#funny story about this one i was working on it during new years 2023 and then again new years 2024

[artekai]

Look who's stealing whose evil master plan because he's never had a single idea of his own

[amberlide]

Writer interview game

Since I've been tagged twice it's time to answer the questions ^^ Thank you so much to the lovely @thefeatherwrites and @cherryblossom0805 for the tag! (I'm honoured to be one of your favourite writers) <3

Here's my answers :)

When did you start writing?

I was 13 and I was already writing long original novels (bad ones, very bad ones). I only started writing fanfictions in English in 2023 to improve my writing and meet new people :)

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

Detective novels! I love a good mystery and a good puzzle to solve, but I can't write it. I tried for the HL mod, and it was fun! But too much of a headache XD

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

No, there is not. I don't like to compare myself or be compared. I would like to develop my own style independently ^^

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

A comfortable chair, a desk, my Mac (Goldie) and some snacks. Sometimes a bit of music. I love writing next to the windows and checking the time as it passes.

What's your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I don't have a muse. I have a mouse >.<" It runs everywhere, making an utter mess and summoning plot bunnies. I don't recommend it. My stories come as they please...

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Plants for sure, first love and teens. I love writing about first loves, the very first time when you realize you have feelings for someone else, love confessions and first kisses as well. All slow-burning of course! I've been writing for almost 20 years, no stop. What surprises me is how the same themes can be written in so many different scenarios, and I'm amazed at how unique each one turns out. I'm not bored yet ^^

What is your reason for writing?

It's an obsession I cannot control. Whenever I take a break, I get more ideas I have to write down :/ But in general, I love creating characters and putting them into situations, the feeling of unwinding a plot and seeing where it goes is the best ever. And of course I write to re-read my own work!

Is their any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

I got a comment from someone telling me how much my writing was important to them. They read my work to find peace during stressful times. I break down crying every time I re-read it. The idea of helping someone forget their worries, even for a brief moment through my silly work, is the best compliment I could ever receive. I always try to write light and silly, fluffy stuff that lighten my mood :)

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

That I'm the simplest and shyest person there is. Despite what I write and how I come out sometimes, I'm just someone who wants to connect and make friends. People who took the time to know me, are the most cherished ones :)

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

They say I'm good at creating tension and disrupting it with a joke or a funny moment. I write relatable characters, mostly OCs and they feel real and grounded, their feelings and fears feel compelling and relatable. I love when people say they can feel how much effort I put into writing them.

How do you feel about your own writing?

Let's be honest here, as ESL I cannot compare to first-language writers, I suck. I'm nowhere where I want to be. I started writing in English to improve because someone had the brilliant idea to destroy my work piece by piece. I'm still recovering, but I'll get where I want to be, eventually ;) I tag @snowivyimconfusi because I'm too curious ^^ (no pressure honey!)

[azures-bazar]

Accommodating 

Re-uploading this one shot because I wanted to add some changes. I'm experiencing a massive writers block tho, my inspiration is gone (my new job is taking most of my mental energy away but I love it lmao)

Here is some SOFT!Arthur one-shot, again, because boy oh boy it makes me want to write a full story about him going through our current era lol

Don't mind his absolute child-like fascination for modernity, I mean... it's cool to see our tough cowboy happy, isn't it ?

Arthur Morgan x GenderNeutralReader 

Word count : 2.9k

Short summary : You make Arthur try some new technologies, and it’s quite funny to watch his large blue eyes gaze at them ! 

A/Note : I bought myself a galaxy projector not so long ago and wondered how Arthur would react lol. Don’t mind it ! 

Tags : cute, Arthur discovers modern things, mentions of Avatar, movie-watching, snacks, cute nicknames, cuddles, soft boah is in the modern world, men can also cry

A cowboy in the modern world… what a weird story to tell ! Arthur had been in your life for a few months already, slowly accommodating to your era. Sometimes, it was fun, sometimes it was almost scary, and, occasionally, it could be sad. You knew Arthur was an outlaw, a thirty-six, probably thirty-seven year-old man who had been abandoned on the top of a mountain, but he never really brought the subject to the table. In fact, on a few occasions, he would mourn the rest of his gang, he would mourn his friends he would never see again. You had done your best to cheer him up during his rather sad moments, but nothing could really fill that void. 

Arthur missed these folks, a few names were frequently mentioned : Hosea, John, Tilly, Charles, Sean and Lenny. Six people he would describe at times, probably the six people he missed the most from his former life. A father-figure, his siblings, his closest friends… he often wondered what happened to them, to these people becoming distant memories he could only mourn. As of 2023, even little Jack was gone. You wished you could do something, probably beg for Francis Sinclair to come back and drag all these people he mentioned to your time… but Francis was long gone, not even bothering about stepping by your place anymore.

You knew Arthur loved drawing stuff, so you bought him a set of sketchbooks for him to practice. He would hole himself in your now-shared room, sitting on the edge of your window or on your bed, spending about one or two hours sketching figures, animals or even sceneries which appeared to be from a very distant era, mixed with modern buildings and figures he came across while wandering in the streets with you. You often left him alone for him to enjoy his solitude, listening to some blues while sketching his discoveries before he would head to you and proudly show you some of his works. One of your walls had a full set of Arthur’s drawings framed and displayed to the eyes of any guest coming in. After all… it was art ! And nothing could make Arthur more happy than receiving compliments about his sketches he often disliked. 

Arthur still had some hard time getting used to a smartphone you had bought him as you thought it would be a good thing to keep in touch whenever you would be away from him. He nearly broke his phone’s screen twice, unable to understand why it would not switch on, struggling to send you correctly written texts. His large fingers did not help much, he would get easily frustrated by not selecting the right letter for his text. You absolutely adored each one of them, finding them incredibly cute by knowing how much Arthur wanted to do things like you. Sending a text usually took you a few seconds, whereas Arthur would roughly spend one minute writing a five-word sentence filled with typing mistakes, some of them being due to his autocorrector. 

"Im misqing yoi, Y/N !" was an almost daily message he would send you

At some point, you saw an add of a galaxy projector while scrolling on some social media, right after telling Arthur he would probably get a lot of followers if he decided, by miracle, probably, to create an account for himself. He was handsome, had some sweet-looking traits and could easily model for some alternative brands. He often said he would never do such thing, finding his face too ugly to be shown to anyone. How wrong he was, he was probably the most gorgeous-looking man you had ever met ! But, somehow, you did not want to encourage him to post pictures of himself. Social medias were a rather dangerous place for healing minds, and Arthur still needed time. Besides, he would probably not even be able to post anything due to his lack of ease using his digital keyboard ! 

You bought that lamp later that night, it got delivered quite fast. You carefully unpacked your new tool and quickly headed to your bedroom, followed by Arthur who had stopped reading a book about extinct species as he saw you wander around your place with this curious thing you held. You calmly placed the lamp on your bed, reading the instruction manual while Arthur touched it several times, not understand what the hell this little thing was and what was its purpose. 

"What’s that ?" Arthur asked 

"It’s a galaxy projector." you answered. 

"Why d’you need that ? Can’t you just look at ‘em stars from your window ?"

"Light pollution prevents it. These are often used to create a cute ambiance at home or to distract kids. Wanna give it a try ?" 

"Sure." 

Arthur sat on the bed as you switched all lights off, plugging your galaxy projector on, making a large blue and purple light come out of it, filled with laser dots representing stars. The background was moving a little, creating a wave effect which froze Arthur on place. He kept his head up, looking at your now star-covered ceiling. His surprised and mesmerised face was absolutely priceless ! His eyes were shining, his mouth remained half-open as he could not help but stare at these fake stars covering your ceiling. All his troubles were forgotten, making him return to a child-like state. It was such a beautiful thing to see ! 

"And it can also distract grown-ups." you smiled 

Your cowboy-roommate did not even react. His attention was completely focused on the ocean of fake stars he had above his head ! Of course, Arthur knew what a projector was. It would have been awesome to see his reaction if he had never seen such thing before, he would probably have been trying to catch these laser stars like a cat and look confused. But, at the moment, his reaction was pretty cute. 

You left Arthur alone in the room to buy a ready-made lunch at the local market. He had a phone and would call you whenever he would need your help, if he would get lucky enough to make his fingers touch the right icon on his screen. It only took you a few minutes to buy some finger food for the two of you to eat while watching a movie, you came back to find Arthur exactly where you had left him thirty minutes earlier, in the same position, with this same amazed facial expression blooming on his face. He was hypnotised by these lights enough to feel suddenly so lost as you opened the curtains of your bedroom. 

"Wh… what’s going on ?" he said, placing his large hand over his eyes. "Damn sunlight…"

"I brought us some food. You wanna watch a movie ?" 

"Yeah, why not ! Just… just let have my eyes back first, hun." 

Arthur rubbed his eyes and shook his head while you smiled. You absolutely loved listening to him giving you cute nicknames, such as hun, sweetheart, lovebug… even calling you boo, sometimes, after he heard about that nickname while watching TV. It took him a few more seconds to leave your bedroom, keeping his eyes partly closed until reaching your living room, helping you placing all the food on the table, still looking surprised you did not have any forks or knives to eat these carrots, chips, mozzarella sticks and cucumbers. He glanced at the chips and took one between his fingers. Since his arrival in your era, he had never seen or had the opportunity to taste chips !

"What’s that thing ?" he asked. "Is that really food ?"

"Oh, that’s a potato chip." 

"Really ? Just like fried potatoes ?" 

"Yeah, just like fried potatoes, but smaller and thinner. We can eat them for snacks or very random occasions. Try it !"

Arthur nodded, taking a bite of the chip before smiling and taking more of them into his large hand. You could not help but chuckle at his sudden addiction to salty treats, wiping away a few crumbs stuck in his three-day beard with the tip of your fingers. He turned shades darker and smiled, gently taking your hand and rubbing it with his thumb as you launched the movie. Avatar, by James Cameron. Back in a day, that movie had been vastly acclaimed for its large technological progress, and was still pleasant to be watched to this day. You would take Arthur to watch the second Avatar movie someday soon in case he liked the first one. 

"Are ‘em blue folks real ?" Arthur asked while pointing a Na’vi on screen

"No, they’re modelled with computers." you smiled, trying to explain Arthur about motion capture in the most easiest way. "Our technologies allow us to record actors and then modify their bodies thanks to computers to morph them into these blue folks, like you call them."

"Is there a planet called Pandora too ?" 

"I don’t know. Probably ? The universe in infinite, and we didn’t explore much yet." 

The gaze Arthur gave you was adorable. You could see his eyes shine with admiration, it was such a privilege to be able to witness an era which was more than one hundred years ahead of his time, despite its good and bad moments. You had tried your best to keep Arthur away from newspapers in order to help him remain in his rather innocent state of discovery, knowing that a simple glance at the news on TV would probably make him terribly sad and somewhat nostalgic of his own time. 

It was quite unexpected, but Arthur cried during the movie. He cried because of its overall beauty, the story appeared amazing to his eyes, the soft melodies and choirs chanting in background soundtracks moved him a lot. He loved the bioluminescent effect of some scenes, the overall atmosphere of the movie, not taking his eyes away from your TV while wrapping his arm around your shoulders, gently kissing your temple at times. He adored that, he adored this moment. Having you close to him while being fully taken into this movie made him forget about all his past troubles.

"D’you also have ‘em guns ?" he softly asked 

"Maybe… why ? You want one in case you’d come across blue people ?" 

"Mmmm… yeah. Jus’ in case. I miss my good ol' revolver, sometimes." 

