, the quiet parts giving all focus to dialogue, but it’s picked up quite a bit here.
I hear the Force Theme strings prelude of course.
It is physically painful how much Ezra already hero-worships Kanan and looks up to him. He didn’t want to learn how to be a Jedi from just anyone, he wanted to learn from Kanan specifically because thinks Kanan is so cool and amazing. Ezra is constantly in awe of him this episode.
But, I mean, is it any wonder that an emotionally vulnerable teenage boy with deeply-seated abandonment issues would latch onto the first available and positive adult male influence in his life?
The Force theme coming in more fully here to trick us right before the horrible reveal, though the way it sours on the end note is a little five-second musical foreshadowing.
Hi Grand, bringing the Imperial March with you I see.
And then his theme breaks in after the commercial break cut and lemme just appreciate it again, it’s so nicely dark and foreboding. That tiny little snatch of Force Theme on the trumpet can barely be heard through it, it’s too overpowering.
Grand refrains from going for an easy kill several times this fight. He likes to play with his food, apparently. Even toying with Kanan he’s waaaaaay outclassing him, very neat and precise fencing strokes here.
Kanan’s heavy flailing is actually very at odds with his supposed preferred form, Soresu, Form 3, a primarily reflective and defensive form, which makes Grand’s comment about him being a poor student sting a bit more.
Lololol my man doesn’t even flinch at Ezra’s slingshot bolts.
Hngl the smoke element is fantastic here. Watch it waft around Kanan and Ezra as they run through it. This is not the kind of effect work you usually get on CGI kids cartoon shows.
Kanan’s form actually improves a bit after the cutaway, his footing is more solid and he’s expending less effort, making his blocking stances more effective at turning back Grand’s blade. So that jibe from Grand apparently kicked Kanan’s brain into focus.
Oh yep, all those troopers are dead, that is not a survivable explosion.
Kanan’s managing the spinny Jedi flips now; he’s untensing and likely falling back into muscle memory and connection to the Force. I love how Star Wars tends to depict Jedi survivors getting back into practice after they haven’t picked up their sabers or connected to the Force in a long while, awkward at first but slowly getting the hang of it again, remembering their training, moving through basics into more complex moves until they’re comfortable again. I know A New Dawn also depicts Kanan tapping into the Force as straining a muscle that hasn’t been used in a while, nice consistency across the board there.
“He is unfocused and undisciplined.” “Well then we’re perfect for each other!”
And one of my favorite Papa Wolf Kanan moments right here when Kanan slams Grand up against the ceiling. :)
The Force Theme is finally louder and more confident here and Grand’s has taken a pause.
Buuuuuuut it’s soon back in force lol.
I dunno what it is but I really love the animation in Grand’s unflinching run through the closing doors here, even when he has to leap over them he doesn’t even break stride.
Ezra’s slicing and lockpicking skills kind of fall by the wayside as he focuses more on Jedi training, which is kind of a shame, I liked that he was a bit tech-savvy in ways Sabine wasn’t.
Why I like to include little moments here and there in my fics where he still gets to use his talents.
Can I appreciate this little moment of Sabine reaching for him in concern?
Of course I can, who’s going to stop me?
And one of my favorite master-padawan moments right here, Kanan finally giving some solid instruction (”Picture the locking mechanism in your mind.”), doing it with him, and it’s something easy that Ezra can already do albeit on a bigger scale.
A very victorious Force Theme to mark the occasion. :)
Something Rebels does when it needs to emphasize Kanan and Ezra’s connection is basically have them mirror each other’s pose, this is one of the first examples. Ezra’s straining a little bit more in his expression but they’re perfectly in sync and mirror-matched limb for limb.
WHICH DOESN’T NECESSARILY MAKE THE PARALLELED IMAGERY IN THE FINALE HURT MORE BUT IT ADDS A LAYER.
Ohhhhhhh hang on, does anyone wonder if Hera leading the tibedees here was inspiration for the eventual purrgil surprise?
It’s on theme at least, lol.
I hear the “Rebels Shenanigans” leitmotif here, bit more dramatic than normal, lovely.
Ezra’s theme coming in as we return to Lothal and man, there’s really nothing I could say about this scene that hasn’t already been said, this is one of fandom’s favorites, we can all spill ink about Ezra’s fear of abandonment and Kanan’s sense of inadequacy and how the Force tends to bring together pairs that teach and grow each other.
How Kanan finally figures out and understands what Yoda’s “Do or do not” line means, how it’s all about your mental state, you can’t give up before you’ve started, you have to be all in and fully committed.
How he’s realizing he has to commit to this and not half-ass it and that leads him to adjust his strategy and go much slower and more meticulously in this lovely little last scene which has the distinct look and feel of a father and son playing catch in the yard. ^_^
Our first real “plot-heavy“ episode of the series, heavy on the drama and interpersonal character conflict. Can see why it’s the episode that convinced a lot of people to stay on board. It delves much more deeply into Kanan and Ezra’s master-padawan connection, the Found Family aspects of which are, of course, widely loved. Their relationship was always one of the show’s strengths. Like Ezra and Zeb’s friendship it starts off rocky but there’s an extra emotional and personal element in that Kanan is the teacher, the “parent”, and they’re both connected to the Force, something no one else can teach Ezra about. Kanan has to be the one to guide Ezra through that learning process because he’s the only one who understands it, who can bring that aspect out of Ezra and make him truly who he is.
Kanan really starts to step up after this. He’s still got a LOT of fears and worries and insecurities, as he’ll tell Yoda later, but he’s over his initial mental block now. All the better for Ezra, for helping him feel wanted and safe. :)
Ahhhh I love this episode, the character growth from this point to the end is just *chef kiss*. More worried spacedad Kanan up next week, hopefully I’ll have that post up quicker than this one.
Coming in last minute like my newborn last month oy.
#star wars#star wars rebels#ezra bridger#space dad and his precious pumpkin child#rebels rewatch#liveblog
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𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞
pairing: college!chris beck x reader
words: 3.1k words
warnings: literally a pinch of angst and the rest is all goody holiday fluff. also i need a hug from chris beck. right now.
summary: for the first time in twenty years yn is not spending christmas with her best friend and boyfriend. what’s a girl to do without him?
a/n: i miss him so much. also i realize i’ve been writing so much college!chris stuff, i promise i’ll be getting into older, mid-thirties chris very very soon because i miss old man dick xoxo. jk, but i seriously have somne great ideas for sexy space daddy. anyways, i hope you all are having a wonderful lead up to the holidays, and stay slutty and sexy <3 (also please send me winter concepts, i need more)
main masterlist || sebastian stan characters masterlist
Bzz.
Y/N’s head shot up from her desk, feet failing to move her across the room gracefully as she reached for her phone from where she forced it down on her bed. Had it been any closer she would’ve texted Chris much earlier and then neither of them would get anything done. She’d been studying for her biology exam for, what, two hours now? The time on her phone showed that it was eleven at night, but what perplexed her more was the text she had from her boyfriend back in Connecticut. It must’ve been at least two in the morning and Y/N knew better than anyone else that if he did not get the right amount of sleep he would be a complete grouch for the entire day.
can i pretty please call u?
Aaaaaand distraction began. Her heartbeat quickened just the littlest bit, giddy at the thought of seeing Chris, even if it was just for a few minutes. She quickly clicked his contact and listened to the ringing phone with a smile.
“Hey, honey.”
Nothing was more soothing than Chris’ sleepy voice. It was deep and guttural and quiet and she could remember nights with his hands tracing her skin, reading his textbook aloud to her in the same way. It was no different as his pretty blue eyes popped onto the screen, tucked up to right under his chin. His nose and cheeks were flushed and rosy, and given the East Coast winter it made sense. She could imagine how he looked under the covers, wrapped up in his signature NASA sweatshirt and his fuzzy socks with little stars that she’d gotten him for his birthday the year before.
She grinned when he saw her, snaking a hand out of the blanket to wave cutely. Propping her phone against the pillow, she began to talk. “Hi, babylove. Why are you up so late? Your first class is at nine,” she mentioned with a small smile.
He sighed with a tiny frown, which really just tied off the whole sleepy teddy bear look he was rocking. “Well I was finishing up a lab report when my parents called me with some not so great news.”
“Oh,” her brows furrowed and she readjusted herself. She knew his mother hadn't been holding up the greatest with the cold Amy had brought in from the hoards in highschool a few weeks back, and it seemed as if she still wasn’t better. Y/N loved Mrs. Beck like she loved her own mother and the news fractured her heart just a bit more in preparation for the news Chris was about to share. “Is it about your mom?”
“No, thank god, my mom’s alright, just a little sniffly,” he breathed out quickly and his girlfriend sighed in relief. “It’s just that with my dad’s new interview and my mom being sick, we’re not going to be able to fly down for Christmas. I know we had the plan to, every year we’d switch, but this year just isn’t working out for my parents.”
“Oh.” That one word wasn’t enough to describe the heavy, sinking pit in her chest but Y/N prayed and hoped that Chris couldn’t feel the disappointment and sadness radiating off her through the phone. When she had made the choice to attend UCLA, she knew what she was getting into. Long distance relationship, long distance calls, no hugs or kisses, and the underlying feeling of sickness when she even so much as thought about him in someone else’s arms. It just happened that her parents decided that a move to California was in order as well, so there wasn’t any chance of even going back to Hartford to visit them. That’s what one gets when they decide to study marine biology in Los Angeles. “That’s okay, Chris, we’ll call each other on Christmas, right? And we still have the lake trip in April, so just four more months to go.”
The couple laughed somewhat fakely, both of them knowing that this would be quite a hit to their relationship. Maybe it was Y/N’s fear of growing overly clingy to her boyfriend and chasing him into the arms of another girl at Yale, or maybe it was her sadness over the fact that they wouldn’t be together for Christmas for the first time in twenty years. They were best friends before they were lovers, and that had sped up their relationship quite a bit, but was it too fast? Senior year of high school had been a blast, a whole year full of college applications and hurried kisses and fumbled first times in bedrooms, but now that they were apart she wasn’t sure where they stood.
“Y/N, starshine, are you frozen?” She looked up from the oh-so interesting sheets of her bed back to her phone, where a pair of pretty blue eyes were close up to the camera, confusedly staring through the screen. “I can’t tell if you’re frozen or if I am, honey, I think my RA may have screwed with our wifi again.”
“Don’t worry, Chris, I can see you.” Y/N chuckled. Leave it to him to break her out of a sour mood. Yet as cute as he was, she still felt a prickle of tired sadness poke into her heart. They both let out forced smiles, finding nothing to do but stare at each other through their phones. God, when did it get to this? She couldn’t tell how long they’d been so awkward around each other or if it was because of their given circumstances.
Chris checked the time and let out a yawn, his eyes filling with exhausted tears.
“I think I have to duck out soon, honey, it’s getting pretty late.” Y/N nodded a bit too quickly to his every word, placing her hand on the side of the phone and imagined that she could feel the smooth-shaven skin of Chris’ cheek under palm rather than the plastic phone case. “‘Course, babylove, you need your rest. Lord knows how much of a Grinch you are if you don’t get all eight hours of sleep.”
He smiled, his thumb hovering over the red button. “Alright, starshine, I’m gonna head off now. I love you.”
“Love you…” the call ended, only her melancholy expression staring back at her, reflecting all of the guilt and weight settled on her chest reflecting on a mirrored phone screen, “too.”
Eyes watering with burnout, Y/N held back a good, long cry and went to her small dorm room counter to make herself some chamomile tea, an empty dorm and hours of squinting at a textbook ahead of her.
December 14. Eleven days until Christmas, one hundred and sixteen until she had Chris in her arms again.
-
“Yes, mom, I swear I put the ham in for two hours, it’s gonna be fine.” Y/N bustled around the kitchen in a hurry, sweatshirt covered in soup from an accident on the stove and hands aching and cut from cutting carrots a bit too fast. She could feel her shirt sticking to her back from the sheer amount of sweat she was producing. She felt disgusted with herself.
Los Angeles was much warmer compared to the East Coast, year round, and of course Christmas Eve was no exception. Even after two years of college in the West, Y/N and her family still were not accepting nor had adapted to the heat change. Along with the heart of every kitchen appliance at work in the room, she was sweltering and wanted nothing more than to feel the freezing, harsh snow of Connecticut winters again. Her dad stirred together a dressing for the salad as her mom set the table with eight placemats, and she, ever the lovely daughter, had put to task with everything else. “Mom, I still don’t get why we need eight settings if it’s just the three of us this year.”
Her mom hesitated before placing down the fork in her hand, her eyes meeting her dad’s for the briefest of seconds before looking away once more. “It just looks nicer, hun, we have eight chairs at the table so it’d just look… awkward if we only had three place settings.”
The older woman came into the kitchen and cradled Y/N’s face, wiping flour from her eyebrow. “Dear Lord, you look a mess right now, Y/N.” The younger girl mumbled a sarcastic comment under her breath and her mother rolled her eyes. “Go take a shower and get dressed, your father and I will take care of the rest of dinner.”
Y/N’s eyebrows raised in surprise. Never had she or Chris been allowed to step a foot outside the kitchen until Christmas Eve dinner was done but she supposed her parents were taking pity on her for the absence of her aspiring doctor boyfriend. With a sigh she nodded, placed a gentle kiss on her mom’s cheek, and ran up the stairs to take a well deserved shower.
The water was painfully hot when it hit her but she didn’t care anymore. Even with the outbreak of heat against her skin, she found that it soothed her about Christmas better than either of her parents’ words did. Christmas tree farm, cider-making, gift wrapping- all her thoughts led back to Christopher Beck and her heart squeezed brokenly with each task she accomplished lonely.
Once she was done berating herself in the shower, she stepped out, accepting the cool air that greeted her. Granted it wasn’t really cool, but it seemed that way after her steam-filled bath. With a clean body and nice-smelling hair for a change, she walked back into her room to choose an outfit. She’d normally dress nicely, a pretty dress or skirt that complimented her well, but she felt no effort being put towards the holiday this year.
Instead she opted for jeans and her favorite cream sweater, nice enough for Christmas but not breaking her barrier of crippling sadness and reality. The wool material felt like another warm hug enveloping her arms, replacing the arms of the boy she loved across the county. God, he was all she could think about even miles away. How she had made it through finals was beyond her own knowledge.
Ella Fitzgerald started playing from the record player from the living room downstairs, and Y/N let herself close her eyes and remember Chris’ hands on her waist the year before as they danced to the same vinyl. She hummed softly bringing her own arms to wrap around herself, slowly swaying around her room to the gentle beat as she looked around her bedroom.
