#coming back late to this one to add the directors commentary

[lupato]

[ID: a digital drawing of Sudo Kirihiko and Fuuto-kun from W in a chibi style walking on a white background. Kirihiko is leading, holding Fuuto-kun's hand and smiling, and they are both looking at each other. three small hearts float around them and red text above says "[heart] Fuuto-kun!" the colours are pastel with blue lines. /END ID]

[candlelightreader]

I was just listening to the DVD commentary on the Snakes episode and I know Grissom and Sara's scene (the only scene they're present in this Nick-centric ep) is big--obviously shipper nirvana--but the commentary by George Eads and the rest (I think one of the writers and either a director or producer) added so much weight that I'd never considered before!

So, Eads remarks on how Sara is the only one who ever talks to Grissom that way. This is, as she really dials up the husky, soft voice she adopts with Grissom. Eads also observes that Grissom is always himself with her, i.e. more of a nerd and rather stripped bare in a way he never is with anyone else. They all make comments on how emotional the scene is and how revealing it is of their relationship because, as always, Sara is 'putting it [her attraction and ongoing interest] out there'. She is never shy about wanting him. (I really need to transcribe the commentaries.)

But Eads keeps coming back to the idea that Grissom is more Grissom or is more himself with her than with any of the others. I'd add that it is not only the fact of their professional position that makes him freeze with her--I think Grissom is talking about himself when he asserts that some men are intimidated by beauty.

You know what magic, Grissom!

Anyways, something I hadn't thought of is that Grissom almost says something back, such as "Let’s go to dinner." But, of course, Sara overtalks and halts his momentum such as it were. But even more, it made me realize how pivotal this scene is, even compared to the Nesting Dolls reveal of her childhood trauma, because this is the moment when Grissom knows 100% that he isn't too late. The flirting takes on a different dimension after this. The looks become more meaningful.

This is especially significant when you consider that ealier in the season, the writers and producers are talking about the explicit intro of Sofia as a romantic interest for Grissom. She was there to create tension and her chemistry with Grissom was very much not subtext. So the decision to make 'this thing' with Sara more solid in the presence of this new love interest adds to the dynamic more than ever. Because the chemistry with Sofia is too easy and too simple. He's too smooth with her. He knows what to say to her at a given moment, because he has no interest in Sofia romantically and doesn't feel threatened by her. She really is just a colleague he doesn't hate. Ultimately, Sofia doesn't leave him speechless the way Sara does. He is not 'himself' when he is with her. Sara, on the other hand, always renders him vulnerable, which of course is why he distanced himself from her in season three, as he realized in four.

And we can see how Sara's effect on him is unique when looking at his other love interests: he does have speechless moments with Terri but by the end, no so much--perhaps there is a sense that while he is attracted intellectually, and somewhat sexually, there is no sentiment after all. With Heather, he never is at a loss for words, which leaves me to lean towards the notion that he was indeed never involved with her romantically--but, perhaps, it is her who makes him discover that sex without love makes him sad whether through conversation or more... In other words, grissom is typically putting on an air with other people. He's fully insulated against them and can act out the persona of an assured, curated Grissom, the bossman, the tin man, the nerd, the professor, the mentor, the father figure, etc.

But with Sara, he is exposed.

[loveinhawkins]

oooo, honestly any of Wayne's thoughts in nbtdad you want to share will be treasured like gold!

oh Wayne! ��️

i really wanted to get across that both Eddie & Wayne are used to slotting their lives in around each other—that they are so close, but recent circumstances have meant that there’s been some distance between them, passing like ships in the night with Eddie at school & Wayne working nights at the plant.

it’s also my headcanon in general that Eddie was meant to stay up late on that Friday night Chrissy died & watch T.V or a movie or something with Wayne to celebrate the start of Spring Break, just to add to the tragedy of it all 💔

After their first meeting in the hospital, Wayne also finds it ‘one of the hardest things in the world, to walk away.’ but even though he doesn’t have the full story at that point, he’s very intuitive, especially when it comes to reading Eddie, knows that even though all he wants is to hold onto his nephew that, for now, he has to let him go.

Eddie pushes himself off the bed. Wayne watches him with interest, eyebrows raising when he grabs the acoustic guitar. “You need that for the hospital?” “Mhm.” He’s put on his jacket, ready to leave, when he catches Wayne still looking at him. “What?” “You always lose your words when you’re hiding something,” Wayne says mildly enough, but Eddie can still hear the worry underneath.

at first Wayne believes that Eddie’s simply bringing his guitar because Steve might sense music being played while he’s in a coma, without of course knowing that Eddie’s trying to save Steve’s life. It’s only when Eddie doesn’t really say anything that Wayne starts getting suspicious and concerned. there’s also a hint of backstory with Wayne saying, “You always lose your words when you’re hiding something,”—tbh i think my headcanon is that Eddie’s grown accustomed to just being upfront with Wayne whenever he’s failing at school, stuff like that & ‘losing his words’ refers to years ago; the implication being that Eddie kept how bad his home life was with his dad secret before moving to live with Wayne.

As for Steve, with Wayne eventually knowing the full story with The Upside Down, his main thought about him is just that he’s been through a clearly traumatic event. I don’t think Wayne really catches onto Eddie’s growing feelings for Steve & their closeness until Eddie’s staying at Steve’s house & Wayne over hears their conversation, particularly how Eddie teases Steve.

“You’ve got a call,” Steve says around a mouthful of cereal, when Eddie heads back downstairs after a shower. “Ooh, I’ve got a call,” he says smirking, “you sound like a secretary.” And that’s how he finds out that Steve had just left the phone dangling so that whoever’s on the other end can listen in on everything. Because when he picks it up with a, “Hello?”, he hears— “Turn my back for one minute, and you’ve got a secretary,” Wayne says, amused. “Ain’t you going up in the world?” “S’the company I’m keeping, Wayne.”

And Wayne & Steve may meet properly in the future ❤️

fic director’s commentary ask game

[thus-spoke-lo]

I got tagged by @blondeboyfriend in an author self-rec game and i feel so weird about promoting myself (hell, i do like one srb and feel like i've done something wrong sometimes lmao) BUT...here are my five favorite things I've written, with director's commentary.

Pain Management (Trafalgar Law x reader, 18+): I'd written stuff before that was personal to me in ways, but never like this. This was therapy, lol. It was the longest I've spent writing for one character in particular (if you add up my one-shorts, drabbles, and this, I've easily spent 50-60k words on Law), and I feel like it gave me a better understanding of how to write him, but also a better appreciation of him in canon, weirdly? Also just has some of my favorite smut I've churned out (the supply closet in Ch. 6...sigh).

A Ride for a Ride (Roronoa Zoro x reader, 18+)/Compliments to the Chef (Sanji x reader, 18+): I'm smooshing these together since they're for the same collab, and damn were these so stupid and fun to write--like, I have yet to have more fun writing than when I write for @/bastardblvd's collabs and prompts. I usually adhere to canon AU, so to go SO far out of canon that I'm not even in like, modern AU, but in Slimeball Canon-verse...was incredible. (Also, that scene with Sanji and the cigarette...god that was hot to write.)

The Taste of Love on Your Tongue (Sanji x reader, SFW): I adore the melancholy vibe of this so much. I wrote this after spending a week across the country with my parents, playing caretaker for my mom and getting the house ready for my dad, who had hip surgery and was going to be coming home from hospice shortly after I left. It was late, my plane was delayed, and I desperately wanted someone to comfort me, so I wrote this.

Like Alcohol Vapors (Roronoa Zoro x reader, SFW): Aw, baby's first angsty fic! I really liked the feelings of yearning in this, it feels visceral to me--I feel that ache from both of them. And it was, I think, some of the better back-and-forth dialogue I've done, too.

Meant to Be Yours (Doflamingo x reader, 18+): This was the first fic I went fully feral in writing--I started it during my work day, on my phone in the notes app, then stayed up until 6 am writing/editing because I had such an itch I needed to scratch. I'd written dub-con, but not...extremely dub-con before, so this was interesting to try to keep sexy and from being a little too non-con adjacent. Also the beginning of my descent into Doflamingo madness, so there's that.

No-pressure tags: @sanjis-all-blue, @quinloki, @downforsanji, @swampstew, and literally anyone and everyone, this is a fun reminder of how good at stuff you can be.

[kyberinfinitygems]

⭐️ for some directors commentary on a section of your choosing from Soundbite?

So sorry this is late, but I wanted to do another round of this! I'm going to go with Hope's speech in the epilogue, because it's one of my favorite scenes and I think it just adds so much payoff to our main five.

“First of all, I would like to thank my mother, Janet van Dyne, without the knowledge they passed onto me, I would not be here today. To my father, Dr. Hank Pym, who truly started this company and whose research changed the world.” Hank and Janet stood up together as the audience applauded them. He smiled a little, knowing that his work and his legacy were in good hands. Janet looked at Hope with as much pride as possible, her daughter grew up to be a strong, intelligent, and selfless woman. 

After all of the years apart with Janet away, the Blip, and having to face losing everything because of Daniel, they finally get to be a family again and Hope gets to live her dream of carrying on their work. It's a pretty sweet moment for all of them, and kind of ties into what she's up to in Quantumania since I wanted to be (mostly) canon-compliant at the time of writing.

“And to my partner, Scott Lang, who inspires me every day to dream for a brighter future and to remember what is worth fighting for.” The applause grew as Scott stood up and waved, with many people in the audience knowing him better for his heroics and the part he played in the Blip. Hope took a small moment of silence, then looked back up into the audience.

One of my favorite couples in the MCU, they're just so supportive of each other and the whole relationship is just full of love and trust. Scott kind of enjoys a little time in the spotlight now that he's a full-blown Avenger, so he waves to the crowd. But of course, he still knows it's Hope's night.

“I would also like to mention that on this day, one year ago, the world was brought back to life thanks to the Avengers and the sacrifices of Tony Stark and Natasha Romanoff, so tonight we honor them. Without them, none of this would be possible.” Lucille looked over at Bruce who kept his attention on Hope as he attempted to hide his injured arm and ignore the hundreds of stares he was receiving.  His eyes met hers for a moment, and she gave him a comforting smile, knowing that he was also the one to thank. Bruce looked back at her and smiled back. 

According to the timeline, Bruce is on his island helping Jen on October 17, but I wanted this moment to happen. If the films aren't going to acknowledge Natasha's sacrifice, then I will.

I made the (maybe canon?) decision for no one to know Bruce was the one to bring everyone back, it felt like it would be something he would do, stay away from the attention and give it to the friends he lost. He wouldn't like the status of being half the universe's resurrector.

Lucille is apart from him for her own reasons, but they're still close friends and she wants to look out for him. There's just a silent moment of knowing and comfort between them.

A moment of silence was given, and Hope continued on. Lucille could feel what was coming, and Kurt held her hand.  “There is a history to this space, and a lesson in the choices we can make with our strengths. Daniel Bergman built this foundation, LINK, as a means to seize power and use scientific innovation to hurt and control people. But there was someone brave enough to speak out against it.”

Kurt being there for her with that hand hold, a subtle way of telling her he's there to support her through this. They know each other so well. 🥺

There will be no requiem for Daniel Bergman, and his legacy is just all of the horrible things he did and the people he hurt. I thought it would be poetic to have LINK be rebuilt into the Pym van Dyne Foundation, and goes with Lucille when it comes to something bad being repurposed into good.

It became public knowledge soon after Daniel’s death that a former employee of LINK exposed his crimes, but there were no specifics and it eventually faded into mystery.  As hard as they tried, they couldn’t completely hide the truth, but it was enough to protect Lucille and give her the normal life she deserved after her ordeal. Or at least, something close to normal.

I struggled with the decision to keep Lucille's identity a secret or not, there were a lot of upsides and downsides. Ultimately, I decided to keep what she did hidden from the public for now, she's been through enough. It's a bit of a balance between her being able to forget and her life being changed forever.

[sunbeamedskies]

Heretic/Writer's Guilt

I had my first ever movie-going experience in a foreign country!!

Ever since the trailer first came out, I knew I wanted to see Heretic really badly. Hugh Grant as the villain? Commentary about spirituality/religion? A24? Sign me the fuck up!

It felt especially fitting to have my first cinematic experience in England be a movie starring Hugh Grant. He is such a legendary British actor, as well as one of the primary reasons American women romanticize British men

This post will contain no spoilers. I will make a part two with spoilers later

There have been moments here and there where I truly remember I am in England and my mind gets blown again. Going to a movie theater and seeing only British ads before the trailers start, coupled with seeing the British-style release dates (day-month-year) which follow every trailer, was one of those moments

Though I had a great time overall, I felt a slight dulling of emotions that used to happen a lot whenever I went out to see movies. It stems from a sadness caused by not writing enough- a variant of writer’s guilt. Lately I’ve been writing some, but have started to feel a bit bad because I’m still not writing regularly enough. Writing novels has been a goal of mine since I was little, and it is the most realistic path for me to someday write movies and shows

Unfortunately these days, it seems like screenplays rarely get made unless you’re already a famous actor or director. Even if a fledgling screenwriter is successful in getting a film made, it’s rare for others of theirs to get picked up often enough to have a steady career. I went back and forth in my head for years wondering if I should pursue being a novelist or screenwriter first. They were both equal dreams of mine, yet I wasn’t trying to actively achieve either. I had written books before (bad ones I wrote as a teenager- but hey! Still full books) and had no experience writing screenplays. I tried writing a couple, but it always felt a bit awkward to not write as many words as I do when writing stories. One day though, something hit me- I noticed that popular authors constantly had their novels adapted into shows and movies, and some were even allowed to write the screenplays for them. I had a lightbulb moment- this is how I can best achieve my dream! Ever since then, my focus has been on novels

I thought my longest partially-written screenplay was 40-50 pages, but I just looked it up and it’s 79! That’s one thing about writer’s guilt- oftentimes writers who are sad they haven’t written on a regular basis in a while have actually done more than they think they have. They write little pieces here and there which add up, forget they spent a few days writing a lot, etc. This screenplay is one I will alter a lot if I ever complete it. It’s nostalgic to read parts of it, though I haven’t read it in full yet. I’ll share a piece of it below, but be warned- this might be too cerebral/highbrow for some of you:

JANINE

(ecstatically)

No way! 3d porn?!  We have to watch it NOW!

