#but i loved bobs dialogue there so i used that as the quotes

[daryl-and-carol-oh-my]

The Walking Dead; Indifference

"Those douchebags in the vines took themselves out, holding hands. Kumbaya style." - Daryl Dixon "They wanted to go out together same as they lived. That make them douchebags?" - Bob Stookey "It does it they could have gotten out." - Daryl Dixon "Everybody makes it, till they don't. People nowadays are dominoes. What they did maybe it's about not having to watch them fall." - Bob Stookey

Carylering On<333333333333333

[thedanceronthestreets]

Strap in folks, i'm thinking about meta (spoilers for red-headed league under cut).

I've not seen anyone comment on the little clip sherlock plays for john with that one actor in it who pretended to be the owner (?) of the fake studio. @ishouldbedoingalright was so kind to transcribe the sequence:

man: I work alone. I've always worked alone, god damnit.

woman: I'm not asking you to work with me, I'm asking you to love me.

man: arggh how can you love a loose canon like me, huh? I'm just a guy from the wrong side of the tracks. And you've led this lunatic straight to us, and you tell me that you love-

The following WILL be absolutely mental logic, but i think it's SUUUPER INTERESTING they chose this little clip to play.... not to bring bbc ******** into this but there's a quote in it saying "alone protects [sherlock]" and in fact in the 1st enola holmes film lestrade emphasises that "sherlock holmes always works alone". Both statements are presumably based on what we know about acd holmes' past: "I was never a very sociable fellow, Watson ... I never mixed much with the men of my year." Sherlock worked alone for a few years before meeting watson which is delicious to most writers i guess because it makes watson Special as he's such a juxtaposition to most other things in sherlock's life (whichever universe you look at). Sherlock and co is no exception to that! Sooo based on this information the audio clip transcribed above made me VERY quickly prick up my ears. Not to assign john the damsel in distress role in the dialogue but the man wanting to "work alone" and the woman being like "i don't want to work with you, i want to LOVE you" just fits a little too neatly for one not to read into it... and it comes at a really interesting point in their relationship as well: we've moved on from the getting to know each other awkward phase and have moved into the phase where they have a reliable rapport, start to predict each other's actions and overall flesh out their relationship to a more substantial extent that goes beyond just "work colleagues". Dare i say, it's absolutely the time to introduce little bits and bobs that the characters don't pick up on yet but the listeners do. And why not let that be a slowly simmering romance between, oh no they've come to take me away-

[applesforthis]

Deadloch-specific ask if you’re keen to play! No worries if not.

1. Favourite episode?

2. Favourite scene?

3. Favourite quote?

4. Favourite joke or bit?

5. Favourite character?

💕💕💕

EEEEEEEEE I will gladly squeal about my show. Thanks for the ask! <3

Fave episode:

Hard question! In some ways Deadloch feels more like a movie to me than like a series, I forget where one episode ends and the next begins.

Probably E6. I loved how Abby acts while poisoned, and I loved her breaking up with James. I loved Eddie continuing to care about Dulcie: how protective Eddie gets, how concerned Eddie is when Dulcie is obviously really not okay (during/after the confrontation with Skye, and during their boat ride). I loved Dulcie acting...a bit more casual, with Abby; I loved their dialogue on the island ("James said I was out of my mind." "You are not, Abby, you are entirely in your mind"). I loved Holly Austin's performance as Skye, her anger and hurt when she's being questioned.

And I LOVED Cath and Dulcie's fight, and how it feels like we finally see both of them clearly, we finally understand why they each are the way they are at this point in their lives. We see how deeply miserable and frustrated Dulcie is in this town and in her marriage, and why she's been trying so hard to make it work anyway. We see how Cath has been in an anxious spiral for so long -- on some level, since the affair -- and we start to understand that this is how she got to this point, where she really is completely disconnected from the reality of Dulcie's job.

Also this is a bit weird but I actually loved the final scene in E6, when Dulcie finds the bobbing bodies in the lake, because the music was so beautiful and the way it was shot was weirdly so pretty and dreamlike. It's a scene about discovering corpses and it's...gorgeous? Oops?

I also just loved E8 so much because it gives us the payoff of Eddie, Dulcie and Abby truly working together, the way it always seemed they could. And because I SO DEEPLY LOVE the happy ending where Eddie and Dulcie and Cath end up together in Darwin, and I LOVE the subtext that they're in some kind of triad or throuple or vee or whatever else they might call it.

2. Fave scene:

I loved the end of E5, where we see Abby and Dulcie and Eddie each thinking alone about the murders and trying alone to solve the mystery: Abby with her arsine, Dulcie spotting the newspaper photo of Jimmy on the cross, Eddie noticing the speeding ticket Mike gave to Skye (and then the Doorbell bathroom stall graffiti). We see that each one of them is smart and is working on solving it, but that they're working separately still: Abby goes alone to the high school, to test her theory. Dulcie hasn't yet told Eddie that she suspects Skye, even though the clues are really piling up in her mind. The three of them aren't yet communicating well enough to really be a team.

I loved the way this was shown because it really had me rooting for them to realize that they'd be smarter together, that they needed to lean on each other more and communicate better and brainstorm together. This montage made me really invested in that arc, in them learning to work together.

I also loved Eddie confronting Dulcie about that, really taking her to task for it -- but then also having so much compassion and understanding about why this is hard for Dulcie, to consider one of her closest friends as a suspect. I love that Eddie really gets what a terrible situation Dulcie's in with this, and hates to see her in pain, even though Eddie's still committed to doing what's right and pursuing Skye as the most likely suspect.

3. Fave quote:

"Do you not know my name?"

4. Fave joke or bit:

How Eddie and Cath are both so nonchalant about mentioning sex, and how uncomfortable/flustered this makes Dulcie, and how Eddie immediately clocks this and leans into it harder. My favorite moment is when Cath texts Dulcie a pic of her boobs and Dulcie accidentally opens the image while at work and can't figure out how to close it again and is super flustered...and Eddie obviously sees the pic, is totally unperturbed and seems, if anything, mildly amused by Dulcie's reaction.

5. Fave character:

I can't choose between Dulcie and Eddie.

I'm most similar to Dulcie; I relate to her the most. I love her secretiveness, her shame. I love how ethical she is and I love how it shows up at work as a willingness to let minor/harmless crimes slide where possible. I love that she wants to be gentle with people, even when they're behaving badly. I love her shyness, her hesitation to be herself with people. I love the person we start to see emerging in the last few episodes and in the epilogue. I love her bravery and I love her fear.

I admire Eddie the most. Not as much during the first 3 episodes; I see them as someone who, at that time, was in too much pain to notice much else. But after that: I love their anger, how they're not too afraid to stick up for other people, and for themself. I love how loyal they are, and how protective of the people they care about. I love their rudeness and how selectively they deploy it; even though they don't seem to be taking much care with that, they really are. I love their frankness and I love how perceptive they are about people. I love their honesty and I love how ethical they are -- they break the rules sometimes but they really care about doing the right thing. And I love the way they look at Dulcie, particularly in episodes 6-8: it's so intimate. I see Eddie as someone who's extremely warm and loving, when they feel close to someone.

[throne-for-queens]

I felt like before her music cameos were about promo and making money, now it feels like it's about all of the guilt he has been tripped into.

"I whole heartedly think this was a lie to get him to write songs about her. And he has. And he's milking the "we lost the baby" "my hand wasn't on her stomach".

Whoever wrote this ATE. and y'all know it or y'all wouldn't have gotten that mad, other anons completely lost It, trying to bring up MAGA and human rights to guilt trip us into silence.

The truth is that she is gonna be in whatever video she wants to, especially those that remind the people she was once popping and those about her allegedly miscarrying.

She said on the VMAs(?) red carpet "he's not allowed to have other hoes, it's the QuEeN 🤪 or no one"

"Fun" fact about Shakira: She was in a 12 year toxic partnership. Not only allegedly her man tried to frame her to get locked (they said her baby daddy and his father were doing her taxes for her)... not only there is public footage of him and his whole family scolding her in public, not only they named (ex mom in law) their dog after her, not only her mom in law cut her iconic curls into a short straight bob shortly after meeting, not only they say he cheated with both sexes but also.... SHE WAS FORBIDDEN from having male love interests or sexy men in her VIDEOS. Either him or no one (in fact she had him in "me enamoré"....what does this reminds you of?). When this went viral, in latam and rest of the world, many people dismissed it as "love". Turns out it was one of the many bs he was putting her through

Until he wake u

Starting from the beginning, bloody Valentine felt like an ode to 2000s Megan Fox. People were excited to see her again in a fun, upbeat song, that felt like a slight nod to Jennifer's body. Then came the slow bloody Valentine song with the For MF written in the clouds, which made it seem like the song was always about her when she was never the inspiration for the song. Then came drunk face where they kissed on screen and at this point he's at the height of ttmd and paparazzi are everywhere and I'll admit it felt inauthentic to the man I always perceived him to be. Then came her voice on the interlude with the intended romantic dialogue ( and I do mean intended) sounded a little weird to include it but hey it wasn't for everyone. And then the "I am god" quote at the beginning of emo girl. Which brings us now to this this video, where she is yet again the love interest.

I know we all thought it was jokey, jokey when she said she didn't want him to have any other love interest in his videos, but could it have been the truth? I'm starting to think so, because 1 time is coincidence, 2 times is intentional, and 3 well...3 is mandatory. It leaves the impression that Megan may be uncomfortable with Colson having other female leads in romantic music videos. We can say that it's colson who's uncomfortable, but I'm just not getting that vibe, especially since he's been doing this long enough to know that it's business. Now whether you think it's Megan or Colton, that's completely up to you, but at the end of the day its getting quite old.

[ananke-xiii]

“What’s it like, settling down with a hunter?” is such a good line, I love it!

As a standalone line is just hilarious because, while Dean and the verb “to settle down” have a very complicated relationship, he for sure knows “what’s like” living with a hunter, he’s been living with one for the vast majority of his life and he’s been nesting (not the same as settling down but I think Dean knows how to take a win when he gets one) in that damn bunker with his brother for how long? 4-5 years give or take? So yeah, Dean is quite adorbs when he says that.

As a central line to the whole scene is very straightforward because Dean has explicitly compared  Caesar and Jesse to him and Sam saying that the first fight just like brothers, almost as bad as the second. Caesar corrects him though, and tells him that actually it’s more like old married couple. Therefore, the “settling down with a hunter” unequivocally refers to “being married/in a committed romantic relationship” with another hunter.

As a key line connecting this episode to the season’s overall theme of pining&longing is incredibly telltale. Dean is curious, interested even. Marrying another hunter is not something far-fetched, Sam and Dean have met some married hunters in the past so that’s not news to him. He wants to know “what’s like” because he’s given that a thought. So far in the season Dean has come to the realization that there’s something missing in his life, a blank space, a void inside himself.

This episode starts with Dean deep in research-mode on one of the bunker’s desks and Sam instantly knows he’s worried about Cas. They’ve been like this for a whole week, trying to find a way to “bring the idiot back home”. Sam thinks it’s time they got out and hit the road for a case. Therefore, the reason why the brothers are in Gunnison, Colorado is because Sam thinks Dean needs to get out of the bunker and stop obsessing over Cas. From the plot pov, Cas’ absence is the trigger event of the episode. This is confirmed later on when Dean tells Sam that maybe Caesar and Jesse can “give them a hand with Amara, you know, with Cas”. This, per se, doesn’t necessarily mean that Cas is that something or rather someone who can fill in the empty space Dean has inside himself. But it implies that Dean feels that the “something” that’s missing is very strongly connected to Cas and Cas’ presence in his life.

Finally, “What’s it like, settling down with a hunter?” is a great line because it flips over a key scene in “Baby” by Robbie Thompson. I love when writers so explicitly communicate with their colleagues in their work! I mean, this is basically an indirect quote. Love it, love it, love it!

