#and now that i've given it a spin i only have more respect for your craft

[donutdrawsthings]

How I've missed you! Inspired by @passionpeachy 's work!

[yawnderu]

Daddy's girl - Vladimir Makarov x Reader

The daddy issues are hitting hard today. ^_^

CW: face slapping, death threats, degrading words, hurt/comfort... as comforting a terrorist can be. Reader isn't Makarov's daughter.

''You didn't come to my graduation.'' You stumble into his office without knocking, the liquid courage in your blood giving you the guts you never even knew you had.

''My little princess.'' His tone is full of sarcasm, brown eyes sizing you up as he looks up from the paperwork sprawled on his desk. He tilts his head slightly as you say nothing.

''How kind of you to grace me with your presence. Of course, I wasn't able to attend your graduation... I have important duties as a leader.'' He was making a show out of it, voice dripping pure disdain as he got up from his chair, walking over to you with his hands clasped behind his back. Your silence makes the corners of his mouth tilt up.

''Besides, I've never been much of a family man.'' Despite knowing better, the alcohol is poisoning your brain, taking full control of your tongue.

''Go fuck yourself.'' The words are spoken with pure hatred, years of suppressed words due to only being acknowledged with condescending words finally coming out.

''I'm shocked, my dear.'' There's a smirk on his face at your bold words, clearly amused by your courage. Oh, how his hands are aching to hurt.

''You know better than to speak to me like that. Maybe I should teach you a lesson in respect again.'' He leans down slightly, one hand firmly holding your jaw as he stares down at you with cold, piercing eyes. You hold your ground, arms crossed over your chest while you stare up at him stubbornly. In the past, you'd be begging and trying to run away, yet you stand tall and proud in pure defiance. Just this once.

''I've given you everything you could ever want, and this is the thanks I get for it?'' He's looming over you like a predator ready to pounce on its prey, eyes burning with resentment and anger you have seen many times before.

''You are nothing without me.'' With a swift, jerky motion, the hand grasping your jaw lets go just to reach out and slap you across the face, the sound of his hand connecting with your skin echoing throughout the room. Your eyes close out of reflex, trying your best not to fall down despite how dizzy the hard slap and the alcohol are making you. You take a few seconds to recover, looking up at him with nothing but disdain, mirroring his own expression.

''You've given me everything but your love.'' Makarov's expression hardens even further, disgust mixing in with the anger.

''Love? What do you know about love? You're a naive little girl who has never in her life faced the reality of this world. You think I'm so cruel, so heartless, but I've made more sacrifices than you could ever imagine.'' His Russian accent got more prominent the more annoyed he got, making his words sound even harsher. He grabbed you by the arm, spinning you around and forcing you to face the window that looked out into the city skyline.

''Your mother's love didn't stop her from dying when she gave birth to you. You're lucky I took you under my wing and gave you a life of luxury.'' You scoffed at his comment, staying quiet for now as you held back tears.

''I tolerated your insolence because I thought that with time, you'd respect me... I see now that I failed to raise you properly.'' He pulled out his revolver, pressing the muzzle against your temple. There was barely any emotion in his face, simply cold, calculated indifference.

''That can be fixed easily.'' He presses the gun harder against your head, and all you can do is hold back tears. You bite the inside of your cheek softly, waiting for a ''bang'' that doesn't come yet.

''Go ahead, pap.'' Your stubborn mouth lashes out before you can even think about it, trying your best to give him a smile despite the way your eyes are burning with tears.

''Free me from this life of death and war you gave me.'' Makarov frowns, finger tensing on the trigger as he looks down at you. He would never admit it, but the unexpected response caught him off-guard.

''I've been too soft on you.'' He pulls back the hammer, metal clicking loudly.

''Quite the opposite, but whatever.'' There was an icy calm in his gaze as he looked down at the younger girl.

''Do you know what your problem is? You're ungrateful. More stubborn than a mule and twice as bratty. All you've ever done is take, take, take.'' His finger tightens on the trigger, patience wearing thin by the second. He wanted to see the fear in her eyes, to see the tears finally roll down her cheeks, to hear her beg for her life, yet she wasn't giving him the satisfaction.

''That's my problem?'' You ask sarcastically, turning your head slightly to look up at him, gun now held against your forehead as you lean closer to him, challenging him even further. ''I've done nothing but dedicating my time and life to you and the Inner Circle.''

Makarov takes a step back, lowering his gun by his side before almost hesitantly putting it back in its holster. He looks you up and down with pure disdain, blood boiling inside his throbbing veins.

''It's your attitude that irks me, not whatever you think you've done for me and the Inner Circle. You're underserving of the respect that comes with your position, ungrateful for the life I've given you, you're living proof of all my failures. Do you understand, child?'' He lets go of your arm, hand twitching to get the gun back, but he ignores it for now. He sighs heavily, walking over to his desk and pulling a bottle of vodka out of a drawer, gloved hands opening the bottle and taking a long, long swig. He's way too sober to deal with you.

''Why are you even drunk at 9:00AM?'' He asks softly, trying his best not to grow gray hairs at the stress your mere presence causes him.

''I've been up all night. Graduation party with some friends and the after.'' You speak just as softly, looking out the window for a while before finally turning back to him, hands clasped behind your back politely, a fake, calm expression on your face despite the turmoil in your head. He simply nods his head, elbows leaning on the lavish desk while taking another swig of the vodka.

''No chaser?'' You try to bring some humor to the situation, all anger gone as you now simply try to please him, ignoring your own emotional needs like usual. To your surprise, he lets out a soft amused chuckle.

''No chaser.'' He confirms, taking a deep breath before pulling two glasses out, filling them up before holding one your way.

''You better not disappoint me.'' The words lack their usual venom, though he's still clearly not happy with you. He knocks back his glass, filling it again without waiting for you. You hesitantly reach for the glass, holding your breath as you knock it back as well, making a face once the alcohol burns your throat and warms up your stomach.

''Ugh.'' Is all you can say, sitting in a chair in front of his desk as he fills up your glass again.

''Come on, try not to embarrass yourself.'' He's not being hostile for once. He almost sounds teasing as he says that, keeping eye contact while he takes his shot without even grimacing or making a face, clearly handling alcohol much better than you.

''You're trying to get me drunk for fun.'' Yet you still grab the glass and knock it back, making another face of pure disgust at the burn of pure vodka he seems to be drinking so easily.

''It certainly looks like it's working.'' He says with a small teasing tone, gesturing towards your slightly unfocused gaze.

''It is.'' Your voice is slightly slurred, the mix of the alcohol you drank earlier, the hard liquor and the lack of sleep hitting you like a fucking train, making you more tired by the second. You rest your head on the desk, eyes closing as you hear Makarov let out an amused chuckle as he gets up from his chair.

''Come here.'' He speaks with surprising softness, and you can feel him lifting you up with care, bringing your barely conscious body to his much bigger chair as he sits down, holding you close on his lap. One of his hands is on your lower back, safely securing your body, while the other one is running up and down the length of your hair.

''Get some sleep.'' He whispers softly and he doesn't have to repeat himself twice. Before you're fully gone, you can feel his lips plant a small kiss on the top of your head. Just this once, he'll allow himself to be weak.

[voxofthevoid]

I enjoy reading your opinions and rants about how fandom evolution, the repackaging of purity culture, and the social media landscape has created some questionable and awful behaviors amongst readers.

Maybe it's because I'm a newish(?) follower, but I haven't seen many posts of how the same factors affect fandom authors. (This isn't targeted towards you, but more so general fandom spaces, so to speak). I respect your opinion, so I'll just ask.

1. What behaviors that you see other fandom writers do that gets under your skin? 2. Any thoughts on the social-mediafiction on fanfiction culture as whole? I would appreciate your thoughts on this.

Thanks in advance, Vox!

I'm glad you enjoy my ramblings ❤

I don't tend to get into these discussions often, mostly because of a lack of time and energy, but sometimes, some post or event really gets me going—and they come in clusters a lot of the time. I have talked a bit about author behaviors too, but I think most of those posts are quite old—as in, pre-pandemic for the most part, with a few scattered across the last two years or so. They were largely related to bigger discussions on other, fandom-focused blogs I follow.

Re your questions, I can answer them as one because people treating fanfic sites, especially Ao3, like social media and/or hustle culture is my main pet peeve with fic authors.

At the center of it is monetization. That grinds my gears like nothing else. I'm not talking about authors having a tip jar on their blog or someone in a desperate situation taking commissions. But there's this increasing tendency to turn writing fic into a career, not by shifting to original fiction but by monetizing fic itself, and I view that as being fundamentally antithetical to fandom culture. Online fandom is a gift economy—a free exchange of passion, to put a pretty spin on it. That's both one of its defining features and most appealing aspects. There's no barrier to entry, aside from possessing a functional internet connection. Your age, geographical location, financial status, or any such factor doesn't affect whether or not you can participate in fandom, as a reader or a writer (or an artist in general, save for money-intensive stuff like cosplay). Monetization puts a rather sizeable wrench in that, especially when it comes to practices like posting a few chapters for free and putting the rest on Patreon.

