#edit: this started as a joke but now I'm invested in them

[an-egg-on-it]

Forget capvers or chess husbands or whatever, the real OTP is German pilot x German pilot

[100vern]

the great british fake-off | xmh

you thought the guy in the hawaiian-print shirt who seems physically incapable of being quiet would be the most annoying person here, so imagine your shock when it's xu minghao, who has seemingly decided you're the enemy and keeps sabotaging you. a baking competition for charity might have others on their best behavior, but what's a little sugar without some spice?

❆ pairing: minghao x reader ❆ genre: great british bake-off, holiday au; crack, fluff ❆ wordcount: 5.5k ❆ rating: e for everyone ❆ warnings: some swearing, minghao is a saboteur, idiots abound. ❆ credits: this netflix psd template for the banner. this recipe for the yule log; this recipe for the gingerbread house; and this recipe for the entremet. divider from here. this post for the divider. this was roughly edited by me, so any and all mistakes are my own. ❆ written for: the winter with you collab hosted by @camandemstudios. thank you for letting me participate! please make sure to check out the rest of the stories as they're posted. ♡ ❆ author's note: i had this rotting away in my wips since literally 2021, so even though it started as a completely different story, i'm so glad it's finally seeing the light of day even if it's not what i originally intended. (also, i know the banner says 12 contestants but the holiday specials only had a couple, okay. i forgot when i made it and i wasn't going back to fix it.)

The obnoxious one is wearing an aloha-print shirt.

He’s also extremely loud, his raucous, fake laughter filling every corner of the large warehouse you’ve been assigned to for filming. Makes a show of batting his eyelashes, throwing his head back every time someone cracks a joke that’s not even funny, comes up with nonsensical nicknames for the entire crew just to suck up to them.

“John Davies? Mind if I call you Joe?”

Joe doesn’t even make sense as a nickname for John, but John fucking loves it, apparently. Looks at the annoying guy like he just watched him string the stars in the sky.

But it’s the shirt—god, the shirt drives you absolutely crazy. He’s about to go on national television, be a household name, and some ill-fitting, charity shop Hawaiian print shirt is what he woke up and chose to wear. What’s his angle here? Appeal to the public with some sob story about only being able to afford second-hand clothes so that’s why he’s competing? Needs the money to care for a sick relative?

(The expensive watch on his wrist and his limited-drop sneakers tell an entirely different story, but you’re keeping that to yourself for now. No reason to play your hand so early.)

As much as you hate the shirt, you have to admit it suits him. The colors are garish and unsightly, just as obnoxious as he is, and you can’t stare at it too long because you start going cross-eyed. Looking at him feels about the same as stuffing your mouth with a bunch of sour candies: you get that same burn in the back of your jaw, same scrunched-up, grossed-out look on your face; have to squeeze your eyes shut to blink back tears.

You don’t even know his name, but you hate him immediately.

Your eyes scan the other contestants. None of them inspire the same level of animosity within you as the annoying one does; all of them nearly unremarkable. A variety of ages, appearances, backgrounds. You hear one say they’re a retired investment banker. There’s an accountant, a teacher, a fucking aerospace engineer.

And then it’s his turn to introduce himself. He clears his throat, speaks with an easy, practiced confidence. Completely void of nerves. Makes eye contact with everyone in your conversation circle. Gesticulates wildly as he speaks, immediately endears everyone to him.

“I’m Tim,” he says, and you nearly recoil at how honeyed his voice is. “But you can call me Tim. I’m thirty-eight, originally from a small town. Work as a…”

You can barely stand to listen to it anymore, each “Nice to meet you, Tim!” like another punch to the gut. How can’t these people see right through him? How are they falling for his bullshit? You should’ve known. Producers always throw in at least one bomb to up the ratings—a secret millionaire, someone rude and confrontational, a flat-earther. Even if you’re competing in a charity baking competition, of all things, it’s still reality television at the end of the day.

Just because the bunch of you are going to spend the next few days creating confections out of sugar, spice, and everything nice, doesn’t mean you have to be part of that ‘everything.’

Tim thinks he’s got this in the bag. Thinks he’s going to show up and win easily, the rest of you be damned, and even if you are typically a very nice person, you’re also highly competitive. There’ll be no rolling over done by you, and if Tim wants to play dirty—

Game on.

As you introduce yourself, you feel his eyes burning a hole in the side of your head. Probably because you don’t bother with the faux-humility the rest of the contestants have. Polite and charming but firm, just the way your mother had taught you. You’re not boisterous, don’t crack silly jokes to play up to the cameras the way Tim loves to do, and you know he’s scrutinizing you the way you’d done to him, trying to figure out your angle.

Well, joke’s on him—you don’t need one.

And you really, really hope it drives him crazy.

Except maybe the joke is on you, too, because you don’t account for Xu Minghao.

In true reality television fashion, the tent is boiling hot.

As if the universe itself had looked down on all of you and decided what you all needed was a heatwave uncharacteristic of this time of year, just to up the ante. Not even ten minutes in the tent and you’re all fanning yourselves and wafting air up your shirts. Which is great, really, because it isn’t like you need to use ovens or stand over hot burners. It’s not like you aren’t going to be soaking through your clothes with anxiety sweats, either! Sweat dripping off your brow into your eyes won’t matter because you don’t need to use them.

Everything’s going to be fine!

But everything is not fine. Not only has the universe gifted you with sweltering heat, it’s given you the work station directly next to Tim’s. You’ll have to feel his annoying, off-putting aura near you for the entire competition. There’s always the possibility of him bungling it and making an early exit, but you know that’s unlikely. Obnoxious he may be, you also know a strong opponent when you see one, and something tells you you’re going to be stuck with him for the long haul.

Think of the cats, you tell yourself. All of this is for the cats.

It’s not like you never would’ve returned here of your own volition. No, your first go-round with feel-good, competition-based reality television had gone fine. You hadn’t won, of course, because you wouldn’t be here again if you had, but you placed respectably in the top three. Became a fan favorite, too, which was arguably more lucrative than winning. People make a living on social media these days.

So, it’s not the competition itself that has you white-knuckled gripping onto the edge of your station. It’s the man at the one beside you, cracking all these stupid jokes about the weather and how it’s a horrible day for tempering chocolate, so he bets that’s going to be the first challenge!

You suck in a deep breath. Try to remember the breathing exercises from that one yoga class your sister had dragged you to. It had been about the same temperature then, too—well duh, it’s hot yoga, your sister had said, which was news to you, because you never would’ve signed up for something called hot yoga willingly. Still, you endured it, just like you’ll endure this, and a little sweat is not going to get in the way of you delivering a check to all those poor, sad cats without families.

“Psst, hey,” you hear from behind you. When you turn, a man is smirking at you as he finishes tying his apron around his waist—has to wrap the strings around twice, you notice, because only someone hand-picked by the gods themselves would have that shoulder-to-waist ratio.

You don’t really recognize him. Can’t recall his name or where he’s from; can’t remember what he mentioned doing for a living. Probably something artsy, if you had to guess—he definitely has the style and demeanor of a creative, with his trendy shag-mullet and the multicolored, glitter-y snowflakes decorating his nails.

You aren’t sure he introduced himself at all, but the confidence with which he holds himself—easy, like it’d take a national emergency to rattle him even a little—implies he doesn’t really have to. Most of the people here already know him, if you had to guess, and he gives the impression that he’s not fussed with impressing any of them.

If only Tim was so inclined.

You clear your throat, vaguely aware you need to respond. “Yeah?”

“Are you nervous?”

“Ah, I don’t think so? We’ve done this before, after all. We should be seasoned veterans by now.”

He smirks. “Should be,” he emphasizes. “Feels different when it’s for charity. Extra serious, you know?”

“Right,” you agree, taking a look around the tent. “Anything for the cats.”

There’s an immediate shift in the atmosphere. What was friendly and carefree is now tense; where a smile and a floral giggle sat on the man’s lips has been replaced with a crooked scowl. And it doesn’t make sense, all you’d done was agree with what he said, but then the producers are yelling something at the front of the tent, cameramen are rushing to their equipment, and a woman appears at your side and starts clipping equipment to your clothes, and there’s no time to question it. On your right, Tim’s laughing and joking around with some crew members like they’re old drinking buddies. It drives you nuts, has annoyance pricking at your skin, flushing your cheeks—

So much so that the woman at your side leans in and asks, “Should I get hair and makeup over here?”

“I—no, it’s fine.”

The unnecessary members of the production team scatter away after a loud countdown. Hair and makeup don’t come to wipe the sweat tracks from your skin. You already know Man Behind You is standing there looking perfect because he’s equally as attractive as he is mysterious. God truly has favorites, and this guy somehow made the top five.

You stare down at the instructions in front of you, confident in your ability to read but not so confident in your ability to make sense of any of it. And it’s your own recipe, which is the worst part. You’d typed this recipe yourself. These are your hand-written notes in the margins. You’ve conceptualized, tweaked, baked, and eaten this recipe more times than you can count, and now all you can do is thousand-yard-stare into the ether.

In the time since you were on the show, you’d somehow forgotten about the chaos. Not unlike that hormone women have that makes them forget about the pain and agony of childbirth, you reckon.

In addition to being one of the most bothersome people in history, Tim apparently doubles as a prophet.

Because it is a terrible day to temper chocolate, and you’ve got a bûche de Noël on the horizon that requires you to do so. You can pivot, maybe make some kind of buttercream, but a basic chocolate buttercream is not going to win you a world-renowned baking competition even if it is Swiss meringue. A child could make that.

You sigh. Push that wave of panic to the back of your mind. In a setting like this, you have approximately ten seconds to come up with a back-up plan and execute it and you wasted your time thinking, so you’re just going to have to temper the stupid chocolate and stick to your original plan. God, you have a headache.

But the show must go on, so you do too.

Step 1: Preheat the oven.

Easy enough. If nothing else, you can preheat an oven.

Step 2: Make the sponge.

Not as easy, but you’ve made so many sponge cakes throughout your life you could probably do it in your sleep. Whisk attachment on the stand mixer. Four eggs. Sugar meticulously weighed and added to the bowl. Sugar and eggs whisked together until the mixture is the color and consistency you’re looking for. Flour, cocoa powder, and salt sifted in. Metal spoon to fold it all together as delicately as possible. You won’t have a sponge cake if you beat all the air out of it, now will you?

