#i notice you really like groundhog day loop episodes

[sbnkalny]

Garbage-empress can 1v1 me horses are beautiful creatures and they deserve more respect even it they could find fire, bread, and salt at many an inn and holdfast

grin

[utilitycaster]

Oohhh as a fellow time-loop enjoyer, what's some media recommendations you'd give for that?

hahahahahaha so here's the problem. I've always loved time loops conceptually and also as you may have noticed I did not watch Groundhog Day until...this year's Groundhog Day. It was very much a conceptual thing fostered by the fact that 1. I never watched Stargate but my siblings did and talk about that time loop episode a lot and 2. reading a lot of shit like Hyperspace by Michio Kaku and The Elegant Universe by Brian Cox (the American one) in which theoretical physicists make a lot of pop culture references and talk through weird space-time continuum shit at a very impressionable age. I had a sort of original fiction idea involving a time loop recently and realized I needed to actually watch/read some famous time loop media. hence the obsession, which is...not nascent but very one-sided and theoretical. This is not going to be a helpful list. I have been trying to build a good list and it's challenging to say the least.

Anyway, I can, with the caveat that this is a spoiler but also it does come up early, recommend Burnt Cookbook Party, which is a time loop Pathfinder campaign. It's a longer time loop and multiple people are aware; there are magic rituals that allow things to persist across time loops which adds for a lot of really cool complications, as well as mechanical consequences (monsters) for paradoxes.

I also do really like the time loop episode of Wolf 359, which I recently recommended as just a good all-around SF podcast.

[8bitsupervillain]

Higurashi When They Cry Hou Ch. 4 Himatsubushi pt. Final

Akasaka has himself a little pity party at having failed to understand that Rika may have been subtly asking him for help to escape her fate in Hinamizawa which makes me wonder about the idea of fate/destiny. In one of the TIPS earlier in the chapter the narrator, I assume Rika, talks about how she hates things that are destined to happen, or occur while never changing. Does she view Akasaka staying in Hinamizawa and not leaving for Tokyo the same way she did the clear weather days, just something vaguely annoying because it's happened before and it'll happen again? In the timelines where Akasaka does intuit her request about getting out of Hinamizawa does it actually change anything? Or does she still die around the end of June regardless? Nothing has been outright confirmed she's stuck in a Groundhogs Day loop, living the same six or so years over and over, but I feel it's a reasonable guess given her calling Akasaka Tomitake Mk. II. But I repeat myself.

For the people who died in Hinamizawa Ooishi and Akasaka decide to investigate what really happened in June of 1983. Was it simply a freak geological event, divine wrath, or somehow the result of a member of the cult who killed the thousand plus citizenry of Hinamizawa.

Their righteous anger at the deaths wakes up Akasaka's daughter, which causes Akasaka to have a brief vision of Rika. I wonder if the console art here was added specifically to make it more obvious that Miyuki might possess something of Rika in her. You could probably handwave away the pair having a passing familiarity, but the eye colors matching seems like a pretty deliberate on the nose decision. In the remake and original versions obviously that screen doesn't exist, and I didn't think to screenshot Miyuki using the remakes art style so I don't know how similar to Rika she looks there. But I can't imagine it's too different.

Higanbana no Saku Yoru ni

They said the thing!

This is the second time a chapter has ended with the protagonist asking people to solve the mystery. Both times are when the antagonistic force is believed to be the cult conspiracy who did the deeds. For Watanagashi, and Tatarigoroshi where there's a deliberate specific character they point the finger at there's no "solve my mystery." Just an interesting little thing I noticed.

I just have to say, by the end of the chapter I was kind of getting tired of Ooishi's laugh. It kept happening every three minutes, it started grating on my nerves. Guess that's what can happen when you give one of your main characters a character tic like that, and you decide to make them the focus of a ten plus hour game.

You should probably give Keiichi god mode, let him get through a chapter alive for a change. Except for this one, he survived by not appearing. Like Tomitake and Takano now that I think about it.

I guess that's a common enough debate online that they kind of felt they had to address it here. Does Higurashi count as a video game? Do any visual novels really count? Do you need the small crumb of making a choice now and then to qualify for video game status? There's one section in this where you have to choose to open a red or blue box, so is that enough for it to be a video game? Is a choose your own adventure book a game? I don't know, and I don't think this particular debate is a particularly helpful or useful one. I count Higurashi and other VNs that just tells its story as a video game, and that visual novel is just a genre in the medium. I don't necessarily agree that simply the act of discussing the clues and so on with others (be it in person or online) is what makes it a video game. Maybe that's why the first four episodes contained minigames? To lend credibility as a video game. Of course then you can argue if since this counts as a game why not any given movie or television series. After all, if you hit auto and just absorb the story that way what's really the difference between reading Higurashi, or reading an Alex Cross novel, or watching True Detective?

Speaking of visual novels having choice in them. I decided to go back and go through the chapter again.

Cause I wanted to see what the additional choices were. What type of bad endings are we talking about here? I present here now for you, the single choice the console port added:

During the action climax you're given the option to beg for your life or try to steal the gun away from the kidnappers. I admit to a certain amount of disappointment that the only addition was one small aside that added basically nothing to the story. I imagined it was going to add a fair few more deaths since the narrative was largely about Akasaka infiltrating the Onigafuchi Guardians to solve a kidnapping. But alas.

I wonder what exactly were the circumstances that made them decide to make Himatsubushi. The end of Tatarigoroshi made it sound like chapter five Meakashi was ready to go, so what compelled Ryukishi07 to make this shorter interlude chapter? Was it just some last minute lore seeding that needed to be done to make everything flow better in the Answer Arcs? Even though chapter four did sort of feel like unnecessary filler I enjoyed it, more for the plot details regarding Rika Furude it showed than for any of the kidnapping or action plot. I can't help but wonder if towards the end of the series there'll be a chapter that's from Rika's perspective. Also, at least with this chapter when it decides it needs to tell you some of the lore and important events it keeps it brief and doesn't dive too deep into it. Do we really need another description of what Watanagashi is, or Oyashiro's curse? Now that I'm halfway through the series (or one third of the way depending on how you look at how much exists post chapter 8) I figure I should probably rank the chapters so far.

Going from best to worst:

Watanagashi

Himatsubushi

Tatarigoroshi

Onikakushi

And really I'm indecisive about the placement of the last two. There's some stuff I really hated in Tatarigoroshi, and stuff I really liked in Onikakushi.

[liz-allyn]

heat of the moment, pt 3: (500) days of suffer [tasm!peter x reader x groundhog day au]

summary: get ready to die hard. again. and again. and again. angst; fluff; humor; final destination vibes; and yes this is in tribute to my favorite episode of television ever written - "mystery spot"

words: 6.2k

warnings: death. a lot of it. repeatedly. in this chapter: tw gore, blood, burns, smut (but not really graphic), body horror, s*lf h*harm, su*c*de

Part 1. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Part 5. Part 6.

Peter looked over at you and the way your tiny legs carried you a nose ahead of his pace down the sidewalk. “Bug, why’ya walkin’ so fast?” he asked.

Your gaze was focused straight ahead of you, brow furrowed with determination. “Because Gouda needs meds and 45 minutes of vigorous exercise, and no matter how much his owner watches Cesar Milan, nothing will ever change that.”

He picked up his pace, and had to skip just to keep up with you. “Say what now?” he said, puzzled.

“Watch your step!” you admonished him as you approached a crosswalk. You halted at the stop signal, putting a hand protectively over Peter’s chest as the tour bus sped past you. “This sidewalk is a minefield.”

He blinked, confused. “Why are we even going this way? When you told me you were skipping work, I thought we could get some breakfast—”

“No breakfast,” you sternly replied. “Other plans.” 

Peter watched you quietly, concern drawing lines across his features. It was clear he was dissatisfied with how curt you were being towards him this morning, especially when he seemed so needy, but you didn’t budge. 

You were on a mission.

“Bug, as much as I love storming down Lexington with you in unpenetrable silence, it would really help me out if I understood—?”

“I’m looking for someone.” 

You sounded frustrated, but he wasn’t sure why. “Who?”

The light to cross changed. “The girl who got me killed in the first place,” you declared, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

You glanced both ways, even as the crowd began to move ahead and around you, before you stepped down into the crosswalk. Peter stared blankly as he watched you go, still processing what you said.

“Wait—what?” he blurted, rushing up behind you. “What are you talking about?”

“Watch out!” you snapped, gripping his arm and yanking him to the side of a puddle near the curb. You pointed at the puddle, reprimanding him. “Live wire!”

He stepped to the side, his eyes following the path of your finger, until he saw the frayed bit of cable from the base of an old lamppost. 

When he looked back up at you, he stared incomprehensibly. “How did you know that was there?”

You rolled your eyes, continuing down the sidewalk. “I’m in a time loop, Peter,” you sighed.

“A time loop?” he repeated.

“A time loop.”

“Like in Groundhog Day?”

You groaned, “Yes. Whatever that means.”

“What?” His jaw dropped, staring incredulously. “Really? How have you not seen—?”

“I haven’t had time to watch it!” you snapped bitterly, causing him to pull back. “I’m sure it’s a real fucking hoot.”

He quirked a brow towards you. “Someone woke up on the wrong side—”

“Of your dick this morning?” you glared over at him. His cheeks turned rosy as you levelled your finger. “That’s hilarious, Parker. Really. “

He let out a nervous laugh, his shoulders hunching a bit. “How did you know—?”

“It’s the sixteenth time you’ve said it,” you replied.

“Hold up, so you’re saying you’ve had this conversation sixteen times?”

“You’ve made that joke sixteen times. I’ve had this conversation twenty-three times.” Your eyes drifted ahead as you spoke and you came to a sudden halt.

“There!” You grabbed Peter by the shoulder and pointed to the thin woman with stringy hair. She moved down the sidewalk as you had seen her in days past, floating unseen through the world like a ghost. Her eyes were cast down and she cocooned herself in clothes that didn’t fit her. Observing her, you noticed for the first time how sunken in her eyes looked. Combined with her pale skin, she looked like death. 

“Who is that?” Peter questioned curiously.

“The grim reaper,” you scoffed. “Like, a tragically pretty grim reaper.” You gestured for him to follow you as you began stalking towards the woman. “This bitch,” you declared, “has gotten me shot. She’s gotten me electrocuted. She’s gotten me hit by a train. This bitch has killed me nineteen times—she’s gotta be the key to this.”

“She’s trying to kill you?” he repeated, shaking his head as he observed her. “But she’s so tiny? Why?”

“Who cares,” you replied coldly. “This time, I’m gonna kill her first.”

A hand suddenly gripped your arm tightly, as your boyfriend pulled you back towards him, the humor vanished from his eyes. “Whoa! Time out, time out... Let’s... talk about this?”

“I don’t have time to talk about this!” you raised your voice. “I don’t have the luxury of having time left! I’m ending this. Now.”

You moved to yank away from him, but he held you more firmly. He dragged your gaze towards his, speaking with measured breaths between hushed tones. “Listen to yourself, you don’t even sound like you right now—”

“Who do I sound like, then?” you snapped, burning with frustration and pent up rage. “You?”

When you saw his reaction, you realized it would’ve been kinder if you had just slapped him. Your jaw fell slightly agape as you measured the weight of the words that had fallen sloppily— hastily, cruelly—from your lips. Peter’s face was grim like the scene of a crime, the evidence of an unkind act of betrayal shattering him.

