#i just had no interest based on the teasers and the couples

[thebroccolination]

As someone who has never been interested in vampires, I am extremely excited for BounPrem's vampire series.

It's partially because I love BounPrem, sure, but it's mostly because I respect the amount of very professional research and preparation Boun has committed to the role over the past several years.

I just think his artistry should be honored by my diligent attention.

Boun is a professional vampire fetishist, and that man will neck like no man has ever necked before.

[wonustars]

𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖶𝖺𝗒 𝗈𝖿 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖧𝗈𝗎𝗌𝖾 𝖧𝗎𝗌𝖻𝖺𝗇𝖽 (Teaser)

𖥔 pairing: kim mingyu x reader 𖥔 wordcount: ~15k+ (this teaser: 599) 𖥔 genre: fake marriage au!, fluff, angst, smut (18+ mdni)

𖥔 reblogs, likes and comments are always appreciated ♡! tumblr is based on reblogs not likes, and they help writers like me to get better reach. thank you!

𖥔 summary: you and mingyu (a former mafia member and also your ex-fiancè's former best friend) are forced into witness protection. All you’ve been told is that you’re meant to act like a happily married couple. Pushed into a cookie cutter house, and a suburban neighbourhood far from the city, where people bring you baked goods on your first day and partake in small talk, it’s all foreign and new. There’s so many things you don’t know about him, but for a man who’s only known violence and all things illegal, he’s somehow the perfect house husband.

𖥔 tags: fake relationship/marriage!au, non-idol!au, mafia!au, afab!reader, norbert is readers cat (more tags when the fic is posted) 𖥔 release date: may 14 or 15, 2024 𖥔 author's note: if i end up posting after the predicted dates plz do not crucify me 🙏 ik a lot of people have been waiting for this one so i'd thought i post a teaser since i have 2-3 chapters left till its finally finished. thank you to all of those who sent in their ideas and to those who've shown so much interest in this story :") i really hope it lives up to your expectations!! see u soonest - anna ♡ !!!!

𖥔 keep reading

The first few days at the new house were uneventful and awkward to say the least.

Mingyu spent the majority of his time doing random housework, he thought that if he had to live here for a year, then he should at least try and make it as “homely" as possible. 

Many of the women in the neighbourhood had deemed Mingyu as their new eye-candy. Despite the fact that he wore his pink shibu inu apron while tending to the garden at the front of the house. They would especially make sure to take multiple laps around the block during their group walks, drooling over his toned muscles as he began to plant an array of flowers on the lawn. 

Mingyu isn’t very observant when it comes to people finding him attractive, believe it or not. He automatically assumes that the wives of Bridgewater just wanted to get to know the new couple that just moved in. 

“What a beautiful garden you have!” one of the wives called out from the sidewalk, her eyes glinting with appeal. 

“Thank you, It’s not done just yet, but I think we’re finally getting somewhere,” Mingyu smiles bashfully. 

“Of course dear. You know if you’re ever free you should come and take a look at my garden,” another lady giggles, her innuendo flying right over Mingyu’s head.

The group of fourty plus year old women all giggle like school girls as they watch his face turn red with flattery. Mingyu scratches the back of his head awkwardly as they bid him good-bye, curious as to what they group of women thought was so funny about him taking a look at their gardens. It’s all just a bunch of flowers isn’t it? 

The sound of your car’s engine brings Mingyu out of his thoughts, his gardening tools forgotten by the piles of dirt he left. You lug Nortbert’s carrier as you walk into the house, acknowledging his presence with a small nod. His pink aprons raises a few questions in your head, but you decide not to comment on it. 

“Oh hey you’re back, is he ok?” Mingyu asks, motioning to the carrier you hold in your hand. 

Halting your steps, your eyes widen as you realize that he’s talking to you, there wasn’t much conversation between the two of you since you’ve moved in. so you found it a little surprising that he’s asking about Norbert, the cat who tends to show lots of aggression towards him. 

“Morning. He’s ok, I just took him for his check up at the vet,” you shrug before entering the house. 

You leave the conversation there. There wasn’t much else to say anyways, and you had a lot of work to get to before the end of the day. If Mingyu feels a little bit ignored by your actions, he doesn’t make it noticeable, going back to working on his garden. 

From across the yard, neither you of Mingyu notice Seungkwan’s looming figure as he and Vernon enjoy the Friday morning sun. He watches the two of you from his porch with a quirked eyebrow. They’re awfully awkward for newly weds, he thinks to himself. 

“Nonie, don’t you think they’re a little weird?” Seungkwan nudges his boyfriend, who’s mumbling to himself while Vernon reads his book. 

Vernon quirks up, moving his headphones a little to hear what his boyfriend has to say, “huh? Sorry I was reading, what’d you say?” 

“Nothing, go back to your book love,” Seungkwan mumbles, his eyes still darting back and forth from your descending figure and Mingyu, his suspicions spiking once more.

[yazthebookish]

This might be a bit long but the Gwynriel Reddit thread inspired me to let my thoughts flow about Gwyn and Azriel.

P.s. this will include some HOFAS spoilers.

I've said this before but SJM choosing to end Azriel's chapter with Gwyn is a choice. It's the beginnings and the endings of a chapter that authors tend to put a lot of thought into—so her ending the chapter which felt like her nudging readers' to Gwyn's direction is intentional.

Gwyn was not just a random addition, given their interactions throughout ACOSF their scene in the bonus chapter didn't feel out of place (even if readers' didn't expect to see her in it).

People try to invalidate the bonus chapter as much as they can but HOFAS had proved once again that they are important and canon (though I do think SJM and her publisher need to include these in the main books because they are crucial).

