#but i think that overall we should give the movement more credit

[johnadamsbignaturals]

and in response to those who are concerned about the protests distracting the media from what’s currently happening in gaza, i’m just going to steal my own tags from another post:

[chaos0pikachu]

4 Minutes and the Cinematography of Nipples

I said before that I thought 4 Minutes was pretty instantaneously the best looking BL on the market for 2024 after one episode. Which, not gonna lie, is a pretty big fucking claim. There’s been a lot of BL that’s come out that’s looked good, and I do think there’s been a steady improvement overall in the market in the last few years. Personally I think Japanese and Korean BL have a stronger production quality over a majority of Thai BL but like, if that’s a hot take I guess I prefer my food spicy. 

The point being~ if I’m gonna make such a hyperbolic statement, well I better back it up right? 

So I’m gonna break down a few scenes from the first episode, what I liked about them, why they worked for me, and why on a technical level I think 4 Minutes has just got it going on.

For better readability you can also check out this essay here.

Sidenote: my google docs kept trying to autocorrect “Bible” to “the Bible” and idk how to teach google I mean the hot Thai actor and not the book of Jesus. 

To start, I’m going to break down this scene featuring Great and his nepo baby cat: 

I thought starting with this scene would be good because it’s such a low-key scene and honestly making these simplistic scenes visually interesting is very difficult! But if you have the basics down, the foundations of cinematography and film making, these simpler scenes can be really memorable. 

Like yeah we’re all gonna remember this scene because shirtless Bible and oh my god Akira!? - I have only recently learned who Akira is; why is this cat getting a bigger bag than me? - but beyond that, what makes it cool to watch? What makes it interesting? What information does it showcase to the audience? 

One thing I added to the video was a grid for the rule of thirds. 

Rule of thirds is a shot composition technique applied to both film and photography. It’s the grid you see if you film a homevideo and helps a Director and Cinematographer figure out where to place the subject or subjects of the shot. The idea is the gridlines show you where you “should” place the subject(s) of said shot. 

Like everything, the rule of thirds is a guideline in filmmaking, not a hard and fast unbreakable rule. Filmmakers like Wes Anderson like to play more with central composition shots, rather than ROT. 

Anyway on to the opening shot, right after our credits and we’re moving into the shot. 

To start, the first thing I notice is the scene’s color grading. Color grading in film is the manipulation of raw film footage to create specific color tones throughout a project. Sometimes this grading is more pointed and obvious, think The Matrix, while in other films it’s not as obvious but still very prominent, think Killers of the Flower Moon. 

It’s not that the before credits scene looks entirely, jarringly different from the opening scene, but the hospital scene is surrounded by whites and blue tones, it’s darker, and only a single source of light exists. It gives the entire scene a much more frantic, uneasy aesthetic but it’s not so far off from the darker muted tones of the next scene that it feels jarring or out of place. 

The second big thing I noticed in the episode is the use of aspect ratio. I’m not 100% sure what aspect ratio the production used exactly, but the use of widescreen as opposed to full screen in my opinion, gives the episode a more cinematic feel to it in comparison to other Thai BLs. 

Example, if you look at Century of Love (2024) it appears to be filmed in the standard full screen - which I believe is 16:9? - while 4 Minutes is widescreen (thus the black bars at the top and bottom). Widescreen can give a show a more “movie like” quality to it which is part of the vibes I get from 4 Minutes. 

(source)

Onto Great’s actual introduction scene.

We’re not starting the shot with static movement, but with a camera panning right. I’ve talked about camera panning and such in BL before and it’s something I’ve found doesn’t happen as often as it should. Which is a shame! It’s such a simple technique but it adds so much. 

Imagine if we entered the frame with a static center shot, and then a cut to Great sleeping and turning off his alarm clock, and then another cut to above the bed. Think about how much more boring that could be visually. 

Instead, we enter the scene with movement, panning over and creating some interesting visual framing. 

So here’s our opening shot, do you notice anything interesting? To start, what I like about this shot other than the panning movement in, is that we don’t see Great’s face yet. In fact we don’t see his face in full until about 30 seconds into the scene. This builds anticipation, yeah we all know what Bible looks like, but for the audience who doesn’t this helps build anticipation. 

Who is this character? What does he look like? What’s his deal? 

It also engages the audience more, if you notice part of the composition of the shot has Great in the mid-ground slightly blurred out, while the foreground emphasizes the things on his desk. He’s distant from us, the audience, sleeping off his hangover not yet ready to “join” the world yet. 

Here’s another two more things I like about this shot:

Lines. 

Using lines and shapes can make a scene more visually interesting and invoke different feelings to the viewer. In this shot, I get a sense of symmetry, the camera panning right, lightly drags across the screen alongside the lines below and above Great, almost creating a frame within a frame effect. As if Great is boxed into a clock in and of itself. 

You can also see the use of balance in the scene as well, connecting back to that visual theme of symmetry as well as blocking our view of Great’s face. The lava lamb and champagne bottle are almost the same height, which helps create balance in the shot. The champagne bottle informs us Great has been drinking or does drink since it’s positioned so close to his bed, whilst also continuing to hide his face away from the viewer. 

I also like that the lava lamp is a bright spot of color. The tone of the scene is mostly muted greens, and gray, but the bright orange lava lamp and even the pink champagne bottle draw our attention but don’t overwhelm us either. It provides the scene with some warmth but doesn’t offset the overall tone of the color grading. 

And then, the last bit of this shot:

We have Great knocking over the champagne bottom, and turning off his alarm clock. Notice that the alarm clock and the champagne bottle hit those ROT dots almost exactly. There’s also the use of lines by the length of Great’s arm - I just forgot to add a line I’m a failure, a fake, fml - we see him knock over the bottle, and then we follow the line of his arm directly to the alarm clock which is also a shape, a circle. 

I like that they used a clock with a specific notable shape, since by the end of this scene the clock is relevant to the story as a whole. Using a shape makes the clock more visually noticeable and memorable to the audience. 

So in the next cut we’re above Great - just like Great’s gonna be above Tyme, fuckin hell I’m corny - in a medium-full shot and there’s a couple things I really like here. 

I really like the use of lines here with the bed going in one direction but Great’s body going another. It’s disconcerting, and off kilter a bit. 

The use of patterns plus the opposing symmetry, whereas in the previous shot the lava lamp and champagne bottle were providing balance, here one side of the bed is patterned, while the other isn’t. This creates a sense of imbalance and makes the shot more visually interesting.

This medium-full shot at a high angle makes Great smaller, and continues to showcase his dishevelment, keeping him distant from the world itself. Also notice the lack of color here as well. 

What could this say about Great as a character? Or his story? 

So this next cut is the one that actually inspired me to write this essay to begin with and know what I’ma eat some crow here. I originally said it was a great ROT shot but I was wrooooooong. It’s definitely a center composition shot. 

Notice as well, the bed itself is its own shape - rectangle - center in the frame, and yet the shot almost looks unbalanced again because of that singular patterned rug. It’s the only pattern in the entire shot, not even Great’s pillows have noticeable patterns on them. 

The above view camera angle in a full shot creates almost an omnipresent feel, as if the audience - or something else? - were looking down upon Great. Whose face we still haven’t seen! It makes him smaller, less powerful, and almost vulnerable. Shots like this are often used in horror films like James Wan’s Malignant (2021) where the horror spector will be looking down above the would-be victim. 

Another thing I like about this scene though is we have Great moving. It would be simpler and easier to have his phone just by his alarm clock, or under his pillow, but think about how much more visually interesting it is that he has to move down the bed and reach for his phone. It creates action in an actionless low stakes scene. 

And now, 30 whole seconds in and we’ve finally seen Great’s face! 

Fun fact, with the ROT grid the gridlines fall right across Bible’s nipples. That’s not a film analysis, just something I noticed entirely intentionally. Thanks Madam Director Ning Bhanbhassa Dhubthien.

The actual shot is in center composition again, as Great rolls over and reveals his face the camera begins to zoom in. 

This creates movement in the scene instead of leaving the camera to statically observe it’s now, finally, inviting the audience to meet Great. Pulling us in towards him whereas before we were kept at a distance. Great’s awake and, well as ready to meet the world as somebody with a raging hangover can be. 

I also like how Bible is moving constantly in this scene; he rubs his eyes and nose, he twitches his fingers, titles his head back and forth, etc it’s nothing revolutionary but it’s appreciated. 

When the scene cuts, we get this shot: 

I didn’t put the red dot on his nipple, it just landed there. This is all Madam Director Ning chepie. 

But you can see how Great’s body is landing on all those gridlines pretty solidly. Also in the background we see his alarm clock again, a bright blurred circle in the distance. I also like the angle of this shot, as it creates depth in the frame, with Great’s head being in the foreground his lower body in the mid-ground and the background blurred out. 

What follows is Akira appearing in frame. Which was really difficult to capture so I don’t have a screenshot. But what I really like is Akira entering the frame out of focus. They could have just cut to Akira, but instead they opted for Akira to enter the frame which is more interesting. 

When we do cut, Akira is firmly on one of those dots so we don’t miss them in the frame. I think it’s also interesting that we’ve pulled out again, into a mid-full shot, hanging above Great, and we see that clear symmetry line again between the patterned rug and the regular carpet. 

I also really love that when we got to Great sweet-talking Akira and feeding them we’re not just doing a cut, we’re panning downwards which continues to add movement to the scene. And we get that moneyed sponsor shot! 

Durex can’t pay for everything okay?

So in the final bit of this scene we get focus on Great, who’s in focus, before he gets up and leaves the frame where the camera then focuses on the clock behind him. 

See how in the first frame the background is all blurred out, but once Great walks out of the frame - again, great that he walks out, movement!! Y’all don’t understand how boring 1000 Stars was for me to watch because of the lack of this stuff okay? - and then the focus shifts to the clock. Which is round. 

God I know that sounds so dumb, but imagine the clock without that ring light bit on it, it’s just a tiny little rectangle. Not as fun or interesting to look at right? Or as noticeable especially from a distance? 

This shift in focus also tells us “this is important” whatever “this” is. The subject of the shot goes from Great to the alarm clock but they are positioned as equally important. We’re meant to pay attention to this seemingly innocuous item, which we learn later in the episode is time. We’re meant to remember and note that time will be important to the story - I know with a title like 4 Minutes you’d fucking hope time would be important but have y’all ever read Youtube comments? It’s rough out there for visual comprehension okay? 

So all in all this scene is only 1 minute and 40 seconds give or take. It’s very short, but I don’t think it was boring at all. I think it’s a really solid introduction to a main character. Think, Korn didn’t get this much time to showcase his introduction, his scene is shorter - though also well done - which showcases which character is more of a story priority. 

This scene eases the audience into the story, inviting us to wake up into the world like Great is. It uses techniques like lines, shapes, symmetry, color and focus to make what could be a very boring scene into an interesting one. 

There’s so so much I probably and certainly missed, I’m far from an expert, but I hope I was able to articulate what I liked about this scene, and why I think it looks good. 

Stay tuned for more if I can manage to focus long enough to breakdown more scenes lol

Also red dots on Bible’s nipples are just funny to me it be what it be. 

Further Reading: 

Composition in Cinematography / THE LAST OF US

Center-Framing vs Chaos-Cinema: Mad Max vs Transformers

Camera Framing: Shot Composition & Cinematography Techniques Explained [The Shot List, Ep 2]

The Ultimate Guide to Camera Shots (50+ Types of Shots and Angles in Film)

Color Grading 101 - Everything You Need to Know

Mixing Film And Digital Footage: Killers Of The Flower Moon

In Praise of Subtle Cinematography

[pumpkin-piiee]

I've seen people making up different story arcs on what will happen after the Noroshi War so here's mine.

*Manga spoilers ahead*

Maybe in the future, Nii Satoru-sensei might create a story arc about a sukeban*.

*A sukeban is a delinquent girl gang that emerged in Japan from the 1960s to 1970s.

History

Credits: yaz1ska on Instagram

Sukebans were formed due to bōsōzoku a.k.a. male biker gangs or the yakuza not accepting female members. The rise of sukebans has a huge impact on the feminist movement in Japan. Each gang has their own rules, hierarchy, and ways of punishment. E.g. Cigarette burns were considered a minor punishment if a gang member was disrespecting a senior member or stealing a boyfriend.

My thoughts if it were to come true

If the author included a story arc about a girl gang, I would have faith in him. I mean look at how well-written & well-designed the ladies in wind breaker are.

Credits: Pinterest

Credits: Mangapill

*I love how the author would draw sketches of Kotoha with major characters such as Tsubakino and Sakura. This means that Kotoha is more important than we have initially thought. Moreover, kudos to Nii Satoru-sensei for not sexualising Kotoha. I am sick and tired of mangakas sexualising female characters for no reason.*

Credits: Nii Satoru on X

Not to mention many of us know that Nii Satoru-sensei is good at writing complex characters such as Tsubakino.