It was a tearful, late night confession a couple of years before that had illuminated knowledge about his period of darkness. It happened long after he’d met you. But not long after you discovered he was Spider-Man. Shortly after he promised no more secrets from you. The same night he realized he couldn’t live without you. And immediately after he told you he didn’t deserve you. 

Once he started telling you the stories, they didn’t stop. Each one removing a stone from his chest. Fueled by grief, and fresh bloodshed, and three whole bottles of Jack, and so much guilt, you felt like it was a wonder Peter ever got out of bed at all. 

As he predicted, you were devastated to hear about the period of time he stopped pulling his punches. Not by shame, however. But by how one person could bottle up so much pain. 

You let him cry into your lap as if he were a child, and you stroked his hair and rubbed his back, and swore that you’d never let him anguish in that pain again. Not alone.

And yet here it was again, smeared across his face. His brown eyes stinging. Nauseated, his complexion paled from it. He swallowed hard, the pieces of his heart feeling like glass in his chest. He was once again that caged animal. Once again, that monster. Again, he was alone.

Peter removed his hands from your arms, somewhat mechanically, as he fixed his dark eyes to the ground. Concealing a sniffle, he locked his jaw in place, unable to look at you.

“Peter,” you breathed, desperate to take the words back.

“It’s fine,” he said, shortly. He turned away from you, towards the crosswalk ahead. 

“No, Peter, please, just wait—”

Then, you both looked up with surprise to see your Grim Reaper. She stood with her back towards you, her gaze fixed on the rush of traffic ahead of her. Head up, shoulders back, she stepped off of the curb into the crosswalk. Right into the path of the city tour bus from one of your earlier demises.

“Wait!” Peter shouted as the two of you watched the space close between the woman and the bus. She was feet away from meeting the same fate as you. 

In that moment, you felt sympathy for her, remembering the sensation of your ribs piercing your lungs. 

The next moment, Peter lifted a wrist and aimed a web at her back. He yanked and pulled the tiny woman from the road, whipping her back into his arms.

The next moment, you saw the bus swerve suddenly. Overcorrecting. Tires wailing against the pavement. Hopping the curb. Careening into the sidewalk. A hot dog stand vendor retreating out of the path of the bus as his cart goes flying. 

It tumbles through the air. 

You look up at the cart as it flies above you. 

Contents spilling out.

Boiling water. Falling. 

Drenching you in blistering, searing waves.

You screech as your skin bubbles up and peels instantly under the 200 degrees Fahrenheit temperature of the water.

You can hear shouts and screams around you. A mix of voices of stunned witnesses, a horrified hot dog vendor, and even the Grim Reaper herself. And of course, you could hear the love of your life shrieking desperately. 

You could hear him, but your eyelids were melted shut.

The pain was unbearable. This was probably the worst way to go, you thought. And unlike other times, you hoped it would end quickly. Except that you’d deeply regret that the last thing Peter will remember you for is calling him a murderer.

The pain is unbearable. You step backwards blindly. You figure you have it coming this time.

Just your luck. You step right into a puddle, next to a lamppost.

TUESDAY, 7:00am

Your eyes popped open as you were viciously ripped away from the darkness. Music invaded your ears, your senses assaulted by a toe-tapping tune.

“It was the HEAT of the MOMENT...”

“You’re in what now?” Peter questioned incredulously, walking side by side with you down the sidewalk.

“A time loop.”

“Like in—”

“Yes, Peter,” you sighed, wandering aimlessly. If anything, you were more tired this Tuesday. “Exactly like Groundhog Day. And no, it’s not deja vu, like a glitch in The Matrix. It’s a time loop.”

“How’d you know I was gonna—?”

“Because you always reference some scifi movie that I’ve never seen.”

“What?” His jaw dropped, staring incredulously. “Really? How have you not seen—?”

The sound of your phone vibrating interrupted the tense conversation. He noted you made no attempt to answer it, continuing on your warpath. 

“Who is that?” Peter asked.

You rolled your eyes. “It’s Kim.”

At once, his face lit up. “Your mom?” he replied, jumping in front of you, blocking your march. “Cool, you should answer it!”

Stopping, you shot him a look, and he immediately sobered his reaction. “Why would I do that?”

“Um... I... dunno,” he shrugged, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. Other pedestrians swarmed past you, forking where you obstructed their path. “You guys... don’t really talk that much, I was jus’... thinkin’— I dunno, it’s weird that she’s calling you, right?” 

You eyed him suspiciously as he glanced around the sidewalk, suddenly appearing uncomfortable in his own skin. 

“Hey, do you want coffee?” he deflected. “I need some caffeine, especially if we’re gonna live through this day multiple times. I’m gonna get us some coffee. Almondmilk Latte, right? I’ll see if they have lavender.”

Before you could attempt to argue or stop him, he disappeared into the coffee shop you’d stopped in front of. 

You stood by outside on the sidewalk, glaring indignantly. “Fucking toddler,” you groaned under your breath. Your pocket buzzed again. You felt your anger building up again. This time, you did the thing you had avoided up until this point.

You accepted the call, hesitantly putting the phone to your ear. You took a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down, while also trying to spot the source of drilling noises from nearby construction. “Hi.”

A bright, cheery voice greeted you through the line. “Hi, honey! I didn’t think I’d get you—wasn’t sure if you were busy at school!”

You rolled your eyes. “Graduated two years ago, Kim.”

You heard your mother’s breath hitch, as if you could hear her bubbly nature deflating like a balloon. “Ugh,” she sheepishly responded, “you know I hate it when you call me that, honey.”

You glanced from side to side, suspiciously eyeing a flock of pigeons as they landed nearby. You were still on high alert that death could literally strike at any moment. “Y’know now’s not really a good time for me...” you sighed, trying to ease yourself out of the awkward call.

“No, no, I get it,” your mother quickly replied, returning to her more positive tone. “I know you’re busy. But—hey, the reason I called is that I was thinking of coming into the city on Saturday. Um... I... wanted to see if you were available to get together? For dinner? Or lunch?” 

Now you were the one holding your breath.

Saturday. This Saturday. 

Saturday seemed like a fantasy. Something so far away from reality, it might as well have been a fairy tale. A carrot on the end of a string. A cruel joke at your expense. 

How could you think of Saturday, when you were fighting to make it to Wednesday?

“Maybe you could invite that boyfriend of yours,” she added, the smirk evident in her voice. “Peter, right? It’d be nice to finally meet him.”

You bit down on your tongue so hard you could taste blood. It was a taste you were becoming accustomed to. You felt the blood in your veins practically boiling. Another familiar feeling, in a literal sense.

Weeks in between text messages, months in between calls. Never once has the idea of taking an interest in something you cared about crossed into conversation. What would it matter, you wondered—nothing you cared about was ever good enough for her anyway.

The resentment was too much to hold back, seeping into your voice. “Are you serious? Why would you want to meet Peter?” you practically spat. “We’ve been together for over a year and now you want to meet him?”

You heard her huff. This was the reaction between you two, always, no matter what variables were in play. You were a volatile mix, you would explain to your boyfriend. 

“Well,” you noted the shift in her tone, tension building, “I’d say that’s serious, right? Not like the others.” 

You flinched at her casual mention of your past failed romantic relationships. That one word was meant to summarize years of therapy and difficulty letting Peter into your heart. Like it wasn’t the reason you rose early and stayed up late, filling your time with the dogged pursuit of your career aspirations. Pursing a Master’s. Climbing a ladder made up of people that didn’t look like you. Devoting your energy to making sure that you were never nothing again, even if you were alone.

Peter wasn’t the only one with baggage or built up walls. 

“I just feel like I should get a chance to meet him,” your mother babbled on, oblivious to her poor word choice and also to the fact that she caught you on The Worst Day Ever. “Don’t I get a say since he’s practically part of the family now?”

Your mouth was moving before your brain could catch up. “What on God’s Green Earth makes you think that I would want that?” you hissed, your aggravation boiling over, spewing venom into the phone’s mic. “Are you fucking kidding me? What makes you think that I would want Peter to be a part of this family?”

You rounded on your heel and came to a halt. There in front of you, was the devil in question, holding a coffee cup in each hand and his broken heart on his sleeve. Once again, not even battle scars and knife wounds could be as painful as your careless words. 

You stood there forever, gazing into his chocolate eyes, witnessing the storm clouds brewing there. His brow creased, and his lip hung loose, and his arms slowly dropped, as if he’d lost the strength in his body. You held the phone to your ear and could hear your mother arguing in the distance, but it was drowned out by the sound of Peter’s heart breaking.

You did that to him. You hurt him. You. You always do. And you always will. 

“Pete...” you breathed, aghast and unable to explain yourself properly.

He shut his mouth, locking his jaw. The pain burned away from his features and left a stone expression behind. You pulled the phone away from your ear and opened your mouth, but he was already retreating. Angrily, he turned on his heel and began pacing back down the street, disrupting the flock of pigeons.

“Peter, wait!” you called after him, the phone call forgotten. Your voice bounced off the glass buildings around you and caught the attention of pedestrians, but it didn’t slow his pace. You bounded behind him, embarrassed. “Pete, I didn’t mean that—”

“Nah, no need. I got it,” he icily chuckled, his deep frustration coming out in the form of his sharp Queens accent. “Made ya’point pretty clear, didn’t ya?”

“No, wait, I can explain,” you cried.

“I don’t wanna hear it!” he shot back.

“Just wait—please, look at me for one second.”

He stopped walking, but hesitated, throwing his head back in frustration. With pursed lips, he finally obliged, turning to face you. 

He was met with horror, right as an 8-foot length of rebar, knocked loose by a pigeon looking for a place to land, fell from the scaffolding above and impaled you from neck to ankle. The force of the skewering jolted you back a couple of inches as the rebar buried itself into the concrete. It was if you were speared in place, forced to look upon the stunned confusion and growing distress on Peter’s blood-splattered face. 

You felt your legs lose their balance. You couldn’t fall backwards or to the side. Instead, you slid down the length of the rebar, your blood and ruptured organs lubricating your kebab. 

TUESDAY, 7:00am

Your eyes popped open as you were viciously ripped away from the darkness. Music invaded your ears, your senses assaulted by a toe-tapping tune.

“It was the HEAT of the MOMENT

Tellin’ me.  what.  my. HEART meant...”

You gasped, reaching for your shoulder where the rebar had pierced your torso. Sweat covered your neck, chest heaving with the phantom ache of feeling your insides slice open. 

“The HEEEAT of the MOMENT…

Showed in your EYEEEES…”

You sat up in your covers, eyes wild and filling with furious tears. You glared at the clock radio. The music flowed at an obnoxious volume as it swallowed you up and spit you out into another Tuesday. 

It was all too much. There was an ache in your chest, and you weren’t sure if it was caused by the rebar, or the terror of your current living nightmare, or the agony of watching the man you loved more than anything being destroyed again.

“Mornin’, Sunflower!” the devil in question rang out from your en suite bathroom. A moment later, Peter Parker’s head poked around the corner.

You gazed at him, your vision going blurry. Hot tears formed in your eyes and spilled down your face. In the blur, you could see his expression change as he noticed your distress. “Bug?” he questioned.