“Good enough,” you mutter to yourself, staring down at the bowl.

At least you’d had the foresight to grease and line your baking tray, because the entire entourage arrives at your station just as you’re meant to be pouring the batter into it and sticking it in the oven.

“Ah, we meet again,” the group choruses, genuine smiles peeking through as if you’re old friends separated only by time and distance.

That’s the weird thing about being on television. For as long as you’re able, you exist within a microcosm of daily life. A world exists outside of your bubble, you know, but you don’t see much proof of it. All of your meals are eaten together; all of your conversations are had with one another. You share temporary living quarters and oftentimes too much of yourselves, and you’re thankful the show encourages teamwork and kindness because that’s the kind of thing that can grow sour if you leave it unchecked too long.

And then it just—ends.

Bubble burst, you all go back to your regular lives. You look back on that time fondly, but the friendships are thinned out by time and distance. Eventually it all starts to feel like a dream, except every now and then something breaks through the haze to remind you it actually happened: a stranger recognizing you at the store, a message on social media, the casting team contacting you to ask if you’d be interested in competing in a holiday special for charity.

“We certainly do,” you retort, smile matching everyone else’s.

All things considered, you are happy to be back. Even if the tent is crowded and far too warm, the atmosphere is unmatched, especially when it’s decorated for the holidays.

“What are you working on?”

You explain the general workings of your yule log: chocolate sponge, hazelnut liqueur cream filling, and chocolate icing to top it off. You aren’t sure how you’re going to decorate it yet—you’ll figure it out once you get there, depending on how much time you have—but you guarantee them it’ll look festive and professional.

Satisfied with your plan, they wish you luck and move on to the man behind you. It’s so great to see you again, Minghao, someone says, and you’re grateful they’ve spared you the embarrassment of having to ask for his name. It still doesn’t ring a bell, and you can’t recall what season he’d been on for the life of you, but he speaks with a patience and a gentleness that is so unlike Tim that you nearly drop to the floor in thanks.

But as the commotion of the tent reminds you, you don’t have time to waste thinking about Minghao. You’ve only been given an hour for your signature, and you’re going to need all sixty of those minutes if you have any hopes of presenting a finished product.

It doesn’t register at first.

It doesn’t register at second or third, either.

In fact, you’re sure you’re hallucinating when you open the oven door to pop the sponge inside and you aren’t hit with a blast of hot air. Room temperature. Perhaps a bit on the cooler side, if you’re being honest.

And that can’t be, because you know you preheat your oven. It was the first thing you did, because it’s always the first thing you do. It’s just… automatic, like opening your mouth to eat or washing between your toes in the shower. Instinctual. Not something that needs to even be considered, because it’s always the first thing you do.

No, this cannot be. Forgetting to preheat the oven is a rookie mistake and you’re not a rookie.

…Could it be?

Perhaps you were so caught up in the lights and buzz, the thrill of returning to the tent, that it had slipped your mind? Perhaps you’d pressed the wrong buttons and turned the wrong dials? While it’s not likely you’d somehow bumped into the oven and turned it off, nothing is impossible, so… maybe?

“Shit,” you hiss through your teeth. The producers are not going to be happy about your swearing. “Shit, shit, shit.”

“Everything okay up there?” Minghao asks from behind you. When you turn, he’s got a flour-dusted towel thrown over his shoulder as he nurses a cup of tea, and his composure in the face of your hysteria has your head spinning.

Your mouth opens and closes like a goldfish. Minghao is drinking tea without a care in the world and your oven isn’t even halfway to the temperature you need. “I—yes? No? I don’t know. I could’ve sworn I preheated the oven, but—”

“Don’t panic,” he offers, his top lip catching on the rim of his mug. “You got this. Work on something else while you wait.”

Something else. Right, you can work on something else. Both the filling and the frosting still have to be made, and quick mental math tells you there should just be enough time to get everything done if you’re efficient. Of course, that’s a big if, but that’s why you’d chosen a yule log, after all: sponge cake doesn’t need that long to bake, and anything can happen (and go wrong) in this tent.

So, you get to work on something else. Measure out a sheet of parchment paper, dust it with cocoa powder, and set it to the side. Decide to get to work on the frosting, because if one thing has already gone wrong, you don’t trust the universe to let you temper chocolate correctly.

The chocolate is halfway melted when the oven dings. A small harrumph of victory and you’re finally good to go, setting a timer for twelve minutes. Minghao offers you a discreet thumbs-up, fingers covered in something sticky you assume is marzipan.

Time flies after that. You get both the frosting and your filling made, and it’s only through divine intervention that your sponge cake comes out perfectly and with enough time to score and cool. When you dare a look around the room, everyone seems to be in a similar position as you: frazzled and covered in powdered sugar, making frantic trips to and from the refrigerators, chucking seized-up caramel into the trash and starting over for the third time with a pained expression.

A holiday special—it was supposed to be more laid-back, more for the vibes and festivity than actual competition, but it looks to you like everyone’s taking it just as seriously as your first go-rounds.

“Fifteen minutes!” someone calls, and your competitors fade out of focus. You’ve got a yule log to ice and fondant to roll out.

You make it by the skin of your teeth.

It isn’t perfect, of course, as few things on this show ever are, but it’s more than acceptable. It looks great and tastes even better which is all you can hope for. Much to your dismay, Tim also gets top marks, but it’s Minghao that shocks you all. His stollen wreath earns him a handshake and a lot of clandestine, private glares, but he’d been kind to you earlier, helped untangle that knot of pandemonium, so you return the thumbs-up he’d given you earlier with a smile that feels akin to getting away with murder.

Something is wrong.

On its own, this is not necessarily surprising. Gingerbread, tasked with bearing the weight of an entire house, can be fickle. On any other day you wouldn’t blame it if it wanted to rebel and go sideways, but the thing is—you’ve made gingerbread before. Tons of times. Another thing you could probably make in your sleep if you absolutely had to. So it doesn’t make sense when you look down in your mixing bowl and it just… doesn’t look right.

You tell yourself it’ll get better when you knead it. Maybe the color just looks off because it’s underworked, and a few good punches will set it straight.

But it doesn’t. The dough sits at your station like a sad, formless lump, giving you no indication it intends to become anything at all. Which is, admittedly, a problem. Your technical challenge is to build a gingerbread house—one complete with little windows and golden-toned nightlights, a scalloped roof dusted with powdered sugar to look like fresh snow, a working door!—and you’re far from an engineer, but you don’t think you can have a gingerbread house without gingerbread.

You sneak a peek at Tim’s station, where he’s well into measuring an immaculate-looking dough with a ruler. The contestant in front of you is in a similar place, too, so it’s with an oh fuck I’m doomed sigh that you turn around and hope to find a comrade in Minghao again.

“Hey,” you whisper, trying not to draw attention to yourself. “Does this look right to you?” You jerk a thumb in the direction of your dough-lump. Minghao, bless him, looks around you and tries his best to hide his grimace.

He does not succeed.

“Um. Well, no.”

You sigh. Place one flour-dusted hand on your waist and pinch the bridge of your nose with the other. “I can’t figure out what’s wrong with it. I’ve made gingerbread a million times.”

“Looks pale,” he offers. Of course, this is the exact moment he dumps his own dough—his beautiful dough, flawless chestnut brown—onto his station to knead it. “Was the sugar right?”

A strangled, disbelieving laugh escapes you. Was the sugar right—of course the sugar was right! Dark muscovado sugar. Everyone knows that's what you use for gingerbread, so of course the sugar was right because no one, both in their right mind and at this stage of competition, would use anything else.

Before you can respond, Minghao’s pointing at your jar of sugar. Your jar of pale, producer-supplied sugar, which even a blind person could tell does not resemble dark muscovado sugar.

A million thoughts race through your head at once, but it boils down to instinct, you think. Your brain had seen flour, butter, and sugar and went into baking mode, not stopping to take in the color of anything. Maybe a smarter, more perceptive person would put two and two together and get sabotage, but you don’t have enough time to play detective.

“Here, here,” Minghao says, hurriedly handing over his (correct) sugar. “It’ll be close, but you should have just enough time to redo the dough.”

You’re going to throw up.

In the end, a chunk of chocolate buttons is missing from the roof and the piping around the edges is far from your neatest work, but it’s passable. You already lamented your loss during the signature bake, because anything less than perfection was not going to win you much of anything, and you’re now 0-for-2 on showstopping, unbelievable, awe-inspiring confections.

Just like the devil, your fall from grace will be studied.

Overthinking isn’t going to get you anywhere, but you can’t help it.

You collapse sideways into a chair, immediately face-planting into the catering table. Everyone else buzzes around you—animated conversations that have your head spinning, words that jumble together and start to sound like nothing at all—but you’re a million miles away. One mistake is out of character for you, but two? It’s unheard of. Something you would’ve said was impossible if it didn’t happen to you just a few hours ago.

This is something you need to file away for later so you can think about it just as you’re about to fall asleep, horror and embarrassment there to keep you company when it keeps you awake until the wee hours of the morning.

A chill runs down your spine.

“Hi. Do you mind?” You startle. Bang your knee on the underside of the table. “Sorry,” Minghao apologizes, but he doesn’t look sorry at all. You shake your head. Gesture to the empty seat across from you as if to say it’s all yours. “I brought you some tea,” he continues, setting it in front of you. “I find it’s easier than coffee when you don’t know how someone takes theirs. Less chance of getting it wrong.”

You smile. Wrap your hands around the Styrofoam cup and delight in the warmth. “Thank you. This was very kind of you.”

“Seemed like you had a rough day.”

Groaning, you try to wave away his words. “Please don’t speak of it.” Minghao jokingly salutes you before miming his lips sealed. “Anyway. Let’s talk about something that is not reality television or baking or a reality baking competition.”

So, you do. Most of the talking comes from you, to be fair, but Minghao is a good listener: nods along, chimes in when appropriate, keeps the spit in his mouth where it belongs. You talk about your hometown and what made you apply for the show the first time. He tells you about growing up in Haicheng and all the things he grew up baking with his mother. You swap stories from your respective seasons; Minghao shares anecdotes with a straight face that have you clutching at your stomach.

Hours pass this way, and you end the night feeling like you’ve made an honest-to-god friend.