In “Baby” there’s this beautiful dialogue between Sam and Dean:

Dean: Piper? That's awesome. Heather. One-night wonders, man. Shoot, we're lucky we still get that at all.

Sam: Really? You don't . . . Ever want something more?

Dean: I'm sorry, have you met us? We're batting a whopping zero in domestic life, man. Goose eggs.

Sam: You don't ever think about something? Not marriage or whatever. But . . . Something? You know, with a hunter? Somebody who understands the life?

Dean: Have you not heard a single word Bob's been singing about? You're tired. I can tell. You're exhausted. Well, I'm still wired, so I'm gonna pull over, get some gas. You hop in the back, get some Z's 'cause, buddy, you earned 'em. Proud of ya! Piper. Mmm. Man, she smelled good, too.

At the beginning of the season Dean seems to be quite certain that there's no chance for them to have a “domestic life”. Sam doesn’t disagree but he highlights Dean’s limited perspective on the matter. Not marriage but… something more. Specifically, something more with a hunter or with somebody who understands the life. Dean replies too dismissively to his question, so I think he's actually thought about that but either he didn’t like the end result of that particular train of thought or he didn’t want to talk about it.

However, by the time Dean meets Caesar and Jesse something has clearly changed. If in "Baby" Dean goes from 0 to 100 (from "one-night wonders" to "domestic life", geez, Dean calm down man lol) and he's quite "touchy-touchy" about the subject, in "The Chitters" not only does he seem more open to the topic, but he even freely and voluntarily brings it up with a couple of people he’s basically just met. And yes, the big thing that has happened to him in between these episodes is not Amara. It’s Cas’ absence. So it’s safe to say that the show is implying in no uncertain terms that Cas’ absence and Dean’s sudden interest in “settling down with somebody who understand the life” are connected. Do with that what you will.

Nancy Won managed to intertwine scene, episode and season in one single line. I must admit it’s quite brilliant.

Anyway, “The Chitters” is such a packed episode, Nancy Won really tried her best to weave a compelling MOTW (the Bisaan is hands down one of the most horrifying monsters in all of SPN), the season’s main themes and some good ol’ subtext. She also wrote “Thin Lizzie” and I remember that I liked it a lot, too bad she didn’t stick around in the writers room for later seasons.

[ltwharfy]

"Bob's Burgers" Season 4 Episode Ranking Rewatch (Long Post)

So, I've been rewatching "Bob's Burgers" from the beginning and ranking the episodes using the spreadsheet that @babsvibes created! If you want to know why I'm doing this or how I view the 1-5 rating scale, you can check out my Season 1 post! If you want to check out any of the other seasons, I've been using the "bob's burgers episode ranking rewatch" tag for all of them.

Now, on to Season 4:

Average (Mean) Score: 4.59

Mode (Most Common) Ranking: 5

Ranking Breakdown: 13 5s; 9 4s

Season as a whole thoughts:

I'm genuinely wondering if Season 4 might end up being the highest rated season when this project is all said and done. And that's interesting because it is not a season I immediately think of when I think of a season with a lot of my favorite episodes- I think of 3 and 7 first. But Season 4 is just so consistently entertaining! As I got towards the end of it, I noticed that I had not given any of the episodes a 3 yet- but looking it over again, that checks out. I'd really be happy to watch any of these episodes any time I am in the mood for "Bob's Burgers"- there isn't a "meh" or a mixed review in the bunch. And since I have already rated episodes from later seasons when I've caught them on cable, am pretty certain that this might be the only season with no 3s or lower in it.

But honestly, one of the things that really makes "Bob's Burgers" standout among TV comedies for me- and one of the things that motivated me to do this rewatch- is that I think it has been really consistently good for a really long period of time. And if Season 4 was the most really consistently good season- well, then, maybe it makes sense for it to be my (mathematically calculated) favorite! (But we've still got a lot of seasons to go...)

Some thoughts on specific episodes (and feel free to ask if you want my thoughts on an episode I didn't comment on):

"My Big Fat Greek Bob": One of the "sleeper hits" of the season- I had forgotten how much fun it was! Bob's bond with the frat guys, the kids exploring the frat house, Linda and Gretchen's "lady goods" parties- it's all a hoot! And one of the pleasures of doing this rewatch has been realizing how much I enjoy many recurring BB characters- not in a "they are my new Blorbo I must create a billion head canons about them!" way but just in a "hey, it's nice to see you in this episode!" way. So, hey, Dr. Yap, it was nice to see you in this episode!

"Turkey in a Can": One of the hardest "Bob's Burgers" questions you could ask me is to name my favorite Thanksgiving episode- making me choose between this one and "Dawn of the Peck"?! Please no! The scene in the bathroom on Thanksgiving is one of the funniest bits of chaotic humor on the show ever. If I'm not cracking up when Gayle declares "It's the end of the world!" and kisses Mort, you should check my pulse because I'm probably dead.

"Purple Rain-Union": "Won't you enter my Acropolis and make my yogurt Greek?"- how come Aunt Gayle's name never comes up when people are discussing the greatest songwriters of all time?! Also, I love the scenes with Jen (one of my all-time favorite recurring characters) in this one- especially her hilarious "pep talk" to Linda. I also love the way Louise's nonsensical "everybody gets a black eye" plan somehow works!

"Slumber Party": Yes, the slumber party plot itself is great! Yes, Jessica and all the other recurring characters who debut in this episode are great! But what I really love about this episode is the amount of screentime and dialogue devoted to Little King Trashmouth!! "It's a rac-coup d'etat!" and "Aw, babies getting rabies" are two of my favorite ever Linda quotes! Let's just say that if I lived in Seymour's Bay I would be a crazy raccoon person alongside Linda and Teddy. I love those alley rascals!

"Easy Com-mercial, Easy Go-mercial": Hey, Randy, it was nice to see you in this episode! After "Fraud of the Dead", I was thinking about Louise directing that film and also directing the Meatman film in "Ain't Miss Debtatin'" and wondering if there were any other indications in the show that she had this interest in directing. So, it was interesting to rewatch this and note that Louise not only insists that she should direct instead of Randy because she came up with the script idea, but even when Randy is directing scenes of the commercial that she is not in, you can see Louise standing next to him mimicking his actions- like, it's not just about her wanting power or not respecting Randy (although both things are true) she's genuinely interested in directing!

"The Frond Files": Our first three stories anthology! Two things I really love in this one: the way Louise writes that ridiculous argument between her and Gene at the end of her story-it's the most sibling thing ever! Also, I LOVE the coloring and designs of the "Fart School for the Gifted" segment- it's just really beautiful art to accompany a really silly story! (I also love Linda's tearful reaction to that story and Bob insisting to Frond that he ending is ambiguous). I also loved the use of black and white for (most) of Tina's zombie story.

"Mazel Tina": Another fun thing of the rewatch has been noticing story types/structures that the show reuses that I enjoy- and this is one of them, where the Belchers are go to a place together (Tammy's bat mitzvah) and then all have separate little adventures there ("Mutiny on the Windbreaker" and "Legends of the Mall", are among other stories of that type). I particularly enjoy Louise in this one- Louise talking Janet into quitting her job and following her dreams is hilarious, as is all the Tammy-Louise interaction. One of the things that makes Tammy a great recurring character is that she has her own different dynamics with each of the Belcher siblings- they all mess with her, but in completely different ways.

"The Kids Rob A Train": So, as I have written in other long posts and in fics, one of the reasons I enjoy Louise and Rudy's friendship is that we can see it evolve over time. They don't automatically become besties after "Carpe Museum"- in this one Rudy tells Beanbag that he knows the Belchers from school, not that they are his friends. And I think we see some key moments in the development of their friendship in this one- Rudy's patience with Louise's siblings during his presentation about the train, Rudy and Louise's back-and-forth as he tries to get her to hand him the chocolate through the window, and his fake allergic severe reaction and her panicked response. But even if you aren't as obsessed with that relationship as I am, this episode has tons of great things- Bob's "friendship" with "Ramon" the boy riding the bike next to the train, Gene's outfit, the thrilling musical score!

"The Kids Run Away": Another sleeper hit that I never really appreciated until this rewatch. I particularly love that Gayle is actually helpful in resolving the Louise cavity crisis in this episode. Yes, Gayle has a LOT of issues, but I think she does try to be a good aunt and a good sister.

The "How Bob Saves/Destroys the Town" two-parter: Most of the time, my ratings are mainly based on how much I enjoy the comedy, story, and character beats of the episode- I haven't really rated any episodes up or down based on how they look visually- and I readily concede that is not really my wheelhouse, I don't really know much about evaluating animation or direction in animation from a technical perspective. That being said, both parts of this two parter were probably the first episodes of the show where I repeatedly thought about how beautiful it was! There are many great shots that make the episodes seem more cinematic or theatrical (the spotlights on the singers during the musical numbers) rather than "just" an episode of television. The view of the town when Bob and Calvin are on top of the rollercoaster is particularly great. And I love how they brought back so many recurring characters, even if it was just for silent cameos (like Darryl and Logan being in the background for part of "Bad Things Are Bad")! This episode really shows how much the show had grown over four seasons- how it had developed a setting and a ton of characters, both supporting and main, so that you really cared about them. A fantastic ending for a fantastic season!

Random thoughts (stuff that doesn't affect the ratings):

-This season seems to have more plots involving Bob working somewhere other than the restaurant ("My Big Fat Greek Bob", "Bob and Deliver") and more plots about the family or members of it being in physical jeopardy (the first three episodes, "Christmas in the Car", the two-part season finale) than most seasons. I remember noticing that when it was first airing and worrying that it was a trend that might lead to the show becoming less grounded (like "The Simpsons") and that if we got to 10+ seasons we'd be seeing stories about Bob becoming a temporary chef for NASA and the family being stranded on the International Space Station or nonsense like that. Obviously, this concern was misplaced. if anything, the show has become more grounded as it's gone on, making episodes about things my retired aunt and uncle do as hobbies (birdwatching, hunting for mushrooms).

-I try not to nitpick jokes, but it bugs me in "Mazel Tina" when Gene yells "One Luftballoon!" after seeing Tina's blood red face. Yes, the English version of Nena's "99 Luftballoons" was "99 Red Balloons"- but "luft" doesn't mean "red" in German, it means "air" and "luftballoon" just means "balloon"-it has nothing to do with it being red! So, he's just saying Tina's red face looks like a balloon, which is an odd joke. Sorry, this is incredibly dumb, but y'know I took German for two years in high school and I need to use it occasionally so I don't feel like I wasted that time...

Thanks for reading! See you in Season 5!

[allthefoolishdreams]

hi! i hope you're well! for the ask game - 1, 10, 15, 18, 19, 21, 26 and 30? <33

(this is jeonghoneyss btw, i'm not sure if i mentioned before haha)

hi!! thank you, i am doing well, i hope you are as well!! <3

What’s something new that you tried in a fic this year? How did it turn out and would you do it again?

