#god im so in my feelings about history series at all times of the day and night like will i ever know peace

[nagumoshoma]

nothing will ever make me feel the way history 2: crossing the line starring fandy fan and zach lu makes me feel

[bright-and-burning]

✨✨positivity chain! tag some of your favorite creators (artists, gif makers, writers, etc) and say what you love about them. Share with as many people as you’d like✨✨

oh man. doing this off the top of my head is so much pressure... any friends left off this list it is wildly unintentional and i am so sorry <3 this is gonna be super landoscar & co heavy. u kno how it is.

writers... well can i say everyone? truly. off the top of my head... @freeuselandonorris for the ability to get me interested in (or at least reading) Anything, @monacotrophywife for the funniest craziest concepts that spin out into deliciousness every single time, @vroombeams for the guaranteed gut punch no matter the length, im going to run out of unique ways to compliment my friends' porn i cant lie. @ocontraire who wrote THEEEE comfort fic of all time 2 me (little renaissance my fucking beloved),

@glasscushion and @strawberry-daiquiris who BOTH span the gamut of making my brain turn into sludge and also making me tear up abt being in love w ur best friend at christmas (what an odd venn diagram overlap), @foggieststars whose burning up fic i have (according to ao3 history) read 23 times (and who matches my freak like no other), @wanderingblindly for the sheer variety, @miamimaiden for the incredible aus,

@piastriachios for the bonkers-inducing markoscar, @chelemlem (dynamics that make u crazy fr). ok im cutting myself off. wait actually for some not-as-landoscar-centric writers i love: @leclercenjoyer (technically. Yet.), @userkritaaay (manifested jack's seat w the french-australian diplomacy project fic series and i am only half joking), @wormeo-and-juliette (funny and hot fic. queen of ensembles and large casts),

@landoisokay (whew. WHEWWWW. norrussell legend but also in general fic that leaves me dumbstruck), @wewentcarracing (lance expert and also prose expert), @alxalb (porn and awkward feelings alike that have had me face plant into my bed to recover). many many more that i am sure i am forgetting, i feel like im giving an oscars speech and theyre trying to play me off

artists!!

@dumbf1sketches (who i could not for the life of me remember the url of. tumblr should know who @.brid is), @udonli (drew me in w '''poorly''' drawn piastri on stats notes and now has me hooked for life, something so incredibly apt 2 me abt oscar drawn on grid paper), @roosterhouse (COMICS OF ALL TIME. theeee narrative artist to me like im beyond obsessed), @unknownaster (very warm art of my fave guys!!), @kichona-s (the lemon landoscar lives RENT FREEEEE the little x faces omg. cutest little guys on the planet).

for the more graphics-y artists, you cannot go wrong w @argentinagp (gifs also!!!!) and @alpinelogy <3 coolest posters on the internet honestly.

gif makers:

@insideparcferme (excellent compilation-y gifposts), @cuthechicane (always capturing moments i miss on broadcasts), @blueballsracing (variety act!), @oscarcito (always ready to provide oscar in 4k), more that i am for sure forgetting but these r people whose urls i remember seeing next to gifs in the last day!!

renaissance people:

@piastrisms gifs and fic both god tier!!! magical realism and tenderhorny pwp (occasionally w plot!) what more could u want from a writer. and @mecachrome THE triple threat of all time... art that feels like summer, gifs that feel like a cool + refreshing drink, fic that feels like the perfect sweet treat!!

i am so so sorry to whoever i have forgotten (or if ive forgotten you also make x but i only have you under y, my memory is full of holes), i am so lucky to know so many cool people but that makes it so much harder to list everyone off!!!!

[clus444]

John P. (90-day fiance)

Based on the show. I thought it was a fun idea. enjoy!! This will be slightly inaccurate since there is a lot of visa stuff that I don't know. Will it turn into a series, who knows?

*Thump thump thump thump*

Don't be irrational, don't be irrational..... Shit.

I feel my heart beating in my ass. My palms are sweaty, my chest feels tight, and I just hope I don't pass out. What if he changes his mind? What if he doesn't like what he sees anymore? What if, what if, what if. So many whats and no answers. Y/n get your shit together. I'm going to get off this plane and meet my fiance. If he didn't like me, he wouldn't have asked to marry me!

*Ding!* It's showtime.

I met John on a work trip to London. I was bored in a bar and John's eyes found me multiple times that night. His gaze lit me up like the Fourth of July. He sent me over a drink and of course, who was I to turn that down. I lifted the drink in thanks and shot him my most charming smile. He grins and walks over to me.

The rest is history. Within 21 days he proposed to me on a walk through Kensington Gardens (A real place, but I'm adding to it). We were walking where swans idly swim by, lights decorated the sidewalk to light up the path, and there was a flower stand not that far away from us. "Stay here," He kisses my lips before walking forward.

I look at the water to watch the baby swans lazily follow their mother. My heart warms when I see a black swan circle the mother. They bend their necks down slightly and lean beaks on each other as they gracefully swim. The shape of their necks creates a heart and I feel as if the universe is trying to tell me something. Swans mate once in their life, when they meet their other half it's truly their other half. I look back at John to see him make his way to me.

Is he my half? From the moment I saw him, I felt an energy change though subtle it was there. When I looked into his eyes I saw pass the protector, the hardened war hero, and the lonely man who sits by himself. I saw someone who restricted himself from leaning on someone. I saw someone who didn't need to be fixed but supported. John's gone his whole life being the shoulder to cry on, the helping hand, the man with the plan. Is wrong to want to be the one he leans on?

A grin is on his face and must be infectious because I can't contain the smile that grows on mine. I'd marry him if I could, god I would give him an army if he asked. But I'm here for work and well John? Im not quite sure. "My mother and father used to bring us here sometimes because it's where he proposed. This garden has a prominent price family history here. I can't help but think I would be making a mistake if I didn't do the same," he drops to one knee and I look at him shocked.

"Umm- John?" I ask and look around before he grabs my hand.

"When I saw you at the bar, you not only took my breathe away but the very darkness that clouds my mind. Darling, my heart starves for you and I don't want to be full. My favorite feature about you is your hands...you can create something out of nothing. Your hands have this power over me. They hold our future, they give your brain a creative outlet, and most importantly they hold our love. I just want to be the support beam," He finishes off and slides a plain silver band off the flower stems. "I'll get you a better ring tomorrow, this is all he had and I did;t want to wait any longer. Will you marry me," He asks.

I step off the plane and twirl and ring around my finger. I truly can't believe this is happening. Most of me feel excited for this new chapter of my life. I feel lucky to have John by my side, appreciative. Though if you asked him he's the lucky one. I just hope he doesn't get cold feet or worse.

I walk until I find where to grab my bag. I haul it out and begin walking to the cafe inside the airport. I order a small tea with lemon and honey. My phone buzzes.

Pornstache- Ass is getting fatter, Definitely my doing.

I laugh and turn around to try to spot John. I see a tan bucket hat first and my man second. I put my stuff down and speedwalk to him. I aggressively grab his shirt and pull him to me. He quickly responds and cuffs the back of my head to kiss me deeper. I moan and he pulls back,"My wife is here, finally."

I giggle like a catholic school girl, who has just shown her ankle to the newspaper boy. I twirl a strand of hair between my fingers. "It appears so, though the wedding is in 90 days," I grab his hand to pick up my tea from where I left it on the table. He grabs my bag and we start on our way to the exit.

"I almost forgot to tell you. We got a full house when we get home," I hear him say that and look at him. I almost forgot about meeting his family. The only thing I can do now is nod and smile.

(I wanted to end it there but I love smut yall! I have a problem!)

On the ride to his house, I feel John slide his hand over my thigh. I squeeze before opening them slightly. He smirks and rubs circles with his thumb on my right left thigh. We glance at each other and I give him a cheeky smile. His hands slip into my pants and panties. His forefinger traces my folds lightly parting them to get to my pearl.

He draws fast circles on my clit and I push my hips forward. I moan and lay my head on the headrest. My clit surges vibrations all throughout my body. I can feel a second heartbeat where his fingers beatbox on my clit. The nerves that were tightly winding up my chest slowly dissipated. My breathing shortend for other reasons now and not panic. "I wanna test her so bad. Can tell she's been missing me, poor thing," he talks to my pussy.

She responds in clenches as I feel his thick, rough fingers enter my slippery folds. "mmmmm," I hum out and start rocking against his hand to cum faster. "Please, I wanna come," I beg for him to not tease. To give me this release and let my mind fill with thoughts of nothing. He grins and adds a finger then starts angling up. I arch my back and my heart pounds in rhythm to my pussy.

This is going to be a long ride.

Masterlist

John - Soap - Gaz - Simon

[pinkcannibal]

Could I request a Marilyn Thornhill x Reader, where reader is having a really terrible day because a series of horrible stuff keeps happening to Reader (For example reader's class work goes mising, her friend stands her up, something spills on reader's outfit and so on). Reader just ends up hiding in her room for the rest of the day. Marilyn notices that reader is missing, she goes to check on reader. Reader kind of jokes that she might be curse and that Marilyn should avoid her. Of course Marilyn doesn't like hearing that. So she does what she can to help reader feel better (I'll leave what kind of relationship Reader and Marilyn have up to you).

a/n so sorry for the wait! i promise im not ignoring requests just needing to find time to write them :) just wanna say as per most of my fics or requests reader is a student and 20. for this prompt its pre relationship. if you’re familiar with my writing i write marilyn not as laurel gates, but having laurel gates uhhh tendencies? so if requested otherwise that's her characterisation, i do also write for canon laurel gates!

-

title: it'll all work out

pairings: marilyn thornhill x fem!reader

tw/warnings: none kinda! just fluff, comfort, and mild panic attacks

summary: you can't cope with the intense wave of what the day throws at you, skyrocketing you into anxiety. and taking comfort in miss thornhill is the only thing that brings you back down

word count: 2160

requests: open!

