#but getting b's realistically is not mediocre

[loveinsomesacredplace]

[pokituu]

I’m so impressed with how many styles you have and that you use them regularly (realistic, semi realistic, 2d, and 2d, 3d & pixel animation)! How did you learn to balance this many and get so good in all of them?

THANK YOUUUU this compliment means so much to me because so often i feel so worried I will stagnate since I basically like to draw the same subject matter over and over again 😳 but I do like to periodically try new things that I'll become invested in for chunks of time.

i guess advice more than just 'practice' is to be willing to try out new things that you have an interest in, even if it doesn't work out at first and is frustrating. you gotta be persistent to learn something new BUT if you get bored then just move on! if it sucks hit da bricks.... I really like this bjork quote abt creativity

idk throughout my life in art i just try to learn about stuff i'm interested in and practice what i wanna practice. like i wanted to get good at pixeling when i was like 14 so i kept practicing and trying new ways to go about it until i started to figure it out. same with digital painting when i was 15 and i just kept trying again and again until it clicked, even though i was frustrated a lot, i never actually lost the interest when i saw people's pretty paintings and that feeling of 'man i wish i could do that!'.... so i literally couldn't stop myself from trying over and over at painting. it goes beyond just drawing too. planet earth is fun because ANYTHING u are interested in you can try........ i make fursuit heads and other crafts to see if i can! this year i started making my own songs and also learned leather-working because i saw a cool craft and wanted to try :3

part of it is letting yourself age too because as you get older you will grow interested in new things. i am 27!! i've been drawing since i could hold a pencil. that's a long time to encounter a lot of stuff to get obsessed about and wanna try out for myself. SUCCESS TIP!: i typically pursue things that are adjacent to other skills i already have invested in, like drawing to 3d sculpture to digital modeling, or start blending them like sculpture + coding skills = 3d animation rigging. The reason is because a lot of these skills are transferable and make it easier to pick up. like a skill tree in a video game... and you'll end up in weird places like sculpture to sewing to leathercraft. It's nice to have creative hobbies you can be sorta be mediocre at without attaching your self worth to it, but other people still often find it impressive anyways because it's stuff they've never tried to do. It's really healing and easier to like what you create And yourself by extension when you're just having fun and learning without having to worry about the end product being "good". Anything you try is not a waste because you are learning new skills and more often than not, something you've learned is transferable to some other area of your life!!!!!!!!! nothing is ever a waste of time.

this is also the secret cure to art block btw well actually there are two secret cures. a) is you have to embrace the art block and go get obsessed with some other creative thing for a bit. either that or b) go absorb other people's creativity to a bit and watch some shows and read books or talk to people. c) is a mix of both. eventually you'll return to art again feeling fresh and motivated if you're willing to give it a few months. I think art block really just means you're bored and need a change of scenery one way or another 🤔 that's just my onion though

TL;DR have fun pursuing things just because you like them. as you keep doing it you'll just get better at it through practice whether you really intend to or not.

[summersmithlatinxgyatt]

The following is a really rough theory of mine that also involves Summer. I’m going to keep it at all at a very questionable pace because it sounds very far-fetched, but it has understandable proof. Let’s just start out with a question that I’m not gonna answer very well 💀

Is Summer smart?

…no seriously, that’s the question of the day. Is Summer smart or dumb?

You can say she’s just kind of a dumb teen girl, but there’s some nuance to it that warrants a theory to be made.

She mentions that she chooses to get decent grades instead of being an A+ student. She doesn’t really go on about any classes other than Spanish class (which she cheats her way into), since we know she stopped attending flute practice. However, she’s been shown to be very smart in battle and with Rick. The two of them are an unstoppable force, but we only see that happen with our Summer and our Rick.

Looking at the Gazorpazorp episode, I think that’s what cemented their relationship. So if Summer wasn’t accidentally brought along, she wouldn’t have been brought along ever again and have that trust be built up.

Realistically, no other Rick has had this incident and no other Rick probably has any reason to have Summer work with them. Every reason DOES have an inverse argument though. The most obvious one is that Morty blocks the brainwaves and Summer doesn’t, but that also means Summer can’t be tracked and is a surprise ally.

That being said, it’s likely that every Summer is told to stay in a “dumb” state because it is literally illegal to be around Rick and be a part of his life. That could very much be the reason. Summer always does what she wants, which includes being mediocre at school.

Her Night Summer personality is also the one who has to learn Spanish, so deep down she’s wanted this but somehow can’t or doesn’t want to.

My theory is that, since the Council of Ricks rules that Summer cannot be radicalized, Rick keeps her as distracted as possible as he focuses on himself or Morty in the meantime.

I also don’t know how valid this next point is, but Night Summer doesn’t know her Twitter password. This could be because the surface-level Summer is really being forced into just being on the side and being on her phone 24/7

I’ve brought up this scene from the GoTron episode. Every other family member is interacting with themselves or each other. Summer isn’t. She’s just still on her phone

Except our main Summer, of course

I WAS going to go on about how maybe Rick built her a phone that is so addicting that it keeps her attention at all times or it lowers her intelligence. Our Rick was able to detect that Mr. Needful’s microscope was going to make him reta- I mean, less intelligent. But keep in mind that:

A) Our Rick is the smartest Rick. Other Ricks are likely not doing this kind of stuff. Also this is just to make it clear what I mean by “Rick”.

B) Our Rick doesn’t suppress Summer anymore

I think it’s likely other Ricks might have done this? It’s probably just a healthy dose of neglect

One more thing. I pointed out in a theory about the fascist dimensions that Wasp Morty was looking at fascist propaganda online that the Citadel was using to radicalize others and come back after Rick took them down. If the Citadel of Ricks considered having Summer work with Rick a crime, then maybe alternate Summers have their phones connected to a similar network that keeps them suppressed and docile. The entire point of that aforementioned Mr. Needful scene was the basis of Rick removing curses and traps from other items and technology. He can remove this theoretical Citadel suppressing network from Summer’s phone, he hates them

[thoselethalarts]

𝕸𝖆𝖗𝖈𝖚𝖘 𝕿𝖔𝖒𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖉 - 𝕻𝖊𝖗𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖆𝖑 𝕾𝖙𝖔𝖗𝖞

(R) Gym Uniform: “I Didn’t Sign Up For This!”

(NRC Courtyard) (Film Studies Club)

Film Studies Mob A: But… w-why would you do this…?! We’re brothers! I trusted you!

Film Studies Mob B: I’m sorry… but there’s nothing I can do. It just has to be this way. Film Studies Mob B: HYAH!

(stabbing noise)

Pome Mob A: AAAAUGH-!! (collapses)

Marcus: (internally) …Really? That was the most stupidly cliché performance I’ve ever seen.

Marcus: I get that this is just a high school play so it’s not like I should expect cinematic greatness, but… Marcus: Even the most low-budget direct-to-DVD horror movies I’ve seen have had a semi-realistic reaction to being stabbed. This is just sad. Marcus: This whole club has been just a huge disappointment... I only joined because I thought we’d be watching and critiquing movies, not making our own. Marcus: Being the guy that directs the lights and holds boom mics for about an hour or two is boring… but at least I don’t have to do any acting.

Vil: Cut!

Film Studies Mob A: (gets up from the ground) Dorm head! How was my performance? Did it meet your expectations?

Vil: How should I put this… it’s indescribable, really. Vil: Everything you both were doing up until the act of betrayal was perfect and beautiful. But the instant it came down to that climactic moment… Vil: It was simply flawed! Melodramatic, cliché, disappointing, hardly beautiful in the slightest. If this were your audition then I would have sent you away immediately for such a mediocre performance.

Film Studies Mob A: E-Eek...! It was that bad…?!

Vil: I saw you then not as a man being betrayed by his own flesh and blood, but a man pretending that he was being betrayed. Vil: I want you, in body and mind, to FEEL the pain your character is inflicted, and show that pain on the screen. Do you understand?

Film Studies Mob A: Y-Yes dorm head. But… I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying. Film Studies Mob A: I did what I thought would happen in such a scene. What else am I to do? It's not like I have firsthand experience with being stabbed...

Vil: Maybe so, but still… It just doesn’t feel right. Vil: Perhaps it’s time for us to take a break and refresh ourselves before the next take. Take ten, everyone.

Film Studies Mob Students: Got it!

Marcus: Ugh… finally. My arms are killing me from holding this boom mic for so long.

---

Marcus: (drinking from his water) Haaah… just a little while longer and then I can finally go back to my dorm.

Vil: Marcus. May I have a word?

Marcus: Huh? Y-Yeah, I guess. Marcus: What’s up, Vil? Is there something wrong with the lighting or…?

Vil: Quite the contrary, actually; the staging and setup was perfectly fine. I was more interested in you specifically.

Marcus: …? Did I do something wrong?

Vil: Not at all. You don't need to worry, I'm not here to reprimand you. Vil: I couldn’t help but notice you scowling midway through our practice of the last scene. Vil: That sort of reaction didn’t seem like a coincidence. You also could sense that the acting was off, couldn’t you?

Marcus: Oh- You saw that, huh? Marcus: I mean… I guess so. Kind of. Marcus: But it’s not like my opinion matters all that much. I’m just a stagehand and you’re the director, after all.

Vil: Please, have some self-respect. Gauging audience reaction is important in film and drama, and that includes taking consideration from everyone that’s a part of production. Vil: Besides, if I recall you said in in your club introduction that you have a Viewtube channel that you host, right?

Marcus: Yeah, I do. Me ‘n my partner host it together. Marcus: We focus on horror and supernatural filmography, mostly. But sometimes we like to do research into true crime as well. Marcus: Sometimes it’s whatever we’re feeling like covering, but other times we get called into an area to investigate sudden hot spots of activity. Our, uh, boss is good at scoping out locations for us with that. Marcus: I wouldn’t say that we’re big by any means, but we have a somewhat decent following. Numbers have never really been something we care about focusing on.

Vil: I see, so you also have some personal background with filmography, albeit mostly in darker subjects.