Something new I tried this year was non-linear narrative (in my minchan divorce fic), I've always loved non linear narratives since its an interesting way to tell a story. I think so far its turning out well! although it is based on a story so that did help make it easier. Either way, I would absolutely love to write more non linear narratives if I come up with an idea that it'll work best with

10. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Honestly? I don't know! Out of the ones posted this year, I think maybe the superchan fic might have been my happiest to work on. I do know working on you are strange always makes me pretty happy as well (when i'm not hit with writer's block)

15. Rec a fic you wrote or posted in 2023

I have only posted 4 fics this year and I know you have read 2 of them, so I'll just rec the other two: chansung fic (which is angsty and about commitment issues and complex feelings regarding relationships but i enjoyed writing) and this minchan fic (which is a bob's burgers au and just overall a silly and fun time)

18. What was the hardest fic to title?

without a doubt it was my spidey minlix fic, I just didn't know what to call it even when I had the first chapter completed already which is unusual for me because by the time ive written that much I have title ideas already. I'm not sure if you read the author's note but i did almost title it "spider-boy (king of thieves)" which is a taylor swift lyric because it fits far too perfectly but i decided to search it on ao3 and saw that a lot of the fics using that as a title were spider-man aus which made me scrap the idea so fast. I ended up scrolling through Black Cat and Spider-Man panels + looking up Black Cat quotes for inspiration and decided that i really liked the line ""You are strange, my love. I guess that's why I find you so irresistible." and shortened it because I thought the quote would be such a fitting line for minlix considering they are both strange (affectionate) <3

19. Share your favorite opening line

if I keep it to fics I posted this year, I think my favorite would be from my chansung fic: At a young age, Jisung learns just how easy it is to pack up your life and leave it all behind.

I feel like it fully captures the main vibe of the fic

Also, here's one for fics I've written this year and not posted. I'm cheating here by giving several lines but here's the opening for my jilix songwriting fic because I really like the opening paragraph:

The first time Jisung meets Felix, he’s struck by how gentle and kind he is.  He’s mesmerized by his voice, like everyone else is; the deep, smooth tone and accent. The clumsy way he stumbles over his Korean in a way that makes it obvious he’s still learning. And he’s especially mesmerized when he starts to show off his vocal abilities, the range he’s capable of. It’s something else entirely. Perhaps, more importantly, he’s mesmerized by his bright grin despite how prickly Jisung is towards him, which isn’t necessarily anything personal, he’s prickly towards everyone. Unlike the others though, Felix brushes it off and continues to ask questions like he doesn’t genuinely mind how closed off Jisung is; he's never annoyed or scared of him. All while offering him bright smiles each time they interact. And it’s a beautiful smile.

21. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

I can't think of any off the top of my head. I do think a lot of my favorite dialogue I've written is from you are strange, especially the minho and felix conversations when they're bantering in their respective alter egos, it's always so fun for me to write. Their dialogue in their civilian life is very good to me too, but I don't think I can choose a favorite. I also remember enjoying the group discussion from chapter one when they're discussing Spider-Man since it was so fun to write

26. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

I don't think I have any specific satisfying writing moment, but I guess seeing my word count on ao3 go up so much just within the year was pretty satisfying to me especially since like i mentioned i only posted 4 new fics

30. What’s something that you want to write in 2024?

I'm not gonna lie, my goal is just to finish all of my wips. But I do want to write the batman!chan fic thats been brewing, I havent started since I know it'll become a monster of a fic and I'm trying to prioritize finishing my current superhero aus before starting a new one lol. which reminds me, I have Thoughts on other superchan side stories, other than the felix one so thats also on the list, so far nobody has pointed out the Minho (or Hyunjin) name drops in chapter one of superchan which goes along with my thoughts regarding the au. Another thing I want to write is that seunglix christmas fic I mentioned before, I'm thinking of writing it out in advance for next december

Also, not going to lie, all the descendants talk makes me want to dabble into fic for it but im not sure yet. We shall see!

(thanks for the ask <3)

[softspeirs]

Fic writer interview!

Thanks @mercurygray for the tag!

How many works do you have on AO3? 120 for my 2 pseuds, sunlightdances and glowinghorizons!

What’s your total AO3 word count? 520,569

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? take a running start (the 100) keep me safe inside (your arms like towers) (the 100) one less day to be alone (the 100) give you everything i have (the 100) they will see my strength (in this love i found) (the 100)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try to! I usually get to them all, even if I don't respond the same day. I really appreciate anyone who comments on my works, even old stuff for fandoms I don't write for anymore (see above fics and kudos lol) and want to say thanks.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? This is a hard question! I've always tried to be a happy ending writer, but I think some of my newer fics for HBO War stuff is probably more angsty because of the subject matter. I'm just now feeling confident in leaving a chapter or a fic itself ended on a angsty note.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? Pretty much everything I write is fix-it fic, so usually they all have happy endings, but I'm partial to this fic for Marvel (Modern!Bucky x Reader) - Safe Place to Land on AO3 or Tumblr.

Do you write crossovers? I've only done a few, but I have a WIP on hiatus that I started ages ago that's a Supernatural/BoB time travel fic featuring one of my OCs! It's here: Lost in Time

Have you ever received hate on a fic? Yes and it still haunts me lol. I got the longest comment of my writing life (like, several paragraph essay) on one of my modern AUs for The 100 about how I should give up writing and it went into extreme detail with quotes and everything critiquing me. Honestly, it really threw me for a loop because it wasn't a constructive criticism, it was mean, and I stopped writing for a long time because of it.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? If I feel it has a place - I'm more likely to write a smut-adjacent, probably-still-rated-M heavy petting scene with lots of angst and tension. That's what I like to read if I read smut, too.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not an entire fic, but a writer in another fandom wrote something SO similar to one of my Marvel stories and there was a paragraph that was copy/pasted. I confronted them and they deleted it, and their blog shortly after. It sucked lol.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not that I know of!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? I haven't! I'd love to try it one day but I'm also such a procrastinator I fear I'd mess up any working relationship, haha.

What’s your all-time favorite ship? Based on what I've written, I still have a soft spot for Clarke and Bellamy from The 100, even though I won't ever write for that fandom again. Their dynamic was so great to write about. Back in my Fanfiction.net days I loved writing for Olivia and Lincoln from Fringe, too.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? I have a Dean Winchester/OC fic where she's a national park ranger and gets roped into shenanigans that I love, but I don't see myself going back to it unfortunately.

What are your writing strengths? I hope that I'm able to really set a scene and use dialogue and sense words to really put readers in the head of a particular character. I really want people to finish reading a piece and have a feeling.

What are your writing weaknesses? Sometimes I think I use too much dialogue and I tell rather than show.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? I would love it, but I don't speak another language confidently enough to use it the right way, and I just don't trust Google Translate to make it smooth enough, haha.

What was the first fandom you wrote for? I think I wrote RPF for the band McFly when I was 13 but I don't think any of that still exists, thank god. My first published fic was something for AltLivia/AltLincoln (Fringe) on ff.net in 2011.

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? I'm in a Discord server for the Nancy Drew CW show and I'd love to write for Nancy/Ace, but I'd need to rewatch the show to do it confidently, I was just a casual watcher with friends when it was on TV.

What’s your favourite fic you’ve written? My favorite thing is my current WIP Barren Soul (Band of Brothers). I've been working on it on and off since 2020 and I think it has some of my best writing. It's also fun to re-read because I can see how I've grown as a writer over the years.

Tagging anyone else who wants to fill this out - no pressure!

[delta-queerdrant]

ballet of the unhatched dicks (Partuition, s2 e7)

Gosh, season two is a real bummer. I know I will find joy in this show again, but “Partuition” is not it.

Before we get into it, red alert, turn on the klaxons, it’s Janeway hair watch! I genuinely thought I’d lost my mind when I started the episode and found a season two Janeway bob on my screen. It’s not the best ever iteration of Janeway with short hair, but they were trying a thing. 

The bob is (spoiler) gone by the next episode. Let us not contemplate the in-universe logistics of Janeway’s disappearing-then-reappearing mane and just appreciate that movement, of a kind, is happening on the hair front.

Anyhoo, the rest of this episode is nonstop yikes on bikes. Tom realizes he has a crush on Kes, Neelix gets jealous, and our boys are stranded on a dangerous planet to work out their feelings. There’s also a baby dinosaur question mark?

I don’t hate jealous Neelix as a story thread. Narratives about toxic relationships are important! What I hate hate hate is the way this show repeatedly fails to center Kes or her feelings. This episode is wall-to-wall men having opinions about Neelix being a bad boyfriend, when it could be a story about Kes coming to terms with having a bad boyfriend. It’s so bad, y’all, and I want to launch it into a nebula.

The emotional immaturity of Neelix, Tom, and indeed the script itself, comes out in the high school tenor of the comedy. Like, there is a food fight. Tom acts like a teenager who, quote, “can't let myself be alone with her” (barf). The writers are like, “teehee, aren’t men the WORST,” but I am genuinely offended on behalf of actual men, who are adults and don’t need to be told their bad behavior is cute or funny or whatever.

Nor do we get counter-programming in which smart, capable, emotionally intelligent Kes realizes she is too good for this nonsense. Instead the Doctor delivers an APPALLING monologue in which he states, “You should consider it a high compliment. Throughout history, men have fought over the love of a woman.” To my ear Picardo is struggling with this dialogue, which is supposed to be drily witty but springs from a “boys will be boys” attitude that doesn’t make sense from our dispassionate, take-no-crap EMH. 

The solution to our love triangle, obviously, is for Tom and Neelix to be stuck in a proverbial elevator together, working out their jealousy issues as if they are characters in The Iliad fighting over female chattel. We get a garbled science fiction plot (I had a hard time suspending my disbelief on this one, with its reliance on old wives' tales about baby birds not being removed from nests, and a grown man proposing to leave an alien infant to die). The only nice thing I can say is that the baby bird alien is actually kinda cute? I dunno. I like what I like.

As our boys discuss their feelings for Kes behind her back (yuck), Neelix figures out how to care for the baby alien (to which Paris says, “You're not its godfather. You're its godmother." Holy crap, this show is written exclusively by men who, when they watch their kids, call it “babysitting”).

Paris and Neelix make up, but there's something crucial missing, a scene that every romantic comedy fan knows and loves: the grovel. The grovel is what makes battle-of-the-sexes narratives work. In romantic comedies, men are never forgiven until they show that they know what they did. Both of these men have much to apologize for, but Kes never hears a single apology. The nicest line we get is Neelix’s, “I don't pick Kes's friends for her,” but he says this to Tom.

Apparently when the patriarchy asks itself, “how could we suck less and treat women better?” the answer they come up with is: “we could be bros?” “we could agree to share?” It is inane and offensive and I want to throw it into the garbage and then set the garbage on fire.

SO BAD. 0.5/5 strands of Alfarian hair pasta. 

[bethannangel]

Top Gun: Rooster movie I play in my head which really would be a great fic if I was any good at dialogue and setting scenes and wasn’t just doing this all by stream of consciousness.

How this mess is 5.8k I really don’t know. It’s basically Rooster figuring out whether or not he has a family with a little Hangster toward the end. Also speaks about being self destructive. Even has a 2D OC for Coyote to be engaged to.

How it looks so good luck if you try to read it: “here’s a quote” “here’s another quote” here’s one person laughing “and then they say this” and then person shakes their head, “and says this”

Also, the pacing sucks, but it’s my brain movie so whatevers

We see the mission ending real quick to give us a two years later title card.

It’s Rooster on another boat playing cards with a few other pilots we haven’t met before and Coyote right before they go on mission. They’re talking about their loved ones they’ve got back home and how Coyote is planning to propose to his SO, Sammy, after this deployment (they’re close to going home). It’s comes around to Rooster and he’s not sad about not having someone back home. Before someone could ask another question, alarms go off meaning they need to get in their planes asap. They end up losing one of the other pilots who had a wife and kids and Rooster was forced to eject again. He goes on forced leave from dangerous airspace.