CUT TO: 

Janine and Tom are sitting on the couch with 3D glasses on, excitedly watching the movie.  They’re sharing a bowl of popcorn.  There are moaning noises coming from the TV.

JANINE

He’s about to get a boner!

TOM

Watch out!

They both duck in unison.

TOM

Woo! That was a close one. 

JANINE

I never knew dodging boners could be so thrilling!

TOM

I think he’s about to blow!

They both dodge in unison.

I know, I know. There are too many metaphors about politics/climate change/the philosophical landscape of 1600’s Italy to count. I’m sorry if your feeble minds can’t comprehend it all

In all seriousness, this was going to be a silly, raunchy, Judd Apatow-esque romcom. Honestly, I really might rewrite it to be a genre-bender of some kind someday- who knows? There was about a decade where I barely wrote, but re-reading stuff like this reminds me I did write every rare once in a while. I wrote a whole 100,000 word book recently which failed to get me a literary agent, but I now recognize its flaws and plan to edit it heavily soon. It’s also a big turn off for agents to see a 100,000 word non-fantasy book by a potential debut author, so that hurt my odds from the start. But my latest novel is almost done, there are six or seven other novels I’ve written parts of, plus countless other ideas floating around my head. I need to do a better job of reminding myself about how far I’ve come instead of focusing on the negative

I wrote the above scene years ago before the rise of VR porn, by the way. Maybe it’s a sign I really am ahead of my time

Love,

J

[nicoleanell]

final part of commentary stuff:

No comment on the centipede-snorting because they're busy talking about Teddy's tattoos. There were a lot of details in the tattoo design and references to New Orleans.

A real ass actor had to lay in a fancy coffin as Teddy Lobo's dad, Bellafrancesca's husband, for like five days straight and they never had a shot of it in focus lmao. Also they point out how funny it is that they can bring people back to life with Dracula blood but nobody bothered using it on him.

Because the Lobo gang all have familiar powers now, the sound effect for punches had to sound different from normal punches.

Rebecca's PARTNER was the originally in the climax pushing out Kate's body. Because they cut him out of the scene "he never has his comeuppance, he's just somewhere out there in the world, having gotten away with it." Producer Samantha adds: "Motorboating his wife."

Not gonna recap the discussion of Teddy's internal-punch death, just that some very weird convos needed to be had about exactly how gross it was gonna be.

Renfield with his "Wolverine-style fang hands" after he pulls Dracula's teeth out, heh.

Fully cutting back to Mark and the CODA group when Renfield has his inner power moment was a late addition, I think it was even the writer saying he didn't know about that until watching it now. Came from director Chris McKay feeling very strongly about it. (cough Some people use subtext and they're all cowards . gif but whatever I love it too.)

LMAO Cocaine Bear shout-out. "Now I thought this movie was going to be THE cocaine movie of Universal's release schedule… and somehow… we got upstaged."

The Protection Circle involved a ring of LED lights and they painted out the wires. They added the flames and stuff with CGI but the light source was actually there (pretty) and worked better in that scene than in the opening.

Again shouting out @pinkiepiebones because they praise the song choice over the Murder Besties moment although none of them know what it is. It's not Willie Nelson but sounds like it.

CAGE CAME UP WITH HAIL SATAN AND PUT IT IN AN EMAIL lmao. (And you know, that whole line which was an absolutely baller set of final words.) I knew this already but it's still funny. When he saw it apparently he was like "I can't believe they let me keep Hail Satan."

They don't bring up the dance sequence until very late in the commentary when someone accidentallly mentions dancing and there's like an "oh mannn" moment all around. Hot producer take: watching the whole movie back, "emotionally it didn't track in a way that felt holistic to the film." (And is also maybe treading the same ground as the makeover scene?) Even though the sequence is great on its own, and Hoult is a good dancer, he's good at everything, etc.

During the very last group scene: "We had a dance scene here too that we tried." (WHAT?) And something showing Rebecca's partner and fuck-you-Kyle in jail.

Final thoughts: "EVERYONE DID A GREAT JOB." Lol these people are so Me.

This got mentioned here and there during the commentary but a lot of the stuff over the credits are bits that got cut from the movie - the dance sequence, the too-violent Bob death, a guy's hand coming off in the SWAT team fight - and other things like the different shots of Dracula are from screen/camera tests. In the one shot where he's, like, creepily lurching toward the camera, you can see Renfield crawling around in the background like a puppy and now I've seen that you have to also.

There was a cut bit of Robert/Rebecca dialogue at the end (or it might be what they're discussing that we can't hear) where she's amped to find more monsters to fight (Frankenstein etc.) and Renfield is like… unaware of any of those existing or being real. Which was basically a funny subversion like no, we are NOT doing sequel bait, we are not part of a Dark Cinematic Universe in the slightest.

"BUT GUYS, IF YOU DO WANT A SEQUEL TO RENFIELD, START EMAILING THIS GUY PETER KRAMER AND LET HIM KNOW."

FYI not two minutes into the "Renfield" DVD commentary someone asked what inspired the codependent support group stuff and the screenwriter dead responded "Living it. Life." I love this silly movie to the ends of the earth y'all.

[possiblyimbiassed]

The lying liars who lie

Years and years late to the party, I’ve finally gotten my hands on all the DVDs of BBC Sherlock, and I thought it would be fun to watch the extra material carefully, one piece after another, and also listen to at least some of the show makers’ commentary of the episodes. But at this point, after S4 where DVDs seemed to be a constant lying device in general, I tend to look at them with a bit more suspicious eyes...

I still love the show of course, but now that I’ve taken this deep dive into all the special features, I find them a truly hard thing to try to wrap my head around. Even this long after the fact, I’m amazed by the amount of shameless, self-congratulatory BS in the DVDs, where the people involved can’t have enough of complimenting each other and their show, while they skillfully avoid to discuss anything actually meaningful about the plot line. ;) For example, Moffat claims in the S2 DVD that “In fact, you’ll never see a more obsessively authentic version of Sherlock Holmes than this one”. But if we follow their light-hearted commentary, which basically takes the show at face value, I’d call that not just hyperbole, but an outright lie. If you want to see the ‘authentic’ stories from ACD’s work in this show, you’ll definitely need to go much deeper into the subtext and meta levels - neither of which are mentioned on these DVDs of course. Here’s my own (rather subjective) ‘review’ of the whole thing, trying to pinpoint why I view most of the commentary of the show from its own makers as an advanced art of deception. 

(My musings under the cut)

Series 1 - a wealth of extra material

First of all - as many of you probably knew already - the whole of the Unaired Pilot is added to the DVD of S1. In the extra material about the making of the series, they (Sue Vertue, Mofftiss and others) talk about what things they changed between the Pilot and ASiP, claiming that many changes were necessary improvements once they knew that they had a whole series and a lot more time at their disposal. 

Which I can perfectly understand and agree with in general. But I think what’s missing in their discussions is more interesting than what’s actually there (”Mind the gap” ;) ). Things that I would expect from the show makers when they go to the trouble of comparing the pilot version with the aired product. There’s not a word, for example, about the fact that they added both Mycroft and Moriarty to the story in ASiP - two characters who later turn out to play major roles and appear in almost every other episode until the end of TFP. Or about the choice that one of the screenwriters would play Mycroft. 

Neither do they discuss why they chose to relocate the place where Sherlock was challenged by the cabbie from 221B to Roland Kerr’s School of Further Education. Instead they focus on the details, like for example the new design of the interior of 221B.

Not to mention the fact that almost every scene in the Pilot is mirrored in ASiP (as pointed out long ago by @kateis-cakeis X), but at Angelo’s in the Pilot Sherlock follows the events with the cabbie while looking in an actual mirror. I even noticed that in the Pilot the cabbie is offering Sherlock dark-coloured bottles with the pills in them, while in ASiP those bottles are transparent, as if the cabbie is offering Sherlock to play Black or White in the chess game that he is simulating. What’s with all these mirrors, though? Not a word on the DVD... ;)

Now, even though these rather remarkable choices are neglected together with a great bunch of minor ones, I still think that the most interesting fact about all this is that they actually included the whole pilot version within this DVD, which is sold by the franchise. Why even do this, when it raises far more questions than it answers? The only logical reason I can come up with is that they’re laying out a track of little hints that anyone with a deep enough interest in the show to actually buy the DVDs can try to follow. And it seems to me that lying by omission is one of the first steps in the long line of cryptic and misleading author comments on this show. But at the same time, they clearly want the fans to have access to it all, even the abandoned version.

Moving on to Series 2, time for bigger lies 

In the extra material of this DVD Benedict himself describes how his character "faces one of his deadliest enemies in the shape of Love, and it comes in the form of Irene Adler, who is this extraordinary dominatrix [insert here a bunch of superlatives regarding Adler]...”. And then we see how Adler whips Sherlock with a riding crop (without any kind of consent, I have to add) while he’s lying on the floor, and we have Lara Pulver telling us how it was to have a go at Benedict on set. So Holmes whips dead bodies and Adler whips living; seems like a match made in hell! :))

Gatiss claims, grinning with his whole face, that “they’re clearly, absolutely made for each other”. OK, so I think we can see Sherlock being intellectually impressed by Adler, and even trying to protect her from Mycroft, and we can see John acting jealously. We can also see her being dressed and styled as a perfect, female mirror of Sherlock. But I’m still at a loss what all this has to do with love on Sherlock’s part? Especially since he’s not even responding in any fashion to her various attempts at seducing him. 

And there’s more: Paul McGuigan, the director of ASiB, claims that the scene where Sherlock has a conversation with Adler inside his Mind Palace about the crime case with the car that backfires "is a part of a kind of love story, if you like...” No, I don’t. Maybe it’s just me, but if their aim really was to convey to their audience a love story between Sherlock and The Woman, I think they failed miserably. All I see is a guy ’mansplaining’ to a clever woman how to use her brain, while she’s trying to flirt with him by expressing her admiration (to no avail, though) and make deductions at the same time. Nothing new under the sun, really. John did the same thing repeatedly in ASiP (without making own deductions) and got far more attention from Sherlock, but I’ve never heard any of the show makers call that ”a love story”. But by ’lie-splaining’ the scene with Irene to the audience, they try to manipulate us all to see it as such...

In all the direct commentary of this episode, where Steven, Mark, Sue, Benedict and Lara are present, I get the impression that every time they even touch on the relationship between Sherlock and John, they hurry to add the term “friendship” or “man love” or similar words in case they forgot them at first, avoiding even the tiniest possibility that there could be anything more going on between them. They even explain that when Irene calls them “a couple” she does not mean anything romantic. This whole approach feels almost paranoic in the midst of all the laid-back jokes and light-hearted talk about the filming. It’s as if a sort of restrictive, heteronormative filter or blanket is being constantly applied, to teach the audience the ‘no homo’ lesson of it all. And the more I listen to this, the more tiresome it becomes.

In the commentary Moffat does reveal an interesting detail, though: that the ‘Flight of the Dead’ in ASiB was inspired by a cut out scene in the Bond movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service. To me this is just one more reason to question the ‘authentic’ quality of this scene, as opposed to possibly taking place in Sherlock’s Mind Palace. But I digress... 

Listening to the commentary in general, it’s like it’s aimed to distract the attention from what’s going on at the screen rather than highlight it and try to explain their intentions. They do mention that Irene didn’t actually ‘beat’ Sherlock in the end of ASiB, but there’s no explanation of this obvious deviation from canon, where Adler does indeed fool Holmes, taking advantage of his prejudices.

The rest of the extra material of S2 is mostly about technical stuff, special effects and such, and also about filming techniques and Benedict’s delivery of fast deductions. But the part I really do love is the one where Andrew Scott talks about how much he enjoyed playing the scene where Moriarty dances before breaking into the Crown Jewels. That’s one of my favorite scenes of he whole show. :) Also, the takeaway message from this DVD is Moffat’s words at the end: 

“These are still the formative years of Sherlock Holmes, and the most important thing about this series is not that it’s updated; it’s the fact that those two men are still young and they’re still at the beginning of what they don’t yet know is gonna be a lifelong partnership”. 

And then comes Series 3... 

...and its extra material, with the most blatant attempts at deception so far, I believe. At this point Sherlock is called a “psychopath” by both the show’s characters, John’s blog, Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as if it were true, which is a big deviation from ACD canon. That simply doesn’t happen there; while Holmes is sometimes described as eccentric, no one in the books is ever claiming that Sherlock Holmes has some kind of mental illness leaning towards cruelty and egotism - not even his enemies say this about him. In the show, however, they begin in ASiP with making him torture a dying man for information (something that is not included in the Pilot). And in S3, where they avoid discussing the reason why they turned Mary Morstan into a ruthless assassin, this major shift is glossed over by the fact that in the same episode (HLV) they also turn Sherlock into a murderer, who cold-bloodedly blows the brains out of a blackmailer for threatening to make said assassin’s crimes public. 

But without ever getting into the “why” of it all, the cast and crew seem overly happy and smiling describing these rather morbid choices as something positive; “fantastic”, "fresh and new” and "amazing” are their choice of words. Benedict claims that Mary, who has literally shot and almost killed Sherlock in HLV, is now "a new best friend of Sherlock’s”. Amanda claims that Mary “is protecting John” when she shoots Sherlock in the chest. Now they’re both psychopaths, and poor little John is forced to stomach them both because he’s addicted to danger. In Amanda’s words, Mary also “kind of gets in between the two of them, but she wants them to be together as well”.  Which is a load of BS considering that Mary tries to kill the protagonist of the story.