Since the family had moved to California, she hadn’t actually spent much time in her new room, but what she had achieved was some semblance of her old childhood room in Connecticut, starting off with polaroids and glossy photos of the life lived back there as well. But the one that was most appealing to her was the one on the day of her and Chris’ highschool graduation, with his arm slung around her waist so boyishly and his face nuzzled in her hair. He looked so sweet with his round glasses perched on his nose and his little khaki get-up, his frame towering over hers and feeling protective.
And the dress she wore, she still had it hung up in her closet. It was a simple white dress. It had fit her like a glove then, hugging her body in all the most appealing places, a satin baby-blue bow running across her waist. In the framed photo she saw her younger self accompany her outfit with a dainty silver necklace with her birthstone as a pendant, a birthday gift from Chris in middle school that still laid snug against her skin under the sweater, sat just in the center of her collarbones to bring in the sweetheart look she was pulling off. She also remembered how much her loverboy had liked that dress, taking every chance to expel his love for it and for her for that whole, perfect day.
Though it had only been a few years since their highschool graduation, she could already feel the memories of those years slipping through her fingers. Time truly slowed when Chris wasn’t around, but all of a sudden it seemed to pass all too quickly as she watched their life in pictures.
“That was the day our parents finally let us go off on the New York trip by ourselves right, right?” Y/N jumped nearly ten feet in the air, catching her breath just before sharply turning to meet the intruder at her front door.
But it wasn’t an intruder. No, instead she was met with a six foot tall man with fluffy chestnut hair and gorgeous baby blues. He wore a pristine white dress shirt tucked into black pants, a huge smile etched onto his face, and held up two wrapped rectangles that she knew were more astronomy books for her to read. And she knew it all so well because it was Chris. Her Chris. And he was finally home for the holidays.
“You look like an angel, honey.” The woman couldn’t respond, too caught up in the wonder of him being in her room, standing and acting like it was the most normal thing in the world.
Chris’ smile grew wider at her lack of response, knowing he’d tease her for her slack jaw and wide, adoring eyes later, and stuck out his arms, invitingly warm, just for her. “Well, starshine, aren’t you gonna say anything?”
He’d soon take back his words, as Y/N chose to speak with actions rather than his loved words. Her heart filled with overwhelming joy and her held back tears finally spilled over, racing down her face in celebration of a return. Running across the floors at full speed, she hit Chris like a freight train, plowing straight into him and burying her face into his chest. “You’re here.” Her voice came out muffled through the fabric of his shirt, “You came back to me.”
He pulled her back from his chest, not wasting a second in feeling her soft lips on his chapped ones. He savored the taste of her, like cinnamon and cloves from the gingerbread she had probably snuck while cooking downstairs, and he groaned when she returned the kiss with as much fervor. Her tongue slipped past his lips as her arms drew his neck into her. Yet Y/N couldn’t help the smile that fought against her mouth, so she pressed it against his equally wide one. And, oh god, how she had missed those lips. Pillowy and soft with just the right amount of pressure, calloused hands cradling her face in the gentlest of ways.
Even after they had both gasped for air, he continued to steal quick kisses from her as he spoke. “Had to,” kiss, “come back,” kiss, “to you, honey.” Kiss. “Did you think I was just gonna leave you all alone on Christmas? Haven’t spent this day apart in-”
“Twenty years,” Her final peck broke apart their embrace, her eyes now focused on the rough stubble that covered his chin. “This is new.”
Her hands scraped over the once-smooth skin, and she didn't deny the feel of it. It was nice. His eyes turned almost sinister then, darkening with every word he spoke. “Well, I was thinking about how much you used to like it and thought it would be a nice surprise.”
His insinuating eyes were no secret to his girlfriend and she smacked his chest with a gentle laugh before pulling him down to her, nose to nose. “Oh, trust me, hun, it’s more than welcome.”
“Ew!” Amy Beck stood in the doorway, dressed in a red sweater and a white jean skirt, her childish, blue eyes filled with disgust. At the gleaming age of seventeen, she held her phone in hand and a mug of cocoa in the other, pointing it at Chris in disgusted shock. “I do not need to hear that the reason you decided to grow your gross hobo beard out is because you were planning on being a pervert. Mom raised you better than that, big brother.” She glared at her sibling with knives as slits in her eyes, before turning to one of the women she had admired most growing up with a just as adoring smile. “It’s great to see you, Y/N, come down to eat whenever you’re ready.”
The seventeen-year old girl murmured continuously as she left Y/N’s room, her stomping footsteps shaking the house. Chris and Y/N stood in the room, completely still and caught up in embarrassment before she started laughing, trying to stifle the sounds of her joy against her boyfriend’s shoulder. Her laughter egged on his own and though his face was flushed completely red, he managed to fumble out an apology to his girlfriend.
“I think you just scarred poor Ames for life, she’s never gonna look at you the same way,” the woman grinned.
“Nah,” he brushed it off, even with his fully blushing face, “she’s just surprised and in awe that I actually get some.”
He sighed with a fond smile, and pecked her on the lips one more time, just trying to hold on the feeling of her lips against his before he had to leave again, but he didn’t want to think about that. He had a full-on week with his love. He could work with a week.
Y/N’s genuine smile was never ending as she wrapped her arms around her idiot-but-also-genius-of-a-boyfriend’s waist. All of her stress, all of her worries and everything else within miles dissipated in that moment, because nothing else was more important than Chris being in her hold again. She didn’t even think about how he was here. Was his mom okay? Did his dad book the job? Did he plane over himself?
But it was not a time for questions. Just long-awaited love.
“It’s good to have you home, babylove.”
Home. Shouldn’t have come as a surprise, after all his heart would always follow hers even if there was an entire galaxy separating the two. It may have not been everlasting, this moment, but they’d be damned if they didn’t savor every second they had together.
“It’s good to be home for the holidays, starshine.”
#chris beck#sebastian stan#the martian#sebastian stan x reader smut#sebastian stan x reader#chris beck x reader#𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞
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Symphonia Thoughts Pt. 7
Thoughts under the cut as usual! 👇🏾
The Symphonia characters aren't the only ones going through developments. I hated Zelos from the moment I laid eyes on him but since last time I have started to genuinely like him for some reason or another. He doesn't annoy me as much as he used to and after seeing Lloyd call him out on hiding his feelings a few times in his skit point skits I've actually grown to appreciate him (love him even)^^ On a related note, I spent many many hours doing nothing but battling, cooking fried rice with bell peppers (which Colette doesn't like), then running back to the store until I had cooked it well over 700 times in total and finally got her out of first place and Zelos into first place. And I did this all for a few one off unimportant scenes, a singular skit, and some battle dialog lines. More importantly just for my own pride. But it was all worth it, they let him out of hunny jail for a minute because of it:
And speaking of "hunny", I ran this poor man all around the theme park. At least Lloyd was having a blast.
Him and Raine's performance was terrible minus the part where she kicked him off the stage at the end, that was true art.
I lost 20,000 gald in the casino in less than 5 minutes. But I was playing as Zelos at the time (collecting money/items from the ladies in there) so that seems in character for him. Sorry Genis, we're unfortunately not gonna be getting that kendama back if winning is a requirement... Aaaaaand speaking of Altimira, with all of the fun parts out of the way, let's move on to a different character: Regal. Boy oh boy, that was... a lot. I mean obviously I already knew he murdered Alicia and why, seeing them actually interact and watching the flashback was very very sad. Furthermore just thinking about the implications of it all. He already had to go through the pain of being put in a position where he had to kill her once because she was trapped in that monstrous body and suffering. Now when he met her again he met with the same situation, her asking to be killed because she's trapped in an exsphere and suffering. At least this time he didn't have to be the one to do it. Also her talking to him, urging him to stop punishing himself and him expressing how much pain and guilt he felt about what happened... that was so sad :( And that's not even to mention Presea... That was her sister who she thought was alive. She was so ready to avenge her too until she knew the truth. I would imagine one might have some sort of survivors guilt seeing as though she survived the very thing that killed her sister, even if she lost out on a ton of her life because of it. Still, I hope her and Regal can get along from now on. I ran into some people from her past in Sybak and Meltokio, I hope she gains the courage to talk to both of them eventually. Ugh... Mithos... so far I kinda hate him. He feels like... manipulative?? Idk why or if it's even intentional or not but almost everything he says to Genis feels like a manipulation tactic. It's hard to put into words but just the emphasis Mithos puts on how nice it is to have a half elf friend, how similar they are, all the hints at how much he dislikes and trusts humans, him shutting down and wanting to be alone all the time, him constantly turning normal conversations into something tragic about his own life, etc. Like am I being too hard on a traumatized child or is there actually something wrong with this kid? The question will plague me until his story unfolds further. But as it stands now I don't like him that much and I think he's on the path to making Genis not like/trust humans :/ Idk BOTTAAAAA!!! I wasn't expecting that to hit me as hard as it did. Don't know what you got till it's gone I guess. Them trying to break the glass and him just standing on the other side smiling, content with his decision. I know he achieved his goal and had likely planned on something like this in the event it came to this but... Jeez... And what was Yuan's reaction (or lack there of)? I have a hard time telling if he genuinely didn't care or if he was just suppressing his feelings about it in front of others. I'd like to think it was the later, as someone in the party (idr who, Zelos maybe? Raine?) mentioned, they'd been working together for a long time. On the plus side, discount Sonic is dead. Bye bitch, you will not be missed :) I do find it interesting how high the chain of deception goes. I'm thinking back on the Desian soldiers who were mislead by their leaders who were misled by Rodyle who was mislead by someone else. Does it go even higher than that???
Ran into Kratos in Meltokio, just as cryptic as always! He was looking for some magical wood or whatever it is (the stuff Presea carries) and then ran off to go look for it. Of course, not before dropping incredibly vague hints about how Lloyd should be careful making pacts before he causes an event he can't come back from and how he should be patient about saving the world. I think he's trying to help us? I don't know who to believe, him or Yuan. They both seem like they're disobeying their leaders and trying to help Lloyd yet they are doing so in different and conflicting ways. On one hand, I would be inclined to distrust Yuan because he has no connection to the main party and most of the times we met in the past he was just trying to fight everyone. However, Kratos so easily betrayed us once before and lead us around on a mission that he knew was suicide for Colette without speaking a word about it. I like how we established Noishe as a character with a personality at the beginning but since then he's never really been seen again when you aren't using him, not really even in skits anymore. I guess I won't complain though, his beady little eyes give me the creeps. Recently I've been choosing dialog options for Lloyd that are more on the skeptical or stern side and I think doing that has enhanced my experience overall, even if it really does just come down to roleplaying in my head and HCs. I'd imagine even someone like Lloyd with that sort of innocent determination to help everyone and save the world would eventually grow hesitant of blindly accepting everyone and rushing into things after facing so many betrayals and mistakes. He seems to really blame himself for the people who get hurt along the way and for the people he can't save. I think reasonably being more cautious and less of an impulsive good guy would be a trait he might develop later on as a result of this. For example, even small things like when Regal asked to tag along and the options were to immediately accept him or to say that it's only okay if Presea is alright with it. The former choice could unintentionally hurt Presea, the latter is more considerate of her and allows a second opinion. In general I think it would be nice for Lloyd to think more about the consequences of his actions now that he knows how cruel the world can be and how even his trusted friends have secrets.
Kuchinawa is still at it and he's siding with our enemies too, that doesn't seem good. Can't wait to fight him again hopefully.
Idk what to make of this room or this man but... this certainly happened.
And I think that may be it for today! Overall some of the most lighthearted moments and some of the most tragic moments all in one day.
#jun plays symphonia#tales of symphonia#tales of series#zelos wilder#regal bryant#presea combatir#genis sage#lloyd irving
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I posted 239 times in 2022
11 posts created (5%)
228 posts reblogged (95%)
Blogs I reblogged the most:
@three--rings
@bengiyo
@yeetlegay
@lutawolf
@ilargeicontradictmiself
I tagged 229 of my posts in 2022
Only 4% of my posts had no tags
#you’ve got to be queueing me - 107 posts
#you’ve got to me queueing me - 39 posts
#love in the air - 31 posts
#kinnporsche - 18 posts
#mdzs - 16 posts
#payurain - 15 posts
#lita - 14 posts
#love in the air the series - 14 posts
#wei wuxian - 14 posts
#mass effect - 13 posts
Longest Tag: 137 characters
#i say let me enjoy my trashy gay smut. my artsy queer awakening cinema. my revolutionary punk rock burn down the establishment love story
My Top Posts in 2022:
#5
Gap The Series Episode 02 Thoughts
1. Everyone calls her Mon. But you can call her future wife. Love of my life. Walking goddess. Baby girl. The choices are endless Sam!!
2. Hfffgghhfhh. Or babe. Babe is a good pick too 😂😂.
3. Aaaaaand we have our first eye-fucking of the episode!!! This show’s like we know lesbians. Half of their foreplay is eye-fucking, and we aim to be as accurate as possible. To which I say, thank you for the blessing and consideration 🙌🏾🙌🏾
4. Oh Sam dearest. She’s not saying you’re old. She’s calling you Mommy!! 😏
5. Hear that “Your Line in my phone. Now” voice??? And you wonder why she calls you Mommy 😂😂
6. I feel you Sam! If my crush gave me their jacket, I’m never washing it, or taking it off!!!
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23 notes - Posted November 27, 2022
#4
Never Have I Ever - A PrapaiSky Fic(let)
So the thing is, I haven't written in almost 4 years (and no. My WangXian short doesn't count because it was meant to be 31 chapters and I still have 30 chapters unwritten since Mayhem November last year).
But, @suga4mycoffee requested for a fic where Prapai is made to realize just how badly he fucked up, based on the tags I made to her post, so that got the dusty ass writing plot bunnies going and now you have a fic that I think is rusty af, but I hope you enjoy anyway Suga.
**
If looks could kill, Saifha was sure his twin would have had him drawn and quartered, buried in a shallow grave with no headstone to commemorate his passing. And if he were a nicer twin, he would probably have found remorse buried somewhere in the depths of his heart.
But alas, he is very much Payu’s twin, and bringing his brother a measure of discomfort and misery soothed his soul. The fact that it made Payu’s boyfriend just a little bit miffed, which in turn meant that Nong Rain turned those bright eyes of his on his boyfriend in a glare that would have withered a lesser man, was just icing on an already spectacular cake.