You gazed at him. Helpless. And then you launched yourself off of the bed, exploding into a growling, rageful tantrum. You tore the clock radio off the nightstand, ripping the cord from the socket, and hurled it into the drywall. Peter flinched with a stunned expression as the device smashed to pieces.

He looked back at you, horrified. You stalked over to the bedroom wall where your gold-and-pink embossed desk calendar hung up beneath an intricate, gold-leaf cursive decal. You glared up at the letters above the calendar, as together, they mocked you:

SEIZE THE DAY

You seethed, glaring at it like some cursed object. Peter wouldn’t have known this, but to you, it was a pointless relic. 

With narrow eyes, you peered at each enlarged square filled with rows of your elegant handwriting. Scribbled on every line of a plentiful, packed schedule of events that didn’t matter which you would never attend. 

He half expected the calendar to burst into flames with the way you were staring at it. He opened his mouth, just to be cut off by your shriek. You tore the calendar from the wall, hissing and grunting, shredding each page of the calendar with your fingers. 

When you were finished with the calendar, you moved to the corner desk, ripping the items off. Your pencil cup, a letter organizer, your mousepad, your wireless keyboard. You lifted the laptop in the air and smashed it on the desk, obliterating it. 

“Whoa!” Peter shouted, startled and now prompted to action. “Hey, hey, what’s happening? What’s wrong—?”

“It’s a joke!” you screamed. “It’s all a fucking joke!” You grabbed the edge of your tiny writing desk and flipped it. You toppled your desk chair right after it. You were like a tornado, tearing through the bedroom, yanking on drawers and turning your room upside down. 

“Bug, just calm down—”

“This is all a joke!” you shouted, tears streaming down your face. “My entire life is a joke! This day and every single day that came before it! It’s all nothing! It’s just bullshit! It’s bullshit!”

Peter held his hands towards you, trying hopelessly to placate you. “Okay, okay, just slow down, we can figure this—”

“I’ve already figured it out!” you screamed back, stalking towards the opposite nightstand. You knew that Peter kept a knife in the bottom drawer. A switchblade swiped from one of his captured criminals, kept for emergency use only. 

Usually, it’s primary purpose was to slice through unruly webs when testing or repairing his webshooters. 

You had a different use for it now. “I’m fucking ending it!” you hissed, reaching for the bedside drawer.

Peter snapped to attention. “No, wait!”

You yanked the drawer open, pausing as your eyes landed on an unfamiliar object. 

Your brow furrowed as you observed a tiny velvet box, taking it into your hand. Curiously, you opened it. 

Inside, a ring with a single, glittering, colored solitaire gemstone. It dazzled you with a sparkle that caught in the morning light. Not just any gemstone. Your favorite. 

Its meaning unmistakable. 

Your mouth fell open, the breath being carried from your chest. Glancing up, you looked back to Peter, who stood anxiously on the other side of the room, running a hand through his dark wet locks. His face was rosy pink, flushed with embarrassment and spoiled plans.

He sighed, with a pointed lack of courage. ”I.... Um... This... uh, this-this isn’t how I wanted this to go.” 

The tension melted out of your body as you gazed at him, dumbfounded. He shuffled his weight between his feet, wrapping his arms in front of his bare chest. He was twitchy and nervous, like an eighth grader called upon in English class to read a poem. 

He was so gentle, you thought. So full of earnest hope. 

He slapped his giant hand down his face, groaning sheepishly. “Ugh, this is... That just happened. Okay.” You watched him turn and pace for a few strides, before pausing and planting his hands on his hips. “I - I had this planned,” he gave a shaky, soft chuckle. “And I wasn’t in a towel.” He briefly lifted his eyes up off the floor to meet yours. He was timid, like a deer who could be spooked at any minute.

He cleared his throat, “I was gonna wear a suit, uh... I-I had a dinner thing. A picnic by the Boathouse.” You vividly recalled the place in Central Park he was referencing. The site of your first date. 

He swallowed hard, his throat bobbing as he continued, “I had a blanket and a basket, wine, cheese, little LED candles and these tiny string lights...” His mouth sounded dry as he gaze bounced from you to the floor, “And I was going to tell you to get dressed up because I had some fancy dinner at a restaurant planned, and then I was gonna tell you I got caught up because of Spider-Man stuff, and for you meet me by the Boathouse and you’d get there and I’d be there with the candles, and with the picnic all spread out, and flowers, and... then...”

His voice tapered off as he summoned all the strength in his heart to steady himself. You watched him with silent tears, the rage behind them having morphed into something tender, but equally painful. 

He looked so beautiful today, you thought: The smile on his face. The bounce in his step, and the light of his eyes. Golden amber eyes, filled with dreams. Hope for the future.

“I was gonna say this speech that I... I-I... for the life of me, I can’t remember what it was, but it was really nice. It was great.” Warmth that could outshine the morning sunlight filled his face, a boyish smirk softening the anxiety on his features. It was a look that made you smile every time. 

This time was no different. He responded to seeing the soft curve of your mouth, with another burst of joy that he struggled to contain behind his teeth. Peter’s smile was magnificent, but this was something else. It was like a rose blooming. Fireworks bursting. A thousand watts of light. 

He shyly added, a little more confident, but still carrying a hint of uncertainty, “And at the end of it... I was gonna ask... if I could spend the rest of my life with you?”

The pain was unbearable.

Your face crumpled. The spear lodged deeper. The hole in your heart grew wider. You looked down at the engagement ring in your hands, then turned back to him. 

Lip quivering, eyes watering, you squeaked out a single word. “Today?” 

The pain is unbearable. It’s unfair. Unfair to him. 

He observed you carefully, eyes locked on yours as if he were entranced. He nodded gently. “I know. Shoulda done it sooner,” he said with a half-smirk, but his tone implied earnestly that it wasn’t really a joke. 

It wasn’t a joke. This was hell. 

He didn’t deserve to be here. But you did.

You slammed your eyes shut with the finality of a coffin being sealed. Covered your mouth to swallow an agonized cry, the tears now cascading down your cheeks. Although uncertain of your reaction, he slowly moved towards you anyways, drawn into a magnetic field that needed to hold you. You needed to hold him. You wanted to hold on forever.

“Peter,” you choked out. His hands came up, cradling your face. 

“I’m tired,” he whispered, using his thumbs to wipe away tears he could not fully understand. “I’m tired of waiting... for more money, for our careers to take off, for this city to not need Spider-Man, or waiting for when I’ll finally feel like I deserve you, because I don’t think I ever will. I’m done waiting for the right time. It’s now. Now is the right time.”

You shook your head. Your body felt heavy, like you were going to collapse. 

He leaned in close, his voice barely above a breeze. “I don’t want to spend a single day without you in my life,” he dreamily stated, like a promise. A vow. One that you couldn’t reciprocate. 

“Peter,” you cried softly, gazing through blurry wet tears into the warmth of his eyes. 

He was so vulnerable. So eager. The memory of the times you’d broken his heart haunted you.

And then it was like a dam breaking. You pulled him into a kiss, your tongue invading his mouth. You were desperate for him. Desperate to console him. To heal wounds of past Tuesdays. Your fingers came up to grip the nape of his neck. You never wanted to let him go. 

But you had to tell him, didn’t you? You had to tell him that today was the last day of your life. It was the wrong day to promise anybody a lifetime of happiness. You had to tell him. 

But he was wrong about you. He wasn’t the one who was undeserving. It was you.

Selfishly, you breathed him into you, tasting the wonders of his mouth. Your fingers gripped his wet locks and he moaned into your mouth. He pulled away, his anxiety on his lips and a question weighing on his mind—the one you hadn’t answered.

“Please, don’t say anything,” you mumbled, your fingernails trailing into the flesh of his neck. He hissed at the sensation. It was rougher than you intended it to be. But you were getting used to pain. You wanted to share it as much as you wanted to escape it.

You kissed him, invading his mouth once again. “Please, just kiss me, Peter, please...” His shoulders relaxed as his tongue explored yours, a different kind of tension taking over his body. You felt his hand grip the back of your head, fingers twisting into your hair. You sucked and bit his soft lips, abusing the flesh. 

“Just stay here with me,” you moaned as you felt his hands travel down your back and thighs. You pressed your hips into his. “I don’t want to leave. I don’t ever want to leave. Just-just let’s stay here forever. Please.”

His breath hitched as you attacked the skin of his neck. He felt achingly hard beneath the towel, you pressed your warmth up against him. You climbed up until your legs wrapped around his waist like a serpent. You were the Tree of Knowledge, filled with lust, and truth, and the horror Tuesdays past. You wanted to intoxicate him. You wanted to protect him. You wanted to feel him. 

“Stay with me,” you gasped, your tongue skinning him. “Just touch me, please.”

As swiftly as the bullet fired from your least favorite officer’s gun, Peter scooped you up in his grip. Your back landed against the firm mattress, springs creaking beneath you, and Peter climbed on top of your body.

The world became a feverish blur. Fingers gripping. Nails biting. Teeth scraping. Every gasp met with a breathless sigh. Every pleasure-filled moan met with an aching cry. Soft caresses. Vicious kisses. Haphazard gropes in between the rhythmic percussion of thrusts. 

You could tell he wanted to slow down. He wanted to savor each moment as if he had plenty. He wanted to be gentle with you. To hold you as delicately and proudly as the precious metal held onto the solitaire gemstone of your engagement ring—still inside the box, discarded on the ground.

It didn't matter.

Peter was all you wanted. And as you doggedly pursued a building climax, you held onto him tightly. Each moment was worth more than any treasure on Earth. Each moment vanishing.”

“Harder,” you begged, “please, faster…”

The noise he responded with barely sounded human. A guttural groan through gritted teeth.

“Harder, please…”

“Don… wanna… hur’chu—“ he mumbled between labored breaths, his hands gripping the mattress on either side of your head. You swallowed his protests.

You wanted this to hurt. You welcomed the pain. “Please, Pete, harder,” you hotly whispered in his ear. “Harder!” You felt his thrusts deepen as he impaled your belly. “More! Don’t stop! Don’t stop!” His hands curled beside you. He drove his hips further, moaning into your mouth.

Beneath the sound of panting, you heard the sound of metal creaking. Fabric tearing. Peter’s fingers dug into the mattress, and as the fabric gave way, blood splattered across his neck.

He gazes down at you. Confused. Stunned. He pulls back, face turning white. You watch his eyes fill with terror. Panic. Then your gaze falls downwards. A twisted, coiled wire from the box spring had erupted through your chest. The severed muscle walls of your heart gush blood. You hear Peter call out your name.

TUESDAY, 7:00am

Your eyes popped open as you were viciously ripped away from the darkness. Music invaded your ears, your senses assaulted by a toe-tapping tune.

“It was the HEAT of the MOMENT...”

You lay limply, exactly where you died. Your eyes fixed on the ceiling.

“Tellin’ me.  what.  my. HEART meant...”

Your chest throbbed and your body ached. 

“The HEEEAT of the MOMENT…

Showed in your EYEEEES…”

Perhaps you were right after all, you thought. 

This was a joke. And, yes. This was also Hell.

This was a curse.

“Mornin’, Sunflower!” the devil in question rang out from your en suite bathroom. A moment later, Peter Parker’s head poked around the corner. He found you sitting up in the bedsheets, staring pensively at the wall above your desk. Your eyes were fixed just above the calendar, on the wall decal. Gold-leaf, curvy letters proclaiming your mantra.