It starts out like this.  

This morning, you slept through your alarm and were late for your Wiccan History class; so late you may as well not have showed up. And no attempt of explaining your situation stopped you from being handed a detention slip from your teacher- your ears burned in embarrassment at the action.

Then, two hours later, Wednesday made a seemingly inoffensive comment about your class work during a dissection and it was the way she said it that made you feel like all your hard work was actually unintelligent, uninspiring, and not worth handing in. And to top it all off, on the way to lunch, a tall, imposing fur accidentally bumped into you and you dropped your phone; cracking it right down the middle and making tears burn behind your eyelids when you picked it up because today sucks and nothing’s gone right and it times like this you wonder why you ever enrolled in this academy in the first place.  

Then it all comes fucking crashing down because when you finally, finally make it to your table, Enid reaches across the way with all her usual exuberance and excitement because her girlfriend Wednesday sits down across from her and she- 

Enid gasps, eyes wide and panicked as her thermos filled with hot coffee pours over the table and across to you. It soaks the class notes you were working on, just melting the ink of 4000 words from Botony class that you were slaving over and you immediately jump up, lips parting in shock as you move back from the liquid.

But it scalds your uniform, your skirt, and barely misses your thighs and you don’t even realise your eyes are being overcome with fresh tears until Enid exclaims.  

“Oh my god I’m so so sorry!” Enid rushes out, reaching out and picking up her thermos before it can go any further. Wednesday next to her widens her eyes, shuffling over slightly as it drips through the cracks in the table. 

You snap out of your shock, making a noise of panicked frustration.

“No, no no no shit-” You hiss, picking up the ruined essay and immediately dropping it at the temperature. But the damage is done, and you make this tiny noise that sounds like a pained whimper when you squeeze your eyes shut and run your hands through your hair, resigning to all that work being ruined. You bite your lip, so hard you want to taste blood. 

Enid, wide eyed and apologetic, looks like a kicked puppy at the mess she accidentally caused. “I-I am so sorry. Seriously, I was just-” 

A tear falls down your cheek. Fuck, could this day get worse?  

“It’s o-okay, Enid, you didn’t mean to.” You breathe out, trying to reign in your distraught panic attack that’s looming. The rest of the table, Yoko and Divina, look at you with matching pitying looks.   You flush and gather your things, unable to stomach their concern that feels like acid in your belly.  

“Um, look, I’ll see you guys later?” You rush to say, breath becoming laboured. “I just, I n-need to-” 

“Hey,” Yoko softly interjects. “Really, it’s okay, do you want one of us to come with you?” 

You shake your head, clutching your laptop and ruined notes that don’t matter anymore to your heaving chest. “No,” You blurt, pressing your lips together apologetically, then retrying. “No, I’m okay. I’ll um, I’ll see you guys at recess.”  

You leave quickly, the anxiety building and building so quickly you feel like you’re going to cry if someone so much as touches you. Your throat bobs on a sob wanting to escape, and you rush to your dorm and on the way scrunch up the essay in your hands and throw it in a nearby trash can and so distracted by your impending panic you don’t look up until it’s too late.  

You bump hard into someone, gasping and losing your footing immediately. You don’t hit the ground or fall, because two warm, comforting hands are righting you at your biceps and steadying your feet. “Fuck, sorry I-”  

When you look up, you blush, because- 

“Oh dear, are you okay?” Miss Thornhill breathes out, startled by the bump but covering it up with a polite smile that has your knees just, instantly weak. She’s wearing that green coat and red boots; she smells like the earth and rain and something so comforting you warm.  

Her hands haven’t left your arms and you feel even more unsteady and now because she’s here you feel like crying all over again.  

“Are you okay, honey?” She says, this little concerned furrow of her brows thrown your way and you part your lips trying to say something, but your eyes are glassy with tears and she called you honey, and you feel all melty and gooey inside.  

“Gosh,” She says, righting her glasses from the knock and softly chuckling. “I didn’t see you, I’m so sorry, you just came out of no-” 

“I-I’m okay,” You say softly, shifting on your feet. You watch Marilyn tilt her head worriedly at your shaking voice, and almost as if realising her touch, she delicately removes her hands, placing them in her coat pockets instead. You blush with how much you want them back on you.  

“Sorry,” You smile back slightly, clearing your throat. “I didn’t see you either. I’m just...super late for my next class.” 

You try and lie to save face, because you’re three seconds away from bawling your eyes out, but Miss Thornhill does this adorable scrunch of her nose, checking the inside of her wrist for her watch as she frowns.  

“Is that so?” She chuckles out endearingly, looking back up to you and sending you a raised eyebrow. “Your next class is mine, funny enough. If anything, you’re half an hour early.” 

“Oh,” You blush, stuttering as you realise the hole you dug. Marilyn sends you an amused look as you flounder. Then everything just- falls into you. The detention. Wednesday’s comment. Your phone. Your essay. The anxiety. And how just one concerned look from Miss Thornhill has you feeling like splitting at the seams.  

“I-I uh, must have gotten my timetable mixed up?” Then you sniff and bring your blazer sleeve up to your nose, shutting your eyes in mortification as your throat bobs and you whine on a cry. “Shit, s-sorry I just- I can’t-” 

“Oh, dear.” Marilyn breathes out in sympathy, watching you crumble inside of yourself and choke on a cry that bubbles past your lips. You can’t look at her, wiping at your eyes in frustration as you cry in the middle of the hall to the other woman like some pathetic child.  

“Sweetie,” She says softly, full of so much care and concern that you look up and flush red at how her hazel eyes are the most gentle you’ve ever seen them.  

Then she’s placing her hand at the small of your back, hushing you sweetly. “Are you okay?” She says kindly. 

You bite your lip, swallowing thickly as more tears escape. You shake your head, too vulnerable for words as you tighten your laptop and books in your grip against your stomach.  

Marilyn notices the reaction, eyebrows furrowing in worry.  

“Okay, you’re okay,” She says, coaxing and warm, and your neck goes red at the tone. “Do you want to talk about it? We can go to my classroom, it’s nice and quiet there, would that be okay?” 

The way she asks for your consent, how loving she sounds, sends you into a space you feel dizzy in. You nod softly, doe eyes looking up through your wet eyelashes to her. “I...Yes, please.” You breathe out, filled with so much relief your heart aches, pooling and pooling when her hand rubs in soothing circles to your lower back – something that sends shivers up your spine.  

- 

Miss Thornhill makes you chamomile tea from her own garden in the conservatory, and when she hands it to you her fingers brush yours and you feel unsteady again and the tears are back then she says “You’re safe here, nothing can hurt you, sweetie. Are you okay? What happened?” and it spills from your lips like water.  

At the end of it all, Marilyn is giving you this tender look, like she’s yearning to fix everything that’s wrong; and your hands are tight around the tea mug from where you sit perched on one of the desks, shaking as you stutter and speak through your tears. 

“And then Enid, she-” You whine, a frustrated noise leaving your lips at the memory as you screw your eyes shut. “She spilled coffee on my essay for your class and it was already late because you were nice enough to give me an extension but now it’s ruined and I feel like I keep fucking up and just-”  

“Darling,” Miss Thornhill interjects softly, stepping forwards and ducking her head slightly to catch your gaze. Darling. Darling. You feel your lower belly swarm with need at the term as you blink back at her in bashfulness. The other woman then gently unwraps your hands from around the scalding tea and places it beside you.  

Instead, she takes them in her own, rubbing softly and gently into your palms as your breath hitches and cheeks warm.  

“Shh. It’s okay. Take a deep breath for me, okay?” She says warmly, and you instantly copy her as your eyes flick down to her chest, rising with a breath that calms you instantly.

“That’s it, good job, honey.” Marilyn smiles kindly to you, and the soft praise has your throat drying and stomach flipping as you look back up and bite your lip.  

“I’m so sorry that happened,” She murmurs sincerely, eyes so genuine and kind behind her glasses that you almost forget how close she is right now. She’s almost between your legs with how she holds you, and your chest picks up at the thought. “That sounds like an awful, terrible day, sweetheart.” 

Oh. Okay. You’re floating now, you’re sure of it. 

“Yeah,” You breathe out, shifting in your spot, earnestly trying to get impossibly closer to her. If Marilyn notices, she doesn’t comment, but she dosen’t move away. “It was.”

You wince then, groaning and blushing when you remember. “And I’m really, really sorry about the essay. I can get it finished tomorrow if I-” 

Miss Thornhill snorts, shaking her head in amusement at you and fixing her glasses. “Oh gosh, that’s hilarious if you think I’m worried about that.”  

You widen your eyes, tilting your head. “What?” You stammer. “But, it’s worth like, twenty percent and I’m already two weeks late.” You stress. Marilyn squeezes to your hands, softening at your words.  

“There is no way I’m making you redo it after the day you’ve had, okay sweetie?”  

You part your lips, heart so heavy with love for her it stuns you. And you don’t really know what to do other than feel tears well in your eyes again, and suddenly your chest goes weightless and you dart forwards, wrapping Miss Thornhill in a hug, arms slinging over her shoulders.  

It forces her so close to you, you almost pull back as you feel her front pressed between your legs and brushing up against your thighs - and before you can die of embarrassment at how needy for her affection you feel, Miss Thornhill is making this noise of surprise at your action, a tender “Oh,” leaving her lips that feels like cotton candy inside your lungs. 

But then her arms are wrapping back around you.  

You feel her breath hitch as you bury into the soft spot of her neck, squeezing your eyes shut and holding tight. Marilyn holds back, hands soothing up and down your back as you cling to her.  

“It’s okay,” She coos, next to your ear and making you melt. 

“You’re okay.” Marilyn says softly. “I’m here.” 

