#because just the juxtaposition and playing of events is so

[gemkun]

nobody touch me rn

[hariboz]

PROMISE ME…!

“when you don’t tell your boyfriend you’re sick and still perform!”

pairing: idol!bf!ricky x gn!idol!reader

genre: fluff, tiny angst (?)

warning: mention of headaches, blurry vision, nausea and similar symptoms, softie bf!ricky, that’s it i think?

notes: ty to nonnie for requesting this!! i got a little carried away but i got into a pretty good flow writing it so i hope you enjoy 🥹🫶🏻 also!! this is my first time writing idol!reader so i hope it feels somewhat realistic…? as realistic as it can be i guess 😵‍💫

word count: 1.8k (😵‍💫 how and why…)

five, six, seven, eight.

five, six, seven, eight.

five, six, seven—

“y/n, are you okay?��� the voice of your leader rips you out of your trance, your tired eyes meeting in the mirror. you nod and put on a bright, although fake smile in hopes of being reassuring, though you’re not sure you were being all too convincing — either way, none of your members pry, because they understand. they understand the need to push through, especially now with all these end of the year award shows happening; you simply can’t afford to be sick, to fall behind and to be absent from such huge events. so, you decide to push through the dizziness, nausea and pain. you’ll take some medication later, it’ll be fine. (at least that’s what you’re telling yourself when you catch yourself stumbling from the dizziness when you get ready to practice your solo entrance.) even though there is a silent understanding between you and your members, there still is one person you know you won’t be able to convince, no matter how hard you’ll try — your boyfriend and professional overthinker in regards to your well-being, ricky.

it’s quite cute, the juxtaposition of his public image and the way he tends to worry. did you eat? does your throat hurt from vocal practice? did you trip during dance practice again? (a question that’s especially annoying considering you told him about tripping once, roughly six months ago. he refuses to let it go.) he sends you teas and throat sprays to make sure your voice is taken care of, secretly checks the soles of your shoes to make sure they aren’t getting slippery, somehow manages to pack you little snacks you can munch on when you haven’t eaten anything before practice again. he’s very rarely stern, much too soft-spoken and gentle towards you to speak to you in a more serious manner when he’s worried, so he shows his care and love through these things — which makes you feel all the more guilty when you straight up have to lie to him when he asks if practice is going fine, if you’re feeling well, and letting you know how excited he (along with gyuvin, he mentions) is to see you perform in person up close.

you try your hardest to get better before the performance, you really do. well, as much as you can between hours and hours of practice and barely any sleep, at least. all your efforts seem to be in vain, though, because the day of the performance seems to be the worst day yet — if you had a choice, you would bury yourself under every blanket available and not leave your bed for at least a week, that’s how awful you feel when you and your members are picked up from your dorm during the wee hours of the morning.

unfortunately, the little perfectionistic gremlin that lives at the back of your mind refuses to let all these weeks of practice go to waste, so you muster up a brave smile through your shaking pupils and tell your worrying members that you have everything under control — you’ll smash this performance just like all the other ones, even if you have to do it while being a little dizzy. it’s no big deal, you’re a professional after all.

your stylists is making some last minute adjustments to your outfits when a gentle knock sounds through the room, a very familiar blonde head of hair popping in. you rush over to ricky, his arms snaking around you immediately. “hey, handsome,” you mutter as you observe his face, a small grin playing on his lips. “you’re not looking to bad yourself, hm?” his voice is smooth as he brushes some of your hair out of your face, careful to not interfere with your hairstylist’s hard work. you’re thrown off your balance a little when another dizziness spell hits you out of nowhere, the look on ricky’s face immediately morphing into one of concern, “are you okay?”

you muster up a smile and just nod, eyes blinking rapidly to dispel the black dots bouncing around in your vision, “yeah, i’m just a little nervous,” you reach up to adjust his collar to avoid meeting his worried eyes, “i’m fine. just freaking out a little, that’s all.” you can tell ricky doesn’t entirely believe you, but he trusts that you would come to him if there was something wrong — so he reluctantly lets the subject go. he steals a quick kiss to your lips, whispering a “good luck, i love you.” before he turns to leave to make any last preparations for his own performance.

your first wave of regret overcomes you when you stand ready beneath the stage, you and your members getting into position to perform the intro to your performance. your head feels like it’s about to split and your hands are shaky, but it’s too late to turn back now — as queen sunmi once said, the show must go on.

your second wave of regret comes when you’re actually on stage, all the lights, the music, the screams and your in-ear monitor feeling less like the dream you’ve worked so hard to achieve and more like your own personal hell. your group having your own amazing entrance with one of the stage elevators excited you at first; unfortunately, right now you’re preoccupied with managing your expressions to make sure you won’t let any irritation or discomfort slip.

your third and final wave of regret comes when you stand in the middle of the stage in this massive venue, tens of thousands of eyes on you as you start to perform your solo part of the song — your head is pounding and you can barely hear your own voice through your in-ears anymore, your steps are shaky and imprecise, your vision is blurry. you manage to push through, somehow, but it’s clear in the way your chest is heaving once the lights go out that you’re not well.

the atmosphere is very much tense in the part of the audience where your fellow idols sit, all of them having to cover their very obvious concern with faux excitement — you pulled it off well enough, but it’s clear to every single one of them that you’re sick and that you probably should not have performed. ricky especially has to keep his expressions in check, because the mix of worry and concern but also frustration and maybe a little anger is raging heavily inside him right now.

the worry and concern are obvious, the last thing he wants to see is you being sick, much less performing in that state. the frustration is bubbling inside him because he knows that you know better, that even the chance of you hurting yourself even worse by performing while sick is enough reason to sit out one performance. the anger is entirely directed at your staff and maybe some of your members, your leader at least — they must’ve seen that you were unwell, no? and they still let you on stage? is that not what managers and leaders are for, to take matters into their own hands and to know what’s best for their members? it all comes to a head when your members join the other idols in the audience while you’re nowhere in sight.

ricky is getting restless, his hands sprawling against his dress pants, occasionally pinching the fabric to keep his mind occupied. gyuvin and matthew both gave him little reassuring pats on his back but neither did much to comfort him, his mind entirely preoccupied with worrying about you and counting down the minutes to when he will finally be able to check up on you backstage.

it’s about an hour later when the award show is finally over, and for once ricky is the first one to rush backstage, a little ahead of all of his members. he swerves past staff and security and doesn’t even bother knocking on your group’s dressing room, ripping the door open to find your shocked but still very exhausted eyes staring up at him in surprise, “ricky?”

he’s in front of you in the blink of an eye, squatting down to meet you eye-to-eye, his hands gently cradling your face, “are you okay? for real, this time?” his brows are furrowed and you feel a little bad for thinking that he looks pretty handsome all serious like this. you nod sheepishly, apology ready to spill from your lips when he squishes your cheeks together to silence you, “shhh, you listen to me. never do that again, okay? do you know how scary that was, watching you perform like that? what if something had happened, you know you could’ve—,” he stumbles over his words a little, clearly worked up, “i don’t know, fallen off stage or something. you could’ve fainted! or you could’ve broken something or— i don’t know, just, promise me, don’t do that again.” ricky’s once so stern voice turns soft towards the end again, never really able to keep up his serious tone for long, especially towards you.

“‘m sorry, just didn’t want to let anyone down,” you mumble, leaning into his touch. his cold hands on your face feel incredibly nice, a stark contrast to your feverish face. he sighs and one of his hands comes up to brush your hair away from your face, his hand stroking your head softly, “i know, but still. don’t do stuff like that, okay? talk to someone when you’re not feeling well. your managers, your members, me — there’s so many people you can go to, okay? anyone, as long as you tell someone,” you nod along to him, and maybe it’s the guilt of making him worry so much or the fact that you’re overwhelmed from the amount of affection coming from him while you’re still a little delirious, but you feel like you need to lighten the atmosphere with a little joke.

“even gyuvin?” the gentle expression on his face falls almost immediately, replaced by a very unimpressed stare. you break out into quiet giggles, muttering a “sorry” before pressing a kiss to his cheek. ricky grumbles a little before getting back up, running his hand through your hair gently one last time. “i have to go back now but i’m ordering you some soup to your dorm later. you’re on bedrest for the next few days, you hear me?” he tries to sound stern again and puts on his best serious face, but his façade is broken when you smile up at him so tiredly, the exhaustion clear on your face.

“thank you, i love you,” you call after him when he turns to leave, ricky sending you a flying kiss before leaving the room, “love you too.”

(your fourth wave of regret came when you realised ricky formed an alliance with your members, all of them exchanging “y/n intel” to make sure all of them can keep an eye on you while you’re recovering.)

[bandgie]

All For You | Armageddon Event

Request: Charity | Seo Changbin & Lee Yongbok (SKZ) by anon song!

warnings! MDNI18+, fem!reader, pussy eating, mxm themes, 3some, double penetration (brief) boobs/nipple play, hair pulling (m!), brief handjob, cum eating (brief)

1.9k words

Dinner is still hot. The smell of cooked meat and kimchi infiltrates your nose. It should make your stomach growl and your mouth salivate. Yet, the reason for your hunger and drooling is not because of dinner at all. It’s the two men, your two lovers, that draw such reactions from you.

It’s quite a juxtaposition to see blonde hair and black hair side-by-side. The tops of their head move concurrently between your legs. You can feel how their tongue mingle and mix while suckling on your clit. Their lips smack and kiss over every inch of your cunt. It makes you arch off the couch just slightly.

“Mmm, just like that.” You intertwine your fingers in their hair. The men hum, vibrating your clit almost like a toy. You let a whimper, bucking your hips from the sensation before their hands grip each hip, putting you back down on the couch.

Felix’s lower half is soaked. You can see how it glistens when he pulls away, letting Changbin take your pussy whole in his mouth. “Just lay still for us.” His deep voice sends shivers throughout your body. “We’ll get you there. There’s no rush.”