Lars Mikkelsen thinks it’s “such a good script” because “you’re mislead as an audience”. But he never gets the chance to expand on what the misleading actually contains, because then Mofftiss cut in to express how much they love playing with “what ifs”. As if this whole mega-budget project of a show were just a big experimental playground without any actual story to tell. 

Benedict repeats his line from HLV that Magnussen “preys on people who are different” and Moffat also says he “exploits people who are different”. Which is really confusing, considering what we can see Magnussen actually do in the show. Lady Smallwood and John Garvie are two well-established, powerful governmental politicians whom Magnussen blackmails by finding their respective pressure points. In Garvie’s case his pressure point seems to be alcohol problems in his past, but according to media he’s later arrested on charges of corruption. Lady Smallwood is blackmailed on the basis of her husband having sent compromising letters to a minor many years ago, in spite of later claiming that he thought she was older and stopped when he found out the truth. And then Magnussen is blackmailing an assassin who recently threatened to execute him but shot Sherlock Holmes instead, in order to try to get at Sherlock’s brother Mycroft, another powerful governmental figure. 

But what does media seeking out dirt on certain people in power and their families have to do with “people who are different”? Despicable as the method may be, isn’t this unfortunately how political power play usually works in our society? Or are TPTB somehow a repressed minority group now? Unless this whole “people who are different” accusation is actually about something entirely different, something that none of the show makers even cares to mention... ;)

In these DVDs, none of the involved persons is ever discussing the change of roles with regards to canon, though, or the (lack of) logics in this turn of events, or even a hint about the narrative motivation behind them. It’s all about the great Drama, the extraordinary visual effects and the aim to endlessly “surprise the audience”. Which is fine by me to a certain extent, but when this is all that’s being said, it feels extremely superficial, as if the audience is merely seen as a bunch of consumers that have to be triggered more and more by horror, special effects and cliff hangers to be able to appreciate the show. (“Warm paste” indeed, like Gatiss has later criticized some viewers of wanting...) While the "why”; the idea behind this surrealistic adaptation, made by self-proclaimed fanboys of ACD, is not even touched upon. Around this, the silence is total and therefore totally confusing.

Maybe I shouldn’t even go into Series 4...

...but why not, since I’ve already started? :) 

First of all, there’s a lot of extra material on this DVD and I particularly love the parts about the music and composing and Arwel Wyn Jones’ work with the design and build-up of John’s and Mary’s flat and the interior of 221B. Those bits are truly enjoyable. What I could live without, though, is the leading commentary that kind of instructs us, the audience, how we should interpret the show. 

Benedict is on it again on this DVD, telling us that in TST they picked up where they left off in S3 and “It’s a very happy unit of three people that then become four.” Why does he feel the need to make this statement, considering how S3 ended? Actually, if there’s anything I totally fail to see in S4, it’s happiness. The banter between the three  of them may seem entertaining for a while, but who could have a relaxed, warm relationship with someone who tried and almost succeeded to kill you less than a year ago? Without any sign of remorse? Now there’s a dark tone of discomfort and mean jokes that feels forced and not even a bit happy to me. 

But Martin tells us how excited John and Mary are about starting a family and Amanda mentions how much they’re looking forward to the baby. Again and again it’s repeated, as though trying to rub it in: “they’re in a good place, they’re a loving, married couple”. Yeah, right - a child that (judging by TSoT) wasn’t at all planned and now with an assassin for a mother... Twice we see the new parents complain that their daughter has the mark of Satan on her forehead and debate which horror movie she’s from. The clichéd hypocrisy of it all is sickening, and I’m willing to bet that it’s really meant to be. ;) 

But Gatiss chimes in, deciding for us all that the christening of Rosie is “a funny scene” and “they’re enjoying each other, enjoying being on adventures as a three”.

An interesting detail is that Gatiss also tells us that the working name of this episode was “The Adventure of the Melting power Ranger”. So this little blue guy was that important? :) And - even more interesting - is when he says: “Cake is now the code for violent death”. So how should we interpret Sherlock, John and Molly going out to have cake in TLD then, on Sherlock’s (supposed) birthday? 

These might be jokes, though, but when they tell us that Sue cries every time she sees Mary’s death I strongly believe they must be joking. How could anyone feel truly moved by this overly sentimental long monologue where far more efforts are put into reacting to Mary’s speech than saving her life? And John’s mooing like a cow, is that also moving? :)

One thing Martin says about TLD that actually disgusts me is regarding the morgue scene where John assaults Sherlock and Sherlock lets it happen: “From there, really, their relationship can only sort of rebuild, that’s the absolute worst it can get”. As if outright physical abuse would be something that makes you want to rebuild a relationship? Wow - just wow... How far can they go with this crap?

Anyway, when we finally arrive at the absurdity of TFP and Sherlock’s ‘secret sister’, everything is of course discussed as if she actually does exist on the given premises, and everything she does is ‘real’, no matter how impossible it would be in real life. The abandonment of any attempt to have the story line make logical sense is skillfully covered up by more distraction with fascinating technicalities of the film making process. This is where Gatiss makes his now almost classic statement that after Sherlock and John jump out of the window at 221B when a grenade explodes there, it’s just “Boop! And they’re fine.” 

Of course there’s no serious attempt at explaining this logically. Except perhaps Gatiss claiming that they both landed on Speedy’s awning - whatever good that would do to them, since the awning is leaning downwards, but never mind... But we never even saw that happen, did we? A great deal of time is then dedicated to show all the precautions to have Martin and Ben jumping safely at low level onto a madras supported by empty cardboard boxes.

Sian Brooke did say something interesting about Sherrinford, however, that got me thinking. She said that Eurus “wants revenge for the years and years that she has been held captive” there, isolated, and that in TFP the Holmes children are now “lab rats” and “it’s an experiment”. On a meta level, I think we can indeed see this episode - and maybe the whole show - as a kind of experiment, but maybe we, the audience, are also lab rats? Since Sherrinford is slightly shaped like a film camera (not commented in the extra material, of course), it leads my thought to all the adaptations through the years and years where Holmes and Watson have not been allowed to be together. A whole century when Sherlock Holmes has been held captive, restricted by the very same sort of heteronormative filter that all this extra material imposes; it’s like Sherrinford, isn’t it? Which gives all the more meaning to Moriarty’s arrival to the island, accompanied by Freddy Mercury’s “I want to break free”...

I think I’ll let the final words in this little exposé come from Mark Gatiss in The Writers’ Chat (my bolding):

“Moriarty is a fascinating thing in that in our sea of ongoing lies, one thing we’ve genuinely been completely consistent about is telling people he’s dead. But no-one believes it! And it’s a rather brilliant thing.”  Again - self-congratulatory statements. But instead of providing some actual evidence of the death of this character, who has kept popping up in almost every episode since his supposed demise, they think that the more a confirmed liar repeats something, the truer it gets? And the more we’re supposed to believe them? Well, all we can do is wait and see. :)

Tagging some people who might be interested: 

@raggedyblue​ @ebaeschnbliah​ @sarahthecoat​ @gosherlocked​ @lukessense​ @sagestreet​ @thepersianslipper​

My earlier meta on a similar topic (X)

[mariana-oconnor]

I'm a little late, but if you're still doing director's commentaries, could you please do one for The Highwayman's Baronet or the Trouble With Roommates series?

Thanks!

I am!

The Highwayman's Baronet is possibly my favourite fic that I've written for Marvel. I just love it so much. The regency-esque setting was just totally out of my comfort zone... I bought myself a handful of regency romance ebooks to try and get into the vibe and none of them hit right. So I went to Jane Austen instead, who is a lot more the vibe I was going for. I also rewatched Sharpe.

I love Nomad Steve. I had just read the comic series where he gets all sad and cries in a dark room while hugging the flag. And his level of drama in those comics is just... *chef's kiss* And then I rewatched Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves for the eleven millionth time and there's a scene in that film (probably my favourite film of all time) where Robin is robbing a noble woman and he says "A woman of your beauty has no need of such trinkets" and kisses her hand and my brain went 'yes. YES. This is the level of drama Steve has. THIS, but with STONY.'

The opening scene was the first thing I wrote, over two years before I actually published it on AO3. I had this feeling of complete and utter melancholy that I wanted in that opening scene. I just wanted Steve to be totally lost and alone and grieving

I had a lot of trouble with this fic. I wrote 14k of it, then stopped for a year. Wrote another 15k, stopped for another year, then I saw the post for the cap-ironman big bang and decided 'you know what, fuck it. Let's go back to that Regency highwayman fic'. It wasn't easy after that, either. I almost gave up several times. At one point I started writing a whole load of scenes from Tony's POV, which didn't end up being a thing. It would have made the whole fic twice as long. But it did help me work out where I wanted to go.

I wanted to use Indries, because she seemed to be used so little in Stony fic, and in the comics she works with Obadiah so she fitted really well into the plot I was working with (which, let's face it, is sort of the plot to Iron Man 1).

The ending was so difficult as well... Steve and Tony just kept refusing to communicate properly. I don't know if it was the regency language that I was using or if I subconsciously just knew it needed the action climax and the romantic climax to be spaced out a bit more, with Tony on a more equal footing rather than in his sick bed and barely able to move. I think it works better as I have it now than how I originally planned it, though.

Steve and Tony's conversations were my favourite part to write; they were difficult but so much fun. The way both their personalities and the social mores of the setting combine to make this really acrobatic dialogue where they go from playing off each other in good humour to mistaking each other's meaning. And then you add in Obadiah - who was surprisingly interesting to write. Having to walk the line with him of everything he says being entirely reasonable, but also if you read it another way creepy/rude/manipulate af. That was a lot of fun. I love word play.

Loved writing Sam as well, a bit torn between wanting to tell Steve to calm down and stop being so dramatic, and just full on throwing himself into it. So in the end he compromises by judging him for his romantic drama and leaning in to the mad highwayman hijinks. Totally reasonable.

Basically this fic was a massive slog to write, but I love it and I am incredibly proud of it.

The Trouble With Roommates despite being a different pairing, different setting, entirely different tone, has a similar story, actually. They too were sitting in my WIP folder for years.

I first started writing it in response to the Winterhawk Week 2017 prompts, and I wrote the first 4 one after another, they practically wrote themselves. Then I left them sitting on my computer for ages until I had a bingo deadline coming up and I looked at them and I think that was when I added the fifth one, which is why that one doesn't really follow the prompt unless you squint. I think the 'game' I was going for was musical statues? And I found that they could all fit prompts from my bingo cards as well, so I... posted them as bingo fics instead. Is this cheating? Probably. Do I care? Not really.

On the other hand, my method of writing for them was completely different. With The Highwayman's Baronet, I was trying to write something good (fatal mistake). With The Trouble With Roommates I just wrote whatever seemed fun at the time. They are very silly fics written entirely for my own entertainment and they all flowed pretty easily when I got started. Although both play into my love of identity porn and ridiculous miscommunication nonsense.

The only one that didn't flow was number 6. I tried to stick to the Winterhawk Week prompt at first, which was soulmates/reincarnation, and I think I have a few thousand words of that. The basic premise was Clint is kidnapped by someone who believes that the Winter Soldier is their reincarnated soulmate and Clint has been systematically trying to break them apart over the course of several lives. It was kind of trippy and there was going to be this dream sequence where Clint got drugged into seeing his past lives and realised Bucky's true identity that way. It was just way too much, so I decided to ignore the prompts, because no one even knew I was using them in the first place, and just simplify it down to vengeance kidnapping but the reason that one took so long to finish was because I kept going down the reincarnation rabbit hole and getting lost.

[elvish-sky]

Temptation of Regality Part 5: Home Director's Commentary

look at me actually doing this forever later!! i’m sorry this took so long. i decided to do this for the last part because it’s the one that i’m the second-most proud of for this series but doing You’re Here wouldn’t be that exciting cause it was mostly just a crack chapter (that i will defend with my whole soul. anyhoo

In reference to this ask from @bitter-sweet-farmgirl !!!

****

The next morning, you blinked open eyes heavy with sleep. Your head was resting on something firm, and you could hear someone else’s breathing. You rolled to the side, noticing that you were fully on a bed even though you couldn’t remember falling asleep the night before. You sat up and glanced to your other side.

i think the biggest thing for me here was a debate on whether or not it should start from the end of part 4. because i love writing fluff and humor and this was the funniest opportunity, i did!

“Thorin?!”

The dwarf lying next to you shot up at your yell.

“Y/N? What are you doing- Why are we in the same bed?!” His look of alarm was rather amusing, but you were too busy thinking back over the previous night to remember it.

i just have a mental picture of a bed-head, tousled haired, sleepy thorin.

“We didn’t do anything. You got drunk and I brought you up and put you to bed, and I must have fallen asleep next to you.”

“I got drunk?” He looked worried.

i can’t drink and so i don’t know what it’s actually like to be drunk or have a hangover. so this is just my take on it.

“You didn’t do anything embarrassing. You just thought everyone was trying to murder you and hid under a table for a few hours.”

i laughed a lot while writing part 4 and this opening, if you can’t tell.

He still looked embarrassed.

“Seriously, Thorin, that wasn’t the worst thing anyone did last night.” You proceeded to recount Bilbo’s entire handkerchief-related rant, leaving both you and the king crying from laughter.

fair. that was absolutely hilarious. i’m considering writing the whole rant as a a little extra for people. thoughts?

Fili and Kili burst into the room to see you and their uncle falling on top of each other in laughter. Frozen in the doorway at the sight, Fili finally spoke.

oop

“I see things went a little further than expected last night,” he observed with an eyebrow raised.

You quickly leaped off the bed. “I fell asleep here last night, that’s all. Anyways, where were you two all night?”

“We slept in Bilbo’s room.”

