#but also i really love the costume choices at that party they're so fun and say so much about the characters

[hurlumerlu]

It really was such an inspired choice to have Boston's Halloween outfit be the only one referencing a good movie U_U

[dyns33]

Flufftober2024 - 1 Moon Knight

Heeeey ! I did my best (and I'm not done actually) to write a mini story per day until Halloween about my fav characters !

As also, it will be a longer story on Sundays. We are starting with dear Marc, Steven and Jake !

"No. Steven, I said no. Jake, stay out of it."

Y/N couldn't hear the debate that was going on between Marc and his two alters, but it was obvious that they didn't agree. She first imagined an important, dangerous mission that required a plan.

Until more details were revealed, which forced her to stop herself from snickering.

"We're not kids anymore, there's no way we're finding a disguise, and if I agreed to find a disguise, it wouldn't be a guy from Ancient Egypt."

"Oh, you don't agree on your choice of costume ?" she teased gently.

"There won't be a costume. Steven, no !"

"Let me guess. Mister Marc is an adult, with a soul as black as the coffee he drinks, allergic to fun and therefore refusing to celebrate Halloween. Steven wants to take advantage of the occasion to show his love of Egypt. And Jake doesn't care, but he wants to please Steven and annoy you, so he ganged up on you."

"Bingo…"

"Why don't you want to celebrate Halloween ? It's fun. And it will be mostly Steven, you can sleep while he struts around."

"I said no, it's no. It's for the kids, we have better things to do. Could you be on my side, please ?"

"Well, I could, but spending time with you, disguised too, is tempting."

"You often see us as Moon Knight, it will be the same."

Really, Y/N didn't understand why Marc was so stubborn about such an innocent subject. He often got angry when Steven, Jake or even her suggested that he change his habits.

Most of the time, Marc ended up giving in, because the requests weren't that bad. He was even happy with some changes, even if he was too proud to admit it. He also wanted to make sure that his alters were okay.

Jake didn't ask for much. Even wilder than Marc, he had lived in hiding for so many years that it seemed strange to him to ask for something, rather than taking it in secret. It annoyed the others a little, but since the protector would never put them in danger, they could trust him.

Steven had a lot of requests. Often adorable, easy to do, like having vegan options in the fridge or vanilla-scented shampoo. His happiness was a priority for the system. Sadly enough, Marc stepped aside to give him as much space as possible.

So for once he was giving his opinion, strictly refusing something, it seemed important. Even if it was about Halloween.

A party for kids, he had said. Kids.

As the argument continued, Marc growling at his reflection, Y/N came closer to hug him. That stopped him dead in his tracks, and probably his alters too.

"We won't celebrate Halloween if you don't want to."

"… Really ?"

"Yes. If you really don't want to. I understand."

As always when he received a little affection, Marc panicked, knowing very well what she meant, and immediately Steven took his place, a bit lost and disappointed that she was depriving him of his Halloween.

Even when Y/N offered to watch the movie he wanted, he continued to sulk.

She didn't know how to make him understand the heart of the problem. Luckily for her, Jake seemed to have caught on, catching Steven's attention, who relaxed a bit as he looked at the mirror.

"Oh. Is that why ? Marc, why didn't you say ? I didn't think it reminded you of… What ? There's no need to be rude, Jake. I may not speak Spanish, but I figured those were bad words."

"Jake, be nice to Steven."

"He said, 'Vale, cariño, pero sólo para ti, porque el pequeño Stevie es realmente estúpido en este momento'. No idea what that mea… Thanks for the translation, Marc."

"Is he feeling better ?"

"I think so, they're laughing at me together now."

"If we watch a horror movie, would that make you all happy ?"

"Hmm. Marc agrees. Jake says 'Stevie se va a asustar, pero me gusta la idea de que estés pegado a nosotros.'… Hey ! I'm not going to be scared of a movie !"

The question of disguise was then forgotten, because it wasn't that important after all. They were going to have a good time together, hugging each other in front of the television while eating chocolate, until Khonshu came to ruin this moment as always.

And then, Moon Knight would put on his ridiculous costume, like Marc had said.

[annabelle--cane]

Do you have any recommendations for vampire movies. I need to check off a list

YES okay here's a bunch I've watched and liked in the last few months:

nosferatu 1922; german, silent, black and white. every time I go to watch a silent movie I think "ugghhh this is gonna be boring" and then it rules. if you are a dracula enjoyer, this is actually a fairly faithful adaptation up until It's Not, and there are some interesting visuals and story choices to ponder.

let the right one in 2008; swedish. surprisingly tender romance between two lonely tweens intercut with lots and lots of violent murders in austere snowy winter settings.

a girl walks home alone at night 2014; iranian, black and white. less driven by plot, more by visuals and style. very slow, thoughtful, and emotionally evocative film occasionally broken up with scenes like "guy takes ecstasy at a costume party while dressed as dracula and can't get himself home so a vampire takes him back to her place by pushing him on her skateboard that she recently stole from a child." also there's a cat.

bit 2019; american. kind of falls apart in the third act but it's fun enough that I'd say it's worth a watch anyway. trans girl graduates high school, moves to LA, and falls in with a lesbian vampire girl gang, ft. an extremely good sequence set to "rasputin."

thirst 2009; korean. haven't actually finished watching this one, but it is absolutely balls to the walls. so much sex and blood and bloody sex and sexy blood and catholicism. catholic priest volunteers to participate in medical trials and gets infected with a rare blood disease, and, whoops, now he's a really horny but tortured vampire. tense as all hell, based on the french novel therese raquin.

renfield 2023; american. is this a good movie? no. is it extremely fun? yes. very much a popcorn movie with gore so excessive that it crosses beyond the pale and becomes slapstick. this renfield is a bit of a renfield / jonathan harker hybrid character, suffering under the same old vampiric abusive boss over 100 years, and he's starting to want to try and break free of dracula's thrall.

byzantium 2012; british. gorgeous visuals, lovely performances, imo the script could have used another draft but it's very watchable. two vampire women bounce around england trying to avoid capture by the vampire authorities, but the younger of the two is getting fed up with having to lie about herself to everyone and move constantly. interesting one to compare to bit, they're doing a lot of similar thing wrt gender dynamics and vampirism as power.

broad content warning, there's a lot of sex, violence, and sexual violence across this selection, if anything of that sort tends to upset you then I'd recommend checking the doesthedogdie page for any film in which you're interested.

[theroyalsims]

ELEANORE'S A BLONDE NO MORE! THE HARVELLES ATTEND NEIGHBOURHOOD PARTY IN COSTUME!

It's officially Spooky Fest and that typically means trick or treating and costume parties galore, and The Earl and Countess of Harvelle, with their little darling Lady Ella, were spotted attending one yesterday!

The entire family donned costumes for the neighbourhood bash, with Eleanore dressing up as a popular fairytale princess (complete with a black wig), while her real-life (former) Crown Prince dressed up as... well... Prince Charming. A little on the nose, yes, but it's also kind of adorable, especially if you add little Ella into the mix, who also came as a "princess" complete with a "golden" plastic tiara!

The family of three walked to the party, held a couple of houses down their country home. The party was a fun time for the neighbourhood kids to play, have fun, and indulge in sweets! One source shared:

"It was really for the kids, but the parents had loads of fun, too. There was good food and even greater company. There were about 20 adults and just as many kids. They had a clown and a bouncy house set up, too. There was a face painting booth and a photo booth. Everyone had a blast."

When asked about the Harvelle's attendance, the source further revealed:

"They've become part of the community. They know everyone and everyone knows them, of course. There were no curtseys or formalities - they came as Eleanore and Ibrahim and everyone adores little Ella. That girl is such a sweetheart. I think that's a huge part of why they love it here and they decided to settle here. We leave them be, give them their privacy, but at the same time we've let them know that they're welcome here."

However, not everyone is as "welcoming" to the family's choice of costume. Some commenters online have poked fun at the family's choice of outfits for the soiree. One person wrote:

"This is kinda sad and a lot hilarious. Ibrahim, in particular, should've thought twice about wearing that. This is a man who would've been a KING of a d*mn country. A REAL LIFE KING. And now here he is parading in a §10 costume, looking like a loon. Pathetic."

Another wrote:

"Eleanore's trying really, really hard to stay relevant and remind everyone that she's a princess. Yeah. You were. Once. And now you aren't. Because you were a massive spoiled brat and because you wanted to compete with your sister. But you'll never be Anya. This is so cringe. And the kid... I feel bad for her for being born into that mess of a family. Someone tell Eleanore her kid's no princess coz the queen didn't make her one. I give the whole "marriage" 5 years, tops. Their (sic) both narcissists and you just know that they're getting tired of each others (sic) crap. This is very desperate and so low even for them."

Well, you just can't please everybody, so it seems. For what it's worth, we think Lady Ella looks adorable, and we're 100% convinced every little girl deserves to be treated like a princess - royal or not.

Happy Spooky Fest to the Harvelles! 🎃

[maxwell-grant]

any thoughts on the game awards street fighter trailer?

Not too many but a few, the game's got a loooot of content to cover and I'll stick with mostly some character impressions

Dee Jay! I have never been happier to see Dee Jay! ...I've never usually been happy to see Dee Jay, granted, but this redesign is really all that was needed for me to unreservedly love the dude, it does away with the biggest problem with him that was his basic and kinda-racist design (the new art style also helps a lot). It's such an upgrade in terms of his style and vibe and conveying the kickboxing DJ concept. He looks like someone I'd find at Mongaguá beach if I went down there tomorrow, drumming away and living his best life. I'm so happy for this dude.

I like that they opened the trailer with him, with a club party and him dancing along with the protagonist. LOVE the music notes on his new Super, love his new animations and that camera autograph victory pose, love the sparkles and ways they've incorporated his old moves (he's got a Sonic Boom fakeout and, as obnoxious as that's gonna be to deal with, it's a pretty brilliant choice and one that fits him superbly)

Love that the new minigames, I mean of course they brought the basketball parry, and I'm sure the car destruction's gonna be real fun as always, but I'm surprised they dug back that far and brought some things we haven't seen since Street Fighter 1.

I think it's really remarkable that, for the trailer shown at The Game Awards of all things, they chose to focus on the return of, arguably the least popular of the New Challengers, and three new characters. Everyone assumed it was a dead giveaway that this was gonna be the Cammy trailer and the fact that it wasn't, and that people still absolutely loved it without complaints, man, what a testament to how confident these guys are in what they're doing. I have never seen a Street Fighter title be this brazen in it's new faces in the trailer period, I've never seen one where EVERY new character or return of an old character, without exception is incredibly popular and well-received.

I'm not too big on Manon? I do like her but she's probably my least favorite as of yet, feels a little more gimmicky than the others and I kinda wonder if she wasn't some SFV concept that they held off on (in fact I'm pretty sure I remember seeing some characters like her on the drafts for Kolin and Menat). She's definitely filling a much-needed niche as the agile pseudo-grappler and, those months of dance training I took for music theater definitely give me a greater appreciation for her animations and pose work.

She's been compared with Abel a lot but I kinda feel like she's a response to Shermie? Definitely with her alt costume. Capcom and SNK riff on each other all the time and I do wonder if someone in the SF6 dev team saw that KOF XV Shermie trailer a couple years back that got the biggest viewcount of all the characters and thought to themselves, hey why don't we have our own sexy French fashionista grappler lady, and that's how Manon was born.

Oh GOD, Marisa, the standout of the trailer to me. I was hooked from the design alone but that trailer, good God, what a character. Everyone thought she'd be a grappler but no, she's just a tank, absolute beast mode woman who just bulldozes through whatever puny shit you do to repaint the pavement with your face. I get stupid looking at this character, what a glorious addition to the Giants Club of Street Fighter characters.

SHE LIFTS LIONS LIKE KITTIES, living the dream.

She might have some ties to the Illuminati characters? I’m curious if she’s gonna be a villain or anti-hero or on the “just here to fight good” alignment, I’m cool with all of these.

She’s Zangief-size and built for it and we’ve NEVER seen a female character be depicted like this in a fighting game. Every other “big girl” people point to in these games is pretty much always some fitness model with, at best, muscle definition in the arms but a typically thin stomach and torso, identically-attractive to all the other female characters but slightly more ripped.

You never see women characters built the way Marisa is, You just don’t see muscular women depicted often (if at all) outside of either someone’s fetish or someone’s punchline. Fighting games have a marginally better track record with body type diversity than other game genres but still an incredibly, painfully limited one when it comes to women, who are given like two body types to work with and no one would be able to tell 80% of them apart in either type if they switched acessories.

I am supremely glad over the fact that this is a SF6 character just now making her debut, because if Marisa had debuted at any prior installment in the series I do not think she would have been allowed to be this way. If she was in the 2/Alpha/3 titles, there is no way she'd have been given such an unapologetically burly design, and if she was a IV/V character, she'd be most certainly some kind of awful joke they’d have to rework later.

I love that Marisa is a bruiser, that she’s got an rowdy attitude and might even be a villain, but that she’s not fucking Abigail (...I mean maybe she IS fucking Abigail, I don’t know her life, if anyone could do it it’s her but why would anyone want that tho), that she’s allowed to be so cool. I have nothing but praise for this character so far and I really wanna see how her story unfolds and also I NEED TO PLAY THIS.

I main Big Lads in fighting games and I main all the Big Lads in Street Fighter and now I need to main The Big Lass, I need to land that glorious counter of hers ASAP, I need to Sparta Kick my way through matches, this character has my playstyle written over her and I need this game to be out now damnit

I’m sure he was a nice guy and obviously not saying he was the sole cause of everything, but every step of this development process I’ve been thanking my stars that Ono quit the team, we are so unbelievably lucky

While I was holding out some hopes that Capcom would make the final boss a woman this time around (especially with all the new characters being so great that this wouldn’t be a worrying prospect), I was also very curious for JP and I’m really excited with how he’s turned out.