Also, frankly, money changes things. All those issues I've talked about regarding entitlement and purity culture will be compounded when there are financial incentives to writing and posting fanfiction. You already have people who think fic writers exist to cater to them personally; now, imagine how people like that would act toward someone they've given money to, whether it's a systematic plan like Patreon or something more voluntary like tipping. Yes, the majority of people who pay writers aren't like this, just like the majority of fic readers in general are lovely people. But we've all also seen the damage that small toxic minority can do. Similar principles apply in relation to purity culture. People are already shit-scared of writing "problematic" topics because there might be witch hunts and doxxing; if they become reliant on fandom as a source of income, creativity will be further stifled (and sanity will probably go further downhill, let's be real). This is already an issue with original publishing, and I'm only in the periphery of those discussions.

Clout-chasing and comparison are two another issues that already exist in fandom and will be worsened when money's in the equation. Venture into r/Ao3 or r/Fanfiction, or any such space for discussing and venting about fandom and especially fics, and you'll find no shortage of people who are angry, sad, discouraged, disillusioned, or otherwise upset about getting less engagement than others in the fandom. To be clear, I'm not denigrating anyone for being sad about posting into the void in general; I'm talking specifically about the disappointment and jealousy arising from comparison. If "I only got X kudos even though Author A got XX kudos for posting the same trope" becomes "I only got X dollars even though Author A got XX dollars for posting the same trope," I'm going to yeet myself into the sun.

And this is the tip of the iceberg. I'm brushing very briefly (hah) on the impact growing monetization can have (and is having) on fandom's social dynamics alone. The legal grey area is a whole other beast. The ethics can be a debate of its own. The specific matter of people posting Patreon and Ko-fi links on Ao3—a volunteer-run, fan-funded platform that explicitly disallows monetization for both legal and social reasons—and then whining when they get penalized could be its own essay. I've seen motherfuckers straight-up argue that Ao3 is taking away their right to profit from their labor.

Seriously, I could talk about this forever. I have bouncing thoughts on specific aspects, from the proliferation of for-profit digital zines to the treatment of one's fic readers as future book buyers, but this post is already too long. I also have pet peeves regarding author behaviors unconnected to monetization, though those are also mostly related to clout-chasing and competitiveness and other nonsense that treats being a fic writer as akin to being an #influencer. Plus, there's no clean split between authors and readers in fandom, so a lot of the stuff I've said about readers being dicks generally arises from fellow writers.

Okay, shutting up now 🤐

TL;DR: Treating fandom like social media or a source of income is a bad idea. Don't do that.

[moonlessmondays]

Sailing Close to the Wind|| One: Chasing Rainbows and Spinning Dreams

*takes a deep breath* *opens laptop* *blows ever so softly*

*coughs*

Hello everyone, I bet you didn't think I would ever come back to write more Downton stuff. Maybe an update from me isn't in your 2024 bingo card. Not gonna lie, I'm just as surprised as you are. I've been gone for far longer than I ever was here, but I guess, prodigal children always find their way home.

YES. This is an update. I know.

In light of the new movie announcement, I made a trip down memory lane, and was inspired by one of my old fics. Not that my writing from five years ago was ever inspiring, really. Anyway, it was supposed to be a one shot, and so I felt like I was in under no obligation to add more, but add more, I shall do.

*steadfastly ignores the 300 other cobert fanfics I am supposed to update*

To my surprise as well as yours, this one had an interesting and very polite demand for more, and honestly, if I wasn't so neck deep in law school, I would have given this a go earlier. Of course, I chose the most inopportune time -- when I'm in over my head, drowning, in bar review and prep -- to finish this piece. But whatever. It was therapeutic. I do suggest you read the prologue first, again -- here or here-- because I doubt any of you still remember this. This one's a long one that I just had to get out of my system, because studying about my country's system is the equivalent of pouring bleach all over my brain.

I would like to say as early as now however, that as I have already mentioned earlier, I am in the middle of bar prep, so the updates are probably going to be few and far in between, if at all, towards the middle of this year. Not that it's anything new where I'm concerned. But I shall endeavor to finish before the end of year or the end of the world, at least, whichever comes first.

.::.

One

Chasing rainbows and Spinning Dreams

"Can it possibly beThe future for me is you…Wait until I can tell you all my schemesChasing rainbows spinning dreamsTell me please your name”  - Tell me your name, Jose Mari Chan

The silence in the room was so loud that one could hear a pin drop – as the old adage went, anyway, – and for one brief second, Cora found herself questioning if her boss was all right in the head. Maybe she had lost her mind after all the stress and was now clinically insane. 

That, after all, was the only logical explanation to her even remotely suggesting this.

Cora looked away from her boss, wondering what she should do or say next, when her gaze met the eyes of the man on the other side of the room. Robert, that’s what Rosamund said, but Cora already knew that. There was nary a soul in this entire company who didn’t. He rarely made any appearance, but he’s never missed one company party and his name was always on everybody’s lips. 

Cora could still – though she would never say it out loud or admit it – remember the first time she had seen the esteemed Mr. Robert Crawley. It had been during her first company Christmas party. She was new, a new hire fresh from her internship, and she’d been so young and so infatuated by the piercing blue eyes that barely looked her way even once in the party. He’d been caught up, talking to the big wigs, to his sister, and their other colleagues and didn’t have time for the little Miss Americana that was Cora. Not that Cora had minded very much, she was content with sipping her wine and admiring Mr. Crawley from afar. 

He was handsome and his laugh was loud and boisterous, although hardly offensive. He spoke to Mr. Carson and his wife, Mrs. Elsie Hughes-Carson, who both worked with them at the company, like they were old friends – with respect and authority, but with clear affection. Cora could have only hoped, at that time, to be treated the same.

Now, here she was, sitting in the office of her boss, having been just told that she should marry the CEO of the company she’s working for so she can stay in London. She felt like she needed more ruminating about the “brilliant idea” of the boss in question, but she figured there wasn’t really even enough time to ruminate that. It was insane. That, in her mind, should count as a red flag right? That her boss was insane?

“Well?” Rosamund started to speak, though she looked just a little bit nervous, or anxious, or maybe it was self-realization – Cora could only hope for the last. “It’s such an unmusical way of putting things, brother.” She cleared her throat and nodded anyway. Clearly, any hopes of sanity were dashed at this point. “I was suggesting a convenient marriage with a deadline…if you’re amenable, of course.”

More here or here.

[myvicesvengeance]

'C'Mon' ft. fun.

Okay this is going to be really fun to talk about.

The story of fun. and PATD goes way back to September 2009, and I've done a painful amount of research into this that I didn't think would exist.

The band fun. had just finished touring with Paramore in May 2009, and were about to release their new album, Aim & Ignite, in August. Funnily enough, Washington Post compared the album to A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.

Think of some of the arrangements as theatrical, much like those on Panic at the Disco's 2005 debut, "A Fever You Can't Sweat Out," and you'll get the idea. - link to the article

Their first album was warmly recieved by critics, but it wasn't a smash international hit. That was yet to come for them.

In September 2009, Brendon would tweet out the following lyrics from the song 'Be Calm':

Brendon, you literally could not have related harder to the song where Nate wrote about anxiety and the lyric "After all, you lost your band, you left your mom." (the band Nate is referring to here is The Format, by the way).

Anyway...

Nate described the signing onto Fueled By Ramen as the worst kept secret, when the band annouced they had signed onto Fueled By Ramen and that they had been signed on for 9 months at that point (the post they annouced it in was in early August). This was at no suprise since they had been hanging around PATD a lot. I have a small theory that FBR read the Washington Post review of Aim & Ignite, and thought that fun. and PATD would be a good fit for a collab. Especially given that PATD was going back to more of their Fever roots for Vices & Virtues, and Brendon seemed to like the fun. album.

'C'Mon' was likely the first song fun. wrote under FBR, and the first time the band was properly getting to know PATD. They likely knew them due to the band being friendly with Paramore, but not properly.

"We went into the session not really knowing much about the Panic! guys," Ruess tells SPIN. "But we came out, not only with what I think is a really good song, but with a couple of really great friends that we have a huge amount of respect and admiration for." - SPIN

This is what Brendon had to say:

"We were actually just huge fans [of Fun.], and we had talked to some people in our management, and they mentioned the guys in Fun were fans of us as well, so we spent an afternoon with [guitarist] Jack [Antonoff] and [singer] Nate [Ruess], and it was awesome. It just clicked, and we all got along. It was kind of a perfect fit, and they were just so talented. We just kind of came in and arranged it with them. We have done a few shows now with it. I was a fan of The Format in high school. I’d be blasting "The First Single” on the way to school. Nate is such a talented dude. He’s got a voice, and the new stuff is phenomenal." - phoenixnewtimes (not a link to the blog, but a link to a copy and paste a fan did of the blog)

I swear to God, between Nate Ruess and Mike Viola, Brendon Urie is the King of Manifesting his own destiny.

So, 'C'Mon' was likely written and recorded around early to mid December 2009 when fun. was either in the process of getting signed or had just been signed, which makes sense with the timeline.

As a result, a beautiful friendship was born.

The song seemed to have been written by 13th December 2009 at least, and they must've been recording it around this time, because the band does imply they are in the same room.

This is giving "Mum, can I go hang out with my friends now please?" PATD visit NYC.