Marcus: I guess you could say that. I like to watch a lot of horror, mysteries, and psychological thrillers in my spare time. And play video games of similar genres, too. Marcus: There's a couple channels online I follow too that go into behind the scenes and interviews for the stunts and kills when it comes to the more action-horror flicks. Marcus: So… again it doesn’t feel like my place to say this, but all that considered I felt like that whole last scene was just super anticlimactic and unbelievable to me.

Vil: Is that so… Then I see we’re in agreement. Vil: Sadly, I’ve up to this point been mostly uninvolved with dark tragedy performances, so if you have a thought on how the performance could be made better I would like to hear it.

Marcus: Ah, well uh- if you insist on hearing me out, then… Marcus: The lines are fine, I don’t really care about any of that. It’s the actions themselves that are bothering me the most. Marcus: See, usually when you’re stabbed like the lead was- in real life you don’t really yell or scream out loudly in pain like that. It's just not what happens. Marcus: Usually when it happens the most that you can muster out is a gasp, cuz all the breath in your body is being driven out from the shock. Nothing much more as you go down. Marcus: So, uh... that whole bit just came off as super lame and corny to me. Not in a good way either.

Vil: …Is that right? And where’s this information coming from?

Marcus: U-Uh... It- was from an interview I watched at some point. Behind the scenes for Lord of the Rings. Yeah.

Vil: Hm. I'm not familiar with that title. I'll have to look into it at some point. Vil: But, since you seem to be an expert on scenes like this I'm quite interested in what your interpretation would be. Vil: Both of you! Come over here for a moment.

(Sound of Mob Students approaching)

Film Studies Mob A & B: Yes dorm head!

Vil: I’d like to test something. Villain, I’d like you to go through our last scene again, and Marcus you will be in place of the protagonist. Show me what you would do differently if you were the one center-stage.

Marcus: Uh- wha? Er, Vil I’m just the stage guy, I don’t really do acting, remember?

Vil: You have personal experience in this matter, and that makes you our on-site expert for this instance. Vil: With that in mind, I want you to show me what your interpretation of our last scene would be. Hold nothing back.

Marcus: I… I guess. Okay then, if you really insist...

Vil: Places, please. And… Action!

Film Studies Mob B: …You were like a brother to me. By blood and by soul. I’m sorry… but it just has to be this way. Film Studies Mob B: HAH-!

Marcus: (Gasps out sharply, goes limp, and then collapses with a thud)

Vil: Cut! Vil: Well… I will admit I was skeptical of your claims, but that did look like quite a realistic reaction, Marcus. Almost disturbingly so, actually.

Marcus: It’s fine. Anyway, I dunno if that helps at all but that’s all that was on my-

Vil: Actually, you potatoes over there. You all witnessed his performance, did you not?

Film Studies Mob C: Yeah, it was stunning! Like a real scene from a movie! Film Studies Mob B: I-I was worried for a second that I really hurt him… a brilliant performance! Film Studies Mob A: I have so much to learn… I’ll need to brush up on my method acting…!

Vil: I think that decides it. Marcus, I’m appointing you to be the new lead actor in our film.

Marcus: H-Huh?! Hey, hold on a second! Marcus: Vil, I don’t do acting, I told you on day one! NO. ACTING.

Vil: Come now, you perform for your Viewtube audience regularly and you’re afraid of the stage in front of your peers? Vil: If there are no objections from the cast then we’ll need to have you fitted for the role’s costume, and you’ll be thoroughly trained for your new role as an actor. Vil: Committee, get our new lead a script! He has lines he’ll need to begin memorizing.

Marcus: N-No, you got it all wrong! I don’t even act for my channel, it’s all unscripted! I didn’t sign up for this! Vil-! Marcus: …Man… Signing up for this club was a mistake. I wanna take a nap and never wake up again…

/ End

[sunsp0tarchive]

hellooo do wchiever obes you want but im curious 12 for anna, 2+13 for margot and 4+5 for ellis

thank u sm for the ask!! excited to talk about my girls more too yeeeess

ok 12. -is your oc cynical or optimistic- Anna

i think she doesnt fit super neatly into either category, i would say shes a very pragmatic, realistic person, who sort of lives in the present. anna is definitely someone who usually tries to expect the worst and prepares for that. an attack on her father, that she was caught in, left her scarred and gave her an early experience of the pain and sudden shock that can occur in life. while leaving a clear trauma, this real experience with violence never allowed her to form a purely optimistic, detached view of the world. Even within her sheltered upbringing.

2. - Is your OC a loner or a social butterfly? Are they satisfied with how they come across to other people?- Margot

Margot is actually a bubbly person, full of curiosity and good intent toward other people. Her (also) sheltered upbringing heavily isolated her and stunted her ability to socialize. As she finally runs away from home, after she is pressured about getting married , and throws herself into the chaos of the cities daily goings on, she realizes how inexperienced she comes across to others and is deeply frustrated by it. Margot is not stupid and posesses a strong sense of emotional intelligence, but she lacks so much context in her life. Her lack of cynicism is occasionally appreciated by others though.

13.- How important are romantic relationships to your OC? Do they prefer casual sex, short flings, or long term relationships? Do they want to get married or are they content with what they have? Or do they have no interest in romance whatsoever?- Margot

Margot would not admit it, but her initial dream would be almost a fairytale romance, to be treated like something precious, by a prince of sorts. Her experience running away with a mediocre man taught her a lot of things about relationships though, as they were on different pages entirely. She ends up frustrated in multiple ways. Margot loves people and feels that every connection to someone else is something valuable, to be respected. She truly gains energy from friendships , but its hard for her to define what is what sometimes, and what she even wants herself out of a specific connection with someone. How much weight people put into certain actions etc. can confuse her. (leading to frustration for some, like aisling, her best friend.) I would say, she ends up in a long, stable relationship with anna, because they balance each other out well, dont really put too much pressure on one another and communicate very clearly. Maybe in the future she could move away from being exclusively monogamous, but the stability of her connection with anna is strengthening for both of them for what i would say, is a longer span of time.

4. - Does your OC have a failed friendship or relationship they still think about? What happened? Is it an unresolved regret or is there a chance for reconciliation? - Ellis

I would say the slow breakdown of the brotherly friendship between ellis and aaron would count into this, as the weight of suddenly being responsible for themselves as teens drove a wedge between them. He never stopped loving his older brother though and misses him dearly, while aaron just tried to forget about ellis. (Hes the one who has the unresolved regret and guilt mainly) Ellis has always been kind of a loner. He had one friend as a kid, but as they became teenagers, they sort of drifted apart. Ellis is socially stunted in a way, so most people with regret and guilt are the people who run into him, rather than himself. An overwhelming shame and regret haunts him, about his connection to a member of his own family though. No saving that one either, unfortunately...

5. -Does your OC have a signature weapon and/or attack? How long did they train to master it?- Ellis

Ellis is not much of a fighter really.. But for security he carries around a few different things that he picked up at home. A pocket knife, a kitchen Knife and just generally things that are more versatile tools rather than weapons. He would just wave around whatever he has at hand (before inevitably being knocked down unless he gets really lucky) Most people could easily beat him up. In a different scenario i could imagine him being good at archery or long range shooting though. He has a steady hand and good focus.

[snickerdoodlesandsausages]

You are not dumb and have probably tried many things, but here’s what has helped me:

I absolutely cannot do intermittent goof-off rewards. I’m either in Work Mode or I’m not, and I can’t let myself out of Work Mode before I’m done or it’s over.

I often find it easier to get started if I have to accomplish a certain amount of Task before I have to leave to go do a fun thing that I will be sad if I have to cancel. It works best if it’s that day, but a day or two out can still work ok if the thing is exciting enough.

The fun thing can be seeing a friend or playing a video game or watching an extra episode or three of a show before bed, the important thing is that there is a limited period of time I have to accomplish the work and the promise of free time/friend time as the prize. If you have control over deadlines, try to give yourself ~half as much work as you think you COULD accomplish if you were Properly Dedicated, as it will decrease the chances of panic and despair and increase the chances of Extra Free Time, which is a) wonderful and b) will allow you to recover from adrenaline-fueled hard stuff, which takes a lot out of you.

I think there are 2 reasons this works for me:

1) race -> adrenaline for me, which is the only thing other than dopamine that will get me to do stuff, and

2) the thought of Infinite Work immediately makes my brain rebel. I need rest and playtime and if I don’t schedule enough of it every week and hold it as sacrosanct as any work obligation, I will take that time when I’m not supposed to have it. It’s ok to have goals, but “a year’s worth of work in a month by hyperfocusing for 8 hours a day” is not realistic and is a great way to get burnt out and injured if you somehow do it, and is a pointlessly discouraging way to think about yourself and your work if you don’t. Buying myself time to goof off with maximum delight and intention is much more motivating.

Another thing that helps is if I go to another place to work where I only have my work stuff, so that I can’t immediately act on thoughts of “I should really do my laundry” or “do I have enough milk in the fridge” or whatever, and I have to work around whatever I forgot to bring. Forgot my charger? Guess I have to get this done before my battery dies. Don’t like this song? I’m not in charge of the playlist anyway.

A third thing that helped when I had to do Infinite Notes for a history class was timing how long it took me to read and summarize each paragraph and work to get my times down. I started at 5 minutes, then worked my way down to 4 then 3 then sometimes I could do it in 2, WITHOUT doing it any worse; I learned how to pick out and write down what I actually needed to know much faster.

If there’s an equivalent “task that takes 5 minutes or less that you have to do a bunch of times” for any of the steps of Draw Comic (plan poses for one panel? Line art of one object? Flat colors on one object? Idk but you probably do) you might give it a shot. Don’t relax your standards, but I guarantee there is a bite small enough that you can do it right in that amount of time. You’re not here to churn out mediocre garbage, you’re here to achieve excellence efficiently. When you’re done, take 30 seconds for a deep breath, food/water, fix your posture/stretch, then dive right into the next one and try to do it faster and better so that your momentum doesn’t die.

Racing is a really tiring way to work, so don’t heap too much on yourself. Don’t do more than you need to meet your deadlines, and don’t work ahead without plans for your time off.

