#i just think she looks soooooo sweet in this scene

[gothprentiss]

Emily Prentiss, 4x14 Cold Comfort

[chai-berries]

i’m a little crybaby bitch & i just sobbed over a movie but all i could think about is being abby’s little crybaby gf & having her comfort me </3

sooo unfortunately/fortunately i am not a big crier when it comes to anything but one of my best friends is a happy/sad/bored crier and i’ve helped her calm down post cry a few times. she’s a true cancer <3 i’ll channel her into my thoughts.

im thinking of two scenarios, watching something sad without abby & watching it with her ⤵️

watching without abby:

she’d probably be working on something in another room when you decide to start a sad fucking movie. abby’s ears perk at the first sniffle, but she brushes it off cause it’s always allergy season. but when she hears you shakily breathe out “oh,,, my gOD” with your voice all broken and wet, she’s immediately sliding to a stop right outside the living room. you’re curled up with a huge blanket swallowing you, surrounded by snacks and your emotional support water bottle. she notes your wide, glossy eyes and coos “baby what’s wrong?” and you gesture at the tv, “she - she just loves her family so so much! and she couldn’t tell them before they died!” your voice is cracking around your words.

abby has absolutely no idea who “she” is but that doesn’t keep her from sitting down and pulling you into her side, rubbing her hand up and down your arm. “they’re just a - a great family” you stutter though tears. abby looks up at the tv and sighs. “baby, why did you chose the saddest movie on netflix?” you hesitate. “uh, i was up to the challenge?” “yeah? how’s it going?” she quirks a brow at you. you laugh wetly and abby mentally fist pumps. she presses a kiss to your temple. “okay, how about we watch something happy. ill refill your water.” abby gets up to go into the kitchen when she’s stopped by a tug on her back belt loop. you’re looking up at her, eyes less glossy but still not dry enough. “what?” she asks. “thanks for putting up with a crybaby for a girlfriend.” she picks up your hand from its place at her waist and brings it up to her lips. “anything for you sweet cheeks”

watching with abby:

“no, no, no, nah, not happening! abby, please tell me they’re not gonna do what i think they’re gonna do!” you pause the movie and shake abby’s shoulder, your face so serious in the light of the television. abby giggles and shrugs like a fucking twerp and nudges you to keep watching the movie. she tells you that “you’ll find out soon - keep watching” like she’s never, in all the time you’ve been together, been witness to the millions of times you deep dived imdb and wikipedia five minutes into a movie whenever it starts out with a sad scene.

you don’t do sad movies. and it’s for a good reason! you get all dehydrated and you look sick for hours afterwards!! it’s embarrassing and gross!! abby has witnessed it once and, like her father’s daughter, handed you a glass of water and pulled you gently into her arms, holding you until you got your breathing under control. and that was a week before you asked her out!! on your first date she told you that the crying thing made her want to “take care of you forever”… is it too obvious to point out that she soooooo got lucky that night?

however, in present time she might be sleeping on the couch for trying to get a depressing movie past you. she apologizes to you, tucking you under her arm. “i promise it’s gonna be worth your tears, okay?” she kisses your head. “and i always take care of my crybaby girlfriend, don’t i?” she kisses the same spot again. you relax into her side.

… sooo it’s safe to say you sobbed a whole lot at the end and completely soaked the front of abby’s shirt. you guys had shifted horizontal mid-movie, you laying on top of her. “i hate you” sounds a lot more honest when you’re not desperately clutching at the waist of the person you’re talking to. “but it was a good story, right?? aww i’m sooo sorry, baby,” abby rubs your back. she hands you your water bottle and chocolate before you even think to ask, like she always does. then, you begin the embarrassingly to you cute to abby process that involves sips of water, bites of chocolate, and your head following the rhythm of abby’s chest up and down as you match her breaths.

<\3

no but really we all know abby will always comfort you even if she has no context to what you’re crying about! ride or die babyyyy

[moghedien]

anyway, thoughts after seeing Wicked again that are more focused on spoilery thoughts regarding things that occur in Part 2 so WATCH OUT:

definitely worth hyperfocusing on Glinda's face in No One Mourns the Wicked. when the first "No one mourns the wicked" comes, she looks devastated. The balance between having to decide how good of an actor Glinda is vs not wanting to give away too much to new audiences is always interesting and I think there's a lot going on with her fucking face here.

someone needs to win a reward for Fiyero's choreography in Dancing Through Life. I straight up did not catch what it looks like the first time, but once I saw it I was blown away. I would like to see side by side comparisons of that scene with certain scenes from the Wizard of Oz.

the scoring of the movie is great and they added so much to a lot of songs that work so well. Dancing through Life is a great example of just exponentially improving the song, but the big brassy womps at the end of Popular really just hit soooooo well for me. also obsessed with the little bits of Ding Dong the Witch is dead in No One Mourns the Wicked.

Overall, the music in the movie sounds better than the soundtrack. Like way better. I wish they'd just straight up pulled the audio from the movie as is for the soundtrack but unfortunately they did not.

There's this very weird moment right after the "Looks like the artichock is steamed" comment where people are laughing and Galinda and Elphaba make eye contant and Galinda makes a little "calm down" gesture at her and smiles in a genuinely sweet kind of way and then Elphaba just barely smiles, and its genuinely driving me insane. Because it happens after What is This Feeling and before the Ozdust Ballroom scene, they are not friends yet, as evidenced by Galinda just saying this very cruel thing to Elphaba. And yet its almost like she didn't want to and she immediately tries to calm Elphaba down while everyone else is distracted in a much nicer way and Elphaba seems to actually take that in? Its like Galinda almost feels like she needs to be mean to Elphaba in order to keep up appearances with the rest of their classmates. I'm gnawing on the drywall over these like five seconds fr

Kristen and Idina's roles were 100% self indulgent but I don't care it was great and I love that for them and also did actually add to the story but mostly just love that for them.

I'll probably remember more thoughts later so i'll just take them on as they come

[determinedowl23]

ohhhhhmy god oh my god guyssjsjaidbwisjsis IT HAPPENED I SAW IT AND IT WAS AMAZING

Notes:

Act I

I NEED TO MARRY ALFIE BOE SOOOOO BAD BRUH YOU DONT EVEN GET IT

Alfie’s so short I forgot about that lmao he’s so baby

I do really really really love Michael but I can already tell that Javert is not exactly his thing. He’s too whimsical- too Marius. Super glad he gets to do something with Alfie tho <333

Jeremy (I think) rocked the bishop omgggggg

I WAS NOT EXPECTING KATIE HALL TO BE HERE CHAT- soprano Fantine is such a foreign concept to me but she was gorgeous 

THANK YOU BOEBALL VALVERT FOR BEING THERE FOR ME I LOVE MY BOYFRIEND AND HIS BOYFRIEND

THENARDIERS ARE SO FUNNY I’ve never seen funnier thenardiers. He called Cosette Baguette when Valjean took her away

Also at the beginning of the bargain when Alfie started singing Madame T went “oh he’s got a lovely voice tho”

COSETTE NEW PINK DRESS IS SO PRETTY!!!!! It matches Marius’ bow :))))

Ok both Eponine and Cosette were mixed bags for me- I liked them most of the time, but there were a couple times their voices felt a bit… nasally? They were both very pretty tho :)

James D Gish is beautiful. My dad says he’s the second coming of Ramin Karimloo and im inclined to agree

Gavroche is king shit as per usual

They had stars in stars omggg. ALSOOO at the end the lights make it look like he has wings. Probably unintentional but he’s soooooo fallen angelcore 

As much as Michael doesn’t fit Javert, his Stars really is amazing

WE GOT ENJOLTAIRE CRUMBS 👏👏👏 The entire pause between ABC Cafe and Red & Black they were just looking at each other forever

As much as I do love enjoltaire, im an even bigger fan of Gavroche and Grantaire’s dynamic. It was the main thing I noticed about R’s character (even with Kyle Adams playing him) and I’m so happy that it’s in other productions

No Javert barricade outfit in one day more :(

Three flags??? In this economy????