Cut to new year:

And then 'C'Mon' is released unto the world in 2011. It was a special exclusive release onto single vinyl, and I think the plan was to have a duet version, a solo version for PATD, and a solo version for fun. but it didn't end up happening. Those solo versions must exist somewhere though.

fun. would then also go onto open for PATD in the lead up for their second album, Some Nights, along with the band Funeral Party. I guess you can tell by the production and instrumental on 'C'Mon' that they were heading in that direction. Brendon and Nate are obviously big Freddie Mercury/Queen fans.

And then after the tour was over they still kept in contact and Brendon was still hyping them up for their second album:

There are actually two album covers as well, the two bands designed separate ones.

This was fun.'s design, probably the one you're all very familiar with.

And this is the PATD one:

The PATD one seems to be the most rare one you can get, so if you have it, keep a hold onto it or sell it for a couple hundred.

What is the song about?

A lot of Alice's Adventures In Wonderland imagery.

Feels like I am falling down a rabbit hole Falling for forever, wonderfully wandering alone

"Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end! 'I wonder how many miles I've fallen by this time?' she said aloud. 'I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think--'" - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

What would my head be like If not for my shoulders Or without your smile

I'd like to believe in all the possibilities

"Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible." - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

I am a man of many hats although I Never mastered anything

When I am ten feet tall I've never felt this tall since the fall

Nobody seems to know my name

Shall we sing, shall we sing, until the morning

May we stay lost on our way home

"I've had enough nonsense. I'm going home!" - Disney's Alice In Wonderland

"Well, when one's lost, I suppose it's good advice to stay where you are... until someone finds you. " - Disney's Alice In Wonderland

So, yeah, very Alice's Adventures in Wonderland inspired. And points for not using the typical quotes, like one typical quote out of the many references I could find linking to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland shows that the boys are actually fans of the book and movie in my opinion, rather than just the pop culture aesthetic of Wonderland.

Live Performances

So, I believe that 'C'Mon' is technically the only b-side that PATD has ever played live. Funeral Party and fun. were two of the bands that were opening for PATD on the Vices & Virtues tour at the time, and Nate would come out to sing his part with Andrew playing on the piano in the back.

(yes, I specifically chose this video for those who love to watch Brendon murder this poor keyboard, but there are many other performances of 'C'Mon' live between Brendon and Nate)

And yes, Nate and Brendon were very touchy with each other, once again, did you all think Dallon was the only one getting any action on this tour?

EDIT: Also, little fact about the band's relationship with fun., Nate and Jack were both thanked in the Vices & Virtues linear notes, along with Jack's sister, Rachel.

[strryhaze]

honestly i've never really believed the rumors that rfk branch would be jealous of jfk's branch but now...yeah i believe it.

like in Jack's case, he has the iconic grandfather (i love bobby but he isn't as iconic as JFK), the iconic grandmother, the iconic uncle and aunt that everyone and their mama is copying in the aesthetics, and rfk's branch doesn't really have that (even tho rfk is iconic and the best of the brothers) so Jack was always gonna go viral and have more of a chance at popularity than the grandchildren (also him being the only grandson and only nephew of jfk and jfk jr gives him a slight specialness)

now maga is trying to spin it in way that caroline and jack are jealous of the rfk's when that has never been the case lol. like caroline will forever be respected and worked under two administrations that she didn't have to sell her soul for. can't say that about rfk jr. Also Jack is in his prime and given his connections he can go really far, like he isn't a 71 year old with brainworms.

but all in all it's sad bc jfk and rfk adored each other but rfk's grandchildren (only some) are...yikes.

oh it’s very obvious they were. before though, it seemed like the love always won in the end. however, it’s been a very long time, and families, as they do, have changed and grown.

you mentioning the fact that bobby was iconic in his own way and yet never as renowned as his brother in the general public was what seemingly began poisoning rfk’s branch against jfk’s. in one instance, joe kennedy ii and many of the brothers complained that jfk got a longer film than rfk in the DNC (30 min to his 5 min), as it’s widely agreed that rfk in actuality became more of that jfk myth he and jackie helped mold than jfk who was more cautious and detached in real life. when john used his magazine to (accurately) call his rfk cousins “poster boys for bad behavior,” and then continued by writing, “perhaps they deserved [the public condemnation and disapproval]. perhaps they knew better. to whom much is given, much will be required, right?”

are you guys sensing the same energy from john in jack too lol. john would have called them out too and did. i imagine there was also a part of him that resented what they had turned their name and legacy into. they had hollowed it out carelessly, whilst still trying to mimic what came before them in all the wrong ways. joe ii on camera responded by saying smth along the lines of “ask not what you can do for your cousins, but what your cousins can do for your magazine.” there was clearly a building bitterness there, but then michael passed shortly after and john attended the funeral clearly distraught and was captured hugging joe ii and his other cousins fiercely -> example of love winning out.

because bobby had been ingrained in all of the children’s minds as The Kennedy, the one who remembered all the birthdays and baptisms, who included all of the cousins in the family traditions, the father figure all of them loved and held in high regard, the senator who brought out a passion and fervor in people, rfk’s sons got a false image of how the world would treat them, and when the world treated john differently, better, i honestly think it shattered their world view. it embittered them against john a bit. there’s a long history of rfk’s sons almost singling john out on purpose. when john didn’t participate in their games, they’d taunt him by calling him a “mama’s boy” or “not a real kennedy” — something that might have privately bothered john more than he outwardly displayed since caroline apparently held that against the rfk boys right after john died.

and i think something rfk’s sons missed is that yes, bobby got his own share of devotion from people but because his actions and his words inspired that in them. he had to earn it, despite being jfk’s brother; honestly, i think he had to work even harder to earn that from people because of that fact alone. he had to prove his own worth in the political world, but he didn’t shy away from it or complain that he should have it anyway because he was jack’s brother or because of his name. he recognized his own privilege and used it for good. he did his time. he was genuine and compassionate in his treatment towards others (haggard politicians aside…)

unfortunately, his sons didn’t really get the memo. they wanted the attention and power, but only that. i remember reading something a biographer wrote about how “although they claimed jfk as part of their tradition, the rfk offspring recognized john as an outsider.” and it’s so weird bc like. that’s his damn father 😭😭😭 and that pattern/behavior is clearly seen in rfk jr and many kennedy’s today.

there was also an instance where a teenage john returned from his trip in south africa and modestly said that he felt that some part of his life would involve working with black people and i kid you not bobby jr looked at him dismissively and said “my father was more concerned with blacks than yours was.”

i just have to sigh. aside from the fact that rfk jr.’s unsurprisingly weird as fuck for the manner in which he referred and still refers to black people, it’s evident that there’s always been some one-sided competition for some of them that they clearly passed onto their own children. what’s also evident is that some of them don’t even care about what his own father did. they’ve used his work and service as a prop for their non-existent moral righteousness without giving anything worthwhile back in return.

and as we’ve seen, they hate being called out for it. example one: john jr. example two: jack schlossberg. and yeah it’s unfortunate that this is the case now bc… jack and bobby… a whole different story.

[my-mt-heart]

Welcome back SF, really missed your input.

That's really kind of you to say 🙏 I'm watching this spinoff against better judgment and have a lot of thoughts on it, but I'll try to stick to production topics.

[W]hy giving so many visual cues for Carol?

Like MT and you yourself said, AMC realized (somewhat belatedly) that they can't Carol-ify characters (Maggie in DC/Isabelle in DD) and expect the audience to get excited. The studio knows Carol gets engagement, that's why they keep pushing the character on social media despite the fact that officially, she's not part of TWDU. I believe Melissa/Carol is so conspicuously absent from Nicotero's interviews for related reasons.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't they shove Melissa and Angela aside to make their own spin off?

No, you're right, but each of the people wanting them off the project had their own reasons for it. It's not as simple as "Norman got a big head" from being the most marketed character (although there's an element of that too). There's a lot of people involved and they all had different things to gain from having these two women removed.

So, my guess right now is, it's about the money and someone less with an opinion, so both Greg and Norm have more creative freedom and a couple of spare millions to spend on their vision

AMC spent way more money this way than having Melissa be part of the show from the start, so no, it's not about money and making a TV show isn't a bunch of people compromising on what to do. (More on that a little further down.)

There are many reasons and @jaibhagwan mentioned one of them in a comment to my previous ask, "[W]ho has the most the gain by sabotaging Caryl to make himself look good writing his “love story” spinoff?" Gimple was heavily involved in S11, the development of DD and in part of pre-production, and like I've previously said, he doesn't want competition. (It shouldn't be a competition at all, since a TV show is a collaborative effort and as a viewer I'm capable of liking both Carol and Michonne. Not that the race is between the women, because Gimple doesn't care about either of them.) He wants DD to fail, so he can swoop in to save the franchise with his TOWL show.

Just so no one misunderstands this as a slight and gets upset: Michonne is one of my favorites and I hold Danai in utmost respect. I'm not comparing women or female characters. They bring different things to the franchise and that's a GOOD THING. I want more of that. I also think Clémence is a great actor and apart from the sweeping aerial establishing shots, she's the only enjoyment I'm getting from DD. My issue is with Gimple and Zabel (whose existence as a "fleshie" I can unfortunately confirm to anyone thinking he might be a cardboard cutout), and their no-good storytelling.

@rubberchickeny "They all ring untrue and like he’s trying to manage (badly) the image the media and the public have. He’s contradicting himself, and other information given."