Kili nodded. “We wanted to give you two some privacy.”

Thorin threw a pillow at him, and while he scolded his nephews you washed up, emerging several minutes later in your freshly laundered clothes.

“I’m going to go see if Oin will take a look at my leg before we leave.” Seeing the concerned reactions of the three dwarves, you hurried to clarify.

the hurt leg was a tough decision, but i chose it because in part 4 they needed an excuse to go to the inn, because i desperately wanted to write that scene. i knew that Thorin wouldn’t let you go to a town unless it was an absolute emergency and he cares about you and that was really the only way. but i did have to go back and remind myself about the hurt leg, i was constantly forgetting and then writing scenes that definitely wouldn’t have been possible.

“It’s not hurting very much, I just want him to make sure it looks good.”

Three heads nodded in understanding, and you left with a wave.

Weeks later, the fact that your leg was healed was just about the only good thing. After narrowly escaping the goblins, and even more narrowly escaping the orcs, everyone was just about exhausted. Now, on the Carrock breathing in a sigh of relief, you reflected on the last few weeks.

After the night at the inn, Thorin had been colder towards you. You didn’t know why, but it hurt. On the mountain, he had saved Bilbo, and you had watched inside the cave as he checked on every member of the company. Except you.

ok. so i needed to have angst in here but at this point i’d built the relationship up to a certain point where i felt like Thorin couldn’t do anything, and wouldn’t do anything, like insult you or other stuff. which is why i just kinda glossed over a whole lot. maybe someday i’ll go back and write a mini-series exploring that bit more.

He had protected you in goblin-town, but then they all had. It was just his duty to do so. And while the wargs were attacking he hadn’t even spared you a glance, but that you couldn’t exactly blame him for. Still, you had saved several of the company members by boosting them into trees, you would have thought he might have acknowledged you for that.

yeah, Thorin, some acknowledgement would be nice. but in all seriousness, the ignorance was decided on by me thinking about things that would hurt me more than words. and being ignored hurts, and it’s something Thorin would do after being as vulnerable as he was with you at the end of Part 4

And now, watching him hug Bilbo on the Carrock you were jealous. Yes, the hobbit had done amazing things, had saved Thorin, but you wanted Thorin to be hugging you like that. Not to barely acknowledge your presence.

To tell the truth, deep down you wanted him to love you the same way you did him. But if how he had treated you these past weeks was any indication, that would never happen. But you were mad, and the anger clouded your judgment, so you waited until he had finished congratulating the hobbit and stepped forward.

“Y/N-” You cut Dwalin off when he tried to talk as you strode up to the leader.

“Thorin Oakenshield, of all the stupid, reckless, idiotic things to do that was the stupidest, most reckless, most idiotic thing ever.”

and there we go. i was soooo nervous about this confrontation scene that i actually acted it out with myself just to see how my emotions played into it, so that’s how this came to be. i still don’t love the end result, but it’s better than it was.

Everyone looked dumbstruck.

The king looked shocked that anyone was speaking to him that way, and fired back with anger brimming in his eyes. “Y/N, why do you care?”

“You almost died, Thorin! And I love you and the fact that you’ve been so distant lately is tearing me apart, and yet I cannot do anything about it, cannot leave because I care. I was tempted, and I succumbed, and here we are. But I’m just done. If you don’t care then so be it. I can’t go on like this.”

this was so fun to write. i really enjoyed getting to add ‘tempted’ in there, and for me this is a piece of dialogue that i’m so proud of

You strode over to a small rock and sat, head in your hands as you cried. A shuffling sound came close, like footsteps, and you lifted your head to see Thorin standing in front of you. He looked nervous.

“Y/N, I-”

He started speaking and then stopped. It looked as if he was mulling something over in his brain, and you watched as something sparked in his eyes

he needed to have a ‘click’ moment, which took a while for me to come up with but this is it and it think it’s a good one.

He leaned forward, cupping your chin in his hand as he tilted your head up to look him in the eyes.

“If you don’t want me to do this, tell me.”

You stayed silent, gazing up at him, kissing you gently for all of two seconds before suddenly deepening the kiss.

It felt like fireworks.

You tangled your hands through his hair, trying to pull him closer even though there was barely an inch of space between you.

Wolf whistles sounded out around you and you broke apart, flushed, to see the entire company beaming at the two of you from behind Thorin’s back. Except for his nephews, who had their hands over their eyes and were fake gagging.

yesssss Fíli and Kíli always have the appropriate response.

But you only had eyes for one person.

“You love me?” You asked him, hoping beyond hope for the answer he gave.

“Yes. And I’m sorry I’ve been distant. I didn’t want to give you false hope. We’re on a quest, we could die at any moment, but I see now that it’s more important for us to take what time we have.”

You smiled at him. “I love you, Thorin.”

“I love you too, Y/N.”

You stood, and he entwined his fingers with yours as you walked back to the group. You noticed him catch sight of something in the distance, and you walked to the edge of the rock together.

“Erebor.”

this had to end at the Carrock for several reasons. firstly, i wanted room to write a second series continuing this. not sure if i will but at least i have the groundwork. and secondly, because it was important for Thorin to still have a goal, for you to have to continue this quest as a couple and for this story to end with the horizon ahead, for symbolism reasons!

You sucked in a breath as you realized what you were looking at.

“The Lonely Mountain. The last of the great dwarven kingdoms of Middle-Earth,” Gandalf said.

“Our home.” Thorin glanced up at you, squeezing your hand in encouragement.

Looking out into the distance, gazing at your future, you smiled.

“Our home.”

and yay! i was so unsure of how to end this but i still think that’s perfect.

this was a really fun thing to do, i hope it’s what you were asking for and i’m sorry it took so long!

[simpbur]

hello! i would like ur 40 song wiblur playlist

anon thank you so much for asking <333 while it would’ve been easier to just drop the link i have so many thoughts about everything so i explained why every single song has its spot on this list which was IMMENSELY fun for me

(also: if anyone does want the link i can provide both apple music and spotify but if u would like the apple music link i’d rather it be through dms or an ask off anon that i can make private!)

another also: i bolded all the songs for ease of perusing if you don’t want the director’s commentary and bolded + italicized the ones that i think fit Very Well

another another also: wrote the second bit of this on my laptop and the keyboard is p funky so if there are any typos or things that do not make sense i will try to fix them asap haha

saint bernard by lincoln: this is one of those like. Dream SMP Songs that i added because it fits into so many different relationships and plot lines and arcs but i think there’s some connection to c!wlbur somewhere out there. idk i asked my friend and he said to add it so this one goes out to him

amnesia was her name by lemon demon: ghostbur song ghostbur song! mostly comes from this lovely animatic

o valencia! by the decemberists: okay this is one of those songs that only really has one lyric that fits but is an absolutely banger so it’s here anyway. you’ll also notice a trend of quasi love songs that i relate to c!wilbur’s perception of l’manburg and i think this song shows this in a really cool way, esp with the chorus (‘and i swear to the stars i’ll burn this whole city down’ is The Line)

achilles come down by gang of youths: another one of those Dream SMP Songs. i think this fits better with c!tommy but i like it too much to remove it. this is a somewhat common trend with the earlier songs on this playlist (i’ve been building this thing since january, for reference)

brave as a noun by ajj: another Dream SMP Song. i think certain verses fit better than others when it comes to wilbur’s character but that ones that work really work

harness your hopes by pavement: a song that is one here for vibes alone. i have no idea what these lyrics mean. all i know is that i heard it, thought of c!wilbur, and put it on the playlist. thank you all for being here

evelyn evelyn by evelyn evelyn: sad-ist made this a tommy and tubbo song (as she should) so it’s validity on this playlist is questionable but folks used to compare it to wilbur and tommy’s relationship during the pogtopia arc and i think some points were made there

the execution of all things by rilo kiley: i’m so excited to get here because this was the first song i put on the playlist that i think really works and i thumb nailed an animatic for the last verse and november 16th so! i think it’s a good l’manburg song and the last verse has some good ghostbur lines (‘and lately you’re all alone with nothing left but sleep/but sleep never comes to you, it’s the guilt and forever wakefulness of the weak’)

i’m just your problem from adventure time: this ones a bit tricky since at is my favorite show of all time and i cannot detach this song from its in-show context very well but there is a very cool animatic with this song that landed it a spot on the playlist

man burning by josh ritter: almost became an animatic but the audio i wanted to use (which i recorded at a josh ritter concert and it’s just him and his guitar and there’s echo and it’s very haunting and pretty) has my stepbrother singing in the background and i could not edit it out so. that will probably not happen. but anyways the only hole i would pick in this song is that it’s mostly about self sabotage which isn’t really applicable but i think the imagery is cool

mamma mia by abba: here me out. here me out. this is another song that fits so well and i have spent so many hours thinking about this and somewhere there is a note on my phone explaining how every single line relates to c!wilbur’s entire arc from founding l’manburg to the resurrection (made when we thought gbur was going to get resurrected in january) and just. the metaphorical ‘you’ is l’manburg does this make any sense (another almost animatic except now that wilbur’s actually back it might become an actual animatic)

the other side of paradise by glass animals: no idea why this is here other than being a Dream SMP Song. it’s good tho

infinitesimal by mother mother: they saaaaay it stared with a big bang but they saaaaaaaay it came out of a small thing latelyyyyy i’ve been feeling like a big bang You Know

curses by the crane wives: had a thing drawn out for this song showing the comparisons between c!wilbur and c!niki because of the chorus and i think the last two lyrics of said chorus are the best thing about this one

lonely eyes by the front bottoms: gotta admit that i have no idea how this song got on here but i’ve come to associate it with ghostbur based on vibes alone. it’s a friendly song he’s a friendly ghost it works. the other tfb song coming up fits a bit better methinks

king of new orleans by better than ezra: not to put better than ezra on my c!wilbur playlist but like. something about the whole ‘tasing something up to let it fall’ motif makes me think

get me away from here, i’m dying by belle and sebastian: another almost animatic song (there’s a trend here). not only does the story told in this song work i like the lines ‘play me a song to set me free/nobody writes them like they used to so it may as well be me’ in relation to my l’manburg

montgomery forever by the front bottoms: certain bits and pieces of this song fit so well, specifically the chorus and those bits in the last two choruses Yeah (’montgomery forever and ever and ever and now they’re blowing it up/(x2)/as you started laughing and crying and trying to explain how all you want to do is leave’)

don’t look back in anger by oasis: out of all my almost animatic songs, this one got the furthest. the animatic, which I got pretty far in thumbnailing, was about wilbur and tommy and kind of drawing comparisons between their characters, also about the revolution in general. maybe i’ll finish that animatic one day idk 

snow by ricky montgomery: i wish i had a link for this so bad but!! saw art on twitter!! with the lyric ‘bury me six feet in snow’!! and went ahfsdjfk!!

burning pile by mother mother: a Dream SMP Song. also a jam there’s no real specific connection for this one but i think it could fit in a couple of ways

rounds by the oh hellos: in the same position as snow except it was on tumblr..... @ whoever made this comic i saw these lyrics in your brain is massive and your art is incredible

lovely by mt. eddy: on here for vibes alone. there’s something in the lyrical content too, but my thoughts in that regard are not very fleshed out

adventures in solitude by the new pornographers: ah yes..... the song that prompted this all...... this is a beautiful and incredibly well written song and if you’re going to listen to any song off of this playlist i’d encourage you to listen to this one. it’s place of here is mostly cause of the chorus but the imagery in the verses could all represent a part of c!wilbur and i’d love to explore that more

caught in the middle by paramore: obligatory paramore song. i think it got on here because limbo = ‘middle’ but i’m not quite sure. on the verge of being deleted if i can find a better pmore song

delicate by damien rice: one of the oddest songs on this list and i am well aware that it sticks out like a sore thumb. a song that’s on here pretty much because of one lyric, which is ‘and why’d you sing hallelujah/if it means nothing to you’ which i related to both eret’s betrayal and how my l’manburg is hallelujah yknow

bang! by ajr: almost animatic song. i think we all know what the bang is here

somewhere only we know by lily allen: ik i said don’t look back in anger has the most potential to get made into an animatic but this song might actually take it place. on par with adventures in solitude in terms of how pretty of a song it is, and probably even moreso. it’s kind of turned into a ghostbur song in my head, and makes me cry like an infant child every time i hear it

a pearl by mitski: i cannot defend this song’s place on here past the line ‘it’s just that i fell in love with a war and nobody told me it ended’

eight by sleeping at last: the official c!wilbur song needs a spot on here <3 if i can dig up the clip of cc!wilbur talking about this song in relation to his character i’ll add it but until then yeah <3

always by rilo kiley: no idea why this is on here but it fits well!! could not tell you why!! banger!!

celebration guns by stars: it’s a hauntingly beautiful song about war, and kind of one of those that necessarily isn’t about wilbur but moreso his place in the story? idk how to explain it but yes

passerine by the oh hellos: it’s. it’s from the . the fic. yeah h

oh, you are the roots that sleep beneath my feet and hold the earth in place by bright eyes: added this after the real resurrection and i think it’s because fo the imagery? also the last verse

we are beautiful, we are doomed by los campesinos!: all i have to say is ‘i cannot emphasize enough that my body/is a badly designed, poorly put together vessel/harboring these diminishing, so called vital organs/i hope my heart goes first, i hope my heart goes first!’ has always made me think of pogtopia era wilbur :(

dead weight by jack stauber: no real connection other than eret played this song during a break during the ghostbur’s january ‘resurrection’ and i heard it and went :0

point me at lost lands by tired pony: gives me season on l’manburg vibes..... i love how free and passionate it sounds and that's p much the only reason it’s on this list haha

ghosting by mother mother: added this five seconds ago because i could not BELIEVE it was not on here. ghostbur song. mans sang it on that one stream with the reverb and everything. the lyrics ‘i will be kind and i’ll be sweet/if you stop staring straight through me’ hit particularly hard back when everyone thought that ghostbur was actually wilbur in disguise 

[streets-in-paradise]

Fictional Sibling relationships i live for

I had been thinking about this topic lately and decided i would like to make a post about it because it is a very fun and interesting one for me. I had mentioned a few times here that in terms of fandom involvement i am more invested in family and frienships than in shippings, particulary i have a fixation with strong sibling bonds or sibling like friendships. I think it must be because i have a strong bond with my younger sister, i identify with that and that’s why i tend to get more involved and interested in this sort of character interactions. 