Rooster’s on leave spending it with Maverick. While in the air (P-51), they’re talking about how Mav retired and is trying to be a family man with Penny and Amelia. How Rooster is always welcomed to stay with them cause he’s family too. He smiles but you can tell it doesn’t reach his eyes. Mav asks if he has met anyone yet and he says that he doesn’t know how to with the job and Mav nods in understanding and gives him some platitude about how maybe he’s already met them then (writing this as a underlying Hangster pitch but if it has to be someone we’ve already met, I’d want it to be Halo and not Nat). When they land, Hangman calls him and tells him to meet up at the Hard Deck cause it’s time to celebrate. (Hangman was over at Lemoore and came for the weekend, Phoenix and Bob are now Instructors at Top Gun) (I want more people there but it’s not gonna be easy to explain 12 people being there)

Sammy said yes! (Also on North Island to support Coyote after the loss of a wingman) Rooster hugs Coyote since they’ve gotten closer because of their last deployment together. Rooster sees the new fiancé(e) on the other side of the bar talking to Hangman and makes a comment about watching him before he tries something and Coyote laughs it off because Hangman is the reason they got together in the first place.

We get our awaited “you look good” “I am good”call back when Hangman and Rooster finally talk to each other. It’s a much lighter tension than when we first saw them at the Hard Deck, but there’s still this rivalry building underneath. They talk about their last deployments when Hangman’s smirk goes away and asks seriously how Rooster is handling the loss of his wingman. Rooster blows it off saying that he’s fine and another tease that hits a little too deep in the moment. Hangman is about to walk off when Rooster stops him and asks about how he got Coyote and Sammy together. Phoenix and Bob walk up, coming to ask him as well. Hangman says it’s a story for another night (glances over at Rooster and back to Phoenix) and asks them how it’s going at Top Gun.

The recruits are good but don’t know how to communicate and maybe Rooster wants to come through to help show them what that means. And Hangman makes a comment about teaching the kids to be slow and Rooster walks away to the piano to warm up. Hangman’s the one to unplug the juke. Rooster plays a song for the newly engaged couple.

Next we see Rooster in the office with Warlock, getting permission to fly and be a guest speaker for Phoenix’s and Bob’s classes. Warlock says he’s allowed to fly, but any infraction and he’s grounded for the rest of his leave. He leaves the office and gets a picture from Yale of his brand new baby girl.

He talks to Phoenix and Bob in the cafeteria about it and how Bob heard Yale’s thinking off discharging after this last deployment and they go over how Omaha stopped flying after he got married and Fritz put in for that promotion when his wife said she was pregnant. They talk dating and how they all have someone except for Rooster and Hangman. Even Bob has his person back home.

Phoenix introduces Rooster to the kids and no one can get tone lock on either Phoenix or Rooster. Rooster also does some dumb stunt to get out of tone lock which Phoenix calls him out on.

He calls Hangman later that night and the convo turns to would Hangman ever want kids (“You trying to give me kids Rooster?”) and it’s so late that Rooster can’t help but be honest. “I want kids but I can’t imagine ever leaving them” “It’s always been flying for me and for the last __ years, it’s been just me. Yeah I had Phoenix to check up on me but up until the mission, it’s been mainly just me.” “And Hangman asks why Rooster is asking and this, Rooster can’t be honest about. “Coyote getting married, Yale having a kid and discharging” and an unspoken and I’m all alone. “Hey Rooster, you know you can call me if you ever need to talk right?” “Yeah Hangman, but I’ll be fine” and something snarky with a smirk from Hangman that causes Rooster to scoff and roll his eyes with a small smile.

Rooster and Phoenix are teaching the kids communicating up in the air. There’s a student who’s a little too cocky like a certain pilot we know who likes to leave people in the dust. After this pilots first run, Rooster gets him to communicate with his wingman because he knows how to handle the guy. Kid and wingman get tone lock on Rooster. Phoenix says she’s had issues with him in particular and how did you do that? Rooster honestly has no clue. Rooster does some careless move again that almost put him and another pilot in jeopardy. Phoenix yells at him but doesn’t get any answers.

I wanna small scene of just Rooster lying in bed while we hear someone on the phone with a loved one in the background and he slowly closes his eyes to fall asleep.

The next day, someone quits Top Gun to Phoenix. Rooster overhears the convo and it’s about how they aren’t good enough and they can’t die because his parents are getting older and he needs to take care of them and they have a dog at home they need to get back to. Give me Rooster with a panic attack handling it by himself in the bathroom. Other students coming in talking about their families back home while Rooster hides in a stall. Give me Rooster screening Phoenix’s calls when he doesn’t show up to help teach. Doesn’t address why he shows back up.

Hangman calls and Rooster screens his call as well. Seems that he’s missed his calls over the past couple days. Maverick calls and Rooster answers cause he can’t push him away after he just got him back. Maverick asks how he’s doing and tells him to answer Hangman’s calls cause he’d rather Hangman bother Rooster than himself. Rooster laughs and says he’ll call him back. He doesn’t.

Hangman shows up. “Hangman what are you doing here?” “Phoenix said my mini me wasn’t enough to annoy you, think you needed the real deal (something to that effect)” Hangman is currently on leave since his detachment ended and says Warlock said he could be a guest teacher in the meantime. “Don’t you wanna go visit your family?” “I’ll see them another time” Rooster doesn’t like the answer but doesn’t push.

Hangman gets in the air with Rooster and the new cocky pilot/Hangman mini me and a wingman. Hangman pushed the buttons on the kid and goes after Hangman like his life depends on it. Rooster and the wingman just hang back watching them when the kid does same move Rooster did that Phoenix yelled at him for, that causes him and Hangman to have to punch out at a very low altitude.

Rooster is not okay, almost having another panic attack while in the air but it’s staved off with trying to make sure Hangman is safe and that search and rescue are on their way. Phoenix gets on the comma and basically orders Rooster to land. She meets him on the tarmac and Rooster is full blown panic attack mode now that it’s all sinking in.

At med bay, Rooster’s getting checked out while waiting for Hangman. Hangman rolls in on a gurney and sees Rooster getting his vitals checked and loudly asks if he’s okay. Rooster is like confused and is like yeah man I’m fine. hangman visibly relaxes and they take him in to really get checked out. A couple hours later, Coyote and his fiancé(e) walk in. And rooster is like ��oh did Phoenix call you?” “No we’re his emergency contacts.” “What?” “We’re his emergency contacts?” “What about his parents?” “He’s not that close to his family” and Rooster takes that in as the nurses say he’s resting for the night and giving Coyote and Sammy the full run down.

Coyote’s fiancé(e) sits with Rooster and asks how he’s doing. Rooster says he’s fine. Sammy asks if he’s sure cause this is really soon compared to when his and Coyote’s wingman passed and Rooster is this close to blowing up but instead starts breathing really fast. Coyote shows up and calms him down and asks his fiancé(e) what happened. Says that they mentioned the wingman and Coyote gets it now. He apologizes that maybe it was sudden to bring the passed wingman up, but can he tell him a story. Rooster nods.

Now we get how Hangman introduced Coyote and the fiancé(e). It was Hangman’s deployment after getting his first kill. Hangman had to eject and was stuck in medical and his emergency contacts were the same as they were today, “me, his best friend and Sammy, his ex at the time.” Roosters eyes go wide and the fiancé(e) starts laughing. “You guys were together?” “Yep! We had just broken up before he left for the new detachment, but he never changed his emergency contact cause we’d been friends long before that. So I walk in and see this gorgeous human being and totally forget about Jake being in the hospital.” “I didn’t forget Hangman, I just really wanted to talk this beautiful person that just walked in. So we got to talking and grabbed coffee from the cafeteria and finally I asked who they were here to see.” “I said my ex which made everything awkward after that” “Babe no it didn’t, it wasn’t awkward.” “It was so awkward, Javy totally froze for like two minutes and only snapped out of it when my phone rang.” “Ugh yeah I forgot about this next part.” “Anyway, the number is the hospital and when I answer it, it’s Jake saying I don’t have to come in and I say, Jake, it’s fine, I’m already here and I’m having coffee with a really cute guy. But when I look back at Javy, his eyes are even wider somehow. So I tell Jake I need to call him back and hang up. I’m trying to get Javy to talk when his phone rings. Number from the hospital. And Javy, still staring at me, answers with “is Sammy your ex?”” Rooster starts laughing while Coyote is glaring at him. “And I can hear Jake laughing loudly from where I sit.” “It was not funny in that moment,” Coyote said still glaring at a laughing Rooster. “Anyway we go see Hangman and he said it’s fine that we were having coffee and he wiggled his brows,” Coyote stopping to act the action out. “and that the main reason Sammy was an emergency contact was for them to medically explain things to me since they were studying to be a nurse at the time.” Coyote fondly shakes his head look back to the ground trying to hide how wide his smile is. “I still thinks it’s a BS line, but we really weren’t that serious as a couple, we were just friends for years before we dated briefly.” Rooster nods in understanding.

Sammy makes a joke about how Hangman being in the hospital means that maybe Rooster will get lucky and find his person. Rooster is about to respond when the nurse walks up and asks if they’re ready to see Mr. Seresin. Coyote waves Rooster off that they’ll go after he’s done. So Rooster goes and sees Hangman anxiously shaking his non broken leg. “Rooster, what are you doing here?” “Had to make sure the second best pilot was still in second place,” Rooster says with a sad smile. “Rooster, you’ll always be in second place, you don’t have to worry about that.” “Whatever Hangman, Coyote and Sammy we’re telling me how you got them together” “oh yeah, just call me Cupid” “pretty sure that’s a taken call sign already.” “Well it would’ve been mine if I didn’t drag my feet on getting them to meet.” “Did you love Sammy?” “What, of course I did, just not like that. They’ve been in my life since I was a teenager and when I meet Coyote, I knew they’d be perfect for each other.” Rooster smiles at that and then the smile drops.

“Hey, so why’d you lie?” “About what? Rooster, you need to be more specific.” “About your family?” Jake takes a sharp breath in and slowly releases it when he says “I don’t know. I got this weird feeling when you asked and I didn’t want to trigger something.” Rooster nods. “Wanna tell me why you wouldn’t answer my calls?” “Not really?” They’re quiet as Maverick walks in.

“Looks like you found a way to get Rooster to talk to you, huh?” “Yeah, the worst way.” “At least this time he’s not trying to punch you in the face” Hangman rolls his eyes as Rooster says with a laugh, “the day’s still young.” “Shut up, what’s up with you pops.” “Nothing, had a mini heart attack when medical said both of you were in, thought maybe something went down with both of you in the sky together again.” “Nope, just me and another kid. Rooster was in the clear, but… why were you being checked out when I came in?” “What? No reason. I’m fine. They were just checking us out cause we were in the sky too.” It’s a flimsy excuse that both Mav and Hangman can see through. “Mav, they told you about Hangman?” “Yeah, I’m one of his emergency contacts.” “Is everyone an emergency contact for Hangman except for me?” “Didn’t realize you felt that strong about me Rooster. I’ll go ahead and switch out Pops next time,” Hangman says with a wink. Rooster rolls his eyes as Mav just fondly shakes his head. “Anyway, Bradley, let’s let Coyote and his fiancé(e) in. They said you’ve been in here forever.” Roosters say “it’s not been forever,” as Hangman responds with “they can wait.” “Yeah, right, we’ll see you later Hangman.” Hangman waves while he looks at Rooster with a piercing stare. “Hey,” he lowly whispers, “I’m okay. I’m here and I’m okay. Come by if you need to talk later.” Rooster gulps and nods just staring at Hangman’s eyes which tracked Rooster’s adams apple. He turns to the door where Coyote and Sammy are in the hallway talking to Maverick. He turns around and tells Hangman, “I’m glad you’re safe,” and turns back around and walks out and away from the group in the hallway.

“Bradley, wait up!” Rooster is trying to walk away as fast as he can without running, so Mav catches up to him. “Hey, what’s wrong.” “Nothing, I’m fine.” “You sure don’t seem like it” “I’m fine.” “Okay… wanna grab dinner tomorrow?” Rooster stops short of the door to the parking lot. “Dinner?” “Yeah” Mav is smiling. “Okay. Just me and you?” “Sounds great” Rooster nods and walks out.