I believe the obfuscation is on purpose and that AMC (by way of Nicotero) is also trying to shift blame for some of their more controversial story decisions.

Everything that happens on a TV show has been approved by the studio responsible for the production. It doesn't matter if you're an egomaniac actor, a spiteful hack of a writer or a burnt-out EP—no one can override the studio. Someone at the studio approved the respec of Daryl back to his S2 self, the choice to deny his found family, the nunbaiting, etc. Every single script goes to the studio for notes and then (eventually) final approval before it's locked. They approve of the episode edit; if they don't like it, it gets reedited to their specifications.

There's a method to the madness in everything Nicotero has been saying.

@kryptoniancape "So he blatantly lied about having no creative control in that hit piece?"

Yes 🤷‍♀️ and you're right, it's a hit piece. The question is why. Why do AMC and Greg Nicotero want you to think that everything that's wrong about this show is Norman's fault? I'm not saying he doesn't bear any responsibility, but this isn't a one-man standup comedy special on HBO. If he made demands AMC didn't want to meet, they could have pulled the plug on those delusions at any point.

SF

“I’m watching this spinoff against better judgment”

Translation: MT is making me watch so I can answer her long list of questions she sent me.

I guess my concern about a possible smear campaign is…are they expecting more backlash later on? If so, I’m terrified to find out what that is. I’m getting so many asks from people wondering why they should hope for a better story in S2, and even though I do think we can put some of our faith in Melissa, it’s still a valid question. Because they should be doing everything to rebuild our trust that was lost the day they announced the Caryl spinoff was canceled, but instead they’re preparing for things to get worse?

Again, all I want (as a fan and as another woman in the industry) is to feel reassured that Melissa’s getting everything a leading lady deserves and that Daryl and Carol are getting the story they deserve.

Fwiw: If Danai was the showrunner on her spinoff, I would’ve been SEATED for that. If Melissa got to showrun or direct, I’d be seated for that too. TWDU needs more women and poc making creative decisions.

[bleeding-star-heart]

A non-comphrensive list of rewrite ideas for DA:2's ending

So, I've talked about DA:2's ending, and while how it just manages to make sense from an in-universe perspective, it absolutely doesn't from a writer's. And part of me suspects that the reason for that is because DA:2 was a very rushed product. One that, in my opinion, could have benefited from a little more time in the metaphorical oven. Here is a list of things I would do differently regarding the ending. This is more of a brainstorm than anything; not all of these ideas are going to go together.

First and simplest: get rid of the Chantry explosion altogether. It's a waste of animation. It requires the audience to buy the absurd notion that a man who CHOOSES to provide free medical care to the homeless-and it was expressly HIS idea to do so-would just shrug off the deaths of multiple civilians.

A better idea would be to focus Act 3 on Meredith Stannard. As a tyrannical military leader with extreme views and NO respect for civil authority, she is the PERFECT antagonist.

Perhaps Meredith feels that Elthina is an obstacle to her gaining power. Maybe she believes that Elthina's "moderate" views equate to being under the control of blood mages. Maybe she's decided that would be a very convenient narrative to spin.

Either way, it is time for Elthina to go. So, step one, she kidnaps Anders. As an apostate, he can serve both as hit man AND fall guy.

Except in this scenario, Anders does not actually want to assassinate Elthina. Mainly because he believes that doing so will only make mages look bad. (We are ignoring what Justice feels).

Now, owing to player agency, what goes down can vary. The player should have the choice of whether or not to rescue Anders, and, if they choose to rescue him, dialogue options should given them a number of choices on HOW, exactly, they wish to intervene.

But the gist of the situation is: thanks to Anders's refusal, Meredith ends up killing the Grand Cleric herself.

This ends up creating commentary on how reactionaries, ironically, end up attacking the very systems that privilege them, if they believe it helps them maintain that privilege.

But if we MUST keep the Chantry explosion for some reason, then under no circumstances should Anders be responsible.

We could tie it to the previous idea and, thanks to a certain combination of player choices, have Meredith be responsible.

Or the Chantry explosion is simply an accident. Maybe it is the result of an attempt to STOP Meredith; a tragic consequence of the fighting.

But again, I am not a fan of the explosion. So, going back to an ending WITHOUT the explosion, perhaps we switch tactics and make ELTHINA the Act 3 antagonist.

Not very orthodox, no. But there is a growing, very popular alternative interpretation of Elthina as a calculating, manipulative politician.

One that could serve to make her an excellent twist villain. Perhaps Elthina grows tired of Meredith's antics. Maybe Meredith is too much of an embarrassment, makes Elthina look weak to the other Chantry leaders.

So Elthina decides it's time to kill Meredith. After which Meredith is replaced with a more compliant knight-commander, one who will not stir the pot so much. Thus, restoring the status quo.

But the problem is, Mother Petrice, like a cockroach, has managed to survive the incident with the Qunari. And she can't leave well enough alone.

So SHE decides to kidnap Anders, and frame him for Meredith's murder. Only problem is, Mother Petrice's frame-up is so laughable it ends up exonerating Anders to anyone with two brain cells.

Thus, the players are forced to choose between three factions: Mother Petrice's faction of fanatical templars (who obviously lack the necessary brain cells), Orsino and Elthina's "moderate" faction, or a third faction, one belonging to Anders and the mage rights' activists.

These are just my ideas. Feel free to chime in with your own. So long as they don't involve Anders blowing up the chantry.

[vylad243]

Honestly with the way the Goethals act in general it could be safe to say most of them go down the line of “Anyone I perceive as lower than me I treat like shit” with a few accepting members like Stolas

But speaking of Stolas, if you feel more comfortable going off of what is canon, then maybe the idea could spin off of him? We know him to be respectful and to have enough pull to get meetings with a Sin so it wouldn’t be too far off to say Ozzy asked Stolas to check out the hotel to sponsor it. Maybe during introductions he only bows to Lucifer, the Sins, and Vox and everyone is confused?

Just spitballing with the other anons idea! Whatever you go with will be amazing regardless!

Also just a small question cause I’m curious of what you have planned but how many prompts are you planning on writing/is in your Que? I have like a shit ton of prompts in my inbox and need filtering advice if you’re willing 😭

I am the goddess of fucking around and finding out

I don't mind canon or going off canon. My Alastor and Vox are very ooc after all, but I know the fandom tends to hold Helluva Boss in a higher standard. I never really liked it that much. I've watched it- but I'm Striker. Why does everything gotta be a sex thing? The two season finales were my favourite of Helluva Boss, which ironically included little to no Stolas

I could definitely see Stella and her brother treating the sinners and overlords are faith on their shoes while Stolas and Octavia hold the sins and Vox in higher regard

Ozzie would definitely be pulling the strings to get Stolas to visit the Hazbin Hotel if I go that route.