Credits: MyFigureCollection

Story Arc, Characters & Operation

As for how this story arc will be executed, I believe it will cover topics such as feminism, struggles of womanhood and mistreatment of women.

Moving on to how this sukeban operates, here's my input. I believe everything they do is the complete opposite of Bofurin. E.g. instead of protecting their own town, they protect themselves. This is because the town they live in is also the complete opposite of Makochi, hostile and narrow-minded.

*I just thought of making this sukeban the complete opposite of Bofurin because I think it's interesting to see their reactions. It's also hilarious because the opposite of a boy gang is a girl gang. Get it? Okay, I'll stop.*

I also believe maybe this sukeban and its base can act as a sanctuary for women of its town who were mistreated by men such as giving them food, shelter etc.

I believe the overall vibe that they give is going to be like the military instead of high school.

As for their leader, maybe she'll be the opposite of Umemiya, stoic and serious. However, it is interesting if she was a good leader like Umemiya because so far we've only seen bad leaders in Wind Breaker.

As for their gang name, maybe it will be associated with elements such as water or space. This is because the other gangs e.g. Bofurin 防風鈴 is named after the wind element, Noroshi 狼煙 is named after the fire element, Gravel and Shishitoren 獅子頭連 are named after the earth element along with KEEL is named after or related to the metal element.

*I know that Shishitoren are named after animals but animals are also related to Earth sooo*

Final Thoughts

Overall, this is just a random thought of mine that I just want to share. If Nii Satoru-sensei doesn't include a story arc that talks about girl gangs, I won't be disappointed or upset as long as he writes a good story.

*P.S.. this is my first time ranting about an anime so feel free to critique or educate me if I've made a mistake. Also, I still have some opinions regarding this sukeban idea so should I create a part 2?*

[daisygirlwrites]

Eggless Omelet (141 Restaurant AU + headcanons)

Pairing(s): Task Force 141 x Reader (Platonic), Reader's nickname is Crash

Note: heavily inspired by @bloodyknucklesforme 's 141 Restaurant AU post. it's a wonderful read, please check them out!

and also this video . (what the mini fic is based on)

a/n: still working on the next König fic, should be done by this weekend. thank you all so much for reading!

taglist: @bobfloydsgf , @warenai , @devilsfoodcake22

gif credit: @cinematv

“Chef?” You look around the large and busy kitchen, spotting the blond man, his back facing towards you. He was talking to Price. You walk up to them, hearing the tail end of their conversation, which you choose to ignore.

“I just don't think it's fair,” Simon says, crossing his arms.

Trying one more time to get his attention, you speak a little louder. “Um, Chef?”

“Yes Crash, what is it?” Finally acknowledging you, Simon looks over to your direction. Tired eyes matching yours. Price gives you a smile before turning back to the dish in front of him.

“A man on Table six wants an eggless omelet,” You inform him.

“He wants an eggless-” He starts, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Crash, you can’t have an eggless omelet now can you?”

“Why? Do we not have any?” Your facial expression mirrors his. 

 “No, they don't exist, do they? Because there's no…” Simon lets out an audible sigh, trying hard to not run his hands down his face before speaking again. “Breadsticks, what are they made of?”

“Bread.”

“Bread, very good, okay. Take away the bread, what are you left with?”

After a couple seconds, you replied. “Sticks?”

“No.” He wanted to cry at this point. Grabbing a clean plate on the side, he puts it in front of you. Looking at the array of containers filled with toppings, he picks up some chopped chives and drops it on the plate. “There you go, that's an eggless omelet.” 

Glancing at the plate then to him and back to the plate, you mumbled a quiet “Oh okay.” You grabbed the plate, ready to turn and walk away with it.

Eyes widened with shock, he stops you “No! Don't take the plate, Crash, what are you doing, please?”

Price, watching the interaction unfold, finally steps in, “Crash, just ask the nice man if he'd like his omelet made with whole eggs or just egg whites.” He gives you a sweet smile, which you reciprocated. You began to turn but Price's voice haults your movements. “You can leave the plate.”

They watch you hesitate for a moment, slowly turning around. You look over to Price, who was giving you an encouraging nod before clapping his hands together as you slide the plate back to them. “There you go!”

As you walk away, passing through the doors, the two men talk quietly amongst themselves again. 

“You should mention to Laswell to not schedule her during exam week.”

“And you need to tell Soap to stop giving her Red Bulls before shifts.”

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

As a former hostess and server throughout high school and college, I’m embarrassed to admit I’ve had similar conversations with my cooks before. That being said, if I had to put Crash in this AU, she’s definitely a new server.  

(will be basing some of the headcanons from my experiences)

Got the job because Laswell was friends with her mom and Crash’s college was nearby so it all worked out. 

This will come up later in my main fanfics but Crash comes from a well off and also influential family. She didn’t really work in the service industry before this, mostly because her family paid for everything and put her in “easy” jobs

However, after a big fight with her dad, he decided to cut off her allowance

Price was really hesitant on hiring her, even with Laswell and Gaz telling him that they’ll train her personally

Crash picks up things quickly and does a pretty good job overall. However, after the whole “eggless omelet” conversation, the team noticed how frazzled she’d get during midterms and finals week. Laswell gives her those weeks off. 

Ghost thought Crash was creepy at first. He’d find her staring at him but when he called her out, she responded with, “Watching people cook food is satisfying!”

Usually quiet between you two while he cooks but he’d always answer any questions you’d ask him.

In the beginning, you didn’t have a lot of confidence in yourself and often find yourself getting walked over a lot

You’ve been caught crying in the back storage room by both Price and Ghost. Multiple times too. 

“Can you pass me that tray over there?” *still crying* “Sure.”

They’d ask you what was wrong but you’d kindly brush them off, not wanting to trouble them.

They have seen how some of the customers would treat you. Eventually, it was Simon who came up to you.

“I’m going to ask you something and you’re going to tell me no.” “Huh?” “You heard me.”

Basically teaches you how to stand up for yourself (and to also not give a fuck)

If you had a rough day before your shift started, you’d slip Soap a couple bills and he’d supply you with Red Bulls while you worked. 

Sometimes would tag along with Soap whenever he needed to pick up a couple bottles to refill the bar since he’d get discounts on liquor. 

You and Gaz would always gossip about customers. He’d tell you who the nice regulars are and the ones you should avoid getting irritated with. 

Would take turns crying in the back storage room

Sometimes you and Gaz would switch between being a host and being a server, especially if it’s a slow afternoon and y’all are bored. 

You’d visit Alejandro and Rudy’s bakery before your classes start, always grabbing a pastry or two. 

When they find out that you work at Price’s restaurant, they playfully tease him by asking you to work with them instead

“You’d get free cheese danishes everyday if you come to work at the bakery,” Alejandro says in a sing-song voice. “That sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me,” You look at him as if you are considering his offer. Price shouts from the window in the kitchen, “THAT’S MY KID, NOT YOURS, ALE!"

This causes all of you to laugh

However, when Graves comes in, most of the time Gaz handles him. One of the few times that you did serve him, he told you, “A pretty thing like you should work at my place. You’re sure to bring in customers!” 

Personally, you took the complement, not finding anything wrong and you quietly laughed it off. But you did tell Gaz about it, which in turn he told Price

After that, you rarely see him. Though, you'd hear complaints from others, about how he "Doesn't get to see the cute waitress anymore!"

You’d come by regularly in between classes, mostly because Price would always cook something up for you, free of charge.

After you’re done, you’d talk to him. He’d ask about how classes are going and give you advice about anything and everything. And of course, he’d ask you if anyone has caught your eye. Most of the time you’d laugh and say that you’re too busy for that

One day though, when he’d ask you that question, you gave him a different answer.

“Actually, there’s this new exchange student in my Philosophy class. He’s from Austria.” “You’d better bring him over here!” “No offense, Cap, I’d rather not.” “Not for a date. So I can judge his character and see if he’s good enough for you.” “Oh!”

Honestly, not sure how you’d get your nickname Crash. I was thinking either because you crashed into a customer the first night or crashed into dishes. Or like what happened to one of my former co-workers, who got her car crashed and still managed to come to work.

[i-eat-nail-polish]

Another long post

I really need us in the US to start thinking outside of the box on how we protest. Im making this post in hopes that it will inspire the people who can protest make everyone’s voices heard.

Our government choose not to listen to us anymore. Maybe our local government takes an earbud out once in awhile to keep us just starved enough to beg for more but overall they’re not listening. We have to start thinking bigger and more disruptive

Marches, and signs, and rallies have completed the first step which is awareness. Everyone at least knows about Palestine. Weather they care is a whole different post that I could make. But the people who haven’t listened are the ones at the top. They don’t feel the need to listen to our voices because we pretty much do nothing for them. Calling hasn’t worked because they already know what’s coming. Faxing them hasn’t worked because it wastes paper and they now what’s coming. Emailing doesn’t work because they know what’s coming and send it to junk. So what do we do? Part of me knows what we should do but another part knows the message gets tainted and the only real change we would achieve is more overcrowded prisons. I refuse to lose hope because that how we really die but I’m hitting a wall wondering not only what I can do but what we all can do?

I refuse to believe that all we can do is go to rallies and call and vote. If one solution doesn’t work than what other ones can we try? What have we learned?

Please start cracking open history books again and read and take notes and talk with one another.

I’m done with the talk that school teaches us nothing important. Schooling teaches us exactly what we should be applying right now. Crack open a book on the civil rights movement and study what techniques everyone used to disrupt. Discuss with your friends and community about it

Please god start talking to your community and making connections!!!!

The days keep passing and no change is getting done and this is how we do it. We all build a communal team to help solve problems

It’s seriously time to stop thinking about ourselves and more about the people around us and how we can help. It’s seriously time we think linearly all the time and connect with the minds around us. We are so much greater than we give ourselves credit for. You reading this post can do it and make a difference you just have to commit.

I’m not giving up hope because that’s how we truly die. We can absolutely change you just have to stick with it no matter how uncomfortable it may be. Once we connect with the people around us we can become a force of change that can eventually shake the country. So please start talking with your community. Talk to yourself and see what you can offer or who you can team up with and offer your skills. We are greater than what our government wants us to be.

We can do this

[cthulhuswaifu]

dudes i started watching trigun stampede and having seen like half of the og trigun I have many thoughts!!!

unfortunately i am Bad at articulating my thoughts so I will try to list a couple:

The animation feels like what the og show was supposed to feel, yknow??? like the crusty 90s animation was a huge reason I decided to tap out halfway through bc it feels like they wanted a lot of movement but due to budget or just technological limits they weren't able to and it just looked. not good sometimes. I'm not trying to bash the animation and I'm also not an animator so i have no real idea of what the original production was like or what limits they may or may not have had. However! Putting studio orange on the job was a fuckin stroke of genius bc they know their 3d. and what with the frenetic energy the show should have had, the freedom that 3d animation allows for camera movement and whatnot is what the story deserved. Vash's bugs-bunny style character movements look so much more convincing and energetic (listen i love the of ep 1 crab walk too it was delightfully animated but i think the 3d lets them fully encapsulate that scrambling, frantic energy he carries in action scenes). once again i am not an animator and i have not outlined this at all and I'm absolutely not trying to be some credited critic i am just a Guy.

Subpoint!! the depiction of violence/death/destruction works way better. Once again I'm not going to go after the animators for not having the time/budget/whatever to give the violence and death in the story the weight they should have had. However, it is way more convincing and striking and works better with the tone etc etc i put this in after writing the next two points and my root-beer-fueled sugar high is starting to fade rip

I do miss milly, shes a delight, but i think replacing her character with a more jaded and serious one was the right move for this remake. already the tone is diving into the darker themes of the story and having someone like roberto be the voice of reason between him and Meryl matches the tone of the show better than having the more lighthearted dynamic milly and Meryl had in the original. The original took f o r e v e r to touch on the darker themes of vash's backstory and the overall tone was absolutely more on the quirky, comedic side. This worked well for the dynamic-duo-insurance-girls thing but stampede changing both milly's character AND their careers works way better for what the show is going for. like. if meryl and Roberto were still insurance agents trying to keep a handle on vash, that comedic value would have been totally undermined and had to have been scrapped after episode 3. The tonal dissonace would have been too strong and would have totally killed the mood. Milly is still my girl tho i love her with all my being

I do prefer the slower worldbuilding of the original. I understand with the focus on vash's relationship with his brother instead of the story the original focused on means we need more context for his character and the world the characters live in. But i liked vash being a mystery to both the characters and the watchers! it felt cool to see this goofball of a dude just. let down the facade and make us want to wonder who this guy really is, yknow? but again! as i have said many times! stampede is focused on the darkness in vash's story and the world of trigun so it makes total sense that they introduce vash as a tragic character first! and i love it! i love me a good dark story and instead of the "silly dude with a dark backstory who changes tone at the drop of a hat" character the "guy who has seen some shit and still tries to do good and be kind and funny in spite of it" character just works better there.