You don’t argue with him, nodding obediently. 

Now with more access to you, Changbin doesn’t hold back in sucking you between his lips. He takes your clit into his mouth eagerly, bobbing his head just the slightest while his tongue laps over you.

You can feel how their hold strengthens on your ass as if you might try and grind into the air again, but you manage to keep yourself planted onto the cushions while Changbin pulls on your bundle of nerves.

Instead, you twitch. Your thighs tremble and you tug much harder on Changbin’s hair. 

He lets out a yelp. The pull caused him to pop off your cunt with a wet sound. His unfocused eyes finally settle on you and you babble to apologies. “I-I’m sorry. Did I hurt you? I’m sorry, Binnie. It just felt so good and-”

He smiles, his wet chin shining proudly. “It’s okay, bubba. It didn’t hurt, I promise. You can pull as much as you like if it makes you feel better.” 

Felix giggles, runnung his hand through Changbin’s curly hair and looking at him fondly. 

“You’re so cool, hyung.”

Now Changbin blushes, his lips turning downward into his signature shy smile. “Come help your cool hyung eat this pretty pussy, Yongbok.” Felix chuckles again, adjusting his knees until he’s beside Changbin. You watch his pink tongue push through his lips, but just before he gets a lick in, his warm eyes lock with yours.

“Do you want both of us to taste you, baby?” Felix's small fingers kneed your inner thigh. “Is this what you want?”

You’ll take anything they give you and more. Changbin’s plush lips already feel so good on you, his tongue swiping down to collect your arousal and smear it on your clit. It would be hard to get him to share, you think. Changbin likes eating diligently and eagerly licking his plate clean. He’d make some room for Felix if you asked, but you’re quite content with one mouth on your cunt.

Even then, you don’t want to deter Felix from what he wants to do either. “What do you want, Lixie?”

The groan Changbin lets out in your folds matches Felix’s. “Nuh-uh, don’t do that. Tonight’s about you. Not me or Changbin. It’s okay to tell us what you want.”

Tonight has been all about you. The now-cold dinner is your favorite. The homemade brownies in the oven are for you. Since you woke up, your boyfriends have been more doting than ever. Just because, they told you when you asked why.

Just because.

You feel like you don’t deserve them in the slightest, but as Felix patiently waits for your answer while kissing up and down your thigh, you feel like you belong.

The shirt is already ridden up just below the curve of your breasts, but you pull up the material even more to expose your bare chest. You move your hands to grope the flesh of your tits, pushing them together and pinching your nipples between your fingers.

“C-can you kiss me here?” Despite them seeing you naked countless times, you can’t help the stuttering. And despite those amount of times, Felix’s eyes still widen and Changbin sucks a little harder at the sight of your boobs.

Felix is next to you in a flash. His hips press against your own while he curls his legs on the couch. One hand holds your breast and the other wraps behind your back to bring you closer. 

“Of course, baby.” Felix leans his head and brushes his lips against your bud. “I can kiss you anywhere.”

You hum appreciatively, placing your hands down into their hair. Felix is always tender with you, opting to press chaste kisses to your breasts. He focuses everywhere but your hardened nipple. The warmth of his mouth makes you buck into Changbin’s who happily widens his jaw. 

Felix sucks just above the curve of your breast, turning the skin a pretty pink before it will inevitably darken to a purple hue. The way his tongue laps over your skin has you mewling. A soft sound that makes Felix suck a little harder.

Then he kisses down, down until he finally catches your bud between his lips. With circular movements of his head, Felix runs it over his soft lips. It feels so good, so gentle that you feel yourself gush in Changbin’s mouth.

Your strong lover greedily moans. The wet sound of your cunt and mouth mingling is almost as loud as your whimpers. Felix gets the cue to take your nipple in his mouth, opening his jaw to try and fit your breast in his mouth. 

And when he sucks in correspondence with Changbin, your eyes roll back. Your hips can’t stay planted on the couch anymore that your orgasm builds. Changbin’s head moves with you, keeping his mouth stuck where he belongs.

“F-fuck!” You pull on Felix’s long hair. “Making me feel so good.”

You can feel how Felix smiles against your skin. Hear how Changbin whines affectionately.

Pulling on Felix’s hair suddenly doesn’t feel like enough. You trail your hand lower until you catch his erection underneath his sweats.

“Mmm. So hard.” You palm him, feeling how his tongue swirling on your nipple stutters from your ministrations. He releases your bud and places a kiss on the hickey forming.

“You don’t have to do that.” Felix uses a hand to gently push yours away. “We want to focus on you.”

“But-but you’re so hard. You’re both so hard.” Even if you can’t see Changbin’s lower half, you know he’s humping the bottom of the couch from how his body jolts and shudders. “I want to.”

This catches their attention. Even Changbin, who could mostly likely cum from your taste alone, raises an eyebrow and hesitantly pulls from your cunt. “Want to what?

Rather than telling them, you show them. Your shaky fingers leave their hair and go between your legs.

Looping your arms underneath your thighs, you spread your folds indecently. Slick and spit oozes from your cunt and Changbin licks his lips like he’s about to get another taste for himself, but your whining stops him.

“Inside. I wanna feel you inside.” Your hips buck from the thought of them filling you up. “I wanna cum with you deep in here.”

Changbin’s already nodding, standing up to chuck his shorts down, but Felix smoothes a hand down, rubbing over your cunt.

“You’re not just saying that because you feel bad, right?”

“No!” Gosh, you feel like you could cum just from Felix’s little palm over you. “I want to feel you. I need to feel you. Just fuck me.”

His adam’s apple bobs and he nods. He shrugs his joggers off too, putting them in a pile with Changbin’s who’s already stroking himself.

“Who do you want first, baby?” Changbin huffs. “Tell me.”

Shit. You don't want to choose. “Both! I don’t care how. Just please fuck me already.”

It’s quick how they move you. Changbin has the strength to be under you, holding your thighs apart with his cock just under your ass. It throbs being so close to your entrance, waiting for Felix to place one knee on the couch in front of you and bend just slightly so his tip aligns with you.

They’ve done this before, but not often, and most definitely not in the living room. Still, they couldn’t say no to your desperation. That aroused look in your eyes only intensifies as Changbin uses a hand to grip the base of his cock and find your opening.

“Shiiit.” You moan when his head sinks in. Changbin’s girth spreads you in the first intrusion and Felix has a front-row seat as to how your pussy caves for him.

Changbin breathes in your neck, pressing deeper until his chubby cock fits snug. Your walls pulse around him, cream leaking onto his balls. Felix’s eyes lock on the white substance, reaching a hand down to collect the slick.

You watch with hazy eyes and an open mouth as Felix shoves his fingers between your lips. You happily taste the substance, moaning at the musky flavor of yourself and Changbin. Felix presses his digits deep much like Changbin’s cock, pressing against your tongue to feel your tongue swirl around him.

“Fuck, baby.” Felix moans. “You’re so fucking hot.”

A string of saliva connects you to him even as Felix pulls his fingers away. You grin at him seductively.

“And tight.” Changbin groans in the shell of your ear. “Get in here, Yongbok. She’s waiting.”

It feels like you could finish from just pure excitement. Changbin doesn’t need to thrust. You could cockwarm him while Felix watches. Their presence is enough to feel undeniable pleasure.

That exhilaration multiples when Felix strokes himself. He nods to Changbin’s words, mouth moving to agree, but you can’t hear. So much blood is rushing to your head that you feel faint. Your heartbeat pulses in your ear and all you can hear is its increased rhythm as Felix’s tip touches your clit.

He drags it down, meeting Changbin’s few inches that stick out. He gives you a look. One of caution, trust, and love. 

“Please.”

He sinks in. Your lovers don’t have much length, but their cocks have enough girth to make up for it and more. It feels like you’re being clawed with pleasure, searing your insides with heat. Changbin moans in your ear when Felix presses deeper. Your cunt seeps with more arousal, accommodating the unbelievable stretch.

Changbin widens your thighs to add more room, to let Felix keep going in so his pelvis is flush against your cli-

Beep! Beep! Beep!

The sound of the alarm rings throughout the house. Felix jumps and Changbin holds you tighter as if the sound is threatening. It takes you a second to register that the beeping is coming from the kitchen. 

“What the fu-”

“Ughhh, fuck. The brownies.” Felix grumbles. His grip on your thighs adjusts like he’s about to pull out. You feel his inches slowly slip about before you reach your arms forward and bring him close.

“No! Just leave them.”

“Leave them in the oven?”

“Yongbok.” Changbin’s strangled voice breaks through. “I’m balls deep. You were about to be balls deep. The brownies can wait. They need to cool down anyway.”

Felix’s flushed face turns confused. “How can they cool down in the oven if-”

“Felix!” “Yongbok-ah!”

“Sorry.”

[songforeddiemunson]

Haunting in Blackwood Hollow Part 3

An Eddie Munson x F!Reader Miniseries

Series Summary: It’s the year 1991. Eddie and reader check into a rented house in the Appalachian woods, joined by Nancy, Jonathan, Steve, and Robin. Unfortunately for our gang, things in Blackwood Hollow are never as they appear.

Tropes: established relationship, Jonathan x Nancy, no mention of the events from ST, smut, comedy, fluff, scares, bit of whump (but nothing too crazy)

Series Warnings: Swearing, drinking and weed use, sexual and scary situations, minors please DNI.

Chapter Three: The Rothschild Tale

Chapter warnings: a sad recounting, historic tragedy, pregnancy loss, missing children, non-major-character death. This is a lot of exposition, so bear with me.

Author's Note: Welp it's been more than a year since I updated this fic, so better late than never! To those who patiently hung in there, thank you for helping me endure a brutal writers block and total loss of inspo because...life. Particularly @tvserie-s-world, who has been so encouraging. If anyone would like to get caught up, please start here.