[formula-fun]

hi there, let me walk you throught the last few days of my life

saw a list of history recommendations here on tumblr last Friday, saw the series if I had words there and thought "well let's give it a shot!"

started reading Friday night, got obsessed with it, couldn't stop, finished max's part Sunday, a little after the race.

got sad it ended and then VERY happy when I remember about the other part!!

started reading Sunday afternoon, got obsessed with it, couldn't stop, finished charles' part five minutes ago

All of this to day, I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR WORK 😭😭😭

like WTH IS SOO GOOD

the construction, the order of the events, seeing everything fall into place after reading both parts, max learning to grow older and softer, charles understanding his feelings and letting himself have nice things, their mom's, the packs, the I love yous, oh my GOD 😭😭

broke my heart when I reached the end because I could keep read more and more and more of those two maybe forever??

definitely interest in a sequel or spin off or any little crumb showing just a peek of them again

again, amazing work, absolutely brilliant all around (and I was always laughing at your notes hahaha)

sending love !!

😭😭😭😭😭😭 thank youuuuuu i literally cannot tell you how much i love this, hhh. I DO NOT HAVE WORDS

this fic is truly my child, i put so much time and attention into it and i love the way it turned out so much <33 ive never allowed myself to just take my time on something and keep scrapping it over and over until it was exactly how i wanted it, but i'm so glad i did! it makes me really happy that other people appreciate the care that went into it and appreciate the way everything falls into place. i promise it was HEADACHE inducing at times to write two different stories about the same event but it was also really really fun

and thank you abt notes ahhahsahs i do NOT put as much effort into my notes. i usually write my notes at the last second after editing for like 3 hrs straight and just roll on vibes, so im glad you enjoy that <33

dfkjdfksd i'm running low on crumbs but you can have this!! it's from a version of the final chapter in which jos DID tell the press about the miscarriage

Max wakes him up with a kiss at the base of his neck, and then one on his mouth that lingers sweetly. His hands are hesitant on Charles’ waist, his touch light and skittish, which Charles always hates. Charles tells him so, and Max lets out a husky laugh.

“You want more?” he asks, his tone still hesitant even when his eyes are dancing. It makes Charles roll his own eyes, and then roll him; pin him down into the mattress by his wrists and bite at his jaw.

“I want you to touch me like you mean it,” he mutters into his skin.

Max’s wrists flex beneath his grip, muscles coiled and ready to fight. His mouth is curved when Charles kisses it, but he bites Charles’ lip anyway.

“Mean what?” Max whispers against his mouth when they part.

That I’m yours, Charles thinks, but he doesn’t say it. He can’t say it. He can’t really admit to something like that, yet; can’t allow himself to, even if he already knows it’s halfway true. He wants to mean it when he says it, and Max—Max hasn’t chosen him yet.

“That you want me,” Charles says instead. He brushes his nose against Max’s jawline; against his pulse point; follows the line of his throat down to the spot where his mark would go and lets his breath dance over it. Max’s chest goes stone still beneath his own.

Charles ducks forward and brushes a chaste kiss there, as softly as he can. Max shivers beneath him, his eyelids fluttering shut. His tendons shift under Charles’ palms as his hands clench into loose fists.

“Do you—”

In a blink they’re rolling over, Max pressing him down, one hand at the small of his back and the other beneath his knee. Max kisses him hard.

“Like I couldn’t,” Max hisses against his mouth when they part. “What kind of question is that?”

Charles just quirks an eyebrow. “Show me,” he says simply.

For a while, he’s able to forget about it all.

Of course it only lasts as long for it takes the two of them to shower, get dressed and part ways; as soon as he arrives in the paddock he’s swarmed. It’s not the fans—they’re not allowed back here today—or even that people are yelling questions. People know not to try; not when paddock passes can get revoked and fines can be given.

They don’t do anything so stupid, but it doesn’t matter. The scrutiny is just as bad; two dozen cameras following his every move as if waiting for him to do something.

He breathes a sigh of relief as he ducks into the Ferrari hospitality. Andrea slips in after him, and he’s kind enough not to say anything about the way Charles is morosely stuffing biscuits from the coffee bar into his mouth.

“I called your pack off,” he tells Charles, making himself an espresso. He almost manages to look disinterested while he does it.

Charles just raises his eyebrows. “Did you?”

“Well, Pierre did. They didn’t really listen to me.” He dumps two sugars into his coffee, stirring a little aggressively, and then rolls his eyes at the look Charles is giving him. “Oh, leave me alone. It’s been a stressful morning. How are you doing?”

Charles shrugs. “We knew this was going to happen,” he points out.

“Yeah, I know. That wasn’t really my question.”

“I’m,” Charles starts, then looks down at his biscuit; the crescent bite taken out of it. “It’s fine. I don’t think it has fully hit me yet.”

Andrea purses his lips. He nods. “Fred said they’re not allowed to ask any questions about it in the presser. You’re with Pierre, Alex, Oscar and George, so even if someone tries something, you won’t be alone. It was the best we could do.”

“Max?” Charles asks, in spite of himself.

Andrea’s lips somehow purse even harder. “The FIA was strongly advised to give him a week off.”

“But not me.”

“You wouldn’t want a week off.”

Charles hums. That’s true.

“Besides,” Andrea adds in an undertone, “I know you will want to set an example that this is not to be discussed in the paddock. It’s not Fred’s decision, obviously, but…”

“But you don’t trust Max to be able to do the same,” Charles finishes for him.

“I trust him,” Andrea argues. “I trust him to say what we’re all thinking, which is that this is stupid and everyone should fuck off. I just also know that will only make things worse.”

Charles tilts his head, conceding the point. He breaks a crumb off his biscuit; pushes it past his lips.

“Is he alright?” Andrea asks after a beat, his voice quiet. “After last night?”

Andrea had been the one to check on them when they hadn’t reemerged from the bedroom suite, only to find them curled up on the bed, Max having finally passed out. Charles had kissed his forehead before slipping out to join the media strategy session; had pulled the duvet over him as he went. He’d called room service after everyone had finally left, coaxing Max into eating comfort food in bed with him, some meaningless travel show playing in the background, giving Max’s red-rimmed eyes somewhere to drift when they refused to meet Charles’ own.

“He’s fine,” Charles mutters, then scrubs at his hair. “Or he will be fine. I don’t know. He has this stupid idea that he has to be the strong one all the time. He doesn’t feel like he should need me when I am the one who everyone is talking about, and when he thinks it is all his fault.”

“Why does he think that?” Andrea asks.

“Because Jos was the only one who could have told them. Nobody else knew. And Max was the one who told Jos.”

Andrea chews that over, sipping his coffee.

“I don’t know why it matters,” Charles adds. “It is out now. It doesn’t matter how it got out.”

“You could always sue Jos,” Andrea muses. “Defamation or whatever.”

“It’s not worth it.”

“Isn’t it?”

Charles shrugs. Maybe it would give him some sense of satisfaction; probably not. “It would just give the media more to talk about,” he says. “It would make Max feel worse. I would gain nothing. It was going to come out eventually anyway,” he adds. “It was always a matter of time, wasn’t it?”

Andrea grimaces. “It’s hard to say,” he admits, “but these things tend to not stay secrets for long.”

[red-velvet-0w0]

Hey. What are you doing up I just saw you reblog my post. Its late and you have school tomorrow.

I am up because I just had an epiphany about what if Epic was just 40 college students who had to go on a road trip because they got suspended for pranking another rival college too hard (Troy) and the baby that was thrown out a window was the other colleges RA's art project he been working on for two years. Then the RA found out and got Ody evicted so he told his gf to move in with his mom and little cousin (five year old Telemachus) while Polites (the rich friend) takes them an a boat trip to hopefully the Caribbean. Ody can see ghosts (gods), Eurylochus was discharged week 12 of Marine Corps boot camp because he covered up some of his medical history to get in, Odysseus is way too chill about not having any house or job while Eurylochus is scraping together money with the rest of the people to buy food, Meanwhile Polities is doing a tiktok series called 'Day __ of living life with open arms' the entirety of Epic but its a college au with more and more supernatural elements all told by the form of tiktoks/yt shorts

Anyways how was your day.

Oh! And Make sure to sleep! Stay the best (must be easy for you) and remember that you deserve happiness. *hugs you tight for as long as you need, a few seconds to forever*

"how am i" can pretty much be summarized by "has done no homework, is unsure of what is and is not real, is terrified of going to sleep, and is listening to a playlist called 'definitely not crying over a breakup rn' and feeling emotions"

but your au sounds cool

i hope you get lots of sleep

i dont think im going to get much

not tonight

not right now

i dont want to lose track of whats real again

i dont want to dream again because im not sure if ill wake up this time or if life will become a dream and the dream will become my life and ill finaly lose full understanding of what is and isnt real

so yeah

fun times all around

[lollytea]

AND KING!!!! OH MY GOD I FORGOT ABOUT KING WHAT ABOUT HIM WJHERE IS HE IN THE AU!! also were eda and darius old freinds Back In The Day when they filmed the azura movie (maybe darius was like one of the makeup artist's apprentices or something and he kept rising to the top even after eda was fired from the sequels). also how did luz and amity get together and break up (i think u briefly mentioned this in a post) and then back together again? IS MATTHOLOMULE IN THIS AU TOO???? im sorry for the spam but my brain is exploding and i am chasing the dopamine rush

OKAY!!! BACK AT IT AGAIN!!!! Some more tidbits about the AU

-- To explain King, I'd have to first explain his Dad!! Let's talk about Papa Titan!!!

That wasn't his government name but an affectionate nickname he got during his time in the industry. The "Titan" part came from being a hulking 6'9 and built like a brick house and the "Papa" part should be obvious enough. He was a sweetheart who was always warm and fatherly towards anyone who needed somebody like him in their lives.