Having Nong Sky and Prapai caught up in all this however, wasn’t something he had planned.
But… Did he find it entertaining anyway? Certainly. It was wonderful the number of secrets that a simple game of Never Have I Ever, which he is proud to admit was his suggestion, could unravel. Besides, when you looked at it from the right perspective, he really was doing them all a collective favour. Best to let them air our their fears and insecurities and hurt, so their relationships can be the more stronger for it.
Really, he should be deified for all the service he’s been rendering.
“Never have I ever had an ex draped all over me, even though I already have a boyfriend, and I didn’t push said ex off, the minute he pulled his shit.”
At the words, Saifha’s eyes snapped to Nong Sky, and then Prapai. At the same time, Nong Rain turned to look at his best friend, whilst Payu’s eyes were locked on Prapai.
“That is… Oddly specific,” Saifha murmured, leaning back to watch the chaos unfold.
Praipai meanwhile leaned forward, fingers flexing on his glass of scotch whiskey, already half empty, because Prapai apparently had very few Never Have I Evers, and although Nong Sky’s been smiling every time Prapai’s had to lift that glass to his mouth for a drink—oh to be young and sickeningly in love—there was no smile on his face now, as he waited for Prapai. As they all waited for Prapai.
Praipai meanwhile had his eyes on Nong Sky, a softening in their brown depths that pulled a low sound from his boyfriend’s throat, had Nong Rain’s eyes widening, and Payu tilting his head the way he did when he was furiously trying to connect the dots.
Saifha could feel his own eyes widening. Oh shit. He fucked up didn’t he?
“You saw?” The words came out in a whisper so low, the wind almost caught it and erased it. But they were all hanging on a thread, heightened by the hurt in Nong Sky’s voice, and the remorse in Praipai’s, that they all heard it.
“Are you drinking or not P’Pai?” Nong Sky’s voice was cold. Gone was the teasing inflection that Saifha was used to hearing. And clearly he wasn’t the only one who noticed. Nong Rain’s mouth was open, and Prapai flinched.
Saifha watched him take a deep breath, and down the rest of the whiskey in one gulp.
He heard an explosion of sound as Nong Rain launched himself at Prapai, only to be pulled back by Payu. Saifha noted that the grip Payu had on his boyfriend was loose, barely restraining him as Nong Rain’s eyes spat way more rage than that little body should have access to.
Saifha could tell. If Payu wasn’t holding Nong Rain back, Prapai would have had to deal with the nails and teeth of his boyfriend’s best friend who looked like he was minutes away from breaking free of Payu’s hold and dealing all the hurt he could at the man who’d dared to hurt his friend.
And with the way Payu was holding him, Saifha could tell that he was really considering letting go, and giving Nong Rain the free rein to dole out all the damage he wanted.
Nong Sky meanwhile seemed to let loose all the air that he’d held in, waiting for Prapai’s response. Saifha watched as he deflated, and curved into himself. His hands digging into the flesh of his upper arms as he rocked back and forth.
“I’m sorry,” Prapai whispered, knees sinking to the floor right in front of Nong Sky, hands reaching out to touch him, and then pulling back, fingers flexing like he didn’t have the right to do that anymore.
“How could you P’Pai? How could you?” Nong Rain’s voice kept rising, his feet trying hard to connect with Prapai’s shin. But Payu’s hold held strong and he couldn’t come close.
“Why?” At Nong Sky’s whispered question, everyone quieted. Prapai slid a step closer, and Nong Sky’s eyes locked with his.
Saifha could feel the moment when everything, and everyone else faded away for them. They were together, in their own cocoon of hurt and pain and regret.
“Why are you sorry P’Pai?”
“I—“
“Are you sorry that you said you would be out in 5mins and you didn’t keep that promise? That I ran into girls there who were talking about how they wanted to fuck you? Are you sorry that they mentioned that P’Payu had made it clear that he had a boyfriend, but they had no idea that we were together? Are you sorry that they thought they had a chance with you because they didn’t know otherwise, because you didn’t tell them otherwise?”
Saifha watched Prapai’s shoulders slump with each question that Nong Sky tossed his way. The younger boy’s voice was low and level. No inflection of the rage that Saifha would have expected. It was like he had sunk deep into the depth of all that hurt and pain; like they were were questions he had asked himself over and over again, until he had numbed himself to it, and disassociated from it all.
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62 notes - Posted November 22, 2022
#3
Everybody else: The special episode had Daddy Kink, Prapai eating Sky out on a conference desk leading to some conference desk fucking, Sky pulling out his claws on one of Prapai’s exes, Rain and Sky being dumbasses and Sig having his villain cackle moment…
Me: Hold up! WHEN WAS SOMEONE GOING TO TELL ME THIS EPISODE HAD A ONE PIECE REFERENCE????! One Piece made it into Lita???? OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
Look at Monkey D. Sky go! He’s going to become the king of boyfriends! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
102 notes - Posted November 27, 2022
#2
Things that will live in my head rent free, courtesy of the special episode
1. Daddyyyyyyyyy
2. Rain’s little hitch of his hips and eye rolling to the back of his head as Payu slides in
3. Conference tables are for gaming and fucking and gaming while fucking and fucking while pretending to be gaming
4. Payu in a pilot uniform
5. Prapai’s “huh” at Sky saying they should have a bath
6. Payu thumping Rain’s lower lip with that whispered “I’m trying to make it up to you now”
7. That little hitch to Prapai’s breath and his “absolutely” to Sky asking if he wants to kiss him
8. Payu and Rain’s final “I love yous” 😭😭😭
9. Prapai’s “I want to have the right to take care of you” proposal
10. Payu’s ass in those wet CLINGY white trousers. Jesus fucking Christ!!!
604 notes - Posted November 27, 2022
My #1 post of 2022
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1,259 notes - Posted November 29, 2022
Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →
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Snippets Ch.4 : Johnny and Josuke (4) with the Same Crush (3)
Previous Chapter
A set of multiple drabbles/oneshots combining characters (i.e Jojos) from multiple parts and AUs.
.::.
"That guy...do you think--" Josuke started.
"That's their boyfriend? No idea." Johnny quickly answered, trying to play it off as if he didn't care.
It was quite the opposite. He may have cared too much.
To say Johnny was jealous was an understatement. But it seemed like Josuke was feeling some of the heat too, seeing you hanging out with some guy and proceeding to talk about him with Josuke when the two of you went to lunch the other day.
Josuke was still in the dark about Johnny’s own crush on you, which was a relief for the jockey, but it was hell for him, having to be afraid of either guy winning you over first.
He just needed to muster up the courage to talk to you again, but it was a lot more difficult than he thought it’d be. You two always seemed to be busy when the other wasn’t. Of course he still had Gyro (and occasionally Josuke and Hot Pants) to keep him company, but he missed you.
The little spat the cousins had was forgotten for a while. They didn’t exactly apologize to each other, but just starting to talk normally again was enough sign there was no hard feelings. The younger teen was still very confused about Johnny’s intentions that day.
‘ Was he trying to be a good role model or was he just mad I was leaving him at home?’ he thought. It didn’t really matter to him anymore, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t concerned about what Johnny must’ve been thinking, and if he still did feel that way.
They sat at a small table on the far side of the kitchen. Josuke, looking rather bored, held his head on his palm, while Johnny was playing on their shared Switch. Or at least, was pretending to be after Josuke brought up the subject.
“Hey, can I ask you an honest question?” The Japanese teen breaks the icy silence once again.
Johnny merely raises an eyebrow with a low ‘hm’ that was barely audible. His heart silently raced thinking of what the boy sitting across from him had on his mind to ask.
“(y/n)...how long have you known them?”
A simple enough question to start off with, Josuke thought. Yet Johnny’s lips still pursed.
“Uh...about half a year now. We got really close in that time I’d say.” That last part wasn’t even to get a rise out of Josuke, he just genuinely thought so. He really cared about you, romantically or not.
Meanwhile, Josuke had only known you for the duration of the summer, which was about to end in a couple of weeks. Perhaps if he’d beg Johnny to let him stay he’d have more time to bond with you, but there was also the issue of him feeling homesick from time to time.
God, if he could take you back to Morioh with him..it’d be like a dream come true.
They both had quickly forgotten about whatever guy Josuke was referring to earlier, mixed up in their own thoughts about their relationship with you. Besides, he had only ever seen the guy once, there was no way you’d switch up on him that quickly.
He had no dates or anything planned with you like he usually does, though. Not that he didn’t want to spend time with you, he just felt as if he was coming off as a little...clingy.
Higashikata had been trying to drop hints that he liked you, such as buying you things, having heart-to-heart conversations as he’d walk you home, calling you pet names, and ending his goodnight texts with a little heart emoji. He considered himself a romantic, but when it came to your reactions, you kinda brushed them off platonically. Perhaps you’d never been flirted with before?
His texts were still frequent, making sure you were having a good day and all, but he figured maybe he should start being a little more risky..
“What do you like about (y/n) anyways?” Johnny asked.
There was a pause for a couple of seconds, before Josuke scooted back in his chair and got up from the table, intending to retreat to his room for a couple of hours.
“The same things you do, probably.”
.::.
“Ow! Gyro, what the hell was that for?!”
“Because, idiota, you need to confess already.” He hovers over Johnny like a judgmental parent.
Josuke had left the house to get some groceries, and in that time, the jockey called Gyro over. Not for advice specifically, but that's what it had eventually turned into. Sitting on the floor of Johnny’s room (where it was painfully easy to find porn magazines, Gyro won’t let that go as long as the two of them live).
“Like seriously, this is getting embarrassing to watch, just do it already.” The Italian pointed a finger at his friend. “Sooner or later you’re gonna do the thing where you get the girl drunk and then sleep with her regardless of feelings.”
“Ugh, I’m not like that anymore Gyro!” Johnny folds his arms with a pout his friend knows all too well at this point. “I’ve never committed to anyone before, so of course this is a little more awkward for me than it is for anyone else, you know this!”
Indeed he did know. It was somehow one of the things they always ended up talking about.
“Listen, I know how this is gonna end. Its gonna end with you in this same room, bunched up in several blankets, listening to Fleetwood Mac on repeat with 3 pizza boxes to make yourself feel better.”
The American scoffs.
Gyro sits upright on his bed. “I’m right. Look, this gal means a lot to you, I know. I’ve seen it. You’ve never stared at someone with such a…not hateful look in your eye.” It was half a joke, half truth. “And I don't wanna see you sad, so you’re just gonna have to pull yourself up, grow some steel balls, and ask them out. For real. For both of our sakes at this point.”
Johnny rolls his eyes. “Wow, Gyro wants me to be with a girl? Pigs must be flying.”
“You are so not funny.” The Italian’s teeth flashes for a moment as he scowls.
“Alright, since you’re such a casanova, why don’t you tell me what to say to them?” At this rate, there was really no other choice for Joestar to take. He could ask Hot Pants, but knew she would give him similar advice.
“Nyo-ho! I’ll show ya! All you gotta do is gimme your phone.”
As soon as the word ‘gimme’ was uttered, the jockey clutched his phone as if it was a baby. The last few times he lended his friend his phone, it didn’t go so well.
Gyro would’ve snorted if he wasn’t serious about this.
“Come onnn! It--”
“Won’t go like the last three times, right? Fat chance.”
“Just hurry and hand it over before I tackle you!”
The larger man did that far too much already, much to Johnny’s dismay. Once Gyro had him in a headlock, there was no getting out of it. He defeatedly raised his phone up to the man for him to take.
“If you ruin anything, I’m doing the same thing to you, AND taking your damn horse.” The Italian waved him off as if he was merely an angry toddler. As he typed, Johnny tried to peer over and see, but his friend was too adamant on turning side to side so he couldn’t. The expressions Gyro was making wasn’t a good sign either. First confused, then mischievous, then looking a little too proud of himself. The jockey’s hands could start sweating at any moment from the sheer anxiety this was giving him.
“Aaaaaand done! There we go, all set!”
Johnny reached for his phone as soon as the words left his mouth, unapologetically in a snatching manner to immediately read the text sent.
::‘Hey This is Johnny darling. Hope your day has been as beautiful as your smile. I was wondering if you’re free tomorrow by 12pm. I have something very important to tell you. See you soon xoxo.’::
Alright, so it wasn’t as bad as he thought itd be (not nearly as bad as the time Gyro dared him to send a ‘send nudes’ text to you) but god, it would look suspiciously out of character for you to see. He can’t even remember the last time he typed ‘darling’ instead of ‘darlin’ and actually bothered to punctuate his texts. And who even used ‘xoxo’ anymore?
His friend looked at him with a big grin, waiting for his reaction. A slightly more pure smile than if he were waiting for Johnny to get a joke.
“Soooo what do you think? You gotta pick some nice clothes out for your date.”
The shorter man sighs.
“Its...passable.”
.::.
Josuke got home a little later than he expected. He was surprised to see there was still Prince CDs in stock at the store. Thats one of the perks of coming to America, he guessed. He was more than ready to put them into one of Johnny’s old CD players he had found. It was already hard for him to listen to pretty much anything without thinking of you. At least if it was Prince specifically, it would help him feel better and he could jam out to it.
Finally finding the track he wanted, he grinned, letting the music play out loud and hopping on his bed. It was a good few minutes before he had started getting that feeling in his gut again.
..Crap, this wasn’t helping either.
The teen felt that he couldn’t endure this much longer. Love was something he took very seriously and to be so unsure about your relationship just made him feel funny. He had to at least know for sure if the both of you were on the same page. Josuke was sick of being so anxious about it.
Josuke laid down flat on his back, pulling his phone out.
“You know what? I’m gonna ask them out.”
#jojo#jjba#jjba x reader#Josuke Higashikata#josuke x reader#josuke higashikata x reader#Johnny Joestar#johnny joestar x reader#jojo x reader
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watch this! – a murderous affair in horizon tower
Hello there! I’m back with another gem of a drama to shove in your face recommend! Perhaps you’ve already heard of it, considering its popularity over in the Mainland webisphere: A Murderous Affair in Horizon Tower (摩天大楼). Let’s get into it (spoiler-free, as usual):
What is it?
Horizon Tower follows a police officer duo as they investigate the murder of a woman who lived and died in an apartment complex. Each of the apartment’s residents appear to be hiding something significant (the tagline on the poster above reads, “every person has their own secret; who are you more willing to trust?”). The more clues that surface, the more obvious it becomes that the victim is not your average woman—and her death is not your average murder.