SEIZE THE DAY

You read it again. And again. Your eyes scoured it. Obsessed. 

“Bug?” Peter questioned, watching as you slowly rose out of the bed. You tip-toed gently across the bedroom floor and stopped at your writing desk, digging underneath for a medium-sized storage box. You came to a slow stand, placing the box on the table.

He watched from the doorframe as if he could hear gears in your head spinning. “Uh... you.... Okay?”

You lifted the lid off of the box, fingers digging inside.

“Sorry about the music,” he said sheepishly, glancing over at the retro clock as the synthesized, progressive pop-metal riffs of Asia flowed into a second verse. “I forgot about my alarm...”

You pulled an old photo album from the box. One he’d never seen before. “It’s probably not the most pleasant way to wake up,” Peter remarked, realizing finally that you weren’t even listening. “Babe?”

You opened the photo album your mother sent you two years ago. It was still in the box that it had been shipped in. You remembered scoffing as you opened the Christmas present, rolling your eyes, telling Peter that your mother gifting you a relic of your family history was all he needed to know about her.

You flipped past several pages and came to a stop. Peter slowly approached you, peering over your shoulder at a portrait of four women of different generations, sitting together on a plastic-wrapped couch. It was an awkwardly posed photo, with awful dated fashions and hairstyles. One of the photos taken at family gatherings where instead of a “happy memory,” you get “proof of life.” 

In the picture, there was you—which was obvious, because in many ways you looked the same as you did as a child. Then there was your mother, the woman he’d seen pictures of, but never met, and was only known as “Kim.” Beside her, an older woman who looked strikingly like your mother. A grandmother, Peter guessed.

In the center of the photo, right next to you, there sat the oldest woman. A white-haired old maid with dark circles underneath her tired eyes, faced scored with deep wrinkles. He inspected the photo closely, grimacing, uncertain if the woman being photographed was mentally present at the taking of the photo. 

Your gaze was transfixed on an object that sat in your great-grandmother’s arms. It was a tiny pillow, with an intricate embroidered design: A clockface, and the blocky-lettered words: TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

You were alone in the living room, staring down at the cell phone in your hand. Peter was out of the apartment. You tasked him to bring back donuts, even though you wouldn’t eat any. Listeria was no joke. Besides, you needed the privacy.

Anxiously, you tapped your mother’s contact card, and put the phone to your ear.

After a few rings, you heard her silvery, bright tone. “Hi, honey! Were your ears burning? I was just about to call you! Isn’t that strange?”

“Hi,” you swallowed quietly. It was strange how you were struggling to find your voice. “Hey, Mom.”

“Listen— I wanted to tell you that I’m coming into the city this weekend. If you’re not busy with school, I figured we could catch up.”

You heard the sound of paper bags rustling. The memory of going to a farmers market with your mother popped in your head. You were eight. You told her you didn’t like pomegranate and she argued that you’d never had it before, and pomegranates were better than strawberries, and you were deeply offended by this. 

The ghost of a smile curled your lips briefly, and the memory faded away.

“Maybe we could get dinner, or lunch? Or maybe I can finally meet that boyfriend of yours?”

You considered the first time she’d asked, and considered the timing of the object hidden inside Peter’s nightstand, and suddenly things made sense.

“I know you’re both so busy, but… I think it would be nice to get to know him. And to see you. If you have time.”

You felt your eyes sting. Time was the one thing you had. Just not the right time.

“Yeah, um…I wanted to ask you a question,” you began with a trembling breath. You continued to hear the rustling of paper bags and rattling of canned goods on the other end of the phone. “Could Nana Manners actually see the future?”

The phone went silent as your mother went still. You could practically hear her purse her lips. “Who on earth told you that?” she laughed with a humorless scoff.

More silence. Through the phone, you could hear your mother’s heart beating like a drum.

“She did,” you replied. “The day she died.”

You waited for a laugh. Another scoff. Perhaps a snide remark that would borderline insult your intelligence. Instead, there was a heavy silence filled with a million unspoken things. 

“Don’t be silly,” your mother finally blurted. The clamor on the other end of the line made you wonder if she was doing origami with her paper bags. “You know that poor woman was ill.”

That was all you needed to hear.

Continue to Part 4

A/N: hey what’d you think? Tell me what you liked by reblogging and/or leaving a comment!

Thank you so much for reading, and thank you for supporting fandom writing.

[youremyonlyhope]

Eve of the Daleks

I literally only just found out like 3 days ago that the episode was airing at 2pm and that 8pm would be the encore. So yay! Watching the show as it airs with the Brits for once!

Also, I love how it seems that Daleks never want to show up unless it’s New Year’s Day. For Thirteen’s whole run, the Daleks are like “No, let the Doctor be. It’s not New Year’s Eve yet... Ok NOW we attack”

Rewatching the last half of the Vanquishers and I forgot how much I adore Azure’s coat. I really need to make it.

Whoever this Jeff guy is, he sucks. Nick seems like a sweetheart Sarah looks familiar. And I don’t know why... Aww the goggles are back! Is the TARDIS going to redesign when it resets? Yaz is excited to run, and Dan’s so tired of it all already.

My wifi sucks, so wish me luck in this running without buffering. The quality’s gone pixely so that’s a great sign.

NO NICK! How many times does the Doctor have to come upon a dead body in their lifetime? “What’s a Dalek?” Oh poor sweet Dan. “Daleks learn” Doctor, I don’t know why you’re shocked. I was about to ask if we’ve had an episode where the Doctor died right away, then I remembered Turn Left, and the Astronaut, and of course Heaven Sent. Well at least they’ve all noticed the deja vu time loop right away. Wait. Did the Doctor know there was a second person in the building? Did she meet Sarah? Did I miss her discovering her body too? Why is it firing multiple shots rather than just one? I was scared this mom would have to hear her daughter die for a moment. Sarah, why run towards the Dalek... I mean I like the ambition but that’s not gonna work out. “Time Loop” “Time Loop” “Groundhog Day” awwwww. “We both came to find each other!” “Yeah... that was it.” Sarah come on. I love that Nick is more confused about inspectors coming on a holiday than the Dalek. Nick shhhhh. You’re digging herself into a hole. Don’t. ”Bit harsh.” Yeah... OK yeah Sarah you’re taking out some frustration now. Yes Nick has some abnormal habits, and it was borderline creepy for a moment there, but no need to go this hard. Oh god. Nick no. Yeah that door was never going to hold. I wonder if the Dalek heard all that.

I gotta google and figure out why I know Sarah’s actress. Ok as far as I know, I’ve never seen anything she’s in. But she did Task Master so that was probably it, I probably saw clips of her episodes on YouTube at some point.

DAN NO SWEETHEART NO. NO. Well I’m glad she came clean and apologized. Ew Jeff lives here? Nick feels familiar now too. Hmm. Why does Nick always die first? Besides this time when Dan died first. “Which particular actions?” Yeah you gotta be more specific. Yaz looking at Doctor when Sarah’s talking about good-hearted weirdos being keepers... amazing. Oh god. Nick doesn’t survive past five-to. I was right to notice it. Ughhh someone go get him please.

I googled Nick’s actor and I haven’t seen anything he’s in either, but he’s in a show called Dreaming Whilst Black, so I might have to check that out.

YES NICK!!!!!!!! WHY DID NO ONE DO THAT BEFORE?!?!!?!? Good plan. But did they say who should go upstairs and who should go to the basement? Well Sarah just died so you got restart again anyway. DAN ARE YOU MAKING THIS CANON?? IS THIS ACTUALLY HAPPENING? SO THASMIN IS NOT A DELUSION?? Duck! They should have pulled a Nick and DUCKED! But I guess since the Dalek’s didn’t scream Exterminate that they didn’t get the warning it was happening.

BUT OH. MY GOD. I really wasn’t sure that Doctor Who would go there. They barely let Clara go beyond like implications of “There was one other man, but he was impossible” and “If you love me in anyway you’ll come back.” But they’re doing it! At least, they’re making it explicit from Yaz’s side. Oh my god. It’s happening. Where’s that Office gif...

(Also seriously, if anyone can point me towards any adorable fics of Yaz and Dan and Jericho traveling the world in the 1910s I will love you forever. I wanna see that bromance in action.)

Oh Doctor, love, no. Don’t yell at Yaz. “She likes you.” DAN OH MY GOD. DAN YOU JUST CAN’T SAY THAT. YOU... NO. “For some reason, you pretend to her, and to me, that you don’t.” Dan you’re really reading everyone like a book this episode. Good for Nick moving on. Nice, decoy. Seriously, the Doctor should wear a watch. Why does the Doctor never really wear watches? I want them to. Next Doctor, I want a watch in the design. And I’d love for it to be set to a completely weird time zone. Or like 20 time zones. Do it. Or you know, just let me design the next outfit. Very reminiscent of Martha’s 42 call to her mom. “Ex. Terminated!” That’s so cute.

Honestly I’m still sort of reeling from the Yaz thing and Dan being like one of your annoying middle school friends going up to your crush and telling them you like them. But a much more sincere version.

It’s all on you now, mom. OOF. That is... quite a demolition. WHERE’S THE TARDIS. Yeah Doctor. Feel some guilt about Yaz. Feeellll ittttt. Hey isn’t that the guy from the first episode? The Woman Who Fell To the Earth? He was scared of heights? I’m not crazy, that’s him right? Ok no redesign yet. “I don’t remember.” Doctor stop LYING. “She already thinks I’m crazy for traveling with a man I just met” Aww. Moms are always suspicious. “I feel like it was more of a meet-cute” Ok I can get behind the ship I think.

Someone under the SFX credits was named Rory Williams. I’m SURE I didn’t imagine that but then again it did get pixelly at that part.

OH THAT’S CRUEL. THEY’RE PLAYING TWICE UPON A TIME NOW. SO RUDE. Ugh. I gotta watch it. I missed all the Twelve episodes earlier in the marathon. I gotta watch this.

Anyway. I’ll keep proofreading and adding to this as I watch.

That was a fun episode. Still confused that the Doctor knew there were 2 people, but it’s possible I didn’t pay attention to the first few minutes since I was scrolling through some knitting patterns in true Eighth Doctor fashion. 

Oh Twelve. You bring me so much joy. I’m getting distracted by Twice Upon a Time. “You still call it a ship!”

Oh my god. But Yaz actually being in love with the Doctor. Like... not just us wishing it... we’re not delusional... Oh my god... And sweet Dan being the one to figure it out and trying to be a sort of wingman but also to just get the Doctor’s head out of the dirt and see it for herself. Ahhh. Oh my god.

When is the next special? Will anything come of this? I imagine nothing can come of it since both Jodie and Mandip are leaving after the specials finish up. God I hope Yaz doesn’t die like right after admitting her love... I’m gonna be so sad.

Also, Twice Upon the Time using WW1 as a setting just to purely break my heart even more... still not over it. WWI always makes me sad. “World War One. What do you mean, one?” I always softly sadly gasp when I hear that line.

Anyway. That was fun. And I’m back to Doctor Who withdrawal until the next special.

Oh my god the way that Twelve just SPRINTS out the TARDIS when he sees Bill. And hugs her. I can’t handle it. Their friendship was my favorite.

Also I have no clue if that guy was the same one from Thirteen’s first episode. IMDB isn’t helping me right now and I’m too into Twice Upon a Time now to dig any deeper. yay!