Anyway as previously stated i am kind of flagging so ill stop there and I'm sure ill have more thoughts later because I just cant be normal about these things

I think both versions have their merits and drawbacks and I'm not trying to say one is objectively better than the other (even if I do prefer stampede bc I'm a hoe for good animation and dark storytelling) so please do not kill me

i wrote this mess instead of studying for midterms pray 4 me

[sixty-silver-wishes]

It's 2023 and I live in Florida.

I've lived my whole life in central Florida (with the nearest city being Orlando), and the general political climate I grew up in was pretty moderate. The far-right shift things have been taking honestly came as a shock (although to be fair, confronting the rise of fascism in your backyard is a tough pill to swallow no matter where you live), considering the atmosphere I was raised in; I remember going on vacation to places like Georgia and Tennessee when I was a kid and being shocked to see people flying Confederate battle flags and selling them as souvenirs in gift shops. Florida always felt like more of a mixed bag, albeit a whiplash-inducing one; you can go down to Mims and see Trump signs tacked up everywhere, or you can go to Lake Eola and see pride flags in all the windows.

Both the Pulse and Parkland shootings happened when I was in high school, and I distinctly remember how both of them rocked my community. We staged walkouts at school, had conversations with our families and friends about topics like gun control and the LGBT+ community that lasted for weeks, and it felt like a sense of mourning and desire for progress could be felt within everyone I knew.

Which is one of the many reasons why whatever the fuck Desantis is doing infuriates me so much. I hate to see the place I grew up in turned into what it's becoming, and frankly, it's painful not just to see outsiders see it first and foremost in this way, but for them to be right about it. When Kathy Hochul told conservative New Yorkers to "move to Florida," to me, that felt like a stab in the gut, that the place I lived and grew up in should be recognized nationally like this. For me, that just wasn't Florida. Did we have conservative crazies? Sure, but overall, I always saw Florida as a much more diverse and multifaceted place than people give it credit for. But unfortunately, with the insane laws being passed here and Desantis receiving a level of support that to me seems unthinkable (I swear, he could write "I am a fascist" on his forehead and people still wouldn't give a shit), and the fear I feel every day that things are getting worse and worse, the apathy that follows as a survival mechanism that I keep reminding myself that I can't give into, it feels unrecognizable. And yet, this didn't come out of nowhere.

My advice to those who are still reading? Don't be apathetic. Oppression is happening here, and will continue to worsen, and by writing off entire populations as people unworthy of compassion, you are writing off the people who are oppressed and may not be able to "just leave," who are suffering the most under such legislation and sociopolitical climates. Fascism thrives off of fear and dividing people into "us" and "them," so I'm begging you, remember the humanity of those who are suffering under it- and yes, that includes the people who have been indoctrinated into it. Do you have to like them, excuse them, or forgive them? Absolutely not. But their fears and ignorance are being preyed upon, and that will end up hurting more people in the long run.

Secondly, don't think it can never happen to you. I've seen people in blue states constantly dismiss whatever Desantis and co. are doing because it doesn't affect them, but if he runs for president and wins, he becomes the entire country's problem. And it doesn't have to be him; we've seen far-right ideology spreading across the country, perpetrated by multiple people. I've seen Europeans and Canadians blaming the rise of far-right movements in their countries on Trump and America, and while Trump and far-right American movements may have encouraged them, fascism can show up anywhere; the first step to fighting it acknowledges that there's never just one person to blame; it works systemically and thrives off of apathy. Think critically, stay educated, and most importantly, stay compassionate.

[hamatoclan76]

Thoughts on Rise of the Tmnt the movie

After 2 years of waiting, we finally got the Rise of the Tmnt movie! There were times we didn’t know if the project got cancelled or postponed with little news about it in between but the Rise team was able to finish the movie. Now, was the film worth of the wait? I’m going to write my thoughts about it in this post to see if it lived up to expectations (at least mine). For starters, the animation. What is there to say that hasn’t been said already? This film probably has the best animation in an animated movie from this year so far. The direction and camera is wonderful. The actions scenes are amazing to breathtaking. The movement of the characters is very fluid. The artwork captures this sci-fi feel the plot of the film has. There are backgrounds that you could hand them in a wall because of how great they look. It’s clear the animation they really went with all they have when it came to working with this fim and it shows. In terms of story and characters: I’m going to be honest-This film has the best writing so far in anything related to ROTTMNT. The conflict is treated seriously as it should, the narrative is well paced and the cast is in character. There are many aspects to highlight so I’m going to with the premise itself. I like the idea of the Kraang being very intimidating to the point that can’t be defeated, they have to be trapped. I think this version of the Kraang has to be the most powerful of them all because some of them could fight the turtles without having to control a robot. I appreciate how they handled Casey Jones here. He still shares common traits with his previous versions while having some twists in his own. It’s cool how he is the one that comes from the future to warn the turtles and how he looks up to the Future version of Leo. He is a good inclusion to main cast. When it comes to the characters, the film it’s mostly about Leonardo learning to be a leader. And... can i say that i really liked how he was written here? His biggest character flaws come to bit him in the face in this film and he is forced to learn more than one thing about working in a team. The whole emotional part of the story feels like a deconstruction of his character in the series. His conflict with Raphael is interesting too since it what it motivates him to change. Leonardo comes to the realization of understanding why Raphael was always on his neck before Splinter changed their roles in the team. By the end of the film there is this emotional moment he admits he understand Raphael’s conflict and that he was trying to look after them.

Another thing i can give credits to the movie for is giving other characters time to shine: The team up between Splinter and April and them saving Donnie and Mikey. Mikey unleashing his mystic powers at the climax to free Leo from the Kraang’s dimension. Donnie not fighting with his special shell on, etc. I think one issue i have with other TMNT movies is that most of the time is about Raphael and Leonardo, not letting other characters have important moments. This is why is feels like a breath of fresh air that this movie allowed the rest characters to develop in some ways. In conclusion: The film was worth of the wait. It’s overall a solid film and a good conclusion for the series (if this is supposed to be the finale). The animation is excellent, the writing is the best the series has offered so far and it has some emotional moments, especially in the second half. It would even recommend it to people who haven’t watched the series since it the story is mostly standalone.

[violettelueur]

— JUJUTSU KAISEN EPISODE SEVEN || ASSAULT

↳ featuring : fushiguro megumi + kugisaki nobara + zenin maki + inumaki toge + panda from jujutsu kaisen

↳ warnings : mention of forced marriage + EXTREME grammar issues

↳ form : story

↳ published : 28 february

↳ pronouns : she/her

↳ word count : 2.5k

↳ synopsis : within the jujutsu world, there were three famous clans to be aware of, the Kamo clan, Zenin clan and the Gojo clan. However, unknown to many sorcerers there was one last family that was known to be apart of the three, only for them to disappear after the golden era leading some to speculate that they had died in battle after the sealing of ryomen sukuna, but....

↳ previous episode : after rain 

↳ next episode : boredom

↳ barista’s notes : hi again....barista violettelueur is back from the shadows of not writing anything  ┬┴┬┴┤•ᴥ•ʔ├┬┴┬┴ but i want to apologies to you all for not working on your coffee orders, i just been really being in a non productive mood theses days but i should really bring it back up since i have mocks coming in soon....ʕ ㅇ ᴥ ㅇʔ but overall, i hope you enjoy today’s episode and have a wonderful day/night ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ♡

BEFORE READING, I NEED YOU TO BE AWARE OF THIS:

1. the whole story belongs to Gege Akutami and the credits go to them and them only.

2. the spell curses used belong to Tite Kubo due to them being the ‘Kidos’ being used on the manga and anime ‘Bleach’ - but none is mentioned in this chapter.

2.5 for the ‘cursed spells’/kidos (bleach) i will link this video here and tell you the time stamp to check out what i am intending to show - remember i add a few twist here and there by adding the katana to link with Y/N’s cursed technique

no cursed spells used this episode...

3. if you are confused on anything, please don’t hesitate to message me since i know this whole thing is so confusing.

“I think you can do that,” you stated in a quiet tone, causing Fushiguro to look in your direction only to see you staying still in the position that you had set yourself in before slowly pulling yourself back up to sit in a normal position, leading Fushiguro to go back to what he was in deep thought about.

‘I don’t get it, though. Why...did you run back then? What a waste of talent, but the girl back at that place, she knows how to use her technique extremely well’

“You possess such intellect, such skill, such power and such talent and yet you refuse to go against me with your full potential, are you mocking me?”

‘I have the potential to beat special grades? Is that what he meant by that?’ Fushiguro thought, before turning to look at you to discover you were looking into the distance while continuously sipping on your orange juice like the addict you were. 

‘What was she trying to tell me? It seemed like L/N knows something...intellect?’

Slowly but curiously, Fushiguro began to reciprocate your previous movements by letting his hand touch the step between his legs before waiting for a second to see what you were trying to inform him, only for his hand to steadily go deeper into his shadow leading him to widen his eyes at this discovery.

“Tuna, tuna,” Inumaki mentioned, as he pointed at Fushiguro since he noticed what he was doing, leading Zenin and Panda to look at their classmate wanting to know what he was trying to bring their attention to.

“Huh? What?” Zenin asked in confusion, before turning her head in the shikigami user’s direction to realise what he was doing.

“Senpai, I think I can do it,” Fushiguro stated, with a rare smile before looking in your direction once again to see you were still staring at the field in front of you.

‘Such intellect…’

                                               ꕥ

 “Ahh?”

Suddenly, after you masterfully was able to swipe Zenin’s footing with the metal pole-arm she had given you for the practice match, you were suddenly hoisted into the arm once you fully turned around, only to suddenly find Panda effortlessly lift you up with his paws on either side, catching you by complete surprise.

“Are they finally going to get her?!” Kugisaki shouted in question since, for the past few days of training, no one was able to defeat you in any of the practice matches they had set out.

However, before Panda could act of on his plan, you gracefully spun your body around to face the other way like a professional gymnast before concentrating your cursed energy to your leg and foot as you swang down to kick the sorcerer in the back causing the animal to let go of the pole in pain as he fell while you landed with some stagger since you didn’t have enough time to plan your footing with Inuamki behind you to make sure you didn’t fall down.

“Maybe not...” Fushiguro muttered while sitting next to his classmate as both of them were sitting on the stairs spectating the fight going on between you and the two other second-years.

“Wow!” Kugisaki gleefully mentioned as she lightly clapped her hands for your performance.

“Ah sorry senpai, did I kick you too hard?” you sincerely asked, as you crouch down by his side to check if he was doing okay, to which he gave you a thumbs up to indicate his well-being before praising you for your performance which led you to stand up straight to move over to Zenin to give her a hand on getting back up.

“You’re really strong,” Zenin muttered with a smile causing you to smile back before stating, “Nah, you really made it challenging since it’s been a while since I fought someone good with weapons,” which lead your upperclassmen to tell you to get Fushiguro since it was his turn.

Leisurely walking to your classmates by the stairs, you casually threw the pole towards Fushiguro, who caught it instantly, before mentioning to him that it was his turn to train with Zenin leading him to get up from his seat to move to his designated area for you to then take his seat next to Kugisaki, leading to your classmate to place her head on your shoulder as you took out your phone to scroll through a bit.

“Is that your sister, Gojo?” Kugisaki question, leading you to turn your head slightly to look down at her only to find her staring down at the screen of your phone to which you turned back to you.

“No, that’s my mother,” you answered as you stare down at your wallpaper that showcases a picture with you and your mother in what seemed to be in a professional setting as you both were seated on what seemed to be on an antique-like style couch while wearing similar baby-blue colour dresses as you had a familiar bouquet of blue hydrangeas with white roses in hand.

“Really?! She looks so young,” Kugisaki commented, as she, in a state of shock, grabbed your wrist and looked closer into the screen to observe the picture. “You really suit baby-blue as well, but black is more of your suit in my opinion,” your classmate commented as she released her grip before lifting her head off your shoulder to peer at your outfit.

At this current moment in time, you were wearing some black nylon cargo joggers as well as black trainers paired with a long-sleeved black cropped top since you knew it was going to be a little hot today but you never really liked wearing bright colours - you were just more comfortable with darker ones like your uniform.

“Do you think so? So, should I get this Balenciaga bag then?” you asked as you tilted the phone towards her to show the bag that has been on your wishlist for some time.

“You like Balenciaga too?!” Kugisaki screamed in shock as she turned to you with widened eyes, resulting in your doing the same, only for you both to then suddenly thoroughly search the whole website to tell each other your favourite items while planning a shopping trip together since you both were giving each other ideas on clothing to purchase.