You rested your head on his shoulder, somewhat amused by his sweet attitude. You would listen to his gasps, his soft squeals, his almost inaudible wows… you could not deny how adorable Arthur was. You could even hear him sniff, his chest trembling a little whenever a scene would be emotional enough to bring him to tears. Who would have thought Arthur could be so sensitive ? Those who knew him much more than you did. Hosea and Charles, for instance, and most probably John at some point, even Dutch. Just by looking at his drawings, you could have guessed he had a soft heart and high intelligence hidden underneath his rather menacing appearance. 

The movie lasted for so long… you had time to check your phone about a dozen times while resting against Arthur whose eyes were glued to the screen. You did not even want to bother him, he was absolutely hypnotised by the movie and did not want to be bothered. You smiled at him as the credits rolled, noticing tears streaming on his cheeks as you teasingly poked them. 

"Getting a little sensitive, huh ?" you smiled 

"That was a beautiful show !" Arthur answered. "I loved every second of it ! Can we watch it again ?" 

"Someday, we will. But... let's just take a break, okay ?" 

Night came pretty fast, Arthur made you a lavender infusion, you found enough energy to work a little while Arthur sat on the couch and started sketching. Very random figures, some fantasy-like sceneries… and you. You could easily tell he was drawing you by looking towards your direction a few times, then proceeding to sketch something, and looking back again. Another artwork to frame, that was for sure ! 

"What are you drawing, cowboy ?" you smiled 

"Well… I’m trying to sketch you, but I can’t get it right… you’re too gorgeous and my hand shakes too much." 

"That’s… that’s really sweet !" 

"I mean it." 

What Arthur told you made your heart stop beating, you turned shades darker and hid your face behind your hands. Your smile widened enough to cause your roommate to move closer to you, carefully closing your laptop with a large smirk blooming on his face. He made you stand up, slowly uncovering your beautiful face before dropping a sweet kiss on your forehead. 

"You’re making me melt, you know that ?" you smiled 

"Let’s get you to bed so you’ll stop workin’ on your… weird machine here." 

"It’s a computer, Arthur." 

"Well, computer or not, you’re going to bed with me ‘cause it’s kinda late."

You shrugged, you didn’t notice how fast time had passed since you decided to get back to work ! Remote-working had its ups and downs, and Arthur had complained a few times about you staying up too late instead of going to bed and hide into his embrace. He could hardly sleep without having you next to him, and there were no ways to escape him that night. How could you resist these puppy eyes and insisting behaviour ? Your arms spread wide for him to lift you up while you dragged your legs around his hips. Arthur loved carrying you around your place, he could easily remain in shape by doing this almost on a daily basis ! You did not mind it. In fact, you loved having him carry you from a room to another. Bridal and koala style, as you called it, were your favourite. 

Arthur calmly put you on the bed and proceeded switching all lights off while you changed into some more comfortable wear, slipping under your blanket as Arthur moved next to you and wrapped his arms around your waist. He took advantage of you turning yourself towards him to passionately kiss you before making you rest your head on his shoulder. You remained like this for a few seconds, in your pitch-black bedroom, up until Arthur cleared his throat. 

"Erm… Y/N ?" he sheepishly asked 

"Yeah ? What’s wrong ?" 

"Would you mind… switching the galaxy lamp on for a bit ? I… I liked it and…-"

"Sure, sweetheart."

You gasped at your own sudden reaction. "Sweetheart ? Really ?" you scolded yourself, covering your forehead with your palm. You never dared giving Arthur nicknames, not finding anyone of them suitable enough for your time-traveling cowboy, his sole name sounded just fine, you would sometimes call him by his surname. Sweetheart came out of nowhere, and was well deserved ! 

"S-sorry." you stuttered 

"Nah, it’s fine." Morgan responded. "I like ‘em sweet nicknames. "

Arthur smiled, deeply flattered by the nickname you just gave him. His heart pounded faster than expected as you calmly reached out to get the lamp and switched it on. A beautiful fake galaxy suddenly covered your ceiling, filled with laser stars which slowly moved along with the rest of the digital ocean of blue and purple clouds behind them. You analysed Arthur’s reaction and smiled at his sight. 

"Why do you like this lamp so much ?" you smiled

"Oh… it just reminds of home." Arthur answered as he moved closer to you, allowing you to place your head back on his chest 

"You never slept with a roof over your head before you came here ?" 

"I did, at some point… but I got used to fall asleep while gazing at the stars from a corner of my tent, or sometimes from my bedroll when I was away. Gazing at ‘em moving above me was always calming."

"If you want, we could go camping this summer. Would you like that ?"

You heard Arthur moan a little, feeling his heart pound faster. Your head rose a little, allowing you to get a better view of Arthur’s beautiful face. Your hand caressed his chest, drawing circles on them while you kept gazing at him. His eyes kept staring at the ceiling until he felt your gaze, slowly turning his head to you. 

"That’d be awesome." he smiled 

There were many things left to discover, many things you wanted to show Arthur. The world was full of treasures, modern or ancient, cultures you wanted him to get familiar with, places to visit… Arthur’s health was back to normal, you could now guide him through your own era without bothering about any health issues he would encounter. Indeed, that man was not twenty anymore, but you were ready to do so much for him ! You were ready to guide him, to be with him. Beyond what Francis had first asked you. Your help turned into a beautiful blossoming relationship filled with embraces, kisses and… very noisy nights. 

Switching this galaxy lamp became some sort of ritual every single night. Along with waking up to Arthur’s face and his hugs after you would come back from work, your daily embrace in bed facing a fake galaxy was your most favourite part of the day. At times, you would run your fingers into Arthur’s dirty-blonde locks, massaging his scalp with singing some song. Sometimes, he would do the same with you. You adored it, you adored him. No, you loved him… and did not have the courage to tell him just yet, but you knew this day would come soon enough. The world was filled with treasures, mysteries and beauty. 

And Arthur was going to find out about them. 

[formulapookie]

ok, so i keep seeing stuff and tbh, it puts me off but i want to give benefit of the doubt.

so. where would YOU have me start on learning how moto gp works. i don't mean shipping. i will go left field with that shit myself, hell, i'm out here in my georgenando canoe. but understanding the sport.

you know, stuck here between should not have to give reasons and fuck it. bestie has bikes. i've watched some stuff. i find it very interesting. i'm not here bc f1 soley. but any time i've watched there is just so much to take in? when i got into f1 i had my friend on msn explaining. holding my hand if you will.

also yes i'm prepared to be labelled a glory hunter as i am inevitably drawn towards the small spanish war criminal. i have a type.

so do you have a primer? links? any news articles that really break it down?

ok so.

I personally got into MotoGP through my best friend who didn't explain a lot to me, just told me to try and get it (he's bad at explaining things)

I tried to read about it on wikipedia first, just to get a general idea of the sport and you know, teams and riders.

I think I can break something down for you, but it's mainly the structure of the sport itself rather than it's story, for that you can ask or read @muxas-world blog because that's where I at first got infos here on tumblr.

SO.

The weekend is structured on three days like F1, we got one Free Practice on Friday and then a Pre-Qualifying session called Practice in which the ten fastest gain direct access to Q2 on Saturday.

Saturday has another round of Free Practice and then Quali, divided in Q1 where the riders out the top ten on the previous day fight for the first two position to access Q2 with the other ten, then it's down to the fastest. After this there's ALWAYS the sprint, unless particularly strange scenarios (extreme weather) and it gives circa half the points of a normal race, it's fully valid for the championship and it DOESN'T determine the day after's grid, it stays the same as the first one.

On Sunday we race. There's no mandatory pit stops in MotoGP, unless it's raining and riders gotta switch to a wet bike, which is very funny cause you see these crazy guys hopping from a bike to another and try to regain positions.

Teams can have wildcards during the season, meaning riders (usually test riders) who replace one of the two official riders for an ENTIRE WEEKEND, not like F1 where it's usually just FP1, and this year they changed rules so that only certain teams can have wildcards, Ducati is completely excluded by it because they're 4 teams combined (as in Ducati gives engine to 4 teams: Ducati Lenovo and Pramac which use a 2024 bike, Gresini and VR46 which use a 2023 bike) and honeslty there was another reason but I currently am fighting sleep to answer you and can't remember

Points are assigned from the 1st to the 15th place, one additional point for the fast lap.

Tows, crashes and show are much more likely to be than in F1, especially crashes are far more frequent, obviously not cause riders are bad, but because it's easier to loose a bike going 360km/h ratehr than a car at that same speed.

Also, here Moto2 and Moto3 hold a higher value than F2 and F3 do in the Formula 1 concept of it all, championships won in those classes ARE COUNTED as championships, so Vale for example, a 9 time World Champion IS NOT 9 times MotoGP world champion, 9 in the championship won together in MotoGP and what back then was 125/250cc (currently Moto 3 and 2, actually with even more cc)

It's important to watch these series cause they really give you and insight on A. how actually crazy these guys are B. how many talents there are out there

sorry I can't really tell you more cause if you wan the history of the sport i'm not the one to talk you well about it, but I hope I helped, also sorry if I don't include links but I don't really know where to get real infos, I just learnt here on tumblr, I recommend you do the same :)

[vikenticomeshome]

Cyberchase Character Discussion (for your local Cyberchase trivia quiz) - #3: Jackie

Here we go again. I've made this style of post about Inez and Matt, and now it's Jackie's turn.

#3: Jackie

Let's start with her bio from "Meet the Cybersquad". Again, this almost 25 years old now, so who knows how much of it is still canon.

So, we get our introduction to Jackie. She's smart, funny, has a plan, and is over-the-top. Yeah, that's accurate so far.

For some reason, this page was not in her original bio when they released it in 2001. They went back and added this page later in 2002. This is the only bio that I have seen that had content added like this. This page lets us know that her favorite color is yellow, and she loves tofu burgers. I don't know if the show has confirmed that she is a vegetarian or vegan. She is shown to care about animals, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was canonically a vegetarian.

Her favorite book is one that I hadn't heard about until now: "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech. In this story, the 13 year old protagonist, Salamanca (Sal) Hiddle, goes on a cross-country road-trip to visit her mother. There are themes of coming to term with loss and building new relationships. It makes me wonder if, at some point in development, the show-runners might have been interested in giving Jackie a tragic loss similar loss to Sal. I haven't seen the later seasons where they bring in the kid's families, but I don't believe they have gone that route so far.

For her favorite music, we get two bands: Destiny's Child and NSYNC. These are very much a product of the time. Destiny's Child actually disbanded in 2006, as the members went off to do solo work. NSYNC disbanded in 2002, and then reunited in 2023. Well, we know that Jackie loves her R&B and Pop music, so I'm sure she found other bands to follow since then.

Her favorite movie is Shrek, which only came out in 2001. Matt and Inez have definitely sent her all the memes that have come out about that movie since then. Her pet peeves are bugs and anything messy. Yeah, that still tracks. She has a "Wheaton Terrier" named Brandy. I don't know if the spelling has changed over the years, or if they just made a spelling mistake in her bio, but I have only seen it spelled as "Wheaten".

Jackie also gets a bio from Nelvana, which is pretty cool. I've only been able to find surviving archives of bios for her and Matt. They have sections for Inez, Dr. Marbles, Motherboard, The Hacker, Buzz, and Delete. However, all of those are left empty in the surviving archives of the pages. I don't know if bios were completed for those other characters.

We get emphasis on the point of Jackie being organized. We also get more insight into how she solves problems. She uses diagrams, charts, and graphs among other things. She also touched on her tendency to use initials as shorthand for things. I remember the Blue Bunny Place (B.B.P) from "Of All The Luck". Was she hip in 2002? Is she still hip now? I'm not qualified to say.