He definitely feels like they took their time connecting a whole lot of separate design ideas and undercurrents into a single character to carry them. He is a rich fighting dandy, a modern equivalent to Dudley and Eagle (Eagle in particular since he was the first weapon user in the series). Some have brought up comparisons between him and Rugal Bernstein, which makes a lot of sense as a character to emulate if you’re doing a Final Boss who’s supposed to be like Bison but different, a next evolution of Bison and his power, since that’s kinda what Rugal was, the next evolution of the Fighting Game Final Boss after Bison and Geese.

Like Ed and Falke, he’s another new character who wields Psycho Power and has mysterious connections to Bison, except he doesn’t suck. He’s got a fantasy wizard vibe and his single-letter name and style seems to imply some sort of connection to G, another powerful fighting wizard dressing and behaving like authority figure, and by far the standout character of V.

G was also said to be the Final Boss of SFV, a position I do think he was qualified for but never really fulfilled because, I don’t think he was supposed to be that entirely, I think they retroactively made him the Boss when Necalli proved to be a dud and the story mode revolved around Bison but they still needed someone who could be the V Boss for assorted reasons.

I think JP is kind of them taking that idea, of G as a Final Boss and important character in the storyline, and sort of doing it right this time around, as he also follows that theme of succession they’ve been doing with these bosses: Emperor/King (Sagat) - Dictator (Bison) - Cult Leader Messiah (Gill) - C.E.O (Seth) - President (G) - N.G.O Oligarch (JP)

He hits such an absurd amount of my aesthetic and conceptual tastes that I, almost don’t believe he’s real? He’s Bison 2 + Eagle + Rugal + G. He’s a Russian supervillain with a dapper red suit vest, gloves reminiscent of black claws, a wonderful mustache and beard combo, and he fights with a cane. He’s got a killer design I absolutely need to take a crack at cosplaying after the game is out.

He has a cat, a detail deemed important enough to go in his bio. He’s voiced by Wally Wingert and Tomokazu Sugita, two people I could watch in anything. He’s got a sick fighting style summoning portals and claws and spike energy spires and one of the most murderous supers in the game yet.

He’s Christopher Lee as a Street Fighter final boss. Can you blame me for thinking more and more that this game is made for me?

[rickie-the-storyteller]

Happy STS! Your characters are invited to a Halloween party; costumes required. Tell me what they're dressing up as and how the night goes. 🙃

Hey, @toribookworm22! Thanks for the ask, love. (And sorry for the late response. I'm really behind on all my asks... I've been super busy lately, with settling into uni and everything. Better late than never, right?

This scenario is fascinating to me. I've personally never really celebrated Halloween (my mum wasn't a particularly big fan of the general idea of it haha), but I liked watching Halloween specials on TV and seeing characters in costume there. They'd typically choose costumes/outfits that related to who the character is as a person in some way, or link it to a particular interest they'd have or something, which I often thought was a clever touch. My characters all have very distinct personalities and interests, so it's going to be fun thinking of costumes for all of them!

Let's go!

I think I'll just do this for the main characters in Steph's Crew as usual (even though it would be cool to do this for some of my other characters in my other work... part 2 maybe?)

Stephanie:

I could see Steph going with many different options, you know...she loves clothes and fashion/aesthetics, so she'd likely want to really lean into that. Here's a couple of ideas, though:

Catwoman costume - a sleek, confident choice that mirrors her bold personality. This was honestly the first thing to come to my mind (the second being one of those tight-fitting superhero costumes, which she'd probably also like), which I think says a lot haha.

The Phantom of the Opera - where she can fully embrace the elegance and mystery of that kind of character. She'd captivate everyone with her theatrical flair and presence. Plus, it's also kind of edgy at the same, which would definitely suit her lol.

Pirate costume - Steph would love this vibe... like, she'd love to just be a fierce pirate captain and boss everyone around (like she does on a regular day anyway lol). And I think she'd really pull this look off, too.

Punk rock queen - This connects with her rebellious nature... and I think this is probably the closest to how she is generally. Like, this one is the least "costume-y" to me. She could lean into this look/aesthetic with a leather jacket, spiked bracelets, and dramatic hair and makeup. And speaking of makeup...

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) style skull makeup - I've just rewatched Coco lol. But that movie is so pretty, bro (everything about it!). I think she'd maybe take inspiration from that whole thing. Maybe put her own spin on it in some way.

Bret:

This guy was easy lol. There was always one

Classic 80s punk rocker - Complete with wild hair, torn jeans, and an abundance of accessories (like crazy hair/wigs, sunglasses, etc). He loves rock music (as well as just music generally), and rock in particular is all about rebellion, which is a big part of Bret's character. Maybe he could even dress as a real rockstar...

The Joker - This could also be an interesting backup... a fitting choice for his rebellious and unpredictable nature. This also links to his character in the actual story, since Batman is actually a movie he suggests for a date with Elise lol. And speaking of...

Elise:

I have a couple of ideas for this girl, too. All sort of fitting the same vibe.

Belle from "Beauty and the Beast" - aka one of the few Disney Princesses that I somewhat resonated with growing up lol. I feel like El would be the same way. She and Belle have quite a lot in common! She has the wrong hair colour, though... so she'd need a wig, as well as a gorgeous golden ball gown (NOT the one from the 2017 live-action remake lol), and a book to maybe have as a prop or something.

Sherlock Holmes - another character known for their intellect and sharp attention to detail. She'd probably find him very cool and interesting lol. Plus, I think she's made a very good detective (which we kind of see in book 2, actually... kind of).

Hermione Granger - another brainy bookworm! Someone else she'd probably vibe with. These two girls have a ton in common, too (all the way down to falling in love with a boy that's suuuuper different from them personality-wise lol).

An enchanting forest nymph with delicate wings and a flower crown - she's really into fantasy. Especially fantasy creatures. And nymphs are fascinating due to what they symbolise/what they are associated with. They're female spirits of the natural world and are seen as the crafters of nature's wild beauty, from the growing of trees, flowers and shrubs, to the nurture of wild animals and birds, and the formation of grottos, springs, brooks etc. As such, they are often associated with the beautiful but fragile nature of the world in most stories.

Sooo... book characters, basically. Any kind of smart or powerful book character ever.

Dylan:

This guy should be fun!

Superhero outfit! Like, The Flash, for example - This could reflect his athleticism and enthusiasm.

Some famous sports legend - Complete with a sports jersey and a fake championship trophy. I know almost nothing about sports, so I couldn't give any specific examples... but maybe a footballer/basketball player? Since those are his two favourite sports.

A dashing, debonair classic movie star from the golden age of Hollywood - He has the class, style and flair to pull off this look. I'd also suggest this for Ben (Stephanie's boyfriend), but he technically doesn't count as an official member of the crew (he's sort of there as an honourary member, purely due to his involvement with Steph, as well as his history with Alice and her family, but he doesn't do much with them due to being busy with his own stuff. And not going to school with them in book 1)

The Mad Hatter from "Alice in Wonderland" - Suits his energetic, playful and slightly eccentric nature. Also matches with Alice

Thor - Greek god of thunder! As well as a strong and heroic choice that matches his athletic and supportive nature. I loved the Thor Ragnarok Marvel movie lol.

Alice:

Last but not least...

Alice from "Alice in Wonderland" - That way she'd never have to pretend to have a different name.

A fairy godmother - to compliment Mary's Cinderella! The twins often do this sort of stuff together.

A detective - Lowkey, she'd probably be more likely to go as Sherlock Holmes than Elise... she's very big on mysteries. Ally would make a fantastic, quick-witted and sassy detective. Complete with the iconic trench coat and magnifying glass, of course.

Wednesday Addams - Ok... but this one is perfect for her lol. Alice is just meant to be Wednesday. I mean, Wednesday is already her favourite Addams Family character... and she definitely has the wit and energy for it. She shares Wednesday's dark humour and a touch of vulnerability that makes her as popular as she is. Although, she'd probably struggle with maintaining that cold, stern, deadpan demeanour.

As for how the night would go down... well, how about this:

___

(Stephanie and Ben pull up to the party venue. Steph is all dressed up in her Catwoman suit inspired by the movie starring Halle Berry)

Stephanie: You sure you don't want to come? Not even for a little bit?

Ben: I really shouldn't, babe. I've got work tomorrow.

Stephanie: Just pop in and say hi to the gang real quick. It won't hurt.

Ben: Honey, I'm busy. I really can't stay long, you know that.

Stephanie: (sighs) I know...

Ben: Try and have a good time without me, yeah?

Stephanie: Alright...probably shouldn't be too hard.

Ben: (chuckles) Really?

Stephanie: Yeah. (shrugs) I mean, you're not THAT fun.

Ben: (laughs) Hey!

(The two hug and kiss, and then Stephanie leaves the car and goes inside to meet up with her other friends, who are all dressed up in their costumes)

Stephanie: Well, don't you all look like the cat's meow?

Elise (dressed as Belle): Hey, sweetie! (gives Steph a hug)

Dylan (as The Flash): You look really good, Steph.

Stephanie: Aw, really?

Dylan: (smiles) Yeah, you do. I love your costume.

Stephanie: Thanks, bro.

Alice (dressed as Wednesday Addams): That's funny.

Stephanie: What's funny?

Alice: The fact that you called him "bro" when he was clearly trying to make a move on you.

Stephanie and Dylan: What?!

Alice: Oh, come on, Dylan. I know what you're like with women. I mean, seriously... "You look really good?" "I love your costume?" That's code for, "You're looking like a hot tasty snack today, babe."

(Stephanie laughs out loud and continues laughing as she walks away with Elise. Dylan looks mortified)

Dylan: Why are you being like this, Ally?

Alice: It's the costume, Dylan. Being Wednesday just does something to me, I don't know.

Dylan: Well, whatever it is, I hope you're back to normal tomorrow...

(Stephanie and Elise head over to Bret and Mary)

Stephanie: Look at you two! Loving the punk vibe, Bret. Where did you get all this stuff from?

Bret (dressed as an 80s punk rocker): What are you talking about? This is regular Tuesday evening attire for me.

Mary (dressed as Cinderella): Yep. Same here.

Stephanie: (laughs) Ok, but seriously. Where did you get this stuff?

Bret: Does it really matter where I got it?

Elise: His uncle Gordon let him borrow some of this stuff.

Bret: EL!

Elise: What?! Oh, come on, there's no reason to be like that, babe. I think it's cool that you're making an effort to fix things with him.

Stephanie: Yeah, me too. What got you to change your mind about him?

Bret: (sighs) He and Aunt Rach have agreed to give their relationship another shot. Only God knows why. But I figured, he's going to have more and more of a presence in my life, so I may as well make the best of it, right?

(A new song comes on)

Elise: Ooh, I love this song! Somebody come dance with me!

(Mary goes with Elise to the dance floor, and they start bouncing around and singing along to "Tik Tok" by Ke$ha. Bret and Stephanie watch)

Stephanie: So... you fancy a dance on the wild side or what?

Bret: (shrugs) Sure! No slow dances, though.

Stephanie: Oh, why not? Nothing's going to happen, you know.

Bret: Oh, it's not that. I just don't have the patience for swaying on the spot for ages, you know?

Stephanie: Right... yeah.

Bret: Plus, El is literally right there. So...

Stephanie: Yeah. You're right. Come on, let's go!

(Sooner or later, the whole crew is having fun together on the dance floor)

[purecommemasolitude]

Thoughts on Eurovision second rehearsals

Because I love self-sabotaging and looking at esc videos instead of doing homework 🤪

I'm lowkey getting scared for a lot of countries I thought were safe ngl

Norway - The LED on the floor is neat, but her vocals and energy seem a bit off? I still think her pre-party vocals was just cause she decided to have fun at them, which, fair, and I do think a lot of this will be fixed by the energy a live audience brings (depending on the audience it make elevate one's performance tenfold), but we'll see

Malta - This seems a bit less fun than the first snippets seemed, but once again I bet a lot of that is the lack of live audience. I bet it'll look great for a first-time audience, though, and I think they're going to do much better than I initially expected

Serbia - This is either going to place very well or incredibly flop, and I'm soso scared as to which one :(. I don't mind the word projections so long as they don't over-use them, but I'm scared the graphic on the LEDs will discourage people from voting :((. The lighting and everything looks great I am just full of fear

Latvia - This looks great!! Honestly, at this point I'm convinced they're qualifying (and will be soso sad if they don't). I was right when I predicted camerawork would make this, and I'm relieved the camerawork does seem to be good. Hoping they have now found their costumes elemayo, and also I'm really happy they managed to bring the lights!! The blurry shot right before it cuts off also looks intriguing and I'm sososo excited to see their final performance

Portugal - This is another country I'm getting worried about-- she seems tired, and I can't tell if that's true or if I'm just looking for things to be scared about, but I'm hoping this will once again be solved by live audience. The dress is doing the opposite of growing on me, but the rest of her styling looks good!

Ireland - I like Conor's costume here better than the last one by far (I'm pretty sure they're different but I can't bring myself to check), however I'm not as much a fan of his vocals :( I'm by no means a vocal expert, but his particular rasp sounds unhealthy and bad vibes, even if it actually isn't. I don't know, we'll see how he sings the night of the semi-final. I really like the gold into multi-colour in the chorus decision though!