Xu Minghao ends the night feeling the guilt weigh him down like an albatross.

In retrospect, it is probably a bad idea to make another sponge, but no one can accuse you of learning from your mistakes.

“It’ll be a patterned joconde sponge with two mousse layers—chocolate and raspberry—and a raspberry jelly. Then I’m going to attempt to top it with chocolate and raspberry decorations.” The judges blink. Are you sure that’s a good idea? you know they want to ask, but this is a holiday competition for charity, so they’re trying not to be pessimists. “Anything is possible through holiday cheer,” you tack on, hoping your smile doesn’t look crazed.

They nod. “Right, right,” they say in unison. “Well, good luck!”

And then they’re off.

Determined to nail this, you triple-check your oven, which is preheating to a crisp 400 degrees; you double-check all your ingredients and confirm they’re correct; when you can spare the time, you watch your refrigerator like a hawk, making sure no one tries to sneak their own work in there and displace yours when you aren’t looking, but everyone’s engrossed in their respective showstoppers.

Tim’s planning a shadow box of sorts, with blown-sugar baubles and isomalt fire. Someone else is stressing over their three-tiered cake, asking the presenter if they think they’ve taken on too much. From what you can piece together, Minghao is making a three-dimensional house, also made from cake that he imported special pistachios for.

“Special pistachios?”

“Mm, from Iran. They have a better color.”

“Iranian pistachios! Can you believe it!”

But you don’t have time to worry about Minghao and his special Iranian pistachios. You have so much to do and not enough time to complete it. Your paste is in the freezer and the sponge is in the oven, but you’ve still got two mousses to make, a jelly to infuse, and little chocolate trees to create—and all of this wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t pointless, but you don’t want to disappoint the cats by half-assing it. They deserve your whole ass, and your whole ass is what they’re going to get.

The result is stunning—not necessarily in stature, but rather craftsmanship and effort. This is what you’re capable of. This is why you came back to the tent. For all your complaining and wanting to put your head through a concrete wall, there’s nothing like seeing the judges ooh and ahh when you present your work to them. There’s nothing like the ego boost of someone taking a bite and watching their eyes light up. There’s nothing like carrying your cake back to your station feeling proud of yourself.

“Great job,” Minghao says, a genuine smile stretched across his face. He also exceeds expectations, of course. Must be those special pistachios, you think, but your congratulations are also sincere.

Production makes a spectacle of judging, much like they always do.

The set is decorated to look like a winter wonderland, even though you’re still in the midst of autumn: a giant Christmas tree in the center decked to the nines with garland and baubles; warm, golden bulbs strung from every awning they could find; all the participants bundled up tight in festive sweaters and scarves all the way to your chins, cheeks and tips of noses dusted with red-pink blush to mimic the cold that’s nowhere to be found. Fake snow falls from the sky, and it doesn’t feel real, but it does feel magical.

One of the hosts catches you by the elbow, asks who you think is going to win. “Oh, I’d have to say Minghao,” you answer, because you’d rather die than give Tim the satisfaction. “His showstopper was incredible, but he was really great the whole competition.”

In the end, however, neither of them wins—it’s Jeon Wonwoo, three-tiered cake guy, who comes out of nowhere to claim first place. He’s bashful as he accepts his prize and says he’s going to donate the prize money to an organization that provides underprivileged kids with video game equipment. No one has a whole lot to say about that.

Once most of the hubbub dies down (and you give Tim a half-assed you did great, so sorry you didn’t win), you find Minghao near the refreshments table. He’s frowning around another mug of tea. “Alright?” you ask, helping yourself to some cider.

“For some reason, I’m no longer feeling very festive,” he replies, which is a very funny thing to say while wearing a hat with a little pom-pom on the top.

You roll your lips to keep from laughing. Sidle in a little closer and knock his shoulder with your own. “Ah, I know how you feel, but you really did do great. You were my pick to win, for what it’s worth.”

“Please don’t tell me that. It only makes me feel worse for losing.”

“Yeah.” You sigh. “Would’ve been nice to donate some money to the cats, but shit, if I didn’t know better, I would’ve sworn some dark force was sabotaging me. Like, come on—forgetting to preheat the oven? Using the wrong sugar? Not even a kid would’ve made those mistakes.”

Two things happen in rapid succession: beside you, Minghao goes very, very stiff, and you realize you had been sabotaged. And not by some dark, evil force, either. You were sabotaged by the very man standing beside you—the man you shared thumbs-up with and thought was your friend. The man whose cake you complimented and picked to win. The man who is now standing ramrod straight, as tense as a corpse, and the thought of sabotaging someone in a charity baking competition is so ridiculous and unbelievable that you just—

You just laugh.

At first, it’s a bark of stunned laughter. Then, the more it sinks in how absurd, how nonsensical all of this is, you can’t stop. Tears are rolling down your cheeks. You gasp for breath as your stomach begins to ache. People are staring, including Minghao, who sort of can’t believe what he’s seeing, but none of it does anything to deter you.

“Oh my god,” you wheeze, “I can’t believe it was you—”

Minghao groans. “In my defense, it was for the cats!”

This was not the answer you were expecting. It makes you laugh harder. “What do you mean it was for the cats?”

He swallows. Removes the mitten from one hand to run it through his hair as if that one tic was enough to distract you from everything that’s happened in the last sixty seconds. (It is.) “Listen, you told me you were going to donate the money to a cat charity if you won and I just—so was I, was the thing. I was also going to donate the money to a cat charity if I won—”

“Okay, but which one, though?”

“The Cat’s Paw-jamas.” Much to Minghao’s horror, this sets you off again. “What? What’s so funny?”

“Minghao,” you try to choke out, but you can barely breathe around the cramp in your stomach. “Minghao, that’s the charity I was going to donate to. Oh my god, you sabotaged me and I was going to donate to—to the same fucking place. Jesus Christ, this is some Gift of the Magi shit.”

Your saboteur, who has gone deathly pale, is quiet for a very long time. Every now and then he’ll open his mouth like he’s going to say something before it snaps shut again. When he does manage to speak, what comes out are mangled apologies that sound like gibberish, and you wave all of them away. “It’s water under the bridge.”

“I—I really don’t think it should be?”

“Minghao, it’s fine, trust me, this was just for fun—”

“No, I really insist.”

You sigh, good-natured and exasperated. Something about the fake snow has you feeling romantic and a little bold, so you turn, grab him by the lapels of his coat. “Please tell me if I’m misreading this, but if you insist, maybe you can start by taking me to dinner…?”

This was clearly not what MInghao was expecting you to say. Dazed, he recovers quickly, the corners of his mouth tugging upward in a half-smirk. “Dinner, hm?” You nod. “I think I can manage that.”

You smile. “Great. How do you feel about cat cafes?”

[thebramblewood]

this is in a similar vein to an ask you got recently but do you have any tips for those who are interested in sims 4 (or even other games like ts3 and ts2) storytelling? I write fanfiction but I think making sims 4 stories could be a fun venture. Anyway, thank you for your time! I love your stories so very much they're literally my hyperfixation!

Well, that makes two of us because it's literally my hyperfixation. I think I've shared bits of advice before, so some of this might sound familiar, but here are some things I think are important to remember (and I tried to be concise, I swear).

Write the story you want to write. Obviously, it's a great feeling when something takes off and people get invested. But if you pursue an idea only because you think Simblr will like it, you probably won't be inspired for long and it'll probably show. I've been very lucky with my story, but it didn't blow up overnight. Early on, I was thrilled to get double digit notes or one reblog or comment and was admittedly disappointed when I put a lot of effort into something and nobody seemed to notice. But I kept going because I was obsessed and wanted to see it through, and that's more true now than ever.

Start with low stakes and allow yourself to evolve. Before I was on Simblr, I made Sims stories with no poses or visual enhancements or fancy editing. I wrote them for myself, and I loved every minute of it, but they also gave me a solid foundation for the kind of storytelling I do now. Even after starting this blog, I eased myself into it. I learned how to use poses and Reshade, then moved on to more advanced editing techniques, then moved on to teaching myself to make poses and very basic CC. If you try to learn it all at once, you're more likely to give up because you're overwhelmed. Take your time and make peace with the fact that perfection isn't possible. Everyone's always learning!

Take advantage of the fact that Sims is a game. Even though I've been a creative writer for most of my life, I don't come up with fully-fleshed, elaborate Sims stories from scratch. It started off with my legacy and not wanting every generation to feel the same. I thought about gameplay I hadn't experienced yet and centered each generation's story around that. Even with HZID, I just wanted to make and play with vampires! That's it! Initially, I used a lot of gameplay to convey Helena's college experiences, and I still try to incorporate it when I can. It can really be a great base to spark your creativity if you don't know where to start.

Don't have a life outside your story. I'm joking. Kind of. I'm not a very social person and I don't like leaving my house if I don't have to. This leaves me with a lot of time for working on story things. Honestly, I could probably stand to work on it less. But for better or worse, I'm doing story-related things most nights and weekends, and even if I'm not doing anything, I'm thinking about it. It's probably mental illness, but we'll just call it passion. At the same time, it's also important to take breaks! If you're feeling burnt out, step away for a while. If you can't make yourself step away completely (raises hand), just edit the script or spin your blorbos around in CAS or something rather than going straight for posing a scene.

Follow and interact with other storytellers. This is probably the most important thing, and as someone who struggles with social anxiety it was the hardest for me to do. But I try to make a point of keeping up with other stories, commenting, and reblogging. Not only will the amazing talent of other writers inspire you, but you're building meaningful connections that make them more likely to want to interact with your story. There's no denying it feels amazing to watch your audience grow. But no one's going to see you if you don't make an effort to be seen, as scary as it can be. So try to be active in the community and support other storytellers the way you want to be supported!

[the-amazing-wonderss]

"Talk that talk"

A/N: Back at it again with another HC inspired by TWICE... This time it's actually going by the meaning of the song ALSO IGNORE WHAT I DID FOR AOI'S HEADER I GOT TOO INVESTED ANYWAYS ENJOY HELPCLPCS ⎯ Mod ☠️

Content: Fluff, no gender mention for reader aside from the word 'pretty' that is used in Aoi's part, short HC, not properly proof read/edited Summary: "Just tell me you love me already!"