I will keep this just in movies, movie adaptations of books and tv shows because i don’t want it to be super long but still want to talk. In movie adaptations i will try to stay in movie’s territory as much as i can, if i add commentary on the book versions this would never end but i may slip a bit towards it because i can’t help it. 

As always, i make the disclaimer over the images i will use here, they belong to the sites where i found them.  

Sorry for my pathetic language skills in english. 

Note: this got so long that i will probably make a second part for more characters i coulnd’t include 

Boromir and Faramir in lotr 

Lotr is full of great material for people who, like me, obsess over families. Frodo and Bilbo, Merry and Pippin, Elrond and Arwen, Theoden ,Eowyn and Eomer are other great examples of family relationships i’m interested on from here ( i pretty much love to overthink stuff about almost all the lotr family relationships). I choose to talk about this bros because they have a particular place in my heart. How many times we had seen the common trope of a royal or noble family where the father is a dick who gives all his love and attention to the older brother, neglects the little one causing him to grow up resentfull and ending up as a villian while dad’s favourite is the hero of the tale? Not this time, and it is so refreshing. 

Boromir and Faramir choose each other over their father’s bullshit, you can see it in the lovely deleted scene the gif up here comes from. When Denethor shows up they are both annoyed, when he is mean to Faramir Boromir calls him out and tries so hard to make him show some appreciation for his youngest son. it is clear that, in this version, Boromir is more family to Faramir than his father ever was. I love how much they care for each other, how they pass beyond the differences. Boromir is a super amazing big bro, i love how he protects Faramir and is there for him instead of letting his father’s praise get in between. I could talk for hours about this two because i love them so much. I’m doing a hard effort in stopping myself from throwing a whole set of headcanons i have for them so i will stop now before i get too excited. 

Fili and Kili in The Hobbit

Staying in Middle Earth for one more mention i had to talk about this two. Being fully honest, the movies broke my heart because they took the exact opposite way i would had wished for. When they were introduced In An Unexpected Journey this two adorable brothers were one of my favourite aspects of it because i loved their Merry and Pippin like dumb chaotic energy. One of my biggest complains with the Hobbit adaptation is to have shifted the narrative of the strongly family focused story arc of the Line of Durin. Kili’s romance with Tauriel shifted the focus and, in my particular perspective, i hated that because i was already super involved in the family story. Besides from the “I belong with my brother”  iconic line we don’t see much more of Fili and Kili’s bond after the introduction of Tauriel. In fact, Fili loses a lot of his initial screentime in Desolation of Smaug and Battle of the Five Armies.

 I love this two, the relationship with their uncle as it was introduced in the first film and i would had loved to see more of their family dinamic explored. One of my biggest complains, besides from the change of focus on their supposed ending, is that i’m convinced that they should had entered the mountain with the rest of the company. It is such an important moment they would probably waited for since they were children, is the legacy of their family. In short terms, i love them and i would had loved to keep seeing future developments of the Line of Durin story they had in AUJ. 

Hector and Paris in Troy 

This two represent the opposite case. The relationship they have in this movie is very different from the source material but i love the great development it has here. It is outstanding to see the importance the sibling bond has in a movie that is supposed to be about a war caused by a romantic passion. 

The sons of King Priam are absolute opposites. Hector is the embodiment of a true hero, a Steve Rogers of ancient times. His strong caring nature and will to protect everyone reminds me of Boromir as well. Unlike Faramir,Paris is a freaking mess. He is the careless, adventurous and reckless little brother Hector ends up protecting every single time he gets into trouble. I had stated before that i think Paris is a selfish prick but i think that is a slight confussion of mine with the original. This Paris is more a reckless dumbass and, unlike Iliad Paris, his arc in the movie it’s a bit more simpathetic. In this version Helen is trapped in a loveless marriage to an old prick who treats her like trash (in the director’s cut Menelaus jokes about how he only cares for his wife for breeding purposes on a conversation with Hector). I can understand at some point that, if he trully fell in love with her, he felt horrible for letting her stay there as a prisoner of her husband. Going back to the my focus for this talk, i like that the movie had decided to make this two close brothers who actually care for each other despite being absolute opposites instead of two guys who barely know each other, are barely aware of being brothers and share only hatefull interactions. 

Hector’s protectiveness over Paris warms my heart. He had threated him a few times ( director’s cut has the “ i will rip off your pretty face from your pretty skull” excharge. I love that scene), he gets furious at him for his foolishness, they argue but when the time comes he always chooses to protect him. Honestly, that’s such a big bro thing, i can’t help to feel identified. The weight that this relationship has in the development of the story is a surprising thing and it makes everything more tragic. Paris being the killer of Achilles has a more significant meaning because, now it’s not just the irony of the weakest character killing the strongest. Paris is aware that he owns the memory of his fallen brother so much, he wants revenge. Hector was there for him all his life, the least he can do for him is to kill his killer and avenge his death. Briseis begs him to stop but he can’t let himself do that, he owns it to Hector and that debt is bigger than anything. 

I will not delay this any longer, the family relationships on this movie are my favourite aspect of it and i have a soft spot for the bond between the trojan princes. Don’t get surprised if i one of this days i end up making an entire separate post talking about the family dinamics displayed in the film (same goes for lotr but that would take me ages and i would have to make an entire series of posts if i wanted to discuss every lotr family relationship i would want to talk about). 

Sam and Dean Winchester in Supernatural 

If you reached this point you may had noticed that i have a big thing with family tragedies involving siblings. Supernatural is my favourite show because it combines lots of elements i love. To mention just a few: horror, mythology,classic rock and a strong family approach in its pretty tragic but outstanding plot. 

Sam and Dean are one of my favourite duo of bros of all time. I don’t think i have a lot to say about them because their relationship has been analized lots of times by the very big fanbase of the show. My main difference with the common interpretation is that i don’t see the Winchester family in a similar way to the movie versions of the Steward of Gondor and his sons, which means i don’t think John has been the shittiest father ever despite his many mistakes. Unlike movie Denethor he tried hard and in the interactions we saw of him with his boys he actually cares for both of them. 

This bros were the ones that made me realize in an actual concient way of my tendency to get too attached to families, story arcs regarding them and sibling love. I’m super attached to this story, i don’t know what the hell i’m going to do with my life once it ends. 

I will end this post here. It is more than sure that there would be a part two because i have tons of more brothers,sisters and other family relationships to talk about. 

Thanks to everyone who has read my very long ramble 

[wrightiverse]

Hello and this is me annotating/doing director's commentary for the last chapter of Crowd as a victory lap. There's no indulgence like self-indulgence.

“I’ll just make my hot young boyfriend help me,” Robin teases. “When I’m eighty, you’ll only be sixty-nine.”

I love to take a thing from the beginning of a story/scene and revisit it at the end. In this case, 'hot young boyfriend' is a light callback to 'sexy-ass, significantly younger boyfriend' back at the beginning when Robin was sad about the empty nest situation. This is, I think, the first time we specify their exact age gap. It is also the exact age gap I have with my own partner, because I’m very lazy like that. (None of this was written with any reference to what's gone on in the podcast over the last year or so, which is good because it sounds like the whole aging thing for Glenn could have gotten really confusing. Wrightiverse Glenn came back right after Ravenloft, none of that other stuff happened to him. It's all good. Canon is optional.) * * * * *

It’s not like the men in his family have much luck in that area, anyway; Glenn never met either of his grandfathers, and Bill didn’t make it much past fifty.

I think Meryl actually lived for hundreds of years and is still alive in Faerun and they should totally meet, but Glenn doesn’t know all that. * * * * *

Aesthetics aside, it didn't seem like there was much for Glenn to look forward to in middle age and beyond. Nick would grow up and wouldn’t need his dad anymore, and Glenn would be all alone.

From Glenn’s second chapter in Crowd, when Robin is sad about Connor leaving for college:

“I want him to be independent,” Robin is trying to explain into Glenn’s knee, “but also I don’t want to be all alone.” Glenn flicks his ear reproachfully. “You're not all alone. I’m right here, dumbass.”

Sometimes what seems obvious when we're explaining it to somebody else doesn't feel as obvious when it's our turn. Admittedly, Glenn is coming to this with a different set of experiences than Robin is. More on that later. * * * * *

His career would go to shit, because getting old only works for rock stars if they’re actually bluesmen in disguise, like Keith Richards.

I think I got this theory from something Chuck Klosterman wrote, probably Fargo Rock City. * * * * *

He starts his grounding exercise without even thinking about it. Five things he can see: one, an information sign for the city park. Two, a freshly-painted bike rack. Three, some big public art sculpture that looks like a giant rusty hairbrush…

This particular grounding exercise came up earlier in Crowd. I didn't make it up for the story, it's real and many people find that it works well. Feel free to try it! The exercise he alludes to when they’re on the beach, creating ‘safe spaces’ out of vivid memories with lots of sensory details, is also based on a real thing. Lauren, his therapist, is named after the therapist who worked with me on my own PTSD and taught me that and a lot of other good stuff. At least based on my own experience, I can highly recommend EMDR if you can find a good practitioner. * * * * *

It was a hella sweet gesture from the kid.

Connor’s introduction in Name has to do with him carrying shirts past Glenn, and one of those shirts becomes important later to Robin. Given how big the GC3 actually seems to be, I don’t think Connor did the majority of their merch. I assume they used a regular printer and Connor just did small runs of fun custom stuff when he feels like it, meaning not much changed after Glenn quit. * * * * *

Of course, Robin is the only member of the family wearing the shirt right now, because Robin is the only one who doesn’t care that it isn’t cool to wear merch from the gig at the gig itself.

I have no idea how widespread the ‘no wearing merch from the gig at the gig’ thing is, but that’s the rule I learned. * * * * *

Robin is chatting away about something, but it’s hard to follow with all the noise and distraction around them. Glenn decides to let it ride, and allows himself to zone out and just watch Robin talk.

As requested by my brilliant co-author, this is a callback to when Robin spaces out watching Glenn talk on their first date. Both Robin and Glenn are consistently very prone to tuning out when the other one is talking, but neither of them particularly care. As Glenn says on their dinner date - sometimes a man just wants to think out loud for a while and get a ‘hell yeah’ in response. * * * * *

It's vastly unfair that Robin looks so good in direct sunlight, but he probably pulls it off because he's the one person in Los Angeles who isn't trying to look younger than he actually is.

Glenn should spend less time in WeHo. * * * * *

There’s already more gray in Robin’s hair than when they met, although Glenn will only accept partial blame for that. Either way, the old man’s on track to be a full-on silver fox before he even hits fifty.

It felt necessary to drop a reminder that despite how Glenn talks about him, Robin is not actually that damn old. I mean, I'm sure that sounds very old to some of you, but when you're in your mid-to-late 30s like Glenn, somebody in their late 40s is not unreasonably decrepit. I think it has more to do with their respective energies than actual birthdays. * * * * *

“What is it?” Robin has noticed Glenn’s gaze, and he touches his own face to check if there's something on it.

Glenn grins. "Nothing, just ogling."

This is another callback to their first date:

“Do I have something on my face?” Glenn asks, and rubs at his mouth.

“No, you’re good.” Robin says. “You’re great.”

Because I adore a full-circle moment, that's why. * * * * *

“Your eyes were intense," Robin laughs. "It looked like you were going to start growling redrum at me."

This is my own fault for saying in the last chapter that Glenn was rambling about Kubrick moon landing conspiracies when he comes back from his walk. I tried like seven different ways to get them on the subject. I still don’t know if it feels natural. * * * * *

Glenn stabs an accusatory finger toward Robin. “Did you suggest not doing the show because you knew I’d argue with you and talk myself into doing it?”

Can’t outro this story without at least a little argayment.

Glenn usually finds him in the bathroom at the end of the night, looking grumpy about being up past his bedtime and holding some girl’s hair back while she barfs.

With what we've learned about Robin over the course of Crowd, we now have the context to understand that for Robin, this drunk girl is very much the ghost of Christmas Past. I don't imagine he goes to many of these parties.

* * * * *

It doesn’t bother Glenn a bit. Life isn’t a movie, the cheerleader doesn’t have to put on leather pants and start smoking in order to get her bad boy and her happily ever after.

I know that there’s more going on in Grease than that, but consider: would Glenn know that?

* * * * *

He and Robin are very different people, and they always will be. They don’t make sense on the surface, but they both know who they are, and who they are fits together perfectly.

Circling back to Robin at the end of Name, expressing his anxieties:

Robin rests his forehead on the steering wheel, avoiding Glenn’s eyes. “Like I don’t make sense for you, and everybody can see it.”

Some of the circles that I closed in Crowd were ones that were opened in Crowd, but some went back further. * * * * *

Love bubbles up in Glenn like a shaken-up soda, and he finds himself standing up suddenly and grabbing Robin’s shirt collar to tug him down for a kiss.

I wanted to mirror the ‘Hot Dad surges forward to kiss him, hard’ thing from the beginning, but given the established height difference, Glenn can’t just go for it unannounced unless he’s gonna stand tippy-toe. Thank you @whotaughtyougrammar for this art of what happens when Glenn tries the collar-tug and Robin doesn't notice fast enough.

* * * * *

Robin is caught off guard and stumbles half a step back, managing at the last second not to drop his drink. “One second, sweetheart, just one second. You surprised me. What was that about?”

Glenn gives him a lopsided grin. “Luck?”