"You depend so much on a bonus chapter that a lot of readers don't have access to"

True but that doesn't mean the next book can't fill in the blanks because Azriel and Gwyn were already interacting in ACOSF, so having that romantic development in the next book (and the possible reveal that they're mates) + ON PAGE will still make it up for the readers that never read the bonus chapter. Like, CC4 will definitely bring up the fact that Ruhn and Lidia got married (despite it happening in a bonus).

I always considered the bonus chapter as a teaser for what will happen in the next book, Sarah confirmed she sprinkled little crumbs and I quote "I want to hear all your theories after you read the book and his [Azriel's] bonus scene, the crumbs have all been scattered, little bread crumbs everywhere" and it will keep readers guessing until the next book is out. So you won't know for sure how relevant or significant the bonus chapter is and the crumbs she scattered until you read the next book.

With that being said, Gwyn's cameo in the bonus chapter didn't come without some interesting clues: Azriel's shadows didn't warn him she was around, they were curious about her and she smiled at them, they danced and sang around her, Azriel revealed he sings because she asked, she thanked him with a smile and he felt settled even his shadows calmed.

We never saw his shadows react to anyone the way they did with Gwyn. They seem drawn to her, they danced, they sang, and while there are many theories about it but I absolutely do think if the shadows would be drawn to someone it would be Azriel's mate.

"Azriel and Gwyn had no romantic development and he didn't think about kissing her and all that"

But did every SJM couple start that way? No. And someone expressing the desire to kiss and hook up with someone is not always an indication of endgame (I can count multiple couples who kissed but weren't endgame).

The crumbs we had of them in ACOSF sets the groundwork for a romantic relationship to build in the next book—because who doesn't want to read about them both falling in love on page?

And yes, Sarah is capable of writing a love story from scratch in a single book (e.g., Tower of Dawn). Another example is how ACOMAF started with Feyre being in love with Tamlin and halfway through she started to really fall in love with Rhys.

The whole Azriel/Elain/Lucien triangle is messy as it is, so I don't think SJM would turn it into a square by inserting Gwyn. SJM could've chose not to give Gwyn and Azriel any ties in any way whether it was him rescuing her, him training the Valkyries, and again, including her in his own bonus chapter (hell even her boss:guardian Clotho made an appearance).

But she did and based on her pattern with her male love interests in particular, she doesn't really insert a new female or have females fight over the male love interest. I don't ever see Elain and Gwyn fight over Az, each might have an issue with Az on their own but do I see them argue with each other over Azriel? Absolutely not.

And if you look at the sequence of the scenes in his chapter, it gives a better idea of how it was planned:

1. Starts with Azriel reflecting on his loneliness while everyone left.

2. Elain shows up and they interact, Azriel gives her the necklace and they almost kiss.

3. Rhysand interferes and Az stops the kiss and tells Elain it was a mistake.

4. Az and Rhys argue and ends with Rhys ordering him to stay away from Elain and dismissing him.

5. Az leaves to the House of Wind wanting to work off the frustration but finds that Gwyn already occupied the training ring.

6. Gwyn and Az interact and he leaves the scene feeling settled down and his shadows calmed.

7. He wakes up, goes to the River House and finds Elain's necklace, he pockets it with the intention of returning it to the shop after the snowball fight.

8. Instead of the shop, he goes to the library to ask Clotho to give the gift to Gwyn and refuses to leave with it.

9. Going back and forth, Clotho eventually agrees and said she will tell Gwyn a friend gave it to her and she thanks Az for the joy it will bring to Gwyn.

10. Az leaves but the mention of Gwyn's joy sparked something in him that it brought a slight smile to his face, he buried the image in his chest where it glows quietly.

Both interactions with Elain and Rhys ended with him feeling miserable, but both interactions with Gwyn and Clotho ended with him feeling lighter and better—and to me that shows me how intentional SJM was with creating these parallels (including the shadows skittered back vs the shadows danced and sang).

Instead of Gwyn and Clotho we could've had Mor or Nesta or Amren, but SJM chose Gwyn and Clotho. Like, it could've ended after Rhys's argument but again, it's a writer's choice.

That's why no matter how many times I reread ACOSF my mind doesn't change much because SJM is not that subtle.

[dock57]

Fellow Monkey Wrench fan here! :D

So... I'm currently working on a post (planned to have some accompanying artwork) speculating/analysing the potential biology of some characters.

I am aware that a lot of questions are still unanswered and that there will be a lot of "knowledge gaps" (which I will address in that post), so think of this project as being part-educational, part-theory, and just a fun project in general (a couple of concepts/headcanons here and there).

Thought I'd share a couple of teasers (from how I plan to structure it to a couple of sneaky excerpts):

Shrike and cephalopods (I like cephalopods so I have a feeling I'll enjoy researching this one)

The scientific basis behind the colourful flames Ricket, Jawbone and the other skeleton aliens have (which I've mostly finished)

The biological implications of radiation for the Agari and Jawbone (from a theory I had where the Cataclysm involved some kind of radioactive material being leaked into space - halfway finished with that)

IRL species that share traits with Tyneen (I'm no reptile or dinosaur expert (and there may be some unexpected ideas here and there), but I'm curious to hear anyone else's own theories)

IRL species that share traits with Agent K (one or two of them may surprise you, but there is some method to my madness)

A lengthy ramble investigation to see if Beebs has more in common biologically with walruses or with humans (I'm already dreading this one because understanding human metabolism and body composition is already a confusing exercise, let alone those things for walruses)

Please let me know if you have any thoughts on this project so far!