Croatia - Their staging actually looks really clean and good, I'm intrigued as to what their full performance will look like. The cut-off being right after Lenin with his bombs and the lightning is really funny

Switzerland - I'm actually really scared for their staging now :(( the pyro and the smoke and the rapidly shifting lighting and the everything is just So Much visual stimuli and I'm scared it'll take away from their actual song by a lot. Still don't really like his outfit, but that is way overshadowed by my staging worries. The last second right before the cut away looks good though, so I'm hoping the rest of it is still okay

Israel - The more I watch this, the more I actually like the choreography for the dance break less, which I wasn't expecting. However, I'm sure Noa will sell it even more with the energy from a live audience yadda yadda yadda. My main complaint is the far-away shots, especially the one when they do the fancy spin-- it's such a cool moment, and making the audience not look at it is such a baffling choice??? Israel don't you want to do well. But overall I have no doubt they'll place high

Moldova - Not much to say here again, other than that it's very very well-done and that it bugs me that he's ever-so-slightly off-centre in the circle

Sweden - Ohh no :(( I knew something would be lost with the downsizing of the platforms, but it seems to fall so much flatter now-- hoping it will still look cool for first-time viewers. I'm really not a fan of the lighting, it washes Loreen out and makes everything so much less atmospheric IMO. Also I think there was smoke in her Melfest performance that's missing here? If so I wish it were back. Overall it is still good, and I hope she pulls off the semi performance

Azerbaijan - This might??? Qualify???? After all????? Or I may just be losing it. I really like the staging, the lighting especially is great, the camerawork adds a lot, and if they pull off everything just right, they miiiiight just qualify

Czechia - I have gone from very optimistic to oh so scared again. Their vocals seem off a little, I mislike a lot of how they're using the LEDs, I'm baffled by some of the choreography choices, and overall I just really really hope it looks better in the three minutes than it does here (I am also being overly pessimistic about them because I am so so scared). At least the sound for the rap part is finally not awful though!

The Netherlands - They might qualify?? Maybe??? It's pretty nice, Good camerawork (mostly), the costumes are still nice and it's pretty atmospheric, which is needed for a performance like this. I don't know if it would've worked better had they gone with strictly lights instead of LEDs, but overall it's a decent job

Finland - I mean obviously the beginning of this is going to bring the house down come semi-final. I'm very excited, the staging seems great. Again not much to say here, other than the first shot amuses me (he's just a little guy) and that live audiences bla bla you get it by now

[griffintail]

I posted 2,187 times in 2022

1,868 posts created (85%)

319 posts reblogged (15%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@collapsingintojupiter

@pruinaelibrary

@griffintail

@amintyworld

@lemon-less

I tagged 1,404 of my posts in 2022

Only 36% of my posts had no tags

#🍋 collab 10 - 587 posts

#🍋 collab 14 - 469 posts

#🍋 collab 13 - 197 posts

#mcc liveblog - 31 posts

#🍋 collab 10 - 17 posts

#incorrect lost ones - 10 posts

#griffindog shy - 9 posts

#mcyt x reader - 8 posts

#mcyt imagine - 8 posts

#mcyt fanfiction - 8 posts

Longest Tag: 100 characters

#minty went you dont know something about my dnd character as we were talking to another party member

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Lost Ones Halloween

I managed my brain to write something! They're more like headcanons of what the Lost Ones (With some special guests) would dress as for Halloween. It's just some cute shit for you guys. K! BYE!

-----

Tommy

(F/L) would dress up just like Tommy in his suit, calling herself Little Trusty and try to trick people into giving her more candy. Tommy would be very proud.

Wilbur

Star would still dress in her L'Manberg uniform but she'd care around a book with Declaration of Indepdance printed on the front and a guitar on her back. Wilbur would be honored by his little girl and make sure she'd get plenty of treats.

Technoblade

Little Blade would dress as Athena (her favorite goddess). Techno would praise her choice and take her out. Though he wasn't really welcomed in the countries, no one was willing to tell him no when he'd lead his little girl in with an axe on his shoulder.

Philza

Phil would be surprised by Angel's choice as she'd be dressed as his goddess. (Techno giving her no influence or help whatsoever. Nope!) Though he'd smile widely at the choice and defend her choice as they went out. He was sure Kristen loved it just as much as him.

Ghostbur

Blue would wear a blue sheep costume and Ghostbur would not stop squealing with joy as he looked at his little girl. It was just perfect and adorable! Her cuteness didn't affect just him either and she most certainly got the best and most treats. (Which she split with Tommy).

Eret

She was already a princess! She wanted to be something different, so instead she put on a cape and crown, calling herself a king instead. Eret would grin and promise she'd make the best king one day. She most certainly felt like a king with the amount of treats she got.

Dream

She was a bit embarrassed with her costume as Dream managed to make time to be there for her. He would stand shocked as she was in a perfect outfit making her look like him. Eventually, he'd tell her he loved it before even giving her a sword to match his as well. No one would dare give less than what she deserved.

Tubbo

Lamb would dress as a bee. Tubbo would keep her on his shoulders all night, letting her "fly around" as they went out trick or treating.

Ranboo

Boo would dress as an enderman. To help her complete her perfect outfit, Ranboo let her have some ender pearls but had her swear to not throw them too far from him. She had fun the entire night and when she accidentally break his rule, Ranboo didn't have the heart to scold her.

Fundy

Kit and Fundy had the perfect plan for mischief! She dressed up as a baby zombie and scared people the entire night, while also making sure to score plenty of treats. (It's alright if a few were someone else's)

Quackity

Duckling dressed as well as duck! Quackity would be unsure about the costume at first but she looked too adorable to say no to. He could never say no to her.

Schlatt

Ram hadn't really planned on going out, but when Schlatt took her out to get an outfit to go out the day before, she was thrilled and knew exactly what she wanted to be. When she came out in a suit, Schlatt was confused until she said she was dressed as the best president, him. Damn it! She had to stop making him feel soft!

Awesamdude

Creeper had thought about dressing as a creeper but thought of one better. She dressed as a prison guard and when Sam would ask her why, she told him so she could go to work with him instead since he was going to work that night. He had planned on letting Sam Nook take her, but, he could afford one night off instead.

Foolish

See the full post

134 notes - Posted October 30, 2022

#4

Hi I notice your requests are open! If you want to do for the lost ones that dad!techno x child!reader where they get into a little argument about something and the reader runs away for a bit but techno try’s to find them? Anyway have a good day!!

Guess who has a computer! Congrats! You're the first request for my return! Hope you enjoy!

The Clubhouse

Pairings: Parental! Technoblade x Teen! Reader

Warnings: Running away, Arguing

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

         It had started simple, the argument, just the teen stating her opinion on the matter.

         Uncle Tommy had been living with them for so long and he had never wanted anything to happen to that country, even if the said place had betrayed and hurt the pair of them. Techno would hear anything of it though. L’Manberg would go, he would make it go, and that was the simple and short of it. When the teen tried to give points for their opinion, that’s when the argument truly started, and everything went downhill from there.

         The yelling started as they argued about the future of what was to happen. It was not a pretty scene.

         Then before Technoblade knew what was happening, (Y/N) was out the door. He huffed but turned to continue getting his supplies ready. It was probably best. They just didn’t understand, and he hadn’t told them the full story anyway. They didn’t need to know.

         He spent some hours getting the rest of his supplies ready for the final doomsday. The house was quiet other than the light dripping from the brewing stands and his crafting of better weapons. When he looked out, the sun was starting to set, and he looked up the ladder. He was sure he didn’t hear the door open, but he’d taught his kid well.

         Going up the ladder, he saw the door slightly ajar like it was this morning, and opening the door the rest of the way, he saw the clean room with no one inside. They weren’t home yet…

         He gripped the doorknob before turning back for the ladder. Quickly, he put on his cape and grabbed his sword before going out the door.

         “(Y/N)!” He called as he stepped into the snow. “Kid! It’s time to come inside!”

         When there was no response, he gripped his sword handle before going to the doghouse. With a whistle, one dog rushed forward, and he was on the hunt to find his child. The dog started to sniff before running off into the woods. Techno glanced at the sun before following. They’d find them.

         But the journey out was longer than Techno wanted. He’d call out their name occasionally, hoping to get a response from the teen, but there was none, and the dog kept following the scent they had. The walk continued far longer than he wanted as the sun was gone and the night was upon them.

         As he started to hear zombie groans and skeletons rattle, the dog sprinted forward barking before sitting in front of…

         “A house?” Techno frowned.

         Who the hell was living out here? If someone kidnapped his child, they clearly had a death wish.

         Though as he got closer, calling it a house generous. It was a small building, more of a shed really. There was a chimney built in though producing smoke out of it. He came to the door, the dog sitting next to it, before quickly opening it with a hand on his sword. He relaxed though as the teen jumped from the floor by the fire, all alone in the decorated room.

         In the shed, there was a table and two chairs. Close to the fireplace, there was a bookshelf set up against the wall. There were a few chests inside as well and the last thing he saw was a jukebox sitting in the corner close to the door, with a few discs sitting on top of it.

         “How’d-?” (Y/N) started but the dog came in and they sighed. “Right…”

         “What is this?” Techno asked closing the door.

         (Y/N) huffed quietly as they went back to the position they were before; knees pulled up, arms wrapped around, and their head resting on top of them as they stared at the fire.

         “Never seen a clubhouse?” They muttered.

         “A clubhouse?” Techno raised an eyebrow, then glanced at the second chair rather than there being one. “Who else comes here?”

         “…Uncle Tommy doesn’t come over anymore. He’s too scared of you.” (Y/N) looked at him. “We built it together.”

         “Tommy wasn’t supposed to leave the house.”

         “That’s why it was a secret.” (Y/N) laughed quietly as they looked back at the fire.

         Techno crossed his arms as he was quiet for a while.

See the full post

209 notes - Posted April 9, 2022

#3

Hello! It's me agian sorry for bothering ya but I have another wholesome request with a younger sibling reader! Do you think you could do one with technoblade with a shy little brother reader and the reader just makes him things to give his brother as gifts so he just secretly has them all somewhere them philza finds them and technoblade is just embarrassed?

The Favorite

Pairing: Brother! Technoblade x M!Child! Reader

Warnings: None :)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Techno didn’t mind gifts. He appreciated them like everyone else and said his thank you’s. It was just a bit embarrassing when they’re personal and he wants to keep them tucked away.

That’s why all of (Y/N)’s gifts were safely hidden away in a chest off to the side in the old wither skull room. It was the safest place he had ever made and no one would find it. A fight always seemed to be knocking on Techno’s door though and Phil and he had to do some planning away from impressionable ears, so to the secure room they went.

“We’ll be back in a little while,” Phil told the small boy as Techno waited by the door. “If you need anything though before we get back, go see Ranboo, and don’t be nervous about going over. He knows you might come over if you need something.”

The little boy nodded as Phil smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair as he stood up straight. “Ok, let’s—”

“Wait, I got something for you Techno.” The little boy shifted nervously before going to his brother quickly handing him a thin gold chain with an emerald attached to it. “Dad helped me make it…”

Techno gave a small grunt of appreciation and love at the boy’s gift as he put it in his pocket, patting the boy’s shoulder. “You did a really good job. Thanks, kid. I’ll keep it safe.”

The boy then smiled brightly before running off to his room.

“He really looks up to you mate,” Phil told him as they walked into the snow.

“You know that terrifies me?” Technoblade said as they walked. “We don’t need another fighter in the family.”

“He’s got an art side, maybe he’ll stick with it.” Phil chuckled softly.

“Ender, I hope so,” Techno muttered before swiping the snow away on the ground and pressing the button he revealed, the wall in front of them falling away.

Techno didn’t want (Y/N) to be like him. He liked his little brother as he was and he was indeed his favorite brother, though he never and never would admit it out loud, and not just because he gave him gifts. The boy was clever and thoughtful, just nervous around people, which Techno could understand and appreciate about his little brother.

The pair stepped into the hidden room and Techno closed the wall behind them before following Phil.

“So, what’s this about a favor?” Phil asked as he walked into the room.

“It’s not that important,” Techno said as he moved as subtly as he could to his out-of-the-way chest. “What is, is that I need to get information before I go help with this favor.”

“And what kind of information is that?” Phil crossed his arms as he looked along the walls. “Where are you going to get it?”

“Somewhere I have to go alone,” Techno said as he quietly opened the chest and went to put the necklace in it.

“Alone? Why the hell-What are you doing?” Phil had turned around looking at the hybrid.

Techno froze as Phil raised an eyebrow.

“You’re really hiding (Y/N)’s gift in a throw-away chest?”

“No!” Techno immediately got defensive about it.

“Then why are you putting it in there? You know you’ll lose it.” Phil said as he came over, the conversation before completely lost. “I mean, I’m the one who organizes your chest.”

Techno went to stop Phil from looking in the chest but the older man was able to get a good enough look before Techno pulled him back. Phil paused before looking at Techno.

“Those are gifts (Y/N)’s given you.”

Techno grunted as he looked away. “Yeah…So?”

See the full post

283 notes - Posted January 9, 2022

#2

so normally I'm super shy to ask stuff like this but I fell in love your child series! I was wondering if you could do a P!philza x winged reader? I hope I'm not asking for too much -Blue

Um, I might have strayed a tiny bit from just Phil to a tiny bit SBI, but it's certainly still Phil's kid and I think it's still pretty cute so I hope you like it Blue!

Flight Lessons

Pairings: P! Philza x Winged! Child! GN! Reader, Some SBI x Child! Reader there too

Warnings: Mentions of Falling

A/N: Reader is like eight, Tommy's maybe seven in this story.