Act II

Okay I did genuinely forget about the barricade outfit but it did come back! It’s different from the Staged Concert, more greenish-black and I think he has his hair down- there’s at least some strands loose on the front

OKAYYYY IM REALLY SURE TGAT BEFORE R STARTED HIS SOLO IN DRINK WITH ME HE WENT AND HELD ENJ’S HAND FOR A BIT- and after he sang and Enj left Gavroche ran over and gave him a hug it was so sweet

Alfie Boe Bring Him Home is still my favoritest thing in the entire world. I owe him my life im so serious he was my top artist for a reason

Enjolras did the Aaron Tveit “until the earth is free” opt up it was amazing

They cut Gavroche’s individual death scene which was either for better or for worse because that’s the one that always gets me crying, so I just teared up at the end

When Javert let valjean and Marius go from the sewers he turned around as if he was gonna follow them, paused, screamed, and put his head and his hand

Dude michael ball does the best suicide scene he’s so unhinged and skdjaidhaisjsj

EMPTY CHAIRS BRO. At “phantom faces” the Amis all stood up in their places in their seats, with Enj, R, and Gavroche on the center balcony right by the conductor. Also at this point he begins to scream with anger at his survival. I’ve never thought about angry Empty Chairs, but it works so well and I need to see it more

Valjean in AHFoL Reprise made me so sad bro. Insert my post about him and Donna Sheridan but add that they’re so attached to their daughter (Amanda Seyfried) and kinda don’t want to let her go to get married

The audience clapped along to Beggars at the Feast. Don’t know if we were allowed to, but we did anyways

When Marius tells Cosette her father is a saint Valjean just shakes his head no oh my god 😭😭

HE DID THE NICK CARTELL NOSE BOOP WITH COSETTE

THE BISHOP COMES UP BEHIND VALJEAN WHEN HE DIES AND VALJEAN GIVES HIM THE BIGGEST HUG EVER OMFGGGGGG

During bows when Michael came up to bow with Alfie they had to switch sides so that Michael could be on the left and Alfie could be on the right. Order has been restored to the world

In summary: Amazing show god I love Les Mis!!!!! Alfie Boe is the only one who can save me <3333

[nadvs]

Okay I have this idea for a college au

Reader is the ultimate pure, sweet good girl, like she makes baked goods for classes, she’s always in class early, always getting straight As, never hungover, never seen at college parties so everyone kinda assumes she’s a bit of a square and Rafe’s obvi noticed her but thinks she’s too sweet for him? Like she’s too much of a good girl

Until Rafe (I’m imagining like Frat King Rafe) sees her outside of the college scene like at a bar that no one from their campus goes to and girly is putting away soooooo much booze and she’s in proper party girl mode and he just becomes obsessed with this total Jekyll and Hyde kinda thing

Especially when reader shows up to the class they both share the next day looking so perfect that no one would expect that she was out the night before dancing on tables

OMGGGG I LOVE IT first of all i love the good girl/bad boy trope but extra love the subversion of it with her secretly being wild?? 🤭

imagining her being the daughter of someone really high up like the president or dean of the college so she has to keep up the appearance of being sweet and innocent and not one to ever step a toe out of line. meanwhile she’s taking shots and dancing on tables and making out with guys she just met and rafe gets obsessed with her?? TO WRITE SO HARD 📝

[hope-you-brought-kneepads-bitch]

Agatha all along spoilers:

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Okay okay okay? Soooooo heyyy Billy erm don’t trust you, anddd actually I think your brother’s better so yeah fuck you actually also how dare you talk to a prolific witch killer like that, if Rio wasn’t busy taking Alice’s body (fly high! RIP girlie, rest with your mum now!) she would’ve taken your ass all the way to the astral plane, dead or alive

Nicolas scratch voice reveal! Poor baby wanting his mama to stop like is he watching all this happening? Poor sweetheart, Agatha just wants her baby back (should’ve also had the camera pan slightly to Rio because bet she would’ve had a reaction too 👀 notes for next time)

Also fuck evenora harkness okay, listen I support all mothers but “I should’ve killed you the moment you left my body” ??? Bit harsh, I’m from the north of England and even mothers here aren’t that cruel

“I can be good” yes sweet angel baby witch killer you can do no wrong and will always be good and I love you and will stroke your hair when you sad and never leave your side -Rio Vidal probably

“Or we could slit her throat”

“Her mother can’t have her!”

Rio you can’t keep flip flopping in front of the other witches, they don’t know your humour yet and how deeply in love with your ex wife you are, they don’t know the throat slitting thing is fun to you as a joke (dw baby I got you)

Also Lilia being all ‘I hate flying brooms because of the Halloween corporations’ ‘profiting off our inability to travel like everyone else’ to “I haven’t done this in centuries (massive grin) she loves it and definitely will be doing it again. Bless her heart I hope she’s safe and happy for more centuries to come 👀👀👀👀 (marvel I’m at your fucking door)

Agatha and Rio choosing each other for the broom spell because they’ve done it hundreds of times and it’s probably the intimate thing besides the almost kiss in the last episode

Also when they’re handing the brooms to each other and Rio grazes Agatha’s hand, she was like ‘hold my hand you coward!’

Teen’s blue powers are pretty cool I have to admit but I would also like to say, and I’ve seen a few other people say it, I think he was subconsciously controlling the trial, because a few of them were a little ooc, like jen, instantly flipped to punishing Agatha and the others followed (Rio just wanted to play, know full well you can’t control death)

But he didn’t know what he was doing so when Alice (gone but never forgotten) jumped in to save Agatha and she died ☠️💔 he was so distraught, not only because she was so cool but because he made her do it, he just couldn’t comprehend what happened but knew it was him so he struggled with that knowledge (just like Wanda when she found out about the town)

‘You’re just like your mother’ (😰 her voice) but! I think at the end of the last episode when Agatha smiled at Rio after she told her he wasn’t her son, she knew then, she knew he was Wanda’s son but obviously she was still holding out hope, and when Rio confirmed it she knew what had to be done

Also! The Salem seven these freaky, creepy acrobatic bitches they’re fantastic! But if they’re the children of the coven that Agatha killed right? Didn’t they have other people looking after them? Like I don’t know much about the Salem era of course I wasn’t there ( or was I? 👀) I assume these mothers didn’t just leave 7 kids playing in dirt somewhere on their own like ‘mommy will be back I just have to go and kill a witch because her mother doesn’t like her and is very jealous of her’ like did they not return and the kids found friends in the animals that obviously gathered around them and form powers to turn into them and just decide well! Time to kill Agatha in a few hundred centuries or whatever

I’m thinking to much about this I know I am, but isn’t it fun?!

Also finally, Wanda I love you I love you to pieces but! This is Agatha all along maybe a post credit scene for you to come back and be like ‘my son! I’ve missed you, now let’s find your brother’ but this show is about Agatha and her ex wif- search for power!

I’m rambling and it makes no sense but god I can’t wait until next week, hopefully the witches come out of the quick sand mud and kick teens ass and Rio helps of course!

[moonshere]

Another day another ISAT live posting, some more thoughts and potential spoilers

Man man man where to even BEGIN! God this game gets more and more heart wrenching by the minute!!

to be clear, I’m currently at Act 3 I think? I tried to help everyone all at once so I did one full run with no skips to get all the info I needed, and I couldn’t stop thinking about what every else’s pov of Siffrin is like. At the moment my Siffrin is over lvl 60, so he managed to one-shot a lot of the enemies.

How does it look to everyone else? Your friend, the cheeky, pun-loving, trap and puzzle master. Who’s known more for their speed, killing enemies faster than anyone else. And while exploring they don’t look around, they just take the keys in the correct order and manage to choose the correct path every single time.

I noticed that some interactions you can make your friends notice that you’re acting suspiciously. So far I only got Odile to comment on it (and get interrupted rip) and Isabeau to say they will talk later about it. But I’m REALLY hoping there’s a way to get Siffrin’s friends to actually confront him before a loop end so he can actually freaking open up!!!

On that note, I know that I’ve only been talking about Siffrin (I can’t help myself ajdbhsbs they’re my absolute fav and consume my every thought!) I ADORE all the other characters too!!!

Mirabelle is soooooo freaking cute!! (I’ll be honest her character design is one of the reasons that made me want to play the game aidhisns) I’m so so so happy that she’s someone who’s aroace and adores romantic novels!!! There really isn’t that many aroace characters out there, especially one I relate to. But her!!!! It made me so happy!! I loved the scene between her and Siffrin (and that they’re ALSO ace and maybe alloromantic?? Demi??? I’m still unsure haha) their friendship means everything to me!! I also love the subtle way they confirmed she has anxiety! I’m kinda half wondering where she used to live before the House of Change considering how much she talked about how the headmaiden taught her everything

Odile is also so cool!! Finding out that she was only looking for half of her heritage, trying to find somewhere she belongs was something I did not expect but expands so much on her character. At first I thought she was just gonna be the Adult of the group, wise, knows what she’s doing, distant and Too Cool. But this was genuinely so good cuz it showed that Odile is just as unsure as everyone else. Hell, she and Siffrin turned out to have so much in common!! Finding a place to belong but finding nothing but yourself. I loved it so much!

little Bonnie!! They are so stinking cute I would absolutely die for them!! I like how- in a turn on how kids in video games are always put in incredibly dangerous situations and adults let them just cuz they are determined to help- Bonnie is always the one the group wants to protect the most. Even though they wanna help (and they do!! Their heals are lifesaving frfr) it’s always within the limit of their own safety. I also loved their hang out, the hug was so sweet!! Seriously, if anything happened to them I would cry

And lastly Isabeau!! He's so sweet!! i love how much he looks out for Siffrin! I’m not sure if it was a scripted event or that I managed to raise enough sus points for him to notice, but I love how when he noticed that Siffrin isn’t doing ok, he decided to postpone the confession just so he can properly focus later on Siffren’s own mental state! Also also! After looking at the romance novels once again, I almost screamed when Siffren said they were aware!!! They know that Isabeau likes them!! (And their self deprecating comment once again,,,,) Seriously, what torture it must be to see him almost confess over and over and fail everytime!! I definitely want to go back to the ending one more time to see if he ever manages to say it (but man is the king fight long,,,) His hang out was also sweet!! I think also a possible nod to what Siffrin’s home town is? If related to the stars?? But either way, the full on picnic afterwards was so cute!!