[WOW. WOW IS WHAT I GOT TO SAY! Don't take that out of content, I am really AMAZED by the detail you went into this. Honestly you went into thoughts I would never really thought of. For starters, the flames of the Osteon kind, such how different color flames are different chemical combinations. That's such an interesting detail to paid attention to. Even the concept/idea as to how their biology works? I enjoy that! I myself am someone who likes to find answers or reasonings as to how things work for world building, species, and devices and such. I'll be honest, but I haven't thought too much how the Osteon species work. I think a lot for Shrike and Beebs, but that might because they are based on animals I can research and connect their traits too. As for skeletons? Its a bit hard for the connections between them and what is factual, besides relating it to human qualities, even though, they are not human (or terrans in this case). I enjoy seeing other fans thinking about their species more and how to connect to their real counterparts. The bullet points for the Agari is super interesting to read as well. I can see exactly where you got the idea of heterotrophic for one theory. As Us, in their design, you can see a skull of another being on their shoulder.

For your Agent K point, I am not sure what a Marine Flatworm is? I typed it in and got this:

This is referring to your bullet point for Agent K. When it comes to Agent K... I have no clue what he is supposed to be, a reference to, or even inspired by? I love Agent K however and his design. Back to the flatworm, I can see the idea for it for Agent K.

Because I mean, look at this man. Look how he moves...

He makes me think of a Ribbon Worm as well! However, not as cute or appealing looking compared to the Flatworm you have mentioned! (Ribbon Worms look like something that has come out of the human body- like an intestine...) As for Queen Tyneen, I don't think I have anything to add? She's definitely a dinosaur, and I would say the crest could be feathers as we know for a fact that dinosaurs had feathers! As for her colors? Not a clue! But they are very pretty together! Got to love our favorite Pirate Queen!

Also, not sure if you meant to add something for Beebs and points about his species being inspired by Walruses, but I don't have anything on my end speaking about him and his kind!

As for my own thoughts about this? I honestly don't have much! I am interested to see what these posts are that you plan to do for each theories and ideas you have for the species of the Monkey Wrench world! I do enjoy reading what you guys send me when it comes to your own thoughts and if I have anything to add myself. I think the information itself was just interesting to read! As a fan myself, I just love hearing others and their rambles they have for Monkey Wrench, as it by far my personal favorite when it comes to indie animation projects!]

[backtothefanfiction]

Trying to write undercover lover but it’s slow going, the length it’s built to in my head feels slightly overwhelming but I know it’ll all work out eventually. Just gotta keep doing little bits every day but currently writing out of order based on how I’m feeling in the moment and it’s so weird. I actually hate it. But I know it’ll be the fastest way to get this done for you all.

Anyway, teaser below the cut

Joaquin shot a glance in Honey’s direction. She was only a couple years younger than Joaquin but had far more money and power than he ever would. Dressed head to toe in Chanel, Honey was the eldest Dixon. She had gone to college and gotten a degree in business so she could take over some of the assets in her Fathers ownership. Mainly his series of clubs, hence the meeting in the Viper Room.

She was pretty for sure and if she had come from any other background she would have been exactly Joaquin’s type, but given his true nature for being here- and the fact he’d just had to kill a guy for sleeping with one of Dixon’s daughters- Joaquin thought it best to try and not see her in that light at all. But the way her calculating gaze locked onto him, her lips pursing together in a formal and somewhat judgmental way, he figured she was probably far less interested in jumping in his pants than her little sister was anyway.

[yannaryartside]

Sidetrack Love

One of the most used plot devices in romance is to give your main couple (the one you want to get togueter at the end) two respective love interest previous or during the time they get to know each other.

So we assume Sydney and Carmy are the main couple and Marcus and Claire are the respective sidetrack love interests. The goal of using these characters is to:

a. Make the main characters question their goals in love, their insecurities and wounds.

b. Show the audience their attachment styles and dynamics

WHAT THEY WANTED VS WHAT THEY NEEDED

Most of the time, is about the main characters realizing they want each other, despite thinking at the beginning of the story that they wanted or needed something different.

Claire was a popular girl in high school adored by Carmy's family. She is easygoing and accommodating to someone like Carmy who had to beg for love his whole childhood. For Carmy, love was expensive (buried in hurt and toxic dynamics), and Claire gives love like it is free, free of compromise, expectations, or even definitions. It is not like that is healthy either, but surely someone like Carmy would be extremely attracted to that. This ties to my post "The Lie that Carmy believes" because I think he has been fighting this notion that he needs to sacrifice a lot, even himself, to deserve love.

With Marcus is more tricky, but it sums up the fact that he is a stand-up guy. He has a few flaws but is probably one of the healthiest men in the show. He is kind and patient. Sydney and Marcus have a good dynamic, their attraction could have been based on a solid friendship. There is a part of me that wanted Sydney to notice Marcus, because she may carry a burden due to a broken heart. I wanted Marcus to heal Sydney the way Claire is set up to heal Carmy.

Funny thing, it looks like they could continue the sidetrack love plot in season 3 if Carmy continues to pursue Claire and tries to figure out if she is good for him, while Sydney may find a partner in Luca, or even come back to Marcus.

My point is that the show is giving both these characters easy routes to love, maybe in the context of letting us know the difficulties a romantic relationship between Carmy and Syd could have.

AN EXCUSE: COOKING VS LOVE

Carmy used his relationship with Claire to run away from the restaurant. Even when he was in the restaurant he denied and avoided responsibilities like crazy. It makes me wonder if his heart is in it anymore, or if cooking just became a coping mechanism to deal with his trauma (season 3 teaser), like cooking is the only thing he thinks he is good for, cooking and love (especially unconditional love) cannot exist in the same space at the same time for him.