We also get an introduction to Jackie through the official prequel web comic, "How It All Started: Episode 3". We see Jackie making her own skirt out of strips of fabric. I assume it is for cheer-leading.

Narration: Meanwhile, on Earth, three kids who don't know each other are about to have the adventure of their lives.

Jackie: I gotta organize this stuff

Narration: meet Jackie, who has her own sense of style...

Narration: And her own way of doing things!

Here's Jackie's Official Cyberchase Trading Card.

When they picked her favorite line as "Make room! I gotta pace!", they probably picked her most iconic line. She loves video games, piano, and foreign languages, which is great. We do get to see her play an unnamed videogame during Season 1 Episode 25 "A Battle of Equals". The hero "San Man" is trying to save the environment by stopping the villains that are trying to pollute it. One villain is called Johnny Grime. There are number riddles, and they are the same sort of riddles that the kids solve during the episode.

I don't think we ever see her playing piano or speaking a second language on the show. Quick question: What are those shoes that she wears? Inez has a pair or blue boots. Matt has a pair of red and white sneakers. Jackie's shoes are a little harder to place. They are purple, and they have considerable heels. Were these meant to be high-tops? I don't know that I've seen high-tops with heels in that size before.

The big thing that people remember Jackie for are her dramatic outbursts. And her most iconic one is probably from Season 3 Episode 4 "A Piece of the Action". You can tell that someone in the animation department had fun with this one.

Here's a transcript.

Jackie: Great! Now we'll never get into Hacker's control center. And if we can't get in there we can't stop Hacker. And if we can't stop Hacker, he'll erase Motherboard's memory with the magnetite! Cyberspace is doomed! Doomed I tell you! Doo-hoo-hoo-hoomed!

Matt: And the award for best dramatic outburst of today goes to Jackie!

Jackie: Matt!

What else can I say about Jackie. Well, she has an amazing tolerance for cold weather. Even in Arctic Cybersites, she still made do with the same short skirt.

Anyway, here's the prototype for Jackie. She had a completely different hairstyle and outfit. She was also called Julie. Again, I consider her current design an upgrade from the prototype.

And here's the Who's Who document on her.

We get more discussion on Jackie being a gymnast and artist. She loves Instant Messaging. I guess that would have been AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) at the time.

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

Stories We’ve Read & Enjoyed in the Past Three Years (2020 - 2023)

We had a recent request for stories that were not dark, and no character death. They wanted stories that would make for fun conversations - we’re not quite sure what that means exactly, since any story can spark a fun convo so we hope you all find something enjoyable to read. We’ve included 30 various stories - if you enjoy an author’s writing, definitely check out their other works! And it goes without saying, please leave kudos or a sweet comment. 

Thank you and happy reading!

Lynne, @hkvoyage @1908jmd and @lilyvandersteen

~~~~~~~~~~

I Don’t Date Cheerios by @teddyshoney

Blaine, leader of the McKinley High bad boys is forced to join a club, and he winds up singing in front of the Glee Club. Who else would be in the audience besides Cheerio Kurt? Kurt's never been a fan of Blaine, but that's all about to change...

~~~~~

99 perspectives on a single love story by @spaceorphansficrecs

The Story of Kurt and Blaine told through the eyes of everyone else but them. Each chapter is a different perspective in the ongoing tale of their love story.

~~~~~

Nashville by @hkvoyage

Kurt lands the lead role in a new musical, but it flops during the previews. However, his performance captivates Nashville’s newest country music sensation. They share an instant connection and it grows deeper as they get to know each other. Will Kurt be able to save the musical and keep the man of his dreams?

~~~~~

Christmas in Cabinland by @honeysucklepink

Sam enters Kurt and Blaine in a contest for a “unique Airbnb experience,” which turns out to be a rustic week in 15 acres of the Pacific Northwest rainforest. Far away from civilization, and with little interruption from their eccentric hosts, it’s a Christmas they won’t soon forget.

~~~~

Barking up the wrong bakery by @forabeatofadrum

Kurt is the biggest dog party planner in Los Angeles. When his usual dog bakery cancels on Kurt, he’s in the dire need of a last minute replacement. Luckily, he comes across the Dalton Doggy dog bakery, which is run by Blaine and Cooper Anderson. Cooper’s a mess, but Blaine manages to charm Kurt. Will Kurt be able to keep it professional?

~~~~

About-face by quizasvivamos

At the start of the Marching Band season his sophomore year, Blaine is the youngest Drum Major in McKinley High history. However, none of his peers believe he deserves the title, especially a handful of embittered upperclassmen, including one particularly stubborn Color Guard Captain, who challenges him in more ways than one.

~~~~

Everybody’s naked and there’s a country to run by @coffeegleek

A take on the "prince/king!Blaine and prince/king!Kurt are getting married and have to do it while naked in front of their loyal subjects" trope. It’s pure crack taken seriously. I’m blaming the heat. The fic started as this wisp of an idea and a single funny Kurt line. It was supposed to all be fast paced and instead sometimes dissolves into a bit of world building, exposition, and Kurt feelings. I do try my best and hope that at least some of the jokes and humor land. It also developed a full blown plot that has a beginning and an end.

~~~~

Braid of Gold by @jayhawk-writes

Kurt and Blaine ask Caphriel to make the decision about where they go next. He chooses a lifetime where Kurt and Blaine will have to navigate a situation they've not yet been in. They'll have to work through loss and betrayal and ultimately, their bond will be stronger as a family because of it.

~~~~~

Home away from home by @lilyvandersteen

Cooper buys a hotel sight unseen and asks Blaine to run it for him over the summer. Only, the hotel is a health and safety hazard and Inspectors Hummel and Abrams are hell-bent on closing it down. Can Blaine spruce the hotel up in time and save Cooper's investment?

~~~~

These inconvenient fireworks by @redheadgleek

After an unexpected Tony award, Kurt Hummel is Broadway's hottest up and coming star, which comes with expectations and some admirers that won't take a hint. When his best friend Elliott Gilbert suggests that they pretend to date to get the leeches to back off, Kurt takes him up on the idea. It's all working out great - until Kurt starts to fall hard for the dark-haired music director of his latest musical.

~~~~~

Reprise by orphan-account  [PDF]

During Kurt's senior year at NYADA, a life-changing event causes him to take a leave of absence and what was supposed to be a short stay turns into years. His life certainly isn't what he expected, but he's not exactly unhappy. His name is not lit up in lights on Broadway, but he's involved in community theater and LGBTQ groups in Columbus and has friends who love him and casual lovers. But turning 35 has made him restless and he's longing for the life he had before. Burt talks him into taking some classes at Ohio State University to finish his degree and start focusing on himself again. What Kurt finds on the OSU campus is much more than he bargained for.

~~~~

Turn Into a Pose by @little-escapist  

Singer-songwriter Blaine Anderson wants to come out of the closet. When his publicist sets him up with movie-star Kurt Hummel, he’s ready for anything, but the last thing that Kurt wants is a relationship with anyone, let alone Blaine. He hates his publicist for setting him up, hates the idea of lying to the world, and hates letting the world invade his personal life. But maybe Blaine Anderson is exactly what Kurt Hummel needs.

~~~~

Spinning out by @rockitmans

Blaine is smitten with his college roommate literally upon arrival and decides that he's an excellent candidate for losing his virginity with. After all, what's better for Roomie Bonding than penetration between friends?

~~~~

Solid Gold by @heartsmadeofbooks

Ten years after breaking his engagement to Blaine, Kurt's life isn't the fairy tale he once hoped for. Forced to leave New York, he goes looking for a second chance, not expecting to find it in the town he always wanted to run away from, or with the man whose heart he shattered.

~~~~

Lost Boy by  my own patronus

In September 1999, Pam and James Anderson's world was shattered when their youngest son, Blaine, was abducted from a local park. 12 years later, after pain, healing, and tireless searching, the family is reunited. But the boy who comes home to them isn't the same one they lost so long ago. The Anderson family must learn to change and grow as a lost boy is found once more.

~~~~

To Serenade an Angel by @teddyshoney

After the death of his father, Kurt receives a letter from a prestigious musical college, inviting him to attend. He decides to attend, and shortly after his arrival, he hears a strange voice beckoning him down a forbidden hallway. Kurt begins a relationship with the voice, unsure why he finds him so intriguing and why his heart beats more rapidly each time he thinks about the voice. Who does the voice belong to? And what does it want with him?

~~~~~

Since Sense Sensory by @gleefulpoppet

One rainy night, nestled at a patio table of a small café, Kurt broke off his engagement with Blaine in a moment of heated frustration that had been building for weeks. That was 12 years ago, and they haven’t seen each other since. Suddenly, they may find themselves reunited in a place they never expected. If you had a second chance with your first love, would you take it?

~~~~~

The Ghost Kitchen by @hkvoyage

At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, Kurt lived in Lima with his father. Two years later, he returned to New York City. As he needed money to pay for rent and food, he got a job in a booming industry: food delivery. His first delivery order was a pick-up from Warbler Food Enterprises. Little did he know he would meet a cute chef there that would turn his world upside down.

~~~~~

Where Dreams Are Born by @kurtswish

Kurt Hummel always dreamed of New York, but reality doesn’t quite live up to his expectations. One impulsive decision could change it all.

~~~~~

Love, Blaine by @gleefuldarrencrissfan

Blaine Anderson is a typical teenager. Except he’s not because he’s hiding a huge secret. He’s gay. But after reading a confession on the informal Dalton blog, he discovers that he’s not the only closeted boy at Dalton. After a moment of courage, he emails him and ultimately starts up a friendship that will change life as he knows it. Loosely based on Love, Simon.

~~~~~

Teach Me Control by @scatter-the-stars

Kurt is in a established Dom/sub relationship with his high school English teacher, Blaine. And Blaine decides to surprise him on his nineteenth birthday with something he never expected.

~~~~~

looking for something that'll (never) come by @klaineanummel

Blaine Anderson-Chang knows that his crush on his brother’s best friend, straight football star Kurt Hummel, is foolhardy. But every now and then Kurt gives him a look and Blaine can’t help but wonder.

~~~~~

Domus Civita by JayhawkWrites

While on vacation to a city he’s never been to, Kurt Hummel finds himself in a place that he recognized from his dreams. The person he always sees in those dreams is there, too, and they spot him and ask, “Is it really you?”

Note: Part of the In Every Lifetime series

~~~~~ 

Bicycle Patrol Unit by @caramelcoffeeaddict

When NYPD bicycle cop, Blaine Anderson, begins to fall for Kurt Hummel - the gorgeous man that he first notices while Kurt is jogging through the park during Blaine’s patrol there - it causes a rift between him and his patrol partner, Sebastian Smythe

~~~~~

Never Saying Goodbye To You by @lilyvandersteen

Inspired by a beautiful drawing by @thisdoesnotsuck, this is a story where Kurt travels through time to the 1920s and falls in love with his great-grandfather’s secret beau. Featuring a family curse, doppelgängers, angst and confusion.

~~~~~

When Are You Gonna Sing For Me by  TheNameIsBritney

Kurt is one of the three members of wildly successful pop punk band One Three Hill. He is also forgetful as all get out and accidentally leaves his phone somewhere where a certain music teacher just happens to find it.

OR

The pop star!Kurt/middle school music teacher!Blaine au that lives rent free in my brain

~~~~~

My Reader by Cleverboots (Amberlovesocean)

Kurt is looking for an after-school job. He finds an ad on the school bulletin board for a job reading aloud for someone. It pays well and seems easy, so Kurt applies. He gets the job and goes to the mansion to read for a boy that was severely injured in an accident. Of course you know the boy's name is Blaine Anderson. After a rocky start, they become friends and an amazing opportunity opens up for Kurt.