Does anybody know any faster ways to get yourself into Work Mode? The way I try to slowly build up momentum by allowing myself to just do nothing uninterrupted until the urge to get work done comes naturally doesn't work because my Doing Nothing can and will get interrupted, so it's like trying to build a card house while locked in an elevator with five ferrets who hate it in the elevator and want to get out but don't understand that you have to build the card house in order to open the door, so they keep knocking it over because they're bored and anxious and keep stopping you from doing what you all want to get done.

[qqueenofhades]

I feel more and more like this portrayal of extreme violence against women and also the idea that people in the middle ages were dumb/didn't know what they were doing (of which imo horrific childbirth gore is an example--I know it happened but also it still does!) is very much in line with the idea that history is an always linear progression upwards (dumb to smart, no human rights to many of them you get the drill) so in a way these "realistic" depictions make sense to most people probably because they assume that whatever is happening to women now, it must have been Worse for them back then, and because they're aware women didn't have too many rights until recently (a d even that is debatable) that has only ever been worse in the past too unless they were Joan of Arc

And this is why primary and secondary school history education needs a complete overhaul

*same anon, I just wanted to add to the linear history thing real quick. It also writes off the men as idiots who don't know morals, and humanity in general as stupid, rather than a complex evolved system of thinking which simply is different from contemporary white western civilisation. It just... Feels a lot like the way colonialists looked at the people they called savages.

I mean, yeah. I've written (and ranted) extensively about all of this in the past (as I said, this whole conversation is like being dead-fish-slapped in the face with approximately-2014 Tumblr). I have too many posts on this subject to possibly link and/or remember them all, but my medieval history and women in history tags both come to mind as places where some of that stuff can be found.

Also, either the makers of HOTD or the people writing the Hollywood Reporter article actually used the overturn of Roe v. Wade as a "reason" for it being "important" for the show to depict the "fact!!!" that premodern women "often" died in childbirth (one of the showrunners even came out with some imaginary-but-weirdly-specific statistic about it being a "50-50 chance" for a woman to survive giving birth. Thanks for that, Noted Medieval History Expert, Guy Who Makes Television Shows For HBO!) And like... does any woman in America right now think that what they really need is some mediocre-white-man entertainment executive making a high-budget infomercial about why childbirth is dangerous? Like they suddenly discovered that fact three seconds ago and are like ZOMGZ MORE PEOPLE SHOULD KNOW THIS? When the possibility of women dying in preventable ways due to pregnancy complications has once more become a grim reality, like... we also really need to see this in entertainment now? Because something something realism!!!?

Either way, the overturn of Roe alone should put paid to any serious attempt to argue that things have only gotten "better" for women throughout history, have never gotten worse, and that "human rights" only proceed forward on a chronologically based idea of liberal morality. If the "progress" of history is real, why do we have a literal fascist movement in America that is mouthing all the old and supposedly discredited tenets of fascist thought? Why is that happening again, if we learned back in the 1940s that racist nationalist fascism was bad, fought a pretty major war over it, and then supposedly moved past it for good? Etc etc. People create social attitudes and legal rules according to what they find useful at the time and in response to their needs and fears. As I have said, they also don't live long enough to have any real historical memory or sense of just repeating what has been done in the past, because a) they don't learn history, b) they don't believe it, and c) it hasn't happened to them, they treat history as only the parts of it that they like and which support their point of view, and therefore just go around and around in circles and never actually learn their lesson. Blah.

Anyway, conservatives and the alt-right like the idea that there was supposedly a time when women "knew their place" and weren't treated like people and had no rights and only existed to please their menfolk and Serve God, because that lends "weight" to their attempt to do the exact same thing right now. Liberals like the idea that the Past Was Always Bad For Women because it implies that modern liberalism happily solved that problem and provides them with endless ways to disparagingly call the fascists "medieval," which isn't helpful either and distracts from how modernity has developed and nurtured these toxic ideas for its own purposes. So. Yeah.

[minjeonpark]

Chapter 28 & things to address..

Hello, it’s your favorite absent author-nim. Lmao

Chapter 28 is up and ready for your eyes. I had a sweet time writing this one because it’s the gate to all lovey dovey stuff.

*heart flutters*

On a more serious/concerning update, there’s a lot of things stemming from one thing that I need to address. Please bare with me as I open the gates of *drum roll* anonymous readers (?) that have been abusing that anonymous button on the ask section of this app.

At first (for months) I didn't want to bring attention to the nonstop harassment I've been getting over here but I feel like there's a person (or several) that have been abusing that anonymous button for months.

And it sucks.

At first, I simply deleted the asks that these people sent because I couldn't be bothered but lately it's all I've been getting (to the point of not being able to find the nice comments) and if their goal is to make me post more often....I'm here to inform you that it's not working, obviously.

Threatening me to post the next update actually hinders me from doing so because my inspiration is gone the moment I read those asks. If you're wondering why I'm no longer active on Tumblr is mainly because of this and now I dread opening this app. with all the due respect that my mother raised me with…please stop.

This is meant to be a pleasing distraction from everyday life. We are here to make friends and to build a safe space, something that lately its not for me.

I believe this story is not that good to be receiving threats over. Sure, I love this story too, I deeply love my characters and it's been a joy writing about them. And I understand the need for weekly updates just as much as I want this story to go on forever. Unfortunately the weekly update thing has not been possible because I work 9-5 but if I'm being honest, I can write a full chapter in three nights. The thing is, reading really rude comments deters me from doing so, I'm sure every reader-nim that it's also an author-nim can relate to this.

And I’m not talking about the reader-nims asking me about the next update or sending great constructive criticism, NO. I’m talking about the anonymous asks that call me a b*tch (to put it in the nicest way without losing context) every time the weekend update is not posted.

As for the things among these *asks* that I -at this point- must address are:

1. How realistic the story is…NOT (?)

One of the first rude asks I got about DSIMY being not realistic at all was how can I claim it to be real when my writing is mediocre and sets the tannies up in the story.

First of all, I know I’ve said I’m trying to keep the story as realistic as possible. What I meant with that was in terms of the timeline. There’s no way I can deduce the tannies’ character down to perfection. Breaking news, I don’t know them. This is fiction even if the tags are #OriginalUniverse. Please understand this is in no way a Hybe certified biography written by a random ao3 author on the internet. *Me believes ao3 is not Wikipedia.*

As for setting the tannies up, I’m hurt that you think I am doing that and I have no clues as to why you would believe that. Again, this is fan fiction written by a random not certified writer dabbling in fan fiction on a site/archive called ao3.

I know I’m not the best writer —I never claim to be one. I know I have so much ahead of me in terms of improvement. I’m not forcing anyone to read anything I write so I don’t understand why the asks about the chapter being sh*t keep coming. If you don’t like it, please don’t read it. Spare your eyes from my writing.

2. Long/short chapters

Complaining about not long enough chapters and then following it up with the chapter being 15k words of filler writing…..I’m sorry. I’m already setting up myself with shorter more action packed chapters. It’s my first time writing fan fiction and I made the mistake of making DSIMY the introduction of the series. At this point, I’m lost on what to include in the chapters.

3. Ignoring comments

I’m not sure if this is about the many comments on ao3 that I have yet to reply to or the 50+ unanswered asks sitting in my inbox. I’ve been deleting rude asks for months here on Tumblr up until these asks literally ran me off the app. Being completely honest, seeing hateful asks at the top of the inbox has made me expect them every time I log on here. And sure thing, there they are, so I stopped altogether.

4. Teasing new stories when DSIMY needs a lot of improvement

Not gonna lie, up until now I was really proud of the story I drafted from the corners of my mind. Up until now. Now im not so sure if DSIMY is worth finishing after many asks telling me to focus on DSIMY instead of starting another shitty story. I know I can’t please everyone, I seriously thought I would receive a lot of excitement from the sequels. Crap, guess not.

5. Not addressing the rude asks

Seriously. This was a happy space for everyone up until I had to address this. I will not answer the rude asks mainly because it will start a chain of events of back and forth that I would like to avoid. And I seriously hope this will be the only time I have to bring such update.

One last thing.

Twitter is going to be my main social media from now on because even if you’re allowed to have a fake profile I can block people if they’re rude, whereas here I cant when people can call me a b*tch and a pathetic author (I'm putting this nicely btw) behind that anonymous button. I've loved Tumblr because you guys are more active here but with this happening I made the decision to stick to Twitter or no social media at all. This is not something I decided after one rude message, it's been more than a dozen since I got fired and it's seriously pushing me back from updating this story.

I will be posting teasers, and just overall updates about everything on Twitter. I will try to move the media over to there some time.

I know it’s very few people being party poopers but these few people are loud and for the sake of enjoying this journey I have to stop giving them access to being rude. I hope you understand where I’m coming from and I apologize if some of this came off in the wrong way —its not meant like that.

I’ll never take your patience and love for granted.

Love,

Your author nim.

[waluigis-biggest-fan]

Brubabs Examination (With a Hint of Batjokes)

A while back, I answered a prompt from @multi-fandom-memes asking which I'd rather see, Brubabs or Jokebats and I don't think I properly dived into that whole can of worms, or at least I have more ideas.

Firstly, a quick recap of my thoughts on Jokebats: I don't like it.

I get that there are many versions of the characters but I like too much of the canon around Joker being a universally terrible person to get rid of it. If we get rid of the worst aspects of Joker's character we lose two of my favorite characters (Harley and Red Hood) as well as the criticism on the way heroes can be argued to create their own villains. The Joker only does things because he wants Batman's attention so in a way, everything the Joker does is Bruce's fault by association which is why the temptation of killing him is so great. It misses the point entirely to remove the one sided element of Joker's obsessive fixation and it replaces all that with an honestly pretty mediocre dynamic. Bruce and Joker are rivals because they represent the exact opposite of each other. Sanding down their edges and making them lovers removes everything interesting from their rivalry.

So anyways, with that out of the way, Brubabs. Jesus christ, where to start. Brubabs is a very complex issue, on one hand, the relationship has never been characterized as abusive or detrimental in canon (despite how obviously abusive it would be so in any realistic scenario), on the other, total annihilation of the bro code via sleeping with your son's ex-girlfriend. There's no overlap in the relationships but that doesn't make it better. Timeline is still: Barb and Dick break up, Bruce and Barb get horizontal, Bruce gets Barb preggers, Barb and Dick get back together, and Barb finds out she's pregnant and there's no way its Dick's. Still pretty bad even if there was no technical cheating.