Characters: Aoi, Teru, Akane

Talk that talk ⎯ Let me know the real you, let me see what's behind all that sugary sweetness in your voice. Don't wanna waste time with the push and pull, just say it out loud and I might say it back.

AOI would be surprised hearing your question towards her. For a brief moment you could see how she froze up and contemplated on your words as her smile drops, going silent for a long time before letting out a chuckle.

It was silly, so laughable even. For you to ask her something so insanely cute that she couldn't help but find it so endearing while you sat there looking all pretty, waiting for her answer.

When she had finally came to a conclusion, still refusing to meet your eyes and instead, stared down at her lap while her hair strands covered most of her face. You began to worry if the question had upset her. Oh but you were wrong. So wrong.

If she were to look up at you right now, you'd seen the embarrassing sight of her flushed redden cheeks and lovestruck smile. Obviously she can't let you see that side to her yet. So for now...

"You're so mean ... to ask a girl for her feelings straight up. I should honestly reject you right here and now for that, y'know?" "Aoi I'm being serious, I want to know..." It was then that she said it, barely even louder than a whisper, did she say something that made your heart skip a beat. - "⎯ I heard a rumor, that she (I) loves you back."

Tell me what you want ⎯ The simple words "I love you." That's all I wanna hear. Doesn't matter where we are, who we are, and what we're doing ⎯ baby I just wanna hear it and fall in love with you all over again.

When you first ask TERU about it, he was probably in the student council room buried in work again. But upon seeing you after you had open the door to the room, he was beaming from ear to ear, that princely smile that made everyone ⎯ including you ⎯ fall for his charms.

However, after he hears your question towards him, his smile drops from shock. Had he not already made it clear how he feels about you? It struck him like a slap across the face to hear you say all this but...

With a sigh leaving his lips, he suddenly leans in. Coming in so close to you that you could feel his everything. The way he had one hand on your waist while the other was holding your chin to look up at him. Whereas with your hand that rested on his chest, you could feel the rhythm of his heartbeat.

You could feel your face growing hotter by the second from how bold his movements were suddenly, mind especially racing when he leans in even closer to your ear ⎯ whispering while holding you so intimately... You might as well just pass out at this point⎯!!

"You can feel it, can't you? How fast my heart is beating so fast for you, only you, just you. " "Teru...I⎯" - "I love you, Y/N."

Tell me what you need ⎯ Enough with the jokes and preparation, get straight to the point and say it. Stop beating around the bush, stop acting like a lovesick fool, just let me love you already damn it.

He's absolutely jaw dropped at hearing your question towards him, him of all people. AKANE is just?? so baffled?? so flustered that he just gapes at you right after you finish talking. Did you not see his previous confessions to you?? Were they so lacklustre you didn't even consider them as confessions!??

But when you started to talk more about the underlining reason as to why you felt the way you felt, he slowly began to understood what you meant. Although he may act goofy at times, he's still the vice president, y'know?

He's bit upset (at himself) but he's not entirely mad about the situation at all, in fact, he's glad to know how he made you feel ⎯ or more so, how you actually felt about him. It's so funny that he can't help but laugh at how silly the situation took a turn to.

Akane tried so hard to impress you that he didn't even realise you felt the same. He's such a fool for you, a lovesick fool who can't keep his hand off of you. Suddenly taking you in his arms to embrace you in a tight hold as his shoulders shake from laughing so much, he loves you. He absolutely loves you.

"I can't believe you feel the same way." "I've alway had been, you were just so..." "I know, I know... I'm sorry." - "I love you so much, Y/N."

[almostyours]

absolutely LOVE hiraeth and everything about them! their lore has me so invested and i love how you have and talk about it! quick question if you don’t mind, but how did you come up with hiraeth’s lore? i’m currently working on a group and their lore so i would love some advice/tips from the loremaster themselves! have a good day/night!

aaaaaaa!  u have no idea how happy this ask makes me because not only is their lore is my pride and joy,  but it just makes me soooo happy to know that someone is enjoying my group!  :D  also,  loremaster?  that made me giggle and kick my feet,  not gonna lie...  and of course i wouldn’t mind,  it actually flatters me that ur asking me.  :)  i’ll put all the yapping under a read more so i don’t disturb the dash,  but if you have more questions or an @ to drop  (because i need to know what u are cooking),  just let me know,  either in dms or here.

before i start,  i just want to mention  (and sorry if i sound like a broken record to those who skim through my yapping posts)  that i created hiraeth because a friend and i thought it’d be fun to throw our ship into an idol au.  you could say that hiraeth and their lore grew from that ship,  as we thought it would be fun if there was a kind of “call and response” theory between the two groups.  while this didn't really need to be said,  some of hiraeth’s essence definitely comes from the little world we built together.

finding a group name that fit was essential,  i think.  when my friend and i started brainstorming,  i only had a rough idea of what i wanted,  which was a mix of red velvet,  loona,  dreamcatcher,  exo,  and aespa.  i wanted angels!  garden of eden!  magical girls!  a group that was deemed as a cult!  some horror!  the concept of the two sides of the same coin!   more than what meets the eye!  but funny enough,  i didn’t really see the whole picture until i finally settled on the name hiraeth.  the word means a homesickness for a feeling you can’t return to,  a feeling that maybe never was.  that’s when i realized i wanted hiraeth to capture not exactly my initial ideas,  but i wanted the meaning to actually make sense,  so my idea started to expand until i finally settled into what i have now.  and i’m sure my ideas will keep expanding as time goes on!

i was also inspired by my two ults,  red velvet and loona,  especially loona’s unit yyxy.  and,  yes,  i 100% admit i was deep in those loonaverse reddits trying to get a feel for what i wanted because i wanted something like that.  my lore started out very similar to theirs,  just with some changes because who was going to check me!  only my friend and i knew about the group so i could totally get away with it!  but,  as some may know,  i got really attached to the idea of them and the potential of their lore,  and as time went on and i got a clearer idea of what i wanted  (thanks to pinterest,  video games,  photography/photoshoots,  books,  tiktok edits,  music,  my ship,  and even the bible and no i'm not joking),  their lore slowly started to evolve into whatever i have going on.  don’t be harsh on urself if ur “base” idea isn’t as developed as u'd like or if it’s similar to something ur taking inspiration from,  u just need to let the creative juices do their thing,  even if it takes time. 

another tip:  always write down ur ideas,  and if something makes u think,  “oh! this would fit into their lore!”  immediately jot it down,  so u can look back at it and find a way to work it in.  for example,   hiraeth is a little bit of everything i’ve enjoyed or found interesting in literally everywhere,  even if it has nothing to do with the idol scene or the girls themselves—  let it be a quote or a video game arc or even just a single picture.  everything is an inspiration if u look close enough.

now,  poppy,  kaia,  and yvan are characters i’m really attached to  (especially poppy)  since they’ve been with me for a very long time.  so,  i thought it’d be really fun if their lore actually mirrored their actual personalities and struggles,  like a subtle reflection of their thoughts,  actions,  pasts,  secrets,  and their current life that is being showcased to everyone in the eyes of an overly-exaggerated visage of themselves.  obviously,  the lore is really extra and not literal but their actual essence is there,  you know?  almost as if they are building up their own fantasy book with themselves as main characters!  their fans can’t pick up on any of this because they don’t know the girls deeply,  but…  little spoiler,  i guess?  i don’t know if this makes sense so i will show some little examples below:

summer realizes that she,  spring,  and winter can almost become god-like once they begin to "sin,"  leading them down a path she believes is "better" for them.  but she doesn’t fully see that some paths might not be the best,  as their sins  (especially hers)  cast a shadow over them,  keeping her from thinking it all through and sometimes getting them in trouble—on the other hand,  kaia sees that she and her members could achieve so much more once nari is out of the picture.  as their leader,  she earns their trust by guiding them to see beyond the empty promises of an abusive management that didn’t care for them the way she did.  yet,  they’re still being held back as a sense of guilt looms over them and their careers,  making every move feel risky.  this burden falls the heaviest on kaia,  who made a drastic choice for the sake of herself and her members.

spring feels stuck,  with no real desire to “bloom” after things went wrong the first time she “sinned.”  she feels the urge to make a change and stir the ship,  but hesitates to the point of doing nothing—versus poppy,  who feels trapped as an idol facing high expectations,  especially as a chronically ill woman carrying deep trauma.  though she doesn’t particularly like being in the spotlight,  she remains in the “safe” zone because it feels like the only secure option,  and it is because she does a really good job at her job because if she’s going to be forced to do something,  then she’s going to be the best at it. 

winter treats everything as a joke,  believing that everything will always go their way because they’ve been convinced that they’re the "center of the universe."  that is,  until spring’s warmth reaches them,  revealing that not everything is perfect and that there’s more to life outside their own bubble—versus yvan,  whose high popularity and top-tier status changed how they see the world.  however,  yvan has been learning that things won’t always go their way,  and that support won’t always be there.  poppy herself is a reminder that someone “better” will always be around,  even if many hold yvan higher than her.  random but i loooooooove their relationship because it’s a whole  always an angel,  never a god  situation.

the  ‘aengel cult’  started when the angels left behind their old doctrines,  preaching  individuality,  self-love,  and self-expression instead of sharing words that didn’t resonate within themselves—versus hiraeth’s fans,  who are deemed a cult because of their intense loyalty towards them,  but also because of how fucking defensive they are towards the aes because the music,  the concept,  their vibes,  and the girls themselves are TWE GOOD not to defend!  they are not as insane as *rmys / bl*nks / st*ys though…  they are pretty funny and just don’t take anything seriously but when someone calls The Never Has Flopped Group a Flop…

and yes,  i know.  that is really fucking extra and literally this is something u literally didn't ask,  but that’s what makes creating lore fun!  be extra!!!!!!!  do ur own little twist if that’s what u want!!!!!  don’t limit yourself and overthink it,  friend!  it’s your group and your lore,  so have some fun and do whatever you want  <3 

ALSO A LITTLE REMINDER!  it literally took me a year to feel content with their lore,  so don’t rush it.  the creative juices will come to u eventually.  :)

WHEN U DROP UR GROUP LET ME KNOW PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!  i really hope all this yapping made sense and that it helped u.  :)  if not i’m really sorry……………..  🙏

[starlight-bread-blog]

I Watched The First Two Episodes of Hazbin Hotel

Overall I wasn't bored. It's a fun show from the little I've seen. I have thoughts and notes I'd like to give so here's how this is gonna go:

🔵 Is for things I liked/would like to be expanded upon in the show's future.