Sydney was so focused on the restaurant that never actually suspected Marcus liked her like that. She may have noticed the looks and the flirting but I think she may have assumed it was friendly. Or was she just so consumed by her own worries to even think about love? it is an interesting parallel to Carmy and Claire nonetheless. Can cooking (her dreams) and love exist for her at the same time? What does she believe love is?

Would Carmy make that impossible for her in season 3? Would he be the killjoy of her passion and goodwill? Or would they grow closer?

This was all over the place, but thank you for reading

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

Okay I was too tired last night for coherent thought but I’m now here with some assorted bullet points after watching dr who e6: Rogue

SPOILERS AHEAD

Overall I really enjoyed this episode! I thought the pacing was good, it was typical Doctor Who style and very enjoyable, I liked that we got time with both Ruby and the Doctor separately as well as together, I have a couple of thoughts but I just really want to say that overall I loved this episode

Theory based on the theory (I’m sorry I don’t know who first said it I’ve seen it a lot) that Devil’s Chord was moved: This was supposed to episode 2 - Flashback to Ruby’s mum when she ‘died’ that we didn’t get when died in Boom, one of her pieces of evidence that it was her was ‘we met space babies’ but no reference to other adventures, it would make the timing match up (she can’t remember whether it’s June or July back home), the stakes are less visibly high, other than Susan Twist there was no real reference to the overarching story arc (no snow, no One Who Waits, no pantheon references, etc) as is common with early episodes, we had more focus on the Doctor himself than we’ve really had so far and we actually got to understand, I felt at least, more about him as a character which again would usually be set up earlier on idk

Do you understand how relieved (and excited) I was when they started actually acknowledging Susan Twist, and of the same vein as I was when I saw the teaser for next week??? Absolutely buzzing, and also I was starting to think I was going mad looking for connections that didn’t exist so whooo

I thought Rogue was a really good character, I thought they were definitely trying to set something up for him to the Captain Jack archetype character (if that makes sense? I hope I’ve worded that right) and although I saw it coming for him to sacrifice himself for Ruby I don’t think that’s going to be the last of him - even if we see him at a different part of his timeline instead of his future. That could also be really interesting if the partner he lost was in fact in a romantic relationship with him and we have to see the Doctor contend with that, I can’t remember whether they stated the nature of their relationship or not but I don’t think they did so that could leave some options open to explore. I did feel that the Doctor and Rogue were a little bit rushed but overall really liked the set up of the relationship, I only found it slightly jarring when 13 was so broken up over the impossibility of letting herself fall in love with Yaz but I also think that different incarnations tend to approach their relationships differently so for me it wasn’t so much an issue as just a noticeable thing I guess

Speaking of noticeable things, IT WAS MODERN MUSIC??? I heard Bad Guy by Billie Eilish and Poker Face by Lady Gaga but there may have been others I didn’t recognise/pick up on. This was very very very suspicious to me, and other than a few episodes I haven’t watched Bridgerton but isn’t that what they do in Bridgerton??? Classical instrumentals of modern music??? Very suspicious

Also, the shapeshifters (chuldrur? Sorry I can’t remember it exactly) referred to themselves as cosplaying and that really caught me out I thought it was odd

I didn’t feel like the the rules of the trap were quite well established enough in that it wasn’t very clear to me how Rogue could so easily throw Ruby out of the trap when she couldn’t move; I assume it was because the capacity remained at 6 but idk I just felt like we could have had a clearer understanding of how it worked for the purpose of that set up

Ruby’s pretence was interesting, it made me think of Clara in Deep Breath a little bit but because of the perspective the stakes felt quite different. I did think it was weird that everyone else stopped cosplaying for the wedding and she was just there looking like herself because it made her stick out and also if the wedding is their finale to the game why wouldn’t they want to be in character?

ALSO it once again all links back to story whenever we are with Ruby and I think that’s fascinating, especially as a character who has died and been brought back, ‘died’, or had her history changed and rewritten in almost every episode so far

On that point -> Dungeons and Dragons!! Effectively what the shapeshifters felt they were doing as their game, and such an interesting link when there are so many questions left unanswered about Rogue ooo I’m excited

Okay I may be back with more but I think that’s all for now, very excited for next week’s episode, thanks for reading my ramblings I hope they were at least vaguely interesting <3

[subzeroparade]

*chant* New fic! New fic! New fic!

So excited you’ve posted a new ER fic, and with a teaser for more to come! 🎉🎉🎉

Since it’s been awhile, maybe I poke your brain on what your thoughts on the DLC are (game play, lord, sceneries, anything you’d like to share with us really)? Has it changed your headcanon on any of the characters, or did you find ways to incorporate the new lores into your interpretations? Most importantly, did you have fun?

*tagged for spoilers but just in case - spoilers •‿•*

Did I enjoy it? YES. Did I have qualms with some gameplay bits? YES but I’m a filthy casual on NG+2 or something and generally Not Good at Game. But I beat it. 