The dynamic is alright with them being pretty default besides the obvious daddy's girl element that nobody's really explored yet (the day they do, I'll fuckin' party because that's gonna be comedy gold and neat to explore). Of course all this can be avoided if you just alter the characters in a new timeline. Get rid of Dickbarb (and with that ship name I'm eager to do so) and age up Barb. Then again, if you change characters so majorly then there's no reason to just make new characters. There's no reason this aged up Barb can't just be a new character and have the old one remain the same. It expands the DCU. However, comics, and especially Batman, don't exactly view reboots or alternate continuities changing characters so majorly as a foreign concept, just look at the disparity in characterization between the Dark Knight, Batman Forever, and the Lego Batman movie, and its hardly the first time a fandom would discard canon to that extent just to make a ship happen, just look at my recent Dramione post as a perfect example. The fandom's Draco Malfoy is a calm collected intellectual who always has a sly comeback delivered with surgical precision and a completely different character to the canon Draco Malfoy who is a whiny, petulant, blood purist, elitist brat in the first half of the series and a sack of fear and coping in the second.

I feel like I should also clarify my position on Brubabs: its never been done well in canon. Its also basically only good for trashy fanfiction in its current depiction. I've thought about this a lot since their interaction in the Mystery of the Batwoman is one of my favorite ship dynamics, (You could argue I basically wrote a slightly more taboo Brubabs relationship with 2 of my OCs) but fundamentally, the whole thing is a train wreck that only hurts everything it touches and DC needs to have a strict rule that Bruce Timm can't have anything in his stories about it.

So yeah. that's my full examination of the ship. I'll also encourage you to give @gothamlioness1 's examination of Batjokes VS Brubabs a read through since it goes way more in depth into different canons and why Batjokes is just flat out awful and more problematic than Brubabs but both ships are far from squeaky clean. Thanks for reading this far, have a wonderful day.

[honeybeekao]

rohan for the hc ask game <3 (im so sorry but also teehee i think hes fun)

don't be sorry! oh man i havent thought about this man in a hot minute this is fun

Headcanon A:  realistic

-He's a high school dropout. Let his work drag him to success so he saw no need in finishing school

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

-So we know he willingly puts himself in the most insane situations for the sake of inspiration. He asks people to call him when they're ever in "disarray" or "trouble" but this just leads to people messing with him on purpose. The entire idea backfires on him because now he's just a part of someone's prank compilation video and he STILL has no inspiration!

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

-You know his little monologue about how stressful being an artist can be? I'd say there's no way he hasn't desired to quit. Whether it's because of the nerves of trying to live up to his greatest work, not wanting to disappoint his audience with something mediocre. or.. that self doubt of even being a skilled artist at all. Before being granted Heaven's Door he had to work a lot harder just to improve, and I think being 17 and a breakthrough artist can make or break someone. He would have Months where he couldn't get himself to draw a single thing he was happy with, and he always fears that problem arising again.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

-He was a cheerleader before pursuing his manga career. Mandatory performing extracurricular (and i think him having a fondness for dancing makes sense)

[rinstudiesthings]

Creating a Routine When You Don't Have Any Daily Structure

So I know that when I have appointments or classes to hold me accountable, I create a daily/weekly routine in order to help myself get everything done. It works every time and I get things done. However, the moment I don't have classes anymore, when I don't have to do anything.... I don't do anything. I can't get anything done unless I'm told I have to.

This has endlessly frustrated me, because I want to be able to accomplish something on my own terms. I also run out of energy (or "spoons") easily since I have to work around adhd, chronic pain, and other issues.

So what's the solution? How do you become productive on your own terms when you're stuck with executive function issues and addicted to short term satisfaction?

A routine.

I used to hate them, because I could never actually stick to them. I found them boring and a waste of time. But there's a way to do it right.

A Five Step Process to Creating a Proper Routine

1. Sit down and plan it out.

With this, get a piece of paper and a pen or create a document on the computer you can print out. (I know handwriting hurts a lot with carpal tunnel/arthritis). Firstly, we need to be realistic with how much you can get done in a day. How many things can you do comfortably without pushing yourself too hard. Remember, you're doing this during a rest period, meaning you don't want to burn out. If that means it's 5 things such as wake up, shower, dress, cook/eat, and one other thing you want to do, then plan for that. For me, I already know I have enough energy in the day to do all of my daily hygiene and needs and have energy to do more things. So this is my outline:

A. Get ready

B. Write at least one sentence in novel

C. Spend one hour studying target language

D. Clean room

E. Spend time reading/knitting

F. Allow time to meditate or journal mood

And that's my goals for a regular rest day.

2. Prioritize every daily goal

You may end up with other things you have to do during a rest day. That doesn't mean you push yourself to do all of those goals on top of whatever else you have to do. It means that you have to let something else fall by the wayside for a day.

Pick and choose what you find crucial to do in a day, and what you're okay with allowing to skip during a busy day. Then, list it by priority. For me, it looks like this:

A. Get ready

B. Clean room

C. Spend time reading/knitting

D. Allow time to meditate or journal mood

E. Spend one hour studying target language

F. Write at least one sentence in novel

I know that if I was busy during a portion of the day, I'm going to want to prioritize tasks that help center and relax me rather than mentally and physically draining ones. I also care about cleanliness and feeling ready to face the day, so the first two are non-negotiable to me.

3. Organize yourself accordingly

What I mean by this, is that you have to execute this correctly to push yourself to actually do it. This means putting that list somewhere you will struggle to ignore it, and if you have adhd like me, I recommend changing it's position once a week, or it will begin to fade into the background and you will forget about it.

This also means organizing supplies for any hobby or task you will be tackling. I recommend keeping these supplies in a nice stack, pile, or box/jar (that's see through) if you have adhd or somewhere easily accessible if you have chronic pain. For me, I keep trays in the area where that task usually takes place so I can see it, and it doesn't physically drain me to get it.

Lastly, this means recognizing what is getting in your way. What is your biggest time waster? For me, it's a mix of tiktok, ao3, and YouTube. But they all have one thing in common. The internet, and my phone/laptop. I open my phone every morning and waste an hour on tiktok because I wake up in pain and freezing. I open my laptop at lunch and waste time watching YouTube while eating, and before I know it, it's 6 pm! You have to identify what wastes your time and how you are going to minimize that issue. In fact, this was so hard for me that my next step is about how to help combat this.

4. Set reminders/alarms

Setting a phone alarm might seem counter productive to staying off of your phone, but it actually really helps. As someone with adhd, I struggle to stop and start doing tasks. I have to start a new task at the right time (ex. 2:00, 3:15, 4:30) usually at 15 minute or half hour intervals and if I miss it, I procrastinate until the next "correct" interval. This is DUMB but I can't stop my brain from thinking this way so I have to accommodate for that.

So, here's what I do.

Let's say my plan is to stop being on the computer at 2:00 pm everyday. This is realistic for me since I wake up at 10:00 and eat around 12:30. I will then set an alarm for 1:50 pm, because that will warn me that in 10 minutes, I have to change tasks, so I can prepare myself for it. I set another alarm for 1:57, just to help myself stay reminded and give myself time to properly wrap up whatever I was doing online. Set my last alarm for 2:00 pm and make sure to close the laptop as soon as I hear the alarm, before dismissing it.

I'm now free to change mindsets to whatever priority I have next on my list, so I make sure to clean my area, and set up for the next task, such as language learning.

These alarms can be really helpful to help you keep track of time, it forces you to ground yourself in the present moment and make sure you can't lose track of time. However, I understand that people with sensory processing issues may not like a harsh alarm sound, or anything loud.

The alarm can be a pleasant sound that will get your attention as well. I like birds chirping or Chopin as an alarm sound.

5. Be forgiving

You won't immediately make this work. You won't just magically wake up and perfect this routine and become super productive. This is a guideline to help make it easier to begin.

There are plenty of other tips and tricks to help focus and get things done, but this is to help create a Routine. This will work best if you wake up and go to bed at relatively the same time everyday. Which for people with adhd, that can be difficult. If you want more tips on sleep and adhd let me know, or send me an ask.

Don't be angry and give up if it doesn't go perfectly. Just keep trying. Don't expect perfection, expect mediocrity. Mediocrity is fine, or really, great in a routine. It's supposed to be a little flexible, you're supposed to fuck it up sometimes. A guideline doesn't understand exactly how you feel that day, how tired you are, or how stressed you are. Be nice to yourself and just give it a try!

Good luck!!

[cinderspots]

God I am loving the Truth Of It All. I hope you write more Mia x Miranda fics after this :D I'm pretty much cackling at this later chapter while also be "aww miranda" "AAA Mia D:" Breaks my heart especially that she has to like.. Seperate Eveline into two parts to cope with the fact it's the same kid who kidnapped and traumatized her. Though I am curious about one thing- What do the other lords, daughters and villagers think of Mia and her relationship with Miranda?

I'm sure there will be more miaranda fics! Especially since I feel like I need to make up for a. The lack of fics for them and b. how the writing feels mediocre comparitively to deep breaths. Also thank you! :D

Yes, I actually used some of my own fun trauma to make it seem more realistic, sometimes it's easier to seperate the person who hurt you into two (or more depending) 'personas' one from before, and one that was the abuser. This problem will not be solved by the end of the fic and will likely if I'm given too much power become it's own fic...

And the lords all have different perspectives on their relationship (though they wouldnt dare say anything).

Alcina is jealous at first, Mia is competition in her eyes, and she knows she wont ever be better than Mia in Miranda eyes and she doesnt like that. However Mia is very charming and eventually Alcina can get past her competitiveness.

The daughters are actually pretty happy. Mia is a human (used offhandedly, shes a mold woman in reality), they're not stupid enough to feed from her, but she can tell them about the outside world!

Salvatore is a lot of things. Hes jealous but overjoyed at the same time. New mother! But his 'first' mother likes her more....but someone to love and might love him back!.....but she might ignore him too. Hes kind of all over the place.

Heisenberg and Mia get along but dont at the same time. They get off on a rocky start when he assumes Mia isnt there willingly and covertly tries to convince her to poison her. But since it's the village, its pushed aside shockingly quickly (miranda is aware???) And they bond over their aggressive humour.