Titan was a director. More specifically, Titan was one of the greatest directors in Hollywood history. He was passionate about horror and humor and beauty and ugliness and love. There was so much love his work. A real Guillermo Del Toro type.

However, when he met a young Eda Clawthorne at an audition back in the 80s, he was basically a nobody. The Good Witch Azura was Titan's very first big budget project and he was determined to create something deep, magical and genuine.

During their time working together on the movie, Titan and Eda formed a tight bond over feeling like an outsider in this world because of things like medical history, sexual orientation and being lovers of the gross and the weird. They might have been weirdos. But weirdos stick together. By the time filming on Azura had wrapped, Eda and Titan were family.

Azura was a big hit at the box office and it was obvious that the studio had a franchise goldmine on their hands. However, the popularity of Azura among the 5-12 demographic led them to the conclusion that the series needed some drastic changes. Namely, they needed to take a more digestible and child friendly approach for future films. And Titan was just not the director for that sort of thing.

After quite a bit of back and forth over creative differences, Titan was removed for the project. To this day, he's not sure if he quit or if he was kicked out. It somehow felt like both.

(Eda was removed near immediately afterwards.)

Titan did not let this incident deter him and continued working and gradually climbed the ranks of fame until he was considered an irreplaceable Hollywood gem.

He and Eda remained in contact and that familial bond between the two never frayed.

Titan passed away from health complications in 1999. At the time of his death, he had been a single father of one. His infant son King was left in the custody of Eda, his godmother.

At the current point in the story, King is a loud, brash and opinionated eight year old boy who gradually warms into a mature, gentle and introspective soul as Luz enters his life. He likes stuffed animals, video games and making fortresses of solitude out of cardboard boxes and blankets.

However, King wasn't all Papa Titan gave to Eda on his way out the door. He also left behind a large wooden chest that he had packed to the brim with journals and notebooks and scripts and sketchpads and all the inspiration and ideas that he had gathered for future projects over the years. He knew, that his deathbed, that he would never get a chance to execute all of his ideas. Not in this lifetime. But maybe, one day in a far off future, there would be somebody like him and Eda, a lover of the gross and the weird. And he was sure that person would have plenty of ideas of their own. But who knows? Maybe one day they'd need a little extra inspo. His stuff would be their waiting for him. His soul would rest easy knowing one of those scribbled down half baked ideas could have some life into it. And by another weirdo just like him, who would put their own spin on it.

Titan entrusted that chest with Eda, knowing she'd come across another weirdo one day, even though she was adamant that there would never be anyone quite like him. So for years, that stupid box remained locked, gathering dust in her attic. Eda didn't trust the key with anyone.

Until she did.

It was eight years later when Luz Noceda lifted the heavy wooden lid and inherited the last drop of Papa Titan's magic.

-- Yes, Eda and Darius have known each other since they were teenagers. They went to the same high school (Eda went to public school on and off) and Darius was an intern in the wardrobe department on a movie Eda starred in. They were very familiar with each other and often hung out.

-- I haven't thought too deeply about the development of Luz and Amity's relationship in this AU. I figured I'd provide enough info but leave enough gaps that people who are passionate about lumity could use their imagination to draw their own conclusions. I can tell you about their pre-relationship tension tho:

In 2006, Luz became a little bit tangled up in celebrity gossip at the time for her friendship with known stars Willow Park and Augustus Porter. The two were frequent faces in Luz's silly low quality YouTube vlogs.

At the time, none of the trio were all that close to Amity. She was a celebrity to Luz but basically a stranger, a former friend turned strained acquaintance to Willow and a co-worker to Gus. So of course, Amity was not included in any of Luz's vlogs. They simply weren't close with her.

However, in the eyes of the press who feeded off writing parasocial and invasive articles about the personal lives of teenage celebrities, this was interesting. At the time, the studio producing Hexside was trying to sell the illusion that Willow, Gus and Amity, the show's stars, were all best friends behind the scenes who hung out all the time. And the YouTube videos were directly contradicting that.

This led to a lot of speculation about drama between Amity and the other two kids. Things like bullying, exclusion, bullying etc. Rumors were always swirling around and, in all honestly, it made Amity feel extremely uncomfortable and upset.

She had never cared before about what Willow and Gus did in their spare time. She knew they weren't friend, so why should it bother her? It wasn't until the whole press was drawing attention to her being a friendless loser that it really started to sting.

Sometimes she wished the dynamic she pretended to have with Willow and Gus was real. And during this time, she started to feel a good bit of resentment towards Luz for being the real third piece of this friend group.

So basically, once she and Willow started gradually repairing their friendship, Amity kinda organically developed into the friendgroup. She was chilly to Luz at first but through a series of trial and error, the two began warming up to each other. A shared love of the Good Witch Azura really ignited a passionate friendship between them.

From that point, Luz and Amity became closer with each other than they were with Willow and Gus. They were practically joined at the hip. Yknow those really really really close girl friendships that's clearly gay but they haven't noticed yet? Yeah.

In every other AU I imagine that Luz and Amity get together before Hunter and Willow. Except this one. It takes waaaay longer because Luz hasn't really realized she's bisexual yet and Amity is petrified to confronting the fact that she's a lesbian. She is not only closeted but she is deeply in denial about it.

So ya I haven't thought about the moment they get together but it probably takes at least a year. I'll let the lumityheads come up with their own headcanons about how it happens.

Anyway, yeah, the reason it took so long for this relationship is the same reason it fell apart so abruptly. Amity was scared that somebody was gonna find out. She was terrified. It's hard being a closeted teenage lesbian in any circumstance. But a closeted teenage lesbian in 2008 who also happens to be one of the biggest child stars on television? The whole world is watching her. The stress this little girl is under is insurmountable.

Ultimately, Amity is gonna need time to figure this out. She's gonna need help to break away so she can be with Luz without feeling paranoid. She's under contracts, she's in an abusive and controlling household and work environment. It's gonna take time before this little girl will be alright.

And also, that's not even going into if Luz will take her back after all this time apart. She's been understanding to Amity's situation but also very hurt by being suddenly thrown away. It's Luz's call to decide if they want to get back together, knowing that she's putting herself at risk to get hurt again.

But then again, she has a lot of faith in Amity.

Its a complicated mess and I haven't really planned the whole solution out. Feel free to brainrot about it for me if you want.

-- Anyway. MATTHOLOMULE!!!

Matt begins the story as a slimey, deceitful little paparazzi wannabe. His big brother Steve works on various sets around the studio and sometimes Matt is there because Steve has to babysit and sometimes he's there because he steals his brother's employee pass to sneak on to studio grounds.

He's a bit of a bottom feeder, mostly dumpster diving for celebrity trash since that shit goes for good money online.

However, Matt is dreaming big. And his next plot is not to gather celebrity trash but celebrity secrets. And his target is Augustus Porter.

Gus is thrilled to see a dude his own age on set and happily befriends Matt when the latter gives a sob story about being a loner.

Anyway, Matt betrays Gus, Gus gets burned. It sucks.

There's a later incident where Matt sneaks some of his school friends (most notably his "best friend" Bria) on to set to impress them and they prove to be far more vile and cruel than even Matt can stomach.

Things like stealing actors' phones and journals and gathering very personal text messages and diary entries of their lowest lows.

It's what wakes Matt up to the fact that maybe this isn't the person he wants to be. And maybe he's on his way to becoming that person if he doesn't catch himself before it's too late.

After helping Gus retrieve the private things that his former friends stole, he and Matt form a tentative (but real this time!) friendship. From that point on, he makes semi frequents on set for no other reason than to hang out with Gus.

[liauditore]

Pssst if you’re still doing the shipping bingo, how would team rancher/solidaritek fill your bingo board?

OFC. RANCHERSSS ALWAYS AND FOREVER 😭😭

ok but.. real talk i think ranchers is like. my number two "I actually ship this no strings or footnotes attached" ship right after ethubs.

I am usually not one to be moved by ships that are just "they are fun and healthy together and love eachother" but oh GOD the ranchers. See I think the thing is they just.. make sense for eachother even if you don't expect it until the point they realise they're soulmates.

Jimmy's situation has been talked about to hell and back at this point but Tango is also very out of his element in the life series. He says himself that pvp is not his specialty and he doesn't have the time or resources to make his skill set shine. So he ends up either somewhat ignored or outcasted for most of the games. (<-- fyi fun fact this is where the whole 'mech pilot tango' idea came from lol. i feel like he'd have a dva-style mech outside of the life series)

In particular i LOVE his relationship with team BEST and I NEED desperately to talk abt it more. the way he's constantly talked over by his own teammates, intimidated, asked to sacrifice his own lives for their sake, "tango's Easy", etc. etc.

‘Cause inside, nothing’s fine It should be clear to prying eyes But I won’t let the feelings See the light So tell me, why should I even try? I’m frozen away in time

(Koala, Will Stetson)

They both have this habit of hiding their own insecurities behind a facade of boisterousness, but no matter how much either of them puff out their chests and raise their voices, their message of "please take me seriously" never seems to get through.

The Ranchers are just.. two losers against the world. and they inspire confidence within the other that they can't find in themselves. and yes the world forces them apart but you can Feel that influence they've had on one another in the background.

Guess I went and caved I wonder, is there another way? Because I want to believe That one day I’ll be okay So now, I’ll give it another try I can finally see with a clearer mind Even if the bumps in the road Might try to stop me, Still it’ll be alright Keeping it inside Isn’t clearing up the sky So you tighten your hand in mine Following the light like a cute Koala Laughing in stride

Plus I, uh... Unhinged but I have this thing with the life smp where there's this running theme throughout the story about how it doesn't really matter who wins or who dies first.