Word Count: ~3K

PART TWO

Begrudgingly, you had decided to tackle breakfast cleanup, and started gathering up dishes as the others shuffled off to get ready for the day. You weren’t in the best mood, in large part because your sleep had been fraught with weird dreams that you couldn’t quite remember, except for the vague sensation of being pursued in darkness. Your fright from the bathroom window didn’t exactly help in that regard either. You focused on your task, and tried to put all the unpleasantness out of your mind.

Joyce and Jim had decided to host a wedding picnic in the park in the center of town. You had never been to a gender-neutral wedding picnic before, and while you enjoyed the fact that everyone would be able to go to the same party, your introverted side dreaded having to schmooze with so many strangers. You sighed heavily. The idea of having to play extrovert for the afternoon did not elevate your mood.

You were lost in thought as you finished up your task, and were in the process of wiping down the counters when something caught your eye. There was an object on the floor under the counter, peeking out from behind some faded old linoleum. You bent to get a closer look.

Is that a key? 

“Hey babe,” you called to Eddie, who was helping you put away the dishes. 

He turned to you as he closed a cabinet door. “Yeah?”

“Look at this,” you said, as you reached out to pick up what looked like a small, old cast-iron key, which was rusted and pocked with age.  You tipped it into Eddie’s palm.

“That’s pretty cool, it looks super old,” Eddie said. “I wonder what it goes to?”

“I have no clue,” you shrugged. “The door it opens might not even be here anymore.”

“It’s weird that it was just there on the floor. This kitchen looks like someone tried to remodel it a few decades ago, so where has it been this whole time?”

You could only shrug as Eddie handed the key back to you. You tipped it into an unused ashtray that sat on the kitchen counter as you headed toward the shower, soon putting the key out of your mind.

A few hours later, you stood in freshly mown grass, sipping a mimosa in a cute dress, quite the juxtaposition from how your trip had gone thus far. The spring day was sunny and pleasant, and being away from the spooky house lifted your spirits, despite the strange events from the night before.

It was wonderful to see the old gang together again. The “kids” were all in college now. Gone were the days of BMX bike-riding and trick-or-treating, and a new era of cramming for exams had been ushered in.  Jim and Joyce looked so happy that it was impossible to feel gloomy in their presence, and you began to bloom under the sunshine.

You were standing off to the side and chatting with Eddie when an older woman with a kind face approached you. She had rosy cheeks and looked to be in her seventies; round, short and cheerful, with short curly hair that was neatly coiffed.

“Well I believe I’ve met everyone here except you shy folks, so I thought I’d come and hassle ya,” the woman said brightly, and she immediately disarmed you. You couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across your face.

“Are we that obvious?” Eddie replied, but he was smiling too. “Sorry I’m just… I’m not always great at meeting new people.”

“Oh nonsense,” the woman replied with a wave of her hand. “It’s as easy as pie. I’m Penny. And you are?”

You introduced yourselves.

“There, now we’re friends! That wasn’t so hard, was it?” Penny beamed.

“Penny, if everyone was as friendly as you were, there wouldn’t be any shy people in the world,” you grinned, and she looked like she could pass away from delight at your compliment.

“Oh gosh, isn’t that the sweetest thought. And I agree!”

What started as pleasant small talk evolved into regular conversation, and before you realized where the time had gone, almost an hour had passed. You liked Penny immensely, and wanted to make her your honorary aunt. 

“So where are you two lovebirds staying while you’re here?” Penny asked.

You stifled a laugh while Eddie rolled his eyes. “Well,” you started, “that’s a funny story…”

“Never let your friends handle the rental you’re supposed to stay in without checking it out first,” Eddie supplied.

“I don’t follow,” Penny replied with a little giggle.

“It’s this crazy looking, beat-up old Victorian house in the middle of nowhere. On Blackwood Hollow road….” the rest of your sentence was abruptly halted when Penny’s hand shot forward and gripped your forearm.

“Not the Rothschild place?” she asked, and her demeanor shifted from cheerful to serious in the space of a heartbeat.

“I…we have no idea, actually. Why?”

Penny shook her head while you and Eddie exchanged alarmed glances. 

“Bad things happened there,” she said.  “They should have torn that place down and had the ground consecrated.” 

Penny’s tonal switch was highly disconcerting for you. You couldn’t help but chuckle nervously. “What– really? Bad juju or something? Did people die there?”

“Well,” Penny began, “Gideon and Eloise Rothschild did, but aside from that, we can’t be sure.”

“Come again?” Eddie said.

“It’s the ones that went missing, that was the real issue. People thought Gideon was responsible, but–”

“I’m so sorry to interrupt. Can you rewind?” you said with a nervous chuckle. “I’m a little lost.”

“Me too,” Eddie said.

Penny sighed. “Well, I suppose the best place to start is the beginning. Better strap in, this is quite a story!”

“Gideon Rothschild was the eldest son of Mortimer Rothschild, a robber baron and steel magnate who struck it big in Pittsburgh in the 1860s, at a time when America suddenly got a lot bigger due to the railroad boom. Bigwigs such as Mortimer also benefited from the Union Army rapidly building railroads to maintain supremacy during the civil war, so you can add ‘war profiteer’ to the ‘robber baron’ label.

“Like most gilded age families back then, the expectation was that the eldest son would continue in his father’s footsteps and take over the family business. But Mortimer was a miserable man and gave the business to his second son instead, all because he didn’t like the woman Gideon had run off with.

“Eloise Franklin was the woman’s name, and she was neither wealthy nor from a prominent family, definitely not who Mortimer would have chosen to be the future matriarch of the Rothschild family and the fortune that went with it. Naturally when Mortimer said Eloise wasn’t good enough for his family, Gideon took matters into his own hands and the two of them eloped, and they married in the forest with Eloise’s Appalacian clan.

“It’s said that Mortimer flew into a terrible rage, and by the night’s end, Gideon’s younger brother Lewis was now the heir of the Rothschild fortune. Gideon was disappointed but knew which had true value in his life, and that was his bride, not his family fortune. So he took what money he did have left and built a lovely house in Blackwood hollow. Modest, by Rothschild standards, but surely the grandest house those woods had seen thus far.

“Gideon and Eloise lived happily and peacefully in that house for fifteen years. Eloise gave birth to three daughters and two sons, and the family benefitted from Gideon’s shrewd business sense and Eloise’s skill as an herbalist and a healer. The family was not wealthy but they were comfortable, and most importantly, they were happy.

“Unfortunately, rumors started to grow and spread. People started to whisper about how a ‘nobody’ like Eloise could ensnare a man like Gideon, and force him to give up everything for her; murmurings of spellcraft and the like. Now I know that makes no sense; after all, why would a woman go through all that effort to bewitch a man that would lose everything? But there’s not a lot of logic in gossip, and I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how ugly people can be to each other.

“I’m also sure that I don’t need to tell you how awful people can be to women, and 100 years ago it was much worse than it is now. They may smile, tip their hat, say all the polite things, but deep down they don’t assign you any real value aside from being a baby-maker and arm candy. Poor Eloise started to bear the brunt of that misogyny, along with some good old fashioned superstition and ignorance.

“It was probably somewhere around 1895 when the threats started. Anonymous letters left in the mailbox, accusing Eloise of witchcraft, and of performing rituals in the woods with her clan, absurd things like that. At first they shrugged it off, and didn’t let it get to them too much. Then things started to progress. A rock through a window. Then a bible with ‘DIE WITCH’ scrawled across its cover left on the porch.

“Gideon had suspected that his pa Mortimer was involved somehow, and one day he stormed into Mortimer’s office in town to give him a piece of his mind.  Naturally Mortimer denied everything, but said something along the lines of ‘serves you right for marrying a witch, I suppose.’  That didn’t go over well, obviously, and the two men ended up slugging it out before brother Lewis broke them up. Gideon was ordered to leave and never return.

“When Gideon had returned home that evening, he found Eloise, who was pregnant with her sixth child, in a state of hysterics. She hadn’t seen their youngest son, who was only three years old, in hours. Gideon tried to reassure her that the boy had only run off, and set out to search the surrounding woods for him. All through the night they searched the house, the grounds, and the forest, calling his name. He was never found.”

You audibly gasped, and cold tendrils of dread snaked down your spine. “Oh my gosh, that’s terrible,” you said. Eddie rubbed your back reassuringly.

Penny nodded solemnly.  “If only the family’s troubles ended there, but sadly, they did not. Next, it was the family’s youngest daughter who disappeared, then the second youngest-boy. One by one, the Rothschild children vanished without a trace. When only the eldest female remained, Eloise secretly squirrled her away under cover of night, and brought her to her forest clan. You see, there was some small truth to the rumors the villagers so callously spread. The Franklin women were known to have skills with herbs and remedies, and were renowned midwives. More than a few people would scorn the clan in public but secretly visit them for various things. You know, a fertility potion here, or a headache cure there. Most of the curealls they prescribed could easily be explained as herbcraft and simple, benign remedies. But… but they did seem to possess an otherworldly knowledge. Some said they could see your future, others believed they wove spells. I’m sure that’s all nonsense, but sometimes I wonder.

“Anyway, the eldest daughter was a spirited and lovely fifteen year old called Evie. To protect her, Eloise delivered Evie to her people in the forest, and beseeched them to look after her. Of course they agreed, and urged Evie to take the name of her mother’s people and forsake the Rothschild line, in hopes of adding an additional layer of anonymity and protection.

“The lively, happy Rothschild home turned lonely and quiet. The echoes of children running in the halls, or the laughter of them playing on the swings on the front lawn, all fell silent. In her grief, Eloise miscarried her unborn child, and soon fell ill with a horrible fever. Gideon sent for Eloise’s sisters to intervene and save her, but no tincture or poultice could halt the infection that raged in her body, and Eloise ultimately succumbed. Through her tears, one of the sisters cried, “she didn’t want to be saved. She wouldn’t let us save her.”