He screens Mav’s calls as we see him lying in bed, visibly shaking. He goes to turn his ringer off, when the next text is from Hangman.

Now you’re ignoring Pops?

You should come and see me

Rooster doesn’t go. Instead, he calls Phoenix and she says to come to the Hard Deck and help her with the students. They’re all taking the ejections hard.

He drops his phone to his side, closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, opens his eyes as he exhaled and gets up.

He walks into the Hard Deck and sees Mav at the bar. He walks past him to the back group where Phoenix Bob and Coyote are sitting with a bunch of the students who look like they lost their ball over the fence. Rooster sits next to Phoenix who hands him a bottle and asks after the young cocky pilot. “He a lot better than before. He’ll be flying by the end of the year, but he’s not gonna graduate.” Rooster blows out some air “sucks” “yeah.” They take a pause after a student asks Rooster if he’s ever lost a wingman. He doesn’t look up from the floor when he says, “you fly long enough, it happens” Rooster can see from the corner of his eye that Coyote is trying to get him to look at him. Coyote clears his throat, “Rooster and I just lost a friend. He was 28 years old. He had a wife and two kids. Losing a wingman is hard, but you gotta remember that we all signed up for this and we accept the risk because someone else can’t.” Rooster feels a hand on his shoulder, he looks up and sees Maverick with a glum look on his face. He cants his head to signal Rooster to go to the outside patio with him.

They go. “What’s on your mind, kid?” “Nothing, I’m fine.” “You’re not fine if you screened my calls and now ignoring Hangman again.” “Why do you talk to him about me?!” Maverick takes a step back “what?” “Why are you guys talking about me?” “Bradley, we’re worried.” “I’m fine.” “No you’re not. You’re screening phone calls from your friends and I, you’re not showing up to classes you promised to help teach, you’re being reckless with your flying” “it wasn’t even that reckless” “Bradley you almost crashed your plane and then today a pilot did the same move you did and had to eject him and another jet!” “I was just flying Mav, I can’t control what the kid did.” “Yeah but you weren’t flying like you and the kid would’ve never thought of it if you didn’t do it first” “so it’s my fault Hangman and the kid are hurt?” “No Bradley, that’s not what I’m saying.” “What are you saying?” “I’m saying you need to let us in, we’re the only family you’ve got.” “You aren’t my family, I don’t have a family.” “Okay fine, not me, but Phoenix? Bob? Hangman, the rest of the squad? They aren’t?” “no, they aren’t” “Bradley, you can’t really believe that?” “They all have their own families, Mav. They don’t need me.” “I need you. Before Penny and Amelia, before I messed us up, I had you and I had Ice and Sarah. Before that, I had your mom too. And before that, I had your Dad. You three were my family.” Rooster can’t look up. Can’t face Maverick. “Rooster, I lost my mom and dad whenI was young too, but after getting assigned with Goose, him and Carole always made sure I had somewhere to come home to when we were on leave. You all were the only family I had and I lost all of you.” Rooster looks up at this. “Don’t push people away because you don’t think you fit in their lives, let them decide for you.” Maverick walks away and Rooster’s phone buzzes again. We see 4 missed text messages and 2 missed phone calls from Hangman.

Are you coming?

Rooster, talk to me man

Are you ignoring me now?

Just don’t do something stupid, okay?

Rooster does something decidedly stupid. The first thing he says when he walks into Hangman’s room where he’s sitting up, with nurses calling after him that visitor hours are over, is “Why are you talking to Mav about me?” It catches Hangman by surprise. “What do you mean?” “You told him I was screening your calls, he told you I was screening his and then earlier you told him I was ignoring you again. Why are you talking about me?” “He’s just worried.” “Are you?” “What?” “Are you worried?” Hangman doesn’t look at him when he says Yes. “Why? Why is everyone so worried about me?” “Because we know what it’s like to lose a wingman and we can see how it’s affecting you!”

“I’m fine Hangman.” Rooster goes to leave. “Wanna know why I had to eject when Coyote and Sammy got together?” Rooster stops and turns around. “I was pulling some stupid stunt, not listening to my wingman. I was pulling hundreds of stunts like that, stunts that could kill me all because of the guilt I felt after my wingman died while I was getting my first kill.” “I forgot about (insert cool call sign here)” “I didn’t. I couldn’t. It was my fault he died.” “No it wasn’t.” “You’re right, it wasn’t, so why do you keep blaming yourself for his?” Rooster swallows hard. Refusing to look anywhere near Hangman. “Rooster, it wasn’t your fault. Come here.” Hangman reaches a hand out. “Please.” The hand hangs there waiting for Rooster to come closer. Rooster takes a deep inhale, sound of his nose clearing a little after the tears that threatened to form also let his sinuses go a little. He walks slowly to Hangman’s side and sits by Hangman’s legs.

“You need to let us in. Let someone in. Let Coyote in. He was a huge help for me back then. Talked a lot of sense into me” Rooster snorts. “Okay, some sense.” Hangman grabs Rooster’s should in an attempt to get him to look at him. “Let me in.” Rooster keeps his head down but dared to look up at Hangman. “I don’t know how.” “It’s okay, we can figure that out together.” Rooster looks back down at the floor. Takes a deep breath and let’s it go slowly.

“What happened with your family?” He can’t feel Hangman’s hand tighten on his should before he lets go. “Got into a fight about joining the Navy. Then they said that they rather lose me while I was still alive so my death wouldn’t hurt so bad.” Hangman shrugs, “been me and Sammy against the world since. They’ve been my main family since. Coyote joined our family shortly after they started dating. Sammy was head over heels immediately so that was an easy add on.” “So you’re friends are your family?” “Family can be anyone you choose to keep around.” “Why is Mav one of your an emergency contacts?” “Him and Penny invite me over for dinner when I’m in town.” Hangman sounds a little embarrassed over the next line. “He said something about having somewhere to come home to.” Rooster quietly laughs. “Not that I considered their house home, just-“ Rooster cuts him off “it’s fine Hangman, that’s just Mav trying to be Mother Goose” Hangman relaxes, “yeah, trying to take your Mother Hen status.” Rooster rolls his eyes for the thousandth time that day. He gets up with a groan from sitting on the bed. “Shut up, Hangman.” As Rooster walks out he hears “You know I can’t.”

Cut to the next day, they have a beach day outside the Hard Deck. Penny and Mav watching the students, Phoenix, Bob, Warlock and Rooster playing with the kids. Rooster takes a breather and sits with Mav and Penny. “Hey old man, why aren’t you out there?” “Need me to balance the teams out since Warlock is annihilating your team?” Cut to Watlock throwing the perfect touch down while taking a hit. Rooster shakes his head, “And I thought you were good.” Mav looks at Penny with fake offense and she just shrugs. “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you guys, would it be alright if we did dinner tomorrow? Hangman gets out and I bet he’d love some home cooking.” Penny cants her head in questioning to Rooster. “Depends, are you making dinner?” Rooster quickly catches her eyes and nods quickly, “yeah I can cook. I didn’t mean to put you on the spot.” “It’s fine, Rooster,” she looks over at Mav who nods, “we were planning on having Hangman for dinner anyway. But you’re more than welcome to help me out in the kitchen.” Rooster nods as Mav say, “just call him and see if he’s good.” “Yeah, I’ll do that now.” Rooster gets up to grab his phone to call Hangman. Penny looks at Mav with a questioning smile. Mav just looks back over to a smiling, laughing Rooster on the phone who’s messing with the hem of his shorts, “I don’t know yet.”

We see Rooster in the kitchen with Penny while Amelia is doing homework at the dining table just off to the side. Penny instructs Rooster to work on the sauce while she finishes up with the meat balls. “Spaghetti?” “It’s his favorite,” Amelia supplies from the table. Rooster is surprised that Amelia knows this. “Amelia, if you’re not going to do your homework, can you set the table.” Amelia sighs and closes her textbook. “Okay.” She puts her books away and looks at Rooster, “last time, Jake said mom makes the best meatballs.” Rooster nods, “he comes over often?” She shrugs, “Sometimes, he’ll help me with my physics every now and then.” “I told her Mav could help, but-“ “Mom, he makes everything a plane reference. At least Jake leaves the problems alone and doesn’t confuse me more.” Rooster looks at Amelia as he stirs his pasta sauce, “I could help if you want.” “It’s okay, I usually just text Jake for help. He sends me videos that help explain the math.” Rooster looks back down at the sauce and adds a few more spices. He gets a spoon to taste it, needs more pepper. Adds the pepper and let’s it simmer. “Anything else I can help with?” “Just go ahead and add the pasta to the boiling water and you’re done! The squash is ready just in case Pete is on a health kick this week.”

Rooster laughs and adds the pasta when a loud “we’re here!” comes from the front of the house. “In the kitchen!” Penny yells back. Loud clacks from Hangman’s crutches with every step taken. Rooster is bracing himself to seeing Hangman. Maverick walks in to give hugs and a kiss Penny. Amelia rushes to hug Hangman when he enters the doorframe, “Jake! How are you feeling?” Hangman winces and gives a small chuckle, “I’m feeling good,” he looks at Rooster and winks, “I’m very good.” Rooster takes a quick look to take him in, “Hangman, only you’d be feeling good after all that.” “Better believe it Bradshaw. Cause I’m too good to be true.” Rooster scoffs with a smile and rolls his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest in the process, “right.” “Well, go sit down, Spaghetti will be done in 15 minutes.” “Hell yeah, I love your spaghetti and meatballs.” “Bradley did the sauce,” she says with a disgusted face. “You’ve never had my spaghetti sauce before.” “Don’t worry, Rooster, I’m sure there’s plenty of meatballs in case you made the spaghetti inedible.” “There are,” Maverick helpfully supplies. Rooster looks back at Maverick offended while we see Jake mock salute and head for the table. “Mav, you’re the one that taught me how to make Spaghetti.” “I don’t know what Spaghetti habits you’ve picked up over the years.” Rooster walks off like an indignant child. “So… them two,” Penny says as she reattaches herself to Mav’s side. “I think so. Would make sense.” “Baby steps though?” “Yeah, really tiny baby steps.”

Dinner ends up being great. Small montage of everyone enjoying the spaghetti, sauce included, and talking and laughing from everyone around the table. Amelia is drying dishes that Rooster is washing. “Hey Mel, I’ll dry so you can go finish your homework.” “Thank you!” Amelia throws the rag at him and runs off to her room. Hangman moves a chair closer to the sink and sits down to dry the dishes. “Hey.” “Hey.” “So how’s you make the spaghetti sauce so good? Spent a deployment in Italy?” “Actually yeah, but I got my base skills from Maverick.” “Ah that makes sense. He usually makes the spaghetti sauce.” Rooster nods, “Yeah, he taught me how to make a few basic meals after my mom passed.” “We’re yalls close?” Rooster looks over at him with a raised eyebrow. “I mean you and your mom.” “Oh yeah, we were thick as thieves. She got me in as much trouble as she got me out of. Taught me how to play piano, took me to my first concert, took me out on my first motorcycle. She would ride roller coaster after roller coaster with me until I threw up.” Rooster laughs at the memory, dishes forgotten. The smile disappears and Hangman can see it happening in real time. “She got sick when I was a teenager. I lost her when I was 16.” Hangman goes to grab Rooster’s arm to reassure him, but decides not to. “Maverick took an extended leave to stay with me til I graduated from high school. He taught me how to cook, how to take care of myself, and how to fly.” Rooster looks down back to the dishes after that. Hangman a bit confused by it, ignores it. “Too bad he didn’t teach you how to dress. But then you’d just be wearing tight tshirts with a leather jacket.” Rooster surprises Hangman with a loud laugh. His laugh tapering off to a giggle, “actually, we can blame Maverick for how I dress. He’s the one that kept all my dad’s Hawaiian shirts.” They laugh at this together. A quiet moment lingers between the two.