[transbibennyweir]

hi super random but i love your blog!! i miss mbav so so much so thank you for all the content!! also what do u think of a time loop episode?? if there was a s3 i think we Absolutely should have gotten one what do u think??

that’s so !!!! nice of you to say !!! i miss mbav a lot too so this blog brings me joy and i love to talk about the show so people liking my content is so cool !!! also i really really like time loop episodes (i think tv tropes call them groundhog day episodes) but i just think they’re really fun because while there’s a common formula for that kind of episode the added fun of it is how the character reacts. how quickly they notice things repeating or trying figure out what’s causing the loop and how fix it and ahhhhh !!!! really fun to think about and i would’ve loved an episode in season three with that idea

[ezrisdax-archive]

thoughts on time loops?

okay remember you asked this.

so. I wrote this as I was traveling home and it’s still just a jumble of thoughts but spoilers for like...all shows with time loops. there are a few things I think make up a perfect time loop, not all shows need to follow this structure, most only follow a few of the key things I feel they need and still come out stellar but what it boils down to for me is:

There can only be at max two people involved in the time loop. Three if you have a villain whose caused the loop but the focus should be about those two/one protag character stuck in the loop. This means the narrative growth they go through and the things they learn in the loop gets to shine, Legends of Tomorrow’s loop with Zari for instance. She gets to grow as a person with no else realizing what’s going on and remembers once it’s done. Time loops at their core should be about allowing narrative growth for a short amount of time.

They should remember all aspects of the loop once it’s done. Now some shows can pull off not having that, The Librarians for instance is in my top three of time loops but Ezekiel doesn’t remember in the end and it is probably my least fave part of that loop, but the other characters around him know he experienced the change and see that part of his growth, but I still believe that in order to further development the characters should remember the loop

Now if you’re not going for narrative growth then time loops should be about fun, this I feel is limited to shows that aren’t dramas. Like the Lilo and Stitch cartoon one. You can still have some growth but in a show where most of that will be reset anyway by the next episode just focus on the fun aspect there.

While you can start off in media res like Dark Matter’s time loop there’s something enjoyable about seeing the start, comparing the first loop and then every thing after it and the characters realizing what’s going on. It gives you a chance to really see the differences between each loops.

Look all things have been done before but that doesn’t mean you can’t put your own twist on the loop. In the Librarians the loop is because he’s trapped in a game. In Dark Matter a second person gets stuck in the loop a long time after the first person does. In Star Trek: TNG they don’t realize they’re even in a loop and only have deja vu and subtle hints something is wrong and what they need to change. You can make time loops unique.

Enjoy the humour in them. While I do believe they should mostly be used to establish a change in a character, there’s always that moment in the loop where the character realizes they can do anything. It allows them to explore different areas with other characters while not ruining anything in the show and gives a reasonable explanation for going back to the status quo for the other people not in the loop. Granted that leads to...

Exploring what the loop does on the person. How living it constantly over and over wears you down. Stargate’s time loop does this best for me with quick short loops each about ten seconds long that still get across the exhaustion happening to the characters. Each time you see Jack and the fruit loops you can see he’s just done with this.

Have there be a continual issue the person stuck in the loop has to deal with. It’s a lesson to be learned, like Sam dealing with Dean dying in Supernatural or Erica in Being Erica learning to take the value of a single day or in the movie Naked when the main character just has to

Lean on the repeats, explore the differences even one line can make when a character doesn’t get a chance to say them or how the character in the loop convinces others they’re in the loop and need help. Or you can just show the faith that the characters have in each other by having them believe the other right away like Nathan does with Audrey in Haven’s. There’s something enjoyable either in showing the growing bond of the characters or how it’s always there.

When the loop is done give one scene at the end to show the character is still living some aspect of them. In Stargate Jack is allowed to enjoy oatmeal which seems silly but is big to him given how the loop was. In all of Russian Dolls you can tell the characters aren’t going to forget these any time soon and it’s still influencing their actions and choices (granted this whole show is a loop so it would focus on that anyway). In the Adventure Zone the knowledge Magnus gets from the loop literally changes everything about the story as it follows.

Look at their core time loops are the same as any trope, a means to tell a story. They just also allow the story to contain more growth than the usual one given the short amount of time. You can make them as funny or as drama as you want, ranging from Xena’s episode with Cupid and using her chakram to fix all the issues in one city to Eureka’s episode that ends with Stark dying to stop the loop for good. The nice thing about this trope is how it can be played either way.

Also while loops don’t really explore it (Dark Matter tried but ended the loop on the first go) is getting someone in the loop after the first person is already in it. @sidewaystime and I have had talks about nested loops like that, would the loop reset if either died? Would one have to live out the time till the reset? If someone loops in a smaller time frame than the first how does the effect the first loop? If the first loop is broken does that autobreak the second loop? And if they person starts is now on the same time frame as the first loop what does that mean for the technology that started the loop? Can it sustain that? Is that would cause it to fail in the end?

You can do a whole show of it! Play it like Daybreak and Russian Doll and go whole episodes/seasons involved in that loop or do it like Tru Calling and loop once.

There’s just a lot of variety with this trope! It’s amazing what it can do! Aaaand my top loops episodes/arcs:

Window of Opportunity - Stargate

Cause and Effect - Star Trek: TNG

And the Point of Salvation - The Librarians

The 11th Hour - The Adventure Zone

Naked (Netflix film)

Here I go Again - Legends of Tomorrow

Mystery Spot - Supernatural (look I hate the show but that’s a good episode!)

All the Time in the World - Dark Matter

I Do Over - Eureka

Been There, Done that - Xena

(notice I did not actually put Groundhog Day on here, while I do enjoy that movie I hate that the guys a douche and wins the girl over in the end. I’m not comfortable if they do a relationship much in a loop unless it’s fanfic)

send me asks that are like “thoughts on ______”  

[akisazame]

2, 4, and 20 for the writing meta asks?

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

the only project i’m allowed to think about right now is the queliot friends to enemies to lovers...

i’ve been writing it in a very piecemeal way, jotting down parts of scenes as they come to me, so a lot of the time when i come up with a part that i’m excited to write then i just do it. but it’s a story told in two parts, three years of high school followed by quentin and eliot reuniting at brakebills five years later, and i’ve only written tiny bits of the brakebills part since it will be so heavily informed by whatever i come up with for the high school part. so i’m looking forward to writing that, because it’s where the enemies to lovers bit happens, and if all goes well it will be deliciously messy.

4. Share a sentence or paragraph from your writing that you’re really proud of (explain why, if you like)

still really fond of this bit from solutions:

She wishes this were a Groundhog Day scenario, where she could just keep trying over and over again until she figures out the exact series of events that will make Josh Chan fall head over heels for her and then they can spontaneously buy a house together. Which strikes Rebecca as weird, now that she thinks of it, because Andie MacDowell had only known Bill Murray for like, a day and a half? Not that Rebecca can really throw stones. Which is not a great metaphor, currently.

i was born on this terrible earth to write this sentence! the inspo for this came from the episode of @serpentcast where they talked about groundhog day, and one of the topics of discussion was the inherent imbalance of a time loop romance, where the person looping establishes a depth and breadth of knowledge about the other person that the non-looper can never achieve. despite the truly unconscionable number of times i’ve watched groundhog day, i hadn’t thought about it in that way until freya pointed it out! and, to me, it seemed like something rebecca, with her love of romance tropes but also the high value she places on consent, would notice and comment on. this was also one of those train-of-thought-y type sentences that just flowed very easily from my brain to the page and required basically no editing, which is always both welcome and exciting.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

ugh neither of the fics that would most apply to this are actually... things anyone can read...

i’ve talked before about the kiss symbolism in solutions but i will use this opportunity to bring it up again because it delights me.

there’s a direct reference to @notbang‘s wildfire quarantine fic in in hopes that the glare... i don’t think anyone ever called me on my bullshit for that.

as far as my wips, for whatever reason i decided it would be a great and fun idea to write high school aus for both cxgf and the magicians, which is interesting because i’ve had to dial back these characters into versions that we either very briefly get to see or don’t get to see at all! i’ve had to think very hard about characteristics and mannerisms that each character has in canon and consider when they might’ve developed that trait. honestly i feel like camp canyon grove au is a bit muppet babies in that the characters are mostly similar to their canon versions except with everything turned up to 11 because they’re teens. the queliot au is a whole other story because we know, canonically, that eliot is Like That because of his own conscious choices once he got out of his father’s house, so i get to dial him back all the way and then slowly construct him over time. on top of that i get to write a version of quentin who is contending with all the bullshit inherent in having brain problems but doesn’t have a formal diagnosis or understanding of any of it yet. it’s been fun, and weird, and challenging.

(fun meta asks for writers)

[incorrectsmashbrosquotes]

The Ridley Roast

(A few of the Smashers decide to hold a “celebrity” roast for Ridley in the hopes of curbing some of his more… difficult habits. Joker approaches the stand first)

Joker: Okay, I guess I’ll go first. Ridley went into my phone, and changed the notification tone… to the “ping” of a grenade pin.

Ridley: Alertness is a full-time job!

(Eve is on the stand)

Dark Samus/Eve: He coined the term “active bitch-face”, just for me.

Ridley: And you brainwashed me. I think we’re even.

(Cloud is on the stand)

Cloud: (translated from Japanese) <Whatever I say he’ll just yell he can’t understand me.>

Ridley: I can’t understand you!

Cloud: <I am in hell and he is the devil.>

Ridley: Me no speekie Japanesie!

(Mario is on the stand)

Mario: He came to me with suggestions to make the Adventure Mode more… “cool”. I’ll-a just list them. Ridley get a leather jacket, Ridley punches a jukebox, Ridley falls asleep watching a horror movie and dreams a mad scientist has stolen his… “cool.”

Ridley: Uh-huh.

Mario: Ridley, these are just episodes of Happy Days with you as the Fonz!

Ridley: NUH-UH!

Mario: Ridley. Jumps. A shark.

Ridley: It’d be a real turning point for us! (Pichu walks up to the stand)

Ridley: Sit down, Pichu. (He promptly does so. Samus is now on the stand, clearing her throat.)

Ridley: (Huge exaggerated yawn)

Samus: …May I?

Ridley: Oh no, go ahead. That was a yawn of enthusiasm.

Samus: This is pointless. (tries to walk off, but gets sent back to the stage by the others)

Mario: Come on, Samus, we all did it.

Samus: Okay. I mean, he’s the worst part about my life.

Ridley: Aw, thank you so much! But I didn’t get you anything.

Samus: I wish him specific harm. Like a thousand years of Groundhog Day, but for a looping period of 20 seconds.

Ridley: Haha, Catch-22! Any hell without you is heaven.

Samus: You know what? I give up. My eyes were bigger than my fucks given on this one. [sigh] He won’t change. 

(walks off and returns to the audience)

Ridley: And she folds! Classic Sammy! What’s it like being a loser? Don’t answer that, I can tell just by looking at you! It’s like a pile of pure failure in a robot suit!

(Someone coughs next to Ridley. He turns to find that Kirbyhad taken the stand without anyone noticing.)

Kirby: (clears throat) Yes. (clears throat three more times) Hello.

Samus: …Hi, Kirby.

Kirby: So, uh… Ridley. Yeah, he’s really cool. And uh… (Joker whispers something to him) Oh! Stuff I don’t like. But I like Ridley! He fights with me, he has a cool tail, and he helps me barbecue things! In conclusion, Ridley is the best!