16 episodes total, each clocking in at ~40 min/episode. This format allows for snappy plot twists that keep you on your toes while building something of much bigger circumstance in the background.
Horizon Tower is about as close to pure mystery as a drama can get, where most of your enjoyment is rooted in deciphering clues and making deductions about each suspect. This is a show whose face may be the murder, but whose golden contents are its characters.
Classic "whodunnit” story combined with underlying, soft suspense. You are presented with suspect after suspect, each one more secretive than the last. You know when someone’s lying, but you quickly learn how difficult it is to discern how much of what they say is fabricated. If you manage to emerge at the end of the finale without a heightened sense of paranoia, I will kowtow at your feet.
Why watch?
A+ acting – I know some of you are going to look at the cast list, see Angelababy, and make the fastest u-turn out of here, but STOP! Don’t worry, she’s playing a dead person. Even for her, that can’t be challenging. Jokes aside (I am only half-joking), while her acting here isn’t anything award-worthy, the casting decision mostly works. Much of the drama’s allure relies on her character being a total mystery. A majority of what we learn about her is not discovered through her: we only see her through the eyes of other people. Hence, Angelababy’s...uh...calm mien is ultimately beneficial in creating the image of someone whom you will never understand in full. ...Look, I’m trying here. Please give me some credit.
As for the rest of the actors, you'll come to appreciate all of them for their interpretations of their characters. Everyone’s acting is spot-on and sucks you into the mystery. The two officers that you tag along with are quirky in their own ways: they are two individuals with fundamentally different philosophies on how to approach life and investigations, and that produces a good amount of interesting interactions. Most of the suspects are eccentric, but they never seem outlandishly so due to the actors’ natural movements and speech.
Aaaaaand personal brownie point for Jin Shijia because I chortled out of sheer glee when he showed up for the first time. (Anyone who’s watched Twenty Your Life On will be wildly entertained to see what his role—albeit minor—is in this drama.) Self-indulgent screenshot because look how dumb cute:
Doesn't insult your intelligence – unsurprisingly, this drama relies on plot twists. They’ll have you at the edge of your seat, but nothing is included just for shock value. You know what I’m referring to; those shows where the writers sit down and are determined to have the viewers' jaws drop once the culprit is revealed, even if it means sacrificing something like, oh, fundamental logic? Horizon Tower isn't like that: if you pay close attention, it's possible to predict the motivations behind each person’s actions since the show’s logic connects from beginning to end (mostly, ignoring a few forgivable plot holes). If you’re in the mood to use your brain while watching a drama, then I think you’ll have a great time with this one. Friendly suggestion: plan to hunker down and not budge until you’re done. Prep hours and hours worth of popcorn for sustenance. Stock up on water. I watched this over the period of a week, getting through a couple of episodes a day. Having to get through an entire week before finding out the truth behind the murder was a true test of my sanity. Just. Would not recommend.
Social commentary – while most dramas nowadays address issues like sexism, class division, familial relationships, etc., the degree to which they’re successful in doing so tends to be hit or miss. For example, I can think of several “feminist” dramas whose portrayal of empowerment are exaggerated and/or insincere, which damages the overall message. Due to the writers’ efforts, Horizon Tower doesn’t fall into such a category. Every character's story represents a certain facet of human and social flaws and are completely believable. When all mixed together and put within the context of a murder, they intertwine into an image that appears confusing, but ultimately forms a clear picture of the circumstances behind our lady’s death and the tragedies in others’ lives. Personally, I find this to be the main selling point of the drama. First and foremost, it has an enrapturing plot, but it also showcases a bond to reality that cannot be severed. Horizon Tower’s social commentary is tied quietly with the characters and the storyline, and that natural integration is why it’s so effective.
Killer (haha) soundtrack – great instrumentals to pair with every moment. (Truthfully, I have a soft spot for shows that only use lyric-less music during episodes. The immersion!) Classical music is an especially important theme, and I was satisfied with the extent to which it was capitalized on. And the ending theme is fantastic. When you hear the opening notes of it play right as a character says something crucial, and then credits roll? Oof. Goosebumps.
Sets the mood – the editing rouses something in your gut that makes you infuriatingly curious about who the killer is. Whereas other crime shows may have you saying, “oh I guess it could be that guy,” Horizon Tower is more than likely to push you into a fire pit of masochistic frustration as you try to figure out the culprit’s identity. The atmosphere swings back and forth between solemn and foreboding due to muted colors and smartly manipulated angles. You’ll often be faced with snippets of flashbacks and sounds that are impossible to piece together until the last episode. Overall, the show shines in how it captures the intensity of a moment and a character’s entire personality in a single shot.
To say Horizon Tower is perfect would be a tough argument to uphold, but it’s definitely an exciting watch that’s worth every bit of your attention. This is what I wish more crime/mystery shows would seek to be.
And now that I’ve finished this show at last, I can now get a good night’s rest for the first time in a week. Sweet dreams.
#a murderous affair in horizon tower#摩天大楼#scribbles*#web dramas are pulling out all the stops!#this + the bad kids spells out a very promising future for the c-drama crime genre#recs*
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Ben Solos Death.
The issue that I have with his death is not that he was dying but how he died. If they would’ve executed his death in a much better way I think many people wouldn’t be so pissed about it. Disappointed and sad, yes but not pissed and angry.
What went wrong?
Regardless wether you like the movie or not everyone has to admit that not giving Ben Solo any dialogue after his redemption scene was a huge mistake. And OW doesn’t count. Why did they decide to do that? I cannot spin my head around it. It doesn’t make any sense at all. It’s not adding anything to the story. Did they want to give him more depth, is that it? Like you dont need words in order to do the best thing that anyone (besides his grandfather) has ever done: saving the galaxy. Saving what he loves? If the audience doesn’t get what their Intension was it simply hasn’t been transported well (to be fair, barley anything has been transported well in this movie 😂)
Why did they just give him 2 seconds of happiness and then give him another 2 seconds to disappear? If he at least had some lines before he dies it would have given the fans something to hold on to. Like „I love you“ or „sweetheart I am coming back for you“ or „I should’ve listened to you” “I am sorry“ blah blah. So many things he could’ve said but didn’t.
Why did he just disappear and did not come back as a forceghost? I am afraid we will never know but chances are high that they either have further plans with Ben solo or JJ wanted to honor this moment to his beloved twins. And again, if they are about to plan something then put a clue in the movie... e.g. him saying I am coming back for you or whatever...
Why did Rey not mourn? Well first of all I think it was bad editing and second JJ and his pacing. There was never a moment to breathe in this movie. He is dead, mourn a second aaaaaand let’s move on, next scene. Or the death was not in the Original Script and was added later.
I think that the death of Ben solo was simply executed in the most shitty way possible and that is the only reason why so many fans are just frustrated and angry. If they would’ve given him what the character deserved this movie would’ve been less awfull to watch. Anakin skywalkers death made sense and was well written and shot. No one Is ever criticizing that.
Do I prefer Ben solo alive? Yes, of course but would it be okay and less painful if his death was executed in the best way possible? Definitely a yes.
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Episode 3-Play by Play Reactions (Spoilers)
I’m so excited
Previously on? Oh please like I need a reminder of what I’ve been obsessing over forever
I miss Randy
This reminds me, how did that person know where the timekeepers are? I’d assume only someone of the status of Judge Renslayer would know.
Ooh funky beat
Oh lunch with Sylvie and that one soldier?
I don’t think that’s what a brain freeze is lmao
Oh they’re friends? Or is Sylvie just in her head?
Hmmmmmm
Poor girl
Oh yup
Oop—
I like the opening thing, but I was kinda hopeful that it’d change from episode to episode like wandavision
Lmao not the best security I gotta say
Yo magic don’t work here girly
Oh she just murdered that guy
Nice moves!
Oh that guy is dead too
GET HER LOKI
MY BOY GOT HIS KNIVES
See TVA, this is why guns are nice. You don’t need to engage in hand to hand combat
Yea that’s rude
SYLVIE HURT LOKI? JAIL! JAIL FOR A THOUSAND YEARS!
Rude, Renslayer
Lmao they’re like siblings fighting
Oh that’s fortunate
HAHAHA MAGIC YESSSSSS
Yea she’s not Loki
We got quips
Uh oh lol
Loki what did you do
Ohhhhh the purple realm in the trailers in called Lamentis
Soooo is this termina?
Oh she said watch out to him!
Oh her hair is up in the back. Cute.
Looking out for each other.
Soooo why no likey being called Loki?
Bonding?
No?
Hello?
Hahahahaha she can’t enchant him
What’s her issue?
No that’s not the reason he saved you. He’s just not a murderer like you.
And what’s your plan?
Cmon girl, spill. What’s your background?
Fast pace episode, gotta say.
Sky kinda looks like a painting.
Sylvie, you shut up. Don’t be rude.
“That’s not who I am anymore.” Sooo she WAS one? Sylvie just an alias?
Seems like the theories about them combining lady Loki and Sylvie together are potentially coming true.
Collapse of society? My favorite pastime!
Cmon kids, get along.
Skull kid has to be somewhere around here. (G-get it? Majora’s mask? Anyone? No? Okay...)
Get yeeted
Lmaooo
Oop shape shifting time
Oh this poor lady
Oh lmaoooooooooo
That didn’t go well
Neat weapon.
That sword she has, is that the one Loki later gets?
I hope Sylvie has a good explanation for things...
Ahhhhh the blue outfits. Turtleneck Loki soon???
Lmaoooooooo nice plan loki
Uh oh rich people
Kinda heavy handed line delivery
Lmaoooo teamwork
What’s gonna work? Teeeaaaaamwork
Can’t wait for Loki to throw someone out the window
Lmao he sounds like a robot
TURTLENECK LOKI
Loki is such a pain lol. But she deserves it.
Frigga my Queen
Oh no
Emotions
Please no
Spoiler lmao
What the heck Sylvie lucky
Or not?
What happened to her?
BONDING
WE STAN SUPPORTIVE FRIGGA
Teach Loki that magic!
I wonder how Sylvie’s past was so different than Loki’s? Wouldn’t that make her whole family variants for stepping off the scared timelines path? Why didn’t the TVA act sooner then?
I’m so happy seeing so much more of Loki’s magic.
“Love is hate.”
Loki is such a wonderful pain
Is this flirting???
Of course loki flirts with Loki
Soooo Loki dated?
“Love is mischief then.” “No. Love is... uh something I might have to have another drink to think about.”
We getting Loki drinking and talking about love. Huh.
Oh my gosh is he drunk?
Yep he’s drunk
How does an asgardian get drunk?
Now we have Loki singing in Asgardian
Seems like it’s hitting to close to home for Sylvie mayhaps?
Tom, your theatre kid is showing.
BAHAHAHAHAHHA HE PULLED A THOR OH MY GOSH
Loki dammit. Stop being drunk.
Please please please don’t make Loki a joke. Please. Please. Please. Cmon Loki.
Love?
“Love is a dagger. It’s a weapon to be wielded far away or up close. You can see yourself in it. It’s beautiful. Until it makes you bleed. But ultimately when you reach for it.” “It isn’t real.”
You were close there.
Fight?
Do it!
Please.
Loki can’t just fabricate tickets?
Hey
Did he just break that guys hand lmao
Nice Sylvie. Using your headpiece as a weapon. Copying Ragnarok Loki
Loki missed? Must be cuz he’s drunk.
Aaaaaand Loki was thrown out the window. Why does this keep happening to him? First dark world by Thor.
A little nervous rn with Loki... he seems to be a bit of a joke rn which is what I was afraid of. I hope this is just a little thing and that they’re not trying to make Sylvie better than Tom Hiddleston’s Loki. I mean, you could chalk it up to this Loki being a variant, so maybe there are other things different about him, but that begs to question, at what point does the TVA step in? We saw other Loki variants in that little hologram display in episode two that seemed like those Lokis had done a lot already.
Now now Sylvie, ahem... “LANGUAGE!”
Bragging about hedonism?
Temper tantrum
Cmon therapist Loki
Sober up Loki.
Scene from the trailer I presume.
TVA should step in soon huh? Or is this another apocalypse with no survivors so it doesn’t get picked up on.
Save this world Loki. Trigger the TVA.
Oh. So no trailer scene yet?
Lazy Loki
Cmon Sylvie, teach him! Maybe he can teach you something!
How on earth is Sylvie so different from Loki? I’m so confused.
I hope Loki is able to learn how to do this.
Wait I thought the TVA workers were made.
THEYRE ALL VARIANTS TOO????
BROOOOOOOOO
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING
So they’re ALL variants? Soooo, the timekeepers are like running a labor camp? If they have no memories, then what do they think happens when a new worker shows up?
Oh man this is like ragnarok ptsd for Loki if he went through it
Very cool set I gotta say
Also very sad. So many people desperate for their lives.
Major Majora’s Mask vibes
MY BOY HAS SUCH STRONG TELEKINESIS
Tom Hiddleston really said “soooo this is all that Loki CAN do but hasn’t been able to do in the past movies. Soooooo now we’re gonna make him do ALL of it.”
Wait... that’s it????? Why did this feel like the shortest episode so far? I think it was. And the ark was destroyed.
I have so many more questions now, mostly about Sylvie. But also concerns. I really hope they are able to balance series loki with mischievous and clever and silly Loki. And I hope they don’t try to push some kind of female Loki is superior thing (I haven’t gotten that vibe yet, but it’s always a concern for me whenever I see a supposedly gender bent version of a character).
I’m having trouble forming the words for my thoughts. This episode was fun and pretty and intriguing, but probably the weakest for the three so far imo. Not to say it was bad, but it felt kind of like it was amping, then plateaued and then ended. Like we barely got much more information, but more questions and set up but it felt like it ended too quickly. Like more was supposed to happen for this episode but it didn’t.
I hope we can find a way to hear Loki sing in asgardian again, but under less jokey pretenses.
#loki#loki laufeyson#loki odinson#marvel#marvel cinematic universe#mcu#disney#avengers#loki on disney+#thor#disney plus#disney+#Loki show#Loki ep 3#Loki episode 3#loki reaction#tom hiddleston#sophia di martino#gugu mbatha raw#owen wilson#marvel studios#Asgard
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Hypnovember 2020 Master List
Now that I have awoken from my post-Hypnovember nap, it’s time to post my 2020 Master List! in comparison to last year’s entries, a lot of stories this year delved more into either more intense kinks or more of my intense personal feelings than my stories last year did. Sometimes writing stories is a bit like reading my own tarot cards in that way- letting an ambiguous prompt roll around in my subconscious and sometimes being surprised or amused or even slightly unsettled by what it turns into. I hope you will find something in this group of works that soothes you, that turns you on, that intrigues you, and that most of all provokes a response. If you do, I’d absolutely love to hear about it. :)
Copying one of my favorite @jukeboxemcsa ideas, I’ve also included a HypnoBS rating for every work about how realistic the hypnosis/mind control is in each work (IMHO). In this ranking, 1 means to is absolute bullshit and 5 is a normal Tuesday night (for someone).