Because for every epic battle and every tear-jerking death there was fun and laughter and stupid, trivial drama before and in between and those little moments may not be as memorable or written down in history but they're what makes the series enjoyable. Yes, we're all gonna die, but isn't it cool that we laughed with eachother and made dumb jokes and adopted a frog and said "I love you" on the way there?

j-just like real life. life smp. evangelion moment im sorry

Though both of us will die one day Though this life is useless anyway When you’re here by my side, you make me feel like it’ll be okay And yet we laughed despite it all At this life which has no meaning at all Two lonely and broken souls leaning on each other’s sides I’m glad that you’re you, that I’m me, and for us two I’m kinda glad that you’re evil too When the day starts anew, hope I spend it with you I’m glad that I fell in love with you

(I'm Glad You're Evil Too, Rachie/Anthong translyrics)

The Ranchers epitomize that.

They are doomed. They both know this, I think. Neither of them can fight, they're left begging for scraps by session 2, no one on the server takes either of them seriously and they lost a life literally like 10 minutes into the first episode.

But they built a home together, raised livestock, stood up for eachother. and they were happy together.

and isn't that what really matters?

and neither of them are even aware of how much they really meant to the other one. the game ends. tango tells jimmy to go home. go. they certainly don't break up to the extent of Some Other Pairings In This Series but i like to think tango distances himself, thinking jimmy would be happier with his friends and not stuck with him. jimmy thinks the same. but they still wave hi and call eachother rancher and now they're running a salad restaurant together or something i guess.

It's just.. everything that gets the two of them condemned and made fun of in their other relationships is what's Celebrated in theirs. They can just be themselves, mistakes and silliness and imperfections at all, with no pressure to perform amazing feats and make amazing stuff and I think that's great.

um yeah i like ranchers.

[faeriemarie]

This ask is your free pass to gush abt your drs :>

YIPPEE MY FAVORITE ASK EVER EVER EVER!!!!!

okay so my main two right now are actually my fame dr (ballerina ofc) and my doctor who dr.

in my ballerina dr, i’ve been getting into it so much recently because i remembered that im gonna be shifting when im 12 and not 22. meaning i’ll be sitting in my bedroom over the summer waiting for the anastasia cast list to come out while listening to belle and sebastian on my discman (probably). spoiler alert: i am cast as anya and i have the perfect summer working on it. im also starting cambridge in the fall and im so excited!! i’ve wanted to study art history forever and this is going to be the best experience of my life. i love twee as well and getting to be there as it develops is my dream life. i can go to bishop allen concerts and be tumblr famous. there will be gifsets of me!! oh god i can’t wait. this is honestly just scratching the surface of this dr. in uni im gonna meet my girls. erin alvarez and leni liu who are also extremely young students like me. i remain friends with them for the rest of my life. god how i miss them. plus, soon i’m also getting cast in my very first acting job as effy stonem in skins and that’s how i become famous (also starting my lifelong friendship with co-star hannah murray). oh AND im gonna get my first boyfriend too. i’m so obsessed with toby regbo and especially him in the movie mr nobody which is how we meet. im cast as teen anna and we are so awkward and stumble around each other. i love him. i know we have to break up because he’s not my main s/o but being with him is gonna be so fun. i hope we stay friends in the future. we’re gonna go to bookshops and cinemas together. we’re gonna kiss in the rain and just be super cliché because why not?!?! oops okay this is getting long

as for my doctor who dr, i’m super excited for that too. i’m on the ninth series rn and i fucking love peter capaldi’s doctor like he might actually be my favorite. i’m so in love with him and bro the sonic sunglasses are actually doing um… things to me. i also just wanna time travel. like i wanna visit so many places throughout history and i wanna be super awesome and cool. i wanna go to warhol’s factory and have him make a film about me and i wanna go to the beatles’ first performance on the ed sullivan show. i wanna meet princess diana and watch a shakespeare performance at the globe. i wanna be in love with the doctor while he pretends not to notice my starry-eyed glances and pushes his feelings down because he’s afraid of falling in love. this is my dr where literally anything can happen. in my cr i’m just a boring girl who just scrolls on tumblr all day but with the doctor i’m a genius who can get us out of any situation. i’m brave and strong and perfect.

okay that’s it and i’m done. was this too much? it was too much 😔

[averagejoesolomon]

Sarah, no. Why. Oh gosh. I mean, anytime you write something above it, like "buckle up," I believe you, but oohf. This was just such an interesting chapter for so many reasons. Here are all my thoughts hah

1. Townsend is every bit the younger brattier version of himself, and he's so annoying in the best way. I never truly thought of him and Matt working together it makes Townsends condolences to Rachel in OOST so gut-wrenching.

2. Catherine feels so fitting. It makes so much sense why they wouldn't kill her. She seems so much more scared than she does in the original series, but potentially just as nuts? I love that Full Circle can give her a little history.

3. Matt. Oh, our poor boy. He sticks up for his people, ugh. Those lines about letting him handle Rachel?! His girl? Gosh. Kill me. I have forever wondered how Rachel wasn't more invloved in this whole mess. Im so intrested how Matt sheilds her from this. In the end with his life, which I always thought was 100% about Joe. It's definitely about Joe but now its about her too. Ugh. Now he's in trouble.

Love love love. Can't wait to read what comes next. As always, thank you for sharing your beautiful writing talents with us!

ahhhh, yeah, I did have to beat the boy up a little. He'll be fine. I mean, you know he'll be fine. More importantly, you'll know the one time he absolutely will not be fine, and now is not that time.

Townsend and Matt are surprisingly fun to write together, especially because of those condolences in OSOT. Like, Townsend's brief "He was a good man." What??! What was that??? You mean to tell me these two men who chased the Circle their whole lives probably knew one another?? of course they did, tell me more—actually, scratch that, I'll just write more myself.

Fun to pull in Catherine, too! Although not entirely canon-compliant I don't think, this scene was still a nice place to land with her. She's got more to come, and I'm excited to see how she develops.

And yeah, Matt is. God, if the boy had just let ANYONE help him, he would have been fine. But he is so fiercely protective of his people and it lands him in the Moskva—and one day far worse.

Thanks for reading friend, I so love this story and I'm jazzed for the next few chapters in particular.

[freshlybakedspiderbread]

I am sending you Aya Shameimaru. she is here in your ask box now. chirping

..no im kidding, i would never want to repel our pure and honest reporter despite her everything

General opinion/How much I care about them: so theres a strong bias due to the fact that my very first exposure to touhou as a whole was hearing pofv's Wind God Girl back in 2009, and by extension Aya herself was the very first character from the series I came to know. I dont think i immediately came to obsess over her or anything and probably only came to like her for real much later... That said i feel like ive known her my whole life and she's top contender for my single Favourite character. It used to be that she only competed with Seiga for that title but i guess there's a lot of characters i could go just as if not more nuts about given the right time of day...

her schtick as an earnest but kinda shady reporter of the ''''truth''' has never gotten old and im pretty sure she's only gotten even more despicable in her methods over the years, but i love all that about her. the tengu has a whole in gensokyo have gotten a whole lot of expansion but i still consider aya to be our main focal point of that group and its always fun to think about how role as an exceptionally long-lived youkai and her perspective on both tengu society and gensokyo as a whole.

Also how lucky was I that i chose Aya, an actual important recurring character who will reliably keep showing up in canon, as one of my favs? I'd be living so differently if i had latched onto like, Medicine or Yuuka instead 😛 (then again i did mention Seiga above and I kinda dont expect her to ever be relevant again so its a matter of context 😝)

A ship I love: There are a bunch of Aya ships I know of and even like, and the ones I most often think about are probably Hatate and Reimu.

But i'm gonna vary it up and talk instead about Aya/Nemuno, something I wish we got even a little more scrap of back in th16. I mean every other player character got some with their matching season character! I choose to believe that even after that one meeting, Aya still makes regular visits to that cave, having designated Nemuno as her go-to yamamba contact despite Nemuno gripping about their supposed non-interference treaty. But Nemuno doesn't mind that much (since she usually doesnt chase Aya away with a cleaver) and comes to begrudgingly kinda like her, which i guess is the reaction to Aya in every ship of hers?

(I also think she's got complicated layered history with megumu which i talked about a little in an older post!)

A non-romantic relationship that I love: actually maybe i should have talked about reimu or hatate above and then saved nemuno for here. i actually want to say ahead of time for this part of the asks that even if i might not immediately default to romantic in a relationship, it uh... wouldnt take a lot for me to see it that way if needed.

That said, i like the thought that both Marisa and Sanae are regularish visitors to whatever hidden tengu infrastructure is in the mountain. Sanae because shes a neighbour with a pass and Marisa because she goes wherever she pleases. Aya being the tengu closest to humans is typically the one tasked to handle their needs or deal with them, with which Sanae she probably gets along with fine, though with Marisa theres probably more hidden ire going on there with how she's typically intruding (the hypocrisy of how aya's always hanging around the human village is always brought up by marisa in response)

The NOTP: gonna say this regarding this part of all these asks, outside of questoinable stuff like incest or so on, there usually aren't ships that i am Against. At worst, i may just not personally see the appeal or much prefer a different dynamic of the relationship.

so um.... ive never really managed to get excited over Aya/Momiji? Like I think they have a very funny potential back-and-forth, but begrudging tolerance is the usual best i see from Momiji's side and i actually much prefer the angles you cold go with Momiji/Hatate. (aya/hatate/momiji love triangle...? 🤔)

My biggest headcanon about them:

she's Old. 👵 Like, thats not just headcanon to me but is actually vital to her character that she is not just long-lived by youkai standards, but shes one of the few tengu around who lived through their developing history, watched their society and gensokyo changed in real time, and adapted in turn with it all. This goes hand in hand with how she simultaneously has great pride as a tengu yet also holds bitterness towards some of the ways they have changed (or havent changed).