“Hey. Thanks for inviting me to dinner.” “Well, Mav and Penny were going to invite you anyway.” “Yeah, but Mav said you specifically asked to invite me.” Rooster nods and ducks his head down and to the opposite side to hide from Hangman a little. Rooster hands over the last plate to dry, turns off the water and dries his hands. “Yeah, well,” Rooster sniffs, turns to lean against the sink, arms crossed over his chest and doesn’t look at Hangman, preferring to look at the floor, “I wanted to make sure you still knew you had somewhere to come home to.” They let the moment sit. Hangman slowly stands up and puts a hand on one of Rooster’s forearms and lightly squeezes. “Seems like you do too,” with no hint mocking Rooster. Rooster looks up at the man in front of him through eyelashes, still keeping his head tucked into his chest. Hangman is giving him a half smile, but the emotions behind his eyes betray him. They show how much he really cares for Rooster. Rooster goes to lean in, when Mav walks in and clears his throat. “Hey, Penny wanted me to ask if you guys were staying or if you needed rides?”

They jump apart, Rooster not realizing how close they were. He coughs, “I’m good Mav, probably head out in a minute. I can take Hangman if he needs a ride.” “Yeah, that’d be great Bradshaw.” Maverick smiling and looking between the two, “Okay great, I’ll let her know,” and he walks off.

Rooster drops off Hangman and helps him to his door. They awkwardly say goodbye as we see Rooster walk back to his car and Hangman is just leaning against the door.

One week later title card. The week before graduation goes by fast. Rooster and Hangman talk everyday (evidenced by seeing Rooster texting Hangman that he just pulled up to the hanger and Hangman replying don’t fly too slow), but they don’t talk about what happened at Mav and Penny’s house. We find this out by Mav asking, “so, you and Hangman.” Rooster’s on defense, “what about me and Hangman?” “So are you guys official yet?” “Officially what?” “Bradley.” “Mav.” “Bradley.” “Mav. What?” “You guys kissed at the house last week.” “What? No we didn’t.” “You didn’t?” “No we didn’t.” “But you wanted to.” “Mav.” Rooster is glaring at him. “Okay,” Mav raising his hands in front of him, playing innocent. “I just thought since you all were getting close and all, that something shifted.” Rooster is quiet. “Did something shift?” “Mav, please.” “Okay, I’ll stop.” “Thank you.” “Just remember, if something did shift and you wanted it to shift, just go for it. Don’t think, just do.” “Mav.” Rooster is rolling his eyes. “Okay, I’ll stop. The kids excited for graduation?” “Yeah, think we have everything ready for tomorrow.” “Good, let me know if you need a last minute guest speaker.” “I’m sure Warlock has had enough guest speakers and teachers to last a lifetime.” They laugh.

It’s graduation and Rooster in his dress whites is sitting in one of the front rows of the audience watching Phoenix hand over certificates to all the new graduates. The ceremony is over and as every stands to head over to the reception, Rooster hears the unmistakable clacking of crutches walking toward him. There he is, Hangman wearing his dress whites there to support the kids. “Hangman, you look good.” “I am good, Rooster-” “You’re very good?” “You know it.” He winks at Rooster who smiles back. They walk into the reception and meet up with Phoenix and Bob. Phoenix grabbed four glasses and wants to make a toast. “To Phoenix and Bob,” says Hangman. “To Rooster and Hangman,” says Phoenix. “To the new graduates,” says Bob. Rooster takes a breath, “to family,” he says looking at the three of them.

They finish their drinks and Phoenix and Bob have to go off and speak to family members of the students. They promise to meet up at the Hard Deck later. Rooster asks Hangman if he wants to get out of there. “Honestly yeah, the uniform is so uncomfortable with the cast on.” “You still pull it off well.” Hangman snorts, “thanks Bradshaw, knew you liked me in uniform.” Rooster stops walking, which causes Hangman to stop and turn to face Rooster. “Never said I didn’t,” eyes not wavering from Hangman’s. He puts his hand Hangman’s shoulder and takes a step closer. Hangman is staring at Rooster’s lips. Rooster takes a sharp breath in and Hangman looks back to Roosters eyes. “Bradley?” “Yeah?” Rooster is searching his eyes. Hangman gives him a small nod. Lips attach, music swells, they separate looking at each other with huge smiles and start walking off again to the sound of clacking from crutches.

[sunsetofdoom]

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

[grimaces] I am really good at dialogue! And complex choreographed scenes (sex, fighting, body language, blocking) aren't absolute hell for me to write, for some reason, which I'm given to understand most writers struggle with. I love them. It might have something to do with how I see everything happening more like a movie.

🎈describe your style as a writer; is it fixed? does it change?

It changes a lot with character voice. I try really hard to match the voices of the character's POV, so I have to get good at different voices really fast with each new hyperfixation, lmao.

🤲what do YOU get out of writing?

(Answered here)

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

I keep being torn about wanting to find people to talk about The Owl House with, and wanting to stay buried in my hole of anonymity because that fandom sounds like a trash fire. But I'm disconcertingly in love with all the fucked-up characters that they introduced and then gave rapid character development to so that I didn't get nearly enough of them being grasping wrecks that I could put into pringles cans and shake. So. Have a story concept where I basically tip pre-character-development Amity, Hunter, and Willow into a big jar and then pound on the glass.

Willow leaned on the wall outside the throne room, staring at her shoes, waiting to be called and introduced. It was like the first day of school, only much, much worse. She swallowed, hard, willing her stomach to settle down. At least at school, there were familiar faces, however unfriendly. Here, she had nothing and no one; under the vaulted golden ceilings, she’d never felt more alone in her life.

Her head whipped up at a noise, on the jump. Relief rushed her- the one familiar thing in the whole world was that golden mask, and the boy behind it. “Hi,” she said, barely more than a whisper, as the tall silhouette of the Emperor's Golden Guard strode past in the crossing hallway. He was probably too far away to hear it, but that was fine. He’d be in there when she entered, and she could look up and find him.

Improbably, he stopped, the mask coming to face her with a blank stare. He carried his staff slung over one shoulder, almost casually; why would he carry that around in what was basically his house? The gold mask was a little unnerving, but Willow looked right into the slitted eyes and waved anyways.

Checking over his shoulder, he turned, coming over to her. When he was sure no one was looking, he tipped the mask up, resting it under the cowl so she could see his face. Pale and angular, with serious eyes, he checked her over with a concern so intense it felt like anger.

“Are you okay?” The question was more of a demand.

Willow tried to make herself smile, and failed. “I feel like I’m gonna throw up,” she admitted.

Hunter’s face softened, and he bit his lip. “Yeah,” he said, fiddling with his hands. “I get that, too. You don’t. Uh... usually.”

“Thanks,” she said dryly. “That helps.”

He wrinkled his nose at her. “Just remember,” he said like a lecture, “Walk like you’re better than everybody in that room.”

“'Chin up, shoulders back,'” Willow quoted him from the flight here. “But- I don’t feel like I’m better than anybody.”

Hunter shrugged, the staff bobbing up and down on his shoulder. “Um. I- when it’s... hard. I like to, um. I try to look at somebody I do know I’m better than. And pretend they’re the only one there. So.” He smiled, sheepish, the gap in his teeth visible and making him look his age for a cheerful moment, and when she looked at him skeptically, he cast his eyes to the floor. “...Usually it’s Kikimora. She’s pretty pathetic.”

Startled into a huff of laughter, Willow glanced back to the huge, heavy doors. “I don’t know...” she said, her smile fading.

He tilted his head, contemplating. “The Blight girl’s in there. With Darius. You’re a lot less of a suck-up than she is, I can tell you that.”

Willow laughed, bitter and cold. She pictured Amity’s perfect snub-nosed face, looking down on her for years. Very cruel, and very... small. A girl who cried when her older siblings bullied her, but couldn't wait to turn around and needle somebody else in retaliation.

Yeah. Willow was better than that.

(fic writer asks)

[daimonclub]

100 magnificent quotes

100 Magnificent quotes 100 magnificent quotes, great aphorisms, ideas, maxims and quotations by various famous authors selected for the World of English by Carl William Brown, the literary avenger. Oh, love isn't there to make us happy. I believe it exists to show us how much we can endure. Hermann Hesse Madness is something rare in individuals - but in groups, parties, peoples, and ages, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche Human behavior flows from three main sources: desire, emotion, and knowledge. Plato The mirror is my best friend because when I cry it never laughs. Charlie Chaplin Aphorisms are the true form of the Universal Philosophy and containe the greatest quantity of thought in the smallest space. Friedrich von Schlegel Educate the children and it won’t be necessary to punish the men. Pythagoras If knowledge can create problems, it is not through ignorance that we can solve them. Isaac Asimov Without goals, the very concept of intelligence is meaningless. Steven Pinker I suppose that in no educational institution can one become an educated person. Mikhail Bulgakov No one's fate is of any interest to you except your own. Mikhail Bulgakov Respond intelligently even to unintelligent treatment. Sun Tzu The reason I talk to myself is because I’m the only one whose answers I accept. George Carlin A fool contributes nothing worth hearing and takes offence at everything. Aristotle By now humanity has become so imbecile that we often tend to mortify intelligence, in order not to offend stupidity. Carl William Brown Show respect to people who don't even deserve it; not as a reflection of their character, but as a reflection of yours. Dave Willis Life is nothing but a competition to be the criminal rather than the victim. Bertrand Russell It is far better to be silent than merely to increase the number of bad books. Voltaire The more real you get, the more unreal the world gets. John Lennon The more intelligence you have, the more you will suffer. Arthur Schopenhauer

Voltaire quote Discipline is choosing between what you want now and what you want most. Abraham Lincoln The hardest thing to learn in life is which bridge to cross and which to burn. Bertrand Russell Love on one side is not enough, love is a dialogue, not a monologue. Oriana Fallaci Interacting with people that don't like you it's a fundamental process to study human stupidity. Carl William Brown The measure of a man is what he does with power. Plato No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, show up, and never give up. Regina Brett The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Socrates Fashions have done more harm than revolutions. Victor Hugo A man who fears suffering is already suffering from what he fears. Montaigne From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs. Karl Marx There is nothing in the world so much admired as a man who knows how to bear unhappiness with courage. Seneca The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom. Isaac Asimov A man's manners are a mirror in which he shows his portrait. Goethe I was ashamed of myself when I realized life was a costume party and I attended with my real face. Franz Kafka Without love living is easy; but it's meaningless. Leo Tolstoy Nobody is going to pour truth into your brain. It's something you have to find out for yourself. Noam Chomsky Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds! Bob Marley Knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind. Plato Those who look for the bad in people will surely find it. Lincoln It is not the man who has too little, but ht eman who craves more, that is poor. Seneca

Nietzsche quote You can’t get much done in life if you only work on days when you feel good. Jerry West The more I learn about people, the more I like my dog. Mark Twain In our society logics is intertwingled with nonsense, good things with evils ones, and most of the time you can't tell which is which, therefore there is nothing more truly realistic than stupidity. Carl William Brown Avoid doing what you would blame others for doing. Thales To destroy war, destroy patriotism. Leo Tolstoy I don’t trust anyone who’s nice to me, but rude to a waiter because they would treat me the same if I were in that position. Muhammad Ali Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist. Pablo Picasso A gem cannot be polished without friction, nor a man perfected without trials. Seneca Nobody realizes that some people expend tremendous energy merely to be normal. Alber Camus Non serve a niente essere vivi, se bisogna lavorare. André Breton All cruelty spring from weakness. Seneca Be careful what you tolerate, you are teaching people how to treat you. Dr. Phil McGraw Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life. Bob Marley For the Putrid President of Russia, remember Sun Tzu wise words, that is to say, the greatest victory is that which requires no battle. Carl William Brown Get busy with life's purpose, toss aside empty hopes, get active in your own rescue. Marcus Aurelius All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values. Marshall McLuhan Life is such a great a teacher that when we don't learn a lesson, it will repeat it. Anonymous Fishes live in the sea, as men do on land: the great ones eat up the small one. Pericles A bad system will beat a good person every time. W. Edwards Deming Our life is what our thoughts make it, used to say Marcus Aurelius, but I would add that sometimes it is even worse! Carl William Brown