I just had to do a full run with them all together once again without any looping cuz Siffrin said so, all the new cutscenes with them together was just the sweetest!! The woodcutting one, the hair brushing, all of it is so soft!! the ending scene where they said they were a family just 🥹🥹🥹🥹 I can’t I can’t this game is too good!! I think the worst part of this though, is seeing Siffrin hoping, despite himself, that maybe, maybe, this time might be it. That all he needed was to be safe, to be happy, to be loved

And it still wasn’t enough

[stealingpotatoes]

askposting!!

local girl leaves her inbox for too long and now cant be assed to make posts for all of these soooooo... feat: the last (4) jedi, being sad abt padme, and other stuff

@itsorangenmarmelade aww omg thank you so much (you think im a sweet person???? im not crying youre crying)!!! and no need to apologise!!!!! thats what its there for!!

LMAOOO everyone sitting there growing increasingly worried as ezra goes into more detail

and LMAO yes. THIS is how he doesn't go dark side

@optionalwarninglabels look she canonically used to be big into extreme sports!! she MUST still exercise n have some muscle on her!!! im totally doing this for canon reasons and not bisexual reasons!!!!

@yourfreindlynighborhoodspycrab LMAOO perfect omg

LMAO PLZ YES. the clones finding this out and trying to argue why their match attax ratings would be higher than that actually

this has been in my askbox for DAYS bc i dont know what to say!!!!! theres so much!!!!! like theres so much i'd change for the sake of butterfly effect fix-it aus (like shmi living or padme living or bail adopting the twins together)

ok if i had to pick ONE thing that doesnt interrupt canon too much its put the padme deleted scenes back in aotc and rots. padme gets so shafted in the prequels and you miss so much character which makes her uwu she is dying of sadness ): so much worse. like just make those canon again

@just-prime LMAOOOOO, captain rex: former clone captain, current ghostbuster

@materassassino i respect ur commitment to the bit

[lemonlyman-dotcom]

Sorry I missed last week y’all!! We are back in business, here is the prompt list. Including some for this week and last week’s eps. Rules are here. Please use the tag “Rewatch Read-Along Week 7”

TK & Gwyn

Tommy & Nancy

Judd & TK

126 hangs

Expansion on the stairs scene

118 & 126 crossover

Marjan & Eddie

Marjan & Salim

“What we did this morning was very unprofessional” “HR would have their hands full with that one!”

My recs:

Do-Over by Mari_Marie a 2x04 canon divergence where Carlos & TK are in a car accident on the way home from the farmer’s market. TK wakes up and thinks they broke up. Heartbreaking, but also an interesting look at how things could have gone just slightly different.

Giving up Ground by @dancer-me I am obsessed with this one. Obsessed!!! This is actually part two in a three-part series, but each fic stands alone (and part three is a wip). The premise of the first fic is that 126 & 118 are reunited at a first responders convention in LA, and TK & Buck form a bond. The second fic follows Carlos, TK & the 126 as they respond to a series of incidents in a rain storm culminating in a massive multi-vehicle pileup where TK finds himself in on the recipient end of some road rage. The 118, meanwhile, respond to an incident on a bridge. The action is all very exciting, I promise you won’t be able to put it down. And there are some sweet Tarlos moments. If you are like me and do not ship Buddie (*hides*) you can skip over all the Buddie stuff pretty easily and not miss out on any of the action. You can also probably just read the 126 chapters and still have a really enjoyable, exiting read!

in uncertain terms by @iinryer the Marjan Manifesto!!! This one is soooooo good y’all!! I must warn you, it is a wip. But honestly that doesn’t take away from how amazing this fic is! Every update is a delight. Premise is, after breaking up with Salim, Marjan gets injured and has a lot of time to think and do some self-examination that she didn’t really have the need or luxury of doing before.

Tagging a few folks to kick us off @thisbuildinghasfeelings @lightningboltreader @redshirt2 @paperstorm @liminalmemories21 @reyesstrand @carlos-in-glasses @herefortarlos @heartstringsduet @guardian-angle22 @im-overstimulated-and-im-sad @fangirl-paba @certifiedflower @bonheur-cafe @noxsoulmate @theghostofashton @welcometololaland

[ravenkinnie]

have you watched all the episodes yet? what are your thoughts?

I just finished all three episodes and lemme first say. I got netflix again for this premiere and netflix has ads now???? this is bullshit

now some thoughts:

THERE ARE SO MANY STORYLINES I'm being cautiously optimistic but I have no idea how they will tie up everything. also I think the reason there are so many montages and music videos in there is partially because the show went into production too late and they had too much shit to wrap up so we had to figure out cool ways to skip some exposition which. I appreciate when they just say fuck it, deduct it. and if I'm anybody in arcane universe it's actually that thick big titty bitch in bdsm gear in the art at the start of episode 2

everybody is extremely hot, caitlyn obviously, jinx is slaying every shot, ambessa and mel.... I shan't. but also it has to be said, caitlyn has a really hot dad like tobias is a beekeeping age

I'm getting my dues as a caitlyn stan and supporter, I mean I haven't seen the takes yet so she might be already fighting for her life but let me already say I don't give a fuck, I'll be defending her all month. she looks so good, she's eating her lil lines, she's so bitchy - when vi was like I watched them kill my parents do you know how that feels and caitlyn goes yeah I do LIKE SHE GAGGED US BOTH A LIL. the kiss was a massive slay, like absolutely delivered, I have no notes. IM SO EXCITED FOR HER AND AMBESSA TOGETHER if you see me on ao3 in those tags be fucking quiet. like not caitlyn accidentally becoming a dictator because a muscle mommy milf manipulated her, you don't understand she is such a wish fulfilment character for me. also she's slowly giving more and more princess bubblegum the more her villain arc starts

idk why piltover has the worst security than any other place, anybody could blow up piltover. WHEN THAT GUY TACKLED MELS ASSASSIN AFTER HE ALREADY TOOK THE SHOT SJSJJSJSK

vis action scenes eat so hard I know many annoying men will main her because for some reason gamers kind of love butches. I wonder if caitvi is slowly becoming that choice for lesbian edaters like the other two that think are this in league are leona and diana amd also weirdly evelynn and ahri

ambessa is incheresting, like she hasn't revealed much of her motivations beyond trying to seize power and not die but I love the scheming and scamming that the women are committing right now. also she made my wimb tremble many times, just like mel, congratulations to the whole family. the design for black rose fucking eatssssss and overall this is such a game of thrones ass storyline without the excessive sexual assault. like ambessa is such tywin, caitlyn is her arya

that silco montage was giving a bit greys anatomy carousel montages but the animation was beautiful, the melodrama was high, the way you can feel her die inside also peak

I'm like still figuring out how i feel about jinx this season, like she's slaying every scene, she's a diva but idk how I feel about the kid yet. jinx and sevika go crazy together, they ate thaaaat. she's kind of calm as fuck but I think with how suicidal she is it makes sense because it's like she's already given up, she made her peace and is finishing her business before she dies so it's this very eery calm. I kind of fuck with it, I think that's an interesting base but I can't figure out what exactly her storyline will be yet.

and the vi and jinx fight was soooooo. I cant lie when vi was like I didn't think my sister would be orphaning kids and jinx fucking went done it to myself enough, like i cackled. and then I SCREACHED when she said I know you're sweet on her, shut uppp caitvi fandom is so annoying I forgot I love them sm, like lesbians we always win idc

AND THE END PART OH MY GOOOD WHEN JINX GETS HER FINGER SHOT OFF AND SPITS OUT BAD BITCH LINES I WAS LIVING AND SHAKING and then the fucking kid had to get in there. I'm sorry that pissed me off if I was caitlyn I would also take the shot. I'd rather vi ended the moment in someeee way or even if caitlyn took a shot anyway. idk it's just episode 3 I'll see how it goes

overall I think zaun storyline is such a mess but it's so weird fantasy steampunk vibe I kind of love it. viktor girls... I see your vision now I almost fell in love at least once when he started looking like a nuclear waste rat

[painsandconfusion]

How did you get so good at writing??

I love your blog and all your stories, but the way you craft tension is so inspiring and I love how you pack a punch like you’re stealing our breath when we read, like everything you write I get whumperflies from!!!!

So do you have any tips on that? Sorry if it’s too much to think about when your pills are disagreeing with your physiology — they HAVE ONE JOB!!! Anyways, love your blog and your entire body of work

😭😭😭

Thank you so much!!

Oh gosh you’re so sweet lemme stop my head from spinning

Alright soooooo-

I have a writing degree and was running short story competitions in high school. I read a lot and love analyzing plot structure. I also have a theatre degree and spent a lottttt of time in plays writing and directing classes learning about rising and falling action, tension, and unity.

Those things aren’t necessary for you to be a great writer but it really helps you understand why certain things just work and others don’t. I’m able to lazy write scenes that I don’t care about by carving a structure that I know will be intense to follow, then plugging in the elements I want. It’s like build a bear. You didn’t really *make* any of the clothes or stuffing or the body of the bear, but you chose what elements already existing would look good together based on your style and what you’ve liked in the world around you.

So yeah, for structure in general, I’d highly recommend looking into story analysis in any form. Books like Attack of the Copula Spiders, Bird by Bird, or On Writing help SO much in understanding those elements and how to use them.

On a “wow that sentence was amazing-!” level-

Reading a lot is helpful. Expand your vocabulary. Poetry is very good. Read Edgar Allen Poe and *really* pay attention to the crunchy adjectives he uses. Pay attention to the connotations of each word and play around with it. Instead of driving home a negative thing with a word that has negative connotations every time, know when to pair good and bad. Phrases like ‘exquisite agony’ stand out in a paragraph and keep the story fresh line by line. Plus it just sounds lovely.