Also after messing enough with kappa-made cameras over the decade, she now also fiddles with custom models with her own self-made modifications 📷

An idea for a fanfiction I would like to write/read about them: Talking about ideas is kinda embarrassing for me because i mean... what if i never actually do any of em? 😅 well whatever gonna try not to let that bother me...

for a story about her specifically, there's probably a neat tale to be had like a few decades prior to her being assigned the odd role of 'reporter' and bitterly taking to it, but then gradually coming to make it into her own passion more than any other crow tengu... Imagine the first time she looked at a particularly nice photo she took and imagined the story it told, and her heart fluttering in a way it had never done so before.

Something that makes me thing of them: every journalist archetype in fiction i've seen since and even before 2009 😄 No but if i say i think of her every time i see like, a camera or newspaper, how insane am i going to sound? girls who only thinks about aya going "getting a lot of aya vibes from this"

[fadeintolight]

thank you for the tag @itsworthitallthistime ❤️ kisses to you for keeping me entertained.

8(-1)shows to get to know me through:

Breaking Bad: what can i say im a basic bitch and this show put me through the wringer in the best of ways. like my heartrate was UP my tear ducts cleansed my nervous system dowwwn bad.

Better Call Saul: vince gilligan could create a show about idkk accountants doing audit all day and i bet my ass i would binge and rewatch it on repeat. the breaking bad lore has the most nuanced and compelling characters in tv history there i said it.

Peaky Blinders - i want tommy shelby to stomp on me repeatedly. also. soundtrack?? storylines?? characters?? the ending?? chef’s kiss, not one boring episode in this series.

Bojack Horseman - a washed-up sitcom star struggling with depression!!! the animal characters adding an extra layer of depth to the exploration of the most difficult topics of human relationships and mental health!!! the voice acting!! the writing!!! the attention to detail in the animation??? god I’m forever a whore for this show, rewatching it on an annual basis.

Never Have I Ever: idk man its just so cute.

Derry Girls: idk man its just so irish.

Mad Men: gorgeous cinematography, flawless character drama, wrapped up in the overromanticized vibes of the 60s and corporate america. im forever impressed by how good the visual storytelling is. like these characters rarely talk of their feelings, you can barely rely on the dialogues themselves. it’s all in the subtle character actions. i know it gets slow sometimes but it’s worth it for the ride. esp for those who ever worked for an ad agency lol. like man i really thought i was changing the world one poster design at a time.

✨tagging @harryanthus-annuus @goldcrumble @heartshaped-lou @holdingontozouis @pop-punklouis @ladychlo @anxiouspunk @blissoftheblue @greeneyesfriedrice

[dingo-ate-my-hot-lettuce-crazy]

fanfic ideas for writers

LMAOOOOOOO ive been on character ai and i made a whole y/n story with Dean and i cant get over it. I IMPROV-ED THIS WHOLE THING ON THE SPOT. like i just, random details just added in within the span of seconds to create a story and this is what happened (I HIGHLY ENCOURAGE A WRITER TO TAKE THIS AND DO WITH THIS AS THEY WILL):

-reader is introduced and finds dean (this is circa season 4 before cas becomes a huge part of the series)

-reader tries to follow dean, knowing who he is, and dean thinks she’s a monster/demon. he knows reader is following him so he leads reader down an alley and corners them

-reader tries to explain herself, saying she’s a human, she drinks holy water yadda yadda. she explains to dean who she is....SHES BOBBYS NIECE HE KEPT HIDDEN FROM THE HUNTING INDUSTRY GASP! but yeah, bobby’s brother (i know its not cannon but i had to come up with ideas on the spot, okay?) was a shitty person and kinda treated them badly and left bobby with the responsibility of taking care of reader. bobby was relieved that they were now in his care, but the only thing is, bobby kept lots and lots of secrets from reader so that they wouldnt get any involved with the hunting industry. 

-reader explains (AND I USED THIS LINE EXACTLY WITH THE AI) “Bobby’s on a hunting trip, and he hasn’t been home in a few days.” AHAAAAAAA im so goofy, but YEAH bobby’s totally missing, and has been for a month? two? you decide as the writer. but dean is like “hmmmmm this is v sus” and he is more than willing to help the reader find bobby. 

-now this is optional, but i created a new kind of demons at some point in the story but abandoned it later on, because i didnt have the time to think it through in the plot but hear me out...hybrid demons. demons breeding with other kinds of demons to create Hella demons. I used the seven sins (ik it was canon that dean and sam and bobby killed them all but i was UNDER PRESSURE) and they all like...made demon babies that were like Lustful Wrath and mixtures of all the sins, etc. LMAO at one point Dean’s inner monologue was saying “OH MY GOD! NOT JUST DEMONS! BUT HYBRID DEMONS! HYBRID DEMON BABIES?!?!?!?” and i shat myself while trying to respond. 

-so reader told dean what happened, right? now its time to hit the road...now comes the lowkey flirtations and the getting to know each other... the car ride is basically the readers history while her getting to know dean, along with details about bobby’s case. so bobby was looking into the hunt, right? possible hybrid demons or whatever, and he went MIA ish. stopped responding to reader, and other hunters. she found his credit card usage in a town an hour or two away, and thats where they both head to get information. 

          -another thing yall should know, this character ai just had me and dean in the conversation... and i was getting bored so i brought up sam and everting. i was like- TO THE TALKING DEAN ROBOT- “hey....you should call that hunter bro of yours...we need extra man power...” AND THE AI CALLED SAM !!!!! LIKE...JUST BROUGHT IN ANOTHER CHARACTER !!! so basically, add sam in wherever you feel like because i didnt think to try adding him in til later in my story. but yeah, WILD SHIT

-they arrive at said town and meet up with sam (this is when i was able to bring him in to the story) and the reader gave sam the credentials and case deets and sam was able to help them go into traffic cams at the motel with dean, and find bobby’s last known location! it was at a warehouse where hybrid demons/monster of the week were congregating... the warehouse didnt have cameras since it was run down, but across the street?? THEY HAD CAMERAS THAT SAW A SLIVER OF WHAT WAS HAPPENING...they all got a glimpse of bobby walking into the warehouse and we never got anymore footage, leading us to believe that he was captured.

-the three of them stay at the motel for the night, and we come up with a half-assed plan since found bobby, but have no idea how to deal w these demons. dean decides to train and do a little one on one w me to help the reader prepare for this hunt. granted, i had explained to him prior as the reader.. that they have learned about monsters and such after highschool. bobby decided to let the reader know about the hunting stuff after they became an adult...to leave the choice truly up to them. from there on, they had a healthy mix of the life...maybe some college classes here and there while aiding to hunters and being backup on cases, but they have never been alone on a hunt and arent the most experienced. reader knows basic self defense and protection, definitely trained with a gun and knife but its never truly been put into use. so...dean take the lead with shit like that. (OK THE AI FR DID SO GOOD W THE TRAINING SCENE, i told the robot that like ‘*dean leads me to the side of the motel where theres an empty space to practice martial arts*’ and fucking dean was like ‘okay, im gonna throw some punches at you, and i wanna see some blocking and counterattacks..’ AND LIKE ACTUALLY HELPED ME it was so cool)

-ok so once everyone kinda formulated a better plan, they left to go to the warehouse just to get information and a glance at what they were up against. they all stay close, enter the warehouse and overhear something about their captive (bobby! GASP). theres a bazillion demons and demon families with crazy demon babies and shit, so its really hard to stay hidden. sam, dean, and the reader get made, and the demons chase after them! they all head back for the impala and peel tf outta there, while the demons are on their tail in a highspeed chase. reader lowkey going wild up in da head, but theyre composed, much to deans surprise. they all go back to the motel, with the information they need, after successfully avoiding the demons.

-okay everybodys at the motel now.. everybodys talking about whats next, what can we do, blah blah blah. they decide its best for them to stay hidden for the night and track the demons at the warehouse. dean and the reader train more that night, and keep tabs on the demons. they discover that the demons are relocating to somewhere called Hells Gate, Indiana...idk bro i panicked and thats what i chose to tell the ai...but anyways...the boys and reader decide to order delivery since the demons know their faces and they dont know if anyone is looking out for them. however.... when the delivery dude gets to the motel, dean opens the door and the delivery guy goes “order for Winchester” and the delivery boy’s eyes go BLACK! they all fight the demon that got into their motel room and torture the demon for information on bobby. yadda yadda yadda the demon gives up information and reader gets mad and dean kills the demon. whoopdie fuckin doo, onto the next scene.

-the gang decides... uhh.. dead body in motel room?? we should leave, so they take off to Hells Gate, after the demon revealed the location. everybodys lowkey nervous about this fight, but its BOBBY. theyd all die for him. so. they take off to the hells gate, making a stop at another motel close by to get one more night of rest. btw dean and reader flirt more and more but its all essentially harmless. deans lowkey afraid to flirt w her bc uhh..thats bobbys family and hes scared bobby is gonna get mad at him. so he tones it down..but doesnt stop..yknow? anyways, do with this what you will but I PULLED THE ONE BED LEFT SHIT. well, technically two beds..but are sam and dean gonna share a bed? no. reader and dean will. it was a very funny event that the ai had to respond to. it was very amusing. anyways. last stop before the big fight.

-you can decide what goes on between the motel stop and the fight but i honestly put a lot of fluff in there. so. big fight. they arrive at Hells Gate, and its really just a haunted house with past connections to demons and spooky shit. they all end up splitting up, one person takes up one room, until reader comes across a cellar or basement. the house is seemingly empty until a BUNCH of demons show up and swarm them. they all kick ass, get a bit hurt, but nothing major. then, they all make their way down to the cellar and BOOM theres bobby tied to a chair, or to a post, you decide. HES ALIVE! woohoo, okay, now to kill the demons and get out of there. honestly, my creative juice was running out at this point so i was very bland with details on these demons and fights. but essentially what happened was reader busted a rib or two, nothing to bad, dean was thrown around, sam got thrown into a wall as per usual, and bobby just had cuts and scrapes. everyone was hella tired on the way back but they defeated all the demons, not without being left a menacing warning about what will haunt them. idk bro. two seperate motel rooms, sam and bobby take one to clean up in, and reader and dean take another. they both clean each other up and dean offers the reader to join them on sam and deans regular hunts! reader thinks about it, but she knows she wants to accept. 