Donna fucking LOVES Mia. Mia is so nice, mia doesn't get freaked out by Angie, Mia lowkey adopted Donna??? AND AND AND Mia know plant stuff. Yeah Donna loves Mia, and the fact that Mia is helping Miranda not be a - for lack of better word - bitch to everyone? :D donna is happy.

[poguesgold]

how did you feel about season? i know most people liked it better than season 1 but i’m not sure how i feel yet🤔 might need to rewatch it

okay this ended up soooo long so i'm giving a tl;dr review here and if anyone cares to read my insanely long thought dump you can feel free. this part is spoiler free also!!

cons: i think they should have further developed the s1 storyline rather than conjuring up an entirely new treasure and conflict; i don't think they did the characters justice a lot of the time, particularly kie and jj; too much yelling and running not enough hanging out; the finale cliff hanger was a stupid writing choice

pros: cleo!!; pope-centric plotline!!!; amazing jjpope moments in the improv sequences; never a boring moment; rafebarry oh my god????; neck kiss shirtless wrestling holding hands standing unnecessarily close jjpope rot; just a straight up nine hour long adrenaline rush and i love that shit.

overall: i definitely did not like it more than s1, but i still REALLY loved it. i think it's worth the watch, just don't go into it expecting good writing or realistic injuries or a comprehensive plot LMFAO. what saves the season is the pogues' chemistry and their improv sequences, for real. and cleo. you WILL get angry about the shitty script and characterization if you’re really invested in that part of things, but as far as vibes and dopamine high it was awesome. it was a fun watch and i'll definitely rewatch at least once to soak it in properly

please this is going to be soooo long i apologize in advance. but i have a lot of thoughts. also ⚠️⚠️spoilers ahead!!⚠️⚠️

most of this review is going to be criticisms tbh so sorry for that but this show kinda sucks (affectionately<3)

i thought season 2 was an absolute TRAINWRECK as far as writing goes. jonas pate was basically like. this season we're going to have an even BIGGER and BETTER treasure!!! but the exact same thing is going to happen. like. we already had gold. and that's what they were going to the bahamas for at the end of season 1 for anyway????? it would have been so easy to just develop the original storyline further, i just cannot figure out why they would completely abandon it for another mediocre storyline. (i LOVED that this other mediocre storyline was pope-centric and the main character energy he was given this season. but. they. could have done that?? with the first storyline?????)

i hate that they brought big john back so so much. SO much. literally it was the stupidest most idiotic lazy cheesy plot choice in the world. it doesn't make sense, we like saw his literal bones at one point like his lifeless corpse, and WHY would they bring back a key character from the PREVIOUS ARC when they created an ENTIRELY NEW CONFLICT AND PLOTLINE FOR THIS SEASON???? jonas pate stuck it in for shock value and cliff hanger in hopes of securing a season 3, and i hate him for it. he's such a terrible writer white men have it so easy

someone in the neck kiss truthers discord earlier pointed out that jb's dead father returning after like a year and a half of thinking he was dead would probably be more traumatic that healing at this point, and i agree so much. also, you know that they're not going to use it for good either way. they're going to use his dad coming back as a way to further traumatize him somehow because obx writers are jombeephobic. and i wouldn't put it past them to bring him back just to kill him off again. jonas pate wants to write john b torture porn and i am TIRED of it

my least favorite thing about season 2 was the characterization. they really did just disregard the characters they created in season 1. kie was completely ooc for like three episodes, and it wasn't because she was mourning. it was just shitty writing. she had no character outside of her relationships this season, which has been my fear from the very beginning and why i have never wanted kie with any of the pogues. season 2 diminished her character to the female love interest, and that just sucked so bad for her.

whether you're a jjpope or not, season 2 completely changed their friendship dynamic. the only time we got glimpses of the season 1 jjpope dynamic was in the improv sequences when rudy and jd took it upon themselves. also during their hugs LMFAO. which is also an acting choice. the writing completely disregarded their friendship and dynamic. it was weird as fuck it was all weird. i also hated that kie and sarah's scripted interactions were just them talking about boys. another case of friendships again being completely disregarded for the cishet relationships. 

i just really feel like all of the characters were handled poorly this season, which is crazy because literally ALL we asked for was backstory and character development and pogue screentime. but jonas pate instead decided to write ten episodes of nonstop running and yelling and fuckinf adrenaline, with an ooc script. for funsies

i feel like the magic of season 1 was lost. the vibe of season 1 that makes it so comforting and rewatchable and lovely is sort of just lost in all the silly plot. we see snatches of it here and there, but they feel crammed between unnecessary action scenes and stunts and shouting when we would have been happy with ten episodes of the pogues hanging out in each other's bedrooms.

NOW IM GOING TO TALK THINGS I LIKED OKAY OKAY

i seriously DID love watching it. we pulled an all nighter in the neck truthers discord and binged the entire season and the adrenaline of that kept me going for the rest of the week. it was literally fucking insane absolutely batshit and i LOVED it. the writing was horrible but like. it's obx we know it isn't good LMFAOO. it's part of the charm

i definitely don't like it more than s1, but i did still like it a lot. i LOVED how pope centric it was, like he fr had such main character energy this season and it was wonderful. even though the storyline was weird and didn't make sense jd did so well lolol he did so wonderfully. i loved seeing pope get the attention he deserves this season.

JJPOPE MOMENTS. i was definitely sad they didn't have an arc to themselves like they did season 1, but oh my god jd and rudy FED US with jjpope improv moments this season. the NECK KISS? the WRESTLING? every single one of their hugs?????? they're insane. it sucked that they really didn't have any scenes alone but we take what we can get.

SPEAKING OF GAYS LET'S TALK ABOUT RAFEBARRY. because?? oh my god??? first season it was like a crack ship and then season 2 came out and... what are we supposed to do ignore it? they are literally??? gay????? it's jarring they're insane. i am so so invested in them it's kind of unreal how deep i got into this ship in such a short amount of time (follow @rafebarry babies <33)

cleo. i love cleo. the best new thing to come out of this season for sure. clarah is coming strong i can feel it and i am SO ready. i know that they're most likely going to move toward a cleopope romance next season, which i don't hate? i'm bothered only because a) it's obvious it's mostly being done to get pope out of the way for jiara, and b) i think people often push two dark-skinned characters into a ship just because they're both dark-skinned, and that yucks me out. but i will say i really liked their moments together in s2 and i think they could be really good together if they're canon s3 (which they probably will be.)

overall like. it was a fun watch. i retained like 2% of the plot i was just there for the vibes and dopamine high and that was totally fine. i want to take the pogues out of jonas pate’s greedy little white man fingers and give them the character and relationship development they deserve, but we can’t have it all i guess. the cinematography this season i think i liked better than season 1, wasn’t a huge fan of that weird yellow filter tho. also the lighting. obx lighting guys get demoted challenge. umm yeah season 1 supremacy but season 2 had amazing vibes

[plasticnightmaredoll]

"Mortal Kombat" (2021) second viewing thoughts

I watched the 2021 "Mortal Kombat" movie a second time and watched some videos on YouTube from fans who shared their thoughts on the movie. I now have some new things to add in addition to my full review.

Ok, so, one thing that they made a huge mistake on was making the film 1 hour and 50 minutes. It's not even a 2-hour movie, and yet, they tried to cram in 20 hours worth of crap:

Too many cooks in the kitchen

The sheer number of characters featured in this movie was ridiculous and because the writers/producers decided to do this, most characters lacked proper development -- or any development. I mean, let's take a look at the list of characters in this movie (only the "fighters," not the side characters like Cole's family and whatnot):

Cole Young

Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion

Bi-Han/Sub-Zero 1.0

Sonya Blade

Jax Briggs

Raiden

Shang Tsung

Kano

Liu Kang

Kung Lao

Nitara

Mileena

Reiko

Goro

Kabal

I mean, damn. That's a shitload of characters! It's actually unnecessary to have that many characters, especially if they weren't even going to reach the 2-hour runtime mark. Reiko and Nitara, for example, could have been removed from the story and it wouldn't have made any difference. Hell, even Mileena didn't need to be in the movie (nothing against her character -- I like Mileena but in the movie, she was extremely underdeveloped).

For Mortal Kombat fans, at least they can fill in the gaps because they know these characters. However, what about people who know nothing about the games? I can't see them finding much enjoyment in this film, and that's a problem.

The goal of mainstream blockbuster movies such as this one, one that is meant to launch multiple sequels, is to draw in as many people as possible. You would think they would want this movie to appeal to those who aren't familiar with the games. I mean, it could even make some of those people want to play the games. As it is, though, this movie is too heavily rooted in the fans putting the pieces together.

Why is it not 2+ hours?

Ok, I get it: it's very difficult to pitch 3-4 hour movies nowadays. "The Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" movies got away with it because they are based on highly detailed, well-loved books. You can't just treat such legendary writing like fantasy fodder. You go all out!

"Avengers: Endgame" was three hours long, and it worked because they had a) enough material for such a runtime, b) the sheer popularity of the franchise behind it, and c) it was an epic finale for a massive list of films. You couldn't make "Endgame" 2 hours or less and expect it to be good.

Now, "Mortal Kombat" cannot get the budget of a Marvel film (or any Disney property, let's be real) -- many films cannot compete with the amount of money Disney can pour into their movies and series. MK is also not a ground-breaking, incredibly written fantasy story with extensive world-building like "Lord of the Rings." Yes, MK has a lot of stories and a lot of characters but it isn't even in the same league of quality as Tolkein works.

(Don't hate. I am just stating my observations here.)

However, even if they couldn't make this MK movie 3+ hours long, they should have gone for 2.5 hours. 1 hour and 50 minutes just isn't enough time. Add in 40 extra minutes, and you have much more flexibility.

Honestly, you could make 3-4 hour MK movies since there is so much content and so many characters, but realistically, it probably won't happen. So, the writers and producers have to do their best with what they're given, and....they cut this film waaaay too short. Going forward, they need to expand the runtime of the sequels. They need to. Otherwise, we'll keep getting mediocre films and maybe fewer sequels than originally planned.