“That’s such a cute jumper,” you commented, as you, once again, presented Kugisaki your phone for her to agree with you before showing a jacket that she has been eyeing for quite some time. “That looks so good, you could pair it with a jean skirt and maybe a top, maybe orange to match your hair,” you commented, leading Kugisaki to smile and nod at you.

“That jumper is quite long, so you could wear like a cropped white turtleneck or maybe the same coloured blue dress shirt, add that to your wishlist!” Kugisaki mentioned, while at the same time pressing the heart icon to add the item on your wishlist without you lifting a single finger.

Suddenly, while you two were busy looking up items together, a sudden shadow overcast you both leading you to look up to find a roughed up Fushiguro in front of you before he mentioned that it was Kugisaki’s turn to train which cause her to pout before giving her phone to you, so you could take care of it before making her way to the two second-years that were waiting for her as the shikigami user took her seat.

“How was it?” you asked, as you closed your phone, only to hear a sigh from your classmate.

“It’s not bad, just not used to using weapons,” Fushiguro commented, as he stared out into the distance to see Kugisaki running away from Panda with Zenin looking at them in complete confusion.

“We got more than a month left, you should be fine,” you commented, as you looked at your phone screen to see the date. “Besides, you won’t constantly use them but it’s good to use since you can combine physical attacks with weapon attacks when it comes to battle,” you explained as you continued to stare at the family photo on your phone.

‘When was the last time I wore a dress like that?’ you thought, as you tilted your head in confusion.

“What was the reason you kept being on the run?” Fushiguro suddenly asked, causing you to break from your trance to turn to look at your classmate in confusion, only to discover a nonchalant look on his face like it was a common question to ask - maybe it was for the jujutsu sorcerer world.

“Because I’m not supposed to exist Fushiguro, you’re a Zenin by blood, you should know that my clan shouldn’t exist after the golden age, we disappeared,” you answered since you were perplexed on why the sorcerer beside you, asked a question with an answer that he probably already knows.

“But you’re a powerful sorcerer, you wouldn’t have that much trouble would you?” Fushiguro asked, leading you to shift your eyes down to avoid any eye contact before turning back to the track field in front of you to see the now common sight of Kugisaki being spun around in the air by Panda.

“I don’t know what they’ll do to me, I don’t need a bounty on my head everywhere I go, it was better for me to hide in the shadows as long as the L/N clan did,” you answered with a hushed tone, to which Fushiguro barely caught since you turned so quiet.

                                             ꕥ

“If any of the other clans knew of her existence, she would be forced to bring the L/N clan back up again or forced into a marriage,” Gojo explained, as he relaxed in his usual black chair, while Fushiguro leaned against the windows of the room they were at right now.

“Marriage?” Fushiguro questioned in confusion since he was confused on what the point of you being in a forced marriage when you were enough as a sorcerer by yourself.

“To continue the inheritance of her cursed technique,” Gojo informed his student, as he sat up from his relaxed posture. “Her inherited cursed technique is an extremely powerful one that any sorcerer wants, I don’t think she has mastered all the extreme spells as of this moment in time, but she knows what she is doing,” Gojo expanded on his explanation while tilted his glasses down to eye his student to check if he understood what he had said so far.

“But what would a marriage between the clans do? It would only decrease the change of the technique even being inherited,” Fushiguro asked, only for his teacher to smirk.

“I’m sure Y/N knows this, but that’s what the Zenin Clan demanded back in the Heian era before Sukuna was sealed, that a marriage was needed to ‘strengthen their power’ only for the L/N clan to refuse,” Gojo stated bluntly causing Fushiguro eyes to widen, as the Six Eye sorcerer continued with, “her real existence must be kept a secret and that’s my job now as her adoptive father since I’ve been entrusted with her safety,”.

“Entrusted? By who? L/N?” Fushiguro interrogated in a perplexed tone, only to receive a shrug at the end, gaining no answer to his pending question.

                                              ꕥ

Continuously staring at you, Fushiguro couldn’t but recall the conversation he had with Gojo, remembering the details that were mentioned within the chat. There was no surprise in his mind now on why you were extremely anxious about him and Gojo when you first met them; you probably thought you were going to be forced into something that you didn’t want to happen.

“Do you…hate me?”

“Huh?” you confusingly said before quickly turning your head to look at Fushiguro, once again seeing his usually stoic face looking straight at you while you gave him the surprised look. “What makes you ask that?” you queried since you didn’t expect him to ask such a question especially since you both had worked together for a few weeks now as well as fought together against Sukuna back at the Eushi Detention Centre.

“Since I’m a Zenin by blood, do you-” Fushiguro explained before he was cut off by you flicking his forehead with your finger in an annoyed manner, as the impact reflected on your emotions causing Fushiguro to wince slightly at the pain since he didn’t expect it to hurt as much as it did.

“Why would I hate you? As much as I hate the Zenin clan for what they did to my clan, you and Zenin-senpai ain’t that bad. In fact, you both ain’t bad at all,” you stated before sighing in annoyance since it was an extremely stupid question for him to ask. “Fushiguro, if I hated you, I would have made you fight Sukuna alone and wait until he came to me, don’t you think, you drag?” you rhetorically asked, before lightly slapping the side of his head to shake some of his brain cells to wake up before looking at the track field to see Kugisaki getting up from the floor with an angered expression as she demanded a re-match causing you to giggle lightly at the sight.

“We’re cool Fushiguro, there’s no need to worry about it,” you reassured the sorcerer, before standing up on your feet with your hand out towards your classmate’s direction.

“Come on, it seems like we’re taking a break and about to run some errands for the second-years,” you commented, causing Fushiguro to turn to look at the field to see Inumaki signalling a timeout sign before imitating a drinking action, informing you both to get some water for them as well as yourselves.

Taking your hands, he pulled himself up before you both disconnected your hands, leading you to turn around to grab the desired bottles of water that were required before coming back to resume training.

“Gojo! Wait for me, we need to talk more about our shopping trip!” Kugisaki loudly shouted, causing you to halt and turn your head to see your classmate rushing up the stairs to come to you before resuming once she was by your side.

Slowly from behind, Fushiguro decided to walk behind you both as he knew his upperclassmen would tell him to hurry up with the errands that they had placed on your three.

“You really need to stop with your assaults Gojo,” Fushiguro stated, as he pressed his index and middle finger on the middle of his forehead, as he remembered the pain that came along with your flick as well as complaining about the side head slap he had gained from you.

“Nah, you just got to stop asking stupid questions Fushiguro,” you commented back before asking Kugisaki want she was planning to get.

‘So make sure you’re not alone in this world like I am Y/N, I want you to be happy even when we’re both stuck with this burden!’

‘I’m trying mother,’ you thought, as you tightly gripped your phone that was still in your pocket.

© violettelueur 2021 : written and published by violettelueur - do not steal or repost

[alpacaparkaseok]

Could you repeat the question?

pairing: Taehyung x reader, oc x Yeonjun (TXT)

premise: a joint interview with your group, BTS, and TXT two months after you met your soulmate.

word count: 2k

[2/2] continuation of Can’t Keep My Hands To Myself

requested by anon - a picture of your request will be at the bottom of the post! 

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

“Please don’t tell them.”

“Me? Why would I say anything?”

“You...you have that look.”

Yeonjun whirls around to face Taehyung, who just entered the room. “Do I have a look?”

Taehyung winks at you in greeting, something that nearly makes you swoon and your group members snicker. 

“A look?” He frowns for a moment before giving his dongsaeng a pitiful smile. “Oh yeah, you do. Definitely.” Taehyung smiles at Jiwoo, my band member who is busy sending death glares at her soulmate. “He’s gonna spill it.”

Yeonjun jumps up from his seat at the same time Taehyung settles down beside you, placing his arm on the back of the couch and brushing your hair off to the side. It’s enough to make goosebumps rise on your skin, which of course he notices. 

Oh, how you’d like to wipe that knowing little smirk off his face right now. 

“I can’t believe this! I’m not going to say a thing-”

“Yeonjun, and I’m saying this with love, if you say a single thing about it, I will personally unplug your refrigerator when you least expect it.”

Your attention is pulled away when you feel Taehyung leaning in to whisper something in your ear. “So, do we know what they’re arguing about?”

You can’t help but giggle. “Nope. Jiwoo won’t say anything.”

“Neither will Yeonjun.”

The smitten couple have been teasingly arguing for the entirety of the morning, leaving the rest of us in complete and utter confusion. 

Oh well, I suppose it’ll help make the broadcast a bit more exciting. 

It’s been two months since Jiwoo and I first *ahem* teleported to our soulmates at the MAMA awards. Or rather, since I landed in Taehyung’s lap and Jiwoo was nearly knocked unconscious when Yeonjun was thrown into her at full force. Of course, Jiwoo claims that it was horribly embarrassing, to which I’m always quick to say that she should feel lucky that at least she didn’t end up in a grown man’s lap. For all to see, no less. 

Ari, our other group member, just rolls her eyes and tells us that beggars can’t be choosers. 

Yeah, whatever that means. 

The past two months have been busy, with hardly enough time to spend with my soulmate. Between the busy schedules and BTS and TXT and our own schedule, we’ve had to settle for late-night FaceTimes and the occasional lunch at the Bighit building. I’ve become really good at sneaking in and out of that building in broad daylight - so far I have yet to be discovered. 

Today, however, is an important one. It’s our first official schedule together as soulmates. Naturally, all three groups have come together for the interview/variety show. 

“Alright, time to head on!” A manager shouts into the room, and suddenly there’s a flurry of movement as we all head toward the door. “I need all the soulmates to stick to their own groups, ok? We don’t want to be causing a riot today.”

Right. With a gloomy expression, Taehyung parts from me to head back to his members. Jiwoo and I glue ourselves to Ari’s side, much to her chagrin. “Ready?”

Both you and Jiwoo respond simultaneously. “Nope.”

Ari just sighs, feigning annoyance. Together, the three of you await your cue as one by one, your groups are introduced. 

TXT goes first, the hosts making a big deal out of swooning over Soobin who now has a cult of his own due to his MC abilities. They make a show of handing the microphone over to him, begging him to take it over from there. He politely declines, while the rest of the boys bicker and chat in the background. 

Then your group is called out, and you find yourself walking out before a huge crowd. You didn’t realize that many people could fit in this building, but here they are. And all of them are here for the same reason: to get a look at the soulmate couples that have newly formed. 

And that have been trending on Twitter and Tumblr for two solid months, breaking all kinds of records. 

As BTS is introduced with an almost reverent tone, you understand why you’ve been trending for so long.

It has a lot to do with one of the men walking out right now, smiling at the crowd and waving, graciously bowing his way across the stage. 

Taehyung wears a gray casual suit which has him looking like he just stepped off a photoshoot. Hair perfectly styled and eyes glowing with adoration for the fans that roar and wave, he commands the entire room with a single raise of his eyebrows. 

Your soulmate, ladies and gentlemen. 

Today is the day where you prove to the rest of the world how much of a perfect match you are for this man. The notion is terrifying. 

“Wow!” The host, a jovial man named Donghyun shouts out, exaggerating how amazed he is by the crowd’s reaction to all three groups sharing the same stage. Indeed, it’s a rare sight. “Ok! Should we get started?”

After a few minutes of more introductions, a few cursory questions (he asks Yeonjun what he’s been up to recently and you’re pretty sure Jiwoo manages to telepathically threaten him, because he chooses the most vague answer imaginable), and instructions on how to begin the next activities, you’re off to the races. 

Painting races, that it. 

Donning a frock and eyeing the empty canvas before you, you glare at your opponent across the way. Taehyung, to his credit, refrains from winking at you. He thinks you’re adorable when you’re flustered, but now’s not the time. 

“Taehyung-ssi!”

Taehyung blinks up at Donghyun. “Yes?”

“Are you going to let your soulmate win?”

The game is simple: paint the listed object with as much detail as possible in a sixty second period. The others will have to guess what it is. 

Taehyung pouts his lips a bit, glancing over at you with a glint in his eye. “I’ll have to see, I think.”

Donghyun chuckles into the mic, turning to face you. “What about you? If Taehyung-ssi falls behind, will you help him win?”

You wiggle your eyebrows at your soulmate, heart soaring when he delivers a boxy grin. “Oh, of course not. I came to compete, not hold hands.”

The crowd bursts out laughing, and someone yells out, “I’ll hold his hand for you!”

You all dissolve into a fit of laughter at that, your cheeks blushing madly. “Yeah, thanks for the offer,” you say between giggles. Readying your paint brush, you wait for the signal. 

You’ve been given the word ‘Iceland’, which you figure shouldn’t be too hard. 

What you failed to account for was the fact that you’re perhaps the worst painter you know. What should look like a globe looks like a basketball and what should be a cube of ice instead looks like nothing more than a cardboard box. 

In the end, you’re pretty sure you laugh more than you paint. Your team members, consisting of a mix from both teams, look utterly confused at the end product. Eventually it’s Jin - who happens to be on Taehyung’s team - that accidentally calls out the answer. 