I like working off of your guy's ideas. It's very fun and helps me world build 🙏

~~~~~~

Ahahaha my ask box is also full of different prompts. I have omega-verse, the Vee's joining the battle, and injured Alastor are three I can name off the top of my head (because I'm writing them right now) but I think I have like 10 or 11 in there. One is also a beauty and the beast ay which I'm mulling over

As for how I filter them out- prompts are things I want to be able to enjoy writing. Some of my prompts have been quite large- and while I don't mind the large ones, it gives me a lot less freedom with them because I feel like I have to rewrite a whole story that was just in the my box. I never deleted any, though. I just put them in their in tag just in case I feel like writing them later- but ones I am writing right now/want to write sit in my box so I can shuffle through them. It keeps it organized

I haven't encountered any rude people yet- so I haven't had to reject anyone for demanding things from me (which like I'm always ready for a debate on the internet, I find them funny) and with how nice everyone is, I usually feel bad for denying them. It's way I take so long to deny people. I want to make sure this is actually something I don't plan on writing in the near future

My way to filter out prompts is

- I need creative freedom to write so I don't feel miserable writing. This is one of the main ones. My brain is very hectic and I find myself tapping out if I can't bring my own ideas to the table. It's also why none of my works are exactly like the prompts im given

- I have enough context to write a fic on it

- I would actually enjoy writing it

- it's a world/au I'm aware of or contributed to. Nothing is worse than being handed a fully built universe and being asked to write for it with little to no explanation on how the universe works

- the people are nice to me.

- I know I make a few jokes here and there, but I like to keep in mind that I'm making free work for people. I'm not being paid to do this, and people aren't paying me to write out the prompts. I love writing fanfiction and it's a great hobby, but if you're genuinely just not interested in doing something- you don't have too. Writing it meant to be fun and inspiration is a fickle thing. You don't want to push it too hard or it's going to shove back. I've learnt that the hard way

- bonus way to do it- sometimes people leave comments, and I find them funny, and I get creative with them. I censored a whole chapter of month in rut because someone told me to let the characters swear. I'm also a very petty person

This is just personal, but I keep my prompts 1k-3.5k words just so it's decently sized, but not overly large

Hope this helps!

[katzell]

your thoughts on the marvelous mrs. maisel finale? especially, the conclusion of the lenny and midge’s storyline?

Thank you so much for the ask!

I've been thinking about it for weeks, so it's time to get into it. I'm going to mainly address the Lenny and Midge part of the question, mostly because addressing everything else would make this far longer than it already is. And boy is it long. Here we go!

After years of ranting and raving, I now know when there is a version of a show I am watching and a completely different show the writers are creating. When I realize the show I want isn't something the showrunners are interested in, I cut and run.

I nearly dropped Maisel many times over the years as it became clear Midge was never going to have her big break before the finale. It would rather spin its wheels and have more family dinners and musical numbers than grapple with the real dangers of being in show business in the 1950s and 1960s. Midge and Lenny was the only thing that kept me going, and paradoxically it was because Lenny was going to die rather than in spite of it.

I never carried an ounce of hope that Lenny was going to escape the real fate of Lenny Bruce. When the Palladinos introduced Lenny in the pilot, they never meant for him to be a regular character. It was supposed to be a fun nod to the comedians of the time and the kind of comedy the Palladinos were inspired to explore in the series. And then Luke Kirby gave a mesmerizing, unforgettable performance. From that point forward, ASP was always very careful to make most of the characters who populate Midge's world fictional versions of real people. The decision to call him Lenny Bruce and not David Blake (or something better) put limits on what that character could realistically be or do.

For ASP, saving Lenny would have meant undercutting the few ties to reality Maisel had established. And I I agree with her. Especially given how little the show really seemed interested in exploring the darkness of that world. Sexism, racism, antisemitism, homophobia were all present, but the tone was always more light and whimsical. Which is why we got so many interminable boring overindulgent musical sequences.

Knowing that Lenny's death was coming filed in some of the shadows the show itself danced (literally) around. It also allowed me to enjoy Midge and Lenny as a pair of star crossed lovers who could have saved each other, but ultimately don't because of both their own faults and the societal forces around them.

Accepting those limits, I found really beautiful tragedy in Lenny's final two appearances. The opening scene broke me. I was prepared for him to die, but I wasn't prepared to watch him fail. Immediately after the episode I was upset with that narrative choice, but rewatching his previous appearances I came to agree this moment carries more narrative weight than one terrible phone call ever could. Midge watching Lenny fail and not confronting him after was set up in season four. And it's a tragedy of miscommunication on both their parts that comes from a place of love and respect.

Lenny told Midge when he woke up on her couch that he never wanted her to save him again. He was so embarrassed at the idea of Midge seeing him at his worst that he fled her home without his shoes, without using the bathroom, almost in a state of undress. Lenny also made clear to Midge that his drug use wasn't something he would discuss with her in the hotel room. Lenny so desperately wanted Midge to be impressed by him. And yet that desire ultimately prevents any chance Midge has of actually getting close to him. At Carnegie Hall, he realizes for the first time how carefully Midge listens to him and appreciates him. The thought terrifies him. Suddenly his best self seems like it might ruin Midge. So he bolts.

Lenny and Midge could talk about the struggle of comedy and even nod to the ways the world was inhospitable to people who lived outside of the accepted cultural mores of the time, but Lenny could never bring himself to share with her the nature of his addiction. For Lenny, this subject was far more taboo and unspeakable than religion, race, and sex. Because unlike those topics, society saw (and still sees) addiction as a personal failing. For all that Lenny could call bullshit on some things, he internalized this myth. If Lenny had been more honest with Midge, if he had gotten out of the cab and gone back upstairs, if he had let Midge know more about his drug use, if he had asked Midge to bring an umbrella to support him for more than national television appearances, Midge would never have let him fall on his own.

Midge remembers everything Lenny ever said to her. His words are maxims, even prophesies. Midge believes Lenny even when she shouldn't. We see her quoting him often. She carries his fortune with her for the rest of her life. It's such a clear indication of her love for him, but it's also a tragedy. Midge probably let herself believe that the paraphernalia she found in the bathroom wasn't a big deal, because Lenny had promised her it wasn't. By the time she had heard enough to know differently, the damage was done. If Lenny hadn't told her not to save him she would have tried to pull him out of his spiral with everything she had. As it was, she sent him Susie, her best friend, her greatest asset, the lifeline she had relied on over and over. But it just wasn't enough. Midge couldn't meet him at the club and respect what he had told her. And Midge always, always tried to do what Lenny said.

That miscommunication, that tragedy, is heartbreakingly rendered by Rachel Brosnahan and Luke Kirby. Without explicitly saying anything, we know Lenny wants Midge to walk through that door and to try to rescue him. And we know that Midge wants to do just that, but cannot bear the idea of being rejected by him.

In the end, at least, we have that scene in Chinese restaurant which I think might be the most visually stunning scene of any of Midge and Lenny's encounters (I'm sorry Miami club, you are a close second!) It's a nice final reminder of what Lenny did for Midge: he acknowledged she deserved a place amongst the elites of the craft. I only wish there had been room for Midge to also validate Lenny. I would have loved her to give him some parting words that he might also treasure.

There are other ways of tragically ending Midge and Lenny's journey that I would have loved to see, but given the Palladinos disinterest in really exploring the nasty, dark, ugly parts of show business in the 1960s, I am not surprised we didn't get them. That can be a project for a fanfic writer who doesn't want to "fix it" so much as "make it worse." (Go for it fanfic writer! Sometimes we need sad things!)

I also have my own ideas of what would be a happy ending for these characters (see Midge and Lenny's Alternative Adventures). But I think the key to landing those stories (for me) is to confront this miscommunication so that Midge and Lenny can both accept and demand more from each other and to build up a new, less brittle kind of respect that comes from real intimacy. I want productive fights that tear through artifice and expose the mess underneath. Only then do I think they have a shot of saving each other from their own worst instincts.

Does that mean I liked it? Hahahahaha I don't even know. I respect it. It lingers. I felt something. And that's better than most series finales. And Midge and Lenny remain sensational.

[pixiewritesstuff]

Hii!

This is probably going to be a long ask I'm sorry 😭

I got into Undertale and the AUs when I was like nine I think and I'm like thirteen now and sans aus have been such a huge comfort to me!

I discovered your tiktok account around a year ago and you inspired me so much immediately! Your characters were so cool - Smudge was the first one I saw.

Sadly I stopped watching your account for a long time because I deleted my tiktok account but I remembered you a couple of weeks ago and was like GAHH I HAVE TO FOLLOW PIXIE!

I have been at a low - girl I'm like Ink, I have such a fear of being forgotten- I want to make an impact in this fandom and I thought I couldn't but then I was like 'wait...' and you've given me inspiration to make a blog called askbittersweet!

Maybe I won't get asks, but you gave me the inspiration and confidence to and you're just so important to me!

this was supposed to sound so much cooler but my words failed.....

also your art style is so pleasing lol! I had a lucid dream where I had your artstyle it was kinda weird but it was cool n stuff (jeez lousus i'm bad at talking)

I HOPE YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY AND NIGHT AND WEEK AND YEAR YOU'RE SO COOL <333333

Awww thank you!! I got into the Undertale AUs when I was about 11/12 and now I'm turning 19 in a few hours, so I definitely relate to that sense of comfort!

And thank you for your support. :3 I've been working every day to give everyone content they can like. I love this community and honestly it's my honour to be giving everyone content that they enjoyed. Secret be told, I didn't think anyone would like my work considering my writing isn't all fluff and sunshine, but I was completely blown out of the water with support and love from such amazing individuals. I've met and made friends with so many amazing individuals, each fan interaction I have makes my absolute week because there is nothing I love more than cooking up content.