Chomsky quote You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche Simplicity is not a mere idea. To be simple demnds a great deal of intelligence and sensitivity. Jiddu Krishnamurti People are not disturbed by things, but by the view they take of them. Epictetus Disturbance comes only from within, from our own perceptions. Marcus Aurelius All higher humor begins with ceasing to take oneself seriously. Herman Hesse The longer I live, the more convinced I am that this planet is being used by other planets as a madhouse of the universe. George Bernard Shaw The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts. C.S. Lewis Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. C.S. Lewis A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer. Bruce Lee We have freedom of thought, now we need thought. Carl Kraus I may not have been sure about what really did interest me, but I was absolutely sure about what didn't. Albert Camus No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another. Charles Dickens Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large group. Geroge Carlin The opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them knows anything about the subject. Marcus Aurelius Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall. William Shakespeare Never depend on the admiration of others. There is no strength in it. Personal merit cannot be derived from an external source. Epictetus The old world is dying, the new world is slow to appear and in this chiaroscuro the monsters arise. Antonio Gramsci In most men, intelligence is a field which remains uncultivated for most of life. Eugène Delacroix Man is the only creature who refuses to be what he is. Albert Camus Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller

Karl Marx Wise men speak when they have something to say, fools speak because they have to say something. Aristotle What moves those of genius, what inspires their work is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough. Eugene Delacroix Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. Helen Keller An honest man is always a child. Socrates Open your mind before your mouth. Aristophanes Neither Christ nor Buddha nor Socrates wrote a book, for to do so is to exchange life for a logical process. William B. Yeats Why should we feel anger at the world? As if the world would notice. Marcus Aurelius Love is the state in which man sees things most decidedly as they are not. Friedrich Nietzsche Only during hard times do people come to understand how difficult it is to be master of their feelings and thoughts. Anton Chekhov Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility. Sigmund Freud I no longer know if I wish to drown myself in love, wodka or the sea. Franz Kafka The first thing that reading teaches us is how to be alone. Jonathan Franzen There is no greatness where simplicity, goodness and truth are absent. Leo Tolstoy Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways. Sigmund Freud The love for all living creatures is the most noble attribute of man. Charles Darwin Experience is the hardest kind of teacher. It gives you the test first and the lesson afterward. Oscar Wilde The most common form of despair is not being who you are. Soren Kierkegaard Each of us assumes everyone else knows what he is doing. They all assume we know what we are doing. We don’t. Philip K Dick Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late. Benjamin Franklin Nothing shows a man's character more than what he laughs at. Goethe

100 magnificent quotes to read He who knows all the answers has not been asked all the questions. Confucius Gentleness is stronger than severity, water is stronger than rock, love is stronger than force. Herman Hesse Better to die fighting for freedom then be a prisoner all the days of your life. Bob Marley Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known. I am inclined to say that it is the only real mode of individualism that the world has known. Oscar Wilde Everyday is like a fashion show and the whole world is the runway. Elegance is when the inside is as beautiful as the outside. Coco Chanel There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness. Friedrich Nietzsche Hating people is like burning down your own house to get rid of a rat. Harry Emerson Fosdick If you wish another to keep your secret, first keep it to yourself. Seneca the Younger When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them. Confucius It takes a minute to have a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone... but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Kahlil Gibran He who laughs at himself never runs out of things to laugh at. Epictetus L'amore è l'arte che non si impara mai e che si sa sempre. Benito Pérez Galdós The more we value things outside our control, the less control we have. Marcus Aurelius The more I think about it, the more I realize there is nothing more artistic than to love others. Vincent Van Gogh The greatest victory is that which requires no battle. Sun Tzu Facts or opinions which are to pass through the hands of so many, to be misconceived by folly in one, and ignorance in another, can hardly have much truth left. Jane Austen Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for. Epicurus People may spend their whole lives climbing the ladder of success only to find, once they reach the top, that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. Thomas Merton For we are all divorced from life, we are all cripples, every one of us, more or less. We are so divorced from it that we feel at once a sort of loathing for real life, and so cannot bear to be reminded of it. Fyodor Dostoevsky Don’t miss these other similar posts: 100 best quotes and aphorisms 100 magnificent quotes and aphorisms 100 brilliant quotes and aphorisms 100 famous quotes and aphorisms 100 memorable quotes and aphorisms 100 top great quotes and aphorisms 100 excellent quotes and aphorisms 100 great quotes and aphorisms on Love Great and famous philosophy quotes Quotes by authors Quotes by arguments Thoughts and reflections Read the full article

[briankeene]

Another Toothpick

Grief is a weird beast, and every time you think you’ve got a hold of it, the damn thing slips your grasp, all snarling and drooling. Last year, somewhere between the deaths of Dave Thomas and Jay Wilburn, I noticed a marked change in how I processed and dealt with loss. Namely, I shut down and compartmentalize and treat the passing of friends like I would a novel I have to write or a garden I have to tend or any of the other activities that fill my daily life. I approached those deaths with a checklist: “What do I need to do to help?” In Jay’s case, that was fairly easy, since Armand Rosamilia is overseeing his literary estate. In Dave’s case, I shouldered the workload, and though I grumble and complain about that workload from time to time, the truth is, I am happy to take it on, because I view it as something healthy to do. Trust me when I tell you, this is a far more preferable method to dealing with grief than the suicidal tendencies I felt after J. F. Gonzalez’s passing, or the abject numbness I felt after Tom Piccirilli followed him.

The Sopranos is my favorite television show of all time. This is no secret. I’ve got a poster signed by James Gandolfini, can quote every line of dialogue from all 6 seasons, and intimately understood the ending the night it aired. My dream convention panel is for somebody to allow me to talk for an hour about how The Sopranos is a frighteningly apt documentary about horror fiction in the late 1990s and early 2000s — just replace mob with writing and publishing. My least favorite character — the one I loathe above all others — is Janice. And one of the reasons I loathed her was her reaction in season 3, episode 5, titled ‘Another Toothpick’. When Tony reveals to Janice that Bobby’s old man is dying of lung cancer, she casually replies, “Another toothpick.” When Tony becomes rightly incensed by this horrendously misplaced metaphor until Janice points out to him that it was their mother who coined the phrase, in regards to terminally ill people. After watching The Many Saints of Newark, it’s pretty clear that Livia and Janice both —m despite all their faults — were probably living with lifelong PTSD, as was Tony. With that in mind, the term can be forgiven and is somewhat understandable. It’s a coping mechanism — a way of battening down the emotional hatches for people who simply can’t take much more.

This evening we found out that my dear friend Lee D. Miller has a month or so to live. Cancer — severe and sudden. He and I served together in the Navy many, many years ago. Of the guys I served with, only six of our main crew are left now. A few of us are flying to Texas to be at his bedside next Friday. When his wife told us, I did not think “Another toothpick”. Nor did I wallow in numb apathy or careening suicidal thoughts. I did not jump into the fray and try to fix or take care of things. I did not do any of the things I’ve done over the last few years when it comes to grief.

Instead, I simply poured myself a drink, stepped outside, and listened to emergency sirens wail in the cool evening air. I consoled another friend who we served with. I looked at pictures of us all, barely out of high school and thrown into a world of unexpected shit all in the name of protecting this country — a country which seems to be coming apart at the seams.

I’m not sure I have the emotional capacity to properly grieve anymore. But I know that I will miss Lee, and I know that I love him. We traveled the world together — leaving a lawless, hilarious, sometimes bloody and always chaotic path across several continents and a host of time zones. We were both Joe R. Lansdale fans from early on. We (along with another friend) knew every line of every track on the Beastie Boys’ License to Ill, and we could alternate them, rapping in perfect time, much to the chagrin of everyone else we served with. I turned him on to Eric B and Rakim. He turned me on to Pixies and Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. He was a peacenik serving during the Cold War, but he was also a ruthless fighter and if you fucked with him, you were fucked indeed. We once saw him order a sandwich in a restaurant and immediately take half of it out to a homeless person on the sidewalk. We once saw him piss in a guy’s boots because the guy had done something to cross him. And I still can’t talk about our time in Cuba and the smuggled iguana, or the time after we were all discharged that we crashed a random small town high school dance without breaking into simultaneous laughter and tears.

Or maybe that’s just the grief.

I know how to grieve. I’ve had practice.

Anyway, Lee, I know Genise said you’re still aware, so when you read this, you just hang on a little bit longer if you can. Me and Blum and Buige will land in Dallas on the 28th. We’ll bring a few Norfallos with us. Maybe a few Mickeys Big Mouths. You have to stick around for that. Love you, shipmate.

You aren’t just another toothpick.

[tragedy-of-commons]

hi gwen!! could i request a "i just wanted to hold your hand" dialogue prompt with dan heng, romantically for the 200 event? if you can't do it, it's alright! take your time with it if you can 💗

"I just wanted to hold your hand."

Are you hallucinating? Has every star in your immediate proximity exploded into a raging supernova yet? Has someone set off a gas bomb in the parlor car? Are you really lying half-dead in an infirmary somewhere, frothing at the mouth and dreaming up impossible scenarios?

Dan Heng's gaze flickers to the floor sheepishly, only for a moment, before he continues.

"That is why I have been, quote, 'staring at you like I want you dead'," he repeats your earlier remark, only meant to be a bit of harmless teasing. "I am not used to asking for... things like that."

No kidding. Ever since you began dating, nothing's really changed. You still sleep on the same pallet with the same guy in the same Astral Express archives. You still initiate all the physical contact (not like there's anything wrong with it being that way), and you definitely are the one to render him speechless - not the other way around!

"I--" you actually stutter, "you w-want to what?"

Delight erupts in your chest as he rushes to backpedal, in that constipated-but-endearing-Dan-Heng-way.

"Hold your hand. You are not obligated to," he elaborates quickly, cheeks and nose dusted with pink. "It's just a whim. You haven't been around as much lately."

That's true; you've been busy occupying Jarilo-VI while the rest of the crew has been traipsing about elsewhere. It's been an arduous separation (you cried after seeing a stray gray kitten in Rivet Town), but you didn't know it was affecting him this much. You frown.

"Don't," he warns, entirely willing.

"My love, my one and only!" you croon, giving him approximately one second to prepare before you launch yourself into his arms. On instinct, Dan Heng catches you, cradling your form with the utmost care - bespeaking any kind of declaration he could possibly make.

This is a lot more than he'd bargained for, you realize. You have to bite down your mad giggles so you can give him what he wants. Pulling back just a fraction, you fumble for his hand, stopping just shy of grazing his trembling fingers.

His admission echoes in your head - he wants to hold your hand. If you initiate, it'll be just like all the other times, just as nice... but not what he needs right now. Your top priority, though sometimes hard to tell, is to give Dan Heng exactly what he needs.

"Go on," you encourage, chin perched on his shoulder.

You feel the bob of his Adam's apple as he swallows and takes ahold of your hand successfully. You were right; it is just as nice, maybe even a little nicer. You can't hold back your laughter anymore, even as you press your face into his neck (where gooseflesh just happens to be breaking out).

"Does that feel okay?"

Hidden inside Dan Heng's sudden question, you're able to decipher the underlying message with ease: 'Am I doing this right?'