“Oh, well, then. For luck.”

Luck and how to change it is a big theme throughout the whole series, both in the sense of ‘good fortune/unearned blessings’ and ‘random, unforeseen chance.’ More later about that. * * * * *

When Glenn presses his tongue forward to slip between Robin’s lips, he tastes lemon and sugar.

Same as the first time they kissed, when he’d been drinking whiskey sours.

* * * * *

“Right, yeah,” Robin breathes, but he doesn’t let Glenn out of his arms quite yet. “You know,” Robin adds, “Nick was telling me earlier that he’s going to sleep over at Grant’s tonight.”

So I'll be there when you arrive / The sight of you will prove to me I'm still alive / And when you take me in your arms / And hold me tight / I know it's gonna mean so much tonight * * * * *

She’d found him there, and she'd saved him, like she always did.

We didn’t know Morgan’s name when we first wrote the scene where they discussed her in Name, so we wrote around it as though Glenn was reluctant to name her out loud. We maintained this throughout the rest of Crowd except for the line where Glenn says that he’ll tell Robin about the phone call with Morgan. Felt right. Her presence is very much felt but Glenn, at least, is not in the habit of talking about her unless he has no other option. * * * * *

They ran out of the venue and down the street, hand in hand and giggling like kids playing hooky.

@shrack was the one who began writing our Glenn with very physical methods of showing affection. I liked it a lot as a vibe and carried on with it. He and Morgan are also very young here. Glenn would be 21 or 22 at the oldest, which is barely older than Connor is now. I've always attributed some of his immaturity to the fact that he became a parent pretty young. (Glenn is 36 when Name starts and Nick is 13, meaning Nick was born when Glenn was 23 and probably conceived when Glenn was 22.)

* * * * *

It was like falling in love with every single person in the crowd, all at once. Glenn felt like he would never be lonely again as long as he could have that feeling.

Facing twenty thousand of your friends / how can anyone feel so lonely? * * * * *

By then, the GC3 performed in venues so cavernous that Glenn couldn’t see anything outside his own spotlight. He could hear the audience roar approval at him, making a wall of sound that he could feel like a physical force. It was loud enough to drown out the screaming in his head, loud enough to let him forget that she wasn’t out there among them. It was the closest he could get to forgetting, so Glenn did it as much as he could.

Part of a success that never ends / But I’m thinking about you only... * * * * *

Slowly but surely, he’d been learning how to go through life with his mind and heart focused on someone else’s well-being. It didn’t come naturally: that wasn’t the kind of family either of them knew. Still, they’d promised each other that they could do better than how they were raised.

I am never here for iterations of this dynamic that assume Glenn is the fuck-up and Morgan was the perfect parent. They both became parents at exactly the same moment, you know? The world does not need one more story with an incompetent sitcom dad and his smoking-hot wife who does all the actual parenting. * * * * *

Nick is long since asleep, but Adele fucking Close has stayed up until these sickening hours of the early morning.

Conveniently, Glenn’s brain has overwritten all his memories with the correct name and pronouns for Nick, because writing around it is a pain in the ass otherwise. * * * * *

“Hello, Glenny.”

Bill calling Glenn “Glenny” that time at Ravenloft really stuck with me. I don’t know if they ever revisited that in the actual podcast, but it was so slimy and chilling somehow. * * * * *

“I fucked up,” Glenn says bluntly, and his mother narrows her eyes ever so slightly at his cursing.

Glenn gets in his own head early in Crowd about comparing himself to Penny, and Robin later worries about putting himself on ‘the same level’ as Morgan. Neither of them are quite galaxy-brained enough to realize that there’s more than one person in Glenn’s life who uses a lot of terms of endearment for him, considers themselves old-fashioned, and wishes everybody wouldn’t swear so much. * * * * *

“Thank you, mother,” Glenn grits out. He sounds absolutely nothing like himself, not that she minds. “I appreciate your help.”

I assume that part of the reason Glenn has such a hard time offering genuine apologies is that when he was growing up, too much of his apologizing was forced rather than sincere. * * * * *

“You are out of chances. If you continue to neglect this child, I will get the state involved, and I will take custody myself. I’ve already spoken to the Freemans, and I have their full support.”

Morgan’s parents are not mentioned very often and don’t seem to be a big part of the Close boys’ lives. I imagine that whatever tenuous relationship Glenn had forged with them post-accident was pretty much destroyed by Adele forming this alliance with them and telling Glenn about it. * * * * *

Her patient demeanor is meant to remind him that she's here to clean up his mess again, like she always does, and his proper response is humble and apologetic gratitude.

And that is why Robin being patient can set Glenn off so bad, such as after the bike accident when they were arguing:

Glenn doesn’t really hear most of what Robin’s saying. It’s all just soothing, pointless stuff in that obnoxious tone that means Robin thinks he’s the smart, calm, mature one here and Glenn’s the immature asshole who lost his temper again. He’d never say it, but Glenn can tell what he’s thinking.

I hope it came across clearly in that part that Robin doesn’t actually see the situation that way and isn’t saying or thinking anything to that effect, but Glenn feels like he is because he’s had this somatic/emotional reaction triggered. Spatially he's arguing with Robin, but his body and a lot of his brain thinks he's arguing with his mom. Trauma can be like that. * * * * *

His mother keeps talking like he didn’t say a word. “We can all stay in each others’ lives, Glenny. I’m not trying to cut you out, I’m trying to help you. I know you think I’m a monster, but I’m just trying to do what’s best for my family.”

Sometimes the monster will tell you it's not a monster. * * * * *

From that night forward, Glenn will always know that he’s not a good person, because he almost takes his mother up on the offer.

I don’t think being tempted by this offer means Glenn’s a bad person, but we write Glenn as somebody who wishes he was a good person but is really afraid that he isn’t. He was at a very low point here and he needed help. Feeling drawn to the only help on offer, even if it was from a toxic source, is pretty understandable. * * * * *

"I'll get Nicky ready for school tomorrow and you can sleep in. We’ll finish talking about this when you feel better.”

Man, I hate that abuser thing when they start being sweet as soon as you muster the energy to fight back. You get a little bit of steam built up and then they dodge you like a matador so that it dissipates again. To be clear, Nicky isn't Nick's deadname or anything, it's just the somewhat baby-ish diminutive form that Adele uses for him, like how she calls Glenn "Glenny." * * * * *

“Family is important,” his mother says sadly. Just before she closes the door, she gives him a look that’s an exquisite mix of regret, tender affection, and a tiny spark of hope. Adele would have been a great actress, but Glenn can’t imagine who that particular performance was for.

Performance skills run in the family and Adele comes by her acting chops honestly, although she doesn’t know it. I picture one of those situations where a young woman from a good background gets pregnant by some rakehell actor and her family covers up the scandal by raising the baby as a new sibling. That would mean that as long as Adele’s “older sister” never spilled the beans, nobody in their family at this point knows that they’re related to Meryl. If Nick ever decides to do one of those ancestry DNA tests, things are going to get interesting. * * * * *

He certainly didn’t find it very compelling. Family? All the family he will ever need is sleeping soundly down the hallway, tiny arms wrapped tight around a stuffed plush Babar.

I wanted Nick to have a stuffed animal that was sort of his parallel to Mr. Lion. Robin is drinking with Mr. Lion in the beginning of Crowd when he’s upset about losing Connor to college, and Mr. Lion appears again when Glenn comes in to talk to Nick and Connor after Robin’s accident.

“I… I guess I don’t know.” Nick looks down, avoiding eye contact by staring into the darkness under Connor’s bed. Mr Lion is under there in a clear plastic box, along with some other stuffed animals. Even when Nick first met Connor, the stuffed animals were already banished underneath the bed instead of on top of it. But over the years, Connor’s never thrown them away.

Mr. Lion is one of the various ways we played with the theme that Connor is, as Nick puts it, “somewhere between a kid and an adult.” Connor is a very confident and clever guy, but you don't magically get a giant box of maturity and life experience on your 18th birthday. At various points, he asks both Nick (at the campus concert) and Glenn (after Robin’s accident) to try to understand that he's still growing and figuring stuff out. Nick has definitely been deprived of some chances to be a kid, but in some ways Connor has as well. He started hanging out with Glenn after Penny and Robin split up, and although he and Nick obviously hit it off, Connor was closer to Glenn for a while. In a different universe, that might not have turned out as well - I mean, tell me you wouldn't side-eye that arrangement in real life. I sure would. Robin just sort of flings his hands up at the role Connor plays for the Close boys, but I strongly suspect that shit would not have flown on Penny’s watch.

It’s funny - he thought Connor was so grown-up when they met, but the guy was only 16 when the Wrights moved in next door. He wasn’t much older by the time he was over at the Close place almost every day, helping Nick with homework or cleaning questionable leftovers out of the fridge. It didn’t strike Nick as weird at the time, It was just another thing about his life that wasn’t like anybody else’s. He never questioned what was in it for Connor. Back then, Nick didn’t even realize how lonely he himself was - he wouldn't have figured out why a kid whose parents had just gotten divorced might want to come over to the chaotic Close apartment to get away from the quiet in his own home.

Everybody was doing their best, and everything worked out for the best, but Connor over the course of the stories is sorting out the balance that works for him in terms of responsibility and playfulness. Fortunately, now that he has less responsibility for Nick, he can enjoy Nick more as a friend and brother. In Name, Robin and Glenn both sort of assume Connor will act as a babysitter to Nick while they go off on their first date; by Crowd, Connor is hanging out playing Smash with Nick and Grant as the gents get ready for their dinner date, but he's there socially, as a peer. Him being goofier and more immature also frees up Nick to do the same, since if Connor is cool and Connor is being playful, then "it's not a little kid thing, it's a bro thing" They both get to be kids now in a way that they weren't before, and I love that for them. Anyway, the point of Mr. Lion and why I wanted to give Nick a stuffed animal as well was to draw the parallel between the sons more directly and to anchor the stuffed animal component. So far there hadn't been any moment in which an actual kid was holding an actual stuffed animal.

[inventors-fair]

Let’s Talk Flavor: Commentary

I would say overall that most of these cards were fantastic and a great number of the story ideas were good. There will be parts where I suggest edits, and the thing about story edits is, well, it doesn’t impact game design. That’s the thing about the Fair and the thing about Magic in general: the whole thing could be replicated with number systems and program lines and it would be the exact same. It’s the fact that a creature has Flying, or that a spell is made of Lightning that makes the game exciting. This was an interesting experiment. 

Let’s talk about cards!

@ace-hobo​ — Captain’s Wrench

This is a perfectly fine card. I like the “fixed” Voltaic Key style, the moderate power level. It’s a card that someone would probably be middling in artifact decks but fine in budget builds. I’m sort of feeling an Ixalan vibe, maybe with a little steampunkishness. I get that the wrench belongs to De, but it’s a little confusing regarding why they have the wrench. If they’re the captain and they’re not in the engine room, why is the card depicting a tool that would suit them better if they never left the engine room? Maybe the story should be about how DESPITE their captain status, they spend time in the engine room. It’s an easy enough tweak.

@cas-420 — Boiling Blood

The card is pretty good. It’s very aggressive and has synergistic potential. I really don’t see where the flavor is tying into it. I am favorably inclined towards your text, in concept. I can see where you were making the pun on “execution.” The wording is clunky with the repeated syntax, and could have just used the execution line. But what does that have to do with the card? The flavor evokes dissent, protest, retaliation. The flavor of the card evokes speed, purpose, initiative. It’s not a perfect tonal match. I would save the text for a different card with a clearer purpose

@dabudder​ — Wisdom of the Tides

In terms of card wording, I believe you’d be looking for something like Mysteries of the Deep, where you have an “instead” wording — unless you’re supposed to draw an additional card after? It’s a little confusing how you have it now. Still, Flourish is a fine mechanic, executed well. This was pretty close to being a runner-up. I like the nod towards crabs. We’ve been having a crab mood lately. Overall, not bad. Might need to be four mana, but that’s me being cautious.

@deafeningsandwichpeach​ — Jyska, Artificer Overlord

The name is probably the best thing about this card, and it’s fair enough for a legendary creature. Considering that this is essentially the Nim ability from original Mirrodin and that it’s a vanilla creature otherwise, I would contest that you’re severely overestimating the power level of this card. It’s not as strong as it seems. In terms of flavor text, this is basically exposition. I won’t dissuade you from story-rich cards, but there’s too much information presented in a manner that overloads the reader. Simplify, punch, beat, punctuate. In terms of presentation, the whole block should be in quotes, and you don’t need to attribute the quote if the character’s on the card itself.

@demimonde-semigoddess​ — Thaw

Great name, great snow flavor. I can see this in the tundra wastes, something emerging from the snow, bursting out. I had to do some digging. As it turns out, “gelid” is a real English word I had no idea about! I thought from the shackles and your flavor text that it was some Coldsnap lore. In terms of the text itself, it’s not bad. It’s just that the two statements are somewhat disconnected. They work both on their own, but together, they don’t gel well. Still, bonus points to mechanical flavor for an anti-ice feel.

@dimestoretajic​ — Phytotemple

The card is pretty funky for an uncommon, pushed but not busted. I’d call it a pain in the butt but no more than Wayfaring Temple. Ah, I see, the wayfarers, an homage. But there’s a lot I don’t understand. Who lost the wayfarers? Who’s saying this quote? Why did the phytotemples start appearing in general? Did the original wayfaring temples break into them? What does Selesnya have to do with construction crews? How is that related to the phytotemple’s physiology and motivation? Most importantly, why is there a street named after a Selesnya dissident? I think you should have focused on one specific area of the card’s backstory.

@emmypupcake — Bloom Nurturer

I was really surprised that there wasn’t a card already named this. In terms of card wording, look at High Tide or Bubbling Muck; I think it would read “Until end of turn, whenever you tap a Forest for mana, add an additional G.” The quote doesn’t light my world on fire, but it fits well and reads well. Just remember to indent the attribution with shift+enter. Overall? Good enough.