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

         “Daddy!” The winged hybrid child jumped on their father. “It’s morning!”

         Phil startled as he put a hand on the child’s back, catching his breath before gently laughing. “Yes, it is, angel. You are ready for today?”

         “Yes.” They beamed excitedly.

         “Good, then let’s go get some breakfast before we go out.” Phil stood slightly, holding the child to him, before carrying them outside of his tent.

         He carefully placed them in their usual spot next to the fire pit before he went to work lighting it and making the meal for this morning. The small child bounced eagerly in their place as Phil cooked and before long, the taller winged hybrid came out.

         “Wilby!” The child exclaimed.

         Wilbur winced at the volume so early but smiled lightly as he picked up his sibling.

         “Hey, squirt. You ready for today’s lessons?”

         “Yes! It’s going to be lots of fun.”

         “Dad always makes his lessons fun, doesn’t he?” Wilbur chuckled. “But I’ll be close by to make sure it is fun.”

         (Y/N) giggled as Wilbur sat with them in his lap instead, humming slightly before taking a special brush for wings from his inventory and gently going through their wings. The child gave a small, delighted noise at the nice feeling as Phil smiled lightly at his children. Those two may be his actual blood but he loved them just the same as he loved…

         The small boy came out of his tent with a yawn, probably woken up by the smell of food, before spotting his other young sibling and waking completely.

         “(Y/N)! You’re going to fly!” Tommy grinned just as delighted as Phil’s other child.

         They clapped their hands with a bright smile. “I’m flying today!”

         Phil and Wilbur bother knew it was hovering and gliding lessons, but they didn’t want to ruin the pair’s fun with technicalities. Phil finished up breakfast looking over at the trio.

         “Alright, time to eat,” Phil told them.

         Wilbur gave a hum before sitting the smaller hybrid down back in their usual place, satisfied with his work. Phil divided out the meal, the younger two finishing their portions as fast as lightning. They were ready for today’s lesson.

         “Ok you two, go get ready for the day while Wilbur and I finish.” Phil chuckled.

         The pair rushed to their tents eagerly.

         “Techno still off at the village?” Wilbur asked.

         “Yes, but he should be back by midday.” Phil nodded.

         “Do you want me to take Tommy somewhere while you have the lessons, so he doesn’t distract (Y/N)?” Wilbur asked with a chuckle.

         “No, they should both be alright once the lessons start. And (Y/N) really wants you there as well anyway.”

See the full post

306 notes - Posted April 9, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Request if you want or just a cute mental picture: Y/n giving Techno a pink flower that just melts his heart and Reader being like “Look! It’s Dad! :D” + Reader making a pink flower crown for him to wear for those tea parties (Techno barely fits in the tiny chairs and Phil dies laughing)

Pink Flowers

Pairings: Parental! Technoblade x F!Child! Reader

Warnings: None :)

A/N: I ACTUALLY MANAGED TO WRITE! *Crashes*

*Whisper* I wrote this on my phone. It was a struggle.

--------

Techno’s axe collided heavily with the tree as he could see his little girl running around with Ghostbur, the pair not far away from him. It looked like she was having fun with the ghost as he showed her some flowers that had managed to bloom in the harsh weather of the tundra. They were running low on wood and Techno wasn’t too keen on leaving (Y/N) alone with Ghostbur as Phil was off for trades and Tommy was off being…Tommy, so he took the pair to stay close by as he worked.

He needed just a few more trees and they’d head back. Though it was nice to see his child running around in her pig-eared jacket, giggling happily as she talked eagerly with Ghostbur. He went back to cutting the lumber as the voices whispered meaningless things and whispering about the adorable child he could see in the corner of his eye at all times.

“Alright, you two.” Techno gathered up the last of the wood. “Let’s get home. That’s enough for the day.”

“Ok! Come on (Y/N),” Ghostbur told her before the trio went back towards home.

He laid the wood heavily by the fireplace once they were back inside, but frowned lightly when Ghostbur was “whispering” behind him.

“Go (Y/N). He’ll love it!” Ghostbur whispered to her.

“Dad.” (Y/N) called.

He straightened up and looked at her as she had her hands behind her back.

“Yeah, kid?”

“This is for you! It looks like you!”

She showed her hands and in her hands was a pink flower crown. The voices went wild as he relaxed, smiling lightly at the gift. He crouched as he took it gently from her.

“Thanks, little blade.” He thanked her, taking off his crown putting the much too big object on her head, making her giggle as he put her crown on his head. “It’s perfect.”

She fixed the crown on her head, rather futilely as the voices screamed at the cute girl in his head, smiling brightly at him.

“Really?” She asked.

“Yes, it’s pretty great. I expect nothing less from you.”

She bounced happily, the crown only frowning more as Techno heard Ghostbur squeal about how cute they were.

“Now…Princess.” He smirked, making her beaming smile turn to sunshine. “Is there anything else you need?”

She hummed before nodding eagerly, the crown falling in front of her eyes and he fixed it to see her (E/C) eyes. “Can we have a royal tea party?”

“Of course, your highness. I’ll make some actual to drink.” He stood up. “You can set it up.”

“Uncle Ghostbur’s invited too!” She declared.

“It’s going to be a wonderful party!” Ghostbur nodded as he came over to her. “Let’s get the chairs and tables! We can decorate with the other flowers.”

.

.

See the full post

348 notes - Posted March 16, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[sophie-soliloquy]

It has been an absolutely PSYCHOTIC past two days. I'm exhausted and just barely getting a chance to catch up here.

First of all-- Company C offered me a job yesterday, which sent me into an immediate panic spiral. I would work there if I had to, but I would prefer to work at Company A 10000 times over (I get the sense I won't be hearing from Company B), and want to avoid signing anything or making any kind of commitment until Company A gets back to me. And there's still one more person I need to interview with before they can even make a call, and Company C wants an answer by Tuesday. So, aaaaaah.

Today, I got an email from Company A confirming that I WILL be moving onto the last round, which is super exciting! I know it is! And I'm trying to be more excited, except that I sent them an email asking what their timeline is looking like since I do have a competing offer and, uh, didn't get a reply. So... I don't love that. I really hope I didn't just completely fucking blow it by trying to advocate for myself. I hope I don't have to ask Company C for more time and fuck things up just to NOT get Company A. I know this is a good problem to have, but it is one I've never had before and I'm really trying not to be stressed. Not to mention that while Company C is a job and is communications-related, it would... not exactly be the return to form I'd be hoping for. Whatever. I should stop being a piece of shit and just be grateful, but I don't want to fuck this up.

I also remain hard at work in the grad school app trenches, since I don't feel confident enough to stop applying with everything still so all up in the air. I applied to SC3, and I actually think the video clips I made were pretty good. I also think it's the school I'm least likely to get into, given that they're very grades-focused, so whatever. It's not like it's my top choice anyway-- hence, SC3. Now I'm in the trenches with SC1's million essays. I meant to do 3 today, but only two got done. Ah, well. I'm tired and I'm so busy and haven't fixed my sleep problems at all. I'll get it done at some point. Tomorrow, ideally. I hope.

Not that the social stuff of the last two days hasn't been fun! Last night, I went to the Halloween party at Flash, which was actually way more fun and chill than I thought. I was perfectly crossfaded-tipsy, it was busy enough to be fun but not too crowded to dance, and the music was awesome. I finally wore my Jinx costume, and despite the fact that the top of that wig looks ratchet as fuck, I think I did a great job. And I had Keri to help me tame it. We did a pretty good job, considering. It ended up being a surprisingly lovely night, and I'm getting to know Shane's roommates' whole crowd better, and I had Taco Bell on the way home, teehee.

Today, Ellie and Shay were kind enough to drive all the way out here to spend the day with me! They gave me a lot of great advice and comfort on the work situation, and we boiled in the hot tub for a good, long time. And then we watched the Shawshank Redemption, which reliably made me cry, and Ellie really liked.

After that, we went to San Matteo for dinner, which was absolutely bomb. I ate way too much, but all of it was worth it. And then I grinded out those two essays, and now I am here. I'm supposed to go to Rocky Horror tonight, but it's all the way in Fairfax and I am sooo sleepy and I've been cold all day... but a bitch can rally.

[we-are-inevitable]

I was wondering if you could do a modern day Halloween javid fic if your choice

i love this AHAHA thank you for such a vague prompt bc i kinda went off the rails a bit but !! here we are 💕

i hope you like it !!

***

Davey is wearing eyeliner.

Davey is wearing eyeliner, and he looks incredible.

Davey is wearing eyeliner, and it feels like someone just shot Jack in the forehead point blank, because Jack's mind is empty and all he can think about is how good his boyfriend looks standing in front of him.

This isn't even-- it's not even a new development. Davey has been experimenting with makeup a lot recently, with the help of Sarah and Kath, and he's gotten really good at it. He even uses Jack as a model sometimes (and jack likes it more than he'd like to admit), so Jack knows Davey likes makeup. Jack knows that Davey is good at makeup, and of course he'd wear it for Halloween, and of course it would be a big deal since he never really celebrated Halloween as a child and this is his first ever actual costume party being thrown by their friends and he looks great and he's perfect and wonderful and Jack already knows he's going to be distracted all night.

"Wow," He says under his breath as Davey comes to a stop in front of him.

The two of them have been planning this costume for over a month, ever since Race announced that he and Albert were throwing a party at their place. It's going to be crowded to Hell and back, surely, but isn't that the fun of throwing a party in an apartment? Race's apartment is definitely better than the shoebox that Jack and Davey have moved into, that's for damn sure.

Jack looks his boyfriend over again, then grins as Davey says, "You look great, Jackie."

"Are you kidding? Look at you," Jack takes a step forward, running his arms down Davey's yellow rain jacket. "You look adorable. I love you so much."

They've gone for a Coraline and Wybie look for the party. That was the one costume they could agree on- Jack wanted to do something with Beetlejuice or American Horror Story, while Davey was rooting for Corpse Bride or The Addams Family, but then Davey suggested Coraline and, well, how could Jack say no?

And Davey went all out for it, too. The rain jacket, the boots, the red messenger bag- hell, he even dyed his hair dark blue to match the character. Not with fake hairspray or anything, but actual dye. It doesn't look too different from his natural color, but there's a blue tint to it when Davey steps into the right lighting, and Jack is in love with it. In addition to that, Davey also did some of the fake freckles on his cheeks, and his eyes are so impossibly blue while framed by the deep black eyeliner...

Jack doesn't know how he's going to make it through this, not with Davey looking absolutely perfect at his side.

Nonetheless, Davey rolls his eyes fondly at the attention. "You're such a sap," He says softly, and reaches out to run his hand through Jack’s curls. Jack had refrained from doing anything to his hair all month- cutting, dyeing, what have you- just so he could have a better Wybie costume. His curls aren't quite the same texture or anything, but Davey had assured him he looked fine with it. "I think we look cute."

"And I think we're gonna be the best-looking couple there," Jack grins, tilting his head. "Al and Race aren't gonna know what hit 'em."

"Mm, good. What are they going as?" Davey asks as he wrap his arms loosely around Jack, hanging onto his shoulders.

Jack grins. "Racer’s a 'corrupted sexy nun', according to the text he sent me last week, and I got a snapchat from Al earlier. He was wearing demon horns, so..."

"Oh, they're one of those couples," Davey laughs softly, looking into Jack’s eyes. "Should we have gone for something sexy?"

"You're always sexy."

Davey flushes pink and rolls his eyes. "We could've done a whole Bonnie and Clyde thing. I'd look even hotter with a gun and some blood splatter, don't you think?"

"We could've done a lot of things. I still think we'd make a cute Leslie and Ben," Jack raises a brow, grinning. "Maybe do a whole 'Legally Blonde' thing or somethin'."

Davey shakes his head, nose scrunching up as he grins. "I don't look good blonde."

"Who says you get to be the blonde?" Jack asks with a smirk. As Davey laughs and rests his head on Jack's shoulder, Jack wraps his arms around his waist and says, "I don't think Halloween is about lookin' good. Ya just gotta have fun with it."

"Right," Davey murmurs, "and that's why you went as a soccer player for three years in a row in high school."

Jack's eyes widen, and he gasps as he backs up. "I cannot believe Racer told you that! When did he tell you?"

Davey shrugs, and shoots Jack an innocent smile. "Bold of you to assume your mom didn't tell me. She showed me pictures, too. Real cute."

"That's even worse!"

Davey laughs loudly, high in his throat, as he turns away and grabs the last few items he needs from the kitchen table- his phone and his wallet, mainly so they can call an Uber after the party, knowing that everyone is probably getting wasted tonight.

And that's fine, because tonight is supposed to be fun. It's going to be fun.

With that thought in mind, Jack and Davey leave their apartment hand in hand.

[sanstropfremir]

it's queendom finale time!!

what a ten weeks it has been. i won't lie and say it's been as exciting as kingdom was, but it's still been a fun journey to be on! no more long intro preambles it's the last review so i'm just gonna get right into the stages! they're in performance order and there's some overall thoughts and conclusions at the end as per usual.

hyolyn

costume

thighs.

hyolyn said if i'm gonna have male dancers than they gotta all be in crop tops it's EQUALITY and i love her so much for it. thank you queen.