USE YOUR BEST "TRAIT" FFS

The smartest decision the creators made was casting Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion. He's a great actor, for one, and he just FITS the role. I mean, I look at him in this movie and, yep, that's Hanzo. They couldn't have picked a better actor for such an iconic character but.........they barely used him.

When you look at it in two ways, it's quite disappointing and confusing: Scorpion is just as popular and necessary as Sub-Zero to the MK franchise. They're like.... Godzilla and Kong for Mortal Kombat. Sub-Zero got a lot of screen time in the movie but Scorpion was only in the movie twice: at the beginning and at the end.

I mean, WHY?! We had a bunch of time dedicated to a new character with Cole, someone who isn't actually necessary for the story. Yet, we put one of the most iconic characters from the games on the back burner?

NO!

They made a smart decision but then they did something dumb with it.

If they make sequels, then omfg, FUCKING USE HIROYUKI SANADA.

Multiple sequels already planned?

While watching this video, I found out that the actor who played Bi-Han/Sub-Zero, Joe Taslim, has signed on for 5 movies, which includes the one we just got. This makes sense because Bi-Han does become Noob Saibot after dying, but that's beside the point: this MK movie series planned to be at least 5 films long.

Granted, that's not nearly as many as in the MCU films that lead up to "Endgame," but it's certainly promising. This is a chance for the writers and producers to fix some of their mistakes and flesh out the characters more as well as add more coherent details to the story.

I'm guessing the goal is to have the movies leading to an invasion of Earthrealm, ala "Endgame." I don't know how they will go about it, but I hope that, in addition to the 5 movies, we get spin-offs that focus on specific characters. The MCU did it, which helped develop the huge list of characters that ultimately made it into "Endgame," and this made it easier for the writers to focus on the story as character development was already done. If the MK movies do something similar, then this could be a good series of films.

The biggest problem, though, is that they got started on the wrong foot. The 2021 film is definitely a clumsy attempt to introduce everyone to this movie adaptation of the games, and it could significantly hinder their progress going forward. I mean, you start off wrong, you have much more work ahead of you if you plan to fix your mistakes.

It's not impossible, though. It's still early -- like, the first movie. We have at least four more to go. If the writers and producers can get their shit together, then they may pull it off.

And let's be real: I think MK is LONG overdue for a good movie.

The trailer and opening scene

The trailer for the "Mortal Kombat" movie was pretty epic, as was the opening scene of the film. Actually, the first scene almost doesn't fit into the movie because it appears to be from something of...better quality in terms of writing and development.

Now, imagine the whole movie was as epic as the trailer but also wonderfully crafted like the first scene. This could have easily produced a much better MK movie. They probably should have focused primarily on Hanzo, to be honest, and have Bi-Han there as well as the antagonist, and have some other characters on the side but not too many. I think that would have made this movie fantastic and would have fixed the issues with character development and poor plot progression.

Final Thoughts

The 2021 MK movie is still decent entertainment and worth watching a few times. However, I truly do hope the writers learn from their mistakes moving forward and give the people something much better.

[sz-amare]

7. My Top 15 Anime List

I have watched a lot of anime in the past four years, but one thing that gives me great enjoyment is ranking my top anime. Here I will rank my top 15 favorite anime, along with some honorable mentions that couldn’t make it. However, I won’t be going too in-depth on the analyses; I just want to give you a general idea of why the particular anime is where it is on my list. In general, I rank my anime depending on a combination of factors: 1) how brilliant I find the anime to be written, 2) if the themes resonate with me, 3) if it is categorized in my favorite genres, and 4) my general enjoyment level. Anyway, to the list.

 Number 15

One Punch Man

When I first watched One Punch Man, it seemed nothing more than a mindless comedy anime. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed it and laughed a lot, but I found it to be forgettable. But one day, I heard that the genre of One Punch Man was seinen, which made no sense to me. It had no dark and mature themes, and as I mentioned, it was nothing more than a senseless comedy. But then one day, on a whim, I watched One Punch Man again. And I REALLY enjoyed it. I still laughed a lot, but something felt different to me this time. I actually felt like I had a deep connection with each of the characters. The story seemed to be more structured and enjoyable this time, and finally, I could actually see the themes that One Punch Man was trying to explore. It made sudden sense to me that One Punch Man is indeed a seinen and that it had a lot more to it than on the surface. Of course, the difference in experience is because of my new understanding of anime and the experience I gained.

Number 14

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple

Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple is probably one of the most unknown, underappreciated, and underrated anime on this list. Someone recommended it to me, and I had never heard of it, so I assumed it was a mediocre anime. But when I watched it, I had so much fun which I hadn’t felt in many months. It is a training shōnen anime where the main character tries to learn martial arts. That is all I want to say for now because I don’t want to spoil anything, so go watch it. I highly recommend it.

Number 13

A Place Further than the Universe

I don’t see many people talking much about A Place Further than the Universe. But, I must say, it is absolutely phenomenal. It is, hands down, the most inspiring anime in existence. The basic premise is a high school girl wanting to do something significant in her high school life. I won’t say anymore because, again, I don’t want to spoil this anime, and I recommend you check it out if you need inspiration in your life. Let me just say that it is now an aspiring goal of mine to visit Antarctica.

Number 12

Plastic Memories

I made a whole analysis on the previous post so go check it out. But for a quick recap, the life lesson I learned from Plastic Memories has permanently changed my behavior for the better. I found it to be the saddest anime I have ever watched.

 Number 11

Steins; Gate

Once again, I have already made an analysis on Steins; Gate, but this time I only covered the first episode. I also ranked Steins; Gate a 10/10 so that must mean that the rest of this list must contain masterpieces. But to be honest, that is not really the case. You see, to me, even if I consider something a masterpiece, the enjoyment factor plays the most significant role in ranking high on my list. For example, I found Death Note to be brilliant, but I really struggled to enjoy it and therefore, it is not ranked that highly. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed Steins; Gate, but I just enjoyed the rest of these anime way more. Anyway, if you want to see why I loved Steins; Gate so much and why I find it so brilliant, check out blog post 4.

Number 10

Berserk (Manga)

Almost everything I found In Berserk is brilliant (except its adaptations, that’s gas station toilet). Guts is a 10/10 protagonist, Griffith is a 10/10 antagonist, the cast is a 10/10, the story is a 10/10, AND THE ART!!! Holy shit!!! I can actually picture an entire museum dedicated to each panel of Berserk.

 Again, the only reason this anime is not any higher is simply because I enjoyed the others on this list so much more. However, I am yet to review any analyses on it so there is a possibility that it will bump-up several places higher when I truly understand the brilliance behind it. Great read though!

Number 9

Haikyuu

I LOVE Haikyuu. Each season gets progressively better and better. It has a lot of controversy around it because of its fan base and because it’s a sports anime. But to be honest, I find Haikyuu to be a better shōnen than My Hero Academia, Black Clover, Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer, and most other modern shōnen anime. It has its amazing moments, its cast is amazing, the character development is amazing, the themes are amazing, and the antagonists are amazing. I am not bluffing when I say that the antagonists in a Volleyball anime are better than the antagonists in many shōnen anime (I’m going to develop haters before I can even develop fans). I plan on making an essay on what most shōnen strive for yet fail to achieve, and Haikyuu somehow delivers.

Number 8

Oregairu

Best romance. Hands down. Oregairu, or SNAFU, or My Teen Rom-Com is Not What I Expected (yes, so many titles) is a masterpiece in its own right. If you are a guy and you watched Oregairu, don’t act like you didn’t imitate Hachiman a couple times. He is a beautiful protagonist, which most of us guys relate to. His inner monologues result in us treating them as gospel. The sub-text is confusing as fuck, but end up making sense in all sorts of ways once decoded. Yukino is best girl, but man I love Yuigahama almost just as much. The general enjoyment I got out of Oregairu is so far through the roof that I once forced myself to stop watching it so that I could savor the show a little more. It is a little difficult to get into at first, but you will most likely end up enjoying it.

Number 7

Re Zero

This is the most recent addition to the list. I often don’t add anything new to my list; I just switch the places between some of them. But ever since season 2, Re Zero jumped significantly in rank. It is the best anime of 2020 (including sequels), and I enjoyed each episode to the max. I was considering adding Re Zero to my top 10 since the first half of the second season finished, but I was a bit hesitant because I am easily affected by recency bias. But my love for Re Zero would just not die down: my love for it grows after each episode airs. It is the only anime on this list that I watched weekly other than One Piece. I actually prefer watching a series I love weekly rather than binging it all, except for One Piece, pacing is constipation (slow and painful). Other than the vast enjoyment I got out of Re Zero, the main reason it made it to this list is because of the light novel comparisons I watch. Aninews is my favorite source. He compares the episode to the light novels, mentioning what was left out and further describing the emotions and thoughts of the characters. He tends to release the “Cut Content” videos a week after the episode airs, but the content and quality are incomparable. I found the videos to be so amazing I am basically just as excited for the weekly videos as the Re Zero episodes themselves. If you love Re Zero, the Cut Content series is a must watch.

The fantastic details and emotions the light novels are able to portray are stunning. I decided to read the light novels recently, but the only issue is that I am very short on time. But for each novel I complete, I will release a post on it.

Number 6

Mob Psycho

Although I said I found Haikyuu to be better than most modern shōnen, Mob Psycho is hands down the king. Its quality far surpasses all modern shōnen and a lot of older generation shōnen too. Funny thing is, I believe Mob Psycho’s primary genre is slice of life, not shōnen. I also believe it to be the best take on an overpowered protagonist. One of my favorite things is that Mob, who is the strongest esper we have seen, seems to be so weak. That is exactly how he should be portrayed; he is still a child with mental challenges that he is constantly trying to overcome. The themes that Mob Psycho explores are some of my favorites. The animation is a bit weird at first, but after watching it, you suddenly realize how brilliant it is.