@fractured-infinity​ — Shara, Skalla Vengeant

I had to do a little digging, but I like how you incorporated Vivien’s lore in here. That said, Skalla is also, well, destroyed, presumably forever. Where did the spirit come from? Is it wandering around Skalla? In that case, did Vivien go back? Why? That raises a couple questions. In terms of this card, it’s broken. In anything but the most pushed Commander formats, it’s three mana to deal seven damage to any creature you want with minimal repercussions. Any prevention makes her impossible to deal with. In limited, she would sweep unfairly.

@ghost31415926535 — Man-Eater Wurm

Firstly, I would like to apologize for the flavor bar being in the middle of the line. That’s my bad. Let’s talk about the rest of the card. In concept, it shouldn’t be too overpowered. But deathtouch and trample together create complex rules baggage that many casual players simply don’t understand. Nine times out of ten, they’ll never be printed together. Seeing that this is exactly how you submitted it, consider for next time: Only the first keyword needs to be capitalized in a string. Something like Unearth needs its own line. The flavor text is standard enough. Just remember that quote attribution also needs its own line.

@gollumni​ — Gives You Hell

I love the name here. I got that All-American Rejects song stuck in my head now. Remember that one? Anyway. Firstly, you don’t need to put “target” there; “Enchant creature” implies it. Secondly, and least importantly, don’t forget you can add watermarks in MSE! Thirdly, the flavor text. I get it, but it doesn’t flow great. If there was some wordplay to be done on fire-spitting and whatever turn of phrase you used, like, “spitting poison” in the literal sense — I don’t know, I just expect something a little more concise. It’s a great concept and has the potential to be very funny, so points there. Also, the card itself? Fantastic.

@greensunzenith​ — Decorated Demon

Liking the name. I don’t like how this card has to be a rare. It’s more of an annoyance than anything. It feels like a card that prevents decisions. It’s not aggressive, nor is it particularly interactive. Conceptually it works, but I’m not in favor. The flavor text is a bit of a head-scratcher. The real question is: who is giving demons sigils? How do they become redeemed? On what world CAN demons become redeemed? This isn’t a Bant thing, is it? I’m a little lost as to the specifics, since it doesn’t play into any tropes and doesn’t inform the world in a recognizable way.

@i-am-the-one-who-wololoes​ — Goblin Decorator

If the flavor text had simply been, in quotes, “Earwigs would go so well with that wallpaper!”, then this card could have been a runner-up. Also, this should definitely be an uncommon. The effect is awesome and powerful and annoying and plays into a variety of strategies. Still, the flavor text is just...too much. It’s a lot of text that tells a story that doesn’t really need to be told. We get enough from the name and that last sentence, combined with a fun ability that matches the card. That’s all we need! Gotta simplify.

@ignorantturtlegaming​ — Dust, Revenant Force

For future cards, I would highly recommend reading up on design philosophy, what Magic’s colors are about, and how cards come into being. There are a lot of questions that this card raises, and a lot of things that need to be edited.

Green doesn’t get first strike, certainly not mono-green.

Why does this card cost five green mana? What does it provide for the limited/constructed environment?

It should be “Fox Warrior.”

The first thing about the flavor text is that there is far too much of it. It’s exposition for exposition’s sake. Fine in a high fantasy short story, but not on a Magic card.

The second thing about the flavor text is that Dust appears to be a white-aligned character through their actions and themes. I don’t feel anything green about them.

@juggernaut-is-a-metalhead — Devil’s Payment

I’m going easy on card art attribution since, well, it’s Disney and they are indeed evil, but in the future, please attribute it to the show itself and/or the director/copyright holder. So, the card itself. Is it supposed to be a common? Is it an homage to Cruel Bargain and Infernal Contract? This certainly isn’t a common effect, and for one mana, well, I don’t know what to say about this card. In terms of the flavor text, why is everything separated in lines like a poem? It’s way too long to fit into a card with three lines of rules text already. I don’t really understand what it’s even trying to say. The devil asked for the MAN’S youth. What does that has to do with his own? And why is it only sometimes capitalized? I don’t really understand this at all.

@koth-of-the-hammerpants — Hidden Bombardier

Great name. For the card text, it’s powerful, arguably fine in the right format, but very strong regardless. It also needs to say “It deals 3 damage” instead of just “Deal.” Gotta get past the 90′s, erryone. So now, the flavor text... I kinda get it? I just don’t understand what makes this card a shapeshifter. I don’t understand the world in which shapeshifters exist. This card feels like a Goblin. It’s an interesting kamikaze take, if a little too flowery and on-the-nose. It doesn’t exactly inform me, and it doesn’t exactly excite me.

@mardu-lesbian​ — Ballynock Adoptee

I had to look up to make sure that there were dwarfs on Lorwyn, and by golly, you’re right, there are! In RW hybrid in Eventide, anyway. And that brings up to a major story problem. By the introduction of dwarfs, the world has already plunged into Shadowmoor, and the thoughtweft has already been replaced with the mindweft. I’m stealing this from the wiki, so berate me if I’m wrong, but I always got the sense that the kithkin were highly xenophobic regardless of where the Great Aurora was. The jarring question that remains is: how does a non-kithkin creature become part of the thoughtweft/mindweft? It goes against what we know about the Kithkin and the world in general. If there’s a good explanation, I’m all ears, but I’m not convinced at this point in time.

@mistershinyobject​ — Phenax’s Messenger

Bonus judge trivia time: I studied Latin in high school and a little in college. From what I can tell about The Callapheia from other cards bearing it’s flavor text, it is meant to evoke classical poetry from Greek and Latin epics. The lines are written four at a time, indented carefully. HERE is a link to all cards with “Callapheia” in the flavor text. The gist is, this card does NOT evoke that. There’s a lot of text, a lot of quotes, a lot of forced story that could have been way punchier if you just had stuff about a snake eating a prophet. I love the card as a limited filler. But yeah, gotta do more research into what it means to have certain aspects on your cards.

@nicolbolas96​ — Unpredictable Betrayal

You know, it’s hard to evoke Nicol Bolas well in flavor text. He’s one of Magic’s major villains, a huge face of many sets, with years behind him. And honestly? You didn’t do a half-bad job in this flavor text. Props! That said, this card is way busted. For one, double strike doesn’t affect fighting at all, so that’s...something. For two, it would need to be three sentences; you did a run-on for that last one. For three, mechanically? This is a two-mana spell that eight times out of ten will absolutely destroy two creatures you don’t control. In limited, that’s insanely powerful. In any format that plays creatures, that’s usually amazingly good. There’s a reason spells like Blood Feud and Clash of Titans cost what they cost. Getting two creatures you don’t control to fight is powerful.

@nine-effing-hells​ — Cairn to Athusis

Actually, this card was one of my favorites from the contest. I’m a heavy Gruul player when I’m not playing cruel control, and I think the gist of this card is super interesting. You made it an enchantment artifact AND a shrine, giving flavor there as well to your new world. The only thing I would have changed is erasing that first sentence from your flavor text entirely. The second is so powerful that it stands on its own. It’s poetic without being overwrought, specific to the world and building off of known tropes. Also, it tells us that “orcs are RG in this world” which is a great mechanical touch. Just needed that little bit of trimming.

@real-aspen-hours​ — Deflect Consequences

Now this is an interesting card!... What practical use does it have? I’m curious what this has on something like Harmless Offering. I don’t believe that cast triggers will be affected. Maybe it would specifically go against things like “counter target spell you don’t control” or something, but if control changes... I’m uncertain of this card’s applications past the gimmick point. That said, it would be fun to cast a Leveler and have it enter the battlefield under an opponent’s control. I’m not in love with the flavor text. It’s fine. Doesn’t light my world on fire. A touch wordy. But it’s fine. Fits the name and the ability well, so that’s nice.

@reaperfromtheabyss​ — Inconquerable Alseid

Besides the fact that “Hope” should be lowercase and separated by a colon, the flavor text is really cool! I don’t like this card much. It’s honestly fine, and it’s an interesting commander card that could lead to some cool consequences, but there’s a reason Undaunted has reminder text. It doesn’t look good floating there by itself. There are some abilities that just need reminder text all the time, and Undaunted is on so few cards that it significantly needs this. I think I was a little too harsh on this card on my first go-around, but I haven’t warmed up to it yet. I think the great flavor could have been used on a simpler, more protective card.

@scavenger98​ — Kadalla the Scornful

I’m 99% sure it should go “First strike, deathtouch, haste.” Order of keywords is weird sometimes. So are creature types. I don’t really understand the world on which an Elf can be Mardu colors. It’s a stretch of the imagination to say the least. The card itself is...fine? I’d honestly make her an uncommon in today’s world. Yeah, she’s powerful, but she’s a 2/1 for three with all different mana symbols. Regarding the flavor, it’s well-worded, but it’s lengthy and doesn’t actually tell us anything about the character or the world. It doesn’t inform the card, and that’s its major misstep. Again, though, good writing.

@shandylamb​ — Multani’s Offspring

A fine card, a funny flavor. Just so you know, though, “Saproling” is pretty much only relegated to the token, and this card would probably see print as a plant or fungus. And additionally, as nice as the pun is... What’s this card even trying to say in the story? Multani’s only known child is Muldrotha, and that’s deep lore as-is. As funny as this card might be, it really doesn’t mesh with a Magic feel.

@starch255​ — Unscrupulous Horpske 

There are only two things I’m concerned about. Firstly: what about this creature makes it “unscrupulous?” What scruples does it have normally in its species? Secondly, this card is trying to make potato salad canon in the multiverse, and I don’t know if such a travesty would be allowed to happen. Potato salad is an affront to taste, no offense to the horpske.

Literally everything else about this card is a 10/10. I would also encourage you to work on a set symbol. Everyone should!

@teaxch​ — Hidden Seers

Interesting. So what timeline is this? Is this supposed to be, like, a return to Tarkir? Cool concept, I think, although I’m not entirely sold. After hearing the shaman’s whispers, why is Surrak’s first instinct to assume that without dragons a human would lead the clan? Wouldn’t the thought of a world without dragons evoke other thoughts and fears first? That’s my main hand-iffy-motion reason. This is also a supremely petty nitpick, probably the pettiest thing I’ve ever said about a card, but if this is the Dragon timeline then wouldn’t the watermark be the Atarka one instead of the Temur one?

@tmstage​ — Apostasy

Everything about this card is good...individually. Great name, but what does that have to do with the ability? What is it trying to depict? What does shuffling your library have to do with religious dogma? And the flavor text feels overbearing. Nykita as a character is someone I’d like to know more about, but this card doesn’t tell me much about her. It’s mostly that the mechanics and the flavor don’t mesh in the least, and, well, it’s not a good mechanic. Shuffling is time-consuming, game-prolonging, and has no discernible benefit to the game outside of incredibly niche cards that mostly don’t affect you as the player. And the more I read the flavor text, the less it makes sense. “Allow the world to deform your flawed notions?” It sounds awesome, but what does it mean?

~

Thank you all for your submissions. New contest tomorrow. 

[supraveng]

Agent of Shield - Chapter 1

This is my first fan-fiction, I appreciate any and all feedback

Summary: You are a relatively new agent at Shield, but not a field agent, apparently that is about to change when you meet the Avengers and they realize you are a valuable asset

Word count: 2168

My phone rang and caused a huge sigh of relief, at this point during the lunch date, I didn’t care if it was a telemarketer, I was going to say it was an emergency and get out of there as quickly as possible.  “I’m sorry, I need to take this” I said as politely as possible as I dig my phone out of my bag. “Hello?”  “Hi, Y/N Miller, it’s Maria Hill, I know it’s a Saturday, but we could really use your assistance on a time sensitive situation.  How quickly can you get to Stark tower?  We have some intel and no one here to translate it for us.” “Girl, you are getting me out of the worst date in history, I can be there in 30 mins.”  I move my mouth away from the phone and address my lunch companion “Oh don’t pout, you can’t think this was going well, you’ve been talking about your mother for the last 20 minutes” I am not in the mood to give Mr. Boring any pretense that I wanted to be there. You could hear Maria try to stifle a laugh before commenting “Thank you, are you in Manhattan? We can have someone come get you?” “Actually, I’m about 5 blocks away, but I’m gonna need some coffee to combat my two-martini lunch if you want the translations to be accurate” I responded as I gathered my things and headed out of the restaurant.  “We wouldn’t have called if we didn’t want accuracy”, you gasp when you heard the voice “Nicky, is that you? This IS a treat!”  I say with a giggle.   “Stop calling me that I will personally have your coffee waiting for you when you arrive, you have 10 minutes” “Thank you Director Fury” I say as seriously as possible. “So what are we looking at here, what language do you need translated?”  “We aren’t sure what language it is, but you would be the expert in that department.   We just received the comm but we don’t have anyone here that can assist, and since you know all languages, you are always our first choice.” “Oh, Maria, flattery will get you everywhere!!”