Penny’s words hung in the air like ice, chilling you to the bone despite the sunshine. A tear streaked down your face. Somehow, the fine spring day seemed less bright, and the breeze that cascaded down from the mountain ridge felt less warm.  The story of Eloise Rothschild, a woman condemned for her supposed witchcraft and cursed for her love, resonated with a disturbing familiarity. It felt like a forgotten memory, a whisper from the depths of your soul. But how? You had never even set foot in Tennessee before.

“Babe, are you alright?” Eddie asked, alarmed. “You look pale.”

“Yeah…yeah. I’m fine.” you replied.”i just feel…I don’t know. It’s so tragic.”

Eddie and Penny both nodded.

“It’s a horrible tale,” Penny agreed.  “Poor Gideon lost everything. His family fortune, his love, all six of his children. I can’t even imagine enduring all that loss.”

“What happened to him?” Eddie questioned.

“He was rarely seen after that,” Penny responded, sadly. “He became a recluse and stayed in the house, folk say he went mad from the grief and loneliness. He was found dead several years later."

“Oh man, that's awful,” Eddie said.

“Did they ever find out what happened to the children?” You asked.

“No, unfortunately. They were never seen again, and presumed dead. Evie was absorbed into the Franklin clan completely and supposedly remained with them, but nobody knows for sure. But people whispered and rumours spread, as they do. People said that Gideon’s father somehow found a way to curse the family. Some people said that the family was already cursed because of the Rothchild fortune being built on the backs of indentured laborers and being a war profiteer. Other people said that Gideon went mad and killed them all, which is the most enduring theory, the poor man. But no search would uncover any remains, and eventually the trail went cold. The house stood empty and fell into disrepair until someone bought it from the town for a pittance fifty years later. They fixed it up a bit, but ultimately refused to stay there, and they rented it out instead.”

“You know what’s crazy about all this?” Eddie said.

“Hmm?” you hummed in reply.

“My mother’s maiden name was Franklin, and she’s from Memphis. What’s that, like, 50 miles from here?”

Penny's jaw dropped. “WAIT. Are you? Wait–” she seemed to be doing mental math while Eddie stood awkwardly. “Are you Lizzie Franklin’s boy?”

Eddie looked shocked. You started to feel dizzy.

“Yes, I think so,” he replied, simply.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” you said, and then the world went dark.

To Be Continued...

More is coming! As always, comments and reblogs are the lifeblood of every fic writer!

MASTERLIST

[atamascolily]

Wow, okay, so I was so distracted by Kyubey hiding behind the blades of the fan (not visible in this particular frame) that I didn't notice the... cards? stickers? playbills? whatever the hell these things are attached to the glass, which I have circled in red. They look like the pages from the book of witches elsewhere in the trailer, and while the resolution is not great, you can see what looks like Anthony (rose witch's puffball minion)'s silhouette in the lower left above, and on the left in the book shot.

So what's going on here? I don't know, exactly, but I know I've seen something very much like in the Magia Record anime (also a Doroinu Curry production), in episode 17 where Madoka et. al go to Kamihama and find the emblem of the Magius everywhere.

Interestingly, Madoka uses using her soul gem ring (!!) to examine them by looking through it, which is something I don't think I'd ever seen before.

This scene is somewhat confusing in its framing and there's not much dialogue, so I'd need to rewatch it again to be sure I haven't missed anything, but Homura appears to do the same thing with her glasses, because we see a similar glow and then a shot from what appears to be her POV, showing that the "sticker" is a recruitment poster for the Magius (i.e., the same thing Madoka saw just a moment earlier except that Homura's glasses have a larger field of vision) and which is noticeably absent in any of the wide shots.

Which is really interesting when you remember one of the Clara Dolls doing something similar with a magnifying glass in the Walpurgis no Kaiten trailer.

And while this may or may not be connected with the Clara Doll eye (same lashes) on the air conditioning unit, you gotta wonder what are they looking at, and who might be leaving stickers with hidden messages of witches and familiars scattered around the city in the first place?

Based on what we've seen so far, I think one of the recurring visual motifs of Walpurgis no Kaiten will be "seeing things clearly"--or not, as the case may be--whether through mirrors, magnifying glasses, or directly, which also ties into the reflections/doubles imagery (and from there metaphorically to witches and hidden messages, two other recurring themes of the franchise). It's all connected.

While I have all the images in one place, I'd also like to point out the juxtaposition of fans (spinning circles, another recurring motif). Based on the context clues, the fans in the glass with the witch/familiar stickers are associated with the other Homura, while the fan with the Clara Doll eye and stitched together with pink packing tape and stickers with a goblet representing "fragile, handle with care" represent the original Homura, and their two contrasting systems. Combined with the broken cup on the table in the flooded cafe and the salamander being stabbed, I'm inclined to wonder if another theme at play here is that alterations to the representations of the system reflect the state of the system as a whole, as a visual metaphor for how Homura's (and her competitor(s)'?) world is impacted by events in the film. [Note what appears to be tape on the outside of the glass in the shot of the witch/familiar stickers and the fans, which suggests that doppelganger!Homura has had at least one setback.]

Now, given that metaphors also tend to be literal in Madoka Magica, this suggests that some kind of sympathetic magic is going to be a thing where there's an actual casual relationship between the two, but we'll have to see. This would, however, make the appearance of vandalism, graffiti or unwanted stickers far more intrusive--not just visual clutter on Homura's world, but an active threat to it, in addition to whatever other powers or messages they might carry.

[mneiai]

What's your rating of Ikevil suitors?

Hmm okay I've been holding off on this because I'm on the fence about a few of them, but here goes lol I'm leaving off the newest guys because while I've got high hopes for the one, I don't know enough about any of them.

I'll go in rating order:

Elbert: 9/10

Love this guy, just such a traumatized little meow meow and eventual cannibal (used to think he's equally likely to stuff or eat MC if she died first, now leaning more towards eating her). I dislike his power in the grand scheme of things, seems like they thought of his backstory/trauma and then created a power to work well with that instead of the other way around and didn't really think through that power. Not actually that big of a fan of his looks, alas, firstly because I don't think he's drawn particularly more beautiful than most of the others despite what everyone says about him in canon and secondly blonde hair and blue eyes is blah to me. If he looked more like Ellis he'd be perfect. Only real yandere so far and the reason I started playing the game.

Ellis: 8/10

Love his looks, love his relationships with Jude and some of the others. His power is ridiculously bad and I'm constantly bummed out he's not darker than he is--they kept giving these like creepy phrases and dark looks and then he ends up being pretty green flag, actually. Like he thinks dark thoughts, but would never act on them. He's a bit darker in some events, at least. Also I like the juxtaposition of how he wants to make everyone happy with being a cold blooded killer.

Victor: 7/10

There's only so high I can rate the guys whose English routes haven't been released yet and some of the spoilers I've read make me a little worried. His constant hot and cold is pretty frustrating (like the recent election epilogue ugh). I like most of his character design and like the mystery, the political power, the way he's a total mom and so indulgent about even the worst aspects of his boys. But ugh monarchists, why did they all have to be monarchists?

William: 7/10

My major problem with William is the MC in his route, but that's not an issue with him personally. He's blessedly villainous compared to most of the others, was sort of a breath of fresh air coming off of some of the nicer guys' routes, and I like his looks a lot. He actually feels like a character that deserves to be in a game about Villains, like if this was a world like in US comic books or something he'd be a vigilante the other vigilantes thought of as a villain. His whole thing about freedom and how it's contradicted by his powers is also pretty fun.

Jude: 6/10

Well, in all his events and other routes, he comes across as hilariously tsundere, he clearly actually cares a lot about the people close to him but is a complete ass about it, which I don't mind since most of the others are so overtly caring. I like his looks (though not the smoking) and I'm hoping all his commentary on the MC being a masochist means we get some sadomasochism in his route. Though a little worried he'll be less villainous than I'm hoping.

Liam: 6/10

He's adorable! He's sweet! He's totally in need of modern mental health treatments! Someone give this guy a gacha game and you'll have solved half his issues, though. Honestly he has little impact on me because I like him, but similar stories if you take away the power/curse aspect are really common so it was just a little blah. Also insecurity in LIs is not something I personally like. Would have loved a platonic route with him most of all, though, that would have rocked so hard.

Harrison: 5/10

I like him decently and in another game, he'd probably be higher up, but as a starter LI in a game called "Ikemen Villains," I'm underwhelmed. If he were one of the later LIs, especially if he was more suspicious in more of the routes, I think he would have worked better. I don't know if he'll have a big part of the new LIs' routes, but I would love it if he did. In events, he's also normally pretty bland and a lot of them you could literally forget what game you're playing imo Would love to just be a group of platonic lifemates with him and Liam, though.

Roger: 4/10

I haven't read spoilers for his route except for the stuff related to his work and so all his personality and stuff comes from other routes/events. Those are a mixed bag, I love him when he's interacting with others, but I can't really get a handle on his actual personality, yet. Except for the glasses, I'm blah about his looks (he looks like he's the token American guy in a Dracula knock-off). Also wary of his curse and what it means for MC and how they're going to make that relationship go, I'm not a huge fan of the MC themselves being betrayed even if everyone else is, you know?

Alfons: 0/10

He's literally a rapist. Like he rapes the MC at the end of the very first chapter of his route! I thought the issue with his route was that thing where he pretends it was someone else that always comes up when people talk about it, I didn't realize he literally does the equivalent of roofying the MC first chapter and second chapter everyone (but Elbert) jokes about it. He was so cool in other people's routes and a lot of the events that I was just a little wary of him, but the fact everyone is okay with him and also treats it like a fun quirk actually makes me think less of the other characters. Only route in all four Ikemen games I've played so far where I had to stop because I was disgusted as opposed to bored (it's a shame because his curse and end are definitely the coolest and most creative). For my own peace of mind, I pretend like he doesn't have a route and he's a permanent side character.