(Honorable Mentions)

Attack on Titan

I am going to get a lot of hate for not including this in my top 5, let alone my top 15. Attack on Titan is still releasing episodes, so that opinion may change soon but let me be clear about one thing: Attack on Titan is a masterpiece. It is absolute greatness. The hype and enjoyment I get out of Attack on Titan are out of this world. But, a) the enjoyment feels a bit short-lived for me personally. It is a fantastic week after airing, but I tend to forget about it the next. b) Attack on Titan is simply not my type of show. Again, I do love Attack on Titan. Again, it is a masterpiece. And again, it may bump up a bit after a few episodes release, but as of now, Attack on Titan isn’t in my top 15.

(Honorable Mentions)

No Game No Life

Similar to One Punch Man, I thought No Game No Life was an anime for senseless fun and enjoyment. But then I watched the movie. The movie is canon to the light novels, but it is irrelevant to the plot and only contributes to the understanding of the world. However, since I watched that movie, I felt the world of No Game No Life to be more realistic. Of course, a world where games resolve all sorts of conflicts like war is ridiculous. But after watching the movie, that ridiculousness somehow turned to reality. The world of No Game No Life became fascinating to me, and what seemed like dumb games began to turn into political machinations.

(Honorable Mention)

Magi & Yona of the Dawn

All I have to say about these two anime is that they seemed to be very fascinating premises and concepts, but the anime sadly stops for both. I am considering reading the manga for both of them sometime soon, so this list may change once I do.

Number 5

Hunter x Hunter

If you like shōnen, I don’t see why you would hate Hiatus x Hai—I mean Hunter x Hunter. The only thing it slightly lacks is a strong main cast, which many people like anyway. Otherwise, absolute perfection. They have most of the best villains in all of anime: Hisoka, Chrollo, Meruem… How can you not love Meruem? And the way he parallels with Gon but in the opposite direction: just perfection. The arcs are hard to rank because they are all perfection in their own right. The best power system in anime is nothing short but perfection. If it weren’t for the Hiatus, it would be ranked fourth. I doubt it would scratch my top three.

Number 4

Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood

I know I kept saying perfection when talking about Hunter x Hunter, but I actually believe that Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood is the perfect series (Note: I am not saying that no one can love it and that it has to be your #1; obviously there are preferences. I’m merely saying that it perfectly crafts what it is trying to portray). The only two arguments you can bring is that the beginning is weak. But if you watch the 03 version, there are no issues whatsoever, in my eyes. Keep in mind, when I say it is the best, I mean from a narrative standpoint. Yes, the animation isn’t the greatest, and the gags are kind of bad, but from a general narrative standpoint, it is the best writing I have ever seen. The plot was brilliant and well-crafted. The world is beautifully bound by their power system: alchemy. The philosophical discussions and themes it explores always have you thinking. The characters are very likable and are all top tier characters. The mysteries keep you in a cycle of confusion and excitement. Since I love science and chemistry, alchemy was so fascinating to me. This show is definitely well-deserving of the number one rank in My Anime List.

Number 3

Kill la Kill

After listing a lot of the best anime/manga with the best stories and narratives, I can see why someone would be upset that I brought up Kill la Kill. This one is certainly the odd one out. However, remember me mentioning that the enjoyment factor is the biggest decision maker in my list placement? Kill la Kill gave me the most enjoyment out of all the anime on this list, even more significant than the obvious #1. I didn’t find anything to be all that brilliant in Kill la Kill, and I can completely understand if someone hated this particular show. But there was something about Kill la Kill that made me feel nostalgic in a weird way. It also gave me one of the weirdest yet most immense feeling of satisfaction I have ever felt. I love Kill la Kill.

Number 2

Konosuba

           Okay yeah, this one is also the odd one out, but it is a little more acceptable. I find Konosuba to be the best comedy anime of all time. Not necessarily because it is the funniest anime (I think it is the funniest but comedy is subjective), but instead because, unlike most comedies, like Nichijo, the characters in Konosuba are absolutely brilliant. Kazuma is one of my favorite characters of all time, Megumi is best girl, but I still love both Darkness and Aqua. Their interactions are absolutely entertaining on both a comedic scale and a general enjoyment scale. Their assholeish-type relationship reflects my relationship with my friends (we are complete assholes to each other, but we also love one another).

Not only that but from the comedy focused anime that I have watched, the plot in this one is actually delightful. The Konosuba movie is my favorite movie of all time, right after A Silent Voice.

Number 1

One Piece

If you read a couple of my previous posts or recognized my profile picture, you probably knew that One Piece is my favorite anime of all time. My love for One Piece is so extensive that I would rather forget all my experiences with anime than forget my experience with One Piece. One Piece inspired me and changed my life. Not in the typical way where I learned a life lesson from the story like Plastic Memories, but simply because I found the writing to be so brilliant. So it was more that Eiichiro Oda, the author of One Piece, inspired me. The characters are the best I have ever seen, the villains are well crafted, the world-building is literally the best in all of fiction, the build-up is fascinating, the questions from the mysteries somehow keep piling over, the symbolism fleshes out aspects of the anime even more, the backstories make characters more relatable and understandable, the general dynamic flow of the world feels like reality, the themes it explores are great learning experiences, the originality never ends, the hype moments keep you energetic for more, the foreshadowing is so phenomenal to the extent where it shouldn’t exist, and the general planning of the story makes it obvious how amazing of an author Eiichiro Oda is.

This series has been airing weekly for nearly 22 years now, the manga for 25. How in the world is Oda able to create this monster of a story, planning certain elements a decade or two in advance? This is brilliance. This is beauty in writing. And I want nothing more than to create a masterpiece of my own.

Final Notes

Emotional, I know. I believe my list here is a bit diverse in terms of genre: shōnen, seinen, romance, comedy, sports, slice-of-life, and mystery. I think it’s a great thing to widen your horizons a bit by exploring various types of genres. Anyway, there are many anime I haven’t watched that could easily replace and dethrone some of the anime on this list. I plan on watching and reading Hajime no Ippo, Gintama, Vagabond, Oyasumi Pun Pun, I”s, etc. I heard these anime/manga are considered the best for their respective genres by many people, and I will probably finish reading and watching these anime/manga in about six months. So I will make a top 15 anime list once again around that time.

If you have any questions or you want to discuss something, feel free to ask in the “Ask Me Anything” tab on my Tumblr page.

[sometimes-i-write-4-you]

Kookie - JJ maybank x reader

Request by @charlieandindy : JJ 5&15 from fluffy prompt list

5: “Can we stay like this forever?”

15: “I just wanted to let you know that I think you’re beautiful.”

a\n: I changed up the wording of the prompts a little to fit better into the idea I had but oh well.

trigger warnings: underage drinking, cursing

Word count: 2957

1:00 PM

I was sitting on the beach with my so-called friends. I don't think that JJ and John B are my biggest fans, but they didn't have a choice. I was Sarah's friend, and from time to time she would bring me along and John forced JJ to come with. you may be asking, why would you hand out together if you don't like each other? Well, that's because Sarah told her dad she's hanging out with me at the beach, and they thought it be better to get someone to keep me company. They could've gotten Kie to do it, since me and her get along decently, but she wasn't included in the very short list of people that know about the star-crossed lover.

That's where JJ came in. JJ and I got along like oil and water. We teased each other constantly, ever since we became aware of each other's existence   – he would call me a cocky Kook thinking he's the next big comedian for that less-then-mediocre pun, and I would call him a dumb Pogue. I mean, I guess he's good-looking, bud why the fuck would Sarah try to set me up with a pretty much convicted criminal? John and Sarah went down to the water, but Instead of interacting with JJ, I drew lines on the sand with a random stick.

"so, what's with your face?" I ask JJ, getting annoyed with the silence. "huh?" he says, snapping back to reality, "oh, that. Nothing, just... fell" he made up an excuse. I could tell it's an excuse. "really? Well, you fall quite a lot. Do they no teach you how to walk in pogue school?" I ask. "ha-ha, very funny, do they teach you comedy is Kook school?" JJ spat back. "no need to get so pressed, Maybank" I reply, smirking at the fact I got on his nerves. "no one calls me Maybank, and I would like that to stay this way" he sighs and placing his hands on the towel to lean back. Suddenly his muscles are very visible, but I look away before he catches me staring. "ya wanna feel 'em?" he asks, but it's clear from his voice he just wants me to know he caught me. Shit. "no, ew, your gross" I reply. He laughs. "oh, is it below you to touch a dirty pogue?" he asks. "no, it's below me to touch you" I reply. "ohhh that hurt, (y\n)" he says, holding his chest like he's in pain. "whatever, Maybank" I sigh. "so, are you coming to the summer fest tonight?" he asks. "yeah, why, would you?" I ask. he nods, "neh, I'm gonna hang out with JB, probably. Drink a little. If you'll be nice I'll stop by and give you the honor of dancing with me". "I don't think they let criminals in" I look at him. His hand is covering his eyes from the sun and he squints, looking at me. "see, now, that was not very nice, Kookie".

That was another nickname he gave me, cookie with a K. "cause, you know, you're a Kook". At first, I tried to put aside our history, but the teasing drove me nuts, and I can't let him win. This game goes way back.

I was reading at my porch. "hey, Kookie" a familiar voice said. "hey" I rolled my eyes at the 13-year-old blond boy. He was hired by my family to mow the grass when he was 11 and they got him ever since. "what are you reading?" he asked. "Matilda" I reply, "it's about a girl who's so smart, and the braincells she doesn’t use do magic". "sounds... logistic" he said back. "do you even know what does the word 'logistic' mean, pogue?" I laugh at him. "yeah, it's when something is logical, so it can also happen in real life" he says. I laugh, "I think you meant realistic" I say and place a bookmark inside the book before I close it and put it aside. "logistic is from the world logistics, which is planning complicated things so that they would work well, realistic is when something can also happen in real life and makes sense that it would be true" I explained to him. he looked at me, confused. "even for a pogue, you are stupid" I said, and grab my book. "well, even for a Kook, you're mean" he replied and went back to do his job.