~~~~~

The Elf On The Shelf by kellyb321

The owner at Verve Design has decided the holidays at the office have been way too boring in the past. He's decided to kick it up a notch with a Christmas party, Secret Santas and...and adorable Elf on the Shelf for the office. Kurt might be a little smitten.

~~~~~

Outlined on My Finger, Printed in My Heart by @jayhawk-writes

Blaine and Kurt spent a while picking their next adventure. When they finally decided, Caphriel was elated. This was an adventure he had been waiting for them to choose.

~~~~~

Guard My Heart by @scatter-the-stars

The kiss isn't meant to change his life. But for Kurt, that's what happens when he kisses basketball star Blaine Anderson. Not wanting to concern himself with the guy, he focuses on going back to his normal life and saving a place he loves. When Blaine starts to show up in his life, he tries to ignore the feelings he stirs up in him. That's easier said than done, and Kurt soon finds himself falling for someone unexpected.

[v0rd1g4n]

The Thundermans Return - Review

All right, as I already stated in Part 1, I really liked the movie. It was great how fast it got released, after they officially announced it back in 2023, less than a year later. I could even enjoy it with the mexican spanish dub (with the same voice actors and everything), as soon as it was available on Paramount+, which by the way was awesome.

However, I think they had a few problems to work with all these characters in the same story, and this is what I think...

The art of nerfing

From time to time, they seem to be forced to nerf their powers for the story to go on and putting about 15 characters with superpowers in a movie like this, quite frankly, is not an easy task. We would expect to see the twins stronger and experienced than ever and probably they are, but its more likely that they tried to balance things up.

I think this is like creating a Superman game, which by the way, is something people have been discussing for a while. You could try to make it perfectly accurate to how powerful he can get to be, which is practically a god, but this is just a lot to work with and that's why they need to nerf, either his superpowers or the city. Otherwise, the game would be boring.

All right, let's get to it. These are my thoughts...

Losing a lost battle

First of all, when the family go to stop Blue Flame, the Thundertwins didn't even use telekinesis against him. Only close range atacks like heat breath from a long distance, which has no sense. Especially for someone like Phoebe.

What about Max's gadgets? All we saw was the jetpack but none of his new inventions, maybe a repulsor gauntlet or something like that. I know the Thundermans were meant to fail on this save, but I just think it could've been better executed.

A lost opportunity

Also, when Max and Phoebe get caught by the V-Team, I would've liked to see an intense fight between them, maybe not as good as the one they have, later in the movie and then get defeated by a bad decision from one of the twins, for example.

Besides, they could've left a huge mess all around the headquarters, for President Kickbutt and her team to find and start to investigate the V-Team.

A missing fight

During the Thundermans house break in, again, it would have been cool to see a small fight before they show how Max and Phoebe were being tortured. Maybe even turning Dr. Colosso back into a human, to help them out or something.

The amount of destruction inside of the house with all those powers, would've been amazing. By the way, did you notice how Chloe walks out of the scene, right before the V-Team get in the house?

Prison break

Near the end of the movie, we learn that the V-Team had broken their parents out of prison, and again, a security camera shot of them taking a few guards down and breaking out of prison together, would've been enough for me.

We've only seen Metroburg Super Jail from the outside and the cells area, but that building looks massive. Also, did you see they forgot to add the Metrobug Superjail sign at the top of the building? This screenshot is from "Tunder In Paradise".

The band and the mothers hunter

Other things I would've liked to see, is Max and his band playing a song at Splatburger again and not only talking about rejoining the band. Maybe even having Gideon still dating Sarah, instead of trying to become the next Paul Finch, still obsessed with his friend's mother, I mean... come on dude, chill out! 🤣

Weird relationship

And of course, how could this be a Nickelodeon show/movie, without the mandatory awkward scene? Dr. Colosso, a grown ass man turned into a rabbit, had been using Max's old suit as a sooting blanket. It was funny though.

I think sometimes the writers jut forgot that Dr. Colosso was not a talking rabbit. Oh, and by the way... what happened to his son, Balfour? They didn't even mention him.

Interesting origin but bad executed

And last but not least important, I'd like to talk about the reason I said in Part 1, that the Power Plant was a terrible idea.

But don't get me wrong. The origin of superpowers was interesting, but if Hank and Barb had this source of powers at home all along, then why didn't they use the blue seeds to go stop Dark Mayhem after Max took their powers away with the power-sapping orb?

Obviously, this was years before the movie came out, but still, it kind of ruins the moment, now that I look back and know what was really there.

Budget and filming

Now, I don't know if the budget was pretty low for the movie to last only 1 hour and 10 minutes or if it was filmed in a short span, but maybe that's what happened, because I remember people saying the filming was over in less than a month, so that may be the reason we didn't get to see more cool stuff, but I don't know.

I'm just speculating.

Music

As for the music, I gotta say I really liked it, except for the V-Team's song. It was funny, but not my thing. The new version of the theme song played during the closing credits, was so cool and I don't know if you're gonna be with me on this, but the song we could hear during the final battle against Dark Mayhem, was great.

I even turned on the subtitles while writing this and look what it says in the background. Damn! I thought the movie was for kids 🤣

VFX

And finally the VFX. I did have in mind that the movie was family friendly, so the special effects we see during the entire movie, are practically an improved version of the ones we've previously seen on the TV Show, which is cool most of the time, but sometimes... it doesn't.

Thundercest

Did you really think I wasn't gonna talk about Thundercest here? Well, guess again. It would've been awesome to have another big hug between Max and Phoebe, just like the one we saw in "Thunder in Paradise", but we can't have everything, right?

It's weird, because Max and Phoebe share a lot of screen time together, but something feels different than the tv show vibes. Don't you think? Anyway, here's a couple pics of them together.

Errors

I wasn't sure if I should share these two errors I found while writing Part 1 and Part 2 because this is not a movie rant, but it's kind of funny now that I think about it. So here they are:

Did you notice how they changed She-Crab's claw from one arm to the other?

Or how Phoebe's footage was duplicated while blowing freeze breath at Dark Mayhem Jr.?

And as Forrest Gump would say: “That's all I have to say about that”.

Colosso, the skater

Oh, wait. I almost forgot... All of the promos and posters had a small picture of Dr. Colosso on a skateboard. Is a deleted scene or something? I guess we'll never know.

Look at that. I wanna see Dr. Colosso performing a few tricks on a skateboard.

#SpingarnCut

Ranking

All right, I rank this movie 8/10.

And this is it, guys. I hope I'm not forgetting something important. I've been writing Part 2 and this post for the last three days, so please tell me what you think about the movie, about my review and if you'd like to see more of The Thundermans soon.

How would you rank the movie?

Let me know all your comments.

[ofsilentthings]

'The Vampire Ascendant's Wife', a Postmortem

Just some writer thoughts about finishing my longest fanfiction to date!

Thank you for reading and commenting/leaving kudos.

Data and Commentary below~

I started it October 13, 2023 and finished it May 27, 2024.

With 138,915 words it is the longest fic I have ever written.

Each chapter averaged 6945 words. (Though the largest was like 13000 words.) This is unusual for me and I think going forward I'll try to keep each chapter shorter.

Inspiration:

I was inspired mainly by Dracula - mainly by wanting Jonathan Harker and Dracula kiss. Why a two hundred year gap? An arbitrary number but not really - it's how long Astarion was under Cazador's control (give or take a few decades). Besides providing a nice parallel, it was a funny reference to this line from the game:

Astarion: I'll make you pay for everything you've ever done to me! Cazador: I've known you for two hundred years! Haven't I suffered enough?

Planning:

For such a long fic as this, I do a lot of planning. I like to do a vague outline of where I want the fic to go (or even the themes I want to touch upon). When I get to specific chapters I break them down by scenes or even beats. I also did a lot of background planning. I had to know how Rickard could believably raise the performance of three businesses and quickly. I had to know how Astarion was going to become Archduke. And I had to figure out how to make Rickard fall in love with Taviana AND Astarion. Manipulating all these plots was difficult and part of the fun challenge but I think I did okay. Funny enough Henrik's death was not meant to be such a plot point; it was only supposed to be a way to force Rickard into the spotlight. I never intended Henrik to show up himself.

Successes:

I really love Rickard. I love his journey from nervous uncertain man meeting Astarion to the first time, to the last encounter when he tells him the truth and slaps him. I liked my Taviana who balanced over the line of loving and hating Astarion. I liked Astarion, since it was in a slightly different filter than most fics I've seen: one that is not new to power, but complacent. Realities of life (becoming poor) forced him to reach out to new opportunities, mainly Rickard. Whether he was ultimately changed by his time with his chamberlain is dependent upon the ending you prefer.

I think the multiple plots worked for the most part. The financials and social climbing reflected the intimacy of the three main characters, and vice versa. Also I managed to use an auction as a main plot device so that's fun to me.

Failures:

Vaida and her crew did not get a satisfactory ending. I toyed with having Astarion kill her in the final plot chapter but I worried that if Rickard saw that he would be much more antagonistic towards Astarion and not even try to talk to him.

I wish I had given a bit more attention to the businesses towards the end; however the focus on the story had obviously shifted to the three of them so I think its okay. A part of me thinks Astarion's megolomania should have been toned down a little bit, at least to show that he was listening to Rickard, even when he was angry. But I think that's a very minor point that I'd fuss over no matter what.

'Extra features':

Taviana was going to ask Rickard to kill Astarion. But Rickard does not have D&D player levels (A level 0 commoner), so he wouldn't have a chance.

I considered going a power route and having Ilmater himself get involved, making Rickard a Chosen, perhaps a super-powered monk, but again that was a bit more action-oriented than I wanted to go. It also seemed to take away from the personal strength of Rickard. Why should he stand up to Astarion when he can get the power of a god and punch the Ascendant into the sun?

Rickard was going to be kidnapped by undead inside the Ancunin estate during a grand party; that didn't work because I needed Astarion's house to be '''safe''' so that's why it was out in the streets. Part of Rickard's contract was going to include a clause that, at the end of a year (or some other time), Taviana would have the choice to leave Astarion or stay. I decided to omit that simply for simplicity sake. She's a Consort, she never could leave, even if she wanted to.

I had planned on Astarion creating a crisis of undead attacking the undead in waves. He would then 'bring them down' and be seen as a hero. But then I remembered Mystic Carrion probably still would exist and so he had a natural enemy. Taviana Lovers: Loghain, Nicollus, Marius, Elliot, Imogen. Astarion Lovers: Ellyndia, Millicent, Vero, Mathias, Morgan, Andromeda, Irenica, Miriam, Henrik (most of these are video game characters or D&D/original characters) In a similar vein: Absoleth, Sylene, and Lady Murasaki are some of my D&D characters. Jack Jekyllsby Hamstead is one of my husband's characters. Yes, even the boots. Garu is one of my friend's D&D characters.

What's next?

Who knows? I need a mental break. I am busy with a family, a job, and a life and writing so much takes time from that. I want to enjoy the up coming Elden Ring DLC as well as FF14's Dawntrail. I want to read a bunch of books and be inspired. I want to do some painting. I'm even going to start up a Curse of Strahd D&D game (someone has to DM...) But I'll always come back to writing. I love it too much not to. So expect some one-shots, maybe? I am looking at some crossovers as well (Astarion and Micolash WILL BE A THING, there's too much about blood and ascension between them to ignore). Thank you, thank you, thank you lovely readers, each one of you.