I arrived at Stark tower 8 minutes later with Fury handing me a rather large cup of coffee and what almost looked like a smile “Thank you for allowing us to interrupt your Saturday”. I smiled at him as I sipped my coffee and followed him into the elevator.  “You are very welcome, I’m glad I was close by, this coffee could have gotten cold if I was anywhere else in the city”.   I walked down the corridor and was led into a conference room, I almost stopped dead in my tracks when I notice Tony Stark and Steve Rogers discussing something at the monitor.  I take a deep breath and another sip of coffee “Well, I guess this is where the party is, I’m sorry I’m late”, both the Avengers turn to look at me and I could have melted right there.  “Sorry to tear you away from your martini lunch, but we could really use your help here” Tony says with a smile.  I glare at Maria “you should warn someone when they are on speaker phone.  Not a problem Mr. Stark, I’m pretty sure this emergency saved me from the reincarnation of Norman Bates.”  Everyone laughs except for Steve who looks a little confused, Tony claps him on the shoulder “I’ll explain it later Cap.  And Y/N, please call me Tony.   The communication came in this morning, but I’m limited to only knowing 6 languages and whatever this is, it’s not one of them.”  “Well, there are approximately 2500 languages in the world, and Maria exaggerated, I’m only fluent in 47, but I will do my best” I respond with a smile.  “You are fluent in 47 languages?” “Yes Captain, unless you count Pig Latin, then it’s 48” I say with a wink.  “Which we don’t, so can we please move this along?” “Of course, Director Fury” I respond as I continue to sip my coffee.   “Are you looking for anything in particular? Or just need a literal translation?” I question as I sit down with a pen and paper before they start to play the recording.  “Well, if you are able to translate, which it sounds like you are the most qualified one in the room, we would want a full transcript of the conversation.”  “Of course, Captain” I smile as Tony starts to play the recording.  “Please, call me Steve”

I begin listening with my eyes closed in order to concentrate on the conversation and pick out the different individuals speaking.   I open my eyes and signal for Tony to pause the recording.  “Um, so it is Xhosa and I’m able to translate but not to question your source, are you sure this is the correct recording?”  I question with a quizzical look.  “Why? What are they talking about?” Fury asks. “Well, please excuse my language Captain, eh Steve, but idiot number 1 is complaining to idiot number 2 about the, um brothel he recommended” I state as I look at the other 4 people in the room. Maria begins to chuckle under her breath but clears her throat as Tony begins speaking.  “What exactly did he say?” I look up, almost embarrassed to repeat any of the conversation in front of golden boy Captain America and smile “Well, he said, and I quote “the whore house you sent me to was awful, I asked for the blonde like you recommended, her bush was too much, she pegged me without my permission, and now I have a strange looking sore on the side of my” I was cut off by Steve “Ok, I don’t think that’s what we are looking for here. Would you mind continuing through the recording and leave out any of the colorful commentary?”  “Of course, please continue the recording” I state as Tony is about to add to the situation, but I just shake my head and grin.  I continue listening for a few more lines when I hear a name “Who is Demetri Makarov?” I ask as Tony pauses the recording again. “They mentioned Demetri.  What did they say?”  Tony asks as he looks over at you.   “Idiot number 2 is telling idiot number 1 that he went to the wrong, um, brothel, that none of Demetri’s girls have a bush and are always kept clean. He has a very strict criteria and only keeps the best, um, workers.  He gets a fresh shipment every month, so any that are dirty are disposed of” I say with a lump in my throat.   My job for SHIELD has never been easy to handle when it comes to the types of criminals I help to expose, but this was a bit more than I was expecting on a Saturday afternoon.  Steve seems to sense my trepidation and places a hand on my shoulder “this is exactly what we need, can you continue, or do you need a break?” he asks.   I take a deep breath and look into his crystal blue eye, which seem to calm me enough to continue “since this is time sensitive, I don’t want to take a break, I’ll be fine”  I nod and Tony continues to play the message.   I close my eyes again and pick up the pen, I listen a little while longer and then begin writing.  When the recording stops, I look up “Wait, is that all you got?   That’s not enough information” I say, almost agitated that they didn’t provide me more details.  “Unfortunately, the transmission cut out, but what else did you get? Anything useful?” Maria asks.  “Well, idiot number 2 went to praise Demetri and his screening process for finding the purest girls of anyone around.  Idiot number 2 told idiot number 1 that he is hoping that Demetri will let him test the merchandise when it comes in on the 20th.  But there wasn’t a location, he didn’t give anything else to work with” I reply frustrated and almost defeated that I couldn’t get more info to help stop this sicko.  

“You’ve helped more than you realize” Tony responds as he goes back to the monitor. “We received the recording this morning and sent out agents for ground surveillance immediately.” “We have 12 days to figure out where Demetri is and where his is taking the women, that’s more time than we usually have” Steve says as he smiles at me. “Thank you for your help, can we contact you if anything else comes in?” he asks hesitantly.  I smile and nod “Of course” I respond as I think, you are Captain Freaking America, you can call me anytime.  Tony clears his throat and catches both me and Steve off guard “Quit flirting Cap, we have work to do.  Thank you for your time Y/N, we will be in touch”

I stand up and turn to Maria who has a huge grin on her face “Here, I’ll walk you out” she states as she stands up and follows me out the door.   As I step on the elevator, I look over at Maria with my mouth hanging open, “Are you ok?” she asks, a little worried by my appearance.  “Yea, I guess, just not how I thought this day would go. First meeting two of the hottest men in NY and listening to a bunch of dirt bags being all giddy about their knowledge of a sex trafficking ring halfway around the world.  My life usually isn’t this interesting” I say with a shrug.  “Well, I think you impressed everyone in that room, you would be a huge asset to the team for this particular investigation.   I can talk to Fury about moving you from your desk job, you are totally wasted there, you know that, right?”  she states as the elevator opens on the bottom floor.  I look at her a bit skeptically, “Maria, I love you, but I am not a field agent, I’m barely an agent at all.  I’m a translator at best and the only reason I got through that whole thing without making an ass of myself was the martini’s I had before I came over.   I don’t think the Avengers would appreciate me needing to be buzzed in order to assist them with actual helpful way.  What is so funny?” I practically scream when Maria is doubled over laughing.  “You need to relax, they were both impressed with you, I mean, who wouldn’t be, 47 languages?  That’s 40 more than Stark and he’s a genius!  You don’t give yourself enough credit.”  “Thank you, but I don’t know how you can work with the Avengers at all. It’s like their hotness level surpasses normal people by 500%, and you don’t even notice” I respond starting to laugh at the entire situation.  “Oh honey, I notice, trust me I notice.  I just pretend they all look like trolls so that I can keep from drooling” she tells me with a small smile.  I snort and shake my head as I hail a cab “I’m not sure my imagination is strong enough for that, but I will try to my best to be professional” I say with a smile as I open the cab door.   Today is definitely not how I were expecting my day to go, I stare out the window of the cab and start thinking about what Maria said.  Helping the Avengers on this case would be scary as hell, but also, probably the most rewarding work I’ve done since coming to SHIELD.  I became an agent to help people, and this situation was probably the biggest impact I would see on these women’s lives, but am I ready?

I reached my apartment sooner than expected and needed some food and relaxation, this day took a strange direction and I knew I need to find a way to process it all without going crazy.  I grabbed some leftover pad thai from the fridge and headed to my bedroom, stripped out of the 4-inch heels and jeans I wore for my blind date then head into the bathroom start a bath.  Pulling out my lavender bath oils and got the water as hot as possible as I munched on the takeout.    I grabbed my phone, opened Spotify and started my relax playlist before slowly lowering myself into the steamy water, then realized I didn’t grab a bottle of wine to help be unwind.  Maybe that was a good oversite, dealing with a hangover is never fun, and if I’m called for another translation, I need to remain professional.  After my bath, I throw on my comfiest robe and plop on my bed with my laptop.  Nothing interesting on social media, I decide an evening of Netflix would hit the spot. A few episodes into The Office and I decide that getting to bed early wouldn’t be a bad idea.  

NEXT CHAPTER

[strandedworlds]

Finding Home #1

Thalia had just come from her sister’s funeral and wandered alone through the night lighted city of Chicago. Her mind just floating. Her eyes gazing into the darkness. The late September breeze brushing over her face. In the pitch-black suit, shirt and tie she blended into the night.

“Where is he?” A black-haired woman with a violin in her hand yelled down the hall. She was standing in a beautiful red dress backstage of one of her biggest concerts yet. The director came down the hall. “I have no idea. I checked everywhere.” “This can’t be happening.” “I am sorry Kate, but I think we have to cancel.” “We have one other hope.” “And that would be?” “Finding a trumpet player, who can play like Andrew in under 2 hours.” She knew that the chances were slim, but she had to try.

“Excuse me do you play the trumpet? No?” One of the violinists of the orchestra turned to Kate. “This is impossible.” Kate knew she was right. The director and the other musicians were calling friends, colleagues and acquaintances to try and find someone, while she and some other violins asked people on the street. “Okay go in already I will come soon.” A woman turned around the corner in a black suit. Wright clothing already she thought. As she came closer Kate could see her beautiful blond hair in a French braid in contrast to her blue eyes. Last person you are going to ask today she said to herself. She stepped forward to ask the woman and obviously startled her. “I am sorry, but can I ask you something?” “Yes, why not. Chicago Symphonic Orchestra, wright?” “Mm, yes correct.” She was surprised and smiled. “Do you by any chance play the trumpet?” “Yes, why.” “Oh my gosh, YES!” “Come on we need you.” And with that Thalia got dragged into the concert hall.

“Dave, I found someone!” “This must be good.” The music director chimed. “This is … mm.” She turned to the woman who she had just dragged in and whose wrist she was still holding. “Thalia.” “She plays trumpet.” Kate adds with excitement. “I guess this is our best shot.” “What do I have to play?” “An arrangement for Orchestra with Trumpet and Violin soli of the Violin Concerto in D major from Tchaikovsky because our other player canceled. I mean rightly dressed are you already.” Dave said pointing at her outfit. “Full Name?” He continued. “You going to publish that in any way?” She asked after a slight pause. “Yes, we are also going to be on tv live.” “Okay, then Elisabeth Kemper.” “Thanks, Thalia here are the notes and the door through the left is a room with a trumpet where you can practice. You have one hour.” He explains while thinking: If this actually works a wonder will have occurred.

“I don’t think that that is her real name some how.” Kate said as soon a she was gone. “Kate what do you expect, if she really can play this than she is good and good people come with contracts. If they find out that she played for us her career could be over Kate.” “You’re probably right.”

Thalia was in the practice room. She already once played this piece years ago. She absolutely loved it. It touched her in someway that made her not feel so alone. She was just going over some parts she knew were difficult when the black haired entered. “Hey, there.” She smiled at Thalia. Their eyes met. The Violinist was pale in contrast to her black hair that fell openly over her shoulder. She had a beautiful red dress on. “It seems you already played the piece.” She continued. “Yes.” Thalia answered while sitting down on the table in front of her. “So, you are?” She asked with a smile. “Sorry, Kate well Katherine Willnox. I will be playing the violin. Well, I am actually nervous like a lot.” Her eyes suddenly pinned to the floor. “Hey, we have a forgiving audience not like in some other places.” She answered while removing her tie. “Come on look at me.” Thalia added softly. Kate’s dark eyes darted up and found those calm blue ones. “You don’t have to worry, you got this.”

For Isiah Kemper music was a part of him deep down in his heart. He still played his various instruments everyday but only for himself. Today like every evening he switched on the tv for the musical programme. He loved watching people play music with all of their imperfections, if it came from the heart. He found that watching no name orchestras evolve and challenge themselves to get better touched him on a deep level. Today it was the Chicago Symphonic Orchestra. He sat down and listened to the commentary. “The Chicago Symphonic Orchestra never had much success getting the attention it deserved. Due to the lack of promotion from the last musical director, who paid a lot of attention to the music itself and bending out the kinks of this orchestra. But the new director has set his focus on a more public CSO. Oh, wait I am getting some last-minute changes here. I am just hearing that the soli will be performed by Katherine Willnox on the Violin, no change there. But the trumpet will now be played by Elisabeth Kemper….” A surprised smile came over Isiah’s face, who was knocked out of his boots with this announcement. He had never felt prouder in his life than in this second where he saw his beautiful daughter step on to the stage with a smile on her face in a black pantsuit and her shiny trumpet in her hand. As soon as she started to play, he could hear her heart and her soul that manifested itself in the music. In this moment he knew that she was finally free.

The concert went of without a hitch. Only few people if at all could have told that they had never played together. Thalia had told her two things before the concert. Firstly, that she could do it, what was true and that she should lead, and it worked. She just played like she always did, and Thalia matched her perfectly it was almost magical when theirs eyes had met on stage. It made her feel like she was the only one in the room, which relaxed her tremendously. She felt extremely attracted to her. The director was more than happy with the concert. Now he was running down the hall when he bumped into her. “That was amazing Katherine!” He exclaimed happily as he patted her on the back. “We need to convince this trumpet player to join us.” He continued with a searching eye to find her. “Yeah, she is really good.” Kate agreed. With that he continued to walk down the hall to look for her. Kate was standing with other musicians from the orchestra talking happily about the concert when she saw in the corner of her eye a familiar blonde French braid exciting through the door. She went after her: “Hey, Thalia! Wait.” The blonde stopped halfway down the stairs and turned around. “You do know that you can’t just escape without letting me properly thank you.” She declared which sounded flirtier than she actually intended. She was just about to continue when a piece of paper lying on the stairs caught her attention and she picked it up. Kate could only briefly skim the paper before Thalia took it out of her hands, but it was enough. Thalia had just come from a funeral that was clear. She was now standing one step over Thalia in slightly awkward silence. “I hate to disappoint you, but I don’t dress this fly all the time.” Thalia said with a sad smile on her face. “I am sorry.” Thalia nodded as response. Kate continued: “I can’t thank you enough for what you have done for me. We would…I would be really grateful to have you join us. Think about it our doors are open.” “Yeah, I will.” With that they parted ways.

Katherine originally wanted to treat Thalia for a dinner but according to the situation she found it a tad inappropriate. She really hoped that Thalia would take the offer of their music director. It was a selfish reason, but she wanted to see her again.

Back outside in the fresh and cold breeze Thalia looked up into the clear dark sky sprinkled with stars. Her eyes got lost in the shear beauty of it. Her breathing slowed and she relaxed. Her dad was out there somewhere, and she knew that he would watch the concert. She used his name over hers for multiple reasons, but one was to send a signal to her dad. She wanted him to know that she got out and was doing what she wanted. She felt free and not as alone knowing that he was out there.