🔴 Is for things I disliked ranging from nitpicks and just general critisisms.

Whenever something about Angel Dust's trauma I will come up, I'll mark "————" at the beginning & ending so you can avoid the topic if you'd like.

So let's dive right in!<3

🔴 I am so confused. This is narrarated by Charlie. And her goal is to redeem sinners so they can enter Heaven to save their lives. But she also knows that Heaven doesn't kill sinners to stop over-population, it's just plain evil. So, what are we doing here again?

🔴 This is the first time her relationship with her father is mentioned in the show. And it's done though a joke made by Alastor in a commercial he made. (Also, how would he know about Charlie's "daddy issues"? This isn't common knowledge as far as I know).

————

🔴 WHAT THE FUCK? I'M SORRY. WHAT THE FUCK? I hate being this negative in the beginning but WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK. I don't want to discuss this line any more than the shock I felt while hearing it. Next.

————

🔴 Everyone already talked about how the camera work is crap and I agree. But here's an idea: If they wanted to make something grandiose, why not make a classic musical number that's completely unrealistic, and then make the reality of Hell clash with it?

🔴 This scene could be cut off mostly entirely. The point here is to show how awful Adam is, and the second the talking's over, we get a better song that does just that.

���� At first I was gonna make this a critisism, but all it did was making me ask questions, which is good in a first episode. This has me wondering about the characterization of Heaven and how it came to be. I can accept them being a shitty bureaucracy who only appear good, but this is some Saturday Morning Cartoon villian stuff. I'm very curious about this.

🔵 Niffty couldn't say her lines and just stared at the camera and was completely unaware of the fact that she did a shitty job. How come? I wonder what they'll do with it.

🔴 This is edited. The scene didn't go like this. We cut from the hotel to the Vees before we see Alastor's counter-attack. They cut to a really long section of the episode, in the middle of something that could be dealt with in a second. I wasn't as invested as I could have been in the introduction of the Vees, because I kept waiting to come back to Alastor.

🔵 I'd like to know why Charlie is so naive. Optimistic? Yeah, makes sense. But naive? Now that's interesting to know. She clearly goes outside and sees how sinners aren't the safest people (ie Happy Day in Hell), so you think that spending eternity with them would get her acquainted with the culture and make her adjust her behaviors. But she's still looking at the guy who just tried to kill her and goes "Oh, hello again". I'm dying to know why she's like that.

————

🔵 I see where this is going<3 Despite it all, Angel Dust clearly still loves acting. So when he'll escape Val, he'll show his theatrical side by improvising and acting for Charlie<3

🔵 Despite Angel Dust not adoring the hotel, it's very much a safe place for him. A safe the Vees, from Valentino. Now, someone who worked for them just a second before getting discovered, is in. Can't wait to see more of this.

————

🔵 I liked the rivalry of Alastor and Vox. I liked how Vox is this perfect big shot, yet crumbles about Alastor when he's barely trying. Definitely a highlight.

To Summarize...

🔴 6 negatives 🔵 6 positives

I enjoyed myself a fair bit. Most of the negatives are either nitpicks or won't matter in five eps. It had some flaws but it's a start.

[tedcicle]

Official Palcove Propaganda Post

[ID: Text with a fire effect that says "WATCH PALCOVE NOW" in red capital letters. /.End ID.] Now you may be asking... Who?

Palcove is both the name of the iconic duo of Ted Nivison (of Rainforest Cafe/Margaritaville/400mg edible fame) and Charlie Slimecicle (professional gay sex roleplayer, at least that's what he should be known for) and the area they lived in during their brief time on EpicSMP (a modded SMP created by, uh... *cough* Matt SuperMega *cough*. You can hazard a guess as to why this SMP didn’t really take off.)

Okay, why should I care?

I shan't lie and say EpicSMP is like, crazy good, or a hidden gem, or YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS — really, it's basically TekkitLive but there's way more people on it. It's a largely forgotten SMP, overshadowed by more popular and successful SMPs that happened before or around it. (OriginsSMP, for example.) There's a bunch of interesting duos trying to start their own businesses, and while nothing happened happened, at the end everybody died, which is interesting to think about. (Actually, wait... yeah, it’s just like TekkitLive.) But it was fun. There were some good bits, some light roleplay, and enough seedlings of a plotline to get an average viewer Andy like me invested in. There was some kind of season 2, but it never took off. I'm sure MCYT fans are accustomed to the disappointment of non-existent fandoms, unfinished stories, or lacking narratives by now (Shadow of Israphel was my first heartbreak, but maybe yours was something else). Another one wouldn’t hurt, right? Why Palcove specifically? Well, as a former SMPLiver— (I am escorted off the stage to a chorus of boos) I just really like Ted and Charlie's dynamic. They’re the perfect comedy duo. Charlie works best when he has someone to bounce bits off of, and Ted knows exactly how to pick up what Charlie is putting down and elevate it to the next level. (The adverb and adjective bit in the first VOD had me DYING.) Story-wise, Charlie had a satisfying character arc. He’s a pivotal character and I liked how he plays off of Schlatt and Swagger, too. Not to mention, this is the last time Ted has uploaded or streamed any Minecraft content... I miss him, chat. Also, it makes me happy. Isn't that enough?

Well, okay, you got me interested. How do I watch?

I'm glad you asked (even if you wouldn't fucking say that, I don't care). Firstly, a primer. Sometimes we start a new thing, but it ends up not being to our liking, and that's fine. Maybe you want to walk around and see how it fits before you commit. That's fine! All I ask for is 14 minutes of your time. That's like, 4 songs.

This video is the first day edited down into a nice, palatable, taste-tester, courtesy of unknown energy on YouTube. It's so nice and cozy and comfy, it's the equivalent of a mug of hot chocolate curled up in an armchair with a warm blanket wrapped around you. As for continuing, I highly recommend starting with Charlie's POV. It's probably who you're most familiar with, and he bothered to edit down his streams (even if the videos are like, an hour long). If you like listening to men argue and make the unfunniest jokes imaginable, then definitely try the full VODs. All of these have been archived by the channel EpicSMPVods.

Charlie's POV Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 VODS Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | End of S1* Ted's POV Episode 1 (Yes, he really only did one episode) VODS Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

*This VOD is Swagger's POV, as Charlie didn't upload the finale at all, and the VOD of it either doesn’t exist or wasn’t archived. The relevant Charlie section starts around 15 minutes in.

And if you want more of the story, well, Swagger has one of the most comprehensive EpicSMP POVs.

Final Thoughts

Like many other “stream only” SMPs, a lot of content regarding them simply gets lost and forgotten. There's plenty of reasons why EpicSMP wasn't very successful (in-depth analysis post pending). I’m just glad that not only did Palcove exist, but it's archived. It just so happened to survive against surmountable odds and even have what I consider a satisfying narrative ending (in-depth analysis post pending). And I’m insane about it. And everyone else should be, too.

[ID: Text with a fire effect "WATCH PALCOVE NOW" in red capital letters. /.End ID.]

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

And now, it's time.

Day 5: Happy 5 Year Anniversary!

Wow. 5 years. I honestly can't believe that. Oh my GOSH that's long o.o. I went :O when I saw that when seeing advertising for the week.

I love this show so much (ignore me posting and editing to get it here before midnight for me lol). It's absolutely insane how long it's been. I started watching late in November, I believe, maaaaybe early December. We'd talked about getting Disney+, and I knew my family would find it silly but I was intrigued by a show called High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. A crazy title and a weird premise. I said I was just curious, fascinated by it, wondering what it would be like. So, one evening, my sister and I watched it.

We watched the first four episodes and laughed and made fun of it the whole time. But, miraculously, I found myself invested.

And the next episode.

In Season 1 Episode 5, they brought Seb and Carlos to us as a couple. I was shocked and happy, and honestly a little confused. I didn't know I was queer yet. I knew what queer was, had found out from my sibling surrounding some family stuff, but I'd never seen canon queer characters before. I guess I knew I was an ally, even if I didn't totally get why, but it was just so cool to see them. I honestly felt kind of weird because what did two gay high school boys mean to me, I was a straight girl!

Ha.

It wouldn't be for a couple more years that I would realize I was queer. I too fell victim to the "yeah, but I'm just an ally" trap lol. But I seriously fell in love with them. I remember my sibling and I loving how cute Carlos's little dance was, how excited he was. How devastated and in denial we were when Seb didn't show up. And how much we loved it when Carlos danced, and when Seb did show up :').

That solidified the show for me. That made me stay. They made me stay. They've meant the world to me ever since.

And since then, I have seen 33 amazing, wonderful episodes (just like the 5 before them lol). I've been angry, I've been sad, I've been in awe, I've been happy. I've seen myself represented not just in queer characters, but in theatre kids. In kids who are lonely and find family there. In kids who lived in a shadow, who were shy, who were thrust in and trusted by their teacher and director.

This show is silly. It does silly things, it has silly performances, it has silly jokes, silly unlikely things happen, and it's a silly premise. But I absolutely love it. I realized one day, after having seen someone mention "the One show that changed them forever", that mine was High School Musical The Musical The Series. Sounds silly, and I had to think about some of my more recent shows to figure it out. But it is. I remember scrolling through the tag, searching Seblos, before I even made a Tumblr account. Seeing things first after the finale of Season 1, deleted scenes pictures of Carlos giving Seb flowers. So many important moments for me were taken alongside step with HSMTMTS. Even though I barely post about it anymore (because so many interests catch my attention and I don't usually have much to say about it off the top of my head), it's still the 4th top "Posts a lot about" when you go to search on my blog. I think that says something. And I'm proud of it.

I haven't had a lot of interaction with the fandom during my time here, especially while the show was still running (and because I mainly stay in the Seblos tag, especially with remembering scrolling through all the Driver's License stuff before and when it first came out lol), but everyone means so much to me. Especially everyone still posting, still creating now. The fanfics, the art, the edits, and gifsets, everything is so important to me, and everything else. Thank you all <3. And thank you, when I did come, for being such an accepting place (at least the places I went to). Thank you guys for sticking around through this show, and even for just being here for a little while. Thanks for sticking with me, those that have :). And the friends I've made from this fandom and this show - you mean the world to me <3. Thank you all so much for everything you've done, everything that's made this show even more enjoyable :'). I love you all so much ❤️.