As for lore, it’s really a mixed bag. There’s a ton of stuff I’m delighted to have new or expanded lore for - Marika’s origins, Belurat and the entirety of Hornsent culture, Godwyn’s Death Knights, BAYLE???? VILE BAYLE!!!! etc etc (sometimes I listen to Igon’s voice lines just to psych myself up for real life). There are things I need to adjust my headcanon for a little, as well - St Trina, for example, has always been a facet of Miquella himself to me, a sort of alter ego he willingly takes on, which is how I enjoyed writing her in fic. To have her elaborated here as a separate person means taking that a little further if I write him/her/them again, but I think the parallel it draws between Marika/Radagon is hugely interesting as well.  

iirc there are a couple of instances in the base game where lore almost contradicts itself, but I think in some cases the DLC got a little sloppy. The timeline is also way foggier to me now than it was previously. I was a big fan of the idea that Messmer was entirely unknown to his siblings, written out of history after the Crusade (predating Marika ushering in the Golden Age of the Erdtree), but that contradicts the lore we get on Gaius and Radahn as they’re both personally acquainted with Messmer, and makes me wonder which of the other demigods might’ve been aware of him, and under what pretences might they have met. It makes for a lot of fic ideation, but I’m of the opinion that if you’re writing fic, sticking too closely to (the sometimes unhelpful) lore will stultify the work; so I’m trying to pluck little instances of new lore that interest me to bolster the story I want to tell.  

Like most of the fandom I have a huge beef with Promised Consort Radahn, and I’m still struggling with how to work that into my headcanon. To me, there is simply no reason for it. There are no indications of it in the base game, and you have to tie yourself into continuity knots for it to make any sense - and that’s just bad writing. I’m not against retconning things if they serve a purpose, but this was neither useful nor necessary (nor well done), and that’s fundamentally disappointing for a Fromsoft game. The more people aggressively try and justify it, the more I feel like the potential explanations unravel. If we’re going along with the assumption that Miquella *needs* a lord to ascend, we’ve had Candidate #1 since the base game: Godwyn. Half of what we know about base-game Miquella is that he spent time and resources trying to grant Godwyn some form of peace, while his hideous fate hangs over the narrative in perpetuity. And we give Radahn closure literally in the first act of the game. I’m a firm believer in Miquella knowing 100% what he’s about, but in this singular instance blinded by love for Godwyn and an all-consuming desire to *fix this* by resurrecting some nightmarish, malformed version of him. There’s so much juicy story to be told in Miquella refusing to acknowledge the thing he brought back is not his brother, and for all that godhood and remaking the world into utter passivity can do, it can’t retrieve Godwyn’s irretrievable soul. All that to say, I’d even take Malenia as his promised consort - it would made more sense than Radahn, too.

Anyway tldr I don’t have to think about how disappointing that is now, because the fic I’m working on is around Marika’s ascension, and more specifically Messmer and Melina’s upbringing. There’s another on the backburner but I’m on the fence about it since it hasn’t reached an outline stage yet, and I don’t start anything unless I am 100% sure I know how to finish it, and finish it well ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Ty for the ask! As is the case with me, the rest of my musings on the lore come through in fic writing, because those are the texts dumps I’m good at. Here’s a little (young) Melina and Messmer wip as thanks. 

[my-mt-heart]

Thoughts on TBOC 205

Aside from the premiere, this was the easiest episode for me to watch, but at the same time, the tone and the characterization feel...off. As usual, my thoughts are based on a one-time pirated watch. Also as usual, Melissa McBride crushes her performance. If only she had been given stronger material...

I mentioned in my 204 "review" that Daryl's and Carol's dynamic felt like that of a divorced couple and I'm still feeling that here. Daryl is clearly offended by the hypothetical idea of Carol telling Ash that he was her brother and insists that he be with Carol when she talks to him. Carol is clearly uncomfortable when a dancer gets too close to Daryl at the nightclub (side note: Carol's reaction to the nightclub has a lot of storytelling potential that Zabel instead uses to draw the male gaze. Unsurprising, but still disheartening). What does Caryl's "divorced" energy mean exactly? Nothing if Zabel doesn't pay it off and unfortunately I don't think he ever intends to. We need a new showrunner for that.

Daryl's surprised reaction to Sophia is just ridiculous to me. He's always been incredibly in tune with Carol's feelings—that's what makes them soulmates—and he just saw her struggling in front of a barn in the last episode. He really can't put the pieces together? And why is Daryl acting so far removed? As if Sophia isn't his trauma too? I'll talk about this more for 206, but I strongly dislike how Zabel tries build up to Daryl finally comforting her the way he should have immediately, and would have if he was in character. It's completely unnecessary and it robs the characters/audience of true emotional growth.

Carol notices a man on a bike that reminds her of the Daryl she watched ride away from the CW, like she's still searching for that Daryl, and it breaks my heart. She starts seeing Sophia too, but again, Daryl can't be there for her because he's preoccupied with thoughts of a child he's known for two months. Naturally Carol tries to be there for him, and at first he tells her he doesn't want to talk about it. Since when does Daryl not feel safe being vulnerable with Carol? Why is he so closed off? I can't wrap my head around it.

In typical Zabel fashion, Laurent is used as a mouthpiece to shove Isabelle's "love" for Daryl down the audience's throats despite the fact that Clemence never played it that way once. I really need the stooges and the supporting characters to stop projecting onto Daryl. They are all just wrong.

Carol listens to Daryl’s recording he made in S1 and I’m not sure what the point of it is since he already told her last episode that he was trying to get back to her. You know what would’ve been more interesting? If the recording revealed something new that the audience hasn’t heard yet and surprised Carol as well, like Daryl addressing her specifically, telling her how much he loved her.

When shots of the car scene cropped up in teasers, it was heavily speculated that Ash would die. I'm glad the scene subverted my expectations and actually tapped into some humor, but the whole thing also highlights Zabel's sloppy writing. How did this man survive the ZA this long if he can't even shut a door without hurting himself? And why, once he's fully conscious again, does he not comment on Daryl's and Carol's relationship? If Carol was willing to manipulate him just to find this other guy, what does that say about who Daryl is to Carol? Is Ash not suspicious or at the very least curious? It's another example of how TPTP try so hard to pull attention away from Caryl to the point where it's extremely frustrating and inorganic.