LOVE the metal look corset, and when combined with the white dress shirt and the gladiator style boots it's all very warrior queen and it's fitting for her last queendom stage. she could have really easily gone with something much more revealing, and i thought she was going to, considering the song has the lyrics 'come on now and watch me sway/when i do it my way' and hyolyn's signature is ass. but having her costume consist be relatively modest and consisting of a masculine style shirt and literal armor, it's a nice subversion and perfectly matches what i think hyolyn was trying to go for during this show; which is that she's fully capable as a soloist and can handle any challenge thrown at her while bucking expectations.

also the crown at the end? fucking incredible. perfect. iconic.

lighting

no complaints, does the job it's supposed to! the projections do a ton of heavy lifting to establish place and also movement with all the particle and fluid simulations (sand, fire, clouds, sparks). absolutely LOVE the circular throwback to the touch my body stage with the tropical greenery at the end. for that stage she was more of an mc or host of the party, but for waka boom she unambigiously declared herself queen and that parallel is DELICIOUS.

sound

waka boom was my favourite from the pre listening and it's still my favourite after watching the perfomances. great choice for a finale song no notes.

staging

i think this was maybe the weakest of hyolyn's stages choreographically, but in no way does that mean it was a bad performance. it had the least interesting dancing and didn't feature much of hyolyn's dance abilities, which i don't necessarily fault her for, but i do think it is one of the things that make her unique as a performer, so there is a tiny part of me that is disappointed about it. but honestly it's a fantastic stage and my complaints are very insignificant.

the previously mentioned movement in the projections acted as a counterpoint to the more understated choreo so the stage didn't feel any less dynamic than anything with crazier choreo. that's a very intuitive idea that i haven't seen a lot performance directors grasp before, but if anyone was gonna do it, it would be hyolyn and team.

love love love the mic stand staff, another great detail

also her dropping off the edge of that platform??? hello???? nearly had a heart attack before i realized it was on purpose

i'd never heard of youngji before but i think she was a really fun feature for hyolyn to have. she brought it a different sound and a slightly different but still complimentary energy that made the stage feel very synergistic, unlike some of the other features we've seen on these types of shows.

wjsn

costume

these are so boring. these outfits say nothing about the concept and there are no interesting or unique features, they're just a typical strappy gg number that i've seen on every gg in the last year. this is literally the perfect opportunity to go full moon princess nonsense and you gave up having big gauzy tulle numbers or satins dyed aurora colours or even a ton of rhinestones on navy velvet minidresses for..........a lot of belts? sigh.

lighting

ah the return of the windows xp screensaver. hello rainbow road. i really liked the aurora projections and i think the zooming nebulas would have had a lot better of an effect if they hadn't already been used a dozen times on this show already. there was a really interesting idea of having very colourful projections overtop of dark monochrome costumes but neither end lived up to expectations. there just wasn't enough of interesting movement or shapes in the projections to actually make the idea work and you've already read how i feel about the costumes.

there was a lot of promise with the drones but i'm not entirely sure how practical they are for a live audience? drones are really fucking noisy and there was dialogue in that opening section, so i'm sure for the people close to the stage there was a lot of confusing sound bleed. i'd be interested to see if there's any fancams from those front areas floating around because maybe the sound isn't too bad but i don't think that's likely.

sound

i had wondered from the pre listening how they were going to make this song match the vibes of a final performance and they just didn't! which i guess is a choice! i'm not about to turn this into a 'lipsync bad' post because i don't believe lipsyncing is bad but in order to make a lipsync fit with the performance you have to match the track to the conditions. and this track just does not match with what they were doing on stage.

this group has at least NINE people in it and at most during this track there are three of them singing at the same time, with the exception of the last fifteen seconds of the song. and even then, their voices are such airy head voice that there's almost no power backing it, so the sound does not match the visual of 'everyone singing at once'. we all clowned nct 2021/beautiful for being a glee reject but make no mistake, it absolutely sounds like it's being sung by 20+ people. you can have whatever opinions on nct you like but a lot of their music is actually group music; their songs are built around there being multiple voices and even when they're lipsyncing it still visually feels like they're all singing. aura is just a solo song that had been chopped up into line divisions, and that emphatically does not match the visuals of 20+ people performing.

staging

some of the choreography, especially at the beginning, was fun, but not much about it struck me as being worthy of a finale stage. the staging is also not complicated or difficult enough to warrant being lipsynched? like pantomine was a lot more crazy of a stage and they sang live for that, so what was the deal here?

what was the point of the bleachers other than for levels at the end? i'm not gonna say no to levels but having just the plain white bleachers makes this stage feel so......uncreative. there's no other set, the projections are just generic space stock images, the costumes are vague as hell....there's just no grounding features that root this stage in anything tangible. i haven't really liked any of wjsn's stages but some of them have had some potential seeds of ideas, whereas this stage has pretty much nothing. there could have been maybe something interesting about how the backup dancers looked pretty much interchangeable with the members and there could have been some comment on plurality but i'm 90% sure that was accident. overall it's a disappointing stage and i would have probably been more receptive to it if it was a first or second round stage, but for the finale? uninteresting and bland.

kep1er

costume

this is literally just a music show stage styling. not to sound like a broken record but i've seen these exact outfits on every girl group in the last four months. i love the boots as a pop of colour but they are not enough to save this. what is going on with their creative team this is the FINALE!! their costumes for the last round would have been better than this!!

again, for the ten thousandth time, costumes are the easiest way to show concept!!!!!!! literally what are these costumes supposed to say. what is the concept. judging by the fact that the song says 'racetrack' in it i am forced to assume that it's meant to be a callback to their first stage but there is just no definitive way to know. again, it's very disappointing that their creative team is unable to give them better design support.

lighting

honestly i don't have a lot of things to say about it. the projections are confusing as hell and i have no clue what they're supposed to be in the slightest, but the other lighting is actually pretty good. i don't even mind the lasers this time around. and i like the primary colour palette (red blue yellow/amber).

sound

i think i like this song the most out of all the ones kepler has done on the show but i still don't really like it that much. it suffers from a bit of the same problem that the wjsn song does, and that is that it's visually pretty obvious that this is a lipsync. i think this song is a little bit better off because it's a 'harder' song and has more on the lower end + adlibs to give it some more balanced power.

staging

this is probably kepler's best stage, not that it's a high bar to clear. i'm glad that there's been some small improvements in the quality of their stages but there's still a lot of stuff missing on the creative team's end. like wjsn's stage, this one is extremely lacking in direction. i really liked the clear acrylic chairs, but what was the point of them?? what was the point of the bleachers??? what was the point of the pyro??? there's very little internal logic how the design elements of this stage come together, and that's not what should be happening for a finale stage.

viviz

costume

another stage of boring costumes! what is happening!! this is an alice in wonderland themed stage and you went for plain solid colour satin dresses?????? you didn't have to go crazy like brave girls' flower dresses from last round but you could have at least given them some accessories or something. and the backup dancers costumes are cheap looking too! did they spend all their money on the custom jerseys from last round??? i will say that i liked the stiltwalkers, that was a suitably fitting addition to an alice in wonderland style stage.

lighting

the projections were pretty on point at showing that it was alice in wonderland themed and i liked the recurring image of the hanging pocketwatches. the rest of the lighting isn't really anything to write home about, they kept it almost too plain and like a basic stage wash; it would have been more interesting if there was some moments of higher contrast or a more prevalent colour theme

sound

again, no real indication of why this stage needed to be lipsynched, but at least there wasn't a huge mismatch between visuals and sound since there's only three of them.

staging

by a longshot this is the best stage viviz has done, so i guess by default that makes it finale worthy? there's a lot of interesting ideas here in the staging and it's very clear that they had someone come in a pay attention to the transitions and how the choreography needed to flow; the umbrella choreography + teacup bits are definitely the highlights, but ultimately the stage is let down by the cheap costuming and uninteresting lighting, as well as the lipsyncing. it's no secret that i think viviz are not very good performers but at least when they're live singing there's a modicum of effort that you can see. but when you take the live singing out of the equation they really seem to not be able to muster up anything to deliver and generally the performance is just so flat and unconvincing. i think this stage could have really shone if there was a touch more stylization happening, and the performers actually performed.

loona

costume

these are actually VERY good costumes!!! their stylist finally got their shit together and put some real thought into these! this is how you're supposed to use costumes to tell theme and place; this is very obviously a luxury fashion concept from the late 90s! denim and oversized leather blazers were a big trends in the late 90s and into the 2000s, and versace was one of the most popular designer brands in that era as well. even if not all of the accent pieces are versace, that big chain print is a signature of theirs and there's been a ton of knockoffs of it in the last 25ish years.

the backup dancers' costumes are great too! they're really simple but very clearly accentuate the theme: the female dancers are dressed as old-school paparazzi with big trenchcoats (another 90s trend), and the male dancers are either in big leather blazers (on theme) or in plain black suits as to look like bodyguards! all very smart choices.

lighting

i wish the lighting and projections had been used more. i don't really know what i would want it to be, but it felt like there just wasn't anything happening in the background of this stage. all the spotlight effects made perfect sense but it just wasn't enough to carry a whole concept, especially when the projection screens are massive and have been a pretty integral part of the design of the stages for these shows.

sound

i do not like this song but i like it more than any of the other songs they've done. i can only assume that they were trying for something different than their usual style

staging

it felt like there was a real lack of moment in the blocking of this stage, and i think a part of that was that they didn't really move much from the main stage area, and other part was there wasn't a lot of movement in the projections. especially after watching hyolyn's stage where she perfectly balances the perception of movement, i think pose feels particularly stationary. it is also not helped by having a really big and obvious setpiece in the back that doesn't really get used much except for at the beginning or the end, so it kind of just sits there like schrodinger's staircase while you wait for it to be used again. there was potential for them to have put that staircase on casters (wheels) and moved it forward somepoint during the choreo so it could have been used for some more interesting formations, but instead it just sat there the whole time.

i'm not sure if this is just because i'm not familiar with loona but honestly this stage felt less 'pose' and more 'poser'. logistically it all makes sense with the design and styling, but the choreography and the attitude needed for it just felt very out of their depth. i didn't believe the performances of most of the members and it felt like they were trying really hard to be confidence about it and it just wasn't there.

brave girls

costume

minyoung thigh chain i see you. i love you

this is a simple styling and that's its strength. the garments are very typical beach fare and the colours are all well matched with the backup dancers and with the lighting. the fact that these are all very normal garments too helps with the naturalism of the stage. i'm pretty sure i've seen all of these on someone at the beach in my nearly 20 years of living on an island and this is a really good example of how sometimes don't need to overcomplicate a styling with 'kpop' type clothing; sometimes simpler is better.

lighting

the projections do a great job of filling in the spaces between the bits of set dec to make it actually feel like a beach cabana! honestly some of the best projection design of the whole show, easily on par with the touch my body stage. really smart use of keeping specific colours to specific sections of song; the second half chorus was ocean blue, the verses and prechorus/first half chorus were multiple colours (matching with their dresses) and then the bridge was sunset.

sound

love the song. second favourite from the pre listening. another summer banger from brave girls it will be going on the summer bop 2022 playlist.

staging

this may not be their most ambitious or complicated stage, but i think it's so obvious to see how much more confident and happy brave girls are for this performance than they are for any of the other ones. they were likely very scared they were going to be eliminated and that put a lot of pressure on them to do well (they DID do well performance wise, it just wasn't always reflected in the points), and once it was confirmed that they were safe, that let up a ton of weight from their shoulders and you can feel it during whistle.

this is probably the smallest scale finale stage and i think the smallest stage that brave girls has done on the show, so i'm of two minds about whether or not i'm considering it to be a good cumulative finale stage. on the one hand no, because it's much less technically intricate and bombastic and only uses about three quarters of the performance space, but on the other much larger hand, you can see the progression in their confidence in their performance and they made an executive choice to do something that they know they're good at. and it also has really tight choreography and blocking for using such a small space. and i like the symbolism in the beginning of moving onwards from their past. and the lyric 'you make me feel like a queen' is very uwu emoji because their fans make them feel like queens even though they were never gonna win. so even though my design brain is hesitant about it, yes i think this is a good finale stage for them. also it was for sure one of the most fun stages of the episode, so that's another point in its favour.

---

some final thoughts and rankings

i'm sure everyone has already seen the official rankings so here's mine:

hyolyn

brave girls

loona

wjsn

viviz

kepler

and these double as my overall rankings for the whole show too. hyolyn and brave girls had head and shoulders above everyone else the best performances on the show, and the other groups just slot into place of how many of each of their stages i actually thought were good.

i have some finale episode thoughts and some overall show thoughts. finale episode thoughts are as follows: i'm not sure why half the groups suddenly went for lipsyncing in the last episode when no one had been for all of the previous episodes. was it an mnet thing? was it an individual company thing? i don't think lipsyncing is bad and i think using a heavy backing track (like what brave girls and loona did, as did most of the groups for kingdom) is a good intermediary that gives idols some more breathing room (literally) for more difficult choreography or intensive performances, but just a straight sync with the studio recording was really obvious for the other three groups. i don't think it's a question we'll ever get an answer to, but i still have it nonetheless.

and some overall show thoughts: now that the show is finished, i think there were a good number of changes that mnet made to the show structure from kingdom that were really beneficial. keeping the stage size relatively small was the biggest one, which i've talking about before, but it also really evened out the playing field so that we could see who had the good creative teams who knew how to use that space with a more limited set of resources. and i really liked what they did for the unit stages this time around too, it felt less structured and competitive, and had a more collaborative air. but overall i found queendom to have a lot less diversity in stage design and concepts than kingdom did, which is not what i was expecting. the proven formula for this type of show is a strong visual concept and there was a ton of those during kingdom: ateez anarchopunks/pirates, btob hanbok theatre/rockstars/jazz film set, ikon prison break/jungle, sf9 noir/dark fantasy/mannequin factory, skz's comic book/heaven+hell/cringe werewolf, even tbz's game of thrones thing. not all of them worked, but looking back over the whole, there was a lot of creative diversity happening at the genesis of the stages. and i cannot say the same thing about the queendom stages. hyolyn had four very distinct concepts and brave girls really got it together after their first stage and had three solidly designed stages, but there was so much crossover between groups or just no theme at all. there were at least three different beach themed stages, pretty much every stage every episode used the moon somehow, and there were two very similar latin inspired stages! i really had hoped that the restriction of the stage size and the live audience element would have forced the creative teams to actually do some problem solving but instead it just made them default to stereotypical girl group concepts and stylings. which is a huge disappointment for me! maybe it's because there's more pressure on female idols to be a specific type of pretty and perfect so there's less willingness to go for some of the more risky or weird concepts but damn. i really was expecting more. the stages that we did get that were good were very very good, but the majority of them were just meh. overall it was nice to be back watching something every week and engaging with people about it though. i think that's been the biggest takeaway for me with queendom and kingdom: just having a grand ol' time talking about it with everyone. my followers are really great and you ask fun questions and we have fun lil community here and that's been the real joy of these shows. thanks for sticking around everybody ♥

[soryualeksi]

Long rambling about my kids again, but:

I think the most, hm, interesting? in that I don't think I've ever encountered it before? and consistent fear Big Kiddo - who will turn 5 in a few weeks, for an age reference - has and always seemed to have since as long as he could express himself, is.