Further, pay attention to pacing. Rather than just describing what’s happening, really get in a single characters head. Blind us to the others’ perspectives and thoughts, and focus on the one. That gap in information is very intriguing, but more importantly it lets you write the scene moment by moment. During intense things, I LOVE dragging it out. I like to do one to two seconds of reading time for every real life second that that action would take up. Really get in there with the descriptions and see what xyz is doing to your character, not what they feel.

That sounds a bit confusing. I mean to make it in active voice, I suppose. Instead of “she felt the ripping agony of the blade”, try out “the blade ripped agony through her”

It’s more dynamic and the phrasing itself make her helpless by making her the indirect object rather than the subject noun. Let objects be the subject of the sentence, by the way. It’s lovely and you’re absolutely allowed to do that. Personify the crap outta those props.

I hope this helps!? I’m still in a lot of pain and I don’t think my thoughts are perfectly straight so feel free to ask for clarification or examples!

[ofbetterbodies]

poor things (2023) running commentary:

(live editing as I watch)

from ~17 min mark onwards

- love the variety of camera work!!! It's so cool I love how yorgos tells the story

- Bella is so silly goofy during her carriage meltdown like realest girl ever methinks

-oh how I wish she wasn't chloroformed

- as an advocate of desexualized titties I'm loving the scene with prim and Bella bc yeah real it be like that

-god I hate this actors accent work I'm sorry to say

-WE IN COLOR!!!

-HOMEGIRL FUCKING KILLED HERSELF SHES SO FUCKING REAL (sorry for being so crass)

-the coloring !!!!!! Oh my god it's so beautiful I'm so obsessed with how color is used in this film

-GROSS SURGERY SCENE FUCK YEAH (girl who hates horror movies

- I knew the premise going in but oh my god.

-she is awake ☀️ rise and shiiinnee ☀️

-LOVE BIG CHAIR WISH I HAD BIG CHAIR !!

-hey what

-HAIRY BUSINESS ????

-well 😭😐

-as a weird science bitch I love the fantasy world of mad scientist family who use their children as experiments

-Bella be like bye ✌️

-hm. I hate this.

-I understand. But I hate this.

-this is what film is for I think to explore weird ideas and scenarios but oh my god 😭😭

-wish they didn't say it like that

-LOVE THE THESIS STATEMENT DROP LMFAOOO

30min mark

-I'm gonna be fr max you are a big idiot if you think this girl understands the sanctity of marriage

-big big biggg fan of the sound design in this

-LOVE the bubble wand

-*hates* I have to hate

-*more hate*

-OH HIS NAME IS GODWIN (that's good)

-Bella is so smart | "Bella not safe with you, I think"

-oh I hate 😍😍😍

-girl I'm dizzy with excitement too so true

-NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

-no don't adventure with a man who cares little of damage to you 😭

-I get her

-Bella said heyyyyyy lol

-oh!

-GIRL HELP????????????????????

-she's so crazy lol

-I hate the pig chicken btw

-YEAH SHE IS A BEING OF FREE WILL! But she needs to be protected lmfao??

-you're such a dumb fucking bitch if you think being worried about her is emotional and not logical

-oh!

-good for her I think?

-dress 🩷

-color!

-I think he should die for saying she can't have another sweet treat

-ew

-mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm don't like

-idk ! I don't like how these scenes are shot

-could have just been the last frame

-furious jumping 😭😭

-girl help

-girl HELP 😭😭 (yes it's a weakness 🩷)

-ew

-I hope she leaves

-yay !

45min mark

-wardrobe so cute hate the hair like I understand it would suit the character but I'm allowed to hate it aesthetically

-sunnies! :)!!

-the boots are sooo cute help

-OBSESSED WITH THE SET OH MY FJDJDHSHSBSHHZ OG MY GOD THE SET IS SOOOOOO CUTE?? Like the set?? Sobbing and crying

-Bella so real for crying when watching a beautiful woman play music me too

-Bella discovers fighting and crying from witnessing fights real

-I love how Emma manages to use her body language to be like damn god never prepared me for this!

-throws up

-girl me too

-I get her idk

-Duncan should die btw

-SHES SO REAL NO ONE CAN JUST DISAPPEAR 😭

-amazement to Bella. I love her

-SUGAR AND VIOLENCE !! IT IS MOST CHARMING. I AM FINE.

-love that (good for her)

-yeah why would I keep it in my mouth if it is revolting

-because you mean

-SALTY 😭

-I love her

-PUNCH THAT BABY 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

-like I get her real

-I think Duncan should die

-you are hurting Bella!

-slaps

-good

-kith

-Bella!

-THE TRAIN DRAWING HELP I LOVE HER

-shoulder moment

-SKIRT !!!! SHE LOOKS SO PRETTY

-Duncan should die

-makes me discover angery feelings for you I love her

-IS THIS THE DANCE SCENE?? Yay

-tiptap

-GET IT

-lead that man Bella

-I'm like I think Duncan should die and they're like partial credit

-Duncan hey maybe uh that's a bit far

-PLEASE JOIN THE PRETTY GIRL WHILE HE IS BEING NEEDLESSLY VIOLENT

-stop talking as your sounds make Bella angry

-I love her

-NO!!!!!! BAD BAD BAD !!! NO!!! WHY ARE THEY TOGETHER STILL

-Bella is smart 🩷 she 🩷

-fuck this guy for not loving how intelligent she is btw

-LMFAOO IS THAT NOT HAPPENING?

-so no head? *skateboard crack*

-she is terrifying I love her

-OH!

-I love Emma's acting so much 😭😭😭😭😭😭

-girl.

-I love her

-god I love her

-I fear I am also a confusing person Bella I get you

-oh if something happens to Godwin I'm kms

-THE SOBS AT NIGHT 😭

-sorry. You what

-hey uh I think your father shouldve died 🩷

1hr mark

-hellogoodmornin

-Duncan should die

-Oh that went better than I thought

-she sounds so unimpressed I love her

-BOATS BOATS BOATS

-Bella so smart

-ew

-ew

-I don't like Duncan

-if that wasn't obvious

- Emma stone is breathtaking. That's the commentary

-did I mention that I love the wardrobe for Bella? I love the wardrobe for Bella

-hi I'm Bella and I like a guy who can kill things

-three days 😐🫡

-she sleeb

-T H E S H I P

-she's so unimpressed I adore her sm

-she's both like so me and also so unlike me I'm obsessed -UGH BELLA I LOVE YOU!!

-NO EVIDENCE BASE 😭

-I adore her

-do I kin Bella poor things a little bit? Maybe.

-skirt 😍😍

-oh! Maybe she should have asked first

-I agree though I go up to interesting older ladies as well

-oh!

-yelling happily!

-cadaver into the sea 😭

-that is terrible!

-Bella Baxter btw I love u

-BELLLAA MY BELOVED

-much reassuring news 🩷 she's so kind

-god I'm so happy she made friends

-I think Duncan should die

-marry me or kill me? Is that the proposal!

-adore her

-I think Duncan should die (he is pathetic)

-MARGARET QUALLEY CHECK!!!!!!!

-felicity is so seven.mp3

-Bella I love you

-harry you look soooooo cool

-HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP HELP

-"I is the goal of all to improve, advance, progress, grow. I know this in me, and I am sure I am indicative of all."

-harry you should shut up and have more nuance in your statements (she said hypocritically)

-HEY I THINK DUNCAN SHOULD DIE

-she's so belle from batb coded

-Karina kinnie moment ?? Yeah

-wardrobe 🩷 if this was pastel pink I would wear it out daily

-SET DESIGN IS SO BEAUTIFUL I WANT 2 CRY!

-oh. I don't like this. Oh no.

-oh no.

-oh no

-HELP!!??

-LMFAOOO Martha I love you

1hr15min mark

-slow zoom in on Bella knocking on the door I love her

-oh Bella

-being kept up at night with philosophy I love her

-pretty moron 🩷 I would disagree on the pretty part bc of the fact that his character detracts heavily from his appearance

-scene transition so beautiful Karina cry

-THE FUCKING CARRIAGES WHAT IF I DIED ISHDHSJSJKAS THEYRE BEAUTIFUL!!!

-A L E X A N D R I A

-Emma stones beauty in every shot of this film is sincerely breathtaking

-camera work the optic blur does so much for me

-OH I LOVE THIS SET !!!!!!!!!! THE LIGHTING IS BEAUTIFUL

-WARDROBEEEE ✨☀️

-oh!

-harry I hate how you said that

-I do however love this set

-yay yorgos for the real life set

-weird film

-I hope Duncan died

-pinhole camera is interesting but I don't entirely love it

-I hope these dudes who are going to steal from Bella's donation choke

-oh!

-I hope she didn't give away all their money I truly don't know if she would know

-oh this scene Emily "emma" stone your acting 🩷🩷🩷🩷

-she worked hard on this and I appreciate it but as an viewer I'm like 🧍🏻‍♀️ uh oh

-Bella run

-going to mute this bc I have ✨trauma✨

- ok good I kind of thought it was going to get physically violent?

-but uh this is not good!

-omg like the marina and the diamonds song??