I love High School Musical: The Musical: The Series. And I'm proud and happy I do :).

Happy 5 Year Anniversary 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥰🥰🎊🎊🎉🎉🎂🎂🎂!!!!

[pkmin4]

✮⋆˙ 02/02/2025

blue lock (season 1)

it's like soccer but squid game. sorta. actually it's more than that now that i made it past 2 episodes. (💭9/10)

i'll collect my thoughts more once i finish the second season with my partner (🩷🩷🩷🩷) but i don't think i'd get THIS invested over sports anime because i used to think sports anime.... was dumb.......... this is because of my natural aversion to sports and physical movement, so nothing personal against those extremely yaoiful sports anime.

i bought a bachira chibigurumi a day after starting this show so you know i am very invested. i like him. strange weird little guys with a fear of loneliness and being seen as an outcast really resonate with me. and (spoilers?) seeing him come and embrace himself and not to let Fear and Perfectionism (this is what i like to interpret that Thing as) (actually i could be very wrong but i havent had the time to sit down with this and think about it hard yet) hold him back is such a lovely moment for me. no he's not the main character but he is my little baby boy.

my partner's favorite doesn't show until the very last episode of the season and funny thing was i was asking them when he'd show up and the reveal was like being punched in the gut LOL. but we started season 2 today too and not gonna lie their favorite is pretty cool. bit of a freak. but i like him because he is pink and has cat eyes. shidooouuuuu...

aaah watching each episode of this anime is sooo intense!! although it ALWAYS cuts the episode on a veeeery crucial moment which is both cruel and funny and every time it did i'd punch the wall. metaphorically. and then i would wail. literally. my partner thinks this is funny. i can't help it thoughghfgrhrhgh it's just VERY very very very veeeery intense and it really hooks you in episode after episode!! what the hell!!

anyway yeah :3 like i said we also started season 2 today!! and i'm super duper excited cuz the stakes keep going higher each time. i love the show's characters too!! i am obviously biased for my son BUT having a large cast means having a good handful of interesting ones!! there are some that make me Furious but i do enjoy them as characters regardless.. having a large cast also means not being able to put the spotlight on others, but i appreciate the ones we do get to learn about regardless :) !!

isagi is a suuuuper cool protag too. mr blue lock himself (why his character color is Green i dont fucking know). i thought he would have gone down a dark path where he would think of nothing but himself but his character somehow balances off striving to make himself better as an "egoist" among the rest and working with others toward a clear goal. and it does so without being too corny LOL but it's neat i think!! he is a good sport. i like him!!

very fun watch!! i think we got through this in like. 3 days of watching together hehehe. (i love my partner so much)

editing this post to say that the second op of the first season ROCKS like it is genuinely visually stunning and no joke it is one of the openings of all time. it's so pretty i was squeeing and kicking my legs and giggling and gushing and giddying about it sooo much when i first saw it ITS SOOOO COOL AGHHHHH I LOVEEEE ITTTT i am still thinking of it right now

[bengiyo]

Theory of Love Rewatch Ep 5 Stray Thoughts

Last time, I realized I had memory holed much of this show and ended up enraged anew at Khai for toying with Third's feelings. ToL Lovers, y'all will need to wait and see because I hate that man so much right now because I went through the same shit as Third. Un and Two had some interactions about Two's crush on Lynn. Bone got stood up by his crush. We left at Third overhearing Khai and Bone discuss their testing of Third.

I hope Third moves out. Yelling at Khai, "You played with my emotions. If you don't know any better just leave me the fuck alone," is the closest he's come to admitting how he feels.

Ep.05 10 Things I Hate About You

Time for an ad, but first a masturbation joke!

Bone skipped editing class repeatedly? I must resist making the obvious joke about GMMTV shows.

Yes, Third, please move out! Interrupt all this talk about boobs! Nothing excites me more than a pair of large, heavy breasts.

Khai saying he'd be nicer to Third if he asked because he doesn't want to lose him is a Boy Lie. When you tell them to stop, they double down and get meaner and say you're too sensitive.

"Everything will be the same" is a classic romcom lie.

It was smart of this show to give Third a confidant within the friend group so that we resist wanting him to completely cut off the whole group.

I could not follow Third's reviews. All this sobbing would drive me up the wall.

Don't give up on your list, Third. Khai sucks in more than 10 ways!

Bone is putting all this effort into locating this film or testing his friend when he should be going to class! Hitting on girls? You should be hitting on books!

They got poor White and Mike sweating their asses off on this broken friend group scene.

GMMTV gets a lot of traction out of Earth staring way too hard at people.

Oh lord they went to a 4DX theater with moving seats.

At least Bone has enough grace to apologize to Third for what they did to him.

I'm with Third's anger. Sometimes you gotta find a way to hate your unrequited crush to move on. I know folks probably felt some kinda way about Third talking about Khai "whoring around" but I also dealt with the annoyance of a friend's romantic wake. It's tedious.

This writing team really understood bros. Your boys will deck you if you go too far and violate the group.

Oh lord, Third, can you please stop showering with all your goddamn clothes on when you're upset?

Third is so embarrassing. Khai did not apologize for the fundamental betrayal, and you're pretending to be okay because of a lower level fight? Come on, my dude.

Ah, right, this is when we get the teacher confirmation and I started to check out on this Bone thread.

Well, I'm not having the visceral reaction I had last time, thankfully. I don't think the show effectively closed the loop on the list of things Third hates about Khai for me this episode, and I think they muddled things about Third's jealousy with Khai's flings. I like that Bone now knows what's going on, and it's a bit reminiscent of Coffee Prince in that everyone around Khai now knows but Khai doesn't. However, I will not be feeling sympathy for that man any time soon. He yelled at Third for not answering his phone and being out all night when he shoved that man out of the house until after dawn for a girl. I ain't forget.

As always this rewatch was sponsored by @lurkingshan, with emotional support from @waitmyturtles and @neuroticbookworm. Tagging @twig-tea because I know they're invested in my rewatch.

[aprillikesthings]

YAY I'M OFF WORK until Monday

IT'S TIME FOR MORE SHE-RA REWATCH

s2 ep6 Light Spinner

just read the synopsis on the wikipedia episode list and Oof this one is going to be hard

Edit: oof I jumped around a lot, including mentions of the bible, my fave art, other cartoons and (predictably, for an episode about Shadow Weaver) my own history as a child abuse survivor and my dad dying. So, uh, you've been warned?

okay

let's do this

do they mention why she covers her face at this point? I forget

okay so true story and totally off topic but I get distracted every time Micah's name is mentioned because my favorite verse of the Bible is from the book of Micah. It's the fave verse of a lot of people lol I'm not unique. But yeah, Micah 6:8:

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord ask of you, But to do justice, and to love kindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

I've half-joked for years now that if enough of your childhood report cards say any variation on "They have so much potential if they'd only apply themselves" you should get diagnosed with ADHD without further questions.

Hordak: why is Shadow Weaver still fucking HERE Catra: bc I like getting a chance to taunt her >:3 I MEAN, uh, she's a good source of information? Hordak: she needs to get to Beast Island, I don't like having her around she knows too damn much Catra: but she can't actually do anything without her fancy-ass magic rock

*power goes out*

Entrapta: ha ha WHOOPSIE Catra: wtf are you DOING

Hordak: stop bothering my girlfriend Catra: wtf??? Entrapta: Entrapta: uhhhhh did I interrupt something Hordak: no it's fine bb don't worry about it <3 Hordak: ANYWAY Catra get that witch to tell you shit and then GET RID OF HER or I'LL GET RID OF YOU Catra: >:(

In all seriousness I remember watching this episode and thinking: lol omg are they ship-baiting this???

And then the usual culprits did the "yOu cAnT sHiP tHaT" and I started reblogging content of it out of sheer fucking spite. Also at least one writer for the show is like "y'all Entrapta is in her late 20's/early 30's" and--wait hold on I know there's screenshots from twitter of the same person:

But yeah stuff in later seasons made me cackle with laughter because it's not even subtle. At all.

Anyway you gotta be careful about spite-shipping. That's how I ended up having a lot of feelings about Jaspis from SU, ha ha WHOOPS

jfc this and a previous line (talking about "gifted students") and it's like...why are y'all having her quote all the shit my teachers said trying to encourage me and only traumatizing me.

mmmm don't like that

I know I keep harping on how textbook of an abuser she is, but I love that the clues were there already. This is the kind of shit abusers do! Look at how controlling and possessive she is, but in a way that outsiders will just see as "she's a very invested/involved teacher."

gahhhhhh

plot plot plot the Horde is already invading, the Princesses are useless against them, our leaders aren't doing SHIT, anyway the sorcerers are meeting tomorrow and I hope they let me boss them around into agreeing with me

this shot of the moons over Etheria reminds me of one of my fave artists--these pieces are layered resin, and I keep meaning to buy some prints of theirs. (One day I want to own an original. ;_; I love the way they use colors and the layers and just the daydreamy vibes of so much of their work.)

(More of their stuff here)

plot plot Scorpia and Catra talk about how Catra doesn't want to send Shadow Weaver to Beast Island and Scorpia is surprised Beast Island is real and not a scary story they tell kids

Catra: but but but Shadow Weaver can tell us shit!

Scorpia: anyway I thought you hated her??? Catra: you wouldn't understand >:(

I understand. I hate that I understand it. UGH.

plot plot Light Spinner tries to convince the sorcerers that the Horde is a threat, and points out they've taken the Black Garnet, and says let's cast a big spell together and GET SOME POWERRRR

Sorcerer dude: that spell is FUCKED, absolutely not [for real the way he talks about it sounds kiiiinda like The One Ring] Light Spinner: fuck yOU

OH so I didn't quote it but Catra says the same line earlier, about Hordak: "After everything I've done he still doesn't trust me"

Catra is trying to save Shadow Weaver's life and Shadow Weaver is like...meh. But hey can you bring me an old trinket that's of sentimental value? I will never ask you to do anything else.