Another way tptb resist the undeniable chemistry between Caryl is by separating them. Daryl gets to do the cool action sequence while Carol is left behind to get yelled at by a man. Seeing the toxic dude bros rip Carol apart for lying to Ash has been difficult, and to be honest, it's the main reason why I could've done without that storyline. But I don't blame Carol for that. Zabel is the one who thinks manipulation is every woman's trademark, and as if that's not misogynistic enough, he takes every opportunity to punish Carol for it.

If there are any comparisons to be made between this season and S11 of the flagship show, they're in the penultimate and the finale episodes. Just like in S11, Carol is kept away from the main mission to essentially do busy work. I'm all for highlighting an emotional arc over mindless action, but not when it creates a power imbalance between two characters and two actors who are supposed to be leading this show together. It solidifies for me that Norman, Zabel, Nicotero, and Gimple are insecure about the show’s positioning. They need it to be Daryl's show while Carol is just a sidekick. They're all marking their territory for their own reasons. Melissa deserves so much better from Norman and so much better than the other three.

One more episode to go and thank fuck for that.

[guardianofnightmares]

Clouds

Someone's coming back to a home-base and they are being escorted by some mechs ;) . Well, sort of, ha, just in case if trigger happy Cons mistake the ship for an enemy's one. And you can't blame them - Omega Supreme is a formidable enemy and plenty of Warframes remember how devastating blows of his and his "brethren" could be.

Once more, the scene was taken from my story TFA: Icarus (the work and a teaser to it can be found [here] if you're interested). I know I called it an AU of mine in a previous post but, mayhaps, that's not the 100% correct term, since the events of a story will take place after the end of a show. But considering how those events will go in a fanfic of mine and headcanons I'll include there, let's say that Hasbro would not follow the trail I chose, especially with our beloved pairings being part of a project XD.

While an image is not quite what I had in mind for a prompt for a @blitzbee-week but an unused idea is much more complicated then this one, and I knew that I'll not be able to finish it on time. So, nevertheless, I hope you enjoy the final result and once again, thanks for stopping by)).

P.S. Here's a closeup of perhaps my fav part of a picture)). A very good friend of mine and I had tons of fun editing this piece of work couple of days ago. Perhaps I'll even show you our results. Also, do not worry, a Decepticons insignia is a temporary one)

[blazehedgehog]

What did you think of the Game Awards this year?

It was... a little better this year than Geoff's previous shows. The preshow actually had a segment that talked about climate change and featured a game about the topic (even if it looked a bit basic visually) and I genuinely liked Statler and Waldorf heckling Keighley. It was the sort of thing where it was really surprising how they did not pull their punches. ("Hey, look, it's Hideo Kojima! Did you know Geoff Keighley is friends with him?" "Does Kojima know that?")

And like, I find myself wondering if that was the point, if having them heckle the show was a way to sort of break the ice and blow off some of the pressure... which makes you wonder how much of it was scripted. But considering a couple of the reaction shots, I guess I don't know. There were mild looks of shock to be sure, and there were other things that felt like changes based on past Geoff shows (like giving developers room to speak if they wanted to).

The rest of the event was mostly fine. Games that caught my attention:

Ninja Gaiden Ragebound was kind of surprising. It's got Dotemu's name attached, which is funny, because Dotemu + Lizardcube is who did Streets of Rage 4, and Lizardcube is off doing Shinobi for Sega now.

It's extremely reductive, but I see Rematch and my only thought is "So Rocket League is soccer with cars... and this is Rocket League with human people?

Dispatch looked cool. It actually looked like FMV, to me, to be honest. I wonder if that's live gameplay or not.

It's very funny to me that Borderlands 4 completely avoided showing any humor at all. I am not asking for Borderlands style humor, but it is kind of one of the franchise's signatures.

I'm excited for Onimusha to be next in Capcom's remake series, but I'm bummed for no Code Veronica or Dino Crisis.

I'm happy to see something more bombastic from Naughty Dog with Intergalactic. I saw some people being reductive that it's just their take on Guardians of the Galaxy, but that's not the vibe I got at all. Very weird it's so big on brand deals though.

Kind of wild to see Geoff seemingly get legitimately choked up at the teaser for Okami 2.

Trying to look for the climate change game on their Youtube channel and I'm surprised there's no video for it.

Happy to see Astro Bot win the big final award, mainly because the guy (Nicolas Doucet) took a moment to just, like, be "yeah we won an award, but a lot of outside people helped us make this game, and there are a lot of great platformers out there besides Astro Bot, too." Cool guy.

Interesting show. A little long, but I'd rather it be long than cutting speeches off.

[jeskaim]

Duskmourn: House of Horrors

With most of the set spoiled I think it's time for me to share my thoughts. When I first heard this set was themed around horror I knew we would get some good artwork as well as a ton of referenced to classic and modern horror movies and I think it's safe to say they didn't disappoint.

Rooms are an interesting mechanic. When MaRo gave his traditional teasers he mentioned "A component of the set with a frame using technology first designed for an Un-set" but this isn't what I was expecting. It's definitely an interesting concept where you can cast one side to unlock that room and then pay the cost at sorcery speed to unlock the second. This reminds me of the split cards from the Return to Ravnica block with the Fuse mechanic but in permanent form. I also like how the artwork is one cohesive image that depicts both rooms.

It's not a standard set without a rare land cycle and these ones definitely blew my mind. I can definitely see these being used in commander but not on turn one unless you have a card to spend the mana on. They definitely have potential mid- or late-game and I can see them becoming staples in commander. Now we just need the enemy versions.