The rest of the games pass by in a blur of laughter and covert glances toward Taehyung. He always manages to find a way to make you laugh, even though he remains on the other side of the stage for the most part. You don’t miss all of the fans that look at him dreamily, and you can only hope that they’re happy with your overall performance today. 

At the end, you all squeeze onto a couple of couches. Donghyun makes a fuss over allowing the soulmates to sit together, and you can’t hide your smile as a beet-red Yeonjun sidles down to the couch to sit beside Jiwoo, placing his hands in his lap and trying not to do anything that will go viral. 

Taehyung sits on your right, crossing his arms in a way that pulls on his suit jacket enough to expose the outline of his biceps. You catch your eyes wandering, snapping your attention back to the front where Donghyun reads some questions off of a card. 

“I believe that this was the first time soulmates have met while performing at MAMA, is that correct? What were your first thoughts when you suddenly found yourselves face to face with your soulmate?”

The four of you that now have all the attention riding on your shoulders look to each other for help. Finally, with a racing heart, you answer first.

“I think the obvious answer is that I was shocked,” you smile as knowing chuckles ripple through the room. “But I was also really grateful, because Taehyung was so kind and understanding. The staff were very professional and helped us quickly. Overall, I really can’t imagine it having happened in any other way.”

There’s a few ooh’s and aww’s that greet your ears, but you look down at your lap as you blush. Taehyung slightly nudges your knee with his own, and in that simple movement you feel the comfort that he’s trying to give you. 

“I’d actually been talking to Jiminie earlier about soulmates,” Taehyung pipes up. 

“Oh, yeah! That’s right!” Jimin says, giving his friend a slap on the shoulder. “What are the odds?”

Taehyung flashes a shy smile. “I told him that I felt like I was ready. It can be strangely lonely sometimes, and there are times when I just felt like I was missing something. Now, all I have to do is pick up my phone and my missing piece is on the other side, ready to talk with me.”

Now people are really swooning, you included. You dare to peek over at your soulmate, heart nearly melting when you see that his shy smile is paired with pink cheeks. You wish that you could snuggle up to him right now, but that would definitely not end well. Instead, you lightly nudge his knee with your own, returning the little slice of comfort he provided you earlier. 

“And you two?” Dongyun asks after wiping fake tears away from his eyes. 

Yeonjun chews on his bottom lip, Jiwoo too lost in thought to notice that he has that look again. 

“I, er...” Yeonjun begins, squirming a little in his seat. “I was...really happy.”

Donghyun urges Yeonjun to continue. “Of course you were! What about finding Jiwoo made you so happy?”

Jiwoo looks up in horror, but it’s too late. Yeonjun has already opened his mouth and begun to speak. 

“I was so happy because the first thing she said to me was that she thought I was so hot.”

Radio silence. 

And then-

“Oh-ho!! Yeonjunnie you’re so dead!” Hueningkai laughs, and soon everyone follows suit. Even Donghyun has to throw his hand over his mouth to keep himself from snorting with laughter. 

Jiwoo looks at Yeonjun, who completely avoids her gaze as he stares unblinking at the floor. Then, quietly enough for nobody to hear except for you who sits beside her, she whispers, “Say goodbye to all the perishable items in your fridge.”

In the chaos that ensues, Taehyung discreetly traces circles against your arm and mumbles, “Why didn’t you say that to me when we first met?”

You smack his shoulder. “I should be asking you the same thing!”

Just before everything calms down again, Taehyung leans over to grab the abandoned canvas on the ground. Taking the still-wet paint and dipping his finger into it, he draws something out on it. Nudging you to get your attention, he flashes the canvas for you to see, hiding it from the cameras. 

It’s hard to keep a neutral expression as you see his handiwork. It’s just six words, but they’re enough to have your entire face flushed a moment later. 

I think you’re hotter than Yeonjun ;)

Stifling a laugh, you roll your eyes. “I hope you know I’m keeping that,” you mumble. Taehyung grins.

“Great. We’ll get it framed.”

A few days later, you do. It hangs in the front room of your apartment, for all to see. And for Jiwoo to loathe, as it serves as a constant reminder of her embarrassing first words to her soulmate.

Oh well. In the words of Ari, “Beggars can’t be choosers.”

masterlist

[iwantutobehapppier]

We Will Wake Up

Pairing: Dark!Steve Rogers x Reader Summary: Steve and Bucky seemed to be everywhere you looked, certainly this familiarity between the three of you would only bode well when you seek refuge at their place during the Shutdown.  Warnings: 18+ Only, Dark Steve Rogers, somnophilia, dubcon bordering on noncon. Please if any of this bothers you read no further. There will be more fics for Festival of Smut with little to no dark themes.  Word Count:  2,536 A/N: Happy 2nd night of Chanukah! I give you some dark/creep Steve. I have been tinkering with this one for a long time now. @sapphirescrolls​ really helped fuel this along with Tyler by the Toadies.

You know Steve’s there. He’s always there now. He knows you know. He parades around as if his presence is pure coincidence. It is equal parts laughable and concerning.

Looking out the corner of your eye you catch the tall bulky frame of his best friend Bucky beside him as they wait for their coffee. Bucky a man of little flourish in coffee grabs his cup and sits right across from you at the table outside of the little coffee shop. Outside seating more comfortable for you given the current pandemic. But your two shadows didn’t have any worry about the pandemic with the Super Soldier Serum.

Steve and Bucky were great people. Working with them when it came to PR had its challenges but overall a joy.  Not only that but you were pleased to become friends with them. That was months ago. Now they were showing up everywhere you went outside of the regular

Compound encounters. However, you had noticed Steve was sans his pal more often than not in recent encounters.

“You should stay in the compound with us,” Bucky offers a solution to your current dilemma. You frown at his suggestion. Steve’s waiting for his drink inside of the coffee shop they both happened to show up to this morning.

A coffee shop you had never gone to before in an attempt to test your theory about being possibly followed. The results, worrisome

“I mean,” Bucky leans over his cup keeping eye contact. “You’ve said it yourself, they’re starting the shutdown soon and you’re not sure how long you can spend being completely alone.” You look away at his intense gaze only to catch Steve’s eye as he sits next to you at the four top.

“What are you two talking about?” An easy smile falls over Steve’s face before he takes a sip of his coffee.

“Just that she should stay with us,” Steve nearly spits out his drink, and Buck chuckles at his expense. “You know, staying with us would be much more entertaining than being alone.” Bucky leans over the table looks at Steve directly when he stops.

Steve nods his head, taking the lead.

“You know the Compound ground fairly well,” Steve continues. “It’ll be fully stocked to last the shutdown and then some.”

Nibbling on your bottom lip in equal worry and contemplation you worked out in your head, ways to refuse the offer without coming off as a heinous bitch. 

“Wouldn’t you guys be coming and going during missions?” You scrunched your face up. “I think that would put me at risk of contagion.”

“That’s the greatest part about it,” Bucky leans back in his chair, crossing his arms behind his head. “We’ll be there too. Unless the worst happens, and then we’ll get testing to make sure we’re not carriers before we come back home,” he pauses looking at Steve then you, “to you.”

Steve clears his throat shifting in his seat you tilt your head to the side watching him. “Are you okay Steve?”

“Mm?” he looks directly at you for longer than fleeting seconds. “Yes,” he pauses. “I really think you should consider the offer.” His hand rests on your knee, the heat emitting off him almost too much for the end of March in New York City. 

“We have a spare room in our apartment there,” He watches you nibble on your lip once again, he shifts to Bucky who just nods his head towards you. “We’ll get it set up just the way you want and I swear we won’t leave dishes in the sink.”

Bucky chuckles, “I agreed to no such thing,” Steve cuts his eyes at his pal. “Fine,” Bucky huffs folding his arms over his chest pouting.

You can’t help but laugh at the two of them, much like a married couple. Maybe having their banter around would be helpful to ease the worrisome a pandemic causes? Perhaps the following was because the two had so few friends outside the compound as is and they’ve often said how welcoming you make them feel. Without letting yourself fret any more over the decision you made your choice.

“Okay,” you nodded your head, Steve’s hand on you clasping around your knee. “When can I move in?”

The smile that illuminates Steve’s face bright enough to light up the sky of NYC you were sure of it. However, the grip on your knee makes something in your hindbrain whisper “Be careful.”

You had been doing so well, it was a month in and the situation was proving rewarding for all parties. You had a nice state of the art abode, they had a personal chef in you and you all had each other for company. 

Working from home was not an issue at all, they left you alone when you were working. You only saw them when you’d pause for lunch, where they always seemed to in the kitchen waiting for you. After work would normally be some type of movie to watch for them to catch up, sharing music or the rare occasion Steve drawing you as you read. 

It was nice and oddly domestic bliss but it seemed to change one drunken night when you kissed Steve. It wasn’t meant to be anything, you were drunk feeling good and he was making you feel good. With his compliments and attention before you knew it your lips were on his. He didn’t respond which left you feeling completely foolish. 

Not that you wanted anything to happen between you and Steve, you didn’t, right? He was handsome, and god knows he was packing with what your eyes have beheld when he comes back from his work on in his grey sweats. So maybe you did? Or was it the cabin fever?

However, after that, it’s a fat chance anything would happen as he avoided you the next day. Bucky told you it was just his nerves that “He’s never had a hot dame like you into him.”

Luck was on your side two nights later when Steve ventured out of his room for a movie night. A romance on no less, and Bucky suspiciously dipping out early claiming he was exhausted. That left you and Steve miles apart on the couch until Steve slid down to your side, his arm wrapping around your shoulders. He pulled you close and when you tried to pull back for some space for civility you couldn’t budge him. 

When the romantic duo of the film finally kiss you can’t help but look at Steve from the corner of your eye. Steve is staring at you, a light blush on his cheeks. He leans forward, and before you know what’s happening his lips are on yours. You’re quite shocked given the drunken kiss you gave him.

It takes only a moment for your lips to soften on his. The pleased sigh he emits warming your body up almost more than the kiss. With tentative movement, his tongue trails only your bottom lip, and your open your mouth on reflex. Then the flood gates are open, he’s pulling you into his lap, arms holding you secure as you both make up for the last quarter of the film.

As the credits roll you finally part, lips chapped and swollen. You feel your cheeks warm as you look away. Well, this certainly wasn’t your plan. Steve clears his throat and you look back at him.

“I had wanted to do that for a while,” You give a shy smile in response.

“I think,” you pull yourself off his lap. “It was worth the wait and just enough.” Needing to keep your distance before you let this go farther than it should. Sleeping with someone who was kindly housing you rent-free was not the smartest move in your opinion. 

Steve nods in agreement though his brow furrow with agitation. He was fairly certain his night would go somewhere else and the uncomfortable tightness of his pants had to be dealt with.

“I suppose you’re right,” he shifts on the couch and you pretend not to see the bulge in his pants that you had without a doubt felt just a moment underneath you. “I say we call it a night.” Steve veining confidence to take control of the night.

Nodding in agreement. “Good night Steve,” as you go to turn he stands up and grabs your wrist pulling you into him capturing your lips one last time. 

Letting you go when you pull apart he smiles. “Just had to have one more,” tucking your hair behind your ear you can’t help but smile, “Sweet dreams.”  He releases your hand as you turn once more to retreat to your room.

His eyes glower at your disappearing figure, eyes tracing the flare of your hips and lush back side. He wasn’t sure he could wait for another night to continue this path you two were on. One he desperately wanted. 

You were awake and abruptly so.

You felt, full? Oddly so? An ache and stretch in your lower abdomen the first sensations as you wake up. Then it’s the way you feel your pelvis flex against something. Eyes opening the room is still dark, your eyelids feel heavier than usual when awoken in the night. Are you sitting upright? What’s the warmth radiating at your back?

Warm muscular arms wrap around your body from behind, you yelp in fear. Your bareback is forced against a fuzzy chest. Wait, are you naked? Thick thighs flex below you and that ache in your lower abdomen is clearly all the way to your pelvis becomes clear. Your gasping for breath as panic sets in, your voice cracks in your attempts to call out for help. Who is this?

“Ssshh,” lips press against the shell of your ear. You’re cocooned in warmth and you’ve never been more afraid in your life. This sensation should be comforting but-

“Knew you’d feel so tight around me,” You’re bounced up by the thighs beneath, and the moan that pulls from your lips is involuntary. The thick cock lodged so deep inside you feel too good. It shouldn’t feel this good. The bulbous cock head brushing against that special spot with each re-entry. 

“Ste-Steve?” you get out between your shock and pleasure. He holds you down, still as can be, you can feel the steady thump of his heart against your back. Lips the press against your ear slowly trails down your neck resting at the nape. His breath pushes hot air across your bare chest with a forceful exhale.