[inquisimer]

2023 writing round up

bringing back this fun little year-end writing review from last year :3 it's always so fun to look back and see what all the little pieces and all the time adds up to!

tagging if you'd like to join in: @shivunin | @rosella-writes | @fadedsweater | @exalted-dawn-drabbles | @kiastirling-fanfic | and @warpedlegacy

words posted: 109,617

additional words written: 84,453

grand total of words: 194,070

fandoms: 2 - Dragon Age & Dishonored

highest kudos: The Lie Upon Your Sleep at 20 - a bit of fluff & hurt/comfort with my healer OC Ness and Cullen

highest hit oneshot: to be seen feeling at 200 - a piece I wrote for my friend @dreadfutures as part of the DAFF Discord OC Swap. An exploration of her Mahariel as Warden-Commander and Teryn during Awakening and his life with Morrigan and Kieran in the Crossroads.

new things I tried: Writing non-canon romances! And participating in a lot more fandom exchanges.

fic I spent the most time on: hard to say, probably my unpublished Surana Lavellan rewrite! Of my published fics, I think it would be if our demons cannot dance - angst, hurt/comfort, and missing scenes for my anders rivalmance.

fic I spent the least time on: either Not Like This, a character study of Emily's guilt/regret as she flees Dunwall in D2, or I carried my own ashes to the mountain, some light hurt/comfort and fluffy friendship between Brosca & Zevran on their way back to Orzammar

favorite thing I wrote: any of my pieces with Siobhan Hawke, my Blorbo of the Year for sure. She's so different than the type of Hawke I usually play, being Red-Purple and leaning into the politicking aspect of her role in Kirkwall. I've loved exploring a Hawke who doesn't run away from Kirkwall, who stays and works within the system to make things better. And of course writing her different dynamics with Loghain and Sebastian have been both interesting and challenging for me creatively.

favorite thing(s) I read:

Things my heart used to know (things it yearns to remember) by NiriKeehan (@nirikeehan) - the gift I received as part of the DAFF Discord OC swap, an incredibly well-done piece of my OC Neria and Cullen finding common ground in their respective roles in the Inquisition

A Fool's Death and a Hard Choice by RosellaWrite (@rosella-writes) - an beautiful study of Warden Loghain leading up to and through DAI, his journey looking for Mahariel, how he meets up with Hawke, and his reunion with Morrigan & Kieran at Skyhold.

In Flame Forged Anew by Plisuu (@plisuu) - DAI as experienced by Connor Trevelyan, Templar turned mage turned Tranquil turned Herald of Andraste. He's a little fucked up by it all and this compelling story will tear you to shreds right from the start.

Dirty Little Secrets by SylvanRain (@sylvanraindrop) - DAI retold from the perspective of one of Leliana's agents, featuring the smoothest motherfucker Lavellan, lots of intrigue and spy shenanigans, and Cullen being both endearingly soft and Good At His Job

what we talk about when we talk about whalers by patho (ghostsoldier) - a collection of one shots set in and around the Knife of Dunwall DLC for Dishonored, ranging from lighthearted and funny to absolutely heart-wrenching ;-; beautifully well-done snippets that build out the in-game mechanics and lore!

writing goals for 2024: finish my Surana Lavellan rewrite up through IYHSB, which is when I've promised myself I'll start posting it again 😤 and also to finish at least one of the smut pieces that I have half-started in various drafts

new works: 21

template under the cut!

words posted:

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grand total of words:

fandoms:

highest kudos:

highest hit oneshot:

new things I tried:

fic I spent the most time on:

fic I spent the least time on:

favorite thing I wrote:

favorite thing(s) I read:

writing goals for 2024:

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[weaselandfriends]

Detective Pony

I recently received an ask from @querimoniousqueer about whether I had ever read Detective Pony by sonnetstuck. I hadn’t, but decided I should, so I read it over the past week.

Going in I knew almost nothing about it beyond the joke in Homestuck proper, in which Dirk sends Jane a vandalized copy of a Pony Pals book with substitutions made to the text for comic effect. The Detective Pony fanfic extrapolates off that premise and provides a Dirk-ified version of the entire novella.

At first I wasn’t particularly sold on the premise. Revisiting the story’s first page (which Hussie himself created in Homestuck), it’s actually not that funny. At the beginning of Act 6 Hussie took the opportunity of the new universe to update the in-universe date from April 13, 2009 to November 11, 2011. This is not a particularly long stretch of time but to emphasize this shift Hussie decided to throw in several references to what is, I assume, the singular piece of new media he had consumed during that period: the sitcom Parks and Recreation.

I’m not sure how hilarious Hussie thought it was to change a supporting character’s name to Pawnee Township, Indiana, the fictional setting of Parks and Recreation, but in 2023 the reference feels phenomenally dated, without the self-awareness of the intentionally dated references to Con Air elsewhere in the comic. Though the reference is a bit more interesting metafictionally (does Dirk, living in post-apocalyptic future Earth, intend to make a reference to a work popular in 2011, making it contemporaneous and thus relevant to Jane?), now that the audience of Homestuck is no longer themselves contemporaneous to Jane it’s hard to even crack a smile beyond the simple audaciousness of the premise.

As Detective Pony (the fanfic) continues, it quickly grows dull. In Homestuck, the joke is fairly short and works because of its aforementioned audaciousness, so seeing a subsequent 20-30 pages of what is basically the same idea repeated over and over (everyone swears, everyone is violent, the cat is Satanic, plus a few non sequitur references) wore me down pretty quickly.

Fortunately, the fanfic has some major cards to play.

The first longform philosophical digression on the corruption of lolcat memes grabbed my interest, and as the story goes on, an entirely new metafictional narrative emerges in which Dirk, the cynical and too-smart-for-his-own-good authorial figure, comes into conflict with the more earnest and sincere characters (and original author) of Pony Pals. A dichotomy is established between the intellectually probing but ironically detached nature of one authorial voice and the childish but emotionally honest nature of the other. The authorial voices begin to wage war against each other, with Dirk’s orange-texted narrative attempting to cover up the black-texted narrative of the other voices, leading to a complex series of machinations and an eventual exposing of Dirk’s bitter loneliness and self-doubt.

This all sounds rather familiar.

Indeed, halfway through this fic, I had to scroll to the top and check the date it was posted. October 14, 2014. Predating Homestuck’s Epilogues by roughly five years.

I find it difficult to believe that Hussie or his Epilogue co-authors had not read Detective Pony prior to writing the Epilogues. The thematic overlap is immense, let alone the explicit plot and metatextual elements, let alone the fact that all of those elements revolve specifically around Dirk. That’s not to say the two works are identical. Detective Pony leans far more heavily onto its author’s extensive knowledge of Western literature and philosophy (including significant references to Derrida, Dante, Plato, Socrates, and others), while the Epilogues aggrandize the scope of stakes of the plot and weave in a far wider amount of character threads.

I’d recommend Detective Pony to anyone still confused or potentially even hurt by the Epilogues; the “character assassination” done in Detective Pony is done to characters from a story about ponies for little girls as opposed to your beloved Homestuck characters, so it might be much easier to approach, grapple with, and understand the themes of the Epilogues without the large amount of emotional baggage characters like Jane, Jake, Jade, Dave, and so on carry with them. It might shed more insight on what Hussie and his co-authors were attempting with the Epilogues, though you might also find it a bit dull if you’re not familiar with Derrida or the other frequently-quoted philosophers within the text. I’m not a philosophy person myself (way more of a classical fiction junkie), but still I was able to follow along and enjoy it.

[atlantablack]

Okay, I've had this wild ass Stranger Things/Marvel crossover in my brain for ages (early 2023) & I'm never going to actually like write it write it but let me try to make it somewhat comprehensible so someone other than me can hopefully lose their minds over it

so, basically, season 4 stranger things canon compliant - Eddie "dies" - season 5 they somehow defeat Vecna blah blah you know there's some added trauma everything is wrapped up in a neat bow life moves on all of that (and no one else dies cause fuck you)

So - Nancy goes off to Emerson & Robin goes to Berkley (or wherever you want her to go) and Jonathan goes to community college & keeps focusing on his photography & Steve waits until the kids graduate high school and then just goes and roadtrips his way through America his parents never cut him off despite their disappointment and so he decides he's going to make use of it until they do (spoiler: they never do)

For the last two years of Uni Nancy falls out of touch with everyone else and by that I mean she stops picking up her phone, stops coming back to Hawkins for the holidays, doesn't come back during the summer, and the only reason they know she's okay is because Ms. Wheeler swears she's still in contact with Nancy. Steve fully expects her to completely disappear after she graduates but she randomly shows back up in Hawkins after she graduates and reconnects with everyone.

I know technically Robin would be a year behind Nancy but I think due to upside down bullshit they end up starting college at the same time, so they graduate at the same time as well.

Robin, Steve, and Nancy move to New York City and share an apartment because rent expensive. Jonathan and Argyle move to San Francisco together. The kids are scattered for college and Erica is probably still finishing up high school. (pairings and romance are irrelevant in this universe)

Robin gets a job at a museum doing something linguistic related (idk what kind of jobs there are okay just roll with it), Nancy is desperately trying to break into journalism but she is the way she is and never wants to write what they want her to write so she's struggling there, and Steve breaks up one too many fights outside of various gay bars because he's never met a fight he'll fucking back down from and ends up getting hired on as a bouncer at some bar in Brooklyn (because I think I'm funny).

Nancy is her general self and at some point over the course of the 90's, she keeps sticking her nose in places she really shouldn't be sticking her nose, because she literally cannot leave well enough alone and we already know she has a grudge the size of Texas against the government and she, because out of all of them of course it's her, catches the eye of SHIELD.

so Nancy Wheeler gets hired on at Shield as an operative and unfortunately (for SHIELD) when Fury looks at her goes "this is classified sign these NDA's" what Nancy hears is "this is classified from everyone except for Robin and Steve and jonathan and joyce and mike and el and etc" because that group has never heard of a secret big enough to keep from each other, not after everything they went through

it takes Fury two years to realize that "oh yeah, this is my roommate Robin Buckley and her best friend, my ex, our other roommate, Steve Harrington" because he "ran into them" on the street (aka he had a weird feeling about the latest recruit and was sussing them out) actually just know classified shield secrets and he's so mad it took him that long to realize it and long story short they also get recruited because "recruitment is the nice option here, Agent Wheeler"

Fury still doesn't honestly realize how many people in their extended family/friend group know about the most random shit and god fucking bless the day he realizes El exists

Now Nancy and Steve are both field agents. Nancy does a lot of investigative and research stuff. Robin probably doesn't do field work because well you know but I'm sure there's something linguistic you could do in SHIELD for spy stuff. Idk. This kind of stuff is exactly why i'm not actually writing this fic.

Robin and Steve mostly keep to themselves but Nancy does branch out some, more in the name of having connections than because she cares about making friends, but still. Steve and Robin are still only 50% sure if Nancy is like really invested in her job or like lowkey trying to figure out if there's anything to expose, either way they know Nancy doesn't actually trust shield

In 2001 Natasha joins SHIELD. Which of course means that presumably Clint and Coulson were already there. I do not know when Clint joined SHIELD and I refuse to put in the effort to figure it out good god.

Nancy, Robin, and Steve do not, for the most part, interact with Nat, Clint, or Coulson. They obviously know of each other but contact is limited. Also something something about Steve and Robin being exceptionally wary of Natasha and going out of their way to conspicuously avoid her because Robin speaks Russian -> Natasha speaks Russian -> season 3 trauma -> reformed red room Russian assassin

Nancy, meanwhile, has absolutely without a doubt been trying to figure out if SHIELD had at any point had a hand in the whole upside down mess and if we really think about it doesn't that just sound like something Hydra would have been involved in. I mean. Come on.