That dressing up as an animal. Will involuntarily TRANSFORM him into that animal.

And it's not a "haha he's a bit creeped out" fear, it's an actual horror that he puts a lot of concern and thought into.

By now, he at least tolerates OTHER children dressing up in his presence without absolutely losing it from anxiety. Also recently, he told me they even played "cats" together in kindergarten. ("Oh, where you a cat, too?" - "No, I was playing as myself.")

I remember one time, like maybe a year ago, when a children's sports instructor was like "and now we all gonna turn into animals!" and Big Kiddo first started a Nervous Face Twitch, then at the first chance just Got Up and ran to me and his heart was HAMMERING and he was trembling, like, he was GENUINELY afraid that in a second or two someone would magic him into a fox.

He's dressed up for carnival exactly once, I think, in a lovely dinosaur costume. And he had a lot of fun back then, because he had the choice to dress up or not. Since then, he'd remained steadfast in that he doesn't wanna dress up, but also respects that other kids like playing with costumes. And he's not scared of them anymore, (though sometimes a bit overwhelmed when an occasion arises, but that's mostly because a) everyone is suddenly DIFFERENT than usual, b) kids go hyper at a party, and c) any such holidays are obviously a change from the routine pace, even if they're still enjoyable).

So yeah, generally not dressing up or pretend-play as an animal or anything. And we're leaving it at that.

However, it's become a topic again, because yesterday was Halloween (duh). He suggested he MIGHT want to go Trick-Or-Treating "in a year" and we said yes, let's try it next year if you want it then. Then he didn't bring it up again, so we thought nothing about it (aside from me briefly trying to think up not-really-pretending-to-be-not-yourself small costume ideas that would still "count" for the mood of the event).

Until this morning. When he, out of the blue, went quiet and then asked me, "Mama. Back then, I didn't REALLY turn into a dinosaur, right? It was just a costume, right?"

I asked him whether he was still worried that a costume might transform him into an animal. "Yes." A very solemn, serious face. It's a big issue for him.

I reassured him that nothing and no one can turn him into an animal, especially not costumes, that they're just clothes for pretending. I think he genuinely understands that, but he's still. Not fully convinced that the chance 100% DOESN'T exist.

And I'm just. Fascinated by how his mind works and the things he's thinking about. (Also I hope he can get rid of the anxiety around the issue, because obviously it's a very uncomfortable feeling to have.)

So that's me rambling about my beautiful firstborn, who I just love listening to all day.

(As an aside, his sister is the polar opposite. Has a shark costume, wears the shark costume, BECOMES THE SHARK and has a BLAST chasing you going "raaaaaaaaah [her name] is shaaaaaark!!!!!! raaaaaaah!!!!!!" Interestingly, Big Kiddo NEVER fears that she's actually turned into a literal actual fish. He thinks it's funny. Little Sister Bonus or something.)

[flufffysocks]

let's talk about andi mack's worldbuilding

sorry this took forever to make! i've been pretty busy with school stuff and i kind of lost my inspiration for a bit, but i ultimately really enjoyed writing it! i wish i could've included more pics (tumblr has a max of 10 per post), and it kinda turned from less of a mini analysis to more of an extremely long rant... but i hope it's still a fun read!

i've been rewatching the show over the past few weeks (thanks again to @disneymack for the link!), and i’ve been noticing a lot that i never did the first time around. this is really the first time i’ve watched the show from start to finish since it aired, and it honestly feels so different this time - probably a combination of the fact that i’m not as focused on plot and can appreciate the show as a whole, and also that the fandom is much, much smaller now, so there’s a lot less noise. so the way i’m consuming this show feels super different than it did the first time, but the show itself doesn’t - it’s just as warm and comforting to me as it was the first time around, if not more so.

i think a lot of that can be attributed to andi mack’s “worldbuilding”. i’m not quite sure that this is the right word in this context, to be honest, because i mostly see it used in reference to fantasy and sci-fi universes, but it just sort of feels right to me for andi mack, because you can really tell how much love and care went into constructing this universe. for clarity, worldbuilding is “the process of creating an imaginary world” in its simplest sense. there’s two main types: hard worldbuilding, which involves inventing entire universes, languages, people, cultures, places, foods, etc. from scratch (think “lord of the rings” or “dune”), and soft worldbuilding, in which the creators don’t explicitly state or explain much about the fictional universe, but rather let it’s nature reveal itself as the story progresses (think studio ghibli films). andi mack to me falls in the soft worldbuilding category. even though it takes place in a realistic fiction universe, there’s a lot of aspects to it that are inexplicably novel in really subtle ways.

so watching the show now, i’ve noticed that the worldbuilding comes primarily from two things - setting and props, and oftentimes the both of them in tandem (because a big part of setting in filmmaking does depend on the props placed in it!).

one of the most obvious examples is the spoon. it really is a sort of quintessential, tropic setting in that it's the main gang's "spot", which automatically gives it a warm and homey feel to it. and its set design only amplifies this:

the choice to make it a very traditional 50s-style diner creates a very nostalgic, retro feel to it, which is something that's really consistent throughout the show, as you'll see. from the round stools at the bar, to the booths, to the staff uniforms, this is very obvious. the thing that i found especially interesting about it though is the choice of color. the typical 50s diner is outfitted with metallic surfaces and red accented furnishings, but the spoon is very distinctly not this.

instead, it's dressed in vibrant teal and orange, giving it a very fresh and modern take on a classic look. so it still maintains that feeling of being funky and retro, but that doesn't retract from the fact that the show is set distinctly in modern times.

of course, this could just be a one-off quirky set piece, but this idea of modernizing and novelizing "retro" things is a really common motif throughout the show. take red rooster records. i mean, it's a record shop - need i say more? it's obviously a very prominent store in shadyside, at least for the main characters, but there's no apparent reason why it is (until season 2 when bowie starts working there, and jonah starts performing there). a lot of the time, though, it functions solely as a record shop. vinyl obviously isn't the most practical or convenient way of listening to music, but it's had its resurgence in pop culture even in the real world, mostly due to its aesthetic value, so it's safe to say that it serves the same purpose in the andi mack universe.

the fringe seems to be nostalgic of a different era, specifically the Y2K/early 2000s period (because it's meant to be bex's territory and symbolic of who she used to be, and its later transformation into cloud 10 is representative of her character arc, but that's beside the point). to be honest, exactly what this store was supposed to be always confused me. it was kind of a combination party store/clothing store/makeup store/beauty parlor? i think that's sort of the point of it though, it's supposed to feel very grunge-y and chaotic (within the confines of a relatively mellow-toned show, of course), and it's supposed to act as a sort of treasure chest of little curios that both make the place interesting and allow the characters to interact with it.

and, of course, there's andi shack. this is really the cherry on top of all of andi mack's sets, just because it's so distinctly andi. it serves such amazing narrative purpose for her (ex. the storyline where cece and ham were going to move - i really loved this because it highlights its place in the andi mack universe so well, and i'm a sucker for the paper cranes shot + i'm still salty that sadie's cranes didn't make it into the finale) and it's the perfect reflection of andi's character development because of how dynamic it is (the crafts and art supplies can get moved around or switched out, and there's always new creations visible).

going back to the nostalgia motif though, the "shack" aspect of it always struck me as very treehouse-like. personally, whenever i think of treehouses, there's this very golden sheen of childhood about it, if that makes sense. i've always seen treehouses in media as a sort of shelter for characters' youthful innocence and idealistic memories. for example, the episode "up a tree" from good luck charlie, the episode "treehouse" from modern family, and "to all the boys 2" all use a treehouse setting as a device to explore the character's desire to hold onto their perfect image of their childhood (side note: this exact theme is actually explored in andi mack in the episode "perfect day 2.0"!). andi shack is no exception to this, but it harnesses this childhood idealism in the same way that it captures the nostalgia of the 50s in the spoon, or the early 2000s in the fringe. it's not some image of a distant past being reflected through that setting; it's very present, and very alive, because it reflects andi as she is in the given moment.

some honorable mentions of more one-off settings include the ferris wheel (from "the snorpion"), the alley art gallery (from "a walker to remember"), SAVA, the color factory (from "it's a dilemna"), and my personal favorite, the cake shop (from "that syncing feeling").

[every time i watch this episode i want to eat those cakes so bad]

these settings have less of a distinctly nostalgic feel (especially the color factory, which is a very late 2010s, instagram era setting), but they all definitely have an aura of perfection about them. andi mack is all about bright, colorful visuals, and these settings really play to that, making the andi mack universe seem really fun and inviting, and frankly very instagrammable (literally so, when it comes to the color factory!).

props, on the other hand, are probably a much less obvious tool of worldbuilding. they definitely take up less space in the frame and are generally not as noticeable (i'm sure i'll have missed a bunch that will be great examples, but i'm kind of coming up with all of this off the top of my head), but they really tie everything together.

for example, bex's box, bex's polaroid, and the old tv at the mack apartment (the tv is usually only visible in the periphery of some shots, so you might not catch it at first glance) all complement that very retro aesthetic established through the settings (especially the polaroid and the tv, because there's really no good reason that the characters would otherwise be using these).

besides this, andi's artistic nature provides the perfect excuse for plenty of colorful, crafty props to amplify the visuals and the tone. obviously, as i discussed before, andi shack is the best example of this because it's filled with interesting props. but you also see bits of andi's (and other people's) crafts popping up throughout the show (ex. the tape on the fridge in the mack apartment, andi's and libby's headbands in "the new girls", walker's shoes, andi's phone case, and of course, the bracelet). not only does doing this really solidify this talent as an essential tenet of andi's character, but it also just makes the entirety of shadyside feel like an extension of andi shack. the whole town is a canvas for her crafts (or art, depending on how you want to look at it. i say it's both), and it immensely adds to shadyside's idealism. because who wouldn't want to live in a world made of andi mack's creations?

and, while it's not exactly a prop, the characters' wardrobe is undoubtedly a major influence on the show's worldbuilding. true to it's nature as a disney channel show, all of the characters are always dressed in exceptionally curated outfits of whatever the current trends are, making the show that much more visually appealing. i won't elaborate too much on this, because i could honestly write a whole other analysis on andi mack's fashion (my favorites are andi's and bex's outfits! and kudos to the costume designer(s) for creating such wonderful and in-character wardrobes!). but, i think it's a really really important aspect of how the show's universe is perceived, so it had to be touched upon.

[^ some of my favorite outfits from the show! i am so obsessed with andi's jacket in the finale, and i aspire to be at bex's level of being a leather jacket bisexual]

and lastly, phones. this is a bit of an interesting case (pun intended), because the way they're used fluctuates a bit throughout the show, but i definitely noticed that at least in the first season terri minsky tried to avoid using them altogether. these efforts at distancing from modern tech really grounds the show in it's idealist, nostalgia-heavy roots, so even when the characters start using their phones more later in the show, they don't alter the viewer's impression of the andi mack universe very much.

so, what does all of this have to do with worldbuilding? in andi mack's case, because it's set in a realistic universe and not a fantasy one, a lot of what sets it apart from the real world comes down to tone. because, as much as this world is based on our own, it really does feel separate from it, like an alternate reality that's just slightly more perfect than ours, which makes all the difference. it's the idealism in color and composition in andi mack's settings that makes it so unmistakably andi mack. even the weather is always sunny and perfect (which is incredibly ironic because the town is called shadyside - yes, i am very proud of that observation).

the andi mack universe resides somewhere in this perfect medium that makes it feel like a small town in the middle of nowhere (almost like hill valley in 1955 from "back to the future"), but at the same time like an enclave within a big city (because of its proximity to so many modern, unique, and honestly very classy looking establishments). it is, essentially, an unattainable dream land that tricks you into believing it is attainable because it's just real enough.

all this to say, andi mack does an amazing job of creating of polished, perfect world for its characters. this is pretty common among disney channel and nickelodeon shows, but because most other shows tend to be filmed in a studio with three-wall sets, andi mack is really set apart from them in that it automatically feels more real and tangible. it has its quintessential recurring locations, but it has far more of them (most disney/nick shows usually only have 3-4 recurring settings), and it has a lot more one-off locations. it's also a lot more considerate when it comes to its props, so rather than the show just looking garish and aggressively trendy, it has a distinctive style that's actually appropriate to the characters and the story. overall this creates the effect of expanding the universe, making shadyside feel like it really is a part of a wider world, rather than an artificial bubble. it's idealism is, first and foremost, grounded in reality, and that provides a basis for its brilliant, creative, and relatable storytelling.

tl;dr: andi mack's sets and props give it a very retro and nostalgic tone which makes its whole universe seem super perfect and i want to live there so bad!!