MaRo also mentioned a Meathook Massacre II in the list of card names which got a lot of players speculating about how it would compare to the original. If you ask me the original is better because this one is too expensive at 2X and four black while the original pretty much does the same thing at a cheaper cost and gets around indestructible like this one. I can see it being played in some decks but like a lot of graveyard-based strategies it's a lot less powerful against graveyard hate. On a side note i like how some cards have a treatment called "lurking evil" where they have a monster in the artwork that the other version doesn't. It seems fitting for a set like this.

I love the references to famous horror movies in this set just like the references to famous detectives and mystery movies in Murders at Karlov Manor. I'm not much of a fan of horror movies but I like the Final Destination series, especially the third one which is referenced in The Rollercrusher Ride. I love how even people who aren't fans of horror movies can recognize the references to "Ghostbusters" in Ghost Vacuum, "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in Chainsaw, and "Children of the Corn" in Orphans of the Wheat. Not to mention "Saw" in Let's Play a Game and "The Ring" in Cursed Recording.

Now for my favorite reference. I'm honestly not sure if John Carpenter's "They Live" counts as a horror movie since it's more action/sci-fi but apparently Wizards considers it one. "They Live" is one of my favorite movies (not because of the critique of capitalism and consumerism but because I'm a huge Roddy Piper fan and one of his most famous lines came from that movie) so once I saw the alternate artwork for Doomsday Excruciator I knew I had to get myself a couple of copies. I actually dressed up as his character a couple of years ago for Halloween and tied for second at my work's costume contest. I might do the same this year since Roddy would have been 70 this year. This may not be the most obvious reference but it's definitely my favorite.

I think that's pretty much it for my thoughts on Duskmourn. I think the mechanics are pretty self-explanatory and I like how we have desparked versions of Tyvar and The Wanderer. The Wanderer is one of my favorite characters so I got myself a copy for my collection. Honestly if anyone can survive the house of horrors that is Duskmourn it's her. Liliana would have been cool to see because she would fit right in on Duskmourn but she fits well on Innistrad with all of the dead bodies she can resurrect to do her bidding. I have my cards preordered and I can't wait to get them.

[watermelonsugacry]

OK I HAVE SO MANY THINGS I WANNA TALK 2 U ABOUT SO HERE IS ME RANTING AND PUTTING QUESTIONS:

I lovehe relationship yn has w the tomlinsons😫 like how she has a secrete handshake with the twins and how lottie is like her little sister and LOUIS IS LITERALLY A DREAM FRIENDSHIP

I have this thing where i like to think that yn was a big fan of paramore, and she also wrote some hits like only exeption (it just screams her and also it reminds me of how she would feel abt harry)

I also see her writing 'girl crush' when harry and taylor were dating and then saling it in 2014 but idk thats just me

And am i the only one who sees a PERFERT friendship between her and jennifer lawrence??

OK NOW I GOT SOME QUESTIONS SO HOPE THEY'RE NOT TOO MUCH

Whats the readers networth? Like i know that shes rich but how rich🤔

On a scale of 1-10 how famous is she? Like comparing to a big celebrity like Beyonce is she just as famous or..?

Whats her favorite colour?

Who is more clingy, harry or her?

Besides harry and louis who is her bestfriend that she hangs out w the most

What are some celebrities that got a crush on her and who has made that public

The weeknd has a song 'the party & after party' and it kind of sounds that hes describing a girl like yn "with your louis v bag, tats on your arms, high heels shoes make you 6 feet tall.." so are there some speculations ab this from the fans?

AND LAST is the reader the teaser in the relationship or does harry like to make fun of her more? ( srry if theres any mistakes)

IM ALWAYS DOWN FOR THIS LOVIE 💚

same!! they're family 🥰

funny enough, i actually picture a lot of paramore's music to be the music that yn would make with her band when she was in high school!

in the 1d!yn universe, she wrote Girl Crush!! (I remember talking about it a while ago on here but I forgot what year she wrote & sold it lol)

I don't know much about jennifer lawrence but thats an interesting pair 👀

I'll base it off of ariana grande's net worth at 240 million. But we all know that no number can amount to her actual worth 💅

I'd say that on a scale of 1-10, she's about an 8. She's a household name and an absolute force to be reckoned with. She's the type of famous that she forgets that she is and she'll record herself reacting to tiktoks lying down in bed, make-up free, and just lose her mind laughing. Or there was another time when she took herself out on a brunch date bc Harry went out to play golf that morning. Two girls approached her table and politely greeted her, said how much they loved her and had tickets to see her show that night. But before they could leave, YN invited them to sit with her and spent the rest of the morning eating and chatting with them.

Her favorite color is lavender 💜

Harry is the more clingy of the two! He's always the one who lays himself on top of her when she's about to get out of bed. When they arrive at the stadium he's going to perform at, her hand is constantly intertwined with his. When she's doing some last-minute rehearsals and sound checks, he's sitting at the edge of the room as he watches her work while still giving her her space. Or when she's in her home studio, he insists that she sits in his lap as she works because he's missed her all day, promising that he won't be a distraction to her (even though he totally is). And don't get it twisted, she can be clingy too sometimes; she's just better at hiding it.

Her other good friends that she hangs out with whenever she can are: Abel (the weeknd), Perrie Edwards, and Alisha Davies (an old friend from Doncaster turned choreographer).

oh my gosh where do I even begin?! There's a couple that initially come to mind: Matt Healy, Alex Turner, and Taron Egerton. For some reason, I can hear Matt say in an interview: "YN YLN is totally fit. Yeah, she's a fucking babe she is."

OOO definitely! Fans from both fan bases had speculated that they might have dated in 2017 (they didn't) bc that's when they hung out in public for the first time. Some people still speculate that Abel might have a crush on her til this day.