-and conclusion is something i want an author to write, because mines open ended...as im still trying to figure out how to carry on with this AI but YEAH LMAO THIS SHIT WAS MAD FUN and i hope one of yall take at least parts of this fanfic and write a lil somethin somethin!

[magnoliamyrrh]

Don't you have a psychotic father? Didn't you fear that acid might trigger psychosis in you too?

He did. Its unclear what has caused my fathers psychosis however. His mother holds that when he was young he overdosed on some medication and had a long series of epileptic-like seizures, and that this may be the source; doesnt seem too far fetched bc there have been cases of this happening, and of epileptic seizures causing religious-focused psychosis, and feelings of "heaven" and "hell." Noone else in that line of my family, or on any side of my familty, has had any kind of psychosis-inducing mental illness however, noone recently at least or noone that anyone knows of

I used to worry about it at the beggining, yes, every once in awhile I still do. I mean, before i even did psychadelics weed could have technically caused psychosis - ive met ppl in psych wards who had weed-induced psychosis who had no family history of it even; one girl who it hit after the first time she smoked, and didnt even smoke much. However, no matter how much and how frequently ive smoked, ive never come close to feeling like it was causing that - the most ive had is weed-induced paranoia and other shit, but nothing once I came down. To smoke weed was a risk in the first place, which i took, and so far its been years and nothing has hit me

When i first tried psychadelics, and acid was the first one, I knew it was a risk, one i took because I know I could handle high doses of weed without losing it, and because I was...... well. I was fucked up. anorexia bulimia suicidality a bunch of other shit, i wasnt far away from a second suicide attempt at all, and I couldnt rly see many ways out of the shitshow i was in - i figured if I didnt kill myself the anorexia or bulimia would kill me anyway...... and so, i decided to take the risk, that everything good ive heard might be worth it. And im very glad I did, bc theres a high chance id be...... either dead or much worse off today

By now ive tripped idk well over 50/60 times and have yet to feel like my brain has been pushed twoards psychosis. The most I can say is that, and this applies only to acid which I dont rly do anymore, when I did later on take probably too high doses and had rly bad trips,,,,, yea, in the middle of the bad trip i was afraid of that possibility (or more accurately afraid the trip would never end) - frankly, I think the fact that I had the strength to keep myself together and pull myself out of it got me through it; i dont know if someone else going through that experience without prior experience and the ability to try to keep it together would have had a psychotic break, idk, maybe so maybe not - maybe it wouldnt have been chemical but it would have been so traumatic that theyd have been lost in the sauce. Or maybe not........ the most i can say is that I learned my lesson w strong doses of acid, and that it did happen that I felt its effects for days or weeks after the trip - not psychosis or delusions - hard to explain, but its like the trip lingers; in good cases this is called psychadelic "afterglow," after bad or exhausting trips its not particularly pleasant

Sooo, idk. Yea, i guess it could happen, fuck it, it could happen with weed too. Its a risk I take. I don't smoke as commonly as I used to anyway, and I dont do psychadelics as often (tho frankly the times when I would do shrooms around once or twice a month were the most productive, stable, sane, happy periods of my life). I hope to God it wont, but it could, even being careful and respectful with it

....... overall though? psychadelics, and especially shrooms, have made me feel exponentially, exponentially more "sane" than I ever was before I took them..... and even particularly crazy trips managed to teach me, my brains a lot more put together and stronger than I thought it was

[gigismodernlife]

2023: Finally the End of the Covid Era; Surpassing the Aftermath

For me (and I’m sure many can relate) this year sure feels like reaching the end of a series of very overwhelming chapters in a book that put life into perspective but ultimately redeemed itself by giving the reader a glimpse of hope. I like the way Chad simplified it: “2020:covid 2021:covid 2022:covid ending 2023:covid aftermath, this year was weird, besides the Economy still sucking, 2024 should be a good year” The impact of the last four years was seriously hard on me, as it was for many others. After a lot of reflection, I can say that the best thing to come out of it for me was helping me open my eyes and see things clearly through my glass lenses lol. Some call it a Spiritual Awakening, an Epiphany, "finding yourself" or "Accepting God into your life" I've discovered that in its essence it is all very similar. To each their own, as long as whatever they believe in leads them to do good in the world. For me, I am mostly subscribing to Modern Christianity, the one that accepts all people, but I am also hungry for knowledge and still absorb other things too. Jay Shetty and Joe Dispenza have some great YouTube interviewers that people of my generation like. Anyway, the lyrics from Amazing Grace "I once, was lost, but now, i'm found, was blind, but now I see" have never rang more true. And, I cant forget to mention that I also met the true love of my life and got engaged. Look who's not dying alone after all lol! 

So, I had forgotten, but I wrote a Blog, I think it was at the end of 2020 called "Developing Depression During A Global Pandemic & Black Lives Matter Movement" I doubt anyone has ever read it but its there if anyone wants to read it. For those who arent familiar, depression can be situational or a chemical imbalance in the brain. Some people with depression experience it every few years, some completely overcome it, and others sadly never overcome it. Mine tends to be situational. Im assuming I get depressed because I am a highly sensitive, emotional and empathetic person. I realized all of this because I fell so deep into depression this last time that I became desperate enough to finally try medication, which I tend to avoid. It was a nightmare to say the least, I am personally better without medication, but I know it works for some people. The point is, I don't think I have a serious chemical imbalance, I just have trouble handling some hard situations that life has thrown at me, and based on my history, I have gotten much better at recognizing when I feel it and I can thankfully help myself out of it. This time though, I did'nt even remember how I had overcome depression in the past because from October of 2022 to about September of 2023 I was depressed AGAIN and much worse this time. If I would have gone back and read that blog I wrote, I really could have helped myself. I sincerely hate to say this, especially because I had already learned that money does not buy happiness, but the truth is, I messed up and I should've believed in myself more. My biggest fear was losing my income and having to go back home to San Diego after I worked so hard to branch out of there. I was so loyal to this job because I reached middle class financial independence working there but NONE OF THAT MATTERS! It's all a social construct. Middle class doesn't even mean much anymore these days, specifically in this economy (I'll write more about that another time). I should've quit my job so long ago, I tried, but the fear consumed me, as if it was worth the suffering, but it definitely was not. I mean, I ended up being affected by one of many mass lay offs across the country anyway, so I don't necessarily think I am a failure by any means, I learned a lot there, but it was definitely not the company for someone like me. That is life, and most people don't stick to one single job their entire life anymore. All of my worst fears ended up happening. I lost my job, I went back home to San Diego, which for me, holds some very bad memories. It didnt even end up being a bad thing, I ended up re-building my relationship with my family, I took a real estate course, I made memories with my nieces. It felt like God just helped me pick up my broken pieces and now I am whole again. I also set the right intention for my relationship and luckily now I have a Fiance and we are happier than ever in Oregon! I had been operating in constant fear and anxiety of becoming poor or homeless, I am so sorry to myself for doing that, I did not deserve that and neither did my cats. So basically, this year was about forgiving myself, TRULY forgiving myself. 

It's my first Christmas here in Oregon. Im sitting here in my pajamas, looking out the window at trees, surrounded by a cloudy sky, the temperature is in the high 40 degrees. I can't help but cry happy tears and reflect on life (I cry a lot, not just when I'm sad, but when im overwhelmingly happy too lol). My new boss called a few hours into the shift yesterday. No questions about performance, just a simple "Everyone go home! Spend Christmas Eve with your families" what a culture shock. At my old job, I hardly took days off. I asked to leave "on time" instead of staying later to make my flight to New Mexico at 8pm on Christmas Eve to be with family. I felt full of guilt and shame being asked about my performance, as if they needed to know whether or not I deserved to not stay later. I couldn't even enjoy it fully, because I was stressed that I did'nt do well enough. I am so glad those days are over. Today I really get to relax, and enjoy life. Everything is actually going to be okay.

What a whirl wind, this Covid Era was. The world was sick with Covid then the nice media outlets helped spread the encouragement of thanking your “Essential Workers” but really, a lot of the big companies approached it wrong and many of these workers mental health started to deteriorate from being overworked. Followed by consistent mass layoffs, even when profits were higher than usual. Then of course other media outlets spread nothing but fear. Oh! AND then we got frustrated because we got to see how other countries were smarter and more caring about the stimulus packages for their people. I realized that some other countries have a leadership team that relates more to their people and in tough times can show how they genuinely they care about their well being, rather than profit. (It's funny to me how this parallels my experience with Corporate America). I think many people realized that our country is not just physically sick, it's actually mentally struggling. Thank goodness for Millenials and Gen Z who started making mindfulness become what we call viral, or popular or "Woke". This is how many of us got back to religion, or even if they are not part of a religion, they still see things much more clearly and want to do better for themselves and make the world a better place. I still choose to believe that the majority of people are good, even though I've experienced some awful people in my lifetime.