I wish you luck on your own content journey! As long as you have a passion for what you do? There is only one way for you to go and that's up. Since I'm feeling nice today, I'll give you a few tips ٩( ᐛ )و

★ Use what's trending to your advantage -

Tik tok, Tumblr, Twitter/X all follow an algorithm of sorts, if you see bunch of videos following the same pattern... Take the leap! Make sure to add your own spin on it, not only will that help you stand out but copying others makes a story so bland, bleh!

★ Be brave, be confident -

I know putting yourself out there can be scary, it's literally throwing yourself on a stage and slowly building an audience hoping you'll attract your kind of people. But you'll never get anywhere if you stand around timidly and be too scared of that attention. Sell yourself, be brave, what makes you different from everyone else? What makes you special? What makes your amazing work so amazing? What can you do to bring something different to this multi verse?

(For me? I can bring adorable characters with a horror aspect, but what makes me different? There's no one quite like our lovely princess Smudge, is there?)

★ Don't be afraid of interacting with people but withstand your boundaries.

Unless those people are total dickwads and have no life, making interactions with people is a great place to start. You'll build a solid support system, people who aren't just interested in your stories but genuinely want to see you thrive! Little side note- don't let people stand on you either. I've had many a time where people thought they could push my boundaries and got kicked to the curb. Don't be a door mat, how will anyone respect your characters if they don't respect their creator?

★ Last but certainly not least - believe in yourself!

Okay, this one is a little corny and I know what you're probably thinking. 'But Pixie, I have low self confidence and esteem. Being confident doesn't come naturally.' And I'm super sorry to hear that. You're a wonderful person with flaws, but those flaws don't undermind your best traits one bit. If you don't believe in it, believe in us to believe in you. Would there be hundreds of people lying to your face? Really? No. There would be some merit behind their words, right? I faked it till I made it. Now? I have the ability to trust my own talent. I find love in my work and in my characters. I can only hope you do too, you can do amazing things if you set your mind to it. That's something I live by.

AND YOU'RE JUST AS COOL! KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE YOUR IDEAS AND WORK!! THANK YOU FOR THE KIND WORDS, YOU CAN DO IT!!!

[blackjackkent]

OK, time for Hector to reap what he sowed by completely misunderstanding and agreeing to Gale's pickup line about showing him something 'magical.' 😂

Although actually, starting the conversation off, it doesn't entirely seem like he *did* misunderstand? So honestly, respect, Hector - it's not your fault, Gale is not being at all clear. XD We need to work on everyone's communication skills.

Hector finds him at the end of the evening in the midst of conjuring a small illusion - the image of a woman's face hovering in the palm of his hand.

"Who is that?" he asks softly.

Gale jumps, the illusion vanishing in an instant as he spins around.

"Oh! My, you startled me. I...I was miles away."

Hector gives a slight nod towards the wizard's now-empty hand. "I thought you wanted to show me something. Was that it?"

Gale stiffens slightly and looks away. "No, no," he says hastily. "She's no one, really. I was just...practicing an incantation."

Hector raises one eyebrow skeptically. [INSIGHT] "You don't have that look on your face when you're looking at 'no one.'" He's started to relax a little. Perhaps Lae'zel and Shadowheart didn't know what they were talking about - perhaps it really was just magic Gale wished to discuss.

Gale shakes his head, and his eyes take on a faraway look again. "What can I say? She's...she's Mystra."

Memories from his studies at the monastery drift through him, the knowledge of the pantheon as instinctual as breathing. Mystra - the mother of all magic, goddess of the Weave itself.

"I can't quite describe it, the need I sometimes feel to see her - to draw the filaments of fantasy into existence," Gale goes on. "No sculpture or painting could ever do her justice - only the fabric that she herself is and embodies - the Weave." He looks towards Hector again, a new light in his eyes as he speaks on this subject, something Hector has never seen there before. "Mystra is all magic. And as far as I'm concerned, she is all creation."

Hector has seen this light before, in the gaze of some of the more devout of the monks back at the monastery. It is not fanaticism, not quite - but a level of faith that borders on the passionate. "I didn't realize the depth of your devotion," he murmurs.

Gale nods vaguely, his thoughts still elsewhere. "Magic is...my life. I've been in touch with the Weave for as long as I can remember. There's nothing like it. It's like music, poetry, physical beauty all rolled into one and given expression through the senses." His eyes refocus abruptly on Hector. "That is why I asked you to seek me out, to offer you a taste of such wonders. Would you like me to show you?"

Hector breathes out slowly. Certainly, then, this is a demonstration of magic, and not whatever carnal adventures Lae'zel thought he was planning to delve into. And he is more than a little intellectually intrigued - he is no expert in magic beyond a few spells, and the curiosity that always defined him before this mess is being given space to rise to the surface again.

And yet, would that have been so bad? If he is to experience all the horrors of this world before he can find his way back to the safety of the monastery, why should he not experience some of its pleasures...

He shakes the thought away, nods slowly at Gale's offer. "Yes, I would," he says.

Gale smiles, and Hector finds himself returning the expression. "Then follow my lead."

Gale settles himself at Hector's side, extends his arms and performs a slow, complicated series of gestures which sends a burst of multicolored light swirling into the air before them.

Hector watches, then blinks in surprise when Gale turns to him and prompts, "Now you."

He looks down at his own hands, and then his brows knit with an expression of intense concentration as he mimics Gale's pose.

[ARCANA] Imitate the gesture slowly and as precisely as you can.

Still flustered by his earlier conversations, Hector's movements are awkward, a little distracted. Despite his concentration, his attempt at the spell does not go off.

Gale smiles, not unkindly. "Not quite. But this is the easy part. Shall we try again?"

Hector draws back, squares his shoulders, and closes his eyes for a moment. With the ease of practice, he centers himself meditatively, calming the agitation, the anxiety, rooting himself into the ground and the moment.

[ARCANA] Imitate the gesture again. Find the magic in the movement.

This time, he feels the power of the Weave catch itself up in the movements. The light bursts forward, and in equal reaction he feels a wave of warmth and calm slide through him.

Narrator: You feel something strange - like a kind word and a kind touch at the same time. It's warm and comfortable.

Hector's eyes drift half-shut. Gale speaks again, softer this time. "Now repeat after me. Ah-Thran Mystra-Ryl Kantrach-Ao." The words roll through the air, echoing back upon themselves. They shiver along his skin.

[ARCANA] You sense power in these words. Speak them deliberately.

The warmth deepens as the words resonate in his throat.

Narrator: Suddenly - the scent of rosewater and a sense of wellbeing. A sliver of Weave that tastes sweet on the tongue.

After the horrors of the day, this moment of peace and safety is almost overwhelming. He feels tears sprout in his eyes and swallows tightly to hold them back.

Gale is watching him intently. "Very good," he says gently. "Now I want you to picture in your mind the concept of harmony. As true as you can."

Hector's eyes flicker open as he considers the request. Harmony has felt so far away ever since the nautiloid found him. But here...it is quiet here.

[HISTORY] Think of the here and now - this unexpected moment of learning.

The warmth grows, the purple-blue light beginning to swirl around them, the camp and its people seeming suddenly very far away.

Narrator: You see - or is it sense? - the presence of a woman, the woman who hovered over Gale's palm. There's something like the anticipation of a kiss, then the pleasure of being cloaked in peace. You are safe. You are nestled in the cup of Mystra's hand.

Hector's breath catches. He is dimly aware that Gale is standing very close to him, their eyes locked, but for a moment he feels lost in that sensation of utter security.

Then the moment breaks, and Gale looks away, turning to take in the swirling light around them.

"You did it. You're channeling the Weave. How does it feel?"

It takes a moment for Hector to find his voice, to remember what words are.

"Effortless," he murmurs. "You're a wonderful teacher."

Narrator: The Weave connects you. The moment feels...intimate.

Hector swallows in a suddenly dry throat. Is this what Gale wanted? Was Lae'zel right after all? Is this a prelude to something physical, or even romantic?

It feels so safe, so warm. He doesn't want to leave that safety. He has been so afraid for days.

But his control, in spite of him, reasserts itself.

A satisfying end to a wondrous experience. It's time to let go.

Narrator: The Weave evaporates, and as it does so, you realize the night feels suddenly cold and lonesome.

The feelings slip away, the warmth and safety replaced by a chill that goes into his bones. He makes a soft noise of regret, closes his eyes.

Gale has withdrawn back into himself as the sensation fades. "There it goes," he murmurs sadly. "How easily things slip away from us, no matter how hard they were in the obtaining." He hesitates, meets Hector's eyes for a moment, and then smiles. Something unsaid hangs in the air between them.

"Good night," he says softly. "I enjoyed sharing a moment of magic with you." And without waiting for a response, he turns and retreats into his tent, leaving Hector standing alone in the moonlit night.

[paramorearchived]

June 17, 2010

Transcript:

strange youth

long time coming, this post is....... was.... why am i talking like yoda now?

so, i'm really excited to be writing here. not really sure what i'm going to write about yet but that's what makes it exciting. i guess i can start with, it's been a wild month, to say the least. "life is a daring adventure or nothing at all". is there really more to say about that than that? ok, well one more thing... human beings are no less respectable when they are at their most vulnerable. and that's why i try to have faith in people. 

right now, it's about 12:30am - we landed here in Hamburg, Germany about 10 hours ago. all i've done is sleep, watch movies and "glaze" my hair. i'm trying not to dye it at all this summer besides right before the honda civic tour. i like the way the colors fade and how strung out i start to look with my hair turning all sorts of greenish yellow. it's even better when i don't wear any make-up out. what a sight. anyways, i'm tired and at the same time completely restless. and in, what some people would call, a "desperate need" for a shower. and what's most exciting is that my face wash spilled out into the rest of my toiletry bag. there's still a little left though.  on the flight over, i read half of a new book i've started called Wonderland Avenue. it's by Danny Sugerman, in case you're interested, who happens to be my voice doctors' brother. NEATO! the author of this book not only met and hung around The Doors as a young kid around the age of 13 ... but by the time he was out of his teens he was already managing them AND Iggy Pop. (if you aren't aware of these artists, get to googling). so yeah, couldn't put that book down until finally i had to... cause me and jeremy wanted to watch Shutter Island on the plane tv's. that's right, folks, business class seats have an assortment of movies available to you on little personal tv's. what a bunch of snobs we must be! by the time we were done with that movie we realized we still weren't tired so we watched Fantastic Mr. Fox (directed by Wes Anderson, an absolute genius)... and then as jeremy fell asleep i proceeded to doodle in my journal and listen to Nirvana's 'Incesticide', then Mumford and Sons' 'Sigh No More'. it was a good flight. clearly, i got a lot of things accomplished.