[vergil-losing-archive]

episode 6 notes...

edit: please keep in mind these are just notes and thoughts I'm writing down while I'm watching the show. So I may criticize something that gets "fixed" or explained in a later episode.

Now, what I'm about to say is criticism of some artistic choices, so this is more subjective compared to other criticism I have for this show. Keep this in mind.

I'm not a fan of the artstyle change for when the other kid enters hell, as it doesn't seem fitting for the moment at all?

I should be afraid for the kid that is in danger but I'm not because my brain is stuck on "why am I suddently watching a kids show?" no offense of course to the artists, but the artstyle is visually very similar to media for that target.

I get wanting to switch styles because he is in a different world, it's an interesting idea if done right, but how they did it here is a no for me.

The back and forth from Lady's memories to this kid in hell feels like some multi-animator collab project you'd see on youtube rather than part of the same show.

I thought I'd give my two cents on this as it's kind of "my field" of study.

Now, back to the non-artistic criticism.

If hell is another world, and demons have naturally evolved to adapt to its conditions, at least to some extent as we were told that the conditions are too harsh even for some demons, how can this human kid just live there with no health consequences? Normally I'm not at all nitpicky about this sort of stuff, but since this show likes being all "science-y", this is a huge oversight from them.

Also they were obviously trying some political commentary with the juxtaposition of the demon kids being sick and oppressed and Lady playing "demon hunter" with her friend, just like american kids playing "cowboys and "indians"", but it just doesn't work here in this context. Because she LITERALLY witnessed a demon attack her family before, and shortly after she sees her own father turning in a demon and eating her mom.

If you wanted to make demons a symbol of oppressed groups, constantly alternating between depicting them as animalistic, cruel, stereotypical, murderous by nature and then innocent, human-like is shooting yourself in the foot as a writer.

a HUGE writing oversight I noticed, is in the final scenes, when Lady is shooting up all those refugee demons with her squad, because then her earlier change of mind makes NO sense. Let me explain: her suddent change of mind in earlier episode was made believable by the impression that this was the first time she saw something that challenged her worldview: a normal demon family that didn't want to harm anyone. But now with the end of episode 6, we discover that she has met civilian demons before! And they were even accompanied by a HUMAN. How come this event didn't arise any doubt in her head? And how come she was surprised by that demony family before, if she in fact has met similar demons earlier in her life?

Also I really want to know how the White Rabbit dude managed to change from a Saviour of demons leading them to their "promised land", to someone openly threathening the same people he wanted to help (as we saw earlier in the series).

[wavesoutbeingtossed]

Lots of mentions of Renegade and how it fits into jover but I'm actually interested if/and how you think Carolina comments on it. I think the murder mashup with NBNC was also not just fitting but interesting.

Oh anon you've come to the right place because I am a certified Carolina stan and I have Thoughts about it.

She rather famously played it the day after I got home from Europe from my own Eras trip and I may not have recovered lmao. And I was sure I had never seen it but now I'm looking through my blog and apparently I did watch it and lost my shit over it so now I'm watching it all over again.

"Things only Carolina will ever know... He did it." is SOOOOOOOOO!!!!!! The way Carolina goes from the subject to the narrator??? ELITE!!!!!!!

I think Carolina absolutely fits into the headspace she was in at the time. This is what she said when it was released in June 2022:

“About a year & half ago I wrote a song about the story of a girl who always lived on the outside, looking in. Figuratively & literally. The juxtaposition of her loneliness & independence. Her curiosity & fear all tangled up. Her persisting gentleness & the world’s betrayal of it”

Given the timing of it, it would have been written right in the thick of evermore/early 2021/2021 Grammys/what would become Midnights 3am writing sessions, and those themes she mentions are very persistent throughout all her music at the time. And those are also all themes that come back with a vengeance on TTPD.

The part that really stuck out to me was "the juxtaposition of her loneliness and independence" because... That's really central to so much of what she was writing about. Wanting to shine but that very thing being the thing that was cause great turmoil within her and in her home. "Her gentleness and the world's betrayal of it" is also what shows up on SO many tracks on TTPD: Who's Afraid, Clara Bow, Robin, and even arguably some of the "love" tracks like loml, Smallest Man, How Did It End, etc. ETA: and I HATE IT HERE!!! Absolutely the quintessential song on this list!!! thanks @soberqueerinthewild

It's soooo curious to me that she wrote the song of her own volition and that she was the one who approached the producers (iirc) with the song instead of the other way around, which is an unusual course of events. Say what you will about the source material (ahem) but I do think it's rather telling that Taylor identified so strongly with the themes of loneliness and being cast out, being on the outside looking in and misunderstood and vilified, that she was inspired to write about it and see herself in the character.

So while I don't know if Carolina comments necessarily directly on Renegade and the events it portrays, I think it definitely comments on how she was feeling in general. Lonely, isolated, misunderstood, unheard. Wanting freedom but being scared of it at the same time.

Also, this is my regular reminder that the TTPD pre-release playlists on Apple Music are a gift of storytelling very much in the same wheelhouse as the mashups, and the fact that Carolina ended up on the Depression playlist is imo also very telling. The introduction she gives to the playlist I think might be one of the most concisely insightful glimpses she's given us about her songwriting process. She says (paraphrased) that she'll write when she feels lonely or hopeless because writing is the only way she can process the intensity of those feelings, and you can see why in the songs she put on it. So I absolutely think Carolina is part of the equation in that it was written alongside so much of the songs we know were part of this journey, and is very much part of the same emotional landscape we'd see in Midnights (e.g. Dear Reader comes to mind).

I'm not going to read too much into the murder mashup because I do think it was largely just a grand old time for her and she got to pull out the country cuntiness on the B stage. It was an inspired storytelling choice! But that being said: you cheating husband disappeared, well nobody asks any questions here. Carolina witnessed from the shadows but emerged ready to avenge. 👀 Again I think it was mostly fun, but I do think there were perhaps some shades of what she's felt in there too (something something it smells like infidelity lol).

Ah thanks for the trip down memory lane anon!

[mikuni14]

4 Minutes - Ep 6

Boy, but I loved this episode ✨💖🤩 Happy my favorite theory almost came true, yay!

Everything was great, the realism of what was happening, the behavior of the characters, the aesthetics and visuals, the disintegration of what exists, like families, frienships, lifes, but also relationships that didn't even have a chance to be created and are already falling apart. The breakdown and the heartbreak, the regret for what was lost and for what could have been.

I like that everything that happens has consequences, which as we all know, doesn't always happen in movies and series. And here everything has its consequences, including omissions - because the series clearly shows that although Great is not technically a bad person, his sins of cowardice and failure to act, of not helping the victims, also have to be paid for. (How very DFF of them lol 😍)

I absolutely love Great in this episode, showing him as a lonely young man drifting listlessly and lifelessly through his life, resenting and loathing his family, subconsciously sensing that in addition to the lack of care and affection for him in this family, their obsession with money, something really bad is also happening. A very telling sign about the current state of his mind, soul, mental health is his reaction - or rather - his lack of reaction to the bad events happening in his life, his wallowing in hedonism. And the first real, human connection which he felt with Tyme, with someone who is being torn by some deep inner emotions, who in his revenge, anger, despair, but also those few moments with him when he forgets that he should hate Great - is so SINCERE, which somehow speaks to him, as if he's the first real and raw in his feelings and honest person in his life. And also hot, that helps a lot, I guess? lol

How amazing is the juxtaposition of Great in reality with that of his own visions. It shows that what Great regrets most is the lack of ACTION, the lack of decision-making. The real Great just lets things happen around him, he doesn't think about what's happening before his eyes, he doesn't think about the consequences, not even about how he drives. The real Great isn't a bad person, but he never learned, no one taught him to be responsible for himself and for others, his parents only thought that with money alone they would solve everything and fulfill everything in their and their children's lives. In his visions he "plays" with the ideal of himself as he would like to be: strong, decisive, taking action, being decent and kind, getting the man he wants on his own 😊 The real Great lets Tyme go every time, while in his visions he always chases him.

The series perfectly shows the star-crossed lovers trope in an absolutely amazing way. Great and Tyme are clearly fascinated by each other, they are compatible with each other and in another reality, without all this burden resting on their shoulders, without the soul crushing baggage their parents gave them, they could be a perfect couple madly in love.

Of course we support Tonkla in his revenge, you are doing amazing sweetie! 💯 Go ahead and use Win and Korn as much as you like 😏 (I just hope Title suffered an even worse fate, I mean, he was the second victim in the field by the lighthouse? I don't know if I missed something, it was him right?)

Poor Mio and his back 😧 (This is also a good time to remind everyone how much I love him and miss him. In case anyone didn't know that already 🥺)

I liked the whole episode, but my heart skipped a beat for a second having serious The Untamed flashbacks here:

🥺💖

[snapscube]

Hi penny! Saw that you finished playing infinite wealth (hooray!) and i’m interested to know what you think of kiryu from this game? Considering iirc you haven’t played the kiryu saga. And obviously you can’t say too much because of spoilers but i’m curious anyway 🫣

oh he is so,, so fucking GOOD!!!!!!!! i love how diametrically opposed him and ichi are in terms of vibes, like they come from two completely different sides of the same coin which makes it all the more satisfying seeing them work off of each other more closely. it was so incredibly interesting having come in off of Y7 almost exclusively and just feeling the years upon years of history dripping off of kiryu, and i always intended to do so but now i have basically no choice but to spend the time in between this game and the inevitable 9th one catching up with kiryu's side of things. i skimmed through a lot of the more heavily referential side content in order to keep myself SOMEWHAT fresh for that, which ended up working out nicely as i managed to get just enough context to enjoy the story of 8 while still having no real idea of the depths of nuance and individual events that go down prior to 7. either way, it's so funny looking back at my initial reaction to the announcement of infinite wealth at RGG summit and how i was so confused as to why they would do a dual protag thing after already passing the torch, cause i basically feel the exact opposite now LOL. i see why they did things this way for infinite wealth specifically, though i do hope to see a continued focus on building ichi into just as deep and human a character as kiryu over time. i love ichiban to death and i love how much his character basically spits in the face of all cynicism almost to a fault, i wouldn't change that for the world it's such a key part of his character and it's necessary i think in order for him to be a protagonist that is unique enough to stand alone the more he hopefully takes the spotlight, but the idea of seeing him continue to be tested and prodded in the ways that kiryu seems to have been really excites me, so i think having the juxtaposition of the two characters in full display was really valuable in that regard.