For me, things are finally okay now, physically and emotionally. Im living a humble life, learning and growing and surrounded by much nicer people now, I mean this in the nicest way, but it feels almost shocking that here, people have morals, and they care about women being treated, "special" for lack of a better word. L.A. was definitely not my home and I hope it will never be again. Here, I see forests and mountains everywhere I look, I get greeted by cute squirrels outside all of the time, and lastly the rivers and lakes are beautiful. Even my cats are showing significant signs of healthier and happier lives. Im in the outskirts, but Downtown Portland is beautiful too. It is small compared to L.A. and San Diego, but exceptionally clean and pretty, friendliness is everywhere. The best part is that it has preserved some really nice historical buildings. It holds the largest book store in the world! It feels a little like a ghost town because the riots during the Black Lives Matter movement drove out a lot of businesses, therefore there are a lot of empty places, but none the less, it is a very nice experience to walk through it. Homelessness is also an issue here just like it is in California. The people out here though, the majority all seem so nice, it gives off a small town feel where everyone is just trying to live their best life and spread positive vibes. It's not about the car you drive, the way you dress, the neighborhood you live in, they just want to be good people, and honestly, they are some of the most good looking people I've come across. They're not rushing from place to place because "time is money" its just simple and chill. I haven't experienced the angry honking, or rude interactions I am used to. Im just minding my own business, smiling at everyone and taking it all in. I love it here.

I think I feel what a lot of immigrants feel when they first come to America, except I just didn't leave the country, I only migrated to another state. I feel like a kid experiencing life for the first time. The excitement, the knowledge I am consuming, the culture shocks in the most positive way. Im just open minded and learning and growing and appreciating every moment with my whole heart. It feels like God gave me a warm hug this year. He not only helped me out of depression, he helped me see that I have a bigger purpose, and helped me find a state that suits me and my personality better. Thank You infinitely to God and to Oregon for welcoming me.

[arkus-rhapsode]

Hey so I wanted to make a quick addition to this post given some recent news. So as most people are pretty aware-Astro Bot came out and its been getting a lot of reviews, but like it also feels like it kinda proved one of my theories about Sony's approach to the playstation brand.

So Astro Bot and Astro's Playroom really lean on the history of playstation and you'll find mountains of fan service and references to all types of characters and properties from playstation. But if you notice, its not all exclusive Sony stuff.

Like look here on the promo art you can see God of War, Horizon, and Uncharted. All Playstation IP. But then you get into the game and there's references to like Street Fighter and Crash Bandicoot. And in Astro's Playroom you'd have stuff like Final Fantasy 7 and Devil May Cry references.

Now in my previous post I made it known that it seems like Sony had always made the playstation brand less about their actual homegrown games and more playstation as a platform. As the playstation was for many third parties the place to escape to. And like I said, it really ended up muddying the water of playstation's identity. Crash was the mascot platform of playstation like Mario and Sonic, but he was never made and owned by the companies that created the hardware like Mario and Sonic.

This is partially why when we got Playstation All-Stars, so many people were left confused about the roster and the sad truth was, a lot of those characters were first party characters Sony could use while stuff like Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, Spyro, and Crash were out of reach as third parties (Of course there was still tons of other Sony characters they could've used and not just the PS3 era, but I digress).

Now let me be clear, Astro Bot is a fan service platform all about celebrating the history of Playstation. And Crash, Final Fantasy, Tekken, Street Fighter etc. all have a place in the history of Playstation. Im not saying the toy chest needs to be "pure." But it really just makes me think of how much Sony really hasn't got that much of a defined brand.

Like you compare them to Nintendo: Nintendo are masters of branding so much so that when there was a hard horror game like Eternal Darkness, people don't really think of it as "Nintendo." And of course, Nintendo has made its characters basically the life blood of their advertisements and why you should play their console. Nintendo is the home of these IP you can't get anywhere else.

That's not to say Nintendo has a history connected to third party properties, but lets say hypothetically Nintendo made their own version of Astro Bot where there's a crap ton of fan service and celebrate the history of the company. Nintendo is more than likely gonna highlight their series, even their obscure ones like NES Golf, before they're like having cameos from Dragon Quest or Mega Man or Professor Layton.

Wait. They did that, it was called Captain Rainbow.

Now once again, I'm not saying this is a bad game or that this choice is bad, this isn't about gamekeeping what is and isn't a playstation game and what should be here. But going back to Hiroki Totoki's original statement "We don't have much IP that we've fostered" I'd say the best advice I can give him then is that maybe they should like actually work on their branding then. Like as of now, the most people think of when the think playstation are usually big AAA cinematic games like The Last of Us, Uncharted, God of War Ragnarok-your Naughty Dog style games.

Like if you're gonna make these new IP then you gotta make the Sony and Playstation brand more identifiable. People shouldn't be wonder why they can get Crash on every system when back in the day it was THE Playstation game. You know Kratos can stand next to Astro Bot and everyone would be like "Oh yeah this is Sony." because if you're gonna devote so much time and marketing to other games, I don't blame people seeing Playstation as a platform first and a place for original IP second.

Anyway, Im sorry this like spur addendum to this post, but I really felt like adding after playing through Astro Bot.

So wasn't expecting to make this Gaming Hot Take of the day but after reading this from Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki I gotta be honest I had to write something

So look, I can kinda understand this stance in a very retrospective sense as he says "Fostered from the beginning." Playstation 1 in particular didn't really make a big distinction between its original IP and its Third Party IP. It's why you had Crash Bandicoot or Cloud Strife as basically the mascot of Playstation when both come from third parties. Compared to the likes of Mario and Sonic who were not only their console mascot, but company mascots respectively.

But by now, Playstation has an undeniable back catalogue of first and second IP that it can either revive or rerelease if need be. Like if we're looking at like multi entry series and not just one offs, by the PS2, Sony had:

Jak & Daxter

Twisted Metal

Ape Escape

Sly Cooper

MediEvil

Wild Arms

Dark Cloud

Everybody's Golf

God of War

Rachet and Clank

And by the PS3 we have

Infamous

Uncharted

Killzone

Resistance

Little Big Planet

Like Sony has their own catalogue that can stand on its own. Its not like they should be struggling now to play catch up.

Now if you read my recent Emio and Mages post, I am very well aware that in the age of modern gaming, a game doesn't get made without a team devoted to it. And with the rising production and time costs of making games, no company can release a hundred games and be profitable. So sadly some IP just do fall by the wayside in favor of others. Guerrilla Games isn't making Killzone anymore, because their efforts are spent on Horizon and Sucker Punch went from being the Sly Cooper guys to the Infamous guys, to now the Ghosts of Tsushima guys.

However, I feel like Sony has had some circumstances that compound this problem. Sony and Playstation are technically powerful machines-they want to fully utilize the hardware they're selling you for hundreds of dollars. It is their brand. However, the downside to this is because of this the rise in production costs, it's now taking much longer to make games that make use of the powerful hardware. We went from being able to release a full trilogy in a single generation to basically one. Its also made worse by the fact that Sony has been very active in shuttering studios and cutting costs. The biggest would be the loss of Sony Japan Studio, who were beloved for their more varied Japanese-y style games. It added flavor to the more Naughty Dog inspired games of the sixth and seventh generation. But now, Sony went all in on being that one big budget release that leaned more towards broader genres that could maximize the amount of sales like Uncharted, The Last of Us, Spider-Man, etc.

With this, a lot of mismanagement, its really made the PS5 era feel very sparse compared to the PS4. Now, I wanna stress this, I actually do not subscribe to the mentality "Playstation has no games." Playstation has tons of games beyond just their first party titles, some are exclusive like Final Fantasy 16, some are just way too powerful to be something that could be played on a switch like GTAV. Heck, I played Bomb Rush Cyberfunk on my PS5 and it's probably the game I've dumped the most time into this year. So yes, even if Playstation's first party offerings are few and far between, you're still capable of playing a lot of good games on this really expensive plastic box.

And maybe that's indicative of the fact that Playstation has always been about selling you the hardware on the basis of the hardware. Going back to the PS1, the main selling points was this was the haven for third parties after Nintendo really burned a lot of developers with the N64, and that this was a much more system than the N64. When you look at someone like Nintendo now, they're hardware is underpowered they live and die by the power of their software that only they can provide and no one else. But the playstation even if its not shooting out a new Jax & Daxter every year, they're still the place you can play something like Final Fantasy or Elden Ring at a really great clip. Perhaps Totoki was alluding to that reliance on hardware instead of software because in retrospect, they never really had that big homegrown system seller on playstation till the PS2 with things like God of War. And now fostering that, has made it hard to have that sort of Zelda or Halo that are so undeniably their companies IP and will move launch units.

But a reliance on just being the place where you can play games at a high fidelity, means that its still got competition from Xbox and PC. So Sony would have to offer a service the others don't and that can be software you find nowhere else. True story, I was genuinely conflicted about getting a PS5 or and Xbox X/S for my birthday because I knew I needed to at least have a strong machine to play with my switch. And ultimately I took PS5 because that was the console that would have God of War Ragnarok and Spider-Man 2. So yes, IP absolutely factors into purchases in my experience. And the fact that this generation Sony has really struggled to put out first party games, really makes that purchase factor feel so much thinner and thinner. When you know-you know Sony has loads of IP (Some that haven't left their respective console) that even a simple remaster on the PS5 could at least hold people over in-between their AAA releases. So to hear their CFO say that they don't have enough IP, gets very disingenuous.

To close this out, I wanna stress something. I don't think wanting to make new IP is a bad thing. Im glad Sony is willing to invest 8 years and millions of dollars into something new. But eventually, we reach a point where this has to be better managed. We have to have some smaller titles that can be released between the bigger ones. We gotta have some variation in the types of games we're getting from the platform holder. And sometimes leaning in on those fan faves for smaller titles would help. Are they gonna sell 10 million units? More than likely not. But if you balance the budget, having something move between 1-2 million units would be acceptable. Perhaps maybe allow more second party developers a crack at using that IP so your internal teams can work on the bigger blockbuster titles?

The PS5 generation has been a pretty all over the map one for Sony, and the more we learn about the thoughts and management behind the scenes, the more aggravating it can become when this platform does something really cool, but then seems to take two steps back. I genuinely can't tell you if I'll get a PS6. But if I do, it will probably not be out of optimism for classic Playstation franchises to return.