Anyway, in May of 2004 Nancy Wheeler goes out on a seemingly normal field mission and never comes back. She's reported missing in action, presumed dead. The rest of her team also goes missing with the exception of one body that's found.

Now, let's go back a ways and consider Eddie. Consider Hydra. Consider all of our lovely Eddie survived theories. Consider the winter soldier and cryofreeze and how Hydra has never passed up an opportunity to create/gain a new weapon. Consider how I'm sure an undead creature of whatever kind likely goes on ice pretty damn easy.

Back to Nancy Wheeler who is a little too good at investigating, because in a fight of stubbornness she is absolutely going to be the winner, and there are a lot of secrets hiding at SHIELD. And she's managed to get a handful of secrets under her belt and is getting close enough to some others that Hydra decides preventative measures are needed before she has a chance to get closer.

Nancy's mission handler is the one who is found dead after the mission where she goes missing. Gunshot clean through the throat and Nancy is presumed dead because they also find a good amount of her blood smeared around. SHIELD thinks she's dead but Hydra knows that she got away. So Nancy Wheeler is officially on the run.

Nancy's got just enough secrets to fuck Hydra's plans up if Shield proper finds out about them, even if she's not 100% aware of the full scope of it and so she gets away and they send the winter soldier after her. But Nancy ran straight to El's and El took her to Kali (because we're bringing her back goddammit).

coincidentally, in June of 2004, Jane Hopper drops off of the map without a word to anyone and the rest of the party ends up congregated in the basement of the bar Steve used to work for. Two Party Members Missing, one of which is presumed dead by all official authorities, and Steve and Robin know just enough about what Nancy was looking into that they're not super confident that whoever won't be after them next.

by the time 2008 rolls around and Tony becomes iron man all the party can say for sure is that Nancy and El are alive and together.

Steve and Robin still work at Shield but they got louder after Nancy left, they made sure their names were really well known by everyone and that making them disappear quietly wasn't really an option

tony becomes iron man, which really impact very little about this other than Steve and Robin have this moment of "huh.....flying robot suits, neat, Dustin's gonna love that"

Dustin is in fact elated about this

blah blah life continues on, the party is trying but for the life of them none of them really know what exactly was the last straw that had someone, presumably in shield, try to have nancy taken out and Nancy and El still haven't resurfaced so presumably that person is still after them

So, what was the final straw? Why did Hydra decide she had to go? Well. She finds the name Eddie Munson in a report full of redacted paragraphs and that name wouldn't ring a bell with 99% of shield but Nancy immediately narrows in on it because why the fuck does any report in shield have any business having eddie's name in it and this is where she made a mistake because Nancy doesn't keep secrets from the party but she also had been living with Steve and Robin for a decade+ and she'd watched Steve go a little too quiet every time Dustin brought Eddie up for years and she knows Robin can't keep a secret from steve to save her life and she felt that it was cruel to get their hopes up based on nothing but a blacked out piece of paper and no other clues

so she never says anything, just keeps digging and its not necessarily that she understands the information she has or has any idea of the big picture, i think she just has a fistful of clues that she doesn't realize connect, or she can't tell how they connect but all it would take is one or two more pieces and she'd have enough of a picture for it to be a Major Problem and hydra decides to nip it in the bud early instead of waiting for her to put the picture together

now from 2003-2012 while the party are desperately trying to figure stuff out without setting off alarm bells and getting themselves murdered by the government Nancy goes to El because she knows El can protect herself the best if anyone manages to follow her and then she goes to Kali because that's where El sends her - El goes with her because it's easiest for her to find Kali and she isn't sure Nancy will manage on her own but she never intends to stay - unfortunately, before El can leave them, The Winter Soldier shows up

Fortunately for the girls: he's alone because Hydra has too much faith in their soldier and underestimate the fuck out of Nancy Wheeler

Unfortunately for Hydra: It's pretty hard for the Winter Soldier to fight when he can only see what Kali is allowing him to see

Anyway, the winter soldier is subdued with minimal injuries all around but ofc when he doesn't report back the rest of the Hydra team come looking for him and El ends up being seen so she's also on the run now. But the girls take Bucky with him and somehow they end up breaking through to him. No, I don't know how. Just go with it. We have two super-powered girls and Nancy Wheeler. I'm sure they managed it. I'm sure there's a lot of fighting and yelling and screaming and backsliding but the important thing is they do get through to him. Enough that he's now on the run with them willingly.

so then it's the four of them on the run trying to figure out how to bring Hydra down and not doing a super hot job of it because hydra won't get off their tails long enough for them to properly plan. the only reason they manage to get a note to any of the party at all is because Bucky manages to slip inside the hospital Erica works at and slip a note in her desk. the hospital is big enough to provide a cover for who they were trying to contact and hydra assumes they were going after medical supplies. which they were but that was a secondary mission.

And then it's 2012 and the battle of new york commences in grand fashion. Steve and Robin are on the ground in New York City when the wormhole opens in the sky because it was supposed to be their day off and so they're not ya know part of the avengers but well they're certainly not civilians and to their great disgust they end up fighting aliens too

also side note: backtracking to when Loki originally shows up in the avengers movie, Fury happens to overhear Robin and Steve offhandedly talking about loki and theorizing over how far his powers extend (they spend too much time around the kids) and he does that dramatic thing he does where he steps out of the shadows and goes "That is an alien calling himself a God. Neither of you seem surprised by either of these facts." and Robin and Steve just kind of look at each other and shrug

Steve: I'm more surprised by how well he matched the dress code for that event than the fact that he thinks he's a god

Robin: they always think they're a god don't they?

Fury:

Steve brightly: At least he looks human! It would suck if he looked like a walking muscle suit or something equally gross!

Robin: Yeah! No tentacles! Human shaped! Normal looking skin! At least it's easy to tell where to shoot!

Fury has had a weird feeling about these two since the day he's met them and the weird feeling just keeps getting weirder but fuck if he knows why and he doesn't really have time at the moment to worry about it.

so the battle is happening and steve and robin are on the ground fighting and out of the corner of his eye at one point Steve sees a flash of dark hair coming towards him and turns around so fast he slips on alien blood and eats shit, now, inconveniently for Hydra, they were planning on taking advantage of the general chaos to conveniently dispose of their other two problems (steve and robin) and well they're down one soldier but eddie's never given them any problems before, they point at where to kill and he goes, they're pretty sure he's just a mindless creature honestly

the point though is that Steve sees Eddie and Eddie sees Steve and then vanishes, goes completely rogue. Because see the thing is, Eddie only goes where he's pointed when taken out of cryo because he's too hungry to think. But, the problem with being feral and not quite human is that animals you know think in terms of packs and family and Eddie's brain stubbornly managed to carry that over when he got turned. So, in his brain the party is just "pack, family, safe". But he's also been in out of cryo for like 26 years or so and so it's not like he's doing well. And seeing Steve basically just sends him on the fucking fritz.

One day far far far into the future Bucky and Eddie will get a fucking hoot out of teasing the two Steve's about how similar they are. And also I just think the cinematic parallels are funny.

And yeah. I didn't have a lot of ideas of where the fuck to go over that because I kind of destroyed the MCU framework. CAtWS is kind of fucked because like one of the main characters of the central plot is no longer present. Is project insight still happening? idk. how is it fixed if it is? Idk.

One thing to note that I think is fun, is just take a moment to let it sink in that Nancy "cuts the barrel off of a rifle" Wheeler is on the run with the winter soldier. and their other two companions are both super-powered girls with questionable morals. I'm pretty sure El's main moral is "don't hurt my friends". and well look at that, a large portion of the government is trying to kill at minimum one of them. Also, the the El & Kali & Bucky being kept in a government facility against their will and experimented on trauma bonding.

I do imagine a lot of this would come to a a head in 2014 when the CAtWS movie would be taking place. It seems like the point it would all come to a head timeline wise. Because somehow I just know Steve Rogers is going to get wind of Bucky being alive. And where Bucky is Steve follows, which means Nat and Sam get pulled in I'm sure. And it probably all just spirals from there.

Other funny side thoughts I had about this:

Please imagine Mike Wheeler interacting with Tony Stark. It is the funniest possible thought to me. Tony would absolutely push his buttons and even if Mike does think he's kind of cool he's gonna double down on pretending otherwise out of pure principle.

Steve Harrington meets Steve Rogers and it turns out there is something worse than One Stubborn Righteous Little Shit and it's two of them who have teamed up

Nancy and Natasha hit it off really well eventually and yes, it's terrifying

Surprisingly Tony and Robin hit it off, because Robin likes to theorize impossible ideas for fun but Tony Stark has never heard of an impossible idea in his life and so it just ends in chaos

Dustin ends up working at Stark industries. This is only tangentially related to the rest of this. He ends up getting a job there after Uni and I'm sure it ends up playing a part in the plot later on down the line but at the time it's just Dustin being super smart.

And that's all I got for now folks.

[5and3nevermind]

Hi! You once said (in the comments as far as I remember) that 2020 festa was not really a funny watch because ym didn’t seem particularly friendly there

Can you share more thoughts? I suddenly found ymnr 🥲who also believe nothing serious happened in 2018-2019 (no break up or whatever) but second half of 2019 and the first half of 2020 were a bit painful for ym world - to my mind. Yoongi seemed cold as ice and Jimin… Jimin seemed sad

Hi anon! I haven’t watched Festa 2020 in awhile, so my answer won’t be super detailed.

To me, that day was right in line with other days during that period: a mix of good and bad. Things seemed a little off, but not to the point where I thought they’d broken up or were fighting. It felt like they had some struggles but the love was still there. A rough patch is the best way I can describe it. I hope I’m explaining myself well! 😅

For instance, there were some sweet moments, like when they made the cake and Yoongi said that with Jimin he doesn’t have to worry because he knows he’ll always do a good job. On the other hand, both Yoongi and Jimin seemed serious that day, and they didn’t interact as much as you’d expect. At Festa 2022, they were practically sitting at opposite ends of the table, but there were still plenty of yoonmin moments and interactions. That was not the case in 2020.

One moment that stood out to me was when Jimin said something about wanting bts to stay together for a long time. He seemed very earnest and sincere when he said this; it wasn’t a case of just saying what he thought the fans wanted to hear. And when he said it, he leaned forward to look at Yoongi. It seemed like he really wanted to connect with him in that moment, like he was looking for acknowledgment or eye contact. Yoongi didn’t respond though.

To me, I wouldn’t describe Yoongi as cold that day. He seemed serious, distracted, distant. To me, that’s slightly different than cold, but who knows. (I think of “cold” as being purposeful, while “distracted” or “distant” can be unintentional.) He didn’t seem happy, that’s the bottom line. And Jimin didn’t seem particularly happy either.

I think sometimes people are hesitant to talk about these less than stellar moments because there is always this fight to one-up other shippers or prove that a pair is different/special. But, that’s not realistic. Even the closest pairs have rough days or even rough weeks or rough months.

The good news is that things really did change. I think yoonmin got back on track in April and certainly by May. The turnaround compared to earlier in the year (I think Festa was filmed early that year because they expected to be on tour starting in March) says a lot. People don’t work to strengthen relationships (romantic or platonic) that aren’t important to them. It’s clear that whatever Jimin and Yoongi are to each other, they value that relationship and were willing to work through whatever happened.

I also just want to add that this was such a complicated time: looming military service, cancelled tour, decisions about next steps in their careers, Jimin’s issues with friends as described in BE-Hind Story and Face Off, not to mention a global pandemic that left them with so much uncertainty. Sadly, it was a perfect storm.