-god I am a Bella Baxter kinnie 😐

-harry shut up did you know that realism is stupid

-FUCK YES BELLA YOU GET IT I LOVE YOU 🩷🩷🩷🩷🩷

-the silly little kiss on the cheek

-oh!

-"I always think it will be better." 🚬😐

-P A R I S

-I hate this fucking man

-I love herrr everything is an experiment!!!!

-ADVENTUROUS

-ew

-I mean she is in Paris

-if it's consensual I guess it's ok but I fear that she doesn't know about venereal diseases

-oh!

-why did you shoot this so explicitly yorgos

-it's an interesting choice

-oh! 😐

-I'm... skipping this 😍

~1hr 28 min mark (a little past)

-love her

-eclairs

-oh I hate you Duncan

-oh Bella Baxter I love you

-dude shut up bye

-I can now see you are not that...

-Duncan I hate you

-there is clearly something broken in you

-Duncan I hate you

-god Bella I get you queen

-oh I hate the makeup on her but it fits I guess

-OH SHE DID IT HERSELF

-she has to say formidable at the end help

-bye I'm skipping this

-skipped to 1hr 33 min mark -

-oh fuck yes she gets to hang with the gorls

-oh! Good for her

-SOCIALISM 😍

-GOD I GET HERRRR (girl who had scientist dad)

-oh!

-ew

-pls don't talk about yourself like that :(

-an idealist!

-ew 🩷 but she's right

-oh grandchild ohhh I get it

-I do appreciate the camera work

-oh I get her

-oh she is talking to them?

-OH SHES SCIENTIFICALLY MAKING SEX WORK BETTER 😭

-le giggle

-oh good for her

-this is shot well so I did not skip (and by well I mean tolerable to my sensibilities I guess?)

-oh!

-grateful for the montage that was tolerable

- Bella so cute

-Bella in stem moment

-aw yay!

-love the sloppy work comment I get her

-oh!

-she's so real

-ew

-ew?

-ew

-EW!!!

-Karina skip

1hr42min mark

-Duncan should die

-BELLA FIT CHECK

-Duncan I hate you

-ok the little hello to Bella's friend 😭😭

-WE ARE OUR OWN MEANS OF PRODUCTION 🫡

-oh hi felicity

-HI MARGARET

- oh :(

-poor felicity

-gory surgery scene I hate it but why am I watching?

-OH SHITT

-cancer :(

-oh no

-oh no

-compliments and chocolate help

-swiney is so cool the tattoos are amazing

-oh Bella :( real

-this is reminding me vaguely of fable iii

-oh good for her

-music so pretty

-kinda wish this was shot differently

-they cuddle :) she sing :)

-toinette I love you

-lmfao did Duncan go insane over her

-that's so funny

-max you are so slay

-ew

-they go fight fight fight

-oh!

-oh :(

-L O N D O N

-it could be said that Bella's adventure was a so long London moment

-THE WHORE IS BACK?? Die

-empirical data says different :(

-beady eyes and hard questions 😭

-amazing

-she finds out

-oh

-fascinating

-can't wait to see how Emma acts Bella's reaction

-OH SHE HATES MAX FOR THIS

-that look was severe to say the least

-sister meetup!

- bell whore :(

-meanie

-AND SHE RETURNS??

-oh I love this conversation

-I am finding being alive fascinating

-the way Bella just states her emotional state bluntly and to the point sooo true queen

-wardrobe

-FISHEYE!! RADIAL BLUR!! BEAUTIFUL!!!

-AHHHHHHHHHHHHSHHHHDHDGDGGHDHDMAX AND BELLA MAX AND BELLA SLAYYY

-GOD I ALSO AGREE PEOPLE CAN BE CURED OF ASPECT

-oh max mccandles

-I AM ENJOYING THIS PRACTICAL LOVE WE HAVE 😭

-THE COCKTAIL OF DRUGS GOD IS ON LMFAOOOO

-WEDDING TIMEEE-

-uhoh

-uhoh

-shut up Duncan

-he has cancer you fucking idiot 😭😭

-ew

-who tf

-Victoria blessington is a hell of a name

-ew

-but that does not apply to the metaphor here

-I am Bella Baxter ,,,,,

-oh!

-uhoh

-love the dress

-oh :(

-GORGEOUS LOCATION

-how tolerate it core

-oh she wanted to know why she died :(

-oh that sucks for bella Victoria

-her direct questions I love her

-ew

-ew

-it was fascinating!

-sound design crazy

-sexual hysteria...

-oh I hate this guy... a lot...

-I love the way this is shot

-Bella I love you

-so I'm a prisoner....

-she™️

-this guy is weird

-THAT TRANSITION 🫡🫡🫡🫡

-oh the wardrobe downgrade!!

-music

-children's hospital ass location

-SORRY YOU WHAT

-WHAT

-WHAT

- oh she must be regretting this something crazy but it is an interesting challenge

-this guy is awful

-hell yeah

-dumb ass

-Bella so smart

-idk how to say this without sounding evil but I hope she experiments on him

-I GET HER

-god and Bella!

_bellas smudged lipstick lol

-oh Godwin :(

-it's all very interesting, what is happening.

-BEAUTIFULLY SHOT

-besties

-gin 🩷

-THE GENERAL WHO IS NOW SHEEP MAN LOL

-Felicity 🩷

-Bella wardrobe 🩷

-she nervous for exam but studying my queen fr

- credits are beautiful and old school! 🩷

[trashlie]

hey this is lil anon again :3 listen we're all so feral about the latest fp episode can i just talk about it some more please and dump my thoughts here bc oh my god so many thoughts 🙏🏾 you can leave my other, longer ask in your inbox for now if you want to it's totally fine bc sdhfgdhfjksdhfk FERAL

PLEASE it is actually soooo funny how maya asks such a simple question: "why is he your friend?" - and shinae just explodes and goes off at the him in her head HISS GROWL I WANT YOU AND IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU THEN YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE ANYTHING OF MINE and maya just stares at her in shock and disbelief like: 😶😶😶. and you are ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. how can she possibly put nol and what he means to her and what she feels for him into words??? something something if i loved you less i might be able to talk about it more. shinae is so intense and bold and fiery I LOVE THAT SOOOOOO MUCH and tbh compared to shinae, nol is handling his feelings like a champ actually 😹 like at least the tiger hasn't bitten anyone (yet) LMAOOOOOOO he's been holding back a lot, trying his best to stay composed, mortified by his desire to kiss her because how dare he even *think* about that. it's the same intensity, the same feelings at the same time but he's very in his head, meanwhile shinae - the feral little cat - is just completely unhinged and off the rails. it's incredible. poor girl, all these new feelings and realizations hitting her all at once and she's understandably SO ANGRY that she can NOT control it and go back to normal, that he's making her such a mess, passed out on the bed bc it was all too much for her to handle.

you know, before 235 i thought their meeting would be… on the soft/sweet/wholesome(?) side bc of the new shyness and nervousness and vulnerability that comes with these realizations, maybe a through the door conversation without directly facing each other (like i mentioned in my longer ask), but we've kinda had that with the balcony "you're special to me" scene, right. so idk maybe shinae will just storm in there a fiery raging whirlwind of emotions and be all like how DARE you steal my heart and then try to get rid of me and run away, you asshole. IF YOU WON'T GIVE ME BACK MY HEART, THEN I NEED YOU TO BE MINE!!!!! it sounds so dramatic but seeing what all this is doing to shinae, how it brings out the fiery bold possessive assertive side in her, who knows??? she's for sure not letting go without leaving her claw marks on him. as she should.

and YES YES it's def both jealousy and insecurity. i didn't expect it to come up as part of her realization simply bc it wasn't on my mind tbh, but it works so well as part of the ✨realization process✨!! if just platonic then you don't get jealous and insecure, then it (typically) doesn't matter if/who they're dating. but if you can't stomach them being with anyone else but you, if you want them all to yourself, then sorry but that is NOT "friends". and there's definitely a comment here to be made about how alyssa isn't just some random hot girl, she's an idol and as such she embodies what's conventionally attractive and desirable, smth smth beauty standards patriarchy society. and she leaves nol cold but shinae still can't help but become hyperaware of it all bc everything you said ;; i can't get over the "timing" of this scene either bc we see shinae crying happy tears and for a moment she's forgotten her drama but then BAM suddenly there's gorgeous glamorous idol alyssa dancing on stage, and nol is there, looking at her, and they're both at this elite event in this world that shinae is simply not a part of. and. smth smth alyssa being a good dancer nol being a good dancer meanwhile shinae has two left feet. it's like the universe is laughing at her, telling her "she is all that and you aren't, she can have him and you don't". and as if it's not enough, of course it's the girl who gave her all this trauma. of course. how can it not sting her how can she not become insecure honestly ;; i too would immediately lose my appetite :<