6:00 PM

"hey Kie" I smile at her. We were friends back when she hung out with Sarah, but then all the things between them went down, and she stayed back. "hi" she smiles politely. Her parents were always happy to see us talking, and mine were thrilled that I have friends other then Sarah, so we had this un-spoken agreement to talk in Kook events. We talked for a little while until she caught a glimpse of her friend, I believe his name is Pope. He's the one who drowned Top's boat. Speaking of the devil, I felt a tap on my shoulder. "(y\n)" he smiled at me, pulling me into a hug. "hi Top, how are you? I ask. "actually, not that great. How about you?" he asks. "I'm great. Why aren't you?" I ask, pretending to care. I may be a Kook, but even I can not stand him and Rafe and how they are constantly beating up JJ and the other Pogues. Maybe that's what happened to his face? He would hate to admit a Kook beat him up that bad and he "lost" the fight. Typical proud man. "it's just.. Sarah. Something feels off, you know?" he says.

10:00 am

"shit, (y\n), knock on the door!" Sarah sighed. Her hands hugged someone who was not Topper, and he was holding her waist. "sorry, if I was aware of the fact you're cheating on your boyfriend I would knock" I say, closing the door behind me and sitting sown on the bed. "now, come on, we have to finish the summer project we're supposed to do together" I say, taking out the books from my beg. "we're kind of in the middle of something…" the guy says. I recognize him as one of the Pogues. Was he the one that aimed a gun to Topper's head? No, he was the one Topper almost drowned.

"actually, John B, I invited her, it's important" Sarah sighs. "oh, and please don't tell Topper. It happened so fast, and I want to break up with Topper, I just.. need the right time, and-" "Sarah, it's cool, I'll keep you're secret. That's what friends are for" I say, "you're lucky I don't like Topper".

"oh, really? Cause she's normal with me" I say. "well, so you know if I've done something? Or like... what, is she seeing someone else?" Topper insists. "Sarah wouldn't cheat, Top" I say, "kinda sad that you believe she will". "cut the crap, (y\n), I know it won't be the first time" he says, a bit upset. "look, I don't know anything, okay?" I reply, and with that I walk away. Lying to Topper made me feel a little shittier then I thought, so I went to find Sarah. I barley got anywhere when everyone started cheering. Ward and Rose walked out of the house. "she looks like lady liberty" I thought to myself, "Barbie addition". Sarah walked out right behind them, and Topper grabbed her hand before I got to her.

They walked over to the porch. I followed them. "hey, where were you yesterday?" Topper asked. "I was out of town" Sarah replies. "out of town?" he repeated her, asking for confirmation. She nods. "where did you go?" he keeps interrogating. "Chapel Heel" She says. "Chapel Heel" he repeats her answer, trying to rock her confidence, "what? with you're family—"no" she cuts him off. "no?" he asks. "a friend". She notices me, and her eyes scream "come save me". "a friend. A friend? What friend?" he asks. "it was me, I believe, we have this history project we're doing together and we needed the state archives" I barged in. "yeah" Sarah agrees, "and actually, we found some really interesting information about the history of Tannyhill, like, the founder was this slave guy, that appeared out of nowhere" she adds. "yeah, Denmark Tanny. He had a son, and according to the records, dude was hot" I say, but Topper seems to have enough. "okay" he says, "I believe you; you don't have to bore me to death". "well, we actually need to talk some more about this, that's the reason I approached you guys in the first place. I'm sorry to steal your girlfriend again" I say and drag Sarah into the house. "well just don't- don't kiss her!" he says. We shoot him a smile to pretend it's funny and close the door behind us.

"thank you, (y\n), I own you big time" Sarah says. "yes, you are. Lying to Topper is not as fun as I expected" I say. "look, I'll break up with him soon. My dad just wanted the night Drama-free" she replies, taking a glass of wine. "well, I sure feel like an actor" I tell her and take a glass myself. She laughs, "yeah, you deserve an Oscar for your performance".

9:00

I was dancing with Sarah when JJ approached us. He was behind Sarah, so i noticed him first. "JJ?" I ask. "yup" he replies, and Sarah turns around. "what?" she says, confused to see him. "I got, uh, a note from Vlad" he says, dancing next to her. "I thought you said you'd stop by to dance with me" I say, slightly offended. "(y\n)!" he smiles at me. "Vlad?" Sarah asks. "yup, just read the note" JJ says to her, and then offers me his hand. "fine" I sigh, and take it. He place one hand on my back, above my waist to dips me. "oh, you got moves" I laugh as he pulls me back up. We move around, dancing. "you're not too bad yourself" he says, based on the seconds we got to dance together. Rafe comes closer to us. "I'm wonderin' if you could get me a mai tai, my friend" he says, resting his arms on JJ's shoulder in a threatening matter. "yeah, Pogue, why don't you make it two?" Kelce adds, stepping closer to JJ. "actually, we're in the middle" I say. "yeah, so how about you guys just go wait by the bar?" JJ says, placing his hands around my waist so that we can go back to dancing. "no, we're going to wait for you to be free" Rafe said. "sure, yeah, meanwhile, help yourselves for some hors d'oeuvrs". "guys, JJ's gonna serve us some hors d'oeuvrs" Rafe says to his friends. "well, (y\n), I wish we could stay like this forever, but, uh, I'll be right back" he says, slowly walking away from the dance floor, "here are the hors d'oeuvrs-" I hear him. "we're actually gonna follow you in here, just to make sure…" Rafe says, and then I hear running.

This kid can't stay put of trouble. A few minutes passed, but he didn't come back. Too bad, it was nice. "I wish we could stay like this forever" his words kept repeating in my head. Did he really mean that? I mean, we're always teasing each other, maybe it was in a flirty manner rather than hateful? For him, I mean, cause I don't like him. I don't think I like him. do I like him? shit.

10:00 PM

I stood outside. "look—look man, I can walk myself" I hear a voice that I recognize as JJ's, "I got legs, can you see that brother?" he kept going, and I suspect he's a bit tipsy. "I really appreciate what you did there, let me just walk myself out" JJ won't shut up. "Mr. Dunleavy, I see you got your drink. Good, that's really nice for you, I'm actually gonna down that" he said, and took the drink from Mr. Dunleavy. Man, JJ got some balls to act like that. I can barley make out the words of the other people involved, but JJ's heard loud and clear. "it's okay everybody! Do not panic!" he calls, "leave it to the men and women in uniforms! Let's hear it for them!" he starts clapping. I'm about to join, but since no one else does I give up. I think he's saying something, but I can't hear him. I come closer to the scene and end up next to Kiara. "Rose! You look like lady liberty" he says. "let go of him!" Kiara yells, "you can't just boot him!".

"excuse me ma'am?" the guard pushing JJ out said. "I invited him" she says, but her parents seem to not like it, but she ignores them. "I'm a member of this club" she says. I'm truly jealous of their little group, so loyal to each other, through thick and thin. JJ pushes the guard off him.  "sorry about that" he says. I'm moving closer to him, but I'm not sure what I'm going to say. "(y\n)! he smiles at me, “it's good you're here, I just wanted to let you know that I think you’re beautiful" he says, and I don't know if it's the drink he stole or his genuine words. "hi, mandatory power hour at Rixon's, Kie. Pope, you as well, all right? Rixon's cove, let's roll!" as he talks, I'm still coming closer. "hey, Sarah's coming, you should join, I think you'll make Kie accept her presence" JJ whispers at me. "uh, okay" I say. "cool" he smiles at me, taking my hand. "all right Kie, come on!" JJ calls, "workers of the world unite! Throw off your chains!" and Kie seems confused. "won't you're friends have a problem with that?" I ask, but I get no answer. "woo-hoo!" calls John B. I have no idea when he arrived. "colonal!" JJ says, saluting to John. "captain!" John returns a salute. "mission accomplished, sir!" JJ says. "hey, I figured we should take (y\n), she's slightly more likable then your girlfriend and Kie would be more comfortable" He adds, and John approves. "uh, not at the Mandatory meeting" he says and smile at me, "but get Sarah and come with her". Well, here's my answer.

"come on Kie!" JJ calls at her. She and Pope finally arrive at us, and JJ spins Kie around and- is that jealousy I feel? JJ notices, I guess, because he says "no need to be jealous, Kookie" with his charming smile. How did I never notice before?

I go to get Sarah. "hey, Sarah, guess who's invited to your little meeting?" I whisper. "JJ wanted you there? So sweet of him, you two would make a great couple" she whispers back, and I hit her shoulder. "let's just go" I sigh. "wait, we need to get maps from my dad's office" she says, and I nod. We go inside. "you guard, I grab, got it?" she says. I nod and she enters the office. I lean at the door frame to look out. I see Ward coming.

"Ward!" I smile at him. "what are you doing here?" he asks. "oh, I was looking for-" he rushes by me, pushing me against the door frame. What the fuck? "-Sarah" I mumble. "yup, and she found me. I just wanted a copy of one of the old plat maps" I hear her makes up quickly, "(y\n), wait for me downstairs, okay?" she says, so I leave.

12:00 AM

Sarah and I arrive at the woods. "I'm supposed to meet John at the Hawk's nest, you go find JJ" she says, and so I go. On my way, I find John, and he point at the van. "JJ's waiting for you outside". I nod and follow the light that's coming from the van.

"hey" JJ smiles at me. He's leaning against the van, but he's leaving it and comes toward me. "listen, I wanted you to be here, cause we're onto something big, but the other guys aren't so sure. JB got to drag Sarah into this for intel, but other then being pretty you don't have anything to offer" he explains. "okay" I sigh, slightly blushing at the compliment, "whatever". "hey, I know that it's kind of weird, I just need to ask you something" he breaks the silence that almost started to get awkward. "sure, what is it?" I ask.

"when you tease me, and call me a stupid pogue, is it because you hate me?" he asks. "I don't know" I reply, "you started it, I just went along. Always figured you hate me. Why are you asking?". He takes my hand, and just when I think I can't be more surprised, he says, "I was trying to be flirty". I burst out laughing. "is this some kind of a prank, JJ? Did Sarah asked you to do this? Look, yeah, I told her this one that you're the hottest Pogue, but i-".

Now it's his turn to laugh and slightly blush. "I didn't know that, and no, not a prank, being genuine here. Booze makes me honest and brave for things that are a different kind of dangerous then my normal activities" he says, hand still holding mine. "look, I know we're not on the best terms, bot you can't deny the chemistry, right?" he says, coming closer and placing my hand around his neck. Without thinking I move my second hand and do the same. His hands move to my waist, and in one leap of faith, his lips crush on mine.

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