Icons- 📰- story. 🔊- audio 💻- technology 😍- romantic 🌈- queer 😴- regular ole’ hypnosis 🛀- brainwashing and/or character in tub 👻- spooky 🐈- at least one happy pussy ❓- bad or reeeally questionable consent 👨🔬 -science! 🤪 -crackfic #-#sceneideas 😭-feeeels ⭐-author’s personal favorites
Day 1: Instant M/f 📰 😴🐈#😭
Choice quote: “Sean chuckled as he moved in closer. And closer. ‘I thought you wanted to know what it was like to be hypnotized, sweetheart. To follow suggestions? To have someone else take control? It’s not real control if I’m doing something you already wanted, now is it?”
HypnoBS- 5. Read the whole thing but- IMHO totally plausible.
Fun Fact- These are the same characters from last year’s Day 5: Poison.
Day 2: Coils F/m 📰 😴 💻 👨🔬
Choice quote: “Daniel rolled his eyes. ‘I bet you could hypnotize me with a bar of soap if you wanted to. That still doesn’t make me like spirals.’”
HypnoBS- 5. Maybe 4 because I don’t love the induction but- maybe you will? Also- oh no poor Daniel is so conditioned that he’ll go under to anything Jamie does! How hard for him. :(
Day 3: Staged Hypnosis (Stage) F/f 📰 😴 🌈 🛀 ❓
Choice quote: “No one needed to know she was a plant. A confederate. A stooge.”
HypnoBS- 1.5. This would collapse like a house of cards. It’s a fun concept though.
Day 4: Psychic F/nb 📰 😴 🌈 😍 👨🔬⭐
Choice quote: “Something about the hypnosis- being in and out of each other’s heads and in and out of each other’s bodies all weekend- made her feel like she and Tris had merged in some way. Like there was a new, deeper understanding between them now- a telepathic bond.”
HypnoBS- 5. Maybe a 4.5 if you’re recognizing some nre magical thinking here. But- I’ve definitely had this feeling and this kind of experience- and I hope some of you have had it/will have it as well. :)
Day 5: Visor F/multiple 📰 😴 🛀 💻 👨🔬 🤪#
Choice quote: “Besides, everyone knew stormtroopers were kinky.”
HypnoBS- 4.5. Some of the exact details would need to be changed and thought through more thoroughly, but I absolutely believe you could do something like this if you wanted to. (And if you do, you definitely have to let me know. I know some of y’all out there go to Dragoncon.)
Day 6: Pendulum F/y’all 🔊😴 👨🔬
Choice quote: This is a trick I first learned from a science book I read in 5th grade.
HypnoBS- 5. The real thing.
Day 7: Song Aliens/the human race 📰 💻 👻❓
Choice quote: “Anna didn’t know what she was singing.”
HypnoBS- 1. I hope. Why do the song based stories always turn out so creepy?
Day 8: Performance unknown/f 📰 👻❓😴# ⭐
Choice quote: “With each snap, the gears inside her doll body click click click clicked into action. She turned, jerky but graceful. She was determined to do well. “
HypnoBS- 5 (if part of a fearplay scene, which is my headcanon for this story)
Day 9: (Hot Under the) Collar F/f 📰 😴🛀🌈 🐈#⭐
Choice quote: “She was wearing her collar. She was aroused. It was as simple as that.“
HypnoBS- 5 With time, I think you could do this. Maybe a 4.5 for the 30 minutes thing- that might lead to a bit too much cramping.
Day 10: Gentle 🔊😴
Choice quote: “Just look into the spiral....”
HypnoBS- 5. I hope.
Day 11: Summoning Sappho (Summon) eventual F/f I hope 📰 😴🌈 🤪
Choice quote: “In fact, the only ideas left to try on their brainstorming board included ‘sexy alien invasion’, ‘sexy witches’, and this. Shockingly, at this point a sexy seance seemed the most practical.”
HypnoBS-1. Although stay tuned for Femme Flirt 2021.
Day 12: Plants unknown/m 📰 😴🛀#
Choice quote: “If he focused, Chris could feel that new suggestion also growing stronger and stronger, becoming more and more firmly rooted inside of him. “
HypnoBS- 5, with the right person
Day 13: Artifact F/f 📰 😴🛀🌈 👨🔬 ❓
Choice quote: “She fumbled through the contents when suddenly her hand found something unexpected from her past.A red lipstick tube. An artifact.”
HypnoBS- 4? There’s different ways of reading this story, but my headcanon is that the consent here is pretty dubious.
Day 14: Tail M/f 📰 😴🛀❓👻#
Choice quote: “It was no use. She could sense her tail was still behind her. She couldn’t shake him. She should have known he’d come for her.“
HypnoBS- Let’s say 2. Although I think this could work really well for a fearplay scene in an appropriate setting (where someone wasn’t actually left unmonitored with extreme paranoia).
Day 15: Serve F/m 📰 😴#⭐
Choice quote: “He had put his heart and soul into the dish.They were hers now.”
HypnoBS- As a scene? 5 (depending on the person). As a long term effect, much lower.
Day 16: Memory F/f 📰 😴 🛀🌈 😍
Choice quote: “Mesmera waited for Galaxy Girl at the door.”
HypnoBS- 4, you could do an induction along these lines but -1 for psychic powers
Fun Fact: These characters were originally featured in last year’s Day 19: Hideout.
Day 17: Toy F/f m/f 📰 😴 🛀🌈🐈 #
Choice quote: “Dolly hated to have Bad Manners. “
HypnoBS- 4.5. This is pretty deep into headspace, but I wouldn’t want to rule it out for the right person.
Day 18: Monster m/f 📰 😴 ❓😭⭐
Choice quote: “That kind of stuff wasn’t fair to think about here. It wasn’t everyone else’s fault that she was so warped.”
HypnoBS- 5. Ouch my heart. Poor young!Ella.
Day 19: Eyes M/m 📰 😴 🌈 😍
Choice quote: “Scott looked into his partner Brandon’s eyes. Brandon had hypnotized him so many times over the years in so many ways but- this was one of Scott’s favorites.”
HypnoBS- 5. Especially in a long term relationship like this. (In my pretend Hypnovember universe, these guys are some of the patriarchs of the hypnokinky convention scene and absolutely wonderful advice givers.)
Fun fact: The story of how these characters originally got together is in last year’s Day 12: Stage story.
Day 20: Possession F/f 📰 😴 🌈 😍😭
Choice Quote- “Things that were hard to do for herself during these times became easier to do as something owned by Thadra. Taking a shower. Getting up and going to bed at the right time. Making sure she ran once a day. Making sure she ate.”
HypnoBS- Errr....4 trending upwards. Although for this to be safe and healthy you’d really need to be checking in with a therapist and working on your continuing mental health at the same time (IMHO). Please do not get relationship advice from my porn.
Day 21: Snaps 🔊😴👨🔬
Choice Quote- “No, that one was up.”
HypnoBS- 5. I’m not sure quite how this translates to audio but this is the kind of shenanigans I pull with friends all of the time.
Day 22: Restrict F/f 📰 😴 🌈 🐈👨🔬
Choice quote: “’Hmm. By ‘weird’ do you mean ‘hot’?’ asked Zahara, lounging above her on the couch. Nikki nodded. She definitely meant hot. “
HypnoBS- 2. A month is a long time and this is a strong reaction. But- maaaaaybe would work for a bit, especially within these boundaries?
Day 23: Villain there’s a m and a f 📰 🛀👨🔬❓#
Choice quote: “They had been planning against that damned do-gooder reporter Lizzy Lampost for months and now they were about to finally have her in their clutches. “
HypnoBS-1. But you’re not reading this one for realism, are you?
Day 24: Drink F/f 📰 😴👨🔬🌈 😍
Choice quote: “’Leah,’ she said. ‘I’ve found a drinking game! This might be fun! Want to try it?’”
HypnoBs- 5. With the right person. (That part of the end might be a bit harder.)
Day 25:Worship: F/m 📰 🛀🌈
Choice quote: “After all, it wasn’t the time to work right now. It was time to worship his Mistress’s cock.”
HypnoBS- Someone on AO3 told me this fic just wrecked them. Lucky that person- this one’s a 5. Maybe not with everyone, but an awful lot of people should be able to do an awful lot of the activities in this story. :)
Day 26: Fey M/f 📰😴 😭⭐
Choice quote: “Humans do not know the spells they weave.”
HypnoBS- 1 Only true in that metaphorical way. (So- really, really true. But not factual.)
Day 27: Recording F./m 📰 🛀❓👻#
Choice quote: “It’s a recording, he reminded himself. “She’s not there. No one is there.”
HypnoBS- 2 At least, I don’t know how to make this happen (outside of a consensual scene).
Day 28: Obsession M/F 📰 🛀😍👨🔬
Choice quote: “Some guys had cars. Some had computer systems. Some had home brewing. But Mark’s obsession was Julia.“
HypnoBS- Oh gosh. Errr...2.5? Hard to say.
Fun Fact: This started as a one-sided scenario, then it changed, then it felt really hot, now it feels like a sweet silly sitcom premise. (If you want to read some episode synopses of this hypothetical sitcom, there are some brilliant ones here! Also- feel free to send me more!)
Day 29: Helpless F/m 📰😴😍
Choice quote: “’I want to be helpless,’ he replied. Juan felt his headspace changing. He threw himself into that feeling, trusting Josie to take the reins.“
HypnoBS- 5. Not a scene log, but pretty much How I Top.
Day 30: Awaken 🔊😴👨🔬
Choice quote: “Aaaaaand-awaken!”
HypnoBS- 5 Hypnotist BS- also a 5
Thank you all for reading these! Thank you especially to everyone who reblogged, wrote me comments, and generally supported me through this past month. I’m going to specifically single out @daja-the-hypnokitten, @wellgnawed, and @spiralturquoise for the encouragement- y’all are the best. :) I know this is a long post, but I’d really appreciate reblogs of it!
Also, I didn’t have time to contribute myself but- if you donate to Hypnokink for Trans Lives, let me know and I’ll write you an epilogue for any of these stories that you choose.
#Hypnovember 2020#master post#me/my accomplishments#thank you all again for reading!#seeing people actually liking my stuff gives me a ton of energy to keep going#<3#19746 words and almost an hour of audio#an entire month of my life :P#not a novel but definitely a novella
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Godddddd I'm so upset that I dislike yen this much, doing main quests in skellige and Freyas ppl were doing stuff and she again disrespected other cultures with Geraly being against, "I may be inhumanly beautiful" I know she's meant to be confident but wowww. She's not confident and worried for Ciri she just comes off arrogant and selfish and vain. Like, fuck.
The ultimate mood, anon. My Witcher fandom life would be so much easier if I enjoyed Yen ... but I just do not lol. Remember how I mentioned that things were going to get even worse than her stealing and using a potentially dangerous artifact? Yeeeaah. She also resurrects Ciri's friend to torture him for information, all while destroying another sacred garden to get the power to do it! It's not even a "She's so evil and I love it 😏" situation for me because the game tries so hard to convince us that she's still The Best. Geralt's sexy soulmate, Ciri's adoring mother, the baddest bitch around who gets things done and does it with an effortless confidence... all while ignoring how horrific her actions and attitude are. Oh sure, other characters speak ill of her at times, but considering how much Geralt is written to adore her, no matter what you choose, that's all undermined. I love morally gray/evil characters, but I've never enjoyed them when the text refuses to appropriately acknowledge that side of them. Nothing is more frustrating to me than a story that frames disliking a character as the unambiguously wrong thing to do, especially when the text is piling up reasons to dislike them and, as a result, ignoring or shrugging them off their actions as not that bad. Yen is a rather extreme example of that for me. Despite her attitude, her choices, and other characters outright going, "Why do you like her?" the story as a whole works under the assumption that it's correct to like her anyway because Geralt loves her. And he loves her for... reasons.
They do meet before the wish, but only just. Major "The Last Wish" spoilers in this paragraph, so feel free to skip. Basically, Geralt and Dandelion run into trouble with a djinn, he goes to Yen for help since she's a sorceress (first time meeting her), he instantly falls for her because she's gorgeous and such (there's an elf there who is also madly in love with Yen. Men just... fall for her, instinctually), she heals Dandelion, Geralt agrees to pay her, but Yen has already decided on the payment she wants. She takes control of Geralt's mind and forces him to attack the town to seek revenge on those who have insulted her, resulting in him waking up in prison awaiting execution for "his" crimes. Meanwhile, Yen has gone after the djinn for herself because power/trying to regain her ability to have a kid. Geralt escapes, finds her failing to master the djinn (an attempt which btw has endangered the whole town) and despite what she's done to him, Geralt tries to get Yen to escape with him. She refuses, set on capturing the djinn even though it's obvious she can't. So as a last resort he uses the final wish to bind their fates together, saving Yen from the djinn in the process. Aaaaaand then they have sex.