(there's also the juxtaposition of shinae being surrounded by unconditional love, a supportive family, in a peaceful home where she can be raw and messy, fully accepted as she is, bags under her eyes and snot on her face and all; meanwhile alyssa is all glammed up, on the tv screen, putting on a performance for strangers that will only ever love her conditionally, that will never know the real her, is in a group that doesn't like her, is in an unsafe environment, surrounded by people who prey on girls like her, no one by her side 😔💔) i also wonder a little bit if not nol himself could (unintentionally of course) play into shinae's insecurity… especially in this initial stage bc like. he's a conventionally attractive dude; tall, handsome, nice smile, he's charming, he's got a rich dad too. shinae isn't stupid she's very aware of this. she's noticed how women reacted to him at the formal. one of them even commented that "he's way out of her league" or smth like that when she saw them together (which :/// shallow rich people talk 🙄)… and when it's friendship then you don't care, and she didn't care back then, and rationally she knows nol is not shallow like that, that she really shouldn't worry about such things, but when you're so young, inexperienced, have low self-esteem, are in such an emotional state, then suddenly you start questioning yourself on this shallow level. why would someone with his looks and money be interested in me, when he could have (and does have) an "alyssa-level" girl? sure he might like me as a friend but would he ever want me like that? it's like when you're crushing on the hot guy you've been friendly with and suddenly become all too aware of the hot girl that all the boys (and girls) have their eyes on. you just can't help but be aware that you're simply not her :/ yeah i think. she's going to need affirmation and reassurance re: what alyssa is/was to him, but i think more importantly, she'd need it about herself, what he likes about her, how he feels about her, that he doesn't want anyone else, that she *is* beautiful in her own way even if she doesn't see it herself, and then she'll hopefully grow more confident from it ~

-feral lil anon 😼

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I'm so sorry it took me all day to get to this response! I could NOT pull my brain together and kept getting distracted and having more feral breakdowns about Stalkyoo alfkajkfjkafjkafjka lmao and then I had to cry about my babies performing tonight and I have been through EMOTIONS but also ALSO I LOVE THIS MESSAGE SO MUCH I'm gonna do my best to do it justice because you ABSOLUTELY bring up things I also want to yell more about!!!!

There's something SO funny to me about how much Nol and Shinae mirror each other. That we now can tell they started to fall for each other at the same time and it just kept growing, that it's on the SAME DAY that they're becoming aware of these feelings, in much the same way - yknow, being so embarrassed to have FEELINGS lmao. But YES Nol does a much better job containing it at all. I want to say it's probably because he's so used to hiding everything, holding things in, but we also know he came so very close to just biting Shinae before he kicked her out lmao and it's not like Shinae hasn't also been decent at pretending things aren't wrong, but MAN she's so beyond her breaking point at this stage, isn't she lmaooooooo She CAN'T contain it - it's too big, too loud, too messy, so carnal. She's been trying for so long to keep shoving it into this box it doesn't fit and it just keeps growing bigger and bigger and spilling out. Something so funny to me about her is that Shinae.... like she kinda externalizes a lot and I'm trying to figure out how to explain this because clearly she isn't good at telling people about her problems, but as a result of being alone so much she talks through her thoughts out loud, to Lil Buddy, so of course for this she NEEDED to externalize to Maya. Because yes, it's so messy, it's spilling out everywhere and the more she tries to make sense of it the bigger a mess she makes and Maya really DID have to put it in words for her. I know I said I wanted Shinae to come to the conclusion without anyone else saying it but I still love how this played out because she still said, OF HER OWN FREE WILL, "If I can't have you" LIKE GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! But also we know that Shinae just has an EFFECT on Nol and while he's doing a good job keeping things at bay, all things considered, I think the moment she goes back to his hospital room it's all gonna just be.... *sweeps papers off the desk* lmao

Another tangential thought I've had is that neither of them have really gotten to BE teenagers. Nol is forever having to play a game of making sure he doesn't make too many waves, doesn't get noticed. Likewise, Shinae has had to be the good girl while her dad is always busy working, not get into trouble, take care of herself, get good grades. Maya goes on to remind us, too, that Shinae didn't even HAVE any social experiences beyond what happened in middle school, just. Rolls with things stopped making friends. There's so many teenager moody things that they've largely missed out on and we're seeing so much of that come bubbling out. Yes, Shinae's moodiness is mostly because girl is CRANKY she hasn't slept she hasn't eaten and she's scaling the walls trying to figure out why she thinks her friend is pushing her away (he's not) and what she has to do to make him stay (figure out feelings) and she's just SO frustrated it all spills out. Relatable. I, too, become an awful monster when I haven't slept LMAO but it's just SO nice to see them have this moment? Get to be selfish and moody and a little bratty when they have spent so long trying to just be good and get by. Let them have a tantrum or three, it's fine!

Also LITERALLY SAME. I thought Shinae would realize her feelings, maybe balk at them, hide away for a day, try to deny them, then become determined and go back to him but too shy to look him in the eyes to face him, yes maybe talk through the door so this was SUCH a surprise but YEAH YOU ARE RIGHT! They already had that tender shy little moment. Now they can just be. Feral lmaooooooo listen idc how corny it is I'm exploring EVERY possibility I can, writing half-baked fic moments in my head. I want Shinae to wake up and go in guns BLAZING I want her to say dumb things she doesn't stop to think about FINE IF I CAN'T HAVE YOU YOU CAN'T HAVE ANY OF MY THINGS what are you talking about I SAID YOU'RE A THIEF AND THAT'S WHY YOU'RE GOING TO PRISON GIVE ME BACK MY THINGS something something there's one thing he can't give back something something you're a thief, too alkfjkfjFKAFKJAKJF SCREAMS I need Nol to just say something SO blunt that makes her stop in her tracks aljakfjkafjafjk lmao I need her confessing in every which way but the words again, until he's standing too close SCREAMS

idk idk idk however it goes I know I'm going to love it because they just are going at it with such equal energy and I'm PRETTY SURE Dieter is going to talk to Nol while Shinae sleeps so maybe that will give Nol the conviction to say what he couldn't, now that Shinae has figured out the answer to "why isn't because friends" enough. Actually, more than anything, I want Nol to end up in the kind of position where he blurts something out without thinking or he acts on his feelings just BLINDLY because I just need him to see that he can't keep running from things and pretending and that Shinae is someone he cannot resist so make the right choices, boy. I need him to understand how much he wants her and deserves to ACT ON THAT ALFJKAFLJAFAJFLKJAFJF RRRRRRRRR FRRTFTT GROWL HISSSSSSSSS

but alfjakfjkfajfka THE INSECURITIES GET TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE because YES at the end of the day it's not just anyone. It's ALYSSA. The very person who gave Shinae her trauma, the person who GAVE HER HER ACTUAL SCAR. It's not the first time Shinae has envied something of Alyssa, either - Alyssa with her warm, beautiful mom and her big home and all her opportunities and her family so suffocating by being parents, Alyssa with her many talents with her intelligence. I really REALLY like the point, too, that it's not just Nol looking at Nol, it's Nol at that party in a world that Shinae is not a part of, doesn't belong to. Logic doesn't stand much against insecurity and jealousy or else she'd be able to remind her that Nol doesn't much like the world he technically belongs to, that Alyssa doesn't make him happy. Somewhere in her jealousy she sees the way she measures to Alyssa in these shallow ways and it hurts to come up short like that! AND RIGHT the girls at the gala saying Nol is out of her league! Shinae is like... aware that Nol is handsome (she literally said VERY handsome) but most of the time it doesn't seem to be a thing she thinks about - mostly because she hasn't really openly thought about him in a romantic way. But now that she's got these feral feelings about trying to keep him and have him and know him and see all the parts of him that he hides from her, she's facing the reality of how she looks to others, compared to him, compared to Alyssa. Sangchul has even implied it a couple times - Nol has a hot idol girlfriend so what is it about Shinae that's so special why is he hung up on her, what does she do that can possibly be better than a hot idol girlfriend.

And if there's something I love it, it's the tender unfurling petals of first love and the insecurity and jealousy that blooms with it, that ache that you aren't good enough that you can't possibly compare, because it leads to the REASSURANCES. Nol has SO many reasons to prefer Shinae, so many reasons to have fallen for her. I REALLY feel like we'll have a callback to that day Shinae asked Nol why Dieter might like to date her, when he told her he has a couple reasons in mind. Like... self consciousness and feeling inadequate is an awful feeling but I LOVE how it can be used in text, because also right: IF PLATONIC WHY FEEL LIKE THIS? Jealousy can be a useful device when it's not toxic and in this case it's someone like Shinae who has never really been made to feel like she's special, who has never seen anything in herself, realizing that she has fallen SO HARD for her friend who has a bombshell girlfriend and is super handsome and himself and comes from this elite world of affluent people. But there's also so much Shinae doesn't know about him yet, either, so much she hasn't had a chance to digest about him. She's seeing things at face value but I need him to tell her to her face that she makes him feel a kind of peace that NOTHING else does, that he cannot help but gravitate to her, that she's LITERALLY made his life worth living. Remind her that even though he was trying to avoid her, he failed SO miserably. Nol didn't get to tell Shinae at the party what he likes about her and DAMNIT I WANT TO HEAR IT!!!!!!!!! Especially because we've seen Shinae's POV of him at this poignant moments, I want to hear from Nol's mouth what he likes about her, the way he sees her. Like her, does he feel like clouds part when she's near, does she make all of the noise quiet for the moment? Does he find himself wanting her to notice more, wanting to steal more of those private moments where they open to each other?

I WANT TO HEAR IT SO BADLYYYYYYYYYYY and I want her to know that she doesn't have to compare herself to Alyssa, that there's no one in that world who has ever caught his attention the way she has. That no amount of money could make anyone from that society better than her. That it's not about any of that - it's about what she makes him feel. Just as much as Nol has had such an impact on Shinae, we've seen it in Nol. I agree that it's far too soon for her to know that he's literally still alive because of her lmao (that's just so much it's so overwhelming!!!!) but there are other ways she's impacted his life. When he told her he really hoped she'd get the job working with them, I think he meant it. Life was more interesting with her in it, he wanted to be around her more before Yui reminded him of what she does.