Ridley: Kirby… I didn’t expect that from you. I have to tell you…I’m so…so…so MAD! Are you serious, puffball?! You can’t even think of one thing?!

Kirby: Ahh…

Ridley: How many years have I known you? And you don’t even know the first thing about me! I know your favorite animal, What position you sleep in, why you don’t have a belly button, and I’m the mystery!? You could’ve picked a million things you’d change about me. I chew with my mouth open. On purpose! I’m afraid of Piranha Plant! I mean, heck… I claim to be the fiercest and most sadistic fighter in the roster, but I haven’t killed anyone since I got in! Murder is all I’ve known since I was a boy, without it I’m nothing! There’s nothing solid in me to hold onto! Why wouldn’t you guys criticize me?! I’m a malformed freak! I have all your faults and more, but I ridicule them and you and tolerate them in myself! I HATE MUSHROOMS!!!(collapses as if he’d just lost a stamina match, sobbing quietly) God, I hate mushrooms… (the other Smashers slowly start to back away)

[polandspringz]

📝📕💔👖🙋

First off, thank you so much for this ask! I love Kagepro and since August 15th is tomorrow I gotta kick that celebration off early. 

📝 favorite lyric/s:

I’m currently torn between “Lost Time Memory” (cause I’m basic) and “Remind Blue”’s lyrics. From “Lost Time Memory”, I’ll be citing Jubyphonic’s translation since it’s a little clearer:

Cry to god, a boy, no stronger

And in those days he stood, no falter

A summer smile I won’t remember

No, it stays the same forever

And as for “Remind Blue”, this is Will Stetson’s take on the final chorus:

The darkened haze, your laughing face, and now the time you leave me 

Repeat again, and start to blend, and fade into my memory 

Yet as we grow, of this I know, no matter where we go 

There is one thing that stays the same, because your smile still remains

Jin is not doubt a master musician, to the point that even his old songs still surprise me. I was listening to Jinzou Enemy again yesterday and just noticed how similar the build ups of the final verses before the chorus are, and almost cried by how overwhelmed I was. It was even really a leitmotif, it’s just his style and the way he is able to get emotion even through a Vocaloid as he has them desperately speed up before they deliver the solid message of the chorus. These lyrics too, I’ve always found them to the be the ones that get the most core part of Shintarou’s character, and the Kagerou Project’s story through. If I had to pick a third option to though, it would be something near the end of Ayano’s Theory of Happiness.

📕 favorite retelling of Azami’s story:

Surprisingly, I felt like MCA did a great job showing Azami’s story. Maybe it was a little rushed when we got to the episode actually dedicated to her and Shion, but it was a very clear depiction. I loved the paper cutout/stained glass art they used for each episode ending dedicated to her wandering the world. As much as the manga and novels were more indepth about her creation and such, it was a nice touch the story book feel of the animation.

💔 3 things you hate about it:  

Kagerou Project and groundhog day stories in general have a very interesting premise. You can repeat a story multiple times and explore new routes and character motivations and still have them start over again and do it again. You never really have to let the story “end”, really. The cool thing about Kagerou Project, and one of the things about it that inspired me in my own writing from it, was how it essentially used the time loop to do a video game style “bad end”, “good end”, and “true end” in literature and animation. However, I think Jin truly didn’t know when to stop with this. I liked the fact that each medium of the story conveyed a different route, but it left things messy, especially in the manga’s case, and a lot of the time it felt like we still never got the whole picture. I know the songs are the backbone and the plot outline/story beats and the novels are the end all be all, but the manga bugged me because while it gave us two very interesting bad ends, it still feels like we didn’t get the victory we deserved. Across all the mediums, I feel like Jin and the production team (because I don’t blame Jin solely for the issues MCA had) I felt like we should have seen more routes, or at least maybe the same core routes with a few changes. Like how “in a day’s” has Konoha involved in the hostage situation, that’s just brushed over in the manga, I think the series would be more enjoyable if one of the more visual mediums had done multiple runthroughs and went into depth about Route XX, the bad end, and eventually all ending with Summertime Record’s truth.

Secondly, the anime is a hot mess. We all knew that, and even though it made me cry because I loved seeing the culmination of Jin’s work, I really disliked it. Similarly to above, I wish it had at least 2 cours so we could have explored the routes more. I liked that we started the series with Ayano talking to Shintarou in the Daze, but when adapting Kagepro, I think starting more in medias res (say show quick flashes of Outer Science?) would work better and help draw the audience in. Establish early on that something bad is coming, time is looping, something. The third thing I really hate is that the anime just sort of threw the songs in there instead of taking the time to tell the story. It was a nice touch, but making a bunch of glorified music videos took away from the story and the plot development, and we already had good music videos already. In Lost Time Memory, hell, they reused clips from the original PV and the manga in the credits. And with the way Ayano’s Theory of Happiness worked out, even in the blu-ray version, I just felt like it was cringey. 

👖 if you had to wear one character’s clothes for a month, who would you pick:

Momo, specifically, her idol outfit. I’ve already made it for a cosplay once and love big dresses and being flashy, so why not?

🙋 if you could meet 3 kagepro characters who would you pick and what would you do together:

This is hard but, probably Shintarou, Hibiya, and Konoha. I really want to give the whole cast a hug and just comfort them after what they went through, but in the case of Konoha, the moment he turned into Kuroha I would not hesitate and destroy him before he could touch the Dan.

[glapplebloom]

Since Equestria Girls doesn’t have a set schedule like the Main Pony Universe, I figured why not review it now.

Its the Starswirled Music Festival and the gang are here to watch the festivities. Sunset and Pinkie are super excited because their favorite Pop Duo (PostCrush) are reunited once more and they get the chance to see them live. And tomorrow, they’re going to enjoy it.

Sadly, the next day has not been good to Sunset. She gets spanked by Rainbow Dash, mud ruined her shoes, having to wait in a long line, and Pinkie being so Pinkie that they’re kicked out of the Festival before they could see PostCrush. Sunset is clearly upset but luckily for her, someone else thought today could use a do over...

Sunset wakes up to find she’s experiencing the same day again. Twilight theorizes that Sunset is in a Time Loop. And Sunset theorizes that this magic is giving her a second chance to see PostCrush. Or a third chance as once again Pinkie Pie causes them to be kicked out once more.

Day 1-3 has Sunset Shimmer deciding to ditch Pinkie Pie and just see the concert herself. While Pinkie is clearly upset, Sunset didn’t care because she finally got to see PostCrush live like she wanted. Even got one of their guitar picks. Not even being thrown shade could ruin her mood.

Day 1-4 arrives and now Sunset begins to worry. Apparently she experienced the same day so much she knows what to expect from everyone (including being called a witch by Snips for knowing what would happen to him). After a 17 Days, she even tried to drive out of the area to try to escape from the Time Loop. It was only after that she decides to write a letter to Pony Twilight because Pinkie asked her what she said about it.

Pony Twilight finds out that the effects of the Loop is because of a Time Twirler. Someone managed to find it so the day can repeat over and over. So whoever is doing the Time Loop is doing it purposely. Why Sunset is immune to it? Never really explained. Also, Ponies can copy and paste documents into other things like a computer. Why is that the most impressive power to me?

Their first culprit: the Dazzlings. They just found out they’re here and to compensate for losing their voices they use vocal processing. It takes them two days to get into their Van only to find out they do not have the Time Twirler. Its also on this day that Sunset finally figures out she’s been treating Pinkie badly and decides to use the Loop for that.

All the things that made Pinkie an annoyance to Sunset are soon the activites that they take part in. Winning a Tandem Bike, trying out the maze, paint mess, and even the special churros Pinkie keeps crashing into causing them to be kicked out. And thanks to doing all this, Sunset and Pinkie are given the chance to meet PostCrush before the concert.

Too bad for her they’re the reason the day keeps looping over and over. They want their concert to be perfect and any little thing wrong they just loop it over and over. And thanks to Supernova Zap’s “artistic skills”, Sunset and Pinkie will be banned before coming into the Festival. Luckily for Sunset, she made friends with the Guard to let her back in after being kicked out.

After finding the duo once more and a small struggle, the Time Twirler was destroyed. PostCrush felt their legacy was destroyed, but Sunset showed them that the audience don’t care for perfection, they just want to see them perform. And the mistakes made during a live performances can leave fun memories. And after three weeks of Rainbow Dash spanking her every day except the last, Day 2 finally happens. 

Overall, fun episode. Nice to see the Dazzlings back. An interesting twist of the Groundhogs Day Plot. And for you memers out there a out of context scene I’m pretty sure everyone is abusing already.

For rewriting, I can explain why Sunset can notice the loop and why no one else can: Indigo Lantern. If a Green Lantern can prevent Retcons, an Indigo one could do it too. Without Pony Twilight for help, Sunset has to hear it from Pinkie Pie that if someone else is doing something different they maybe responsible for it. And as you can guess, everything remains the same.

[sbnkalny]

Kara t and d-- hh... (this guy) Don't really stand to each other... I haven't seen them stand next to each other in a lo... in... 18 MINUTES Anyway thus concludes my LetsPlay of SGRUB. All in all: 7/10 game ALL my friends died 7/10 Make sure to like, comment and subs

Kara t and d-- hh... (this guy) don't really know anything about nu metal music video, we have never looked for ourselves, – so how are we ever achieve true understanding, by which i Was very happy about a spoilery thing that happened on game of thrones. I haven't seen them stand next to leffy comes back some day.. In... 18 minutes anyway thus concludes my letsplay of sgrubAll in all: 7/10 game all my friends died 7/10 make sure to like, comment and subs

[douxreviews]

Russian Doll - Series Review

"Life is like a box of timelines. You feel me?"

Yes, it's Groundhog Day. But I'm okay with that. Because Russian Doll, an eight-episode half-hour Netflix series, is much more than a Groundhog Day retread.

(And I won't spoil you in my opener. Although I definitely will under the adorable spoiler kitten.)

Why did I love this series? It's not just that I could watch Natasha Lyonne in anything. She's wry, she's dry, she's incredibly funny as jaded, sarcastic and emotionally exhausted Nadia Vulvokov ("It's like Volvo, but with more letters and dyslexic") who becomes stuck in a time loop on her thirty-sixth birthday. It's just that it's so enjoyable watching Nadia figure out what is happening to her, and why. Russian Doll not only stays good, it keeps getting better, right through to the satisfying ending. I finished it last night and I could sit down right now and watch the whole thing again.

The loop begins in the bathroom at the birthday party that is being thrown for Nadia by her friends Max and Lizzy. Each time Nadia dies, she returns at the sink, staring at herself in the bathroom mirror. Just the décor of the bathroom itself is enough to clue in the viewer that this is no average story; it is shiny and black and features a decorative glowing purple vulva on the door, and a door handle shaped like a gun.

Initially, Nadia seems self-absorbed and uncaring. She was unable to commit to a relationship with her boring ex-boyfriend John, who hangs around the party hoping to get her back, and it is very like Nadia to keep leaving a party that is being thrown specifically for her. And yet, as we go through the time loops with her, we learn that she cares about homeless people and homeless cats, and that she carries with her an immense load of guilt about the death of her mother.