[scrumptiousstuffs]

there is something a bit funny to me when first gets all shy and nervous when he's playing something where khao needs to touch him because we have a lot of footage of first being all touchy with friends and he's very fine about it like why are you suddenly so shaky

I admit I’m puzzled by this question. First being shy and nervous while playing something? - I’m interpreted as you saying when First is acting? Or did you mean something else? (And if you do - feel free to elaborate, please - because I’m genuinely uncertain what you mean otherwise)

If there’s one thing I will disagree on is that First being shy/nervous when he acts. Both First and Khaotung transformed whenever they act on screen.

I know they like to hold each other/be touchy whenever they have to do emotional scenes BTS (like the SandRay fight after Ray drunken outburst on Mew’s bday, and we certainly see them just holding hands when filming TE etc)..

But I personally can’t see a single hesitation when they act on screen. No “shakiness” or shyness or nervousness (unless the roles asked them to!) - both actors are so fluid when they act. I’m always in awe on how they managed to make it distinctive with each successive role they have partake.

Now, off-screen is another matter. I’m not surprised when FK (First especially) looked like they want to just melt into the floor when they had to see their NC scenes with their fans/friends and respected directors (even P’Tha?) - I find it endearing actually 🫣…the juxtaposition of their confident on-screen performances versus their sweet, sometimes shy personality off-screen (in all honestly - I always come back to what P’Aof and P’ Jojo said about the boys):

P’Aof said Khaotung is charismatic in person and has an artistic soul while P’ Jojo described First having a cute personality but when he transformed as Kant - there was only one word he can described him “Handsome” (and I will agree with both directors) - not even sure if these are relevant to your ask hahah but I’m always happy when my boys get praised 😂

Edit: someone said you might be referring to when First having to play a game? And Khaotung touching him? What event was this? 🧐 - cause their recent events were solo…and the last 2 ( THK finale and book fair - no games?). While the SFxCaptain America with EarthMix - they were paired against each other or playing solo (unless you count when the boys were all blind folded)

And as usual, with any ask - I can never resist putting up beautiful photos of our boys (from recent events in the last few months)

[vamp-ress]

Eastern Promises

@charlidos proposed an EP/LOTR crossover (sorta). The idea immediately spawned a bunny, but that bunny would demand a huge amount of research and I'm kind of not in the mood.

But I thought to myself: I can at least rewatch Eastern Promises. That doesn't hurt (not me at least, it seems the Bluray is past its prime, it periodically threw me some weird pixelation). And well, I have thoughts.

I love this movie, mostly because it showcases what a brilliant actor Viggo Mortensen is. I always like to compare him to George Clooney, who definitely was the bigger star but who has no versatility to speak of. Each movie he's in: You're looking at George Clooney. But you never look at Viggo in a movie, you always look at the character he's playing. I think that's at least part of the reason why people lust after Aragorn and then they look at Viggo and are like: THAT'S the guy who plays the king of men? He immerses himself in a character to a point where he disappears completely. All of Nikolai's mannerisms, the way he stands and walks and even the little tells when he's lying - they're all Nikolai. Viggo probably has the most un-slavic face imaginable and yet he's pulling it off. With ease.

Viggo Mortensen should have gotten an Oscar for this and that's the hill I'll die on.

In regards to recent events of Mexico hating on Emilia Perez I find it interesting that this was never an issue back in 2007 when Eastern Promises was made. This was a very international production but I can't see anyone even remotely Russian connected to this project. We have a Canadian (David Cronenberg) filming an English script (Stephen Knight) starring actors from the UK (Naomi Watts), USA (Viggo Mortensen), France (Vincent Cassel), Germany (Armin Mueller-Stahl) and Poland (Jerzy Skolimowski). No one batted an eye, probably because it's a fantastic movie and even though it deals with the Russian mafia it manages to steer clear of stupid clichés.

Stepan is a wonderful comic relief. I absolutely adore his character. Don't we all have a relative like this? Someone we want to hit over the head all the damn time but someone we can't really fault for anything in the end. Stepan is obnoxious, but he cares deeply about Anna and is the first to fully realise the danger they're all in.

I love tattoos. Yeah. So of course I love to see all the ink on Nikolai. For more information on the tattoos, go here.

The tattoos are based on the documentary "Mark of Cain", which can be found on YouTube.

You can see two of Viggo's own tattoos in the movie: The "H" on his right wrist (for "Henry") when he's fiddling with Anna's bike and the fellowship-tattoo on his left arm during the "interview" scene and the famous bathhouse fight. The tattoo on his upper arm was covered up. And yes, that means that mobster Nikolai runs around with some elvish script on his arm. Scary guy.

For years upon years IMDB has a page for Eastern Promises II up. I'm glad that project never happened. I like where the movie ends, I like the possibilities it opens up. A sequel could only take away from that.

Nikolai's sense of humour is hilarious. The way he says "Oh, joke" instead of actually laughing cracks me up every time.

The ending is perfect: The juxtaposition of Anna going out into the sun with her daughter while Nikolai sits in that dark restaurant and plots world domination just slays.

TEH GAY. Absolute love for the way Viggo Mortensen and Vincent Cassel portray these characters. The way Kirill follows Nikolai like a dog while Nikolai leads him on to get what he wants is every fanfiction writer's dream because it opens so many possibilities. You can take so many angles with those two and explore the hell out of their relationship!

Subtly showing Kirill interact with kids throughout the movie to then have him (at least attempt) to kill a baby. 10/10.

Only now did I notice during the end credits that Nikolai's clothes are Armani. I guess crime really does pay well.

And lastly, I could have done without the kiss between Anna and Nikolai at the end. It feels forced, unnecessary and like something they put in because they thought audiences would expect at least a kiss between the leads. Personally, I think it would have been perfectly fine to allow viewers to come to their own conclusions without shoving a kiss into their faces. There's no need to slap something obvious in my face when the two actors were perfectly able throughout the movie to convey that something was brewing between them.

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Every week I will post various reviews I've written so far in 2024. You can check out my Goodreads for more up-to-date reviews HERE.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?

___

258. Collide by Bal Khabra--⭐️⭐️

"She was literal sunshine." A sentence that made me guffaw because no, she was very much not literal sunshine. Summer was a bitch and the way everyone bent to her will and still lusted after her made me wonder if I should be reading books like WHY MEN LOVE BITCHES.

This was disappointing, to say the least. That cover is everything and I love the rep on said cover. Even though it was like reading ICEBREAKER again (a book that I actually love and have read twice), this was not at all what I was expecting. Why is it such a trend for these mean FMC to just belittle and completely undermine others' emotions for the sake of their "stubborn" personalities? Ugh.

I was going to add more to this pre-review notes I had made for this when I first finished this book, but I don't even want to LOL. This book made me so mad. Sigh.

___

259. Wed to the Barbarian by Keira Andrews--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Did I pull an all-nighter with this book? Yes.

I have decided, Keira Andrews is a favourite author. Her covers may be...not the best, but man, can she tell me a compelling story. WED TO THE BARBARIAN follows two characters who couldn't be any more different from each other. But something about the way the viewed each other and under-estimated each other made my heart melt for them and made me so excited for the moment their connection clicked into place.

Andrews, in her true writing style, has created a story full of heart with a strong message of never judging a book by its cover. Everyone knows what happens when you assume and these two characters (especially the bigger of the two) really fall into that trap of thinking they know what the other is like and how their internal and external strengths can be measured.

I loved watching them slowly fall for each other and enjoyed seeing their bond strengthen over time, until we reach that cliffhanger full of despair.

There was so much on offer in this book and I never thought I'd be devouring a historical fantasy romance (?) so voraciously. I couldn't put this down once I fell into that perfect moment in the book that demanded it be read.

I loved the family dynamics and how dedicated both characters were to them, even if sometimes they were a little misguided. But I also liked how logical Andrews's writing was when it came to certain situations, climaxes, and communication.

Also, not going to lie, those last few chapters were intense. I wish we had more books like this duology from Andrews. I'm excited for all of the books I've yet to read by her.

___

260. The Barbarian's Vow by Keira Andrews--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Devoured because book one left me on a cliffhanger and these two deserve their happy ending!

I can't say too much because it will spoil the hell out of this book. Just know that the angst, the yearning, and the dedication one character has for the other was palpable.

Also, loved, loved how certain things weren't dramatized for the sake of adding drama to the story. So many times authors add unnecessary miscommunications and other jealousy-inducing plot lines to make the story longer, but our queen, Keira Andrews doesn't do this.

And finally, please, I LOVED the adventure-style of this book. It was like one of those "how much can we physically challenge your relationship?" games that a couple might play to truly see how much they care about each other. The juxtaposition of the events in this one and the ones in the first book was *chef's kiss*.

Need more stories like this one!

___

261. The Wrong Bride by Catharina Maura--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Listen, this was like those funny and horribly acted romance stories we see in ads, BUT it was addicting and I couldn't stop reading it. Brought back memories of the over-the-top romances from the early 2010s, but like in the best and cheesiest way possible.