So yeah, their rocky relationship is one of the main reasons why I can't enjoy Yen. For some their tumultuous history is evidence of realism, for me it's evidence that they're not actually very compatible and they're only together because a) that's the fantasy trope: protagonist men get together with the hot sorceress and b) because the magic is literally ensuring that they can't escape one another. I mean, canonically their fates are tied together by magic and canonically they spend about 20 years swinging between passionate love and fearsome fights... but there's supposedly no connection between these two things? No chance at all that they keep coming together because magic is drawing them rather than because they actually want/should be together? I wrote a meta a while back about the short story where they meet, which includes a present day scene where Geralt is criticized by another character — Nenneke — for running out on Yen. Thing is, he tries to explain that he left because she was "too possessive" and this is... flat out ignored. By both Nenneke and the fandom. There's a strong trend of ignoring Geralt's words in favor of a pro-Yen interpretation of events. He says he left because she was too possessive and she treated him like ____ — he's not allowed to finish the sentence and say what she treated him like because Nenneke interrupts him, saying she doesn't care about his version of events. Major yikes imo! She turns a claim of being possessive into Geralt not being man enough to stick around. The fandom likewise turns this into a case of Geralt getting cold feet and running out because he's a bastard who hates commitment. Likewise, Nenneke and the fandom claim Geralt is trying to get Yen money as a way of appeasing his guilt for leaving, he claims he's doing it simply because he still cares for her — even if he doesn't want to be with her — and knows she needs it. Geralt's words are frequently dismissed, in the same way others characters' opinions of Yen are dismissed. Any mark against her is treated as either a lie, or a convoluted claim that they don't really know her... never mind that an understanding of why she may act this way doesn't excuse the behavior itself. (Plus, the whole "Yen had a horrible upbringing, so of course she struggles being kind" perspective always fell flat to me when so many, including witchers, had horrendous upbringings too. The whole point is this world is a mess and most everyone suffers). It's supposedly true love, yet if someone came up to me and went, "I magically tied my fate to this woman to keep her from getting herself killed and we've spent the last couple decades having what many would term a rocky relationship, to put it kindly. I left once because she was too controlling. She once cheated on me. I likewise hooked up with others during our frequent breakups. A mutual friend used magic to get me to have sex with her — also while my lover and I were broken up — and though I view it as a dumb decision I'm happy to forgive her for, my lover is ready to commit murder because again: possessive. A lot of the time we're only a family because of our daughter. I once thought she'd horrifically betrayed us both. She didn't, but it says something that I was so ready to believe it, huh? Hmm? Permanently separated? Of course not! I love her. We're destined to be together after all :)" I'd be like, "Uh... you sure about that, dude?"
Not that Geralt doesn't make his fair share of mistakes in the relationship — he absolutely does — but I don't think it helps his case that he's immature in other ways and, frankly, that he's a very strong, badass witcher. It's easy to turn the hints we get about their relationship into a simplistic "emotionally naive man can't give the poor woman the commitment she wants" situation. Given Geralt's status as the badass fighter of the tale, it's likewise easy to dismiss his admissions of her being "possessive" and his general discomfort. He's the man. He's the witcher. If he's making any claims about how Yen isn't treating him well, they must be excuses, or exaggerations, because real men, especially physically powerful men, would do something about that — a something that's not sneaking out in the middle of the night. A lot of people read Geralt leaving as the ultimate proof that he's an immature bastard who doesn't deserve her. I read him leaving and think, "What were you trying to get away from? What was going on that made you think you could only leave by sneaking out without a word?" To me, that doesn't read as someone who felt safe, comfortable, and respected enough to do anything but slip away and try to wash his hands of things. And I'm not just pulling this "Geralt is at least somewhat afraid of Yen and isn't comfortable establishing boundaries with her" reading out of my ass. When Yen wants Geralt to kill the golden dragon for her and he refuses, saying he doesn't care anymore, his thoughts are:
He expected the worst: a cascade of flames, flashes of lightning, blows raining down on his face, insults and curses. There was nothing. He saw, with astonishment, only the subtle trembling of her lips. Yennefer turned around slowly. Geralt regretted his words.
And everyone is like, "See! Yen has improved so much. Geralt nearly made her cry, but she's supposed to be the bad guy here?" Meanwhile, I'm going, "Uh... anyone want to unpack why he expects fire, lightning, insults, curses, and blows to his face for telling her no? Why he's astonished that she wouldn't use her magic against him? Anyone think that Yen refraining from attacking Geralt when he refuses to murder on her command is a pretty low bar? No? Just me?"
Geralt and Yen's relationship makes me uncomfortable and a great deal of that discomfort derives from how much of the Witcher fandom shrugs off the fictional warning signs. I mean, I post primarily about RWBY. We watched a man in that show try to sneak away with his kids when his villainous wife planned to use them for a eugenics plan... and the fandom still blames him for that, refusing to admit that he was in an abusive relationship. Because that doesn't happen to men, right? I'm not saying it's the same for Geralt and Yen, simply because they are written to be soulmates. An abusive relationship was, quite obviously, never the authorial intent. However, I am saying that the a "This isn't a healthy relationship" reading is there, it exists as an interpretation, and both the story and fandom's tendency to dismiss it is something that hasn't helped me enjoy Yen's status as an otherwise well written, complex character. Their equality supposedly stems in part because they're both so flawed, yet each time I see a list of Geralt's supposedly equal faults they're... lacking imo. "Geralt bound himself to Yen without her consent." Yeah, to save her from dying from the djinn she was trying to enslave, after she refused to leave, while her actions threatened a whole town. "Geralt ran off without a word." Mmm hmm, anyone care about why? And my personal favorite is a scene you may not have gotten to yet (or may not get depending on your choices), but suffice to say, Yen is supposedly justified in physically attacking Geralt if he dares to challenge her in any way. That's the main takeaway across the fandom: If Yen is pissed off, you must have done something to deserve it which, in the relationship deliberately written to be "stormy," is something that sets all the alarm bells in my head off. Honestly, it kinda makes my skin crawl to go, "Geralt didn't deserve that" and get responses back of, "Yeah he did because he [insert basic human action here]." The Witcher world is hard and cruel, absolutely, but that doesn't mean I personally enjoy seeing an equally messed up relationship presented as something that's enviable in its flaws. "That's actually true love because the magically bound man who often expresses discomfort with his lover, written by a male author with a very iffy perspective on women, says it's true love." Crazy theory here, but... maybe it's not?
Idk, lots of rambling on my end tonight! For me, Geralt/Yen reads as something rather tragic which, in a canon that unironically upholds the relationship, and in a Yen-adoring fandom, doesn't make enjoying her character any easier. I keep coming back to Witcher 3, the comics, the show, even the books going, "Maybe I'll like her this time?" but nope, still trying lol.
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@spikeface
ohhhh hell yeah I have not forgotten, like I tend to keep the examples limited to interactions with Scott to point out the blatant double standards in play but also because I am so tired of the abuse apologism arguments that come with any criticism of Derek’s actions in regards to teenage characters in the first two seasons in general, like, I know the dude had a hard time that doesn’t mean paying that forward is an acceptable standard of behavior for interacting with scared and vulnerable teenagers. ALSO not to bring it back around to Scott AGAIN but also umm Im me so okay I will I have the go-ahead, but like......literally every single argument and justification people make about Derek’s behavior and choices in the first two seasons because of what happened with Kate and how he doesn’t trust people because of that and he’s traumatized is rendered null and void by their simultaneous bullshit insistence that none of this logic means anything when it comes to Scott and.....wait for it....what happened with Theo and trust and traumatized or does being betrayed by someone you were starting to consider a good friend and murdered not count as trauma? I forget.
You can’t have it both ways but people are like Yes I can *rolls up sleeves* watch me.
Aaaaaand since we’re already here, why not, I’m going for it, soooooo getting in on the ground floor before people are like WELL THAT’S DIFFERENT BECAUSE STILES TRIED TO WARN SCOTT SO HE SHOULD’VE KNOWN UNLIKE DEREK WHO COULDN’T HAVE, umm:
a) that’s not how trust works, its not by proxy, you either trust someone or you don’t and someone else telling you that you shouldn’t does not in fact render a betrayal of trust any less a betrayal of trust, this is LITERALLY just victim-blaming the betrayed, something that people are absolutely aware of because just imagine the shrieks of protest if someone were to posit an AU where someone warned Derek not to trust Kate but he still did anyway and so that made everything else that happened all his fault.
b) you do not owe even your best friends unconditional trust in every opinion they have OVER your own opinions, it honestly truly DEEPLY makes me uncomfortable how often people raise this point because Stiles could distrust Theo all he wanted, Scott is still entitled to his own opinions based on his own perceptions of his own interactions with Theo, which were different than Stiles’ interactions, and Scott was in no way, shape or form obligated to uphold Stiles’ perceptions and interactions of and with Theo as more important than Scott’s own, what even is that wtfuckery
c) Stiles’ distrust of Theo was unfortunately watered down and diluted by the fact that he was lying to Scott and keeping secrets from him for weeks, which was his right and he was traumatized himself by what happened with Donovan, but the flip side of that is Scott was keenly aware that Stiles was lying to him about stuff and even had a whole freaking monologue about it and how he wished Stiles would just talk to him and tell him what he was hiding and in what universe is someone obligated to unconditionally believe their friend and abide by what they’re saying and wanting WHILE AT THE EXACT SAME TIME being lied to by that same friend?
d) Stiles’ distrust of Theo was additionally watered down and diluted by the fact that even after he had actual foolproof evidence that Theo was a liar and not to be trusted, he refrained from informing Scott of this because he prioritized his own feelings about what might come out about him in the process of telling Scott, which again, was absolutely his right to do and be worried about but it is NOT his right to be retroactively extradited from any role he played in Scott’s perceptions of events that season by not divulging this information even while actively still JUDGING Scott for not acting on information re: Theo that Scott literally did not have to act upon, just his own interactions with Theo where Theo was actively and continually working on being seen as not only trustworthy but INVALUABLE in Scott’s eyes, while everyone else was off preoccupied with their own stuff leaving Scott with no one BUT Theo to turn to. Which was literally Theo’s entire plan in dividing them in order to make Scott vulnerable in the first place, just as Scott ultimately was more victimized by Theo than any of the other surviving members of S5 as he was the one y’know, MURDERED, but again let’s talk some more about how it was Stiles and everyone else who was more betrayed and let down by Scott’s choice to trust Theo than Scott was himself
(and so help me GOD if someone brings up Josh or Tracy like they give a fuck about them, lolol, fun fact, but most of the posts about Josh and Tracy in S5 while it was airing were mine, like, 90% of their tags was me posting, yeah c’mon guys we’re aware I can be prolific when I hyper-fixate I’m not exaggerating here lol I POSTED ABOUT JOSH A LOT OKAY lololol. So I keenly remember the weeks between Josh’s death episode and the episode which revealed that Scott got to Deucalion before Theo did, because that was two whole weeks of people being like who the fuck cares about Josh, other than like, me and some mutuals, until the SECOND fandom found a way to spin Scott as being tangentially responsible for Josh’s death, at which point suddenly it was like OMG JOSH WE LOVED YOU ALL ALONG, WE’RE SO SORRY THAT MONSTER DID THIS TO YOU. The whiplash would be hilarious if I didn’t hate it so much)
e) Stiles’ distrust of Theo was additionally watered down and diluted by the fact that he was WRONG about everything he initially brought up as WHY he distrusted Theo, his whole thesis to Scott at the start of the season was that he didn’t trust Theo because he remembered Theo from fourth grade and Theo wasn’t Theo but uh.....yes he was. He wanted Scott not to trust Theo on a basis that was flawed and had no grounding in reality other than Stiles’ own unreliable gut instincts with no care or concern whatsoever for Scott’s own gut instincts, and simultaneously, Stiles in the throes of being like THEO IM ON TO YOU YOU FAKER (Theo in the distance: Lol no you’re not, you just don’t like me, there’s a difference), ANYWAY, Stiles at the exact same time as being focused on not just Theo but what he felt Scott SHOULD be doing and thinking in regards to Theo and Stiles’ opinions, somehow managed to completely overlook and give no fucks about Scott’s ACTUAL thoughts and actions re: Theo, as if he had been paying more attention to the actual character of his friend rather than just his perception and assumptions about his friend, he would have noticed that Scott DIDN’T blindly trust Theo from the start, because Scott DOESN’T actually blindly trust anyone and actually has trust issues out the wazoo from all the times he’s been hurt, betrayed and let down by people he cares about from his deadbeat dad to the many murder and manipulation attempts of Peter, whom he has canonically never trusted despite Stiles’ insistence that he even trusts Peter (lol where? when? source?).....ergo, ipso facto, forsooth and all that good shit.....Stiles wanted Scott’s complete obedience and allegiance in S5 to everything he said and thought while at the exact same time giving no fucks about anything going on WITH Scott himself. Hashtag friendship goals, am I right guys?
f) the fatal flaw of the Sciles schism in S5 was not in fact the warring opinions on Scott and Stiles’ respective trust and distrust of Theo, but rather what S5 revealed about Scott and Stiles’ respect trust and distrust of EACH OTHER. In point of fact, the only thing truly revealed by the events of that season is that Scott doesn’t automatically trust just anyone, but that his trust must be EARNED - a process Theo invested considerable effort in doing, as he actually paid attention to Scott and the actuality of things he said and did and why - and that Stiles in contrast doesn’t just automatically distrust anyone, but rather makes snap judgments about whether or not to PUT his trust in others based on what he’s feeling.
Basically, my point is that Scott views trust as a function of information gathering and ultimately a decision to put it to the test or not, to actually just say okay based on what I know and feel at this point, I am making the choice NOW to trust in someone. Stiles in contrast, views trust as something he doesn’t fundamentally NEED in his interactions with people, and as such he uses it to shore up and buttress various other things about himself and his interactions with people.
This is why Scott started out the season WITH reservations about Theo, that led to him asking Deaton questions about how vulnerable he and his pack might be due to allowing a strange newcomer into their midst, but ultimately placing more and more trust in Theo as the season went on, BASED on Theo’s ongoing campaign to win Scott’s trust by seeming trustworthy and helpful and supportive.
Meanwhile, Stiles started out the season WITH reservations about Theo, that informed all his actions regarding Theo UNTIL he got concrete proof that Theo was a liar, BUT continued to interact with Theo and even work alongside him even KNOWING he wasn’t trustworthy, because trust was not after all the most important element informing his actions because it never HAD been. More importantly, the reason this all plays more into Scott and Stiles’ view of each other than anything to do with Theo, was because the ONLY reason Theo was able to play them against each other was Theo keyed into the fact that Stiles, despite placing a lot of importance in the IDEA of trust, never actually fully makes the leap into actually PLACING his trust in ANYONE, even someone like his best friend Scott, who has proven MULTIPLE times how invaluable Stiles is to him.....because if Stiles ever HAD fully placed his trust in Scott, he would have been able to look at the concrete precedent of Scott saying throughout the entire nogitsune ordeal that he flat out didn’t CARE if people died because of the nogitsune, because of Stiles himself, he wasn’t going to sacrifice Stiles to save the lives of strangers he just simply doesn’t value as being more important to him than Stiles himself.
And by extension, if Stiles HAD ever fully placed his trust in Scott after this, then his fears about Donovan would have fallen by the wayside as - just like it was ultimately proven out in 5B after Scott heard the WHOLE story and not the parts Theo told him backed up by the lies of ommission Stiles HADN’T told Scott and the fact that Scott had been keyed into Stiles’ feelings of guilt over something for weeks - Scott would then have expressed to Stiles just as he ultimately DID express to Stiles: that he can tell the difference between self-defense and cold-blooded murder, and Stiles killing Donovan in self-defense was not a problem for Scott and NEVER WAS OR WOULD HAVE BEEN.