Of course, there is no right way to show love. But for a man like Dan Heng, who would rather sustain a spear to the gut than take anything at all from you, it makes sense he'd need something to go off of; a basis to fall back on when the tide sweeps him under.

"Yes," you murmur, "it feels perfect."

You don't see yourself as his life-preserver or anything. Your boyfriend is perfectly capable of taking care of himself and finding his footing in gray areas - more proficient than you are, probably. However, as sappy as it may be, you're proud and overjoyed that he stepped out of his comfort zone all the same.

Sometimes he won't allow you to be so supportive (and it breaks your heart every time), so any praise has to be concealed in a plethora of entendres and the gaps of your interlocked fingers - the only time Dan Heng favors such an indirect approach.

That's just fine with you.

Maneuvering just enough to allow it, you press a chaste kiss to his cheek. He sighs, tension melting from his shoulders.

"Okay," he nods, likely signaling that it's time for you to let go.

Respectfully, you take the hint, stepping back--

Then he kisses you.

His lips are chapped but warm, swallowing up your ensuing gasp. Seems like you were doubly wrong, because Dan Heng has surprised you more than he ever has in the brief window of two minutes. You're rendered speechless, alright, more than that - you feel your eyes sting as they close in tandem with his.

After the best silence of your life, he notices your tears, something like panic in that sweet, sometimes flat voice of his.

"I'm sorry, I--did I overstep?" like he'd been scorched, he pulls his hands back immediately, much to your displeasure. They only return when you positively beam, your smile shadowed by his thumb wiping away any perceived evidence of despair.

You admire his visage, marred with concern, confusion, and an ever-growing warmth. "No, never. I'm just really happy, okay? I'm so happy with you, Baobei."

...your predilection for the cheesiest pet names is concerning, you know, but he hasn't put a stop to it just yet (at least not in private).

He withdraws for real this time, eyes of crystal enchanting as always. And when you think he can't possibly surprise you anymore than he already has, he proves you wrong again.

"Then I am content. With you, I mean," he states, firm.

That's all you need, you decide, yanking Dan Heng into another embrace for round two.

🏷️: @akutasoda, @aviiarie, @lowkeyren, @mikashisus

a/n: BELL... your brain is HUGE!! tysm for this prompt and all of your support. you're so fun to chill with and i'm glad ure my mutual :3 as for other notes, thanks seth for linking those chinese naming basics. if i used baobei incorrectly, please lmk!

event post here

[bellpeppersand-beef]

watched the movie in theaters last night!! It was really great ❤️ Some thoughts in no particular order:

I saw the dub with my sister and my bf, and then I went and saw the sub alone. The sub had deeper dialogue imo but it’s mostly the same, though every once in a while the voices dropped out? Like I think it was during the shogi scene, Jet’s voice was gone but the background audio was still there and the subtitles were still going, it was weird

when the opening theme played my sister turned to me and was like “wtf this isn’t tank?!?!” I was also surprised, but Ask DNA is a banger so I can forgive it

Faye chasing everyone around the room and jumping on Spike was cute. Luv these idiots

Bob and Jet’s little movie date was cute too. Also, they have 10000% kissed before on a particularly long, boring stakeout. They never speak of it tho, because they’re Men(TM)

The English voice actor for Samson did such a good job, tho I do wish they hadn’t changed his spiel in the car so much- in the Japanese version, he makes it clear he’s partnering up with Vincent and committing terrorism because it’s so much harder to become famous as a hacker than it used to be and he wants to be remembered, and in the English that isn’t as clear.

I also prefer Jet’s whole monologue to himself about the bebop crew’s relationship in Japanese, mostly because he says “it’s not like we’re a family” because it is like they’re a family, they’re just a very dysfunctional one

Vincent’s English VA reminded me of some of the VAs in Skyrim in a weird way that made it harder to take him seriously, but that’s not his fault

“I love a woman that can kick my ass” bitch me too, the fuck

“I don’t care about saving anyone, that’s not my job” press x to doubt

“We share the same soul. I have to see him again, one more time” Spike my love that is fuckin gay

Faye looks so much like a shrimp in that one scene where she’s tied up on the floor. Go look at it and tell me I’m wrong. Shrimp lookin ass

god I want that self-cooking ramen holy shit

okay so like. I thought that photo set I’ve seen on here before with a quote from True Detective on it was real and I was so confused when it wasn’t in the movie sdhdaghsgkl

wtf are Vincent’s hands made of that he can stab Spike with his goddamn fingers through his clothes??

I thought the guy pulling spike out of the water was Jesus for a fucking second 💀

Also, I thought laughing bull lived on TJ or Titan, what is he doing on mars? I suppose he might move around, tho

“I’m not waiting for a call from Spike or Faye, in fact I didn’t even notice they were gone bc I am a Man(TM) and I don’t care about them” *phone rings* “WHERE THE HELL HAVE YOU BEEN I’VE BEEN WORRIED SICK >:(” Jet my absolute idiot angel, please learn how to talk about your feelings

Poor Jet being so stressed out in the scene with the planes. This man deserves a vacation and also probably some high blood pressure medication

the bebop looks very phallic in that one scene in the beginning, and the hammerhead always looks phallic. why does jet own two penis ships? is he compensating for something, or does he just really like dicks? the world may never know (it’s both)

I like how they leaned harder into multiculturalism in the movie, like including lines in Arabic

the music was awesome, as always. what planet is this fuckin slaps, as does knockin on heavens door

highkey want that final shot of spike reaching for the butterfly and “are you living in the real world?” as a tattoo

we pretend we do not see the terrible transphobic stereotype in that one scene 😑😑😑😑😑

[nothingunrealistic]

Few TV series show off their creators’ favorite songs and artists as explicitly as Billions, which outfits its characters in Metallica and Slayer T-shirts, makes a point of airing a Bob Dylan song every season, lovingly quotes Bruce Springsteen lyrics and integrates rapper Killer Mike into elaborate storylines. Writer and co-creator Brian Koppelman has a history in the record business, having worked A&R for Elektra in the late ’80s, then as a senior vp for EMI in the ’90s; he and longtime friend and co-creator David Levien unashamedly plug their influences into the show, through synchs, character development and dialogue.

As the show winds down — the 10th episode of the seventh and final season airs Sunday on Showtime — the showrunners discuss their musical choices, and clearing the rights for them, in a call from their New York-area homes.

Brian, I’ve spoken with your father, the late record executive Charles Koppelman, a couple of times, including once about how rich the business had become during the CD boom in the ’80s and ’90s. What do you recall about working at labels at that time?

Koppelman: My father’s love of music was something that, despite his success and his business-side accomplishments, he would always default to. The thing that mattered to him was the music and I grew up listening to music through that prism. Even when I went off on my own and started finding my own enthusiasm, I would never forget the way he would look and sway to music when he was listening to it. When I was an A&R executive, my attention was with the artists and the songwriters and the people making the records. That’s what engaged me, so I can’t even speak to what the economics were like.

In episode 10 of this season, two characters quote Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City” and debate the song’s meaning. How much of that sort of thing in Billions is based on real conversations about music?

Koppelman: David and I have been best friends since we were 14 or 15. We’ve probably been on every side of the conversations [about] these artists that are referenced in the show. If you’re a serious music fan, you’re not just listening to it, you’re thinking about it and talking about it and arguing about it.

Levien: Early on, we got a few notes to the effect of, “Why are there so many pop-culture references? I don’t think people really talk that way.” We were saddened by that, because we do think people talk that way.

Koppelman: One of the absolute highlights for us, in an earlier season, is a moment where a character sings a line from “Atlantic City,” in an episode called “Chicken Town.” We needed to get Bruce Springsteen’s permission. We heard he was on vacation somewhere and read the scene outside and personally approved it. For us guys who know “Nebraska” by heart and spent countless hours at his concerts, that just meant the world to us.

How challenging is it to get the rights for well-known songs, like Billy Joel’s “I Love These Days”?

Koppelman: [Music supervisor] Jim Black is the person who goes out and gets the clearances. The fact that Dave and I have a deep well of relationships in the business has been helpful a few times along the way, if there happens to be something that is tricky. We had many conversations with some folks in Billy Joel’s camp. That process has been incredibly smooth for us the entire run. Early on, we couldn’t get a Zeppelin song, but then, the next season, we did. Their process was so particular. You have to show everything.

In episode 3, you use KISS’ “A World Without Heroes” — not the best-known KISS song. What made you choose it, and what was the band’s reaction?

Koppelman: That song has always meant a lot to me. It’s co-written by Lou Reed, and his songs, both with the Velvet Underground and as a solo artist, have been in the show in meaningful ways. “A World Without Heroes,” off their [1981] album Music From “The Elder” — often that album is looked at as this moment in KISS’ career where they took a risk that backfired. But there are a couple of real gems on that record.

Levien: We don’t know exactly what their response was outside of the approval. We didn’t get any personal anecdotes that it meant anything to anybody.

Koppelman: Because we were on strike, we couldn’t promote the show, and it was important to us to keep fealty with our guild. [The Hollywood writers’ strike ended earlier this month after 148 days.] Normally, when that episode hit, [we] would have been on social media talking about the song and interacting with KISS people. But we couldn’t respond. If they would tweet at us or write on Instagram, we had to let it go. If it weren’t for the strike, I would have engaged with [KISS members] Paul [Stanley] and Gene [Simmons] in some public forum encouraging KISS to talk about the song. But that wasn’t able to happen.

“Blind Willie McTell,” used in episode 8, when several main characters are at a shady, ritualistic meeting of political donors, is my favorite Bob Dylan song. Because it’s not as well known, does that make it less expensive, or easier to clear the rights?

Levien: We had a Dylan song in a big spot in every season — “Visions of Johanna,” and “Like a Rolling Stone” ending a season. With this one, even though it’s on a bootleg album, we’ve listened to it for years. The dark tone that gets at the heart of the corruption of the United States is so palpable on that song, even though he’s talking about a different era. It just seems so apt today. With the backdrop of all those privileged elite people playing those games with everybody’s lives, it just felt like the right choice.

Koppelman: [Dylan’s manager] Jeff Rosen, who obviously was involved in executing that sale of the rights, loves the show and expressed to us early on that he liked the way we used the songs and that we should not hesitate to ask whenever we wanted to. Even when they sold the catalog, it was clear to us that everyone understood the way we were using these Bob Dylan songs was something that worked for everybody.

Levien: There were a few times we wrote personal notes to the artists about what the song meant to us. Jim would come to us and say, “This one might be a little more challenging” and “share your personal connection.”

Example?

Koppelman: We wrote to Neil Young and explained why “Old Man” was a perfect song for the moment [in Season 5] and what the point of the scene was and immediately got a yes.

After the Billy Joel ballad dominates episode 9, in Episode 10, you start with the Jam and end on Slayer. Why “Reign In Blood”?

Koppelman: Every single season, Axe [Bobby Axelrod, the central billionaire] has worn a heavy-metal T-shirt and that band’s song has played. In Season 1, it was Metallica, in season 2, it was Megadeth. The way the song is used in this episode just felt right to us. Sometimes it isn’t really an intellectual process, it’s about a feeling.

We’re almost out of time. What’s different about working in the music business vs. the movie business?

Koppelman: Well, I’m 57. I was 29 back then. I did leave that business at 29. I don’t feel like an answer I give you in 30 seconds is going to speak to that.

Let’s end on a different note: How would you say the musical tone of this final season is unique?

Koppelman: You’re trying to distill it to its essence — who these characters are, strip stuff away.

Levien: And you’re running out of spots, and you want to use spots with maximum impact like [the Clash’s] “London Calling” [which closed the season 7 premiere], or a lesser-known one like [Jackson C. Frank’s] “Blues Run the Game” that we were carrying around forever. Spots were finally showing themselves where we could use these songs.