“It’s me,” His words a whisper on your skin. “I’ve got you, sweetheart.” You try to find his words comforting, recalling how gentle he is with you, how attentive and soft the first kiss was earlier this night. How had it escalated so quickly?

Your nails dig into his forearms, his large hands holding your waist lifting you up and down as if you were light as a feather. It was disorienting. He drops you down and as your mouth opens his large sweaty palm mutes your scream.

“Normally,” Steve grunts pushing up into you. “I’d want to hear your beautiful voice,” He lifts you once more, his hands so warm and tight against your skin. His super strength made you feel like a sack of potato at the most. Slowly lowering you down his pulsing shaft you can feel the way he pulls at your walls, the sponge feel of the tip of his cock hitting your cervix.

“But I don’t want Buck to hear.” He grunts pushing his hips up and down, his thighs moving you without your aid. “These noises are mine.” He growls. His hand slips from your mouth to between your slick folds to rub softly against your little nub.

When you inhale to moan Steve shushes you, resulting in you bitting your lip trying to muffle your moans. “That’s my good girl,” his words warm against your skin as he sets a steady pressure on your nub in a circular motion.

Your walls fluttering around him he muffles his groan. “Fuck, baby girl,” his fingers digging into your hip. Steve’s hands move to lift you up, almost completely off his cock the wide tip sitting at the opening. For a brief moment, you think it’s over whatever this violation of your body is.

Then you’re falling, the push of his thick and long shaft into you makes your head jerk back. His chin resting on your forehead. Steve’s bulging arms wrap around you resting under your breast. “You feel me here?” a hand slips down to push on your lower abdomen. A soft moan pulling from your lips at the feeling. 

Looking down you gasp seeing the slight bulge, no wonder it felt like he was splitting you in two. Watching the hand slip down further, two fingers slide down to capture your clit, giving a gentle squeeze. Your body shakes, biting your lip to hold in a moan tilting your head back once more. 

Your hands grip his large forearm trying to pull his hand back. The sensory overload too much from being woken up in such a jarring manner. Trying to get hold of whether you wanted this or not was becoming difficult with each touch. 

Steve tut’s in your ear, his hand pulling back to slap your pussy. Your whimper following the slapping noise. “Don’t hide how much you’ve been wanting this.” He bends his head, lips resting on your forehead. Then touch intimate and far more gentle than what he is doing with your body. 

“I know you’ve been waiting so patiently for me to fill your pussy,” His crass words scrap against your forehead. You go to shake your head but pause when he rotates his hips. 

“It’s okay,” his tone saccharine, “We’ve got plenty of time to make it up before Bucky wakes up.”

[the-insomniac-emporium]

Camerawork in Arcane

Rewatched the first episode of Arcane, with the intention of doodling while I did, but ended up making some notes about some of the camerawork/filmmaking techniques the show uses to influence the feeling/vibes/emotions/whatnot of scenes and the characters within. This is by no means complete or exhaustive, nor is there, like, a conclusion or real point to it other than "hey I noticed these things that I think are cool to think about!".

Under read more for spoilers for episode 1. Might add more later, after I rewatch the next couple episodes, might not, as the other episodes use a lot of the same techniques (so it'd just be a lot of adding more examples, as opposed to exploring too many other neat tricks).

After the bridge scene, and the opening credits, the first shot (with Vi climbing the building) briefly feels like a first-person shot, bringing you right into the moment (immersive?).

Camera shots on the rooftop feel like they sway a bit more than usual, possibly mimicking the feeling of being up really high? Compare to games like Far Cry 6 or parts of Fallout 4, where different effects make you feel like it’s really windy/shaky when you’re climbing a mountain or skyscraper, respectively.

The focal length changes from Vi/Mylo/Claggor doing parkour to when Powder does it, to emphasize how the distance feels for the characters. I.E, for Powder the gap seems exaggerated, and is much larger feeling than it is when we watch Vi cross the gap. Very effective for creating anxiety/suspense!

Camera rotates to match Powder falling backwards, pausing once Vi catches her.

When closely following characters, a lot of shots feel like the first one I mentioned earlier, where the movements feel like we’re watching from someone’s perspective, as opposed to a camera in a fixed location. Kind of hard to describe? Another good example is when the crew first goes to the Lanes/the main section of the undercity (when “welcome to the playground” starts playing), and we follow right behind them, shuffling through a crowded street, shifting around other characters as if we (the camera) were having to navigate the crowd.

Lots of focal length changes during the chase scene, exaggerating certain movements (the enforcers throwing the rope things, everyone’s legs during a low shot, etc).

The camera frequently looks up at Vi when she’s taking on a leadership/serious role, such as when: she tells the gang they should be happy about their haul (after Mylo complains, and they’ve just had to go down a sewer pipe), when she gives Deckard a ‘taste’ of their treasure, and when she stares down Deckard after he pulls out his knife. This is a common filmmaking technique to make a character seem more important/stronger in certain contexts. We also see this used when we’re first introduced to Vander, though it does help that he’s standing while talking to characters who are sitting. When he goes to sit down, the camera is positioned over his shoulder, angled down past him at the misbehaving bar patrons. While Vander is already taller than them, the angle adds emphasis to that size difference.

Similarly, when Mylo is complaining to Vi about Powder, the shots start out with the two of them at roughly the same height, But as Vi gets more angry, and snaps at Mylo, there are more shots looking up at her, while down at Mylo. Again, this is partially just the positioning of the characters (Mylo is reclining for most of the scene, Vi ends up standing), but the sharpness of the angles reinforces said positioning.

In contrast, most of the episode’s final scene (wherein Vi bonds with Powder on a rooftop, while discussing the crew’s past failures), the shots are mostly framed with the sisters at an equal height/taking up similar portions of the screen. Having them be equals here reinforces their bond, as well as the overall meaning that Vi is attempting to convey via her dialogue.

[blookmallow]

rating spirit halloween’s new animatronics for 2021

or at least what’s showing as New Arrivals on the site for me. looks like we got 15 new arrivals listed here and im HYPE about them so here we go

the caretaker

pretty standard reaper character with a Gravedigger theme to it. hes... fine? nothing about this particularly stands out to me, but i dont dislike it at all. i like his gravestone. would be good for a graveyard set. i guess ill give him... 6.5/10

mr. dark

at first glance he also just looks like a standard reaper character (or voldemort. he definitely looks like voldemort now that i think about it) but it turns out he SPRINGS UP RIDICULOUSLY TALL LIKE A CURSED WACKY INFLATABLE TUBE MAN and the spring motion in the video is actually really fucking fast so, while this isn’t a lot different from other jumpscare animatronics, i gotta give him credit bc i guarantee this would have scared the fuck outta me in person. according to the site he’s almost 9 feet tall at his full height 

i expected him to jump out and scream but i did not expect. That. i feel like if you put him up on a stage or something to make him loom over people even more he’d be very menacing indeed. would also be really good if you put him behind something so you don’t see him until he's suddenly There

i like him, 8/10 springy spook man 

click for more 

grave grabber

pretty much just a zombie but he’s cute i like him. i like the green eyes. i dont know what it is about him in motion but the video makes him kind of endearing to me for some reason and i dont know why. 6/10

ophelia

at first for some reason i thought the monster’s name was ophelia but i think that’s supposed to be the name of the victim? i think the idea here is “girl haunted by a Nightmare” but the fact that the monster itself is so small and doesn’t actually have a body for the most part makes this unintentionally hilarious to me 

like. it. it’s so small. it’s just a little shoulder demon. it’s so cute 

psst. hey do we have any more cheetos

anyway i like how the girl’s eyes move back and forth but the sounds she makes are uncomfortable and she just looks so. stiff and solid and there doesn’t seem to be any movement at all other than her eyes and the monster peeking out so it’s just kind of weird to look at. it’s an interesting concept but the execution is just strange and unintentionally hilarious. 7/10 bc i still think its really funny 

someone should buy this and mod it into chrona and ragnarok 

harriet hustle

WE DID IT KIDS WE FINALLY GOT A FEMALE CLOWN ANIMATRONIC im so happy i could cry i wish my store had her set up i want to meet her  

i love how they have her hanging upside down like this, it makes it so much more visually interesting than the figures that just kinda stand there looking spooky, even though she doesn’t really Do much (she just swings and her head moves around a little, just laughs, doesn’t have spoken lines) 

i love her outfit i love her hair shes SO cute i love this little murder gremlin i love her i love her 

im still waiting on spirit to give us a female clown figure that isn’t “creepy little girl” (ive commented before on how their only female figures tend to be either the Old Hag or the Creepy Little Girl and not a lot else) but i absolutely love this all the same 20/10

this one is fun too because we also have: 

henry hustle

according to the description he’s actually harriet’s dad!! we have an evil clown father and daughter duo here and im LIVING for it

i dont think ive ever seen spirit do characters that are related to each other like this that’s so cute,

apparently his wife/harriet’s mother left them and ran off with the ringmaster. he’s a single father clown trying to raise his evil daughter clown and i support him wholeheartedly

there doesn’t seem to be any more animatronics on this storyline, we don’t have the mother here and the only ringmaster animatronic they have is the rotten ringmaster who was released previously, but i doubt he’s the homewrecker ringmaster in question. he Could Be. imagine if your wife left you for That. we dont even know if henry’s wife was also a clown or not. spirit halloween clown lore going on here

anyway i absolutely LOVE this clown, he does something INCREDIBLY STARTLING AND UNEXPECTED which i dont want to spoil for you. go watch his video and see what he does its great 

my absolute favorite type of halloween animatronic is the “does something completely unexpected” category and this one is ALSO a clown and a GOOD clown at that

and he’s got this great vintage clown style i really like, i love scary clowns like this that actually look like they could believably be a real guy and not just some kind of mutant Clown Monster 

and hes got cards!! card suit motif!!! i love it i love him this is a great clown 20/10 for him too

w. raith 

we have this one at my local store and listen to me. im completely obsessed with this ghost

it’s pretty much just a ghost but it’s SUCH A GOOD ghost. especially in this photo here with proper spooky lighting and everything. i would absolutely LOVE to see this in a haunt attraction, it looks SO good even in bright store lighting. i feel like this under the right lights and in the right environment could look SO fuckign cool  

the shredded rag look!!! the ethereal glow!! the weird jellyfishy movement!!! the classic wooOoO oO o o ooo noises!! this may perhaps be the ideal ghost. it is without flaw. a perfect specimen. i fuckign LOVE this ghost i want it so badly but i do not have the space or the money for this thing 15/10 w. raith my beloved. my true love. maybe one day 

buzzsaw

at first i was slightly disappointed to see that this guy didn’t have an actual name, but then in the description apparently his name is Bill “Buzzsaw” Jackson and his backstory is he tried to be a wrestler but it didnt go very well so he grafted weapons in place of his hands. i guess. you know, to be better at wrestling. i dont really understand it and i definitely would not have gone with “disgraced former wrestler” as the concept for this guy  

but anyway we have mr jackson at my store right now, he’s Big, i like him. he doesn’t really move very fast and doesn’t jump at you, he just kinda swings his saw around. for some reason he just seems friendly to me and i dont know why. makes me think of like an uncle dressed up for halloween rather than an actual murderer guy. i dont know i cant explain it but i like him hes my friend 8/10

wacky mole

this guy’s also at my store this year, i didn’t know his name was wacky mole fsdgjsdg

he’s listed as a new arrival, but i thought i remembered seeing him before, and the description says he’s a returning fan favorite, so. i guess this is a re-release 

anyway pretty standard Scary Monster Clown. his teeth look like candy corn. i like it but i think they should just Be candy corn. i like his colorscheme and his silly giant buttons. light up eyes are always a nice touch. he doesnt really stand out but hes overall a pretty good clown. 7/10

grim

good ol’ classic skeleton. he’s pretty nicely modeled though and i highly recommend watching the video for this guy because he moves REALLY well for a spirit animatronic, he’s got a way wider range of movement than most of them do and his head moves really nicely. one of the benefits of a skeleton animatronic is you don’t have to deal with lip movement, so his jaw movements match with his lines a lot more realistically. i like the animated glowing eyes too, it really gives him a lot of personality. he’s really interesting to watch. like, it’s just a skeleton, but it’s a really really good skeleton, so, 8/10 

BEETLEJUICE!!

i love love love franchise character animatronics and spirit has so much great beetlejuice stuff this seems well suited to them but looking at it............. hm. hm

he just looks so. stiff and his face comes across like, deer caught in the headlights to me. it Does Not look very natural but it looks slightly better in motion (he just swivels from side to side and says a few phrases but it somehow looks less. shellshocked when he’s moving) 

maybe not the greatest execution but maybe he looks better in person and im still hype to see him so 8/10 regardless 

night stalker

we have this guy at my store too, im still not really sure what’s going on with his arms (did he just rip loose from them and leave them behind? did someone do this to him? i dont know) but i love a good spooky scarecrow. love his Wiggles. hes a pretty good boy. 6.5/10

here we have another pennywise, it pretty much just pops out at you, but it’s still pretty good. i like the full size one they had before better, but this one’s slightly cheaper and would be easier to integrate into a haunted house attraction since he comes with a built in set piece. it looks good but doesn’t do much. 7.5/10 i guess 

GHOSTFACE!!!!