Anyway, let’s not end this on a sad note. They seemed very happy in 2023, thankfully! Can’t wait to see them happy again in 2025.

[nocturnal-phantoms-fandoms]

Fic Writer Questions

Tagged by @squintclover - thank you so much!! Loved your response!!

🍓 How did you get into writing fanfiction?

By loving the story so much I wanted to be in it, lol. My first few attempts at writing ff were with self-insert OCs, but that was in my native language and mostly unpublished. Im trying to recycle some of those ideas, but Im not sure how will it go.

As for fics written in english and without OCs - like everyone else, by reading other fics.

🍇How many fandoms have you written in?

If we count the first few attempts - I took a look at my docs and counted 7 fandoms. Some parts of those were published somewhere on the web but I genuinely forgot about their existence.

If we count fics published recently on tumblr/ao3 - only HP.

🍈 How many years have you been writing fanfiction?

Technically? A decade. But idk if that counts if it wasnt published and probably never will be and had self insert OCs.

I started writing my first fics in english after I got into that one fandom which was during the pandemic, so that would be around 3-4 years - but posting since… December 2023.

🍎 Do you read or write more fanfiction?

Definitely read.

🍌 What is one way you've improved as a writer?

Im not making the characters as OOC as before? I hope

🍑 Do you have any bad habits as a writer?

Trying to fit too many things into one project that do not fit bc they are too self indulgent or just bad writing bc require sacrificing either plot or characterization. Being too ambitious, having too much plot that needs too much effort to make it make sense, and will not pay off bc nobody will read it (bc idk if i will ever finish it. and if i do it will not be written in english).

🍍 What's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project?

Just one? There are so many weird things Ive been researching or googling.

Did they have 3-in-1 shampoos in 1979. Language of flowers. What the ancient roman beds looked like. Names and their meanings. Ancient roman’s attitude towards (homo)sexuality. Phosphorus and phosphorescence (this was literally to check if this one sentence in canon is factually correct). Did ancient romans have pets. Different gems’ looks, usage and meanings. Ancient Roman dog names. Different astronomical events / discoveries in years 1975-1980 and in year 1957. Layout of certain types of houses.

🍉What's your favourite type of comment to receive on your work?

Any comment is a nice comment <3 tho I like to be let known the person felt something while reading bc its still so abstract and bizzare for me that it happens 😅

🍐What's the most fringe trope/topic you write about?

As you can see from the research question I have an ancient roman au wip. I was genuinely surprised there were only a few ancient roman aus in the marauders fandom.

This one published wip is about a surprise pregnancy that isnt immediately regarded as great news and celebrated (which i think isnt a common way of approaching the topic.) I also wanted to write sth about abortion and miscarriage but i dont know if I will get around to actually writing those.

And Im trying to recycle my old OC-focused long fic which also is deeply unpopular (i understand why but also i feel like im fighting in the trenches)

🥭What is the hardest type of story for you to write?

Thats about something. Has a deeper meaning and everyone in the comments talk about how deeply they were moved by it. Or how clever the plot was. Or how the deeply and insightfully the characters are analysed. Or how beautiful the language is. Or. Like. Is written and finished and publishable.

🍏What is the easiest type?

All I know is funny dialogue, self indulgent fluff and this one type of hurt/comfort that is also super self indulgent. Also putting all the effort into fitting in as many references / easter eggs as you can that i know nobody will notice.

🍑Where do you do your writing? What platform? When?

On my laptop, usually sitting at my desk, or on the balcony if the weather permits, whenever I feel like ignoring the things im supposed to be doing instead, I guess.

So far I’ve been using google docs but I’ll be probably moving on from them in the nearest future. For organizing ideas/wips and short fics I use Notion - its good for organizing but not that good as a writing program.

🍋What is something you've been too nervous/ intimidated to write, but would love to write one day?

Smut, lol. Also more taboo topics like abortion and miscarriage mentioned above.

🍇What made you choose your username?

I translated my first ever username to English. ok, no, my first ever username was Leila Moonlight and i still think its pretty but now i also think its cringe. Tho I was - what? - 11? 12? So maybe I can be forgiven that it looks like a HP character. Nocturnal Phantom - the username actually use now - is still a bit cringe, I picked it bc I was a night owl (lol) and tried to lean into this nighttime-spooky aesthetic, but also its tumblr so im embracing it. I recently picked a nickname Nyx for my mutuals' convenience - and that is the greek goddess of the night. I commit to the bit.

No pressure tagging: @polaroidcats, @hiddenmoonbeam, @soloorganaas

[yellowstarwater]

Okay so this is going to be my overall thoughts on Clone High season 2!

A lot of people have and will continue to complain about how it’s not as good or as funny as season one and that’s both fair and unfair. As a fanfic writer I know how hard it can be to continue writing a story after not working on it for a long time especially after working on new projects. And the same can be said for the show runners here, a lot has changed since they first produced season one. This was something that if it wasn’t for COVID it might have never been revived, so I can forgive them for it not feeling exactly the same as before after all it was twenty years ago. Jokes that worked then wouldn’t work now, I get and respect that. With that being said it could have been better.

For one besides Abe in the first episode no one seems to struggle with adjusting to 2023! That kinda of doesn’t make sense, I get not wanting to bring it up all the time but side jokes and cutaways could have worked. I also found it weird that we barely see any foster parents this season, you’re telling me that the Clones from 2003 parents weren’t freaking out when they suddenly came home after being gone for twenty years! I mean it’s not like the foster parents were important to the story but they could have shown some kind of reaction to them just showing up again?!

Like wouldn’t it have been funny if the foster parents were like super protective of their kids when they came back to the point of putting tracking devices on their phones or something?! I don’t know maybe not that but something! Also is John Stamos alive or dead after what happened? It’s also never addressed!

I do like the inclusion of all the new characters though, they do really add some new elements to the show and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t. But again I expected this going into this season. Another thing that has changed is that besides Harriet no one seems to be trying to live up to or are pressured by expectations of their Clone parents. This was a running theme in season one for all the characters and yet this theme is just given to one person now? Sometimes the other clones might mention something but it’s very rare.

Now to get into the relationship that took up most of the season Joanfk, as a huge fan of the ship I was both excited and dreading to see how this relationship would develop. And that’s mostly because of the new intro, I personally don’t think the creators were ever going to make them a couple in 2003, they clearly seem to favor Abe/Joan which makes sense because during that time period the Friends to Lovers trope ruled most shows. I feel like Joanfk was done because they knew that a lot of the new fans wanted to see it, after all Joanfk shippers are one of the main reasons this show was not only revived but people kept talking about it until season two came out. I’m not gonna say that it’s not possible that they could get back together because Clone High is satire a parody of all the teen drama shows and movies it’s very possible that they could get back together again at some point. And honestly I hate the reason they gave for breaking them up being that JFK wasn’t smart enough both intellectually and emotionally for Joan to stay with him when throughout this season alone we can see that this isn’t even really true. I appreciate that they did this and even gave them a semi respectable breakup but (and I could be wrong) BUT clearly they’re not that into Joanfk. And yet still the biggest obstacle to Joanfk starts and ends with Joan not being sure how she feels about Abe (or even JFK sometimes) and not doing anything to resolve it.

Abe and Joan if the show had continued it’s run in 2003 this couple would have probably been end game, it’s the classic Friends to Lovers trope that the 90’s and early 2000’s loved. After all the show Friends basically coasted on this one trope as well as Saved by the Bell etc…Personally I think the Friends to Lovers trope can work if it’s done well Kim Possible is an example that I can think of that does this well and though some might not like Kim and Ron being endgame I think its actually done well and believable. And then there’s the times when I don’t think it’s done well (again this is just my opinion!) like with Danny Phantom. Don’t get me wrong Danny and Sam started off as cute and I did root for them…in season one after that the writers basically just dragged this trope out till the very end. And it didn’t help that (in my opinion) Valerie and Danny’s relationship was a lot more interesting. I mentioned this because Abe and Joan’s possible relationship seems to be something the writers want to drag out and this is bad because you could very easily lose your audience because of that. I get that dragging it out is part of the humor and satire but in a time where a lot of shows can easily be canceled (especially with the writers strike still going on) it’s not the best way to go. I will never like Abe and Joan being together as much as Joanfk (I really do think it’s the better relationship between the two of them despite what was said in episode seven) but I can at least get used to it and be happy for them if it’s not dragged out. Or they can make the three of them polyamorous I’m fine with that too!

The other couples are fine for the most part Confucius and Harriet will have their issues I can already see it but I am willing to give it a chance. Again the last episode (spoilers if you haven’t seen it) it makes sense that Harriet acted the way she did because again of all of the clones right now she seems to be the only one who feels any pressure about living up to her clone mother. And Confucius well he has rich foster parents even if he doesn’t qualify to get into a college he’ll be admitted it makes sense that he’s not worried about it or thinking about it.

Frida and Cleo are perfect, I only wish there had been more hints of them throughout the season but in like two episodes the pace and execution of this relationship was done perfectly and believable. It’s one of the few couples that’s just cute and has nothing else messing with it. Was it fair that Frida let go of Joan to save Cleo, not really but it made sense that she would save her girlfriend, over her girl friend.

Okay now to talk about the characters one on one.

JFK continues to improve and grow despite this being a satire teen drama show, he makes male friends, is in a committed relationship with one person where he Doesn’t cheat or even thinks about anyone else all the time. (Only one episode sorta counts) It’s hard but he accepts Joan’s decision to break things off with him even though he really does love her to the point of wanting what is best for her even if it’s not him. He even becomes friends with Abe and encourages him to pursue someone he still very clearly loves. I wouldn’t be surprised if we find out he was faking it in episode seven just to give Joan an excuse to leave because he was afraid he wasn’t enough to make her happy.

Cleo didn’t get enough screen time for someone who is a main character, and besides her relationship with Frida and squashing her beef with Joan. And the fact that most of the beef was between them fighting over Abe is strangely never brought up. She’s not given much to do throughout this season besides being Homecoming Queen. An episode where she has to navigate the world of social media like Instagram would have been interesting to see. Maybe in season three?

Frida is one of the new main characters and I think she fits well with the show so far. Again love her relationship with Cleo, but besides that I think she’ll be like voice of reason character going forward. Not much to say besides that because well this is her first season on the show!

Harriet another new main character and again seems to be the one dealing with the pressures of being a clone the most. Wanting to be great because her Clone mother was Harriet Tubman makes a lot of sense and I think it touches on a lot of people’s fears of not doing anything important with their lives. I looked forward to seeing how she grows.

Confucius another new main character who is just trying to gain the attention of his foster parents. It’s very clear that attention is what he wants out of anything. You can see it whenever they show him on FlipFlop, and again the fact that he’s not worried about college makes sense whether he doesn’t want to go or knows that his parents will pay for him eventually. I look forward to seeing how he develops.

Topher the last new main character, there is a lot that someone can say about him, I’m pretty sure he’s now the favorite character whether it’s because you love or hate him. Honestly I like that they have a character that’s awful, do I think he’s closeted…maybe but I do believe that one of the reasons he was “white leveraging” Abe is to keep Abe’s attention to himself. I don’t think he had any friends before Abe was thawed out and he probably wouldn’t be able to hang around the group if it wasn’t for him. So it makes sense that he would “white leverage” him from telling Joan how he felt because then Topher would no longer have an audience because Abe would likely spend all his time with Joan.