In conclusion, the biggest issue in S5 is not that Scott trusts everyone, its that even after everything, Stiles still doesn’t even trust Scott.
And if you can’t trust the best friend who’s proven that he will literally do anything for you, at any time, just say the word, to such an extent that you’ll pull back from him and refrain from working with him and being around him AT THE EXACT SAME TIME as demonstrating that you will be around and work alongside someone you don’t even like and definitely do not trust.....
Then trust is not the be all and end all for you, and it never actually was, and if you can’t grant it to even your friend why does your friend owe you his, let alone UNCONDITIONAL trust in not just you, but every opinion and course of action you advocate for?
*bangs gavel* The defense rests. Or the prosecution rests. Fuck, I forgot which side I’m on. Am I accusing or defending? Idek.
Whatever. I rest.
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My opinions and raking for season 2 episodes (That no one asked for)
1- The Sacred Non-repeating Number:
I really liked this episode! I thought it was a good season opener. It was fun meeting other Shlorps and having a class system introduced. I do feel Korvo just flat out excepting the class thing and going a long with it feels off, I wish we got more internal conflict from it, but maybe will get that later. I rank this ep 5th out of 8th but only because there’s eps I like more
2- The Earth Eraser
Here we are, the gay episode. Now this was a great ep mostly because it had Korvo acting like a petty little bitch and I LOVE to see it. I’m not really into violence and gore humor which this episode had a LOT of but it did have really really great character moments, I really liked seeing Korvo hang out with Yumyulack and the Pupa and Jesse scenes where top teir 👌. I do have a complaint where I feel the speech Korvo gives at the end feels very rushed and not earned, like if Korvo was doing all this just to get Terry’s attention then I wish we got more scenes where that was the case? Like maybe something in the dinner party scene at the beginning, and let me just say the autism coding in that scene GEEZ (but that deserves it’s own post). But Korvo and Terry DO kiss in this ep (Nice) so I guess I can’t complain too much (just kidding I’m going to complain a lot). This episode ranks 3rd out of 8 for me.
3- The Lake House Device
Aaaaaand this is the ep I liked the least which somehow, by a miracle, beat out the Wall episode. Not to say it’s a BAD episode I just felt like it missed a lot of character moments. It did have a few really funny moments, the cheeseburger slippers and platypuses come to mind but it lacked too much for me. Korvo being to into “perfect” Terry just felt off to me, I think it would’ve been better if he began to notice that Terry’s new behaviors take away from what Korvo actually likes about him, but he continues to change him because Korvo’s stupid. The comic Spinetrick did covers this really well (you know the one). Other then that I just felt like a lot of the jokes didn’t hit it for me. The big dick energy thing just wasn’t that funny, like it was better then I thought it was going to be but it just had me groaning at the end. As for manic Terry, while it was funny at first I think it was a joke that went on too far. Ranked 8th out of 8th sorry guys :/
4- The Emergency Urbanizer
NOW HERE’S A GREAT EPISODE. This one almost tied for first but just didn’t have enough Korvo content for me, but other then that I absolutely loved this episode. Everything from the beginning (Korvo’s dumb pink robe) to them just leaving their kids in the woods to the design and look of the forest city to Korvo getting constantly attacked by wolves the absolute inconceivableness of this episode I fucking LOVE it!!! Everyone is their best here and I love to watch Korvo get mulled over and over. Also the designs of the city and treeple including my wife Birchette, all so good!!!! Ranking this one 2nd out of 8th.
5- The Rad Awesome Terrific Ray
OK IN ALL SERIOUSNESS THOUGH.... this is my fav ep of the season...
I KNOW I KNOW a lot of people hate it (for good reason) but it’s the ep that had me laughing the hardest (to the point of tears) and I feel like that is all I can ask from the dumb dumb gaylien show. The scene of Korvo and Terry just fucking berating Jen for being basic had me howling not to mention all the scenes with Terry and the rats where fucking historical. There are so many fucking quotes in this ep. I even loved the side story with Jesse and Yumyulack which I usually don’t care for, but here it had me laughing just as hard at the main story line, and had me actually liking the Principle character who I’ve hated up to this point. ...and to acknowledge the elephant in the room the sex scene? Didn’t bother me too much, I thought it was pretty funny. Now do I get really embarrassed watching it? Yes, yes I do. I totally understand people issues with this ep and I respect them but I really like this dumbass episode for all it’s dumbassry. Ranked 1st out of 8, please send anon hate over this I deserve it.
6- The Apple Pencil Pro
Honestly an ep I forgot about until second watch, which isn’t fair because it’s a really good ep. I really feel this episode in particular solidifies that this is a dumb dumb show that does NOT take itself serious in the least and I kinda love it. I love how nonsensical, it just makes the show more fun for me. I really love the character Peter and how much the family agrees that their horrible monsters for hurting him, and the over top con at the end of the ep. I also love how even their worst enemies agree that Jesse is a good egg who wouldn’t hurt anyone intentional. I know people are going to cry about continuity but I honestly feel this isn’t the kind of show where continuity matters.There’s not much I can say about this episode other then it’s STUPID and I love how STUPID it is. Ranked 3rd of out 8.
7- The Unlikely Demise of Terry’s Favorite shot Glass
Now it’s no secret... I do not care for the wall plot. I find it honestly boring and none of the characters do anything for me, I feel it takes time away from the gayliens you know the REAL reason I’m watching this show. But I will say... the wall plat in season was much interesting then season 1. I feel season 1′s wall arch was much too much of a survival story we’ve seen a million times before. It was trite and full of cliches I’ve seen soo many times. It was also annoying so see sooo many people write big think pieces and reddit post about how the wall story was so much better then the aliens, like fuck off. But I will say this ep... was honestly very good. I think a wall episode that takes place outside the wall did it a lot of justice, and focusing on Cherie was nice because I actually like Cherie even if she’s a wall person. This ep even made me like the Duke, our ace kind...rip. Over all the fact that this ep made me even care gives it a leg up on the Lake House. 7th out of 8.
8- The Solar Opposites Almost Get An Xbox
Now this one is kinda hard for me to talk about. I’m pretty mixed on it. I feel it did somethings REALLY well and fun, and others moments dropped the ball. I know I’m a dumb tervo and I have no rights but I would’ve been nice to have gotten even a small scene of Korvo and Terry reflecting on their relationship with each other now that they’re dying. Like some kinda of moment of them almost confessing or something idk, it would’ve been nice. I did really like them running around trying to find fulfillment only to realize they need fulfillment with each other. The scene between Korvo and Jesse was really nice and I really liked it BUT it felt like it came too late and was shoehorned in there. It was weird for them to get so serious at the very end of the episode at the very end of the season. As much as I enjoyed it I feel it kinda brings the show down, like it’s trying to be something it’s not rather then playing to strengths. I think this show CAN have big emotional scenes but they have to be EARNED not just thrown in at the very end, it just weaks. Other then that....every scene with Aisha was amazing, I love her and I love Tiffany Haddish please keep putting her in this show. Overall decent ep but didn’t hit me like some of the others did 6th out of 8.
I liked this season a lot, and I look forward to season 3 and the holiday special. I know both season 1 and 2 where written before season 1′s release so I think it will be interesting to see how the writers take these characters now that they have fans perspective on them. No matter what happens I still like this show and I plan to keep drawing over the top mushy tervo and family fanart.
Thanks for reading my overly written rant!
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Another list! Of stuff I liked about Supergirl ep. 6x03, “Phantom Menaces”! AKA:
Spoilers!
WOW HEY WOW I LOVED THIS EPISODE.
BECAUSE EVERYONE IS HAVING FEELINGS.
(This is gonna be all over the place I can tell, apologies in advance for poor organization)
Okay, so! Right off the bat (‘ha ha’ but like, in a sad way) we learn that poor Silas has been Phantom’d. :C
We then get even MORE Phantom action back in the actual Phantom Zone--Kara’s plan to literally grab a ride doesn’t go over so well WHICH LEADS TO!
Kara making a Phantom Zone Friend! Yay! :D
Pretty much immediately on board with Nixly’s (I refuse to try and spell out her full name) chaotic energy. Brilliant. Amazing. 10/10, hope she’s not secretly evil.
Kara’s physical vulnerability bringin’ in those “Human for a Day” vibes, yes, good, yes.
Then we’re BACK AT THE TOWER and things aren’t looking great for Silas! J’onn is blocking out his emotions! Brainy is neck deep in his!
AND SPEAKING OF FEELINGS.
ALEX.
WITH THE CRYSTAL.
OOOOooOOooOOH NooOOOOOOOOOO
Side note: Love that Kara’s last will and testament is like, ‘Four for you, Eliza and Alex Danvers!’
‘Aaaaaand none for Jeremiah, okay bye.’
Puttin’ a pin in the Luthor stuff. We’ll get to it.
Back to the Tower! Alright, first and foremost, probably a silly thing but I’m glad the Super Friends are just...dressed casually.
I was concerned at the outset of this season that we’d see them all in their Super Suits™ most of the time because everyone’s a vigilante now, but fortunately that is not the case!
Appreciate that the Phantoms are actually a particular type of alien. As far as I know, ‘Zulian Maletarians’ are original to the show--no reference to preexisting DC stuff.
Something I noticed upon a re-watch--my suspension of disbelief allows for the physical phantom transformation...but they also all sprout matching dark robes???
Sure, Jan.
Anyways. Then WEAPONS GRADE ANGST, as Alex has like, combo PTSD/guilt trip reaction to Phantom’d Silas.
Just like. The frozen, helpless look?
NOW I’M HAVING FEELINGS, HOW DARE.
And the hits keep comin’, cause we’ve got a balcony talk between J’onn and Alex but it’s tense and sad and gosh I love it.
Back in Kara’s Phantom Zone Adventure, love her Wizard of Oz-esque gathering of companions on her way to see the Wizard find an escape.
This week it felt like there was a better handle on the close-ups? Like, they were pretty apparent in 6x02. Here, they’re a little less obvious. (Or maybe I’m just getting used to them IDK. XD)
Az-Rel is a deep Detective Comics Comics cut--a Kryptonian prisoner in the Phantom Zone who has pyrokinesis!
(tHEy DoNT ReSpECT tHe cOMicS!!! Except that they do, and y’all don’t even NOTICE.)
Glad that both Kelly and M’gann had plot stuff to do this week, instead of just offering emotional support to everyone else.
I forgot to mention it last week so I’ll just quickly mention that I like the glow-y purple lights in the Tower. Very nice touch, J’onn.
(But how is he affording this?)
(And for that matter...are Kara and Nia now the only members of the Super Friends with jobs?)
I’ll dispense with the linear approach because the back-and-forth between plotlines is getting to be a bit much, SO!
On the Kelly and M’gann note: Again, really liked that they’re not simply there to be cheerleaders for the other characters. M’gann still feels a little like she’s at the mercy of plot whims, but. Progress!
And then Kelly! I mentioned this last season--I like that they’ve built up her character such that her inclusion in like. Bad-guy fights makes sense, even though she’s maybe not as directly connected to the action as other members of the Super Friends, being more ‘team CatCo/Obsidian’ than ‘Tower’
(Spoiler-y info suggests that will change as the season progresses so we’ll see how that goes!)
I liked this Final Phantom Fight more than the one in 6x02--the direction/blocking felt a little less ‘everyone stand on your marks in a line and shoot up at the CGI stuff’.
I mean it was still essentially that, but. Just worked a bit better here, IMO.
And Alex can quick-change now! Love that it has the red glow of Martian shapeshifting.
Oliver Queen out there somewhere in the afterlife, seething with jealousy.
(Jumping back, just think it’s funny that, presumably, emergency services got a call about the Phantoms like, ‘911, what’s your emergency?’ ‘We’ve got hostile ghosts!’)
Alright, circling back to the Luthors!
Brainy and Lena are feeling their feelings, folks.
Loved all Brainy’s stuff. Particularly, his enraged, “I hate him! I hate him!” and then his quieter, broken, “I miss her.”
Just. So good.
(But man he is...2 for 3 on busted tech. Keyboard, tablet...fortunately the TV was spared but it was close!)
And Lena had some growth!
I’m just at the point where I’m never gonna like. Enjoy the character--too many years of fandom baggage unfortunately. But credit where it is due: NO MORE LITTLE BOXES, THANK GOODNESS.
She’s gone from Bowler Hat Guy to Elsa. Good for her.
The amount of Lex this week was about as much as I can handle anymore. Simmering in the background, antagonizing Lena...that’s where he belongs.
(But he can leave now, thanks.)
Okay so BACK TO KARA, b/c you know. I’m biased.
Her time in the Phantom Zone is a little less introspective than I expected, thus far. However! Still the good Kara content I crave.
Kara making friends and influencing others with her sheer determination and compassion?
Almost like...her real power lies in her ability to inspire others.
Gasp! A theme!
Also the mention of fractured memories...intriguing!
And will no-doubt dovetail into the upcoming time-travel/flashback episodes.
I am excited.
An aside: Kara’s gonna be so distressed that she missed out on all these big emotional milestones.
“J’onn and M’gann soul-bonded? Alex and Kelly moved in together? Lena and Brainy engaged in healthy coping mechanisms???”
She’s gonna have so many Hallmark cards to buy.
*Card with a cute smiley face on it* *opens it up* ‘Congrats on not murdering your brother!’
I’m sure there’s a bunch of other great stuff I’m missing but that’s all I can remember at the moment, so!
TL;DR - SO MANY FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEELINGS! From everyone! It was great.
NEXT WEEK: Phantom Friends Fight to Find a Feasible Flight from the Frigid Fathomage of the Former Fort Rozz!
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so today I just watched the first episode of Almost Paradise! And I’ve gotta say, I am impressed. I already had it on my watchlist but I was planning to wait to watch it for a while until I could let Eliot fade a bit from memory, just so I wouldn’t automatically think of him while watching Kane. But I ran into an article this weekend about how it was filmed in the Philippines and the details of that, and my curiosity was piqued considerably more, so I figured... why not?
(I also started White Collar this weekend and that was very enjoyable, but that’s a post for another day.)