FUCK YES I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS

please. please spirit halloween set him up in my store so i can see him

anyway hes got kind of the same issue beetlejuice has where the figure just. looks kind of stiff, and he looks more like a spooky ghost decoration than like, A Person. he doesnt seem to have any lines or anything either, he just kinda pops out. but then again i guess whenever we see ghostface in person in the movies he doesn’t usually talk anyway. i dont really know how id make this better but it seems a little underwhelming somehow. still hype to see it though. 7/10 i guess 

now if we could just get a jack torrance and a bela lugosi dracula id be content 

i would LOVE to see Red from Us but i doubt they’d do one. my other horror beloved is norman bates but i know if they made one of him it’d just be him in a dress waving a knife around (not that i wouldn’t still be hype to see him, but, y’know) (anyway. tangent. moving on) 

mr. howle 

it’s. a werewolf. he howls. that’s....... about it 

it’s a very nice looking werewolf, it’s a well designed figure and definitely looks very imposing, but it’s... just a werewolf. there’s not really anything particularly interesting or creative here. its a perfectly good werewolf. i dont have anything to say about this. 6.5/10 

i also just am not a werewolf person so maybe someone out there who has a greater appreciation for werewolves might like him more 

[autumnslance]

“Who are you to judge me, Gaius!? Do you remember the names of the tens of thousands of men, women, and children killed for the sake of your conquests?”

“I do not deny the blood spilled at my behest. Nor will I run from my past. That is why I fight. To prevent the wrongs I committed from being repeated.”

OK, so I actually DO like this climactic scene at the end of Diamond Weapon. More on this and my own take on Gaius below the cut.

The horrific truth of Diamond Weapon, the Overmind, and just how Allie survived is revealed--what’s become of Alfonse is horrifying but honestly not too surprising, given the prototypes Estinien found in the palace labs in the 5.1 flashback duty, nor the previous experiments into Oversoul itself. This also explains the voice we hear through the fight and the things he says, which since I was able to pay more attention on later attempts, seems very obvious.

Gaius says what he’s always said here, since the beginning of the chain: he’s realized he made a lot of mistakes in fighting for the Empire, and now that he knows what a sham it all was, he seeks to clean up the messes he made to prevent more damage. He doesn’t expect forgiveness; he’s simply doing what ought to be done, and it’s in character for a man with his convictions (which were what made him an interesting and popular antagonist in 1.0 and ARR).

No one’s told Valens he should look up the boss strats before pulling; even Mizzteq can’t help you then, buddy, and the edits I’ve seen for that section are glorious. Sure Valens knows all Gaius’ combat data as a Legatus--but Gaius has been the Shadowhunter for the last *cough* years, and has learned a few new tricks, and the body language as he empties his clip, loads his new ammo, and sets off his newest attack in Valens’ face was fantastic.

And that’s the main thing about Werlyt I do give it credit for; the expressions and movements of the characters to convey their thoughts and feelings, new rigging and animations used, blocking of scenes, lighting, camera angles, music--it’s all been really great. In some cases too good, like the ends of Sapphire and Emerald and those terribly uncomfortable scenes. Here, it even induces a “yeah finally!” response as Valens gets what he deserves, from the characters he’s set up to be the foil for and antagonistic with (unlike certain Trolley Duties in MSQ).

Diamond’s awakening is again very mech anime; since the Ruby fight there’s been a very Neon Genesis Evangelion feel to the series, and this continues it, as Alfonse’s mind controls the machine he’s been made part of and takes his revenge on Valens, alongside the memories of all the other victims of the Legatus’ ambition. The sound of a popping balloon is genuinely hilarious and yet fitting.

I really have little else to say about Valens. He exists solely as an over the top prop, trying to make Gaius look better by Valens being so awful. He has no personality or goals beyond that. I don’t care my characters never had to sully their hands with him, Alfonse deserved that kill. Good riddance.

The rain falling as father and son say goodbye is again very tropey but works for the scene, so again I don’t mind. It’s evocative and suits the mood as Gaius puts Alfonse out of his torment and removes the memory core to return to Allie.

I just wish we’d had more focus and time to be made to care about Alfonse and his siblings as more than indoctrinated sacrifices for Gaius’ pain and to shoehorn in a traditional redemption for a man who is otherwise taking responsibility for his past errors by cleaning up his messes and aiding the people of Werlyt until he’s needed for 6.0 MSQ. I still fully expect Gaius to be one of the folks who has a hand in rebuilding Garlemald, perhaps returning it to a Republic as imperialism was a Bad Idea. I don’t think this story was necessary to get him there, but luckily it’s optional content.

This story overall isn’t the best redemption arc; not enough time and focus, and it felt like they had the resolution determined but not the means to get there. Also it bears pointing out that aside from Allie, no one, not even the Werlyt Resistance, has necessarily forgiven Gaius for his past actions--nor do they have to, in order for him to change himself and work toward fixing his errors. There’s a lot of folks hung up on that (honestly very Western Christian idea with its tendency to permeate everything about our culture) notion of forgiveness being necessary in a redemption arc, and it’s Not, as was already stated in 4.1 with the Ala Mhigans and Fordola.

I actually think Gaius would agree with most of the criticisms about him. He’s aware of what he’s done--moreso maybe than the writers of this particular storyarc--and that not everyone will accept him, even if his skills in fixing his mistakes are useful. And he’s fine with that, as others’ acceptance and forgiveness isn’t necessary for him to keep working on cleaning up his messes.

So I can buy Gaius’ reactions and motivations, and his anger at Valens--there are aspects of it that are about patriotism, as Gaius hasn’t entirely shaken off his homeland and the indoctrination and what he feels was “right” about it--and am glad the writers/execs did let him have the kill here, and that the climax scene was the genre homage it was meant to be and worked from that angle. It’s just about the only part of this story that did for me.

[itsmaddienotmaddy]

Buckle up bitches, I have a LOT to say.

USA v Brazil

Alyssa had a #1 goalkeeper game. She directed, she came up big, she’s Our keeper. It’s good for us to have games where she’s tested. Yeah, it’s not fun to watch those dangerous chances that could cost us. But Alyssa makes things less scary.

Becky had a phenomenal game. The crosses she denied, her positioning to keep players wide, allllll her headers. Her calming presence is so appreciated and she’s a huge reason the US is successful defensively.

Crystal is world fuckin class. When she came all the way to the other side and SAVED OUR LIVES. I mean. Come on. She was lucky in the sense that Brazil’s game plan was to attack down the left ONLY to expose Abby and Sonnett. She was given a better opportunity to work more offensively, and her and Christen connect beautifully. Her Christen and Lindsey were connecting in just an insane way. The chemistry with those three on the left was perfection. Crystal had some moves that had my jaw on the ground, she’s so smart. And the runs she made to open up passes and crossing opportunities.. when is her master class? I would like to attend.

Okay. Gonna lump Abby and Sonnett together a bit here. I want to start by saying, I don’t think they did BAD. Didn’t do great! But you have to take a step back and examine the situation. All Brazil wanted to do was attack down that side. Who were the two players doing the attacking? MARTA AND DEBINHA. Two absolutely incredible, tricky, LETHAL players. So, did Sonnett and Abby both makes mistakes and get beat a couple times? Yeah. Of course they did. Did they also come up big on other defensive plays? They sure did. Abby recovers very well when she gets beat and she showed that. Sonnett had some good tackles, she WAS cutting off angles on passes and kept some transition plays from happening. She dealt with Brazilian players pressing with some sick moves AND had two beautiful crosses into the box to Lindsey. (And to echo my post during the game, Sonnett and Horan are NOT allowed to try and 1-2 pass out of the back. Dumb dumbs. They ARE allowed to double team players together though. Much more effective.)

Julie. I genuinely couldn’t tell if she was having a terrible game or a great game. There were glimmers of brilliance, perfectly timed defensive tackles, smart movement, good passes. Then she had some bad shots rocketed to the moon, passes to NO ONE, and throwing the ball away out of bounds. Overall, confusing performance from her, but not detrimental.

Rose had herself a GAME. Idk where her prewrap went, her hair was definitely getting in her face. But her movement was incredible. Her defensive work was incredible. It was very clear that Vlatko was asking every single player to work defensively to get numbers in the back. Christen and Lindsey worked with Crystal, Rose and Lynn working to help Sonnett. Okay, back to purely Rose. She was dictating pace, she was doing moves, she was making smart tackles, she was setting up dangerous scoring opportunities. She was in her ELEMENT. She was obviously tired as shit at the end, but it’s because she put in the work. That’s why we have subs.

Lindsey pisses off people on the internet and that’s fine. She is a physical player, a bulldozer. And people don’t love that. But she takes it as much as she gives it. Such is life battling for balls in the middle of the field. This game though. This game. Jesus Christ Lindsey Horan is good at soccer. Her first touch is so smooth, her vision, her work rate to be everywhere on the field, god, her weighted passes! Hello. Did she not have both assists? And she did all of that, for a full ninety. Insanity. She handles defensive pressure so well, pinging passes around, always giving someone an outlet. The fact that she was a defensive savior on many occasions and was involved in both goals... I. How?

Kristie. Loving all the minutes she’s getting. Little lost out there for her short time in, this did not look like a game that was easy to slot into. But, ya know, she didn’t do anything wrong. More minutes for Argentina? Maybe a START?

Lynn. Kind of like Julie, she was either doing amazing things, or a whole lot of nothing. This was not an offensive game for her, which isn’t great for a forward. To her credit, she tracked back defensively very well. But her 1 v 1 offensive challenges, she was getting stuck. When she worked her ass off to get those scoring opportunities, she wasted them. Slowing down in the box was not the move. Unlike Christen who slows with the purpose to cut the ball and unleash a shot, Lynn was slowing down and then didn’t know what to do. It was frustrating to watch and I’m sure it was frustrating for her. That was not the performance she needed to have. But damn, I appreciated the speed trio of her, Alex and Christen. (Though I think I’d rather put Tobin in her place in a starting 11)

Alex had a pretty good game. Her work rate was high and she did what only she has perfected. That woman is EXCELLENT at drawing fouls. She goes hard, she gets her legs tangled up, she spins the right way and she gets herself ROCKED. This canNOT be good for her body, but getting those set pieces for a team that thrives with set pieces.. it’s valuable. I thought she had awesome fluidity switching going wide and staying central with Lynn and Christen. I’m happy with her start and happy with her performance.

Christen Press was out there doing Christen Press things. It’s been hard watching her play at United and not do the incredible things we all know she can do. THIS game?? She sliced and diced that defensive line. Just stupid good on the ball, with accurate passing and movement with Crystal and Lindsey. That side was unstoppable. You could hear Vlatko yelling at her to come back defensively and she did. SO well. She had a lot of important clearances that got us out of the danger zone and back on the attack. And her goal. Oh my god her GOAL. It’s what she does. HAO said it. It’s what she practices over and over so come game time, she makes it look easy. I love her sm.

Carli was not the correct sub choice. Should have been Cat. She literally did not do anything.

Sophia was given opportunity in a tough game. Unfortunately, she didn’t do much with it. She didn’t provide the same defensive work the other players did. Lindsey slid over to cover that job for sure. And her one incredible goal chance, she did the same exact thing that WASNT working for Lynn all game. But, she needs the minutes, she got them, she’s got time to grow.

Pinoe coming in as a SUPER SUB. Which I think is def going to be her role going forward as long as Press stays in form. Initially, she was not exuding super sub energy. She doesn’t love doing the defensive work and it shows, and the announcers called her out for not helping the press when Julie triggered it. But she settled into it. Pinoe is a SMART player and THAT BITCH KNOWS HOW TO SCORE. And she did JUST THAT. Love a good Pinoe goal celebration too.

That’s my two cents on all that. Overall. What a game. My eyeballs were glued to the screen, heart rate skyrocketing. I love this fuckin team.

[lilyrachelcassidy]

Summer Nights (2)

A/N: Is that... is that...? The unbridled enthusiasm I’m hearing? Or are you trying to reach me with torches and pitchforks for being so untrustworthy? Assuming the first option.

Anyway -- Yes, as I promised, this is the second part of the Summer Nights which you would hopefully enjoy. Waiting for your feedback. It’s the INDEX if you need a refresher.

ALSO, I give a lot of credit to @drawlfoy and @bored-and-botheredwho helped me with editing this chapter and steamed off my emotional breakdown related to my writing (lmao). I love you so much gals and a big THANK U once more!!!