Like idk to me that insecurity is such a quintessential aspect of puberty and teenage years and first love. That rush of trying to see how others perceive you and the reassurance that comes from the person you like? GOD. And especially for people like Nol and Shinae, who have felt so invisible, so underappreciated, who have never really been made to feel special, having this with each other just LKFJAJKFJAFKAFKAFJLJAFLKJFKf

Also don't think I haven't forgotten about Yujing complimenting Shinae, or that moment when Nol made her laugh during her dance with Kousuke. How he was literally right in her face doing her make up and how it just augmented how pretty she already is. While I don't think he probably has that conscious thinking of it - gee golly Shinae sure is pretty because you know.... *gestures vaguely at his life* i SO BADLY want him to tell her that ;A; that she's beautiful ;A; like to be fair I think something about Stalkyoo that is SO well done is that it's all so deeply based on connection and the way those feelings developed as a result, as opposed to attraction first, but especially in the light of Shinae feeling so jealous and insecure, I want him to saaaaayyyyyyyy iiiiiiiiiiiiit. I want him to tell her how pretty she is when she laughs and lights up, what a beautiful smile she has and that he wants to be the one who makes her smile more I WANT THE CHEESY FUCKING SHIT DAMNIT I DON'T CARE I'M NOT GONNA PRETEND OTHERWISE ALKJAKFJKAFKJAFJKAFAFKJLKJAF SCALES THE WALL SCURRIES ACROSS MY CEILING AND STARTS CHEWING THROUGH MY CEILING FAN

I want him to reassure that there is not ONE way she pales against someone like Alyssa, that she is worth so much more to him ;A; howls

I WANT HIM TO TOUC HER FACE WITH HIS BIG STUPID HANDS AND BRUSH HIS THUMB ACROSS HER CHEEK AGAIN AND CONFESS THAT HE IS SO MISERABLY INCAPABLE OF RESISTING HER AND THAT NO ONE ELSE COULD POSSIBLY COMPARE BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE HAS EVER MADE HIM FEEL SO SEEN, FEEL LIKE HE MATTERS, NO ONE ELSE HAS EVER MADE HIM WANT TO BREAK HIS OWN RULES

JUST SCREAMING INTO THE NIGHT

also ;A;

(there's also the juxtaposition of shinae being surrounded by unconditional love, a supportive family, in a peaceful home where she can be raw and messy, fully accepted as she is, bags under her eyes and snot on her face and all; meanwhile alyssa is all glammed up, on the tv screen, putting on a performance for strangers that will only ever love her conditionally, that will never know the real her, is in a group that doesn't like her, is in an unsafe environment, surrounded by people who prey on girls like her, no one by her side 😔💔)

tHAT SHIT HURTED THAT SHIT HURTED ;____________;

Alyssa my tragic, messy girl ;A; I can't help but love the tragedy of her, I can't help but be so invested. The way Shinae and Alyssa have been foiled against each other and how I know we will continue to see this. There's something about... yknow like Alyssa doesn't have FEELINGS for Nol, but I think Nol going from Alyssa to Shinae is SO poignant in a painful way. Alyssa's former crush!!!!! I think in much the same way as we're going to see Nol become all the things Kousuke feared, we're going to see that in Alyssa and Shinae. Like... imagine being Alyssa and watching someone like Shinae capture Nol's attention, capture Yui's attention, capture Kousuke's attention. It's because she's so sincere and faces confrontation head on that people take notice of her, but that's something Alyssa has never really been able to learn. She puts on a brave face like Shinae told her, but she can't do the rest of it. She's so terrified of this secret she holds, of what she is and what people will think of her, and she continues to put on a persona to keep it at bay. Meanwhile I think we're going to watch Shinae walk a path Alyssa never could - find her own success by being authentic and true to herself, not having to live in that shell, that mask. Shinae will do everything Alyssa has never been able to do. ;_______;

And yeah, that juxtaposition makes Shinae's insecurity all the more intriguing to explore because she's so insecure about these shallow things, but Alyssa is insecure about the things that DO matter, the things that make Shinae special, and make Alyssa so forgettable.

;_____________________________________;

gonna go sob now HECK

[cadybear420]

Cadybear's Reviews- Baby Bump

Welcome to the twenty-first official Cadybear's Reviews! Today I'll be talking about Baby Bump, which I have ranked on the "Gold Tier" at 8 stars out of a possible 10.

WHY DO PEOPLE HATE THIS SERIES!? WHY!? It’s FINE! 

Okay, I can maybe see why people may not like it because, let’s be real, accidental pregnancy is a very overdone trope. And apparently there were a lot of parts that were originally problematic when the story was released and had to be re-written, but I wasn’t around for that and I know next to nothing about the original lines, so I can’t say much about them. But even now, how does it get ranked as being among the worst so often? Even if you think it’s bad, it’s really not that bad. 

Like… I found it decent? I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as a lot of people have said it is. And I’m saying this as a GNC cis woman who experiences major genital dysphoria and absolutely REVILES the idea of becoming pregnant. Like, I would rather die than ever experience being pregnant. And yet I still quite enjoyed this story. 

I guess it kind of helps that the book is very clearly a pregnancy book from the beginning, so I kind of went in knowing what to expect and thus not self-inserting as the MC at all. Unlike something like TRH, which is a continuation that suddenly introduces a “MC gets pregnant” plot to a non-pregnancy series… but that’s a subject for a different day. 

I’ll be honest though, this story has a pretty awful start. In the flashback in B1 Ch1 where MC meets Mr. Covington, they try waaaayyyyy too hard to make the player swoon at the idea of having his babies. Like, did the guy they wanted to be MC’s baby daddy HAVE to be a celebrity company salesman, who is also the keynote speaker at MC’s graduation? 

And don’t even get me started on the Clint fangirls, who feel like they were written by someone who’s only ever been surrounded by the “Facebook Mom” stereotype and has never met (and probably never will meet) a real horny woman in their entire life. 

Literally, the scene is just all like “OMG LOOK!!! BIG FAMOUS CELEBRITY SALESMAN!!! OMG HE HAS *GASP* ABS!!! OH WOW, A MALE LI IN CHOICES WITH ABS AND BIG MUSCLES! THAT’S SO UNIQUE AND SPECIAL AND TOTALLY NEVER BEEN DONE BEFORE!!! OMG ALL THE OTHER WOMEN ARE CHANTING OVER HIS ABS AND WANT TO HAVE HIS BABIES TOO!!! DON’T *YOU* WANT TO HAVE HIS BABIES TOO!?!?!?! AREN’T YOU SOOOOOO LUCKY THAT YOU’RE GOING TO BE HAVING HIS BABIES?!?!?!?!?!?!?”. Like, how much intelligence do you think your wlm audience has PB? Really trying to pander to the “Facebook Karen Mom” stereotype here, huh? 

With that in mind, I guess I can understand why people may have gotten a bad impression of the book at first, because the story for how MC got pregnant in the first place (and her conflict with Cassandra in Book 1) feels straight out of one of those weird Instagram and Facebook ads. 

But besides that, it was an okay series! I found it mostly cute and wholesome. Literally everything else was fine! There were even a few moments in Book 2 that made me cry, like when MC can record a sweet message for the babies with a plush bunny she can get from the Baby Baskets. 

Besides maybe Book 1 Dr. Mariana Castillo who is just way too unserious (at least she gets better in Book 2), I honestly really liked the main cast. Even though MC is technically an outsider to the town, she still gets to be very driven and gets shit done rather than being the typical doe-eyed newbie who needs to be shown the ropes. Clint is a sweetheart and does get to be more than just “har dee har muscular celebrity salesman who knocks you up aren’t you soooo lucky” that they wanted him to be in the first chapter. Mayor Dixon is a nice mix of goofy and tsundere, and the female version Myra contributed to my bi awakening. Luisa is just a queen all around. MC’s sister… initially she could sometimes be a bit of a stereotypical “OMG girly girl talk best friend to talk exclusively about LI and diamond outfits” but she does become more than that too, and I really like her subplot with Bao. Speaking of, Bao is just the most absolute precious ever (and shame on PB for making him the sister’s LI and not one for MC /jk). 

The antagonist characters were… kind of a mixed bag, I will admit. They were memorable, but also kind of stupid. Like I said before, Cassandra’s storyline in Book 1 just felt petty and cheap, plus I’m tired of straw loser villain female antagonists who exist solely to compete with the MC over the LI. It never got too overbearing, but it was still stupid. Book 2 Cassandra is great though. 

Then there’s Craig, who wants to destroy everything MC and friends accomplish and take over Gracetown because… potatoes. I guess he’s alright as he is actually a threat in Book 2, but the townspeople can be pretty damn meek to him which is a little weird. But he was still a strong antagonist in that book. Book 1 Craig feels a lot more like he just exists to be an annoyance for the sake of being an annoyance, though. 

Jebediah is a lot more compelling as an antagonist character, and I did expect the Covington family conflict to be incredibly boring but it turned out otherwise. He’s a jerk at first, but it’s nice to see how he does genuinely try to change throughout the storyline of Book 2. 