Anyway, my brain’s buzzing now, so have some first impressions and reactions, plus initial meta-analysis because I am intrigued. In hindsight I probably should have recorded first impressions while I was watching, but I’ll do my best to remember the bits that stuck out. Warning for... exceedingly long post.
ooo, okay, so he’s got a medical condition. I faaaaintly remember reading about this in the summary but I didn’t pay much attention to that, oops.
telling a guy played by Chris Kane not to get his heartrate up! that’s definitely gonna happen. definitely. one hundred percent. not like this guy loves fighting or anything
(also tbh the joke about, ah, sexual dysfunction admittedly left a sour taste in my mouth, because I do not go for that kind of thing, but... this is Devlin and Kane, so I’m trusting, based off Leverage experience, that they aren’t gonna be too inappropriate. [In hindsight there are actually interesting meta reasons for this so the sour taste has dissipated somewhat.])
this poor doctor. she’s so done with him.
...he’s definitely not gonna pay attention to the monitor is he
that journal’s gonna get zero use oop
(I was duly impressed when he actually did use it later)
huh, liking how we immediately dive into the effect tourism has had on the Philippines. so we’re getting some commentary here too? I can deal with that
...wow. bad shop. eek
I’m sorry but I am loving the touch with the floorboards and such breaking beneath Alex. the look on his face is just perfect
and the monitor goes off! for tbh the last reason I expected it to first go off for, excellent
MOTORCYLE? did they give him a motorcycle?!
awww no it’s the baddies who have the motorcycle :(
hmm this should be interesting. loving the look of this leader guy tho
--aaaand good asthetic guy is dead! with an ice pick! creepy and creative!
bar. no way this could go wrong
internal battle! understandable that Alex wants out, buuuuuuut if he’s anything like I suspect he is--
--yup, picking a fight, with a damn pool cue--
--not picking a fight?
...picking a fight. by being friendly. *sigh*
yuuuuuuuup. that’s definitely good for your heart
badass fighting scene! with a pool cue, that’s a new one! love seeing Kane take ordinary objects and turn them into fighting tools
(ngl this had Eliot vibes. that said I am thrilled to see how damn good these fight scenes are and this is making me even more excited for Redemption)
aaaaaaaaaand oh fuck this was a police setup. which. I actually did not see coming, huh
ahahah they’re pissed! because he messed up their bust? or because he just saved their asses?
...probably technically the former but I suspect the latter is also true
refusing to get Involved being foreshadowed by his indecision earlier! of course he’s going to get Involved anyway, only question is how
“hitter” I SEE YOU. I SEE YOU AND YOUR REFERENCES. I SEE YOU DEVLIN AND KANE
pfffffffffffFFFFFT the meditation, oh gods
that voice. oh Alex.
I genuinely cannot tell if this is him actually trying or if this is him begrudgingly making an attempt because he has to
lacquering(?) the doors, which, hey, actually look pretty nice--this place is gonna look good when it’s done isn’t iii--
oh fuck Alex is being attacked
(this is definitely something to be concerned about. yes. totally. not like we haven’t already seen him take down a bunch of guys.)
with a garrot! this is definitely totally not how he’s gonna get Involved
oh my gods the detail with the paint. nothing says Competent like getting irritated at how the baddie interrupted your house restoration
hehehehe Involved
oooh, hmm, he thinks they sent the guy after him? what kind of corruption has Alex faced? I mean it’s not an unreasonable fear, but jeez, it sounds like this has happened to him before. doesn’t say much good about the DEA...
huh, this is a level of disturbed I haven’t seen from Kane before. which, granted, I have only seen him in Leverage, but I’ve never seen him pull this out before. the voice crack is an excellent touch
also, worth noting, Alex is definitely a notable level of... hmm, paranoid? this is just a tad bit frantic, though that’s understandable from a guy who almost got killed while in the middle of an attempted meditation
oh god being cocky in the middle of a briefing. poor Kai
--being cocky and competence porn! of course he takes the watch and turns it into a lesson
...he must be a hell of a teacher
(also, bonus points for actually using the journal. maybe he’s taking this health thing more seriously than I thought he would?)
may I repeat: COMPETENCE PORN
uh-huh, you’re so not involved, definitely, Alex, not like you’re gonna get pulled straight into this or anything
Ernesto is just watching to see how things play out, Kai is... trying to do things the right way, and Alex...
...Alex gives precisely zero fucks. buddy you are so not subtle
right, walking straight into the lion’s den! radiating confidence! terrifying
this is a disturbing level of truth he’s sharing for this lie. I mean, best lies are crafted from truth, but... jeez
hm. so is Alex also a “I don’t like guns” type guy?
(probably not for the same reasons as Eliot doesn’t [his is definitely more in the “they make it too easy to kill” department whereas I would guess Alex has either more tactical or PTSD reasons], but, hmm. this is something to watch for)
(did they know they were bringing back Leverage when they set up Almost Paradise? I’m genuinely wondering if they didn’t write some Eliot traits into Alex specifically bc they knew Kane missed playing him)
this is a fantastically confident level of grifting--what exactly did he do in the DEA, precisely?
...ah. cool asthetic guy. stuffed in the freezer. gotta admit, I definitely didn’t see that one coming. creepy!
(and it looks like you actually managed to shake Alex a little, hah)
aaaaaand in the meantime we have Kai following his advice! in an... interesting way. hm.
(surprisingly this does not annoy me that much in hindsight. not sure why)
and understandably, this does not go over well! except, oh, fuck, DEA guy. this ain’t gonna be good
...worse. worse than I thought. what happened to you, Alex? former partner? whaaat
“attacks”?
this gonna be the typical “traumatized white dude has Anger Attacks” type thing?
honestly I immediately went “probably not” given how it was handled in Leverage. wasn’t sure though. but that does leave the question of what sort of attacks? it doesn’t seem like it’d be meltdowns, so what does that leave?
hmmm. DEA guy is an Ass. we Do Not Like him. I’ve known Alex for less than half an hour but you do not do that to him. you do not use trauma against your guy, Jerkface.
cutting a deal? this should be interesting
...well shit. I. am sincerely hoping Kai isn’t about to walk in on anything too bad
this definitely isn’t gonna be a fight though, that I called right off the bat
--bottles. dammit
oh, Christ. attempted OD or just drunk?
just drunk! good! well, very Not Good, but better than the other thing
pffffft dunking him in the water and then him going straight back to the water when he sees her, that is both absolutely hilarious and deeply concerning
aaand I’m agreeing with Kai but also, poor guy just got confronted with a hell of a lot of things that would raise his trau--
...mm. yeah. that’d be it.
...I. was. not expecting that much backstory info straight off. holy cow, Alex. that is. messed up. someone get this man a hug
“one of the guys that cared too much”
(...like you?)
(or is that why you won’t let yourself care now?)
fuck, there was a lot more to that boat scene than I thought. ow
partner who betrayed him like that? I’m just. gods.
Trust Issues is definitely gonna be a Thing isn’t it
can we just take a second to appreciate how Christian Kane is playing the absolute hell out of this character
aaaand Kai brings him back to the city for a Heartwarming Reminder of why he was in the game! this is very tropey but it is, as John Rogers has pointed out, an instance of the “well-worn writing tool” rather than feeling cheesy!
holy crap Kai has lost. a lot of people. oh man
ahahahaha classic “why did you bring me here?” line! you know why, Alex. you know why
oh, and Ernesto gets a chance to help him out! I’m already enjoying this so much
awww and Kai shows up to help encourage him! with coffee! supportive friend and very obvious but honestly okay love interest! good!!!
(what the heck is with Devlin and his crew and sticking Kane with two besties? based on Ernesto’s dynamic with him I’m guessing this isn’t gonna be an OT3 but. I am loving the trend)
“I’m gonna regret this in the morning” pfft
huh, working with the DEA agents. not like he’s gonna go off script or anything. that’s totally not gonna happen is it
hehe irritated look while they’re putting on the mic. he is so very unimpressed
--”little episodes”--episodes?
moment of appreciation for the un-forced-feeling diversity in these police squads
“how’s the anxiety?” I’m sorry what
hold up, when we say “episodes”--are we talking panic attacks? does Alex have actual goddamn anxiety?
...actually with PTSD? that would make complete sense. I am... intrigued. I am really hoping that that’s the case, actually, because having seen how well they handled Parker and her PTSD in Leverage (as well as Nate’s and Eliot’s) I have a lot of faith that they could pull that off really well, actually. That would be good.
ppFFFT TAKING OFF THE WIRES RIGHT OFF THE BAT
wait what. you’re telling them everything? what’s your game here?
“get that frikkin gun outta my face!” yup, not a fan of guns! no disarming though? huh
(also can we just. appreciate how Kane manages to make “frikkin” sound just as much like the cuss it’s replacing?)
(LET ALEX SAY FUCK)
oh. OH
hi Ernesto! hi Kai! I see what y’all doing
ohhhhhhhhhh Alex you goddamn genius. Getting rid of all of the drugs so there’s no way the precise thing he was claiming to be doing can happen. I like this
THE MEDITATION COMING ON ON THE RECORDING I CAN’T--OH MY GODS
Alex please tell me you know how to disarm a gun. please. guns are not effective at that distance
OH. OH I DID NOT SEE KAI COMING.
got ‘em! murder confession, how did I not see that coming? good stuff
Kai can fight!
KAI CAN FUCKING FIGHT WOW
I am very much appreciating Kai right now
also is that a FLYING KICK from Ernesto?
they better give these people more fight scenes
aaaaand straight into the water, oh god. I’m assuming this was a choice made because Alex is familiar with this territory? ...I do not think I want to know where Alex learned to fight underwater.
(I really really really want to know.)
how the fuck has your monitor not gone off by now Alex
choking him out underwater, okay, wow
what size are your lungs? this is long
extra kudos for excellent underwater filming and wow I am hoping the actors actually came up for air
(this is also unreasonably beautiful for a scene where you’re choking out a drug lord. the water is so pretty)
Evil DEA guy (no I am not going to learn his name, he doesn’t deserve it) is gonna be Alex’s Agent Sterling, isn’t he? this should be interesting
heh, police chief is taking his side! good stuff, good stuff
(it is very nice to see Alex getting some people in his corner after knowing what hell the DEA put him through)
Alex has fallen so damn hard for Kai. this is very very adorable actually
awww he’s really getting into fixing up the shop, isn’t he? I’m sincerely looking forward to seeing how he gets this up and going, it really looks like he’s enjoying himself
somehow I am starting to wonder if the cocky “oh yeah I’m opening up a gift shop how exciting huh” thing at the start wasn’t... actually genuine. he... is enjoying this, isn’t he? good. very good
I am unreasonably invested in this man’s wellbeing for one episode in
!!!!!!!!! HE GETS HIS PARADE
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW
giving him his reason to keep going! yes! yessss
oh Alex you are attached now. you are very attached. good luck my dude and don’t let the trust issues get in the way
this is a good show. this is a heckin awesome show.
also, side note, it is SO PRETTY
I am just loving loving loving all of the scenery. competence porn AND landscape and city porn. beautiful. perfection. excellent
...that was. much longer than I anticipated oops
anyway, conclusion: hot damn this is a fun show! I am very excited to keep watching this. Alex officially has my heart, even if he’s a bit of a cocky bastard sometimes. Kane is fucking hilarious. (More reasons to be excited for Redemption!) Kai and Ernesto also have my heart, and I am extremely interested to see their character development.
Honestly, the beauty is surprising. I didn’t expect to just enjoy how pretty it is. The blues of the ocean, the intense tropical colors, even the run-down gift shop--there’s such a gorgeous aesthetic to it all. If I wasn’t already invested in the characters and plot, I’d be invested for that alone.
So... I have some thoughts on Alex and the show structure.
He’s obviously very disillusioned. There’s a lot of nods to the idea of war--he’s commonly referring to himself as a soldier, as a veteran, maybe as a casualty. I’m gonna take a totally wild guess here and say this show is going to be focused on the drug issues in the Philippines. (Wow, Synapse, how the heck’d you guess that?) I do find describing the war on drugs as a war, and going into the terminology that comes with it, very appropriate, and I like how this show is actively calling this to attention rather than using it as a convenient plot. They’re actually addressing the issue and discussing its impact. And given how overlooked certain aspects of the impact of the drug war on the Philippines is, this is a good choice, especially in order to alert American viewers to the issue. I’m curious to see how they handle that.
Again, interesting drawing parallels to war, too, and comparing it against the likes of WWI and Vietnam. It really gives that sense of weight to the issue and defines a vital aspect of it: the impact of the war on drugs on the people involved. It emphasizes that the people who are fighting it suffer consequences and PTSD just as a soldier in the field does, and it also emphasizes, with Kai, that it isn’t just the people actively fighting who bear the consequences. It’s also the people on the sidelines--it’s the families, the people on the streets by the gunfights, the economical impact, etcetera.
But there’s also an element to Alex’s character that automatically makes him relatable to a lot of people... and it has nothing to do with the PTSD, nothing to do with the war on drugs, nothing really to do with the main issues. It is, simply, the intense hopelessness and depression that comes with trying to make a difference. In his case it’s making a difference on a severe worldwide issue. But the vast majority, if not all, of Almost Paradise’s audience should be able to relate to a feeling of never doing enough. And there’s certainly a large section of that group who can relate to being part of a fight that never seems to end. Doesn’t matter what you’re doing--if it’s driven at helping, it rarely ever feels like you ever do enough. But the advice given is excellent. One of the best things to do, when you’re feeling hopeless over this, is to focus on and take deep joy in the impact you do make.
Alex is an expression of a frustration that a lot of people deal with. This, I think, is one of the reasons why he instantly drew me--and presumably the rest of the audience--in (outside of a fantastic actor and great humor). He’s relatable. He’s something that most people can see a part of themselves in.
Anyway, symbolism and real-world talk aside, this is just... fun. It’s genuine fun. We’re covering rough issues, but there’s a lot of well-written tropes in here too that are written in that way that makes them enjoyable to relive rather than painful. The humor is delightful and plentiful. There’s a lot of beautiful feel-good moments. I’m suspecting this’ll be a comfort show, and I am perfectly all right with that.
Onto the next episode!
#Almost Paradise#Almost Paradise spoilers#Almost Paradise 1x01#reaction post#christian kane#(please please please let these be the right tags)#synapse reacts#this is a new thing!#hopefully y'all like the new thing!#even though I am exceedingly long-winded#I mean this is basically the equivalent of me yelling into the void#but I need SOME void to yell into#so this might as well be it#and perhaps someone'll get a kick out of it#so why not?
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