[I am Suspicious.]

back in time, Light Spinner manipulates Micah into doing the Big Scary Spell with her, they accidentally unleash a hORRIFYING MONSTER

(I'm suddenly reminded of the last two episodes of Gravity Falls. It never ceases to amuse me that Alex Hirsch was told he couldn't do all kinds of totally innocent things, but he could have, well, the shit in the last two episodes. I remember telling my then-boyfriend that the intro of those last episodes had shots that looks like actual nightmares I've had)

Oh also the flailing disembodied hands remind me of some of the early episodes about the Cluster in Steven Universe. Remember Garnet finding some of the early fusion experiments made with broken bits of gems?

Aaugh.

(Also remember when Peridot was still kinda spooky and scary?)

OKAY SORRy wow I'm distracted tonight.

yeah that didn't work so great

And that's what messed up Shadow Weaver's face, and she throws a fit at everyone and calls them "weak" and uhhh murders at least one of them?

face-touching! the only way she's able to show any affection at all...but only ever to manipulate people in her charge. anyway she disappears after that.

Catra is not going to get a satisfying answer. One of the reasons it was a relief when my dad died was that I could let go of ever having any hope of him explaining to any kind of satisfaction why he did what he did. (He did apologize, once; in the most manipulative and self-serving way possible, when I was 35--at the time I thought maybe it meant something, but eventually I realized he'd actually made things worse, because he'd taken away any belief I might've clung to that he didn't know any better at the time.)

In any case, Shadow Weaver's answer is basically "You're just like me, and my life was hard, so why should yours be easy?" Like that old line about how people who suffer through hard things have one of two reactions: Either "why shouldn't you also suffer, you're not better than me," and "nobody should have to suffer like I did."

;_;

I understand Catra so much. You still want that love. You can't not. You know you won't get it, not the way you need it, and you settle for a facsimile.

I'm gonna throw myself into the sun

And then we go back in time to see the arrival of baby!Adora, like as an actual infant. They don't say where she got her.

Hordak: "I arrived too late. I found something but it's useless. Put it with the other infants in the infirmary."

"It." bleh.

Shadow Weaver: hmmm that's one powerful baby. Hordak: ugh, weirdo. You can have it. But ffs it's being noisy take it somewhere else.

Shadow Weaver's just like: oh sweet I get to start from scratch with this one.

Anyway under her tray of food that Catra brought her was her sorcerer's guild...thing. That she asked for earlier in the episode. Which means Catra did bring it to her.

And Shadow Weaver's gone.

This explains part of why Catra gets worse for the next like two seasons. She tried to extend a kindness to Shadow Weaver--keeping her from being sent to Beast Island, giving her the trinket thing, offering to work together since Shadow Weaver thinks they have so much in common, right? But it bites her in the ass so bad.

So why should she be kind to anyone? When has anyone been kind to her? When has Catra being kind to anyone ever improved her life or made it easier?

But yeah the trinket had some kinda magic dust in it and Shadow Weaver escaped, and Catra had a (very understandable) meltdown about it.

Back in Bright Moon, the Best Friends Squad is using the moon alignment to get a clearer signal on Bow's track pad: "Serenia. Portal. Mara." AAAAND end of episode.

Yeah I was right. That was a rough one.

[needsmorewlw]

Okay so I've just been thinking of what if like Emma, Max and Dylan did something sort of similar to Unus Annus? Like, how crazy do you think they would get as they try to top the previous video? And also roping in the others occasionally (especially Jacob cause he'll basically do anything)

My favorite trio doing literally anything? Sign me up.

It occured to me that some people may have zero context for what Unus Annus is but just imagine a bunch of progressively more unhinged challenge videos or investing way too much time into an obscure topic.

But I'm so hooked. like Laura, Abi and Ryan would be behind the camera like Amy, filming, helping them come up with ideas, and also watching things unfold incase they inevitably hurt themselves.

Dylan makes the "I get to shoot you with a paintball gun at one random point during a video sometime in the future" deal with Max and Max agrees but then they're halfway through a video like 3 months later, Dylan walks off screen and comes back with a paintball gun and Max is begging for his life. (I'll continue under the cut)

Max simultaneously being like "I wanna test how much my body can take- not because I'm a masochistic." The camera pans over to Laura and she's just staring at it.

Emmas the one who came up with the "*video idea* but with impending sense of doom" stuff bc ofc she did.

They start a running joke where Emma gets subtly and gradually more unhinged in every video. Random shots of her examining a knife in the background and staring at the boys while they're talking, then looking at the camera and it cuts back to the original video topic without explanation.

Whoevers behind the camera zooming in on her phone screen while she's searching "how much poison does it take to kill a grown man?"

"Discussing ways I would murder Dylan and Max and hide their bodies (this video is definitely a joke)" and the thumbnail is something absolutely bonkers like a deep fried image of Emma holding a chainsaw or smn.

"Duct Tape Crucifixion (Abi please don't watch this video)"

Lots of videos filled in Emma and Abi's house titled (Abi please don't watch)

I thought about the "Building IKEA furniture without instructions" video but I actually think Max and Dylan would be pretty competent at it? Emma's fully expecting it to be chaotic but instead the boys just get really quiet and focused and Emma's standing there commentating on it like a babysitter.

However "building the world's hardest IKEA furniture without instructions" drives all three of them insane.

Dylan absolutely breaks his nose on the aerial hoop and then re-breaks it in a later challenge. Dylan tries to keep going with the videos and Ryan's off camera like "boy if you don't stop filming right now-"

"Dylan accidentally injures himself for 20 minutes" compilation"

I can't see any of them doing the fitness stuff, I think they would lean hard into the funny editing to make the videos insane or somewhat spooky/unsettling. Also all three of them are masters at holding deadpan faces for the sake of comedy.

"Max injures himself on purpose for 30 minutes" compilation

"Max being a menace with a taser for 10 minutes"

Dylan's the one ordering all the insane shit. The world's hottest peppers, the crazy Amazon products, the wubble, the personal sauna. They make several videos called some variation of "Dylan continues to be irresponsible with his money"

I could go on but I need to stop. But I encourage any more asks about this topic specifically

[allieebobo]

Allieee help I've been researching tennis to build my MC better and now I'm invested this is all your fault >:(

Also, curious: what does the tennis ROs play style look like, like who IRL is the closest to their play style?

First anon: you're the absolute cutest, and I take full and gleeful responsibility.

Second anon: hehe, the french open!! bumping this up because the French open will no longer be in full swing and I wanted to add a side-fangirl squee about Nadal.

Edit: OK so it took me so long that the French open is now over and MY BAE Rafa has done it again ((and whattt a trip that was)). Not even gonna put a spoiler alert because anyone who’s interested should’ve found this out by now. 

Take another obligatory Rafa pic as celebration, because belated Rafa Nadal gushing is apparently part of my brand now. Cheers! 

(P.S. I put the answer after the cut because I expect this level of tennis nerding out might not be for the average joe. feel free to share your theories as well!)

Rayyan is modelled after Nadal - single-track-mind determination, power and grit, aggressive topspin shots from the baseline. Most of all, Rayyan resembles Nadal in that they are both absurdly resilient, both physically and mentally. Both love the clay surface most, because they can pound ball after ball at their opponents in a brutal, punishing rally, and showcase their surprising ability to stay in the game, against all odds. 

Tobin is modelled after Federer - an all-court player with unmatchable grace, finesse, and fluid versatility. I thought it'd be fun for the current no. 1 and no. 2 on the Cargill team to have this cool Nadal-Federer dynamic. Tobin is more-or-less solid on every surface, but like Federer, they do best on grass - with the ball’s slightly more unpredictable bounce, they’re able to hit beautiful winners with staggering variety. 

Sam - Trick shot master, known for their creative showmanship and ability to work a crowd. But beneath their love for improvisation and joking around, there’s substance that people often don’t give them enough credit for. First, there’s the pure racket-wizardry and reflexes (not to mention imaginativeness) that characterises their playing style. Then, (and this one runs deeper) there’s a resilience and stoicism that comes with knowing that life can - and will - throw anything at you, and adapting to it is all one can do. And so, where other players would rage and throw their rackets, Sam would simply take it as it is, and crack a joke.  Someone similar would be Mansour Bahrami, for reasons I touched on briefly here :) 

Deepal, Max, Akimi - Counterpunchers, though Deepal is extremely fast and hence able to use their speed as an offensive weapon, similar to Gaël Monfils, maybe? Akimi is on the extreme end of the defensive spectrum, while Max is generally more unpredictable and leans more towards being a junk-baller - often slipping in a silly shot here or there (or perhaps has simply not grown into a rigid style yet). Both are more similar to Caroline Wozniacki/Chris Evert perhaps (sometimes the latter was described as a “human backboard”). All of them generally prefer clay surfaces, because clay is a little more forgiving, allowing them to drag out the rallies and wear their opponents down (or slide to the ball for unbelievable gets, in Deepal’s case). 

Emerson, Blake - Emerson is a serve and volleyer, very quick to the net, aggressive and eager to end the point early. Sharp reflexes, superb in the air, with sharp smashes and dropshots. There aren’t many pure serve-and-volleyers left in the modern game, but Serena Williams has a similarly powerful serve and usually starts dominating the rally right from the get-go. John McEnroe is another example I guess! Blake is also a serve-and-volleyer, but a far less successful one, with a HUGE serve and good net skills, but not much else to back it up - sometimes, they get caught in front and struggle with passing shots (could be a better player if they had better judgment on when to rush the net). 

Jacks, Lee - Like Tobin, Jacks is an all-court player with relatively well-rounded strengths, but Tobin plays slightly more aggressively, and is more likely to go for winners using their tactics and racket technique, while Jacks prefers to slowly build up a winning position and construct defensive-to-offensive transitions. Pretty functional on all surfaces. I’d say Tommy Haas might be the closest match, especially because Tommy is also considered one of the “best players to have never won a grand slam”, which seems to encapsulate the difference between Jacks and Tobin (at least right now). Similarly, Lee is a well-rounded player with a natural athleticism and sharp tactics. They’re good at reading people, but because their time is stretched too thin as it is (they’re in about three different clubs), they’ve never had much ability to focus solely on tennis.