Also, props to this for being one of only three Choices series ever (the others being OG HSS and ILITW) where the collectible system has some items that aren’t diamond-walled. The baby blanket collectibles are really cute, and it’s really refreshing to have a collectible system that isn’t “the first one is free and then the rest you have to pay for”. Like HSS, there are even some pieces that are determinant on your success in certain events. Why can’t more series do their collectibles like this??? (Oh right, because it requires actual effort). 

Would I say it’s a good or accurate portrayal of pregnancy? IDK, I’m not an expert. But it’s fine if you just want a lighthearted pregnancy story to chill out to. 

[no-psi-nan]

20) part of canon you found tedious or boring

The crossover parts in the light novels... thog dont caare (minor bit of canon but I literally paid cash money to get it translated so... -_-U)

Also that one episode in the second season / later volumes that was basically a repeat. The one with Saiki being invisible while Teruhashi tries to find him. We've already scene this exact same sitch play out, there's no development to either their characters or relationship, everyone knows their deal at this point so it's not even funny.... The anime should've replaced this one with the YouTube episode SMH, 10000% more value.

21) part of canon you think is overhyped

Not necessarily overhyped but I personally would have never picked the domestic abuse chapters to be the first ones in the series hsfjdlshfks. Yeah it's funny but like. It's still domestic abuse. Let's save the terrible home life for when the audience is more invested yeah? Though I guess people also don't notice the domestic abuse as much since it's front-loaded maybe?? I would like to see some research on this sort of thing tbh!!

22) your favorite part of canon that everyone else ignores

All of the Aiura moments... She's always so so funny and sweet, and the way she and Saiki interact is wonderful, she's the person he's the most real around (Toritsuka doesn't count because he mostly gets Saiki's bad side for good reasons hsfjdlshfks).

When they work so well together at saving Yumehara's life despite being strangers... When Aiura shows so much kindness to Mera and is so determined to help her that Saiki ends up helping her even though he was originally against it... When Saiki saves Aiura from the gang and she still trusts him completely even though they'd fought and Saiki just did something violent, which most other people would consider monstrous... Her willingness to help out Saiki anytime, no questions asked, just because she cares about him... Their hilarious & effective co-performances against Imu and Yumehara (as Kaido)... When Aiura realizes "lucky feel" moments / her usual methods of seduction won't work and switches to just finding out when Saiki's free and hanging together eating dessert + talking... When Saiki clearly enjoys those dates so much that he immediately agrees to another in his tsundere way when she asks him... When Saiki chases her around for coffee jelly, so brain-empty and silly (see: my blog header)... Her faith that Saiki will fix things even when he has a death mark on him too... When Saiki trusts her with the fate of the world... When Saiki's clones carry her so closely when they could literally just levitate her completely physically apart and she never tries to cop a feel or get fresh... When she asks Saiki if he wants a kiss and respects his "no" but just has to share the physical comfort they both need in that moment...

And yet everyone always mischaracterizes her and cheapens her relationship with Saiki, especially when favoring another ship for him.

Or they think that she would be soooooo emo about it if Saiki rejected her. Hello?? She literally told him to fuck off because he tried to stop her from helping people, and did NOT look back or change her mind. Just because she's into bdsm doesn't mean she's going to compromise her morals for a dude, even if he's her soulmate. And she's clearly had no trouble pulling dudes before, so it's not like she'll be pining after him for long if he's being a dick.

On the other hand, she knows he's tsundere as fuck and that she'd have to play the long game with him, and she's clearly fine with it. She has confidence in her powers and has already seen how well they work & play together, so it's just a matter of time.

Anyways I get so so heated when people don't do my girl justice, as I'm sure you can tell hsfjdlshfks

Thanks for the ask @hillbilly---man 💜💜💜💜💜

[wordsbymae]

hiiiii i’m new here but i love your writing and your characters!! especially, and predictably, alwyn, BOY do i read all his stuff over and over just foaming at the mouth 💖💖💖 thinking about him has my brain firing on all synapses and ik you’ve already kind of covered this but it still got me thinking about reader eventually leaning into the dirty nicknames and treatment because she knows it’s his way of showing love, and she’s just so desperate for validation she’ll do whatever it takes for the positive attention, plus being surrounded by rowdy outlaws for so long would slowly wear down her noble reservations, not to the point where she’s any more comforted by being rammed into out in the open, but when it’s just her and alwyn she lets loose a little bit, crying out for him and agreeing whenever he calls her his little whore, as long as shes his, and he’s just ecstatic that she’s so into it, grinning and silly and love-drunk the whole session, the happiest he’d ever been and thinking she was too, at least until he catches reader by herself, with tears plopping onto the pages of a pure-hearted romantic scene in her book, or sadly singing and dancing the way she imagined she would on her wedding day, mourning what could have been, and it just wrecks him to see her silently suffering, to the point where he goes out of his way to listen in on things cheesy things couples say before stripping them clean of all their valuables, even skimming through and stealing a couple lines from the books he stole for her (if he can even read idk if not dw lol), doing his damndest to restrain himself and be a bit softer with her and switch from his go-to “compliments” to the flowery language that’s so foreign on his tongue but is instantly overshadowed by the heightened warmth and whimpers from you, all in all putting in that extra effort so he can love you the way that would make you happiest, and reader’s heart just SOARS and she falls for him all the more and alwyn adores the positive feedback which encourages him to do it more and they just go back and forth and oh my GOD i’m obsessed sorry here take my brainrot—

Hi!!!! Welcome!! It's so nice to talk to you!

I wanna say thank you so much for all of this ^^^^^^^^^^ It made me so happy and I'm so grateful!!!!!!!

Anyway moving on!!!

Oh boy! I never thought Alwyn would become my most popular oc, especially since I thought what I wrote was not very relatable, so it makes me so happy to see everyone loving him! Fun fact I stole his name from a character out of a book I was reading at the time. I kinda had a crush on the character soooooo..........

You are spot on!!!! The reader is so so desperate to be loved and seen as attractive she is willing to throw all her self-respect out the window. It would take some time to feel somewhat comfortable with him calling her vulgar words. I still think she would hate being called a heifer and a whore, but I think she allows some others. He loves calling her sweet cheeks, his pretty little slut and yeah while she absolutely hates being called his little whore she sees how much he loves it and in an attempt to not rock the boat she lets him. But not in public!!!! She has and will slap him if he calls her that in public. And pretty little heifer is a massive no-no, even though he fucking loves calling her that!!!!!! She still sees it as a dig or backhanded compliment about her looks or size.

She used to yelp and blush and hide away when he slapped her ass or squeezed it, in the early days he would do that and worse in front of his men. After days of him and his men laughing at her beet red or adorable yelps after being slapped and squeezed, Alwyn makes the mistake of surprising her from behind and squeezing her tits. The reader is livid and Alwyn sleeps outside for a whole week. He never does that shit in public again, but he will do it behind closed doors. He acts like a teenage boy sometimes. Reader bends over and grabs her hips and pretends to rut into her from behind. He gets her to sit on his lap during dinner and smirks when she complains about his dagger sheath.

Oh yeah! She wants to be reminded daily she's his, that she's someone, that someone wants her. And his just this stupid man acting like a fuckhead. He's so fucked out and happy he doesn't notice anything, how she cringes when he calls her his little whore, or how she keeps grabbing his hand to hold it when he fucks her from behind, desperate to feel like he loves, cares and respects her.

YES!!!!!!!!! She loves reading romance books and will stay up way past midnight reading and swooning and crying. She gets upset the most during proposals, courting scenes and sex scenes. The men are so caring and romantic and actually gentle with their women. Reader never got any of that, she was never courted, wasn't proposed to and sex with Alwyn is all grunts and moans and dirty words. There aren't any gentle touches or soft confessions.

And the dancing?????? YES!!!!!!!!! She was told as a kid that she should never marry someone if she hasn't danced with them first. And she has never danced with anyone. Expect her father and other male relatives. She's never been asked and never had a man hold her tight in such a sweet embrace. She gets really really sad one night when the bandits have a party. Some of them start to ask each other to dance, and she looks at Alwyn with such hope. Instead, he just laughs at the others and tells her why dance when you can just fuck each other, not realising he's just broken her heart.

Omg!!! What an idea. He is so desperate to be romantic, something he's never been, he's making notes and obsessing over it like he would a heist. Yeah, he can read! His father was a knight so he was expected to follow in his footsteps!

The reader would get such a shock when he starts being romantic. at first, she's scared that it's just a cruel joke. He's gonna tear it down and mock her and her wanting of true love. But as the days pass, he is more heartfelt and gentle with her and she just swoons over him.

He starts writing her letters, asks to meet her in secluded areas for a picnic and no sex, and gives her gentle touches when he walks past, barely touching her hand. The reader feels as though he's courting her and she fucking loves it. It makes her so happy to feel as though he is trying to get her attention and prove himself. And Alwyn is so happy cause shes actually talking to him now not just replying to what he's saying.

Then comes another party, couples start to dance and the reader is left sitting alone, for her this is normal until Alwyn comes into sight holding out his hand and asking for the pleasure of her company. They dance all night and the reader is laughing and giggles. And Alwyn is just in awe at her.

Thank you so much for sending that in and I loved it! Feel free to send whatever you want in!!!!!!!!

Lots of love,

mae xx