There is an absolutely mad amount of metaphor permeating Russian Doll. My favorites are that Nadia is a game developer who designs characters that get stuck in certain levels, like what is happening to her, and of course, the title of the series is a reference to Matryoshka nesting dolls. You get the point.

If you haven't tried this series yet, I encourage you to stop reading right here and go check it out. It's really wonderful. And I'm going to delve into spoilers below the adorable spoiler kitten.

It's fascinating how Nadia proceeds in her investigation of the time loop. Was it the drug in the joint Max kept handing her? No. Could it be ghosts in the creepy old yeshiva building? No, but I loved the visit to the rabbi. Is Nadia herself simply crazy? Let's check in with the therapist that raised her. Is she being punished because she's a bad person? Am I a bad person, she asks all of her friends. Clearly, she is not.

The part of Russian Doll that I found the most intriguing, and interestingly, the most unlike Groundhog Day, was how Nadia's loop was tied into Alan's (Charlie Barnett), a man who is essentially her complete opposite. He is as controlled as Nadia is freewheeling, as tight as she is loose. (And I don't mean sexually... although actually, that works, too.) The music that is playing when Nadia re-sets in the strange black bathroom is the bouncy and appropriate "Gotta Get Up." For Alan, alone in his pristine white bathroom, it's classical music. And yes, black and white bathrooms, I get it.

What an incredibly cute meet. I mean, there they are in an elevator full of terrified people plummeting to their deaths, and Nadia and Alan notice each other calmly waiting to die. I enjoyed their debates about morality and existence and the multiverse as they tried to figure it all out. Especially how Nadia decided at one point that she and Alan were the same person and stabbed him in order to find out if she would feel his pain. And now that I'm typing that sentence, I realized that Nadia and Alan did feel each other's pain, that that was the point, pun intended.

Because of course, and by the end it made sense, the two of them got caught in the same time loop because they were initially supposed to save each other's lives. When they repeated the initial loop knowing the truth, they were able to save each other as well as break free of their old emotional chains.

The changes that started creeping into the later loops freaked me out – the disappearing fish, the rotting fruit, the broken and disappearing mirrors. The intersection of Alan's cheating girlfriend Beatrice (Orange is the New Black's Dascha Polanco) and Nadia's one-night-stand Mike (Jeremy Bobb), was so clever. The way that young Nadia kept appearing and causing adult Nadia's death was also freaky. Not to mention the flashback watermelons. Ruth, the woman that raised Nadia, was a therapist. You'd think Nadia would have explored her feelings about her mentally ill mother sooner, but okay.

A couple of other things, and I'm done. Gotta love a series that segues into a discussion of art criticism. I thought Mike's line about himself was so fascinating that I wrote it down: "Nobody chooses me. I'm the hole where a choice should be." The early sequence where Nadia kept falling down the stairs was supposed to be funny, but I found it disturbing. And I appreciate Nadia's humanity in doing so, but how could she let a strange homeless man with his own scissors cut her hair?

Will there be a second season? How could there be? Any theories?

Four out of four broken mirrors. 

Billie Doux loves good television and spends way too much time writing about it.

[shmreduplication]

v stream-of-consciousness post about Is It Worth It To Rewatch Timeloops And Can Timeloop Movies Have Foreshadowing/Subtext That You Don’t Pick Up Until Rewatching It?

idk if I mentioned but I rewatched Palm Springs and it’s like .  how explain.  It’s still v good but it’s not any better on the rewatch.  I don’t mean that it’s worse it’s more like...  Usually I expect foreshadowing to be revealed in a rewatch and there are a few less-than-a-second shots in the first minute of the film that a revealed in the rewatch as being part of the earthquake+cave but that’s like.  that’s it.  

the movie already thoroughly examines and reviews its own foreshadowing that there’s almost no subtext left to pick up on a rewatch.  Which isn’t bad or good but it is very interesting.  It’s a v tight movie, meaning that not a single shot or line of dialogue is wasted or unnecessary, but it’s kinda so tight that it kinda removes the need for any rewatches?  I do empathize way more with JK Simmon’s character tho so if you like JK Simmons then i guess it’s worth it

One of my favorite and definitely my most watched film of all time is The Man From UNCLE and there is a lot of b-roll and “fun” editing that aren’t necessary to the plot/movie/characters but they are still useful for establishing and maintianing The Vibe and the vibe shifts a lot so there’s a lot of b-roll.  Also it’s an action+adventure movie so b-roll is a requirement to the genre.  And I still pick up foreshadowing and subtext that I’ve never noticed before in about a third of my viewings.  So it’s extremely weird for me to rewatch a film and there is just not any new information

but then that raises a new question of like can you even leave stuff for the rewatch in a single-day timeloop movie?  

in our post-Groundhog Day world, the timelooper is supposed to learn everything about everyone they’re interacting with so all motivations should be thoroughly examined and revealed.  Russian Doll is long enough to have time for foreshadowing, in Evelyn Hardcastle I could barely keep track of who was being inhabited and there were so many characters that I’d understand more in a reread no matter what.  I haven’t rewatched any single episodes of shows except for Supernatural and I just paid more attention to Sam’s emotions but that was it, it was kinda too short to really include foreshadowing (also if you can ignore everything that’s happened in Supernatural in the past few years, that ep is 10000% worth a rewatch.  It’s easy to make timeloops fucked up but that one was really fucked up)  Naked ... I also think would not be better on a rewatch but also was not good enough that I would rewatch it (it’s The Hangover meets Groundhogs Day, p fun but there’s no subtlety). And it also sifted thru every moment of the 1-hr loop to the point that I don’t think any grain of sand was left unturned for a rewatch

I’m going to watch Before I Fall tonight or tomorrow and I’m definitely going to be watching it with this in the back of my mind

[syrupwit]

Letter for Trick or Treat Exchange 2021

-

Hello there, and welcome to my letter for Trick or Treat Exchange 2021! I appreciate that you’ve taken the time to read this letter. I hope that it will provide you with clarification, inspiration, or whatever else you may happen to be seeking from it.

Although I’ve written more for some sections and less for others, rest assured I would be thrilled to receive a gift for any of the requested fandoms, characters, or fanwork types. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out through the mods.

I have requested Fic Only, Tricks and Treats for all canons.

Please see the table of contents below:

Likes

Do Not Want (DNW)

Fandom - Dishonored

Fandom - Fallout: New Vegas

Fandom - The Magnus Archives

Fandom - Stellar Firma

Fandom - What We Do In The Shadows (TV)

-

LIKES

I have a very long list of likes here.

For Treats, some general things I like are:

Absurd, silly, or situation-based humor

Surreality, weirdness, crack treated seriously

Lore and worldbuilding

Unusual team-ups

Dramatic rescues

Get togethers and first times

Halloween tropes and trappings that tend more towards the fun or cheesy (pumpkins, candy, trick-or-treating, costume parties, bad horror movies, haunted houses, autumn weather, friendly supernatural creatures, black cats having a good time)

For Tricks, some general things I like are:

Dark comedy, gallows humor, horror-comedy

Psychological, paranormal, gothic, and cosmic horror

Creepy lore and worldbuilding

Unreliable narrators

Corruption

Hurt no comfort (esp. emotionally)

Supernatural creatures and goings-on of all kinds

-

DO NOT WANT (DNW)

Characters depicted as under age 18 involved in sexual situations

Characters having sex without mutual sexual attraction

Hate speech or hate crimes (discussions/mentions of bigotry are fine)

Harm to pet animals (the existence of ghost pets is OK, and it’s fine to mention pet animals that have canonically died, but I don’t want to hear about injury, abuse, or noncanonical death of pet animals)

Bestiality

Scat

Necrophilia (sexual activity involving ghosts or sentient skeletons/undead is OK, just not inanimate corpses or remains)

Sexual activity involving worms / spiders / insects

-

FANDOM - DISHONORED

Ivan Jacobi's Grandfather

This character is so inconsequential that he only shows up for a few sentences in an in-universe memoir in Death of the Outsider, but the little glimpse we get is fascinating. Tell me more about this stubborn old man who moved into the family crypt and let his impressionable grandson sleep over among the skeletons. I want to hear his ancestor stories, the creepier the better.

Kirin Jindosh

My favorite antagonist from DH2! I'd love to hear more about his abominable creations, his alliance with Delilah, and what he got up in his brief studies at the Academy of Natural Philosophy. I ship him pretty hard with Emily, but I'm open to any pairing. (Note: I'm fine with mentioning or exploring his canon nonlethal fate, though I'd prefer it not be played for comedy.)

Billie Lurk

Of the Dishonored protagonists, Billie is my favorite. Someone, I can't find the source, once described her character arc as "atonement without redemption" -- I really like that. Death of the Outsider highlighted a intriguingly cocky streak of hers I hadn't noticed before, also (the things she says about the bank job!!).

I'd love to hear more about her years as a ship captain, the connections she built across the isles; her early years with Daud and the Whalers, how those relationships changed; and anything post-canon. Gen-wise, I really enjoy her interactions with Daud, Sokolov, and the Outsider, and I'd like to see how she didn't get along with Galia Fleet.

Ship-wise, I like her with Daud or any female character. Seriously -- Billie/Teresia Cienfuegos! Billie/Thalia Timsh! Billie/the surviving witch in the basement jail in that one mission of Death of the Outsider! Ooh, what about Billie/ghost!Deirdre? I am, as they say, just spitballing here. I also like Emily/Billie, Delilah/Billie, and Billie/Lizzy, for some less rare pairings. :-)

-

FANDOM - FALLOUT: NEW VEGAS

Dean Domino

Vengeful petty bastard. He was my favorite of the three companions in Dead Money, and the reveal at the end blindsided me. I really liked the atmosphere and story in Dead Money -- I'd love more about Dean Domino's pre-ghoul days, how he survived, and what it takes to sustain a grudge for centuries.

Mr. House

Everything about Mr. House and the Lucky 38 is fascinating to me. I'd love something about the years he spent waiting and planning, or the dynamic between him and a more evil or chaotic Courier.

Doctor Mobius

Old World Blues is my favorite DLC for this game, and I loved the showdown/reveal with Doctor Mobius! More roboscorpions, more ridiculous schemes, or interactions with the Courier and the other Big MT scientists and denizens would be great.

Stealth Suit Mk II

Why is the suit cute, and why won't she/it stop trying to give me Med-X? I'd love to hear more about this adorable sneaky suit and her/its relationship to her/its wearer. If you want to go to a shippy place there, please feel more than free.

Ulysses

So dramatic, so tragic, so vague at times. I really, really like his relationship with the Courier and the way it develops in Lonesome Road -- I ship them romantically, one-sided on Ulysses's part and reciprocated, but I also like their many possible dynamics as gen. (I have no preference on gender or alignment for the Courier -- feel free to write the character however you prefer.)

Ulysses strikes me as very lonely, and he seems to be finally feeling grief that he suppressed. I'd love something where the Courier rescues or comforts him, or where the possibility of being rescued/comforted occurs to him but is never actualized (PAIN). Alternately, interactions between Ulysses and any random character, the more unexpected the better, would be great, as would Ulysses solo gen about what he gets up to post-DLC.

Yes Man

My favorite amoral AI! His passive-aggression is hilarious, but I love that he's also genuinely scary. I'd enjoy hearing more about his origins and development, his dynamic with Benny, and his relationship with the Courier and anyone else he might encounter.