I'd say they share the teasing role. She throws playful jabs at him left and right, but she's the one who helped coax out that side of him. While they tease one another behind closed doors ALL the time, their favorite time to make fun of each other is at each other's shows.

[elitadream]

I don't believe anyone has ask before. If they have, please correct me, but what got you into the Mario fandom? What spark your interest in it?

Extra question, what Mario games have you played or beated?😮

It all started when I played the games for the first time as a kid. It was in the late 90's, and my dad had just brought home a Super Nintendo console. With it were three games: Super Mario Kart, Mario World and Super Mario All-Stars. Then, only a couple years later, I discovered Super Mario Sunshine and Double Dash on the Gamecube.

Words could not describe the sheer nostalgia I still feel for these five games in particular today. My goodness. The memories! They were literally my childhood. ;_; 🌄

Time went by and I became engrossed in other things. I still liked this world and its characters, but I mostly observed the newest releases and developments from afar... until the first teaser for the movie came out last october.

That was what officially rekindled my full interest. Until then, Mario was a mostly silent protagonist to me. A universal figure that gamers can project themselves onto. But the movie did something different. It brought the concept of Mario living an adventure as a established, talking, written character. With his own thoughts and feelings and dreams. I had never seen him portrayed quite like this before, and it unleashed a potential I would never have envisioned otherwise.

The very thought of a movie based on this character implied the idea of Mario having a full human emotional range, which was a complete novelty in my mind. It told me that he could falter and struggle. That he could suffer and grow. Experience all the things a simple man can.

And this, added to the undying love I felt towards this franchise since I was little, got my brain buzzing with inspiration. 💗✨️ It still does to this day. ✍️😌

[denizenhardwick]

Hi. What the hell is this timeloop bts game you’re playing and where can I find it

the time loop bts game was called bts universe story but it got shut down :( so i'm watching the story bits on youtube. there's a playlist here, but if you're new to the bangtan universe lore, i don't recommend starting there because this whole thing is very expansive and very confusing and the game just dives into it. the i need u and run mvs are where the whole thing started and provide a basic groundwork for the world and characters, so that's my recommendation. other videos connected to the bu are young forever, all of the wings short films x, blood sweat & tears (and the japanese version), all the highlight reels, euphoria, fake love (extended version) (and the teaser), epiphany, and the bts universe story teaser.

there is also the save me webtoon which covers the first couple loops in chronological order and could be a good starting point, but you apparently have to wait for a new chapter each day, which is annoying. and there are a couple books called The Notes, but i don't have a link for them yet, though i doubt they'll be hard to find this is bts we're talking about lol

basically, the bangtan universe (bu), often also called hyyh, is a story that bts has been building for years, including many of their mvs, promotional materials, a webtoon, books, and an app that was shut down earlier this year. there is also a tv show called youth that will be coming out... at some point, i haven't found an actual release date for it, based on the bu.

the bu revolves around seven boys (who currently share names and appearances with the members of bts) who met in high school when they were all late on the first day of class and given detention together. they were tasked with cleaning an old storage classroom, which later became their hideout as they became friends. a couple years after graduating high school, and after the group fell apart due to yoongi's expulsion from school, seokjin returns to korea from the states. he sees namjoon working at a gas station but decides not to say hi until a month or so later, when he learns that namjoon is in jail. from there, he discovers that yoongi and jungkook are dead, hoseok collapsed and was taken to the hospital, and no one knows where jimin and taehyung are.

seokjin wonders, if he had just talked to namjoon that first day, would he have prevented this? would he have been able to save his friends from their horrible fates? and something else asks, "if you could turn back time... do you believe you can straighten out the errors and mistakes... and save everyone?"

and thus begins the time loop.

the storyline touches on a lot of heavy subjects and i especially want to give a trigger warning for suicide. suicide is regularly discussed and depicted, jungkook and yoongi both kill themselves and since this is a time loop it happens over and over.

but yeah! there's a lot here, but if you're interested and willing to go on a bit of a scavenger hunt, it is a really interesting story and super cool multimedia experience, with a lot to sink your teeth into!

[stevesxyellowxsweater]

This is how it feels {pt 2 teaser}

PAIRING: king!steve Harrington x fem!reader Billy Hargrove x Fem!reader CW: Minors do not interact!! No use of y/n, use of she/her pronouns, slow burn, lots of angst, mentions of losing virginity, a good old slap, modern based! so mentions of mobiles and streaming services etc, mention of smoking, heartbreak, king steve. SUMMARY: You confront Steve AUTHOR NOTES: here comes the Teaser for part two, that is coming out tomorrow! Tag list is still open, remember if there is no age on your blog you're getting blocked!!

Fear seeped into your voice, you tried to hide it but it was so clear in your eyes. Steve looked at you, the king of Hawkins high, the guy who you gave yourself to, he could see it.

“Yes.” 

Your hand moved and you slapped him hard across the face, everyone in the class gasped, some laughed others looked surprised. You'd raised your hand to Steve, anger in your eyes, heartbreak too. No one had been paying attention until now. They were all whispering and watching the pair of you, like you were the most interesting thing in the world right now.

The sound died down and everyone continued to stare at the pair of you, they were all invested now, all wanting to know what exactly was going on between the two of you. A couple of people had their phones out hoping you'd slap him again so they could get it on video, typical teens really. 

“What, was I?” You asked slowly, not sure if you could take what this knew the answer was going to be.

“I… um…”

“What's the matter Steve? Suddenly unable to speak?” You asked as you stood up and looked at him. “Did you, or did you not just date me because I was a virgin and you wanted my virginity?”