again, i'm still just sitting here in my hotel room letting the orange glaze sit in my hair until i finally give in to a shower. i didn't even have enough orange left to cover my full head, so just get over it when you see me and i look like a hot mess. 

maybe now is a good place and time to state my opinion on our being everywhere at the same time. seems like we've got just about every magazine covered this month, people are playing our songs and i'm singing on B.o.B's song and it's just crazy all the time. i do love it... it's a lot of fun to work hard and see your work all around you. yet at the same time, there are still large number of people that i don't think will ever get it. the SPIN article (you know, the cover one) that was just printed about us doesn't really seem to say anything ABOUT us as a band. and it seems that in most cases writers simply enjoy looking at us and exclaiming - like they've discovered something huge - "THEY'RE YOUNG!" or of course there's always, "THEY'RE CHRISTIANS"... or "THEY DON'T SHOOT UP IN THE BACK OF THE BUS!" what is this the 80's? is it really that sensational that we aren't the second coming of Motley Crue? does our music suggest that we should be acting otherwise? listen, i'm not trying to sit here and wreck the writer from SPIN. i'm sure it's hard to get a handle on any band within the amount of time given to capture "our story". maybe reading articles about us just gets a little monotonous, that's all. oh and i'm not actually friends with McLovin or Miley. awkward turtle.

and on a slightly different tip, it's my opinion that anyone who is coming onto our band looking for controversy is completely missing the point. the point isn't in the intent of controversy, the point is that there is no way around it. as people, aren't we all bursting at the seams with conflict and controversy? the point of our music is that there are human hearts in it. because anyone knows that eventually, someone will find something on you. if you don't do drugs, you probably have another addiction. even innocent. we could stop looking for the wrongs and realize that they're inevitable on the way to something more meaningful. i'm not totally preaching here. talking to myself as well, in case you wondered. who knows? maybe i really am just bored with giving music journalists the benefit of the doubt. like they're really gonna let people know what we would want to tell them. yet still, i want to have faith in people. and anyways, what WOULD we want to tell people if we had that much space to write about ourselves? it would probably end up just the same. does it ever bug you guys? do you ever feel like some people are just missing it? 

when you come to a show do you feel the same thing that i feel when i'm on that stage? i mean, i know you're not standing on the stage... but surely you can feel the same energy that i'm feeling, to some degree. it's so much more powerful than all the trivial nonsense that people chalk our band up to be. it means something great and it feels empowering. it's the grace of knowing that we can all totally suck and be a little messed up and then stand in a room with thousands of other people who are exactly the same way, no matter how dressed up they look on the outside, and we can be broken all the same. 

man, what have i gone and spouted off about now? sorry for such a long winded, self-serving type of post.  i'm ready to wash this crap out of my hair and try to sleep til the show tomorrow.  we are actually sharing the stage with The Get Up Kids, Hot Water Music and Dropkick Murphy's tomorrow. should be a good one!

<3 hayley

[universaltribalsimp]

"You're now the Pokemon Champion! …Or, you would have been, but you have one more challenge ahead. You have to face another trainer. His name is… ROMAN REIGNS!!"

Listen to set the mood.

Imagine the following scenario. You have been on quite the journey through this new region. You have finally conquered the Elite Four and just when you think you are the new champion, a door opens and all you see is a white light. Upon stepping into the light, you take a brief moment to admire the room. It is much more massive than you expected but it is also very office-like, baking in a low light thanks to the chandelier hanging from the ceiling and the torches in the four corners. The walls are painted white with several black pots of red flowers attached on both sides. It is very cozy - even homey - but you can still feel the intimidation about it. Perhaps the most intimidating and interesting part of the room is a large table stretching out to the other side. This table is so long and so wide that it would fit perfectly in some king's castle and at the other side of the table sits him. The Tribal Chief, the Head of the Table, the best of the best.

Roman Reigns: So… You actually made it. Very few people made it to the Elite Four and even less than that made to me. I will admit, I am impressed, but this right here… is where your journey ends. I've been reigning over this league longer than you've been alive and if you think a guy like me is going down to a kid like you, well guess what? (He pulls out a Timer Ball and lightly tosses it in his hand) Prepare… to acknowledge me.

As soon as he snap his fingers, the beat drops and he sends out his first Pokemon onto the table.

Inspired by Truegreen7 and his series of giving celebrities and famous people Pokemon teams, I finally decided to give Roman one of his own so that my brain can't finally rest on this idea. The Heel Pokemon Incineroar is quite possibly the most obvious choice, given his current "Tribal Chief" gimmick. Aegislash is a nice little nod to his time in The Shield and being that he was born and resides in Florida, Alolan Exeggutor is kind of a must in my opinion. Revavroom is probably a bit of a strange choice in your eyes, but it represents his appearance in Hobbs & Shaw, a spin-off from the Fast & Furious franchise. A franchise that's all about fast cars and family. Speaking of family, Kangaskhan is another fairly obvious pick, representing Roman being a family man and his love not only for his kids but for the kids in general. Finally, we have the Teamwork Pokemon Passimian to represent Roman's history in football - both in high school and college. Honorable mentions to go Hawlucha and Zamazenta, the latter being another reference to the Shield and the former representing Roman performing a suicide plancha - albeit very rarely, but still. The only reason they didn't take the team is that Hawlucha is much better suited for Rey Mysterio and I feel that Zamazenta and all other legendary Pokemon are better suited for Hall of Famers.

And just because, if Roman were League Champion, Incineroar and Kangaskhan would have access to its signature Z-Move and Mega Evolution respectively. Also I just now realized that I gave him three Alolan Pokemon on accident. Well, Roman has Samoan heritage, Samoa is part of the Pacific Islands alongside Hawaii, and Alola is based on Hawaii - why am I making this connection after the fact?!!!

[batsplat]

the gauff/badosa match was quite disappointing i really expected coco to go further. her forehand and serve were just not working today

I wasn't disappointed because, not to be insufferable, I was kindaaaa expecting this result!! I was predicting the upset which felt like a bit of a punt given gauff's pre-tournament form and I sometimes feel a bit guilty of like. underrating gauff. so I bit my tongue on this one, which is a teensy bit annoying because I like being right about things. and this is a classic case where a match doesn't necessarily have to be 'close' or even 'tight' for it to be super interesting to me, like quite frankly I'm not tuning into a gauff/badosa match to see aesthetically pleasing ball. with coco specifically, I mean this in a good way but I really enjoy watching her struggle tennis, like I enjoy watching when she wins despite playing horribly and I enjoy when players figure out how to make her game fall apart. and I know that probably sounds quite mean but idk,,, it's just quite rare for a top player to have SUCH a mismatch where the game feels so fragile but the mind is so so tough... it's just compelling to me

gonna have to admit I only woke up after the first set and I was barely awake during the second (and then fell asleep again). I'm watching various highlights compilations while typing this. the reasons why I wasn't surprised by this result is that I did have a few question marks watching gauff's previous matches this tournament. her round one with kenin is the only one I watched in full (though I did watch a fair bit of the bencic match) and... okay, first round leeway, it's fine, but it didn't have the same vibe of for instance her uso 2023 run. both the serve and the forehand didn't seem entirely comfortable to me. and I circled this match specifically because I don't think I've ever watched anyone dismantle gauff's game to quite the same extent as badosa did to her during clay season of 2023. I'm not talking blow out losses, not talking about coco just losing her way. I'm talking about someone who went in with a game plan, was happy enough to admit to that game plan and proactively made gauff completely fall apart. to some extent, this game plan boils down to 'play to the forehand' which,, okay, yeah, if it were that easy then gauff wouldn't be a top ten player. badosa gets stereotyped a lot as 'pusher with the weapons to be more offensive that she doesn't use', which I think is a bit unfair - but she is clearly at her most comfortable trading from neutral. which means that she's particularly adept at just like... point construction. shifting the ball around reliably to very big targets. consistently putting the balls in places that are uncomfortable to gauff

badosa is a worse player than gauff, but she does neutralise some of the... fallback options for gauff. the ways gauff has of winning matches even when her tennis isn't really working. coco can typically out-push pushers - and use her tactical acumen to eventually take advantage of her bigger weapons, or just outlast them in a crapshoot tight and ugly match. against bashers, if all else fails she can just use her superior athleticism to hunt down every ball and hope they eventually fall apart. she's also very handy against the all court variety players like your muchova sort, again managing to neutralise some of the more elegant point construction through blunt athleticism. despite having quite a fragile game herself, she is very adept at exposing fragility in others. with badosa, clearly she CAN beat her - she did so twice last year. though both times in three sets, which is perhaps closer than you'd expect given their respective form at the time