Abe learns a bit throughout the season but I don’t think he grows much until nearly the end. He spends most of season pinning over Joan and…that’s it he doesn’t become friends with JFK until the last episode and as far a we know the reason why he even realized that he loved Joan was because Cleo had made her look hot in season one. It’s never addressed why he suddenly loves her, and yeah that’s it. Sure he’s “punished for his behavior” in the first episode and it almost makes it seem that Joan and Abe won’t be friends this season but that is quickly forgotten by the end of the episode. Again I do think the Joan/Abe relationship will happen or at least be addressed between them but it’s likely that it will be dragged for a while. I will admit that the moments where they’re together just being friends is nice though.

Joan changes the most throughout this season whether you liked the changes or not. It starts with her dating JFK which while I enjoyed seeing, it was never addressed on why she accepted his offer in the first place. Sure they slept together at prom but there wasn’t enough done to explain within the show why she agreed to date him. (Honestly it’s like the show runners were like, the Joanfk fanfic writers did that for us we don’t have to explain ourselves!) Then she becomes friends with Frida and Harriet which I thought was nicely done, then she and Cleo come to an understanding! But her feelings for Abe linger throughout the season and something that I noticed after episode ten is that Joan is codependent, if she believes that she doesn’t have a boyfriend or friends to support her then she turns into a monster. Season three will either address what she did in the first episode or throughout the season either way she’ll be punished for it. Even if she did realize at the last minute that what she was doing was wrong.

The rest of the cast was fine Mr. B’s backstory was compelling, I don’t know why the writers felt that Scudworth needed a love interest but…it happened? Candide is interesting enough we’ll see how it goes. Sorry not saying more but this is pretty long already.

[dropintomanga]

Anime NYC 2023 - I Still Have a Place

What a weekend.

Anime NYC 2023 just ended and while there were a few things I didn't like, I really enjoyed my time there this year. And more importantly, it was a personal epiphany for me.

I started the weekend by attending the Viz Media panel. There weren't really any significant announcements, but Yoshifumi Tozuka, the creator of Undead Unluck, stopped by and he was great. It was a teaser of his own panel the following day, but Tozuka-sensei did enlighten fans about Undead Unluck and how he wanted to present the series to fans worldwide.

After that, I went to the Autism in the Anime Fan Community panel. This was a live panel version of the "Autism in the Anime Fan Community - Solo Version" video by James Williams, an anime fan diagnosed with autism and a public speaker on autism awareness. James has been doing the panel at various conventions over the past couple of years. It was a very raw and vulnerable panel on the challenges those with autism face at conventions. James also had a special guest, Larissa Grabois, an artist who uses music and art to teach people about children living with autism. She has music videos and books pertaining to autism on her website and I will be paying very close attention. This provided much food for thought.

After that, I didn't stick around for the night panels. Though It was nice to hear Denpa license the ODDTAXI manga as I know people who adored the anime when it came out.

So onto Saturday, I went to the Yen Press panel and was impressed with what they did. They did a fun "Know the Editors" section alongside their announcements, where each editor would promote a title they work on and provide "Useful Nihongo" (which isn't actually useful in a regular context) to use. It was pretty funny to see. Yen Press also gave a shout out to The Summer Hikaru Died, which I yelled "YES!" to. Not many of the new titles they licensed caught my eye, but the one that did was She Likes Gays, But Not Me. I will say this - the manga isn't a romantic comedy and that's why I can't wait for its release in 2024.

Afterwards, I went to the Dark Horse Manga panel. There wasn't really anything new announced per say, but they did promote the latest Deluxe Edition of Berserk and the 1st omnibus of Innocent coming out very soon. Also, Carl Horn and Zack Davisson are truly the manzai duo of the manga industry scene. They have a very fun chemistry that really takes the best of both of their personalities and mixes them into something you really don't see in manga publisher panels. Both also know A LOT about comics in general. If you ever get a chance to see a Dark Horse Manga panel, do it. Carl and Zack really make worth it your while.

I didn't stick around for the later panels on Saturday night, but I know the Kodansha Manga panel that happened that night was great. There's a LOT of fun stuff coming out from them in the future. Blue Lock has become arguably THE big mainstream manga hit of 2023. I love a lot of their titles as their stories are often ones I value highly. What I'm looking forward from them? Home Office Romance (which was REALLY popular in the manga Reddit) and Sheltering Eaves (Another Rie Aruga story? Sign me up).

On Sunday, I only attended the Star Fruit Books panel. I got to learn a lot about the company being there and it was actually a small group of people who attended. So it made for a more intimate experience compared to other industry panels. Even though the publisher started during COVID, they have made huge strides in being an strong publisher of independent manga (alongside Denpa). I actually inquired about them possibly licensing manga stories from indie creators about mental health/illness because I have heard there's a lot of manga out there in Japan that covers those topics.

After that, I was done with everything. I did manage to get some nice items from booths and played mahjong with the Riichi Nomi club.

I think the convention was fine for the most part. It was crowded, but I didn't feel overwhelmed. I always had space to move around. The only things that stood out to me were that some of the panel rooms were a bit too warm to my liking and that the gaming area just felt too tight. In particular, mahjong. My club's presence last year had a good amount of space for mahjong. This year, we were relegated to the show floor and to a far end corner of the convention center. I hope this changes next year.

(Side note: NYC public transit on the weekend continues to suck ass. Why have a train stop right next to the convention center when weekend construction would prevent trains from stopping there? Sigh.)

And speaking of next year, Anime NYC 2024 will happen in the summer - August 23-25, 2024. It's going to be the bang that ends summer convention season in the U.S. after Anime Expo, San Diego Comic-Con and Otakon. There's definitely concerns about the timing, but they will have the FULL convention center at their disposal. I don't mind honestly as I dislike going to a convention when it's happening a month before winter starts.

Anyway, I'm going to finally make a reference to the headline of my post. For those of you who read my birthday post, anime and manga don't seem to inspire me a great deal lately. Getting into mahjong was one of the best things I did for my mental health over the past 2 years. Despite being a manga blogger, I was becoming more of a mahjong addict.

However, when I arrived to the con on Friday, I was greeted by a manga journalist/colleague that I hadn't seen in years. It was a surprise to see them and we caught up. We had a wonderful discussion about manga, comics and pop culture.

And then on Saturday, I got to meet people I followed on Twitter that I never met in person. I even reunited with a few blogger folks along the way. We talked about manga and convention trends that made me smile. I also met up with Anime for Humanity (who I volunteered in the past) and finally met its founder at the event. I even reunited with a local Japanese culture personality that I hadn't talked to in years. It felt really cool.

To cap it off, I finally reunited with Peter Tatara, who was working the Japan Society booth. For those who don't know, he is the founder of Anime NYC and now Director of Film at Japan Society New York. He also has a long and established history of promoting anime in New York. When I first started my foray into anime fandom in 2008, it was Peter who MCed events at the Kinokuniya NYC store that got me hyped. We worked together at those events a few times due to a mutual connection we both shared. Even though he's a huge and very busy personality now, Peter would take the time to talk to me in years past. We both shared laughs and talked about how long we known each other.

Ever since I got so deep into mahjong, I questioned my place in the manga fan community. I wasn't active as much on Twitter as other online manga personalities these last few years. While I do get hyped, I don't get heavily excited covering manga license announcements. I don't have a huge manga collection at home. I struggle to keep up with everything.

And then someone at the con told me that because of my interest in what's happening the world regarding mental health problems that plague communities, I still bring a certain view that's unique and refreshing to hear. After meeting and reuniting with a bunch of faces, I can't leave the manga blogging scene. I just can't. I love talking about manga so much still. Mahjong still has a place in my heart, but there's nothing that gets me going like talking about the stories and characters that shape people's lives.

What's more important is that being around the industry/pros/press folks I was with at Anime NYC tell me that I still have a place here. I may not be attending everything manga-related, but I want to be the person from the shadows who talks about things that definitely deserve to be heard. Besides, it's much cooler doing things in the shadows than being in the spotlight.

An old friend I saw at the convention on Sunday said that I looked the happiest I've been in years. Mahjong definitely played a huge part in that and I want to bring that energy back into my manga blogging.

I've been going to conventions for 15 years now. So many people in my life that I met via conventions have come and gone. People that I wish were still here. I have often felt lonely. Being 41 now also doesn't help either.

And yet, I keep meeting new people at conventions like Anime NYC who inspire me and value my take on things. I may not be living the best life, but I'm definitely happy-ish with what I have now. And that's all I ever wanted to ask for.

Also, thank you to everyone I talked to at Anime NYC. I'm now really ready for the 2nd half of my life.

[practicingbushiho]

Doma Art Party 2023 Afterword

So, I think maybe it might be corny for me to do something like a thank you or an open letter or an afterword so to speak for an art party. And normally, I think I'd have not bothered. But considering this was my first ever attempt at hosting one, and that it was for a deeply important experience in my life...I believe it to be warranted here.

I am happy to say that the art party was to my eyes, a wonderful success. It was nice to experiment with the idea of having a more activity-oriented art party, and I have a good idea of what to do next time to improve on the formula without feeling overwhelming; after all, art parties are ultimately for vibing and hanging out; and boy were we.

And yes, many kisses were had, and the goodbyes were bittersweet; but not sad. And thus, I will give thanks. More below.

Thank you to everyone that helped me celebrate something very important to me. This last year has been a whirlwind for me, in mostly rather wonderful ways. I finally managed to finally let go of some of the things that were haunting me, I was more easily able to reconcile with, accept, and grow from my past. I picked up the pieces of a lot of parts of my life I didn't feel I had agency in, and it was all because of what I felt playing through Hien Rijin's story arc in FFXIV Stormblood. It was great fun to organize, and It was really nice to be able to celebrate that in some way with all of you-- some of which I'd never even met beforehand. I am just. So floored that people wanted to hang out and chat; thank you for handling my tech clumsiness and multi-tasking fails with such grace.

Thank you to everyone that WANTED to be there but couldn't for some reason or another. Thank you to my friend Bri (twt @tenchijins) who helped me craft prizes and coordinate during parts of the event (the shout chats were SO helpful)-- and for being a wonderful rp partner. You are so fucking smart and cool and you love birds so basically you're an angel. Thank you for everything the last couple months. You helped me better understand a part of my identity that I feared facing for so long, and because of it I am happier than I'd ever been about it all.

Thank you to @findenyan and @itsmeowlee for being so active in twitch chat and bein' cute an' funny catboys it was nice to see. Thank you also to @windup-dragoon for hanging out with us on day one (all the kisses to u my friend), Kiri is always a treasure to witness, and @dareva for being so insanely supportive of both my XIV works AND my original comic progress. I hope you are around for years to come.

Thank you to my roommate Cobalt who is the only reason I could even do this, because he was the one that helped me afford to renew my sub, which I didn't realize expired that day before the event. Oh, and also because he has literally been the sole reason i've been able to afford to survive the last couple of years. Hope to be free of it soon, brother! hahaha~

Thank you to @mythiclings for always showing me love, you were one of the biggest reasons I got the courage to start posting my Hien fanworks. And I am so glad that I did.

(Speaking of that, we did this cute little doodle together a little while back that I now have permission to post :'3 Look at these silly guys!!)

Ahem. And then thank you to my roommate aka ShandeeDay. If it weren't for you, i'd have never been able to play FFXIV from the first-- not even to consider all the times you've saved me from the street in my 20s. I love you, man. You saved my life. I would take a bullet for you.

Finally, to all of the people both old and new who have shared my work, shared their work with me, made things with me and just in general showed their support in my presence-- I thank you. Also some of you write some hilariously cute shit in tags. I adore you.

Sorry this was so long. But it was definitely worth writing. I plan to do another next year around the Lunar New Year in March 2024, provided I have no cons to attend. I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN!! 0/

Love and Peace, and to tomorrow. - Shane (and the four other idiots piloting his brain)