If you're going to sit down to read this one, make sure you have some popcorn on hand. I was so thoroughly entertained while reading this. It made me think of afternoons spent with my mom when I was a kid, having to be quiet because her telenovela was on. The over-the-top situations, the circumstances, and the denial of feelings that the characters showcased throughout the book made for some real entertainment.

And then we had the "villain". Man, she was like the perfect gaslighting telenovela villain. When she was in the middle of her assholery in trying to win back the MMC, this was me:

I'm also a bit of a sucker for an arranged marriage between two reluctant people. I love watching them fall in love and essentially prove everyone else wrong. Plus, for the love of all that is romantically glorious, this FMC needed a freaking win. She was so self-less, to the point of self-destruction, that I really wanted her to show up her horrible sister and mother. The father was the only one who was worth anything in her family.

Anyway, I have book two now and I shall read it soon. I hope it's as dramatic LOL.

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262. All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-read July 2024

So, funny story: I actually craved a re-read of this one AFTER reading the sequel (which was incredible as well) and I'm so happy I gave into the craving. I had halfway forgotten how much I enjoyed this book the first time around. I DEFINITELY see myself re-reading this one again in the future.

ALL THAT'S LEFT IN THE WORLD is one of those books that is so honest in its grief and journey to finding yourself that it will leave you feeling just a bit raw by the end. The side characters are great and the way these two characters grow and show the darker aspects of what it means to survive was so well done.

Will forever be one of my favourite Post-Apocalyptic YA reads!

Also, their love is just so sweet and pure, even if it slowly builds as the story progresses.

___

263. Faker by Gordon Korman--⭐️⭐️⭐️

The MC's younger sister is something else.

I jumped into FAKER with no idea what I was getting myself into (like I usually do) and in some (positive) ways, this was a good choice because I know that if I had read the synopsis for this, I would have felt more hesitant to pick it up. I've read a few of Korman's newer books and while I've enjoyed them for the most part, there are definitely some I've liked more than others.

I think with FAKER, it was definitely one of those stories that straddled the line for me. On one hand, I enjoyed reading about this kid who grew to understand the morality question of what his father was doing, and finding his own identity where before he was just a shadow idolizing a criminal father. But on the other hand, it was all just...a bit too on the nose? Like, what are the chances that this one new town has a teacher who teaches students about morals and the question of what is wrong and what is right? AND to have the MC have such a sudden shift? Was he not taught these lessons earlier in private schools?

In Korman's defence, we DO see the cracks starting to form near the beginning, but it definitely does start to make me think about how quickly kids change, especially because they're such impressionable little sponges (the MC's kid sister being the biggest example. She was downright terrifying.)

FAKER felt both incredibly younger than the age group it's geared towards, and older than the age group because of just how much of a criminal the dad is. I know this book might be one of those cautionary tales of trust, perspective, and the bonds of family, but the dad's crime and how he went about them were a little too genius LOL.

Anyway, I'm sure kids will gobble this up. And I really enjoyed that side-plot about saving the earth, even if the one character could have used a slight dose of empathy herself.

___

264. The Threat by K.A. Applegate--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Excuse me, that cliffhanger?

This instalment in the series was WILD and dark. So dark. I actually really enjoyed this one because we get to see the other side of what could have happened to the Animorphs if they had had a different start to their story, or if they didn't have the same morals that they live by.

I've already read the next book, so the cliffhanger pain has been dealt with, but I must say it was so well-done. This whole plot line of David is so refreshing for this series and exactly what it needed. It further brings the characters togethers and challenges them in way they never thought they would encounter.

Great, great instalment.

___

265. Summer Romance by Annabel Monaghan--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Surprised by how much I enjoyed this one!

I'm not going to lie, I totally put a hold for this audiobook at the library by accident. I had initially never intended to read this book and...I think that would have been such a mistake.

I love stories like this one where the love interest is someone the MC would have NEVER thought would be her HEA. The love interest is underestimated and misjudged by literally everyone in his life. Even though I knew immediately who he was from the moment we meet him, I couldn't help but still love the reaction and the communication that happened after the truth was revealed. I also LOVED how she helps prove his family wrong in their perception of him. But it's still bittersweet to watch the adoration that a family has for their son, even if that adoration is a little misguided.

The MC finding herself again after FINALLY starting the divorce from her absent husband (there in body, missing in spirit and fucks to give) was so empowering. I think other single moms in similar situations would benefit from reading this one. Not so much because of the romance, but because some people love to underestimate women, especially moms, and what they will do when they finally find their voices again. I loved the scenes where she was a total badass towards her ex, but also her moments of vulnerability because being human is experiencing the duality of strength, but also weakness.

The grief in this book was like an extra character riding in the passenger seat of the MC's car, that's how powerful it was. But in that grief, the MC finds the truths she ran from about how her life changed and the things that happened that led her there. It's proof that even in death, our mistakes can't be erased but CAN be learned from.

SUMMER ROMANCE is definitely one of those books that some could read as just a heartfelt small town romance novel, but I know this will hit some readers way harder than others. Monaghan's novel has heart and I felt it in every page of the book.

Now, excuse me while I put the rest of her books on hold at my libraries.

___

266. Red Rabbit by Alex Grecian--⭐️⭐️⭐️

RED RABBIT was something else. I'll admit that it took me a WHILE to get into this one. I almost DNF'ed it a few times, and extended my library loan of the audiobook a few times before finally giving in. It had its fun moments, but it also had a lot of confusing moments.

There were SO MANY CHARACTERS. And the timelines are weaved together to make a very confusing spider-web. I think I know why it was done and in retrospect, it makes sense, but while I was reading, I had a lot of "OHHH OKAY" moments when something clicked or finally made sense.

At certain points I thought I knew where the story was going, but then something would happen and it would throw me off all over again.

I don't know how scary RED RABBIT was supposed to be. Sure, there were some gross moments and others that had that taste of fear in each word, but scary scary?

One thing I didn't expect and was pleasantly surprised was the audiobook having the voice actor actually sing some of the songs featured in the book. They were beautifully sung and so incredibly unexpected--totally pulled me into the story even more and made me excited to see what would come next in the story.

I did want to shed a tear near the end and when everything was being resolved, including the reveal of some of the secrets that haunted the book. So, while the beginning took me a while, I was hooked by the end.

I think this would be great for a reader who loves a little western adventure in their stories, with a side of ghosts, witches, and ghouls.

___

Happy reading!

[qquicksllver]

when we were young fest was so much fun!!! I'll post a read more if you wanna read about me yapping about my day (I went sunday the 20th:) )

took the monorail and honestly best decision we made all weekend ngl it was so smooth and easy. I started bright and early with neck deep at 11:45, i'm still salty as fuck about this because why were they so early 😭😭😭 they were a cant miss band though so had to move my ass. they started their set before we got to the stage so had to run/walk while screaming along to serpents. played the entire album except they had to cut haunt you but honestly fine with that, it's my least fav on lnotgy so whatever, ben barlow saying free palestine I know that's right my king.

anyway next was state champs!!! my mf band!!!!!! the finer mf things!!!!!! I couldn't pit for them unfortunately as I have been dealing with back pain (I don't know what it is) and i have beef with them which I will bitch to them about the next time I see them because they cut my absolute favorite song from the finer things, mind bottled! how could they do this to me!!!! yes we got everybody but you with ben but at what cost? I wanna hear mind bottled for once in my life!!!! they also cut over the line in favor of secrets but I didn't even notice because I was too mad about mind bottled. why would they do me like that. They way my jaw dropped lmfaoooooooo champs I'm coming for yalls asses be aware

Then we went to the main stages for cobra starship and simple plan. sat in the grass and listened to cobra starship, I wanted to hear snakes on a plane!!!! wish william beckett was there smh. simple plan was simple plan lol my bf wanted to hear welcome to my life so we stayed until then and then left. THEN THEY PLAYED WHERE I BELONG, BUT BROUGHT OUT DEREK FROM STATE CHAMPS! when I tell u I stopped dead in my tracks and turned tf around, thats the only simple plan song I fuck heavy with and it was the biblically accurate version. Derek discanio you will always be my king and i made sure everyone around me knew that lmfao

Break time in the grass hehe with some giant pizza.. preparing for the longest 5 hours of my mf life.

pierce the veil time because collide with the sky is a masterpiece. the crowd was god awful at this point it was so fucking annoying and I was in the back but whatever I got to hear one hundred sleepless nights live and biblically accurate king for a day so who gaf about the shit crowd. The girls around me during king for a day were great we needed more of that energy earlier during their set because I unfortunately couldn't give much energy due to my back it hurt so had and so did me feet and it was only the beginning lmfao

Jimmy eat world was good but man them songs were so boring if you don't know them which I don't 😭😭😭😭 how many slow songs does one album need like damn pick it up a little. I respect them though they sounded great just not what I was in the mood for when my feet were dying lmfao

a day to remember always kicks ass its unfortunate they are the way they are. I was already at the fest they do not get my money directly anymore before any of you come at me I haven't voluntarily listened to them in awhile. the juxtaposition going from ptv to Jimmy eat world to adtr 😭😭😭 then to fucking fall out boy was so funny

speaking of mf fall out boy I love them so much 😭😭 I used up all my energy for the first half of their set I was dead for the second half. I finally got to hear chicago is so two years ago live by them and not just a cover and they played mf thriller!!!!!!!!! One of my favs from ioh I was so fucking happy I didn't expect it. I was carrying the crowd in my section cause no one knew the words to anything but the basics lmfao and the 8 ball being cupids chokehold!!!! The way I screamed when Travie Mccoy came out, TAKE A LOOK AT MY GIRLFRIEND. SHES THE ONLY ONE I GOT 📣📣📣📣📣📣📣 insane honestly I love fob so fucking much 😭😭😭

and then the main event, the main reason I flew all the way to vegas, my chemical romance playing the black parade 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤 I WISH it was three cheers but the black parade made more sense and it means they had to play the sharpest lives. they were so fucking good and they looked so good 😭😭😭 I hope they continue to play more shows because I need to see them again, genuinely no band will ever hit for me like mcr does. They've been my favorite band since 2010 and I was so grateful for the opportunity to see them perform tbp in full. the sharpest lives fixed me and disenchanted made me cry like a little bitch. I wish I was closer but I was not fighting thru that crowd I simply did not have the energy. I wish I had more energy for their set but my legs, feet, back were so sore and I could barely move lmfao. Also the crowd around me sucked as usual I hate festival crowds they are all so lame and boring like learn the fucking words please 😭😭

anyway I had a great time, it was so worth all the money that we spent, I have some minor complaints about the fest but nothing too crazy

[authoralexharvey]

INTERVIEW WITH A WRITEBLR — @daisywords

Who You Are:

Daisy || She/her

I'm a fantasy enjoyer about to graduate from university with a degree in editing. In addition to writing, I like to draw/paint and play the piano. Also interested in linguistics and bookbinding

What You Write:

What genres do you write in? What age ranges do you write for?

Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Young and New Adult, Adult.

What genre would you write in for the rest of your life, if you could? What about that genre appeals to you?

I love specfic in general, fantasy in particular (but the line between fantasy and scifi is blurrier than one might think). I particularly like the potential of alternate worlds to set up situations and character dynamics that simply couldn't exist in a historical or contemporary novel

What genre/s will you not write unless you HAVE to? What about that genre turns you off?

I don't read or write smut/erotica but other than that everything else is potentially on the table. I couldn't see myself doing straight historical fiction, either, honestly, just because I probably wouldn't be able to resist adding some specfic elements and/or unanchoring it from time (Fantasy is freedom to me, whereas historical accuracy is something extra to adhere to.)

Who is your target audience? Do you think anyone outside of that would get anything out of your works?

You mean other than myself?? Ok but actually it's pretty broadly just people who like fantasy. I have one wip that's technically YA just based on the age of the characters, but it could definitely be enjoyed by adults. My other wip is adult/NA but could also definitely be enjoyed by teenagers.

What kind of themes do you tend to focus on? What kinds of tropes? What about them appeals to you?

hmmm….something about the juxtaposition of violence and tenderness? Guilt/responsibility and free will/predestination a la the Chosen One trope. Memory loss trope (so juicy)

What themes or tropes can you not stand? What about them turn you off?

I personally am not a fan of immortal love interests. sorry everyone.

What are you currently working on? How long have you been working on it?

My current main wip is called Deep and Dark, Beautiful and Bright. I started it in November 2020. I also have a back burner project called Fear Me, which has been ship-of-Theseus-ing since I was like 10 lol. And I'm working on two short stories that are being more trouble than they're worth

How long have you been writing? What do you think first drew you to it?

I've been making up stories since I knew what stories were. Mostly started out playing elaborate pretend games with my sister. In second grade my best friend suggested we "write a book" together since our teacher would give out blank spiral-bound paper packets. (I think she was mostly interested in my illustration abilities tbh) Anyway we created a series centered around a character named Natalie (who was basically a ripoff of Ramona/Junie B. Jones.) But anyway I think around then is when I actually became interested in writing books as an outlet for making up stories. I didn't actually do a ton of writing as a kid, but I always collected story ideas and had a ton of ocs that I would draw in my secret sketchbook.

Where do you get your inspiration from? Is that how you got your inspiration for your current project? If not, where did the inspiration come from?

Honestly I get inspiration from everywhere. My brain is a very productive idea factory (but not a productive draft finisher, sadly). Other media (for example taking one specific concept or plot point form a move and running in the opposite direction with it), dreams, songs, historical events, offhand comments from friends, etc. Sometimes justt out of nowhere I swear.

Have you published anything? Do you want to?

Not yet and yes eventually

What part of the publishing process most appeals to you? What part least appeals to you?

I want my projects to have a final form and I want other people to read them. I don't want anyone I know irl (or anyone else for that matter) to psychoanalyze me about them. I'm not looking forward to anything to do with marketing, writing to market, tight deadlines, adhering to standardized formats/lengths, etc. but so it goes…

What part of the writing process most appeals to you? What part is least appealing?

I love coming up with ideas and characters and scenes. I love rambling in my notes doc. I love drafting in the rare moments when I actually do it. I really struggle with getting all the pieces of my plot to fit together. I like editing (I'm literally an editor). I cannot do project management to save my life.

Do you have a writing process? Do you have an ideal setup? Do you write in pure chaos? Talk about your process a bit.

Right now what's working fro me is to have three distinct documents. One goes strictly in order. Another is to put all of the scenes I want to write that don't fit into that order yet. The third one is for me to yell about it all (notes). When I'm lucky, scenes form the chaos doc (scene bank) eventually find their way into the order doc.

Your Thoughts on Writeblr:

How long have you been a writeblr? What inspired you to join the community?

I joined tumblr predominantly for the writeblr community in 2018 (don't remember the specifics but I remember seeing writing posts on pinterest and was like hm well might as well go directly to the source)

Shout out some of your favorite writeblrs. How did you find them and what made you want to follow them?

in no particular order and not an exclusive list: @aohendo @mecharose @scarvenartist @woodhousejay @baroquesse @tracle0 @klywrites @garthcelyn @incandescent-creativity @zmwrites @ashen-crest @ambiguouspuzuma @ettawritesnstudies @megarywrites @magic-is-something-we-create @pinespittinink @isherwoodj just a few of the many excellent people here

What is your favorite part about writeblr?

I just love the community aspect of interacting with other writers, or even just seeing what everyone's working on and how it's going. Even if someone's wip isn't my exact cup of tea I still like seeing posts about their work and people encouraging each other.

What do you think writeblr could improve on? How do you think we can go about doing so?

A lot of people say that interaction is dead etc. but I don't really think that's true. I think focusing less on reblogs and more on comments/asks as a form of interaction would strengthen the feeling of community. Not everyone is obligated to reblog everything and comments and asks can be more personal anyway. I like knowing other people are seeing what I put out there, and I especially love getting comments on my work, but that doesn't mean I need everyone to share it. I'd rather have 5 followers that interact with me than 1000 who don't. Quality over quantity, you know?

How do you contribute to the writeblr community? Do you think you could be doing more?

Of course everyone could always be doing more. I like to read other's snippets when I'm in the headspace for it, but sometimes I'm just here to mindlessly scroll and that's okay too. If I read something and I think it's cool or interesting or well-written or anything I try to either leave a reply or reblog with something in the tags. If I can't think of anything to say just quoting a line that I liked will suffice (I like when people do that to me). I do want to try sending more asks to people—I try to always send one when I see someone's reblogged an ask game, but I think everyone would appreciate some out-of-the-blue asks as well :)

What kinds of posts do you most like to interact with?

All kinds but I am most likely to interact with shorter posts about peoples' process or something about their characters. @klywrites will post about tiny interactions between her characters and I literally love them just from seeing tiny scenes on my dash every so often. I really like to read longer snippets and short stories too (there's some amazing writers here y'all) but I'm more likely to scroll past those if I can't spare the focus. Also I love seeing art! even from people who don't consider themselves artists like aww you drew your little guy and I love them now

What kind of posts do you most like to make?

idk I end up just vagueposting about my process most of the time. I love to infodump about my characters/worldbuilding but I don't do it too often. I also like to post about writing things in general, but I don't consider myself an expert or anything so I'm not putting out a ton of advice—just what works for me

[therealturbovicki]

I haven’t really seen anyone talk about this yet so there’s a possibility I could be the only one but I hate Chevreuse and how they wrote her

Even if I ignore the fact that she’s a cop and most cop-like characters piss me off anyways, within the context of the region she’s apart of, she’s just plain boring. As it stands we already have a good handful of characters in the game, a lot of them from Fontaine already, with the exact same motivations and high held personal morals; the law is there for a reason, if people enact revenge and take what they think is just and right All The Time, then there would be chaos and unfair violence everywhere. And from a real life ethical lens it WOULD be really chaotic if anyone, anywhere at anytime could take their views of justice into their own hands.

but that’s the thing!! kind of like how it is In the real world, Fontaine is not a wholly just and fair nation (e.g. the Entirety of the Fortress of Meropide, the trafficking and various other crimes that constantly happen within the nobility of Fontaine and the fact that it has yet to be thoroughly investigated/solved and continues to happen, the extreme economic and social juxtaposition between the court of Fontaine and its underground Fleuve Cendre area and Poisson) And it really sucks that the game fails to admit that or acknowledge it because then you have characters who they Want you to believe are doing the right thing and fighting for the right causes, but it winds up feeling meaningless when what they’re fighting for is the law of Fontaine.

Chevreuse would’ve been an Infinitely more interesting and compelling character if her passion for justice wasn’t rooted in upholding the law and order of the nation, but rather what justice means for individuals. How the injustice and discrimination happening in that nation breeds people’s want for revenge and justice outside of the law.

And yeah I get that they wanted another character who fights against evil and is unwavering in her beliefs of what’s right in the very conventional and legal way, but I find it really funny that Chevreuse herself says what makes the argument for her character being boring In the same event quest; when asked about possibly changing the ending and meaning of the Two Musketeers, she says she wants to keep the ending the way that it is because fiction exists in a realm separate from that of reality, where things like the morals of what’s just and unjust can be explored. and like!! that’s it’s!!! I’m literally sitting here playing a Fictional game that has the opportunity to showcase just how fascinating it can be to talk about those kind of things in a fantasy setting where your main player character has literally Killed mostly innocent human people before because they betrayed someone they cared about deeply. but whatever. WHATEVER!!!