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom season 2, eps 1-5 thoughts! opening the new season with episodes like these kinda blew me away. we had multiple serious episodes INCLUDING a two parter!! also, valerie :)

see prev episode thoughts in this tag <3

-I don't know what I expected s2 to open with. but danny portal incident in more detail was not it. (also, I hate to break it to you, sam, but danny's parent's bigass ghost hunting rv def chugs more gas than those vehicles, lmao. unless it runs on ectoplasm or something...)

-WHY WAS DESIREE IN THE SEWER? HAVING TEA WITH IT DOWN THERE?? Her making the giant cow come alive is a boss move, we've almost had all of my fav animals as ghosts now <3 I also don't like how sam was expecting danny to just, haunt the place so the cars wouldn't get sold? I KNOWWW I know she's 14 (and I had a very annoying phase like this, I think I mentioned in a previous post, I GET IT) but they're HIS powers, and messing with (1) dealership will not really put a dent in sales overall because they can just move the cars to another sales lot, and it certainly wont change the industry anyway, it's more of a minor annoyance for (1) location. Also, usually people who work at car sales places work on commission, so if they dont make a sale, they don't have money to pay bills, or eat. sam baby if u wanna be an activist you need to like, actually look into these things. with as much money as her parents have, she could be doing a lot..more useful things for causes she cares about? it's frustrating to see someone with resources who doesn't know how to use them. but shes 14 so again. cannot be really upset :/

-IS THIS A PREDATOR VS TERMINATOR VS FREDDY KRUEGER MOVIE BUT THEYRE ALL WOMEN?? you know, sam is so right to be excited about this. /I/ want to see this movie. that rules

-paulina inviting danny and friends to her quinceañera, aw! even if it is just to get phantom to show up :') and there'll be a meteor shower, and we KNOW danny wants to be an astronaut!! there's not a meteor shower every night!! the tickets are non-refundable, but..she's rich? like. gotta agree with danny, they never get invited!! I KNOW it's the principle of keeping promises, but if she was that upset, she should've said something. directly. I hated how she was like, passive aggressive about it through the episode, like you SAID IT WAS FINE, THAT YOU'D GO TO THE PARTY TOO. MOVIES SHOW FOR A FEW WEEKS IN THEATERS. IF YOU HAD A REAL PROBLEM YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT IT. WE'VE HAD THIS PROBLEM BEFORE, SAM. YOUR FRIENDS. ARE NOT. MIND READERS.

-MR. LANCER GOING AFTER THE GHOST WITH THE FIRE EXTINGISHER LMAO

-this outfit is everything . anytime the show does an over the top cutesty pink outfit i WANT IT. it looks like shit I wear JKASDHF I HAVE a bow like that and a pink sweater. I need leg warmers </3

-SAMS GOTTA RE-HALF-KILL HIM??? thats fucked up. but also, he finally got his logo!! it took until s2!!! this episode was lowkey very fucked and I felt like it glossed over a lot. does sam have guilt about like. kinda KILLING HIM?? I know, he also agreed and walked into the portal. but. she made the choice to redo it SO quickly (even if it was because someone had to beat desiree) and danny, during their fight, brought up a lot of stuff sam's done in the past, meaning he was holding onto those memories and resentment was building. (I KEEP SAYING HE LOWKEY NEEDS THERAPY, BUT I THINK MOST EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW KINDA DOES) which...is a red flag? and then they didnt even GO to the party URGH I know she tried to make up for it, but it really felt like Sam fucked up and barely faced any consequences and got everything she wanted in the end. I KNOW it's a kids show obv they aren't going to go too in depth, and she undid the damage, kinda, but...I DUNNO how to articulate it but it rubbed me the wrong way.

-but on a note about desiree, her powers of wishes were STRONG ENOUGH TO ERASE NOT JUST THEIR MEMORIES, BUT DANNY'S POWERS?! fuck, if I was danny I'd be like, trying to make friends with her. I know they always have horrible side effects as most genie-granted wishes do, but...c'mon, I'd at least TRY to be like 'I wish no ghosts would hurt anyone in my town' or 'I wish vlad would lose his ghost powers forever no matter What and also forget about my mom' LIKE. SHIT DESIREE IS SO POWERFUL. rewriting reality powerful, basically!! appreciate her. respect her.

-aww, sam helping tucker pass the nurse's office so he wouldn't see because he's afraid of medical stuff? very sweet. I also don't like medical stuff, I've gotten a lot better at handling it tho. but seeing blood and needles still makes me feel lightheaded x_x

-FOLEY, BY TUCKER FOLEY. I want to make my own perfume, that's so cool. even if his first attempt isn't good, he's pretty consistently shown to have an inventor/entrepreneur streak in the show, so like. I can see him inventing or making something (or several somethings) that make him $$$ when he grows up :) proud of my creative son

-I know the 'creepy abandoned hospital on the edge of town' is a joke and the creepy hospital trope is so Worn Out, but in my town we actually DO have a hospital like that! my dad was born in it, but its not in use and hasn't been for, like, 20 years! it needs to be torn down but I think the city doesn't wanna pay the money. the inside is horrible, spray painted and broken glass and shit everywhere. but there's still like, rusty equipment and fucking DOLLS all over the place. the cops drive by it pretty frequently to make sure no one is like, breaking in. (because of water damage, some of the areas really aren't safe. also, asbestos, but people still go in anyway) but also, some of my town was used in a filming for a stephen king show. So it's lowkey spooky all over. just a fun personal tidbit :) to lead into saying, any hospital abandoned for any period of time is NOT safe to quarantine these kids in JKSAHDKF like I KNOW it's a ghost trying to do this, but NONE of these parents are even like, 'well, why dont we keep them in the regular, working hospital'....YIKES. this hospital looks pretty accurate to the one in town. grungy and spooky.

-fentons are tax evaders confirmed by jack's fear of being audited, lol no one is surprised

-ghost sickness via ghost bugs. horrifying concept. I actually expected it to be a new villain, not dr. spectra again! this is a very elaborate scheme. her new form rules, love the new costume. the way none of the bg kids seem to recognize her as their old school councilor. did we just forget about that completely?

-dash watching romance movies in the fucked up ghost hospital. same.

-'oh please, you're ghosts, do you have any idea what YOU smell like?' no, tucker, what DO ghosts smell like? I genuinely didn't know they would even have a smell, I actually want to know now.

-it feels like a while since we've seen jazz!! i was happy to see her again, even if she was a head in a jar for most the episode. I want another jazz-focused ep!!

-we finally see danny doing space-related stuff!! him and his friends stargazing to open ep 3 of s2. cute :) until, GHOST PIRATES!!!!! ...ghost pirate captain is a small child?? VOICED BY TAYLOR LAUTNER???

-oh, the easy listening is ember's song instrumental slowed. 'vapor drone' THEY VAPORWAVED HER!!! ember in a pirate outfit tho >>>>. and the cruise being called m.bersback JKASDHJK. ember adopting a little pirate brother is also pretty cute. concerning this teen and little kid have such bad opinions of adults, like, who hurt you?? (how did you DIE ALSO?? im always lowkey curious about that. we know desiree died at an old age, but her ghost form is young, probably mid-20s, so I wonder how that sort of thing works...its a more mental thing, isn't it?) but ghost team-ups are always cool to see, even if ember bailed after danny took her guitar. I guess she probably thinks youngblood can handle it (which, he's been owning danny this far in the ep, so...fair)

-tucker got that sponsorship from nasty burger for their radio!!! again, opportunistic money maker king, love to see it!!!

-danny taking control of the kids SO FAST. he makes a pretty great leader. no one is surprised, im pretty sure I said I think he's the most mature of the trio, once again, correct, because he's taken on so much responsibility already. all the teens suiting up in the jumpsuits to go save the adults and taking the ship over with a BLIMP. OKAY LETS GO. this feels like it should be a mid finale or straight up finale.

-...speaking of finales. why is ep 4-5 of s2 combined into a 50 minute episode? I havent even clicked play and im concerned. weird placement, like, this season JUST started and we're getting a two parter? okay...why are the episodes placed like this? why not put this at episode 10 or something, for a mid-season thing?

-this is also a cute dress. possibly my fav dress so far. can her parents give ME cute dresses, I'LL wear them.

-it turns out the castle fright knight was in is called pariah's keep and there's something worse than fright knight in there! lovely! fuck off vlad wtf are you doing <3 your hubris <3 is going to literally get you killed <3 'ring of rage' and 'crown of fire' are great names tho. ...vlad turning into a super polite guy when he was scared of mr. pariah was hilarious. and fright knight doing the same...I mean, it makes sense, he's a knight, he serves a king? happy to see fright knight again either way :) vlad telling him to call him tho, lmfao. you WISH HE WOULD. (I wish hed call me, too. 😔)

-so...jack being genuinely concerned about vlad...maddie really didn't tell him what happened at the cabin, did she. damn. if I was her id immediately come home and be like 'YOU WONT BELIEVE THIS SHITTTT THIS CREEPY GUY--' like, I feel like that stuff you need to tell your partner!!! I know she didnt want Jack to think she was an irresponsible parent putting danny in danger at that time, but STILLLL. maddie spilling boiling tea on him. get his ass. how is jack this oblivious to his wife's discomfort with vlad!! ughhh

-fenton wipe (tm). trademarked toilet paper.

-DANNY AND VALERIE BEING FRIENDS??? :D that was a cute moment. 'hey val <3' and 'if you like him like him, make a move, or someone else will ;)' at sam...damn!! I love her. valerie go for it girl!!! I hate how sam and tucker treat val also, like I GET IT YOURE PROTECTIVE AND DONT TRUST but if anything him befriending valerie will help when she finds out or he tells her like I feel like she'll be more understanding that they think! ALSO I feel like her reason for not liking ghosts is valid, like you haven't really explained the full story to her anyway! she doesn't seem to have any other friends after being booted from the a-listers so im like :( but seeing them kick butt together again was nice <3

-the ghosts all RUNNING FROM PARIAH DARK IS NOT GOOD, I thought he sent them to attack or something, but no. why doesn't someone just tell desiree 'hey i wish pariah dark would die' lol. once again I think she can solve every problem <3 but seeing all the enemies in one place, being civil and hiding together? love it.

-you just know danny's gonna have to clean up vlad's stupid mess. also, jack being willing to put on the ectoskeleton pants to help maddie, as soon as vlad heard it could kill him, he suggested jack do it instead of helping maddie himself? this is why jack got the girl, my man.

-ghost skeletons. how do you end up as a skeleton ghost in your afterlife instead of a humanoid like most the ones we've seen? lmao

-the ghosts just making new homes in various stores. I'd totally be setting up in an expensive clothing store if I was a ghost.

-valerie's dad is possibly the most useful adult so far, with that ghost shield expansion!!! and valerie saving vlad and danny, even tho shes been thru it already, shes still so good!!! this family rules.

-danny: *gently caresses valerie* :)

-*then he immediately TELLS HER DAD ON HER. and his first response is 'are you okay?' :'( such a good dad...

-*me every time fright knight breathes* youre doing SO great sweetie :)

-the fenton suit thing is so silly looking. does anyone take this thing seriously

-ALL THE GHOSTS FIGHTING WITH DANNY <3 AAAAA. and the fact that pariah isn't perma-defeated, but just locked away again. yikes. he'll probably get out again, won't he? it wasn't too clear, but if vlad DID make a pact with fright knight, I am rabid. I will beat vlad to death with the fenton bat (tm). YOU DONT DESERVE A COOL KNIGHT.

-valerie being direct with sam and challenging her? kinda love that, even tho I normally don't like 'catfight' type situations. because sam has been very passive aggressive about it which is annoying. valerie knows wtf she wants and wasn't even embarrassed to tell sam, but she did tell her, giving sam time to make her own move! and sam denied it and got embarrassed/mad! and sam did have a chance when danny was about to go off and fight, and she hesitated and didn't tell him. I feel like she's hesitating because they're friends and it might make it weird between the trio (poor tucker would be third-wheeling) but if u snooze u lose, u gotta GO after what u WANT girl. smh this is a No Tsundere Zone. 😤

[vurrlovingly]

🍬 🧟 🏚 for anyone of your choice :)

🍬- whats your f/o’s favourite candy?

monokuma will eat basically any candy, twoey prefers meat in every sense, tyzias isn't much of a sweets person but enjoys dark chocolate, turnin loves sour everything and citrus flavored candy, gulliver likes licorice and anything sweet.

🧟- do you guys go to any Halloween parties? How does that usually go?

-me and monokuma go to them!! it goes pretty averagely in all honestly but we have a lot of fun. we'll do matching costumes sometimes and he'll comment on how we're the best couple at the party

-tyzias isn't big on halloween parties but will go since stelsa and i like them. stelsa's costume is usually much more out there than tyzias', they prefer something simple. tyzias is usually in the corner but comes out occasionally to dance with me and/or stelsa. I am also in the corner sometimes </3. we do all have fun though, tyzias and me are just a lil introverted

-turnin is the life of the party! they usually make surprise entrances and livestream at least a little bit of the party (as long as the vibes aren't too creepy). usually they're too swarmed by fans for us (me racren and them) to get much alone time T_T we can't help them being repitons biggest celeb sadly.