[notachair]

lmao not me realizing all the trailers passed me by XD so here's me reacting to each trailer

Info: caught up with the manga, tho not really any spoilers

Einar & Thorfinnnnn my brotherssss

that "they're beasts, monsters in human skin" with tiny thorfinn's blank look a tiny child body standing in a burning battlefield 👌

I see which scenes they're putting their money into

bless, the anime made his scruffy looks look good XD lowkey gonna miss scruffy manga Thorfinn (admittedly while reading it even for a second time I was "I'm looking forward to seeing that fucking beard gone")

the moth thing is still so fucking hilarious

bruh what are they using all the best lines and moments in even one trailer for?

a-anime Snake 😳

fucking Canute. 😒 and omg short haired Canute!

!! more Canute scenes???? 👀

Ulf!

Who's that redhead being crowned? Harald? OMG THAT MEANS-?? 🥺 (fuck.) better see more of that sister. 😒

I see some I thought to be blondes are redheads here but glad about that small diversity

Oh that eye thing fancy

May we get a Canute in his seat resting/sleeping with a book over his face? 👉👈

Head time.

that "from today on you'll be friends" and about though it's literal, that combined with "cultivate, invest, harvest it" <3

Omgggggg more young Thorfinn scenessss

Also just, the cut on his ear is different now

*splat* (could say something more profound but I choose not to try articulate it)

Einar utilizing that macho voice, investing in Thorfinn's life and will to live.

Bro. 🥺 -

- Bro. 🥹

AAAHHH THE OP SONG!! I'm liking it, the vibe is certainly something

yesyes give me more flashback of that rabid kiddo

oh. looking back. it's thorfinn pov. it reminds me of a fight I read when I caught up just this weekend, it was interesting. I thought that way of visualizing it was a rather cool choice

sister gets to talk now, interesting how that line is framed there, true enough I guess thorfinn come over to make him laugh

those conehead brothers, are they emphasizing it? XD

ah those brothers huh. call that a Wake Me Up (vIOleNCE edition)

you're making me dizzy with those waves man

them dehydrated muscles 🥵 /s

"The strong kills the weak, it's only natural" 🧐S3 material (it was thorfinn saying that right?)? cause like, bruh-

idk what's up with that last frame of Thorfinn but yea he angsty (can I just gush about how I love how we gradually saw him become more expressive and smiley throughout the manga? like- 🥺 that's it mate)

RISE UP LIKE A PHOENIX- okay I just... yea... I've hyped myself up for this season and I'm genuinely so excited, the first 2 eps sticks very closely to the manga still so ✨

"I'm going to be reborn" + image of rising a farming tool to start making a field = farmland saga being all about "cultivating, investing and harvesting" a better You from the ashes of your former self that forms your heavy cloak

They really did get that beard looking thick huh, it's interesting. Like, the scruff in the manga made it sorta hard to see the connection between pre and post scruff face as "just add scruff to the face" cause it changed his face so much. Also damn does that make him look older than he is when it's a full beard, mate's like 19-22, sis did a good decision with that one.

This ED gets me fucking teary okay

💅

glad we're doing the falling thing, tho OP be drowning

CRISP, 1. literally and 2. not, in that order

imagine if Thorfinn did a manbun instead (oh- now I lowkey wanna draw a joke w the ponytail)

Pretty Thors profile with the contrast and other highlight (hm. imagine if he gained that same wavy gene)

Pretty eyes Canute what else is newt

Yes cry it out! 💪

I need my boys to cry it out together, bless 🙏

okay but oboi those parallels/foils with Canute this arc

[controlledchaosetc]

Watching First Kill w/ my partner

We're at Episode 5 rn and tl;dr off the bat, we're enjoying it for all the wrong reasons. Here's some notes, thoughts, and other things we did while watching

EP. 1:

The Zombie Song plays in the intro and my partner has an IMMEDIATE VISCERAL reaction like a flashbang has just gone off and doesn't recover until the first episode ended

16 FUCKING SONGS IN ONE 40 MINUTE EPISODE

Sound mixing is Not Good, whoever did audio mixing dropped the ball so hard

Invest more in your production and editing than in your licensing budget LMAO

Ben is the best character so far, the balls it takes to A. go get your man and B. turn that bottle right at Cal

Elinor is also great I love this evil bitch

EP. 2-4:

Thankfully episode 1 was the worst one

LESS SONGS THIS TIME POG

Please play more than the same Subnautica Lost River theme song over and over again though pls

Editing is ATROCIOUS, the ordering of scenes is just WRONG sometimes, this is a masterclass in truly terrible editing

This show gets better as it goes on bc the side characters get so much more enjoyable

Cal and Juliette's whole THING just isn't working right now, they act the same in almost every scene and other than dry humping in the woods, the chemistry just isn't really there

HOWEVER

I want Cal's mom and Juliette's mom to make out more than I want Cal and Juliette, these women can GET IT

The only thing that changes that is Margot and Sebastian are actually adorable and I love this straight romance more than the gay one the show's about which NEVER happens

Margot is the best character hands down and has the only genuinely REALLY good scene in the show telling Juliette it's ok that she didn't kill (which was actually surprising and nice to see) and talking about how her family hates her for doing what she wanted, not what was expected of her

Elinor and Oliver are duking it out for who can chew the scene more and I'm living for it, definitely tied for 2nd fav

Evil grandma lets go

Apollo and Theseus suck their dick measuring contest is a snooze fest and their characters flip back and forth between respecting and hating each other faster than I can skip through their scenes LMAO

In total, we count 6 cringes, but the total is 5 to subtract the one really good scene with Margot

BONUS ROUND: BETS

We made bets with each other before starting 2-4 and here's the results of them

VIC BETS (my bets for them that they'll viscerally react to)

the zombie song will play again and flashbang them yet again Was IMMEDIATELY proven correct and happened for every episode

a song from 2008 not yet but hopefully

late 2000s reference unfortunately no but I want it

bad audio this was a given lmao

(their bets for them)

anime reference no but there's still hope

teen wolf reference this whole show feels a bit but no direct reference yet

the song flesh by simon curtis will play ODDLY specific but no

tumblr joke please give this to me show

Bets for Me!

witch (good) it was and she's hot and that ring was metal as fuck

world building bad (annoyed) surprisingly not too annoyed

editing bad (screaming) oh I had a whole rant

hunters are used badly other than theo and apollo not too bad, but the fact they're less functional than the vampire family is great

[wayslidecool]

hmmm. 4, 16, 18, 24 for blb asks?

4. team you’d be most likely to flute to

okay so i'm pretty sure i'm a dedicated Georgias Fan For Life, but i think my backup teams are a close call between the Miami Dale and Mexico City Wild Wings! both have a ton of players i love, and super cool communities i'd be more than happy to vibe with. it's pretty close, i think the Dale are a bit closer to the aesthetics i personally like, but at the moment i think i'm a little more invested in Wings lore (not that i don't like Dale lore of course!!)

16. pairing you think about the most

you know, i'm kinda blanking on this one. i feel like there's some blaseball character dynamics i love, but none of them are coming to me at the moment. sorry, i'll have to answer this some other AW YOU KNOW I'M JOKING NIQ NYONG'O AND FLATTERY MCKINLEY FOR LIFE!!!

i was drawn to these two pretty much the moment we wrote "scientist lesbians" on our initial Lore Spaghetti Doc, and the way they've developed since has NOT disappointed me at all. (granted, that's probably because i've been involved in uh. a lot of it 😅)

but man, these two. both are super strong characters with really in-depth sim narratives, and if you've ever heard me talk about blaseball lore in any capacity, you've probably been subjected to a long dissertation on these two and the ins and outs of their loving-albeit-occasionally-messy relationship. i don't know if i can give another one at this very moment, but let it be known: my thoughts about these two eclipse any other blaseball players by a pretty significant margin.

that being said, other pairings i love include Niq with Hercules Alighieri, Frankie Hambone, and Nanci Grackle, Flattery with Ortiz Lopez, and honestly? Clove Ji-eun and Goobie Ballson. don't feel like talking about them all at the moment but i'd be happy to elaborate on any of them if people want to know more!! i feel these ones are a bit less well-known, but can still be just as fun to think about.

18. a headcanon you’ll Always believe

okay so it's time to talk about Niq Nyong'o and the Grind Rail.

so, in Season 15 when the Grind Rail was introduced, Niq took it twice, and both times she got kind of low scores. not like, all-time-the-worst-you've-ever-seen scores, but modestly disappointing. for the next few seasons, she didn't take the Grind Rail at all.

but then the returned to it in Season 18, and was suddenly racking up SURPRISINGLY good scores. not league-best perhaps, but a pretty dramatic improvement from her Season 15 performance. she managed to do multiple Dinner Spins that scored over 4,000 points each, and also got tagged out during both of them but oh well.

so like, i view Niq as this pretty image-conscious person? so it's my headcanon is that Niq was so ashamed of her Season 15 Grind Rail performance that she spent the next few years of her life regularly practicing skateboard tricks in her free time just so she'd be less embarrassed by the skateboard tricks she did later on.

it's a small, incredibly silly headcanon that doesn't really add much to Niq or her overall character arc, but i feel like small, silly headcanons like this can add a lot, you know? it adds a little extra Texture.

24. what’s the most Hiatus Brain thing you’ve done so far this siesta?

accidentally starting a wikipedia edit war.

so uh. i was on the Blaseball Wikipedia page, when i noticed the teams used as examples on the page had been changed since the last time i was there -- previously it was the Philly Pies, Baltimore Crabs, and Atlantis Georgias, but now it was the Philly Pies, Seattle Garages, and Breckenridge Jazz Hands.

i was confused why this edit happened, so i looked at the edit log and it simply said "I changed some of the names of the teams to better teams"

and like, rude?? what does this person have against the Georgias and Crabs? not to get too spicy on here, but personally i would consider both of those much better than the Garages. gosh.

for the most part though, i just found this silly. brought it up in a few blaseball spaces so we could have a quick laugh about it, and i figured that'd be it. but no, it was just the start of a WILD ride.

a few minutes later, someone edits the page and changes the team examples to the Dale, Lovers, Sunbeams, and Firefighters, which i'd consider a solid improvement. and after that things just sort of... spiraled out of control. it's not really something i wanted to see happen, but it's also not something i stopped because honestly? it was really, really funny.

easily the highlight to me was when the list was replaced with one that had most, but not all of the teams, and the "Philly" in "Philly Pies" linked to the page on Pittsburgh. comedy gold.

nowadays, to prevent ridiculous edit wars like that, the page just lists all 24 active teams, which is probably for the best, but the process that got us there is one to remember.

feel free to ask more questions!!