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: coarse language; alcohol; Narcissa turning into a shitty-mother (lol)

Tags: @war-sword @paradigmax @winnsmills @idkatee@bforbroadway @okaydraco

The next thing Draco knew, he was being woken up with a massive hangover in the snuggly, way-too-comfortable bed by the high-pitched squeal of his mother.

"You, darling, made a lot of trouble for yourself yesterday," Narcissa admonished her son, a glacial cool look on her face. Entering Draco's hotel apartment, she walked over to the window and opened the drapes with one swift movement, splashing an annoyed Draco with light. He groaned, not yet daring to complain due to his mother's livid mood, to say the least.

"You have no idea of what happened yesterday, do you?"

"Yyy-" was the only sound he could make. God, where to the fuck was he? He hadn't been this plastered in forever.

"Of course you don't." Narcissa shook her head and laughed nervously, although she made it plainly obvious there was nothing humorous about the situation. "You blacked out so hard in that sleazy bar there is no way you can recall anything from yesterday. Look at you -- you are squinting at me like I'm the sun!"

Draco nervously ran his finders through his disheveled hair. He was definitely not in the right mind to provoke the conflict. "I left you the note at the reception," he informed her, trying to slickly get out of the unenviable conversation. "Told the receptionist to hand it over."

Contrary to his mother's accusatory ascertainment, he actually had some glimpses of the previous night (or should he say an all-night rave?). There were for sure drinks -- a lot of drinks; a variety of kinds he didn't recognize from the magical world but still guzzled delightfully. The second recollection was dancing --which wasn't his intention, but with some luck of his -- got invited by some hot-looking chicks from across the table. And yes, he definitely remembers the swaying and the rhythmical moving of the hips along with some cheesy muggle vibes mixed with the smell of booze and weed. Maybe he even hooked up with one of the girls? The last thing he recollects before passing out, almost like through a haze, was seeing Narcissa's furious face screaming something incoherent at him. Overall, that's his all night wrapped in one.

"Do you think the mere note 'I will be fine' was going to calm down my shattered nerves? Draco Lucius Malfoy, I swear to our dear ancestors, I did not raise you to act so irresponsibly." She waved the finger at him warningly. “We come from rich history. You are the descendant from a line of successful forefathers who put their effort into building up our reputation. Do you think Lucius would approve of such unrestrained behavior? I’ve been already hearing of letting you be too careless. Is tha-"

"Mother, could we skip the lecture?" Draco snapped angrily, try as he might to suppress it. "I've heard it too many times. All I’m trying to have is a peaceful life. Without the prying eyes of the media and the meddling of my family..."

"And all I’m trying to have is an integrated, happy family to offer you support and love.” Draco opened his mouth to cut her in, but she shushed him with a wave, clearly suggesting 'Don’t even get me started’ meaning. “I’ve been- been trying  to get a job, going through the infelicitous job interviews and looking for a solution to help our household through the post-war crisis. Have you shown any interest in that? Any?"

"But mo-"

"The last thing I want to have on my mind is dealing with your ignorant, boyish transitional stages, and let me tell you -- you do not make it any easier for me," she said without taking a breath. She exhaled slowly and continued, this time forcing a softer tone. "I ask you one thing for this summer. Let it be an enjoyable time without unnecessary conflicts. We have come to the beautiful country as France. Let's make a good thing out of it."

Draco, who was already wide awake by the buzz of adrenaline, looked at her with a serious expression. Scanning her face made him suddenly realize how hard must it have been for her to bear everything, and seeing the bags of tiredness under her beautiful, hazel eyes stopped him from retorting. "Mother, no matter what happens, I'll always support you. Remember that."

Narcissa smiled. “Oh. I know, honey, I know.” This time she lowered her voice by two octaves, slowly sitting at the edge of the bed. “It’s just… people have been gossiping behind our backs lately, partly throwing the blame at us. All I’m trying to do is protect us from those tormentors. But your binge drinking is not making the deadlock any better, and it drives me mad.” She chortled a little bit and patted Draco’s palm. “So, until the rumors die down, all we can do is raise our chins high.” Narcissa ended, her voice encouraging yet plaintive.

The last thing Draco liked is seeing his mother on the verge of emotional exhaustion, like in this moment. He felt an instant surge of sympathy, so he quickly found himself locking Narcissa in the supportive embrace. She responded to the gesture by wrapping her arms around her son’s neck and stroking his cheek delicately with the back of her hand, just like in the old times. Both of them yearningly wished to come back to those years of frivolity.

"I promise I'll try to be better," Draco said with certainty. Seeing Narcissa’s eyes light up in gratefulness and the smiley dimples form on her features, he assured himself it was the right thing to say at that mother-son moment.

“How could I be so lucky to have such a wise boy,” she muttered proudly, kissing Draco at the top of his head. “But perhaps you should not restrain yourself too much during the holiday. I give you the partial alibi per se. Just keep it under control.”

Smiling, Narcissa got up, straightening up her impeccable posture as in the habit of the high-status woman. For the first time in that day, Draco noticed how elegantly she was dressed up: the black, partly lacy dress stopping at the level of her knees; the shiny-white pearl jewelry perfectly matching her entire outfit; dark yet not defiant high-heels; andhair fixed up in the tight bun. In Draco’s opinion, she looked too prim...even for herself.

"Mother, are you heading somewhere?" he asked curiously.

“Well…” she started, blushing. “I’m going to see my old friend in the coffee shop. I haven’t been there for ages, so it’s one of the chances to meet up with them. Hopefully, you are going to take care of yourself for a few days.” 

"Days?" he asked, shocked.

“You didn’t expect me to travel from town to town, did you?” she laughed lightly. “Bordeaux is quite a route to overcome. So I might be settling there for a few nights. Do you mind it, darling?”

Was he positive about the information? Did he mind? Partly yes. He didn’t imagine the prospect of wandering around the alleys of France on his own, especially on the first day of being there. But from the other side, seeing the joy painted on his mother’s face as she told him about the planned get-together made him feel less skeptical. Plus, getting rid of the extreme supervision for a few days wouldn’t be such a disaster as well.

As he calculated now, the ratio about the idea was 90% pro and 10% against.

"Of course not," he said simply, smiling at his mother.

"I knew you would understand." The crease of uncertainty on her forehead disappeared, and she let out a sigh of relief. "Meanwhile... I have already booked you the brunch downstairs but seeing as you are not in the wholesome state, I might order a delive-"

"Don't..." Draco opposed, rising from the bed and throwing the nearest shirt he could find over his head. "I'll come down. Some fresh air may be a cure for a hangover. Oh, and speaking of hangovers -- do you happen to have an anti-hangover potion?"

Narcissa let out a quiet chuckle and clapped her hands, seemingly satisfied with herself. Her tranquil gaze landed on the cupboard. "As a matter of self-preservation, yes, I do. Try searching inside the bedside cabinet."

He thanked her and then they talked with each other a little bit longer until Narcissa took the pocket watch out of her handy purse, noted the time ("Merlin's Beard, I am so tardy! I'm going to be alone on the platform if I stay here a minute longer!), and –a little startled with her inadvertency – hurriedly declared she should get going ("I really should get going Draco!”). Pecking her son twice on the cheeks as a farewell, she rushed towards the door and, for the last time, turned around to blow a brief motherly goodbye kiss. She left in such a hurry that the only sign indicating her presence in the room a few seconds ago was her familiar perfume lingering about in the air.

Draco gathered his clothes, and after half an hour of very difficult preparations while dealing with the consequences of yesterday's actions -- because the potion finally hits after two to three hours -- he found himself in front of the hotel's restaurant. As he walked in, he had to admit the room enchanted him with its lovely atmosphere, which brought back the memories of his first Hogwart's magical feast as an eleven-year-old boy.

With the large windows allowing plenty of light in, the entire space was in the classical style. The whole floor was clad with marble tiles in the white-like color; the walls were purely white and, apparently, someone must have put a lot of effort not to let a single dust spot appear in there; the ceiling was created in the concept of the sky resemblance making an impression of the real clouds hovering over heads. Three enormous chandeliers made a very good fit with carved wooden tables and similarly-looking chairs.

"Sir, would you like to make an order?" The decently looking waitress walked over to his table, with a white apron around her waist and green, deep eyes staring at him. "I'm Laura, by the way. I'll be serving you today."

He nodded, not really paying much attention to her primitive attempts of having a chit-chat. Cursorily glancing at the menu, he decided on having a french bagel with melted cheese and a coffee which was a specialty of the house as was written in the recommendations. The waitress scribbled something sloppily in her notes, smiled briefly, and then strode away.

The restaurant was almost fully emptied, and the only things heard in the background were a heated discussion of the couple beside the table and a composition of french, old songs prepared specifically for the guests.

Draco let out a small sigh of boredom, thinking yet again about the scenery of today. The only ideas that crossed his mind were either lounging in his stuffy hotel room or finding another hang-out spot to drown his sorrows.

After the War, he had found out it was pretty easier not to give in to any of the memories, blurring them out with the support of Scotch as a coping mechanism. Pansy and Daphne, his childhood friends, had tried to talk him out of it, kindly offering some tenderness and a chance for a conversation. But he had eventually stopped caring about any of that bullshit anymore.

That's why perhaps he'd just--

"Hi!" said a cheerful voice behind him, making him jump slightly at his seat with surprise. At first, he thought it was a mistake; that he must have been deemed as someone else considering he didn't know anyone around, so was in the opposite way. Turning around, however, made him realize it wasn't entirely the truth. "Do you remember me?"

"Hello." Of course, he remembered her. It was the receptionist from the previous day, whose name he didn't bother to memorize. Although he planned on avoiding potential candidates for a talk today, he said truthfully, "Yes, I do. You work here, right?"

"Yeah," she confirmed, smiling. "Can I join?"

For a moment, his sluggish brain did not process what she was asking about, and that made him frown. The girl probably comprehended what it was about because she explained, reading his confused expression. "...the table".

"Oh," he said, feeling more than embarrassed for his dumb reaction. "Yeah, help yourself."

"Thanks," she mumbled, pulling out the chair to make some room for herself. "Tough night, huh?"

The inquiry made him suddenly realize she must have witnessed the whole scene yesterday -- him asking her for a favor, Narcissa drilling her out for any clues about his disappearance, his arrogant attitude, and scurrility as he spoke to her. For sure, if she were smart enough, she would deduce what the situation was about.

He couldn't help it, but a wave of shame pierced through his body, and his stomach rolled slightly.

"A little," he answered minimizing a dimension of the spree, almost like a lie, and then he shook his head. "Listen, sorry about yesterday. I might have been...rude."

A small smile of courtesy formed on her lips. "I presumed you were a little off. Happens..." she said tentatively, gripping both of her hands together. "Oh, and about yesterday -- you lost this at the lobby." She took his wand out, and Draco's stomach made a second roll, the heartbeat hastening like a speed of light. He quickly tried to bring his face to the natural expression, but the girl had noticed that, and curiosity filled her eyes. "I thought I should give that back. In case it was valuable or something."

Fucking great... How was he supposed to elucidate that?

His throat felt so dry he couldn't let out a word of excuse. The moment was so mortifying to him he just reached for the familiar wand and nodded politely in gratefulness.

"Mhm..." Draco hummed, barely audible and momentarily deflated. "It's just... Something I've been training with..."

What the fuck is that supposed to mean, dolt?!

"Oh," the girl unconsciously flipped her hair off the shoulders, probably trying to make sense of the information. Furrowing her brows, she put her hand under the chin. "Are you a magician?"

"Kind of..." he agreed, not happy about the reputation he had just created for himself, but at the same time satisfied he didn't have to make up more explanations.

Luckily for Draco, the uncomfortable pause was rescued by the arrival of the food -- thank Merlin -- and even though he hadn't been hungry at all, now he felt an unexpected appetite to eat up the awkwardness. The girl probably caught a hint it was about time to end an encounter because she grunted.

"Listen," the girl started, clearing her throat yet again. "I better get going. But..."

The next thing Draco knew was that she was reaching to her pocket again, this time taking out something similar to a quill, only without ink. He assumed it must some kind of muggle invention, only a mechanical-like version. The girl uncorked it and suggestively drew out her hand, clearly signifying he should bring his hand closer as well. He obediently did.

"France is a big city," she said, glancing at him and sounding serious. "If you ever needed someone to show you around, let me know."

Without any preamble, her soft, delicate fingers grasped his forearm (he made sure to give her the right one), and with a few scrawls on his skin, she looked at him merrily, blushing slightly, and then left a table.

He stared after her for a while, looking at her curls bouncing behind her back as she walked away at a slow, monotonic pace. After a few seconds, she disappeared out of his sight, letting him finally peek at the note she had left:

'Call me, Y/N,' and a nine-digit number attached.

XOXOXO

A/N: I know this part might have contained too little Draco x Reader momento, but I promise it’ll get better as a plot develops. Also -- is it only my impression, or is Narcissa as changeable as the weather in Germany lol.