-

FANDOM - THE MAGNUS ARCHIVES

Adelard Dekker

Dekker is cool! I like that he's pragmatic and competent, not without a sense of humor, and somehow genuinely religious even in the world of TMA. I ship him with Gertrude, but I also enjoy them as friends. I'd love anything about his pre-canon adventures, origins, relationship with the Web, or interactions with unexpected characters.

Harriet Fairchild

An incredibly minor character (she shows up for a few lines in MAG 21, "Freefall"), but I'm so curious about her. What is her relationship to Simon Fairchild, and how did she become associated with the Vast?

Neil Lagorio

In-universe fictional media is one of my very favorite things, and I loved the episodes with Neil Lagorio. I'd enjoy hearing more about his filmography, strange experiences on his sets, criticism of his films, popular reception, or anything along those lines.

Peter Lukas

An unrepentant monster, and a terrible boss, but awkward and petty in enjoyably human ways. I would love to see how he interacts in a fish-out-of-water scenario, a meeting with other avatars, or a situation where he feels threatened. Seeing him interact with Gertrude would be fantastic. I ship him romantically with Martin, one-sided on Peter's part or grudgingly reciprocated, but I also really enjoy their gen interactions.

Original Statement Giver(s)

I'm always down for original statement fic, whether it's about an encounter with a specific entity or something more ambiguous. <3

-

FANDOM - STELLAR FIRMA

Bathin

We've heard so much about Bathin, but what is he really like, outside that one recording? I ship him with David and/or Trexel, but I'd also like to just hear about him.

Enola

Post-canon, what do they get up to aboard The Terpsichore's Vaunt? Vent gremlin to captain of a Star Puncher Class vessel must be a bit of a leap.

David 7

Poor David has been through so much. I'd love something about them post-canon, figuring out the wider universe beyond Stellar Firma, or a canon divergence AU from any point. Additionally, I think it could be fun to explore common fic tropes with them -- coffeeshop AU part 2, fake dating (which is also their first time doing anything dating-like?), arranged marriage because *handwave*, time travel or time loops.

I ship David with Bathin and/or Trexel, and with Trexel and Hartro in a triad, although I'm open to other pairings. Platonically, I like them with I.M.O.G.E.N., or meeting anyone outside the station.

With regard to David's gender and pronouns, I don't have a strong preference or headcanon -- please feel free to go with your favored interpretation.

Trexel Geistman

Trexel is my favorite. I enjoy the childish, silly side of his terrible self, but I also love it when canon decides to take his issues seriously. Please let him bumble around like a jackass making poor decisions, projecting onto those around him, and occasionally providing his own brand of "help" or insight.

I ship Trexel with just about everyone, but particularly David 7, Hartro, and/or Bathin. I really enjoy him as the pining party in a ship, whether his pining is one-sided or reciprocated. In general, though, I just really like Trexel.

For Halloween-related prompts, I'd love something with him as a horror host a la the Cryptkeeper, or maybe something with him encountering the ghosts of the Board or one of his more illustrious ancestors. Less Halloween-related, a Groundhog Day time loop AU with Trexel as the POV character could also be fun.

Hartro Piltz

Hartro is also my favorite. She's... god, she's ridiculous. I love her interest in the arts and her taste for Drama. I was really pleased with her transition from antagonist, to semi-frenemy, to antagonist again, and finally to tentative ally.

Ship-wise: I ship her super hard with Trexel and David as a triad and Trexel as a pairing, although I also love the three of them as a gen group. We haven't seen Hartro interact with a lot of other characters in canon; there are no other canon dynamics that ping me as particularly shippy, that "yum" from IMOGEN and the bit of flirting with Sigmund Shankeray notwithstanding. However, I am open to any pairing or gen interaction for her, including OCs. Seriously, please go for it! I just really like Hartro.

Promptwise: The last bit of bonus content, "No Love For Spies," involved impromptu scripted roleplay with Hartro, David, and Trexel. I'd love a scenario like that, but maybe shippy or awkwardly sexy (well, more awkwardly sexy than it already is, with evening-gown!Hartro lounging around on tables). I'd also enjoy something set pre-canon, something about her life outside of work during canon, or post-canon exploring how she gets along in a post-Stellar Firma universe.

Also, I realized I forgot to say so, but I opt into the foot thing. Lol.

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FANDOM - WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS (TV)

Guillermo de la Cruz

I recently watched this series for the first time, and Guillermo is far and away my favorite. The way he compartmentalizes what he's been doing for the vampires, the repression, the hints of manipulativeness, and then the fact that he's just really cute -- he's great. I'm enjoying the slayer!Guillermo storyline and the sort of power reversal, or power redistribution, that's come about because of it.

I ship Guillermo/Nandor pretty hard, one-sided and reciprocated, but I'd also love Guillermo solo gen, friendship fic, or ensemble fic. For a Treat, canon-typical slice of life would be great, or something about what he gets up to on Halloween. For a Trick, perhaps he encounters a hostile vampire or other creature, defends or rescues the others, or himself needs to be rescued? Guillermo gets yanked around and disappointed so much in canon; I'd love something where, no matter what trials he is subjected to, the vampires come through for him in the end.

[tomeandflickcorner]

So, last night, I briefly got into a discussion with another once fan about the matter of Emma and Regina, and their individual rights to be seen as Henry’s mother.   I don’t want to turn their post about requesting fic prompts into a full-out argument, but I still want to get this off my chest.

Under the cut for those who would prefer to skip over this.

I fully respect the rights of adoptive parents, and in most cases, the adoptive parents should be viewed as a child’s real parents.  But people who say Emma reclaiming her parental rights to Henry after Regina ‘adopted’ him is portraying an anti-adoption message really confuse me.

First of all, Emma didn’t put Henry up for adoption because she didn’t want him.  She gave him up because she didn’t think she could give him a good life.  And I don’t blame her for that.  She was an underage teenager who was thrown into jail because her ex-boyfriend set her up to take the fall for his crime.  Teenage Emma had no job, prospects or money, and had no one waiting for her outside of jail to help her get her life in order once she was released from prison.  There was no feasible way Emma could have handled taking care of a baby at that point in time.  So she made the decision to put her baby up for adoption, believing that he would be taken in by a family that could give him the love and care he needed.  And when Henry re-entered her life in the pilot, she was initially planning to just return him to Regina and leave it at that.  She only decided to stick around in Storybrooke when she started to suspect that Henry wasn’t getting the love and care she wanted him to have.

Now, let’s look at Regina.  First of all, I want to make it clear that I’m not trying to say she didn’t get better as the series progressed, or that she didn’t deserve a second chance and all.  In this post, I’m only focusing on S1 Regina.  In the flashback for 3x09, we see that Regina adopted Henry simply because she was bored.  Her reasons for adopting a kid were done because she wanted something to make her feel better.  Which is quite possibly the worst reason for adopting a child.  She wasn’t thinking about the needs and wants of the child she was adopting.  She was thinking only of herself.  What’s more, she even got Mr. Gold to help her ignore the legal red tape tied to adopting a child and completely bypass the waiting list.  She was too impatient to wait her turn like all the other parents wanting to adopt a child.  She wanted a child now!  What’s more, when she managed to obtain custody of Baby Henry, she pretty much vanished off the face of the earth.  Now, I’m not an adoption expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I believe that, when someone is adopting a child, the adoption agency usually sends someone to the adoptive family’s home periodically, in order to check up on things and make sure the child is being properly taken care of.  But Regina brought Baby Henry to Storybrooke, a town that, as of the events of the 2x17 flashback, could not be located by outsiders.  Meaning these mandatory home visits never happened.  Therefore, what else can we conclude other than Regina’s adoption of Henry was never truly legal to begin with.  She essentially obtained Henry through the black market.

However, let’s say I’m able to look past all of that legal stuff, in light of the fact that this is a goofy mid-budget show about fairy tale characters living in the modern world, and we have to try for a little suspended belief every now and then.  Let’s just look at how Henry was treated while living with Regina.  What kind of upbringing did Regina provide him with.  Obviously, she kept him fed and clothed.  But was she a loving, nurturing mother?

I realize we never really saw much of Henry’s life with Regina beyond his days as a baby.  However, we did get this little moment in 6x08, when Evil Queenie-Poo delivered this condemning line.

‘Do you remember when I used to bring you here? We’d feed the sea gulls. You were always so afraid of them. And I wondered, “How did I raise such a scared little boy?”’

What can we take from this?  While the show never really properly addressed it, Evil Queen and Regina were the same exact person.  If Evil Queen thought that, then Regina did, too.  So basically, Regina sees that Henry is scared of seagulls, and her first thought is to focus on how much of a scardy cat he is?  Does that sound like a loving, devoted mommy to you?  Granted we don’t know how old Henry was at this point in time, but he must have been younger than ten.  So it’s probably safe to guess his age as being around four or five.  Is that how you respond to your five year old getting scared of seagulls?  Have you ever seen seagulls swarming?  Because I can see how that might be frighting to a little kid.  It wasn’t as if Little Boy Henry was getting scared of bluebirds..  Did Regina have a similar response to Henry getting scared of the dark?  If so, I hate to think what she did when Henry had a nightmare.

But again, I realize I’m probably just making assumptions, so let’s focus on things we know to be canon.  First of all, Regina had placed Henry into therapy.  And that was going on before he found the Storybook and started to suspect everyone in town was a fairy tale character.  Archie even said as much in the second episode.  So, Henry clearly must have been noticing the town was stuck in some kind of Groundhog Day loop, and that he was the only one who was physically aging.  And Regina responds by putting him into therapy.  She knew fully well that Henry was right in his suspicions, but she responded by trying to make him think he was crazy.  In other words, she was attempting to gaslight Henry.  You can’t tell me that a loving mother would do that to her kid.  That is child abuse, plain and simple.

And then there’s the events of 1x04.  At the start of the episode, Regina claims to be heading off to attend a city council meeting.  Only the episode ends with the reveal that Regina was actually spending the day having sex with the brainwashed Sheriff Graham.  Get that?  Regina spent the whole day off having sex while her kid was left home alone.  The fact that Henry can rattle off his instructions for the day so easily implies that this is a regular occurrence.  Regina frequently goes off on these booty calls while her son is at home, completely alone, and forbidden to go outside.  How is this not neglect?

I could go on even further, but do I even have to?  I have no idea why some people think Regina only became abusive to Henry when Emma entered the picture.  She was neglecting him and subjecting him to mental abuse before Henry ran away to locate Emma.  And the fact that Regina got all possessive of Henry when Emma decided to stick around just sets off even more alarm bells.  It wasn’t as if Emma was threatening to take Henry away from Regina.  She was just wanting to make sure that Henry was being properly taken care of.  She was simply following up on the decision she made when she decided to give him up so he’d have a chance at a good life and making sure that he was getting it.  It wasn’t until she saw Regina arrange for an innocent woman to be abducted, frame another innocent woman for the missing woman’s murder, and then try and force someone else to take the blame for the whole scheme that Emma decided to try and reclaim her parental rights to Henry.

So please, spare me the attempt at trying to make it look like Emma had no right to try and take away parental rights from Regina, and that the fact that she did so was anti-adoption.  Because I think the real anti-adoption message is the claim that Regina should have maintained custody of Henry despite the mental abuse and neglect she inflicted on him.  It’s like you’re saying that Henry should have put up with all of that and simply been grateful that Regina was feeding him and providing him a place to live.