watching the points now, it really is a very tactically appealing match-up to me... to keep it simple, what badosa does really well is using that neutral trading playstyle to her advantage. she's giving coco quite a heavy ball, a fair bit of spin but also without crazy amounts of pace on it, often in the central two thirds of the court. which means that gauff isn't being given a lot in terms of angles to work with - she needs to be quite proactive if she wants to be offensive. and also since this is a super comfortable ball for badosa to hit, because badosa is (like gauff) super happy to run around after the ball again and again and again, because badosa is a well-balanced player with great groundstrokes off both wings and a lovely backhand she can redirect really well.... suddenly that trademark gauff athleticism isn't doing as much as you'd like. when badosa is playing well, as she HAS been this tournament, she is one of the players best suited to making that gauff forehand falter. she's constantly forcing coco to generate herself if gauff wants to get out of exchanges, she's got a reliable enough (and heavy enough) basic groundstroke to make it tough for gauff to rely on trying to outlast her AND she DOES have the weapons that gauff also can't like... depend on staying in neutral. because badosa CAN take a swing at it, and when she makes those shots they can be impossible to get even for gauff. also good returning strategy from badosa - a lot of long central returns. which given gauff's forehand technique sometimes immediately coughed up errors. and even when it didn't, those returns usually meant coco couldn't DO a lot with that ball. especially when the confidence in the shots started going

[top: full match; bottom left: set 1; bottom right: set 2] basic stats analysis corner: as you'd expect, gauff was just Doing More - hit over twice the amount of winners as badosa, but also almost hit twice the number of unforced errors. and was at the net a lot more. badosa was generally hitting for bigger targets, leaving gauff to generate in both the positive and negative sense. as the match goes on, gauff starts hitting more winners AND more unforced errors as she is forced to generate more and loses confidence in her shots, while badosa cleans up her game a little and locks in tactically. serve/return points won ratio nothing particularly crazy for either player, though... obviously the first set was a lot cleaner in that regard, as you'd expect from the lack of breaks of serve. the second set is when gauff's serve was really deserting her - she wasn't bleeding a MASSIVE number of double faults (four, admittedly not great) but she dropped from 66% to 56% first serves in and won only 24% of second serve points (vs 54% in the first set), so it's clear that that's where she was really suffering. in a way, the second set probably should've been even clearer than it was, and it took two breaks of serve against the trend for the stats do look as they do

what you see is coco at a certain point making a lot of what look like quite basic errors on both wings. (also worth pointing out that the gauff backhand got.... really really shaky, like I think people pay less attention to it because that's her good side but it was bleeding a LOT of simple errors today.) but I think it's really key that this didn't just... happen, like she didn't just have a bad day in the office. badosa made that happen!! some match-ups are a lot of fun precisely because they have the tendency to get quite ugly. though they did also play plenty of good tennis!! a lot of the exchanges where they push each other around were a lot of fun to watch, even if the match did become increasingly more error-strewn. badosa is obviously herself a very experienced competitor and was able to take advantage of the ugly patches, stealing the first set and creating a cushion in set two to weather any late onslaught or resistance from gauff. it's one thing for your opponent to play poorly, but you do actually have to convert the opportunities that presents. you can't let them escape the rough patch unscathed, which badosa to her credit repeatedly did not

in conclusion. I get the sense of disappointment because obviously it was a straight sets match that lacked a bit of a feeling of suspense after the first set, but!! I really enjoyed it, I like that my hunch about this match was proven correct, I thought it was tactically really interesting and it's fun when matches demonstrate the power of match-ups. cool match to think about, even if it does set up what will quite likely be a less competitive semifinal. had a good time can't complain

[allthemusic]

Week ending: 14th September

Whew! Getting into autumn properly, now. And surprise, surprise, the menfolk keep finding new ways to disappoint our female singers. Not Lonnie Donegan, though - he's off on a world tour, this week.

Paper Roses - The Kaye Sisters (peaked at Number 7)

Ooh, okay. We've got a strong start, with a harp that sounds like the beginning of a dream sequence in a rather cliché film. I'm expecting a dreamy sort of sound - and indeed, as the Kaye Sisters begin to sing, they do have a lovely bit of harmony going on. Plus, lots of quasi-angelic ooooh backing. Just the sort of sound you could drift along to quite nicely.

Unfortunately, the lyrics are about a relationship that's anything but dreamy. In fact, they're quite savage - that much is clear from the start, as the sisters sing about paper roses, paper roses / Like your imitation love for me. You see, the sister's man has been sending her real roses, but unless he sharpens his act up, she's having none of it, instead bidding him to take away the flowers that you gave me / And send the kind that you remind me of. She built him up as a perfect man, but like a big red rose that's made of paper / There isn't any sweetness in your heart. Yeowch! Talk about a take-down!

Unfortunately, I think the lyrics are the best thing about this song. They're gloriously catty, and I can see them doing well, in another artist's hands - heck, I know that Marie Osmond took it and made it a big country hit, a decade or so later. But the Kaye Sisters seem to be aiming squarely for "blandly pleasant" with their delivery, no anger or fire at all, and not even much in the way of sadness, which would be the other way you could spin this one. I'd respect a take on this that was either spitting mad or clearly heartbroken, but the Kaye Sisters just sound kind of mildly disappointed. And so the song plods along, in a rather pedestrian clip-clop fashion, and I wonder what's up next, because Paper Roses, sadly, is not doing it for me. Sorry, Kaye Sisters!

Everybody's Somebody's Fool - Connie Francis (5)

Okay, Connie's pretty reliable, at least. I think I've gone on record saying that Connie Francis has been one of my favourite discoveries so far, in this project, and she doesn't disappoint here. She does best when given something a bit sassy, of course - I think she could have sung the heck out of Paper Roses, actually - but this is her at her smitten best, and it's almost as good.

We don't start with Connie, right off, though - instead, we get an intro that sounds like it was played on a Wurlitzer organ? I don't know exactly what it is, and it creates a very strange effect, especially once Connie's voice comes in, with an echo that sounds like she's singing in a wide, empty room. There's ukulele, or possibly banjo, too - it's a very eclectic sound. I kind of like it, though. It gives the whole track a sort of bluesy country-pop vibe, with Connie really leaning into the blues notes in the verses.

The song's about a love interest treating Connie badly, and how much she loves them anyway. Though you only lead me on and hurt me, she sings, I couldn't bring myself to say goodbye. Everybody's a fool for somebody, you see, and for Connie, this is just a love she can't escape, instead recognising that darlin' I'd be twice as blue without you / It hurts, but I'd come running back for more. I don't love that, lyrically - it's far too close to last week's domestic abuse anthem As Long as He Needs Me, except without the excuse of being about a fictional character - but there is a redeeming twist, which is the final verse, in which Connie tells her love that someday they'll fall in love, and their love will treat them like they've treated Connie. You'll cry for her the way I cried for you, Connie sings, sounding vindicated, and there's a real sense of catharsis, just a hint of the savagery of songs like Who's Crying Now? It's not much, but it's enough to tentatively sell me on the song, despite how lame Connie comes off for most of it. Still not my favourite Connie song, but hey, not every song can be a favourite. It's fine, and Connie's singing is, as ever, exceptional.

Interestingly, there was a German version of the song that apparently came out at the same time, Die Liebe ist ein seltsames Spiel ("Love is a strange game"), recorded by Connie herself, after her record label discovered that her English-language lyrics were a barrier to sales in Germany, specifically. She'd already done an Italian album, and was also - mind-bogglingly - planning albums in Spanish, Hebrew and Yiddish. But looking at the much higher sales being made by artists like Freddy Quinn, a vintage German-language rock and roller who'd represented Germany on Eurovision and was apparently quite the hot commodity in 1960, German quickly got bumped up the list, with Connie in particular insisting that she do her own German version. This is the kind of thing you don't really see in Western pop music today - I know a bunch of K-pop groups put out Chinese or Japanese releases, but I can't think of many English-speaking acts who put out translations of their songs, nowadays. It's a shame, really, though I can kind of see why it doesn't happen as much - it seems like quite a lot of effort, and I suspect that tastes in Europe have swung away from translating English-language songs. A pity. Respect to Connie for singing her own translated stuff, though.

Lorelei - Lonnie Donegan (10)

Okay, a completely different vibe for our final song - we're off on a world tour, this time. Specifically, a world tour of all the places where Lonnie's kissed the local girls. This feels like another of those songs born from National Service, and men travelling round the world to all sorts of "exotic" destinations where Britain still had a vague stake, geopolitically. With trips back to Blightly regularly interspersed throughout, of course. Hence lines about how I kissed a girl in Burma, in a town they called Rangoon, how I kissed a girl in Africa, right on the Ivory Coast, how I kissed a girl in London town, right underneath Big Ben, and finally how I kissed a girl in the Holy Land in the Sea of Galilee. A veritable almanac of mid-century naval postings, right there.

All these kisses, according to Lonnie, were quite adventurous affairs, and not necessarily entirely pleasant or gentle - they're spicy as a curry, deep as an ocean, lasting from April to July. Heck, his final conquest kissed me till my sunburnt lips were parched and dry. But none were quite as dramatic or passionate as one particular kiss: I never knew what kissing was till I kissed Lorelei. At this point I'm wondering if Lorelei is the mythical Rhine mermaid - it would fit with the whole "sailor's tall tales" vibe that the song has - and indeed, the final line does, predictably, reveal that Lorelei's a mermaid, half a woman, half a fish. So yeah. Lonnie's been out there epic smooching with a mermaid, and he wants you to know about it.

Running alongside all this, a banjo beat that just doesn't give up, keeping a punishing pace throughout, and brass heralding at least one rather abrupt key change. Plus there's a lot of yodelling, mostly of Lorelei's name. It gives the whole thing a frenetic vibe, without ever quite tripping over the line into feeling silly or comedic, despite the subject matter, which is actually quite impressive. It's also a Lonnie Donegan original, as far as I can tell, but if you'd told me it was a song that had been passed to him by some old mariner, I wouldn't not believe you. It just feels folksy, somehow, evoking a byegone age of uncomplicatedly sexy adventures in foreign parts, and of sailors' tall tales. A fiction, but an evocative one, to be sure.

Well, I solidly didn't mind any of this week's songs. Didn't love them, either, but didn't mind them, either. I am a little tired of songs where women just moan about men being terrible and then promise to go back to them, though. Give me a properly angry break-up song, any day. Or failing that, a song about kissing a mermaid, apparently.

Favourite song of the bunch: Lorelei