-gulliver is at sea most the time but tries really hard to be available for parties. animal crossing parties are so fun! everyone in town comes and jack even makes appearances, kk slider djs, it's awesome. gulliver is Not Good at dancing but by god does he tear up the dance floor. nine times out of ten he dresses up as a pirate. sometimes he'll make a not well thought out comment about someone's costume and me/wilbur will have to intervene LOL. gulliverrrr </3

🏚- do you ever go to haunted houses together? what’s it like?

-monokuma likes horror and haunted houses (while im terrified of them) but I'll compromise and go to them with him sometimes! he likes to scare other people in the haunted house (he used to scare and threaten the workers but we've compromised on that lol). I'm usually scared but I feel safer with him around. if there's mice/rats in the house though? I'm the one that has to comfort him

-twoey IS the haunted house attraction. haunted houses simply don't do anything for him, he needs to be the one scaring the shit out of people. im not working at the house he is though, but I'll visit and give him kisses during breaks

-turnin does NOT like haunted houses they're very bad with creepy stuff LOL. sometimes they'll go with racren because he enjoys that kinda stuff but sometimes all three of us will go together! racren doesn't react to the scares but enjoys the vibes while turnin reacts poorly to the jumpscares, but tries to laugh it off immediately afterwards. I'm usually just glad we're all together, though I do enjoy looking at the craftsmanship of the house. sometimes racren will make a comment about how something is unrealistic or not scary enough LOL. sometimes some of the workers will ask for autographs which turnin is happy to do (and racren usually comments on snidely)

-gulliver says he's really good at haunted houses and that he'll protect me and wilbur but he is SO bad at them. so bad. arguably worse than me. he'll say he's fine even though Ill ask if he's had enough HSGHDHBDF. he tries to impress me and wilbur real badly </3 wilbur is actually good at haunted houses, though he gets a little jumpscared occasionally

[ana-deaky]

It’s The Little Things || Joe Mazzello x Reader

What started out as a discussion between me and @amethyst-serenade on how cute Joe is, blown out into this story/HC, I honestly don’t know what this is. It’s definitely fluffy, now that I’m sure. Hope you guys enjoy our work!!

Words: 2393

No warnings whatsoever

HERE WE GO!!

Oh without a doubt! He's gonna be an amazing father and his kids will be adorable and lovable just like him.

Imagine him with his firstborn (especially if it's a girl) holding them in his arms and the absolute adoration on his face ♥️

It would start when you tell him you're pregnant. He'd be beside you (crying a little), kissing and hugging you, and your belly and telling "I'm gonna be a dad. We're gonna be parents."

Even when before you start showing, his hands will be on the belly, secretly protecting his kid. Involuntarily yelling "excuse me" and "coming through" when the two of you walk through crowds. And randomly talking to the baby, reading to the baby at night. And when he goes on a shoot while you're pregnant and he calls and he says "put the phone on speaker, I wanna talk to the baby" and talks about the day.

And he'd be showing everyone the ultrasound pic! And when you're having a movie night, he'd either have his hand or his head on your belly, constantly snuggling into you. And he'll tell anyone who'll listen that his beautiful wife is expecting your first child. And during the movie, if anybody cusses, Joe would put his hands on the sides of the belly and he'd say "too early for that" jokingly.

Oh Joe won't be able to hold it in for the first trimester. The day the second trimester hits, the ultrasound will be on his page and he'll share an entire paragraph about the baby and his incredible wife.

And obviously help throw the best damn dramatic Baby Gender Reveal Party ever!! YES! It's a girl!!

The moment he feels the baby kick over your belly, god, here comes the water works AGAIN!! His hands will be literally glued to your belly until he feels her kick again.

And the day comes when little Ms. Mazzello is ready to make her grand entrance into the world and you bet your ass, Mr. Mazzello has had the hospital bag and ready to go right after the baby shower.

And there she was, Ella Virginia Mazzello, the absolute adoration in his face as he watched his little girl in a tiny bundle on her mom's chest.

His face would be all lit up when he finally holds his baby girl, he's looking at his baby girl, all teary eyed and you could see his love for the baby in his eyes. And he'll literally worship the mother of his more than adorable baby, the love of his life and love her like anything.

He'd be loving and considerate, and would make sure his wife is happy and comfortable. And he tries his best to for you to let him dress the baby in the Yankees onesie he got for her. Well he knows how that's gonna end up.

Let us assume the fact that Ben has a baby boy around that time and Gwil makes a joke "that's your future boyfriend" when the boys visit the new mother and baby at Joe's home and Joe whispers to the baby, pretty audibly, "No dating for you until 16, young lady"

And on one day when the Yankees are playing, he'll be wearing a Yankees tshirt and dresses the baby in the Yankees onesie that he specifically got for her, and seats her on his lap, he'll post that picture captioned "Just two Yankees fans hangin' out"

His phone memory will be filled up with all of Ella's pictures, videos of her bouncing up and down on her father's lap to one of those Beatles songs from her dad's collection and obviously in her Halloween costume, that's right, Joe dresses up his little girl in a baby Raptor costume.

And all the boys would give him shit for it but Lucy would think it's the most adorable thing ever and tell you how lucky you are to have a husband like that.

As his little girl grows up, he'll help her host tea parties and he'd take her on daddy-daughter dates so he can show her how a REAL man should treat her.

Joe would make sure his little girl don't take no crap!

Second time along, during their second gender reveal, they find they're having a baby boy and he'll go crazy raising his hands and jumping up and down "we're having a boy, our lil baseball player is here."

He'd be going on and on and ON about having a firstborn son to carry on the family name.

He'd DEFINITELY get him a raptor onesie first and practically beg to organise play dates with Gwil & Dana's little girl and Rami and Lucy's twins (we haven't forgotten Ben's kids)

And Joe's baby girl, he'll definitely be by her side when his baby boy is too little so that she don't feel left out or anything.

********

And Mother's Day,

The boys would all get together and plan something special for the ladies so they don't have to lift a finger. Starting with breakfast in bed (that Joe made with help from the kids), well you woke up to your little girl's giggles from outside the door and in comes your lovely husband with your baby boy in the baby carrier and Ella.

The boys would have booked the girls in for a spa day and he'll organise daddy-daycare with the boys. Then you'd all go to Rami & Lucy's place for dinner, which of course, the dads are making while the girls hangout with the kids. And then comes a bab(ies)y-mommy photoshoot and everything.

But Joe would find you when the baby's hungry because 'that's the one thing I can't do, sorry!' He'll be so dramatic saying "My nipples are useless."

Under the starry skies, the boys and their wives and babies, pictures perfect.

Ooh and the kids, well the boys will set up tents for them to camp in the backyard. And they'll sit around and tell stories of dragons and pirates and wizards; and let their imaginations run wild.

Imagine Gwil telling all these amazing stories with his soothing accent, doing all the voices and making the kids laugh while the rest of you are enjoying a beer or a glass of wine under the fairy lights hanging in the trees. And later, when he gets an acoustic guitar and break into a song and all the boys sing along.

And after the kids are down, all of you reminisce about the time when they did BoRhap and all the fun you guys had during press tours and birthdays and holidays.

And Joe tells about the adventures in Japan for the press tour when the translators were finding it hard to keep up with the boys. And Ben's like "Sorry I missed it!"

"But Cardboard Ben did" and that's when they remember Ben Cardy after an awful long time

Then Gwil and Joe explain the terrible night that Cardy B was in jail. Meanwhile you and the girls look at each other like "Boys!" 🙄

And Lucy takes out Joe's YouTube page and shows all the videos. And they all give him shit for doing 'Milk' and you be like "He still got the occasional screams."

Then Rami says "so THAT'S your bedroom secret, Joe?" And Joe's like "Well, we've got two kids so it must be working!" And you shove at his arm to keep him quiet saying "Joseph!"

"That's nothing",  Lucy says with a grin "Rami sings to me". And Rami covers his face with his hands and Ben shoves his arm. "Gwil goes "Huzzah" everytime he's done", says Dana from a corner. Ben gives Olivia a warning look, and Olivia says "Ben tells me to call him Skywalker to get him in the mood" and Joe laughs.

"So we all have weird quirks, cheers to that", says Joe and takes a drink and you go like eww

"That's why were friends", says Gwil. "Joe and I are more like brothers' says Rami, "We've seen each other shirtless in The Pacific". "And other things" says Ben. Lucy rolls her eyes and you two give each other a look.

"Here we go again" says Gwil and turns to you to ask "Has he tried to make the kids watch The Pacific yet?"

"Well it's not my fault. That the scene was TOO GOOD, y'know", says Joe winking, "besides you enjoy it as much as I do" says Joe to you.

"Several times. Barely made it halfway through the first episode before Ella said she was bored. He then tried with Joey until I reminded him that the baby is, in fact, still a baby. But when WE watch it, Joe always seems really interested in THAT sex scene", you said. "Joseph!" Lucy gasps

"Attaboy!" Rami chuckles and pats Joe on his back.

"How come you guys never watched it with me?", Ben asks. "We should do a "The Pacific" watch party one day", Rami announces and Joe toasts, "To the watchparty!"

"Oh she hesitated! That means it's true!" says Ben. "No wonder you've got two kids" Gwil grins.

"You watched it too!" says Dana. "Only because Rami and Joe wouldn't shut up about it and brought it up in EVERY interview we did!" says Gwil.

Just as Joe does the toast, your daughter comes out in her favourite unicorn pyjamas. "Daddy, I need to pee". Joe looks over at you. Rami and Lucy giggle. "She did call Daddy, didn't she?", you gave a look to Joe and he says "Come here" he says and picks up his daughter and off he goes. "She walks right?", Dana asks. "Don't even get me started with that.", you told.

"Always knew he'd go all gooey over his little girl." Ben says, lighting a cigarette. "She's definitely daddy's princess", you sigh. "Does he have tea parties with her?" Olivia asks. "He does, but uh" you hesitate just as Joe comes back, "Liv wants to know about your latest tea party"

"Oh what can I say Ella loves tea parties as much as I do. It's incredible and so much fun, you know" he says. "And this one here", he gestures to you, "is kinda jealous of us spending all the time together."

"You pinky promised me that you wouldn't show it to anyone" says Joe trying to grab your phone. "Oh its them", you said. "Yes it's us. Also pinky promise? How old are you guys?", Gwil asked.

"Yeah, Joe left me for a younger woman", you grin, sipping your wine. "You bastard!" Gwil gasps.

"And yet I have photographic evidence of you wearing a flower crown" you add. "Show us!", says Ben.

"That's just the start of it, Gwil", you wink, "so we have a choice between the flower crown, the fairy wings or the unicorn headband". Ben chokes on his cigarette and the girls laugh.

"You're a man of many hidden talents, Joe", Rami smirks.

"In my defense, I take pinky promises very very seriously", Joe said as the group passed the phone around, "Also I looked good in every one of those pictures"

"Y/N, tell them", Joe said. You roll your eyes. "He looks good in every one of those pictures", you said, adding to Dana "otherwise he'll sulk for the rest of the night." Dana giggles.

"Speaking of onesies, Joe wanted to get BoRhap themed outfits for the kids.", you said. "Thats so thoughtful, Joe", Lucy said. "Hold on, next time?", Ben grinned, "You guys wanna have more kids?"

"Did you get that onesie that we sent you for the baby?" Ben asked. "We did", you confirm "and it fits perfectly. Though El almost threw a tantrum when she saw her baby brother dressed as a raptor."

"Well Joe has already bought a Yankees one, so Ben had to compromise", said Rami. "Joe made me pinky promise that we HAD to buy the Yankees onesie first", you grin. "I wanted that for the baby's "homecoming" outfit, but she didn't allow it. Both times. Better luck next time, right?" Joe said.

'It's Joey's first Christmas. They're growing up so fast. I remember like it was yesterday that I told Joe that I was pregnant with El. Now here we are", and you were interrupted by a baby crying through one of the monitors. All of you scramble around to check which one was active. And found out it was yours, "Is he hearing all this? I'm gonna go check on him", you said and walked away.

"Oh he's already advised me of this, on the wedding night", you shrugged. "Pretty sure we conceived lil Joey at your place, Gwil", Joe grins, making Gwil sputter on his beer. You swatted his arm, "Joe!!".

"And I assume you've already found these outfits for the kids?" Olivia asked.

"It's a work in progress. It should be ready by the time of our Disney trip, hopefully", Joe said.

You sat in the rocking chair with Joey in your arms, singing to him softly, looking deep into his hazel eyes, stroking his cheek with your finger.

"I remember when you told us that Y/N was pregnant again", said Lucy, "You couldn't wait give give El a baby brother or sister."

"That's what you meant when you said you were busy, huh"' Rami winked. "We thought it was time, you know, El became a big sister."

******

"Gosh, I feel bad for not saying goodnight to everyone", you yawned "I didn't realise how tired I was.". You watched as the baby snuggled into the pastel green blanket, sound asleep.

You felt the baby lifted off your arms and opened your eyes, your fingers tightening on the baby "Shhhh its okay, it's me. I got him.", said Joe as he took the baby in his arm and laid him down on the bassinet right by the bedside. "Aren't you supposed to be downstairs?", you asked sleepy

"I knew you'd have dozed off with the baby when you didn't show up and everybody was tired after the long night. Probably asleep by now", Joe said, "Come let's go to sleep."

'C'mon now, in you get', Joe said pulling the duvet aside and you got in and he behind you. His strong arms wrapped around you after he pulled the blanket over the both of you. You nuzzled into his neck. Joe kissed the top of your head. As the two of you dozed off.

......

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